: Good afternoon. Just a first question on the capital needs. I mean, it looks like there's a little over $US400 million left on the ABL, and given the preorders or the reservations for the Model 3, it seems like you'll have at least another $US400 million flowing in in the second quarter. So just curious, I mean as you look at that kind of cash potential or liquidity and potential inflow, do you really think you need to do a capital raise this year, or could you get by with those sources of cash? : Well, I don't think we want to rely too much on customer reservation money as a source of capital. Maybe there is a buffer or something, but it's not as a primary source of capital. So yeah, I mean, I think it's going to make sense for us to raise some amount of money, some combination of equity and debt and make sure the company has a good buffer of cash on hand. I think it's important for de-risking the company. See section 5 of Goldman's settlement. I mean this is not literally how the research settlement works. The ice wall and magnets stuff, above, were also perhaps exaggerated. (The law-school applicant guy was real, as was the thing about e-mails not going through.) But really, analysts and bankers just do not bro down together much. A real thing! Remember, bankers can't just call up analysts. Their phones would explode. There's another, much more important reason not to wall-cross early. What if the deal didn't launch? What if the bankers told the analyst about the deal at 3, and then at 3.30 the market tanked and Tesla decided not to raise capital that day? It wouldn't put out a press release saying "hey, we thought about selling stock, but then didn't". It would just quietly tell its bankers to go home. This is a problem for the analyst! He knows that Tesla was going to sell stock, which is material nonpublic information. (Probably! I mean, Elon Musk already said it on the conference call, but the specific size and timing and so forth are probably material and still non-public.) But then when he gets in the next day, he still has material non-public information that he can't act on. He's restricted in the stock until either the deal happens or compliance people decide that the information is "stale," a subjective and awkward determination. It is a bad situation. So you wait until the last minute to bring him over the wall, to minimise this risk. Similarly, the bankers deal with Tesla a lot, and don't spend a lot of time hanging out with Fidelity and T. Rowe Price. (And the bankers' bonuses are paid by investment banking fees from Tesla, while the salespeople's bonuses are paid by commissions from Fidelity and T. Rowe.) So as a generic stereotype, the bankers will want to get a high price for their issuer client, the salespeople will want to get a low price for their investor customers, and ECM will intermediate between them. ING Direct has almost doubled its staff numbers in a decade, but it still only has 1100 people for a bank with a loan book of $43 billion and a customer base of 1.6 million, he tells AFR Weekend. It's a throwaway line meant to be taken as a joke. But the 25-year veteran of ING and founder of the branchless ING Direct in Australia in 1998 has effectively managed to automate more jobs than any other bank. He hasn't had to sack anyone, however, he just didn't employ them in the first place. ING Direct Australia CEO and founder Vaughn Richtor began and ended his career as head the bank extolling the virtues of a good corporate culture. Credit:Michele Mossop Tongue (mostly) in cheek, ING Australia's departing chief Vaughn Richtor says building a good culture has been one of his most important tasks, but the quickest way to do that is to replace his staff with robots. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is roughly the same size, with 1.5 million customers and $48 billion in loans, but it has six times the number of staff at 6600. Along with its lack of branches, the difference is reflected in ING Direct's cost to income ratio of just 35 per cent better than any of the major banks while Bendigo's is 55.5 per cent. Both banks enjoy high customer and staff satisfaction levels for their sector. Richtor says the former closely relies on the latter, but the winning formula is to keep what you are offering customers simple and rewarding and staff happy, but not comfortable. "Realistic and achievable goals are a recipe for mediocrity. People will make sure they under promise and over deliver," Richtor, who hands over the reins on June 1 to Uday Sareen from ING's Indian arm, said in a recent address to the American Chamber of Commerce. He is fond of quoting ING's net promoter score. In 2015 it had by far the highest at 38 per cent, followed by credit unions at 23 per cent on average and regional banks, including Bendigo, a distant third on 3 per cent well down on previous years. The industry average has fallen to -6 per cent, with the big four on -16 per cent. "Over the past five to six years we have done a lot to improve customer service," he told a business lunch on Thursday. And he was obviously hoping to clean the slate after an unprecedented series of mobile network outages in recent months that has left its 17 million mobile phone customers wondering why they were paying a gold-plated premium for what is proving to be a tinny service. May 1 marked Andy Penn's first anniversary in the top job at Telstra. On Friday, Telstra's broadband services decided to take the baton and disrupt customers across Australia. Where will it end? Telstra's $5.66m man: Is it time to look for a new leader? Credit:Jesse Marlow Add in a share price that has dropped a few billion dollars of shareholder value from the telco, and it makes you wonder just how the Andy experiment is working out for Telstra. The raft of network failures raises questions as to whether Telstra is looking at a Vodafail level of catastrophe a reference to the network failures at Vodafone that led to an exodus of customers and saw the telco become a national punch line. Penn's board members, and fellow investors, will be under no illusions that the golden run enjoyed by Penn's predecessor, David Thodey, is over. M&S notched up record sales this week by participating in the Click Frenzy online promotion. Mr McCafferty said online sales had been growing strongly since Marks & Spencer launched the dedicated Australian site in January despite an online incursion from UK retailers including Debenhams, House of Fraser and John Lewis. Marks & Spencer has no plans to open bricks and mortar stores in Australia, at least while its e-commerce site is going gangbusters. Credit:Bloomberg That's the advice of Marks & Spencer's international e-commerce manager Michael McCafferty, the man responsible for building the quintessentially British department store retailer's e-commerce business in Australia and New Zealand. Bought an ill-fitting garment from Marks & Spencer's new Australian online store? Send it back. "We had a phenomenal day and we're really pleased with the numbers we're seeing, including new customers coming to that site we know we're growing that base," Mr McCafferty said. However, he said return rates were low, suggesting that demand was suppressed by the effort of returning ill-fitting or unsuitable goods to the UK. "If they're too low you're not offering them the possibility of trying it on," Mr McCafferty told a retail function hosted by the Trans-Tasman Business Circle, BDO and DemandWare in Sydney on Thursday. "We want our return rates to be higher because we're not suppressing demand in the first place," he said. M&S is now offering Australian shoppers the option of returning unwanted online orders to a local address. Anyone familiar with Eric Schlosser's muckraking 2001 book Fast Food Nation would know that McDonald's antipathy towards unions is a dominant theme in its labour-relations strategies. According to Mr Schlosser, great efforts were made to keep union reps out of the fast-food chain's United States and Canadian restaurants, and the few that did become unionised were subsequently shut down after management deemed them to be "uneconomic". However, McDonald's has shown itself adept at reaching accommodations with unions in countries where they still wield a modicum of influence, such as Australia and even of advancing its corporate interests while doing so. A Fairfax Media investigation published in this newspaper on Friday has revealed McDonald's reached a national agreement with the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association in 2013 (one endorsed by a vote of employees) in which casual employees lost their entitlement to weekend penalty rates, and had their late-night loadings reduced and restricted to the hours of 1am to 5am. To compensate for the loss of penalty rates, full-time employees became eligible for an increase in base pay rates. McDonald's claims to be not underpaying its workers, arguing the new arrangement provides additional benefits beyond the award, such as annual pay increases and better leave provisions. SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer, meanwhile, argues that "in the vast majority of cases, this [agreement] leaves the worker better off". The McDonald's workforce, however, comprises predominantly young female casuals, and under this agreement many of them now earn as little as $10.08 an hour which is about 42 per cent less than the national minimum wage of $17.29. It's estimated that McDonald's may have saved hundreds of millions of dollars in the years since the deal was concluded three years ago. Lest anyone think Mr Schlosser's book was a complete hatchet job, his views of McDonald's hiring practices, its policy of entrusting young schoolgoers with responsibility and of providing opportunities for their advancement, was favourable. Indeed, while McJob may have enjoyed currency for a time as a term for unstimulating, low-paid work, McDonald's may properly be regarded as reasonably enlightened and broad minded, far more so than many other employers in the hospitality sector. Nonetheless, it has been party to an agreement that privileges one classification of worker over another, for which many people will be rightly critical. The ethics and morality of the deal also reflect poorly on the SDA. Then again, the union is no stranger to such deals, having signed an accord with Business South Australia in 2015 to end Saturday and evening penalty rates for retail workers in that state, and to wind back Sunday and public holiday loadings. Like the McDonald's deal, the SDA sold it as being good for permanent employees because it lifted their base pay rates and broadened their entitlements. If arguments about (imperfect) deals being acceptable because they are for the greater good stand certain scrutiny, they gloss over two pertinent if inconvenient facts: part-time employment has surged during the past decade; and casual employees (many of whom are students) continue to rely heavily on penalties to help them make ends meet. With no requirement for employers to pay for sick leave or holidays, it's easy to see why casual and part-time employment might be growing faster than permanent employment. This is no bad thing, say business groups, because it affords employers the flexibility they need to survive the lean times and to prosper and expand in the good times. It's evident, however, that the weekend and holiday loadings that made casual work attractive (or at least offset some of its disadvantages) are being eroded. That would be somewhat acceptable if casual pay rates, particularly for juniors, were increased by way of compensation. They are not, which calls into question the ability of the Fair Work Commission to adjudicate adequately on minimum standards of pay and award conditions. Employers, emboldened by the SDA's preparedness to sell casual workers down the river, are pushing hard for an end to weekend penalty rates. They argue, without any compelling evidence, that their abolition will boost employment and complete Australia's transformation to a dynamic 24/7 economy. "Border protection and immigration are, and always have been, key political issues," Turnbull declared on Wednesday, when the truth is that the national interest is advanced when both issues are the subject of bipartisan consensus, as they were before 2001. The question left hanging is how this will play out over the next six weeks, with conventional wisdom suggesting the greater the focus on border protection, the better will be the Coalition's prospects of holding a swag of seats, especially in the outer suburbs and regions. As Patrick Baume, group communications manager for Isentia, reports, it has been the leading issue on talkback the past couple of days, with "overwhelming" support for Dutton. "Turnbull is probably losing some skin in inner city Liberal seats by backing Dutton so strongly, but it looks like a plus everywhere else," Baume says. But there are four reasons why border protection may not be the plus for the Coalition that it was in the Tampa election of 2001 or in 2013, when Tony Abbott ran so hard on "stopping the boats". One is that the issue has receded as a talking point because the boats have stopped and Nauru and Manus Island, where around 2000 refugees and asylum seekers remain in limbo, most of them damaged and mentally unwell, are so far away. A second is that many progressive voters, those who saw Turnbull as the antidote to the divisiveness and negativity of recent years, will express their disappointment at the ballot box, and perhaps be joined by those of refugee heritage who recoiled at Dutton's remarks. A third is that the fallout from Dutton's remarks becomes a distraction from the economic message Turnbull insists, and the voters assert, is far and away the key issue at this election, as it did on Friday when the Prime Minister was in Tasmania. "Can I just say to you, we've got a great story about Tasmanian jobs and growth here," a frustrated PM replied when the first question asked if he was embarrassed by Dutton's remarks. "Let's focus on that and then we can move onto other national issues." Finally, the policy contest on border protection is not nearly as stark as Turnbull and Dutton assert, with Labor committed to the two most contentious and planks of Coalition policy, and the two that have been most significant in stopping boat arrivals: turnbacks and offshore processing. The strength of that commitment was apparent when Tony Burke, who held the immigration portfolio for less than three months before Labor's 2013 defeat, was interviewed on the ABC's 7.30 with the Coalition's Mathias Cormann on Thursday. When Cormann chipped in that Burke did not believe in the policy endorsed at Labor's national conference last year, the response was raw, unconfected emotion: "Sorry, Mathias! I had 33 people die on my watch! Don't you tell me I don't believe this," said Burke, who had the names of the deceased on his ministerial desk as a constant reminder of policy failure. Where Labor differs, and what motivates many of the Labor MPs and candidates who have spoken out, is on the fate of those who have been on Nauru and Manus for the last three years and whose only options under Dutton are to return to the countries they fled or accept resettlement in Cambodia (if they are on Nauru) or Papua New Guinea. Labor's immigration spokesman Richard Marles says there will be no retreat on turnbacks or offshore processing, but vows the resettlement of the Nauru and Manus caseloads will be his top priority if Labor wins. Marles says his first act as minister would be to organise a visit to the United Nations refugee agency in Geneva and re-connect with the global community on refugee issues, with the aim of identifying resettlement countries to take refugees from Manus and Nauru. That would be welcome. Malcolm Turnbull seems in no hurry to improve the lot of Indigenous Australians. Credit:Matt Golding No one could doubt that Abbott cared, and that he wanted to show that he cared. But if mere caring, leadership and ceaseless activity could effect change in Aboriginal affairs, one might have expected it to be obviously making some difference somewhere by, say, 1930. That was in the missionary period. Or in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as the idealism and some foolishness of the Whitlam years were tempered with some practicality and discipline under Malcolm Fraser's ministers. Malcolm Turnbull, by contrast, seems only to care in a vague and uncommitted way. He probably owns a few Aboriginal artworks. But he's never evinced any particular interest in matters Indigenous, nor said anything to show it sits high on his list of priorities. It's by no means clear that Aborigines, too, will be swept into prosperity by his vision of innovation and the new economy. It's rather more likely they will be put further behind. Particularly if Turnbull depends on his present advisers, including Scullion. Change in Aboriginal affairs has never had much to do with what ministers in Canberra have decreed as policy, or what ever-expanding hordes of white bureaucrats have said, done or thought. Nor ever had it had much to do with the money invested. It's only true in a general sense that the more money that is spent on Aboriginal affairs, the bigger the meagre amount that trickles down to become income or, more rarely, capital for Aborigines. At best, trickle-down comes to about 20 per cent. Data issued about five years ago suggested that governments spent about $250,000 a year per average Aboriginal family in mainstream or special programs. In its hands, this could send all the sons to Riverview and daughters to Canberra Girls Grammar, with enough left over for Toyotas and groceries. But the average actual income of Aboriginal Australian families is less than a fifth of this. The rest provides incomes for a largely white private and public sector "helping" Aborigines, and lets their children go to these schools instead. Turnbull seems only to care in a vague and uncommitted way. He probably owns a few Aboriginal artworks. For all of Abbott's caring, his government made big cuts to funds going into Aboriginal communities. And the bureaucracy's capacity, such as it was, to respond to the particular problems of individual communities or families has been reduced by "rationalising" the program streams. Systematic defunding of Aboriginal organisations has caused a collapse of local initiative, involvement and "ownership" of programs. Some of this was partisan or personal payback, given that some local organisations were perceived to have Labor links. (In fact, most Indigenous organisations are equally disenchanted with the Labor Party, for which most have voted so loyally over the past 60 years.) Abbott may have cared. But he was like nearly everyone else in having very little idea of what the government ought to do to make things better, and he had a weakness for listening to people who also cared, but who tended to think that Aborigines needed to be both dragged and pushed into what was "known" (at least by such advisers) to be for the Aboriginal good. In this model, Aborigines are somewhat naughty children needing punishment rather more than reward, lectures rather more than things. The lives of the advisers are, apparently, the modern role models. That the consistent practical effect of such policies over, say, the past 200 years has been a complete lack of client interest or engagement, passive resistance and dumb insolence is apparently neither here nor there. (The failure of alien improvement programs is not, of course, some peculiar, or genetic, weakness of Aborigines. Everything ever done in Aboriginal affairs, from isolation to massacre, assimilation to integration, was initially practised on, say, the Irish or the London underclass and, later, non-British migrants, with similar lack of effect. Some of us of such backgrounds must mostly cheer at Aboriginal resilience and resistance even as we mechanically deplore the wasteful way in which they fail to become what upstanding aliens proclaim to be in their own best interests.) Recently, a keen reader drew to my attention a report from the NT News, quoting Chief Minister Adam Giles as saying that more than half a billion dollars invested in Aboriginal housing in the territory (during eight years under Macklin and Scullion) had been eaten up by "administration". That's 40 per cent of the $1.3 billion spent in the NT under the national partnership agreement on remote Indigenous housing, signed in 2008. Giles was with Scullion at Uluru on May 9, while a joint $350 Commonwealth-NT plan to top up the "investment" was being announced for electoral purposes. Most of the apparent "administration", or slippage, seems to have been at the hands of that special expertise that NT governments, of whatever stripe, can inject into service delivery to Aborigines. As the acting Commonwealth ombudsman remarked in 2012, federal control of, or accountability for, such money more or less disappears once it falls into the bottomless NT maw. In theory, the Commonwealth has "embedded" officers in the various retitlings of the programs, and there was supposedly joint management, but it seemed to have little effect. The Australian National Audit Office, which these days mostly seems to confine itself to harmless desk audits, seems never to pry too deeply, or hurtfully, into actual outcomes of such significant national Indigenous programs. Its November 2011 report on implementing the program glossed over appalling results in its efforts to be "positive". Australians deserve a review of the ANAO's own performance in monitoring such matters. (The Ombudsman's office was rewarded for its interest in poor bureaucratic performance in delivering houses by being stripped of special funds for dealing with Aboriginal complaints on such matters.) But I wouldn't get too passionate about blaming folk in Darwin alone, given the record of federal ministers and bureaucrats with the earlier strategic Indigenous housing and infrastructure program, which ended up being folded into the national partnership agreement. It spent $100 million on "advice" before it built its first inadequate house. Most of this went to well-connected, non-Aboriginal businesses. Nothing arrived at, or rotated around, an Aboriginal community. That five- and 10-year programs are reorganised, retitled, and given new functions and reporting systems nearly every year serves to prevent accountability and the allocation of responsibility. I can't think of a senior Commonwealth executive ever held to account for outcomes, or lack of them, in Indigenous affairs. If programs or policies fail, it must be Aborigines' fault. Six years ago, I wrote this about the 2010 Indigenous affairs budget: "Page 27 of the separate budget paper, authored by [then] Indigenous affairs minister Jenny Macklin ... tells what she and her 4300-strong department are doing to 'close the gap' between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. 'In the NT,' it says, 'at the end of April 2010, the construction of over 80 new houses was under way, with seven completed'. "Seven houses that's not bad for 3 years work and expenditure in the hundreds of millions. At that rate, the gap will be closed in about 7000 years. It's good to see Labor on the job. "A paragraph later, Macklin remarks that a recent review of the program had shown that everything was on track. This is a measure of her complacency about the worsening disaster over which she presides. "Macklin and the department frequently redefine what they are pretending to be doing, or use weasel words and vagueness. The minister adopts anecdotal reassurances to contradict evidence. "This time 10 months ago ... newspapers were insisting that tens of millions had been squandered on planning to build houses, on talking about building houses, on consulting about building houses and liaising with each other about it. No actual houses, as such, had been built. This was hotly denied by the minister and the department, who used houses completed under other programs, redefinitions, hopes, expectations, plans, targets, timetables, anecdotes and blah, to insist that all was well. "Delay occasioned by resistance to FOI requests ... made it even harder to find the facts, as did the ultimate production of documents, which, if amounting to the department and minister's sum of knowledge on the matter, might account for her confusion. At that stage, one might have said that nothing had been finished, but much was on the way. A year later, we learn that 'much' is not much ... "Macklin remarks that the strategic Indigenous housing and infrastructure program will deliver 750 new houses by 2013. It is supposed to effectively demolish and rebuild another 230 and do extensive refurbishments to 2500 others. Two construction companies, known as alliances, are then to show the recipients how a clever government agency can organise things. "About one in every three people on the gravy train is black and, by my guess, these people would get about 10 per cent of the bonanza provided, via the department's management processes, to the alliance. Finally, very reluctantly, the United States is coming around to the long-standing Russian position that the secular Baathist regime in Syria must survive, as part of some compromise peace deal that everybody except the Islamist extremists will accept (although nobody will love it). So Assad is still in power, several hundred thousand more Syrians have died, and millions more have fled. But Brahimi's comments are still relevant, because the Russians are still right. Brahimi was referring to the Russian offer in 2012 to end the growing civil war in Syria by forcing the country's dictator, Bashar al-Assad, to leave power. The Russian proposal went before the UN Security Council, but the United States, Britain and France were so convinced that Assad was about to fall anyway that they turned it down. Why let the Russians take the credit? "The Russians had a more realistic analysis of the situation than practically anybody else," said Lakhdar Brahimi, the former United Nations Special Envoy to Syria. "Everyone should have listened to the Russians a little bit more than they did." Such a deal back in 2012 would have involved the departure from power of Bashar al-Assad himself, and it could still do so today. He's mostly just a figurehead anyway. He was living in England, studying to be an optometrist, until the death of his elder brother made him the inevitable heir to the presidency that his father, Hafez al-Assad, had held for thirty years. It's the Baathist regime's secular character that makes it so important. Its leadership is certainly dominated by the Alawite (Shia) minority, but it has much broader popular support because all Syria's non-Muslim minorities, Christian and Druze, see it as their only protection from Islamist extremists. Many Sunni Muslims, especially in the cities, see it the same way. They also see it as the one Arab government in the region that has always defied Israel. The deal that the Russians could have delivered in 2012 would have ditched Bashar al-Assad but left the Baathist regime in place, while compelling it to broaden its base, dilute Alawite influence, and stop torturing and murdering its opponents. An over-confident West rejected that deal, while its local "allies", Turkey and Saudi Arabia, gave weapons and money to the Islamist rebels who aimed to replace the Baathists with a Sunni Muslim theocracy Fast forward to 2015, and by mid-summer the Islamist forces, mainly Islamic State and al-Qaeda, control more than a third of Syria's territory. The exhausted Syrian army is retreating every time it is attacked (Palmyra, Idlib, etc.), and it's clear to Moscow that all of Syria will fall to the Islamists unless Russia intervenes militarily. So it does. When the Russian air force started attacking the Syrian rebels on 30 September last year, Western propaganda went into high gear to condemn it. Russian President Vladimir Putin "doesn't distinguish between ISIL (Islamic State) and a moderate Sunni opposition that wants to see Mr Assad go," said US president Barack Obama. "From (the Russian perspective) they're all terrorists and that's a recipe for disaster." Around the same time, reports emerged that Hiddleston, 35, had been spotted meeting with James Bond director Sam Mendes and producer Barbara Broccoli last week. If you hadn't already heard of British actor Tom Hiddleston, that likely changed this week when Daily Mail reported that Daniel Craig had rejected $AU137 million to play Bond in another two films . He's played a pilot, a vampire, a prince, a Marvel villain, and now he's the red-hot favourite to play iconic British spy, James Bond. On Monday, UK betting house Coral suspended wagers on which actor would next play Bond when an influx of bets over the weekend tipped Hiddleston to replace Craig. Tom Hiddleston in BBC's The Night Manager, the screen adaptation of John le Carre's novel. According to the UK Telegraph, a particularly large bet sent Hiddleston's odds plummeting to 2-1. "There is no smoke without fire, and following the big gamble on Tom Hiddleston in the last 24 hours, we've had no choice but to pull the plug on the market," a Coral spokeswoman told the paper. The Avengers actor had always been considered a long shot for the role, with big names Idris Elba and Homeland star Damian Lewis perceived frontrunners. The McDonald's agreement with the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees Association is an example. Under the deal, McDonald's pays no penalty rates on weekends, not a cracker. This, while Australia's biggest private sector union is cutting deals that leave workers without penalties. Bill Shorten and the ACTU have made "protecting" penalty rates a key election issue. But the fast food award the legal pay and conditions safety net sets penalty rates at 25 per cent on Saturday and 50 per cent on Sunday (higher still for casuals). Two demonstrators dressed as Ronald McDonald protest for better wages for McDonald's employees in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Credit:Andre Penner The Macca's deal underlines the grotesque unreality of the penalties debate. Australia's award system looks great on paper, a safety net of generally decent wages and conditions that compares well to the pittance earned by the low paid in the US and elsewhere. Yet at the cowboy end of the labour market, foreign workers are routinely exploited in "black jobs", the 7-Eleven scandal the most high-profile case to date. It was Malcolm Turnbull's baby - albeit an adopted one - a 21st century network of wires criss-crossing the country, connecting Australia to its future at lightning speed. And so, besieged by controversy though the National Broadband Network may be, the former communications minister fired up in defence of his pet project and his own conduct as he faced questions about police raids on Labor offices over damaging leaks. "The AFP acts independently of government and so it should," the Prime Minister said, denying any prior knowledge of the matter, which the AFP says was referred to it by NBN Co in December. Al-Jibouri told HuffPost and Fairfax Media in an email that his Armada Group has never worked with Unaoil or operated in the US. When asked why the company's website had listed the US as one of several countries where Armada is registered, he said it was a "mistake". But internal Unaoil emails show al-Jibouri communicating with top Unaoil executives over the course of several years, sometimes with his secretary, who used an Armada Group email address, copied on the conversations. Al-Jibouri provided access to Iraqi politicians like Hussain al-Shahristani, who could steer energy contracts to Unaoil's clients. Al-Jibouri and Unaoil executives exchanged emails fine-tuning language on their business contracts and discussing payments to influence oil ministry officials. Two powerful Iraqi officials were given the code names "Teacher" and "M". The leaked emails do not definitively indicate whether the discussed payments ultimately reached Iraqi officials, but make clear that the al-Jibouri was paid millions to corrupt Iraq officials. While Luaibi could not be reached for comment, al-Shahristani denies all impropriety. He was recently sacked as Iraq's education minister amid continuing anti-corruption protests in that country. Al-Shahristani's allies are blocking investigations into his alleged role in the scheme, a source from Iraq's anti-corruption agency, the Commission of Integrity, told HuffPost and Fairfax Media. One Unaoil email also reveals that on at least one occasion, the company sought to pay al-Jibouri's Armada Group from an HSBC bank account. HuffPost reported in March that HSBC, a British financial giant with a history of corruption, had processed transactions, managed money and vouched for Unaoil. In addition to heading the Armada Group, al-Jibouri is also the majority owner of a Michigan-based consulting firm called the International Procurement and Contracting Group, which has bid for Iraqi oil service contracts in the past. His business partner, Shakir al-Khafaji, has been tied to the controversial United Nations oil-for-food program under the former Saddam Hussein regime. The previously unreported news that al-Jibouri owned at least one company incorporated under US laws could place him personally within the jurisdiction of the Justice Department. The FBI and the Justice Department are working with British and Australian authorities investigating Unaoil and dozens of its multinational clients in connection with alleged corruption in the Middle East, Europe and Africa. The Justice Department declined to comment on al-Jibouri's role in the Unaoil scandal. Unaoil's relationship with al-Jibouri goes back to at least August 2009. The very first leaked email that mentions him makes clear that the firm is interested in his connections to Iraqi officials. "I have established contact with Mr. Ahmed Jabouri of Chemic when I was in Amman," Unaoil's Iraq manager Basil al-Jarah wrote to CEO Cyrus Ahsani in an email that month. "My real purpose is getting access to Ahmed's best pal Kareem Leaby [Luaibi] at the Ministry." Within six months of making contact with al-Jibouri, Unaoil was offering to pay him for help securing the support of his Iraqi contacts. In February 2010, the firm offered al-Jibouri $600,000 to ensure Iraq's oil ministry handed a contract to Dutch company SBM Offshore to supply four offshore oil rig buoys. "I would like you to maximize your marketing effort," al-Jarah instructed al-Jibouri, "to please also secure the 4th buoy to the same source [SBM Offshore] as the 3 under consideration now. The fee for the 4th buoy is $200k separate from the $400K we discussed already making total of $600K for 4 buoys May god bless us, because our aim is pure and we wish to best serve the country." Al-Jarah denied any wrongdoing in connection with Unaoil. SBM Offshore spokeswoman Paula Farquharson-Blengino confirmed that the company worked with Unaoil in the past, but said that "no irregularities were found" during SBM's due diligence vetting process and compliance review. By March 2010 less than a year into the relationship al-Jibouri had become so important to Unaoil that company executives worried they were too dependent on his help in Iraq. Al-Jibouri is Unaoil's "only channel to the min[istry]," Cyrus Ahsani warned his father, company founder Ata Ahsani, in an email. Still, Unaoil's relationship with al-Jibouri continued to expand. In August 2010, the company agreed to pay him $4.5 million to help secure a $750 million oil pipeline contract for the offshore arm of Leighton Holdings, an Australian construction giant. Around the same time, al-Jibouri was promised $1 million to get ministry officials to favour British oil services company Petrofac in a bidding war against Houston-founded competitor Weatherford International. Al-Jarah instructed al-Jibouri that he needed "to remove Wetherford [sic] from the list and clear the way and support for Petrofac to win this order ... We are now agreed the figure 1 [million] for this service. But Petrofac must win so we have to follow it through and you get paid when we get paid." The internal Unaoil emails show that al-Jibouri's Iraqi government contacts were suspicious at times that they would not get paid. "These people are very touchy in case we negate on our promise after they deliver the goods," one email from al-Jarah states. Unaoil also used al-Jibouri to plant senior officials inside the Iraqi government to help direct work to its clients. In a 2010 email, Unaoil executives talked about installing a hand-picked official at the head of an Iraqi committee overseeing a crude oil export project. After selecting "the right guy to meet our requirements," al-Jarah wrote to top Unaoil executives about needing to reach out to al-Jibouri to get a "blessing" for the appointment from "right at the top" of the oil ministry. "Only one man can give the OK for this," al-Jarah explained. "That's the level we must reach." Al-Jibouri and his Unaoil business partners eventually developed code language to obscure the nature of their work. Besides the "Teacher" alias for al-Shahristani and "M" for Luaibi, al-Jibouri himself was "Doctor." They described offering government officials "holidays". "On Dr. he says I gave him the OK with 1% discount + 1.5 days holiday for his side," al-Jarah wrote Cyrus Ahsani in a March 2011 email. "He transferred that info to teacher and on that basis teacher gave it the OK." Unaoil didn't control the Iraqi government's vacation calendar. Contracts between the firm and al-Jibouri, which were attached to the emails, show that a one-day holiday indicated a $1 million payment. But even with the offers of multimillion-dollar payments, Unaoil didn't always get its way. Later that month, al-Jarah told top Unaoil executives that al-Jibouri and al-Shahristani were refusing to push a contract toward Leighton Holdings, citing a past spat with Leighton over a previous contract. "It seems the Teacher and his assistant are still adamant to block [Leighton]," al-Jarah wrote. "They are not budging from this stand. I have allowed a 5 day holiday and even took it to one week, they are not interested." Cyrus Ahsani responded, "[G]o back to Dr and tell him that [Leighton] have said that if they win [the project] then they would allow 5 days or a week + what they would have owed him on the [previous contract]." Saipem, an Italian competitor, ultimately won that contract. But the following month, al-Jibouri came through for Unaoil. His Armada Group won a major power plant contract with Iraq and he offered to share the work with Unaoil. By then, al-Shahristani had become the deputy prime minister for energy. When al-Jarah shared the good news about the power plant contract with Unaoil's top three executives, he added that the ministry had agreed to pay $1.25 million for every megawatt added to the grid, significantly more than the market rate of $850,000 per megawatt. "We can put to rest the thought the Dr. is phony with suspect connections," al-Jarah wrote in April 2011. "As you can see his 4 man company pulled off quite a coupe [sic]." In the midst of all this, al-Jibouri started the International Procurement and Contracting Group in 2009 with al-Khafaji. Both men deny that IPCG was connected to the Armada Group or Unaoil although a past version of the Armada Group website lists IPCG as a partner company. The two businessmen met in Baghdad, according to al-Khafaji. He had taken the bold move of opening a Chrysler dealership in the war-torn city, and al-Jibouri wanted to buy a car. They became friendly, and later that year, al-Jibouri, who already headed the Armada Group, suggested they join forces to start a business lining up US manufacturers and suppliers for Iraqi contracts. Al-Khafaji's own record is not squeaky clean. He spent four months in US prison in the 1980s for a "technical violation" after failing to notify the Customs Service that he was carrying several guns in his baggage en route to Iraq. (He said that officials at the airport told him he didn't need to fill out paperwork unless he also had ammunition.) An outspoken critic of the Iraq War, al-Khafaji provided funding to Scott Ritter, a former UN weapons inspector in Iraq, to produce a 2001 documentary that described Iraq as a "defanged tiger" and UN sanctions there as immoral. In 2004, al-Khafaji was one of several people listed in a US government report as having received vouchers from Saddam Hussein's government to sell or trade oil under the UN's oil-for-food program. Whatever else they did with other partners, al-Jibouri and al-Khafaji agree that their joint business venture has been a failure. Under one contract, IPCG paid a US company to produce pumps for use in Iraq. Then the Iraqis rejected the pumps, claiming they didn't meet the contract's specifications. Al-Khafaji said he suspects they rejected the pumps because they preferred a competitor who would pay a bribe. Another deal faltered when IPCG had to call off shipping equipment to the Baiji refinery in Iraq because the self-described Islamic State had taken over the site. (Iraqi forces later re-took the refinery.) Al-Khafaji told HuffPost he was skeptical that al-Jibouri ever had the ability to curry favour with Iraqi officials by paying bribes. "We have lost a lot of money and he is the majority owner in this company," al-Khafaji said of IPCG. "He hasn't been able to do anything!" IPCG is no longer seeking new contracts in Iraq. "It's a waste of time, a waste of money," al-Khafaji said. "They're crooks. In Iraq, they are crooks." Religions like Christianity have a voluntary moral code which followers seek to live by. Any expression of sexuality outside of marriage between a man and a woman is seen as a prohibited expression of human sexuality. Jesus even said lust was akin to committing adultery, so the bar is very high in Christianity. That is why all of us who are Christians rely on Jesus' grace and mercy. Australian Christian Lobby director Lyle Shelton has indicated the "no" side would use taxpayer funds to campaign on issues unrelated to the definition of marriage such as the Safe Schools program. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Our opposition to redefining marriage is based on our concern for social justice for children. Same-sex marriage creates inequality for children who are required to miss out on their mother or father because of the need to access assisted reproductive technologies such as anonymous sperm donation and commercial surrogacy. Gay people already have equality before the law with State-based civil partnerships and the abolition of all discrimination in Commonwealth law, both supported by ACL. What is the Australian Christian Lobby's opposition to same-sex marriage based on? Are you only opposed to the proposition of equal marriage or is the opposition to equality under the law for LGBTI people in general? You talk frequently about children being "indoctrinated" into "gender queer theory" in schools, what do you believe is the end game for LGBTI advocates? Do you believe that legalising same sex marriage will lead to other reforms, if so what could they be? You would have to ask the LGBTI advocates about their end game. But by their own admission, they see a world in which gender is irrelevant and where mothers are dispensable and unnecessary to babies and fathers are dispensable and unnecessary to their children. Gender theory, as taught by the so-called Safe Schools program, teaches children that "no one can tell you whether you are a boy or a girl". Gender theory instructs children in dangerous body altering techniques and puts them on a path to considering surgery they may later regret. Studies show that 10 years after sex change surgery, the suicide mortality rate is 20 times higher than the non-transgendered population. This, and other relevant information, is withheld from children by "Safe Schools". Some commentators have observed that the debate between progressives and conservatives on issues such as Safe Schools, Gayby Baby, marriage equality etc is part of a "culture war" between left and right. What are your thoughts on this? There is a contest of ideas in our society and in a democracy that is fine. However, questioning the same-sex political agenda should be allowed without being labeled a 'homophobe' or a 'bigot'. I have met "Gayby babies" who love their lesbian mums but desperately wanted to know their father. These voices should be allowed a place in the debate. There should not be a war, there should be a free, respectful and fair exchange of ideas. Labelling one side 'haters', 'bigots' or 'anti-gay' is simply designed to intimidate people into silence instead of allowing a safe public space for all to contribute. Are you concerned that language used to describe the push for LGBTI inclusion - eg the flyers we saw recently protesting the AFL's upcoming Pride game, comparing legalising same sex marriage to the stolen generation - could be damaging for LGBTI young people and their families? A former Bureau of Statistics insider says he will risk prosecution rather than trust the bureau with his personal data. Former ABS public servant Ross Hamilton says the bureau is no longer the trustworthy institution many Australians believe it is and he is prepared to face the full force of the law rather than participate in the 2016 census. Former Australian Bureau of Statistics public servant Ross Hamilton says the body is no longer a trustworthy institution. Credit:Elesa Kurtz The Canberra resident says the ABS engaged in a dodgy process to obtain the unprecedented power to retain personal information gathered in the census to be taken in August and its promises that the data will only be held temporarily are worthless. Two days after an inferno that began in a Sydney convenience store killed three people, shopkeeper Adeel Ahmad Khan was interrogated by detectives as he lay in his intensive-care bed. "Did you burn down the property?" Detective Sergeant Gavin Franklin asked Mr Khan, who had a tube attached to his face and took painkillers during the interview. Robbers blamed: Rozelle convenience store owner Adeel Kahn, accused of starting a fire that killed three people. Credit:Christopher Pearce "No," he replied. Mr Khan, 46, of Greenacre, has been charged with murdering Bianka O'Brien, her baby son Jude and her neighbour Chris Noble. A woman has been killed after she was hit by a truck while crossing the road on Sydney's northern beaches. The woman, who police said was aged in her 60s, was struck as she crossed Pittwater Road at Brookvale at 8.50am on Friday. Emergency crews have been told the victim was dragged by the northbound truck for at least 50 metres before it came to a stop. A man once arrested under Queensland's controversial anti-gang legislation for gathering in group of five has been jailed for seven years for drug trafficking. Alleged Rebels bikie Joshua Carew, 32, was arrested in late 2013 at the Yandina Hotel with four other men including his father, Michael Smith, two brothers and business partner Paul Landsdowne. Joshua Carew used parents' property to cook methylamphetamine. They became known as the "Yandina Five". The state's contentious anti-gang legislation made it illegal for alleged bikies to gather in public in groups of three or more. Google said its Android mobile app store will run on the internet giant's Chrome OS for personal computers, the latest sign of the two operating systems slowly converging. Google Play, the Android app store, will roll out first on three Chromebook PCs running Chrome OS: the Asus Chromebook Flip, the Acer Chromebook R 11 and the latest Chromebook Pixel made by Google. Google's Chromebook Pixel runs Chrome OS, which is set to become a lot more useful. Credit:Bloomberg Over time, the most-popular global app store will run on other existing Chromebooks and new PCs specifically designed for Play that Google is developing with hardware partners. Android apps like Microsoft's Skype video calling service, will now work on Chromebooks, filling several gaps that made the computers less useful in the past. Vaping will be outlawed in Victoria's smoke-free spaces and e-cigarette advertising banned in shops, under laws to be introduced by the Andrews government within days. Children won't be able to buy e-cigarettes or vapes - even those without nicotine - while Victoria's outdoor dining areas will become smoke and vape free from mid- 2017. E-cigarette vapour comprises micro- and nano-particles. There's little to no understanding of what the health consequences will be of deep inhaling these thousands of times a year across many years. Credit:Eddie Jim Smokers will also be banned from lighting up within 4m of food served outdoors at pubs and within 10m of food stalls at major events, with $150 fines for anyone who smokes in outdoor dining areas. The bans will include all outdoor spaces where food is served, including restaurants, cafes, takeaway shops, pubs, festivals and sporting events. Images of the air battle over Crete. Aliied soldiers withstood bombings from Stuka dive bombers and Messerschmitt heavy fighters. Credit:Robert Shakespeare The bedraggled allied soldiers many without even boots when they arrived on Crete, having withdrawn from the military disaster that was the Greek campaign had withstood being bombed and strafed for days by Messerschmitt heavy fighters and Stuka dive bombers. But this sudden invasion by German paratroopers and others loaded into a flotilla of gliders spelled the beginning of doom, even though the first waves were torn apart by the allies. Soon, the airborne troops were reinforced with squads of elite mountain troops. The allied soldiers and the villagers of Crete were trapped. Little detail of the Crete adventures would be known if not for the tight little notes, beautiful sketches and maps sketched on Carstairs' cigarette packets. A young Lieutenant from Victoria, James De Mole Carstairs, scribbled a diary as disaster unfolded and for him and a few of his mates, it turned into months on the run, holing up in caves and suffering such hardship that they could not have survived if it had not been for Cretan villagers, shepherds and members of the Resistance who sheltered and fed them. James Carstairs survived to live a long life farming near Streatham, Victoria, before retiring to Barwon Heads. He died in Geelong, aged 93, in 2007. But his diary from Crete lives on. Australian WW2 soldier James De Mole Carstairs. All these decades later, The Carstairs Diary will be launched at the Historical Museum of Crete in the capital of Heraklion on Monday, May 23. It is one of the great true-life adventure stories, starting when Carstairs and his mates found themselves marooned on the island when 15,000 other allied soldiers were evacuated and many thousands more surrendered or were captured at the end of May, 1941. Carstairs and his comrades of the 2/7 Battalion, a unit raised in Victoria, had with New Zealander Maori troops fought a savage rearguard battle against advancing German troops to give other units the chance of making it to a beach to be evacuated by British ships. But when they finally reached the beach after "a five-mile climb down a 2000ft goat track" they found their way blocked by "a teeming horde of leaderless troops". Grey ships sat at anchor offshore, with "a milling mass of yelling humanity rushing any small boats trying to ferry out". Carstairs and the remnants of the 2/7 were too late. At 3am, the ships pulled out to sea, and did not return. Carstairs and three mates Sergeant Lloyd "Barbed Wire Bob" Walker, of Briagalong, Gippsland, Corporal Dick Watkins, of Tamleugh, near Violet Town, and Private Sid Joiner, a fisherman from Marlo in Gippsland decided to take their chances by escaping into the hills and "hiding, moving on, hiding, moving on again". Over the next five months, this little band and other Australians, New Zealanders and Britons crept around Crete's high mountains and deep valleys, often starving, often evading capture by no more than the skin of their teeth. In late November of 1941, Carstairs finally led more than 80 fugitives on a perilous, three-day journey across fierce mountains and a German-occupied plain to a beach where secret agents had arranged for a British frigate to evacuate them. We wouldn't know much of the detail, regularly thrilling, if James Carstairs did not maintain his diary tight little notes and quite beautiful sketches and maps on the back of cigarette packs. And we would not know of the diary if Carstairs had not left it in the care of a very brave member of the Cretan Resistance who hid it in his village home, plastering it into a wall, until World War II was done. Evangelos Vandoulakis, named by Carstairs in his diary as Vi, had arranged to keep the Australians fed and safe for the three months they lived in the hills near his village of Vafes. This was heroic other villagers, understandably afraid of reprisals from the Germans, wanted the fugitive Australians gone. Ever reliable, "Vi" dug the diary out of his wall and sent it to Carstairs in Australia after the war. Carstairs eventually reconstructed it into a memoir and gave a copy to the RSL in Collins Street, Melbourne, where it was discovered a couple of years ago by New Zealand historian Ian Fraser and a Canberra journalist, Mike Sweet. They worked with the Historical Museum of Crete to edit it. And a 75-year circle was joined. When he met his Bendigo-based future wife he transferred to Kyneton where he developed an interest in antiques, a hobby big in the area but rarely associated with burly coppers. It would be a skill he would incorporate in his undercover stint, but more of that later. Transferred to the vice squad he was used to infiltrate gay bath-houses allegedly employing under-age male prostitutes. His cover was decidedly flimsy as he wandered about naked except for a small towel trying to gather evidence. After two years as a Sunshine detective he moved to the prestigious NCA to work on national organised crime targets. He was seen as a rising star with one officer describing him as "energetic, reliable, competent, trustworthy and loyal". He had a big future until he went undercover. It was 1989 when he volunteered with another Victorian detective to take on the dangerous deep intelligence operation. It was at a time when the Mildura Mafia was emerging as a major crime group, dominating marijuana production, buying into local businesses and establishing an Australia-wide money-laundering network. It was hardly a secret with local grape growers managing to become property moguls, restaurant owners and nightclub proprietors, while others struggled to make a living. The Mildura antique shop used in a police undercover investigation into the local Mafia. One such fellow built a 100-square home and owned a couple of Mercedes. Not bad for a self-made battler aged 31. Steve says a massive hail storm in the 1970s that ruined local crops helped turn many growers towards the lucrative cannabis market. "There was a local saying, 'Why grow zucchinis for $7 a box when you can get $7000 for Italian wheat?' " It may have remained a dirty little local secret if not for the death of a little known insurance broker Giuseppe Arena murdered in 1988. The father of three was blasted from behind while taking out the rubbish at his Bayswater home a classic Italian organised-crime hit that remains unsolved. Known as the Friendly Godfather, he was mooted as the successor to the undisputed head of the Italian Honoured Society, Liborio Benvenuto, who had died six weeks earlier. When homicide detectives investigated Arena's financial status they found he was a prodigious money launderer for at least one Mildura crime family. And so the NCA planned to turn Steve into its own Donnie Brasco. In one way it was a real life experiment with Steve and his mate Chris: human guinea pigs. "Don't get me wrong, I wanted to do it. We thought it would be a real adventure," Steve says. "But we didn't know what we were doing. We were the test case." Giuseppe Arena, known as the Friendly Godfather, was murdered in an execution-style killing in 1988. In Melbourne Steve was a married policeman with a young son. But in Mildura he was an out of town playboy, intent on making friends and enjoying the good life. The 14-month mission ultimately put an intolerable strain on his marriage that led to divorce. The two police set up an antique shop in one of Mildura's main streets. It was a great cover as Steve could come and go on so-called buying trips while Chris, already handy on the tools, masqueraded as the furniture restorer. Steve says the cover worked so well "we sold furniture to some of the crooks' wives". As antique dealers with no children who lived together the rumours soon started that they were a same-sex couple. That stopped when Steve hit the clubs, chatting up local ladies and letting it be known he was supplementing his antique income with a side line in drugs. To help set up a cover story he "spotted" an advert for a BMW in The Age and made a production of buying the car for cash. Sure enough one of his targets went with him and saw the transaction through. It was a set-up police had placed the ad in the paper. This reporter unwittingly put a scare through the camp when we went to Mildura to sniff around the same crooks. "We thought you'd been tipped off about us so we had to lay low for a while." Undercover policing is based on the art of betrayal. You lie, you cheat and you pretend to be someone's friend to gain trust. It is a perfectly legitimate tactic but comes at a cost because the trouble is some crooks are likeable. They love their mothers and their children, they can be generous and funny, which became Steve's trap. He started to like some of them. "We went on holidays together, I went to their homes their mothers made me home-cooked meals," he says. Living the life of a party boy he eventually formed a serious relationship with a woman whose parents were local farmers of Italian descent. After his first marriage fell apart they married and had two children. That relationship formed on a lie also collapsed. Steve and Chris lived this double life for more than a year, gathering material on the main crooks in the town. Once they followed a target on country roads in the middle of the night at speeds of up to 160km/h with the lights off. The unmarked police car was driven by an SOG member wearing night vision goggles. "Now that was scary," says Steve. They were pulled out when the bosses feared their cover had been blown after their house was burgled and car stolen and burned out. "The job just turned sour. We still don't know if they cottoned on to us." They shut the antique store and disappeared. Later police raided the property of the man with the 100-square home and found marijuana growing between the vines. Eventually they seized the house as an asset of crime. His brother was ruined by a massive back tax bill. There are plenty of police who have liked particular crooks but there is no moral dilemma. If the crook is caught committing a crime he is locked up. The undercover has to battle a sense he is not so much working as a police officer but as a professional snitch, gathering information under a cloak of friendship. There are stories around the world of undercovers going rogue, swapping sides and starting to run with the crims. While some are natural actors, capable of taking on a role as if on the stage, others invest so heavily they struggle to return to normal policing. They miss the independence, the adrenaline and the action and find routine station policing oppressive. Undercovers have to be virtually reprogrammed to return to uniform. Johnny Depp in the film Donnie Brasco. In one way Steve simply forgot how to be a policeman and there was no one who could help him back. He says the job changed his personality. "I am more manipulative and calculating than I once was." Melbourne's Jalal brothers must wait a week to learn if they're to avoid punishment over their controversial AK-47 prank, in which they used a weapon-shaped hookah pipe in a hoax drive-by shooting. Max, 20, and Arman Jalal, 18, and their 16-year-old co-accused, who cannot be named, were in February charged by police after an online video showed a man and a young girl apparently fleeing in terror when one of the brothers, dressed in a white robe, pointed a fake assault rifle at them from a car outside shops in Epping. The gold gun was actually a hookah pipe imported from Canada, Melbourne Magistrates Court heard on Friday. Underworld figure Mick Gatto has appeared in court for the first time since he was acquitted of murder over the killing of infamous hitman Benji Veniamin more than a decade ago, this time charged with firearms offences. Mr Gatto, 60, appeared only briefly to hear his case would be adjourned until mid-July, leaving the Magistrates Court in a black-and-silver Rolls-Royce Ghost. The former Carlton Crew boss has been charged with possessing an unregistered firearm and possessing a firearm and ammunition without a licence. Fairfax Media understands Mr Gatto plans to claim the shotgun was kept for his personal protection following a string of planned assassination attempts on him in recent years. A one-year trial to record audio from City of Swan council meetings was scuttled earlier this month by a deciding vote from Mayor Mick Wainwright. Local councils surrounding City of Swan including Mundaring, Kalamunda and Bassendean all record council meetings and make audio available to the public. Some local Governments, including the City of Bunbury, go a step further and allow live steaming of council meetings, as does State Government through the Parliamentary website. The City of Swan has refused a move to record council meetings Credit:Rashelle Predovnik The motion, put forward by Councillor Adam Kovalevs, was to record council meetings for one year and make those recordings available via city libraries. The City previously recorded council meetings during the 1990s, and a move to reinstate recordings was previously turned down in 2014. Oshin Kiszko's mother Angela says she wants him to have peace, love and fun times while he is still physically able to. Credit:Elle Borgward One Australian mother reading the coverage told WAtoday her son, treated for medulloblastoma at age five and now an adult, had had an exceptionally 'troubled and difficult' life. She told WAtoday his disabilities were so marked she sometimes had the heartbreaking thought that perhaps death might have been preferable to this burden, for him and his family. Isabella Darch wrote of her heartbreak over son Bede's ongoing health battles. Credit:Team Bede Other parents felt judged for choosing treatment, despite this practice being so normative it is not usually seen as a choice at all. "We didn't really 'choose'," said the mother of a nine-year-old girl with medulloblastoma, who recently underwent 18 months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. "We didn't think about it really, just said 'do what you need to do to save her'." Their daughter lost the ability to walk, talk and swallow following her surgery but is now back at school, has re-learnt those skills and is dealing with "ups and downs". Anxious times lie ahead, with scans every quarter for the first year, then biannually next year, then annually thereafter. "She hated treatment ... their immune system has to improve enough to take more therapy between each round and sometimes her bone marrow took a long time to recover," her mother said. "It was awful seeing her so unwell but we knew if we didn't do it we wouldn't have her. "We will deal with the longer term effects. "The oncology team ... were fantastic, really good." Recently, Perth woman Isabella Darch wrote publicly about her toddler Bede, diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour at four months, and given weeks to live. Bede has beat the odds and survived intense chemotherapy but cannot talk or see and requires continuous care. After doctors said recently that once again, his cancer was progressing, his mother laid her emotions bare in a blog post. "My heart is raw. Because the truth is I want my son to die. I'm tired. He is tired. I want peace for him, rest," Ms Darch wrote. "But I instantly hate myself because I know then that is all there will be ... we go on trying to be present, trying to soak in every single moment, utterly mindful of how precious each one is while we spend sunny Saturday afternoons choosing toddler-sized coffins that would never, could never hold all that our son is." Princess Margaret Hospital's past head of oncology Angela Alessandri last year walked away from the relentless role to join the University of Notre Dame, teaching clinicians who face such stories each day to look after their own wellbeing. Associate Professor Alessandri foreshadowed forced treatment situations in Perth as early as 2011, in a journal article about treatment refusal in child oncology. She wrote that most conflicts were resolved in the unit but the increasing influence of natural therapy was a major concern. While oncologists were obliged to provide parents with full and complete outcome and side effect data, alternative practitioners could make unsubstantiated claims about cures without providing evidence or disclosing side effects. "It is hardly surprising that some parents find it difficult to commit their child to treatment with chemotherapy with its evidence-based outcome estimates and disclosed side effects profile," she wrote. "The tension between the paediatric oncologist's duty to protect the best medical interests of the child and the need to maintain a working relationship... can be overwhelming." Research showed most child oncologists would seek to override parental refusal if chances of cure were high, but if it were just a 20 per cent chance the burden-benefit balance shifted, she wrote. While for clinicians the the thought of a predetermined "threshold of therapeutic success" above which treatment should be pursued at all costs, and below which parents should choose, was at times attractive; but such a concept oversimplified a child's "best interests" and disregarded emotional and developmental contexts. This left the thorny question of when involving courts was justified. Dr Alessandri wrote that "best interests" was a laden concept and it could be more helpful to use the "harm principle", in which intervention should occur if parents' decisions were to cause significant harm. The "Diekema list", which proposes eight conditions that must be met to justify state interference, says there must be a therapy proven effective in averting such harm. The application of the harm principle is at its most complex in the context of a child with a life-threatening or "life-limiting'" condition, prominent Melbourne bioethicist Lynn Gillam has written. Loading Police are investigating whether there is a connection between a series of tyre-slashing incidents in Scarborough and Fremantle. Scarborough police made an appeal on Friday for information regarding a number of tyres that were vandalised on April 26. Police are probing whether there is a connection between tyre slashing incidents in Fremantle and Scarborough Credit:Facebook It is understood about 8.30pm a man punctured the front tyre of a car on Sackville Terrace. His actions were caught on CCTV. Police said it was believed he may have been responsible for damage to four other vehicles nearby on the same night. A second incident of dog baiting has occurred when poisoned meat was thrown into a backyard in Morley. The owners of belgian shepherd Molly told Nine News that sausages filled with rat poison were thrown into their backyard for the second time this month. Suffering from some bleeding, Molly was brought to a Malaga vet where she was tested and treated. Molly now has to take two tablets a day, with her vet bills totalling $2500. London: Australia's High Commissioner to Britain Alexander Downer says Australians should be able to travel more freely to the United Kingdom, in comments that will be interpreted as veiled support for those campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union. Mr Downer appeared on Sky News in the UK to criticise the British government's rule to deport non-EU migrants earning less than 35,000 ($A70,550) per year, a measure aimed at reducing the flow of migrants to the UK. The British government also forces Australians living in Britain to reapply for visas from Australia instead of in Britain. It has also started charging Australians and New Zealanders the Immigration Health Surcharge, which is a 200 ($A403) fee for those who spend more than six months in the country. London: Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has hailed Britain's move to follow Australia's pioneering move to stare down the "merchants of death" and force tobacco companies to sell their products in ugly plain packages. The United Kingdom officially joined Australia in introducing plain packaging on Friday, local time in a move that ended a week of major setbacks for Big Tobacco following legal losses in The Hague and the UK's High Court. "They wouldn't have launched their case if they thought our measures would be ineffective": Kevin Rudd. Credit:Fairfax Media France and Ireland have also agreed to introduce plain packaging laws. Mr Rudd's Labor government became the first country to legislate plain packaging in December 2012. The expat community in Bali is in mourning after a retired Australian engineer who was allegedly viciously attacked twice in his Bali villa died overnight. Neil John Bourke, known as John, was in a coma with severe head injuries after he was found bleeding on his living room floor in his villa in Gunung Salak in Kerobokan on May 11 in mysterious circumstances. It was the second time Neil Bourke has been attacked in 11 days according to friends. Credit:Facebook The disturbing incident - which has shocked and unsettled the expat and Gereja Kristus Yesus church communities - was the second time Mr Bourke has been attacked in 11 days according to friends. Police - who were waiting for Mr Bourke to recover so they could interview him - were treating the case as an assault but said there was no sign of a break-in. Baghdad: Iraq's military imposed a curfew across Baghdad on Friday after security forces used tear gas and water cannons against protesters storming the fortified Green Zone as political tensions reignited. The order, announced on Iraqi state TV, said a curfew would be in force "until further notice". An wounded protester is taken away for treatment outside Baghdad's highly fortified Green Zone on Friday. Credit:Karim Kadim/AP The move sharply underscored the deepening political battles in the capital between the Western-backed government and opponents claiming widespread corruption and failures to stabilise the country. Footage aired on Iraqi television showed tear gas canisters being shot over the concrete blast walls that ring the secured area of central Baghdad, home to parliament and foreign embassies. News network CNN has identified the pilots as Mohamed Said Shoukair, the captain, and Mohamed Mamdouh Ahmed Assem, the first officer. The two pilots who were flying EgyptAir flight MS804 before it disappeared on Thursday have been named. The network cited an official close to the investigation and a security official as their sources. Mirvat Zaharia Zaki Mohamed was reported as the head flight attendant. Sixty-six people were on board the Airbus A320 when it disappeared on a flight between Paris and Cairo in the early hours of Thursday morning. The 56 passengers, from 12 countries, included three small children. Thirty of the passengers were from Egypt, 15 were from France, two were from Iraq, and one passenger each was from Canada, Chad, Kuwait, Sudan, Portugal, Belgium, Algeria and Saudi Arabia. One of the those on board was an Australian-British dual national. Of the 10 crew members on the flight, three were security officers, two were the pilots and five were flight attendants. Indonesia's chief security minister says he will show the ambassadors of four countries - including Australia - solid evidence against teachers and cleaners accused of sexual abuse at a prestigious international school. Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman and Indonesian teacher's aide Ferdinant Tjiong had their prison sentences for sodomy at the Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS) reinstated by the Supreme Court on appeal in February this year. Indonesian teacher's aide Ferdinant Tjiong and Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman had their prison sentences for sodomy at the Jakarta Intercultural School reinstated by the Supreme Court on appeal in February this year. Credit:Michael Bachelard The shock decision attracted international ire because it was at odds with that made by the Jakarta High Court, which acquitted the men in 2015. Chief Security Minister Luhut Panjaitan said he had asked the Jakarta Police to brief him on the case after ambassadors had complained. New York: Oklahoma has passed a law that would effectively ban abortions by subjecting doctors who perform them to felony charges and revoking their medical licences, the first legislation of its kind. In a year in which states have tried to outlaw abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy, to ban the main surgical method used in the second trimester and to shut down abortion clinics with onerous regulations, Oklahoma's bill is the most far-reaching. Sandy Springer of Edmond, Oklahoma, stands with other members of anti-abortion group Bound 4 Life at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City in March. Credit:AP The measure, which passed the Republican-dominated Senate by a vote of 33-12, will be presented to Governor Mary Fallin, a Republican, who will have five days to sign it, veto it or allow it to take effect without her signature. Bangkok: Inspired by the Philippines' tough-talking president-elect Rodrigo Duterte, the mayor of one of the country's largest cities is offering a bounty for each criminal killed. Tomas Osmena, mayor of central Cebu City, declared he does not care if the bounty encourages vigilantism in the island-nation where crime has doubled in recent years. "I will not compromise the safety of my people. I will defend them. I don't care who gets in the way," Mr Osmena said after paying the equivalent of US$1080 ($1490) to a policeman who shot and wounded two alleged fleeing robbers. Abuja: A second girl who was among more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by militant Islamist group Boko Haram has been rescued, according to a spokesman for the Nigerian army. The girls were taken from their school in the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok more than two years ago, igniting global outrage. Army spokesman Sani Usman "confirmed the rescue of another Chibok girl this evening", a Nigerian government agency said on Thursday, adding that more details would be provided later. Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki, the first girl to be rescued, was found by soldiers working with a vigilante group on Tuesday near Damboa, south of Maiduguri in the remote north-east where Boko Haram has waged a seven-year insurgency to set up an Islamic state. Ankara: Turkey's ruling AK Party has won initial support in parliament for a constitutional change that could see pro-Kurdish and other MPs prosecuted, but failed to secure a strong enough majority for now to avoid a referendum on the issue. The move came as Transport Minister Binali Yildirim, a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was announced as the AKP's only candidate for the prime minister's job. The rise of Mr Yildirim would remove one of the biggest obstacles to shifting Turkey away from a parliamentary system of government and towards an all-powerful presidency, and comes after the resignation of Mr Erdogan's rival AKP heavyweight, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Geneva: Tests have shown that an outbreak of Zika virus on the African island chain of Cape Verde is of the same strain as the one blamed for birth abnormalities in Brazil, the World Health Organisation says. "The findings are of concern because it is further proof that the outbreak is spreading beyond South America and is on the doorstep of Africa," said WHO's Africa director Matshidiso Moeti on Friday. "This information will help African countries to re-evaluate their level of risk and adapt and increase their levels of preparedness." We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page. AAA: More Than 38 Million Americans Expected to Travel This Memorial Day Weekend Memorial Day Memorial Day Memorial Day Thursday, May 26 Monday, May 30, 2016 ORLANDO, FL - May 19, 2016: AAA projects more than 38 million Americans will travel thisweekend. That is the second-highesttravel volume on record and the most since 2005. Spurred by the lowest gas prices in more than a decade, about 700,000 more people will travel compared to last year. Theholiday travel period is defined asto "Americans are eagerly awaiting the start of summer and are ready to travel in numbers not seen in more than a decade," said Marshall Doney, AAA President and CEO. "The great American road trip is officially back thanks to low gas prices, and millions of people from coast to coast are ready to kick off summer with a Memorial Day getaway." AAA estimates that Americans have saved $18 billion on gas so far this year compared to the same period in 2015, and prices are at the lowest levels in 11 years. The strong labor market and rising personal income are also motivating people to travel for Memorial Day this year. Low gas prices driving increase in auto travel this Memorial Day Nearly 34 million (89 percent) holiday travelers will drive to their Memorial Day destinations, an increase of 2.1 percent over last year as a result of lower gas prices. Air travel is expected to increase 1.6 percent over last year, with 2.6 million Americans taking to the skies this Memorial Day. Travel by other modes of transportation, including cruises, trains and buses, will fall 2.3 percent, to 1.6 million travelers. Lowest Memorial Day gas prices in 11 years expected The national average price for a gallon of gasoline today is $2.26, 45 cents less than last year. AAA expects most U.S. drivers will pay the lowest Memorial Day gas prices since 2005. According to a recent AAA survey, 55 percent of Americans say they are more likely to take a road trip this year due to lower gas prices. Airfares, hotel and car rental rates According to AAA's Leisure Travel Index, average airfares for the top 40 domestic flight routes will be 26 percent cheaper this Memorial Day, with an average roundtrip ticket costing $165. Hotel costs are in line with last Memorial Day. AAA Three Diamond Rated hotels will average $183, while a AAA Two Diamond Rated hotel will average $151 nightly. Daily car rental rates will average $62, three percent less than last year. AAA to rescue more than 350,000 motorists this Memorial Day AAA expects to rescue more than 350,000 motorists during the Memorial Day holiday travel period, with the primary reasons being dead batteries, lockouts and flat tires. AAA recommends motorists check the condition of their battery and tires before heading out on a road trip. Also, have vehicles inspected by a trusted repair shop, such as one of the nearly 7,000 AAA Approved Auto Repair facilities across North America. Members can download the AAA Mobile app, visit AAA.com or call 1-800-AAA-HELP to request roadside assistance. Memorial Day travelers heading to warm weather destinations & cities Many Memorial Day travelers will head to warm weather destinations and historic American cities to kick off their summer travels. The top destinations this Memorial Day weekend, based on AAA.com and AAA travel agency sales, are: Orlando Myrtle Beach Washington, D.C. New York Miami San Francisco Boston Honolulu Los Angeles South Padre Island AAA's projections are based on economic forecasting and research by IHS Global Insight. The Colorado-based business information provider teamed with AAA in 2009 to jointly analyze travel trends during major holidays. AAA has been reporting on holiday travel trends for more than two decades. The complete AAA/IHS Global Insight 2016 Memorial Day holiday travel forecast can be found here. 2016 Infiniti Q70L 5.6 AWD Review by Carey Russ +VIDEO Quick, Composed, and Connected DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD WITH CAREY RUSS SEE ALSO: Infiniti Research and Buyers Guide Infiniti, Nissan's premium brand, debuted with the Q45 sedan for model year 1990, with an advertising campaign that was memorable for showing nearly everything except the car. It made an impression with its combination of advanced engineering, unique styling, luxury appointment, and performance. A second generation debuted for 1997, smaller and simpler, in keeping with parent Nissan's fading fortunes at that time. Nissan came back, in a big way, in the early 00s, and the third-generation 2002 Q45 seemed a perfect symbol of that resurgence. As it turned out, Infiniti's rebirth was led more by the smaller G35 sedan and coupe than the Q. The midsize M sedan also helped. The Q faded from sight. Until model year 2014, when all Infinitis were branded "Q". Plain Q plus a number for sedans and coupes, and QX for crossovers. The current line-topping Q70 was previously known as M -- but in premium long-wheelbase Q70L form, introduced for 2015, it is longer than any "real" Q by a few inches on a much-longer 120.1-inch wheelbase. The standard Q70's wheelbase is 114.2. So if the 2016 Infinti Q70L is not officially the newest Q, it is an appropriate successor to the title. Power is from either a 3.7-liter, 330-horsepower V6 that bests the V8s of the original and second-generation Q and is close the third generation's 340 hp, or from a direct-injected 416-horsepower 5.6-liter V8. A seven-speed automatic is the only transmission. Rear-wheel drive is the standard configuration, with all-wheel drive available for both powertrains. Technology, engineering, and style are Infiniti hallmarks, and fittingly the Q70L is a fine example of those characteristics. Based on the Front Mid-ship (FM) platform, the Q70L's engine is placed further back than usual today, for better balance. A well-engineered unibody structure that uses lightweight materials keeps mass down, all the better for road manners, performance, and economy. There is plenty of interest and innovation in the engine compartment as well, including multiple driving modes. All of the current electronic safety technology is either standard or available, plus some Infiniti exclusives like the Around View Monitor system of multiple video cameras that provides a 360-degree view of surroundings and alerts the driver to moving objects in some situations. And of course quality leather, real wood, and all of the expected conveniences grace the spacious interior. I've just finished a week with a 2016 Q70L outfitted with the Deluxe Technology Package of collision detection, warning, and mitigation systems and upgraded interior materials. Quick, composed, and connected, it was an experience in first-class luxury plus healthy performance. No surprise, as that has been the mission of the premium Infiniti since the brand's inception. APPEARANCE: Stretching the wheelbase of a sedan often results in an ungainly appearance, with poorly-matched proportions. Not here. It's hard to tell that the L is a long-wheelbase car, as its "longer, lower, wider" proportions are more graceful than those of its regular-wheelbase Q70 siblings thanks to the careful stretch in the passenger cabin. It's all taut, muscular curves, with strategically-placed creases and lines. The boxes of the Q70L's three-box sedan shape are there, but without boxiness. There is plenty of chrome trim, but in the European manner, highlighting shapes of the grille, headlights, foglamps, side windows, and rear panel. Exterior lights are all LED, including in the door handle pockets. COMFORT: Premium luxury is expected, and found, especially with the Deluxe Technology Package. With which you sit on analine leather, with the front seats both heated and cooled and outboard rears heated. The steering wheel rim is also heated, and auxiliary controls for audio, phone, and cruise systems are found on the spokes. Locking and unlocking are by touch, with pushbutton start/stop. If it can be power-adjustable, it is. The wood trim is Japanese ash. Suede-like material is used for the headliner, with soft-touch touch points. And stitching everywhere. Infiniti's "Fine Vision" electroluminescent instruments are easy to read in all lighting. Front seat comfort is up to class standards; rear passengers, especially outboard, get first-class accommodation as well. The screen in the center of the dash is the electronic control center. Well-marked buttons and a useful knob make all systems simple to use, with minimal learning curves. Audio choices are all current, including CD. And yes, there is still an analog clock, here just under the info screen. Interior storage is, as in many luxury sedans, basic, highlighted by a medium-sized locking glovebox and console box. The trunk is large and a space-saver spare is underneath its floor. SAFETY: The Q70L meets or exceeds all Federal safety standards, and has the airbags, crumple zones, and other protection to do so. It can be equipped with electronic systems including Backup Collision Intervention, Predictive Forward Collision Warning, Blind Spot Warning and Blind Spot Intervention, Lane Departure Warning and Prevention, Intelligent Cruise Control, Distance Control Assist, Intelligent Brake Assist with Forward Collision Warning, and Forward Emergency Braking. Most useful is the Around View system, which uses cameras mounted in the grille, above the rear license plate, and on the undersides of the outside mirrors to construct a view of the area around the car. It's most useful when moving slowly into an area of poor lighting. RIDE AND HANDLING: A solid, rigid unibody structure allows for a well-designed and properly-calibrated suspension. Which uses double wishbones in front and a multi-link system in the rear for both rear- and all-wheel drive versions. It's tuned moderately firmly, sportier than luxury and more luxury than sport, but just fine for everyday use on real roads and quite capable of spirited driving. The Intelligent All-Wheel Drive system automatically varies the front-rear torque split from full rear to 50/50 depending on conditions. The Active Trace Control system, part of the Deluxe Technology Package, adjusts engine torque and braking at each wheel to optimize cornering ability. The Performance Tire and Wheel Package replaces the standard 18-inch alloy wheels with 20s, shod with all-season performance tires, and replaces the standard brakes with larger vented discs with four-piston front and twin-piston rear calipers, a good performance and safety upgrade. PERFORMANCE: Some luxury automakers are replacing their V8s with smaller forced-induction engines. That works, but there is something to be said for V8 power. And sound when using that power. Here, the V8 displaces 5.6 liters (341 cubic inches) and is of contemporary design and construction with aluminum alloy block and heads, dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, and Infiniti's Variable Valve Event & Lift (VVEL) system which hydraulically controls cam phasing and electronically controls intake valve lift to improve performance, efficiency, and response to throttle inputs. Maximum horsepower is 416 at 6000 rpm; maximum torque is 414 lb-ft at 4400 rpm, with plenty much lower. No turbo, broad torque curve, no waiting, ever. Direct fuel injection also improves both power and efficiency. The only transmission for the Q70 line is a seven-speed automatic, no worries there as it shifts quickly and even matches revs on manual-mode downshifts. There are multiple drive modes. Normal is best most of the time, with Sport being better for play, as it sharpens throttle response and Active Trace Control settings. Eco is best for steady-speed highway cruising and slow traffic. Snow is self-explanatory. With a bit more highway driving than is usual for me I got 19 mpg for the week. EPA estimates are 16 mpg city and 21 highway. CONCLUSIONS: The 2016 Infiniti Q70L is quick, composed, and connected. SPECIFICATIONS 2016 Infiniti Q70L 5.6 AWD Base Price $ 67,050 Price As Tested $ 76,770 Engine Type aluminum alloy DOHC 32-valve V8 with VVEL variable valve event and lift system and direct fuel injection Engine Size 5.6 liters / 341 cu. in. Horsepower 416 @ 6000 rpm Torque (lb-ft) 414 @ 4400 rpm Transmission 7-speed automatic Wheelbase / Length 120.1 in. / 202.0 in. Curb Weight 4345 lbs. Pounds Per Horsepower 10.4 Fuel Capacity 20.0 gal. Fuel Requirement 91 octane unleaded premium gasoline Tires 245/40R20 95V Bridgestone Potenza RE97 AS m+s Brakes, front/rear vented disc all around, ABS, EBD, BA standard Suspension, front/rear independent double wishbone / independent multilink Drivetrain longitudinal front engine, full-time all-wheel drive PERFORMANCE EPA Fuel Economy - miles per gallon city / highway / observed 16 / 23 / 19 0 to 60 mph 4.8 sec OPTIONS AND CHARGES Deluxe Technology Package -- includes: Backup Collision Intervention, Predictive Forward Collision Warning, Blind Spot Warning and Blind Spot Intervention, Lane Departure Warning and Prevention, Intelligent Cruise Control, Distance Control Assist, Intelligent Brake Assist with Forward Collision Warning, Forward Emergency Braking, Front Pre-Crash Seat Belts, Active Trace Control, Eco Pedal, Adaptive Front Lighting System, Japanese White Ash Wood Trim with Silver Powder Accents, Semi-Analine Leather-Appointed Seating, Bose Surround Sound 16-Speaker Audio System, Suede-Like Headliner, Soft Double-Stitched Meter Hood, Power Rear Sunshade $ 7200 Illuminated Kick Plates $ 465 Performance Wheel and Tire Package -- includes: 20-inch Aluminum Alloy Wheels with all-season tires, Sport Brakes with 4-piston front and 2-piston rear calipers $ 1,150 Destination Charge $ 905 The Most Helpful Infiniti Research Information; Anywhere! Baleno - Suzuki's All New Hatchback For A New Era All-new Baleno hatchback model on sale in the UK from 1 June 2016. New 1.0-litre three cylinder engine second application of Suzukis new Boosterjet technology. 111PS Direct Injection Turbo-charged engine (DITC) offers a wide spread of torque. available from just 2,000rpm with CO2 emissions of 105g/km for manual transmission model. Launch of Suzukis first mild hybrid system - four cylinder 1.2-litre SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki) offering latest mild hybrid and Dualjet technology with CO2 emissions of 94g/km. EC Combined fuel consumption of 64.2mpg for Boosterjet model with manual transmssion, 70.6mpg for SHVS model. Six airbags, Satellite Navigation, Bluetooth, air conditioning and DAB Radio fitted as standard on all models. Radar Brake Support and Adaptive Cruise Control fitted as standard to SZ5 grade. Priced from 12,999 for SZ-T 1.0-Litre Boosterjet and 13,499 for SZ5 1.2-litre SHVS version.M LONDON - May 20, 2016: Suzuki is well known globally for its expertise in small cars and the new Baleno hatchback is its latest example. Since launching its first car in 1955, the Suzulight, Suzuki has produced a vast range of significant models each tailored to the needs of its time. A larger car than Swift at 3.99 metres long, Baleno offers a more rational choice for buyers looking for extra interior space and larger boot capacity but may not be looking to move up in size to a Vitara or S-Cross. Baleno offers the best tandem distance in its class which is the measurement taken between the front and rear seats. The Baleno is produced in India where Suzuki has a long established reputation and a major presence for more than 30 years. In 2015, 1.3 million cars were manufactured in Suzukis two Indian plants and the current share for the passenger vehicle market is a very impressive 48 per cent (April 2016). Specification Highlights Standard equipment for all Baleno models in the range is comprehensive and the SZ-T model (Available with 1.0-litre Boosterjet) includes six airbags, 16-inch alloy wheels, HID headlights, air conditioning, satellite navigation, DAB Radio with USB and Bluetooth connectivity, rear privacy glass, cruise control with speed limiter and front electric windows. SZ5 (Boosterjet and SHVS model) adds automatic climate control, rear electric windows, 4.2 inch central colour trip display, LED rear lights, Adaptive Cruise Control and Radar Brake Support. Pricing for the Baleno range is as follows: SZ-T 1.0-litre Boosterjet M/T 12,999 SZ5 1.0-litre Boosterjet M/T 13,999 SZ5 1.0-litre Boosterjet A/T 15,349 SZ5 1.2litre SHVS M/T 13,499 With the increasing popularity of Personal Contract Purchase to new car buyers, the new Baleno is available from launch with an attractive PCP offer. Taking the SZ-T model as an example, the offer comprises of a Nil customer deposit, 1,000 deposit contribution from Suzuki followed by 48 monthly payments of 199. Payments can also be reduced to just 159 over the same period if a deposit of 1,679 is made. As is normal with a PCP arrangement, a final payment is required to keep the car and the APR is 5.9 per cent. Boosterjet Engine After the debut of Boosterjet in the Vitara S in January 2016, the engine technology continues for the Baleno model with an all new 1.0-litre three cylinder version. Offering the same level of power and torque of a much larger capacity normally aspirated engine (1.8-litre), it delivers an effortless drive and genuine driving pleasure. This unit has an output of 111PS and is also Direct Injection turbocharged (DITC). The new engine has very compact dimensions and offers 170Nm of torque available from 2,000rpm through to 3,5000rpm. The optional six speed automatic transmission equipped model offers 160Nm of torque and is available slightly earlier at just 1,500rpm through to 4,000rpm. Boosterjet technology is developed by Suzuki and is characterised by improved fuel efficiency and driving pleasure made possible by using a small displacement, high torque turbocharger. Historically, power and torque delivery from a turbo-charged engine would not have been available until much higher engine speeds, offering less flexibility to the driver. The 1.0-litre engine offers strong benefits in performance too with 0-62mph acceleration time of 11.4 seconds with manual transmission and 11.0 seconds for the optional automatic model. 1.2-litre Dualjet with SHVS Suzuki first introduced its Dualjet technlogy in 2014, initially in the 1.2-litre Swift (K12C) and then more recently in the 1.0-litre Celerio (K10C). This technology is now utilised for the four cylinder 1.2-litre Baleno and includes the addition of SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki). The SHVS mild hybrid system is a compact and lightweight system that incorporates an Integrated Starter Generator (known as ISG) which acts as both a generator and starter motor, the ISG is belt driven and assists the engine during vehicle take off and acceleration and also generates electricity through regenerative braking. The system also uses a compact lithium-ion battery placed under the front passenger seat to store energy and incorporates an idle stop function operated via the Integrated Start Generator. The SHVS system only uses its conventional engine starter motor when first started from cold, under all other conditions it uses the higher voltage ISG unit to allow smooth and quiet engine restarts. In the new Baleno the SHVS system helps Suzuki reach a top class CO2 emissions figure of 94g/kmplus achieve a fuel consumption figure of 70.6mpg on the EC combined cycle. New Platform Strategy Under the SUZUKI NEXT 100 plan announced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2015, Suzuki has developed a new platform strategy for its future models and the Baleno is the first with this new generation platform to be introduced in Europe. The lightweight highly rigid body structure has been achieved by extensive use of 980MPa and 780MPa High Tensile steel sheeting. The body frame has smooth curving lines with fewer joints that enable reductions in required reinforcements. This structure is not only lighter but disperses collision force energy more efficiently and improves overall crash safety. As a result of this development, Baleno is the most aerodynamically efficient Suzuki to date with a Cd figure of just 0.299. Active safety equipment The Balenos active safety equipment includes a Radar Brake Support (RBS) system on SZ5 models. When travelling above approximately 3mph and the system detects a risk of collision with the vehicle in front, it warns the driver to apply the brakes. At higher speeds and if it senses the possibility of a collision, it warns the driver with a buzzer and also via a notification on the multi information display. The RBS system fitted as standard on the SZ5 model monitors the road ahead by means of milliwave radar. The radar technology enables it to work even at high speeds, in darkness, and in rain or other bad weather. The system prevents or mitigates a collision by means of three functions which are Warning, Brake Asssist and Automatic Braking. Display audio system with navigation and smartphone connectivity The audio system for both SZ-T and SZ5 models has a Smartphone Linkage Display Audio (SLDA) with a large seven inch touch panel display that enables intuitive operation and can also be used when wearing gloves. A three dimensional navigation map makes landmarks easy to distinguish and the system also allows the driver to use certain smartphone applications with MirrorLink and Apple CarPlay connection. Apple CarPlay is the smarter and safer way to use iPhone in the Baleno. Apart from making calls it also facilitates receiving directions for optimised traffic conditions, listening to music, accessing email, text messages and more. Auto Lab Live 8-10 AM (EDT) May 21, 2016; Car Question, Comment or Concern? Free Call 888-692-7234 May 21, 2016; Car Question or Concern? Call Toll Free 888-692-7234 Auto Lab is a 27 year old interactive automotive-focused New York area radio call-in show hosted by Professor Harold Wolchok. Each week a cadre of experienced hands-on automotive experts are in-studio with advice for the New York area's 12 million people, providing listeners with honest, practical and street-smart car repair and buying advice. Auto Lab is also about the automotive industry, its history, and its culture, presenting the ideas and advice of leading college faculty, authors, and automotive practitioners in a relaxed, conversational interactive format. AUTO LAB LIVE 8 to 9 am on WMCA Radio Listen Live on WMCA Radio 9 to 10 am on WNYM Radio Listen Live on WNYM Radio New programs air Saturday mornings. After listening to the first hour on WMCA, you will need to close that window and click the link to listen to the second hour on WNYM. After listening to the first hour on WMCA, you will need to close that window and click the link to listen to the second hour on WNYM. Listeners can hear the past 18 years of archived Auto Lab shows as simulcast on www.theautochannel.com. Listen - Auto Lab Page (Includes Audio-on-Demand Archives, Auto Programs at Community College Database, Guests Pictures May 21, 2016 - Car Question? Straight Answers From These Auto Lab In-Studio Experts Harold Bendell- Major Auto Fred Bordoff-Bronx Community College, CUNY Tim Cacace-Master Mechanix David Goldsmith - Urban Classics Auto Repairs Joanne Porcelli, Esq Michael Porcelli - Central Avenue Auto Repairs & I-CAR Jose Ramirez - Ramirez and Sons AAA Auto Repair Nicholas Prague- MTA and Rockland Community College, SUNY May 21, 2016 - Correspondent Reports - Car Reviews, Opinion and Other Automotive News and Information Robert Erskine, Senior European Correspondent, Suffolk England MERCEDES STIFF NECK OVER HAIRSCARF HEADREST BAN Russ Rader, Vice President Insurance Institute for Highway Safety TRUCK UNDERIDE ROUNDTABLE ADDRESSES PROBLEMS OF DEADLY CRASHES Sharon Sudol & John Russell Senior Correspondents 2016 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER REVIEW Mr. Evan Schwartz, Principal-Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical High School , Bronx New York ALFRED E. SMITH CTE HIGH SCHOOL 4TH ANNUAL AUTO SHOW TODAY MAY 21, 2016 Chicago Clean Cities Fleets Reduce Petroleum Use by 25 Million Gallons in 2015 NAPERVILLE, Ill., May 19, 2016 The Chicago Area Clean Cities Coalition today announced that in 2015 its member fleets saved more than 25 million gasoline-gallon equivalents (GGEs) of petroleum and 225,000 tons of greenhouse-gas emissions. That is the equivalent of removing 3,000 tanker trucks of gasoline from roads, said Samantha Bingham, coordinator, Chicago Area Clean Cities (CACC). This is an example of the success that our coalitions member fleets are having by using alternative fuels, hybrids, and advanced technologies, which not only helps to save fuel, but also helps to reduce tailpipe emissions. Members of CACC include commercials fleets and municipalities throughout the six-county Chicago area. The coalition made its announcement of its 2015 fleet-fuel survey results today at its annual Green Drives Conference and Expo, at which nearly 250 attendees learned about steps they can take to make their fleets less reliant on petroleum, and be cleaner and more fuel efficient. Companies such as Coca-Cola and Peapod were featured at the conference as examples of companies that are going green with their delivery vehicles in the Chicago area. More than 40 environmentally friendly vehicles were showcased at the event, and two-dozen exhibitors featured their technologies for green transportation. The United States is 92 percent dependent on petroleum to transport our goods, services and people, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. In 2015, the U.S. imported 2.7 billion barrels of oil at a cost of $131 billion. All of these local actions add up, said John Walton, vice chairman of Chicago Area Clean Cities. The trend towards using more efficient vehicles and alternative fuels continues, despite gas prices being lower than their peak. Chicago Area Clean Cities is a voluntary coalition whose mission over the last 22 years has been to support local actions to improve the environmental performance and efficiency of public and private fleets in the six-county Chicago metro area. CACCs membership is comprised of federal, state and local governments, auto manufacturers, dealerships, fuel suppliers, conversion companies, environmental organizations, corporations, small businesses, and individuals. These stakeholders come together to share information and resources, educate the public, help craft public policy, and collaborate on projects that reduce petroleum use. Our coalitions stakeholders provide a community service by improving air quality and reducing our countrys dependence on imported petroleum, Bingham added. We are very grateful for their participation in the coalition and for their sustainability efforts. About Chicago Area Clean Cities Chicago Area Clean Cities is a nonprofit coalition focused on promoting cleaner energy for transportation and automotive fleets in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. CACC is one of more than 90 coalitions across the country that are affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energys Clean Cities program, which brings together stakeholders to increase the use of alternative fuel and advanced-vehicle technologies, reduce idling, and improve fuel economy and air quality. CACC concentrates its efforts on educating businesses and municipalities in the six-county Chicago area, including Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties. To become involved or learn more about the coalition visit www.ChicagoCleanCities.org. 2016 Nissan Titan XD Diesel Review By Steve Purdy 2015 NISSAN TITAN XD DIESEL Review By Steve Purdy The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau Another big truck graces my driveway this week a loaded Nissan Titan XD diesel. What a great truck - all dressed up and chomping at the bit for something to tow. Titan is a full-frame, U.S. designed and built, heavy-duty (or perhaps we should call it extra-duty) pickup trying to become a player in the lucrative U.S. full-size pickup market. This XD truck sprung from a full redesign of the Titan range that took place last year and offers the first diesel powertrain for the brand. Some of its heavy-duty components come from the NV commercial van. The XD diesel is more powerful than the V6 Ram but well short of the big diesels offered by Ford and GM heavy-duty pickups sort of a tweener, we could call it. I see some of our colleagues have called it that. Our test truck is the top-of-the-line XD Platinum Reserve Diesel 4WD Crew Cab showing a base price of $60,520. Throughout the Titan range the diesel powertrain costs just about $5,000 more than comparable gasoline versions. Impressive content is included for the price on this loaded one, including: 20-inch alloy and chrome wheels, a lush leather interior that would be at home in any luxury car, navigation system with all the connectivity youll want or need, bed liner and cargo management equipment, lighted bed, fixed rocker step, towing equipment including trailer sway control, two-speed transfer case, shift-on-the-fly 4WD system, premium Rockford Fosgate audio and plenty more. With a couple minor options our sticker shows just over $61,000. You can have the diesel powertrain in the lesser Titan trim levels as well. The entry level S model with gasoline V8 shows base price of $35,290 with gasoline power and diesel costing $40,290. Nissans California-based designers were not timid when working on this truck. The massive, chrome-laden grille and front details, including LED DRLs, make a bold statement that resembles, but does not purely imitate, the U. S. big pickups. A big Nissan badge in the grille leaves no doubt as to its heritage and the name Titan is emblazed across the top. Projector beam headlights peer out from the huge bezels. If we thought of this as jewelry wed have to call it a bit garish. But, this is a big, fancy truck and all that mass doesnt look out of place. The sculpted, bulging hood and protruding fenders along with a conventional truck profile balance well with big 20-inch wheels, lower body cladding and distinctive trim to confirm the trucks big, bold personality. Our tester is an unusual brown color with lots of grey cladding and just enough chrome to give it some panache. Large and shiny Cummins Turbo Diesel badges on each front fender catch our eye right away. Most impressive is the luxurious interior with two-tone leather seats and trim, lots of contrasting stitching, beautiful wood accents and massive amounts of space. A large, deep, functional console separates the generous front seats. Many knobs, buttons, lights and a medium-size mulit-function screen vie for space on the dash. While the expansive instrument panel rather is rather busy and complex, it doesnt take long to find your way around. I found the controls and information systems easily managed and had to go to the book for nothing. Impressive design, materials and workmanship suggest the new Titan brings it entirely up to date with other high-end haulers. The biggest news here is the turbo-diesel powertrain a Cummins 5.0-liter V8 making a good 310 horsepower and impressive 555 pound-feet of torque, mated to a sturdy six-speed automatic transmission and two-speed transfer case. While our friends at Edmunds recorded a tepid zero-to-60 mph time of 9.6 seconds it feels faster than that perhaps because of its size. Official fuel mileage ratings are not required in a truck this size but you can expect something around 20-mpg if youre driving like an old man, not hauling, towing or going very fast. We got close to 18 mpg in our week of mostly leisurely country driving. That impressive torque allows for a towing capacity of over 10,600 pounds and payload of about ton. The only rear-end ratio is a 3.92. If you like the engineering details of the diesel engine and the rest of the truck youll want to read our colleague Thom Cannells story: Titan Next Step For Nissan Truck Regular readers will know how much I like driving and reviewing big things and I loved driving this one. We step onto the fixed running board and climb up into the inviting cabin. We push the start button and it hesitates about two seconds (diesels usually have to take a deep breath before they start) then fires up and idles with that distinctive slow-tick diesel sound. We have to be conscious of the size of this thing easing out of our crooked driveway but it easy to manage when we continue to consider its size. Our drive of about 100 miles of rural two-lane gave us plenty of time to acclimate. The ride, of course, is firm, but fairly well controlled. It seems a bit more prone to rear-end jitter on gnarly surfaces than some other trucks weve reviewed, but is smooth, quiet and sophisticated on decent surfaces. We did not test the Titan with a load on. The Nissan new vehicle warranty covers the whole truck for 3 years or 36,000 miles and the powertrain for 5 yares or 100,000 miles. As these meaty pickups go ever upscale in detail and design, they continue to advance in capability as well. This top-of-the-line Titan is now the equal of anything in its class and the diesel powertrain makes for great hauling and towing. Steve Purdy, Shunpiker Productions, All Rights Reserved The Most Nissan Vehicle Research Information Anywhere! What: "Mission 26: ET Comes Home" still has over 16 miles left to go, through the streets of Los Angeles and Inglewood. ET-94 will be placed on dollies and pulled by a truck to its final destination near the California Science Center's Samuel Oschin Pavilion in a 18-20 hour journey on May 21, 2016. On the way, the external tank will cross over the 405 freeway, and pass landmarks like The Forum. "Mission 26: ET Comes Home" will come to an official end at the California Science Center, when ET-94 arrives at its future home. The journey will come to a ceremonial end in Exposition Park on Bill Robertson Lane with a photo opportunity as ET-94 crosses a paper chain finish line made by elementary school students at the on-site Alexander Science Center School. The photo opportunity will take place near the intersection of Exposition Park Drive/Bill Robertson Lane, in front of the Los Angeles Coliseum. The sidewalks will be available to all media for the photo opportunity, and for those wanting to view ET-94 before it turns into its future display location next to the California Science Center's Samuel Oschin Pavilion. The public will also have access to the sidewalk on Bill Robertson Lane and Exposition Park Drive. A restricted area for media only will be available across the intersection after 6:15 pm, soon before ET-94 is expected to enter Exposition Park. If you wish to have access to this area, you may show a business card or badge/ID card from your outlet. No credentials of any sort are required for the sidewalks. Media are also welcome to film on State Drive near the Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion, as ET-94 is placed onto the concrete pads and positioned for display. California Science Center spokespeople will be available in this area for interviews at the conclusion of the operation. Parking for satellite vans will not be available directly next to the Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion -- media parking on State Drive will not be possible past the back doors of the California Science Center, since the area near the pavilion will be used as a work zone. Instead satellite vehicle parking will be available on Exposition Park Drive. When: Saturday, May 21, 2016 Leave Marina - Approximately 12:01 am, May 21, 2016 Arbor Vitae between Inglewood Ave. and Rosewood Ave. - Approximately 8:00 to 9:30 am Manchester & Vermont - Approximately 2:30 to 4:00 pm Vermont & MLK - Approximately 6:30 to 8:00 pm Expo Park - Approximately 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm *Please note these are approximate timeframes when ET-94 may be passing by specific locations. All projected times are subject to change at any point on May 21, 2016, the day of the transport. Where: The route is as follows Marina Del Rey parking lot to Fiji Way parking lot to Fiji Way Fiji Way to Lincoln (PCH) (PCH) Lincoln to Mindanao Way to Mindanao Way Mindanao Way to CA-90 CA-90 to Culver Blvd Culver Blvd. to Lincoln via transition ramp via transition ramp Lincoln to Loyola Blvd to Loyola Blvd Loyola Blvd. to Westchester Pkwy Westchester Parkway turns into Arbor Vitae St. at Airport Blvd; Arbor Vitae St. to La Brea Ave La Brea Ave. to Manchester Blvd Manchester Blvd. to Vermont Ave Vermont Ave. to Martin Luther King Blvd Martin Luther King Blvd. to Exposition Park The conclusion will be in Exposition Park, Los Angeles Media are urged to enter the museum property from Figueroa and 39th St/ Exposition Park Drive, and park in the main parking structure, though satellite vans/trucks may park along Exposition Park Drive, along the curb next to the Coliseum. Much of State Drive will be taken up by work vehicles and cordoned off, and parking will not be available west of the back entrance of the Science Center. Who: California Science Center spokespeople, including President and CEO Jeffrey Rudolph, will be along the route, along with the following astronauts, who will rotate availability throughout the day: Daniel W. (Dan) Bursch Andrew J. (Drew) Feustel Edward Michael (Mike) Fincke Kenneth T. (Ken) Ham www.AstronautKenHam.com Kathryn P. (Kay) Hire Sandra H. (Sandy) Magnus John D. (Danny) Olivas www.AstronautDannyOlivas.com | @OMS117 Charles J. (Charlie) Precourt Garrett E. Reisman www.AstronautGarrettReisman.com | @astro_g_dogg Richard A. (Rick) Searfoss Steven R. (Steve) Swanson www.AstronautSteveSwanson.com General Info: Please visit www.californiasciencecenter.org for more information on "Mission 26:ET Comes Home." Authorities warn about rainbow fentanyl Victims often arent aware theyre taking it The Ventura County Office of Education and state health officials have issued a warning to schools and families about rainbow fentanyl, a form of the potentially fatal synthetic opioid that comes in bright colors. Rainbow fentanyl can be found in... Cancer support community to host remembrance event Cancer Support Community Valley/Ventura/Santa Barbara invites family members and friends of those who have died from cancer to attend the second annual Evening of Remembrance from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 3 at Cancer Support Communitys Garden of Hope,... Grant advances CSUCI research Cal State Channel Islands assistant professor of computer science Scott Feister and assistant professor of mathematics Alona Kryshchenko recently received $112,480 from the National Science Foundation to continue a grant to support their research project, Enhancing Laser Based Ion Sources... Healthcare agency recommends flu shots The Ventura County Health Care Agency offers options for the community to receive flu shots through its Ambulatory Care Clinic system, public health clinics and pop-up clinics. Although seasonal influenza viruses are detected year-round in the United States, they are... Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Traffic was rerouted along Highway 52 for five hours early this morning as police investigated a report of a suspicious package at Valeant Pharmaceuticals. Emergency crews arrived on the scene shortly before 1 a.m. The RCMPs explosive disposal unit was called in to examine a suspicious package which, police said in a release, was determined to be harmless, containing quality control electronic equipment. Blake Lively, creator of arguably one of our most tone-deaf failed celebrity lifestyle brands, is having a rough time at Cannes. The actresss French flirtation started out OK, when Lively appeared on the red carpet for her new movie, Woody Allens Caf e Society, doing what she does best: wearing a stunning, body-hugging gown, accessorized with a soft, wavy hairstyle and silver sandals. The dress framed Livelys barely-there baby bump, reminding us all that Blake Lively has been inseminated by her husband Ryan Reynolds not just once, but twice. Unfortunately, a curling iron doesnt do much in the way of drawing attention away from Livelys real problem areas: her total lack of sensitivity and penchant for unsavory sound bites. At a Cannes roundtable, Lively displayed a raw talent for totally missing the point. She refused to comment on Ronan Farrows incendiary Hollywood Reporter essay on Woody Allen, claiming that she hadnt read it. Unable to weigh in on that controversy, Lively made her first mistake of the festival, insisting that My experience with Woody Allen is that hes empowering to women. Now, Lively obviously isnt the only celebrity defending Allen by steering hard-hitting questions toward new, inoffensive narratives. Lively is a woman whose career has been helped by Woody Allen. Like countless other female ingenues before her, Allens decision to cast Lively as an object of neurotic male obsession has given her the status and legitimacy of being one of Woodys girls. But to confuse this personal, professional boon with a larger practice of female empowerment is bullshit by any definition of empowerment (or bullshit, for that matter). Allen almost exclusively empowers thin, beautiful, white womenthe recipients of what societal standards deem a genetic lottery. He then proceeds to put them in roles that do little to undermine Hollywoods established standard for two-dimensional female characters that pale in comparison to their complicated, finely drawn male counterparts (usually played by Allen himself). On top of her fantastical re-imagining of Woody Allen as a pro-female force, Livelys use of the term empowerment cuts deep. Unintentionally, Lively has aggravated the very topic she was trying so sincerely to avoid: the sexual abuse allegations that have clung to Allen for decades. Allen stands accused of sexually inappropriate behavior toward his daughter, Dylan Farrow. While the famous director was never prosecuted for his crimes, the allegations resurface occasionally, tarnishing his legacy and plaguing press events (albeit, as Ronan Farrow convincingly argued, not as often as they should). According to Farrow, Allen abused his paternal power to harm a child. Even worse, he attempted to discredit and silence that very same daughter, ostensibly using all of the power at his disposal to tell the world to un-hear and delegitimize an alleged survivor. Not exactly the qualifications we look for in a female empower-er of the year. Interestingly enough, Lively has been getting a lot more flak for what seems like a relatively minor gaffe. In a Cannes Instagram, the actress collaged a red carpet look from the back and the front, captioning with a Sir Mix-a-Lot quote: L.A. face with an Oakland booty. Livelys first mistake was reaching back into her mediocre hip-hop vinyl collection and settling on Sir Mix-a-Lot if she had just cribbed a Drake quote like every other white girl in America, we wouldnt even be having this conversation. The star immediately came under fire for her insensitive usage of a racially charged lyric that casts white beauty and class (Los Angeles) in opposition to the raw sexuality of women of color (Oakland). According to critics, Livelys appropriation of the track mimics her apparent appropriation of a non-white standard of beautyproudly claiming a black ass, without any attempt to understand the layers of sexual commodification and racial tension at the heart of the lyric. Sir Mix-a-Lot, on the other hand, defended the use of his lyric. Of course, Livelys ill-informed caption would never have struck a chord without her history of racial insensitivity. Back in 2014, Lively was deep in her yearlong stint at her lifestyle website, Preserve. When launching a celebrity lifestyle website, your only real aim should be to appear less out of touch with reality than Gwyneth Paltrow. Lively famously fell short of that mark when she published a spread titled, Allure of Antebelluma visual celebration of the pre-Civil War South featuring an ecstatic white woman and a complete lack of awareness. An accompanying blurb included such obtuse observations as, The term Southern Belle came to fruition during the Antebellum period (prior to the Civil War), acknowledging women with an inherent social distinction who set the standards for style and appearance. These women epitomized Southern hospitality with a cultivation of beauty and grace, but even more with a captivating and magnetic sensibility. While at times depicted as coy, these belles of the ball, in actuality could command attention with the ease of a hummingbird relishing a pastoral bloom. In their quest for the least effective metaphors of all time, the writers and editors of Preserve just up and forgot to mention slavery. Sure, we all love wide-brimmed hats, but no one likes a white lady who spends all of her time planning elaborate romanticizations of the Antebellum, featuring and feting the faces and silhouettes of the slave owners. Lively followed up this performance of white idiocy with an unrequested encore: an offensive blueberry muffin recipe. Quoth Preserve, The blues began in the deep South, as a means to voice injustice and hardship in the African American community... But its more than music... Blue looks good on you, baby. And it tastes good, too. Cozy up with our Best of the Blues playlist and indulge in another distinctly American tradition: A blueberry muffin recipe that offers a sweet escape and a cheesy twist. Aint nobodys business if you do. WTF, dude. Oh, and if you were worried that Livelys love of plantations and complete lack of racial awareness were just for show, dont be. In 2012, Lively actually married her husband Ryan Reynolds at Boone Hall, a real-life plantation near Charleston, South Carolina, complete with nine original slave cabins lovingly known as Slave Street. Blake Lively, everyone: vindicating a generations worth of Blairs who always hated Serena anyway. If anyone faces heightened danger in public restrooms, its transgender people. And as lawmakers in North Carolina and elsewhere take aim at their right to relieve themselves, there are troubling signs that this danger could be growing. Most recently, on Wednesday evening, NBC Washington reported that a security guard at a Giant grocery store in northeast D.C. had been charged with simple assault after allegedly forcing 32-year-old transgender woman Ebony Belcher out of the store for trying to use the bathroom. She opened the door and came in and started calling me derogatory names, Belcher said, claiming that the guard said, You guys cannot keep coming in here and using our womens restroom. They did not pass the law yet. In fact, transgender people are included in Washington, D.C.s Human Rights Act. The districts municipal regulations also explicitly protect their right to use restrooms that match their gender identity. Under Title 4, section 801 of the municipal code it is unlawful for any person or entity to [deny] access to restrooms and other gender specific facilities that are consistent with a customers or clients gender identity or expression. Section 802 reiterates that protection and also requires all single-occupancy restrooms to have gender-neutral signage. The details of Belchers story are still forthcoming. The female guard has not yet been identified, and the grocery chain released a boilerplate statement deferring inquiries to the police. We do know that the incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime. But whatever comes of her particular case, it is alarmingly common for transgender people to be harassed and even physically attacked in a public restroom. In 2008, the Williams Institute at UCLA conducted a survey of transgender people in D.C. and found that 70 percent of respondents had experienced difficulties using public restrooms. Eighteen percent said they had been denied access, 68 percent reported verbal harassment, and 9 percent said that they had experienced physical assault. There have been alarming and brutal cases of violence against transgender people in restrooms. In 2011, for example, a young transgender woman named Chrissy Lee Polis was beaten for using a Maryland McDonalds restroom while an employee filmed the incident instead of protecting her. The Baltimore Sun described the footage in graphic detail: The video shows two females repeatedly kicking and punching Polis in the head as an employee and a patron try to intervene. Others can be heard laughing, and men are seen standing idly by. Toward the end of the video, one of the suspects lands a punishing blow to the victims head, and Polis appears to have a seizure. Anti-transgender violence isnt confined to restrooms, of course. In 2015, there were at least 21 reported murders of transgender people, primarily young trans women of color, in the United Statesmore than any other year on record. But bathrooms have always been a site for discrimination and, after North Carolinas sweeping anti-LGBT law turned transgender restroom access into a national talking point, there has been a noticeable increase in reports of vigilante bathroom policing. In Danbury, Connecticut, last Friday, as the News Times reported, a cisgender woman with short hair alleged that a stranger mistook her for a trans woman in a Walmart restroom, calling her disgusting and saying, You dont belong here! Hers is one of several recent cases of police officers and private citizens alike apparently questioning someones restroom choice based on their appearance after the passage of the North Carolina law. Scott Turner Schofield, a transgender actor and activist who starred on The Bold and the Beautiful, warned that this might happen. Shortly after North Carolinas law was passed, he told The Daily Beast, Anybody who has been politicized by these bully politicians now has a license to commit the very kinds of assault that these bills try to prevent. Two short months later, some of those politicians are not just emboldening their anti-transgender supporters, theyre openly encouraging them to break the law. On Tuesday, as BuzzFeed reported, Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa called for civil disobedience in response to the Obama administrations guidance to public schools on transgender students restroom access. On the far right, the anti-transgender rhetoric has become baldly violent in the past few months. After Target reiterated its support for trans employees and customers, Anita Staver, president of the evangelical legal organization Liberty Counsel, tweeted that she would be taking a gun with her into the womens room at the retail chain. As The Advocate reported, her threat was echoed by a Republican candidate for sheriff in Denton County, Texas, who posted on Facebook that any transgender woman who enters the same restroom as his daughter will then identify as a John Doe until he wakes up in whatever hospital he may be taken to. Meanwhile, anti-transgender memes and fake news stories are spreading like wildfire on social media as The Daily Beast reported. Worse, they may be successfully convincing people that transgender people are a real threat. As BuzzFeed discovered this week when they dove deep into the world of Facebook transphobia, wholly-invented stories about trans people harassing women in restrooms are accruing tens of thousands of shares, and even getting picked up occasionally by more legitimate conservative media outlets. In reality, there are no reported instances of a transgender person harassing a cisgender person in a restroom. But that appears to make little difference to the many commenters on these fake news stories who use them as fuel for violent threats like Dont want to get gunned down? STAY OUT OF THE WOMENS BATHROOM or pervs need to stay away from our wives and daughters or pay the price. Transgender people are already paying the price, not for harassing people in restrooms, but for simply existing. Since North Carolinas law, Ebony Belcher is the first widely-reported case of a transgender person allegedly finding herself on the receiving end of an act of violence for simply entering a restroom. The way things are going, she wont be the last. ROME The men and women of EgyptAir Flight 804 did not die alone. The 66 people who went down in the Mediterranean Sea on early Thursday joined the nearly 1,500 migrants who have died in the same waters so far this year, and the nearly 4,000 who lost their lives in 2015. In fact, when news first broke that the jet went down, there were already plenty of search and rescue forces patrolling the waters. Within a few hours, Greek, Italian, French, and American military commanders had all repurposed assets allocated for Mediterranean surveillance for migrants in distress to aid in the search of the downed airplane. The French sent a Falcon surveillance jet and the United States deployed a P-3 Orion from nearby Sigonella Air Base in Sicily to initially scout for survivors and later for wreckage. The Greeks sent a frigate, two aircraft, and two helicopters that were on standby for migrant rescue operations. The United Kingdom also moved assets in the area to assist. Even Frontex, Europes border control agency that is running a multi-vessel mission to spot migrants and refugees trying to enter Europe, was roped in. One of our patrol vessels originally spotted wreckage they thought belonged to the downed aircraft, but it was actually from an abandoned migrant ship, a Frontex spokesman working on a Finnish vessel patrolling for migrants told The Daily Beast. Greek rescue vessels also found ample debris, including life vests and some plastic pieces in their initial searches, but none of it was from the EgyptAir disaster. Athanassios Binis, head of Greeces Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board, told Greek state television ERT that an assessment of the finds showed that they do not belong to an aircraft. In fact, it was from smugglers ships. When migrants and refugees are rescued at sea, the old smugglers ships and fishing boats are either left to drift or destroyed and sunk, meaning floating debris in the Mediterranean is all too common. So are dead bodies. The first ships to answer the original distress call were merchant cargo vessels that are accustomed to coming to the aid of migrants in distress. In 2015, more than half of all migrant rescues were responded to by merchant vessels, which are obligated by law to go to the scene of any SOS call. Many now carry life-saving equipment including vests, ladders, and extra dinghies to help save lives. Not all of the merchant ships want to cooperate. Migrant Report found that increasingly, merchant vessels turn off their Automatic Identification System or (AIS) tracker that tells military commanders who is where, in order to not have to answer rescue calls, which often lead to delays and even lengthy legal cases if lives are lost. Switching off the AIS is becoming a global problem now, Glen Forbes, former British Royal Naval Officer and head of the maritime focused news website Oceanus Live, said. If that were the case in the Air Egypt disaster, it could mean that there were many more ships in the area when the plane disappeared. As it was, the maritime ship tracking website Marine Traffic tweeted a map showing at least eight merchant ships answering the call to action. Once whats left of the wreckage has been found at the bottom of the sea, the rescue and recovery vessels in the Mediterranean should be able to use their assets to help raise it much more quickly than any recent air to sea disaster. The Italian Navy is already out there raising a migrant vessel with as many as 700 people that sank in 2015. A source working on that project told The Daily Beast that it was entirely feasible that once the migrant ship is raised and delivered to Sicily, they could assist in the eventual recovery of whats left with the EgyptAir fuselage if asked. Since an accord between the European Union and Turkey virtually stopped the migrant flow to Greece, those seeking shelter in Europe have been increasingly testing the waters between Egypt and Italyprecisely where the EgyptAir jet went down. Multiple boats filled with more than 1,000 migrants rescued last weekend had set off from Egyptian ports, according to the Italian navy that rescued them, meaning it is entirely possible that migrants and refugees could have been witness to the plane going down. In Egypt, a nation that in recent years has been besieged by uprisings, mass arrests, political crackdowns and terror attacks, the reaction to the crash of Egypt Air flight 804 has been unusual. There was no bantering of conspiracy theories or Western plots against the great state of Egypt, as commonly happens after devastating events damage Egypts economy and prestige. There was no widespread talk of how the crash could lead to increased government repression or national economic collapse. The collective emotion was more like punch in the gut as yet another tragedy befell the most populous Arab state. In a diverse nation of nearly 90 million, there was a sense of shock, coupled with pleas throughout the day: Why cant Egypt get a break? Please dont let this be a terror attack. And of course: What happened? Yes, people actually are waiting and seeing what facts surface over time about the circumstances of the crash. Maybe that was because this crisis was not like any other. There was no Egyptian on whom people could fix blame, my Egyptian friends and family explained to me. The flight, after all, took off from Paris, not Cairo, so it was hard to hold someone within Egypts fragile government or security forces responsible. At a press conference Thursday, just hours after the plane went missing, Sherif Fathi, the minister of civil aviation, said that the cause was more likely a terror attack than not. I dont want to go to speculations and I dont want to go to assumptions, Mr. Fathi said. Still, he said, if you analyze the situation properly, the possibility of having a terror attack is higher than the possibility of technical failure. The crash, for Egyptians, was about victims they knew or might know. By contrast, the MetroJet flight that exploded over the Sinai in October was made up largely of Russians and other foreigners, not Egyptians. It was treated as a diplomatic and public relations problem by the government, even to the point of denying evidence supplied by other government. Egypt refused to consider a bombing as a possible cause, saying instead such claims were part of an effort to harm Egypt. Even the March hijacking of an Egypt Air flight from Cairo to Alexandria by an Egyptian man with a fake bomb felt like something that affected mainly outsiders. Such a flight would usually be filled with foreigners. Most Egyptians cant afford to fly anywhere, and even those who can would rarely choose to do so between two cities that are a three-hour drive apart. But on the flight that disappeared over the Mediterranean early Thursday morning, there were 30 Egyptians. And the stories about them that emerged were the stories of many of the men and women and children. As I phoned people I knew in Cairo, I quickly found friends of friends who knew some of those on board. There was apparently a woman who traveled to France to buy things for her upcoming wedding. Others spoke of distant relatives among the victims. And even those who had no obvious connection to the tragedy felt the crash had struck them personally. Families gathered at Cairo International Airport, waiting for news of their loved ones, surrounded by Egypt Air staffers desperate to comfort them any way they could. In addition, there were passengers from Algeria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Chad, Kuwait, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. Some Egyptians were defiant, posting on social media about boarding Egypt Air flights even as the circumstances of the crash were not clear. One woman, Monica Hanna, explained on twitter that she supported our national carrier. A popular Egyptian blogger, known as The Big Pharaoh, noted that he was following developments while waiting to board a flight. While the Egyptian government is leading the investigation, the UK, French, Greeks and Italians also are part of it. Perhaps the rather subdued reaction to the crash spoke to an Egypt people simply exhausted by tragedy and shocks to their way of life. In fact, some relativized it among the daily insults to freedom and reason. One Egyptian, Nihal, put the crash third in the list of events of the day, behind an ongoing hunger strike and the arrest of Mina Thabet, director of the Minority and Religious Groups Department at the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF). Thabet has been a vocal advocate for Egyptian minorities, particularly the quickly dwindling Coptic Christian population. Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el Sisi, ascended to power in 2013 by engineering a popular uprising and the ouster of his predecessor, Mohammed Morsi. Since then, thousands of activists and government opponents have been arrested by authorities in what many see as a desperate bid to prevent another uprising. Moreover, the Egyptian economy has plummeted in recent months as the Egyptian pound fell officially to a record 12 cents to the U.S. dollar. All the while, the restive Sinai has become a haven for the self-proclaimed Islamic State. As my friend concluded as she shared what she heard about the distant relatives she barely knew who may have perished: There is only so much we can take in a year. Lots of Republicans are looking for a sane alternative to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and it looks like the Libertarian Party has just given it to them, now that former Massachusetts governor William Weld has joined former New Mexico governor Gary Johnsons ticket. Its the first time two governors have shared a presidential ticket since Republicans Thomas E. Dewey of New York and Earl Warren of California narrowly lost to incumbent President Harry Truman in 1948. Many observers think experience as a governor is the best preparation for the job of president. Johnson and Weld would bring 14 years of gubernatorial experience to the White House, while neither Trump nor Clinton has ever served as governor or even mayor. Johnson and Weld were both elected and re-elected in Democratic states, and dealt with heavily Democratic legislatures. Neither Johnson nor Weld is a purist libertarian, and both have come under fire within the Libertarian Party, which will nominate its candidates in Orlando over Memorial Day weekend. Johnson displeased many libertarians (including me) by saying that government should ban discrimination on the basis of religion, including requiring a Christian baker to bake and decorate a cake for a same-sex wedding. Weld has supported some gun control measures. But they will present a clear alternative to Trump and Clinton: strong and coherent fiscal conservatism, social liberalism, drug-policy reform, criminal-justice reform, reining in mass surveillance, ending executive abuse of power, and a prudent foreign policy that is neither promiscuously interventionist nor erratic and bombasticall grounded in a philosophical commitment to liberty and limited government. They acted on those ideas as governors, with the usual accommodations to political reality. Johnson was called Americas boldest governor by the Economist for his push for school choice. And that was before he came out for legalizing marijuana and moving away from the war on drugs. He vetoed more than 700 spending and regulation bills and left the state with a $1 billion surplus. Weld cut taxes, constrained state spending, and created a domestic partners program for gay state employees. In the Cato Institutes biennial Fiscal Policy Report Card on Americas Governors, both Johnson and Weld earned As and Bs each time they were graded. Catos fiscal policy analysts are tough graders, and very few governors ever get an A. Leading Republicans such as Mitt Romney and Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska have declared Donald Trump unfit for the presidency and called for an alternative independent or third-party candidate to run for president. No one has stepped forward, and ballot deadlines are looming. But now theres an alternative they could support. Libertarians are not conservatives. Theyre not just Republicans repulsed by Trumps racial and religious scapegoating and megalomania. The Libertarian Party platform has supported drug legalization and gay marriage for decades, and the party opposes most U.S. wars. But given what Sasse, Romney, and other serious Republicans think of Trump and Clinton, is it hard to imagine that they would prefer Johnson and Weld in the White House? The same might well be true of Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada, Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, a protege of Weld, as well as former governors Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania and Christie Todd Whitman of New Jersey and former senators Norm Coleman of Minnesota, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, and Mel Martinez of Florida. None of this means theres a real path to the White House for Johnson and Weld. I suspect that in their fantasies, Libertarian Party strategists imagine the Johnson-Weld ticket carrying Johnsons New Mexico, Romneys Utah, and maybe libertarian-leaning states such as Alaska, Idaho, and New Hampshire. Add in Maine, where Weld is well known and voters have elected independents as governor and senator, and you could imagine the race being thrown into the House of Representatives. Where rational Republicans just might prefer an experienced governor to the unpredictable and threatening Trump. But neither Johnson nor Weld is a celebrity on the order of Trump or Ross Perot, the businessman who got 19 percent of the national vote running as an independent in 1992. Neither has the money of Perot, the Koch brothers, or Tom Steyerthe kind of money that can buy national television ads and large staffs. Johnson has not yet shown an ability to draw huge crowds, as Bernie Sanders has this year and Ron Paul did in 2008. Without those things, you cant become a serious candidate. Johnson has already hit 10 percent in a couple of polls, but right now thats probably a none of the above vote. He still has to convert it into actual support. The Libertarian Partys most successful campaign, in 1980, featured an accomplished and articulate candidate, a relatively large and professional staff, and a vice presidential candidate, David Koch, who put millions of dollars into the campaign. And they still only got 1 percent. Johnson and Weld have a steep hill to climb. But Trump and Clinton are the least popular major-party nominees in memory. In some polls a majority of voters say theyd like to vote for someone else. Thats the golden opportunity awaiting some alternative candidate, and it looks increasingly as if Gary Johnson will be the only alternative on all 50 ballots. Daniel Craig really doesnt want to be James Bond anymore. According to The Daily Mailso maybe channel dearly departed M and take this with a healthy amount of wry skepticismthe actor turned down a 68 million offer (that converts to roughly $100 million) to return to the 007 franchise for two more films. Apparently not even enough cash to furnish his own fleet of Aston Martins was enough for the increasingly grouchy Craigwho recently huffed, puffed, and scowled his way through the Spectre promotional tourto globetrot in a devastatingly tailored suit two last times. Thats OK, though, as a red carpets worth of Britains most genetically blessed males are more than eager to obtain a license to kill. (Make Tom Hiddlestons martini a double for gamely weathering the journalism industry-wide mandate to ask him about stepping into Bonds designer shoes.) Others dont need to campaign so aggressively. The worlds Bond fans are doing the legwork for them. Enter Idris Elba, who has been appropriately dubbed The Peoples Bond. But with the reports, as anonymously sourced as they may be, that Craig is so done with the franchise that he cant even be bought back into itthus staying true to such jolly sentiments as saying hed rather slash my wrists than make another Bond filmoddsmakers, dream casters, and 007 enthusiasts are in a tizzy nailing down who will be the next actor in the role. And, with such a public demand for Elba to take on the role, thus becoming the first black James Bond, the unasked question is: What will happen if he does? Craigs most Bondian move yetproving so resistant to coercion that not even an ungodly amount of money could sway himcomes not even a week after some other major 007 casting news: Bookmakers suspended betting on who will play the next James Bond after a flurry of bets tipped the odds overwhelmingly in Tom Hiddlestons favor. Momentum for Hiddleston had been building with each successive charming interview the debonair Brit gave about his desire to play the role, eventually exploding with Hiddlestons performance in the limited series The Night Manager. The slick spy thriller essentially doubled as a six-episode Bond audition for Hiddleston, who at one point, detonating minds everywhere, gestures to the barkeep and, ordering a drink, remarks: Excuse me, sir, could I have a vodka martini, please? Then, reports that Hiddleston was spotted meeting with director Sam Mendes and franchise producer Barbara Broccoli served as the catalyst for the levee-breaking betting spree. (Hiddleston has denied that such a meeting took place.) There is no smoke without fire, and following the big gamble on Tom Hiddleston in the last 24 hours, weve had no choice but to pull the plug on the market, Nicola McGeady, spokesperson for British bookmaker Coral, said. Earlier in the year there was a gamble on Idris Elba and Damian Lewis, but nothing has come close to the recent gamble on Hiddleston. Hiddleston would make an excellent James Bond. Hes dashing, fills out a suit, has a piercing gaze capable of inducing mass swoons when wielded just right, and is as believable bedding babes as he is blowing up bad guys. Damian Lewis, a top contender best known for his roles on Homeland and Billions, would also make an excellent Bond. Hes dashing, fills out a suit, has a piercing gaze capable of inducing massyou see where Im going with this. Also potentially excellent bonds: Tom Hardy, Aidan Turner, and, yes, Elba, the blokes who round out the odds-on favorites. It might be a cop-out or even construed as a slight to Ian Flemings cherished hero to suggest that a half-dozen men would be equally suited to portraying an icon. But at the risk of downplaying the importance of casting the Bond replacement, any of these men would do formidable, blockbuster-making, cash-grabbing, fan-satisfying work in the role. So why not make the casting of the role actually important? It would be hard, frustratingly so, to divorce the casting of Idris Elbaan actor with equal parts charisma, gravitas, and sex appeal who, based on those attributes alone, fits the Bond character description to a Tfrom the reductive designation as the black Bond. That truth is many things. Its unfortunate. Its understandable. It speaks to the monumental moment this would be in the ever-important push to normalize diversity and increase opportunity and visibility for minority performers. And it speaks to our reluctance to embrace the reality of that initiative as much as we embrace the spirit of it: we might celebrate Idris Elba for being the first black Bond. But well also confine him to that label. The weight of it all is something that Elba has expressed conflicting feelings about. That he didnt actually throw his hat in the ring himselfthat it was the will of the people that turned his possible casting into a global obsessionsuggests not only an enthusiasm for but also willingness to accept his revolutionary casting. But the barrage of questions hes faced about it and the importance of it has left him, it seems, exasperated. There was perceived glee over the idea of being the first black Bond when he was asked about it last fall. If human beings want to know if theres any connectivity between all of us, the one thing Ive heard around the world universally is that, Youll be great at James Bond! Elba told Variety in September. If it should happen, thats proof theres connectivity amongst human beings. If everyone wants something, they can make it happen. That would be true. But that morphed into an irritation when he was grilled about it the following winter, telling The Telegraph, Can we not? when asked to talk about it: Because it feels like Im campaigning, and Im not, he said. At first it was harmlessoh I know, wouldnt it be great?and now its started off racial debates. Im probably the most famous Bond actor in the world, and Ive not even played the role. Enough is enough. I cant talk about it anymore. Predictable ugliness sprouted like weeds from the conversation. Author Anthony Horowitz, who wrote the new James Bond novel Trigger Mortis, said Elba is probably a bit too street for Bond. Is it a question of being suave? Yeah. Some have made the rudimentary argument that being white is part of the characters specific makeup, and has been for decades. Others have, less delicately, argued that Bonds Britishness is an equally integral part of that makeup, and that a black Bond directly questions what it means to be British. Theres been the suggestion that Elbas casting would be token, which is an unsavory thought. And people have questioned if Bonds more morally questionable actshis killing and womanizingwould read more differently if they were performed by a black actor. Id say thats an unsavory thought, too. It would be a shame for Elba, an actor who could land the role on the strength of an audition alone, to be dragged through all of this because hes the first. But the sad reality is that backlash, racism, outrage, boycotts, petitions, and cries of ruined childhoods and tarnished legacies are inevitable. Look at the response to John Boyega being cast in Star Wars, or even the reaction to Donald Glover possibly becoming the first black Spider-Man, for proof of that. But you need a first to face all of that in order for it to eventually dissipate. Im not offering Idris Elba to the wolves. Im acknowledging that the wolves exist, and that they only go away when someone powerful enough arrives to break up the pack. An optimist might look at the cultural conversation about diversity in Hollywood and opportunity at the top and surmise were at a tipping point. Its the awareness of the sad state of affairs, the call to arms, and even the movement against it that is driving us to that tipping point, and Idris Elba could help carry us over. Watching the casting notices trickle in for Marvels Black Panther movie has been almost a religious experience to some. Reports of varying credibility have linked Lupita Nyongo, Michael B. Jordan, and John Boyega to the film, which will be directed by Ryan Coogler and feature the first black superhero in a lead role in a Marvel film, to be played by Chadwick Boseman. Its a glorious contrast to the otherwise despicable state of diversity in blockbuster films. As Kyle Buchanan eloquently wrote in a suitably mad-as-hell piece for Vulture, theres a baffling trend in Hollywood to cast the industrys most talented actors of color in big-budget movies, but then hide their faces behind unrecognizable makeup, costume, and CGI. Nyongo played an orange alien in Star Wars and a wolf in The Jungle Book. Paula Patton is a green half-human in Warcraft. Zoe Saldana is a rainbow of colors but her natural one in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avatar franchises, and Elba himself has four major studio films scheduled this yearbut you wont see his face in any of them. Its not just #OscarsSoWhite anymore. Its #HollywoodSoWhite. Its always been, and franchisesthe showcases for rising talent and star power that breed opportunity, visibility, and changeare the whitest. The reason that Daniel Craigs stretch of Bond films reinvigorated the franchise was because of how expertly he and collaborator Sam Mendes rebranded its tone, modernizing the increasingly stale franchise. Itd be crude to suggest that casting Elba, or another actor of color, would be a response to any sort of current trend. Its the rock-and-a-hard-place: It will be impossible to separate his casting from the assumption that it might be. But as with Craigand Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton before themthe proof is in the performance. And please, find me someone who questions whether Elba is capable of giving a performance thats both shaken and stirred. During the presidential election of 2004, Democratic candidate Howard Dean told a reporter, I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks. Twelve years later and it is very difficult to envision a presidential candidate appealing to this same demographic with references to the Confederate flag without having to deal with the legacy of slavery and racism. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have spoken out publicly against the display of the flag and just yesterday the House of Representatives voted 265 to 164 (with 84 Republicans joining almost all Democrats) to ban the Confederate battle flag from display in all Veterans Administration cemeteries. An exception was included to allow for small flags to be displayed on individual graves only on Memorial Day and Confederate Memorial Day. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), who proposed the amendment, spoke for many when he asked, Why in the year 2016 are we still condoning displays of this hateful symbol on our sacred national cemeteries? The House vote caps off a year of the most sustained pushback against the public display of the Confederate battle flag throughout much of the countryespecially in the Southsince the violent shootings in Charleston, S.C., in June 2015. In addition to banning the display of the flag, a number of communities, including New Orleans, Baltimore, Louisville, and Charlottesville, have passed or are considering legislation for the removal of monuments to the Confederacy. This pushback has enjoyed a good deal of bipartisan support on the local and state levels. It was Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, who set the ball rolling with her call to remove the Confederate battle flag from the statehouse grounds in Columbia, S.C., just shortly after the Charleston shootings, followed by an order to remove four flags from Alabamas state capitol grounds by another Republican governor. A few Republican-controlled state legislaturesnotably in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginiahave attempted to stem this tide, but they will likely remain on the defensive with fewer and fewer elected leaders running openly on their record defending symbols of the Confederacy. Even Mississippi, which is the only state that still includes the Confederate battle flag in its design, is now dealing with the embarrassment of seeing colleges, universities, and even local municipalities remove it from their grounds. What happened? By the turn of the 20th century, the Confederate battle flag became part of a tenuous movement toward sectional reconciliation between North and South. Confederate veterans displayed their battle flags proudly at their own reunions and other public events throughout the South to remind their communities of their brave struggle and to unify a new generation of white Southerners around a set of shared values. Flags were on full display even during reunions with their one-time enemies, including the 50th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg in 1913, which was organized by the federal government. Confederate veterans unfurled their flags as a sign of their dual loyalty to their Lost Cause and the United States. Auxiliary organizations such as the United Confederate Veterans (UCV) and United Daughters of the Confederacy carefully regulated the display of the battle flag in an attempt to control its meaning. Apart from scattered public pronouncements the Confederate battle flag was recognized as a soldiers flag that had little to do with the Confederacys explicit goal of establishing an independent slaveholding republic that protected white supremacy. After all, by the beginning of the 20th century former Confederate states achieved in defeat what they could not achieve through war: governments that enshrined white supremacy through the passage of Jim Crow laws that resulted in the disfranchisement of the vast majority of black citizens. Confederate monuments and flags served merely as window dressing. The first cracks in this consensus took place with the embrace of the battle flag by Southern Dixiecrats in 1948, who, according to presidential nominee Strom Thurmond, believed the federal government intended to break down segregation and admit the negro race into our theaters, our swimming pools, into our homes, and into our churches. The battle flag emerged as one of the most popular symbols of massive resistance throughout the Civil Rights Movement. White Southerners did not so much re-interpret the meaning of the flag as much as they re-discovered a meaning that had always been present going back to the war itself. The battle flags prominent place as a symbol of white resistance during the Civil Rights era has made it difficult for those who would have the public see it merely as a soldiers flag. Confederate heritage organizations like the Sons of Confederate Veterans have attempted to adjust to this new reality by promoting stories of loyal slaves, Hispanics, Asians, and Jews as a means to distance itself from the centrality of slavery and promote a theme of inclusiveness for a population that is now much more racially and ethnically diverse. The most recent celebration of Confederate Memorial Day in Charlestons Magnolia Cemeterythe birthplace of secession and rebellionsuggests that their efforts have enjoyed little success. Roughly 50 peoplemost of whom are oldertook part in this ceremony while low attendance elsewhere points to a bleak future for those who believe that the Confederate soldier and his flag still has lessons to impart to the community. The larger problem for Confederate heritage advocates is that the flag itself has been accommodated by so many people and for so many different reasons that from a certain perspective it has been all but rendered meaningless. Before George Zimmerman auctioned off the gun that killed Trayvon Martin, he offered up for sale his own painting of a Confederate battle flag to raise money for a Muslim-free gun store. This month H.K. Edgerton, a former black president of an NAACP chapter in North Carolina, is walking through Florida with a battle flag on what he is calling a Southern Cross Revival March to promote Confederate heritage. And just this past week, Cody Nelson, a high school senior in Minnesota, was suspended from school just days before his graduation for displaying a Confederate flag on his car. Cody and his parents defended his actions as a reflection of his Southern pride. One can only imagine what Confederate veterans might make of these flag embraces. It is likely that the Senate will follow the Houses vote on Confederate flag at VA cemeteries and limit even further the right to display it on public property. We may not be far from a time when the only place that you can display a Confederate battle flag is on the back of a pickup truck. Kevin M. Levin is a historian and educator based in Boston. He is the author of Remembering the Battle of the Crater: War as Murder (2012) and is at work on Searching For Black Confederate Soldiers: The Civil Wars Most Persistent Myth. You can find him online at Civil War Memory and Twitter @kevinlevin. ATHENS Greek and Egyptian authorities have confirmed that their recovery crews have found debris from the missing EgyptAir Flight 804. Regarding the outcome of the search, we have been briefed by the Egyptian Joint Rescue Coordination Centre about the discovery of a body part, two seats and luggage at the scene of the search, said Greek defense minister Panos Kammenos on Friday. That was a little to the south and east of where contact with the plane was lost, and further north of yesterdays sighting which was confirmed to not be debris from the plane. Objects Greek and Egyptian search and rescue crews had found a day earlier turned out to be flotsam from innumerable refguee vessels. We have seen orange objects with ropes attached to them and blue objects. We wont know what they are until they are salvaged, Ioannis Tsitoumis, Hellenic Air Force spokesman, told The Daily Beast at the time. Fridays debris from the Airbus 320 was found 200 nautical miles SSE of the southern Greek island of Karpathos. Prevailing northern winds of 20-50 kmh have carried debris from MS804 that far during the overnight, authorities said. Greece was deploying a C130 transport plane and a surveillance aircraft as well as a frigate for a second day on Friday. Eyewitnesses said two C130 planes were taking off from a military airstrip at Kastelli, in eastern Crete, patrolling the skies in alternating, five-hour shifts. The only other hard evidence of the missing planes fate comes from Greeces Air Force radar, which caught Flight 804 spinning out of control while plummeting to earth in the early hours on Thursday. Greek defense minister Panos Kammenos described what is currently the flights last known location, about 130 nautical miles SSE of the southern Greek island of Karpathos. The picture we have of this accident, which comes from the Air Forces operations centre, is that at 3:37 a.m. the plane performed a 90 degree turn to the left followed by a turn of 360 degrees to the right, while at the same time falling from 37,000 feet to 15,000 feet, at which point we lost the picture we had, at about 10,000 feet, said Kammenos. An Air Force spokesman said the drop took place in under one minute, suggesting that the plane was in free-fall and pilots had lost all control. Military radar captured the spiral because it operates at lower altitudes than civil radar systems. Egypt Air says 56 passengers were on board the Airbus A320, including a child and two infants. Thirty of the passengers were Egyptian, 15 French, and 11 from 10 other nationalities. There were also seven crew members and three security staff. The Egyptian Aviation Minister said there was a higher likelihood of sabotage than malfunction. Flight 804 reported no irregularities when it entered the Athens Flight Information Region at 2:24 a.m. local time on Thursday, Greek civil aviation authorities said in a statement. FIR is an area broader than territorial airspace in which a given air traffic control tower is responsible for monitoring civilian aircraft. Pilots are obliged to signal their entry and departure between each FIR. Athens air traffic controllers realized something was wrong when they attempted to contact flight MS804 to inform the pilot that he was leaving Athens FIR at 3:27 a.m. They hailed the aircraft repeatedly on regular and emergency frequencies, without luck. At 3:29 and 40 seconds the planes radar signal is lost, says the statement from the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority. The assistance of military radar was immediately requested in order to relocate the target, but without result. Flight 804 was in a death spiral seven minutes later. Civil and military authorities are currently unable to explain this reporting discrepancy. The Greek C130 plane was the first responder, taking from Elefsina, west of Athens, at 4:14 a.m. and arriving at the last point of radar contact with MS804 shortly after 5 a.m. That leaves a 90-minute lag during which military and civilian authorities had no eyes on the region. Prevailing winds of about 50 kmh could have scattered any debris from the crash in that time. Kammenos said he had requested any satellite imagery that might be available for the area in that time period from other European Union members. In the direct aftermath of the horrific Newtown school shooting in 2012, Donald Trump proudly stood with President Obama, shortly before the president would start his legislative standoff with the National Rifle Association. President Obama spoke for me and every American in his remarks in [Newtown,] Connecticut, Trump tweeted on December 17, 2012, just one day after Obama had declared there was no excuse for inaction on gun-violence prevention measures. Three and a half years later, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee strutted on stage at the NRAs convention in Kentucky to stand with the NRA, bash Obama and the Democrats, and enthusiastically accept their presidential endorsement. I will not let you down, Trump told the pro-gun crowd on Friday afternoon, thanking them for the fantastic honor of their endorsement. The NRAs chief lobbyist Chris Cox had just introduced the real estate mogul as the next President of the United States. Trump continued to whip the crowd into a frenzy by explaining how Hillary Clinton would strip away Americans gun rights, and how President Trump would make getting rid of gun-free zones a top priority. Trumps past squishiness onif not hostility towardthe NRAs hardline agenda is well known and well documented. But that hasnt stopped him from rebranding himself lately as a major champion, if not savior, for the Second Amendment and the excesses that come with it. If I run for president, and if I win, the Second Amendment will. Be. Totally. Protected. That I can tell you, Trump told the annual NRA gathering last year. Its not a surprise that Trump would jettison any hint of a moderate position on guns while running for president and seeking the NRAs coveted endorsement. In a post-Sandy Hook political environment, the NRA has since kicked into high gear to quash anything even slightly resembling real gun reform. Right around the time Trump had praised Obama for his leadership in the direct aftermath of the Newtown massacre, the NRA was busy telling America that Obamalike a tyrant or a dictatorwas coming to take their guns. The gun lobby also threw every scare tactic and culture-war trope they knew at the wall, hoping most of it would stick. I mean we have blood-soaked films out there, like American Psycho, Natural Born Killerstheyre aired like propaganda loops on Splatterdays and every single day, NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre said in his post-Sandy Hook press conference in December 2012. Throughout the years, he and his organization have routinely maintained that the proliferation of guns in America is basically all that is standing between you and the terrorists and rapers. There are terrorists and home invaders and drug cartels and carjackers and knockout gamers and rapers, haters, campus killers, airport killers, shopping mall killers, road-rage killers, and killers who scheme to destroy our country with massive storms of violence against our power grids, or vicious waves of chemicals or disease that could collapse the society that sustains us all, LaPierre ranted against in 2014. And now the NRA has their candidate for 2016: a man today insisted that the Second Amendment is under threat like never before, and that his Democratic opponent is the most anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment candidate ever to run for office. The Second Amendment is on the ballot in November, Trump said as he accepted the NRAs endorsement on Friday. The only way to save our Second Amendment is to vote for a person that you all know named Donald Trump, he insisted. Andrew Desiderio contributed reporting. The American military is warning residents of ISISs Syrian capital to leave the citysuggesting that an offensive on Raqqa was imminent, two Pentagon officials told the Daily Beast. In the past day, residents of Raqqa have posted photos of the warnings on Twitter, saying they were airdropped on leaflets by the U.S.-led coalition. The defense officials were the first to confirm that the coalition had indeed issued the warnings. The time.has arrived. Its time to leave Raqqa, one of the ominous leaflets read. Images portray residents fleeing the black-and-white world of ISIS for the color of freedom, urging citizens to flee toward colors. There is just one problem: There is no imminent ground or air attack, at least by the U.S.-led coalition. Rather the coalition appears to be the midst of a psychological offensive. Its part of our mess-with-them campaign, a Pentagon official explained to The Daily Beast. The leaflets come amid what appears to be something of a panic within ISIS about how long it can maintain its grip on Raqqa. In recent weeks, there were reports that ISIS had declared a state of emergency in Raqqa. And earlier this week, the terror groups leadership reportedly would not let fighters leave for holiday as ISIS dug trenches around Raqqa, moved headquarters underground, and put coverings over homes in an effort to deflect drone attacks. Leafleting campaigns are hardly a new tactic by the U.S. military. But this appears to be the first time the U.S. has dropped them during the war against ISIS to issue possibly-inaccurate threats, an exploitation of growing paranoia within the terror group. ISISs fears appear to have been spurred by the Kurdish rebel forces known as the Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, as they march southwest toward Raqqa. As far back as February, some on the ground believed that the YPG, joined by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, could be strong enough to move on Raqqa. The confidence in the Kurds is a marked change from as recently January. Many believed then that the Kurds would not be interested in fighting for or taking over the Arabcontrolled Raqqa. But the rebel groups wins over cities that run along Raqqas supply routes, like al Shaddadi, buoyed hopes that the Kurdish-dominated forces would be willing to move on Raqqa next. If that were to happen, Raqqa would be part a potential Kurdish autonomous state in Syria. Either way, ISISs paranoiacoupled with a growing belief that local forces might have the ability to move on Raqqahas upended the longstanding presumption that ISISs Iraq capital of Mosul would fall first. The U.S. military has dedicated roughly 1,000 of the 5,000-plus American troops stationed in Iraq to training a local army to retake Mosul. But the Iraqis are far from ready to take back their second-largest city. U.S. defense officials believe that such an offensive would be a year away, at best. The YPG and Syrian Democratic Forces likely could move faster than that. The fall of Raqqa could be mark the end of ISIS as a quasi-jihadist state as the city serves as the groups headquarters and main capital. It is where its leaders live and its hostages have been held for months at a time. The group has controlled the city for more than two years, and its fall from Syrian Army control to the terror group marked the official rise of ISIS. This week, thanks to a widely touted New York Times piece, we learned more about Donald Trumps history with women. Among the allegedly startling revelations, we learned he sees many women as sex objects, whom hed like to see in a bikini. (What a surprise.) We learned he believes the ideal woman is not overweight. (Shocking.) We learned he judges beauty pageant contestants on whether he considers them hot or not. (Didnt see that coming.) We also learnedperhaps most legitimately surprising of allthat Trump has actually promoted a number of women to key leadership roles within his organization. It turns out the only real revelation uncovered is that when it comes to his history with women Donald Trump is a fascinating mix of misogynist and mensch, championing women he respects while demeaning women he doesnt. In other words The New York Times groundbreaking investigation essentially proved one thing: Trump is more like the average man than some of us thought only with more ego and money to say what he actually thinks, and to date who he actually wants to. If anything the backlash provoked by the piece has actually helped prove just how futile playing the so-called woman card will be against Trump this election cycle. For starters, as the women defending Trump and denouncing the Times piece prove, there are plenty of women who are not shocked by Trumps treatment of women because he simply sounds like an amplified version of their occasionally obnoxious father, husband, boss, or brother, whom theyve learned over the years not to take seriously, to often ignore, and certainly not to see as a legitimate threat. Im not saying Donald Trumps not a threat. But I am saying that at this point the media coverage of his many misdeeds is having an impact that may actually help him. Hes done and said so many truly shocking things that the Times story landed with a thud in part because well, at least he didnt call anyone a rapist or reference his hand size. Furthermore, most women I know, including those Ive met who are supporting him, believe he sounds obnoxious in the way he speaks about women and most topics. But they dont care. To clarify, they dont care for his sexist rhetoric or wife-hopping but they also dont believe he hates women or believes were inferior. Thats an important distinction. In other words they can separate the occasionally sexist rhetoric he uses from the question of whether or not he is sexist. Let me say this for the record: I dont think Donald Trump treats many women with respect. But from what Ive heard and seen so far he doesnt treat a lot of people with respect. At this point I genuinely cant tell if he thinks less of women because of our gender, or simply because were not named Donald Trump and he assumes anyone not named Donald Trump should not be treated as his equal and should occasionally be a target of ridicule. (See lil Marco Rubio.) To me this is of far greater concern than how he feels about me as a woman. As I see it the larger question the Times piece raised is where is the line between judging whether ones personal treatment of women is significant enough to warrant considerations of how such treatment may be reflected in policy? For the record there are countless examples in history that demonstrate ones personal behavior and values are not always reflected in their legislative priorities. Sen. Strom Thurmond championed horrifyingly racist legislative policies, while also serving as an involved father, who visited his black daughter at college and regularly checked up on her academic progress. President Bill Clinton was a staunch supporter of reproductive rights who empowered countless women in his administration, including his wife, yet also has a troubling record when it comes to allegations of his treatment of women with lesser power. Former Sen. Bob Packwood was a hero of many feminist groups as a rare Republican who supported reproductive rights and voted against confirming Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court before his own sexual harassment history was exposed. And now we have Donald Trump. Its hard to know how Trump would legislate on womens issues because as with most issues, the man has not exactly been Mr. Consistent. (He wanted to punish women who seek abortions, until he thought about it for a nanosecond, then didnt.) This should be the larger focus of concern in Trumps candidacy from his critics in media and on the campaign trailhis actual policies and how they impact women, not his junior high rhetoric or ancient dating faux pas. We established long ago hes not a Boy Scout. But its unlikely those who are assailing him are either, which is part of why at this point many of these types of attacks arent resonating. Many of the media outlets or progressive organizations critiquing him for misogyny may not use his language about women, but they would probably buckle under scrutiny of their own track record in terms of gender parity (or racial parity) in employment, promotions, and compensationparticularly at the senior level. (Heres looking at you, New York Times.) And Bill Clintons complicated history with women will remain an inconvenient thorn in the side of the Clinton campaign as it strives to use Trumps own history and mouth against him. Which is why instead of focusing so much on what Trump says about women, the Clinton campaign should continue emphasizing what she has actually done and will continue to do for women policy-wise. But she should also be making the case that besides his lack of filter, its his lack of experience, lack of diplomacy, lack of tolerance, and overall lack of class that is fundamentally bad for America, and therefore bad for women. (For someone who says the Iraq War was a bad idea this man sure seems intent on starting another conflict every time he opens his mouth about foreign policy.) But even more important, Clinton should use Trumps rich man card against him. He keeps insisting that despite being a former senator and secretary of state, Clintons candidacy is viable only because of her so-called woman card. Well, most of his successes in life have been possible because he was born rich, white, and male, including his current presidential campaign. If anything, I felt sorry for Donald Trump reading the Times piece. He seems genuinely clueless that many women hes crossed paths with over the years dont find him interesting, charming, or handsome. Just rich, powerful, and useful. Of course those are some of the membership advantages of the rich man card. It remains to be seen if the same card can buy a presidency. How to Find Local Job Listings Are you looking for a job and not having much luck finding local job listings? There are variety of ways to narrow down your local job search to focus on jobs near you or in the locations where you are interested in working. Has anyone ever wondered why cities that used to boast being the largest in the U.S. have been bleeding population for the last seventy-some-years? New York is still the largest and Chicago is now third, after losing second place to Los Angeles. Back in the day, Detroit was the third largest and St. Louis was fourth. Now Houston is fourth and Atlanta is fast closing in. What changed the landscape so drastically? Why did companies that had stayed put for eons suddenly begin to move westward and a bit later into the southern states? Why were people willing to pull up stakes and follow jobs to the American desert and farther? The answer is air conditioning. Air conditioning has had an extreme impact on life in America. I dare say, more than most other innovations of the 20th century. The department stores that were air conditioned early on saw a huge up-tick in business. People wanted to cool themselves in the heat and humidity of summer, hence, business boomed. People went to movies they otherwise might not have, simply to languish for a couple of hours, soaking up the cool. I, personally, spent many after-school hours in the cool, solitude of the local public library, which unfortunately didnt attract as many as one might think. If air conditioning had never been invented, Las Vegas would still be a tiny, one-horse town where only the most determined would have continued to frequent the pleasures of gambling and other, however lurid, but legal activities. It was entirely too hot for the faint of heart. Air conditioning robbed the northeast and midwest of many good-paying jobs, while opening up the western United States to a booming, rich economy. Not only did Vegas flourish due to A\C, but so did Phoenix, Tucson, and the whole of California and Texas. Los Angeles was not the birthplace of the film industry, but it became increasingly obvious to those who were making movies that weather was playing a huge role in their abilityor inabilityto produce their product, so they moved from New Jersey to sunny California, where movies could be made year-round, with an abundance of sunshine and decent weather. A film colony mainly until the advent of air conditioning, Los Angeles is now a diversified, industrial megatropolis. I grew up in the sweltering Arkansas heat, where the temperature can reach 110 and above. And as I have told you in past epistles, I lived in Hot Springs, which is surrounded by lakes, similar to the way Roanoke is surrounded by mountains, and the humidity was, and is, absolutely beyond unbearable. I can tell you that I sometimes wonder how I made it. I dont sweat, which is a horrible condition when one lives in such an intemperate climate. When I was a freshman in college, I lived in the oldest womens dorm on campus. It was also the only one that was not air conditioned. How that happened, I do not remember. What I do remember, with crystal clarity, is the fact that in that day-in-time boys could wear shorts to class, but girls could not. Any woman out there within my reading-range who was a teen-ager in the late 50s will remember the popular mode of dress. My, God, whoever thought to bring back crinoline petticoats in the 20th century should have been horsewhipped. There we were, slaves to our wardrobes, going to classes in a minimum of two or three starched petticoats whilst watching our male counterparts sitting around barelegged. I might add that I went to summer school for two consecutive summers. I guess there is just no accounting for gullibility. The second summer I attended, because the year before I had become engaged to George, and I thought the world would end if I didnt graduate in August and marry him. Can you believe that? History and social studies were taught in newer, air conditioned buildings on campus, as were English and psychology; therefore, unbeknownst to and unplanned by me, I managed to garner minors in both of the latter. I loved history and all it entailed, and being an extroverted ham, I double majored in speech/drama and social studies. All but two of my speech or drama classes were in air conditioned surroundings, but having wonderfully, intelligent and loquacious professors made up for a couple of hours of discomfort three times a week for a graduate course (speech correction) I was taking for undergraduate credit. The other was at seven oclock on Saturday mornings. It too was a graduate course in play production. In that course, most of my classmates were already teachers who were studying for their masters degrees. The class met in the basement of the original building on campus. I loved the class, and I loved my teacher, but those things, as important as they were, in no way made up for the heat generated in that underground, hellhole during the summer of 1959. As you may discern, it is burned into my memory cells. When one is trying desperately to finish ones education for a reason such as I, one takes what one can get, when one can get it. However, I think I did some really clever planning for my majors, even though the minors came as a surprise to me when I applied for my first teaching job. The principal said to me, I see you have a minor in English, would you be willing to teach that subject? Without giving it a second thought, I said, Sure, why not? Few things in my life have been as abysmally, horrendous as that decision, because except for the required grammar courses, everything else I had taken was in literature. I survived, because I had help from my ninth grade cousin, who, bless his sweet heart, was also a student of mine and who had a better grasp of English grammar than me or the rest of us put together. I survived, but Im not sure about those poor seventh, eighth, ninth and eleventh grade chillins I was expected to teach the bare basics of how and why our language works. Can anyone, this day in time, believe a right-out-of-college rookie could be expected to take on such a task? Four different grades which meant four different lesson plans every day. I had to study harder than my students. And I might just add, that school was not air conditioned. God extracted his measure of gotcha on that one. These things are amusing now. Most of us live in air conditioned comfort year round. We are warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and we only think of the vicissitudes of our youth when recounting them for a particular reason, such as I am for this epistle. Oh, well, I no longer have reason to return to my hometown except for my high school reunions, the last of which I may, or may not, attend this fall. But I can assure you, if I do, it will be a well-spent, air conditioned weekend. It was luxuries like air conditioning that brought down the Roman Empire. With air conditioning their windows were shut, they couldnt hear the barbarians coming. -- Garrison Keilor About 40 officers and their K-9 partners will compete Saturday in the annual Virginia Police Work Dog Associations Iron Dog Competition at the W.E. Shelton 4-H Educational Center at Smith Mountain Lake. The Franklin County Sheriffs Department is hosting the event, according to coordinator Lt. Brandt Gawor. The sheriffs office hosted the event in 2005 and 2008 at the Waid Recreational Park. Law enforcement teams from throughout Virginia will be joined by K-9 teams from North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, as well as military bases. Four teams will represent the Franklin County Sheriffs Office, along with two teams from the Rocky Mount Police Department. A third RMPD K-9 handler will assist, along with other town police officers. Competitors and their families will be housed in the centers quarters. There will be as course walk-through on Friday evening along with the picnic dinner with bonfire, and the firearms range is scheduled to be open, Gawor added. Gawor offered a special invitation to local residents to attend the competition, which opens at 9 a.m. after the playing of the National Anthem. A team will start the obstacle course every five minutes, and spectators can observe the action, Gawor said. The event is spectator friendly, so family members, friends and those wishing to see the competition for the first time can cheer on their K-9 heroes. A number of dog breeds that are specially trained will be put to the test by the various challenges during the competition. The Virginia Highlands Pipes and Drums Band from Roanoke will perform at 11 a.m., and childrens activities are scheduled throughout the day. There is no admission charge. We also have event t-shirts and will do a 50-50 drawing, Gawor said. Roger Ellmore, executive direct of the 4-H center, said they are proud to be hosting this event. Nina Brooks, conferencing manager, said the guests for the event can use the private bathroom and family facilities. The rooms are also equipped with Wi-Fi. Its nice partnering with the sheriffs office for this event because a lot of people have never been here before, Brooks said. And we can accommodate over 400 people with ease. Larry Busacca/WireImageAs Diddy and the Bad Boy family prepare to hit the stage for their first reunion concert tonight in New York City, the question is: Will The Notorious B.I.G., a.k.a. Christopher Wallace, hologram makes its debut? According to the New York Post, the digital image is ready, and the second reunion concert tomorrow will mark what would have been the B.I.Gs 44th birthday. Wallace estate director Wayne Barrow wont reveal if the hologram will be used during this weekends shows, however he says it will be unique. The technology allows so many elements to exist, and for it to be real and respectful, he says. It could be on a phone, through VR [virtual reality], or the fans could engage with him in a performance. Tonight and tomorrows concerts will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, close to where the late rapper grew up. ARHT media developed the technology for the hologram, and company chairman Rene Bharti suggests B.I.G.s home borough is being used as a theme. Were looking to include his street, the corner he lived on, his stoop, he says. Brooklyn is at the heart of what were doing. Biggies widow, Faith Evans, who approved the virtual image along with his mother, Voletta Wallace, will perform in the show. As previously reported, Evans is recording The King & I duet album featuring B.I.G.s vocals. The hologram is expected to appear in the video for the first single from the album. Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Henderson County High School juniors (from left) Will Hardy, Cara Daniels, Riley Mabe and Isaac Oettle have been named to the 2016 Kentucky Governor's Scholars Program. The students will spend five weeks at a Kentucky college this summer. SHARE By Erin Schmitt of The Gleaner Getting a head start on the college experience and earning that all important scholarship money were the main reasons four Henderson County High School students are participating in the Governor's Scholars Program this summer. Established in 1983, the program provides an early peak at residential college life for accomplished rising high school seniors. Students spend five weeks at one of three Kentucky colleges, learning a concentrated field of study and participating in co-curricular activities. Students must complete an application and compete with others from across the state, according to the GSP website. Only students who have been nominated by their district can compete for spots on the state level. Those selected attend the program free of charge. The four HCHS students selected were Cara Daniels, Will Hardy, Riley Mabe and Isaac Oettle. Each of the students recently were presented with a medal and recognized by the Henderson County Board of Education. Cara Daniels Daniels, 17, calls being selected for GSP a "great honor." "I really would like to know how to function in a college setting instead of just go straight forward into college, maybe get a five-week experience," she said. "It helps pay a lot for college and it broadens my horizon on like what kind of college I want to pick from the state of Kentucky." She's leaning toward Murray State University which is also where she hopes to go for GSP. She's also considering the University of Kentucky and Kentucky Wesleyan. Each GSP scholar gets to choose three areas of study they would like to concentrate on this summer. Program officials then assign them one area. Daniels picked astronomy, psychology and her top choice, forensic science. "I'm really interested in all the biology and chemistry that goes along with it," she said. Ever since she started school, Daniels has dreamed of becoming a veterinarian because she's always loved animals. She became interested in specializing in marine biology after visiting the beach as a middle school student. She is the daughter of Gary and Lisa Daniels. Will hardy Though Hardy has not yet attended GSP, he has a familiarity with the program. His older brother, Jack, and good friends Lance Gibson and Hencye Sights all attended. "They really enjoyed it and advocated its greatness, so I wanted to go and have that experience and also try to get some of that scholarship money to help me pay off my tuition," said the 17-year-old. College is definitely already on Hardy's mind. Over spring break he visited Vanderbilt University, UK, Centre College and University of Louisville. He liked all of the colleges, but favored the latter two. He plans to study environmental science and art history, a pair of content areas he enjoys learning about. "I just want to pursue it and see if I can make something of it," Hardy said. His content selections for GSP were, in order of preference, environmental and biological issues, forensics and engineering. For the summer, he would prefer to attend Murray since that's the most "schedule friendly" his uncle's wedding falls over the five-week period and closest to home. He is the son of Mark and Sarah Hardy. Riley Mabe Mabe, 17, wants to open herself up more to new experiences through GSP. Her friend J.T. Payne attended last year and told her the students do little activities that help everyone get out of their comfort zone. She's looking forward to a similar experience. "At (HCHS) you tend to stick to one group of people and I know at GSP they pick from like a diverse group of people," she said. "So, I hope to branch out a little more, get to know people and break down barriers that I've probably set up being at one high school for four years." Mabe would like to go to Morehead University for the five-week summer session because it falls in the middle of June through July 20. "I'm hoping for that one because that at least gives me a week where I can still have a summer before school starts again," she said. Her choices of study for the summer were forensic science, business and marketing, and creative writing. After high school, she wants to go to Murray and study agronomy. She is the daughter of Tammy and Sam Mabe. Isaac Oettle Learning about different perspectives intrigues Oettle. At GSP he's looking forward to "getting to meet different people from across the state and, obviously, getting to learn about the focus area that they give me," he said. "Getting different perspectives about how different people live across the state, I think, would be cool and making new friends." The 17-year-old helped cofound the philosophy club at HCHS earlier this year. He's also involved in the academic team and is "very interested" in politics, having briefly interned for the Ted Cruz campaign and volunteered for Jamie Comer. He works at State Farm, but his dream job would be U.S. Senate majority leader. Oettle wants to attend UK, UL, Centre or Vanderbilt and major in political science, economics or pre-law. As for GSP, any college would be fine but Murray is closest to home. During the program, he will study either political science, historical analysis or journalism. He is the son of Julie Nance and Craig Oettle. SHARE By Gleaner Staff The Wind Ensemble from Henderson County High School will give a preview concert before heading to Washington, D.C., to perform at the National Memorial Day Concert Series during Memorial Day Weekend. The public is invited to the free preview concert at 6 p.m. Monday in Central Park. "We knew that not everyone would be able to travel with us, but would want to hear our performance," said HCHS Director of Bands Adam Thomas. The concerts will feature salutes to active, retired and fallen members of the Armed Forces, a tribute to the state of Kentucky as well as music from movies and television. The show includes works by composers John Williams, Frank Ticheli, Stephen Foster, John Philip Sousa and more. Earlier in the school year, the Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at the National Memorial Day Concert Series in Washington, D.C., a news release said. The local group will perform at the National Air Force Memorial on Sunday, May 29, and at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial on Monday, May 30. The Wind Ensemble recently earned a distinguished rating from the Kentucky Music Educators Association at the State Performance Assessment in Louisville, the first state distinguished rating for the HCHS Band since 2008, school officials said. While in D.C., the band will visit monuments, museums and landmarks, as well as hearing the National Memorial Day Concert presented by the National Symphony Orchestra with guests the Beach Boys, Renee Fleming and more. Greater Burlington leaders hope for more hotel, housing construction Burlington and West Burlington leaders shared opportunities for growth and quality of life improvements in their respective cities. 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Aylward, special assistant to the chief in the National Guard Bureau, will speak at the Annual Ceremony at the Shea-Magrath Memorial at Calf Pasture Beach at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 22. The Board of Examiners for Nursing has recently disciplined 13 nurses, including four from Fairfield County, and in nearly all of the cases, the nurses were abusing drugs or alcohol that affected their ability to practice. After a hearing this week, the board reinstated the license of Todd Stockheimer, a registered nurse who had been working for the Bristol-Myers Squibb drug company in Wallingford before being convicted of drug possession. The board also placed his license on probation for four years. State records show that Stockheimer had abused opioid painkillers after having back surgery in 2007 and that he received many of his prescriptions from a co-worker, Dr. Robert Hindes. In an unusual twist, Stockheimer sued Hindes for negligence, blaming his drug dependency on the doctor, and won a $3.5 million judgment, the Connecticut Law Tribune reported. Stockheimer told the board his addictions lead him into horrible situation, but he is maintaining his sobriety. I can never let that happen again, he said. This week the board also took the following action: Revoked the license of Rachel Brazee, an R.N. from Warren. Records show that while working at St. Vincents Medical Center in Bridgeport in 2015, she could not perform procedures, including dialysis, because of hand or body tremors or anxiety. She also abused marijuana, records show. Revoked the Connecticut license of Shawna Hartle, an R.N. from Preston, who was disciplined by Texas officials in 2015 for using morphine, marijuana, alcohol and amphetamines, records show. Revoked the license of Erin Arndt, an R.N. from Wellington, Colorado, who was disciplined by Colorado officials in 2014 after admitting she stole narcotics for her own use, records show. She also failed to disclose to Connecticut officials that she had been disciplined by Minnesota and Washington state officials, records show. Revoked the license of Katherine Mezzi, a licensed practical nurse from Wallingford, after concluding that from 2012 to 2015, she abused alcohol and narcotics, including cocaine, records show. Revoked the license of Matthew Hopkins, an R.N. from Andover, because he had violated an earlier probation by failing to go to therapy, records show. In 2015, his license was placed on probation for four years because he abused Suboxone or Dilaudid, records show. On Wednesday, the board also placed the nursing license of Paul Pitney, an R.N. from Milford, on probation for one year. In 2014, while working at a Fairfield nursing home, Pitney took oxycodone and morphine and failed to administer pain medication as ordered, state records show. The board also summarily suspended the license of Holly Cocchiola, an L.P.N. from Bethlehem, who tested positive for heroin after a car accident on Feb. 14, state records show. She was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance, evading responsibility and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, records show. In 2001, her license was placed on a three-year probation because of substance abuse and because she forged prescriptions for the painkiller Percocet, state records show. The board withdrew charges of abusing heroin or cocaine against Debra Leonard, an R.N. from New Fairfield, because she voluntarily surrendered her license. Records show she was working at a Hamden nursing home in 2015 when she was accused of taking a controlled substance and failing to accurately record a narcotics count, records show. In April, the board disciplined five nurses, according to the Connecticut Department of Public Health. It revoked the license of Gregory Klimaytis, an R.N. from Redding, because records show he violated the terms of a four-year probation imposed in 2013 by failing drug tests three times. The board also placed the license of Kathryn Jaworski, an L.P.N. from Manchester, on probation for four years because she tested positive for the painkiller Tramadol in October 2015. The positive test was a violation of an existing four-year probation agreement. The board also placed the license of R.N. Michelle Murphy of East Longmeadow, Massachusetts on probation for two years. While working as an R.N. at Hartford Hospital in February 2015, she was accused of taking Fentanyl and Dilaudid, two powerful painkillers, for her personal use and falsifying reports. At a hearing, Murphy denied taking the drugs but said she initially admitted doing so because two drug control agents who came to home intimidated her, records show. The board also imposed a six-month probation on R.N. Jasmine Rivera Gonzalez of Beacon Falls. State records show that while working at Bridgeport Hospital, she failed to document the waste of controlled substances in 2014. State records show that the board placed the license of Danielle Dragon, an L.P.N. from Bristol, on probation for one year. She was accused of crushing a pill that she said was Oxycodone but was tested and found to be Tylenol, records show. This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team ( www.c-hit.org ). This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Motorcycle crashes killed 10 percent more people in 2015 than 2014, according to the Governors Highway Safety Associations annual forecast of motorcyclist fatalities. And while that national figure is grim, the report showed that Connecticut was one of 16 states in which the number of motorcycle fatalities actually declined. The report, based on preliminary data from state highway safety offices, showed that more than 5,000 people were killed on motorcycles in 2015 roughly 450 more deaths than in 2014. In Connecticut, the number of fatal motorcycle accidents fell from 54 in 2014 to 45 in 2015. The Connecticut Department of Transportation recorded a slightly higher total for 2015, with 51 motorcycle fatalities. But the state confirmed that there were fewer accidents in 2015 than 2014. The numbers werent a surprise to Dr. Rock Ferrigno, chairman of Bridgeport Hospitals emergency department. He said hes noticed a decline in such accidents, particularly this year. Usually, on the first warm day, we see a ton of motorcycle accident patients, Ferrigno said. This year, thankfully, we havent seen it yet. Meanwhile, several area police departments said the national stats support what they see as well. Stratford police traffic Lt.Frank Eannotti said there had been a decline in motorcycle fatalities, and that motorcycles are involved in a small percentage of accidents. Spokespeople in Bridgeport and Ansonia said they hadnt had a fatal motorcycle accident in at least two years, and Trumbull Police Lt. Leonard Scinto said the last motorcycle death in town was in 2014. But that doesnt mean motorcycle accidents arent a problem in Connecticut. Though the national report showed accidents falling in the state, it also showed that motorcycle fatalities made up 22 percent of all traffic deaths in Connecticut higher than the national average of 14 percent. And at least one area emergency physician said his hospital gets a regular stream of motorcycle-accident injuries. This is definitely something thats not unusual, said Federico Vaca, an emergency medicine physician at Yale-New Haven Hospital and professor and vice chairman of the Yale School of Medicines Department of Emergency Medicine. He attributed that to the fact that Connecticut has no universal helmet law, requiring helmets only for those younger than 18. Currently, only 19 states and the District of Columbia require all riders be helmeted. Connecticut is one of 28 states that mandate helmet use by riders younger than age 18 or 21. Three states have no helmet requirement. . Not wearing a helmet greatly increases the chance of a fatal injury in the event of a motorcycle accident, Vaca said. When youre on a motorcycle, he said, your body basically becomes a projectile if youre launched off of it, and the chances are youre going to hit something. All 50 states and the District of Columbia contributed their preliminary motorcyclist fatality counts for the full 2015 calendar year for the Governors Highway Safety Association report. Compared with 2014, motorcyclist fatalities increased in 31 states, decreased in 16 states, and remained the same in three states plus the District of Columbia. The highway safety association projects the final motorcyclist fatality total for 2015 will be 5,010 only the third year in U.S. history and the first time since 2008 in which the fatality number topped 5,000. Click through to see the states where motorcycle deaths increased and those where they decreased. On this weeks segment of Segue, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Interim Chancellor Stephen Hansen, PhD, is joined by Eugene B. Redmond, renowned poet and emeritus professor at SIUE. An East St. Louis native, Redmond has compiled a fruitful career as both a poet and an educator, publishing thousands of literary works in numerous books, journals, anthologies and various other publications. The SIUE alumnus was one of the first students to register at SIUE when the University opened its doors in 1957. He left the University briefly to serve in the United States Marine Corps before returning to SIUE and completing a bachelors in English Literature in 1964. He earned a masters degree in English Literature from Washington University in St. Louis in 1966. A man truly committed to education, Redmond began as a teacher-counselor at Southern Illinois Universitys Experiment in Higher Education in East St. Louis before leaving in 1969 to teach at Oberlin College in Ohio. One year later, he joined the English faculty at California State University, Sacramento as a professor. In 1985, Redmond returned to East St. Louis and served as the special assistant to the superintendent for cultural and language arts at the East St. Louis School District until 1989. He again left the area to teach at Wayne State University in Detroit for one year before returning home to join the faculty at SIUE, where he has since earned recognition as an emeritus professor of English. Redmond has been writing since he was a child and realized his passion immediately. He explains that his love of poetry was cultivated through his writing experiences in the Marine Corps and mentorships through the SIUE faculty. While he has many literary influences, Redmond expresses a particular admiration for E.E. Cummings. Today, Redmond primarily focuses his poetry toward the Kwanzaa and Kwanzaa Saba styles. The poetry of sevens contains exactly 49 words, consisting of seven lines, which feature seven words each, and words that are no longer than seven letters aside from minor rules for exceptions. Redmond has gained national recognition for his poetic pieces, serving as a leader of the Black Arts Movement and contributing to countless large-scale publications. He has generated a plethora of literary works for the St. Louis region, while also engaging in work in California and along the east coast. Through his work, Redmond has created lasting friendships with several notable authors and scholars, including the late Maya Angelou. Hansen and Redmond discuss the recent opening of the Eugene B. Redmond Collection, which is housed in SIUEs Lovejoy Library. A collection of more than 60 years of personal artifacts, the Eugene B. Redmond Collection features more than 100,000 photographs and thousands of printed literary treasures that Redmond has collected throughout his impactful career. Anything I came across, I got three of, he explains. Any country I went to, I got newspapers. I didnt know the importance of these at the time. I brought them back to share with friends, relatives and my students. I didnt know what would happen to them, but now they have a home. I was so happy about that and thank SIUE for its support. Hansen continues by adding that the collection is not only a unique feature to the campus, but also is a wonderful opportunity for learning and inspiration for students who peruse the artifacts. Whats great about the collection is that it not only contains your works, but also features you as a witness to a whole generation of cultural change and growth, Hansen shares. These writings are from a time that is reflective of both our nations culture and the culture of East St. Louis. It was extremely generous of you to donate this wonderful collection to the University, and were so proud to have it at SIUE, because its part of who we are. Youve given our students a part of the richness into this world that future generations will be able to observe and marvel at the inventiveness and creativity. The scholars conclude the show by discussing Redmonds current work, which includes the creation of a Kwanzaa Saba poem as tribute to the great poet Michael S. Harper, who recently passed away. Tune in to WSIE 88.7 FM every Sunday at 9 a.m. as weekly guests discuss issues on SIUEs campus. By Logan Cameron, SIUE Marketing & Communications Gov. Bruce Rauner visited the area Wednesday to participate in a roundtable discussion that focused on job creation, lower property taxes, and reducing worker compensation costs. The discussion took place at Newman Carriers, a trucking company based in Fairmont City that serves the chemical industry. The company was founded in Edwardsville in 1984 but moved to Fairmont City a couple of years ago. On Wednesday morning, Newman Carriers President Joe Newman led Rauner on a tour of the facility, introducing him to the companys four mechanics and pointing out the companys fleet of more than 30 late-model power units and 50 specialized tankers. Later, Newman and Rauner were joined by several small local business owners. One of them was Bob Stock, president of Stock Transportation, a Lebanon-based company with about 120 employees. The company, Stock said, hauls a lot of steel and building materials across the region. Right now, with U.S. Steel in Granite City being closed, thats not helping our business, he said. Theres a lot going on with workmans comp. Its a big issue. A really big issue. Bob Dee, Jr. was also on hand. He owns Homes by Deesign, Inc. with his father, Bob Dee, Sr. What we need in our industry is just a good general environment, Dee told Rauner. If people are going to build new homes, they need to have confidence in the area. So if we can improve the general environment then the construction industry will improve. Rauner told him that small construction firms such as Homes by Deesign are barometers for how the state is doing financially. If Illinois is doing well, youre busy, Rauner said. If its not doing well, youre not busy. Rauner criticized unfunded mandates coming down from Springfield, and taxes and regulations that he said were driving business owners to states such as Missouri, Iowa and Indiana. He was also critical of property taxes that are the highest in the nation. One reason for that is that we over-rely on property taxes to fund our schools, he said, This is the worst state in America for funding schools. That puts a lot of pressure on local businesses and it hurts lower-income school districts that dont have the resources to put into our schools. Another reason for high property taxes, he said, is wasteful spending in Springfield and its bureaucracy and inefficiency. Illinois has more than 7,000 units of government, more than any other state by nearly 2,000. Many of these are taxing districts that have pensions, many are patronage, and (there is) cronyism. Some of these are little political kingdoms and they cost taxpayers a lot. If we could shrink that wasteful bureaucracy we could save more than $2.5 million a year. Thats a lot of money to put into schools and for human services. Thats a lot of money we could give in tax rebates for small business owners, the way Indiana did. We gotta shrink that bureaucracy. St. Clair County Board member John West told Rauner that people are overwhelmed by taxes. Im not sure of the answers, West said. A property tax freeze is something theyre interested in. But younger people are worried about their schools. They want the best schools all over the state. Were looking for a different way to fund our schools. Rauner criticized Illinois for failing to be competitive with neighboring states. Other states are much more reasonable, he said. Thats pushed a lot of employers out of the state. They cant compete with Missouri and Indiana. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Hindun Mulaika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Indonesia needs more energy as millions still have no access to electricity and in growing cities, power supply is unreliable. Thats why the government has pledged to increase energy output by 35 gigawatts ( GW ), based on an assumption that demand will grow by 8 percent a year a prediction that many have criticized as excessive. What is more significant for Indonesias future, though, is that two thirds of this 35 GW is expected to come from coal. Most of Indonesias electricity already comes from coal, and the price being paid for this is clear to see. Water resources have been polluted in Kalimantan, farmers deprive of their land in Java and anyone who lives near a coal-fired power plant is having their health damaged by emissions. A study carried out by Harvard University, and commissioned by Greenpeace, looked at the health impacts of air pollution from coal-fired power plants in Indonesia. Its findings show that existing power plants cause an estimated 6,500 premature deaths every year, from diseases like stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory illness. If the government goes ahead with plans to allow more than 100 new coal-fired plants, this number could rise to 28,300 people dying before their time every year, according to the study. An ordinary Indonesia might rightfully ask, Where is the data on this air pollution? Shamefully, there is almost no air-quality monitoring in the country, and controls on power plants are lax. Indonesia, like its Southeast Asian neighbors, allows new coal-fired power plants to emit 5-10 times the amount of major pollutants permissible in China, the US and the EU, and it does not generally require emission controls for SO2 or NOx to be installed. We have talked to villagers and medical workers in villages close to a coal-fired plant in Java. Respiratory problems are common, with people frequently complaining of coughs and shortness of breath, all year round. Many patients are very small children. It is not only families living nearby who suffer. The pollution from coal-fired power plants spreads over a large area, hundreds of kilometers from the plant. The WHO recognizes in particular the dangers of very fine particles, known as PM2.5, in these emissions. The particles are so small that they enter the lungs and the bloodstream, making them more toxic and harmful than larger particles. Most of the health impacts of coal emissions are caused by PM2.5. You have only to look at China to see how dangerous coal pollution can be. For many years, Chinas reliance on coal pushed the countrys air pollution to crisis levels. Beijing has experienced several days of whats become known as Airpocalyse when the city is covered in a thick, choking smog and PM2.5 levels rise to nearly 30 times the level deemed safe by WHO. Researchers estimate that air pollution in China kills an average of 4,000 people a day, with coal burning the principal cause. Its no wonder that popular anger has forced the Chinese government to reduce coal burning, imposing a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants until the end of 2017. That is not the future we want for Indonesia. Yet, as China begins to turn its back on coal, Indonesia seems ready to buy their secondhand technology to build coal plants here. India has taken over Chinas unenviable reputation for pollution the four most polluted cities in the world are in India. Its electricity generation is also built on coal, but that has failed to keep the lights on in India. The government now has plans to install 100 GW of solar power by 2022 20 times current solar power production. And the best news of all? The countrys energy minister, Piyush Goyal, says its a more cost-effective option than coal. Good news from Indonesia in recent weeks though, with President Joko Jokowi Widodo announcing the moratorium on coal mining licenses. This new policy is expected to shift the direction of development toward a greener path. Indonesia does not deserve, and cannot afford, a future built on coal. It is time to break free and take a new path, based on our abundant renewable energy resources. *** The writer is climate and energy team leader at Greenpeace Indonesia. --------------- We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Intan Tanjung (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Literature has played a significant role in shaping this countrys history. It was through the voice of Max Havelaar, written by Eduard Douwes Dekker under the name of Multatuli, that the Indonesian youths spirit of nationalism was ignited, which led to the Awakening Movement in 1908. Max Havelaar tells the story of Batavus Droogstoppel, representing the Dutch colonial regime of the time and his treatment of Indonesian people. Following acclaimed author Pramoedya Ananta Toer's release of the Buru tetralogy, in which he shared the dark history of the New Order regime, other writers have been inspired to write their own stories and share the truth through literature despite facing the threat of being sent to jail, kidnapped or even killed. (Read also: Calling all writers to give voice to the voiceless through literature) Literature has a stalagmite effect, said Sebastian Partogi, a journalist at a national newspaper in Indonesia who was invited to speak at a panel season during the ASEAN Literary Festival. Writing about [sensitive issues] can create small snowflakes, which later become big. After being shut off and censored for more than half a decade, the chance to write about forbidden issues has finally come. Some writers use this opportunity to tell stories about the past that need to be told. Leila A. Chudori, for example, has written books about the 1965 tragedy. These books later lead to important discussions about sensitive matters and ideas and stories were exchanged through communities and small discussions, Although the speakers no longer have to face the same danger that activists under the New order did, the government still has the right to ban or shut down events it considers provocative or dangerous. This happened at last year's Ubud Writers and Readers Festival that had to cancel some of their panels that were going to discuss the 1965 tragedy. Janet DeNeefe, the festival founder and director, claimed that she was surprised and felt backed into a corner with no way out when forced to cancel the sessions. We had never experienced any sort of program restrictions before and were always proud to be a platform for all sorts of discussions on local and global issues, she told The Jakarta Post. I've learned that we need to tread more carefully with sensitive issues and pay more attention to how we construct a program. Despite the ban, the incident silently triggered anger among Indonesians, especially the youth. Since then, more and more small group discussions have been held to discuss the 1965 tragedy, which are increasingly courageous to openly talk about it, despite facing bans and backlash from the government or hard-line organizations. (Read also: 12 Indonesian books you should add to your reading list) DeNeefe said that literature in Indonesia was currently moving ahead in leaps and bounds. The creed 'the pen is mightier than the sword' is the foundation upon which the festival was built, said DeNeefe. Oral history and the telling of stories are important to all cultures, all people. In times of uncertainty, literature has helped us make sense of the world and bring communities together. DeNeefe also emphasizes that literature is a very powerful tool to awaken the national spirit. There are issues to be discussed and a sense of urgency to be heard and times like these often produce the most creative work. (kes) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Asmara Wreksono (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Art is everywhere, and these days everywhere often means social media. We scrolled through our Instagram feeds to check out the wonderful talents of Indonesian sketchers, and fell in love with seven of them. Behold, the sketchers you should follow on Instagram to make your timeline brighter. Motulz Had Anto Motulz not come with his father to Indira bookstore in Bandung and got a Tintin comic when he was in the third grade, maybe he wouldn't have fallen in love with drawing and made it onto our list. And thank goodness he did. Motulz loves different objects, however since 2012 he has been particularly interested in sketching buildings. He mainly uses fountain pens and swears on Pilots Namiki Falcon, The nib allows me to choose between very fine lines and thick lines without requiring me to change pens. Very ideal when youre sketching while traveling. Vira Tanka Also known publicly as one of Indonesias most prolific travel bloggers, Vira Tanka found her love in sketching buildings and city landscapes with the Urban Sketchers community. Like many urban sketchers, Vira adores her fountain pen, although her true love is watercolor. In school I used to like using watercolors, charcoal pencils and oil pastels. However the one thats stuck with me until now is watercolors, so I think its my all-time favorite, she said. Yandi Prayudhi Interior designer, Yandi Prayudhi, does not only sketch his favorite objects: buildings, rooms and architectural wonders. He also collects drawing tools, mainly mechanical pencils and fountain pens. I love LAMY fountain pens so much, I have their Safari series in many colors. I have about 15 to 20 fountain pens from various brands, he laughed. Often finishing off his sketches with watercolors, Yandi said, I used to use Winsor & Newtons Cotman watercolor. Now I use Rembrandt, but no matter what I use, its the skills that matters. Dita Wistarini Dita has been familiar with artsy things since childhood due to her fathers profession as a photographer/artist. However she only delved into drawing and exploring various crafts when she was already married, and was living in Kuwait with her artist husband, Pinot. Dita likes artistic exploration and she doesnt only draw on paper, but also on cakes she bakes. In her current city of New York, Dita uses watercolors to sketch her favorite drawing objects; fruits, vegetables, food and animals. Dinda Puspitasari As a professional fashion illustrator, Dindas Instagram account is a pleasing feast of colors and elegance. My favorite objects are women in stylish outfits because I had always wanted to be a fashion designer. I wanted to go to fashion school but it never happened, but until now, I still really love fashion so its easy for me to draw stylish girls from the streets or runway. Dinda loves using brush pens and her current favorite brand is Shinhan Touch. Since I do a lot of live drawing at events and gatherings, this brush pen is very practical because I dont have to wait for the paint to dry, she said. Although she uses brush pens a lot, Dinda chooses watercolor as her all-time favorite tool. Pinot Ichwandardi New York-based professional artist, Pinot Ichwandardi, has been drawing since childhood, and his works have been used by renowned international companies such as Samsung and Disney. However, Pinot still sketches casually and the way he captures New Yorkers via his sketches is mesmerizing. Pinot draws anything around him or whatever comes into his mind. Although his drawings might seem compicated to non-artists, he keeps things simple by just using pencil and paper. For more serious sketching sessions, he prefers HandBook sketchbook and Pilots Namiki Falcon fountain pen. Imam Zakaria Using the alias KamiSketsa on Instagram, graphic designer, Imam Zakaria, has loved drawing since childhood but only tried sketching seriously at the end of 2014. His favorite object lately has been food, as he sketches as a way to wait until his food cools down. To help him come up with drool-worthy sketches, Imam enlists the 12-color Koi watercolor set, Sakura Micron pen 0.05, Snowman 0.1 drawing pen and 2B wooden or mechanical pencil as his regular arsenal. Currently hes learning the art of hand-lettering and experimenting with the Pigma BB brush pen. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anick Jesdanun (Associated Press) New York, United States Fri, May 20, 2016 Better graphics and the ability to run two apps side by side are coming to Google's latest version of Android, dubbed N. But chances are good that this free software update announced Wednesday won't arrive on your Android phone for some time if ever. (If you're an iPhone user, rest easy; none of this affects you.) So far, just 7.5 percent of active Android users have last year's version of Android, called Marshmallow. About a quarter are still on versions from 2012 or earlier. For that, people can thank smartphone makers or their wireless carrier and maybe both. Last week, two federal agencies asked them to explain why they're so slow to update Android, as delays mean consumers aren't getting the latest security improvements. (Read also: Expect virtual reality, artificial intelligence from Google) They also deprive most Android users of the latest technologies. Marshmallow, for instance, introduced fingerprint sign-ons and other features, but so few people have it that some app makers haven't bothered to incorporate them. Citibank and Capital One, for instance, now let iPhone users sign into their apps with a touch of their finger; neither bank has brought that to Android yet. There isn't an easy fix, either, although there are a few ways you can circumvent the bottleneck. ___ ANDROID IS NOT APPLE Apple says 84 percent of iPhone users have the latest version of its basic operating software, iOS 9. Apple bypasses wireless carriers and sends updates directly to users. It also designs and manufactures all iPhones and releases just a handful of models at a time. Google, by contrast, deals with a variety of chip makers and phone manufacturers , each of which adapts Android to its liking. Many carriers also want to preload their own apps, something Apple forbids on the iPhone. All this tweaking and testing takes resources these companies would rather devote to the most recent phones. Android models that are just two years old often won't make the cut. Apple, by contrast, still supports the 2011 iPhone 4S. ___ STREAMLINING UPDATES ... BUT IN SMALL WAYS Google has sped things up where it can. An app called Google Play Services now lurks in the background and handles automatic updates for core features such as location, maps and payments. In the past, Google would have had to wait for the phone to get the latest Android update. A new feature announced Wednesday, the ability to run Android apps over the Internet without installing them first, will also bypass Android and reach users directly. (Read also: At a Glance: Google's newest tools, gadgets and services) Some phone makers are also bypassing wireless companies this way. HTC now delivers its camera app, lock-screen manager and other features as separate apps. But many core functions remain at the mercy of phone makers and wireless carriers. Google introduced a new system Wednesday for getting updates to users automatically, but each update needs to clear the usual hurdles first. And the phone must have the upcoming Android N version so back to square one. ___ BECOMING LIKE APPLE Outside of phones, Google is exerting more control for instance, over Android versions designed for smartwatches and streaming TV devices. Makers of Android watches can customize the software only in limited ways, such as the choice of digital watch faces. But this approach has its own drawbacks. Part of Android's appeal lies in its flexibility. Samsung's user interface is distinct from those from LG and HTC. Samsung brought fingerprint sensors to phones even before Google made it official with Marshmallow. "A big reason for Android's success is the fact that it's open and customizable," says Geoff Blaber, an analyst with the research firm CCS Insight. "Google has to be very careful in maintaining a balance." ___ WHAT YOU CAN DO The best way to get quick updates is to get a Google-designed Nexus phone. The Nexus models are a showcase for "pure" Android, and they get updates first. Motorola, formerly owned by Google, has also emphasized timely updates. It makes as few customizations as possible, though updates can still take a few months. (Read also: Google echoes Amazon's Echo, opens new virtual-reality door) That's because Motorola still needs to make thousands of small changes to tune Android for different hardware configurations, says Seang Chau, a senior vice president for software engineering. Otherwise your phone might run slower and chew through its battery faster. ___ UNLOCK ANDROID UPDATES Carriers often gum up the works by baking custom apps, derisively known as "bloatware," into Android. But they also have to verify that essential features like calling and wireless data work reliably. That means you guessed it more testing and tweaking. You can sidestep all that by getting an "unlocked" phone from manufacturers or retailers. HTC's Mohammed Versi says that in some cases, updates for these models take a few weeks rather than months. Because carriers are phasing out phone discounts with two-year contracts, you won't pay more for unlocked models. You'll just usually have to pay the full cost upfront. ___ THE SECURITY THREAT The Android universe is getting better about security fixes. Google pledges monthly security releases for its Nexus phones. LG and Samsung have made similar commitments. Some carriers waive the usual extensive testing for security updates, Chau says, though some still don't. He wouldn't name them. The wireless industry group CTIA says only that carriers are committed to delivering "thoroughly tested" security updates. But it hasn't committed to any specific time frame. Click here to read other articles related to Google. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Words and Photos rio helmi (The Jakarta Post) Thu, May 19 2016 The phenomenon of migration is as old as human history ever since the earliest migrants left Africa or walked across now sunken oceanic bridges. Migration is a story of despair and hope, of conflicts and resolutions, of prejudice and tolerance, of suspicion and compassion, of harsh realities and dreams, of necessity and ambition. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Setiono Sugiharto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 19 2016 The recent crackdown on anything bearing communist symbols seems to have revived the rhetoric of the surreptitious threat of Marxist ideology. Now the creative designs of T-shirts emblazoned with the hammer-and-sickle logo that parodying the initials of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) as Pecinta Kopi Indonesia (Indonesian coffee lovers), performances of the Javanese folk song Genjer Genjer and erudite books on communism by authoritative academics have all been strictly proscribed as nefarious activities that are opposed to the state ideology. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 19 2016 The police arrested on Tuesday a trader, identified only as KN, and confiscated 10,000,000 pornographic DVDs from his kiosk in Glodok, West Jakarta. Jakarta Police special crimes unit chief Comr. Bintoro said on Wednesday the arrest was made after an undercover police posed as a buyer. The suspect only offers porn DVDs if somebody asks for them, Bintoro was quoted as saying by kompas.com. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Indra Budiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 19 2016 The investigation into the role of Jessica Wongso in a coffee murder case is far from a conclusion as a head prosecutor announced for the fourth time that her dossier had yet to be completed, leaving the police with only 10 days before having to release her. For the last four months Jakarta Police have tried to build their case against Jessica, but so far they have not even come up with a motive, let alone convincing proof to show whether or not she had a role in the case. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Words Amanda OConnor Photos Chris OConnor (The Jakarta Post) Thu, May 19 2016 Kayuputi and LVMH host a sophisticated evening The light chime of champagne flutes and the gentle hum of conversation greeted the distinguished guests of an exceptional culinary evening last Saturday, at The St. Regis Bali Resort as they gathered for a sumptuous six-course, Champagne-paired dinner. This highly anticipated event was hosted at the sophisticated Kayuputi restaurant and promised an evening of conviviality, prestigious Champagnes and Asian-inspired haute cuisine. Starting with aperitifs, canapes and Champagne in the Kayuputi Bar, the event was hosted by The St. Regis Bali chief sommelier, Harald Wiesmann, and brand ambassador of LVMH in Bali, Alistair Toyne, who together offered guests a rare opportunity to sample some impressive vintages, including La Grande Dame, Ruinart, Krug, Dom Perignon and Dom Perignon Rose. As befits the exulted level of these singular brands, the setting whispered sophistication and the evening was presented with great ceremony, with the advent of dinner being signaled by Wiesmann and the St. Regis tradition of sabrage, where a champagne bottle is opened with style using a ceremonial cavalry sword. Along the long dining table, white tuxedo-clad waiters stood behind each guest to simultaneously unveil each course from the bespoke menu of exceptional food created by renowned executive chef Agung Gede. While every delicately prepared course and glass of finely effervescent bubbles was exceptional, particular note goes to the Sturia caviar primeur with carpaccio of cured Hokkaido scallop and avocado sorbet served with R Ruinart brut. The delicate nose of white fruits and hazelnuts is long and full-bodied in the mouth, caressing the salty bites of caviar and their soft, gentle scallop counterpart. Visual art on a plate, the contrasts of pickled apple and avocado sorbet were highlighted by the aromas of this classic wine, which has long been closely associated with the arts. The Krug Grand Cuvee was another delight, served with poached Canadian lobster, roasted butternut, white lobster emulsion and citrus sabayan. The epitome of the Krug philosophy, Joseph Krugs vision of the ultimate Champagne pleasure, the exquisite nose and fresh, explosive acidity in the mouth accentuated the subtle flavor of the lobster, while the explosion of bubbles on the tongue offset the creamy butternut. After the indulgent buche de chevre and black olive crumble served with La Grande Dame, followed by a delightful dessert with the newly launched Moet et Chandon Ice Imperial Demi Sec, the guests eased their way happily into the dark tropical night. The St. Regis Bali is deservedly renowned for its exceptional wine dinners, which are held on special occasions throughout the year, as well as for its superb Sunday brunches. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin WORDS AND PHOTOS LUH DE SURIYANI (The Jakarta Post) Thu, May 19 2016 Animation fans in Denpasar had the opportunity to watch 10 animated short films and to join video calls with the directors thanks to Minikino, a community focused on establishing a short film culture in Indonesia. The monthly event at Minihall Irama Indah last week screened various genres from several countries, including The Optimist from the US, An Elephant on the Moon and Reminiscence from France, Kitbash Kid from Singapore and Biru from Indonesia. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung/Jakarta Thu, May 19 2016 A student press group in Bandung, West Java, has refused to bow to pressure from an intimidating hard-line group that had dispersed the formers Sekolah Marx (School of Marx), an event for discussions on Marxism, on May 10. On that day, the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) through intimidation demanded the student press group, Daunjati of the Indonesian Art and Culture Institute (ISBI), end the event. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Matthew Pennington (Associated Press) Washington Fri, May 20, 2016 President Barack Obama could lift restrictions on arms sales when he makes his first visit to Vietnam next week. That would remove a final vestige of wartime animosity but would not please China, which views growing US defense ties in its backyard with deep suspicion amid rising military tensions in the South China Sea. There's considerable support in Washington for the lifting the restrictions, including from the Pentagon, but also pockets of congressional opposition, leaving uncertain whether Obama will announce it when he visits Vietnam, starting Sunday. The administration is pushing for more progress on human rights, a constant drag on the relationship. Significantly, the communist government has committed to allow independent labor unions as a condition of its participation in the US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, but it still holds about 100 political prisoners and there have been more detentions this year. As part of Obama's effort to help Southeast Asian nations counter Beijing, the US in 2014 partially lifted an arms embargo in place since the end of the Vietnam War, allowing Vietnam to buy lethal defense equipment for maritime security. Vietnam, which has mostly Russian-origin equipment, has not bought anything, but is still eager for Washington to remove the remaining restrictions. If nothing else, it would show relations are fully normalized and open the way to deeper security cooperation. "Real progress on protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms including through legal reform is crucial to ensuring that Vietnam and our relationship achieves its full potential," Daniel Kritenbrink, the White house senior director for Asian affairs, told reporters Wednesday. The issue is also sensitive because of criticism of Vietnam's rights record among congressional opponents of TPP. Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser, said Thursday the administration has not finalized a decision on lifting restrictions, but he expected Obama would discuss it with the Vietnamese. The risk of confrontation with Beijing is already growing as the US challenges China's island-building and assertive behavior in the South China Sea, where five other Asian governments, including Vietnam, have territorial claims. The Pentagon said that two Chinese fighter jets flew Tuesday within about 15 meters (50 feet) of a US Navy reconnaissance plane, forcing the pilot to descend sharply to avoid a collision. China on Thursday denied its behavior was unsafe, and demanded the US stop spying. China would view the lifting of the restrictions as an attempt to woo Vietnam closer to the US and away from China. "It will undoubtedly be seen as aimed at weakening China's position and influence in the region," said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS. But Beijing will be guarded in its reaction because Vietnam is a fraternal communist neighbor. Asked about the prospect of the US lifting arms restrictions, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Thursday that China "hopes the countries concerned will play a constructive role in ensuring their cooperation be conducive to the regional stability and safety." Hanoi and Beijing have an ambivalent relationship. Despite the ties between their ruling parties, they fought a border war in 1979 in which thousands died, and clashes in 1988 over their conflicting claims in the South China Sea claimed dozens of lives. Those tensions reared again in 2014, when China parked an oil rig off Vietnam's central coast, sparking confrontations at sea and deadly anti-China riots in Vietnam. "The Vietnamese have got a very tough strategic equation to solve," said Marvin Ott, a former National War College lecturer who led the first, cautious military-to-military contacts between the US and Vietnam in the mid-1990s. One aspect is how far Vietnam can go in deepening relations with the US without provoking China. The other is placating US demands for progress on democracy and human rights without threatening the ruling party's grip on power, he said. Obama will be the third consecutive US president to visit Vietnam since diplomatic relations resumed in 1995. In 2013, the two sides declared a comprehensive partnership, and last July, the chief of Vietnam's Communist Party visited the White House, showing that resistance among party hardliners to deeper ties with Washington was receding. But anxiety about China and memories of the Vietnam War still limit military cooperation, said Murray Hiebert, a CSIS expert on Southeast Asia. Despite Vietnam's desire for the US to lift restrictions and its interest in modernizing its defense equipment, buying from Russia is cheaper and easier. According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Vietnam has been the world's eighth largest importer of weapons over the past five years. Ott said that among South China Sea coastal nations, Vietnam is potentially the most significant military partner for the US Among the others, Indonesia says it has no territorial dispute with China although they have overlapping maritime claims; the military of the Philippines, a US ally, is weak; and Malaysia and Brunei are unwilling to confront China. "If you're sitting in the Pentagon, there's only one country that actually could be a military partner and a factor in the South China Sea, and that's Vietnam," Ott said. Associated Press writer Nancy Benac in Washington, and writer Christopher Bodeen and researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report. TheJakartaPost Please Update your browser Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below. Just click on the icons to get to the download page. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Michelle Faul (Associated Press) Lagos, Nigeria Fri, May 20, 2016 Aid workers and parents of the girls who were kidnapped from a school in 2014 lashed out at the Nigerian government and military Thursday for their handling of the first of the so-called Chibok girls to escape the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram. Tuesday's escape brought joy and renewed hope but also increased pressure for the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to rescue 200-plus other students who were seized in the mass abduction that outraged the world. On Thursday, Amina Ali Nkeki, who was found nursing her 4-month-old baby on the fringes of Boko Haram's Sambisa Forest stronghold, was flown to Abuja to meet with the president. A second girl believed to be among the Chibok abductees was rescued Thursday evening, army spokesman Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman said in a late-night statement. The information could not be independently confirmed, and Yakubu Nkeki, chairman of the Chibok Parents Association and uncle of Ali, said he had heard the report but had no information about it. Ali, 19, was shielded from journalists when she arrived at the presidential villa, her mother carrying her baby. She was shown into Buhari's office for a private hour-long meeting. Television cameras and photographers were allowed in briefly afterward. A presidential statement said Buhari's feelings were "tinged with deep sadness at the horrors the young girl has had to go through at such an early stage in her life." On April 14, 2014, Boko Haram stormed and firebombed the Government Girls Secondary School at the remote northeastern town of Chibok after a handful of soldiers ran out of ammunition and ran away from about 200 extremists. They seized 276 girls preparing for science exams. Dozens managed to escape in the first hours. Until Tuesday, 219 remained captive. Ali revealed to her mother that a few of the girls died in captivity, but most remain under heavy guard in the forest, according to family doctor Idriss Danladi. "Bring back our girls now and alive!" about 40 men and women chanted Thursday evening at a rally of the movement, which has inspired a worldwide social media campaign using the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. They have met faithfully every week at Abuja's Unity Fountain. "No more excuses. And no failure is acceptable," Oby Ezekwesili, a founder of the movement, told the gathering. "We can rescue our Chibok girls. What happened with one can happen with 218." A former World Bank vice president and Nigerian education minister, she helped start the group after former President Goodluck Jonathan initially denied there had ever been a mass kidnapping. His wife claimed it was a ruse to make her husband look bad. Jonathan lost elections last year in part because he was seen as not caring about the Chibok girls and not committed to rescuing them. Ezekwesili criticized Buhari for admitting he has not seen a proof-of-life video that Boko Haram sent to the government months ago in a bid to open negotiations to exchange the Chibok girls for detained Boko Haram leaders. It was the first indication in two years that some of the girls are alive. "We urged our government to take the proof-of-life video seriously," she told the rally. "But you know that our president did not watch that video." Still, she said, "God is very good. He gave us a miracle, a young woman who was in the enclave of the terrorists with the best bed of information that anybody can have." She called for Buhari to mobilize countries such as the United States, France and Britain in a reinvigorated effort to find the girls. Those countries sent drones, hostage negotiators, intelligence officers and others after the kidnapping, to no avail. Chibok parents were outraged that the military had "paraded" the young woman beside the Boko Haram commander who took her as his wife, Ezekwesili said. Ali has told her mother that the man, Mohammed Hayatu, rescued her, deserting Boko Haram and leading her out of the forest because the camp had run out of food and they feared their baby would starve to death, according to Danladi. The military said Hayatu is detained for interrogation. Buhari's government also was lambasted by Washington-based Refugees International, which said Ali should be getting immediate care for rape and psychological counseling, instead of making public appearances. "It is an outrage!" said Francisca Vigaud-Walsh, women and girls' advocate at Refugees International, saying the escapee's case should not be politicized. Buhari's statement said medical personnel and trauma experts had examined Ali on Wednesday for five hours. The president promised that she would get the best medical care and education available. The Associated Press does not normally identify suspected victims of sexual assault, but Ali appeared publicly alongside the president and was seen widely on television. Buhari's statement identified her by name. In it, Buhari repeated promises his administration will do all it can to bring the girls home. Nigerian hunters found Ali wandering on the fringes of the remote northeastern Sambisa Forest and reunited her with her mother, Danladi said after speaking with the mother. Nigeria's military claimed it had rescued the young woman, though its initial statement identified the escapee as another Chibok girl who is still missing. Authorities will be asking her where her classmates are being held. If Boko Haram tries to move large groups of girls because of her escape, those movements can be captured by satellites and air reconnaissance. Aid groups also alleged that thousands of other rescued or escaped Boko Haram hostages have been further abused by the military, which detains many. Amnesty International this month called the military's Giwa barracks in Maiduguri "a place of death" where babies and children are among scores of detainees dying from disease, hunger, dehydration and gunshot wounds. Nigeria's military denied the allegations and insisted that Amnesty officials have seen the facilities and "made recommendations that were implemented." Amnesty said the military's statement was "completely false" and that the rights organization has never been allowed into Giwa. The fresh charges of military abuses come as the US considers a Nigerian request to buy 12 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to fight Boko Haram. US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed the proposal last week. Attempts by the Jonathan administration to buy American helicopter gunships were blocked, in part because of alleged Nigerian military abuses. Associated Press writers Bashir Adigun and Haruna Umar contributed to this report from Abuja, Nigeria. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin thejakartapost.com (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama has warned Jakarta residents that his administration would enforce the regulation that imposes Rp 5 million (US$366) fines on litterers, including those who dump garbage into the rivers. The city administration plans to write letters to district courts to tell judges to give heavy punishments to litterers, which according to Jakarta Bylaw No. 8/2007 on public order should be between Rp 500,000 to Rp 5 million, the governor said. He said relevant officers of the city administration would carry out operations to enforce the law against those who still dump garbage in public places and rivers and the violators would be fined after attending a quick court hearing for the light crime. Currently, the light punishment against the litters, which was a fine of between Rp 50,000 and Rp 100,000, has failed to deter anyone and therefore littering is still a problem in the capital city. The fine is between Rp 500,000 to Rp 5 million. Rp 5 million may be too high. Rp 500,000 is quite a heavy fine for Jakarta people, the governor said. Using a rubber boat, Ahok inspected the Ciliwung River, the longest river in the capital, on Wednesday. He expressed his satisfaction with the efforts to clean up the rivers, but stressed that further efforts to make the water in Jakartas rivers clean enough for swimming. The governor has also invited public participation to warn other residents not to throw garbage into rivers. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 The Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI) has proposed a cost-plus coal price formula in a bid to settle a lengthy disagreement over the selling price of the fuel for the government's 35,000 megawatt (MW) electrification project. The cost-plus scheme means the coal price would include the stripping cost, plus a 15 to 25 percent margin. Currently the stripping cost is around US$20 to $40 per metric ton while the coal benchmark price (HBA) is around $52. "If the government accepts the cost-plus formula, we promise to prioritize coal for domestic use, and the rest for exports. Otherwise, we are fine with any price but there will be no priority for domestic use," APBI chairman Pandu Sjahrir told thejakartapost.com on Thursday. He argued that the cost-plus formula would provide a stable margin for coal miners in a long-term contract. Without a proper margin, coal miners would be reluctant to produce, while coal-fueled power plants need continuous long-term supply. Meanwhile, the stripping cost was included as coal miners would have to dig deeper to produce more coal, which resulted in bigger stripping costs over time, Pandu explained. Amid the delay in the coal price agreement, the government in July 2015 reduced the share of coal-based power plants in the 35,000 MW project from 60 percent to 50 percent, and increased the portion of renewable energy to 25 percent. "If you want to do all the electrification with renewable energy, please do. But you will face costs seven to eight times higher than with coal. We are also aware of external issues like the COP Paris, but once again this is the cheapest option," Pandu said. Even in developed countries, he added, the use of coal remained around 40 to 50 percent. According to a study conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers, Indonesias coal reserves will be depleted by 2033. Adding to the problem, there are 3,982 mining licenses (IUPs) with unclean or unclear status, of which 1,087 are allegedly linked to tax evaders. (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung, Jakarta Fri, May 20 2016 In absence of the States assurance for freedom of expression, the nation has continuously witnessed repressive acts against academic freedom within university campuses across the country. While it was the police who halted a number of such academic events in Yogyakarta, lately, similar repression was observed in West Java. The only difference in the latter was that the hard-line group, the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), played the role of oppressor. Just on Thursday, the social and political sciences department of Padjajaran University (Unpad) in Sumedang, near West Javas capital of Bandung, decided to cancel its seminar, entitled Marxisme sebagai Ilmu Pengetahuan (Marxism as science) following intimidation by the FPI. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Bank Indonesia (BI) has lowered its forecast for Indonesias economic growth this year to the range of 5 percent to 5.4 percent due to ongoing weakness of the global economy. "Indonesian economy growth in 2016 is projected to remain high, in a range of 5 percent to 5.4 percent year-on-year (yoy), slightly lower than the previous estimate of 5.2 percent to 5.6 percent," BI governor Agus Martowardojo told a press conference following the board of governors monthly meeting in Jakarta on Thursday. Agus said the board of governors saw that the global economy moved at a slower pace than expected, not only as a result of sluggish economic activity in developed countries but also in emerging economies. "The weaker global economic growth will definitely impact our exports and the domestic economy," he went on. Given those conditions, the central bank would keep an eye on planned efforts to shore up the economy. "For example, if the tax amnesty bill is passed, it will help jack up government revenue, as the repatriated funds could be used in productive sectors that will in turn boost the economy, he said. Meanwhile, BI deputy governor Perry Warjiyo said the government was planning more stimulus measures to boost the economy. Perry said fiscal incentives launched by the government had improved investment, particularly in the construction sector, which grew by 7.7 percent yoy in the first quarter of the year. Unfortunately, Indonesia's overall economy only grew by 4.9 percent yoy in the first quarter, as compared to 5.04 percent in the previous quarter. "The fiscal stimulus was not effective in boosting private investment and business sentiment. The demand side also remains sluggish," he said. Private consumption, weighing in at more than 58 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) value in the period, expanded 4.94 percent. Investment expanded by 4.24 percent, while government spending grew by only 2.93 percent yoy versus 7.31 percent recorded in the previous quarter. However, this year's beginning was better than last years when the economy grew by 4.73 percent yoy, according to data from the Central Statistic Agency (BPS). Meanwhile, BI senior deputy governor Mirza Adityaswara expects the pace to pick in the coming quarters. Southeast Asias largest economy is expected to move faster in the second and third quarter thanks to holiday celebrations and higher government spending. The first-quarter figure is well below analysts and the governments projection. BI expects to see the economy expand by 5.1 percent this quarter, while analysts project growth of between 5 percent and 5.2 percent. (dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Kamaruddin Amin Director General for Islamic Education Ministry of Religious Affairs Islam has been implemented around the Muslim world through a dynamic range of distinctive reflections and articulations, ranging from moderate to extremely radical. These various local articulations of Islam are believed to be a reflection of the flexibility and the universal values of Islam. To put it differently, it is unrealistic, if not infeasible, to expect one homogeneous, universally implemented Islam. Islam in Saudi Arabia is different, or has to be different, from Islam in other parts of the Muslim world, including Indonesia. However, Islam has to contribute to civilization, no matter how and where it is implemented. Can Indonesian Islam be a model for the rest of the Muslim world? As the second largest religion, and the one predicted to be the largest by 2050, Islam has shown spectacular, impressive and continuous growth, not only in the Muslim world but also, significantly, in the West, including Europe and the US. The growth has been accompanied by Islams specific and dynamic problems. Islam in Europe is colored with problems around cultural integration and assimilation, often based on mutual fear, which results in the appearance of Islamophobia on the one hand, and a serious suspicion of Western culture on the other hand. Islam in Africa is characterized by poverty, backwardness, short life expectancies, low income per capita and gender disparities in every aspect of life. In Asia, Islam is colored with other distinctive problems, ranging from its relationship to the state and its interaction with modernity to its exploitation in socio-political life. The Muslim world has its shared characteristics such as history, culture, civilization and a tradition of scholarship. Saudi Arabia, for instance, besides being the birthplace of Islam and having the cultural and historical legacy, it has the iconic religious symbol of Ka'bah, the mosque and the cemetery of the prophet. Moreover, Saudi used to be the hub of Islamic scholarship. However, Saudis socio-political life, its tradition of scholarship and its religious characteristics that tend to be rigid, tough and black-and-white, make it difficult for Saudi to be the reference point for the Muslim world. Likewise, the Arab spring that arose independently and spread across the Arab world in 2011 through Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, uprooting some autocratic regimes, though not creating democratic government, let alone enhancing living standards, has left little space for those countries to be referred to as models for Islamic civilization. Opportunity, Potential and Challenges for Indonesia Is it feasible for Indonesia to become a prospective model for the rest of the Muslim world, in terms of both Islamic civilization and Islamic study? The following are Indonesias areas of potential that need to be taken into account: First, Indonesia has a great wealth of Islamic educational institutions, among them some of the worlds largest, that promote a moderate Islam, democracy and tolerance. This system plays a strategic role in the creation of an educated and critical middle-class Muslim society that is appreciative of modernity without losing their Islamic identity. Secondly, Indonesia has an unshakable social infrastructure that strengthens the foundation of Indonesian ideology, protecting it from any foreign radical ideas. NU, Muhammadiyah, PERSIS, Matlaul Anwar and other moderate Islamic mass organizations, play a pivotal role in maintaining, nurturing and protecting Indonesian Islam from penetration by any radical or extremist ideology. Third, Indonesian Islam is democratic, tolerant, moderate, indigenous and appreciative of a diversity of cultures, ethnicities and religions. It is true that sporadic communal conflicts over religious nuances still happen in Indonesia, but they are few and far between, given the fact that Indonesia is a hugely diverse country in terms of demography, geography, religion and culture. Fourth, the structure of Indonesian demography is unique 43 percent of the population is under 25 years old, which means that Indonesia has an enormous demographic dividend, or demography bonus. Fifth, as the strongest ASEAN economy and the 16th largest economy in the world, Indonesia has abundant natural and human resources. The challenge is to increase national competitiveness through human capacity improvement, which will come through quality education. The above mentioned points merely showcase Indonesias potential to become the Muslim worlds model for the future. Realizing this will be heavily dependent on how Indonesia manages this great potential. It will require quality education, professional governance, integrity, sincere dedication and nurturing and the maintenance of a moderate Islam amid various global influences. Wallahu Alam Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Evi Mariani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20 2016 Scientists from reputable universities and Dutch consultant Deltares have offered a cheaper alternative to the proposal to mitigate tidal flooding in subsiding Jakarta by building a seawall, called the Great Garuda, to close off Jakarta Bay and costing Indonesia US$20.3 billion in public-private partnerships over 15 years. President Joko Jokowi Widodo has instructed his administration to continue with the seawall project, also called the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) project. He believes that the Great Garuda is the answer to Jakartas subsidence problem. The development of the north coast of Jakarta, the NCICD, which was proposed a long time ago, is the answer for Jakarta, Jokowi said in April, about a week after visiting the European Union, including the Netherlands. Along with the NCICD, the central government says the controversial project of creating 17 artificial islets is to be continued as one package. A bribery scandal has rocked the 17-islet project and the central government has found several regulation violations in land reclamation by two giant property developers: Agung Sedayu and Agung Podomoro. Scientists, however, say enclosing Jakarta Bay is not the answer to land subsidence, because even with a seawall, Jakarta would continue to sink. They say the solution to land subsidence is to stop groundwater extraction and limit construction in several fast sinking areas, such as North Jakarta, or to use construction technology that would not put as much pressure on the land. The president of the Indonesian Association of Urban and Regional Planners (IAP), Bernardus Djonoputro, said the idea of the Great Garuda is falling from the sky because several logical steps had been skipped before a decision was made on it. The Bandung Institute of Technologys (ITB) Muslim Muin, who earned his doctorate in ocean engineering from the University of Rhode Island, said the Netherlands and St. Petersburg in Russia needed giant seawalls for protection against storm surges, a threat from a body of water. But in Jakarta, the threat is more serious. Its from the land, from land subsidence, not from the rising sea level, he said during a focus group discussion at the Goethe Institute in Central Jakarta recently. NCICD data show that Jakarta is sinking at an average of 7.5 to 10 centimeters per year, with maximum subsidence in some areas recorded at almost 18 cm. NCICD data show that over the next 20 years, Jakarta will subside by up to 50 cm more, and the Great Garuda is therefore considered urgent. Muslim pointed out several concerns about building a giant seawall, including the maintenance of a powerful pump with a capacity of 730 cubic meters of water per second needed for the Great Garuda. He said based on his calculation of water volume from Jakartas 13 rivers, the Great Garuda would need a more powerful pump with a capacity of up to 1,100 cubic meters per second. Currently, the most powerful pump in the world has a capacity of 600 cubic meters per second. Improving existing seawalls along the northern coast would be enough. Building a giant seawall would be a big mistake. The operational costs would be huge, he said. The NCICD master plan shows that operational and maintenance costs for the Great Garuda system would reach $69 million per year. Improvement of existing seawalls is required in the NCICD, which is in Phase A called a no regret policy. One of the Dutch consulting institutes that made the NCICD master plan, Deltares, has written a report titled Sinking cities: An integrated approach towards solutions, which discusses places that are sinking faster than the sea level is rising: Jakarta, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Tokyo, Manila and west Netherlands. The more than 5,000 word report uploaded on deltares.nl does not mention the word seawall, not even once. It proposes 10 key issues and possible solutions, and again, not one of them mentions seawall, giant or otherwise. It does mentions restriction of groundwater extraction, natural and artificial recharge of aquifers, integrated (urban) flood water management (which does not include any walls) and the integration of geotechnical aspects in the planning and designing of buildings and infrastructure. Alan Koropitan of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) said that instead of closing off Jakarta Bay with the Great Garuda and building artificial islets, Jakarta should focus on cleaning up its heavily polluted rivers. It will be a difficult task, but when it is accomplished it will be a source of national pride, said Alan, who earned his PhD from Hokkaido University in oceanography. Clean river water will provide a supply of raw water to increase the coverage of tap water companies in Jakarta to 100 percent and allow for a restriction on groundwater extraction. Current tap water coverage remains at about 60 percent, caused by a lack of raw water supply from Jatiluhur Dam in West Java and the Tangerang water company, among other things. Deltares paper also shows that Tokyo stopped its subsidence by restricting groundwater extraction in the early 1960s and the sinking decreased in about 10 years to close to zero. Jan Jaap Brinkman of Deltares told The Jakarta Post in an email interview in October last year that, The cheapest and most easy solution is stop the sinking. The only thing Jakarta needs to do is to stop the deep groundwater use and the sinking will stop within five to 10 years. Then you will not need a closed Jakarta Bay, you will not need a giant seawall. Of course, you could still improve the harbor and have better coastal development, but Jakarta Bay does not need to be closed. ___________________________________________ To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Indonesia needs to fully implement policies that support women and put a stop to gender stereotyping to increase women's participation in politics, a UN Women senior official said on Thursday. Indonesia has made many achievements in laws and policies, said UN Women's regional director for Asia and the Pacific, Roberta Clarke, citing improvements such as institutional change and increased understanding of accountability to implement the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Clarke referred to the 2012 Legislative Elections Law as a commendable effort to break down the culture of exclusion regarding women's participation in politics. The law stipulates that political parties must include at least 30 percent women on their lists of legislative candidates. However, in practice this evidently falls short of expectations. Data from the House of Representatives shows that of lawmakers serving in the 2014 to 2019 period, only 97 of 506 members are women, totaling 17 percent, which was a slight fall from 103 women in the previous period. Clarke urged the government to address cultural practices that played a major role in gender stereotyping in order to create change. "First of all, you have to remove the cultural barriers that prevent women from participating in politics," she said at an event in Jakarta on Thursday. Citing a study conducted by the ASEAN Committee on Women that was supported by Women in Canada, Clarke said family barriers proved to be the most prominent factor. Such cases directly concern gender expectations and stereotypes, which she said must be transformed. "We all have to accept and live the principles of non-discrimination and equality of opportunity," said Clarke. Gender stereotyping also occurs within political parties, she added. Clarke expressed concern over hurdles created by political parties that stopped women from becoming equal participants in political processes. However, Clarke also conveyed optimism on the nation's ability to tackle inequality in political participation. When asked whether Indonesia could achieve what Canada has a gender balanced Cabinet Clarke affirmatively said yes. "It just means that somebody has to take the decision to do it," she said, adding that it needed to be accompanied by a strong social movement. The public also plays a part in the process, including being proactive in asking hard questions and holding political actors accountable. Furthermore, men needed to be engaged in the issue, Clarke added. For example, men needed to share more of the work in caring for children so that women could be involved in politics and the economy in different ways. "Challenges remain, but there is strong political will to change those," Clarke said, while commending President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo for supporting the HeForShe campaign, a worldwide initiative from UN Women launched in 2014 to engage men in the fight for gender equality. There must be increased investment from the government, including to support capacity building of women, she added. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nelson Da Cruz (The Jakarta Post) Dili, Timor Leste Fri, May 20, 2016 Timor Leste President Taur Matan Ruak says the return of 14 Timorese people who were removed to Indonesia during the former countrys war of independence marks the improving relations between the two countries since their separation in 2002. "I was especially pleased to learn about the progress made in the identification of persons displaced to Indonesia during the war," Taur said, referring to the joint efforts of the two countries in resolving the issue. Timorese, who had been missing for years, were now finally able to return and visit their families, he added. The process of identification and the subsequent reunion with their families marks the beginning of the implementation of a recommendation by the Commission of Truth and Reconciliation (KKP), by both Indonesia and Timor Leste, Taur further said. Fourteen Timorese-born people, consisting of 11 men and three women, were separated from their families and displaced to Indonesia during the conflict between 1974 and 1999, according to data from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). Intensified efforts began in October 2011 when Indonesia issued a Presidential Regulation (Perpres) that became the mandate for the implementation of the KKP recommendation. Progress came as a result of cooperation between Komnas HAM and its Timorese counterpart commission, the Provedoria Dos Direitos Humanos e Justica (PDHJ). Other Indonesia-based organizations also participated in the process, namely Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR), the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM), the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and the Families of Missing Persons Association (IKOHI). "This cooperation is a reflection of President Joko Widodo's administration and our government's policies and deserves to be highlighted and praised," said Timorese President Taur. As Timor-Leste marks its 14th anniversary of independence on May 20, Taur said ongoing peace and reconciliation processes with Indonesia continued to forge friendly relations between the two neighboring countries. (liz/dan) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin thejakartapost.com (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama has issued a strong reminder that he will fine anyone caught littering, especially in the city's rivers, amid an aggressive clean-up program. The city administration will impose fines from Rp 500,000 (US$36) to Rp 5 million for people who litter, as stipulated in the 2007 Regional Regulation on public order. "We will send a request to the court so that the sentence will be [a fine of] at least Rp 500,000; it is pretty hefty. I'm afraid people can't afford Rp 5 million fines," Ahok said on Friday as quoted by kompas.com. Ahok's administration has pushed for healthier rivers in the past two years by hiring contract workers paid Jakarta's minimum wage of Rp 3.1 million and provided with health, transportation and accommodation facilities. Jakartans can now see cleaner rivers in several parts of the city such as Manggarai and Mampang in South Jakarta. Jakarta's largest and most notorious river, the Ciliwung, has also been cleaned up, with some areas along the riverbanks cleared of illegal settlements. Ahok recently announced plans to make Jakarta's rivers one of the capital's tourist attractions and has vowed to keep the waterways clean. However, he also urged Jakartans to participate in maintaining the city's cleanliness, along with other stakeholders. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin thejakartapost.com (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 A subsidiary of Sinar Mas Land, Duta Pertiwi, is seeking revenue of Rp1.8 trillion (US$132 million) and Rp 650 million in net profit this year. To achieve the targets, the firm aims to boost sales in existing residential projects, such as Kota Wisata, Legenda Wisata and Grand Wisata in West Java, the company's deputy director, Lie Jani Harjanto, said. To increase revenue from marketing sales, the company plans to build two apartments in South Jakarta and West Jakarta. They are expected to be completed in 2018, she said after an annual general shareholders meeting on Thursday in Tangerang, Banten. Duta Pertiwi president director Teky Mailoa said the company booked revenue of Rp1.69 trillion in 2015, a 9.3 percent increase from Rp1.54 trillion in 2014, driven by a 20 percent increase in rent income totaling Rp 596 billion in 2015. Duta Pertiwi registered a net income of Rp534.9 billion in 2015, a decrease from Rp582 billion in the previous year, he said. (sha/ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20 2016 JAKARTA: Ride-hailing app Uber Technologies has introduced its newest product UberPOOL to Jakarta, the first city where it has been to introduced in Southeast Asia. The new product will enable its users to share rides and split the fare with other users heading in the same direction. Carpooling is not something new. What Uber provides is the smart technology and safety layer that makes it faster, more convenient and just generally better, said Uber Asia Pacific regional manager Mike Brown at a press conference on Wednesday. He stated that he chose Jakarta because the number of Uber users and drivers had grown rapidly since it entered the Indonesian market in August 2014. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Discussing innovation among less-developed countries is a challenge. Indonesias finance minister chose to talk about transportation application Go-Jek to inspire the members of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), many of which are less-developed countries, about a simple yet meaningful innovation. Islamic finance is expected to help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More innovation is needed to create sustainable development, but it is a great challenge as most IDB members, which have many SDG targets to achieve, are less-developed countries with limited ability to invest in research and development. The IDB Group's board of governors chairman, Bambang Brodjonegoro, said the drive for innovation in Islamic finance should come from two elements: competition and limitation. The Indonesian finance minister said simple innovations could result in business and employment. "In order to compete, to survive, you can come up with a simple innovation but a very powerful one," Bambang said at the IDB's 41st annual meeting in Jakarta on Wednesday. Citing Go-Jek as example, he said the chronic congestion in the capital city had led to a simple innovation involving ojek (motorcycle taxis), to help people avoid the traffic. "[] an Indonesian entrepreneur came up with an innovation to create an application for ojek. We call it Go-Jek, which allows you to order ojek using a cell phone," he explained. As people responded well, Go-Jek then expanded, providing services from taxis to food delivery, Bambang told the audience. The innovation made living in Jakarta more comfortable, proving that simple innovations do not only mean good business, but also result in people's economic development. IDB Group president Ahmad Muhamed Ali acknowledged a disparity in finding such solutions among its 57 member countries as many are less-developed countries. He called on IDB members to catch up by innovating. "We urge member countries to provide investments in research and development and improve human resources," he said. UNDP partnership In a bid to support the efforts, the IDB and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed an agreement to strengthen partnerships to support IDB members to achieve the SDGs. They have created a joint plan of action to enhance collaboration on project development and implementation for crisis response and recovery, poverty eradication, youth employment, disaster risk reduction and tackling climate change. According to UNDP administrator Helen Clark, innovation among IDB members required scaled-up investments in education, infrastructure, research and improved protection of intellectual property rights. "The improvements across these areas will strengthen the foundations of innovation ecosystems in [IDB] member countries," she said during an address on leveraging innovation for sustainable development. She acknowledged that the IDB had played a significant role in promoting and leveraging innovation, given that its member countries did not rank highly in global innovation indices. The bank had addressed barriers to innovation in its member countries, and shared best practices and knowledge on innovation. Innovation is believed to drive the development of higher-value goods and services, productivity as well as competitiveness. "Thus innovation is vital for reaching and maintaining advanced economy status and high living standards," Helen said. She cited an example of a UNDP program in Bosnia and Herzegovina three years ago to explore development solutions through the Open Innovation Challenges competition. Together with UK-based innovation fund NESTA, a competition was set up to design renewable and financially sustainable energy solutions for off-the-grid communities. "Through this process, best-fit solutions were found," she said, adding that the UNDP would be delighted to work with the IDB on similar a competition to stimulate innovation in Islamic finance among its 57 member countries. (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20 2016 A car and a Transjakarta bus were hit by a Senja Utama train heading to Surakarta, Central Java, at a railway crossing in Mangga Dua, North Jakarta at 4:25 a.m. on Thursday. The drivers of the bus and car both sustained minor injuries, but no fatalities were reported. According to Transjakarta spokesman Prasetya Budi, the bus was not carrying passengers at the time of the crash. The victims, identified as Adil Setiawan, the driver of a Transjakarta bus that serves the Ancol, North Jakarta and Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta route, and Didi Juhendi, the cars driver, were rushed to the Husada Hospital, Sawah Besar in Central Jakarta. Didi was reportedly released later on Thursday. According to the head of law enforcement at the Jakarta Polices traffic unit, Adj. Sr. Comr. Budiyanto, the crash allegedly occurred because the railway crossing keeper was late in closing the crossings gate, kompas.com reported. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 The Indonesian Contractors Association (AKI) has called on the government to grant a tax exemption to the construction industry by revoking the 3 percent prepaid value-added tax (VAT). In 2008, then tax director general Darmin Nasution, who is now coordinating economic minister, imposed a 3 percent VAT on construction businesses. The tax is charged based on contract value instead of actual payments made by contractors. The tax office reasoned that the tax should be calculated in such a way because of the complexity of payments for construction projects, which often involve many kinds of invoices. "Aside from financing from the banking sector, we need more support such as tax exemption, AKI secretary general Zali Yahya said on Thursday. The revocation of the VAT, Zali said, was crucial, especially for local contractors handling construction projects abroad, who have a different success ratio. In most cases, what we gain [in the projects] is not always the same as [the value stated in] the contracts, Zali asserted. Zali said the construction industry was currently anticipating tighter competition with the full implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) that includes AEC Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) for people working in the construction industry, such as engineers and architects. Zali said Indonesian contractors expected tougher competition from Malaysian and Singaporean companies, whose workers had better skills and a higher level of professionalism, although their own markets were relatively small compared to Indonesia. "It is true that we need to defend our market, but we need to attack as well. We hope that our ambitions of more Indonesian contractors playing on the ASEAN field can be supported by the government," he said, adding that some Indonesian contractors, such as Wijaya Karya, Pembangunan Jaya, Waskita Karya, and Pembangunan Perumahan, were ready to compete on the regional level as well. (dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20 2016 JAKARTA: Getting married to a businessman has given perspective to actress Selena Alesandra, who says she hopes to start her own business soon. Her husband, businessman and politician Akhmad Febry Nara, provides her with all the support she needs. I want to open a beauty business and also fashion. I am still learning [about business] from friends who have opened businesses and from my husband too, Selena, 21, said as quoted by kapanlagi.com. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Catherine Lucey (Associated Press) Des Moines, Iowa Fri, May 20, 2016 Hillary Clinton had some of her strongest words yet for presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, saying Thursday that he is "not qualified" to be president of the United States. In an interview with CNN, the Democratic front-runner and likely nominee questioned Trump's ability to handle complex foreign policy challenges, decrying what she described as his "irresponsible, reckless, dangerous comments." Clinton cited recent comments from Trump criticizing Great Britain, praising the leader of North Korea and questioning America's membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. She said she knows "how hard this job is" and added that she had "concluded he is not qualified to be president of the United States." Trump responded Thursday on his website, saying Clinton "has bad judgement and is unfit to serve as President at this delicate and difficult time in our country's history." Looking ahead to the general election, Clinton asserted that she "will be the nominee" for the Democratic party, noting her lead in delegates and votes over her Democratic opponent Bernie Sanders. "That is already done in effect. There is no way that I won't be," said Clinton, who is 90 delegates short of clinching the nomination, though Sanders continues to win contests and has vowed to march on to the Democratic convention in July. On divisions among Democrats, Clinton said she was committed to party unity, but argued that Sanders will also have to play a role in bringing Democrats together. She recalled that in 2008, after losing the primary to President Barack Obama, she endorsed him and campaigned for him. "Whatever differences we may have, they pale in comparison to the Republican nominee," Clinton said. Asked if she should reach out to Sanders to work things out, Clinton said: "I am absolutely committed to doing my part. But Sen. Sanders has to do his part." She declined to say whether she'd consider Sanders for her running mate if she wins the nomination. Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs disputed the suggestion that the primary race was over. "In the past three weeks voters in Indiana, West Virginia and Oregon respectfully disagreed with Secretary Clinton," he said in a statement. "We expect voters in the remaining nine contests also will disagree. And with almost every national and state poll showing Sen. Sanders doing much, much better than Secretary Clinton against Donald Trump, it is clear that millions of Americans have growing doubts about the Clinton campaign." Clinton said she was ready to take on Trump, but vowed to keep the conversation focused on issues and her record, rather than personal attacks. "He can say whatever he wants to say," she said, later adding that if "you pick a fight with a bully, you know, you are going to be pulled down to their levels." Clinton said she would not engage with Trump when he takes shots at her husband, former President Bill Clinton. "No, I know that that's exactly what he's fishing for. I'm not going to be responding," Clinton said. Clinton also spoke about the EgyptAir Flight 804, which crashed into the Mediterranean Sea early Thursday, saying it "does appear it was an act of terrorism" and it "shines a very bright light on the threat that we face." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Erika Anindita Dewi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Lawmakers and the government remain at loggerheads over whether members of the House of Representatives, regional representatives councils and the Regional Legislative Council should resign from their posts if they wish to run as candidates in the upcoming regional elections. Currently, representatives of the government and lawmakers are deliberating the revision of Regional Elections Law. Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said on Thursday that the government would abide by the Constitutional Court's ruling that lawmakers had to quit their posts if they decided to take part in a regional election. Yandri Susanto, a lawmaker from the National Mandate Party (PAN) criticized the government for changing its initial stance. "I worry the government's new stance will delay the deliberation of the law revision," said Yandri, who is a member of the Houses working unit tasked with revising the law, in Jakarta on Friday. Yandri stressed that his team would defend an earlier agreement that lawmakers did not need to resign to take part in a regional election. Meanwhile, although Tjahjo understood the lawmakers stance on the resignation issue, he said the government did not want to challenge the Constitutional Courts ruling that lawmakers have to leave their posts if they want to run as regional candidates. "We want to abide by the Constitutional Court's ruling," Tjahjo said, as quoted by kompas.com, in Jakarta on Thursday. The House had set April as the target to complete the revision of the Regional Elections Law, which will be the legal basis for the implementation of simultaneous elections to elect seven governors, 18 mayors and 76 regents across the country on Feb. 15, next year. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group is eyeing establishing the Islamic Infrastructure Bank this year, which would be led by Indonesia and Turkey as two emerging markets with large Muslim populations. Indonesia, currently competing with Turkey to host the bank, plans to spend US$300 million on equity participation in the project. However, Turkey has committed to surpass Indonesias capital in a bid to bring the new banks headquarters to Ankara. "Hopefully it can be realized this year. Indonesia and Turkey will lead this bank," IDB board of governors chairman Bambang Brodjonegoro said after a press conference for the IDB Group's 41st annual meeting in Jakarta on Thursday. Last April, Bambang held a tripartite meeting with IDB president Ahmad Mohamad Ali and the deputy prime minister of Turkey, Ali Babacan, on the bank's structure and business scheme. They agreed to appoint senior officials to formulate a more detailed governance structure over the next six months. Earlier, Vice President Jusuf Kalla expressed his support for the Islamic Infrastructure Bank. He stated that its establishment was important to realize strategic infrastructure programs for the 57 members of the IDB Group. "Indonesia as the largest Muslim-majority country has great expectations for this institution. With experience and existing cooperation with other countries, we hope the establishment of the bank will be realized," he said. Kalla added that during the recent conference of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), he personally spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regarding cooperation between the countries in the establishment of the bank. "Whether in Indonesia or in Turkey, to serve IDB member countries in Asia and Africa," he added. New president At the same occasion, the IDB elected Bandar bin Mohammed bin Hamza Asaad Al Hajjar as its new president, following the retirement of Ahmad Mohamed Ali. Bandar will hold the position for a five-year term. "Ali was reelected as IDB president here in Jakarta in 1995. And now in 2016, the second time for the IDB to hold an annual meeting in Jakarta, Ali decided to retire and leave his office at the IDB," Bambang said. Bandar is a Saudi economist who served the Gulf country as minister for haj. He was removed from his post in 2015 over a haj stampede incident that claimed the lives of thousands of pilgrims. Meanwhile, Ali, who has introduced a number of innovative schemes and modes of financing, hoped his successor would take the bank to a higher level. (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20 2016 Heart to heart: Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro (right) and the outgoing president of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Ahmad Mohamed Ali, converse on the sidelines of a press conference in Jakarta. The IDB concluded its five-day annual meeting in Jakarta on Thursday. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan) Members of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) wrapped up their 41st annual meeting in Jakarta on Thursday, in which IDB reiterated a commitment to support member countries development and to improve the performance of the global multilateral agency. The IDB meeting, the second to have been hosted in the Indonesian capital, involved a five-day schedule of events consisting of seminars, exhibitions and bilateral and multilateral agreements. Hundreds of delegations, representing 57 IDB member countries, attended the event along with thousands of multinational participants. On the final day of the event, 14 member countries signed development financing agreements worth a total US$1.6 billion, with $824 million set aside for Indonesia to finance a number of its infrastructure and education projects. This follows an agreement called the Member Country Partnership Strategy [MCPS] signed by the Indonesian government and IDB for the 2016-2020 period worth a total $5.2 billion, Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said in a press conference. The $5.2 billion loan commitment aims to support Indonesias priority development projects, including those in the energy, transportation, urban development, higher education and Islamic financial sectors. Of the total loan commitment, the IDB Groups Ordinary Capital Resources is to provide $3.2 billion, while IDB Group entities -- the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) -- shall provide the remaining $1.8 billion and $200 million, respectively. Separately, the Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Investment and Export Credit is set to provide an additional $400 million, while the Islamic Research and Training Institute plans to support several capacity-development programs for Islamic banking and finance. Since its establishment in 1975, the IDB has channeled more than $113 billion in development funding to its member countries. The development bank disbursed $12 billion last year in a bid to give member countries assistance to reduce the impacts of the challenging economic situation and to respond to the countries priority development needs. Also on Thursday, IDB member countries agreed to appoint Saudi Arabian economist and former bureaucrat Bandar Al-Hajjar as leader, replacing his fellow countryman Ahmad Mohamed Ali. Al-Hajjar, who has also served as Saudi Arabias minister of haj, has specialist knowledge of Islamic economics and is expected to elevate the institution with his expertise, Ali said. In the last 40 years, we have accomplished major achievements. We expect continuity and sustainability from this institution, he said. Commenting on this years annual meeting, Ali said the event was IDBs most successful and praised the Indonesian government for having received all the delegations with professionalism and to a high standard. Bambang cried while delivering a speech at the meetings closing ceremony, saying that he felt saddened by the news of Alis resignation, explaining that Ali had been his senior at the IDB when the former worked at the agency as director general of the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) from 2009 to 2011. Dr. Ali was reelected as IDB president here in Jakarta in 1995 and now, in 2016, he has decided to retire, he said. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Elly Burhaini Faizal (The Jakarta Post) Leipzig, Germany Fri, May 20, 2016 With its significant market growth, Indonesia has the potential to achieve a balance between allowing the countrys aviation industry to continuously expand and ensuring that it grows with a responsible approach to climate impacts, an expert has said. Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) executive director Michael Gill said that with four key areas set up by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the worlds aviation industry could continue to grow while simultaneously taking a cost-effective approach to deal with its environmental impacts. The four key areas are technology and sustainable alternative fuels, operations, infrastructure and market-based measures. We want that Indonesias aviation industry can continuously grow to provide social and economic benefits to its society. But, wed also like to balance the ability of the aviation industry to grow with a responsible approach to climate impacts. And thats why weve set the four key areas to help us achieving our climate targets, Gill told thejakartapost.com on the sidelines of the 2016 International Transport Forum (ITF) Summit in Leipzig, Germany, on Thursday morning, local time. During the 2015 meeting, leaders from the aviation industry and the global business community set up three carbon reduction goals: first, to improve the fuel efficiency of the world fleet by an average 1.5 percent per year, a goal the industry claims it has exceeded; second, to stabilize net aviation CO2 emissions at 2020 levels through carbon-neutral growth; and third, to halve aviations net CO2 emissions by 2050, compared with a 2005 baseline. We will achieve them with four pillars of strategies, which are focused on new aircraft technology and the development of sustainable alternative fuels, better use of operational measures, more efficient aviation infrastructure, and the development of economic measures, market-based measures for aviation in form of a mandatory global off-setting scheme, Gill said. It is expected that the global market-based measures for aviation, which will be developed through the ICAO, will be in place from 2020 onwards. The industry considers a single global carbon offsetting scheme to be the swiftest and most effective approach. Gill said one significant area in Indonesia was the country's commitment to develop sustainable alternative fuels. Im sure that the Indonesian government is currently examining the implementation of its sustainable alternative fuel mandates, [under which] fuels must come from sustainable sources. We believe it is an area Indonesia [in which] can become a leader, he said. Gill further explained that new aircraft and new types of engines were expected as the aviation industry invested billions of dollars every year in new technology. Citing ICAO data, he said civil aerospace spent US$15 billion per year on efficiency-related research and development (R&D). This is what we currently spend. What we need to support us to meet the 2020 target is in the area of economic regulation, on the market-based measures. When you combine that with the current level of investment in new technology, initiative in infrastructure and operational spaces, we will meet the 2020 goal, said Gill. The important thing [...] is to see more significant investment in new technology, and the use of sustainable alternative fuel sources to achieve the 2050 goal. So, our message to the governments is to continue to invest in new technology, R&D. We dont want to mention the figure, but we want to just call on the governments to support the aviation industry, he went on. Climate talks Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau discusses green, efficient and inclusive transportation during the opening plenary of the 2016 International Transport Forum (ITF) Summit in Leipzig on Wednesday. (thejakartapost.com/Elly Burhaini Faizal) Earlier, International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general and CEO Tony Tyler said the mandatory offsetting scheme would reduce CO2 production in the aviation industry. He rejected the idea of carbon taxes,which many people have praised as a measure to mitigate the environmental impacts of aviation. Arguments, which say that by making fuel a lot more expensive then people will stop using it, will lead the aviation industry to shrink, Tyler told journalists after the 2016 ITF Summit opening plenary on Wednesday. Nobody wants aviation to shrink. Aviation is a powerful engine of economic development, particularly for developing countries. If they want to be successful in the economy, they need aviation. [] So just simply making fuel a lot more expensive will not reduce the fuel being burned, he went on. Tyler praised the government's progress in improving the countrys aviation industry. The prospects of the aviation industry in Indonesia are very positive. Its a country with a huge population. It has islands. Aircraft are a lot faster and a lot more efficient. Its very safe as well, he said. The [Indonesian] government has made good investments in infrastructure, building airports. Its a very good investment. We see new carriers with new aircraft. Garuda transformed itself recently. It provides a good service and its a good airline. In 2013, during the last ICAO General Assembly, which takes place every three years, governments decided to develop market-based measures for aviation that could be implemented from 2020. We have been focusing our works both on a technical level and implementing processes and standards that we need so the system can work on a global scale, said Gill. At the political level, the process is ongoing to redefine the parameters of the agreement and obligations that need to be followed. The process has been running in a good fashion; we are encouraged by the way the discussion has come forward, said Gill. The latest development was last week, in which there was a high level meeting in Montreal, our meeting to negotiate and discuss the future of market-based measures. What we want to happen is the achieving of an agreement in the next ICAO Assembly in September 2016, he said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Indonesia and Vietnam have agreed to double bilateral trade to US$10 billion in 2018 from $5.59 billion in 2015. The agreement was made during a bilateral meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Russia Summit. "In 2015, our trade value amounted to $5.59 billion. It experienced a yearly increase trend of 6.47 percent over the last three years," President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo stated in a press statement issued in Sochi, Russia, on Thursday. The upward trend, he further said, was seen on the back of a strategic partnership agreement between Indonesia and Vietnam sealed in 2013. President Jokowi highlighted Vietnams important position as the countrys trade partner in the Southeast Asia region, especially for rice as the main staple food in Indonesia. The leaders also welcomed the result of the eighth technical meeting on the exclusive economic zone. The result, which comes after discussion on March 22-24, will be followed up by continued negotiations over maritime boundaries between Indonesia and Vietnam. (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Hans Nicholas Jong (The Jakarta Post) Copenhagen Fri, May 20, 2016 Sex is often considered a taboo topic in Islam, with discussions limited to how having sex before marriage and homosexuality are haram. We are now famous in the Arab world for being bottled up when it comes to sex, and its not just LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] issues, its to do with sex workers, sexuality education and so on. Its haram, aib [shameful], writer and activist for sexuality in the Arab region, Shereen El Feki, said during a session at the fourth Women Deliver conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Thursday. However, things were very different 1,000 years ago, during the era of Prophet Muhammad. We have this endless lexicon for all sexual matters outside the accepted context, which is marriage. The irony of this situation is that 1,000 years ago we were known for being too sexed up, Shereen said. Prophet Muhammad, for instance, spoke extensively about all aspects of sexuality, such as the importance of foreplay, according to the activist. 'Do not come upon your women like an animal', he once told a bewildered follower, said Shereen. Theres nothing in the joy of sex, or in YouPorn, or in Fifty Shades of Grey that they weren't talking about 1,000 years ago in the Arab world. In the past, discussions on sexuality in Islam also extended to homosexuality, which has now been strictly defined as haram, without many attempts to study whether that is true by dissecting religious texts, she said. So the conventional Islamic interpretation will tell you that homosexuality, sodomy, is haram. And yet, we have a history where we had a lively debate on what is the actual meaning of these verses in the Koran, Shereen said. In the past, followers of Islam also spoke about anal sex, now often considered taboo as it is associated with homosexuality. You cannot imagine the number of hadith that we had talking about anal sex, said Shereen. Some of these fantastic books, many of them written by religious scholars, one of them has a chapter on a debate between an anus and vagina which is the better form of sexual intercourse. It was not until more recently that sex was considered a taboo topic in Islam. Today, I hear this very strict Muslim saying we cant do this or do that because this is a Western import and this is against our traditional Arab and Muslim values. Let me tell you that historically we had a much more open, pragmatic and tolerant approach to sexuality, Shereen said. The reason why people in the Islamic community are so distanced from discussions on sex nowadays has nothing to do with sex itself, according to the activist. The narrowing comes a lot from the political system which is patriarchal, authoritarian. They like to put people in boxes and cages because theyre much easier to manage, said Shereen, citing as an example the need for women to be accompanied by guardians at certain times. (dan) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Associated Press) Chicago Fri, May 20, 2016 The FBI had hunted dangerous fugitives for years when a United Press International reporter asked in 1949 for the names of the "toughest guys" to catch. The subsequent story about the 10 most dangerous fugitives was such a sensation that FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, understanding a publicity opportunity when he saw one, made the list permanent the next year. The list has been populated by bank robbers, killers, kidnappers, drug traffickers, terrorists and others many whose names were known around the country and the world, and others who were little known beyond the city limits where their crimes were committed. Some weren't captured for years, while one guy was on the list for all of two hours before he was captured. Thomas Holden was the first of more than 400 men there have been just a few women to be captured after making the list. Holden had killed his wife and her two brothers in Chicago. He made it all the way to Oregon, where he was unlucky enough to be recognized from a photograph in a local newspaper. Among the most well-known names to make the list over the years: James Earl Ray: Ray was added to the list after he shot and killed the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as the civil rights leader stood on a balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was captured two months later in London. Ted Bundy: One of the most notorious serial killers in American history, Bundy is believed to have killed at least 30 young women across the United States in the 1970s. Osama bin Laden: Bin Laden was on the list as Usama bin Laden before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks put there for his role in the 1998 deadly bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. When he was killed in 2011, the FBI updated the list to include a large, red and white "deceased" label over his photograph. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef: The mastermind of the first World Trade Center Bombing in 1993, Yousef became the 436th fugitive to be put on the list later that year. Arrested in Pakistan two years later, he was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. James "Whitey" Bulger: The notorious Boston gangster suspected in more than a dozen killings in the 1970s and 1980s, was on the run for 16 years when he was captured in 2011 in Santa Monica, California. Eric Rudolph: Rudolph disappeared into the mountains of North Carolina after he set off a deadly bomb at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. For more than five years all while being on the FBI list he lived off the land until he was captured after being seen scavenging for food near a grocery store trash bin. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Following the extension of Operation Tinombala, the joint team comprising police and military personnel will strengthen efforts to hunt down the remaining members of the Santoso-led terrorist group East Mujahidin Indonesia (MIT). Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has said that Santoso is in a group of five people, while the remaining members of his group have broken up into smaller groups as they continue to carry out guerilla warfare in the mountainous region of Central Sulawesi. "The police and military troops are stepping up efforts to track down their location," Luhut said on Friday. Luhut said good progress had been made in the operation, with troops arresting and shooting down members of the MIT nearly every week. However, Luhut said, it was not easy to battle the militants, and that no one could ensure when the notorious terrorist Santoso aka Abu Wardah and his followers would be all captured. It has been reported that the operation, which initially was set to end on May 8, has been extended three months. National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti previously said that the MIT was down to 23 members following a shoot-out that resulted in the deaths of two terrorists in Mount Uwe Mayea, South Poso Pesisir, Central Sulawesi. (dan) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Parents must be involved in developing reading habits in their children in the current fast-paced digital era as populations with a low literacy rate are prone to fanaticism and radicalism, experts said on Thursday. Indonesia is ranked 64th out of 65 countries in student reading scores, according to a 2012 Program of International Student Assessment (PISA) survey that evaluated the literacy skills of 15-year-old students, senior journalist Henricus Witdarmono said. The country's low rank in the survey showed that Indonesian children were only capable of absorbing one or two pieces of information from a single reading, he said, adding that the survey also revealed that the students had low interpretative skills. "This is very dangerous, as people with low interpretative skills have a higher tendency to be fanatic, radical or fundamentalist," said the founder of Berani, a tabloid for Children, to the audience at a discussion event titled "Book VS Social Media" in Jakarta on Thursday. Therefore, parents involvement in developing reading habits among children is crucial. "Parents can help sharpen a child's focus and concentration level with reading a bedtime story to them every night," Henricus said. Meanwhile, Pepih Nugraha, a senior reporter at prominent Indonesian newspaper Kompas, said young children who were accustomed to the internet from an early age were more interested in interactive digital content. This was an opportunity for traditional publishers to adapt to the times and combine writing with other interesting content such as pictures or colorful design, he added. Indonesia ranked the second lowest among 61 countries in a study released in March titled 'World's Most Literate Nations Ranked' by John Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University in New England, US. The study measured literate behavior characteristics, which includes the number of libraries and newspapers, years of study and availability of computers in a country. (vps/rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Andi Hajramurni (The Jakarta Post) Makassar Fri, May 20 2016 Three Malaysian citizens face possible life imprisonment for allegedly trafficking 1.078 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine into Makassar, South Sulawesi. The illegal drugs were apparently intended for sale within the province. The three Malaysians of Indian descent, identified as SS, KS and TS, all between 26 and 30 years of age, were arrested separately. They are suspected to be members of a drug network connected to a local dealer in Makassar, who remains at large. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20 2016 Local mining company Mitrabara Adiperdana has established two subsidiaries through which it will expand into biomass energy business amid persistent low coal prices. The subsidiaries are Mitra Malinau Energi (MME), which will engage in renewable energy power production, and Malinau Hijau Lestari (MHL), which will focus on biomass energy plantations. Its decision to enter the biomass energy arena was based on analysis of opportunities created by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministerial Decree No. 27/2014. The decree stated that in order to meet national electricity demand and increase the use of environmentally friendly renewable energy, the government would encourage companies to develop biomass and biogas energy by guaranteeing that the electricity would be bought by state-owned electricity company PLN. The ministerial decree stated that if a company could provide electricity through biomass power plants, PLN would buy it in accordance with tariffs mentioned in the decree, Mitrabara finance director Widada said on Thursday during the companys public announcement. The company also based this decision on careful observation of the potential demand for electricity in Malinau regency of North Kalimantan, the home of its coal-mining operations. Currently, Mitrabara is conducting a feasibility study to find out whether the plan can be realized or not. We are still developing strategies and conducting a feasibility study on these projects, he said, adding that the investment value was still being calculated by the companys consultants. A few months back on Feb. 9, the company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PLN for doing the feasibility study together. If the results are favorable, both companies will step forward to sign the electricity sale and purchase agreements. In conducting the project, Mitrabara has benefitted from a technical assistance and project preparation (TAPP) grant from the Millennium Challenge Account Indonesia (MCAI), which contributed funds amounting to US$371,000, Widada said. Besides the companys big plan to explore entry into biomass energy business, the company will maintain business as usual with its coal mining amid the sluggish outlook in the coal industry at present. This year, Mitrabara has set a coal production target of around 4 million tons, similar to last years production of 4.1 million tons. We are taking a wait-and-see approach [to the market], said Ridwan, the newly appointed president director of Mitrabara who succeeded former president director Khoirudin. Mitrabara will maintain its current strategy around exporting coal to its major markets, which include Taiwan, which accounts for 50.21 percent of Mitrabaras sales as of December last year, India (17.81 percent) and Japan (15.75 percent). We are taking a wait-and-see approach [to the market], said Ridwan, the newly appointed president director of Mitrabara who succeeded former president director Khoirudin. However, despite the sluggish outlook for the coal industry in recent years, Mitrabara has seen its net income soar 149 percent to $34.7 million from $13.92 million in 2014. In the first quarter of this year it has booked a net income of $8.1 million, compared with $6.3 million in first quarter 2015. Former president director Khoirudin said that the sharp increase was due to a jump in production by about 83 percent to 4.1 million tons in 2015, from 2.2 million tons in 2014. Moreover, he said, the company has executed some efficiency programs that contributed to the increase. This year, the company has allocated capital expenditure (capex) of about $18 million, of which $14 million will be used for building construction and $2.9 million for machinery and equipment. From January to March the company spent $1.1 million. (win) ---------------- To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin HS Dillon (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20 2016 Leading up to May 20, Im tempted to try and reignite the spirit of our national awakening. The rising awareness of the elite at that time, personified by Wahidin Soedirohoesodo and Soetomo, that education is a powerful weapon against colonization. By funding the education of the less fortunate, our elite chose a moral and ethical life, placing the dignity of the nation ahead of their own interests. The Indonesia envisioned then was to be free from all forms of colonialism, with full sovereignty residing with the people, a just and civilized humanity characterized by social justice for all. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Only two of 19 oil and gas operators in Indonesia have fulfilled the terms of their contracts. However, the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKK Migas) will not act hastily to punish the operators who have not fully realized their commitments. Based on the last three years of performance of those operators, who were working on a total 113 blocks in that period, only two of them have realized all the agreements in their contracts in terms of financial, infrastructure and environmental obligations. The other 17 operators were yet to fulfill their contracts, arguing that they have been hindered by limited capital due to the sluggish oil market, said SKK Migas spokesman Zikrullah. "Most of the problems are internal. Right now, the oil price has reached $45 per barrel, after reaching $30 per barrel. Based on the research, it should ideally stand at $50," he said in Jakarta on Thursday. Therefore, Zikrullah continued, SKK Migas had chosen to take a soft approach rather than cancel the contracts held by those 17 operators. "We will approach and help them. Rather than finding new investors, it will be better to solve the problems of existing investors," he said. The Task Force expressed its appreciation toward the two operators who were maintaining exploration despite the low oil price. By exploring and building supporting infrastructure at this moment, they will benefit when the price recovers. Supporting companies have cut their service charge, which allows operators to carry out exploration and production activities at discounted prices. "The offshore [service] charge is now around $7.2 million from the normal rate of $20 million. It is very cheap. So if you want to drill, do it right now," Saka Energi Indonesia general manager of operations Tombur Parlindungan told thejakartapost.com. (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin thejakartapost.com (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Jakarta Police are probing alleged negligence as the cause of an explosion at high-end mall Gandaria City in South Jakarta on Thursday that injured 13 people. The investigators have questioned a security officer from the mall named Ferry as part of efforts to uncover the cause of the explosion that took place on the lower ground floor of the mall on Thursday. Ferry received a report through his walky-talky from other security officers, Widiatmoko and Chairul Ummam, that there was a smell of gas at the lower ground floor, Jakarta Police general crimes chief Sr. Cmr. Krishna Murti said on Friday. Ferry then went to that floor to see where the gas was coming from, suspecting it might have been from a vacant space undergoing renovations in preparation for a new cafe. When he arrived there he met with nine construction workers doing the renovations. Ferry and two other security officers noticed a gas pipeline handle in open position, Krishna explained. "They immediately closed the gas off," he said as quoted by Antara news agency. Ferry asked the workers about who had opened the handle but none of them knew or admitted to it. He then warned the workers not to turn on their grinding machine because there was still the smell of gas in the air. However, not long afterward, the grinding machine was turned on and an explosion happened, causing burns injuries for 13 people. The management of the mall claim that a gas leak did not cause the explosion, according to Gandaria City Mall public relations officer Zana Aurora. Zana said that the installed pipe had not yet dispensed any gas into the vacant space where the blast took place. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin thejakartapost.com (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Police shot tear gas after a demonstration turned violent on Friday when rally participants allegedly started throwing bottles, rocks and other items at police officers. We were forced to shoot the tear gas as the demonstration turned violent, said Jakarta Police spokesman Jr. Comr. Awi Setiyoni in Jakarta on Friday as reported by kompas.com. Awi said that the police deployed 323 personnel and one water cannon to secure the protest. Hundreds of people demonstrated in front of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to call on the anticorruption body to investigate Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, who had been questioned as a witness in cases pertaining to land acquisition and reclamation. The protestors claimed to be members of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR), the North Jakarta Community Alliance (AMJU) and the Luar Batang Warriors from North Jakarta. The violence broke out at 3 p.m. while protestor representatives held talks with KPK officials. But, while their representatives carried out dialogue with the KPK, the protestors threw rocks at the police officers, who guarded the KPK, he added. Earlier, the protestors demonstrated in front of the City Council on Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta. They demanded the council impeach Ahok for evicting residents of Kampung Polu in East Jakarta as well as those in Kalijodo, Pasar Ikan and Akuarium village in North Jakarta. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin thejakartapost.com (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 The police are coordinating with the Communications and Information Ministry to block radical websites that are allegedly uploading a video of Islamic State (IS) propaganda featuring child militants. The video, which is currently circulating on the internet, shows a group of children in camouflage clothing undergoing military training during which they were being taught to shoot with handguns and rifles, as well as to burn their passports. "We have a response team for things related to pornography and radicalism. If there are things that harm people, we can block them," the National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said as quoted by kompas.com. According to Boy, the propaganda is intended for disseminating radical IS teachings, as well as fear among people. He said he deplored the involvement of children in the propaganda, saying that it could inspire the young generation to embrace radicalism. He further advised people, particularly the younger generation, to wisely absorb information so that they would not be moved by IS propaganda and take action that contradicted the law. A video uploaded by the alleged media wing of IS also featured a man who identified himself as Abu Thalha Malizi, who spoke in Indonesian with a Malay accent, standing in the middle of a group of child militants. He showed a red Malaysian passport to the camera while the children who surrounded him showed their passports, mostly green Indonesian passports. Abu said to the camera that they wanted to revoke their Indonesian and Malaysian citizenship to pledge allegiance to the IS. "We will burn these passports as a sign of liberation from you, thoghut [infidel] leaders [...] we will come for you with the army that you cannot defeat," Abu said. The children simultaneously threw their passports to the ground while one of them set the documents on fire. (afr/dan) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20 2016 Dozens of children were spotted doing acrobatic moves while jumping into a clean-looking but still stinky Ciliwung River behind the LTC shopping center on Jl. Labu in Mangga Besar, in West Jakarta. Eight-year-old Thorik Sohebul Maulana said that he enjoyed swimming in it although it smelled and was brown-colored and he knew he would possibly be itchy when he went home. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Christopher Bodeen and Gillian Wong (Associated Press) Taipei Fri, May 20, 2016 New Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's inaugural address Friday was scrutinized for indications of what her administration will spell for relations with China, the United States and the Asia-Pacific as a whole. While it may be too early to gauge the response of China, which claims the self-governing island as its own territory, Tsai's presidency introduces new uncertainty in a region already beset by tensions over the South China Sea, North Korea's nuclear program and China's jousting with the US for strategic dominance. Here are some questions and answers about Friday's events and their likely effects. Q: What were the most noteworthy points of Tsai's inaugural address? A: Tsai said she respected the outcomes and the "historical fact" of a meeting between representatives of the two sides in 1992. That meeting broke the ice after decades of bitter enmity deriving from the Chinese civil war that led to the Communist takeover of the mainland in 1949 and the shifting of the Nationalist government to Taiwan. However, Tsai declined to mention the "'92 consensus" encompassing a "one-China policy," a construct that Beijing insists must underpin interactions between the sides. Q: How has China responded to Tsai and her inaugural address so far? A: It's not clear yet what actions China plans to take in response. The Cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement noting Tsai's reference to the 1992 meeting, but saying she had taken an "ambiguous stance" toward the nature of the relationship between the sides. The entirely state-controlled media was mostly silent on the inauguration, although the official Xinhua News Agency issued a brief report saying Taiwan's "new leader and deputy leader" had taken office, language reflecting China's refusal to recognize the legitimacy of Taiwan's government. Q: What further steps could China take to ratchet-up pressure on Taiwan? A: Although China doesn't rule out using force to bring Taiwan under its control, it's unlikely to take military measures beyond saber-rattling war games intended to advertise the threat. Beijing is considered more likely to do all it can to increase the island's diplomatic isolation, winning away some of Taiwan's 22 diplomatic allies and restricting its participation in international organizations. As a crucial market for Taiwan's products, China could also exert added stress on Taiwan's ailing economy. Q: How does this new dynamic affect China-US relations? A: While Washington remains a key Taiwanese backer, there are unlikely to be any immediate implications for China-US ties. The dispute over the South China Sea is much higher on the agenda of the US-China relationship. Analysts doubt any dispute would arise that would significantly draw in the US "The Chinese see themselves as having a very large tool box to deal with Taiwan and they don't immediately need to turn to the United States and insist that the US manage this problem for them," said Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Q: What does this mean for other countries in Asia? A: The Taiwan Strait has long been considered a potential powder keg in Asia and any uptick in frictions between Beijing and Taipei will only increase regional risks and uncertainties. China may pressure Asian countries to curtail their dealings with Taiwan, particularly India and nations in Southeast Asia that Tsai wants to improve business ties with as a way of reducing Taiwan's reliance on the Chinese market. "If the Chinese really want to put pressure on Taiwan, they will use any means possible," Glaser said. China is unlikely to allow any country in Southeast Asia to pursue free trade agreements with Taiwan, which currently only has such pacts with Singapore and New Zealand. Q: What is the significance of this for Taiwan itself? A: Tsai's inauguration has been hailed by many as a sign Taiwan's often raucous democracy has achieved a new level of maturity in the almost quarter-century since martial law was lifted. As Taiwan's first woman president, Tsai has also been held up as a sign of rising gender equality in a traditionally male-dominated society. She has promised to bolster social programs, reform the rigid educational system and increase opportunities for women and minorities, all while attempting to reinvigorate the economy and create jobs for educated young people. In her address, Tsai also said she would establish a peace and reconciliation commission to revisit the crimes committed by the former authoritarian Nationalist government and seek justice for its victims. (Read also Tsai Ing-wen inaugurated as Taiwan's first woman president) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Devina Heriyanto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 Two accidents have occurred in as many days involving Greater Jakarta commuter trains. On Wednesday, a train derailed on its way to Sudirman Station in Central Jakarta. A week earlier, a car was hit by a commuter train between Cilebut and Bojong Gede station. Although neither accident was fatal, the fact that at least four accidents involving commuter trains have occurred this month alone raises nagging questions on commuter safety and other lingering problems surrounding the management of the citys railways. The accidents occurred with a backdrop of significant reforms made in the past three years, with the Greater Jakarta commuter line serving 740,000 passengers per day by patiently educating people from all walks of life on the technology and etiquette of train travel. Here are the incidents and service disruptions from derailments to collisions, going back to the infamous Juanda collision back in September 2015 in which 42 people were injured. May 18, 2016 A train derailed on its way from Sudirman Station, Central Jakarta, during the morning rush hour at 6:18 a.m.The accident happened between Sudirman and Manggarai stations, serving the busy Jakarta-Bogor route. May 13, 2016 A car was hit by a commuter train between Cilebut and Bojong Gede stations. The train was serving the Bogor-Duri route. May 9, 2016 A 67-year-old man identified as Awigeno Soesanto died after being hit by a train transporting coal near Palmerah Station. He was waiting to cross a grade crossing as two trains neared. Once the first, a commuter train heading from Palmerah to Kebayoran, had passed, Awigeno quickly attempted to cross, without looking in the other direction, from which the coal train was approaching. May 2, 2016 Smoke from railway tracks halted a commuter train near Kampung Bandan, on the Tanah Abang-Serpong line. Smoke from railway tracks halted a commuter train near Kampung Bandan, on the Tanah Abang-Serpong line.(Twitter.com/chandrajuntak17) April 29, 2016 Damaged railway tracks between Duren Kalibata and Cawang stations slowed the commuter line to 5 kilometers per hour. April 6, 2016 A Jakarta commuter line train derailed on its way from Manggarai Station in South Jakarta to Duri Station in West Jakarta. The train derailed near Sudirman Station in Central Jakarta at around 3:30 p.m. The derailment also blocked the operation of the commuter line between Bogor in West Java and Tanah Abang and Jatinegara stations in Jakarta. March 14, 2016 A commuter train derailed between Kebayoran Station and Pondok Ranji Station. The doors were opened and passengers jumped off the train. A commuter train derailed between Kebayoran Station and Pondok Ranji Station. The doors were opened and passengers jumped off the train.(Twitter.com/gunawandinata) March 13, 2016 An unidentified man was hit by a commuter train in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, at 10:15 a.m. March 10, 2016 Commuter trains operating between Bogor and Jakarta were disrupted after an empty Senja Utama Solo train serving the route from Jakarta to Surakarta in Central Java derailed at Tanah Abang Station in Central Jakarta. March 3, 2016 An unidentified man died instantly and his body was dismembered after being hit by a commuter train on Jl. Tanah Tinggi 1 in Johar Baru, Central Jakarta. Adj. Comr. Iskandar, the traffic unit head of the Senen Police, said the police suspected that the man had committed suicide. Feb. 3, 2016 Signal problems between Depok in West Java and Pasar Minggu in South Jakarta affected eight of the line's 25 stops, causing trains to be backed-up. Dec. 26, 2015 A car collided with an electric commuter line train at Tanah Kusir railway crossing in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, causing minor injuries to the five people in the car. Jakarta Police officers at the site of a crash of a Metromini bus and a commuter train at Angke Station railway crossing in Jakarta on Sunday. The collision left 18 people dead, including the bus driver.(Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga) Dec. 6, 2015 Commuters traveling from Jatinegara in East Jakarta to Bogor and vice versa faced delays following a collision between a commuter line train and a Metromini bus at a railway crossing near Angke Station in Tambora, West Jakarta. Nov. 3, 2015 A train traveling from Serpong, Banten, to Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta caught fire before entering Rawa Buntu in Serpong. The incident did not claim any victims but it shocked passengers. Meanwhile, the Transportation Ministry said in a statement that the sparks occurred because a pantograph in car number two was broken. Oct. 28, 2015 A commuter train en route from Bekasi in West Java to Kota Station in West Jakarta derailed shortly before Manggarai Station. Sept. 25, 2015 An electric train from Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta collided with a motorcycle in Serpong, South Tangerang, on Thursday, causing no casualties but disrupting the commuter line schedule. Sept. 23, 2015 Forty-two people were injured after two commuter line trains collided at Juanda Station in Central Jakarta, with one train hitting the rear of the other. ( dmr ) Sources: Various media reports Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20 2016 Indonesia is keeping itself on-track in pursuit of a Thomas Cup victory as it secured a semifinal spot after trashing Hong Kong 3-1 on Thursday in Kunshan, China. World number eight Tommy Sugiarto contributed a morale booster for his team by winning 21-11, 19-21, 21-15 against Ng Ka Long Angus in the opening battle that lasted for one hour. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Tassia Sipahutar (The Jakarta Post) Sochi, Russia Fri, May 20 2016 Indonesias attempts to upgrade its military deterrence are on track, as progress is seen in talks for the purchase of advanced Russian defense equipment and the joint production of ammunition and arms. During a meeting between Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Jokowi presented the countrys shopping list, which includes Kilo-class submarines and Sukhois Su-35 multi-role jet fighters. Indonesia also has plans for the construction of a maintenance center for the purchased weaponry systems and the joint production of ammunition and other weapons in Indonesia. We are in talks to purchase the submarines, but, of course, there are requirements we still need to address, said Indonesian Ambassador to Russia M. Wahid Supriyadi, adding that there would be follow-up talks between Indonesian Defense Ministry officials and their Russian counterparts. The diesel-electric Kilo class is an attack submarine primarily designed for anti-ship and anti-submarine operations in relatively shallow waters. Feverish economic growth in Asia has made the security of sea lanes a vital matter, and regional naval powers are in a race to expand their undersea missile capabilities through the purchase of advanced submarines. Despite being the worlds biggest archipelago, Indonesia has only two outdated submarines in operation. It is expecting to soon receive three more from South Korea, but with inferior technology to those of the Kilo class. Since 2007, Indonesia has been in talks with Russia to buy at least two Kilo-class vessels, but progress has been slow until the recent meeting between Jokowi and Putin in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, ahead of the ongoing third ASEAN-Russian summit. The head of Russias arms export agency, Alexander Fomin, said Russia would like to produce military munition in Indonesia, including shells, Reuters reported. He added that Indonesia was interested in Russian submarines and jets. However, Russia has rivals, such as the US and China. Russia, the worlds second-largest arms exporter after the US, plans to sell arms worth US$14 billion this year, according to Reuters. Russias total portfolio of arms orders currently stands at more than $50 billion. The talks between Jokowi and Putin were proceeded by the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and her counterpart Sergei Lavrov at the Bocharov Ruchei, the Russian presidents official residence, late on Wednesday. The agreement facilitates the exchange of intelligence data, collaboration in science and technology, and the establishment of joint industrial facilities. We have agreed to widen contacts between defense ministries and security agencies, Putin said at a joint briefing with Jokowi. The signed MoU is a follow-up to the 2003 comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Indonesia and Russia. It is to accommodate the needs of our military. It seems that their needs are in line with what Russia has, said Retno, adding that Russia had always been responsive to Indonesia. Amid economic sanctions imposed by Western countries, Russias expansion in its ties with Indonesia provides a sign of relief. The cooperation has also lifted Russias leverage, as it receives acceptance from Indonesia, a major Asian country, said Tirta Mursitama, head of the department of international relations at Bina Nusantara University. From a geopolitical perspective, Indonesia and Russia are trying to lift their bargaining power at the global and regional levels with this defense cooperation. Aside from defense issues, Jokowi also discussed trade and investment matters with Putin and held one-on-one meetings with executives of several companies, such as infrastructure and transportation firm Russian Railways and investment firm Vi Holding Group. Data from the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) reveal that most Russian investment is in the mining sector. Its realized investments reached a paltry $1.01 million last year, which Retno said was below the potential Indonesia and Russia had. Weve suggested that Russia diversify its investment in Indonesia, and they seem to be interested, said Retno. Hasyim Widhiarto contributed to this story. __________________________________ To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin did not specifically discuss the purchase of Sukhoi SU-35 jet fighters during their recent bilateral meeting, a minister has confirmed. The clarification was made to address rising speculation related to the renewal of the nation's primary weaponry system (alutsista). "[On Wednesday] we discussed defense cooperation issues in a wider context, not only concerning the procurement of weaponry systems but also other issues such as technology transfer, human resource development, among other matters" Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said in Sochi on Thursday, as quoted by Antara news agency. The minister is accompanying Jokowi on a state visit to Russia, where the President will also attend the ASEAN-Russia Summit. According to Retno, defense issues were highlighted during the bilateral meeting between the two presidents. Jokowi and Putin also discussed trade, investment, tourism, infrastructure and maritime issues. Following the bilateral meeting on Wednesday, Jokowi released an official statement in which the President said he had proposed for stronger bilateral cooperation in economic and defense matters with Russia. "Putin and I have agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas of defense. We also discussed cooperation in technology transfer, joint production, education and training," the statement said. During his visit to Russia, Jokowi has also met with business players, including executive directors of transportation and energy companies such as Russian Railways, Blackspace Group, En+ Group and Vi Holding Group. The meeting, which was held in a bid to increase trade and investment between the two countries, was well received by the attending businessmen. Previously, Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryucudu said Jokowi would witness the signing of a procurement deal for eight jet fighters in Russia this month as part of Indonesia's plan to modernize its primary weapons systems. Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said the Russian-made Sukhoi SU-35 jet is the best choice to secure Indonesia's expansive archipelagic territory and therefore had proposed the purchase of the aircraft to the Defense Ministry, which has the authority to buy defense equipment. (liz/dan) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ralph Jennings & Johnson Lai (Associated Press) Taipei Fri, May 20, 2016 Taiwan inaugurated Tsai Ing-wen as its first female president on Friday, returning the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party to power amid new concerns over increasingly fractious relations with Beijing and a flagging economy. Tsai took the oath of office at the Presidential Office Building in the capital Taipei before a national flag and portrait of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China that relocated to Taiwan in 1949 as the communists swept to power on the Chinese mainland. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has responded to Tsai's election by intensifying pressure on the island with military exercises, diplomatic moves and cross-border deportations. At home, Tsai faces an economy that has fallen into a recession as exports have dropped due to sluggish demand. Tsai's swearing in was followed by a presentation in front of the office building featuring performers tracing the island's history from the era of its original aboriginal descendants to colonization by the Netherlands and Japan to the arrival of Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese Nationalist forces at the end of World War II. Tsai's election in January served as a resounding rejection by voters of the China-friendly party that has led Taiwan for eight years. The polls, which also gave the DPP its first parliamentary majority, were also seen as an expression of concern that the island's economy is under threat from the Chinese mainland's economic juggernaut. Beijing has warned that delicate relations between the sides will suffer unless Tsai explicitly endorses Beijing's stance that the island and the mainland are part of a single Chinese nation, which it calls the "'92 Consensus." Tsai has avoided doing so, but has promised not to pursue changes to the current status of de facto independence. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Associated Press) Taipei, Taiwan Fri, May 20, 2016 Taiwan has inaugurated its first female president. Tsai Ing-wen will confront major challenges in her new role, including navigating what seem certain to be increasingly fractious relations with Beijing and rejuvenating the island's flagging economy. Tsai took the oath of office Friday at the Presidential Office Building in the capital Taipei before a national flag and portrait of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China that relocated to Taiwan in 1949 as the communists swept to power on the Chinese mainland. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has responded to Tsai's election by intensifying pressure on the island with military exercises, diplomatic moves and cross-border deportations. At home, Tsai faces an economy that has fallen into a recession as exports have dropped due to sluggish demand. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 20 2016 Jakarta Police introduced yellow box junctions a year ago in an effort to reduce gridlock at major intersections, but the effectiveness of the policy has been questioned due to consistently low awareness among motorists regarding its function. In accordance with the yellow box junction road policy, motorists should not make their way toward another road section if the yellow box junction is not yet clear of vehicles. The policy has been applied to various intersections around the city, including at Pancoran in South Jakarta and at Sarinah in Central Jakarta. Jakarta Transportation Agency officer Abdul Hakim, who supervises traffic near the Jl. MH Thamrin - Jl. Kebon Sirih crossroad in Central Jakarta, said that many motorists ignore the yellow box junctions, regardless of police presence. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Annabelle Liang (Associated Press) Singapore Fri, May 20, 2016 An activist says a Malaysian man has been executed in Singapore hours after a last-minute appeal was rejected by the city-state's highest court. The Court of Appeal had said on Friday it found no merit in the appeal by a lawyer representing Kho Jabing, 31, that challenged the constitutionality of the death penalty in Singapore. It left the timing of the execution to prison authorities. Rachel Zheng of the Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign says she was informed by Kho's family that he was executed at 3.30 p.m. Friday. Kho was on death row for the murder of a construction worker in 2008. Singapore's highest court on Friday rejected an appeal by a Malaysian murder convict, leaving him no further room for reprieve from execution. The Court of Appeal said it found no merit in the last-minute appeal by an activist lawyer representing Kho Jabing that challenged the constitutional legality of the death penalty in the city-state. The rejection concludes six years of legal twists during which Kho, 31, was sentenced to death, won appeals, resentenced to life imprisonment and caning, and again sentenced to death. No date was set for the execution, and the court said it will leave it to prison authorities to carry it out. Executions in Singapore are by hanging, and are usually carried out before dawn at Changi prison. He was supposed to have been hanged Friday, but won a last-minute reprieve late Thursday, when the Supreme Court allowed lawyer Jeannette Aruldoss Chong, to file an appeal on the constitutional grounds. Kho is accused of using a tree branch to assault and rob a construction worker in 2008. The worker died from multiple skull fractures and Kho was convicted and sentenced to death in 2010. Delivering the judgment, Court of Appeal Judge Chao Hick Tin said that the court's processes have been abused. "This case has been about many things. Today, it is about the abuse of the process of the court." Chong had "used the civil jurisdiction of the court to mount a collateral attack" on previous decisions. "If allowed... (this) would throw the whole system of justice into disrepute," he said. "No real issue of any merit had been raised" and the appeal was "plainly misconceived and bound to fail," Chao added. "Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal." Kho clapsed his hands together as the sentence was delivered and looked down. His mother, sister and aunties were present in court and broke down after being allowed to speak to him. The European Union and Amnesty International have called on Singapore to grant Kho clemency. According to the prison records, Singapore carried out four executions in 2015, one for murder and three for drug crimes. In 2012, Singapore amended its laws on the death penalty, making it no longer mandatory for those convicted of drug trafficking or murder to face the gallows. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Yuji Vincent Gonzales (Inquirer.net/ANN) Fri, May 20, 2016 The Australian government on Friday congratulated presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte as it sought stronger ties and diplomatic relations between the two countries. Australia looks forward to continue working with the new Philippines Government to further develop our enduring bilateral relationship and to address shared regional and global challenges, Australia said in a statement posted on its foreign ministers website. Our countries share similar values and interests, including a commitment to democracy, and a determination to work for peace, security and economic growth, the statement read. The congratulatory message came weeks after the mayor dared Australia and the United States to cut diplomatic ties with the Philippines after their ambassadors slammed his joke about the jailhouse rape of an Australian missionary. Australian ambassador to the Philippines Amanda Gorely then said: Rape and murder should never be joked about or trivialized. Violence against women and girls is unacceptable anytime, anywhere. Duterte drew flak for joking that he should have been first to rape Jacqueline Hamill, who was murdered during a prison riot in the Davao City jail in 1989. Australia also noted that it signed a Comprehensive Partnership with the Philippines in 2015 to deepen mutual interests in trade, development and regional security, as it vowed to cooperate with the incoming administration. Australia and the Philippines have strong and close people-to-people links; there are more than 250,000 Filipino Australians who call Australia home making a positive contribution to our multicultural society and approximately 10,000 Filipino students study at Australian universities. Since its inception 105 Australian students have studied in the Philippines under the New Colombo Plan, the Australian government said. Australia will work with the new Philippines Government on alignment of our economic partnership to support continued economic, governance and social reforms that are important to inclusive economic growth. We anticipate that the gains of recent years can be sustained and built upon, it added. This year marks 70 years of diplomatic relations between Australia and the Philippines. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sopheng Cheang (Associated Press) Phnom Penh Fri, May 20, 2016 Thousands of Cambodians joined a colorful procession on Friday to return what they believe are Buddha's relics to a mountaintop shrine from where they were stolen three years ago. The relics contained in a golden urn were placed in a float built around a car, resembling a giant golden swan complete with little temples on it. Four Buddhist monks sat on each corner of the float and prayed throughout the journey. The float was driven some 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh to the Oudong shrine. Buddhist monks, government officials, students and laypeople joined the procession on motorcycles and other vehicles. The urn was stolen in 2013, and recovered a year later but was temporarily placed at the Royal Palace. Four guards at the shrine and one more person were arrested. The reinstallation took place on a national holiday to celebrate what is locally known as Visak Bochea, said to be the holiest day in the Buddhist calendar marking the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha. It is known by similar names in other Buddhist countries. Once the relics arrived at its destination, the procession went around the mountain. The chief monks then walked up to the shrine and received the urn from the culture minister. Several countries in Asia possess relics believed to have come from the body of Buddha, and the stolen urn holds enormous religious and cultural significance for Cambodia, a predominantly Buddhist nation. The relics were given to late King Norodom Sihanouk in 1957 by Sri Lanka to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of Buddha's birth. Chhreung, Len who traveled some 300 kilometers (200 miles) from northwestern Battambang province to join the parade, said she has no regret spending time, money and energy to be here because the remnants of Buddha's body were sacred for Cambodia and for her. "Once I learned the news from my relatives in Phnom Penh that the remnants would be reinstalled today, I gave up all my farming work and took a bus straightaway," Chreung Len, 68, said. She added that she hopes authorities will take more care to safeguard the urn and the relics. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Strait Times) Singapore Fri, May 20, 2016 Lawyer and opposition politician Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss succeeded late on Thursday in staving off the execution of convicted murderer Jabing Kho, who had been scheduled to hang on Friday morning. Earlier in the day, she failed to get a stay before Judicial Commissioner Kannan Ramesh after hours of arguments in chambers. But she was given an 11pm deadline to file an appeal, which she met. That means that Kho cannot be hanged until the apex court convenes to hear the appeal. It brought to close a dramatic day, during which a five-judge Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed a separate bid by Kho to escape the gallows for the brutal killing of a construction worker in 2008. He had bludgeoned Chinese national Cao Ruyin on the head with a tree branch while robbing him. The victim, whose skull was shattered from multiple fractures, died in hospital six days later. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta Fri, May 20, 2016 A program that allows students to learn from the country's maestros in arts has been launched by the Culture and Elementary and Secondary Education Ministry. The success of last years "Belajar bersama Maestro" (Learning with Maestro) program prompted the ministry to repeat it this year. The ministrys director of arts, Endang Caturwati, said, Any high school [SMA] or vocational school [SMK] students are welcome to apply online, as long as it fits their talents and interests. (Read also: Jakarta community draws youth into performing arts) In 2015, the committee invited a number of maestros in arts, namely sculptor Nyoman Nuarta, musicians Gilang Ramadhan and Dwiki Dharmawan, dance maestro Didik Ninik Thowok and painter Nasirun. This year, the maestros involved are Sundari Soekotjo, Amaq Raya, Sirajul Huda, Nano Riantiarno, I Made Sidia, Ni Ketut Arini, Temu Misti, Tom Ibnur, Djaduk Ferianto and Putu Sutawijaya. Endang told kompas.com, We want to develop and add to students outlook toward culture, make them absorb the knowledge directly from the maestros so they appreciate the creation process of each maestro. This will motivate them to pursue achievements in the arts, which will generally form the nations character. Participants will be appointed by their own schools with recommendation letters from each schools principal. (Read also: Djaduk Ferianto: Building imagination) There are already 143 applications received to date for the program. However, the ministry is still inviting more students to participate. The application process started on April 20. Selected participants will be announced from June 16 to 30 with an initial course starting on July 18. The maestro program will officially start on July 19 and end on July 27. The students will be implementing what they learned in a show and exhibition on July 29 in Yogyakarta. More information about the Learn with Maestro program is available at bbm.kemdikbud.go.id. (asw) 191 women MPs were elected during the 2015 General Election, or 29% of all MPs: a historically record high. Nearly a third of the House of Commons is now female. While this may look like progress, we are still nowhere close to eliminating the gender gap in parliament. Summing up the total number of women in the House of Commons ever since 1918 the year in which women were first allowed to run for office the total reached (450) is still smaller than the number of men just currently in Parliament, at 459. So whoever tells me that the political struggle for women is over because a strong women like Thatcher was Prime Minister in the UK, Angela Merkel is in charge of one of the sturdiest European nations and Hilary Clinton has a chance at become the first woman president of the United States, had better take a look at the different reasons women are still underrepresented in politics. In this case, in the UK House of Commons. First things first: women are, in many aspects, personally different from men, given some evolutionary traits and societal side effects that have made us this way. Researchers of the Fawcett Society have proved that women seem less psychologically inclined towards politics as a whole; polls suggest we are less trustful of politicians and cynically believe that politics is all talk and no action and people go into politics only for themselves. Also, Director of the Goldsmiths MediaResearch Centre demonstrates that women acquire political knowledge much later in their lives than men, and are less likely to be encouraged by their families to engage in a political career. Women are taught to be cute, and being cute means dropping everything that makes us assertive, confident or determined. This is because success and likeability are inversely proportionate for women, as a Harvard study shows, but directly proportional for men. Likewise, male bias within the media still affects womens involvement in politics. Within the content of a news story, for example, 79% of women are referred to as 'victims' while three-quarters of men hold the role of 'expert'. Women seem biologically less inclined toward a career in politics. Possessing less testosterone than men, therefore higher levels of risk aversion, women are afraid of being wrong: and this isnt a feature fit for politics. Plus, when leadership opportunities arise women feel they would be less capable; in a study of adults who wouldnt be confident running for election before solidly establishing their careers, 23% of young men vs. 15% of young women still mulled over the idea of putting their name on the ballot anyway. Also in business, 57% of the men are likely to ask for a raise in their first job, compared to only 7% of the women. Women dont think they can reach for more and often wait to be asked. Parties need to actively recruit women as candidates, but political gatekeepers tend to recruit from their own networks; and political gatekeepers are often men who surround themselves with men. Some parties have attempted to tackle this issue; in 2015 the Labour party instituted an all-women shortlist, allowing only women to stand in particular constituencies. This is helped to boost the percentage of women in the Commons, but also resulted in several more women-friendly policies being introduced, and greater attention drawn to issues such as healthcare. But gender prejudice works the other way round, too. Donald Trump, who probably isnt the best person to quote on this matter, says that Clinton would only have won 5% of her votes had she not been a woman and I do see where he might have a point. Last but not least is a factor that is too often blamed for gender inequality in politics: womens role within a family. This isnt as prominent as it used to be, but these responsibilities surely still weigh upon political decision-making. Women, in most cases, still cover the role of carer for both younger and older family members. It's not precluding them from being politically ambitious, but it is to say they probably still have three jobs to juggle instead of two when they throw their hats into the ring says Jennifer Lawless, Director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University. Clinton is often asked how she will manage to be a grandmother if she gets elected. Now please find me one male president that has ever been asked that?! At the same time, when women start planning to have a family, they automatically veer away from ambition in their career, as they start making space for a child in their life and stop taking on extra responsibilities at work. In Britain, however, research overwhelmingly demonstrates that the central issue is one of demand rather than supply, Meryl Kenny, Gender and Politics lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, stipulates. So the political system still doesnt work! Radical change within political party ethics and thorough mentoring will hopefully shepherd women's candidacies. Differing cases show there is evidence of well-entrenched gender bias within the House of Commons: forms of both direct and indirect discrimination. Nasty comments alluding to an inability to work in the sector, to explicit sexual comments, words and actions all undermine the political atmosphere for women on a daily basis, singling them out for their gender. The Labour shadow minister for public health, Luciana Berger, comments: Ive been in all sorts of workplaces where I havent felt in a minority, and here it feels as if were a minority and a novelty. As MPs are technically self-employed, men have less fear of paying the consequences for being unprofessional, and women have greater difficulty in making a difference. In most other workplaces, anyone making such claims would have them dealt with quickly and straightforwardly. Various cases regarding sexual assault have recently damaged the image of the House of Commons. However, these incidents caused greater trouble for the victims rather than the assaulters. Cathy Newman, the Channel 4 News journalist who broke the story accusing Lord Rennard, explains that even though she initially thought the exposure of the allegations would be a helpful step for the status of women in Parliament, things arent that straightforward: If you were a woman in Westminster who had been harassed in the way these women allege they were, you would now think, do I really want to report it? Is it worth my while? She continues: "I blame the macho, antediluvian culture that lingers long after its expiry date, commenting that certain behaviours were allowed by a chorus line of male cronies, to portray himself as a victim of the women who reported his behaviour". The House of Commons is an institution designed and built for men one hundred years ago; women were not thought of and often it shows underlines Helen Grant, Minister for Equalities, Sport and Tourism. The atmosphere can be aggressive at times [...] it is often about point-scoring rather than debate she concludes. Furthermore, it must be taken into consideration that the media is never particularly generous with women in politics, often giving greater importance to their attire and looks rather than their words and beliefs. This too adds to the negative atmosphere within the House of Commons, which, drop by drop, damages women within Parliament. Finally, being an MP with family caring responsibilities is challenging due to the structure of the actual job. Working in the Commons involves long work days and an exceptionally busy schedule. Women in other senior positions work very long hours and hard shifts, but have greater control; it would be impressive to look at ways that all MPs can have more control over their working lives explains Mary Macleod, Conservative MP for Brentford and Isleworth. However, several MPs simply do not grasp the eminence of the issue; when it was voted to adjust evening schedules, measures to reduce evening working hours passed with few votes: Some of the arguments were bizarre [] You hear people saying, well, what am I going to do in my evenings? explained Berger. Both men and women, both the government and society, are to blame for gender discrepancies within the House of Commons. There are factors that are innate to human nature and need to be overcome, and others that are faults in social norms and will take time to heal. Both sides of this story come together to create one final picture: a portrait of a society still plagued by gender inequality. If the House of Commons, like the government as a whole, cannot combat sexism and gender bias, how is wider society supposed to? Big steps have been made in the right direction, and hopefully 2016 will bring several more. It is statistically proven that women in office increase government transparency as well as work in more a bipartisan manner, highlighting new issues in policy agendas. Mary Robinson, former Irish president, explains that because of womens lack of testosterone, "women are actually more inclined towards that more modern leadership, which is collaborative problem-solving, enabling, consultative, not just trying to assert a kind of hierarchical power." It is a positive, virtuous cycle: women in power create a better environment for other women to come to power, and slowly gender equality will be at everybodys doorstep. Lets get a move on. Following the release of the governments White Paper earlier this month, outlining their proposals for the BBCs Royal Charter for the next 11 years, one has been causing particular disquiet amongst students. Culture Secretary John Whittingdale confirmed that the government intends to close the loophole that allows people to watch catch-up programmes on the BBCs iPlayer without a TV Licence. This loophole has been used by students to legally watch BBC content without the cost of paying for the licence. This will now disappear, meaning to legally watch BBC programmes, even via catch up, youll now need a licence. Loughborough students petition to have the decision over-turned. MP Liz McInnes is supporting ato have the decision over-turned. The National Student spoke to her about why she supports the campaign, and her views on the future of the BBC. Why are you supporting the campaign? I'm supporting the campaign because I think this is a part of the BBC White Paper which hasn't been properly thought through. The results of the consultation showed that only 15.1% thought that the "iPlayer loophole" needed closing but the government are proposing to charge for online access regardless. When the Secretary of State presented the White Paper to Parliament I asked him what consideration he had given to the effect on students, who were already racking up a huge amount of debt, of having to purchase a TV licence every year in order to access online programs, and it was apparent from his answer that he had not even considered the problem. Why do you think students should be exempt from paying the Licence Fee for iPlayer services? Students already put themselves into debt by studying away from home; this has been exacerbated by this Government's insistence on changing maintenance grants to loans and now with further proposals to elevate tuition fees it is becoming harder and harder for all people from all backgrounds to go onto to further education. Many students access the BBC's archive material online as part of their studies and, yes, they may occasionally catch up on a TV program via their computers, and I don't think that they should be penalised for this. Should this be extended to people on low incomes and the unemployed? I certainly think that this should be given some consideration in homes where people don't have a television and therefore don't have a TV licence. What is your opinion on the BBC funding debate - what model should it follow? The majority of people who responded to the consultation (59.8%) were happy with the current Licence Fee arrangements. I think that the majority of people value the BBC and are happy to pay the licence fee in order to maintain the quality of our public service broadcaster. How would you solve the Licence Fee issue? Again, I'm not sure that there really is an issue around the Licence Fee. The view has been expressed in Parliament around the BBC reforms that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and I think we must be absolutely sure that there is a problem before we start to suggest solutions. Even Mr Whittingdale, when head of the DCMS Select Committee, said there was no model better currently to replace it. Maintaining a strong BBC helps raise standards in all forms of broadcasting and certainly in countries where public service broadcasting is of poor quality, commercial broadcasting also tends to be of a lower standard. Do you think we need to protect the BBC as it stands now? Is it an important institution? Absolutely, yes. I want to be clear that protecting the BBC doesn't mean that it can't be changed, but changes must bring about improvement and not diminution of services. It might sound glib to say that the BBC is the envy of the world but it is a beacon for broadcasting and journalism. It is a highly respected institution and sets high standards of the Reithian values to Educate, Entertain and Inform. What do you enjoy on the BBC? As an MP I don't have a huge amount of time to spend watching TV, but I am a Question Time addict, and I also enjoy the satirical This Week that follows. I keep my eye on Sunday Politics which gives a good overview of the week and also has a good regional news and politics round up. It may not come across but I do switch off from politics. Recently I enjoyed two superbly acted BBC drama series, both of which had strong female actors in leading roles, Dr Foster and Happy Valley. One man, whilst helping his girlfriend clear out some clothes, learned something women have known for a long, long time: size labels don't mean jack. Every woman, when entering a clothes shop, has come to realise that sizes - medium, large, 12, 14, 16; whatever they may be - are never the same. And it's not because our bodies change shape dramatically while walking from shop to shop. Benjamin Ashton Cooper was helping his girlfriend clean out her closet when he noticed something about her clothes that rightfully pissed him off. The Pennsylvanian found some of his girlfriends clothing had XL on the labels. Knowing his girlfriend was not an "XL", he decided to try them out. I noticed that a lot of what she was getting rid of was of the XL size, he wrote in a Facebook post. That didnt look right to me, and heres why: They fit me. Cooper noted that he his no way considered an extra large male, so why was his girlfriend labelled so? His post has since garnered over 250,000 shares. I am not an extra large man, and, more importantly, a woman my size is NOT an extra large woman, he continued. This bullshit right here is why we have 8-year-olds with eating disorders. Cooper ended his post with the hashtag #EndBodyShaming. After months of wrangling, strikes and protests, doctors leaders have agreed a new deal for junior doctors with the government. The deal, between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Government, will see junior doctors offered a new pay structure for working weekends and evenings. The deal will now be put to a ballot of medics after eight days of intense negotiations. Whats the deal? (Philip Toscano/PA) Under the deal, Saturdays and Sundays will attract premium pay if doctors the vast majority of whom are expected to work seven or more weekends in a year. Doctors will receive a percentage of their annual salary for working these weekends starting at 3% for working one weekend in seven to up to 10% if they work one weekend in two. So a deal has been reached in the Junior Doctors dispute. Great news. Hope it proves to be acceptable. @rcpsglasgow @JackieDocjt David Galloway (@davidgallowaymd) May 18, 2016 Hooray, Junior Doctors have a deal. Relief all round and well done them for highlighting the issues Vicki Barber (@vickster66) May 18, 2016 Any night shift that starts at or after 8pm, lasts more than eight hours and finishes at or by 10am the following day, will also result in an increased pay rate of 37% for all the hours worked. The deal also sets out systems of payment for doctors who are on call. This allowance is applied as 8% of basic pay over and above any weekend allowance that has been paid. Across the board, there will be an average basic pay increase of between 10% and 11%, down from the 13% put forward originally by the Government. Anything else? (Chris Radburn/PA) There are also new agreements aimed at reducing discrimination to anyone who takes leave to care for others, such as new mothers or those on parental leave. When will it come into effect? Some elements of the new contract, if approved in the BMAs ballot of junior doctors, will be implemented in August and all junior doctors will move on to the new terms between October and August 2017. Where's Jeremy Hunt in all this? (Neil Hall/PA) Jeremy Hunt has been at the centre of junior doctors' wrath over the last few months. Discussing the new deal, the Health Secretary said: We welcome this significant agreement which delivers important changes to the junior doctors contract necessary to deliver a safer seven day NHS. The talks have been constructive and positive and highlighted many areas outside the contract where further work is necessary to value the vital role of junior doctors and improve the training and support they are given. This deal represents a definitive step forward for patients, for doctors and for the NHS as a whole. Not everyone has forgiven him, though: okay so the junior doctors have found a deal we still get to push Jeremy Hunt into a lake, right? gfrancie (@gfrancie) May 18, 2016 Undeterred by suggestion that he jump in a lake, Hunt then told BBC News: I think its a very positive day for NHS patients and actually for doctors as well. From the Governments point of view weve got all the red lines that we needed to improve weekend care. The extra cost of employing another doctor at the weekends will fall by about a third under this agreement, which will make it much easier for hospitals to improve care at weekends. (Stefan Rousseau/PA) He added: But I think we also have to reflect that this has been a very bitter dispute. There are lessons to be learned on all sides. I think there was a message in the industrial action that unfortunately took place that there was a lot of unhappiness amongst junior doctors about things that werent necessarily to do with their contract, to do with the way their training operates, to do with the quality of life in those very, very tough jobs. And we want to engage positively and constructively to address those issues because they are the backbone of the NHS. And what about the BMA? (Andrew Matthews/PA) The British Medical Association (BMA) is the union that protects that rights of doctors, and has been at the forefront of discussion over new contracts for junior staff. Dr Johann Malawana, the BMAs junior doctor committee chairman, said that he was pleased to have reached agreement." He added: Junior doctors have always wanted to agree a safe and fair contract, one that recognises and values the contribution junior doctors make to the NHS, addresses the recruitment and retention crisis in parts of the NHS and provides the basis for delivering a world-class health service. I believe that what has been agreed today delivers on these principles, is a good deal for junior doctors and will ensure that they can continue to deliver high-quality care for patients. This represents the best and final way of resolving the dispute and this is what I will be saying to junior doctors in the weeks leading up to the referendum on the new contract. Remind me, how did the dispute get here again? (Ben Birchall/PA) Discussions surrounding the new contract first started in 2012 but broke down in 2014. These latest talks were seen as a last-ditch attempt to break the deadlock between junior doctors and the Government. The agreement to resume talks follows a wave of industrial action launched by junior doctors in recent months, which saw thousands of operations cancelled. Junior doctors stopped providing emergency care for the first time in NHS history during their most recent walkout. More than 125,000 appointments and operations were postponed, on top of almost 25,000 procedures cancelled during previous action. Theres a really weird law still applicable to two Australian states called the "gay panic" defence. It basically means a murder charge can be downgraded to manslaughter if the perpetrator lost control because of an unwanted sexual advance by a gay person. Yes, really. You'd be forgiven for thinking this is an outdated law that no one actually takes any notice of, but it has actually been used in fairly recent times. Only last year in South Australia, the gay panic defence was used as a part of a successful appeal leading to the retrial of Joseph Lindsay Qld AG says in parli changes to end gay panic law be intro this yr. Comes after Father Pauls huge 240k petition. pic.twitter.com/Eq26qLapI3 Nathan Elvery (@nelvery) May 11, 2016 Lindsay stabbed Andrew Negre to death and dumped his body in a bin. Lindsay was originally given a life sentence with no parole for 23 years. But Lindsay's lawyer argued that Negre had made unwanted sexual advances, thus provoking Lindsay to attack and lose control. A year later, the High Court quashed his conviction and ordered a new trial. The defence can and has also be used in Queensland, famously so during the murder trial of Jason Pearce and Richard Meerdink , who were found guilty of killing Wayne Ruks. Ruks was killed in a churchyard and now the Catholic priest of that church Father Paul Kelly has become a campaigner against the homophobic law. (Change.org/Screenshot) Kelly has started an online petition on Change.org to stop the use of the law, which has garnered more than 245,000 signatures. He wrote: Its disgusting this law is still valid in both QLD and South Australia. In these two Australian states, if someone who you think is gay makes a pass at you, the sheer panic you could feel is partial justification for murder. Ive made it my mission to see this revolting law abolished it belongs in the dark ages. I have no words to describe how offensive, harmful and dangerous it is two of our governments uphold that a person can be panicked enough by gay people to justify murder. Comedian Tom Ballard has taken to YouTube to campaign against the law and express his disgust, whilst encouraging others to sign the petition. He said: Im a gay man, Ive had some awkward interactions with straight men myself over the years theyre awkward and make people feel uncomfortable and you laugh about it and move on But if any straight men were so offended by my advances that they proceeded to stab me multiple times and dump my body in a wheelie bin, Id like to think the justice system would prosecute them to the full extent of the law. Head of Change.org Australia, Karen Skinner, told the Sydney Morning Herald: Every day this law is still on the statute anywhere in Australia is another day a killer could walk free without a murder sentence. I have an inkling Father Kelly will win his campaign. Let's hope the Australian government is panicked into action. 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The tragedy raised fears of a repeat of the bombing of a Russian passenger jet by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group over Egypt last October that killed all 224 people on board. The plane disappeared between the Greek islands and the Egyptian coast in the early hours of Thursday morning, without its crew sending a distress signal. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the aircraft had swerved sharply twice in Egyptian airspace before plunging 22,000 feet (6,700 metres) and disappearing from radar screens. Both Egypt and Greece dispatched aircraft and naval vessels on a major search mission. They were expected to be joined by French teams, while the US sent a surveillance plane to help with the operation. Egypts President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi demanded an intensified search for the aircraft after reports that wreckage from the plane had been found were retracted. EgyptAir initially said on its Twitter account that the Egyptian authorities had recovered wreckage from the missing aircraft but the head of the Greek air safety authority told AFP that debris found close to the area where the jet went down did not come from a plane. French President Francois Hollande said the plane had crashed, as authorities in both Paris and Cairo opened investigations. Egypts Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said he was unable to deny the hypothesis of a terrorist attack or something technical. The airline said 15 French citizens were among the 26 foreign passengers on the plane, who also included a Briton and at least one Canadian. Both France and Egypt have come under attack by IS jihadists in the past year, and Hollande promised a comprehensive probe into the cause of the crash. IS has been waging a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security forces and last October claimed the bombing of the Russian airliner flying home holidaymakers from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. No distress call In the United States, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said its too early to definitively say what may have caused this disaster. The catastrophe also entered the US presidential election campaign, where national security is shaping up a prominent issue. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said it appeared to be yet another terrorist attack, adding When will we get tough, smart and vigilant? His likely Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton agreed that it does appear that it was an act of terrorism and once again shines a very bright light on the threats that we face from organised terror groups. A Greek aviation source said the flight had disappeared from Greek radar at around 0029 GMT. It crashed around 130 nautical miles off the island of Karpathos, the source told AFP, referring to an island northeast of Crete. Greek civil aviation chief Constantinos Litzerakos said the pilot had mentioned no problem in the last communication before the plane disappeared, and it had not deviated from its course. The flight controllers contacted the pilot at a height of 37,000 feet (near Athens) he did not mention a problem, Litzerakos told Greece's Antenna TV. Neither the Greek coastguard nor the navy could confirm reports that a passing ship had seen a ball of fire in the sky. The civil aviation chief said if there had been an explosion, any debris would have been scattered across a wide area. EgyptAirs Adel also said there had been no distress call before the plane vanished. Two babies The passengers also included two Iraqis and one citizen from each of Algeria, Belgium, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, as well as 30 Egyptians, the airline said. They included a boy and two babies. Seven crew members and three security men were also on board. EgyptAir said the plane had been manufactured in 2003. Airbus said it had clocked up 48,000 flight hours. EgyptAir hit the headlines in March when a flight from the coastal city of Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to divert to Cyprus, where the hijacker, who was described as unstable, demanded to see his ex-wife. Last October, foreign governments issued travel warnings for Egypt and demanded a review of security at its airports after IS downed the Russian airliner with what it said was a bomb concealed in a soda can that had been smuggled into the hold. EgyptAir debris, body parts found EGYPT: Egypt found wreckage including seats and luggage, and reported sightings of a body part, on Friday from the EgyptAir plane that crashed in the Mediterranean, as investigators tried to unravel the mystery of why it swerved and plummeted into the sea. disastersdeath By AFP Saturday 21 May 2016, 12:10AM Relatives and friends of passengers of the EgyptAir plane that crashed in the Mediterranean, comfort each other during prayers at Abou Bakr el-Sedek mosque in Cairo on Friday (May 20). Photo: AFP Search teams spotted personal belongings of passengers and parts of the Airbus A320 about 290 kilometres (180 miles) north of Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria, the military said. The country's aviation minister has said a "terrorist attack" was a more likely cause than technical failure for the plane's disappearance on a flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board. But French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said there was "absolutely no indication" of why the plane came down. "We're looking at all possibilities, but none is being favoured over the others," he said. The tragedy raised fears of a repeat of the bombing of a Russian passenger jet by the Islamic State jihadist group over Egypt last October that killed all 224 people on board. In Cairo, French and Airbus investigators were to meet their Egyptian counterparts to lay the groundwork for their probe. Relatives of some of the passengers and crew met EgyptAir officials and later gathered at a hotel near Cairo airport to exchange information. "They haven't died yet. No one knows. We're asking for God's mercy," said a woman in her 50s whose daughter had been on board. The plane disappeared between the Greek island of Karpathos and the Egyptian coast in the early hours of Thursday, without its crew sending a distress signal. It had turned sharply twice in Egyptian airspace before plunging 22,000 feet (6,700 metres) and vanishing from radar screens, said Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos. Satellite spots oil slick A multi-national operation involving aircraft and ships has been launched to find the plane. On Friday Kammenos said Egypt had told Greece that search teams had found "a body part, two seats and one or more items of luggage" in waters north of Alexandria. Other search aircraft had "allegedly reported more findings in another area, but currently we have no official confirmation that they belong to the plane in question." Later the European Space Agency said one of its satellites had on Thursday spotted an oil slick about 40 kilometres southeast of the plane's last known location. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had demanded an "intensified search" after the airline retracted a statement that wreckage had been found. French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that it was clear the plane had crashed, and authorities in both Paris and Cairo opened investigations. Fifteen French citizens, a Briton and at least one Canadian were among 26 foreigners on the plane. Both France and Egypt have come under attack by IS jihadists in the past year, and Hollande promised a comprehensive investigation. IS has been waging a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security forces. In October, an Airbus A321 operated by Russia's Metrojet broke up over the Sinai desert after taking off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, killing all on board in an attack that IS claimed. In the United States, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it was "too early to definitively say what may have caused this disaster". The disaster also entered the US presidential election campaign, where national security is a prominent issue. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said it appeared to be "yet another terrorist attack," adding "When will we get tough, smart and vigilant?" His likely Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton said it "does appear that it was an act of terrorism" and "once again shines a very bright light on the threats that we face from organised terror groups". Pilot's last communication Greek civil aviation chief Constantinos Litzerakos said the pilot had mentioned no problem in his last communication before the plane disappeared, and the flight had not deviated from its course. "The flight controllers contacted the pilot at a height of 37,000 feet (near Athens)... he did not mention a problem," he said. Neither the Greek coastguard nor the navy could confirm reports a passing ship had seen "a ball of fire in the sky". Litzerakos said that if there had been an explosion, any debris would have been scattered across a wide area. The passengers also included two Iraqis and one citizen from each of Algeria, Belgium, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, as well as 30 Egyptians, the airline said. They included a boy and two babies. Seven crew members and three security personnel were also on board. EgyptAir said the plane had been manufactured in 2003. Airbus said it had clocked up 48,000 flight hours. EgyptAir hit the headlines in March when a flight from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to divert to Cyprus, where the hijacker, who was described as "unstable", demanded to see his ex-wife. In October, foreign governments issued travel warnings for Egypt and demanded a review of security at its airports after IS said it downed the Russian airliner with a bomb concealed in a soda can that had been smuggled into the hold. Stand-off ends as accused lecturer shoots himself BANGKOK: A doctorate lecturer believed to have killed two university colleagues shot himself in the head after a five-hour stand-off with police who tried to negotiate his surrender yesterday (May 19). His condition is unknown. crimepolice By Bangkok Post Friday 20 May 2016, 12:05PM Wanchai Danaitamonut, sought over the killing of two lecturers at Phranakhon Rajabhat University, stands beside his car as a student pleads for him to surrender to police on Thursday. Photo: Bangkok Post / Thiti Wannamontha Wanchai Danaitamonut used the pistol he was carrying to shoot himself as shocked police, reporters, students and relatives stood nearby in a vain attempt to get him to put the weapon down. The gunshot was heard at 6:44pm. He was immediately rushed by ambulance to a hospital. His condition remains unknown and police have sealed off the area. He was surrounded by police in Saphan Khwai area on Thursday afternoon, in a gun-point drama televised live by news channels. Dr Wanchai, 60, is the prime suspect in the murder of two PhD lecturers Pichai Chaisongkram, 56, and Natthapol Chumworathayee, 54 in a conference room at Phranakhon Rajabhat University in Bang Khen district. Mr Wanchai was spotted sitting in his car at hotel car park in Saphan Khwai area at about 1:30pm. A police commando team went to the hotel and surrounded him. Mr Wanchai later got out of the car and pointed a handgun at his head. The police brought a relative of Mr Wanchais in to help. Together they tried to persuade Mr Wanchai to surrender. The murders occurred while a student was defending a thesis inside the room, with Pichai serving as chairman of the testing committee and Natthapol as the students adviser. Mr Wanchai burst into the room and allegedly opened fire at them with a 9mm calibre pistol. A source said the shooting was believed to have been motivated by a personal conflict and had nothing to do with the university. It was believed to have been pre-planned, as the suspect had reportedly asked for information about the schedule of the thesis test. Read original story here. Understanding Visaka Bucha Day All About Buddhism is a new monthly column where Jason A. Jellison takes readers on an exotic journey into Thai Buddhism and debunks a number of myths about Buddhism, as well as take readers to exotic temples that few of us have gotten to see Friday 20 May 2016, 11:54AM The old song goes Theres no place like home for the holidays. In Thailand it can be rather confusing for foreigners. After all, what do we know about Buddhism? Having become a Theravada Buddhist two years ago, I know quite a bit. Anybody who takes a holiday in Thailand will immediately be struck by the number of Buddhist images here. Most people are intrigued by the statues. Some people think they must be mystical images and deeply paranormal. On rare occasions, a minority of people are offended by the Buddhist shrines. I have one friend who called them graven images. Many misunderstand what these images are supposed to mean. Buddha was actually just a man, like you and I. He walked the Earth and, we believe, found enlightenment. (I like to think we Buddhists got that part right. After all, he did foster a peaceful religion that has withstood the test of 2,000 years of history.) Buddhists are mainly engaged in the search for truth. To be enlightened could be simplistically thought of as acquiring the ability to see life as it really is; kind of like finding the meaning of life. Many of us need certain things in life to feel secure, even if we know that they probably are not real. Thats perfectly fine, as long as we reconcile ourselves with the fact that we actually live in a lot of fallacies. Buddhist Doctrine holds that Buddha was born, found enlightenment, and died on the same month and day. Thats what Visaka Bucha Day celebrates. It is the most holy day of the year and thus Buddhists celebrate the day with a fair amount of fervour. Different temples and groups mark the day a little differently. A rather elaborate service is held where we celebrate the holiday by making merit, a term that somewhat translates to giving alms. Buddhist monks dont have any money and so they rely on us to provide for them through donations; or making merit. On this holy day my congregation will travel by bus to very holy temples that have very holy relics. We will hold an evening ceremony where we walk around the temple three times with candles and we will make merit (give alms) to needy monks. Some devotees listen to sermons, which we call the Dhamma. Others might bathe small statues of the Buddha in water or wear special, white clothes. In fact, there are many other ways that devotees may mark the holiday but, in short, traditional Buddhists believe that Buddha was born on this day, found enlightenment at age of 35 on this day, and died at age 80 on this day. To Buddhists, this is a most important day. Email comments and suggestions to Jason at mitnoy@live.com REMINDER: Most government offices are closed on this auspicious day and because it is a holy day, shops, bars and restaurants are barred from selling alcohol for 24 hours from midnight on Thursday night through midnight Friday night (May 20). For more information, see our story here. Noem campaign accuses Smith campaign of campaign finance violation Gov. Kristi Noem's campaign has accused Rep. Jamie Smith's campaign of violating campaign finance laws after the recent report released Monday. Relatives and friends of Salah Abu Laban, Sahar Qouidar, Ghassan Abu Laban and Reem al-Sebaei, all victims of EgyptAir flight 804, which crashed while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo, grieve following prayers for the dead, at al Thawrah Mosque in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. The plane disappeared off radar at 2.45 a.m. local time on Thursday morning, the cause of the crash is unknown. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers remarks at the Komagata Maru Apology reception, Wednesday, May 18, 2016 in Ottawa, Ontario. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized "unreservedly" for making physical contact with a female opposition member of Parliament who said Trudeau elbowed her in the chest as he waded through a group of mostly opposition lawmakers. (Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Patnaik's close aides say that to understand him, one has to understand his empathy By Pratul Sharma/Photos Sanjay Ahlawat India has asked China to stop all activities in parts of Jammu and Kashmir occupied by Pakistan, the external affairs ministry said Friday. Vikas Swarup, the ministry spokesperson, told reporters here that the issue of "Chinese activities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have been taken up with the Chinese side, including at the highest level". "Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India... We have asked them to cease all activities (there)," Swarup said. China is believed to have made huge investments and is sponsoring development projects in Pakistan-controlled Jammu and Kashmir, including in the volatile Shia-dominated Gilgit-Baltistan area. In a bid to circumvent Pakistan and open a route to landlocked Afghanistan, India will sign a contract to develop Phase-1 of Iran's Chabahar port during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Islamic nation beginning Sunday. Modi's first visit to the Shite nation will also feature discussions on terrorism and extremism in the region as well as on India's desire to secure energy assets for a fast growing economy. Also, discussions would feature the mode of clearing the USD 6.4 billion Indian refiners like Essar Oil and MRPL owe to Iran in past oil dues. During the two-day visit, he will call on Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hold bilateral talks with President Hassan Rouhani and witness signing of two agreements, said Gopal Baglay, Joint Secretary (Pakistan- Afghanistan-India) in the Ministry of External Affairs. "The visit of Prime Minister to Iran will focus mainly on connectivity and infrastructure, energy partnership with Iran, boosting bilateral trade, promoting regular consultation on peace and stability particuarly in our region and extended neighbourhood and encouraging people-to-people contacts and relations between the two countries," he told reporters here. Indian Ports Global Pvt Ltd - a joint venture between Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and Kandla Port Trust, will sign a contract with Arya Bandar Company of Iran for developing two terminals and five multi-cargo berth in Phase-1 of the Chabahar port project. Chabahar in southeast Iran will help circumvent Pakistan and open up a route to landlocked Afghanistan where New Delhi has developed close security ties and economic interests. From Chabahar port, the existing Iranian road network can link up to Zaranj in Afghanistan, about 883 km from the port. The Zaranj-Delaram road constructed by India in 2009 can give access to Afghanistan's garland highway, thereby establishing road access to four major cities - AfghanistanHerat, Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. He said the Indian investment in Phase-1 will be in excess of USD 200 million including USD 150 million line of credit from Exim Bank, an agreement for which would be signed too during the visit. Besides signing of commercial contract for Chabahar Phase-1, Modi will witness signing of a trilateral agreement on transport and transit corridor among India, Afghanisatan and Iran. On securing rights to develop the offshore Farzad-B gas field, which was discovered by ONGC Videsh Ltd, he said discussions have moved towards commercial conclusion and financial closure. "I am looking at India holistically and we are here for the next thousand years," Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasised on Friday as the 55-year-old chief of Cupertino-based tech giant entered the final leg of his highly "encrypted" four-day India tour. In an interview given to a news channel, Cook said: "India is much more strategic. We are thinking about a really long innings in the country. We are here for next thousand years. We are not making the most but the best. We will never make a product that we are not proud of." "Apple has a bright future for retail in India. We will sell pre-owned phones with new warranty. We want India to have best Apple products," he stressed, adding that he instantly feels like he belongs here in India. When asked about China, Cook said: "India is different than China," adding that the announcements about Apps development facility in Bengaluru and Maps Development Centre in Hyderabad were just the beginning. At an event in the capital, Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said: "I complement Apple chief executive for a public commitment of one thousand years in India. We are ready to work together." Cook later met Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel, one of India's leading telecommunication companies which was the first to launch 4G in India and is set to offer it countrywide. It is learnt from sources that almost their meeting at Airtel's office lasted an hour and top officials of Airtel including Gopal Vittal, managing director and CEO (India & South Asia) were also present. Kavin Mittal, founder and CEO of hike messenger, also made a presentation to Cook. "You will see a reliable signal quality after 4G which is critical for India's progress," Cook had earlier told the TV channel. According to a recent report by global investment advisory CLSA, India's 3G and 4G subscribers have tripled to 120 million in 24 months but as affordability increases, the market will expand to 300 million by March 2018. These 300 million subscribers will account for 60 percent of sector revenues. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, the only operators with pan-India 4G spectrum in 2,300 MHz, will lead this opportunity. "We are also planning to bring Apple Pay to India," Cook told NDTV. Apple Pay is a mobile payment and digital wallet service that lets users make payments through Apple devices. "There is nothing like having customers telling neighbours you should buy Apple products. Word of mouth is the best marketing," Cook observed. Apple CEO is slated to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. Cook arrived in New Delhi after watching an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Kanpur on Thursday. He began the Delhi leg of his visit with a call at his corporate office where he was greeted by Apple India employees. Defying the scorching heat, Cook visited an Apple store situated at DLF Galleria, Gurgaon. "I went to one store in the morning and I was very happy what I had seen there," he told the TV channel. On the second day of his India visit, he inaugurated the tech giant's map development centre in Hyderabad and visited a women's college. For the map development centre, Apple has partnered with Noida-based RMSI, a leading IT services player that offers GIS, analytics and software services. Cook also revealed plans for an iOS app design and development facility in Bengaluru a day earlier. On Monday 8 Iyar, OneFamily, a nonprofit organization that helps victims of terror and their families, provided financial and emotional support to the family of Ayman Shaaban, the Bedouin taxi driver murdered in Januarys terrorist attack in Tel Aviv. At the time of his death, Shaaban was supporting three wives, as is customary in Bedouin culture, and 15 children, including four stepchildren. OneFamilys representatives located Shaabans bereaved family, and on Monday paid them a heart-warming visit, presenting them with gifts to help ease their burden. Each child 16 years old or younger received a new bicycle, each child 17 or older received a check for $500, and each of the three wives, along with Shaabans mother, received a check for $750. Shaabans third wife, Heba, told the visiting OneFamily members that she was three months pregnant when Shaaban was murdered. She is now nine months pregnant and expecting to give birth in two weeks. Heba, who is not Bedouin, moved to Israel from Jordan in 2000 when she married her first husband. She and Shaaban met in 2012 and married in 2013. Shaaban then moved in with her full-time and lived there until he was killed. With Shaabans death, she explained, she had no family in Israel, and no one to help her financially. She said he had hoped to stay in the home she shared with Shaaban but the rent was too high for a single working mother. At the same time, she said, it is very difficult to find a new home because landlords were reluctant to rent to a single mother with six children. Heba currently receives no assistance from the government. Heba also said she was moved by OneFamilys gifts and efforts on behalf of herself and her children and noted that no other Jewish organization had come to visit to offer help and that she had too much pride to ask for help from her Arab friends. You coming to visit me, thinking about me, it means so much to me, she said. When I learned about what was happening with the family, and that there were now 15 more orphans, I saw it as OneFamilys duty to step in and try to help, said Marc Belzberg, chairman of the OneFamily organization who visited the family on Monday. Just as any Jewish, Christian, or Muslim family in Israel, Ayman Shaabans wives and children suffer from the sudden financial crisis created by terror and the immense emotional pain that goes with losing a loved one under such circumstance. Shaaban was killed in one of the most dramatic terrorist attacks of the year, when a gunman went on a rampage on Tel Avivs trendy Dizengoff Street, killing Alon Bakal and Shimon Ruimi. An hour later, the terrorist jumped into Shaabans taxi while trying to escape. The terrorist killed Shaaban, who had refused to cooperate with him, or some believe that the terrorist had killed him because he was concerned that Shaaban would inform the police about him. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem/ Photo: Sarah Levin) The next kashrus-related petition likely to be heard by the High Court of Justice is not from the Jewish sector but from attorneys representing the Arab sector. The petition calls from exempting the Arab sector from importing kosher meat because compelling this sector to do so is tantamount to religious coercion. The petition was filed by the Adalah human rights organization on behalf of Ahmad Effendi Meat Company and Christian and Muslim Arabs. The suit explains the average cost of Chief Rabbinate kashrus is NIS 424,000 monthly and much of the cost is passed onto the Arab consumer who is not at all interested in kashrus. Haaretz spoke with Iyad Effendi, the companys CEO, explaining they tried to bypass the kosher law by talking with Trade Ministry officials back in 2008, albeit without success. The petition skillfully points out other exceptions; cases in which Israeli law is not imposed on the Arab sector such as raising pigs or the sale of bread of Pesach. Attorney Sawsan Zaher explains that are seeking a similar dispensation here, to permit importing non-kosher meat. This latest lawsuit is filed against the Ministry of the Economy. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was quick to announce he is not interfering in Israels internal affairs, but he is nonetheless monitoring the political situation very carefully, senior government officials in Cairo explain. They point out that in Egypts eyes, negotiations were ongoing to bring Yitzchak Herzog and his party into the coalition and suddenly the announcement is made that Avigdor Lieberman is the one signing on the dotted line. Clearly for Egypt and some of Israels other Arab allies, the entry of Avigdor Lieberman into the Defense Ministry signals a red line, placing them on guard. While supporters of Lieberman insist he will restore the nations deterrence, others warn that the international community is carefully monitoring events in Jerusalem and the decision to partner with Lieberman, who is perceived a hard-liner, is cause for concern among some as the international community is working to pressure Israel and the PA (Palestinian Authority) back to the negotiating table. The feeling now is that with Lieberman in a senior cabinet post, such a reality is less likely to occur. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) The case of abuse carried out by members of a Betar Illit Vaad Tznius that came to light in 2013 has ended with a community service sentence against Gonen Hadad, who was known as the commander of the unit. The Jerusalem Magistrate Court handed down a three-month community service sentence. The experts comment that the sentence is a light one relatively speaking, the result of a plea bargain agreement between defense attorney Avichai Hajbi and the prosecution. According to the criminal indictment, Hadad following two 17-year-old sisters in 2011 and told one of them This is the last time you will dress this way. It will not be pleasant but you cannot walk around like this in Betar. This is a chareidi city and if I see you next time, it will not be good for you for I will give you a beating. The young lady explained that if it was not Shabbos she would have recorded his statements. Justice Eitan Kornhauser explained that before discussing sentencing he received the probation report, detailing the difficult life circumstances of the accused and was moved with the patterns of violence and at the same time, the accuseds willingness to integrate into a therapeutic program. The court added that an examination of the defendants circumstances suggests criminal offenses consistent with the conduct in two of the cases in which he was convicted. However, the defendant must be credited with the decision to accept responsibility for his actions through effective integration into the therapeutic process despite the difficult life circumstances, and the effect of the measure of punishment for him and his immediate family. Hadads attorney explained Ultimately, all that remains of the stories of the Vaad Tznius in Betar Illit is the indictment of the modesty patrol that describes a fight in which even the complainants have used violence against my client. This is a sentence proportionate and appropriate in the circumstances. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) A poll conducted by Panels Politics for the Knesset Channel shows that 44% of the Israeli tzibur believes Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid would make a good opposition leader while 26% feel current leader Yitzhak Herzog is the man for the job and 10% would like to see Arab Bloc leader Ayman Odeh. Only 7% voted for Meretz party leader Zahava Gal-On. It should be added that Herzog on Wednesday 10 Iyar announced he has no intention of resigning his current post as opposition leader unless the current coalition government collapses. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Former President Moshe Katsavs attorney on Thursday morning 11 Iyar filed an appeal on his behalf in light of a parole board rejecting his request for early release. The former president sought to wipe a third off his sentence in line with standard Israel Prison Service practice, for good behavior. However, due to the high profile nature of his case his request was denied and he will be compelled to continue serving the remainder of his seven-year jail sentence. One of the reasons is believed to be the fact that Mr. Katsav maintains his innocence and a prerequisite for early release includes ones expression of remorse, which he is unwilling to do. There have also been reports that the former president will file a request for a presidential pardon from President Reuven Rivlin if the standard channels for early release are unsuccessful. Persons close to Mr. Katsav report a sharp and worrisome deterioration in his mental status since the parole board turned down his request. Opponents to his early release have stated the prison system has competent mental health services that Mr. Katsav may avail himself of but his mental status does not justify his early release based on the seriousness of his crimes and the fact he was a national symbol and he must therefore be held to a higher standard. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is not known for a clean, healthy lifestyle. This is a young man whose ballooning waistline and sudden removal from the public eye almost two years ago was widely (if dubiously) attributed to a powerful addiction to Swiss cheese. Now, however, there is a widespread suspicion that the North Korean supreme leader may have finally kicked one of his nastiest habits: smoking. According to reports in South Korean news outlets like Yonhap and Korea Herald, Kim hasnt been pictured with a cigarette for at least two months. A quick look at recently released pictures appears to confirm this: The last hint of a cigarette was in mid-May, when Kim was shown sitting next to an ashtray. There are plenty of reasons to be suspicious about the idea that the North Korean leader may have given up his beloved smokes, however. South Korean media reports on the north are often unreliable. Additionally, Kims relationship with cigarettes goes back a long time: He is thought to have begun smoking when he was 15 years old. Over the years, he has frequently been photographed chain-smoking at official functions, much like his father, the late Kim Il-Sung, had been before him. Such a smoking habit isnt unusual for North Koreans. According to NK News, in the 1990s it was thought that around 90 percent of all North Korean men smoked, though almost no women did. Those numbers have dropped since: Around 43.9 percent of North Korean men smoked in 2014, according to estimates from the World Health Organization. These numbers are still high compared with, say, the United States, where roughly 20 percent of men smoke and 15 percent of women smoke; its closer to South Korea, where 42 percent of men and 6 percent of women smoke. The move away from smoking can likely be attributed to a North Korean anti-smoking campaign that began in the mid-2000s. Where smoking was once seen as a normal, perhaps even healthy and sociable, activity, North Korean school children are now taught about its negative effects. Recent reports in North Korean state media suggested that the country was establishing non-smoking research stations and that warning notices were now being placed on cigarettes manufactured in North Korea. The number of nonsmokers is remarkably increasing with each passing day, Korean Central News Agency wrote in an article published May 4. Michael Madden, who runs the blog North Korea Leadership Watch, expressed skepticism that Kim would have really given up smoking. In looking at [North Korean state media] photos they dont show the desks or tables . . . where his ashtray is usually placed, Madden wrote in an email, suggesting that North Korea may have eliminated these depictions as part of the anti-smoking campaigns. Madden did suggest that Kim, a relatively new father, could potentially have given up smoking or at least, not allow himself to be caught smoking in public in a bid to set a good example to his daughter. However, there was something else in recent photographs of Kim that was hard to dispute: He has lost some weight during the last couple of months, Madden observed. (c) 2016, The Washington Post Adam Taylor The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill expanding the protection offered by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to include male circumcision and ritual animal slaughter. The world is experiencing an unprecedented crisis of international religious freedom, a crisis that continues to create millions of victims; a crisis that undermines liberty, prosperity and peace; a crisis that poses a direct challenge to the U.S. interests in the Middle East, Russia, China, sub-Saharan Africa, and elsewhere, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), author of the bill, said in a statement. Smiths statement was titled Combating Persecution of Christians and Anti-Semitism, conveying that the purpose of his bill is to protect Christians and Jews. The bill will also protect Muslims who perform circumcision and ritual slaughter in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Myanmar. The fundamental Jewish rites of brit milah (circumcision) and shechita (ritual slaughter) have been increasingly challenged by political leaders and activists in Europe. (Source: JNS.org) Fourteen headstones at a Jewish cemetery in the British city of Manchester were vandalized in an apparent anti-Semitic act. The headstones were smashed on Wednesday in Charlestown, a ward in northeastern Manchester. This is a sickening act of antisemitism which we are taking very seriously. I believe this was a deliberate and targeted attack and there is no place for such abhorrent behavior in our communities, said Chief Superintendent Wasim Chaudhry of the Greater Manchester Polices north Manchester division, reported The Guardian. All decent members of the public recognize that a cemetery is supposed to be a resting place for people who have passed away, a place of sanctity and dignity where families can come and pay their respects. So to have those graves desecrated in such a disgusting and disrespectful way will no doubt cause immeasurable anguish to the families and loved ones affected, Chaudhry added. Stephen Wilson, the administrator of the North Manchester Jewish Cemeteries Trust, reported the vandalism to authorities and said he is dismayed at the incident. At the same time, he is not sure the act was motivated by anti-Semitism, especially because vandals have targeted the same cemetery before. I met with the police this morning with the Community Security Trust (a non-profit dedicated to protecting U.K. Jewish communities). I know the police have put a statement out treating it as a hate crimeour view is its just pure vandalism. Its my guess. Locals come over the wall, you always find drink cans over here, theyve been in that frame of mind and theyve done it for the sheer hell and fun of it, Wilson said. (Source: JNS.org) The Sullivan County Human Rights Commission has announced that it is sponsoring a new Community Outreach Series with the objective to help bring our diverse community together. The initial forum will focus on Orthodox/Hasidic Community Relations in Sullivan County and be held on Monday June 20, 2016, at 1PM at the Sullivan County Legislative Hearing Room in the Sullivan County Government Center in Monticello. Moderators of the forum will be former Town of Thompson Supervisor Anthony Cellini, Sullivan County Attorney Gerald Orseck, and Rabbi Irving Goodman of the Hebrew Day School with the assistance Sullivan County Legislative Chairman Luis Alvarez, and Commissioners of the Sullivan County Human Rights Commission and its Executive Director Lorraine Lopez. This forum is designed to build healthy relationships and lines of communication between the Orthodox/ Hasidic Community and their neighbors in the county who are not Orthodox or Hasidic, to promote greater understanding/acceptance of our cultural differences as pillars of unity, for a healthier Sullivan County. Human Rights Commissioner Chair Judy Balaban said that The purpose of the forum is to create a respectful environment, where all sides have a chance to voice their concerns and agree on productive resolutions in a positive atmosphere. Lorraine Lopez, Executive Director of the Human Rights Commission, said, Among the many wonderful things Sullivan County is known for, diversity in race, ethnicity, religion, ability, to name a few, among its residents is one of them. Tolerance, which can be patronizing is not good enough. Our goal is to build on and strengthen the mutual respect and understanding that exists among the various diverse groups. Human Rights Commissioner Bill Liblick who is a member of the Outreach Committee said, the goal of the first forum is to bring all parties together and begin a dialogue so that our summer community along with our year-round community can respect and accept each other. The objective is for everyone to live in peace and harmony while addressing certain concerns to create a better understanding. Other forums that are being planned will involve people from other ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Some of the topics that will be addressed at the forum will include how the Orthodox/Hasidic community would like to be welcomed, what services are needed, and how they feel they are being treated by our community. Other issues to be addressed will include: Keeping Sullivan County Clean, Property Maintenance, Employment Opportunities, and Traffic Concerns such as understanding our roads. This forum will not address issues facing the Village of Bloomingburg. Sullivan County Legislature Chairman Luis Alvarez said, I am glad to see that The Human Rights Commission is tackling many issues from the Dialogue to Change Program to these new Outreach Forums. This is an important step in the revitalization of Sullivan County and people living and working together. Tony Cellini added, The officials of the Sullivan County Human Rights Commission should be commended for providing a vital forum such as this. I believe under this leadership you will see many more various and important community forums to address many of our county needs and concerns. Residents with questions they would like addressed at the forum are urged to contact Lorraine Lopez at (845) 807-0189 or [email protected] . (YWN Sullivan County Newsroom) The three women entered the Camp Simcha dining room and barely looked around. The enormous dining room, capable of seating 400 campers and staff members simultaneously during the summer, had been decorated to look like an Italian piazza. The aroma of freshly cooked eggplant parmigiana, fish, and crepes filled the space. But these women were so deep in conversation they hardly noticed. They might have been best friends from school, but in reality, they had met each other the day before, when Chai Lifelines innovative Family Adventure began. One of Chai Lifelines newest programs, Family Adventure helps alleviate the isolation felt by many when a child is diagnosed with cancer or another serious illness. Our goal is to use camp activities as a way of helping families connect to one another and to their own family members, explained Rabbi Simcha Scholar, Chai Lifelines executive vice president. And it worked as planned: parents watched their children discard wariness for laughter and relaxed themselves. One by one, they let go of their stresses and fears, turned to each other and found the support they had been seeking. Seeing children as children, not as patients, is critical for parents Family Camp allowed parents and children to overwrite the pictures they have in their minds of children suffering with images of fun and games. They were encouraged to don costumes from Camp Simchas expansive costume shop and to participate in the full range of activities. They divided into teams and propelled themselves on skateboards during games of Human Hungry Hippos. Parents and children worked side by side making candles and mosaics during arts workshops. Everyone cheered as one by one, parents and children propelled themselves down Chai Lifelines famous zip line. Way to go Michal! one mother yelled. On the zip line with IV antibiotics and a port! Later, at lunch, the children serenaded one another on the bridge that spanned a canal complete with gondola and singing gondolier. Brothers and sisters, delighting in the attention and love of Camp Simcha counselors, sang and danced on the bridge. One by one, parents joined in, taking pictures and swaying to the music. Everyone was smiling and laughing. For that moment, all was right with the world. The three mothers, strangers less than 24 hours before, looked as they must have looked before cancer invaded their lives. After lunch, parents had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Cheryl Book, Chai Lifelines director of clinical and family services. Boxes of tissues were passed even as Dr. Book reassured them. Life changed the minute the doctor said, Im sorry. Your child has cancer, she agreed. A mother ruefully laughed, He didnt say Im sorry. He just said that he had a plan. The others smiled sadly. It was true for all of them. But for two days, the plans were forgotten. Families had the glorious experience of feeling normal, watching their children play and relaxing with other families. My son hasnt run around like this since he got sick, one father confessed. Its taken Chai Lifeline and Family Adventure to bring back his laughter. Every family deserves moments like these, said Rabbi Mordechai Gobioff, Chai Lifelines director of client services, national. When illness takes them away, our mission is to give them back. Photo credit: Uri Arnson (YWN World Headquarters NYC) The New York State Senate Standing Committee on Cities will be holding a hearing on Friday, May 20, 2016, at 10 a.m. in the 19th Floor Senate Hearing Room at 250 Broadway in Manhattan to examine the issue of taxes and fees on carry-out merchandise bags. New York City recently enacted legislation due to take effect in October that creates a five-cent tax to be paid by a consumer when they need a disposable plastic or paper bag to carry their purchases. This hearing will explore the economic burden this or other possible bag taxes could place on the states consumers and retailers; the potential for increased health risks due to cross-contamination of food when widespread use of reusable bags replaces disposable bags; the environmental impact of replacing recyclable disposable bags with more permanent bag options; and discussion of legislation including S.7336/A.9904, which prohibits taxes, fees, or local charges on carry-out merchandise bags, among other issues. Senator Simcha Felder (D, Brooklyn), Chairman of the Cities Committee and sponsor of S.7336, is expected to be joined by Senator Roxanne Persaud, Ranking Minority Member of the Cities Committee; Assemblyman Michael Cusick, sponsor of A.9904; and other committee members to lead the hearing. Below is a list of speakers in the order which they are expected to appear: Betha Lewis, The Black Institute; Wilmouth Seaton, Churches United to Save & Heal; Christina Winslow, A Cause, A Concern, A Solution Network; New York City Department of Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia; New York City Council Member Chaim Deutsch; New York City Council Member Brad Lander; New York City Council Member James Vacca; Abigail Turner, American Forest and Paper Association; Tom Lucania, Representative of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.; John Weber, Surfrider Foundation; Lisa DiCaprio, Sierra Club; Judith Weis, Rutgers University; Jordan Christensen, Citizens Campaign for the Environment; Steven Stein, Environmental Resources Planning, LLC; Ramon Murphy, Bodega Association; Brad Gerstman, NY Association of Grocery Stores; Maston Sansom, Food Industry Alliance; John Feretich, Rainbow Apparel Company; Eli Amsel, Lagmitz Paper and Plastic; Kenneth Trottere, Poly-Pak Industries; and Teresa Bazbaz, Superbag. The hearing will also be livestreamed on the Senate website go to https://www.nysenate.gov/committees/cities and click on the entry for the May 20th hearing. (YWN Desk NYC) Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has decided to take preemptive action with a deal between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman all but sealed. Mr. Netanyahu is expected to sign on an agreement making Lieberman the next Defense Minister to bring his six-seat party into the coalition. It is reported that PM Netanyahu has not yet offered Yaalon the Foreign Ministry slot and it appears Yaalon decided not to wait around for the Prime Minister to make up his mind. Mr. Yaalon informed the Prime Minister of his decision on Friday morning. Social media statements posted by Yaalon explain he explains that in light of his recent conduct and the fact the Prime Minister has lost faith in him led him to the decision. He announces that he is leaving both the cabinet and the Knesset to take a hiatus from politics. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon on Friday, 12 Iyar announced that he is stepping down from his senior cabinet post and resigning from Knesset. He cited the he feels Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu no longer has faith in him and decided to respond by calling it quits. In his noon press conference, the senior outgoing minister added This morning I informed the Prime Minister that I am resigning from the government and the Knesset. I have no intention of leaving the countrys political life and in the future I will return to compete for the leadership of the Israeli public. Unfortunately, I found myself with serious ethical controversies with the Prime Minister, ministers and several members of Knesset. Differences also permeate the IDF and have already impacted it. I was unwilling to sacrifice the security of Israeli citizens in favor of political considerations. Unfortunately, fundamentalist elements have taken over our country and our party. This is not the Likud movement I joined. Yaalon added that he entered the Knesset as a shlichus and always kept the defense of the nation as his paramount mission. He emphasized that doing what he perceived to be in the best interest of the nation always dictated his actions above any and all other considerations. Some excerpts from the press conference from the outgoing DM: I worked with harmony and in a serious and substantive appreciation with the Prime Minister for a long period of time, especially during Operation Protective Edge and I thanked him. Unfortunately, I found myself recently with serious ethical and professional disputes with the Prime MinisterI fought with all my might against the effects of extremism, violence and racism in Israeli society that threaten the strength and permeate the IDF. I fought with all my might against attempts to harm the Supreme Court and the judges of IsraelIsraeli society is a health society and the sane majority yearns for a Jewish, democratic, liberal state a state that accepts any person without regard of religion, race, gender, ethnic origin or sexual orientation. The response to Yaalons comments is widespread, including party colleague Minister Zeev Elkin who questions Yaalons decision saying If the issue was indeed one of ideology why did he wait for this day to announce his resignation, questioning the integrity of Yaalons statements and subsequent decision. Members of the opposition by-and-large accuse PM Netanyahu of placing his agenda ahead of the nations security. Members of the coalition are by-and-large remaining silent other than commending Yaalon and his professionalism during his tenure in office. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) The realization that Yehuda Glick on Sunday will be sworn in as a Member of Knesset in the Likud party has some concerned and others outrages. The name Rabbi Yehuda Glick for many is associated with Har Habayis activism, and for some MKs, his entry to Knesset is a red line. MK (Machane Tzioni) Yael Cohen-Paran is so outraged that she plans to boycott the ceremony. An equally angry response was heard from party colleague MK Erel Margalit, who stated It is a most appropriate substitution for this hilltop youth government. Margalit added that a moral person was lost, referring to outgoing Defense Minister Yaalon, being replaced by an extremist, dangerous and delusional person, referring to Glick. On the other side of the coin MK (Kulanu) Rachel Azariya welcomes Glicks entry to Knesset, expressing her eagerness to work with him, referring to Rabbi Glick as sharp liberal man with interesting viewpoints. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will court voters on opposite sides of the gun debate over the next two days in events that will highlight the United States deep divide on the topic. Trump and other top Republicans will speak at the National Rifle Association convention Friday in Louisville, where organizers are trying to unite gun-rights voters by painting Clinton as a foe of their causes who must be stopped. Clinton will appear Saturday in Florida with the mother of Trayvon Martin and other parents who have lost children to gun violence. Shes become a forceful advocate for restrictions meant to reduce the nations 33,000 annual gun deaths. The dual appearances highlight the opposing positions the candidates have staked out on gun rights and safety, the prominent role the issue might play in the campaign and the national policy implications for the next president. If you cherish Second Amendment rights, the stakes have never been higher than they are in this election, NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said. The NRA which Clinton listed as an enemy in a debate last year is warning its 5 million members that Clinton would appoint anti-Second Amendment justices and implement a radical gun-control agenda, Baker said. Clinton has said she supports the Second Amendment but that commonsense safety measures are needed to keep firearms out of the wrong hands. She has called for expanding background checks to sales at gun shows and online purchases, and for reinstating a ban on assault weapons. She has often campaigned with families of gun violence victims and will rejoin many on Saturday as the keynote speaker at an event sponsored by the Trayvon Martin Foundation. The fatal shooting of the unarmed black teenager in 2012 continues to be a flashpoint in the debate. Former neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman recently said he planned to auction off the gun he used in the slaying. Trump, who often notes that he has a concealed-carry permit, has called for making it easier for law-abiding citizens to carry guns for self-protection, saying they could help prevent terrorist attacks and mass shootings. He argues the existing background check system should be fixed, not expanded, and that assault-weapons bans do not work. The latter view marks a change from 2000, when Trump wrote in a book that he supported the ban on assault weapons as well as a slightly longer waiting period for gun purchases. Supporters of gun control have been energized by Clintons campaign and fear a Trump presidency would maintain a national policy that favors easy access to guns. Clinton is in tune with whats happening on the streets, said Tanya Keith, 44, a mother of three in Des Moines, Iowa, who got involved in gun-safety advocacy after attending a Clinton event last summer. Im not trying to take away anyones gun. Im just trying to make it less likely for my daughter to get shot on her way home from school or my son to get accidentally shot on a play date. Gun sales have boomed during Barack Obamas presidency despite, and perhaps in part because of, several mass shootings and persistent gun violence in cities. His calls to expand background checks have been stymied by the GOP-controlled Congress. He has taken modest steps through executive orders, and Clinton vows to build on that work. States are moving in vastly different policy directions: Gun-friendly lawmakers keep making it easier to buy and carry guns. Gun-control supporters keep adding restrictions. California, already among the nations toughest states on guns, will vote in November on a ballot initiative that would require buyers of ammunition to pass background checks and outlaw high-capacity magazines. Meanwhile, other states are moving to allow people to carry concealed weapons in more places, including on college campuses, and to do so without having to obtain a permit. The divide can be exasperating for those who seek a middle ground that would protect gun rights and improve public safety. All the political rhetoric right now, and Twitter and Facebook is polarizing us, telling us were in one camp or another, said Jonathan Metzl, a professor at Vanderbilt University who studies guns and mental health. Maybe after the election we can come to terms with this. Nathan Gibson of Johnston, Iowa, has seen the polarization firsthand. For three years, Gibson and his daughters, 12 and 10, have lobbied to repeal an Iowa law that requires handgun users to be at least 14 years old. The law prevents his girls from competing in some shooting sports, requiring them to drive to neighboring states. The Republican-controlled Iowa House approved a change in February that would allow children to use handguns under parental supervision. Critics called it the toddler militia bill, and Clinton accused the NRA of trying to get more guns in the hands of children. Leaders of the Democratic-controlled Senate killed the bill. Gibson said he saw Clintons position as hypocritical, noting that she has talked about hunting as a young girl. Im not a very big fan of Donald Trump, but I also think he wont mess with the Second Amendment, Gibson said. When it comes down to it, Ill vote for Trump to make sure Hillary does not get into office. (AP) [By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times] The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has issued a warning to travelers in the United States. Apparently, we are to expect even longer waits than usual at airport security checkpoints in the coming months. The agencys new chief of operations said that chronic understaffing and more thorough screening procedures means, this is going to be a rough summer. The TSA routinely confiscates metal objects, including butter-knives. But are butter knives truly dangerous? Should they be taken away? What about plastic knives? While Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein is, to this authors knowledge, never consulted by the TSA for policy guidelines, we might perhaps find his view in a lehavdil, similar, area. Lehavdil, in halacha too, we have a venue where knives should either be taken away or covered. That venue is Bentching. BENTCHING TWO REASONS The Shulchan Aruch (OC 180:5) writes that it is the minhag to cover up knives during bentching. In his Bais Yoseph commentary on the Tur, Rav Karo cites two explanations for this halacha. The first explanation is that iron shortens the life of man and it is inappropriate during Bentching where the table is compared to the Mizbeach which lengthens life that a knife should sit upon it. The verse, lo sanif aleihem barzel was first stated in (Dvarim 27:5) regarding the building of the Mizbeach, And it shall be when ye are passed over the Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster. And there shalt thou build an altar unto Hashem, an altar of stones; you shalt lift up no iron tool upon them. It is applied to either covering up a knife or removing it during Bentching. SECOND REASON There is also a second reason cited in the Beis Yoseph in the name of Rabbeinu Simcha. Apparently, once a person reached the blessing of Boneh Yerushalayim and he was so distraught when he mentioned the churban of the Beis HaMikdash that he took the knife to his stomach, rachmana litzlan. Therefore, the custom developed to remove the knife. The difference between the two reasons accounts for the difference as to whether it is enough just to cover it up, or whether it must be removed. Rav Vosner ztl, in Shaivet HaLevi (Vol. I #205) extends it to other forms of metal and not just iron, although the Pri Magadim leaves this question unresolved. It is interesting to note, however, that the Aruch HaShulchan 180:6 writes that the custom is no longer to cover the knives. WHAT ABOUT SHABBOS AND YOM TOV? The Shulchan Aruch itself says that we do not have this custom on Shabbos. The TaZ explains that according to the second reason of Rabbeinu Simcha since it only happened during the week, they only made the custom for the week. The Mogain Avrohom, however, explains that since the original reason had to do with building the Mizbayach and it was not permitted to build the Mizbayach on Shabbos the minhag never developed on Shabbos. The Chida has a different explanation. He writes that Shabbos alludes to Olam haBah where the klipos [shells of impurity] will become sweetened and death shall be abolished. It is for this reason that the knives are not covered on Shabbos. The Magain Avrohom also cites the Levush who says that the Minhag in his time is not to distinguish between Shabbos and weekdays. The Kaf haChaim 180:15, as well, writes that according to Kabbalistic reasons, they should even be removed on Shabbos and Yom Tov. WHAT ABOUT THE KNIFE HANDLE? For those who just cover the knife and dont remove it Rav Chaim Kanievsky ruled (Maaseh Ish Volume IV p. 120) that the handle should be covered as well. Rav Nissim Karelitz in his Chut Sheini (Vol. III in Kovetz Inyanim at end of the volume) ruled the same way. WHAT ABOUT AFTER MASHIACH COMES? The Ateres Paz (OC I #15) writes that according to the first reason, the minhag of covering the knife would still apply after Mashiach comes. However, according to the Rabbeinu Simcha reason, when the Beis HaMikdash will be restored, the reason will no longer be applicable. LARGE MEALS What about when there is a large affair such as a wedding or large dinner? Do all the knives really have to be covered or removed for bentching? The response work VaYaan Dovid (Vol. I #28) rules leniently when necessary, citing the aforementioned Aruch haShulchan. BACK TO THE TSA Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein Shlita in Otzros HaBracha (page 157) writes that neither of the two reasons that are cited in the Beis Yoseph apply to plastic knives. Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurbach ztl ruled the same way, allowing plastic knives as cited in Chaku Mamtakim volume I page 106). It is interesting to note that Rav Binyomin Zilber in Az Nibru (Volume VII Siman 2) forbids plastic knives during Bentching. It seems that the minhag is to be lenient. Rav Zilberstein rules that a metal knife that cannot be used to stab, such as a butter knife, is still prohibited by reason number two because of the Maaseh shehaya the incident that happened. Perhaps the TSA might rule similarly in that all knives across the board should be forbidden. The author can be reached at [email protected] Russia on Friday proposed conducting joint airstrikes with the U.S.-led coalition in Syria against an al-Qaida-linked group and other factions, marking a potential new strategy by Moscow toward more coordination with the West and allies in the Syrian conflict. But any such proposal would need backing from Washington and its partners, whose airstrikes have concentrated on Islamic State strongholds in Syria. Russia also could face backlash for its military intervention launched last year to aid the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Several Pentagon officials said they were not immediately aware of any plans to change the current arrangement for separate U.S. and Russian air operations in Syria. The Pentagon now holds periodic video conferences with Russian officials on those operations, but the communications are limited to flight safety. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters. Speaking at a gathering of military and political leaders in Moscow, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu proposed joint airstrikes beginning Wednesday against forces that have not signed a recently negotiated cease-fire. He also warned that Russia had the right to strike unilaterally. We propose . . . a joint action between the Russian Air Force and the U.S.-led coalition to plan and conduct strikes against the al-Nusra Front, which does not support the cease-fire, as well as against convoys of arms and fighters crossing the Syrian-Turkish border, Shoigu said, according to a translation of the televised remarks by Russian state media. He also said that Moscow would reserve the right to unilaterally conduct airstrikes against forces of the international terrorist organizations and militant groups that did not join the truce. At the moment, both countries are intervening separately in Syria. A U.S.-led coalition of Western and Middle Eastern countries has launched thousands of strikes in the country since September 2014, while also backing moderate rebels battling Assad. Russia intervened last September, striking a wide array of targets including the Islamic State but also more moderate forces opposed to Assad. (c) 2016, The Washington Post Andrew Roth A French Navy patrol boat is leaving its Mediterranean home port of Toulon to take part in the searches for traces of EgyptAir Flight 804 and it is especially keen on helping to find the planes black boxes. The 80-meter (262-foot) ship is equipped with sonar that can identify the sound of the underwater location beacons fitted to the crashed planes cockpit voice and flight data recorders. The Navy says it will take two to three days for the vessel and its crew of 90 to arrive in the search area, which is roughly halfway between Egypts coastal city of Alexandria and the Greek island of Crete. It may take some time to find the recorders the water is 8,000 to 10,000 feet (2,440 to 3,050 meters) deep in the area where the jet is thought to have gone down early Thursday as it carried 66 people from Paris to Cairo. (AP) If you're looking to spread your repayments for an existing credit card debt, the AA has improved its Balance Transfer Credit Card to give borrowers a market-beating free two-year grace period. The balance being moved on to the card must be 500 or over, otherwise the interest-free period is reduced to 22 months. The provider applies no handling fee when shifting existing credit card debt to the card however to qualify for the interest-free term you must make the transfer within the first three months. Market leader: The AA now offers the longest 0 per cent interest deal available with no handling fee At the full 24 months, the new AA offer beats Halifax and Santander's previous best-buy deals by one month, giving borrowers the longest balance transfer window attached to a card charging no handling fee. It also comes with three months' 0 per cent interest on purchases but watch out as once the introductory periods end the rate charged on new spending jumps to 19.9 per cent. Balance transfer credit cards typically apply a transfer fee of 2 to 3 per cent for moving debt to a 0 per cent interest deal on a new credit card. The AA card could therefore save cardholders shifting their balance in the first three months around 20 to 30 for every 1,000 transferred. INTEREST-FREE TRANSFER CREDIT CARDS WITH NO TRANSFER FEE Provider Interest-free term Details AA (19.9% APR) 24 months No transfer fee applied but only transfers made within 3 months of account opening will get the 24-month interest-free term Halifax (18.9% APR) 23 months Transfers to be made within 90 days of account opening or a 3% transfer fee applies. Comes with 6 months of 0% on purchases Santander (18.4% APR) 23 months No transfer fee and 23 months of 0% on purchases but a 3 monthly fee applies on this 123 credit card - which works out at 69 over 23 months Post Office (17.8% APR) 22 months No transfer fee applied but only transfers made within 3 months of account opening will get the 24-month interest-free term Correct as of May 18 2016 Watch out Remember, credit card companies are not offering these deals for your benefit. They make their money when borrowers fail to repay within the 0 per cent interest deal or build up more debt on the card. After the first 24 months, the AA will apply a whopping 19.9 per cent interest to your debt, making it harder to repay. The key to balance transfer success is to work out how much you will need to repay each month to clear the balance in time and set up a monthly direct debit. Pay late, spend beyond your limit or forget to make a monthly minimum payment and you will lose the interest-free deal. Will you be accepted? Before you apply, you will need to consider how likely you will be to be accepted. Those with a less-than-sparkling credit rating may not be accepted for the market-leading deal because of the huge amount of competition from other borrowers. It is worth checking your credit rating before applying as repeated applications can negatively impact your score, making it harder to be accepted in future. Remember, even those who are accepted may not be offered the headline APR or advertised deals as banks are only required to offer them to 51 per cent of successful applicants. The rate you are offered by the AA will be between 19.9 per cent and 22.9 per cent depending on your circumstances. Worried about your credit score? Find out how to check, improve and protect your credit rating here ! Do you need longer to repay? While a no-fee card will save money in transfer fees, those who need longer than 24 months to repay will likely be better off opting for a credit card that gives a longer 0 per cent interest deal but charges a small fee to avoid expensive interest charges. Although the best cards will charge a fee of up to 3 per cent, costing 30 for a 1,000 transfer, borrowers can currently get up to 40 months' interest free with Virgin Money,Tesco Bank and Sainsburys Bank. George Osborne may think there is nothing wrong with selling a 54.4 per cent majority in the London Stock Exchange to Frankfurts Deutsche Boerse, but the Chancellors French opposite number Michel Sapin thinks otherwise. We know France has a much more rigorous approach to overseas takeovers than Britain having declared a decade ago that yoghurt giant Danone was part of a strategic industry. Britain had no such worries when it allowed Dairy Crest to sell its yoghurt operations to Germanys Muller leaving UK dairy farmers at the mercy of decision makers in Bavaria. Nevertheless, the case that Sapin makes against the 21billion London-Frankfurt tie-up is convincing and shared by Spain and leading politicians and businesses in DBs home state of Hesse. Man in the middle: (L-R) German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, Chancellor George Osborne, European Economic and Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici and French Finance Minister Michel Sapin Sapin argues a tie-up between the biggest boerses on the continent would have consequences for the real economy of France and Europe. If consummated the deal would leave French-based Euronext, which controls exchanges in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon, so far behind that they would find it difficult to compete. In Sapins view the enlarged Anglo-German exchange would hold within it the majority of tools that make our markets function effectively. In particular, DB and the LSE through the respective Eurex and LCH Clernet clearing systems will be dominant in the derivatives, swaps and clearing areas. Under current plans and to quieten German opponents of the deal, the two clearing systems are to be operated separately. But with a single top company and a promise to slash the costs of the joint exchange by 6billion there must be questions as to how feasible that structure will be over the longer term. Sapin has been in his shell in the last week or so after apologising to a woman reporter for acting inappropriately. After the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair one would not expect anything less of a French finance minister. But the European Commission, which has shown admirable bravery on anti-trust issues, should rightly take a long look at the LSE-DB love-in. And if the regulatory delays cause the deal to be held up or permanently postponed, then so be it. The origins of the LSE date back to the coffee houses of the 17th Century and an institution which has in the past seen off would-be boarders from New York, Sweden, Australia and DB itself is capable of standing alone. That is why LSE shares have quintupled under the leadership of Frenchman Xavier Rolet. It is known that Rolet wants out and will leave the LSE in comfort because he will be able to cash in his fully-owned shares and exercise some of his outstanding options. That is perfectly acceptable and good luck to him if, as speculated, he has political ambitions. Allowing shareholders and the chief executive of DB, Carsten Kengeter, to take charge of the whole caboodle is a lazy solution for LSE chairman Donald Brydon. He has an important responsibility to plan for succession irrespective of whether the merger goes cold. Greed is good Maybe I have been wrong about stultified Rhineland-Westphalia capitalism. It seems employees at Deutsche Bank were every bit as capable as Barclays at hiving off assets in the aftermath of the financial crisis, providing funding and allowing staff or former staff to make some money on the side. At Barclays for those who have forgotten Bob Diamond, with the assent of his then chief executive John Varley, hived off $12billion or so off toxic mortgage assets into an offshore vehicle run by former Barclays employees, as part of an attempt to clean up its balance sheet for regulators. It subsequently bought the package of securities back at a nasty loss of 532million to shareholders. The Protium incident, highlighted as unacceptable in a letter from then Financial Conduct Authority chairman Lord Turner to Barclays, was a key factor in Bob Diamond being given the heave-ho after the intervention of former governor Lord King. And Barclays wonders why the Bank of England keeps such a close eye on its behaviour and became heavily involved when the bank sought to dictate a blueprint for separation of retail from casino banking. We shouldnt be that surprised at the shenanigans being uncovered at Deutsche Bank. Bad stuff was going on everywhere. Credit Suisses chief executive Tidjane Thiam was blissfully unaware of the risky positions taken on by some of his traders since he took on the top job. Perhaps he was too busy making sure his generous pay package remained intact. Sure bet Someone, it seems, became a little over-excited about the Competition and Mergers Authority green light for the 2.2billion link-up between Ladbrokes and Coral and bought up option contracts on Thursday night. One wouldnt expect anything else but some knowledgeable speculation ahead of deal between two firms of bookies. N ow they must come up with a plan for flogging 400 shops. There is one other delicate issue for Ladbrokes. What is it proposing to do with toxic Coral boss Andy Hornby who has still to be fully exonerated by regulators over his role in the collapse of HBOS? Savers fear their cash may be locked up as property funds close their doors. In a move reminiscent of the property crash of 2007 several major property funds have started to bar savers from escaping. Property funds at Henderson, Standard Life and M&G have all invoked their right to charge investors to redeem their cash in a bid to stem outflows. The move to so-called bid pricing means investors may be forced effectively to pay up to 5 per cent of their savings to access their cash, or could be blocked from getting it altogether. Property funds at Henderson, Standard Life and M&G have all invoked their right to charge investors to redeem their cash in a bid to stem outflows Most property funds own bricks and mortar across the country, including retail parks, warehouses, offices and blocks of flats. As the value of the property increases, so does the fund. On top of that investors are paid a juicy dividend from the rental income the fund receives from letting its buildings. Unsurprisingly, as the property market has soared in recent years, so too has investor interest in these funds. The sector has been among the best-sellers for some time, according to figures from trade body The Investment Association. Because the funds money is tied up in property, managers tend to keep a cash buffer to allow for the regular inflows and outflows of investor money from the fund it takes time and money to buy and sell buildings. It is a system that works just fine until there is a run on the fund. If a flurry, investors all want to redeem their cash at the same time, the manager is forced to sell buildings to meet those redemptions, which means he has to sell quickly and probably at depressed prices. If the number of redemptions appears to be gaining momentum some of these funds have a rule whereby they can start charging investors heading for the exit. It is usually a temporary measure although it can last several months to put savers off taking their cash out unless they really need to. Not all funds are able to do this. Those which can are known as dual-priced funds. Lock-up: Property funds at Henderson, Standard Life and M&G have all invoked their right to charge investors to redeem their cash in a bid to stem outflows Typically savers will lose around 5 per cent taking their cash out when the fund has moved to this type of pricing, which means for every 1,000 you withdraw you lose 50. Others have a 5 per cent charge for buying the fund instead. So what has caused firms to start putting up these barriers? Money is starting to come out of the funds. Many savers will be taking profits after a good run some of these funds have doubled investors cash in only a few years. The Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust would have turned 10,000 into 21,690 in the past five years. Others may fear property prices are starting to reach their peak or may be concerned about what Brexit could mean for UK property values. If funds look to stop investors taking their cash that could cause more panic. In 2007 and 2008 many property funds locked their doors because too many savers were taking their money out and the funds couldnt sell their assets quickly enough to meet redemptions. But Darius McDermott, director at Chelsea Financial Services, doesnt think savers should be worried just yet. We think there is still some money to be made in the sector, he says. He likes the Henderson UK Property fund, regardless of its pricing. It has returned 24.5 per cent over the past three years and yields 3.1 per cent. Among its properties are a Travelodge in Londons Kings Cross, a commercial park in Derby and a Windsor office park. McDermott also likes M&G Property Porfolio, which yields almost 4 per cent. Its assets include a designer outlet mall in Wales, a retail park in Northampton and offices in the City of London. A spokesman for Standard Life, which has put a 5.5 per cent charge in place, says: It is our objective to prevent investors being disadvantaged by transaction costs associated with an increase in inflows or outflows. A spokesman for Henderson says: This is about being fair both to clients selling units and those who remain invested in the fund. A German takeover of the London Stock Exchange poses a grave threat to international competition, a French politician has warned. Finance minister Michel Sapin said the 21billion deal with Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse could pose a serious risk to global markets. His comments will come as a major embarrassment to LSEs boss Xavier Rolet, who sees the takeover as the crowning glory of his seven years at the helm. Fears: French finance minister Michel Sapin said the 21bn deal with Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse could pose a serious risk to global markets Sapin called on the European Commission to carefully scrutinise the potential takeover of the 215-year-old exchange. Sapin said: We have doubts about the consequences this could have for the financing of the real economy in France and Europe. 'The merger will result in a large group which could hold within it a majority of the tools that make our markets function efficiently. That poses a competition problem. Both LSE and DB insist their tie-up is a merger of equals. Mushcup's Brian Steff takes his turn in 'My Favorite Guitar' Mushcup's Brian Steff has an arsenal of guitars though his favorite is one loved and admired by fans Recent rain may not be enough to stave off water restrictions local SHARE Jackson This two-story house on the northwest corner of Ninth Street at Kemp Boulevard was the site of a Department of Homeland Security raid involving human trafficking Wednesday morning. Wichita Falls Police's SWAT team helped in the execution of a high-risk warrant serve, but few details were available. By Patrick Johnston, patrick.johnston@timesrecordnews.com A felon from Houston who was arrested in Wichita Falls late last month has been accused of forcing a Denton woman to engage in prostitution. Joshua William Jackson, 28, was convicted of theft of property, a state jail felony, and received deferred adjudication in 2010. He failed to complete his probation and an arrest warrant was issued on April 12. According to an arrest warrant affidavit: On April 27, Wichita Falls police officers and agents from Homeland Security and ATF served a state arrest warrant out of Harris County for Jackson on a house in the 2600 block of Ninth Street. Officers found two semi-automatic handguns on a bedroom floor near a wallet containing Jackson's driver's license and Social Security card. During an interview with DHS agents, Jackson admitted he got a friend to purchase four firearms for him since he was on probation and unable to purchase them himself. Prior to the issue of the arrest warrant for probation violation, a woman told the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office that Jackson had forced her into prostitution over an extended period of time through force, fraud and coercion. The woman said she met Joshua William Jackson, 28, while attending an anime convention in downtown Dallas. At the time, she was an 18-year-old freshman at the University of North Texas and lived in one of the dorm rooms with a friend. About a month later, Jackson came to visit her from Houston and began living in her dorm room on a permanent basis. Jackson used various methods to coerce and manipulate her to engage in sex acts from February 2013 to May 2013. In June of that year, he determined a process that she would charge clients and give him the proceeds for her commercial sex acts. In October or November of 2014, Jackson instructed her to lie on the bed naked and "used a Taser on her stomach, chest, inside thigh and vagina as punishment" for refusing to continue engaging in prostitution. In December 2015, Jackson pointed a handgun at the woman and told her he would "kill her bloodline, specifically her mother, father, brother and nephew, and she had nowhere to run because he would find her and sell her." Between June 2013 and January 2016, Jackson forced her into prostitution in multiple cities around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, San Antonio, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Austin and Tampa, Florida. He would often take her in his car and routinely took handguns with him on those trips. In late January, she was finally able to get away from Jackson and report what happened to law enforcement. The former roommate told detectives Jackson moved out of an apartment around Feb. 12, 2016, and took two guns with him. Jackson is currently charged with illegal receipt of a firearm while under indictment. Authorities found two of the firearms were manufactured in Croatia, making the firearms charge a federal offense. Related: Read Jackson's arrest affidavit below. Joshua Jackson's Affidavit SHARE Mack By Patrick Johnston, patrick.johnston@timesrecordnews.com A Wichita Falls man already convicted of robbery in federal court plead guilty to additional crimes in district court Thursday. Stephen Landon Mack, 28, entered a guilty plea on nine counts of exploitation of child, three charges of theft, a charge of forgery and a charge of robbery. He was sentenced by Judge Charles Barnard to four years in prison on the exploitation counts, six years in prison for robbery and time served on the other charges, per a plea agreement. All terms are to run concurrently. Mack and his girlfriend, Andrea Nicole Battle, were accused of running a door-to-door scam using Battle's 6-year-old daughter and a product brochure. They'd solicit people to purchase items for a fundraiser, accept cash or check up front and then never delivered the items ordered. While he has pleaded guilty to the charge, Battle is scheduled to appear in the 89th District Court on July 21 for a pre-trial conference on nine counts of exploitation of a child. Mack entered a guilty plea to robbery on Oct. 8 and was sentenced in the U.S. District Court on Feb. 22 to 87 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor, court documents stated. O'Connor ruled that the federal sentence will run consecutive with the exploitation charges. Mack is expected to serve the four years in prison for exploitation before being transferred to federal prison to serve his time for the robbery charges. Mack was also ordered to pay $12,514 in restitution to the four banks he robbed two in Wichita Falls, one in Sherman and one in Lawton and will be placed under three years of supervision after his release, court documents stated. SHARE Speck Sutherlin A 20-year-old Archer City man has been jailed on three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Bail for Pete George Speck was set at $250,000. Archer County criminal investigator Simon Dwyer said allegations came to light that Speck had assaulted two young girls over the course of several years. He said the girls were interviewed at Patsy's House Child Advocacy Center in Wichita Falls. The alleged assaults happened at a home in Archer City. WCSO: Federal fugitive nabbed The Wichita County Sheriff's Office and U.S. marshals nabbed a federal fugitive in Wichita Falls on Wednesday. Sheriff David Duke said the officers found Johnny James Sutherlin, 39, in a home in the 200 block of Bailey Stree. Duke said Sutherlin briefly barricaded himself in the home, but the officers found him hiding under a sofa bed. Sutherlin was wanted on charges of kidnap to commit robbery/rape and oral copulation by force in San Diego, California, and assault charges in Kansas City, Missouri. The following was taken from Wichita County court records: BAIL Suspect: Charles Richard Hartzell, 43 Charge: hindering apprehension or prosecution of a known felon Offense date: April 22 Bail: $5,000 Suspect: Jorge Ramos, 36 Charge: driving while intoxicated with two or more previous convictions Offense date: April 23 Bail: $7,500 Suspect: Keith Miller, 22 Charge: assault family violence choking Offense date: April 23 Bail: $7,500 Suspect: Jacob Paul Biner, 32 Charge: assault family violence choking Offense date: April 24 Bail: $25,000 Suspect: Victor Lajuan Alexander Jr., 30 Charge: manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance Offense date: April 27 Bail: $30,000 SHARE Sralla's resignation effective after June 20 board meeting Wichita Falls ISD school board president Trey Sralla said he will resign, with his resignation effective after the next regular school board meeting June 20. Sralla is one of the senior members of the board, having served for 12 years, and announced earlier this year that he would not be seeking re-election. His term would normally have been over in May but because the school district is moving its elections to November to coincide with city elections, the move extends school board members terms for six months. Sralla said, I am building a house outside of town, so Im moving outside of my district. Stepping down, Sralla said, will allow the Wichita Falls ISD board to appoint someone else to serve until the next election. It also will give an individual who might be interested in serving on the board an opportunity to do so, he said. Before he was elected to the school board, Sralla was active in his daughters school, Kate Haynes, then joined the PTA and served as PTA president for eight years. Outside of his work with the Wichita Falls ISD, he has worked at Eddie Hills Fun Cycles for almost 25 years, even while he was earning his degree in criminal justice at Midwestern State University. Sralla, who represents Place 5, said if he werent moving, he would consider running again, even though being a school board member can be a demanding job. Its like having a second job, but its something Im passionate about, he said. Im going to miss it Its something I really enjoy doing. By John Ingle of the Times Record News The area's three major reservoirs for drinking water are at capacity at the same time for the first time in roughly two decades. According to the United States Geological Survey, the conservation water level the measured feet at which a reservoir is considered to be 100-percent capacity for Lake Arrowhead is 926 feet; Lake Kickapoo is 1,045 feet; and Lake Kemp is 1,144 feet. As of Thursday at 4 p.m., Arrowhead was at 925.88 feet; Kickapoo was at 1,045.21; and Kemp was at 1,144.03. Kyle Miller, general manager of Wichita County Water Improvement District No. 2, said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted a request from the district, which manages the water in Lake Kemp, to allow a temporary conservation level of 1,147 feet to be able to store more water in the area's largest reservoir, which would still be 13 feet below the top of the spillway. The district hasn't always been able to store the excess water in Kemp. "It used to be if we got above 1,144 (feet), the Corps of Engineers would tell (Lake Kemp project manager) James Rozell to release water. Even if it was (1,1)44.01, they'd say release water because that's getting into an area of the lake they use for flood storage," Miller said. "By allowing us to put another 3 feet above 1,144, that's just letting us borrow, I guess you could say, a little of bit of their flood storage for the summer and on into the early fall in case we need extra water." Miller said the district and the Corps keep an eye on what's happening downstream toward Wichita Falls, too, when considering when to release water. If flooding is occurring like what happened at this time in 2015, they'd likely hold the water so as not to add to the problem. Rozell, who has managed the been with the district since 1986 including manager of the water control tower and monitoring equipment since 1990, said he has seen Lake Kemp at its lowest of lows and at capacity as recently as 2010. He said the recent drought is the worst he had ever seen the lake suffer through, and expected it to take years for the reservoir to recover. It took five years after the drought 16 years ago for the lake to reach its peak. "When the rains came in last May and June, the lake came up about 19 feet from those rains," Rozell said. "Back in October 2000, when it bottomed out at 1,125.50 (feet), it took almost five years of just normal rainfall to ever recover back to close to being close to 100-percent full. That's kind of what we were expecting this time, for it to take even longer than that as low as we were. "That was something to see it come up that fast in like a two-month period of time." Daniel Nix, utilities operations manager for Wichita Falls, said not only are the three primary drinking water reservoirs Arrowhead, Kickapoo and Kemp at capacity, but so, too, are the other two owned by the city Diversion and Kickapoo. He said that, too, is a rarity. But, the person responsible for providing drinking water for tens of thousands of customers said he is relieved to see the Arrowhead-Kickapoo-Kemp system from 24 percent combined capacity in April 2015 to full on Thursday. What it does is allows him to turn his focus from drought survival to projects such as distribution line replacement. It's also a relief, he said, because there were initial concerns about whether or not there would be enough water in the system during a two-year period the direct potable reuse system would be shut off and crews began work on the indirect potable system was constructed from River Road Wastewater Treatment Plant to Lake Arrowhead. With Kemp at 100 percent, it puts Wichita Falls in better shape. Nix said the city followed state rules to disinfect the microfiltration and reverse osmosis systems at Cypress Water Treatment Plant to bring Lake Kemp back onto the drinking water supply. It's been up and running since late-August, early-September. "The whole plan for Kemp is, is for every gallon for Kemp water that we use is a gallon of water we keep in that Kickapoo-Arrowhead system. So, we try and utilize Kemp as much as possible," he said. "With all three lakes being 100-percent full, that obviously gives us the versatility that we need to bounce between lakes. But, I can tell you right now, Kemp is probably providing somewhere between 25-33 percent of our total water supply right now." Nix said all three primary drinking water reservoirs have been close to being at full capacity before, but this is the first time that he can remember them reaching that point since the early- to mid-1990s. Guns SHARE By Bloomberg View Sen. John McCain has given one good reason for lifting the U.S. arms embargo on Vietnam: China. A better-armed Vietnam, deploying U.S. weapons, would make a stronger partner in the American effort to counter Chinese ambitions in the South China Sea. That, however, is not the only -- or even the best -- reason to end the ban. More than 40 years after the U.S. evacuated Saigon, and two decades since the former enemies restored diplomatic ties, the embargo is a relic. The U.S. has become Vietnam's second-largest trading partner after China. Nike and Intel have set up huge operations there, and the U.S. is on track to become the country's largest investor. Vietnam has agreed to hefty concessions in order to ensure passage of the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership. Lifting the remaining limits on lethal weapons sales would affirm the ongoing normalization in ties. Vietnam has become one of the world's most eager arms importers; from 2011 to 2015, its purchases -- primarily from Russia -- grew nearly 700 percent. Vietnamese leaders would prefer more advanced American equipment; they're already talking to Boeing, Lockheed Martin and other big U.S. contractors. Those companies should be allowed to compete for the business. It's also true, unfortunately, that Vietnam's progress toward improving its human-rights record since the U.S. resumed limited arms sales in 2014 has been disappointing. The country has ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture, and some political prisoners have been released, but at least 45 prisoners of conscience remain in jail. Rather than arrest dissidents, authorities have found more thuggish ways to intimidate them and restrict their ability to assemble and to express themselves. The U.S. should certainly continue to press for more progress, especially in clarifying the vague laws that are used to detain bloggers and others. Lifting the embargo would not remove all the leverage the U.S. has. Major arms purchases would still need to be approved; weapons that could be turned against domestic protesters could and should be excluded from consideration. That said, in the long run, fundamental change cannot be imposed from outside. It makes more sense for the U.S. to strengthen and work with people in the regime who favor closer ties and a more open economy and society. Three-quarters of Vietnamese now view America positively, including almost 90 percent of young adults. (Fewer than one in five Vietnamese say the same about China.) Using American equipment would make Vietnamese forces more interoperable with U.S. allies such as Japan and the Philippines, with which it's mulling joint patrols in the South China Sea. It would expand the potential for exercises with the U.S. and possibly improve the chances that the U.S. Navy might regain access to the port at Cam Ranh Bay. If not exactly pleased, China seems resigned to the prospect: It's declared itself "happy to see Vietnam develop normal relations" with America. In any case, the embargo should be lifted not to challenge any perceived enemy, but to cement a friendship. SHARE Three years ago President Obama responded to a question from a White House reporter about why he was unable to force congressional leaders to agree on a measure to replace sequestration. "I am not a dictator," he said. With his administration's order that every public school in America must make accommodations in bathrooms and locker rooms for children born as one sex but who "identify" as another sex, the president apparently has changed his mind even threatening to cutoff federal funds to states that refuse to comply. This comes just after a federal judge ruled the administration is violating the Constitution by spending money to subsidize health insurers without an appropriation from Congress. It doesn't matter to Obama, who in his waning months in office acts as if he is bigger and more important than the Constitution. If our founding document conflicts with his agenda, he ignores it, or twists it to reflect how he thinks it should read. Obama has changed his mind on the "dictator" question. Before getting to the issue that has outraged governors in North Carolina and Texas and others coming soon consider where this can lead. The administration is using for its authority Title IX, which has its roots in the 1964 Civil Rights Act and was codified in education amendments in 1972. The key phrase reads: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." As with so many other laws, that phrasing has been interpreted to mean whatever this administration wants it to mean and to offer "protection" to any behavior the administration defines as a discriminated against "class." Because this is a directive and not law, a President Trump, or any future president, could reverse it. It is doubtful that any but the most liberal states are likely to comply. Secular progressives are going to have a difficult time selling this to Middle America, especially in key states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida where religious and conservative voters make up significant portions of the population. Many voters might legitimately wonder why this issue is more important than the large number of college graduates who can't find a job or who are working at lower-paying jobs that don't require a college degree or beating the Islamic State. Perhaps America's dictator has provided the last straw for many parents. Overall enrollment in alternatives to traditional public schools, such as secular and religious private schools and home-schools, has increased in recent years, in part due to concern about what is being taught and not taught in public schools. More parents might take advantage of private education, especially if they could afford it, particularly in urban areas. More states than ever are offering voucher programs. The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice publishes an annual "The ABC's of School Choice: The comprehensive guide to every private school choice program in America" that is worth consulting. Take one city Denver as an example of what can happen when children are allowed to escape failing and unsafe public schools. According to David Osborne in Education Next, "a journal of opinion and research," since 2008, Denver Public Schools began expanding choice and as a result has markedly increased its on-time graduation rate from less than 39 percent in 2007 to 65 percent last year. More impressive is the achievement rate of African-American students who, as Osborne writes, "now take advanced math classes at the same rate as whites, while Hispanics lag only 1 percentage point." Perhaps this transgender bathroom issue will be the final straw in ending the education monopoly in the U.S. The secular left is going to have a difficult time selling the president's diktat to the public. Donald Trump is right when he says this should be an issue for the states and not the federal government. Cal Thomas is a syndicated columnist and member of the USA TODAY Board of Contributors. SHARE We live in an age where threats of global terror must always be on our minds. So when we learned that the Transportation Security Administration agents who are supposed to keep us safe when we fly failed almost every secret undercover test last year as pretend terrorists were able to sneak explosives and weapons past airport screeners 67 out of 70 times in dozens of cities we were more than just concerned. And this year, when the normal influx of spring break travelers so overwhelmed TSA screeners that thousands of passengers missed their flights, we knew that certainly wasn't quite life or death but it showed that something else must be very wrong with the agency that must serve as a vital protector of our homeland. And when we realize several of the things we are doing add huge and totally avoidable overloads to our TSA airport screeners, then it becomes clear how we can fix at least part the problem that has become our new harsh reality every time every we travel on an airplane. You'd have thought that just this once even Washington's gridlocked Republicans and Democrats would have to locked arms and raced as one to achieve at least the easiest common sense solutions. But no. There was, of course, a congressional hearing, where the news highlights weren't about finding facts to solve the problem but just venting steam for the folks back home. The biggest facts, after all, were already known: TSA airport screeners have been increasingly overwhelmed since most airlines responded to decades of increasing fuel costs by charging passengers fees for every piece of luggage they checked. Starting in 2007, many airlines began charging $20 or more for the first bag checked, $30 or more for the second and much more after that. (Interestingly, Southwest Airlines chose to pursue a passenger-friendly policy, allowing customers to continue to check their luggage for free.) With most airlines charging fees for checked luggage, passengers began carrying far more luggage onto planes which caused the already overburdened TSA screeners at airport concourses to have to examine many more bags in this busiest of locales. (Airlines began clamping on extra fees for all sorts of essentials that used to be free, including simply reserving a specific seat when buying a ticket.) And as fuel prices plummeted, airlines of course continued charging passengers those fees. Result: Airline profits are sky high reaching record levels that far exceed anything since President Jimmy Carter deregulated the airlines back in 1978. Airlines made after-tax profits of $17.9 billion in the first three quarters of 2015 alone. And predictably, the airlines' baggage fees had one other consequence: TSA says carry-on baggage increased by 27 percent at stations where airlines charge fees for those who check baggage. Meanwhile, Congress in a move as myopic as it is mind-numbing cut the funding for TSA screeners in this very time when their burdens sharply increased and the terror threat to our airports increased as never before. Safeguarding our homeland requires that even the airlines must be willing to carry their own business baggage. President Barack Obama and Congress must tell the airlines to end their fees for checked luggage. Indeed, if it means a modest reregulation of airlines for the security of our homeland and our passengers so be it. This month, two senators took the lead by sending a letter to 12 airlines telling them that, for the safety of us all, they should voluntarily do just that. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., sent their letter to officials of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Allegiant, JetBlue, Alaska Air, Hawaiian Airlines, Virgin America, Sun Country and Island Air Hawaii. "We call on airlines to take a smart, common sense step," the senators wrote. " stop charging checked bag fees during the coming summer months, the busiest travel season of the year. Without charges for checking their bags, passengers will be far less likely to carry them on, which snarls screening checkpoints and slows the inspection process." Our safe-skies solution must start with this down-to-earth two-step reality: Let's firmly limit carry-on baggage. And let's vastly increase the airport backroom screening capabilities both human and high-tech of free, checked baggage. Let Republicans and Democrats unite to inaugurate a new era of passenger security with fair profits. Martin Schram, an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service, is a veteran Washington journalist, author and TV documentary executive. Readers may send him email at martin.schram@gmail.com. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Washington House Republicans and Democrats reached a rare, election-year deal with the White House to try to rescue Puerto Rico from $70 billion in debt as millions of Americans in the cash-strapped U.S. territory struggle with the loss of basic services. A revised House bill introduced late Wednesday would create a board to help manage the territory's financial obligations and restructure some debt. Negotiations between the Obama administration and House Speaker Paul Ryan's office helped finalize the legislation. It is a "fair, but tough bipartisan compromise," Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said. Ryan, R-Wis., said the legislation would avoid an eventual taxpayer bailout. Puerto Rico, mired in a decade-long recession, already has missed several payments to creditors. A $2 billion installment, the largest yet, is due July 1. The island's businesses have shuttered, schools lack sufficient resources like electricity and some hospitals are limiting treatment or drugs. Puerto Rico's governor used a state of emergency this week to protect one public agency from lawsuits. Further complicating Puerto Rico's outlook is the Zika virus, which has hit the territory of 3.5 million people hard. More than 700 cases have been reported; Zika can cause severe birth defects. Like U.S. states, Puerto Rico cannot declare bankruptcy. The legislation would allow the control board to oversee negotiations with creditors and the courts over reducing some debt. The compromise "achieved a restructuring process that can work," House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said. A vote could happen next week in the Natural Resources Committee. The panel's chairman, Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah, had to cancel a vote last month amid objections from both parties. Since then, Bishop and Ryan have worked to win over conservatives who worry the rescue might set a precedent for financially ailing states. Democrats, too, had to be persuaded the control board wouldn't be too powerful and debt restructuring too difficult. Some of the House's most conservative Republicans appear willing to support the deal. Republican Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, a native Puerto Rican and member of the fiscally conservative Freedom Caucus, spoke favorably of the effort. "What I have seen so far, I believe this is a good bill that will get a majority of Republican support and will actually go through both houses of Congress," Labrador said, stopping short of a full endorsement. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said his chamber is waiting for the House to move first. Disagreements over how the board would be appointed held up negotiations. The bill would empower President Barack Obama to select all but one of the members from lists provided by congressional leaders. Anyone Obama picks from outside that list must be confirmed by the Senate. In a nod to Democrats, the final bill also removes a provision that would have transferred federal land on the nearby island of Vieques to Puerto Rico's government. Bentonville, Ark. Surprisingly strong sales at Wal-Mart and an optimistic outlook from the world's largest retailer lifted a pall that settled over much of the sector in the past two weeks. The company's shares jumped 9 percent in early trading Thursday and companies that had been beaten down after a slew of dismal earnings reports appeared to catch a draft from Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart's revenue climbed to $115.9 billion from $114.83 billion in the quarter, breezing past projections for $112.67 billion in revenue from industry analysts, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research forecast. Sales at U.S. stores open at least a year rose 1 percent, the seventh consecutive quarterly increase. Wal-Mart said it expects the sales measure to increase in the current quarter. The period also marked the sixth straight quarter of gains in traffic. The sales metric is important because it strips away the volatility of recently opened or closed stores, providing a better look at how a retailer is doing. While the sales pace isn't exactly robust, it was much better than many of its peers. And it showed that Wal-Mart's efforts to spruce up its stores and to raise wages and improve training for its hourly workers are paying off. Healthy sales at the Bentonville, Arkansas-based discounter came one day after Target Corp. reported slowing quarterly sales and said that it could see a decline for that measure in the current quarter. That would reverse almost two straight years of increases. Target is not alone though, as much of the retail sector, particularly department stores and mall-based clothing chains, is experiencing a sales slowdown, creating a lot of unease. Before Target, Macy's Inc., J.C. Penney Co., Nordstrom Inc. and Kohl's Corp. all posted first-quarter sales drops as pressure from off-priced stores like T.J. Maxx and online retailer Amazon.com rises. "We're improving our stores and deepening relationships with customers," said CEO Doug McMillon. "Our customers are giving us positive feedback. I'm seeing it myself on store visits, and you can see it in the traffic numbers." While Americans are spending money, the problem for traditional retailers is that they seem to be spending it elsewhere. Economists have seen a shift in habits, with more disposable income going toward vacations, home improvement and dining out, rather than toward clothing or accessories. That has resulted in a mixed bag of results for the earnings season. Wal-Mart is making lots of changes that it says will keep it competitive in a changing retail landscape. It's spending $2.7 billion on higher wages and other investments for its hourly workers over a two-year period. Wal-Mart has maintained that lifting wages will mean happier workers who will better serve the customers. During a conference call with the media on Thursday, Wal-Mart executives said their employees are using their higher paychecks to spend more in the store. Wal-Mart is cleaning up the stores, and improving its merchandise, particularly fresh produce. Wal-Mart is also trying to improve the experience of customers in its stores by better managing the number of registers open during peak traffic times. Wal-Mart's chief financial officer Brett Briggs told reporters on a call that there was still this "era of uncertainty" with how its customers spend their dollars. But he said the consumer environment was consistent. That differs from what Target's CEO Brian Cornell told the media in a call on Wednesday. He highlighted a "volatile" consumer environment. There was one red flag, however, and it arrived from the front lines in Wal-Mart's fight with one of its most serious threats: Amazon.com. Global e-commerce sales rose just 7 percent for the first quarter, weaker than the 8 percent growth in the previous quarter, and far below the 20 percent increases seen less than two years ago. McMillon said that level of growth is "too slow." While online sales in the U.S were stronger than elsewhere, McMillon said they're not where they should be. Wal-Mart shares are down 17 percent over the past 12 months, but up 3 percent so far this year. Shares gained $6.05 to close at $69.20 Thursday. New York Viewers didn't need to see Morley Safer's reporting to feel its effects. They could have almost heard the yowling from the Oval Office and the Pentagon after Safer's 1965 expose of a U.S. military atrocity in Vietnam that played an early role in changing Americans' view of the war. They likely felt a flush of gratitude on learning that Safer's 1983 investigation of justice gone awry resulted in the release of a Texas man wrongfully sentenced to life in prison. They might have headed to their wine shop with a heightened sense of purpose after word spread of Safer's story that quoted medical experts who said red wine can be good for you. Safer's far-flung journalism got reactions and results during a 61-year career that found him equally at home reporting on social wrongs, the Orient Express, abstract art and the horrors of war. That career came to an end this week, with a "60 Minutes" tribute on Sunday and, then, with Safer's death, at age 84, on Thursday. He is survived by his wife, the former Jane Fearer, and his daughter Sarah. NBC News Special Correspondent Tom Brokaw visited with Safer last Friday, two days after his retirement was announced. They spoke about the towering journalists of Safer's era, men like The Washington Post's Ben Bradlee and "60 Minutes" creator-executive producer Don Hewitt. Safer said quietly, "All the great ones are gone," Brokaw recalled in an email. "No, Morley, you're still with us," replied Brokaw before kissing Safer on the forehead. During his 46 years on "60 Minutes," Safer did 919 stories, from his first in 1970 about U.S. Sky Marshals to his last this March, a profile of Danish architect Bjarke Ingels. It was in 1970 that Safer joined "60 Minutes," then just two years old and far from the national institution it would become. He claimed the co-host chair alongside a talk-show-host-turned-newsman named Mike Wallace. During the next four decades, Safer's rich tobacco-and-whiskey-cured voice delivered stories that ranged from art, music and popular culture, to "gotcha" investigations, to one of his favorite pieces, which, in 1983, resulted in the release from prison of Lenell Geter, the engineer wrongly convicted of a holdup at a fast food restaurant and serving a life sentence. His honors include three George Foster Peabody awards, 12 Emmys and two George Polk Memorial Awards. Born in Toronto in 1931, Safer began his news career in Canada and England before being hired by Reuters wire service in its London bureau. Then, in 1955, he was offered a correspondent's job in the Canadian Broadcasting Company's London bureau, where he worked nine years before CBS News hired him for its London bureau. In 1965 he opened CBS' Saigon bureau. That August, "The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite" aired a report by Safer that rocked viewers, who, at that point, remained mostly supportive of the U.S. war effort in Vietnam. What he encountered, and captured on film, was the spectacle of American soldiers employing their Zippo lighters to burn thatched-roof, mud-plastered huts to the ground, despite having met with no resistance from the village's residents. Safer's expose ignited a firestorm, with President Lyndon Johnson giving CBS President Frank Stanton a tongue-lashing. Safer rotated in and out of Vietnam three times, then, in 1967, began three years as London bureau chief. In 1970, he was brought to New York to succeed original co-host Harry Reasoner on an innovative newsmagazine that, in its third season, was still struggling in the ratings, and would rely on Safer and Wallace as its only co-anchors for the next five years. He quickly became a fixture at "60 Minutes" and part of that show's rough-and-tumble behind-the-scenes culture as the stature and ratings of the show took off. By 2006 Safer had reduced his output, accepting half-time status. But he remained after the departures of Wallace who retired in 2006 at age 88, and died in 2012 as well as Don Hewitt, who stepped down in 2004 at 81, and died in 2009, and Andy Rooney, who, at 92, ended 33 years as the resident essayist in October 2011, and died a month later. "Mind if I smoke?" Safer asked an Associated Press reporter a few years ago as he closed his office door at "60 Minutes" while flouting health laws, inasmuch as his cigarette by then was halfway done. It felt appropriately old school, given Safer's link to the days when legends as well as smoke filled those hallways. "60 Minutes" carries on, but now the legends are gone. Vatican City Catholic sisters globally would be better-equipped to carry out their work if they could become deacons, the head of a global network of nuns has said, an important marker in the sharp debate over women deacons that Pope Francis opened last week. "We are already doing so many things that resemble what a deacon would do, although it would help us to do a bit more service if we were ordained deacons," said Sister Carmen Sammut, president of the International Union of Superiors General, or UISG. Francis put a spring in the step of women religious on Thursday when, in talking with Sammut and hundreds of UISG delegates, he agreed to set up a commission to examine whether women should be ordained as deacons something that arguably hasn't been done since the early years of Christianity. "I would like to constitute an official commission to study the question: I think it will be good for the church to clarify this point, I agree, and I will speak so as to do something of this type," the pope told the conference of sisters gathered in Rome to discuss key issues affecting their work. In the days since those comments, the Vatican has tried to downplay expectations for the inquiry. "The pope did not say he intends to introduce the ordination of female deacons and even less did he talk about the ordination of women as priests," the Rev. Federico Lombardi, the chief Vatican spokesman, said. The role of the deacon was created, as recounted in the New Testament, by the Apostles so that they could deploy ministers specifically dedicated to doing charitable works and thus free themselves to focus on preaching. In the Catholic tradition, the role of deacon was eventually subsumed into the priesthood and hierarchy, until the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s revived the diaconate as an ordained order open to "mature" men over 35, who can be married. But many say that order should include women who have never been ordained at any level in the Catholic Church because women deacons are mentioned in early church sources. They also say ordaining women as deacons would not necessarily lead to overturning the ban on women priests. It's not clear whether anything will come of a papal commission on deaconesses, or whether Francis would support an opening. He has called for creativity in ministry but has also warned against "clericalizing" women and lay people by proposing ordination of some sort to answer every problem. As pundits continue to debate whether Francis' decision will bear fruit, Sammut pushed for greater-than-usual diversity on any commission even as she acknowledged that the Holy See is slow to change its ways. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Saratoga Springs Having risen to fame through her clashes with Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly knows about adversity in life, but she urged Albany Law School graduates Friday to seize adversity as an opportunity to learn and grow. "These days, adversity is undervalued. I'm here to tell you that adversity is an opportunity, and you shouldn't be afraid to encounter it, you should welcome it," she told the 160 graduates Friday at the law school's commencement at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. "As you leave this place, be bold, go out and take some risks, make decisions even bad ones. Fail." A 1995 graduate of Albany Law, Kelly gave the keynote speech, encouraging graduates to pursue a wholesome life, work hard, keep a competitive edge and be resilient. Kelly, a Bethlehem native and 1988 graduate of Bethlehem Central High School, filled a void in the beginning of her speech the written copy of which had gone M.I.A. momentarily by crediting her success to the law degree, outlining how she changed as an individual and describing how the degree helped shape her life. "I love that she was able to go on and take on the type of career she has," Saugerties resident and Albany Law graduate Ashley Fischer said. "It was touching to hear about her family and how she's changed over time, and everything she's gained from Albany Law." Kelly initially worked in corporate law before beginning a career in broadcast journalism in 2003. She joined Fox News in 2004 and in 2013 started "The Kelly File." Early into the 2016 presidential campaign, Kelly sparred with Trump while moderating the first Republican prime-time debate. Trump ridiculed her on social media after the debate, but the two seemed to have reached a detente a few weeks ago. Kelly's interview with Trump, broadcast on Tuesday, was criticized by journalists who said she asked soft questions and failed to follow up on inconsistent answers Trump gave. Shortly after, she fired back at her critics suggesting the fault-finding showed their own bias against Trump, Fox News and the Republican Party. Kelly said those going on to careers as lawyers will often face adversity, and feel overwhelmed and sad. "It is OK, as long as you don't let your emotions dilute the content of your message," she said. "The true test of strength is not avoiding upset, it's feeling emotional distress and functioning in the face of it." Functioning during those times, Kelly said, will prepare the graduates for what's to come whether getting "slammed" by a senior partner, a judge or "a billionaire presidential front runner." Graduate Kristen Casper, 25, of Oakfield, said the speech was "absolutely phenomenal," adding that she admired the work Kelly did prior to applying for law school. "She's one of our most successful alums," Casper said. "She's got a very endearing personality, and she's someone who takes a stand for what she believes in." Kelly finished her speech to graduates, some of whom who had officially graduated last December, by wishing them a life that is whole rather than happy. "Happiness nowadays seems to imply the absence of upset ... you need a little upset," she said. I hope "that you see adversity (as an) opportunity to grow. May you laugh, and cry and sing. Congratulations, give 'em hell." afries@timesunion.com - 518-454-5353 - @mandy_fries This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Troy The city is moving against blight this summer by knocking down 11 vacant, decaying buildings in a partnership with the Troy Community Land Bank. Eight of the buildings to be razed have been marked with placards by the Troy Fire Department as too dangerous for firefighters to enter during a fire. The City Council has given unanimous preliminary approval for the demolitions at a Finance Committee meeting Thursday. The land bank is providing $500,000 of its $1.257 million in state funds to pay for the project. The land bank was created and funded by the state to fight blight in the city. The deteriorating empty buildings are considered to be a drag on neighborhoods and discourage investment. "The City and the Land Bank are now joining forces in an effort to demolish a number of deteriorated structures in the City," reads supporting documents given to the City Council for the project. The addresses of the eight placarded buildings are 76 Tyler St., 47 Glen Ave., 3 Cragin Ave., 326 First St., 791 River St., 2518 Fifth Ave., 186 Hill St. and 102 Sixth Ave. The three other buildings to be razed are 16 Cragin Ave., 790 River St. and 102 W. Glen Ave. "As currently envisioned, nine buildings will be totally demolished and two will be partially demolished. The greatest concentration will be in the North Central neighborhood but there will also be individual buildings demolished in other neighborhoods," the statement to the council said. The two partial demolitions will be to the rear portions of 790 and 791 River St. The two buildings are across the street from each other. The city has 580 vacant buildings, many of which officials have said should be demolished. The city, however, doesn't have a substantial amount of money available for the work. Deputy Mayor Monica Kurzejeski said the city will seek bids for the demolition work after the City Council grants final approval at its June 2 meeting. The 11 buildings will be put out in two bidding packages. Kurzejeski estimated the demolitions could begin in July and the demolition work could cost only $400,000. kcrowe@timesunion.com 518-454-5084 @KennethCrowe Cairo The crash Thursday of an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has renewed security concerns surrounding Egyptian planes and airports. It's the third plane incident involving Egypt in eight months. Last October, a Russian passenger plane crashed in Sinai, killing all 224 people on board. Here is a look at some past disasters and incidents in Egypt involving planes: May 19, 2016: EgyptAir Flight 804 from Paris to Cairo, carrying 66 people on board crashes into the Mediterranean Sea off the Greek island of Crete; March 29, 2016: EgyptAir Flight 181 from Alexandria to Cairo carrying 81 people on board is hijacked by Egyptian national Seif El-Din Mustafa. All crew members and passengers are released safely at a Cyprus airport; October 31, 2015: Russian Metrojet plane is downed over the Sinai Peninsula with a bomb that was placed on the aircraft, killing all 224 people on board. Egypt's Islamic State affiliate claims responsibility for the downing; May 7, 2002: EgyptAir Flight 843 Boeing 737 from to Cairo to Tunis crashes into a hill near Carthage, killing 18 of the 62 people on board; February 23, 2000: EgyptAir flight Boeing 767 from Johannesburg to Cairo crash-lands in Zimbabwe Harare airport during a stop-over. All 76 passengers survive the crash; October 31, 1999: EgyptAir Flight 990 crashes into the Atlantic near the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, killing all 217 people aboard. U.S. investigators conclude the co-pilot had pointed the Boeing 767 downward while Egyptian officials reject notion of suicide; June 10, 1986: An Air Sinai flight from Cairo to Sharm El-Sheikh crashes, killing 22 of the 25 people on board; November 23, 1985: Three gunmen hijack an EgyptAir plane Boeing 717 flying from Athens to Cairo. The plane, carrying 100 passengers, lands in Malta before 58 are killed when Egyptian forces raid the plane. Dominated by an extremist interpretation of Shiite Islam, Iran's government has a long-term goal to eradicate the more than 300,000-member Baha'i community, the country's largest non-Muslim religious minority. While the intensity of the pursuit of that goal ebbs and flows in response to the level of world attention and outrage, there are recent signs that persecution is on the upswing. Since Iran's Khomeini revolution of 1979, authorities have killed more than 200 Baha'i leaders, and more than 10,000 have been dismissed from government and university jobs. Baha'is effectively are prohibited from attending colleges, chartering their own worship centers or schools and serving in the military. Over the past 10 years, about 850 Baha'is arbitrarily have been arrested. As of February 2016, more than 80 remain imprisoned, including the Baha'i Seven Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Vahid Tizfahm, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet who were sent to prison eight years ago this month. According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, on which we serve, there were ominous signs of a renewed government crackdown over the past year. In Tehran and other municipalities, Baha'i homes have been ransacked, Baha'i-owned shops closed and Baha'i religious materials confiscated. In January 2016 alone, 24 Baha'is in the Golestan province were sentenced to prison terms of up to 11 years simply for engaging in the religious activities of their faith. Iran's government continues a steady drumbeat of propaganda. In 2014 alone, pro-government media and print outlets published nearly 4,000 anti-Baha'i articles in which Baha'is typically are portrayed as immoral traitors, agents of foreign powers, and strangers and aliens who don't belong in the country. Christians and members of other religious minorities also face persecution, including jail time. Since 2010, authorities arbitrarily have arrested and detained more than 550 Christians. Over the past year, there were numerous reports of authorities raiding church services, threatening church members, and arresting worshippers and church leaders, particularly evangelical Christian converts. Jews and Zoroastrians also face official discrimination, and the government continues to foster anti-Semitism. Among Muslims, Iran's government has imposed harsh sentences on prominent reformers from the Shiite majority community; imprisoned about 150 Sunni Muslims on charges relating to their beliefs and religious activities; and harassed and incarcerated members of the Sufi Muslim community. Responding to pressure from the United States and the world community, Iran in January released Saeed Abedini, a Christian pastor. It is time to demand that Iran do likewise to all religious prisoners, and other prisoners of conscience. It is time for Iran to abandon its terrible goal of eradicating its Baha'i community and instead treat its members with the dignity and respect they deserve as human beings and citizens. Robert P. George is chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; Katrina Lantos Swett is a USCIRF commissioner. Hundreds missing as rain slows search ELANGAPITIYA VILLAGE, Sri Lanka As soldiers searched Thursday for hundreds of people missing after landslides swallowed three central Sri Lankan villages, family members huddled in crowded shelters waiting for news about the fate of loved ones. Their wait was likely to be long. Heavy rain halted the search several times during the day, and new thunderous mudslides caused already-frightened villagers to run from the shelters. Authorities warned that conditions were still dangerous and more mudslides were possible. Two days after the three villages of Siripura, Elangapitiya and Pallebage were hit by torrents of thick, red mud, rescuers had recovered just 18 bodies out of hundreds believed missing. The Sri Lankan Red Cross said at least 220 families were unaccounted for. Heavy fog, electrical outages and the loose ground complicated the search in Kegalle district, about 45 miles north of Colombo. Asked whether rescuers expected to find survivors, Ranasinghe pointed to an area where 66 houses once stood. "All gone with that landslide," he said. "So I have my doubts." Associated Press Colorado theater not to blame, jury says CENTENNIAL, Colo. A verdict saying a Colorado movie theater could not have safeguarded against a shooting that left 12 people dead likely prevented a major shift in how people go to the movies by keeping the onus on the killer, rather than the public venue he chose to attack. Six jurors concluded Thursday that Cinemark was not liable for the 2012 rampage, quickly rejecting victims' arguments that, in an age of mass shootings, the theater should have foreseen the possibility of violence at a crowded midnight premiere of a Batman film. Several survivors and families of the dead sued the nation's third-largest theater chain, saying the suburban Denver theater should have had armed guards at the summer blockbuster. There also was no silent alarm that would have sounded when James Holmes slipped into an auditorium and started shooting. The civil case was watched closely by theater security consultants, some of whom predicted that a verdict against Cinemark would mean sweeping and costly changes to the way theaters protect customers. Some experts said a loss could have forced theater companies across the country to use metal detectors or hire more security, hiking up ticket prices to offset the cost. Cinemark argued that no security measures could have stopped the armor-clad Holmes. After months of meticulous planning, he threw gas canisters into the crowd of more than 400 and then opened fire with a shotgun, assault rifle and semiautomatic pistol. Victims also are suing Holmes' University of Colorado psychiatrist, arguing she and other university officials should have done more to stop the attack after Holmes confessed his homicidal thoughts. Associated Press Bill would make abortion a felony OKLAHOMA CITY Oklahoma lawmakers have moved to effectively ban abortion in their state by making it a felony for doctors to perform the procedure, an effort the bill's sponsor said Thursday is aimed at overturning the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide. The bill, which abortion rights group Center for Reproductive Rights says is the first of its kind in the nation, also would restrict any physician who performs an abortion from obtaining or renewing a license to practice medicine in Oklahoma. It passed 33-12 Thursday with no discussion or debate; a handful of Republicans joined with Democrats in voting against the bill sponsored by Republican Sen. Nathan Dahm. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, an anti-abortion Republican, will withhold comment until her staff has time to review it, Fallin spokesman Michael McNutt said. Dahm made it clear that he hopes his bill could lead to overturning Roe v. Wade. "Since I believe life begins at conception, it should be protected, and I believe it's a core function of state government to defend that life from the beginning of conception," said Dahm, R-Broken Arrow. But abortion rights supporters and the state's medical association have said the bill is unconstitutional. Sen. Ervin Yen, an Oklahoma City Republican and the only physician in the Senate, described the measure as "insane" and voted against it. Associated Press Obama may lift arms sales ban in Vietnam WASHINGTON President Barack Obama could lift restrictions on arms sales when he makes his first visit to Vietnam next week. That would remove a final vestige of wartime animosity but would not please China, which views growing U.S. defense ties in its backyard with deep suspicion amid rising military tensions in the South China Sea. There's considerable support in Washington for lifting the restrictions, including from the Pentagon, but also pockets of congressional opposition, leaving uncertain whether Obama will announce it when he visits Vietnam, starting Sunday. The administration is pushing for more progress on human rights, a constant drag on the relationship. Significantly, the communist government has committed to allow independent labor unions as a condition of its participation in the U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, but it still holds about 100 political prisoners and there have been more detentions this year. As part of Obama's effort to help Southeast Asian nations counter Beijing, the U.S. in 2014 partially lifted an arms embargo in place since the end of the Vietnam War, allowing Vietnam to buy lethal defense equipment for maritime security. Vietnam, which has mostly Russian-origin equipment, has not bought anything, but is still eager for Washington to remove the remaining restrictions. If nothing else, it would show relations are fully normalized and open the way to deeper security cooperation. "Real progress on protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms including through legal reform is crucial to ensuring that Vietnam and our relationship achieves its full potential," Daniel Kritenbrink, the White House senior director for Asian affairs, told reporters Wednesday. The issue is also sensitive because of criticism of Vietnam's rights record among congressional opponents of TPP. Associated Press This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Former Albany detective James Lyman's status leading one of the state's biggest law enforcement unions is shrouded in secrecy. Word began to circulate in law enforcement and political circles over the last week that Lyman had been at least temporarily sidelined as executive director of Council 82 speculation the union declined to address Thursday. A lawyer for the organization would not discuss Lyman's status with Insider Lyman has run Council 82 since September 2008 a post that last year paid $185,472 in gross salary, according to a disclosure filed in September with the U.S. Department of Labor. More Information Contact Jordan Carleo-Evangelist at 518-454- 5445 or email jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com. On Twitter: @JC Evangelist_TU See More Collapse Before that he served as president of the politically active union, which in 2008 waged an aggressive campaign to keep Albany County District Attorney David Soares from winning a second term. That acrimonious contest saw Soares challenger Roger Cusick run his campaign out of the union's Colvin Avenue headquarters and culminated with Lyman and a fellow union official suing Soares for slander and libel. Lyman, who is also on the executive council of the state AFL-CIO, was still listed on Council 82's website Thursday, but a woman who answered the phone at Council 82 headquarters said Lyman was "unavailable." A message left for him was returned by the union's general counsel, Ennio Corsi, who declined to comment on Lyman's status as executive director or discuss whether he is currently on the job. A message left on Lyman's cellphone was also not returned. Later in the day his voice mail was full. Council 82 President Ronald Walsh Jr. former head of the Schenectady County Sheriff's Benevolent Association said he could not comment on internal union matters. Whatever Lyman's status at the union, public records suggest he may have been pursuing other business interests in recent months. Lyman's LinkedIn page lists him as a partner in National Public Safety Professionals, an insurance brokerage geared toward police and correction officers, according another one of the principals. A limited liability company under the same name was incorporated in February at the address of a Loudonville home listed on assessment records as being part-owned by Lyman. A LinkedIn group for the company is administered by David Daignault, who also lists himself as president and CEO of the Law Officers Insurance Agency and DN Insurance Agency in Saratoga Springs. Daignault confirmed that he and Lyman are partners in the new venture "on paper" but said Lyman's role has so far been limited. "Right now, Jimmy is very minimal in participation," Daignault said. Lyman has also held the liquor license for Duffy's Lucky Charm bar on Clinton Avenue in Albany since early 2013, according to State Liquor Authority records. An affiliate of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 82 has 3,821 members in local and state law enforcement and corrections, down about 14 percent from 2010, according to the union's 2015 filing with the federal government. In December 2010, the Albany Police Officers Union nearly became one of the locals to jump ship. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. A contentious bid to replace the Council 82-affiliated APOU with the Albany Police Benevolent Association failed by one vote, narrowly avoiding what would have been an high-profile defection in the union's own backyard. Lyman was president of Council 82 in 2004 when the city's sergeants and lieutenants voted overwhelmingly to break away and form the Albany Police Supervisors Association citing the conflict inherent in supervisors being part of the same union as rank and file officers. Council 82 has long had close ties to the Albany local. Former APOU President Christian Mesley also once served as president of the statewide union's executive board, and current APOU President Detective Kevin Flynn is treasurer of the board. Citing his post on the executive board, Flynn said Thursday that it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the situation. Council 82's political action committee has contributed $581,484 to candidates for local and state office since 2010. But few of its forays into politics have been as aggressive or colorful as the 2008 DA's race. Lyman and Mesley blasted Soares after a man shot by Albany police for allegedly pointing a gun at two officers was freed on $25,000 bail. Soares responded by accusing Lyman and Mesley of waging a smear campaign against him, pointing out that his office had turned the man's case over to a special prosecutor because Soares was investigating the police shooting. Lyman and Mesley countered by suing Soares for slander and libel a suit that was ultimately dropped in 2011. Skeptical About Video Marketing? These Stats Will Change Your Mind Why You Need to Know: While much of content marketing attempts to tell a brand's story by describing, summarizing, and, sometimes, explicitly stating the value of certain products or services, video allows stories to be told with more impact. If you're like most people, you'd rather be watching a video right now. Before you rush off to find one, though, consider how that fact could benefit you as a business owner. If you're not yet taking advantage of video marketing for your business, take a quick glance at these compelling stats. Hologram Raises Almost $5M for IoT Cellular Platform Why You Need to Know: By running its own cellular network, Hologram will be able to provide an end-to-end connectivity solution that links a global cellular network with certified hardware and a cloud platform. Hologram, an IoT platform developer formerly known as Konekt, has launched a cellular platform for the IoT. In contrast to legacy cellular connectivity solutions, geared toward mobile phones and tablets, the new Hologram platform is built for developing and deploying IoT products. The company also announced $4.8 million in funding, led by Drive Capital, to grow the team and scale the cellular network. Despite Social Media, Most Customer Brand Advocacy Still Happens Offline Why You Need to Know: Creating new brand advocates ensures that when potential customers ask friends and family for advice, those advocates are more likely to recommend your brand. One of the most critical elements to any marketing campaign today is customer influence. Largely shaped by social media, customer influence is how strongly your customers act as brand advocates for you. Some customer opinions, however, matter more than others. While it may be great that your social media campaign is getting a lot of likes, most conversations between customers and potential customers still happen off-line. End of Life for Internet Explorer Why You Need to Know: While it shouldn't impact the average home user with the default Windows Update settings, businesses are a different subject. Many businesses are not always updated to the latest patch level for a number of reasons. In January 2016, Microsoft discontinued support for Internet Explorer versions previous to IE11. What impact does this have on the single IT department or global business? For IT administrators still using Windows XP this is one of the biggest headaches. Not only is the browser no longer supported, the only long-term solution is to migrate the entire operating system. Exploring the Relationship Between the IoT and 5G Why You Need to Know: Excitement is building around fifth-generation, or 5G, connectivity and the impact that it will have on the Internet of Things (IoT). 5G represents the next generation in telecommunications data transmissions beyond the current leading 4G LTE standard. As of right now, there is no single 5G standard and the 5G ecosystem is still under development. Don't expect to see widespread 5G rollouts until around 2020, when 5G will start to play a greater role in the emerging IoT landscape. In the meantime, most businesses and consumers will continue to rely on 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi and satellite networks for connectivity. [May 20, 2016] Fitch Downgrades Covenant Health, MA (dba Covenant Health System) Revs to 'A-'; Outlook Negative Fitch Ratings has downgraded to 'A-' from 'A' various series of bonds issued on behalf of the obligated group of Covenant Health (CH) by the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, the Massachusetts Health & Educational Facilities Authority, and the New Hampshire Health & Education Facilities Authority. The Rating Outlook remains Negative. SECURITY The bonds are secured by a gross revenue pledge of the obligated group and a mortgage pledge on St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, NH. KEY RATING DRIVERS WEAKER PERFORMANCE PERSISTS: The downgrade reflects CH's very thin operating margins for the rating category. CH generated approximately breakeven operating margins over the last four audited years, including a negative 1.5% in fiscal 2015. Its operating EBITDA margin averaged a weak 5.6% over the same period, relative to a median of 10.3%, and maximum annual debt service (MADS) coverage averaged 2.6x relative to Fitch's 'A' category median of 4.2x. NEGATIVE OUTLOOK: The Negative Outlook reflects the continued weakness in CH's performance, although it has improved slightly in 1Q2016, the potential for a debt issuance to fund an information technology installation, and the execution risk on a number of initiatives that CH is undertaking to improve its performance. STRONG LIQUIDITY: Most of CH's unrestricted liquidity metrics are on the upper end of the 'A' category. The 'A-' rating is based largely on the strength of CH's unrestricted liquidity, which Fitch views as providing financial flexibility as CH addresses its operating challenges, even as the financial performance remains materially below 'A' category medians. MIXED MARKET POSITION: CH has some geographic and revenue diversity, operating in five states from Pennsylvania to Maine, while providing a full continuum of care ranging from acute care to long-term care services. However, CH operates in fairly competitive markets, especially its three acute care hospitals. Two are in Maine, which has not expanded Medicaid, and none of the three are the market share leader in their respective markets. RATING SENSITIVITIES IMPROVEMENT INITIATIVES UNDERWAY: Covenant Health System (CH) is implementing a number of revenue and expense initiatives aimed at improving performance. Successful execution of these initiatives is critical for CH to be able to maintain its current 'A-' rating and for future revision of the Outlook to Stable. POTENTIAL DEBT ISSUANCE: CH is in the process of implementing an Epic software installation that would likely require additional debt or the use of a sizable equity contribution. Negative rating pressure could also potentially result from the final funding structure for the project and CH's operational performance at that time. CH has little debt capacity, given the current level of its financial performance. CREDIT PROFILE CH consists of three acute care hospitals (St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, NH, St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor, ME, and St. Mary's Health System in Lewiston, ME) and 12 skilled nursing and assisted living facilities located in the states of Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. CH also manages five long-term care facilities and is affiliated with 10 other long-term care providers. The obligated group made up only approximately 58% of total assets and 40% of total revenues of the system in fiscal 2015. Fitch's analysis continues to be based on the consolidated system, which had total revenue of $613.2 million in fiscal 2015. Financial Performance CH posted a negative 1.5% operating margin and a 4.2% operating EBITDA margin in 2015, which was lower than 2014's 0.1% operating margin and 6.2% operating EBITDA and much below Fitch's 'A' category medians of 3.6% and 10.3%, respectively. The weaker operating performance in 2015 was driven largely by revenue and volume targets not being met. In 2016, CH used a more conservative budgeting process, with realistic volume and revenues assumptions, and operational results have improved. In 1Q16, CH had a negative 1% operating margin and a 4.6% EBITDA, which is much improved over 1Q15 when CH generated a negative 3.4% operating margin and a 2.5% operating EBITDA margin. CH is implementing a larger turnarond plan to improve operations, including initiatives around supply and revenue cycle. The effort is being assisted by the use of consultants. The results of these initiatives should further improve CH's financial results. In addition to the focus on operational improvement, CH is moving forward on a number of other system initiatives including enhancing its clinical relationships with other hospitals, which has helped CH recruit physicians in key service lines such as cardiology and orthopedics; creating an integrated physician network to broaden its physician alignment with both employed and community physicians; and centralizing other services and corporate functions for greater efficiencies. Fitch views these initiatives positively and as an appropriate response to changes in the healthcare environment. Fitch's concern is that implementation of the initiatives is occurring simultaneously while CH is also aiming to improve its financial performance. Further concern relates to an expected large IT implementation project expected to begin within the next year. Investments in new IT systems have proven to be strategically and economically accretive for health systems once fully operational, but there is a sizable capital cost and often near term stress on financial performance during implementation and rollout. CH management has stated that it would need to see operational improvement before it would move forward on issuing debt for the IT project. However, the Negative Outlook reflects concerns regarding the project and the need to improve performance. Liquidity a Key Credit Strength CH had $381 million in unrestricted cash and investments at March 31, 2016, which equated to 227.4 day cash on hand and 185.4% cash to debt, both above Fitch's 'A' category medians of 205.3 day and 143.7%. In spite of the weaker operating performance, CH has been able to maintain its strong liquidity position, and investment income from the balance sheet has helped prop up debt service coverage. CH's strong liquidity position provides some financial cushion at the current rating level, as CH works to improve operations, as well as could be used as a resource to reduce the need to issue debt to fund the IT project. CH has very little debt capacity, given its thin debt service coverage metrics, unless its operational performance improves. However, Fitch will consider the strong balance sheet in its analysis should the turnaround plan take longer than expected to show results. Debt Profile CH's debt structure is nearly 100% fixed-rate, which Fitch views as a credit positive, lending further stability to CH's balance sheet. In addition, CH's debt burden is relatively manageable for the rating level. MADS as a percentage of revenue of 2.9% at March 31, 2016 compares well to Fitch's 'A' category median of 2.8%. However, debt to EBITDA was elevated at 5.8x, relative to a median of 3x, reflecting the weaker operating performance. CH's EBITDA MADS coverage was 1.9x and its operating EBITDA coverage was 1.6x in the first quarter of 2016, both of which trailed category medians. The relatively manageable debt burden as reflected in MADS as a percentage of revenue is a key credit factor, indicating that even a modest improvement in performance should be able to bring the debt to EBITDA metric more in line with the category median and increase the level of CH's debt service coverage. Continuing Disclosure CH covenants to provide bondholders with annual audited financials and quarterly disclosure (which includes management discussion and analysis, balance sheet, income statement, and utilization statistics). Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. Applicable Criteria Not-for-Profit Hospitals Rating Criteria (pub. 04 Dec 2015) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=874120 Revenue-Supported Rating Criteria (pub. 16 Jun 2014) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=750012 Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=1004868 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1004868 Endorsement Policy https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160520005835/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 20, 2016] Hindu Americans Make Strides in Improving California Textbooks The Hindu American community has made progress in its effort to ensure Hinduism and Indian history are accurately and equitably represented in the Social Science and History Framework put forth by the California Department of Education. In a hearing held yesterday, May 19, 2016, the Instructional Quality Commission heard testimony from scholars, Hindu organizations, and members of the Hindu American community about the importance of equity and cultural competency in California textbooks. Many important decisions were made in favor of their proposed edits, including the decision not to replace mentions of India with "South Asia" and the reintroduction of two sages of diverse backgrounds. "For years, the American perception of Hinduism and India has been overly simplistic and inaccurate, in part due to the content of California textbooks," said Samir Kalra, Esq., Senior Director for the Hindu American Foundation. "This CDE textbook revision process has been a protracted effort to correct these inaccuracies. While we have voiced concerns about irregularities in the process, we also deeply appreciate the way this issue has engaged the Hindu American community in the civic process. There are nearly a million Indian and Hindu Americans who call California home, so it's important for them to see their cultural and religious heritage represented with accuracy and parity." About the process Since 2014, efforts by the Hindu American community have been underway to update the textbook framework put forth by the CDE, which currently reinforces cultural stereotypes and historical inaccuracies about Hinduism and India. This effort, supported by leading social science and religious scholars, is motivated by a desire for cultural competency and a fair accurate portrayal of Hinduism and Indian history. However, a different faction of scholars disagreed with the proposed changes and redacted some of them. On May 19, 2016 the CDE's Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) held a hearing during which it considered the edits line by line. The IQC ruled largely in favor of the Hindu American community's edits. In July, a final decision will be reached, and a final draft of the framework will be created. "Hinduism should be represented in California K-12 textbooks in a manner comparable to other religions fairly, accurately and equitably," said Barbara A. McGraw, J.D., Ph.D., Director, Center for Engaged Religious Pluralism, Saint Mary's College of California. "This debate concerns a teaching document for K-12 teachers. It should not create unnecessary obstacles for a more constructive understanding of the Indian subcontinent and the world's third largest religion. In this regard, ironically, the South Asia Faculty Group's attempt to nuance Indian history caused the opposite effect. Robust academic debate about the politics of India are welcome, but that debate is not appropriately addressed in a K-12 textbook Framework narrative in California. Luckily, some of yesterday's decisions reflect that thinking." Testimony was emotionally charged at times, with Hindu students testifying about feeling like their identities and heritage were under attack; Dalits shared the pain of being victims of caste-based discrimination. "We have nothing but the utmost sympathy and respect for the victims of caste discrimination who spoke about their experiences at the hearing," added Murali Balaji, the Hindu American Foundation's Director of Education. "The Foundation respects the right for Dalits to self-define." Hindu organizations and scholar groups were particularly critical of the South Asia Faculty Group's recommendation to remove mention of two of Hinduism's most respected sages, Valmiki and Vyasa, who hailed from disadvantaged communities. "As a Shudra [disadvantaged community], I am really proud that our collective efforts were able to bring the contributions of Sage Vyasa and Sage Valmiki back into the Framework," said Sandeep Dedage, California Coordinator for the Hindu Education Foundation. "We're also pleased that the academically questionable recommendation of the South Asia Faculty Group to replace 'India' with 'South Asia' was also rejected." A final decision on this matter will be reached in July, and a final draft of the framework will be created. For more information on HAF, please visit www.hafsite.org. About the Hindu American Foundation The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) is an advocacy organization for the Hindu American community. The Foundation educates the public about Hinduism, speaks out about issues affecting Hindus worldwide, and builds bridges with institutions and individuals whose work aligns with HAF's objectives. HAF focuses on human and civil rights, public policy, media, academia, and interfaith relations. Through its advocacy efforts, HAF seeks to cultivate leaders and empower future generations of Hindu Americans. The Hindu American Foundation is not affiliated with any religious or political organizations or entities. HAF seeks to serve Hindu Americans across all sampradayas (Hindu religious traditions) regardless of race, color, national origin, citizenship, caste, gender, sexual orientation, age and/or disability. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160520005165/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 19, 2016] SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Rigrodsky & Long, P.A. Announces Investigation Of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. Buyout Rigrodsky & Long, P.A.: Do you own shares of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD )? Did you purchase any of your shares prior to May 9, 2016? Do you think the proposed buyout price is too low? Do you want to discuss your rights? Rigrodsky & Long, P.A. announces that it is investigating potential legal claims against the board of directors of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. ("Krispy Kreme" or the "Company") (NYSE: KKD) regarding possible breaches of fiduciary duties and other violations of law related to the Company's entry into an agreement to be acquired by JAB Beech Inc. ("JAB"), in a transaction valued at approximately $1.35 billion. Click here to learn more: http://rigrodskylong.com/investigations/krispy-kreme-doughnuts-inc-kkd. Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders of Krispy Kreme will receive $21.00 in cash for each share of Krispy Kreme common stock. The investigation concerns whether Krispy Kreme's board of directors failed to adequately shop the Company and obtain the best possible value for Krispy Kreme shareholders before entering into an agreement with JAB. According to Yahoo! Finance, at least one analyst has issued a price target for Krispy Kreme stock at $24.00 per share. If you own the common stock of Krispy Kreme and purchased your shares before May 9, 2016, if you have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or if you wish to discuss these matters or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Seth D. Rigrodsky or Gina M. Serra at Rigrodsky & Long, P.A., 2 Righter Parkway, Suite 120, Wilmington, DE 19803, by telephone at (888) 969-4242; by e-mail to [email protected], or at: http://rigrodskylong.com/investigations/krispy-kreme-doughnuts-inc-kkd. Rigrodsky & Long, P.A., with offices in Wilmington, Delaware and Garden City, New York, regularly prosecutes securities class, derivative and direct actions, shareholder rights litigation and corporate governance litigation, on behalf of shareholders in states and federal courts throughout the United States. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160519006617/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 20, 2016] Two IIM Graduates Take the Milkman Route to Solve the Challenges of $70 Billion Indian Dairy Industry GURGAON, India, May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Country Delight was started by Chakradhar Gade and Nitin Kaushal, a couple of IIM graduates (IIM Indore batch of 2007) who left their bright corporate careers to solve a very basic but prevalent problem - artificial and adulterated milk. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160520/10146652 ) Country Delight promises natural, fresh and unadulterated milk directly to the doorstep of the consumer. Consumer ordering and servicing happens through a first-of-its-kind mobile application that completely takes away the hassle of managing ones milk requirements. On how and why they started this, Chakradhar Gade said, "We saw a clear problem to solve, a huge industry to tap into and a sustainable business model that we could scale using technology." As Indians, we love the idea of fresh milk daily. The idea of getting fresh milk is integral to our heritage and we all look back fondly to our visits to our native towns and villages. However, it's seen that the quality of milk that gets delivered to homes is far inferior to what we expect, is of an indeterminate age, reconstituted with milk powder and has questionable storage practices. Nitin Kaushal, who has previously worked in the ITC e-choupal initiative, explained, "We realized that the Indian liquid milk market, despite being such a large nd old industry, is devoid of any innovation and follows very unscientific practices. For example, at the initial levels of aggregation, most of the milk testing is still done by tasting it. Imagine - the milk delivered to your doorstep is checked on the judgement of someone who has tasted it." He said, "For us the mission at Country Delight is to deliver natural, fresh and unadulterated milk. Natural means straight from the farm with no addition of milk powder or preservatives. Fresh means that the milk reaches the consumer in 24-48 hours of milking. Unadulterated means scientific quality testing of milk for adulteration at every stage, and a strict no to the commonly used practice of Organoleptic (oral tasting) for accepting milk. All this quality promise of Country Delight is with the added convenience of home delivery to the consumer." "Our business model is subscription-based where a consumer orders once and is served on a daily basis. On the mobile application, consumers can set their daily/alternate day milk subscription plans as per their requirement. In addition, the consumer can also mark vacations when going for a holidays and pay milk bills through the app," said Chakradhar. "The mobile app is a scalable way of acquiring consumers and also gives us the ability to cross-sell value-added products such as paneer, curd and ghee," Chakradhar further explained. "We deliver on our promise with the help of our strong network of farmers who we invest in, and our network of local entrepreneurs who deliver milk to the consumer's households. This has created a three-way win for our consumers, farmers and local entrepreneurs helping us create a scalable ecosystem that benefits the community," said Nitin. For its sourcing, Country Delight engages directly with the farmer, eliminating all middle men, pays the farmer a premium for his milk, follows ethical procurement practices, invests in cold chain and quality testing infrastructure at the farmer's location, and improves the working capital cycle of the farmer by paying him earlier as compared to others. Essentially, the business empowers the farmer to grow and to give the right product. For its delivery, Country Delight works with local low income entrepreneurs who work part time for 3-4 hours in the morning, delivering milk to the consumers. The regular income that they receive from these 3-4 hours of work ensures that the fixed expenses of their businesses are taken care of, leaving the remaining part of the day for their savings. On current business and scaling up, Nitin said, "All the key components of our business are in place. We are currently a profitable business and are growing organically at 15% every month. NCR is a huge market with about 3.6 million households. Our first target is to reach 100,000 households in the NCR region (~3% of the market). As we reach this, we would start replicating the same model in the top nine cities of the country." Media Contact: Chakradhar Gade [email protected] +91-9958340991 Co-founder, Country Delight [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 20, 2016] Chegg Reaches More Than 40 Million Students SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Chegg, Inc. (NYSE: CHGG), the Student Hub, today announced that with the acquisition of Imagine Easy Solutions, Chegg now reaches more than 40 million students annually. Prior to the acquisition, Chegg already reached more than half of all U.S. college students. Imagine Easy Solutions, which is best known for popular writing help services like EasyBib.com, BibMe.com and others, had more than 7 million unique users in March of 2016 with an average session length of more than eight minutes. Chegg acquired Imagine Easy on May 1, 2016. Some relevant statistics on the combined reach and engagement for Chegg with Imagine Easy Solutions: ul type="disc"> 21 million+: Chegg annual reach (pre-acquisition)* 29 million+: Imagine Easy annual reach (pre-acquisition)* 40 million+: Combined reach (with 11 million shared unique visitors)* 79%: Chegg Study monthly subscriber renewal rate for all of 2015 27%: Growth in paid tutoring minutes for Q1 2016 7.5 million: Unique textbook solutions viewed in 2015 1.5 million: Questions asked and answered in 2015 3.8 million+: Questions viewed in 2015 81 million+: Jobs or internships viewed in 2015 6 million: Textbooks delivered in 2015 8 minutes+: Average session time of Imagine Easy users 4 billion: Combined page views of Chegg.com and Imagine Easy Solutions in 2015* 1.4 billion: Student-created citations using Imagine Easy Solution's writing tools [email protected] . ABOUT CHEGG Chegg puts students first. As the leading student-first connected learning platform, the company makes higher education more affordable, more accessible, and more successful for students. Chegg is a publicly-held company based in Santa Clara, California and trades on the NYSE under the symbol CHGG. For more information, visit www.chegg.com. *ComScore U.S. Unique Visitors, April 2015 March 2016 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140116/NY47534LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chegg-reaches-more-than-40-million-students-300272254.html SOURCE Chegg, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 20, 2016] VTech Receives 19 Coveted Industry Awards Honoring New Spring Toys CHICAGO, May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today VTech announced toys from its Baby, Infant and Preschool, Go! Go! Smart and Baby Amaze product lines won numerous awards from respected toy and parenting industry experts and toy councils. The On-the-Moove Activity Bar, Count & Learn Turtle, Crinkle & Roar Lion and Zoo Jamz Microphone all collected multiple awards, while the Sleepy Lullabies Bear Projector, Go! Go! Smart Animals Furry Animal Assortment, Go! Go! Smart Wheels Vehicle Assortment and Baby Amaze 3-in-1 Care & Learn Stroller were also honored with accolades. "We are proud to once again receive significant recognition from numerous distinguished award programs and industry experts," said William To, President, VTech Electronics North America. "They are an indication of our strong 2016 spring line-up that reflects VTech's ongoing commitment to creating engaging, educational and developmental toys that deliver exceptional experiences to children." Additional details about VTech's award-winning products can be found at www.vtechkids.com. The complete list of VTech's 2016 awards includes: Baby, Infant and Preschool On-the-Moove Activity Bar Toy Insider Spring/Summer Gift Guide The National Parenting Center (TNPC) Seal of Approval Tillywig Toy & Media Awards Play Advances Language (PAL) Award Count & Learn Turtle Toy Insider Spring/Summer Gift Guide The National Parenting Center (TNPC) Sealof Approval Tillywig Toy & Media Awards Play Advances Language (PAL) Award Toy Insider Spring/Summer Gift Guide The National Parenting Center (TNPC) Seal of Approval Tillywig Toy & Media Awards Play Advances Language (PAL) Award Zoo Jamz Microphone Tillywig Toy & Media Awards Play Advances Language (PAL) Award Sleepy Lullabies Bear Projector Play Advances Language (PAL) Award Baby Amaze Baby Amaze 3-in-1 Care & Learn Stroller Play Advances Language (PAL) Award Go! Go! Smart Go! Go! Smart Animals Furry Animal Assortment Toy Insider Spring/Summer Gift Guide Play Advances Language (PAL) Award Go! Go! Smart Wheels Vehicle Assortment Toy Insider Spring/Summer Gift Guide About VTech VTech is a world leader in age-appropriate and developmental stage-based electronic learning products for children. As a pioneer in the learning toy category, VTech develops high-quality, innovative educational products that enrich children's development and make learning fun. With a rich, more than 35 year history, VTech has not only established itself as a learning authority but also consistently remains at the forefront of innovation with multiple award-winning products. The company also has a broad range of award-winning infant and preschool products available in 24 different languages worldwide, with more than 100 new products introduced every year. VTech was awarded a prestigious 2015 Toy of The Year (TOTY) Award for its Go! Go! Smart Animals Zoo Explorers Playset. In order to further strengthen VTech's position as a learning authority, the company's Expert Panel, with esteemed experts in reading, language arts, science, math, and child development, consult on new product introductions. VTech Electronics North America, LLC is based in Arlington Heights, Illinois. VTech Electronics Limited is headquartered in Hong Kong with distribution globally. For more information on VTech's additional product lines, visit www.VTechKids.com, www.facebook.com/VTechtoys on Facebook or follow @VTechToys on Twitter. Media Contact: Nicole Centinaro Coyne Public Relations 973-588-2000 [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150528/219139LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vtech-receives-19-coveted-industry-awards-honoring-new-spring-toys-300272260.html SOURCE VTech [May 20, 2016] Doctor Evidence to Provide CVS Health with Reliable Evidence Analyses to Support Formulary Decisions and Policies SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Doctor Evidence, a global medical evidence software and services company, announced this week that the company will be working with CVS Health to help support evidence gathering for the formulary decision-making process. As part of an ongoing effort to provide the greatest value to its clients and their members, CVS Health has identified Doctor Evidence as an organization whose adherence to the highest methodological criteria will bring increased agility to its formulary process. With the rapid advancement of health technologies and specialty therapies, Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committees are faced with a deluge of evidence, and short time frames for synthesis and review when considering coverage for expanded indications or introducing new therapies. Doctor Evidence's best-in-class tools help ensure the highest quality and most current evidence is available for these committees. Through GROWTH (Guidelines & Research Organizations Worldwide for Transparency & Harmonization, GROWTHevidence.com), Doctor Evidence will provide the CVS Caremark National Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee with diital data and tools to efficiently perform comparative effectiveness research using the highly sophisticated analytics available within the Doctor Evidence platforms. "Doctor Evidence is pleased to be working with CVS Health to support their efforts to ensure the most current and relevant data is readily available to their P&T Committee," affirmed Robert Battista, MBA, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Doctor Evidence. "Doctor Evidence will bring the highest quality research evidence to bear and we strongly encourage manufacturers of new or modified treatments to ensure their published studies are represented in the Doctor Evidence library." About Doctor Evidence Doctor Evidence, LLC, founded in 2004, is a leader in technological solutions for evidence-based medicine reviews and analysis with a mission to provide stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem with the most timely and relevant medical evidence and related analytics to make and inform the best clinical decisions. Doctor Evidence is best known for its proprietary Digital Outcome Conversion (DOC) platform and its rigorous methodology of extracting clinical data from static, unstructured sources, including published studies, epidemiological databases, drug label and creating dynamic, scientifically-curated data hubs. The digitized data can be pooled and analyzed to support the development of evidence-based clinical practice guideline recommendations, systematic reviews, and health technology assessments, regulatory and policy submissions. The company's goal is to support efforts of healthcare providers, healthcare professionals and patients to gain access to important evidence-based knowledge and to improve the health and wellbeing of patients worldwide. Doctor Evidence is a global company headquartered in Santa Monica, California. For more information on Doctor Evidence innovations, please visit http://www.drevidence.com and http://growthevidence.com/. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150528/219224LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/doctor-evidence-to-provide-cvs-health-with-reliable-evidence-analyses-to-support-formulary-decisions-and-policies-300272661.html SOURCE Doctor Evidence [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] What you need to know about Powerball and the $610 million jackpot Google Pixel 7 features coming to Pixel 6 heres what to expect Google has announced that the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are getting some of the Pixel 7s new features, and older Pixel phones are even getting a few updates. Here's what we know so far. ESET NOD32 Antivirus has a clean, easy-to-use interface and a light system load. Too bad its malware protection is average at best. Today's best ESET NOD32 Antivirus 2016 deals (opens in new tab) ESET NOD32 (opens in new tab) $39.99 /year (opens in new tab) View (opens in new tab) at ESET (opens in new tab) With one of the simplest and most straightforward interfaces of all antivirus products and a very light impact upon Windows PCs, ESET NOD32 Antivirus is a joy to use. But it provides only mediocre protection against malware, and has few useful extra features. Costs and What's Covered For those unusual people who have just one computer, a single-PC ESET NOD32 Antivirus license costs $40 a year. For three PCs, it's $60 per year, though discounts can sometimes be found online. These are standard prices for no-frills antivirus products, although BullGuard Antivirus costs $30 for a single-user yearly license, and F-Secure Anti-Virus has a three-for-one deal at $40. ESET NOD32 Antivirus subscription options: ESET NOD32 Antivirus for $39.99 per year (opens in new tab) ESET has two higher-tier Windows products that offer the same malware protection as NOD32 Antivirus, but with extra features. Smart Security (opens in new tab) adds a secure web browser, parental controls, a personal firewall and the company's anti-spam filter, and also lets you track a lost or stolen device. It costs $60 to protect one PC for a year, or $80 to protect three. ESET Multi-Device Security (opens in new tab) doesn't add many features, but covers up to 10 Windows, Mac or Android devices with a single license. It gives you an online account to manage the security settings of all your devices. Multi-Device Security costs $85 per year for six devices, or $100 for 10 devices. As with the other packages, there's a discount for two-year subscriptions. ESET takes cybersecurity seriously, and has a nice series of educational and instructional videos (opens in new tab) for paid subscribers that show you how to create safe passwords, use the Internet safely, protect your data and so on. These should be required viewing for children and parents alike. You're meant to log in with an ESET product key to see the videos, but we found and viewed them with a simple Google search. MORE: Best Antivirus Software Antivirus Protection ESET NOD32 Antivirus offers the standard three layers of malware protection: signature matching, behavioral monitoring and online analysis of new files. The company touts additional defenses, including an anti-phishing feature to block dodgy websites, an exploit blocker to ferret out hard-to-detect malware and a memory scanner, but most good Windows antivirus programs have similar features. For more advanced users, there's a built-in host-based intrusion prevention system (HIPS), a feature commonly found in enterprise security software. It's sort of a supercharged behavioral and signature-based malware scanner, and will train itself to learn about your PC and its users to optimize protection. The HIPS can be turned on or off, but be forewarned that it will give you a lot of alerts, at least for the first few weeks. LiveGrid is an online malware-analysis system to which ESET's 100-million users send up suspect code, and that quickly sends back updates. You can opt out of LiveGrid if you'd rather not share system information. ESET NOD32 Antivirus' main window lets you get to a scan in two clicks, and you can customize the scanner to target specific drives and set it up to automatically scan inserted USB thumb drives or SD cards. You can set ESET's Smart Optimization to ignore items considered safe in previous scans. The program examines email attachments, but there's no sandbox to try out a suspicious program without endangering the rest of the system. However, it does scan files while they're still downloading. The next time you fire up League of Legends, you can flip on NOD32 Antivirus' Gamer Mode, which reduces user interruptions by delaying all non-essential alerts and updates. NOD32 Antivirus lets you schedule daily or weekly scans of the system or a single drive, but you'll have to set up the scans as tasks. This lends a lot of flexibility and power, but the process's complexity may turn off many users. Like many other basic antivirus products, ESET NOD32 Antivirus lacks its own firewall. It uses Microsoft's instead, but you can't manage that from the ESET interface. Antivirus Performance Overall ESET's anti-malware engine provided, at best, only mediocre defense against malware. Based on thorough tests by the European independent evaluation labs AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives, the software was better at dealing with widespread, known malware than it was at detecting previously unseen zero-day malware. In the charts below, we've compared ESET's malware protection against those of two brands that frequently top our rankings. AV-TEST found that ESET Smart Security (which uses the same malware engine as NOD32 Antivirus) stopped only 95.1 percent of zero-day attacks in Windows 10 tests conducted in September 2015. ESET redeemed itself with a perfect 100-percent score against zero-day malware in October. Against widespread malware, ESET did much better, achieving respectable 99.4- and 99.8-percent effectiveness scores in the same two months of Windows 10 tests. In each month, it registered one false positive, or benign file mistakenly identified as malware, which is not unusual. ESET's performance in AV-TEST's most recent Windows 8.1 evaluations was worse. It stopped 92.5 percent of zero-day malware in November 2015, and 98.3 percent in December. Its 99.5- and 99.7-percent scores against widespread malware in those same months were better, and similar to the Windows 8.1 average of 99 percent. It racked up five false positives over both months not great, but apparently the category average. Only in Windows 7 tests run by AV-TEST in January and February 2016 did ESET rise above average in all categories, though it was never quite perfect. It stopped 97.3 percent of zero-day malware in the first month, and 97.1 percent in the second. Against widespread malware, it was 99.8- and 99.9-percent effective. There were no false positives in either month. Finally, in AV-Comparatives' most recent "real-world" tests involving the latest online malware, ESET found 97.5 percent of malware in February 2016, and 99.3 percent in March. In each month, it turned up a single false positive much better than most of the other antivirus products we tested. MORE: Antivirus Software Buying Guide Performance and System Impact We tested the performance of ESET NOD32 Antivirus on an Asus X555LA notebook with an Intel Core i3-4005U processor, 6GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive holding 36GB of data. The machine had been upgraded from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. Overall, NOD32 Antivirus is a lightweight program that didn't impact our system's performance in any major way. After installing the program, but with no scans running, it took 7 minutes and 5 seconds to run our custom OpenOffice performance test, which matches 20,000 names and addresses on a spreadsheet. That completion time was only 14 seconds longer than the baseline we established for the test before installation of any antivirus software, and indicates a very minimal passive system impact of only 3.4 percent. (Modern antivirus software is always actively checking files behind the scenes.) While actively scanning, NOD32 Antivirus also had a minor impact on performance. The OpenOffice test finished in 7:25, or 8.3 percent slower, during a full scan, and 7:21, or 7.3 percent slower, during a quick scan. These are among the best active-scan system-performance scores we've seen. ESET NOD32 Antivirus took its time scanning, taking 43 minutes and 25 seconds to go through our entire system. But because it has such a light system impact, most users won't notice. On the other hand, ESET's 40-second quick scan was quite fast. Interface If you're into robots, ESET is for you. The company's handsome android mascot is accompanied by a status-indicator bar on the main page of the interface. The bar is green with a checkmark if everything is OK, but turns yellow or red when you need to intervene. From NOD32 Antivirus's Home screen, all adjustments are at most two clicks away. There are links on the left to other pages: Computer Scan, Update, Tools and Setup, as well as Help and Support. NOD32 Antivirus' Tools section is a cornucopia holding everything from log files and statistics to the Scheduler and a place to send in suspect files. It includes the SysInspector, which shows running processes with an appraisal of how dangerous they might be, as well as a rolling bar graph of file activity, which can be an early indicator of an attack. If your system is cluttered with all sorts of malware, NOD32 Antivirus provides an onscreen link to download and install ESET's SysRescue Live bootable disk image. It can be loaded onto a CD or thumb drive to refresh your system. Installation and Support ESET NOD32 Antivirus gets going quickly. It took us just 3 minutes and 50 seconds to download and install the program. You'll need to decide whether to participate in the company's LiveGrid online malware-sample-collection program; don't worry, you can opt out later. The company has email, online and phone support, but you can speak to a technician only Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Pacific time, and the support line is not a toll-free number. You can also search or scroll through the database or consult the forum. Bottom Line ESET NOD32 Antivirus may not be the best at catching rogue software, but it does provide a basic level of protection while being easy to use and having a minimal impact on system performance. But in this price range, we recommend Bitdefender Antivirus Plus or Avira Antivirus Pro, which combine light system loads with top-notch malware protection. By now youve heard the buzz around Kanyes appearance on Ellen. The haters just couldnt wait to go in on the guy after this. Kanye west goes crazy on Ellen Watch loony Kanye loose it in ridiculous rant Ellen horrified by cray Kanye Are they kidding? How can people hate this guy? All hes got is love. Its so surface to think oh hes so arrogant he says hes a god dont they get it? Hes showing the power of what can be achieved if you believe in yourself. When he calls himself a god he means we are all gods, and I dont need to dig through archives of interviews where he states this, fuck, he doesnt need to. The true revolutionaries lead by example, and his example is, to put it simply, be yourself and spread some damn love. Spread love to others and spread it to yourself which he does in bucket loads. In a world full of magazine headlines and ad campaigns designed to make you feel like shit and fill that self-loathing void with material stuff, a guy like Kanye is a breath of fresh air. He doesnt give a shit about what you think if he did he wouldnt do what he does. And thats the point, you shouldnt care about what other people think either. Just do you and dont let others perception of that affect how you go about your life. Fuck the shackles of what other people perceive you as, if you are concerned with such things then I assure you, you will never break free of the psychological prison you have placed yourself in. were one race the human race one civilisation Dont tell me about being likable, he says in the clip. We got a hundred years here, were one race the human race one civilisation. Were a blip in the existence of the universe, and we constantly try to pull each other down, not doing things to help each other. He has a damn point. Kanye West doesnt have a filter. I personally dig the shit out of that. Kanye calls himself a god. Hurr durr what an ego the guy has. Just stop and wake up to the fact that we are all gods. We are. We all shape our own lives, and self-belief is the first step to succeeding in whatever you want to do. Theres an old saying: There are two men, one who says he cant and one who says he can both are usually right. Now watch this the full rant not just a cherry picked 30 second clip that makes him out to have lost his mind. Sit down, watch it, and feel the guys passion. SORRY DAYTIME TELEVISION, sorry for the realness. Lyrics to Cant Tell Me Nothing (Released 2007) I had a dream I can buy my way to heaven When I awoke, I spent that on a necklace. I told God Id be back in a second, Man its so hard not to act reckless. To whom much is given much is tested. Get arrested, guess until, they get the message. I feel the pressure, under more scrutiny, and what I do? Act more stupidly. bought more jewelry, more Louis V, my momma couldnt get through to me. The drama, people suing me, Im on T.V. talking like its just you and me. Im on T.V. talking like its just you and me. Kanye spends a minuscule amount looking at Ellen. Instead he directs his gaze at you, the viewer. He is trying as hard as he can to reach as many people as he can on a personal level. He believes his message is bigger than him. Subsequently causing a divide, those who feel it love him, those who are closed to it label him nuts. Im just saying how I feel man, I guess the money shouldve changed him, I guess I shouldve forgot where I came from. [include_post id=469195]Im just saying how I feel man. Thats all it is, hes just being real. Its pretty heavy thats how scared we are of realness or even trying to attempt to reach it; weve gotta pull a brother down. Fuck that, dont buy into it. Fuck the negative headlines. I respect Kanye as an artist and a person. Back in 2004, Kanye West was already making a mark on the hip-hop world. He produced some dope tracks on Jay-Zs album The Blueprint, and had some production credits on iconic shit like Fabolous My Life and Talib Kwelis Get By. Also in 2004, Kanye appeared on Def Poetry Jam, a spoken word poetry television series hosted by Mos Def. From Chicago, Illinois, please give it up for the future of hip hop, Kanye West! shouts Mos Def as he introduces Kanye to a crowd that barely recognises him. A lot can change in a decade. Still, even back then, Kanye was real. For a guy with such a supposedly huge ego to risk his rep by fake stuttering his way through a performance the way he did just proved the guy was always onto it. His self confidence allowed him to play a character with none, delivering a perfectly hesitant rendition as the protagonist to Self Conscious and keep in mind he did this knowing it would be many peoples first impression of Kanye. Fuck the ego, let them think what they want. The art comes first. Watch it here and tell me you didnt just gain more respect for the bloke. And fuck the besmirching headlines. You can follow author David Allegretti on Twitter at @davidallegretti. "Mike Shanin interviews Mike McShane, Director of Education Policy for the Show Me Institute, about his book Educational Entrepreneurship Today. Then Lisa Johnston, Steve Glorioso, Cynthia Wheeler and Woody Cozad recap the Missouri legislative session, discuss potential candidates for the 2018 race for Kansas governor and analyze new plans for Kemper Arena and the American Royal." Figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau confirm that. The citys estimated 2015 population is 117,225, up just 0.36 percent since the 2010 census. Independence had been No. 4 in Missouri for decades. Columbia continues the rapid growth its experience for decades. Its 2015 estimate is 119,108, up 9.78 percent since 2010. Mayor Weir said getting growth going again takes a combination of good schools, jobs and housing. Those are all things Ive certainly been focused on since joining the City Council, she said. LIKE IT OR NOT, INDEPENDENCE GETS MORE THAN ITS SHARE OF SPILLOVER CRIME FROM KANSAS CITY PROPER THAT COULD BE INSPIRING THIS EXODUS!!! The latest census numbers revealfor the very worst town neighboring Kansas City.Checkit . . .Deets:Not so fun fact . . .Either way, while there are a few nice parts of this enclave worth visiting (I guess) . . . It's clear that this part of the metro failing to keep up with population numbers might be the start of a troubling trend for inner-suburban communities throughout the metro.Developing . . . New York Times - Airport Security: Whats Behind the Backups KANSAS CITY'S OLD SCHOOL CONVENIENT HAS AVERTED THIS CRISIS THANKS, IN PART, TO BETTER DESIGN!!! REMEMBER WHEN SOUTHWEST SAID THEY COULDN'T EXPAND THEIR SERVICE IN KANSAS CITY WITHOUT A NEW TERMINAL??? NOW THERE'S WORD THAT THEY'RE EXPANDING @ MCI AFTER ALL!!! Undoubtedly, news watchers have noticed the controversy over massive long lines at airports blamed on the TSA.However . . .Admittedly, flyover country isn't a crowded destination like bigger cities besieged by horrible wait times.Still . . . This crisis averted in Kansas City is confirmation of voices that wanted to save KCI are correct.Check the crowing from the Show-Me guys today . . .Even better . . .And, like it or not, the old school design has proven to be more capable and beloved by the voting public than anything City Hall was able to present . . . So far.Developing . . . Greek Tourism has demonstrated resilience in terms of gross profit margin in 2014 compared to pre-crisis 2008, according to a business services group ICAP report Greek Tourism has demonstrated resilience in terms of gross profit margin in 2014 compared to pre-crisis 2008, according to a business services group ICAP report published on Wednesday. The report examines the evolution of company size and results in all sectors through their published balance sheets during the 2008-2014 period and concludes that the ongoing economic crisis in Greece has led to the decline of business activity in terms of figures and growth. ICAP notes that 2014 marked the end of a downward spiral in tourism since 2009 with total sales dropping by an average annual rate of 2.1 percent between 2008-2014 and reaching 5.4 billion euros in 2014, when the sector returned to profitability, with record profit before tax at 207 million euros. Adaptability to the new conditions is the main reason for its competitiveness in the given economic climate and, as a result,gross profit margin improved from 22.26 percent in 2008 to 25.91 percent in 2014, due to cost cuts and strong growth in tourist arrivals Major financial developments in tourist enterprises during the period 2008-2015, are as follows: Total assets decreased by an average annual rate of 2.8% in the period 2008-2015 and stood at 17.3 billion. Total equity decreased by an 1.8% average annual rate in the period 2008-2014 and was limited to 8.4 billion in 2014. As regards the total bank lending (medium to long-term liabilities and short-term debts to banks), funding decreased with an average annual rate of 4.5% in the 2008-2014 period. Total EBITDA earnings amounted to 1.2 billion in 2014, sharply increased in comparison to the corresponding 2008 profits, which showcases tourism as the only sector in the Greek economy attaining improvement. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report There is so much to see and experience in Greece, that it is quite typical to return to your home country after a holiday abroad, with blurred recollections of churches, museums and amazing photographs of ancients ruins adorned with local street cats to help you recant the adventure, according to greekreporter.com. Many people look to immortalize their vacations with souvenirs that bring their senses back to their Grecian holiday. As you return home having basked in the warm Mediterranean sun and having experienced the countrys rich ancient history, here are 10 items sure to make you nostalgic about Greece. Honey Honey is an essential part of every Greek kitchen and home. Many times you will see a Greek yiayia (grandma) offering a spoonful of honey to a young child, for honey is considered to be very healthy and symbolic in Greek culture as well. Whether you experience Greek honey in a desert or trickled over some Greek yogurt after a meal, this is one delight that you can easily purchase and take home with you. It also makes a wonderful gift. You can find honey in many different flavors, such as honey from bees having pollinated thyme and herbs or pine trees. Also there is a variety of honey that have nuts in them. Halvadopita and Loukoumi These are two sweets that travel well and have no problems getting through customs. Halvadopita is made of two wavers stuffed with a sweet cream nougat that contains honey and almonds. It is traditionally wrapped in white paper and costs only around 50 cents. A cheap and delicious treat! Also, loukoumi, known to many as Turkish delight, is a great sweet to purchase and pack away to indulge upon your return home. These traditional sweets can be found all over Greeces mainland and islands, however the island of Syros is perhaps one of the most famous. Loukoumi Denaxa is a well-known place to experience these authentic sweets. You can visit them online or in person at their storefront in Syros. Ouzo Traditional and decorative bottles of ouzo are a must have souvenir for anyone visiting Greece. The Greek spirit has a unique and strong taste of anise and is served cold on hot summer evenings. Some people mix it with water whilst others enjoy a straight shot before or after meals. Why not get a bottle-shaped as the goddess Athena or the Parthenon? After you return home and enjoy reminiscing your Greek holiday with friends and family, the decorative bottle is a keepsake you can display around your home. Mati, the Evil Eye When you are visiting Greece, you will see people wearing the eye everywhere. This is rooted in superstitions that refer to having a hex placed on you as having the evil eye, or mati. In Greek culture, it is believed that someone can cast the evil eye onto another person out of envy and jealousy. So, in order to avoid being matiasmeni, or having the evil eye cast upon you, Greeks wear the infamous eye charm as protection. Komboloi As you travel throughout Greece you will undoubtedly come across Greeks fiddling with a strand of beads, spinning them one way and then the other. Komboloi, also known as worry beads evolved from the Greek prayer rope, komboskini, although they have no religious function. They are a great way to relax and also makes a great gift. You can find jewelry with the eye and komboloi all over Greece as well as at EfiStore.com and Doromu.com. At these sites there are even more handmade varieties to choose from as well as the option to ship your purchase worldwide. Hand-carved Olive Wood Items Since Greece is abundant in olive trees, it should be of no surprise that there is an arts trade seeped in tradition of creating wooden items out of olive trees. Beautiful and unique, you can find everything from kitchen utensils to sculptures hand-carved from olive trees. In Crete there are some well known shops that sell these products, although you are sure to come across them in many villages, islands and even in Athens city center shops. Olive Oil and Products Made from Olive Oil Greek olive oil is at the heart of every Greek kitchen and is a natural product that Greeks are very proud of. Olive oil is used in many dishes, and can be found in cosmetics and beauty products as well. You can find natural soaps, gift boxes or a basic bottle of Greek olive oil to take back as a souvenir. There is something for everyone! Handmade Ceramic Replicas After you have fallen in love with the ruins and ancient artworks of Greece, why not purchase a handmade replica? This is the perfect way to enjoy memories of your Grecian holiday long after you have returned. There are many shops that sell ceramic plates, vases and sculptures that are exact replicas of the originals. Spice mixes made with dry herbs One of the easiest ways to flashback to your Greek holiday is to re-experience the amazing Greek food that you sampled. Of course, you might not be able to recreate the Greek masterpieces exactly, but by purchasing spice packets and herbs that are prepackaged for specific dishes, you might come close! You can find local herb and spice packages everywhere throughout Greece, as the traditional seasonings are a very important part of the Greek cuisine culture. Tapestries Leave Greece with a beautiful traditional tapestry to adorn your walls. There are many stores throughout the islands and well as mainland that sell tapestries that have design and colors representing local customs. These unique art pieces are easy to transfer home with you in your luggage, or if you purchase a larger one, the shops will arrange shipment details for you. When you look at it on your wall, you are sure to be reminded of beautiful Greece! Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Tourexpi, turizm haberleri, Reiseburos, tourism news, noticias de turismo, Tourismus Nachrichten, , travel tourism news, international tourism news, Urlaub, urlaub in der turkei, , holidays in Turkey, , global tourism news, dunya turizm, dunya turizm haberleri, Seyahat Acentas, This site is best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0+, at a minimum screen resolution of 1024 x 768. Soon, the worlds first Camille Claudel museum will be inaugurated in Nogent-sur-Seine, the city where the artist, still an adolescent, met the sculptor Alfred Boucher in 1874 and whose support was determinant for her future. This museum will be in the scope of this world known artist whose talent was revealed during her youth in Nogent sur Seine, at the end of 19th century. The worlds most important collection of the artist will be presented with 42 pieces. In the museum, visitors will also discover the work of local artists, along with pieces by Paul Dubois or Alfred Boucher, and deposits of Auguste Rodins work. The two artists' confrontation of art pieces around the same themes illustrates the evolution of Camille Claudel inside Rodins atelier, from influence, to osmosis, to detachment, explains Marine Musset of Aube-Champagne CDT. Simultaneously, the museum's permanent exhibit of sculptures, with some monumental ones, from the late 19th century to World War I, sheds light on the artistic context in which Camille Claudel trained, evolved and affirmed herself. Egypt said the disappearance from radar of an EgyptAir jet carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo over the Mediterranean may have been caused by a terrorist attack. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to rule out any explanation for the crash, including an attack like the one blamed for bringing down a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula last year. The country's aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure. The Egyptian civil aviation ministry initially said Greek authorities had found "floating material" and life jackets likely to be from the plane, an Airbus A320. However, late on Thursday EgyptAir Vice President Ahmed Adel told CNN that the wreckage had not been found. "We stand corrected on finding the wreckage because what we identified is not a part of our plane. So the search and rescue is still going on," Adel said. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the civil aviation ministry, the army's search and rescue centre, the navy, and the air force to take all necessary measures to locate debris from the aircraft. In a statement issued by his office, Sisi also ordered an investigative committee formed by the civil aviation ministry to immediately start investigating the causes of the plane's disappearance. Officials from multiple US agencies told Reuters that a US review of satellite imagery so far had not produced any signs of an explosion aboard the EgyptAir flight. The US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the conclusion was the result of a preliminary examination of imagery and cautioned against media reports suggesting the US believed a bomb was responsible for the crash. They said the US has not ruled out any possible causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew. Amid uncertainty about what downed the plane, Los Angeles International Airport became the first major US air transportation hub to say it was stepping up security measures. "In light of the disappearance of EgyptAir Flight MS804, we have heightened our security posture and enhanced our counter-terrorism security measures," the Los Angeles Airport Police said in a statement. Greece had deployed aircraft and a frigate to search for the missing plane. Egypt said it would lead the investigation and France would participate. Paris said three investigators would arrive in Egypt on Thursday evening. In Washington, President Barack Obama received a briefing on the disappearance from his adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism, the White House said. A White House spokesman said it was too early to know the cause of the crash and offered condolences. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the Airbus swerved 90 degrees to the left, spun through 360 degrees to the right and plunged from 37,000 feet to 15,000 before vanishing from Greek radar screens. According to Greece's civil aviation chief, calls from Greek air traffic controllers to flight MS804 went unanswered just before it left Greek airspace, and it disappeared from radar screens soon afterwards. There was no official indication of a possible cause, whether technical failure, human error or sabotage. Ultra-hardline Islamists have targeted airports, airliners and tourist sites in Europe, Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries over the past few years. Asked if he could rule out terrorist involvement, the Egyptian premier told reporters: "We cannot exclude anything at this time or confirm anything. All the search operations must be concluded so we can know the cause." French President Francois Hollande also said the cause was unknown. "No hypothesis can be ruled out, nor can any be favoured over another." The aircraft was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew, EgyptAir said. They included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals, along with citizens of 10 other countries. The Canadian government said on Thursday two Canadian citizens were aboard and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said Canadian officials were working with authorities to confirm if any other Canadians were on the flight. A man identified as an Australian-UK dual national was also aboard, according to the Australian government. The US State Department said there was no indication that American citizens were on board. "LIVES ARE SO CHEAP" At Cairo airport, a man sat on a brown leather couch crying with his hands covering his face. "How long will Egypt live if human lives are so cheap?" he said. The mother of a flight attendant rushed out of the VIP hall where families waited in tears. She said the last time her daughter called her was Wednesday night. "They haven't told us anything," she said. Some relatives tried to beat up a photographer working for EgyptAir who took several pictures of the families waiting in the hall. Security officials intervened and escorted him out. With its archaeological sites and Red Sea resorts, Egypt is a traditional destination for Western tourists. But the industry has been badly hit by the downing of a Russian Metrojet flight last October, in which all 224 people on board were killed, as well as by an Islamist insurgency and a string of bomb attacks. A320s normally seat 150, which means the EgyptAir plane was barely a third full. Greek air traffic controllers spoke to the pilot as the jet flew over the island of Kea, in what was thought to be the last broadcast from the aircraft, and no problems were reported. But just ahead of the handover to Egyptian controllers, calls to the plane went unanswered. "About seven miles before the aircraft entered the Cairo airspace, Greek controllers tried to contact the pilot but he was not responding," said Kostas Litzerakis, head of Greece's civil aviation department. Shortly after exiting Greek airspace, it disappeared from radars, he said. In Paris, a police source said investigators were interviewing officers who were on duty at Roissy airport on Wednesday evening to find out whether they heard or saw anything suspicious. "We are in the early stage here," the source said. Airbus said the missing A320 was delivered to EgyptAir in November 2003 and had operated about 48,000 flight hours. The missing flight's pilot had clocked up to 6,275 hours of flying experience, including 2,101 hours on the A320, while the first officer had 2,766 hours, EgyptAir said. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the US House Intelligence Committee, said no conclusions could be drawn yet but terrorism was a very possible cause. "If terrorism was indeed the cause, it would reveal a whole new level of vulnerability to aircraft - not only from those flights originating in the Middle East, but to those departing from the heart of Europe and with, at least in theory, far better airport defences," he said. Other countries offered to help in the investigation, including the US, where engine maker Pratt & Whitney is based. Russia and Western governments have said the Metrojet plane that crashed on October 31 was probably brought down by a bomb, and the Islamic State militant group said it had smuggled an explosive device on board. That crash called into question Egypt's campaign to contain Islamist violence. Militants have stepped up attacks on Egyptian soldiers and police since Sisi, then serving as army chief, toppled elected president Mohamed Mursi, an Islamist, in 2013 after mass protests against his rule. In March, an EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus by a man with what authorities said was a fake suicide belt. He was arrested after giving himself up. EgyptAir has a fleet of 57 Airbus and Boeing jets, including 15 of the Airbus A320 family of aircraft, according to airfleets.com. - Reuters Egypt said on Friday that its navy had found human remains, wreckage and the personal belongings of passengers floating in the Mediterranean, confirmation that an EgyptAir jet had plunged into the sea with 66 people on board. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi offered condolences for those on board, amounting to Egypt's official acknowledgement of their deaths, although there was still no explanation of why the Airbus had crashed. "The Egyptian navy was able to retrieve more debris from the plane, some of the passengers' belongings, human remains, and plane seats," the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. The navy was searching an area about 290 km (180 miles) north of Alexandria, just south of where the signal from the plane was lost early on Thursday. There was no sign of the bulk of the wreckage, or of a location signal from the "black box" flight recorders that are likely to provide the best clues to the cause of the crash. EgyptAir Chairman Safwat Moslem told state television that the current radius of the search zone was 40 miles, giving an area of 5,000 sq miles, but that it would be expanded as necessary. A European satellite spotted a 2 km-long oil slick in the Mediterranean, about 40 km southeast of the aircraft's last known position, the European Space Agency said. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to rule out any cause for the crash. The aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure, but offered no evidence. NO CLAIM Although early suspicion centered on Islamist militants who blew up another airliner over Egypt seven months ago, no group had claimed responsibility more than 36 hours after the disappearance of flight MS804, an Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo. CNN reported on Friday that flight data, from an automatic system called the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), suggested there were smoke alerts aboard the EgyptAir jet minutes before it crashed. ACARS routinely downloads flight data to the airline operating the aircraft. Two U.S. officials told Reuters an electronic sensor system had detected some kind of disturbance outside the jet around the time investigators believe it began falling from cruising altitude. They could not confirm CNN's report that smoke had been detected inside the cabin. One of the officials said the disturbance outside the aircraft may have been caused by its sudden and rapid breakup, but also could have been generated by some kind of mechanical fault or accident or a possible explosion or attack. The two officials asked for anonymity when speaking about the still-evolving investigation. Jihadists have been fighting Egypt's government since Sisi toppled an elected Islamist leader in 2013. In October, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for blowing up a Russian airliner that exploded after taking off from an Egyptian tourist resort. Russian investigators blamed a bomb smuggled on board. That crash devastated Egypt's tourist industry, one of the main sources of foreign exchange for a country of 80 million people, and another similar attack would crush hopes of it recovering. The plane vanished just as it was moving from Greek to Egyptian airspace control. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said it had swerved radically and plunged from 37,000 feet to 15,000 before vanishing from Greek radar screens. Officials from a number of U.S. agencies told Reuters that a U.S. review of satellite imagery so far had not produced any signs of an explosion. They said the United States had not ruled out any possible causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew. Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived in Cairo early on Friday, airport sources said. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, played down comments from U.S. figures including likely presidential nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton that terrorism was the most likely cause. "At this point, we still can't corroborate the theory that terrorism brought it down or there was some structural problem with the plane," he told CNN. "Certainly, the backdrop is suggestive of terrorism in the sense that we have the Russian plane in Sharm el-Sheikh and we have the aspiration we've seen time and time again, not only of ISIL (Islamic State) now but of AQAP (al Qaeda), still very potent and still very determined to bring down aircraft. "But the reality is, we don't have hard evidence that this was terrorism yet." FAMILY OF PILOTS Hardline Islamists have targeted airports, airliners and tourist sites in Europe, Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries over the past few years. Khaled al-Gameel, head of crew at EgyptAir, said the pilot, Mahamed Saeed Ali Shouqair, had 15 years' experience and was in charge of training and mentoring younger pilots. "He comes from a pilot family; his uncle was a high-ranking pilot at EgyptAir and his cousin is also a pilot," Gameel said. "He was very popular and was known for taking it upon himself to settle disputes any two colleagues were having." A Facebook page that appeared to be Shouqair's showed no signs of Islamist sympathies. It included criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood, repostings of articles supporting President Sisi and pictures of Shouqair wearing aviator sunglasses. Two former senior crash investigators said the list of possible causes remained wide open and noted there had been cases where deliberate action had been suspected wrongly. In 1996, a terrorism probe was launched after a TWA jumbo jet crashed off Long Island on the east coast of the United States, but investigators later found it had probably been brought down by a fuel tank explosion. The EgyptAir plane was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew. They included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals, along with citizens of 10 other countries. The aircraft had made scheduled flights to Tunisia and Eritrea on Wednesday before arriving in Paris from Cairo. Reuters In the midst of accidents in air travel, worries and hesitations about travelling on air have heightened. Fatal as air accidents may seem, they are not posing any severe effects on the safety of air travel, according to flight safety experts. Egypt Air with flight number MS 804 with 66 passengers on board, was suspected to have crashed morning time on Thursday while it was flying over the Mediterranean Sea, as reported in Marketwatch.com. MS 804 was flying coming from Paris to Cairo. It was yet to be confirmed whether or not the plane has crashed in the Mediterranean Sea. However, the debris rescuers have located in the Greek islands have shown the Egypt Air flight has likely had crashed. Experts have concluded terrorism is not being ruled out as the possible cause of the crash of the aircraft. Even though air travel accidents may cause setbacks in the way travellers see flying, these accidents' negative influence for the long-term usually does not last, according to Ian Savage, Northwestern University economics professor. In fact, Savage has announced that air travel has been safer in the last 10 years. He said, "Survivability of airplane crashes has become considerably better." Savage shared that bus and air travels have been considered as among the most secure ways to travel in the United States. Plane accidents have minimized 25 percent within 2010 and 2015, decreasing to 122 crashes from 162 plane crash incidents all over the world, according to the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive based in Geneva, Switzerland, according to Marketwatch.com as well. In 2016, most travel accidents have mostly occurred in helicopters or private planes, aviation-wise, as written in the data in a report released in the National Transportation Safety Board. As observed by the International Air Transport Association, 2014's air accidents include one air travel accident out of 4.4. million flights, as reported in Independent Traveler. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 After Iran suffered decades of economic isolation, Global hotel companies are establishing new beachheads in the Islamic republic on the Persian Gulf. The idea of the hotel companies will be betting the lifted sanctions against the Middle East nation and it will somehow ignite tourism and business travel. According to the Wall Street Journal, the detailed proposal of the Spanish operator Melia Hotels International, is to put up a 319-room hotel next year on the Caspian Sea. Where Accor Hotels, which exposed to the public the two hotels near the Tehran airport last autumn, will collaborate in a joint-stock company in Iran through which it will partner with local groups to be in charge of the hotels. While the Rotana Hotel Management Corporation, a company based in Abu Dhabi, has started developing properties in Iran as well. The head of research at real-estate broker Cluttons LLP - Faisal Durrani, stated, "This is essentially the start of a new era." "What you have is effectively the largest country in the Middle East open for business." Iran that seems to look like Cuba, that made warm relations with the United States have also encouraged Western hotel operators to indulge business. Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Marriott were up for a task to take advantage of the growing commercial opportunities in the country. However, Peter Norman, the senior vice president of acquisitions and development at Hyatt in Europe, the Mideast and Africa, stated, "We just have to wait. That's the frustrating bit. We're really keen to go in there." On the other hand, as stated by the Nation Multimedia, Thai AirAsia X airline company is offering broader travel opportunities in Iran and Oman. Starting on June 22, Thai AirAsia X planes will fly three times a week direct from Bangkok to Tehran and from June 28, also three times a week, a direct flight from Bangkok to Muscat. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 The travel industry would have to live up to offering different vacation getaway locations just so it can safeguard the safety of the travellers. One of the largest tour operators in Europe has revealed this news to CNBC. Egypt and Turkey are among the destinations feared by travellers due to looming threats of terrorism. Spain and the Caribbean are the preferred destinations of travellers over Egypt and Turkey, due to the observed enhanced safety features the latter cities offer, according to CNBC. The chief financial officer of Thomas Cook Travel, Michael Healy, narrated to CNBC on Thursday more of what the statistics of travelling would be like. He said: "This year we've been able to completely remix our holiday program from Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, and taking 1.2 million bookings from there to Spain or other destinations... the Canaries [Islands] are up 27 percent, long-haul is up 40 percent, so there is a response that we're managing." Continental parts of Europe has also not been avoided from tourism loss after the terrorist incidents in Paris and Brussels in the last year. Healy disappointedly shared the losses he saw coming. He said his business made less money for vacation-related ventures to Belgium. Cook added that his company would still always comply with the United Kingdom's travel-related policies. Cook, though, revealed that his company's initial revenue was $3.9 billion. Cook announced this on Thursday. Reports showed though that summer vacation reservations decreased to 5 percent. This decrease particularly occurred due to less tourists travelling to Turkey. The recent fatal incidents in Paris and Brussels may have had some American travellers shy away from travelling to Europe. However, according to Joe Duckett, marketing and sales vice president at Windham Cruises, travellers just have to choose carefully which European destinations to go to, and they'll be safe and sound, according to US News Travel. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Although DC Comics is focused on the Justice League of America, they will be introducing the Justice Society of America, which is the first ever superhero team published in comic books, the "Legends of Tomorrow" boss said. "For comic book fans, everyone knows the Justice Society is really the precursor to the Justice League, so it's a pretty big move," executive producer Marc Guggenheim told The Hollywood Reporter. During the Thursday episode of the Legends of Tomorrow, it was revealed that Rex Tyler aka Hourman played by Patrick J. Adams will be joining the Arrow/Flash spinoff, along with the Justice Society of America. Comic book fans surely knows that the Justice Society is the precursor of Justice League and their move to DC TV would be something really huge. Season two for the Legends of Tomorrow will be totally different with the introduction of JSA and Hourman. And of course, we will no longer see Captain Canary since his character was killed off and it was announced by EOnline that his role in the show is officially over. Aside from that, there will also be casting shakeups and the Time Council will be eliminated. Guggenheim also teased that the villain of season two is not the Thanagarians but is something totally different. " All I'll really say about the nemesis in season two is Vandal Savage looks like a walk in the park compared to what the Legends will be facing. This will be a much, much bigger threat. I'm going to leave it at that because when we do reveal it, it's going to be pretty big. People will be asking, 'Vandal who?' once they get the full picture of what our team is up against. It's going to be way bigger than what you can even imagine, I can guarantee it," Guggenheim said. The Justice Society of America (JSA) was first introduced in the All Star Comics #3 of 1940 but it was only in 1961 during the Silver Age of comics that it was retooled as the Justice League of America. Since then, JSA is known as a super hero group from Earth-2 while the Justice League of America is from Earth-1. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 We cannot deny it that there are single travelers who are actually looking for a partner which is one mission for their trip. So, whether you are looking for your soul mate or is just having fun by meeting fellow single travelers, you have to make sure that you are safe while having fun. Here are some tips that you need to take note of. 1. Use apps. Apps like Tinder will let you find other people who are interested to date or meet new friends. Just adjust the settings to find someone close to your area. With this app, you will be given the chance to know the person more before actually meeting him or her in person. 2. Be informed about the area. It is important that you know the culture of the place especially when it comes to dating and meeting new people. You'll never know, you might get into trouble if you are not aware of the area's do's and don'ts. So, do your assignment before you start looking for someone to date. You can also try to learn basic terms in their language as suggested by Trip Base. 3. Avoid romance scams. Because of the internet, many people have the chance to meet others using it but you have to make sure that you are talking to a real person and that you will not be scammed. Once the other end starts asking for money, end the communication at once because there are a lot of unscrupulous individuals who target those who are desperately searching for legitimate relationships. Other scammers might even send you a gift that is illegal in their country and will get you arrested. 4. Do not be too excited, use your head. Being in a new place and seeing new faces might excite you but don't let it put your guard down. Always use your head and not your heart because remember, you are in a place that is not familiar to you. If you did your assignment in researching about the area, it would be easier for you to be safe. But you also need to trust your sixth sense and your instinct. 5. Be cautious and alert. Even if you are dating with someone in a public place, make sure that you don't leave your drink unattended and you dont turn your back because a drink is easily spiked. When meeting someone in the hotel, meet that person in the lobby and inform the hotel about where you are heading and what time you will get back. Aside from that, you can also tell your friends or family about it, Victoria Wolf, a foreign service officer with the US State Department said in an interview with J. Keith van Straaten of The Points Guy. Sometimes, one really has to go around the world just to find their soul mate and many has succeeded doing this but make sure that you will take note of the tips we have given above because it's not easy to get a broken heart and it is even harder to be scammed and to risk your own life. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Ethiopian Airlines is recognized as the leading airline in Africa, based on its fast growing progress in the industry. In the operations of Ethiopian Airlines for the last 70 years, Ethiopian Airlines has turned into one of the airlines' popular air carriers. The airline has been well-renowned for its unparalleled excellence and managerial success. Ethiopian Aviation Academy manages the operations of Ethiopian Airlines. Ethiopian Aviation Academy is one of the leading modern African aviation institution. The Ethiopian Aviation Academy has been credited by the ICAO Regional Training Center of Excellence on May 11, 2016, as reported in a press release released in relation to Ethiopia Airlines. The mentioned award was rewarded at the ICAO Global Aviation Training and Train Air Plus symposium that took place at the Conrad Hotel in Seoul, South Korea. The recent award would enable Ethiopia to become eligible to be the host of ICAO training package and ICAO accredited standardized training packages. Meanwhile, in an article in GBN, it was announced that Ethiopian Airlines would be flying three times a week to Istanbul's capital city, Turkey. On May 19, 2013, a press release was distributed to Ghanabusinessnews.com announcing that the airlines' services would be within B737-800 one of a kind generation sky interior. Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO, Tewolde GebreMariam was pleased to release an official statement expressing gratitude for the airline's new services to Istanbul. He said: "We are pleased to launch new services to Istanbul. Turkey being one of the fastest growing countries among the emerging economies, availability of seamless connectivity options would further catalyze the channeling of investors from both countries and make their business more facilitated." On the other hand, Ethiopian Airlines also plans to reach out to the Indian market to widen its clientele. Ethiopian Airlines operates daily flights from Addis Ababa to New Delhi and Mumbai, as reported in Business Traveller. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Facebook and Expedia are going head to head with each other when it comes to competing with each other in marketing themselves in online travel industry. In fact, the CEO of Expedia, Dara Khosrowshahi, said in an interview with travel oriented website, Skift, that he should expect some competition between Expedia and Facebook coming soon in the near future. Word has it that Facebook has recently experimented with e-commerce and travel ads, as reported in Geek Wire. Facebook has reportedly been gearing up its e-commerce aspirations with storefront apps for branded products, standalone buy buttons, and a brand new chatbot business platforms, as reported by the same publication. Just recently this month, Facebook opened up dynamic ads mean for travel brands. Travel websites can search for users through search history. To be specific, though, travel websites can search for users through the specific destination and date they are aiming for for travel. Khosrowshahi referred as to how Google competes in the online travel industry. Expedia's CEO said: "As competition goes, in this industry, everyone works together, everyone competes with each other. We do compete with Alaska Airlines for audience but we also are a huge, huge partner of their's and we are booking millions and millions of Alaska Airlines tickets and there is this competition within the field." In fact, reports announced that Facebook has introduced the app Dynamic Ads for Travel. This app has caused so much complications to the e-Travel group, as reported by Barrons.com. Experts have predicted the Dynamic Ads for Travel app would at first concentrate on hotels, travel, hotel and ticket searches, duration of stay, the number of people travelling, and the star rating facts for search. In other words, Facebook's hands-on focus on travel open up competition between between online travel agencies and its hotel chain ad budget app for Marriott Internationa, according to Barrons.com. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 According to co-authors Jamie Pang and Brett Hartl, the Endangered Species Act has not only prevented 99% of protected plant and animal species from going extinct, but it has also helped revitalize some of the U.S.'s most remarkable forests, plains, deserts, and oceans, from the kelp forests off the West Coast to the Southeast's longleaf pine ecosystem. The Endangered Species Act was signed in 1973, providing agency for the conservation of vulnerable species. As a bonus, their habitatswhether an underwater kelp forest, an aboveground pine forest, or a tropical islandreceive protection from the law as well. A 2016 report from the Center for Biological Diversity revealed just how much the Endangered Species Act has benefited and decidedly saved some magical places. 1 of 10 Pacific Kelp Forests (West Coast) Cameron D Smith / Getty Images Sea otters are a keystone species, one whose decline can quickly unravel an entire ecosystem. This was proven by their plummeting population, much attributed to the fur trade, along the coast of California and Oregon prior to being listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1977. As sea otters became more sparse, sea urchins (a common food source) became more plentiful, pillaging the kelp forests on which sea lions, whales, and sea snails relied. The shoreline also took a hit from this as it became more susceptible to erosion and greenhouse gases without the protective seagrasses. But in the 40 years following their adoption into the Endangered Species Act, the southern sea otter population almost tripled. As a result, kelp forests began to recover (if only brieflythey're in a major crisis). One 2020 study said sea otter recovery could be worth as much as $53 million per year. 2 of 10 Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge (Hawaii) Timothy Hearsum / Getty Images The Hawaiian islands are some of the U.S.'s most biodiverse regions, but also a hotbed of endangered species, thanks much to scores of invasive species. The introduction of rats, cats, cane toads, mongooses, goats, pigs, and a melange of other non-native plants and animals have helped diminish Hawaiian species. The Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge on Hawaiis Big Island was established in 1997 and is completely fenced off to control the feral pig population, therefore serving the extinct-in-the-wild `alala, or Hawaiian crow, notes the Center for Biological Diversity report. Now, the thriving refuge plays home to many endangered species, like the Hawaii `akepa, Hawaii creeper, `akiapola`au, the `io (Hawaiian hawk), and the ope`ape`a (Hawaiian hoary bat). 3 of 10 San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge (Arizona) Ron and Patty Thomas / Getty Images This 2,300-acre refuge was established in the early 1980s for the protection of four endangered fish species endemic to the Rio Yaqui: the Yaqui topminnow, Yaqui chub, Yaqui beautiful shiner, and Yaqui catfish. The refuge also protects the remaining parts of the San Bernardino cienega, an integral marsh that serves as a corridor for migrating species. Without the marsh, many struggling species of fish, birds, mammals, bees, butterflies, and amphibians would not be able to survive the desert. In the meantime, other species, like the threatened Chiricahua leopard frog, threatened Mexican garter snake, and endangered lesser long-nosed bat, have also been given a second chance thanks to the fish conservation efforts. 4 of 10 Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge (Texas) Mark Bonica / Flickr / CC BY 2.0 Created in 1992 to protect two endangered songbirds, the golden-cheeked warbler and black-capped vireo, the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge near Austin also serves to protect some of the last remaining Ashe juniper and oak woodlands in the state. Prescribed fire has helped control invasive plant species, and the elimination of cattle grazing has allowed the surviving trees to thrive. With the creation of the refuge, the warblers population grew from 3,526 to 11,920 in less than two decades, and vireos population on the refuge increased from 153 males in 1987 to 11,392 in 2013. 5 of 10 Sauta Cave National Wildlife Refuge (Alabama) This 264-acre refuge in the forest of northeastern Alabama was created to protect the endangered Indiana bat and gray bat. Gray bat populations plummeted due to mining, cave disturbance, vandalism, persecution, flooding, deforestation, and possible pesticides in the century leading up to their 1977 endangered listing. Thanks to the Sauta Cave National Wildlife Refuge, though, they have rebounded from a population of 2.2 million to 3.4 million in 2006. Meanwhile, the refuge has also provided a home for 250 federally endangered Prices potato-bean plants, the imperiled Tennessee cave salamander, and the Rafinesques big-eared bat, among other species. 6 of 10 Penobscot River (Maine) Justin Lewis / Getty Images Dams built on the Penobscot, Maine's longest river, during the 19th century created a barrier for fish migrating to the ocean. Since, three of the 11 fish species that inhabit the riverthe Atlantic salmon, the shortnose sturgeon, and the Atlantic sturgeonhave gained protection under the Endangered Species Act, which has led to two of the major dams being removed. Now, the fish can swim freely again in the only U.S. river that has a sizeable Atlantic salmon run. Healthy and thriving fish populations have enriched the river ecosystem by providing an abundance of food for birds and mammals. 7 of 10 Longleaf Pine Ecosystem (Southeast) Ryan McGurl / Getty Images Longleaf pine forests once covered around 90 million acres in the southeastern U.S. It was one of the most extensive forest ecosystems in North America before being targeted for logging and converted for agricultural and residential use. Longleaf pine is one of the country's most ecologically important trees, providing shelter for some 100 bird, 36 mammal, and 170 reptile and amphibian species, yet only 3.4 million acres remain of it today. The red cockaded woodpecker and gopher tortoise are two of the 29 longleaf pine-dependent species that have received protection under the Endangered Species Act, therefore saving these majestic beauties throughout the American Southeast. 8 of 10 National Key Deer Refuge (Florida) Wilsilver77 / Getty Images Established in 1957 to protect its namesake species, the National Key Deer Refuge covers 9,200 acres of the Florida Keys. The hoofed mammal that roams here is only 24 to 32 inches talla "toy" deerand has fallen victim to hunting, poaching, and habitat destruction over the years. At the time of their Endangered Species Act listing in 1973, there were only a few dozen left, the Center for Biological Diversity report says, but the establishment of the refuge boosted the population to 800 by 2011. The refuge is composed of several diverse ecosystems, from freshwater wetlands to mangrove forests, all of which house more than a dozen endangered or threatened species. Birds and reptiles thrive in the deer haven as well. 9 of 10 Green Cay National Wildlife Refuge (Virgin Islands) Bill Ross / Getty Images Occupying a tiny 14-acre plot of land in the Caribbean, Green Cay National Wildlife Refuge was designated as a wildlife refuge in 1977, when its resident lizard, the St. Croix ground lizard, received endangered status. The island now plays home to the largest of the world's only two remaining natural populations of the lizard. Its numbers tripledfrom 275 to 818from the island's designation as a wildlife refuge to 2008. And as a bonus, the Caribbean brown pelican has also benefited. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. New York/Frankfurt, May 19 German drugs and chemicals group Bayer has made an unsolicited takeover proposal to US seeds company Monsanto, aiming to create the worlds biggest agricultural supplier and take advantage of converging pesticides and seeds markets. Monsanto disclosed the approach on Wednesday before Bayer AG confirmed its move, though neither released proposed deal terms. With Monsantos market capitalisation of around $42 billion, an acquisition would likely be bigger than ChemChinas February deal to buy Swiss agrichemicals firm Syngenta AG for $43 billion a target Monsanto itself pursued last year and could face US anti-trust hurdles. Monsanto said its Board was reviewing the proposal, which is subject to due diligence, regulatory approvals and other conditions. There is no assurance that any transaction will take place, it said. Bayer shares dropped more than 8% to a 2-1/2-year low of 88.39 euros in early Thursday trading, as some investors worried about the potential cost of a deal. Monsantos stock closed 0.6% lower at $97.13 on Wednesday before the news. Bayer, which has a market value of $90 billion, said in a brief statement its executives recently met those of Monsanto to privately discuss a negotiated acquisition. While no takeover price was mentioned by either company, Bernstein Research analyst Jeremy Redenius estimated 41.9 billion euros ($47 billion), plus 6.7 billion euros in assumed debt. He said Bayer might need a 27-billion-euro share issue to help fund this. Reuters Vijay C Roy Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 20 Perturbed over dwindling exports, the hand tool industry in Punjab, which accounts for 75-80% of total exports, is exploring new and emerging markets such as Latin America, the US, Russia, Cambodia and Indonesia etc. The total hand tool exports from the country is likely to be around Rs 800 crore in 2015-16 compared to around Rs 880 crore in 2014-15. According to Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), the industry is likely to register a decline of around 10-12% in 2015-16, mainly because of slowdown in major exporting countries, including the European Union. The fall in exports has also impacted the productivity as the exporters are not able to optimise their installed capacity. The fall in hand tool exports is apparent and affecting the industry. The capacity utilisation of our unit used to be around 80% earlier, but now with decline in exports, we are deploying only 60% of the total installed capacity. So we are exploring new countries, including the US, Latin America and Asian countries for exports, said Gian Bhandari, chairman, GB Tools & Forging Ltd. The hand tool industry in the state is restricted to Ludhiana and Jalandhar, with SMEs playing a dominant role. Punjabs hand tool industry employs nearly 50,000-60,000 people and consists of over 300 units. EEPCs deputy director Opinder Singh said, The industry is likely to witness a negative growth of 10-12% in 2015-16. We are assisting the exporters to find new markets so that the exports could achieve positive growth in the current fiscal. At a meeting with Director General of Foreign Trade Anup Wadhawan at EEPC office in Jalandhar today, the hand tool exporters demanded there should be some hand-holding scheme from the government to uplift some specific sectors of engineering industry like hand tools. They added that these sectors may be brought under the focus sector scheme and should be given special care for technology and financial needs. They also demanded that Merchandise Exporters Incentive Scheme (MEIS) on hand tools may be increased to at least 7%. Mohit Khanna Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 20 After holding peaceful protests for three days, the State Sector Bank Employees Association observed a day-long strike and held a massive demonstration at the main office near Miller Gunj to oppose the slapping of merger resolution of associate banks with the State Bank of India (SBI). Comrade Naresh Gaur, secretary, State Sector Bank Employees Association (SSBEA), and All India State Bank of Patiala Employees Federation (AISBPEF), addressed the bank employees. I was shocked and objected the resolution. However, SBI top boss VG Kannan, MD SBI, was unmoved. I had told Kannan that the move of the merger was contrary to the rationalisation policy propagated by him. Despite opposition and protest by the All Indian Bank Employees Association (AIBEAs) workman directors and a few other independent directors, about the proposal and the procedure adopted, the resolution got the nod, said Gaur, who is one of the directors. He added that the decision was also not in consonance with what the Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, had suggested in the meetings with him on March 23 and April 25. Jaitley had opined that all the five banks can be made into one single entity, but what the SBI and the associate banks are trying to do is just the opposite of what the Finance Minister had suggested, Gaur added. Associate banks have more than 67,000 branches and 9,000 ATMs. The total business of these banks as in March 2016 is Rs 9,00,000 crore with operative profit of Rs 10,500 crore. As many as 73,000 employees and officers (45,000 + 28,000) are working in these banks. Merger of these banks with the SBI will result in closure of many branches and employees rendered surplus. There is a fear that that the surplus employees will be transferred to far off places and harassed to such an extent that they leave their job. Further, the senior officials of the state sector banks will be considered outside and will be subjected to step-motherly treatment during promotions, Gaur said. The state governments concerned i.e. Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Telengana and Punjab will lose revenue because they will not get a share in the tax on profits paid by these banks, he added. The whole idea is to make the State Bank of India a global image. What India requires is reliability not a pseudo globalised image. During recession, the big banks in the US collapsed like a pack of cards. The big banks will tend to become insensitive to the needs of the common people and thus, will help only the big businesses. Because the SBI is the parent bank it cannot kill its subsidiary banks for its growth and expansion just like hungry parents cannot murder their children, opined Gaur. To express their resentment and protest to this provocative action of the SBI and associate banks, demonstrations and strikes will be conducted on June 7 and July 28. Washington, May 20 A California commission mandated with recommendation and revision of school textbooks has rejected demands of replacing India with South Asia for pre-1947 references, which had become a major bone of contention from various academic groups in the US. The California Department of Education's (CDE) Instructional Quality Commission (IQC), at its hearing yesterday which was marked by presence of a large number of academicians, teachers and students from both sides -- decided not to replace mentions of India with South Asia in the new framework for History Social Science textbooks in California. During its meeting, the commission also decided to restore the mention that Hindu sages Valmiki and Vyasa were born non-Brahmins. It also agreed to replace the word "untouchable" with "Dalit" as demanded by the various Dalit groups. The final draft of the framework was voted by the commission on May 19 and will be submitted to the State Board of Education (SBE) to be approved later this year. Over a hundred Indian-American children and parents testified at the public hearing at the CDE, opposing the proposal, and seeking restoration of the word 'India'. Earlier this year, the Commission had proposed to replace instances of 'India' by 'South Asia' in its school textbooks at the behest of South Asia Faculty Group (SAFG), led by top academicians like professors Kamala Visweswaran of University of California at San Diego, Lawrence Cohen and Robert Goldman of University of California at Berkeley. The group had suggested that all mentions of 'India' before 1947 had to be replaced with "South Asia". The suggestions were opposed by another group of 41 academics led by professors Barbara McGraw of Saint Mary's College of California, and Diana Eck of Harvard University who called the proposal "anachronistic" and "not historical". "Hinduism should be represented in California K-12 textbooks in a manner comparable to other religions, fairly, accurately and equitably," said McGraw. "This debate concerns a teaching document for K12 teachers. It should not create unnecessary obstacles for a more constructive understanding of the Indian subcontinent and the world's third largest religion," McGraw said. "In this regard, ironically, the South Asia Faculty Group's attempt to nuance Indian history caused the opposite effect. Robust academic debates about the politics of India are welcome, but that debate is not appropriately addressed in a K-12 textbook framework narrative in California. Luckily, some of today's decisions reflect that thinking," McGraw said in a statement. Welcome move Hindu-Americans groups have welcomed the decision. "Coming from an underprivileged community myself, I am really proud that our collective efforts were able to bring the contributions of Sage Vyasa and Sage Valmiki back into the framework," said Sandeep Dedage, coordinator for the Hindu Education Foundation USA. "We're also pleased that the academically questionable recommendation of the South Asia Faculty Group to replace 'India' with 'South Asia' was also rejected," Dedage said. In separate statements, the Hindu Education Foundation USA (HEF) and Hindu American Foundation (HAF) welcomed the decision to replace the word "untouchable" with "Dalit" as demanded by Dalit groups. "We have nothing but the utmost sympathy and respect for the victims of caste discrimination who spoke about their experiences at the hearing," said Murali Balaji, Director of Education at Hindu American Foundation. "The Foundation respects the right for Dalits to self-define," he added. "For years, the American perception of Hinduism and India has been overly simplistic and inaccurate, in part due to the content of California textbooks," said Samir Kalra, senior director for the Hindu American Foundation. "This CDE textbook revision process has been a protracted effort to correct these inaccuracies," Kalra said. "There are nearly a million Indian and Hindu-Americans who call California home, so it's important for them to see their cultural and religious heritage represented with accuracy and parity," Kalra said. PTI Simran Sodhi Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 20 The government today confirmed that a commercial agreement for developing the Chabahar port will be signed between India, Iran and Afghanistan during Prime Minister Narendra Modis two-day visit to Iran. Modi is headed to Iran on Sunday for a short visit, but its significance along with the signing of the deal on the Chabahar port is immense. The port will give Afghanistan an alternative to using Karachi as a sea port, and for India, it will provide strategic access to Central Asia. While the presence of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is not yet confirmed, there are some indications that he too might make it to Iran for the trilateral signing of the agreement. India and Iran are also expected to discuss measures to increase maritime security and increased cooperation on counterterrorism. India is also hoping to double its oil imports from Iran and that will be another agenda on the table during the PMs visit. In a media briefing today, Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary Gopal Baglay said India would make an initial investment of more than $200 million in the port, of which Indias Exim Bank would provide a credit line of $150 million. The focus of the trip is connectivity and infrastructure, he said. The trilateral agreement will be a game changer for regional connectivity, especially for Afghanistan which can find an assured and reliable alternate access to India via sea, Baglay said. The PM recently visited Saudi Arabia and is scheduled to pay an official visit to Qatar on June 5 and 6. The governments renewed interest in the region and the high-level visits to various important states in the Middle East is intended to give India a greater role in the affairs of the region as well as securing Indias domestic energy demands. Vijay Mohan Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 20 In a first, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) has started deploying women constables to guard the rugged Sino-Indian border in Ladakh. Over 150 women constables have been posted to Leh this month. They will be based at the battalion headquarters in Leh and will be deployed at border outposts (BOPs) in groups of 15-20 on a rotation basis, an ITBP officer said. The ITBP mans the border with China in J&K, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, with posts being located at altitudes up to 18,000 feet in remote and snow-bound areas. Three BOPs have been indentified where these women constables will be deployed. Modalities such as having women officers and women doctors to cater to the needs of women personnel in forward areas along with requisite administrative and logistic facilities have also been factored in their deployment. Since women constables have been recruited into the ITBP, it is prudent that they undertake the fundamental duties that the force is meant for, rather than being posted on merely administrative or clerical duties in headquarters or rear echelons, the officer said. Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 20 The police have arrested four more accused from Kishanpura village on Jalandhar-Pathankot road in connection with the attack on Sikh preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale here today. All the accused are associated with Damdami Taksal, Mehta Chowk, and the owner of the recovered Tata Safari is Baba Harnam Singh Dhumma, head of the Damdami Taksal. The accused - Sukhwinder Singh, a resident of village Gehari is currently residing at Damdami Taksal headquarters, Manveer Singh, a resident of Hisowal village, Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi, a resident of Dhaluwala in Haridwar (Uttarakhand), and Satnam Singh, a resident of Moranwali village (Kotkapura). ADCP (Crime) Balkar Singh informed that on a tip off, the police installed set up a check point at Krishanpura village and an approaching Tata Safari coming from Bhogpur direction was signaled to stop. All the occupants had long beards and were sporting round turbans (Taksali style), he said. During investigation, all four accused confessed that they were involved in the attack on Dhadrianwale on May 17. We are enquiring about other persons involved in the attack and the weapons used by them in the crime. Officers claimed that the accused were traveling in same vehicle PB023J 0015- used in the attack and was registered at Fatehgarh Sahib in the name of Dhumma. When contacted, Gurdial Singh, who claimed to be an assistant to Dhumma said, The police have illegally arrested our people. The Baba will make everythuing clear tomorrow and he is busy at a religious programme today. However, the police refused to divulge further details in this regard. Highly placed sources said the police have identified more than 12 attackers and constituted five raiding teams to nab them. The police have arrested four accused previously who have been remanded in police custody for four days. Role of Damdami Taksal No senior officer was willing to break their silence about the motive behind attack but the investigations so far show that the attack was planned and executed by persons associated with Damdami Taksal. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Cong seeks special House session Patiala: Congress vice- presidents Sunil Jakhar and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa have demanded a special Vidhan Sabha session to discuss the deteriorating law and order situation in Punjab. Terming the attack on Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale as a major law and order failure, Jakhar said it was a pre-mediated attack to suppress the formers voice for condemning the government for the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib at Bargari village. He paid a visit to Gurdwara Parmeshwar Dwar at Sekhupura on Friday. Jakhar said the way the attack was executed clearly shows that the government was directly or indirectly involved or how else can 40 assailants come together, attack and then escape. Meanwhile, Dhadrianwale said though he has been getting repeated calls from India and abroad to initiate a protest against the attack, he has urged them to give some more time to the police to solve the case. TNS GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 20 Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia on Friday filed a criminal defamation case against Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal, his close aide and party think tank Ashish Khetan and partys Punjab affairs incharge Sanjay Singh in a local court here. Majithia himself filed the case in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Gurpartap Singh under Sections 499, 500 and 501 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Majithia, in his complaint submitted to the court, claimed that the AAP was bent on maligning his image, along with that of his family, without any basis and had been levelling baseless allegations against him. He said even the Supreme Court had endorsed criminal proceedings against someone who deliberately maligned anyones image, and that he is fighting a legal battle against the AAP. Majithia alleged, Kejriwals whole politics is based on lies and fraud. He and his aides have been repeatedly defaming me and my family through baseless allegations. Today, I have demanded action against them in court by submitting a criminal defamation case against him and his aides. This is the second case Majithia has filed against AAP leaders, but it is for the first time that he has filed a defamation suit against Kejriwal. The earlier defamation case was filed against Sanjay Singh in a Ludhiana court on January 12, 2015, for accusing Majithia of patronising the drug mafia and for claiming to put him behind bars in case the AAP was voted to power in 2017. The case is in the court and Sanjay Singh was granted bail. Majithia sought strict punishment for the AAP leaders. GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 20 Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia filed a criminal defamation case against Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal, his close aide and party think tank Ashish Khetan and the partys Punjab affairs in charge Sanjay Singh, in a local court here today. The case has been filed in the court of Justice Gurpartap Singh, Civil Judge, Senior Division, under Sections 499, 500, 501, 502, 34 and 120-B of the IPC. Majithia has alleged that AAP is maligning his image, along with that of his family, by levelling baseless allegations. He said even the Supreme Court had endorsed criminal proceedings against anyone deliberately maligning anyones image. Earlier, AAP had alleged that Majithia gave patronage to those involved in the multi-crore drug racket. Majithia said, Kejriwals whole politics is based on lies and frauds. They deceived and misled the Punjabis on the issue of SYL canal and now he and his aides have been repeatedly defaming me and my family through baseless allegations. I have demanded legal action by filing a criminal defamation case against him and his aides. I am a very strong hearted person and will take this fight to its logical conclusion. AAP leaders have misconception that they will scare away the Punjabis with their unsubstantiated political statements as they could do to Sheila Dixit in New Delhi. This is the second case Majithia has filed against AAP leaders, but it is for the first time that he has filed a defamation suit against Kejriwal. On January 12, he filed a defamation case against Sanjay Singh in a Ludhiana court for accusing him of patronising the drug mafia and declaring to put him behind bars in case AAP was voted to power in 2017. In March, former journalist and Delhi dialogue commission vice-chairman Ashish Khetan had alleged that Majithia provided residence, political patronage and state police official vehicles to facilitate movement of drug smugglers. Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 20 There is a ray of hope for thousands of parents of school going children battling with arbitrary school fee hikes. A regulator for hundreds of thousands of private schools in Punjab could soon be established in the state, if the Council of Ministers gives its nod. The issue will come up for discussion and approval before the Cabinet which meets here on Monday evening. Sources said that the Cabinet will be deliberating on the issue after Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi had raised the issue in the last meeting. CM Parkash Singh Badal had then asked Education Minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema to prepare a draft proposal and bring it in the next Cabinet meeting. There has been widespread resentment across the state on the issue leading to a confrontation between parents and school managements in several cities across the state. Some of the private schools have raised their fees by almost 40- 50 per cent, mostly in the name of development charges. At several places, especially in Ludhiana, Amritsar and Patiala, parents have resorted to hunger strikes and protests outside DC offices demanding government intervention. At many places, parents have approached the courts and sought legal intervention. The Education Department has also held a series of meetings with the parents associations, managements of private schools and DEOs. After taking inputs from all stake holders, a draft policy on having a regulator to deal with issues of fee hike and other concerns of parents of children has been prepared. It will have representation from all stake holders and will bring regulation on the fee that can be increased by private schools each year, said a senior functionary in the department. Other than this, the Cabinet is also likely to give its approval for filling vacancies in the Technical Education and Health Departments. The council of ministers are also expected to deliberate on the issue of payments to be made to commission agents, labourers and transporters for the wheat that has been bought by procurement agencies. It is learnt that dues of farmers have been cleared from the Rs 14000 crore cash credit limit that has been credited by the consortium of banks so far. The issue of giving sewing machines and LPG chullahs to 5 lakh beneficiaries by the Social Security Department is also likely to be discussed in the Cabinet meeting. Aman Sood Tribune News Service Patiala, May 19 Religious preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale today refused to take security cover from the police but said think about it after attending the bhog ceremony of his associate Bhupinder Singh Dhakki, who died in the firing on his convoy. These developments took place when Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal met the preacher at his headquarters at Gurdwara Parmeshar Dwar Sahib on Patiala-Sangur highway. Dhadrianwale said that he was fully aware of the persons who planned and executed the attack on him but he would wait for the investigations to be over and also for the police to name the attackers themselves. I am against the policy of killing brothers, he added. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Though the probe is heading in the right direction so far, such attacks and their masterminds want to disturb the peace of the state, he said. Further, the government should come out with the names of the persons who orchestrated the attack as merely arresting some accused will not serve the purpose, he said. I dont want any security cover, but the government should give more arms licenses for my followers who man the inner and outer cordon of my security, Dhadrianwale said after the meeting. Sources said Badal, accompanied by Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra, IG Paramraj Umranangal and SSP Gurmeet Chauhan had a closed door meeting with Dhadrianwale for 25 minutes. Later, Sukhbir assured that the case would be solved soon as the police have crucial leads. DGP Suresh Arora is directly monitoring the probe and reporting to me on the issue, he said. Dhadrianwale was a maha purkh working for the spread of gurbani throughout the world. Sukhbirs visit was kept under wraps since the administration was apprehensive that his presence would be opposed by followers of the preacher who are camping at the gurdwara since Tuesday night. Sukhbir arrived in a chopper and left within minutes after the meeting. The details of what transpired during the meeting are not known. Vinod Behl NDA governments two- year term at the Centre is marked by far-reaching reforms in the real estate sector, including the landmark Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA). And among the states, Haryana has emerged as a front- runner in land and property related reforms, after the installation of new government in the state in October 2014. Grievance redressal forum Even before the Centre could clear the consumer- friendly Real Estate Regulation Act, Haryana government took a far-reaching measure to protect the interests of consumers (home buyers) by setting up Allottees Grievances Redressal Forum (AGRF). The move envisages setting up redressal forums in all districts of the state to tackle issues of delayed possession, breach of builder- buyer agreement, inflated external development charges and internal development charges, cheating on flat sizes, exhorbitant maintenance charges, reneging on promised amenities and specification of building materials, inadequate infrastructure and poor maintenance. In order to ensure ease-of-business, Haryana government has also formulated a policy under which district level committees can clear small projects requiring investment of Rs 10 crore and grant of CLU for area up to one acre. Escrow account for projects While the Union Urban Development Ministry has set a one-year deadline for states to implement its model real estate regulation cleared by Parliament, Haryana has already taken steps to implement one of the key provisions of this landmark Act to open an escrow account for the housing projects. In a recent decision taken in connection with a stalled project of a leading builder in Gurgaon, Department of Town & Country Planning, has asked the builder to complete the remainder/pending project within a stipulated period by opening an escrow account. Simplifying of CLU process As part of its land reform initiatives, Haryana government also came up with a policy for licensed colonies under which builders can exchange land among themselves for better planning of licensed colonies and residential sectors, without affecting net area. The state government has simplified the process of change of land use (CLU). Under the revised CLU rules, projects up to one acre area and costing up to Rs 10 crore, are given single- window permissions by respective deputy commissioners, while the projects of over one acre area and costing more than Rs 10 crore, are cleared by empowered committee headed by Principal Secretary to Chief Minister. Automatic CLU effected in 75 blocks, has a provision of Auto CLU Permission with an automatic dispensation of deemed clearance in case the competent authority does not decide on the request for grant of CLU permission within the prescribed time frame of the department. Forward thrust for affordable housing In order to boost affordable housing the new policy initiated by the state government has a provision to allow the builders of affordable housing projects to receive up to 25 per cent of apartment price without getting environment clearance. It also has a provision for money to be returned by the builder to customer with 12 per cent interest in case the builder is not able to get environment clearance within a period of 12 months from the date of accepting the money from customers. The Affordable Plotted Housing Policy 2016 facilitates the creation of additional affordable housing stock in the low and medium potential towns of Haryana. The policy aims at developing high density plotted colonies by making small plots available through a liberal policy framework. Under this policy, the planned area of residential projects will be between 5 acres and 15 acres and the maximum permissible plot size would be 150 sq metres. New licencing policy Another landmark reform undertaken by the new government pertains to new land development policy christened New Integrated Licensing Policy (NILP) for residential and commercial complexes. This will give a big push to housing, particularly affordable housing. Under this policy initiated for high potential areas of Gurgaon-Manesar- Sohna, Faridabad-Ballabgarh, Sonepat-Kundli, Panipat and Panchkula-Kalka- Pinjore, the minimum land cap for large housing projects has been reduced from 100 acres to 25 acres to ensure that large tracts of land lying unused due to tough provisions of New Land Acquisition Act could be put to use to develop housing and related infrastructure and land owners, especially small land owners get the market rate for their land. As part of this policy the concept of Transferable Development Rights (TDR) prevalent in states like Maharashtra has been introduced in Haryana. With the introduction of TDR concept, land owners can monetise their land holdings at current market prices in residential sectors and in areas marked for external development works like sector roads, creating infrastructure for water, sewage, electricity besides social infrastructure like schools, colleges, hospitals, parks etc. On the other hand, builders can raise FAR of their projects by buying TDRs from land owners, which will in turn benefit property consumers by way of affordable pricing. NILP , thus, is meant to balance the interests of all stake holders, including land owners, real estate developers and investors/buyers/consumers of residential plots or flats. Renewable energy initiative Haryana has also taken measures to promote renewable energy. As part of Haryana Solar Power Policy 2016, the focus is on rooftop solar power systems , making these mandatory for plot sizes of 500 sq yd or more. Solar plants have also been made mandatory in all government and private educational institutions, universities and offices having connected load of 30kw and on top of all private hospitals and industrial and commercial establishments having connected load of 50 kw. To promote energy efficiency in homes, the state government has made the use of LED lamps mandatory by amending the zoning plans of licensed colonies and CLU granted sites. Implementation of this rule is to be ensured at the time of grant of Occupation Certificate. Moving to digital era This realty reform process initiated by Haryana government carries on with many other reforms in the pipeline. By June 2016, the property licensing and all processes pertaining to CLU are expected to go online. And since the online system will disclose minute details of project and allottees, it will come handy in checking EWS scams like one person applying and acquiring multiple flats. It will also check corruption in granting licenses for real estate projects and granting CLU from agricultural to residential/institutional/industrial land. By June 30, the state government also proposes to digitize all land records in the state. Land records in Gurgaon have already gone online. The state government is also going in for detailed digital mapping of all the cities in order to make available geo-spatial data to all the departments for their planning needs. Neena Sharma Tribune News Service Dehradun, May 19 The BJP and the Congress have begun to count their political gains and losses in the wake of the nine disqualified Congress MLAs finally joining the BJP yesterday. There is uneasiness in the BJP with the entry of the rebel MLAs as if given ticket in the next Assembly elections, they may replace some sitting party MLAs. The cataclysmic events that began on March 18 after the nine Congress MLAs mounted a rebellion against their own party eventually ended with their entry into the BJP but not without a trail of uncertainties for the Congress and challenges for the BJP. The grumbling in the Uttarakhand BJP that first surfaced after it became evident that the disqualified Congress MLAs were in talks with the party central leaders has only grown louder with their induction into the party. Party leaders and workers have been apprehensive about the entry of the Congress rebels but with time everything will settle down. The BJP will emerge victorious in the 2017 Assembly elections. We are looking for 40 plus seats in the elections and the move will help us, said state BJP president Ajay Bhatt. Significantly, several Uttarakhand BJP leaders such as BC Khanduri, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Trivender Singh Rawat were conspicuous by their absence during the membership function in New Delhi yesterday. It is believed that leaders from the state had expressed doubts and apprehensions before the core group as the BJP had opposed the Vijay Bahuguna government tooth and nail on the corruption issue. It will be very difficult for us to work with the leaders whom we had opposed all along, said Teerath Singh Rawat, former Uttarakhand BJP president. Further, the BJP leaders are also uneasy about the possible agreement and promises that the Congress rebels may have extracted from the central party leadership for joining the party. There have been indications that all nine leaders could get party ticket in the 2017 Assembly elections. These promises will jeopardise the chances of the party leaders who are hopeful of the party ticket. As there are indications that some of the Congress rebels are eyeing some Assembly constituencies of the sitting BJP legislators, said a BJP leader. It is a common knowledge that former Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat is not keen about his Rudraprayag seat and has been looking for the possibility to contest from Srinagar or Doiwala. Similarly, it is also not certain if Amrita Rawat will prefer to stand from Ramnagar. She too has been looking for another seat in Chaobatyakhal in Pauri Garhwal represented by a sitting BJP MLA. Similarly, on the Narendernagar Assembly seat, BJP candidate Om Pal Rawat had always given a tough fight to Subodh Uniyal, who had won the seat by a few votes for the Congress. But with Uniyal now joining the BJP, the party will have a tough task deciding between the two. On the one hand, the exit of former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and his eight supporters from the Congress has virtually left the field wide open for Chief Minister Harish Rawat to control and mould the party according to his liking. Having failed to develop the second line of leaders in the party, the Congress is virtually at its wits end hunting for leaders who could fill the gap created by the disqualified Congress MLAs and take their place in their Assembly constituencies. We will have to work from the scratch, especially in the Raipur, Jaspur, Rudraprayag, Someswar and Kedarnath seats. Former Raipur MLA Umesh Sharma had won the seat on the Congress ticket. On previous outings, he failed to win, said Congress vice-president Jot Singh Bisht. There is a realisation that Congress leaders have a task cut out for themselves before the bugle for the Assembly elections is sounded. Athens/Cairo, May 20 A body part, seats and one or more items of luggage were found today by crews searching for the wreckage of an EgyptAir passenger jet that crashed in the Mediterranean, Greeces defence minister said. A few hours earlier we were informed (by Egyptian authorities) that a body part, two seats and one or more items of luggage where found in the search area, north of the coastal Egyptian city of Alexandria, Panos Kammenos told a news conference. He said other aircraft participating in the search had "allegedly reported more findings in another area, but currently we have no official confirmation that they belong to the plane in question. The EgyptAir plane carrying 66 people disappeared from radar screens early yesterday, taking two sharp turns before plunging 22,000 feet into the Mediterranean Sea, according to Greek officials. Egypt's military earlier said search teams had spotted personal belongings of passengers and parts of the Airbus A320 about 290 kilometres north of Alexandria. Earlier, Egypt's military said that its search teams found the wreckage of the EgyptAir plane, with authorities saying the incident was likely a terror attack. Egyptian aircraft and navy vessels have found personal belongings of passengers and parts of the wreckage 290 km north of Alexandria," its spokesman said on his Facebook page. The Airbus A320 "swerved and then plunged" into the Mediterranean. The plane had made a stop in Tunisia before flying to Paris. The Egyptian navy, air force and army had been searching the sea to the north of Egypt's coast, with French, Greek, British and US support. The plane was carrying 56 passengers and 10 crew: two cockpit crew, five cabin crew and three security personnel. EgyptAir said two babies and one child were on board. Among the passengers were 30 Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis, and one person each from the UK, Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria and Canada. EgyptAir initially said that Egyptian Foreign Ministry has "confirmed finding the wreckage" but later withdrew the claim. EgyptAir's vice-chairman Ahmed Adel told CNN earlier in the day that when searchers got close to debris found in the Mediterranean Sea they realised it did not come from the missing airliner. "We stand corrected on finding the wreckage because what we identified is not a part of our plane. So the search and rescue is still going on," Adel said. Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathi said technical failures and terror each are possible explanations. But if you analyse this situation properly, the possibility of having a different action aboard, of having a terror attack, is higher than having a technical problem," Fathi said. French-Egyptian cooperation Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived at Cairo International Airport early Friday morning to help investigate the fate of a missing EgyptAir plane that disappeared on Thursday, airport sources said. The French investigators are part of the French civil aviation ministry's office of investigations and analysis, the sources said. France is participating in an Egypt-led investigative committee as it is the country where the plane was manufactured and the one with the second-most number of passengers on board. The incident brought back horrors of the bombing of a Russian passenger jet by the Islamic State over Egypt last October that killed all 224 people on board. Agencies Cairo, May 20 The Egyptian navy said on Friday it had found the personal belongings of passengers and other debris floating in the Mediterranean, confirmation that an EgyptAir jet had plunged into the sea with 66 people on board. The military said it had found the debris about 290 km north of the port city of Alexandria and was searching for the plane's black box flight recorders. Egypt's President Adbel Fattah al-Sisi offered condolences for those on board, amounting to Cairo's official acknowledgement of their deaths. The defence minister of Greece, which has also been scouring the Mediterranean, said Egyptian authorities had found a body part, luggage and a seat in the sea just south of where the signal from the plane was lost. Although suspicion pointed to Islamist militants who blew up another airliner over Egypt just seven months ago, no group had claimed responsibility more than 24 hours after the disappearance of flight MS804, an Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo. Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived in Cairo early on Friday to help investigate the fate of the missing plane, airport sources said. Reuters Kathmandu: A 42-year-old woman born in Nepal climbed Mount Everest for the seventh time on Friday, breaking her own record for the most summits of the world's highest mountain by any woman. Lhakpa Sherpa, who works in a 7-Eleven store in Connecticut, reached the peak from the Tibetan side. Two other Sherpa climbers share between them a record for 21 ascents of Everest, the maximum climbs by men. More than 330 climbers have climbed Everest from the Nepali side this month. Reuters Police chief resigns amid racial tensions Los Angeles: San Franciscos police chief has resigned at the request of the city's Mayor, hours after a black woman was fatally shot by an officer. Mayor Ed Lee announced Greg Suhr's resignation at a news conference, saying he hoped to heal the city that has been rocked by racial tensions. Hours earlier, Suhr had told reporters that a 27-year-old black woman driving a stolen car was shot and killed by police after she ignored orders to stop the vehicle. The shooting took place amid heightened tensions over a number of racially-charged incidents in the city. AFP Yes, Im mad as a goat: Venezuelan Prez Caracas: Called mad as a goat by Uruguays Jose Mujica this week, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro retorted laughingly that the former President was right, but he was only crazy with love for his country. Yes, Im mad as a goat, its true, Maduro told a rally of the ruling Socialist Party. Im mad with love for Venezuela, for the Bolivarian Revolution, for Chavez and his example, he added, in a reference to former President Hugo Chavez. Mujica, a fellow Leftist, ruled Uruguay between 2010 and 2015. Amid a deep economic crisis, Venezuela's Opposition is pushing for a recall referendum to oust Maduro. Reuters Store launches hangover cure ice cream Seoul: South Koreans, Asias biggest per capita alcohol consumers, can now soothe themselves after a big night out with hangover-fighting ice cream. A convenience store chain has launched the Gyeondyo-bar, which translates as "hang in there" and according to the company is the first ice cream bar marketed specifically to combat the after-effects of alcohol consumption. Drinking is big business in South Korea, and so are hangover cures, which generate roughly $126 million in annual sales. Reuters Plain cigarette packs law in UK, France London: The days of branded cigarette packets in Britain and France are over as new plain packaging laws came into effect from Friday, hailed by campaigners despite resistance from tobacco firms. The logos and distinctive colours on new cigarette packets will be replaced with neutral packaging, a move hailed by health campaigners as a major step in reducing demand for a "deadly and addictive product". AFP Islamabad, May 20 Pakistan Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz informed Senate that the country is considering to move a resolution in the United Nations, urging it to declare the Indian Ocean a "nuclear free zone". Referring India's interceptor missile test of its advanced air defence missile Ashwin, the adviser blamed India for nuclearisation of Indian Ocean and said Pakistan would raise the issue with all major powers "bilaterally and multilaterally", a report in Dawn.com said on Friday. He announced that Pakistan is planning to highlight the "implications" of India's nuclear plans and a proposal is under consideration to move a resolution in the next session of UN General Assembly to declare the Indian Ocean a "nuclear free zone", the report noted. "Apart from this air defence system, India has also recently conducted tests of nuclear capable, submarine based K4 ballistic missiles. Simultaneously large nuclear powered submarines are being built to carry these nuclear armed missile as a part of its second strike nuclear capability," Aziz was quoted as saying. He termed the missile tests by India as moves "against the peaceful and friendly" neighbourhood model proposed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and said that Pakistan had offered discussions on an ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) system free zone in South Asia during the composite dialogue with India but so far it has not received a favourable response. He added that Pakistan is not oblivious to its defence needs and will upgrade its defense capabilities "without entering into an arms race". "Our efforts for peace and friendship must not be interpreted as a sign of weakness," Aziz noted. IANS Taipei, May 20 Taiwan's new president urged China on Friday to "drop the baggage of history" in an otherwise conciliatory inauguration speech that Beijing's Communist Party rulers had been watching for any move towards independence. President Tsai Ing-wen was sworn in with Taiwan's export-driven economy on the ropes and China, which views the self-ruled island as its own, looking across the Taiwan Strait for anti-Beijing sentiment that could further sour economic ties. Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has traditionally favoured independence, won parliamentary and presidential elections by a landslide in January on a voter backlash against creeping dependence on China. It takes over after eight years under China-friendly Nationalist Ma Ying-jeou. Tsai, Taiwan's first woman president, said Taiwan would play a responsible role and be a "staunch guardian of peace" with China. "Cross-Strait relations have become an integral part of building regional peace and collective security," she told thousands outside the presidential office. "The two governing parties across the Strait must set aside the baggage of history and engage in positive dialogue for the benefit of the people on both sides." China, which has never renounced force to take control of what it considers a renegade province, said this month the new Taiwan government would be to blame for any crisis that might erupt. China's Taiwan Affairs Office said Tsai's remarks were an "incomplete answer", warning that China saw any push for Taiwan independence as "the biggest menace to peace across the Taiwan Strait, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, asked about the inauguration, merely praised the record of the one China policy. Regardless of what internal changes take place within Taiwan, China will uphold the one China principle and oppose Taiwanese independence, she said. Tsai pledged to abide by the constitution of the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name, and promised to safeguard the island's sovereignty and territory. She also mentioned the East China and South China Seas, where an increasingly muscular China has been at odds over territorial claims with its neighbours. "Regarding problems arising in the East China Sea and South China Sea, we propose setting aside disputes so as to enable joint development," she said. The American Institute in Taiwan, which represents US interests in the island in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, said it looked forward to working with the new government. The USswitched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979 but is also Taiwan's biggest ally and arms supplier. Reuters A leaf from the past After the end of World War II, the Chinese Civil War resumed between the Chinese Nationalists (Kuomintang) led by Chiang Kai-shek and the Communist Party of China, led by Mao Zedong By 1949, a series of Chinese Communist offensives led to the defeat of the Nationalist army, and the Communists founded the People's Republic of China on October 1 In December 1949, Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to Taiwan and made Taipei the temporary capital of the Republic of China Some 2 million people were evacuated from mainland China to Taiwan at that time, adding to the earlier population of approximately six million The Kuomintang continued to claim sovereignty over all "China", which it defined to include mainland China, Taiwan, Outer Mongolia and other areas On mainland China, the victorious Communists claimed they ruled the sole and only China (which they claimed included Taiwan) and that the Republic of China no longer existed Tsai omits one-China principle in speech Taipei, May 20 Taiwan's new president Tsai Ing-wen called for "positive dialogue" with China in her much- anticipated inauguration speech today, striking a conciliatory tone in the face of an increasingly hostile Beijing. Tsai took office as the island's first female president after winning a landslide victory in January to defeat the ruling Kuomintang, ending an eight-year rapprochement with Beijing under outgoing president Ma Ying-jeou. Voters felt Ma had moved too close to China, which still sees self-ruling Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification. Beijing-sceptic Tsai swept in with a campaign to restore Taiwanese pride, a message that resonated with a public tired of living in China's shadow. However she sought to cast Taiwan as a force for peace in front of a cheering crowd of 20,000 at the presidential palace in Taipei, where she was sworn in earlier on Friday. "The two governing parties across the strait must set aside the baggage of history, and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides," she said. Relations with Beijing have already cooled since she won the presidency with China putting growing pressure on Tsai to back its "one China" message the bedrock of the thaw under outgoing leader Ma Ying-jeou. Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party have never recognised the concept. While she showed no sign of backing down from that stance in her speech, Tsai emphasised the importance of cross-strait communication. "Cross-strait relations have become an integral part of building regional peace and collective security," she said. "In this process, Taiwan will be a 'staunch guardian of peace' that actively participates and is never absent." However, she still emphasised the need for Taiwan to diversify the economy and end its over-reliance on the mainland for trade. She also expressed the island's commitment to its vibrant democratic culture. "We, as a free and democratic people, are committed to the defence of our freedom and democracy as a way of life...My dear fellow Taiwanese, we did it," she said. Official mainland Chinese news outlets snubbed the inauguration, while searches for Tsai's name and "Taiwan" were blocked on social media. In an editorial, the Global Times - a newspaper owned by the People's Daily group that often takes a nationalistic tone - said Tsai's assumption of power heralded "a new era for a cross-Straits region that is characterised by uncertainty". AFP Denise Rondini No matter how well-made trucks are, they are going to break down occasionally, and they will always require maintenance on a regular basis. Enter the need for finding qualified technicians and then retaining them. Here are three initiatives that are addressing the issue: Be Pro, Be Proud The Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and the Associated Industries of Arkansas have developed a mobile workstation called Be Pro, Be Proud, that will travel across the state to introduce students to the opportunities available in trucking and other technical professions. Housed in a trailer are a variety of hands-on displays simulators and digital content where students can explore the skills needed for 12 technical careers, including truck technician and driver. The initiative will use various tools, including social media channels, with the message delivered with a look and feel students can relate to, explained Randy Zook, president and CEO of the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce. Peterbilt Technician Institute Peterbilt recently opened a third location of its Peterbilt Technician Institute, in Exton, Pa. The program is open to students who have completed a diesel program or an automotive/diesel program and want additional training. The PTI program lasts for 12 weeks three of which are spent on engines. The remaining nine weeks focus on other areas of Peterbilt trucks. Students are sponsored by Peterbilt dealers who cover tuition costs. According to Brian Brooks, director of credit and finance for Peterbilt, prospective students are carefully screened and have to meet minimum grade point average and attendance rates. Everyone that has expressed an interest is interviewed so we can gauge their passion for the industry, and to see if they are a good fit, he says. Once a student completes the program, he or she is placed at the sponsoring Peterbilt dealership. We have a number of dealers who have told me they are not placing ads in the paper anymore for technicians and are solely going through the PTI program. Black Rock Truck Group pays student loans Black Rock Truck Group decided to address the issue of aging technicians by paying student loans for qualified technicians as long as they remain at the dealership. Once they complete the dealerships 90-day probationary period, technicians are eligible for the loan payment program if they have at least a 90% efficiency rating, no unauthorized absences and no disciplinary issues. Participants are not required to commit to staying at the dealership for a particular time. It is our philosophy that we need to recruit and retain the best people. If we cant retain them, then shame on us, McConnell says. The dealership also offers a deferred compensation agreement to lock up some young techs and other service positions. In order to retain the services of top talent, the company created a special retirement fund totally funded by the dealership. While DCAs have long been used to tie key white-collar employees to a business (golden handcuffs), they are not often used for more technical types of positions. We looked at DCAs and thought why the heck wouldnt this work for technicians? Until there are self-repairing trucks, there will be a need for technicians. Perhaps one of these solutions will spark an idea for what you need to do to get and keep qualified techs in your service bays. Wolfgang Bernhard, speaking at a Daimler Trucks media event held earlier this year in Germany, Citing sustained contraction of global truck markets including North America-- Germanys Daimler Trucks has adjusted its 2016 outlook. The OEM now expects its operating earnings will significantly lower this year vs. the very good levels of last year. On the other hand, the company added that its profitability this year will remain very high. While stressing that it is defending its clear market leadership in the NAFTA market, Daimler Trucks pointed out that at the same time, there has been no revival of orders received, especially in the heavy-duty segment (Class 8). In a May 19 press release, the parent company of Freightliner and Western Star said it now forecasts that the overall North American market for Class 6 to 8 trucks will contract by approximately 15% in 2016. The Germany-based OEM said the drop-off across the Atlantic can be offset only partially by a rising European truck market. Although demand in Europe is significantly higher than last year, the competitive situation has become much more intense and is influencing market players pricing, the company stated. Another factor is that the persistently low price of oil is having a sustained negative impact on [truck] demand in the Middle East. Daimler also said the outlook for developing markets in Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey has been worsening since the beginning of the year and continues to worsen. It expects the Brazilian market will contract by about 20%, thanks to the political and thus also [the] economic situation again deteriorating there. As for Indonesia, Daimler expects to see a decrease of about 15%. The OEM also sees substantially lower demand in Turkey, due both to purchases being brought forward to 2015 and the very negative geopolitical conditions in place. The situation of global truck markets has been challenging for several months and has recently got worse, stated Wolfgang Bernhard, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of the Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses divisions. Especially in the NAFTA region, but also in the Middle East, demand is weaker than previously expected, he continued. We have therefore adjusted our outlook for the rest of this year. Although the forecast is for lower numbers than in 2015, we continue to anticipate a high level of earnings in the full year. U.S. Capitol Photo: David Cullen Updated on May 20. Following on the heels of the FY2017 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) package approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee last month that included a controversial legislative fix for the Hour of Service rules 34-hour restart provisions, a House Appropriations subcommittee has advanced its version of the funding bill with language that goes much further. The House measure, which cleared the subcommittee on May 18 by a simple voice vote, would simply roll back the Hours of Service clock. It calls for removing altogether the 2011 restart provisions, which became effective on July 1, 2013 but were suspended by Congress in late 2014. Since then, trucking has been operating under the pre-2011 HOS rule that permits unlimited use of the restart provision and doesnt require drivers to take two periods off between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. during their 34-hour restart. The House subcommittees take on THUD addresses more than just the HOS issue. The proposed bill contains two other policy riders widely sought by trucking interests: One would ensure that federal rules take precedence over state laws regarding meal and rest breaks for CMV drivers. The other would keep the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from moving ahead with a Safety Fitness Determination rulemaking until the previously mandated review of the agencys Compliance, Safety, Accountability enforcement program is completed. The Senate THUD bill that passed out of committee in April, and is now under consideration by the full chamber, seeks to fix wording in earlier legislation that muddied what the status of the 34-hour restart provisions would be if a mandated study by the Department of Transportation cannot show that the restart changes benefit drivers. Language in that bill also aims to prevent drivers from abusing the restart rule by capping the amount of time they can spend behind the wheel or on duty at 73 hours per week: If the 34-hour restart rule in effect on June 30, 2013, is restored, then drivers who use the 34-hour restart may not drive after being on duty more than 73 hours in a 7-day period." By contrast, the new House measure requires that The 34-hour restart rule in effect on December 26, 2011, shall be restored to full force and effect. It also includes a separate passage stating that no funds may be used to implement, administer, or enforce the requirement for two off-duty periods from 1 a.m. to 5:00 a.m or the prohibition on use of more than one restart during a consecutive 168- hour period and such provisions shall have no force or effect. But wait, theres more. Shortly after the House subcommittee put forward its THUD bill, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) filed an amendment to the Senate Appropriations Committees THUD bill that goes the other way entirely by seeking to restore the 2011 restart provisions. And Blumenthals measure would put the more restrictive rules back in place no matter what the results are of the study demanded by Congress on the effectiveness of the rule change. In a statement released after the House subcommittee action, the American Trucking Associations said it was pleased that despite sensational media reports, and misinformation fomented by anti-truck advocacy groups, both the House and Senate have advanced legislation that would remove the threat of the restart being eliminated as a result of a drafting error in last years Omnibus appropriations bill. Congress intent in last years Omnibus spending bill was clear: Unless these new restrictions on the restart are shown to measurably improve safety and driver health, they should not be imposed, said Dave Osiecki, ATAs executive vice president and chief of national advocacy. As it stands, because of this glitch in the wording of that bill, the restart could be eliminated, and Congress should address that swiftly so our industry can continue safely moving Americas goods without needless upheaval and confusion. Theres yet another wrinkle to a legislative process that already looks about as crisp as a seersucker suit on a humid midsummer afternoon in Washington. While some legislators are determined to fix the HOS wording glitch as well as push through some other pro-trucking policy riders by attaching them to the THUD legislation, others have been pushing back against inserting changes in safety regulations into must-pass spending bills rather than offering them in stand-alone bills that are harder to pass. For example, as reported by Politico, the House subcommittee's Ranking Member, Rep. David Price (D-NC), said he intends to submit amendments during the full committee markup to remove what he views as problematic policy riders from the THUD bill. Another example: Back in April, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the influential Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, made clear her objection to including in THUD a provision that would prevent states from enacting their own meal and rest break rules for CDL drivers. In a letter to the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee, she expressed her strong opposition to any efforts to attach a terrible anti-safety provision to the THUD bill that would dock the pay of truck drivers by attacking state laws that protect their pay during bathroom or lunch breaks, or when performing necessary activities like loading or unloading a truck." The White House has also weighed in. President Obama has cited HOS reform as one of several reasons why he may veto the funding package once both houses of Congress manage to pass it. On May 16, the White House stated that The Administration is concerned about provisions in the [Senate THUD] bill that have the potential to undercut public safety, including section 131 of the bill regarding DOT's Hours of Service regulation addressing driver fatigue. And along with outside pro-safety groups that dont want any of the aforementioned policy riders to go through, bear in mind not every stakeholder group in trucking favors all of them, either. Most recently, a coalition of major carriers came out firmly against the Senates proposed HOS fix. In a May 2 statement, The Trucking Alliance said it urges the U.S. Senate to delete the proposed 73 hours in a 7-day period provision from the bill because HOS rules should rely on sound science and statistical data to reduce truck driver fatigue. The group also argued that Congress should leave the HOS rule alone-- at least until data on driver fatigue is compiled after the upcoming electronic logging device mandate has gone into effect. So, trucking lobbyists seeking regulatory reform via legislation cant let up. There is enough firm opposition in Congress, in the Obama Administration, and from other interest groups including within trucking that the current cavalry of policy riders will have as rough a ride making it across Capitol Hill as similar measures did last year. UPDATE: The Senate passed the aforementoned THUD bill, which includes the HOS fix described above as well as a firm deadline on the proposed speed-limiter rule for Class7-8 trucks. The bill was included within a larger appropriations package that was approved by a wide bipartisan margin.. Related: Senate Bill Includes Hours-of-Service Fix At first, the former head of a drug trafficking ring that utilized Hoover Crips members as dealers appeared to be reneging on his plea deal while testifying Thursday for prosecutors in a federal trial of one of his friends. Are you telling me that Mr. Stancle did not receive cocaine from Mr. Parker? Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen Litchfield asked during the first day of testimony for the trial of Donyale Stancle. Not to my knowledge, Donald Walters replied. Walters was testifying before U.S. District Judge John Dowdell as part of a plea deal reached with prosecutors earlier this month. As part of the deal, prosecutors agreed to a 30-year prison sentence for Walters in exchange for pleading guilty to three counts in a 200-plus count indictment unsealed in 2014. Walters could have faced a life prison term otherwise. In August 2014, a grand jury indicted Walters, Stancle and 41 other named individuals as part of a federal, state and local law enforcement investigation termed Operation Battlefield. Prosecutors said Walters drug ring brought over $10 million in cocaine and marijuana from Mexico to Tulsa between 2011 and 2014. Stancle faces six counts drug conspiracy, maintaining a drug-involved premises and three counts of using a telephone to facilitate drug trafficking. He faces a 20-years-to-life prison term if convicted. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Hofland told the jury during his opening statement that Stancle was the eyes and ears of Walters drug trafficking organization. Stancle provided members of the group information about what was going on with the cops, telling them what kinds of unmarked vehicles law enforcement was using to track drug dealers in the neighborhood, Hofland said. Stancles attorney, Kurt Kerns, told the jury during his opening statement that his client wasnt an information guru as alleged by prosecutors, but rather someone whose real crime was being associated with men who did bad things. Kerns said the 42-year-old Stancle merely ran a gambling operation out of his auto repair shop in north Tulsa that was not sanctioned by the state of Oklahoma. Kerns told the jury that during the trial it would hear about the culture in an area of town that is frankly weary of law enforcement. It is an area where members of law enforcement are fond of enforcing seat belt laws, he said. They are really into that, Kerns said. Police found no drugs or weapons after searching Stancles property, said Kerns, who described the governments case as made up of words from a wiretap and from drug dealers seeking lighter sentences. The investigation included the recording of some 16,000 telephone calls made during a three-year period by targets of the probe via a court-ordered wire tap. Prosecutors said they intended to play about 33 phone calls during Stancles trial, which is expected to last up to five days. Walters testified that he had known Stancle since about 2005 and that he would frequent Stancles car repair shop and talk about his drug business. Litchfield asked Walters if he recalled telling him in April that Stancle played a valuable role in his drug distribution conspiracy. No, Walters replied. Do you recall telling us that you saw Mr. Stancle with ounces of cocaine? Litchfield asked. No, Walters replied. Minutes later though, Litchfield asked Walters if he recalled when he pleaded guilty in April and swore in a statement that Stancle was involved in your conspiracy. If making phone calls was part of a conspiracy, yes, Walters replied. OKLAHOMA CITY The Oklahoma House worked into the early morning hours Friday as it struggled to pass bills that legislative leaders say are needed to help fill a projected $1.3 billion hole in next year's state budget. Two measures, one to eliminate what's considered a double deduction for state income taxpayers and another that adjusts the state's earned-income tax credit, were sent to Gov. Mary Fallin to be signed into law. The other that caps a tax incentive for oil and natural gas wells was sent back to the Senate after being amended on the House floor. Combined, officials estimated the three bills will save an estimated $240 million in state revenue that is currently lost to tax incentives, credits and deductions. Other proposals to raise or save revenue, including a proposed $1.50-per-pack hike in the state cigarette tax that would raise about $180 million a year, are still being negotiated. The Legislature is constitutionally required to adjourn by May 27. The House voted on the final measure at 12:24 a.m. and then adjourned until 10 a.m. Friday after House members suspended a rule that requires them to adjourn by midnight. Earlier in the night, the House voted 93-2 for the measure that caps a tax credit for so-called "at-risk" oil wells because they produce little profit. It allows producers to recoup nearly all of the taxes paid on production. House Speaker Jeff Hickman, R-Fairview, said the bill caps the credit at a total of $12.5 million and requires that oil wells produce 10 barrels a day or less to qualify. Hickman said the measure will restore about $120 million in revenue for schools and other services. The Oklahoma House voted 51-45 to adjust the earned-income tax credit claimed by 355,000 low-income Oklahomans. The measure makes the earned income tax credit nonrefundable effective this tax year. The state credit is equal to 5 percent of the federal earned income tax credit. Officials say the measure will increase state income tax collections by about $29 million in 2017. Opponents say it targets the working poor. Rep. Eric Proctor, D-Tulsa, said it impact single mothers and others in his and other districts throughout the state. "And the world turned upside down," Proctor said, noting that the bill and other revenue-raising measures were developed by conservative leaders of the Republican-controlled House. But supporters said the measures are needed to help fill the hole in next year's state budget. The House also passed legislation to eliminate what's considered a double deduction for state income taxpayers. The House voted 51-42 late Thursday for the Senate-passed measure after voting 50-45 against the bill earlier Thursday. The bill eliminates an income tax deduction that allows Oklahoma taxpayers to deduct state income tax they claim on their federal income tax return from their state return. Supporters say the measure will save the state an estimated $90 million a year for state services like education, health care and public safety. It now goes to Fallin to sign. ___ House Bill 1577: http://bit.ly/1TKaOuK House Bill 1604: http://bit.ly/1NBfZRt House Bill 1606: http://bit.ly/1W5AFUj The opposition is calling for public disclosure of the legal advice given to former Attorney General Faris Al Rawi relating to the indemnity agreement with Vincent Nelson. Speaking at the UNCs weekly Sunday media conference this morning, MP Saddam Hosein also criticized what he sees as the law associations delayed and weak response to the entire matter. 60 Minutes reports on a botched investigation in South Korea following the rape of an Australian woman, who is now fighting back. Plus stories on Norfolk Island administration and swimmers Cate and Bronte Campbell. Fighting Back Like many young Australians, Airdre Mattner from Adelaide wanted to explore the world. But what happened to the 25- year-old primary school teacher in Seoul, Korea, should be a warning to every traveller. She thought Seoul was a safe city, but she was wrong. During a night out someone spiked Airdres drink. Unable to get help, she was abducted by one man then handed over to two others who raped her. As awful and unimaginable as the assault was, Airdres ordeal became even more distressing when she reported the crime to Korean police. Investigators made her feel as if it was all her own fault. Incredibly, sex attacks on foreign women are becoming increasingly common in South Korea and neighbouring Japan, but Airdre Mattner is bravely refusing to let the perpetrators get away with their crime. Reporter: Allison Langdon Producer: Grace Tobin Sister Act Cate and Bronte Campbell are the fastest female swimmers in the world and among our strongest hopes for gold medals at the Rio Olympic Games later this year. But what sets the Campbell sisters apart from many other athletes is their ability to ignore the increasing hype about their success. Swimming is important to them, but refreshingly, Cate and Bronte are best friends first, rivals second. However, they are still determined to win at Rio, and they know that means one sister will have to beat the other. Reporter: Peter Overton Producer: Jo Townsend Mutiny on Norfolk Its only a tiny scrap of land in the South Pacific, but Norfolk Island has a long history that dates back to the mutiny on the Bounty. Half of the islands 1800 residents actually trace their ancestry back to Fletcher Christian and his band of mutineers. Understandably, Norfolk Islanders are proud and protective of their piece of paradise, but they now fear they could lose it. Earlier this year the Australian government shut down Norfolk Islands parliament, claiming the island is broke and the locals are incapable of looking after themselves. There is now a modern mutiny underway on Norfolk as the residents refuse to accept what they say are Canberras arrogant and high-handed tactics. Never one to shy away from a revolution, Charles Wooley accepted the assignment of visiting one of the most beautiful places in Australia. Reporter: Charles Wooley Producer: Gareth Harvey 8:30pm Sunday on Nine. UK period drama Indian Summers, starring Julie Walters, has its Free to Air premiere on ABC tonight. The 10 part series, which screened on Pay TV last year includes Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Jemima West, Roshan Seth, Nikesh Patel, Lillete Dubey, Aysha Kala, Olivia Grant and Craig Parkinson. It ran for two seasons, but has since been axed. The first and last episodes of S1 are 90 minute specials. Filmed as it is on location in Malyasia, the series is set in the summer of 1932 against the sweeping grandeur of the Himalayas and the tea plantations of Northern India. India dreams of Independence, but the British are clinging to power. In the foothills of the Himalayas stands Simla; a little England where every summer the British power-brokers of this nation are posted to govern during the summer months. The drama tells the rich and explosive story of the decline of the British Empire and the birth of modern India, from both sides of the experience. But at the heart of the story lie the implications and ramifications of the tangled web of passions, rivalries and clashes that define the lives of those brought together in this summer which will change everything. Julie Walters plays Cynthia, a widow and doyenne of the expats Royal Club. A force to be reckoned with, her influence spreads throughout the community. TEN and Southern Cross have signed a new 5 year affiliation agreement for the supply of TEN programming for the Northern NSW television licence area. This arrangement will see Southern Cross continue to broadcast TEN titles such as MasterChef Australia, The Bachelor, Offspring and the Big Bash League into areas including Gosford, Newcastle, Lismore, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Coffs Harbour, Tamworth and Taree. The new agreement from 1 July 2016 is for an increased licence fee to that applying under the previous TEN / SCA affiliation agreement, which expires on 30 June 2016. TEN Chief Executive Officer, Paul Anderson, said: We are pleased to continue our relationship with SCA and renew the affiliate agreement for Northern NSW. SCA are a valued broadcast partner and we believe the outcome from these discussions collectively benefits both companies. SCA CEO, Grant Blackley, said: Were thrilled we will continue broadcasting TEN programs to the viewers of Northern NSW under this new agreement. Our broadcast into the Northern NSW licence area, with centres including Gold Coast, Newcastle, Coffs Harbour, Lismore, Tamworth and Taree, will continue to deliver high value for our advertising clients. Earlier this week there were reports WIN TV has held talks with Southern Cross about buying its northern NSW assets. Further announcements in relation to affiliation agreements involving TEN in other regional areas are expected to be made shortly. The 325th Operation Support Squadron hosts a wide array of duties performed at a high level of proficiency. To be a stand-out requires a can-do attitude and the utmost professionalism. Senior Airman Connor Dodge, 325th Operations Support Squadron airfield systems technician, is that stand-out and this week's unsung hero. Originally from Plainfield, New Hampshire, Dodge grew up in what he described as a small town with a population of only a few thousand people. My first taste of any city life was definitely when I joined the Air Force, Dodge said. Everything was very different from what I was used to, especially in San Antonio when I was granted base liberty upon graduating basic military training. Dodge spends his spare time actively in the gym. When not thinking about work I really enjoy having a break with my friends, said Dodge. Im really into exercise, which I feel keeps me active and alert. He recently returned from a six month deployment to Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. He volunteered for that deployment. While deployed, his leadership abilities were quickly recognized as he was assigned as lead force protection escort overseeing more than 5,000 job-transportation coordinator movements. Dodge is a below the zone Airman making him eligible for early promotion. A lot of the time when were working, either everything is broken, or nothings broken, Dodge said. But I think the most rewarding part of that is when we have a big problem and are able to fix it. He expressed his excitement to get back on the equipment and refresh his knowledge. Dodge said it was a good feeling knowing aircraft only fly when hes done his job properly. Its been a really incredible ride since the beginning of my career. My advice to anyone in pursuing your goals are to work hard and start early, Dodge said. As soon as you get the opportunity to set yourself apart just do it. Dont wait until when you have to test for a promotion. Future plans that Dodge has for his military career is to become a Chief Master Sergeant in the Air Force. Photo by Evan Krape Last weeks Elder Abuse and Exploitation Conference drew professionals, advocates and concerned individuals from across Delaware and the region with the goal of better understanding elder abuse. Hosted by the University of Delawares Center for Drug and Health Studies (CDHS) in partnership with the Division of Professional and Continuing Studies, the May 12 event focused on multidisciplinary approaches for addressing elder care and elder justice issues. Weve all heard that it takes a village to raise a child; it also takes a village to prevent and address elder mistreatment and exploitation, said conference organizer Sharon Merriman-Nai, associate scientist at CDHS. More than one in 10 older adults will experience abuse, neglect, exploitation or self-neglect, and the consequences of mistreatment are dire: poorer quality of health, poorer quality of life, loss of independence, loss of financial stability, and for some, even premature death. We all have a role to play, and need to understand how our roles interlock. The event featured several nationally known speakers, including Elizabeth Loewy, general counsel and senior vice president at EverSafe, a technology company focused on the prevention of financial exploitation and identity theft in later life. Formerly the chief of the New York County district attorneys elder abuse unit, Loewy successfully prosecuted the complex and highly publicized financial exploitation case involving philanthropist and socialite Brooke Astor. Recounting several high-profile elder abuse cases she helped prosecute, Loewy characterized elder financial abuse as an invisible epidemic, with statistics showing that while one out of five Americans over the age of 65 experience financial abuse or scams, only one in 44 cases is reported, due to a variety of circumstances including guilt, shame, economic dependence, fear of isolation and cognitive challenges. Among Loewys cases was the widely covered financial exploitation case involving socialite Brooke Astor, affectionately known as New Yorks first lady of philanthropy. The story was chronicled nationally by the press with events culminating in a six-month criminal trial and conviction of Astors son and one of her lawyers for charges that included grand larceny and forgery relating to Mrs. Astors estate. Featured speaker Philip Marshall, historic preservation professor and grandson of Brooke Astor, movingly shared his familys experiences. In 2006, after years of increasing concern over his fathers handling of Mrs. Astors finances, Marshall, with the help of others, sought a petition for guardianship for his grandmother and eventually became involved in the battle over his fathers actions. My grandmother would never want to be known as one of Americas most famous cases of elder abuse, said Marshall. Yet, the sad circumstances surrounding my grandmother have informed a timely, and timeless, cause in elder justice. Marshall cited the cooperation and teamwork of caring friends and caregivers as the key factor in their ability to ultimately provide the oversight, care and living arrangement that his grandmother had wished for. Her abuse galvanized a collective response by family, friends, staff, and caregivers all united by compassion and a common cause. The strength of our diversity contributed much to our success, and I later learned this was an informal multi-disciplinary team. Added Marshall, Once we took action, it was clear that we were addressing a much greater, national issue, commenting that at age 104, his grandmother unknowingly entered her encore career as an advocate for elder Americans. Marshall has testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging and delivers keynote addresses across the country, focusing on awareness and prevention, supportive decision making and elder financial protection. UDs Karen Stein, associate professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration and a nationally recognized leader on elder abuse issues, was a conference organizer and featured speaker. Commenting on both the current and future environment for serving Delawares older and vulnerable populations, Stein observed, If we apply the national statistics to Delaware population numbers, its possible that 17,200 older Delawareans are at risk for abuse, neglect or exploitation but only 1,200 cases may come to the attention of authorities. However, there are new developments unfolding that hold promise for substantially increasing our knowledge of the known world of elder abuse, said Stein. Federal attention to elder justice has never been at a greater level; federal funding is moving away from demonstration projects towards outcomes-based research to find out what really works; and the research community is coalescing around methodological and ethical standards to advance large-scale experimental studies. The conference featured a wide array of panel discussions and presentations from stakeholders and experts from across Delaware, including presenters from the Delaware Attorney General's Office, Department of Health and Social Services, UD faculty and the private sector. Delaware Secretary of Health and Social Services Rita Landgraf was a featured speaker, discussing trauma-informed health and social care initiatives that are being implemented or are emerging in the region to address the needs of older patients and clients. Presenters representing the University of Delaware included Veronica Rempusheski, the Jeanne K. Buxbaum Chair of Nursing Science and professor of nursing, leading a session on Nurses' Roles and Responsibilities Pertaining to Elder Abuse. Karla Bell, assistant professor of physical therapy and director of clinical education, joined by Rempusheski and others, served as panelists in the events closing forum, Solving the Puzzle: Working Together to Prevent Elder Abuse. When closing her remarks, Elizabeth Loewy asked, Is there any good news? She pointed to the positive outcomes and remedies achieved in criminal court, also citing multidisciplinary teams, civil and criminal litigation, education efforts aimed at consumers, law enforcement and the community; and prevention through technological innovation as instrumental in the future effectiveness of addressing elder abuse and elder justice issues. For more information about speakers and topics, visit the conference website. Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson For the Record provides information about recent professional activities of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni. Recent awards, media, presentations and publications include the following: Awards Dion Vlachos, Elizabeth Inez Kelley Professor and director of the Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation at the University of Delaware, has won the 2016 Catalysis Club of Philadelphia Award. The award is made annually to an outstanding member of the catalysis community who has made significant contributions to the advancement of catalysis in science, technology, or organizational leadership. Vlachos was recognized for his extraordinary theoretical and experimental contributions to advancing the understanding of the molecular basis of heterogeneous catalysis of complex systems and to discovering and improving catalysts. His nominator also wrote, His ability to lead a large interdisciplinary effort within CCEI and work effectively with industry on real-world problems is unmatched. Clearly, the impact of Dions contributions has been exceptional in both breadth and depth. Vlachos has 340 refereed papers, one patent, one patent application, and one disclosure agreement, and his reaction mechanisms have been employed by various companies leading to commercial processes. Hao Liu, a doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering and a research assistant in the Center for Composite Materials (CCM), recently received the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) 2016 Student Leader Experience Award. The award sends student leaders to the SAMPE North America Conference and Exhibition to network with peers and industry professionals and increase their understanding of the materials and processes community. Lius research focuses on structural health monitoring of advanced composite materials. Advised by associate professor Erik Thostenson, he is designing smart sensors that are exceptionally sensitive to changes in strain and to the development and growth of damage occurring in fiber composite systems. Two UD undergraduates have been honored with awards from the Pan American Association of Philadelphia, which presented them at a ceremony in April. Sophiana Leto, a junior from Emerson, New Jersey, who is majoring in anthropology and public policy with a minor in Latin American and Iberian Studies (LAIS), received the Alejandro Reyes Award. Sandra Vieyra, a junior from Wilmington, Delaware, who is majoring in LAIS and Spanish education with a minor in anthropology, received the Irene Rivera Diaz Award. Both awards are given annually to Delaware Valley college students who are selected based on their academic and extracurricular achievements and career plans related to Latin America. Media Harvey Price, associate professor of percussion, is featured in a May 12 WHYY report on his work with the Peace Drums Steel Band project, which brings together Christian, Muslim and Jewish students from Israel. Presentations Irene Vogel, professor in the Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science, has been invited to present a series of lectures at the Sorbonne in June and July. Her lectures will focus on the research conducted in her Speech Research Lab on the cross-linguistic and typological manifestation of word and sentence prominence, and its broader implications. Chandra L. Reedy, professor in the Center for Historic Architecture and Design, presented a paper at the annual meeting of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, co-authored by two UD students, Ying Xu, in the doctoral program in preservation studies, and Kevin Barni, in the masters program in historic preservation. The paper reported on results of a research grant from the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, and was titled "Combining Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) with Image Analysis for Quantitative Tarnish and Corrosion Studies of Cultural Heritage Materials," May 16, in Montreal, Canada. Carrie Ida Edinger, a 1997 graduate, will be presenting An Artist's Perspective: Art and Anthropology at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) Department of Anthropology on May 19. In addition, on May 21, she will be collaborating with the On the Line programming. On the Line is a Riverside-based program of art, performance and research that looks at clotheslines to explore aesthetic, social and ecological connections of all kinds. As a participatory element, Edingers public raffle concept was included for the 2016 programming. The public raffle is in conjunction with the Riverside community and with the celebration of the statewide legislation in support of hanging laundry in California. The raffle was created to aid in the engagement at local library sites with discussions pertaining to laundry and clotheslines. Edinger has been working with an anthropology student at UCR who has been managing the raffle at the first two library sites. They have launched a blog that is a collaborative way of writing about the public raffle event, while utilizing new media to extend the participatory concept for the documentation from the physical site to virtual social spaces. Publications Tony Allen and Darryl Chambers are co-authors of an article, The Unspoken Variables of Success: Grace and Mercy, in the National Urban Leagues 2016 State of Black America Report, which was launched this week at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Allen is a member of the University Board of Trustees and an alumnus who earned his bachelors degree in political science in 1993 and his doctorate in urban affairs and public policy in 2001 and was the founding president of the Metropolitan Wilmington (Delaware) Urban League. Chambers is a doctoral student in criminology and a graduate research associate in UDs Center for Drug and Health Studies. Follow news and discussions about the report and its findings on Twitter at #LockedOut and #StateOfBlackAmerica. The Better Buying project, a partnership whose co-leader is Marsha Dickson, Irma Ayers Professor of Human Services in the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies, was featured in a May 18 article in just-style.com, the online news, insight and research portal for the apparel and textile industry. The project also was the subject of a recent article in The Apparel Story, a publication of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. Better Buying plans to develop a system in which apparel suppliers will rate the purchasing practices of retailers and brands and share those ratings publicly to foster improvements. Rudi Matthee, John and Dorothy Munroe Distinguished Professor of History, published From Splendour and Admiration to Ruin and Condescension: Western Travellers to Iran from the Safavids to the Qajars, in Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies 54:1 (2016): 3-22. To submit information to be included in For the Record, write to publicaffairs@udel.edu. Photo by Ambre Alexander Payne By third grade, many students know that its important to save, but theyre unlikely to understand what happens to money after its saved. A lot of students in third and fourth grade still think that the bank just holds on to your money, said Bonnie Meszaros, associate director of the University of Delawares Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship (CEEE). When Meszaros asked third graders what banks do with saved money, students responded with answers like, They put it in that room with the wheel on the door, and, They put it in an envelope and just hold on to it until I need it. In an effort to help students master this and other important economic information earlier, hundreds of volunteers visited third- and fourth-grade classrooms around Delaware to read Greg Koseluks new childrens book The Great Investo and the Money Tree. Each year, a book from Koseluks Great Investo series is the focus of Teach Children to Save Day (TCTSD) in Delaware, which is produced jointly by UDs CEEE and the Delaware Bankers Association (DBA). The Great Investo and the Money Tree is the sixth book in the series. This year, 266 TCTSD volunteers from 18 different banks reached 6,500 students in Delaware with a message about the importance of lifelong saving habits through entertaining stories accompanied by brief lessons and classroom discussion. Meszaros explained that this years TCTSD selection helps students to build civic skills and better understand how money affects not just individuals, but communities as well. As students learned that banks use their savings to make loans to other individuals and businesses, Meszaros said, They could see that there was this multiplier effect on the community. These lessons are critical to Delaware social studies and economics standards for elementary students, she added. David Hargadon, TD Bank senior vice president and regional vice president for the Delaware region, volunteered with TCTSD this year and said he was wowed by the students enthusiasm for the lesson. What a fantastic group of students with a clear thirst for learning, he said. Many students remembered the lessons from last year's TCTSD and were eager to share their knowledge. The program, materials and lesson plan made the instruction simple while building a memorable event for the kids. With a fourth grade class at MOT Charter School, Hargadon read the latest installment in The Great Investo series, which describes the magician calling on his old magic teacher, The Wizard of Wealth. Together, they conjure a money tree to help Investo understand how saving money can influence his whole town. Hargadon stressed the importance of students gaining financial knowledge in early grades, saying, By actively participating in early age financial education, we put our future generations in a better position for them, and the entire community, to succeed. It goes without saying that my TD colleagues and I are very excited to partner with the CEEE, DBA and Delaware's schools to help cultivate excitement around the importance of financial literacy, financial education and financial independence with our students, Hargadon continued. I'm already looking forward to next year. About Teach Children to Save Day This year, Gov. Jack Markell signed a proclamation claiming it to be TCTSD Week in Delaware at an assembly of second and third grade students at Warner Elementary School. UD CEEE Director Carlos Asarta, who attended this years proclamation signing, said that it was wonderful to have an opportunity to be part of the event. The students were very engaged, and it was clear that their teachers and administrators are excited to deliver the best economic education possible to their students, Asarta said. We are very proud to partner with the Delaware Bankers Association and many volunteers to bring this personal finance program to over 250 classrooms. The situation in ATO area in eastern Ukraine remains tense. The enemy continues to grossly violate the ceasefire by using, in particular, heavy weapons. This is reported by the ATO press center. "The illegal armed groups launched 15 attacks on Ukrainian positions over the past day," the report reads. The militants launched numerous attacks on ATO troops in Avdiyivka (18km north of Donetsk), using small arms, grenade launchers, 82mm and 120mm mortars. In Mariupol direction, the terrorists fired at Ukrainian strongholds outside Novotroitske (32km south of Donetsk), using heavy machine guns, grenade launchers of various systems and anti-aircraft guns. ol Ukraine and the Islamic Republic of Iran have held talks on creating the Joint Committee on Investments. The Ukrainian Economic Development and Trade Ministry reported this following a meeting between of Ukraines First Vice Prime Minister, Economic Development and Trade Minister of Stepan Kubiv and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Ukraine Mohammad Beheshti Monfared. Investment cooperation, including the implementation of joint projects, should be an important component of cooperation. We expect that the establishment of the Joint Committee on Investments will provide an opportunity to determine investment projects for the joint implementation and extend forms of investment cooperation, including state-private partnership, Stepan Kubiv said. According to the Ukrainian minister, the Government is working on implementing large-scale projects in the agricultural and industrial sectors as well as in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy, high-tech (particularly aviation), modernization of coal mines in Iran, railways, the reconstruction of power generating units at power plants in Iran, as well as the expansion of scientific and technological cooperation, etc. iy New gas tariffs for households are tied to the price on the world gas market. Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman said this during Government Question Hour held in the Ukrainian Parliament today in response to a question about the composition of new gas tariffs, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "The price is actually determined by the market," Groysman said. At the same time, according to the Head of Government, domestic gas production has been "virtually destroyed" in Ukraine. "To say a few words about Ukrainian gas production. I visited the Shebelynka gas field recently and saw the state of domestic natural gas extraction. So, I want to inform you that the domestic gas production industry in Ukraine has actually been destroyed for decades, and this has been done absolutely deliberately," the Prime Minister said. ol Procurement, Integrity Management and Openness (PRIMO) Forum, the world's largest forum on public procurement, will be held in Ukraine in 2017. Ukraine won the right to host a major international forum on public procurement, the press service of the Economic Development and Trade Ministry of Ukraine reports. "Procurement, Integrity Management and Openness (PRIMO) Forum, the world's largest forum on public procurement, will be held in Ukraine in 2017. The decision was taken during the PRIMO conference in Astana (Kazakhstan)," the statement reads. According to the Ministry, 2017 forum will be dedicated to fight against corruption. The decision to hold PRIMO in Ukraine was made after presentation of Ukraines report on the results of the reform of public procurement in Ukraine and the introduction of ProZorro electronic system of public procurement. The forum participants praised technologies and high standards of ProZorro team and expressed a desire to learn more about the Ukrainian experience in reforming one of the most corrupt areas in the country. ol The Prime Assets Capital Fund, whose beneficiary is Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, has not paid in cash for the subscription of the shares of CEE Confectionary Investments Limited Company. This is said in an official letter by Cyprus-based Dr. K. Chrysostomides & Co LLC, which is available to Ukrinform. In relation to the issuance by the Company of 18,000 ordinary shares on 25th March 2016 , we verify the following in our capacity as legal advisors and Secretary of the Company [CEE Confectionary Investments Limited ]: the Company issued the Shares for a total consideration of Euro 3,926,160.00 to Public Joint-Stock Company Closed Non-Diversified Corporate Investment Fund Prime Assets Capital on the basis of the Share Subscription Agreement dated 25th March 2016, reads the document. According to the agreement, Prime Assets Capital agreed to pay the subscription of the shares by transferring to the Company the participatory interest held by the subscriber [Prime Assets Capital] in the Ukrainian registered LLC Central European Confectionary Company. No payment in cash has taken place, reads the letter. Furthermore, according to the letter, the company has not opened a bank account, therefore the payment can be accepted in kind and not in cash for the subscription of the shares. iy The Foreign Affairs Committee of Polands Sejm on Thursday approved candidacy of Jan Pieklo to the post of Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Poland to Ukraine. There is not secure Europe without democratic and independent Ukraine. In this regard, Poland, the EU and NATO are interested in assisting in the implementation of measures to deepen Ukraine's association with the EU, as well as strengthening the defense capability of the country, Pieklo stressed when speaking at a sitting of the committee. In recent years, Jan Pieklo served as executive director of the Polish-Ukrainian Cooperation Foundation PAUCI. iy EU Member States are discussing the possible postponement of introduction of the visa-free regime for Ukraine. Mykola Tochytskyi, the Representative of Ukraine to the EU, said this in an interview with the Ukrayinska Pravda online newspaper. According to him, the factor of the migrant crisis could affect the pace of adopting a decision on Ukraine. The diplomat noted that the European Commission might launch a procedure enabling the decision on a visa-free regime after it is taken to be renegotiated. "Some EU Member States believe that these changes should be introduced first, and then the visa-free regime for Ukraine can be provided," Tochytskyi said. At the same time, he added there was no final decision on this matter. ol | By Christian Zang An old proverb says familiarity breeds contempt. For Jay A. Perman, MD, familiarity has brought profound respect and affection for the 1,800 members of the graduating Class of 2016, whom the UMB president saluted as keynote speaker at the Universitys commencement ceremony on May 20. (Watch the ceremony on our Commencement 2016 page.) This is usually where Id introduce the commencement speaker, Perman said, stepping out from the podium after his initial remarks at Royal Farms Arena. But theres no need this time. Youre looking at him. Perman went on to say he had a major advantage over all the usual celebrity guest speakers at commencement. I know you, he said. I can truly say that you are my students, Perman added, pointing out that this was probably the first graduating class whose members in total arrived during his six years as UMB president. I saw many of you for the first time during your orientation, when everything about this University was brand new before the faculty here today became your mentors, and the classmates beside you became your friends. Graduates of the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy celebrate their accomplishments. Some of you have spent Tuesday afternoons with me treating young patients in my Presidents Clinic. Some of you have come to my home for Sunday brunch with my wife, Andrea, and me. I know you. And because of that, Perman could thank the graduates for their civility, their leadership, and their service that he has observed firsthand. This community is so much better for your being here, Perman told the graduates after urging them to thank the families, friends, and faculty on hand whove helped you along this journey with a round of applause. Ive seen you give up your Saturday mornings when a couple hours sleep would have been welcome to tutor middle and high school students and show them what a professional career might look like for them. Ive seen you in the community week in and week out making sure that our neighbors with HIV are living with the disease, instead of dying from it. Youve worked to improve oral health care in poor and underserved communities, with a stunning commitment to understanding these populations that need your capable and compassionate care the most. You have been advocates, helping unaccompanied children from Central America navigate the immigration system, so they might feel a little less afraid, a little less alone. Youve helped local schoolchildren tap into their own resilience and change the story that poverty might have written for them. Youve taken our neighbors in your arms from birth to death and bent their trajectory toward health and happiness, from organizing active play that bonds infants with their parents, to dancing with neighborhood seniors, who maybe havent danced in years. Earlier, Gary L. Attman, treasurer of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, had congratulated Perman and the students, saying UMB represents everything that is best about public higher education. Student remarker Alisha Duggal, graduating from the Francis King Carey School of Law, urged her fellow graduates to be strong. "Yes, the thought of this transition might scare you," she said. "But fear not. For we are passionate, persistent, and pioneering individuals willing to take calculated risks" that thanks to their UMB education will allow the graduates "to make the rational and informed judgments needed to succeed." Perman also was joined onstage by honorary marshals Marjorie Fass, MA, of the School of Nursing, and Bruce Stuart, PhD, and David Roffman, PharmD, BCPS-AQ Cardiology, of the School of Pharmacy. (Read more about them and other members of the platform party.) Two impressive honorary degree recipients added a special touch to the festivities as well. Wendy R. Sherman, MSW, rose to under secretary of state during a sterling four-decade career in public service and strategic communications since graduating from the School of Social Work at UMB. She started as campaign manager for Congresswoman Barbara Mikulskis first bid for the U.S. Senate and then worked in the State Department for leaders from Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama to Secretaries Warren Christopher, Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton, and John Kerry. She received an Honorary Doctor of Public Service. Sherman was joined by Freda Lewis-Hall, MD, DFAPA, executive vice president and chief medical officer at biopharmaceutical powerhouse Pfizer. Lewis-Hall had previous leadership positions at Vertex, Pharmacia, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Eli Lilly. Saying she came [to pharmacy] for the science and stayed for the patients, Lewis-Hall was appointed by the Obama administration in 2010 to be a founding board member of The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and has helped shape the direction of comparative effectiveness research. She received an Honorary Doctor of Science. Nursing graduate Rebecca Livingston sang the national anthem and UMB, a video from the Hippocratic Notes, an a cappella group out of the School of Medicine, also entertained the crowd. Perman lauded the graduates with a final salute. Your example of leadership through service and civility is extraordinary. When the leaders of this city and state talk about the goodwill and good works of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and they do theyre talking about you. But the future physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, social workers, lawyers, and affiliated health and human services professionals clad in robes before him were not being awarded diplomas without Perman challenging them to do more. My final request before you leave UMB is a simple one: Dont stop what youre doing, Perman said. Because I say this with all sincerity: You are the leaders we need right now. And people know it. So theyre going to seek you out. Theyre going to ask you to help solve the perilous problems that threaten our best ideals. Theyre going to depend on the qualities youll bring to the table: confidence leavened by your kindness; knowledge strengthened by your humanity. So, amid the joy and chaos of new careers and growing families that will require your attention and love, please say yes to your communities, to the people who have neither your education nor your influence. Use your voice and your work for them. Visit the commencement website for pictures, video, and more information. The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) in collaboration with other Hindu Americans groups are working hard to eliminate the stereotypes of Hinduism, but the Foundations itself have become targets for Hinduphobia for their efforts. The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has primarily focused on making sure that an unbiased and precise representation of Hinduism is made whether in school textbooks or university classrooms, according to the group's description on HAF's official site. HAF has invested nearly a decade reaching out directly to teachers, students, textbook publishers as well as school boards in a bid to ensure that the Indian culture and Hinduism it supported, is nothing less than authentic. But that's not where HAF draw a line. It expects the curriculum to be socially efficient and even-handed in comparison to the presentation of other religious ethics. This urging does not stem from sensitivities, but is instead about adhering to California law, which restricts adoption of educational material that in any way show negativity as far as a student's religion is concerned. Biblical verses have been isolated and perverted with intentions to advocate genocides, crusades and slavery. Islamic texts on the other hand have been used to make allowance for conquests earlier and have been taken hostage currently to proclaim terrorism and slavery. The core of these religions do not urge children to adapt to those hateful crimes as intrinsic to the faith of the wrong doers. However, the framework of these religions call for the unpleasant truth of caste-based discrimination in India to be cited not just as a social issue, but as an evil intrinsic to Hinduism. It is this noticeable injustice that drives HAF as well as other Hindu Americans to campaign for accuracy as well as fairness. And this advocacy is what making the Foundation a victim of Hinduphobia today. HAF has been successful in impacting educational programs in several states. California is the largest school board in the nation, and is home to a large Indian American community, so it's not really surprising this is where most passion stoke up. The Board's Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) analysed several emails, social media tags as well as links to international media coverage in preparation for its May 19 hearing on suggested alterations to the education curriculum stirring students in that state, noted Suhag A. Shukla, Esq., co-founder of the HAF via HuffingtonPost. HAF submitted a slew of edits to the Commission to enhance the representation of Hinduism as the text book teachings on religion are not just an academic concern. A national survey on bullying conducted by HAF divulged that one in three Hindu American children in the U.S. experienced bullying due to their religious beliefs. The real concern, however is not that these children reported being abused because of their ethnicity, race, or Islamophobia but the matter of concern here is that they were abused because of misleading stereotypes about Hinduism. HAF and other Hindu American groups that are involved in the process had to face politicization and hatefulness following the eleventh hour submission by a group called South Asia Faculty Group (SAFG). Besides the edits suggested by the SAFG, a loose-knit association of professional activists initiated a media campaign deceitfully criticizing HAF as an extension of the RSS accused HAF of being a Hindutva or Hindu nationalist front. Religious discrimination in America has caused legal scholars to come with a memo addressed to President Obama. In the memo, US government is encouraged to withdraw protection it gives to religious charities particularly in faith-based organizations (FBOs) so they may not perform 'discriminative' act when handling issues related to the religious belief. Liberal academic group expresses its concern on those operating as federal contractors with a memo stating that the goal is to enable attorneys, scholars and advocates to distribute a new method in settling conflicts when it comes to religious liberty and sexual rights. According to the document entitled the "Analysis of a Need for Legal Guidance and Policy-Making on Religious Exemptions Raised by Federal Contractors", the liberal academics are against Catholic church who opposes homosexual marriage. It is no surprise since the voice of concern received funds from pro-homosexual foundation, ARCUS foundation and planned parenthood donor, Ford Foundation. The document mentions United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) several times for its religious discriminations such as not providing contraception but taking the government fund. Most of all, the document marks a few highlights including transgender issues which do not receive proper health treatments when feds-granted religious organizations are behind the service. The grants will continue to 'support' the discrimination and the disproportionate treatments. According to ProPublica report, the current legalized regulations will allow the faith-based charities to discriminate. After receiving a lot of critics for laws in the name of faith, a group of constitutional lawyers ask Obama to revoke the legal memo. The paper consists of 16 pages of explanations and is signed by 15 legal scholars in the country. It is published by Columbia University. According to the article, Obama administration has actually taken steps to prevent the religious discrimination in America done by the faith-based organizations. However, experts found it is ineffective because it does not give protections to beneficiaries and unable to spot wrongdoings especially when these people are already in vulnerable conditions. Samsung smartwatch has been a successful wearable technology and the South Korean company seems to be adding more innovation including a recent patent that describes a device that can turn your hand into a touch screen. With this in mind, the next Samsung smartwatch will have larger UI display instead of tiny ones like the previous Samsung smartwatch generation. The Tech Times explains further about the patent. There will be a built-in camera so your hand can interact with the UI. The image on the Samsung smartwatch patent indicates many features. It can display dial pad so users can dial phone numbers; type text message using QWERTY keyboard; it can also zooms a map, and project UI to the back of the fingers. The tech giant has filed its patent to The United States Patent and Trademark Office and it gives a lot of information about the design of the next Samsung smartwatch. It clearly explains that the device uses processor can detect a target area, enlarge the UI screen and control camera to capture image. These features will make Samsung smartwatch more interactive and indispensable given the fact that people can actually play video games on their hands. The current smartwatch has limited abilities especially the small screen. Before this out-of-the-box patent, University Herald has provided the details on Apple's new technology patent Apple that suggests the next Macbook could be keyboard-less. As for the previous Samsung smartwatch, "Samsung Gear S2" that landed in 2015, it has been a great device in terms of features and sales. And pretty much all devices that carry Samsung brand are getting positive feedbacks that might mean a challenge to the other brands. If the new Samsung smartwatch projector hits the market, how much money will it cost to purchase such futuristic device? Union Pacific Plans to Invest $58 Million in its Louisiana Rail Infrastructure Union Pacific plans to invest $58 million in 2016 to improve Louisiana's transportation infrastructure. The company's multi-million dollar private investment will enhance employee, community and customer safety and increase rail operating efficiency. Freight railroads like Union Pacific operate on track built and maintained without taxpayer funds. Union Pacific's private investments sustain jobs and ensure the company meets growing demand for products used in the American economy. Union Pacific's planned investment covers a range of initiatives: $52 million to maintain railroad track and $6 million to maintain bridges in the state. Key projects planned this year include: $13 million investment in the rail line between Iowa and Sulphur to replace 29 miles of rail. $6 million investment in the rail line between Dequincy and Kinder to replace 44,140 railroad ties and install 22,144 tons of rock ballast. $6 million investment in the rail line between Lawtell and Livonia to replace 42,525 railroad ties and install 22,666 tons of rock ballast. This year's planned $58 million capital expenditure in Louisiana is part of an ongoing investment strategy. From 2011 to 2015, Union Pacific invested more than $619 million strengthening Louisiana's transportation infrastructure. "We constantly evaluate our customers' needs to make targeted investments that enhance our efficiency and deliver the goods American businesses and families use daily," said Brenda Mainwaring, Union Pacific vice president - Public Affairs, Southern Region. "Continuing to aggressively invest in our infrastructure is an important element in Union Pacific's unwavering safety commitment." Union Pacific plans to spend $3.75 billion across its network this year, following investments totaling approximately $33 billion from 2006-2015. These investments contributed to a 25 percent decrease in derailments over the last 10 years. ABOUT UNION PACIFIC Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP). One of America's most recognized companies, Union Pacific Railroad connects 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail, providing a critical link in the global supply chain. From 2006-2015, Union Pacific invested approximately $33 billion in its network and operations to support America's transportation infrastructure. The railroad's diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Coal, Industrial Products and Intermodal. Union Pacific serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers, operates from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways. Union Pacific provides value to its roughly 10,000 customers by delivering products in a safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible manner. The statements and information contained in the news releases provided by Union Pacific speak only as of the date issued. Such information by its nature may become outdated, and investors should not assume that the statements and information contained in Union Pacific's news releases remain current after the date issued. Union Pacific makes no commitment, and disclaims any duty, to update any of this information. May 20 2016 The Scottish Prions Service has published initial designs for a new jail at Milton of Leys designed to replace the Victorian-era HMP Inverness which has been deemed unsuitable for redevelopment.HMP Highland is expected to be one of Scotlands smallest prisons with a maximum design capacity of around 200 places with a focus on introducing facilities geared toward offering support toward inmates and reducing reoffending.The SPS will contract with the private sector to design and construct the prison following conclusion of pre-application discussions.A public consultation event is scheduled to take place on 26 May and 8 June at Inshes Church between 14:00 and 19:00. Aug. 19, 2022 Fitness. When the average citizen thinks of being fit, it is easy for cardio and strength training to come to mind. That is not the case for those serving in the Air Force and Space Force. Comprehensive Airman Fitness teaches that to have overarching fitness and resilience, one must work on his or All the latest Uttoxeter news Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Fifteen UW Students Honored at Convocation Nursing Awards Fifteen students in the University of Wyomings Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing received accolades during the Convocation Nursing Awards May 13. Students in the bachelors, masters and doctoral programs who graduated were honored. Donors have provided these awards for many different reasons, but all have wanted to encourage and recognize students who excel in nursing specialties, such as family nursing, public health or gerontology, for example, says Dean of Nursing Mary Burman. Our school enjoys this presentation, as it offers a way to honor our really outstanding graduates across all of our programs. The winners, their majors and hometowns, and descriptions of the awards are as follows: -- Samantha Baker, a BSN graduate from Powell, won the Gertrude Gould Memorial Award. The honor goes to a senior for excellence in public health nursing practice. -- Randy Baxter, an online BSN graduate from Powell, won the Making a Difference in Wyomings Health Award. The honor is bestowed upon a Wyoming RN/BSN completion student who has demonstrated commitment to continued education and excellence in nursing practice. -- Chrystal Brown, a Master of Science nurse educator program graduate from Mount Pleasant, Texas, received the Courage to Teach Award. This honor is given to a graduate student nurse for the personification of a critically reflective attitude about learning and teaching. -- Diana Charlson, a doctoral nursing graduate from Sheridan, won the Dr. Patty Hesen Haslam Leadership Award. This award was created by Ann Marie Haslam Hart, a faculty member in the School of Nursing, in memory of her mother, Patty Hesen Haslam. Haslam was a nursing and public health advocate in southern West Virginia, whose community leadership inspired educational and public health initiatives that had far-reaching effects across southern Appalachia. The award recognizes a graduating nursing student who displayed both grace and leadership in the DNP program. -- Rachel Choquette, a BSN graduate from Parker, Colo., received the Dorothy Tupper Memorial Award. This honor is given to a senior who best demonstrates caring, compassion and interpersonal communication. -- Jordan Davis, a BSN graduate from Colorado Springs, Colo., was honored with the School of Nursing Spirit Award. This award is specifically funded by faculty and staff to show appreciation for a basic BSN student who cheered everyone up, who was a pleasure to have in class, who is a pleasure to be around, and who makes us proud to know as a graduate of our program. -- Kelby Dickerson, a BSN graduate from Kimball, Neb., won the Amelia Leino Memorial Award, which recognizes a senior who is outstanding in family nursing. Dickerson has shown great passion in her clinical rotation in the Family Care Unit at Ivinson Memorial Hospital. -- Michelle Dowling, a doctoral nursing program graduate from Cheyenne, received the Alpha Pi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau Award. The award is given to a graduate student who is a member of STT and exemplifies advanced nursing practice in a rural context through research and/or clinical practice. -- Joseph Falcone, a graduate of the Bachelors Reach for Accelerated Nursing Degree (BRAND) program from Cheyenne, won the Dorothy Tupper Senior Memorial Award. The honor is given to a senior who best demonstrates caring, compassion and interpersonal communication. -- Kali Howe, a BSN graduate from Rock Springs, received the Rudolph Rudy and Louise Anselmi and Jeri Kirk Family Trust Nursing Scholarship. The award is given to a senior who best demonstrates leadership and responsibility. -- Mariah Kepler, a BSN graduate from Golden, Colo., received the Beverly McDermott Award. The honor is given to a senior for leadership and political activism. -- Kalee Plowman, a graduate of the BRAND program from Cheyenne, won the Passion for Nursing Award. The recognition is given to a student in the BRAND program. -- Lucas Simmons, a BSN graduate from Gillette, received the Lina Kennedy White Memorial Award. The award is given to a senior with an interest in and aptitude for gerontology. -- Nellie Simon, a doctoral nursing program graduate from Laramie, won the Carol Macnee Scholarship Award. The honor is given to a graduate student who has demonstrated excellence in scholarship and/or research throughout his or her academic career at UW. -- Cheryl Thomas, an RN/BSN graduate in the online nursing program from Bossier City, La., was given the Professional Nurse Award. This honor is given to an RN/BSN completion student who demonstrates excellence in practice, community service and professional service. Second UW Provost Finalist Set for Campus Visit The second of three finalists for the position of provost/vice president for academic affairs at the University of Wyoming is scheduled to visit campus beginning Sunday. Kate Miller, dean of the College of Geosciences at Texas A&M University, will give a public presentation Tuesday, May 24, from 2-3:15 p.m. in the Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center auditorium. To learn more about her, go here. Terence Parker, professor of mechanical engineering and former provost/executive president of Colorado School of Mines, spoke on campus Thursday. Jeffrey Thompson, dean of the College of Science at the University of Nevada-Reno, will speak Friday, May 27, from 2-3:15 p.m. in the Berry Center auditorium. More information about him will be available online at a later date. For each finalist, the public presentation caps more than two days of activities on campus, including meetings with President Laurie Nichols, the provost search committee, vice presidents, deans, the Faculty Senate and Staff Senate executive committees, students and others. The presentations will be captured using UWs WyoCast system, which will allow near-real-time viewing as well as archiving for later viewing. The WyoCast link for Millers public presentation is https://wyocast.uwyo.edu/WyoCast/Play/1fdb32671cc34a50bca37140420709771d. The link for Thompsons presentation will be shared later. In addition, Millers meeting with UW associate deans, directors and department heads -- scheduled at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 24, in Room 133 of the Classroom Building -- will be available through WyoCast by going to https://wyocast.uwyo.edu/WyoCast/Play/3cc3ec81c53144069034244e08eb2db11d. The provost search committee welcomes input on each of the candidates. Those wishing to submit their evaluations of Miller may do so confidentially here. The provost search process is similar to that used by the UW Board of Trustees in its selection of Nichols. The committee has sought input from campus constituencies and established desired qualifications and characteristics; has reviewed and interviewed applicants; and has arrived at a list of finalists. The president will recommend a selection to the Board of Trustees. The provost/vice president for academic affairs is the second-ranking leadership position at the university. Current Vice President for Academic Affairs David Jones will return to his position on the faculty of the College of Health Sciences. Wyoming Business Tips for May 29-June 4 A weekly look at Wyoming business questions from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (WSBDC), part of WyomingEntrepreneur.Biz, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming. By Robert Condie, WSBDC southwest regional director What is the importance of good recordkeeping in a slower economy? Frank, Rock Springs Information is a primary organizational asset that is needed now and into the future. The following points will go over why it is as important, if not more important, to have good recordkeeping in a period of an economic downturn than in good times. -- Good recordkeeping helps you find and share the information you need: Your business relies on complete and accurate information for it to function daily. Good recordkeeping can help you find and process the information needed. It promotes the creation of full and accurate records from the start. It also involves storing and managing records appropriately so that the information will be available when you need to use it. -- Good recordkeeping results in information that can be trusted: Good and accurate information enables the user to trust the information that is being looked at. Thanks to the proper recordkeeping processes, you can be confident that information is authentic and correct, and that you will be able to use that information without worrying about the source. -- Good recordkeeping helps to make sound decisions: Without good information, making sound business decisions can be difficult. When the information used is full and complete, decisions that are made off of the information will be easier and better informed. Plain and simple, good recordkeeping helps you to conduct a better business. -- Good recordkeeping protects you and your organization from risk: Good recordkeeping can be your proof that you have made considered decisions and taken appropriate actions. Records become your protection if you are questioned or challenged. Without them, you are at risk. Good recordkeeping not only can protect you, but it also can support your organization in legal or other challenges. It also protects the rights of your clients and ensures that they have what they are entitled to. Without records, your organization and your clients are at risk. Good recordkeeping also can help you comply with a range of legislation and prevent legal challenges from arising. It is a powerful risk mitigation tool. It also ensures that records are destroyed in a timely way, which again mitigates risk. In an economic downturn, this can be one of the best defenses against costly miscues or legal challenges. -- Good recordkeeping can save you money: Good recordkeeping also helps to routinely purge time-expired business information and, therefore, save money. If, by chance, you are audited, that good information will save time and money when you can hand over complete information to the auditor with confidence. A blog version of this article and an opportunity to post comments is available at http://www.wyen.biz/blog1/. The WSBDC is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Wyoming Business Council and the University of Wyoming. To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write 1000 E. University Ave., Dept. 3922, Laramie, WY, 82071-3922. Shaky Feelin' will host a CD release party Saturday night at the Bombay Bar & Grill in Ventura. Mark Masson is one of those extra-special guitar players partial to the jam band thing and a friend of fun. There will be plenty of both, especially the usual guitar pyrotechnics, when Masson and his band Shaky Feelin' host a CD release party for their latest, "Insider Mind," happening Saturday night at the Bombay Bar & Grill in Ventura. Growing up in Camarillo, Masson listened to Slash, and especially Trey Anastacio of Phish more than a couple of times. The musical result for Masson was the Situation a power trio heavy on the Phish-like chops and at the same time, providing a destination for those jam band dancers, spinning like a 3 a.m. tequila buzz, the spiritual descendants of those Deadheads who found themselves without a soundtrack. But that was then and it's still then now, even though for the last five or six years, the Situation has become Shaky. Known and loved for their improvisational skills, Shaky Feelin' has five members and expanded their horizons to include rock, reggae, bluegrass and funk. The boys in the band include you-know-who on guitars, Franklin Murphy on keyboards, Jeff Hiller on bass and Paul Menchaca and Cameron Probe on drums yup, two drummers, just like the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers. While the band revels in its unpredictability, the venue is just the opposite. Just a block from the Pacific Ocean, the Bombay has not only changed with the times but has clearly outlasted all its competition. For years, a pick-up bar, the Bombay (or any bar) still has that vibe but it is also the go-to venue for local, original music every weekend much like this one when Shaky Feelin' will no doubt fill up the backroom. The guitar player discussed the latest during a recent phone chat. So what's the situation with Shaky what's happening? We just got done recording our new album and we're doing some digital distribution, so getting it out there on the Internet iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon.com. So it's 2016 no physical CDs? Oh yeah, we have some physical CDs and we have our CD release party coming up at the Bombay on the 21st of this month. CDs will be 10 bucks and it's gonna be a packed show I can tell. I can already feel the vibe. I can feel the energy. We're gonna be in the backroom, so it'll be a full concert. Don't miss it. It's our first local appearance since New Year's, so we're pretty excited about it. We've got a band from Colorado, Greener Grounds, who will be hosting us and then the very next night, we'll be playing at SOhO in Santa Barbara, and we'll be opening up for them. Tell me all I need to know about the new one. It's called "Inside Mind," and that is also the opening track on the album. It's a pretty high energy song and we thought it would be a good way to blast off, but when we play them live, there's definitely areas and spots in our originals where we like to stretch 'em out. We like to improve, improvise and just see where things go that's where we have fun. Those are the things that are unrehearsed. That's where the magic happens. I think that's why people come to see us. Last time we talked, you had 30 or 40 originals no doubt, more now. Yeah, definitely we had a lot to choose from for this album. We recorded about 15 songs in a Burbank studio and we picked 11 of the best tracks, which means we're sitting on four songs so if we record another six songs, we've got another album next summer. So where does this one fit into your growing body of work? Is it more of the same, a whole other thing or what? Same direction, pretty much but just kind of toning it down a little bit. We just tried to make a good album veer away from the whole jamming thing that we do live. We just tried to create a well-rounded album; you know, there's pretty much a song for everybody on that album. We got reggae, we got bluegrass, we got rock 'n' roll. "Insider Mind" is more of an old dance beat kind of a track. We have a song called "Jimmy's Song" that is dedicated to our good buddy who passed away at the Good Bar he was a bartender that is kind of a sentimental song and it means a lot to us. Taking your show on the road did it work? Yeah, last year we headed north, stopped in Sacramento and San Francisco and went all the way up to Oregon and then back down to California, but since then, we've been taking it easy because I had a daughter 10 months ago, so I've been keeping it local and having a good time doing it, you know? We've been playing a lot of L.A. shows lately, which is working out pretty well for us. We're building a little following down there. Do you think you guys were in danger of oversaturating the market around here, or not necessarily or maybe just fatherhood is a game changer? Having a kid has motivated me to pursue my dreams ever more. It makes you step up your game a little more. I studied the guitar a little bit, and have just been writing more songs. It's very inspiring having a child to see what comes out of it is pretty magical. Yeah, she's been a blessing, man, and my soon-to-be wife has been taking a lot of the load, helping me out and vice versa. So it's a team effort. You guys used to have these home-game venues that were very good to your band the Good Bar, Amigo's and Green Art People Yeah, I was at Amigo's for about a year every Wednesday we were doing Mark Masson & Friends we had Jonathan McEuen and special guests come in every night, but now, we've taken Mark Masson & Friends over to the Bombay where I'm doing an impromptu kind of jam session every other Wednesday, on the second and fourth; and Jeff Hiller, our bass player, and Franklin Murphy, our keyboard player they're gonna be there on the first and third Wednesdays, so more or less, you get Shaky Feelin' there every Wednesday. So, how long have you been doing this and why do you have to do this? Just staying musically active is very important to me pretty much just playing with other musicians, different opportunities can come your way. So if you just keep playing with different people, you never know what might happen. What's the coolest gig the band has played lately? We just played the Lucidity Music Festival up in Santa Barbara and that was a great experience. The people were so friendly and the energy from the crowd was just amazing. We played two nights and the first night was a later night set and the vibe was just rollin' man. The first song was a jam we just went for it unrehearsed, caution to the wind. That's kind of how Shaky Feelin' likes to roll. That also makes it exciting you never know what we're going to play next. We have absolutely no idea what we're going to play next. If things go right and the magic continues to happen for Shaky Feelin', where do you see the band in a year? Just now I got hit up by an agent who wants to put a couple of our songs in a movie, so good things are rolling and a lot of buzz is happening. There's been a lot of good online reviews and people are talking about us left and right; I mean, just a lot of awesome things. We've really kind of built ourselves a brand with Shaky Feelin' over the last five years. It's pretty awesome and I'm very proud of what we've done. And there's no one to blame but yourselves you guys did it all yourselves no one helped you. Well, we've actually had a lot of help along the way but at the end of the day, you're the only person that's gonna take yourself in that direction. But we've definitely had a few great people help us along the way, I don't wanna name any names, but they are out there and we really appreciate what they've done for us. KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR Eshan Jafri (center) is among the Moorpark College graduates cheering on their professors as they walk to their seats during Thursday's commencement. SHARE KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR Pranav Kalyan (right), a seventh-grader at Lindero Canyon Middle School, is awarded two associate degrees from Moorpark College on Thursday. Pranav was the youngest graduate. KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR Barry Goldstein, the most senior of graduates, receives his associate degree in criminal justice on Thursday evening at Moorpark College. KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR Scott Timpe makes a selfie before getting into the graduation queue at Moorpark College on Thursday evening. KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR Carmel Gutherz gets help with her mortarboard from Patrick Nordstrom (center) and Neema Sheshebor as they wait for their commencement at Moorpark College on Thursday. By Michele Willer-Allred, Special to The Star Among the 1,663 graduates of Moorpark College on Thursday was 13-year-old Pranav Kalyan. The youngest graduate, he attended classes at Moorpark College while also attending classes at Lindero Canyon Middle School a seventh-grader. Graduating from the college with honors, he earned associate degrees in both natural sciences and math. He was recognized several times Thursday during the community college's 49th commencement, which also included a 76-year-old student, the oldest member of the graduating class. Recognized during the ceremony were 29 veterans of the armed forces who also were graduating. Before the graduates' names were read, the parents of Cody Hoffman, a 20-year-old student at the college who was killed in a car accident while on his way to school in March, were given a degree in memoriam for their son. In a speech, college President Luis Sanchez asked the students to turn around and thank all the people who supported their journey. Graduate Sandra Iskandar, 21, had plenty of family members at the ceremony, including her parents and three younger sisters. "I feel very accomplished, and all the late nights spent studying paid off," Iskandar said before the ceremony. She received degrees in physics, biology and chemistry, and will be a pre-med student at UCLA. Pranav's parents tried to teach their son math and other subjects, but gave up when he got too advanced. "I got bored, so I came here," said Pranav, who took classes during the afternoon and night at the college after his classes in middle school. Pranav said he was a little scared at first to attend college classes, but he settled in and felt welcomed by older students. Pranav, who also became the youngest person to receive a Microsoft certification at age 9, said he plans to transfer after ninth grade to Caltech, Stanford University or UCLA and become a computer scientist working in physics in astronomy. His 10-year-old sister Sriya is also taking classes at Moorpark College. "My brother inspired me," she said before watching her brother graduate. Sanchez said many students in the graduating class experienced challenges, such as leaving behind their native countries to study in the United States, and learning English. He said there were also many returning students, and those who worked and raised families while getting their degrees. "We're immensely proud of all of you," Sanchez said. Ventura County Community College District Interim Chancellor Bernard Luskin also addressed the graduates. "You're graduating from the best of the best," he said, "so I wish you the best." MOORPARK COLLEGE Enrollment: 18,643 Graduates: 1,663 President: Luis P. Sanchez Past years highlights: In March, Moorpark College announced plans to launch a new program in game design beginning in the fall. The college partnered with Bags of Hope and FOOD Share, Ventura Countys food bank. The college recently opened the doors to the Moorpark College FOOD Share to provide food for students, employees and community members in need.ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR
Kelcie Alkhoury, a preschool teacher at Rio Del Norte School in Oxnard, leads her group of 3- and 4-year-olds in a reading exercise on Wednesday.
SHARE ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR Preschooler Juliana Moreno (right) pans for water beads with her classmates at Rio Del Norte School in Oxnard on Wednesday. ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR Preschoolers Elia Govea (right) and Bella Gonzales paint a paper mural on a fence during outdoor activity time at Rio Del Norte School in Oxnard on Wednesday. ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR Preschoolers at Rio Del Norte School in Oxnard race scooters around a track during outdoor activity time on Wednesday. ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR Marissa Valdivia (right) and Victoria Sanchez cut paper to decorate a piAata during an art activity at Rio Del Norte School in Oxnard on Wednesday. By Cheri Carlson of the Ventura County Star Ventura County officials had hoped millions of dollars in new federal grants announced Wednesday would help them expand access to preschool for local families. But California did not make the list for the $250 million in preschool development grants. We are disappointed locally, and Im sure statewide as well, said Petra Puls, a director at First 5 Ventura County, a nonprofit that focuses programs for kids up to age 5. But she said strong partnerships grew out of developing Californias application for the funds one of 36 nationwide. I have no doubt that we will find a way to move forward, Puls said. President Barack Obama proposed making high-quality preschool available to every 4-year-old in the nation in his 2013 State of the Union address. At a White House summit Wednesday, Obama said that proposal has not yet made its way through Congress. But states and local communities have taken action. Progress has been made, he said. Still, fewer than one-third of 4-year-olds in the country are enrolled in preschool. Its not that working parents dont want their kids to be in safe, high-quality learning environments everyday. Its that they cant afford the costs of private preschool, Obama said, speaking during the summit on early education. For poor children who need it most, the lack of access to a great preschool can affect their entire lives, he said. (Click here for an interactive map showing preschool capacity in some local districts.) Ventura County did get good news Wednesday. Another pool of grants that provided funding for early learning services for infants and toddlers included Child Development Resources of Oxnard. U.S. Health and Human Services announced more than $400 million in Early Head Start Child Care Partnership grants Wednesday. Child Development Resources, which partners with 45 local family child care providers, was awarded $800,000. The list was preliminary and set to be finalized shortly. The California Department of Education also received funding in that set of grants. Its not yet clear why Californias application for the preschool development grants which included Ventura County and 10 others didnt make the cut. State officials said they were going over the scores and the comments on the application Wednesday. Carrie Murphy, director of early childhood programs for the Ventura County Office of Education, said local officials remain committed to expanding access to preschool. As the bottom fell out of the California state budget a few years ago, access to preschool took a big hit. Just in Ventura County, 4,000 preschool spaces were lost to state funding cuts, Murphy said. This years state budget included $260 million increase in early education funding. That money largely goes toward creating more part-day and full-day spots for preschoolers, and Ventura County and others are starting to add back spots, including nearly 100 spots being added in Fillmore in early 2015. I think we have a lot of work to do in the next several years to rebuild, Murphy said. Restoring access for the highest-need families needs to be the priority, she said. (Click here to answer a poll about investing in preschool.) Ventura County also is a part of a program developing a nationwide system to rate preschools, setting a standard for what a quality program should have. Research shows that preschool is important. But research also shows that poor quality (preschool) is a detriment, said Rachel Champagne, program director for Child Development, Inc., which provides preschool programs in Oxnard, Rio, Hueneme, Fillmore and Ventura districts. On Wednesday morning, Champagne stood inside a preschool classroom at Oxnards Rio Del Norte School one of the programs local officials say is a model. Students sat in small groups. One group read a book with a teacher, another cut shapes out of paper. The room was full of activities, from a puppet theater to outdoor reading center. Its not just preparing 4-year-olds for kindergarten, Champagne said. Providing families with high-quality preschool also helps sustain the workforce and economy, she said. Were supporting the workforce on both ends the current workforce and our future workforce, she said. STAR FILE PHOTO SHARE By Bartholomew Sullivan, USA TODAY NETWORK WASHINGTON An alarm that should have notified a Plains All American Pipeline operator of a rupture had been turned off, delaying the response to a devastating oil spill a year ago at Refugio State Beach, officials with the federal pipeline safety agency said Thursday. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration released its final investigative report on the causes of the Santa Barbara County incident, which on May 19, 2015, spilled more than 123,000 gallons of crude oil, about 21,000 gallons of which followed a culvert into the ocean. Oil and tarlike blobs from the incident also fouled beaches in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The company could face additional criminal or civil penalties, agency Administrator Marie Therese Dominguez said Thursday in a conference call with reporters. "The operator failed on multiple levels to prevent, detect and respond to this incident," Dominguez said. "The company's failures in judgment ... and faulty planning made matters worse. ... We will hold the company accountable." The rupture occurred at the same time a pump elsewhere in the pipeline shut down unexpectedly and an operator in the Midland, Texas, control room, dealing with the pump problem, ordered alarms that would have provided earlier notice of the breach turned off, the report states. That delayed shutdown of the pipeline. An outside caller informed the control room of the spill. External corrosion that thinned the walls of the 24-inch pipe was the direct cause of the failure. The pipe carrying 135-degree oil had been inspected two weeks earlier, but a preliminary report from the vendor had not been completed. The rupture occurred 6 feet from where a corrosion anomaly had been repaired in 2012. The company and employee James Buchanan were indicted Tuesday by a state grand jury on felony charges related to the discharge into state waters and misdemeanors related to slowness in reporting the incident to authorities. The company said in a statement it was "deeply disappointed" by the decision to seek criminal charges for what it said was an accident. It noted that of the 46 counts, 10 were related to the spill or reporting requirements and 36 dealt with wildlife killed in the incident. "Plains believes that neither the company nor any of its employees engaged in any criminal behavior at any time in connection with this accident, and that criminal charges are unwarranted," it said. It said it had "directly or indirectly" spent more than $150 million on the cleanup effort and has fully cooperated with regulators. In a statement Thursday on the final report's release, the Houston-based company said: "Plains is reviewing the Failure Investigation Report issued by PHMSA regarding the Line 901 release, which we received today. We do not intend to comment on the report at this time given the fact that there are ongoing investigations and pending litigation regarding the Line 901 accident." Dominguez said a notice including lessons learned in the incident will be circulated to all pipeline operators across the country within the next few weeks. After that, the pipeline administration will review whether to refer the incident to the Department of Justice for possible criminal investigation or pursue civil penalties through the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General. "This pipeline will not be allowed to operate until we are satisfied that all of its safety issues have been addressed," Dominguez said. Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, in a call with reporters on Wednesday, talked about the incident and recalled how, as a young mother, she witnessed the impact of the 1969 oil spill off the same coast that led to the first Earth Day. In a statement Thursday, she said: "In the year since the spill, we have made significant progress toward strengthening our nation's pipeline safety standards, including efforts in Congress to pass a critical update to federal pipeline safety standards. The release of today's report marks the next step in determining what actually happened so that we can fully understand what caused the failure, hold those responsible accountable for the harm done to the Central Coast community, and apply the lessons learned from the spill in federal safety standards. With millions of miles of pipeline operating around the country, the safety of communities across the country depends on it." Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village, said she planned to review the report and hoped measures like a pipeline safety bill she voted for in the House Transportation Committee can help prevent future spills. "Our coastal environment is too fragile for catastrophes like what occurred at Refugio Beach to ever happen again," she said. JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR The Ventura County Sheriff's honor guard stands at attention during a peace officers' memorial ceremony at the Ventura County Government Center on Thursday. The event was presented by the Peace Officers Association of Ventura County at the peace officers memorial wall. The honor guard gave a gun salute during the ceremony. SHARE JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR Motorcycle units of the Oxnard Police Department and the Ventura County Sheriff's Office pay their respects to fallen officers during a peace officers' memorial ceremony at the Ventura County Government Center on Thursday. The event was presented by the Peace Officers Association of Ventura County at the peace officers memorial wall. JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR Capt. Ron Nelson, of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, plays taps during a peace officers memorial ceremony at the Ventura County Government Center on Thursday. The event was presented by the Peace Officers Association of Ventura County at the peace officers memorial wall. JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR Ventura County Sheriff's personnel salute as taps is played during a peace officers memorial ceremony at the Ventura County Government Center on Thursday. The event was presented by the Peace Officers Association of Ventura County at the peace officers memorial wall. JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR Cmdr. Joseph May, with the Simi Valley Police Department, reads the memorial roll call during the peace officers memorial ceremony at the Ventura County Government Center on Thursday. The event was presented by the Peace Officers Association of Ventura County at the peace officers memorial wall. By Marjorie Hernandez of the Ventura County Star Gabi Aguirre was just 3 when her father, Ventura County Sheriff's Deputy Peter J. Aguirre Jr., was shot to death as he responded to a domestic violence call in Meiners Oaks on July 17, 1996. Aguirre was too young to understand what happened to her father that summer night, but Capt. James Fryhoff, one of the deputies who also responded to that call, said an armed man who barricaded himself in his home shot Peter Aguirre as the 26-year-old deputy entered the door. The sheriff's deputy was shot four times and died before he could draw his gun, according to news reports of the 1996 incident. On Thursday, Gabi Aguirre and Fryhoff stood together just a few feet away from a stone memorial in front of the Ventura County Government Center, where more than 150 people also gathered to honor Aguirre and other peace officers whose lives were taken while on duty. "There is a lot of support, and this is who my father has left me with," said Gabi Aguirre as she looked at Fryhoff. "He's more than just my Uncle Jim. He is, and all of them ... are my family." The annual Ventura County Peace Officers Association Memorial on Thursday brought together family members, law enforcement agencies and officials to honor the fallen officers. Capt. Randy Watkins, vice president of the association, asked the audience to reflect on the 32 names etched on the stone memorial wall that sits prominently at the west side of the government center. "In the relentless pursuit of evil, these brave peace officers stood between right and wrong," Watkins said. "Their acts of courage and dedication to duty personify what it means to be a peace officer. They truly have made our world a better place. Earlier, I pointed out those three words, 'Lest we forget.' Simply put, it's a calling for us to never forget these heroes." The hourlong ceremony included a presentation of colors, a 21-gun salute, and the playing of taps. The crowd remained silent as a bell was rung each time Cmdr. Joseph May read a name of a fallen peace officer during the memorial roll call. Three sheriff's helicopters then flew above the government center, causing the huge American flag held by two firetrucks in front of the memorial to wave in the wind. A riderless horse, representing the fallen men and women, stood to the side as Bill Boetticher played "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes. Among the crowd was Maura Kelly, the widow of Deputy Yevhen "Eugene" Kostiuchenko. Kelly wiped tears from her eyes as she heard her husband's name during the memorial roll call. Prosecutors said Kostiuchenko was killed Oct. 28, 2014, when he was struck by an alleged drunk driver as the officer walked back to his patrol car after an unrelated traffic stop on the shoulder of Highway 101 near Lewis Road in Camarillo. Kevin Hogrefe has been charged with murder and his case in ongoing. Kostiuchenko's name is the most recent added to the memorial wall. "To see all the people here, it makes you feel you are part of a family," Kelly said after the ceremony. Guest speaker Irene Crews, an investigator with the Brea Police Department specializing in domestic violence cases, said those particular calls are some of the "most dangerous and deadly" not only because of the volatile situations, but also because families oftentimes do not cooperate with police. "The climate of law enforcement these days has changed and now we have to protect each other and ourselves," Crews said. "We are put into a situation where it's already volatile ... and you have an officer who wants to calm everything down, but they don't want us there. When someone calls, maybe a child on the other line, my goal ... was to be the help for that child and let them know it's OK to call and it's OK to get help." After the ceremony, Gabi Aguirre placed a flower below her father's name on the memorial. The man who killed Aguirre, Michael Raymond Johnson, was convicted of first-degree murder and is on death row. Aguirre said she tries not to think about that tragic night, but instead talked about the strong smell of Brut cologne her father would always wear. She still wears a bracelet with her father's name engraved across the silver band. "I prefer coming here over the cemetery ... because in the cemetery, it's too real to me," Aguirre said as she looked at her father's name etched on the memorial monument. "When I'm here, I know I'm safe." The WestCare Nevada Women and Childrens Campus has been in need of a makeover for a number of years. Now the facility has been renovated thanks to the generosity of specific organizations in the Las Vegas community. WestCare Nevada hosted a dedication event at the newly renovated Women and Childrens Campus today, Thursday, May 19, 2016. Capital improvements were made possible through a $350,000 competitive grant from the Nevada Womens Philanthropy (NWP) and $214,000 in donated labor, construction and trade support through HomeAid Southern Nevada. Major improvements to the facility include: new energy efficient windows and doors, a new roof on the 33,000 square foot campus, repairs to the HVAC system and upgraded security system and closed circuit security cameras throughout the facility. Family members of passengers get ready to be transported by bus to a gathering point at Cairo airport. (Photo: AFP/Khaled Desouki) CAIRO: A massive search was under way on Thursday (May 19) for the wreckage of an EgyptAir plane that plunged into the Mediterranean with 66 people on board, in what the Egyptian authorities said may have been an act of terrorism. Egypt's aviation minister said that while it was too soon to say why the Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo had vanished from radar screens, a "terrorist" attack would be a more likely scenario than a technical failure. The tragedy raised fears of a repeat of the bombing of a Russian passenger jet by the Islamic State (IS) militant group over Egypt last October that killed all 224 people on board. The plane disappeared between the Greek islands and the Egyptian coast overnight, without its crew sending a distress signal. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the aircraft had swerved sharply twice in Egyptian airspace before plunging 22,000 feet (6,700 metres) and disappearing from radar screens. Both Egypt and Greece dispatched aircraft and naval vessels on a major search mission. They were expected to be joined by French teams, while the US send a surveillance plane to help with the operation. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi demanded an "intensified search" for the aircraft after reports that wreckage from the plane had been found were retracted. EgyptAir initially said on its Twitter account that the Egyptian authorities had recovered wreckage from the missing aircraft No. MS 804 near Greece's Karpathos Island. But the head of the Greek air safety authority, Athanasios Binis, told AFP that debris found close to the area where the jet went down did "not come from a plane", a finding he said was confirmed by his Egyptian counterpart. EgyptAir Holding Company vice president Ahmed Adel then corrected his company's statement, telling CNN that the debris that was spotted was "not part of our plane". French President Francois Hollande said the plane had "crashed", as authorities in both Paris and Cairo opened investigations. In the United States, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said "it's too early to definitively say what may have caused this disaster". Egypt's Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said he was unable to "deny the hypothesis of a terrorist attack or something technical". The airline said 15 French citizens were among the 26 foreign passengers on the plane, who also included a Briton and at least one Canadian. Both France and Egypt have come under attack by IS militants in the past year, and Hollande promised a comprehensive probe into the cause of the crash as suspicions swiftly focused on a bomb. "Whether it was an accident or another hypothesis that everyone has on their mind - a terrorist hypothesis ... at this stage we must focus on our solidarity with the families and the search for the causes of the catastrophe," he said. NO DISTRESS CALL IS has been waging a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security forces and last October claimed the bombing of the Russian airliner flying home holidaymakers from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. EgyptAir said contact was lost with the flight about 280 kilometres (175 miles) north of the Egyptian coast. A Greek aviation source said the flight had disappeared from Greek radar at around 0029 GMT. "It crashed around 130 nautical miles off the island of Karpathos," the source told AFP, referring to an island northeast of Crete. Greek civil aviation chief Constantinos Litzerakos said the pilot had mentioned no problem in the last communication before the plane disappeared, and it had not deviated from its course. "The flight controllers contacted the pilot (with the plane) at a height of 37,000 feet (near Athens) ... he did not mention a problem," Litzerakos told Greece's Antenna TV. Neither the Greek coastguard nor the navy could confirm reports that a passing ship had seen "a ball of fire in the sky". The civil aviation chief said if there had been an explosion, any debris would have scattered across a wide area. EgyptAir Holding Company vice president Ahmed Adel also said there had been "no distress call" before the plane vanished. TWO BABIES AMONG PASSENGERS The passengers also included two Iraqis and one citizen from each of Algeria, Belgium, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, as well as 30 Egyptians, the airline said. They included a boy and two babies. Seven crew members and three security men were also on board. EgyptAir said the plane had been manufactured in 2003. Airbus said it had clocked up 48,000 flight hours. EgyptAir hit the headlines in March when a flight from the coastal city of Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to divert to Cyprus, where the hijacker, who was described as "unstable", demanded to see his ex-wife. He had claimed he was wearing an explosive vest, which turned out to be fake. Last October, foreign governments issued travel warnings for Egypt and demanded a review of security at its airports after IS downed the Russian airliner with what it said was a bomb concealed in a soda can that had been smuggled into the hold. The painting by Dao Hai Phong will be auctioned on May 28. This is the first auction for art works in Vietnam organised by Lac Viet Auction JSC. Among the works are three paintings by famous artists: the Happiness by painter Hoang Phuong Vi, the Uplands fairies of artist Quach Dong Phuong and Alongside the red river by painter Dao Hai Phong. The starting prices for the paintings are expected from VND50-120 million. Along with the paintings, the two Tu Linh jars by artisan Pham Anh Dao from Bat Trang pottery village produced in 2010 will also appear at the auction. The starting price for the pair is expected to be between VND900 million to VND1 billion. In particular, painter Le Thiet Cuong also sends an altar dating from late 19th century to the auction with an expected starting price of VND65-80 million. According to Chairman of the Board of Management Lac Viet JSC Tran Quoc Khanh, auction activity in the field of art aims to honour the value of labour and creativity of the authors. The auction also contributes to figuring out the true value of the works by auction participants who bid with a desire to own the compositions. To date, the company has held neatly 1,000 auctions, and this is for works of art. The idea of holding the special auction appeared many years ago, with a range of preparations held early on, including collecting valuable works, connecting with experts, and inviting advisers. The auction is expected to attract 30-40 visitors. The organisers will offer profiles enrolled for the event from May 15-28 and start receiving registration dossiers from May18-28 at the 6th floor, Building No. 49 Van Cao street, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi. The auction process is done in line with current law provisions. The author or owner of the artworks will receive 100% of the value of the works at the starting price they set; the additional amount from the auction will be divided according to the provisions in the contract between the auction organisers and property owners. The organisers must ensure that products on auction are exclusive with clear origin and proper dating. Visitors walk around the Central Park Hallett Nature Sanctuary in New York May 12, 2016 after it re-opened to the public after being closed since the 1930's AFP/Timothy A. Clary NEW YORK: Eighty years after it was shut off to the world, New York has reopened a secret woodland sanctuary a stone's throw from Fifth Avenue, just in time for summer. The four-acre (1.6 hectare) Hallett Nature Sanctuary is one of three areas of woodland in Central Park, the huge expanse of nature in the Big Apple visited each year by an astonishing 43 million people. The little sanctuary is hidden away at the southeastern end of the park, just meters from bustling designer boutiques and luxury high-rise apartment blocks. For decades it was fenced off and allowed to overrun. "It was closed by the park commissioner Robert Moses in the '30s and Robert Moses thought it would become a bird sanctuary," said Doug Blonsky, president and CEO of the Central Park Conservancy, a non-profit organization that raises 75 percent of the park's annual budget. "Unfortunately what happens, particularly in a urban environment, if you leave an area closed for a long time, invasive species or plant material take over, forcing out the natives," he said. In 2001, the Central Park Conservancy decided to restore the sanctuary, which at the time had been completely taken over by wisteria strangling the woodland. It took years to win the wisteria war. Schools and volunteers were enlisted. "A lot of people think wisteria is a beautiful plant with purple flowers. But if you let it go, it will take over an entire environment," Blonsky explained. Rustic foot paths have been designed and covered in woodchips, and a pretty wooden gate has been installed at the entrance. Wild local plants have been replanted and benches at the top of the promontory allow people to take in the view or listen to the birds while sitting hidden in the greenery, the skyscrapers south of the park poking out above the canopy. MUCH WILDER "It is quiet. It is much more wild. I like to think when you are coming here you are almost getting a glimpse of what maybe New York City looked like before it was developed in the 1600 and 1700s," said Blonsky. Maintaining a wild landscape, is "very difficult", he told AFP. "You want it to look like it is wild, but it is not. It is very manicured, every plant you see or almost see has been planted. We are constantly battling with invasive species," said Blonsky. Some trees are dead, which, if elsewhere, would have been cut down and pulped into woodchips. But here they are being preserved for local habitat. "Look what the woodpeckers have done," said Blonsky, pointing to a dead tree. There are around 270 species of bird in Central Park. You can see many of them in the Hallett sanctuary, along with squirrels, racoons, ducks and birds pecking at puddles on the rocks. There is even a woodchuck which Blonsky says "is very unusual." For now, the sanctuary is open only three afternoons a week from 2pm to 5pm. In July and August it will also be open for two hours on Sunday. But only 20 visitors will be allowed in at once to maintain the solitude and peace of the sanctuary. On sunny weekends as many as 200,000 people can flood into Central Park as a whole to relax or exercise. The park's annual budget is US$65 million, of which 25 per cent is financed by City Hall and the rest raised by the Central Park Conservacy thanks to donations from park lovers and well-heeled residents living close by. With the addition of Peru there are now 28 countries around the world which receive products made by skilled Vietnamese craftsmen at Doosan Vina. On May 19, Doosan Vinas Chemical Processing Equipment (CPE) shop made the first shipment of high-tech chemical processing equipment that weighed 1,232 tonnes to this South America country. The project was signed on December 30, 2014 for manufacturing a total five high-tech pressure vessels and eight towers. The largest was seven metres in diameter, thirty-one metres long and thirty-six millimetres thick. It took ten months for CPE shop to complete the design, engineering and fabrication of the equipment. This equipment will be shipped from Doosan Vinas dedicated port and it will take a month and a half at sea to reach its destination in Peru. Since opening in 2009, Doosan Vinas CPE shop has made 150 shipments of top quality chemical processing equipment to refineries and other customers around the world. This growing client list confirms the reputation of Vietnam and Doosan Vina as a leader in the high-tech field of chemical processing equipment. Doosan Vina CPE is part of a high-tech industrial complex in the Dung Quat Economic Zone of Central Vietnam and produces a range of industrial components including boilers for thermal power plants, heat recovery steam generators, desalination plants, material handling systems and chemical processing equipment. The firm is part of South Korean conglomerate the Doosan Group. An EgyptAir plane carrying 66 people crashed in the Mediterranean early on May 19. (Photo: AFP/Andy Buchanan) ATHENS: The head of the Greek air safety authority on Thursday (May 19) told AFP that wreckage found in the Mediterranean close to where an EgyptAir passenger jet is thought to have crashed "does not come from a plane". "Up to now the analysis of the debris indicates that it does not come from a plane, my Egyptian counterpart also confirmed to me that it was not yet proven that the debris came from the EgyptAir flight when we were last in contact around 1745 GMT," Athanasios Binis told AFP. His words contradicted an earlier claim by EgyptAir on Twitter, which said Egyptian officials had confirmed that debris found near the Greek island of Karpathos came from the ill-fated flight, along with floating "life jackets and plastic material". "What was found was a piece of wood, and some materials that do not come from a plane," said Binis of the Greek Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board. "Based on the available geographical information, we are talking about the same debris," he added, although he stressed that new information could come in at any time. The EgyptAir plane carrying 66 people disappeared from radar screens early Thursday, taking two sharp turns before plunging 22,000 feet into the Mediterranean Sea, Greek officials said. Egypt's aviation minister said that while it was too soon to say why the Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo had vanished, "a terrorist" attack would be a more likely scenario than a technical failure. The information was published by the Investment Promotion and Business Support Board of Quang Nam. In the framework of a working session with leaders of the Quang Nam Peoples Committee, the company presented plans to implement the project. Accordingly, it proposed to spend $25 million developing the first phase on an area of 200 hectares, constructing factories and other infrastructure aiming to attract investors operating in the mechanical engineering, electronic and electricity, garment and textile, home appliance manufacturing, agricultural product, and pharmaceuticals and cosmetics sectors, as well as supporting industries. According to Le Tri Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Quang Nam Peoples Committee, once the project comes into operation, it will contribute to the provinces socio-economic development. Thanh added that the province would support the company to complete the procedures for the investment certificate as well as provide administrative consultation and backup to make sure the project can be implemented on schedule. Thanh requested Dae Young E&C to concentrate on environmental protection, building adequate accommodations as well as vocational training facilities for workers. The company committed to submitting the dossiers for the investment certificate soon and completing the projects construction by the end of 2016. The IP is expected to welcome investors in early 2017. The event attracted more than 100 participants who were updated with latest engineering products and technologies presented by Siemens leading experts from Germany as well as from several regional countries. The seminar covered diverse issues related to power sources, transmission and transformers, high-voltage products, digital power network, medium and low-voltage products. The event provided a useful platform where the customers could share experiences and reported their concerns to Siemens, helping the company to become more knowledgeable about the customers to be able to further improve services quality in the upcoming time. In the past more than three decades, Siemens Vietnam has successfully deployed a raft of important power projects throughout Vietnam and accompanied its customers to ensure stability of power sources, parallel to boosting power transmission and distribution efficiency. Photo from Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau's facebook. All participants told reporters that the tour was a "unique" one in their lives, a special experience in a place with an unreal beauty. They said they will promote the image of Son Doong cave to their friends, families and the world. Walking out from Son Doong cave, where his cell phone could work again, Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau, who launched the idea of organizing this exploration tour for foreign ambassadors in Vietnam, wrote on his personal Facebook page that this was "an emotional journey". We wore traditional costumes, saluted the flags and sang the National Anthems at the deepest place under the ground ..., he wrote. Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau, Director of the Department of Cultural Relations and UNESCO of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hoped that, after this trip, Son Doong cave, Quang Binh tourism in particular and Vietnam in general will be promoted strongly worldwide. (Photo from Ambassador Pham Sanh Chaus Facebook) US Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski said that this was an amazing trip and thanked Quang Binh people and government for conserving Son Doong for future generations. He said tourists around the world will come to admire the beauty and popularity of Son Doong. Here are exclusive photos of Oxalis Adventures of the journey to explore the world's largest cave made by Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau of Vietnam, six foreign ambassadors to Vietnam, the US Assistant Secretary of State, the runner-up of Miss Universe Vietnam Duong Truong Thien, provided by Nguyen Chau A, General Director of Oxalis, the only provider of Son Doong tours, to Dan Tri online newspaper: Vietnamese shares tumbled this morning on low liquidity as investors were cautious after two days of losses. - Photo vietnamplus The VN-Index on the southern bourse lost 0.3 per cent to close at 617.33 points, while the HNX-Index on the northern bourse slid by 0.4 per cent to 81.48 points. Oil stocks saw slight gains this morning with PetroVietnam (GAS) and PetroVietnam Drilling (PVD) rising by 0.9 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively, although global oil prices had dropped on Thursday on worries about supply from Canada and Nigeria. However, losses in large-cap stocks, such as Vietcombank (VCB), Masan Group (MSN), BIDV (BID) and Hoa Phat Group (HPG), dragged the benchmark index down in this morning's trading session. Both national stock exchanges saw low trading volumes and values as investors were cautious after the benchmark indices saw losses for the second day on Thursday. On the HCM Stock Exchange, only 59 million shares were traded with a total value of VND1.44 trillion (US$64.3 million). In the capital city, the trading volume was modest at VND213 million with the exchange of 18.6 million shares. Vietnam Airlines planes parked at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City. A shortage of infrastructure is the biggest challenge to the aviation sector. - VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung Lai Xuan Thanh, head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam (CAAV), said airports nationwide are capable of accommodating a total of 75 million passengers annually. In the past four months, 63 million had already been accommodated, adding more pressure on the country's aviation infrastructure, he said. During the reviewed period, the sector grew by nearly 25 per cent, ranking fifth in Southeast Asia, Thanh noted. He said the speedy development has challenged domestic airlines and aviation businesses. The CAAV has submitted plans to upgrade aviation infrastructure, ensure safety for flights and create the best possible conditions for airlines. The Ministry of Transport plans to expand the Tan Son Nhat International Airport and raise its capacity to 40 million passengers per year, Thanh said, expressing his worry that the number was still moderate compared with the growth rate. His views were shared by Vu Pham Nguyen An, deputy director of the Airport Operation Department under the Airports Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV), who said most airports, excluding the Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat and Da Nang international airports, are incurring losses. The ACV is facing financial difficulties as it has been in charge of all the operation costs of the failed airports, he said. An suggested the air carriers use auxiliary ports in a bid to ease the load at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Duong Tri Thanh, deputy general director of Vietnam Airlines, proposed the CAAV assign airlines specific areas in the airports to ensure equality and healthy competition. Luong The Phuc, deputy general director of Vietjet, suggested the CAAV create conditions for air carriers to upgrade aviation infrastructure and co-ordinate with each other during programmes to improve flight management. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Ernest Harold Baynes stands with Jimmy, a bear he had trained while living in Plainfield, N.H., in an undated photograph. (Courtesy Plainfield Historical Society) Photographer and naturalist Ernest Harold Baynes, of Meriden, N.H., sent this unopened package of glass slides he took to Meriden in July 1925 from Buffalo N.Y. (Valley News - Jennifer Hauck) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. At the Plainfield Historical Society in Plainfield, N.H., Chris Wright of Kalamazoo, Mich., looks at the projector used by photographer and naturalist Ernest Harold Baynes of Meriden. Wright and other volunteers have been scanning Baynes' black and white glass slides on May 17, 2016. (Valley News - Jennifer Hauck) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Valley News Jennifer Hauck A glass slide taken by photographer and naturalist Ernest Harold Baynes of Meriden, N.H. Baynes documented animals at work during World War I. Ed Rice, of Ann Arbor, Mich., was at the Plainfield Historical Society to help scan the images on May 17, 2016. (Valley News - Jennifer Hauck) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. A glass slide taken by photographer and naturalist Ernest Harold Baynes of Meriden, N.H. Baynes documented animals at work during World War I. Ed Rice, of Ann Arbor, Mich., was at the Plainfield Historical Society to help scan the images on May 17, 2016. (Valley News - Jennifer Hauck) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. At the Plainfiled Historical Society, in Plainfield, N.H., volunteers Chris Wright, of Kalamazoo, Mich., left, Donna Beaupre, Steve Beaupre, both of Meriden, and Joe Bretton, of Plainfield, scan glass slides on May 17, 2016. Photographer and naturalist Ernest Harold Baynes of Meriden, N.H., documented thousands of animals in the area and throughout the world. (Valley News - Jennifer Hauck) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Plainfield In the hall of the Plainfield Historical Society on Tuesday, a half-dozen volunteers crowded around a work table covered in computer cables, digital scanning equipment and palm-sized cardboard boxes. Wearing blue plastic gloves, the volunteers thumbed through the boxes and some larger wooden cases, removing glass slides from paper envelopes and placing them, one by one, on one of the three scanners. Within about a minute, a copy of the slide appeared on a computer screen before them: photographs of bison, birds, wolves, frogs and more natural imagery captured or collected a century ago by famed conservationist, photographer, lecturer and Meriden resident Ernest Harold Baynes. Some of them havent been touched for 100 years, really, Plainfield Historical Society Vice President Jane Stephenson said, shortly before helping volunteer Donna Beaupre to scan a slide labeled five baby skunks. Its a huge project. Led by a Michigan man who spent his formative years in Plainfield, the Historical Society is working to digitize the collection of thousands of glass photographic slides that Baynes displayed on cross-country lecturing tours in the early 20th century, when he brought images of wildlife to the masses in an era when such access was not readily available. What remains today is a rigorous catalogue peering into the professional and personal life of Baynes, widely credited with helping to save the nearly extinct American bison and songbird. But until the collection is digitized, its at risk of being lost, said Chris Wright, the Kalamazoo, Mich., resident who lived in Plainfield until he was 10. It was important, and I was able to do it, said Wright, a Macintosh consultant who sits on his citys preservation commission and who visits Plainfield once a year; his parents moved back to town in the early 2000s. Stephenson said the slides were donated to the Historical Society more than a decade ago, when the descendants of Annie Duncan found them in the attic of her for-sale Meriden home. When Wright offered to take the reins in a digitizing effort, they thought there might be 500 slides to scan but soon realized there could be as many as 4,000. By Tuesday afternoon, they had scanned about 890 slides, with plans to continue scanning into next week and an expectation of a second round to come during the summer. Of course it can be done better, but we dont have $30,000 for an 80-megapixel camera, Wright said on Tuesday, chuckling as he motioned to the hodgepodge of home scanners and personal laptops that were collected in the hall. Were doing the best we can with what we have and no money. How the digitized archive is used or presented remains to be seen, Stephenson said; the focus right now is finishing the process. Wright said the important part is to save irreplaceable work. My main thing doing this, Wright said, is (making sure) anything I was doing was not damaging the slides. No wonder: The sprawling collection was meticulously captured and catalogued by Baynes for decades until his death in 1925 in Meriden. He was born in Calcutta, India, in 1868 and raised in Calcutta and Britain before emigrating to the country and meeting his wife, Louise, who continuously assisted in his conservation and documentation efforts. They were drawn to Sullivan County around the turn of the century by the Blue Mountain Forest Association, according to Choice White Pines and Good Land, a book on Plainfield history by Philip Zea. The area also is known as Corbin Park, a 19,000-acre preserve extending across Plainfield, Croydon, Cornish, Grantham and Newport. Always interested in animals, Baynes had been writing articles about the natural world for magazines, and in Corbin Park, he found a reservation teeming with herds of deer, elk, wild boar, bison and a large variety of birds, according to Zeas account. Baynes efforts regarding the bison, including founding the American Bison Society and working to create refuges for herds many of which originated in Corbin Park paved the way for the animal to be named the countrys national mammal just last month. Famous for riding a cart drawn by bison to the Meriden Country Store, Baynes called upon President Theodore Roosevelt for that animals conservation effort in 1902, and drew upon Woodrow Wilson the following decade in his campaign to save colorful songbirds from their common fate as frill on ladies hats, enlisting the presidents two daughters in a bird masque production about the creatures that was performed in Meriden. Baynes was known, too, for domesticating a range of animals from a wolf named Polaris to a bear named Jimmy, and writing about his adventures with the animals in his syndicated articles and books. It also was in Meriden that he founded the continents first birding club in 1910 indeed, a member of the still-operational Meriden Birding Club was on hand to help in the digiziting efforts on Tuesday. Joe Bretton said he was trying to resist the temptation to examine the glass slides before scanning them. I try to work quickly, Bretton said, so I try to be surprised on the screen. Editors Note: Stephenson said anyone interested in helping can contact her at 603-298-8834. Maggie Cassidy can be reached at mcassidy@vnews.com or 603-727-3220. Civil society leaders have called for the head of Cambodias army to remain neutral following comments he made earlier this week warning demonstrators not to hold protests without government approval. General Tea Banh, the minister of defense, accused civil society groups in a speech on Thursday of trying to topple the government of the Cambodian Peoples Party, led by long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen. Banh also laid into a protest campaign known as Black Monday, which has seen demonstrators gathering dressed in black to call for the release of several rights workers and an election official accused of bribery in a politically charged case against the deputy leader of the opposition, Kem Sokha. Their major objective was to do whatever they can to topple the legitimate government, or frankly speaking, they want to overthrow the government led by the Cambodian Peoples Party, Banh said during the speech. He further warned that the authorities would take measures against anyone who causes disturbances to the progress of development. Sar Mora, president of the Cambodian Food and Service Workers Federation, told VOA that civil society groups were only working to advocate for the release of the rights workers and deputy secretary general of the National Election Committee, Ny Chakrya. The group was detained on May 1 and charged a day later with bribery and being an accomplice to bribery, allegations they deny. He as a military representative or national protector must stick to a neutral stance, Mora said. So what he mentioned seems not to be right for civil society organizations. Vorn Pao, leader of an informal workers association, IDEA, said civil society groups had no ulterior motives aimed at overthrowing the government, adding that he saw the comments from the defense minister as intimidation. Chakrya was charged with being an accomplice to bribery along with four staff members of local human rights group Adhoc, who were each charged with bribery. They are alleged to have attempted to pay a key witness in an ongoing legal case against opposition deputy leader Kem Sokha to not provide evidence to court investigators. Russia and the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have approved an unprecedented five-year action plan for cooperation over the next five years at a summit in Sochi. The details of the deal, called the Comprehensive Plan of Action to Promote Cooperation Between the Asean and The Federation of Russia 2016 to 2020 and the Sochi Declaration obtained by VOA Khmer from an Asian diplomat focuses on multiple issues ranging from security to economic cooperation, under the slogan that Russia and Asean are moving from dialogue partners to strategic partners. The summit holds particular significance as it falls on the 20th anniversary of Asean-Russian Federation relations. In the draft of the Sochi Declaration obtained by VOA Khmer and dated May 7, wide-ranging co-operation between Russia and Asean seeks to build stronger, deeper and mutually beneficial relations between ASEAN and the Russian Federation towards regional peace, stability, and prosperity. It also states that both sides will intensify efforts towards a nuclear weapon-free zone in Southeast Asia. It also says the parties will Foster greater cooperation to address traditional and nontraditional security challenges, such as international terrorism, transnational crime, threats to information security as well as countering the illegal production and trafficking of drugs, under global and regional frameworks, primarily through the United Nations. The parties agreed to promote trade through implementing the Asean-Russia Trade and Investment Cooperation Roadmap launched in 2012 and public-private partnerships to mobilize private sector investments. Other key issues in the declaration cover territorial claims by Asea countries and China to the South China Sea, North Koreas nuclear program, terrorism and disaster response systems. Achmad Rizal Purnama, first secretary at the Indonesian embassy in Washington, DC, told VOA Khmer that the summit was significant as it would allow Russia to contribute towards the security and stability of the region. It is important to make our region the land of cooperation and collaboration between major countries, he said. American law professor Peter Maguire, author of Facing Death in Cambodia, told VOA Khmer that the alliance between Russia and the Southeast Asian bloc came as a result of Americas abdication of international political responsibility. By far, our greatest failure since 9-11 has been a failure of world leadership. Putin has stepped up ad hopes to become the next world leader, he added. It is as simple as that. With Chinese backing and the daily devolution of American political process, Putin might just pull it off. According to the text, Russia also proposed a comprehensive free trade agreement between Asean and the Eurasian Economic Union, a single market with a gross domestic product of about $4 trillion. Asean countries said they would consider the proposal. Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen, who attended the summit in Sochi this week, said on Facebook he was pleased to have had cordial meetings with officials in Russia, which always provides aid assistance to Cambodia to defend and rebuild the country. He also said Putin had called Cambodia an old friend, a great partner, and a most trusted friend. The summit in Russia was notably different in tone from the recent Asean-U.S. meeting in Sunnylands, CA, which had a prominent focus on human rights and democracy. Activists are disputing a Nigerian military report that a second "Chibok girl" kidnapped by Boko Haram militants in 2014 has been rescued. The military said Friday that a girl it named as Serah Luka, rescued Thursday in the Damboa area of Borno State, was one of the 219 missing girls from the Chibok Government Secondary School. Campaigners for the Chibok girls question the claim. Yakubu Nkeki, chairman of the Abducted Chibok Girls Parents group, tells VOA two girls named Luka were taken from the school and Serah Luka is not one of them. "She is not a Chibok girl," he said. "I have the documents of the 215 parents." The military released a photograph of the girl, veiled in a long blue hijab common to the region and similar to hijabs worn by other abducted girls seen in Boko Haram videos. The military says the girl is receiving medical attention in the town of Biu. Found with baby On Tuesday, the first rescued Chibok girl, 19-year-old Amina Ali, was found with her 4-month-old baby by civilian vigilantes in the Sambisa Forest area of Borno State Ali and her mother met President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday at his residence in Abuja, where he said the government is "doing all it can to rescue the remaining Chibok girls." "Amina's rescue gives us new hope, and offers a unique opportunity for vital information," he said in a statement issued after the meeting. Boko Haram abducted the schoolgirls from their dormitory in the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok the night of April 14, 2014. The Islamist extremist group has kidnapped hundreds of other individuals and killed an estimated 20,000 people during its seven-year insurgency to create a strict Islamic state. An Islamic State (IS) commander in Afghanistan killed 11 of his fellow fighters in the Achin district of eastern Nangarhar province, Afghan provincial authorities said. The Nangarhar governors spokesperson, Attaullah Khogyani, told reporters on Friday about the unusual killings carried out by IS commander, Zameen Jan also known as Abubakar but provided few details about why the commander would target his own men. Khogyani said that after the killings, the commander was wounded by Taliban fighters who were now holding him. Local residents and a posting by the Taliban on its Facebook page claimed that Jan took revenge on his fighters after his brother, a member of the Taliban, was killed by IS fighters this week in a gunbattle. IS has not commented on the report. IS active in Achin The Islamic State group has established a footprint in a number of Nangarhar districts, including Achin. Its fighters have launched multiple attacks on government security checkpoints. The group has also engaged in fierce clashes with rival Taliban militants in the province. Afghan and NATO forces recently launched cleanup operations, and some areas have been cleared of IS fighters. But despite the claims by Afghan authorities to have weakened the group, IS fighters remain active in the province. Their influence remains so strong that thousands of students in parts of Nangarhar have been unable to attend schools because IS forbade them from opening. The group also recently restarted its propaganda radio broadcasts in Nangarhar after being knocked off the air by government airstrikes earlier this year. The Taliban and IS have become enemies as the Taliban view IS as an outside force, according to Kabul-based security analyst Wahid Muzhda. IS accuses Taliban militants of being apostates because they have established connections with foreign countries through their office in Qatar, he said. Nevertheless, he said that the group's struggles appear to be weakening its appeal in Afghanistan. IS has lost its attraction, he said, adding that IS is faced with internal divisions, and many commanders have already abandoned the group. Muzhda said that overall, IS is struggling to hold on to conquered territory while under pressure from both the Taliban and the government. Three Minnesota men charged with trying to join Islamic State were heard discussing their travel plans to Syria in recordings played Friday at their trial in Minneapolis. Guled Ali Omar, Mohamed Farah and Abdulrahman Duad were in the courtroom, listening to the recordings and testimony from their former friend, FBI informant Abdirahman Bashir. On the recordings, the three men, all Somali-Americans, make a Skype call to a Minnesota friend who had gone to Syria and joined IS. The men discussed the money and documents they would need for the trip. In some parts of the conversation, the men allegedly used code words. The informant, Bashir, told the jury the word "girl" meant passport, and the phrase "hot boys on the block" meant "the FBI is watching us." Friday marked the 10th day of the trial in U.S. District Court in Minnesota. Omar, Farah and Duad are charged with conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization and conspiring to commit murder abroad. Ayan Farah, the mother of Mohamed Farah, accused Bashir of "planning traps" and prompting the defendants to say the things they said. Farah said the government did not have enough evidence against the men. The defense has yet to cross-examine Bashir, 20. A small group of people demonstrated Friday outside the courthouse in Minneapolis. A VOA Somali service reporter said the group was protesting the prosecution of the young Somalis. Singapore's highest court on Friday rejected an appeal by a Malaysian murder convict, leaving him no further room for reprieve from execution. The Court of Appeal said it found no merit in the last-minute appeal by an activist lawyer representing Kho Jabing that challenged the constitutional legality of the death penalty in the city-state. The rejection concludes six years of legal twists during which Kho, 31, was sentenced to death, won appeals, resentenced to life imprisonment and caning, and again sentenced to death. No date was set for the execution, and the court said it will leave it to prison authorities to carry it out. Executions in Singapore are by hanging, and are usually carried out before dawn at Changi prison. He was supposed to have been hanged Friday, but won a last-minute reprieve late Thursday, when the Supreme Court allowed lawyer Jeannette Aruldoss Chong, to file an appeal on the constitutional grounds. Kho is accused of using a tree branch to assault and rob a construction worker in 2008. The worker died from multiple skull fractures and Kho was convicted and sentenced to death in 2010. Delivering the judgment, Court of Appeal Judge Chao Hick Tin said that the court's processes have been abused. This case has been about many things. Today, it is about the abuse of the process of the court, said Tin. Chong had used the civil jurisdiction of the court to mount a collateral attack on previous decisions. If allowed... [this] would throw the whole system of justice into disrepute, he said. No real issue of any merit had been raised and the appeal was plainly misconceived and bound to fail, Chao added. Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal. Kho clapsed his hands together as the sentence was delivered and looked down. His mother, sister and aunts were present in court and broke down after being allowed to speak to him. The European Union and Amnesty International have called on Singapore to grant Kho clemency. According to the prison records, Singapore carried out four executions in 2015, one for murder and three for drug crimes. In 2012, Singapore amended its laws on the death penalty, making it no longer mandatory for those convicted of drug trafficking or murder to face the gallows. The World Meteorological Organization reports that in April, a new monthly record was set for high temperatures on land and the ocean, indicating that global warming may be happening at a faster pace than previously predicted. The WMO has issued a number of alarming reports on the state of the climate in recent days. The report on record-setting temperatures indicates April marked the 12th month in a row in which temperature records have been broken. Spokeswoman Clare Nullis says this is the longest such streak in 137 years in which records have been shattered. What is particularly concerning is the margin in which these records are being broken...They are being smashed and on a fairly consistent basis, said Nullis. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, reports the combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for April was 1.10 degrees Celsius above the 20th century average. Nullis says this is a very big margin and explains the warmth in Arctic areas over large parts of Russia. The heat that we saw in 2015 - hit the headlines at the time - we were alarmed about it. The heat that we are seeing in 2016 - it makes 2015 pale by comparison, said Nullis. A major factor contributing to scorching temperatures around the world was the powerful El Nino weather phenomenon. WMO reports El Nino, which triggers severe drought, heavy rains and other extreme weather conditions, is fading rapidly and probably will give way later in the year to La Nina, which has a cooling influence. WMOs Clare Nullis, however, cautions against raising hopes that El Ninos departure will result in a better turnaround anytime soon. The impacts of El Nino and particularly the drought, they will carry on for many months, said Nullis. "So, for instance, southern Africa is particularly badly affected by drought and their main rainy season is not going to come now for a number of months. So, what the humanitarian agencies call the lean season in southern Africa will be very, very lean. The WMO says the main driving force behind unprecedented warmth is global warming caused by human emissions of greenhouse gases. The agency is urging the rapid implementation of the Paris Climate Change agreement to head off the worst. As Chinas economy continues to slow, powerful resistance is stalling efforts by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to push through much needed reforms, despite suggestions he is the countrys most powerful leader in decades. And based on details about the economy revealed in a recent high-level interview in a top Communist Party newspaper, there is a risk that that defiance could develop into a full-blown struggle. Authoritative person Figuring out what is really going on with the Chinese economy or decision making in China has long been a challenge, but an unidentified authoritative persons interview with the Peoples Daily this month has given a rare peak beyond the veil. In the interview, the authoritative person talks at length about the challenges Chinas economy is facing, including a frank assessment that while tracking with expectations, growth will continue to be slower for more than two years. The interview mentioned several times the problem of so-called zombie enterprises or inefficient and debt ridden state-owned enterprises. It also talked about how China must take on challenges such as overcapacity, bad loans and local government debt, or face even greater risks. Some believe that President Xi or someone close to him gave the interview, and because of that, it was perhaps a shot across the bow [warning] aimed at Chinas two key economic policy leaders, Premier Li Keqiang or perhaps Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, for not doing enough. It also could be a possible sign that Premier Li in particular might not survive an upcoming leadership reshuffle expected in late 2017. But, others argue Zhang and Li have been raising the same concerns as well - and frequently - and could have been the source of the article. SOEs in cross hairs Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said what seems clear from the interview is that the real opponent is state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and their backers, not the premier. Their backers in the provinces, the railroad ministry, the traditional very investment oriented agencies that would like to continue things the way they are, Kirkegaard said. Francesco Sisci, a Beijing-based China commentator said that while one cannot rule out that Li or those in charge of economic affairs might be the target of the interview, the piece really seems to be aimed more at those who are resisting economic reform and state-owned enterprises. But determining who is fighting against whom is a difficult to say. And the reform of state-owned enterprises is not just one group against another, he said. It is a massive group of interests, pervasive, which have built interests and clout and power and they are supported by trillions of dollars, he said. What is clear from the interview is that warning shots are being fired (warnings are being made) and threats are being issued, but all-out war (major disagreement) has not broken out, just yet. But, he adds, it could. This could spin into an all-out power struggle. Either these guys will yield or the leadership will have to yield to them or there will be power struggle, Sisci said. Reform agenda struggling Since coming to power, Xi has been a strong advocate of reforming state-owned enterprises. It has been a key policy agenda of his leadership. And during recent political meetings in March, the government vowed to cut overcapacity in the coming years and that millions of layoffs were on the horizon. But so far, there has been little news of more pending layoffs. More recently, there have been concerns that some state-owned enterprises, which were previously shut down, have begun to open up again. During the first three months of the year, China saw a massive surge in credit that many analysts have attributed to continuing support to state-owned enterprises. And this has led some to wonder whether Xi can really pull it off (succeed). He (Xi) may be the most powerful individual, president in Chinas recent history. But clearly he doesn't seem to have the actual power to push through what he wants to do, at least not to date, said Kirkegaard. And yet calls to move forward continue. On Friday, Chinas official Xinhua news agency reported that during a meeting of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reform, a body that Xi chairs, he urged China to seize its window of opportunity and push forward with reforms. Xi said that while reforms might bring short-term pains, not pushing ahead with them now could mean more pain in the long run. The African Union is urging Zimbabwe to repeal or amend laws that curtail the right to freedom of expression, freedom of the media and other protections. Speaking in Harare, AU commissioner for Human Rights Pansy Tlakula said she is happy with a constitutional court decision repealing a defamation law that opponents said was being used to stifle journalists. But in an interview as she wrapped her a four-day visit to Zimbabwe on Thursday, Tlakula said she wanted to see Zimbabwe repeal or amend more than 400 other laws that still curtail access to information, freedom of expression and freedom of the media all of which are enshrined in the countrys bill of rights. The full realization of these rights will require vigilance and ensure that the government does not only adopt laws but that those are implemented," said Tlakula. "And to the extent that those laws are inconsistent with the constitution," Tlakula added, "I think it is incumbent upon Zimbabweans to ensure they have consistent engagements with authorities to ensure the repeal of those laws. If that avenue does not work, of course the courts are always an option." Zimbabwe adopted what Tlakula calls a "progressive constitution" in 2013. But the opposition and activists say the government is cracking down on dissent and denying them the right to demonstrate and express their point of view. Such complaints go back years. In 2002, Zimbabwe enacted a law that makes it illegal to denigrate President Robert Mugabe. The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights says that just since August of last year, the organization has assisted nearly 200 people arrested for posts on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. In April, a 46-year-old Zimbabwean man was arrested after he posted photos of Mugabe on What'sApp that authorities said showed the 92-year leader as frail and incapacitated. After that, President Mugabe told his supporters the government was cracking down on what he called abuses on the internet. Anti-government protests in Baghdad exploded into violence Friday afternoon as thousands of demonstrators defied heavily armed guards and concrete barriers and charged into the International Zone. Security forces unloaded heavy machine-gun fire, stun grenades and tear gas as the crowds surged forward. But even as some protesters were forced back, others began to arrive, charging their way toward the fight. We will kill Abadi! some shouted as they ran toward the zone. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has come to symbolize the face of Iraqs failing government. Some of the protesters broke the security cordon and ran to Abadis offices, determined to find him. He reportedly was not there. As the gunfire continued, dozens of ambulances with sirens blaring raced across the bridge connecting eastern Baghdad toward the entrance of the International Zone to pick up the wounded. It was not clear whether the gunfire was being directed at the protesters or above their heads, or how many wounded there were. The protests were the culmination of weeks of mounting anger against government corruption and inefficiency, which peaked this week when a series of bombs and suicide bombers exploded in the largely poor Shiite area of Baghdad known as Sadr City. By dusk, most of the gunfire had ended and smoke was blowing across the skyline of the International Zone, also called the Green Zone. But protesters vowed to return, with their own guns. Cleric's followers Many of the protesters were followers of Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shi'ite cleric who has emerged as the leader of the Iraqs struggling poor and has an almost cultlike following among those frustrated with a government and parliament seen as deeply corrupt and ineffective. I will do anything Muqtada asks me to do, said Mahdi, a commander inside al-Sadrs so called Peace Brigades. His nephew Rabah, a policeman in Sadr City, agreed. We are not afraid of anything because we are with Muqtada al-Sadr, he said. If the government does nothing for us, we will do something, Rabah added just before the protests erupted. We want the government to fix the situation inside the parliament and inside Iraq. Members of parliament have been struggling to even gather a quorum after al-Sadr and his followers shocked Baghdad three weeks ago by entering the International Zone, storming the parliament and chasing out the lawmakers. The cleric has demanded that Abadi end a political quota system that guarantees political parties ministerial positions and replace the current government with technocrats. Interim step fails Abadi attempted an interim measure by replacing six ministers. It was not enough. The parliament and the political parties could not agree, and the resultant squabbling devolved into a fight for power. The issue has been referred to the Iraqi federal court. Many protesters have lost all trust in the lawmakers and the government. The political fighting here is creating huge problems and is the result of political infighting for personal gain, not out of concern for Iraq, said Nabil Nouraddin, a human rights activist. Politicians are not protecting their people. They are just out for themselves. But al-Sadrs militiamen are not the only ones in Baghdads streets. The Badr corps, one of the strongest militias in the umbrella group of Shiite armed militias known as Hashd al-Shaabi, has rejected al-Sadrs attempts to force change and has flexed its muscle in response. Badr corps members now protect their own neighborhoods and reject al-Sadr's push. We need to follow the political process, the laws. Any emergency government or any government other than the current government, in our opinion, would be a disaster, Hashd al-Shaabi spokesman and former Badr brigade leader Kareem Nouri told VOA. Nouri also rejected the suggestion from some political corners including from some Sunnis who feel they have lost all power under the Shiite-dominated political and security structure for an emergency transitional government. Some Iraq analysts see the political struggles as normal growing pains in a country new to democratic processes. But the presence of armed militias loyal to different leaders has turned that process into a tense and highly volatile situation. Without the militias, it would be more peaceful, more political and solved much easier, and everybody would be more ready to make concessions, said Baghdad businessman Husam Gazalee. The gunfire and surge of protesters raised concerns about the thousands of diplomats and international officials in the Green Zone. Colonel Steve Warren, an American military spokesman based in Baghdad, said, "We're fine. Same as last time. They don't appear interested in us." Warren, whose words were relayed to Pentagon reporters from the Baghdad embassy, referred to the large demonstration three weeks ago. Another U.S. military official said there had been no change to the security posture at the embassy. Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb and National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report. This week, 24 young women got a welcome distraction from studying for finals. Summoned to a common room at American University of Nigeria, they were told that a Chibok girl had been found in Borno states Sambisa Forest. "Thats Amina! Amina!" they shouted, exuberant, as a TV newscast showed her image. It had been more than two years since theyd seen Amina Ali, discovered Tuesday with a baby and a suspected militant who claimed to be her husband. Like her, they were among 276 girls initially snatched by Boko Haram fighters from their school dormitory one night in April 2014, herded onto trucks and driven off from buildings set aflame. Unlike her, theyd escaped within months. Now theyre far along in a transition just beginning for Ali and another possible Chibok girl. Generally, experts say, the longer the captivity and the harsher the conditions, the more difficult the readjustment for the girls, their families and societies. "The whole story was traumatizing, not only for the kids but [also] for those from whom they were taken," said Dubravka Suzic, a psychologist and administrator for the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR. Education, and re-education, are important for everyone concerned. On the AUN campus in eastern Adamawa state, "we dont call them the Chibok girls," said Reginald Braggs, an assistant dean. Instead, the 24 are known as students of the New Foundation School, a college prep initiative launched for them in August 2014. The students, ages 17 to 19, receive full scholarships covering tuition, room and board, books and laptops. Their intensive academics encompass math, science and the arts. They have Friday pizza nights and weekend karaoke sessions. They also have ready access to a trauma counselor. Should Amina Ali want to return to school, shell have a place at AUN. "We are willing to take ANY Chibok student who is rescued and have full scholarships for them," the universitys president, Margee Ensign, said in an email. The offer challenges Boko Haram, roughly translated from the Hausa language as "Western education is a sin." Counseling needed Nearly seven years of fighting the insurgency has claimed at least 20,000 lives and forced at least 2.4 million out of their homes in the Lake Chad basin. Boko Haram militants also are believed to hold thousands of captives. Aside from any physical violence, detainees can experience depression and psychological trauma, UNHCRs Suzic said. Freedom doesn't necessarily end their trials. As they go back to their homes or to refugee camps, many former captives "face marginalization, discrimination and rejection by family and community members due to social and cultural norms related to sexual violence. There is also the growing fear that some of these girls and women were radicalized in captivity," a recent UNICEF report said. The belief that any child conceived with a fighter carries the fathers violent traits means those children "are at an even greater risk of rejection, abandonment and violence." Former captives need medical care, but they and their families also need counseling for successful reintegration, Suzic said. "The challenge first of all is for [former captives] to make peace" with their experience, Suzic said. That will determine whether "they come out as survivors or victims. Is society going to be willing to turn the page?" She said some ex-captives might channel their experience into advocacy but questioned whether the culture allowed "space for an activist woman there." Teaching leaders Governments, religious leaders and others need to set the right tone in receiving former hostages, Suzic added. She urged working with "those who set the norms" to show support for returning females. "That is extremely, extremely important." Some Chibok parents and advocates accuse the government of displaying teenager Ali with President Muhammadu Buhari for political gain while giving secondary concern to her medical and psychological care. A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said U.S. support in the fight against Boko Haram includes training "to be respectful of civilians human rights." He said the United States was "partnering with Nigeria to be helpful in continuing efforts to locate and free these hostages." The U.S. with Britain, France and the European Union is providing advisers, sharing intelligence and providing logistical support and equipment to Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin, he said. It has spent $71 million on that alone, as part of a broader aid package. He and another State official emphasized that military action is only one aspect of countering terrorism. It requires addressing "the underlying drivers of the conflict" poverty, corruption and hopelessness ensuring security, "establishing rule of law and effective governance, promoting economic growth and job creation." Thats where education comes in, said AUNs Braggs. Its New Foundation School students are training for careers in biology, teaching, banking and more. "At the New Foundation School, youre talking about people whove been kidnapped turned their lives around," Braggs said. Its young women are "on the path to fulfilling the dream of getting a college education, and of going back to their hometown as valued assets." The war against Boko Haram lent added significance to Cameroons annual National Day celebrations Friday. There were the usual military parades and speeches, but citizens also mobilized to honor and help the troops. Hundreds of youths sang in front of President Paul Biya. If it werent for the military, they sang, their country would have been seized by Boko Haram. Cameroon has deployed more than 8,000 soldiers to the north to fight the Nigerian terrorist group. In hospitals around Yaounde, people donated blood all week for wounded soldiers. Among them was university student Julienne Njock, 19. She said she could not go to the front but could make this modest contribution. The teenager said she was moved when she saw wounded soldiers, some who had lost legs to amputation. Cameroon said it needs at least 400,000 pints of blood and that shortages have forced medical staff to stop work to give blood for urgent cases. Alvine Mvogo, 60, could not donate for health reasons. She said she was instead praying for peace to return and soldiers to come back healthy. She said Cameroon has been losing too many people. Boko Haram began attacking northern Cameroon in 2014. Suicide bombings and raids continue. The military said it has been struggling to meet the needs of both the soldiers and the over 200,000 displaced people who have sought refuge at camps and host communities in the north. Military spokesman Colonel Didier Badjeck said support from the population motivates the troops. He said that even poor villagers had contributed bunches of plantains, that pastors and imams had prayed for the soldiers, and that all political parties had come out to support them Friday. The government said it had also received over $6 million in donations from the population in the past two years to support the fight against Boko Haram. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, backed by a historically anti-China party, has taken office with pledges to seek peace with Beijing, but snubbed its demand for dialogue, setting the stage for at least a short-term pullback in relations after eight upbeat years. The new president, also Taiwans first female leader, said in her inauguration speech Friday that she would seek peace. She advocates neither declaring Taiwans formal independence from China a red line for Beijing nor unifying with the political rival of 70 years per Beijings long-term goal. But the 59-year-old law scholar ignored Beijings warnings that she consent to dialogue on the premise that China and Taiwan belong to one country. Relations with mainland China are an important link in the regional security system, Tsai said in her 25-minute speech before an estimated 30,000 people. We will work to maintain peace and stability in cross-Strait relations. The two governing parties across the Strait must set aside the baggage of history and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides. Change in direction Outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou agreed to dialogue under conditions that cast both sides under Beijings one China demand, with Taiwan as the Republic of China and Beijing as the Peoples Republic of China. Over Mas eight years, the two sides reached 23 deals on trade, tourism and investment while building mutual trust that was absent under other presidents. Tsai acknowledged the talks in 1992 that created the one-China backdrop, but said the government must approach China also based on the constitution, Taiwanese laws and the democratic principle and prevalent will of the people of Taiwan. Diplomats worldwide, but especially in Beijing, had counted down to Friday on expectations that Tsai might propose a dialogue mechanism agreeable to China. But Tsais party rejects ideas that the two sides fall under one flag. She advocates talks with Beijing, but more cautiously compared with Ma. Voters handed Tsai a landslide victory in January because many felt Mas Nationalist Party had grown too close to China through economic ties, including two-way trade that hit a record $130 billion in 2014. At mass protests in 2014, those skeptics vented fear Beijing would use economic ties to exert more political control over the self-ruled island. Beijing has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s. As late as 2005 it had threatened military force if Taiwan veer too far toward legal independence from China. What matters is what Professor Tsai personally thinks of the kind of relationship between Taiwan and mainland China is at this moment, says Liu Yi-jiun, public affairs professor at Fo Guang University in Taiwan. If things dont go as expected on the part of mainland China for sure [relations] will undergo severe changes. No one will deny any chance of that. Beijing's view China has warned Tsai since the election to keep up dialogue on the one-China condition, but made no specific threats. Beijing, however, carried out a military drill Wednesday. Tsai might spend her first two to three months collecting opinions and data to form a dialogue proposal that both sides can accept, political analysts say. In case Tsai makes an overture, Beijing is not expected to cancel the broadly popular agreements reached under Mas government. Chinese officials hope those deals excite Taiwans public about ties with China and someday bring about political unification. But China may dial back on some deals as a reminder that a lack of dialogue can hurt the islands economy and world political standing. China may buy off a few of Taiwans 22 remaining diplomatic allies, issue fewer permits to Taiwan-bound tourists, ask exchange students to avoid the island and have more Taiwanese deported from third countries to China if suspected of fraud. That effort began after the election. In March China formed diplomatic ties with former Taiwan ally Gambia and a month later ordered 67 Taiwanese fraud suspects deported from offshore to China. Since the election, it has cut the number of travel documents, noticeable especially during Chinas May 1 holiday week. Tsai is also expected to hold off any action on Taiwans disputed claim to the 3.5 million-square-kilometer South China Sea. Ma has championed the claim over the past year, but his effort effectively supports Beijing. China and Taiwan use the same historic basis for the maritime claim, irking four Southeast Asian countries. Tsai's policies The president will focus largely on domestic economic policies aimed at helping common Taiwanese live better, her Cabinet spokesman Tung Chen-yuan says. She has pledged to develop solar and wind power while cutting back on nuclear energy. Other policies will favor biotech and defense, government spokesman Tung says. Tsai will also balance trade ties weighted now toward China toward other markets, he adds. She needs to show she has the policies of policy direction for Taiwans economy, so that will be one of the many policy areas that she needs to address whether she can come up with a policy to diversity our trade partners, our tourist markets and so on, said ruling Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Lo Chi-cheng. Tsai said during the campaign she would build 200,000 units of affordable housing, a boost to youth with low salaries. Later, Tung said, she will target wages and jobs. The work search environment isnt too strong and salaries have been pressured very low, said Huang Chun-jung, a leader in the advocacy group Taiwan Youth Public Affairs. Basically what we hope most is that the new government can help young people find work. We need to see actual policies. We have an expectation but we need to keep watching. The United States, which has long supported the so-called one China policy, said Friday it looks forward to working with the new government in Taiwan. A statement issued by the American Institute in Taiwan, which represents U.S. interests in Taipei in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, said, "We look forward to working with the new administration, as well as with all of Taiwan's political parties and civil society groups, to further strengthen the ties between the people of the United States. China has warned Taiwan against pursuing independence, just hours after the island's first female president was sworn into office Friday. "If independence is pursued, it will be impossible to have peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits," China's Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement. "Independence is the greatest disaster for the peaceful development of peace in the Taiwan Straits and the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations." Tsai Ing-wen called for "positive dialogue" with China in her inauguration speech in Taipei. "The two governing parties across the Strait must set aside the baggage of history and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides," she said. Tsai's pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, won landslide presidential and parliamentary elections earlier this year. DPP triumphed over the Nationalist Party, or KMT, which had spent the last eight years developing ties with Beijing. US anticipates good relations The United States said Friday it is looking "forward to working with the new administration, as well as with all of Taiwan's political parties and civil society groups to further strengthen the ties between the people of the United States and Taiwan." The DPP has recently signaled it intends to get tough on espionage by China that had been made easier by the increased contact between the two sides. The DPP-controlled parliament says it plans on passing a bill by year's end that would cut pensions for Taiwanese military retirees who spy for China. China and Taiwan have been separately ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and insists the two eventually unify. It also requires that both sides see themselves as part of a single China before holding any talks. But Tsai prefers for Taiwan to bolster its autonomy rather than veering closer to China. A simmering political crisis in Congo that the U.S. and its allies have been unable to defuse is stoking fears in Congress that one of Africa's largest countries is on the verge of slipping into widespread violence. Tension is building in Congo over President Joseph Kabila's maneuvering to avoid national elections and remain in office beyond his constitutionally permitted term, according to U.S. officials and members of a coalition opposing Kabila. The Obama administration has threatened to sanction anyone who undermines security and democracy in Congo. Yet that warning has so far failed to sway Kabila and members of his government, who've been accused of cracking down on political foes and activists in a bid to remain in power. "It's a really dicey situation," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., one of several lawmakers who've used their oversight role to draw greater attention to conditions in Congo. McCain last month wrote to the Congolese ambassador in Washington, telling him that the advocacy group Human Rights Watch has documented dozens of cases of arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention. Congolese authorities even have threatened to kill those who've challenged Kabila, McCain wrote. A delegation of Kabila's political opponents traveled to Washington earlier this week to urge the administration to act quickly against Kabila and his top aides. Sanctions could include freezing the overseas assets of key figures and a ban on travel visas. "President Kabila has deliberately sabotaged the electoral process," said Olivier Kamitatu, a member of Congo's national assembly and Kabila's former minister of planning. Kabila, he said, has instituted a "policy of chaos and fear." Congo's ambassador, Francois Balumuene, denied any misconduct. Kabila is committed to holding fair and peaceful elections, but a host of logistical and financial problems have to be resolved first, Balumuene said. Among them is securing nearly $600 million in foreign aid that Congo needs to set up polling stations, acquire voting kits, and more. The U.S. is planning to provide $313 million in financial assistance to Congo in 2017. "Kabila can't change the constitution to stay in power," Balumuene said. "It's impossible." Congo, which has vast mineral deposits, is nearly one-fourth the size of the United States and has a population of more than 79 million. Since Congo won independence from Belgium in 1960, there has never been a peaceful, democratic transition of power in the country and the window for Kabila to ensure the first orderly changeover is closing rapidly. More than a decade after Congo's back-to-back civil wars ended, the country's east remains perpetually in discord. Scores of militias and armed groups are blamed for violence against civilians, and nearly 2.7 million Congolese are internally displaced as a result, according to figures compiled by the United Nations. But a bad situation could soon become worse. Congo's sprawling borders reach nine other African countries, and an implosion in the vast nation could spark instability in its neighbors. Secretary of State John Kerry stressed the importance of timely elections in Congo to Kabila last month when the two met briefly on the sidelines of the signing of a global agreement on climate change at the UN. Leaders of African nations often have entrenched themselves in office, a practice that fuels corruption and leads to autocracies. Mobutu Sese Seko ruled Congo from 1965 to 1997. In neighboring Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni was sworn in last week for a fifth term. Kabila, 44, has represented an opportunity to break that mold to be a "model for his peers," Thomas Perriello, the U.S. special envoy for Africa's Great Lakes region, told the Senate earlier this year. But without a clear political path forward, Perriello said, Congo could fall into a violent, destabilizing crisis. Kabila has been in office since 2001, taking over less than two weeks after his father, President Laurent Kabila, was shot by a bodyguard in the presidential palace. He was elected president in 2006 and again in 2011. Kabila is barred by Congo's constitution from a third term. He is supposed to leave office in December. Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations subcommittee on Africa, said in a February letter to Kerry that "public perceptions that President Kabila is clinging to power have created a very real risk of violent upheaval or even renewed warfare." At a May 10 hearing, Markey asked a senior Obama administration official if the time had arrived for sanctions. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said the administration is "looking very, very actively at sanctions as they relate to those who are involved in violence." Sanctions are not an elixir, however. The United States has maintained sanctions since 2003 against Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, his wife Grace, and members of his government for human rights violations and election rigging. Mugabe, 92, is still in power after 36 years and is the world's oldest head of state. Kabila's opponents are urging swift action while there is still time to organize elections. "If we allow Joseph Kabila to remain in power, he's going to become a president for life," said Francis Kalombo, a member of Kabila's ruling party. "He's going to keep pushing and pushing and pushing and that will lead to chaos." Kalombo said he left Congo last year for his own safety after publicly opposing Kabila's attempts to remain in office. Mexico on Friday approved the extradition to the United States of Joaquin Guzman, also known as "El Chapo," Mexico's most powerful drug lord and one of the world's most notorious criminals. The Mexican government issued a statement permitting Guzman to be extradited to the United States for trial. He is wanted in the states of California and Texas on charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and murder. Mexico's Foreign Relations Department ruled that he could be transferred to the United States after U.S. officials provided what it called "adequate guarantees" that Guzman would not face the death penalty. Mexico no longer uses the death penalty and avoids extradition to nations where it is still in practice. Guzman's lawyers say they are filing multiple legal challenges to the extradition order. Guzman is famed not only for his status as a powerful drug lord, but also for his colorful exploits. He is currently in prison in Ciudad Juarez, along the U.S. border with Texas. Authorities arrested him in January after he escaped from a maximum-security prison in July 2015, in an incident embarrassing to the Mexican government. He gained his freedom by crawling through a hole in his jail cell's shower to a 1.5-kilometer tunnel. Guzman also escaped from prison in Guadalajara in 2001 and remained at large for 13 years before being apprehended with information provided by U.S. intelligence agencies. The ethics committee of Brazil's lower house of parliament began hearings Thursday to question suspended House Speaker Eduardo Cunha about allegations that he hid millions of dollars in secret bank accounts. Cunha was suspended this month after a Supreme Court decision against him, and the current hearings are designed to decide whether to oust him from the legislative body altogether. Cunha faces charges of corruption and obstruction of justice, the result of allegations that he lied to lawmakers by denying he had money stashed in Swiss bank accounts. He repeated that assertion Thursday. Swiss prosecutors say he had secret accounts at the Julius Baer bank worth about $5 million. Brazilian investigators believe those funds are linked to a corruption scheme involving Petrobras, the state-owned oil company. Ironically, Cunha is the lawmaker who initiated the legal process that resulted last week in the impeachment and removal of Dilma Rousseff as president. She also was accused of corruption. Interim President Michel Temer began his term last Friday as hundreds of Rousseff supporters continued street demonstrations. Regional leaders denounced the Senate's vote for an impeachment trial as a literal coup. Temer, the former vice president, installed a business friendly cabinet hours after senators voted to temporarily remove Rousseff from power. Temer's government has the daunting challenge of pulling the country out of a deep recession and reforming the pension system. Like Cunho and Rousseff, Temer is tainted by his ties to Petrobras, although he is not under investigation. European Union ministers meeting in Brussels have agreed on a mechanism aimed at suspending visa-free travel for foreign nationals abusing the privilege and approved funds to help Greece cope with Europe's migrant crisis. The action would essentially make it easier and faster for EU members to suspend visa waivers granted to foreign nationals under certain conditions such as, if large numbers stay illegally. Dutch migration minister Klaas Dijkhoff, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, hailed the agreement, which still needs to be passed by the European parliament. The new mechanism offers more grounds to suspend, like readmission and asylum claims, and it also contains a permanent monitoring system to ensure that countries continue to fulfill the criteria for visa freedom," he said. "And it's considerably faster because the threshold to act is much lower. Turkey is among the top candidates for the visa waiver under a deal struck this year to help stop the influx of migrants heading to Europe. Ankara, however, must fulfill dozens of conditions before its nationals can have that visa-free status. The EU is also working to lift sanctions on other countries like Kovoso, Georgia and Ukraine. U.S. citizens are among those who enjoy visa-free travel to Europe. The EU's border agency, Frontex, reported a sharp drop in migrants arriving in Europe last month proof it says that the deal with Turkey is working. Frontex sees Europe sending back illegal migrants arriving on its shores from Turkey while accepting thousands of Syrian refugees. EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos faulted member states for failing to take in more asylum seekers from Greece and Italy, saying fewer than 1,600 have been resettled. The block on Friday approved about $62 million to help improve conditions for hosting migrants and refugees in Greece. To those who think theres some kind of Plan B, let me be very clear: there is not," he said. "Relocation needs to happen and urgently. Meanwhile, some humanitarian groups suggest the drop of Syrian refugees and other asylum seekers to Europe simply means they are taking more dangerous routes instead. Search crews have found human remains, along with the personal belongings of passengers from EgyptAir Flight 804, but are still searching for the bulk of the wreckage. Looking for clues to understand why the jet carrying 66 people crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, search teams sought to find larger pieces of the plane or the location signal from the flight recorders. The European Space Agency said one of its orbiting spacecraft spotted what could be an oil slick 40 kilometers southeast of the plane's last known position and the information had been passed on to relevant authorities conducting a search mission. The agency released a grainy photograph of the scene which showed little detail and cautioned there was no certainty the slick was from the aircraft. Also Friday, Egyptian authorities say they are investigating reports that there was smoke on the flight before it crashed. An aviation industry publication reported that sensors detected smoke in the lavatory, indicating that there could have been a fire on board the plane. Egypt Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy has said a terrorist attack is a more likely cause for the crash than technical failure. But so far no clear evidence has emerged as to what brought the plane down. No militant group has claimed to have carried out an attack. The plane disappeared into the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Egyptian coast, on Thursday while headed to Cairo from Paris. The Airbus A320 had been flying normally when it suddenly swerved radically and plunged more than 11,000 meters into the sea, never issuing a distress signal. Three French investigators and a technical expert from the A320's manufacturer, Airbus, arrived Friday in Cairo to aid in the investigation. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry offered Egypt continued support for the search Friday. Kerry told Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry the United States promised to stay in close contact as the investigation progressed. Egypt, France, Greece and the U.S. are among nations deploying planes and naval vessels to search for the plane. WATCH: People Pray in Cairo for EgyptAir Victims Frances foreign minister on Friday rejected widespread comments that terrorism is to blame. "We're looking at all possibilities, but none is being favored over the others because we have absolutely no indication on the causes (of the crash)," Jean-Marc Ayrault said on French television. Prayers and a symbolic funeral for the passengers were held Friday at Cairo's Sultan Hussein Mosque. Aviation experts are warning against speculation on the cause of the crash. I will say that when an airplane disappears at 37,000 feet its a highly unusual event," Scott Hamilton of Leeham Aviation Consultancy told VOA. "It either typically indicates a catastrophic failure, catastrophic emergency of some kind, or as we know from not too long ago, a bomb could go off... But you just have to be cautious and not jump to any conclusions at this point. Fred Burton of the U.S.-based global intelligence company Stratfor tweeted, "Mechanical failure at cruising altitude is unlikely. Such an event typically occurs at takeoff or landing." EgyptAir sent interpreters and doctors to the Cairo airport to meet with the passengers' families. The disappearance has renewed security concerns months after a Russian passenger plane was shot down over the Sinai Peninsula. The Russian aircraft crashed in Sinai on October 31, killing all 224 people on board. Moscow said it was brought down by an explosive device, and a local branch of the extremist Islamic State group claimed responsibility for planting it. Indias ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has gotten a much-needed boost in regional elections, wrestling control of the northeastern state of Assam and expanding its influence beyond its traditional strongholds. And two years after being routed in national elections, polls held in five states have dealt yet another blow to the main opposition Congress Party. The BJP declared victory in Assam early Thursday as vote counting showed the party surging ahead of the Congress Party, which ruled the state for 15 years. The news came after two humiliating losses in Delhi and Bihar last year raised questions about loss of momentum for the Hindu nationalist party, which swept national elections in 2014. On Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the Assam win "exceptional" and "historic." It is the first time that the BJP will be in power in Assam. Final tallies will be declared after counting is completed. Surging in all states A smiling BJP minister, Prakash Javadekar, said the party is surging in votes and seats in all states and attributed the gains to the national governments performance. Fortunately, last two years, many promises have been fulfilled. We walked the talk, Javadekar told reporters. The win in Assam, an underdeveloped state rife with ethnic and religious tension, is also significant because it shows the Hindu nationalist party making a mark in an area outside the north and west from where much of its support flows. So the victory in Assam gives them an opportunity to then establish themselves in the northeast, where there are six other states, says Manoj Joshi at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. However, Joshi points out that although the BJP scored a win against a weakened Congress in Assam, it failed to gain a foothold in the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, or make a significant mark in West Bengal, which are controlled by powerful regional parties. In fact, the elections demonstrated the continuing influence of these parties and the sway that charismatic local leaders command in several key states. The fiery leader of the Trinamool Congress, Mamata Banerjee, retained control of West Bengal, and another woman leader, J. Jayalalithaa, held on to power in Tamil Nadu. The results were a huge blow for the Congress Party which ruled India for over 60 years and was once the countrys dominant political party. Besides losing Assam, the party also lost the southern state of Kerala, where a coalition of left-wing parties led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was ahead. Those were crucial losses for a party that is now not a significant player in most of the countrys 29 states. A Congress Party spokesperson, P.C. Chacko, dismissed the partys dismal showing, saying, We have bounced back many times after humiliating defeats. It was the anti-incumbency factor which affected us very strongly. Political analysts said the results could help the BJP fend off pressure from the Congress Party, which has blocked key reforms in the upper house of parliament, and woo regional parties to pass key legislation. Now the issue is, can the BJP use the weakening of the Congress to reach out to non-Congress parties and get their support? asked Joshi. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abes push for quality infrastructure investment in Asia is expected to be among the key items on the agenda of next week's G7 summit in Japan. In May last year, Abe announced a $110 billion injection into Asian infrastructure funding over five years. The investment is to be handed out in bilateral donor assistance as well as channeling funds through the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The move is widely seen as providing a counter to the rising influence of China, which over the past decade has been rapidly expanding its presence with investment in infrastructure projects throughout Asia. Critics say Chinese projects lack the quality and standards demanded by international donors, such the World Bank, the ADB and Japan. Yet for several Southeast Asian nations like Cambodia, in dire need of infrastructure development, the no strings attached" funding from China provides an immediate fix. The issue with infrastructure is the quality, sustainability and cost also the timeliness, said Chan Sophal, director of the Center for Policy Studies, an independent Cambodian think tank. For some donors they require a long procedure before we can get a loan and develop the infrastructure, so maybe there is a time/cost [decision] in there. But for other donors, like China, we get the funds quickly and can do it quickly, but there could be an issue with cost and quality, he added. Cambodia has been a beneficiary of funding from both Asian powers. For example, an analysis by the NGO Forum on Cambodia of foreign concessional loan projects between 2000 and 2011 found China had lent $1.16 billion while Japan had loaned the nation $386 million in the same time span. However, in order for Cambodia to retain its growth momentum, which over the past decade has seen the economy grow at an average of 7 percent annually, infrastructure investment will need to be somewhere between $12 billion and $16 billion between 2013 and 2022, according to the ADB. Takashi Ito, a senior representative at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Cambodia, the Japanese governments aid arm, said that improving Cambodias roads that link to neighboring countries as well as expanding the countrys port capacity are key priorities for boosting trade and encouraging foreign investment. Japan cannot fund everything, he said. The JICA has developed a master plan for Cambodias infrastructure, which seeks coordination among all the countrys donors for sustainable infrastructure development that adheres to social and environmental construction standards in line with Abes quality infrastructure mandate. Sometimes Japanese aid is criticized to be slow, but it is not a waste of time. It is necessary [to take] time for consultation or the necessary preparation, and based on that necessary process, we would like to construct something sustainable for a long period of time in the future, he said. The recently established Chinese-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which last month entered a co-financing agreement with the ADB to fund a project in Pakistan would be welcomed into the fold, Ito said, if it is working to the standards of traditional donors. For its part, the Cambodian government continues to maintain its position of neutrality between Asias two economic powers, seeking assistance from both. Generally, China has helped Cambodia a lot, in terms of infrastructure, particularly roads and bridges and electricity, said Mey Kalyan, a senior adviser to the governments Supreme National Economic Council. Without having that help from China, Cambodia would have faced so many problems. At the same time, Japan has also helped in terms of roads and bridges, but not to the speed that Cambodia wants, because it is a different kind of speed, he said. Both are helping with infrastructure and energy. Sebastian Strangio, Phnom Penh-based journalist and author of Hun Sen's Cambodia, said Abes Asian infrastructure push is designed to counter the massive influx of Chinese money into Southeast Asia, and Cambodia is set to benefit. I think from a Cambodian perspective the Japanese money is welcome. It does provide a counterweight to China, he said. The governments strategy of remaining politically nonaligned is not likely to change anytime soon, Strangio added. For a country like Cambodia, which is small and weak and dependent on outside money, diversification of its foreign relations is always going to be a priority, he said. The more friends that Cambodia can have, the better. Israels popular defense minister Moshe Yaalon resigned Friday, averting the need for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to remove him from the Cabinet to clear the way for one of the country's more controversial politicians, Avigdor Lieberman. Lieberman has a reputation for inflammatory comments, and takes a hawkish stand towards the Palestinians. He has called for Israeli forces to re-occupy the Gaza Strip, supports action to undermine the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and has defended a soldier who killed a wounded Palestinian. If Lieberman's six-seat Yisrael Beiteinu party joins the ruling coalition, it will become the most right-wing in Israel's history. However, some observers say that Liberman, who at various times served as minister of infrastructure, transportation, strategic and foreign affairs, is a pragmatist who could change his mind when facing realities. Announcing his resignation from the government and parliament in a posting on Facebook, Yaalon said: "I informed the [prime minister] that after his conduct and recent developments, and given the lack of faith in him, I am resigning from the government and parliament and taking a break from political life." Yaalon's Knesset seat will go to Yehuda Glick who has been struggling to enhance the Jewish presence on Temple Mount, Judaisms holiest site. Temple Mount also is sacred to Muslims, most of whom see the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock on that hill in Jerusalem's Old City as ranking just after Mecca and Medina in religious significance. Discussions within the coalition about bringing in Lieberman's Yisrael Beteinu party, and the appointment of a new defense minister, could produce results during the coming week, but the political debate already is intensifying. Controversial Lieberman In a recent interview, Lieberman said that if he were defense minister he would issue an ultimatum to Gazas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas, giving him 48 hours to return the bodies [of two soldiers seized in 2014] and the [two] civilians [who crossed the lines], or you are dead. Simply reserve a spot for yourself in the nearest cemetery. In March, Lieberman showed up at a military court where a soldier, Sergeant Elor Azaria, faced murder charges for killing a Palestinian who had stabbed a soldier. The Palestinian, who was wounded during the incident in Hebron, lay on the road for 11 minutes before Azaria fired. Lieberman said the soldier never should have faced criminal charges. The noted Israeli author A.B. Yehoshua wrote in the Yediot Aharonot newspaper that Liberman has no restraints, and unless he realizes the dangers and the responsibilities of his office, were in trouble. Some right-wingers who criticized Defense Minister Yaalon's cautious handling of security affairs said they were happy to see him leave the Cabinet, but a former head of the National Security Council, Giora Eiland, said Yaalon handled problems involving Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza in a way that enabled us to go on with our normal lives, without further Palestinian unrest. In a scathing editorial criticizing the prime minister, the Haaretz newspaper wrote Thursday that Netanyahu has demonstrated that he is prepared to drag the country into a potentially disastrous military adventure, to remove all moral constraints and to encourage blatant racism for the sole purpose of staying in power. Japan's prime minister expressed his "strong indignation" Friday after an American working on a U.S. military base in Okinawa was arrested on suspicion of abandoning the body of a woman who disappeared last month. "I have no words to express, considering how the family feels," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters. "We urge the U.S. side to take thorough measures to prevent the recurrence of such events." The arrest sparked outrage on Okinawa, where anti-U.S. military sentiment is high because of a heavy American troop presence. It could fuel further opposition to the relocation of a U.S. Marine Corps air station on the southern Japanese island, a long-delayed project that Abe has been trying to push forward in the face of large protests. Police said Kenneth Shinzato, 32, was arrested Thursday after he was questioned and investigators found the body at a location he provided, a forest in central Okinawa. Investigators determined that the body is that of a 20-year-old woman missing since April 28, when she messaged her boyfriend that she was going for a walk. Police said they suspect Shinzato was also responsible for her death. He has not been charged. In Washington, Defense Department spokesman Peter Cook said the man arrested was a U.S. military contractor. "This is an appalling tragedy," he said. The U.S. military extends its "deepest sympathies to the people of Japan, and express our gratitude for the trust that they place in our bilateral alliance and the American people." Kyodo News agency said Shinzato used to be a Marine. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. military was cooperating fully with local authorities in their investigation. "This is a terrible tragedy and it's obviously an outrage," he told reporters in Washington. Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga said he was "outraged" and that the death of the woman broke his heart. "As I look back at all the developments to date, I'm simply speechless," he said. Onaga has spearheaded opposition to the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from a densely populated neighborhood in central Okinawa to another site on the island, saying the facility should be moved away from Okinawa instead. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida summoned U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy to convey his "regret" over the crime. Kennedy said: "Nothing that I can do or say will make up the loss or to bring her back, but I want to express to you my determination and that of my military colleagues to cooperate fully with Okinawan police and the Japanese government, and we will double our efforts to make sure this will never happen again." Okinawa is home to more than half of about 50,000 American troops based in Japan. Many Okinawans complain about crime and noise connected to the bases. NATO officially invited Montenegro to become its 29th member Thursday, angering Russia, which already is threatening sanctions against what it calls a "friendly country." NATO foreign ministers signed the Accession Protocol in Brussels, as Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Dukanovic looked on. All 28 legislative bodies, including the U.S. Senate, must ratify the protocol before Montenegro can join. But NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he expects to soon see 29 flags flying outside the organization's Brussels headquarters. "Montenegro has already been contributing to NATO, EU and UN operations, promoting regional cooperation in the Balkans, and implementing major reforms," Stoltenberg said. "Membership will give Montenegro the ability to help shape NATO policy. It will bring more stability and security to the region ... and it will be a clear sign that NATO's door remains open to partners that share and promote our values." Russia, which feels threatened by NATO expansion right up to its borders, is threatening to "change its policy ... to this friendly country" if Montenegro becomes a new member. A foreign ministry spokeswoman said this could include limiting Russian economic and other contacts with Montenegro. She called NATO expansion another "attempt to change the military political landscape in Europe, especially in the light of the alliance's course to restrain our country." NATO has increased its military presence across Europe, including the heavily Russian populated Baltics, since Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Montenegro was a republic in the now-dismantled Yugoslavia, a country that was inside the Soviet-dominated Eastern Bloc during the Cold War. It was part of a federation with Serbia after Yugoslavia broke up. Montenegro eventually became an independent country in 2006 and has been relatively stable compared with the ethnic strife that occasionally rocks other former Yugoslav republics. Montenegro has contributed to NATO missions in Afghanistan. NATO last expanded in 2009, when Albania and Croatia became members. The Nigerian army says a second schoolgirl kidnapped by Boko Haram militants more than two years ago in a raid on her school has been rescued. "Her name is Miss Serah Luka," army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman said in an emailed statement, saying she was from Madagali in the state of Adamawa. The military released a photograph of the girl, veiled in a long blue hijab common to the region and similar to hijabs worn by other abducted girls seen in Boko Haram videos. She is the second of 219 girls abducted and held since 2014 to be rescued. On Tuesday, the first girl, 19-year-old Amina Ali, was found with her 4-month-old baby by civilian vigilantes in the Sambisa Forest area of Borno State. She is now being debriefed by Nigerian military officials. Ali and her mother met President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday at his residence in Abuja where he said the government is "doing all it can to rescue the remaining Chibok girls." "Amina's rescue gives us new hope, and offers a unique opportunity for vital information," he said in a statement issued after the meeting. Nigeria's military has been mounting an offensive in the sprawling, semi-desert scrubland since late April to flush out rebel fighters. Boko Haram grabbed 300 schoolgirls from their dormitory in the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok on April 14, 2014 and herded them away during the night. Many escaped after the kidnapping, but more than 200 are still missing. For Pakistani-American Mark Humayun, his grandmother who went blind from diabetes inspired him to develop a computer chip that goes into the eye to restore sight - otherwise known as the "bionic eye." "I am happy to report that that is an approved product in the U.S. and Europe in helping many people worldwide," the ophthalmologic surgeon told reporters at the White House Thursday. For scientist Jonathan Rothberg, it was his newborn son who was rushed to the hospital with breathing problems nearly two decades ago that led him to become a pioneer in genetic sequencing technology. "I am gratified today because not only did the president say my family was beautiful, but my (now) 16-year-old son had a smile on his face," Rothberg said. The two are among 17 recipients of this years National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation, awarded annually for outstanding contributions to science and engineering. "The amount of brain power in this room right now is astonishing," President Barack Obama said Thursday as he presented each of the men and women with their medals in the East Room of the White House. Obama said bestowing the honor is particularly significant in inspiring the next generations to enter science and technology. "We want those who have invented the products and lifesaving medicines and are engineering our future to be celebrated," Obama noted. "Immersing young people in science math engineering - thats whats going to carry the American spirit of innovation through the 21st century and beyond." The president noted that many of the recipients came from humble or ordinary beginnings, but were inspired by something or someone along their lifes journey. "Because they lived in an America that fosters curiosity and invests in education and values science as important to our progress, they were able to find their calling and do extraordinary things," Obama said. Young science advisors During the ceremony, the president announced the launch of a kids science advisers campaign aimed at soliciting ideas from young people on shaping the future of science and technology in the United States. The cause is an important one for National Medal of Science recipient Shirley Ann Jackson. The Washington D.C. native is the first African American to earn a doctorate in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the second woman to do so in the United States. Standing alongside her fellow honorees after the ceremony, Jackson outlined the reasons young people should go into STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), including the ability to make a positive impact on humanity. "It is important to inspire and encourage and invite young people early. Because the people here who are being recognized have worked over decades, and they started early, but, with that, the skys the limit." National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient Chenming Hu, a pioneer in semiconductor technology for developing the first three-dimensional transistors, offered this encouragement to kids who might be discouraged by math. Top officials in Pakistan have sharply reacted to U.S. accusations of not doing enough to help end the war in Afghanistan. They allege the blame stems from military failures the United States and its allies have suffered in the conflict, now in its 15th year. Islamabad acknowledges that traditionally uneasy relations with Washington have again been witnessing a downward slide in recent months. The tensions, Pakistani officials say, mainly stem from what they reject as unsubstantiated charges their country is supporting and harboring the Taliban and the Haqqani network of militants waging the Afghan war. The Haqqani network issue remains the top U.S. concern at the moment, Pakistans foreign policy adviser, Sartaj Aziz, recently told parliament. U.S. Senator Bob Corker, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, recently used his authority to deny the use of U.S. funds for Pakistan to buy eight F-16 fighter jets, despite Islamabads insistence the deal is crucial for its counterterrorism operations. This past Wednesday, U.S. lawmakers passed a defense policy bill to increase restrictions on military aid for Pakistan. The congressional objections in both cases stemmed from Islamabads failure to stop harboring the Taliban and militants linked to the Haqqani network fighting the beleaguered Afghan government. Scapegoat A senior Pakistani official dealing with national security matters alleges the Obama administration is trying to make Islamabad a scapegoat to cover up its own failures in Afghanistan. Pakistans national security adviser, Nasir Janjua, in an interview with VOA, said his country is making all our endeavors to facilitate the Afghan reconciliation process under a group of four nations, including the United States. In addressing a conference on Afghanistan this week in Islamabad, Janjua suggested Pakistan is being blamed for the Afghan conflict because the notion of victory is not visible for the U.S.-led military coalition. All those who have been operational commanders or commanders in Afghanistan, when they are held accountable and when they have not succeeded, obviously what do they come up with And then Haqqani and Taliban and blame on Pakistan just surfaces, Janjua said. The former military general said the United States has been relying on its military power to even bring about political reconciliation between Kabul and the Taliban. There were strategies being formulated of surge and reconcile. You slap a man and then you want him to sit down with you and reconcile, Janjua noted. He was referring to President Barack Obamas 2009 decision when more American troops were deployed in a bid to weaken the Taliban and push the group to the negotiating table. Counterterrorism campaign The Haqqani network, according to Afghan and U.S. military commanders, maintains ties to the Pakistani military-intelligence establishment and operates out of tribal areas of the neighboring country. According to U.S. assessments, the network is the region's most dangerous group and has been behind major attacks against local and foreign forces in Afghanistan. Janjua says Pakistan has deployed more than 200,000 troops to clear areas near the Afghan border of all insurgents and established government control over most of the treacherous terrain. He says the counterterrorism campaign has cost Pakistan tens of thousands of lives with economic losses estimated at $107 billion. Pakistan has long said that while it has established hundreds of border outposts in recent years, Afghan and coalition forces have not matched the action. Afghanistan opposes strengthening border controls because it disputes the more than 2,500-kilometer-long porous frontier with Pakistan and maintains such an attempt would add problems to the divided families and tribes in both countries. Pakistani officials say more than 50,000 Afghans cross the border and go back every day, including divided families carrying special passes called easement rights and Afghan refugees living in Pakistan for more than three decades. This massive movement of people, Islamabad says, makes it extremely difficult to discourage militants from crossing the border. Janjua, however, cited several reasons for the Talibans reluctance to join the Afghan peace and reconciliation process. He said they include prevailing misperceptions or perceptions in Afghanistan about whether President Asharf Ghanis government will survive after completing two years in September, lack of coordination among Afghan leaders on how to approach the reconciliation process, and the splintering of the Taliban after the death of its founder and first leader, Mullah Omar. Challenging relationship A U.S. official acknowledges challenges within the U.S.-Pakistan relationship. It is an important, vital relationship that we strongly believe in. Is it complicated at times? Absolutely, it is. And do we see eye-to-eye on every issue with Pakistan? No, we dont. But thats why the relationship matters so much, because we have shared threats and shared concerns, said State Department spokesman John Kirby last week. Analysts like Masood Khan of Islamabads Institute of Strategic Studies, urge both countries to resolve differences through diplomatic engagements. I would say that despite current turbulence in relations, the U.S. should not disengage with Pakistan. That would not be wise. It has taken time and effort to bring relations back on track. That trend must be strengthened, Khan said. Pakistan reacted with serious concerns" to archrival Indias recent test-firing of an anti-ballistic missile system and nuclear-armed submarine-based missiles in the Indian Ocean. These developments are now leading to nuclearization of Indian Ocean and Pakistan will take all necessary measures to defend its borders, foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz told the national parliament on Thursday. India announced on May 15 it had test-fired a locally designed single-stage Ashvin advanced defense interceptor missile from a mobile launcher, saying it successfully destroyed an incoming nuclear-capable ballistic missile. The deployment of these nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed missiles in the Indian Ocean will not only upset the strategic balance in South Asia, but will also affect the maritime security of all the 32 littoral states around the Indian Ocean, Aziz said. He added that Pakistan is not oblivious to its defense needs and will have to upgrade its defensive capabilities through suitable technologies. 'False sense of security' The development of an anti-ballistic missile system may give India a false sense of security, leading to unexpected complications, Aziz said, warning that Pakistans efforts for peace and friendship with India must not be interpreted as a sign of weakness. Officials in Islamabad say their ballistic missiles can carry nuclear warheads to any part of India and development of battlefield tactical nuclear weapons has effectively countered the massive rival nations alleged designs of imposing a sudden conventional war on Pakistan. Pakistan plans to highlight, internationally, the dangerous implications of Indias plans to nuclearize the Indian Ocean, he told lawmakers. One specific proposal under consideration is to move a resolution in the next session of the [U.N.] General Assembly in September 2016 to declare the Indian Ocean a nuclear-free zone, Aziz said. India and Pakistan tested nuclear devices in May 1998, raising fears of a nuclear confrontation in region. The two countries have fought three wars since 1947, and tensions over the divided Kashmir region have hampered efforts to improve bilateral relations. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs government maintains it seeks neighborly relations with India. Negotiations seen vital The countries need to engage with each other and resolve their disputes through peaceful negotiations, Sharifs national security adviser, Nasir Janjua, told VOA. We are two nuclear states. We need to engage with each other, Janjua said. If we cant be friends, let us not be enemies. We cant be enemies forever. Otherwise, we will destroy each other." A wide-ranging peace dialogue between India and Pakistan remains suspended. A recent diplomatic effort to get talks started was derailed by a terrorist attack on an Indian military base in January near the border with Pakistan. New Delhi alleged the attack was planned and executed by Pakistan-based militants. Officials in Islamabad insist they are cooperating in the Indian investigation, and a team of Pakistani experts also visited the Pathankot base as part of their own probe into the attack. Top Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam refused to talk during his first appearance before judges at a court in Paris Friday. A French citizen who grew up in Belgium, Abdeslam is charged with terrorism and murder for the November attacks in the French capital that killed 130 people. Those who wanted to hear Salah Abdeslam explain his actions were disappointed, since he remained silent in court. Abdeslam is believed to be the only direct participant in the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris who is still alive. His French lawyer, Frank Berton, said Abdeslam exercised his right to remain silent at the morning hearing in a Paris courthouse. He complained that 24-hour video surveillance of Abdeslam's maximum security cell is taking a psychological toll on his client, and called it illegal. Berton had previously said Abdeslam was eager to talk. He told reporters his client would choose the time to speak. Abdeslam arrived with a police motorcade for the closed-door hearing early Friday morning. This was his first appearance before judges since his extradition from Belgium last month. Role in attacks unclear The 27-year-old Frenchman, born in Morocco, faces a half dozen terrorism charges, as of now. Abdeslams exact role in the Paris attacks is still unclear. The Paris prosecutor claims he abandoned plans to blow himself up like the other attackers, including his older brother, Brahim. He also has been tied to the bombers who attacked Brussels airport and the Belgian city's subway in March. After four months on the run, he was arrested just before the Brussels bombings. His Belgian lawyer has described Abdeslam as a moron with the intelligence of an ashtray and little knowledge of Islam. Media leaks of previous interrogations in Belgium suggest Abdeslam has lied and ducked questions. Jean Reinhart, one of the lawyers for the Paris victims, has described Abdeslam as a manipulator and liar. Anything he says, the lawyer told an interviewer, must be viewed with caution. Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported this week that Abdeslam posted an Islamic State group flag on his Facebook page three weeks before the Paris attacks. RTBF also reported that an informer had tipped off police as early as January 2015 that Abdeslam had been in touch with Abdelhamid Abaaoud, considered a ringleader in Novembers attacks. Belgian authorities have acknowledged mistakes were made ahead of both the Paris and Brussels attacks. The Pentagon is dismissing a Russian proposal to carry out joint airstrikes against al Qaida-linked terrorists in Syria. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu floated the notion Friday during a meeting that was broadcast on Russian state television, adding that the strikes could begin as early as May 25, and would be coordinated with the government of Syrian President Bashar al Assad. We believe the adoption of these measures will allow a transition to a peaceful process to be achieved in the entire territory of Syria," said Shoigu. Nothings formally been presented to us, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters Friday. I can only tell you from where I sit, and from where we sit today that we do not collaborate or coordinate with the Russians on any operations in Syria, Davis said. We dont have military-to-military relations with Russia. The U.S. suspended all military ties with Moscow following Russias invasion of Ukraine and subsequent annexation of Crimea. U.S. and Russian military officials have engaged in deconfliction talks, however, to make sure U.S. and Russian forces operating in Syria do not accidentally engage each other. They [the Russians] are certainly aware in a broad sense of where we are on the ground and have been advised not to do anything that would put our personnel at risk, Davis said. The U.S. and Russia are both part of the multi-nation International Syria Support Group (ISSG), which met earlier this week in Vienna. The group has been working to enforce a cease-fire in Syria and speed up the delivery of humanitarian aid to areas hit hard by ongoing fighting. It also this week urged rebels groups to end any associations they have with Jabhat al Nusra, the al Qaida affiliate in Syria, as well as with the Islamic State terror group. Neither Jabhat al Nusra nor Islamic State are covered under the cease-fire agreement, and both have been targeted by U.S. and Russian airstrikes. Still, the Pentagons Capt. Jeff Davis said it made little sense for the U.S. and Russia to join forces. Russian operations are supporting and enabling the Assad regime, and our focus is solely on degrading and defeating ISIL, he said, using an acronym for Islamic State. The World Health Organization confirms the strain of Zika virus now circulating in the Americas and linked to brain abnormalities in babies is present in Cape Verde. The World Health Organization reports this strain of the Zika virus, known as the Asian type, has been circulating in Cape Verde since October. It says it was most likely imported from Brazil, the epicenter of the epidemic in the Americas. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa, says this is the first time this particular strain of the virus, which is linked to neurological disorders and microcephaly, a disease that causes brain damage in newborn babies, has been detected in Africa. The findings are of concern because it is further proof that this strain is spreading beyond South America and is on the doorstep of Africa," Moeti said. "This just-emerged information will help African countries to re-evaluate their level of risk and adapt and increase their level of preparedness. Moeti assumed her current post in February 2015 at the height of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. She says she will build on the investments made in strengthening health systems in West Africa during the Ebola emergency to improve the regions readiness in dealing with Zika. She says surveillance will be increased, vector control measures taken and the public informed of the need to protect itself from Zika by avoiding mosquito bites as well as sexual transmission of the virus. WHO's executive director, Bruce Aylward, says the agency does not advise a ban on trade and travel to Cape Verde. The idea of travel restrictions - that fits in the bucket of seductively simple, butstupid solutions. They do not work," Aylward said. "And, what you do is hugely complicate the ability to help a country that has already been hit by this thing to actually manage it. A different strain of the Zika virus has been in parts of Africa for decades. Aylward says many people may have built up an immunity to the virus. He suggests one area of research is to see whether this immunity could mitigate the impact of the new strain. A prominent Chinese writer living under police surveillance in Chinas southwestern city of Chengdu has been missing for nearly a week, according to friends and relatives. The wife of the 83-year-old Huang Zerong, who is better known by his pen name Tie Liu, told VOA on Thursday that police from the Chengdu Public Security Bureau took her husband away "for tea" on May 13, offering no specific reasons for the apparent detention, nor how long he would be held. I dont know why he was taken away. According to police, [it was] nothing serious, just some old problems," she said. "They seemed to [suggest] that he had failed to comply with certain rules and did not write reports of his thinking and failed to participate in studies. ... but I feel that is not the problem." If police have concerns about Huang's activities, she added, they should be addressed via proper judicial channels. Long history of speaking out, being arrested Police have closed Huangs WeChat online account twice since arresting him in late April for "creating a disturbance," sentencing him to five days of detention and a fine. Police later announced they had confiscated his personal identity cards as part of a six-month residential surveillance, during which he would not be allowed to travel. Huangs friends in Beijing say his disappearance may be linked to a recent visit to the city by Liu Yunshan, the Chinese Communist Party's propaganda chief. Huang was sentenced to prison in August 2015 for posting articles online criticizing Liu for opposing Chinese President Xi Jinpings fight against corruption. Huang was also one of the initiators of a March 2013 petition for increased freedom and political reforms, which was signed by more than 100 elderly Chinese citizens. Huang was arrested in 2014 for "causing a disturbance" and "illegal business activity," resulting in a $4,800 fine and two-and-a-half year prison term that was indefinitely suspended pending good behavior. Huang spent 25 years in labor camps for being anticommunist during Chairman Mao Zedong's rule. Some Chinese bloggers say his latest detention is just another example of a recent government clampdown on political dissidents and political commentators. On April 21, President Xi publicly stated that the Communist party should welcome well-intentioned criticism from intellectuals and commentators, and officials shouldn't fault or punish critics. This report was produced in collaboration with VOA's Mandarin Service. For years, the Ethiopian government has been accused of using its anti-terrorism law to crack down on internal political dissent. Now, bloggers and political activists worry freedom of expression could be limited even further by a proposed new law. Critics of the new legislation, called the Computer Crime Proclamation, say it would widen the door for the Ethiopian government to punish individuals voicing their opinions on the Internet.government to punish individuals voicing their opinions on the Internet. Daniel Berhane, a prominent blogger who also runs his own website, believes the provisions against cybercrime in the bill could be used against anyone expressing an opinion online. This computer crime proclamation denies me the defenses, the safeguards already provided in the criminal code and the mass media law," he said. "So it's simply more prohibitive than the existing laws and it does that with just one sentence. The new bill mostly focuses on cybercrime and security; but, the proclamation also allows the imprisonment for those who distribute mass emails and it gives the national intelligence service the power to conduct virtual investigations without approval from a judge. Belayhun Yirga of Ethiopias Ministry of Justice said nothing will change for those who are expressing their views on the Internet. If that person is just explaining his opinions or his view, he will not be liable for crime; but, the target of this law is just on the intention of the activity of the people concerning defamation," he said. "If their purpose and general goal is for defaming, they will be liable because defamation, it is a crime." Ethiopia is often criticized for detaining, arresting and imprisoning individuals who voice their opinions online. Journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega is currently serving an 18-year sentence. A group of young bloggers known as Zone 9 was detained for over a year. And Yonathan Tesfaye, the spokesperson of an opposition group, has been in detention for nearly six months over comments he made on Facebook. Haben Fecadu of human rights group Amnesty International says the Ethiopian government is currently using the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation to crack down on criticism. The precedent set by Yonathans charges are disturbing because it allows for the government to go after someone for expressing their views over social media," he said. "Yonathan was also charged under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, and evidence against him was allowed to be presented and heard by the court without him knowing what that evidence was. The new Computer Crime Proclamation likely will be enacted in the next few weeks. A first responder who helps rape survivors among displaced South Sudanese women in Juba says the number of cases she sees has skyrocketed. Anet, who prefers to be identified by one name only, said that before South Sudans conflict started in December 2013, she would receive only a handful of rape cases each month among the women taking shelter at a U.N. base. "Cases would come, but in a month, youd find only one, two, or even none," she said. Now, the figure has risen to 30 to 40 per month, she said. Anets experience reflects the crisis of sexual- and gender-based violence taking place across the country. And according to a report released Thursday in Nairobi by Legal Action Worldwide and the South Sudan Law Society, members of security or militia groups have perpetrated much of it. I think evidence points to its use as a way of punishing communities," said David Deng, research director of the South Sudan Law Society. According to the report, government and rebel forces, militias aligned to both sides, and unidentified uniformed men are reported to have committed rape, gang rape, murder, abduction, sexual assault, stripping, sexual slavery, castration and forced abortion. Men, women and children have all been victimized, particularly in Unity state, although women and girls are most at risk, especially those living in so-called persons-of-concern camps. Credibility of statistics Another group, the South Sudan Protection Cluster, reported that 1,300 rapes and 1,600 abductions of women and children took place between April and September 2015. But verifying this number, as well as figures released by other organizations, is problematic, Deng said. The figures "are seemingly pulled out of thin air. Theres no way to really assess the credibility of them, he said. South Sudan currently lacks a formal justice system that is accessible to the wider population. Traditional justice systems may function in conflict zones, but they are ill-equipped to handle sexual violence cases, which are often perceived as communal, not individual issues. And they are unable to hold government, rebel or security forces to account, according to Antonia Mulvey, executive director of Legal Action Worldwide. And when these entities act with impunity and are not held to account for their actions, the victims dont receive justice, Deng said. There is no evidence of a single effective prosecution, and I think that in and of itself says a lot," he said. To seek accountability from the perpetrators, the reports authors recommend legal and institutional reforms, proper vetting of security forces and a means for the survivors to seek justice, such as through the formation of a hybrid court, capable of trying war crimes. San Francisco has a new police chief tasked with healing strained relations with the city's African-American community after another in a series of fatal police shootings. Acting Police Chief Toney Chaplin replaced Greg Suhr, who resigned Thursday under pressure after an officer's fatal shooting of an African-American woman sparked new outrage. It was the city's third fatal police shooting since December and followed months of protests and a scandal over racist text messages sent by police officers. "These officer-involved shootings, justified or not, have forced our city to open its eyes to questions of when and how police use lethal force. The last many months, every day, I have asked myself: Is the path to reform best advanced by the departments current leadership?" Mayor Ed Lee said in a statement. University of Pittsburgh law professor and policing expert David Harris told VOA the police chief "serves at the pleasure" of the mayor, so the mayor can exercise his authority to replace the chief if he believes the department is not "heading in the right direction." "The problems seen in San Francisco, use of force, and the evidence that some officers felt free to express racist sentiments point toward a need for changes in the department's culture and systems. That takes time, even with very good leadership," Harris added. When mayors are pressured to take quick action in these types of circumstances, some resort to firing their police chiefs, Harris said, "even when the whole department needs to be changed. The mayor can't fire the whole department, so the chief is fired." Thursday's shooting resulted in the death of a 27-year old woman in a suspected stolen car. There was no immediate indication that the woman was armed, and no weapon was found in her possession. Police say two officers who were involved in a project to recover stolen vehicles tried to arrest the woman after spotting the car. She drove away before the officers could speak with her and crashed into a parked utility truck 100 feet away, according to witnesses. One officer shot and killed her as the other officer tried to pull her out of the car. The police chief resignation was the latest in a series of recent resignations by other police department heads who were forced to step down amid public outrage over fatal police shootings of African-Americans. The Sudan government hopes the Obama administration will grant a visa to President Omar al-Bashir to attend this years United Nations General Assembly in New York. Information Minister Ahmed Bilal said President Bashir has been invited by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to attend the General Assembly in September. He said the United States is obligated, as host of the United Nations, to grant a visa to President Bashir. In fact, actually, the last time he applied for the visa, but it was not granted. But now he got an invitation, and we think he should be granted the visa because the United States is hosting the international organization and we have to attend the activities of this organization. We shouldnt be prohibited for any reason. And thats why our president applied, and we think it is very fair to be granted a visa. If he has been granted a visa, he will come, he said. Last week, Bashir attended the fifth inauguration of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in Kampala. The U.S. delegation walked out after Museveni called the International Criminal Court a bunch of useless people and said he no longer supports the court. We believe that walking out in protest is an appropriate reaction to a head of state mocking efforts to ensure accountability for victims of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly when his country has committed to accountability as a state party to the Rome Statute, said State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau. Bashir has been indicted by the ICC for war crimes he allegedly committed in Sudans Darfur region where it has been estimated at least 300,000 people have been killed and two million displaced. ICC Prosecutor Fatour Bensouda Thursday sent a letter to the Ugandan government requesting an explanation for why it refused to arrest Bashir during his Kampala visit. Uganda, as a signatory to the Rome Statue under which the ICC was created, is obligated to arrest anyone wanted by the ICC. Bilal said Sudan does not recognize the authority of the ICC and an increasing number of African countries are distancing themselves from what he called the bad reputation of the ICC. It is a court for the black people, not for the white people because the measures being taken by the ICC is a double standard, and it is meant specifically toward African leaders. We dont care about ICC anymore because now there is almost 90 percent of African leaders against the ICC, Bilal said. While it has been a strong advocate of international criminal justice, the United States has refused to subject U.S. citizens to the jurisdiction of the ICC, even going so far as to threaten the use of military force to free members of the armed forces of the United States detained by the ICC, according to the American Service Members Protection Act of 2002. U.S. officials have said American armed forces personnel would be a target for retribution because of the unique role the United States plays in global security. Bilal said even if the United States were a signatory to the ICC, it could not arrest President Bashir while hes attending the U.N. General Assembly. Absolutely no because the USA is not a partner in the ICC; they didnt sign, and they are not actually complying with the rules of the ICC. Like Sudan, we didnt sign, and American soldiers are exempted because of the veto from ICC laws. Its only the weak; its only the blacks who are being indicted, Bilal said. He said Sudan, as a member of the United Nations, has every right to attend the General Assembly in New York. It is our right to actually attend the activities of the U.N., and America should not at all speak about arresting the president because they are not a member [of the ICC], and even if they are member, the president is not coming for America; hes coming for the U.N., Bilal said. A U.N. Security Council delegation was in Kenya's capital Friday to discuss security issues in the region, including Kenyas recent announcement that it will close its Dadaab refugee camp, home to an estimated 330,000 people, most of them Somalis. Members said they met earlier in the day with Kenyas President Uhuru Kenyatta and discussed the camp closure. On the importance of Kenya fulfilling its international obligations and thats an extremely important message which we passed on to the president of Kenya he was very clear in committing to abide by those international obligations, said Matthew Rycroft, Britain's U.N. ambassador. Rycroft also said that the Security Council was united in empathizing with Kenyan authorities for their security work in the region and stood ready to assist. Kenya has said it will close Dadaab primarily because of security threats. The countrys Interior Ministry has said that al-Shabab militants have used the Dadaab camp to plan and train for attacks, like the one at Nairobis Westgate Mall, where 67 people were killed in September 2013. The Security Council delegation stopped in Nairobi after a visit to Mogadishu, where they met with the Somali president, prime minister and cabinet members, among others. They reiterated the importance of the Somali elections in August as an important step toward combating terrorism. Vietnam is taking the lead regionally on human rights related to LGBTI people, the U.S. State Department's special envoy on such matters said, just days before President Barack Obama is expected to focus on human rights during his first visit to the Southeast Asian nation. Vietnam is taking very constructive steps forward through engagement from government to civil society and with the media, and through very transparent discussions on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people," Randy Berry told VOA. Berry, the State Departments first-ever special envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons, added that Vietnam was stepping to the fore of this issue by trying to discuss a topic that neighboring countries still consider taboo. Berry said Vietnam has revised its civil code to make it easier for transgender persons to alter their legal identity. WATCH: Randy Berry on why protecting LGBTI rights is important The efforts of U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius, a career diplomat who is gay, have tremendous potential to change the hearts and minds in a country with a nascent LGBTI rights movement, Berry added. Osius and his husband arrived in Vietnam with their toddler son shortly before Hanoi abolished its ban on same-sex marriage. Later, they adopted an infant girl. The Vietnamese government "continued to demonstrate an increased tolerance and respect for rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, according to the State Departments annual human rights report that was issued earlier this year. US support Obama will address forthrightly differences between the two former adversaries and continue to emphasize U.S. support for universal values, including inclusive governance, strong civil societies, fair labor practices and respect for human rights, according to senior U.S. officials. Real progress on protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, including through legal reform, is crucial to ensuring" that the U.S.-Vietnam relationship "achieves its full potential, Daniel Kritenbrink, Asian director of the White House's National Security Council, said in a briefing to preview Obamas Vietnam visit. Washington is also urging Hanoi to release all political prisoners and cease its harassment of civil society activists. Washington has expressed deep concerns about the case of Nguyen Van Dai, a human rights lawyer who was arrested in mid-December 2015 when he was preparing to meet European Union delegates on human rights issues. Another high-profile case is the trial of blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh (also known as Anh Ba Sam), who was sentenced to five years in prison in March for what authorities called abusing rights to freedom and democracy to infringe upon the interests of the state. Arms embargo Neighboring Cambodia on Wednesday welcomed the meeting of old enemies, but government spokesman Phay Siphan said that while the visit could help with reconciliation of [the U.S.-Vietnamese] relationship, the possible easing of the arms embargo was being greeted with caution. "Cambodia is a country that prefers building peace, so we dont support [changes to the embargo], he said. Cambodia is a close ally of China in the region, particularly on matters regarding territorially disputed waters of the South China Sea. The U.S. embargo was imposed against Vietnam in 1984, following the deadly war that left millions dead. Vietnam has asked that it be lifted. Protesters arrested Scores of protesters were arrested when environmental rallies were broken up early this week in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the wake of mass fish deaths as Vietnam is making preparations for Obamas visit. Professor Nguyen Manh Hung, an expert on U.S.-Vietnamese relations from George Mason University, said the millions of dead fish that have washed up over 200 kilometers of central Vietnamese coastline are posing the biggest test so far for the new government, which took office in April. The trip comes at an uneasy time for the authorities as they have to deal with the mystery disaster and dissatisfaction over the environment while trying to maintain order and prepare for the visit, Hung said, adding that the Trans-Pacific Partnership and South China Sea also would be high on Obamas agenda in Vietnam. The United States and three key European allies -- Britain, France, and Germany -- say they want to eliminate any confusion about what investment and business deals with Iran are permitted after the nuclear deal. "We encourage firms to approach our governments to address remaining questions rather than forgo opportunities due to misperceptions or lack of information," the State Department said Thursday. The U.S. and European Union lifted most sanctions on Iran in January after Teheran agreed to curb its nuclear program. But some sanctions remain, including those related to human rights and terrorism issues. Clarification needed Some businesses are still confused over what is and is not permitted and are withholding investment and trade with Iran. The State Department says it is ready to provide guidance and speedy clarification. "It is in our interest and the interest of the international community to ensure that the JCPOA [ Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official name of the nuclear deal ] works for all participants, including by delivering benefit to the Iranian people." The U.S. says this includes the reintroduction of European banks and businesses in Iran. But President Barack Obama said last month that Iran still has to do more to prove to global firms that it is a safe place in which to do business. Obama said when Iran tests ballistic missiles painted with slogans calling for the destruction of Israel, businesses get nervous. President Barack Obama's three-day visit to Vietnam, starting Monday, is expected to be a watershed in the growing economic and strategic relationship between the two countries, which were engaged in battle for more than a decade. Obama leaves Washington Saturday to start his trip. There have already been significant economic breakthroughs for the two former enemies since diplomatic ties were established between Hanoi and Washington in 1995. Vietnams exports to the United States now exceed the level of other ASEAN members, while U.S. exports to Vietnam have grown dramatically. Vietnam is one of the dozen signatories to the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), giving it a boost over other nations in Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia and Thailand, which are not part of the pact. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is the key to helping Vietnam begin a new chapter and move away from Chinas orbit, said Tuong Lai, a former prime ministerial adviser. But the TPP faces legislative hurdles in Washington, where some opponents will among numerous concerns raise objections to what they regard as a totalitarian regime being included in the controversial trade agreement. Lethal weapons ban The Vietnamese want the trade relationship to expand and include a sector that, until recent years, would have been unimaginable: weaponry. The removal of the lethal weapons ban is also a very important symbol as the two countries have formed a comprehensive partnership. Maintaining that embargo would show the limits in bilateral ties, Cu Chi Loi, the director of the Vietnam Institute of American Studies, told VOA News. The United States partly lifted its three-decade ban on lethal arms sales to the communist country in October 2014, allowing what was termed the future transfer of maritime security-related hardware. Last year, the U.S. government provided $18 million for an American contractor to build a pair of 22-meter-long aluminum patrol boats for Vietnam's coast guard. Hanoi's ambassador to the United States, Pham Quang Vinh, earlier this month, told an audience in Texas at a summit on the Vietnam War, the lethal weapons ban is a barrier of the past that should be removed to fully reflect normalized relations and the current level of the comprehensive partnership between the two countries. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has told the Senate Armed Services Committee he supports a total revocation of the ban. Strategic, security issues Vietnam and the United States share a common stance on several regional strategic and security issues especially a mutual wariness of Beijing's intentions in the South China Sea that has resulted in Hanoi and Washington being able to overcome many obstacles and differences, Loi, of the Vietnam institute, told VOA. Closely watched during the Obama visit will be any signals indicating just how far both countries are willing to take closer strategic ties. Vietnamese public anger is growing over Beijing's fortification of disputed reefs in the South China Sea. Yet Hanoi's policy is to avoid any alliances, not have foreign military bases on its soil or rely on others for defense. Despite the stance there is speculation that in exchange for totally scrapping the arms embargo the Pentagon would get the right to use Vietnamese airfields or ports, such as at Cam Ranh Bay. Another sticky issue in the budding relationship is U.S. criticism of Vietnam's record on civil liberties, which remains dire in all areas, according to the nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch. The lifting of the arms ban appears reasonable, but Mr. Obama should insist on real improvements on human rights before proceeding, said The Washington Post in a May 13 editorial. Bloggers and activists An increasing number of Vietnamese bloggers and activists are also expressing a desire for democracy, greater freedom and transparency, but they risk retribution from the authorities ranging from intimidation to imprisonment. The U.S. and international organizations must recognize that human rights in Vietnam have recently improved significantly. That should be taken into account objectively, Loi said. A developing nation, of course, is still facing difficulties and obstacles in that issue. Some Vietnamese, such as professor Lai, the former prime ministerial adviser, call for the contentious issue to be put aside by Washington, for now. If the economy is strengthened, it would be favorable to discuss social changes and human rights, he told VOA. Economic development in Vietnam, however, appears to be raising environmental issues, leading Vietnamese to protest this month in unprecedented numbers. The catalyst for the marches which have been broken up by riot police is 100 tons of dead fish on the central coast. Demonstrators blame the mass fish kill on the release of toxic chemicals from a new Taiwanese-owned steel mill. We are concerned about the increasing levels of violence perpetrated against Vietnamese protesters expressing their anger over the mysterious mass deaths of fish along the countrys central coast, said the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in a May 13 statement. We call on the government of Vietnam to respect the right to freedom of assembly in line with its international human rights obligations. The demonstrations have spread to the capital, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City, and have been held on subsequent Sundays. Thus, the authorities could find themselves confronting another mass protest this coming Sunday, on the eve of the Obama visit. Zambian opposition parties denounced the choice of a Dubai-based company to print election ballots, and suggested that corruption and plans for vote-rigging played a role. The parties reacted after Zambia's electoral commission announced Al Ghurair Printing and Publishing had won the contract to print the ballots that will be used in the August 11 general election. Jack Mwiimbu, head of legal affairs for the United Party for National Development (UPND), accused the electoral commission of trying to rig the polls for the governing Patriotic Front. He says the party has proof of some Zambians celebrating after the electoral commission announced the contract. He also questioned the cost of the contract -- $3.5 million, a figure he says is $2 million higher than what the government paid previously. Zambia is undergoing severe economic and financial stress," he said. "The Zambian government has no capacity to pay for that particular bid. They are relying on donors and the donors have also expressed their disquiet. Mwiimbu says the UPND strongly doubts the upcoming polls will be credible, and says the commission should rescind its decision. The leader of another opposition party, the Forum for Democracy and Development, said the electoral commissions decision could create tension and chaos. Local media quoted Edith Nawakwi as saying Zambia is at peace but your position is pushing us in a direction which we the Zambian people are totally uninterested. Can you for once, step backwards, step backwards and listen to the people? This is our country, it does not belong to the [Electoral Commission of Zambia], and it does not belong to government. For Zambia's recent elections, ballot papers have been printed by a company in South Africa. The opposition parties contend it is cheaper to print the papers there -- and that there have been no complaints about the company's work. Electoral commission chairman Essau Chulu said those opposed to the decision failed to provide proof that Al Ghurair has engaged in malpractices in other countries, including Uganda, where the company printed ballots for the elections in March. Opposition parties accused Ugandan authorities of rigging those polls to favor Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Supporters of the ruling Patriotic Front party have dismissed the UPND concerns and accusations against the electoral commission as unjustified. They said it appears the UPND and other opposition parties are setting the stage for excuses, because in their view the parties are going to lose the presidential vote to incumbent President Edgar Lungu. While sign language is now recognized as one of Zimbabwes 16 official languages, people with hearing impairments remain some of the most marginalized. And now one activist, Sithabiso Ndlovu, an advocate for the deaf community is urging drastic action. She wants the government to make it compulsory for its essential services workers such as law enforcement agents and healthcare personnel to learn sign language so they can communicate effectively with the deaf. Its something that can be easily implemented to say before someone graduates from the police force, they should know basic sign language, Ndlovu says. This so they can know how to communicate when they arrest a deaf person or come across someone who needs help; nurses too, how do you deal with a patient when they cannot understand their language? Ndlovu is one of the 60 promising young Zimbabweans headed for the United States next month to study leadership at various institutions of learning under the coveted Mandela Washington Fellowship. While not deaf herself, she is excited there is at least one fellow with a hearing disability in her group; Agness Chindimba, with whom she will be stationed at the University of Delaware. After noticing the communication barrier between people with hearing impairments and the general public, Ndlovu took it upon herself to bridge the gap. She launched a YouTube channel where she posts video lectures explaining sign language. In one clip Ndlovu walks through the alphabet. She does much of her advocacy through her AfriAct Foundation, which works with underprivileged and disabled youths. But Ndlovu wants complementary efforts from both government and the general public. The government is trying but not much has been done in terms of pushing sign language as much as we push English; as much as we push Ndebele and Shona, she says. President Robert Mugabe on Friday attended the centenary celebration of Fort Hare in South Africa amid protests from students who were not happy with Mr. Mugabe and South African president Jacob Zumas presence at the celebrations. According to press reports, President Mugabe told the students that he was not going to leave office because he wants to prevent regime change. Im hanging on because I want to prevent regime change. It will never come to my country said Mugabe, who received standing ovation. The president graduated at Fort Hare with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and History in 1951. Mr. Mugabe said Africans had proven they could run their own affairs. Let products from here truly represent what our elders sought to make students become in life: Leaders of people who were courageous but educated. The protesters confronted the police singing "Asinamali" (we don't have money) and brandishing placards reading "Centenary my a..", Voetsek Mugabe, Zuma. Police used teargas to disperse the students from Zimbabwe and South Africa who wanted to force their way into the hall where Mr. Mugabe, and President Zuma were officiating. The protests started on Wednesday when students burned down a university building. But Friday they were not given any chance as they were pushed away with water cannons and teargas. The opposition Zimbabwe People First had written to the college authorities seeking a ban on Mr. Mugabe who they accuse of misusing state money to travel around the globe. However, the ZimPeople Firsts South African branch convener, Lawrence Mavhaire, said the college authorities did not even respond to their request. Today Fort Hare was a clear testimony to say that this event has become a celebration of the past and is quite detached from what the current students are going through, said Mavhaire. Mavhaire said despite heavy police presence the students, together with local student bodies like the Economic Freedom Fighters, DASO and others, managed to protest. Thirty year old Tawanda Katsaruware, who was born and raised in Zimbabwe, is passionate about transforming peoples lives through technology. He boasts of a great education as he obtained a presitigious Bachelor of Computing and Information Technology (Honors) Degree (commonly known as Computer Science) at the Chinhoyi University of Technology. He mainly concentrates on mobile application development in Android and iOS. Katsaruware is also a sole proprietor of a registered company, Luminsoft Private Limited, which has created several applications adopted by various organisations. He says, I dont have the capacity to employ people as yet. I do all the programming work myself on multiple projects, so as a result I dont sleep much, sometimes l am awake for over 2 days to get things done. He adds, I am a mobile app developer. Zimbabwe is coming up and people come looking for apps, so they come up to me with an idea and I bring it to life for them. TYPES OF APPS The first app that launched Katrasruware's career was the SecureExpo designed for an event in 2012 and 2013 called SecureExpo, where security companies gathered and exhibited their products and innovations. This app was a guide to the event, positions of stands of exhibitors, a program for the week, contact details of exhibitors and a QR Code reader to allow quick saving of contact details on business cards. In 2010, Katsaruware created a Biometric Registration System into an advanced event registration system for high level events. This app was used for two events. the first time it was ever used was in 2010 where it was used to enroll and verify around 3,000 people at a political event in Mutare, Zimbabwe, and the second time the following year 2011 at the SecureExpo event. The app had special features which were used as finger print scanners to verify the identity of only registered delegates at an event. He explains, I created it because there were problems of people gaining unauthorized access to certain events because people were passing around access cards or sending other people in their place. Dairyboard Rugby Festival is another mobile application used to provide fixtures and results of matches played by high school teams every year. This is the biggest annual rugby gathering in Zimbabwe. Computer Society of Zimbabwe. They have a yearly Summer School event. The app created in 2013 gave profiles of speakers and an active dynamic timetable of current and future events, and activities during the event. The Cultural and Social Expo, was an app created for Zimbabwe Agricultural Society in 2013. It was for a tourism event at the Harare Agricultural Showgrounds, with information on exhibitors, maps for venues, timetable for activities and shows at the event. "Federation of African Media Women Zimbabwe", a nonprofit organization, had an app designed for the purpose of an extension of a database that allows the public to search and find details of individuals and companies listed in FAMWZ. Handymen, the latest edition created for Android and iOS, is an app that allows an individual to search for the services of a tradesman. This will be released towards the end of May. For example plumbers, mechanics, electricians, that broadcast to suited individuals who you can then browse through to get the best suited for you. The app schedules your jobs and gives reminders etc. Both the user and tradesman have the app which enables instant alerts and job searches and results. All tradesmen are rated and commented on after each job which appears on their profiles so users always get the best people suited for them. Pregnancy Prayer is an app for the prayerful pregnant mother-to-be. The app moves with the user every day, giving relevant prayers for the stage the user is with the pregnancy, from conception to birth. The app has a set of changing pictures that reflect the babys stage of development in the tummy and the relevant stage info, dos and donts and tips to help mom-to-be along her journey. Extras are a kick-chart, a journal, to-do list and a food diary. This is the second app created in 2013. AUSC Team Zimbabwe AUSC - Africa Union Sport Council. This app was for the African Union Youth Games held in Zimbabwe in 2014. The features included a set of fixtures, team profiles and results of games played. The app allowed the user to know what was happening and where at any given time. The Viral Suppressor During that time I registered my first company in my second year. I'd realized at this point that I was pretty darn good at programming and I figured Id start making some money. I also picked up an interest in viruses and Malware because it was quite a problem at the time because the university's internet was bad, very bad. So anti-viruses were useless. I then developed methods that could heal a computer manually from an infection. I ended up servicing computers of close to a hundred students over the course of my time there. In my final year I then made an automation tool that could do what Id been doing manually. I called it the Viral Suppressor. The idea behind it was criticized because people couldnt wrap their minds around the idea that you can have an 'antivirus' solution that requires no internet updates. But it worked. About 15,000 downloads later I was sure it worked. This initially sounded unbelievable to many IT experts but it proved itself and made a huge difference for many people in Zimbabwe who had no internet to update their antivirus programs (which heavily rely on the internet to be effective). Unlike an antivirus program, the Viral Suppressor not only disables or removes Malware, but also takes steps to recover normal functionality of the computer. I released it for free because it couldn't be sold commercially due to the lack of online payment platforms. In 2014 there was an outbreak of ransomware called "festasAzulCorrupta" that corrupts Microsoft Office documents. "Viral Suppressor was able to pick this Malware up and disable it. I then made an addition to it that enabled it to be the only known program able to recover such documents. To date the Viral Suppressor and its related removal tools have been downloaded just under 50,000 times. It is a unique virus removal tool I built in college and released to the public 2 years later. Put basically it is an anti-malware program that can function without requiring internet updates". Katsaruware explains that the current economic pitfalls in Zimbabwe do not exempt him from the financial constraints he experiences. "There are countless in Zimbabwe, I need capital to expand because there is a whole lot of ideas I have which I cant implement but I avoid to do. I need between $15,000 and $20,000 to get started (capital). I have mixed feelings of Zimbabwe, yes that this place has a lot of problems and a lot of things to solve, therefore have a lot of solutions that I can solve. No, because I dont get paid for some of the jobs I do, not best environment. He adds that there is a need for Zimbabwe to improve in the area in technology, I have been to India and other parts of Africa, in India these people are pretty impressive, how they develop their own innovations and work hard on it. In comparison to Zimbabwe we are generally behind on the latest trends, technology and we do need to improve from there. What does he say about upcoming fellow youth technocrats in Zimbabwe? The best advice: just start, dont go in being money driven because you will get let down but just do it and develop a passion for it and just dont be money driven. A Zimbabwean family based in New York, USA, says it was touched by a story that aired on Studio 7 profiling challenges faced by Anna Lungisani, a 36 year-old disabled and HIV positive woman, who is struggling to survive in one of Harares high density surburbs, Epworth. Veronica and Bernard Domingo say they shed tears after listening to the report which chronicled how Anna, who currently blind due to her HIV status and is failing to access treatment as her family, is very poor. The Domingos say they would like their donation to buy blankets and food and pay transport fare to help Anna to go for treatment. Veronica and Bernard Domingo say they are just ordinary Zimbabweans, who do not have much themselves, but felt moved by the story to take action. Mrs. Domingo is currently studying to be a nurse while her husband runs a lawn-mowing business. We do not have much ourselves but we decided to give a little of what we currently have to assist Anna to access treatment and have some blankets to keep her warm during winter which is coming soon, said Mrs. Domingo. I saw my wife shedding tears after listening to the story on Studio 7 on Anna and the next day I called her from work and we both decided that we were going to make a donation no matter how small but we would do something and I hope to take this matter to my local church to see if others can also chip into the campaign to help this lady and her family. We thank Safari Njema for covering this story and we hope that Studio 7 will continue to cover such stories in the future, said Mr. Domingo. Anna Lungisani is widowed and stays with her father and is being assisted to look after her by an aunt who lives nearby and her 12 year-old sister when she is not attending school. Six women and girls arrived in Harare on Thursday from Kuwait and are now in the hands of Zimbabwean government authorities before being handed over to their families Friday. One of the young ladies, who only wants to be known as Nancy Moyo, said she is looking forward to meeting her family and is grateful for the assistance provided by the Young Women Christian Association (International), led by human rights defender Nyaradzayi Gumbodzvanda, that bought their tickets. Gumbodzvanda is also the African Union Goodwill Ambassador for early child marriages. Some of the women, who were promised lucrative jobs before they left Zimbabwe, by employment agents in both countries, were allegedly abused by their employers. They were forced to do menial jobs and in some instances sexually abused. Meanwhile, four human traffickers alleged to have participated in the trafficking of women and girls to Kuwait in court Wednesday, according to some media reports. The four include former secretary to the Kuwait ambassador in Zimbabwe, Brenda Avril May, Jethro Madukuse of Mutare, Nyasha Bako and Lucia Makwangwa. Three of the accused were granted $500 bail each and were ordered to report three times a week at various police stations, among other bail conditions. They were remanded to June 14. Nyasha Bako's bail was opposed by the state, which feared that he would flee. Bako and Makwangwa are accused of trafficking four women to Kuwait after falsifying information that there were lucrative jobs in hotels and where they would work as waitresses been paid $1,500 to $2,000 a month. The duo then processed travel documents for Tariro Muza (22), Emaculatta Mujeyi (42), Hazvineyi Bernadette Garanewako (23) and Zviito Kaurimbo (32). Moyo told Studio 7 she is grateful to the Zimbabwe Embassy in Kuwait, which through one of its employees Francis Ngwenya, assisted the women after they escaped from their abusive employers. Moyo said she is also grateful to the Young Women Christian Association, who purchased the tickets, and Studio7 for highlighting the plight of the trafficked women and girls. "I can't believe I am now home and I can't wait to meet my family and start my life again by going to school to study dentistry and also cookery as I enjoy cooking. I have been shedding tears because I still can't believe that I am back home," said Moyo. Another young lady is expected to arrive in Harare from Egypt where she was trafficked and was assisted by the Young Women's Christian Association to travel back home. Moyo said there are other women and girls that have no access to phones and travel documents that are still trapped in other Arab States where there were re-trafficked from Kuwait. She said its disturbing that these women may be suffering with no hope of returning home. "I hope that other victims still in Arab States will get a chance to get home like what happened to us and be reunited with their families," said Moyo, who was re-trafficked to Saudi Arabia by her employers but feigned illness to be returned back to Kuwait where she was then able to escape and be repatriated back to Zimbabwe. Workers of the National Railways of Zimbabwe stage protests demanding outstanding salaries backdating to 2015. Harare City Council set to shutdown water supplies at the weekend to carryout repairs at a local water pumping site. And Zimbabweans protest over President Robert Mugabes journey to South Africa where he is attending the 100th anniversary of the University of Fort Hare. Stay tuned for these stories and more coming up on Studio 7 at 7:30 pm on 9-0-9 Medium Wave and on the 4-9-3-0, 5-9-4-0 and 1-5-4-6-0 shortwave frequencies. We also broadcast on www.channelzim.net. Please check us out on Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. This evening on Livetalk our hosts will be talking with listeners and experts about protests by workers of the National Railways of Zimbabwe who are demanding outstanding salaries backdating to 2015. Participate by sending your messages on our WhatsApp number 001 202 465 0318. You can also post comments on this Facebook wall or send us your number so we can call you back. Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM News Updates The daily news, sports, and events delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Sports Update This current sports headlines delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Upcoming Events This email is the events of the area delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens. The activity of the volcano has remained essentially unchanged over the past months and is currently relatively low.Growth of a small lava dome continues in the summit crater (as indicated by some glow at night) and small to moderate explosions occur at rates of a few per day. Ash plumes have been reaching 1-4 km height above the crater during the recent week. Background: Colima volcano is one of the most active in North America and one of the potentially most dangerous ones. It has had more than 30 periods of eruptions since 1585, including several significant eruptions in the late 1990s. Scientific monitoring of the volcano began 20 years ago.The Colima volcanic complex is the most prominent volcanic center of the western Mexican Volcanic Belt. It consists of two southward-younging volcanoes, Nevado de Colima (the 4320 m high point of the complex) on the north and the 3850-m-high historically active Volcan de Colima at the south.A group of cinder cones of probable late-Pleistocene age is located on the floor of the Colima graben west and east of the Colima complex. Volcan de Colima (also known as Volcan Fuego) is a youthful stratovolcano constructed within a 5-km-wide caldera, breached to the south, that has been the source of large debris avalanches. Major slope failures have occurred repeatedly from both the Nevado and Colima cones, and have produced a thick apron of debris-avalanche deposits on three sides of the complex. Frequent historical eruptions date back to the 16th century. Occasional major explosive eruptions (most recently in 1913) have destroyed the summit and left a deep, steep-sided crater that was slowly refilled and then overtopped by lava dome growth.--- Photo: River Road Entertainment Sean Penn lost the audience for his newest directorial effort, The Last Face, less than a minute into its debut press screening this morning at Cannes. As the opening title cards, laid over an educational map of Africa, prepared us for action set during the second Liberian Civil War in 2003, a second set of title cards in a more lyrical italicized font flashed onscreen, comparing that crisis with a similar crisis in South Sudan a decade later, and that conflict to the brutality of impossible love shared by a man fade to black, wait for it and a woman. There was a millisecond pause for shock before much of the audience burst out laughing. Advance interest in The Last Face has centered around the now-ended relationship between Penn and his leading lady, Charlize Theron, who reportedly ghosted on broke up with him days after theyd walked the red carpet together at her Mad Max: Fury Road premiere last year at Cannes. Talk about returning to the scene of the crime. And, hoo boy, they did not seem like amicable exes at this afternoons press conference (more on that later). But at least for today, speculation over their interpersonal relations has had to take a back seat to the movies absolutely derisive reception. The overwrought language of Erin Dignams script moves right from the title cards to the opening scene, set in 2013, with Therons humanitarian doctor, Wren, getting ready for a big speech as her lover, Miguel (Javier Bardem), whispers reassurance that her words are just to remind them what human nature is capable of. Theres a soft-focus close-up on him nuzzling her neck, and then on their hands intertwined shes wearing a ring that doesnt look like a wedding ring, but what does it mean?! and then back to her face, as it streams with tears. Wren, we learn in voice-over, lost her father, who ran a medical-aid organization. Every day I dreamt of how I would make my mark on the world, how I would save the world, she says/thinks, then spells out whos saved her. Before I met Miguel, I was an idea I had. I didnt really exist. Now, she knows who she is. In the midst of struggling with how to root for this hard-charging lady doctor who says she was just a shadow until a man came into her life, we also get to see The Last Face join the long, proud tradition of movies about African or African-American struggle told through the eyes of white protagonists. Were thrown back in time to a war zone in Monrovia, Liberia, where Wren and Miguel meet-cute while treating patients in hospital beds. This is right after her fathers death, and shes an out-of-practice doctor whos returned to the field to decide if its safe for her fathers organization to stay there. Penn showed in Into the Wild that he can be a visceral, kinetic director, and the bloody war scenes are often unflinching, horrifying, and filmed with the knowledge and respect of someone whos both witnessed such wreckage and sincerely cares, as Penn has demonstrated with his personal relief efforts for the Haiti earthquake and Hurricane Katrina. He shot in actual refugee camps with actual refugees as extras. Some of those images are seared into my brain, as are descriptors of child soldiers fed mixtures of amphetamines and hallucinogens and convinced that eating enemies hearts will make them invincible. But the second he attempts to tell the love story of these white saviors to these mostly anonymous Africans, things turn from sappy to downright offensive. How can we count the ways? Well, theres the time Wren, Miguel, and the gang give an emergency C-section to a woman with a machete wound they find in the jungle, and Wrens medical prowess is enough to make Miguel try to kiss her. Or the time when a white NGO worker is dancing around a fire with a beautiful African woman and remarks to Miguel, they stripped her from her vagina to her anus, but shes here, with me, dancing. Good for you, buddy. Or that time the movie cuts straight from a modern-day love scene to another voice-over about rape. Or the entire movie, when were watching these white people find their self-actualization through either saving or witnessing the horrific deaths of Africans who never have a speaking role bigger than sixth or seventh billing. The long and the short is that Miguels constitution made him stay in the field, while Wren came back to run her fathers organization and give big speeches in front of orchestras to wealthy donors about how we all have dreams and we need to protect the dreams of refugees (that part did make me cry). Ten years have passed, and he cant get her out of his mind. I counted at least two more times the audience broke into shocked snickers: first, when Wren jokes that she needs to grab someone to marry, and a fellow doctor, played by legend Jean Reno and named, really, Dr. Love, shouts back, It is not grabbing! It is loving! Second, when Miguel apologizes to Wren for an affair by saying, I did tell her I loved her, but I never meant I loved her the way I love you. There should also be a drinking game for every time Wren yells at Miguel some variant of Love me? You dont even know me! (Literally: Being inside of me doesnt mean you know me! Take another shot!) Dont just take my word for it. There were scattered boos at lights up, though not as spirited as those for Personal Shopper and The Neon Demon. And the reviews so far have been scathing. Eric Kohn of Indiewire writes: Even without its mopey, painfully on-the-nose dialogue and ponderous story, The Last Face sets itself up for failure with its premise, and Penns apparent inability to recognize it as such. Its his worst movie. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called it a stunningly self-important but numbingly empty cocktail of romance and insulting refugee porn. From there, we were on to analyzing the body language of Penn and Theron in their press conference that afternoon. The two never interacted or even looked at each other as far as I could tell, and Bardem and Blue Is the Warmest Color star Adele Exarchopoulos, who plays another doctor, seemed to have been placed strategically on the dais between them. Asked about the mixed reaction, Penn replied, Ive finished the film so its not a discussion that I can be of any value to. I stand behind the film as it is, and certainly everybody is going to be entitled to their response. He also said that once the film screened for the public later that night, hed consider his job done. Photo: Clemens Bilan/Getty Images Later, he artfully dodged the question of why hed picked Theron for the role, saying that hed been aware of the script for years, but when he read it again, imagining her in it, it took a very big turn with what I thought was the overall tone of the film, so I saw it as something I wanted to do. It had not been something I had considered doing previously. Plus, hed been particularly excited to see Theron and Bardem together. Im just a big fan of great performances and thats what they are. But it was his response to a question about managing egos that seemed ripest for interpretation. Your first challenge is dealing with your own ego on anything that youre doing, Penn began, then said, There are people at this table that are so extraordinarily humble and we all benefited from that. Each in their own personalitys way, everybody cared tremendously. Was he specifically referring to Theron as humble, or specifically calling out other members who were more humble than her by comparison? Was she rolling her eyes on the inside when he talked about his own ego? Its too speculative to say, but Theron did not linger for even a second at the end of the press conference, and Penn was the last to leave the room. Maybe he doesnt even know her. Photo: Sony Pictures Classics As the 30-something title character in Rebecca Millers lively comedy Maggies Plan, that darling of American indie cinema Greta Gerwig dithers and rolls her eyes and clomps around in hideous overaged-schoolgirl outfits: She forces me to exhume that most gruesome of adjectives, adorkable. The problem, though, is not so much her performance. She is charming. She is damn it adorkable. But shes just too Greta Gerwig-ish. The familiarity of her shtick robs Maggie of uniqueness, at least in the films wobbly first third, when we cant tell if the heroine is supposed to be this much of a flake. When we meet her, Maggie has just decided to have a child on her own with the help of an acquaintance named Guy (Travis Fimmel), the bushy-bearded proprietor of an artisan Brooklyn pickle company. (Its a real one, actually Brooklyn Brine.) How much involvement do you want to have? she asks Guy, and before he can answer says, I would suggest none. Which is too bad. Despite a tendency to hover too close to peoples faces, Fimmels Guy seems soulful. But Maggie is looking for someone less socially unformed. She works at the New School in New York, where, in the midst of her planning, she encounters John (Ethan Hawke), an adjunct professor of something called ficto-critical anthropology. They meet cute in the bursars office: Her last name is Hardin, his is Harding. Cowed by Georgette (Julianne Moore), his severe Danish wife and a tenured professor at Columbia, John gives Maggie a chapter of his first attempt at a novel. When she loves it, he decides he loves her, and she loves him back. He leaves his wife and two kids. Maggie becomes pregnant. To get a handle on Maggies Plan, it helps to know some history. Millers screenplay is based on an unpublished story by Karen Rinaldi, a well-regarded book editor who was the other woman in an affair chronicled in Catherine Texiers sexually explicit 1999 memoir, Breakup: A Love Story. (With her husband, Joel Rose, Texier edited the literary magazine, Between C and D.) Texier is French, not Danish, but her writing has the same histrionic style as Georgettes. (The book is full of likably fulsome passages like this: Sometimes I feel like a vampire, sucking on our life to create writing out of it. The words are stigma that Im imprinting on the yellow pad, to bear witness. Its like shes playing a wounded intellectual.) But the movie doesnt feel like a counter-revenge saga. Quite the reverse. Its not long after Maggie and John get hitched that he starts to act like an entitled artist, leaving the cleaning, cooking, and child-rearing to the women. And Maggies identity is further undermined by the publication of Georgettes memoir about the end of her marriage. Maggie seems well and truly marooned. Georgette is played by Julianne Moore, and you would be justified in saying her performance is an outrageous caricature and I would be justified in saying thank God for that because Moore is glorious and kicks the film into a higher comic gear. As in her pitch-perfect performance as the faux-British Maude Lebowski, Moore is broad but so finely detailed that single syllables can make you whoop with joy. Her words come out curdled by nihilism; for extra impact, she bites off the ends of her sentences. She cuts off Gerwig in mid-dither. Actually, Gerwig is much better when Moore enters the picture, and so is the picture itself. With three main characters, the geometry gets tricky. This other womans fantasy of restoring an order that she has upended turns into a hyperliterate screwball comedy, with the blinkered male passed from one female to the other. John is a self-centered fool, but Hawke is such a generous actor that his essential innocence comes through. Maggies Plan doesnt quite gel, but its very enjoyable, and it has a solid emotional core. Rebecca Miller is the daughter of Arthur Miller, which is only relevant because a lot of her work features famous-moralist fathers who show childish irresponsibility toward their families. Her semiautobiographical The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009) was an attempt to liberate her photographer mother the last of Arthur Millers wives from her fathers shadow, and in Maggies Plan she gives us a heroine who figures out a way to liberate herself. Its a silly fantasy but a potent one. You watch Maggie formulate her daft scenario and think, Okay: Its a plan! Nicolas Winding Refn. Photo: Dominique Charriau/Getty Images Cannes press conferences rarely yield any fun stuff, but today a great blessing came in the form of a Norwegian reporter asking Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn if he had any fighting words for other famed Danish director Lars von Trier. Lars, Lars, done a lot of drugs, over the hill, said Refn, who was at Cannes for the third time with The Neon Demon, the debauched model-cannibalism tale that Vultures Kyle Buchanan predicts will be the craziest movie of the summer. Refn wasnt done. The last thing I saw Lars do was trying to tell my wife he wanted to have sex with her. He found some other slut, said Refn, and took a demonstrative swig of water. Dont expect any response from von Trier, though. He was permanently banned from Cannes in 2011 (the same year Refn won Best Director for Drive) after some unfortunate comments at the Melancholia press conference that made him sound like a Nazi sympathizer, and he has refused to ever do a press conference again. Also, dont take Refns bellowing too seriously; Von Trier has said hes known Refn since he was a kid, and Refn has been calling von Trier old and out of touch in the press for at least five years. Refn also had some fighting words for his critics; the movies press screening yesterday was greeted with the loudest boos so far this festival. If I dont split [the audience reactions], what are we doing here? Why would you waste your time with something that doesnt make you react? He also had a marvelous descriptor of a sex scene thats too good not to include. (Spoiler ahead!) It involves Jena Malones manipulative makeup artist making out with a female corpse in a morgue. Refn had insisted they shoot in the actual L.A. morgue, so there were dead bodies next to us to build up the mood, he said. Then he laid out how hed talked Malone through the scene: I say, Okay, Jenna, can you spit in her mouth? She spits. Can you stick your tongue in her mouth? She sticks her tongue in. Okay, can let you let your hand slide down between her legs? Okay, thats great. Can I get more saliva when you spit on her. Okay, now on the nipples, kiss the nipples, spit on the nipples, and it kind of just, like, escalated into this really intense kind of necrophilia scene that we shot three or four times with all of these other women in the room. And after that this was the second day I was like, We found her. We found the character. Now go with God. Class acts Elke Fehler, of Hewitt, was awarded a Master of Science in family life degree from Concordia University, Nebraska, on May 7 in Seward, Nebraska. Kayla Smith, of Robinson, received her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from McMurry University in Abilene on May 7. She graduated magna cum laude. Zachary Gardner, of Clifton, earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in May. Graduates at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls in May are: Hewitt Ashlee Hender-son-Leaks, Bachelor of Science in respiratory care, summa cum laude. Riesel Jennifer Clendening, Bachelor of Science in radiologic sciences, cum laude. Robinson Jacob Hurst, Bachelor of Science in criminal justice. Waco Michelle Cooper, Bachelor of Science in respiratory care, magna cum laude; Shatoia Gober, Bachelor of Arts; Trist Rosenbaum, Bachelor of Science in respiratory care, summa cum laude. Applause The Dwyer Group Inc. has announced the appointment of Imran Jooma to the board, effective immediately. In his new role, Jooma will work with board members to guide activities at Dwyer Group and the companys family of service brands. With a background working at Sears Holdings and OfficeMax, Jooma has a resume that spans almost 20 years in marketing and business. He currently serves as the divisional president of omnichanel strategy at Finish Line. Send submissions to neighborplus@wacotrib.com. A Waco man who sexually abused a physically disabled girl for two years will spend the rest of his life in prison. A jury in McLennan Countys 19th State District Court deliberated about two hours before returning the maximum sentence for David Navarro, a 29-year-old Waco plumber. The jury convicted Navarro on Thursday of continuous sexual abuse of a young child and indecency with a child by contact. Navarro, the father of five, faced a minimum of 25 years in prison without the possibility of parole and up to a maximum life term with no parole. The jury recommended that he be sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison on the indecency count. Navarro denied Thursday that he ever abused the girl and said he never was alone with her during his four-year relationship with the girls mother. His family members cried as he was being led from the courtroom. One of them yelled at him, Youve got a real family. The girl told jurors Wednesday that Navarro frequently carried her into his bed and sexually assaulted her after her mother left for work. She said the abuse began in June 2010 when she was 9 and continued until August 2012. She reported the abuse to her mother 15 months after Navarro and the girls mother broke up. Prosecutors Gabrielle Massey and Liz Buice asked jurors to recommend a life prison term for Navarro, saying the young victim, now 15, has permanent scars from the abuse. She is going to carry this with her for the rest of her life, Buice said. Her mother will carry this with her for the rest of her life, her aunt, her grandmother, all the adults who believe they should have protected this child. Defense attorney Stan Schwieger reminded jurors in closing statements about friends, employers and family members who testified during the punishment phase that Navarro is a good father, a hard worker and a dedicated, caring family member. When is enough enough? Schwieger said. In the prosecutions estimation, there is never enough time for people convicted of these kind of things. If there was a life plus, thats what these prosecutors would be asking you for. But you have heard from a lot of people here today that David is a positive man who has been a good father to his children, a good husband, a good cousin, a good friend, a good man. Schwieger asked jurors not to discard Navarro by locking him away for the rest of his life. Dont consider him throwaway, he said. What testimony did you hear today that leads you to believe we need to rid society of this man forever, that we need to put him in one of those human dog pounds in Coryell County or some place else around the state? He is not disposable. When is enough enough? Massey countered that the answer to Schwiegers question is enough should have been the first time Navarro improperly touched the girl. He is the one who treated people like they are disposable, Massey said. He abused this poor girl repeatedly and did it every way he could. In punishment phase testimony, the prosecutors revealed to the jury that Navarro has misdemeanor convictions for evading arrest in 2004, possession of marijuana in 2008 and unlawfully carrying a gun and marijuana possession in 2012. He was placed on probation on each conviction, but his probation was revoked after his 2012 convictions because Navarro continued to smoke marijuana. The girls mother returned to the stand to tell the jury that her daughter suffers physical and emotional trauma because of the abuse and has been in therapy. It makes me feel like I havent done my job and I didnt protect her like I should, she said, beginning to cry. I trusted him, and he betrayed us. In defense testimony, two of Navarros employers, his mother, wife, sister, cousin and mother-in-law all testified that Navarro is a good father, a good provider for his family and a good man who does not deserve to die in prison. As a mother-in-law, I could not ask for anybody to be better for my daughter and my two grandchildren and his other children, said Mona Barrera, of Chilton. He is a wonderful father and a wonderful person. The leaders of Waco Independent School Districts struggling campuses will return next week with refined campus turnaround plans after trustees expressed frustration with the lack of information included in plans submitted Thursday. G.W. Carver Middle School, Brook Avenue Elementary School, South Waco Elementary School and Alta Vista Elementary School administrators submitted turnaround plans for board approval Thursday as part of new state requirements. A new state law dictates some of the requirements for failing schools, including turnaround plans from each campus that failed state academic standards for at least two years in a row. G.W. Carver, South Waco and Alta Vista have failed three times, and Brook Avenue has failed four. Two other Waco campuses, Indian Spring Middle School and J.H. Hines Elementary School, will have to submit turnaround plans to comply with state law, but administrators have not announced when those plans will be submitted. Indian Spring has failed three times, and J.H. Hines has failed four. The plans submitted Thursday outline how a lack of professional development for teachers is one of the primary causes for the schools lagging state scores. They go on to offer solutions to the problems listed. Brook Avenues plan states that teachers will participate in professional learning communities where they can learn the skills needed to make instructional decisions based on collected data. Develop a process to use walkthroughs to monitor the instruction, instructional strategies, and other best practices that are to be implemented as decided by the (professional learning communities), the report states. But Trustee Angela Tekell didnt agree with the evaluations in the plans and questioned whether they identify the campuses problems correctly. Thats frustrating for me because we have great professional development, Tekell said. Superintendent Bonny Cain explained how campuses in communities with a higher rate of poverty often struggle to keep staff, and the professional development is to support incoming teachers or teachers with alternative certifications. Tekell said then the true problem on the campuses is teacher turnover, not inadequate professional development. Addressing teacher turnover would require different solutions than whats presented in the plans, she said. Tekell also said she is concerned about submitting a form to the state that doesnt fully express the efforts the district is undertaking to improve the campuses scores. Along with adding behavioral and literacy aides to campuses throughout the districts, officials have held multiple transformation committee meetings to increase parent involvement, Tekell said. I didnt think these reflected the work were doing. I know of things were doing that arent in here, she said. Mia Orosco wasnt nervous when she graduated from Baylor University last weekend with a degree in violin performance. Nor was she nervous when she displayed her craft for the packed house at the Ferrell Center. After all, the Lorena native has played violin since she was 5 years old. She did some incredible bluegrass, and it brought the house down, said Stephen Heyde, Baylors director of orchestral activities. It illustrates, again, good music is good music, whatever the style. And boy, she demonstrated that at commencement. Orosco will move on to the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, and she has her Central Texas roots to thank. Baylor was actually my inspiration to become a musician, Orosco said. I remember sitting in the Baylor orchestra camp when I was 13 and thinking, This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. The same year she attended the camp, she picked up the fiddle a major step away from classical violin. I thought it would be easy, but its actually one of the hardest things Ive ever done, Orosco said. I was trying to do these two genres simultaneously. I was taking college auditions at the same time, and I was preparing for a national fiddle contest, so it was really hard. In 2009, at age 16, she performed for National Public Radios From the Top, which showcases young classical musicians. Three years later, she was named Grand National Champion at the National Old Time Fiddlers Contest, beating out fiddlers ranging in age from 17 to 57. Orosco said the difference between the fiddle and violin basically comes down to which songs are being played, but technique means something, too. New mindsets and skill sets are required to play the fiddle. She has explained the difference in greater detail to her students at the Central Texas String Academy. I would happily stay in Waco forever, Orosco said. I absolutely love Waco. To get the chance to be here for four years and work on my career, but at the same time work with local people and promote local events and stuff like that, thats been really cool. Heyde has conducted the Baylor Symphony and the Waco Symphony Orchestra, both of which Orosco has played in. At Baylor, Orosco has been co-concertmaster for the past two years. Her leadership of other students is phenomenal, Heyde said. They love her, they trust her, they know shell give them good advice and good leadership, and she always does. Part of that leadership came in promoting the Baylor Symphony as part of a one-woman publicity crew, Heyde said. Orosco created posters to advertise concerts, and attendance rose. It also speaks to her heart, Heyde said. Shes always trying to see what can be done and how she can contribute to the whole. She took it as a personal challenge. That attitude should carry over to Indiana, which Heyde said is a top-notch graduate school. Orosco hopes to gain even more orchestral experience in her next steps. I know that they demand a lot more of their students, just on an individual level, she said. The bar is so high because everyone there is so good. Im hoping to just overall bring up musicianship and just get more experience in the orchestral field. She recalls scrolling through her Facebook feed and seeing friends of friends posting photos from recording sessions for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. She would love to contribute to a movie soundtrack one day and often listens to music from Hollywood composers John Williams and Hans Zimmer. Orosco said a musicians career can be hard to plan, but she feels equipped to dive deeper into the industry after her training in Central Texas. Once again, she doesnt need to feel nervous. Being at Baylor and kind of kick-starting my career here, I got to work with these people in Waco, and thats really meant a lot, Orosco said. Ive got a good start. Theres still tons and tons I need to learn, but Baylors definitely given me a good shove off the cliff. Now I just need to figure out how to fly. As though there arent enough surprises in the Middle East, consider these: Speculation about the sale of at least some assets of the Saudi Arabian-owned oil company Aramco to investors, plus another shuffling of Saudi King Salmans cabinet, starting with replacement of long-serving oil minister Ali al-Naimi with Khaled al-Falih, chairman of Aramco. This news has sent shockwaves throughout global economic and diplomatic realms. With oil prices hovering around the discouragingly low of $43 a barrel, the desert kingdom is considering its options over what to do next. Saudi Arabias financial power derives from its oil wealth; thus, offering for sale some of Aramcos precious assets could have serious consequences for the royal familys existence. So why is the king pursuing this strategy? First, the kingdom could well be broke by August 2018 if it keeps dipping into its financial reserves (about $655 billion by some estimates) to support not only the royal familys lavish lifestyle (such as large numbers of Airbus A380s outfitted with gold) but its wide array of social services, all offered while forgoing taxation. This all-that-glitters scenario comes with the full understanding that, yes, the price of oil will not go above $43 a barrel anytime soon and could plunge even lower in coming months. Second, by offering Aramcos assets as an initial public offering, the kingdom hints it knows something the rest of the world does not. One thing Im certain of is that the kingdom has never disclosed the exact amount of its oil reserves. U.S. intelligence has been trying for years to find this out, all to no avail. Some estimate it to be about 276 billion barrels of oil, which could supply the world market at its current consumption for the next 80 years. But were guessing here. Third, Saudi leadership likely realizes it no longer plays an influential role in Middle East affairs, especially in the aftermath of Irans nuclear agreement with the West. That deal means yet more oil in the market and the possibility of at least some rapprochement in the long term between the United States and Iran when it comes to shared interests. And any sale might be driven by the need for the kingdom to cash out and scatter before Islamic State, al-Qaida and other terrorist groups that harbor deep hatred for the kingdom finally storm the gates. This is, after all, the Middle East, where anything can and will happen. Whatever, OPECs June meeting should provide a clue as to whether the kingdom will move forward with any Aramco sale. I remain skeptical. Mind you, the sale of Aramco assets no matter how little will be perceived by some as the beginning of the end of the al-Saud dynasty. Rival royal family members and international enemies might see this as an opportunity. Even mere speculation diminishes and undermines the legitimacy of the royal family as absolute stewards of Mecca and Medina and ultimate arbiters of oil prices in the almighty OPEC. In recent history, the al-Saud family has derived tremendous power from its ability to unilaterally manipulate the price of oil whenever it chose. Taking Aramco public might disrupt that power in the global marketplace by dropping another element into the mix: investors. As for the sudden reshuffling of the royal cabinet, it goes well beyond what King Salman did when he took the helm of power from his half-brother, the late King Abdullah. This abrupt cabinet reshuffle puts the stamp of approval on his son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and his economic reform proposal, Vision 2030, which sets up priorities and policies for a world of flattened oil prices. Imagine. While King Salmans royal decree to reshuffle the cabinet may bring new blood and fresh ideas, I doubt it will. The disoriented, ill-conceived policies the kingdom has embraced since the royal ascension of 2015 only highlights further internal turmoil within the Saudi establishment. Royal infighting over control and power could mark the start of the end for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as we know it. Far-reaching consequences would resound not only economically and politically but also religiously and geopolitically. One does not have to look far to see how entangled the kingdom is in Yemen, which pretty much proved the crown princes naivete in global affairs when he decided to embark on a military adventure there. Images broadcast on al-Jazeera and BBC (but hardly at all on U.S. media outlets) show Saudi Arabia, an outrageously rich country, pummeling Yemen, one of the poorest in the Arab world. All this has generated criticism of the Saudis and sympathy for Houthi rebels. Thats not what King Salman needs now. And tensions between Iran and the desert kingdom show no sign of abating, especially when it comes to Irans nuclear program. Recently, Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabias former intelligence chief, announced that all options would be on the table if Iran moves toward a bomb, including the acquisitions of nuclear weapons to face whatever eventuality might come from Iran. Good luck to the next U.S. president who must deal with this volatile and sensitive situation. I see no compelling reason for the Saudi royal family to expose its dirty laundry by selling off Aramco assets. Yet if this happens, it could prove detrimental to the monarchy and the state. At that point, it will probably be time to drop Saudi in Saudi Arabia. The Muslim world will be saying, Good morning, Arabia! David Oualaalou is a global affairs analyst, blogger, author and professor. He is author of the newly released More Than a Handshake: The Ambiguous Foreign Policy of the United States Toward the Muslim World. He teaches at McLennan Community College. WAHOO When the last vote was recorded May 10, 3,972 Saunders County residents had cast a ballot in Nebraskas May Primary. Saunders County Election Commissioner Patti Lindgren said that unofficial vote count puts turnout at about 27.4 percent, or 3,972 of the registered 14,445 voters. That was about in step with the state average of 26.5 percent. According to Secretary of State John Gale, the statewide average was the highest it has been since the presidential primary in 2000, when it reached 30.1 percent. Although the competitive nature of the Republican presidential race was slightly diminished due to the outcome of the Indiana primary, Im glad to see that many citizens saw the value of voting in other important races for the legislature, natural resource districts, the Nebraska Board of Education, public service commission and U.S. Congress, Gale said. Seven counties exceeded 50 percent turnout in the primary, including Merrick, which was the highest at almost 60 percent turnout. An additional eight counties had greater than 40 percent turnout. Douglas County had the lowest turnout, skirting just above 20 percent. In Saunders County, the highest pocket of voters was in the Weston Precinct, where turnout was 30 percent. Wahoo Ward II, Cedar Bluffs and District 4 precincts were close behind at 28 percent. Recording 27 percent voter turnout were the precincts of Prague, Center and Ashland Rural. All other precincts were 26 percent or below. Lindgren said she had expected a little higher voter turnout in Saunders County, given there were contested races and early voter ballot requests had increased. Her office handled 439 early voter requests. Of those, 389 were counted May 10. We were excited that we had more early voter ballots by quite a bit, she said. But there was less at the polls. Its frustrating. Despite the lower than anticipated voter turn out in the county, Lindgren said poll day operations went as well as could be expected. All in all, it probably went OK, she added. There were just a few snags here and there. One of those snags came at the end of the day. Election office staff had some issues reporting results to the Secretary of States website. We were having some issues uploading the numbers, she said. But the numbers did get sent to the Secretary of State by 10:40 p.m., and Lindgren said she is not expecting to have any hand or recounts. There were a few provisional ballots her office had to work with last week. But, she said they were not expected to change outcomes. The results from last weeks vote do not become official until they are certified. Lindgren was not sure last week when that would occur. Lower turnout at the polls for this election might have been linked to the attention to a Republican only presidential ticket. With the Democrats having presidential caucuses in March, the presidential candidates were listed on last weeks ballot, but voting on them was symbolic, as the states delegates have already been assigned. Lindgren said she believed that having both the caucus and the primary created some confusion for voters and caused some not to cast a ballot last week. There were non-partisan races. The Democrats had a ballot, Lindgren said. I think it just gets a little confusing for the people. Lindgren acknowledged that there was also some confusion about whether you could register Democrat to take part in the March 5 caucus and then re-register to vote Republican in the May 10 primary. But, she said her office does not track that type of activity. The number of Democrats voting in the May primary was 831, out of 4,030 registered voters. The Republican count was 2,995, out of 7,936 registered. On March 8, Saunders County had 14,407 registered voters, 4,073 registered Democrats and 7,847 Republicans. The first week of May has been thrilling for the people at the Vintage Dream Factory, a Belgian non-profit organization established with the aim to preserve and fly the North American P-51 Mustang known as Scat VII. This Mustang is the sole airworthy P-51 based in Belgium and the resurrection of a rare combat aircraft. Scat VII served with the 434th Fighter Squadron, 479th Fighter Group, and was the personal mount of Major Robin Olds in World War II. Robin Olds would go on to become a triple ace and scored his last five kills of the war in Scat VII. During the Viet Nam War, Robin Olds, a Colonel by then, would go on to further fame flying the F-4 Phantom II with the 8th TFW. He was the main man behind Operation Bolo, a successful effort to neutralize the enemys fighter fleet. He shot down four North Vietnamese MiGs in the process. The Vintage Dream Factory had the pleasure of welcoming Robin Olds daughter, Christina, and granddaughter, Jennifer Newman, to spend some time with them and the aircraft Robin Olds flew 70 years previously. For Christina Olds, it was a long awaited reunion. On Wednesday, May 4th, pilot Lieven Lavaert paid a visit to the Belgian Air Force base of Kleine Brogel with Christina in the back seat. As you can imagine the flight brought on many strong emotions for Christina, especially as she was flying in the same skies her father had fought in during WWII. Once on the ground, Christina gave a presentation about her fathers life. The event received great coverage in both the Belgian papers and national TV channels. On Saturday, May 7th, the Vintage Dream Factory organized a unique and well received event at Kortrijk Wevelgem airport where Christina Olds met with a select group of aviation enthusiasts, moving everyone with stories of her fathers life, of the great leader, pilot and above all a wonderful man! Off course Scat VII was also present at the event and people had the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Mustang. They also had the chance to talk to Christina Olds and have her sign their copy of the Robin Olds biography. Vintage Dream Factory is also offering flights in Scat VII to the public. Become a member and you can fly the Mustang from the backseat! For more information please visit www.vintage.flights Article by Christophe Haentjens www.crazyhorseap.be To buy exclusive books, prints and artifacts signed by Robins Olds click HERE. [inpost_galleria thumb_width=200 thumb_height=200 post_id=25432 thumb_margin_left=3 thumb_margin_bottom=0 thumb_border_radius=2 thumb_shadow=0 1px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) id= random=0 group=0 border= show_in_popup=0 album_cover= album_cover_width=200 album_cover_height=200 popup_width=800 popup_max_height=600 popup_title=Gallery type=yoxview sc_id=sc1463662839771] Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, including auto financing, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses. 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Telstra has spent years improving its customer service when it should have been overhauling it, the telecommunications giant's chief executive says. Andy Penn said Telstra had made significant improvements in how it deals with customers but had "so much more to do", and adopting a spirit of "disruption" was key to that. He told a business lunch on Thursday that customer service was the area of business most significantly transformed by rapidly advancing technology and that every company had been left either a "disrupter or a disruptee". "Over the past five to six years we have done a lot to improve customer service," he told an American Chamber of Commerce in Australia event in Melbourne. But we rejected the assertion of an Ethiopian community leader, that the "white parents don't send their kids to these schools because all they see is black kids. They may not view it as racism but it is ... you can sugar coat it, and put it differently, but I won't." Sugar coating nothing, but putting it differently: the white families fleeing the "sink schools" aren't racists, though they are prejudiced. It's old-fashioned class prejudice; their problem with the local kids is not one of skin colour, but of home address. The middle-class families would desert the "sink schools" just as emphatically if the kids from the commission towers were white rather than black, because they would still be poor. Few of us are immune to prejudice but I was shocked to read how explicitly this bias is being paraded as a virtue, without even a flicker of self-consciousness. Clifton Hill's website reassures parents that "a minority of students are drawn from public housing". Fear, even hatred, of the poor remains stubbornly resistant to the edicts of political correctness, however much some might delude themselves into thinking it's the exclusive preserve of the News Limited editors, and their political fellow travellers, who vilified the welfare-dependent Duncan Storrar. Now as always, a Marxist would say on a subliminal level rich people regard poverty as a disease; a self-inflicted disease, like that caused by smoking, and an infectious one. The next day my friend and I continued discussing "white flight" via text messages. Her: It's ironic the people complaining of white flight say it's racist to want the best for your kid, but they want the same, to peg up the ladder. So perhaps hypocritical. Just sayin. Me: Yes. And yet isn't that the real irony or the flip-side of the original irony; the whites flee because they assume there's no aspiration in the commission flats. This controversy shows there is aspiration there maybe more aspiration than you'd find in the "white" school where people are simply trying to maintain their privilege as opposed to striving to get some privilege themselves. That's the problem with prejudice; it's, well, prejudiced. Her: Yep, and white bogans are the biggest problem! But. If you have 85 per cent non-English-speaking background, chances are the teacher can't teach at a level suitable for kids who can speak English already and the standard for the class is lower than if everyone was English speaking. A lot of African refugees are illiterate or non-educated sure they're aspirational but it's an issue about the starting point. Me: Which is another conceit of the privileged; they think it's all about where you start. The migrants (and the tiger economies of Asia) know it's all about where you end up. Magda Szubanski began the week at the State Library of NSW with Premier Mike Baird holding up her mobile phone so her mother could hear her acceptance speech when she won the non-fiction prize in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards for her memoir Reckoning. She left the stage saying she would spend her prizemoney on some trees - a reference to the government's removal of old fig trees for the light rail in Randwick. Even the Premier laughed, such is her light delivery of tough messages. On Thursday night Szubanski was on stage again, tearfully, at the Art Gallery of NSW when Reckoning was named book of the year at the Australian Book Industry Awards, and winner of the biography award. The comic actor is confirmed as a fine writer - and a hard-working one who has happily toured the country for a year to promote the book. When I was writing Island Home I was never really sure what it was. Now that it's safely behind me, I see that Island Home is a kind of love letter to this place, its ecosystems and creatures but also to its people. As I say somewhere in the book, this country leans in on you, it weighs down hard. Like family. Because it is family. And whether I like it or not, I'm caught up in its web, ensnared in all those family matters, organic and intangible, functional and dysfunctional, many of which make me shout at the telly and howl at the moon. All the same, I love this family. It's where I'm from and it's what formed me. And I want to defend it. I want to see it continue to mature and develop and prosper. I love its myriad stories, its particularities, its peculiar sounds. And that's not one monolithic story or voice, by the way. It's the voice of Steve Irwin, say, but also the voice of Lee Lin Chin; it's the sounds of Gurrumul and of Katie Noonan; the stories of Tom Keneally and of Alexis Wright. Australia has survived its colonial era. It's too cute to say we've left it behind completely, but in my lifetime we've striven to out-think and outgrow it. We've begun to sing and dance and play and write and, yes, to legislate our way past a colonial existence. And our arts community has been integral to this change of mindset. They were understood to have searched the Treasury Place office of former communications minister Stephen Conroy and the Brunswick home of a Labor staffer on Thursday night - a dramatic development at the start of the federal election campaign. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is questioned about AFP raids on ALP offices and staff as he departs the Bankstown Sports Club in Sydney. Credit:Andrew Meares Commissioner Colvin said he had discussed accusations that the media were tipped off with the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner and they would be referred to the AFP professional standards branch."I will be extremely disappointed if any member of the AFP has alerted the media. I'm confident we have not alerted the media," he said. Speaking at election event in Launceston, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said: "The first I heard of the AFP investigation was yesterday when I was advised by the Justice Minister shortly after he'd been advised by the Commissioner. AFP raid on Labor staffer's house in Brunswick, Victoria on Thursday night. Credit:Nick Toscano "We are dealing here with a matter of law enforcement. We're dealing here with a matter of the Australian Federal Police. "The NBN Co made a referral of a matter of concern, of illegal leaking of confidential commercial information." The AFP raid on a Labor staffer's house in Melbourne during the election. Credit:Nick Toscano Mr Turnbull said Labor - which has attacked the raids as "extraordinary" and "unprecedented" - had attacked the integrity of the AFP. "That is a shameful thing to do, Labor should be ashamed of themselves," he said. AFP confirms search warrants In a statement posted on its website earlier on Friday morning, the AFP said: "The Australian Federal Police can confirm that it executed two search warrants in Melbourne yesterday evening as part of an investigation concerning allegations of the unauthorised disclosure of Commonwealth information. "These allegations were the subject of a referral from the National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co), received by the AFP on 9 December 2015. "This investigation has been ongoing since that date. This investigation has been undertaken independent of government, and decisions regarding yesterday's activity were made by the AFP alone." The AFP statement said the search warrants were one part of a "phased approach" the AFP have undertaken regarding the investigation. "The next phase of this investigation involves the examination and analysis of material collected during these search warrants," it said. "The federal government and opposition were appropriately notified and advised of operational activity regarding this matter after it commenced yesterday. "The AFP has received assistance from the NBN Co in this investigation, which included facilitating interviews with a number of NBN Co employees as part of yesterday's activity. "This investigation remains ongoing, and the AFP will provide further detail when it is appropriate to do." The NBN has been subject to a series of damaging recent leaks in recent months revealed in Fairfax Media and News Corp Australia. These include NBN documents outlining the poor state of the cable TV and broadband network it purchased from Optus and of the copper network purchased from Telstra. More recent reports revealed documents marked "commercial in confidence" and "for official use only" had outlined problems in delivering the Coalition's fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) rollout model. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten accused the government of instigating the investigation because the leak was critical of its performance, describing the raids as "an extraordinary and unprecedented event". He said he spoke to AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin briefly on Thursday evening, but did not ask about the timing of the raids. "Mr Turnbull is going to extraordinarily long lengths to stop Australians from finding out the truth about the cost blowouts in NBN," he said in Mt Druitt. "He is going after whistleblowers and he's smearing his political opponents. The public has the right to know the truth and whistleblowers deserve protection." Mr Shorten would not be drawn on shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus's criticism that the AFP should have been more cautious about the timing and appearance of the raids. Earlier, Mr Dreyfus welcomed the AFP statement but demanded the government give a full account of its involvement in the matter. He said he accepted Commissioner Colvin's statement and said it was "entirely appropriate" in light of concerns. "This is about the involvement of ministers, about what the PM has had to do with this, about what their staff have had to do with this because it beggars belief that a government agency, the NBN, has completely, without reference to its minister, completely without reference to the PM or any of their staff, gone about pursuing the leaks in the way that it has," he said. "The NBN Company is not independent of government - it is owned by government," he told ABC radio earlier. "What pressure did Mr Turnbull put on NBN Co to make this referral to the police?" Mr Dreyfus said other leaks, including one from the national security committee of Cabinet, had not resulted in AFP raids. "We are in the second week of an eight-week election campaign - the police must know that," he said. "They should have, I think, thought more and been more cautious about what the appearance of this might have been because there are obvious political connotations." Mr Dreyfus said the documents in question would be protected by parliamentary privilege because they were being used by Senator Conroy as part of a Senate inquiry into the NBN. Mr Albanese called for Mr Turnbull, the former communications minister, to explain his involvement in the matter. "This relates to frankly, facts the public have the right to know about the National Broadband Network," he told the Today program. Coalition frontbencher Christopher Pyne said it was "loopy" to suggest there was anything political about the timing of the raids. Mr Pyne said the NBN, not the government, had made the complaint that led to the investigation and accused Labor of "politicising" the AFP. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, appearing on the ABC's 7.30 program last night, said he was not aware of the raids and that the AFP was an "entirely independent organisation". Electors may be stubbornly oblivious to politicians parading the plazas and factories of Voterland, but warnings of unschooled refugees stealing our jobs threatened to ignite citizen passions in the second week of the federal election campaign. Analysis by media monitor Isentia this week showed Immigration Minister Peter Dutton's curious logic that illiterate refugees were seeking both to join the dole queue and usurp Australian workers was a red rag to social media's bulls. Asylum seekers rose to become the most-discussed issue on Twitter and open Facebook accounts in the week to Friday, and social media's traditionally younger, progressive users did not hold back in expressing displeasure with Mr Dutton's boss, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Every night, as we sit in our comfortable homes, a fight to the death is taking place close by. Across our suburban parks and city bushland Australian native animals are being hunted down and killed by foxes and cats. A fox hunting in Gwelup bushland. Credit:Graeme Fuller Despite the darkness it's a battle which we can now see. Wildlife officers have installed special motion-sensitive cameras in many of our parks and bush areas and the pictures they capture show the predators and their prey. One of the biggest camera monitoring operations is run by the City of Stirling. A passion for Perth is driving a boom in walking tours - and locals are behind that boom. It's the people who live here and love the place setting up the tours, and it's locals who make up most of those actually taking part too. Two Feet & a Heartbeat runs 30 tours a week throughout Perth. Credit:Facebook: Two Feet & a Heartbeat A decade ago, you might have struggled to find a walking tour in Perth but now there are almost a dozen different operators in the market. Perth's most well-known walking tour company, Two Feet & a Heartbeat, has been around since 2007. WA's own Gage Roads Brewing Co has taken out the top prize at the 2016 Australian International Beer Awards held in Melbourne on Thursday night. The Palmyra-based brewing juggernaut won the award for Champion Australian Beer for its pale ale Little Dove, as well as Best New World Style Pale Ale. Pints of Gage Roads beer will be pouring at the Sail and Anchor for $5. Credit:Gage Roads Brewing Co Gage Roads brewing manager Dirk Penny said everyone at Gage Roads was stoked to hear the news. "It was fantastic and really great for our family down here at Gage Roads to be recognised for our hard work," Mr Penny said. Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. By Rosemarie Steele, Paducah Arts Alliance May. 19, 2016 | 07:37 AM | PADUCAH, KY Paducah Arts Alliance (PAA) is pleased to announce that California artist Lea Feinstein is the current participant in the Paducah Artist-in Residence program. Feinstein began her month-long residency in Paducah on May 1, after a 4-day trek from the West in Los Angeles and Daily Servings Art Practical, an international forum for visual arts. She has worked as a studio art professor at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, and both Trinity College and Georgetown University in Washington, DC. She currently resides in Stanford, California, with her husband Dr. Carl Feinstein, Professor Emeritus at Stanford and retired child psychoanalyst whose specialty is autism and Asperger syndrome.Feinstein works predominantly with Tyvek, a high-density polyethylene industrial material that resembles Japanese rice paper. It is inexpensive, acid free, and extremely tough and lends itself to manipulation in both two and three dimensions, which suits my inclination to explore a material deeply, notes Feinstein. She applies various processes to this material including painting, folding, dyeing, crimping, and crumpling to create malleable sculptures that resemble fashion, architecture, or Japanese-influenced decor. Feinstein has been using water from the Ohio River to dilute her paints and mix with the pigments she uses on the Tyvek. She has also done rubbings of manholes and other textural elements to create pattern. I am inspired by all the things I see around me, said Feinstein. . . .drops on a windshield, the clouds, the movement of the tideeverything that is rhythmic and repetitive but in constant motion.The inspiration for Feinsteins Paducah efforts is largely influenced by the work of famous music composer and abstract artist John Cage. His exhibit No Dawdling is the theme and mantra Feinstein has adhered to during her Paducah residency. Due to the nature of her creative process, Feinstein required a large space that was not pristine to allow the natural flow of pigments and hanging space for her art. Upon her arrival and with the help of PAA member Paul Lorenz, Feinstein transformed an apartment slated for renovation above MAKE, a gallery/workshop/art supply setting located at 628 Broadway, into a veritable artists haven before delving into her creative processes and has already completed a large body of work for her upcoming exhibition.Feinstein will end her residency on May 31 but will return to Paducah for her solo exhibit to be held at Ruth Baggett Gallery, 1025 Jefferson. The opening reception will be held on June 18. The exhibit will be on display through July 16. By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 19, 2016 | 11:12 PM | MCCRACKEN COUNTY, KY A Paducah man has been arrested on numerous drug and weapon charges. On Thursday, detectives with the McCracken County Sheriffs Department Drug Division obtained a search warrant for a home on Bullard Street in the Farley area. The warrant was the result of several investigations that pointed to 34-year-old Brett Hearn of Paducah as a methamphetamine trafficker. Detectives observed Hearn in the Farley area and attempted to stop him as he crossed Irvin Cobb Drive onto Wayne Sullivan Drive. Deputies in marked patrol cars attempted to stop Hearn and he sped into a parking lot, swerved through the parking lot into an adjoining parking lot and attempted to re-enter Irvin Cobb Drive as he accelerated. He stopped before exiting the parking lot. During a search of Hearns vehicle, detectives located a loaded 9 mm handgun under the drivers seat, multiple bags of methamphetamine, doses of Oxycodone and Hydrocodone, digital scales, and several bags of marijuana. A search of Hearns home on Bullard Street revealed LSD, a handgun, a rifle with a defaced serial number, and a shotgun. Deputies said the handgun that was seized from his home had been reported stolen out of Illinois. Detectives also located and seized $1,500 believed to be proceeds from illegal drug sales. Hearn was lodged in the McCracken County Regional Jail. He was charged with fleeing or evading police, firearm enhanced trafficking methamphetamine, firearm enhanced possession of LSD, firearm enhanced possession of controlled substance, firearm enhanced possession of marijuana, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm by convicted felon, possession of defaced firearm, and receiving stolen property. Police said more charges are expected as the investigation continues. By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 19, 2016 | 10:57 PM | MCCRACKEN COUNTY, KY The McCracken County Sheriffs Department arrested a southern Illinois man Thursday afternoon for trafficking in synthetic marijuana. Over the last few weeks, detectives have determined that synthetic marijuana was being brought into McCracken County from Cairo and Mounds, IL. Detectives identified a possible source as 28-year-old Hamed Omar of Mounds. Through their investigation, detectives learned that Omar would be delivering a quantity of the drugs to a business parking lot in McCracken County on Thursday. Detectives conducted surveillance in the area and observed Omar in an SUV on a parking lot at 3245 Benton Road. Detectives stopped and detained Omar. During a search of the vehicle, detectives seized 406 bags of synthetic marijuana, $4,916 in cash that is suspected to be proceeds of drug sales and a loaded 9 mm handgun. Detectives also seized a large knife that was concealed in the driver's side door. Omar was arrested and lodged in the McCracken County Regional Jail on charges of trafficking in a synthetic drug (firearm enhanced) and carrying a concealed deadly weapon. Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 20, 2016 | PADUCAH, KY By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 20, 2016 | 01:14 PM | PADUCAH, KY Dr. Barbara M. Veazey has received many cards, telephone calls and e-mails since announcing in March her plans to retired as West Kentucky Community and Technical College president on June 30. During the colleges May 7 commencement, Dr. Veazey learned she would receive "president emeritus" status upon her retirement. The status is an honor bestowed on retiring college presidents in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System for distinguished institutional service. She was nominated by WKCTC Board of Directors. The honorary designation does not entitle Dr. Veazey to any salary or any other KCTCS benefit. On Thursday, the Board of Trustees of Paducah Junior College, Inc., the foundation of WKCTC, announced that an open area on the second floor of the Paducah School of Arts and Design's 2D and Graphics Building has been named the Dr. Barbara M. Veazey Community Room. The area is currently an open space, but plans are underway to use the space for the study of fiber art. Veazey who has been at the college more than 43 years, has said she plans to spend more time with her family during her retirement but also hopes to take up sheep sheering and weaving. PJC Board member Ken Wheeler presented Dr. Veazey with a shepards hook to during the reception. In other matters, the PJC Board also announced its new officers during its board meeting before the reception for Dr. Veazey. The new officers are John Williams, chair; Ann Denton, vice chair; Lorraine Schramke, secretary; Mike Sims, treasurer, and B.A. Hamilton, at large. By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 19, 2016 | 07:33 PM | MAYFIELD, KY A Mayfield man was arrested early Thursday morning on robbery and assault charges. According to the Graves County Sheriff's Office, deputies were dispatched late Wednesday night to a call of an assault at a home on Cardinal Road. A 62-year-old woman told deputies that she was physically assaulted by a man that lives with her and he had taken her cell phone. The suspect was identified as 28-year-old Andrew Kiprop of Mayfield. The woman told deputies that Kiprop got mad over some text messages on her phone and threatened to break the phone. She said she went to grab the phone and Kiprop began hitting her and pulling her by the hair and legs and dragging her through her home. Deputies said the woman suffered numerous bruises to the face and neck area and complained of pain to the top of her head, where she said the suspect had pulled her hair. Kiprop was arrested and charged with 4th-degree assault, 2nd-degree robbery and terroristic threatening. He was booked into in the Graves County Jail. Rita Redmond was a true lady who felt that every pupil had something to gift to the world Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 19/05/2016 (2350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Theres a piece of graffiti in Vancouvers Downtown Eastside that reads, in beautiful looped script, Rape is real & everywhere. Now, those words, and their simple, harrowing truth, serve as the title of a comedy show. The brainchild of Vancouver comedians Emma Cooper, 30, and Heather Jordan Ross, 26, Rape is Real & Everywhere: A National Comedy Tour, which stops at the Kings Head Pub in Winnipeg May 20 and 21, features comedians who have survived sexual violence and are now telling jokes about it. Joining Ross and Cooper onstage in Winnipeg are local comics Nelson Mayer and Lara Rae, as well as headliner Kathleen McGee. Shows start at 7 pm., tickets are $15. Its a timely show, in the wake of the Jian Ghomeshi trial and the ensuing national conversation about how a victim should act. But the debate about rape and its place in comedy and whether it even has one has been a hot-button issue over the past few years, debated and discussed widely by comics and critics alike. The question at the heart of it: can a rape joke ever be funny? SUBMITTED Heather Jordan Ross Well, that depends on who is telling the joke. And, perhaps more importantly, why. Its about punching up, not down. You can joke about anything so long as youve taken a minute to think about why youre telling that joke and who you support when youre telling that joke, Ross says. (How to tell if a joke punches up: is it a thoughtful joke that speaks truth to power, or does it perpetuate harmful stereotypes about sexual assault? And whos the punchline? The victim or the rapist?) The idea for Rape is Real & Everywhere came out of a conversation between Ross and Cooper that took place about six months ago. We were chatting about the frustration of wanting to talk about sexual assault in a funny way but not ever really wanting to hear sexual assault in a funny way because a lot of people didnt have an approach that we liked, Ross says. We thought, Wouldnt it be great if there was just a show only by survivors? The inaugural Vancouver shows were sellouts. Now the show has gone national, however, it has attracted some critics. Some are having a visceral reaction to a provocative title, but others believe that rape can never, ever be fodder for comedy. Ross doesnt subscribe to that idea. She relays an anecdote from headliner McGee. A person came up to her after a show and said, Ive been raped, and I dont appreciate you making jokes about it. And Kathleen said, Ive been raped, and this the only way I can cope. To deny this show is to say that were grieving wrong, she adds. Weve made the name very clear. If you dont want to see this show, save yourself 15 bucks. Were not court-mandated. A comedy show about rape by survivors challenges the idea that a real victim or a true victim, or a credible victim, take your pick never jokes about their trauma. Mayer, 39, says when he jokes about the molestation he suffered as a child, many people dont know whether to believe him or not. I think its because Im joking about it. Like, If it was real, why would he joke about it? But thats exactly why I joke about it. Thats my kind of therapy and my way of dealing with it. In fact, Mayer wasnt sure about even contacting Ross and Cooper about getting involved with Rape is Real & Everywhere. I was almost apologetic when I contacted them because I wasnt sure if my story fit in with what they were looking for. I didnt know if they would classify somebody who was a victim of child molestation as rape. It was a weird line of thought, and I realized later that it really paralleled the thinking of a lot of female survivors when they arent sure about their stories. Mayer admits he used to tell punch-down rape jokes, recalling a set at Rumors Comedy Club early in his career as a comedian hes a former social worker in which he opened with one. Most of the room laughed, save for a sole table. On the way home, I started thinking about it. Why is it that that table didnt laugh? And I realized it was highly likely that one of them had been raped themselves, and here I am revictimizing them onstage. I felt terrible. I decided in that moment that I wasnt going to do those jokes anymore. Humour can be a valuable coping and processing tool for trauma survivors, but even being able to talk about what happened, openly and honestly, has been a gift, Ross says. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Winnipegger Nelson Mayer is a sexual-abuse survivor who says telling jokes about his experience is my kind of therapy. 160519 - Thursday, May 19, 2016 The biggest struggle in dealing with sexual assault is finding the words. The more you explore that, the more you understand what you went through and that its not your fault. That takes a lot of work. It took me two years. It took Kathleen five. A safe space to be able to do that work is a gift this tour can pay forward. Ross tells me about an open mic in Vancouver that has a staunch no rape jokes policy. She says the policy is great in theory because people wont be subjected to hacky jokes about a serious subject. But on the flip side, I couldnt rehearse my set there. Thats fine there are other open mics. But thats an interesting part of it. If no one gets to tell rape jokes, no one gets to tell rape jokes. jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @JenZoratti If you value coverage of Manitobas arts scene, help us do more. Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 19/05/2016 (2350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. VANCOUVER The National Energy Board says the contentious $6.8-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is in Canadas best interests, despite increased greenhouse gas emissions and threats to killer whales off British Columbias coast. The federal regulator issued its long-awaited report on Thursday after a two-year debate that cost millions and galvanized aboriginal and environmental protests. The board recommended Ottawa approve Kinder Morgan Canadas proposal subject to 157 conditions. Given that there are considerable benefits nationally, regionally and locally, the board found that the benefits of the project would outweigh the residual burdens, Robert Steedman, the boards chief environmental officer, told a news conference. Dr. Robert Steedman, Chief Environment Officer of the National Energy Board, releases their report on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project are seen in Calgary, Thursday, May 19, 2016.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Accordingly, the board concludes that the project is in the Canadian public interest. Kinder Morgan wants to triple the capacity of its existing Trans Mountain pipeline, which carries diluted bitumen from oilsands near Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C., for export. The expansion would bring capacity to 890,000 barrels a day and increase tanker traffic in Burrard Inlet seven-fold. The positive recommendation has cleared a major hurdle for the project, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus cabinet set to make a final decision by the end of the year. But Kinder Morgan would have to address 157 environmental, safety and financial conditions, including holding $1.1 billion in liability coverage and detailing plans to protect grizzly bears and caribou. The board said the project is the first to be required to have plans to offset emissions. Kinder Morgan said in a statement it is pleased with the boards recommendation, describing the 157 conditions as rigorous and achievable. Now, more than ever our project makes sense for Canada, said president Ian Anderson. Building this pipeline will bring both dollars and many thousands of jobs for communities in B.C. and Alberta at a time when our economy needs it most. The company said it still expects the project to be completed by the end of 2019. The energy board spent 25 months deliberating the Trans Mountain expansion application. In addition to evidence from Kinder Morgan, the board heard from 35 indigenous groups, 400 interveners and 1,250 other parties with letters of comment. The project and the streamlined review process attracted fierce opposition, including from the British Columbia government and the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation in North Vancouver has a case before the Federal Court that argues the process was unlawful. After promising a new open process on the campaign trail, Trudeaus government announced deeper aboriginal consultation and an assessment of upstream greenhouse gas emissions in January. Environment and Climate Change Canada released its draft assessment on Thursday, opening a 30-day public comment period. It concluded upstream emissions from the completed project could be between 20 and 26 megatonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent per year. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said the city has no faith the boards conditions will prevent the inevitable catastrophe of an oil spill. We see this as window dressing on a recommendation that is effectively a rubber stamp, he said. None of us had any confidence in this process all along. B.C. Environment Minister Mary Polak said some of the boards recommendations overlap with the provinces five conditions for the project, such as the requirement of a navigation safety plan, a risk assessment for the pipeline, and an emergency preparedness and response training program. Polak said more work needs to be done by the federal and provincial governments on marine spill response and preparedness. The board said it concluded a very large spill would be unlikely given the mitigation and safety measures being implemented, but nonetheless would have a significant effect if it happened. It also said it considered how the project and related tanker traffic could impact indigenous interests. Should the project proceed, Kinder Morgan would be required to continue consultation with affected aboriginal groups throughout the life of the project. Rueben George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation said he believes indigenous opposition will derail the project regardless of the federal cabinets decision. He said dozens of legal victories have been won by First Nations on resource extraction. I totally have 100-per-cent faith that we will continue to have veto power over projects like this. Some adverse impacts remain even with conditions, the board noted. For example, it found marine vessels related to Trans Mountain would further contribute to cumulative effects that are already jeopardizing the recovery of the southern resident killer whale population off B.C.s coast. The board also said future vessel traffic would contribute to an increase in Canadian greenhouse gas emissions. While emissions from project-related vessels would encompass a small percentage of the countrys overall emissions, the board concluded they would likely be significant. But ultimately the board concluded the risks were outweighed by the economic benefits, including increased access to diverse markets for Canadian oil, thousands of construction jobs, hundreds of long-term jobs and considerable government revenues. Alberta has been a strong proponent of the pipeline expansion. Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd said she was pleased with the decision, adding that market access is critical to Alberta and to the rest of Canada. We hope that at the end of the day these projects will be evaluated on their merit and not their emotion, she said. Earlier this week, the federal government announced an environmental panel to review the project that will report in November to Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr. He said the panel cannot override the energy boards decision but will consult, particularly with indigenous people. With files from Tamsyn Burgmann and Camille Bains in Vancouver, and Dean Bennett in Edmonton. Follow @ellekane on Twitter. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 19/05/2016 (2350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. SASKATOON Testimony has wrapped up in the first-degree murder trial of a woman accused of slitting the throat of her five-year-old son. The defence argues that Kellie Johnson is not criminally responsible for her actions due to mental illness while the Crown has presented evidence suggesting she knew and understood what she was doing. Dr. Mansfield Mela and Dr. Lindsay Robertson both testified for the defence Johnson didnt know the difference between right and wrong when she killed her son, Jonathan Vetter. They said she truly believed she was doing the right thing, and Robertson said Johnson was acutely psychotic at the time. Crown witness Dr. Olubankole Obikoya disagreed, telling court he believes Johnson knew her actions were legally and morally wrong and could understand the nature of what she did. He said Johnson buying a knife two weeks before the killing shows she had the intellectual capability of planning and executing the killing, and that she had the capacity to make choices. She also showed some signs of guilt after the killing, he said. Court heard Johnson hadnt been taking her medication for at least a month before the killing and that, beginning in 2006, she began hearing and seeing things that didnt exist. Johnson told all three doctors about the woman an imaginary person who Johnson believed worked for the devil. Johnson believed the woman was going to kill her, leaving her son to be raised by her ex-boyfriend, who she believed would molest the boy, which would lead the child to become a molester himself and land him in hell. She told the doctors that in order to save the boy from hell, she had to kill him first so he would go to heaven. Johnson will remain in Saskatchewan Hospital for now. Closing arguments in the case are scheduled for Aug. 19. (CTV Saskatoon) Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. HALIFAX A new wage settlement could be in the offing for Nova Scotias 3,500 doctors with the announcement of an agreement in principle with the professional association that represents them. The provincial government announced the agreement with Doctors Nova Scotia Friday, although no details were released. The sides have been negotiating for the past 11 months on new fee and salary deals that are seen as key as the government tries to rein in the cost of public sector salaries. We are very happy with this, said Premier Stephen McNeil. This is one where we all gave a little and found what I believe is an agreement that is fair to doctors and health care providers as well as to the government. McNeil said he believed other public sector workers would see the agreement as fair and consistent with labour negotiations that are ongoing. Last fall the government passed a bill to limit wage increases to three per cent over four years with an initial two-year wage freeze, although the doctors are not subject to those provisions. The wage pattern established was rejected by the provinces 9,000 teachers, while the provinces largest union, the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU), responded by delaying a ratification vote on a similar deal for 7,600 civil servants. In an emailed statement Doctors Nova Scotia confirmed it had reached an agreement in principle on a new four-year deal. The association says a few details have to be confirmed before the contracts are reviewed by its board of directors and then sent for possible ratification by the membership. We are optimistic that we will reach a tentative deal, ultimately, wed like the negotiations behind us so we can work with government to find solutions to the issues facing patients, the statement says. The government said details of the physician alternative funding plan and the physician master agreement wont be released until the agreement is ratified. It said Doctors Nova Scotia is to meet with physicians across the province over the next several weeks with a ratification vote to take place in late June. While no details were released, at least one significant expense has been made public over the last week. The Progressive Conservatives released documents showing the government had approved $440,000 in legal fees for McInnes Cooper labour lawyer Jack Graham, who was brought in to assist in the complex negotiations. This was after the original cost had been pegged at $150,000. The government later said that about $297,000 of that amount had been spent so far. McNeil defended the move. We needed an expertise that we did not have internally, he said. We are dealing with a side that has real labour expertise and the government needs to have that expertise as well. Progressive Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie called for the release of the doctors deal. I hopeit includes things like the recruitment of new doctors and restoring their walk-in clinic ability because Nova Scotians want to see that and will be judging the agreement based on those kinds of things, said Baillie. The last agreement with the provinces doctors expired on March 31, 2015. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. CALGARY When the smoke cleared, unbelievably, there was good news. A $1.5-million stockpile of logs harvested over the winter and stored in a gravel pit north of Fort McMurray had caught fire but only about half of it was consumed before the flames burned themselves out. The stacks contained about 40,000 cubic metres, enough wood to fill four Olympic-sized swimming pools. There was actually no ground fire leading up to it so it was just the embers from the fire that fell in there, Brent Rabik, business development manager for pulp producer Alberta Pacific Forest Industries or Al-Pac, said Friday. The way it was stacked, in certain areas, it burned the one area completely and then the rest of it is good. The log stack had been feared lost earlier in the week when the roaring wildfire that had earlier ripped through Fort McMurray turned north and destroyed the 665-unit Blacksand Executive Lodge. The logs were just two kilometres away. Fort McMurray is best known as the epicentre of an oilsands resource estimated at 166 billion recoverable barrels, third-largest in the world. But it also supports two forestry companies and dozens of forestry jobs. Reached Friday, president Howard Ewashko of Northland Forest Products said he was too busy dealing with issues at his companys sawmill operations to conduct any interviews. He and his staff have been camped out at the mill north of the city for most of the past week battling the wildfire that approached and threatened to destroy the operation. Were fixing stuff, critical stuff, he said, before saying goodbye and hanging up. The extent of the damage to the stacked and standing wood supplies of Northland and Al-Pac isnt yet known. However, the early spring setback makes it unlikely that Albertas forestry industry will see a repeat of 2015s four-year high output of about $3 billion worth of pulp, lumber and panel products, said Paul Whittaker, president and CEO of the Alberta Forest products Association. He estimated that Northland would be out of business for four to six weeks but didnt think the outage would greatly affect total production or prices for Alberta wood products. Production should be down a little bit, said Whittaker. The industry is of sufficient size that its conceivable someone else could fill that hole. But unlikely. Rabik said Al-Pac has been concentrating on moving stacked logs from the Fort McMurray area to its pulp mill site in Boyle, about 300 kilometres south. Normally we would stage that wood through most of the summer, he said. Were trying to move all of that out because we have an investment in getting the timber to that point. The Alberta government regulates how much wood can be harvested from Crown land by forestry companies, essentially allowing each company to take out as much each year as will be replaced through tree growth. Rabik said Al-Pacs allowable cut may actually grow this year because it will likely be allowed to harvest damaged trees before they begin to rot. In future years, however, its cut could be reduced because of the loss of forest. Al-Pac produces about 650,000 tonnes of hardwood and softwood pulp annually from its 6.5 million hectare forest management area covering about 10 per cent of Alberta. Its annual wood requirement is 2.8 million cubic metres. The company is owned by Tokyo-based Hokuetsu Kishu Paper Company Ltd. Follow @HealingSlowly on Twitter. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. REGINA Hundreds of unionized workers at SaskTel have voted in favour of a new three-year contract with their employer. Members of three Unifor locals ratified the deal in voting that ended Wednesday. SaskTel says in a release that the package, which covers more than 3,000 workers in a variety of departments, calls for hourly pay to increase by 1.75 per cent retroactive to March 13, 2016. Another increase of 1.65 per cent will kick in next March, with a 1.2-per-cent hike to follow in the final year of the agreement. Unifor says in a statement that there are also pension plan improvements, along with stronger language covering job security and conflict and grievance resolution. The unions bargaining committee had recommended members support the deal. This new three-year agreement allows us to continue to work with Unifor to focus on operating successfully in this ever-changing and very competitive industry, said SaskTel president and CEO Ron Styles in a statement. Unifor national representative Susan Saunders said the deal provides a framework for members to provide the level of service the people of Saskatchewan expect and deserve. This agreement also underlines the importance of keeping SaskTel as a public asset. As a Crown corporation, it can serve by keeping utility bills down while generating much needed government revenue, she said in the unions release. Ratification of the contract comes after Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said earlier this week that he wants to know how vulnerable SaskTel is as the last provincially owned telecommunications company. Wall said the utility has asked for a risk analysis following the takeover of Manitoba Telecom Services (TSX:MBT) by Bell, known as BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE). The premier said that sale will make SaskTel the only small regional player left standing and it has to share its infrastructure with private carriers. He wants to know if the MTS takeover means anything in terms of SaskTels competitiveness, but pointed out the risk analysis does not mean the province is eyeing a move to sell SaskTel, which is protected under legislation. Wall said he cant sell SaskTel without campaigning on the idea, as was recently done with a plan to sell government liquor stores, or without having a referendum. SaskTel has more than $1.2 billion in annual revenue and about 1.4 million customer connections. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The Autopac service centre on Pembina Highway will close later this summer, and the building will be converted into office space in the wake of a shift in business volumes to newer, larger claim centres in other areas of the city. MPI spokesman Brian Smiley said the Crown corporation noticed in recent years 75 per cent of the customers within the catchment area for the Pembina Highway service centre, which is located at 420 Pembina Hwy., went to other service centres in the city. It wasnt a huge surprise for us to see this shift in usage, Smiley said. When new service centres were constructed in Winnipeg, their locations were carefully selected to meet future anticipated demand based on projected population growth and new community development. He said the newer centres, which were built seven or eight years ago as part of a $35-million upgrade and overhaul of the corporations service-centre operations, are all operating at full capacity. So it made sense to convert the Pembina Highway building, which MPI owns, to another use and to transfer the 29 employees to other service centres that could use the extra help. He said the Pembina Highway building will be renovated and converted into office space for about 100 MPI workers who will be relocated from a leased building on Ellice Avenue. The workers, who include data analysts and project managers, were part of the overflow from MPIs headquarters in the downtown Cityplace complex, which the corporation owns. He said moving them back into a company-owned building will save MPI nearly $1 million annually in operating costs, which ultimately benefits all ratepayers without sacrificing service. The Pembina Highway service centre is the first to be repurposed, and Smiley said no additional changes are planned at this time, IGM buys into adviser One of Canadas largest mutual fund operators is investing up to US$75 million to buy into a U.S. digital wealth adviser. IGM Financial Inc. had already paid US$50 million to acquire a 10 per cent stake in Personal Capital Corp. The Winnipeg-based fund and wealth-management company part of the Power group of companies will spend a further US$25 million over the next 12 months to increase its stake in Personal Capital to 15 per cent. Personal Capital was founded by its chief executive officer, Bill Harris, whose previous experience include stints as CEO of Intuit maker of the TurboTax and Quicken software and later PayPal, an electronic payments system. It recently surpassed US$2 billion of assets under management, with about one-third of that from clients with at least US$1 million invested with the San Francisco-based company. On average, it manages US$300,000 per client. staff / The Canadian Press Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA The British envoy to Canada says he welcomes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying this week that Britain should not leave the European Union. High Commissioner Howard Drake says his country faces a huge decision in the June 23 referendum that will decide whether Britain should leave the 28-country EU. Drake says he did not think Trudeau was meddling in Britains internal affairs and was simply using his prerogative as a world leader to state Canadas national interests. Trudeau told Reuters news agency on Thursday that he wants to see Britain remain as part of a united Europe, where it would enjoy greater prosperity. He also said it was far from certain that Britain would be able to negotiate its own unilateral free trade deal with Canada. Trudeau is the latest world leader to speak out against Britain leaving the EU the so-called Brexit along with U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Silence has proven to be costly for a Winnipeg gang associate who refused to testify in court. Lenny Catcheway pleaded guilty on Friday to a rare contempt charge and was given a one-year jail sentence under a joint recommendation from Crown and defence lawyers. Queens Bench Justice Karen Simonsen said the public must know there will be serious consequences for ignoring a subpoena. It undermines the ability of the court to deal effectively with the administration of justice, she said. Murder victim Darren George. Catcheway is linked to the Mad Cowz gang and was required to testify last winter in the second-degree murder case against fellow gang member Cody Kakeeway. But he admits to going underground and avoiding the legal process. He didnt show up for the trial, and police were unable to track him down in time. Catcheway wasnt arrested until several weeks later, and has been in custody since January. He told justice officials he was scared of potential retribution, although the Crown had previously offered him protection which he rejected. Im sorry for the things Ive done. I wish I could change them, Catcheway said Friday. His absence didnt impact the prosecution. The Crown was able to use his previous testimony from a preliminary hearing in which he identified Kakeeway as being involved in the December 2011 shooting death of Darren George in an alley between Toronto and Beverley streets. His evidence was corroborated by two other Mad Cowz members who did testify at the trial. Kakeeway was ultimately found guilty of second-degree murder and given a mandatory life sentence. Chance Guimond, another member of the Mad Cowz, previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in the shooting. He was given a 12-year sentence. George was a member of the rival Native Syndicate gang and had been selling cocaine in the area when he was gunned down, court heard. www.mikeoncrime.com Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. It will soon cost you five per cent more to stay in a hotel while in Churchill to see polar bears and beluga whales. The Town of Churchill is the latest jurisdiction to slap an accommodation tax on tourists. The bylaw was passed Thursday night. Jonathan Hayward / The Canadian Press files A polar bear is seen walking across the street in Churchill Man. in 2009. Churchill Mayor Mike Spence said the northern town is a small community of 800 people but needs the infrastructure for 3,500 people when tourist season starts. The tax will raise about $150,000 per year. Winnipeg brought in its five per cent tax in 2008. Brandon introduced a similar tax in 2012. Thompson introduced its five per cent tax in 2009. Spence and another of Churchills five councillors are hotel owners, and they supported the accommodation tax. Most hoteliers understand the towns need for infrastructure dollars, said Dave Daley, who owns the Aurora Inn in Churchill. Daley, president of the Hotel Association of Churchill, and the Churchill Chamber of Commerce, said the only sticking point is how the money is spent. The town originally proposed 30 per cent of the money raised go to tourism-based initiatives. The hoteliers said it should be 50 per cent, and they settled on 40 per cent, he said. However, hoteliers want better definition on what is considered tourism-based. Spence says improving streets and sidewalks count as tourism initiatives. Whether funding the towns new landfill qualifies as tourist-basedtourists generate waste, toois another matter. The town and business community are still discussing the definition. One or two hotel owners are believed to be opposed to the tax but they could not be reached for comment. The levy still has to be approved by the provincial government but that should be a mere formality. The levy is expected to take effect in 2017. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 19/05/2016 (2350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Some Winnipeg hospitals are overflowing with patients, and the problem has persisted since at least the middle of last year. According to patient figures obtained by the Free Press, St. Boniface General Hospital has been operating at above normal capacity since the beginning of August last year, while Victoria General Hospital has seen its hospital occupancy rate at more than 100 per cent for most of that period. The overall hospital occupancy rate for medicine and family medicine beds for the entire Winnipeg health region stood at 99 per cent for the week ending March 14 the latest data available show. Thats far above the ideal occupancy rate of roughly 90 to 95 per cent. RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS St. Boniface General Hospital has been operating at above normal capacity since the beginning of August last year. According to a Winnipeg Regional Health Authority weekly patient flow report, St. Boniface hospital had an occupancy rate of 109 per cent in mid-March, Victoria was at 107 per cent, while Grace Hospital was 100 per cent full. It is a concern. Ideally wed like to see us operating at a much lower level of occupancy," said Lori Lamont, a WRHA vice-president responsible for patient flow issues. She said there are seasonal variations in occupancy rates, and it is not unusual to see higher numbers in January, February and March. Occupancy rates (week ending March 14, 2016) Lamont said the high recent occupancy rates are due to a combination of factors. In the early part of the year, there were increased hospitalization rates due to influenza, she said, adding the WRHA is working to ensure that patients are discharged as early as its safe for hospitals to do so. However, according to weekly hospital patient flow reports submitted to the WRHAs board of directors, hospital crowding has been an issue at several hospitals since last summer. In early August, three hospitals St. B., Victoria and Concordia were above 100 per cent occupancy. The situation at St. Boniface persisted through the summer and into the fall and winter. In two weekly reports, one in early September and another in mid-October, hospital occupany for medicine beds (not counting surgical, geriatric or rehab) peaked at 110 per cent at St. B. Lamont said when hospitals are operating at above their normal capacity, it means that extra beds are opened on a contingency basis to accommodate the high patient volumes. She said no surgeries have been cancelled due to the high hospital occupancy levels in recent months, although some have been moved to other facilities. We work very hard at protecting our surgical slates. That is one of the priorities in our patient flow. And while there are occasional surgical cancellations they do tend to be for other kinds of reasons, Lamont said. A shortage of available hospital beds leads has a ripple effect within a hospital, creating long waits for service in hospital emergency rooms. St. Boniface ER patients admitted to hospital had some of the longest waits for a bed in mid-March. Only 19 per cent received them within eight hours, compared with 26 per cent citywide. The WRHAs longtime goal has been for 90 per cent of admitted patients to receive a bed within eight hours of arriving at an emergency room. The WRHA has been continually stymied in its attempt to improve hospital patient flows. In some areas, the situation has grown worse, not better. PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS St. Boniface General Hospital has been operating at above normal capacity since the beginning of August last year, while Victoria General Hospital has seen its hospital occupancy rate at more than 100 per cent for most of that period, according to patient figures obtained by the Free Press. The new Progressive Conservative government has made lowering ER waits and waits for certain procedures, such as hip and knee replacements a big priority. Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen could not be reached for comment on the hospital occupancy issue on Thursday. However, an aide said a task force on health times promised by the Progressive Conservatives during the election campaign would be examining all aspects of the health system, including hospital occupancy rates, as part of its work. Premier Brian Pallister said Thursday that the task force is unlikely to be launched until late fall. "Im hoping before the snow falls," he said. In mid-March, there were 53 patients in Winnipeg hospitals awaiting placement in nursing homes, a significant number but not as high a number as it has been in recent years. Sandi Mowat, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union, said if the overcrowding persists it could lead to caregiver burnout. Nurses always go above and beyond to provide the best care possible. But the result of this is that the overcapacity leads to overtime, lots of overtime, she said. "It does take its toll." larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 19/05/2016 (2350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Finance Minister Cameron Friesen provided more details Thursday on how he arrived at the conclusion that the former NDP administration recorded a deficit of more than $1 billion on core government operations last year. He said expenditures were $148 million greater than the NDP projected 10 weeks ago before the fiscal year closed March 31 while revenues were $180 million lower than anticipated. In its fiscal update on March 8, the NDP had pegged the core government deficit at $666 million ($646 million after transferring $20 million from a rainy-day fund). Friesen said the NDP did not account for $66 million in additional health costs run up by regional health authorities. Nor did it account for a $29-million increase in 2011 spring flood disaster financial assistance claims from municipalities or a $24-million increase for financial assistance from municipalities for damage caused by heavy rains in 2014. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Finance minister Cameron Friesen announced his department has discovered the previous NDP government may have misled Manitobans on the size of the deficit, which they are now saying is $1.012 billion. Other previously unreported expenditures included a $17-million increase in costs due to a new actuarial valuation for long-term disability benefits and a $12-million rise in environmental liability costs related to mining, the Tories said. On the revenue side, the province did not receive an anticipated $143 million from Ottawa for flood compensation. That money is now expected to come to Manitoba later this year. Friesen also said that revenues from various taxes are set to decrease by $33 million compared with what the NDP had estimated. On Wednesday, both the finance minister and Premier Brian Pallister accused the former Selinger government of lowballing the deficit in its last fiscal update shortly before the election campaign. Friesen went as far as to say it would seem that Manitobans were misled about the state of the provinces finances. Asked by reporters Thursday whether several of the additional expenses discovered by the Conservatives were unavoidable, Friesen responded by saying that higher-than-budgeted spending was a chronic problem under the NDP. Going back 10 years, he said, the NDP government overspent its budget, on average, by more than $200 million a year. While Friesen released additional financial information on Thursday, he did not present detailed department by department spending and revenue breakdowns. Nor did he estimate how large the governments deficit was last year when the performance of Crown corporations and other reporting entities were included. This information is usually supplied by government when updating the provinces financial situation. larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A local traffic-ticket fighter says people with tickets from photo radar and court dates in the next month should ask for their matters to be put over in the wake of a judges ruling that may have rendered thousands of tickets invalid. And the woman whose delayed ticket sparked the issue said shes very happy with the court ruling. Len Eastoe of Traffic Ticket Experts said they are telling their own clients a ruling this week by a provincial court judge which possibly nullifies thousands of tickets because they have taken far too long to be dealt with in court wont come into effect until after the 30-day appeal period ends. JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES A mobile photo-radar unit in a school zone. People have been calling all morning, Eastoe said Thursday. I have hundreds of clients that are beyond the four to six months the judge put in her decision. Its still happening because if we set a court date down today, we are looking at the end of 2017. And in some of the rural areas, were looking at 2018. The justice system has to get this caught up. It should never drag on this long were telling people to sit tight for 30 days. If the decision stays, then well have a much stronger precedent. But for people who have already pleaded guilty and paid their fines, Eastoe said You are stuck with it. This is not looking backwards. Earlier this week, provincial court Judge Mary Kate Harvie threw out a Winnipeg drivers photo-radar ticket because it had taken 18 months to get to court. Court was told a photo-radar camera caught Genevieve Grant speeding Oct. 27, 2014, but it took until April 27, 2016 for the matter to be heard in court. Harvie said the delay was unreasonable and represents a violation of (the Canadian) Charter (of Rights and Freedoms). It seems reasonable to expect these types of summary proceedings to be completed within four to six months of a plea being entered, the judge said in the decision released on Wednesday. Grant was unavailable for comment Wednesday, but Thursday she said all I can say is Im thrilled and very happy with the result. kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 19/05/2016 (2350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Manitoba NDP MP Niki Ashton said she was ashamed of Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus physical outburst in the House of Commons Wednesday, but her response resulted in a social-media backlash. Ashton had a front-row seat for the melee, which happened shortly before 6 p.m. in the House of Commons on Wednesday. Her seat is to the right of leader NDP Leader Tom Mulcairs and the entire event happened right in front of her. I have never seen anything like it, she tweeted a few minutes after it was over. I witnessed the PM push one of my colleagues into my desk in the House of Commons. #disgusting THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-House of Commons Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, facing towards the camera left of centre of the frame, is shown near Opposition whip Gordon Brown in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Wednesday May 18, 2016. Footage from the Commons television feed shows Trudeau wading into a clutch of MPs, mostly New Democrats, and pulling Opposition whip Gordon Brown through the crowd in order to get a vote started. Later on, Ashton rose to her feet to speak to a matter of privilege raised on behalf of NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau, who was hit by Trudeaus elbow and left the chamber, thereby missing the chance to vote on time allocation for the assisted-dying legislation. I am ashamed, as somebody who sits in this House, to have been witness to the person who holds the highest elected position in our country to have done such an act in this House, Ashton said, her voice full of emotion. She called the event deeply traumatic and said what the prime minister had done was assault. I am unwilling to make this political, but if we apply a gendered lens, it is very important that we recognize that young women in this place need to feel safe to come here, to work here, to speak here, she said. While she received some support for her comments, Ashton also was condemned by a significant number of people on Twitter who thought she was overreacting, and that drawing comparisons to violence against women was inappropriate. People like @nikiashton bringing gender into issues that have nothing to do w/ gender is damaging to struggle for equality between genders, said Adnan Dhanani, a Toronto financial analyst on Twitter. I have rolled my eyes so hard at @nikiashton in the last 24 hours, Im afraid they may be stuck, said a Twitter user listing her name as Lisa W. Please, be a better example for women. Ashton did not respond to a request for comment from the Free Press Thursday. She was away from the House of Commons to attend a meeting in Toronto. Other Opposition MPs, including Portage-Lisgar Conservative Candice Bergen, also reacted strongly to Trudeaus actions. On a workplace level, if that kind of thing happened in a workplace, just a sorry isnt enough, Bergen said. Bergen said Trudeau kicked two Liberal MPs out of his caucus over allegations of sexual harassment before the election, and while that was a different set of actions she thinks the fact Trudeau was the judge, jury and sentencer and killed their careers has to be taken into consideration. Let us hope there is not one standard for certain MPs and another for the Prime Minister, she said. I think the Prime Minister acknowledged that he made a mistake, said Winnipeg South Liberal Terry Duguid. He apologized for that. I think we on our side of the house are ready to move on. Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa Conservative MP Bob Sopuck said Trudeau is an entitled rich kid who is not used to being told no. James Bezan, the Conservative MP for Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman said last fall his party campaigned saying Trudeau was just not ready. Well guess what, Bezan said in an interview with the Free Press Thursday afternoon. This proves it. mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 19/05/2016 (2350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Residents in the Fort Richmond and University Heights neighbourhoods will be getting help from a group of masters students on how to resolve the problems caused by illegal rooming houses and student rental homes. Orly Linovski, an assistant professor in the city planning department at the University of Manitoba, said she believes her students can help the residents find some innovative solutions since illegal student housing has created a set of cascading problems that have been frustrating residents and eluding any resolution from city hall. The goals of the (program) is hopefully to get a product that is useful to the community and also have the students look at these issues in depth and aid in their education, Linovski said. RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Coun. Janice Lukes said the students' rooming-house review is not just for the Fort Richmond and University Heights neighbourhood, adding it will also take in the neighbouring communities of Waverley Heights and Bridgwater, which have some of the same problems. The growing student enrolment at the U of M has created a problem for area residents, who said absentee landlords have been buying single-family homes and squeezing as many student tenants into them that they can get away with and not maintaining the properties. The residents have complained of: landlords allowing tenants to park in backyards and renting parking spots to students on front lawns and rear yards; illegally converted homes that have become fire hazards; stories of many single-family homes being converted to accommodate anywhere from six to 10 tenants. As a first step, a neighbourhood group is being formed and volunteers are going door-to-door to compile an inventory of home ownership. The project, which will start in the fall, will help the students work toward their goals of becoming professional planners while helping the residents. Linovski said the neighbourhood problems make for an ideal learning situation. Her class of 15 students in the first year of the masters program tackle real-world issues in a professional planner-client relationship. We look for a projects that allow for a lot of engagement with either the community partner or other stakeholders to give students an idea of what professional practise is like, Linovski said. Ward councillor Janice Lukes said she is excited at the prospect of having masters students tackle the neighbourhood problems. Theres never been a good analysis done on the issues in these two communities, Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert) said, adding while the residents gather the neighbourhoods ownership profiles, the graduate students will crunch the data, look at best practices in other communities and offer the local residents a range of options on how to deal with the problems. Were going to get a report, when theyre done, that will say we have a problem here and here are some recommended solutions, Lukes said. Well take those best practices and approach the province, the city, the university and the residents and see which best practices fit to help our problems. Lukes said the review is not just for the Fort Richmond and University Heights neighbourhood, adding it will also take in the neighbouring communities of Waverley Heights and Bridgwater, which have some of the same problems. Linovski has been at the U of M for three years. Before coming here, she earned her PhD at UCLA and her M.Sc in Urban Planning at the University of Toronto and has worked in planning and policy at the municipal and professional level. Her areas of expertise include transportation equity and professional practices. She is currently researching bus rapid transit and how cities in Canada plan transit lines and how they prioritize development potential in comparison to the needs of residents who use transit. This will be the second community project her masters students have taken on in Winnipeg. Last year, they worked on the South Main Street redevelopment for CentreVenture. Different universities interact with their surrounding neighbourhoods in different ways, Linovski said, and she expects the student research will include a precedent review. Seeing what we can learn from how universities interact with their surrounding communities and how residents interact with large institutional uses. Linovski said her students will look at the U of M neighbourhoods from a big-picture perspective. What are the land-use policies in place and what are the ways to address the housing issues from a higher level? Are there key transportation issues that need to be addressed that would perhaps allow more areas of the city to be accessible to students? While the student work begins in the fall, Linovski said it will be completed within the first term and a final report presented to Lukes and the residents before Christmas. She said she has some ideas on where the research will go but wants to see what her students discover. Linovski said her students will look at the neighbourhoods from a big-picture perspective. What are the land-use policies in place and what are the ways to address the housing issues from a higher level? Are there key transportation issues that need to be addressed that would perhaps allow more areas of the city to be accessible to students? aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A community just outside of Winnipeg is preparing to make sprinkler systems mandatory for fire protection in all new homes. Council for the RM of St. Clements, one of 15 municipalities in the Winnipeg capital region, recently gave unanimous approval to second reading of the bylaw. If final reading is approved next Tuesday, St. Clements will become the first municipality in Manitoba with such a bylaw. BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The reason is sprinkler systems save lives, said Ken Sim, St. Clements director of protective services, and a former deputy fire chief in Winnipeg. There has yet to be a single death in a house fire where a sprinkler system was present, Sim said. They also save firefighter lives, and significantly reduce property damage. In the vast majority of cases, sprinkler systems put out the fire before the fire department even arrives, said Sim. The Manitoba Home Building Association warns the community may be jumping the gun. I think they may not get many new homes built in the RM of St. Clements, said Mike Moore, the MHBA president. Its going to add $5,000 to $10,000 to the cost of a new house. In some cases thats the difference between qualifying for a mortgage and not qualifying for a mortgage, Moore said. Sims research shows the cost is from $4,000 to $8,000 in a 2,000- to 3,000-square foot house. He maintains its worth the cost. Amortized over the course of a mortgage, thats the equivalent of a granite countertop, he said. Sprinkler systems can be especially vital in rural communities such as St. Clements where the average response time is 13 to 15 minutes. St. Clements, which shares a border with East St. Paul, uses paid-on-call firefighters. In Winnipeg, the standard response time is less than eight minutes. A fire can do a lot of damage in a few minutes, Sim said. In the early stages, the fire could be extinguished in the first minute. (Sprinklers) are that effective, he said. Communities have tried to encourage home builders to install sprinklers on a voluntary basis but that hasnt proven successful. A few municipalities in Western Canada have similar bylaws calling for mandatory sprinklers, including Swift Current, Sask., and a handful in Alberta and British Columbia. There has yet to be a single death in a house fire where a sprinkler system was present Ken Sim, St. Clements director of protective services Its in the best interests of municipalities, residents and, in todays world, the firefighter, Sim said. By todays world, he said he was referring to adhesives used in modern home building materials that result in newer homes going up in flames at twice the speed of older homes. Insurance claims for fires in homes with sprinkler systems average just $27,000, versus $300,000 in homes without, said Sim. Insurance rates have also fallen by 15 per cent for homeowners with sprinklers, and Sim expects them to fall further. Moore said the people who set Canadian building codes review mandatory sprinkler systems all the time. He said St. Clements should, at the very least, wait until the 2020 building codes are set. Moore maintained existing pipes in the ground may not even accommodate the addition of sprinklers. The bylaw also applies to multi-family dwellings four stories high or less. St. Clements had more than 60 new home starts in 2015. bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Superintendent Gord Perrier, a veteran officer with the Winnipeg Police Service, has been appointed deputy chief. Chief Devon Clunis made the announcement on Friday in a media release which noted that Perrier will serve as deputy chief of operations. Perrier joined the WPS in 1992 as a special constable serving in the Forensic Services Unit. In 1994, he moved to uniform operations as a police constable. He has worked as an investigator in a variety of units within the Criminal Investigations Bureau including Major Crimes, Organized Crime, Integrated Proceeds of Crime (IPOC), Commercial Crime, Special Projects and the Professional Standards Unit. Perrier was a court recognized expert in money laundering and the illegal packaging of currency. POLICE HANDOUT Deputy Police Chief Gord Perrier As a senior officer, Perrier has led the Operational and Strategic Support branches, the Duty Office and two of the Criminal Investigation Bureaus including the Major Crime Division and Specialized Investigations Division. Perrier was also the project leader for the review of homicide operations and major case management planning. Perrier was promoted to the rank of superintendent in October 2013 and has been overseeing the Human Resources Support branch of the service. He was responsible for the the Human Resources Division, Training Division as well as the Behavioural Health Services Unit. Perrier holds a Masters Degree in Leadership and Management from Charles Sturt University and is a graduate of the Canadian Police College, Executive Development in Policing Program. He is a recipient of the Province of Manitoba Law Enforcement Medal of Excellence, the Exemplary Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada and is an active member of the Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police. He was the founding director of the Winnipegs Child Advocacy Centre, a non-profit corporation that works with a number of government agencies to gather evidence in support of child maltreatment prosecutions. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. There are few topics that charge up the ranks of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba more than the New West Partnership. The much-celebrated internal trade agreement between British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta held very little appeal to the former NDP government in Manitoba. Former Premier Greg Selinger shunned overtures to join the NWP, arguing Manitoba needed a national agreement on internal trade barriers, not a regional pact that theoretically erected as many barriers as it tore down. Selinger was not wrong. Negotiations for such a national agreement were ongoing. And Selinger argued correctly that the majority of Manitobas internal trade was conducted with provinces to the east. It seemed counterproductive to join a trade agreement that could potentially frustrate the provinces primary internal trading partners. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Premier Brian Pallister talks to the media after question period Wednesday. And yet, in Tory circles, Manitobas refusal to sign on with the NWP became a symbol of a destructive regional isolationism. Premier Brian Pallisters frequent pledge to jump on the NWP bandwagon always played well to core supporters. Pallister argued that by joining the NWP, the province would save $14 million on the cost of procuring goods and services and guarantee Manitoba companies would be free to compete all across the West. These bold predictions appear to be, at first blush, a triumph of hyperbole over empirical data. How real are his claims? University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe not only lives in a NWP province, he is among Canadas leading experts in internal trade. According to Tombe, Canada is in desperate need of a comprehensive national trade agreement that can eliminate provincial preference barriers, standardize regulations and allow for goods, services and professionals to move freely back and forth across the country. Earlier this month, Tombe and fellow researcher Lucas Albrecht published a study in the Canadian Journal of Economics that calculated internal trade barriers cost the Canadian economy more than $100 billion annually in lost GDP growth. In Manitoba, Tombe believes government and citizens pay a 10 per cent premium for goods and services because of internal trade barriers. Unfortunately, negotiations on a national pact, which were to conclude in March, have stalled yet again. In a scenario like that, what can the NWP partnership do for a province like Manitoba? To answer those and other questions, Tombe elaborated on the true nature of the NWP and its potential benefits. Is the NWP a true freer trade agreement? This will likely anger Pallister and other NWP boosters, but Tombe said the NWP does not necessarily accomplish much of what it claims, and, in fact, there is no evidence it actually works. Thats because it is very hard to pull specific data out of the economy to prove the value of eliminating trade barriers, he said. This job was made even more difficult because Statistics Canada only recently started collecting data on internal trade again, after several years of inactivity. Tombe said even in the absence of data, there are concerns which limit the effectiveness of the NWP. Chief among those concerns is a list of exemptions that is, in Tombes opinion, much too long and broad. Creating a freer trade agreement rife with exceptions isnt much of a free trade agreement, he added. Is it possible to calculate the specific value of benefits of an agreement like the NWP? Broadly speaking, Tombe said although his research has been able to identify general cost savings, in the absence of hard data, you cant really break it down like that. If the NWP were a true free trade agreement, how could it create a windfall for government? Tombe said the removal of internal trade barriers promotes greater competition among suppliers of goods and services, which rewards high-productivity companies and ultimately punishes those companies that relied on a trade barrier as a competitive edge. In other jurisdictions, this has proven to lower the costs of goods and services, and boost productivity. However, it also means companies that are, for example, bidding for government contracts, have to be able to do what they do at a much lower overall cost. Tombe said that is a challenge that will drive many lower-productivity companies out of business. With all the pros and cons, should Manitoba join the NWP? Tombe was unequivocal that Manitoba should be a partner in the NWP. Although it is true that regional trade agreements can create as many barriers as they remove, and the NWP has way too many exceptions, there are still benefits to being part of a pact with the other provinces while everyone waits for a national agreement to unfold. I think Manitoba would gain from being in the New West Partnership, Tombe said. Is (the NWP) the best that Manitoba could do? No. Manitoba would benefit much more from a national trade agreement, but for now, its a good first step. dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Many of us are familiar with, and perhaps almost resigned to, the idea that a lot of jobs these days are precarious. We are used to hearing about precarious work, with its low wages, lack of benefits, unpredictable scheduling and hours, and insecurity. We know from our own experiences, from our friends and families experiences, from news stories and from research that all sorts of people and families struggle to make ends meet and that temporary, unstable work is part of the problem. Rarely, though, do we talk about precarious work in the public sector. If anything, there is a common assumption that a government job is the ticket to good pay, extended holidays and a cushy pension, yet precarity is a significant problem in the public sector. Women have a lot to lose in the face of a precarious public sector. Recently, we released a study on womens experiences, including racialized women, aboriginal women, LGBTTQ women and women with disabilities in the public sector. Focusing on diverse women is important because the public sector plays an important role in minimizing wage differentials, equalizing employment opportunities and representing Canadas rich diversity. COLIN CORNEAU / BRANDON SUN FILES Manitoba Government Employees Union members at the 2015 Manitoba Federation of Labour conference. Precarious work environments make workers less able and likely to defend their rights, such as by making them afraid to point out health and safety concerns or to unionize. In 2014, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a study containing the important finding that the reason public-sector wages are higher on average than private-sector wages (something that sometimes gets used to condemn the public sector) is almost entirely a result of women, aboriginal people and racialized people having a fairer shot at retaining a job and earning a decent wage in the public sector than they do in the private sector. However, evidence suggests that women are more heavily burdened by precarity in the private sector than men. This precarity has direct negative impacts on workers and their families. General working conditions decline because workplaces become more depersonalized, pressure to work longer hours increases and the ability to fulfil the work role well is compromised. A telling example is when employees in long-term care homes feel pressured to skip important emotional care for their patients because their workloads have increased. As well, harassment, workplace aggression, physical injuries, increases in blood pressure and cholesterol, digestive problems and mental stress and depression have all been connected to precarious work. Precarious work, and especially the low wages and insecurity that often represent precarity, can also create family strife, food insecurity and social isolation. Finally, precarious work environments make workers less able and likely to defend their rights, such as by making them afraid to point out health and safety concerns, or to unionize. A precarious public sector also has direct negative consequences for public-service users. Everyone uses public services each day, so the impact of public-sector precarity on its users is a problem for everyone, but especially for diverse women, who generally face many additional social and economic challenges, and for whom social services are often vital. The result? Declining quality and access, and declining accountability and safety. This is evident in many cases, but here are two examples. Libraries have been hit hard by public-service cuts, even though libraries play a critical social inclusion role. People who rely on libraries to access the internet for job searching and applications, for example, suffer. Another example is the decline of service quality and access that can come with the privatization of public services, such as ancillary services in hospitals. Research has identified concerns about cleanliness and lack of control in emergency situations when services are privatized. In casual discussions about employment futures with senior undergraduate students at our university, many of them cringe. They are deeply concerned about the untenable combination of high debt loads, meagre job prospects and astronomical living costs in major urban centres. We are concerned for them, and especially for the women among them. Precarity in the public sector is not only undermining their employment prospects, but is also likely to affect their health and safety, their families and their access to safe and high-quality services into the future. This is not the future we want for our country. Leah Levac is an Assistant Professor in Political Science and a Community Engaged Scholar at the University of Guelph. Yuriko Cowper-Smith is a PhD candidate in Political Science and a Project Manager at the Community Engaged Scholarship Institute at the University of Guelph. There was much talk but no action Thursday on resolving the Winona Area Public Schools facility dilemma, as the board debated a variety of unofficial proposals. The discussion came amid ongoing controversy over the boards pending decision to potentially close elementary schools, combined with the departure of the board chair in July and the filing period looming for three other seats opening on the seven-person board. In an unprecedented Discussion with Community Members event, the board entertained a presentation and then engaged in an on-the-record give-and-take with an ad hoc group of individuals who identified themselves as Friends of Winona Area Neighborhood Schools. In the past, it has been board practice to invite community members to address the board with suggestions and concerns, but not to engage them in a dialogue. The group was represented by Allison Quam, Elizabeth Thiel, Gretchen Michlitsch and Kendall Larson, all of whom live in the Madison School neighborhood, all of whom have small children who attend or will attend Madison School, and are all affiliated with Winona State University. The group presented information advocating that the district operate elementary schools of 300 to 400 students, arguing that schools of that size are linked to superior student performance, higher graduation rates and a positive overall impact on their communities. They questioned the proposal currently being explored by the board that would expand Goodview Elementary to accommodate about 600 students and build a new 600-student elementary school on the east end of Winona, questioning cost of busing, time and money, and urging the board to consider renovating existing elementary school buildings instead. None of the information brought forward by the group disputed with convincing evidence the extensive cost analysis the board has done on deferred maintenance of current buildings, and costs of renovation and operation. I dont think anyone at this table is against small schools, board vice-chair Ben Baratto said, but added that declining enrollment and rising costs have put the district in a position where were almost forced to close one or two schools. If we had a little more money we could do a lot of things, Baratto said. Board member Jeanne Nelson echoed the observation. We have to cut $1 million from the budget. The pot is empty. Thats the reality and its a hard one to bite down on. Board member Steve Schild observed that these issues have been discussed repeatedly year after year, and that according to critics the school districts analysis is never right. But in retrospect, he said, the districts projections dating back decades that have forecast declining enrollment and rising costs have been very close. But, we continue to have these problems, he said. Board member Jay Kohner offered another alternative to the proposals currently being explored. Essentially, Kohner reworked the figures used to prepare the facility options already evaluated by administration and the board, creating a proposal that would close Madison and Rollingstone schools and renovate and remodel W-K, Jefferson and Goodview. After an hours inconclusive discussion, board member Tina Lehnertz pointed out that previous boards had talked and talked and solved nothing. We have to go down the road were on, she said, getting solid information on a set of options and making a decision. Id really like us to move forward, said board chair Mohamed Elhindi, who has said he will be stepping down in July before his term ends to focus on creating a nonprofit to address suicide prevention and mental-health issues. A representative to serve the remaining two years of his term will be elected in November; Jeanne Nelson, Tina Lehnertz and Brian Zeller are also all up for election for four-year terms. The board plans to interview two consultant firms before awarding a contract to evaluate facility conditions and construction and renovation costs as the next step in the process. Thursday night, Ana Gonzalez celebrated finishing an educational journey that was cut short more than 20 years ago. The 37-year-old Trempealeau County mother of three was the speaker at Western Technical Colleges Goal Oriented Learning Program graduation ceremony celebrating the achievements of more than 250 students. Gonzalez graduated from the program after earning her GED and taking English language learner courses nearly 25 years after she was pulled out of school in her native Mexico after the sixth grade. Gonzalez is originally from Jalisco, Mexico, where her grandfather on her fathers side ruled the family. At that time, it was common for women to be pulled out of school early, and her grandfather demanded she stop going to school, as a womans place was in the home, raising a family. Gonzalez said that made her very sad and angry, as she wanted to continue going to school, but her grandfathers word was the law. So she stayed at home helping her mother before getting a job at a pharmacy when she was 17. Gonzalez, her husband, Elias, and their oldest son, Gerardo, came to Wisconsin 16 years ago when Ana was in her early 20s. It was hard to find good work in Mexico, she said, and so the family moved to Spencer, Wis., to pursue better opportunities. They lived in that town for seven years, taking English courses, as no one in the family spoke the language. Ana worked on a farm the first five years in Spencer, then at a restaurant, before the family moved to Whitehall. There Ana and Elias worked at Ashley Furniture Industries until Ana quit her job two years ago to pursue her GED. By now she had three kids, two sons and a daughter, Marisol, and she said she decided to go back to school for them. I want to be an example for my children, she said. I want to continue my education. It had been more than 20 years since she dropped out of school, and Ana said several of the subjects tested to earn a GED were really tough, such as mathematics and social studies. She had to learn lots of things over again, such as fractions, and she struggled to master a whole host of new concepts including algebra and the entire U.S. social studies curriculum. Westerns GOAL program really helped, as did the support of her family. Elias looked after their youngest son, William, during the mornings when Ana went to the colleges Independence campus to study and work on her English, usually having lunch cooked for her when she got home. Now that she has her GED, Ana said, she wants to continue her education, probably at Western. She said she is interested in pursuing a career in education or health care, maybe as a teachers aide or a phlebotomist. She said her experiences have made her really value education. In two years, Ana has gone from a sixth-grade level to a high school level in mathematics, science, social studies and English language arts. Instructors Jane Bautch and Nancy Anderson said her hard work and determination are an inspiration, and two of the reasons she was chosen to speak at the graduation. She is a great example of an adult learner, Anderson said. She took responsibility for her own learning. Ana said her graduation speech focused on her life story. She said she wants to be an inspiration to other students, and that if I can do it, anybody can do it. There was also a special guest at the graduation ceremony, held at the Lunda Center on Westerns La Crosse campus. Abelina Vazquez, Anas mom, hadnt seen her daughter in person in more than 16 years, and she recently continued her own education, receiving her junior-high certification. I am very happy and proud of my daughter, Vazquez said through a translator. I am proud of everything she has done. She is leading an exemplary life. The Winona YMCA on Thursday officially announced long-held plans to create a new facility in collaboration with Winona Health. The project would continue the transformation of the west end of Winonas downtown that began with the interstate bridge project, and provide a state-of-the-art building the YMCA believes will meet the communitys current needs while providing new and innovative wellness models aimed at serving everyone from seniors to at-risk youth to Winona Health clients. The projects success, however, hinges in part on selling the building and land to Kwik Trip to develop a convenience store in its place, a plan that has raised significant concerns among neighbors in the adjacent and historically significant Windom Park neighborhood, home to some of the citys largest and most architecturally notable restored houses. To move forward, the YMCA will need to meet its ongoing fundraising goals. The property will also need to be rezoned, a move that will begin at the Winona Planning Commission Monday. First formal pitch About 100 people, including longtime YMCA members, donors and other interested parties, gathered Thursday at a planned event at the Riverport Inn to hear the formal confirmation that the YMCA has entered into a purchase agreement with Kwik Trip for the property. The planned new facility, which doesnt yet have completed renderings or designs, would sit between Lake Winona and the Dairy Queen and Wells Fargo buildings on acreage owned by Winona Health. In addition to the YMCA facilities, the building will also house Winona Healths physical therapy area. YMCA CEO Derek Madsen said that the original building, constructed in the early 1950s and subject to multiple major renovations over the years, the latest coming in the early 1990s, is no longer viable to serve members needs. The estimate for construction of the new facility, which would take about a year to build, is $13 million. The YMCA has raised more than $9 million toward that goal, with another $2.5 million potentially available but not confirmed. The details of the purchase agreement with Kwik Trip have not been made available. Madsen said the project will have to be covered through donations, not loans. Were not going to take debt to do this, Madsen said. We cant afford it. The announcement of the project was the culmination of about five years of planning, during which the YMCA has negotiated without success with multiple parties over potentially purchasing the building and land. The initial discussions predated Madsens arrival in May 2013, and began with evaluating the interstate bridge project and how it would affect the YMCAs operations. Some community members had hoped the bridge project would extend into the YMCAs property, forcing the Minnesota Department of Transportation to buy the building, creating enough cash flow for the move. That didnt happen, and as plans for the bridge took shape, Madsen said, YMCA leadership and its board of directors saw that the large amount of foot traffic of all ages around the building combined with heavier vehicle traffic would create increasingly dangerous conditions. That, and the current building, built in 1951, can no longer be adapted to modern needs and uses, he said. The narrow hallways and stairs, coupled with multiple additions, have left dead space and made it difficult for old, young and disabled people to maneuver. Only half of the overall square footage is used for programming and exercise facilities, he said. Other deficiencies include aging heating, cooling and lighting systems, and restricted parking access that contributes to traffic congestion. Neighborhood concerns The Kwik Trip sale is not finalized, Madsen said, with the purchase offer simply an agreement that depends on rezoning the land meaning the city planning commission will be the first to be asked to agree on the plan. The rezoning will require modifying the city comprehensive plans designation of the area from whats defined as traditional neighborhood to downtown fringe. That plan, city staff has noted in documents, was created years before the bridge project that resulted in buying and demolishing nearly two dozen commercial and residential properties near the YMCA. Some residents of the Windom Park neighborhood began speaking out against the plan this week. Theyre worried that building a convenience store near the interstate bridge and adjacent to a historically significant neighborhood will bring heavy traffic, create light pollution, and go against the goal of preserving unique architecture and identity in Winonas neighborhoods. Matthew Goergen and Dave and Kathy Christenson are working with neighbors to petition against the proposed rezoning. Kathy Christenson said they have nothing against the YMCA, and hope that the move will be a success. But, she said, a gas station in the location wouldnt fit with the area and is an offense to people who have invested significant time, money and effort into restoring some of the most notable homes in a core city neighborhood. The people that own houses here are interested in preserving the historic ambiance, Christenson said. Goergen said the idea would also be contrary to the discussions at the city level about keeping the northwest end of downtown Winona looking inviting and representative of the city as a whole, as its the first thing drivers see coming across the bridge. I dont think they were planning on a gas station being the gateway to Winona, Goergen said. YMCA leaders agree, Madsen said. But the problem is, they know they need a new facility, and have been hard-pressed to find another option. The agreement with Kwik Trip was reserved as the choice if there were no other viable options, which the YMCA had explored for multiple years. The existing building, Madsen said, was rejected by all organizations they approached who would have possibly been interested in preserving any of the assets, like the pool. Kwik Trip has also offered to allow the YMCA to operate until the new site is open and ready for use, as well as to demolish the building at its own cost, giving the YMCA the best return on their money, Madsen said. Finding that combination is kind of tricky, Madsen said. We had to find a buyer that had the capacity to do that. A local attorney accused of pointing a shotgun at a man and punching him on an icy lake entered a plea deal with prosecutors Thursday. Steven J. Sarbacker, 51, of Baraboo, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts of battery and disorderly conduct in Sauk County Circuit Court. In exchange, a special prosecutor dismissed a misdemeanor charge of intentionally pointing a firearm at another person. Sarbacker, an attorney based in Portage, must successfully comply with terms of a 12-month deferred prosecution agreement in order to have the remaining charges dismissed. In addition to pleading no contest to two of the misdemeanor charges, other terms of the deal specify that Sarbacker must avoid criminal conduct, have no contact with the victim, and continue to participate in an anger management program. Authorities say Sarbackers daughter and her boyfriend had a dispute before they broke up the morning of Feb. 7. Sarbacker and two others drove a vehicle onto Mirror Lake to confront the boyfriend as he was ice fishing with friends a half-hour later. The criminal complaint states that Sarbacker pointed a shotgun at the man and threatened to kill him. At some point, authorities say, Sarbacker dropped the weapon and punched the man in the face. Sarbacker has denied that he ever pointed the gun at the man. He alleged that the victim in the case assaulted his daughter, and has questioned why the boyfriend has not been charged. Sarbacker has also has questioned why Iowa County District Attorney Larry Nelson, who was assigned as the special prosecutor in the case, did not include statements from Sarbacker and his daughter in the criminal complaint. Nelson has not responded to inquiries about Sarbackers claims. And Sarbacker did not return a phone call or email before press time Thursday. Sarbacker worked as an assistant in the Columbia County District Attorneys Office from 1998 to 2005. He currently runs a law firm in Portage that specializes in criminal defense and drunken driving cases. His license was still active and in good standing as of Thursday afternoon, according to the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulations website. Sarbacker has had no disciplinary history with the agency. Ina Swafford Ina Mae (Wegner) Swafford, 82, of Sauk City, passed away on Wednesday, May 18, 2016, surrounded by her family at home after a long and courageous battle with breast cancer. Ina was born to Arthur and Fannie Wegner, the oldest of three children, and lived in Prairie du Sac for most of her life. She attended Prairie du Sac High School and graduated in 1952. She then went to work at Badger Army Munitions Plant where she met John W. Swafford, of Baraboo. They married on Dec. 18, 1953, and made their home in Prairie du Sac. Except for a brief time while John was stationed at Ft. Totten, New York, they lived their entire life in Prairie du Sac and later, Sauk City. Ina and John had four children, John W. Swafford, Jr., Suzanne Lynn and Jeffrey Keith. An infant daughter, Diane Lee, preceded them in death. Ina worked as a church secretary and administrative assistant at Concordia United Methodist Church for over 30 years. She was honored with her own special day when she retired. She was always active in her church, United Methodist Women, Miriam Circle and volunteered for many, many committees and tasks. Her church community and friends will miss her greatly. She loved her family above all else. She was blessed with two daughters-in-law and three grandchildren. She also loved to spend time with her two siblings, Bonita I. Bryant and Keith Wegner. She and John traveled in their later years, and often included Johns sisters and their husbands as well as her siblings in their trips. Her family also included nieces and nephews, cousins and other relatives. Ina is survived by her children, John, Jr. (Sara) of Palatine, Illinois, Suzanne of Denver, Colorado, and Jeffrey (Dora) of Sun Prairie; her beloved grandchildren, Brianna, Madison and Monica Swafford, all of Sun Prairie. She was preceded in death by her husband, John W. Swafford on Aug. 22, 2015; sisters and brother- in-law, Herb and Dolores Socall, Joyce and Dale Kaufman, Marvin and Lorayne Webster and Diane Wegner; parents, Arthur and Fannie Wegner; and mother and father-in-law, Wesley (Alexander) Swafford and Marcella Swafford. The family wishes to thank Kevin Klingemeyer, RN of Agrace Hospice for his gentle and loving care of their mother. They also wish to thank all of the other wonderful doctors, nurses and medical personnel at Agrace Hospice. She often remarked about their kindness and care. The family would also like to thank Dr. James Huen of DeanCare for his constant and wonderful care; PA Gretchen Considine for the years of loving care she gave to our mother; and Mike Eannelli of Eannelli Pharmacy in Prairie du Sac for his ongoing concern and help. A very special thank you to Linda Kaufman Mabie, Inas niece for the hours of special love and care she gave to our mom. We cannot thank her enough and we love her always. A Memorial Service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, 2016, at Concordia United Methodist Church, 585 Fifth St., Prairie du Sac. Inurnment will follow immediately after the service at Prairie du Sac Cemetery. The family will have visitation from 1 p.m. until the time of service at the church. Ina has requested that in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to Concordia United Methodist Church or the American Cancer Society, in her name. For online condolences, visit www.hooversonfuneralhomes.com. The Hooverson Funeral Home of Sauk City is assisting the family. I dont hate guns; theyve been present in my life since I was small. My father had worked as a policeman and kept his service revolver as well as a shotgun hed had growing up on a farm. But he said a gun is always loaded, and now I know why. In northern Minnesota, my husband hunted deer, and the first winter we relied on venison for food. Up there, everyone had a gun, but theyd all grown up with them and knew how to take precautions against accidents. When the subject of gun control came up, I agreed with the saying, When they outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns. I still agree with it, but now realize very few people, including Democratic lawmakers, want to ban all guns. They want required firearm training and reasonable controls over who can own them. In fact, polls show that the majority of Americans want stricter regulations, but its going to take responsible gun owners to make that happen. There will be powerful forces fighting against them. The National Rifle Association, which used to be in favor of required training and reasonable regulations, has now become the lobbyist for firearm and ammunition manufacturers. It donates huge amounts of money to GOP lawmakers to ensure there are few restrictions. At their conventions, there even are booths and advertisements for lethal firearms designed for children under the age of 10. Thats insane. Weve all read way too many stories about accidental deaths and injuries due to irresponsible gun owners. There also are numerous stories about toddlers who have killed or injured other children or their parents after picking up an untended firearm. Jamie Gilt, a gun-loving mother, bragged on Facebook how she taught her four-year-old to shoot targets. This March, while she was driving with her child in the back seat, he picked up her gun and shot her through the back with her .45-caliber handgun. She lived, but I bet shes done bragging about her guns on Facebook. In the first nine months of 2015, according to an Oct. 14, 2015, article in the Washington Post, 13 American toddlers had accidentally killed themselves, 18 injured themselves, 10 injured other people and two killed other people all with firearms. From the reports Ive read this year, its obvious the numbers will be higher by the end of 2016. And for those who believe keeping a gun at home makes them safer, all the statistics prove the opposite. The same Washington Post article cited FBI homicide data that shows there were 34 more criminal gun homicides and 78 more gun suicides for every instance of a justifiable killing self defense or against a criminal. Every year, 30,000 Americans die from gunshot wounds. If foreign terrorists killed and injured that many Americans, the GOP would be calling for all-out war. Yet they push for looser regulations and vote against anything that would make owning guns safer. This year in Wisconsin, Republican legislators passed Senate Bill 301, which eliminated the age limit for children and the number of weapons they can carry when involved in the hunting mentorship program. So technically, in this program, a toddler can legally carry an unlimited number of hunting weapons. I wonder how those legislators will sleep at night after the first child, mentor or innocent bystander is killed because of the bill. As for adults, just because someone is approved to carry a gun does not guarantee they know how to safely use or carry one. Almost every day there are stories of accidental shootings by Americans with concealed weapons and by gun owners who fool around with them at home. Last month in Philadelphia, a father killed his four-year-old daughter when he accidentally shot her in the face. And theres the man who recently shot himself during a job interview, as well as one the other day in Georgia who shot himself and a woman while adjusting his gun during a graduation ceremony. America has many more gun deaths per 100 people than any other civilized country and it will only get worse unless we demand change. We need to require extensive training and a 48-hour waiting period before someone can own a gun. We need to require that guns and ammunition are stored securely and separately so children cant get access to them and that severe penalties are enacted on those who dont comply. And we need universal background checks so people who cant pass one arent able to cross a state line and purchase a firearm. These precautions wont stop all gun-related deaths, but if they save even one innocent life, enacting them would be worth it. Beaver Dam High School FFA members and Beaver Dam Agribusiness Association Members are mixing up fun and funds for leadership and academic scholarships by holding the Something Special from Wisconsin Breakfast. Started 29 years ago as a featured event during Beaverfest, the breakfast has all the same specialties. The tradition of promoting Wisconsin products continues by featuring, pancakes, strawberries, sausage, scrambled eggs & ham, cheese samplers, milk, coffee, juice and ice cream sundaes. The event will be held on Sunday at Beaver Dam High School. Serving begins at 7:30 a.m. and continues through 12:30 p.m. Originally started as part of the Beaverfest activities, the breakfast is a crowd pleaser with specialty treats. The breakfast features the groups 6-foot frying pan for making eggs and two 8-foot long griddles for making pancakes. Russ Kottke, treasurer of the Beaver Dam Agribusiness Association, is in charge of the giant skillet. We can fry eggs as fast as they can serve them, Kottke said. The recipe includes ham, cheese and of course, real eggs. But its the strawberries and ice cream that adds the extra touch to our breakfast, Anthony Brossard said. Its a special treat this time of the year, it gets us ready for summer. Proceeds from the breakfast provide scholarships for students attending leadership conferences and post-secondary education. Advanced tickets cost $6.50 for adults and $3 for children ages 5-11. Adults at the door cost just 50 more. Tickets are available from FFA members, Agribusiness Association members, Beaver Dam Piggly Wiggly, Recheks Food Pride and at the door. Accident Thursday at 10:55 a.m., two women backed their vehicles into each other near Piggly Wiggly, 810 Park Ave. Disorderly conduct Thursday at 2:30 p.m., someone told police that protesters near Design For You, 101 Front St., are stopping traffic and stopping people walking past the area. Battery Thursday at 3:47 p.m., someone near the Saint Katherine Drexel, 511 S. Spring St., told police that a boy was beat up after school. One boy will be referred for battery and disorderly conduct. Disorderly conduct Thursday at 4:52 p.m., a man and a woman were involved in a verbal argument in the 100 block of Knaup Drive. Theft Thursday at 6:07 p.m., a man reported that his phone was stolen in the 100 block of Washington Street. While the popular Wollersheim Winery in Prairie du Sac made news this week dealing with devastating effects of last weekends frost, local wineries in Juneau County were also hit hard. Last Sunday morning, record low temperatures blanketed much of Wisconsin, affecting crops already planted with a late-season frost. At Burr Oak Winery in New Lisbon, a successful spring growth was stunted by the hard frost, one of the worst to hit the vineyard in its 19-year history. The winery grows 15 acres of grapes on land owned by Kennedy Vineyards. About 90 percent of the growth on our lower vineyard was damaged on that (Saturday) night, said manager Terri Bell. In some of the varieties on the hill, which normally dont get affected that much, about 90 percent of that growth was also affected. It was quite significant damage. This years crop may face challenges to produce efficiently, but Bell said the winery has enough grapes in stock to produce quality wine. Its going to be a problem, but well have to see how things go, Bell said. But no matter what crop it is or where you are, a late frost can be devastating. And it can happen from Minnesota to Florida. Some of the varieties at the winery hadnt broken bud before the frost, which should bode well for growth this summer. Bell said the vineyard is still optimistic it will produce a decent crop, especially on hilly land. When they freeze they hang down and some of those varieties didnt have enough growth to hang down, Bell said. Inventory-wise, even if we dont take in a single grape were still going to have plenty of wine here so were in a pretty good situation. Wollersheims vineyard was so devastated by the frost that growers are already planning for next years crop. Growing grapes in Wisconsin isnt an easy task, given the climate, but few growers expect temperatures to fall into the high 20s in the middle of May. In a typical year, Burr Oak harvests its crop in mid-to-late September. There will be some grapes that wont ripen, but we should still have a harvest, Bell said. At Northwoods Orchard in rural Mauston, owner Seth Tully said his crop fared well despite the low temperatures. Tully recorded a temperature of 28 degrees at the orchard early Sunday morning. From everything I can tell there is no reportable damage, the fruit crop still looks good and healthy, Tully said. I have talked to other orchards in the state and I know one that was frosted out completely and there were some orchards in Minnesota who have lost either all or most because theyve contacted some Wisconsin orchards to order apples. Tully did lose some of his strawberry crop, but said additional plants will be blooming soon. He just planted a fresh bed of strawberries last week that havent reached the stage to be susceptible to frost. Northwoods grows two acres of strawberries, six acres of apple trees with 11 different varieties, and a pumpkin patch. This orchard has been around since 1948 and some of our trees are about 40 years old, Tully said. Theyre all doing pretty good and were happy about that. Tully and his wife, Nadine, are in their third year of operating Northwoods Orchard. I think the 2016 season will turn out pretty good with the amount of blooms weve had, despite the late-season frost, Tully said. Local businesses came together recently to help the Town of Necedah prepare for emergencies. Marquis Energy Wisconsin, LLC and Wisconsin River Power Company provided donations for the town to upgrade its phone system at the emergency command center inside the town hall building. Town and Juneau County Emergency Management officials discovered last summer that the command centers phone jacks were old and needed to be replaced. In the event of an emergency, like a tornado or a large wildfire, town officials and emergency personnel would use the command center as its base for communications. Having inadequate equipment put the town at risk. These two businesses partnered to provide funding to cover the cost to install these devices, said Town Chairman Terry Taft. The phone system was no longer functional. Both companies were very happy to provide funding and the town really appreciates it. When the town realized it had to buy new phone equipment, it was too late in the year to budget for the setup. With finances tight, Taft said it would have been difficult for the town to purchase the phone system on its own. We had to find a cost-effective way to replace the setup for nine phone lines, Taft said. Both Marquis Energy Wisconsin and Wisconsin River Power Company wish to keep the donation amount private. Taft said any help to keep Necedah area residents safe should be recognized. We just had a large forest fire in the township about a year ago and were in the middle of tornado and fire season this year, Taft said. Having this new system installed is really important for the town. Like many educational institutions, St. Johns Lutheran School in Baraboo uses federal tax dollars to pay for certain programs, such as free and reduced-price lunches for disadvantaged students. The funds for those programs are taken from all U.S. taxpayers, without discrimination. And federal civil rights protections say that any student who legally qualifies for the programs can participate, regardless of race, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation. But taxpayers whose children are homosexual or transgender may not be able to take advantage of those programs, at least not at St. Johns. Thats because officials at the private religious school say they have the right to discipline students for making what they refer to as sinful choices. I didnt mean any kind of move around, or to manipulate the law or anything like that, St. Johns Principal Craig Breitkreutz said about a letter he wrote to parents in February. In the letter, Breitkreutz outlined new rules that required parents to provide a birth certificate and sign a parent handbook agreement prior to enrollment. The birth certificate allows the school to know the childs born gender, and the handbook agreement which apparently was recommended by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod lists discretions for which a student can be disciplined and expelled, including homosexuality. Because the school receives federal funds for its lunch program, transportation and through the No Child Left Behind program, it must comply with civil rights laws, Breitkreutz wrote. That means it cant deny entry to protected classes, such as homosexual and transgender students. If we cannot legally refuse students who are struggling with homosexuality or gender identification, we must maintain our right to hold to the truths of Gods Word, Breitkreutz wrote. In other words, although we do not have the right to refuse admittance to people choosing an outwardly sinful lifestyle, we do maintain the right to discipline and dismiss students for these choices. Policy questioned A nonprofit group that works to strengthen the separation between religion and government says because the school receives federal funding, its policies are not legal. It is problematic for a school that receives federal funds to discriminate against students because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, said Patrick Elliott, an attorney for the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation. Schools that are supported with taxpayer money must comply with minimum civil rights standards. St. Johns Lutheran School has indicated that it will dismiss students on an illegal basis under federal law. The Foundation filed a discrimination complaint against the school, saying it discriminates against students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has forwarded the complaint to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the federal free and reduced-price lunch program. As these students are unable to attend the school, they are unable to participate in free and reduced price lunch programs, the Foundations complaint states. American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Associate Director Molly Collins declined to comment on the St. Johns letter, saying she didnt have enough information based on the facts that have been presented so far. Expulsion possible Breitkreutz said the schools policy with regard to homosexual and transgender students is similar to its policies for other behaviors that the church considers sinful, such as cheating or fighting with fellow students. We definitely dont have a goal of finding a way to kick students out, Breitkreutz said. I mean, thats not the goal. The goal is to share with them Gods word. The school has not had to discipline a homosexual or transgender student in his two years there, Breitkreutz said. But if a student displayed those tendencies, school officials would try to patiently instruct the child. If the child was not receptive, and continued to live with a sexual orientation or gender identity that is not endorsed by St. Johns, the school board would have the right to expel that student, Breitkreutz said. St. Johns Pastor Nick Maglietto said the February letter was intended to let parents know about the churchs views with regard to homosexual and transgender people prior to enrollment. So rather than us trying to weed them out, its more letting them know where were coming from up front and making their choice based on whether this would be an environment for their child, he said. Although Maglietto said the school does not intend to exclude people, he said it is not welcoming to homosexual and transgender students. But it is the parents choice to enroll their child or not. Investigation underway President Barack Obama recently instructed public schools to allow transgender students the right to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity, rather than their birth certificate. Schools that dont comply may be sued and lose federal funding. The announcement has added to the ongoing national discussion over transgender rights, and prompted pushback from officials in several states that take issue with the directive. With regard to the St. Johns letter, the USDA has opened an investigation based on the Freedom From Religion Foundations complaint. USDA is reviewing this complaint, said USDA spokeswoman Amanda Heitkamp. We are firmly committed to ensuring federal protections against discrimination with respect to all of our programs and activities. Breitkreutz said if the schools policies are deemed a violation of civil rights protections, school officials may forego the federal funds, which he said are a great help to many students there. To parents and others who may question why St. Johns school officials deem themselves worthy of judging others, Breitkreutz said it all comes back to the Bible. I certainly dont want to give anybody the impression that Im looking down my nose at anybody, he said. I try to do everything with humility and love and respect. But we are known by our words and actions, whether or not we hold true to Gods word or not. So rather than us trying to weed them out, its more letting them know where were coming from up front and making their choice based on whether this would be an environment for their child. The Rev. Nick Maglietto, St. Johns pastor Emma St. Maurice, a sophomore at Columbus High School, went to Central Beauty Shoppe in downtown Columbus last week to get a trim and ended up deciding to have 11 inches cut off so she could donate it to the Locks of Love program, which makes wigs for people who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy or other medical conditions. The ideas run a gamut of strategies, but a thread of urgency runs through the more than 100 proposals to improve campus climate sent to University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank. After a semester studded with reports of bias incidents and capped with a protest that occupied a campus library, one student who submitted an idea called the strained atmosphere on campus an emergency. Another student invoked Thomas Jeffersons remark about how the realization that controversy over slavery might destroy the union of states filled him with terror like a fire bell in the night. The ringing sounds once again and this time at our front door, wrote the student. The names of students, and other contributors who did not want to be publicly identified, were redacted from suggestion forms posted online Thursday by university officials. Richard Davidson, founder of the Center for Healthy Minds at UW-Madison, called the issue of inclusivity a global challenge. We consider this to be not only a critical issue for our campus, but a grand challenge nationally and globally to educate world citizens for the 21st century, he said. And contributors want to begin confronting the challenge soon. Many of those suggesting new or expanded education, mentoring or support programs, for example, suggested starting as early as this summer. On the suggestion that the campus hire more faculty and staff of color, one contributor set a simple time frame: Immediately. Another spoke to method of accomplishing: Prioritize. Blank told a meeting of the Faculty Senate Tuesday that a committee that reviewed the proposals will send a top five or ten list to her for further evaluation. Completion of a new training module on community inclusiveness and diversity will be required of all incoming students in the fall, Blank told faculty. She previously said she and her staff will participate in diversity training this summer. Blank also previously announced that more staff is being hired to improve mental health services to students, especially students of color. Many contributors to a website set up for that purpose suggested that the university create more opportunities on campus for discussion of race issues by students, faculty and staff. Others urged highlighting the success stories of people of color on campus. A few want to recast the standard of how and why learning about "inclusion" takes place. And one contributor argued that the focus on race is exacerbating tensions on campus. He suggested the university drop ethnic studies and close all race or gender-based departments and clubs. It would greatly reduce racial tension by getting rid of race-baiters and agitators, wrote the unidentified student. Many contributors, including faculty in ethnic studies units, suggested the ethnic studies requirement be expanded to two courses or more. Incorporate diversity right into the curriculum, suggested others, by adding works and ideas by women, people of color and queer people to those by white elite males that now dominate. Davidson wants to change how people learn about inclusion. He proposed using techniques from both ancient contemplative tradition and modern science to make inclusion practices a learned, subconscious skill. Intellectually understanding the value of respect and equality does not necessarily translate into a person who is respectful and inclusive in their behavior towards others, particularly toward members of an out-group, he wrote. Many wanted to extend improved diversity education to faculty and staff, maybe by making it a requirement. Graduate students and staff who advise students in particular need training, said some contributors. Some suggested that ethnic studies go deep, or focus on the current situation; be delivered in graduate-level seminars, or in pop-up performances intended to disrupt and shock by-standers out of their complacent views. Teach inclusion through games, said others. Professor Laura Albert McLay suggested posters with diversity messages be installed in toilet stalls or above urinals. It would be cheesy, informal and fun, said McLay, who saw the tactic used to educate about micro-aggressions at Virginia Commonwealth University. It could be a way to subtly make students recognize that some of their behaviors are not healthy by providing them with a better alternative. A huge benefit is that these might not be seen as a diversity effort, she wrote. Safe places on campus are needed to discuss race and ethnicity issues, some contributors said, for people of color and also for whites who are struggling with biases they carry. UW-Madison should build a just and merciful community, said one student. An emphasis on kindness compassion, generosity and love would shift the model from mechanical heeding to the rule to humane attention to the individuals involved. Others called for bringing principles of restorative justice, with its emphasis on repair of harm, to inclusion issues on campus. But demands for zero tolerance of bias incidents and swift punishment also were registered. Some contributors want to showcase the stories of people of color on campus, through an online Story a Day, through ambassador graduates of UW-Madisons Odyssey Project humanities program who would tell their stories in classrooms and dormitories, or a human library of people from out-groups who agree to be lent out to others to talk about their experiences. Create an online community where faculty, staff and students can tell stories of how experiencing diversity enhanced their working or learning life, suggested Ron Jetty, an academic staff member. Many contributors suggested creating settings that would encourage relationships between people from different backgrounds. Fabu Carter, a member of the academic staff, suggested fostering a broader community of culture for minority studies. Building greater ties through the existing UW-South Madison Partnership with community groups like churches, businesses, nonprofit organizations and families would create a support network for students. They need to form support systems and be among people who look like them, speak their language, eat similar food, remind them of their families and who positively affirm them culturally, spiritually and mentally, she wrote. Other contributors posted ideas to improve campus climate for LGBT students, religious minorities and international students. Academic staff member Harry Webne-Behrman called for dialogues on racism and bias based on reconciliation models. He remarked that after more than 40 years associated with UW as student, alumnus and staff, It concerns me greatly that our larger political landscape of polarization, hateful speech and actions of marginalization is infecting our campus," he said. But we should not delude ourselves: Such attitudes and actions have been here as long as I have been on campus, Webne-Behrman said. The semesters events may seem to provide a teachable moment, but there has been brainstorming on campus about diversity and climate before, another staff member wrote. He attended a seminar in February where there was good dialogue about diversity and inclusion. What happened to all those ideas? he asked. In the end, there were no Columbia County Board of Supervisors votes voiced Wednesday in opposition to a pair of resolutions related to the countys services for veterans. But before the vote was called on one of the resolutions, Supervisor Adam Field of Portage had an observation: I dont know why we would want to ask for less accountability. Fields comment related to the resolution calling on state lawmakers to return the grants for county Veterans Service offices to what the grants were originally intended to be -- state money to offset the salary of the Veterans Service Officer, leaving more county money available for services for veterans. Under new state rules, the state grants come in the form of reimbursements for specific expenses incurred by county Veterans Service offices -- reimbursements that state officials may approve or deny. Another resolution, to specify that the duties and responsibilities of Veterans Service offices are under the jurisdiction of counties -- and not the state -- got unanimous voice-vote approval without comment. Field, who works in the state Capitol office of state Sen. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, said he inquired at the state Department of Veterans Affairs after the May 10 publication of a Daily Register story about the resolutions -- a story that included an interview with Columbia County Veterans Service Officer Richard Hasse. Field said he wanted to find out why the change was made in the grant program. He said he was informed of a 2012-13 audit, which showed that some county Veterans Service officers were misusing the state grant money. It was not getting out directly to services for veterans, which is why they asked for more accountability, Field said, adding that he had requested, but had not yet received, a copy of the audit. Neither Hasse nor Assistant VSO Rebekka Cary was at Wednesdays meeting, as both were attending mandatory training. In his Daily Register interview, Hasse said the change of the grant program to reimbursements of specific expenses was made as part of the 2015-17 biennial budget. He noted, however, that Columbia County VSO stopped seeking the grant -- which, in Columbia County, had amounted to about $11,500 annually -- because the rules for reimbursement, and the decisions as to which expenses get reimbursed and which dont, have been confusing and subjective in other counties. Corporation Counsel Joseph Ruf said Columbia County is not, as he understands it, the only county with concerns in this area. I dont think this is a standalone issue for Columbia County, he said. I think there are VSOs in other counties that have similar concerns. Ruf said the Veterans Service office is subject to the same audit as other county offices, as well as a DVA audit, and its financial practices have been consistently found to be in compliance. Supervisor Kevin Kessler of the town of West Point suggested that the County Board wait on a decision on the resolution until the DVA audit is available and until the Legislature returns to session. There was no opposition expressed, not even from Field, during a voice vote on the resolution regarding the grant issue. The County Board often considers resolutions taking a particular stand on state laws or policies. The resolutions, by themselves, dont have the force of law, but theyre intended to be a statement to lawmakers of the countys position on an issue -- particularly if multiple counties adopt similar resolutions. But John Van Wie of Wisconsin Dells said the County Boards approval of both resolutions shows support for Columbia County veterans. Putting this back in control of the county gives us more ability to help our brothers, said Van Wie, one of three members of the countys Veterans Service Commission. (The other members are Keith Miller of Fall River and Norm Bednarek of Portage.) Van Wie said Hasse has demonstrated strong commitment to the well-being of Columbia Countys veterans, including keeping a close eye on legislation that affects services for veterans. Hes really a leader in a lot of things that are happening, he said. PARDEEVILLE A strong applicant pool for open principal positions in the Pardeeville Area School District does more than highlight the disparity between candidates interest in teaching and administrative jobs. Its showing administrators a teacher shortage thats only getting worse. Pardeeville Superintendent Gus Knitt reported Friday the number of applicants received for middle school and high school principal positions soon to be vacated by Ted Lenz and Jason LeMay, respectively, has exceeded expectations with 24 applicants for the high school job and 38 for the middle school. We talk about shortage of teachers, but there surely wasnt a shortage of administrator candidates, Knitt said, adding that five years ago when the district ultimately hired LeMay and Lenz, the candidate pool was not nearly what it is this time. But contrast the principal pool numbers with candidates who since April have applied for Pardeevilles vacant high school positions of business education and special education teachers a pool that, right now, isnt strong at all, Knitt said and youll find school leaders left wondering where to turn. So far Pardeeville has received only eight applicants for the special education position and seven for business education. It is certainly a challenge, and for a lot of school districts, Knitt said. When Knitt was a business education teacher several years ago, he added, teacher shortages existed then, too, but today its gotten much more severe. I would say vocational areas the business, technology, agriculture, the industrial arts people could always go out in the private sector and make more money than they could teaching, Knitt said. But now what were finding is that in some of the other areas its more difficult, also. Math and science can be real struggles, as there just arent a lot of people going into those fields. Scary situation Portage Community School District Administrator Charles Poches said earlier this month that he believes teacher shortages in Wisconsin have reached a critical stage. Its scary, Poches said. The ramifications are, if we dont have teachers then we dont have classes. Poches added the district has this year tried to get ahead of its teaching openings with uninspiring results so far. Portage, Poches estimated Friday, has about 10 open positions, including two at the elementary level that each would have had 150 applicants three or four years ago. Those positions posted a month ago for first grade and fifth grade today have only 25 applicants each, including applicants who applied for both openings. Poches said even last year the first- and fifth-grade teaching positions would have generated about 50 applicants, especially this time of year. Regarding positions traditionally more difficult to fill, like in special education, Poches noted Portage has an opening posted a month ago at the elementary level that still has no applicants. We thought it was bad last year, Poches said. But were early this year, and the number of candidates just are not there. Portage is in a favorable location due to its proximity to Madison, Poches said, a fact that makes him think other districts in the state are in even tougher situations than Portage. Avoid the firing line As Ive talked to other superintendents in state, Knitt said, the farther north you go the harder it is to fill high school English and math. The applicants are way down. Even in physical education where youd get 35, 40 applicants, we probably got nine or 10 a couple years ago. Education just doesnt have the draw it once did, Knitt said. People are simply looking at other kinds of occupations. I think part of it is, quite honestly, that education makes the news all the time, in one regard or another, and people look and wonder if there are other occupations they can go into and not be on the firing line, Knitt said. Shrinking pools for technology education are emphasized by fewer and fewer technology education graduates from University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie, regarded as the only place where tech ed teachers come from in the state, Knitt said. Baby boomers who have retired or are getting ready to retire is also a major factor in teacher candidate shortages, Knitt said. Sometimes, he added, you just have to get lucky, as the district seems to have been when it hired Jesse Huset to fill its vacant technology education position. Huset, a technology education teacher in Portage, was one of only three candidates who applied for the position. What hasnt changed with teachers we have hired in the past few years, compared to 10, 15, 20, 25 years ago, is the passion of those for educating kids, Knitt said. They have that passion, that love, and they understand the pay may not be the greatest. They understand they can make money elsewhere, but its about their passion for teaching. We may not have as many applicants, but the ones we do, they have that passion for teaching kids, and thats always important. Principals search Pardeeville currently has five finalists for its middle school principal position and six for high school, and the district hopes after its regular board meeting Monday theyll have two candidates for each. The boards target date for filling the principal positions is its June 6 meeting. Knitt was impressed by the strength of the principal candidates and, noting schools are presently very busy due to graduations, said the district is gearing to move as quickly as we can after Memorial Day. Lenz submitted his letter of retirement in March, while LeMay in April informed the district hed accepted a high school principal position in Altoona. Both of their tenures in Pardeeville were five years. Theres not much that separates Sierra Vickers and Hannah Rasmussen. Since kindergarten the two friends grew up only blocks from each other and now find themselves together at the top of the Wisconsin Dells High School senior class of 2016. Vickers will graduate as class valedictorian and Rasmussen as salutatorian at the graduation ceremony May 27 for about 100 students. While they swear theyre not intentionally copying each other, the two have chosen similar fields of study in college this fall and still wont be that far away from each other. Vickers will be pursuing a four-year nursing degree at UW-Eau Claire with hopes of eventually becoming an oncology nurse practitioner. Rasmussen will be studying biology and will be just down the road from Vickers at UW-La Crosse. Vickers said school work always came naturally to her, but she said by no means was it an easy task climbing to the top of her graduating class. When asked how she did it her voice quieted and she bashfully said I worked really hard to get there. Principal Greg Bell said the Class of 2016 is the first to graduate under the Laude system that recognizes not only the top students in the class but others who have chosen to challenge themselves by taking rigorous coursework that will further prepare them to be career or college ready. The Laude system can also pave the way for a student to have a lower final grade point average than a fellow student, but finish higher in the final class rankings. While some students finished with a 4.0 grade point average, Vickers and Rasmussens final grade points of 3.8 landed them in the top two spots because their Laude and AP coursework was considerably more difficult than normal curriculum courses. If it wasnt for the Laude system I still would have been in the top 10, but not the valedictorian, Vickers said. Even a class valedictorian has challenges. I took five AP classes. AP Literature last year was so hard and I lost my 4.0, she said. I was kind of upset about it at first, but I knew that I worked hard. At a school board meeting earlier this year Bell said the high rigor courses these kids take are demanding and theyre taking them so that they can get a good education. Not only when you see the valedictorian and salutatorian at graduation, when you see these kids that have Laude cords on even if you dont know them put your hand out and congratulate them, he said. Bell said three students reached the highest achievable honor of Summa Cum Laude, 11 achieved Magna Cum Laude and 11 Cum Laude. As far as becoming a doctor, Vickers said its always a possibility, but hesitated when she pondered the idea of at least eight years of college. It has crossed my mind, she said. Right now Im not sure how much schooling I want to go through. I can always change my mind. No matter how many years of school Vickers chooses, she has already been awarded $18,000 toward tuition fees through the Wisconsin Dells Education Foundation, UW-Eau Claire and other scholarships and grants. Like Vickers, Rasmussen will also be pursuing a degree in a science-related field. During her high school years she developed a fascination with biology. She chuckled a bit when asked how she would like to apply a biology. Im really interested in the skin, quickly explaining that shes considering becoming a dermatologist. Rasmussen is a good example of how many young, bright students are always exploring and keeping their options open. In middle school I was interested in math but in high school I was interested in becoming an interior designer or an architect, she said. Despite tough competition in very difficult courses, Rasmussen and Vickers remain best of friends and said they will always cherish their time together. They climbed to the top of their class not only through hard work, but also supported each other along the way. Sierra has been a role model to me she inspired me, Rasmussen said. In between their summer jobs in the Dells, the two will continue to stay connected before college starts in the fall as they venture to Costa Rica together on a Key Club service trip. The class of 2016 came close to a Vickers family sweep for the No. 1 and No. 2 academic positions. In a squeaker, Vickers twin sister Jade was just beat out by Rasmussen for salutatorian honors. Jade will graduate third in her class and will be attending UW-Oshkosh in the fall. Twins will be twins. Jade is also planning on studying nursing, like Sierra. Bell is closing out his tenure as principal of Wisconsin Dells High School. As he begins to prepare for his new position as Boscobel district superintendent, he reflected on the class of 2016. Its really neat to see how (the seniors) have changed in the last year. Bells focus has been to guide his students to the next level of success. Like (Curriculum and Instruction Director) Brian Grove always says, make sure graduation is not an end point, but a check point. About 100 seniors will receive their diplomas at the 4:30 p.m. ceremony Friday at at the Tommy Bartlett amphitheater. We're witnessing a classic case of why election campaigns have become akin to three-ring circuses instead of actual debates about issues and ideas aimed at convincing voters which candidate will best represent them. Before the starting gate opened in the race between incumbent U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and former Sen. Russ Feingold, a super PAC funded by the Koch brothers and Wisconsin's own longtime GOP benefactor Diane Hendricks commissioned a slick attack ad aimed at disparaging Feingold and ponied up $2 million so the ad would run over and over in the state's major TV markets. So, as we begin the campaign, we're not talking about the future of Social Security and Medicare, national health care, economic philosophy, educational priorities, student loan debt, job creation plans or the dozens of other issues that will have a real impact on thousands of Wisconsin citizens. Instead, the Freedom Partners Action Fund PAC has sought to portray Feingold as an uncaring, lackadaisical politician who had a chance to help veterans at the Tomah Veterans Affairs hospital back in 2009 when he was still in the Senate, but dropped the ball. Hence, the ad concludes, he's anti-veteran at best and contributed to their deaths at worst. Feingold and other Wisconsin representatives supposedly got a copy of a memo from a union representative at the Tomah VA outlining administrative problems at the hospital but did nothing about it. Feingold calls that assertion a lie and adds that he never received such a memo in the first place. The person who supposedly sent the memo to his office has admitted it was never delivered to Feingold and the other three Wisconsin politicians whose names were penciled in at the top. Feingold asked the TV stations to quit running the ad because it is false. Several stations did stop running the ad, so Freedom Partners produced a new version, which cleverly doesn't say Feingold received the memo, only that it had been marked as delivered. That led PolitiFact Wisconsin to investigate the claims. The fact-checking service concluded that they are false. But no matter to those producing the ad and paying to run it. As long as the message gets out true or false they've accomplished their goal of creating doubt among the voters. That was the whole idea behind the so-called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the political action group that produced purposely false ads to besmirch the otherwise exemplary Vietnam War record of presidential candidate John Kerry back in 2004. Many analysts insist it had a significant impact on the race between Kerry and George W. Bush. What's perplexing about the Koch- and Hendricks-sponsored ad is the role played by Ryan Honl, the Tomah VA Hospital whistleblower, who single-handedly brought attention to the overprescription of opioid painkillers to vets at the hospital, which contributed to at least one vet's death. Honl, a Desert Storm vet and a West Point grad, resigned after working at the hospital for two months in 2014, citing harassment from superiors and others for his blowing the whistle. After he resigned he got tips from other VA employees about memos that had been sent to Sens. Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson outlining the problems. Honl is openly backing Johnson's re-election campaign even though Johnson himself has admitted fumbling the ball after he took Feingold's seat back in 2011. Honl says Johnson is getting his support because he at least took a serious look at the Tomah problems. The whisteblower considered running for Congress as a Republican against incumbent Ron Kind, whose district includes the Tomah VA hospital, but decided against it. He has often insisted that unions are a big problem in the VA system and ought to be outlawed. Honl now appears in the Koch-Hendricks ad and convincingly breaks up when he talks about the treatment of veterans at the hospital and insists that all he wants to do is make sure voters "know the real story." That the charges in the Koch-Hendricks ad have been labeled false raises the question of what that real story really is. Thank you, Deputy Chief Justice Statement: Justice Dikgang Mosenekes service to the nation has been second to none, says Professor Adam Habib. The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, extends its sincerest congratulations and appreciation to Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke who retires from the Constitutional Court this week. Moseneke is one of the countrys leading jurists and has served South Africa and the continent with distinction for decades. We want to congratulate and thank Justice Moseneke. His service to the nation has been second to none. He is one of our countrys most eminent judges and his legal authority, intellectual integrity and personal calibre has had a deep impact on the judiciary and other entities beyond the walls of our courts, says Professor Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Wits University. Always honourable, principled and righteous, Justice Moseneke is one of the best legal minds this country has seen. He has had a profound influence on transforming the South African judiciary and played a key role in supporting efforts to transform the higher education sector. We sincerely hope that in his well-deserved retirement, our Chancellor will continue to contribute to Wits efforts to realise a truly transformed education sector in the near future. Moseneke is the Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand, a position he has held since 2006. His global influence and legacy is highlighted in the work he has undertaken as part of the team who drafted the interim South African Constitution of 1993; having served as the deputy chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission in 1994; and as the longest-serving Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court. In the education sector we are especially inspired by his resilience and dedication to obtain an education amidst unthinkable obstacles. Despite being arrested by the apartheid government at the age of 15 and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on Robben Island, Moseneke studied and matriculated in prison and obtained a BA degree in English and Political Science, as well as a B Luris degree. He later completed an LLB. He started practising law in 1976 and by 1994 he served as an acting Judge in the Supreme Court. He is also a founding member of the Black Lawyers' Association and of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers of South Africa. Moseneke served the corporate world as chairperson and director of various boards; is a recipient of numerous awards of honour, performance and excellence; and holds several honorary doctorates. Wits University will in the coming months, honour Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke for his contribution to the South African judiciary and his legacy on and off the bench. Further information in this regard will be announced in the near future. Archaeologists working in Mycenae, seat of the mythical King Agamemnon, have discovered what they believe to be the sites only known royal throne. The international team, led by president of the Mycenaean Foundation, Prof. Christofilis Maggidis of Dickinson College, USA, made the find in June 2014. Erik DeMarche and Dan Fallu were taking palaeo-hydrological measurements from the now-dry riverbed of the Chavos River within the citys Lower Town when they discovered a 50kg polished stone block. Measuring 23cm high, 50cm deep, and 30-35cm wide, its identification as a royal throne has been the result of a full year of intensive scientific study. With the results due to be announced to the worlds press this June, CWA was given a special preview. Among the main findings was an analysis of impact marks on the stone, which confirm that it fell from a great height before rolling into the river Chavos. Since it was found directly below Mycenaes royal palace, which had partially collapsed as a result of a massive earthquake around 1200 BC, it is highly feasible that the block originated from the palace. The morphology of the block is also consistent with known contemporary Minoan and Mycenaean throne seats. For example, the depth of its seat depression (3cm), and the way in which it slightly deepens towards its rear ledge, are almost identical to the Knossos Throne. The stones composition is also significant, for it possesses the same combination of limestone conglomerate and green marble/serpentine as the decorated stone facades of contemporary (mid-13th century BC) royal tholos tombs at Mycenae, and the facade of the contemporary Lion Gate at Mycenae. Interestingly, three more fragments, hewn in green serpentine and decorated with a spiral relief, found elsewhere in the city, are thought to have formed part of the base or the decoration of the throne, comparable to the surviving throne base at Tiryns. Taken together, this intensive, multifaceted examination strongly indicates that the hefty block is a royal seat, or throne. Its scientific importance is huge, given that this is the only Mycenaean throne yet found on the site or indeed anywhere on mainland Greece. Its symbolic role as the throne of Agamemnon, the last legendary king of Mycenae, is also undeniably immense, Maggidis told CWA. This article appears in issue 77 of CWA on sale now. For more details, see mycenaeanfoundation.com or mycenae-excavations.org Horizon appoints JV for Wylfa Newydd project 20 May 2016 Share The UK's Horizon Nuclear Power has today appointed a joint venture responsible for construction of its Wylfa Newydd plant. The newly created company, Menter Newydd, is a joint venture of Hitachi Nuclear Energy Europe, Bechtel Management Company and JGC Corporation (UK). How the Wylfa Newydd plant could look alongside the existing Wylfa plant (Image: Horizon) Established in 2009 and acquired by Hitachi in November 2012, Horizon aims to provide at least 5.4 GWe of new capacity across two sites - Wylfa Newydd, which is on the Isle of Anglesey, and Oldbury-on-Severn, in South Gloucestershire - by deploying Hitachi-GE UK Advanced Boiling Water Reactors. It expects the first unit at Wylfa to be operating in the first half of the 2020s. Horizon said the partners in Menter Newydd - which means New Venture in Welsh - have been involved in the delivery of more than 170 nuclear power stations, as well as a range of large infrastructure projects. Hitachi Nuclear Energy Europe draws on Hitachi's 50-year history of boiling water reactor deployment, including four ABWRs, Horizon noted. Bechtel last year completed construction of the first nuclear power station authorised to operate in the USA this century, at Watts Bar in Tennessee, it added. Duncan Hawthorne, Horizon CEO, said: "This is an important step in any large, complex infrastructure project and it adds to Wylfa Newydd's growing momentum. The depth and breadth of expertise Hitachi Nuclear Energy Europe, Bechtel and JGC bring to the Menter Newydd venture will help us ensure the timely delivery of our project, which will be vital for meeting the UK's energy gap and boosting the local economy in North Wales for decades to come." Hitachi's Malcolm Twist, project director for Menter Newydd, said the new company establishes "the balance of expertise to safely deliver for Horizon, on-cost and on-schedule". It expects to begin "firming up relationships with our main sub-contractors - many of them British - very soon", he added. Hitachi-GE, which has been operating under front-end engineering design, or FEED, contract with Horizon for more than three years, will continue to provide the UK ABWR technology, under sub-contract to Menter Newydd. Horizon has recently completed a further stage of public consultation in North Wales, launched its apprenticeship scheme, and appointed Hawthorne, formerly president and CEO of Canada's Bruce Power, as its CEO. Site development work is also continuing to advance, it said, and the UK ABWR remains on track to complete its regulatory Generic Design Assessment by the end of 2017. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics IEA advises rethink on Belgian phase-out policy 20 May 2016 Share Belgium should reconsider its nuclear energy phase-out policy, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has suggested following a review of the country's overall energy policy. Belgium should adopt a national long-term energy strategy "without delay" in order to decarbonize the economy while ensuring security of supply and affordability of energy, it said. In its report - titled Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Belgium 2016 Review - the IEA said Belgium should develop a "long-term comprehensive energy policy" that enables "market players to balance energy security, climate change goals and affordability in line with Belgium's EU and international commitments, taking into account the policy approaches of neighbouring countries". The policy should also ensure "a stable investment climate for all energy supply options". However, the IEA notes that Belgium's current policy to phase out the use of nuclear energy by 2025 "does not help Belgium meet any of its energy policy goals". "It is of the utmost importance that Belgium's policy on nuclear power is consistent with its objectives regarding electricity security and climate change mitigation." Fatih Birol, IEA executive director Closure of Belgium's seven operating reactors is "expected to occur in a very short time frame", between 2022 and 2025. According to the IEA, "A rapid phase-out of the nuclear units, which currently represent around half the electricity generation, would be extremely challenging and would have a significant impact on energy supply, on the level of electricity prices and on the country's ability to meet its long-term GHG emission targets." The report added, "It could also have an adverse impact on the financing of regulatory bodies, which is currently ensured by a levy on nuclear installations. It would also have an effect on the funding of the provisions for waste management and decommissioning." The IEA suggests, "To help ensure security of electricity supply and to limit the costs of the phase-out, the government should reconsider the current phase-out policy and opt for a more gradual approach. A better option would be to allow nuclear power plants to run as long as the regulator considers them safe. The IEA recommends the government to simply avoid a phase-out as it is currently envisaged." The Belgian government should thoroughly assess whether the current phase-out schedule is "feasible and reasonable". Should this assessment show that it is not, the phase-out policy should be "quickly" amended by "clarifying the role of nuclear energy and [providing] a stable and long-term framework to allow for adequate planning and an overall reasonable return for the necessary investments in long-term operation". Launching the report in Brussels yesterday, IEA executive director Fatih Birol said: "Our review rings alarm bells due to the lack of private-sector investment in the electricity sector. Government efforts to mobilize investment should include an electricity market design that ensures a viable business model for power generation. And to avoid a lack of generation capacity in the medium term, Belgium could consider operating their nuclear power plants as long as they are certified to be safe by the regulator." He added, "It is of the utmost importance that Belgium's policy on nuclear power is consistent with its objectives regarding electricity security and climate change mitigation." Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 20, 2016) - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION. THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. Alabama Graphite Corp. ("AGC" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:ALP) (ABGPF) (1AG.F) is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously-announced private placement (the "Private Placement") consisting of 3,480,000 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.15 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $522,000. The Private Placement remains subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V"). Each Unit is comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional Common Share at an exercise price of $0.20 for a period of 24 months following the date of issue, subject to customary adjustment provisions. Finders' fees totalling an aggregate of approximately $17,675 in cash commissions and 117,833 compensation options (the "Finder's Warrants") were paid in connection with the Private Placement. Each Finder's Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Unit at an exercise price of $0.15 per Unit for a period of 12 months from the closing of the Private Placement. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Private Placement for further advancing the Company's development of its metallurgical process for producing coated spherical purified graphite ("CSPG") for use in Lithium-ion batteries. Pursuant to applicable Canadian securities laws, all securities issued pursuant to the Private Placement are subject to a hold period of four months and one day, which expires on September 20, 2016. The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Donald K. D. Baxter, participated in the Private Placement as an insider. Such participation represents a related-party transaction under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"), but is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 as neither the fair market value of the subject matter of the transaction, nor the consideration paid, exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. The Private Placement was approved by all of the independent directors of the Company. The number of Common Shares potentially issuable to insiders of the Company pursuant to the Private Placement (including any Common Shares issuable upon the exercise of the Warrants) represent not more than 10% of the Company's currently issued and outstanding Common Shares on a non-diluted basis. Story continues "We are very pleased with the successful and strong closing of this offering," commented Mr. Baxter. "With validation from institutional investors and continued support from our major shareholders, AGC will continue to advance our business plan successfully and with confidence. We intentionally kept this raise small in an effort to mitigate dilution; however, AGC intends to target a significantly larger amount in a subsequent private placement in the coming months, at a higher share price. "Our team is eager to capitalize on the broader recognition of AGC's 'Made-in-USA' CSPG, specifically engineered for Li-ion batteries - which we believe will set the industry standard for environmental sustainability and responsibility, while intending to be a bottom-quartile cost producer." Prior to the closing of the Private Placement, Mr. Baxter owned 100,000 Common Shares of the Company and stock options entitling Mr. Baxter to purchase 500,000 Common Shares of the Company, in addition to Warrants entitling Mr. Baxter to purchase 50,000 Common Shares of the Company. Immediately following the closing of the Private Placement, Mr. Baxter directly and indirectly owns the following securities of the Company: (i) 770,000 Common Shares, representing approximately 0.646% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of the Company; (ii) Warrants entitling Mr. Baxter to purchase 720,000 Common Shares of the Company. (iii) Stock options entitling Mr. Baxter to purchase 1,000,000 Common Shares of the Company. Assuming the exercise of all Warrants and stock options held by Mr. Baxter, he would own 2,490,000 Common Shares, representing approximately 2.1% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of the Company. GRANTING OF OPTIONS Additionally, the Company announces that it has granted incentive stock options to purchase up to 2,650,000 Common Shares at an exercise price of $0.155 per share for a period of two years to directors, officers and consultants, in accordance with the provisions of its stock option plan. The Company currently has 119,257,947 Common Shares issued and outstanding. After giving effect to the above grants, 7,671,000 options will be outstanding. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Alabama Graphite Corp., Donald K. D. Baxter, P.Eng., President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director About Alabama Graphite Corp. Alabama Graphite Corp. is a Canadian-based flake graphite exploration and development company as well as an aspiring battery materials production and technology company. The Company operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Alabama Graphite Company Inc. (a company registered in the state of Alabama). With an advancing flake graphite project in the United States of America, Alabama Graphite Corp intends to become a reliable, long-term U.S. supplier of specialty high-purity graphite products. A highly experienced team leads the Company with more than 100 years of combined graphite mining, graphite processing, specialty graphite products and applications, and graphite sales experience. Alabama Graphite Corp. is focused on the exploration and development of its flagship Coosa Graphite Project in Coosa County, Alabama, and its Bama Mine Project in Chilton County, Alabama as well the research and development of its proprietary manufacturing and technological processing process of battery materials. Alabama Graphite Corp. holds a 100% interest in the mineral rights for these two U.S.-based graphite projects, which are both located on private land. The two projects encompass more than 43,000 acres and are located in a geopolitically stable, mining-friendly jurisdiction with significant historical production of crystalline flake graphite in the flake graphite belt of central Alabama, also known as the Alabama Graphite Belt (source:U.S. Bureau of Mines). A significant portion of the Alabama deposits are characterized by graphite-bearing material that is oxidized and has been weathered into extremely soft rock. Both projects have infrastructure in place, are within close proximity to major highways, rail, power and water, and are approximately three hours (by truck or train) to the Port of Mobile, the Alabama Port Authority's deep-seawater port and the ninth largest port by tonnage in the United States (source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/USACE). The state of Alabama's hospitable climate allows for year-round mining operations and the world's largest marble quarry (which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in Sylacauga, Alabama), is located within a 30-minute drive of the Coosa Graphite Project. On November 30, 2015, Alabama Graphite Corp. announced the results of PEA for the Coosa Graphite Project, indicating a potentially low-cost project with potential positive economics. Please refer to the Company's technical report titled "Alabama Graphite Corp. Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on the Coosa graphite Project, Alabama, USA" dated November 27, 2015, prepared by independent engineering firms AGP Mining Consultants Inc. and Metal Mining Consultants Inc., and filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Note: a preliminary economic assessment is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves and there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized. *Inferred Mineral Resources represent material that is considered too speculative to be included in economic evaluations. Additional trenching and/or drilling will be required to convert Inferred Mineral Resources to Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no guarantee that all or any part of the Mineral Resource will be converted into a Mineral Reserve. For further information and updates on the Company or to sign up for Alabama Graphite Corp. News, please visit www.alabamagraphite.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"), which may include, without limitation, statements with respect to the use of proceeds from the Private Placement. The forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of management and reflect Alabama Graphite Corp.'s current expectations. When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current view of Alabama Graphite Corp. with respect to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among other things, the interpretation and actual results of current exploration activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of graphite; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's publicly filed documents. Forward-looking statements are also based on a number of assumptions, including that contracted parties provide goods and/or services on the agreed timeframes, that equipment necessary for exploration is available as scheduled and does not incur unforeseen breakdowns, that no labor shortages or delays are incurred, that plant and equipment function as specified, that no unusual geological or technical problems occur, and that laboratory and other related services are available and perform as contracted. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and Alabama Graphite Corp. undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements (unless required by law) if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. Alabama Graphite Corp. cautions that the foregoing list of material factors and assumptions are not exhaustive. When relying on Alabama Graphite Corp. forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and assumptions and other uncertainties and potential events. Alabama Graphite Corp. has also assumed that the material factors and assumptions will not cause any forward-looking statements to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors and assumptions is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICE PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE. Website / LinkedIn / Facebook / Twitter Kris Meeke claimed the lead of Vodafone Rally de Portugal after winning Friday mornings opening speed test. Stage info: SS2 Ponte de Lima 1, 27.44km Fridays opener is wide but extremely twisty, with hardly a straight to speak of. After a very short initial asphalt section, the road comprises smooth gravel on top of a clay base. There are a couple more short asphalt stretches where main roads link the gravel sections and far fewer trees possibly a result of last years forest fires. The longest test of the day. The Briton missed the previous two WRC rounds in Mexico and Argentina but was quickly back into the groove in Citroens DS 3 to win the Ponte de Lima special stage by 5.6sec from Sebastien Ogier. It was enough to take a 3.5sec lead over the Frenchman, who was fastest in last nights curtain raiser at Lousada rallycross circuit. The road was cutting up quite badly and I didnt have a clean run, explained Meeke. I made four or five small mistakes, I was a bit rusty. Road opener Ogier was surprised by the high grip. The conditions were OK but I made a mistake with the set-up and struggled a lot with understeer. It was too soft, said the Volkswagen Polo R pilot, who had no recurrence of last nights boost problem. Dani Sordo was third, the Hyundai i20 driver faster than Ogier all the way through the test until falling behind in the final section. I wanted to save the tyres because its a little warm, explained the Spaniard, who was 8.1sec behind Meeke. Hayden Paddon was fourth, despite feeling his i20s engine was not pulling properly, while a steady Andreas Mikkelsen and Jari-Matti Latvala completed the top six. In contrast to team-mate Ogier, Latvala expected conditions to be drier and his cars set-up was too stiff. An overly-cautious Thierry Neuville dropped more than 30sec, the Belgian admitting he was trying to rebuild his confidence after a series of troubled rallies. More News VIDEO Kris Meeke stretched his Vodafone Rally de Portugal advantage over Sebastien Ogier to 11.5sec as competitors returned to Matosinhos for mid-leg service on Friday lunchtime. Stage info: SS3 / SS4 SS3: Caminha 1, 18.03km Caminha is predominantly in the open with spectacular views over the Atlantic Ocean near the finish. It uses mainly mid-sized roads and the surface is bumpy, but its fast in places with several long straights. The final 1.6km is covered with a thick layer of loose gravel. SS4: Viana do Castelo 1, 18.70km This is the fastest stage of the day and also the test with the most loose gravel on the surface to hinder early starters. There are several surface changes and plenty of climbing from 6km onwards. A short section of cobblestones offers a different challenge and the final kilometres run between wind farms on a wide road. Having grabbed the lead by winning the mornings opening speed test, the Briton went fastest in the following Caminha test. He ended the loop with second quickest in Viana do Castelo, despite a big scare early in the stage. I had a big impact when I hit a rut near the start. Something felt strange and it wasnt easy to keep the car in a straight line. I was praying it wasnt a puncture, explained Citroen pilot Meeke, whose DS 3 was emitting a strong smell of burning rubber at the finish. Road opener Ogier lost little time through his start position in the first two stages. Viana do Castelo was a different matter as thick gravel proved costly, but Ogiers fears of losing 15sec proved unfounded as he yielded 5.8sec to stage winner and Volkswagen Polo R team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala. Dani Sordo was third overall in his Hyundai i20 after a great morning. The Spaniard was third in the final test and was only 3.1sec behind Ogier. Despite edging Meeke by 0.2sec in Viana do Castelo, Latvala remained unhappy with his understeering Polo R and planned set-up changes in service. The Finn was tied with Ott Tanak, the Estonian delighted with top four times in SS3 and SS4 in his Ford Fiesta RS. Hayden Paddon was 22.9sec off the lead in sixth, the Rally Argentina winner battling a suspected differential problem in his Hyundai i20. Its not a huge problem but enough to unsettle the balance of the car and affect the driving, said the Kiwi. Andreas Mikkelsen was seventh, despite driving over a big rock. Thierry Neuville, Stephane Lefebvre, who dropped time with a front left puncture in Caminha, and Mads stberg completed the top 10. Kevin Abbring retired his i20 after breaking a steering arm in SS3. More News VIDEO Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016 | UPDATE: 11:50 a.m. AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- Two of four women accused of commercial gambling have been found guilty of a misdemeanor charge. According to the Richmond County Clerk of Court, Stephanie Cowin and Diane Choi will serve 12 years of probation and each pay a thousand dollar fine. Choi and Cowin both pleaded not guilty to the crime. Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016 AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- Two of four women accused of commercial gambling will be sentenced in Richmond County on Thursday. Stephanie Cowin and Diane Choi will face a judge on commercial gambling charges, accused of running illegal gambling at the Lotto Plus on 13th Street. Back in May, two other women who were also arrested for commercial gambling from the Lotto Express on 13th Street and pleaded not guilty in court. Cowin and Choi will be sentenced at 9 a.m. at the Augusta Judicial Center. Friday, May 20, 2016 AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- Two women accused of commercial gambling entered not guilty pleas in a Richmond County courtroom Friday. Hyun Ha Hong, 61, and Sun Chu Han, 57, pleaded not guilty. Hong is accused on one count of commercial gambling and one count of keeping a gambling place. Han is accused of one count of commercial gambling, according to the Richmond County Clerk of Court. Han and Hong were both arrested by undercover deputies at Lotto Express at 203 13th Street on January 21, according to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office. The same day deputies and agents also arrested Stephanie Cowin, 47, and Diane Choi, 50, at the Lotto Plus on 13th Street on commercial gambling charges. Friday, May 13, 2016 AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- The Clerk of Courts says Diane Choi, 50, and Stephanie Cowin, 47, did show up to court. According to the court official Cowin and Choi were late to court. A judge originally issued bench warrants, but once they showed up the bench warrants were recalled. Choi and Cowin are both pleading not guilty. Back in January, Richmond County deputies charged Choi with keeping a gambling place and commercial gambling. Cowin was indicted on charges of commercial gambling. They were both arrested after an investigation at 13th St. at Lotto Plus. Wednesday, May 4, 2016 AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- Four women have been indicted on charges of running illegal cash pay out gambling operations. Diane Choi, 50, was charged with a keeping a gambling place and commercial gambling. Stephanie Cowin, 47, was indicted on charges of commercial gambling. They were both arrested after an investigation at 13th St. at Lotto Plus. Sun Chu Han, 57, was indicted on one count of commercial gambling and one count of keeping a gambling place. Hyun Ha Hong, 61, was indicted on one charge of commercial gambling. Han and Hong were both arrested by undercover deputies at Lotto Express at 203 13th St. The charges stem from an investigation by the Richmond County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia Lottery Coin Operated Amusement Machine Division. Friday, Jan. 22, 2016 AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) -- The Richmond County Sheriff's Office along with the Georgia Lottery Coin Operated Amusement Machine Division have arrested four women accused of running illegal cash pay out gambling operations. The sheriff's office says on Thursday, Jan. 21 undercover deputies and agents arrested Hyun Hong, 61, and Sun Han, 57, at 203 13th St. at Lotto Express. Both Hong and Han are charged with commercial gambling. The same day deputies and agents also arrested Stephanie Cowin, 47, and Diane Choi, 50, at 46 13th St. at Lotto Plus. Both Cowin and Choi are charged with commercial gambling. The total amount seized during this operation was $60,000. LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - Angola's sovereign wealth fund increased its investments in private equity focused on sub-Saharan Africa last year and sharply cut exposure to developed market bonds, the fund said in a statement published on Thursday. The fund said it had $4.7 billion under management at the end of last year, while audited results posted on its website showed it had $4.88 billion at the end of 2014. The fund, known by its Portuguese acronym FSDEA, said 58 percent of the portfolio was invested in funds holding private equity - or unlisted securities and debt - in infrastructure, real estate, agriculture, timber, healthcare, mining and mezzanine capital, according to its investment update. That is a significant increase from end-2014 private equity exposure of 34 percent, as per FSDEA's website. "More than half of Fundo Soberano de Angola's portfolio is allocated to private equity investment funds, which are focused on domestic and regional business opportunities," said the fund's chairman Jose Filomeno dos Santos, who is the son of long-serving President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. "These equity investments will position FSDEA's capital ideally to generate new sources of revenue for Angola, as well as to support the development of new industries, beyond the crude oil production and trading." Almost a fifth of its investments in infrastructure projects was allocated to projects in Angola and Kenya, the statement said. Investments in fixed income fell to less than a quarter of holdings from 56 percent a year ago. These consist predominantly of North American and European assets, FSDEA said. Roughly half were sovereign bonds while another 19 percent was in corporate debt issued by financial institutions. Africa's second-largest oil exporter after Nigeria generates 40 percent of its gross domestic product from crude output, and its economy has been hammered by the steep drop in oil price, prompting government efforts to diversify its economy. The $5 billion fund is still a long way from providing any sort of significant state funding buffer to the government, which is also in talks with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund about possible financial assistance. (Reporting by Karin Strohecker; Editing by Toby Chopra) Centenary Field for WW1 Commemorated in Wrexham This article is old - Published: Friday, May 20th, 2016 An area of Bellevue Park will be dedicated as a Centenary Field to commemorate The First World War this weekend. In a commemorative service held at Bellevue Park at 2pm on Sunday 22nd May, the Mayor of Wrexham, Cllr John Pritchard, will unveil a dedication plaque in memory of those who lost their lives in the Great War. At the ceremony Father Sam Erlandson, Vicar of All Saints Church, Poyser Street, will lead a short service prior to the formal unveiling of the plaque. Ted Edwards Normandy veteran will read the citation after last post and reveille. Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for the Environment and Transport, who will attend the dedication, said: I am very proud that we have been able to honour those who died, many from the Wrexham area, in WW1, with a sustainable and permanent Centenary field. It is particularly appropriate during this the 100th anniversary since the Battle Memetz Wood which saw thousands killed from the Royal Welch Fusiliers which was and is particularly close to peoples hearts in Wrexham. Wrexhams Armed Forces Champion, Cllr David Griffiths, said: I am very privileged and honoured to attend Sundays event. The area in Bellevue Park has been associated with veterans of the wars who have held memorial events there for many years. The area is easily accessible and there is space to hold events in the future in memory of those who have paid the ultimate price in their service to their country. The Centenary Field scheme secures the recreational area for future generations to honour the memory of millions of people who lost their lives in the Great War. The initiative was established by the Fields in Trust with the Royal British Legion and Wrexhams Executive Board agreed to the dedication in March 2015. Fields in Trust Cymru Chairman Ivor Morgan added: This programme is a fitting way for us to mark the sacrifices made by so many in World War I whilst looking to the future through a living remembrance. We are delighted that Wrexham County Borough Council is embracing Centenary Fields, commemorating the centenary of World War I for the people of Wrexham in a way they can appreciate forever. We look forward to many more landowners following their lead. Wrexham Council recently submitted a second bid to host a commemorative and iconic Poppy Display in the town centre. Results of Wrexhams bid are expected in June. Missing 31-Year-Old Woman From Wrexham Found This article is old - Published: Friday, May 20th, 2016 UPDATE: Good news PCSO Tim Edwards had tweeted: Happy to confirm she has been found safe and well. ORIGINAL: Police have this morning issued an appeal to locate a woman last seen leaving work at Eagles Meadow. The missing 31-year-old was last seen around 1:55pm on the 18th of May that is Wednesday afternoon when she was leaving work early at Eagles Meadow. Police added: She then met up with an unknown male. She was wearing black trousers, white shirt, dark jacket, and carrying a dark handbag in left hand, she has long dark hair which was tied up. The male she was with was wearing a blue jacket, dark jogging bottoms, dark trainers and a black beanie hat. Any sightings or information are asked to call police via the 101 number. We will update this when there is any further details. The second round of the presidential election will take place in Austria this Sunday. Norbert Hofer, the candidate of the extreme right-wing Freedom Party (FPO), won the first round decisively with 35 percent of the vote. Second place was taken by the Green candidate Alexander Van der Bellen, who will now take on Hofer. The FPO candidate is currently around 13 percentage points ahead in the polls. In a comment, the WSWS described the FPOs success in the first round as a warning for the whole of Europe. We wrote: It shows that the rise of the right, as well as the return of nationalism, racism and war is unavoidable if the fate of Europe is left to the established parties and the working class does not intervene independently into political events. The election campaign thus far has confirmed this warning. Politically discredited figures who are hated by the population have gathered behind the 72-year-old economics professor Van der Bellen, who has been a member of the Greens executive for many years but entered the race formally as an independent. Van der Bellen puts forward a right-wing programme hardly distinguishable from that of the FPO. In the Green candidates so-called committee of personsmade up of prominent figures campaigning for himthere are several leading figures from the conservative Austrian Peoples Party (OVP) and the social democratic SPO, two parties that have taken turns in government or ruled in coalition for decades, as well as leading figures in business. Former OVP chairmen Erhard Busek, Wilhelm Molterer, Josef Riegler and Josef Proll, former president of the Austrian National Bank Claus Raidl, general secretary of the association of savings banks Michael Ikrath, former Reve board member Werner Wutscher and former Siemens manager and SPO politician Brigitte Ederer have all backed Van der Bellen. The publishers of the gourmet guide Gault-Millau, Karl and Martina Hohenlohe, are backing the Green candidate. The Vienna Social Democrats have given him space on their placards for the election campaign. New SPO Chancellor Christian Kern has not issued an official endorsement, but he did publicly state, Im voting for Alexander Van der Bellen. At the same time, the former rail manager has made clear that under his leadership, the SPO is ready to cooperate more closely with the far-right, racist FPO. The support of large sections of prominent political and business figures for the Green candidate has little to do with the desire to prevent a right-wing extremist from entering the presidential palace in Vienna. Instead, they take the view that the social attacks and other economic reforms, which Kern has pledged to take up, can be implemented more easily under Van der Bellen than under a president Hofer. An appeal to support Van der Bellen signed by several conservative politicians expressed the hope that he would push forward with much awaited reforms. They hoped for a solution to the problems that have built up, which protests, saying no, searching for scapegoats and empty slogans, could not achieve. The head of state has largely ceremonial duties, but is, according to the constitution, commander of the Austrian army and can dissolve parliament in certain cases. Hofer has vowed in the election campaign to make extensive use of these powers. The only fundamental difference between Hofer and Van der Bellen is in their attitude towards the European Union. While Hofer is campaigning as an opponent of the EU, Van der Bellen vehemently defends it, including the austerity measures imposed on Greece and other countries and the sealing off of its external borders to refugees. Other than this, Van der Bellens stance on the refugee issue is little different from that of Hofer, who has made this a central focus in his election campaign. In January, Hofer told the daily Die Presse that he would invite the best constitutional jurists to the presidential palace to implement a legal upper limit for refugees. In addition, he said that with 500,000 unemployed, one should accept economic migrants very reluctantly. On public broadcaster O1s Morgenjournal, he justified making a distinction between refugees from war and economic migrants. He denied that this was a new view, stating, That has always been the case. Van der Bellen has been a right-wing figure within the Greens for years and enforced a hard-right policy on asylum. In an interview on the issue he stated that one had to be able to name problems without injuring the Green dignity. The lack of differences between the two candidates was demonstrated in a debate Sunday on the commercial channel ATV, in which the two candidates duelled for 45 minutes without a moderator, rules or an audience. Anyone expecting the distinguished economics professor to challenge the far-right demagogue with democratic principles would have been sorely disappointed. The programme was a fiasco. Mud-slinging, the lowest level and embarrassing were the most friendly remarks about the television appearance. Political scientist Thomas Hofer summed it up: Both disgraced, office discredited. Even the right-wing tabloid Kronen Zeitung called the broadcast an undignified farce. The discussion was limited mainly to apolitical allegations and bickering. Hofer accused his opponent of being condescending and blabbering on. Van der Bellen said, You know nothing about economic policy, to which Hofer retorted, You have never worked in business. Political issues were only briefly touched upon, with many commentators accusing Van der Bellen of sinking to Hofers level. According to a report released Tuesday by the AFL-CIO union federation, American CEOs in 2015 earned 335 times the pay of a typical hourly, nonsupervisory worker. The figures reflect both the lack of any effective limits on executive compensation and the unrelenting war against the jobs and living standards of the working class. The report noted that CEO pay averaged 800 times the annual compensation of a worker employed full time at the minimum wage. In 2015 the typical CEO of a Fortune 500 index company raked in $12.4 million while a nonsupervisory worker earned on average a paltry $36,900. The rise in CEO pay has been a familiar feature of American life since the early 1980s when a typical CEO made only 42 times an average employee. By 1990 the typical CEO took in 107 times the compensation of an average worker. The $12.4 million figure in 2015 was actually a decline from the average of $13.5 million in 2014 and was largely due to an accounting adjustment reflecting how companies value the present value of future pension benefits. The list compiled by the AFL-CIO does not include other highly paid executives, such as hedge fund managers, whose compensation can reach the billions. For example, Ken Griffin, who runs Chicago-based Citadel, took in $1.7 billion in 2015, edging out James Simons of Renaissance Technologies who pocketed $1.65 billion. Bloomberg reported in April that Patrick Soon-Shiong of Nantkwest, a cancer treatment firm, topped its list of highest paid executives in 2015, taking in $329.7 million in total compensation, mostly in the form of stock options. Topping the list of highest paid Fortune 500 CEOs was Joe Kiani of Masimo Corporation, a manufacturer of patient monitoring technologies, with a compensation of $119 million. His income included $115 million in stock and $1.9 million in cash. In 2012 Masimo faced federal charges resulting from the actions of whistleblowers who alleged that it fraudulently billed Medicare and other government programs for its defective hemoglobin monitoring devices. Among those pocketing hefty pay packages were CEOs at corporations that carried out mass layoffs. For example, Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman took in $17.1 million in 2015. The same year HP axed some 30,000 jobs. Meanwhile, Halliburton CEO David Lesar grabbed $15.9 million in compensation in 2015. That year the oilfield services company cut 6,400 jobs. Caterpillars Doug Oberhelman pocketed $17.9 million in 2015, the same year the heavy equipment maker laid off some 5,000 workers. Lowell McAdams, CEO of strikebound telecom Verizon, took in $18.3 million in 2014. Management is demanding enormous concessions including cuts in health care and pensions for active and retired employees, the right to lay off thousands of call center workers and turning much of the workforce into roaming work crews that could be forced to travel long distances from home. The rise in CEO pay parallels a corresponding fall in wages, with the real income of workers in a decades-long retreat. The administration of President Barack Obama, elected with the full support of the AFL-CIO, has only accelerated this process. Overall, workers wages fell by 4 percent between 2009 and 2014, with the largest fall among the most poorly paid sections. Food preparation workers and cooks saw real wages decline 7.7 percent and 8.9 percent respectively. Retail workers saw their wages fall by 5 percent and personal care aides by 6.6 percent. At the same time, most of the current job growth has been in low wage sectors. Six of the 10 highest growth occupations saw a real wage decline between 2009 and 2014. However, the decline in incomes has not been limited to the poorest paid sectors. Manufacturing wages, once one of the better-paid sectors, are falling. In 2013 the typical manufacturing production worker made 7 percent less than the median wage for all occupations. According to a recent Pew report, the number of people living in middle-income households from 2000 to 2014 fell 4 percent nationally. Among adults overall, the share living in middle-income households fell from 55 percent to 51 percent in the time period covered by the study. At the same time, the median income of US households in 2014 stood at 8 percent less than in 1999. The publication by the AFL-CIO of its report on CEO pay should not divert attention from the fact that the unions have played a crucial role in the growth of social inequality by suppressing the class struggle and sabotaging any movement by the working class against the assault on its living standards. From the 1970s onward the unions have intervened to block strikes and smother any collective resistance by the working class to wage cuts and mass layoffs. Under the two terms of the Obama administration strike levels continue at their lowest levels since before the formation of the mass industrial unions. There were only 12 work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers in 2015, and just 11 in 2014. The largest strike in 2015 involved oil refinery workers across the country who were isolated and betrayed by the United Steelworkers (USW). The USW only called out a small fraction of its membership, eventually saddling workers with contracts containing inadequate pay increases that also imposed unsafe levels of overtime and large co-pays for health care costs. As a result of the strangling of the class struggle, the share of the national income going to wages is at its lowest level since World War II. At the same time, the top .1 percent of US families now own nearly a quarter of US wealth. The AFL-CIO itself is the vehicle for a corrupt upper-middle class layer of highly paid union officials who profit from their collaboration with management. While they dont earn in the tens of millions, they pocket salaries sometimes 10 to 20 times that of ordinary workers. For example, according to the latest US Labor Department filing, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten took in $497,118 in salary and expenses in 2015. Former Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen pocket $201,000 in 2015. The figures reported to the labor department dont include other sources of income from the union bureaucracy, which can often be quite substantial, including management of trust and pensions funds, positions on joint labor-management committees, and compensation from seats on corporate boards. More than 200 international staff members in the CWA took in salary and expenses of over $100,000 in 2015. Meanwhile, 40,000 Verizon workers are being forced to survive on $200 a week in strike pay. On Wednesday, Greens leader Richard Di Natale delivered a foreign policy speech to the Lowy Institute think tank in which he made criticisms of the US-Australia alliance and called for a more independent Australian foreign policy. As the WSWS noted on May 18, there were substantial discrepancies between the speech Di Natale delivered, and the preview of his remarks in the Murdoch and Fairfax press earlier that day. A review of the initial version of Di Natales speech, which his office had sent to the Australian and other media outlets, underscores that the changes to the speech were of considerable political significance. The Greens leader removed any reference to the mounting tensions in the South China Sea, and any remarks that would have drawn attention to Australias integration into the growing US confrontation with China on the economic, military and ideological fronts. The Greens made a conscious decision that their leader would not challenge either of the major parties, Labor and the Liberal-Nationals, or the Obama administration, over policies that are threatening to provoke a war with China. On the tensions in the South China Sea, the earlier version of Di Natales speech contained the following passage: Australia is rapidly escalating our military technology so as to join and contribute to a regional arms race, interceding in a South China Sea proxy war between our two largest trading partners over 4,000 kilometres from our shores, all without diplomatic efforts having even gotten out of first gear. By the time Di Natale mounted the rostrum at the Lowy Institute, this passage had been removed entirely. Over the past 12 months, the US and its allies, including Australia, have ramped-up their campaign against China over longstanding territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Last week, the US military conducted its third freedom of navigation incursion into Chinese-claimed territory in the Sea, provoking the Chinese military to scramble jet fighters and deploy warships. A report released by the Pentagon this week made clear that the US is planning to escalate its military forays into Chinese territory, in a bid to provoke even more bellicose responses from the Chinese military. This reckless policy has the full backing of both the Liberal-Nationals and the Labor Party. The Coalition government of Malcolm Turnbull has repeatedly declared its support for the US provocations and indicated that it asserts the right of Australia to conduct its own freedom of navigation operations. The Labor Party has been even more aggressive, with shadow defence minister Stephen Conroy denouncing Turnbull for not immediately ordering Australian warships and aircraft into Chinese-claimed territory. Di Natales silence is a signal that the Greens will not speak out as the war dangers grow in the South China Sea and will not oppose direct Australian intervention into the conflict. On the economic front, the earlier version of Di Natales speech had denounced the dogged pursuit of the US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement by the Abbott-Turnbull governmentand backed by the Labor Party The Greens leader was to say: With the potentially massive cost to Australia of investor-state dispute settlement provisions, it is clear that this deal doesnt benefit Australians at all. All references to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) were deleted from the speech that Di Natale ultimately delivered. The investor-state dispute settlement provisions are a draconian clause of the TPP that allows corporations to sue governments on the grounds that state policies have hindered investment and business operations. More importantly, the TPP is not a trade agreement. It is an economic bloc dominated by the US and explicitly directed against China. US President Barack Obama made this clear last year, declaring we cant let countries like China write the rules of the global economy. We should write those rules. The omission of the TPP from Di Natales remarks are in line with the support for the US trade war agenda by the dominant factions of the Australian political and corporate establishment. Most significantly, Di Natales speech was edited to remove sentences and expressions that undermined, or even mildly questioned, the underlying ideological justification of the US pivot to Asiathat China is an aggressive and expansionist threat. In the draft speech, the Greens leader was to state that the massive military procurement program outlined by the Liberal-National government and supported by Laborwhich includes over $50 billion allocated to the purchase of 12 potentially nuclear submarines and $17 billion for F-35 Joint Strike Fighterswas being carried out in the absence of an increase in direct threats to Australia. Later on, Di Natale was to state that that the Greens believe we need a defence force that protects Australia, not one that exists to play gate-keeper between two regional powers. Both these comments were deleted. Instead, Di Natale claimed that the military spending was merely an industry policy. He followed this with populist rhetoric about reallocating funding to health, education and climate change policies. The Greens apparently decided that the remarks in the initial version of the speech came too close to the great unmentionable of Australian politicsthat the build-up of the armed forces is aimed at preparing for war with China. At the same time, the reference in the draft to the absence of direct threats to Australia would have called into question the incessant declarations by Washington, its allies and the pliant corporate media that China is a threat to countries throughout the Asia-Pacific. When asked by the moderator for his position on the South China Sea, Di Natale confirmed that the Greens will not challenge the ideological pretext of the pivot. He echoed the establishment claims, referring to what some would say are Chinas aggressive actions and declaring that the Greens were concerned. As the WSWS commented on May 18, Di Natales speech underscores the duplicity of the Greens. While criticising Australias participation in US-led wars in the Middle East, and the use of the Pine Gap military base in central Australia to coordinate the Pentagons criminal drone strike program, the Greens leader contributed to the conspiracy of silence on the danger of war with China. The purpose of Di Natales speech was not to oppose militarism, but to give voice to the concerns of sections of business over the consequences of Australias alignment with the US for its trade relationships, particularly with China. Di Natale was at pains to emphasise that his views were not radical and to stress that they were derived from the positions of former conservative Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser. The truth is that the Greens, no less than Labor and the Liberals, support the US confrontation with China. They have always couched their criticisms of government foreign policy, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq, from the standpoint that the Australian military should focus its operations in the arc of stability in the South Pacific and the Indonesian archipelago, to protect the interests of the Australian corporate and financial elite in its backyard. In 2010, for instance, then Greens leader, Bob Brown warned of growing Chinese influence in East Timor and cited it as a reason to bring troops back from Afghanistan. In 2011, the Greens welcomed President Obamas announcement of the pivot to Asiaits massive military build-up in the Asia-Pacificfrom the floor of the Australian parliament. The author also recommends: Australian Greens leader criticises the US alliancewithout mentioning China [18 May 2016] The British Medical Association (BMA) agreed a deal with the Conservative government and National Health Service (NHS) employers Wednesday, in an effort to sell out the struggle by more than 40,000 junior doctors. The doctors have been in a bitter dispute over the terms of a new contract since 2012 and have held four strikes since January. Last month, in a signal of their determination, doctors carried out the first all-out strike by health workers, without the provision of emergency cover, in the nearly 70-year history of the NHS. The contract agreed by the BMA is even worse than that previously overwhelmingly rejected by junior doctors. The BMA is recommending what it describes as a good deal in a referendum of its members to be held from June 17 to July 1. It agreed to ensure no further strikes are held for the duration of the referendum, with the result to be published July 6. The rejected contract slashed premium rate pay for out-of-hours work, evenings and weekends. Doctors faced an increase in their already notoriously long working hours in a move highly detrimental to their health and to the safety of patients. That contract was set to be enforced in August, after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt took the unprecedented decision in February to impose the contract, following a second day of strikes. After holding a fifth strike last month, the BMA agreed to fresh talks. These were held without any preconditions on its part, with the right-wing media noting this was a significant retreat. The new deal, which will not be published in full and available to BMA members to review until the end of May, includes the following: A proposed rise in basic pay is reduced from 13.5 percent to between 10 percent and 11 percent. Weekends will no longer be divided up between normal and unsocial hours. Saturday and Sundays will count as normal working days between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Premium payments will not be offered as standard for working unsocial weekend hours as previously. Junior doctors working on Saturdays and Sunday will only receive extra payments if they work seven or more weekends in a year. Those working less than seven weekends a year will be paid at their normal rate. The contract stipulates that doctors will receive a percentage of their annual salary for working weekends. They will receive just 3 percent of their salary for working one weekend in seven, and up to 10 percent if they work one weekend in two. Any nightshift which starts at or after 8 p.m. and lasts more than eight hours, and which finishes at or before 10 a.m. the following day, will only be paid at an additional rate of 37 percent for all the hours worked. This is a cut from the 50 percent rate in the rejected contract. The deal was announced after 10 days of talks brokered by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas). It was hailed by Acas chief Sir Brendan Barber, who has a long record of collaborating in the sell-out of workers jobs, terms and conditions as the head of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) from 2003-2012. Barber was knighted under the previous Conservative/Liberal Democrat government after stepping down from the TUC for his 38 years of services to employment relations. He was lauded from the stage of the TUCs annual conference in 2010 by then head of the Bank of England Mervyn King. Referring to the TUCs role following the world financial crash in 2008, King said, Brendan has helped us through some extremely turbulent times. I am grateful. The Tories have secured everything they wanted with a contract they view as instrumental in imposing seven-day working as standard on all NHS workers, without allocating any extra funding or staffing. In Parliament, Hunt said it was a historic agreement, adding that the government had crossed none of its red lines and the proposed contract was cost neutral. Regarding the cost of rostering junior doctors at weekends, the government said the deal cuts costs by a third. News of the deal provoked anger from junior doctors. Dr. Manish Verma told the Guardian, It doesnt seem like an improved deal. Its the BMAs turn for propaganda to try and sell this as a good deal. Looking at the Acas document there seems to have been lots of areas where we have conceded. Its unclear where we have gained anything. Will Rook, a junior doctor in general medicine, said, It hasnt addressed a lot of the concerns I had in the first place around trying to spread a five-day service over seven days without having extra people to do the job. He added, A 10 percent supplement for working one in two weekends a month is a joke. The disruption it causes is immense. A doctor from Birmingham said, There is still a deep sense of anger, injustice, and lingering distrust. The reduction in basic pay compared to the previous offer, the reduction in pay for night working, and the pay changes for Saturdays and Sundays will feel like a concession too far for many doctors. A nurse from Lancashire said the agreement doesnt address our main concerns regarding patient safety. I already know of valued colleagues who have resigned from the profession. A nurse from Plymouth was concerned that people who work the most weekends may be worse off under the new proposals. ... Currently any doctor who works one in two weekends gets a 50 percent banding of their salary, but it seems possible under this new contract that they will only receive a 10 percent banding. In a reference to Johann Malawana, the junior doctors committee chair who led negotiations, one doctor said on Twitter that a comment was overheard in a staff mess room: Johann must have taken a bung. Therell be a lump sum in a Panama bank account. The BBC reported Thursday that the BMA acknowledged it faced an uphill struggle to win the support of its members for its rotten betrayal of their interests. The Guardian described the anger of BMA members as being so intense that Malawana was forced to post a message Wednesday on the junior doctors Facebook page: I truly understand that people are scared and worried. I know there is fear and a hell of a lot of anger. Referring to the government declaring it had won a significant victory, Malawana added, I know that the governments reaction to the contract this evening has not been helpful. The 12-page agreement concludes with an Implementation Process which details that the BMA will hold road shows throughout England as part of selling the deal and will campaign using materials that are jointly agreed with NHS employers and the Department of Health. On Contract Implementation, it states that pending agreement in the ballot, parts of the new contract will be in place in August, with all junior doctors and all new entrants employed under its terms by August 2017. The Socialist Equality Party calls on junior doctors to reject the contract. However, that is not enough. The dispute cannot be left in the hands of the BMA, whose stranglehold must be ended. Doctors should form independent committees to take their fight forward, in a unified struggle with other health staff and workers throughout the UK. At the same time this fight is a political struggle. The defence of pay and the fight against closures cannot be carried out through the unions or the Labour Party. It means a challenge to the grip of the financial and corporate elite based on a socialist and internationalist program. The SEP is building the new leadership in the working class for this fight. For further information visit nhsfightback.org Torrential rains in Sri Lanka have triggered major floods and landslides in 19 out of 24 districts, killing scores, directly affecting half a million people and leaving some 300,000 displaced. According to the latest official figures, 60 people are dead and up to 150 still missing. As the heavy downpour continued yesterday, the official Disaster Management Department warned there would more earth-slips and flooding and called on people to move to safer locations. As well as worst-affected central hill districts, half of Colombo, the capital, has been inundated by the rising Kelani River. In some places, the river level has risen by about six feet, rendering hundreds of thousands homeless. Kegalle district in the central hills has been devastated. On Tuesday evening, three villagesSiripura, Elangapitiya and Pallebagewere completely destroyed by mudslides. The villages were located near Aranayake, 80 kilometres to the north of Colombo. Eighteen bodies were recovered yesterday by army officers deployed for the rescue operations. The officer in charge, however, said no trace was found of about 130 missing persons. Most of the village residents earned a pittance from cultivating tea and spices, such as clove and pepper, on small plots of land. A sudden landslide at Bulathkohupitiya in the same district, buried line rooms (rudimentary tea estate workers accommodation), killing 14 people, including a small child. When WSWS reporters reached the disaster site near Aranayake on Wednesday evening, heavy mud streams were flowing down the mountain. A four-hectare area was covered with a layer of mud that engulfed the villages. Survivors were grimly waiting to see whether the bodies of their loved ones would be found in the thick mud. One of the villagers said: On the day of the landslide, there was a sudden huge sound at about 5.30 in the afternoon. I was inside my house. When I came out to see what was happening, the mountain was flowing. I rushed out, shouting downwards, with my children and wife. People were crying. Everyone had family members who were missing. My eldest brothers child has also disappeared. We are looking for him. About 400 displaced families are currently staying in Buddhist temples and schools in Aranayake. An elderly Siripura villager said the community was built on a converted tea estate. The government in the 1970s divided the property among the landless people and the community was built up. Its only now that we understand the dangerous nature of this place. The ruling people give us some land just to get our votes. Another survivor who lost eight family members denounced the Disaster Management Department, accusing it of not warning villagers about the landslide-prone nature of the Kegalle district and not conducting any scientific studies. Landslide deaths also have been reported from Ratnapura, Galle, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya districts. The majority of flood-affected residents in Colombo, Gampaha, Chilaw and Avissawella areas are from working-class and poor families. In Colombo, these families are located in flood-prone areas such as Vanatamulla, Totalanga, Wellampitiya, Obeysekerapura, Kolonnawa and Blumenthal. Nearly 6,000 people have been impacted in northern Jaffna, with 17 homes destroyed and many others partially damaged. Refugee camps housing war-affected residents are submerged. Fishermen have been hit in the Point Pedro and Mannar areas. At Kilinochchi, also in the north, the roads are blocked by flooded rivers and around 9,000 people are affected. Villages outside Kilinochchi are submerged, causing problems for about 17,000 families. In every area, residents have angrily blamed the government and other state authorities for not providing relief or moving them to safe places. Sri Lankas meteorology department said the catastrophic weather was part of an ongoing El Nino weather pattern, which was creating low pressure in the Bay of Bengal. Torrential rains were now moving toward south India, expected to cause major storms in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The heavy rains began falling in Sri Lankas north and western provinces and the central hills last weekend. In 20012003, an El Nino weather pattern produced severe flooding and landslides. More than a decade on, the authorities have not established flood or landslide warning systems, let alone initiated any preventative measures. Residents in flood- and landslide-prone areas are simply left to their own devices. While floods and landslides are natural disasters, proper infrastructure, rational planning and warning systems would minimise damages and protect human lives. No such methods have been developed by the Sri Lankan ruling class, nor the former British colonial regime. President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe rushed to Aranayake on Wednesday as anti-government discontent grew over the inadequate disaster management and relief services. Promising to do their best for survivors, Sirisena and Wickremesinghe returned to Colombo and allocated a pittance of 150 million rupees (about $US1 million). They then called on Sri Lankans to make donations to disaster relief funds. Housing Minister Sajith Premadasa pledged to provide shelter to all those who lost their homes, but this promise is worthless. In 2014, the then President Mahinda Rajapakse made similar assurances after dozens of people were killed and hundreds were rendered homeless by a landslide at the Meeriyabedda tea plantation. The same pledges were repeated by Wickremesinghe during last years general election. Meeriyabedda tea estate workers and their families, who are still living at makeshift camps, have recently held protests demanding decent homes. Twelve years after the 2004 tsunamiSri Lankas worst natural disaster and one that claimed over 30,000 livesthe country still lacks a proper tsunami-warning system. Many of the tsunami victims were not given homes, while much of the accommodation provided was substandard and is now dilapidated. On Wednesday, Vijitha Herath, an opposition Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna parliamentarian, urged the government to declare a state of emergency, under the guise of expediting relief operations for disaster survivors. Such calls provide an excuse for the government to impose draconian laws, which will be used against workers and the poor. A senior government minister, Lakshman Kiriella, said the government would consider the proposal. The city of Flint City Council chambers was the site of a meeting of the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA) board on Wednesday. The meeting was open to the public as is customary, but when the public comment portion of the agenda was reached, the outpouring of anger of Flint residents from the floor led to the chairman losing control of the meeting. The last public meeting of the KWA board scheduled for April was cancelled, so Wednesdays meeting was the first held since February 17. Since then, countless revelations have emerged in the media about the years-long cover-up of the real state of the poisoned drinking water from the Flint River and the conspiracy, in the first place, to force the city of Flint to cut off its long-established source of safe water from Detroits system and sign on to the KWA pipeline project. The KWA pipeline scheme had been the pet project of Jeff Wright, the Genesee County drain commissioner and a Democrat, for close to a decade. But it never came to fruition until the city of Flint, the largest city by far in the three-county area to be served by the pipeline, committed to 35 percent of its construction costs in April 2013. At that time, Flint was under the command of a state-appointed emergency manager, Ed Kurtz, whose singular mandate was to cut costs. The KWA pipeline project was designed to provide raw, untreated water from Lake Huron to farmers and industrial customers. The pipeline Detroits public water system built in the early 1970s provides treated water from Lake Huron and is just six miles south of the KWA site. The KWA sales pitch was that the cost of their water would be less than from Detroits treated water system. Buying into the promise of cheap water from the KWA led to the scheme of getting free water from the toxic Flint River in the interim until the KWA pipeline was completed. But the decision to use the Flint River as a water source is one that no official has ever publicly taken responsibility for making. Although Wright was the primary mover for Flints switch away from Detroit-supplied water, he claims he had no hand in the decision to use the Flint River as a source. In his official capacity as drain commissioner, Wright anticipated the interim period of the KWA pipeline construction by buying a nine-mile stretch of pipeline from the city of Flint so outlying Genesee County could still receive the treated water from the Detroit system it had always been getting. Authorities ignored warnings that Flints virtually mothballed water treatment facility did not have the manpower or capacity to treat the water with anti-corrosives, and essentially rolled the dice with untreated water from the Flint River, long a dumping ground for General Motors industrial waste. The KWA project provided lucrative opportunities to politically connected contractors and some have raised it may also be beneficial to the fracking industry. Early in Wednesdays meeting, KWA CEO Wright declared his pride in announcing that the pipeline construction was on time and would be completed by June or July. He then dropped the other shoe. It would be another year before the completion of the treatment plant that would allow water to be piped into homes in outlying Genesee County. As far as the city of Flint, Wright estimated that the timeframe would be similar to complete the upgrades to its treatment facility. And, he added, that because of the federal Environmental Protection Agencys requirement that the water be tested for from three to six months before being used as a public source, another three-mile stretch of pipe would have to be built to accommodate this. The costs, as well as who would pay for it and who would build it, were underdetermined, he said, and outside the purview of the KWA contract. KWA attorney Kevin Kilby backed up Wright in this assertion by citing point 4.37 of the 2013 contract between Flint and the KWA. Flint city councilman and KWA board member Eric Mays described this as dropping a bombshell. Some 50 to 60 people sat in the audience. Flint residents rose to speak from the floor one after another to express their outrage. KWA chairman Greg Alexander tried to direct speakers to address only agenda items and limit their remarks to two minutes, but it became clear that he could not control the meeting. One speaker, to loud applause from the floor, called the KWA a conspiracy, saying, I never wanted anything to do with it! If we had a choice, none of us would want the KWA! Another speaker pointed out that no one on the board presented any real options for us! Leroy Jackson, pointing to Wright, said, Wright stole our nine miles of pipeline! And to the board as a whole, proclaimed, Get out of Flint and dont come back! Christopher spoke about transparency, adding, Who owns the property under the pipeline? All that information should be in the KWA reports, he said. Lucille Williams brought her young son up to the microphone and addressed Wright about his comments on the additional costs and delay in getting Flint online. How dare you? she said. Then, appealing to Flints mayor, Karen Weaver, who sat silently next to the chairman, she called for renegotiating. To provide a political cover to herself, Weaver recently made public comments that Flint may break its deal with the KWA. Williams added, Were tired, and were fed up, but were holding on. We dont have to stay with KWA! Well shut this city down if we have to! Im not scared! Tony Palladeno made the point that it is a conscious policy of KWA to pile extra costs on the poor peoplewhite and black. Keith, a Flint resident, charged Wright and other KWA officials with lying to get Flint signed on. He added, Obama was hereyour presidentnot mine any more because he came here and said it didnt matter if we were being poisoned because when he was little he was poisoned too and he turned out all right. If you believe that, I have some property you might be interested in buying! He also directed a comment to Mayor Weaver that he has lost all respect for her because of the actions of her staff. The eruption at the meeting is example of deep class tensions in the city. The water crisis was only brought to international attention because of the determined resistance of the working-class residents of Flint. Since last October, when Michigan governor Rick Snyder finally admitted that Flints drinking water was poisoned with lead and other toxins and was forced to provide the funds to return to Detroit water, new revelations of corruption and conspiracy have emerged virtually every day. At the same time, virtually nothing has been done to bring relief to residents. The antiquated lead pipe system remains, and only a pittance has been provided for the lifelong challenges that children in the city face. Finishing the KWA pipeline, as Wright revealed at Wednesdays meeting, only brings more problems to light. The recklessness with which the scheme was hatched and the lies by which it was sold are being exposed. Politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, give lip service to clean water but behind the scenes make deals to allow corporate interests to profit from supplying this most basic of all needs to the population. Obamas cynical everything is fine appearance in Flint is a warning that both big-business parties intend to sweep the water crisis under the rug. It is clear, however, that Flint workers have no intention of accepting that. The morning commute in Manhattans bustling theater district came to a terrifying halt Wednesday as nine New York Police Department (NYPD) gunshots ripped through a busy intersection packed with tourists and residents. When the smoke cleared, a 46-year-old man lay face down in the middle of the intersection, his hands cuffed behind his back. Two trails of blood streamed down the pavement away from his lifeless body. Ambulance workers soon arrived to tend to another victim, a woman on a business trip from California. She was loaded onto a stretcher and rushed to a local hospital. Garry Conrad, an Upper Manhattan resident and underemployed theater stagehand, became the latest in a long tally of those killed by police. Nationwide, police killed more than 1,100 last year alone, according to a count by the Guardian. That number of victims due to the violence of the NYPD in the last 15 years is approaching 200. Wednesdays killing began as a common instance of drunken and disorderly behavior. Conrad attempted to buy a six-pack of beer at a supermarket on 49th Street and Eighth Avenue, but was ejected from the store for unruly and offensive outbursts. Conrad had a history of alcohol problems and was believed to be homeless. A fellow stagehand described him to the New York Daily News as soft-spoken and gentle, but after he suffered a head injury during a mugging several years ago developed anger issues. A witness to the commotion in the supermarket alerted a nearby police officer, on duty to monitor picket lines of striking Verizon workers. Outside the store, the officer responded to an aggravated Conrad by grabbing his backpack from behind and wrestling the man to the ground. As Conrad returned to his feet, he took out an eight-inch knife. NYPD Chief James ONeill told the press that Conrad refused orders to drop the knife and continued approaching the officer, knife in hand. Two other officers on the scene reacted by unloading a storm of bullets, fatally wounding the victim. One of the police bullets struck the female passerby in the arm. Police officials presented her gunshot wound as minor, but she was taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment. Wednesdays incident was far from unique. Several times over the past few years NYPD officers shocked crowds on Manhattan streets by opening fire in broad daylight, often targeting mentally disturbed individuals. Nearly a year ago officers shot and killed a 30-year-old schizophrenic man carrying a hammer just 12 blocks south on Eighth Avenue. In 2013 police wounded 11 bystanders and killed two mentally ill men in three separate shootings, all in high-traffic areas of Midtown Manhattan. NYPD spokesmen and media outlets rushed to declare Wednesdays killing as justified on the grounds of self-defense. There was no accounting for whether the aggressiveness of the officers escalated what may have otherwise been peacefully resolved, no hand-wringing over wounding an innocent onlooker and no concern over unleashing such brutal violence in full public view. New York Citys Democratic mayor Bill de Blasio did not even feel compelled to issue a statement. As far as city leaders are concerned, this is routine business, there cannot and will not be any changes to the NYPDs practice of shoot first, ask questions later. The treatment of New York Citys mentally ill is particularly severe. With grossly inadequate mental health services to provide care for those in need, mental breakdowns are typically treated as criminal matters, with all the violence that entails. Unstable individuals are frequently hauled off in body bags and left to rot in hellish conditions in the citys notorious Rikers Island jail. An estimated 40 percent of the 11,000 inmates there are considered to have some form of mental illness. The license of the police to kill with impunity, in New York as elsewhere throughout the country, is bound up with intensifying class tensions. The unconstrained buildup of police forces has been overseen by the Obama administration, which supplies local police forces with military-grade weaponry recycled from decades of war in the Middle East. In New York City, reliance on police forces to keep a check on historic and ever-growing levels of inequality has taken the form of mayor de Blasios support for broken windows policing, which emphasizes the prosecution of petty violations as a supposed deterrent for more serious crime. Despite the decreasing reliance on stop and frisk techniques used by the previous administration, the police brutality remains an essential and daily feature of class rule. The author also recommends: Slaughter on Seventh Avenue [14 August 2012] As the Zika virus threatens a worldwide epidemic, and large areas of the United States are poised to be hit, the US Congress has yet to pass a bill authorizing the large sums needed to fight the virus and the diseases caused by it. As the virus continues to spread, however, the US House voted on Wednesday to approve a $602 billion defense policy bill for the fiscal year beginning October to fund the US military. The bill must be reconciled with a version the Senate is expected to consider by the end of May. Several months ago, the Obama administration requested $1.9 billion to combat Zika, a figure far below what is needed. The House on Wednesday passed a bill to provide $622 million (about one one-thousandth of the military budget) to control Zika, and requires that the funds be fully offset by cuts to other spending, particularly the Affordable Care Act. The Senate voted on Thursday to pass its $1.1 billion version and proposed to add the cost to the deficit. President Obama has pledged to veto the House bill and has yet to comment on the Senate version. All of these funding proposals are woefully inadequate to fight the threat of Zika in the US. They express the opposition of the entire political establishment to any serious steps against a virus that overwhelmingly affects the poor and vulnerable. The priority of the ruling class and its political representatives is not the protection and wellbeing of the vast majority of Americans, but funding the gigantic US military apparatus that is deployed throughout the world to prop up dictatorships and to maim and kill civilians. The US Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) confirmed in March that there was sufficient evidence to establish that the Zika virus causes microcephaly, a devastating defect in which infants are born with smaller than normal heads as their brains fail to properly develop. Zika is also thought to cause GuillainBarre syndrome and other autoimmune conditions that are potentially fatal. Contraction of Zika is more common in areas that lack sanitation and garbage collection, and have pools of standing water where the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquito species that carry the virus can breed. Homes without window screens and bed netting are also at risk. The virus can also be sexually transmitted. The Pan American Health Organization reported the first confirmed Zika virus infections in Brazil in 2015. About one million cases of Zika infection are now reported in Brazil, which is in the midst of a devastating economic crisis. The number of babies suspected and confirmed to have Zika-induced microcephaly is in the area of 5,000. The epicenter of the Zika crisis is in the countrys Northeast, where 35 million people have no running water and over 100 million lack access to sewage systems. The CDC has reported mosquito-borne transmission of the Zika virus in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and American Samoa. Puerto Rico is reporting about 100 confirmed cases per week, and 945 infections since the islands outbreak began last year, 65 of them pregnant women. Last Friday, the US territorys health department reported the first fetus to develop microcephaly, which was not carried to term. Puerto Rico defaulted on $347 million of its debt payments on May 2. Last year, the government cut $250 million in appropriations for public health, resulting in the closure of hospitals and health care centers and job losses for thousands of public employees. The default will further curb efforts to fight the spread of Zika. The virus will undoubtedly move north, beginning with the US South. The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) looked at 50 US cities where the Aedes and related mosquito species are known to exist. NCAR assessed cities for Zika risk due to temperature, proximity to airports and overall socioeconomic conditions. NCAR created a map showing potential areas for significant breeding of the Aedes mosquitos throughout the country. Five Florida cities have been identified as high-risk, and cities in Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama also have high-risk cities. Many of these areas have low access to air conditioning and windows with effective screens and greater difficulty accessing clean water. Moderate risk for Zika has been identified in cities as far north as New York City, and as far west as Oklahoma City. CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden told ABC News that there is a narrow window of opportunity to tackle the growing Zika threat. This is an unprecedented problem, he warned. Weve never had a situation before where a single mosquito bite could lead to a devastating fetal malformation. Politicians in Washington, however, are unmoved by the potential social catastrophe. The Obama administrations efforts related to Zika include incentives for the drug companies, offering them expedited approval of new drugs in return for ramping up their research to develop a vaccine to protect against the virus. The pharmaceuticals have previously balked at doing such research, as it is not likely to bring in big profits. The Zika virus and its horrifying effects, particularly on infants, are born of poverty and social inequality. They can be fought only on the basis of an internationally coordinated campaign, providing the resources to not only rapidly develop and distribute vaccines to fight it, but to eradicate the conditions of poverty and oppression that cause them to spread. There are more than enough resources to be used to combat Zika and other modern-day plagues, but their utilization is blocked by the capitalist system, which subordinates all such concerns to the profits of a tiny financial oligarchy and its agenda of war abroad and social counterrevolution at home. As strikes and protests mount across France, social opposition to the unpopular labour reform imposed last week by Socialist party government without a parliamentary vote by using article 49.3 of the French constitution last week, is escalating. The pro-business law allow unions and bosses to negotiate contracts violating Frances Labour Code, lengthen the work week, facilitate mass sackings, and undermine job security for young new hires. Denouncing the PS governments regressive reforms and anti-democratic method, hundreds of thousands of workers and youth protested the law for the second time this week yesterday. According to trade unions, 100,000 marched in Paris and 90,000 in Marseille. Between 1,000 and 6,000 marched including in Saint-Nazaire, Le Havre, Rouen,Bordeaux, Lyon, Toulouse and Strasbourg, according to police. In Nantes, 800 people took part in a banned demonstration. Sections of workers also entered into struggle, with truck drivers, transport workers and air traffic controllers mounting strikes this week. Truck drivers continue to blockade strategic part of highways nationwide, including access to the airport of Toulouse-Blagnac in the Southwest. In Marseille, truck drivers blocked roads near the industrial zone of Fos-sur-mer. In the west, blockades were set up in Rennes and Nantes. Six of eight Frances oil refinery operation, including Total's operations in Donges, are disturbed by blockades, causing shortages in petrol stations. Near Le Havre, two refineries were blocked. In La Rochelle, the access to oil terminals were blocked. In northwestern France, some 70 Total petrol stations were out of fuel, almost a fifth of the network. Yesterday train services were reduced by more than 50 percent by a second straight day of strikes. The strike by air traffic controllers disturbed the traffic with the cancellation of flight, including at Paris Orly airport. As social anger mounts against the law, President FrancoisHollandes government is resorting to police repression against protesters after endorsing a protest mounted by the Alliance police union together with the neo-fascist National Front (FN) on Wednesday. Yesterday, security forces violently attacked protesters. In Lyon, police used water cannon to try to push back protesters. In Rennes, police arrested 19 people in the subway they have placed in custody for degradation of public goods. In Nantes, the security forces used tear gas to prevent protesters from reaching the center of the city, behind the castle of the Dukes of Brittany. 1,300 people have reportedly been arrested during weeks of protest and 819 people have been held in custody, including some 51 with harsh sentences. Protesters told WSWS reporters in Amiens of a 22-year-old female law student, Manon, now facing charges for allegedly assaulting riot police during a peaceful occupation of the town of Amiens by the #UpAllNight movement on April 28. Prosecutors are demanding a five-year prison sentence. Defying police repression, workers and students vow to continue fighting the law, denouncing the Hollande governments anti-democratic method to impose the law to pursue the attack on social and democratic rights of the working class. A high-school student and a friend of Manon, Mathilde, told the WSWS, I want to tell your readers that we are determined to continue until the law is withdrawn, and we expect more people to join us. With 49-3, the government is trying to use force, it doesnt care what we think. It is completely killing the principle of democracy. WSWS reporters in Paris spoke to Romain and Pierric, two young workers in the demonstration at the Place de la Nation. They denounced the imposition of the labor law using article 49-3: Its ridiculous ... its a scandal. They have no strategy, they just do everything business wants. They have no way to argue for their rotten law, so they just try to ram everything through. They said that they were not surprised by the fact that the PS and its pseudo-left ally Left Front backed the protest organised the Alliance police union with the FNs support. They added, Now they are just going all-out with repression, their goal is to discourage protests, and to demoralise protesters so they do not mobilise ... They are willing to use any trick, of course, including the FN, it is not as if they had principles or ethics. Workers and student also face threats and attacks from pro-PS trade unions that feel compelled to organise protests to prevent social opposition from escaping their control and developing into a challenge to the PS. In Marseille, a student, told the WSWS that the the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) personnel had attacked them when they were blocking a highway, adding, Democracy is more and more under attack, the 49-3 disgusts me. Malia, another student, also criticized the CGT for attacking youth in the demonstrations: The CGT tear-gassed us, they use violence with us even when we are being gassed by the riot police. They dont let us shelter with them during the protests to be safer. So we are isolated, we get frustrated, and we want to be more independent. The struggle must be taken out of the hands of the unions and their student union allies, and develop into a broader struggle of the entire working class in France and across Europe against austerity, war, and the state of emergency. The PS government will not give up the labor law despite growing anger, and workers and youth cannot rely to oppose it on the unions and pseudo-left parties like the New Anti-capitalist Party, who work closely with the PS. If the struggle remains under the influence of these petty bourgeois organisations, which have no base of support in the working class, the struggle against the law will be sold out ultimately. The PS on its part is signaling that, having passed its law, it intends to press ahead and prepare even further crackdowns against protests. Yesterday, Prime Minister Manuel Valls urged unions leaders to take responsibility to call off protests against the labor law. He claimed that turnout was waning and denounced protesters for attacking police. He demanded that protests cease, stating, If on each protest there are delinquents today, we must ask whether some of these protests are really justified. Anyway, [trade union] security staffs, working of close with the support of the police, must take all measures to prevent delinquents from joining in with the crowd of demonstrators. Valls also threatened to use police forces to smash roadblocks set up by truck drivers, urging the CGT to show responsibility on this issue. iStock/Thinkstock(ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.) -- Two months after three teen girls drove to their deaths in a St. Petersburg, Florida pond following a police chase, activists are picketing outside the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office to protest the departments comments about the deceased girls. "What really disturbed us the most is how the girls were characterized after their deaths," Devan Cheaves, a spokesperson for the event organizers, Bay Area Dream Defenders, told ABC News. "We want to redirect the narrative, that they are kids and not criminals." Some 30 activists, along with the attorney representing the girls families, Michelle Whitfield, dressed in black and held signs that said Black Girls Matter and #SayHerName. The rally organizers, Dream Defenders, are a Florida-based group of young social activists who call themselves an uprising of communities in struggle. They tied this protest to the upcoming "National Day of Action for Black Women and Girls" on May 21, to call attention to women who they say have been victims of police brutality. They use the hashtag #SayHerName in social media. Chanting the names of the girls, the group briefly blocked a section of Ulmerton Road by forming a human chain before sheriffs ordered them to clear the road, according to reports. The Pinellas County Sheriffs Office did not respond to ABC News' request for comment. "I was there [today] with my client to bring awareness," Whitfield told ABC News. Whitfield maintains that the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office refuses to be held accountable for their actions leading up to, during, and after, the March 31 incident. After the teens drowned in March, the Sheriffs Office said the 15- and 16-year-olds were driving a stolen car when they led police on a high speed chase. Officials then described their juvenile records. Theyve been arrested seven times in the last year on just auto theft charges, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told ABC News last month. These are not good kids. These are kids who are heavily engaged in criminal activity. My daughter was not perfect, Natasha Winkler, the mother of Laniya Miller, one of the girls who drowned, told ABC's Tampa Bay affiliate WFTS last month. What 15-year-old is? The families and Whitfield believe the officers chose not to help the screaming girls after the allegedly stolen car plunged into a deep pond at the Royal Palm Cemetery. The Sheriff's Office has since released dash-cam footage and a more-than-100-page report of the incident, but Whitfield says more questions than answers remain. I dont see anyone wet. I dont see anyone drenched, Whitfield said last month. No one said, Hey, Im going in there to help these girls. I find it hard to believe that they actually went in. Gualtieri said that, although no rescue effort was captured on video, the officers involved in the chase did enter the pond, described in the police report as heavily vegetative and approximately 15 feet deep. The officers got in the pond and just because its not on cam doesnt mean it didnt happen, Gualtieri said. The Sheriff's Office says they are awaiting toxicology reports from the girls autopsies. "What do the toxicology reports have to do with if they did or did not follow their own procedures?," Whitfield asked. "What does it have to do with if they did or did not attempt to rescue these girls?" Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. The corporate-controlled mass media in the United States is intensifying its slander campaign against supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders over allegations of violence during last Saturdays Nevada state Democratic Party convention. This campaign continues despite documented falseness of many of the initial claims by state Democratic Party officials. There were no chairs thrown, a staple of early media reports (one man apparently brandished a chair, but was persuaded by Sanders supporters to put it down). No one was arrested or charged with any violent action, despite the presence of dozens of Clark County sheriffs deputies. Many Sanders supporters have posted cellphone videos of the convention online to rebut the charges of violence. The World Socialist Web Site has made clear our political differences with the self-described democratic socialist from Vermont. His campaign aims to repackage the Democratic Party, a party of the corporate and financial aristocracy, as a vehicle for social reform, directing the growing anti-capitalist sentiment of millions of workers and youth into a political dead-end. The attack on Sanders supporters by the Hillary Clinton campaign, the Democratic Party establishment and the media, however, is a political provocation. The media campaign reached new heights of cynical distortion Thursday, as the New York Times, which sets the agenda for the television networks and much of the daily press , presented the story in its top-right front-page column, traditionally the location of the most important national news. Aside from enormously exaggerating the significance of the incidents in Nevada, now five days old, the Times published its report under the sensationalized headline, Sanders Willing to Harm Clinton in Homestretch. In the context of an account regurgitating unsubstantiated allegations of violence, the wording of the headline was clearly aimed at suggesting that Sanders and his supporters were capable of physical and not merely political harm to Clinton. The bulk of the Times article was a review of the preparations of the Sanders and Clinton campaigns for the final three weeks leading to the June 7 primaries in California, New Jersey and several smaller states, including an admission by the Clinton camp that Sanders could well prevail in California, the most populous US state, with 475 convention delegates. Despite the clear evidence of widespread support for Sanders, including his victory May 17 in Oregon, large rallies on an almost daily basis, and polls showing he would do better than Clinton against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, the Times account described Sanders continuing in the presidential race as deeply troubling to party leaders. The report also denounced Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver, claiming that his attacks on the obvious pro-Clinton bias of the Democratic National Committee had somehow disheartened Sanders campaign workers who wanted to unify the party. It went on to sneer at Weaver as a man who more recently ran a comic book store and encouraged a near-obsession with perceived conspiracies on the part of Mrs. Clintons allies. If the New York Times threw the largest volume of mud, the Washington Post editorial Thursday was the most politically venomous. After recapitulating the official Democratic Party narrative of what happened at the convention, the editorial denounced Sanders for self-righteousness and hypocrisy. The Post then revealed its ferocious political hatred, directed not so much at Sanders as against the left-wing sentiments that animate his supporters. Sanders, the editorial continued, has stirred up populist energy over the past several months with anti-corporate scapegoating and extravagant claims about policy. He has indulged and encouraged hyperbolic feelings that the country is badly adrift, that most of the nation agrees with a left-wing agenda but is trapped in a corrupt system, and that nothing but a political revolution will do. The Post editors actually describe the real political situation in America more sharply than Sanders usually does, and there is nothing extravagant or hyperbolic about it. Most workers and youth in America do agree with a left-wing agendafull employment, raising wages to a decent level, guaranteed access to health care, education and other public services, an end to war and police violenceeven if their agreement is not fully articulate and overlaid by much political confusion about how to achieve it. They are trapped in a corrupt system. As for political revolution, Sanders has sought to transform that concept into a mere electoral mobilization in support of the Democratic Party. It is clear that the Post editors fear something far more sweeping: a genuine mass movement that would threaten the profit system. There are also clear class reasons for the Posts resentment over anti-corporate scapegoating. The newspaper is now owned by one of Americas richest men, Amazon.com boss Jeff Bezos, whose global corporate empire is notorious for low-wage exploitation and brutal sweatshop conditions. The hirelings of Bezos are naturally fearful that the man who signs their paychecks could become the target of a left-wing agenda. They fearand in this they are correctthat the mass support for Sanders only foreshadows a much more radical and sweeping political eruption from below. This author also recommends: The Democratic Party establishment witch-hunts Sanders supporters [19 May 2016] According to unsubstantiated claims by the Pentagon, at least two Chinese J-11 tactical aircraft carried out an unsafe intercept of a United States EP-3 surveillance aircraft as it was conducting a routine mission in international airspace over the South China Sea on May 17. The allegations came amid a series of inflammatory calls by the Pentagon, senior US military commanders and White House officials for a trigger for a confrontation with China, supposedly to counter its expanding activities in the seas contested territorial waters. Considerable doubt surrounds the latest US accusations. The Pentagon refused to release photographs of the incident, citing national security concerns. Even the location was unspecified, but was said to be east of Chinas Hainan Island and south of Hong Kong. The claims are nevertheless alarming. A Pentagon official alleged on May 18 that the Chinese jets came within 15 metres of the American aircraft. A military official told the Associated Press news agency that the US pilot was forced to descend about 60 metres to avoid a collision. No explanation was provided for what the spy plane was doing off the coast of China. EP-3 aircraft are commonly deployed as electronic eavesdroppers, known by the acronym ARIES, or Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System. If China flew similar aircraft near the American coast, the US would certainly react in the most threatening manner. The Pentagons description of the Chinese response as unsafe itself demonstrates how quickly such an incident could become a flashpoint for a US military attack on China. The accusation implied that Chinas planes breached protocols signed with Washington in recent years, ostensibly to prevent military clashes from igniting conflagrations. The incident came just a week after China, for the first time, scrambled fighter jets as a US guided missile destroyer provocatively sailed within the 12-nautical mile zone around a Chinese-controlled reef in the South China Sea. That reaction by Beijing marked an escalation of US-China tensions, signaling a readiness by China to respond militarily to such US incursions. US warships have now entered Chinese-claimed waters three times since last October, under the pretence of defending freedom of navigation in the strategic sea, which hosts one of the worlds largest trade routes, on which China depends heavily for its imports and exports. In the lead-up to the May 17 clash, top US generals made bellicose statements accusing China of upsetting regional stability by building facilities on disputed islets. They vowed to step up US operations in the South China Sea, complaining that Beijing was coercively expanding its power, while carefully avoiding a conflict with the US. Without naming China, General Robert Neller, the commandant of the Marine Corps, told a panel discussion at a Navy League Sea-Air-Space exposition on May 16: Certain nations kind of take advantage or do things that are short of conflict They are very subtle and very calculated. The US would exercise our sovereign rights under international law to transit the seas and see where that takes us. Neller added: Hopefully that creates stability and not instability. The US Coast Guards top officer, Admiral Paul Zukunft, was more explicit. He said the imminent ruling by the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on a US-backed Philippines legal challenge to aspects of Chinas claims in the South China Sea could serve as a triggering mechanism. The court is expected to declare Chinese occupation of some islets and reefs illegal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). As Zukunfts remarks indicate, the US government will exploit such a finding to justify even more aggressive military operations, including from bases in the Philippines. There will be a few triggering mechanisms over the coming year and one of them will be the rendering of the UN tribunal ... at a point when our relationship with the Philippines is growing ever closer, Zukunft said. These comments reflect the axis of an annual Pentagon report to the US Congress on Chinas military capacity, released on May 13. This years document accused China of adding about 3,200 acres to islets to use them as persistent civil-military bases to enhance its long-term presence in the South China Sea significantly. Chinas alleged coercive tactics, the report asserted, were designed to walk right up tobut not crossthe threshold of provoking the United States, its allies and partners, or others in the Asia-Pacific region into open conflict. The report declared: China demonstrated a willingness to tolerate higher levels of tension in the pursuit of its interests, especially in pursuit of its territorial claims in the East and South China Sea. More broadly, the Pentagon painted a sensationalised picture of China seeking global power by military means. Paragraph one of the report stated: Chinese leaders have characterized modernisation of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) as essential to achieving great power status and what Chinese President Xi Jinping calls the China Dream of national rejuvenation.... The long-term, comprehensive modernization of the armed forces of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) entered a new phase in 2015 as China unveiled sweeping organisational reforms to overhaul the entire military structure. It continued: These reforms aim to strengthen the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) control over the military, enhance the PLAs ability to conduct joint operations, and improve its ability to fight short-duration, high-intensity regional conflicts at greater distances from the Chinese mainland. The Pentagon report, which was endorsed by the Obama administration, underscores that the US is on a military collision course with China. Introducing the document, Abraham Denmark, deputy assistant secretary of defence for East Asia, alleged China was expanding its capabilities in every field: China continues to invest in military programs and weapons designed to improve power projection, anti-access area denial and operations in emerging domains such as cyberspace, space and the electromagnetic spectrum. In particular, the report noted areas in which China could start to match the Pentagons arsenals within the next decade. Chinas navy now possessed the largest number of vessels in Asia, with more than 300 surface ships, submarines, amphibious ships, and patrol craft and by 2020 would have between 69 and 78 submarines. China also had the largest air force in Asia and the third largest in the world, with more than 2,800 total aircraft. It was rapidly closing the gap vis-a-vis Western counterparts across a broad spectrum of capabilities from aircraft and command-and-control (C2) to jammers, electronic warfare (EW), and datalinks. China was the only country other than the United States to have two concurrent stealth fighter programs. Beijing responded with angry denials of aggressive intent, while vehemently defending its military expansion. Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the Pentagons report. Moves such as deepening military reforms and the military buildup are aimed at maintaining sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and guaranteeing Chinas peaceful development. In reality, the CCP regime is defending the interests of a corrupt oligarchy that restored capitalism in China on the backs of the super-exploited working class. It is attempting, like the US ruling elite, to drum up patriotic fervor behind a militarist course that threatens workers in China, the US and globally with the danger of catastrophic nuclear war. The author also recommends: War danger grows following new US provocation in South China Sea [11 May 2016] The strike by 39,000 Verizon workers in the eastern United States is at a crossroads. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) are currently meeting behind closed doors with Verizon executives and Obama administration officials. They are working on a rotten agreement and trying to figure out how they can get it past angry and determined workers. The Obama administration, which has overseen the greatest transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top in US history, fears that a prolonged strike could get out of control of the unions and spark a broader movement of the working class. This is particularly true in metropolitan areas at the center of the strike, including New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, where millions of workers and young people are facing relentless attacks even as corporate profits and the stock markets hit record highs. If Verizon workers are to prevent an even more disastrous defeat than the sellout of the 2011 strike, rank-and-file workers must take the conduct of this battle into their own hands. This means the formation of strike committees free from the authority of the union bureaucracy to fight for the mobilization of the entire working class to defeat the government-backed attack by the telecom giant. In an effort to undermine their resolve and sow as much complacency as possible, the union executives and their apologists constantly repeat the slogan, One day longer, one day stronger. One article, published in the Jacobin magazine, adds, This is particularly true of a strike like this one, which is by design and circumstances a war of attrition. This is a vile lie. Each day that goes by without a mobilization of the working class behind the Verizon strikers leaves them further exposed to provocations by the police, firings for alleged picket line misconduct and further economic hardship that the CWA and IBEW will use to starve workers into submission. While they sit on a half-billion dollar defense fund, the CWA and IBEW are paying out only $300 a week in strike pay, while its executives continue to collect their lavish salaries and perks. This includes the nearly one million dollars pocketed by the top two IBEW executives. From the beginning, the CWA and IBEW, along with the AFL-CIO and Change to Win federations, have sought to isolate the struggle of Verizon workers. The main reason the CWA forced workers to labor without a contract for eight monthsgiving Verizon ample time to prepare its strikebreaking operationwas because the unions did not want a strike to coincide with the contract expirations of nearly 200,000 auto and steel workers. The Verizon workers were told to keep working while the UAW and USW rammed through concession-laden contracts. The CWA has kept 16,000 AT&T West workers in California and Nevada working without a contract since April 9 in order to prevent a telecom strike by workers on both coasts. The CWA has also submitted the contract of 24,000 flight attendants and United Airlines to federal mediation. The unions hope that as workers limited savings disappear, they will be more willing to accept concessions. There is a particular incentive for the CWA and IBEW to shut the strike down before early June when unemployment benefits will kick in for 14,000 out of the 39,000 workers who live in New York State. With a little less pressure, the unions fear, workers will dig in for a prolonged fight. For its part, the AFL-CIO has been virtually silent on the Verizon workers, leaving strikers to fight this battle without broader support. Just look at the web site of the AFL-CIO. There is not a single mention of the Verizon strike on the front page. One would have no idea that at this moment one of the largest strikes in recent years has been going on for a month. The unions are determined to conceal the role of the Obama administration and the Democratic Party, which no less than the Republicans is a determined enemy of the working class. Last week the National Labor Relations Board requested and received from a federal judge an injunction barring strikers from picketing New York City area hotels that are housing strikebreakers. The ruling was made right after a vanload of scabs, escorted by police, ran down a striking worker. The incident revealed the massive strikebreaking effort by Mayor Bill de Blasio and other Democrats. The unions silence on the police violence has only encouraged further attacks by scabs on strikers in Massachusetts and New York in a chilling reminder of the 1989 murder of NYNEX striker Edward Gerry Horgan. In the surest sign that a sellout is imminent, the CWA has sought to bar WSWS reporters from picket lines. In the face of the corporate media and union blackout of information, thousands of striking workers each day turn to the WSWS and its Verizon Strike Newsletter for the truth and to express their views to a wider working-class audience. The CWA, which endorsed the self-proclaimed democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, is now resorting to ever-more frantic redbaiting against the WSWS. That is because, unlike Sanders, we do not cover up for the unions and the Democrats, and because we are the genuine voice of international socialism. Verizon workers are locked in a political struggle not just against a single company but an entire class of capitalist owners, which control both big-business parties and every lever of political power, including the police, the NLRB, the courts and the media. These enemies are formidable, but the potential allies of the Verizon workers are far more powerful. Verizon workers must appeal to all sections of workers, young people, the unemployed, native-born and immigrant and say: Our fight is your fight! It is time to take a stand with your brothers and sisters at Verizon! The Socialist Equality Party urges workers to demand: Negotiations must be opened up to the workers. Workers have the right to know what is going on behind closed doors. Workers must be provided with resources to carry out a serious struggle. Every striker could be allocated $10,256 simply out of the resources of the CWAs strike fund. The massive funds controlled by the AFL-CIO, accumulated through the dues of workers, must be used to sustain the strike instead of the salaries of union executives and campaign contributions to the anti-working class Democratic Party. This struggle can and must be won. Everything, however, depends on the initiative, determination and political alertness of rank-and-file workers themselves. The isolation of the strike must be broken through the mobilization of the entire working class. Real strength comes from unity! Only in this way can the power of the corporations and their bought-and-paid-for political representatives be broken and a path forward be forged. Europe Protests continue in France over labour law reforms Transport workers and truck drivers held strikes and protests this week against the labour law reforms imposed last week by the Hollande government that will make it easier to fire workers. Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports in Paris were disrupted when engineers, technicians and traffic control staff went on strike. Two rail unions, CGT and Sud Rail held strikes beginning Wednesday morning through to Friday. The action is also part of an ongoing dispute with the rail company SNCF over contract negotiations. Regional, inter-city and high-speed services were affected. Port and dockworkers held 24-hour strikes Tuesday and Thursday disrupting ferry services. Local train services around Paris were impacted by strike action as were bus services in Antibes, Nice and Grasse. Protest marches were held in Paris on Tuesday and Thursday against the changes in labour law. Teachers and other school staff in some schools also took action leading to schools being closed. Truck drivers blockaded food and fuel supply depots and rode slow moving convoys to slow or jam traffic on major highways. Light rail staff in Irish capital defy threats Drivers and other staff employed on the Dublin light rail system, Luas, run by Transdev are maintaining their dispute in the face of threats from management. Luas staff have held a series of four-hour strikes in their long running dispute over a substantial pay rise. Transdev management have threatened to dock a full days pay from any staff partaking in the four-hour strikes. They are also excluding them from sick pay benefits claiming sickness absence has increased sharply during the dispute. Irish care staff vote for action at juvenile residential centre Residential care staff and overnight supervisory staff at the Oberstown residential care unit for youth offenders in County Dublin have voted in favour of action against their employer. Around 50 youth with criminal convictions and challenging behavior are held at the centre. Staff say the facilities are inadequate to deal with their charges and are concerned for their safety as well as inadequate staffing levels. Over 60 staff have been assaulted and there are high levels of sickness absence. Portuguese airport ground handling staff walk-out Airport ground handling staff employed by the Portway and Groundforce companies, who are responsible for aircraft support services at Portuguese airports went on strike on Thursday. They are members of the aviation union SITAVA. They are protesting job insecurity and redundancy threats. Airports across Portugal were affected. In March Portway announced over 250 redundancies after losing a major contract. Striking workers held protests outside government offices. Russian construction workers extreme protest Victor Larshin a 38-year-old Russian construction worker in the city of Omsk went to extreme lengths to protest against unpaid wages. He wired his lips together and posted a video of it on YouTube to publicize his plight after he and his 36 co-workers had not been paid their wages since February. They had been employed on a site in the Siberian city of Tobolsk, where they were building an oil refinery. Following the protest the company eventually paid the arrears. Ongoing dispute by school janitors in Scottish city of Glasgow School janitors, members of the Unison began a five-day strike on Monday. They are employed by Cordia, an arms length company run by Glasgow city council. The latest five-day strike is part of an ongoing dispute. Staff are demanding additional payments for undertaking dirty and hazardous tasks, which would increase their annual salary by between 500 and 1,000 a year. Staff employed directly by the council receive such payments. Protests have been held outside city council headquarters to push their demands. Staff at UK rail company hold 24-hour strike Staff working for Southern Rail, which operates services in the southeast of England began a 24-hour strike on Wednesday. They are members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT). The dispute is over plans by the company to abolish the safety roles currently carried out by guard/conductor staff on the trains and hand the role to train drivers. At this stage the company states that staff performing the guard/conductor role will be given other on-board roles. In the ongoing dispute, rail staff have already held several strikes with further ones planned. The action led to the cancellation of hundreds of trains over one of the countrys busiest rail networks. Staff at UK timber processor in dispute Employees of timber processor, Metsa Wood, with sites in Lincolnshire and Cheshire began an overtime ban this week and have planned a one-day strike next Thursday. The staff have rejected a low pay offer made by the company. The company supplies timber products to chains such as B&Q. Oil refinery employees in north of England to ballot Oil refinery workers employed by Hertel UK at its refinery on Teesside in the north of England are to be balloted for possible strike action by the Unite union. The ballot begins today and will close on June 1. Hertel provides maintenance and support services for oil giant Conocco Philips. The Hertel workforce are protesting the refusal of the company to offer a pay rise for the year 2016/17. Norwegian hotel strike now in third week The strike by Norwegian hotel and restaurant staff is now in its third week. They are seeking a pay rise and for the right of the union to hold local negotiations with employers. They are organized by the Fellesforbundet trade union federation. On Tuesday a further 50 hotel and restaurant staff at four sites joined the dispute. Tuesday was an important Norwegian national holiday day. Cypriot port pilot staff hold two-hour walk-out Staff working on pilot boats for the Cyprus Ports Authority (CPA) held a two-hour strike on Tuesday. They were protesting the disciplining of CPA employee, Demetris Potsalos. The chief accountant of the CPA, Potsalos had had made statements critical of the organisation. The Cypriot government is selling off ports as part of its deal for funding to bail out its deficits. Middle East Palestinians arrested for holding hunger strike Two graduate students were arrested in the Gaza strip on Monday. They had been among a group of around 20 students protesting high levels of unemployment among graduates. They had been holding their protest in a public square in Gaza city for the previous 20 days. Africa South African road workers continue dispute Employees at South Africa's National Road Agency (SANRAL) are continuing their weeklong strike to demand of a pay increase, establishment of a provident fund and a thirteenth month cheque. Previous attempts to settle the dispute through the services of the government's conciliation and arbitration agency have failed. Workers are demanding that an attempt by the agency to resolve the matter today comes up with a solution within 48 hours. Teti, the contractor to SANRAL employing the road workers, is responsible for clearing up after traffic accidents that take place on the country's highways. Demonstrations by the road workers had been violently attacked by the Metro police earlier in their strike. Nigerian Labour organisation divided over fuel price protest Nigerian labour organisations have split over a call on workers to strike on Wednesday in protest over the abolition of fuel subsidies. The Nigerian Trades Union Congress (TUC) has rescinded its strike call, along with a faction of the Nigerian Labour Organization (NLO), which has opposed the leadership and opposed the strike call. On Sunday, they had issued a united strike call, but this was thrown into disarray as the strike date approached. The labour organizations had threatened to bring out the banks, docks, airports, private and public offices and others, as well as larger society. An injunction has been secured against the strike and anybody compelling workers to strike will be prosecuted. Nigeria is the largest oil producing country in Africa but has to import refined oil for domestic consumption. Nigerian state governor makes retreat on wage cut The Nigerian Nasarawa state Trade Union Congress and the Nigerian Labour Organization had threatened to call an indefinite strike from Wednesday. It was in response to the state government making a compulsory 35 percent deduction in workers' monthly wages for development of the state. The unions had been campaigning for a new national minimum wage and said the deduction was uncalled for. Latest reports suggest the 48-hour strike has been called off in response to the state governor suspending the 35 percent levy and renewed negotiations with the unions. Nigerian state governor in contempt of court The Nigerian state governor of Nandi State is in contempt of court according the Kenyan National Union of Nurses. A court ruling suspended nurses from striking for three weeks encouraging negotiations to take place. One of the proviso's in the ruling was there would be no victimization in the period of the ruling ending May 24. In rejecting this ruling the governor has removed the nurses from the employment register and refused to pay their April wages and threatened to have them redeployed. The union suspects the state governor is sabotaging negotiations by victimizing the 200 nurses. Namibian educational instructors threaten strike for fair distribution of pay Namibian teaching staff at Katura Youth Enterprise Centre are planning to strike for a fair distribution of wages. Instructors and cleaners say there is an enormous disparity between management's N72, 000 ($4,500) a month salary and the trainers and nurses remuneration of between N5, 000 ($310) and N6, 000 monthly ($380). Teaching staff also complain about the lack of materials, at the government funded training centres, such as textbooks and work overalls. The staff further complain the intake of pupils far outweigh the ratio of staff, particularly as many of the pupils are those who have dropped out of formal education. MIAMI, FL. (AP) - Authorities say a Florida police officer has fatally shot a man during a confrontation. The Miami Herald reports that the shooting occurred Thursday afternoon. Miami-Dade police report that the officer was not injured, but 22-year-old Kentrill William Carraway died after being rushed to the hospital. Details of what led to the shooting weren't immediately released. The Herald reports that Carraway had pleaded guilty to armed robbery in 2014 and was fined for misdemeanor theft in 2012. Police didn't immediately report the name or race of the officer involved in the shooting. Carraway was black. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates all police shootings. MONTICELLO, FL. (WTXL) - Federal authorities arrest a man in Jefferson County, in connection to a Puerto Rican drug trafficking ring. FBI agents from the Jacksonville Division along with deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff's apprehending Emmanuel Mercedes-Moran without incident in Monticello, Florida. The FBI says, he, along with 16 others, were part of an organization distributing crack, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana in areas of Puerto Rico. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cesar Rivera-Giraud is in charge of the prosecution of the case. If convicted the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years, and up to life in prison. MOULTRIE, GA (WTXL) - A 25-year-old has been arrested for murder after 5 people were found dead in a house fire in Moultrie, Georgia. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Jeffrey Alan Peacock has been arrested for the murders of Jonathon Edwards, age 21; Alicia Norman, age 20; Reid Williams, age 21; Jones Pidcock, age 21; and Jordan Croft, age 22. Peacock is also being charged with arson. Investigators say the victims were shot inside their home and then the suspect set the house on fire in an attempt to cover it up. The motive for their murders is unknown by authorities but they say the investigation is ongoing. _________________________________________________ The Georgia Bureau of Investigations will hold a 10 a.m. news Conference Friday to discuss more details in this case. Watch it LIVE on WTXL.tv ___________________________________________________ Peacock was arrested and booked in the Colquitt County Jail. Anyone with information is asked to call the Colquitt County Sheriff's Office at 229- 616-7460 or the GBI office in Thomasville at 229-225-4090. SOPCHOPPY, FL (WTXL) - The Wakulla County Sheriff's Office says Wesley Kester has been captured in Leon County. Authorities have not said how and where exactly he has found. Original story is below. __________________________ Students at the Wakulla Second Chance School in Sopchoppy were transported out of the area at the end of the school day Thursday, while deputies searched for a wanted criminal. According to the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office, authorities went to a car crash Thursday morning and witnesses told them the driver ran, taking a gun and a duffle bag that is believed to contain stolen firearms with him. Deputies say that man is Wesley Kester, wanted for numerous charges including grand theft auto and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. The search stretched from Sopchoppy Highway at Allen Bell Road to Pull Back Road, according to deputies. K-9 units from the Franklin and Wakulla Correctional Institutes were brought in to assist with the search. The Wakulla Second Chance School in Sopchoppy was put lock down Thursday morning while authorities searched for Kester. At the end of the school day, students were put on buses escorted by police and taken to Wakulla High School and Medart Elementary School for parents to pick them up. The Wakulla County Superintendent says no school buses will travel through the search area as it continues. Anyone that sees Kester is asked to call 911; deputies said do not approach him. He was last seen wearing a white tee and gray shorts. More law enforcement officers are being brought in to continue the search. Sheriff Charlie Creel added they do not believe Kester has left the area and that he is injured and bleeding. Below are the suspects current charges; additional charges are expected to be added: Giving a False Name to Law Enforcement, Resisting/Obstructing Law Enforcement without violence, Possession of Marijuana Less Than 20 Grams, Fleeing and Eluding Law Enforcement in a Vehicle, Driving While License is Suspended/Revoked (felony), Aggravated Assault of Law Enforcement Officer (2 counts), Criminal Mischief, Trespassing, Breaking/Injuring a Fence LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - May 19, 2016) - Salesforce World Tour London -- FinancialForce today announced that Camfed, the campaign for female education in Africa, has transformed its operations through the use of FinancialForce and Salesforce technology, enhancing how it serves its clients (girls in rural Africa), their communities and donor partners, as the non-profit undergoes a period of rapid growth. The non-profit organisation's mission is to support girls in rural Africa to go to school, and empower young women to become change-makers in their communities. Girls' education has been recognised globally as the best investment nations can make to break the cycle of poverty, improve health, increase economic growth, as well as mitigate climate change. Camfed has seen a rapid expansion of its community-led programmes over the past three years, and in 2014 pledged to support 1 million girls to go to secondary school within just five years. To manage this scaling, Camfed has expanded the use of the Salesforce Customer Success Platform as a single, organisation-wide system. The expansion helped increase organisational efficiency, transparency and accountability by providing accurate, often real-time data to teams across seven countries with the objective of having "a single screen per girl." This means that all information pertaining to each student is now held on one system, on a single record, providing accurate information. The system tracks a client's circumstances, entitlements, financial transactions, school attendance, retention and progression, as well as her 'give-back' activities as she joins Camfed's formidable CAMA alumnae network, now 55,358 strong across Zimbabwe, Ghana, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania. Camfed also has switched its finance processes to run on FinancialForce Financial Management applications built natively on the Salesforce platform to gain a holistic programme overview with the ability to report to existing and potential donors. This has made Salesforce the backbone of the organisation, managing nearly all critical processes in a context where the number of records handled per year across all programmes went from 30,000 to 130,000, making certain manual financial processes unfeasible. Already, Camfed's financial team has reported saving weeks of time through the integration of Salesforce and FinancialForce. This has in turn provided the opportunity to repurpose experienced staff for the benefit of Camfed's programmes. The provision of accurate information helps Camfed manage its programmes effectively and ensures donors and recipients are receiving the best possible service. Using a cloud-based platform means there is no expensive hardware or software required for data uploaded by teachers from their Android mobile phones at 5,270 government partner schools in Africa. Accuracy is improved as new information is verified against data from community workers, minimising the risk of error and corruption. The system is also easy to use and gives instant acknowledgment so that enumerators know when data submitted has been recorded. "The ability to host Salesforce CRM data and financial data through FinancialForce applications on one platform is transforming our operations," says Daniel Probert, head of IT innovation at Camfed. "It provides the technological infrastructure that enables our partner communities to respond with urgency and deliver girls' education at scale, while providing the data we need to monitor and evaluate our programmes, and put the innovative ideas of our alumnae -- who are now leading on programmes -- into action." "Camfed is so successful because it has made technology an intrinsic part of its culture and operation across its entire ecosystem, to connect with its donors, activists and the girls themselves in entirely new ways," said, Charlotte Finn, VP Programmes, EMEA, Salesforce.org. Adrian Ivanov, chief customer officer at FinancialForce adds, "Scaling quickly is always a difficult process to manage in front office as well as back office. Ensuring donors' funds are tracked, monitored and used in the best possible way is essential for Camfed. Its strategy to provide a 'single screen per girl' is made much easier through adding financials onto the Salesforce platform, already in use to record all data such as donor funding and progress in each individual girl's education. All relevant team members have access to the same real-time information enabling more collaboration and the ability to be more responsive to its cause." Camfed has made a commitment to change the world through girls' education and women's empowerment, and attracting and maintaining donor partners is key to its mission. Using a one platform strategy provides Camfed with the high standard of reporting needed to prove the effectiveness of its programme, especially as the organisation is now starting to record the investment its alumnae and communities are making in girls' education, providing even greater value for donors' money. Camfed will continue to look for ways to innovate with technology to scale its impact and improve the way it runs its programmes as it continues its mission to eradicate poverty in Africa. Salesforce and others are among the trademarks of salesforce.com, inc. About Camfed Camfed supports marginalised girls to go to school, succeed, and lead change Camfed is an international non-profit organisation tackling poverty and inequality by supporting girls to go to school and succeed, and empowering young women to step up as leaders of change. Camfed invests in girls and women in the poorest rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa, where girls face acute disadvantage, and where their education has transformative potential. Camfed not only supports girls and young women through school, but also on to new lives as entrepreneurs and community leaders. To complete the "virtuous cycle," and create sustainable change, graduating students become CAMA alumnae, many of whom return to school to train and mentor new generations of students. Since 1993, Camfed's innovative community-led education programmes have benefitted over 3.5 million children in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania and Malawi. In 2014, Camfed was recognised by the OECD for best practice in taking development innovation to scale. That year, Camfed made an historic commitment to support one million girls in rural Africa through secondary school in just five years -- a truly transformational pledge. Millions more children will benefit as a result. About FinancialForce Founded in 2009, FinancialForce is the leading Cloud ERP vendor with apps built entirely on the Salesforce Platform. The company's Financial Management, Professional Services Automation (PSA), and Human Capital Management (HCM) offerings provide services-centric businesses with a platform that organizes sales, services, finance and HR entirely around their customers. Headquartered in San Francisco, FinancialForce is backed by Salesforce Ventures, Technology Crossover Ventures, Advent International and UNIT4. For more information, visit www.financialforce.com. (Adds opposition and challenges to the pipeline) By Julie Gordon VANCOUVER, May 19 (Reuters) - Canada's energy regulator on Thursday recommended the approval of Kinder Morgan Inc's plan to expand its Trans Mountain oil pipeline, subject to 157 conditions, clearing a major hurdle for the proposed trebling of capacity to serve lucrative Asian markets. The National Energy Board (NEB) said it found the C$6.8 billion ($5.19 billion) project, which would boost capacity from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 bpd, would not cause significant harm to the environment. The decision prompted immediate outcry from critics, who called on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to block the twinning of the existing pipeline, which carries oil from Alberta to a port in Metro Vancouver. Trudeau's cabinet has until December to review the NEB's 533-page report and make its final decision. If approved, legal experts say protests and a flood of lawsuits from aboriginal groups will likely follow. Aboriginals in British Columbia never signed treaties and have been granted "consent" rights by the courts, sometimes interpreted as a veto. But Trudeau told Reuters on Thursday that while community consultation was vital, aboriginal groups do not have a veto over pipeline development. Building new oil pipelines in Canada has proven difficult in recent years, even with approvals. Enbridge Inc's Northern Gateway pipeline was greenlighted in 2014, but fierce legal and social opposition has so far hindered construction. That has weighed on Canada's oil sands producers, who are desperate for new lines to get their product to international markets, where it can fetch a higher price. The NEB said it had determined the "considerable benefits" of the Trans Mountain expansion outweighed the "residual burdens." It also found that with mitigation measures and its conditions, the project "would not likely cause significant adverse environmental effects." The agency did note that there would be significant effects related to the increase in oil tanker traffic, though marine shipping is not regulated by the NEB. The expansion would boost oil tanker and barge traffic on Vancouver's waters nearly five-fold. Story continues Twinning the Trans Mountain pipeline will include the construction of nearly 1,000 km (621 miles) of new pipeline and the expansion of an existing marine terminal. If approved by cabinet, the company said construction could start in 2017, with the first shipments in 2019. A ministerial panel, named earlier this week, is now tasked with consulting with aboriginal groups and other communities on the proposal, with their report due in November. ($1 = 1.3090 Canadian dollars) (Additional reporting by Nia Williams in Calgary; editing by Richard Chang, Cynthia Osterman and Bernard Orr) Israelis consider the day Israel declared its independence as the event that had the strongest impact on Israeli democracy, according to a poll conducted by Ynet and the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) in honor of Israels 68th Independence Day. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The poll, conducted on Ynet's Hebrew website, enumerated 25 significant events that took place throughout Israels history. Readers were asked to choose five events they felt had the strongest influence on Israeli democracy. More than 10,000 readers responded. The results: 60 percent see Israel's declaration of independence as having the most impact on Israeli democracy. Not surprisingly, the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin came in second (55 percent of voters). In third place (46 percent of voters), was the elections upset of 1977, when the right-wing Likud party under Menachem Begin defeated Mapai to become the ruling party for the first time after 29 years of left-wing rule. Signatures on Israel's Declaration of Independence (Photo: Avigail Uzi) The 1967 Six Day War and the subsequent settlement enterprise in the territories captured in the war took fourth place, at 43 percent. Fifth place, 30 percent of voters, went to the prosecution of President Moshe Katsav and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who, despite their senior state roles, stood trial like any other citizen. This proved that that no person deserving of punishment, not even a former president or prime minister, is immune all are equal before the law. Here are the 10 events that Ynet's readers chose as having had the strongest influence on our democracy. 10th place: The Kol Ha'am High Court Ruling (17%) It was fairly surprising that even though the incident took place in the 1950s, it managed to squeeze into 10th place, bumping quite a few other significant events off the list. The Kol Ha'am High Court ruling was the first to probe the boundaries of the freedom of expression when they clashed with national security. It started with a controversial article against the government that was published in the Kol Ha'am newspaper, the mouthpiece Israels Communist Party. Interior Minister Israel Rokach, using his authority under the Press Ordinance, suspended Kol Ha'am and its Arabic-language sister newspaper Al-Ittihad for 10 days. The newspaper appealed to the High Court of Justice, which overturned Rokachs decision. The High Courts ruling, which became a milestone and a formative event in Israeli constitutional law, laid out the manner in which civil rights and freedom of expression could be protected when they clashed with other values. 9th place: The 2011 social justice protest (18%) Although this event took place just five years ago, and should therefore still be fresh in the nation's collective memory, it seems Israelis barely see it as having impacted Israeli democracy. The social justice protest, which began on Facebook in the summer of 2011, focused on Israel's high cost of living in general, and the shortage of affordable housing in particular, and led to the erection of a tent city on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, among other places. The 2011 social justice protest (Photo: Motti Kimchi) The governments response was to set up the Trajtenberg Committee, which examined the problem and suggested solutions for the demonstrators economic demands, principally for the high cost of living and social inequalities in the State of Israel. Some see the protest as a turning point in the publics mood: from a protracted period of apathy and escapism to a stronger belief in the ability of rank-and-file citizens to make change, increase their political participation and awareness, and demand that elected officials act according to the democratic values of transparency and accountability. 8th place: The Basic Laws of 1992 and the 'Constitutional Revolution' (24%) The Knesset passed two Basic Laws in 1992 that, for the first time, dealt with individual rights. Three years later, the High Court of Justice ruled in the Mizrahi Bank case that the status of the Basic Laws was superior to that of ordinary laws. So it was determined on the basis of interpretation that the court had the authority to decide on the constitutionality of the Knessets laws. This event, which became known as the Constitutional Revolution, paved the way for the courts judicial review of the Knessets laws, and found expression in the courts judicial activism vis-a-vis the other branches of government. The decision has been the subject of a public debate between those who claim that a strong court is vital to the protection of democracy and civil liberties and those who believe that the court took on powers that do not belong to it, compromised the Knessets ability to govern, and does not represent the spectrum of views in Israeli society. 7th place: Altalena Affair and the Dissolution of the Palmah (25%) Since the Altalena Affair is one of the most deeply etched events in the State of Israels history, it is not surprising that it was included among the top 10. One of the major challenges during the states early days was to merge the underground militias that had operated during the period of the British Mandate into a single national army, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). This challenge, with all its complexity, reached a violent climax in June 1948 with the Altalena Affair, when the newly-formed Israeli army and fighters of the Irgun clashed violently over the unloading of the weapons carried on board the cargo vessel Altalena. Sixteen Irgun fighters and three IDF troops were killed in the incident. The Altalena (Photo: Teddy Brauner, GPO) That same year, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion ordered the dissolution of the Palmah and the merging of its brigades into the Israeli army. During the process of dissolving the underground militias, Ben-Gurion came under harsh political criticism for using excessive force and acting out of ulterior political motives. Still, many people felt that these measures were vital for establishing the sovereignty of the nascent state. 6th place: The Gaza Disengagement (28%) The disengagement from Gaza was undoubtedly one of the most painful events in Israels history. The disengagement, a political plan put forward by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, called for the removal of the Israeli communities from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria, unilaterally and without negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. IDF soldiers removing settlers during the disengagement (Photo: Abigail Uzi) In the days leading up to the disengagement, a referendum was held among registered Likud members, who voted against carrying it out. Regardless, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon brought the disengagement plan to the cabinet for approval, dismissing two right-wing ministers in order to ensure a majority. The disengagement took place between August and September 2005 after a tumultuous political struggle. Even though the public protest of the plan was accompanied by fears of a civil war and incidents of civil disobedience among members of the religious Zionist movement, the plan was carried out with no severe violent incidents. Settlers from Homesh fighting off Israeli forces coming to evacuate them (Photo: Amit Shabi) The plans implementation, together with the internal protest in the Likud, led to the resignation of Sharon. A group of Likud ministers and Knesset members ultimately established the Kadima political party. 5th place: Former prime minister and president get jail sentences (30%) The rule of law is an essential element of a liberal democracy. One of its main tests is its equal treatment of rank-and-file citizens, elected officials, and members of the elite. Former prime minister Olmert at court, after his final appeal was rejected (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) Former president Moshe Katsav at court for the sentencing (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) The current state of affairs, in which a former president and a former prime minister are serving prison sentences, can be seen as proof of the strength of the institutions of the rule of law and the law enforcement authorities equal, unbiased treatment of people suspected of criminal acts. 4th place: 1967 Six Day War and the Settlement Enterprise (43%) Some among us still remember the announcement: The Temple Mount is in our hands! Younger people heard about it from their parents, but the Six Day War will always be remembered as one of the most significant events in the history of the State of Israel. During the Six Day War, which took place in early June 1967, the State of Israel conquered territory that tripled its size. Though Israel later ceded the vast majority of that territory as part of its peace agreement with Egypt, the war changed the contours of Israeli politics and opened an ideological rift that has been at its core ever since. The iconic Six Day War photo of the paratroopers at the Western Wall (Photo: David Rubinger) Today, advocates of "Greater Israel" see continued control of the territories in the West Bank, known also as Judea and Samaria, and the strengthening of Jewish settlement there, as an expression of the Jewish peoples historical right to the Land of Israel and also as a vital security necessity. Left to right: Rehavam Ze'evi, then-GOC Central Command Uzi Narkiss, then-defense minister Moshe Dayan and IDF chief Yitzhak Rabin during the Six Day War (Photo: IDF Archive) Those who favor withdrawal from these territories believe territorial compromise is a prerequisite for peace and that perpetuation of the current situation, in which residents of the same area do not enjoy equal rights, casts a heavy cloud over Israel's democratic future. 3rd place: The 1977 Elections Upset (45%) Haim Yavin coined one of the Hebrew words that today is strongly identified with Israeli elections: "mahapach" - meaning, an elections upset. After Mapai (and its successors, Labor and the Labor Alignment) spent nearly three decades as the ruling party, it was defeated for the first time in 1977 by the Likud, led by Menachem Begin. Then-prime minister Menachem Begin in 1979 (Photo: Saar Yaakov, GPO) This was a significant test for Israeli democracy that, it may be said, met it well. Despite the astonishment and shock among some segments of the public, the voters will was honored, and the transfer of power took place in proper fashion. Begin proved to be nothing like the image of the threatening tyrant with which he had been associated. In addition, talks with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat began shortly after the elections, leading to the Camp David Accords and peace with Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel. 2nd place: Rabin's assassination (55%) The peace talks with the Palestinians, the approval of the Oslo Accords in the Knesset and the wave of suicide attacks in 1994 and 1995 led to severe polarization between the right and left wings. Charging that the governments policy was responsible for the attacks and put the State of Israel in danger, the political right wing ran a public campaign claiming that the government was illegitimate. Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was labeled a traitor by some protestors. Rabin, on the right, at the night of the murder, minutes before he was shot (Photo: Michael Kremer) The campaign of incitement and divisiveness against him reached a climax in the autumn of 1995 after the signing of the Oslo II Accords. Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir on November 4 at the end of a peace rally at Malchei Yisrael Square. 1st place: The Declaration of Independence (60%) On Friday, May 14, 1948, the members of Moetzet Ha'am, or the Peoples Council, held a festive meeting in Tel Aviv during which the establishment of the State of Israel was announced. The Declaration of Independence, which was signed by the 37 members of the Peoples Council, is the foundational document of the State of Israel and its moral, national-cultural and democratic guiding light. It set forth, for the world and for Israels citizens, the justification for the State of Israels existence: as the setting in which the Jewish people would realize their right to self-determination. The Declaration of Independence (Photo: Shai Rozentweig) At the same time, the declaration also expresses Israels democratic nature by setting forth principles of equality and justice for all its citizens. Many people, particularly during times of polarization, division, and weakened social solidarity, see the declaration as the basic glue that holds Israeli society together and as a document that provides Israels citizens with a broad common denominator. "Israel's democracy is tested almost every day," IDI President Yohanan Plesner said. "Sixty-eight years of continued struggle for our very existence has required nerves of steel. But it has also clarified just how much we need a democracy that is strong, stable and prosperous. A democracy in which truth, morality and justice overcome terror, hatred, incitement, violence and racism. One that enables a variety of voices to be heard, including views that are provocative or controversial." He went on to say that "At IDI, our goal is to preserve and strengthen Israel's democratic values. In this unique project, together with Ynet, we showcase events that shaped and challenged Israeli democracy. As this historical overview illustrates, Israel has overcome tremendous challenges and sustained a vibrant and essential democracy against all odds. I believe that together we can perpetuate this success story long into the future as well." Demonstration in Denmark (: ) X Compared to the presence of leftist organizations and Scandinavian anarchists during protests against the security barrier in Israel, it appears that the problems faced by the refugees in Denmark doesn't evoke as much public fervorl. The main speech pleads: 'Please join our protest' The main speaker on the back of the pickup was wearing a scarf designed to look like a Palestinian kaffiyeh. He called, in English, for the immediate closure of the refugee camps, and the new prison facilities which the Danish government established following the "European Refugee Crisis," and to create legislation to absorb the immigrants. He even called onpleaded forpassersby (who were watching from a safe distance) to join in the protest. But the Danish public was apathetic. The speaker switched, and tearfully recalled the treacherous journey he had to undertake to get to Europe from his homeland in Africa. The other protestors began to chant, "We're people too!" One of the few Danish citizens there at the protest was an older man with a red coat who was riding his motorcycle along with the procession. His name was Emil, and he told Ynet that he was "a social activist who is a professional at giving the Fascist, Danish regime a headache." He refused to say any more on that matter, believing that the Ynet journalist was a member of the Danish secret police. 'We used to be a prime example of a socialist welfare state' After Emil understood that he was speaking to an Israeli journalist, he explained that he too is Jewish and that he has "fascist ultra-Orthodox Jewish relatives" who moved to Israel and live in Jerusalem. "The situation in Denmark is deteriorating really quickly. We used to be a prime example of a socialist welfare state," he explained. "The Danish underground saved almost every Danish Jew from the Nazis, and today, we are behaving like fascists. We're closing our borders to refugees, and for those who come with a little bit of money, the fascist government takes the money away. A Danish citizen who helps a refugee get into Denmark receives a fine. Meanwhile, the government is building detention camps, prisons for the refugees! This isn't the socialist Denmark I grew up in! This is an embarrassment!" The protesting refugees arrived at the plaza across from the Danish Parliament building. "I ran from deathI ran away from a civil war. I promise to be a good citizen, helpful and productive. Why do you imprison me?" His name is Abdul, and he escaped from Somalia to Denmark two years ago, and has been stuck ever since. A Somalian Immigrant: 'I have to be counted every night at the facility' "Neither in nor out, I have to return every night to be counted in the detention facility. I don't have a work permit. I live in a small and crowded room with four bunk beds. Eight grown men in a tiny room; there's no privacy, and no future," Abdul said. He added, "If I would have come from Syria, I would have immediately received refugee status, an apartment, and professional training. But because I came from Somalia, and someone in the UN decided that our civil war is over, all of a sudden, I'm not eligible for anything!" There were also other immigrants from Somalia and Afghanistan at the protest together with Abdul, and they requested for equal rights in Denmark, and to receive exactly what the refugees from Iraq and Syria receive. "We're all humans. I deserve to live in dignity. As long as I suffer, you will never be happy!" Abdul said. The protest in front of the parliament died out rather quickly. It was hard for the protestors to stand without movement in this cold. The volunteer bus driver who was supposed to return them back to the detention facility for the count had arrived. The activists giving speeches from the back of the pickup truck called on the few Danes in attendance to join the refugees to see the conditions in which the refugees live; but none of them were interested. It seems that one doesn't necessarily need to travel all the way to Denmark to see that the refugees from Africa and the Middle East arent exactly wanted in this northern welfare state. The Danish government prints advertisement in Arabic newspapers warning about the extreme difficulties of getting to Denmark. They also attach the "jewelry warning" to this advertisement, which allows the Danish government to confiscate any jewelry or large amounts of money the refugees bring with them as payment for the food and shelter the government provides them. In the past six months, Palestinian attackers have stabbed dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers. While civilians have usually been attacked in the stomach, soldiers are stabbed either in arms and legs, or in the neck as the assailants know they are wearing bullet-proof vests. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter So the Israeli army has developed a neck collar made of the same material as the bullet-proof vest, an invention that has cut down on fatal attacks of soldiers, Col. Hagay Frenkel, the chief medical officer of the Central Command, an area that includes the West Bank, and its 2.5 million Palestinians, told The Media Line in an exclusive interview. He said that soldiers dont always like to wear it in 100 degree heat, but it has already saved lives. The Central Command does not include east Jerusalem which Israel annexed in 1967 which is under the supervision of the Israeli police. It does however, include Hebron, which has been one of the flashpoints of the recent violence. Frenkel said that since October 1, his medical teams have treated more than 450 people wounded in terror attacks, including 250 Israelis (both soldiers and civilians) and 200 Palestinians. He said many of the Palestinians, usually attackers, were killed, and 16 Israelis, four soldiers and twelve civilians died in the attacks. IDF paramedics (Photo: IDF Spokesperson) Overall, 30 Israelis and four foreigners have been killed in the past six months, alongside more than 200 Palestinians, most of whom Israel says were involved in carrying out the attacks. We realized that we needed two systems to save more lives, Frenkel said, speaking in his office on the northern outskirts of Jerusalem. One is more training of our medical staff, and the other is better care of the wounded person, both physically and emotionally. To accomplish the first goal, 15 doctors and paramedics have embarked on an intensive training program, including at a medical simulation center at Sheba hospital. They will then train doctors and medics in the field. When it comes to the second goal, Frenkel said they are trying to encourage more resilience. One of the things we learned is that emotional health and resilience are very important, Frenkel said. When our fighters are resilient they recover from attacks more quickly. A pilot program has focused on physical fitness, better nutrition, and even biofeedback, which has proven itself, he said. The results of biofeedback are really amazing, he said. You need to do 710 sessions of 2030 minutes. Its too bad we cant do it for everyone. Military service is compulsory in Israel, with men serving two years and eight months, and women, two years and four months. Many soldiers in combat units serve at least a year longer, and most men do reserve duty well into their 30s. He said that all soldiers carry a tourniquet as part of their equipment and are trained to use it to stop heavy bleeding. Every battalion has a doctor and a paramedic, as well as an intensive care ambulance. He said that Israeli soldiers treat Palestinians at the site, including the attackers, despite calls by some in Israel not to treat Palestinian assailants. It happened more than once what when our doctors finished taking care of the soldier and civilians who were wounded, they took care of the attackers, Frenkel, who has spent most of his medical career in the army, said. Ive gotten to the trauma room at the hospital and in one bed was a wounded soldier and in the next bed was the (Palestinian) attacker. They were both brought to the hospital by our medical staff. He said there is significant cooperation between the Israeli soldiers and the Palestine Red Crescent, the Palestinian branch of the Red Cross, especially at the scene of car accidents. He said he recently received a request to help a young Palestinian boy in Nablus who had burns over 90 percent of his body. The boy had been taken to a local Palestinian hospital but the doctors there feared he would die. He was taken to an Israeli hospital where they saved his life. Article written by Linda Gradstein Minister of Defense Moshe Ya'alon announced on Friday morning on his Facebook and Twitter feeds that he has resigned from his ministerial position and from the Knesset. He further announced a break from political life. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The post reads, "I informed the prime minister this morning that following his recent actions and developments, and given the lack of faith in him, I am resigning from the government and the Knesset and taking a break from political life." Moshe Ya'alon (Photo: Knesset Spokesperson) Ya'alon also announced that he intends to hold a press conference at noon at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv. It was announced on Wednesday night that Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beytenu, would be bringing his party to join the coalition. Lieberman himself is to receive the defense portflio. Reportedly, Ya'alon, who had been growing distant from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was not surprised at this development. Ya'alon's resignation is to take effect on Sunday and Lieberman is to take his place on Tuesday. In the intervenine two days, the defense portfolio will be temporarily held by the prime minister, in addition to his foreign affairs, communications, regional cooperation and economy portfolios. Replacing Ya'alon in the Knesset will be the next person on the Likud party list, Rabbi Yehuda Glick. Glick, 50, is originally from the United States and is a prominent right-wing activist. He survived an assassination attempt in 2014. A Joseph Dunford testifies during the Senate Armed Services committee nomination hearing to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 9, 2015. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/Files fter a week of rumblings that the US was preparing to arm and deploy Special Forces to Libya, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, said on Thursday that a military deployment to Libya could happen "any day." Speaking to journalists after returning from a NATO meeting in Brussels, as The Washington Post notes, Dunford outlined a "period of intense dialogue" between the US and Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord, who seek to rid the country of a recent but pronounced ISIS presence. The terrorist group ISIS has been gaining ground in Libya even as their so-called caliphate shrinks in Iraq and Syria as a US-led coalition and various regional forces attack the group from every angle. For ISIS, branching out into Libya provides it a potential "back-up capital" in case the terrorist group is driven out of its main base in Syria. "There's a lot of activity going on underneath the surface," said Dunford. "We're just not ready to deploy capabilities yet because there hasn't been an agreement. And frankly, any day that could happen." "There will be a long-term mission in Libya," said Dunford. In fact, US Special Forces have been on the ground in an advisory role since late last year. libya isis map But by backing the fledgling GNA, the US makes a risky political move. Despite being supported by the UN, neither the Libyan House of Representatives nor the General National Congress in Tripoli have fully accepted the GNA. Additionally, US arms sent to Libya could eventually end up in the hands of the very terrorists they were meant to fight, as has happened in Syria and Iraq. Currently, the UN has embargoed the shipment of weapons to Libya as they wrestle with an increasingly prominent ISIS presence, but the UN Security Council and more than 15 other nations recently said that they would approve exemptions to the embargo to back the GNA. Story continues Should, or more likely when, the US deploys to Libya, it will likely be Special Forces that advise and assist local forces in reclaiming their country from ISIS, much like the Special Forces in Iraq and Syria. Unity government head Fayez Seraj (R) shakes hands with a soldier during a tour of Martyrs' Square in Tripoli, Libya, April 1, 2016, in this handout photo provided by the Office of Information. REUTERS/Office of Information/Handout via Reuters But despite their nominal support roles, the recent death of US Navy SEAL Charlie Keating IV by ISIS fire in Iraq shows just how quickly the "advising and assisting" can crossover into full-on combat. The US isn't alone in seeking intervention in Libya. Specifically, Italy, just across the Mediterranean, has expressed interest in supporting the GNA against ISIS and other Islamist militias gaining ground in North Africa. The US-led coalition against ISIS has already carried out airstrikes against ISIS targets in Libya. NOW WATCH: Female soldiers have created a 30-woman unit to fight ISIS in Iraq More From Business Insider If it werent for the parties involved, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisis recent call for peace between Israel and the Palestinians could have been viewed as an historical speech almost on par with legendary Egyptian president Anwar Sadats speech seeking peace with Israel. But, of course, we are not dealing with Sadat and Begin here, but with another Middle Eastern farce, a bad joke made at our expense. What began as a diplomatic move has turned into an inner-party fight for political survival thats thrown a wrench in the works, as the current Avigdor Lieberman-Benjamin Netanyahu combination lacks what is needed to begin negotiating with the Arab League. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Sisis speech, just like Sadats, was preceded by a period of several months worth of clandestine talks between both sides. They were led by Netanyahus emissary, lawyer Yitzhak Molcho, who has been in contact with Sisis people in Cairo. Apparently, Egypts vision of the Palestinians future is apocalyptic: the Palestinian Authority was predicted to collapse, with Hamas losing power to more extreme entities within the Gaza Strip, causing severe ramifications for the stability of the Sinai Peninsula and Egypt at large. Sisi and Netanyahu (Photo: Motti Kimchi, Reuters) This is why Egypt is looking to renew the initiative it had put forth following Operation Protective Edge, which speaks about establishing a conference between centrist, pro-Western Arab nations that would champion two goals: renewing the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians, while also opening up a dialogue between Israel and different Arab countries, thereby strengthening ties when dealing with such regional matters as ISIS and Iran. Netanyahus interest, on the other hand, has been to pull the rug from under what he believes to be a coordinated move between the US and Europe, aimed at forcing Israel and the Palestinians into an agreement backed by the UN Security Council. The Prime Ministers Office believes this plan is slated to be implemented during the interim between the new US president-elects win and their officially taking office: During this period, Obama will be relatively free to do as he pleases, just as other presidents have done before him. While this has been going on, the Israeli security apparatus has made it clear to Israels political establishment that the calm currently characterizing the territories is all for show. All the circumstances that brought on the last wave of terrorism still exist within the area and are ready to erupt once more during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. As a result, Israel has its own interests in renewing the peace negotiationseven if only for the sake of appearancesas a means to head off another violent onslaught. The agreement between Netanyahus office and Sisis stipulated that Sisi would first issue a public appeal to renew the peace talks, Netanyahu would then remove his objection to such an initiative as well as a regional conference, following which the two offices would begin coordinating the conference. This would likely have been a convenient solution for everyone involved, as such a meeting would not have been obligated to reach a permanent agreement within a year or two, thus allowing all parties involved to postpone outlining a final roadmap for peace for three to four years. The problem here? For Netanyahu to have gained an entry ticket to the conference, he would have had to offer up some small, even minimal gesture toward the Palestinians that would allow Sisi to justify the conference and Netanyahus participation in it. Such a gesture could have been halting all development in the settlements. For this to have happened, however, Netanyahu would have had to rely on a coalition that would allow for a concession of this order. This was where his romance with Herzog sprang from. Herzog, for his part, couldnt resist being a part of such an historic moment as an international conference aimed at bringing peace to the regionbasically tantamount to the Labor Partys ongoing wet dream. As stated, though, from here on out this plan has been thrown to the wind: There isnt going to be a conference in Cairo, tensions in the territories will continue to rise and Egypt will remain frustrated, as Sisi is given yet another lesson. While he is talking about policies and diplomatic proceedings, in Israel the focus is on internal politics and personal survival. After resigning on Friday morning both from the position of defense minister and as an MK, Moshe Ya'alon held a press conference at noon in Tel Aviv at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter At the conference, Ya'alon began by stating that, though he was taking a break, he did "not intend to leave political and public life." "In all my actions and decisions, I saw before my eyes the security of the state and its good above every other consideration." Moshe Ya'alon addressing the press Friday afternoon (Photo: Motti Kimchi) Ya'alon addressed the political storm that led to his resignation, "I found myself in difficult political arguments with the prime minister over core values." Regrettably, there are senior politicians in our country who have chosen to incite and split up sections of Israeli society from one another, instead of unifying and connecting them. I find it unacceptable that we be divided due to cynicism and a lust for power, and I have repeatedly voiced my opinion on the matter out of honest concern for the future of both the current generation in Israel and the ones that will follow. "Those who lead us must do so based on ethics, an inner compass and at times against an opposing gale-force wind. They should work to outline a path, and not get blown off course for electoral reasons or in light of public surveys, nor should they conduct or agree to any reckless and irresponsible discourse. He continued, "Fundamentalist influences have taken over Likud. This is not the same Likud that I joined. A spirit of fracturing is ruling the movement. The outgoing defense minister addressed his work, "I fought with all my strength against the phenomena of extremism, violence and racism in Israeli society that threatens our might and also permeates the IDF, and has already damaged it. "In the future I will return to contend for Israel's national leadership." On Sunday afternoon, the IDF general staff is to hold a modest farewell ceremony for Ya'alon. In a message posted to his Twitter feed and Facebook page on Friday morning, Ya'alon wrote, "I informed the prime minister this morning that following his recent actions and developments, and given the lack of faith in him, I am resigning from the government and the Knesset and taking a break from political life." It was announced on Wednesday night that Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beytenu, would be bringing his party to join the coalition. Lieberman himself is to receive the defense portflio. Reportedly, Ya'alon, who had been growing distant from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was not surprised at this development. Following Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon's dramatic resignation from his position as minister of defense and a parliamentarian, polticians from a variety of parties spoke to his qualities, despite some disagreements. The US government also wished him well. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Reuven Rivlin (2nd from left) and Moshe Ya'alon (third from left) (Photo: Avihu Shapira) President Reuven Rivlin gave his own statement following the announcement, saying, I am greatly saddened by the resignation of Lt. Gen. (res.) Moshe Ya'alon. Against the background of recent events, the break from political life he is taking is understandable, and even appropriate, but at the same time represents a great loss to us all. Bogie is a practical, professional leader; brave, modest, considerate and responsible for the sake of the security of the State for decades. I am hopeful that he will restore his energy, and soon return to serve the people and the country." Amos Yadlin (R) flanking Ya'alon (Photo: Herzel Yosef) Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin , head of the Institute for National Security Studies spoke to Ya'alon's defense service: "Bogie acted according to his conscience and took a principled and necessary decision. The personal and public norms that he showed for all the years of his service to the state are an important ethical example for the Israeli public. Ya'alon led the defense establishment with courage, composure and discretion in a complex environment and in a trying time. The Israeli public knows and appreciates thisI am convinced that reserve Lt. Gen. Ya'alon will continue to contribute to the national security of the State of Israel." Tzipi Livni Following Yaalons announcement, MK Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union) stated that I disagreed with the minister of defenses positions on security, but I appreciated and continue to appreciate his opinions and ethics, ethics that the current government lacks. Merav Michaeli (Photo: Eli Segal, Hagai Dekel) MK Merav Michaeli (Zionist Union) wrote via Twitter: Another notch on Netanyahus belt. Weve lost a sane and sound voice within the insane and dangerous current right-wing government. Gila Gamliel Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel (Likud) responded by saying, Yaalons departure is a great loss to the National Union in general and specifically to the Likud. She added, I have no doubt that if Yaalons treatment wasnt so disparaging, his resignation could have been avoided. Aryeh Deri (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) Minister of Internal Affairs Aryeh Deri (Shas) also praised the resigning minister, saying that Over the several years, Yaalon has very successfully acted as minister of defense, with integrity and loyalty. He added, Yaalon is an ethical man who has dedicated decades of his life to the security of Israel. I call on him to recant and return to the government. HaBayit HaYehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett (R) with Moshe Ya'alon (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky) HaBayit HaYehudi Party Theissued a statement in response to Yaalons departure. Bogey Yaalon is an ethical man who has come to a conscientious decision that reestablishes the dignity of Israeli politics at large. We thank him for all that he has given Israel in every position he has filled and are certain that he will not disappear from political life. Ayelet Shaked (Photo: Motti Kimchi) Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) lamented not having his input on future government decisions. Minister Yaalon is an ethical man who has contributed a great deal to Israel. His place is at the government table. I regret his departure from politics. David Bitan (Photo: Knesset Spokesperson) Coalition Chairperson MK David Bitan Separating himself from most of the responses to Yaalons resignation,(Likud) had some words of criticism for him. Yaalons resignation is a rash move. He was slated to be the minister of foreign affairs and could have used his many abilities in that position to benefit Israel. He added, Creating a broad coalition is a national interest for which everyone needs to rise above their personal interests. I truly hope that Yaalon recants returns to work on Monday. Amir Peretz (Photo: Motti Kimchi) MK Amir Peretz (Zionist Union, former minister of defense) focused his criticism on Netanyahu, saying tht Bibi has finally managed to take out the minister of defense, after repeatedly waiting for an opportunity to do so. He added, Netanyahu has proven today that he isnt the leader of the Israeli People, but only of its most extremist sector. US Secretary of State John Kerry (Photo: AP) US government Reuters reported that following Yaalons departure, theissued a statement on Friday, saying that it looks forward to working with the next Israeli minister of defense. We appreciate Mr. Yaalon's leadership and partnership as defense minister and we look forward to working with his successor, said State Department spokesman John Kirby. Our bonds of friendship are unbreakable, and commitment to the security of Israel remains absolute. On Friday, the Egyptian military issued a statement saying it has found the personal belongings of passengers and other debris from the crashed EgyptAir jet floating in the Mediterranean, confirming it had plunged into the sea with 66 people aboard. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The navy said it found the debris about 290 km north of the coastal city of Alexandria and was sweeping the area in search of the plane's black box recorders. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi offered condolences for those on board, amounting to an official confirmation of their deaths. While there is still no official explanation regarding the cause of the crash, suspicion has immediately fallen on Islamist militants who have been fighting against Egypt's government since Sisi toppled an elected Islamist leader in 2013. In October, ISIS claimed responsibility for blowing up a Russian jetliner that exploded after taking off from an Egyptian tourist resort. Russian investigators blamed a bomb smuggled on board. At present, no group has yet to claim responsibility for the event. Family and friends of the EgyptAir flight (Photos: Reuters) Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived in Cairo early on Friday to help investigate the fate of the missing plane. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said on Thursday that it was too early to rule out any explanation for the disaster. The countrys aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure. Fridays announcement that debris had been found followed earlier confusion about whether wreckage had been located. Greek searchers found some material on Thursday, but the airline later said this was not from its plane. Last years crash had already devastated Egypts tourist industry , one of the main sources of foreign exchange for a country of 80 million people, and another similar attack could crush any hope of it recovering. While most governments were cautious about jumping to conclusions, US presidential hopeful Donald Trump took to Twitter shortly after the planes disappearance: Looks like yet another terrorist attack. Airplane departed from Paris. When will we get tough, smart and vigilant? Many hours later, his likely Democratic rival Hillary Clinton also said it appeared to be an act of terrorism, although she said an investigation would have to determine the details. Crew member on the EpygtAir flight Officials from a number of US agencies told Reuters that a US review of satellite imagery so far had not produced any signs of an explosion. They said the United States had not ruled out any possible causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew. Amid uncertainty about what had brought down the plane, Los Angeles International Airport became the first major US air transportation hub to say it was stepping up security measures. Over the past few years, ultra-hardline Islamists have targeted airports, airliners and tourist sites in Europe, Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries. Crew member on the EpygtAir flight EgyptAir confirmed that the aircraft was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew members when it crashed. They included 30 Egyptians and 15 French nationals, along with citizens of 10 other countries. A320s normally seat 150 people. The plane had made scheduled flights to Tunisia and Eritrea on Wednesday before arriving in Paris from Cairo. At Cairo airport, a man sat on a brown leather couch crying with his hands covering his face on Thursday. How long will Egypt live if human lives are so cheap? He said. The mother of a flight attendant rushed in tears out of the VIP hall where families waited. She said the last time her daughter called her was Wednesday night. They haven't told us anything, she said. With Minister of Defense Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon's resignation from the Knesset, his replacement will be the right-wing activist Rabbi Yehuda Glick. Glick, the man most identified with the fight for Jews to access the Temple Mount and who survived a 2014 assassination attempt, was number 33 in Likud's party list. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "I'm very sad about Bogie Ya'alon's leaving," said 50-year-old Glick to Ynet on Friday morning after he was informed that he would be entering the parliament. "He's an important man who gave much for the Israel's security and for Judea and Samaria's security. I hope that he will continue to contribute outside of politics. I think that Likud lost a very important political asset today. Regardless, I wish the best of luck to the incoming minister of defense with all my heart." Regarding his new position, Glick said, "I welcome the moment. Its a moment of nervousness, because I'm going to be the emissary of the people of Israel, and I hope that I will bring light and that the Almighty will aid me in this mission." Yehuda Glick at Temple Mount following attempt on his life (Photo : Arnon Segal) Glick may run into problems, as MKs are forbidden from visiting the Temple Mount because of the matter's sensitivity with Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world. He said on this matter, "With my entrance to politics, I am a team player and not an individual one, so I'll respect the Knesset's decisions. I also think that this decision was the right one, because several Arab MKs went to the Temple Mount, and it caused unrest. I currently do not intend to make declarations about whether or not I'll work to change the law. The incoming parliamentarian was previously an envoy to CIS countries and later was promoted to various positions in the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption. He made a career change in response to the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, when he left civil service. "I can't serve the public as the representative of the state and the government," he wrote at the time to his friends, and he began public and political activities of a different nature. The Otniel (a settlement south of Hebron) resident became a public activist for the Jewish right to visit and pray on the Temple Mount. He first worked as the CEO of the Temple Institute, which seeks to prepare for the erection of a third Jewish temple on the site. Glick then went on to become a central activist and the head of movements and coalitions of organizations committed to the Temple Mount and the third temple. In his various roles, Glick acted in different ways for freedom of religion and worship on the Mount. He used to visit the site daily and lead Jewish group tours there. He fought for the expansion of visiting hours for non-Muslim tourists and for the right to prayer, even if only as a whisper. He found ways, together with colleagues, to get around the prohibition on Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount: they made as though they were speaking amongst themselves over mundane matters, or as a guide to a tourist, when they were actually mumbling prayers. In addition, he petitioned the High Court of Justice each year to permit him to slaughter a sacrificial paschal lamb at the holy site. In 2014, Glick was shot during an annual Temple Mount event in Jerusalem and critically wounded. After several months of rehabilitation, he managed to heal and return to his activities. In March of this year, he returned to the Temple Mount for the first time since the attempt on his life. Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman has noted several significant achievements in his talks to join the government, particularly in defense and immigration , but his party will still have to compromise on quite a few other issues that it has thus far defined as "principal." Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Because of the makeup of the coalitionwhich includes religious parties Bayit Yehudi, Shas and United Torah JudaismLieberman will have to make concessions on issues of religion and state that would no doubt rile up the ultra-Orthodox parties. This means that once again, Lieberman will not be able to promote new legislation on Jewish conversions and civil unions . He will also not be able to push legislation on the drafting of ultra-Orthodox men to the IDF or on canceling marriage registration districts (allowing couples to register for marriage wherever they choose, which will make the process easier). Incoming defense minister Lieberman and Prime Minister Netanyahu (Photo: Reuters) In return for these concessions, however, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to throw the coalition's support because Lieberman's proposal to impose death sentence on convicted terrorists . The controversial bill has gone up to a vote in the current term and failed due to objection from the coalition. According to the legislation, capital punishment will only apply to Palestinians and could only be given by military courts. Jewish and Arab citizens of Israeleven if they reside in the West Bankwill be tried at civilian courts and the death penalty will therefore not apply to them. Lieberman is also seeking to make it easier on military courts to sentence convicted terrorists to death - by changing the military court's orders to allow a majority of just two, rather than three, judges to dole out the death sentence. In addition, the defense minister will have the authority to implement a policy of capital punishment to terrorists. However, the legislation might still face obstacles as Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, like his predecessors, is expected to object to the bill. Less than a year ago, Mandelblit's predecessor Yehuda Weinstein determined such legislation does not lead to the desired deterrence, as terrorists are already willing to sacrifice their life while carrying out the attack. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit (Photo: Amit Shabi) Officials in the justice system pointed to other issues the legislation could face. Firstly, it goes out against international trend to cancel capital punishment, which could lead to harsh international criticism. "Two thirds of the world's states, including in the European Union, have eliminated the death penalty," former AG Weinstein wrote in his legal opinion last year. Secondly, there is concern of committing an "irreversible error": in the past, people were executed only to be found innocent later. Finally, the legislation can also encounter constitutional obstacles, as it contradicts Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. Israeli law includes a small amount of offenses that could lead to the death sentence, including the Nazis and Nazi Collaborators Punishment Law, treason, and offenses in military law. But most of these are leftovers from the British Mandate period and the 1992 Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty essentially "cancels" such legislation. Likud officials clarified on Thursday night, however, that "this isn't an issue that could thwart the agreement between the two sides." In addition, Netanyahu worked on Thursday to quell the objections to Lieberman's appointment as defense minister, saying in private conversations that he would be a "pragmatic and moderate" defense minister, and that the Yisrael Beytenu leader supports regional diplomatic moves. As part of its coalition deal, Yisrael Beytenu will also receive the chairmanship of one of the Knesset's committees, an MK serving as the deputy Knesset Speaker, a representative in the ministerial committee on legislation, the establishment of a cabinet on immigration, and representation in the socio-economic cabinet. In addition, Lieberman received assurances from the prime minister that the work on the pension reform for new immigrants will continue and be completed. While Lieberman himself will be appointed defense minister, the Immigration Absorption Ministry will be given to his close ally Sofa Landver, who has served in the position before. The signing of the coalition deal with Yisrael Beytenu will lead to a cabinet shuffle. After giving the defense and immigration portfolios to Lieberman, the prime minister will have to find an alternative job for outgoing Immigration Minister Ze'ev Elkin. Outgoing Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon has quit the Knesset and announced he was taking a hiatus from political life, which means Netanyahu will no longer have to find an alternative for him. Netanyahu still holds several portfolios: the Foreign Ministry, the Economy Ministry, the Communications Ministry and the Regional Cooperation Ministry. One of the options the prime minister is examining is offering Elkin a limited Economy Ministry including just industry and trade, after Welfare Minister Haim Katz demanded to return authority over labor to his own ministry. However, it is also likely Netanyahu will find an entirely different role for Elkin. Tova Tzimuki, Itamar Eichner, Yuval Karni, Goel Beno and Eitan Glickman contributed to this story. In accordance with a governmental decision, the IDF is planning on returning on Friday the bodies of the two Palestinian terrorists who in March had each carried out a separate stabbing attack on the same day, with one taking place in the Jaffa Port and the other in Petah Tikva. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a rather cutting response in the wake of resigning Defense Minister Moshe Yaalons Friday press conference, in which he resigned from the government and from political life in general. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter I suppose that if Yaalon wouldnt have been asked to leave the Ministry of Defense for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the so-caled 'crisis of confidence' between us, and he wouldn't have resigned." During his own statement, Yaalon gave several thinly-veiled criticisms of Netanyahu and Yisrael Beytenu Party Chairperson Avigdor Lieberman, who is set to replace Yaalon as the minister of defense. "I'm sorry about Ya'alon's decision. I think that he needs to remain a full partner in the state's leadership and stay on as Defense Minister. I would like to thank him for his years of service in the IDF and the security establishment. I really appreciate our cooperation in keeping Israel safe day and night including during Operation Protective Edge." Netanyahu continued, saying "this change in ministerial allocation isn't a result of a crisis of confidence between the two of us, but as a result of the need to put together a government and to bring stability to Israel in the face of the enormous challenges which lay before us." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: GPO) Netanyahu also repeated his position that the IDF is beholden to the political leadership of the country, hinting at the dispute between himself and Ya'alon. "I want to clarify; the IDF is a moral army," Netanyahu said. "It is a military which keeps to the highest ethical code the most important of which is maintaining a purity of arms. There is not nor will there ever be any disagreement on this. The IDF is also a military comprised of all its citizens, and I believe that the IDF should be kept out of politics. Attempting to involve the military and high ranking officers in politics is unacceptable and endangers democracy. In a democracy, the military is beholden to the political leadership - not the other way around." Netanyahu continued by saying "the Likud party believes in democracy. The Likud is a liberal, national movement - a movement which must maintain Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. The Likud reflects the national mainstream, and is bound to the security of the state and by the desire for peace. The face of the government is peace." "There are opportunities in the political sphere, especially due to certain developments in the region which I personally am working on constantly," the prime minister continued. "It is for this reason that I've been trying with great effort to bring the Zionist Union into the government. I am keeping the door open for them to join and become an addition to the government something which can only benefit Israel." Chairman of the opposition and of the Zionist Union, Isaac Herzog, responded to the recent developments on his Facebook page. Opposition and Zionist Union Chairman Isaac Herzog (Photo: Dana Koppel) "Netanyahu learned the hard way how to deal with people who say 'enough!' We were the ones who said that the attempt to finalize an agreement without signing it was a red line, and we indeed said 'enough!' Last night Orly Levy and today Ya'alon Netanyahu's colleague from the special forces said both to the party and to the government; 'enough!'" Herzog continued, saying "the government needs to be led by responsible people people who are level headed and have poise. Meanwhile, Netanyahu has turned himself into the secretary for the extreme right, headed by Avigdor, Naftali, and Smotrich." Reiterating his stated positions from Thursday night, Herzog said "I reiterate my calls for Ya'alon and Orly Levy to join the Zionist Union, a central political party which I established with Tzipi Livni. Livni also used to be a leader in the Likud, and experienced the exact same things as Ya'alon in a party which is supposedly sane, central, and democratic." 'I'm not ready to sacrifice Israel's security over politics' Moshe Ya'alon officially resigned his post as Defense Minister Friday morning, saying that he had lost confidence in the Prime Minister "In all my actions and decisions," he wrote. "I saw the security of the state and its wellbeing above every other consideration." "I found myself in difficult political arguments with the prime minister over core values." Moshe Ya'alon resigns as defense minister (Photo: Motti Kimchi) Regrettably, there are senior politicians in our country who have chosen to incite and split up sections of Israeli society from one another instead of unifying and connecting them. I find it unacceptable that we be divided due to cynicism and lust for power, and I have repeatedly voiced my opinion on the matter out of honest concern for the future of both the current generation in Israel and the ones that will follow," he continued "Those who lead us must do so based on ethics, an inner compass and at times against an opposing gale-force wind. They should work to outline a path, and not get blown off course for electoral reasons or in light of public surveys, nor should they conduct or agree to any reckless and irresponsible discourse. He added that "Fundamentalist influences have taken over Likud. This is not the same Likud that I joined. A spirit of fracturing is ruling the movement. The outgoing defense minister addressed his work, "I fought with all my strength against the phenomena of extremism, violence and racism in Israeli society that threatens our might and also permeates the IDF, and has already damaged it. "In the future I will return to contend for Israel's national leadership." WASHINGTON- A simmering political crisis in Congo that the US and its allies have been unable to defuse is stoking fears in Congress that one of Africa's largest countries is on the verge of slipping into widespread violence. Tension is building in Congo over President Joseph Kabila's maneuvering to avoid national elections and remain in office beyond his constitutionally permitted term, according to US officials and members of a coalition opposing Kabila. The Obama administration has threatened to sanction anyone who undermines security and democracy in Congo. Yet that warning has so far failed to sway Kabila and members of his government, who've been accused of cracking down on political foes and activists in a bid to remain in power. "It's a really dicey situation," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., one of several lawmakers who've used their oversight role to draw greater attention to conditions in Congo. McCain last month wrote to the Congolese ambassador in Washington, telling him that the advocacy group Human Rights Watch has documented dozens of cases of arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention. Congolese authorities even have threatened to kill those who've challenged Kabila, McCain wrote. MOSCOW- Russia has proposed to the US-led coalition that they stage joint airstrikes on Syrian rebels including Nusra Front who are not observing the ceasefire, starting on May 25, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday. Such action would be coordinated with the Syrian government, he told a Defence Ministry meeting broadcast on state television, adding that Moscow reserved the right to stage strikes unilaterally. Washington has consistently refused to join any operation that is coordinated with the Syrian government, as has been the case with Russia's campaign of airstrikes that began in September last year. BEIJING, May 20 (Reuters) - China's government has approved a sweeping plan to clean up the country's online financial sector, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter, including rules to limit the activities of P2P lending firms, the source of recent fraud scandals. The government plan, which was drafted by China's central bank, follows a mid-April videoconference with 14 ministries and regulators organised by the State Council, the country's cabinet, which approved the plan document seen by the sources. The plan outlines stricter rules for peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms, where lending increased 300 percent last year to 440 billion yuan ($67 billion), according to Citigroup research, forbidding them from holding their clients' capital in house. Instead, client funds must be deposited with a qualified third-party banking institution and kept separate from a P2P platform's own corporate funds, the plan said, while firms must also set up "firewalls" to manage transactions with affiliates. In February, authorities arrested 21 officials of Ezubao, once China's biggest P2P lending platform, which collected $7.6 billion in less than two years from more than 900,000 investors. Ezubao used savvy marketing, authorities said, to fund "a complete Ponzi scheme", that used investor funds to support a lavish lifestyle for company executives. Internet lending has made headlines not just in China recently, with the U.S. Department of Justice opening an investigation into San Francisco-based Lending Club Corp. this week after the online lender admitted it had falsified documentation when selling a package of loans. COLLABORATION China's State Council is urging the 14 ministries to work together and share more information to clean up the online finance sector, according to the same sources. The government is also calling for the establishment of a centralised registration system for internet financial products and a unified platform for internet bank accounts. Story continues The plan restricts the activities that online financial platforms will be allowed to undertake without a licence, including raising cash to fund real estate projects or engage in financial services such as asset management. It also creates additional responsibilities, such as a requirement to match a client's risk profile to the investment products they sell. The plan also forbids false advertising of financial products, and prohibits non-financial companies from registering names including "finance", "asset management", "P2P", "payments", "fund", and "trading exchange". An inter-government body led by the central bank is also being set up, with representatives from the banking, securities and insurance regulators, along with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The plan calls for those ministries and departments to complete their field investigations by July and complete a sector-wide clean-up by November. The State Council intends to issue a report by March, 2017. China's central bank and State Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The contents of the plan document also appeared on social media in China on Friday, and follows earlier reports in Chinese media about the plan. ($1 = 6.5429 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Shu Zhang, Zheng Li and Matthew Miller; Additional reporting by Rong Ma, Elias Glenn and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Will Waterman) BEIRUT - Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah on Friday vowed to strengthen its presence in Syria and send a greater number of leaders than before, a week after its top military commander in the country was killed near Damascus. "No death of any of our leaders will drive us from the battle. This precious blood will push us to a larger, stronger and more sophisticated presence," leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech broadcast live on the group's Al Manar television. BEIRUT- Lebanon's foreign ministry has expressed concerns to the country's top UN official that the international body is pressuring Beirut to naturalize the large refugee population that has found shelter in tiny Lebanon. The foreign ministry on Friday cited an April UN report recommending that when "conditions are not conducive" to refugees returning home, host countries should examine offering them citizenship. But this is a sensitive topic in Lebanon, where over one in four residents is a refugee. KINSHASA- Three Congolese activists, arrested hours before a general strike in February to demand that President Joseph Kabila leave power when his mandate expires this year, were sentenced on Friday to one year in prison, the United Nations said. Bienvenu Matumo and Heritier Kapitene, members of the pro-democracy group Struggle for Change (Lucha), and Victor Tesongo, a member of an opposition party, were convicted of inciting disobedience and spreading false information, said Jose Maria Aranaz, director of the UN human rights office in Democratic Republic of Congo. "We are very worried about this instrumentalisation of the judiciary and the continued criminalisation of civil society," Aranaz told Reuters. Israeli officials have pledged renewed support of the minority Druze population as Minister Aryeh Deri visited the Druze leader Sheikh Muafak Tarif at the Nabi Shueyb shrine - also known as Jethros tomb - on Thursday . Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter I told the leaders of the Druze community that we will offer all the tools necessary to help the community succeed and improve its quality of life, said Deri, Minister of the Development of the Negev, Galilee and Periphery and chairman of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, in a tweet. Tarif is the spiritual leader of the Israeli Druze community. Jethro's tomb in Kfar Zeitim near Tiberias is religiously significant to the Druze community. A key figure in Druze culture, Jethro known to the Druze as Shueyb is known to Jews as Moses father-in-law. On April 25, the Druze celebrated the holiday of Ziyarat al-Nabi Shuayb by making pilgrimages to Jethros tomb. President Reuven Rivlin attended the ceremony and addressed community members, discussing a recent government grant of NIS 2 billion over five years to develop the Druze and Circassian communities in Israel. Druze IDF soldiers commemorating Druze soldiers who fell defending Israel (Photo: George Ginsberg) This is an unprecedented project, and I as president will do everything I can to encourage the government to do its part so equality will not only be spoken about, but practiced, Rivlin said. We talk a lot about the blood pact' between the Druze community and the rest of Israeli society," Rivlin said. I always emphasize that this alliance is a covenant of life, which has been built upon for many years, through the endless devotion of (Durze and Circassian) community members and their concern for Israels safety and well-being. According to a report released by Israels Central Bureau of Statistics in April on the occasion of the Nabi Shuayb holiday, there are 138,000 Druze in Israel today, making up 1.6% of the population. At the time of Israels founding, the Druze made up 1.4% of the population with just 14,000 people. Deri visited the Druze town of Isfiya for Israels Memorial Day last week, laying a wreath in memory of the fallen Druze IDF soldiers who symbolize the brave covenant and shared destiny of the Druze and the State of Israel, Deri said. MEXICO CITY- Mexico has approved the extradition of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to the United States and has received guarantees the death penalty will not be sought against him, the foreign ministry said on Friday. Under Mexican law, Guzman can appeal the decision, possibly delaying the process for weeks or months. Juan Pablo Badillo, one of Guzman's lawyers, told Reuters he would file "many" legal challenges in the coming days. MOSCOW- Russia has proposed to the US- led coalition that they stage joint air strikes on Syrian rebels, including militant Islamist group Nusra Front, who are not observing a ceasefire, but the United States responded negatively on Friday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Such action would begin as of May 25 and be coordinated with the Syrian government, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told a Defence Ministry meeting broadcast on state television, adding Moscow reserved the right to stage strikes unilaterally. He said joint air strikes should also target convoys carrying weapons and ammunition crossing into Syria from Turkey. "We believe the adoption of these measures will allow a transition to a peaceful process to be achieved in the entire territory of Syria," he said. "Of course, these measures have been coordinated with the leadership of the Syrian Arab Republic." Russian airstrike south of Idlib, Syria (Photo: Reuters) But the United States made clear on Friday it had little interest in the idea, noting Russia has floated similar proposals in the past and stressing that it expected Moscow to pressure its ally the Syrian government and to avoid unilateral strikes. Western officials suggested that the proposal, which the Pentagon said had not been formally presented to the U.S. Defense Department, was an attempt by President Vladimir Putin to raise Russia's profile on the international stage. Russian airstrike in Syria (Photo: Reuters) "There is no agreement to conduct joint air strikes with the Russians in Syria," said U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby, He added that the United States believed that the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad was responsible for most of the violations of the fitful ceasefire that began on Feb. 27. "We look to Russia to end such (government) violations, which includes strikes that have hit civilians and civilian facilities," he said. While Russia supports the Assad government, the United States - along with its allies in the West and the Gulf - back rebels trying to overthrow him in a civil war that has burned for more than five years and killed at least 250,000 people. However, both sides oppose the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which was not included in a ceasefire deal which has failed to prevent widespread violence. White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the US aim remains for Russia to persuade Assad to abide by the cessation of hostilities in Syria, saying it was not the first time Russia had made such a proposal. US aircraft carrier fleet (Photo: Gettyimages) "You've seen Russia show an eagerness to cooperate with us militarily. This is not something that's new," Schultz said. In private, US officials said the idea was a non-starter. "Don't see it happening," a US official said, adding the US military "will ensure safety of flight but nothing else." A Western official from a coalition country also played down the proposal. "Putin has long had a strategy regarding Syria of trying to share the geopolitical stage with the United States and its allies, and his latest proposal appears to reflect that goal," the official said. Washington has consistently refused to join any operation that is coordinated with the Syrian government, as has been the case with Russia's campaign of air strikes that began in September last year. TUNIS- Tunisia's Islamist party Ennahda will separate its political and religious work, its chief said on Friday, moving away from its tradition of political Islam. Ennahda was the first Islamist party to come to power in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring revolutions and it took part in the first government coalition after the overthrow of Tunisia's autocratic leader Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali. It won the first post-uprising election by appealing to many Tunisians who saw its Islamist identity as an antidote to the years of corruption and repression under the Ben Ali government in one of the region's most secular nations. LUBUMBASHI- Congo's top opposition candidate for the upcoming presidential election flew to South Africa for medical treatment Friday, one day after authorities issued an arrest warrant for him on charges his supporters say are politically motivated. Moise Katumbi's lawyer Georges Kapiamba told The Associated Press late Friday that his client had boarded a flight that would take him from Lubumbashi to South Africa "for appropriate care." The move postpones the prospect of his arrest, although the authorities who granted him permission to fly insisted he must return to face the charges of hiring mercenaries. Chinese 100 yuan banknotes are seen in a counting machine while a clerk counts them at a branch of a commercial bank in Beijing, China, March 30, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo By Shu Zhang and Matthew Miller BEIJING (Reuters) - China's government has approved a plan to clean up the country's online financial sector, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, including rules to limit the activities of P2P lending firms, the source of recent fraud scandals. The plan, drafted by China's central bank, follows a mid-April video-conference with 14 ministries and regulators organized by the State Council, the country's cabinet, which approved the plan document seen by the sources. It outlines stricter rules for peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms, where lending quadrupled last year to 440 billion yuan ($67 billion), according to Citigroup research, forbidding them from holding clients' capital in-house. Instead, client funds must be deposited with a qualified third-party banking institution and kept separate from a P2P platform's own corporate funds. Firms must also set up "firewalls" to manage transactions with affiliates. "The online finance sector has entered a tough period this year," Wang Zhijian, CEO of FuYin, a Shanghai-based P2P platform, said at a financial forum on Friday. "Good platforms welcome government regulation for a simple reason: without good rules, bad players push out good players," said Wang, adding a lack of regulation forced all platforms into unfair competition. In February, authorities arrested 21 officials of Ezubao, once China's biggest P2P lending platform, which collected $7.6 billion inside two years from more than 900,000 investors. It used savvy marketing, authorities said, to fund "a complete Ponzi scheme" that used investor funds to support a lavish lifestyle for company executives. Last month, police arrested 21 executives at Zhongjin Capital Management - a high-profile Shanghai-based platform that promised retail investors double-digit returns for short-term projects - accusing them of "illegal fundraising." "These big cases are neither online finance nor P2P. They are frauds covered in the name of P2P and online finance," Wang Sicong, chairman of P2P platform eLoan told Reuters. He said eLoan's business dropped by a third after the Ezubao fraud was exposed. Story continues Internet lending has made headlines not just in China recently, with the U.S. Department of Justice investigating San Francisco-based Lending Club Corp (LC.N) which has admitted falsifying documentation when selling a package of loans. COLLABORATION China's cabinet is urging the 14 ministries to work together and share information to clean up the online finance sector, the sources said. The government is also calling for the establishment of a centralized registration system for Internet financial products and a unified platform for Internet bank accounts. The plan restricts what online financial platforms can do without a license - from raising cash to fund real estate projects to engaging in financial services such as asset management. It also creates additional responsibilities, such as a requirement to match a client's risk profile to the investment products they sell. The plan also forbids false advertising of financial products, and prohibits non-financial companies from registering names including "finance", "asset management", "P2P", "payments", "fund", and "trading exchange". An inter-government body led by the central bank is also being set up, with representatives from the banking, securities and insurance regulators, along with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The plan calls for those ministries and departments to complete their field investigations by July and finish a sector-wide clean-up by November. The cabinet intends to issue a report by next March. China's central bank and State Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The contents of the plan document also appeared on social media in China on Friday, and in Chinese media earlier. (Reporting by Shu Zhang, Zheng Li and Matthew Miller; Additional reporting by Rong Ma, Elias Glenn and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Will Waterman and Ian Geoghegan) This has been a long time in the making, but in our continuing pursuit to bring only the best of firearms, 2nd Amendment and defence related news to our readers, we are very excited to announce the next step in our evolution as a company. As of 2020, Minuteman Review is now the proud owner and operator of Your Defence News, a website with a long history of breaking huge news stories and investigative journalism. We hope you are equally as excited as us. This means that now the teams of Minuteman can combine with the firepower of Your Defence News to stay at the absolute forefront for our readers. Keep an eye. Big things are coming soon. We couldn't be more excited. In the meanwhile, here are some of our most popular posts and categories to keep you busy. Happy shootin' my friends! Buying Guides: Firearms Firearm Accessories Ammunition Gun Safes Scopes & Optics Hunting Air Rifles Best AR-15 Best AR 15 Scope Best Hunting Rifle Best Gun Safe Best AK 47 Best AR 10 Best Glock Triggers Best Glock Best Home Defense Shotgun By Aaron Ross KINSHASA (Reuters) - An opposition presidential candidate in Democratic Republic of Congo, accused of hiring mercenaries in an alleged plot against the state, left the country on Friday night to receive medical treatment in South Africa, his lawyer said. The prosecutor general's office issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for former provincial governor Moise Katumbi but said in a statement on Friday that he could go to South Africa to be treated. Katumbi's lawyer, Georges Kapiamba, told Reuters that his client had been hospitalized since last Friday, when police fired tear gas at him and his supporters outside the prosecutor's office in Congo's second city of Lubumbashi, where he was appearing to be questioned. Katumbi denies the charges against him, which he says are aimed at derailing his bid to replace President Joseph Kabila in a November presidential election. Kabila, in power since 2001, is barred by constitutional term limits from standing again but opponents accuse him of trying to delay the vote in order to cling to power. The government says it is unlikely to be able to hold the election on time due to budgetary and logistical constraints, and denies that the charges against Katumbi are politically motivated. Some of Katumbi's supporters fear that authorities will block the multi-millionaire former mining mogul from returning to the country, but Kapiamba rejected that possibility. "They can't force him into exile," Kapiamba said, adding that Katumbi was headed to Johannesburg. "He is going to return." Political tensions are running high in Congo ahead of the scheduled election. The country's highest court ruled last week that Kabila could stay in power if it did not take place before the end of his mandate. Opposition parties labeled that a "constitutional coup d'etat" and called for marches across the country on May 26 to demand that Kabila step down this year. On Friday, a court also sentenced three activists, arrested hours before a general strike in February to demand that Kabila leave power when his mandate expires this year, to one year in prison, the United Nations said. The director of the U.N. human rights office in Congo, Jose Maria Aranaz, denounced the decision as evidence of "the instrumentalization of the judiciary and the continued criminalization of civil society." (Reporting by Aaron Ross; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) Governor of Democratic Republic of Congo's Katanga province Moise Katumbi Chapwe during an interview in Lubumbashi, DR Congo on June 2, 2015 (AFP Photo/Federico Scoppa) Lubumbashi (DR Congo) (AFP) - Powerful Democratic Republic of Congo opposition figure Moise Katumbi, who has said he will run for the presidency, left the country for South Africa on Friday. Katumbi, who is seeking medical care and faces a trial at home for threatening state security, left aboard a plane which took off from Lubumbashi at 8:03 pm (1803 GMT), an AFP correspondent said, just hours after the DR Congo authorities said he was free to travel abroad. Congolese Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba told AFP earlier that Katumbi "asked for conditional release covered by a medical certificate saying he needed appropriate care abroad. The prosecutor agreed to the request and authorised his departure." Katumbi arrived at the airport by ambulance which drove straight up to a waiting plane. According to airport sources he was accompanied by his wife and a doctor on his way to Johannesburg. His entourage say he was injured during clashes between police and thousands of his supporters in Lubumbashi on May 13. His detractors accuse him of feigning medical problems. The 51-year-old businessman is President Joseph Kabila's leading rival for the country's top job after recently announcing plans to stand against the long-serving head of state. Immediately after that, judicial authorities opened an inquiry on May 4 alleging that Katumbi had hired foreign mercenaries. Katumbi has denied the allegations as "grotesque lies" and said the case, which followed the arrest of four of his bodyguards, including an American, was politically motivated. - 'Targeted actions - No date has been set for the trial of Katumbi, millionaire owner of a prestigious football club and former governor of mineral-rich Katanga province. The charges carry the death penalty, which has been systematically commuted to life since Democratic Republic of Congo suspended capital punishment, Kinshasa University law professor Sam Bokolombe told AFP. Story continues The news comes amid mounting domestic and international concern that Kabila will delay elections due to be held late this year when his second five-year mandate ends. The opposition claims Kabila, in power since 2001, plans to extend his rule, and last week the Constitutional Court ruled he could stay in office beyond 2016 without being re-elected. Human Rights Watch has slammed the case as "targeted actions against a presidential aspirant and close supporters". Katumbi was an ally of Kabila's but broke with him in September after the president announced he would carve up DR Congo's provinces, including Katanga, into smaller entities. Kabila's supporters want the presidential elections delayed for two to four years on the grounds of alleged logistical and financial difficulties. Sam Bokolombe, from Kinshasa University's international criminal law department, said Katumbi had "no interest" in remaining abroad and that he expected him to return to have his day in court. But his supporters claim the authorities are seeking to remove Katumbi from the political scene. Developer and property investment advice firm OpenCorp launched its crowdsourcing platform, the Open Access fund in mid-March, and has already raised $10.5m in equity in under six weeks from individual and self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) investors. Once people are invested in the fund they are issued cash units, while the money held in those units is directed to low risk assets such as 30-day term deposits which deliver investors returns of around 2% to 2.5%. While those returns are modest, fund members are offered first right of refusal to participate in OpenCorp development projects, such as a recently announced $40m boutique apartment development in Melbournes Hawthorn East. If somebodys in the Access Fund and holding cash units, we then present them with project opportunities, OpenCorp Director Matthew Lewison said. Somebody might have $100,000 in cash units and see the Hawthorn East project and they might put 50% of their units towards it, Lewison said. That would leave the other 50% in cash units and then when the next project comes along they might put half of what theyve got left in that. As returns come back from projects your money is reinvested back into the cash units and you can redeem your cash units at any time at no cost. OpenCorp predict the Hawthorne East project will deliver investors a 50% return on equity over the next two and a half years. The Hawthorne East project is the second opportunity offered to Access Fund members after OpenCorp raised $6.5m in three weeks for a six-storey apartment development in the Brisbane suburb of Albion. Lewison said the level of interest in the Hawthorne East project had exceeded what OpenCorp had expected and he believes the future projects and the fund in general will continue to grow in popularity. Were definitely seeing Australians wanting to control particularly their super and investment decisions and know where their money is being invested, rather than just handing their money to a big corporation and have somebody in back office deicide where its going to be invested. Seventy-five per cent of investors in our fund are SMSF operators and with 25,000 new SMSF being set up each year, which has been a consistent trend for the last seven or eight years, its clear that Australians want to take control of their own future. Therefore being able to provide investment opportunities that dont require a huge deposit to get into, our fund requires has a $10,000 entry point, is something thats going to be popular. They dont need to save up for 10 year to get into the asset class and get exposure to property. Lewison said the particulars of the Hawthorne project also likely contributed to its popularity. Hawthorn East is the third most expensive suburb from a median price perspective in Melbourne. Its in council area called Booroondara, which is about six kilometres east of the city and has four of the five most expensive suburbs in Melbourne within it. Hawthorn East is right in that very, very hotspot of expensive, highly sought after property. So to be able to deliver a project that will be providing apartments targeted at the owner-occupier market is something that really appealed to our investors. The popularity of the first two Open Access Fund projects has already seen OpenCorp decide on their next offering. Weve got a project in Queensland that we had earmarked for a joint venture with an existing JV partner and because of the demand were seeing in the fund with the Albion and Hawthorn East projects we wanted to provide another opportunity for fund members, Lewison said. Weve reserved an allocation in that project to provide an opportunity for the retail and mum and dad investors to participate in that as well. As a homeowner, you probably already know that you should be working to maintain your home. But, chances are, you Read More The Global and United States Hydrobike Market Report has been published by QY Research recently. Hydrobike Market Analysis and Insights This report focuses on... CAIRO, May 19 (Reuters) - Egypt will lead the official committee investigating the disappearance of an EgyptAir flight on its way to Cairo from Paris, Ayman al-Moqadem, the head of Egypt's Air Accidents Investigation department, said on Thursday. The committee will also include France, which is both the manufacturing country of the Airbus 320 and the country with the second-largest number of victims on board after Egypt. The committee will commence its search for the black boxes and gather evidence as soon as the remains of the plane are found. Britain and Greece have also offered to assist in the investigation, Moqadem said. He did not say if the offers were accepted. (Reporting by Abdelnasser Aboelfadl; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Lin Noueihed) By Yeganeh Torbati and Joel Schectman WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has a simple answer for executives of European banks scratching their heads over whether it is now legal for them to do business with Iran: Just ask. Any firm concerned whether a prospective business deal with Iran would be legal, Secretary of State John Kerry said before a meeting with British bankers in London last week, should call the U.S. agency in charge of sanctions, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, known as OFAC. "It really shouldn't be complicated," he told reporters, according to a transcript of his comments. "It's clearly defined, and when people have a question, we are available to answer those questions." If only it were that simple. Sanctions lawyers say OFAC does not do enough to clear up the ambiguity caused by a maze of overlapping sanctions and exemptions. In interviews, nearly a dozen attorneys who regularly deal with the agency said the recommendations they receive are often vague and noncommittal. The United States reached a deal with Iran last July that lifts some sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme, including letting non-U.S. banks operate in Iran. But it maintains restrictions based on terrorism and human rights concerns, and U.S. banks are still forbidden to do business with Iran. The resulting uncertainty is contributing to companies' reluctance to restart or launch relationships with Iran. Firms have also been reluctant to return to Cuba and Myanmar, two other countries subject to U.S. sanctions. U.S. sanctions programs, enacted via legislation or executive order, are intended to be coercive economic tools, not regulatory hurdles, and the ambiguity often serves to heighten the impact of sanctions by scaring businesses away from America's foes. The remaining sanctions on Iran bar transactions with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and with more than 200 other groups or individuals categorized as designated entities or specially designated nationals. Organizations owned by the IRGC, as well as by the other individuals or companies, are off-limits to any bank that wants access to the U.S. financial system. Story continues "Banks in Europe are allowed to open accounts for Iran; banks in Europe are allowed to do business; banks in Europe can fund programs, lend money," Kerry said. "That's absolutely open for business as long as it's not a designated entity. Period. Very simple." Since some sanctions were lifted, Iran has agreed to deals worth a total of at least $37 billion (25.3 billion) in sectors such as construction, aviation and car manufacturing, with companies including planemaker Airbus (AIR.PA), carmaker Peugeot (PEUP.PA) and Italian steel firm Danieli (DANI.MI). Dozens of other companies have said they are in talks or have signed provisional agreements with Iranian partners. But lawyers say those deals will be difficult or impossible to carry out if large European banks refuse to finance them or transfer money in and out of the country, for fear that doing so might violate the remaining sanctions or that the restrictions might "snap back" if Iran violates the nuclear agreement. Part of the problem is that knowing if a company or person is blacklisted or owned by a blacklisted person or company is difficult in a place such as Iran, attorneys said. "The problem is the IRGC doesn't walk out there waving a flag and saying, 'Hey, I own 51.4 percent of this company; don't deal with me,'" said Aaron Hutman, a sanctions attorney at Pillsbury in Washington. "The banks are being asked to deal in a world where you have very sophisticated players who over the course of years of sanctions have become very good at hiding themselves." With some of the sanctions on Iran, Cuba and Myanmar now being rolled back, OFAC finds itself in an unfamiliar role as a regulator of trade with countries where America is seeking to mend relations. The Treasury Department declined an interview request, but a spokeswoman said in an emailed statement that government officials have travelled to at least 18 countries to talk about Iran and held roundtables with banks "to clarify their specific concerns." A State Department spokesman said in a statement that since the Iran nuclear deal was reached last July, officials have engaged with financial firms, foreign governments and the public to make clear what sanctions would be lifted and who would be removed from the U.S. blacklist. Farhad Alavi, a sanctions attorney at Akrivis Law Group in Washington, said he often can get some sense of whether a transaction would be allowed by calling OFAC's hotline. But getting written guidance on whether a transaction would constitute assisting in the violation of sanctions called facilitation can take a year or more, he said. In one instance, Alavi said it took him a full year and a half to receive permission to speak to an Iranian media outlet. "There is just this bottleneck caused by OFAC's inability to respond quickly because of the flood of applications and inquiries," he said. Banks often need such written assurances to conduct transactions tied even indirectly to Iran. A lengthy wait means the window for a business opportunity is likely to close before a response comes through. "The banks have to hear something along the lines of 'If you act in good faith, you can expect that we are not going to engage in any heavy-handed enforcement,'" Hutman said. "That's not the message you get. The message you get is, 'We plan to vigorously enforce our Iran-related laws.'" (Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by John Walcott and Leslie Adler) Guwahati: Newly-elected BJP legislators in Assam will meet here on May 22 to elect Sarbananda Sonowal as the leader of the legislature party formalising the choice as new chief minister of the state. Sonowal said he would take oath at Khanapara field here on May 24 at a function to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The new BJP members of the Assam Assembly today informally met under the leadership of 53-year-old Sonowal, who is now Union Minister of Sports, at the party headquarters here, spokesperson Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Sonowal, who came into politics as a student leader belonging to AASU in the 1980s during the agitation against influx from Bangladesh, had joined BJP five years ago, and was made its chief ministerial candidate in the election. The BJP and its allies AGP and Bodo People's Front scored a landslide victory, cornering 87 seats in the 126-member Assembly. The victorious BJP legislators decided to have the first official meeting of the legislature party on May 22 where Sonowal will be elected as their leader, Sarma said. BJP's alliance partners, AGP and BPF, will meet the next day to elect Sonowal as the leader of the alliance, he said. The new government will be sworn in on May 24 here in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, all the chief ministers of NDA, including those in the northeast, besides senior central BJP ministers, Sarma said. Sonowal will meet Modi and Shah on the election outcome and government formation, he added. The BJP won 60 seats on its own, up from 5 last time. The AGP bagged 14 seats while the BPF secured 13 seats. Last time, the AGP had 10 and BPF 12. The Congress, which had 78 seats in the outgoing Assembly, could bag only 26 this time. The AIUDF, the largest opposition party in the outgoing Assembly, won 13 seats, against 18. Guwahati: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief ministerial candidate in Assam Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday thanked the people of the northeastern state for `overwhelming love`. Elated over BJP's spectacular victory in Assam dethroning 15-year rule of Congress, Sonowal took to Twitter and assured that he was ready to take the state on the path to progress. Assam has voted for change, for prosperity, for peace, for good governance. I am ready, our Alliance is ready, to take Assam to progress. Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) May 20, 2016 #ThankYouAssam! The responsibility & love bestowed by the people of Assam-Brahmaputra & Barak Valleys overwhelms me pic.twitter.com/NPmgimNmQm Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) May 20, 2016 On Thursday, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader had said: "Issues like infiltration, sealing of the Indo-Bangla border, problems of small tea growers, unemployment -- are the major challenges. We will work together (with allies) to resolve these issues." He had also said that a list will be prepared with names of "bonafide" Indian citizens. The BJP and its alliance partners Asom Gana Parishad and Bodo Peoples Party swept the Assam Assembly polls garnering a total 41.5 percent vote share, while the defeated ruling Congress got 31 percent of the total votes polled. The saffron party, which is forming the government in the state for the first time, upped its presence from only six MLAs to 60 and has secured voteshare of 29.5 percent by logging 49,92,185 votes, according to the Election Commission's website. Guwahati: Assam's outgoing Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today tendered his resignation to Governor P B Acharya following Congress' defeat in the just-concluded Assembly polls. Gogoi went to the Raj Bhawan this evening and tendered his resignation to the Governor who asked him to continue till the new government assumes office, the Chief Minister's Office said. Before leaving for Raj Bhawan, Gogoi chaired his last Cabinet meeting with his ministerial colleagues and thanked all officers and government employees for their cooperation during the last 15 years of Congress rule in the state. The three-time Chief Minister did not speak to mediapersons waiting outside the Raj Bhawan after tendering his resignation. Congress could manage to win only 26 seats while the BJP-led alliance swept to power in the state winning 86 seats in the recently concluded Assembly polls. Patna: The ruling JD(U) in Bihar today said it suspended its MLC Manorama Devi from the party not under pressure from the Opposition but on instruction of the party president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The party suspended its MLC Manorama Devi for allegedly harbouring her son Rakesh Ranjan Yadav alias Rocky Yadav, an accused in the Aditya Sachdeva murder case in Gaya, for days. "The suspension of the MLC from the party and the action against her by law enforcement agencies have been taken on the basis of (Chief Minister Nitish) Kumar's unequivocal beliefthat law must take its own course," JD(U) spokesperson Sanjay Singh told PTI. Singh was reacting to media reports suggesting that Manorama Devi was suspended by the JD(U) under "mounting pressure" from the Opposition. He said the Chief Minister has maintained a consistent stand that the law must function without fear of anybody, be it JD(U) legislators or those from its coalition partners. "Nitish Kumar neither frames anybody in a case nor comes to the rescue of those facing charge," Singh said. He said, "Under the Nitish Kumar regime, nobody will be spared for committing a crime, however powerful or mighty that person may be and the same yardstick has been applied in the case of Manorama Devi." He said Opposition BJP and its senior party leader Sushil Kumar Modi in particular should not be under "illusion" that the action against the MLC or in any other case has been initiated under their pressure. The government has taken strict action in the Aditya Sachdeva murder case and the murder case of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan in Siwan on the CM's directive to enforce rule of law and not due to the Opposition pressure, Singh said. The state government has also recommended a CBI probe in the journalist Rajdeo Ranjan murder case in view of the demand by his family, he said, and charged the Opposition and Sushil Modi in particular, for taking "false credit" over this. The spokesperson slammed former deputy chief minister Modi for suggesting that the Bihar Police lacked guts to take action in high profile cases. "If the senior BJP leader felt that the policemen are incompetent then he should surrender the police escort provided to him by the state government," he said. New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 25 lakhs to the family of slain NDMC law officer M M Khan. Khan, 57, was shot dead by two assailants in the city's Jamia Nagar area recently. He was returning home around 7:30 pm when the incident took place. Police have so far apprehended six people in connection with the case. The assailants had intercepted Khans car before shooting him dead from a close range. He was rushed to Holy Family hospital where the medics declared him dead. Khans family had told police that he used to receive calls from unknown people during odd hours of the day. His family members have alleged that he was killed for refusing to take bribe from the owners of a prominent hotel in Delhis Connaught Place. Khan was working as an assistant legal advisor with the NDMC for more than five years. New Delhi: Former Manipur MLAs, who had resigned following passage of three contentious bills in the state Assembly a year ago, today urged the Centre not to give its consent to the "anti-tribal" bills. "We are here to apprise the central leadership, the President of India about the trauma we are facing today. The three bills were passed without referring to the hill people, as is the rule," Samuel Risom, one of the four MLAs, told reporters here. "With these enactments, they want to destroy the hill people and tribals. They want to give a free hand to others with vested interests to purchase land in the state," he said. The Manipur Assembly had passed three contentious bills--the Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015, the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015, and the Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015, last year. The former MLAs belonging to Naga People's Front (NPF)-- Dikho, Alexander Pou, Nunghlung Victor and Samuel Risom - had resigned, alleging "procedural lapses" and that the bills were "against the interest of the tribals". "The bills were passed within minutes without any debate and they called it 'unanimously passed'. We were not even given time to put forth our concerns," Risom said. "But, at least by our resignation, people are now aware about the situation of tribals in Manipur," he said. NPF Manipur state President Awangbow Newmai complained of the indifference shown to the "injured" state of Manipur. "It is time the Government of India intervenes and sees to it that normalcy is restored in Manipur and interests of all sections of people are safeguarded and that everyone is happy. And if otherwise, Manipur is going to face a very serious problem," he said. The former MLAs and other NPF leaders yesterday met Union minister Kiren Rijiju with their plea. They also want to meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister Rajnath Singh. After the passage of the contentious bills, tribals had launched protests and clashed with security personnel alleging the bills will allow the "outsiders" to snatch away their land rights. Nine people, including an 11-year-old boy, were killed during the agitation. BJP president Amit Shah set the tone for victory celebrations by asserting that the party is two steps closer to its aim of creating a Congress-mukt Bharat. Indeed, the BJP has done well to establish a strong base for itself in Assam, open account in Kerala and increase vote share in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. In the two years since 2014 when Narendra Modi came to power, Congress had its own government in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand Kerala, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Manipur. The party also had a stake as alliance partner in Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir. In May 2016 the Congress is left with only Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur Meghalaya, Mizoram and Puducherry. The party is also part of the ruling alliance in Bihar. In terms of percentage of the population, only around 7 per cent of India's population is ruled by the Congress now. When Bihar is included in the calculation then the figure goes up to 15.58%. In contrast, the BJP directly rules over 35.6% and when the NDA ruled states are included then the percentage stands at 43.1%. That's where the real equation comes into play. A huge chunk 41% of the population is ruled by standalone regional parties that owe allegiance neither to the NDA nor to the UPA. Big states with huge populations like Uttar Pradesh (16.5%), West Bengal (7.5%), Tamil Nadu (6.0%) and smaller but important states like Odisha (3.47%), Telangana (3.0%), Kerala (2.8%), Delhi (3.38%), Tripura (0.30%), Nagaland (0.16%) and Sikkim (0.05%). Most of these states are impregnable fortresses of regional satraps, or at least, they are the dominant political force there. Also, amid all the celebrations, it would augur well for the BJP to not forget that it was beaten convincingly by such regional parties in Bihar and Delhi in recent times. The equation is simple: The BJP does well when it is pitted against the Congress and falters when faced with the power of regional parties. And, the party must realise that the goal post has changed. Modi will not face his biggest challenge from the Congress in 2019. The big fight between the BJP and a united force of regional parties and the Left with the possibility of Congress offering support from outside. Members of the public walk past the Bank of England in central London June 3, 2008. REUTERS/Alessia Pierdomenico By Andrew MacAskill and Jim Finkle LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England ordered UK banks to detail steps taken to secure computers connected to the SWIFT bank messaging network about two months after a still-unidentified group used the system to steal $81 million from Bank Bangladesh, according to three people familiar with the effort. The central bank sent the request to update cyber security measures to all banks it regulates in mid-to-late April, according to these people, who were not authorized to discuss the confidential communications. The previously unreported action marks the earliest known case of a central bank in a major economy to order its member banks to conduct a formal security review in response to the Bangladesh theft, which has shaken the global system for transferring money among both commercial and central banks. The Bank of England, one of the G10 central banks that oversee Brussels-based SWIFT, said it had no immediate comment. The FBI, authorities in Dhaka and private forensic experts are investigating the February cyber heist in Bangladesh where thieves raided a central bank account kept at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, stealing $81 million. They installed malware inside the bank's Dhaka headquarters that hid traces of their attack in a bid to delay discovery so they could access the funds, according to police and private security firms. The Bank of England told banks to conduct a "compliance check" to confirm whether they are following security practices recommended by SWIFT, which the firm recently reissued to members in the wake of the February heist, one of the people said. SWIFT declined to comment. The group has previously declined to release those guidelines, which were issued in private communications. The checks called for by the Bank of England include conducting what are known as user entitlement reviews, which ensure that only authorized staff have access to SWIFT applications and the service's messaging gateway, that person said. Story continues Banks were also told to review computer logs for digital evidence known as "indicators of compromise," including IP addresses and email addresses linked to recent attacks. Those indicators include technical details included in reports from several private cyber security firms, including Britain's BAE Systems PLC. The communication from the Bank of England asked banks to respond by early May and provide details about plans for installing a security update to SWIFT Alliance Access software, according to the person. The messaging group last month released the update and asked members to install by May 16 Meanwhile, Sweden's Riksbank on Wednesday called on all users of the central bank's RIX payments system for large transaction to follow the SWIFT recommendations, a central bank spokesman told Reuters. Earlier this week, Singapore's central bank asked banks to maintain a high level of security for their critical IT systems following recent cyber attacks using the SWIFT financial messaging system. In the Philippines, a senior central bank official said on Tuesday that regulators were crafting regulations to help banks and other financial institutions fend off cyber heists and minimize damage after any systems breach. (Reporting by Andrew MacAskill in London, Jim Finkle in Washington; Additional reporting by Daniel Dickson in Stockholm; editing by Edward Tobin) New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday asked BSF to be more alert and vigilant to prevent cow smuggling along the Indo-Bangla border and asserted that the criminal activity "has to stop." The minister also said he has asked the Union Home Secretary to create a national "think tank" which will work to ensure India's security in all its spheres. He added that a plan has been chalked out to ensure that the country's land borders are "absolutely safe" and "fool-proof", while the government is deploying smart technological solutions like laser walls and surveillance gadgets to keep security at the frontiers 'chust durust' (fit and fine) at all the times. In his keynote speech on the topic 'Border Management in Changing Scenario', organised by the BSF here, Singh said forces will have to be alert and alive to changing security challenges to ensure India's economic security and prosperity as some elements have cast their evil eye and perpetrated 'naapak' (unholy) activities against the country, including some neighbours. There are "some deficiencies" in border management, the Home Minister said, adding "we are trying to make the scenario more alert and secure". "Cow smuggling has been taking place for many years now... I congratulate BSF jawans for bringing down the numbers from 23 lakh to 3-3.5 lakh now. I will like to exhort the jawans and officers of the BSF that in order to stop cow smuggling, we will have be more alert and vigilant. This has to stop," Singh said. He said apart from these measures, it was essential to get the support of state governments on this issue and his ministry has written to them on the subject. The Home Minister said he was confident about the capabilities of the security forces who guard the frontiers of the country and based on this confidence he can say that no one can "dare" look upon Indian borders. "The incidents of infiltration have come down by about 50 per cent and a big number of terrorists have been killed. I give the credit for this to the bravery of our security personnel," he said. Talking about India's economy, Singh said his government is "determined" to make it grow up to the level of "double digits". He said the growth rate of the Indian economy was about 3-3.5 per cent during independence in 1947 and it was then called the 'Hindu growth rate', which moves forward at the slow pace of a tortoise. In 1998, Singh added, the growth rate went up to about 8.4 per cent and kept steady for sometime. "We are proud of the respect that India commands across the globe ... World ranking agencies have called India the fastest growing economy," he said. Getting back on the subject of border security, Singh said despite deploying all technology solutions, troops will always remain the most important component to secure the frontiers. He asked the security agencies to remain cautious against the nefarious "proxy war" being conducted against them and the country by using information technology tools. The Home Minister said some time ago a committee was constituted to analyse the ground situation and suggest measures to fortify Indian borders, even as he asked BSF, the largest border guarding force of the country, to ensure that the men on ground are put to training "regularly" and that they do not suffer stress. "As soon as the committee (headed by former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta) submits report to us, we will take its cognisance," he said. "Also try, as much as you (BSF top brass) can, that troops deployed on the borders do not have to undergo any kind of stress. I don't need to tell you how to do this," he told the BSF brass, led by Director General K K Sharma, who attended the event here. He added that an amount of Rs 635 crore has been earmarked by the government for creating as many as 13 new Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) at various land borders. The Minister asked BSF men to make the border population feel like they are "family" to them and ensure all help to them. New Delhi: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said the government is engaged in last minute bargaining to reduce the price of Rafael fighter aircraft, adding that it would be finalised very soon. The minister said the government wants to reduce import dependence in defence sector to below 40 percent from the present 60-65 percent in the next five to eight years through `Make in India` and make the country self-reliant in defence production. The Defence Minister said his ministry removed obstacles in the way of procurement of defence equipment through a transparent mechanism, adding that the impact of new Defence Procurement Policy will be visible only after a year as defence procurement is a very complex and lengthy process. "The new policy is aimed at promoting indigenisation of defence equipment through Make in India," Parrikar said told All India Radio in an interview. He said the strength of combatised armed forces would not be cut down rather it would be strengthened. "There is a scope of rationalisation of strength of non-combat employees and a committee has been set up in this regard which will submit its report in three months," said Parrikar. "The NDA government has taken several measures to further strengthen the security of the country during last two years of its rule and has fulfilled the long-pending demand of defence forces for the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme. This step will bolster the confidence and morale of security forces and they will be able to thwart the evil designs of enemy," said Parrikar, adding the OROP will not have any adverse impact on the Defence budget. He said the government has given freedom to armed forces to deal with insurgents in the insurgency-prone areas and with the enemy at the borders. On modernisation of defence forces, the Defence Minister said, "Two indigenously manufactured Tejas, Light Combat Aircrafts (LCA) have already been inducted in the Air Force and its first squadron will be ready to fly by September-October this year and six new submarines are under construction at Mazagaon Docks." He admitted that corruption in defence procurement during the previous regime had affected defence preparedness and after the Bofors scam, the procurement of guns had come to a standstill. Parrikar said the trial of Dhanush gun manufactured by ordnance factory in the country is underway and production of self-propelled guns in the private sector with 50 percent indigenous content has been approved and contracts will be given in next 2-3 months. "Production in ordnance factories has gone up by 15-20 percent in the recent past. Indiscriminate blacklisting of defence manufacturers has made procurement costlier," he added. New Delhi: India on Friday extended a helping hand to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka by sending two Naval ships with relief material to the neighbouring country. INS Sutlej, a survey vessel, sailed for Colombo from Southern Naval Command in Kochi. Another ship, INS Sunayna, a Naval offshore patrol vessel, will be leaving soon with more relief material, Navy officials said. Cyclone Roanou has wreaked havoc along Sri Lankan coast. 43 people have been killed and 133 were missing following massive landslides and floods in the Kegalle region. Schools throughout the country have been closed as a precaution. IN swings into action, rushes HADR material to Colombo Sri Lanka. IN Ships Sunayna & Sutlej set sail at 0800h pic.twitter.com/6LvHWsJzus Captain DK Sharma (@CaptDKS) May 20, 2016 Heavy rainfall is expected in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha as the storm will move away from Sri Lanka tracking northeastward into Bangladesh and Myanmar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had condoled the deaths on Thursday. We stand resolutely to help the Government and people of Sri Lanka. Assistance being rushed on emergency basis: PM @narendramodi PMO India (@PMOIndia) May 19, 2016 (With IANS inputs) New Delhi: The Central government on Friday issued an ordinance to postpone the implementation of NEET or the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - the common entrance test for medical and dental courses - for state governments and their affiliated institutions by a year so that the students have enough time to prepare. The Centre issued the ordinance following clearance from the Union Cabinet this morning. Talking to reporters, Union health Minister JP Nadda said, ''Some states have issues, I assure all that we will resolve the matter very soon.'' The NEET issue is still being reviewed, he added. The ordinance needs to be approved by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, to come into effect. However, a petition was filed against the Centre's move in the Supreme Court. This isn't in the interest of the students or the nation, we will challenge this ordinance, said Amit Kumar, petitioners' lawyer challenging the NEET ordinance Earlier today, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him not to bring any order against the Supreme Court ruling on NEET, saying the students had welcomed the decision as it discouraged well endowed parents from making 'donations' to get their children admitted into reputed private medical colleges. The exam, however, will be applicable for those applying for Central government and private management institutions under the management quota. The decision to issue an ordinance was taken in the aftermath of several meetings between Union Health Minister JP Nadda and state health ministers to discuss the issue. The state government representatives had asked the Centre to consider the stress the students will face if uncertainty prevailed. The central government had earlier held two rounds of hectic deliberations to build consensus before taking the Ordinance route. JP Nadda first held meetings with health ministers of 14 states. Another meeting was later held between leaders of the Congress, the INLD, Left and PDP and Union finance minister Arun Jaitley. So far 6.5 lakh students have already sat for the first phase of NEET held on May 1. The next phase of the exam is scheduled for July 24. Last month, the Supreme Court said that students need to take only one common entrance test, the NEET, for entry to medical colleges, following a large number of complaints about corruption in a situation where all state governments and private medical colleges held their own exams. But after the court's order, several states - including Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu - had said the implementation of the common entrance test should be deferred by a year. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a two-day visit to the US from June 7 during which he will address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress and hold talks with President Barack Obama to review the progress made in key areas of defence, security and energy. Modi, who is leaving for Iran on Sunday, will also pay a two-day visit to Qatar from June 4. At the invitation of the US President Barack Obama, the Prime Minister will visit Washington DC on June 7-8, 2016, the External Affairs Ministry announced today. "The main objective of the forthcoming visit of the Prime Minister would be to consolidate the progress made in diverse areas such as economy, energy, environment, defence and security, and to intensify cooperation for the future," it said. The Prime Minister has also been invited by the Speaker of the US House of Representative, Paul Ryan, to address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress which he has accepted, it added. Modi, who was invited by Obama for a bilateral visit when Modi travelled to the US for the nuclear summit in March, will be the fifth prime minister of India to address a joint meeting of Congress. Earlier, Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh (July 19, 2005), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (September 14, 2000), P V Narasimha Rao (May 18, 1994) and Rajiv Gandhi (July 13, 1985) addressed the joint meeting of the US Congress. The US Congress has been a source of strength for the India-US strategic partnership and the India Congressional Caucus is the largest such group in the US Congress, the MEA said. During the visit, Modi will have interaction with CEOs of major US companies. Realization of the full potential of Indo-US economic partnership has been a key priority for both the countries and the progress achieved in this regard is reflected in the increased investment flows, the ministry said. New Delhi: An inhuman act of a man towards his wife was caught on camera when the couple was travelling in a train. In a video that has gone viral on social media, a burkha-clad woman is seen beaten up by her husband in full public view, but no one comes to her rescue. The husband is seen punching his wife's back over an argument while other passengers act as mute spectators. Here's the video: Thiruvananthapuram: Oommen Chandy on Friday stepped down as the chief minister of Kerala. Chandy handed over his resignation to Kerala Governor P.Sathasivam. The CPI-M led LDF swept the assembly polls by securing 91 seats in the 140 member Kerala Assembly after the votes was counted on Thursday. He issued a statement on his Facebook page where he thanked the people for the help and support that he and his government got since he came to power in May 2011. "We will never blame the people. We failed to reach the people with our achievements. I now wish the new government all the best and expect that all the development projects that they started and which has reached its last stage be quickly completed," Chandy added. Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy submitted his resignation to Governor P Sathasivam on Friday following his party's defeat in the assembly elections held here recently. The Left Democratic Front had on Thursday returned to power in Kerala by defeating governing United Democratic Front with a huge margin whereas the BJP managed to open its account in the state. While CPI(M)-led LDF has won 91 seats, Congress-led UDF could win only 47 seats as against 72 seats it won in 2011. Following its victory, the CPI(M) will now declare the new chief minister of the state today. Election officials said the LDF had won 91 seats, with the CPI-M itself grabbing 58. In contrast, the entire UDF tally was 47, a clear sign of the voters' disgust against a government that battled corruption charges. "This is a vote against the corrupt and those who failed to protect the dignity of women," thundered CPI-M veteran and former chief minister VS Achuthanandan. He called it a "wave" in favour of the LDF, whose victory will now make Kerala the second state in the country after Tripura to come under Marxist control. "We accept this defeat which we never ever expected," said a stunned Ooomen Chandy, the outgoing chief minister. "We felt we would return (to power) but this has not happened. We will now introspect." It was one of the worst electoral defeats for the UDF. The Congress seat tally fell from 39 to 22. Among those who lost were Shibhu Baby John (Labour), P.K. Jayalekshmi (Scheduled Tribes Welfare), K. Babu (Ports and Excise) and K.P. Mohanan (Agriculture). Speaker N. Sakthan and Deputy Speaker Palode Ravi (both Congress) were also humbled. "As chairman of the UDF, I have a responsibility for this debacle," said Chandy, who however was elected for the 11th time from Puthupally. As boisterous Left activists celebrated all across Kerala, CPI-M leaders said the party would meet on Friday to decide who will be the new chief minister. In the race are two men: Achuthanandan, 92, and his long-time foe within the party, Pinarayi Vijayan, 72. Thiruvananthapuram: Pinarayi Vijayan has come a long way from his humble background of being the son of a toddy tapper to the hot seat of Kerala politics. The 72-year-old is seen as the man in sync with party dynamics so much so that CPI-M's top leadership is more than willing to drop one of its top veteran and Vijayan's arc rival former chief minister VS Achuthanandan. The 92-year-old Marxist veteran's abrupt departure from CPM's office in Thiruvananthapuram told the story. The party on Friday decided to name Vijayan as Kerala's new chief minister. He will now head the LDF government in Kerala. Vijayan's fortunes became clear after top Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat, who reached here this morning, held a meeting at party headquarters to decide on the next CM. Vijayan, a grassroots leader, is seen to have scored over star campaigner and ex-CM Achuthananadan mainly because he is 20 years younger at 72. Unlike Achuthanandan, who is a mass leader and a brand name in Kerala, Vijayan, a polit bureau member, is seen as a man in sync with party dynamics. Friday's announcement was made by Sitaram Yechury after the state committee ratified the decision. Achuthanandan, who was the face of LDF campaign, and Vijayan were elected to the assembly from Malampuzha and Pinaryi respectively. Soon after the decision to nominate Vijayan to the CM's post became known, party workers at AKG Bhavan started celebrations and began distributing sweets. In the 140-member state Assembly, CPM-led LDF won 91 seats, UDF headed by Congress got 47 while BJP and Independents bagged one each. Oomen Chandy of the Congress resigned this morning as chief minister. Vijayan, who hails from Pinarayi village in Kannur district, got associated with the CPI-M during his student days. His mentor in the CPI-M was the legendary A.K. Gopalan. At age 24, he was inducted into the Kannur district committee of the CPI-M. From there, he had a steady growth in the party. Now a five-time legislator, Vijayan made his electoral debut in 1970. He became the Electricity Minister in 1996 in the cabinet of E.K. Nayanar. It was during this period that he became the unquestioned organizational leader, reigning supreme as the state party secretary from 1998 to 2015. By the time he gave up the post last year, he had virtually come to control the CPI-M in Kerala although Achuthanandan remained a mass leader and was chief minister from 2006 to 2011. Within the party, Vijayan even cut to size Achuthanandan because of the support he enjoyed in various party units. The only blip in his political career came in 1997 when he, as the Electricity Minister, was accused of causing a loss of Rs.266 crore to the state exchequer over a power deal. But the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) exonerated Vijayan in 2013. The Kerala government approached the high court, where the matter is expected to come up next month. Married to teacher (now retired) T. Kamala, the couple have a son and a daughter who are both professionals. (With IANS inputs) Thiruvananthapuram: A day after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) won 91 of the 140 seats in the Kerala Assembly, the Communist Party of India-Marxist on Friday decided to name Pinarayi Vijayan, a member of it politburo, the new chief minister of Kerala. News agency IANS quoted party sources as saying that the decision was taken at a meeting of the State Secretariat here in the presence of party leaders Sitaram Yechury as well as Prakash Karat who flew in from New Delhi. The selection of Vijayan, 72, was conveyed to his long-time foe within the party, former chief minister VS Achuthanandan, 92. An official announcement is expected to be made later in the day. However, the news did not go down well with Achuthanandan, who left the meeting at the party headquarters midway, said reports. One source said Achuthanandan did not seem happy as he had expected at least a short stint as chief minister before making way for Vijayan. Notably, the 72-year-old Vijayan has a brute majority in the state committee. However, the 92-year-old Achuthanandan was the star campaigner for the party and largely instrumental for its massive win of 91 seats in the 140-member Assembly on Thursday. The party now has to find a suitable slot for him. Much of Achuthanandan's first tenure as chief minister (2006-11) witnessed an embarrassing face-off between the two leaders. At one point, to cool down tempers, the party's national leadership booted both of them out of the politburo. While Vijayan was reinstated, Achuthanandan only has the status of an invitee to the central committee. (With IANS inputs) The circuit of Federal Reserve speakers has made its message loud and clear: A June rate hike is on the table. However, the speeches might not accurately represent the leanings of the Federal Open Market Committee. In May, several Fed officials made the case for increasing rates next month. San Francisco Fed President John Williams told reporters that two to three rate hikes this year "definitely still makes sense." Robert Kaplan, Dallas Fed president, said that he expects a rate hike soon. Boston Fed chief Eric Rosengren told an audience in New Hampshire that the likelihood of future rate hikes is higher than is currently priced into financial markets. Meanwhile, William Dudley, New York Fed president, told reporters Thursday that "the market was not putting in a sufficient probability" of a June rate hike. Dont miss Yahoo Finances interview with San Francisco Fed President John Williams on Monday at 4PM on the Final Round. CME Group FedWatch After the Fed released its April minutes this week, in which it was revealed that FOMC members were generally open to increasing rates in June, market expectations for a June rate hike jumped up to 30%. However, Torsten Slok, chief international economist at Deutsche Bank, questions whether market expectations are on point. Upcoming Fedspeak will be more important than usual in understanding where the committee is leaning, said Slok in a note. [B]ut remember that hawks have tended to give more speeches than doves so it will be interesting to hear if we get confirmation of the hawkish message from the more dovish members Speeches by Fed officials this year have been dominated by hawks, who tend to lean in favor of tightening policy, and this has potentially skewed the markets' interpretation of the FOMC's leanings. Fed officials will deliver 12 speeches between now and the June meeting. More than half of the speakers are considered to be policy hawks, while only one, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans speaking on June 3, is a noted dove. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will speak next Friday at Harvard University. Mumbai: Former Congress MP Nilesh Rane who was wanted in a case of alleged kidnapping and assault on a party worker surrendered before the Maharashtra Police in Chiplun on Friday. Rane was then taken for a medical examination after which he will be produced before the local court today. Refusing his anticipatory bail application, the Bombay High Court had on Tuesday denied protection from arrest to Rane and asked him to surrender at the earliest. The Thane Police had filed a case against him, his personal assistant Tushar Panchal and bodyguard Manish Singh for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting Congress president of Chiplun Taluka, Sandeep Sawant, in April this year. According to the FIR, Rane, who is the son of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane, and his accomplices had allegedly kidnapped Sawant and assaulted him on way to Mumbai for not attending a rally called by Rane to demand reservation for the Maratha community. The court told Rane to surrender before the police on or before May 23, and also allowed him permission to withdraw his petition for anticipatory bail, just when his advocate also sought permission to do the same. The police had said that there were serious allegations against Rane. Agartala: Results of Tripura Board of Secondary Education Class 12 Results 2016 will be announced by the Tripura Board on Saturday i.e. May 21. The results will be declared at 9:45 AM. The TBSE examinations were held in the month of March and April. Those appeared for the exams can access their results on www.tbse.in, tripuraresults.nic.in How to check results: Visit TBSE website: www.tbse.in, tripuraresults.nic.in Keep the roll number and date of birth ready. Check the results once declared. About the Board Tripura Board of Secondary Education was established in 1973 by an Act (Tripura Act. No.12 ) called Tripura Board of Secondary Education Act, 1973 as passed by Tripura Legislative Assembly. The Board started its functioning from the 1st January, 1976. Intervening period was spent in framing Rules and Regulations, Curricula and Syllabi, and such other guidelines which were being necessary for smooth and active conduct of the business of the Board. Zee News wishes Best of Luck to all the students. Bhubaneswar: Cyclonic storm 'Roanu' over Bay of Bengal moved northeastwards and lay centred around 280 km southwest off Gopalpur coast on Friday as rains coupled with gusty surface winds lashed several parts of Odisha. The system is likely to move further northeastwards along and off Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by tonight, the Meteorological centre here said. The system is likely to cross south Bangladesh coast between Khepupara and Cox's Bazar by tomorrow night or early morning of May 22 as a cyclonic storm, the Met office said. Rain and thundershower lashed many places in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, and Balasore in Odisha, disrupting normal life, the weatherman said. The MeT office also predicted heavy to very heavy rain at a few places over coastal Odisha and heavy to very heavy at one or two places over interior Odisha during next 48 hours. In view of the weather conditions, Distant Warning Signal Number Two (DW-II) was replaced by Local Cautionary Signal Number Three (LC-III) at all ports in the state. Gusty surface wind from Southeasterly direction with 60 to 70 kmph speed and gusting to 80 kmph in South Odisha Coast, and 45 to 55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph in North Odisha Coast would prevail along and off Odisha Coast. Sea condition is very likely to be rough to very rough along and off Odisha coast, the Met office said. Fishermen are advised not to venture into sea off the Odisha Coast. As a precautionary measure, the state government has already issued alert in at least 12 districts in coastal, southern and northern regions asking authorities to prepare for any eventuality, Chief Secretary A P Padhi said. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directed all the departments to remain alert to face any eventuality due to cyclone 'Roanu'. The Chief Minister also held a video conference meeting with the collectors of coastal and southern districts last evening. Meanwhile, the state government has cancelled the leaves of government employees today and tomorrow which may be extended depending on the situation. While 10 teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and fire service personnel have been kept ready, Padhi said, the government will arrange more personnel if required. Lahore: LeT operations commander Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi and six others accused in the 2008 Mumbai attack case will be individually charged for the abetment to murder of each of the 166 people who died in the carnage, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court ruled on Saturday. "The seven suspects will be charged individually for the abetment to murder of each victim of Mumbai attack case," a senior court official said, quoting the verdict of the trial court. The official told PTI that the court, however, did not allow cross examination of the suspects in this regard. The prosecution had filed an application in the ATC Islamabad some two months ago requesting it to make amendment in the charges against the suspects in abetment to murder of each individual in the carnage. The trial court in March last had reserved the verdict after the prosecution and defence lawyers completed their arguments on the plea that amendment in the charges against all seven suspects in abetment to murder of each individual in Mumbai attack should be made. 166 people, including six Americans, were killed and more than 300 injured in the attack in November 2008 by 10 Pakistani terrorists. The prosecution was of the view that it was seeking amendment to the changes "for further strengthening the case against the suspects". It had also pleaded for including the post-mortem reports of those killed in the attack. The prosecution said India should be asked to send the post-mortem reports of each victim of Mumbai attack while the defence lawyers opposed it. Meanwhile, the Mumbai attack case has faced inordinate delay as no proceedings were held for the previous seven consecutive hearings. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for May 25. The Pakistani authorities are blaming India for the delay in the case, saying it cannot move further till the Indian government sends witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case. "The seven consecutive hearings of the case were adjourned without any proceedings because the Pakistani government is still awaiting its counterpart's response about sending (Indian) witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case," the court official said. The foreign ministry of Pakistan had written to the Indian government about three months ago asking it to send all 24 Indian witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the trial court in Mumbai attacks case. Islamabad: Pakistan Friday said that it has formally applied for the membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, after China blocked India's entry into the 48-member elite group. The Foreign Office (FO) said that Pakistan's Ambassador in Vienna yesterday applied for the membership through a letter addressed to the NSG Chairman. In the letter, Pakistan said the decision to seek participation in the export-control regime reflects Pakistan's strong support for international efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. "Pakistan has the expertise, manpower, infrastructure, as well as the ability to supply NSG controlled items, goods and services for a full range of nuclear applications for peaceful uses," the Foreign Office said. It said Pakistan attaches high priority to nuclear safety and security. It has taken legal, regulatory and administrative measures to bring nuclear safety and security at par with international standards. "Pakistan's export-control regime is underpinned by strong legislation, regulatory and enforcement mechanisms. The national export control lists are harmonized with the control lists of NSG, MTCR and Australia Group," it said. The development comes as China harps on the need for consensus in the NSG, where it is reportedly pushing for Pakistan's entry despite US' strong backing for India to join the elite body that seeks reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials. Pakistan has stressed the need for NSG to adopt a non-discriminatory criteria-based approach for NSG membership of the countries, which have never been party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). India, Pakistan, Israel and South Sudan were the four UN member states which have not signed the NPT, the international pact aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. The Foreign Office said Pakistan's NSG membership will further NSG non-proliferation objectives by the inclusion of a state with nuclear supply capabilities and its adherence to NSG Guidelines and best practices on supply of controlled items, goods, materials, technologies and services. Through an official note, Pakistan has informed the IAEA Director-General of its adherence to the objectives of NSG and its decision to act in accordance with NSG Guidelines with regard to transfer of nuclear material, equipment and related technology, including related dual-use equipment, materials, software and related technology. Washington: Ignoring objections of the White House, the Republican majority House of Representatives has approved the National Defense Authorisation Act which blocks USD 450 million aid to Pakistan for failing to take action against the dreaded Haqqani network. The NDAA 2017 (H R 4909) was passed by the US House of Representative (277-147) Wednesday night, which among others included approval of three major amendments reflecting the strong anti-Pak sentiment prevailing among the US lawmakers. As a result, as per the House version of the Bill, the Obama Administration must certify that Pakistan has met before releasing USD 450 million in aid. "Pakistan has shown progress in arresting and prosecuting Haqqani network senior leaders and mid-level operatives". Congressman Dana Rohrabacher's amendment adds an additional requirement that the Secretary of Defense certify to Congress that Pakistan is not using its military or any funds or equipment provided by the US to persecute minority groups seeking political or religious freedom. The NDAA-2017 also includes the sense of the Congress that Shakil Afridi is an international hero and that the Government of Pakistan should release him immediately from prison. NDAA-2017 now needs to be passed by the Senate, before it can be sent to the White House for the US President Barack Obama to sign it into law. Early this week, the White House had expressed strong objections to several provisions of the bill, including the one related to USD 450 million in aid to Pakistan. "The Administration objects to section 1212 (of HR 4919), which would make USD 450 million of CSF (Coalition Support Fund) to Pakistan ineligible for the Secretary of Defense's waiver authority unless the Secretary provides a certification to the Congressional defense committees," the White House said in its statement. "We share the Committee's concerns regarding the threat posed to our forces and interests in Afghanistan by the Haqqani Network, and we continue to engage with Pakistan at the highest levels regarding the need for concerted action specifically against the group," the White House said. However, Congressman Mark Thornberry, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee late Wednesday night decided to ignore the White House's objection to this and asked the members of the House to approve these amendments in block, for which no voting took place. New Horizons scientists have discovered an expanse of terrain they describe as fretted on Pluto, something they haven't seen it anywhere else on the planet. Scientists spotted this rare terrain as they peeked through the images of Plutos informally named Venera Terra region. The terrain, which is shown in the enhanced-color image at top, consists of bright plains divided into polygon-shaped blocks by a network of dark, connected valleys typically reaching a few miles (3 to 4 kilometers) wide. Numerous impact craters of up to 15 miles (25 kilometers) in diameter also dot the area, implying the surface formed early in Plutos history. Compositional data from New Horizons Ralph/Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC), shown in the bottom image, indicate that the blocks are rich in methane ice - methane is susceptible to sublimation at Pluto surface conditions. The images were obtained at a range of approximately 21,100 miles (33,900 kilometers) from Pluto, about 45 minutes before New Horizons closest approach on July 14, 2015. The resolution of these MVIC images is approximately 2,230 feet (680 meters) per pixel. According to NASA, in fact, its rare terrain across the solar system - the only other well-known example of such being Noctis Labyrinthus on Mars. (Source: NASA) Nainital: The Uttarakhand High Court on Friday refused to quash the ongoing CBI probe into the sting operation against Chief Minister Harish Rawat who is shown in the video purportedly negotiating a deal to buy the support of rebel Congress MLAs. Justice Sarvesh Kumar Gupta of the High Court said quashing the CBI probe into the sting CD at this stage is not possible. Rawat has in his petition sought quashing of the probe. CBI had sent summons to Rawat asking him to appear before it on May 9. However the chief minister did not appear before it citing medical reasons. The High Court asked the Chief Minister to cooperate in the investigations and also asked CBI to show regard towards the office of the CM. The High Court has set May 31 as the next date of hearing. The High Court also questioned the authority of the state cabinet which had withdrawn a notification recommending CBI probe into the sting CD soon after Rawat was reinstated in office. Kolkata: The newly elected MLAs of the Trinamool Congress on Friday formally elected Mamata Banerjee as the legislative party leader, a day after the party stormed back to power defeating the Left-Congress alliance and BJP in the recently concluded assembly polls here. TMC's legislative party meeting reportedly began at 12:30 pm. Riding on the development plank, Trinamool Congress on Thursday stormed back to power in West Bengal getting more than two-thirds majority decimating the Opposition Left-Congress alliance. Contesting the poll on its own, TMC bagged 211 of the 294 seats at stake while Congress-Left combine got 76 seats. Interestingly, the TMC had secured 184 seats in 2011 Assembly election when it had fought in alliance with Congress. Congress, however, did better than its Left partners securing 44 seats. Left partners CPI-M bagged 26 seats, RSP-3, CPI-1 and Forward Bloc-2. Banerjee, who formed the Trinamool in 1998 by breaking away from the Congress to fulfill her life's mission of taking on the then entrenched Communist Party of India-Marxist led (CPI-M) Left Front, not only won handsomely with a 25,000 plus margin from Bhabanipur, but also made the Trinamool the only party in the state to emerge victorious in the assembly election by fighting alone since 1962. Flashing the famed victory sign after the resounding triumph, Banerjee thanked the people and dubbed the Congress-Left alliance as a "blunder", saying both forces had compromised with their ideologies, as per IANS. On the other hand, she dubbed the coming together of CPI(M) and Congress as the "greatest blunder" and said people had rejected the "canards" spread by the opposition against her. Accusing the opposition of spinning a "web of lies" to grab power, Banerjee said politics in the state had hit a "historic low" during electioneering and there should be a "laxman rekha" to maintain decency in public discourse. "People of Bengal have rejected attempts by the Opposition to mislead them. The people did not like the way the opposition has spread canards against me in this election. It is not good for politics and democracy," she told reporters, as per PTI. Referring to the charges of corruption against her party, she dubbed it as "a propaganda by a section of media. There is no corruption in Bengal. Bengal is a corruption-free state. The people have rejected the allegation," she asserted. "This is the magic of Ma-Mati-Manush. The people are very intelligent. They have given reply to the allegations levelled by the Opposition," she continued. Barrackpore: Hours after West Bengal Assembly election results were out, four police personnel were injured and a police station was ransacked by a group of about 30 people, alleged to be TMC supporters, in North 24 Parganas district, following which 11 people were arrested. "The group last night pelted stones at New Barrackpore police station in which properties were damaged. Bikes belonging to police personnel were also damaged and four police officials injured in the attack," Barrackpore Commissioner of Police Nirag Kumar Singh told PTI. The officer-in-charge of the police station, one ASI and two civic police personnel were among the injured who were released from a local hospital after treatment, the CP said. Eleven people, including TMC block president Sukhen Majumder and local Councillor Manoj Sarkar, were arrested in connection with the attack in the northern suburbs, he said. "The 11 persons have been charged under different sections and also for causing damage to articles and vehicles at the police station. All have been forwarded to court," Singh said. Cairo: The Egyptian navy said on Friday it had found the personal belongings of passengers and other debris floating in the Mediterranean, confirmation that an EgyptAir jet had plunged into the sea with 66 people on board. The military said it had found the debris about 290 km (180 miles) north of the port city of Alexandria and was searching for the plane`s black box flight recorders. Egypt`s President Adbel Fattah al-Sisi offered condolences for those on board, amounting to Cairo`s official acknowledgement of their deaths. The defence minister of Greece, which has also been scouring the Mediterranean, said Egyptian authorities had found a body part, luggage and a seat in the sea just south of where the signal from the plane was lost. Although suspicion pointed to Islamist militants who blew up another airliner over Egypt just seven months ago, no group had claimed responsibility more than 24 hours after the disappearance of flight MS804, an Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo. Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived in Cairo early on Friday to help investigate the fate of the missing plane, airport sources said. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said on Thursday that it was too early to rule out any explanation for the disaster. The country`s aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure. Friday`s announcement that debris had been found followed earlier confusion about whether wreckage had been located. Greek searchers found some material on Thursday, but the airline later said this was not from its plane. SUSPICION FALLS ON MILITANTS While there was no official explanation of the cause of the crash, suspicion fell on the militants who have been fighting against Egypt`s government since Sisi toppled an elected Islamist leader in 2013. In October, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for blowing up a Russian jetliner that exploded after taking off from an Egyptian tourist resort. Russian investigators blamed a bomb smuggled on board. Last year`s crash devastated Egypt`s tourist industry, one of the main sources of foreign exchange for a country of 80 million people, and another similar attack would crush hopes of it recovering. While most governments were cautious about jumping to conclusions, U.S. Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump, tweeted swiftly after the plane`s disappearance: "Looks like yet another terrorist attack. Airplane departed from Paris. When will we get tough, smart and vigilant?" Later in the day, his likely Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, also said it appeared to be an act of terrorism, although she said an investigation would have to determine the details. Officials from a number of U.S. agencies told Reuters that a U.S. review of satellite imagery so far had not produced any signs of an explosion. They said the United States had not ruled out any possible causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew. Amid uncertainty about what brought down the plane, Los Angeles International Airport became the first major U.S. air transportation hub to say it was stepping up security measures. "LIVES ARE SO CHEAP" The plane vanished just as it was exiting air space controlled by Greece for air space controlled by Egypt. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the Airbus swerved radically and plunged from 37,000 feet to 15,000 before vanishing from Greek radar screens. According to Greece`s civil aviation chief, calls from Greek air traffic controllers to MS804 went unanswered just before it left Greek airspace, and it disappeared from radar screens soon afterwards. There was no official indication of a possible cause, whether technical failure, human error or sabotage. Ultra-hardline Islamists have targeted airports, airliners and tourist sites in Europe, Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries over the past few years. The aircraft was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew, EgyptAir said. They included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals, along with citizens of 10 other countries. A320s normally seat 150 people. The plane had made scheduled flights to Tunisia and Eritrea on Wednesday before arriving in Paris from Cairo. At Cairo airport, a man sat on a brown leather couch crying with his hands covering his face on Thursday. "How long will Egypt live if human lives are so cheap? he said. The mother of a flight attendant rushed in tears out of the VIP hall where families waited. She said the last time her daughter called her was Wednesday night. "They havent told us anything," she said. London: Sitting in a Dundee park, two students discuss their hopes and dreams and, while they fear the prospect of Britain leaving the EU, they relish what it could bring -- a second chance at Scottish independence. Hannah Finlayson and Rhys Donnelly believe Scotland would do better on its own and are undeterred by the results of a failed independence referendum in 2014 in which unionists won by 55 percent to 45 percent. "I still think it`s a good decision for Scotland. I feel that we don`t have enough control of our country, of our own economy," said Donnelly, who wore a T-shirt with a Scottish tartan pattern. Situated in the estuary of the River Tay on Scotland`s eastern coast, Dundee is a nationalist bastion -- where the vote for independence on September 18, 2014 was 57 percent. But there is little temptation to vote to leave the European Union in Britain`s June 23 membership referendum in an attempt to bring about Scottish independence. "The best decision for us is to stay," Donnelly said, while ginger-haired Finlayson argued: "I think we should stay in the EU because trade is a big issue".The 2014 referendum campaign saw a massive mobilisation of independence supporters and, despite the defeat, that energy is still visible in a myriad of grassroots initiatives and the popular hashtag -- #indyref2. The Scottish National Party, which maintains independence as its ultimate goal, won 56 out of 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons last year and clinched regional parliamentary elections earlier this month -- although it lost an overall majority. The SNP`s leader Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland`s first minister, was confirmed in her post this week. In interviews in recent weeks, the europhile Sturgeon has stated the importance of Britain staying in the EU and said Scotland "will only become independent if and when a majority of people are persuaded". Unlike their English neighbours, who are very divided on EU membership, Scots are overwhelmingly in favour of staying in, according to opinion polls. The prospect of convincing a majority of Scots to embrace independence, however, is more complex. "It`s very close to the kind of split that existed in 2014," said Tom Devine, a professor of Scottish history at the University of Edinburgh, rejecting the idea that Brexit could act as a "catalyst". "I think that the SNP government and its allies would be foolish to entertain another referendum unless they are certain of winning it," he said.Not everyone agrees with the SNP in Dundee. "I think that the majority of people in Scotland spoke clearly the last time and said no. And nothing has changed," said Linda Bell, owner of the Aabalree bed and breakfast in the city centre opposite a shop renting kilts -- a traditional item of clothing. She also does not want to hear about Brexit. Leaving the European Union "is going to cost Britain on the whole far too much", she said. In Arbroath, a small fishing port near Dundee where Scotland`s 1320 Declaration of Independence was signed, Europe is not a popular subject. Many residents complain that the EU is nothing but a bureaucratic machine without democratic legitimacy. "Through the years it has done absolutely nothing for the fishing industries," said Bob Teviotdale, a thick-set 48-year-old crab and lobster fisherman. "The best option is to leave," he said. But a Brexit would fuel independence claims that Teviotdale said he did not want to hear -- illustrating the complexity of the Scottish vote. "It`s a tricky situation," he said. Hillary Clinton on Thursday blasted her likely general election rival Donald Trump as a threat to US democracy and declared him unqualified to be president, unleashing some of her toughest criticism yet of the Republican presumptive nominee. "The threat that Donald Trump poses is so dramatic to our country, to our democracy and our economy," the former secretary of state told CNN in an interview. "I know how hard this job is, and I know that we need steadiness as well as strength and smarts in it," she added. "And I have concluded he is not qualified to be president of the United States." The statement marks a hardening of her position on Trump. On May 3 she declined to answer directly when asked by MSNBC whether Trump was qualified to be commander in chief, although Clinton said the New York billionaire "has given no indication he understands the gravity of the responsibilities" that go with the job. Clinton`s criticism Thursday was more biting, and left no doubt that the gloves are off, perhaps for the duration of the contest that culminates with the November 8 election. She pointed to Trump`s recent criticism of top officials of US ally Britain; his willingness to meet with North Korea`s reclusive dictator; his assessment that NATO is "obsolete;" and his suggestion of opening the door to more countries having nuclear weapons. Such positions are "dangerous," she said, adding that the totality of Trump`s alarming statements since he launched his presidential campaign, including calling for a ban on Muslims entering the United States, amounts to a worrying "pattern." "I think if you go through many of his irresponsible, reckless, dangerous comments, it`s not just somebody saying something off the cuff," Clinton said. Trump`s antagonistic tone towards Muslims would make it far harder for Washington to work with Middle Eastern governments in fighting extremism, she explained. "We have seen how Donald Trump is being used to essentially be a recruiter for more people to join the cause of terrorism," Clinton said. "When you run for president of the United States, the entire world is listening and watching."Clinton`s pugnacity came as she all but declared victory in her nomination battle with Bernie Sanders. "I will be the nominee for my party. That is already done," she said. "In fact, there`s no way that I won`t be." Sanders, a US senator from Vermont, insists he is still locked in a fierce battle for the nomination and has vowed to take the race all the way to June 7 when California, the largest state in the union, holds its primary. But Clinton essentially said it was time for Sanders to accept the inevitability of her winning the nomination. "I`m three million votes ahead of him and I have an insurmountable lead in pledged delegates," she said. With only six US states left to vote, Clinton`s delegate lead, including so-called super-delegates, is formidable. She has 2,297 delegates compared to Sanders`s 1,527, according to a CNN tally. A candidate needs 2,383 delegates to be declared the nominee. It was perhaps Clinton`s most forceful declaration to date that the race is basically over, as she turns her focus on Trump and their general election showdown. She also expressed confidence that Sanders will unify behind her, as she did with then-senator Barack Obama during their intense 2008 nomination battle, once the Democratic race comes to a halt. "I have every confidence we`re going to be unified," Clinton said, but Sanders "has to do his part to unify." Trump meanwhile had yet to respond publicly to Clinton`s broadside. But a senior advisor, Stephen Miller, warned that the Trump campaign will be turning up the heat as it enters a head-to-head battle with Clinton. "I think we`re definitely going to be a lot more aggressive, on every kind of attack, because Hillary Clinton would be an extraordinarily dangerous person to put in the White House," Miller told CNN. Cairo: A massive search was underway on Thursday for the wreckage of an EgyptAir plane that plunged into the Mediterranean with 66 people on board, in what the Egyptian authorities said may have been an act of terrorism. Egypt`s aviation minister said that while it was too soon to say why the Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo had vanished from radar screens, a "terrorist" attack would be a more likely scenario than a technical failure. The tragedy raised fears of a repeat of the bombing of a Russian passenger jet by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group over Egypt last October that killed all 224 people on board. The plane disappeared between the Greek islands and the Egyptian coast overnight, without its crew sending a distress signal. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the aircraft had swerved sharply twice in Egyptian airspace before plunging 22,000 feet (6,700 metres) and disappearing from radar screens. Both Egypt and Greece dispatched aircraft and naval vessels on a major search mission. They were expected to be joined by French teams, while the US send a surveillance plane to help with the operation. Egypt`s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi demanded an "intensified search" for the aircraft after reports that wreckage from the plane had been found were retracted. EgyptAir initially said on its Twitter account that the Egyptian authorities had recovered wreckage from the missing aircraft No. MS 804 near Greece`s Karpathos Island. But the head of the Greek air safety authority, Athanasios Binis, told AFP that debris found close to the area where the jet went down did "not come from a plane", a finding he said was confirmed by his Egyptian counterpart. EgyptAir Holding Company vice president Ahmed Adel then corrected his company`s statement, telling CNN that the debris that was spotted was "not part of our plane". French President Francois Hollande said the plane had "crashed", as authorities in both Paris and Cairo opened investigations. In the United States, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said "it`s too early to definitively say what may have caused this disaster". Egypt`s Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said he was unable to "deny the hypothesis of a terrorist attack or something technical". The airline said 15 French citizens were among the 26 foreign passengers on the plane, who also included a Briton and at least one Canadian. Both France and Egypt have come under attack by IS jihadists in the past year, and Hollande promised a comprehensive probe into the cause of the crash as suspicions swiftly focused on a bomb. "Whether it was an accident or another hypothesis that everyone has on their mind -- a terrorist hypothesis... at this stage we must focus on our solidarity with the families and the search for the causes of the catastrophe," he said.IS has been waging a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security forces and last October claimed the bombing of the Russian airliner flying home holidaymakers from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. A Greek aviation source said the flight had disappeared from Greek radar at around 0029 GMT. "It crashed around 130 nautical miles off the island of Karpathos," the source told AFP, referring to an island northeast of Crete. Greek civil aviation chief Constantinos Litzerakos said the pilot had mentioned no problem in the last communication before the plane disappeared, and it had not deviated from its course. "The flight controllers contacted the pilot (with the plane) at a height of 37,000 feet (near Athens)... he did not mention a problem," Litzerakos told Greece`s Antenna TV. Neither the Greek coastguard nor the navy could confirm reports that a passing ship had seen "a ball of fire in the sky". The civil aviation chief said if there had been an explosion, any debris would have scattered across a wide area. EgyptAir`s Adel also said there had been "no distress call" before the plane vanished.The passengers also included two Iraqis and one citizen from each of Algeria, Belgium, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, as well as 30 Egyptians, the airline said. They included a boy and two babies. Seven crew members and three security men were also on board. EgyptAir said the plane had been manufactured in 2003. Airbus said it had clocked up 48,000 flight hours. EgyptAir hit the headlines in March when a flight from the coastal city of Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to divert to Cyprus, where the hijacker, who was described as "unstable", demanded to see his ex-wife. He had claimed he was wearing an explosive vest, which turned out to be fake. Last October, foreign governments issued travel warnings for Egypt and demanded a review of security at its airports after IS downed the Russian airliner with what it said was a bomb concealed in a soda can that had been smuggled into the hold. burs-dv/mfp AIRBUS GROUP Hong Kong: Hong Kong student pro-democracy leader Joshua Wong was released from custody just before midnight Thursday, after being detained for running onto a motorway to intercept the motorcade of a top Chinese official. The move came on the final day of a three-day trip by Zhang Dejiang, who chairs China`s communist-controlled legislature, for which frustrated protesters have been kept out of sight behind barricades in a security lockdown. Zhang`s visit was the first by such a senior official for four years and comes as concerns grow that freedoms are under threat in semi-autonomous Hong Kong as Beijing tightens its grip. Police chased a group of five protesters, including Wong, on Thursday as they ran along a major highway in eastern Hong Kong which had been cleared for Zhang. They were carrying a sign calling for "self-determination". The protesters were all members of Demosisto, a political party led by Wong, who became the face of major pro-democracy rallies in 2014. They were detained before Zhang`s motorcade emerged from a tunnel. "The five arrested persons were released on bail and will need to report back to police in mid-June," a police spokeswoman told AFP, adding that charges had not been laid. They were arrested for "obstructing police officer in the execution of duty and disorderly conduct in a public place", she said. Demosisto said Wong, who already faces two imminent verdicts and a possible prison sentence for protests in 2014, was released on a HK$500 (US$65) bail. He has been in and out of court hearings for the past year after being charged with multiple offences linked to protests leading up to what became known as the "Umbrella Movement". Wong faces charges of taking part in an unlawful assembly and inciting others to do so, which carry a jail term of up to five years. The 19-year-old has always argued that the cases against him are political persecution. Hong Kong is semi-autonomous after being returned to China by Britain in 1997, with much greater freedoms than seen on the mainland. But there are fears those freedoms are being eroded by increasing interference from Beijing. Jerusalem: Israel`s defence minister resigned on Friday, saying the nation was being taken over by "extremist and dangerous elements" after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved to replace him with a far-right politician in an effort to strengthen his coalition. Political sources say Netanyahu has offered long-time rival Avigdor Lieberman the defence portfolio, a post crucial for a country on a perennial war footing and which runs civil affairs in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians struggling for statehood live in friction with Jewish settlers. "To my great regret, I have recently found myself in difficult disputes over matters of principle and professionalism with the prime minister, a number of cabinet members and some lawmakers," a grim-faced Moshe Yaalon said in a televised statement at the defence headquarters in Tel Aviv. "The State of Israel is patient and tolerant toward the weak among it and minorities ... But to my great regret extremist and dangerous elements have overrun Israel as well as the Likud party, shaking up the national home and threatening harm to those in it," he said, in a hint he might defect from the party. "In the future I will return to contend for Israel`s national leadership," Yaalon added. Netanyahu`s office did not immediately respond to his comments. Yaalon`s departure could put a new dent in domestic and Western confidence in the Netanyahu government. Yaalon, a former chief of Israel`s armed forces, had shored up relations with the Pentagon that provided a counter-weight to Netanyahu`s policy feuds with U.S. President Barack Obama over peace talks with the Palestinians and Iran`s nuclear programme. By contrast, Lieberman - whose appointment has not yet been confirmed - is inexperienced militarily and famed for his past hawkish talk against Palestinians, Israel`s Arab minority and Egypt - an important regional security partner for Israel. An Egyptian official told Reuters on Thursday that Cairo was "shocked" at the prospect of Lieberman as Israeli defence minister. But Washington struck a more optimistic note. "We appreciate Mr. Yaalon`s leadership and partnership as defence minister and we look forward to working with his successor," U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said. "Our bonds of friendship are unbreakable and our commitment to the security of Israel remains absolute." Netanyahu`s offer of Yaalon`s cabinet post to Lieberman emerged this week after talks failed on bringing centre-left opposition leader Isaac Herzog into the government. The inclusion of Lieberman`s Yisrael Beitenu party in the coalition, which has also yet to be confirmed, would give Netanyahu`s six-party coalition 67 of parliament`s 120 seats, up from its current razor-thin majority of 61. Yaalon shares Netanyahu`s dim views on the prospects for a long-term accord with the Palestinians. But they clashed this month over the trial of a soldier who shot dead a wounded Palestinian assailant, with Yaalon coming out against strident public support for the soldier while Netanyahu took a more circumspect position. A poll aired by Israel`s Channel 10 television on Thursday found that 51 percent of Israeli Jews saw Yaalon as best suited for defence minister, while 27 percent preferred Lieberman. Zeev Elkin, a cabinet minister and Netanyahu confidant, told Israel`s Army Radio Yaalon had instead been offered the foreign affairs portfolio but had declined. Taipei: Taiwan`s new president urged China on Friday to "drop the baggage of history" in an otherwise conciliatory inauguration speech that Beijing`s Communist Party rulers had been watching for any move towards independence. President Tsai Ing-wen was sworn in with Taiwan`s export-driven economy on the ropes and giant neighbour China looking across the Taiwan Strait for signs of creeping independence or anti-Beijing sentiment that could further sour economic ties. Tsai`s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has traditionally favoured independence from China, won parliamentary and presidential elections by a landslide in January and takes over after eight years under China-friendly Nationalist Ma Ying-jeou. Tsai, Taiwan`s first female president, said Taiwan would play a responsible role and be a "staunch guardian of peace" in its relationship with China. "Cross-Strait relations have become an integral part of building regional peace and collective security," she told thousands of people outside the presidential office. "The two governing parties across the Strait must set aside the baggage of history and engage in positive dialogue for the benefit of the people on both sides," she said. There was no immediate reaction to Tsai`s speech from China, which has never renounced force to take back an island it regards as a renegade province. Beijing said earlier this month the new Taiwan government would be to blame for any crisis that might erupt. Taiwanese markets reacted calmly to Tsai`s inauguration. Taiwan`s main index reached an intraday high as she spoke, before settling 0.4 percent higher for the session. Tsai pledged to abide by the constitution of the Republic of China, Taiwan`s formal name, and promised to safeguard the island`s sovereignty and territory. She also mentioned the East China and South China Seas, where an increasingly muscular China has been at odds over territorial claims with its neighbours. "Regarding problems arising in the East China Sea and South China Sea, we propose setting aside disputes so as to enable joint development," she said. The American Institute in Taiwan, which represents U.S. interests in the island in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, said it looked forward to working with the new government. The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979 but is also Taiwan`s biggest ally and arms supplier. China is deeply distrustful of Tsai`s DPP, whose charter includes a clause promoting "a sovereign and independent Republic of Taiwan". Chiang Kai-shek`s Nationalists fled to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the Communists in China in 1949. China has pressured the new Taiwan government to stick to the "one-China" principle agreed with the Nationalists. That allows each side to interpret what "one China" means. Voted in by a Taiwanese public distrustful of growing economic dependence on China, the DPP also champions Taiwans own history. There were massive protests in 2014 that stalled a trade pact with China and were a key element of the DPP`s rise. (Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in WASHINGTON; Editing by Michael Perry and Paul Tait) Los Angeles: San Francisco's police chief has resigned at the request of the city's mayor, hours after a black woman was fatally shot by an officer. Mayor Ed Lee announced Greg Suhr's resignation at a news conference, saying he hoped to "heal the city" that has been rocked by racial tensions. "The progress we have made has been meaningful but it hasn't been fast enough, not for me and not for Greg, and that's why I have asked Chief Suhr for his resignation," Lee told a news conference. Hours earlier, Suhr had told reporters that a 27-year-old black woman driving a stolen car was shot and killed by police after she ignored orders to stop the vehicle. The shooting took place amid heightened tensions between San Francisco's police department and African Americans over a number of racially-charged incidents in the city. The police department has been under intense scrutiny following the fatal shooting of Mario Woods in December and Luis Gongora in April. It has also been embroiled in controversy over racist and homophobic text messages exchanged among officers. "The past several months have shaken and divided our city, and tensions between law enforcement and communities of color that have simmered for too many years have come into full view," Lee told reporters at the news conference. "These officer-involved shootings, justified or not, have forced our city to open its eyes to questions of when and how police use lethal force," he added. The mayor said he had appointed Toney Chaplin, a 26-year veteran of the force, as acting police chief, and vowed to continue with reforms. Activists for months had been calling for Suhr to step down and a group known as the "Frisco Five" had gone on hunger strike for nearly 17 days to press their demands. San Francisco is just the latest California community where law enforcement is under fire for race-related issues. Earlier this month, a senior official at the Los Angeles County sheriff's department resigned following criticism over emails he sent disparaging blacks, Muslims, Latinos and women. Tom Angel, chief of staff to Sheriff Jim McDonnell, had forwarded the emails from his work account while serving as a top police official in Burbank city near Los Angeles in 2012 and 2013. Sydney: The massive search for Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 in the remote southern Indian Ocean is expected to be completed by early August, the man leading the hunt said Friday. Less than 15,000 square kilometres remain to be scoured out of a 120,000 sq km target zone off western Australia where the passenger jet is presumed to have crashed. Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) head Martin Dolan said there was no indication the zone would be extended. "We have some way to go and our best bet is that we will complete that search late July, early August, depending on unforeseen circumstances," Dolan told The Australian newspaper, referring to rough weather. "The technical capability is there to continue the search but the resources to do it is a matter for government," he said. Hopes of finding the Boeing 777 which vanished on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, are receding. "At this point there is a diminishing level of confidence that we will find the aircraft," Dolan admitted. "There will be a lot of disappointment if we don`t find it. "At worst we will know at the end of this process that the area we have searched does not contain the aircraft. At best we will find it." The search zone has so far yielded no clues as to what happened aboard MH370, a scheduled flight that disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in one of the most enduring mysteries in aviation history. Five pieces of debris which have been identified as either definitely or probably from the jet have been discovered thousands of kilometres from the search zone -- in South Africa, Mauritius, Mozambique, Mauritius and the island of Reunion -- likely swept there by currents. Australia, Malaysia and China have said the hunt they have jointly organised would likely be abandoned if nothing is found in the search zone. In a weekly operational update,the ATSB said three ships continue to seek the plane but winter weather has set in with giant waves and high winds hampering efforts. The Australian added that in the event the plane is not found, the ATSB is working on a report looking at other possibilities, including the "rogue pilot" theory that the captain deliberately crashed it into the sea. Taipei: Taiwan`s new president, Tsai Ing-wen, has a reputation as a patient, canny negotiator and she`ll need those skills as she takes responsibility for what is potentially one of Asia`s most dangerous flashpoints. Tsai, 59, leader of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is being sworn in on Friday as the first woman president of Taiwan, a beacon of democracy off the coast of Communist Party-ruled China. Beijing has been watching warily since she won a January election and has warned her it will brook no hint of a move towards independence of an island it has regarded as a wayward province since China`s nationalists fled there after Mao Zedong`s Communists` civil war victory in 1949. Tsai has said she will maintain the status quo with the mainland but has stopped short of endorsing its cherished "one China" principle, which allows the Communists to say they rule all of China, including Taiwan. Those in Tsai`s inner circle speak of a steely-minded, cautious individual with a firm grasp of detail and a pragmatic long-term view. When Tsai was vice premier in 2007, she took part in a mock drill about an economic crisis with China, said York Chen, who designed the exercise to test Taiwan`s leadership in crisis. It took Tsai 40 minutes to broker a consensus among cabinet officials, including those for economics, the central bank and China policy. She quietly jotted notes for 20 more minutes before explaining her plan to the president. "She was extraordinarily capable," said Chen, who last week was named an incoming deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council, which reports directly to the president. In biographies, two written by her and one semi-authorised, a picture emerges of Tsai as a negotiator unwilling to score quick points, or concede too much. A polished English-speaker, hers has been a political life of firsts. She was the first woman to become chief of the DPP in 2008. She was the first woman named as Taiwan`s main China affairs minister in 2000. Tsai studied law and economics at the most prestigious universities in Taiwan, the United States and Britain, and hails from Pingtung, deep in Taiwan`s heavily pro-independence south. She returned to Taiwan in the mid-1980s to spend the next decade and a half negotiating for the island`s entry into the World Trade Organisation - a role that pitted her brains against international experts as Taiwan, recognised as a country by only a handful of others, fought for its diplomatic life. Chinese state media and its agency handling Taiwan affairs have bemoaned "turbulent" ties and accused the DPP of "destroying bridges" after eight years of warming relations under out-going President Ma Ying-jeou of the Nationalists. Tsai has not risen to the tough talk but has calmly insisted democratic principles will rule Taipei`s ties with Beijing while reiterating her government will keep the peace and forge a consistent, predictable and sustainable relationship. Guatemalans protest against the murder of a Guatemalan teen outside the embassy of Belize in Guatemala City on April 25, 2016 (AFP Photo/Johan Ordonez) (AFP/File) Guatemala City (AFP) - Guatemala and Belize will hold talks in Turkey this weekend on a border dispute that veered toward crisis last month after Belizean soldiers killed a Guatemalan boy. Belize Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington will meet Saturday in Istanbul with his Guatemalan counterpart, Carlos Raul Morales, the two sides said. The two Central American countries have a 150-year-old dispute centered on the Sarstoon River, which runs between them. "Both sides have agreed that notwithstanding those positions which neither side will relinquish, a mechanism must be found to guarantee peaceful use, stability, and navigational security at the Sarstoon River," Belize's foreign ministry said. Prior to announcing that talks, the Guatemalan foreign minister called on Belize's military to be "less aggressive" in a press conference. Guatemala has made claims over more than half of Belize's territory dating back to when its small neighbor was a British colony known as British Honduras. The tension turned explosive on April 20, when a Belizean patrol shot and killed a 13-year-old Guatemalan boy and wounded his brother and father. Each country said the incident happened on its side of the border. The two sides met earlier this month in Washington at the invitation of Secretary General Luis Almagro of the Organization of American States. If the Istanbul talks fail to reach a consensus, the two sides will continue negotiations in Washington, they said. Taipei: Taiwan`s new President Tsai Ing-wen called for "positive dialogue" with China in her much-anticipated inauguration speech on Friday, striking a conciliatory tone in the face of an increasingly hostile Beijing. "The two governing parties across the strait must set aside the baggage of history, and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides," she said in the speech outside the presidential office in Taipei after being sworn in. China still sees self-ruling Taiwan as part of its territory and is putting growing pressure on Beijing-sceptic Tsai to back its "one China" message, as relations rapidly cool after a rapprochement under outgoing leader Ma Ying-jeou. Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party have never backed the "one China" concept, unlike outgoing leader Ma Ying-jeou who oversaw an eight-year rapprochement with Beijing. While she showed no sign of backing down from that stance, Tsai sought to cast Taiwan as a cross-strait peacemaker, countering Beijing`s view of the new government as a source of instability. "Cross-strait relations have become an integral part of building regional peace and collective security," she told an audience of 20,000 who regularly cheered and applauded. "In this process, Taiwan will be a `staunch guardian of peace` that actively participates and is never absent." Washington: A Maryland man who is a delegate for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been indicted for illegally shipping explosives, owning a machine gun and producing child pornography, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. Caleb Bailey, 30, was indicted by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Wednesday. He was elected to be a delegate for Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and is still listed as one on the state`s board of elections website. Joe Cluster, executive director of the Maryland Republican Party, confirmed Bailey had been indicted and told Reuters the party was asking Bailey to resign from the delegation. "I don`t know too much about him beyond what I`ve read," said Cluster, who declined to comment further. Bailey had hundreds of illegal weapons stored in a bunker beneath his garage, including dozens of machine guns, smokeless grenades and gas canisters, along with ready-to-eat meals, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. Telephone calls and emails seeking comment from Bailey, from the Trump campaign and from the Maryland board of elections were not returned on Thursday. Trump has been working to unify the Republican party going into its presidential nominating convention in Cleveland in July. In March, a New Hampshire man who co-chaired Trump`s veterans coalition in the state was extradited to Nevada to face charges of helping organise the high-profile 2014 armed standoff with federal agents at the ranch of Cliven Bundy. The four-count indictment against Bailey alleges that he used a minor to "engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce child pornography" and illegally owned a machine gun. Authorities became aware of Bailey after he tried to ship explosives and ammunition from Maryland to Wisconsin through the U.S. mail in February, said an affidavit filed by a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Some of the types of cartridges Bailey was sending to Wisconsin are no longer used by the U.S. military because they are too dangerous, the law enforcement official said, so shipping them was "not only illegal, but posed a significant public risk." The Wisconsin recipient is under investigation as well, according to the official. Bailey attempted to ship five such packages in total, but one broke open at the post office, prompting the facility to call law enforcement, according to the affidavit. Moscow on Friday proposed that Russia and United States, which have been flying separate bombing campaigns in Syria, launch joint air strikes against jihadists from next week, a proposal the Pentagon swiftly rejected. "We are proposing to the US, as the head of the International Syria Support Group, to take part as of May 25 in joint operations between the Russian air force and the air force of the coalition," Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said in televised comments. Shoigu said that the proposal included strikes against Jabhat al-Nusra and other illegal armed groups that do not support a frail truce brokered by Moscow and Washington in February. He also proposed that joint strikes target "convoys containing weapons and ammunition (and) armed units that illegally cross the Syrian-Turkish border." "We believe that adopting these measures will ensure the transition to a peace settlement process over all of Syria`s territory," Shoigu said. "Of course, the leadership of the Syrian Arab Republic has agreed to these measures." Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis rejected Moscow`s proposal, saying the US military does "not collaborate or coordinate with the Russians on any operations in Syria." US State Department spokesman John Kirby said nothing had been agreed. "What we are discussing with our Russian counterparts... are proposals for a sustainable mechanism to better monitor and enforce the cessation of hostilities," Kirby said. He added that the "vast majority" of the violations of the truce had been carried out by the regime, which is backed by Moscow."Russian operations are supporting and enabling the Assad regime and our focus is solely on degrading and defeating ISIL," Davis said, referring to the Islamic State jihadist group. Davis added that the Pentagon had received "nothing formal" from its Russian counterpart regarding the proposal. Russia and the United States pledged earlier this month to redouble efforts to find a solution to the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions since 2011, and extend a truce across the war-torn country. Despite diplomatic efforts to resolve the five-year conflict, Moscow and Washington have been critical of each other`s bombing campaigns in Syria. The West has accused Moscow -- a staunch supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad -- of propping up the regime by targeting rebels fighting Assad in strikes Moscow said were aimed against "terrorist" organisations. Moscow has in turn repeatedly slammed the US coalition, saying its strikes in Syria have been ineffective. Shoigu said Friday that Russia would reserve its right to unilaterally strike "international terrorist and illegal armed groups that have not adhered to the cessation of hostilities" starting from May 25.President Vladimir Putin surprised the West in March by announcing the partial withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria, saying Moscow`s task in the war-torn country had been "on the whole" completed. The Pentagon said Wednesday that Russia`s military strength in Syria had barely changed since the partial withdrawal was announced. Baghdad-based US military spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said that Russia had established some sort of forward operating base outside Palmyra, the ancient city Syrian forces recaptured in March from Islamic State jihadists with the help of Russian air strikes and special forces. The Russian defence ministry denied that it was building a base in Palmyra, saying its military installations in the area are a "temporary camp" used for demining operations. Meanwhile Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday said his Lebanese Shiite movement would boost its support for Syria`s regime after one of its top commanders was killed there last week. According to Hezbollah expert Waddah Charara, the Shiite militant group has sent between 5,000 and 6,000 combatants to Syria since 2013. Hezbollah has accused Islamist extremists of killing its commander Mustafa Badreddine in an artillery attack near Damascus. last week. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The NKR Defense Ministry informs that overnight May 19-20 the Azerbaijani side fired sniper rifles at several directions. The NKR Defense Ministrys announcement reads: Overnight May 19-20 the situation was relatively calm in the line of contact between Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces. The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire agreement by firing various caliber weapons and sniper rifles at several directions. The Defense Army forces followed the ceasefire agreement and continued confidently carrying out their military duties. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's first female president, was sworn into office on May 20, facing two very different sets of expectations-from those who voted for her and a Chinese leadership that wants the island on a tight leash, Armenpress reports citing CNN. Although she was given a strong mandate in the January elections, with her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) gaining control of the executive and legislative branches of government, a souring relationship with Beijing could undermine her ability to accomplish what she has set out to do at home. In April, Taiwan accused China of carrying out "gross violation of basic human rights" after 45 Taiwanese were deported from Kenya to mainland China. They were then paraded on Chinese state TV confessing to crimes they had been acquitted for in Kenya. "It seems clear that China is pressuring the Tsai administration even before it has formally come to office," says Bruce Jacobs, a Taiwan specialist at Monash University in Australia. In her inauguration speech, Tsai struck a measured tone, attempting to reassure Taiwan's people and the international community that she can handle the island's complicated relationship with China. She said she wouldn't dismantle any of the existing channels for communication between the two. "We will work to maintain peace and stability in cross-strait relations," she said. Her address ended with choirs singing "Ilha Formosa" a poetic song that became an anthem for pro-democracy groups in Taiwan. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Ministry of Armenia informs that overnight May 19-20 the situation was relatively calm in the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border. The Armenian Defense Ministrys announcement reads: Overnight May 19-20 the situation was relatively calm along the entire length of the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border. The Azerbaijani side fired irregular shots from various caliber weapons in the northeastern direction of the border. The Armenian Armed Forces control the border situation and confidently carry out their tasks. According to the information received from the NKR Defense Army overnight May 19-20 the situation was relatively calm in the line of contact between Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces. The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire agreement by firing various caliber weapons and sniper rifles at several directions. The Defense Army forces followed the ceasefire agreement and continued confidently carrying out their military duties. How Did Burlington Northern Santa Fe Perform in 1Q16? (Continued from Prior Part) BNSFs coal revenues In the earlier article, we discussed Burlington Northern Santa Fes (BRK-B) agricultural revenues. Here, well review the coal business segments 1Q16 performance. BNSFs 1Q16 coal revenues were $779.0 million, down 38.6% from $1.3 billion in 1Q15. Volumes in 1Q16 In 1Q16, the coal volumes dropped by 33.2% to 401,000 carloads against 600,000 carloads on a year-over-year basis. The decline was mainly due to reduced utility demand for coal. Higher coal inventories with customers and low natural gas prices (UNG) impacted the utility coal demand. Plus, reduced power generation partially due to historically mild winter weather also impacted coal volumes. In contrast, coal volumes in 1Q15 rose from higher demand as customers restocked coal inventories. The average revenue per car for the coal segment went down 8.1% from $2,115 in 1Q15 to $1,943 in 1Q16. Outlook According to BNSF, utility coal inventories are comparatively high. The company expects increased usage of alternative fuel sources in power generation. BNSF anticipates a further decline in coal volumes over the remainder of 2016. Peer group coal business Coal formed 36.9% of total tons originated and hauled by all Class I railroads in 2015, which explains why railroads are so worried about falling coal transportation. Railroads like Norfolk Southern (NSC), Union Pacific (UNP), and CSX (CSX) have started rationalizing their coal assets to adjust to the downfall in coal volumes. However, one Class I railroad, Canadian National Railway Company (CNI), remains relatively immune to the shrinking coal revenues. This railroad had nearly 5% revenues from coal and 9% coal volumes in 2015. In the subsequent part, well look at BNSFs operating margins. Well also compare its operating margins with its peers margins, so you can get better insight into the operating efficiencies of these Class I railroads. Story continues Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. On May 19 the Government of Armenia and the European Commission signed an agreement over Armenias participation in the Horizon-2020 EU Research and Innovation framework program in Brussels, Press Service of the MFA of Armenia informed Armenpress. From the Armenian side, the agreement was signed by the Minister of Education and Science Levon Mkrtchyan, and from the EU side the agreement was signed by the EU Commissioner on Research, Science and Innovation Affairs Carlos Moedas. By the coordination of the MFA of Armenia the negotiations between Yerevan and Brussels over Armenias participation in the program were being held during the last two years. Horizon-2020 framework program will be implemented until 2020. Armenias participation in the program will contribute to the integration of our scientific communitys researches into the European area, the cooperation with the European leading scientific centers, the development of innovative approaches and methods, which in its turn will lead to the sustainable development programs in Armenia. Moreover, the close cooperation in these fields will give new quality to the Armenia-EU relations. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on May 20, who is currently in Yerevan to participate in the regular meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council. The President welcomed Medvedev and expressed hope the session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council will be marked by its effectiveness. During your last official visit we discussed the more urgent and delicate issues of our agenda. I think we will continue that conversation today, because that period was really a difficult one for our region, which was created by gross violations of the 1994-95 agreements by Azerbaijan. Literally a few days ago I returned from Vienna, where we, along with the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries discussed the situation and ways of coming out of it. An agreement has been reached on conducting monitoring and installing ceasefire violation investigative mechanisms. We, Of course, will do everything from our side for these violations to be excluded, and I hope the OSCE MG co-chairing countries FMs will consistently implement the decisions which we had jointly made. You are welcome, I am happy to meet you Mr. Medvedev, Serzh Sargsyan said. Medvedev said he is happy for the opportunity to meet President Sargsyan and stressed that this is already their 2nd meeting in a month, which is very good, as it characterizes the level of relations between Russia and Armenia, the allied nature of relations which exist between the two countries and the two peoples. Last time, we really held bilateral negotiations, and today the sessions of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council will take place. We will discuss various issues, first and foremost economical, which are beneficial for all countries. I appreciate the invitation of the heads of governments to hold this event in Yerevan, as this event is first of its kind here. Also, the head of the Eurasian Commission is also presenting Armenia, which in this context is symbolic. We will talk, and the colleagues from the government will report the results to you. I am sure we will reach agreements which are necessary, I repeat, for promoting our economies. Indeed, my previous visit took place during a difficult situation. I want to say that we in Russia, nevertheless, were following the developments strenuously, helped as much as possible for the situation to normalize. It is important for the ceasefire regime to be maintained. In this context, we of course fully welcome your meeting with the Azerbaijani President, which took place in Vienna, as well as the efforts within the framework of the Minsk Group, which are aimed at maintaining dialogue, continuing talks and preventing this kind of incidents in the future, taking into account the maintenance of those agreements, which were historically reached in 1994-95, and of course for more strengthened regional peace and moving forward the final settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. You can be certain that Russia always assisted and will continue assisting the settlement issue of this difficult conflict. And now we will discuss all issues regarding this, Medvedev said. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. On May 21-22 with the initiative of the Republican Party of Armenia 2nd forum of the Armenian Political Parties will be held in the NKR National Assembly session hall, press service of the RPA informed Armenpress. The President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and the NKR President Bako Sahakyan will address messages to the participants of the forum, NKR Diocese Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan and Deputy Chairman of the RPA Armen Ashotyan will deliver an opening speech. Representatives of the political parties represented in the Armenian and the NKR National Assemblies are invited to participate in the forum. 10 political parties from Armenia and 5 from the NKR will take part in the forum. The President of the NKR National Assembly Ashot Ghoulian and the NKR Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan will take part in this event. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Armenia Matthias Kiesler highly appreciates the efforts of the Armenian Government for assisting Syrian-Armenians. After watching New prospects for Syrian-Armenians exhibition in the Yerevan Expo center Ambassador said to journalists significant work is being done in Armenia to help Syrian refugees. The participation of the Armenian President in this event shows how the Armenian leadership is interested in the integration issues of Syrian-Armenians. What happened in Syria created great challenges for various states. Armenia took the responsibility for assisting Syrian-Armenians, and I would say this responsibility is bigger than that of the other European states. I am impressed with the fact that Armenia managed to host 20.000 refugees, it is a result of joint efforts, Ambassador highlighted. He stated that refugees are often perceived as burdens, however, there is such an approach in Germany that refugees can be great potential for the given country. Especially the Syrian-Armenian community which has great traditions of craftsmanship. According to him, using that potential, it is necessary to create such conditions for Syrian-Armenians to have economic future in this country. Armenian Deputy Minister of Economy Hovhannes Hovhannisyan says the issue of supporting Syrian-Armenians is in the center of Armenian Governments attention. I do not clearly mention the refugee word since they should be perceived as full citizens of Armenia, rather than refugees. It is the desire of the Armenian people and the political leadership. The Armenian Government takes measures for integration of Syrian-Armenians. A working group has been created which will carry out assessment of Syrian-Armenians needs, will target concrete goals and will suggest clear assisting actions, Hovhannes Hovhannisyan stated. Deputy Minister stated that the Tax Code is new for them, they should get acquainted with the legislative provisions. He ensured that the support to Syrian-Armenians will become more active in the nearest future. Ambassador in his turn added that Germany has a great experience in terms of improving capabilities of SMEs. The New Prospects for Syrian-Armenians exhibition opened in the Yerevan Expo center on May 19. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan attended the opening ceremony along with Government officials and representatives of public and business sectors. The business forum is organized by GIZ. More than 60.000 Syrian-Armenians entrepreneurs were presenting their works, services and products at the expo. The event will give an opportunity to Syrian-Armenians to establish connections, adjust and strengthen their capabilities. It is directed towards the promotion of entrepreneurship and employment, the discovery of the economic opportunities, and establishment of new connections. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Turkey's parliament ratified on Friday the second article of the temporary amendment to the Turkish constitution bill that allows the lifting of immunity from prosecution of 138 lawmakers, reports Anadolu. Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahraman announced in the general assembly that the bill's second part received the backing from 374 MPs while 136 lawmakers voted against it in the 550-seat parliament. A total of 526 parliamentarians participated in the second part of the secret ballot process, out of which four MPs abstained, 11 cast blank votes and one vote was considered invalid. Earlier in the day, the parliament had ratified the first article of the same amendment bill. According to Kahraman, the first part of the bill was backed by 373 MPs, while 138 lawmakers voted against it in the 550-seat parliament. A total of 531 parliamentarians participated in this first part of the secret ballot process, out of which eight MPs abstained, nine cast blank votes and three votes were considered invalid. The ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, which has 316 seats, and the opposition Nationalist Movement Party, also known as MHP, which has 40 seats, both backed the bill. If 367 deputies or more vote "yes" in the next joint voting stage, then the law will be presented to the Turkish president for final approval. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Armenia Fund US Western Region is proud to announce that a total of $1,102,357 was raised during the 6 hours of its Help Atsakh! emergency telethon aired on May 14 in Los Angeles, "Armenpress" reports, Asbarez.com informs. Armenia Fund is an organization that was born amidst a humanitarian catastrophe in the Nagorno Karabakh in 1992, when hundreds of thousands of Armenians from the Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan became refugees with no shelter, food, heat or means to survive, stated Maria Mehranian, Chair of Armenia Funds Board of Directors. Armenia Fund stood by Artsakh through war and peace and will continue to do so. I would like to thank the world wide affiliates of Armenia Fund, specifically Armenia Fund in New York, Toronto, Paris, and Sao Paolo, for their participation in our Telethon with funds raised by their emergency fundraising activities that added $490,000 to the total raised, added Mehranian. Airing on all major Armenian American television stations, the emergency telethon highlighted stories of bravery, courage, and hope through the destruction of war. The video segments produced in the Nagorno Karabakh showed the massive damage caused by indiscriminate shelling of villages as well as the valor and bravery of young Armenian conscripts who courageously withstood a massive military aggression of the Azeri armed forces along the entire border with the NKR in early April. Given the situation in the Nagorno Karabakh, this telethon was organized to solely provide short term humanitarian relief to the victims of war. The NKRs needs are immense ranging from immediate medical care for the wounded to rebuilding destroyed housing and infrastructure. I want to thank all Armenians for their wholehearted support of the Nagorno Karabakh, said Sarkis Kotanjian, Executive Director of Armenia Fund. Representatives from the greater Armenian-American community and prominent members of Congress and government appealed during the Telethon, voicing their strong support for the Nagorno Karabakh. For the last quarter century Armenia Fund has been uniting the global Armenian community for the development of Armenia and the NKR resulting in more than $350 million in large scale humanitarian relief and infrastructure development. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs that on May 20 the USD exchange rate was 477.63 AMD which is the a decrease of 0.74 drams compared to the previous day. Armenpress reports that the Euro decreased by 0.45 drams forming 536.04 drams. British pound dropped by 4.23 drams forming 695.72 drams. Russian ruble decreased by 0.02 drams reaching to 7.17 drams on May 18. The prices for precious metals are as follows: the price for silver per gram is 254.91 AMD, gold-19 thousand 137.61 AMD, and platinum-15 thousand 509.72 AMD. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Justice of Armenia Arpine Hovhannisyan received Council of Europe's Deputy Secretary General Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni on May 20. The sides discussed issues referring to changes in the Electoral and Judicial Codes of Armenia, acceptance of probation law, as well as other legislative issues. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of MoJ, Minister Hovhannisyan mentioned that she considers Armenia-CoE cooperation effective and stated that there are firm basis for ensuring its continuity considering the new Action Plan of 2015-2018 ratified on September 18, 2015. The CoEs Deputy Secretary General mentioned that she attaches great value to meetings on bilateral format. STEPANAKERT, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Ministry of NKR has issued a statement dismissing the Azerbaijani allegations about the use of prohibited weapons, including white phosphorus, during the April war. As Armenpress was informed from NKR MFA press service, the statement runs as follows, The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry voiced another farfetched accusation of the alleged use of prohibited ammunition on May 17, including shells with white phosphorus, during the military operations on April 2-5, 2016. Continuing its usual campaign of providing disinformation to the international community, Azerbaijan does not disdain resorting to fraud and outright manipulation. To add weight to its propaganda, the Azerbaijani side tries to involve foreign diplomats and military attaches accredited in Azerbaijan. Falsification and distortion of the reality have long become regular, constituting an integral part of Azerbaijan's foreign policy. Back in 1992, the Azerbaijani side made similar accusations of the alleged use of chemical weapons, which were then denied by the UN special fact-finding mission. Based on the findings and conclusions of the UN experts set forth in the UN Security Council document S/24344 dated July 24, 1992, the UN Secretary-General noted that "no evidence of the use of chemical weapons had been presented to the team". In subsequent years, the Azerbaijani side used to make similar absurd and unconfirmed accusations of the use of nuclear weapons against Azerbaijan in 1993 and disposal of nuclear wastes in the NKR (PACE document N 9444 dated May 7, 2002), transformation of Armenia and the NKR to a depot of bacteriological weapons (PACE document N9336 dated January 31, 2002), cultivation and production of drugs, etc. In doing so, the Azerbaijani side referred to nonexistent scientific journals, reports, organizations, and laboratories. Resurrecting its old allegations, Azerbaijan does not only try to justify its policy of use of force and denial of full and strict compliance with the ceasefire agreements of 1994 and 1995, on which the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries insist, but also aims to distract the attention from the real war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani army against the military servicemen and civilian population of the NKR. In this regard, we call on the international community to treat the unfounded statements of the Azerbaijani side with utmost criticism. For its part, the NKR is ready to host a special monitoring mission for an on-site study of all the facts and investigation of the circumstances of the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan on April 2-5, 2016, as well as the violations of the norms of international humanitarian law committed during that period. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan held a phone conversation with US Vice President Joe Biden at the initiative of the American side. Issues referring to the current phase of of Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement were discussed. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of Republic of Armenias Presidents Office, the sides highlighted the full and effective implementation of the agreements reached in Vienna on May 16 of the current year. The side shared the opinion that the conflict settlement is possible based on exclusively peaceful means, under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmanship. Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, is detained by police after he and several others tried to intercept the motorcade of top Chinese official Zhang Dejiang (AFP Photo/) Hong Kong (AFP) - Hong Kong student pro-democracy leader Joshua Wong was among five protesters detained Thursday after they ran onto a motorway to intercept the motorcade of a top Chinese official during a highly-charged visit to the city. Their bid came on the final day of a three-day trip by Zhang Dejiang, who chairs China's communist-controlled legislature, where frustrated protesters have been kept out of sight behind barricades in a security lockdown. Zhang's visit is the first by such a senior official for four years and comes as concerns grow that freedoms are under threat in semi-autonomous Hong Kong as China tightens its grip. Police chased the group of five protesters as they ran along a major highway in eastern Hong Kong which had been cleared for Zhang, with Wong carrying a sign calling for "self-determination". The group were detained before Zhang's motorcade emerged from the motorway tunnel. The protesters were all members of Demosisto, a political party led by Wong, who became the face of major pro-democracy rallies in 2014. A video posted on the party's Facebook page showed the group being chased on foot and pinned to the ground by traffic police. "(Protesters) rushed out near the tunnel front to voice out the demand of self determination and the anger of people against the interference of the Chinese government," Demosisto's Agnes Chow said in a statement. Demosisto confirmed five of its members, including Wong and fellow high-profile young activists Nathan Law and Oscar Lai, were detained by police after the incident. Hong Kong police had no immediate comment. Zhang's visit was ostensibly for an economic conference, but has been widely seen as a conciliatory effort after frustration over lack of political reform sparked a fledgling independence movement, condemned by authorities in both Hong Kong and mainland China. During the trip, Zhang sought to reassure Hongkongers the city would not be "mainlandised" but hit back at activists calling for more autonomy, labelling them separatists. Story continues Activists said Zhang had not seen the real situation in Hong Kong due to the major security clampdown, which saw seven arrested for unfurling protest banners on hills and flyovers. However, in an address to local tycoons, businessmen and officials Thursday morning, Zhang insisted he saw the city's residents were "full of happiness" during his trip. "What I have seen is their faces which are full of happiness and comfort," he added. He said he had listened to pro-democracy lawmakers during a rare meeting, but reminded his audience Thursday that Hong Kong's economic success was "due to the fact that it is backed by the mainland". Zhang later visited a home for the elderly and boarded a plane leaving Hong Kong Thursday afternoon. Hong Kong is semi-autonomous after being handed back to China by Britain in 1997 and enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland, but there are concerns Beijing's interference is growing in a range of areas, from politics to education and the media. Reuters. "The Chinese people do not want to have war, so we will be opposed to [the] U.S. if it stirs up any conflict," Liu Zhenmin tells CNBC. BEIJING China 's attempts to claim a nearly 1.4-million-square-mile swathe of open ocean are without precedent and probably without legal merit, but Beijing continues to assert its right to the economically critical zone and increasingly puts its claims in military terms. Speaking to a small group of reporters in Beijing on Thursday, a high-ranking Chinese official made his warning clear: The United States should not provoke China in the South China Sea without expecting retaliation. "The Chinese people do not want to have war, so we will be opposed to [the] U.S. if it stirs up any conflict," said Liu Zhenmin, vice minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Of course, if the Korean War or Vietnam War are replayed, then we will have to defend ourselves." The so-called "nine-dash line" that China has drawn over most of the South China Sea a gargantuan territorial claim that stretches about 1,200 miles from its shores would give Beijing control over a zone that's estimated to handle about half of global merchant shipping, a third of the planet's oil shipping, two-thirds of global liquid natural gas shipments, and more than a 10th of Earth's fish catch. The Obama administration, backed by several Asian governments and entities such as the Brookings Institution, argues that such massive ocean claims at great distance from land are "inconsistent with international law." China has a growing military presence in the region, including the wholesale raising of islands and construction of airfields on what were once atolls. The U.S. Navy operates there as well, increasingly in concert with regional powers such as the Philippines. Two Chinese fighter jets on Tuesday intercepted and passed within 50 feet of a U.S. military reconnaissance plane. "We rely heavily on the South China Sea [for] transportation of resources and energy and the South China Sea is an important trading group for us. We attach great importance to peace and stability in the South China Sea," said Liu, who warned the United States that it "cannot circle China by building military bases we cannot do so 30 years ago, or even now." Story continues "Chinese people and the government feel like we haven't been treated fairly because the U.S. is blaming China for rising tensions in the South China Sea," said Liu, who added that "what matters is that the U.S. government has recognized that times have changed, [and the U.S.] can gain much more through cooperation than going to war." China is party to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, and that framework provides "no legal basis" for China to claim its "nine-dash" area, said Alessio Patalano, senior lecturer in Naval History and East Asian Security at King's College London. But beyond that, Patalano said, China's actions have no historical precedent. "There is not a precedent of this kind, and this is for two reasons," Patalano told CNBC. "First until recently, technology didn't allow nation states to project power over the oceans as it is possible today. Second, today's degree of interdependence has no precedent in history, therefore issues over the ability of shipping to move through this basin has potential impact on the international system in a way that was not possible previously." The South China Sea for years has been a point of contention for bordering nations besides China, including Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines, but in recent years has become a larger nexus of disagreement as China has unilaterally declared the region its own. China's fishing fleet, the world's biggest, operates increasingly within the legally exclusive zones of Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and other countries. A tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is expected to rule in the next couple months on China's expansive territorial claims, though China has already rejected those proceedings. As the dispute festers, experts see a higher chance of an unintended conflict between U.S. and Chinese vessels or aircraft, something that was witnessed in 2001 when a Chinese and a U.S. plane collided . China watchers say if a collision were to happen in 2016, a strong response from both sides could be possible. "China attaches far greater importance to peace in the South China Sea much greater than the U.S. and Japan. No one should doubt our sincerity in this subject," Liu said. "The Chinese government will uphold peace in Southeast Asia even for the sake of our own survival. In this sense we are actively against any moves that will jeopardize peace in the South China Sea." Liu warned that a conflict between China and the United States would have wide repercussions for the global economy. "No country would want to see confrontations between [the] U.S. and China," he said, "because [the] Chinese and U.S. economy will be hurt, and impacts will be felt across the world." CNBC's Everett Rosenfeld and Ted Kemp contributed from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. More From CNBC US Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen (L) attends the G7 Symposium entitled "Future of the Global Economy" in the hot spring town in Sendai on May 20, 2016, Japan A deep divide over currency policy bubbled over at a G7 meeting in Japan on Friday as a senior US Treasury official warned against Tokyo's bid to tame the resurgent yen. Japan, which is hosting the two-day talks, is keen to win an endorsement for its position that fiscal stimulus is the way to kickstart the world economy, after a rally in the yen hit exporters and worsened a slowdown at home. But Tokyo's recent threat of a market intervention to reverse the rally is putting it on a collision course with its G7 counterparts, including the United States and Germany, which have ruled out such moves. On Friday, a senior US Treasury official said the yen's strengthening did not justify Tokyo manipulating its currency. "The notion that exchange rate targeting is being used creates a whole different set of questions in terms of reason for it," the official told reporters. "If the perception or the reality is that (intervention) is for gaining unfair advantage, that is very disruptive to the global economic system." French Finance Minister Michel Sapin has also waved off the idea of countries gaining a trade advantage by manipulating their own currencies. "Today we are in a cooperation phase, and not in an intervention or a currency war phase," he told AFP in an interview. The G7 group -- also including Britain, Canada, and Italy -- is also focused on using the talks to hammer out a strategy for keeping a global recession at bay. In April, the International Monetary Fund cut its world growth forecast for the third time in less than a year, as a slowdown in China and other emerging economies raised fears that the worst was yet to come. "Proactive financial policies and monetary easing are necessary, but not enough," said Ivan Tselichtchev, an economics professor at Japan's Niigata University of Management. "The G7 has to do more to pursue structural reforms, to raise economic efficiency... to boost investment, including investment from large emerging countries." Story continues - Money laundering - US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi and IMF chief Christine Lagarde are among the others at the meetings in a hot spring resort in Sendai, an area battered by the 2011 quake-tsunami. Other items being discussed include terrorist financing and offshore tax havens at the heart of the Panama Papers investigation. A debt relief deal for Greece and Britain's referendum on its future in the European Union are also hot topics. European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said negotiators were "very close" to reaching an agreement over cash-strapped Greece. "We are approaching a crucial moment in these discussions and I am confident and hopeful that we can reach a positive conclusion because it is simply in everyone's interest to do so," Moscovici told a news briefing at the G7 meeting. "We're very close, very, very close." However, finding agreement on how the group can stimulate their own economies, and global growth, could be a different story. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's pitch for large-scale stimulus spending got a cool response from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron this month. Merkel suggested Germany was already doing its part to put the global economy back on track, pointing to the extra economic activity generated by the arrival of one million refugees and migrants last year. Her Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble this week pointed to reforms as the way forward, rather than focusing on more government spending and monetary policy. The finance ministers' meeting comes a week before a G7 leaders' summit in Ise-Shima, a region between Tokyo and Osaka. After that meeting, Barack Obama will go to Hiroshima in a hugely symbolic trip as the first sitting US president to visit the nuclear-bombed city. Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda delivers a speech in Sendai on May 19, 2016 European stocks rebounded on Friday following sharp losses the previous session, as markets tracked a meeting of the world's biggest economies in Japan. Around 1330 GMT, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index rallied 1.4 percent compared with Thursday's close. Frankfurt's DAX 30 index won 0.9 percent and the Paris CAC 40 jumped 1.2 percent. Europe's main stock markets had slumped on Thursday, with London shedding 1.8 percent in value, as traders reacted to concerns about a possible US rate hike next month. In foreign exchange Friday, the euro rose to $1.1229 from $1.1203 late in New York on Thursday. "Risk appetite has returned to equity markets," said Mike van Dulken, head of research at traders Accendo Markets. "An easing in dollar strength helping commodity prices hold up and oil pointing back towards $50 is helping reinstill confidence." Wall Street also opened higher, with the Dow adding 0.4 percent in the first five minutes of trading. "US stocks are rebounding from yesterday's decline in early action, with the global markets showing some resiliency in the face of heightened Fed rate hike expectations," said analysts at brokerage Charles Schwab. Markets were following a meeting in Japan of finance ministers and central bankers from the G7 economies. Divisions over reigniting global growth were set to surface in Japan Friday, with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew expected to stand firm over any action threatening a currency war. Two days of talks will see the host nation keen to win an endorsement for its position that fiscal stimulus is the way to kickstart the world economy, after a rally in the yen hit exporters and worsened a slowdown at home. But Tokyo's recent threat of a market intervention to reverse the rally could put it on a collision course with its G7 counterparts, including the United States and Germany which have ruled out such moves. "Markets are alive to the G7 meeting in Japan in the unlikely event that finance ministers put differences aside for a coordinated effort to revive global growth," said Jasper Lawler, analyst at CMC Markets. Story continues "Global markets came out fighting on Friday after getting beaten up this week over heightened anxiety about a summer rate hike in the US," he added in a note to clients. Minutes from the Federal Reserve's April policy meeting published this week implied that the US central bank viewed a June rate hike as a much more serious possibility than the market believed. "I expect markets to remain incredibly unsettled" ahead of next month's policy meeting, said Oanda senior trader Stephen Innes. - Key figures around 1330 GMT - London - FTSE 100: UP 1.4 percent at 6,135.48 Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.9 percent at 9,887.04 Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.2 percent at 4,335.49 EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.1 percent at 2,951.08 New York - Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 17,497,96 New York - S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 2,048.50 New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.5 percent at 4,738.09 Tokyo: Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 16,736.35 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 2,825.48 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.8 percent at 19,852.20 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1229 from $1.1203 on Thursday Dollar/yen: UP 110.33 at yen from 109.96 yen Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda delivers a speech in Sendai on May 19, 2016 European stocks rebounded on Friday following sharp losses the previous session, as markets tracked a meeting of the world's biggest economies in Japan. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index and the Paris CAC 40 both rallied 1.7 percent by the close while Frankfurt's DAX 30 index won 1.2 percent. Europe's main stock markets had slumped on Thursday, with London shedding 1.8 percent in value, as traders reacted to concerns about a possible US rate hike next month. In foreign exchange Friday, the euro rose to $1.1208 from $1.1203 late in New York on Thursday. "Risk appetite has returned to equity markets," said Mike van Dulken, head of research at traders Accendo Markets. "An easing in dollar strength helping commodity prices hold up and oil pointing back towards $50 is helping reinstill confidence." Wall Street also pushed higher, with the Dow up 0.8 percent approaching midday. "US stocks are rebounding from yesterday's decline in early action, with the global markets showing some resiliency in the face of heightened Fed rate hike expectations," said analysts at brokerage Charles Schwab. Markets meanwhile were following a meeting in Japan of finance ministers and central bankers from the G7 economies. Divisions over reigniting global growth were set to surface in Japan Friday, with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew expected to stand firm over any action threatening a currency war. Two days of talks will see the host nation keen to win an endorsement for its position that fiscal stimulus is the way to kickstart the world economy, after a rally in the yen hit exporters and worsened a slowdown at home. But Tokyo's recent threat of a market intervention to reverse the rally could put it on a collision course with its G7 counterparts, including the United States and Germany which have ruled out such moves. "Investors were keeping half an eye on the G7 meeting in Japan in the unlikely event that finance ministers put differences aside for a coordinated effort to revive global growth," said Jasper Lawler, analyst at CMC Markets. Story continues "Global markets meandered higher on Friday as anxiety about a summer rate hike in the US eased," he added. Minutes from the Federal Reserve's April policy meeting published this week implied that the US central bank viewed a June rate hike as a much more serious possibility than the market believed. "I expect markets to remain incredibly unsettled" ahead of next month's policy meeting, said Oanda senior trader Stephen Innes. Shares in the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse shrugged off comments by French Finance Minister Michel Sapin told AFP their planned merger poses competition problems. LSE shares added 1.0 percent and Deutsche Boerse shed 0.9 percent. - Key figures around 1530 GMT - London - FTSE 100: UP 1.7 percent at 6,156.32 (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.2 percent at 9,916.02 (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.7 percent at 4,353.90 (close) EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.4 percent at 2,960.76 New York - Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 17,567.54 New York - S&P 500: UP 0.8 percent at 2,056.13 New York - Nasdaq: UP 1.5 percent at 4,780.72 Tokyo: Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 16,736.35 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 2,825.48 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.8 percent at 19,852.20 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1208 from $1.1203 on Thursday Dollar/yen: UP 110.52 at yen from 109.96 yen The Gap Japan flagship shop is pictured in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district on March 3, 2011 Retail group Gap Inc. said Thursday it would shutter 75 stores this year amid sagging sales, including 53 of its kids-focused Old Navy brand outlets in Japan. Announcing a fall in first quarter earnings, the San Francisco-based retailer also warned that its might not achieve previous earnings forecasts for this year given the headwinds buffeting the apparel industry. "Old Navy will strategically shift its focus to markets most favorable to the brand's growth," the company said, explaining the Japan closings. It pointed to the US and Mexican markets as well as China as its focus for Old navy, its lowest-priced brand. But it said that Japan "remains an important market" with the continued presence of more than 200 Gap and Banana Republic stores. The closings, aimed at cutting overall costs, will also include Banana Republic outlets, most of them in international markets, though the locations were not detailed. Like many of its competitors, the company has been hit by shifting tastes and slower consumer spending worldwide, as well as competition from online fashion retailers. "As the pace of change across the apparel industry increases, now is the time to accelerate our transformation by scaling our product and operating capabilities across our global portfolio," said chief executive Art Peck. "By taking every opportunity to exploit our strategic advantages, our brands will be able to more fully harness the power of the enterprise to better serve their customers across channels and geographies." Gap Inc. global net sales at $3.44 billion were down 6.0 percent in the first quarter, ended April 30, from a year ago. Sales were off in every region except Asia, where they registered a slight gain. Sales in the United States, 77 percent of the total, were also down 6.0 percent. Net income came in at $127 million, down 47 percent from a year ago, for 32 cents per share, in line with what the company forecast in a revision early this month. That helped boost its share price 2.7 percent in after-hours trade to $17.28. Shares though remained well below the high this year just over $30 a share in March. US Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen (L) attends the G7 Symposium entitled "Future of the Global Economy" in the hot spring town in Sendai on May 20, 2016, Japan Divisions over reigniting global growth were set to surface at the G7 in Japan Friday, with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew expected to stand firm over any action threatening a currency war. Two days of talks will see host Japan keen to win an endorsement for its position that fiscal stimulus is the way to kickstart the world economy, after a rally in the yen hit exporters and worsened a slowdown at home. But Tokyo's recent threat of a market intervention to reverse the rally could put it on a collision course with its G7 counterparts, including the United States and Germany, which have ruled out such moves. "If the perception or the reality is that (intervention) is for gaining unfair advantage, that is very disruptive to the global economic system," said a senior US Treasury official at the meeting. "It's hard to imagine that if one country were perceived to be doing that, it wouldn't lead to other countries doing the same." As well as Lew, who is joined at the high-level meetings by Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin has also waved off the idea of countries gaining a trade advantage by manipulating their own currencies. "Today we are in a cooperation phase, and not in an intervention or a currency war phase," he told AFP in an interview. The G7 group -- also including Britain, Canada, and Italy -- will try to hammer out a strategy for keeping a global recession at bay. In April, the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for world growth for the third time in less than a year, as a slowdown in China and other emerging economies raised fears that the worst was yet to come. "Proactive financial policies and monetary easing are necessary, but not enough," said Ivan Tselichtchev, an economics professor at Japan's Niigata University of Management. "The G7 has to do more to pursue structural reforms, to raise economic efficiency... to boost investment, including investment from large emerging countries." Story continues - Money laundering - European Central Bank president Mario Draghi and IMF chief Christine Lagarde are among the others at the meetings in a hot spring resort in Sendai, an area battered by the 2011 quake-tsunami. The other items being discussed include terrorist financing and offshore tax havens at the heart of the Panama Papers investigation. A debt relief deal for Greece and Britain's referendum on its future in the European Union are also hot topics. European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said negotiators were "very close" to reaching an agreement over cash-strapped Greece. "We are approaching a crucial moment in these discussions and I am confident and hopeful that we can reach a positive conclusion because it is simply in everyone's interest to do so," Moscovici told a news briefing at the G7 meeting. "We're very close, very, very close." However, finding agreement on how the group can stimulate their own economies, and global growth, could be a different story. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's pitch for large-scale stimulus spending got a cool response from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron this month. Merkel suggested Germany was already doing its part to put the global economy back on track, pointing to the extra economic activity generated by the arrival of one million refugees and migrants last year. Her Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble this week pointed to reforms as the way forward, rather than focusing on more government spending and monetary policy. The finance ministers' meeting comes a week before a G7 leaders' summit in Ise-Shima, a region between Tokyo and Osaka. After that meeting, Barack Obama will go to Hiroshima in a hugely symbolic trip as the first sitting US president to visit the nuclear bombed city. Foreign banks and private businesses should not hold back from conducting legal business with Iran, said the United States, France, Britain and Germany Foreign banks and businesses should not hold back from conducting legal business with Iran, Western powers said Friday. In a joint statement released after talks in Brussels, the United States, the European Union, France, Britain and Germany sought to reassure companies that, after the Iran nuclear deal, certain forms of trade are permitted. "We will not stand in the way of permitted business activity with Iran," the four powers plus the European Union said. "And we will not stand in the way of international firms or financial institutions engaging with Iran, as long as they follow all applicable laws," they added. Under the terms of the Iran nuclear deal signed last year and implemented in February, international sanctions aimed at Tehran's nuclear programme have been dropped. But the United States has maintained its sanctions targeting Tehran's alleged sponsorship of armed movements in the Middle East and its ballistic missile programme. European banks, which often have subsidiaries on US soil, have therefore been slow to resume business with Iran, fearing prosecution in the United States. But, a joint statement by the western parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- the implementation side of the Iran deal -- gave business the green light. "The interest of European and other global firms in Iran is high," the statement said. "And it is in our interest and the interest of the international community to ensure that the JCPOA works for all participants, including by delivering benefit to the Iranian people," it continued. "This includes the reengagement of European banks and businesses in Iran." US Secretary of State John Kerry -- a key architect of the Iran deal -- was in Brussels for a NATO ministers meeting, and held talks on the Iran deal while he was there. President Barack Obama's administration has been criticised at home for moving too quickly to allow Iran to return to the international fold after agreeing to nuclear controls. Story continues But Tehran's leaders have complained that the deal was oversold, arguing that they upheld their end of the bargain in surrendering most of their nuclear enrichment capacity in return for sanctions relief. Meanwhile, European banks have been reluctant to renew ties with the Islamic republic, fearing that -- despite the end of some sanctions -- they could fall foul of US law. "We understand that firms may continue to have specific sanctions-related questions or concerns about doing business in Iran," the statement said. "And we stand ready to provide expeditious clarifications," it added, encouraging banks and other enterprises to come forward and seek advice as to how to deal legally with Iran. "We encourage firms to approach our governments to address remaining questions, rather than forgo opportunities due to misperceptions or lack of information." A Paris based Associated Press correspondent was flabbergasted to receive a freedom of information request from the Public Health Agency of Canada that had been censored with scotch tape and paper. "I've never seen someone use an arts and crafts method in order to hide information from me," he told the Star. Tom Henheffer, executive director of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, has never heard of any redactions being made with tape and paper. "This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen," he said. "It must've been someone's first day." When you should let your employees own your company Beaus Brewery is celebrating its tenth birthday by selling the company to its employees starting next month. When Steve Beauchesne and his father Tim launched the Vankleek Hill, Ont. brewery in 2006, there were 86 breweries across Canada. Today there are more than 500, according to Beer Canada. And while some of those breweries that have started out as independent have been snapped up by mega-brewers like Torontos Mill Street Brewery which was bought by Labatt (which is part of beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev), Beaus wants to keep its independence. Our success during this time is strongly rooted in the support of our employees and fans, who have always believed in our promise, said Beauchesne in a press release announcing the Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP). By handing the reins over to our employees we are saying this changes everything, because this change is everything we look forward to our expansion and success across Canada, with the help of our new company stewards. Employees will be able to spend up to two per cent of their salary on shares, with between four and five per cent of the business being sold the first year. Theyll also be entitled to any dividends declared by the companys board of directors, which could be lucrative with the company boasting growth at a compounded rate of 45 per cent year-over-year. Camille Jensen, vice-president of ESOP Builders, a Toronto-based company that develops employee share plans, says the move will help with transition later down the road, if Beauchesne is looking to step away from the company hes built. What is really great in the Beaus example is the owners knew their values and were able to match their values to their ideal succession option, selling to the employees, says Jensen. Values and legacy are two very important parts of succession planning but are often missed in traditional exit plans. She points out that while succession planning is one of the core benefits, ESOPs can also be an asset to employee culture. Story continues (Beaus) really wants to engage, recruit and retain talent so by offering ownership thats a competitive advantage that other companies just dont have and its a lucrative one, says Jensen. Youre going to see increased engagement which results in increased productivity, profitability happier employees and employee-owned companies tend to be more resilient. The concept isnt new, and it isnt restricted to smaller companies looking to remain independent. WestJet is a prime example with the airline having one of the most lucrative employee share plans in the country. Once employees have passed a three month probationary period, theyre entitled to contribute up to 20 per cent of their salary towards the employee share purchase pan, with the company matching dollar per dollar. WestJet is probably the most well known but theres also PCL construction and (consulting, design and construction firm) Golder Associates, which has more than 9,000 employees and is [one] hundred per cent employee owned, says Jensen adding that theres no one-size-fits-all model. Mountain Equipment Co-op, on the other hand extends ownership beyond employees to customers themselves. Customers buy a $5 membership subscription share, with each member having the right to vote on how MEC is governed. However, pulling off a successful employee sharing plan or co-op is not without its challenges. Its about good communication and trust between the owners and employees you just want to make sure that all of that is there, says Jensen. But putting a employee ownership plan in place can pay dividends both financially and culturally. It keeps businesses locally rooted, she says. Youre helping on the individual basis, a lot of people build wealth in a way that they normally wouldnt be able to do by owning shares in the company they work for. By Terry Wade and Heide Brandes Oklahoma City (Reuters) - The closure of American Energy Partners after the sudden death of founder Aubrey McClendon will not affect companies it formed and spun off with Texas-based private equity firm Energy & Minerals Group, according to a statement from AEP. McClendon, a U.S. fracking pioneer, started AEP to make a comeback after being ousted as chief executive officer of Chesapeake Energy Corp in 2013. He received crucial support for his new venture from Energy & Minerals. AEP, based in Oklahoma City, was deserted mid-day Thursday, except for a secretary. The company grew quickly until McClendon's death in a fiery single-car crash in March, which left behind a vast web of business and personal investments. Restructuring experts anticipate that untangling McClendon's estate and business interests, a process starting with the closing of AEP, will be complex. It may span both probate court in Oklahoma and potentially also a separate corporate proceeding. Bank lenders to AEP are working with legal and financial advisers, according to people familiar with the matter. AEP is also working with restructuring attorneys, the people said. McClendon's will was filed in Oklahoma last month, and Thomas Blalock, the chief legal officer at American Energy Partners, was appointed special administrator, according to court records. A spokeswoman for AEP referred comment to the statement the company issued. AEP set up and then spun off five oil and gas companies, now known as Ascent Resources, White Star Energy, Permian Resources, Traverse Midstream and Heritage Resources Management. At least two of the companies were spun off after McClendon died. "We have made a collective decision to wind down the operations of American Energy Partners," according to the statement. The spinoffs "each have a bright future and will not be affected at all by this decision," the statement said. The companies had contracts with AEP for management services, but the relationship was no longer necessary once each of the companies grew enough to have its own independent management team, according to a statement from EMG. "While AEP initially provided G&A services and personnel to the EMG portfolio companies, they no longer use any services provided by AEP and each EMG portfolio company now directly employs their personnel," according to the statement. On March 1, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted McClendon for breaking antitrust laws when bidding for land during his days at Chesapeake. He denied the charges. The next day, Energy & Minerals told investors it would stop entering new deals with McClendon, with chief John Raymond citing the indictment as the main reason for pulling back. Hours later, McClendon died in a fiery single-car crash when his Chevy Tahoe ran into a concrete embankment. Energy & Minerals has made clear to its investors that it always had direct control over entities it invested in and that the plan was to always spin them off. (Reporting by Terry Wade in Houston and Heide Brandes in Oklahoma City, additional reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York City; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Bernard Orr) By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin exchange Coinbase said on Thursday it will add digital currency ether on its trading platform next Tuesday. The addition of ether comes given the surge in interest in the digital asset among major financial institutions such as Barclays [BARCR.UL] and UBS [UBSAG.UL] as well as other enterprises worldwide like IBM, which are trying to explore the Ethereum network. Ether is the digital currency for the Ethereum platform, a blockchain, or public ledger that can create decentralized applications. Ethereum, which uses ether to execute peer-to-peer contracts automatically without the need for intermediaries, was co-founded and invented by 22-year old Russian Canadian programer Vitalik Buterin. "We're very excited about Ethereum. There has been a ton of progress made in the last six to nine months," said Adam White, vice president of business development at Coinbase in an interview with Reuters. "We have seen hundreds of emerging decentralized apps (applications) launched on Ethereum." He added that bitcoin cannot mirror Ethereum's "scripting language," so both bitcoin and ether can co-exist and will not necessarily compete with each other. Coinbase also plans to change the name of its platform to GDAX (Global Digital Asset Exchange), said White. The name Coinbase, however, will be retained for its retail service such as exchanging dollars for bitcoin or ether, he added. Coinbase, widely believed to be the largest bitcoin-focused company in terms of investment, will offer ether/dollar and ether/bitcoin currency pairs on GDAX. The name change was made because the company will add more digital assets for trading on its exchange, White said. According to coinmarketcap.com, ether is trading at $14.28 late on Thursday, with a market capitalization of about $1.1 billion, the second largest behind bitcoin. Bitcoin currently has a market cap of $6.9 billion. Daily volume for ether is around $48 million, while average daily volume for bitcoin is $87.2 million. At the beginning of the year, ether traded at just $1 per token and it is the fastest-rising digital currency. White said ether will be available on GDAX in most states except New York because Coinbase is still in the process of applying for a license in the state. Coinbase's move to add ether trading to its currency exchange platform came after New York approved the application of Gemini Trust Company, founded by investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, to trade ether on its exchange. "What's powerful about ethereum is that I can write self-executing contracts and I can run them on Ethereum and it's not on any central server or computer," said White. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Bernard Orr) By Leah Schnurr OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada approved a type of genetically modified salmon for sale, health officials said on Thursday, the first such animal to be cleared as safe for consumption in the country. The salmon was approved in the United States to be farmed for human consumption last year but has since been a source of controversy. Environmentalists sued U.S. health regulators this year to try to overturn the decision. Canadian activist groups expressed their concerns following the approval, saying the government should establish mandatory labeling of all genetically modified foods. Some are concerned they may pose risks to the environment or to health. Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said that the AquAdvantage salmon developed by Massachusetts-based AquaBounty Technologies had been found to be as safe and nutritious as conventional salmon for food and livestock feed. These were the final scientific assessments by the government required to allow the salmon to be sold in Canada, the agencies said. Nonetheless, the salmon is still more than 18 months away from coming to market, Health Minister Jane Philpott said. "While this is the first product of this nature to be reviewed, it will not likely be the last," Philpott told reporters. Health Canada said there are no special labeling requirements for the salmon, given that there are no health and safety concerns. The salmon is developed by introducing a growth hormone gene from a Pacific salmon to an Atlantic Salmon, which then grows faster than conventional farmed salmon. The company, which has a facility in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, welcomed the news. "We are pleased to receive the approvals of the various authorities of Canada which means we can produce, sell and eat our AquAdvantage Salmon in Canada," Chief Executive Officer Ronald Stotish said in a statement. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Bernard Orr and James Dalgleish) By Julie Gordon VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canada's energy regulator on Thursday recommended the approval of Kinder Morgan Inc's plan to expand its Trans Mountain oil pipeline, subject to 157 conditions, clearing a major hurdle for the proposed trebling of capacity to serve lucrative Asian markets. The National Energy Board (NEB) said it found the C$6.8 billion ($5.19 billion) project, which would boost capacity from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 bpd, would not cause significant harm to the environment. The decision prompted immediate outcry from critics, who called on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to block the twinning of the existing pipeline, which carries oil from Alberta to a port in Metro Vancouver. Trudeau's cabinet has until December to review the NEB's 533-page report and make its final decision. If approved, legal experts say protests and a flood of lawsuits from aboriginal groups will likely follow. Aboriginals in British Columbia never signed treaties and have been granted "consent" rights by the courts, sometimes interpreted as a veto. But Trudeau told Reuters on Thursday that while community consultation was vital, aboriginal groups do not have a veto over pipeline development. Building new oil pipelines in Canada has proven difficult in recent years, even with approvals. Enbridge Inc's Northern Gateway pipeline was greenlighted in 2014, but fierce legal and social opposition has so far hindered construction. That has weighed on Canada's oil sands producers, who are desperate for new lines to get their product to international markets, where it can fetch a higher price. The NEB said it had determined the "considerable benefits" of the Trans Mountain expansion outweighed the "residual burdens." It also found that with mitigation measures and its conditions, the project "would not likely cause significant adverse environmental effects." The agency did note that there would be significant effects related to the increase in oil tanker traffic, though marine shipping is not regulated by the NEB. The expansion would boost oil tanker and barge traffic on Vancouver's waters nearly five-fold. Twinning the Trans Mountain pipeline will include the construction of nearly 1,000 km (621 miles) of new pipeline and the expansion of an existing marine terminal. If approved by cabinet, the company said construction could start in 2017, with the first shipments in 2019. A ministerial panel, named earlier this week, is now tasked with consulting with aboriginal groups and other communities on the proposal, with their report due in November. (Additional reporting by Nia Williams in Calgary; editing by Richard Chang, Cynthia Osterman and Bernard Orr) DHAKA (Reuters) - A Bangladesh government-appointed panel investigating the theft of $81 million from the country's central bank has found that SWIFT, the international banking payments network, committed a number of mistakes in connecting up a local network, the panel head said on Sunday. "We have shown that SWIFT made a number of errors that made it easy for the hackers," Mohammed Farashuddin, a former governor of the Bangladeshi central bank, told reporters. He said SWIFT, a cooperative owned by 3,000 financial institutions, could not escape responsibility as it had connected its network to the central bank's new real time gross settlement (RTGS) system launched in October for domestic transactions. "SWIFT is responsible for the heist of Bangladesh Bank as it approached the central bank for the installation of RTGS real time gross settlement," Farashuddin said. SWIFT has already rejected allegations made by Dhaka that it had been at fault, saying its financial messaging system remained secure and had not been breached by the hackers during the attack on Bangladesh Bank. The hackers broke into the computer systems of the central bank in early February and issued instructions through the SWIFT network to transfer $951 million of its deposits held at the New York Federal Reserve Bank to accounts in the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Most of the transactions were blocked but four went through amounting to $81 million, prompting allegations by Bangladeshi officials that both the Fed and SWIFT had failed to detect the fraud. Bangladeshi police and a bank official said earlier this month that the central bank became more vulnerable to hackers when technicians from SWIFT connected the new bank transaction system to SWIFT messaging three months before the cyber theft. The local Daily Star newspaper quoted Farashuddin as saying that SWIFT failed to implement 13 security measures in the installation of the system. Farashuddin is due to submit his final report to the government in the next few days. A spokeswoman for SWIFT said she had no immediate comment to make. In a letter to users dated May 3, SWIFT told its bank customers that they were responsible for securing computers used to send messages over its network. (Reporting by Serajul Qaudir; Writing by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Greg Mahlich) By Idrees Ali and Megha Rajagopalan WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - Two Chinese fighter jets carried out an "unsafe" intercept of a U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, drawing a rebuke from Beijing, which demanded that Washington end surveillance near China. The incident, likely to increase tension in and around the contested waterway, took place in international airspace on Tuesday as the U.S. maritime patrol aircraft carried out "a routine U.S. patrol," a Pentagon statement said. The encounter comes a week after China scrambled fighter jets as a U.S. Navy ship sailed close to a disputed reef in the South China Sea. Another Chinese intercept took place in 2014 when a Chinese fighter pilot flew acrobatic maneuvers around a U.S. spy plane. The intercept occurred days before President Barack Obama travels to parts of Asia from May 21-28, including a Group of Seven summit in Japan and his first trip to Vietnam. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims. Washington has accused Beijing of militarizing the South China Sea after creating artificial islands, while Beijing, in turn, has criticized increased U.S. naval patrols and exercises in Asia. The Pentagon statement said the Department of Defense was addressing the issue through military and diplomatic channels. "ENDANGERING SECURITY" China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the U.S. statement was "not true" and that the aircraft had been engaging in reconnaissance close to China's island province of Hainan. "It must be pointed out that U.S. military planes frequently carry out reconnaissance in Chinese coastal waters, seriously endangering Chinese maritime security," Hong told reporters at a regular press briefing on Thursday. "We demand that the United States immediately cease this type of close reconnaissance activity to avoid having this sort of incident happening again," Hong said, adding that the actions of the Chinese aircraft were "completely in keeping with safety and professional standards". "They maintained safe behavior and did not engage in any dangerous action," Hong said. China's Defense Ministry said in a fax that it was looking into reports on the incident. The Pentagon has yet to release the precise location of the encounter. SIGNAL OF DISPLEASURE? In 2015, the United States and China announced agreements on a military hotline and rules of behavior to govern air-to-air encounters called the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES). "This is exactly the type of irresponsible and dangerous intercepts that the air-to-air annex to CUES is supposed to prevent," said Greg Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank. Poling said either some part of China's airforce "hadn't gotten the message", or it was meant as a signal of displeasure with recent U.S. freedom of navigation actions in the South China Sea. "If the latter, it would be very disappointing to find China sacrificing the CUES annex for political gamesmanship." Zhang Baohui, a security expert at Hong Kong's Lingnan University, said he believed the encounter highlighted the limitation of CUES, and shows that Chinese pilots would still fly close to U.S. surveillance planes if needed. "Frankly, we're always going to see these kinds of incidents as China will always put the priority on national security over something like CUES whenever it feels its interests are directly threatened," he said. While the precise location of the encounter is not yet known, regional military attaches and experts say the southern Chinese coast is a military area of increasing sensitivity for Beijing. Its submarine bases on Hainan are home to an expanding fleet of nuclear-armed submarines and a big target for on-going Western surveillance operations. The Guangdong coast is also believed to be home to some of China's most advanced missiles, including the DF-21D anti-ship weapon. The Pentagon last month called on China to reaffirm it has no plans to deploy military aircraft in the Spratly Islands after China used a military plane to evacuate sick workers from Fiery Cross Reef, where it has built a 3,000 meter (9,800 ft) runway. In April 2001, an intercept of a U.S. spy plane by a Chinese fighter jet resulted in a collision that killed the Chinese pilot and forced the American plane to make an emergency landing at a base on Hainan. The 24 U.S. air crew members were held for 11 days until Washington apologized for the incident. That encounter soured U.S.-Chinese relations in the early days of President George W. Bush's first administration. Last month, the Pentagon said that Russia had intercepted a U.S. Air Force aircraft over the Baltic Sea in an "unsafe and unprofessional" way. (Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington, Greg Torode in Hong Kong, and Michael Martina in Beijing; Editing by Sandra Maler, Lincoln Feast and Mike Collett-White) By Yeganeh Torbati and Joel Schectman WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has a simple answer for executives of European banks scratching their heads over whether it is now legal for them to do business with Iran: Just ask. Any firm concerned whether a prospective business deal with Iran would be legal, Secretary of State John Kerry said before a meeting with British bankers in London last week, should call the U.S. agency in charge of sanctions, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, known as OFAC. "It really shouldn't be complicated," he told reporters, according to a transcript of his comments. "It's clearly defined, and when people have a question, we are available to answer those questions." If only it were that simple. Sanctions lawyers say OFAC does not do enough to clear up the ambiguity caused by a maze of overlapping sanctions and exemptions. In interviews, nearly a dozen attorneys who regularly deal with the agency said the recommendations they receive are often vague and noncommittal. The United States reached a deal with Iran last July that lifts some sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program, including letting non-U.S. banks operate in Iran. But it maintains restrictions based on terrorism and human rights concerns, and U.S. banks are still forbidden to do business with Iran.The resulting uncertainty is contributing to companies' reluctance to restart or launch relationships with Iran. Firms have also been reluctant to return to Cuba and Myanmar, two other countries subject to U.S. sanctions. U.S. sanctions programs, enacted via legislation or executive order, are intended to be coercive economic tools, not regulatory hurdles, and the ambiguity often serves to heighten the impact of sanctions by scaring businesses away from America's foes. The remaining sanctions on Iran bar transactions with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and with more than 200 other groups or individuals categorized as designated entities or specially designated nationals. Organizations owned by the IRGC, as well as by the other individuals or companies, are off-limits to any bank that wants access to the U.S. financial system. "Banks in Europe are allowed to open accounts for Iran; banks in Europe are allowed to do business; banks in Europe can fund programs, lend money," Kerry said. "That's absolutely open for business as long as it's not a designated entity. Period. Very simple." Since some sanctions were lifted, Iran has agreed to deals worth a total of at least $37 billion in sectors such as construction, aviation and car manufacturing, with companies including planemaker Airbus, carmaker Peugeot and Italian steel firm Danieli. Dozens of other companies have said they are in talks or have signed provisional agreements with Iranian partners. But lawyers say those deals will be difficult or impossible to carry out if large European banks refuse to finance them or transfer money in and out of the country, for fear that doing so might violate the remaining sanctions or that the restrictions might "snap back" if Iran violates the nuclear agreement.Part of the problem is that knowing if a company or person is blacklisted or owned by a blacklisted person or company is difficult in a place such as Iran, attorneys said. "The problem is the IRGC doesn't walk out there waving a flag and saying, 'Hey, I own 51.4 percent of this company; don't deal with me,'" said Aaron Hutman, a sanctions attorney at Pillsbury in Washington. "The banks are being asked to deal in a world where you have very sophisticated players who over the course of years of sanctions have become very good at hiding themselves."With some of the sanctions on Iran, Cuba and Myanmar now being rolled back, OFAC finds itself in an unfamiliar role as a regulator of trade with countries where America is seeking to mend relations. The Treasury Department declined an interview request, but a spokeswoman said that government officials have traveled to at least 18 countries to talk about Iran and held roundtables with banks "to clarify their specific concerns." Farhad Alavi, a sanctions attorney at Akrivis Law Group, said he often can get some sense of whether a transaction would be allowed by calling OFAC's hotline. But getting written guidance on whether a transaction would constitute assisting in the violation of sanctions called facilitation can take a year or more, he said. In one instance, Alavi said it took him a full year and a half to receive permission to speak to an Iranian media outlet. "There is just this bottleneck caused by OFAC's inability to respond quickly because of the flood of applications and inquiries," he said. Banks often need such written assurances to conduct transactions tied even indirectly to Iran. A lengthy wait means the window for a business opportunity is likely to close before a response comes through. "The banks have to hear something along the lines of 'If you act in good faith, you can expect that we are not going to engage in any heavy-handed enforcement,'" Hutman said. "That's not the message you get. The message you get is, 'We plan to vigorously enforce our Iran-related laws.'" (Editing by John Walcott and Leslie Adler) Two Chinese fighter jets flew within 50ft of a US Navy reconnaissance plane above the South China Sea, the Pentagon has revealed. A US military official said the J-11 fighters flew out to intercept the US EP-3 Aries aircraft and came so close that the US pilot was forced to descend around 200ft to avoid a collision. The surveillance plane conducting routine operations in international airspace and the Pentagon has characterised the incident as an "unsafe intercept". The military official said the incident took place in the north of the sea, south of Hong Kong. Tensions have been increasing between China and the US in the region after US Navy warships have sailed close to contested Chinese islands around the South China Sea. China's Foreign Ministry has called on the US to end close reconnaissance activities, while the US has criticised China's building of military facilities on man-made islands. Last week the USS William P Lawrence sailed within 12 nautical miles of Fiery Cross Reef, an artificial island which now features a long airstrip, harbour and above-ground infrastructures. China's Defence Ministry said it deployed two fighter jets, one early warning aircraft and three ships to track the US destroyer and warn it off. Daniel Russel, US Assistant Secretary of State, said that the US considers the area international waters. Vietnam and the Philippines both also claim the island. A Pentagon report into China's island-building programme said it had reclaimed more than 3,200 acres of land in the southeastern South China Sea, and had now shifted to developing and building military installations on man-made islands. China claims most of the South China Sea as its territory. But the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei have competing claims in the area. The federal government now has seven months to make a decision on the controversial Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline, after the national regulator gave its support to the proposed project. The National Energy Board is recommending the multi-billion dollar pipeline be constructed if 157 conditions are met, including 49 environmental requirements. The NEB described the requirements as achievable for the company. Kinder Morgan must meet the conditions in order for the company to construct and operate the pipeline. The NEB concluded the Trans Mountain expansion will provide several economic advantages for Canada such as access to more export markets, thousands of construction jobs and increased government revenue. At this point, the exact route of the pipeline is still not determined. The federal government will take the NEB's decision into account in addition to considerations about upstream greenhouse gases and views of First Nations and other communities along the route. Alberta's oilpatch welcomed the decision, although the excitement was measured. "It's beneficial in 2019 when there is actual oil flowing," said Robert Cooper, with the institutional sales and trading team at Acumen Capital Partners in Calgary. "Right now the immediate concern in the energy business is keeping the business alive." Spill risk Coastal communities in B.C. have raised serious concerns about spill risk and the potential damage it could cause to the environment. "The board found the likelihood of a major oil spill was very low. However the potential significance was very high," said Robert Steedman, the NEB's chief environment officer. The impact of a possible earthquake was a major consideration, according to the NEB, although the risk is considered low. Indigenous concerns Conditions also include consulting with a number of Indigenous groups about environmental protection and emergency response plans. "The board considered the concerns expressed by Indigenous groups, how the project and related tanker traffic could impact Indigenous interests, and the appropriate means of mitigating such impacts," Steedman said. Story continues Steedman added the NEB tried to provide as much access and advanced information as possible for Indigenous groups. Some of the groups who oppose the project have warned they will take court action to try to stop the pipeline from being built. GHG emissions Environmental regulations include developing grasslands and wetlands mitigation plans, marine protection plans and reports about how the company will construct the Burnaby Mountain tunnel. The NEB is requiring Kinder Morgan to file an updated greenhouse gas assessment two months after the pipeline is built. The analysis would include the total direct emissions generated from construction. For the first time, the NEB is requiring the company to offset those emissions. Marine shipping The NEB went outside of its usual jurisdiction to make recommendations about how the oil will be transported on tankers. Officials considered possible environmental effects of marine shipping because of public interest. Trans Mountain must enhance its marine oil spill response to be capable of delivering 20,000 tonnes of capacity in the event of a spill within 36 hours of notification. Other marine conditions include developing a mammal protection program. "The board found that marine traffic in the Salish Sea is high and is increasing and, in fact, will increase regardless whether or not the project proceeds. And it found in the case of the southern resident killer whales, they are already impacted by the levels of traffic and any additional traffic that might be introduced by the Trans Mountain expansion project would likely be significant," said Steedman. While the NEB's announcement is significant, some say the regulator's role is diminishing over time. "It's not as if anyone is saying we don't need board approval, it's just that a board report, in and of itself, no longer seems to be enough," said Nigel Bankes, chair of natural resources law at the University of Calgary. "It used to be the 'be all and end all' and, quite clearly, now there are other important inputs, which make it a much more complicated world with many more moving parts," he said. If approved, the twin lines could carry nearly 900,000 barrels of crude a day, starting in 2018. Here is how some people reacted to the NEB decision: "The NEB has completely disregarded the urgency that climate science demands. We can't build more pipelines and meet the international climate commitments that Canada agreed to in Paris" Mike Hudema, Greenpeace. "This decision is a milestone for the future of Canada. The NEB is sending a clear message to Canada: building the infrastructure to get our resources to market is in the best interest of our country" Tim McMillan, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers "I'm happy we are going to the next step and there still are some steps to go" Marg McCuaig-Boyd, Alberta's Energy Minister. "We need the federal Liberal government, along with other provincial and municipal politicians, to stop delaying and undermining the confidence in this independent process and back these critical projects that will grow our economy" Brian Jean, Wildrose leader "The Liberals promised to fix the environmental review process, but have so far only put in a temporary fix, a three-member panel to review the NEB's Trans Mountain report. We must return to an independent, robust environmental assessment process for all industry projects. Anything less sets a dangerous precedent" Elizabeth May, Green Party leader By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - "He's a magician, he's a magician," the partisan crowd chanted as a beaming Benjamin Netanyahu strode into his party headquarters a little over a year ago to declare a come-from-behind victory in Israel's election. Now, with the expected entry into his right-wing government of ultranationalist Avigdor Lieberman as defense minister, it looks like Netanyahu, in his fourth term as premier, has pulled off another piece of political sleight of hand worthy of a "House of Cards" script. In a matter of hours on Wednesday, Netanyahu crushed the opposition, shored up his support in his narrow, rightist coalition and put himself more firmly on course to become Israel's longest-serving leader. But Netanyahu's surprise pact with Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party, widely expected to be finalised by the weekend, and dashing talks with the center left was already raising Palestinian and international concern. Lieberman, a settler in the occupied West Bank, has stirred controversy by questioning Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's commitment to peace and the loyalty of Israel's Arab minority, while pushing for stonger military action against Gaza's Hamas rulers. "It's already an extremist government and now it will get even more extreme. This government will block any horizon for peace," said Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization. An Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters: "We're shocked, we're really shocked." He noted that the Lieberman appointment came just a day after a speech by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi promised Cairo's help to try to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. DEFENSE CHIEF At home, questions were raised about whether Lieberman, a former foreign minister who once proposed bombing Egypt's Aswan dam, had the temperament or qualifications to replace ex-general Moshe Yaalon as defense chief of a country that has largely lived by the sword since its creation in 1948. "I hope Lieberman lives to 120, but I think that even if he does, he will not gain the prowess, knowledge and experience that Yaalon has. These kind of chances should not be taken," former Defence Minister Moshe Arens told Army Radio. It had appeared for the past days that Netanyahu and Isaac Herzog's center-left Zionist Union party, which has 24 lawmakers, were closing in on an alliance that would put a more moderate face on the government and bolster its one-seat majority in the 120-member parliament. But in a surprise move, Lieberman, who declined to join the government straight after the 2015 election, convened a news conference on Wednesday to say he was now ready to negotiate an agreement that would bring his party's six lawmakers into the coalition. Soon, Lieberman's car was pulling up to the prime minister's office, where the two - who have a history of testy relations - launched talks expected to be wrapped up before the weekend. Netanyahu met Lieberman's demand to be named defense minister, political sources said. Herzog swiftly curtailed his own negotiations and said that bringing Lieberman in would result in government policies "on the brink of madness". Herzog's future is now uncertain. Political commentators have predicted his days as head of the Zionist Union are numbered, especially after many of the party's legislators warned against negotiating with Netanyahu and threatened not to support any partnership with his Likud party. For Netanyahu's current far-right coalition partner, the Jewish Home party, the prime minister's expected ousting of Yaalon could not come soon enough. A Likud member, Yaalon drew criticism from ultranationalists and his own party for backing the military's decision to prosecute a soldier who shot dead a wounded Palestinian attacker in the occupied West Bank in March. Laying out the welcome mat, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked of Jewish Home, said: "Avigdor Lieberman is part of the nationalist camp, and I think the coalition, together with him, with 67 legislators will hold together until 2019," when Israel's next election is due. If Netanyahu remains in office until the end of July 2019, he will be Israel's longest serving prime minister. (Additional reporting by Dan Williams and Ali Sawafta; Editing by Luke Baker and Alison Williams) By Felix Onuah and Afolabi Sotunde ABUJA, Nigeria (Reuters) - The Nigerian army is moving in to Boko Haram's final stronghold in the Sambisa forest to rescue more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls after one managed to flee the jihadists who have held them for over two years, a provincial governor said on Thursday. Shortly after escapee Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki met Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, the governor of Borno state where the town of Chibok is located said army generals were already drawing up plans to rescue her classmates. "We believe that in the coming weeks we shall recover the rest of the girls," Governor Kashim Shettima told reporters. "The military is already moving into the forest." Previous military attempts to storm Sambisa have met with mixed success, with soldiers making significant in-roads but failing to finish off Boko Haram after running into bands of well-armed guerrillas, mines and booby traps. Amina, who was accompanied by her mother, Binta, and Nigeria's defence minister and national security adviser, spent more than an hour with Buhari, who made crushing Boko Haram a pillar of his 2015 presidential election campaign. Buhari, 73, Nigeria's former military ruler, cradled Amina's four-month-old baby in his arms during the meeting in the lavish presidential villa in Abuja before posing for a group photograph. After Amina was discovered on Tuesday by soldiers and a civilian vigilante group, the army said it had detained a suspected Boko Haram militant called Mohammed Hayatu, who said he was Amina's husband. On Thursday the military released pictures of a clean-shaven man in a white shirt and cream slacks sitting beside Amina on a hospital bed holding the infant in his lap. BLOODY INSURGENCY Boko Haram captured 276 girls in their night-time raid on Chibok in April 2014, one of the most audacious and high-profile assaults of a seven-year-old insurgency to set up an Islamic state in northern Nigeria. More than 15,000 people have been killed and two million displaced in Nigeria and neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon. Some girls escaped in the melee but parents of the remaining 219 accused then-President Goodluck Jonathan of not doing enough to find their daughters, whose disappearance led to a wave of global outrage. The #Bringbackourgirls activist group said Amina had told her rescuers the rest of the girls were under heavy Boko Haram guard in Sambisa. Amina's mother last year spoke of her daughter's fear of Boko Haram but of her joy at attending school and doing well at her studies. She told the Murtala Muhammed Foundation, a Nigerian non-profit organisation researching a book on the Chibok girls, that she was not sure of the age of Amina, the youngest of her 13 children although only three survived their early years. "She always sewed her own clothes," her mother said in the interview released to the Thomson Reuters Foundation by Aisha Oyebode of the Murtala Muhammed Foundation. Binta said Amina's father died some months after his daughter was abducted. "After Amina was kidnapped, only two (of our children) are left alive," she said, adding that her son and daughter lived in Lagos. She said she had constantly thought of her lost daughter, who had used to help her around the house. "(My son) said I should take it easy and stop crying," she told the Foundation. "He reminded me that I am not the only parent who lost a child." (Reporting by Lanre Ola, Ulf Laessing, Felix Onuah and Afolabi Sotunde; Editing by Ed Cropley and Gareth Jones) An inquiry into a series of botched executions in Oklahoma has found that officials involved in the process were "careless and cavalier" and in some cases ignored the rules. In a report that ran to more than 100 pages, the grand jury found that prison staff did not verify what drugs they were using for lethal injections and were unaware when the wrong drugs were administered. As a result, a grand jury had recommended that in future, the state execute prisoners with nitrogen gas rather than lethal injection. "I regret to advise the citizens of Oklahoma that the Department of Corrections failed to do its job," Attorney General Scott Pruitt said in a statement on the grand jury's findings. "A number of individuals responsible for carrying out the execution process were careless, cavalier and in some circumstances dismissive of established procedures that were intended to guard against the very mistakes that occurred." In 2014, Clayton Lockett took three quarters of an hour to die, while the following January, Charles Warner was executed with the wrong drug. A third execution, that of Richard Glossip, was halted at the last moment when officials realised the same wrong drug had been supplied. The report says that Steve Mullins, a senior legal adviser in the office of Governor Mary Fallin, recommended that the execution should go ahead despite the drug mix-up. Anita Tramell, the warden of the prison, and her boss Robert Patton, the director of the Department of Corrections, quit their jobs soon after the grand jury began their investigation. But instead the governor ordered a stay of execution until an inquiry could be carried out. All executions in Oklahoma are currently on hold. The grand jury did not recommended that anyone involved in the errors should be indicted. In the Warner and Glossip executions, potassium acetate was supplied instead of potassium chloride. Many states have had problems getting hold of drugs for the lethal injection cocktail because pharmaceutical companies now refuse to supply them. Last week, Pfizer became the last of the big manufacturers to withdraw its products from the execution business. Reported cases of Lyme disease on the rise in Montreal Arlene Rill knows all about the dangers of Lyme disease. The 65-year-old resident of Hampstead, Que., says she was bitten by an infected tick in Montreal in 2014 and has suffered debilitating arthritis-like symptoms ever since. "One tick can take away your life," the retired schoolteacher says, and it's a message she's now working to spread. Rill went to see a doctor soon after noticing the bite. The doctor, however, doubted it was Lyme disease since she hadn't left Montreal, which is considered a low-risk area for the disease. That's still the case for Montreal, but a rise in Lyme disease reports now has public health officials on greater alert in Montreal. Health authorities staying vigilant When local authorities started collecting data on cases of Lyme disease in 2003, there were fewer than five cases a year in Montreal. Over the past three years, that average has been closer to 20. Almost all of these cases were acquired outside of Montreal, but the rise is nonetheless a concern for local health officials. Dr. Noemie Savard of Montreal's public health authority said the areas most affected in Quebec are in the southern regions of the province, such as Monteregie and the Eastern Townships. Those regions border the United States, where the disease is well-established. Milder winters and more awareness Milder winters also mean the ticks are now surviving over the colder months, which wasn't the case before. Savard said growing awareness of Lyme disease is another reason for the increase in reported cases. People are more likely see a physician if they have symptoms, and physicians are more likely to consider Lyme disease a possibility and test for it. The best way to avoid Lyme disease is to keep out of wooded or brushy areas, or stay on trails if you're in the woods and wear long pants and long sleeves, Savard said. If you do find a tick embedded in your skin, use fine tweezers and get as close to the skin as you can and gently pull the tick out. Don't twist the tick or crush its head with the tweezers. Symptoms of tick bites include redness around the bite that expands and eventually clears in the middle, leaving a target-like ring. By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas man who managed an orphanage in Malawi pleaded guilty in a U.S. court on Wednesday to sexually abusing children in his care and giving some of them money to keep them quiet about the abuse, U.S. prosecutors said. Gerald Campbell, 66, of Odessa could face up to life in prison, according to papers filed in federal court in Texas. No date has been set for his sentencing. Campbell admitted to sexually abusing the children when he was managing the Victory Christian Children's Home orphanage in the southern African country between 1997 and 2009, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas said in a statement. An attorney for Campbell was not immediately available for comment. A U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent said in an affidavit presented in court that: "Campbell also admitted he was wrong and knew he was 'in charge' at this orphanage; he also explained he could 'buy' his way out of it." The affidavit said Campbell admitted that he gave money and things of value to two of the children to keep them from disclosing the abuse. Among the victims were at least five boys thought to have been sexually abused by Campbell, the affidavit said. He told U.S. investigators he lured children, including one infected with HIV, into his home to sexually abuse them. The home had more amenities than the orphanage, and he used that to entice a few of the children to live with him for several months, it said. He was indicted by a grand jury in October 2015 after an investigation by U.S. authorities. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Sandra Maler) Student Competitions Udacity Partners with Didi Chuxing for $100,000 Machine Learning Competition The companies will work together on innovations that will affect hundreds of millions of ride-sharing service users. Udacity has announced a partnership with a ride-sharing service in China to host a $100,000 prize competition to find the best machine learning strategy to improve customer experience. Udacity, which offers the Machine Learning Engineer nanodegree program, has teamed up with Didi Chuxing to host the Di-Tech Algorithm Competition. Didi processes more than 11 million trips, 9 billion routes and 50 TB of data per day using machine learning strategies. As the company grows, so does the need to improve on core algorithms that impact supply-demand forecasting for hundreds of millions of users around the world. The competition is a challenge to machine learning and big data students around the world to improve how the company ensures riders always get a car when and where they need it, and drivers know where to be even before a ride is hailed, according to Udacity. Didi published the competition data set online and the first round of submissions are due June 17. A group of educators, researchers and data scientists will select and invite the top 10 teams to Didi in July to compete for the $100,000 grand prize. Second and third place will receive 50,000 (about $7,600) and 20,000 (about $3,000), respectively. To enter the competition, visit the DiDi Research site. THURSDAY, May 19, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- In what may come as a bit of a surprise, a new study found that overweight colon cancer patients tended to have better survival than their normal-weight peers. "Overweight and obesity have been identified as risk factors for many health conditions, but for people with colorectal cancer, some extra weight may provide protection against mortality," said study lead author Candyce Kroenke. She's a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif. Still, one health expert cautioned that the finding is no license for people to pile on excess pounds. "This study should not be used to describe an 'upside' of being overweight with regard to cancer risk, since overweight people develop cancer at higher rates," said gastroenterologist Dr. Arun Swaminath of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. In the study, Kroenke's team examined the medical records of more than 3,400 people in California diagnosed with stages 1-3 colon cancer between 2006 and 2011. The researchers then compared each patient's risk of death at the time of diagnosis and then over the following 15 months. Patients who were either underweight or statistically obese at diagnosis were more likely to die than normal-weight patients, the study found. However, people who fell into the "overweight" -- but not obese -- category were 55 percent less likely to die from colon cancer and 48 percent less likely to die from any cause than normal-weight patients, the research team found. Prior research has shown that overweight and obese people are at higher risk for several types of cancers. However, they often have better cancer outcomes than normal-weight patients, something referred to as the "obesity paradox," the researchers noted. "Our study, which represents the largest cohort of colorectal cancer patients with the most comprehensive data regarding patient weight before, at time of, and following diagnosis, supports the notion of the 'obesity paradox,' " Kroenke said in a Kaiser news release. This is an observational study, however, so it cannot prove that weight helped cause (or shield against) death in these patients. Also, the study "doesn't explain why this is true," noted Swaminath, who directs the inflammatory bowel disease program at Lenox Hill. Another expert said the information is important, but shouldn't be overgeneralized. "I feel that this study reinforces the fact that colorectal cancer treatment needs to be individualized for each patient," said Dr. Jules Garbus, a colorectal surgeon at Winthrop-University Hospital, in Mineola, N.Y. "However, it should be said that practitioners must exercise caution when discussing any 'benefits' of overweight with patients, as there is much stronger data to support the dangers of obesity on overall health and well-being," he said. The study was published May 19 in the journal JAMA Oncology. More information The American Cancer Society has more about colon cancer. FRIDAY, May 20, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- An updated guideline adds two new types of drugs to the list of treatment options for heart failure. In people with the condition, the heart can't pump enough blood throughout the body. The two new treatments in the updated guidelines are an angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (valsartan/sacubitril), sold as Entresto, and a sinoatrial node modulator (ivabradine), sold as Corlanor, according to the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the Heart Failure Society of America. Previously recommended drugs for these patients include angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, beta blockers and diuretics. "Treatment options for patients with heart failure have expanded considerably. There is more hope than ever before for patients with heart failure," guideline update committee vice chair Dr. Mariell Jessup said in a news release from the heart groups. She is a professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia. "These guideline recommendations will serve as a tool to guide the choice of therapy and, in turn, improve outcomes," Jessup added. All the recommended medications are meant to relax blood vessels, reduce (biological) stress and improve the function of the heart, according to the news release. Dr. Clyde Yancy, guideline update committee chair, explained that "not every patient is a good candidate for every drug; these guidelines can help physicians decide who best fits which treatment." Yancy is chief of cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. "This document details the benefits and risks of these new therapies so that patients at high risk can be directed towards alternative therapies," he added. The updated guideline was published online May 20 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation, and the Journal of Cardiac Failure. More information The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more on heart failure. isis palmyra US officials announced this week that ISIS has lost more territory in Iraq and Syria as the international effort to take back land the terrorist group seized continues. Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Col. Steve Warren said during a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday that ISIS (also known as the Islamic State, ISIL, or Daesh) has lost 45% of the territory it once controlled in Iraq and 30-35% of the populated areas it once held across its "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria. "This enemy has really suffered a string of defeats on the battlefield," Warren said. "Nothing they have done in the past few months has really been effective." Losing territory goes against ISIS' message of "remaining and expanding," a platform that it has used to recruit thousands of foreign fighters to the Middle East. As ISIS loses ground, the flow of foreigners to its territory has slowed significantly and defections have increased. ISIS has now realigned its strategy to focus on terror attacks rather than territory. The group has been carrying out attacks on the West such as those in Brussels and Paris as well as in places like Baghdad, where ISIS has claimed responsibility for a recent wave of suicide bombings. "Because the [Iraqi Security Forces] are proving increasingly effective, ISIL wants to throw punches that land," Warren said. "To do this, they appear to have chosen to revert to some of their terrorist roots." The bombings and other attacks allow ISIS to project an image of power even as the "caliphate," the name ISIS uses for its self-declared Islamic state, is shrinking. ISIS map But even as ISIS is on the defensive, the group isn't necessarily losing. Tim Arango explained in The New York Times: The situation in Baghdad and the territorial fight against the Islamic State in other provinces are related. Story continues The reflex of the Shiite leadership is to protect Baghdad to answer the agonized voices of victims of terrorism and that is likely to prompt calls for military and police units to be pulled from the front lines to secure the capital. In that way, the resurgent terrorist threat in Baghdad could begin stalling the improving military pushes outside the city including efforts to finally direct an offensive toward retaking Mosul, the main city in the north. Warren tried to ease these fears by noting that the Iraqi government "has not redeployed any troops to Baghdad" in the aftermath of the bombings. NOW WATCH: 'Its not cool to not know what youre talking about': Obama slams Trump during Rutgers speech More From Business Insider A Joseph Dunford testifies during the Senate Armed Services committee nomination hearing to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 9, 2015. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/Files fter a week of rumblings that the US was preparing to arm and deploy Special Forces to Libya, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, said on Thursday that a military deployment to Libya could happen "any day." Speaking to journalists after returning from a NATO meeting in Brussels, as The Washington Post notes, Dunford outlined a "period of intense dialogue" between the US and Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord, who seek to rid the country of a recent but pronounced ISIS presence. The terrorist group ISIS has been gaining ground in Libya even as their so-called caliphate shrinks in Iraq and Syria as a US-led coalition and various regional forces attack the group from every angle. For ISIS, branching out into Libya provides it a potential "back-up capital" in case the terrorist group is driven out of its main base in Syria. "There's a lot of activity going on underneath the surface," said Dunford. "We're just not ready to deploy capabilities yet because there hasn't been an agreement. And frankly, any day that could happen." "There will be a long-term mission in Libya," said Dunford. In fact, US Special Forces have been on the ground in an advisory role since late last year. libya isis map But by backing the fledgling GNA, the US makes a risky political move. Despite being supported by the UN, neither the Libyan House of Representatives nor the General National Congress in Tripoli have fully accepted the GNA. Additionally, US arms sent to Libya could eventually end up in the hands of the very terrorists they were meant to fight, as has happened in Syria and Iraq. Currently, the UN has embargoed the shipment of weapons to Libya as they wrestle with an increasingly prominent ISIS presence, but the UN Security Council and more than 15 other nations recently said that they would approve exemptions to the embargo to back the GNA. Weiterlesen Should, or more likely when, the US deploys to Libya, it will likely be Special Forces that advise and assist local forces in reclaiming their country from ISIS, much like the Special Forces in Iraq and Syria. Unity government head Fayez Seraj (R) shakes hands with a soldier during a tour of Martyrs' Square in Tripoli, Libya, April 1, 2016, in this handout photo provided by the Office of Information. REUTERS/Office of Information/Handout via Reuters But despite their nominal support roles, the recent death of US Navy SEAL Charlie Keating IV by ISIS fire in Iraq shows just how quickly the "advising and assisting" can crossover into full-on combat. The US isn't alone in seeking intervention in Libya. Specifically, Italy, just across the Mediterranean, has expressed interest in supporting the GNA against ISIS and other Islamist militias gaining ground in North Africa. The US-led coalition against ISIS has already carried out airstrikes against ISIS targets in Libya. NOW WATCH: Female soldiers have created a 30-woman unit to fight ISIS in Iraq More From Business Insider Net Sales - $309.2 Million Net Income - $4.0 Million or $1.23 Per Diluted Share BOCA RATON, Fla., May 19, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Q.E.P. CO., INC. (OTC:QEPC.PK) (the Company) today reported its consolidated results of operations for the fiscal year ended February 29, 2016: Q.E.P. CO., INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS (In thousands except per share data) For the Year Ended February 29, February 28, 2016 2015 Net sales $ 309,237 $ 297,666 Cost of goods sold 227,698 217,820 Gross profit 81,539 79,846 Operating expenses 73,546 75,621 Operating income 7,993 4,225 Interest expense, net (1,152 ) (1,347 ) Income before provision for income taxes 6,841 2,878 Provision for income taxes 2,865 1,018 Net income $ 3,976 $ 1,860 Net income per share: Basic $ 1.24 $ 0.57 Diluted $ 1.23 $ 0.57 Weighted average number of common shares outstanding: Basic 3,206 3,237 Diluted 3,228 3,261 Lewis Gould, Chairman of the Board, commented, Your Company has grown this year in the face of many challenges. We have worked diligently to achieve profit improvement through increases in sales and lowering of operating expenses, globally. Our profitability this year enabled us to strengthen our balance sheet through increased cash balances and the pay down of debt. Our strong balance sheet will enable your company to make strategic investments for continued growth in the future. During this year we have continued to make investments in our Faus laminate program and other new flooring products. Mr. Gould concluded, There is much work to do, but we are confident in our strategic direction and the focus of our near term initiatives. Net sales of $309.2 million increased during fiscal year 2016 by $11.5 million or approximately 3.9% as compared to the prior fiscal year reflecting the expansion of our product lines with existing customers in the Companys domestic and international operations. The Companys gross profit of $81.5 million increased more than 2% in the current year due to sales volume growth, most significantly in North America. The Companys gross profit as a percentage of net sales for the current fiscal year as compared to the prior fiscal year declined slightly. Changes in product mix and decreased purchasing power of the Companys international operations as a result of adverse changes in currency exchange rates mitigated the sales improvement impact on gross margin. Operating expenses for fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2015 were $73.6 million and $75.6 million, respectively, or 23.8% and 25.4%, respectively, of net sales in those periods. In the current year, sales increased 3.9% while operating expenses decreased 2.7%. The decrease in operating expenses reflects decreased domestic selling and marketing expenses achieved through cost containment efforts that began late in the previous fiscal year. In addition, currency exchange rates had a net favorable effect on operating expenses of the Companys international operations compared to the prior fiscal year. The decrease in interest expense for fiscal 2016 as compared to fiscal 2015 is primarily the result of $7.1 million of debt payments, including a $5.6 million term loan payment in May 2015. The provision for income taxes as a percentage of income before taxes for fiscal 2016 was 41.9% compared to 35.4% for fiscal 2015. The increase in the effective tax rate reflects the relative contribution of the Companys earnings sourced from its international operations. As a result, fiscal 2016 net income increased to $4.0 million from $1.9 million in fiscal 2015 and net income per diluted share increased to $1.23 per share from $0.57 per share, respectively. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $12.4 million in fiscal 2016 as compared to $9.3 million for fiscal 2015: Fiscal Year 2016 2015 Net income $ 3,976 $ 1,860 Add back: Interest expense, net 1,152 1,347 Provision for income taxes 2,865 1,018 Depreciation and amortization 4,404 5,112 EBITDA $ 12,397 $ 9,337 Cash provided by operations for fiscal 2016 was $13.7 million compared to $4.2 million in fiscal 2015 reflecting the improvement in operating results and an overall improvement in working capital. During fiscal 2016, the Companys increased cash balances as well as funding for capital expenditures and debt payments were provided by cash from operations. During fiscal 2015, the Companys increased cash balances as well as funding for capital expenditures, acquisitions and the treasury stock program were funded through borrowings and cash from operations. Working capital at the end of the Companys fiscal year 2016 increased to $38.7 million from $34.5 million at the end of the 2015 fiscal year and total debt decreased to $36.0 million from $45.4 million during the same period last year primarily due to a $5.6 million pay-off of one of the Companys term loans through cash on-hand. The Company will be hosting a conference call to discuss these results and to answer your questions at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, May 20, 2016. If you would like to join the conference call, dial 1-888-401-4668 toll free from the US or 1-719-325-2429 internationally approximately 10 minutes prior to the start time and ask for the Q.E.P. Co., Inc. Fiscal 2016 Conference Call / Conference ID 4751382. A replay of the conference call will be available until midnight May 27, 2016 by calling 1-877-870-5176 toll free from the US and entering pin number 4751382; internationally, please call 1-858-384-5517 using the same pin number. The Company is posting its consolidated fiscal 2016 audited financial statements on the Investor section of its website at www.qepcorporate.com today. Q.E.P. Co., Inc., founded in 1979, is a world class, worldwide provider of innovative, quality and value-driven flooring and industrial solutions. As a leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor, QEP delivers a comprehensive line of hardwood and laminate flooring, flooring installation tools, adhesives and flooring related products targeted for the professional installer as well as the do-it-yourselfer. In addition, the Company provides industrial tools with cutting edge technology to the industrial trades. Under brand names including QEP, ROBERTS, HarrisWood, Fausfloor, Capitol, Nupla, HISCO, Ludell, Porta-Nails, Elastiment, Vitrex, Homelux, Tilerite, PRCI, Plasplugs, Tomecanic and Benetiere, the Company sells its products to home improvement retail centers, specialty distribution outlets, municipalities and industrial solution providers in 50 states and throughout the world. This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding future sales growth, international and domestic market position, pricing and profitability, acquisition integration activities, potential acquisition opportunities, and product development. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. WASHINGTON, May 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Council on Disability (NCD) an independent federal agency that recommends disability policy to the President, Congress and other federal agencies welcomes the appointment of James T. Brett of Massachusetts to the National Council on Disability. Mr. Brett's appointment to NCD by Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi was published in the Congressional Record on May 12, 2016. Appointments to NCD are made by the President of the United States, the Senate Majority Leader, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the House, and the House Minority Leader pursuant to Section 451 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (Pub. L. 113128). The bill was signed into law by President Obama on July 22, 2014. Mr. Brett joins Chair Clyde Terry, Vice Chair Katherine Seelman, Ph.D., and NCD members Gary Blumenthal, Janice Lehrer-Stein, Benro T. Ogunyipe, Lt. Col. Daniel Gade, Bob Brown, and Neil Romano at the independent federal agency. The biography of Mr. Brett is included at the end of this announcement. "The Council welcomes James T. Brett to NCD. We're pleased to be adding his expertise and experience to our collective quest to ensure full participation of Americans with disabilities in the civic, social and economic fabric of American life," stated NCD Chair Clyde Terry. "In addition to welcoming Mr. Brett to the Council we also thank departing members Lynnae Ruttledge and Royal Walker for their years of dedicated service to the disability community through their tenure on NCD's board." Biography: James T. Brett served for more than fifteen years as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Brett served as the Chairman of the Presidents Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities and remains a member of its Committee. He is Chairman of the Governor's Commission on Intellectual Disability in Massachusetts. He is also a Commissioner of the Massachusetts Disabled Persons Protection Commission. He is the former President of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health. In 2014, he was inducted into the Special Olympics Massachusetts Hall of Fame. Also in 2014, the Disability Law Center bestowed upon him the Edward M. Kennedy Leadership award. In 2013, the University of Massachusetts Boston established the James T. Brett Chair in Disability and Workforce Development, the nation's only endowed chair in disability and workforce development. In 1996, Bay Cove Human Services of Boston named a new community home for disabled adults "Brett House" in his honor. About the National Council on Disability (NCD): First established as a small advisory Council within the Department of Education in 1978, NCD became an independent federal agency in 1984. In 1986, NCD recommended enactment of an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and drafted the first version of the bill which was introduced in the House and Senate in 1988. Since the ADA became law in 1990, NCD has continued to play a leading role in crafting policy solutions, and in advising the President, Congress and other federal agencies on disability policies, programs, and practices. TALLAHASSEE, Fla., May 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On May 18, Judge Eric Johnson denied the state's motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Nevada's popular Education Savings Account program (Duncan v. State of Nevada). The program, enacted by Gov. Brian Sandoval and the state legislature last year, has seen tremendous public support with more than 5,000 parents signing up to participate before the program has been launched. Patricia Levesque, CEO of the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd), an advocacy organization promoting bold school choice reforms, made the following statement: "Judge Eric Johnson made the right ruling in upholding Nevada's Education Savings Account program. We applaud Judge Johnson for granting the state's motion to dismiss, which helps clear the way for more than 5,000 families to get on with the business of seeking the best educational options for their children. We applaud Gov. Brian Sandoval, Senator Scott Hammond and State Treasurer Dan Schwartz for championing this program. We also congratulate Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt and his legal team for prevailing in the case. "Ultimately, this is a victory for children and a defeat for those who would meddle in the private decisions of families. ACLU's actions undermine the individual rights and liberties of parents who are seeking nothing more than the best possible future for their children. "We call on the ACLU and the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State to respect Nevada's parents and taxpayers by halting this frivolous litigation." ExcelinEd looks forward to a similar positive ruling in a second lawsuit, Lopez v Schwartz. Contrary to the argument presented in this second lawsuit, ExcelinEd believes these funds are the student's not the school's and giving a student the ability to escape an underperforming and overcrowded school is the definition of providing opportunities for students. ExcelinEd remains dedicated to advocating for Nevada families and seeing the ESA program implemented. For more information, visit www.dropthesuitnv.org. Background on Education Savings Accounts: Education Savings Accounts (also commonly referred to as Education Scholarship Accounts or ESAs) are an innovative way to bring customization to the education system. ESAs utilize accounts created by parents and funded and monitored by the state, which allow parents to direct their child's funding to the schools, courses, programs and services of their choice - including tuition and fees, curriculum materials, tutoring, online learning, dual enrollment, and licensed services such as therapy for students with disabilities. The Nevada proposal would give most students 90 percent of their state and local education funds. Students with special needs and those with a family income of 185 percent or less of the federal poverty level would receive 100 percent of their funding. Parents are able to save unused funds for higher education expenses - creating an incentive for parents to judge all education service expenses not only on quality but also on cost. ESAs create a personal approach to education, where the ultimate goal is maximizing each child's natural learning abilities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in his Jerusalem office on May 4, 2016 (AFP Photo/Abir Sultan) Jerusalem (AFP) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looked set on Thursday to form the most right-wing government in Israeli history, with Avigdor Lieberman, a hardliner loathed by Palestinians, expected to become defence minister. Netanyahu aides were in talks with officials of Lieberman's hawkish Yisrael Beitenu party on terms for its entry to the ruling coalition, which would boost its currently wafer-thin majority in parliament. Leaks to the Israeli media from both sides said a deal was close to being finalised. Yisrael Beitenu held six of the 120 places in parliament, but following news of the coalition deal MP Orly Levi-Abekasis said on Facebook that she was quitting the party but would retain her Knesset seat, to work on social-economic issues "according to the dictates of my conscience." Even with five seats, Yisrael Beitenu's entry into government would be a major boost for Netanyahu, who has not concealed his ambition to expand on the coalition's current 61 seats. The return of Lieberman, who served as foreign minister under Netanyahu from 2009 to 2012 and again from 2013 to 2015, could raise international concern about his government's policies -- especially on the conflict with the Palestinians. As defence minister, Lieberman, who himself lives in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, would oversee military operations in the Palestinian territories and have a major say in policy towards the settlements. The international community considers the settlements illegal and regards their persistent expansion by successive Netanyahu governments as one of the biggest obstacles to peace. Since its formation in May 2015, Lieberman had repeatedly branded the current five-party coalition as "defeatist" but on Wednesday he told a news conference that he would be open to joining it if key demands were met. He said one of them was the death penalty for perpetrators of anti-Israeli attacks and hinted that Netanyahu's government could accede to that demand. Story continues Lieberman has long expressed mistrust in Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and called for his removal. Just a month ago, he said that if he were defence minister, he would give Hamas's Gaza leader Ismail Haniya 48 hours to hand over detained Israeli civilians and the bodies of soldiers killed in the 2014 war "or you're dead". The Palestinian foreign ministry said on Thursday that should Lieberman join the government it would be good news for Israeli "settlers and ultra-extremists." -- Labour spurned - "The inclusion of Lieberman, known for his extreme rightwing (views) toward Palestinians, is new evidence that Netanyahu as usual prefers to promote extremism in his government," a statement said. "The decision represents Netanyahus response to French, international and regional efforts to revive the peace process between the two sides -- Palestinian and Israeli -- and sends a strong message to the world." France is trying to revive moribund peace negotiations, frozen since April 2014, but Israel has rejected the idea of an international peace conference -- instead pushing for direct bilateral talks. The government's embrace of Lieberman comes after weeks of negotiations, not just with Yisrael Beitenu but also with the centre left. Netanyahu had been widely expected to make a deal with the leader of the opposition Labour party, Isaac Herzog. Months of secret talks between the two men made headlines in recent days, with Herzog tipped for foreign minister ahead of a French-led push for renewed peace talks this summer. But Netanyahu's 11th-hour tilt to the far right appeared to jeopardise those hopes, drawing criticism from some newspapers. "Instead of presenting to the world, in advance of the serious diplomatic challenges that lie ahead of us in the autumn, a more moderate government, Netanyahu is presenting to the world the most extreme government ever to have served here," the centrist Yediot Aharonot newspaper said. Mtanes Shihadeh, Israeli studies professor at Birzeit University in the West Bank, said most Palestinians didn't see much difference between Lieberman and other Israeli politicians. "Even if Labour joins (the government), maybe there would be some kind of slowing down in settlement building, but the core issues will not change." The right-wing Maariv newspaper agreed that Israel was about to get the "most right-wing and most extremist government since the founding of the state". Lieberman's appointment to the defence ministry in place of former armed forces chief of staff Moshe Yaalon is also likely to raise the hackles of senior commanders. Yaalon had been at loggerheads with Netanyahu over his insistence that senior officers be encouraged to "speak their mind." As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ Geotourism Initiative Seeks To Boost National and International Tourism to Middle and Upper Delaware River Region NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2016 / DelawareRiver.natgeotourism.com - Business owners, organizational leaders, elected officials, National Park Service staff, and community leaders from the Scenic, Wild Delaware River geotourism initiative are introducing America's newest and most compelling travel destination: the "Scenic, Wild Delaware River." The Scenic, Wild Delaware River region offers unique cultural, recreational and natural experiences along the upper and middle Delaware River. Its attractions lay within a few hours' drive of New York City, Trenton and Philadelphia. The region is anchored by three river-based national parks: Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and Middle Delaware National Scenic River. Here visitors can fish, swim and canoe in a river carved by geologic time and human history. They can connect with nature by watching eagles soar overhead and deer browse in forests and fields. The family can enjoy waterfalls that make the heart leap, learn to catch a fish, and picnic along the river's banks. Visitors can discover friendly towns steeped in culture and history nestled among a postcard landscape from a bygone era. The Scenic, Wild Delaware River "MapGuide," created in coordination with National Geographic Maps, is an interactive travel website featuring more than 600 landmarks, natural resources, attractions, activities, events, lodging and dining venues nominated for inclusion in the MapGuide by local residents, businesses, organizations, public and private land managers, educators, and community establishments. The MapGuide aims to attract a niche market of national and international geotourists to the Scenic, Wild Delaware River region. This resource will serve national and international tourists seeking culturally and naturally authentic places, and it will allow visitors access to travel advice from local residents in order to create their own itineraries. The MapGuide may be accessed at www.delawareriver.natgeotourism.com. Story continues "The 'Scenic, Wild Delaware River' is one of only 23 geotourism programs worldwide," said Bryan Cope, chair of the initiative's Stewardship Council, and Northampton County, Pennsylvania's Open Space Coordinator. "Our communities look forward to welcoming travelers who appreciate our region's unique beauty and character." "Our Scenic, Wild Delaware River geotourism initiative not only brands the middle and upper Delaware River region as a destination for responsible, meaningful tourism, it also will help us sustain our unique history and culture," said Geotourism Stewardship Council member Carl Wilgus, president and CEO of Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau in Pennsylvania. "This geotourism initiative has brought communities across the region closer, and it promotes all of our amazing assets to better preserve the cultural, historic and natural attractions that we all love," said Stewardship Council member Roberta Byron-Lockwood, president and CEO of New York's Sullivan County Visitors Association. "We're all united by the Delaware River, and the partnerships we've built through this geotourism initiative will help us promote what's special about where we live and share it with visitors," said Stewardship Council member Tammie A. Horsfield, president of the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce in New Jersey. "Not only is this region a short drive from major cities, the middle and upper Delaware River region also is culturally and geographically significant," said James Dion, National Geographic Maps' director of tourism programs. "This geotourism initiative underscores the importance of connecting communities in an area to share their tremendous scenic, historic and cultural assets, and helping them thrive together for future generations." A locally based Geotourism Stewardship Council collaboratively oversees and manages the Scenic, Wild Delaware River geotourism initiative. The Council's first product is the MapGuide. Residents and visitors may continue to nominate new sites, events and special places for the website, which will be dynamic and constantly updated. The Scenic, Wild Delaware River geotourism initiative seeks to contribute to the area's economic health and long-term vitality by promoting geotourism: Tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place -- its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its residents. On average, geotourists are highly educated, take four or more leisure trips per year, care about the protection and preservation of the places they visit, and about half have annual household incomes above $75,000. The Scenic, Wild Delaware River region includes Sussex and Warren counties in New Jersey; Delaware, Orange and Sullivan counties in New York; and Monroe, Northampton, Pike and Wayne counties in Pennsylvania. Initial funding for the Scenic, Wild Delaware River geotourism initiative was provided by a grant from the William Penn Foundation, with funding also from the Claneil Foundation, to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). The nonpartisan NPCA is a nonprofit, independent advocacy organization working to protect and enhance America's national parks. National Geographic Maps has partnered with communities across the United States and the world to produce more than 20 Geotourism MapGuides, including for the Greater Yellowstone (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming), Crown of Continent (Montana, British Columbia, Alberta), U.S. Gulf Coast States (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida), Sri Lanka's Eastern Province and The Bahamas Family of Islands. National Geographic Maps was established as a division of the National Geographic Society in 1915 and has been producing maps for National Geographic magazine and other Society groups for 100 years. National Geographic Maps produces outdoor recreation mapping software, Trails Illustrated maps and software, globes, wall maps, travel maps and atlases. For more information on National Geographic Maps, visit www.natgeomaps.com. CONTACT: Joy Oakes, National Parks Conservation Association 202.329.6815 joakes@npca.org The initial "Scenic, Wild Delaware River" Geotourism Stewardship Council includes travel and tourism industry representatives; businesses owners; members of cultural, art and historical organizations; members of local Chambers of Commerce and economic development groups; conservation and recreation organizations; local public and private land managers; and other community leaders throughout the region: SOURCE: Scenic, Wild Delaware River Today I heard one of the smartest people I know say that in the 2016 election were becoming more like Europe, and class is motivating voters more than anything else. What Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass was really saying is that especially for young people -- at a time of lowering expectations and growing income inequality, a class-driven election is a new phenomenon in the post-war era. For the United States, at least, a move toward more class-based politics promises more conflict and less cohesion, both socially and politically. When MSNBC host Joe Scarborough asked Haass on Morning Joe today how a president leads with record low public support Hillary Clinton currently has a 31 percent favorability rating and Donald Trump is at 26 percent he said, The one thing we know is that whoever wins is going to inherit and extraordinarily demanding inbox internationally and domestically and this doesnt shout mandate at you. Related: Clinton: Trumps Not Qualified, and Sanders Is Done This doesnt shout a country ready to come together, ready to compromise, ready to make tough decisions -- whether its on the budget or the deficit or on taxes or on big foreign policy questions. You almost get the sense that whoever wins is going to enter the White House rather than with the wind at their back, theyre going to enter the White House with a lot of headwinds and a real challenge to bring the country together. The conflict among voters is evident in a new poll from The New York Times, which adds to the startlingly negative numbers we have seen in this election from the outset. The big surprise is that 84 percent of Republicans say their party is divided. Just under half of Democrats say the same about their own party. Bernie Sanders is the only candidate with a positive favorable rating, at 41 percent. Commenting about the Sanders movement among young people on Morning Joe, The New York Times Anand Giridharadas said, A lot of them [the young Bernie Sanders supporters] are part of a generation whose lives have never gotten to start. Youve been hearing in Europe about a whole generation who went to college and they never got a job and theyre now 30 and still dont have a job. That thing thats happening in Europe is starting to happen here. Story continues What Giridharadas and Haass were hinting at was a new political paradigm for the U.S., one that may not arrive gently. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Investigators from France's air accident authority and Airbus have arrived in Egypt to help probe the mysterious crash of an EgyptAir plane in the Mediterranean, the French embassy said Friday. Three BEA civil aviation experts and an Airbus technical adviser arrived in Cairo overnight, while search and rescue teams hunted for signs of wreckage, embassy spokeswoman Ines Ben Kraiem told AFP. The Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo swerved suddenly before plunging and disappearing from radar screens early Thursday with 66 people on board, including 30 Egyptian and 15 French passengers. The cause of the crash remains unknown but suspicions quickly focused on the possibility that it was downed by jihadists. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for bombing a Russian passenger plane over Egypt's Sinai in October, killing all 224 people on board. The French experts are set to meet Egyptian investigators on Friday afternoon to lay the groundwork for their probe, which is expected to get under way fully once wreckage has been retrieved. (Bloomberg) -- Taiwans new President Tsai Ing-wen defied Beijing in her inaugural address on Friday by resisting pressure to adopt the "one-China" principle, drawing a relatively tepid reaction from China. Pledging to seek peace with China, Tsai, 59, Taiwans first female president, said the understanding reached at historic talks in 1992 where the two sides agreed to seek common ground should form one foundation of future ties. Taiwans 1946 constitution, which still claims mainland China as part of its territory, should form another, she said. Wearing a white jacket and black pants, Tsai said she respected the historical fact of the 1992 talks between negotiators from China and Taiwan. The two sides through communication and negotiations, arrived at various joint acknowledgments and understandings. It was done in a spirit of mutual understanding and a political attitude of seeking common ground while setting aside differences," she said. Tsai has previously acknowledged the historical fact of the 1992 meetings before, but China has pressured her to openly affirm its own version -- that the 1992 Consensus equates with the one-China principle, and that both sides are part of one country. Taiwans new leader was "ambiguous on the fundamental issue," Chinas official Xinhua News Agency said today, citing the mainlands Taiwan Affairs Office. In the same written statement, Beijing said it would boost interactions between the peoples, and work toward the rejuvenation of the Chinese people, but that institutionalized interactions could only continue on the basis of the one-China principle. Taiwans benchmark Taiex index rose 0.4 percent at the close of trading in Taipei, before the Xinhua report was published. The Taiwan dollar strengthened 0.2 percent to NT$32.752 per U.S. dollar. With the Democratic Progressive Party assuming control of both the executive and legislative branches for the first time, Tsai pledged to implement key structural reforms to Taiwans economy to help it better integrate with the rest of Asia. Dragged down by slower demand for its products from China and elsewhere in the world, Taiwan has posted three straight quarters of economic contraction. Story continues Since Tsais landslide election in January, China has employed a range of tactics to show Taiwan what the future might look like if it refuses to embrace the idea of one country. In March, China scrapped a diplomatic truce with former President Ma Ying-jeou and established relations with the tiny West African nation of Gambia, one of a handful of states that still recognized Taiwan. In April, a Taiwanese delegation to Brussels was barred from joining a meeting of OECD steel officials because of Chinese objections, when no such objection had arisen in 10 years, the Taipei-based United Evening News reported. Liu Guoshen, director of Xiamen Universitys Taiwan Research Institute, praised Tsais address as a mild and practical speech. "You can see Tsai was making a real effort to stabilize the cross-strait ties. Shes trying in her speech to strike a balance in addressing various audience: her own party, Beijing, and the United States," Liu said. Todays inauguration was attended by dignitaries from 59 nations, including Taiwans 22 remaining diplomatic allies, and a U.S. delegation led by former U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk. At the end of her remarks, Tsai made reference to having pride in Taiwans democratic achievements: Today, tomorrow, and on every day to come, we shall all vow to be a Taiwanese who safeguards democracy, freedom, and this country." (Updates with Chinas response.) --With assistance from Ting Shi and Argin Chang To contact the reporter on this story: Adela Lin in Taipei at alin95@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Davis at abdavis@bloomberg.net, Debra Mao, Jason Koutsoukis 2016 Bloomberg L.P. AFP News Ukraine on Sunday denounced as dangerous lies suggestions from Russia that it was preparing to use a "dirty bomb". Its western allies also dismissed the allegations from Moscow, just hours after Russia went public with the claims. In conversations with his British, French and Turkish counterparts, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu conveyed "concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a 'dirty bomb'", Moscow said. Russia did not mention the alleged "dirty bomb" allegation in its statement following Shoigu's call with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin. "If Russia calls and says that Ukraine is allegedly preparing something, it means one thing: Russia has already prepared all this," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on social media. "I believe that now the world should react as harshly as possible." Earlier Sunday, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba denounced Moscow's claims as "absurd" and "dangerous". "Russians often accuse others of what they plan themselves," he added. A British defence ministry statement said Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had "refuted these claims and cautioned that such allegations should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation". And in Washington, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson dismissed Moscow's "transparently false" claim. "The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation," she added. - 'Vile strikes' - Russia also announced Sunday that it had destroyed a depot in central Ukraine storing over 100,000 tonnes of aviation fuel. Kyiv's energy operator meanwhile said scheduled power cuts had been introduced in the Ukrainian capital due to Russia's repeated strikes on the nation's power network. The blackouts started from 11:13 am (0813 GMT) with consumers in Kyiv divided into three groups "disconnected for a certain period of time", energy company DTEK said. DTEK reiterated calls for residents to use electricity "sparingly" and for businesses to limit their use of external lighting. More than one million Ukrainian households have lost electricity following recent Russian strikes, according to the Ukrainian presidency, at least a third of the country's power stations having been destroyed ahead of winter. Zelensky condemned the "vile strikes" in comments late Saturday, after Russian attacks caused power cuts across the country. - 'Save your strength' - In the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig, deputy mayor Sergiy Miliutin was dealing with emergencies and power outages from his underground bunker, used as a venue for a children's martial arts competition. "I've reached a point where I just survive on my drive. You have to stay level-headed and save your strength. No one knows how long this will all last," he told AFP. The intensification of Russian strikes on Ukraine, particularly energy facilities, came after the bridge linking the annexed Crimea peninsula to mainland Russia was partially destroyed by an explosion earlier this month. It was another major setback for Moscow's forces, battling to contain a Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south and east of the country. French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that it was for Ukrainians to decide when "peace is possible", in comments made in Rome at the start of a peace summit. Ukraine reported three deaths in an overnight Russian artillery strike in the Toretsk area, a governor of the eastern Donetsk region said. Inside Russia, two lines of defence have been built in the border region of Kursk to deal with any possible attack, a local governor said on Sunday. On Saturday Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor in the neighbouring Russian border region of Belgorod, said the construction of defence structures had begun. Gladkov said two civilians had been killed in strikes there Saturday, and that 15,000 people had been left without electricity. - Kherson evacuations - Meanwhile Ukraine's SBU intelligence service said it had detained two officials of Ukrainian aircraft engine maker Motor Sich on suspicion of working with Russia. The SBU said management at the company's plant in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region -- partly controlled by Russian forces -- had colluded with Russian state-owned defence conglomerate Rostec. The suspects had supplied Russia with Ukrainian aircraft engines that were used to make and repair attack helicopters, the SBU said. In the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, which Russia claims to have annexed, pro-Moscow officials on Saturday urged residents to leave "immediately" amid a "tense situation" at the front. Kherson, the region's main city, was the first to fall to Moscow's troops and retaking it would be a major prize in Ukraine's counter-offensive. A Moscow-installed official in Kherson, Kirill Stremousov, told Russian news agency Interfax on Saturday that around 25,000 people had left Kherson city to the left bank of the Dnipro River. Ukraine has denounced the removal of residents from Kherson, describing them as "deportations". bur-imm/raz/jj/lcm HONG KONG/WASHINGTON Two Chinese fighter jets carried out an unsafe intercept of a US military reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, a further escalation of tensions in and around the contested waterway. The incident took place in international airspace on Tuesday as the US maritime patrol aircraft carried out a routine US patrol, a Pentagon statement said. The incident comes a week after China scrambled fighter jets as a US Navy ship sailed close to a disputed reef in the South China Sea. Another Chinese intercept took place in 2014 when a Chinese fighter pilot flew acrobatic maneuvers around a US spy plane. The intercept is also days before US President Barack Obama travels to parts of Asia from May 21-28, which will include a Group of Seven summit in Japan and his first trip to Vietnam. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims. Washington has accused Beijing of militarizing the South China Sea after creating artificial islands while Beijing, in turn, has criticized increased US naval patrols and exercises in Asia. The Pentagon statement said the Department of Defense was addressing the issue through military and diplomatic channels. Chinese authorities have yet to comment in detail but a report in the Global Times said the Defense Ministry was looking into reports. The paper, an influential tabloid published by the Communist Partys official Peoples Daily newspaper, said reports showed it was likely that a US plane was operating near China. The Pentagon has yet to release the precise location of the encounter. Signal of displeasure? In 2015, the United States and China announced agreements on a military hotline and rules of behavior to govern air-to-air encounters called the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES). Story continues This is exactly the type of irresponsible and dangerous intercepts that the air-to-air annex to CUES is supposed to prevent, said Greg Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at Washingtons Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. Poling said either some part of Chinas airforce hadnt gotten the message, or it was meant as a signal of displeasure with recent US freedom of navigation actions in the South China Sea. If the latter, it would be very disappointing to find China sacrificing the CUES annex for political gamesmanship. Zhang Baohui, a security expert at Hong Kongs Lingnan University, said he believed the encounter highlighted the limitation of CUES, and showed that Chinese pilots would still fly close to US surveillance planes if needed. Frankly, were always going to see these kinds of incidents as China will always put the priority on national security over something like CUES whenever it feels its interests are directly threatened, he said. While the precise location of the encounter is not yet known, regional military attaches and experts say the southern Chinese coast is a military area of increasing sensitivity for Beijing. Its submarine bases on Hainan are home to an expanding fleet of nuclear-armed submarines and a big target for ongoing Western surveillance operations. The Guangdong coast is also believed to be home to some of Chinas most advanced missiles, including the DF-21D anti-ship weapon. The Pentagon last month called on China to reaffirm it has no plans to deploy military aircraft in the Spratly Islands after China used a military plane to evacuate sick workers from Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reef, where it has built a 3,000-meter runway. In April 2001, an intercept of a US spy plane by a Chinese fighter jet resulted in a collision that killed the Chinese pilot and forced the American plane to make an emergency landing at a base on Chinas Hainan island. The 24 US air crew members were held for 11 days until Washington apologized for the incident. That encounter soured US-Chinese relations in the early days of US President George W. Bushs first administration. Last month, the Pentagon said that Russia had intercepted a US Air Force aircraft over the Baltic Sea in an unsafe and unprofessional way. Reuters Cuba is bracing for rough waters ahead as it navigates a political sea change in Latin America, where the left is fighting an outgoing tide. Venezuela is in a full-blown crisis, conservatives have taken the helm in Brazil, and Havana's leftist allies are losing ground in elections elsewhere in the region. The government of President Raul Castro, which has enjoyed smooth sailing until recently, warned in April of a "strong and articulated imperialist counteroffensive" coinciding with the economic slowdown in Latin America. Indeed, Cuba's communist regime can no longer count on the rhetorical support it has received in recent years from Latin governments, warns Michael Shifter, head of the Inter-American Dialogue, a think tank based in Washington. "For Cuba, the region's changing political landscape is less hospitable than it was a few years ago," he said in an interview. The changes mark the end of a favorable era for Cuba, one that began with Hugo Chavez's arrival in power in Venezuela in 1999, and reached a high point with the reconciliation with the United States at the end of 2014. Taken in hand by the late Venezuelan leader, Havana emerged from isolation and economic disarray in which it was left after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990. Friendly governments took office in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Uruguay, El Salvador, Peru and Chile. But after Chavez's death in 2013, political conditions in Latin America began to shift, although the region's new conservative direction has only recently come into focus. This year, Venezuela's downward spiral entered a critical phase, Brazil's Dilma Rousseff was suspended to face an impeachment trial, Argentina turned its back on Nestor and Cristina Kirchner's 12 years in power, Bolivia's Evo Morales lost a referendum on extending his mandate and Ecuador is preparing to elect a successor to Rafael Correa. And what's worse: the region has had to wave goodbye to the high commodities prices that underwrote the left's most appealing social programs. "Even more than the political shifts, Cuba will be affected by the economic crises in Brazil, and particularly, Venezuela," Shifter said in an interview. "At a moment when Cuba is hoping to bring in more investment and generate growth, the economic deterioration in both countries is of enormous concern," he said. - US lifeline - Besides being its principal trade partner, with nearly $7.3 billion in trade in 2014, Venezuela supplies Cuba with 95,000 barrels of oil a day on very favorable terms. No other friend of Cuba "can supply oil under those terms," said Jorge Pinon, head of the energy program at the University of Texas' Jackson School of Geosciences. The loss of cheap oil "would represent a negative impact for Cuba of approximately $1.3 billion," he said. Brazil, for its part, is one of Cuba's main suppliers of food, a source of credit and a partner in tobacco and sugar companies. Brazil and Venezuela together account for much of the $12 billion Cuba gets each year for supplying medical services to other countries, its top source of hard currency. Even as it closed ranks behind Venezuela's embattled President Nicolas Maduro, the Castro government joined critics of the legislative process in Brazil that ended in Rousseff's suspension this month. The interim government in Brasilia led by Michel Temer has responded to the Cuban criticism with a blunt reminder. "The relationship is historic. We have interests in those countries and they have theirs here," a Brazilian foreign ministry official told AFP. Jorge Duany, head of Florida International University's Cuban Research Institute, said, "Cuba will have to reorient its diplomatic and commercial relations in Latin America and the Caribbean beyond its main regional allies of the last decade." Cuba may already be moving in that direction, according to Duany. "It's possible to interpret Raul Castro's government's rapprochement with the United States, in part, as a preventive response to the continuous economic and political deterioration in Venezuela," he said. Cuba reestablished diplomatic relations with the United States in July 2015 after a half century of Cold War enmity. Even though a US embargo is still in place, the United States could play a growing role as a supplier of food and tourists to Cuba, two important lifelines. "It is reasonable to expect Cuban imports from the United States to continue to grow, especially as restrictions are reduced and, eventually, the embargo is lifted," said Shifter. Meanwhile, Cuba has settled its pending affairs with creditors in the Club of Paris, and signed a cooperation agreement with the European Union, which should translate into access to more markets and financing. Cuba will need such a multi-dimensional strategy to weather the storm. MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Oil Search Ltd (OSH.AX) has agreed on a takeover offer worth $2.2 billion (1.5 billion) for its Papua New Guinea rival InterOil Corp (IOC.N) and said on Friday it would sell part of InterOil's key asset to French giant Total SA (TOTF.PA). The deal could pave the way for consolidating rival plans by Total and ExxonMobil Corp (XOM.N) for liquefied natural gas developments in Papua New Guinea, considered one of the best locations for LNG projects in a world of weak oil prices. "The combination will create a major independent PNG oil and gas champion and is expected to facilitate cooperation and/or integration of the Papua LNG Project and the PNG LNG Project, unlocking significant value for all stakeholders," Oil Search said. Oil Search wants InterOil for its stake in the Elk-Antelope gas fields, which could supply a new liquefied natural gas project in Papua New Guinea, Papua LNG operated by Total, or an expansion of the existing plant, PNG LNG, operated by ExxonMobil Corp and co-owned by Oil Search. "The InterOil board has thoroughly considered this transaction and we believe it delivers significant value to all InterOil shareholders," InterOil Chairman Chris Finlayson said in a statement. Interoil CEO Michael Hession told a briefing the company had received a number of other proposals, but Oil Search's offer was the best. Oil Search is offering 8.05 of its shares plus a contingent value right tied to the size of the eventual reserves in Elk-Antelope for each InterOil share. Oil Search said the offer valued InterOil at $40.25 a share, a 27 percent premium to InterOil's close on Thursday. "Oil Search believes that the acquisition of InterOil represents an excellent outcome for InterOil and Oil Search shareholders and enables both companies to benefit from the value created through the commercialisation of the gas resources in PRL 15 (Elk-Antelope)," Oil Search Chairman Rick Lee said. Oil Search will end up with a 29 percent stake in the Papua LNG project, complementing its 29 percent stake in PNG LNG, if the deals with InterOil and Total go ahead. Total will hold a 48 percent stake in Papua LNG. Story continues The deal follows Oil Search's rejection last year of an $8 billion takeover offer from Woodside Petroleum, which wanted Oil Search for its stakes in the PNG LNG project and Elk-Antelope. Oil Search and InterOil said they expect the deal to close in the third quarter of this year. (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Richard Pullin) By Alister Doyle and Valerie Volcovici OSLO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump's vow to renegotiate the global accord on climate change if elected U.S. president caused dismay abroad on Wednesday, with supporters of the deal saying it was in his interests to embrace a plan that seeks to end dependence on fossil fuels. U.S. insistence on renegotiation could unravel a 195-nation compromise to curb greenhouse gas emissions reached in Paris in December after fraught talks between nations as different as China, the United States, small island states and OPEC members. "The Paris Agreement is as much in the United States interests as any other country," said Tony de Brum, ambassador for climate change of the Marshall Islands who, as his country's foreign minister, helped broker the U.N. deal. "Seeking to unravel it would not only threaten the U.S. economy, damage its environment, and weaken its security, but it would do a great disservice to all of humanity," he said. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, told Reuters on Tuesday he was "not a big fan" of the climate accord. He said China and other countries would not stick to the "one-sided" deal, which seeks to transform the world economy from fossil fuels in coming decades to slow global warming. "I will be looking at that very, very seriously, and at a minimum I will be renegotiating those agreements, at a minimum. And at a maximum I may do something else," he said. Trump has said in the past he believes global warming is a concept that was invented by China to hurt the competitiveness of U.S. business. Government officials meeting in Bonn, Germany, from May 16-26 to find ways to implement the deal, raised concerns about Trump's comments but doubted he would take serious action. That's because the deal imposes no real constraints on the United States - it lets all nations define their own actions for fighting climate change. President Barack Obama has promised to cut emissions by 2025, but his successors will face no penalties if they do not comply, meaning little incentive to challenge the U.N. deal. Many officials also say it is in U.S. interests to limit greenhouse gas emissions, partly because cuts in the use of fossil fuels also means less air pollution, a big cause of disease. Even many nations traditionally sceptical that man-made greenhouse emissions stoke climate change, like OPEC countries, have gone along with the Paris Agreement. RENEGOTIATING UNTHINKABLE George David Banks, a senior climate change adviser to President George W. Bush and a Trump supporter, said Trump could try to force countries like China to pledge deeper emissions cuts by renegotiating the agreement. That's wishful thinking, according to John Coequyt, director of green group the Sierra Clubs international climate campaigns. "You can't get more than 190 countries to renegotiate a deal they are implementing, he said. The Paris Agreement will formally enter into force when 55 nations representing at least 55 percent of world greenhouse gas emissions have ratified it. China and the United States, representing 38 percent, say they will join this year. If the deal enters into force before the next U.S. president takes office next year, it will in theory be harder to pull out. Article 28 says any nation wanting to leave has to wait four years from the date of entry into force - the length of a U.S. presidential term. Trump's easiest option is to neglect the deal if elected, legal experts say. Trump could ignore the targets set by Obama and promise instead to help developing nations cope with global warming. The Paris Agreement's flexible approach, allowing all to set their own goals, is radically different from the U.N.'s 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which set mandatory targets for developed nations to cut emissions until 2012. The United States did not take part in Kyoto - President George W. Bush denounced it as an economic straitjacket that, he said, unfairly omitted targets for developing nations led by China and India. Former French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, who helped broker the Paris deal, said this month that the U.S. election was critical to its future. "If a climate change denier was to be elected, it would threaten dramatically global action against climate disruption," he said. But U.S. chief climate envoy Jonathan Pershing said last week that other nations were likely to push ahead with the Paris Agreement whoever wins the White House. (Reporting By Alister Doyle; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Ross Colvin) "If Buddha were living now, I think he would use social media, said Baasan Lama, the fresh-faced abbot of Erdene Zuu, Mongolias oldest monastery. He flashed a luminous smile. I already have a Facebook page. From the folds of his thick red-and-gold robes, he pulled a small book he had published four months earlier that offers 108 tips for right action in a scattered world. Short, he told me, in no-nonsense English. People dont like to read long books these days! Visitors from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolias boomtown capital, kept bundling into the small room where I was sitting with the Hamba Lama Baasansuren, as he is officially known, to receive his blessings and teachings. Not many minutes earlier, in the 17th-century whitewashed prayer hall next door, Id listened to him lead chants while younger monks pounded drums. The bulging-eyed black demons on the walls, the red-and-gold benches, the fragrance of juniper incense, and the flickering rows of candles and butter lamps all made me feel as if I were in Tibet. The complex contained temples that looked Chinese and gers (the domed white felt huts also known as yurts) with chapels inside. A brick wall surrounded it, mounted with 108 tall, white stupas that seemed to ward off the emptiness of the Orkhon Valley, once the center of the Turkic, Uighur, and Mongol empires and now a unesco World Heritage site. Erdene Zuu, locals had told me, stands on the ruins of Karakorum, the city that Genghis Khans son Ogodei built in 1235. Driving here across unending grassland, Id seen only a handful of lonely white gers against the wide horizon and a few crop-circle gatherings of goats beside Bronze Age burial mounds. Grass blowing in Mongolia Though Baasan Lama is only 37, he has spent the past 24 years in the temple, having taken on robes after his country emerged from 70 years of Soviet-imposed atheism. Now the strapping lama was presenting me with a sleekly produced CD hed released to go with his book, featuring sing-along Buddhist chants that had become instant hits with the iPhone-tapping, Lexus-driving, sushi-and-Gucci movers of Ulaanbaatar. As two monklets offered us cups of fermented mares milk and bowls of noodles with thick beef, the lama continued his impromptu discourse. Ive read the Bible, he said. And the Koran. I think that if Jesus and Mohammed and the Buddha were alive now, they would be good friends. Story continues Mongolia This was music to my ears. Id come to Mongolia to see how its fervent, sometimes boisterous brand of Himalayan Buddhism is bursting into fresh life, in contrast to the steadier and more sober variants I have witnessed in Tibet and Bhutan and Ladakh and have come to know during more than four decades of talking and traveling with the 14th Dalai Lama. I also wanted to see how traditional Mongolian culture had been surviving the countrys furious development since the discovery of vast copper and gold reserves. Without realizing it, the monk was addressing both my interestshis countrys changeless nomadism and its homegrown globalism. After lunch, Baasan Lama took me, in a friends car, on a jouncing, 45-minute drive up into the mountains. Near the top, on a crag overlooking the spacious folds of the valley, we came to a simple two-room retreat hed built. Its stucco walls had been licked bare by animals hungry for salt. We sat on the floor and he whipped out a purple iPod and a Bluetooth speaker, then asked me what kind of meditation I favored. Unfazed by my silence, he chose one from the dozens he knows. After leading me in chants, he delivered a brief talk on the necessity of saying thank you to life. To get to Erdene Zuu, one has to pass through Ulaanbaatar, a high-rise metropolis that sits incongruously within an encircling nothingness, like Lower Manhattan surrounded by South Dakota. Half of Mongolias 3 million inhabitants live in and around the city, the other half in the almost unchanged countryside. As I left Chinggis Khaan International Airport, I saw matrons throwing milk to the heavens, the traditional gesture of thanking the gods for a trip safely completed. As we drove past gaudy shopping malls and construction sites, my guide, Baatarnyam Navaansharav, who calls himself Baagi, explained that the countrys largest gold reserve, the source of its latest hopes and luxuries, had been discovered near a place long honored by Buddhists as an energy center. I stepped through the scented lobby of the 21-story Shangri-La Hotel, which opened last June, and ascended to my sleek room, where I could see quiet, dusty Chojin Lama Temple far below, hidden among skyscrapers like a grandmothers amulet dropped among boulders. Mongolia Mongolia today seems to be looking forward and backward at the same time. Since the country gained its freedom in 1990, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has embraced globalism, while also rediscovering its pastoral culture. Ancestral traditions, Buddhism in particular, came back into the open after having been sustained mostly in secret for the better part of a century. In the past decade the explosion of the mining industry has resulted in one of the highest GDP growth rates in the world. Parts of Ulaanbaatar now look like the love child of Shanghai and Las Vegas. The citys streets, where only a generation ago wolves and wild dogs roamed, are today clogged with 700,000 cars, inching past glass towers and giant screens projecting footage of runway models. My first night, I came upon a Louis Vuitton outlet amid the ghostly Soviet monuments of the central square. Nearby, numbers from the New York Stock Exchange flashed across several stories of a high-rise. Id heard that on the day the store opened, in 2009, it had moved a dozen $94,000 steamer trunks. As I ventured on, I passed places actually called Rich Centre and Million Dollar Club. Teenagers, sporting earbuds and shades, listened to the thumping rhythms of Gee, a local hip-hop star. When I watched the astonishing throat singers and contortionists of the Mongolian National Song & Dance Ensemble, I was only half taken aback to hear an orchestral version of Queens We Are the Champions. Mongolia One afternoon I was lucky enough to get a private viewing of the treasure room of the National Library, a reminder of the cosmopolitanism that has distinguished Mongolia for centuries. Its rulers once conquered more than twice as many people as any other empire in history, bringing the treasures of everywhere back to their landlocked home: Sutras written in gold leaf. Astronomical charts from before the time of Gutenberg. Sacred texts composed by the fifth Dalai Lama. A family tree in the form of an exploding star, with Genghis Khan at its red-hot center. Hours later, I returned to the 21st-century version of the empire: a stylish new development in the affluent Zaisan district known as Buddha Vista, before crossing the street to enjoy a remarkably tasty Tex-Mex pizza at the rooftop restaurant Terrazza Zaisan. Despite Ulaanbaatars runaway development, more than half its residents live in very basic gers surrounding it, as if the grasslands were waiting to swallow up the blue-tinted towers. In the old Soviet-built State Department Store, I saw pieces of jewelry selling for $45,000 (five years salary for a typical Mongolian). I learned also that as the Soviet influence fades, the elegant Mongolian script used for centuries is coming back into schools, replacing Cyrillic. Somehow, modernity and tradition have found a way to sustain one another. Less than an hour after leaving Ulaanbaatar, accompanied by Baagi, his boss, and a driver, I was looking upon great swaths of pure color, sometimes lavender, sometimes topaz. We stopped and got out of the car amid a ringing, pulsing silence. I walked past sheep skulls, trampled prayer flags, and ceremonial blue scarves marking out Har Bulch, or Black Bulls ruin, an eighth-century Uighur Buddhist temple. Wind whipped across the ruins as upland buzzards perched on shaman stones. In the distance, pastures shimmered like salt flats. Beyond lay nothing but blue-black peaks. Mongolia It is hard to appreciate, before arriving, just how silent and empty Mongolia is. You may learn that a population the size of greater San Diego is scattered across an area the size of Western Europe. But you have to go there to feel the absences. You may hear that more people visit Kyoto in a day than come to Mongolia in a year. But you dont know what quiet is until youve realized its more shocking to see another car than to come upon 90 Bactrian camels sitting placidly in your red-dirt track. One member of my party told me that, in his language, there are hundreds of words for the coloring of horses. Another remarked that a herd of 250,000 gazelles had been spotted here not long before. It is Mongolias rare fortune to suggest another planet tucked within our own. Bird-watchers come for the falcons, white herons, black storks, and cranes that suddenly take flight over noiseless rivers. Others come during the first weekend in October for the golden eagle festival in the west, at which traditional Kazakh hunters demonstrate the hunting abilities of their great birds. Some fish for taimen in the north. For me, it was enough just to bump for hours through a Rothko landscape with black kites winging through the sharp blue skies, the expanse of green in every direction broken only by an occasional single white droplet in the distancea ger with a solar panel, a satellite dish, and a white Toyota beside it. Some people in the interior, my guides told me, had only recently seen a banana, and could hardly imagine anyone consuming chicken or fish (insects, as they see them), let alone vegetables. (Our animals eat grass, theyre liable to say, and we eat our animals.) Bubonic plague is still known in some parts. (If you see a dying marmot, my Bradt guidebook alerted me, steer away.) Yet the ingenuity that once allowed Mongolia to seize every land from the Pacific to the Mediterranean is everywhere apparent. Nomads make satellite dishes out of old CDs. When cell-phone reception comes to certain mountaintop areas, locals are known to push send, fling their devices up to catch the signal, and then grab them as they come down again. Finally, we came to Ongiin Hiid. Once a monastic city with a four-figure population, it was devastated by the Soviet purges of the 1930s. Only a few traces remain, surrounded by the Ongiin Nuuts Ger Camp. A lama invited us into his ger among the broken stones and passed out some snuff, then strips of raw meat from a large white basin. In a few minutes, he told us, he was expecting an important group of lamasa sign, perhaps, that the monastery might be headed for a resurgence. We drove on, into the Gobi Desert, our Land Cruiser throwing up clouds of dust as we listened to Ulaanbaatar rap and Soviet-era rock n roll. Above us were squid-ink mountains and puffy clouds the size of towns. We had entered a world of shadow and light, horizon and sun. All sense of time and space fell away. Was it yesterday wed passed the 13-year-old sheepherder in a thick woolen robe? Had we traveled 30 miles today, or not moved at all? It was easy to understand why for millennia nomads have worshipped the eternal blue sky as a sovereign presence upon which everything depends. As we drove, I couldnt help thinking of the rock formations of Monument Valley or the Australian outback, though here the land has been ironed into something flatter and less varied. Sometimes I just like to look at rocks, the patterns they make, said Baagi, who grew up with the Darkhad tribe in the north but now spends most of the year in the capital. Better than any designer! When we were kids, we used rocks to play games. We pretended they were sheep or goats, sometimes tanks. We used them to play cowboys and Indians. Everyone wanted to be an Indian. Mongolia At last, we arrived at a small gathering of gers against a rock. This was the Three Camel Lodge, a place that could be called the Pearl of the Gobi. It is the creation of Jalsa Urubshurow, a spirited, enterprising, Kalmyk-Mongolian from New Jersey who saw a chance, after Mongolia opened up, to introduce the beauties of his ancestral home to the rest of the world. Four young staffers ran out to greet us, bearing chilled towels and cool glasses of sea-buckthorn juice. One whole section of my three-ger suite was a luxurious bathroom, complete with a rainforest shower and LOccitane toiletries. Soon we settled in for a dinner of broccoli soup, Gobi-style mac and cheese, and the lightest pumpkin pie Id ever tasted. The next morning, in the heart-clearing stillness, Baagi and I woke early and drove out into the pink and golden silence that follows sunrise. We passed into a box canyon beneath a kind of cloud formation that Mongols liken to a dragon delivering a warning. Two ibex suddenly vaulted away from us. Clambering up to a ridge when the road gave out, we found ourselves at a little pavilion with an ancient bell in it. Beyond that was a nine-foot-tall White Tara statue. From the porch of a nearby meditation hut we looked out on endless valleys that made us feel as small as dust balls. The bell sang occasionally in the wind. This center of absolute quiet was Bulgan Temple, the retreat of a local teacher called the Buyan Lama. Baagi told me that it had been completed two years earlier. Local herders had provided the funds and even helped carry the two-ton statue up the hill. Its so moving to me, my friend said, to see Buddhism rising out of the dust like a phoenix. Mongolia I understood better now why Baasan Lama had fashioned his rough retreat in the mountains above the Orkhon Valley. It was a symbol of the almost shattered heritage he was helping to reconstruct. On a day trip out of Erdene Zuu, Baagi and I had come upon an earlier such retreat in the remote site of Tuvkhun. There, we climbed for two miles amid Siberian larches and pines to the place where Zanabazar, the first of Mongolias ruling Bogda Lamasand its greatest Buddhist artistis believed to have constructed his own meditation space around 360 years ago. The site was marked out, hauntingly, by blue scarves tied around the trees. At the top, we came to the spot where Zanabazar is said to have carved 21 Tara statues while completing one of his great works of philosophy. Such places exist in Tibet, but theyre difficult to find and are usually under surveillance. Here, I saw visitors from Chinese-controlled Inner Mongolia, unable to practice Buddhism freely at home, walking around statues of the Buddha and pictures of the Dalai Lama with tears in their eyes. We are the only free northern Buddhist country in the world, Baagi said with pride. Mongolia The next evening, Jalsa drove me through the scrubland, rich with sweet-smelling chives, to the Flaming Cliffs, 40 minutes away. This is where, in 1923, Roy Chapman Andrews, later the director of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, made the worlds first discovery of dinosaur eggs. As we strolled along the red ridges, ablaze in the days last light, Jalsa pointed out pieces of fossilized dinosaur eggs almost everywhere we stepped. One guest, he said, had recently stumbled upon the first juvenile duck-billed dinosaur skeleton ever found in Mongolia. We slid down a long sandy slope and came out in a quiet space between the rocks where the Three Camel Lodge staff had set up a pavilion for us to eat in as the moon rose and the sky filled with stars. Beside us, local teenagers sang about the open spaces around us, accompanying themselves on a two-string horse-head fiddle. In keeping with Mongolias bipolar changes of pace, after leaving Three Camel Lodge I drove to a tiny airport in the Gobi so that I could fly back to the go-go capitalwhere it seemed almost too perfect that there was a dinosaur skeleton on display in the brand-new Hunnu Mall. The mix of fast-moving capitalism and 14th-century pastoralism, on the same morning, was startling. But then I remembered what Baagi had said as we walked among the stupas of Erdene Zuu, the wind whistling in our ears. The Mongol Empire, he reminded me, was famous for incorporating and adapting the trends of Russia and China and Persia. But, he added, the largest empire Genghis Khan built was in Mongolian hearts. For him the flash and swagger in the capital were less a repudiation of his proud countrys past than simply its latest expression. When Id sat with Baasan Lama beside his Tibetan chapel, hed pointed out that even the Buddha had grown up in a kings palace. Affluence is not necessarily the enemy of mindfulness. Its good to be a little rich, hed said, measuring his words with care, but delivering them with confidence. You need to be a little bit rich to have enough food and shelter, education. Then, once you have those things, you can turn to your spiritual life. The Details: What to Do in Mongolia Getting There Fly to Ulaanbaatar via a connection in Europe, Beijing, Seoul, or Moscow. Travelers who fly through China can apply at the airport for a 72-hour transit-visa exemption to eliminate the hassle of having to obtain a Chinese visa. Carry proof of an onward ticket, which is necessary to board a Chinese connecting flight in both Ulaanbaatar and Beijing. Tour Operator Nomadic Expeditions: Writer Pico Iyer traveled with this operator, which offers multiple itineraries in the country, like the central and southern Mongolia trip, which includes monastery visits, two days with Baasan Lama, and a stay at Three Camel Lodge. nomadicexpeditions.com Accomodations Munkh Tenger: A simple camp with a pleasant deck where you can take in the sunset before a hearty, well-cooked meal. Kharkhorin; munkh-tenger.com; gers from $43. Shangri-La Hotel, Ulaanbaatar: Each room in this centrally located hotel offers views of either Great Chinggis Khaan Square or Nayramdal Park. shangri-la.com; doubles from $280. Three Camel Lodge: Find luxury ger lodging and inventive food at one of the most stylish retreats in Mongolia. Havsgait; threecamellodge.com; doubles from $710. Restaurants Asiana Buddha Vista: This Asian-fusion spot serves Chinese, Japanese, and Mongolian food in tatami rooms. Buddha Vista Mall; 976-7715-1010; entrees $15$25. Hazara: A colorfully curtained Indian restaurant that has been a go-to place for nearly 20 years. hazara.mn; entrees $12$25. Terrazza Zaisan: This rooftop restaurant in the trendy Zaisan district offers tasty Italian dishes and views of the surrounding hills. Zaisan Square Center, 7th floor; 976-7710-2992; entrees $13$65. Zen: A Japanese restaurant in the Blue Sky Hotel & Tower serving what many residents swear is the best sushi in Ulaanbaatar. hotelbluesky.mn; entrees $12$25. STEM Student Teams Selected as Finalists for International Space Station Science Competition Five finalists have been selected in the second annual Genes in Space competition, in which American students were invited to design an experiment using DNA analysis to solve a real-life space exploration problem. The winning experiment will be performed aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Finalist proposals include investigations to study radiation damage, engineer biological solutions and assess the impacts of microgravity on human physiology. Genes in Space aims to inspire collaboration among seventh through 12th grade students and scientists and expose students to career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The five finalist teams will receive mentoring from scientists from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who will help make the experiments feasible for space research. The teams will present their proposals to a panel of scientists, educators and technologists at the 2016 ISS Research and Development Conference in San Diego, July 1214. The winner will be announced at the conclusion of the conference. Members of the winning team will participate in a space biology workshop to prepare their investigation and then be invited to watch the launch of their experiment from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The finalists were chosen from more than 380 applications across the country. The finalists are: Amy Gu, 17, and Maria Byamana, 17, from Cambridge, MA; Dylan Barcelos, 16, Kylie Cooper, 16, and Mason Frizado, 16, from Fall River, MI; Finsam Samson, 15, from Troy, MI; Julian Rubinfien, 15, from New York, NY; Justin Harris, 18, Savanna WeaselBear, 17, Corey Ardrey, 18, and Seth Bittle, 18, from Ada, OK. The Genes in Space competition is sponsored by its partners Boeing, miniPCR, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, New England Biolabs and Math for America. The first-ever Genes in Space experiment was by Anna-Sophia Boguraev, a 17-year-old high school student from Bedford, NY. It was performed April 19 aboard the ISS, making it the first DNA amplification experiment ever conducted aboard the Space Station. Genes in Space also sponsors a similar contest in the United Arab Emirates. For more information about the Genes in Space competition, and for lists of finalists and honorable mentions, visit genesinspace.org. Security School Districts Protect Networks with New Appliances Two school systems have gone public with their use of firewall appliances to implement content filtering software and wireless access points. Franklin County Schools in Alabama and Chester School District in New Jersey are both using appliances from the Seattle-based WatchGuard Technologies, which sells firewalls, access points and other security products. The Alabama district has been using WatchGuard products since 2000. Franklin County's current firewall is an XTM 1525-RP, which has 25 Gbps firewall throughput and 10 Gbps virtual private network throughput. On top of that the school system has added a subscription to WatchGuard's security suite, which offers gateway antivirus, spam blocking, web blocking, intrusion prevention and application control. The district also has deployed AP200 wireless access points, supporting 802.11a/b/g/n in its seven locations. To serve residents in its rural area, the district also runs a couple of access points on the edge of its school grounds to provide "guest" Wi-Fi access. "The school board can't afford to hire a huge staff, so it's essential to have a system and appliances that are easily manageable, and that's what WatchGuard does for us," noted Tim Burks, network administrator at Franklin County's district, in a prepared statement. Chester School District has about 1,200 students and 400 staff members. After an evaluation of solutions from a handful of network providers, the school system chose WatchGuard's XTM 850, with 8 Gbps firewall and virtual private network throughput. That's armed with application control, web filtering, spam blocking, gateway antivirus and intrusion prevention. Shortly after deployment, the system helped IT staff catch students attempting to go onto disallowed websites. With the use of Active Directory authentication and WatchGuard reporting tools, IT was able to identify the responsible students and forwarded that information to the administration for follow-up. "The ease of access to information and the intuitive platform provided by WatchGuard has freed up valuable time that, in the past, was spent monitoring and maintaining the previous device," said Dean Anderson, Chester's technology director, in a press release. "Now, more time can be spent where it matters supporting the staff and students." Dushanbe (Tajikistan) (AFP) - Two international rights groups have condemned the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan over its jailing of independent lawyers defending the battered opposition in the Central Asian state. Human Rights Watch and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee called for the release of at least four human rights lawyers imprisoned as part of a crackdown on dissenters, as well as two children of another lawyer. "The lawyers languishing behind bars are some of Tajikistan's most active and independent voices," said Marius Fossum, Norwegian Helsinki Committee's regional representative in Central Asia said Wednesday. "[Tajikistan] has presented no credible evidence against any of them and so should release them immediately and guarantee them the security to fully carry out their professional duties." The lawyers were targeted for defending members of the moderate Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, which the government has banned, as well as a former industry minister and fellow lawyers. Prominent advocate Buzurgmehr Yorov was arrested on fraud and extremism charges in 2015 while acting as counsel for another lawyer imprisoned for defending a prominent opposition politician the previous year. His client Fakhriddin Zokirov was released under an amnesty deal last November and promptly ceased representing ex-industry minister Zaid Saidov, who had three years added to a 26-year prison sentence for economic crimes in 2015. Two sons of another lawyer representing Saidov, who founded the New Tajikistan opposition party in 2013, have also been caught up in the crackdown. One son was jailed on charges of extremism and recruiting mercenary fighters, while the other has reportedly been detained for failing to report a crime. The US State Department last month labelled Tajikistan a "country of particular concern" over the growing crackdown on Islam in the majority-Muslim country. The secular government's heavy-handed approach to the religion has included restrictions on the sale of Islamic clothing and Arabic names as well as reports of forced beard shavings. But Washington has refused to apply sanctions to the country of eight million people bordering Afghanistan, citing "important national interests." DGAP-News: 3W Power S.A. / AEG Power Solutions / Key word(s): AGM/EGM The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Luxembourg - May 19, 2016. 3W Power S.A. (ISIN LU1072910919, 3W9K), the holding company of AEG Power Solutions Group, a global provider of UPS systems and power electronic solutions for industrial, commercial, renewable and distributed energy markets, today announces that all of the resolutions proposed to shareholders at its ordinary Annual General Meeting (AGM) of May 19, 2016, have been approved with majorities exceeding 99%. At the Company's AGM, the shareholders in particular: - approved the annual accounts of the Company for the financial year 2015 - discharged all members of the Board of Directors of the Company for the exercise of their mandates during the financial year 2015 - renewed the mandates of Dr. Dirk Wolfertz, Mr. Willi Loose, Mr. Bernd Luft, Mr. Klaus Schulze, Mr. Keith Corbin and Mr. Jeffrey Casper as members of the board of directors until the annual general meeting to be held in 2019 Shareholders who attended today's AGM either in person or registered their shares in advance represented a presence of approx. 45% of the Company's issued share capital. -- End of Announcement -- About 3W Power/AEG Power Solutions: 3W Power S.A. (WKN A114Z9 / ISIN LU1072910919), based in Luxembourg, is the holding company of AEG Power Solutions Group. The Group is headquartered in Zwanenburg in the Netherlands. The shares of 3W Power are admitted to trading on Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: 3W9K). For more information, visit www.aegps.com This communication does not constitute an offer or the solicitation of an offer to buy, sell or exchange any securities of 3W Power. This communication contains forward-looking statements which include, inter alia, statements expressing our expectations, intentions, projections, estimates, and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable evaluation and opinion of the management but are subject to risks and uncertainties which are beyond the control of 3W Power and, as a general rule, difficult to predict. The management and the company cannot and do not, under any circumstances, guarantee future results or performance of 3W Power and the actual results of 3W Power may materially differ from the information expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. As a result, investors are cautioned against relying on the forward-looking statements contained herein as a basis for their investment decisions regarding 3W Power. 3W Power undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein. For further information, please contact: Christian Hillermann Hillermann Consulting Investor Relations for AEG Power Solutions Phone: +49 40 320 279 10 Email: investors@aegps.com 2016-05-19 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de By Yasmeen Abutaleb and Dustin Volz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg prepares to meet conservative leaders on Wednesday to discuss allegations about political bias at the social media website, one thing he may not have to worry about is federal regulation. Although the U.S. Senate committee is investigating whether there is liberal bias in how Facebook employees select news stories for its "trending topics," there is little chance the government will try to regulate their practices, said Republican Senator John Thune, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. "I don't have any reason to believe that would be necessary," Thune told reporters on Tuesday. The editorial practices at the world's largest social network came under scrutiny after a former Facebook contractor accused editors there of deliberately suppressing conservative news. The allegations were reported by technology news website Gizmodo, which did not identify the ex-contractor. Facebook denied the allegations of bias and said it would conduct a full investigation into the matter. Zuckerberg also agreed to meet with conservative leaders to "share their points of view," according to a post on his Facebook page. Attendees at the Wednesday afternoon meeting at Facebook's Silicon Valley headquarters are expected to include conservative talk show host Glenn Beck, former White House press secretary Dana Perino and former Republican Senator Jim DeMint. Thune sent a letter to Facebook last week to demand that it explain its editorial decision-making and how stories are chosen for the "trending topics" feature. He said his primary concern was that Facebook was potentially being deceptive about how the news curation algorithms work. The company was criticized in 2014 for secretly manipulating what content appeared for a sample of users to research the psychological effects of social media. Facebook last week released its guidelines for choosing trending topics, but the operations of the news feed algorithm remain closely guarded. Story continues Thune said Facebook has been in communication with his staff in the week since he wrote the letter. "More than anything else, it's an opportunity for them to set the record straight," he said. Legal experts said the government has few tools to dictate how a private company makes news decisions. "As a legal matter, Facebook is not required to be even-handed," said Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. "Congress can't introduce something that tries to prohibit Facebook from making these kinds of choices." Only 11 percent of Americans said they thought the federal government should play a role in determining what users see on social media sites, according to a poll of 2,000 registered voters conducted by Morning Consult and released on Wednesday. According to the poll, 55 percent of U.S. voters said they get their news from social media sites such as Facebook. The controversy over Facebook's trending topics has sparked questions about how transparent the company should be about how content appears on users' news feeds, given its influence over 1.6 billion members. Research commissioned by Facebook has shown that messages notifying users that their friends had voted during the 2010 midterm election prompted 340,000 additional people to cast ballots. "This story is connected to the largely invisible digital apparatus that influences the public," said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a consumer advocacy group. (Reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb and Dustin Volz; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Tiffany Wu) France has raised concerns about the 21bn tie-up between the owner of the London Stock Exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) and Germany's Deutsche Boerse (LSE: 0H3T.L - news) , saying it could cause competition problems. French finance minister Michel Sapin called for the European Commission to intervene to stop the new group achieving a dominant position, and also warned of the possible consequences of the deal for Europe's economy. The "merger of equals" agreed in March will see shareholders in Deutsche taking 54% of the new European giant in a deal set to complete by the end of this year or the first quarter of 2017. It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) would create a group similar in scale to America's Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE - news) , owner of the New York Stock Exchange, leaving smaller rivals such as Euronext (Lisbon: ENX.LS - news) , operator of stock exchanges such as the Paris Bourse, far behind. French finance minister Michel Sapin said: "I want to express the concern of the French government on this tie-up. "We have doubts about the consequences this could have for the financing of the real economy in France and Europe. "The merger of these two entities will result in a large group which could hold within it a majority of the tools that make our markets function efficiently. "That poses a competition problem, and we want to make sure the European Commission gets involved to avoid a situation where a dominant position arises." France's economy minister Emmanuel Macron had previously voiced concerns earlier this year about possible competition issues arising and said it would assess the consequences for Paris's financial centre. The LSE is one of the world's oldest stock exchanges and can trace its history back more than 300 years. The wider LSE Group was formed in October 2007 when the London Stock Exchange merged with Milan stock exchange Borsa Italiana. It has since completed further deals including the 1.6bn takeover of US stock index Frank Russell. ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's coffee exports rose 20 percent in the first quarter of 2016 to 23,054 tonnes from 19,187 tonnes in the same period last season, according to a document from the government Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC). Coffee arrivals at the country's two main ports fell 13 percent in the first quarter of this year to 95,898 tonnes compared with last season at the same point, the CCC said. Between 1990 and 2000, the country produced about 300,000 tonnes of robusta to be Africa's top producer and the world's third biggest. Production fell to around 120,000 per season in the years of political turmoil that followed, in part because of a slump in the global price. The West African country's coffee season runs from January to June and this year the farmgate price was fixed at 670 CFA francs CFA ($1.15) per kilo against 650 CFA francs last season. Since 2011, the government has come up with a plan to increase production by investing 20 billion CFA francs over 10 years. "In the context of the plan to revive the coffee sector, 8,215 hectares of nursery plants have already been sown by producers," said the report dated May 11. ($1 = 581 CFA francs) (Reporting by Ange Aboa; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Louise Heavens) By Aaron Ross KINSHASA (Reuters) - An opposition presidential candidate in Congo, in hospital since clashing with police during a protest last week, has been indicted on charges of hiring mercenaries as part of a plot against the state, a prosecutor said on Thursday. An arrest warrant had been issued for Moise Katumbi, who has denied the accusations that he says are aimed at derailing his campaign to succeed Democratic Republic of Congo's President Joseph Kabila in elections scheduled for November. "Moise Katumbi, after having been amply heard by the magistrate in charge of his case, has been indicted on the charge of offences against the internal and external security of the state," Congo's assistant prosecutor general, Anselme Maduda Muanda Madiela, said in a statement. Katumbi, a former governor of Congo's main copper-mining region, has been in hospital for six days, after police fired tear gas at him and his supporters outside the prosecutor's office in Lubumbashi where he had been questioned. His supporters repeatedly clashed with police during three days of hearings last week and his indictment and possible arrest raise the prospect of further violence. Lubumbashi was calm on Thursday afternoon with few yet aware of the news. Katumbi was not available for comment on Thursday. His lawyers said that they had not yet been officially informed of the charges. It was not clear whether he would be arrested immediately or kept under surveillance while in hospital. The charges could carry the death penalty although Congo has observed a moratorium on capital punishment for over a decade. President Kabila has ruled since 2001 and is barred from standing for a third term but the government says it is unlikely to be able to organise November's polls in time, blaming budgetary and logistical constraints. The country's highest court ruled last week that Kabila would stay in power beyond the end of his mandate if the election does not take place. Opposition parties called that a "constitutional coup d'etat" and called for marches across the country on May 26 to demand that Kabila step down this year. (Additional reporting by Kenny Katombe in Lubumbashi; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) (Reuters) - The England pace attack ripped out Sri Lanka for 91 after Jonny Bairstow made an excellent century to put the hosts in complete control of the first test on the second day in Leeds on Friday. Bairstow's superb knock of 140 lifted England to 298 in their first innings before James Anderson and Stuart Broad took nine wickets between them in favourable conditions for seam bowling at Headingley. England captain Alastair Cook enforced the follow-on and the touring side negotiated two deliveries to reach one for no wicket before bad light ended play. Sri Lanka trail by 206 runs in the opening match of the three-test series. England had resumed in the morning on 171 for five and Bairstow and Alex Hales extended their sixth-wicket partnership to 141. Hales, on 86, was in sight of his maiden test century when he skied spinner Rangana Herath to deep extra cover. Moeen Ali (nought) and Broad (two) were dismissed by Dushmantha Chameera in the same over but Bairstow, dropped on 70, completed his second test hundred and celebrated the achievement enthusiastically on his home ground. Bairstow found a solid partner in Steven Finn, the pair adding 56 for the ninth wicket before the former skied a catch to mid-on off Chameera. Sri Lanka made a dreadful start to their reply as experienced fast bowlers Anderson and Broad exploited the conditions superbly. Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva and Kusal Mendis all edged catches to wicketkeeper Bairstow, leaving the tourists in deep trouble at 12 for three. Dinesh Chandimal, on 15, was well held by James Vince at third slip off Ben Stokes before Anderson trapped captain Angelo Mathews lbw for 34 and then dismissed Dasun Shanaka first ball with a peach of a delivery that the batsman nicked to Bairstow. The dismissal of Mathews was Anderson's 435th in tests, taking him past India's Kapil Dev into sixth place on the all-time list. Herath was smartly caught by Stokes in the slips off Anderson for one, Chameera (2) drove Broad to Finn at mid-off and Lahiru Thirimanne, on 22, was caught by Finn at mid-on off Broad. Anderson completed his 19th five-wicket haul in tests and outstanding figures of five for 16 when he had Shaminda Eranga caught by Bairstow down the leg-side. (Reporting by Ed Osmond in London, editing by Ken Ferris) By Clare Baldwin and Stella Tsang HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Hong Kong visit by a top leader of China's Communist Party, which included talks with pro-democracy lawmakers, was an "important breakthrough" in relations between Beijing and the city, an influential Chinese newspaper said on Thursday. The visit by Zhang Dejiang, the third most senior member of the Communist Party, follows a period of tension in Hong Kong after tens of thousands took to the streets in 2014 to press for full democracy. The former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula meant to preserve its freedoms, but the refusal of Beijing to allow full democracy for a 2017 city election has raised fears for its autonomy. Resentment has simmered, and some democracy activists have even raised calls for independence, a previously taboo issue. Security was tight for Zhang's three-day visit that began on Tuesday. The Global Times, a tabloid published by the ruling party's People's Daily newspaper, said there was no chance of independence for Hong Kong but it called Zhang's meeting with the pro-democracy members of the city's legislative assembly an "important breakthrough". Hong Kong should give the legislators room to act politically, and they should be allowed to call for the ouster of the pro-Beijing chief executive of the city. "Although it is a sharp demand for the pan-democrats to have asked Zhang to replace the current chief executive, that is part of their rights to ask," the newspaper said in an editorial, referring to pro-democracy city legislators. Zhang said repeatedly he had come to listen, and his meeting with the veteran democracy campaigners, and the editorial in a state-run newspaper, were unprecedented. While it was not clear what action Beijing might take as a result of the visit, one of the legislators said it could signal a new stance on Hong Kong. "It is an unprecedented move," said Emily Lau, chairwoman of the city's Democratic Party and one of four pro-democracy lawmakers to attend a reception with Zhang on Wednesday. "It may show that they want to handle things a bit differently." "The situation here is pretty grim ... it's not just the pro-democracy camp, but the business community, the professional people, the grassroots people, they are all deeply unhappy, dissatisfied, frustrated and some feel hopeless," she said. Another lawmaker who did not attend the reception but is a long-time democracy activist, said Beijing authorities appeared to have realized that a tough stand against calls for greater democracy risked stirring demands for independence. "They realized the problem with very hardline confrontation is that they are losing the middle to a more separatist view ... especially the young people," said Lee Cheuk-yan. "I think they believe with a softer posture maybe they can gain the good faith of the people of Hong Kong and avoid the problem of spreading views against China and separating from China." (Reporting by Clare Baldwin and Stella Tsang; Additional reporting by Venus Wu; Editing by Robert Birsel) By Anastasia Moloney LA HORMIGA, Colombia (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When gunfire and cylinder bombs erupted around their farmhouse, nestled in the jungle in Colombia's southern Putumayo province, Jesus Alebio Portillo and his family took refuge under a bed and, trembling with fear, waited until the fighting stopped. A decade ago, battles between paramilitary groups and their most bitter enemies, the Marxist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), took place almost every week as the two sides fought for territorial control. The unrelenting violence prompted an exodus of thousands of villagers from the farmlands around the town of La Hormiga and across Putumayo during the peak of violence in early 2000s. "We were caught in the middle of the crossfire," Portillo, a farmer and father of two children, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "Once the FARC told us we had to leave as there would be a confrontation with the paramilitaries. They gave us two hours to leave. The whole village left, 80 to 100 people," he said, recalling the first of four times his family had to flee. More than five decades of conflict have forced 6.7 million Colombians to flee their homes, many of them poor farmers like Portillo, making the country home to the second biggest internally displaced population after Syria. Some of the land left behind was abandoned, left idle for years as farmers sought refuge in nearby towns. Other land was seized by paramilitary forces with farmers often pressured by the armed groups to sell out at cut-rate prices. The government itself estimates that 6.5 to 10 million hectares of land - up to 15 percent of Colombian territory - have been abandoned or illegally acquired through violence, extortion and fraud. HOMECOMING Portillo is one of the lucky ones, back on his land as part of a 10-year government program launched in 2011 to return millions of hectares of land, address unequal land distribution and reduce rural poverty. The national effort to restore ownership and tenure is unfolding as peace talks, now in their third year, continue between the government and the FARC, the country's largest guerrilla group, in Cuba. How Colombia ensures those who were displaced can return safely to their lands and rebuild their lives is a measure of state territorial control and prospects for lasting peace in war-torn provinces like Putumayo, experts said. Under a historic land restitution law passed five years ago, the government of Juan Manuel Santos has handed back 200,000 hectares of land, together with land titles awarded by judges, benefiting about 20,000 Colombians. But this accounts for just a fraction of the millions of hectares of land stolen and abandoned. Of the 80,000 land claims lodged so far with the government authorities less than half are currently being processed, hampered by bureaucratic red tape and sorting out who legally owns disputed and abandoned land. For Portillo, returning to his plot of land means the promise of a better future. Under the land restitution scheme, he has received a grant, fertilizer and seeds, and an agronomist visits the pepper farm every month to provide technical support. "When we came back everything was covered by the jungle. We lost everything. We had to start all over again," said Portillo, as he and his wife tend to rows of pepper trees surrounded by dense jungle where parrots and monkeys chatter. "The land is how I breathe, live and survive. Working the land is the only thing I know how to do. I can't survive in the city. I can only beg for food there." Portillo, 56, hopes the hip-high pepper trees will bear their first harvest in eight months time, bringing in an income of about 990,000 Colombian pesos ($335) a month, nearly double the monthly minimum wage. LINGERING FEAR The trickle of families returning to their small vegetable and cattle farms around La Hormiga is a showcase of government efforts to help displaced families rebuild their lives. A 2003 peace accord led to around 35,000 paramilitary fighters handing in their weapons, largely bringing an end to battles between rebel and paramilitary forces. Attacks by the FARC have also largely stopped in recent months after rebel commanders declared a unilateral ceasefire last July as part of ongoing peace talks, encouraging more displaced farmers to return to their lands as violence has ebbed. But many are still too afraid to return to deserted villages surrounding La Hormiga as the shadow of violence lingers. Bullet holes and faded graffiti scrawled by armed fighters remain on some of the facades of abandoned brick homes. "Some neighbors haven't come back. It's too painful for them to return. Many innocent people, women and children, were killed," Portillo said. ROOT OF CONFLICT Unequal land distribution was a key reason why the FARC took up arms back in 1964 as a Marxist-inspired agrarian movement that fought to defend the rights of landless peasants. Today just over one percent of Colombia's landowners hold more than half of the country's agricultural land, making land distribution in Colombia among the most unequal in the world, according to the United Nations Development Programme. It is an issue at the center of the peace talks. The FARC and the government have agreed to promote rural development and create a land bank through which farmland would be redistributed. If a peace accord is signed, it would likely pave the way for a deluge of new land claimants and encourage more displaced farmers to return home. Another successful land claimant, Andrea Gomez, who was displaced three times, hopes her new one-hectare pepper farm will bear its first produce next year. Reached by a narrow dirt path cut through humid jungle, her wooden hut on stilts is surrounded by pepper plants irrigated by a drainage canal, along with orange, plantain and cacao trees. "It's changed my life and that of my family. The land gives me everything I need, all my food. Without it I don't have anything," Gomez said. Gomez, 30, says she felt emboldened after she received a land title in her name in 2013. "Having a land title makes me feel important. I feel valued. I now have rights. I can decide about the future of my farm. No one can take it away from me," she said. Returning land in the cases of Portillo and Gomez was relatively easy because it involved unoccupied farmland and there was no one to dispute their ownership. But other land claims involve plots snatched by organized crime networks and guerrilla groups, bent on maintaining control of their fiefdoms, cocaine-smuggling routes and illegal mining. DEATH THREATS In recent months, renewed violence against land rights campaigners threatens to undermine gains made in Colombia's land restitution efforts. While paramilitary groups have demobilized, thousands of former paramilitary fighters morphed into new drug gangs, known as BACRIM, which the government now regards as Colombia's biggest security threat. These groups "are still systematically violating human rights ... and interfering with the restitution of (stolen) land," Todd Howland, the U.N.'s human rights representative to Colombia, said in March. Last year 105 community leaders, including land rights activists, were killed in Colombia - a 35 percent rise compared to 2014 - according to the Conflict Analysis Resource Centre, a Bogota-based think tank. Around 3,000 community leaders, including land campaigners who have received death threats, receive protection from the government, ranging from bodyguards to bullet-proof vests. In Putumayo, returning land is also slow and difficult because parts of the province remain under guerrilla control, and the region's vast coca fields - the raw ingredient used to make cocaine - are controlled by criminal gangs and FARC rebels. Heavily armed police standing behind sand-barricade checkpoints and army tanks stationed along the partly unpaved main road that reaches Colombia's border with Ecuador, are signs of the government's tenuous control here. Another is the sight of several plain-clothed guerrillas belonging to the FARC's network of thousands of urban-based informants hanging around on a street corner, less than a kilometer away from the nearest police checkpoint. "It hasn't been easy. In some areas it's not possible for the state to enter because the FARC still have a very strong presence," said David Narvaez, who heads the Putumayo office of the government's land restitution agency. "The president decided to start this land restitution process in the middle of the conflict and despite the fact that the war isn't over, which is why we've come across many difficulties and what makes this process unique in the world." (Reporting by Anastasia Moloney, editing by Paola Totaro.; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org; and place.trust.org) By Bhumika Sahani May 19 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stocks traded lower on Thursday on broader weakness in Asia as minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's April policy meeting rekindled the possibility of a rate hike in June. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell over 1 percent to its lowest since March 3 as the prospect of a second U.S. rate hike in six months raised concerns for emerging markets already grappling with a slowing China. Philippine stocks led the falls in Southeast Asia and were headed for their first loss in five sessions, shrugging off strong quarterly GDP growth data released earlier in the day. Financial stocks took a hit, with Bank of the Philippine Islands down 1.1 percent as of 0459 GMT, while Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co fell 2.3 percent. Notwithstanding the Fed-driven selloff, analysts said the Philippine market had the potential to outperform. "The Philippines is strategically a good medium-term opportunity. They are expensive but they are growing quickly," said Sean Taylor, chief investment officer, Asia Pacific, Deutsche Asset Management. "The Philippines is Deutsche's most convincing overweight position among frontier market holdings." Singapore's Straits Times index was headed for its second session of falls, while Indonesia hit a near three-month low, with Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk PT and Ciputra Development Tbk PT shedding 1.1 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. For Asian Companies click ; STOCK MARKETS Change on day Market Current Previous Pct Move Close Singapore 2749.67 2777.11 -0.99 Bangkok 1392.44 1400.5 -0.58 Manila 7450.25 7534.3 -1.12 Jakarta 4700.815 4734.357 -0.71 Kuala Lumpur 1634.58 1635.72 -0.07 Ho Chi Minh 620.75 622.45 -0.27 Change on year Market Current End 2015 Pct Move Singapore 2750.55 2882.73 -4.59 Bangkok 1391.7 1288.02 8.05 Manila 7450.25 6952.08 7.17 Jakarta 4700.815 4593.008 2.35 Kuala Lumpur 1634.58 1692.51 -3.42 Ho Chi Minh 620.75 579.03 7.21 (Reporting by Bhumika Sahani; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) By Emily Flitter and Steve Holland NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republican presidential contender Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would renegotiate Americas role in the U.N. global climate accord, spelling potential doom for an agreement many view as a last chance to turn the tide on global warming. A pull-out by the worlds second biggest carbon-emitting country would hobble the deal reached in Paris last December by 177 nations, who for the first time in more than two decades found a common vision for curbing greenhouse gas emissions. "I will be looking at that very, very seriously, and at a minimum I will be renegotiating those agreements, at a minimum. And at a maximum I may do something else," the New York real estate mogul said in an interview with Reuters. "But those agreements are one-sided agreements and they are bad for the United States." Trump said he did not believe China, the worlds top emitter of the carbon dioxide gas that many scientists believe is contributing to global climate change, would adhere to its pledge under the Paris deal. Not a big fan because other countries dont adhere to it, and China doesnt adhere to it, and Chinas spewing into the atmosphere, he said. The accord to transform the world's fossil-fuel driven economy was a potent signal to investors. It seeks to limit a rise in global temperatures to less than 2 degrees Celsius through combined national pledges to cut emissions, and provide funding for developing nations to mitigate the damaging effects of a sea level rise and climate change. The Obama administration pledged a 26 to 28 percent domestic reduction in greenhouse gases by 2025 compared to 2005, while China promised it would halt increases in carbon emissions by 2030. Both countries have promised to ratify the deal this year. Many U.S. Republicans have found fault with the deal for overreacting to what they see as an uncertain threat. Former French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, who helped broker the deal, said this month that the U.S. election was critical to its future. "If a climate change denier was to be elected, it would threaten dramatically global action against climate disruption," he said. Trump has said that he believes global warming is a concept that was invented by China to hurt the competitiveness of U.S. business. One of his energy policy advisers is a climate change skeptic, U.S. Congressman Kevin Cramer of North Dakota. Hillary Clinton, the leading Democratic contender for the White House, has advocated shifting the country to 50 percent clean energy by 2030. The Paris agreement has an article built into it meant to protect countries in the accord in the event that a new government comes in and wants to dismantle it. The clause says any nation wanting to withdraw will first have to wait four years. U.S. chief climate envoy Jonathan Pershing said last week that regardless of the outcome of the U.S. election, other countries were likely to be bound by the pact. (Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici, writing by Richard Valdmanis, editing by Ross Colvin) By Andrew MacAskill and Jim Finkle LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England ordered UK banks to detail steps taken to secure computers connected to the SWIFT bank messaging network about two months after a still-unidentified group used the system to steal $81 million from Bank Bangladesh, according to three people familiar with the effort. The central bank sent the request to update cyber security measures to all banks it regulates in mid-to-late April, according to these people, who were not authorized to discuss the confidential communications. The previously unreported action marks the earliest known case of a central bank in a major economy to order its member banks to conduct a formal security review in response to the Bangladesh theft, which has shaken the global system for transferring money among both commercial and central banks. The Bank of England, one of the G10 central banks that oversee Brussels-based SWIFT, said it had no immediate comment. The FBI, authorities in Dhaka and private forensic experts are investigating the February cyber heist in Bangladesh where thieves raided a central bank account kept at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, stealing $81 million. They installed malware inside the bank's Dhaka headquarters that hid traces of their attack in a bid to delay discovery so they could access the funds, according to police and private security firms. The Bank of England told banks to conduct a "compliance check" to confirm whether they are following security practices recommended by SWIFT, which the firm recently reissued to members in the wake of the February heist, one of the people said. SWIFT declined to comment. The group has previously declined to release those guidelines, which were issued in private communications. The checks called for by the Bank of England include conducting what are known as user entitlement reviews, which ensure that only authorized staff have access to SWIFT applications and the service's messaging gateway, that person said. Banks were also told to review computer logs for digital evidence known as "indicators of compromise," including IP addresses and email addresses linked to recent attacks. Those indicators include technical details included in reports from several private cyber security firms, including Britain's BAE Systems PLC. The communication from the Bank of England asked banks to respond by early May and provide details about plans for installing a security update to SWIFT Alliance Access software, according to the person. The messaging group last month released the update and asked members to install by May 16 Meanwhile, Sweden's Riksbank on Wednesday called on all users of the central bank's RIX payments system for large transaction to follow the SWIFT recommendations, a central bank spokesman told Reuters. Earlier this week, Singapore's central bank asked banks to maintain a high level of security for their critical IT systems following recent cyber attacks using the SWIFT financial messaging system. In the Philippines, a senior central bank official said on Tuesday that regulators were crafting regulations to help banks and other financial institutions fend off cyber heists and minimize damage after any systems breach. (Reporting by Andrew MacAskill in London, Jim Finkle in Washington; Additional reporting by Daniel Dickson in Stockholm; editing by Edward Tobin) By Lisa Richwine and Dustin Volz (Reuters) - Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg heard from more than a dozen U.S. conservative leaders on Wednesday and said he will work to build trust with users who believe the social network displays politically biased news content. After a closed-door meeting at the company's Silicon Valley headquarters, Zuckerberg defended his company's practices but acknowledged that many conservatives believe Facebook is politically liberal. "It doesn't make sense for our mission or our business to suppress political content," Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook after the meeting. "I know many conservatives don't trust that our platform surfaces content without a political bias," he added. "I wanted to hear their concerns personally and have an open conversation about how we can build trust. " The editorial practices at the world's largest social network came under scrutiny after a former Facebook contractor anonymously accused editors there of deliberately suppressing conservative news. The allegations were reported by technology news website Gizmodo, which did not identify the ex-contractor. Facebook has denied the allegations and said it would conduct a full investigation. A Facebook spokeswoman said the meeting produced "a constructive discussion" and some attendees called it productive. "I think Facebook is very sincere in wanting to resolve outstanding issues with conservatives," Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, said after the meeting. Attendees were frank about their concerns, but the tone was cordial, Bozell said. "Facebook invited that frank talk. People didn't hold back too much," he said. On her Facebook page, conservative CNN commentator S.E. Cupp said the meeting had produced "strong commitments to address issues, as well as to work together on common goals." Other attendees included former White House press secretary Dana Perino, media personality Glenn Beck and former Republican Senator Jim DeMint. Zuckerberg said that while Silicon Valley has a reputation for being liberal, Facebook's 1.6 billion users span every background and ideology. "The reality is, conservatives and Republicans have always been an important part of Facebook," Zuckerberg wrote. Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has more Facebook fans than any other presidential candidate, he said. Fox News "drives more interactions on its Facebook page than any other news outlet in the world," Zuckerberg added. "It's not even close." Fox News is owned by Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox . Facebook employees who donate to presidential candidates lean Democratic. Seventy-nine percent of employee contributions to 2016 contenders went to Democrats, according to a Reuters analysis of campaign finance data, and 21 percent to Republicans. Zuckerberg has contributed to candidates in both parties. Sixty-percent of his donations during the 2014 midterm elections went to Republicans and 40 percent to Democrats. He has not supported a presidential candidate this cycle. Although a U.S. Senate committee is investigating whether there is liberal bias in selection of trending topics, there is little chance the government will try to regulate Facebook's practices, said Republican Senator John Thune, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. "I don't have any reason to believe that would be necessary," Thune told reporters on Tuesday. Thune sent a letter to Facebook last week to demand that it explain its editorial decision-making and how stories are chosen for the "trending topics" feature. He said his primary concern was that Facebook was potentially being deceptive about how its news feed curation algorithms work. Facebook last week released its guidelines for choosing trending topics, but the operations of the news feed algorithm remain closely guarded. Legal experts said the government has few tools to dictate how a private company makes news decisions. "As a legal matter, Facebook is not required to be even-handed," said Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. "Congress can't introduce something that tries to prohibit Facebook from making these kinds of choices." (Reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb and Dustin Volz; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Tom Brown) By Luke Mintz LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The first of more than 200 schoolgirls missing after being kidnapped by Boko Haram militants from Chibok in northeast Nigeria more than two years ago has been found, a parents' spokesman told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Wednesday. Lawan Zannah, secretary of the association of parents of missing Chibok girls, said teenager Amina Ali, carrying a baby, was found on Tuesday near the Sambisa forest. Here are five key facts about the Chibok schoolgirls: 1. On April 14, 2014, Boko Haram militants kidnapped 276 school girls, mostly aged between 16 and 18, from a secondary school in Chibok in Borno State, northeast Nigeria. About 50 of the girls escaped but 219 were captured. 2. Nigeria's government and military faced heavy criticism for their handling of the incident, with towns and cities across the nation witnessing protests. 3. The kidnappings prompted a strong social media reaction, with the phrase #bringbackourgirls tweeted around 3.3 million times by mid-May 2014. U.S. first lady Michelle Obama joined the campaign, as did Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Taliban after campaigning for girls' education. 4. Hope for the girls was briefly raised in April, 2015, when the Nigerian military announced it had rescued 200 girls and 93 women from the Sambisa forest. It was later revealed that the Chibok girls were not among them. 5. About 2,000 girls and boys have been kidnapped by Boko Haram since the beginning of 2014, according to Amnesty International, which says they are used as cooks, sex slaves, fighters and even suicide bombers. (Reporting by Luke Mintz, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit www.news.trust.org) HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's central bank said on Tuesday a failed hacking attempt on Tien Phong Bank (TPBank) using the SWIFT messaging system sought to fraudulently transfer 1.2 million euros ($1.36 million) to a Slovenian bank late last year in one transaction. The thwarted transfer on Dec. 8 was the only hack attempt via SWIFT detected by TPBank and no other Vietnamese lenders, or the central bank itself, have been affected, Le Manh Hung, head of the State Bank of Vietnam's Information Technology Department told Reuters in an interview. Interpol was immediately informed of the Dec. 8 attack, Hung said. A third-party vendor that TPBank had used to connect to the SWIFT money transfer system was possibly infected with malware and its servers were based in Singapore, Hung said, adding he did not know the identity of the vendor. ($1 = 0.8838 euros) (Reporting by Martin Petty and Mai Nguyen; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) Seven people were lucky to escape without injury from the blazing wreckage of a B-52 after it crashed on a US Air Force Base. The heavy bomber came down at Andersen Air Force Base in Yigo, a village in the Pacific island of Guam, at about 8.30am local time on Thursday. It had aborted takeoff before catching fire and crashing on the flight line of the base, according to a statement from Pacific Air Force public affairs. The plane had been deployed to Guam from North Dakota as part of the military's continuous bomber presence in the Pacific. Those on board were all with the 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron and performing a routine training mission. The US Air Force has been using B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit and B-52 Stratofortress bombers in Guam since 2004 to boost the American security presence in the Asia Pacific region. In 2008, another B-52 crashed off Guam while flying around the island as part of Liberation Day celebrations, killing all six crew members on board. Guam is a US territory about 3,700 miles from Hawaii. By Felix Onuah ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said he had ordered a heightened military presence in the restive Niger Delta region to deal with a resurgence of militant attacks on oil and gas facilities. The rise in attacks in the oil-rich southern region in the last few weeks have driven Nigerian oil output to a more than 20-year low. A group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers has claimed responsibility for most of them. Speaking at a meeting with a Shell executive who oversees the energy giant's global upstream operations, Buhari said he had instructed the chief of naval staff to reorganise and strengthen the military Joint Task Force to deal with the militancy. "We have to be very serious with the situation in the Niger Delta because it threatens the national economy," Buhari said. "I assure you that everything possible will be done to protect personnel and oil assets in the region," he added. On Thursday, intruders blocked access to Exxon Mobil's terminal exporting Qua Iboe, Nigeria's largest crude stream. And, earlier this month, Shell workers at Nigeria's Bonga facilities were evacuated following a militant threat. In February, the Niger Delta Avengers claimed an attack on an undersea pipeline, forcing Shell to shut a 250,000 barrel-a-day Forcados terminal. The group also claimed responsibility for blasting a Chevron platform in early May, shutting the Warri and Kaduna refineries. Power outages across Nigeria worsened as gas supplies were also affected. On Friday a locals said a gas pipeline operated by the state energy company had been attacked late on Thursday. The pipeline, which connects the Escravos oil terminal to Warri, supplies gas to different parts of the country. Eric Omare, a spokesman for the Ijaw Youth Council, said the attack occurred on Thursday around the village of Ogbe Ijoh, near Warri, "on the pipeline belonging to NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation). Local resident James Dadiowei said he heard a "loud bang" at the pipeline, but an NNPC spokesman was unable to confirm the attack. (Additional reporting by Tife Owolabi, in Yenagoa, and Anamesere Igboeroteonwu, in Onitsha; writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Alistair Bell) * Airbus A320 was carrying 56 passengers and 10 crew * Egyptian navy searching area of 5,000 sq miles * No sign of black boxes, 36 hours after disappearance * No cause, including terrorism, ruled in or out so far By Ahmed Aboulenein CAIRO, May 20 (Reuters) - Egypt said on Friday that its navy had found human remains, wreckage and the personal belongings of passengers floating in the Mediterranean, confirmation that an EgyptAir jet had plunged into the sea with 66 people on board. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi offered condolences for those on board, amounting to Egypt's official acknowledgement of their deaths, although there was still no explanation of why the Airbus had crashed. "The Egyptian navy was able to retrieve more debris from the plane, some of the passengers' belongings, human remains, and plane seats," the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. The navy was searching an area about 290 km (180 miles) north of Alexandria, just south of where the signal from the plane was lost early on Thursday. There was no sign of the bulk of the wreckage, or of a location signal from the "black box" flight recorders that are likely to provide the best clues to the cause of the crash. EgyptAir Chairman Safwat Moslem told state television that the current radius of the search zone was 40 miles, giving an area of 5,000 sq miles, but that it would be expanded as necessary. A European satellite spotted a 2 km-long oil slick in the Mediterranean, about 40 km southeast of the aircraft's last known position, the European Space Agency said. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to rule out any cause for the crash. The aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure, but offered no evidence. NO CLAIM Although early suspicion centered on Islamist militants who blew up another airliner over Egypt seven months ago, no group had claimed responsibility more than 36 hours after the disappearance of flight MS804, an Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo. Story continues CNN reported on Friday that flight data, from an automatic system called the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), suggested there were smoke alerts aboard the EgyptAir jet minutes before it crashed. ACARS routinely downloads flight data to the airline operating the aircraft. Two U.S. officials told Reuters an electronic sensor system had detected some kind of disturbance outside the jet around the time investigators believe it began falling from cruising altitude. They could not confirm CNN's report that smoke had been detected inside the cabin. One of the officials said the disturbance outside the aircraft may have been caused by its sudden and rapid breakup, but also could have been generated by some kind of mechanical fault or accident or a possible explosion or attack. The two officials asked for anonymity when speaking about the still-evolving investigation. Jihadists have been fighting Egypt's government since Sisi toppled an elected Islamist leader in 2013. In October, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for blowing up a Russian airliner that exploded after taking off from an Egyptian tourist resort. Russian investigators blamed a bomb smuggled on board. That crash devastated Egypt's tourist industry, one of the main sources of foreign exchange for a country of 80 million people, and another similar attack would crush hopes of it recovering. The plane vanished just as it was moving from Greek to Egyptian airspace control. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said it had swerved radically and plunged from 37,000 feet to 15,000 before vanishing from Greek radar screens. Officials from a number of U.S. agencies told Reuters that a U.S. review of satellite imagery so far had not produced any signs of an explosion. They said the United States had not ruled out any possible causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew. Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived in Cairo early on Friday, airport sources said. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, played down comments from U.S. figures including likely presidential nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton that terrorism was the most likely cause. "At this point, we still can't corroborate the theory that terrorism brought it down or there was some structural problem with the plane," he told CNN. "Certainly, the backdrop is suggestive of terrorism in the sense that we have the Russian plane in Sharm el-Sheikh and we have the aspiration we've seen time and time again, not only of ISIL (Islamic State) now but of AQAP (al Qaeda), still very potent and still very determined to bring down aircraft. "But the reality is, we don't have hard evidence that this was terrorism yet." FAMILY OF PILOTS Hardline Islamists have targeted airports, airliners and tourist sites in Europe, Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries over the past few years. Khaled al-Gameel, head of crew at EgyptAir, said the pilot, Mahamed Saeed Ali Shouqair, had 15 years' experience and was in charge of training and mentoring younger pilots. "He comes from a pilot family; his uncle was a high-ranking pilot at EgyptAir and his cousin is also a pilot," Gameel said. "He was very popular and was known for taking it upon himself to settle disputes any two colleagues were having." A Facebook page that appeared to be Shouqair's showed no signs of Islamist sympathies. It included criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood, repostings of articles supporting President Sisi and pictures of Shouqair wearing aviator sunglasses. Two former senior crash investigators said the list of possible causes remained wide open and noted there had been cases where deliberate action had been suspected wrongly. In 1996, a terrorism probe was launched after a TWA jumbo jet crashed off Long Island on the east coast of the United States, but investigators later found it had probably been brought down by a fuel tank explosion. The EgyptAir plane was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew. They included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals, along with citizens of 10 other countries. The aircraft had made scheduled flights to Tunisia and Eritrea on Wednesday before arriving in Paris from Cairo. (Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball; Writing by Lincoln Feast, Peter Graff and Kevin Liffey; Editing by Peter Millership and Tom Brown) LIMA (Reuters) - Peruvian presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori said on Monday a report linking her and a senior aide to money laundering was "dirty" politics and an attempt to smear her three weeks before a closely-fought election. The report broadcast on America Television on Sunday night featured comments from a man who was identified as a pilot and informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), who said the agency was investigating audio he recorded in 2013. In the audio, he said, the secretary general of Fujimori's Fuerza Popular party, Joaquin Ramirez, stated he had laundered $15 million for her during a previous political campaign. The report said it had verified with the DEA that the agency was investigating Ramirez. The U.S. anti-drugs agency said in a short statement on Monday "Keiko Fujimori is not currently, nor has been previously, under investigation by DEA." The DEA declined to confirm or deny any further allegations contained in the television report. Fujimori said she would ask the U.S. agency about the report but categorically denied she had given money to Ramirez. "Of course we will formally ask the DEA's opinion, if there really is such an investigation," Fujimori told local TV in Cusco, where she was campaigning ahead of the June 5 vote. "I have to be suspicious about this accusation...I think it's part of a dirty war." Property businessman Ramirez also denied the allegations, saying that he had met the supposed informant some years ago over a failed plane purchase deal. "It is being used politically to damage Keiko Fujimori's campaign," he told America Television in a telephone interview following the Sunday night report. Neither Fujimori nor Ramirez were immediately available for further comment. Most recent polls indicate that the daughter of disgraced former President Alberto Fujimori and her rival, centrist technocrat Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, are running neck and neck ahead of the June 5 run-off election. Although Fujimori easily won the first round of the election in April, she faces stiff opposition from Peruvians who say she is too closely associated with her father. Alberto Fujimori is serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses and corruption committed during his 1990-2000 government. (Reporting by Marco Aquino in Lima, Additional reporting by Julia Harte in Washington,; Writing by Rosalba O'Brien; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Andrew Hay) NIAMEY (Reuters) - Six people were killed on Friday in a village in southern Niger in an attack thought to have been carried out by Boko Haram militants, the Defence Ministry said. The six victims died from gunshot wounds or being burned alive, the ministry said. Another seven people were wounded in the attack and have been evacuated. The militants torched about 10 homes, the market and some cattle and stole two vehicles, the ministry said. A teacher in Bosso, 4 km (2.5 miles) from Yebi, said the attackers were young men who arrived on foot, horseback and camel. They filled up two pick-up trucks with food, he added. Mamadou Bako, Bosso's mayor, said the death toll could rise because security forces were searching through the rubble of burned homes. Niger's southern region of Diffa, which houses many refugees and internally displaced people who have sought to evade Boko Haram violence elsewhere, has been targeted numerous times in attacks blamed on the militants. The attack took place one day after the military announced the liberation of 97 girls and women from the Islamist group and three days after the rescue of a teenager who was among more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped from Chibok, northeast Nigeria, two years ago. The group, headquartered across the border in northeastern Nigeria, seeks to carve out an emirate and impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law. (Reporting by Boureima Balima; Writing by Marine Pennetier and Makini Brice) SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) has invited SWIFT for a meeting in June to discuss the latest cyber attacks on banks in Bangladesh and Vietnam which involved SWIFT's financial messaging service. The move comes as members of ABS, which include Singaporean and foreign banks, have individually engaged the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) since news of the attacks emerged, it said. "ABS, for its part, has invited SWIFT to a meeting in early June to share its experience in managing the incidents in Bangladesh and Vietnam," it said an email to Reuters. Earlier this week Singapore's central bank said it had asked banks to maintain a high level of security for their critical IT systems following recent cyber attacks involving the SWIFT financial messaging system. Other central banks such as Bank of England are also urging banks to increase cyber security. Representatives of SWIFT could not be immediately reached for comment. The FBI, authorities in Dhaka and private forensic experts are investigating the February cyber heist in Bangladesh where thieves raided a central bank account kept at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, stealing $81 million. They installed malware at Bangladesh Bank's Dhaka headquarters that hid traces of their attack to delay discovery so they could access the funds, according to police and private security firms. The theft was followed by attacks on other lenders in the region, with Vietnam's Tien Phong Bank saying earlier this week it had interrupted an attempted cyber heist that involved the use of fraudulent SWIFT messages. (Reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Christopher Cushing) By Jim Finkle and Sanjeev Miglani (Reuters) - SWIFT has rejected allegations by officials in Bangladesh that technicians with the global messaging system made the nation's central bank more vulnerable to hacking before an $81 million cyber heist in February. The comments were in response to a Reuters story that cited Bangladeshi police and a central bank official as saying that SWIFT technicians introduced security holes into the bank's network while connecting SWIFT to Bangladesh's first real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system. "SWIFT was not responsible for any of the issues cited by the officials, or party to the related decisions," the Brussels-based bank-owned cooperative said in a statement posted on its website on Monday. "As a SWIFT user like any other, Bangladesh Bank is responsible for the security of its own systems interfacing with the SWIFT network and their related environment starting with basic password protection practices in much the same way as they are responsible for their other internal security considerations," the statement said. But Bangladesh's main police investigator maintained there were loopholes in the way SWIFT carried out the integration of its network with the RTGS platform that left the central bank's computer systems vulnerable to hackers. Mohammad Shah Alam, the head of the criminal investigation department of the Bangladesh police, said the probe had identified specific deviations from set procedures that compromised Bangladesh Bank's security. "We stand by our investigation," he said in response to the comments by SWIFT. But he added he did not want to engage in a debate and urged greater international cooperation to identify the culprits behind one of the world's biggest cyber thefts. Reuters has not been able to independently verify the allegations by Bangladeshi officials about the SWIFT technicians. U.S. investigators suspect the involvement of employees of the Bangladesh Bank in helping the hackers breach the systems, the Wall Street Journal said, quoting people familiar with the matter. It said the Federal Bureau of Investigation had found evidence that at least one bank employee acted as an accomplice but there could be more who assisted the hackers in navigating around Bangladesh Bank's computer systems. NO SHARING OF EVIDENCE Bangladesh police said they have been looking for inside involvement in the heist from the beginning of the probe, but no evidence has turned up against anyone. Investigators say they think there was some level of local facilitation in the attack on the central bank's computers but haven't identified it as yet. "If the FBI has uncovered evidence, they should share with us," a police officer said. The revelations came ahead of a meeting on Tuesday in Basel, Switzerland, where Bangladesh Bank officials have said their governor and a lawyer appointed by the bank would discuss recovery of about $81 million stolen by hackers with the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a senior executive from SWIFT. The money was stolen from Bangladesh Bank's account at the New York Fed through fraudulent transfer orders sent on the SWIFT system. SWIFT's statement said it "looks forward to the meeting with Bangladesh Bank and New York Federal Reserve Bank officials in Basel on 10th May, when the banks security issues and these baseless allegations will be discussed." Bangladesh Bank officials have said they believed SWIFT, and the New York Fed, bear some responsibility for the February cyber heist. (Additional reporting by Serajul Quadir in DHAKA; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Raju Gopalakrishnan) By John Davison BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and allies including Lebanese Hezbollah fighters seized an extensive area southeast of Damascus from rebels on Thursday and fought other insurgents near a highway leading southwest, a monitoring group said. The advance is part of a wider escalation in fighting that has accompanied failed diplomatic efforts to end the five-year conflict. Syria's war has killed 250,000 people, created the worst refugee crisis since World War II, allowed for the rise of Islamic State and drawn in many regional and global powers. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was one of the most significant government advances this year, after its forces took territory in northwestern and central Syria. Insurgents have also advanced in some areas recently, including in Aleppo province. Hezbollah's Al Manar television said the fighting in Damascus's Eastern Ghouta suburbs was part of a new military operation by the Syrian army against the rebels. The fighting began early on Thursday when government forces and Hezbollah fighters captured the town of Deir al-Asafir, and then seized a number of other areas nearby, closing off a pocket of rebel control in Eastern Ghouta, the British-based Observatory said. Pro-opposition Orient News television reported that government forces had "taken complete control" of the southern part of Eastern Ghouta. The region has long been held by rebels. Most of Eastern Ghouta is still in rebel hands, but Thursday's gains could pave the way for further government and Hezbollah advances there, Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said. Government forces and their allies have recently sought to exploit rebel infighting in areas east of the Syrian capital. The insurgents have failed to halt that violence despite attempts at mediation. On Thursday hundreds of families fled Deir al-Asafir because of the intensity of the clashes between the government side and the rebels, the Observatory said. Hezbollah fighters played a key role in the assault, Abdulrahman said, which took place near to where the group's top military commander in Syria was recently killed by what it said was rebel shellfire. AIR RAIDS, BATTLES SOUTHWEST Separately, southwest of Damascus, the Syrian army and its allies pressed attacks to try to shore up control of a main highway running from the capital to southwestern Syria, including Quneitra province and the Golan Heights, the Observatory said. Government forces have carried out dozens of air raids around the town of Khan al-Shih, where rebel groups control areas straddling the highway, it said. Capture of Khan al-Shih would help secure control of the road, Abdulrahman said. The Syrian army said in a video report that rebels attacked the area first, and had been beaten back and driven from some of their positions by government forces. The Observatory did not immediately report significant advances. The fighting raged despite international attempts to revive a wider ceasefire in western Syria and restart peace talks. Fighting continues elsewhere in western Syria, including in Aleppo and Latakia provinces, and Islamic State is engaged in battles farther east separately against government forces, Kurdish fighters and a U.S.-led air campaign. (Additional reporting by Tom Perry; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) By James Pomfret and Clare Baldwin HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's number three official Zhang Dejiang said in Hong Kong on Wednesday that Beijing was aware of problems in the city but would respect Hong Kong's autonomy as protesters hit the streets to oppose Chinese attempts to squeeze local freedoms. Zhang's visit, which comes at a time of mounting political tensions in Hong Kong, is the first by a senior state leader since tens of thousands of people mounted a massive but ultimately unsuccessful push to pressure Beijing to grant full democracy during the 'Occupy Central' street protests in late 2014. Thousands of police were deployed across Hong Kong, preventing protesters from coming near Zhang as he toured a science park and a harbour front exhibition centre where he addressed an economic summit. "The argument that the Central Government is trying to turn Hong Kong into mainland (China), or to turn 'one country, two systems' into 'one country, one system' is totally baseless," Zhang said during an evening banquet, in unusually direct comments from a state leader on recent challenges and tensions in Hong Kong. Zhang also addressed the trend of more radical activists forming political groupings and staging disruptive protests to call for greater Hong Kong nationalism and even independence from China; an issue that might become more mainstream when city-wide legislative council elections are held in September. The idea of Hong Kong independence is anathema to Beijing, which fears any separatist or sweeping democratic demands spilling into China to undermine its rule. Zhang conceded that a small minority of people in Hong Kong had been calling for independence, but said China would "unswervingly" maintain the current "one country two systems" model of governance for Hong Kong, that guarantees a high degree of autonomy in Hong Kong since it switched from British to Chinese rule in 1997. While the recent suspected kidnapping of a bookseller in Hong Kong by Chinese security agents had undermined public and diplomatic confidence in the city's autonomy, Zhang stressed the rule of law was a "core value" and that if this bottom line was compromised, "how do we continue the prosperity and stability?" A feature of Zhang's trip has also been repeated pledges of a more engaged Beijing actively listening to public concerns about Hong Kong's core relationship with China. "For the problems that are being exposed now, some are new and some have been around for years and there won't be an immediate solution. But we can't question, feel hesitant, or even deny 'one country, two systems' because of that," Zhang said. Despite a massive police presence, small, scattered groups of protesters took to the streets at various locations to demand Beijing respect the city's freedoms. A massive yellow banner was unfurled from a hilltop demanding full democracy, while others held up black banners calling for China to end its "dictatorial rule" and to "stop interfering with Hong Kong affairs". A few others burnt a portrait of Zhang and called on him to "get the hell out of Hong Kong" Some pro-Beijing groups, however, denounced the democracy activists for jeopardizing Hong Kong's economic interests by opposing Beijing, and held up blue banners with the words: "Oppose splitting up Hong Kong." Zhang, the head of China's parliament, the National People's Congress and Beijing's point person on Hong Kong affairs, leaves Hong Kong on Thursday. (Additional reporting by Stella Tsang, Donny Kwok, Tara Joseph, Yimou Lee; Editing by Dominic Evans) By Gabriela Baczynska and Paul Taylor BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is set to miss an end-June deadline to grant visa-free travel to Turkey because of a dispute over Turkish anti-terrorism law, barring an improbable sudden concession by President Tayyip Erdogan, EU officials and diplomats say. The main reward for Ankara's collaboration in choking off an influx of migrants into Europe may now come at the earliest in July but more likely not until the autumn, they say. The 28-nation bloc is dependent on Ankara to enforce a deal, criticized by rights groups, that has sharply cut the number of refugees and migrants reaching Greece, giving EU leaders breathing space after more than a million arrived last year. However, there is no sign for now of the deal falling apart. Allowing Turks to visit Europe's 26-nation Schengen area visa-free for up to three months is unpopular in many EU states, including France, where authorities fear it could be a gift to anti-immigration populist Marine Le Pen in elections next year. Ankara has yet to meet five of the 72 requirements for visa liberalization, according to the executive European Commission, which proposed this month relaxing travel rules for Turks if Turkey fulfilled those benchmarks by the end of June. But the European Parliament, which must approve the visa decision, has refused to start work on the proposal until Ankara meets the criteria in full. Parliament President Martin Schulz said he did not see that happening before the end of June. "De facto a decision in June is not possible anymore," said an EU source familiar with the negotiations. Lawmakers could still theoretically vote on the plan at their final plenary session on July 4-7, but more likely after the summer break. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who won the June target date as part of the wider migration deal in March, is being replaced after losing a power struggle with Erdogan, who has refused to amend anti-terror laws to meet the EU criteria. Erdogan's main priority is to change the constitution to secure extensive presidential rule and he has said October would also be acceptable for visa liberalization. "An October scenario is possible, but also July. Let's see how the Turks comply," another EU source said. Meanwhile, Turkey continues to stop migrants leaving its shores and both sides have a vital interest in keeping the deal alive. EU SEES BALL IN TURKEY'S COURT The EU says Turkey must narrow its definition of terrorist crimes, which leads to extensive application of the law against intellectuals, Kurdish sympathizers and critics of Erdogan, including dozens of journalists and academics. Turkey has repeatedly declined to do so, saying the law is crucial to its fight with Kurdish and Islamic State militants. The EU is now waiting to see what a new government will do on the outstanding criteria after a meeting of the ruling AK Party on Sunday picks a new prime minister, diplomats said. "We've been through this before," said another EU official with long experience of negotiating with Ankara. "It's not the first time there has been quite provocative talk from the Turkish side, then we sat down and found a way forward." Sources in Brussels stress that the Commission's report said Turkey should "better align" - rather than "fully align" - its counter-terrorism regulation with EU norms, including to bring in more proportionality in punishment for any violations. That offers room for compromise. Keeping the migration accord on track is a key priority for several EU member states, especially the bloc's biggest power, Germany, which took in most of the 1.3 million refugees and migrants who reached Europe last year. The EU also promised revitalized EU accession talks and an initial 3 billion euros in aid for Syrian refugees in Turkey in return for Ankara's help on migration, and it has taken steps recently to speed up disbursement. Turkey is only due to start issuing the advanced biometric passports required for visa-free travel in October. No Turks yet have the new generation of passports, EU officials say. Given the European Parliament's tough stance on human rights and public anxiety in several EU states about granting visa-free entry to a largely Muslim population of 79 million, the room for compromise is limited. "We've got to get something that is more than a symbolic gesture from them on terrorism. The market will demand it," the first EU source said. (Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Paul Taylor and Gareth Jones) (Reuters) - Major U.S. banks are scrutinizing security of the SWIFT messaging network following cyber attacks in Bangladesh and Vietnam involving fraudulent transfer requests, according to media reports on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co has limited SWIFT access to some employees amid questions about the breaches at two Asian banks, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The actions are not tied to a specific concern about JPMorgan's vulnerability to SWIFT, but are part of its policy to review user access to certain systems following news of a security threat, The Wall Street Journal said, citing a person familiar with the bank. Representatives with JPMorgan could not immediately be reached for comment. Brussels-based SWIFT is a cooperative owned by some 3,000 global financial institutions. Separately, Bloomberg News reported that major U.S. banks want SWIFT to boost security in the wake of the attacks, which involved fraudulent transfer requests sent over SWIFT's private bank messaging system. Some U.S. banks want to discuss with SWIFT whether it responded quickly enough to the breaches and if it should help banks better secure their systems, Bloomberg cited one unidentified source as saying. Some U.S. banks expect SWIFT to come up with a technological solution to reduce the risk of further attacks, the report cited a second unidentified source as saying. SWIFT codes for at least seven international banks were written into malware used in an attack that Vietnam's Tien Phong Bank disclosed over the weekend, Bloomberg reported, citing a private report published by BAE Systems PLC . The malware was configured to hide transaction messages involving those banks, Bloomberg reported. It said they included Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd <601398.SS>, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd [MTFGTU.UL], UniCredit SpA , Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd , United Overseas Bank Ltd of Singapore, South Koreas Kookmin Bank [KOOKM.UL] and Japans Mizuho Bank Ltd [MZFGAE.UL]. The revelations that such banks were mentioned in the code raised concerns of global lenders because they show that the attackers were not focussing solely on small banks in developing nations, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with several banks in the U.S. and Europe. A SWIFT spokeswoman declined comment on both reports. (Reporting by Jim Finkle; Edited by Steve Orlofsky and Leslie Adler) U.S. Navy P-3 Orion Maritime patrol aircraft Two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a US Navy aircraft that was flying in a "routine patrol" over the South China Sea on Wednesday, a US Defense Department spokesman said in a written statement. "Two tactical aircraft from the People's Republic of China" intercepted the plane, said Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza, according to NBC. "Initial reports characterized the incident as unsafe." The J-11 Chinese fighter jets apparently flew roughly 50 feet from the US plane, a Navy P-3 Orion aircraft. China has asserted territorial claims over the South China Sea, which has large oil and natural-gas deposits and has also been claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Washington has not recognized China's claims to the waters, and has accused Beijing, which is allegedly building islands there, of "militarizing" the area. China has created over 3,000 acres of land in the Spratly Islands, around which the US has conducted "freedom of navigation" patrols that have irritated China. south china sea map "Our long-standing position is unchanged we do not take a position on competing sovereignty claims to naturally formed land features in the South China Sea," a senior Obama administration official said last month. "We routinely conduct such operations throughout the world to challenge maritime claims that would unlawfully restrict rights and freedoms provided in international law. This applies to the South China Sea as well," the official added. Xi Jinping, China's president, told US President Barack Obama in April that China considers the patrols a violation of Chinese sovereignty a point reiterated later by China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, in an interview with Reuters. "China consistently respects and supports the freedom of navigation and flyover that all countries enjoy in the South China Sea under international law," Hong said, "but resolutely opposes any country using so-called 'freedom of navigation' as an excuse to damage China's sovereignty, security and maritime rights." Story continues NOW WATCH: This is why US aircraft carriers are a force to be reckoned with More From Business Insider By Martin Petty and Matt Spetalnick HANOI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With police watching his home around the clock, Vietnamese blogger Huynh Ngoc Chenh sneaked out through a back door and reappeared the next day in a public square to hold a one-man, anti-government protest. But having been given the slip once, police wasted no time in nabbing him after only five minutes. It was one of many free-speech experiments squashed by Vietnam's communist government, underscoring the dilemma U.S. President Barack Obama has ahead of a visit on Monday in which human rights will be central to decisions about how far Washington is willing to engage its former enemy. Chenh got lucky. Unlike many dissidents, he was not arrested for Sunday's demonstration in Ho Chi Minh City, which got him 12,000 Facebook "likes" for making a stand against what he calls an endemic problem of abusive police. "There are six men watching my house right now," said Chenh, 64, who was escorted home and told to stay there. "Sometimes, they stop me from leaving, other times they let me go out but they follow me everywhere." His sit-in came as rights groups and activists accuse police of using heavy-handed measures to stop protests held in cities the past two Sundays to demand government answers over an unexplained environmental disaster that caused mass fish deaths last month. The timing of protests could not be worse for Vietnam. The White House on Thursday said Obama was still grappling with a decision on whether to lift a lethal arms embargo on Hanoi, one of the last vestiges of the Vietnam War. The United States has been clear that its removal hinges on progress on rights. Vietnam wants closer military ties and access to U.S. defence technology as a deterrent against Beijing's assertiveness in the South China Sea, over which the neighbours are bitterly at odds. Though that fits in with the U.S. strategy of containing China, Vietnam's jailing and intimidation of dissidents remains an obstacle to Washington's push to turn its former enemy into its newest Asian ally. Obama's top Asia adviser Daniel Kritenbrink on Wednesday told reporters human rights would be a key factor in "whatever arms sales decisions we may or may not make". Obama will not try to duck the issue. He is expected to meet dissidents and will address human rights in Vietnam "both publicly and in private", Kritenbrink said. THORNY ISSUE The issue is taboo for Vietnam's government, which did not respond to Reuters questions about the extent to which rights improvements had been made. The United States has been watching closely and is familiar with the Communist Party's boldest opponents, including Nguyen Quang A, an intellectual who met U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski last week. Quang A was among several dissidents named in a scathing, documentary-like news report broadcast on state television on Sunday that accused them of masterminding recent protests intended to violently overthrow the government. The arms embargo is contentious, with support in Washington for countries threatened by China's rise, but misgivings about losing leverage with Vietnam if too many concessions are given to a government that New-York-based Human Rights Watch described in a letter to Obama as "among the most repressive in the world". Loretta Sanchez, a Democrat on the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam, said the United States should be wary of "giving a free pass to a government that continually harasses, detains and imprisons its citizens". Republican Senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Hanoi who backed the easing of the embargo in 2014, said sales of technology for Vietnam's maritime security should be unrestricted, but the transfer of other arms should be case-by-case and linked to human rights progress. "There's still repression," McCain told Reuters. "Yes, there's been improvement but there's still quite a way to go." Obama will meet Vietnam's new president, Tran Dai Quang, who until recently ran the Ministry of Public Security, a powerful police-run agency that U.S. rights envoy Malinowski last year said "holds the key" to how far U.S-Vietnam ties could advance. But political analyst Le Hong Hiep said it was unlikely rights would constrain ties that are strengthening rapidly, as the United States had "other more vital interests" at stake. "It remains an issue of low politics at a time when issues of high politics such as strategic cooperation, and joint efforts to check China's ambitions in the South China Sea, have been placed much higher in bilateral agenda," he said. (This story has been refiled to fix wording in paragraph nine) (Editing by Robert Birsel) We can help you make sense of the agribusiness industry, extending from chemicals and fertilizers used as inputs into agriculture, to the commodities, food and by-products that are an output to farming, with policy and regulation applied at every step of the value chain. BlackRock Alternatives has raised $4.5bn in the first close of its fourth Global Infrastructure Fund, which is more than half its targeted size. YEREVAN, MAY 19, ARMENPRESS. The Chamber of Deputies (parliament) of Chile issued a resolution passed unanimously that condemns the armed attack of Azerbaijan against the Nagorno Karabakh Republic on May 19, Armenpress reports the Twitter page of MFA Armenia informs. The full text of the resolution reads as follows, On the night of 1 to 2 of last April, ground forces and air of the Republic of Azerbaijan conducted a large-scale attack on the border with the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, with heavy artillery and last generation missiles. This aggression represents the most flagrant violation of the Ceasefire Agreement signed by both countries in May 1994 and a breach of UN rules on Pacific Settlement of Disputes. Faced with this new escalation of violence that has already claimed numerous civilian and military casualties victims, Chile condemns the aggression, calls for the cessation of military operations and the continuation of the peace negotiations within the framework of the Minsk Group, whose co-presidents are the United States, Russia and France, sponsored by the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The international community and the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh argue that the conflict, which has more than two decades, can only be solved by peaceful means and respecting the rules of international law and the right of self-determination of its people. The Chamber of Deputies of Chile Resolves: 1. Reaffirms its commitment to peace and urges the Republic of Azerbaijan for the immediate cessation of all acts of war against the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and the strict observance of the truce signed by both countries in 1994 2. Requests the Government of Chile to urge the parties to circumscribe the conflict settlement within the framework of the negotiations held in the Minsk Group, and thus avoiding a regional explosion with unpredictable consequences. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Armenpress news agency presents the upcoming news for 20.05.2016. Today on May 20 Economic Opportunities Week business conference will continue within the framework of which New Perspectives for Syrian-Armenians exhibition is being held. Armenian Minister of Economy Artsvik Minasyan, Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Armenia Matthias Kiesler will summarize the works of the two-day conference. ARMBRAND national partner system organizes Brand day-2016 annual business conference over the topic of Turkish goods and the Armenian market. A short introduction about the selling of the Turkish goods in the Armenian market will be presented which will be followed by speeches and discussions over that issue. The participants will have an opportunity to express their opinions and suggestions on the following questions: Is there an alternative to the Turkish goods. What hinders the Armenian producers? The problems and solutions of the development of the Armenian trademarks. The National Assembly Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs initiates parliamentary hearings over the issue of Legislative and enforcement issues of the road traffic safety. The staff of the Public Service Regulatory Commission of Armenia carried out its calculations over gas tariffs. Today the Commission will present its calculation results and will discuss them with the organizations protecting the consumer rights. This year marks 400th anniversary of Shakespeare. In this regard, numerous ceremonies are being held in various countries. The British Council joins the world ceremonies and organizes Shakespeare lives in the metro project in Yerevan subway stations. Follow us on TWITTER and FACEBOOK. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The European Parliament will host a discussion on May 31 on Armenian Genocide Recognition: Restoration of Cultural Heritage. Armenian National Committee liaison for Europe Peto Demirjian informed the discussion is organized by the Committee with the assistance of MEP Charles Tannock. Last year during the events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the issue of actively resuming the works of genocide consequences elimination and reparations was raised. This discussion in the EP is the beginning, similar discussions will be continuous, P. Demirjian said. According to him, these discussions will contribute to the creation of ways of restoring the heritage which was lost by the Genocide. Turkish attorney Cem Sofuoghlu, who is involved in the Sis Catholicosate expropriation issue and Geoffrey Robertson, attorney of the Perincek case will take part in the discussions. Demirjyan also said Swedish academician, Professor Ove Bring is also invited to the discussions. Bring will speak about the ways of demanding economic compensation from Turkey. Reporter Guillaume Perrier, author of the Armenian Phantom book, will also speak during the discussion. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. A U.S. review of satellite imagery so far has not produced any signs of an explosion aboard the EgyptAir flight that crashed on May 19 en route from Paris to Cairo, officials from multiple U.S. agencies told Reuters, reports the Business Insider. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the conclusion was the result of a preliminary examination of imagery and cautioned against media reports suggesting the United States believed a bomb was responsible for the crash. The United States has not ruled out any possible causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew, they said. An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo has disappeared from radars on May 19. 56 passengers, seven crew members and three security personnel were on board Flight MS804. The Airbus A320 was flying at 37,000ft (11,300m) when it went missing over the eastern Mediterranean. An official said the plane lost contact with radar at 02:45 Cairo time (00:45 GMT). EgyptAir says search and rescue teams have been deployed. EgyptAir says the plane disappeared about 10 miles (16km) into Egyptian air space and the relevant authorities have been notified. Greece's defence minister says Flight MS804 made "sharp turns" and plunged before dropping off the radar. A major search is under way in seas south of the Greek island of Karpathos. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. More American voters trust Donald Trump to do a better job than Hillary Clinton on the issue most say will decide their vote this year: the economy. But, Clinton tops Trump in other key areas, including foreign policy -- and nuclear weapons, reports Fox News. Thats according to a new Fox News national poll on top issues in the 2016 election. Relatively few voters, 26 percent, feel theyre better off now compared to before President Barack Obama took office. So it should be no surprise about four voters in 10 -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- say the economy will be the issue that decides their vote for president (39 percent). No other issue comes close. Heres how the others rank: 14 percent say national security will be most important in their vote, 10 percent each for education and health care, and 8 percent each for immigration and social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. Voters trust Trump to do a better job on the top two. He bests Clinton by 12 points on both the economy (53-41 percent) and terrorism (52-40 percent). The poll, released Thursday, was conducted prior to news of an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo crashing in the Mediterranean Sea. Meanwhile, Clinton has the edge on social issues (+12 points), education (+10), foreign policy (+10), health care (+3), and immigration (+2). Trump is the candidate voters believe will do a better job telling the truth to the American people (+15 points), managing tax dollars (+14 points), and restoring trust in government (+8 points). Trust of the candidates is about equal when it comes to using military force (Trump +1), nominating Supreme Court justices (Clinton +1), and encouraging values you believe in (Clinton +2). Immigration is a signature issue for Trump, but more voters not only trust Clinton to handle it, but she is also picked by a 35-point margin on representing the views of Latinos. Nearly one in five (17 percent) says agreeing on immigration issues is a deal-breaker for them when deciding their vote for president. That increases to 29 percent among Hispanic/Latino voters. But who would voters trust with the nuclear codes? Thats Clinton, by 11 points (49-38 percent). From the beginning of his campaign, Trump has said he would build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. People believe him. By a 54-42 percent margin, voters think Trump truly will build the wall. By 50-44 percent, they believe he will forcibly deport illegal immigrants. Those who plan to vote for Trump (66 percent) are more likely than Clinton supporters (46 percent) to think hell build the wall. At the same time, Trump voters (43 percent) are less likely than those backing Clinton (60 percent) to think hell forcibly deport illegal immigrants. Overall, voters are more likely than not to believe Trump will nominate a conservative to the Supreme Court (65-22 percent) and ban non-U.S. Muslims (58-37 percent). The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 1,021 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from May 14-17, 2016. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points for all registered voters. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in the Presidential Palace. Armenpress reports, Sargsyan and Medvedev had a private conversation. The Presidential Administration will release the details of the meeting. Medvedev visited Armenia to participate in the regular session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council on May 20 where the heads of the Governments of the EAEU member states will take part. A wide range of issues related to the integration cooperation will be discussed during the session. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Head of the National Assembly ARF faction Armen Rustamyan says in order to restart the negotiations over the settlement of the Nagono Karabakh conflict, Armenia must set two concrete preconditions for Azerbaijan which are the maintenance of the ceasefire regime and participation on the NKR in the negotiations. If the agreements reached in Vienna will be implemented in the nearest future, in particular, when the investigative mechanisms of the incidents will be installed in the line of contact, guarantees will be created that Azerbaijan will maintain the ceasefire, the OSCE Representatives group will expand, the violations will be recorded, only in that case we can speak about the new round, Armenpress reports, he said this during the briefing. At the same time, the head of the ARF faction stated that even during that time we cannot talk about negotiations since there cannot be any negotiations without the participation of the NKR. We cannot consider the meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan negotiations. These are meetings for preparing the negotiations. We can talk about negotiations only when the Nagorno Karabakh will return to the negotiation table. Only that time the negotiation process will become complete, MP stated. Armen Rustamyan added that Azerbaijans blitzkrieg was subjected to fiasco during the four-day war. They present their failure as a victory, but even if it is a victory, it is a Pyrrhic victory, since the lost was much more than they expected. They were trying with that blitzkrieg to solve several issues, to create a new line of contact, however, they failed, MP stated. Referring to the talks over concession issues MP said there is no need to talk about the concessions since Azerbaijan never talked about it. He also referred to the talks about the lost territories of the Armenian side during the four-day war and the calls of taking those territories back. MP said as long as the state of war continues, there can be constant changes in the line of contact. Why do we use the expression of line of contact since there do not exist clear borders, and as long as the state of war continues, this line of contact can be changed. The line of contact has always been changed during these years and it will change since there is no basis to think that the war ended. We have also taken several territories under our control without announcing that. These have not been publicized, and there is no need to publicize these, however, I say the truth, head of the ARF faction stated. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Arman Navasardyan welcomes the existence of consensus between three chairing countries. Referring to the meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Vienna on May 16, Arman Navasardyan said the three big states stand for the peaceful settlement of the conflict. We should notice something very important in this matter: the clear political stance of these three states against Turkey since it is the state which is against the peaceful settlement of the conflict and only speaks about solving the conflict with militarist means. Concerning Russia, I think that it refuses or fears from its dominating position which it has in the South Caucasus, especially in the Karabakh issue. It, of course, has its reasons such as problems in the external policy, the Syrian issue, the Ukrainian crisis, several actions of the NATO in the eastern parts that are directed against Russia, so the situation is quite serious. And it seems that these changes encourage the Minks Group other chairs to some extent to activate their actions over the Karabakh issue, Ambassador stated. He highlighted that he is not excited with this meeting, however, at the same time, he does not want to be pessimistic. In any case, negotiations are better than war, but whether the war will end, whether Azerbaijan will not continue the military operations. Frankly to say, I doubt. According to him, Armenias major aim must be to return Karabakh to the negotiation table. We should do everything to make it reality, and then the next step will be the recognition issue which is also important. I think that today the recognition of the Nagrno Karabakh is connected with a great risk. However, we do not have a right to refuse from it. YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The regular session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council took place in Yerevan on May 20. Narrow format session of the Council was followed by an expanded format. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the Armenian Government, Prime Minister of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan greeted the present and mentioned that in the current phase of the development of the EAEU a dynamic tendency of establishing common service and good market is evident. Solid contractual basis are set and mechanisms for deepening the partnership are being elaborated. The coordinated work in this direction will undoubtedly contribute to the social-economic development of our countries, will increase the competitiveness of our economies and their place in the global economy, Hovik Abrahamyan said. The Armenian PM highlighted the expansion of cooperation in international and other formats, as well as EAEUs closer economic cooperation with third countries which will boost the development of the Union. In this context, the PM focused on the issue of cooperation with China, noting that the ratification of a legal document of partnership with China will not only boost trade volumes, but will also attract investments for the implementation of major projects, as well as diversify logistic capacities. From this perspective, Hovik Abrahamyan referred to the Chinese initiative of creating the Silk road economic zone, which will link Europe and Asia through different routes, including through Armenia, India and Iran. PM Abrahamyan stated that Armenia, being the only EAEU member state sharing land border with Iran, is ready to assist the implementation of the project. Hovik Abrahamyan also spotlighted the issue of establishing common EAEU markets, which will help to eliminate the still existing obstacles facing the movement of goods, as well as accelerate the pace and volumes of economic cooperation between the member states of the Union. Hovik Abrahamyan particularly emphasized the importance of creating a common crude and oil market. The Prime Ministers of the Union member states introduced their proposals and priorities, as well as discussed issues of deepening the existing partnership. Establishment of a common crude and oil market, cooperation with third countries, rapid adoption of the EAEU Customs Code were the main issues of the agenda. A number of documents regulating better partnership between the countries were signed. An agreement was reached to hold the next meeting of the Council on August 12, in Sochi. "We are declaring a food emergency in our state," said Henrique Capriles, the governor of Miranda state (AFP Photo/Federico Parra) Caracas (AFP) - Foreign mediators trying to bring crisis-hit Venezuela back from the abyss announced a bid to get embattled President Nicolas Maduro's government and the opposition to sit down for talks. But the "national dialogue" initiative, unveiled by former Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in a Caracas news conference, will be an uphill battle given the unrelenting antagonism and obstinancy shown so far by both sides, and Venezuela's economic meltdown. Indeed, both sides dug in hours after the talks were announced. "It is a long, hard and difficult path," Zapatero admitted, urging support from the international community. "We must be prudent" about the chances of success, he said. The opposition coalition issued a statement saying the talks must focus on a recall referendum that it is orchestrating against Maduro. Maduro has previously dismissed the proposed vote as "not valid" and vowed it will not go ahead. On the mediated talks, he said Thursday evening he hoped they would lead the opposition to drop their "coup-oriented attitude." Maduro said it remains to be seen if the opposition "will collaborate in a process of dialogue so the country can overcome its problems and we Venezuelans can move forward in peace." The attempted mediation is taking place under a national state of emergency ordered by Maduro but rejected by the opposition-controlled congress. The decree gives sweeping powers to security forces to impose public order and help distribute food in a country plagued by shortages of basic goods like soap and toilet paper. The Supreme Court upheld the order as constitutional Thursday evening "given the extraordinary social, economic, political, natural and ecological circumstances that are gravely affecting the national economy." On Friday and Saturday, Venezuela's military will also be conducting war games ordered by Maduro to show preparedness against what he says are mounting internal and foreign security threats, particularly from the United States. Story continues Zapatero is leading the mediation team, which also comprises the former presidents of Panama and the Dominican Republic, Martin Torrijos and Leonel Fernandez. They have been in Caracas since Tuesday, at the invitation of Maduro. On Thursday they had separate meetings with the Venezuelan president and with opposition leaders. - Protests back recall vote - Operating under the aegis of the Union of South American Nations, a body meant to defuse regional crises and promote cooperation, they were to have participated in a "truth commission" set up last month by Maduro. But their remit changed with the climbing political tensions. On Wednesday, anti-Maduro protests in two dozen Venezuelan cities including Caracas resulted in some 30 arrests and half a dozen police reportedly injured. In the capital, riot police fired tear gas to prevent some 1,000 protesters from reaching the National Electoral Council (CNE) to demand it validate a petition meant to trigger the recall referendum. The opposition says there are more than 1.8 million signatures on the petition -- far more than needed for the vote to take place -- and accuses the CNE of stalling. The opposition leader has called on the army to join his side and for the public to defy Maduro's state of emergency. "The people want to RECALL you!" opposition leader Henrique Capriles tweeted at Maduro. The Venezuelan president has vowed to harden the emergency measures if violence challenges his authority. "I will not hesitate" to ratchet up the state of emergency "to fight for the peace and security of this country," Maduro said Wednesday. - US 'deeply troubled' - His decree came into effect this week for an initial period of 60 days, but Maduro has said it will probably be renewed through next year. Maduro blames the US and the "fascist" right in his country for the adversity he faces. He called the military exercises to show his country's preparedness against foreign "armed intervention." The worsening situation has exacerbated international concern. The US State Department said it was "deeply troubled" by it, with spokesman John Kirby expressing concern at reports of "excessive use of force and violence against protesters." Senior US intelligence officials said last week they believe the South American nation could be on the verge of public revolt. The head of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, has said Maduro would be considered yet another "petty dictator" if he continued to reject the referendum. According to recent polls, 70 percent of Venezuelans want a new government. Published On May 20, 2016 03:05 PM By Nabeel Hyundai is celebrating its twenty years in the Indian market. What started out as a success story with the Santro in 1998, is now the second largest carmaker and the largest exporter of cars in India. To showcase gratitude to its customers, Hyundai is organising a free check-up with discounts across the country. The checkups will be held in places such as malls, residential societies, parking lots and petrol pumps, and hence will be easily accessible to general public. The Mega Experience Hyundai Program will be held on May 22, 2016 at 567 locations in 324 cities across India. The programme will let Hyundai customers experience varied services and products as well as appreciate the brand. The Mega Experience Hyundai Program will provide free eighteen point check-up and during this customers will be given scratch cards with benefits on labour charges, services, free car wash etc. These benefits can be availed within given time period on visiting the same dealership. There will also be customer engagement activities such as face painting, games, free basic health check-up for the visiting customers alongside providing test drive of Hyundai cars. Commenting on the initiative Mr. Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice president, Sales & Marketing, HMIL, said, Being a customer centric and caring brand, the Mega Experience Hyundai Program is our initiative to reinforce the bond with our valued customers. Hyundai Motor India is committed to reach out to customers, comprehend their needs & become a lifetime partner and beyond. Hyundai recently launched a twenty year Xcent Special Edition at INR 6.22 lakhs. It has several cosmetic and feature upgrades namely -- a 6.2-inch touchscreen audio system and a 20th anniversary badge at the rear with chrome lining at a few places. Also Read: Hyundai Celebrates Its 20th Birthday In India Modified On May 20, 2016 12:21 PM By Nabeel for Maruti Ciaz Good news for the residents of the national capital as the Government has reduced the VAT on electric and hybrid cars from twenty four per cent to 12.5 per cent. As a result, both the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and the Ertiga, with the Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki (SHVS) tech have become cheaper. All the diesel variants of these cars come with the SHVS tech and hence, have seen a dip in prices upto INR 69,000. Also, these cars are exempted from the odd-even rule. The Ertigas price has been reduced by INR 51,000 to 62,000 whereas the Ciaz has witnessed a drop of INR 55,000 to 69,000, depending on their respective variants. The Ertigas base variant which was earlier priced at INR 7.59 lakhs now costs 7.08 lakhs and the top variant which was priced at INR 9.28 lakhs is now available for INR 8.66 lakhs. The Ciaz VDi variant which used to cost INR 8.23 lakhs is now priced at INR 7.68 lakhs and the top RS variant which used to cost INR 10.18 lakhs is now priced at 9.49 lakhs. The Ciaz and the Ertiga feature the same engine lineup. The petrol mill is a 1.4-litre unit which generates 92PS of power alongside 130Nm of torque. The diesel mill is a 1.3-litre unit which produces 90PS power with 200Nm of torque. Both the cars have the option of a four-speed automatic transmission in the petrol variants. The diesel mill is mated to the SHVS technology which enables the car to have the idle stop-start feature and brake energy regeneration. This qualifies the car as a hybrid. As a result of the SHVS tech, the Ciaz and the Ertiga diesel variants have a claimed fuel efficiency of 28.09 and 24.52 kmpl, respectively. This is a good move by the Government as it will encourage the carmakers to introduce similar technologies in cars. Not only do these systems increase fuel efficiency, but also add to the torque and performance of the cars. Also Read: Maruti Suzuki Ciaz SHVS RS: Expert Review Read More on : Maruti Ciaz Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has traveled far and wide in his two years in office in a bid to raise India's global profile and make it an attractive option for international investors. It was, then, inevitable he would turn his attention to the Middle East - a region rife with conflict but rich in cash and natural resources. As Prime Minister, Modi's first visit to the region was in 2015, when he visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Subsequently in April 2016, Modi met Saudi Arabia's King Salman in Riyadh. Modi has also met several leaders in the region at the sidelines of global conferences. On Sunday, May 22, the Indian Prime Minister will embark on a two-day visit to long-time partner Iran, while local media reports suggested a visit to Qatar was also on the cards in the next few months. Most experts point to oil as a key reason for India's continued engagement with the region. "The Middle East is of vital importance for India's energy security, providing around 60 percent of India's oil imports and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports," Rajiv Biswas, chief economist for Asia Pacific at IHS told CNBC. Countries in the Middle East accounted for 50 percent of India's top 10 import sources of crude oil between April 2015 and January 2016, according to data from India's ministry of commerce. Nearly 20 percent of India's total import of crude oil in this period came from Saudi Arabia, closely followed by Iraq. Iran was the sixth highest supplier for the period. Biswas added that Iran's large reserves of natural gas will also make it an important source for India's LNG imports in the future. Currently, Qatar, Nigeria and Australia are the largest LNG suppliers to India, according to government data. India also sees the Middle East, already a key trading partner, as an important source of investment in infrastructure development, manufacturing and services sectors. "A big focus of this government is to attract long-term infrastructure financing that India cannot provide on its own, given the non-performing asset problems affecting local banks ," according to Sasha Riser-Kositsky, an analyst with Eurasia Group. Story continues Following the visit to Riyadh in April, Modi encouraged the state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco, SABIC and other Saudi companies to investment in India's infrastructure sector, and participate in projects creating mega industrial manufacturing corridors and smart cities. But it's a two-way street, with Middle Eastern countries also "shopping around for economic and security opportunities and partners," Sumitha Narayanan Kutty, an associate research fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University, told CNBC. In late April, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the creation of a new sovereign wealth fund that could top $3 trillion and would be linked to the country's vast revenues from oil. "India is in a very strategic position to be that partner," she said. India is also carving out key investments in the region. Under previous governments, India signed agreements with Iran to develop the strategic Iranian port of Chabahar, which lies in the Gulf of Oman. The current government is working to finalize a trilateral cooperation between India, Iran and Afghanistan to facilitate better regional connectivity and flow of goods, services and people in the region. Experts say the port will allow India to develop a sea-land access route to Central Asia, bypassing neighboring Pakistan. "It is possible that Modi would travel to Iran in the coming weeks to sign this agreement on the strategic port," Nicolas Blarel, an assistant professor of international relations at Leiden University, told CNBC. During the visit to Saudi Arabia, the two countries agreed to improve cooperation in counter-terrorism operations, intelligence sharing and cracking down on terror financing. But the timing of Modi's visit to Riyadh had some wondering if India was trying to turn the relative cooling of Saudi Arabia's otherwise cordial relation with Pakistan in its favor. India has long accused Pakistan of supporting terrorism against the country. In a report from Reuters in early April, India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's national secretary, Ram Madhav, was quoted as saying India will do everything to win the hearts of Islamabad's allies as a way of dealing with Pakistan. Blarel said Pakistan sent mixed signals about its unconditional military support to Saudi Arabia by neither joining to the Yemen coalition against the Houthis nor by contributing troops to quell dissent in Bahrain. He said Modi likely saw this as a window of opportunity to further engage the Gulf states, especially in the area of counter terrorism. But he acknowledged Pakistan's ties to Saudi Arabia are old and strong. Riser-Kositsky told CNBC a strategy to win over Pakistan's allies would not bear any substantial fruit for India, as it won't be able to compete with the attractions and advantages between Pakistan and the other gulf countries. He also said India will likely steer clear of any regional politics in order to avoid seeing the ugly side of polarization between Sunnis and Shias, currently gripping the Middle East, rear its head in the country's large Muslim minority population. Another country important to India's defense interest is Israel, which according to Blarel is the third most important weapons supplier to the country, behind Russia and the United States. Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute showed in 2015, India was the biggest defense spender in South Asia, spending approximately $51.25 billion in military expenditure. Though the Indian government has yet to announce any scheduled state visit for Modi to Israel, both the Indian president and the external affairs minister have previously visited the country. A crucial aspect point of the current government's foreign policy has been the outreach to the Indian diaspora. Modi has filled out stadiums in New York and London, receiving a welcome more befitting of a pop star. The Middle East has a large Indian expat population, amounting to approximately 7 million workers, according to IHS' Biswas. The region is also an importance source of remittances, contributing to "half of the total $72 billion in worker remittances sent to India in 2015," he added. World Bank data showed in 2015, estimated remittances India received from Saudi Arabia were $10.51 billion, $12.57 billion from the UAE, and between $3 billion and $4.5 billion from Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. However, reports have indicated many Indian migrant workers face tough employment conditions in the region and face the dangers of political instability in the region. For example, in April 2015, Reuters reported India evacuated nearly 4,000 Indian nationals from Yemen, after Saudi Arabia launched air strikes against Iran-allied Houthi rebels in the country. It is something experts say the government is trying to address by establishing better bilateral ties with the host countries. "The government recognizes the [Middle East as a] critical source of remittances for India," said Riser-Kositsky. "This government wants to emphasize its current national credentials by pointing out it's there, behind Indians wherever they are in the world." Given the complex dynamic of the Middle East, experts agree that maintaining friendly ties with the likes of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel will require strategic thinking and would include as little interference in the regional politics of the Middle East as possible. Blarel said he expects the Modi government to continue openly engaging Israel, while simultaneously reinforcing ties with the Gulf states and Iran. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. More From CNBC The 535 credit union finance professionals attending the 22nd annual CUNA CFO Council Conference in Anaheim, Calif., learned about the power of communication, the dangers of information security breaches, the challenge of onerous regulations, and the revolution occurring in big data. The conference concluded Wednesday with a presentation by culture expert Jim Knight, who believes many leaders underestimate the impact of messages from the top, either formally through mission statements and memos, or informally through casual conversation. They dont realize the power of what they can do to inspire, motivate, reward, recognize achievement, Knight said. His challenge for credit union leaders: What could you say that would warrant people coming to work every day and being proud of it, not just complying? Kicking off the conference was a presentation by retired naval commander Mike Abrashoff, who transformed an underperforming ship by instilling ownership among the crew. SALEM, Ohio The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced the availability of $130 million to fund research, education and Extension projects related to key sectors of agricultural production and sustainability. The funding is made available through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), which is an agency within USDA, which provides leadership and funding for programs that advance ag sciences. Commodity boards The funding is part of the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Foundational Program (AFRI), authorized in the 2014 farm bill, and also includes research topics proposed by eligible state and national commodity boards, in which the boards intend to equally fund, if their proposal is selected for a grant. This funding will support the development of knowledge needed to provide for healthy and nutritious food, increase production efficiency and profitability in the face of climate variability and diminishing land and water resources, advance energy independence, and much more, said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, in a news release. More funding Later in the week, NIFA also announced funding to help solve critical water problems ($10.7 million), develop bioenergy systems ($21 million), and childhood obesity prevention ($7 million). Project focus The AFRI Foundational Program provides research dollars for six priority areas of the 2014 farm bill, plus two additional programs, which are intended to advance ag sciences and find solutions to societal problems. Focus areas: Plant health and production and plant products ($33 million). Animal health and production and animal products ($31 million). Food safety, nutrition and health ($19 million). Bioenergy, natural resources and environment ($14 million). Agriculture systems and technology ($11 million) Agriculture economics and rural communities ($17 million). Funding for the Critical Agriculture Research and Extension (CARE) program ($3 million). The Exploratory Research Program ($2 million). NIFA is now seeking applications from universities and other qualified parties, interested in conducting research and programming. Application deadlines vary by program, so applicants should review those dates and rules at www.nifa.usda.gov. Selection process Bill Hoffman, chief of staff for NIFA, said the grant process is competitive, with the goal of funding the best science available. Applications are reviewed by experts in those sciences, and about 12 percent of applications are funded. Hoffman said hes excited about the commodity program, because it allows commodity boards to propose and co-fund topics that matter most to their industry, while still meeting the national goals of NIFA. Were really excited about this provision, he said. We really believe that this is going to help commodity boards and NIFA cooperate on common science topics. Projects proposed by the commodity boards include plant breeding for agricultural production, improving food safety, and the CARE program area. National reach Science funded by AFRI is intended to help meet food, fiber, and fuel demands as the worlds population continues to grow, with the expectation it will exceed 9 billion by 2050, and in the context of diminishing land and water resources, and variable climate. In addition, AFRI programs help develop new technologies and a workforce intended to advance our nutritional security, energy self-sufficiency, and the health of Americans. To learn more about NIFAs impact on agricultural science, visit www.nifa.usda.gov/impacts. Arla said it has no plans to drop its one-milk-price-fits-all policy, as the UKs top two dairies laid out their strategies for riding out the downturn. The head of the co-ops European business called current market returns an insult to farmers and warned they were unlikely to improve in 2016. Peter Girtz-Carlsen, who previously ran Arlas UK division, said fresh thinking was needed to prepare for the next downturn but the co-ops core principle would not change. We have one milk price paid to our farmers regardless of what they deliver, and we will stick to that, he said. See also: Arla launches milk premium for GM-free feed Mr Girtz-Carlsen was speaking at the Dairy Industry Newsletter conference in London. He was followed by the head of the British business at rival Muller. Between them, the two processors buy close to half of the UKs milk production. The NFU questioned Arlas strategy last month, after the processor cut its milk price for the second month running. Arlas plan for improving milk prices involves innovation, building brands and cutting costs, Mr Girtz-Carlsen added. Last year the co-op moved 500m litres of milk out of commodity trade and into retail and food service, inside a milk pool of 14bn litres in seven countries. Branded products The company will be pushing its branded products harder over the next four years, especially under the banners of Arla, Lurpak and Castello. Growing brand share and reducing trading share that is the best safeguard we have against volatility, Mr Girtz-Carlsen said. After the event, Andrew McInnes, managing director of Muller Milk & Ingredients, said he wanted to build the biggest and best dairy in the UK and Ireland. Muller now buys 3.6bn litres of milk a year from 1,900 farmers, after last years buyout of Dairy Crests dairies wing. Mr McInnes said the British liquid milk market had long been a basket case, with prices cut relentlessly and margins shrinking. But he said the Dairy Crest purchase would transform the category, along with Mullers long-term view. This is the deal that will deliver that restructuring, Mr McInnes said. The financial performance of [Dairy Crest Dairies] was dreadful. We have a huge challenge on our hands. Dairy Crest was operating hand-to-mouth to meet the needs of shareholders each year. We have a long-term perspective and are able to see beyond the peaks and troughs. Supplier representation Mr McInnes also hinted how suppliers might be represented in the future. Currently there are two groups: Muller Milk Group, which is the original team of farmer reps, and the Direct Milk DPO, a producer organisation of farmers who used to supply Dairy Crest. Mr McInnes said he wanted one farmer body, which could raise questions about the future of Britains first producer organisation. We have an ambition to get to an aligned representative model, he said. We want to simplify our offering. After the finessed corporate speeches, Dr David Dobbin, chief executive of Northern Irish processor United Dairy Farmers, gave some tougher messages. He said only a sharp drop in production would bring a market recovery not any bail-outs, special contracts or cost-of-production models. He warned the industry would keep contracting, as it seemed to have a radioactive half-life for both processors and producers. We are halving the industry in numbers every 10 years. I would have thought that would have slowed down but the reality is it will not, Dr Dobbin said. Many EU member states have not yet made full use of existing measures to help the struggling dairy sector. According to agriculture commissioner Phil Hogan, only 50% of the 420m (336m) top-up payments approved last September had been spent so far. Thats really disappointing, he told Farmers Weekly at this weeks Devon Country Show. The UK had spent its full allocation, but it had failed to get the full Basic Payment out quickly, and had not made use of other EU measures. Although prices are low, milk production is up by 5%: I would ask farmers to look again at moderating supply. See also: Europes food chain is broken, warns farm commissioner Producers and co-operatives could also use Article 222 to jointly reduce supplies for six or 12 months, and request payments of up to 15,000 (12,000) per farmer, said Mr Hogan. Id like to see every member state participate in 2016 I think it would be very effective: Short-term pain for long-term gain. However, speaking at the show this week, Defra secretary Liz Truss said she hadnt discussed such measures with the EU. The issue we face is lack of processing capacity, and I dont want to lose capacity in the UK, she said. Demand for dairy products in third countries such as China was increasing, and she was working with the EU Investment Bank to seek financing for projects to add value to UK milk. Mr Hogan had also been travelling the world to open up new markets, and said EU dairy exports were up by 13% in the first quarter of the year. However, that will take time to translate into money in the pockets of farmers. Direct payments Offering his assistance in overcoming the logistics of getting EU money to farmers, Mr Hogan also urged the government to roll out rural development funding as quickly as possible. There are a huge number of high-quality projects creating jobs beyond the farm gate, he said. There were also opportunities for the government to use rural development funding for loan guarantees through local banks, which could be ring-fenced for restructuring dairy farmers or new entrants, for example. The commission was also looking at allowing up to 70% early payments of the Basic Payment from October this year, he added. The authorities should continue to invest in the IT system to ensure its up to date so they can pay earlier. However, Ms Truss would not confirm whether Defra would make use of the early payment window. I do want to get the payments out as early as possible and want to talk to (RPA chief executive) Mark Grimshaw about that, she said. The process for 2016 was going smoothly, with 85,000 applications now in. Representative Sean Duffy (R-WI) introduced the latest version of legislation to help resolve Puerto Rico's financial crisis. Representative Sean Duffy (R-WI) introduced the latest version of legislation to help resolve Puerto Rico's financial crisis. The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act ("PROMESA," HR 5278) gives Puerto Rico tools to restructure its debt and establishes a fiscal oversight board."Congress should pass this Puerto Rico debt legislation as soon as possible," stated Eric LeCompte, executive director of the religious development organization Jubilee USA. "As the Congressional process moves forward we are working to include provisions that reduce child poverty and protect ordinary workers."Nearly 60 percent of Puerto Rico's children live in homes that receive government assistance and 80 percent of children live in high-poverty areas. Puerto Rico defaulted on a $370 million debt payment earlier this month and faces a July 1 payment of nearly $2 billion which the governor of Puerto Rico says cannot be paid."There can be no economic growth in Puerto Rico until the debt is restructured," said LeCompte. "Without a negotiated solution to the crisis, this legislation provides tools that can help get the debt back to payable levels."The legislation establishes a 7-member oversight board to manage debt restructuring and work on budget matters. The new version lengthens the amount of time that Puerto Rico is protected from debt lawsuits while restructuring debt.Through this process weve seen Members of Congress put the people of Puerto Rico in front of a small group of special interests," added LeCompte. "We are very grateful for the leadership of Speaker Ryan, Chairman Bishop and Representative Duffy."Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more than 75 US organizations and 550 faith communities working with 50 Jubilee global partners. Jubilee USA builds an economy that serves, protects and promotes the participation of the most vulnerable. Jubilee USA has won critical global financial reforms and more than $130 billion in debt relief to benefit the world's poorest people. http://www.jubileeusa.org The Protect Monterey County coalition was notified today by the Monterey County Registrar of Voters, Claudio Valenzuela, that the anti-fracking initiative has received enough qualifying signatures to appear on the ballot for the November 2016 presidential election. Results from the petition count will be reported to the Board of Supervisors during their scheduled meeting on June 1. Initiative Proponents are Dr. Don King, Dr. Laura Solorio, Madeleine Clark, Mibs McCarthy, and Dr. Bill Melendez. The letter from the Monterey County Elections Office is below:---------- Message from Monterey County Elections Office ----------From: Valenzuela, Claudio E.Date: Wed, May 18, 2016 at 4:40 PMSubject: Anti-Fracking Petition InitiativeThis is to inform you that Monterey County Elections has completed the verification of signatures on the Anti-Fracking Petition Initiative.Pursuant to Elections Code Section 9115, since the number of petition signatures exceeded 500, a random sample was drawn using a methodology so that every signature filed with Elections would have an equal opportunity of inclusion in the sample. Each petition signature selected through the random selection process was then examined against the related voters record of registration to determine validity. In this case, the examination process was completed and it was determined that there were sufficient signatures to warrant further action on the petition.We plan to deliver the certified results to the Board of Supervisors during their scheduled meeting June 1st, 2016.Cordially,Claudio Valenzuela, REORegistrar of VotersMonterey County Elections1370 B South Main St.Salinas CA 93901phone 831-796-1499fax 831-755-5485---------- End of message from Monterey County Elections Office ----WHAT:Relying on the power of over 250 volunteers, the grassroots group, Protect Monterey County, collected over 16,000 signatures for their initiative, Protect Our Water: Ban Fracking and Limit Risky Oil Operations. They were delivered to the Elections Department on May 4, 2016. This was more than double the number of signatures required to qualify the initiative for the November 2016 ballot (7,391 signatures). No paid signature gatherers were employed in this seven week effort. This historic petition drive has engaged more volunteers than any other countywide initiative in recent memory.This initiative was drafted by a coalition of concerned citizens (representing Salinas Valley and Monterey Peninsula) with the help of the renowned environmental law firm, Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger.WHY:Monterey County is one of the few oil producing counties in California that does not have specific regulations and permitting process for oil and gas operations. For decades, Monterey County has issued blanket use permits to oil operators, allowing them to drill unlimited numbers of wells with little County oversight or environmental review.In 2008, Monterey County allowed Venoco to use fracking and acidizing in the Bradley area, near the Salinas River. In 2014, over 1800 residents petitioned Monterey County officials to protect their community from dangerous oil and gas operations. In response, the Monterey Planning Commission recommended that the County adopt a moratorium on fracking and acid stimulation, and also draft oil and gas regulations like that of neighboring counties. In 2015, Monterey County Supervisors rejected the recommendations of its Planning Commission.Recently, the Central Coast Water Quality Board notified several Monterey County oil companies that they are illegally injecting wastewater into protected aquifers of the Salinas River Groundwater Basin, which supplies water to many Salinas Valley farms and cities.Both Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties have banned fracking and dangerous oil operations. Its time for Monterey County to do the same. If our elected officials wont protect our water and health, our only recourse is to pass a citizens initiative that will.Protect Monterey Countyemail: info [at] protectmontereycounty.org SFPD Kills Again Vigil at Site of Murder! Date: Thursday, May 19, 2016 Time: 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM Event Type: Vigil/Ritual Organizer/Author: Anti Police-Terror Project Location Details: 5pm San Francisco City Hall 8:30pm Shafter Avenue and Elmira Street, San Francisco *Vigil for the 22nd community member murdered by SFPD on Suhr's watch* Today, an SFPD sergeant shot and killed a 27-year-old Black woman and her unborn child who were in a car in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco. These are all the details we have right now. This is the same neighborhood where a sergeant recently expressed a desire to kill Black people. At 5:00, Mama Christina from the Black and Brown Coalition has asked people to join her on the steps of City Hall. Afterwards the #Frisco500 with the full support of the Anti Police-Terror Project, Last 3% of SF, #DoNoHarm Coalition and Black Lives Matter Bay Area - call for the whole community to come out to a candlelight vigil at the site of the murder. We'll see you at the corner of Shafter Avenue and Elmira Street at 8:30pm tonight. ALL are welcome and encouraged to join. Bring signs, candles and flowers if you can. The following letter was sent to Councilmember Pamela Comstock this Tuesday, asking for her support in establishing 24 hour public restrooms that are accessible to people with disabilities in downtown Santa Cruz. Dear Councilmember Comstock,We email you with regard to the issue of public bathrooms in the downtown area of Santa Cruz. We are a group of concerned citizens who have organized ourselves to raise awareness among fellow residents about the lack of 24 hour, public restrooms in downtown that are accessible to people with disabilities.Our position is that the only 24 hour toilet downtown - the porta-potty on Front and Laurel - is entirely inadequate for the needs of the area. The porta-potty is placed on the edge of downtown, is not at all ADA compliant, and is often abused and full of trash. As already stated, it is the ONLY 24 hour toilet available downtown, meaning that folks whove really gotta go and cant wait - perhaps due to the long walk from the clock tower, or to a disability that eliminates bowel control - are likely to experience an unnecessary and humiliating bowel movement.We think there is considerable enthusiasm in the community for more bathrooms. We have circulated a petition since April that has collected close to 200 signatures in support of more restrooms. In our tabling and flyering downtown weve spoken to many people who express support for the idea that such a commonsense utility be supplied by the city. We have also seen support on the neighborhood social media platform Nextdoor, such as these quotes:JJ Beneda from SAGE-SCNeighbors 27 MarComing from the south, adjusting to the lack of publicly available toilets even for customers has not been easy.Fran Stekoll from De Anza Mobile Park Neighbors 24 MarExcellent Idea.as long as they're maintained properly.We think the business community would support this move as well, considering new laws making their way across the country which require businesses to open their restrooms to people with conditions affecting their bowel control. See the Restroom Access Act in Illinois for more information. We do not think the burden of restroom provision should be moved onto businesses, due to increased costs associated with maintenance. We also do not think that anyone should be required to announce their need to use a restroom or justify that need to any business employee or owner - another reason why we support publicly accessible toilets.We understand that you supported a one-year pilot program to open 24 hour restrooms last year, which were closed early due to staff concerns. We plan to continue gathering support in the community and would like to ask for your help in moving the issue before the council again, perhaps with solutions in place to curb problems which occurred with the previous iteration of the restroom program. Our group agrees that 24 hour, ADA compliant restrooms downtown should fulfill the following requirements:- the restrooms are centrally located in the downtown area- the restrooms are all ADA compliant, especially to allow wheelchair/powered-chair access- there are more than one toilet available in each restroom- the toilets are regularly cleaned and maintainedWe think these are reasonable requirements that will provide dignified, all-hours access to toilet facilities for people with a variety of needs.Sincerely,Zav Hershfieldwith the Give A Shit! CampaignGive A Shit! Campaign Petition:Open 24 hour handicap accessible toilets for downtown Santa Cruz WASHINGTON, May 19, 2016 In celebration of the countrys 11th annual Endangered Species Day, the Center for Biological Diversity today released a new report (see PDF) highlighting 10 of the most unique and beautiful wild places saved by the presence of endangered species. Photo: Pacific kelp forest, courtesy NOAA. From Pacific Ocean kelp forests to Floridas Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge, millions of acres of the nations most precious and irreplaceable landscapes and seascapes have been conserved and restored as part of the cooperative management of our public lands to recover imperiled species.Saving Species and Wild SpacesWhile the Endangered Species Act is best known for saving 99 percent of protected species from extinction, many people dont realize that protecting animals and plants under the Act has also resulted in the preservation of some of Americas most beautiful and cherished refuges and public spaces, said Jamie Pang, an endangered species campaigner at the Center. Thanks to the Act and its mandate to save endangered species and the places they live, we have more national wildlife refuges, as well as healthier lands, cleaner rivers, oceans and lakes where we can hike, fish and observe wildlife.The power of the Act to conserve and heal landscapes, oceans and waterways while protecting and recovering species is in evidence in every region of the country. Among the areas highlighted in todays report, "Saving Species and Wild Spaces, 10 Extraordinary Places Saved by the Endangered Species Act," are:Pacific Kelp ForestsThe recovery of the once-flagging Pacific kelp beds off the California coast was triggered only after Endangered Species Act protections recovered populations of sea otters, which, in turn, once again started doing the important job of keeping in check a sea urchin population that had overgrazed the underwater kelp forests. Kelp forests play a critical role in absorbing wave energy to prevent shoreline erosion, absorbing greenhouse gases, and providing ecotourism opportunities.Prized for their thick, dense fur, sea otters were severely exploited by fur traders for more than 100 years. By the time the southern populations along the Pacific coast, from California to Oregon, were protected as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1977, they had fallen to as few as 1,000 individuals. The loss of sea otters had devastating effects on near-shore ecosystems. Without the otters to keep sea urchin populations under control, urchin populations exploded. The urchins overgrazed the underwater kelp forests, which are the key component of a biological community of more than 20 species of fishes, urchins, marine mammals such as sea lions, whales, sea otters and invertebrates like sea snails. The kelp forests also play a critical role in preventing shoreline erosion, absorbing greenhouse gases, and providing ecotourism and recreational opportunities.Following their listing as a threatened species in 1977, the population increased slowly to around 2,900 otters in 2013, slightly below the recovery goal of 3,090 otters averaged over three years. As the southern sea otter began to rebound, urchin populations returned to normal abundances, and kelp forests began to recover. In fact, sea otters are one of the first keystone species that scientists ever identified. With the decline of a keystone species, ecosystems can quickly unravel. Protecting the areas where the sea otter lives has therefore been critical in protecting the ecologically beautiful and important kelp forests. Today people from Santa Barbara north to Monterey can often see sea otters amid kelp forest day beds floating just offshore.Sauta Cave National Wildlife RefugeSauta Cave National Wildlife Refuge, in Alabama, was purchased specifically to protect endangered gray and Indiana bats, providing a summer roosting site for 200,000 to 400,000 gray bats and critical winter hibernacula for both species. Bats provide vitally important ecological service by eating millions of mosquitoes and insects a year. Even after the cave entrances were closed off to protect the species, thousands of visitors come to the refuge every summer to watch the bats fly out at dusk.Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife RefugeCreated in 1992 to protect to endangered songbirds, Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge, overlooking the city of Austin, Texas provides surrounding communities with popular recreational and tourism opportunities and offers protection for the critical landscape responsible for recharging a key regional water source, the Edwards aquifer.Endangered Species Act protections for Atlantic salmon, shortnose sturgeon and Atlantic sturgeon spurred dam removals that helped restore the health of Maines longest river, the Penobscot, which not only provides a home to birds, mammals and 11 fish species but is a popular recreation and fishing spot.Other places included in the report are Hawaiis Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, Arizonas San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge, the Southeasts longleaf pine ecosystem, the Virgin Islands Green Cay National Wildlife Refuge and Lake Erie.We should step back and truly appreciate all the things the Act has done, said Pang. Without the powerful conservation tools it provides, Americas most important landscapes, waterways and coastlines would be very different places today.The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.Center for Biological Diversity WASHINGTON, May 18, 2016 In a partisan vote today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, which, if enacted into law, would gut protections for several endangered species, including the American burying beetle and lesser prairie chicken, and remove the Clean Water Acts ability to control destructive invasive species. The must-pass legislation now moves to the Senate for further consideration. Republicans know that the overwhelming majority of Americans support the Endangered Species Act and our public lands, so they use military readiness as a shield to advance their extreme agenda, said Brett Hartl, endangered species policy director at the Center for Biological Diversity. The deep antipathy theyre demonstrating toward endangered species is sad and disgraceful.The House bill would permanently end all federal protections for the American burying beetle and lesser prairie chicken under the Endangered Species Act. Other provisions of the bill would undo 5-year, landscape-level planning efforts to protect the greater sage grouse, transfer 800,000 acres of national wildlife refuge lands to the U.S. Air Force, transfer thousands of miles of right-of-ways in sensitive habitats to the state of Utah to facilitate oil, gas and coal extraction, and create a huge loophole in the Clean Water Act that would limit the Environmental Protection Agencys ability to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.The best available science continues to demonstrate that the American burying beetle is highly endangered. The beetle has declined by more than 90 percent and is ranked by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as critically endangered. Captive-breeding and reintroduction efforts increased the total number of populations from just two in 1989 to more than 20 by 2011, but the species is still missing from most of its historic range. Since the beetle was protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1989, the military has been one of its best stewards. The largest known population of the burying beetle is found on Camp Gruber in Oklahoma. Another large burying beetle population is found on Oklahomas McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, which was awarded the Department of Defenses best resource conservation program in 2013 for its efforts to save the beetle. The House-passed bill would undo 20 years of conservation gains in rescuing the species from extinction.The U.S. military has been one of our nations best stewards of endangered species over the past 40 years, but todays bill would pointlessly undermine its important conservation achievements, said Hartl. The military understands that preserving our natural heritage for future generations is a critical part of protecting our way of life.Another dangerous provision of the bill, Section 3601, would remove the EPAs ability to regulate ballast water discharges under the Clean Water Act. The bill transfers all authority to regulate ballast water discharges to the U.S. Coast Guard and exempts ballast-water discharges from the requirements of the Clean Water Act. The spread of non-native, aquatic invasive species has damaged marine and freshwater ecosystems across the country and has caused or contributed to the decline of dozens of endangered species. Aquatic invasive species cost federal, state, and local governments billions of dollars annually through damage to infrastructure for public water supplies. If the bill is enacted into law, sensitive freshwater ecosystems like the Great Lakes, Bay Delta, Puget Sound and Everglades would increasingly be degraded by the spread of invasive species; restoration of these ecosystems would become much more costly.Its never been more obvious that House Republicans are willing to sacrifice our environment and any plant or animal that gets in the way of industrys short-term profits, said Hartl.The Obama administration has threatened to veto the Houses bill.The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.Center for Biological Diversity Government Forced to Release Images Showing Dead Dolphins, Whales, Sharks and Sea Turtles For Immediate Release: May 20, 2016Images available here: https://seaturtles.org/bycatch-from-the-california-driftnet-fishery/ CONTACT:Joanna NasarCommunications DirectorTurtle Island Restoration NetworkCell: (415) 488-7711Joanna@SeaTurtles.Org Just Released Graphic Photos Expose Carnage of Deadly California Driftnet Fishery Government Forced to Release Images Showing Dead Dolphins, Whales, Sharks and Sea Turtles Olema, Calif. (May 19, 2016) Turtle Island Restoration released graphic photos exposing the deadly California driftnet fisherys incidental catch of mutilated dolphins, whales, sharks and sea turtles just days before a crucial vote in the California Senate to phase out this deadly fishery. The photos were obtained through a legal petition with the National Marine Fisheries Service, the agency responsible for the protection of these protected species, who places required observers onboard a small percentage of vessels in order to document the carnage. The California driftnet fishery sets mile-long invisible nets off the California coast to catch swordfish and thresher shark, but entangles anything that swims into them. It has been described as the most destructive fishery on the West Coast, incidentally killing more whales and dolphins than all other observed West Coast commercial fisheries combined, according to government figures. Statistics aside, these images of bloody dolphins and mutilated sharks and turtles capture the true cost of this barbaric fishery, said Todd Steiner, biologist and executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network. Though a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Turtle Island Restoration Network obtained the photos from the National Marine Fisheries Service, which is required to place a small percentage of observers on vessels in order to estimate the number of protected species being harmed by this fishery. The images are from the period 1997 to present. The California driftnet fishery consists of fewer than 20 vessels, and costs taxpayers more money to manage, than the value of target species of fish caught. I can only imagine the suffering these air-breathing mammals endured as they became ensnared in these nets and could not surface to breathe. Because they swim in family groups, mothers and siblings probably witnessed the slow drowning of their kin. This barbarity must end, said Cassie Burdyshaw, Turtle Islands driftnet campaign director. We are now looking to legislators to take action and protect our ocean wildlife and end this carnage once and for all, she added. Senate Bill 1114, introduced by Senator Allen (D Santa Monica), proposes a commonsense phase-out plan to ban driftnets in California waters, and stop the slaughter of marine wildlife. The bill would transition driftnets to a new, more environmentally responsible fishing method called deep-set buoy gear. SB 1114 passed through the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water, and a vote is expected in the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 26th. If passed through, SB1114 will then move to the Senate floor for consideration. View the FOIA images here: https://seaturtles.org/bycatch-from-the-california-driftnet-fishery/ More information about Senate Bill 1114 can be found here: http://sd26.senate.ca.gov/sites/sd26.senate.ca.gov/files/SB1114.pdf Read our report on the California driftnet here: https://seaturtles.org/resources/driftnet-overview/?parent=sharks ### Veteran to Discuss Humanitarian Efforts in Vietnam May 20, 2016 BLOOMINGTON, Ill. A Vietnam veteran who has been instrumental in building schools, clinics and peace parks in that country will be a guest speaker May 25 at Illinois Wesleyan University. Mike Boehm of Madison Quakers, Inc., will present Hands in the Rice Paddy: 20 Years of Humanitarian Work in Vietnam at 10 a.m. Wednesday in The Ames Librarys Beckman Auditorium. His lecture, which will be followed by a question and answer session, is free and open to the public. Boehms work with the Madison Quakers in Vietnam has been featured in publications such as The New Yorker and The Veteran. Boehm served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. In the early 1990s he initiated projects of helping people in Vietnam, particularly in the area of the 1968 My Lai massacre, to build reconciliation between people of the United States and Vietnam. Boehms presentation is being held in conjunction with the May Term course The Vietnam Wars taught by Professor of East Asian History Thomas Lutze, and sponsored by the Department of History and the Asian Studies program. New Orleans, LA More plaintiffs are coming forward to file BMJ. More plaintiffs are coming forward to file Actos lawsuits alleging they were harmed by Actos side effects. Actos has reportedly been linked to an increased risk of serious side effects. Plaintiffs allege they developed bladder cancer as a result of using Actos to treat their diabetes. Those claims are now seemingly bolstered by a new study in According to the(5/17/16), a woman from Washington state filed a lawsuit against Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly, for negligence and strict products liability. The plaintiff argues she used Actos between January 2011 and December 2011, and was later diagnosed with bladder cancer. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants knew about the potential link between Actos and bladder cancer but failed to warn patients about the serious risks. The lawsuit is case number 6:16-cv-00581, in the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.As of May 16, 2016, there were 4,596 lawsuits consolidated for pretrial proceedings in MDL 2299, In Re Actos (Pioglitazone) Products Liability Litigation.While Takeda and plaintiffs argue over whether or not Actos is linked to an increased risk of bladder cancer, a study by researchers in Canada suggests such a link exists. The study was led by Marco Tuccori and published in the BMJ in March 2016. Researchers compared the rates of bladder cancer in patients who were given pioglitazone (the generic name for Actos) with the rates of bladder cancer in patients given other antidiabetic medications. The study suggested that pioglitazone was linked to an increased risk of bladder cancer, whereas rosiglitazone (Avandia) was not linked to such a risk. Furthermore, researchers found that the longer a patient took pioglitazone, and the higher the dose, the greater the risk of developing bladder cancer. Overall, researchers found pioglitazone was associated with a 63 percent increased risk of bladder cancer.The results of this large population based study indicate that pioglitazone is associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer, researchers wrote. The absence of an association with rosiglitazone suggests that the increased risk is drug specific and not a class effect.Studies have produced conflicting reports as to whether or not Actos is linked to an increased risk of bladder cancer. Although the overall risk of bladder cancer is low, patients say they were not adequately warned about the risk when they were prescribed Actos.In addition to lawsuits in the United States, there have also been lawsuits filed in Canada, alleging patients were harmed by the use of Actos. HONG KONG, CHINA--(Marketwired - May 20, 2016) - Zurich is the first global insurance company to receive the EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality) certification Zurich offers medical coverage for the unmarried partners of their employees in Hong Kong, regardless of their gender Zurich launches global flexible working initiative -- FlexWork@Zurich Zurich Insurance has used its first Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) conference in Hong Kong as a platform to raise the awareness of and promote D&I in the workplace. Zurich has put a number of initiatives into place as part of our commitment to encouraging D&I. These include launching a global initiative to improve the ability for our employees to access more flexible working options -- FlexWork@Zurich. Zurich also recently launched a new Group Medical Insurance Program in Hong Kong which covers the unmarried partners of its employees, regardless of their gender. Mr. Eric Hui, Chief Executive Officer of Zurich's General Insurance business in Hong Kong, commented, "At Zurich we see Diversity & Inclusion as a business imperative. A diverse and inclusive environment encourages people to respect and embrace different individuals, which can boost morale and enable employees to reach their full potential." D&I at Zurich For Zurich, diversity is about having the right mix of people regardless of their gender, race, or sexual orientation; while inclusion means creating an environment where everyone is valued and heard. Recognizing D&I enables Zurich to leverage the diverse skills and experience of its employees, which ultimately leads to more innovations and solutions. Zurich is the first global insurance company to receive an EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality) certification, reflecting its commitment to improving workplace gender equality, particularly in areas of pay equality, flexible working arrangements and fair hiring and succession processes. Guest speakers at Zurich's first D&I Conference in Hong Kong on 13-15 April, 2016 included Professor Boris Groysberg from Harvard Business School; Su-Mei Thompson, CEO, The Women's Foundation; Amy Lo, Head of Wealth Management Greater China & Country Head of Hong Kong, UBS; and Anne O'Riordan, Senior Managing Director, Global Life Sciences, Accenture. Story continues Ms Paula Choi, Chief Executive Officer Hong Kong and Chief Market Management Officer Asia-Pacific of Zurich's Global Life business said, "Through this conference, we shared leadership and management practices that enhance individual career success as well as organizational effectiveness. Participants told us it had been an excellent use of their time and were impressed with how Zurich is leading the way in D&I!" Company Logo http://release.media-outreach.com/i/Download/4715 About Zurich Insurance Group Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets. With about 55,000 employees, it provides a wide range of general insurance and life insurance products and services. Zurich's customers include individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, including multinational corporations, in more than 170 countries. The Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1872. The holding company, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information about Zurich is available at www.zurich.com. Zurich's presence in Hong Kong dates back to 1961. In Hong Kong, Zurich offers a full range of flexible general insurance and life insurance products and solutions for individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized companies, as well as large corporate customers, catering to their insurance, protection and investment needs. Zurich was also awarded the 10 Year Plus Caring Company Logo for 2015/2016 by the Hong Kong Council of Social to acknowledge its commitment in "Caring for our Community," "Caring for our Employees" and "Caring for our Environment" over the past years. - Sirika is said to be showing insubordination to his direct boss, Amaechi - Sources say this may not be unconnected to his (Sirika's) relationship with President Buhari - Amaechi is said not to be taking the acts with a pinch of salt - Aviation workers express disappointment over the public squabbles of the ministers There is a mild war brewing in President Muhammadu Buhari's cabinet between Rotimi Amaechi and Hadi Sirika, Signal reports. Amaechi is Nigeria's minister of Transport while Sirika is the minister of state for Aviation and the pair are said to be at loggerheads over reported acts of insubordination by the latter. According to Signal, sources revealed that both ministers were close to exchanging physical blows on Monday save for the intervention of some civil servants and aides who were at the scene of the disagreement. Amaechi and Sirika are said to be at loggerheads over acts of insubordination by the junior minister. Sirika is reportedly reluctant to have Amaechi (a senior minister and direct boss) push him around. But the former Rivers state governor is on the other hand, not having any of Sirika's acts and is working to put him in his place. READ ALSO: UK newspaper accuses Buhari's ally of stealing N142 bn The reason for the junior minister's acts, sources disclosed, is the fact that he is from President Buhari's Katsina north senatorial district, where he served as a senator. A source explained details of the incident to Signal thus: "Its all about power tussle. Sirika thinks Amaechi is overstepping his boundaries and should mind his business as Transport Minister. But Amaechi is also in charge of Aviation. "He is the senior minister, while Sirika as Minister of State for Aviation is junior minister. But Sirika sees himself as the Presidents guy. So, he refuses to take directives from Amaechi and now Amaechi is feeling undermined. "This has led to a big power play between both men. It is becoming so messy that even the official portraits of both ministers are missing at the airports. Thats why Amaechi was doing maritime summit in Lagos while Sirika was doing aviation in Abuja." When contacted on Wednesday to explain why both ministers' portraits were absent at airports across the country, Yakubu Datti, the general manager, corporate communications, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), said: "We are awaiting the official portraits of the ministers. They are yet to send them in to us." READ ALSO: See the telephone numbers of Buhari's ministers Pressed further on whether the tussle between the ministers is the reason for the absence of their portraits at the airports, Datti explained that Amaechi's portrait is at the airport, explaining that only Sirika's image was not present. "It is one ministry with one permanent secretary. So it is only the portrait of the senior minister that should be there," he noted. Civil servants in the aviation sector have expressed their embarrassment over the tussle between both ministers, especially because they have brought their misunderstanding to public glare. A senior government official who pleaded anonymity, said: "It is a shame. Both ministers are embarrassing themselves publicly. It is a mess. And President Buhari on his part has been silent over this issue. He should call them to order immediately. "The aviation and transport sectors are very key sectors of our economy. We cant continue to have two adults who should know better fighting over the pettiness of who is in charge or control of what. When two elephants fight, unfortunately, it is the ground that suffers. "Nigerians are the ones who will bear the brunt over this unnecessary squabble." Meanwhile, Nigerians have asked President Buhari to, without delay, remove Amaechi from his cabinet over corrution allegations leveled against the former Speaker of Rivers state House of Representatives. Amaechi was accused of diverting APC campaign funds during the presidential election but he has denied ever being involved in the said act of corruption. Source: Legit.ng 2000 - 2022 24 .- . focus-news.net, () . 24 . 24 . . 24 . For our companion piece on this style, Lets Talk Beer Styles: Belgian Quad, simply click here. Its fascinating, the way ones perception of a specific beer style will change over the course of a large blind tasting. This is something we at Paste have been cognizant of ever since we started regularly doing our tastings blind with American IPA back in 2015 (soon to be repeated!)the fact that our overall opinion on a beer style will probably be shifted to some degree by the process of processing and evaluating so many. This time, however, my perception of a style changed before we even began tasting. What kind of beer do you imagine, when someone says Belgian Quadrupel? High ABV, certainly. Fruity, almost always. Viniferous, often. Spicy, sometimes. Right? But how about Belgian strong dark ale? If you had asked me this a month ago, I would have started off by at least confirming that these are two different styles. But pressing further, I would have run into a wall. Of those basic flavor descriptions above, which would be applied to quads but not to Belgian dark strong ales? What does it even truly mean to be a quad? In the traditional Belgian sense, does that beer have to be somehow connected to the monastery or trappist tradition, i.e., does it need to be coming from a brewery that also has a singel, dubbel, tripel, etc? What of American quads, which play much faster and looser with the style? Ultimately, it was a realization that we needed to broaden our terminology. Hosting a quad tasting simply didnt make sensenot when you have the likes of St. Bernardus Abt. 12 defined as quad and Chimay Grande Reserve (Blue label) defined as Belgian strong dark ale. In the modern beer landscape, the two names boil down to marketing tools more than anything elsean American brewery in particular is going to name its beer whatever they think will appeal most to the drinkerbe that quad or dark Belgian ale or anything else. Any specific difference implied by the choice of name has long ceased to be relevant. A Note on Beer Acquisition Like every other blind-tasting at Paste, we acquire these beers in a variety of ways. Most are sent in directly by the breweries when we send out a call for that style. Others were able to purchase directly because theyre available in Georgia, which is how we came by most of the Belgian ales on this list in particular. In that sense, were at the mercy of what is available. One decision we specifically made in tasting quads was to allow ALL VERSIONS of this style, regardless of how theyve been treated or aged. That includes barrel-aged offerings, which I know many will object to in the comments. We could have attempted to conduct a tasting of only regular quads, but in a style that classically is treated with spices and sometimes aged in oak, what is regular? If a nontraditional spice such as cinnamon or chiles is present, would that disqualify the beer? Nor do we agree with the assumption that just because something is barrel-aged it will inherently be superior. In fact, the tastings provided several instances of the opposite. A Specific Note on Westvleteren 12 We dont have any. Feel free to leave a haughty comment about it. Some of us have tasted it before, and it is indeed delicious stuff. Were sure it would probably do quite well in these rankings. Now let us never speak of Westy again. Alright then. Rules and Procedure - We accepted anything sent to us, as long as it involved quad or Belgian dark strong ale in the description, or was categorized as such. There was no ABV limit, as this style is all over the place. - There was a limit of two entries per brewery. The beers were separated into daily blind tastings that approximated a sample size of the entire field. - Tasters included professional beer writers, brewery owners and beer reps. Awesome, Paste-branded glassware is from Spiegelau. - Beers were judged completely blind by how enjoyable they were as individual experiences and given scores of 1-100, which were then averaged. Entries were judged by how much we enjoyed them for whatever reason. The Field: Quads #s 32-20 As I almost always say in this section, theres nothing at all wrong with most of these beers. In fact, a lot of them got very impressive scores. As we grade on a 1-100 point system, Im pretty sure that Ive never seen so many 80s and 90s in general, and Ive certainly never seen so many beers with 80s or 90s on individual score sheets not end up in the top segment. We all know that these high-ABV styles tend to draw high scores, and that was certainly the case here. There were lots of good quads on the table each day, so I wouldnt write off any of these beers. Theyre presented below in alphabetical order, and as such they are not ranked. I repeat: These beers are not ranked. Avery Brewing Co. the Reverend Brewery Ommegang Three Philosophers (Barrel Aged) Heavy Seas Beer Plank IV Quest Brewing Co. Grand Cru Rocket Republic Brewing Co. Dark Matter (Jack Daniels barrel-aged) Samuel Adams Tetravis Sun King Brewing The Velvet Fog Three Taverns Heavy Bells Uinta Brewing Co. Labyrinth Barrel-Aged Quad Upland Brewing Co. Stoaked Belgian-Style Quad Wild Heaven Craft Beers Eschaton Wrecking Bar Brewpub In Quad we Trust (Barrel aged) Next: The rankings! Quads #s 20-1 City: Melle, Belgium ABV: 8.5% The verdict: Ive often felt that Delirium Nocturnum and its lighter brother, Tremens, served as the first exposure of a lot of craft beer geeks to the archetypal ideas of both Belgian strong pale ale or Belgian strong dark aleor at least that was certainly true for me and a lot of beer drinkers I know. Perhaps its the iconic ceramic bottles that first catch the eyes of drinkers in a beer cooler, but both beers have been classics of the style for far longer than Ive been drinking. Nocturnum features some of the same bready maltiness you see in a few of the other Belgian originals, with red fruit flavors of cherry or raspberry and a bit of sherry-like wine character. Its slightly thinner of body than most of the beers, probably owing to the fact that its on the lower ABV side for the style, making Nocturnum among the more drinkable iterations of BSDA that youre going to run across. Every single tasters score sheet notes the lightness of body and intensity, compared to some of the more assertive entries on the table. City: Milton, DE ABV: 15-18% The verdict: Heres a beer that wed never even thought before to categorize as a Belgian dark strong ale, but given that it uses Belgian yeast, thats essentially what Raison Dextra is. Its a bit of a difficult beer to evaluate blind, not least because the ABV is so outrageous. On the nose you immediately get a waft of boozy red wine, a very ripe sangria of a beer where you know youre in for a shock to the senses. The flavors are intense, with massive fruitinesssuper jammy dark fruit, to quote one of the score sheets. Not knowing what it was, one might think it was wine barrel aged because of the intensity of those fruit flavors and and underlying red wine characternot surprising, once you realize that the raisins were involved. Some of the tasters were absolutely flabbergasted by the gobsmack of alcohol, while others perceived its nature as a port-like after-dinner beer. But regardless, a beer like this is never going to be universally palatable because its just so rich. Its only for the bold. City: Esen, Belgium ABV: 9.5% The verdict: De Dolle has a tendency to get left out of some of these American conversations on classic Belgian brewers, so Im glad we were able to include them. Their Belgian dark strong ale, Oerbier delivers noteworthy sweetness and red fruit flavors, especially cherry. Its also hard to miss a tart, vinous note in this beer that immediately sets it apart from almost all of the other classic Belgian takes on the stylenone of them really pack a detectable degree of tartness, unless theyve seen time in a barrel. That extra dimension makes Oerbier a somewhat odd beer in this bunch, but it works nicely to counteract the significant residual sweetness and improve its drinkability. In that sense, the tartness almost makes Oerbier seem like the most American Belgian dark strong ale of the samples that actually hail from Europe. City: Watou, Belgium ABV: 11% The verdict: Several tasters were completely shocked to find that they werent over-the-moon in adoration for this barrel-aged variant of St. Bernardus classic Abt. 12, but looking at other reviews, its hardly hearsay to believe that the original beer is still the superior version of the twomore on that later. This more expensive version is aged in calvados barrelsa style of French apple brandywhich impart complex fruity flavors that different tasters identified as everything from rose wine to old-school bottle cap candies. Its sweeter and somewhat boozier than the standard Abt. 12, a little bit more decadent but less balanced as a result. It was, we can objectively say, one of the more unique bottles on the table. City: Amherst, WI ABV: 9.6% The verdict: One of the nicest things one can say about Central Waters offeringand Central Waters is a really great, underrated brewery, let me just sayis that several of the tasters were convinced they had one of the old-school Belgian classics in their hand. Its drier than many of these other quads despite pushing 10% ABV, with an expressive, fruity Belgian yeast profile that made various tasters make comparative notes to breweries like Ommegang and Allagash. It also packs some serious spice notes that wouldnt be out of place in a classic farmhouse ale. All in all, its a pretty complex, yeast-driven take on the style that circumvents some of our expectations for American quads. City: San Leandro, CA ABV: 11.8% The verdict: So many of the American quads we tasted in these lineups were big, burly, barrel-aged monsters, and obviously they exist on a gradient of how well the barrel was integrated and whether the beer is still identifiable as a quadrupel or Belgian dark strong ale. Drakes brand new anniversary beer is aged in rye whiskey barrels, an interesting twist that imparts some barrel spice while actually drying it the beer out a bit more than it likely would have been otherwise. The resulting quad is lightly tart, with detectable oakiness and intriguing hints of cocoa powder. Its also not short on fruitinessto quote one of the score sheets, the essence of the dark fruity quad. In fact, considering that the ABV is almost 12%, this quad actually hides its booze quite ably. City: San Marcos, CA ABV: 13.7% The verdict: Okay, heres a beer that stands as a perfect example of why its hard to do blind ratings when youre making any attempt to rate to the style. Track #8 is a truly unique spin on Belgian quad, incorporating bourbon barrels, raisins, dried chiles and cinnamon sticks to create something that tastes absolutely nothing like any of the other beers in the tasting. It conjures almost Christmas-like imagery on the palate, with big cinnamon/allspice flavors and obvious bourbon presence as well. Nearly every taster agreed that the flavors were great, but at the same time it provoked the classic argument of Well, if you cant tell its a quad while tasting blind, then do you rate it lower for that reason? In the end, style conventions simply matter to some tasters more than they do to otherseven if you set parameters that theyre not supposed to. What we can say is that Track #8 is the sort of fascinating diversion from the norm that we werent surprised to see coming from The Lost Abbey after the reveal; a sweet, rich, heady brew that will be especially welcome to any of the craft beer geeks out there who love the Mexican hot chocolate flavor palette currently popular in imperial stouts. City: Cooperstown, NY ABV: 9.7% The verdict: There were several times in the course of this tasting that we preferred the original version of a beer to the barrel-aged variant, and Three Philosophers was one of those occasions. Well-known to lovers of American Belgian ales, Three Philosophers is created by mixing a classic Belgian quad with a very small amount of kriek to provide a bit more fruity complexity. Its very expressive on the nose, as most Ommegang beers tend to be, with big clove and spice notes in particularexactly the right aroma for a classic Belgian quad, wrote one taster. The cherries are very subtle, as intended, just a little x-factor of fresh, bright red fruit working somewhere in the background, complementing an already dry and complex Belgian ale. Its definitely a beer that many beer geeks would think of immediately when American-made quads are discussed. City: Decatur, GA ABV: 10% The verdict: An American quad, but very much in the Belgian style, Three Taverns Quasimodo manages to nail that nebulous gap between what we think of as quad and Belgian dark strong ale. Its a bit thinner of body than most in the 10% ABV range, dried out with the traditional candi sugar addition, and is otherwise quite well-balanced between fruit and spice influences. Nothing really dominates on this beernot the yeast character, or booze, or an intensity of fruit or spice. Its simply a very drinkable quad with appreciable malt complexitydark fruit like plum or figs, complemented nicely by a touch of nutty or cocoa-like dark malt. Its definitely worth a bit of introspection. City: Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands ABV: 10% The verdict: You cant very well have a quad tasting without La Trappe, who produce the original style-namerthe first beer to be referred to as a quadrupel in reference to the progression from singel to dubbel and tripel. The funny thing is, compared with the contemporary description of the style, its really not the most quad-like on the table, a clear illustration of how beer styles continue to evolve. Its significantly lighter than almost every other beer in color, and the nose in particular is uniquely different, full of spicy esters and even some barnyard aromatics that remind one more of a fruity/spicy tripel or saison more than most of the other quads. Theres a delicious, uniquely herbaceous quality at play as well, one that presents almost like basil and maybe a touch of mint. It was a beer that we universally enjoyed and quickly identified as indisputably a product of Belgium, but were nevertheless shocked to see as the original quad during the reveal. City: Austin, TX ABV: 10.9% The verdict: Adelberts is a new brewery to these tastings, so welcomeand welcome to the top 10 as well. Flyin Monks strikes us as an exemplary entry in what one could think of as American quad. Its aged on oak cubes previously used by a small Texas distillery to age rum batches, but the barrel character comes through only subtly, with enhancements to the vanilla/caramel character. Fruitiness is still the biggest aspect of the flavor, with some very nice dark, dried fruit flavores (raisin, prune) and also a fresher, juicier blackberry-like note. The yeast character is cleaner and less estery/phenolic than in the classic Belgian entries in the style, which is what we tend to associate with American-made Belgian beers for whatever reasonsurely something that boils down to the subtleties of fermentation science and water chemistry as well. But regardless, this is a quad that ably blends subtlety and big fruit flavors. City: Rochefort, Belgium ABV: 11.3% The verdict: Were into some serious heavy hitters here now, beers that have been hailed as the benchmarks of this style for a long, long time. Rochefort 10 has been called one of the best Belgian quads in the world, and it certainly scored wellalthough its interesting to see which other classic Belgian examples finished a little bit ahead of it. Regardless, Rochefort 10 presents with big aromatic notes as its signature, heavy on clove, warming spices and banana esterswe would have been shocked to find that the bottle wasnt from Europe. The ABV does not hide on this one, eitherit provides a warming, rich, slightly oxidized booziness that you expect to find when cracking into a classic quad, and a bit of leathery mustiness. Its almost like you can taste the history associated with the recipe. City: Portland, OR ABV: 11.2% The verdict: Breakside has only been represented in a couple of these tastings, but theyve got a truly enviable batting average going so far. Fitzcarraldo is quite the unique beer, and were being slightly generous in including it here as a cuvee, but the majority is indeed made from a Belgian strong dark ale. That majority was aged for a rather ridiculous 18 months in Knob Creek barrels, soaking up overproof whiskey, and yeahtheres no missing that in the final product. It is, however, by no means one-notein fact, tasters were perplexed by the intensity and the complexity on display here. Cruising through the tasting sheets, you find all kinds of descriptors for the fruitiness: raisin, stewed plums, port wine, etc. Belgian yeast is restrained after such a long aging, but dances on the periphery of notice. Regardless, this is a very big, expressive beer with no shortage of character. City: Brooklyn, NY ABV: 10% The verdict: One of the more fun aspects of doing these tastings is that you never know quite what will show up when you put out a call. Sometimes theyre classics of the genre that have been around for decades. Other times, theyre beers like this new one from Sixpoint that arent even on the market yet (hence the lack of label). Thats the essence of truly blind tastingeven after we find out what weve been drinking, its not as if there are any other opinions to consult. So let us be the first to say: This is some good beer, right here. Red wine barrel-aging provides a well-balanced degree of oak and fruit-forward flavors, but theres a richness here one would expect from more of a bourbon barrel-aged beera spicy quality and maybe even a touch of maple. From one score sheet: barrel-aged, full of dark, sweet fruits. The ambiguous spice note may be the most perplexing and interesting aspectno idea where that is coming from, but its an x-factor in the creation of a memorable quad. City: Watou, Belgium ABV: 10% The verdict: Ah, Bernie. How many nights have Paste staffers spent drinking goblets of Bernardus Abt. 12 in the second-story Belgian bar of local beer bar The Brick Store? Answer: Quite a few. And yet, even with such a high ranking, one almost feels the need to defend St. Bernardus not topping the list. To this, I can only shrug and suggest folks conduct their own blind tastings. It is an exemplary bottle of classic Belgian quad, however, and one that features balance over bombastic flavors. Theres a particularly bready note in this and several other quads that we associate with some of the best Belgian exampleslike dark wheat or rye bread, peppered with spices. Its quite dry compared to the American variants and drinks more easily than most, but at the same time the dried fruit flavors of plum and dried apricot give it an undeniable richness and candied character, without being sweet. Thats the magic of St. Bernardus and other Belgian greats. City: Fort Collins, CO ABV: 10% The verdict: Heres another example of an American quad that tricked several tasters into thinking it was a bottle straight out of Belgium. Its lighter in color than most, with an almost saison-like nose that emphasizes herbal and estery/fruity notes. On the palate, its quite balancedthe kind of beer that elicits notes like not too much of anything on score sheets, and that is indeed a compliment. Bready malt flavors intermingle with deeper, caramel/toffee sweetness and dark fruit/raisin flavors. Balance, complexity and drinkability all seem to be of equal importance in the concept. City: Houston, TX ABV: 12% The verdict: Another beer that is fairly new on the market, St. Arnold Bishops Barrel 13 is an assertive, unabashedly American barrel-aged quad. Low on carbonation, it drinks like the product of the whiskey barrel it came fromstrong, sweet, but never over the top. Layered with flavors of oak, vanilla and dark fruit, the bourbon barrels give it a particular, unusual character that weve encountered in certain other whiskey barrel-aged Belgian alesa flavor that almost approximates the fruit/spice combo of a cola or Dr. Pepper soda, as odd as that may sound. Or to put it in another tasters writing: Boozy on the nose but candy on the palate. We should note: Were not at all surprised to see a great barrel-aged beer from Saint Arnold. Their Pumpkinator imperial stout quite nearly won our last blind pumpkin beer tasting in October, and the barrel-aged version I tasted in Denver at GABF was quite frankly mind-blowing. These Texas brewers know how to handle barrel-aged beer, and the quad is no exception. City: Portland, OR ABV: 13% The verdict: We would have described the Saint Arnold offering as the biggest and most ridiculously flavorful of the barrel-aged quads, except for the fact that this offering from Portlands Gigantic was just a smidge crazier. Make no mistake: This beer is absolutely massive. Monstrous, really. The gigantic nose and overall lack of carbonation immediately recalled to our mind Samuel Adams Utopiasthats how big and flavorful this thing really is. After the reveal, we actually got out our Utopias bottle to compare the two, and this one is nearly as flavorful, despite being half the ABV. Booze is obviously assertive, but the other flavors are tremendous: Gingerbread cookie, maple, intense raisin fruitiness and a plethora of baking spices combine in beautiful fashion. We have no doubt at all that some tasters will find this quad too hot or too boozy, but it avoided being simply one-dimensional in our eyes. What it creates is an end product that is the single most decadent beer on this list. City: Baileux, Belgium ABV: 9% The verdict: The platonic ideal, begins one of the score sheets, and as far as Belgian dark strong ale goes, its hard to argue that fact. Theres no doubt the moment one tastes this that its a classic Belgian ale that has come to us from over the ocean. Very well balanced, the crown jewel of the Chimay line features toasted, bready flavors and nutty malt, supported by light, cherry-like fruitiness and moderate ester notes of clove and spice. Im aware, writing this, that the description sounds like several of the other quads/dark ales on the list, but its simply true. At these upper echelons, beers are earning higher marks based on more elusive, fleeting qualities. Theyre all great beers. Some of them are just a tiny bit more balanced or tasty than others. The blue label from Chimay is the kind of Belgian classic that one might even argue is underrated in the current American craft beer market, if only because weve all had access to it for so long. But theres a reason this beer was a classic in the first place. City: Mechelen, Belgium ABV: 11% The verdict: What Chimay Blue was to one day of the blind tasting, Van de Keizer was to the next. This is a truly beautiful Belgian dark strong ale, and one thats been sitting right under many of our noses. Toasted malt and rye bread flavors are complemented by light cocoa, unusual to see in most of the Belgians plus a dark, cherry/plummy fruitiness. Once again, theres no mistaking the source, as its obvious from the first sip that youre drinking a product of Belgium. The caramel/crystal malt character is extremely well-balanced by a drying finish, as most of the classic Belgians possess, which also does a remarkable job of hiding the 11% ABV. Its assertive without being obnoxious and rich without being cloying. Van de Keizer simply does everything well. If its been a long time since the last time you tasted one, I highly recommend you pick some up and maybe compare it side by side with a few of the other Belgian classics. We promise, its more than worthy. Jim Vorel is Pastes resident beer geek extraordinaire. You can follow him on Twitter. Writer: William Gibson Artist: Butch Guice Colorist: Diego Rodriguez Publisher: IDW Publishing Release Date: May 18, 2016 Spoilers Youve likely heard of William Gibson before, revered in prophetic shorthand as the father of cyberpunk or the sage of the information age. His critically acclaimed breakthrough, Neuromancer, and his 1990 collaborative novel with Bruce Sterling, The Difference Engine, can be seen as companion case studies in the mutability of human history; the first a forecast of attractions to come as told from 1984, and the latter a speculative crash course in the future of what mightve been. It goes without saying that Gibson is savvy to the conventions of contemporary sci-fi, evidenced by how he lampshades the temporal ramifications of the Grandfather paradox in the opening pages of his first original comic, Archangel. Originally envisioned as a screenplay written alongside Gibsons friend, actor and writer Michael St. John Smith, the premise of Archangel has been given a second chance by IDW Publishing and industry veteran Butch Guice. Described by its author as a Band of Brothers [meets] Blackwater sci-fi conspiracy thriller, Archangel follows two clashing groups vying for the control/survival of the future through the conquest/alteration of the past. The year is a (thankfully alternate) 2016, a world ravaged by unseen nuclear devastation, with the human race hanging on the edge of survival. Junior Henderson, the power-hungry vice president to his despotic father, has just undergone facial reconstructive surgery. He and an expedition team of private military contractors travel to 1945 via The Splitter, a quantum teleportation device capable of creating tangent alternate timelines, to stop this realityand ultimately shape the future in his own image. Following their departure, an armed coup of dissidents seize Hendersons clandestine facility and send a second expedition to follow suit, tasked with preempting Hendersons machinations and setting the present right. But when the rebels crash-land in the dead center of occupied Berlin six months after Hendersons arrival, theyre captured and interrogated by this timelines protagonists, British intelligence agent Naomi Givens and her U.S. liaison. Archangel Interior Art by Butch Guice As one would expect from a 40-page inaugural issue, Archangel #1 covers a hefty chunk of narrative groundwork, while teasing far more enticing developments to come. Knowing that neither Gibson nor John Smith (credited as a co-creator but not as a writer) have ever worked in comics before, its impressive how well their respective talents translate to the medium, likely shaped in no small part by Michael Benedettos editing. Guices artwork is a strong selling point, capturing all the coy smirks, sullen glares and quiet expressions of stern aloofness that distinguish each of the main characters moods and modus operandi. The conscious interplay of shadows and silhouettes within the busy, at times frantic, overlay of panel compositions creates a thrilling combination of uncertainty, dynamism and intrigue; all qualities indispensable to spy thrillers or time-hopping existential trips. Gibson has been quoted that the genesis of Archangels concept was born out of a fascination with the foo fighters and Nazi Germanys occult obsession, as well as the Third Reichs own supposed attempts to manufacture such bizarre aircrafts. This first installment sets those phenomenon at the center of the series attention, as well as coyly injecting thematic artifacts like an issue of Astounding Science Fiction featuring Robert Heinleins If This Goes On. As an introductory issue, Archangel #1 sets the clock ticking, creating a grocery list of questions just begging to be answered: What are Junior Hendersons plans? How exactly do the events of 1945 tie directly to the tragic consequences of 2016? Just what, exactly, is Archangel? Gibson and Guice have set an intriguing stage on which to see these answers play out. The next issue cant come soon enough. Archangel Interior Art by Butch Guice This column, Escape Artist, is a series about folks who have escaped. More importantly, this biweekly column is for those thinking about trading in their 9-to-5, leg-shackled-to-the-desk existences to forge their own way. The brave outliers featured in this collection of interviews are the digital nomads, the online entrepreneurs, and the lifestyle trendsetters who decided it was time to say to hell with the humdrum and grab life by the roots. Traveler and writer Steph Yoder runs Twenty-Something Travel , a lifestyle blog that discusses how Gen-Y and Millennial travelers can find travel advice outside of the traditional cookie-cutter lifestyle. Yoder began traveling non-stop since she graduated from college in 2007 and started the website in 2009. In 2016, shes dishing out advice about how to travel while pregnant and transitioning into your 30s. Paste Travel The escape the 9-to-5 mentality is becoming more popular. What are your impressions? Steph Yoder I think the ability to work online has made it more possible than ever to check out of the office lifestyle. People are starting to realize they have options and that some of those options are a lot more attractive than what used to be available. PT What was the aha moment that sparked ongoing travel for you? SY I took a trip to Iceland with a girl friend and had the most amazing week driving around the country and discovering amazing scenic areas. I was really not feeling fulfilled in my job or life in general, and as I sat on this black sand beach, it hit me that I should be doing more of this. After that it was just a question of how to actually make that happen. PT What inspired you to start blogging, and how did you first build a following? SY After I decided I wanted to quit my job and backpack around the world for a year, I realized it was going to take some time to save up the money to make it happen. I needed a way to keep motivated. Ive always loved to write, so blogging seemed like a natural outlet. Nobody was more shocked than me when people started reading! I think the market was a lot less saturated then, and the ideas and beliefs I was putting out there really resonated with certain people. PT Why did you decide to focus on the Twenty-Something Travel brand and niche? SY When I started, I didnt even know what a niche was, so it was kind of a happy accident! I had spent some time living abroad and had seen how much more acceptable and almost expected it was for twenty-somethings in Europe and Australia to take time off to travel. In the United States, there is a lot more pressure to start building your career right away, and travel is seen as frivolous. I didnt know anyone else in their mid-20s who was doing what I was, and a lot of people seemed to think it was out of their reach. I wanted to demonstrate to other Americans how to take a career break and why traveling in your 20s could be beneficial long term. PT Now youre settled in Seattle and expecting a baby (congrats!) but still maintain the blog and prioritize travel. What is most important to you to focus on now with travel? SY Yeah, there have been a lot of changes already this year! Im really pushing the limits of writing a blog for twenty-somethings, seeing as Im actually 31 now. My goal is still pretty similar though: to prove that you can make travel a priority in your life at any age. The next big challenge will be learning to travel with this baby. PT The dream job and travel blogging mentality is becoming more popular. Does the market seem saturated, and how do you stay connected with your followers? SY It is an extremely saturated market these days. When I started my blog in 2009, it was much easier to get a foothold in the industry, as the industry barely existed. But now anyone with an Internet connection can start a blog, which is wonderful, but also terrible as it gets harder to find the quality content in a crowded space. I do think quality writing is the key. The most successful travel bloggers arent necessarily writing about flashy locations or glamorous adventures, they are simply writing good, honest material that people can connect with on a personal level. PT Whats one tip you have for readers who want to live a life like yours? SY Be realistic about what that life actually looks like. Instagram only shows one side of the story the most photogenic side. For every stunning mountain vista or beach shot, there is actually a lot of desk time and hard work that goes alongside it. Anyone can break free from the 9-to-5, but you still have to put in the work. PT What are you most excited to focus on in 2016? SY For me, the second half of 2016 is going to be about restructuring my website so its more inclusive of travel past your 20s. As I and other millennials start edging into our 30s, I want to show the many options we still have to see the world. Carolyn Crist is a freelance journalist based in Georgia. She writes about travel, health and business for regional and national publications. Hot on the heels of upgrading Sam Humphries and Caitlin Rose Boyles manic Jonesy from a limited series to a heart-eyed ongoing, BOOM! Box has announced exclusively to Paste that Hope Larson and Brittney Williams detective Goldie Vance will continue sleuthing past her initially announced four-issue run. Sixteen-year-old Marigold Goldie Vance lives at Crossed Palms, a Florida resort managed by her single father, down the street from the club where her mother works as a live mermaid. Crossed Palms already boasts a live-in detective named Charles, but when hes unable to crack a complicated case, he agrees to mentor amateur private eye Goldie in exchange for her ragtag assortment of skills and connections. Writer Hope Larson, whos also preparing to take the reins of DCs Batgirl, had this to say about the series expansion: Im thrilled for the opportunity to write more of Goldies adventures. In the first arc, Brittney and I established the world of Crossed Palms, and were planning to go bigger and bolder with the second. To celebrate Goldie Vances warm reception, BOOM! Box provided Paste with an exclusive comic written by Lumberjanes co-creator Shannon Watters and drawn by current LJ co-writer Kat Leyh. Goldie now joins the ranks of Esther from Giant Days, the titular Jonesy and April from Lumberjanes among the stable of critically acclaimed BOOM! Box stars. Written by Shannon Watters, Art by Kat Leyh (BOOM! Box) Lets Talk Beer Styles is a monthly feature that accompanies Pastes large-scale blind craft beer style tastings/rankings. The first month covered the history and modern role of American pale ale, while the second covered black IPA. The latest covers Belgian quad/dark strong ale, of which we just blind-tasted 32 examples. The beer world is a strange place, one where oral tradition and commonly held and repeated adages are often held up and cited rather than history or more substantive research. Look no further than IPA as a style, where hundreds of breweries still use PR copy about ships to India as the genesis point of the style, despite the data provided by actual historians such as Martyn Cornell that has long since shown otherwise. But good stories are good stories, and if something is repeated enough, it gains a life of its own. Im using this as a backhanded way to introduce the fact that although were talking about Belgian quads in this piece, whether or not quad even exists as a distinct style is still a subject of healthy debate. Thats not to say that theres no way to categorize famed Belgian ales such as Westvleteren 12 or St. Bernardus Abt. 12, but rather that Belgian quadrupel may not be the right words at all, or they may be words that were never necessary. All of these beers have simply been Belgian Dark Strong Ales all along. You may be thinking now that quadrupel is a style steeped in history, and although the beers now referred to as quads may be, the word itself is apparently not. In fact, as far as I can tell, La Trappes Belgian Quadrupel was the first-ever bottled representation of the style to bear the word quadrupel, and it was released in 1991. Which is to say, I myself am significantly older than the term quadrupel, as applied to beer, while these beers were simply known as strong dark ales for almost two centuries before that point. My point is this: It seems pointless to divide these beers into multiple styles, or act as if quad is notably distinct from strong dark ale. Although modern breweries may cite ephemeral differences, none of these differences are universal, and reallywhats the point? The real factor driving whether any brewery calls its product quadrupel or strong dark ale at this point is simply a matter of style and marketing. But enough about names. Lets dive into the history of this heady, spicy, fruity, bready, rich, boozy beer style. The Origin of Quad/Belgian Dark Strong Ale As long as there have been people brewing in Belgium and The Netherlands, than there have certainly been dark, high-gravity beers made with estery, or possibly wild, Belgian yeast strains. However, its difficult to imagine whether any of these beers could have been comparable to modern styles of Belgian dark strong ale until roughly 1830, the year of Belgian independence and secession from The Netherlands. At about this time, technological modernization of the brewing industry was moving through Europe, bringing modern brewing techniques and equipment with it. At the same time, the reestablishment of monasteries shuttered by the anti-Catholic movement of the French Revolution gave rise to the setting for many of todays iconic Belgian breweries. The first of the modern monastic breweries to begin actual brewing operations seems to have been Westmalle, in 1836. It was followed in brewing by Westvleteren in 1839, Achel in 1852 and Chimay in 1862, which was the first to begin selling its beer to the general public to support the monasterys operations. La Trappe, meanwhile, moved to The Netherlands and began brewing there in 1884, while Rochefort began brewing in 1899, and Orval in 1932. Most, such as Westvleteren, Rochefort, Chimay and La Trappe, make beers that we today categorize as Belgian dark strong ales. These beers later came to America and small craft breweries alongside the popularization of other traditional Belgian ale styles during the first phase of the craft brewing revolution. Special credit should probably go to Michael Jackson, the legendary Beer Hunter and author, whose Discovery Channel series and landmark 1977 book The World Guide to Beer provided initial background in Belgian ales for an entire generation of American brewers. In fact, Jacksons contributions were deemed so influential that he was appointed an honorary Ridderschap van de Roerstok, essentially a knight of Belgium, in 1997. The Role of Belgian Quads in American Craft Beer In the U.S., theres no doubt that quadrupel/quadruple or simply quad has become the more common nomenclature, and its not that hard to see whyits easy to explain to a drinker the progression from singel to dubbel to tripel to quad, and quite frankly the term just sounds a bit cooler. Regardless of whether quad was ever used to describe high-gravity dark ales with original gravities greater than tripels, the name has come to stick in American brewing. The actual beers, though, do tend to differ from their Belgian brethren. With the exception of certain American Belgian breweries such as Allagash or Ommegang, American-made quads have a tendency to be less expressive/cleaner in their yeast profiles, even though theyre also using Belgian yeast strains. Their fruit flavors are often juicier or fresher, and theres less of the subtle, age-added character derived from oxidation. To sum up in a sentence: An American quad often feels younger, bigger and more brash in its flavors, while the Belgian classics are more reserved, contemplative and subtle. A large portion of this perception is no doubt due to the omnipresence of barrel-aging in the current American craft beer market, and quads, like most other high-gravity styles, often see time in a barrel. In the course of our recent blind-tasting of 32 quads, we came across American barrel-aged quads of nearly every varietyrum barrels, bourbon barrels, rye whiskey barrels, wine barrels, brandy barrels and more. We also tasted American quads spiced with cinnamon and chiles, finished with whole fruit and blended with other barrel-aged ales. Its exactly what you would expect from the American variants of a classic Belgian style, a diversification and certain irreverence for tradition that is the backbone of the way American craft brewers innovate. Three Essential Quads/Dark Strong Ales You Need to Try La Trappe Quadrupel If its the very first beer to carry the word quad on the label, you cant very well NOT try it, right? The nice thing about most of these Belgian classics today is that theyre readily available in any decent beer store. While the craft beer world has continued to spin and obsess about the newest thing, these timeless beers have endured. In reality, though, La Trappes offering really isnt much like other quads or Belgian dark strong ales. Its significantly lighter in color, for one, and almost seems to share more in common with a malty tripel than what we currently think of as a quad. The nose is uniquely different, full of spicy esters and farmhouse-like aromatics, while the malt is soft and toasty. A herbaceousness not found in most examples of this style is also present, making it a fascinating comparison with all the other Belgian classics labeled as quadrupel or dark strong ale. St. Bernardus Abt. 12 An undeniable classic of the style, St. Bernardus is born of out a sprawling history connected to that of fellow brewery Westvleteren. Indeed, although Westvleteren 12 is often considered the finest quad/Belgian strong dark ale in the world, St. Bernardus equally acclaimed Abt. 12 is said to come from the exact same recipe and yeast strain, or at least that was the case in 1945. In that year, Westvleteren brewmaster Mathieu Szafranski became a partner in Bernardus business, bringing along with him the recipe and famed St. Sixtus yeast strain. The resulting beer is wonderfully complex, with dark, bready malt flavors, dried, raisin-like fruit and delicate spiciness that works in beautiful conjunction with the high ABV. Many a night has been whiled away by Paste staffers over the years drinking St. Bernardus Abt. 12, the house brew of our local craft beer bar The Brick Stores second floor Belgian Bar. Gigantic Brewing Co. Brain Damage If the third option is supposed to illustrate to you just how different an American interpretation of the style can be, then theres no better beer to submit here than Brain Damage, a monstrous bourbon barrel-aged quad from Portlands Gigantic Brewing Co. Everywhere that a beer like St. Bernardus Abt. 12 is subtle, this one punches you in the face with flavor, but it does so with just enough consideration that its not completely and totally overwhelming. The huge nose and flavors of gingerbread, brown sugar, maple and raisin reminded our tasters closely of Samuel Adams 20-plus percent ABV Utopias, which should tell you how decadent an experience it is to drink. If the American adage is that bigger and bolder is better, Brain Damage is an incredible example of that philosophy at work. And dear lord, what a label. Jim Vorel is Pastes news editor, and hes looking forward to the next two entries: classic pilsner and American IPA. You can follow him on Twitter. As the launch point for Tom Pettys careeras well as that of Heartbreaker lynchpins Benmont Tench and Mike CampbellMudcrutchs role in that trios trajectory ought not be underestimated. Although the band recorded and released only one single prior to the leap from Gainesville, Florida to the world at large, Mudcrutch provided the essential training that Petty and the Heartbreakers would mine so successfully when fame and fortune came calling. Forty years on, what originally began as a one-off reunion has apparently blossomed into an ongoing concern. Mudcrutch has not only been revived but given the full accreditation an active ensemble deserves, albeit one that boasts a certified superstar and a pair of heavy hitters. Little wonder then that the seminal band shows a potency worthy of their successors. In essence, theres little difference between the present-day Heartbreakers and Mudcrutchs current incarnation. Three of its five slots are occupied by Petty, Tench and Campbell, with guitarist Tom Leadon (brother of ex-Eagle Bernie Leadon) and drummer Randall Marsh filling out the remainder of the roster. Little wonder then that the music otherwise appears interchangeable. Dreams of Flying, Hope, Victim of Circumstance and Beautiful World are sprawling, certifiable rockers that would find an appropriate place in the Heartbreakers repertoire, while the hazy ballad Beautiful Blue could fit nicely on any one of Pettys solo outings. Still, 2 does demonstrate democracy in action. Not surprisingly, Petty sings lead on most of the songs, but he also cedes the spotlight at times, allowing Leadon, Marsh, Tench and Campbell to take center stage for their own compositions. And while there are common threadsa fondness for rootsy rockers and introspective ruminationseveral songs, including opening track Trailer, the rowdy Welcome to Hell and the banjo-strummed The Other Side of the Mountain, reflect a certain down-home demeanor. Nevertheless, Petty fans will be pleased, given that 2 is an adequate stopgap measure, at least until Petty and company come up with something new of their own. What if you could have all you wanted of dishes from some of San Franciscos best restaurants paired with amazing cocktails from some of the best bars, and manage to help a local elementary school in the process? Thats the idea behind Taste of Potrero, an annual foodie paradise that benefits Daniel Webster Elementary, an underserved public elementary school located in San Franciscos Potrero Hill neighborhood. Now in its sixth year, the event has managed to raise over $500,000 over the past few years for the school, while providing guests one of the most epic nights of food in town. We attended this years event, and photographed some of the delectable bites that were available (right before we ate them). If you see something you like (and we promise, you will) most of the items pictured are available in larger form at their respective restaurants. We know weve already started making our dinner plans for the next few months If you missed out of this years event and want to help out, you can also still donate to the school using the link at the end of its Eventbrite page. Emily is Pastes Assistant Drink Editor and is still dreaming about all the things she tried at Taste of Potrero this year. 1 of 23 Chorizo En Volovan from Canela Puff pastry with spanish sausage and manchego with almond romesco sauce 2 of 23 Ceviche de Pulpo from Lolinda Spanish octopus, red onion, avocado, Leche de Tigre, potato, puffed corn 3 of 23 Hamersly Oysters from Precita Park Cafe Hamersly oysters , Zoes smoked nitrate free bacon, fresno chili argo, dolce and meyer lemon 4 of 23 5 of 23 Corpse Reviver #2 from Homestead 6 of 23 Mexican Chocolate Pecan Pie Bites from Green Chile Kitchen 7 of 23 Chocolate Raspberry doughnuts by Dynamo 8 of 23 Strawberry Fields by Trick Dog Bulleit rye, Ancho Reyes, strawberry, lemon and angostura bitters 9 of 23 Truffled Mushroom Cheesecakes and salted Caramel Brownies from 25 Lusk 10 of 23 Anticuchos from Mochica Grilled meats in Peruvian Aji Panco marinade finished with Peruvian pepper and black mint chimichurri I was never a hit songwriter in country music in that sense, Guy Clark once told me. I was trying to do it my way, whatever it took. Clark, who died Tuesday at age 74, had what it took. Granted, his songs may not have peaked on the charts, but the respect he earned as a revered contributor to many a distinguished artists canonincluding Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Brad Paisley, Rodney Crowell, Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, John Denver and Kenny Chesneymade him an icon in Americana realms, one of the first to push the parameters of country music and give it a wider point of view. His songs were told from the vantage point of many a tattered troubadourthe losers, loners, drifters and dreamersand as a mentor any number of up-and-coming artists, people like Steve Earle and his pal Townes Van Zandt, he helped make that no-nonsense style an indelible part of our modern musical idiom. Indeed, it was that same rugged, tattered perspective that gave his material its air of authenticity. If I didnt see it happen, I know somebody that did, he added in retrospect. Here then, are a dozen of Guy Clarks best, immortal songs that reflect that wise and worldly view. Taken from his album of the same name and written in the aftermath of his beloved wife and co-writer Susannas passing in 2012, My Favorite Picture of You expresses Clarks profound grief in one of the most vivid, yet reassuring ways. Here, he clings to an old photo of the two in happier days, when both were alive and flush with optimism. While many of Clarks songs appealed to the romantic nature of a ragtag existence, this particular offering raised the bar on romance in a very real and poignant way. Written for his father after his dads passing, this vivid, tear-stained narrative revolves around a family heirloom thats passed from father to son and emblazoned with more meaning than any tool of the trade could convey. Its a song about tradition, principles and taking the harder challenges, even when the easier tack allows for cutting corners. His mother gave the knife in question to his father when he went off to fight in World War II and later, a much younger Clark broke its blade. A better blade was never made, it was probably forged in hell, he recalls. Sad yet stately, it illustrates how a seemingly innocuous object can offer vivid memories for those left behind. Once again, Clarks remarkable gift for creating visual imagery comes to the fore as a metaphor for life in the fast lane, an escapist anthem that works literally, as well as figuratively. The song describes the desire to do away with the daily grind by symbolizing the struggle to survive and substitute that everyday existence for a place where serenity and not a salary takes precedence. It may be a pipe dream, but in essence its everymans goal. He sings, Well, if I can just get off of this L.A. freeway / Without getting killed or caught / Down the road in a cloud of smoke / To some land that, baby, we aint bought. One of the most covered songs in Clarks catalogueThe Highwaymen, Jerry Jeff Walker, Tom Rush, Rita Coolidge, Nanci Griffith and Slim Pickens are among those that have laid claim to itit draws on the romantic notion of the outlaw as a Robin Hood of the Old West, an individual that rejects the ground rules thrust on him by an uncaring society as he seeks to pave his own way. Clark claimed that the song was inspired by his grandmothers boyfriend Jack, who became a grandfatherly figure to him as a young boy. Released on his 1975 debut Old No. 1, it, more than any other song, laid out the course of his career and the entire outlaw country genre along with it. Famously covered by Johnny Cash, the song details the bitterness and bravado of an old outlaw who, relived the days of living by the gun / When deadly games of pride were played / And living was mistakes not made. Still feeling the weight of his gun and the smell of the gunpowder, he watches as time passes him by while railing against current circumstances where hes dodging cars rather than dodging bullets as he did in days gone by. Half crazy, he takes to the street for one last showdown, only to be mowed down by an automobile. The pathos is pervasive. Despite his darker musings and tangled view of life and its attendant sorrows, Clark had a way of seeing the world in the pretext of the simplest thingsin each of these cases, for example, the homegrown joys of down home desire. While life can take its toll, the ability to retrace ones roots gives more than a measure of comfort, and these two songs sum those sentiments up succinctly. Savor the flavor, grab a beer, and let the aroma waft over you. Clark offers another song about leaving the world behind, but this time, he writes from the point of view of a female hitchhiker whose only goal is survival. Where she ends up hardly seems to matter, and indeed, why shes taken to the highway seems far less important than the very fact that shes mustered up the courage simply to do so. Clark sums up that determination succinctly, comparing her to prisoners who have a way with a file. Brilliant. Here we find Clark in search of his muse, or perhaps some deeper desire. The imagery is as striking as ever, but this time the meaning is more elusive. And that old time feelin draws circles around the block / Like old women with no children, holdin hands with the clock / And that old time feelin falls on its face in the park / Like an old wino prayin he can make it till its dark. Clearly, its imbued with equal measures of dreams and desperation, but for what reason, one wonders. Here Clark gives us serious sentiments wrapped in a veil of uncertainty. Another song seeped in nostalgia and clearly autobiographical, Clark details a memory of sitting by the side of the railroad tracks when he was about six years old. He sat along with 50 or 60 people from his hometown and his adopted grandfather Jack, as they all wait for, a mad dog, runaway red-silver streamline train to pass through town. In a larger sense, it marks the end of an era when the smoke-spitting locomotives that used to rule the tracks pass into history. Yet, despite the excitement and anticipation of those who gathered for the occasion, the train roars by without slowing down for a second. Consequently here again, Clark offers an analogy of life as it passes us by, marking the transition from the old to the new with scarcely any time for adjustment or acclimation. The lesson thats learned is that one must either get on board that train or wallow in its wake. A song sung for the returning soldiers from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Heroes adeptly sums up the experiences of a vet who brought the war home with him and still finds himself wrestling with the demons in the cold, hard truth. Like many of those who are at the center of his songs, this particular individual had honorable intentions before those experiences altered his perspective. The VA should make this their anthem. Heroes, everybody needs heroes / Even heroes need a little help. Lets hope the plea gets answered. One of his most outspoken activist offerings, Coyote describes the toll taken by the scourge of human trafficking. Like Heroes, its taken from his very last album, My Favorite Picture Of You, demonstrating the fact that even in his final years, Clark retained his eloquence and his concern for those trampled by societys indifference to its most unfortunate victims. As both the voice of the common man and one of its more pervasive personalities, Guy Clark will clearly be remembered forever. The Unknown Girl is the latest from Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, and its unsurprisingly a deft, meticulous moral drama that has plenty on its mind while telling a taut, stripped-down story. But that lack of surprise is also the one faint criticism to level at this superb film: The Dardennes have done what they do so well for so long, its hard to know if what they do is starting to become slightly mechanical for them or simply too familiar for us. Though plenty of filmmakers would kill to have such problems. Adele Haenel plays Jenny, a Belgian doctor who cares for her towns poorest. Shes a credit to her professionsensitive, calm and patientand soon shell be starting a new job with a prestigious health-care facility. But shortly before she leaves her old position, shes contacted by detectives: A woman died nearby her clinic late last night, and they want to know if Jenny had any contact with her. To Jennys horror, she realizes that the dead woman was someone she had turned away because it was after-hours. Perhaps even worse, the deceased had no identification on her, so the police cant contact next of kin. Feeling intensely guiltya sentiment amplified by the fact that the woman was blackJenny, whos white, decides to do her own investigation to learn who she was and what happened to her. The Unknown Girl could be seen as a continuation of the Dardenne brothers previous film, Two Days, One Night, which was also about a woman confronting a group of different individuals who werent particularly happy to speak with her. But where that film hung on the question of whether human kindness exists in a society in which everyone is hurting financially, The Unknown Girl explores how people would rather not get involved during difficult circumstances, happy to let others shoulder the moral responsibility. The filmmakers version of a whodunit involves Jenny showing a picture of the dead girl to patients and her coworker Julien (Olivier Bonnaud), hoping that someone can provide some clues. Nothing can bring the woman back from the dead, but Jenny wants to believe that unearthing answers will at least soothe her conscience. What she soon discovers is that people dont recognize the girl, and it doesnt seem coincidental that everyone she asksand everyone she knowsis white. Theres a collective guilt that hangs over these exchanges, as if the individuals Jenny interrogates feel slightly bad that they couldnt possibly know this girlor perhaps theyre resentful because they feel judged for that fact. Eventually, and quite cleverly, Jenny gets a lead from one of her adolescent patients, Bryan (Louka Minnella), when shes able to detect from his pulse rate that hes lying. Its a start, but Bryan doesnt want to say too much, forcing Jenny to do more digging. At the same time, shes busy with her in-clinic patients and the various house calls she makes. (Along the way, she also turns down the impressive new job, a decision that might be a knee-jerk reaction to her guilt and one shell later regret.) This woman is being torn in many directions, but the hunt for this girls identity trumps all, festering like a thorn in her side. Haenel is terrific, but shes terrific in exactly the way weve come to expect from a Dardenne brothers film. Muted and naturalistic, Haenel quietly conveys Jennys shame, but also a bit of her restless need to atoneor, more accurately, to be publicly acknowledged for her vigilance in discovering this girls identity. No one blames her for the girls death, but Jenny cannot let it go. Her guilt even extends to trying to convince Julienwhom she upbraided the same night as the girls death for his poor handling of a patients medical crisisnot to quit the profession. Its a nifty trick Haenel pulls off, both getting us to sympathize with Jennys perseverance and recognize that the doctors drive is partly provoked by her own nervousness that maybe shes not the great person she thought she was. Anyone conversant in the filmmakers earlier work will recognize all their trademarks in The Unknown Girl: the pristinely performed single-shot scenes, the lack of music on the soundtrack, the neorealism that informs every frame. No one crafts movies like these two men, and theyve been executing at such a high level for decades that its awfully easy to take what they do for granted. The Dardennes curse is that they make the effortless seem, well, effortless, which ignores the thematic complexity and subtle narrative twists they weave into each movie. The Unknown Girl isnt just about guilt but also racism, the folly of pride and our collective need to be absolved for the bad things weve doneeven if the penance doesnt fit the infraction. All of this is done masterfully, but I confess it was masterful in just the way I expected. As a result, The Unknown Girl filled me with guilt as wellfor not loving it more than I did. Directors: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne Writers: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne Starring: Adele Haenel, Olivier Bonnaud, Jeremie Renier, Louka Minnella Release Date: Screening in competition at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival Tim Grierson is chief film critic for Paste and the vice president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. You can follow him on Twitter. The date has been set, on the 23rd of June the United Kingdom will vote whether or not to stay within the EU. If the country votes for Brexit, Britain has the option to withdraw from the EU, two years after communicating this to the European Council. This will have [] The joint venture between Geneba and LogProject from Langenfeld is developing a distribution facility near the A57 motorway in Rheinberg for spare parts logistics of a world-renowned company. Following on from the completion of a combined logistics and production facility for Volkswagen AG in Isenbuttel, this next project is further [] A 'topping-out' ceremony was held last night at Schroder UK Real Estate Fund and Stanhope's Ruskin Square development in Croydon, to celebrate the first office building reaching its highest point. Designed by shedkm this important construction milestone is the last major hurdle before the scheme's first commercial building reaches practical [] NASA successfully launched a super pressure balloon (SPB) from Wanaka Airport, New Zealand, at 11:35 a.m. Tuesday, May 17, 2016 (7:35 p.m. EDT Monday, May 16, 2016) on a potentially record-breaking, around-the-world test flight. The purpose of the flight is to test and validate the SPB technology with the goal of long-duration flight (100+ days) at mid-latitudes. In addition, the gondola is carrying the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) gamma-ray telescope as a mission of opportunity. "The team performed a brilliant launch operation today," said Debbie Fairbrother, NASA's Balloon Program Office chief. "The balloon is pressurized, healthy, and well on its way for this important test mission. I'm extremely proud of our Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) team for yet another beautiful launch, and I'm thankful for the tremendous support from our Kiwi friends, particularly the phenomenal Wanaka Airport staff." Two hours and 8 minutes after lift-off, the 532,000-cubic-meter (18.8-million-cubic-foot) balloon reached its operational float altitude of 33.5 kilometers (110,000 feet) flying a trajectory taking it initially westward through southern Australia before entering into the eastward flowing winter stratospheric cyclone. NASA estimates the balloon will circumnavigate the globe about the southern hemisphere's mid-latitudes once every one to three weeks, depending on wind speeds in the stratosphere. "The successful launch demonstrates the value of an experienced scientific ballooning team and represents a partner NASA can count on," said John Pullen, vice president and general manager, Technical Services Division of Orbital ATK's Space Systems Group. "The NASA/Orbital ATK's CSBF team executed flawlessly on the mission and reinforced Wallops Flight Facility's position as the world leader in scientific ballooning operations." This launch marks the beginning of the second SPB flight for COSI, which was developed by the University of California, Berkeley. COSI is a NASA-funded mission designed to probe the mysterious origins of galactic positrons, study the creation of new elements in the galaxy, and perform pioneering studies of gamma-ray bursts and black holes. Long-duration flights are vital to these types of studies. Another mission of opportunity is the Carolina Infrasound instrument, a small, 3-kilogram payload with infrasound microphones designed to record acoustic wave field activity in the stratosphere. Developed by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, previous balloon flights of the instrument have recorded low-frequency sounds in the stratosphere, some of which are believed to be new to science. It was the fifth launch attempt for the team; previous attempts were scrubbed due to weather conditions not conducive for launch. NASA's balloon experts at CSBF, and at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, will monitor and control balloon flight operations throughout the mission. In the meantime, NASA's balloon team in Wanaka will begin closing down on-site campaign operations, which have been ongoing since February. "We're absolutely delighted to see NASA's visit culminate in another successful launch," said Ralph Fegan, Wanaka Airport operations manager. "The project has provided fantastic exposure for our region and New Zealand to date, and this launch has helped us consolidate our relationship with NASA and its global balloon program. It's been a pleasure to welcome the team back again, and we're very grateful to our airport users, neighbors and the wider community for their ongoing support." The science and engineering communities have previously identified long-duration balloon flights at constant altitudes as playing an important role in providing inexpensive access to the near-space environment for science and technology. The current record for a NASA super pressure balloon flight is 54 days As the balloon travels around the Earth, it may be visible from the ground, particularly at sunrise and sunset, to those who live in the southern hemisphere's mid-latitudes, such as Argentina and South Africa. Anyone may track the progress of the flight, which includes a map showing the balloon's real-time location, at: Misconduct within an organization is generally seen as a predicament at best, a catastrophe at worst. But a new study by a Johns Hopkins University business professor shows that such misconduct, or "deviance," can prove beneficial by causing "non-deviant" members of the group to work harder in order to alleviate their own discomfort with the organization's tarnished image. "The silver lining of organizational deviance may be the efforts of the uninvolved," says lead researcher Brian Gunia, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School in Baltimore, Maryland. The urge to increase effort in the wake of group deviance is particularly strong among non-deviants who identify closely with their organizations and thus may perceive "an internal identity threat" because of the misconduct, he adds. The paper by Gunia and co-author Sun Young Kim of the IESEG School of Management in France, "The behavioral benefits of other people's deviance," was recently published in the online edition of Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. As the authors note, previous research primarily examined organizational misbehavior's impact on only the deviant members; this new paper is among the first to consider the effect on the non-deviants, particularly looking at their exertion of effort during such a crisis. "The effects of misconduct extend far beyond the deviants," Gunia says. In three separate studies with about 200 participants from around the United States, the researchers confirmed their main theory that non-deviant members work harder after witnessing deviance. The extra effort that follows a failure, however, is confined to those who identify highly with the organization; non-deviants whose identities are not so closely tied to the organization tend not to sense a threat to their identities, and so they are less inclined to exert increased effort, according to the study. The fictionalized examples of deviance posed to the study participants were of moderate severity that is, not serious enough to jeopardize a group's existence. Yet the results across the board revealed the value of group identification, highlighting a previously unrecognized advantage for both a group and its members: The non-deviants' enhanced effort accrues to the organization's benefit while providing a coping mechanism and a potential boost in reputation for the members themselves, Gunia says. "The whole group benefits from increased effort, but individual members and their standing within the organization may improve as well," he adds. In pointing out the ironic benefits of organizational deviance, the authors are quick to note that encouraging misconduct would be "patently unwise." Yet they add that "deviance does happen with unfortunate frequency, and organizational leaders need to know how to respond." The study suggests that leaders could respond by highlighting the similarities between the deviants and the non-deviants, which, "while uncomfortable," could trigger in the latter group a feeling of association with the crisis and cause them to work harder. For example, leaders might say something like "Any of us could have fallen into this trap." The researchers advise against blaming a few "bad apples," as this appears to isolate and dismiss the problem, sidestepping any assignment of responsibility to the organization's overall structure and leadership. Gunia and Kim indicate that their study suggests various future research topics. For example, would an instance of severe deviance also prompt increased effort, or would it cause the non-deviants to just leave? Additionally, would anyone work harder when a majority of the organization is involved in misconduct? Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have discovered that high levels of the protein p62 in human liver samples are strongly associated with cancer recurrence and reduced patient survival. In mice, they also found that p62 is required for liver cancer to form. The study, published May 19, 2016 in Cancer Cell, suggests p62 could be used as a prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target for liver cancer. "By defining factors that allow liver cells to progress from pre-cancer to cancer, we were able to find one -- p62 -- that we can also use to predict a liver cancer patient's outcome following full removal of a previous liver tumor," said co-senior author Michael Karin, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Pathology and Ben and Wanda Hildyard Chair for Mitochondrial and Metabolic Diseases at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Karin led the study with co-senior author Jorge Moscat, PhD, deputy director of the Cancer Center at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, and first author Atsushi Umemura, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in Karin's lab. Protein p62 normally acts as the cell's trash collector, delivering specially tagged proteins to the cell's degradation machinery. P62 also acts as a communication hub -- it binds many different proteins to regulate important cellular functions like growth and survival. Amounts of p62 are known to be elevated in many different cancers, including liver, and in pre-cancerous liver diseases. In this study, Karin's team looked at non-cancerous liver samples collected from people who had undergone previous treatment to completely destroy their liver cancers. They graded the livers from 0 to 3 based on the average number of p62-positive aggregates detected. Seventy-nine of 121 specimens were p62 positive. Using the medical records corresponding to each liver sample, the team also noted the number of years each patient survived disease-free. The researchers found that people with high-grade p62 were significantly more likely to see their cancer return and less likely to survive cancer-free than people with low or no p62. They found the same correlation when they looked at the link between the p62 gene and survival outcomes for an additional 450 liver cancer patients whose genomic data and clinical records are available in national research databases. Work in mice led the researchers to attribute protein p62's pro-cancer effect to its ability to activate other proteins (NRF2, mTORC1 and c-Myc) and genes that help stressed cells survive. This extended lifespan allows liver cells to accumulate cancer-causing mutations and ultimately form malignant tumors. The researchers found that p62 alone was enough to induce liver cancer in several mouse models of the disease. Liver tumors couldn't form without the protein. The specific type of liver cancer analyzed in this study was hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of adult liver cancer. While years of further testing are necessary before doctors might be able to use p62 information to make treatment decisions, new liver cancer detection and prevention methods are sorely needed. Liver cancer doesn't usually cause symptoms until later stages, contributing to its low survival rate. According to the American Cancer Society, just 17 percent of patients with all types of liver and bile duct cancer survive five years cancer-free. "Our new study illustrates that p62 is necessary and sufficient to induce liver cancer in mice, and that its high expression level in liver tissue surrounding a tumor predicts recurrence of the disease after tumors are removed," said Moscat. "We believe that small molecules that interfere with p62 may be useful for preventing the progression of chronic liver disease to liver cancer." Immunology -- and the idea that many diseases can best be addressed by boosting the body's own immune response -- is one of the hottest areas in medical research and clinical treatment. University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Chiba University School of Medicine in Japan have announced a new collaborative research center to investigate the most promising aspects of immunology, especially the area of mucosal immunology, and to speed development of clinical applications. The Chiba University-UC San Diego Immunology Initiative and associated research center, to be based at UC San Diego School of Medicine, will be established with a $2 million contribution from Chiba University, the funding allocated over five years together with support from UC San Diego. "This agreement reflects our shared interest in furthering scientific understanding of the human immune system, what happens when things go wrong and how best to remedy them," said David Brenner, MD, vice chancellor, UC San Diego Health Sciences and dean of the School of Medicine. "The microbiome has a major impact upon human health, particularly mucosal immune responses that affect virtually every type of disease, from acute and chronic conditions like infection, allergy, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease and arthritis to type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and cancer. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are affected by immune system dysfunction so the need to find new, effective treatments is incredibly powerful and compelling." The effort, which will be co-directed by Peter Ernst, DVM, PhD, professor of pathology at UC San Diego School of Medicine, and Hiroshi Kiyono, DDS, PhD, professor, University of Tokyo and Chiba University, will involve exchanges of faculty, researchers, staff and students. Initial joint projects will focus on medical and veterinary science, vaccine development, allergy, inflammation, infectious diseases, mucosal immunology and the interactions between mucosal immunity and commensal microbiota that promote health. "This is a collaboration of partners, both with a deep interest in advancing immunology research across disciplines," said Ernst, who also directs the Center for Veterinary Sciences and Comparative Medicine. "The topics we are grappling with are global in scale. We want to be leaders in both understanding mucosal immunology and in how to use that knowledge to prevent and treat a vast array of diseases such as infectious, allergic and inflammatory diseases. We want to cultivate the next generation of scientists, here, in Japan and around the world." Specifically, the agreement outlines creation of multiple affiliated laboratories with principal investigators at Chiba University, UC San Diego and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, which last year formed a multi-year partnership with UC San Diego to boost collaborative basic research of immune system diseases. The Chiba-UC San Diego initiative would also contribute to a new graduate program in immunology. "Through collaboration and combined resources, we hope to develop new concepts and technologies that ultimately lead to development a preventive vaccine against infectious diseases, allergies and cancers, boosting the body's ability to block the transmission of agents entering through mucous membranes," said Takeshi Tokuhisa, MD, PhD, president of Chiba University. "It would be a new approach to next-generation vaccines." States with higher estimated levels of gun ownership had higher incidents of gun-related suicides, with firearm ownership alone explaining 71 percent of the variation in state-level gun suicide rates for males and 49 percent for females, a new study by Boston University School of Public Health researchers shows. The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, covers 33 years, from 1981 to 2013, and is the most comprehensive analysis of the association between gun ownership and gender-specific suicides rates among the 50 U.S. states. "Our study adds to the consistent finding that among both males and females, increased prevalence of firearms is clearly associated with an increase in the firearm-specific suicide rate," said Michael Siegel, MD, lead author and professor of community health sciences at BUSPH. "The magnitude of this relationship is substantial and warrants attention from policy-makers." Co-author Emily Rothman, associate professor of community health sciences, added, "Given that suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., and firearm-related deaths and injuries are extraordinarily costly, reducing firearm-related self-injury and suicide is a public health imperative." The analysis found that firearm ownership was a significant predictor of male firearm suicide rates, which increased 3.3 per 100,000 for each 10 percent increase in gun ownership. For women, firearm suicide rates increased 0.5 per 100,000 for each 10 percent increase in gun ownership. The study also found an association between gun ownership rates and suicides by any means (including non-gun-related acts) among males, but not among females. Over the 33-year study period, the mean estimated percentage of gun ownership ranged from a low of 12.2 percent in Hawaii to a high of 72.8 percent in Wyoming, with an average for all states of 41 percent. Hawaii had the third-lowest suicide gun suicide rate for males (4.8 per 100,000) among all states, while Wyoming had the highest rate (26.1 per 100,000). Massachusetts, with the lowest gun suicide rate in the country for men (4.2 per 100,000) had the second-lowest gun ownership rate. The mean adjusted gun suicide rate among women over the study period ranged from a low of 0.40 per 100,000 in New York to a high of 4.2 per 100,000 in Nevada. The average gun suicide rate for both genders declined slightly from 1981 to 2013. Siegel and Rothman noted that past studies exploring the association between firearm ownership and suicides had produced mixed results, with some failing to find any relationship. They said that by analyzing three decades worth of data, examining gender-specific suicide rates, and accounting for a host of state-specific factors that could potentially confound the association, they had controlled for as many variables as possible. The study controlled for income, education divorce rate and crime, among many other factors. Siegel noted that because there is no state-level data on firearm ownership, the researchers used a "proxy measure" of firearm ownership that estimates ownership based on the percentage of suicides in which a firearm was used and a state's hunting license rate. The "well-established" proxy has a 95 percent correlation with survey-measured gun ownership rates, he said. He said the study suggests that lowering gun ownership rates could reduce gun-related suicides. For example, if the firearm ownership in Wyoming dropped from 72.8 percent to 41 percent (the average for all states), the male firearm suicide rate could be expected to decline by 38 percent, and the female rate by 56 percent. Overall male suicide rates in Wyoming, including those by means other than guns, would be expected to fall 16 percent, based on the study's model. Siegel and Rothman said the key public health implication of their findings is that "reductions in the prevalence of firearms may be an effective strategy for reducing overall and firearm-related suicides among males and for reducing firearm-related suicides among females. " Approximately 40,000 people die as a result of suicide each year in the U.S., at an estimated cost of $44 billion a year. While gun homicides are more frequently reported, the number of gun suicides per year is almost twice as high. In 2013, there were 11,208 firearm homicides and 21,175 firearm suicides, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When those cute animals gnaw on wood enclosures at a zoo, they may be risking their health by ingesting toxic levels of arsenic, so zoo managers need to pay attention to the potential risk of the wood on zoo animals, a new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences study shows. The wood in question is treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA), which can be toxic. After visiting a zoo with her family, Julia Gress, a former post-doctoral researcher in the UF/IFAS soil and water sciences department, recognized that animals living in enclosures made from CCA-treated wood might face health risks. Gress wanted to assess the impact of CCA-treated wood on arsenic exposures in zoo animals. She measured arsenic concentrations in soil from inside enclosures and on wipe samples of CCA-treated wood. Samples were taken from inside 17 wood enclosures, and also included crocodilian eggs, bird feathers, marmoset hair and porcupine quills. Researchers found arsenic levels in soil that were higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's risk-based level for birds and mammals. As well, arsenic levels in some animal tissues were also higher than those in other studies. Those findings should encourage zoo managers to limit animal exposure to arsenic found on the wood surface and in nearby soil, Gress said. "Zoos care about the animals, which are often worth a lot of money," said Gress, who conducted her search under the guidance of UF/IFAS soil and water sciences professor Lena Ma. Gress now works at the California Department of Toxic Substances Control in the Safer Consumer Products program. CCA-treated wood is used in many structures. CCA preserves wood and extends its life by 20 to 40 years, but it contains large amounts of arsenic. CCA was withdrawn from use in most residential applications in 2004 because of health concerns over arsenic. Still, CCA-treated poles, fencing and plywood are still commonly used in areas where animals are housed, including barns, feedlots and zoos, according to the study. "CCA wood is marketed for us in all types of agricultural applications, and there are instances of animals being poisoned from chewing on CCA wood in their animal enclosures, which is normal animal behavior," Gress said. In zoo settings, animals can experience long-term, daily exposure to contaminants, which concerns scientists trying to conserve threatened and endangered species, Gress said. The study is published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. Tourists who feed wild monkeys in Morocco are risking the health of an endangered species by making them larger, more susceptible to disease, and more stressed, according to new research. Behavioral ecologists compared the health of two groups of wild Barbary macaques in Ifrane National Park in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco; one which spent nearly 50 per cent of their feeding activity eating food provided by humans, and another which rarely encounter tourists and instead relied on natural food resources. The macaques which ate food from tourists were found to have poorer quality fur, with some patches of alopecia, and also suffered from higher levels of stress hormones compared with the other group. All the females in the non-fed group gave birth, but only a third of females in the groups of Barbary macaques frequently fed by tourists had babies. The monkeys which relied on natural food were observed to only suffer one incident of a stomach upset, while the group which received large amounts of food from tourists had 32 bouts of illness. The study also found that the effects of feeding by tourists were different depending on sex; while males did not differ between groups in body size and fur quality, the females fed by tourists had larger body sizes, but better coat quality. However, the males suffered more from alopecia and higher stress levels. The findings are published in the journal, PLOS ONE. The study was led by Dr Laetitia Marechal as part of her PhD at the University of Roehampton. Dr Marechal, now a post-doctoral fellow in the School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, UK, said: "Barbary macaques are an endangered species and recently tourism was proposed as a potential tool for the conservation of this species in Morocco. But such tourism is currently unregulated, and feeding is a common practice; therefore regulating tourist provisioning may improve animal welfare. "We assessed the primates' health using a range of non-invasive measures, such as birth and survival rates, the quality of their fur, body size, occurrence of injury and disease, and stress hormone levels in fecal samples. Our findings support previous research which indicates that wildlife tourism, and particularly so-called 'tourist provisioning', has negative impacts on the health of wild animals. "The study suggests that measures need to be taken to avoid causing more harm to an already endangered species. We are confident that changes will soon be made to regulate wildlife tourism in Morocco, as the Moroccan authorities and the local community have supported our study. Now tourists who encounter wildlife need to be informed that feeding wild animals is harmful, and so they should not do it." Today on Google.com is a special Google Doodle, a Google logo, designed for honoring the life of Sigmund Freud. Today would be his 160th birthday and he is one of the most well known neurologist and is considered the father of psychoanalysis. He analyzes people's dreams as something that means more than just nothing. He was born on May 6, 1856 in Czech Republic and died at the age of 83 on September 23, 1939 in London. Freud lived and worked in Vienna, having set up his clinical practice there in 1886. In 1938 Freud left Austria to escape the Nazis (today is the day after Yom HaShoa, a day that remembers those horrible days) . He died in exile in the United Kingdom in 1939. The Doodler expressed their inspiration behind the Doodle: Did you wonder what your dream meant this morning? The idea that dreams "mean" anything or that we have an active subconscious mind, is a concept we owe to Sigmund Freud, who was born 160 years ago today. Freud is best known as the father of psychoanalysis, the method of resolving mental illness through a dialogue between a doctor and patient. The Freudian method of interpretation looking for meaning beyond the surface of things now extends far beyond the sphere of psychotherapy. Freudian terms like "narcissism," "sibling rivalry," "free association," and "death wish" are part of our vernacular, and Freud's theories continue to fuel heated debate among academics. A dimpled leather couch might be the typical visual associated with Freud and other therapists, but Doodler Kevin Laughlin instead created this iceberg. With a vast hidden base, the iceberg references the murky depths of the unconscious mind. More importantly, the design draws our eye to the horizon, reminding us how the genius of Freud's practice rests in the space between doctor and patient, reader and text, human and world. I am sure there are many happy searchers out there after spotting this Google Doodle. Forum discussion at Google+.Facebook/Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage
For a little hippo who had such a rough start in life, happiness has arrived - in the form of a tiny rhino. Charlie the hippo was abandoned by his family in South Africa when he was only days old. Tiny and weak, he would have died on his own. So the kind people at the Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage took him in. Given his precarious condition, no one knew if he would pull through. He was peeing through his still-attached umbilical cord, and if it didn't resolve on its own, he might need a very scary surgery. But within days, he was in much better spirits. Dodo Shows Foster Diaries Scared Pittie Gets So Happy When He Meets This Guy And His Pack Of Dogs Here he is with his caretaker, Karen Trendler, on an early morning stroll. But while Charlie recovered, a little white rhino was living her own nightmare. Makhosi was only 2 days old when she was found by the team at Thula Thula. She had been too small and frail to reach her mother's teat, and she would not have survived the night. Fortunately, Thula Thula writes, her mom is still safe in the wild. The team rushed Makhosi into the back of an ambulance so that she could get urgent medical care. "By 3 am the calf wasn't settling and I took a chance and dropped the barrier between rhino and hippo - instant bond and Makhosi settled," Trendler writes on Facebook. Here they are just five minutes after their introduction. "In a very short time the rhino and hippo calf have become inseparable, providing comfort and company to one another," she writes. "Charlie has really helped to give tiny Makhosi the will to live," Trendler says. No one knows exactly how the young harbor seal who washed up on a Massachusetts beach got so broken in so many places. A team from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) found him last September suffering from a litany of health issues: difficulty breathing, wounds all over his body, high fever, severe pneumonia. And that's just what they could see right away. The ailing animal was rushed to the National Marine Life Center in Cape Cod, where the list got longer and longer. He was dehydrated. Malnourished. A deep infection that ruptured his left ear. Dodo Shows Foster Diaries Scared Pittie Gets So Happy When He Meets This Guy And His Pack Of Dogs "Everything that could go wrong with him did," Kathy Zagzebski, executive director of the National Marine Life Center, tells The Dodo. For a while, the tiny seal's fate was desperately uncertain. But as he got healthier, his playful personality bubbled to the surface. He made friends with humans and animals alike at the hospital. And he got a name: Onion Flake. For a while, his road to recovery seemed smooth and assured. But this is Onion Flake we're talking about. He was also diagnosed with phocine herpesvirus, a virus known to attack seals. It led to an eye infection. "And then he got two other illnesses," Zagzebski adds. Of course. But Onion Flake didn't have the time for any of it. He charged ahead, even after losing sight in his right eye. "He's a fighter," Zagzebski says. And soon, he will no longer a patient. Onion Flake, despite charming everyone he's met on dry land, will soon be ready to return to the sea. But before then, the National Marine Life Center is appealing for help raising funds to give Onion Flake a satellite tag. That would help the group track him once he's back in the wild. And, let's face it, he seems like the kind of seal who could use someone looking over him. In the meantime, the plucky seal will stay at the facility, where he's certain to make even more friends of his own kind. It's baby seal season, a time when harbor seals often leave their babies on the beach while they go hunting for food. The trouble is, well-meaning people frequently come across them and assume they've been abandoned. "That results in a big challenge we see every year with little baby pups left on the beach perfectly OK, perfectly healthy - until people come along." "If there's one message I'm getting out, it's if you see a seal on the beach, let him be. Often mom is coming back. And call the seal rescue group in your area so we can check it out." Onion Flake, on the other hand, wasn't an orphan. Just really, really unlucky. "He was what's called a weanling when rescued," Zagzebski explains. "He had probably been on his own for two or three months by that time and he just got sick." Real sick. "There are two really vulnerable times for seals," she says. "One is that first month when mom is leaving them on the beach. "The second is right after they've been weaned and on their own for a couple of months - they're still young animals, they're still really fragile and they're subject to a lot of illnesses." In Onion Flake's case, he caught just about every one of them. A sad, emaciated puma who spent his life chained to the open back of a car - the only home he'd ever known - is finally free. "He lived the whole of his life wearing a harness and strapped to the back of a station wagon," Jan Creamer, president of Animal Defenders International (ADI), told The Dodo. "He shared the back of the station wagon with all the metal equipment." Animal Defenders International Lacking even the comfort of a cage, the unlucky cat had likely been sold into the exotic pet trade as an infant. Since then, he had been carted around from village to village with a Peruvian circus. When he wasn't performing, he slept in the car's metal bed, curled up behind the tent poles. Animal Defenders International "It was absolutely the most sad, wretched thing that you've ever seen, to see a beautiful animal pushed into a corner," Jan Creamer, president of Animal Defenders International (ADI), told The Dodo. "It was like he wasn't even alive." The mountain lion, named Mustafa, and a condor named Condorito, who also lived at the circus, were the last animals rescued as part of ADI's months-long Operation Spirit of Freedom, a crackdown on performing animals in the wake of Peru's 2011 ban on circus animals. The project has saved nearly 80 animals but, despite the Peruvian government's active partnership, it has often been a struggle. Dodo Shows Faith = Restored Couple Meets A Beach Dog In Mexico Who Changes Their Life Animal Defenders International In Mustafa and Condorito's case, the circus owner staged a riot to prevent police and ADI from rescuing them. "The circus owner offered money, and it was announced on the local radio that he was offering money, for people to come and fight the police," Creamer said. "A lot of people came and were shouting and screaming." Animal Defenders International After an hours-long standoff between the circus and locals and police, the circus owner backed down when he realized he would be facing heavy charges - including possible child endangerment charges for asking people to bring along their children. Animal Defenders International Unfortunately, standoffs like these aren't uncommon. Plus, circuses often travel between small villages and avoid big towns so they can't be found, knowing their animals could be seized if they are spotted. Animal Defenders International Just 24 hours before rescuing Mustafa, ADI had removed a tiger named Hoover from a similar circus - after another hours-long standoff with that owner. When ADI started tracking it, the circus had two surviving tigers out of an original group of 12. Eight months later, when the circus was found, Hoover was the only one alive. Animal Defenders International Though the Peru job is officially done, ADI will continue to monitor the area to make sure every last animal has been rescued. They believe the circus that abused Mustafa is still hiding a monkey and possibly another condor. ADI is urging the public to use social media to alert them to any animals still in captivity. Next year, ADI will turn its attention to Colombia, which outlawed circus animals in 2013, and Mexico, which followed late last year. In the meantime, the group is focusing on rehabilitating the animals currently in its care. Animal Defenders International Mustafa is underweight, which is clear from pictures, but appears to be more injured emotionally by his unmerciful time in captivity. "Mustafa is very shy," Creamer said. "He's really quite nervous and so we're just waiting for him to get a little bit more confident and not be afraid of us." Though Hoover has perked up in the few days he's been with ADI, he appears to have lost a lot of weight quickly and is very tired and not eating well. Vets are concerned about parasites, but it's also possible he has broken teeth or a dental infection - all-too-common-problems in circus cats. "Almost all of them, if they're of any age, have smashed teeth, because when people are handling animals in the circus, if they're causing any trouble, the first thing they do is smash them in the face with an iron bar," Creamer said. "The other thing is they chew the metal bars [of their cages] because they're desperate and they break their teeth." Animal Defenders International Vets are waiting until the cats settle in to put them under the stress of sedation and a proper physical exam, but, fortunately, their futures are already looking better. Hoover will be airlifted to Colorado's Wildlife Animal Sanctuary in June, along with 33 former circus lions ADI has rescued and a bear named Cholita. As Mustafa is a native species, ADI and Peruvian officials are working to determine whether he would be better off at the Colorado sanctuary or at a sanctuary closer to home. As for Condorito the condor, more than just freedom could be in his future: He could regain the power of flight. The circus clipped his wings to keep him flightless, but ADI has been told that it's possible for his flight feathers to regrow if they're plucked, which would make him eligible for release. Animal Defenders International Heineken NV reported beer shipments that rose at more than double the rate analysts expected thanks to growth across Asia and Latin America, heaping pressure on the Dutch brewers global peers who are next in line to report. Beer volume rose 7 percent, the worlds third-biggest brewer said Wednesday in a statement. Analysts expected 2.4 percent growth. The figure excludes the impact of acquisitions, disposals and currency swings. The shares were up 0.8 percent as of 11:24 a.m. in Amsterdam, paring gains after surging 4.6 percent to a record 86.95 euros. Its a blowout performance, wrote Jonathan Fyfe, an analyst at Mirabaud. The quarter is an advert for Heinekens favourable market positioning across the Americas region. The surprise is a large one for Heineken and raises expectations for European rivals SABMiller Plc, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and Carlsberg. Heinekens beer volume in Asia Pacific rose 23 per cent, boosted by Vietnamese and Chinese new year celebrations. Growth in the region was almost five times faster than the 4.5 per cent median analyst estimate. The brewer didnt quantify the impact of the new-year parties and the earlier timing of Easter this year. Excluding the boost from Vietnam, beer volume growth was probably mid-single digit, Komal Dhillon, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co., wrote. Heineken, which gets about two-thirds of profit from emerging markets, reiterated that it anticipates stronger sales and profit in 2016 led by Asia, despite a slowdown in some markets such as Russia. First-quarter profit fell 54 per cent to 265 million euros ($382 million Cdn.) due to a 379 million-euro capital gain last year from the sale of a Mexican packaging unit. Can we analysts be quite that badly wrong?, Andrew Holland, an analyst at Societe Generale, said by phone. Well, yes we can, but the company did also flag the timing of New Year celebrations in China and Vietnam and other one-offs. The brewer is trying to keep a lid on expectations by leaving the guidance unchanged, he said. The beer market in Asia has not been favourable to all brewers, with China Resources Beer and Tsingtao reporting profit declines last month as consumers shifted to other drinks. Heineken outperformed the sluggish U.S. market and beat estimates in Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe. Volume growth was led by Ethiopia and Nigeria, where the company has forecast that conditions will remain challenging and the consumer environment weak due to the low global oil price. Heineken also had double-digit growth in Brazil, a market dominated by AB InBev. SHARE: One of the oldest documents in humanity is the Hammurabi Code, dating from 1754 BC. It contains no fewer than 282 laws. Such was the epidemic of anti-social behaviour by people engaged in commerce that the Babylonian king was obliged to engrave in stone his punishments for makers of shoddy goods, builders of homes that fell down, traders that cheated each other, and grain merchants who fixed prices in conspiracies against the public. The punishments were harsh. They included execution, the severing of ones hands, and fines that condemned a perpetrator to a lifetime of penury and disgrace. So, looking at todays police blotter of corporate crimes, proved and alleged, how are we doing 3,770 years later? Hmm Not so well. Johnson & Johnson Inc., maker of Tylenol, Band-Aids and heart stents, is currently accused by more than 1,000 women in the U.S. of failing to warn consumers that its Johnson & Johnsons Baby Powder has been linked to ovarian cancer. J&J insists that the overwhelming body of scientific research and clinical evidence supports the safety of cosmetic risk. That kind of trouble is the norm for J&J, which since 2013 alone has paid an astonishing $5 billion (U.S.) to settle legal claims over the safety and efficacy of its products. (All figures in U.S. dollars.) That doesnt include a $2.2 billion fine for J&Js improper marketing of Risperdal, an anti-psychotic drug, to children and the elderly. Or a settlement of almost $3 billion to resolve lawsuits over its artificial hips and faulty vaginal mesh inserts. In 2010, the U.S. government shut down a J&J plant in Pennsylvania whose bottles of J&J Infant Tylenol were contaminated with particles of nickel and chromium. Todays police blotter also shows that Montreal engineering giant SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. might have used $16.8 million in bribes disguised as commissions to crack the Algerian market, according to a Toronto Star-CBC analysis of the Panama Papers. SNC is already in hot water over alleged bribes elsewhere so troubling that the UN has forbidden SNC from bidding on UN-funded contracts. Elsewhere, Apple Inc. stooped to conspiring with other e-book publishers to fix prices at consumers expense. Now it must pay a $450-million fine for violating U.S. anti-trust laws. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the U.S. banking giant, has agreed to pay Uncle Sam a $5-billion fine for selling financial products it knew to be shoddy. The U.S. feds have already reached settlements with the Wall Street malefactors JPMorgan Chase (a $13-billion settlement), Bank of America Corp. ($16.6 billion), Citigroup Inc. ($7 billion) and Morgan Stanley ($3.2 billion). The sum total of the above fines is $45 billion, a mere cost of doing business relative to the estimated $22 trillion in damage to the U.S. economy caused by the Luciferian architects of the Great Recession. Elsewhere on the police blotter, a Volkswagen AG mired in dieselgate has just paid 12 current and former members of its supervisory board a total of $72.4 million in bonuses for 2015. Thats their reward for failing to put a halt to the decade-long VW scheme to fake the stated fuel-efficiency performance of VW vehicles. The worlds second-largest automaker is now flirting with insolvency from the resulting fines and class-action suits. Conditions at VW are dire enough that it might seek a government bailout. But that will have to occur with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble out of the room. Reflecting popular German sentiment about VW, Schaeuble has said: I have no sympathy for managers who first drive a large blue-chip company into an existence-threatening crisis and then defend their bonuses in a public debate. General Motors Corp. faces 235 pending injury and death lawsuits over a faulty ignition switch that is so far linked to about 400 deaths and injuries. GM has acknowledged that employees whose identities it wont disclose knew of trouble with the ignition switch for a decade or more. Finally, we have Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (RB), the giant British maker of a cupboard full of household brands, including Frenchs mustard, Lysol, Woolite, Scholl, Durex condoms, Air Wick air fresheners and scores of other products sold in close to 200 countries. RB was in public denial for years about its humidifier disinfectant for the South Korean market, keeping it on the shelves for a decade 2011, when four pregnant women were found to have died from inhaling toxic chemicals in the disinfectant. So far, this RD product appears to have killed 146 people. Scores of surviving victims include children born undersized, and wheelchair-bound victims of respiratory ailments who must now rely on portable oxygen tanks after inhaling deadly chemicals in the RB disinfectant. South Korea this week brought criminal charges against RBs former South Korean CEO and two former RB senior researchers. Kim Chong-in, interim leader of the main opposition party, said this week that RBs actions are manslaughter and professional negligence resulting in injury. The harm done by errant Big Business worldwide is epic in scope. And while it appears episodic, it is actually a continuum. We have tried so many methods to tame rank behaviour in business. These include corporate codes of conduct, more honoured in the breach than the observance. They are a butt-covering exercise in encouraging judicial leniency. (J&J and RB have quite impressive ethical codes.) Weve tried incarcerating the bounders, including the Enron crowd, Bernie Ebbers of WorldCom, and Conrad Black. But sending the white-collar crooks of the Enron-era up the river didnt prevent the prompt emergence of the unscrupulous mortgage brokers, unethical practitioners at credit-rating agencies, and delusional buyers of $250-million bundles of sub-prime mortgages (a.k.a. toxic waste) who inflated the disastrous housing bubble. Weve tried fines, but even the heftiest fines are paid not by the errant top managers, but by the stockholders, including teachers pension plans. Boycotts are difficult to organize and sustain. Then again, South Korea could simply ban all RB products from the country for 10 years, and see if that model works. We also havent clawed back from feckless top managers their unfairly pocketed stock-option and bonus windfalls, rewards for failure. Also, the state could simply expropriate chronically malfeasant enterprises, as the U.S. has done with a handful of self-destructive culprits in the 2008 meltdown. We can be certain of still more debilitating behaviour by Big Business if we arent more determined and innovative in eradicating at least the most destructive abuses. Reckitt Benckiser has provided a modest $8.6 million in funds to assist South Korean victims of its deadly disinfectant. Rakesh Kapoor, CEO of the RBs British parent company, could be made to carve an $8.6-million slice from his 2015 pay packet of $33.3 million to double that fund, in a country where many people regard the British as having killed and injured South Koreans. The punishment could worse for Kapor. Hammurabi would have had his hands cut off. SHARE: The serial business reader might have looked with dismay upon this weeks financial news out of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. A net investment return of 3.4 per cent for 2016 seems a thin result for the globally sized pension fund with a team of high-priced talent: a CEO who pulled down $4.5 million in direct compensation; a CEO in waiting who pulled down close to $6 million (converted from Hong Kong dollars as per the CPPIBs annual report); investment heads for whom $3 million has become matter of course. A cynic might wonder if the CPPIB was being purposefully clever in veiling the annual results with the big news departure of chief executive Mark Wiseman for the gargantuan BlackRock Inc., the worlds biggest money manager with $4.7 trillion (U.S.) in assets under administration as of March 31. Certainly the resulting news coverage was more about people moving than performance, even to the degree of not mentioning the annual return at all in favour of the pension plans 10-year 5.1 per cent rate of return. Fine. Long-term performance is the key indicator, and as any 25-year-old mutual fund salesperson will tell you: dont get caught up fretting about the short term! The 10-year time frame is especially apt when you consider that it coincides with the removal of the foreign content limit. A decade ago the CPPIB had just 164 employees, $98 billion in assets under management and early forecasts predicted a move to 40 per cent foreign content. Today 81 per cent of the pension portfolio resides in non-Canadian investments. Assets under management are nudging $280 billion, which places it as the sole Canadian pension fund with a global top 10 ranking. In a report released last fall, the consulting firm Towers Watson put it in eighth place, just ahead of PFZW, the second largest pension fund in the Netherlands. Assets under administration are projected to reach half a trillion dollars within the next 15 years. So its big. And a success story. Many will recall the grim days of the mid-nineties, when the Canada Pension Plan was kindly described as shaky and cash strapped. The renovation under then-finance minister Paul Martin announced substantial hikes in premiums and ushered in new legislation creating the CPPIB with this seems quaint a dozen investment professionals. The objective, Martin said, was to secure the best possible return for each and every Canadian who contributes to the plan. Foreign investment was limited to 20 per cent. You have to walk before you can run, a finance official told the Star in 1997. The transformation from passive to active investor was deemed daunting even by those hired to run the show. Consistently beating stock market indexes is a formidable task, John MacNaughton said then. MacNaughton was the CPPIBs first president, and sounded somewhat awed by the task of running what was projected to become the biggest pool of capital in the country. Could anyone then have foreseen a pension plan conducting $34 billion in transactions in a single year? Or an organization with close to 1,300 full-time employees? On that point, total operating expenses last year reached $876 million. Personnel expenses rose by $36 million. International expansion offices in Sao Paulo, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, London, New York has come at a price, though board chair Heather Munroe-Blum insists in her forward to the annual report that such an expansion is not a flag-planting exercise. The incoming CEO is very much an internationalist. Mark Machin clocked two decades at Goldman Sachs before joining CPPIB four years ago. Machin takes over from Wiseman on June 13. A week prior, June 6, the CPPIB will hold the public meeting it holds every two years. You may not be aware of these. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Act of 1997 stipulated that such meetings be held in each participating province. They are billed as an opportunity for Canadians to ask questions of the CEO and the chair about performance and strategy. Planned improvements in cost efficiency could be one question. Executive compensation is always an interesting topic Mr. Machin is exceptionally well paid. Overall performance should of course be autopsied. The big question: are we getting the best bang for our buck? SHARE: CBC Television will premiere two new dramas both imports from other countries two homegrown comedies and a British documentary series this summer. The shows are part of a schedule the public broadcaster unveiled this, which also includes a new season of Mountie romance When Calls the Heart, Canadian movies every Saturday night, and reruns of series like Murdoch Mysteries, The Book of Negroes, Schitts Creek, The Romeo Section and more. First up in new content, on Tuesday, June 14, is the Baroness von Sketch Show. CBC describes it as a fresh look at the worlds narcissistic contemporary culture in a news release. Its shot on location in Toronto. It features an all-female cast, including Carolyn Taylor, a comedian who wrote for This Hour Has 22 Minutes; Nova Scotia actress and writer Meredith MacNeill, who splits her time between Canada and the U.K.; Thunder Bay comedian Aurora Browne, whose credits include Comedy Inc. and The Ron James Show; and Jennifer Whalen, another This Hour/Ron James veteran who helped develop Little Mosque on the Prairie and Instant Star. The other new comedy, Four in the Morning, premieres Aug. 26. Described as edgy, the series from Canadian writer Ira Parker follows four friends in their 20s as they navigate life in the wee hours. It was also shot in Toronto. Executive producer Ari Lantos told the Stars Martin Knelman in March, There is humour, but we also find tragedy. It has an unusual tone. Its not the kind of script that has a laugh on every page. On the drama side, Follow the Money is a Danish series that mixes economic and street crime. It premieres June 18. The other dramatic offering is also an import, from the BBC and BBC America, debuting Aug. 22. Created by Peter Moffat (Silk), Undercover is described as a six-part political thriller. It stars Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) as a London lawyer about to become the first black director of public prosecutions when she discovers her husband (Adrian Lester, Hustle) has been lying to her for 20 years. Dennis Haysbert, known for playing the U.S. president in 24, appears here as a black man wrongly convicted of murdering a white policeman and up for execution. Also debuting in August, on the 25th, is The Special Needs Hotel. The British series documents Foxes Academy, a British organization that trains people with learning difficulties to work in the hospitality industry. The training includes working at the academys Foxes Hotel in the seaside town of Minehead. Other highlights of the summer schedule include: Canadian movies on summer Saturday nights, including Passchendaele, Monsieur Lazhar, John A: Birth of a Country, Uvanga and more. Season 2 of Still Standing with Jonny Harris (Murdoch Mysteries) beginning June 14. Season 2 of When Calls the Heart, beginning June 19. Documentary special Newfoundland at Armageddon (June 30) about the destruction of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during the First World War. Documentary special Perfect (Aug. 4), about Canadas national synchronized swimming team trying to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. The Rio Olympic Games, Aug. 5 to 21. SHARE: SAINT-JEROME, QUE.A former Quebec mayor has been sentenced to 18 months in jail after being found guilty last year of fraud, conspiracy and breach of trust. Ex-Boisbriand mayor Robert Poirier was sentenced today in Saint-Jerome, north of Montreal. Poirier and France Michaud, a former vice-president at the Roche engineering firm, were convicted last September on most of the charges they faced in connection with the awarding of municipal contracts. In December, the city of Boisbriand began procedures to recoup some of the stolen money. Read more about: SHARE: The Fort McMurray wildfire, which now seems likely to be the costliest disaster in Canadas history, continues to grow. According to the government of Alberta, as of Friday morning it had burned more than 500,000 hectares of land, or more than 1.2 million acres. These are preliminary numbers, to be sure, and shouldnt be taken as precise. Theyre also likely to change further. There will be wet areas, boggy areas that dont burn. But its not out yet, either, so even without any major runs, by the time it is contained, it will likely grow some more, said Steve Taylor, a research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service. Taylor said the fire already ranks in the top six or seven largest fires seen in Canada in the satellite era, starting in 1970, when observations became most reliable. Especially since this is occurring in May, early in the wildfire season, thats pretty incredible. And so is another detail about this fire the amount of carbon that it is apparently pumping into the atmosphere. Taylors colleague, Werner Kurz, is a senior research scientist at the Canadian Forest Service and heads its carbon accounting team. He said he generally estimates that for every hectare of forest land consumed in a fire like this one, about 170 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions so dubbed because they actually include not only carbon dioxide, but also methane and nitrous oxide, two additional greenhouse gases head into the atmosphere. That, in turn, means that this single fire has contributed for a rough estimate some 85 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. In 2014, the last year for which statistics are currently available, Canada emitted a net of https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/04/21/canada-gets-a-d-on-environmental-report-card.html 732 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent END into the atmosphere. This single wildfire thus may have given off enough carbon to account for over 10 per cent of Canadas total emissions. And this is not unusual, said Kurz. We had other fire years in Canada where the total emissions, over the entire fire season, certainly approached 20 per cent or more of the total emissions 40 per cent even. A little over a week ago, when the fire had consumed a little more than 200,000 hectares, Kurz estimated, in an interview with the Edmonton Journal, that it was already at 5 per cent of Canadas total emissions. I also asked Guido van der Werf, a fire emissions researcher at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam who charted the incredible pulses of carbon sent into the atmosphere due to Indonesian peat fires last year, how much he thought the emissions might be for the Fort McMurray fire. Assuming a million acres burned a smaller number than the one above Van der Werf came up with 35 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, a similarly smaller figure but also one thats roughly in the same ballpark. The difficulty in calculating emissions from these boreal forest fires is that a large fraction of the emissions are from burning the organic soil. And the deeper the organic layer, the more emissions, said Van der Werf by email. Indeed, another expert, Mike Flannigan of the University of Alberta, thinks that the 85 million ton estimate might even be a little low precisely because of the depth of the burn. It was a deep burning fire due to the prolonged drought, Flannigan said by email. He also noted that the fire is continuing to grow. Indeed, it just crossed the border into Saskatchewan. Granted, for emissions, the fire is nothing like the fires in Indonesia last year. Those contributed over a billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions to the atmosphere, according to Van der Werfs calculations, because they burned into deep stores of carbon-rich peat. Anyway you look at it, though, in addition to all of the other devastating consequences of this fire, theres a major carbon pulse into the air. However, theres some good news here, at least for this particular landscape: trees grow back again, over time, and pull that carbon back in. Within 10 to 20 years, that net balance is zero, says Kurz. And from that point on, the regrowing carbon removes more from the atmosphere than is decomposing, and you get a carbon sink again. However, the burning of northern forests can also leave behind a dark upper surface layer that absorbs sunlight, heats up and then thaws permafrost, or frozen soil, beneath the surface. Fort McMurray is located in a zone of Canada thats still far enough south to see only isolated patches of permafrost beneath the ground but if any of that thaws in the wake of this fire, it also will emit carbon into the atmosphere. And that might not get put back in the ground again, at least not on any time frame relevant to the immediate future. The threat of mega-fires to permafrost becomes more and more of an issue as you travel farther north in Canada, Alaska and Siberia, which is why northern wildfires can be such a major problem especially if they are worsening, as appears to be the case. It all serves to underscore why, in an age of mega-fires, we have to worry not only about the damage they can do to human lives and infrastructure, but also how they fit into the broader climate system. More on thestar.com: Fort McMurray evacuees robbed in Saskatoon More firefighters brought in to battle Fort McMurray blaze as conditions improve SHARE: OTTAWATheres a Punjabi phrase shouted to give thanks for victories: the truth will always prevail. So as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau concluded his formal apology Wednesday for the Komagata Maru incident of 1914, Amarjeet Singh Sidhu, who had travelled from outside Toronto to watch the event, could not restrain himself. With a turban proudly on his head and a chest full of medals for his Canadian community service, he rose to his feet in the public gallery of the House of Commons and shouted the phrase for all to hear. And the hundreds of Indo-Canadians in attendance Wednesday for the historic moment roared back their thanks in union. This is a country for people who bring prosperity to be part of the mainstream, work together, play together, pray together, Sidhu said afterwards. It wasnt always that way. In 1914, the Canadian government turned away most of the passengers of the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru, nearly all Sikhs, whod hoped to start a new life in Canada. The 376 passengers arrived off the coast of B.C. hoping to challenge the immigration laws at the time which refused entry to any Indians who had not arrived in Canada via a continuous journey from the home country nearly impossible at the time. Except for 20 passengers who had previously lived in Canada, officials refused to allow the Indians in, even though they were British subjects just like every other Canadian of the time. The vessel sailed to India, where 19 of the passengers were killed in a skirmish with British authorities and dozens of others were imprisoned or forced into hiding. Canada cannot solely be blamed for every tragic mistake that occurred with the Komagata Maru and its passengers, Trudeau told the House, which was packed with MPs and onlookers, many of whom had travelled from across the country. But Canadas government was, without question, responsible for the laws that prevented these passengers from immigrating peacefully and securely. For that, and for every regrettable consequence that followed, we are sorry. Trudeaus formal apology is the second from a Canadian prime minister. Former prime minister Stephen Harper delivered an apology in 2008 in British Columbia, not the House of Commons. His words were part of a broader effort by the previous government to acknowledge the harsh treatment of Indians in the early years of the 20th century, said Opposition leader Rona Ambrose. We cant change the past, she said. But we can demonstrate that Canada has changed. That was true for Gurjinder Kaur Gill, who travelled from Montreal for the event and stood with dozens of people afterwards at a small reception, hoping for a chance to meet Trudeau. Only 24, she said it was important for her to be part of acknowledging a moment in time that while she never experienced, so many in her community had been touched by the legacy of the ship and the laws of the day. Its like closure, she said. It shows that Canada is inclusive to everyone. For B.C. Sikhs, the Komagata Maru incident was a pivotal moment. Many members of the community whose numbers had been dwindling in part due to the discriminatory immigration laws of the day raised thousands of dollars to support legal challenges for the people stuck on the boat. Today, there are over 200,000 Sikhs in the province and for all them, Wednesday was an exceptionally proud moment, said Harwinder Pal Singh, the high president of Vancouvers Khalsa Diwan Society, the oldest Sikh society in the country. He said there is a lesson in the experience of the Komagata Maru he hopes not just the government, but all Canadians, take to heart. We should welcome everybody who is in need and who is dreaming of a better future. SHARE: OTTAWASaying she felt degraded, an Ottawa woman is pursuing a possible human rights complaint against a local health club that asked her not to wear a tank top allegedly because of the size of her breasts. But the club, Movati Athletic, was fighting back against Jenna Vecchio Friday, saying while it did not intend to embarrass her, it was she and her husband who chose to make the dispute public. Vecchio said she has contacted a human rights lawyer and is considering her options after she was told by a female staff member at Movati that her black, form-fitting tank top was making other gym members uncomfortable. The incident, which took place last Saturday while Vecchio and her husband were working out, left the woman shaken. It was humiliating because there were other members around (who) stopped doing what they were doing to listen in on the conversation, Vecchio told The Canadian Press. I felt singled out, degraded, she added. My chest became the focus of conversation and thats not something a woman likes to discuss openly with people. Vecchio wrote about her ordeal on Facebook shortly afterwards under the name Rose Nickels. The post, including numerous pictures of Vecchio wearing the tank top in question, has since been shared nearly 5,000 times and attracted international media attention. Vecchio returned to the gym two days later, where she cancelled her membership after speaking with the club manager, who promised to look into the matter and get back to her. But Vecchio didnt get a response and said she only heard through the media that Movati is standing by the decision. In a statement, the company said it launched an investigation after it saw Vecchios Facebook post, and that it is upholding the decision to enforce its dress code. Following Ms. Vecchios own social media postings on this matter, we conducted a thorough investigation which included first-hand accounts from members and other staff, and a follow-up meeting with Jenna herself, said the statement. Upon conclusion of our interviews, we stand by the original decision that confirms that Ms. Vecchio was dressed inconsistently with our code of conduct. Movati also called into question whether the pictures she posted online depicted the same outfit she wore to the gym. While it may not have been intentional, Ms. Vecchios attire was not as modest as she has suggested via the images she shared recently on Facebook and through media interviews, the company said. Although our staff were professional and discreet in their approach, and followed our process of not asking a member to leave or conclude a workout, she and her husband chose to escalate the matter publicly. For her, the issue wasnt her tank top, but rather that she was told she couldnt wear it because of her chest size despite others being dressed similarly, said Vecchio. She noted that she had worn the same style of tank top at other gyms, including in Halifax where she lived before moving to Ottawa. It was quite apparent to me at the time that I was being singled out, she said. I could directly look at another woman in a tank top and they wouldnt acknowledge the fact that she was wearing a tank top. They kept redirecting it to me, that they were just discussing my tank top and the way my chest appeared in it. Vecchio said she doesnt have an issue with dress codes, only with how Movati applied theirs. Dress codes are acceptable. Its the way that theyre enforced that we need to question. SHARE: The Toronto police headquarters lobby was jammed. Standing, sitting, peering from balconies above or from behind camera lenses, everyone police, politicians, the public was eager to hear from the man at the podium donning his new police chief cap. One year ago this week, in his first public statement as Torontos top cop, Mark Saunders, 53, was clear: policing was at a crossroads. His force had to take the path to change. He would lead them there. Saunders spoke of high stakes and big challenges. Of taking bold steps to cut costs and finding efficient, modern ways to keep the city safe. This was, after all, the man chosen to replace Bill Blair, the smooth-talking steady hand sent packing after 10 years as chief precisely because he was deemed incapable of the transformational change sought by his employer, the Toronto Police Services Board. Saunders, who declined to speak to the Star for this story, was taking over at a time of unprecedented scrutiny of his profession. The ongoing debate over carding and high-profile police shootings locally and across the U.S. had put policing under the microscope like never before. So to the crowd hanging on his words, he assured his talk of change was more than rhetoric. Judge us by what we do, he said. Im interested in results. In his inaugural year at the helm, critics among them the former police board chair who hired him say they dont see those results and are left judging inaction. Hes so deeply embedded in police culture and in the old ways that it is not a surprise to me that a year has gone and he has produced nothing that is transformational, said Alok Mukherjee, the former chair who was among the seven members who unanimously selected Saunders as chief. Ive come to the sad conclusion that thats not in his police DNA. Others say it is too soon to judge. Its really early to be critical of what Chief Saunders is doing. I think hes working very, very hard, hes trying to reach out to the community, and trying his very best to keep the city safe, said Kenton Chance, president of the Association of Black Law Enforcers (ABLE). Saunders being Torontos first black chief indeed meant the citys black community has been paying close attention. Chance said Saunders mere presence as chief serves as inspiration to young black officers, and the Black Business and Professional Association this year gave Saunders the prestigious Harry Jerome Award in the Trailblazer category. But Chris Williams, an academic and member of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, said the award is evidence some organizations or individuals will support Saunders, no matter what. He doesnt qualify as a trailblazer in any meaningful sense. So what we witness in this absurd instance is a black organization giving an award to a black police chief who has a history of working overtime to deny the reality of anti-black racism, Williams said in an email. The odious track record of Saunders is simply irrelevant to some people. Two current Toronto police board members interviewed for this story cited the difficult policing environment Saunders inherited when he took over. It was in no small part because of the racially charged carding debate, still raging thanks to an impasse between Blair and the board. City Councillor Shelley Carroll admits she was very nervous for the first few months. Its only in retrospect that I realize we put him through an impossible first seven months or so, she said. Police board chair Andy Pringle, too, cites a tough year Like any CEO, (Saunders) has grown enormously in the process, he said. Last spring, the public battle for chief was between Saunders and former deputy chief Peter Sloly, both black men whod risen through the Toronto police ranks. Saunders was viewed as the cops cop to Slolys progressive reformer. When Saunders was chosen, it was perceived by many as the safe, status-quo choice. I think hes a very, very traditional officer I dont think he was hired by John Tory or Andy Pringle to bring change, said John Sewell, former Toronto mayor and now head of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition. The only change Sewell has seen Saunders make, he said, is a greater emphasis on weaponry, including the recent purchase of more than 50 C8 patrol carbine rifles. But in his interviews with the board, Saunders impressed with concrete ideas for change, including a plan to cut costs by immediately reorganizing and reducing the number of police divisions across the city, Mukherjee said. He also appeared keen to capitalize on new technology that would make policing more cost-effective. Mukherjee now says he sees a huge chasm between what Saunders said he would accomplish and the reality. Toronto police spokesperson Mark Pugash said those criticizing Saunders for not yet accomplishing major change should wait until the release of the interim report on transformational change on June 17. It is only after theyve read the report that they will be able to judge Chief Saunders commitment to change, Pugash said. The task force which includes police and members of the public, and is co-chaired by Saunders and Pringle was formed to guide the transformation of policing, with a focus on modernizing operations and containing costs. Its recommendations will be related in part to a report by the consultants KPMG, which suggested sweeping changes to policing in the city. Pringle says the police board recently completed a review of Saunders performance, and while it was generally positive, he was given areas to improve. That included communicating with the public, something the board itself is hoping to improve, Pringle said. Specifically, board members and Saunders will soon be talking more about the changes proposed in the interim report by the transformational task force, Pringle said. We want to be closer to the communities that we serve I think youll find that Mark is out talking to people more in the future, he said. That communication is likely to be key to building the public trust in policing that Saunders says is needed to help tackle rising crime. If current trends persist homicides in 2016 are double where they were this time last year, up to 30 from 15 violent crime may be a major challenge in the chiefs second year. Carroll said Saunders showed promise during a news conference earlier this week following the shooting of Rochelle Bobb, who was killed but whose baby was delivered via emergency c-section. The Toronto Police Association, Carroll said, wrongly attempted to link the tragedy to new limits placed on carding, the controversial practice of police stopping and documenting people not suspected of a crime. Carroll liked how Saunders instead focused on the importance of community building, and said he refused to use fear as a tactic. Instead, he said the citys anger must translate into community members coming forward with information to help investigations. He pushed back, took control of the situation, communicated well when the community needed to hear from him, and whether people noticed or not, stood up to an association president who was trying to politicize a terrible, tragic event, she said. That to me said, OK, it may have taken us one year, but thats what I want to see from my chief. Wendy Gillis can be reached at wgillis@thestar.ca Read more about: SHARE: A Toronto police officer had been found guilty of attempted murder. Another had been caught on video unloading more than a dozen bullets into the hood of a car at midday next to a downtown playground. Now, four officers had just been charged with perjury after a judge accused them of fabrication in court. It had been a tough week an anomaly, Chief Mark Saunders told an early morning news conference last January, hours after the four officers were charged. We will do our best to get the public trust back that we have lost in certain ways. Public trust, Saunders acknowledged in his cover letter to the Toronto Police Services Board when applying to be chief, is fragile but fundamental to our success. It is also difficult to gauge. Saunders was sworn in at a packed ceremony inside Toronto police headquarters May 20, 2015. A new, exclusive Forum poll for the Toronto Star shows residents give mixed reviews to Saunders first year as chief on the issue of public trust. A random sampling of 804 Toronto voters conducted this week shows 48 per cent of those polled approve of his performance, four in 10 rating him as excellent or good, while the same number said he was fair or poor. As the city experiences a recent rise in violent crime the number of homicides in 2016 is double that of this time last year, 30 compared with 15 just over one-quarter of those polled said they feel less safe in Toronto now than a year ago, when Saunders took over from outgoing chief Bill Blair. Just over half, however, say the city feels neither more nor less safe now than a year ago. RELATED:Chief Mark Saunders: One year in, hes walking softly One year in for Toronto police chief, no sign of 'transformational change Saunders acknowledged concerns about public safety this week, after the city was rocked by the shooting of Rochelle Bobb. The pregnant 35-year-old died, but her premature baby was delivered via emergency c-section. Noting a rise in crime across the country and beyond, Saunders said this week that Toronto was still the safest big city in North America. But he called for an increase in cooperation from the public namely, for people to come forward to police with information. But trust is a necessary factor in encouraging people to go to police. In some communities, mistrust reigns, in no small part because of carding, critics say. Mayor John Tory himself has acknowledged the toxic effect of the police practice of stopping and documenting people not suspected of a crime. Shortly after he was named chief, Saunders defended the controversial practice, calling it a valuable policing tool. According to the poll, however, almost half of respondents doubt that carding prevents crime. Coming out and supporting carding publicly the way he did showed his lack of experience in dealing with important policing issues in the public domain, said Darryl Davies, a criminology instructor at Carleton University. Anthony Morgan, a lawyer formerly with the African Canadian Legal Clinic who now works with the firm Falconers LLP, publicly criticized Saunders on his comments about carding after the soon-to-be-chief referred to people affected by it collateral damage. A year later, Morgan says Saunders missed the opportunity to demonstrate much-needed leadership on the issue of racial profiling and carding. What the chief should have done, he said, was acknowledge the feelings of those who felt targeted by racial profiling and that the practice fits into a larger context of anti-black racism in policing. He could have acknowledged that, then followed up with the commitment about how he was going to fix it, he said. Because that was not the response, Morgan feels community trust in circles who felt targeted by the practice has absolutely taken a hit. With files from Betsy Powell - THE POLL One year into Mark Saunders tenure as Torontos police chief a Forum poll reveals public opinion is split on his performance. The poll, conducted May 16, is considered accurate plus or minus 4 per cent, 19 times out of 20. 804 Votes were tallied for the poll 40% Less than half of respondents said the chief is doing a good or excellent job. 40% The same number of respondents said Saunders was doing a fair or poor job as chief. 27% More than one-quarter of respondants said they felt less safe in Toronto now than they did a year ago. 12% Proportion of respondents who said they felt safer in the city today than they did a year ago. 23% Less than one-quarter of respondents said they believe community relations between the police and public have suffered over the past year. 47% Almost half of those polled said they doubted carding prevents crime. 25% One-quarter of respondents said they believe carding does prevent crime. Read more about: SHARE: As young law students across the country wrap up their final exams, many are already starting to worry about landing their first job. Thats not a problem ROSS has. Hes won a place at a prestigious North American firm, where hell be working in bankruptcy law. The catch is, hes not actually a human being. ROSS is an artificial intelligence (AI) system developed by a team at the University of Toronto that has now spun out into a San Francisco startup. BakerHostetler, a firm with more than 940 lawyers across the U.S., announced in early May it was taking on ROSS. Andrew Arruda, co-founder and CEO of ROSS Intelligence and part of the original development team, said lawyers can ask ROSS a question the way they would a human colleague. It understands what that lawyers asking for, Arruda said over the phone from San Francisco. It surfaces not just the cases that will help that lawyer but actually the direct passages from those cases that best get that lawyer up and running, he added. Like iPhones Siri on steroids, ROSS promises to cut down the time it takes to retrieve complex legal data from hours to minutes. He also learns and gets better with each use. ROSS is not a physical bot in the office but a complex AI system; it doesnt have the physical presence of an R2-D2 or Wall-E, but could easily outmaneuver them mentally. Before, the human had to go through (and) read all the cases. The case could be 30 pages to find those three, four sentences they needed, said Arruda. The idea was hatched during a 2014 university competition sponsored by IBM to find innovative ways to use Watson, a computer system the company developed that uses natural language processing to answer questions after sifting through large amounts of data. Watson appeared on Jeopardy in 2011, where it beat two flesh-and-blood champions, said Steve Engels, an associate professor in the teaching stream at the University of Torontos computer science department and one of the professors who taught the original course behind ROSS. The U of T team finished second, christening their creation ROSS because it sounded friendly. ROSS is going to be able to be the smartest, most knowledgeable legal expert, but you still need some humans to be able to take the information that ROSS can give you and figure out how to use it, Engels said, calling combing through documents a mundane, menial task. ROSS is also being used by another U.S. firm, Wisconsin-based von Briesen & Roper. The firms chief information officer, William Caraher, said he was blown away by the professional briefs ROSS produced. It really looks like somebody took a lot of time to format and draft a legal opinion. It does look like a human-created report, he said. Jordan Furlong, an Ottawa-based consultant and legal market analyst, called ROSS the the next level up in a longer-term trend of using AI in the legal field. Legal Analytics by Lex Machina, for example, mines litigation data for clues about how a judge will rule, and software has been available for years that makes going through electronic documents in legal processes easier. Furlong said the rise of software like ROSS is one of the many factors that are combining to reduce the demand for lawyers, especially the demand for new and relatively unskilled lawyers. But he said hes cautiously optimistic that ROSS will not put skilled entry-level lawyers out of work and instead will free them up to do less menial tasks. I suppose the dystopic view is that law firms, in an ever-growing search to maximize profits, will look for more and more ways to reduce human payroll human costs. SHARE: It was the misfortune of Ramsey Whitefish to become Torontos 30th homicide a mere three days after the murder of a five-month pregnant woman whose premature baby was saved by emergency caesarean section. How does a victim compete with that kind of shocking narrative? Because it apparently requires exceptional circumstances for a city to sit up and take notice as the bodies pile up this year at a record pace. It feels numbingly like the new normal, a reprise of the Year of the Gun in 2005. Candace Rochelle Bobb was homicide No. 29, slain as she sat in the back seat of a vehicle that was fired upon repeatedly alongside the Jamestown public housing complex. Her murder was front-page news, avidly followed by an appalled public. Whitefishs life wasnt extinguished by gunfire, so he doesnt even fall within the arc of bang-bang melodrama; what lies not beneath but very much in the open, brazen. The 42-year-old aboriginal man died of blunt force trauma to the head, possibly inflicted by a rock found near his body where it was discovered in a pool of blood on Gloucester St., just before midnight Wednesday. The Star ran an online story, first reporting his death, then later an update saying an arrest had been made within hours. Yet the murder of Whitefish is just as much a vital tale of this city, of how people live in our midst and how they die in our midst. For some two decades, since arriving in Toronto from a reserve in the Turtle Island area Whitefish was part Sioux, part Ojibway he had been among the chronically homeless, with its drastic over-representation of aboriginals: 16 per cent of the homeless, despite accounting for only one per cent of the local population, according to the 2013 Street Needs Assessment survey; one-third of those found to be sleeping rough, that is outside, in parks, on benches, inside doorways. He was always on the fringe of homelessness, says Joe Hester, executive director of Anishnawbe Health Toronto, where Whitefish had once volunteered, sometimes going on street patrols, and where hed shown up with an issue just a few days before his murder. Homeless people are generally vulnerable people that dont have what the rest of us take for granted a stable environment, family, friends, shelter. He was a vulnerable individual. At one time an aspiring writer he claimed to have written two books about urban native life, never published Whitefish was bedeviled by alcoholism and other addictions. That, too, is a common theme among the marginalized street population, either what got them there or keeps them there. He was a great guy, a bit of a comedian, says Harvey Manning, manager at Anishnawbe, who knew Whitefish for a quarter-century. Very well read, loved to read books and loved to write poetry. These last two years Whitefish had been living in a downtown transition residence for people struggling to find permanent housing, says Det. Paul Worden, lead homicide investigator on the case. In recent weeks, he was sharing a room at the residence with a man whod moved in two months ago. Yet Whitefish, when found, had his sleeping bag with him, strongly suggestive that he was back on the streets. In speaking with his friends, we learned hed had a recent conflict with this individual. That person also fit the description given by witnesses of someone theyd seen leaving the scene. Police were able to retrieve some surveillance video. They made quick work of the information and arrested the roommate, charging Trevor Severin with second-degree murder. The rock, said Worden, has not yet been confirmed as the murder weapon. Some other items may have been used to bash Whitefish about the head, but police are withholding those details for now. Such an awful way to die. Some insight into how Whitefish lived, though, can be obtained from the record his intersection with violence as both victim and witness. The Stars archives show that Whitefish provided key courtroom testimony in a trial arising from the 2004 murder of a woman, Mariana Ivancicevic, whose face was hacked in half, her head carved open, by a heavy-edged weapon. The 44-year-old, court heard, was attacked in the stairwell of a Sherbourne St. apartment building after leaving a party where shed rebuffed the sexual advances of one of the men present. Whitefish was among the party attendees. Following the first-degree murder conviction life sentence for Robert Linklater, 21, also an aboriginal, whod been released just weeks before the party on a conditional sentence for stabbing his girlfriend a dozen times in the stomach Crown prosecutor Robin Flumerfelt told reporters: Its the most brutal murder weve seen in a while. You dont normally get (a case where) somebodys face is literally hacked off with either a machete or an axe. Whitefish did his civic duty. He didnt ascribe to the no-tell code that frustrates so many gang-banger investigations. Two years earlier, Whitefish had himself been the victim of what he and his supporters denounced as police brutality two Toronto rookie constables charged with assault in the alleged beating he suffered in the Annex. The judge in that case accepted that one of the officers had kicked Whitefish as he lay at the bottom of a staircase but hed done so in self-defence, forcing Whitefish to stay down after hed lunged at the cops. Several civilian witnesses saw it differently. The second officer had never touched Whitefish, the judge ruled. Both were acquitted. That incident occurred on National Aboriginal Awareness Day. Whitefish was so drunk on the evening of the incident that he had practically no memory of it. That was his life. In court to hear the verdict, Whitefishs face was swathed in bandages. Hed been struck by a car the previous week. That was his life, too. Aboriginal leaders were dismayed by the acquittal. While Whitefish made no comment to reporters when leaving the courthouse, a statement released by the Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto said he was disappointed in the judicial system, a system that continues to be unfair to native people. A system that will now seek justice on behalf of the murdered Whitefish. Severin, 24, appeared in mental health court on Thursday. He was determined to be mentally unfit for the proceeding. A treatment order was issued for psychiatric assessment, with a next court date of June 24. You can probably tell where this is heading, says Worden. Sure can. Where its headed for the accused and whence it came for a long-time down on his luck aboriginal man. I used to see Whitefish around my neighbourhood, recognized him from the police photo issued. No family member has yet come forward to claim the body. But there are plans afoot to hold a memorial for Whitefish. A sending-home ceremony, its called, for an aboriginal man who never had much of a home here. Rosie DiManno usually appears Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. SHARE: One year ago, police Chief Mark Saunders was sworn in. He was a bit of a wild-card pick less-known than other candidates but the one thing those who chose him emphasized is that he won the job because hed bring about transformative change. Not only expressed desire to bring about change, but the ability to bring about that change, Mayor and police board member John Tory said of the criteria that led to Saunders unanimous selection. Hes someone who will be able to make change happen, then police board chair Alok Mukherjee told CBC. History teaches us that the greatest opportunities for change often come when the willingness and desire to change are matched by the urgency for change, Saunders said, in just about the changiest speech you could ask for, at his swearing-in ceremony. The stakes are higher than ever before. But so are the opportunities to take bold steps. We have no excuses. We know what we have to do, he said. Waiting is not an option. RELATED: Poll shows Torontonians split on Police Chief Saunders performance Chief Mark Saunders: One year in, hes walking softly Judging by the words of Saunders and those who chose him, the Toronto Police Service was about to see more change than a TTC farebox. Many were skeptical after all, Peter Sloly was seen as the candidate for chief most likely to transform the force; lower-profile Saunders was thought to be favoured by the police union and to be less of a boat-rocker. But Saunders had an answer to that skepticism in his speech: Judge us by what we do. Im interested in results, he said. You can see why hed prefer being judged by his actions rather than his words. He gives the impression, when speaking to the press and the public, of a man whos not quite sure what hes supposed to say. This is maybe more important than it might be in most jobs. The police chiefs role has two components: one administrative, as the manager of the department actually calling the shots on what should and will be done, and one public, as the face and voice of the force to the people it serves and protects. The second is not some irrelevant afterthought: the faith of the public in the force is essential. Allowing citizens a life relatively free from fear, secure in the knowledge that police have things under control, is one of the key functions of a police department. Whatever their faults and there were many for various critics to focus on Torontos last two chiefs were expert at projecting the authority the job demands. When Julian Fantino or Bill Blair spoke after a high-profile shooting, or responded to criticism of how their force operated, the public was left with the distinct impression that they knew what they were talking about, that they were confident they knew what needed to be done, and they were already in the process of getting it done. When you disagreed with their approach, this determined bearing could be frustrating. But it certainly left no doubt that they were on top of things. With Saunders, you usually get the impression hes uncertain about what he plans to do, or uncertain what he should say about his plans, or both. What about results? What about action? Well, our heads are not exactly spinning from the transformation in policing thus far. When his police budget came forward, it was the very definition of a status quo document. When changes to carding procedures were forced on Saunders, first by the police board and then by new provincial guidelines, the response was tentative, and Saunders is still dragging his feet on implementing a new firm policy. When Black Lives Matter set up a protest outside Saunders office, he hid from them rather than addressing them or even meeting with them. Deputy Chief Peter Sloly, who had spoken publicly of the changes he thought were needed, was marginalized and walked towards retirement. On the other hand, Saunders did set up a task force to guide the transformation of policing in Toronto. Which could seem like a sign of forthcoming action if you werent aware of the long history of substituting task forces for actions in this city, and on this police force. Faced with a choice between doing something even something as simple as declaring youre not going to do anything and setting up a task force to study and consider and consult and make recommendations for futher study, Torontos authorities will always prefer the latter. They will never hesitate to hesitate. Plus cest la meme chose. The chief has not lacked high-profile opportunities to show change, in rhetoric or in actions: the budget, the conviction of one of his officers on an attempted murder charge, the recent questions about handling SIU reports, the carding debate, the protests, even the approach to handling the recent wave of increased gun crime. All have been opportunities to publicly define a transformational approach to the job. All passed up. It is what we might have expected, if we had not been told so clearly by the chief and everyone involved in appointing him to expect the opposite. One year on, were still waiting for Chief Saunders to show any sign of the bold steps he told us we would not have to wait for, the transformation he was hired to deliver. Edward Keenan writes on city issues ekeenan@thestar.ca . Follow: @thekeenanwire Read more about: SHARE: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA An Australian judge on Friday ruled in favour of a couple who refused to allow their 6-year-old son to undergo radiotherapy for a malignant brain tumour. Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth had applied for a Family Court order forcing Oshin Kiszko to undergo radiotherapy for a rare cancer known as medulloblastoma. His parents did not want him to undergo the treatment due to the risk of severe side effects. Family Court Chief Judge Stephen Thackray had previously ordered Oshin to submit to two rounds of chemotherapy, which his parents were also against. But he sided with the parents when it came to radiation therapy, noting that the parents had agreed to continue chemotherapy instead. I acknowledge Oshins parents, who have done what they thought was right, Thackray said. The judge noted that the hospitals ethics committee was divided on whether the child should undergo treatment for his cancer. When the cancer was diagnosed in December, Oshin was given a 50 to 60 per cent chance of surviving for five years if he underwent both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. His parents, Angela Kiszko and Colin Strachan, decided that chemotherapy and radiotherapy were not worth the suffering and risks, which include permanent intellectual impairment. They asked for palliative care instead, so they could focus on improving his quality of life. Generally in Australia, parents have the right to refuse a doctors recommended treatment for their child. But a court can intervene if the parents decision appears to go against the childs best interests. The parents lawyer, Andrew Skerritt, told the court on Monday that his clients were willing to go ahead with more chemotherapy, noting there had been a response to the treatment. SHARE: One of two Canadians who were passengers on a plane that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea is being remembered by friends as a devoted mother with a beautiful heart. A spokeswoman with EgyptAir has confirmed Marwa Hamdy was one of the Canadians on board flight MS804 from Paris to Cairo on Thursday. News reports say Hamdy was born and raised in Saskatoon but moved to Egypt several years ago. Friends and family on Facebook mourned Hamdy on Friday. Tamer Fahmy wrote that he worked closely with Hamdy at IBM and considered the considerate and professional woman a true sister. Vivienne El Khawwam also posted that Hamdy brought happiness to everyone and was an amazing super hero mother to her three sons. The Hayah International Academy in Cairo, where Hamdys boys are in grades 4, 7 and 11, announced Hamdys death to other parents on its Facebook page. A devoted and loving mother, Marwa is greatly appreciated by everyone who has had the chance to deal with her, said the school. Her childrens teachers and Hayah parents who know Marwa personally speak of her dedicated and supportive nature; always there to offer a helping hand with a pure smile. Mariam Emara posted on her page that she had lost a dear friend. Marwa Hamdy she was one of a kind, just a soul and beautiful heart living with us, Emara wrote. I will miss your priceless advice and your kind heart. Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion earlier announced that two Canadians were on board the jetliner. The second Canadian has not been named. Authorities have said the plane with 66 people on board suddenly lurched left then right before plummeting from the clear sky. Search crews found human remains, luggage and seats on Friday. Officials and air experts have said the aircraft may have been brought down by terrorists. So far, no militant group has claimed to have brought down the plane. With files from The Associated Press Read more about: SHARE: The couple from Canada had travelled the world together. Theyd fallen in love. Theyd gotten engaged. So when it came time to marry, they thoughtfully pondered the venue. They wanted it to be special, as most couples do, to commit their lives to one another in a place that embodied their values. It would be California, they decided, on a Tuesday, beneath an expansive canopy of lush green, next to the flowing Kings River. Her dress would be white, his suit grey. The ceremony would be outside, and simpleno altar, no pews, no guests. Just cats. One thousand meowing, nuzzling, curious cats. With that choice, Louise Veronneau and Dominic Husson this week became the first lovers to wed at The Cat House on the Kings, a 12-acre plot of land surrounded by a cat-proof fence and considered the largest kitty sanctuary in the U.S. The shelter is no-cage and no-kill, and is filled with more than 1,000 cats and kittens and nestled outside Fresno. It has operated there for more than 20 years. The couple from Canada chose this place, of all the places, because, as they do, it cares about the cats. We are animal-lovers, the two of us, and we wanted to make this our special day, the bride told CBS 47. We wanted to make it close to our own values. Feline fondness brought the couple together when they first met, according to news coverage from their wedding. They dated for three years, a relationship founded on common principles and a powerful mutual interest: cats. I saw we were sharing these same values, because these are values, they are the basis of our (relationship), Veronneau told KSEE 24. Long before she met her husband, Veronneau told reporters she learned of the cat house in California and marked it on her bucket list Three years ago, she visited for the first time and felt an instant connection . . . to the animals, the volunteers and the mission. Since its founding in the early 90s, the sanctuary has saved more than 24,000 cats and 7,000 dogs, according to its website, and has spayed and neutered more than 40,000 other animals. Its owner and founder, Lynea Lattanzio, converted her 4,200-sq.-ft. home into one large cat club and moved into a trailer on her property, the Associated Press reported, cashing in her entire retirement savings after she learned many nearby shelters euthanize unadopted cats. Theyve got this house. Theyve got 12 acres. They can climb a tree. They can go sit in the sun outside, Lattanzio told the AP in April. It just gives these animals a reason to live as opposed to just living in a cage just because no one wants them. Lattanzios compassion is why the couple from Canada, who traveled more than 3,000 miles from Montreal, asked Lattanzi, the Fresno Bee reported, to be a part of their ceremony . . . as the officiant. At first she was hesitant. I was afraid I would make a mess and screw it up . . . you know, forget my lines, she told ABC 30 Action News. Eventually the couple convinced her to become ordained. And when the wedding day came, the cats were happy to be mixed up in the festivities. A fluffy, orange cat slept on the hem of Veronneaus full gown. Others crawled in her lap and climbed the grooms arm. One white kitty even followed the bride as she walked from the Senior House down to the bench by the river where they were married, Harvie Schreiber, a volunteer with The Cat House of the Kings, told Meow. On Wednesday, the day after their wedding and the first day of their honeymoon, the newlyweds appeared on the morning show at CBS 47. The bride wore a cat-themed T-shirt. They spoke of how special the day was, how they lured the cats to the ceremony with bowls of food and incorporated them into their official wedding photos. Then a reporter asked them the baby question. Are you going to adopt a cat? she said. Is this going to be your kid? Maybe, maybe, Veronneau said. We can never say never again to cats. SHARE: CAIROBody parts, luggage and airplane seats discovered in the Mediterranean Sea on Friday confirmed that EgyptAir Flight 804 crashed into the water but did little to resolve the mystery of what downed the aircraft carrying 66 passengers and crew members. The first full day of search operations following the Airbus A320 aircrafts disappearance early Thursday found no sign of the black box flight recorders that could help explain what caused the jet to veer sharply at 37,000 feet before hurtling into the eastern Mediterranean on a clear morning en route from Paris to Cairo. Two Canadians were aboard the flight. Egyptian and U.S. officials believe that terrorism, not a mechanical failure, likely brought down the airliner. But no group has claimed responsibility and U.S. intelligence agencies have not identified any passengers or crew members with links to known terrorists, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal assessments. In the minutes before the crash, there were rapid and escalating failures in the plane's flight control system, according to sensor data transmitted by the aircraft to operators on the ground that was published Friday by The Aviation Herald, a respected industry journal. Even after the publication of the technical data, which could not be independently confirmed, and the recovery of parts of the plane in the water, the cause of the crash remained a mystery and the subject of intense speculation. As naval ships and reconnaissance aircraft from the U.S., Egypt and other countries scoured the seas between Greece and Egypt for wreckage, U.S. officials were searching for clues in satellite images and communications collected by intelligence agencies. Based on radar information showing the airliner abruptly veered 90 degrees to the left before swerving back to the right, officials believe the plane most likely experienced a sudden major structural failure or a bomb blast. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi urged patience as investigations are continuing to unravel the circumstances surrounding this unfortunate incident and to establish the truth and the causes of the crash. With confirmation that the jet had crashed in the sea, el-Sissi expressed great grief and deep sorrow for the family members of the 56 passengers, seven crew members and three airline security personnel. EgyptAir tweeted condolences to the families, saying it deeply regrets this tragic accident. Along with the debris located by the Egyptian armed forces about 300 kilometres north of the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria, the European Space Agency detected a potential oil slick more than one mile long, about 35 miles southeast of the aircrafts last known location. While the slick could be jet fuel spilled as the plane broke apart, the agency said there was no guarantee it was related to the crash and the satellite would pass over the same area again to gather further images. The discoveries were helping search teams narrow the focus of their efforts, with the relatively calm waters of the Mediterranean preventing wreckage from drifting far away. A portion of the search area was in some of the deepest reaches of the sea, however, where the waters exceed 3,000 metres in depth. EgyptAir said Friday that Egypts civil aviation minister, Sherif Fathi, had appointed an investigative committee, led by Ayman El-Moqadem, the official who also is leading an investigation into a Russian passenger jet that crashed in the Sinai Peninsula last October, killing 224 people on board. That probe has been criticized in some quarters for failing to produce findings after more than six months of inquiry. Daesh, also referred to as ISIS or ISIL, has an increasingly active branch in the Sinai, is seen as a possible suspect in the Flight 804 crash because the group claimed to have brought down the Russian jet. Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived in Cairo early Friday to assist in the hunt for Flight 804, airport officials said. Many family members of passengers and crew members were staying Friday at hotels near the airport. Senior EgyptAir officials met Friday morning with some families to update them on the investigation, the airline said. In the afternoon, some families held prayers for the victims at Cairo mosques. EgyptAir identified the pilot as Mohamed Shokair and his co-pilot as Mohamed Assem. Shokair had 6,275 flying hours under his belt, the airline said, including more than 2,000 on the Airbus A320, one of the most common passenger aircraft in the world. With files from the New York Times SHARE: Geneva prosecutors are preparing to release a Patek Phillipe watch that once belonged to Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, ushering in a new phase of the battle between Christies auction house, a Sudanese client, and Selassies descendants who say the timepiece was stolen. The Geneva prosecutors office will lift a sequestration order on the watch in the next two to three weeks after it failed to find grounds for criminal wrongdoing, a spokesman for chief prosecutor Olivier Jornot said. That could, in theory, free Christies to put the watch back up for auction with the clients permission. The dispute over what Christies describes as an exceptionally important, possibly unique timepiece, pits two prominent African families against each other in a tale that goes back more than half a century. The watch, which is expected to fetch as much as $1 million, was commissioned by Federico Bazzi, an Italian entrepreneur who wanted to give Selassie a gift during a visit to Switzerland, according to the auction house. That much Selassies family agrees with. The emperor later gave the watch, which has a rare black luminous military-style dial, to an eminent African personality, Christies said prior to the planned November auction. Nonsense, say Selassies descendants. Marxist Coup They say the watch was stolen from the Imperial Palace by soldiers in the wake of a 1974 Marxist coup that deposed the Ethiopian monarch or was taken from a safety deposit box shortly thereafter. Selassie was briefly imprisoned during the coup, then put under house arrest and died in August 1975 amid allegations of murder following prostate surgery. During his reign, Selassie was among the early leaders of the 60s-era Non-Aligned Movement that tried to tread a line between Western and Communist nations, and presided over the creation of the Organisation of African Unity, the forerunner to the African Union. He was revered by millions of Rastafarians in Jamaica and elsewhere, who saw him as a messiah and incarnation of god. Selassie, who took the throne in 1930, was meticulous about cataloguing gifts received from friends or heads of state and was not inclined to re-gift, especially not to another head of state, his relatives say. The Patek Phillipe is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of items looted from Haile Selassie, but his descendants are not motivated by cash, said Hannah Dereje, his great granddaughter who is a college professor in Minneapolis. Its not about the money or just the watch, its about a legacy, she said in a telephone interview. Demand for vintage luxury watches is booming, even as the fine art market cools, encouraging owners of unique pieces to put them up for auction while the market is hot. At a series of sales over the weekend in Geneva, Phillips, another auction house, said it raised $33 million, selling six timepieces for over $1 million each and a limited edition Rolex for $2.45 million. Title Dispute The 18-karat gold Patek belonging to Selassie was supposed to go on auction in November at Christies in the Swiss city but was pulled at the last minute because of what the auction house said was a dispute of title. Christies didnt say at the time who the watchs owner is and wont now, citing its policy not to name clients if they want to remain private. Selassies family say that eminent African personality is Ibrahim Abboud, former president of Sudan, and his family put the watch up for sale with Christies. The Selassie heirs reject claims that the watch was given to Abboud as a gesture of thanks for helping the Ethiopian reclaim his throne after a failed 1960 coup. Nicolas Didisheim, a Geneva lawyer for the Abboud family, said he represents the legitimate owner of the watch, which has been in the family for decades and was given to my clients family by the emperor. Selassies family said the fact the watchs provenance stayed unknown all this time is suspicious. African Families Its an insult for an African family that another African country that claims to be a friend and loyal supporter never even called in the last 40 yearsand then showed up at Christies with this story that it was an expression of gratitude, Dereje said. Thats why were saying this is not credible. The release of the watch, however, doesnt mean the fight will end soon or that getting to the bottom of the case will be easy. Prosecutors said that the lifting of the sequestration order doesnt mean that no crime took place, but rather that it was difficult to investigate events that occurred more than 40 years ago half a world away. Once the order is lifted, Selassies family will have 30 days to appeal the decision. It is currently exploring all legal options, it said. SHARE: LUBUMBASHI, CONGOCongos top opposition candidate for the upcoming presidential election is flying to South Africa for medical treatment a day after authorities issued an arrest warrant for him, his lawyer says. Supporters of Moise Katumbi say the charges are politically motivated and aimed at sidelining him from taking part in the election. Katumbi had been hospitalized in Lubumbashi with an unspecified ailment when authorities charged him Thursday with hiring mercenaries. Congolese authorities said Friday they had granted Katumbi permission to recover in South Africa but that he must later return to Congo to answer the charges against him. Katumbis lawyer Georges Kapiamba confirmed his departure. Longtime incumbent Joseph Kabila is constitutionally barred from seeking another term though some fear he may try to stay in power by delaying the elections. SHARE: BRUSSELS NATO has reached broad agreement to seek another meeting with Russia before NATO leaders meet in Warsaw this July, the alliances chief said Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putins spokesman swiftly welcomed the announcement, but said all dialogue must include a respect for Russias interests. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at a Thursday dinner, alliance foreign ministers agreed on a dual track approach toward Moscow: to keep reinforcing NATO defences against what they see as a mounting Russian threat, but also to keep channels of communication open to the Kremlin. Stoltenberg said the ministers all agreed in the current situation that we need a platform (like) the NATO-Russia Council to pursue transparency, predictability and to work for enhancing mechanisms for risk reduction to avoid dangerous situations, situations which can spiral out of control. The NATO-Russia Council, created in 2002 when relations between the former Cold War foes were much better, met for the first time in nearly two years last month. That meeting, however, failed to bridge differences between Russia and the U.S.-led alliance that have led to a sharp downturn in relations since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. The Crimea takeover led NATO to suspend practical co-operation with Russia, but we decided to keep channels for political dialogue open, Stoltenberg said. He said NATO officials will now start to look into the modalities and practical arrangements for reconvening the NATO-Russia Council. Dmitry Peskov, Putins spokesman, welcomed NATOs intentions. The Russian side has never avoided dialogue, we always have supported dialogue, he told reporters. We believe its the only way to tackle the problems we face. At the same time, a dialogue must be trusting and constructive and be based on respect of mutual interests, otherwise it hardly can be productive. On Thursday, NATO invited the Balkan nation of Montenegro to become its 29th member pending formal ratification by the U.S. Senate and the parliaments of other alliance members and Montenegro. Peskov, however, said NATOs growth can only exacerbate the security situation in Europe. From our point of view, further expansion of NATO is a negative process, the Russian spokesman said. This process doesnt contribute to strengthening European security, just the opposite its fraught with heightening tensions on the continent. The April 20 NATO-Russian Council meeting was attended by the Russian ambassador to NATO, Alexander Grushko, and his counterparts from the alliances member countries. The Russian Permanent Mission to NATO had no immediate reaction to Fridays developments. Stoltenberg spoke to reporters before a meeting Friday on how NATO and the European Union can co-operate more in facing todays security challenges, from a resurgent Russia to Islamic extremism in the Middle East and North Africa. Twenty-two NATO nations also belong to the EU. Fridays meeting was also attended by the EUs foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and the foreign ministers of Finland and Sweden, two neutral EU members that participate in many NATO operations. Read more about: SHARE: LAGOS, NIGERIA A second Chibok girl rescued by Nigerias military in a forest battle with Islamic extremists was kidnapped from her home village and is not among 218 students missing from the 2014 mass abduction from the school by Boko Haram that sparked worldwide outrage. The girl is one of three daughters of a pastor of the Nigerian branch of the U.S.-based Church of the Brethren, kidnapped by Boko Haram in two separate attacks, community leader Pogu Bitrus told The Associated Press. Its an indication of how widespread and ubiquitous are the Islamic extremists tactic of kidnapping girls and young women used as sex slaves and boys and young men forced to join their fight to create an Islamic caliphate. Army spokesman Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman said soldiers freed the girl after a Thursday night battle in the northeastern Sambisa Forest in which it liberated 97 women and children and killed 35 extremists. He claimed she was among missing girls abducted more than two years ago from a boarding school in Chibok. Bitrus said the girl, believed to be about 15 when she was seized, was a student at the same school but was home on vacation at the time of the mass kidnapping. She was later snatched from her village of Madagali, near the town of Chibok, he said, but did not know when exactly. The first Chibok teenager to be freed with a 4-month-old baby was discovered by hunters wandering on the fringes of the Sambisa Forest on Tuesday. On Thursday, Amina Ali Nkeki, 19, was flown to Abuja to meet with Nigerias President Muhammadu Buhari. Parents of the kidnapped girls, the Bring Back Our Girls movement and aid workers all have criticized the Nigerian government and military for their handling of the development, with Refugees International charging her escape is being politicized and that she should not be paraded in public but getting urgent medical care for sexual abuse and psychosocial counselling. Ali has revealed that a few of the girls died in captivity but most remain under heavy guard in the forest, according to family doctor Idriss Danladi. The AP does not identify suspected victims of sexual assault but named Ali after she appeared on TV alongside the president. Alis escape has renewed hopes of saving the other girls and strengthened demands of the Bring Back Our Girls Movement that the government acted in concert with the international community to swiftly free them. Friday is their 767th day in captivity. Read more about: SHARE: Arab and Islamic nations are demanding that the United Nations remove a panel from an Israeli exhibition that calls Jerusalem the spiritual and physical capital of the Jewish people. A letter from the Palestinian U.N. mission to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft circulated Thursday evening expressed vehement rejection at the description, echoing protests by Arab nations at the U.N. and the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. The letter said any references which purport to assert Israeli sovereignty on this land ... are legally, politically and morally incorrect and unacceptable. Palestinian Charge daffaires Feda Abdelhady-Nasser said the misleading and inappropriate depictions of Jerusalem ... negate the Palestinian existence in the city as well as its historical Arab, Muslim and Christian identity and heritage over the centuries. She said the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly have clearly rejected Israels illegal annexation of East Jerusalem and called on Ban and Lykketoft to take the necessary measures for the removal of the ... panel. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the Israeli mission followed the rules for mounting an exhibition. While the U.N. tries to balance the wishes of the country wishing to exhibit without offending another country, he said, it is not an exact science and ... is not always easy. The exhibition, in a corridor near a popular cafe in the U.N. basement, includes panels on Israels Arabs, its technology innovations and other aspects of Israeli life. Read more about: SHARE: PARISThe last known survivor of the team that carried out last Novembers Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, refused to talk during questioning Friday by anti-terror judges amid frustration at 24-hour video surveillance of his cell, his lawyer said. The much-awaited questioning session ended abruptly, dashing French authorities hopes that Abdeslam would provide clues about Daeshs (the Islamic States) strategies and what exactly happened Nov. 13. Abdeslams lawyer, Frank Berton, said his client invoked his right to silence. While Abdeslam didnt give a direct reason, Berton said he was disturbed by 24-hour video surveillance in his maximum-security cell in the Fleury-Merogis prison outside Paris. He cant bear being watched on video 24 hours a day, Berton told reporters. It bothers him, and that doesnt make him want to collaborate with the judicial investigation. Berton called the surveillance illegal and said he would ask the Justice Ministry to stop it. He called it a political measure simply to reassure public opinion. Abdeslam, 26, had said last month he wanted to explain his path to radicalization and his role in the Nov. 13 attacks. Berton expressed hope that Abdeslam would decide to talk soon, but said there was no date set for new questioning. Berton described his client as weakened by his isolation and the constant surveillance. Other than me, he sees no one, Berton said. He doesnt speak. ... He is in total isolation. That necessarily has very strong repercussions on his psyche and personality. Authorities and families of attack victims had hoped Abdeslams testimony would shed light on how Daesh plotted the attacks, solve mysteries that remain about what exactly happened on Nov. 13, and identify others who might have been involved, or support networks still hiding in the shadows. Abdeslam, a French citizen of Moroccan origin, was handed a half-dozen preliminary terrorism charges after his transfer on April 27 from Belgium, where he was arrested after four months on the run. He is the only suspect still alive believed to have played a direct role in the Nov. 13 bloodshed at a concert hall, stadium and Parisian cafes, which killed 130 people. The other attackers died in suicide bombings or under police fire. Abdeslams precise role in the attacks has never been clear. The Paris prosecutor has said he was equipped as a suicide bomber, but abandoned his plans and fled to Belgium, where he had grown up. Abdeslams older brother blew himself up at a cafe during the Paris attacks. Abdeslam was captured March 18 at a hideout near his childhood home in Brussels Molenbeek neighbourhood. Four days later, suicide bombers detonated their explosives in the Brussels airport and metro, killing 32 people. Read more about: SHARE: NEW YORK In another blemish on New York Citys troubled jail system, two Rikers Island correction officers and a cook accepted bribes from inmates to smuggle in contraband such as scalpels, synthetic marijuana and tobacco, officials said Thursday. The city employees were among 17 people, including six inmates, who have been indicted in three smuggling operations uncovered at Rikers since September. The indictments, which were made public Thursday, were the result of a months-long inquiry by the New York City Department of Investigation and the office of the Bronx district attorney, Darcel Clark. Mark Peters, the commissioner of the Investigation Department, called it the largest contraband smuggling takedown in more than a decade at Rikers Island. Criticism of Rikers Island has intensified in recent years as a spate of slashings, stabbings and beatings among inmates and correction officers has highlighted what many see as a culture of violence and corruption at Rikers, the citys main jail complex. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, and other critics have called for the closing of Rikers, which consists of nine operating jails that house a total of about 8,000 inmates. Clark, who has made overhauling the sprawling complex a top priority, said that these alleged schemes fed the climate of danger and fear that makes Rikers Island notorious for brutality, and they reveal the true scope of corruption that goes far beyond its shoreline. Norman Seabrook, the president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, the union that represents correction officers, said Thursday that the investigation showed the dangerous environment we work in every single day. We have no tolerance for anyone who jeopardizes the safety and security of our brother and sister officers and the people we are charged with supervising, he said. We have enough problems maintaining security as it is; we dont condone anyone who makes it worse. Joseph Ponte, the commissioner of the citys Correction Department, noted that the department had taken aggressive steps to stem the flow of contraband into city jails, including investing in more X-ray machines, expanding canine searches, revising officer recruitment and screening policies, and dedicating a group of staff members to more effectively monitor inmate phone calls. We have zero tolerance for any illegal behaviour in our jails, and we are confident that our ongoing reforms are yielding more capable officers and safer jails, he said. The investigation began with the arrest in November of Kevin McKoy, now 31, a correction officer who was assigned to the Anna M. Kross Center at Rikers, on charges that he tried to smuggle in concealed scalpels, a form of synthetic marijuana known as K2 and strips of Suboxone, an opioid. He is accused of having received at least $10,000 in bribes, according to city officials. The day he was arrested at the jail, McKoy had seven scalpels tucked into a leg of his long johns, officials said. Nine more scalpels were found at his home in Brooklyn. The investigation revealed that inmates would tell their relatives and friends to give contraband and cash to McKoy, whom they referred to using the nicknames the Plug and Ticks-and-Fleas. Cary London, a lawyer who represents McKoy, declined Thursday to comment. McKoy, who is free on bail, has been suspended from his job pending the outcome of his trial, officials said. In February, a second correction officer, Mohammed Sufian, 25, was arrested at Rikers after he tried to smuggle tobacco into the jail in his socks in exchange for $1,000. Sufian, who was a probationary employee, was dismissed in April. If convicted, McKoy and Sufian face up to seven years in prison on the most serious charge, bribe receiving, officials said. The cook, Darnell Wilson, 27, was also arrested in February and was found with synthetic marijuana and tobacco concealed in his shoes, officials said. Wilson, who has been suspended from his job, stated after his arrest that he had received $200 a week since the summer of 2015 to smuggle in those substances, officials said. SHARE: MOSCOWThe Russian defence minister proposed on Friday that Russia and the U.S.-led coalition launch joint action against Al Qaedas branch in Syria, known as the Nusra Front. A spokesman for the U.S. State Department said no agreement on such action has been made with Russia. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Moscow had proposed to Washington that the coalition call on all factions eager to abide by a ceasefire in Syria to leave the areas where the Al Qaeda branch is active by May 25. Then Russia and the U.S.-led coalition could conduct joint strikes against the Nusra Front and any other groups refusing to honour the truce, Shoigu suggested. State Department spokesman John Kirby said there is no agreement to conduct joint airstrikes with the Russians in Syria but added Washington and Moscow are discussing proposals for a sustainable mechanism to better monitor and enforce the cessation of hostilities. Earlier, U.S. navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, would not comment directly on the proposal, which he said has not been formally presented to the United States. But he said the U.S. military is not co-operating or collaborating on operations with Russia in Syria except to maintain airspace safety. Russian operations are supporting the Assad regime and our focus is solely on degrading and defeating ISIL, he said, using an alternative acronym for Daesh, also referred to as ISIS. Shoigu warned that Moscow reserves the right to unilaterally strike militants refusing to respect the ceasefire, as well as weapons and militants crossing into Syria from Turkey, starting from May 25. Russia long has accused Turkey of serving as a conduit for weapons and supplies flowing to Daesh and the Nusra Front claims which Ankara has denied. The U.S.-Russia-brokered ceasefire, which went into effect in late February, has helped reduce violence in Syria, but it has been steadily eroding. The Nusra Front and its much more powerful rival, Daesh, have been excluded from the ceasefire, and Russia long has pushed for excluding other militant groups in Syria that have co-operated with the Al Qaeda affiliate. Shoigu said the Russian proposal should help secure the ceasefire, adding that Moscow has co-ordinated it with Damascus. He claimed that the Russian military has started discussing the idea with the U.S. representatives. Meanwhile in Syria, rebels and pro-government forces fought on several fronts on Friday after the Syrian army, backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group, managed to seize valuable territory around the capital, Damascus. Activists reported continued fighting in the Ghouta suburbs of Damascus with warplanes belonging to either Russia or the Syrian military intensifying airstrikes on the besieged, rebel-held area of Daraya. Airstrikes on a rebel-held village in the northwest Idlib province killed at least eight civilians, according to the Local Coordination Committees group. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, another group that tracks the Syrian war, said nine had died, including two children and three women. The Observatory also raised its death toll from airstrikes Thursday on rebel-held villages in the central Homs province to 22 civilians. Since the Russian military campaign began last September in an effort to shore up Syrian President Bashar Assads forces in their battle against Islamic militants, Moscow has staunchly denied that its warplanes have hit any civilian areas in Syria. Also Friday, ultraconservative rebel factions and government forces clashed in the central Hama province around the predominantly Alawite town of Zaara, which Al-Qaeda-linked militants seized from government control last week. The Observatory said both sides suffered casualties in the fighting. Read more about: SHARE: WASHINGTON In December 2012, Donald Trump praised President Barack Obamas comments about the shooting deaths at a Newtown, Conn., school. Nearly four years later, he accepted the endorsement of the National Rifle Association as the presumptive Republican nominee for president. At the NRAs annual meeting in Louisville, Ky., on Friday, Trump spoke the language of gun owners, decrying the Democratic front-runners support for gun control. Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment, he said, adding that as president he would preserve it and cherish it. Trump used the opportunity to burnish his credentials with gun advocates by mentioning he has a right-to-carry permit. Boy would they be surprised if they tried to hit Trump, he said, also adding that his sons are avid gun users and better shooters than he is. Trump also said he would undo executive actions that Obama issued in January that tighten rules on federal background checks for those who want to purchase handguns. They are going to be unsigned the first hour that Im in office, he said to applause. Trump once questioned the Republicans lockstep support for the NRAs positions. Democrats want to confiscate all guns, which is a dumb idea because only the law-abiding citizens would turn in their guns and the bad guys would be the only ones left armed, Trump wrote in a book in 2000. The Republicans walk the NRA line and refuse even limited restrictions. All that was forgotten as NRA leaders welcomed Trump on Friday. By God, we will elect our next president, we will save our freedom, and America truly will be great again, said NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre. Read more about: SHARE: Will the Commons manhandling fracas put a big dent in Justin Trudeaus popularity? Dont bet on it. We shall see what the pollsters have to say. But if history is any guide, the prime ministers outrageous behaviour in Parliament wont much matter to those outside Ottawa. Trudeau broke all the rules Wednesday when he marched across the Commons floor, grabbed Conservative whip Gord Brown by the arm and hustled him to his seat, all in order to get a projected vote underway. In the melee, the prime minister also inadvertently elbowed Quebec New Democrat MP Ruth-Ellen Brousseau in the chest. New Democrats standing nearby said Trudeau used a vulgar synonym for fornication as he urged MPs to get out of his way. It was quite a show. And it was all captured on House of Commons television. That Trudeau acted unconscionably is a given. The prime minister acknowledged that with three public apologies, each more contrite than the last. But the big political question is whether any of this will matter. The opposition parties certainly hope so. The Liberals are still riding high in the public opinion polls. One done by Forum Research this week estimated 52 per cent of voters support Trudeaus party. Both the Conservatives and New Democrats are trying to erode this support. The Conservatives hammer away at the Liberals as spendthrifts. The NDP highlights any disjunction between what Trudeau promised and what he is delivering. Both opposition parties are eager to portray as fraudulent Trudeaus claim that the Liberals are committed to a new and more inclusive style of politics. So when the prime minister blew his stack this week and got physical, he provided an opening that his political opponents were quick to exploit. On Thursday, MPs spent much of the day giving speeches about how badly the prime minister had behaved. He was called arrogant, dismissive and disrespectful. One Conservative MP accused him of bullying, another of committing a criminal assault. Several urged him to take treatment for anger management. They also tied Trudeaus behaviour Wednesday to a government procedural motion that, among other things, would have given ministers the ability to unilaterally extend the parliamentary sitting into the summer. Motion 6, as it was called, is almost certainly of no interest to Canadians outside the parliamentary precinct. In fact, many might be sympathetic to the idea of MPs being forced to spend more time in Parliament. As it is, the Commons sits for only 26 weeks a year. Members take plenty of time off to do what they call important constituency work. So far this year, they have taken three weeks off in January for New Years, one week in February for Valentines Day, three weeks in March for assorted festivals and two more in April. Under normal circumstances, I doubt there would have been much of an outcry had the Liberals insisted MPs spend more time in the Commons debating and passing legislation. But thanks to the prime minister, these are not normal times. Wednesdays fracas caused the government to back down and withdraw Motion 6. Government house leader Dominique LeBlanc announced the news Thursday afternoon. He said the government was conceding in order to have respectful relationship with the opposition parties. I expect the real reason is that the Liberals want to preserve Trudeaus image as a modern, inclusive leader who is the antithesis of his predecessor, Stephen Harper. They fear the sight of a belligerent Trudeau frogmarching another MP to his seat might distract from that story. Im not sure they had to worry. Voters often like it when a prime minister gets tough or rude. Jean Chretien suffered no political penalty when, as prime minister, he grabbed a peaceful protester by the throat and forced him to the ground. Pierre Trudeau, in what became known as the fuddle-duddle incident famously told opposition MPs to fornicate with themselves. Voters elected his Liberals to government three more times after that. Justin Trudeau has done well politically by emphasizing his sunny ways. Wednesdays events show there is a chippier, more dangerous side to his personality. In that sense, he really is Pierre Trudeaus son. That will probably work for him too. Thomas Walkoms column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. SHARE: Proponents of the old-school taxi business insist that the Uber ride-sharing service cant be trusted. But trust issues also extend to taxi drivers, if a shakedown that happened to two women who tried to use a Beck Taxi chit to get from downtown Toronto to Brampton is any indication. The driver told the women hed accept the chit, but when they arrived at the Brampton GO station, he demanded cash for the $110 ride. When their boss, who gave them the chit, complained to Beck, he was told it wasnt their problem because the driver was no longer associated with the company. Beck advised him to tell it to Municipal Licensing and Standards, which regulates taxis. It investigated and closed the file, saying there wasnt enough evidence to take action against the driver. Mike McCaw, who manages a large company for which the women work, sent us a series of emails outlining the incident. He also sent us responses he got from Beck, which he found disappointing. McCaws firm hosted a large party in March for employees and guests at a downtown brewery. The company arranged for Beck to provide them with rides home, and had chits printed up to give to the drivers. It was a nice bit of business for Beck. McCaw figures that about 150 cab chits were handed out that night. When the women left, they approached a line of taxis painted with Becks familiar orange-and-green colours and ask(ed) the cab driver if he is Beck and will accept a Beck taxi chit, said McCaw in his note to us. The driver confirms he is Beck and will accept the chit, he said, but when they got to Brampton, the driver advises he will not accept the chit. They tried to pay by credit card, but the driver told them his card processing device was broken, he said. When it became clear they didnt have enough cash, his device miraculously started working, said McCaw. McCaw later traded emails about it with Sarah Hussaini, a Beck customer service representative, asking to be reimbursed the $110. Unfortunately, your client did not hail a Beck Taxi, said Hussaini. The car number that was provided does not belong to the Beck Fleet. We have no contact or affiliation with this driver or car and cannot get in touch with him. If you would like to pursue with a complaint, it is best to contact municipal licensing and standards. I am sorry I could not be more of an assistance. Beck spokesperson Gail Souter told us the driver was affiliated with Beck until December, when he severed the relationship. But he continued to drive a taxi painted orange, similar to Becks colours. When we talked to her, she was dismissive of McCaws complaint, saying it is not responsible for drivers operating taxis that look like Becks but not associated with the company. But something changed. McCaw sent us a copy of a groveling email he got from Souter the week after we talked to her, saying his complaint had landed on the wrong desk. She wrote that two staffers who had first dealt with his complaint failed to communicate that this was the course of action being taken with you, and that she took care of it once it came to her attention. I can only imagine the distaste this has left you, along with an unsavoury perception of our commitment to you as a valued customer, said Souter, adding, I was very saddened to hear that your clients were inconvenienced. Souter stressed that the $110 would indeed be reimbursed, and that to say that I value your loyalty is an understatement. McCaw told us he believes Beck decided to reimburse him only after we talked to Souter, adding, that was not an oversight by any means, and that he will never again do business with Beck. When we explained the situation to John DeCourcey, whos in charge of Municipal Licensing and Standards, he said an investigation would be started right away. We got a note from MLS several weeks later, saying, Bylaw Enforcement created an Investigation Request (IR). As a result of this investigation, the reluctance of the complainant to pursue any further action, and the quality of evidence collected, the investigation has been completed with no charges pending. Even though MLS knows the name and cab number of the driver, it decided not to do anything about it. So, who do you trust? Beck, Uber or MLS? What's broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. To contact us, go to thestar.com/yourtoronto/the_fixer or call us at 416-869-4823 email jlakey@thestar.ca . To read our blog, go to thestar.com/news/the_fixer . Report problems and follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer. Read more about: SHARE: Cartier owner Richemont (CFRUY) painted a bleak picture of the outlook for luxury goods makers and announced restructuring measures including store closures as it reported a steep decline in April sales. April sales fell by 18% and 15%, on a reported and constant basis, Richemont said, as it reported a 23% decline in full-year operating profit. Within its bundled regions, the only growth in April came from the Middle East and Africa, when measured at constant exchange rates, with Asia Pacific also down despite a 26% increase in April sales in mainland China. "The challenging comparatives will persist through September," said Richemont chairman Johann Rupert. "In the near term, we are doubtful that any meaningful improvement in the trading environment is to be expected." Richemont said it is cutting costs in its watch operation and planned to "consolidate its global retail presence, particularly in mainland China," while investing further in jewelry. Operating profit in the year ended March came in at 2.06 billion ($2.31 billion), down from 2.67 billion because of the cost of restructuring measures initiated to counter the Asia Pacific downturn and after the company missed out on a one-time boost it got the year earlier. Operating profit was below a consensus compiled by Bloomberg for earnings of 2.29 billion. Full-year revenue rose 6% to 11.08 billion, a figure helped by favorable exchange rates. "Our concerns over geopolitical risks and the impact on the behavior of our clients proved justified. Europe turned negative in mid-year and trading conditions in Hong Kong and Macau remained difficult," the company said. "Only mainland China showed good growth." Richemont suffered in the final quarter from slower tourist spending in Europe after terrorist attacks, while its Hong Kong business continued to bear the brunt of a strong Hong Kong dollar which, combined with a slowdown in Chinese growth, deterred mainland tourists. The company is increasing its dividend by 6% to Sfr1.70 ($1.72). The shares were recently down 1.6% at Sfr60.60 having pared early losses. European stocks rebounded on Friday as oil prices picked up and weak German data suggested the Eurozone's central bank may dig even deeper to spur growth. The FTSE 100 was recently up 1.37% at 6,136.43 as mining stocks led by Anglo American lurched higher after steep declines on Thursday. In Frankfurt, the Dax climbed 0.96% to 9,890.17 and in Paris the Cac 40 rose 1.28% to 4,337.25. West Texas crude was up 0.60% at $48.45 and S&P 500 mini futures were recently trading 0.25% higher. German producer price data showed prices fell a steeper-than-expected 3.1% in April, continuing a near-three-year downward spiral. Consensus expectations had pointed to a 3% decline. The data followed news on Wednesday that the Eurozone had fallen back into deflation in April. Later today G7 leaders will gather in Sendai, Japan for a two-day meeting. In Zurich, Cartier maker Richemont (CFRUY) was recently down only marginally after plunging in early trading after predicting no near-term improvement in the environment for luxury goods maker. It said operating profit in the year ended March came in down 23%, below consensus expectations. Discouragingly, it also reported a double digit declines in April sales and said the Middle East and Africa was the only region to have posted growth last month. However, it also announced action on costs and store closures. Luxury goods rivals held their own on Friday morning, with Burberry (BURBY) , LVMH (LVMUY) and Hermes all trading higher. In London, betting company Ladbrokes was up well over 7% after the U.K.'s antitrust regulator indicated it will probably clear its union with the betting shops of Gala Coral Group after up to 400 store disposals. Concessions company Eiffage was down more than 2% in Paris after BpiFrance arranged to sell a 6.8% stake. Asian stocks also rose on Friday. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed up 0.54% at 16,736.35 and the Topix rose 0.51% to 1,343.40 as the yen weakened, helping exporters. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed up 1.21% at 19,917.46. On mainland China, the CSI 300 composite index closed up 0.51% at 3,078.22. In Sydney, Oil Search slipped 1.2%. The company and Total together agreed to a breakup bid for InterOil (IOC) worth $2.2 billion to gain Papua New Guinea assets. Daimler (DDAIY) has lowered its outlook for the coming year for its truck division on weak North America sales. "Daimler Trucks now expects Ebit from the ongoing business and units to be significantly lower in 2016," the company said. The Stuttgart, Germany-based truck and car maker achieved a Ebit of 2.7 billion ($3 billion) in its truck division in 2015. But the company said that profitability is expected to "remain very high" even after the adjusted outlook. Head of Daimler Trucks Wolfgang Bernhard said the situation in the global truck market has been challenging and "has recently gotten worse." This was true for North America, where demand was weaker than expected. Orders in North America have been weak and this will only be partially offset by stronger demand in Europe. However, competition in Europe is fierce, which is pushing down pricing, the truck maker said. There is also a negative outlook for developing markets - Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey. The market in Brazil is expected to contract by 20%. The company also said it set aside about 500 million as provision for costs associated with Takata airbag defaults. The company said that increased provision was in connection to the wider recall called by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Daimler said some of its vehicles sold by subsidiaries of the Daimler Group in the U.S. and Canada will be recalled. UBS reiterated its buy rating of the stock due to expected outperformance in passenger cars. "We believe Q2 will already show a significant improvement in Ebit margin," the analysts said. "We see Daimler as a value case in the sector." Daimler's shares were trading 0.6% up in mid-morning trading, after steep losses in the morning as the market absorbed the news. Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) have delivered more than 7% gains, which I was looking for in the suggested trade on May 9. Since the article, Chipotle stock has risen from a low of $433 to a recent high of $464.90. My target price was $470. But don't take profits yet. My thesis remains intact: "Buy Chipotle stock between $433 and $435, using $430 as near-term support. If it falls below $430, buy more and average down. The bad news is already priced in. What's not known is how much of its own stock Chipotle might buy back in the few weeks. The bet is that the stock will regain its $470 support area in the next couple of weeks." The stock, which closed Thursday at $450.64, hit $464.90 on May 13. Based on Thursday's closing price, the stock has now risen 8.6% since falling to $415 on April 27 and has risen 13% from its 52-week low of $399.14, hit five months ago. As it stands, Chipotle shares are now down 6.1% year to date, compared with a 0.19% rise in the S&P 500undefined index. The relatively small year-to-date decline is something of a victory, given the deficits the Denver-based company has endured related to food-borne illnesses and slumping sales. According to its chart below, courtesy of TradingView, the rebound in Chipotle shares could continue. In determining where Chipotle stock is heading next, we need to consider the fact that the shares have a consensus hold rating with an average analyst 12-month price target of $460. It is likely that all of the bad new about the company has now been released. It's a safe bet that anyone who wanted to dump their Chipotle shares has already done so. It's likely there are now more net buyers than there are sellers of Chipotle stock. And Chipotle, which assigned $584 billion for buybacks in the first quarter of 2016, will serve as its own support for the stock. Technically, the chart shows that Chipotle stock -- now at around $450 -- has regained its 20-day average of $441.74. The chart shows support is now at $443.56 (the blue arrow), while resistance is at $470 (the red arrow). Accordingly, the 100-day average at $466.30 (the yellow line), which is 1.36% above the Street's consensus 12-month price target, is where Chipotle could be heading next. If that target is reached, $470 could be the next goal before Chipotle's second quarter earnings in July. This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned. Tribune Publishing (TPUB) Chairman Michael Ferro is either angling for a long, protracted war with Gannett (GCI) , or simply trying to extract an even higher takeover price for the publisher of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. Ferro told Times staff members on Tuesday that Tribune Publishing isn't selling to Gannett. To further demonstrate his resolve, Ferro said he's going to reverse the tables by making his own bid to buy the publisher of USA Today and 100 other daily newspapers, according to Politico Media. Ferro, who became Tribune's largest shareholder in February, has reportedly hired lawyers to prepare a bid to buy the rival publisher. Ferro's comments came a day after Gannett raised its offer price for Tribune to $15 a share from $12.25 a share, increasing the cash-and debt-value of the potential takeover to $864 million from $815 million. The new offer is a 99% premium to Tribune's $7.52 closing price the day before the initial offer was made public. While Tribune Publishing's board 4 formally rejected Gannett's $12.25 offer on May 4, the company on Friday said it is "reviewing" the increased offer of $15 a share. Eager to break Ferro's apparent intransigence, Gannett on Friday sought to heighten pressure on Tribune Publishing's board with a letter sent to shareholders asking that they abstain rather than support a slate of eight board nominees to be considered at the company's June 2 shareholder meeting in Chicago. Ferro backs off eight nominees. In the letter, Gannett said it asked investors for a second time to "withhold" votes for board nominees "to send a clear and coordinated message to their Board that they expect superior and certain value for their shares and that the Tribune Board should substantively engage immediately with Gannett." Later in the day, Tribune responded in kind, charging in a statement that Gannett was "misleading investors with half-truths and conjecture designed to mask their desperate need to acquire Tribune Publishing to save their own business and their positions." Nonetheless, Tribune left open the possibility that a deal could still be struck. "As he has stated repeatedly in public, Mr. Ferro indicated that Gannett's previous proposal, while certainly in the best interests of Gannett shareholders, was not in the best interest of Tribune shareholders," the statement read. "We are prepared to engage regarding any reasonable proposal that delivers value for our shareholders, but we will not succumb to hostile tactics designed to steal the Company from our shareholders." Putting grease on an already ignited fire, the Gannett letter further charged that Ferro is acting in his "own self-interest" rather than its shareholders. Gannett said that in a May 12 conversation with its chairman, John Jeffrey Louis, and CEO Robert Dickey, Ferro said he would agree to a sale provided that he would have a "significant role" in the merged company and become its "largest shareholder." Tribune countered that "Mr. Ferro's alleged comments in the May 12 meeting were grossly mischaracterized and taken out of context." Shares of Chicago-based Tribune Publishing, which has been steadily losing print revenue since emerging from a torturous four-year bankruptcy process at the end of 2012, were rising 1.4% to $14.15 on Friday. Gannett's allegation regarding Ferro's conduct raises the specter of a possible lawsuit based on an allegation that Ferro has been acting out of personal gain. Yet Tribune's board doesn't have to sell to Gannett, provided it can demonstrate that it has formulated a good-faith plan to increase shareholder value, said Lee Charles, an attorney in the mergers and acquisitions practice at Baker Botts specializing in the media sector. "There's no general fiduciary duty to negotiate with third parties or sell a company simply because somebody offers a premium," Charles said in a phone interview in New York. "Of course, that's provided that the board makes a good faith determination that the company's long range plan offers a better financial reward for shareholders." Tribune CEO Justin Dearborn told investors in a conference call that his management team has a plan in place to increase revenue through "artificial intelligence" technologies designed at extracting increased advertising sales. "The board can say we have a long range plan," Lee said, adding that the "business judgement rule" of Delaware law generally defers to the decision-making process of a company's board. "And they have every right to do that." For that reason, Gannett appears to be counting on shareholder pressure rather than court action. Oaktree Capital Management, Tribune's second-largest shareholder behind Ferro, jumped into the fray on Wednesday when it challenged the publisher's strategy, known as Tronc, to increase advertising revenue. "The ideas we have heard appear to be preliminary and involve great execution risk," Oaktree Chairman John B. Frank said in a letter made public in a corporate filing. "We have not seen anything to give us any confidence that Tribune on its own, with the resources and competitive position it has today, can achieve over any reasonable period of time the value for shareholders that we believe can likely be achieved through a transaction with Gannett." Ferro may beg to differ. Tribune Publishing was created following a 2014 split of the original company which also formed Tribune Media (TRCO) , owner of television stations including WGN America. NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Gap (GPS) stock is up 23.65% to $17.91 in late-morning trading on Friday after reporting in-line profit for the 2016 first quarter and plans to close 75 stores by the end of this year. CEO Art Peck contends that the retailer is performing well, but he might be slightly delusional, TheStreet's Jim Cramer said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" this morning. "Art Peck is saying that Gap itself - the flagship - is doing well; it looks good," Cramer added in the above video. "I don't know what he's smoking." Cramer mentioned that the word "disappointing" was used abundantly during Gap's earnings conference call. He laughed when Peck said on the call that Gap's Old Navy brand has the problem of "too much fashion." "Well, what does he want?" Cramer said. "Unfashionable stuff?" Gap decided to pull its TV advertisements for Old Navy because they were "deeply disappointing," Cramer added. He did point out that Gap's Athleta brand reported strong numbers, which is a nice read-through to sportswear retailer Lululemon (LULU) and Columbia Sportswear's (COLM) yoga brand PrAna. All apparel companies have a category that's good, Cramer noted. For rival Ross Stores (ROST) it was shoes and its Midwest business, though its California and Florida businesses and women's apparel segment were all disappointing, Cramer explained. "I didn't see anything I liked," he said of the results. "And I didn't like the forecast for 1% to 2%" for second-quarter same-store sales growth. Rival TJX Cos. (TJX) has forecast for second-quarter comparable-store sales growth of 2% to 3%, Cramer mentioned. Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates the stock as a "hold" with a ratings score of C+. Gap's strengths such as its attractive valuation levels, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and expanding profit margins are countered by weaknesses including feeble growth in the company's earnings per share, deteriorating net income and weak operating cash flow. You can view the full analysis from the report here: GPS TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this article's author. NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Fitbit (FIT) stock is up 2.68% to $14.36 in late-morning trading on Friday after Oppenheimer reiterated its "outperform" rating and $25 price target on the stock following a meeting with CFO Bill Zerella. The firm is "more confident in the near-term dynamics," after the meeting, Barron's reports. Their conversations centered around replacement cycles, operating expense trends and international growth. Oppenheimer was glad to see that yesterday was "Fitbit-Day" in China, and its products were featured on Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's (BABA) homepage, according to Barron's. Additionally, Fitbit has a long-term sales and marketing target of 15% of revenues, Oppenheimer notes. An uptick in store presence and advertising will prepare the company for the 2016 holiday season, providing "the leverage investors seek." The firm also expects leverage in research and development, with "multiple projects and teams to evaluate as the company moves deeper into fitness, software, and digital health." Oppenheimer anticipates new "upgraded" products launching in October, and estimates at least $500 million in sales from the launches. NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Gerdau (GGB) are gaining 2.55% to $1.61 in late-afternoon trading on Friday after agreeing to sell assets as part of a deal that BofA/Merrill Lynch said foreshadows further disposals and a quicker reduction of leverage. The Brazilian steelmaker will sell its specialty steel operations in Spain to investment group Clerbil for 155 million euros ($174 million), according to a regulatory filing. The deal won't significantly reduce Gerdau's $4.9 billion debt load, but demonstrates that the company remains committed to its divestment strategy, Bloomberg reports. The deal comes as steel prices rebound and Brazil moves to impeach President Dilma Rousseff and end months of political turmoil. "The proceeds should be used to speed up the company's de-leveraging," BofA/Merrill Lynch analysts wrote in a note to clients. "We expect Gerdau to generate positive free cash flow this year." The firm reiterated a "buy" rating on the stock. Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates the stock as a "sell" with a ratings score of D. Gerdau's weaknesses include its deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity, poor profit margins, generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in its earnings per share. You can view the full analysis from the report here: GGB TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this article's author. Editors' pick: Originally published May 20. Investors howled after Goldman Sachs was listed as one of the lead underwriters on Tesla Motors (TSLA) $2 billion secondary offering just hours after a Goldman analyst had upgraded the stock. The real question, given Tesla's history, is why anyone should have been surprised? Tesla's long awaited secondary, to be used to fund the automaker's ambitious plan to ramp up vehicle production to 500,000 units annually by 2018, came after trading ended Wednesday, a day where shares of the company were up in no small part because Goldman analyst Patrick Archambault had upgraded it to a buy. The note was full of hyperbole about Tesla's long-term prospects, comparing founder Elon Musk favorably to Steve Jobs, Henry Ford and the Maytag repairman. The idea of a Goldman-led secondary being announced hours after an upgrade sounds like something out of a Michael Moore fantasy, and critics of both the bank and the automaker jumped at the chance to point out the connection. But research compiled by TheStreet show the upgrade to be only the latest datapoint in a series of eyebrow-raising analyst actions timed near Tesla stock sales. Tesla for example on Feb. 26, 2014, announced a $1.6 billion convertible offering lead by Morgan Stanley, just 24 hours after Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas had more than doubled his price target from $153 to $320, causing shares to soar. And less than 18 months later, on August 17, 2015, the same Morgan Stanley analyst again raised his target just days after the bank underwrote a $750 million Tesla offering. It is worth noting that Jonas has been one of the most vocal bulls on Tesla beginning well before February 2014, and frequently adjusts his price target. Morgan Stanley officials declined comment. Goldman earlier in the week stated that it followed the rules concerning the offering, saying in a statement "our research is independent" and adding that the bank "followed all our standard policies and procedures with respect to our research publication today." And for what it is worth, a sampling of securities lawyers and other Wall Street professionals reached in recent days said, for the most part, that while the timing does deserve scrutiny Goldman's defense is quite plausible. The argument against malfeasance, in a nutshell, is that with all of the attention the upgrade and secondary were sure to receive such a blatant pump would not be worth the $50 million or so in fees Goldman will split with the other underwriters. Matt Levine, a former Goldman equity capital markets employee, wrote on Bloomberg that systems are in place at the firm to prevent any contact between analysts and bankers, even non-work related banter about choosing law schools. He argues that if anything, the awkward timing is the result of the two sides not talking instead of proof of conspiracy. "If they were doing evil collusion, they'd at least have the sense to wait a few days between the upgrade and the deal," Levine wrote. If nothing else there seems to be ample evidence that Tesla seems to prefer working with firms that employ analysts who believe in the company. Goldman rates it a buy, praising the company's visionary founder, while Morgan Stanley's Jonas as mentioned has long lauded Tesla as a disruptive force in the industry. Meanwhile firms including Barclays and UBS AG, who employ analysts who rate the stock as "underweight" and a "sell," were not among the underwriters. But then again Tesla is far from the only publicly traded company this can be said of, and very few on Wall Street are in a position to throw stones on that point. The lesson for investors, as usual: Think for yourself. Twitter (TWTR) won't be repricing its stock options for employees, unless approved by shareholders. When CEO Jack Dorsey reclaimed the helm of the struggling microblogging company, he owned roughly 3% of the company. However, in an effort to attract and retain talented employees, Dorsey gave up roughly one-third of his stake in order to lure them with stock options. At the time, the stock was worth roughly $200 million, as the share price was near $30. With the stock now significantly lower, below $15, the stock options have lost a lot of value as well. It should be noted that this does not apply solely to the shares Dorsey gave to employees. It also applies to the stock options in general at Twitter. Basically, this is just saying that the company can't reprice the stock options to more attractive levels for its employees, say from $30 to $15, for example. There's been quite a shakeup when it comes to the workforce at Twitter. For one, four of its previous executive team members are gone and the company has hired three new directors over the past few months. Shares of Twitter closed at $14.43 Friday, up 2%. Facebook (FB) can't catch a break. It's been in the news recently for its role in limiting conservative news, and now it's being sued for scanning private messages. The social media company scans through private messages in order to prevent certain illegal activities as well as provide anti-malware protection. However, the lawsuit alleges that the company also scans the messages for advertising purposes. In the suit, the plaintiffs claim the company is violating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, as well as the California Invasion of Privacy Act. For its part, Facebook has said its actions are "more akin to The New York Times publishing a list of bestselling books." From how things are unfolding, Facebook doesn't need to worry about paying any damages. Although the courts could stop the company from performing certain types of scans in the future, the plaintiffs won't be seeing any cash coming their way as a result of the lawsuit. Facebook closed at $117.35 Friday, up 0.5%. Netflix (NFLX) and Amazon (AMZN) are facing some new rules in Europe. Set to be released next week, the new proposals call for streaming companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime to maintain a 20% share of European content on their platform. While data wasn't readily available for Amazon, Netflix meets that threshold for now, with 21% of its content being European already. Broadly speaking, streaming services already boast 27% of their content as being European-based. That figure could be misleading though, especially if a few services are exclusively European. It's not just a proposal to make streaming companies incorporate more European content though. It's also set to make Alphabet's (GOOGL) YouTube have stricter age barriers. It will also try to ban geo-blocking, which occurs when websites treat its customers differently, based on what country they're from. Netflix closed at $92.49 Friday, up 3.3%. Twitter, Facebook and Alphabet are all holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells TWTR, FB or GOOGL? Learn more now. This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned. Tee Vong sits at the entrance hatch of White Knight II's right side fuselage at Virgin Galactics hangar in Mojave, CA. (Stuart Palley for The Washington Post/Stuart Palley for The Washington Post) In the final moments of his commute, Tee Vong corkscrews into darkness. First, he places his hands through an opening about 18 inches in diameter. His head follows. Then he inexplicably pivots his torso into a narrow tunnel. With another twist, his hips get through. Next he scoots farther into the tunnel to bend a knee, first left leg, then right. When he exits, he follows these steps in reverse. This is Vongs office: a twin-fuselage four-jet-engine aircraft called the WhiteKnightTwo. His desk? Its the interior of a wing of the carbon fiber airplane. Vong is a mechanic at Virgin Galactic, Richard Bransons $500 million commercial venture to take civilians to space. To do so, WhiteKnightTwo, the mother ship, will climb to 50,000 feet before releasing its payload, SpaceShipTwo, from beneath that wing. From that height, SpaceShipTwo should rocket out to 50 miles, taking its passengers to the edge of space. There, those aboard will experience about four minutes of weightlessness. The thrill will cost the first passengers $250,000. On the ground, the company has a maintenance crew of about 50, including 12 space wrenches, the Virgin Galactic title for the Federal Aviation Administration-certified airframe and powerplant mechanics who prepare the planes to fly and maintain them when they are grounded. Vong, the assistant crew chief, is considered critical to the mission: At 5 feet 6 inches and 220 pounds, hes the only one who can fit into that particular wing cavity to inspect and repair it. Virgin Galactic's hangar is located off Spaceship Landing Way in Mojave, Calif. (Stuart Palley) When I first started doing it, I would get bruises just getting in and out, Vong said. He lost 40 pounds by running in the California desert during his lunch hours. It hasnt been easy doing this, but if it was easy then everyone would be doing it. Vong is hardly slight, although hes now more fit than he was when he started he laughed and described his former shape as more of a box. Its unfathomable even to his colleagues how he squeezes in; yet somehow, he does. Others havent even tried. It also takes a certain personality to do the work, which can stretch on as long as 14 hours. Last year, he says, he spent 10 months in the wing. Thats a long time to work with a flashlight in a tunnel where the walls crunch your shoulders. Its a thankless job. You have to get in there and crawl around to do those repairs, said Michael Moses, Virgin Galactics director of operations. WhiteKnightTwos upper wing has three bays, two of which hold fuel tanks. At one point, Vong noticed an issue with a flapper valve that keeps fuel from going where its not supposed to, which led to a change in inspection protocol. Tee is hugely dedicated to his work and committed to get the job done and keep the vehicles flying safely, Moses said. George T. Whitesides, Virgin Galactics chief executive, wrote in an email, Tee exemplifies the qualities that we seek in all employees at our spaceline: a deep personal commitment to our mission, team work, a sense of fun and an energetic pursuit of excellence. Vong understands that nobody envies his niche: Its tight in there. Its claustrophobic. Ive almost gotten stuck in there a couple times. Its very hot, especially with summer coming up. Its not easy work. Youre constantly moving and theres dust all over the place. But he was raised in a family that soldiers through impossible conditions. Growing up, Id see my family working hard to try and do better for those around them, he said. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the timeline of Vongs life hosts a constellation of tight spaces. His family fled Cambodia and the communist Khmer Rouge regime led by Pol Pot. In 1977, Vongs maternal grandfather, a school teacher who had been in the military, was captured by the Khmer Rouge. By 1979, the family got word that Vongs grandfather was one of the estimated 1.4 million people who had been executed. They left Cambodia that year. We had no food to eat, said Boran Chhan, Vongs mother. By the time she was 16, daily bombing raids forced her family into the forest. She remembers cooking rice and dried fish over a fire when bombs dropped nearby. She ran with the hot pot on her head. Later she lost most of her hair it was singed. But, she said, she was able to save the food. Its a story that stayed with her son. By the time Vong was born, the family had reached the Khao-I-Dang refugee camp in Thailand. His first home was a 200- to 300-square foot room, his mother said, shared with his parents and older brother, Samn. His grandmother and uncles lived next door. After transitioning through two other camps, the family finally made it to the United States in 1985. Vongs mother, father, brother, grandmother, three uncles, an aunt and her daughter lived in a converted hotel room. Vong was 2; he says its his first memory. We didnt speak any English, and we didnt have any money, we were 10 people in a tiny apartment, in the Tenderloin in San Francisco, which is not very tender at all, he said, laughing. We were on welfare and food stamps and had government cheese and Kix [cereal]. Looking back, weve come a long way. From San Francisco the family moved to Stockton, Calif., which had a large Cambodian community. No one expected Vong to contribute to space travel. He never aspired to be an astronaut or a pilot. He says he barely graduated from high school. It wouldve been way easier to just become a gang member, especially in Stockton or San Jose, he said. It couldve gone a whole different way. The fact that it didnt, he said, had a lot to do with my family. When Bunsun Chhan, Vongs uncle, attended school for his airframe and powerplant certification, Vong also enrolled, encouraged by his mother. Vong was in school on Sept. 11, 2001. After the terrorist attacks, demand for airplane mechanics stalled. Vong worked at Costco for three years in various positions: bagger, cashier, forklift driver, tire installer. Then he took a job in construction management. In the meantime, his uncle was hired at Scaled Composites, the company that originally developed WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo and is now owned by Northrop Grumman. Vong joined him at Scaled, where Chhan has worked on both spacecraft. When Virgin Galactic acquired WhiteKnightTwo, Vong came with it. Vong specializes in composites, but he and his fellow space wrenches maintain everything: the body, the wing, the skin of the aircraft and the engines. We check the structure, the structural integrity of the aircraft. We make sure theres no discrepancies in the wing skin. We check the systems, the wiring, the control cables, the hydraulic systems, the environmental systems, which is the breathing air and the pressurization systems, he said. Theres not one thing on this aircraft I havent touched. In 2014, Virgin Galactic suffered a fatal accident, in which the previous incarnation of SpaceShipTwo broke apart during a test flight. The pilot, Peter Siebold, 43, survived a fall from 40,000 feet. The co-pilot, Michael Alsbury, 39, was killed. Federal investigators determined the cause was Alsburys error and a system that failed to anticipate it. To Vong, the loss was colossal. It was a horrible feeling, he said. I was on the program for about two years at that time. It was hard to lose a friend. It was a bad day for everybody. Virgin Galactic shares its hangar with the Spaceship Co., the sister company that is building its fleet. This arrangement means that Virgin Galactic, the operator, can inform the manufacturing process and designs. Mechanics, pilots, engineers and designers have input that commercial airlines do not. (Boeing and Airbus build planes around the world, and then airlines take possession.) Because of this communal space and familiarity, the mechanics and pilots actually know one another well. Branson and his company remain determined to bring space travel to the masses. Their future astronauts echo his optimism after the crash, only 20 canceled their tickets, a Virgin Galactic spokeswoman said. About 700 people have bought $250,000 flights. In space tourism, Vong has found a passion strong enough to fuel those long, cramped hours. I have a lot of pride in my work, he said. I had no idea someone from my background could be where I am today, doing what I do, trying to put people in space. Its still kind of surreal to me. Ultimately, the company wants five rocket ships and three mother ships, Moses said. Then theyll see how demand plays out. A lot of people think were just taking rich people to space and that its another toy for rich people to enjoy, but I think taking civilians to space is a big thing, Vong said. Its the next step. For everybody. That includes him. The space wrench who was born in a refugee camp in Thailand has his own goal: To be the first Cambodian in space. You might think that a first-time Helen Hayes Award nomination would be no big deal for a five-time Tony Award winner. But it is for Brian MacDevitt. The Bethesda-based theater designer is thrilled to put on a tux for Monday nights awards ceremony, not only because its his first time getting nominated in his adopted hometown, but because his entire family is coming along and not just as guests, but as potential winners, too. MacDevitt is nominated for outstanding set design, for Studio Theatres Murder Ballad. His wife, Nancy Bannon, is nominated as a co-writer and an ensemble member of Theater Alliances Occupied Territories. Also in that production and nominated as an ensemble member: 13-year-old Jake MacDevitt. [West Side Story, Salome, Avenue Q top 2016 Hayes nominations] (L to R) Brian MacDevitt, Stephen Adly Guirgis and Frankie Faison. (Teddy Wolff) Georgie MacDevitt, 11, wasnt in any 2015 shows aside from his violin recitals, but hell be tagging along to the ceremony at the Lincoln Theatre and the after-party at the 9:30 Club. We are going to get all dressed up, Brian MacDevitt said. The kids are excited, because they get to miss the next morning at school. And what will be the reason for the tardiness on those excuse notes? Important life experience, MacDevitt quipped. The family moved to Bethesda about five years ago, when MacDevitt decided to stabilize his life as a freelance lighting designer and take a full-time teaching job at the University of Maryland. Bannon, a Juilliard-trained dancer who also acts and teaches acting classes, has contributed choreography to several area shows, including Murder Ballad, and is pursuing an MFA in film. Because both parents tend to work on projects that deal with adult subject matters and/or would be boring, family outings to celebrate their work have been rare. Ive only seen, like, three of my dads shows, Jake MacDevitt said. He still hasnt seen Book of Mormon, said his dad, who won his fifth Tony for his lighting design for the very popular but very profane musical. MacDevitt is also currently represented on Broadway with a revival of Blackbird, a play about child abuse. Bannon certainly didnt think her boys would be seeing Occupied Territories when she started working on the Vietnam War-themed drama, which premiered last summer. She first agreed to play the daughter of a troubled war veteran struggling with addiction issues. Then director-writer Mollye Maxner asked her to co-write the script. Bannon agreed, but when they decided that her character should have a son to demonstrate the legacy of family dysfunction that war can create, she didnt immediately volunteer her own. Michael Novak, Eran Bugge, Michael Trusnovec, James Samson and Heather McGinley in Paul Taylor Dance Company's "Esplanade." (Paul B. Goode) Mollye was saying, We need a 12-year-old boy. Where can we find one? Bannon said. With some trepidation, Bannon asked Jake, who had acted in school performances but more often runs the light board, like his dad. Jake was interested. So began many mother-son car trips to the Anacostia Playhouse, and some serious post-rehearsal conversations. We would talk about what happens when parents are unable to take care of their own children, Bannon said. That mom had some severe limitations. . . . She was one hot mess of a human being. Occupied Territories flips back and forth between a tense present-day family drama and violent flashbacks to the father/grandfather serving in Vietnam with a platoon full of expletive-spewing young men. Jake did his scenes like a pro, his mother said, and he learned a lot about the war and its consequences. She and Jake will reprise their roles this summer, when the cast travels to Marthas Vineyard for a workshop production, in preparation for a planned 2017 off-Broadway run. Regional productions of Occupied Territories also are possible, and winning a few of the six Helen Hayes Awards that the play is nominated for would certainly give it a boost. Murder Ballad, a homicidal rock musical, didnt offer quite the same life lessons. For the first time, MacDevitt served as scenic designer at a D.C. theater, turning Studio Theatres black box into a dive bar inspired by CBGB, a defunct East Village club where Bannon tended bar in the late 1990s. To furnish the set, MacDevitt bought a room full of neon Bud Light signs and metal Dos Equis posters from the soon-to-be-shuttered Chief Ikes Mambo Room in Adams Morgan. To make sure the place looked like it had been around since the 1970s, all MacDevitt needed was chalk, spray paint, his grad students and his son. Everyone who came to graffiti night got free beer, except for Jake. Such is life for the son of a theater artist. A tune-up for dancers For dancers used to performing to recorded music, having an orchestra can be invigorating. Yet for Robert Kleinendorst, a longtime member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, the moment when the curtain rises and the conductor takes up his or her baton isnt the quite the high point. His musical highlight comes at the companys listening rehearsal, when the dancers visit the orchestras rehearsal site and just sit, relax and soak in the music they have become accustomed to hearing only through tinny studio speakers. When we havent heard the pieces done by the orchestra before, thats the most amazing thing, Kleinendorst said by phone from his home in New York. He also has a theory that Paul Taylor, the 85-year-old company founder, purposely choses recordings that feature idiosyncratic phrases or tempos. When the works are performed with live music, dancers and conductors often have to meet in the middle. Say theres an oboe that we are used to hearing as a cue on the recording, Kleinendorst said. If we cant hear that in the orchestra, we have to tell the conductor. Its a very collaborative process. But those listening sessions were rare until last year, when the company renewed its commitment to using live music for its annual season in New York. The troupe began partnering with the Orchestra of St. Lukes, with longtime Taylor collaborator Donald York conducting. For the companys upcoming run at the Kennedy Center, which begins Wednesday, York will conduct the Opera House Orchestra in a program that will include accompaniment for the classic Taylor works Esplanade, Promethean Fire and Arden Court. It marks the first time in 13 years that the company has performed in Washington with a live orchestra. We are going to sleep like babies, Kleinendorst said. Donald is so sensitive to tempos and pauses. Which is not to say hell be sleeping through performances, but that audiences can rest assured that both musicians and dancers will be perfectly in tune. Alan Young, an Emmy Award-winning comic actor best remembered for playing Wilbur, the human sidekick and wonky owner of a talking horse in the 1960s television sitcom Mister Ed, died May 19 at the Motion Picture & Television Home in Woodland Hills, Calif. He was 96. Jaime Larkin, a spokesperson for the home, announced the death but did not disclose a cause. Mr. Young was a versatile radio performer whose disarming personality and youthful looks led to supporting roles on the big screen and then on television, where he won an Emmy for best actor on his self-titled variety show in the early 1950s. Since the 1980s, Mr. Young had worked as a voice-over actor on film and television. On the long-running TV cartoon series Duck Tales, he played the Disney animated character Scrooge McDuck, the stingy billionaire bird described as a hybrid of Charles Dickenss fictional Ebenezer Scrooge and the Scottish-born steel baron Andrew Carnegie. Mister Ed, which aired on CBS from 1961 to 1966 and thereafter in reruns, brought Mr. Young his most enduring fame. He played a clumsy architect named Wilbur Post, and the show concerned his daily follies as the only person who can hear his mischievous pet palomino talk. Mr. Ed visits with his TV friend, Mr. Young, in 1962. (AP) Mr. Young was approached for Mister Ed by producer Arthur Lubin, who had created the popular film Francis the Talking Mule (1950), about an Army beast of burden who gives lip to generals. As he liked to tell it, Mr. Young came to Lubins attention via another producer who said the actor looks like the kind of guy a horse would talk to. Mr. Young initially turned down the part, saying of his four-legged co-star, I dont want to work with anybody who doesnt clean up after himself. Besides the shows memorable introduction, featuring a bouncy barnyard theme song reminiscent of a nursery rhyme, the character Mister Ed made an indelible mark on American culture by coining the phrase: Willllburrrrr? Mister Ed was voiced by movie cowboy Allan Rocky Lane, who got the part through serendipity. At the time, Lane was flat broke and sleeping on the couch of a friend, the horse trainer Les Hilton. The trainers trick palomino, Bambino Harvester, was picked to play Mister Ed. One day, while taking photos of the horse, the producers heard a voice call out, Hey, where do you keep the coffee? Thats the voice of Ed, Mr. Young remembered everyone instantly agreeing. 1 of 66 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Notable deaths of 2016 View Photos Remembering those who have died this year. Caption Prince, David Bowie, Debbie Reynolds, Harper Lee and others: Remembering those who have died this year. Debbie Reynolds Actress Debbie Reynolds starred in the 1952 classic movie Singin in the Rain with Gene Kelly, shown above. Reynolds died one day after the death of her daughter, actress-writer Carrie Fisher. Reynolds was 84. Shes now with Carrie and were all heartbroken, her son Todd Fisher said. Read the Debbie Reynolds obituary AFP/Getty Images Wait 1 second to continue. Hilton trained Mister Ed to talk by placing a soft nylon strip between his gums and upper lip. Eventually, the nylon strip was removed, and Mr. Ed learned to move his lips only after Mr. Young had finished his lines. Mr. Young, who owned a portion of the show, made a fortune off the royalties. He was widely reported not to have let his financial success go to his head, instead underplaying his contribution to the show. He was the star, Mr. Young said of the horse in 2004. I was the supporting actor. Angus Young was born in North Shields, England, on Nov. 19, 1919. He grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland, where his father worked in the mines, and then in Vancouver. As a boy, he suffered from debilitating asthma, and he was bedridden for much of his childhood. To pass time, Mr. Young developed a love for radio comedy routines and would often copy down the jokes. He then transposed names and places to create his own material, and by his teenage years, he was attracting a local following as an emcee and radio show host. His radio work led him to New York, where he was a summer replacement for entertainer Eddie Cantor and soon had his own coast-to-coast show on the ABC network. Mr. Young appeared in films such as Margie (1946), Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949) and The Time Machine (1960), based on the H.G. Wells story. Mr. Young had a cameo in Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) reportedly at the behest of the films star, Eddie Murphy, a Mister Ed fan. He had a brief sabbatical from Hollywood during the mid-1960s. A Christian Scientist, Mr. Young spent nearly a decade working for the church in California, helping expand its TV, film and radio department. His marriages to Mary Anne Grimes, Virginia McCurdy and Mary Chipman ended in divorce.A complete list of survivors could not immediately be confirmed. Throughout the years, Mr. Young was often approached by fans who expressed their admiration for him and a certain horse, of course. Those brief encounters, Mr. Young said, would take him back in time. I remember it very clearly, he said in 2004. Those were the happiest times for me. The last place to look for the real world is the outsize, often grotesque excess of the Cannes Film Festival, the annual 10-day celebration of international cinema that wraps on Sunday. From the swarms of paparazzi descending on the citys seaside avenue, the Promenade de la Croisette, to get glamour shots of the celebrities here flogging their films (or the hangers-on hoping for a little free publicity), to the scrums of locals and cine-tourists clogging sidewalks hoping to acquire a ticket to one of the screenings happening at the huge Palais des Festivals, Cannes has a decided air of unreality about it, as if an extravagant auteur decided to stage a flash-mob mash-up of Day of the Locust and La Dolce Vita, only in French, with sharper elbows. As surreal as Cannes can be, however, this years program of movies 21 in competition as well as several others that showed in special screenings or sidebars reflected an alert, bracing sense of the world just outside the theater doors. After festival organizers came under criticism for including only two female directors in last years competition, the numbers improved only slightly this year, with three women selected for coveted slots. Two of them, Andrea Arnold with her sprawling road picture American Honey and Maren Ade with the wildly imaginative comedy Toni Erdmann, were responsible for two of the most positively received films in the festival. (Jodie Foster was also on hand with Money Monster, which made a splashy non-competition debut here, along with other big-Hollywood movies The BFG and The Nice Guys.) And just as a coalition of prominent French women issued a Statement Against Sexism last weekend, women were surfacing as fascinating, complex protagonists in a number of other films: In addition to Sandra Hullers breathtakingly fearless portrayal of a German career woman rethinking her life in Toni Erdmann, Sonia Braga made a triumphant comeback in Aquarius as a 65-year-old Brazilian widow fighting the gentrification of her apartment building. With characteristic panache and understatement, respectively, Pedro Almodovar and the Dardenne brothers delivered sensitive portraits of women haunted by figures from their distant and recent pasts in Julieta and An Unknown Girl. In Olivier Assayass Personal Shopper, Kristen Stewart played the title character, a couture-shopping assistant in Paris who is engulfed by the absence of her late twin brother. Personal Shopper proved to be divisive among critics some greeted it as a bold new take on the suspense thriller, others considered it tedious, especially in a several-minute texting scene. But most would agree that Stewart proved herself a transfixing screen presence (if not an actress with particularly impressive range) in both Personal Shopper and Woody Allens Cafe Society, a pleasant period comedy-drama that opened Cannes with modest enthusiasm and also controversy, when Allens son Ronan wrote an excoriating article for the Hollywood Reporter repeating accusations that Allen sexually assaulted Ronans sister Dylan when she was 7. At a beachside press lunch the next day, Allen was unfazed by that dissonant note within the sunny Cannes bubble. And as the festival continued, the films that unspooled showed a welcome eagerness to engage with a world in the throes of dizzying political, economic and cultural change. In addition to Aquarius and American Honey (about a group of lost teenagers who travel the Midwest partying and selling magazine subscriptions), a number of movies grappled with post-recession financial despair, including Ken Loachs drama I, Daniel Blake, about an unemployed Englishman battered by his countrys welfare bureaucracy. Indeed, two films that resonated most strongly with their times played out of competition in the festivals Un Certain Regard sidebar, and were suffused with a sense of disillusionment and dislocation: The smart, stylish modern Western Hell or High Water starred Ben Foster and Chris Pine as brothers who resort to robbing banks to fend off predatory banks. Matt Rosss Captain Fantastic starred Viggo Mortensen at his most charismatic, portraying a disaffected dad raising his six children to be anti-consumerist philosopher kings in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest. Not every attempt at relevance paid off: For all its good intentions, the Dardennes The Unknown Girl, about a physician searching for the identity of a murdered immigrant in Belgium, felt unsubstantial and inert; similarly, despite its moving story and deeply felt performances, I, Daniel Blake wound up on a gratuitously didactic note. Sean Penns The Last Face, about relief workers in Africa, was greeted with resounding jeers when it screened for the press on Friday. Far more graceful were Jeff Nicholss Loving, about the 1967 Supreme Court case regarding interracial marriage, and Jim Jarmuschs Paterson, about a New Jersey bus driver nursing artistic urges as a poet, which along with Toni Erdmann emerged as strong audience favorites (and maybe Palme dOr front-runners) as the festival progressed. Although Loving took a historical court case and race relations as its subject, Nichols made the counterintuitive decision to forgo fiery speeches and galvanizing courtroom scenes in favor of a quiet, intimate portrait of the shy couple at the storys center (flawlessly portrayed by Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga). Similarly, in Paterson, Jarmusch eschewed the ironic distance that was his signature in his early career to deliver a closely observed portrait of work, marriage and contentment that, like Loving, wound up celebrating and honoring the dignity and worth of everyday life. Three-year-old Saria Amaya waits with her mother after receiving shoes and school supplies during a charity event in October to help more than 4,000 underprivileged children at the Fred Jordan Mission in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles. Children from low-income families now make up a majority of public school students in the nation, according to a new report. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) For the first time in at least 50 years, a majority of U.S. public school students come from low-income families, according to a new analysis of 2013 federal data, a statistic that has profound implications for the nation. The Southern Education Foundation reports that 51 percent of students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in the 2012-2013 school year were eligible for the federal program that provides free and reduced-price lunches. The lunch program is a rough proxy for poverty, but the explosion in the number of needy children in the nations public classrooms is a recent phenomenon that has been gaining attention among educators, public officials and researchers. Weve all known this was the trend, that we would get to a majority, but its here sooner rather than later, said Michael A. Rebell of the Campaign for Educational Equity at Teachers College at Columbia University, noting that the poverty rate has been increasing even as the economy has improved. A lot of people at the top are doing much better, but the people at the bottom are not doing better at all. Those are the people who have the most children and send their children to public school. The shift to a majority-poor student population means that in public schools, a growing number of children start kindergarten already trailing their more privileged peers and rarely, if ever, catch up. They are less likely to have support at home, are less frequently exposed to enriching activities outside of school, and are more likely to drop out and never attend college. It also means that education policy, funding decisions and classroom instruction must adapt to the needy children who arrive at school each day. When they first come in my door in the morning, the first thing I do is an inventory of immediate needs: Did you eat? Are you clean? A big part of my job is making them feel safe, said Sonya Romero-Smith, a veteran teacher at Lew Wallace Elementary School in Albuquerque. Fourteen of her 18 kindergartners are eligible for free lunches. She helps them clean up with bathroom wipes and toothbrushes, and she stocks a drawer with clean socks, underwear, pants and shoes. Romero-Smith, 40, who has been a teacher for 19 years, became a foster mother in November to two girls, sisters who attend her school. They had been homeless, their father living on the streets and their mother in jail, she said. When she brought the girls home, she was shocked by the disarray of their young lives. Getting rid of bedbugs, that took us a while. Night terrors, that took a little while. Hoarding food, flushing a toilet and washing hands, it took us a little while, she said. You spend some time with little ones like this and its gut wrenching. . . . These kids arent thinking, Am I going to take a test today? Theyre thinking, Am I going to be okay? The job of teacher has expanded to counselor, therapist, doctor, parent, attorney, she said. Schools, already under intense pressure to deliver better test results and meet more rigorous standards, face the doubly difficult task of trying to raise the achievement of poor children so that they approach the same level as their more affluent peers. This is a watershed moment when you look at that map, said Kent McGuire, president of the Southern Education Foundation, the nations oldest education philanthropy, referring to a large swath of the country filled with high-poverty schools. The fact is, weve had growing inequality in the country for many years, he said. It didnt happen overnight, but its steadily been happening. Government used to be a source of leadership and innovation around issues of economic prosperity and upward mobility. Now were a country disinclined to invest in our young people. The data show poor students spread across the country, but the highest rates are concentrated in Southern and Western states. In 21 states, at least half the public school children were eligible for free and reduced-price lunches ranging from Mississippi, where more than 70 percent of students were from low-income families, to Illinois, where one of every two students was low-income. Carey Wright, Mississippis state superintendent of education, said quality preschool is the key to helping poor children. Thats huge, she said. These children can learn at the highest levels, but you have to provide for them. You cant assume they have books at home, or they visit the library or go on vacations. You have to think about what youre doing across the state and ensuring theyre getting what other children get. Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, was born in a charity hospital in 1959 to a single mother. Federal programs helped shrink the obstacles he faced, first by providing him with Head Start, the early-childhood education program, and later, Pell grants to help pay tuition at the University of Texas, he said. The country needs to make that same commitment today to help poor children, he said. Even at 8 or 9 years old, I knew that America wanted me to succeed, he said. What we know is that the mobility escalator has simply stopped for some Americans. I was able to ride that mobility escalator in part because there were so many people, and parts of our society, cheering me on. We need to fix the escalator, he said. We fix it by recommitting ourselves to the idea of public education. We have the capacity. The question is, do we have the will? The new report raises questions among educators and officials about whether states and the federal government are devoting enough money and using it effectively to meet the complex needs of poor children. The Obama administration wants Congress to add $1 billion to the $14.4 billion it spends annually to help states educate poor children. It also wants Congress to fund preschool for those from low-income families. Collectively, the states and the federal government spend about $500 billion annually on primary and secondary schools, about $79 billion of it from Washington. The amount spent on each student can vary wildly from state to state. States with high student-poverty rates tend to spend less per student: Of the 27 states with the highest percentages of student poverty, all but five spent less than the national average of $10,938 per student. Republicans in Congress have been wary of new spending programs, arguing that more money is not necessarily the answer and that federal dollars could be more effective if redundant programs were streamlined and more power was given to states. Many Republicans also think that the government ought to give tax dollars to low-income families to use as vouchers for private-school tuition, believing that is a better alternative to public schools. GOP leaders in Congress have rebuffed President Obamas calls to fund preschool for low-income families, although a number of Republican and Democratic governors have initiated state programs in the past several years. The report comes as Congress begins debate about rewriting the countrys main federal education law, first passed as part of President Lyndon B. Johnsons War on Poverty and designed to help states educate poor children. The most recent version of the law, known as No Child Left Behind, has emphasized accountability and outcomes, measuring whether schools met benchmarks and sanctioning them when they fell short. That federal focus on results, as opposed to need, is wrongheaded, Rebell said. We have to think about how to give these kids a meaningful education, he said. We have to give them quality teachers, small class sizes, up-to-date equipment. But in addition, if were serious, we have to do things that overcome the damages of poverty. We have to meet their health needs, their mental health needs, after-school programs, summer programs, parent engagement, early-childhood services. These are the so-called wraparound services. Some people think of them as add-ons. Theyre not. Theyre imperative. THE DISTRICT Man fatally shot near Md. border A man was fatally shot early Thursday in Southeast Washington near the border with Maryland, D.C. police said. The shooting occurred about 2:40 a.m. in the 800 block of Southern Avenue SE in Washington Highlands, police said. They said the man was taken to a hospital, where he died. Police identified the victim as Dana Hamilton, 44, of Oxon Hill, Md. No further details were released. Police also identified a man fatally shot Wednesday afternoon in the Anacostia neighborhood as Thomas Meriedy, 24, of Southeast Washington. That shooting occurred about 12:40 p.m. in the 2300 block of Mount View Place SE, in the same block as a large Salvation Army National Capital Area building. There are a number of schools in the area, and the scene of the shooting is about four blocks from the Anacostia Metro station. MARYLAND Driver, 30, dies after multi-vehicle crash A 30-year-old man died this week after a multi-vehicle crash in Clinton, Prince Georges County police said. The man, identified as Brandan Sneed of Waldorf, died Tuesday of injuries suffered Monday night in a collision in which four other people were injured, according to police. Police said Sneed was driving east on Old Alexandria Ferry Road when, for reasons still under investigation, he lost control at about 7:45 p.m. Monday. Sneeds car hit one vehicle head-on in the westbound lane and then hit another vehicle, police said. They said debris struck a fourth vehicle. A passenger in one of the other vehicles was critically injured, police said. Three other people suffered injuries not considered life-threatening, police said. Victoria St. Martin VIRGINIA Public asked to help search for two teens The FBI and Fairfax County police are searching for two Fairfax teenagers who have been missing for about 10 days, officials said. Authorities are asking the public to help find Facette Danielle Lema, 13, and Rudy Toranzo, 14, who were last seen May 10. Facette was described as a Pacific Islander, 5-foot-3 and 142 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Her ears are pierced, and she may be wearing glasses. Rudy was described as a Hispanic male, 5-foot-1 and 140 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. They both may need medical attention, authorities said. Clarence Williams Woman found dead in pond is identied Fairfax County police on Thursday identified a woman found dead in a pond in Centreville this week. Masoumeh Kord, 43, of Fairfax was found floating in a pond Monday in the 6200 block of Ridge Pond Drive near an apartment complex, county police said in a statement. A dive team recovered her body, police said. The medical examiners office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death, police said. Circumstances surrounding the death do not appear to be suspicious or criminal in nature, police said. Justin Wm. Moyer Elaine Harmon of the Women Airforce Service Pilots in the 1940s. (Family photo via AP) Female pilots who served in the air forces during World War II can now be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, thanks to legislation President Obama signed Friday. Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, were buried at the military cemetery from 2002 until 2015, when then-Army Secretary John McHugh ruled that they never should have been allowed to be under then-current law. The family of 2nd Lt. Elaine Danforth Harmon, a Marylander who died last year at 95, has been fighting to change the policy ever since. Harmon was one of over a thousand women who flew planes for transport and training during the war. During the war, Congress voted down a bill that would have granted the female pilots military status. The Army wouldnt even pay to send home the bodies of the 38 women who died during their service. While the WASPs were recognized as veterans in 1977 and awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010, the Army argued that because Arlington Cemetery is run by the Army rather than the Department of Veterans Affairs, they could not be buried there unless the law was changed. At first, Harmons granddaughter Erin Miller was skeptical that new legislation was even possible. Im a lawyer, and I was like: God, Congress cant do anything. That would be a nightmare. I dont want them involved, she recalled. But after meeting with hundreds of representatives who pushed for the change, she was overwhelmed by the support. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), the longest-serving woman in Congress, introduced the bill in the Senate in January. Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), a retired Air Force colonel who took office last year, pushed it in the House. Today we have righted a terrible wrong, Mikulski said in a statement. If they were good enough to fly for our country, risk their lives and earn the Congressional Gold Medal, they should be good enough for Arlington. Partisanship hasnt disappeared completely. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) laid blame for the WASPs predicament at Obamas feet, saying in a recent statement that the administration stripped these female pioneers of their eligibility. But the change passed through Congress without opposition. I had to leave work early because I couldnt concentrate thats how happy I am, Miller said Friday after the bill was signed. Her family now must apply at Arlington for a new funeral date. Its unclear how long they will have to wait. But Miller said she knows it will be less than a year, which is how long her grandmothers ashes have been waiting on a shelf in her mothers closet. Alexandria police have arrested a man suspected in a fatal shooting in Old Town last October. Brian Bolar, 26, was arrested Thursday on charges of murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Police say Bolar shot 37-year-old Leon Williams on Belle Pre Way in early October. His death was one of four homicides in the city of Alexandria last year. Bolar, a Dumfries resident, is in custody without bond at William G. Truesdale Detention Center in Alexandria. Court records did not list an attorney for him. D.C. police are searching for two men wearing ski masks one armed with a gun who investigators say forced a woman into a vehicle and sexually assaulted her on Wednesday in Southeast Washington, according to authorities. The incident occurred about 10 a.m. in the 4500 block of Benning Road SE, near a busy intersection at East Capitol Street. Police said the men forced the woman into a minivan and drove her about one mile to the 1100 block of 46th Place SE, where the victim was sexually assaulted. One assailant was described as a black man, standing 6 feet 6 inches tall with a medium complexion and wearing a black jacket, blue jeans, Timberland books and a black ski mask. Police said he was armed with a handgun. The second assailant was also described as a black man, standing about 6 feet 6 inches tall with a dark complexion and wearing a black jacket, blacksweat pants, black Nike boots and a black ski mask. Police described the vehicle as an older model white minivan, with tinted rear windows. The license plate number was not known. Anyone who has information regarding this case should call police at 202-727-9099. Fairfax County police are investigating a fatal shooting Friday at an apartment complex as a homicide. Officers reported to the 6000 block of Richmond Highway for a report of a person who was shot at about 2:20 a.m., police said. Officers found an unresponsive man in the parking lot of the Cityside Huntington Metro Apartment Homes in Alexandria, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police identified the victim as Tarreece John Sampson, 24, an Alexandria resident and Fairfax County Public Schools employee. Authorities said on Twitter that certain areas around the apartment complex will be closed until about 10 a.m. as detectives investigate. There are multiple crime scenes right now, said police spokeswoman Megan Hawkins. Police have not yet announced a possible motive or suspects in the case or named the person who was slain. Authorities are asking anyone with information about the incident to call 703-691-2131 or, to remain anonymous, 1-866-411-TIPS. Fenit Nirappil contributed to this report. It all started with an argument over a photograph that was posted on Instagram, authorities say. It is not clear what the photo showed, but weeks later, a 15-year-old involved in the dispute lay dying, stabbed in the neck at the Deanwood Metro station. That new detail and others in the April 11 death of John Rufus Evans III were revealed Friday in D.C. Superior Court during the hearing for Jovante Hall, the 18-year-old District man charged with second-degree murder in the daylight attack. The two saw each other on a Metro train, leading to a confrontation in the station. What remains unclear, despite testimony by a lead detective in the case, is whether Hall was defending himself against Evans or whether Hall initiated the attack. As a U.S. marshal escorted the shackled Hall into the courtroom Friday, he lifted his arms and blew several kisses to family members sitting in the courtroom. Members of Evanss family sat on the other side. [Suspect arrested in fatal stabbing at Deanwood Metro stop] D.C. homicide detective Damion Johnson testified that a witness told police that the dispute over the Instagram photo started the trouble between the two teens, leading to arguments and threats. Johnson said that at least one witness told detectives that the two, when they were within arms reach of each other on April 11, began swinging simultaneously before Hall stabbed Evans, who was unarmed. Johnson testified that one witness who was with Hall told police that when Hall saw Evans in the subway car, Hall pulled out his knife and said he was getting ready to bump, meaning fight. The detective said the witness told police that Hall saw Evans first and that the two followed Evans and another teen on the escalator from the train platform to the Metro exit. But a Metro video later played in court showed Evans behind Hall on an escalator. Johnson said witnesses described Hall as having an anger-management problem. They said he had carried a knife with him for the past six years and that whenever he was involved in a fight, he would just stab a person, Johnson testified. Prosecutor Christian Natiello showed a handwritten letter that Halls mother handed to police during the investigation. Natiello said Hall wrote the letter to his mother. In the letter, he apologized for taking someone away and said he will be gone for a while. Natiello also said Hall had several misdemeanor cases from last year and this year, including possession of a knife and simple assault. Natiello said Hall was a danger to the community who has had several arrests. Under cross-examination, Halls public defender, Matthew Davies, tried to show that Hall was the victim. One witness, according to Johnson, told police that Hall was often bullied by his peers in the Northeast Washington Deanwood neighborhood. Halls attorney told the judge that his client being a victim of bullying may have been the reason Hall carried a knife and had anger issues. Based on the detectives testimony, witness accounts of the attack varied as to who swung first. At one point, the detective suggested that Evans knew a fight was about to occur when he saw Hall on the Metro. One witness who accompanied the teen on the Metro told police that when Evans saw Hall, he instructed his friend to pull out his cellphone and begin recording. The witness recorded the incident but later told police he accidentally deleted the video. The prosecutor played a Metro security video that showed Hall standing on the escalator and Evans and another teen behind Hall, just minutes before the altercation. At one point, the video shows Hall turning around and looking at Evans before Hall runs off the escalator. Judge Jose M. Lopez determined that because Hall pulled out the knife before the altercation, there was substantial evidence to order Hall to remain in jail for trial. The knife came out before the fight, and the question is, was Mr. Hall perceiving the need to defend himself or was he planning to attack? Lopez said. D.C. police said they were looking for the Instagram photo. The FBI and Fairfax County police are looking for missing teens Facette Danielle Lema, 13, (left) and Rudy Toranzo, 14, both of Fairfax. (FBI) The FBI and Fairfax County police are searching for two Fairfax teenagers who have been missing for nearly 10 days, officials said. Authorities are asking the public to help them locate Facette Danielle Lema, 13, and Rudy Toranzo, 14, who both were last seen on May 10, officials said in a statement. Investigators described Facette as a Pacific Islander who has brown hair, brown eyes and is 53 tall and weighs 142 lbs. Officials said she may have a medical issue but did not release the condition. Her ears are pierced, and she may wear glasses. Police describe Rudy Toranzo as a Hispanic male with brown hair and brown eyes and is 51 tall and about 140 lbs. He also may need medical attention, authorities said. A Secret Service agent shot and critically wounded a man Friday afternoon who approached a guard booth outside the White House and refused to put down the pistol he was carrying, according to law enforcement officials. Lines of tourists were frantically ushered away from the area as heavily armed police converged on the security shack near 17th and E streets NW, which is outside the secure perimeter and accessible to the public. The White House was put on lockdown, and Vice President Biden was secured inside the complex, authorities said. President Obama was golfing at Joint Base Andrews at the time. Authorities said the man, who was shot once in the chest, was hospitalized in critical condition Friday night. Two law enforcement officials identified him as Jesse Olivieri, a Pennsylvania man in his 30s. His relatives could not immediately be reached to comment. Police released no other details about him or an apparent motive. Authorities discovered ammunition for a .22-caliber weapon inside the mans white, four-door sedan, which was parked near the scene, according to two law enforcement officials. Fridays apparent attempt to breach the White House grounds is another in a series of security incidents in recent years at or near the presidential complex. It took place against a backdrop of heightened global tension brought on by terrorist attacks and the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan and as officials were investigating the crash of an Egyptian passenger jet over the Mediterranean Sea. 1 of 23 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Photos from the scene after a person was shot near the White House View Photos A Secret Service officer shot and wounded a man who brandished a gun Friday afternoon, according to several law enforcement officials. U.S. Park Police tweeted that a shooting occurred after 2 p.m. on West Executive Drive. Caption A Secret Service officer shot and wounded a man who brandished a gun Friday May 20, according to several law enforcement officials. U.S. Park Police tweeted that a shooting occurred after 2 p.m. on West Executive Drive. May 20, 2016 A Secret Service agent orders people into buildings near the entrance to the West Wing of the White House after it was placed on security alert because of a shooting on a street outside. Andrew Harnik/AP Wait 1 second to continue. Law enforcement officials said there was no immediate sign that Fridays incident, which occurred just after 3 p.m., had any links to terrorism. The Secret Service said in a statement that the man approached the security gate holding a gun and that officers gave numerous verbal commands for the subject to stop and drop the firearm. When the subject failed to comply with the verbal commands, he was shot once by a Secret Service agent and taken into custody. Officials said they recovered the mans firearm. Baltimore resident Akil Patterson, who was in a security line for the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, said he saw an officer come through a side door and overheard radio chatter: Shots, shots fired, suspect down, suspect down. Jaspreet Singh said a friend, Ranjit Singh, texted him that: A cop shot a guy. In his text, the friend said he saw a man with a gun in his right hand walking toward a police officer before he was shot. Federal agents with the Washington field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were helping to trace the weapon, according to an agency spokesman. Officials said that the mans car was found parked near 17th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, and an officer spotted the ammunition through a window. Law enforcement officials noted that the man did not gain access to the White House complex. After the incident, police blocked streets between 16th and 17th Streets NW, along with parts of the Mall near the Washington Monument. A helicopter circled overhead as tourists, office workers and people with White House appointments were quickly ushered away. Lock down at the White House has been lifted after a nearby shooting. (Dalton Bennett/The Washington Post) People have tried to reach the mansions grounds for years for a wide variety of reasons. Some suffered mental illness, others wanted to make a political statement and some sought notoriety. One person this year allegedly climbed the fence to try to escape apprehension in a series of robberies he had just committed. The Secret Service last year added small spikes or pencil points to the top of the six-foot fence that surrounds the White House complex after a series of incidents in which intruders climbed the fence. Last month, the agency announced a plan to raise the height of the security fence to 11 feet by 2018. Perhaps the most serious breach was on Sept. 19, 2014, when Omar Gonzalez climbed over the north fence and made his way deep into the White House. When he was finally tackled by an off-duty Secret Service agent in the ornate East Room, he was found to have a knife in a pants pocket. Two hatchets, a machete and 800 rounds of ammunition were found in his car nearby. Secret Service Director Julia Pierson resigned two weeks later. But there have been recent incidents as well. Last month, a man threw his backpack over the north fence and climbed over. He was immediately arrested. On March 7, a man in a hoodie climbed over a smaller first barrier but was tackled and arrested before he could reach the fence. And in November, a college student draped in an American flag climbed over the spiked White House fence while the first family was inside the residence celebrating Thanksgiving. Fridays shooting was being investigated by several federal agencies, though by evening, D.C. police had assumed command because of involvement by a law enforcement officer. The Secret Service will determine whether the shooting met its standards for using deadly force; D.C. police, along with prosecutors, will investigate whether any laws were broken. The sound of gunfire and the cadre of law enforcement that blanketed downtown Washington shattered the calm of one of the few warm, sunny days the area has experienced in weeks. Jason Wilson, visiting from Detroit to collect a Presidents Volunteer Service Award, said he heard one shot while he and colleagues were standing near 17th and F streets NW. We were hoping it was a blown tire, but it wasnt, he said. Within a few seconds, police were rushing down the street, telling us to move away. Trabian Shorters, head of an advocacy group whose members were waiting in line to enter the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, was also among those in the area. They started yelling for everyone to clear the canopy and get to the street, Shorters said. They were very emphatic. It was clearly very serious. Juliet Eilperin, Carol D. Leonnig, Josh Hicks, Joe Heim, Matt Zapotosky and Julie Tate contributed to this report. A Maryland man was indicted on charges of child pornography and weapons offenses after a package containing hundreds of rounds of ammunition broke open at a U.S. postal facility and attracted the attention of investigators, court files show. Caleb Andrew Bailey, 30, of Waldorf, was indicted Wednesday in federal court in Greenbelt. Prosecutors allege Bailey created and possessed child pornography, possessed a machine gun and unlawfully transported explosive materials. The four-count indictment included few details about the child pornography allegations. An affidavit in support of an arrest warrant detailed Baileys alleged attempts to ship ammunition through the U.S. mail. On Feb. 18, according to the affidavit, a package ruptured open at a U.S. postal facility in Capitol Heights. Among other items, the package, allegedly paid for with a debit card linked to Bailey and addressed to a firearms store in Wisconsin, contained items including 119 rounds of reloaded .50-caliber cartridges and 200 rounds of 14.5mm spotting projectiles with an explosive charge, the affidavit said. Those who buy or ship such ammunition must have a permit, but Bailey did not, according to the affidavit. On Feb. 25, the affidavit said, Bailey used a false name and contacted USPS customer service with a tracking number to ask about the fate of the package, which the caller said had not been delivered. He called again on March 3, using his real name, according to the affidavit. Authorities set up a meeting with Bailey at a postal facility on May 5 about the package, but he failed to show, the affidavit states. After Bailey missed the meeting, according to the affidavit, authorities executed search warrants on properties associated with Bailey, including his residence, and seized a machine gun. Bailey was one of three top vote-getters in Marylands 5th Congressional District to serve as a delegate at the GOP National Convention this summer, according to Joe Cluster, the executive director of the Maryland Republican Party. Bailey ran as a delegate for Donald Trump. Cluster said Bailey is presumed innocent, but if he is in jail and cant go [to the convention] . . . or makes bail and cant travel then the state party would replace him with the person who received the most number of votes in the alternates category. Baileys attorney, William C. Brennan, declined to comment. Two Virginia Tech students are charged in the death of a seventh grade girl. Here is what you need to know about the investigation. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post) Two Virginia Tech students are charged in the death of a seventh grade girl. Here is what you need to know about the investigation. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post) Nicole Lovell slipped out her bedroom window on a cold January night, seeking the promise of a romantic walk in the woods. The 13-year-old grabbed her cellphone and her Minions blanket, nurturing a dream of running away with the trim Virginia Tech athlete she had met online. The secret rendezvous with freshman David Eisenhauer was a ruse, police testified Friday, part of an elaborate plan he hatched with a close friend to kill the middle school student and keep his inappropriate relationship with her from becoming public. His friend Natalie Keepers also had a sinister motivation, a police detective testified, recounting how Keepers told police that she was a sociopath-in-training and that the secrecy and intrigue surrounding the murder plot gave her the best feeling. Along a dark country road, in a swath of woods Eisenhauer and Keepers had scouted for the crime, police said, Eisenhauer stabbed the girl to death, blood staining the snow. Detectives testified in a preliminary hearing Friday that the two Virginia Tech students believed they had planned a perfect crime. They shut off their cellphones; they hid the knife in the woods; they tossed Nicoles belongings in a dumpster and a raging river; and they bathed her body with cleaning wipes before dumping it in North Carolina. And they believed they would get away with it. Police said that Eisenhauer told Keepers that thousands of children go missing every year and are never found. Nicole Madison Lovell, 13, was slain in January. (Deana Jones/Blacksburg Police Department) It will never be traced, Eisenhauer said in a text message to Keepers, according to police. Always go overkill when your life is on the line. Detectives testified for three hours Friday, detailing how the pair plotted to end Nicoles life and conceal the crime. Despite a belief that the slaying wouldnt be traced to them, police said, a series of missteps was their undoing: A GPS device in Eisenhauers Lexus remained on, tracking the cars movements that night; Nicoles blood seeped into the cars trunk; and the two students later exchanged incriminating text messages. Keepers, who broke down during an interview with police after Nicole disappeared, ultimately recounted to detectives how the crime unfolded and turned over her cellphone, police testified. Eisenhauer, 19, of Columbia, Md., is charged with abduction and first-degree murder in Nicoles death. Keepers, 19, of Laurel, Md., is charged with accessory before the fact and concealing the body. Mary Pettitt, commonwealths attorney in Montgomery County, Va., said Keepers helped Eisenhauer plan the killing and then helped try to cover it up. [Prosecutor: Va. Tech freshman said she was excited to be part of something secretive] A judge determined Friday that there is enough evidence to move the case against each student to a grand jury, which is scheduled to meet July 26. Pettitt dropped a misdemeanor charge of accessory after the fact against Keepers. Attorneys for Keepers and Eisenhauer declined to comment. The investigation began Jan. 27, when Nicoles mother, Tammy Weeks, reported the 13-year-old missing after going to the girls bedroom and finding a nightstand shoved up against her door to prevent entry. Her disappearance set off an intensive search that ended three days later, when her body was discovered. The slaying shocked the Blacksburg community and raised concerns about the dangers teens face when they interact with strangers online. Nicoles mother said her daughter was the target of bullying at Blacksburg Middle School, had grappled with health problems and frequently poured her sadness out online, where she sought solace and drew the attention of young men. Authorities said that was where the vulnerable teen encountered Eisenhauer, then 18. [Slain Blacksburg teen told friends she planned to run away with alleged killer] Eisenhauer walked into the courtroom Friday wearing a black suit, blue tie and a blank stare. Keepers, in a pink hooded sweatshirt and a dark skirt, kept her head bowed. Nicoles mother stormed out of the courtroom as detectives described her daughters slaying. Blacksburg police investigator Desiree Twigger testified that she questioned Eisenhauer early on in the case and that Eisenhauer told her that he met Nicole online. The two had exchanged messages on Kik, a social media platform, and Eisenhauer said that he believed Nicole was 16 or 17. Eisenhauer recounted how he and Nicole opened up to each other and shared an emotional connection. But when Nicole requested that they meet up, Eisenhauer demurred, the detective said, testifying that the college student said he freaked out when the seventh-grader referred to him as her boyfriend. Twigger said that Eisenhauer admitted seeing Nicole the night she went missing but said that they only met briefly. When police asked him what he thought police should be doing, Eisenhauer replied that they should be looking for a dead body rather than trying to interview the last person to see her alive, Twigger said. He then stopped talking and requested an attorney. Blacksburg police detective Ryan Hite said that Keepers crumbled under questioning, at first denying any involvement but later talking and turning over her phone. Keepers told Hite that she wanted to help them with their investigation. Among the data found on Keeperss phone was a text conversation she had with Eisenhauer shortly after Nicoles slaying. I smell like cleaning supplies, Keepers told him. I mean I was close to a lot of blood. Keepers initially portrayed her role in the crime as minimal, saying that Eisenhauer had forced her to participate in disposing of Nicoles body. But she later acknowledged that she helped with the entire plot. Keepers told police about the preparation that went into Nicoles death, including meeting with Eisenhauer for dinner at a fast-food restaurant where they planned for two options Eisenhauer would knock Nicole unconscious and leave her to die of exposure to the cold, or he would approach the girl from behind, cover her mouth and slit her throat. In the hours before Nicoles killing, Keepers and Eisenhauer bought a shovel to bury the body, police said, and conducted a dry run, driving past Nicoles apartment complex and then to Craig Creek Road, where Keepers selected the spot where the girl would be killed, noting its seclusion. [This is the road near Va. Tech where Nicole Lovell was killed] Eisenhauer left Nicoles body in the woods for some period of time after he killed her, police said. Later, he returned with Keepers to retrieve the body, originally planning to bury it on property near Blacksburg belonging to his grandparents. But the two became concerned when Nicoles disappearance drew considerable media attention, and the plan shifted. Police said the pair decided to drive Nicoles body to North Carolina instead. Police obtained a warrant in late April for the cellphone of a man who lived 40 miles east in Pulaski, Va., writing that Eisenhauer had texted the man about needing a place to hide a body near you. In another message, he said original plan failed. Keepers told police that she helped Eisenhauer stuff the body into the trunk of the Lexus and that they then drove to the North Carolina border, where they dumped Nicoles body on the side of the road, facedown and naked. Hite testified that the pair disposed of Nicoles clothing, backpack and the knife used in the killing in multiple places throwing Nicoles clothes into a trash bin behind a McDonalds, her backpack off a bridge and into a river, and the knife into a forest. Keepers told police that she helped plan Nicoles death but was not present when Eisenhauer took the girl into the woods under the guise of a romantic walk. Hite also said that Keepers texted Eisenhauer for an update on the plan that night. Police said he texted back: Its done. Balingit reported from Washington. Chickens walk in their enclosure on a farm in Maryland, in this photo from Oct. 19, 2005. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) A Virginia woman has been charged with animal cruelty after Loudoun County authorities alleged she inhumanely killed 12 to 15 chickens weekly for ritual sacrifices. Loudoun County Animal Services received a complaint on April 25 claiming that animals in a home on Sherwood Court in Sterling were being cruelly killed, said Angela Chan, a deputy chief with the department. After an investigation, an animal services officer found evidence of chickens being treated inhumanely for some sort of ritual practice, Chan said. Mercy Carrion, 43, has been charged with three counts of animal cruelty in connection with the case, authorities said. Chan said it was unclear how long the alleged sacrifices had been taking place at the home or how many chickens in total had been sacrificed. Chan could not detail the evidence found in the investigation, but a warrant obtained by the Loudoun Times-Mirror, which first reported the story, indicated an animal control officer saw what appeared to be blood splatter on the walls of the accuseds living room, religious idols, a club with a metal shield covered in dried blood and feathers, a large human bone, animal heads and parts skewered on sticks in a vase. The warrant also stated there were two cauldrons with various animal torturing devices along with bowls filled with animal blood and two dead roosters in the home, according to the Times-Mirror. The paper also reported that a confidential informant saw Carrion run around the house, slamming the chickens to a wall, bludgeon them to death with a club or bury, burn and cut the chickens while they were alive. Documents filed in Loudoun County indicate that at least one rooster was seized from the property, according to a court clerk. Animal services officials said theyre not aware of any exemptions for animal cruelty for religious purposes. Our primary concern is the way in which the animals were being killed, and that is being investigated, Chan said. Online court records indicate Carrion is due in court for trial on June 10. The crowd cheers during Gov. Terry McAuliffe's announcement on the restoration of rights to felons in Virginia at the Capitol in Richmond. (Mark Gormus/Associated Press) Gov. Terry McAuliffes order last month restoring the voting rights of 206,000 felons had an unintended consequence: Its now easier for those ex-offenders to regain the right to own guns. Before the order, felons who wanted to legally possess firearms first had to go through the process of having their civil rights reinstated, including the right to vote, to sit on a jury and to run for office. That process which involved submitting forms that were scrutinized by the secretary of the commonwealths staff, using the governors authority is no longer in place. Instead, felons who have completed their sentences can go straight to the step of petitioning the circuit court for firearm rights. Prosecutors review those petitions and can intervene if they believe a felon should continue to be barred from owning a weapon. Days after McAuliffe (D) signed the April 22 voting rights order, which was strongly opposed by leading Republicans in the GOP-controlled legislature, Secretary of the Commonwealth Kelly Thomasson warned commonwealths attorneys of a potential increase in gun rights requests. The decision to restore firearms rights is solely up to the discretion of local court judges, based in large part on your decision on whether or not to oppose such petitions, Thomasson wrote. The situation flips the usual political script, with McAuliffe, a staunch gun-control advocate, potentially opening the door to more felons possessing guns, and pro-gun-rights Republicans who oppose his order decrying the possibility that those felons could have an easier time arming themselves. I would urge caution to circuit court judges to ensure that youre not restoring rights to someone who has demonstrated willingness to use a firearm in a violent act, said Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Prince William), who has sponsored bills expanding gun rights. McAuliffe said he hadnt given much thought to how his order would affect felons seeking firearms. My actions were about giving you the right to vote, to serve on a jury and run for political office, he said recently. My action, I didnt think it had anything to do with gun rights. I stayed away from that. Civil court clerks say its too early to tell whether the number of petitions filed will spike in response to the order. But legislators and lawyers who focus on this work reported a marked increase in inquiries from felons interested in firearms ownership. [Video: Virginias decision to restore voting rights to felons, in two minutes] The incremental streamlining of the restoration of voting rights process began in 2013, when then-Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) ended the states policy of permanently disenfranchising all felons. Instead, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, ex-prisoners had to receive an individual rights restoration certificate before they could register to vote. McAuliffe shortened from five years to three the waiting period for violent felons to apply for rights restoration after completing their sentences; eliminated the requirement that those felons write a letter to the governor explaining why their rights should be restored; and removed the requirement that felons pay court costs and fees associated with their efforts. He also shortened the application form from 13 pages to one page for violent felons; McDonnell had previously shortened it only for nonviolent felons. But prosecutors say they still relied heavily on that first step in the process and lack the resources to do extensive research for each firearms request. Thats always been the main factor, said Joel R. Branscom, the commonwealths attorney in the rural southwestern Virginia county of Botetourt. Once the governor has weighed in, its been pretty regular [practice] for them to get their rights restored. That meant something. McAuliffes voting rights order stressed the unforgiving stigmatization of ex-offenders who are not permitted to vote, sit on juries or run for office, saying the policy systematically disenfranchises them often along racial and socioeconomic lines. The administration says 46 percent of ex-offenders are African American, compared with a statewide population that is 19 percent black. The disenfranchisement argument in the order, Branscom said, could apply equally to the restoration of rights to bear arms. He said the message he got from McAuliffes order is that its wrong to deny felons that right, unless there is a specific reason to do so. Some libertarian-leaning proponents of gun ownership seem ready to push for ex-offenders to be able to own guns more easily. Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, said legislators should change the law to make firearms rights the same as voting rights. He said all nonviolent ex-offenders should have their firearms rights restored but not those with violent crimes on their record. If you cant trust them to have a gun, you shouldnt be able to trust them to vote, Van Cleave said. Youre either a good citizen, or youre not. Make up your mind. Gun-control advocate Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, says the effect of McAuliffes order on gun ownership should have been considered more carefully before the governor took action. We are concerned that this opens the door for potentially dangerous persons to get their firearms rights restored, Horwitz said. It is very important for the courts to understand the risk factors that are involved here. Earlier this year, McAuliffe trumpeted a compromise on gun laws that expanded the rights of concealed-carry permit holders in exchange for requiring domestic abusers to relinquish their guns. The National Rifle Association helped craft the deal. The group declined to comment on possible links between McAuliffes voting rights order and firearms restoration. Lingamfelter, the Republican delegate, said the juxtaposition of the compromise on gun laws and the mass restoration of civil rights just drips with irony. Even if they dont get their gun rights back, how many of them now will be able to sit on juries and be in judgment of other domestic abusers, said Lingamfelter, who opposes McAuliffes order. Will there be a sympathy factor? Attorneys for a man accused of killing a state police trooper in Dinwiddie County filed a motion this month to have felons whose civil rights were restored added to the pool of eligible jurors for his trial, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Friday. House Republicans say concern over the expansion of voting and other rights is one reason they have retained a lawyer to challenge McAuliffes action in court. They accused the governor of being motivated by politics, trying add African American voters to the rolls to give a boost to his friend Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential front-runner. McAuliffe has denied the claim. In the meantime, lawyers who focus on gun rights restoration say they are busier than usual. About two dozen clients have contacted Stafford attorney Jason Pelt on the issue in the past three weeks, Pelt said, compared with a typical pace of one or two a month. For Pelt, a criminal defense lawyer and Marine veteran who believes in second chances, McAuliffes order is a big deal. The most anti-gun governor in a long time in Virginia just made it incredibly easy for felons to get guns, he said. Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Friday vetoed language that the Republican-controlled legislature inserted in the state budget earlier this year to prevent him from expanding Medicaid without its permission. A spokesman for McAuliffe (D) said the governor had no imminent plan to expand the federal health care program for the poor on his own, suggesting that the veto was more about preserving the governors constitutional prerogatives than anything else. But spokesman Brian Coy also indicated that the governor was once again exploring the possibility of circumventing a General Assembly that is deeply opposed to expansion, which was McAuliffes marquee campaign promise when he was elected in 2013. We have no action to announce at this time, but were going to continue to evaluate how to bring this money home, Coy said, referring to federal tax dollars that would bankroll the bulk of the $2 billion-a-year cost of an expansion. Republicans reacted coolly to what they called McAuliffes purported veto. Even though the governor enjoys a line-item veto, House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) said, he lacks the power to eliminate the passage he nixed. [In Va., the road to a budget comes with twists and turns] The Governor cannot veto conditions attached to appropriations without vetoing the appropriation as well, Howell said in a statement. This has been the consistent practice of the General Assembly, and the Governor will be notified accordingly next week. Howell pointed to state Supreme Court rulings saying that the governor must strike a budget item in its entirety when he vetoes it and that he lacks the power to strike out conditions or restrictions that apply to an item. The House Clerks Office, which prints the final laws, ignored McAuliffes veto of similar language included in the two-year budget passed in 2014. That year, Republicans contended that McAuliffe could not veto the language without striking the entire Medicaid program. McAuliffes office disagreed with that notion but never challenged the House clerks decision to leave his veto out of the final law. This time, McAuliffe is contending that the anti-expansion language in the bill applied to the entire $100 billion budget, not just the Medicaid program and, as a result, unconstitutionally limits his line-item authority. By conditioning all appropriations in the budget on [the language], the Governors ability to issue a line-item veto is removed, McAuliffe said in a statement. I object to . . . [the condition], yet I am unable to reject it without also rejecting all of the monies appropriated in this $100 billion budget bill. The difference of opinion could be the basis for legal action. McAuliffe could sue to try to force the veto to be reflected in the final law. And Republicans would almost certainly file a court challenge if the governor takes action to expand Medicaid. Beyond providing health care to the poor, McAuliffe maintains, expanding Medicaid to 400,000 uninsured Virginians under the Affordable Care Act would boost the state economy and create tens of thousands of health-industry jobs. Republicans have opposed expanding what they say is a wasteful program and question whether Washington can afford to keep its promise to pay most of the cost. The owners of a Colorado movie theater where a gunman killed 12 people during the screening of a Batman film in 2012 are not liable for the mass shooting, a jury ruled Thursday, in the first civil lawsuit stemming from the rampage. Jurors ruled in favor of Cinemark USA in the lawsuit filed by more than two dozen surviving victims of the shooting and relatives of the dead, court spokesman Rob McCallum said on Twitter. Gunman James Holmes, who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity at his murder trial, was found guilty last summer of killing 12 people and wounding 70 when he opened fire during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises. He was sentenced to life in prison. Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that Cinemark and its co-defendants, the theaters property owners, should be held liable for various security lapses that they said had contributed to the tragedy at the Century 16 Theater multiplex in Aurora, Colo. Plaintiffs lawyer Mark Bern said in an email to Reuters that he was deeply disappointed in the verdict and expected to appeal the case. They failed to have armed security guards on the night of a blockbuster movie premiere when they always have armed security on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Bern said. Attorneys for Texas-based Cinemark told jurors that liability for the carnage rested mainly with Holmes, not the theater owners. Mr. Holmes was completely unpredictable, unforeseeable, unpreventable and unstoppable, Cinemark lawyer Kevin Taylor told reporters after the verdict. Another lawsuit against Cinemark related to the shooting is pending in federal court. Victims and survivors also have sued the University of Colorado, including university psychiatrists who evaluated or treated Holmes. At the movie screening, Holmes opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle, shotgun and pistol, after he had rigged his apartment with explosives. For more than a decade, doctors, dentists and nurse practitioners liberally prescribed opioid painkillers even as evidence mounted that people were becoming addicted and overdosing on the powerful and addictive pain medications. Now, in the face of a prescription drug overdose epidemic that killed more than 14,000 people in 2014, a handful of states are insisting that health professionals do a little research before they write prescriptions for such highly addictive drugs as Percocet, Vicodin and OxyContin. We in the health-care profession had a lot of years to police ourselves and clean this up, and we didnt do it, Greg Jones, an addiction specialist, says in an online training course he gives fellow doctors in his home state of Kentucky. So the public got fed up with people dying from prescription-drug abuse and they got together and they passed some laws and put some rules in place. [CDC warns doctors about dangers of prescribing opioid painkillers] By tapping into a database of prescriptions for opioid painkillers and other federally controlled substances, physicians in Kentucky can check patients use of opioids and of combinations of potentially harmful drugs, such as sedatives and muscle relaxants, to determine whether they are at risk of addiction or overdose death. A box of the opioid antidote Naxolone, also known as Narcan, sits on a table during a family addiction support group on March 23 in Groton, CT. (John Moore/Getty Images) Prescribers also can determine whether patients are doctor shopping receiving painkillers or other controlled substances from several sources at once. Such patients are at high risk for addiction and overdose and may be selling drugs illicitly. In 2012, Kentucky became the first state to require doctors and other prescribers to search patients prescription-drug histories on an electronic database called a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) before prescribing opioid painkillers, sedatives and other addictive drugs. [A new divide in American death: Why are rural white women dying at such alarming rates?] Sixteen states including, as of last month, Maryland have enacted similar laws, and national experts, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, are encouraging others to do the same. The American Medical Association supports physician use of drug-tracking systems to identify potential addiction and the diversion of drugs into the black market. But some state medical societies have argued against mandatory measures that they say interfere with the practice of medicine. Patients privacy and need to ease pain, they say, could be jeopardized by requiring physicians to investigate potential abuse of pain medications. Despite such objections, more states are imposing the requirements. Comprehensive mandates are the single most effective thing states have done to curb opioid prescribing, and it seems to have an almost instantaneous effect, said John Eadie who has evaluated state programs at Brandeis Universitys Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Center of Excellence in Massachusetts. [A group of middle-aged whites in the U.S. is dying at a startling rate] In states where physicians are required to use monitoring systems, overall opioid prescribing has plummeted, as have drug-related hospitalizations and overdose deaths, Eadie said. States also are seeing a rise in addiction treatment as more doctors refer patients to treatment after discovering they are taking painkillers from multiple sources and are probably addicted to them. In Kentucky, hydrocodone (Vicodin) prescribing dropped 13 percent, oxycodone (Percocet) dropped 12 percent, oxymorphone (Opana) dropped 36 percent and tramadol (Ultram) dropped 12 percent between 2012 and 2013, the first year the law was implemented, according to an analysis by the University of Kentuckys College of Pharmacy. Since the law was passed, overdose hospitalizations declined 26 percent, and prescription opioid deaths dropped 25 percent, the first reduction in nearly a decade, according to a March 2016 report by Shatterproof, a national advocacy organization that promotes prevention and treatment of drug addiction. In another effort to stem overprescribing of opioid painkillers, the CDC in March issued national opioid prescribing guidelines. The guidelines are not compulsory, but CDC recommendations are influential. Along with patient education, the testing of urine samples to detect drug abuse and the use of opioids formulated to deter abuse, the federal agency recommended that prescribers check prescription databases to reduce the risk of overdose and addiction. Monitoring systems for prescription drugs have existed since the 1930s, and every state except Missouri has some type of system. But the rules governing who has access, how quickly pharmacies must enter dispensing data and which medications are included vary widely from state to state. A diagnostic tool In Kentucky, doctors and some patients complained about the requirement when it was adopted, said Van Ingram, Kentuckys director of drug control policy. But these days, he said, he mostly hears doctors saying, Wow, I treated that patient for 20 years and had no idea he had a drug problem. Before Kentucky physicians were required to check the database, patients commonly visited multiple doctors to get prescriptions for opioid painkillers, the sedative Xanax and the muscle relaxant Soma, according to David Hopkins, director of the database. The cocktail of these three drugs, as its known in Kentucky, produces a high that is similar to heroin and just as deadly. It has become much less prevalent since the law was enacted. The number of people receiving the components of the cocktail has dropped 30 percent since the law took effect, Hopkins said, and the number of doctor shoppers has dropped 52 percent. Kentuckys rules, which were developed by the state Board of Medical Licensure, allow doctors to have a delegate review patients drug profiles. Doctors typically ask their assistants to run prescription-drug histories on all the patients they will see the next day and add the information to their electronic medical records, said Michael Rodman, director of Kentuckys licensure board for physicians. If a potential problem is detected, prescribers can query the database to determine how other physicians in the state are addressing the pain needs of similar patients and they can discuss an individual patients drug history with another prescriber, something that was forbidden under previous state privacy laws. To increase the effectiveness of drug monitoring programs, Kentucky and other states use reciprocal agreements to allow interstate sharing of drug dispensing information for pharmacists, law enforcement and physicians in nearby states. Kentucky has agreements with at least 12 other states. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, announced in April that New York had joined his state in sharing PDMP information, along with Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Virginia. As for what happens when physicians discover people who are obtaining drugs from multiple doctors, Rodman said, they often dismiss the patients and no longer treat them. But Jones, who heads the Kentucky Physicians Health Foundation, which supports doctors with substance use disorders, tells doctors not to do that to patients. Maybe you dont keep prescribing them 90 OxyContins with five refills, he said, but dont throw them out. If you do, youre missing an important opportunity to save a life. Stateline Read more: Deaths from opioid overdoses set a record in 2014 CDC urge doctors to curb opioid prescriptions: The benefits are unproven. TENNESSEE Law cuts funding for schools diversity ofce A bill to strip funding from the diversity office at Tennessees flagship public university became law without Gov. Bill Haslams signature Friday. Lawmakers had been angered by recommendations made by the University of Tennessees diversity office to use gender-neutral pronouns for transgender students and to avoid religious-themed holiday parties. So they voted to remove about $446,000 in state funds for the office and instead to use the money to pay for minority scholarships. Conservative lawmakers have also been upset at the annual student-run Sex Week at the school, although the diversity office plays no role in that event. The bill bans the school from funding or supporting Sex Week. The university in 2013 withdrew more than $11,000 in direct funding for Sex Week after some state lawmakers took issue with the program. But school officials have said they are powerless to stop student fees and donations from being spent on the event or from banning it outright because of First Amendment protections. Haslam (R) said in a statement to lawmakers that he does not like the precedent set by redirecting funds within the budget of a higher-education institution. But he stopped short of vetoing the bill. A House version of the bill would have required the university to produce and distribute In God We Trust decals to law enforcement agencies around the state, but the Senate had rejected that provision. The law is in effect for only a year. Associated Press OHIO Jury recommends death for 3 murders Testimony about an abusive childhood and the psychological damage it caused didnt sway a jury in Cleveland that recommended Friday that an Ohio man should die by lethal injection for killing three women and wrapping their bodies in garbage bags. The jury earlier this month convicted Michael Madison, 38, of multiple counts of aggravated murder and kidnapping. It deliberated for less than a day before delivering its death-penalty recommendation. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy R. McDonnell is scheduled to sentence Madison on Thursday. She can accept the jurys recommendation or sentence him to life in prison with no chance of parole. The womens bodies were found near the East Cleveland apartment building where Madison lived in July 2013. Experts hired by the defense testified during the week-long mitigation hearing that Madison suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after being physically abused as a child by his drug-addicted mother, his stepfather, his mothers boyfriends and other family members. Associated Press NEW YORK Driver is sentencedin street-racing case A driver who participated in a 2014 street race that killed five teens was sentenced Friday to six months in jail and probation, despite revelations that he had posted an epithet to police the day he pleaded guilty and that he was arrested again while awaiting sentencing. Prosecutors had pressed for one to three years for Cory Gloe, citing the posts on social media that appeared to mock the criminal justice system. They also noted Gloes arrest on a weapons charge, which was later dropped. The judge nevertheless granted youthful offender status because Gloe was 17 at the time of the crash, saying he thought justice would be better served by not giving Gloe prison time for what he called an error in judgment sparked by juvenile ignorance. The sentencing prompted gasps in the Long Island courtroom packed with victims families and a crash survivor. Gloe, now 19, apologized before hearing his sentence. He pleaded guilty in March to a 17-count indictment that included five manslaughter charges in exchange for the six-month sentence. Gloe was one of two drivers engaging in a drag race in Farmingdale, on Long Island, in May 2014. The driver and four passengers in the other car died when that vehicle crashed into an oncoming SUV. Associated Press TURKEY Bill opening legislators to prosecution passes Turkeys parliament on Friday approved a bill to amend the constitution to strip lawmakers of immunity, a move that paves the way for trials of several pro-Kurdish and other lawmakers. In the 550-seat assembly in Ankara, 376 deputies voted in favor of the government-backed bill, which was enough to avoid a referendum. It now needs to be ratified by the president. The amendment was proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party after the president accused a pro-Kurdish grouping, the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), of being an arm of the outlawed the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and repeatedly called for its members prosecution on terrorism-related charges. The move puts 138 lawmakers, the vast majority of them from two opposition parties, at risk of prosecution. The result of the vote was criticized by the German government and by Turkish opposition lawmakers, who labeled it a political coup. Speaking in the Black Sea town of Rize just ahead of the final round of voting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed hope that the bill would be adopted, saying, My people dont want to see criminal deputies in parliament. The HDP, which backs Kurdish and other minority rights, denies accusations that it is the political arm of the PKK, which is considered a terrorist group by Ankara and its allies. The HDP has urged the government to end security operations in the countrys southeast and to resume peace efforts with the PKK. Of 667 currently pending legal filings, 405 are against the HDP and 102 concern members of the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP), according to a Turkish official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. Associated Press ARGENTINA Macri vetoes limit on firing of workers Argentine President Mauricio Macri said Friday that hes vetoing legislation that would have all but barred companies from firing workers for six months, a day after he agreed to a jump in the minimum wage in an effort to placate labor unions threatening a national strike. Macri said the bill would increase poverty and accused his opponents of trying to sabotage the success of the reforms he is trying to implement. The legislature had approved the opposition-backed proposal Thursday. Using a constitutional right that I have, Im going to veto the law that for me is anti-employment, Macri said in a televised speech from Buenos Aires province. Why are they pushing this? Because theyre trying to put a spanner in the works they dont want us to progress. Macris wage proposal may have helped to head off a full-blown confrontation with the unions, as three of the nations five largest labor groups have considered taking collective action. Union leader Pablo Micheli said that the two other labor groups are still considering strikes and that they will consult with the rest about a joint course of action, the Ambito newspaper reported. The government said Friday that it would raise the minimum wage in installments to 8,060 pesos ($572) a month by the end of the year, a jump of 33 percent. The bill will now return to the legislature, where the opposition will need a two-thirds majority in both houses to override Macris veto. The presidents alliance holds the largest minority in the lower house, making that unlikely. Bloomberg News Canadian wildre hasnt grown: A massive wildfire that destroyed parts of Canadas oil-sands capital hasnt grown in size around Fort McMurray, Alberta. The provinces senior wildlife manager, Chad Morrison, said cooler temperatures, higher humidity and rain in the forecast have enabled officials to put more firefighters in key positions. Morrison said Alberta plans to bring in 1,000 firefighters over the next two weeks, adding to the 1,100 already in place. Pope says bishops must consult with Vatican on new orders: Pope Francis is warning bishops that they must consult with the Vatican before approving new religious orders or risk having their decisions overturned. The revised law aims to ensure that new religious bodies meet all criteria for religious orders especially that they have a unique charism or founding spirit and that their members practice poverty, chastity and obedience. Previously, bishops were required to consult with the Vatican about new orders, but there were no consequences if they did not. Now, their decisions can be invalidated. Vietnam frees political prisoner ahead of Obama visit: Vietnam freed a Catholic priest, one of its longest-serving political prisoners, just days before a visit by President Obama. The Rev. Nguyen Van Ly, who has spent most of the past two decades in detention for his pursuit of democracy and religious freedom, was released from a prison in central Hue province after his fourth imprisonment. Obama to meet with Indian leader: President Obama will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington next month to discuss security and other issues, the White House said. It said the two will discuss economic growth, climate change, clean energy, and security and defense cooperation during the meeting June 7. From news services THE TRANSITION from military rule and dictatorship to democracy is treacherous. In the past generation, not every nation that has embarked on that journey has arrived at its hoped-for destination, nor has every revolutionary leader delivered on the promise. Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, a champion of human rights and democracy in Burma who has taken most of the reins of power, no doubt has studied lessons from Lech Walesa, Boris Yeltsin and Nelson Mandela. In the weeks since her government assumed control, ending decades of military rule during which she was held under house arrest, she has moved gingerly and cautiously. Beyond doubt, she realizes the enormity of the obstacles facing her and threatening Burmas transition, but at the same time she sees that popular expectations are running high. She has freed political prisoners and set a new tone. Thin Yu Mon, a human rights activist in Rangoon who was recently in Washington, marveled at the atmosphere she encountered in a public festival. Now we are really free, she said. But Burmas democratic trajectory is not assured. The Obama administration properly recognized this Tuesday with a calibrated easing of sanctions on Burma, also called Myanmar, that left some in place, signaling a continuing concern over human rights abuses, ethnic conflict and the continuing influence of the military, which is trying to preserve undemocratic power through a constitution it wrote before allowing free elections. One of Aung San Suu Kyis most daunting challenges, therefore, is to deal with these powerful and unelected generals, who control a quarter of the seats in parliament not subject to election and thus can block constitutional reform; who hold the key Defense, Home Affairs and Border Affairs ministries; and who have grown accustomed to profiting handsomely from the nations bounty. In the latest action, the United States has retained an arms ban, as well as sanctions on individuals and entities that are obstructing political reform, committing human rights abuses or engaging in illicit military trade with North Korea. At the same time, Aung San Suu Kyi faces a cauldron of ethnic tension and conflict. Among the most severe is the plight of the 1 million Rohingya, a Muslim minority who have been subject to persecution and misery, denied citizenship and crowded into squalid camps. Some 100,000 Rohingya were driven from their homes in 2012 in a wave of violence. Subsequently, many fled and lost their lives on rickety ships at sea. Nationalist Buddhists have insisted the Rohingya are not Burmese and call them Bengalis, as did the former military government. Shockingly, after the U.S. Embassy expressed condolences recently for the loss of at least 20 people whose boat capsized on April 19, Aung San Suu Kyi suggested to the new U.S. ambassador that the United States should not use the word Rohingya. Ever careful, she may have been catering to Buddhist nationalists, but if so, it was an egregious error. She must find a way to correct the mistakes of the past, not repeat them. If youre disturbed by trigger warnings and cultural-appropriation freakouts, consider this new piece of evidence on the fragility of todays college students. The University of Oregon has published its annual report from the schools Bias Response Team. The report summarizes all 85 times last school year that students (and some faculty and staff members) formally sought help from administrators over instances of perceived bias against them or their peers. In a handful of cases, students alleged that actual crimes such as vandalism or physical assault had occurred. Mostly, though, the complaints involved asking the university administration to cocoon students from upsetting but constitutionally protected speech. Or, sometimes, to compel offenders to proffer more appeasing, apologetic speech. Among the incidents for which Oregonians sought redress or punishment: A poster featuring a triggering image displaying body size bias. Sexually explicit doodles on Post-its. Too little coverage of transgender students in the newspaper. A professor writing an insulting comment on their online blog. A professor joking that a nontraditional student was too old to answer a question about current events. In some cases it wasnt clear what the offense was, or why bias was alleged. One student reported that a tutor consistently ignores him, and tagged the incident as Bias Type: Age, Ethnicity, Gender, Race. When in doubt, blame any unsatisfactory encounter on bias, and call in the authorities. Oregon is one of more than 100 schools with a formal system for reporting such non-criminal bias complaints. These systems have been implemented over the past decade in part to help schools take the temperature of racial and ethnic tensions on campus. Which seems like a worthwhile goal, given high-profile incidents involving racial slurs, swastika-laden vandalism and the like. While free speech is grand in the absence of active harm, argues The Post's Christine Emba, sometimes sensitivity is a virtue. (Tom LeGro/The Washington Post) But many such programs have mission-crept into disciplinary, pseudo-parental roles. They have encouraged student informants to rat out peers (anonymously, if they choose) for building a phallic snow sculpture; playing a party game called mafia (which one student complained was anti-Italian); or chalking sidewalks and marking whiteboards with support for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Students have also asked administrators to regulate speech in other ways. The University of Minnesotas recently introduced free-speech code, for example, has been opposed by students who want the school to guarantee special opportunities for those who are not well-spoken, as City Pages Susan Du reported. I applaud students who want to create a diverse, welcoming atmosphere on campus. I admire their drive to make the world around them a better, more inclusive place. What puzzles me, though, is this instinct to appeal to administrators to adjudicate any conflict. Rather than confronting, debating and trying to persuade those whose words or actions offend them, students demand that a paternalistic figure step in and punish offenders. Adult students, in other words, are demanding more of an in loco parentis role from their schools. And administrators appear ready and willing to parent. The cause of this evolution is unclear. Perhaps the culprit is the consumerization of higher education, or the rise of helicopter parenting. Maybe its the consequence of other forms of administrative bloat on campuses. The advent of social media may also play a role. Sensitive to bad PR, administrators may encourage students to report problems inward and up the food chain rather than potentially megaphoning their complaints outward, on Twitter and the like. Whatever the cause, infantilizing students does them and the social causes they support no favors. Colleges are supposed to be places where young adults develop the critical thinking and social skills to peacefully, productively engage with people with whom they disagree, whose ideas they may even find detestable. But todays students and tomorrows workers are discouraged from resolving such conflicts on their own. They are not learning to use their logic and reason and words, as President Obama urged in his Rutgers University commencement speech, during which he chided students for forcing Condoleezza Rice to withdraw from an earlier talk. And missing this developmental milestone is detrimental not only to the continued production of knowledge but also to the functioning of a democratic society. Much is written about our siloed, polarized political debate, and our refusal to empathize or engage with our ideological opponents. Its hard not to see a sort of caricature of this problem on campuses today, where students dont learn the tools theyd need to engage even if they wanted to. What happens when todays students graduate and no longer have a designated authority figure to appeal to? What becomes of public discourse then? You are about to read a newspaper article. Do you care whether all the facts in it are true? If so what could convince you that they are or are not? A friend? A neutral website? Someone in authority? If you arent really sure, then welcome to the world of fact-checking. In the past several years, as it has become easier to spread misinformation and conspiracy theories on the Internet, politically neutral fact-checking websites have sprung up in response. The Post itself created an early version, the Fact Checker column, led by Glenn Kessler, which awards up to four Pinocchios for dubious statements made by politicians from both political parties, depending on their level of outrageousness. Others include PolitiFact.com, FullFact.org in Britain, Chequeado in Argentina and StopFake.org in Ukraine. All of these organizations have had real successes. Chequeado played a major role in the latest Argentine election. StopFake has helped both Ukrainians and outsiders understand the degree of Russian media manipulation in their country. Former Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush once spoke of not wanting to be PolitiFacted for getting things wrong. Nevertheless, there are limits to what fact-checking can achieve. Those who have tried to measure the impact of fact-checking have found that there are many kinds of audiences, and that fact-checking affects each of them differently. All people are more likely to believe in facts that confirm their preexisting opinions and to dismiss those that dont. But those with unusually strong opinions those who are more partisan are less likely to change their views, more likely to claim that fact-checkers themselves are biased, and even more likely to spread their views aggressively to their friends. This has always been the case, but social media now multiplies the phenomenon: In a world where people get most of their information from friends, fact-checking doesnt reach those who need it most. The constant growth of information may be undermining the effectiveness of fact-checking, too. As Jill Lepore of the New Yorker has written, the sheer quantity of facts now available makes people cynical about truth itself. Can anything really be known if Google customizes its searches for particular people and places? With so many sources of information available, isnt it better to assume they are all wrong? If truth is passe if we really do live in a post-fact world then there isnt any reason for liars to feel any shame, let alone worry about being PolitiFacted. These may sound like philosophical questions, but in the campaigns of 2016, they are beginning to loom larger as a problem for democracy itself. Exhibit A is Donald Trump, who lies repeatedly and is fact-checked repeatedly, with no noticeable impact on either his own behavior or that of his supporters. Britains European Union referendum campaign is also plagued by deliberate misuse of facts. Over and over, the Leave campaign refers to the 350 million pounds ($511 million) that Britain supposedly pays to the European Commission every week. Over and over, that number is shown to be fiction, by InFacts.org (whose editorial board I am on), BBC Reality Check and others. The number remains painted on the side of campaign buses, and nothing changes. These problems arent exactly new: The question of what is propaganda and what is truth has plagued politics since politics began. But the nature of information in the social media age means it keeps getting easier for politicians, partisans, computerized bots and foreign governments to manipulate news, and it keeps getting harder to correct this. Fact-checkers are, for the moment, one of the best solutions. But they work only for people who want them to work, and that number may be shrinking. Read more from Anne Applebaums archive, follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her updates on Facebook. The May 8 CD review of music by Gyorgy Kurtag, A Hungarian master stirs the senses and the mind [Arts&Style], stated that Kurtag was widely considered the most important Hungarian composer since Bela Bartok. Most would assert that Gyorgy Ligeti holds that honor. Ligeti is best known for his Atmospheres, which director Stanley Kubrick used without the composers permission in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, and for the opera Le Grand Macabre, which in concert version was a highlight of the New York Philharmonic 2010 season. Kurtag is widely considered to be the most important Hungarian composer since Ligeti. Jeff Gorsky, Arlington Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, along with Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, left, stops in to Little Castle in McCracken County, Ky. on Monday, May 16, 2016 (Ryan Hermens/The Paducah Sun via AP) Hillary Clinton is a Democratic candidate for president and a former secretary of state and U.S. senator from New York. Jennifer lives in Loudoun County. She has three young boys. She pays $2,500 every month for child care. Thats more than her mortgage. This month in Northern Virginia, I met several moms and dads who told me similar stories. In every state in the country, child care for two kids now costs more than the average rent. You read that right child care costs more than housing. And in many states, its even more expensive than college tuition. For parents who need to work, this is more than an inconvenience. Its a crisis. And its particularly urgent in the District, which is now the priciest child-care market in America. A recent national survey found that more than three-quarters of mothers and half of fathers say theyve had to pass up work opportunities, switch jobs or even quit working because there was no other way to pay for child care. But working fewer hours or dropping out of the workforce altogether can have long-term consequences for families incomes. A lack of quality child care can be dangerous, too. In 2014, nine children in Virginia died in unlicensed day-care centers. Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) recently signed a bill to improve statewide safety standards, but without more federal funding, theres only so much that states can do. Weve got to make investing in child care a national priority, especially for young parents, many of whom are trying to pay off student loans. I remember how difficult it was when Chelsea was born. I was a young lawyer in Arkansas trying to start a career. Bill was working hard all the time. We did everything we could to put our daughter first, and we had all kinds of advantages that many families didnt. Still, it was a juggling act. Todays families have it worse. Child care, college and housing costs have skyrocketed while incomes have barely budged. And workplace policies havent changed even though families have, with women earning more of the family income than ever and men doing much more to care for kids and aging parents. Many workers dont have paid family leave. Many women dont even get a single paid day off to give birth. The pressures are so intense that some workers worry that taking an earned vacation day will be seen as slacking off. Its not supposed to be easy, but it shouldnt be this hard. As president, I would work to make quality, affordable child care available to all families. Im committed to increasing federal investments and incentivizing states so that no family ever has to pay more than 10 percent of its income for child care. This is a big idea, and Im determined to fight for it. Lets double our investment in programs I helped develop as first lady: Early Head Start and the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership program. These programs bring an evidenced-based curriculum to child care and make sure kids get the best possible start in life, no matter how much money their families have. Lets lighten the burden on the one-quarter of college students who are parents by providing scholarships of up to $1,500 per year for child care. And because none of this would be possible without talented and hardworking child-care professionals, lets make sure were paying them a decent wage, too. In addition to affordable child care, working parents deserve the security of knowing they wont lose income or their jobs for taking care of themselves or a loved one. One dad in Virginia told me that to stay home for his newborns early days, he had to cobble together sick days and vacation days. Many people cant do even that. Its time we stopped being the only advanced economy in the world that doesnt offer workers paid family leave. Thats why I strongly support the paid family leave proposal the D.C. Council is pursuing. We should encourage states and local communities to take action as long as Congress refuses to act. Under my plan, working Americans would earn up to seven days of paid sick leave each year. They would be guaranteed up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave to care for a new baby or sick family member or to recover from an illness or injury. And we can fully fund this program by asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share of taxes. Its all too easy for kitchen table issues such as these to get overlooked in our politics. But they matter to families. They matter to kids. And theyve been the work of my life. So until Americas moms and dads can sleep a little easier, Im going to keep bringing them up. The May 18 editorial When will Haiti hold elections? accurately pointed out that the only mandate of Haitis provisional president was to organize a second round of elections on April 24, but instead he is focusing on everything except elections to hold on to power. The editorial board described me as obscure. I was the handpicked successor of democratically elected President Michel Martelly. I won the first round of elections, which were favorably observed by the international community. It was a historic election that saw greater voter participation outside the traditional voting hub of Port-au-Prince. I have been involved in my countrys politics for more than a decade. I was president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Northwest of Haiti and a board member of the Haitian National Chamber of Commerce. I am also the proud owner and developer of a major agriculture business in northern Haiti that exports bananas to Europe. In setting up my business, I have stimulated the economy and generated hundreds of jobs. The basis of my presidential platform is to create jobs, stimulate the economy, provide food security and generate exports. There is no legal, technical or logical reason to continue to delay elections. The Haitian people deserve an elected president, not one who is selected by the political elite. Jovenel Moise, Port-au-Prince, Haiti IN THEIR push to repeal a measure giving D.C. the right to spend its own tax dollars, House Republicans repeatedly sounded the argument that the Constitution gives Congress supreme authority over the District. They are right about that power. But that doesnt answer why a party that professes to champion local control and abhor government overreach would choose to undermine self-government in an American city that is home to 700,000 people. The illogic, even by Washington standards, is stunning. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted along party lines this week to advance a bill that would nullify budget autonomy for the District. D.C. voters overwhelmingly approved budget autonomy in a 2013 referendum. The measure, though subject to differing legal interpretations, has been upheld in court. Moreover, before it went into effect, Congress had an opportunity to overturn it but instead chose not to act. None of that, though, matters to House Republicans. Nor, sadly, do any of the sound policy reasons for budget autonomy. Testimony before a House subcommittee by D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) carefully laid out the problems that result from D.C. government shutdowns to delayed spending on critical needs to less advantageous bond ratings from the city being treated just like a federal agency that has to submit its budget to the president and get it approved by Congress. There are also the facts of the citys excellent fiscal situation, that Congress has not made changes to the local funds portion of the Districts budget since the financial control board era, that federal funds stay subject to the federal appropriations process and that, even with budget autonomy, the District would still have to transmit the local funds portion of its budget to Congress for a review period, like all other D.C. legislation. There was little reasoning in Republican arguments to deny the District a right enjoyed by every other American city, not to mention U.S. territories. Instead, we heard ridiculous arguments such as one advanced by Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) about how the people of South Carolina have almost as much vested here as the people who live here. Mr. Mulvaneys constituents might care about the upkeep of the Washington Monument, but we sincerely doubt if they give a hoot about garbage pickup in Georgetown or fire response times in Anacostia. It is expected that the bill blocking autonomy will advance to the full House next week, where it will likely be approved. It is critical that Senate Democrats and President Obama, who has endorsed budget autonomy, stand firm in support of the District. Bernie Sanders is playing a dangerous game. If he and his campaign continue their scorched-earth attacks against the Democratic Party, they will succeed in only one thing: electing Donald Trump as president. I say this as someone who shares much of Sanderss political philosophy; I, too, for example, see health care as a basic right. He has run a remarkable and historically significant campaign, pulling the party to the left and pumping it full of new progressive vigor. His crowds are almost as big as Trumps and perhaps even more enthusiastic. Most important, he has brought legions of young people into the political process. But he hasnt won the nomination. Hillary Clinton has an insurmountable lead in pledged delegates, earned by her performance in primaries and caucuses. In the aggregate, she leads Sanders by about 3 million votes. The will of the party is clear: More Democrats prefer Clinton over Sanders as their nominee. Instead of accepting this obvious fact, the Sanders campaign is behaving like a 2-year-old who cant have ice cream for breakfast. All along, Sanders and his aides have claimed that the party establishment was unfairly tipping the scales in favor of Clinton. Now the Sanders people have gone further and are deliberately stoking anger and a sense of grievance less against Clinton than the party itself. This is reckless in the extreme, and it could put Trump in the White House. I do not believe I am being alarmist. The conventional wisdom holds that Trumps astronomically high disapproval numbers should make him unelectable. His misogyny turns off women; his bigoted immigration stance repels Hispanics; his shoot-from-the-lip temperament disturbs voters concerned about national security. On paper, this should be a cakewalk for any Democrat with a pulse. In this election cycle, however, the conventional wisdom has been consistently wrong. It didnt see the Trump phenomenon coming. It thought Jeb Bush would be the GOP nominee, or maybe Marco Rubio. It viewed Sanders as nothing more than a fringe candidate. Most of the Nostradamuses of political commentary, lets face it, are on a serious losing streak. The RealClearPolitics poll average has Clinton narrowly leading Trump, 45.8 percent to 42.5 percent; a Fox News poll released Wednesday actually showed Trump with a slight lead. At this point in a presidential year, general-election polls usually dont mean much. And yes, Democrats have a built-in Electoral College advantage. But it would be foolish not to plan for a tight contest in which every single vote counts. Clinton is a better campaigner than many people give her credit for, but she has two major vulnerabilities that Trump will seek to exploit: Many people do not find her trustworthy, and she has been a leading member of the political establishment for decades. Trumps central flaw is much more serious he is completely unfit for the job of president and could do great damage to the nation both domestically and internationally. But clearly many Americans are in an anti-establishment mood. The question is whether they are so disgusted with traditional politics and politicians that they will cross their fingers and take a flier on Trump. I hope not. But the Democratic nominee will be all that stands between Trump and the White House. It is possible to believe Clinton would be far from an ideal president and also believe she must be elected because Trump would be an unthinkable disaster. Given this context, Sanders and his campaign are being shamefully irresponsible. Rather than accept defeat, they claim loudly that the partys nominating process was rigged against them. They display a degree of entitlement that they have not earned. 1 of 42 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Highlights from Bernie Sanderss campaign, in pictures View Photos The senator from Vermont is Hillary Clintons rival in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination. Caption The senator from Vermont is Hillary Clintons rival in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination. June 14, 2016 Bernie Sanders arrives at the Capital Hilton to meet with Hillary Clinton in D.C. Matt McClain/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. They rail against unfair and undemocratic party processes unless they work in Sanderss favor. So party conventions such as the one last weekend in Nevada, at which Sanders tried and failed to win a couple of extra delegates through parliamentary maneuvering are bad. But holding caucuses, which have limited participation, instead of primaries is good, because Sanders did very well in caucus states. Sanders has every right to continue his campaign until the nominee is officially chosen at the convention in Philadelphia. But if he means it when he says he will do everything in his power to keep Trump from being elected, he has to do more than just modulate his rhetoric against Clinton. He and his campaign must stop attacking the Democratic Party in a way that might discourage voters in the fall. I mean right now. This is serious. Read more from Eugene Robinsons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. You can also join him Tuesdays at 1 p.m. for a live Q&A. THE NATIONAL Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine already examined genetically engineered (GE) crops once, concluding six years ago that the facts do not justify the fears about Frankenfoods. Overblown worries nevertheless continue to proliferate, prompting a movement to stigmatize genetically engineered crops by requiring labels on food packaging. Meanwhile, the technology also has advanced: New tools will allow scientists to more precisely cut and paste genetic code. So the National Academies have again tried to sort things out, releasing another authoritative report Tuesday that refutes the counterproductive scaremongering from the anti-genetically-engineered side. It also points to a bright future in which these crops help solve a range of problems if governments get the policy right. The National Academies experts reviewed the relevant studies and solicited huge amounts of feedback. The upshot? No differences have been found that implicate a higher risk to human health safety from these GE foods than from their non-GE counterparts, they concluded. They based their findings partially on a comparison of European countries, where genetically engineered crops generally are not used, and the United States, where they are plentiful. They could find no significant differences attributable to genetically engineered crops, across a range of diseases and disorders. Moreover, the experts concluded, the committee found no conclusive evidence of cause-and-effect relationships between GE crops and environmental problems. Among other things, the scientists found concerns that the crops are degrading plant and animal biodiversity to be insubstantial. The major problem with insect- and herbicide-resistant genetically engineered plant varieties appears to be that, particularly if used irresponsibly, they can lead to resistant bugs and weeds, which would require more gene editing and new herbicides. The experts also found that, while small and large farms seem to be benefiting from the crops, there is mixed evidence at best that planting them has increased yields, which is a major goal of the research. Rather than be discouraged by these findings, the experts argued that research and investment in genetically engineered technologies should increase. Crops could be modified to show improved tolerance to abiotic stresses, such as drought and thermal extremes; increased efficiency in plant biological processes, such as photosynthesis and nitrogen use; and improved nutrient content, the report noted. The experts concluded: If deployed appropriately, those traits will almost certainly increase harvestable yields and decrease the probability of losing crop plantings to major insect or disease outbreaks. Though not a silver bullet, genetic engineering could help feed a growing world population. World governments must balance needed regulation with innovation. The reports authors recommend that regulators spend less time worrying about how new crops are made and instead focus on how different they are from earlier ones. Strong rules should ensure that new crop varieties do not lead to unsustainable farming and environmental degradation on marginal lands. It will also be important to train farmers in how to prevent resistance among the bugs and weeds at which genetically engineered crops are targeted. By contrast, giving in to extravagant and unfounded fears, as the Europeans have, would shut down fruitful research that could help feed many people, especially in poorer parts of the world. PRESUMPTIVE REPUBLICAN presidential nominee Donald Trump still has not released his tax returns, breaking with decades of tradition, but he has offered the country a list of judges he would consider naming to fill Antonin Scalias Supreme Court seat, many taken on the conservative Heritage Foundations recommendation. The list is an attempt to shore up conservative support, and plenty of Republicans seem pathetically willing to be persuaded, though of course there is no reason to believe Mr. Trump would stick to the list. No matter how transparent the gesture, though, the list is another way in which Mr. Trump is damaging the countrys institutional fabric, in this case by further politicizing the judiciary. Sadly, Mr. Trump is not alone in wreaking such damage this year. Before Mr. Trump released his list, on the Democratic side Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said that if he won the presidency, he would ask President Obama to withdraw Judge Merrick Garland from consideration for the court so that Mr. Sanders could nominate someone who has publicly committed to overturning the Citizens United ruling on campaign finance. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton promised that she would have a bunch of litmus tests for her judicial nominees, including on Roe v. Wade, same-sex marriage, the Voting Rights Act and, yes, Citizens United, too. Committing to a list of judicial nominees at this point and promising to apply judicial litmus tests put the country on a dangerous path. By releasing his list, Mr. Trump has practically guaranteed that none of the judges he offered will be seen as fair over the next several months, their every ruling scrutinized for evidence that they are applying for the job even if they try to conduct their duties evenhandedly. Litmus tests, meanwhile, subvert the independence of the judiciary. If judicial litmus tests become acceptable, the number of commitments each side demands of its nominees would surely proliferate, the freedom of judges to decide specific cases would erode, and any assurance that those before the court could get a fair hearing would vanish. The judiciary is different from the other two, more political, branches of government, and politicians, in their search for short-term victories, should not be so eager to erode that difference. Judges are not immune to ambition or political ideology, but Americans have long expected and should still expect that judges be guided by other values: careful thinking, reverence for the facts of specific cases, respect for the intent of the elected leaders who write the laws, openness to counterarguments, a healthy amount of modesty and allegiance to the notion that their rulings must bear a rational relationship to the laws they interpret and the precedents they have set. A world in which judges must at the very least address these expectations is far better than a world in which they are assumed to be wholly political actors who need offer no justification beyond, I promised to rule this way. German soldiers tear down the barrier at the German-Polish border on Sept. 1, 1939. (Associated Press) The May 11 front-page article Obama to visit Hiroshima site stated, Many Americans believe the bombs helped bring an end to a war that began when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. World War II started on Sept. 1, 1939, when Hitlers army invaded Poland. Maybe this does not count for Americans, but it certainly does for Europeans. Melitta Stein, Silver Spring The May 8 World article Russians grand celebration of service, sacrifice talked about Victory Day, a World War II anniversary that slips by unnoticed in the United States. Americans wont think about it now, either, because the article didnt mention the date the holiday commemorates: May 9, 1945. Readers dont want to have to subtract 71 from anything in their heads. Linda Civitello, Los Angeles Ben Smilowitz is founder and executive director of Disaster Accountability Project. Emily Troutman is a journalist and founder of Aid.Works. On Monday, thousands of humanitarians will gather in Istanbul for the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit, hosted by the United Nations. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said that the primary goal of the event is to reaffirm our commitment to humanitarian ideals and take action to end the erosion of humanity which we see in the world today. Turkey is a good place to start, as the country hosts millions of refugees but has made it impossible for the world to learn how they are faring. Turkey is host to 2.7 million refugees and seeks $6.7 billion in additional humanitarian assistance from the European Union. Helping the refugees is a moral imperative, but Turkey is unlikely to receive the funding needed until it makes transparency a priority. In their 2016-2017 Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan, the United Nations and other international organizations report that the Turkish government is withholding crucial data, including refugee registration information. The needs of those in refugee camps are not difficult to determine. But there are an estimated 2.5 million non-camp refugees inside Turkey whose conditions are unknown, though there are anecdotal reports that many are having trouble meeting their basic needs. The Turkish government has not conducted large-scale surveys of non-camp refugees, and international organizations report that they cannot get permission to conduct surveys themselves. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made headlines recently for his historic crackdown on dissent. Turkeys government may be blocking these surveys because the findings would increase scrutiny of its use of aid funds. Only one government survey of refugees conducted in 2013 has ever been made public. It found that 97 percent of Syrian women in Turkey could not find work and that 78 percent did not have enough money for food. The lack of verifiable data is stalling interventions outside of the camps, likely causing unnecessary suffering among vulnerable populations, including the disabled, unaccompanied minors and the elderly. The situation is dire for refugees in the region. In Lebanon and Jordan, child labor and child marriage rates are skyrocketing. To feed their families, parents are forced to send their children to work. Such conditions demand a wholehearted, vigorous response. Although its been five years since the Syrian crisis began, the Turkish government has yet to produce its response plan for meeting refugee needs. The European Commission reports that the government of Turkey promised a national refugee needs assessment in return for the $6.7 billion, but it hasnt delivered. Donors who want to contribute to this crisis are throwing their money into a black box if they donate at all. Last year, World Food Program aid reached only 150,000 of the 2.5 million non-camp refugees. The organization wanted to deliver more, but it ran out of funding. Clear, accurate data about who the refugees are and what their living conditions are like could help raise public awareness and inspire private donors to contribute these essential funds. It is time to rise above politics, lay out the facts and work together to address refugees problems before they get worse. The humanitarians gathering in Istanbul must reaffirm their commitment to humanity and speak out against systems of secrecy that hinder aid. Transparency, in all its forms, is essential to an effective humanitarian response. The death of Jamycheal Mitchell is a tragedy that has raised critical questions about how and why Virginias safeguards to protect vulnerable citizens can be so insufficient and porous as to allow a young man in an acute mental-health crisis to deteriorate and die on the floor of a jail cell. Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) shares these concerns and the frustration of many Virginians over the lack of clear answers surrounding Mitchells death. Contrary to Pete Earleys May 15 Local Opinions essay, Awaiting answers on Jamycheal Mitchells death, the Office of the Attorney General has never and would never advise a client agency to obstruct an investigation. In fact, the OAG facilitated an exchange of information between the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and the Portsmouth General District Court during the departments investigation, ensuring that it received the information it requested. We have found no evidence that the inspector generals office ever requested information from the court during its investigation, but if that request had been made, a similar exchange of information would have occurred. This tragedy has shown, yet again, that Virginia must do more to provide community-based services and support to people with mental illness, especially when they come into contact with the criminal-justice system. It is clear there is still much more work to be done. Cynthia E. Hudson, Richmond The writer is chief deputy attorney general of Virginia. Carol Berkins latest book is The Bill of Rights: The Fight to Secure Americas Liberties. Nathaniel Philbrick knows how to tell a good tale. In Valiant Ambition, he tells not one but three of them. The first is an account of the early years of the Revolutionary War, with the battlefield victories and defeats, the ebb and flow of the publics support for the cause, and the endless struggles between the civilian government and military leadership that hamper the war effort. This story, which could stand alone, provides the context for the finely drawn character studies of George Washington and Benedict Arnold that are the central tales of the book. In less skillful hands, the wars narrative could have been an exhausting account of battle after battle, producing little more than a scorecard of wins and losses for the American Army. But Philbrick wants his readers to experience the terror, the suffering and the adrenaline rush of battle, and he wants us to grit our teeth at our early politicians who, by their pettiness and shortsightedness, shape military events as profoundly as generals and admirals do. Finally, he reveals the emotional and physical cost of war on colonial society. He succeeds on all fronts. Consider how vividly he captures the destruction of Philadelphia by the British occupation: The city was a shambles. The British had used the State House as a prison, and the floors of its once immaculate rooms were heaped with human waste. . . . Genteel houses had been used for stables by the British, who cut holes in the floors so that the dung could be shoveled into the cellars. Consider also his use of the journal of young Joseph Plumb Martin to capture the terrors of battle and the deprivations of military life. As British warships bombarded the American Army at Kips Bay, the 15-year-old soldier contemplated his death by considering which part of my carcass was to go first. Washingtons and Arnolds tales take shape under similar circumstances. Washington has, of course, been the subject of countless books and articles, paintings and sculptures. His records, including the daily business of his plantation, his military order books, his personal correspondence, and his political addresses and proclamations, have been edited, annotated and digitized, and used by scholars to plumb his depths. But Philbrick brings us a Washington we may not have appreciated before, a man who was less hero than thoughtful leader, a man given to musing and contemplation, and a man of empathy as much as action. The author captures this Washington in a single scene: The general was wrapped in his cloak, lying amid his men through the long night after the Battle of Monmouth. When a soldier hesitated to wake him, Washington relieved him of his concern. I laid here to think, he told the officer, and not to sleep. "Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution" by Nathaniel Philbrick (Viking) Washington was a man of valiant ambition, but his striving was social rather than personal: Its goal was the independence of his country. Here is the critical contrast with Benedict Arnold, a man of unbounded personal ambition who saw the war as a vehicle for his own elevation and profit. Arnold was not so much a villain as a narcissist; he was, in Philbricks view, high-strung and libidinous, impatient, greedy and self-serving, an elitist contemptuous of the men who admired him and vengeful toward those who did not. He had a temperament and character that made him oblivious to the harm he did to others, but he had neither the malice nor the sadism of a true villain. In starkest terms, Washington was a leader of men while Arnold was a user of them. Among the synonyms for valiant are heroic, gallant and lionhearted, which defined Washington; bold, daring and audacious, which defined the man who betrayed him. Philbricks reading of these two men is nuanced and absorbing, but it is his revisionist portrait of Maj. John Andre that makes this book an important one. Traditionally, this young, handsome and charming British officer who collaborated with Arnold in the West Point plot is presented as a sympathetic, even noble figure. But Philbrick tells us that we have been duped. Andre has far more in common with Arnold than we had supposed; beneath his mask of dignity and simple patriotism, Andre is ruthless and ambitious. The Andre we think we know, Philbrick explains, is a con artist, skilled in ingratiating himself with anyone who can advance his career or write him into history as a man of dignity and honor. From beginning to end, the relationship between Arnold and Andre is the most compelling tale in the book. Philbrick introduces their fateful meeting, where the terms of Arnolds betrayal were settled, with a description of the setting that mirrors the dark motives and the greed that drive these two schemers. They stood, he writes, in the combined shadows of two mountains and the surrounding trees. It must have been so dark that they could barely make out each others presence, only their white breeches and Andres expensive, white-topped boots visible in the gloom. After the plot is discovered, Philbrick follows Andres flight to freedom, step by step, until his contempt for the common soldier leads to his capture. Only two things mar this book. The first is that the multiple tales do not flow into one another smoothly. There is a jerky shifting, back and forth, between the larger picture of war and politics and the intimate portrait of Washington, just as there is too abrupt a shift in perspective between the betrayed general and his former protege. The second is a flawed interpretation of the significance of Arnolds thwarted plot. Philbricks insistence that Arnolds treason awakened Americans to the realization that the War of Independence was theirs to lose, that his betrayal taught them what they were fighting for and that it spurred them to focus on transforming 13 colonies into a nation is a serious misreading of the era. The revolution, it turns out, was the French navys to win or lose something Washington knew well. Men like Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, not to mention hundreds of patriotic women who entered politics as daughters of liberty, gave ample testimony to the purpose of the war. And Arnolds betrayal did not jump-start the consolidation of 13 independent and separate mini-nations into one. It would take two constitutions, a farmers revolt in Massachusetts, the combined genius of nationalists such as James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, and a second war with Great Britain to turn these United States into the United States. The tales Philbrick tells do not need such lofty consequences to be worth reading. Sean McFate is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. President Obama recently announced that an additional 250 Special Operations forces will be sent to Syria to stem the spread of the Islamic State. It wont work. By now, too little, too late has become the moniker of the administrations Middle East policy. To be fair, the policy of Obamas predecessor wasnt effective either. What is needed is a new piece on the chessboard: an American Foreign Legion. As a former paratrooper in the Armys 82nd Airborne Division and a former military contractor, I have seen that there is no substitute for boots on the ground. You cannot control territory from the air, and ground forces are needed to root out the Islamic State where it lives and festers. The United States has traditionally had four options. The first is isolationism: Do nothing. This means ceding the battle to the terrorists and watching them grow from a distance until they reach our shores. Few would want this. The second strategy is to send in Special Operations forces, as Obama is doing. While such forces are an incredible fighting machine, their main mission will be to build indigenous forces on the ground. We are terrible at this. The United States spent billions on the Iraqi and Afghan security forces, but what did taxpayers get? In 2014, Iraqi soldiers threw down their weapons, peeled off their uniforms and ran away at the sight of an inferior enemy in Mosul. The Afghan military and police are mostly ghosts collecting salaries. The Pentagon and the CIA created Syrian militias to fight the Islamic State, only to have those militias join another terrorist group or even fight each other. Conducting a strategy like this over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. The third option is Iraq War III. We could mount another surge of U.S. troops, as we did in 2007 to turn the tide of the war we launched in 2003, in hopes of winning hearts and minds. But the surge and the counterinsurgency strategy failed. Once U.S. troops leave, terrorists take over again, as the Islamic State has proved. Few Americans would like us to get sucked into another long war in the Middle East. The fourth option is relying on military contractors. In Iraq and Afghanistan, during the height of those wars, at least 50 percent of the U.S. force was contracted. In World War II, that figure was about 12 percent. Some wonder whether contracting is the new American way of war. But there are ethical and safety concerns with linking killing to the profit motive, as mercenaries are incentivized to elongate (and perhaps start) conflicts. There is also fraud, waste and abuse, since contracting in war zones comes with accountability difficulties. Then there is the loyalty problem. Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater, now works to help Chinas largest state-owned conglomerate operate in Africa. Lastly, the United States heavy use of contractors has spawned a global mercenary market. In 2015, we saw mercenaries fighting in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Nigeria and Yemen. Mercenaries are back, after being in the shadows for centuries. There is a fifth, more acceptable option: Create an American Foreign Legion. When people think of foreign legions, they think of French mercenaries. But the French Foreign Legion is a part of the French military, is led by French officers, takes its orders exclusively from Paris, offers its legionnaires the opportunity to apply for French citizenship and serves only the French government. Its like a French army unit, except that its enlisted members come from all over the world. Its time for an American Foreign Legion. It would be a part of the Defense Department, but its enlisted members would be recruited globally. This encompasses the best of option three (sending more troops to the Middle East) without the pitfalls of option four (relying on private contractors and mercenaries). An American Foreign Legion would solve many problems that have plagued us in the past decade of war. First, it would provide a publicly acceptable, truly volunteer force for long-term operations in the Middle East. Second, training and vetting standards could be maintained in a transparent manner, unlike with todays contractors. Third, legionnaires could be held accountable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Today, when contractors do something wrong, such as commit murder, they typically get sent home with minimal punishment. As Prince put it, they get a choice: window or aisle. Fourth, it solves the loyalty problem. The American Foreign Legion would be a path to citizenship in exchange for service to our cause. This is not a radical idea; we do this to a limited extent in our military. Fifth, a long-term Foreign Legion would be cheaper than contracting. In fiscal 2014, the Pentagon spent $131 billion on contractors more than twice Britains entire defense budget. Lastly, it would help stem the growth of the mercenary industry worldwide. The United States is the biggest consumer of private military services, but we have limited control. When we no longer wish to pay military contractors, they will find someone who will. We should stop outsourcing war. Nor should we have a Vietnam War-esque draft. An all-volunteer force is core to our values, so lets extend that opportunity to the rest of the world. An American Foreign Legion would create many solutions, including a viable Middle East strategy. Capital Weather Gang asked its followers to send in their best haiku to describe the Washington area as it experiences the most consecutive days with rain in its recorded history. (Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post) Capital Weather Gang asked its followers to send in their best haiku to describe the Washington area as it experiences the most consecutive days with rain in its recorded history. (Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post) On May 11, Washington set a new record for the most consecutive days with measurable rain: 15. Skies have been overcast on all afternoons this month but three. Every day, the forecast is the same: cloudy with a chance of showers. Will it ever stop? Of course it will, one day. But instead of fighting the mist, it might be better to dive in head first. Let this collection of books and activities get you through the gray. And dont worry they can all be enjoyed indoors. Rain: A Natural and Cultural History by Cynthia Barnett Barnett drops you onto the face of the Earth 4.6 billion years ago, when it was a red-faced and hellish infant that happened to have water trapped in its rocks. Eventually, the water vapor that had poured out of these rocks into the atmosphere condensed and, at long last, it began to rain. Entire civilizations, religions and industries eventually formed around the weather and rain. Barnett details Americas first weatherman (Thomas Jefferson) and how settlers pushed across the central United States, which swings each year between drought and flood. She catalogues types of rain: city rain and monsoon rain, a dire lack of rain and the kind of rain that sizzles when it hits a blazing sidewalk. Barnett even devotes an entire chapter to the scent of it. The Long Rain by Ray Bradbury In this short story published in 1950, four men crash their spaceship on Venus to find the planet covered in flora and perpetual rain. It was a rain to drown all rains and the memory of rains, Bradbury wrote. Sounds familiar. The men set out in search of the Sun Dome, which they know will provide relief. Then sodden disaster sets in. The men are literally driven insane by rain that will not cease. (Yes, in reality, Venus is a dry, barren wasteland.) Extreme Weather: A Guide and Record Book by Christopher C. Burt In 2012, the World Meteorological Organization changed the record for the worlds hottest temperature because of Burts multi-year investigation. His Extreme Weather ranges from the planets snowiest places to waterspouts and fog. It catalogues the rainiest cities, the worst floods on record and the stormiest places. Whats the maximum amount of rain that could fall in 24 hours for locations across the United States? Extreme Weather has the answer. In Washington, its 14.75 inches biblical-sounding until you see that Houstons potential is an incredible 43 inches. More than just an encyclopedia, its anecdotal and engaging, and it puts our current weather into perspective. Dreams by Fleetwood Mac More than 900 artists have sung about the weather. Its inescapable just like all this rain. So let the smooth sounds of Fleetwood Mac transport you to another time, when American rock bands originated in London and Stevie Nicks ruled the airwaves. Thunder only happens when its raining. (Not entirely true.) Players only love you when theyre playin. (Most definitely true.) National Gallery of Art Weather plays a key role in many of the works in the National Gallery of Art. Among my favorites is The Black Rocks at Trouville by Gustave Courbet, which depicts brooding, stormy skies at sunset. Meagan Estep, the museums social-media coordinator, recommended a lighter take on rainy art: Claude Monets Waterloo Bridge, Gray Day.Whats incredible about this work, Estep said, is that Monet isnt painting with the color gray hes using shades of lilac and pink to convey mist; flecks of pale olive tint the sky. Freddy the Frogcaster by Janice Dean, illustrated by Russ Cox Put on your galoshes and rain slicker and jump in the puddles with this adorable frog named Freddy. Even when he was just a tadpole, he loved the weather. Turns out Freddy is a pretty good forecaster. He has all the latest weather-watching tools and has read all the right books. So when the forecast for the big Leapfrog Picnic turns dangerous, Freddy hops in just in time to save the day. This book gets so many things right because its author, Dean, is Fox News Channels weather anchor. The science is sound, and the illustrations are fun and colorful. Highly recommended for any child who appears to have a hint of the weather bug. Read more from Outlook and follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter. Jonathan Kirsch, book editor of the Jewish Journal, is the author of, most recently, The Short, Strange Life of Herschel Grynszpan: A Boy Avenger, a Nazi Diplomat and a Murder in Paris. Ten top-ranking Nazis were sent to the gallows in 1946 by the international war crimes tribunal in Nuremberg. Many more escaped justice for decades or forever, some by taking their own lives, some by going into hiding and some merely because all but a few dedicated avengers lost interest in them. In The Nazi Hunters, Andrew Nagorski scrutinizes the varying backgrounds, means and motives of the small number of investigators and prosecutors who refused to give up. Notions of revenge and justice were often intermingled, Nagorski writes of the effort to punish Nazi war criminals, whatever the motives of the executioners themselves. Nagorski is a veteran author and foreign correspondent whose Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Power is the alpha to the omega of The Nazi Hunters. Even before the final defeat of Germany, as Nagorski points out, partisans and surviving inmates of liberated concentration camps were subjecting their persecutors to rough justice. For a few years after the first Nazi war criminals felt nooses around their necks, hundreds more were judged and condemned in less-celebrated trials conducted by both the Allied victors and by the countries only recently liberated from German occupation. But Nagorski also allows us to see that the ardor for finding and punishing war criminals quickly abated, and the task fell to a handful of self-appointed seekers of retribution. Among the Nazi hunters whose lives and work are reprised in Nagorskis book are figures who are now, like Simon Wiesenthal, nearly mythic. But Nagorski insists on affording both blame and credit wherever they are due. At the heart of his book is the agonizing saga of Nazi hunters such as Tuvia Friedman who has been mostly overshadowed by Wiesenthal and Mossad Director Isser Harel and West German Attorney General Fritz Bauer, who both worked to locate and recover Adolf Eichmann. Their tales feature moments of intrepidity and recrimination in equal measure. Indeed, the Eichmann case is not the only one in which Nagorski perceives that the Nazi hunters battled each other as much as they fought those who had served the Third Reich. That was particularly evident in the case of Kurt Waldheim, who had already served as secretary general of the United Nations and was running for the presidency of Austria in 1986 when his Nazi associations came to public attention. It turned out that Waldheim had served under a superior officer who was later hanged as a war criminal, and questions were raised about Waldheims war record. Waldheim went on to win his election, but the revelations not only ignited a fiery debate on the campaign trail but also led to angry recriminations among rival Nazi hunters, and between the Jewish community in Austria and the New York-based World Jewish Congress, as Nagorski reports. No one emerged a clear winner, and many reputations were tarred in the process. "The Nazi Hunters" by Andrew Nagorski (Simon & Schuster) Nagorski also introduces us to Nazi hunters whose exploits have been mostly overlooked. Jan Sehn, described as about as original a Nazi hunter as could be imagined, was a Polish investigative judge who interrogated and prosecuted Auschwitz camp commandant Rudolf Hoss. Sehn may have been atoning for his own German ancestry when he dedicated himself to gathering, preserving and presenting hard evidence of the war crimes of Polands occupiers. Hoss, too, was sentenced to die, but even more important is the testimony that Sehn extracted from him before he was hanged. From the witness stand, Hoss provided a flat repudiation to the Holocaust deniers: The final solution of the Jewish question, he testified, meant the complete extermination of all Jews in Europe. Much of Nagorskis evidence is archival, but he has also found his way to some firsthand testimony from the last surviving participants in the war-crimes trials. Benjamin Ferencz, for example, was 93 years old when Nagorski interviewed him in Florida in 2013, and Ferencz vividly recounted his experiences as a young war-crimes investigator and prosecutor in postwar Europe. When Ferencz examined a cache of secret reports in a Gestapo file that detailed the shootings of Jews, gypsies and civilians by mobile killing units on the Eastern Front, he went to work with an adding machine. When I passed the figure of one million, I stopped adding, Ferencz recalled. That was quite enough for me. Armed with documentary evidence, he served as the U.S. prosecutor in the trial of the willing executioners whose fingers were actually on the triggers, a proceeding the Associated Press called the biggest murder trial in history. Nagorski also reminds us of the ugly fact that the West seemed to lose interest in the punishment of Nazi war criminals during the Cold War. At that time, some former Nazis in West Germany were regarded as useful collaborators in the struggle against our new adversaries behind the Iron Curtain precisely because they had proved to be such ruthless enemies of the Soviet Union during World War II. Thus did the Advisory Board of Clemency, headed by Cold War power broker John J. McCloy, commute the death sentences and reduce the prison terms of various Nazi war criminals, an act that Nuremberg prosecutor Telford Taylor condemned as the embodiment of political expediency. As many as 10,000 participants in Nazi war crimes may have been welcomed to the United States under a law that was meant to shelter the victims of Nazi aggression and persecution. Only the efforts of a few freelance Nazi hunters such as Serge and Beate Klarsfeld, who delivered SS officer Klaus Barbie to a French courtroom in 1987, and a few prosecutors who acted on the available evidence have continued to remind the world of the war criminals who live among us. Nagorski acknowledges the sharp debate over the diminishing returns of Nazi hunting at a time when the last of the perpetrators are far more likely to die of old age than at the end of a rope. Still, he sees a transcendent and enduring purpose to all these exertions. Genocide a term coined in 1933 by the Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin and first used in court by Ferencz in a trial of Nazi war criminals is now an established principle of international law. Remarkably, it was Ferencz who delivered the closing argument in the first trial of the International Criminal Court in 2011, when a Congolese rebel leader was convicted of recruiting child soldiers. And a line from his closing argument in the Einsatzgruppen trial was quoted in the proceedings of U.N. tribunals on war crimes in Yugoslavia and Rwanda: If these men be immune, then law has lost its meaning, and man must live in fear. Exactly here is the raison detre for Nagorskis deep and sweeping account of a relentless search for justice that began in 1945 and is only now coming to an end. Lisa Zeidners most recent novel is Love Bomb. She teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Rutgers University Camden. You know that when you search for the best price on shoes or a dishwasher or a hotel online, Google is watching you. But so are armies of marketers, psychologists and neurologists. They dont just want to know what you ultimately decide. They want to know why. Why a blue dress rather than green? Why Coke rather than Pepsi? Did you actually read the online reviews? Did they sway you? It turns out that our reasons, from shopping decisions to the songs on our playlists and the dog breeds we find adorable, are shockingly arbitrary. In You May Also Like, Tom Vanderbilt parses out what we know about the science of personal preferences. In this lively, wide-ranging study, Vanderbilt argues that our tastes are so elusive, even to us. No matter how strongly we announce our opinions, he marvels at what a fleeting grasp we have of the things we put in our mouths or before our eyes. Vanderbilt begins by analyzing the world of search engines, on sites such as Amazon, Netflix and TripAdvisor, to see how accurately their algorhithms can predict our tastes. He is particularly interested in how were influenced by online reviews and by how many of them are fake. He discovers that up to 70 percent of reviewers havent read the book or stayed in the hotel. Researchers at Cornell claim to be able to spy fake hotel reviews with 90 percent accuracy. Vanderbilt also looks at the correlation between taste and socioeconomic status, and spends time with experts a famous cat-show judge, panels of wine and cheese tasters to see how their processes of discrimination differ from those of ordinary consumers. Like Eskimos who know a hundred words for snow, the taste czars in the lab at McCormick, the spices and flavoring company, can identify and describe all 23 flavors in a Dr Pepper. It gets weirder than that: Trained sensory panelists can even tell which women have consumed garlic pills based on the scent of their amniotic fluid alone. "You May Also Like: Taste in an Age of Endless Choice" by Tom Vanderbilt (Knopf) You May Also Like is full of such bizarre tidbits. Its a dense distillation of current research and as such, not exactly a breezy read. Vanderbilt includes more than 60 pages of footnotes, from scholarly sources as diverse as the International Journal of Psychophysiology and the Journal of Interactive Marketing, about studies as different as The Revolution Will Probably Wear Mom Jeans and Neural Portraits of Perception: Reconstructing Face Images From Evoked Brain Activity. The footnotes have a David Foster Wallace-like wit as Vanderbilt calls our attention to such issues as whether people find donuts less yummy if they taste them in a salmon cannery and whether rats enjoy grape Kool-Aid more if it is infused directly into their stomachs. Vanderbilt makes a convincing argument about the tyranny of popularity in determining our choices. We like things better when we become more familiar with them whether its a vegetable, a painting or a tune. Things that are popular tend to get more so. Youd think that having access to millions of songs on Spotify would give less-renowned bands a chance, but youd be wrong. The route to the top of the charts has in theory gotten more democratic, less top-down, more unpredictable. . . . But the hierarchy of popularity at the top, once established, is steeper than ever. In 2013, it was estimated that the top 1 percent of music acts took home 77 percent of all music income. The importance of popularity might seem like an easy equation, but on the other hand, we also crave novelty, and exposure contains a hidden peril: We begin to like some things less the more we are exposed to them. Vanderbilt is quite funny about hipsters and their desperate wish to belong to the cool group but also to be individual, and thus recoiling from others who sport beards and drink craft beer. The subtle movement of people trying to be like each other and people trying to be different from each other is not, by the way, an exclusively human trait. He references one zoological study in which a Zambian chimp put a blade of grass in her ear, for no reason whatsoever, and the other chimps, finding the look fetching, copied her. You May Also Like is intended for a lay audience, and Vanderbilt mostly succeeds in making his summaries of the science clear and engaging. Sometimes the array of subjects can get dizzying; Vanderbilt is fond of a quick jump-cut between past and present, and he can overcompress, as he does in one section where he jams together Oscar Wilde, Saks Fifth Avenue, the 19th-century novelist Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Steve Jobs. The effect can be like too many pop-up windows open and flashing at once. Still, he is to be commended for the sheer range of material he makes accessible. Vanderbilt is especially persuasive in his explanation of how liking is really about anticipation and memory. Even as you are looking forward to something, you are looking backward to the memory of the last time you enjoyed it. You May Also Like explains why people are so fond of music they listened to in college and why theyre so bad at realizing that their tastes are going to change see bell bottoms, bad tattoos and what Vanderbilt calls the High School Popularity Problem, which is how hard it is to look past the radiant prom king to the terminally shy geek, prone to be picked on or aggressively ignored, a seemingly unaccomplished sort who goes on to change the world. Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders at the Nevada State Democratic Partys convention in Las Vegas. Tension erupted between organizers and supporters. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP) In an attempt to head off an ugly conflict at its convention this summer, the Democratic National Committee plans to offer a concession to Sen. Bernie Sanders seats on a key convention platform committee but it may not be enough to stop Sanders from picking a fight over the partys policy positions. Allies of both Clinton and Sanders have urged Democratic leaders to meet some of Sanderss more mundane demands for greater inclusion at the Philadelphia convention. Their decision to do so is expected to be finalized by the end of the week, according to two people familiar with the discussions. But growing mistrust between Sanders supporters and party leaders have threatened to undermine that effort. Even with the committee assignments, Sanders plans an aggressive effort to extract platform concessions on key policies that could prompt divisive battles at a moment when front-runner Hillary Clinton will be trying to unify the party. Among other issues, he plans to push for a $15 national minimum wage and argue that the party needs a more balanced position regarding Israel and Palestinians, according to a Sanders campaign aide who requested anonymity to speak candidly. Much like their view that the economy has been rigged to benefit the wealthy more than the middle and working classes, Sanders supporters have become increasingly convinced that national Democrats have stacked the political deck with rules that have made it difficult for Sanders to win enough delegates to threaten Clintons nomination. Party leaders, meanwhile, have grown more frustrated with Sanders, who they say has unfairly fueled that perception. I dont think theyve handled it very well and I think theyve lost the moral high ground on this, said Ken Martin, chairman of Minnesotas Democratic-Farmer Labor Party. Its very clear now that the longer they stay in this race the more damage theyre doing. The Nevada Democratic convention on May 14 didn't go smoothly. The Fix's Philip Bump breaks down what happened. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) The mistrust hit a boiling point in Nevada over the weekend, when a ruckus caused by Sanders supporters prompted security officials to cut short the state party convention. The incident worried party leaders impatient with the prolonged Democratic primary and looking to avoid drama in Philadelphia. Their impatience spread to Sanders when he issued a defiant statement accusing Nevada Democrats of preventing a fair and transparent process. Separately, the composition of three convention committees platform, rules and credentials has become key. Earlier this month, in a letter to DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Sanders threatened to bring the fight to the floor of the convention if she did not appoint more of his loyalists to the each of the three committees. Martin and other Democratic chairmen urged national leaders to give Sanders the concessions he seeks especially when it comes to the platform, which in the long run does not have a material impact on Democrats electoral chances in November. There are other chairs who probably feel that way and feel like this is my party and f--- Bernie Sanders, said Martin, a Clinton supporter. Im not one of those. I feel very passionately that we have to open up that party and make sure that those voices are heard, he said. One of Sanderss demands was the composition of the 15-person drafting committee, whose members are appointed at Wasserman Schultzs discretion and write the partys platform. One Democratic Party official requesting anonymity said Wasserman Schultz asked for recommendations from both campaigns in an effort to be inclusive. But Sanders had sought to split the committee evenly between his and Clintons allies plus one neutral appointment from Wasserman Schultz. 1 of 42 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Highlights from Bernie Sanderss campaign, in pictures View Photos The senator from Vermont is Hillary Clintons rival in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination. Caption The senator from Vermont is Hillary Clintons rival in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination. June 14, 2016 Bernie Sanders arrives at the Capital Hilton to meet with Hillary Clinton in D.C. Matt McClain/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. Weeks of negotiations followed, and the DNC eventually agreed to add more Sanders representatives. According to two people familiar with the conversations, the DNC and the campaigns will reach a final agreement probably less than Sanders wanted but more than the DNC originally offered by the end of the week. A spokesman for the DNC declined to comment on the negotiations. Sanderss aides have also publicly and privately complained about the appointment of two Clinton loyalists former congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts to head the Rules Committee and Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy to lead the Platform Committee as chairmen of two of the conventions standing bodies. Tad Devine, a senior adviser to the Sanders campaign, said this week that they may yet seek to have Frank and Malloy removed from their posts. In an interview with CNN Thursday, Clinton noted pointedly that she believes Sanders no longer has a shot at the nomination. She also said that Sanders will need to encourage his supporters to unify behind her, just as she did in 2008 when running against Barack Obama. I have every confidence that were going to be unified, Clinton said. I think what brings us together is Donald Trump. That hasnt happened yet. A Sanders spokesman disputed Clintons assertion that the nomination is hers. And Sanders has ramped up the rhetoric in recent days, saying after Clinton won Kentucky that he still intends to win the nomination despite an overwhelming disadvantage in delegates. In front of a boisterous crowd in Carson, Calif., Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders called on the Democratic party May 17 to "open the doors; let the people in." Sanders vowed to continue fighting rival Hillary Clinton for the party's presidential nomination. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post) Even if he doesnt, he still intends to pick a platform fight at the convention, according to a campaign aide who requested anonymity to discuss strategy. Clinton aides have said that on a slew of issues, Sanders is not far from the party. But the issue of U.S. policy toward Israel which a Sanders adviser said absolutely, legitimately will be a point of conversation has made some of Clintons backers nervous. Sanders is seeking a more even-handed U.S. approach to Israeli occupation of land Palestinians claim for a future state. The current platform does not address the nearly five-decade occupation directly, but it endorses a just and lasting Israeli-Palestinian accord, producing two states for two peoples. Speaking last month during a contentious debate with Clinton, Sanders who declared himself 100 percent pro-Israel said that Israels 2014 military assault on the Gaza Strip was disproportionate to the threat posed by Hamas rockets launched from the Palestinian territory into Israel. Behind his words is a long debate among U.S. and international policymakers one that divides the Democratic base and could pose a challenge for Clinton when she must bring her party together: how to weigh Palestinian interests when dealing with Israel, and whether resolute U.S. backing for Israel diminishes leverage to promote peace and fair treatment of Palestinians. On one hand there is not an enormous amount of difference between them. They are both pro-Israel, they are both pro-peace, said one longtime Clinton supporter. But in the context of the campaign terms like even-handed can come to mean that the United States is signaling a shift and Clinton would oppose that. anne.gearan@washpost.com Donald Trump speaks to supporters on the Drake University campus at a fundraiser on Jan. 28, 2016, to benefit veterans after skipping the Fox News GOP debate in Des Moines that night. (Larry W. Smith/European Pressphoto Agency) One night in January, Donald Trump skipped a GOP debate and instead held his own televised fundraiser for veterans. At the end of the night, Trump proclaimed it a huge success: We just cracked $6 million, right? Six million. Now, Trumps campaign says that number is incorrect. Campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said the fundraiser actually netted about $4.5 million, or 75 percent of the total that Trump announced. Lewandowski blamed the shortfall on Trumps own wealthy acquaintances. He said some of them had promised big donations that Trump was counting on when he said he had raised $6 million. But Lewandowski said those donors backed out and gave nothing. There were some individuals who hed spoken to, who were going to write large checks, [who] for whatever reason . . . didnt do it, Lewandowski said in a telephone interview. I cant tell you who. An Army veterans helmet and boots are seen on a motorcycle near a line of supporters waiting to attend a Trump campaign rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on April 25. (Mel Evans/AP) Lewandowski also said he did not know whether a $1 million pledge from Trump himself was counted as part of the $4.5 million total. He said Trump has given that amount, but he declined to identify any recipients. [Trump once revealed his income tax returns. They showed he didnt pay a cent.] The comments appear to be the first acknowledgment almost four months later that Trumps fundraiser had brought in less than the candidate said. Lewandowski said he did not know the exact total raised or how much of it remained unspent. Even with the lower total, Trumps fundraiser brought in millions of dollars for veterans charities. The Washington Posts accounting, based on interviews with charities, has found at least $3.1 million in donations to veterans groups. Trumps fundraiser Jan. 28 was an indelible moment, a one-night showcase of the GOP front-runners boldness and charm. In a single evening in Des Moines, Trump showed Fox News the host of that nights Trump-less debate that he was powerful enough to spurn the Fox network. At the same time, he showed a national audience that he could conjure a multimillion-dollar benefit out of nothing, using connections, showmanship and his own wealth. Donald Trump another great builder in New York, now a politician I cant stand this, a politician, Trump said, in his trademark run-on style, after hed listed a series of gifts from other wealthy friends. I dont want to be called a politician. All talk, no action I refuse to be called a politician. Donald Trump gave $1 million. Okay? In the days after the fundraiser, Trump repeated the $6 million figure in TV appearances and at Iowa rallies. At that rally we raised, in one hour, $6 million. Is that good? Trump said four days afterward at a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At first, he was very public about giving the money away. In rallies across Iowa, Trump would call representatives of local veterans groups up to the stage and present them with oversize checks. In some cases, the money came from friends of Trumps who sent checks directly to veterans groups. In other cases, the money was routed through Trumps personal foundation. For the groups that received this money often dealing with aging veterans from the Vietnam War, along with returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan the money was an enormous help. Its all long gone, said James Kallstrom, a retired FBI official who is the chairman of the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation. In March, his group received $100,000, which Kallstrom said would go toward $30,000 educational grants for the children of Marines killed on active duty. I believe there was a helicopter crash that had, oh God, I forget how many there were. . . . Theyre all young, and they all have young children. But, as the race continued, the checks from the fundraiser began to come less frequently. The most recent check identified by The Post was dated March 25. In recent weeks, Trump and his campaign repeatedly declined to give new details about how much they have given away. Why should I give you records? Trump said in an interview with The Post this month. I dont have to give you records. Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said Trumps refusal to divulge how much of the money he had distributed raised questions about whether the candidate intended the fundraiser primarily as a public-relations effort for himself. Thats just shady. Right? No matter how you cut it, thats just shady, Rieckhoff said. If he was going to make it right, a couple of weeks before Memorial Day would be a good time to do it. It behooves him, not just politically but ethically, to come forward and account for this money. Trump provided no official way for charities to apply for the money. Groups around the country still tried, sending letters and hitting up local veterans-for-Trump leaders. We havent heard anything, said Judy Schaffer of Heroes to Heroes, a New Jersey-based group that sends veterans on nondenominational trips to Israel to prevent suicide and promote spiritual healing. Her group had received a donation from Trumps personal foundation years before. We have a waiting list of over 200 veterans. Many of them have already attempted suicide, Schaffer said this week. And it keeps me up at night, not being able to send more people. Lewandowski said Trump has decided on about two dozen groups that will get the remainder of the money in the next couple of weeks. He said the groups have been vetted and had been chosen by word of mouth within the Trump campaign or from causes Trump had previously supported. Lewandowski said Trump should not be faulted for promising $6 million in donations. What he said was, We hope to get $6 million. He said this at an event where we were trying to get money. It was a best guess, Lewandowski said. That was his goal. His goal was to get somewhere around $6 million. On the night of the fundraiser, Trump named nine big donors, including himself. Since then, The Post has found evidence from Trumps staff, from the donors or from veterans charities that received money that seven of those nine gave money as promised. Those gifts added up to $3.78 million. On top of that, Trump said small-dollar donors gave $670,000 over the Internet. That adds up to $4.45 million. So, were those other two big donors among the ones who backed out? One of them was a shopping-mall magnate from Ohio who did not respond to multiple calls, emails and messages from The Post seeking to confirm his donations. But even if that man did back out, his pledge was so small $50,000 that it would make little difference in a tally of millions. The other donor had made a much bigger promise: Trump, with his vow to give $1 million. In the past few days, The Post has interviewed 22 veterans charities that received donations as a result of Trumps fundraiser. None of them have reported receiving personal donations from Trump. Did Trump make good on his promise to give from his personal funds? The money is fully spent. Mr. Trumps money is fully spent, Lewandowski said. To whom did Trump give, and in what amounts? Hes not going to share that information, Lewandowski said. 1 of 15 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Where We Live | Chevy Chase in Northwest Washington View Photos With many homes dating to the early 1900s, the community has a Norman Rockwell-esque feel to it, residents say. Caption With many homes dating to the early 1900s, the community has a Norman Rockwell-esque feel to it, residents say. The Districts Chevy Chase, across the Maryland line from the Montgomery County community of the same name, has long appealed to families looking for tranquility. Amanda Voisard/For The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. Marelise Voss and James Soriano, who had rented an apartment in the Chevy Chase section of Northwest Washington for a year, knew they liked the neighborhood. Once they began searching for a house for themselves and their son, Jacob, 5 1/2, they found a Craftsman-style bungalow and decided to buy it within two days. The schools were one of the biggest draws, and the house sealed the deal. We like bungalows, and it was a baby bungalow, Voss said. It was important for us to downsize. We wanted to move in that direction. It was just the perfect size. With two bedrooms upstairs, two bathrooms and a little more than 1,000 square feet of space, including an addition, the 1926 house suits the couple, who were looking for something a little different. We just fell in love with it, Voss said. Its quirky. It requires some work, which they look forward to completing together. And best of all, its four blocks to Lafayette Elementary School, where Jacob is set to begin kindergarten this fall. The Districts Chevy Chase, across the Maryland line from the Montgomery County community of the same name, has long appealed to families looking for tranquility. In Vosss words, its more than 14,000 residents live in a small town in a big city. It has a wonderful charm about it, she said. Its an old-fashioned neighborhood with a Norman Rockwell-esque feel to it, she said. [Warrenton offers historic charm in Virginias horse country] Voss, 46, who was born in the District but grew up in Illinois, regularly visited the neighborhood when friends lived in the house behind the one where she lives now. Ive known this neighborhood my whole life, she said. Hanging out with neighbors: The Chevy Chase Land Co. first developed the area early in the 20th century, mostly in 1907, according to the Chevy Chase Citizens Association booklet Seventy-Five Years of Community Service 1909-1984. The association was founded in 1909. The community has a diverse housing stock that includes duplexes, apartments and townhouses. A new rental apartment building with a glass facade has opened at 5333 Connecticut Ave., to the dismay of some area residents. But single-family homes some dating to the 19th century dominate. Architectural styles include center-hall Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Dutch Colonial Revival, Queen Anne Revival, Georgian Revival and bungalow, according to EHT Traceries, a Washington research and consulting firm specializing in history and historic preservation. It was built deliberately eclectically in the teens and 1920s, said Carl Lankowski, president of Historic Chevy Chase, D.C., an organization of residents seeking to preserve the character of the enclave. Lankowski, who works for the State Department, moved to the neighborhood with his wife as empty-nesters in 2010 from Friendship Heights, just to the west. Its housing and its location, with easy access to his job downtown, appealed to them, he said. He commutes by Metrobus, taking the L1 line down Connecticut Avenue, and in his free time enjoys interacting with his neighbors. Theyre people youd just like to talk to, said Lankowski, who conducts oral-history interviews for the Historic Chevy Chase group. Its just fun living here. [Twinbrook endures, like its fellow baby boomers] Shopping and amusements: One of the appeals for some is the neighborhoods own little downtown, along Connecticut Avenue from Chevy Chase Circle to, more or less, Livingston Street NW. People support the local businesses, said Samantha Nolan, president of the Chevy Chase Citizens Association, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1986 along with her husband, Randy Speck. They raised their daughter in the area. If you wander along Connecticut Avenue youll spy several individually owned shops that have thrived in the neighborhood, in some cases as long as three decades. The Districts Chevy Chase, across the Maryland line from the Montgomery County community of the same name, has long appealed to families looking for tranquility. (Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post) Farther north, at 5520 Connecticut Ave., stands the Chevy Chase Arcade, which includes a new restaurant and a long-standing family-owned jewelry store. In addition, Chevy Chase, D.C., has a library, several banks, a Safeway, a Magruders, the historic Avalon Theatre and the American City Diner, whose decor and milkshakes and malts hark back to the 1950s. Theres also the Chevy Chase Community Center, where activities include ballet and gymnastics as well as bridge classes. Living there: The community is bordered by Western Avenue to the north and Rock Creek Park to the east and roughly Fessenden Street to the south and Reno Road to the west. In the past 12 months, 186 properties have sold, according to Nancy Wilson, an agent with Evers & Co. Real Estate in the District. They range from a three-bedroom, two-bathroom brick Colonial for $640,000 to a 2003 house across from Rock Creek Park for $2.9 million.There are 18 active listings, ranging from a two-bedroom, two-bath rambler for $750,000 to a five-bedroom, five-bath foursquare listed at $2.295 million. [Hot neighborhood, enduring appeal: Chevy Chase, D.C.] Schools: Lafayette Elementary, Murch Elementary, Alice Deal Junior High and Wilson Senior High. Transit: The area is well served by Metrobus. The closest Metrorail station is Friendship Heights on the Red Line, as close as half a mile to some residents homes. Crime: In the past year, three aggravated assaults, six robberies without a gun and 34 burglaries were reported in the area, according to the D.C. police crime map. Sadar Vali sits beside his friend Wali Khan in the refugee camp known as The Jungle in Calais, France, on May 10. (Mary Turner/Getty Images) In late August, Clare Moseley was skimming newspapers online when she saw an article in the Daily Mail on refugees drowning in the Mediterranean. It was followed by angry online comments calling for the British military to eradicate the thousands of migrants still stranded in northern France and seeking to cross the English Channel. In tears, the 46-year-old former Deloitte accountant did more than post a reply: She moved to Calais, leaving behind her home, her career and her husband in Liverpool, England. It was a complete knee-jerk reaction to an emergency, but I just felt like it was massively, massively needed, and so I did it, said Moseley. As anti-immigrant sentiment rises in Britain just one month before the referendum on its membership in the European Union a vote commonly known as Brexit Moseley is one of many British volunteers who have quietly assembled on the shores of northern France to help where they can. Eight months later, she is still here, living alone in a modest one-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of the city and running an organization called Care4Calais, which distributes food and clothing to migrants and refugees living in conditions that even the French government has called undignified. As much as you close your eyes, it doesnt stop the world around you from existing, said Hettie Colquhoun, 24. Originally from Somerset, England, she has also moved to Calais, where she works for the French and British charities Auberge des Migrants and Help Refugees. Like Moseley, Colquhoun has been in northern France for nearly a year. The camps in northern France Calaiss Jungle foremost, but also those in nearby Dunkirk and Grande-Synthe have joined the front lines of Europes largest migrant crisis since the upheavals of 1945. Thousands of migrants no one knows exactly how many live here in largely undocumented squalor. More arrive every day. Peter Martin, 21, is pursuing a masters degree in classics at Cambridge University. One of many British millennials involved in the camps, he organized a university-wide student association that leads weekend trips for U.K. students to work in Calais and Dunkirk. No one knows what to do with the millions of people who have moved across the world, he said. But in the meantime, we can make sure that they have clothes, food, shelter and water that seems to be an easy thing we can all agree on, even if we cant all agree about how many to take or where to put them. Refugees and migrants from Afghanistan walk toward their tents in Calais, France, on May 10. (Mary Turner/Getty Images) I realized I had a capacity to make a difference, said Colquhoun. And its just across the water from me its just so, so close. Twenty miles from the coast of southern England, these makeshift settlements teeming with tents and campers are mostly holding pens for those who believe that safety and prosperity await them in a Britain increasingly reluctant to welcome refugees. There are similar enclosures in nearly every country along the most common migrant route from Greece, through the Balkans, and into Western Europe. But what distinguishes the northern French camps is that they are somehow beyond the rule of law, zones that are largely unregulated and ignored by local authorities, save for occasional demolitions. In Germany, for instance, the government carefully filters refugees and migrants at borders to determine which of them are eligible for asylum. In France, by contrast, there is little oversight and hardly any documentation of who is living where and in what conditions. Local police, for instance, do not regularly patrol inside Calaiss Jungle, and national sanitation standards do not apply. In fact, two French non-governmental associations took the local authorities to court in the fall after finding traces of E. coli bacteria in the water supply. A judge then ordered the authorities to address these conditions. But when the local Calais government ostensibly in the name of improving conditions ordered the destruction of a particularly crowded section of the Jungle in March, it merely created a scenario in which most of the evicted migrants ended up in a smaller area than before. Crowding remains a problem. Calais authorities did not respond to requests for comment. In that void, it is ultimately volunteers and non-governmental organizations that have built what little infrastructure exists in the camps today: the temporary clinics, the schoolhouses, the libraries. They provide the food, distribute the medicine and teach the algebra to the children. As contemporary Britain faces an unprecedented moment of self-definition, many of the British volunteers cite as motivation the vision of a society whose essence is diversity and whose true nature is humanity. People forget that what makes Britain Britain is multiculturalism, said Colquhoun. Our flag is a testament to that. Our language is a testament [to] that. I was brought up reading books about the Second World War, Moseley said. My grandparents fought through it, and my mum and dad remember it as children. You wonder, if I was put somewhere, how would I judge myself? Everybody has to decide where they want to be. Moseley and others frequently invoke the memory of Kindertransport, the British-sponsored convoys of some 10,000 Jewish children from central Europe in the years before the Holocaust. One survivor of those transports, Lord Alf Dubs, 83, recently sponsored an amendment to a British immigration bill that would likewise bring in 3,000 unaccompanied migrant children from Europe. Despite initial opposition, the amendment passed. The facts are all here, Moseley said. There are people in trouble, but we are refusing to help them. This is not an earthquake, this is not a tidal wave this is a solvable problem. But as she acknowledged: Im a very black-and-white person. I dont do gray areas. Read more They were rescued as kids in WWII. Now they want to help todays refugee children. Humanitarian groups accuse French authorities of brutality against migrants French court gives okay to demolish Calaiss Jungle refugee camp Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world Protesters hold placards in front of the U.S. Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, on May 20. (Hitoshi Maeshiro/European Pressphoto Agency) An American military contractor has been arrested in Okinawa in connection with the murder of a local woman, a case that has reignited anti-U.S. sentiment on the southern Japanese island and will cast a shadow over President Obamas visit to Japan next week. The stabbing has already had significant political effects, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saying Friday that he feels strong resentment over the case and his government summoning Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Japan. This is going to have a massive impact on Okinawa. Its the kind of crime that will evoke memories of 1995, said Daniel Sneider, a Japan expert at Stanford University. He was referring to the brutal incident in which three U.S. servicemen abducted and raped a 12-year-old Okinawa girl, a case which became a lightning rod for anti-American sentiment on the island, which remains home to the majority of U.S. military bases in Japan, 70 years after the end of World War II. I think its pretty clear that the U.S. government is going to have to move very quickly to deal with this event, Sneider said. It will certainly be raised while the president is here. Obama is due to arrive this week for the Group of 7 summit, hosted by Japan, and will then make a historic visit to Hiroshima, the site of a 1945 atomic bombing. [In Okinawa, protesters dig in as work proceeds to relocate U.S. Marine base] Okinawa police have arrested Kenneth Shinzato, a 32-year-old former U.S. Marine who was working as a computer and electrical contractor on the Kadena Air Base, in relation to the slaying of 20-year-old Rina Shimabukuro. Shimabukuros body was found in a forest in the village of Onna, near where Shinzato told police they would find her, according to local news reports. She appeared to have been stabbed, they said. Shinzato, a civilian employee born Kenneth Franklin Gadson but who took his wifes name when they got married, reportedly told police he dumped Shimabukuros body in a wooded area after she stopped moving. Shinzato has been charged with abandoning a body. Shimabukuro had last been heard from on April 28, when she sent her boyfriend a message saying she was going for a walk. Shinzatos vehicle appeared in security camera footage from the area at the time the victim was last seen, and DNA tests showed that his vehicle contained some of her blood. Multiple news reports say that Shinzato, who lives near the base with his wife and baby, tried to commit suicide by taking large quantities of sleeping pills earlier this week. Although Shinzato is no longer a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, he was employed as a contractor and was included in the Status of Forces Agreement that protects Americans working for the military in Japan. The agreement stipulates that Japan cannot prosecute people affiliated with the United States for crimes committed during the course of their work. But even though this alleged murder would not be classified as occurring while Shinzato was on duty, it is already raising questions about why a person who has a civilian job would enjoy the protections of the deal in the first place. The continued presence of U.S. forces in Okinawa is already hugely controversial, with the governor, Takeshi Onaga, leading the charge to stop the construction of a new Marine air station on the island and force the current one to close down. There are regular protests against the U.S. military there. [Protest voices: Okinawans have been treated like we are disposable for too long] The conflict is a major thorn in the side of the government in Tokyo, which wants to press ahead with the construction as part of its security alliance with the United States. Onaga told reporters in Okinawa that he felt extreme sorrow over the incident. I dont know what to do with this anger, he said. Dozens of people demonstrated in front of Camp Schwab, the site of the new U.S. Marine Corps air station, Friday. The bases are the source of crime. We dont need any bases, Noriko Shido, a 66-year-old protester, told the Mainichi Shimbun. In Tokyo, Abe held a special meeting of Okinawa-related ministers over the murder case. I will urge the U.S. side to make a rigorous response, such as the implementation of thorough preventive measures, Abe said. Separately, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida called Kennedy to his office, and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani met with Lt. Gen. John Dolan, the commander of the U.S. forces in Japan, to lodge protests. [Okinawa governor revokes permit for construction of new U.S. Marine base] Obama is due in Japan next week and is scheduled to visit Hiroshima on May 27, a trip that is much anticipated in Japan. Josh Earnest, the presidents spokesman, said that the murder case was a terrible tragedy and an outrage. The United States is treating this situation with the utmost seriousness, and the United States military is cooperating fully with local authorities in their investigation, he said Thursday. Read more: Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Security forces used live ammunition and tear gas to push back protesters who broke into the fortified Green Zone on Friday, in a sharp escalation of unrest that has gripped the Iraqi capital. Iraqs military imposed a curfew across Baghdad after the protesters breached the secured area, which is home to the parliament and other government buildings. After protesters broke through reaching the office of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi security forces could be seen advancing across the bridges that lead out of the Green Zone and firing tear gas as gunshots rang out, though it was unclear if they were aiming live ammunition directly at the crowd. Hospital officials said at least 617 people were injured, largely from inhaling tear gas. They did not report any deaths or injuries from gunfire. The turmoil is destabilizing the capital amidst the countrys fight with Islamic State militants, with fears the group could try and capitalize on the unrest to launch attacks on Baghdad, where it has carried out a wave of attacks in recent days. The violence also further undermines the authority of Abadi, who is already politically weak and therefore struggling to enact the reforms demanded by protesters. An economic crisis due to a crash in oil prices also is adding to the pressure. We were holding roses and flags, said Haider Hashm, 40, sitting on the curb of a bridge to the Green Zone and struggling to speak because of the effects of tear gas. But while we were giving them roses, they gave us tear gas and bullets. It marked the second time in a month that protesters have broken into the restricted zone in the heart of the capital, an area usually out of bounds for Iraqis who dont hold passes. But while the first breach was largely peaceful despite protesters entering parliament and hitting lawmakers this time security forces fought back. Tear-gas canisters flew through the air and a constant crack of gunfire rang out as forces mandated with ensuring security in the Green Zone pushed the demonstrators back over bridges leading to the area. The military said that an unspecified number of members of the security forces had been stabbed. As the crowds surged out, a steady stream of ambulances were still screeching in. We stormed them like the Palestinians storm the Israelis, said Mehdi al-Rubai, 26, as he left the area. They are animals; they are shooting bullets at us. Fadhil al-Shuwaili, a member of the health committee on Baghdads provincial council, said three people had been confirmed killed: one by a gunshot to the head, one by a gunshot to the stomach and another who suffocated. That claim could not be verified. Despite efforts by the security forces to stop protesters, some clambered over blast walls to get into the Green Zone. They posted pictures of themselves inside the prime ministers office on social media sites. The Green Zone, also known as the International Zone, is the location of the U.S. Embassy, where extra Marines had been made available for its protection after demonstrators came close to its gates last month. We are aware protesters entered the International Zone, said State Department spokesman John Kirby. We will continue monitoring the situation closely. The previous breach was an embarrassment for Abadi, and in its aftermath the premier sacked the head of Green Zone security and vowed to arrest those who had assaulted lawmakers and broken property. But he is no closer to meeting the protesters demands for reform; he has not even managed to gather enough lawmakers for parliament to reconvene, necessary in order to legislate any changes. The demonstrators are largely supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has ratcheted up political tension in the country by calling for a new technocratic government and urging his followers to the street. Meanwhile, anger has boiled in his support base of Sadr City, where there have been two bombings in the space of a week. Analysts speculated that the Islamic State was attempting to provoke Sadrs followers as a way to cause unrest, turning their anger on the government for not protecting them. As night fell, the crowds had been largely dispersed.Rows of Humvees could be seen on bridges around the capital, while Baghdad Operations Command said forces from the countrys elite Golden Division had been deployed to protect the Green Zone. Police carrying batons patrolled the streets. More than 250 were injured, according to Ali Mohsen al-Tamimi, the governor of Baghdad, who is with Sadrs party. Some were critically injured by live ammunition, he said. In a statement, Sadr said that the government had used tear gas and live fire on unarmed protesters. Be patient, heroic Iraqi people, your peaceful revolution will end with victory, he said. Carol Morello in Brussels contributed to this report. Read more: Under strain, Islamic State takes its battle to the streets of Baghdad State of emergency declared in Baghdad as protesters take Iraqi parliament He once fought U.S. troops. Now Moqtada al-Sadr is battling Iraqs political system. Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Israel's defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, announced his resignation May 20, citing a lack of "trust" in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the governing party. (The Washington Post) Israel's defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, announced his resignation May 20, citing a lack of "trust" in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the governing party. (The Washington Post) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus attempts to remake his governing coalition have set heads spinning, particularly the dumping of his well-regarded defense minister, to possibly bring aboard a polarizing maverick with few friends in Washington. Definitely out: Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, who resigned his post on Friday. On the way to the door, Yaalon blasted Netanyahu, saying he has lost confidence in the prime ministers decision-making and morals. Maybe in: Avigdor Lieberman. He is a former foreign minister and current leader of an ultranationalist political party built around the 1 million Russian-speaking immigrants to Israel. He has pressed for Arab citizens of Israel to move to the West Bank and wants to implement the death penalty for terrorists. He also wants to increase pension payments for the Russian newcomers. [To some, the clown prince of Israeli diplomacy] Israeli pundits previously had called the current Netanyahu government the most right-wing in the countrys history, but this new coalition, if formed, will take the title. Netanyahus closed-door negotiations are ongoing, and the deal has not been struck. There also is not a lot of wiggle room. Netanyahus coalition holds a one-seat majority in parliament. In a news conference Friday, Yaalon, a member of Netanyahus Likud party, warned that Israel was drifting dangerously toward extremism. I fought with all my might against manifestations of extremism, violence and racism in Israeli society, which are threatening its sturdiness and trickling into the armed forces, hurting it already, he said. Yaalon appeared to be referring to support by Israeli leaders for a combat medic who fatally shot a wounded Palestinian attacker as he lay on a street in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank. [He really said that?] Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv and proclaimed the soldier a hero. Human rights activists called the shooting an execution. The killing was captured on video. Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon announces his resignation during a press conference on May 20, 2016, in Tel Aviv. (Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images) Just a few days ago, it looked as if Netanyahu was about to strike a deal with the leader of the opposition in parliament, Isaac Herzog, who steers the center-left Labor Party. The speculation was that Herzog would take the post of foreign minister and seek to resurrect peace talks with the Palestinians, with the support of Arab allies such as Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi. Then everything fell apart. Yaalons departure comes as the Obama administration and Israel are locked in difficult talks over the future of U.S. military aid to its front-line Middle East ally. Israel is nearing the end of a 10-year, $30 billion package the most generous in U.S. history and more than double what any other nation gets and Netanyahu wants the number to climb to $40 billion or more in the next decade. Netanyahu has warned that if he doesnt get what he seeks from the Obama White House, he is prepared to wait for the next administration. With Yaalons abrupt and angry departure, the future of the deal is more unclear than ever. Yaalon is deeply steeped in Israels defense culture. He is a retired general, a former chief of staff of the army and a past commander of commando units. Lieberman, an immigrant from Moldova, served as a corporal in an artillery unit. The Times of Israel called his service short and unimpressive: His only noted physical confrontation appears to be two fist fights at Hebrew University with members of an Arab student group. [The Israeli-Palestinian impasse, IKEA style] Still, Israel has had other defense ministers without much military experience. Yaalon, too, has tangled with U.S. officials in the past, famously deriding Secretary of State John F. Kerry as obsessive and messianic in his pursuit of a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, an effort that collapsed in the spring of 2014. The State Department spokesman at the time called Yaalons comments offensive and inappropriate, especially given all that the U.S. is doing to support Israels security needs. On Friday, State Department spokesman John Kirby said: We appreciate Mr. Yaalons leadership and partnership as defense minister and we look forward to working with his successor. Kirby added, Our bonds of friendship are unbreakable, and commitment to the security of Israel remains absolute. Yaalon has been a steady leader of Israels defense establishment, enjoying a cordial, frank, productive relationship with U.S. military brass, the White House security team and Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, according to appraisals by American diplomats. Lieberman is another story. During his tenure as foreign minister, he was essentially persona non grata at the State Department. If Israel and the United States had anything to talk about, Netanyahu picked up the phone and spoke with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In his first official trip to Washington in 2009, Lieberman and Clinton clashed over the continued construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, communities that the international community calls illegal and the United States considers illegitimate and an impediment to peace. Israel disputes this. Lieberman lives on a settlement. In a statement, the Palestinian Authoritys Foreign Ministry called Lieberman an extremist and said entry into the Netanyahu government would be fresh proof that there is no real peace partner in Israel. During Obamas two attempts to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians, Lieberman, even when he served as foreign minister, had no seat at the table. Describing Liebermans tenure as foreign minister, Yuval Diskin, a columnist at Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, wrote: He mainly visited largely irrelevant countries around the world. Lieberman has his supporters. An Israeli official watching the negotiations to form a new coalition told The Washington Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe inside dealings, that a populist tough guy like Lieberman is just the man to help broker a real peace with the Palestinians. While it is uncertain whether Lieberman and his party will enter the Netanyahu government, one move appears certain. With Yaalons departure, the next in line on the Likud list to join parliament is Yehuda Glick, a prominent activist who wants Jewish worshipers to be allowed to pray on the raised esplanade that Jews call the Temple Mount. The same site is called the Noble Sanctuary by Muslims and holds al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Glick survived an assassination attempt two years ago by a Palestinian gunman. Recently, Glick told Israeli reporters that if he enters parliament, he will do his best to change the status quo on the Temple Mount a position opposed by Netanyahu. Incitement among Palestinians asserting that the Israelis wanted to let Jews pray at the Temple Mount was one of the sparks that began the most recent six months of stabbings and gun and vehicular attacks by Palestinians against Israeli soldiers and civilians. Carol Morello in Brussels contributed to this report. Read more Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world EgyptAir Flight 804 left Paris late Wednesday night but lost contact with the tracking system at 2:30 a.m. Cairo time on Thursday. Investigators are placing terrorism high on the list of possible reasons the plane crashed. (The Washington Post) EgyptAir Flight 804 left Paris late Wednesday night but lost contact with the tracking system at 2:30 a.m. Cairo time on Thursday. Investigators are placing terrorism high on the list of possible reasons the plane crashed. (The Washington Post) The discovery of human remains, wreckage and passenger belongings from an EgyptAir plane that plunged into the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday added momentum to the quest to unravel the mystery of why Flight 804 from Paris to Cairo suddenly dropped from the sky, probably killing all 66 people aboard. Without the bulk of the fuselage and flight recorder, the tragedy has offered few tangible clues but plenty of speculation that terrorists may have targeted the Airbus A320. On Friday, Egyptian naval ships backed by U.S. and European search aircraft scoured the Mediterranean, concentrating the hunt on an area about 180 miles off the coast of the Egyptian city of Alexandria, according to an Egyptian military spokesman, a day after earlier reports of located debris were retracted. If more debris is located in the area in coming days, it could signal a major shift in the investigation into how the plane, traveling at a cruising altitude of 37,000 feet, could have suddenly swerved, flown in a circle, then plunged thousands of feet, losing contact with air controllers before vanishing. [Egypt often slow to recognize cause of plane crashes] Experts now have a target zone to try to peer below the waves in hopes of finding the flight recorders and what remains of the fuselage. But the presumed crash site covers some of the deepest water in the Mediterranean, with a seabed basin that is more than 10,000 feet below the surface in some places. The currents are also strong, which could complicate efforts to pinpoint the wreckage. 1 of 22 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad The scene in Cairo and Paris after EgyptAir flight vanishes View Photos Family members of the passengers gather at the airports. Caption Egypts military spokesman posted what he said were the first images of debris, including parts of the aircraft exterior. May 21, 2016 Recovered debris possibly from the EgyptAir plane that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea. Egyptian Military via Reuters Wait 1 second to continue. In Athens, more details about the reported Egyptian finds were given by Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, who said a seat, luggage and a body part were spotted. The European Space Agency, meanwhile, said a satellite detected a possible oil slick in the same area. Greek state television said the recoveries were made about 115 miles from the planes last tracked position. A day after a top official in Egypt said that terrorism appeared more likely than a catastrophic technical malfunction, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on France-2 television that there is absolutely no indication of the cause of the crash. No group has claimed responsibility for the fallen plane. [Donald Trump wastes no time to blame terrorism on crash] U.S. officials also urged caution on drawing conclusions about the cause of the crash. Analysts at the CIA and other agencies, meanwhile, have worked with foreign counterparts to scrutinize the flights passenger list and crew roster. Three French civil-aviation experts arrived in Cairo on Friday to assist with the investigation, reported Egypts flagship state-owned newspaper, Al-Ahram. Meanwhile, the Aviation Herald, an industry publication, reported on its website that sensors detected smoke in a lavatory near the cockpit, suggesting a fire onboard before the aircraft went down. The information was transmitted through the planes Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, the publication said. On Satuday, French investigators confirmed that smoke was detected in the plane in multiple locations before it crashed, the Associated Press reported. The discovery of the debris and passenger remains diminished already slim hopes of finding any survivors. There were about a dozen nationalities on board, with Egypt and France suffering the greatest losses. In Cairo on Friday, hundreds of relatives and friends of the missing gathered in mosques for memorial services, offering solemn prayers and tears. The plane left Paris at 11:09 p.m. Wednesday. It flew across northern Italy and into Greek airspace, where air traffic controllers later noted that the planes pilot was in good spirits before entering Egyptian airspace. Minutes later, the plane veered violently to the east, dropping from 37,000 feet to 15,000, according to Kammenos. At one point, the plane made a 360-degree turn before disappearing from radar and crashing into the Mediterranean. The disappearance of Flight 804 was Egypts third major air incident in eight months, further eroding confidence in the safety of the countrys air travel and delivering another blow to government efforts to revive a struggling economy and tourism sector. In October, the Islamic States affiliate in Egypt asserted responsibility for bringing down a Russian charter flight over the Sinai Peninsula with a bomb smuggled aboard, killing all 224 people on the plane. In March, an EgyptAir flight from Alexandria was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus by a 59-year-old Egyptian man wearing a fake explosives belt. He later surrendered, and all hostages were released. In a sign that the Flight 804 crash could have serious economic ramifications, the Egyptian stock exchange plunged on Thursday its last trading day of the week recording more than $300 million in losses. And the Egyptian newspaper Al-Wafd quoted an adviser to the countrys tourism minister as saying the government expected an industry downturn following the crash due to fears of traveling with EgyptAir. On Friday, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi expressed condolences to the families of the passengers. In a statement, his office said that Sissi, with utmost sadness and regret, mourns the victims on board the EgyptAir flight who were killed. The tragedy was particularly felt by Osman Abu Laban. The Lebanese film directors aunt and uncle, their son and the sons wife were aboard Flight 804. On Friday, in a post on his Facebook page, Laban, who lives in Egypt, announced funeral prayers at a Cairo mosque for his lost relatives. Oh Lord have mercy and forgive them and make their final resting place a paradise, he wrote. Erin Cunningham in Istanbul, James McAuley in Paris and Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report. Read more: EgyptAir plane made sudden swerves before vanishing over Mediterranean Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world Russia on Friday proposed conducting joint airstrikes with the U.S.-led coalition in Syria against an al-Qaeda-linked group and other factions, an escalation in an ongoing strategy by Moscow to seek more coordination with the West and its allies in the Syrian conflict. Speaking at a gathering of military and political leaders in Moscow, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu suggested that joint airstrikes begin Wednesday against forces that have not signed a fast-unraveling truce in Syrias civil war. We propose . . . a joint action between the Russian air force and the U.S.-led coalition to plan and conduct strikes against the al-Nusra Front, which does not support the cease-fire, as well as against convoys of arms and fighters crossing the Syrian-Turkish border, Shoigu said, according to a translation of the televised remarks by Russian state media. His reference was to Jabhat al-Nusra, often described as al-Qaedas affiliate in Syria. The State Department responded quickly that such an agreement does not exist and that officials have only been discussing a better way to monitor and enforce a cease-fire in the country. There is no agreement to conduct joint airstrikes with the Russians in Syria, said State Department spokesman John Kirby. Several Pentagon officials also said they were not immediately aware of any changes in the arrangement for separate U.S. and Russian air operations in Syria. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters. The Pentagon now holds periodic video conferences with Russian officials on their separate airstrikes in Syria but has said repeatedly that the communications are limited to flight safety. We dont have any plans to expand that, one official said. [U.S.-Russia cooperation frays in Syria] Suggestions of military cooperation between the United States and Russia against the Islamic State have circulated repeatedly since the two governments agreed early this year to head a diplomatic committee pushing for a political solution to the civil war, in which they support opposing sides. In March, Russia announced that they were discussing concrete coordination to liberate the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa. In January, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who co-chairs the diplomatic initiative with Secretary of State John F. Kerry, accused the United States of refusing to hold serious, adult-like talks about Russian proposals to coordinate their military actions. Senior Russian and U.S. military officers also meet regularly in Geneva under a new plan to monitor violations of a cease-fire begun in February under the Kerry-Lavrov initiative. The truce has fallen apart in recent weeks as Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, attacked what they said were terrorists belonging to Jabhat al-Nusra. Those forces are interwoven with some rebel groups that are party to the cease-fire, and the United States has criticized Moscow and Damascus for using the Jabhat al-Nusra presence as an excuse to continue attacks on the opposition. Russia also accuses Turkey of providing support for terrorists. Russia, which had scaled back its airstrikes in support of the government when the truce began, more recently appears to have ramped them up again. [56 hours with the Russian army in Syria] Shoigu indicated that Moscow was prepared to further increase its attacks. Moscow, he said, would reserve the right to unilaterally conduct airstrikes against forces of the international terrorist organizations and militant groups that did not join the truce. Reports of increased Russian- U.S. military cooperation in Syria have unsettled the U.S.-backed opposition, which has said it will not continue peace talks with the government until the violence abates. Opposition spokesmen have expressed concern that the United States, whose primary interest is in the separate war against the Islamic State, will waver in its insistence that the internal Syrian conflict cannot end until Russian-backed President Bashar al-Assad leaves office. The United States and NATO officially ceased all formal military cooperation with Russia following its 2014 annexation of Crimea, in Ukraine. NATO has also bolstered its forces in parts of Eastern Europe amid worries about Russian aggression. Carol Morello in Brussels and Missy Ryan and Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report. Read more: Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world Taiwans new president faces a tough task: balancing the demands of the Taiwanese electorate and the question of cross-strait ties with China. On Friday, in her first speech as president, Tsai Ing-wen focused on the former, vowing to revitalize Taiwans flagging economy and create new and better jobs. Her challenge will be to do so with no help and perhaps some hindrance from Beijing. Despite the fact that Taiwan is a vibrant, thriving democracy, Chinas ruling Communist Party still insists it is the province that got away. In the run-up to Tsais inauguration, Beijing pressed her to accept the idea of one China, a framework negotiated in 1992 that allows both sides to recognize that there is one China without specifying what that means. The Chinese side calls this the 1992 consensus, but many Tsai supporters deny consensus was reached. In her closely watched inaugural speech, Tsai took a cautious line, saying that she respects the 1992 meetings as historical fact, but did not venture further. Beijing, predictably, hit back, with the Taiwan Affairs Office on Friday blasting her line as vague and comparing her remarks to an incomplete answer sheet. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, right, and former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou greet the crowd on Friday in Taipei, Taiwan. (Ashley Pon/Getty Images) Tsai was elected in February following a year-long campaign bolstered by the near-implosion of the outgoing Kuomintang (KMT) government led by Ma Ying-jeou, whose policy of cross-strait rapprochement failed to deliver sustained economic benefit and alienated many Taiwanese. [Taiwan kicked out its ruling party for getting too close to mainland China. Heres what comes next.] Tsais speech suggested she will make the economy her priority. She promised to pursue multilateral and bilateral trade relations rather than focusing on a single market she means China as Taiwan has done in the past. She also vowed to protect labor rights, raise wages and protect the environment. Tsai, a U.S. and British-educated former trade negotiator, campaigned on bread-and-butter issues and wants to create jobs. To please voters, thats what she will need to do. But Taiwans economic picture is complicated and often constrained by international affairs. Tsais rise was powered to some extent by the 2014 Sunflower movement. In March of that year, anger over how the government was handling a trade pact with China boiled over into the occupation of Taiwans legislature. Long after protesters dispersed, their call for greater transparency and autonomy lingered, setting the stage for Tsais successful campaign. Many young Taiwanese are worried about the future. They feel that years of closer ties to China did little to create good jobs or make housing more affordable. They want the islands economy to be thriving but independent and are wary of any policy that ties Taiwans fate to people or policies across the strait. Tsais cross-strait economic strategy will be tested quickly. The first item on the governments legislative agenda is a supervisory bill that requires Taiwans government to get legislative go-ahead before, during and after talks with Beijing. Under the proposed rules, they cant sign agreements with the Peoples Republic of China without all three stages of approval. The legislation is seen by Tsais supporters as the antidote to what they considered a closed-door approach from Ma. But the bill has already been criticized by Taiwanese business groups and Taiwan-watchers in Beijing. In March, Chinese officials said they would resolutely oppose any plan to put up man-made blocks. After that is sorted out, the president will then need to decide how to proceed on the trade pact that sparked the 2014 protests. Both Washington and Beijing will be watching her early moves closely. The United States and Taiwan are old friends and unofficial allies, but the United States also wants and needs to engage with China. Over the last eight years, Washington has been wary of anything, or anyone, that might rock the boat. When Tsai campaigned for president in 2012, she was brushed aside by the White House. She has since pushed hard to ease U.S. fears, reiterating her cross-strait status quo stance. With China-U.S. ties cooling and a presidential election in the United States, she may get a warmer welcome going forward. China, though, has been anything but welcoming. In recent weeks, China pressured both Kenya and Malaysia to deport Taiwanese suspects to the Chinese mainland, a move that many in Taiwan saw as an assertion of sovereignty, but Beijing insisted was a matter of due course. China has also taken new steps to curb Taiwans participation in international affairs. China has also taken new steps to curb Taiwans participation in international affairs. In March, China established formal diplomatic ties with Gambia, ending an eight-year diplomatic truce. Gambia had previously recognized Taiwan, but not China. In April, Taiwans delegation to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Developments steel committee was given the boot after China complained. And there could be a similar showdown at the World Health Organizations annual summit in Geneva, which Taiwanese observers are supposed to attend. China has said its participation is predicated on Tsai acknowledging the 1992 consensus meaning it may well be excluded. And in case its message was lost, Beijing this week held large-scale war games on its Taiwan-facing coast. Chinese officials and academics have also warned, repeatedly if vaguely, of an economic toll should Tsai refuse to fall in line. While China could move to curb tourism or trade, some question how far it is willing to go. China sees Taiwan as an integral part of its territory and aims to reunify. As such, it has an interest in deepening, not destroying, ties to Taiwans business community, said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political scientist from Hong Kongs Baptist University. Wang Jianmin, a research fellow with the Taiwan Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said a return to the kind of frosty cross-strait ties of the past would constrain economic development, leaving Tsais government doomed to fail. Chinas strategy is not to make Taiwan more isolated from China, but more dependent on China. They have to walk a fine line there, he said. While Chinas foreign ministry and party-controlled papers cast cross-strait relations as something to be won or lost by Taiwan, many outside observers see Beijing, not Taipei, as the wild card right now. They emphasize that Tsai has been consistent on the question of cross-strait ties, sticking with her status quo formulation through the campaign, her election and the inauguration, while Beijing has been less clear, publicly, about how it plans to proceed. What happens next is going to depend on China, said William A. Stanton, a career diplomat who served as de facto U.S. ambassador to Taiwan from 2009 to 2012 and now heads the Center for Asia Policy at Taiwans National Tsing Hua University. They are not going to do Tsai Ing-wen any favors. Liu Liu reported from Beijing. Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Kevin Spacey took aim at Hollywood and Washington with his opening act at the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS Gala at Cannes, impersonating Johnny Carson, Bill Clinton and Jack Lemmon (with some wardrobe change assists from Faye Dunaway). At the annual auction for the AIDS research foundation, Spacey called Cannes "The 'Where we go to kiss Harvey Weinstein's ass' festival." An apparently dry Leonardo DiCaprio, trailed by a bodyguard, was seen taking a bottle of champagne off another table to replenish his own. Spacey didn't spare the Oscar winner. "Tonight you can bid on a stay at the Las Vegas home of Leonardo DiCaprio. It's something very special, only a few hundred Victoria's Secret models have had," he joked. "Orlando Bloom is gonna bid on that." It was too dark to see if rumored girlfriend Katy Perry, set to perform, was amused. After a quick onstage jacket change, he transformed into Bill Clinton, who joked that in Cannes he hadn't "seen so many red carpets since I went to a swingers party." As Bill, he encouraged attendees to vote Hillary - "Vote for her and you'll get me." He also joked that while Donald Trump would hate the film festival's selection of foreign films, he'd love the Riviera. "There are so many casinos to bankrupt," he joked. Ron Burkle paid 1 million euro for Lapo Elkan's camoflauge Ferrari. The weeklong stay for 12 guests in the former Dinah Shore house in Palm Springs, now owned by DiCaprio, went for 300,000 euro, before the auctioneer did a switcheroo and sold a second for just 100,000 euro. The switch was a signature move from former host Sharon Stone, who previously led the event for over a decade. With the aggressive auctioneer Simon de Pury lasting for hours, the jovial joshing of Stone was sorely missed. A day with Spacey and a walk-on role on House of Cards went for 500,000 euro. Bloom put things in perspective when auctioning a luxury holiday in Papua New Guinea. "Basically you can put your carbon footprint on some of the last unspoiled areas in the world," he joked. Story continues A painting from Oscar-winner Adrien Brody titled Jumbo Dropfish went for 450,000 euro. Brody introduced the painting, noting: "This is a fish," he said. "Please bid on this fish." See More: Cannes: Helen Mirren, Katy Perry Step Out for the amfAR Gala My name is Kim and I am a Desert Island Discs addict. This Radio 4 stalwart (its been a regular interview slot for 70 years), currently presented on a Sunday morning by Kirsty Young has been a friend, a revelation and a comfort to many - but for me, mostly its been an education. There are more than 2000 episodes in the archive (all available for free, God bless the BBC) and I would estimate Ive spent around 100 hours listening to them over the past few years. Whether its while cooking, walking, commuting, cleaning, or just lying in bed with my ear-plugs in, its hard to prize me away from the podcasts for any length of time. But as addictions go, Id say its a reasonably healthy one. So for those just starting out on this aural journey of discovery - here are 12 of my absolute favourite episodes. By accident rather than design it just so happens they are all women Germaine Greer, writer and academic Interviewed by Sue Lawley in 1988 Whatever you think of Germaine, this snapshot of her views in the late 80s is remarkable, both for her classic mix of eloquence and controversy-courting, and for how much the issues she raises resonate with women and feminism today. Has nothing changed? youll cry. Are we still talking about this youll moan. Which puts things into perspective somewhat. Germaine takes her music choices seriously, though, so dont expect any fun pop, and do expect a deep reason behind each disc. Listen to Germaine Greers DID interview here. Uta Frith, developmental psychologist Interviewed by Kirsty Young, 2013 One of the things I love most about DID is that many of the interviewees Ive never heard of. It advertises its big names of course - actors, writers, campaigners, leaders - but many of the truly joyous interviews are with those eminent in their field without being household names. Uta Frith is complete revelation in this way. She discusses her work with autism and child development, opening up a whole world that many of us wont have even known was there. She also arrived in the UK from Germany in the 60s and her life experiences, peppered throughout her music choices, make fascinating listening. One of the most enlightening episodes of recent years. Story continues Listen to Uta Friths DID interview here. Lynn Barber, journalist Interviewed by Kirsty Young, 2010 This is the first (of many) DID interviews that made me cry. If you dont know Lynns name, youll probably have read her work. A fabulous no-holds-barred celebrity interviewer, she turned out to be a wonderful interviewee. With typical openness, shes happy to talk about some of her celebrity subjects and life being on the fringe of that world for decades. But its her personal thoughts that make the biggest impact, particularly when discussing her late husband. Not to be missed. Listen to Lynn Barbers DID interview here. Wendy Beckett, contemplative nun Interviewed by Kirsty Young, 2012 Sister Wendys interview is as frustrating as it is fascinating. For this modern, secular listener her life choices seem bizarre, and her steadfast belief and self-imposed silence and separation are almost entirely un-relatable. But one of the joys of DID is that it gives a platform to people from all kinds of worlds, and a window into the way others live their lives. Sister Wendy is a familiar face thanks to her broadcast work - already at odds with her nunning - but hearing her talk about her choices in her own words is a lesson in faith, trust and certainty. Listen to Sister Wendy Becketts DID interview here. Biddy Baxter, producer and former Blue Peter editor Interviewed by Kirsty Young, 2014 I hadnt heard of her, but Biddy was behind one of my (and probably your) all-time favourite kids shows - Blue Peter. Her interview is full of her own experiences as a woman working in a senior position, how she was perceived, and how she navigated the responsibility and the power. Listen to Biddy Baxters DID interview here. Eliza Manningham-Buller, Director-General of MI5 Interviewed by Kirsty Young, 2007 Its rare to get a window into something as secretive as MI5 and of course Eliza gives no trade secrets away. But hearing about her experience at the top of our security service is an eye-opener, and as she discusses her rise, her sacrifices, and her ability to live a life outside her work, we get a glimpse into the art of true juggling - and a whole new meaning to the phrase work/life balance. Listen to Eliza Manningham-Bullers DID interview here. Kim Cattrall, actor Interviewed by Sue Lawley, 2004 She touched millions of women in her role as Samantha in Sex and the City, but Kim Cattralls enduring appeal as an actress and inspiration is revealed in this interview, where she comes across intelligent, warm and self-aware. She talks about the influence the show and her character has had on women and our sexual demands and norms, but also how her trans-Atlantic upbringing affected her growing up and the difficult relationships shes experienced. Listen to Kim Cattralls DID interview here. Alex Crawford, reporter Interviewed by Kirsty Young, 2016 I have to admit I completely fell in love with Alex listening to this episode. A fantastic reporter, shes bravely revealed to us the truth about war-torn parts of the world as a Sky reporter time and again. And she offers one of the most honest and relatable opinions and experiences of being a working mother. Warning: you will want to be a war ncorrespondent after listening to this episode. Listen to Alex Crawfords DID interview here. Dame Daphne Du Maurier, writer Interviewed by Roy Plomley, 1977 Going back to some of the older episodes on the archive, you discover enduring gems, and people whose work has lived on after their death. Youve probably read and loved Rebecca, and Dame Daphnes is suddenly available to hear from beyond the grave, talking about her life, home and the creative process. Listen to Dame Daphne Du Mauriers DID interview here. Lucy Irvine, explorer & writer Interviewed by Roy Plomley, 1984 For anyone interested in travel and the natural world, youll want to look up everyone with the explorer tag. Lucy is one such person. One of the fun things about listening to the older pieces on the DID archive is hearing from of-the-moment celebrities speaking at the burst of their fame. Lucy Irvine was a real-life castaway, who once lived on a deserted tropical island for a year and wrote about her experiences. Listening to her talk about what she learned about herself, life and living in the moment, you could be forgiven for thinking shes advocating a modern meditation retreat. But understanding her within the backdrop of the 1980s shows she was remarkably ahead of her time. Im reading her book now. Listen to Lucy Irvines DID interview here. Malorie Blackman, author Interviewed by Kirsty Young, 2013 It has to be admitted that DID is remarkable white - something that I hope is being rectified. Part of the shows great appeal is that it invites people of all experiences, backgrounds, educations and countries to participate and its not only important, but more interesting, to hear from the widest variety of people possible. Malories DID interview is a joy - exuberant, fascinating and intelligent. The author reveals her difficult road to success and the determination and effort she had to put in to get there. Her writing and her love of literature is at the forefront of her life but hearing about her childhood and her Barbadian parents struggle to do the best for their children is inspirational and revelatory. Listen to Malorie Blackmans DID interview here. Dr Ruth Westheimer, sex therapist Interviewed by Sue Lawley, 1990 Born in the 1920s, Dr Ruth offers a particularly mixed story in her episode - she talks about her German Jewish background and escape from the Nazis, the terrible fate that befell her family and the incredible journey that saw her study and teach at The University of Paris and later take up US citizenship. Then of course shes a sex therapist whos been compared to Freud Essential listening. Listen to Dr Ruth Westheimers DID interview here. 5 Must-Read Books Every Woman Should Make Time For The Best 100 Novels Written In English (Are Unsurprisingly Male And White) Naomi Campbell taught us that when it comes to feedback, one should never mince words. Image: Giphy Supermodel Naomi Campbell turns 46 on Sunday, and few can deny that her 30-year-and-counting career has been a triumph. She was one of the Big Six, the cadre of top-earning, household-name models who owned 90s runways and campaigns. And unlike fellow supers Linda Evangelista and Kate Moss, she had to overcome substantial racial discrimination to achieve success at a time when black models were rarely hired for magazine covers or runways. Naomi was a favorite muse of Yves Saint Laurent as well as Paris Vogues first-ever black cover model, and she has fronted countless luxury ad campaigns and made appearances in music videos (in case youre wondering, yes, George Michaels Freedom! 90 is still the jam). More recently, she has made a turn as a television personality on reality shows like The Face a modeling competition that only solidified her reputation as, shall we say, a no-nonsense type of girl. But were not mad at her. We wouldnt accept shade from just anyone. But from one of the worlds most jaw-droppingly stunning women who can work a runway like no other? That shade is a blessing. Ahead, our favorite life lessons weve learned from Naomi. Happy birthday, Ms. Campbell! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. The jaw-dropping impact that Bernie Sanders fiscal proposals would have the national debt seems to be growing by the month. On Thursday, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said the Vermont lawmakers agenda, including his single-payer health care plan, could add as much as $19 trillion to the debt over the next ten years. Related: Get Ready for Huge Obamacare Premium Hikes in 2017 Thats up significantly from an estimate the committee released just last month that put the sticker price somewhere between $2 trillion and $15 trillion. What changed in just a month? Well, two new estimates one from the Center for Health & Economy and the other from the Urban Institute found that the health care plan "would cost dramatically more than the campaign-provided estimates suggest," according to the committees updated analysis. "As a result, we no longer provide a 'low health cost' estimate based on the numbers cited by the Sanders campaign," it adds. In fact, Sanders proposals would raise both spending and revenue to far beyond any previous levels in the United States over the last half century. Under current law, the debt is set to rise from 86 percent of gross domestic product by 2026. But if Sanders proposals were enacted it would almost double, reaching 154 percent of GDP by 2026. Related: Heres Why Bernie Sanders Focus on College Costs Is Working The updated analysis is the latest in a string of third-party estimates stretching back to last September that conclude that a Sanders administration would explode federal spending with his policies, such as free public college tuition and universal child care. Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton has routinely lambasted Sanders for offering policies that sound good on the stump without providing details on how to actually pay for them. The Sanders campaign contends that his proposals are indeed fully paid for and would actually lower deficits by $2.8 trillion over a decade. Story continues However, CRFB says that after looking at all the independent estimates out there, Sanders tax proposals dont raise enough revenue to pay all the bills for his agenda. Meanwhile, the committee estimated that Clintons proposals would add about $200 billion to the existing debt, while presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trumps policies would boost the debt by about $12 trillion over 10 years. Correction: This article was corrected to reflect the estimate by the CRFB of the effect of Hillary Clintons tax proposal on the U.S. debt. The correct figure is $200 billion over 10 years, not $2 trillion as the article originally stated. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Chicago police have arrested two suspects in connection with the February murder of a family of six. Diego Uribe Cruz, 22, and his girlfriend Jafeth Ramos, 19, were charged with six counts of murder each, officials said Thursday, according to CBS Chicago. Officials said Cruz is a cousin of one of the victims. Chicago Police said that the crime began as Cruz attempted to rob his family, but things went sour and it turned into a multiple homicide, according to CBS. Police discovered the bodies of Noe Martinez Sr., 62; his wife, Rosaura Martinez, 58; their son, Noe Martinez Jr., 38; their daughter, Maria Herminia Martinez, 32; and her two sons, 13-year-old Leonardo Cruz and 10-year-old Alexis Cruz on Feb. 4 after a friend of Noe Martinez Jr. told police that he had not showed up for work for two days. Five of the victims were found dead of stab wounds, with Maria Herminia Martinez, Cruzs cousin, the only victim who was shot to death. In my 28 years, I havent seen a case that has hit as close to home for myself and so many others in this department than what was discovered on that cold Thursday afternoon in February, Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said of the gruesome killings being dubbed the Gage Park Massacre for the familys Southwest Chicago neighborhood. clock time Performance on the job can be pretty subjective. Are you committed? Do you demonstrate creative problem-solving abilities? Are you a team player? None of these things are easy to measure. It's tempting to look instead at more obvious, quantitative data, like how much time you spend doing work. Were you at your desk when the boss walked in at 7 a.m.? Did you spend the whole weekend taking client phone calls? Check, check! Unfortunately, that second system is pretty easy to game. And in 2015, a professor at Boston University's Questrom School of Business found evidence of just that: According to her study of employees at a top consulting firm, many men were only pretending to work 80-hour weeks. It's a strategy that the professor, Erin Reid, calls "passing," or creating the impression of being always on, while in reality finding ways to scale back. For example, one consultant took periodic phone calls while, unbeknownst to his boss, he was on a ski trip with his family. In the June 2016 issue of The Harvard Business Review, Reid and Lakshmi Ramarajan, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, argue for evaluating tangible results, as opposed to the number of hours spent working. They say the practice of evaluating how much people seem to work encourages workers to be disingenuous about how many hours they're logging and it's a common "trap" for managers to fall into. One senior consultant, for example, told them that successful consultants need to have the "high-five factor," which means "they've spent so much time on-site with the client that when they enter the client's building, employees give them high fives." The authors recommend a significant shift in evaluating performance: We propose that managers reduce the incentives for passing (and the costs of revealing) by encouraging people to focus on achieving their goals and measuring actual results rather than hours invested. For example, instead of celebrating a high-five factor based on time spent with the client, managers could praise employees for the quality of the advice provided or the number of repeat engagements secured. Story continues As an example of a more sustainable work environment, they cite one employee who said her boss discouraged working late nights because he viewed it as a sign of inefficiency. That makes sense in light of recent research by Robin Ely, which suggests that the time people spend "working" isn't always so productive. (I personally experimented with cutting back my work hours, and found that I was about as productive as usual.) If employers adopted the management shift that Reid and Ramarajan propose, they could presumably do a better job of rewarding deserving workers. Instead of praising and promoting those who supposedly work 80-hour weeks, they would praise and promote those who best contribute to the organization. Of course, that means finding ways to evaluate employee contributions without qualitative data like hours logged. It's not an easy shift to make, but it could be well worth it. NOW WATCH: Heres the sad truth about working over 60 hours a week More From Business Insider For 2017, Ford has graced its Fusion hybrid with an additional trim levelthe zooty Platinum specalong with a host of cosmetic changes shared with the rest of the mid-size Ford Fusion sedan range, but youll have to look closely to detect differences. The Aston Martinlike grille is slightly wider than before to give the front end a lower look. The headlights are new, too, with the base S and SE models using projector-beam-style halogen lights, while the Titanium and Platinum trims get standard LED lights. All trim levels employ restyled LED taillights dressed up by a chrome spear. Inside, a new gear-selector dial operates the automatic transmission. This metal wheel takes up less real estate between the seats than did the former shift lever. It has a satisfying and expensive feel to it as it efficiently calls up park, reverse, neutral, and drive. With the traditional shifter gone, theres now more space for two cupholders, a longer center armrest, and a deep slot for phone storage. Platinum, Titanium, and SE models with the Technology package get an 8.0-inch touchscreen running the Sync 3 system, Fords newest generation of audio, phone, and navigation controls. The new top-dog Platinum trim comes with the softest leather you can get in a Fusion. Although this leather looks to be a dead ringer for the Bridge of Weir skins seen in the Lincoln MKZ, Ford-brand marketeers call it Venetian leather. This glove-soft upholstery covers the instrument panel, the heated and cooled seats, the steering wheel, and the armrests. A quilted pattern, similar to what you see in some Audis, is found on the doors and the seats. Platinum models also come standard with driver-assistance technology thats optional on SE and Titanium models, including blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, automatic parking, lane-keeping assist, and pre-collision alert with pedestrian detection. What remains unchanged is the hybrids powertrain, so driving it is pretty much the same experience as before. A 118-hp electric motor helps the 141-hp 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder to provide quiet, deliberate motivation. Electric-only operation supposedly can propel the Fusion at speeds up to 85 mph, but youd have to be extremely gentle with the accelerator to see it happen, since the gasoline engine usually kicks on during any normal acceleration. A 1.4-kWh lithium-ion battery pack feeds the electric motor; the pack is recharged by the engine-driven generator and during braking. (A second hybrid, the plug-in Energi model, offers a bigger, 7.6-kWh battery pack that enables 19 miles of all-electric range for those intent on drawing juice from the grid.) Highway and combined EPA fuel-economy figures remain at 42 mpg, but the city number falls by 1 mpg to 43. Story continues Buying a hybrid used to be all about making sacrifices in favor of fuel-economy ratings, but now that the technology has matured and gone mainstream, its becoming clear that you dont have to give up styling, luxurious appointments, or features just to get efficiency. Discerning consumers will want to test-drive hybrid alternatives from various automakers; there are definite distinctions among them in how their powertrains and controls feel and operate. In hybrids, just as in ordinary gasoline-only cars, noise, a harsh ride, and jerky operation are issues of refinement and not something to accept because they come with the territory. That said, acceleration isnt the Fusion hybrids strongest suit. The previous model took 9.1 seconds to get to 60 mph in our testing, close to two seconds longer than a Toyota Camry hybrid, and without any underhood changes for 2017, theres been no evident improvement. While the Fusion hybrid is not quick, its electric motor adds a nice dose of torque to initial takeoff from a stop, so it doesnt feel poky in city driving. Even under hard acceleration, the four-cylinders noise is well muffled and never sounds strained. The powertrain provides adequate forward thrust, but whats most noteworthy about this particular hybrid system is how quietly and seamlessly the electric motor and the gas engine interact. Every hybrid Fusion comes with active noise cancellation, and it seems to work. Theres not much engine, tire, or wind noise at highway speeds. The Fusions ride is comfortable, even with the larger 18-inch wheels. The steering is nicely weighted and accurate but doesnt offer much feedback. Brake-pedal feel is good while blending the transition between regenerative and friction modes, but the switchover can still be felt as a change in grabbiness that takes a bit of getting used to. Ford says it recalibrated its regenerative and four-wheel disc-brake systems for 2017, but our initial takeaway is that the new Chevrolet Malibu hybrid handles this aspect better; conclusive judgment awaits more experience with both cars in their final production forms, however. Fusion hybrid pricing starts at $26,060 for the S model and rises to $37,895 for the lavishly equipped Platinum. With the exception of the latter, which has no commensurate model at Toyota, the Fusion Hybrid is priced within $1500 of the Toyota Camry hybrid. While many hybrid-sedan shoppers may automatically go to Toyota because of that brands pioneering reputation with such powertrains, theyll be doing themselves a disservice if they dont first consider the alternatives. The Fusions superior refinement and attractive design make a strong argument, especially for those whod enjoy the Platinum versions plush environs. Specifications > VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan BASE PRICE: Fusion S Hybrid, $26,060; SE Hybrid, $26,865; Titanium Hybrid, $31,395; Platinum Hybrid, $37,895 ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 16-valve Atkinson-cycle 2.0-liter inline-4, 141 hp, 129 lb-ft; permanent-magnet synchronous AC motor, 118 hp, 177 lb-ft; combined power rating, 188 hp; 1.4-kWh lithium-ion battery pack TRANSMISSION: continuously variable automatic DIMENSIONS: Wheelbase: 112.2 in Length: 191.8 in Width: 72.9 in Height: 58.0 in Passenger volume: 106 cu ft Cargo volume: 12 cu ft Curb weight (C/D est): 3700 lb PERFORMANCE (C/D EST): Zero to 60 mph: 9.1 sec Zero to 100 mph: 24.9 sec Standing -mile: 17.0 sec Top speed: 105 mph FUEL ECONOMY: EPA city/highway driving: 43/41 mpg Few students would cite exams as their favorite part of being in school, but doing well on them is crucial to surviving most academic programs. Being an online student means never having to sit in a classroom overseen by a professor and surrounded by others taking the same test, but online programs have still found ways to examine what students know. 1. Proctored exams in person: In online programs where students live near the school's physical campus, the solution can be as simple as designating a testing center and setting aside a specific time frame for when students need to attend. For programs with more remote students, sometimes arrangements can be made to have officials at another school or library act as proctors. A few programs will even allow a student's supervisor at work to serve in this role. [Discover how todecide between fully online and blended courses.] 2. Online exams that are monitored by humans: This is a middle ground where students are still watched by a human via webcams or special software but not by someone who's actually in the same room. Companies like ProctorU exist entirely to provide a team of people who can keep a watchful eye and ensure that no online student has a chance to cheat. Since having real people involved limits capacity, users need to make an appointment even though they won't be taking up space in a physical test center. 3. Online exams that are monitored by computers: This is the newest arrangement, and the one that offers the most flexibility. Services like ProctorTrack take advantage of technology similar to what allows a mobile phone to keep track of whether its owner is looking at the screen or not. In this case, though, the software monitors what's happening on the screen, on the webcam and through the microphone to look for any behaviors that might indicate an attempt to cheat. [Learn why tothink twice before cheating in online courses.] None of these solutions is perfect. Having to meet with another person or go to an exam location is inconvenient, but it doesn't require special hardware. Online monitoring requires a webcam, microphone, reliable Internet connection and a computer that can use all of these devices, but offers the convenience and comfort of being able to stay home. Any time another human is involved, exam times are impacted by someone else's schedule, but it also means having access to an actual proctor if they have questions. Since exams might make up a large part of each semester's grade, it's important to be as comfortable as possible with the system a class is using and to know what to do in case something goes wrong. The takeaway: Online programs have different options for testing, and prospective online students should make sure they're comfortable with the test-taking format a program uses before making a commitment. Bobbie Lynne Eicher, who lives in Pennsylvania, is pursuing a master's degree in computer science online through Georgia Institute of Technology. California doesn't have to wait until 2043, when demographers have estimated that the U.S. will be a majority-minority nation, to start acting like it. In the Golden State, the 6.2 million public school children are already majority nonwhite and that's why state education officials are changing their history and social studies textbooks to reflect that diversity. The state Instructional Quality Commission met Thursday to establish a new framework that would guide textbook publishers in choosing materials to include in the new edition. If the panel recommends textbook changes that reflect the diversity of its student population, it will be the first overhaul since 2000, the Associated Press reported. Source: Gosia Wozniacka/AP California's K-12 students are 53% Latino, 25% white, 12% Asian and 6% black, according to the state Department of Education. Across the nation, Asian Americans are the fastest-growing ethnic group, experts at the Pew Research Center have noted. The debate among ethnic groups over how their people are presented in textbooks has been fraught with controversy. In October, textbook publisher McGraw-Hill issued an apology over a caption in its latest World Geography edition, which refers to African slaves who were forcibly brought to the Americas as "workers" who immigrated there. The apology came after widespread criticism from scholars and parents of African-American children. To avoid these kinds of inexcusable mistakes, ethnic groups in California are weighing in on the textbook debate, according to the AP. Here's what students could see, if the groups are successful: People prepare for the India Hinduism Festival . Social studies books could cease referring to people from India and the ethnic groups with origins there as South Asian. The Hindu American Foundation has argued that the framework excludes modern geography that could help describe other ancient civilizations. The foundation opposes recommendations by the South Asia Faculty group, which prefers the term "South Asian" to describe a region that now includes Pakistan and Nepal. Story continues The foundation also wants a more balanced description for lessons on the caste system and the adherence to Hinduism in India. A woman participates in a protest calling on Japanese leaders to right historical wrongs of women enslaved during World War II. Textbooks could no longer mention Asian "comfort women" in lessons of World War II. Japanese-American scholars have disputed historical accuracy of the enslaved women during the war. Actor George Clooney participates in an Armenian genocide memorial . Textbooks could include more about Armenian genocide . It's not just the Kardashians who care about this atrocity. Armenians want an expansion of lessons on the killing of an estimated 1.5 million people under the Ottoman Empire over 100 years ago. People participate in a Bataan Death March memorial walk in New Mexico . Textbooks could highlight more Filipino-American history. Filipino groups want more lessons on the Bataan Death March of 1942 in the Philippines. That's when 10,000 Filipinos and 750 Americans died on a forced 60-mile walk to prison. The music industry is known for being cutthroat, and the online music fray where Pandora Media (P) carves its niche is no different. The web-based music service has faced serious blowback as new players -- including Apple (AAPL) -- enter the space, challenging Pandora's plans for a larger piece of the online music pie. This trend forced the company's founder Tim Westergren to return to Pandora to serve as CEO, led to a 42 percent drop in the stock price over the past year and now has activist investor and hedge fund manager Corvex Management's Keith Meister calling for the online service to put itself up for sale. Yet, others argue that Pandora is due for a turnaround and can build on its user base of 80 million listeners. [See: 10 Ways You Can Throw Retail Stocks in Your Cart.] Is it really time for the second-most engaged mobile media platform -- behind only Facebook (FB) -- to turn down the volume and let some other company manage it? Or is there hope for an encore for P stock? The on-demand platform holds the key for the future. Pandora reacted slowly to on-demand music platforms. As services like Spotify grew in popularity -- it now boasts more than 100 million users -- Pandora held firm to its radio-service style, not allowing users to pick specific songs when they wanted. But that's set to change. Last year, Pandora bought the assets to the defunct on-demand music channel Rdio for $75 million. It plans to use the technology in Rdio to build its own on-demand platform by the end of the year. "Pandora has to make sure that it comes up with a competitive product," says Michael Graham, an analyst with New York investment bank Canaccord Genuity. "It has got a ton of data about what listeners like to listen to. The focus on the music discovery process is essential." Pandora will use the data that it has gathered from its large user base to help streamers naturally discover music on its on-demand service. The idea will be to create serendipitous moments for users in discovering new songs and artists. Story continues Graham says Pandora can still catch up to Spotify -- there's room for at least two or three on-demand music services in the market, he says. But the key will be getting licensing from music labels at a cheap price. Pandora is chasing the opportunity in the subscription model that Spotify -- which nears 30 million monthly paid subscribers, according to reports -- has used for monetization and growth. Pandora currently gets only 19 percent of its revenues from subscriptions. "It's a process of exposing those listeners to the new service and winning over subscribers," Graham says. The likelihood Pandora goes up for sale seems small. Cotvex's Meister, which has a nearly 10 percent stake in the company, is calling for Pandora to place itself on the block. Pandora executives had previously considered a sale, but opted to hire Westergren instead to turn around the company. Meister believes a buyer could pay a substantial premium to the current price. With "all of the convergence in the space right now, (it makes) a ton of sense," says Macquarie Securities analyst Amy Yong. She sees the possibility of Pandora potentially attracting buyers outside the music space, similar to how Verizon Communications (VZ) is interested in purchasing Yahoo's (YHOO) Internet business. [See: 8 Easy Ways to Make Money.] But Westergren doesn't appear ready to let go of the company he just rejoined. He has set up a plan increase sales from $1.16 billion in 2015 to $4 billion by 2020. A big part of this plan is developing a viable on-demand music service. Pandora must also cut further into the $15 billion AM/FM radio advertising market, Yong says. If it could get 10 to 15 percent of this market, then P stock would be "a home run" with or without a sale, she says. Such efforts make a sale of the company unlikely -- at least for now. "Next year, a sale is more likely than this year," Graham says. Pandora's fast user growth has probably ended. User growth for Pandora increased by only 0.3 percent in the first quarter. It has reached the "end of the rapid growth (phase) in terms of adding new listeners," Graham says. That's why it's looking for new strategies for growth, such as Ticketfly, which it purchased last year for $450 million. The Ticketmaster-like service works with more independent musicians to sell tickets and market shows. Pandora can incorporate the service into its database, so when an artist performs in a city, the company can target every Pandora user that has the artist's radio station in the area. Yong sees the buy reaching $93 million in revenue by 2018. There's plenty of upside if the initiatives take hold. There's no doubt that Pandora stock has taken significant steps back. Since its peak in February 2014, Pandora stock has fallen 74 percent. Monetization has been difficult for Pandora, as well as other players, because of the fees that are provided to the music labels and artists. It creates razor-thin margins. That's why advertising still accounts for 80 percent of revenues. The on-demand efforts are in order to encourage more subscriptions, which would provide more predictable revenues for Pandora moving forward. Graham has a target of $14 for Pandora stock -- a 40 percent upside to the current price tag -- due to his belief that the efforts will be successful. [See: The 10 Best ETFs for Value Investors.] And, on the plus side, if a sale does occur, then investors could see a jump in price from that as well. That's a tune anyone would stream. More From US News & World Report Toyotas 4Runner midsize SUV is a body-on-frame SUV that continues to be popular among the U.S. car-buying public, in spite of the wave of new crossovers that are constantly being introduced to the market. A redesign of what Toyota calls the Sherpa of SUVs is expected for the 2017 model year. In the meantime, here are five fast facts about the 2016 Toyota 4Runner: 1) The 4Runner offers a choice of 2-wheel drive (2WD), part-time and full-time 4-wheel drive (4WD), and comes with a standard 270-horsepower, 4.0-liter V-6 engine that makes 278 lb.-ft. of torque when teamed with a 5-speed automatic transmission. Trim levels offered are SR5, SR5 Premium, Trail, Trail Premium, Limited, and the ultimate off-road TRD Pro Series. 2) All 2016 4Runners come equipped with projector-beam headlights and LED rear combination lamps and can tow a trailer weighing up to 5,000 lbs. All 4Runners come with a full-size spare tireparticularly handy if you experience a tire issue off-pavement. When the SUVs second-row seating is folded flat, the 4Runners cargo space expands to 89.7 cu. ft. 3) The TRD Pro Series trim is available in a new color for 2016Quicksandand is ready to hit the trail with TRD front springs, Bilstein high-performance shocks, Nitto Terra Grappler tires, and a front skid plate. It rides on 17-in. black alloy wheels and features a unique front grille, black bumper accents, and badges. Trail and TRD Pro Series trims offer higher ground clearance and available suspension upgrades. 4) Toyotas latest-generation 2.5 release Entune multimedia system is standard in all 2016 4Runners and includes more functionality such as Siri Eyes Free mode. Entune Audio Plus with navigation accesses GPS through connected smartphones in SR5 and Trail trims. 5) Toyotas Star Safety System with stability and traction control and smart brake-assist technology is standard on the 4Runner. Eight air bags protect driver and front passenger and second- and third-row occupants (the 4Runner seats up to 7). The Safety Connect system adds extra collision, stolen-vehicle, and roadside-assistance communication in the Limited. Additional Research: Story continues Body Style: Abstract: Toyotas 4Runner midsize SUV is a body-on-frame SUV that continues to be popular among the U.S. car-buying public, in spite of the wave of new crossovers that are constantly being introduced to the market. Here are five fast facts about the 2016 Toyota 4Runner... Year: 2 016 Check this if this is NOT an Articles Listing Page: New or Used: New Display Article Date?: Fuel: Josh Mabus and his wife, Mary, consider themselves lucky. In April of 2014, their house was struck by a tornado while they were at work and their kids were at school. No one was hurt, but it took 90 minutes for a panicked Mabus to get near his home -- trees littered the road -- to discover his house was still standing, though he didn't immediately recognize it. "I recognized a crushed swing set, and that's how I knew I was in my yard," Mabus says. His neighbor's house was destroyed. Mabus was also fortunate for another reason. He was properly insured. You hear it all the time: Be prepared for a natural disaster. Whether fire or flood, tornado or torrential downpour, extreme weather can wreak havoc on a household -- especially financially, even if you are insured. Some costs, like property damage, are obvious, but if the unthinkable happens, and you become the victim of a natural disaster, you might be surprised by the expenses you could face. [See: 10 Oddly Practical Things You Can Rent.] Cleanup costs. Even if your insurance pays to remove debris and rubble, you may decide to pay upfront and be reimbursed later because you can't wait around for your insurance company to send you a check. Mabus estimates he spent $35,000 to have trees hauled away and his house repaired; most of that, but not all, was covered by his homeowners insurance policy. "We were very lucky compared to our neighbors," says Mabus. Three trees crashed into his roof, but didn't damage the structure of the home. "If the trees hit your house or any structure, the insurance company will pay to have them removed. If the tree is in your yard, then that's your responsibility." Missing paperwork costs. If you've lost -- or can't easily access -- vital paperwork, from social security cards and birth certificates to insurance information, you could experience delays in getting your insurance claims processed, government financial assistance and more. That's why it's important to know where your documents are. If you live in an area prone to natural disasters, consider making copies of your most important documents and storing them electronically, says Chloe Demrovsky, executive director at Disaster Recovery Institute International, a nonprofit specializing in business continuity and health and disaster emergency management. Story continues She says many services exist that offer cloud-based storage, from Dropbox and Amazon to Apple. And it would be wise, in that paperwork, to include details on any prescription medications you're taking. "A lot of people end up forgetting prescription medicine when they're running out of the house and trying to get away from the area," she says. Insurance-related costs. So you were insured? Great. But surprise: You still may end up having to shell out quite a bit of cash. "You may have multiple deductibles to satisfy for different types of coverage and need to budget for that," says Donna Childs, author of "Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Small Businesses." She also owns Prisere LLC, a Warwick, Rhode Island-based business that works on climate change measures and disaster-risk reduction. Many people also find themselves underinsured, Childs says. "It's critical to understand your policies and make sure you elect the appropriate coverage for the risks to which you are likely exposed." [See: How to Live on $13,000 a Year.] Scam-related costs. You've been warned a million times, but consider this a million and one. Mabus recalls people in his area slapping a "tree trimming" sticker on their truck and charging a small fortune for tree removal; plenty of homeowners also found themselves paying for work that wasn't done at all, or done poorly. "If you live in an area where you get natural disasters, I'd urge you to get to know the prices of services like tree removal and plumbing," Mabus says. "It helps if you have a frame of reference for what it costs to, say, remove a tree from your driveway, so you aren't paying someone $1,000 when under normal circumstances it might be $100." Hotels, food and other incidental costs. After Hurricane Sandy blew through in 2012, Michael Conway saw a dozen of the trees in his yard go down, and his power was out for about a week and a half. "We lived off a generator. Had candles at night. It was kind of a throwback to yesteryear," says Conway, CEO of Conway Wealth Group at Summit Financial Resources, based in Parsippany, New Jersey. He ended up spending a couple thousand dollars to have the tree debris removed, and he was more fortunate than many of his fellow New Jerseyans. But his big takeaway in going through a natural disaster is the importance of having access to cash. "That was a big problem, getting cash," he says. "A lot of the banks weren't open, and the ATMs weren't working." Odds are, if you're in a community that's been hit by a disaster, you'll need cash. Your insurance may not cover hotel stays or restaurant meals while you await home repairs. This is yet another reason for getting direct deposit from your employer, says Roger Putnam, chief operating officer at the financial-planning company, MassMutual. "Establish electronic access to your funds and accounts," to avoid relying on snail mail, Putnam says. Because along with the ATMs being down due to lack of power, mail delivery, which may be bringing a paycheck, doesn't always get through after a natural disaster. Now, realistically, unless you're a survivalist preparing for the end of the Earth, you may not heed most of these suggestions. The cash in the emergency box? You'll raid that when you need to replace a tire. Researching the price of tree removal from your driveway? Eventually. Maybe. But disaster experts say you'll fare better if you at least think through what might happen if calamity struck. Talk is cheap and quick. Every family can and should at least discuss where they would meet if they aren't together in an emergency, Demrovsky advises. [See: 9 Scary Things Consumers Do With Their Money.] But even Mabus admits that he hasn't made many emergency preparation plans since the tornado ripped through his city two years ago, beyond making sure he is adequately insured. "It's hard to prepare because you never know ... what's appropriate. We were displaced for about two weeks where we couldn't live in our house. Some people were displaced for months," he says. Mabus has considered building a storm shelter. He hasn't yet. "Every day there's bad weather, we think about it," he says. Associated Press JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (AP) The U.S. military said Monday it's ready to begin draining 1 million gallons (3.79 million liters) of fuel from three pipelines as part of an initial step toward closing a World War II-era fuel storage facility that leaked petroleum into Pearl Harbor's tap water last year. Starting Tuesday, the military will spend six days draining the pipelines one by one. The fuel has been sitting in the pipes since the military suspended use of the Red Hill facility last year after it leaked petroleum into a drinking water well serving 93,000 people in and around Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU, May 20 (Reuters) - A 42-year-old woman born in Nepal climbed Mount Everest for the seventh time on Friday, breaking her own record for the most summits of the world's highest mountain by any woman, a hiking official said. Lhakpa Sherpa, who works in a 7-Eleven store in Connecticut, reached the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak from the Tibetan side, said Rajiv Shrestha of the 7 Summits Adventure company that organized her expedition. "She has broken her own record," Shrestha told Reuters. She was accompanied to the top by a Nepali guide. Three hours later, eight members of a Russian team and eight of guides also climbed from the same northern route, he said. Lhakpa Sherpa, one of the 11 children of a Nepali family, was born in eastern Sankhuwasabha district where the world's fifth highest mountain, Makalu, is located. Two other Sherpa climbers share between them a record for 21 ascents of Everest, the maximum climbs by men. More than 330 climbers have climbed Everest from the Nepali side this month after expeditions were forced off the world's tallest peak by last year's devastating earthquake that killed at least 18 people at Base Camp. In total, 9,000 people were killed across Nepal in the 7.8 magnitude quake, the worst disaster in the country's recorded history. (Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Nick Macfie) So, after a most fulfilling trip to Korea youre happily packing up and getting ready for your flight back to Singapore, only to realise oh shoot, souvenirs. Your family and friends might have requested for you to bring back to them a little something from your holiday, but amid all the shopping that you did that little task slipped off your mind. Fret not, because theres still hope. The awe-inspiring Incheon International Airport may very well be your chance to do some last minute souvenir shopping, be it for cosmetics or for snacks. Plus, since its airport shopping, youre entitled to duty free prices; people who have been to Incheon International Airport swore that theyve scored amazing deals on Korean beauty brands! We rounded up some of the most popular (and easiest) souvenirs that you could bring back from Incheon International Airport, namely cosmetics and food. Cosmetics The selection at the airport may not be as wide as the ones in town, but they still stock up on the best sellers. Here we recommend you some of the latest skincare and beauty releases that you could pick up before flying back to Singapore. 1. Innisfree Its Real Squeeze facial masks Souvenirs Incheon airport Price difference: Approx $25-$35 per 10 pcs in Singapore V.S. $15-$20 per 10 pcs in Korea Innisfree masks have always been popular among the masses, but this one is smokin hot. These cooling facial masks come in so many different flavours youre bound to find one thats catered to your skin woes. Also, these mask packs are so easy to slip into your luggage before checking in. 2. Etude House x PONY Play 101 Contour Duo Souvenirs Incheon airport Price difference: $24 in Singapore V.S. $17-$20 in Korea Contouring and highlighting are the makeup rage these days, and famed Korean makeup artist PONY has collaborated with Etude House for the Play 101 Stick. Grab a bunch of these magical sticks that are sold out in Singapore, and give them out to your girlfriends as souvenirs theyll love it! Alternatively, if youre stuck in Singapore, get travellers to bring it back for you here! Story continues 3. Missha x LINE Friends Magic Cushion Souvenirs Incheon airport We can never have enough of the LINE Friends merchandise, can we? Pick these up at the Missha counter as a practical and adorable souvenir for friends. 4. Skinfood Snoopy Hand Cream Souvenirs Incheon airport How cute are these little tubes of hand cream? These dont come in bulky packaging as well, so theyre really handy to pack and carry along. Check out the full collection here. Food & Snacks If you know that your loved ones at home prefer authentic Korean snacks as souvenirs, these foodstuff are your best bets! They are what Korea is most known for, and you can definitely find them at Incheon International Airports duty free stores. 5. Honey Butter Chips Souvenirs Incheon airport Source: takolivia We dont blame you if cant get enough of these theyre practically the epitome of on-point Korean souvenirs now! Stock up on these on your way back, and chomp on some on the way too. 6. Seaweed Souvenirs Incheon airport These make for perfect snacks as well as souvenirs! Pick the different flavoured seaweed up from the snack stores in the airport and let your loved ones have their pick. 7. Red Ginseng Souvenirs Incheon airport Ginseng snacks make good gifts for the older generation. Thrill them with snacks that promote health and longevity you can get them as little crunchy tidbits, or in tea sachets. Fret not if you want these Korean goods, but are not in the country now. Simply get one of Airfrovs travellers to bring them back for you! All you have to do is put up a request with the items that you want on Airfrov, like how these other users did! Screen Shot 2016-05-17 at 9.55.56 PM Screen Shot 2016-05-17 at 9.56.16 PM Screen Shot 2016-05-17 at 9.56.34 PM Screen Shot 2016-05-20 at 5.23.26 PM *Picture credit to original sources The post 7 last-minute souvenirs to grab from Incheon Int. Airport that wont go wrong appeared first on Airfrov Blog. The first Chevrolet Camaro ever built will be put on display on the sidelines of the 2016 Woodward Dream Cruise taking place late this summer in Detroit. Serial number 100001 will be displayed in a glass cube in Detroit as part of a program by the Historical Vehicle Association. CHECK OUT: GM performance cars likely to get carbon fiber wheels It's set to join the HVA's register, following guidelines set up by the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Heritage Documentation and the Historic American Engineering Record. The car will join a handful of other registered vehicles, material on which is kept at the Library of Congress. To celebrate the addition of Camaro 100001 to the register, HVA has listed some details you probably never knew about the Camaro. 1) The first Camaro was actually a pilot production car assembled before those intended to be sold to the public. It rolled off the line on May 21, 1966. WATCH: Launch a manual gearbox car? Here's what you're doing to it 2) It was one of 49 pilot prototypes built at General Motors Companys [NYSE:GM] Norwood plant just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. The Norwood plant wasnt going to be the only assembly line for Camaros, however, so the company also built three pilot prototypes eight weeks later at a plant in Los Angeles, California. 3) Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] spent years teasing the public with show cars and concepts that hinted at the anticipated Mustang. GM, by contrast, revealed nothing about the Camaro until the car's name announcement in June 1966 and formal Detroit launch in August 1966. 4) GM had several other names in consideration. The list included Commander, Panther, Wildcat and even Gemini. 5) Development of the Camaro was rushed (taking about 36 months) after the existing Corvair failed to lure Mustang buyers. 6) As part of GM tradition at the time, pilot production cars featured a gold exterior and interior color schemea combination Camaro 100001 maintains. Story continues 7) The Camaro is the third most popular collector car in the United States, based on insurance status compiled by Hagerty. The Corvette is at the top of the list followed by the Mustang in second place. _______________________________________ Follow Motor Authority on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. As a president, Abraham Lincoln has many unique distinctions: Honest Abe, the Great Emancipator, the first presidential assassination victim. He also remains to this day the only U.S. president to hold a patent in his name. Lincoln invented a manner of buoying vessels that was awarded U.S. patent number 6,469 on May 22, 1849 167 years ago this weekend. How exactly Lincoln got the idea is an episode thats explored in Sidney Blumenthals new Lincoln biography A Self-Made Man. As Blumenthal tells it, Lincoln was stumping before the 1848 election in Massachusetts when he traveled across the Great Lakes by boat, on his way back to Illinois. The steamboat ran aground on a sandbar, so the captain improvised lashing empty barrels to its side to buoy it over the barrier. This was a big improvement over what steamboats usually did when they got stuck in shallow water, which was to remove cargo and people. When Lincoln got home, he couldnt get the moment out of his headso he commissioned a wooden model of an invention that would accomplish the same goal. He brought it with him when he returned to D.C., and applied for a patent. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter The basic idea was that youd attach buoyant chambers, which could be inflated or deflated as needed, to a boat. The top of the champers would be wooden or metal and the rest would be made of waterproof fabric. A system of ropes and shafts would be set up so that the chambers could be expanded all at once from on board the ship. Ropes could be used to control how far underwater the chambers went. This sounds pretty basic, but Lincoln specified that what was new about his invention was the combination of expansible buoyant chambers placed at the sides of a vessel, with the main shaft or shafts, by means of the sliding spars or shifts, which pass down through the buoyant chambers and are made fast to their bottoms, and the series of ropes and pullies, or their equivalents, in such a manner that by turning the main shaft or shaft in one direction, the buoyant chambers will be forced downwards into the water and at the same time expanded and filled with air for buoying up the vessel by the displacement of water; and by turning the shaft in an opposite direction, the buoyant chambers will be contracted into a small space and secured against injury. Story continues In other words, no more need to rig up a barrel when you needed to lift a boat. The inflatable chambers would be attached to the boat the whole time, and they could be easily adjusted as needed. Though the invention was never really put to use, a version of his model is held by the Smithsonian. As curator Paul Johnson told Smithsonian magazine in 2006, its failure to be applied in the real world was perhaps for good reason: inflating those buoys would still be hard, even with the help of ropes and pulleys. Youd need a huge amount of force needed to get the buoys to go under the water. And Lincoln, of course, had moved on to bigger things anyway. By Will Dunham (Reuters) - Emmy award-winning actor Alan Young, who rode to enduring TV fame alongside a talking horse on the popular 1960s sitcom "Mister Ed" and co-starred in the classic sci-fi film "The Time Machine," has died at age 96, his manager said on Friday. Young, who also provided the voice of cartoon characters including Disney's Scrooge McDuck, died from natural causes this week at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital, a Los Angeles retirement facility for those in the movie and TV industry, according to his manager, Gene Yusem. The English-born actor was best known for his role as Wilbur Post, an amiable architect with a loquacious palomino living in his backyard barn, during six seasons on "Mister Ed," which still airs in reruns a half century after its original run on CBS ended. The series, which followed the success of the "Francis The Talking Mule" movies, involved a horse named Mister Ed, played by equine thespian Bamboo Harvester, that talked, but only to one person, Wilbur. For decades after the show ended, Young said he was often saddled with questions by fans about how the horse's lips were made to move to look like Mister Ed was talking. Young said the show's producers did not want the secret revealed, so he trotted out the rumor that peanut butter was put in the horse's mouth. "So I made up the peanut butter story, and everyone bought it," Young told interviewer Nick Thomas in 2009. "It was initially done by putting a piece of nylon thread in his mouth. But Ed actually learned to move his lips on cue when the trainer touched his hoof. In fact, he soon learned to do it when I stopped talking during a scene. Ed was very smart." Young galloped financially, earning a portion of the show's profits. The series, which aired from 1961 to 1966, co-starred Connie Hines as Wilbur's wife and Allan Lane as the horse's voice. Fans of the show also fondly remember its theme song, starting with the lyrics: "A horse is a horse, of course, of course. And no one can talk to a horse, of course. That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mister Ed." Young took a gentle approach to comedy, noting that comic actor Ed Wynn once told him that on television "you're going into somebody's home, so don't be insulting." Young won an Emmy Award, honoring the best in U.S. television, in 1951 as best actor for "The Alan Young Show," beating out Sid Caesar, one of the biggest names in television at the time. "The Alan Young Show" won an Emmy for best variety show that year and ran from 1950 to 1953. Young appeared in films as well, most notably director George Pal's "The Time Machine," a 1960 adaptation of the novel by H.G. Wells, starring a time-traveling Rod Taylor. Young's other films included "Chicken Every Sunday" (1949) with a young Natalie Wood, "Mr. Belvedere Goes to College" (1949) with Shirley Temple and "Androcles and the Lion" (1952) with another animal co-star. As a voice actor, Young performed as the grumpy Scrooge McDuck and worked on such programs as "The Smurfs" and "Scooby-Doo." He was born as Angus Young in England on Nov. 19, 1919, and his family moved to Canada when he was 6. He worked in radio in Canada before moving to Los Angeles and changing his name to Alan. He was a naturalized American citizen. Yusem, his manager for more than 30 years, said Young had been buried at sea. "He was an honest, decent man, a pleasure to work with and never a problem," Yusem told Reuters. (Reporting by Will Dunham in Washington; Additional reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy in Los Angeles; Editing by James Dalgleish) By Mehreen Zahra-Malik and Drazen Jorgic ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Afghanistan must limit military gains by the Taliban and offer incentives to the insurgents to revive a faltering peace effort, Pakistani's top foreign ministry official said, after the latest round of talks yielded little progress. The Afghan Taliban control or contest more territory than at any time since they was ousted by a U.S.-led intervention in 2001. The militants did not show up at talks on Wednesday in Islamabad, which also involved China and the United States. Afghanistan declined to send a full delegation to Islamabad in protest against what it says is Pakistan's unwillingness to do more to pressure Taliban leadership, including those on Pakistani soil, to join talks. Pakistani Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, the ministry's top bureaucrat, said efforts to persuade the Taliban to talk directly to the Kabul government could only bear fruit if the Afghan army stopped the Taliban from gaining the upper hand. "We believe that there should be effective action by Afghan national security forces to ensure that there are no military gains by the Taliban," Chaudhry told Reuters in an interview late on Thursday. The Taliban "need to realize they would have more to gain on the table than they can do on the battlefield", he said. Afghan security forces have struggled to contain the Taliban since NATO-led forces pulled out of combat operations in 2014. Fighting has been fierce and more than 6,600 Afghan soldiers and police were killed last year, according to the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. However, despite the brief capture by the militants of the northern city of Kunduz last year, they have not been able to capture and hold on to any provincial capital. Chaudhry said officials at the Islamabad talks had told him Taliban gains in an offensive this year were not as big as the insurgents had hoped. The first formal talks with the Taliban since their 2001 ouster collapsed in 2015 after it was announced that their founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar, had been dead for two years, throwing the militant group into disarray. The movement has since split on whether to participate in talks. "OPTIMISTIC" Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of harboring militants seeking to topple the Afghan government, including the notorious Haqqani network, blamed for high-profile attacks in Kabul. Pakistan denies that but nevertheless, the United States has also urged Pakistani to do more against militants on its soil. The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a defense policy bill increasing restrictions on military aid for Pakistan over frustrations it has failed to crack down on the Haqqani network. Chaudhry said the bulk of the Afghan Taliban leadership was in Afghanistan and Pakistan was using all "leverage and influence" at its disposal to get them to the table. "We are doing whatever we can to persuade the Taliban and the Haqqani leadership, whoever we can contact," he said. "We believe the Afghan government should also make ... a similar kind of effort." The Pakistani foreign secretary also urged Kabul to create "incentives" and confidence-building measures to persuade the Taliban that it was serious about giving peace a chance. But last month, following a bomb attack in Kabul that killed 64 people, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani declared that, while the door to peace was not fully closed, military operations would have priority. Ghani said he no longer expected Pakistan to bring the Taliban to the table but it must act against militants sheltering in its territory who rejected peace. Chaudhry said the talks were not dead. "We need to remain optimistic," Chaudhry said. "The signal we get is that the Taliban have not said 'yes' to the talks but have also not said 'no'." (Additional reporting by James Mackenzie in KABUL; Writing by Mehreen Zahra-Malik; Editing by Robert Birsel) Cairo (AFP) - Egypt found wreckage including seats and luggage Friday from the EgyptAir plane that crashed in the Mediterranean, as investigators tried to unravel the mystery of why it swerved and plummeted into the sea. Search teams spotted personal belongings of passengers and parts of the Airbus A320 about 290 kilometres (180 miles) north of Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria, the military said. The country's aviation minister has said a "terrorist attack" was a more likely cause than technical failure for the plane's disappearance on a flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board. But French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said there was "absolutely no indication" of why the plane came down. "We're looking at all possibilities, but none is being favoured over the others," he said. The tragedy raised fears of a repeat of the bombing of a Russian passenger jet by the Islamic State jihadist group over Egypt last October that killed all 224 people on board. In Cairo, French and Airbus investigators were to meet their Egyptian counterparts to lay the groundwork for their probe. A French patrol boat carrying equipment capable of tracking the plane's black boxes was due to arrive Sunday or Monday in the area where the plane is thought to have crashed, the French navy said. It came as the French embassy in Cairo said the black boxes can emit signals for only up to four to five weeks. Relatives of some of the passengers and crew met EgyptAir officials and later gathered at a hotel near Cairo airport to exchange information. "They haven't died yet. No one knows. We're asking for God's mercy," said a woman in her 50s whose daughter had been on board. The plane disappeared between the Greek island of Karpathos and the Egyptian coast in the early hours of Thursday, without its crew sending a distress signal. It had turned sharply twice in Egyptian airspace before plunging 22,000 feet (6,700 metres) and vanishing from radar screens, said Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos. Story continues - Oil slick spotted - A multi-national operation involving aircraft and ships has been launched to find the plane. Kammenos said Egypt had told Greece that search teams had found "a body part, two seats and one or more items of luggage" north of Alexandria. The European Space Agency said one of its satellites had on Thursday spotted an oil slick about 40 kilometres southeast of the plane's last known location. French President Francois Hollande had said that it was clear the plane had crashed, and authorities in both Paris and Cairo opened investigations. Fifteen French citizens, a Briton and two Canadians were among 26 foreigners on the plane. One of the Canadians was Saskatoon-born mother of three Marwa Hamdy who was returning home to Cairo after visiting relatives in Paris, a friend tweeted. IS jihadists have been waging a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security forces and have claimed attacks in France and Egypt. In October, an Airbus A321 operated by Russia's Metrojet broke up over the Sinai desert after taking off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, killing all on board in an attack that IS claimed. - Pilot's last communication - Greek civil aviation chief Constantinos Litzerakos said the pilot had mentioned no problem in his last communication before the plane disappeared, and the flight had not deviated from its course. "The flight controllers contacted the pilot at a height of 37,000 feet (near Athens)... he did not mention a problem," he said. Neither the Greek coastguard nor the navy could confirm reports a passing ship had seen "a ball of fire in the sky". Litzerakos said that if there had been an explosion, any debris would have been scattered across a wide area. The passengers also included two Iraqis and one citizen from each of Algeria, Belgium, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, as well as 30 Egyptians, the airline said. They included a boy and two babies. Seven crew members and three security personnel were also on board. In October, foreign governments issued travel warnings for Egypt and demanded a review of security at its airports after IS said it downed the Russian airliner with a bomb concealed in a soda can that had been smuggled into the hold. Alan Young, the Canadian-English actor best known as Wilbur on CBS 1960s talking-horse sitcom Mister Ed who also provided the voice of Disneys Scrooge McDuck for more than three decades, died Thursday. He was 96. He had been living at the Motion Picture and Television Fund campus in Woodland Hills. Born in 1919 in North Shields, Northumberland, England, his family moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, when he was a small child and shortly after to Vancouver, B.C.. After an early start in radio, Young served in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. After his service, he resumed his career in radio, moving to the U.S., where in 1944 he created the radio program The Alan Young Show. The situation comedy was broadcast on both NBC and ABC at various points, and in 1950 was turned into a CBS TV series that lasted until 1953 and won two Emmys. Young made several films during during the next decade, most notably receiving second billing in George Pals iconic 1960 adaptation of H.G. Wells The Time Machine. Other films from this period include the title role in Androcles and the Lion, and the Jane Russell musical comedy Gentlemen Marry Brunettes. In 1961 Young began the role for which he is most well known. Mister Ed premiered in October, starring Young as Wilbur Post, a mild-mannered architect who discovers that he owns a talking horse, voiced for all five seasons by Allan Lane. The show saw Young playing the straight man to Lanes jocular, somewhat mischievous Mister Ed. Among the shows running gags, Ed would only ever talk to Wilbur, making it look as though Wilbur might be crazy as he constantly appears to be talking to himself. Mister Ed premiered in syndication and then moved to CBS with its cast intact one of the few syndie shows to be picked up by a network for a primetime run. Following Mister Eds cancellation in 1966, Young acted for a brief spell before taking a nearly decade-long break from the industry. During that time, he established a broadcast division for the Christian Science Church. Returning to acting in the late 1970s, Young would go on to appear in numerous guest roles on television, including The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, St. Elsewhere, Party of Five, ER and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Story continues But from this point on, he worked primarily as a voice actor. Able to expertly affect a Scottish accent, Young was hired Scrooge McDuck in 1983 to voice Scrooge McDuck in Mickeys Christmas Carol. He would reprise the role four years later in the classic cartoon series Duck Tales. Drawing heavily from the comic book series Uncle Scrooge that was created, written and drawn for much of its run by Carl Barks, Young voiced the thrifty Scottish duck who lives in the city of Duckberg and defends his vast fortune (and number one dime) from greedy enemies from 1987-90. Young delivered a definitive take on Scrooge McDuck and would remain the voice of the character until his death. Other voice roles include Farmer Smurf on The Smurfs, 7-Zark-7 and Keyop in Battle of the Planets and Hiram Flaversham in The Great Mouse Detective, along with guest spots on The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, and more. I worked it out that you go to an audition feeling youre going to give your concept of what this part is youre not going to try to get anything, Young said in a 2001 interview with the American Archive of Television. If the producer likes it, whether you get the part or not, youve given. It takes away all the anxiety and the weight. Thats my best advice. Just give, and then trust. Heres an extended montage from that interview, in which he discusses the transformation from radio to the small screen and his ensuing TV career: Related stories Disney Drops 'Beauty And The Beast' Live Action Teaser 'Captain America: Civil War' Crossing $1B Global Box Office Today; #1 Movie Of 2016 Bob Iger Says He Feels "Great" About ESPN's Long-Term Prospects Alan Young, who starred as Wilbur Post on the 1960s TV series Mister Ed, died Thursday, a spokesperson for the actor told TheWrap. He was 96. Young also voiced the character Scrooge McDuck in numerous Disney films and TV series. Born in North Shields, Northumberland, England, Young and his family moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, and later to Canada. After a stint in the Royal Canadian Navy, Young landed his own radio series on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Also Read: Guy Clark, Grammy-Winning Singer-Songwriter, Dies at 74 After moving to the U.S., he starred on NBCs The Alan Young Show. Young gained his greatest fame, however, as Wilbur Post in the CBS comedy Mister Ed, as the owner of a talking horse who spoke only to Post, leading to humorous situations for everyone around him. The series ran from 1961 to 1966. The actors equine Mister Ed costar, Bamboo Harvester, appeared on the series from 1949 until 1970, when he euthanized after suffering from a number of health ailments. The lovable Palomino was later buried at Snodgrass Farm in Oklahoma. Youngs other roles include Wonderworld founder Uncle Dave Thornton in Beverly Hills Cop III. His other voice work included the radio drama Adventures in Odyssey, Batman: The Animated Series and TaleSpin. Also Read: Victoria Wood, British Comedian and Actress, Dies at 62 Young was married three times, most recently to Virginia McCurdy, to whom he was wed from 1948 until her 2011 death. He had four children, two with McCurdy and two with his previous wife Mary Anne Grimes. Young was nominated twice for an Emmy, winning once, in the Best Actor category in 1951. Related stories from TheWrap: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2016 (Photos) Morley Safer, Legendary '60 Minutes' Correspondent, Dies at 84 (Video) Guy Clark, Grammy-Winning Singer-Songwriter, Dies at 74 By Nia Williams CALGARY, Alberta, May 20 (Reuters) - Lawyers in Canada's energy capital Calgary warned on Friday that a judge's decision to grant lenders priority over environmental clean-up costs in oil and gas bankruptcies could lead to a surge in orphaned wells in Alberta. An Alberta chief justice ruled this week that proceeds from the sale of assets belonging to junior producer Redwater Energy Corp will go first to secured creditors, rather than towards cleaning up the company's inactive oil and gas wells. Redwater became insolvent last May and receiver Grant Thornton wanted to carve out and sell off the company's 19 producing wells and renounce ownership of 70 non-producing wells. The Alberta Energy Regulator, overseer of the province's Orphan Well Association (OWA), which is responsible for cleaning up wells that have no owners, argued that sale should not go ahead unless any proceeds went first toward well decommissioning. Uncertainty over who is liable for paying tens of thousands of dollars in abandonment costs has hampered energy asset sales in Calgary in recent months. While Wednesday's ruling provides clarity for oil and gas lenders, it increases the risk that more of the 79,000 inactive wells in Alberta will end up being the responsibility of the OWA. "The transactional certainty that arises for lenders will be an advantage," said Walker MacLeod, a partner at McCarthy Tetrault's bankruptcy and restructuring group in Calgary. "But we could see more and more wells being orphaned as a result of this process." AER spokesman Riley Bender said the regulator was disappointed in the decision and reviewing it. "The AER continues to assert that companies must not be allowed to walk away from their responsibility, even when facing economic uncertainty," he added. Many energy industry players expect the AER to appeal the court's decision and Ryan Zahara an associate at Blake, Cassels and Graydon LLP, which represented Redwater's lender Alberta Treasury Branch, said there may still be some uncertainty over well liabilities until then. Story continues Melanie Gaston, a lawyer with Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP, said the ruling could increase pressure on the energy industry to fund well clean-ups. The OWA is currently funded by a C$30 million ($22.87 million) levy on Alberta producers. "Somebody is going to have to pay for all these additional wells that are sitting as orphans," she said. ($1 = 1.3120 Canadian dollars) (Editing by James Dalgleish) Amy Schumer and her boyfriend Ben Hanisch are all smiles in a new pic celebrating their six-month anniversary. Hanisch shared a beaming selfie of the cute couple to Instagram on Thursday, which he captioned "6 months with this babe and I couldn't be any happier." WATCH: Amy Schumer Posts the Sweetest Pic With Boyfriend at Golden Globes After-Party The 34-year-old Trainwreck star and her handsome beau have been one of the cutest new couples in Hollywood since they went public with the relationship back in January. The dynamic duo have cuddled up for tons of super sweet snapshots and even bared their souls with candid declarations of love and adoration over the past few months. NEWS: Amy Schumer's Boyfriend Declares He's 'in Love With Her' ET caught up with Schumer at the Golden Globes, just days after she confirmed her relationship, where the celebrated comedian joked about the loads of attention her burgeoning romance has garnered. "Apparently having a boyfriend is the biggest accomplishment of the year for me," Schumer suggested. "I also wrote a movie I starred in, I'm really proud of that. I worked on gun violence. But yeah, someone has agreed to have sex with me." Check out the video below to hear more from the Emmy-winning star. Related Articles MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. You can officially stop calling Android Googles mobile operating system: That operating system and its selection of 1.5 million or so apps will soon arrive on laptops and desktops running Googles Chrome OS. The news came during a presentation at the Alphabet, Inc. (GOOG) subsidiarys I/O conference here Thursday morning. "Apps have become a central part of our everyday lives," said Kan Liu, director of product management for Chrome OS. "We're bringing the Play Store to Chromebooks." How this will work When Google ships this option to Chromebooks, youll see a Play Store icon in the usual Chrome OS taskbar. (This option ships in June for users of three recent models running the development version of Chrome OS, later this year for everyday users on a much wider selection of Chromebook laptops and a few Chromebox desktops.) That should let you install almost any Android app, which will then run in its own window. And unlike most of the web apps that until now have represented the core of the browser-based Chrome OS, most Android apps can run offline. Google is still testing how well this Android support will work on older Chromebooks, but Liu said after the presentation he expects anything shipped within the last two years to pass muster. Chrome OS was never built to run separate apps like this, and Android apps arent coded to run on laptops. To deal with this issue, Chrome OS keeps Android apps in a separate container that allows them to act as if theyre just on a phone that happens to have a larger screen and attached keyboard. This gets around one potential hangup with Android apps: Many of them dont yet support the automatic backup system Google introduced with last years Marshmallow update. Instead, Chromes own sync engine will ensure they stay current from one Chromebook to the next. Some Android apps may still not run if they require hardware not found in current Chromebooks; in those cases, the Play Store wont let you install the app something that can already happen on Android phones and tablets. Story continues Google executives here suggested wed soon see some Chromebooks adding phone-like features such as GPS to remedy that issue. If you dont want any of this complexity a real possibility, especially in business and educational markets that prize the assured simplicity of Chrome OS you can decline all of it. Organizations can also allow only specified Android apps. What could that mean to Chrome OS and Android Liu led off the presentation by bragging a little about Chrome OSs success since its 2009 introduction: In the first quarter of 2016, according to statistics from the research firm IDC, Chrome OS shipments outpaced OS X shipments. (IDC analyst Linn Huang e-mailed that 1.6 million Chrome OS computers shipped over those three months, versus 1.5 million Macs.) Simple, secure, mostly cheap Chromebooks were appealing enough when they could only run rich web apps like Google Docs (disclosure: what Im using to write this post). Adding the ability to run almost anything off the Android app menu should only boost their sales. That could be especially true among mobile-first users who currently have to set aside phone apps like Snapchat to use a real computer. Observed Liu: "I'm not saying you should do this, but you can actually write your term paper and get your snaps, all on the same device without ever having to take your phone out of your pocket. This option will also be transformational to the more than 2 million businesses using the Google Apps bundle of services and apps, said Rajen Sheth, Googles senior director of product management for Android and Chrome for Work. Well have to see about that, as well as Lius suggestion that making Android apps more of a desktop proposition will let developers charge higher prices. Well have also have to see how getting Android to run on diverse Chromebooks by abstracting it from their underlying hardware can boost similar efforts to decouple Android from the guts of phones and tablets. Thats traditionally required manufacturers and then phone carriers to test each Android update, which has held up their releases by months and sometimes forever. On Chromebooks, Google says Android updates will ship automatically and routinely. That should leave Androids mobile users even fewer reasons to be happy with the slow pace of updates there. Email Rob at rob@robpegoraro.com; follow him on Twitter at @robpegoraro Actors Ansel Elgort and filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke will be honored at the 7th annual Thirst Gala for their dedication to the Thirst Project, which helps to provide clean water to necessary communities. Both Elgort and Hardwicke are among Hollywood talent including Anna Kendrick, Nat Wolff, Bella Thorne, Olivia Munn and Naya Rivera who have supported the organization. Last year, Elgort raised over $100,000 from his fans as his birthday wish to bring clean water to Swaziland. Fans were able to score Twitter shoutouts and even a lunch date with Elgort depending on the amount of the donation on his Prizeo page. Hardwicke's new film, Miss You Already, stars Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette, whose character works for the Thirst Project in the film. The organization's CEO, Seth Maxwell, is also featured in a scene where he discusses the global water crisis. The nonprofit is the largest youth water organization aims to provide clean water to developing nations and impoverished communities across the globe. The organization has provided more than 285,000 people in 13 countries with clean water over the last six years. The Thirst Gala will take place on June 13 at the Beverly Hilton. Last year, the benefit raised over $250,000. Read More: 'Miss You Already': TIFF Review weiner IFC films Anthony Weiner watches in horror from his living room as a TV news report shows him flipping off a reporter. His wife, Huma Abedin, sits in the dining room eating a slice of pizza, trying to ignore it all. The moment is caught on camera for a documentary about Weiner and his failed New York City mayoral candidacy. I cant believe I gave a reporter the finger, Weiner mumbles to himself. The filmmaker, Josh Kriegman, asks him, Why are you letting me film this? Its one of those moments that make the new movie Weiner which is out Friday and won the grand jury documentary prize this year at the Sundance Film Festival a joy to watch. In an era in which people of power attempt to keep everything about their lives hidden behind a veil of orchestrated social-media posts and safe appearances, Weiner allows so much access into his life for the movie that you wonder if the former congressman regrets any of it. But while clearly a political miscalculation, the movie is perhaps Weiners self-inflicted penance for past transgressions. Weiner came to notoriety thanks to the passion he brought to the floor of Congress on issues he appeared to care very deeply about, especially in 2010, when his displeasure with Republicans opposing the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act which would provide funds for sick 9/11 first responders went viral. Less than a year later, Weiner's political career crumbled after he tweeted a sexually explicit photo of himself. After several days of denying he sent it, he admitted to posting the photo. In June 2011 he resigned from Congress. But America loves a comeback story, and Weiner was ready to be its latest when in 2013 he ran for mayor of New York. Directors Kreigman and Elyse Steinberg were there with cameras in hand to capture what would become Weiner. I imagine they sold it to Weiner as a way to show his underdog story. Think of the 2005 documentary Street Fight, director Marshall Currys look at the successful campaign of Cory Booker to become mayor of Newark, New Jersey. Story continues lost in la mancha100 Instead, "Weiner" is basically the political equivalent of the 2002 documentary Lost in La Mancha, in which filmmakers document Terry Gilliam making his passion project The Man Who Killed Don Quixote with Johnny Depp, and instead the project is ruined by actor injuries, horrible weather, and fighter jets flying overhead. But while Gilliam had the universe to blame for his failure, Weiner can only blame himself. As the campaign for mayor looks to be going strong at the beginning of the movie, a few months into the election, news breaks that Weiner sent explicit photos of himself to a 22-year-old a year after he left Congress, under the alias "Carlos Danger." You may remember the constant late-night TV jokes about the scandal during the summer of 2013, but reliving it behind the scenes of the campaign and seeing Weiners personal life with Abedin (who is a close adviser to Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton) provide a unique perspective. Weiner allows cameras to show the damage control that attempts to extinguish the latest scandal. The biggest question: When did he send the photos? As cameras capture, he told most of the press at the beginning of the campaign that he had stopped sending sexual photos of himself after he left Congress. In one scene, his publicist is reading him questions from a reporter. One asks if he thinks he is a sex addict. The moments that made me cringe the most were conversations Weiner had with Huma. In some cases, Weiner asked cameras to be tuned off, but there are other times when the cameras are there, such as when they decide what Huma should say at the press conference addressing the latest photo scandal, and if she should continue going to campaign functions. In those instances, Huma says little, but her face and demeanor speak volumes. In many of these cases, Weiner looks less like an understanding husband and more like a politician seeking votes and needing his supportive wife by his side to do so. Then theres the conclusion of the movie, which I wont give away, but its on my top-five all-time documentary endings. Weiner certainly proves that sometimes real life is stranger than fiction. But it also shows what its like to be on the wrong side of celebrity. Weiner shrugs that he doesnt know why hes letting Josh film him react to the news report about him giving the finger. But it may be the same reason why, earlier in the movie, he lets Josh film him watching a video (with glee) of his appearance on a political show in which Weiner and the host engage in a screaming match. It seems like Weiner gets a kick out of the attention, good or bad. The movie suggests the scary notion that many people who crave fame or power simply love it when people are always talking about them. Weiner takes that principle to a shocking level with his transparency in the movie. But as with his scandals, he can't really cry foul. After all, he brought it on himself. NOW WATCH: Warner Bros. just released the first trailer for its R-rated animated Batman movie More From Business Insider Can the Apple Music streaming service, launched in June 2015, remove music files from your hard drive without your permission? Even files you created yourself? The answer appears to be maybe, but the good news is that there are simple measures you can take to make sure your music doesn't disappear. An online controversy was sparked earlier this month when a blog posted titled Apple Stole My Music. No, Seriously, went viral. It recounted the tale of a frustrated Apple Music user named James Pinkstone, who reported that his huge collection of music files had been deleted from his hard drive when the streaming service went rogue on him. A few days ago, a pair of Apple technicians flew out from California to Pinkstones home in Atlanta to investigate. The incident started when Pinkstone clicked on a music file from his iTunes library and experienced an unexpected delay before it started playing. The same thing happened with other music files. This made him wonder whether, instead of accessing the music stored on his hard drive, he was actually listening to a streamed version of the songs. He turned off his WiFi and the music stopped, confirming his suspicions. His surprise turned to panic when he checked his hard drive and saw 122GB of free space that hadnt been there a few days earlier: His music collection was gone, except for a few random songs. Pinkstones library didnt consist solely of songs downloaded from iTunes. It included musical rarities, such as little-heard versions of tunes from the band Fountains of Wayne that he had downloaded from a collectors-edition CD. And when he tried to retrieve those cuts from Apple Music, it gave him the easy-to-find album versions instead. Further, songs that he had encoded as high-resolution WAV files had been replaced with low-res MP3 files. Pinkstone manages a photography and design studio called Vellum, but he also has a freelance career composing music for commercial clients. His most devastating discovery? His original compositions were also gone. Story continues In his blog post, Pinkstone wrote that when he called AppleCare tech support, a specialist named Amber gave him some disturbing news. The software is functioning as intended, said Amber. Wait, I asked, so its supposed to delete my personal files from my internal hard drive without asking my permission? Yes, she replied. According to Pinkstone, Amber added that she had helped a number of users frustrated when some or all of their music libraries disappeared. And Apples own online forums are sprinkled with many other users who claim that similar things happened to them. Apple: Lovers and Haters Pinkstones post sparked an online skirmish between devoted Apple fans and the companys equally vocal detractors, with the former accusing Pinkstone of user error (or acting on some sort of grudge against the company) and the latter group using the incident as an opportunity to take shots at the computer giant. I feel like I got stuck in the middle of an ideological battle, Pinkstone says. More reasonable voices in the tech community, like iMores Serenity Caldwell, explained that, despite what Amber from Apple apparently said, Apple Music really isn't meant to work that way. Here's what the Apple website says: We compare every track in your collection to the Apple Music library to see if we have a copy. If we do, you can automatically listen to it straight from the cloud. If you have music thats not in our catalog, we upload those songs from iTunes on your Mac or PC. Its all in iCloud, so it wont take up any space on your devices. However, the program should not delete the originals without your permission. Since the blog post appeared, Pinkstone has conferred with a small army of Apple tech support people. After lengthy phone consultations between Pinkstone and a number of the companys geniuses, Apple escalated the issue. The company sent high-level techs from its Cupertino, Calif., base to Pinkstones home in Atlanta. The techs spent the entire weekend examining Pinkstones machine, poring over his Time Machine backups, and attempting to replicate the problem. They couldnt do itbut this was no particular surprise given that Pinkstone had been using Apple Music for months without a problem before his files disappeared. Pinkstone says he has been using Apple products since he got his first Apple IIGS in the mid-1980s. Im not a programmer, but Im no novice, he says. And he rejects the idea that user error is to blame here. Pinkstone believes that the pattern of the missing songsand notably the remaining oneswould have required an elaborate series of missteps. The songs that remained after the data purge were random, added to the library on different dates, with track and artist names that were scattered through the alphabet. If A through Y were gone, but it left Frank Zappa, I can understand how that could have been user error, Pinkstone says. The logical conclusion is that some rather esoteric bug in Apple Music did cause the files to disappear. And according to Pinkstone, the technicians who came to his house agreed that user error wasn't the cause of the problem. In an extremely small number of cases users have reported that music files saved on their computer were removed without their permission, Apple spokesperson Tom Neumeyr told us in a statement last week that was also sent to other outlets. Were taking these reports seriously as we know how important music is to our customers and our teams are focused on identifying the cause. We have not been able to reproduce this issue." However, Apple released an update to iTunes that includes additional safeguards. The overwhelming majority of Apple Music users never experience such problems, but this sort of issue is reported occasionally, and not just in regard to Apple products. For instance, last year some Spotify users reported glitches in which the files downloaded to a computer or smartphone had disappeared. However, since the files in question were copies of songs streaming from a Spotify playlist, users were more annoyed than outraged. The Takeaway: Back Up Your Music How can you protect yourself from losing your music? First and foremost, you can do what Pinkstone did. Make backups. Often. He relies heavily on Apples Time Machine software, and also stores his data on an external hard drive. For this reason, his Apple Music debacle was an inconvenience for him rather than a full-blown disaster. My backups saved me, he says. You can debate the tradeoffs between archiving data on hard driveswhich can breakand on-line backup and storage systemswhich are only as stable (or unstable) as the companies operating them. Pinkstone chooses the hard-drive route, and even goes so far as to occasionally bring a backup drive when he visits his parents home in Pennsylvania. In case my house burns down, he half-jokes. But whichever way you go, do something. One day, chances are, you'll be glad you did. More from Consumer Reports: 8 Ways to Boost Your Home Value Why your cable TV bill is going up Get the Best Cell Phone Plan for Your Familyand Save up to $1,000 a Year Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright 2006-2016 Consumers Union of U.S. Ariana Grande's hotly anticipated third album, Dangerous Woman (Republic), has arrived. The 11-track set (or 15-song "deluxe edition") has rolled out across of a string of digital music services, including iTunes and Spotify. New album #DangerousWoman out now --> https://t.co/Qbc5r9gkNA pic.twitter.com/cesb8Y35UX - Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) May 20, 2016 International territories had first listen of the album, which carries the previously released singles "Let Me Love You," "Into You," "Be Alright" and the title track. Grande announced its release to U.S. fans on Twitter just before midnight ET. to the people who have gotten the album in the territories where it's out already, I love u. thank you. a few more hours for us over here!!! - Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) May 20, 2016 With the release of "Dangerous Woman" in March, Grande became the first artist in Billboard Hot 100 history to have the lead single of each of her first three albums debut in the top 10. She has sold 1.3 million albums in the United States, according to Nielsen Music. Grande's previous albums, My Everything (from 2014) and Yours Truly (2013), both reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200. This article originally appeared on Billboard.com. Read More: Ariana Grande Is Already Selling Merchandise for Her Upcoming Album Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. AJG announced the acquisition of McNeary, Inc. for an undisclosed amount. The deal will complement the acquirers Southeastern property/casualty (P&C) and employee benefits operations. Charlotte, NC-basedMcNeary was founded in 1956. The company is a retail insurance broker that provides services like commercial P&C insurance, risk management services, and employee benefits insurance and consulting services to clients across Eastern United States. The company is an expert in insurance and consulting services for hospitals and the healthcare industry. McNeary boasts strong market presence and industry expertise. The company is also renowned for its commendable industry associations and team-focused culture. Hence, theMcNearybuyout will substantially bolster Arthur J. Gallaghers Southeastern operations with its depth of expertise and high-quality client services. Post acquisition, McNeary will continue to operate from its current location. This deal marks the seventh takeover by Arthur J. Gallagher in second-quarter 2016. The company recently acquired Hogan Insurance Services Inc. which provides retail insurance brokerage services and specializes in workers compensation insurance. Notably, Arthur J. Gallagher completed 11 acquisitions in the second quarter of last year with annualized revenues of over $82 million. Arthur J. Gallagher, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), is well known for strengthening its profile through frequent acquisitions in the brokerage space, fueling revenue growth. Revenues in the Brokerage segment soared 12% year over year in the first quarter of 2016. Some better-ranked stocks in the insurance sector are Alleghany Corp Y and NMI Holdings Inc. NMIH with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and Hannover Rueckversicherung AG HVRRY with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report GALLAGHER ARTHU (AJG): Free Stock Analysis Report HANNOVER RUECKV (HVRRY): Free Stock Analysis Report ALLEGHANY CORP (Y): Free Stock Analysis Report NMI HOLDINGS-A (NMIH): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Israeli-American filmmaker Asaph Polonsky closed out his first week ever in Cannes with a Critics Week prize for his first-ever feature. One Week And A Day, which drew strong reviews and a standing ovation at its official screening, took the GAN Foundation Award last night which comes with a 20K euro purse to help market the film in France. French distribution was earlier secured by Sophie Dulac. The film has also sold to Australia, Italy and Brazil with U.S. offers on the table. New Europe Film Sales has international rights. Polonsky calls winning the prize, really exciting, as it will help get the film to an ever wider audience. Its been a heady week for the first-timer who says he was pleased to learn that the circus-like cacophony that can appear to be Cannes from the outside is not really what its like once youre in it. I knew of course that Cannes has a huge love for cinema and theres all this other stuff around it. But when I got here, I really felt like film is the goal of it all and the love of it. Not that I thought it was bulls*** but its definitely not, its real. One Week and a Day One Week And A Day is the story of a married couple and the disparate ways in which they deal with the death of their son following the weeklong mourning period of Shiva. Wife Vicky (Evgenia Dodina) seeks a return to order and routine while husband Eyal (Shai Avivi) avoids it, instead spending a marijuana-fueled day of existential exploration with a stoner neighbor. Avivi is sometimes referred to as the Larry David of Israel, but Polonsky, an AFI alum, says he didnt set out to have the veteran comic actor come off that way. I never planned it to be a Larry David thing, but what people are seeing in it is because its a character who is saying what he thinks. Basically he does what he wants. Unfortunately, most of us cant do that on a day-to-day level and I think for Eyal its always been there, but hes never acted on it and now that hes in this place that hes lost his son, he feels that he can do whatever he wants right now. Hes allowed to. Story continues The film grew from a kernel of something that played out in Polonskys own life, but is not fully based on real events. When he was younger, the girlfriend of a good friend passed away after long illness. A few days into Shiva, We were just sitting there and theres not much to say. At one point, this one guy goes, Do you maybe still have some medicinal marijuana that she had? It was such a sad moment, but also brought this kind of humor into it and something about that moment really stuck with me. Two years later, his fathers sister died. The characters are all fictional, but just kind of looking at how everyone reacted differently to that process and sometimes the differences were very subtle it was seeing that and I started writing it as a feature. Directing was the best school I could have asked for, but Polonsky has a hard time pinpointing exactly what he picked up. He hesitates in our conversation then answers, I knew it, but I learned how really valuable people that you work with can be People arent there to fight or just to say yes, they were invested and it was important to find them. One Week And A Day doesnt incorporate a political backdrop that is often part of current Israeli cinema. Polonsky didnt purposely avoid it. He says, Its not like every day when youre living there youre dealing with it. Its not like the characters in this film dont care whats going on outside, they just lost their son. Thats what theyre dealing with. The director is currently living in Australia where his wife is working, but normally resides in LA. He was born in the States and then moved back to Israel for a spell before attending the AFI. Hed ideally like to make films in both the U.S. and Israel, although is eyeing his next project Stateside. Hes working on an LA-set relationship dramedy, yet doesnt rule out making a jump to bigger features. Ive been reading some scripts that are bigger. In almost everything that Ive done, Ive wanted to jump more. Hopefully people that will see this film will think that I can do something bigger. Heres the One Week And A Day trailer: Related stories Un Certain Regard Winners: 'The Happiest Day', 'Captain Fantastic's Matt Ross, 'The Red Turtle' - Cannes Paul Verhoeven, Ever Fearless, Tests Easily-Offended With 'Elle'; Criticizes Hollywood Writing - Cannes The Orchard Orders Richard Gere Drama 'The Dinner' - Cannes Bogota (AFP) - The ashes of the late Nobel Prize-winning novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez will be laid to rest near his seaside home in Colombia on Sunday. The bestselling author of the modern classic "One Hundred Years of Solitude" died in April 2014 in his adopted home of Mexico at the age of 87. Now his ashes have been brought to his native Colombia to rest in the colonial city of Cartagena de Indias, where well-wishers will pay homage to him on Sunday. President Juan Manuel Santos will be among 400 guests and relatives of the writer at the ceremony in the cloisters of Cartagena University, where he will be laid to rest, the institution's press service told AFP. "It is a great honor. I am very moved," said Gonzalo Garcia Barcha, one of the author's two sons. Garcia Marquez was born in Aracataca near Colombia's northern Caribbean coast and started out as a journalist in Cartagena. "Cartagena is the city where the Garcia Marquez family is based. It is where my grandparents are buried," Garcia Barcha told AFP by telephone from France, where he now lives. "It seemed natural to us that his ashes should be there too." Garcia Marquez described journalism as "the best job in the world." But it was through his novels and short stories that he made his mark on the world. He was hailed as the father of "magical realism" for fantastical and romantic stories such as "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "Love in the Time of Cholera." Hailed for helping put Latin America on the literary map, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. - 'Greatest Colombian ever' - A box containing the ashes will be laid in the university's old patio inside a column holding a bronze bust of the writer, sculpted by the British artist Katie Murray. "At the family's request it will be a simple ceremony with guests, lovers of culture, renowned writers... and journalists," the university said. Story continues Garcia Marquez was a vocal advocate of human rights during the numerous dictatorships that reigned in Latin America for decades in the 20th century. He drew criticism from some for supporting the communist revolution in Cuba, as well as for leaving to live outside his home country, stricken by civil conflict for the past half-century. Santos described the writer after his death as "the greatest Colombian of all time." Another major figure of Latin American letters, the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, was laid to rest last month at his home beside the Pacific Ocean in his native country. Years after his death in 1973, Neruda's remains had been disinterred and examined by forensic scientists investigating whether he had been poisoned by the late dictator Augusto Pinochet's regime. * VLCC rates yet to find a floor on low cargo count -brokers * Cheaper Suezmax rates lead charterers to split VLCC cargoes * Worst over for Aframax market as fuel oil cargoes lift rates -broker By Keith Wallis SINGAPORE, May 20 (Reuters) - Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) could slide further before finding a floor and recovering on a rebound in chartering activity, ship brokers said on Friday. Daily earnings for a VLCC charter from the Middle East to Japan have dropped by around $13,500 since May 11 as charterers held back the release of June cargoes and VLCCs faced competition from smaller Suezmax tankers, brokers said. "Suezmax rates are so low now we see charterers splitting VLCC cargoes," a European supertanker broker said on Friday. "Charterers on their side are sitting patiently and watching psychology doing its work." Charter rates for a Suezmax tanker, which can carry around 1 million barrels of oil, are down to around $15,000 per day, brokers said, compared with around $44,000 per day for a VLCC that can transport 2 million barrels of oil. Brokers highlighted U.S. based Valero Energy which chartered two Suezmax vessels this week rather than hire a single VLCC to transport crude from the Middle East to the U.S. West Coast. "When that starts happening I feel we're close to the bottom of the market," said a Singapore-based supertanker broker. "There is still plenty of cargoes to come out. I don't think anybody needs to panic that the VLCC market is going to drop much further," the Singapore broker added. "VLCC rates have the chance for a decent bounce, it's just a question of when it happens," the broker said. Around 25 cargoes have so far been fixed for June loading from the Middle East, which suggested there are a further 100 cargoes for June loading based upon recent cargo counts, brokers said. "If we see a sudden increase in activity later in the month, owners will....try to push rates again," said a second European broker. Story continues "For now, the VLCC market will go lower before it floors," the second European broker said. Congestion delays at Basra and Chinese ports have eased so there are more tankers available for charter, which have further pressured freight rates, brokers said. But the global glut of oil has also led to an increase in the number of tankers used to store oil, with around 40 supertankers currently anchored around Singapore. VLCC rates from the Middle East to Japan fell to around 60.50 on the Worldscale measure on Thursday, down from around W71 last Thursday. Rates for VLCCs from West Africa to China dropped to about W59.75 on Thursday against W67.50 the same day last week on a slow chartering market, the second European broker said. Rates for an 80,000-dwt Aframax tanker from Southeast Asia to East Coast Australia snapped a month long fall this week, rising to almost W90 on Thursday from around W86.50 last week. "The Aframax market has been incredibly painful - there have been no fuel oil moves for two months, but now we are seeing a few more Aframax cargoes. The worst is over," the Singapore broker said. (Reporting by Keith Wallis) VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2016 / Asiamet Resources Limited ("ARS" or the "Company") has filed a technical report supporting the independently prepared Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") study of the Beruang Kanan Main Zone. The PEA has been finalized in compliance with the guidelines of Canadian National Instrument 43-101. The PEA is available for viewing on www.sedar.com or www.asiametresources.com. As announced on April 5, 2016, the highlights of the PEA are: The PEA is the first study undertaken to evaluate the economics of developing an open pit mine and heap leach solvent extraction electro-winning facility ("SX-EW") to directly produce copper cathode based on the near surface copper deposit reported in the 2015 BKM Resource estimate (ARS NR October 21, 2015). Results of the PEA study demonstrate excellent potential for developing a robust, low strip ratio, low capital intensity copper project with low operating costs, strong cash flow generation capacity and significant upside potential through further Resource growth. PEA base case highlights: Target annual production of 25,000 tonnes LME grade A (99.999%) copper metal After-tax Net Present Value ("NPV") of US$204.3 million (10% discount rate) After-tax Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 38.7% Gross Revenue of US$1.27 billion (US$3.25Ib copper price over Life of Mine ("LOM") C1 Operating cost of US$1.28 per pound Initial Capital Cost of US$163.8 million with low capital intensity 2.4 year payback (After-tax from the start of production) Robust mine plan derived from Indicated Resources (29%) and Inferred Resources (71%) Initial 8+ year mine life at a low average strip ratio of 1.23 Significant potential for additional mineralization close to BKM Asiamet considers target production of 25,000 tonnes of copper cathode per year for an initial 8 year LOM to be the most appropriate option for the PEA given the significant exploration potential already identified close to the BKM deposit. Copper mineralization at BKM remains open in several directions and locally at depth. Adjacent high potential prospects at Beruang Kanan South ("BKS"), Beruang Kanan West ("BKW") and BKZ Polymetallic ("BKZ") also represent attractive targets for additional mineralization as demonstrated by the strong surface and drilling results returned to date e.g. 10m at 2.52% Cu incl. 2m at 7.45% Cu from 19.5m at BKS (ARS NR November 16, 2015). Increasing the Mineral Resource base, and thus the potential feed available to the BKM processing facilities evaluated in the current PEA, is likely to have a strongly positive impact on the BKM Copper Project value and will be a key focus for Asiamet going forward. Story continues Qualified Person The PEA was led by the following Qualified Persons ("QP"), as such term is defined in NI 43-101, each of whom is independent of Asiamet and have read and confirmed that this news release, and the April 5, 2016 news release, fairly and accurately reflects the contents of the PEA report: Mr. Ross Cheyne (BE Mining, FAusIMM) Mr. Graeme Miller (FAusIMM, CP AusIMM, BE (Chem) Mr. Duncan Hackman (B.App.Sc., MSc., MIAG) Mr. Johan Du Preez (BSc Eng., P.Eng) Mr. Ali Sahami (Ph.D) The technical information has been included herein with the consent and prior review of the above noted QPs, who have verified the data disclosed, including sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information or opinions contained herein. Mr. Ross Cheyne was responsible for the overall compilation of the PEA Study. He is MD of ORELOGY Consulting Pty Ltd and is the QP for purposes of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Cheyne has more than 28 years' experience, and has experience relevant to this style of operation to qualify as a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101. Mr. Graeme Miller is the QP responsible process metallurgy, process design and associated cost estimation for leach pad through to SX / EW. This includes supervising the metallurgical test work and estimated the copper recoveries. He is a hydrometallurgical and mineral processing engineer with more than 30 years of experience, much of it related to heap leach projects (+12) and solvent extraction operations (+40). The QP responsible for the independent Resource Estimate at BKM is Mr. Duncan Hackman (B.App.Sc., MSc., MIAG), a consultant geologist with more than 30 years' experience. Mr. Hackman is Principal of Hackman and Associates and is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. He has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity undertaken to qualify as a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101. All mineral Resources have been estimated in accordance with the definition standards on mineral resources and mineral reserves of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") referred to in National Instrument 43-101, commonly referred to as NI 43-101. U.S. reporting requirements for disclosure of mineral properties are governed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") Industry Guide 7. Canadian and Guide 7 standards are substantially different. This News Release uses the terms "measured," "indicated" and "inferred" resources. We advise investors that while those terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the SEC does not recognize them. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Engineering designs for Infrastructure buildings, road and earthworks, where required, were undertaken by DRA Global. (DRA). DRA also provided indicative cost estimates for those items not quoted by Indonesian suppliers. This work was peer reviewed by Mr. Johan Du Preez (BSc Eng., P.Eng). Mr. Du Preez is a civil engineer with 40 years' of relevant mining infrastructure experience. Pt. Prastiwahyu Trimitra Engineering investigated various energy supply options for BKM project. PT SMEC Denka Indonesia assessed Hydropower development potential within the BKM project area. PT. Resindo Resources and Energy Indonesia (Resindo) reviewed the preferred options / alternatives for the supply of mining and copper processing plant equipment and/or large volumes of bulk materials to the BKM site. PT Lorax Indonesia completed a Flora and Fauna Ecology Study and provided input to development of a site-specific biodiversity management plan and a general reference for future environmental management strategies. Mr. Ali Sahami (Ph.D) is the President of PT Lorax Indonesia. The information that relates to geology, mineralization, drilling, and mineral resource estimates on the BKM copper deposit, is based on information prepared under the supervision of, or has been reviewed by Mr. Stephen Hughes P. Geo., Asiamet Resources' Vice President of Exploration, a geologist with more than 20 years of experience, a director of ARS and a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101 and the AIM Rules for Companies. Mr. Hughes has reviewed and validated that the information contained in the release is consistent with that provided by the QPs responsible for the PEA. All principal technical personnel and QP's participating in the development and review of the PEA have extensive relevant experience. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Tony Manini, Deputy Chairman and CEO For further information please contact: Tony Manini Deputy Chairman and CEO, Asiamet Resources Limited Telephone: +61 3 8644 1300 Email: tony.manini@asiametresources.com FlowComms Limited Sasha Sethi Telephone: +44 (0) 7891 677 441 Email: Sasha@flowcomms.com / Mehrdad@flowcomms.com Asiamet Resources Nominated Adviser RFC Ambrian Limited Andrew Thomson / Oliver Morse Telephone: +61 8 9480 2500 Email: Andrew.Thomson@rfcambrian.com / Oliver.Morse@rfcambrian.com VSA Capital Limited Andrew Raca / Justin McKeegan Telephone: +44 20 3005 5004 / +44 20 3005 5009 Email: araca@vsacapital.com Optiva Securities Limited Christian Dennis Telephone: +44 20 3137 1903 Email: Christian.Dennis@optivasecurities.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the Company's current expectations and estimates. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan," "expect," "project," "intend," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "suggest," "indicate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing; and fluctuations in metal prices. There may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. SOURCE: Asiamet Resources Limited Master of None launched its first Emmys campaign Wednesday night at Beverly Hills Paley Media Center, where the series co-creators Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang joined Lena Waithe, Kelvin Yu and executive producer Michael Schur for a screening and intimate panel discussion. The Netflix comedy, which Ansari also directs and stars in, follows the professional and personal endeavors of Dev (Ansari), a 30-year-old actor living in New York City. The series debuted on the streaming giant in early November and was renewed for a second season earlier this year. Along with boasting a diverse group of cast and creators, the comedys storylines tackle relevant, relatable topics race, sexuality, dating, immigration and the medias representation of minorities, to name a few. This show is a testament to white people will care about it. Everyone can share in everyones stories and troubles; it doesnt matter what you look like, said Ansari. Everyone has drama in their lives. Everyone has moments that are hilarious, moments that make you cry. As long as its told in an interesting way and its well written, I think everyone can get on board. The show intertwines those real-world messages with storylines that capture the millennial pressures of adulthood pressures that Yu defined as inherently funny. To me thats where the show is happiest, and thats what its real sweet spot is the intersection of the silly, mundane stuff that 30-year-old people go through mixed with the most interesting observations about feminism and race, said Schur, also the co-creator of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation. The casts diversity also translated to the screen, forging a compassionate dynamic in the characters relationships with one another. This wasnt a conscious decision, but as we started talking about these stories and breaking these episodes, it became clear that there was kind of a theme of empathy or learning what its like to walk in someone elses shoes. We never wanted to hammer that point home, but it just sort of happened that way, Yang explained to the audience. Story continues Added Ansari, To get to do our show and have people respond the way they are just shows me that a show like this can work. Theres a lot of people that should just catch up and give people opportunities. Season two of the Netflix series is currently in development and is set to premiere in 2017. Related stories Relativity, Netflix Lock Horns in Protracted Hearing Over 'Masterminds' Release Watch: 'Peaky Blinders' Season 3 Trailer on Netflix Netflix Orders First Original Series from Argentina: Daniel Burman's 'Edha' (EXCLUSIVE) A Hawaiian-based family recently welcomed their newborn daughter Coral and quickly noticed that her thick, shiny hair was unlike the hair of most other babies. Instead of having soft tufts springing from an almost bald head, she had seriously thick hair. Corals parents, who run the YouTube channel Mike & Drea, first posted an image of their daughters relatively long mane on Imgur two days ago, and it has already racked up more than 770,000 views. Surprising? Not exactly. Youll understand once you see Coral for yourself: Image courtesy of Imgur Considering that this baby has hair most of us would pay buckets of money to get for ourselves, its understandable that people are completely awestruck by her picture. For anyone wondering exactly how long Corals hair is, her parents measured the strands in the video below, proving that it reaches nearly two inches at only one month old. After seeing this, well be stocking up on Rogaine and Viviscal in the hope that itll make up for what our genes seem to be lacking although it will be interesting to see if Corals hair develops into the Rapunzel-like locks were all expecting or if it will naturally thin out to join the likes of the rest of us. Only time will tell. And Corals not the only baby with hair thats making waves. Recently, this baby born with a full head of hair inspired a hilarious Photoshop battle. DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh is relocating around 2 million people from its coastal areas ahead of cyclone Roanu's likely landfall on Saturday evening, officials said on Friday, an event that has also kept authorities in neighboring India and Myanmar on edge. The cyclonic storm brought about heavy rains this week in Sri Lanka, triggering two landslides that were feared to have killed around 150 people and forced more than 223,000 persons from their homes. "Low-lying areas of (Bangladesh's) coastal districts ... are likely to be inundated by storm surge of 4-5 feet height above normal astronomical tide," its weather office said on its website. (http://bit.ly/1TrZhmy) India Meteorological Department said on Friday evening the storm was likely to move along the country's east coast and intensify into a "severe" cyclone in the next 24 hours, before crossing the south Bangladesh coast on May 21 as a cyclonic storm with lesser intensity. (http://bit.ly/25dJFvQ) Bangladesh's disaster ministry secretary Mohammad Shah Kamal told reporters the country had already taken "all sorts of steps" to minimize any losses, including moving people away from the eye of the storm. India's Andhra Pradesh state has also moved some people from low-lying areas. Bangladesh, a poor South Asian country, has been one of the worst victims of nature's fury in recent years. More than 3,000 people were killed by Cyclone Sidr in 2007 and around 200 lives were lost to Cycline Aila in 2009. (Reporting by Ruma Paul and Krishna N. Das in Dhaka; additional reporting by Jatindra Dash in India; editing by Ralph Boulton) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches a parade from a balcony at Kim Il Sung Square, in Pyongyang. (Wong Maye-E/AP) A BBC reporter detained last week in North Korea released his account of the ordeal Friday, describing how he was held for 10 hours before being expelled from the country. Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, the BBCs Tokyo correspondent, was in Pyongyang to cover a weeklong visit by three Nobel laureates to the countrys capital. The trip, designed to show North Koreas desire for increased international exchanges, was marred as the country detained Wingfield-Hayes for writing stories the government deemed to be offensive to its people. I was told that my reporting had insulted the Korean people and that I needed to admit my mistakes, Wingfield-Hayes said in a story published by the BBC Friday morning. The offending bits apparently included references to a grim-faced customs official who barked at the reporters, which a North Korean official said portrayed his people as dogs. After intervention from his editors and a written apology, Wingfield-Hayes was eventually released. But his problems didnt end there, as the North Korean government blocked his exit from the country for two more days before finally expelling him. While Wingfield-Hayes was no worse for wear after the incident, it gave him insight into one of the most repressive and reclusive societies in the world. They gave me a rare glimpse inside the dark heart of the North Korean state, Wingfield-Hayes said in the story. I spent only 10 hours in detention. But in that time I got to see just how easy it is for someone in North Korea to disappear. I got to feel the terror of being isolated and accused of crimes I had not committed, and to be threatened with a trial in which the evidence would have been irrelevant, and my guilt assured. SLIDESHOW Pyongyang, North Korea >>> The incident raises questions about the treatment of foreign journalists by a country Reporters Without Borders labeled the second worst in the world for journalistic freedom. Washington Post reporter Anna Fifield took to Facebook Live earlier this month while in North Korea in an attempt to show Americans what life is like in the country for an outsider. Story continues Fifield showed viewers her hotel room and the lights of Pyongyang in anticipation of the upcoming Workers Congress, and fielded questions about her trip. While Facebook and Twitter are banned in the country and North Korea is not known for its Internet connectivity, she used a North Korean SIM card to connect to the streaming service. Despite the resistance encountered by the BBC, Fifield said she thought the country was changing and becoming more tolerant of foreign press. I am obviously careful about being here, but, no, I feel fine, she said in the live video. North Korea seems to have relaxed some of its hostile policies toward foreign media outlets, at least in theory. The Associated Press opened a Pyongyang bureau in 2012 and Agence France-Presse followed suit earlier this year. Categories Skincare Natural-born beauty Zoe Kravitz doesnt need a lot to keep her skin glowingyou wouldnt either if you were the daughter of Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz. For the most part, the 27-year old relies mostly on low maintenance products. When we sat down with her at the Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Vinyl Couture launch party, she told us, I think I learned everything from my mother and father. Were a family of coconut oilit cures everything. Its great for your hair, your body and its even antibacterial! But someone with such amazing skin must have another secret up her sleeve, right? Oh! She remembers, I have this device at home actually. Its a light thats supposed to kill bacteria, its called LightStim! My boyfriend makes so much fun of me when I hold it up to my face. But with a complexion like that? Whos laughing now? LightStim for Acne, $169 The non-invasive device uses UV-free blue and red lights that work together to kill bacteria and reduce inflammation, without damaging or drying out your skin. May 20 (Reuters) - The General Re unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Friday named longtime reinsurance executive Kara Raiguel as its new chief executive officer, replacing the retiring Tad Montross. Raiguel will report to Ajit Jain, who oversees Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group and has long been viewed as a potential successor to Buffett at Berkshire itself. In an internal memo issued on Thursday and obtained by Reuters, Jain said Raiguel has been a "key player" at his reinsurance division for more than 15 years, his "secret weapon" for 10 years, and a "true renaissance woman in the insurance and reinsurance industry." Jain highlighted her work including the creation of a large California workers' compensation program, and a foray into India's reinsurance market. Montross had been chairman and CEO of Stamford, Connecticut-based General Re since 2008, and reported directly to Buffett. Raiguel was not immediately available for comment. The memo was earlier reported by The Wall Street Journal. Reinsurers provide protection for traditional insurers. Berkshire paid about $16 billion for General Re in 1998 and after initial struggles the unit has performed better recently. Buffett nonetheless warned on April 30 at Berkshire's annual meeting that the industry will fare less well in the next decade as more investors enter the business and push prices down. In the memo, Jain agreed that the industry faces "serious headwinds." He said Raiguel's first priority in the next 90 days is to decide how best to add business without sacrificing underwriting discipline and business integrity. Berkshire owns some 90 businesses including energy companies, food and clothing companies, and a railroad. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company has become less reliant on insurance and reinsurance as it diversifies, but generates much of its power to invest and make acquisitions from "float," the amount of insurance premiums collected before claims are paid. General Re and Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance accounted for more than two-thirds of Berkshire's roughly $88 billion of float as of March 31. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski) Spoiler Alert! This story includes details about tonights season finale of NBCs The Blacklist. NBCs The Blacklist pulled off a Jon Snow. A month after Lizs (Megan Boone) smilingly tragic death right after child birth, she resurfaced alive and well toward the end of tonights episode of The Blacklist. In a scene that appeared to have been shot before Boone left for maternity leave, Liz is reunited with her husband Tom (Ryan Eggold) and their newborn daughter in Cuba. kaplan-blacklist And that was not the biggest surprise. Ever since the April episode in which Liz dies aired, there had been a ton of speculation that the demise, likely a story devise to accommodate Boones pregnancy, was another attempt by Red (James Spader) to fake Lizs death as a protective measure. The twist? It wasnt Red, it was actually his trusted cleaner, Kate Kaplan who had arranged the fake-out, even fooling her boss. The plan backfired when Reds nemesis Alexander Kirk, who had been behind the attempt to abduct Liz, tracked Tom who led his people to the newly reunited family in Cuba. the-blacklist-season-3-liz How, Red asked Kate in his steely voice while the two were on a private plane to Cuba, rushing to stop Kirk from harming Liz and the baby. She explained her elaborate plan that involved getting the doctor to fake Lizs death by putting her in an induced coma so deep that even Red, sitting next to her, did not suspect a thing. Kate insisted she did it for baby Agnes, with Lizs full cooperation. A child was paying the price for Lizs association with you, Kate said. She loved her daughter that much. By the time team Reddington got to Cuba, the young family was gone, their house thrashed, blood on the floor. Kate, what am I gonna do with you, Kate, Red said in his most menacing voice, clutching her face. In the final scene, Liz was tied up to a chair, with Alexander Kirk walking in. He would not tell her where her husband and daughter are but would drop the final bombshell in the episode: he is Lizs father. Story continues Stay tuned for a Q&A with The Blacklist creator/executive producer Jon Bokenkamp about tonights developments. Related stories Record-Breaking 'This Is Us' Trailer Tops 30 Million Views On Facebook - Update 'Grey's Anatomy' Finale Ratings Steady With 2015, 'Blacklist' Down, 'Legends' Even 'The Blacklist' Creator On Finale's Shocking Twists, the Fallout & Season 4 First, the caveats: No hard evidence of a bomb has been found, and no claim of responsibility has been announced. But because of the way EgyptAir Flight 804 dropped out of the sky, and the fact that it was headed to Egyptscene of the only airliner bombing in 14 yearsgovernment officials and outside experts agree that the odds favor a terror strike. No one yet knows how it might have happened, but two main possibilities present themselvesand both present mind-boggling implications. Read More: Airport Workers in the Spotlight After EgyptAir Crash The first and perhaps most likely possibility is that the airliner was brought down as airliners usually areby a bomb sneaked onto the plane at its last point of departure. That was Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) in Paris, which was thought to be among the most secure in Europe. If the bomb got onto a plane at CDG, it calls into question all the preventative security measures taken to safeguard global civil aviation since 9/11, because no city would be taking safety more seriously than Paris since the attacks of last November, to say nothing of the Brussels bombings of March. If Paris was where a bomb got on board a plane, the spotlight then focuses on the 86,000 airport workers cleared to work in the so-called reserved zone beyond the reach of passengers. Thats a huge number of people to vet for security; and in France, where 7 percent of the population is Muslim, the fear is that any of them could have quietly gone to work for ISIS. As TIMEs Vivienne Walt reports, French security services already have tried to detect evidence of radicalism among airport workers, and in fact 57 workers lost their clearances through November of last year. In Belgium, something similar happened at nuclear power plant, where 11 workers were barred after concerns were raised about insiders stealing radioactive material for use by ISIS. Story continues This is part of what makes ISIS so challenging. The group does not operate like al-Qaeda, which saw itself as an elite, members-only strike force that put immense thought and planning into choosing its targets. ISIS operates more like a mass movement with a very low bar to entry. The worlds perhaps 1.2 billion Sunni Muslims are its declared constituency, but anyone can joinanyone who is angry, really, as former ISIS hostage Nicolas Henin told me recentlyand all are encouraged to stir up mayhem where they can. A Russian jet carrying 224 people was brought down last November over Egypt by a homemade bomb tucked into a 12-oz. aluminum beverage can and rolled onto the charter flight with the other catering. Read More: Egyptair Crash: Airbus A320 is Workhorse of the Skies The assumption is that the downing was the work of ISISs affiliate in Egypts Sinai Peninsula, which took credit for the attack. But it could have been anyone. ISIS can be anywhere theres an IP address and a mind open to its message. Thats the first of the mind-numbing possibilities of EgyptAir 804. The other possibility is that the bomb was put on the Airbus 320 before it reached Paris. Thats not how terror strikes usually work against airplanes, but its been done. Al Qaedas deadly Yemen affiliate in 2010 secreted homemade explosives in printer cartridges, then shipped to the United States. They were found, thanks to a tip from Saudi intelligence, in the hold of cargo jets during scheduled stops in Britain and Dubai. Read More: Heres What We Know So Far About EgyptAir Flight 804 The plane that became EgyptAir 804 the moment it left Paris had, in the previous 48 hours, been to Asmara, Eritrea, and Tunis, Tunisia. Eritrea is a police state, though in the convoluted regional politics of Africas Horn it has a history of supporting Islamists in nearby Somalia against its arch-enemy, Ethiopia. But its Tunis that draws the eye. Leaders of the north African nation won the Nobel Peace Prize for forming a government that sustained the promise of the Arab Spring. But their country is also a recruiting hotbed for ISIS , providing more volunteers than any other nation to the war in Syria. Its not hard to imagine there might be one or two workers thinking of ISIS at Tunis-Carthage International Airport. Or, for that matter, at the airports where the same plane made stops in the previous days: Khartoum, Riyadh, Medina, Juba. And why rule out Cairo and Alexandria, the largest cities in an Egypt, where the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has equated all expressions of political Islam with terror, forcing millions to take sides? Airplanes are supposed to be searched at every stop, but its the job of the airline itself to conduct the search, and anyone who has passed through an Egyptian airport knows how what cursory looks like. And if airline employees are being doubted, wouldnt that include a mechanic, who could know where to tuck something out of sight? Entirely possible. But heres the thing: There are 100,000 flights every day around the world. Airport security monitors the safety of every one. If that task is expanded to take in the recent itinerary of every planewith a leery eye cast toward stops in the Middle Eastthe mind boggles again, and goes right on boggling. We quickly approach the level of paranoia that is the ultimate aim of any terror attack, and, with that paranoia, a creeping suspicion toward all Muslims that ISIS explicitly says it wants to encourage. And whats the good in that? Everyone wants to feel safe. And the best way remains to look out for one another, and not only in the security sense of the expression. Boston Scientific Corporation BSX recently launched its Precision Montage MRI Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) System in the U.S., subsequent to the devices receipt of FDA approval. The company will also showcase this system at the 8th World Congress of the World Institute of Pain, being held in New York City. Notably, SCS is a small surgical device which delivers small electrical impulses to a patients spinal cord; relieving the patient from long term chronic pain. Chronic pain is a common medical condition, which in case of adversities might hamper the quality of a patients daily life. Currently, almost 100 million U.S. citizens suffer from this condition. As a therapeutic option, majority of patients have been found to have adopted Multiwave Technology for optimizing their pain relief. Evidently, from a study involving 800 patients, 72% were found to have undergone Multiwave Technology treatment. Interestingly, Boston Scientifics Precision Montage MRI SCS allows patients to undergo a full-body 1.5 Tesla MRI scan while also delivering multiple waveforms. This marks a milestone achievement for this medical device major, making Precision Montage MRI SCS the first to allow a full body MRI among the companys other SCS systems. This new SCS system also expands the suite of Boston Scientifics neuromodulation portfolio of products that leverage the Illumina 3D algorithm, which is a unique programming software facilitating simple point-and-click pain targeting the treatment of chronic pain. Per management, Lumina clinical study results (in Jan 2015) exhibited patients demonstrating 70% greater low-back pain relief with Boston Scientifics SCS system in the Illumina 3D family, at 24-months. No doubt this latest addition to the companys ever expanding suit of neuromodulation devices will expand its customer base, taking into consideration this clinical study outcome. The earlier version of the SCS system offered by Boston Scientific Precision Spectra platform currently dominates the market, being the most flexible SCS system. Story continues With the global neuromodulation devices market expected to grow at a double digit CAGR to reach $9.3 billion by 2021, we expect the Precision Montage SCS launch to substantially boost Boston Scientifics profit margins in the days ahead. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other favorably ranked medical stocks are SurModics, Inc. SRDX, Baxter International Inc. BAX and LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. LMAT. While SurModics and Baxter sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), LeMaitre carries a Zacks Rank #2. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report BOSTON SCIENTIF (BSX): Free Stock Analysis Report BAXTER INTL (BAX): Free Stock Analysis Report SURMODICS (SRDX): Free Stock Analysis Report LEMAITRE VASCLR (LMAT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Oil giant BP plc BP is reportedly contemplating the sale of a minority stake in the Forties pipeline. BP is the sole owner of the Forties pipeline, which is among the key oil infrastructure in the U.K. North Sea. Though BP has initiated discussions with potential buyers, a formal sale process is yet to commence. The company did not disclose any details with respect to this matter. In 2016, BP intends to divest assets worth $3 billion to $5 billion to lower its debt, maintain dividends as well as to pay for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill. The Forties pipeline system is capable of carrying and processing about 1 million barrels of oil per day, including liquids extracted from natural gas, from more than 50 North Sea fields. The oil transported through the system is vital in setting the price of Dated Brent an international crude benchmark. Initially, the pipeline was constructed to transfer oil from the Forties field to the Grangemouth refinery near Edinburgh. Over the decades, additional discoveries such as the nations largest field, Buzzard were linked to the system. The Forties field was sold to Apache Corp. APA and the refinery to Ineos Group AG in the last decade by BP. The company, however, retained control of the pipeline system. In 2015, BP farmed out a portion in the Central Area Transmission Systems, or CATS, natural-gas transportation system in the U.K. North Sea for 324 million pounds ($473 million). The free fall in oil prices has posed major obstacles for companies that intend to sell oil fields, though demand for infrastructure related to the deposits remains high. The decline in commodity prices has forced other oil majors like Total SA TOT to sell gas pipelines and a terminal in the U.K. for 585 million pounds. The asset was sold by Total to North Sea Midstream Partners in Aug 2015. According to reports, Royal Dutch Shell plc RDS.A is also in talks with potential buyers regarding the divestment of its assets, mostly fields it got in 2016 as part of the record $54 billion acquisition of BG Group plc. Currently, BP carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report BP PLC (BP): Free Stock Analysis Report TOTAL FINA SA (TOT): Free Stock Analysis Report ROYAL DTCH SH-A (RDS.A): Free Stock Analysis Report APACHE CORP (APA): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Brad Haynes SAO PAULO, May 20 (Reuters) - Brazil's government denied plans to suspend a popular housing subsidy on Friday, as the cities minister became the latest member of interim President Michel Temer's cabinet to walk back reported policy changes in a hasty transition. The minister, Bruno Araujo, pledged to maintain and "improve" the program, backpedaling public comments just as the ministers of justice, health and education have done this week. The flaps have confused policy messages from the new administration, which is planning ambitious economic reforms and renewed austerity, but remains provisional while Rousseff is tried in the Senate for allegedly breaking budget rules. She stepped aside last week to face trial, but has denied wrongdoing in the case, which could take up to 180 days. One of Brazil's biggest newspapers, O Estado de S. Paulo, reported on Friday, citing an interview with the minister, that the government had suspended housing program Minha Casa Minha Vida during a 40-day review. "Under no conditions would we talk at this point of suspending the Minha Casa Minha Vida program," Araujo said in a statement published by the ministry. "What we are doing is being cautious, evaluating what we can promise to avoid false hopes." Shares of MRV Engenharia SA, the biggest homebuilder in the low-income housing program, dropped nearly 8 percent in early trading before paring losses to 1 percent as the minister waved away concerns. On Monday, Temer had to assure Brazilians he would keep up a tradition of nominating a prosecutor general recommended by his peers, after the justice minister's comments raised concerns about judicial independence. The health minister also said the size of the public health system had to be reassessed, before retracting his comments. His peer in the education ministry said he supported monthly fees for post-graduate courses at federal universities, but then guaranteed that all public universities would remain free. Story continues Geddel Vieira Lima, the secretary of the government, acknowledged on Tuesday that some policy considerations "were being transmitted to society in the wrong way," asking journalists for "patience" amid the transition. "We've been in the government for two working days and we're being treated like we've been here for years," he said. (Reporting by Brad Haynes; Additional reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia; Editing by Alistair Bell) (Adds comment from Parente) BRASILIA/RIO DE JANEIRO, May 19 (Reuters) - Brazil's interim President Michel Temer named Pedro Parente chief executive officer of state-led oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA on Thursday as his government tries to kick-start a shrinking economy and shore up the debt-laden oil producer. An engineer and one-time chief of staff to former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Parente replaces Aldemir Bendine. Parente, 63, is charged with rescuing Petrobras, as the company is known, from a financial crisis brought on by low world oil prices, crippling debt and a massive corruption scandal. "I understand the responsibilities," Parente said at a news conference in Brasilia. "I have no doubt that the company will have good governance and ...a strictly professional management." He said there would be no political appointments at the company. Parente is best known for his role as chairman of the Brazil unit of agribusiness and commodities-trading giant Bunge Ltd from 2010 to 2014. He said he would resign as chairman of the Brazilian bourse BM&FBovespa SA if there were a conflict of interest, though he would prefer to stay on as the company is in the middle of acquiring rival Cetip SA Mercados Organizados. The appointment marks Parente's return to Petrobras after 14 years. He sat on Petrobras' board under Cardoso and was a key player in opening Petrobras to competition and international investment after the Cardoso administration ended Petrobras' monopoly over exploration and production in 1997. He managed a severe energy crisis that required electricity rationing and the quick building of supplementary power stations and also helped manage a reduction of the government's stake in Petrobras. The Petrobras he will take over, pending approval by its board of directors, will be quite different than the one he left. Petrobras invested $4.91 billion in 2002, Parente's last year on the board. A decade later Petrobras was investing nearly $50 billion a year and despite major cutbacks still plans to spend $19 billion this year. Story continues Petrobras has struggled in recent years to increase domestic oil production as much as expected, missing annual targets for 12 straight years. Meanwhile, its total debt soared faster than output to about 450 billion reais, or nearly $130 billion, at the end of the first quarter from 33 billion reais ($9.32 billion) in 2002. Petrobras is now the most indebted oil company in the world. Temer replaced suspended President Dilma Rousseff last week while she faces an impeachment trial. ($1 = 3.5634 Brazilian reais) (Reporting by Lisandra Parguassu, additional reporting and writing by Jeb Blount; Editing by Dan Grebler, Bernard Orr) By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - Tests show an outbreak of Zika virus on the African island chain of Cape Verde is of the same strain as the one blamed for birth abnormalities in Brazil, the World Health Organization said on Friday. "The findings are of concern because it is further proof that the outbreak is spreading beyond South America and is on the doorstep of Africa," said WHO's Africa director Matshidiso Moeti. "This information will help African countries to re-evaluate their level of risk and adapt and increase their levels of preparedness," she said. Zika was first discovered in Africa in 1947 and until the past year it was thought to cause only mild symptoms with no known link with brain or birth disorders. Researchers identified two distinct lineages in 2012, African and Asian. As of May 8, there had been 7,557 suspected cases in Cape Verde, an Atlantic archipelago around 570 km (350 miles) west of Senegal, which has historic ties to Brazil. Until the virus was sequenced by the Institut Pasteur in Senegal, it was not certain if the outbreak was caused by the African or Asian type, which has hit Brazil and other Latin American countries. Moeti said she would not recommend strict travel restrictions to try to stop the spread of the disease further into Africa, but advocated efforts to control mosquito numbers and stop people being bitten. Bruce Aylward, head of outbreaks and health emergencies at WHO, said it remained to be seen if African populations would have some immunity to the virus which could mitigate the impact of a Zika outbreak on the continent. U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies. The WHO has said there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can also cause Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults. The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last year in Brazil, which has now confirmed more than 1,300 cases of microcephaly that it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Cape Verde has reported three cases of microcephaly, and a mother thought to have caught Zika their later delivered a microcephalic baby in the United States. Cape Verde has not reported any cases of Guillain-Barre, WHO said. (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Andrew Roche) By Alonso Soto and Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - The Brazilian government expects a record budget shortfall this year as a two-year recession drags down revenues, but policymakers vowed new austerity measures to regain investors' confidence in the once-booming economy. The federal government's primary budget deficit could reach a staggering 170.5 billion reais (34 billion) in 2016, or the equivalent of 2.75 percent of gross domestic product. Last year the government posted a record deficit of 1.94 percent of GDP. The new shortfall estimate will be the administration's primary deficit target, which needs congressional approval before the end of the month to avoid a government shutdown. The primary balance, which represents revenues minus expenditures before debt interest payments, is a closely watched gauge of creditworthiness. Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said the target could be reduced if Congress approves austerity measures to be proposed by the government in coming weeks. He declined to detail the measures, but said they will help initially stabilise the growing debt burden and later reduce it to ease investors' fears over the country's financial health. Meirelles, a former central bank chief respected on Wall Street, was appointed last week by interim President Michel Temer to plug an overall budget deficit that ballooned to 10 percent of GDP and cost Brazil its coveted investment grade rating last year. "We will work with a target lower than what we announced," Meirelles said in a press briefing. "This is a realistic and transparent target." He did not rule out future tax hikes, but said the new measures will focus on better use of public funds. The Temer administration has accused the previous government of hiding a series of fiscal liabilities that inflated the primary deficit. Suspended President Dilma Rousseff had estimated a deficit of 97 billion reais for this year. A sharp fall in the price of commodities and years of heavy spending under Rousseff have deteriorated Brazil's fiscal accounts, which once enjoyed hefty surpluses. Planning Minister Romero Juca, who also took part in the press conference, said he is confident Congress will approve the new fiscal target next week. (Reporting by Alonso Soto; Editing by James Dalgleish and Leslie Adler) LONDON (Reuters) - The official campaign for Britain to leave the European Union has complained to police about an advertisement by Ryanair that offers expatriate Britons cheap tickets to come home and vote to stay in the bloc. The Irish airline has been actively campaigning for Britain to stay in the EU, spending 25,000 euros (19,269.5 pounds) on adverts urging customers to vote "In" and warning that it might withdraw some investment from Britain if "Out" voters win. In a "Brexit special" advertisement, Ryanair said British voters overseas could fly home to vote "Remain" for 19.99 euros on the day of the referendum, June 23, or the day before. The tongue-in-cheek ad doesn't suggest Ryanair has any way of knowing how passengers would vote, if at all. Vote Leave, the official Brexit campaign, wrote to London's Metropolitan Police complaining the special offer may violate referendum rules and anti-bribery laws. "This appears to be corrupt, since the company is offering discounts on the commercial rate to customers with the sole aim of ensuring that they vote and vote to remain in the European Union," campaign director Dominic Cummings wrote to the police. In response, Ryanair extended the booking period for its special offer by 24 hours, to midnight on Friday. "The 'Leave' campaign must be getting really desperate if they're objecting to low-fare travel for British citizens," Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said in a statement. "As the UK's largest airline, Ryanair is absolutely clear that the UK economy and its growth prospects are stronger as a member of the European Union and the single market than they are outside the EU," he said. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said the force had received the letter, would consider its contents and respond in due course. (This story has been corrected to make clear booking period, not travel period, extended by 24 hours) (Reporting by Estelle Shirbon in London and Padraic Halpin in Dublin; Editing by Larry King and Catherine Evans) London (AFP) - If Britain votes to leave the European Union in a referendum next month it could trigger a second ballot on Scottish independence within two years, senior Scottish separatist Alex Salmond told AFP. Salmond, 61, who led the Scottish National Party and was first minister of Scotland before resigning when independence was defeated 45% to 55% in a 2014 vote, is campaigning against a so-called Brexit. Opinion polls show Britons are divided on whether to remain in the 28-member European bloc or not. Salmond, who is now a lawmaker in the London parliament, said it could come down to the wire. "I think the referendum will be a damn close-run thing," he told AFP, criticising Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron's campaign to remain within the EU as "negative". "The approach of the Prime Minister... is to make essentially a negative case, a scaremongering case," Salmond said. "The problem with that case is essentially it's a lie. Yes, of course, leaving the EU will cause economic difficulty, trouble, tribulations, but it's not a disaster. And it doesn't signal the end of international trade." "The right campaign in order to engender the enthusiasm of Europe is to say: this is what we think Europe should be doing. This is the Europe we can build, the Europe we can seek." Salmond warned that it could all come down to differences in opinion between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. - 'We can be independent' - If the majority of Scottish voters opt on June 23 to stay in the 28-member bloc but the weight of ballots in the rest of Britain means the pro-Brexit side prevails, that would be a mandate for a new independence referendum, he argued. Scotland would not be pulled out of Europe against its will. "Nicola Sturgeon said if we get dragged out of Europe against our will that would be the change in material circumstances that could lead to another referendum," Salmond said. Story continues "So I think if that circumstance came about there will be an out referendum, it will occur within the two years period." "If you say to Scotland look, we can be independent, and within this European firmament or we can drift off into the North Atlantic with a Tory government. I think they'll choose independence," he said. Either way, he is not optimistic about the future prospects of Cameron. "I think if he will be out on his ear, regardless of the result of the referendum," Salmond said. "If there's an in-vote, I think he's finished as well. And the reason for that is... he said he's not going to contest the next election. So what's the point in staying on?" Cameron's Conservatives are deeply split on the issue of Brexit. The campaign has been damaging, Salmond argued. "There will be a huge amount of resentment that has been built up about the nature of the campaign, about the people who were bullied and blackmailed and threatened," he said. "You have a referendum because you want to make a change, you want to do something, achieve something," Salmond said. "You don't have a referendum when you don't want a change." As for Cameron's decision to hold the referendum? An "extraordinary circumstance where you gamble so much for so little". London (AFP) - British stars including Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley and Patrick Stewart urged voters to back staying in the European Union in a joint letter published on Friday. Signed by 282 people from the worlds of film, music and literature, the letter was published in the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian as Britain prepares for a June 23 referendum on whether to remain in the 28-member bloc. "Britain is not just stronger in Europe, it is more imaginative and more creative, and our global creative success would be severely weakened by walking away," the letter read. "Leaving Europe would be a leap into the unknown for millions of people across the UK who work in the creative industries, and for the millions more at home and abroad who benefit from the growth and vibrancy of Britain's cultural sector." Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle and poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy put their name to the call, as did authors Hilary Mantel and John le Carre, and designer Vivienne Westwood. Actors Helena Bonham Carter, Kristin Scott Thomas, Bill Nighy, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Dominic West also signed, as did music stars Hot Chip and Paloma Faith. Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that leaving the EU would damage Britain's economy, but those campaigning to leave argue it will save money and give Britain greater control over immigration. The latest polls show growing support for Britain to remain in the European Union with an average compiled by the WhatUKThinks website on Friday showing "Remain" ahead with 55 percent, compared to 45 percent for "Leave". - 'The EU dream is dead' - Citing William Shakespeare and David Bowie, the letter said British creativity "inspires and influences the rest of the world". "We believe that being part of the EU bolsters Britain's leading role on the world stage," it read. "Let's not become an outsider shouting from the wings." Story continues John Sorrell, chairman of the Creative Industries Federation, said: "We benefit from a vast network of talented people, companies and institutions across Europe." He said creative industries contributed A84.1 billion (109.2 billion euros/$122.6 billion) to the British economy and its position as a "vital creative hub is a huge part of this success". But Michael Dobbs, a Conservative member of the British upper house of parliament who helped write and produce the Netflix hit series "House of Cards", said Britain's strength in the arts was "not because of the EU". "Ancient Greece was the birthplace of our civilisation yet today, because of the EU's appalling policies, streets that were once filled with the world's greatest philosophers and playwrights are choked with desperate beggars and mountains of rotting rubbish," he said. "These are the realities of the EU. It's failing. The dream is dead. We need to move on." BUDAPEST (Reuters) - The European Union treats Poland unfairly and Brussels will never win its battle against the Poles, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday. The European Commission took another step on Wednesday in its unprecedented investigation into the rule of law in Poland, saying it would send its criticisms to Warsaw by Monday unless it saw "significant progress" by then. The EU executive opened an inquiry into whether the rule of law is under threat in Poland after the nationalist-minded government sought changes in the constitutional court that critics said undermined democratic checks and balances. "Brussels' stance against Poland is not just ... they should give more respect to the Poles," Orban said. "Brussels will never win this battle against the Poles." (Reporting by Krisztina Than, editing by Larry King) By Andrea Hopkins and David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, under fire for getting involved in an unprecedented physical fracas in Parliament, said on Thursday that he was only human and in a high pressure job but promised there would be no repeat of his actions. Trudeau, impatient at what he saw as stalling tactics by the opposition ahead of a vote on Wednesday evening, crossed the floor in the House of Commons to grab one legislator and drag him to his seat, accidentally elbowing another in the chest. He has apologized three times already and said he would accept any punishment meted out by a special committee of legislators examining the incident. "I think people understand that there is a tremendous amount of pressures that come with this job and I am human," Trudeau said in his Parliament Hill office, which was dotted with pictures of Trudeau, his family, and his former prime minister father as well as a Lego canoe with four miniature figures in it. "But I think at the same time, a big part of recognizing strengths and weaknesses is when you make a mistake you admit it, you make amends, you ask for forgiveness and you make sure it never happens again." The affair was a rare public loss of control for Trudeau, 44, who led his Liberals to power last October with a promise of "sunny ways", and dented his image. Telegenic and tattooed, Trudeau has gained a rock star level of celebrity thanks partly to an avowed feminist stance and he is often swarmed by fans seeking selfies. "Quite frankly a lot of people said: 'Don't worry about it, everyone has bad days'. But the people who know me said 'OK, Justin, is there something bugging you? Is the atmosphere in the House getting particularly toxic?'" he said. Trudeau said his response was that "you can't separate one from the other" but that he should have refrained from getting involved in the incident, which was gleefully dissected on Twitter with the hashtag #elbowgate and splashed on newspaper front pages across the country. "I made a poor judgment call in wanting to step in on a situation that I should have just let evolve without the prime minister thrusting himself into the middle of it," he said. Trudeau is in no immediate political danger since the next election is not due until October 2019 and opinion polls put him far ahead of his rivals. The special committee of legislators could find him in contempt of Parliament, thereby potentially triggering a vote of confidence which he would easily win given the Liberals' majority in Parliament. The incident, while mild compared to the brawls between legislators in Taiwan, Japan and Ukraine, was rare in Canadian politics. "We started this parliament with the promise of 'sunny ways,' but what we've seen in particular in the last few weeks is the furthest thing from that," Rona Ambrose, leader of the official opposition Conservative Party told the chamber. Tensions are rising as opposition members complain about what they see as Liberal attempts to pre-empt discussion on a bill that would allow assisted death. (Additional reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Amran Abocar and Alan Crosby) By Matt Scuffham TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's biggest banks are expected to set aside more funds to cover bad loans to the oil and gas sector, eating into their profits when they announce second quarter results next week, analysts say. Royal Bank of Canada , Bank of Nova Scotia , Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce all reported an increase in losses from oil sector loans that turned sour in the first quarter. Although oil prices have improved since February, the banks' second-quarter results will show the impact of credit lines to oil firms being tightened to reflect lower oil prices, a move that could lead some to default on their loans, analysts say. The situation is likely to have been exacerbated by the impact of the Alberta wildfires, which has led to several producers being unable to fulfill supply contracts. "We believe that provisions are going to increase in the second quarter for the Canadian banks. I think it's likely going to reflect the redeterminations that just took place," said Fitch Senior Director Doriana Gamboa. Energy companies across Canada and the United States have met with their banks in recent weeks to determine how much debt they can continue to hold as part of a bi-annual process and senior bankers have told Reuters credit lines have been cut by around 15-20 percent. Two mid-sized Canadian banks already have increased provisions ahead of announcing their results. National Bank of Canada estimated it would set aside C$250 million in the quarter ended April to cover bad loans to the oil and gas industry, much higher than the C$17 million it set aside in the first quarter. Alberta-based Canadian Western Bank said it had set aside another C$33 million. Barclays analyst John Aiken said those warnings had "re-ignited" energy credit concerns for Canadian banks. Scotiabank has the highest exposure to the oil and gas sector of any major Canadian bank, equivalent to 3.6 percent of its total loan book, followed by Royal Bank of Canada . In addition to direct losses from bad loans to oil and gas firms, banks also face a secondary impact from the knock-on effect on consumers affected by the oil slump. Defaults on consumer loans in oil-producing regions such as Alberta, which has been hit by rising unemployment, have already hiked, and analysts say the situation could deteriorate further. (Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Bill Trott) By David Ljunggren and Andrea Hopkins OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will urge fellow leaders at a Group of Seven summit next week to invest in their economies to boost growth rather than focus on cutting costs. Policy steps to address subdued global growth will be high on the agenda at the May 26-27 meeting at Ise-Shimate, Japan. "I'm very much on the investment side of the investment-versus-austerity debate going on in capitals around the world right now and I'll be continuing to push that," Trudeau told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. "We know that the challenges global growth is facing aren't just going to be solved by strategic cuts here and there: at one point we do have to start investing in our future." Trudeau came to power last October promising to run annual budget deficits of C$10 billion to invest in infrastructure. His Liberal government, citing the weak economy, unveiled a shortfall of C$30 billion in its first budget in March and Trudeau told Reuters that was not a fixed upper limit. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has struggled to gain consent among the G7 nations for coordinated fiscal action to spur global growth, with countries such as Germany and Britain insisting on fiscal austerity. "The emphasis that Prime Minister Abe is going to be putting on infrastructure is one that is certainly very much near to my heart," said Trudeau. The Canadian leader was more circumspect, however, when asked whether the G7 summit should condemn provocation in the East and South China Seas, where China is locked in territorial disputes. Beijing protested when G7 foreign ministers issued such a statement at an April meeting. Trudeau said the leaders were looking for ways to boost the economies of the G7 and China while also raising issues of rights and security. The group, he added, needed a better level of engagement with China and should act in a way that did not destabilize the world. The G7 groups the United States, Japan, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy and France. (Writing by David Ljunggren; Editing by Sandra Maler) By Andrea Hopkins and David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested on Thursday that a C$30 billion (15.7 billion pounds) budget deficit was not a hard limit as the government's focus should be on spurring economic growth. In a wide-ranging interview, Trudeau, 44, also said he wanted Britain to stay in the European Union and attributed his role a day earlier in an unusual physical fracas in Parliament partly to being in a high stress job. On the budget deficit, Trudeau said he was not obsessed with a "perfect number" and instead vowed to increase economic growth. "Yes, we need to be fiscally disciplined, we need to be responsible, but we need to be investing in the right kinds of things at the same time, so the arbitrary picking a number and trying to stick with it is exactly what I campaigned against in the last campaign," Trudeau said. "It's not an obsession with the perfect number, it's an obsession with the perfect, or the right, path to grow the economy in ways that help in the short term but lead us on the path towards prosperity in the medium and long term." Canadian economic growth is tepid and massive wildfires spreading across the energy heartland will cut federal tax revenues and cost Ottawa billions to cover much of the damages. Trudeau campaigned on a proposed C$10 billion annual deficit but the ruling Liberals later said the economy needed a bigger jump start given the downturn. In March, the government unveiled a budget with a shortfall of just under C$30 billion. "What Trudeau learned from ballooning out the deficit the first time was that voters don't care. Canadian voters are prioritising growth and Trudeau plans to deliver that at any cost," said Adam Button, currency analyst at ForexLive in Montreal. "Like voters, the market is much more concerned with growth at this point. Central bankers have failed to deliver growth and markets are willing to tolerate larger government deficits for a chance to return to the old normal." Story continues Speaking in his corner office on Parliament Hill, where a sheathed Sikh sword sits on the desk, Trudeau said he did not see a point at which the government would walk away from talks with Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO) because aerospace jobs were exactly the kind of future Canada wants. Ottawa is under pressure to provide aid to the plane maker, which is based in the mostly French-speaking province of Quebec, Trudeau's home, but federal negotiators want concessions around control of the company. NO ABORIGINAL VETO ON PIPELINES The prime minister also said that while community consultation was vital, Aboriginal groups did not have a veto over pipeline development. Building new oil pipelines in Canada has proven difficult in recent years amid fierce legal and social opposition, frustrating producers who want greater market access. Trudeau said there would be no unanimous agreement over the future of pipelines needed to carry oil from landlocked Alberta, but the government's long approval processes ensured any decisions would balance concerns from both the environment and the energy sector. He also expressed hope Britons would vote on June 23 to stay in the European Union, noting there would be "nothing easy or automatic" about Britain negotiating a bilateral trade deal with Canada. Trudeau, under fire for initiating the confrontation in Parliament on Wednesday - a rare public loss of control that dented his image - characterized his actions as "a poor judgment call." He declined to comment on whether Canada or the world would struggle if Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump were to win the White House in November. "I know that the relationship between Canada and the U.S., specifically, but (also) between the U.S. and the rest of the G7 countries is greater than the personality of any one leader and I look forward to working with whomever the Americans elect this fall," Trudeau said, adding that he has never spoken to Trump. (Additional reporting by Leah Schnurr, and Fergal Smith in Toronto; Editing by Amran Abocar and Alan Crosby) It was roughly 1 a.m. on Friday morning when Katy Perry finally made her entrance onstage at the Cannes amfAR gala in the South of France. Decked out in a golden gown that brought to mind a shimmering lioness, she told the revelers that they should all be drunk by now (and they mostly were), before launching into her pop hit Roar. Perry followed with slowed-down renditions of Teenage Dream and I Kissed A Girl, before closing out the night with Firework. She only struck one briefly serious note: We must find a cure for HIV/AIDS, she said between songs. When the crowd wobbled away from the stage, her boyfriend Orlando Bloom who had been watching the mini-concert from the side of the mosh pit made his way to Leonardo DiCaprios table. The two actors (who are pals) hugged. Over small talk, DiCaprio took a puff from his vape and passed it on to Bloom, who joined him for a smoke. Even at this late hour, Gatsby was still standing, Old Sport. With a running time of more than five hours, the amfAR dinner and auction outpaces the Oscars. Held in a tent outside the Hotel du Cap in Antibes, the affair feels like the Golden Globes meets Cirque du Soleil. (A parade of showgirls kicked off the evening, because why not?) The 23rd edition of the event raised $25 million for HIV/AIDS research, but also kept up with tradition as the wackiest and most VIP party at the biggest film festival on Earth. The guests in attendance included Helen Mirren, Adrien Brody, Harvey Weinstein, Heidi Klum and Uma Thurman, pitching millionaires to open their checkbooks for the exclusive items on the auction block. Ron Burkle splurged $1.1 million on a camouflage Ferrari to add to his car collection. A day with Kevin Spacey sold for $575,000. That was just slightly better than the $500,000 spent on a chance to sleep in DiCaprios bed for a week in his Palm Spring vacation home. But the star wasnt included. (When he wasnt smoking, DiCaprio spent most of the night texting, which dispels the notion that someone who found fame before the Internet age is allergic to technology.) Story continues Milla Jovovich and Diego Luna got raunchy when presenting an art installation of five disco balls by Swiss artist John Armleder. Luna told the crowd that Spacey had inspected them. He got a chance to look at them, not touch them, Luna said. They are huge. Jovovich deadpanned that she couldnt take the balls because shes married but bought them anyway for $170,000. Brody, who won the Oscar for The Pianist, struck a more melancholy tone at the microphone, explaining why he hasnt starred in movies recently. Many of my friends know I took a hiatus from my acting work, he said. I spent the last year painting. He debuted his latest creation, a fish in a pastiche of Crayola colors, which inspired a smattering of bids (and still managed to fetch $500,000). One of the biggest sales was for 32 custom designer dresses that were presented in the middle of the event in a fashion show on steroids. With the crowd up on their feet, Bloom cradled Perry in his arms (in a pose similar to Jack and Rose onboard the Titanic). Other performances included the Village People (the only attendees who werent dressed in black-tie attire) and the Bluebell Girls. The evening got off to a political start with emcee Spacey (channeling Johnny Carson) delivering a series of jokes that blasted presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Spacey noted that amfAR regular Sharon Stone couldnt make it to the South of France because she was fighting another disease. The name of the disease is Donald Trump, Spacey said to uncomfortable laughter. Foreign films contain two things Donald Trump hates the most: foreigners and reading. Related stories Cannes: Lionsgate Intl. Rolls Out 'Marrowbone' Across the World (EXCLUSIVE) Cannes: U.K.'s Curzon Buys Shia LaBeouf's 'Borg/McEnroe,' Lars von Trier Serial Killer Pic Sean Penn Responds to Negative Reviews for 'The Last Face': 'I Stand by the Film' Film me while I die is a completely extraordinary thing to ask, but it was the request made/challenge thrown down by French feminist activist Therese Clerc just a few months ago to documentarian Sebastien Lifshitz. Already on a friendly first-name basis following her participation in Lifshitzs last Cannes title, The Invisible Ones (his Cesar-winning feature-length documentary about aging gay-rights pioneers), Therese contacted Lifshitz as her terminal illness entered its final stages, and he filmed her practically to the end. Yet the title does not mislead: The Lives of Therese may be just 52 minutes long, and may have been occasioned by the foreknowledge of death, but it is about life a life so enormous, in fact, that pluralizing the noun into lives feels less like a rhetorical device than a bald statement of fact. If there is a converse to Socrates famous dictum that the unexamined life is not worth living, it might be that a life as minutely examined as Thereses, with such a lively sense of intellectual self-awareness, is worth living several times over. And its one of the first things her four children, now grown and with families of their own, agree upon (according to Lifshitz, this was during the very first interview he did with them for the film): We all had different mothers. Each one of them represents a different phase of Thereses life, and is the product of a different approach to parenting as she changed and evolved with time. From the dawning of her political awareness as a self-confessedly complacent 1950s housewife and mother (I was so subdued, she recalls with horrified amusement) through her involvement with Theosophy, Marxism, Catholicism and of course the nascent feminist movement, Therese emerges as a voraciously intelligent and committed activist, ever willing to put herself on the front line of the causes that caught her imagination and awoke her instincts for social justice. There is even a very funny interlude when she discusses her era of feminism with her articulate and engaged granddaughter: Therese came out as lesbian fairly late in life and credits the more militant element of the womens movement, which argued that true equality could only exist in same-sex relationships, with that epiphany. When her granddaughter argues the point from a modern perspective, I am not a lesbian, but that doesnt make me a fake feminist, Therese appears wholly unconvinced. Lifshitz does a fine job of making present-day Therese, her mind still sharp for all her frailty and hoarseness, seems like a culmination of all the Thereses who came before. It is unusual enough to see women of this age celebrated and honored in any form onscreen, but that The Lives of Therese does it in such a heartbreakingly unsentimental manner approaches the transcendent. And its not that Lifshitz reinvents the documentary wheel (a great deal of the information is carried in voiceover interviews, chatty sessions with her children, archival footage and old photographs). But there is also a powerful current of friendship, admiration and farewell in those moments where Lifshitz simply rests his camera on Thereses lined, beautiful face and watches her breathing, nodding off, sleeping. His profound affection is almost palpable, as is his powerful sweet-sad comment on the loveliness of life, even at its painful end. Therese died exactly three months prior to the films first screening in the Cannes Directors Fortnight sidebar, a fact that added extra poignancy to the occasion, extra drama as editing was ongoing practically up to the day of the screening, as well as probably an extra level of teary warmth to the rousing, unending ovation it received. But recency alone cant account for just how insightful, witty and profoundly moving The Lives of Therese is: for the majority of that the credit goes to Lifshitz and his magnificently compelling, unself-pitying subject. Considering the film runs under an hour and drops the curtain with a wrenching suddenness, perhaps the only complaint the audience could have had was that it ended too soon and too abruptly. Related stories Cannes: Lionsgate Intl. Rolls Out 'Marrowbone' Across the World (EXCLUSIVE) Cannes: U.K.'s Curzon Buys Shia LaBeouf's 'Borg/McEnroe,' Lars von Trier Serial Killer Pic Sean Penn Responds to Negative Reviews for 'The Last Face': 'I Stand by the Film' A Yellow Bird opens with a shot of a gloomy fellow, Siva, riding in a van. It will be a further hour into the films runtime before anyone laughs or smiles, and no wonder: The lives portrayed in this Singaporean debut by director K. Rajagopal are far from cosseted. Siva is an ex-con, recently released, whose wife has remarried in the interim. A charmless, sweaty and sombre man whose simmering temper is always ready to boil over, he works as a hired mourner in funeral processions an ill-paid job for which his habitually morose facial expression makes him a good fit. A Yellow Bird is fairly convincing and feels authentic, but the film will not readily appeal to audiences who prefer a balance of light and shade. Working from a script co-written with Jeremy Chua, Rajagopals gritty, realistic approach extends to the films depressingly accurate portrayal of sex work a million miles removed from the enduring Pretty Woman fantasy. A first encounter between Siva (played by Sivakumar Palakrishnan) and sex worker Chen Chen (Huang Lu) is the first sign that he might have a softer side. When Chen Chen tells a verbally abusive man that shed rather f a dog, he physically attacks her; Siva steps in to defend her, after which Chen Chen invites him to be her bodyguard. Sivas new place of work is hardly less depressing than working at funerals: an al fresco brothel in a forest, in whose grim makeshift tents random punters show up for $20 fellatio and $40 intercourse. Part of the pairs bond seems forged from common oppression. Chen Chens status as an illegal sex worker marks her as an outsider, as does Sivas as both an ex-con and an ethnic minority amidst Singapores mostly Chinese population. Chen Chen is constantly addressed as slut while Sivas ethnicity rarely passes without comment, whether its the aggressive epithet black ghost or the relatively mild Indian. A false note in the otherwise relentless realism is arguably the fact that, apart from his estranged wife, women seem incredibly keen on Siva despite his dour bearing, he is propositioned three times in the film, though only one of the encounters leads to anything. Possibly its an indictment of the other men available to these women that Siva might be considered a catch. Story continues Despite content that could have been handled in an exploitative fashion, A Yellow Bird is largely restrained in terms of what we see, although the language is salty enough: Even before he starts his brothel-based job, Siva swears every other time he opens his mouth. The general pitch at which most lines are delivered can become tiring there is an awful lot of shouting here. But of course its credible that people in these situations are fraught, frantic and at their wits end. Whats harder to believe is that audiences will be keen to spend time in this world. Its a pretty tough sell, internationally, and perhaps in Singapore too. Related stories Cannes Film Review: 'Elle' Cannes Film Review: 'Wolf and Sheep' Cannes Film Review: 'After the Storm' The Cannes Film Festival isnt just the most glamorous venue on the planet to debut a movie, with its sea of tuxedos and ballgowns on the red carpet. It also has a recent history of being an excellent platform for launching Academy Award contenders. Mad Max: Fury Road, Carol, Inside Out and Son of Saul all premiered at last years Cannes and went to score a boatload of Oscar nominations. But the competition at this years festival has been at its weakest in years especially after such a dud as Sean Penns The Last Face. Critics were also disappointed by Nicolas Refns The Neon Demon and Xavier Dolans Its Only the End of the World and underwhelmed by out-of-competition titles like Woody Allens Cafe Society and Steven Spielbergs The BFG. Now that the dust is settling on Cannes 2016, its very possible that not a single movie that screened here will snag a best picture Oscar nod. The project that came to Cannes with the loudest awards buzz was Jeff Nichols Loving, and it leaves the festival with its Oscars hopes intact even if it didnt earn the same raves as Carol. The story of a interracial couple (played by Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga), whose fight against anti-miscegenation laws led to a groundbreaking 1967 Supreme Court ruling, Loving is timely after the backlash from two consecutive years of #OscarsSoWhite. But it feels too quiet at times, at others, too made-for-TV. That restraint was nevertheless a goal. Its a very quiet civil rights film, Nichols told Variety in an interview earlier this year. Bombs arent exploding. Crosses arent burning. But the tension is all there. Focus Features acquired Loving out of the Berlin Film Festival in February, and like the distributors 2015 hopeful The Danish Girl, it might just miss out on a best pic nod. But its acclaimed lead performances will factor into the acting categories. Edgertons challenge will be that his work on screen is so understated, with the anger simmering beneath the surface of his characters skin, whereas Academy voters tend to favor performances that explode. But by next January, bet on Negga as being one of the five women in the best actress race (particularly after voters get a load of her range on TVs ultra-violent Preacher this summer). Story continues The movie that generated the most excitement on the Croisette was Andrea Arnolds dazzling American Honey, about a group of kids hustling for money on a cross-country road trip. At nearly three hours long, this favorite to win the Palme dOr has the opposite problem as Loving: Its probably too daring for most Oscar voters tastes. American Honey follows in the tradition of Kids or Thirteen, but its unlike any movie that Ive ever seen. It would be hysterical (in the best possible way) if lead actor Shia LaBeouf, after a string of bizarre performance art stunts, somehow found himself at the Dolby Theater with the likes of Meryl Streep and Matt Damon. He certainly delivers a tour-de-force, career-defining performance as the films male anti-hero, Jake. More likely, though, if enough voters see American Honey, Arnold could become the first woman nominated for best director since Kathryn Bigelow won the category in 2010 for The Hurt Locker. The fact that the directors branch of the Academy has more indie-skewing tastes will work in her favor, if A24 spends enough money to properly campaign for the film. In Olivier Assayas Personal Shopper, Kristen Stewart delivers one of her strongest turns a raw and eerie portrait of a woman dealing with her twin brothers unexpected death. But the IFC Films release may not open in the United States until 2017, and Oscar voters arent fans of spooky stories (just ask Nicole Kidman about 2001s The Others). Finally, Sony Pictures Classics was one of the few companies breaking out the checkbook this year. One acquisition, the ecstatically-reviewed German comedy Tony Erdmann (another strong Palme dOr contender), becomes an automatic contender for best foreign language film, should Germany choose to submit it. And The Red Turtle, an animated film made in association with Japans Studio Ghibli, could become an animated feature contender for the distributor like The Illusionist in 2011. Members of that branch are always eager to stand up for traditional hand-drawn animation in the face of CGIs preponderance. Other than that, the cupboard looks rather empty. To find the two biggest Oscars heavyweights of 2016 so far, youd have to go back to Sundance, which gave us Nate Parkers The Birth Of A Nation and Kenny Lonergans Manchester by the Sea. If both of those movies had somehow waited for a May debut, they would surely be touted as among the best of Cannes. Related stories Cannes: The Orchard Acquires Oren Moverman's 'The Dinner' Cannes Film Review: 'The Salesman' Cannes: Breaking Glass Acquires U.S. on 'People You May Know' (EXCLUSIVE) CANNES Marking one of the sales hits at this years Cannes market, Lionsgate Intl. has closed over 30 territory deals 50-plus territories breaking out Latin America on psychological thriller Marrowbone, exec produced by J.A. Bayona, and the directorial debut of Sergio G. Sanchez, his scribe on The Orphanage and co-writer on The Impossible. Belen Atienza, who produced Bayonas The Impossible, one of the highest grossing of recent independent titles, and his upcoming A Monster Calls, produces with Guislain Barrois and Alvaro Augustin at Spains Telecinco Cinema. The powerful film production arm of Mediaset Espana, Telecinco Cinema has a longstanding relationship with Bayona, co-producing The Orphanage, The Impossible and A Monster Calls. Licensed to major independent distributors outside Lionsgate Intl.s output deals, Marrowbone has closed France (Metropolitan Export), U.K. (eOne) Latin America (Imagem), Australia (Roadshow) and Italy (Leone Film Group). Universal Pictures Intl. (UPI ) will release in Spain. Part of Lionsgate Intl.s diverse Cannes lineup, which includes tentpoles and star-driven movies, Marrowbones 10-week English-language shoot is scheduled from June in Northern Spains Asturias, Sanchezs home region, and the Barcelona suburb of Terrasa. Marrowbone turns on a 20-year-old who, with his three younger siblings, is plagued by a sinister presence in the manor where they live. To stay together, they have kept secret the death of their beloved mother. Were absolutely thrilled with Lionsgates work on Marrowbone, said Barrois, Telecinco Cinema CEO, describing Marrowbone as The Orphanage meets The Others. He added: The protagonists of Marrowbone are mainly children, like in these films. For us, as Mediaset Espanas CEO Paolo Vasile pointed out, Marrowbone is part of an important lineage. Guillermo del Toro godfathered Juan Antonio Bayonas The Orphanage, and now Juan Antonio is godfathering Sergios debut. We hope Sergio will play the same role in the future. Story continues Telecinco Cinema also produced Guillermo del Toros Pans Labyrinth. In what could be seen as a grand tradition of modern humanistic auteur genre films coming out of Spain, -Pans Labyrinth, The Orphanage, The Impossible and now A Monster Calls all turn on children missing parents, or parents missing children, the pain of fundamental, riven relationships. Toplining Liam Neeson, Felicity Jones, Lewis MacDougall, Sigourney Weaver, Toby Kebbell, and Geraldine Chaplin, A Monster Calls is slated to open in the U.S. via Focus Features on Oct 14. Related stories Cannes: 'Wolf & Sheep' Rounds up Directors' Fortnight Prize Cannes: U.K.'s Curzon Buys Shia LaBeouf's 'Borg/McEnroe,' Lars von Trier Serial Killer Pic Sean Penn Responds to Negative Reviews for 'The Last Face': 'I Stand by the Film' English Bulldog Nellie made history Friday with her posthumous win for her role as the male Marvin in Jim Jarmusch's Paterson. Nellie had taken the lead early during the festival for her ground-barking role. "Nellie, may she rest in peace," star Adam Driver told The Hollywood Reporter. She passed away "a couple of months ago" from unknown canine causes. Jarmusch could not attend the ceremony, but sent a photo of himself holding the coveted Palm Dog collar. Producer Carter Logan was on hand to accept the prize. "She was an incredible performer. We looked at a lot of tape, and when we saw her, we knew she was the one. She had a unique voice and was able to express herself," he recalled. He said her ter-ruffic turn as the male Marvin was "a unique and transformative performance." Logan also noted that she was rescue dog, before pawsing to ask those in attendance to honor her memory. "Please adopt - don't buy a dog or go to a breeder - as a tribute to Nellie." In Bed With Victoria's Jacques, a French dalmatian, took home the jury prize for his role as dog with a fur-rocious growl that convinces a judge to put a bad guy behind bars. The Palm DogManitarian award went to Ken Loach for his consistent use of three-legged dogs in his films. This year he featured Shae, who "represented the underdog" that is a recurring theme in his films, including his latest, I, Daniel Blake. Loach, who could not attend the ceremony due to a commitment, accepted the award earlier and sent a photo of himself with his prize. Cannes' canine prize ceremony was established in 2001 by founder Toby Rose to honor the festival's four-legged film stars. The award has a strong dog-track record or predicting winners. Uggie was named top dog for his star turn in The Artist in 2011. That film went on to win the Palme d'Or and the best picture Oscar, and Uggie was immortalized with his paw prints in front of TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Story continues Last year the entire canine cast of White God was honored, and that film went on to win the top prize in the Un Certain Regard sidebar. Jury members included Cannes' most prestigious international film critics, including The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw, The Independent's Kaleem Aftab, The Times' Kate Muir, Metro's Anna Smith and Manifesto's Rita di Santo. Read More: Cannes: 'Mimosas' Tops Critics' Week Awards By Olivia Oran May 20 (Reuters) - Carlyle Group LP said on Friday that Mitch Petrick, who leads its credit investment business, is stepping down from the firm. Kewsong Lee will replace Petrick and also maintain his current role as deputy chief for private equity at the Washington D.C.-based alternative asset manager. Lee joined Carlyle from Warburg Pincus LLC in 2013 where he oversaw the firm's capital markets operations, including leveraged finance. Petrick, who joined Carlyle in 2010 after a 20-year career at Morgan Stanley, will form his own investment management company. He will also become a senior adviser to Carlyle. The business that Petrick oversaw, known as global market strategies, has over $34 billion of assets under management. It manages structured credit, hedge funds and carry and financing funds. Carlyle's credit business is less than half the size that of Blackstone Group LP, which has $79 billion in assets under management. Carlyle also said that Glenn Youngkin, the firm's president and chief operating officer, will also supervise the energy and natural resources group. Ken Hersh will become deputy chief investment officer for energy and natural resources. (Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Sandra Maler) HBO is preparing a miniseries based on Stanley Kubrick's research for a film dubbed his "greatest never made film" - a planned six-hour story on French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's 19th century struggle to bring Europe under his total control. True Detective Emmy winner Cary Fukunaga is in talks to direct the mini, which is in development at the premium cable network. Kubrick spent years in the 1960s researching the film he intended to shoot in France, Britain and Romania, using 30,000 members of the then-communist country's army for vast battle scenes. Plans for the project were shelved - after Kubrick had written a script and created a meticulous database of more than 17,000 images of Napoleonic-era paintings and artifacts - partially because the release of Soviet director Sergei Bondarchuk's films War and Peace and later Waterloo made it a tougher commercial proposition. Kubrick's family - including sister Christine and bother-in-law Jan Harlan, the latter an executive producer on many of his films - have now opened the archive to HBO. The project is inspired by Kubrick's work-in-progress original script and will be informed by the Kubrick estate and his extensive, personally curated archive. The move comes three years after reports of interest in revisiting the project when Steven Spielberg said he was developing a TV miniseries based on the research. Spielberg, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey will exec produce the project via their Amblin Television banner. The drama is a co-production with HBO and MGM. Harlan told The Hollywood Reporter that HBO Films president Len Amato and writer/co-exec producer David Leland visited the family's big archives in the U.K. to study and copy items. The long-in-the-works drama previously drew interest from director Baz Luhrmann in 2013, with the drama back in development now with Fukunaga. "I am sure HBO will take full advantage of the material we have. We have provided [them] with stacks of material," he said. "I am delighted that Stanley's huge efforts may finally lead to a film. Six hours would have been his dream, but this wasn't possible at the time." Story continues Fukunaga directed and exec produced season one of HBO anthology True Detective and counts Beasts of No Nation among his credits. He's also prepping The Alienist for TNT. British-born Leland has a long career as an actor, writer and director, whose credits include Showtime's The Borgias. Read More: Cary Fukunaga Inks Overall Deal With Paramount TV Cary Fukunaga Getty Image Like you and that novel about a dog that becomes president youve been meaning to start, Stanley Kubrick had a lot of projects that he never got around to finishing before he sadly passed away in 1999. The most noteworthy example is A.I. Artificial Intelligence, which the A Clockwork Orange director felt couldnt be filmed until technology, specifically computer animation, caught up with his vision. After Kubrick died, directorial duties were passed to Steven Spielberg (Kubrick was really astonished by Jurassic Park), and A.I. finally came out in 2000, some 30 years after it was conceived. Another project Kubrick started decades prior but couldnt complete was a full-length film about Napoleon Bonaparte, whose life the director described as an epic poem of action. He devoured every book about the French emperor he could find, and even hired an Oxford University professor, Felix Markham, who wrote one of the better known Napoleon biographies, to serve as an overseeing historical advisor, according to Salon. It was Kubricks intention to make the best movie ever, but things fell apart when he wasnt able to persuade MGM to finance his epic and [he] was forced to fire his researchers and key crew. (This was after he had written the script and convinced the Romanian government to supply tens of thousands of troops as extras in the battlefield scenes.) Plus, three films based on Napoleon had recently been released, including 1970s Waterloo, and they all bombed. But once again, here comes Steven Spielberg to the rescue. HBO is preparing a miniseries based on Stanley Kubricks research for a film dubbed his greatest never-made film a planned story on French Emperor Napoleon Bonapartes 19th century struggle to bring Europe under his total control. True Detective Emmy winner Cary Fukunaga is in talks to direct the mini, which is in development at the premium cable network [Steven] Spielberg, Darryl Frank, and Justin Falvey will exec produce the project. (Via) Kubricks frequent collaborator Jan Harlan said, I am sure HBO will take full advantage of the material we have. We have provided [them] with stacks of material, referring to the late directors archive of more than 17,000 images of Napoleonic-era artifacts. I am delighted that Stanleys huge efforts may finally lead to a film. Considering Fukunaga and Spielbergs involvement, Napoleon should be played by Idris Elba, or maybe a dinosaur. (Via the Hollywood Reporter) A number of characters got themselves caught during The Catchs Season 1 finale but only one remained in peril as the two-hour installment came to a close. Indeed, while Mireille Enos Alice and Peter Krauses Ben prepared to flee the country together, Alices decision to return home for her personal belongings led to their plan melting away like a stick of butter in Ina Gartens skillet. RELATEDABCs Designated Survivor Trailer Debuts Plus: Watch Previews for Conviction, Notorious and More There, FBI agents apprehended Alice on charges of stealing the Maria Kreyn painting that figured so prominently into the pilot episode. But before you could say Book er, Danno, Ben swooped in and took the fall, trading dreams of lounging by poolside bars for a reality of sitting behind bars. (Do I need to even mention Margot was behind all this?) In other news, Margot briefly spent time in custody thanks to Alice planting a tracking device during their final therapy session (wonder if her HMO will still cover that?) but got sprung by her formidable mama Sybil. The tables were turned, however, when Sybil wound up getting caught trying to swipe a rich familys fortune with counterfeit cash in the midst of a fancy wedding that brought all of the shows major players together. RELATEDFall TV Schedule 2016: Whats on When? And Versus What? Margot, though, sly fox that she is, absconded with the real cash, while Alice escaped Rhys clutches and Ben (having avoided getting bumped off by Sybil) proposed marriage to our redheaded investigator. And if it werent for that priceless work of art, he mightve gotten away with it! (It helps if you read that last sentence in the voice of a Scooby-Doo villain.) Below, Enos discusses the comedy of errors vibe of the finale, the decision her character made that left her so mad, and the reason she thinks Season 2 will improve upon the #TGIT dramas first 10 episodes. Story continues TVLINE | What did you think when you read the script and saw Ben and Rhys were being mistaken as a romantic couple? It was such a comedy of errors, and totally hilarious. [Laughs.] Neither of those two boys have ever played a part of a gay couple before. This is a show that has asked them to both do some dramatic turns, but that part of the story allowed them to be comedians, and it was wonderful, delightful. TVLINE | Talk me through your scenes with John Simm as Rhys where the threat literally comes home to Alice. John Simm is a delight to work with. His work is so alive and in the flow. There havent been a lot of scenes, except for with Peter [Krause] where Alice gets to talk and listen and be still. So you put the two of us in a room and John is doing such relaxed work that it makes it even more scary. Hes charming and comfortable in that room, and Alice is obviously in danger. So, yes, Alice is a toughie and a rebel, shes not easily cowed. Which let me walk the line between what I showed him and then her private moments, where shes picking out that purse in her closet. That allows us to see whats really going on with her. TVLINE | Rhys and Margots mother this formidable woman also comes into the picture in the finale. What was it like having Alice dive into the pool with these larger-than-life baddies? Shes not doing it alone. She has Ben by her side and Agent Dao and Val and her team with her. But its a funny collision because the worlds are so different in color. Youve got these broad British characters up against these American girl detectives. And putting it in the setting of a wedding makes it work. Its all slightly heightened with gowns and music playing and Elvy [Yost] is up there singing on the bandstand. In some ways, we were laughing as we shot it, because while the language is different, it felt like wed stepped into a Shakespeare play because of the size of it and the expanse of these characters coming together. It was a wonderfully fun last episode to shoot. Wearing gowns, dancing in ballrooms, moving money out of vaults, and passing each other in the kitchen. There were scenes where we felt like we were in Clue, actually. TVLINE | Walk us through Bens proposal to Alice. Where does she go in this moment. Shes been duped in such a profound way, but now shes putting her trust in this man who perpetrated the fraud. The moment in Episode 8 where she walks in and sees him, shes already in it. So at this point, shes already on the other side of the betrayal. Not that shes expecting to be proposed to again, but shes with him. And in that moment of knowing this is the man she wants to be with, standing at a wedding in her gown, working together with him it makes sense. Given their circumstances this season, they didnt get many chances to work together. But there was a brief moment in Episode 6 where they do the bracelet heist together. She meets him in the van and it lasts 30 seconds, but its such a charged, wonderful scene. Theyre crazy about each other, they love what they do, and theyre in action. These people are excellent in their jobs, and both of them love the thrill of the catch. So when we find them again in Episode 10, once again engaged in the thrill of a job together and digging each other, when he asks her to marry him, its a total no-brainer. Its, Of course, youre the one person in the world for me. TVLINE | But then she goes home and grabs her luggage What did you think when you read the script and realized this would be the downfall of Alice and Bens plan? I was so mad at Alice for going back to the house! You cant possibly make the same mistake twice! Get on the plane and buy clothes in Turks and Caicos or wherever youre going! I was so mad at her! But its so great, of course, because it allows for the ultimate sacrifice that Ben makes for her. TVLINE | How is Ben going to get out of this pickle? I think Ive got to bust him out! Theres got to be some kind of prison break, right? [Laughs] TVLINE | But what does Season 2 look like? Alice talking to Ben through plexiglass? Pete and I are constantly jockeying for these two people just to get to run around together, like Hart to Hart. Just let us be together. And Al is like, we have to keep you apart. Its the two of you against the world. I have a feeling therell be lots more obstacles thrown in our way. TVLINE | Last question: Your show was on the bubble, but scored a Season 2 renewal. Where would you like to see The Catch go in Season 2? The start of the show had kind of a funny beginning, with a pilot being shot, then reconceived. I feel like all of us have been finding our way and having some wonderful successes, then other moments where we were still trying to discover what the show wants to be. If we hadnt gotten a Season 2, I wouldve felt disappointed about the missed opportunity. We have a wonderful group of people, a wonderful writer and a genre that has not been played with on television. Season 2 will be about a fresh start, time on our hands, and looking at Season 1 and figuring out the tones that were really working, and letting fall away the things that were less interesting. Itll be great! What did you think of The Catchs Season 1 finale? Grade it in our poll below, then sound off in the comments! Related stories Grey's Anatomy's Jessica Capshaw Bids a Heartfelt Farewell to Sara Ramirez Happy Endings Revival: Is There New Hope for Season 4? General Hospital EP Promises a Big Nurses Ball Wedding, a Nasty Catfight and a Surprising Jason/Elizabeth Twist * Zloty eases amid EU threat * Hungarian bonds firm but Fitch upgrade seen unlikely By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, May 20 (Reuters) - Polish assets lagged a Central European rebound on Friday, amid a row in parliament about a likely EU crackdown on Warsaw's political establishment over alleged rule-of-law violations. The European Commission has given Warsaw until Monday to make significant progress on the issue. Poland's government says it needs more time to enact the relevant legislation. The standoff stems from changes that the government imposed on Poland's constitutional court. Investors were also awaiting a parliamentary commission hearing for central bank governor candidate Adam Glapinski that looked likely to be delayed. The zloty eased 0.1 percent against the euro to 4.417 by 0853 GMT, while other currencies in the region were steady or slightly firmer. "Political risk will continue to weigh on Polish assets," said head of FX trading at mBank, Marcin Turkiewicz, mentioning also market concerns over plans to convert Swiss franc mortgages. The Warsaw bourse's bluechip stock index dipped to a 3-month low before joinING a rebound in Asia and other parts of Europe. The WIG20 index rose 0.4 percent by 0853 GMT but still lagged other bourses in the region. A 1.9 percent fall in the shares of Pekao bank curbed the gains in the index, after a source told Reuters that Italy's UniCredit may cut its holding in businesses including Pekao. Investors in Hungary were awaited a review of the country's rating by agency Fitch after domestic markets close. Expectations for an upgrade into investment grade from "junk" have been significantly scaled back in markets in the past weeks, after the government announced a rise in the planned budget deficit for 2017 to 2.4 percent of economic output. "I expect a negative surprise from Fitch, even a cut in the rating outlook (from positive) cannot be ruled out," one Budapest-based trader said. Expectations for a 15 basis point base rate cut at a central bank meeting on Tuesday supported short-end yields. Hungarian bonds yields dropped by 2-5 basis points along the curve, retreating after weeks of rises. Story continues Polish bond yields were flat. CEE SNA AT 1053 MARKE PSH CET TS OT CURRENCI ES Lat Pre Daily Cha est vio nge us bid clo chang in se e 201 6 Czech 023 024 1% 09% 0 5 Hungar .50 .54 1% 59% forint 00 00 Polish 170 115 % 60% Romani 045 048 1% 2% Croati 870 875 1% 3% kuna Serbia .57 .72 3% 90% dinar 00 50 Note: calcu pre clo 1800 daily lated vio se CET change from us at STO CKS Lat Pre Daily Cha est vio nge us clo chang in se e 201 6 Prague 875 873 +0.2 -8. .60 .17 8% 44% Budape 19. 42. It might be an uncomfortable few days for Charlize Theron and Sean Penn while they're in Cannes, France. The A-list stars -- who broke off their engagement last summer -- came face-to-face on Friday at the photocall for their movie, The Last Face, which is premiering at the Cannes Film Festival. EXCLUSIVE: Charlize Theron Doesn't Plan on Having Any More Kids -- 'My Hands Are Really Full Right Now' Theron stepped out looking gorgeous as usual in a cream-colored lace dress and strappy black heels, while Penn was more casual in a black T-shirt, khakis, dark sunglasses and a green jacket. The exes did pose together with cast mates Javier Bardem and Adele Exarchopoulos, but were careful to keep their distance, having at least two people between them at all times. Getty Images Getty Images At last year's Cannes Film Festival, Penn and Theron were still a couple and posed on the red carpet at the premiere of Mad Max: Fury Road. Reports surfaced a month later that they had split. Getty Images Despite the inevitable awkwardness at the photocall, Penn and Theron smiled for the cameras, and joined their co-stars at the press conference that followed. Penn even addressed the mixed reviews about the movie he directed. In The Last Face, Theron plays the director of an international aid agency in Africa who meets a relief aid doctor (Bardem) amidst a political/social revolution. Together, they face tough choices surrounding humanitarianism and life through civil unrest. WATCH: Minka Kelly and Sean Penn Spark Romance Rumors After Hanging Out Until All Hours of the Night "I finished the film so it's not a discussion that I can be of any value to," the 55-year-old star said (via The Hollywood Reporter). "I stand behind the film as it is, and certainly everyone is entitled to their response." Story continues Getty Images Earlier this year, the 40-year-old actress addressed her breakup from Penn for the first time. "There is a need to sensationalize things," she told WSJ. "When you leave a relationship there has to be some f**king crazy story or some crazy drama. And the f**king ghosting thing, like literally, I still don't even know what it is. It's just its own beast." WATCH: Charlize Theron Admits She Had a 'Rough Time' Working With Tobey Maguire on Cider House Rules She added, "We were in a relationship and then it didn't work anymore. And we both decided to separate. That's it." Related Articles It's not wise to upset a Wookiee, but it seems making one laugh is internet gold. Candace Payne posted a video to Facebook on Thursday of her trying on a Chewbacca mask and just having a ball while wearing the animated Star Wars toy. Less than a day later, it has racked up more than 50 million views. The video was not just huge on Facebook. So many people were talking about it Friday afternoon, "Chewbacca" began trending on Twitter in the U.S. In the four-minute video, Payne says she bought the mask for herself from Kohl's as a secret birthday present. It's possible no one has ever had more fun with a Star Wars toy. "It's the simple joys in life," she wrote with the video. The video was so popular, so fast, even Peter Mayhew, the actor who brought Chewbacca to life, took notice. "Absolutely wonderful! Cheers," Mayhew wrote on Reddit. The video has also been great for sales, Maggie Lund, a spokeswoman for Kohl's told The Hollywood Reporter. "The mask is currently sold out on Kohls.com, but shoppers wanting to take part in the fun can still purchase it at select Kohl's stores across the country," she tells THR. Santiago (AFP) - Chile, Argentina and Uruguay appealed Friday for an "effective political dialogue" in Venezuela amid a deepening crisis in the leftist-led South American country. In a statement, the three countries made "an urgent appeal for an effective political dialogue and a genuine civic understanding among all the political and social actors in this sister nation." The expression of concern came amid a mounting confrontation between the socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro and opposition lawmakers and others demanding a recall vote. Maduro imposed a 60-day state of emergency earlier this week and on Friday the military was preparing to stage the country's largest ever exercises in a show of force aimed at deterring a foreign intervention. The country, an OPEC member with the world's largest oil reserves, is in free-fall with widespread shortages of food and medicine, runaway inflation and rampant crime. The opposition has gathered what it says are 1.8 million signatures from Venezuelans seeking a recall referendum allowed under the constitution, but Maduro has dismissed the effort as not viable this year. A trio of foreign mediators -- former leaders of Spain, Panama and the Dominican Republic -- were in Caracas to try to start up a dialogue. But former Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero warned Thursday the path would be "a long, hard and difficult" one. Friday's statement by Argentina, Chile and Uruguay was signed by their respective foreign ministers. It said they were prepared to take part in a "group of friends" in support of the "urgent task" of getting both sides to the negotiating table. But it warned, "Venezuela's problems should be resolved by the Venezuelans themselves, in keeping with their institutions and observing its international commitments to the full protection of human rights and individual liberties." BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Friday more than 40 countries support its position on an international legal case brought by the Philippines over its claims in the South China Sea. China refuses to recognize the Philippine case and says all disputes should be resolved through bilateral talks. Beijing has stepped up its rhetoric ahead of an expected ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on the Philippines case. China claims almost all of the energy-rich South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of maritime trade passes each year. The Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims. "As far as I know, there are more than 40 countries that have made statements or made their positions known through all kinds of means," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing. "More and more countries are expressing themselves and showing their support for China on the South China Sea issue." She added that any unbiased country would support China. Countries including Burundi, Slovenia, Niger and Mozambique had pledged their support for China, the Foreign Ministry said this week. (Reporting by Megha Rajagopalan; Editing by Nick Macfie) By Rod Nickel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chinese state-owned agricultural trader COFCO Agri [CNCOF.UL] is finding plenty of interest from potential U.S. crop handling partners who are eager to boost sales to China, its chief executive said on Thursday. "Most of the other companies are western companies looking east, trying to participate in China," said CEO Matt Jansen on the sidelines of a BMO investor conference in New York. "On our side, we are China at the origin, from the roots." Jansen, a former Archer Daniels Midland Co executive from Arkansas, declined to say how many companies COFCO Agri is in serious discussions with, or what its budget is for expansion. Acquisitions of $1 billion or more are also not out of the question this year, he said. "I see a lot of people who are really interested in accessing China. Whether they are a willing seller of their business is another story." COFCO has embarked on an aggressive expansion into international grain trading, having invested over $3 billion to buy Noble Group's agribusiness in March and a large stake in Dutch grain trader Nidera. With $16.9 billion in sales, it is now shopping for deals in the United States and Canada to give it access to North America's grains and oilseeds for export. Jansen declined to say if he is interested in Andersons Inc, which on Wednesday rejected a $1 billion takeover offer from HC2 Holdings Inc. COFCO Agri intends listing together Nidera's agricultural assets and COFCO Agri, which includes the Noble agribusiness, in 2019. (Reporting by Rod Nickel; editing by Diane Craft) Why Many Hedge Fund Managers Are Turning to Gold (Continued from Prior Part) Gold reserves China began updating its gold reserve figures on a monthly basis in July 2015. Before that, the reserve figures were not updated regularly. As per Chinas central bank, the Chinese gold reserves stood at 58.1 million ounces at the end of April, up from 57.8 million ounces at the end of March. China has been the biggest consumer market for gold for ages. However, India often presents fierce competition to the Chinese counterpart regarding buying capacity. Even with such a massive surge in the price of precious metals, China seems to have a firm hold on gold. The below chart shows the relationship between the yuan and gold prices. Yuan-fixed gold The new yuan-fixed gold is also helping investors in the country to invest efficiently in gold. The initiative by the Chinese government is likely to provide additional stimulus to the already prevalent demand. One of the most important features about the new benchmark is that its not set to follow price fluctuations in London or New York. According to the World Gold Council data, Chinas current gold holdings of 1,762.3 metric tons comprise just 1.8% of the countrys reserves while Indias 557.7 metric tons of gold holdings make up 5.4% of its reserves. Even with the current high price of gold, the consumption pattern may take a leap as Chinas central bank may look to increase its current reserve percentage of gold. The fluctuations in gold prices can also be seen in funds like the Physical Swiss Gold Shares (SGOL) and the PowerShares DB Gold Fund (DGL). These two funds have jumped 19.9% and 20.1% year-over-year, respectively. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Roundhouse main entrance Sometimes home buyers will buy a house out of necessity, but other times they fall in love with one. The owners of the Roundhouse in Eureka Springs, AR, fell in love with it back in 2000. Others in the town of roughly 2,000 people saw only an old limestone structure, built in 1886, that had been used to store gas for old streetlights. But the new owners saw potential to create a home that reflected the factory aesthetic of Americas Industrial Age while including all sorts of modern conveniences. The Roundhouse, on the market now for $595,000, is a completely rebuilt and modernized structure from the one the current owners first laid eyes on. They took it all the way down to basement floor, notes listing agent Gene Bland. New wiring, new plumbing, and new heating and air-conditioning units were added during the 2001 restoration, as was a top floor. Wood was brought from the Ozark National Forest, where the owners had another property, Bland says. Spiral stairs created by a local artist perfectly echo the homes curved spaces. Special windows were ordered47 in allthat mimicked the look of old factory windows. Steel beams had to be installed to support the structure after owners discovered a small river running underneath it. The 4,356-square-foot home now has two bedrooms, three bathrooms, and two half-baths. Its lowest level is a four-car garage. Above that is a floor with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and dining room. Roundhouse back The third level, which includes the main entrance for the hillside home, has the living room and a bar area, used in the past when corporate events were hosted there. The top floor has a sitting room and another space the current owner is using as a crafts room, Bland explains. The crafts room, which has a Murphy bed, could easily be converted into a guest bedroom, he notes. An elevator also connects all the floors. Roundhouse interior The property has commercial zoning, given that its at the north end of historic downtown Eureka Springs, and so the new owner could continue to host events there or convert it into a bed-and-breakfast, Bland notes. The area is a popular tourist destination thanks to its many hot springs, which folks flock to for their perceived health benefits. Story continues A new owner may not realize any health benefits from living in the Roundhouse, but its fair to assume that he or she will fall in love with it just as the present owners did over 15 years ago. The post Circular Logic: This Restored Round House in Arkansas Awaits the Right Fit appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. Related Articles By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) - A former teacher assistant faces a charge of reckless conduct over an incident involving a five-year-old special needs student found hanging by his belt from a classroom chalkboard at a suburban Atlanta school, his lawyer said on Friday. Antonio Cammon, 43, was to turn himself into authorities on the misdemeanor charge by Friday evening, his attorney Jackie Patterson said in a phone interview. Tiwon Toney, the principal at the elementary school where Cammon previously worked in Rockdale County, Georgia said at a court hearing on Thursday that he went to the room after hearing screams during the May 5 incident. The principal said he had found the child hanging from a hook, according to Patterson. Cammon was standing about three feet away, the principal testified. Patterson said his client was trying to calm the unruly child by lifting him into the air, but the youth's belt accidentally snagged a hook on the chalkboard as the aide brought him back down. "When Mr. Cammon noticed that, he immediately took him down," said Patterson. Cammon was later fired by the school system, according to his lawyer. Neither the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office nor school system immediately returned phone calls seeking comment on Friday. The reckless conduct charge is a lesser offense than the felony child cruelty charge that the sheriff's department had recommended, Patterson said. At the hearing on Thursday, a Rockdale County judge declined to charge a teacher and another teaching assistant with failure to report child abuse. (Editing by Letitia Stein and G Crosse) Buenos Aires (AFP) - A judge in Argentina on Friday granted a US extradition request for Colombian drug kingpin Henry de Jesus Lopez Londono, reputedly one of the most notorious cocaine traffickers in the Americas. Known by the nickname "Mi Sangre" ("my blood"), Lopez Londono was the head of the Los Urabenos drug cartel, one of the most feared in Colombia. Since his arrest in Argentina in 2011, US authorities have sought his extradition to Florida to face drug smuggling and conspiracy charges. Following a hearing which began on Tuesday, Judge Sebastian Ramos decided early on Friday to agree to Washington's extradition request, the court announced. It was not immediately clear when Lopez Londono would be extradited to Florida, where his trial would take place, or whether he would be permitted to appeal the decision. Late Wednesday evening, the House Committee on Natural Resources introduced a revision of the PROMESA Act (Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act), the latest version of a bill designed to help give Puerto Rico the tools to address its economic crisis and looming humanitarian disaster. The bill will finally give the commonwealth the tools to restructure its debts and will include no taxpayer money for a bailout. After weeks of false starts and failed deals, it appears that there is a good chance of PROMESA finally passing the House and Senate, an important action that Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has lauded as critical before Puerto Ricos $2 billion July debt payments. Beyond immediate relief, PROMESA has important implications, not only for Puerto Ricos future but for life on the mainland as well. The bills final shape hasnt been altered much from early drafts. PROMESA will allow for the creation of an independent oversight board, one with the power to restructure Puerto Ricos debts. The board would be appointed by President Obama, who would chose from congressionally approved lists for all but one of the board slots or face pushing his own candidates through a full Senate-approval process. PROMESA also contains a number of additional provisions, including freezing bond payments until next year, a mandate to continue funding pensions, a lower minimum wage for young workers in Puerto Rico, and a limitation of special restructuring authority to islands. Recommended: Donald v. Ivanka With a failing public-services grid, crumbling infrastructure, a rapidly declining tax base, the threat of Zika straining an already eroding health-care system, PROMESA provides immediate relief. In the near future, officials wont be forced to prioritize paying creditors versus paying for life-saving medicines in public hospitals. The island can pay to keep the lights on without risk of being sued for unpaid debts. The immediate need to restructure and prevent defaults trumps most other concerns with the bill and with Puerto Ricos status. That sentiment is echoed by award-winning playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda in a recent op-ed for The New York Times. If a ship is sinking, he wrote, you dont ask, Well, what type of ship is it and what type of ship should it be? You rescue the people aboard. But if and when the people on the ship are rescued, there are real ramifications for the future of Puerto Rico and Americas other territories. With the famous Insular Cases being reassessed in high courts right now, the Oversight Board installed by Congress and appointed by the president brings to mind the days of Theodore Roosevelt. The board would not be subject to any Puerto Rican authority and is bound by PROMESA to make decisions that are in the interests of Puerto Ricos creditors. If it isnt colonialism, it certainly looks like it. Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla accepted the restructuring as necessary but said the extraordinary power of the board was not consistent with our countrys basic democratic principles. Recommended: The Narcissist The Oversight Board, new rules for restructuring in territories, and a lower minimum wage for young workers in Puerto Rico make it abundantly clear that Puerto Rico is not a state nor is it an entity approximating a state. This is a reaffirmation of the islands status as an unorganized territory and an implicit recognition that citizens and inhabitants of the United States territories simply do not possess the same right to self-governance as people do on the mainland. Ultimately, hospital staff trying to fight Zika with limited running electricity and water or educators running crowded classrooms may not care right now about the long-term ramifications of PROMESA. Emergencies call for emergency action, and more often than not, those actions require compromises of the kind that leave every side unhappy. PROMESA will probably save lives and will likely save many people from financial ruin. But it also promises a new round of debate about just what Puerto Rico is, who Puerto Ricans are, and what place the United States has in the commonwealths affairs. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. dana-white-conor-mcgregor USA TODAY Sports Another day, another look at just what Conor McGregor is up to. According to TMZ, the Irishman was in Los Angeles Wednesday, meeting with Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta for a nice dinner so they could bring their heads together in order to hash out whats next for the UFCs biggest star. According to eyewitnesses, everything seemed to go swimmingly, and bro hugs were exchanged. On Thursday, McGregor confirmed that the dinner went well, and told ESPN that communication with the top of the UFC was back on track and seemingly any rift formed from McGregors UFC 200 fallout has been repaired. I met with Dana and Mr. Fertitta, good conversation like it always is. We have a good relationship. It is what it is. It happens. This is the fight game. Sometimes emotions get into it but its important to recognize that emotions have no place in business. So thats essentially what it was last night. We just set it aside. Theres no place for emotions in this. We are doing beautiful things so lets continue. Lets fix it and continue. Continue, indeed. When will Conor have his next fight? UFC 202? Or will he wait until New York for UFC 205? And will his next fight still be against Nate Diaz, or will he finally be defending his featherweight belt with Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar set to fight for the interim featherweight title at UFC 200? (Via FOX Sports) British actress Hayley Squires is revelling in rave reviews for her breakout role in a Ken Loach film at Cannes, where she has been swept into a whirlwind of camera flashes, designer dresses and celebrity hobnobbing. But the glamour is a far cry from her life growing up in social housing in south London, and both she and her mum Teresa Faulks -- who she brought along for the ride of her life -- are overcome with emotion at their unlikely journey to the world's top film festival. "I met Juliette Binoche last night and I was so uncool," said Squires, 28, whose performance as a single mother fighting poverty in Loach's tearjerker "I, Daniel Blake" has been regarded as one of the best of the festival so far. She is one of many young, unknown actors making waves at the festival who have been thrust into a relentless spotlight far removed from their ordinary upbringing. The film follows carpenter Daniel Blake and Squires' character Katie as they suffer repeated humiliation at the hands of Britain's welfare system, hard hit by austerity. Producer Rebecca Hall said the filmmakers had deliberately cast people who, "if their lives took a different turn" could have ended up in the same boat. Squires told AFP she at one point managed to move into private rental accommodation but a "change in family circumstances" pushed them back into the system where they were only able to score housing through "a sheer stroke of luck" because they had someone to write them a reference. "My mum would always make sure that regardless how shitty the area that we were living in, the inside was warm and safe and a proper home," said a teary Squires. "I couldn't bring anyone else (to Cannes). She is the one person I need to pay back." - 'Gut-wrenching realisation' - Squires said she was surrounded by single mothers all her life, and didn't need to look far for inspiration for her performance. Story continues In one of the most striking scenes in the film, her character Katie is visiting a food bank with her children, after losing her benefits for being late to the welfare centre. Katie, weakened by hunger, cannot stop herself from ripping open a tin of baked beans and scooping it into her mouth by hand. The Guardian's critic Peter Bradshaw told AFP the scene was unforgettable. "The expression on her face, the sheer horror, the gut-wrenching realisation that it has come to this, that she has fallen this far. Really impressed by her," he said. On the night after the movie premiered, Hayley and her mum woke up early to walk down Cannes' famous beach strip La Croisette and hunt down magazines carrying pictures and stories about the event. For Teresa, who started working aged 14, the Cannes experience has been "mind-blowing". "I am obviously very proud," she said, also tearing up. "You have this perception of the whole film industry. That perception for me has changed. The people are just so kind, they have treated me like royalty." She said French actress Binoche had stood with them for a long time and "squeezed my hand as she walked away". "Somebody like that would never have a conversation with me, but she did." "I am only disappointed I didn't get to meet George! (Clooney)" - 'Biggest platform' - Squires, who is also a scriptwriter, had her start on the stage, and played a small role in an episode of the British series "Call the Midwife." She said while the world the movie portrays is a far cry from the glamour-drenched French Riviera, "isn't it fantastic that we can put this film on the biggest platform in the world (where) wealthy people can see it?" She said she had enjoyed the lifestyle in Cannes. "It's crazy. I'll be honest it is nice. It is nice to come in the sunshine and stay in a lovely hotel and wear lovely clothes. But we are still going home to our housing association house." What you see is what you get with The CW. With only two new shows premiering this fall, alongside the off-network addition of Supergirl, the message at Thursday morning's City Center upfront presentation was about staying the course with male- and female-skewing original series. Network president Mark Pedowitz kept his show to a tight 45 minutes, trotting out stars from the still-growing roster of DC Comics dramas and the actresses behind the network's lesser-watched awards bait. Both kinds of series, as a brief slide show illustrated, are serving two very different audiences. The new additions - whimsical apocalypse romance No Tomorrow and vaguely supernatural detective drama Frequency - seem destined to lean female and male, respectively. (The reel for No Tomorrow appeared to get the most resounding approval from the crowd, one that's probably logged roughly three hours of trailer-watching since the top of the week.) Here are four things to know from Upfront Week's closing act: Supergirl Has Landed Executive vp network sales Rob Tuck was the latest CW exec to tout the addition of Supergirl, which will move from CBS for its sophomore season. A mere mention of the series garnered applause in the packed theater, and that was well before star Melissa Benoist graced the stage with her fellow DC superstars at the network. Pedowitz echoed that enthusiasm later in the presentation, noting that the show "belongs here" at The CW. He also confirmed plans to include Supergirl in a four-way crossover event - "the biggest ever," he promised - - with The Flash, Arrow and DC Legends of Tomorrow later this year. But She Is Not the CW's Biggest Female Star Superheroes and vampires may drive The CW's ratings, but the network is so clearly fond of its critical-darling comedy stars. Rachel Bloom and Gina Rodriguez came out onstage in character as their Crazy Ex Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin alter egos to joke about their respective series' admittedly absurd premises and celebrate their shared status as Golden Globe winners. They did end on a serious note, however, acknowledging their network's many female-fronted programs and the abundance of female showrunners. "We're half of the world," said Bloom. "Don't know why it's taken so long, because we're 51 percent of Earth." Then in a somewhat awkward shift, she introduced the man who runs that network, who credited the pair with making The CW the "most critically acclaimed" broadcast network. Story continues The CW Remains Committed to Maintaining Its Male Audience Both Tuck and Pedowitz used the upfront platform to boast about the audience composition at the network, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. When Pedowitz took over in 2011, The CW skewed 70/30 female, thanks to a schedule of female-fronted series led by Gossip Girl. Today, it's roughly 50/50, making it "the most balanced" of any broadcast network. More impressive, per Tuck, is that the network over-indexes among females by 68 percent, care of critically acclaimed series Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; among males, the net over-indexes by 40 percent, no doubt the work of the D.C. universe. Digital Continues to Expand In a presentation that had haggard buyers in and out in 45 minutes, thanks to fewer new shows and a lengthy data-centric pitch, Pedowitz still managed to find time to talk up his two digital initiatives, CW Seed and new addition CW Good. The latter will be dedicated to showcasing its stars' causes, and Pedowitz encouraged Madison Avenue to open their wallets and be a part of it. Garnering the most screen time was Jane the Virgin star Justin Baldoni's My Last Days series, which will share heart-warming (and heart-wrenching) stories of terminally ill patients and their families. The premiere episode of the digital series will be simulcast on The CW in August. And the first Singapore condo to use Ez-link cards. ARA Asset Management Ltd., a manager of real estate trusts partly owned by billionaire Li Ka-shing, sees opportunities in China, Australia and South Korea as it prowls for deals with a war chest of as much as $3 billion. Read more here. Singapore-listed property developer Oxley Holdings announced that its recent retail bond offering worth $150 million had been fully subscribed. Initially, the company planned to issue $25 million worth of securities via a placement to private banks, institutional investors and other accredited bondholders, while $125 million would go to public investors. Read more here. Gem Residences, an upcoming condominium in Toa Payoh, is set to become the first residential project in Singapore where residents can use ez-link cards to pay for the usage of certain services and facilities. Read more here. More From Singapore Business Review We value your privacy. Focus Taiwan (CNA) uses tracking technologies to provide better reading experiences, but it also respects readers' privacy. Click here to find out more about Focus Taiwan's privacy policy. When you close this window, it means you agree with this policy. KCON Los Angeles returns to California for its fifth year, and today's announcement from KCON USA added two new acts to the biggest Korean pop culture event in the world. DEAN, an R&B artist, and ASTRO, a K-pop idol group, bring their distinct flair to KCON LA to join other Korean performers at the event's focal concert series. KCON NY Finalizes Lineup, Adding Eric Nam, Crush & Dynamic Duo After kicking off his career at 16 and writing songs for popular idol groups like EXO and VIXX, DEAN plunged into the Korean music world in 2015 with a variety of releases. Eschewing the norm, DEAN collaborated with American artists Eric Bellinger and Anderson .Paak before working with Korean counterparts, including popular Korean rappers like Block B's Zico and Dok2. Gaining swift momentum through the success of the collaborations, DEAN rose to popularity and became the first Asian artist to perform at the Spotify House during SXSW last March. The same month he released his first EP, TRBL. More The Weeknd and Usher than K-pop, the lyrical harmonies and echoing vocals on TRBL evoke the sense of both restfulness and gloominess simultaneously. The smooth alt-R&B sound heard on DEAN's album and his 2015 releases mark the musician as one of the most innovative artists in South Korea today. If DEAN broke the K-pop template with his singularity, ASTRO are cut directly from the mold with their bright and refreshing dance-pop style. ASTRO is the most junior act to attend KCON LA this year (so far!) The six-member boy band are rookies on the K-pop scene and only released their inaugural EP Spring Up in February. Spring Up charted at No. 6 on the Billboard World Album chart and performed well on South Korea's music charts. Their single, "Hide and Seek," an exuberant and youthful dance track, garnered nearly 2 million views on YouTube in less than six months after its release. Along with their musical endeavors, ASTRO have identified themselves as a multi-talented group after the members starred in a Korean web series and had their own reality show. Story continues The two acts will take the stage alongside other Korean stars performing at KCON LA throughout the three-day event, held July 29-31 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and Staples Center. This year's KCON LA will also feature Girls' Generation-TTS, CNBLUE, BTS, G-Friend, TWICE, and Block B, while KCON NY, the east coast counterpart event held in June, will see performances by BTS, Mamamoo, Ailee, Seventeen, BTOB, Dynamic Duo and Crush, Eric Nam, and DAY6. Most Viewed K-Pop Videos in America, Around the World: April 2016 Tickets went on sale for KCON NY earlier this week, while tickets for KCON LA go on sale June 3. Prices range anywhere from $50 to $800. For more information visit KCONUSA.com. For Immediate Release Chicago, IL May 19, 2016 Zacks Equity Research highlights Dean Foods (DF) as the Bull of the Day and Nordstrom (JWN) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Apple (AAPL) and Fitbit (FIT). Here is a synopsis of all four stocks: Bull of the Day : Sometimes Im very surprised when stocks pop up on my Bull of the Day radar. I get all sorts of stocks across a broad range of industries. They can range from the very exciting to the mundane. Today, Id have to say the tilt is decidedly mundane. But theres nothing all that boring about profits so lets explore. The dairy producer industry is in the Top 7% of all the 265 industries we rank with our Zacks Industry Rank. At the top of that industry is Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) Dean Foods (DF). Dean Foods is the nations leading processor and distributor of fresh milk and other dairy products. The company produces a full line of company-branded and private label dairy products. Im sure a quick look at the milk aisle at your local grocery store will reveal several of their offerings. Whether you love milk or youre lactose intolerant, the important thing is this stock is absolutely on fire right now with Value, Growth and Momentum Style Scores of A to go along with that fantastic Zacks Rank. The reason for the bullish rank is in the recent earnings estimate revisions. In the last 30 days, six analysts have revised their estimates for the current year while five have done so for the current quarter. The resulting impact on the Zacks Consensus Estimate has been impressive. Our consensus for the current quarter has jumped from 30 cents to 38 cents while the current year number has shot up from $1.25 to $1.51. The recent quarterly surprises may have made an impression on analysts. Last quarter earnings came in at 38 cents versus expectation for 45 cents. This is coming on the heels of a 2 cent beat the quarter before. Story continues Bear of the Day: It has been an absolutely brutal stretch for companies in the retail corner of the investing world. If you look to a popular ETF tracking this market, the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT), we can see a loss of over 11% in just the past month, and severe underperformance when compared to the broad market over the past one year time frame too. These sluggish returns are especially the trend when investors look to the apparel or department store segments of the retail sector. Here, investors are losing faith in turnaround stories thanks to changing consumer tastes which seem to favor discretionary spending on experiences instead of clothes, and the drag of Amazon as the e-commerce giant slowly swallows up ever-larger chunks of the retail world. For a great example of these trends, investors have to look no further than one of the former gold-standards in the retail world, Nordstrom (JWN). In the past one month alone, JWN shares have plunged by more than 30% as a horrendous earnings report sunk shares of the company. Recent Earnings JWN followed the trend of many of its retail counterparts when it missed analyst expectations for the most recent quarter. The company really wasnt even close though, as it missed by over 40% thanks to posting EPS of 26 cents compared to a 45 cent estimate. The company also offered up weak sales number and declining comparable store sales figures too, further adding to the bearish trend. Additionally, it offered a sluggish outlook including reduced sales guidance, and weaker earnings guidance as well. Investors raced to get out of shares following the release, and that is a primary reason JWN has lost nearly a third of its value in the past month, and why the stock remains on its weak trend line which has seen the stock lose close to half of its value in the past two years. Additional content: Does Fitbit Really Have a Wearables Advantage Over Apple? Apple (AAPL) and Fitbit ( FIT) have been at loggerheads in the wearables market despite the fact that the two companies essentially provide quite different products with different utility levels. Fitbit is well known for its wearable fitness trackers while Apple is offering smartwatches that can be paired up with iPhones or other Apple devices. Despite the difference in their offerings, competition is rife as a user will likely buy only one of these products. What Do the Numbers Say? There is no denying that the wearables market is growing in leaps and bounds with users lapping up the technology for various purposes, ranging from fitness to more sophisticated uses based on the IoT trend. In the first quarter, shipments in the wearables market surged 67% over the prior year quarter to 19.7 million, as revealed in a recent IDC report. The report goes even further, disclosing detailed shipments from key players, which companies like Apple refrain from doing. Per the report, Fitbit is still the leading player in the overall wearables category with a 24.4% share. Apple, which entered the market last year, with its Watch has quickly scaled up to hold the prime position in the smartwatch domain. In the wearables category, however, Apple has slipped to the third position with a market share of 7.6% after China-based Xiaomi with18.8% share. According to IDC, Apple shipped 1.5 million smartwatches in the quarter, much ahead of the second player Samsung, which shipped 700K units. Who is Winning? While Apple lags behind Fitbit in the wearables category, it is noteworthy that the same may not be said for profits. This is because of the difference in prices of the companies. While Apple has priced its devices in a range of $299 to $1500 and even more, Fitbit devices are comparatively lower priced with the higher end devices costing $199. So, its no surprise that Fitbit has an edge over Apple in terms of volumes. Furthermore, Apple has never been a volume player. The tech giant has a reputation to provide premium products to a handful of consumers for a much larger share of the profits. This year, IDC projects wearables shipments to grow approximately 38.2% over 2015 levels to 110 million, while the same for smart watches is estimated to be 28.3 million. With the market on the growth trajectory, both the players are likely to grow in their respective niches. Its just that Apple is increasingly adding more fitness-centered features to its Apple Watch, thereby heating up the competition for Fitbit. Zacks Rank At present, Apple carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) while Fitbit has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Get todays Zacks #1 Stock of the Day with your free subscription to Profit from the Pros newsletter: About the Bull and Bear of the Day Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months. About the Analyst Blog Updated throughout every trading day, the Analyst Blog provides analysis from Zacks Equity Research about the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. About Zacks Equity Research Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term. Continuous analyst coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons. 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This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report DEAN FOODS CO (DF): Free Stock Analysis Report NORDSTROM INC (JWN): Free Stock Analysis Report APPLE INC (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report FITBIT INC (FIT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Deere & Companys DE second-quarter fiscal 2016 (ended Apr 30, 2016) earnings declined around 23% year over year to $1.56 per share owing to a downturn in the global farm economy and weakness in the construction equipment sector. Earnings, however, topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.46. Operational Update Net sales of equipment operations (which comprise Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry) came in at $7.11 billion, down roughly 4% year over year. Revenues comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.64 billion. Region-wise, equipment net sales were down 6% in the U.S. and Canada, and 1% in the rest of the world. Cost of sales in the quarter decreased 2.9% year over year to $5.53 billion. Gross profit in the quarter came in at $1.58 million, down 7.5% year over year. Selling, administrative and general expenses dropped 3.4% to $592.9 million. Operating profit declined around 10.7% year over year to $860.8 million. Operating income from equipment operations tumbled 17% year over year to $688 million due to the impact of lower shipment volumes, less favorable product mix and unfavorable currency effects, partially offset by lower production costs, reduced selling, administrative and general expenses, and price realization. Segment Performance The Agriculture & Turf segments sales remained flat year over year at $5.7 billion. Revenues were impacted by the unfavorable effects of foreign currency translation, partially offset by price realization. Operating profit at the segment declined 4% year over year to $614 million as lower shipment volumes, less favorable product mix and unfavorable currency effects were partly offset by price realization, lower selling, administrative and general expenses, and reduced production costs. Construction & Forestry sales went down 16% year over year to $1.37 billion, impacted by lower shipment volumes and higher sales-incentive costs. Operating profit at the segment declined significantly year over year to $74 million. Net revenues at Deeres Financial Services division totaled $651 million in the reported quarter, flat year over year. The segments operating profit was $160 million, compared with $265 million in the prior-year quarter. Net income at the segment was $102.6 million compared with $169.8 million in the year-ago quarter. This decline can be attributed to higher losses on residual values, less favorable financing spreads and a higher provision for credit losses. Financial Update Deere reported cash and cash equivalents of $4.13 billion at the end of second-quarter fiscal 2016 compared with $4.36 billion at the end of the prior-year quarter. The company reported cash used in operations of $312.4 million for the period of six months ended Apr 30, 2016 compared with cash usage of $154.7 million in the comparable year-ago period. As of second-quarter end, long-term borrowings totaled $24.6 billion, compared with $23.6 billion in the prior-year quarter. Looking Ahead Deere revised its outlook for fiscal 2016. The company reduced its fiscal-year forecast for net income to $1.2 billion from $1.3 billion due to ongoing market pressures. It projects total equipment sales to decline 9% year over year in fiscal 2016. Sales are also likely to deteriorate about 12% from the year-ago quarter in the third quarter of fiscal 2016. The projection includes a negative currency-translation effect of about 2% for the full year and 1% for the third quarter. Segment-wise, Deere expects Agriculture and Turf equipment sales decline of 8% in fiscal 2016, including an unfavorable currency-translation impact of about 2%. Industry sales for agricultural equipment in the U.S. and Canada are expected to be down 15%20% in fiscal 2016 owing to low commodity prices and stagnant farm income. In the EU28, sales are projected to be flat to down 5% due to low commodity prices and farm income, including potential pressure on the dairy sector. In South America, industry sales of tractors and combines are expected to decline 15%20% year over year due to economic uncertainty in Brazil. Sales in Asia are projected to be flat to down modestly, largely because of the weakness in China. Deere expects sales growth of turf and utility equipment in the U.S. and Canada to range from flat to up 5%, gaining from new products and general economic growth. The company foresees global sales for Construction & Forestry equipment to be down about 13% in fiscal 2016, including an unfavorable currency-translation effect of about 1%. The decline reflects the impact of soft conditions in the North American energy sector. In forestry, global sales are expected to be down 5%10% from year-ago levels. The outlook for net income from Financial Services has been slashed to $480 million from $525 million for fiscal 2016. The outlook reflects less-favorable financing spreads, higher losses on lease residual values and an increased provision for credit losses. Our View Owing to the increased global demand for food, shelter and infrastructure, we believe that the long-term outlook for Deere remains strong. Global trends based on population growth and rising living standards remain intact, and are largely unaffected by periodic swings in farming economy. However, declining crop prices, such as those of corn and soybean, will affect farm income. This will restrain farmers from purchasing new agricultural equipment, thereby impacting Deere. Moreover, the sluggish energy sector is a matter of concern. Zacks Rank At present, Deere has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the same sector are Altra Industrial Motion Corp. AIMC, Alamo Group, Inc. ALG and Alarm.Com Holdings, Inc. ALRM. All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report DEERE & CO (DE): Free Stock Analysis Report ALAMO GROUP INC (ALG): Free Stock Analysis Report ALTRA INDUS MOT (AIMC): Free Stock Analysis Report ALARM.COM HLDGS (ALRM): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research When Denmark passed a law this year permitting authorities to confiscate the personal possessions of asylum-seekers, comparisons to the Third Reich inevitably poured forth. The idea of seizing jewelry from people who are fleeing has a particularly bitter connotation in Europe, where the Nazis confiscated large amounts of gold and other valuables from Jews and others, Washington Post contributor Rick Noack wrote. The plan had the character of what was actually in force during the Nazis persecution of minorities, the countrys former chief rabbi said. Obviously there is no equivalence to be drawn between Denmarks proposed policy and the Nazi seizures, a blogger for the explanatory news website Vox opined, in one of the more measured pieces on the subject. But its nonetheless a strikingly cruel measure to inflict upon a population of poor men, women, and children fleeing death and chaos in their home country. Combined with earlier decisions by the Danish government to publish advertisements in a Lebanese newspaper dissuading refugee camp inhabitants from coming to Denmark, reduce social benefits for new refugees by almost 50 percent, and prolong the asylum-seeker family reunification process from one to three years, Denmark made itself an easy target for international criticism. Like much of the discourse surrounding the more than 1 million migrants who have washed upon Europes shores over the past year, these reductio ad Hiterlum arguments are facile, deployed in the service of a political agenda. Since the crisis catapulted to worldwide attention last fall, many media commentators have adopted a narrative placing Germany and its chancellor, Angela Merkel, on a pedestal of selfless humanitarianism while relegating other European countries to the ranks of compassionless brutes. While some national governments (like Hungarys and Polands) have indeed responded to the problem in unproductive and even inhumane ways, Denmarks is hardly one of them. On the contrary, its position on the migration crisis, once derided as a reverberation of the Third Reich, is now looking like the better part of wisdom. Story continues To begin with, much of the media coverage of Denmarks response to the migrant crisis has been inaccurate. The asset seizure law does not, as the Washington Post breathlessly reported back in January, allow the government to search refugees clothes and luggage and seize any valuables and cash they find. Rather, it authorizes authorities to confiscate only items in excess of 10,000 Danish kroner (about $1,500). Furthermore, items of special sentimental value like wedding rings, engagement rings, family portraits, decorations and medals are exempt. Nor is Denmarks law unique in Europe; Switzerland, the Netherlands, and some German states (like Bavaria) have similar legislation on the books. To characterize Denmarks law, and others like it, as targeting migrants is misleading. Rather, with these laws, countries simply ask the same thing of newcomers as they do their native-born citizens. Danes are rightly proud of their social welfare system, one of the most generous in the world. The welfare state is part of our DNA, Lars Gert Lose, Denmarks ambassador to the United States, told me in a recent interview. Danes, he said, love paying their taxes. But they dont take kindly to those who abuse the jealously guarded welfare state, which provides free health care, education, and job training to everyone, as well as accommodation and direct cash handouts to those who cannot make it on their own. Three years ago, long before a deluge of migrants making their way into Europe was considered a possibility, the New York Times published an article about how Denmark was reconsidering its social benefits system, with many Danes suspecting it had become too rich, undermining the countrys work ethic. An extreme example lay in the story of lazy Robert, an infamous, able-bodied welfare cheat who has conspicuously lived on the dole for more than a decade, and whose story had become a source of both bemusement and national shame. In the past, people never asked for help unless they needed it, Karen Haekkerup, then-minister of social affairs and integration, told the New York Times in 2013. My grandmother was offered a pension, and she was offended. She did not need it. To most Danes, then, the asset seizure law is not an act of hostility toward migrants, but rather an extension of the Scandinavian principle of social egalitarianism albeit, also an effort to send a message. (Despite many press reports that the measure is the sole doing of the right-wing populist Danish Peoples Party, which supports a minority government led by the center-right Venstre, the law is overwhelmingly popular with the Danish public, judging by the parliamentary vote in its favor.) A fundamental principle in the Danish welfare system is, if you have the means to take care of yourself, you take care of yourself, Lose told me. If you dont have the means, the state will take care of everything from housing to education. This principle applies to Danish citizens as well. Regardless of the motivation behind it, the law will apply to very few refugees, the vast majority of whom are arriving without any valuable assets. What seems to most anger critics is that like the much-derided ad in the Lebanese newspaper the measure is intended to issue a controversial signal, the necessity of which even Merkel has belatedly realized: Europe cannot simply let the entire world move in. This was a principle that Merkel herself explicated last summer before deciding to undertake her act of humanitarian unilateralism and open Europes gates to any Syrian able to make the journey. Politics is sometimes hard, she said when a weeping Palestinian girl, whose family risked deportation from Germany, confronted her on live national television. Youre a very nice person, but you know that there are thousands and thousands of people in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, and if we say, You can all come, and, You can all come from Africa, and, You can all come, we just cant manage that. In retrospect, compared with its neighbors Sweden and Germany, which have prided themselves on taking in an abundance of migrants (and self-righteously scolded other nations for not doing the same), Denmarks approach to the migrant crisis looks even better. Sweden, which has accepted far more refugees per capita than any other country in the world, announced in January its decision to deport some 80,000 asylum-seekers, having realized too late the full costs both monetary and social of its dangerously naive generosity. The Swedish political and media establishments longtime uniformity on immigration brooking no dissent from an open-borders policy and labeling any criticism of it as morally beyond the pale allowed for the rise of the Sweden Democrats, a once-marginal, far-right party that is now the third largest in the country. Even further to the right of the Sweden Democrats are paramilitary groups that have taken to harassing and beating migrants. In Denmark, by contrast, where immigration skeptics were never written out of the political conversation, alternative views have always been part of the political system. Though the Danish Peoples Party is often mischaracterized as far right, it is not nearly as extreme as the Sweden Democrats. Anti-migration sentiments are thus channeled in a healthy way the parliamentary process and not onto the streets. In Germany, wrongheaded immigration policies have boosted the far right and fractured a political culture that was once the envy of Europe for its comity. Fueled by the influx of migrants, the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party made impressive gains in a series of provincial elections this year and now polls at 13 percent nationally, making it the third-most popular party in the country and all but guaranteed to enter the Bundestag, Germanys parliament, next year. The fear that even more conservative voters will drift into the arms of the AfD has inspired rumblings within the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of Merkels Christian Democratic Union (CDU), to split off. Were this political earthquake to happen, it would mark the first time in history that the CSU campaigned independently of the CDU. Attacking Denmark for being stingy and uniquely nationalistic in its approach to the migrant crisis is also unfair in light of its massive development aid budget and commitment to internationalism. Denmark is one of only five countries in the world contributing more than the U.N.-recommended 0.7 percent of its gross national income to development aid, which funds the sorts of programs that address migration at its source: poverty and conflict in the underdeveloped world. It has also sustained the highest number of casualties per capita of any NATO member in the military alliances mission in Afghanistan, is a generous contributor to the military campaign against the Islamic State, and is an active participant in the diplomatic process seeking an end to the Syrian war, the main driver of the current refugee crisis. Meanwhile, to characterize Denmark as not having carried its share of the burden in Europes refugee crisis is distorting facts. Writing in Foreign Policy, James Traub called Denmarks refugee policy abhorrent and, specifically, worse than France. Yet, in 2015, Denmark received far more asylum-seekers per capita (21,000 out of a total population of 5.6 million people) than France has pledged to take in over the course of the next two years (30,000 out of a total population of 66 million). To put things in perspective, in per capita terms, 21,000 refugees entering Denmark, a country about the size of Maryland, would be the equivalent of more than 1 million coming into the United States. More important than any numerical figures related to per capita refugee intake or social welfare spending, however, is the Danes cold-eyed understanding of the challenge this crisis poses to Europes values and internal political stability. In an essay for the New York Review of Books titled Liberal, Harsh Denmark, Hugh Eakin singled out the country for its refugee policy. Visiting last August, right before the migrant wave grew into a tsunami, he chastised the countrys media for writing of an invasion from the Middle East though the influx at the time was occurring in the Greek islands, more than one thousand miles away. Considering how that influx, initially limited to the Mediterranean, soon evolved into a deluge that eventually reached all the way north to Scandinavia, what might have initially seemed to be hyperbolic warnings from the Danish media ought now be considered prescient. Eakin maligned Denmarks growing domestic consensus that large-scale Muslim immigration is incompatible with European social democracy as a nasty harbinger of continent-wide attitudes. But the wages of irresponsibly liberal immigration policies are being seen across the continent in the rise of populist, anti-immigration, and anti-EU political parties that now threaten the political stability of Europe itself. For too long, European leaders ignored their constituents, brushing off concerns about migration and national identity as taboo. The integration challenge is enormous, Lose conceded, particularly in a homogenous country such as Denmark. The only sustainable solution is to get these people integrated into Danish society to get people out on the job market. Denmark, rather than Sweden or Germany, believes it more prudent to accept migrants on a manageable basis rather than a starry-eyed idealism that overpromises both to the migrants and native Danes. Danes are also the last people who should be lectured to about the sanctity of European values. Unlike most of Europe, Denmark has reason to be unambiguously proud of its wartime history, having saved nearly every single one of its Jews during the Holocaust, making latter-day comparisons to the Nazis not only wildly inappropriate but also utterly misplaced. Danes are also strong defenders of freedom of speech, having rallied in defense of Jyllands-Posten, the newspaper that originally published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2005. When former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen became NATOs secretary-general in 2009, he pointedly refused to apologize to fellow member state Turkey, which had protested his appointment as a grievous insult to Muslims. Contrast that adherence to principle with Merkels pathetic groveling before the Turks over a German comedian who insulted authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and was recently banned from repeating an offensive poem by a German court. In his derisory piece about those overzealously liberal Danes, Eakin referred to the cartoon controversy as an irresolvable conflict between European societies and their Muslim populations. If that assertion is true if a majority or even a plurality of Muslims cannot accept that the freedom of speech includes the right to blaspheme then its an unintended argument in favor of more restrictive migration policies. Danes should not be expected to sacrifice their freedom of speech the vitality of which, according to Lose, there is unanimity in Danish society about maintaining to accommodate illiberal foreign attitudes. We paid a high price for insisting on free speech back then, and we still do today, Lose said. If you look at the terror list, were always in the top 5 of target countries. Yes, Denmark may be harsh and liberal, but sometimes you have to emphasize the former to protect the latter. Photo credit: NOE FALK NIELSEN/NurPhoto Lost nations, unknown songs, love at dawn, something about flowers. This is just some of the poetic imagery Sara Van sings about in Dengue Dengue Dengue's mysterious new single, "Guarida." The Peruvian duo say the song is loosely about loss and the journey to overcome it, but check out the intriguing and cinematically astounding music video that goes along with it, and one gets lost instead in a visual tale of discovery. Directed by DDD frequent collaborator and fellow Peruvian Mikael Stornfelt, "Guarida" depicts time traveling archeologists as they explore various eras of Peruvian culture. They start in a modern-day Afro-Peruvian home where portraits of Peruvian musicians, including DDD themselves, line the dusty walls. They next travel to prehistoric times, where instead of home with photographs, the travelers find cave walls decorated with hand prints. They finally arrive in primordial times to meet a mythological goddess who gives birth to humankind and the Universe. Buraka Som Sistema Announces Final N.A. Tour, Calls Ten-Year Run a 'Beautiful Accident' The travelers are dressed in a mixture of traditional African and Peruvian garb, representing the musical duo's own ethnicity and cultural influences. Painstakingly filmed in Lima in one "very long" day, the hauntingly beautiful imagery matches the tune's mystical and brooding tone. The film was colored over in post-production, giving it a distinct sheen of surreality. "It's all very abstract and poetic," the band says in an email interview. Whatever you discern, "Guarida," both musically and visually, is absolutely captivating. Deutsche Bank AG DB is conducting an internal probe into certain trades commenced in 2009 that may have benefited a group of current and former employees with substantial profits, some of it at the banks expense. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter. A spokesman for the German banking giant stated, We are reviewing a transaction that may have involved unacceptable conflicts of interest when structured in 2009. Internal auditors suspects Colin Fan, the then global head of credit trading, among the employees that have profited from the trades. Fan, who had joined the bank in 1998, was the co-head of the investment bank wing of Deutsche Bank when he left the bank as part of management restructuring in October. Fan has made $9 million on about a $1 million investment, per the estimates of the auditors. Overall, the auditors believe six current and former employees of Deutsche Bank have made about $37 million on the trades. The internal investigation relates to trades, some which are to continue until next year, originated from a $750 million agreement with the French insurer AXA SA in 2009. Through this deal, Deutsche Bank would arrange derivatives trades using AXAs money. Deutsche Bank intended to seek profit through index arbitrage, a strategy that calls for betting on the pricing differences between credit indexes and the underlying debts that build them. Fans team tapped a Monaco-based hedge fund Greengate SAM to transfer most of the risk part of the banks deal. However, the hedge fund did not make full investment, rather, Fan and five other employees invested some amount of money personally. The internal auditors are looking into whether these employees established a structure that made Deutsche Bank pay higher share of profits and fees to them and the hedge fund. The auditors are also looking into the compliance review of the structure. The ongoing probe by the auditors hasnt determined whether the bank lost money related to the trades. However, per preliminary assessment by the auditors, the 2009 deal might have cost Deutsche Bank more than $60 million. Deutsche Bank said in a statement, Based on our findings to date, we believe that no client was disadvantaged by this transaction." The bank further added, In accordance with our usual practice, we have suspended the payment of variable and deferred compensation to certain individuals pending the outcome of our ongoing review. A spokesperson for Fan stated that he had fulfilled all appropriate compliance procedures, been entirely transparent at all times, and denied any wrongdoing. Deutsche Bank notified the European and U.S. regulators regarding the trades. The senior management is expected to receive the final results from the internal auditors within the next few weeks. Deutsche Bank currently carries a Zack Rank #5 (Strong Sell). Some favorably ranked stocks in the foreign banks space include Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited ANZBY, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CM and Shinhan Financial Group Company Limited SHG, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report DEUTSCHE BK AG (DB): Free Stock Analysis Report CDN IMPL BK (CM): Free Stock Analysis Report AUST&NZ BKG-ADR (ANZBY): Free Stock Analysis Report SHINHAN FIN-ADR (SHG): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bankis investigating staff involvement in a transaction suspected of causing a conflict of interest and has suspended bonus payments of the staff while the probe is ongoing, the bank said on Friday. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that six current and former employees had made about $37 million by chipping in their own money to trades between Deutsche Bank and a hedge fund in 2009 that were meant to remove some of the risk the bank had taken on from an insurance client. The report said the employees included Colin Fan, its former co-head of investment banking, who is alleged to have made $9 million on a $1 million investment in the trades. Fan left Deutsche last October, having made headlines in 2014 when he sent a video message to staff warning them not to be boastful or vulgar, and chastising those who he said had fallen short of established standards. A spokesman for Fan denied he had done anything wrong and said he had met all appropriate compliance procedures and had been entirely transparent at all times. "Mr Fan is very confident the bank did not lose any money," he said. Deutsche said it was investigating the case and examining its controls. "We are reviewing a transaction that may have involved unacceptable conflicts of interest when structured in 2009," the bank said in a statement. It said that no client had been put at a disadvantage by the deal. "As we conclude our investigation, we will take disciplinary measures where appropriate and review further our controls to minimize the chance of a reoccurrence," it said, adding that bonus payments to staff under investigation had been suspended. The Wall Street Journal said bank auditors were examining whether the trades between Deutsche and the hedge fund had resulted in inflated fees being paid to the hedge fund and the bank's staff. (Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Anjuli Davies; writing by John O'Donnell; editing by Jane Merriman and David Clarke) Diane Sawyer has gone to "Hell," at least as far as prisons go. Read: Inmates Caught Breaking Back Into Prison One Day After Making Their Escape The journalist got unprecedented access to solitary confinement at New Yorks notorious Rikers Island prison. In a promotional clip, an inmate shouted: "They treat us like animals in here!" In the prison, 165 inmates are locked up there for 23 hours a day. Sawyer was told this is the punishment for inmates who attack officers or each other. The story inside Americas largest prison complex was two years in the making. Sawyer spent seven days on the island as it faces public pressure to be shut down. Read: 7 Cases of Men Who Spent Years Behind Bars For Crimes They Didn't Commit In the report, she interviews Joseph Ponte, Commissioner of the New York City Correction Department, about his vision to reform the prison. This special edition of Sawyers exclusive report, "Hidden America: Inside Rikers Island," airs Friday night on Nightline. Watch: 'Barefoot Bandit' Wants to Freeze His Dying Mom: 'She Won't Be Alive When I Get Out' Related Articles: UPDATE, WRITETHRU: Following the Critics Week prizes unveiled yesterday at the Cannes Film Festival, winners in the Directors Fortnight section have now been announced as have the Cinefondation laureates. Although the Fortnight is a non-competitive sidebar, partners of the Societe des Realisateurs Francais, the French directors guild that organizes the event, do attribute honors. The SACD Prize, handed out by Frances equivalent of the Writers Guild in conjunction with the Fortnight, has gone to LEffet Aquatique by late director Solveig Anspach who passed away last year. Special mention was given to French drama Divines by Houda Benyamina. effet aquatique Anspach, an American-Icelandic filmmaker who worked largely in France, is well-known for such films as Haut Les Coeurs! and Back Soon. She lost a battle with breast cancer last August. Her final film, LEffet Aquatique, is a love story set between France and Iceland. The CICAE Art Cinema Award was presented to first-time Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat for Wolf And Sheep. Set in rural Afghanistan, the coming-of-age tale centers on a group of shepherd children. This prize went last year to eventual Oscar nominee, Embrace Of The Serpent. The Label Europa Cinemas prize was awarded to drama Mercenaire by Frances Sacha Wolff. This is a debut feature about a young man from New Caledonia who defies his father to go play rugby in France. Left to his own devices on the other side of the world, he ends up on the path to becoming a man in a world where there is a price to be paid for success. Also notable that Oscar nominee Mustang was the winner of this award last year. The short film Illy Award went to Chasse Royale by Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret with special mention for Zvir, directed by Miroslav Sikavica. The Fortnight has increasingly emerged as an alternative to the main competition. Artistic Director Edouard Waintrop has strengthened and reinvigorated the offerings. The higher profile among them this year included Laura Poitras Risk; Pablo Larrains Neruda; Kim Nguyens Two Lovers And A Bear; and Paul Scraders Dog Eat Dog. Story continues Meanwhile, the Cinefondation and Short Films Jury headed by Naomi Kawase handed out its prizes earlier today. The section is made up of 18 student films. First Prize Anna; directed by Or Sinai The Sam Spiegel Film & TV School, Israel Second Prize In The Hills; directed by Hamid Ahmadi The London Film School, United Kingdom Joint Third Prize A Nyalintas Nesze; directed by Nadja Andrasev Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Hungary La Culpa, Probablemente; directed by Michael Labarca Universidad de Los Andes, Venezuela Related stories Oldest And Youngest Directors Take Two Top Prizes, But Only Ken Loach Deserved It: Cannes Analysis Cannes Film Festival Jury On Long Deliberations, Female-Driven Fare & Why 'Ma'Rosa' Actress Won Ken Loach's 'I, Daniel Blake' Takes Palme D'Or; Director Joins Double-Winners Club - Cannes Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f94022%2fdisney Disney World gave one woman an extra magical day by honoring her unused ticket from 1994. When four-year-old Chelsea Herline's family took a vacation to Walt Disney World Resort 22 years ago, she unfortunately got too sick to attend their final day at the theme park. But it looks like Disney tickets don't have an expiration date. Herline told FOX 35 that after her father recently discovered her unused ticket, she got another chance to relive the magic. SEE ALSO: 2-year-old autistic boy fell in love at first sight with Snow White In the video, Herline, now 26 years old, explained that her father, "was cleaning our basement, and he found the ticket in our safe in the basement, so he had kept it for 22 years, and he knew we had a trip to Florida coming up, so he brought the ticket with him." Though Herline was unsure whether the park would honor her old-school paper ticket, she decided to give it a try. Last month she had her mom drop her off at the front gates and asked her to circle the parking lot, just in case the plan backfired. "So I walked up, and there was a girl at the ticket counter, and I approached her with a big smile and I said hi, I have a really old ticket, will you let me in?" Herline told FOX 35. Much to her surprise, the girl said yes and changed the paper ticket to a more modern electronic one. Though this '90s dream took 22 years to come true, it was definitely worth the wait. Herline spend the day enjoying the park and riding rides by herself. "This has been a really funny experience," Herline said. "I was not expecting this at all and my parents are loving it that they were able to save the ticket so long, and it's getting this much attention. So, it's pretty awesome!" Time to look for your unused Disney World tickets, everyone! Paris (AFP) - Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal could meet for the 50th time after they were placed on a French Open semi-final collision course on Friday. World number one and top seed Djokovic, who turns 29 on the opening day of the tournament on Sunday, needs a Roland Garros title to complete a career Grand Slam after losing three finals in four years, including last season to Stan Wawrinka. Should Djokovic and nine-time French Open champion Nadal meet in the last-four it will be their 50th career clash in a rivalry which began in 2006 at Roland Garros. Djokovic has the edge at 26-23, claiming the pair's past seven encounters. Fourth seed Wawrinka is scheduled to take on second seed Andy Murray in the other semi-final. Top seed Djokovic, bidding for a 12th career major, starts his campaign against Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun, the world number 100 who made the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2010. Djokovic is seeded to face Tomas Berdych in the last-eight while he could tackle volatile Australian Bernard Tomic in the fourth round. Tomic was accused by the Serb of lacking commitment after a tame exit at the Madrid Masters last month. Nadal, who lost to Djokovic in the quarter-finals in 2015, had originally been set to be seeded at five until 2009 champion Roger Federer withdrew through injury on Thursday. Nadal starts his French Open against big-serving Sam Groth of Australia with a potential quarter-final against home hope, and two-time semi-finalist, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. With his 30th birthday just around the corner, Nadal has arguably the toughest draw of the top men but will be buoyed by a recent return to form which saw him claim the Monte Carlo and Barcelona titles. Italy's Fabio Fognini, who came back from two sets down to beat Nadal at the US Open last year, is a possible third round opponent. Rising Austrian Dominic Thiem, the man who knocked Federer out in Rome, is lying in wait in the round of 16. - Serena eyes 22nd Slam - Story continues Murray, fresh from beating Djokovic in the Rome Masters final, will meet a qualifier in the first round with a potential quarter-final against Japan's Kei Nishikori. Murray has been handed a relatively smooth path although a mouth-watering clash with Nick Kyrgios of Australia is a potential last-eight match-up should Nishikori stumble. The Japanese fifth seed has never got past the quarter-finals in Paris but was runner-up to Nadal this year on clay in Barcelona and a semi-final loser to Djokovic in Madrid and Rome. Nishikori starts against Italian veteran Simone Bolelli. Wawrinka opens against Lukas Rosol, the Czech who shocked Nadal at Wimbledon in 2012, while his potential last-eight rival would be Canada's Milos Raonic. In the women's draw, defending champion and top seed Serena Williams, bidding for a fourth Paris title, starts against Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova, the world number 76. The 27-year-old Slovak has never made it beyond the second round in Paris. Williams, just one short of Steffi Graf's Open era record of 22 majors, could face 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone in the third round. Former world number one and two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka is a potential quarter-final foe for the 34-year-old American. Fifth seed Azarenka, a semi-finalist in 2013, opens against Italy's Karin Knapp. Second seed Agnieszka Radwanska is scheduled to face 2014 runner-up Simona Halep in the last eight. Radwanska, yet to get past the quarter-finals, takes on Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski first up. Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber, the third seed, is lined up for a last-eight duel with 2015 semi-finalist Timea Bacsinszky. Kerber starts against Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens. Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza and US Open runner-up Roberta Vinci is the other potential quarter-final if seedings go to plan. The women's tournament is missing two-time champion Maria Sharapova who is serving a doping suspension and the injured Caroline Wozniacki. FMC Technologies and Technip to Form Mega Energy Services Company An overview of the Technip-FMC Technologies deal On May 19, FMC Technologies (FTI), a Texas-based oilfield service and equipment (or OFS) company, disclosed that it will combine with Technip, a France-based OFS company. The two companies have entered into a memorandum of understanding (or MOU) to create a combined company called TechnipFMC. The transaction remains subject to various regulatory approvals. FTI expects to combine with Technip through an all-stock merger transaction. The FMC Technologies-Technip deal will offer solutions in subsea, surface, and onshore and offshore energy production. How Did FTIs share price react to merger news? On May 19, FMC Technologies share price declined by 4.7% compared to the previous days close. Crude oil prices remained nearly unchanged on the day. On August 26, 2015, the day that the Schlumberger (SLB) and Cameron International merger deal was announced, SLBs share went down 3.4%. Financial terms of transaction TechnipFMC, the combined company, will have an equity value of $13 billion. Under the terms of the MOU, Technip shareholders will receive two shares of TechnipFMC for each share of Technip. FTI shareholders will receive one share of TechnipFMC for each share of FTI. FTI and Technip shareholders will own ~50% of the combined company. FTI makes up 0.04% of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). Recent OFS merger precedent On April 1, Schlumberger Limited (SLB), the largest OFS company by market capitalization, acquired Cameron International, its industry peer. The transaction combined two complementary technology portfolios into a pore-to-pipeline products and services offering in the global oil and gas industry. Read more about the SLB-CAM merger in Market Realists Wedding Season in Energy OFS: SLBs Proposed Acquisition of CAM. Next, well discuss revenues and income of FMC Technologies and Technip. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: The two outsider candidates for POTUS, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and real estate mogul turned reality-TV star Donald Trump will be Jimmy Kimmels guests next week. Both men will be making their third appearances on Kimmels ABC late-night show. Trump will be his guest on Wednesday. Sanders shows up Thursday. Californias GOP and Dem primaries are set for June 7. Both men have targeted Dem frontrunner Hillary Clinton in recent days. Sanders is demanding another debate, and has accepted Fox News Channels invitation to debate her there. Trump, in turn, refers to her as Crooked Hillary and questions her fitness for office as the wife of Bill Clinton. Related stories 'SNL' Season Finale: Kate McKinnon, Larry David As Hillary & Bernie For Last Dance; Fred Armisen's 'Farewell Mr. Bunting' Sara Ramirez Exits 'Grey's Anatomy' After 10 Seasons Upfronts 2016: From 'Hamilton' To IP Overload - The Week's Top Trends From Cosmopolitan Days after the New York Times published an investigative report on Donald Trump's treatment of women, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is back on the offense, calling for scrutiny over Bill Clinton's record with women. The article detailed alleged incidences of sexual harassment of employees and participants in Trump's beauty pageants, Trump's apparent preoccupation with women's bodies, and a double standard in expectations from female employees. Most troubling, perhaps, was the mention of a rape allegation made - and later denied - by ex-wife Ivana and an allegation of groping and unwanted sexual advances from a woman who once worked with Trump. One woman in the piece has since said she was misrepresented. During an interview with Fox's Sean Hannity televised Wednesday night, Trump called the Times article a "con job," and dismissed his actions and words as "minor stuff" that "frankly, wasn't even that bad." Instead, he cast his eye on Hillary Clinton's husband. "How do you compare that to what Clinton's done?" he asked Hannity. "Are they going to interview Juanita Broaddrick?" Hannity asked, suggesting the Times write a similar piece on Bill Clinton's past. Referring to Bill Clinton's multiple affairs, Kathleen Wiley's allegation of sexual assault, and Juanita Broaddrick's rape allegation in the 1990s, Hannity continued: "Are they going to interview Paula Jones? Are they going to interview Kathleen Wiley? In one case, it's about exposure. In another case, it's about groping and fondling and touching against a woman's will." "And rape," Trump said. Trump has previously called Hillary Clinton an "enabler" of sexual abuse for standing by her husband, all but blaming her for her husband's indiscretions. While the allegations against Bill Clinton are troubling and indeed worthy of examination, however, Trump's past appears to be just as sordid and messy. Then Trump went on: "And big settlements, massive settlements ... and lots of other things. And impeachment for lying, and losing your law license. You know, he lost his law license, OK? He couldn't practice law. And you don't read about this on Clinton." Follow Prachi on Twitter. Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric against Chinas currency manipulation and the outsourcing of U.S. labor, defending his aggressive trade policies from conservative critics. At his first rally in nearly two weeks, Trump struck a defiant tone as he promised to bring back American jobs. Were losing $500 billion to China, he said at a fundraiser for endorser New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Who the hell cares about a trade war? Were like a big, big sloppy bully who gets punched in the face and gets knocked down, Trump said of the United States, saying he would make great deals for the country. My trade deal is very simple, I am going to make great deals for our country, he added, It might be free, it might not be free. Trumps proposals include a 35% tariff on the import of goods produced overseas by American companies and the repeal North American Free Trade Agreement, signed by former President Bill Clinton. Trump addressed the criticism of his plans from these very conservative ideologues, referencing the GOP platforms call for free trade policies, saying Im a free trader, but Im only a free trader if we make good deals. Speaking to a crowd of hundreds at the $200-a-head event, Trump predicted he would benefit from the support of some Bernie Sanders supporters once he drops out of the race. I believe that his people, a large percentage of his people, vote for Trump, he said of Sanders. The one thing hes right on is trade. He says she might want to watch that. Donald Trump swung away at likely general election rival Hillary Clinton during a Friday call-in to Fox & Friends, keeping up the biting allusions to her husband's infidelity. Asked about the Democrat having said she'd put former President Bill Clinton in charge of economic revitalization if she wins, Trump had a different take. Read more: Donald Trump Just Accused Bill Clinton of Committing Rape "Maybe she's just saying that or maybe she just wants him around the White House so she can keep an eye on him," Trump said. "Maybe she just wants him around the WH so she can keep an eye on him." -Trump on HRC putting Bill to work on econhttps://amp.twimg.com/v/9e41db84-e008-4c64-8235-3af08b721d35 ... Trump threw the elbow at the Clintons as he faces continued scrutiny of his own treatment of women a demographic that's got problems with him, according to recent polling. The presumptive GOP nominee has responded to the criticism by counterattacking the ex-president for alleged sexual misconduct which Bill Clinton has denied and saying Hillary Clinton "enabled" her partner's sketchy behavior. On Friday, Trump kept trying to deflect the focus on his own widely reported foibles with females by tossing in another veiled barb at the former president's wandering eye. "Maybe he'll bring the 'energizer' with him," Trump said when asked about why Clinton might want to put her spouse in charge of economic issues. Trump used the term in a tweet Tuesday as well. Crooked Hillary said her husband is going to be in charge of the economy.If so, he should run,not her.Will he bring the "energizer" to D.C.? Trump didn't explain the "energizer" reference on Fox. News reports have concluded it could be a reference to Julie Tauber McMahon, an energy executive whose company the former commander-in-chief talked up for federal funding in 2010. The nickname has also been used in connection with a "blonde, busty" supposed Clinton paramour described by former Secret Service agent Ronald Kessler, author of a tell-all book about the presidency. The Republican party's presumptive nominee Donald Trump stopped by a fundraiser for Chris Christie this week to help the New Jersey Governor raise money to "pay off" debt from his presidential campaign, reported The Hill and during his speech he seemed to mock Christie's weight by telling him, "you're not eating Oreos anymore." " ... And Nabisco, leaving Chicago with their big plant, they're moving to Mexico, I'm not eating Oreos anymore, you know that," Trump told the crowd, referring to his promise, from back in August, to "never" eat Oreos again after the brand's parent company, Mondelez International Inc., announced plans to build new plants in Mexico, replacing production lines in Chicago. "Neither is Chris, you're not eating Oreos anymore, no more Oreos," Trump added, pointing offstage at Christie in what was an apparent jab at his weight. Responding to the "oohs" of the audience, Trump then seemed to backtrack. "For either of us Chris, don't feel bad," Trump said, "for either of us." Christie has played along with jokes about his weight before, but, like many of Trump's speeches, this one seemed to be off-the-cuff. The camera wasn't on Christie, so it's hard to say how he reacted to what seemed to be a blatant example of fat-shaming, but, as many have pointed out, Trump has a long history of mocking people for the way they look. donald trump Donald Trump lashed out at Hillary Clinton in a statement on Thursday evening, claiming that the Democratic presidential frontrunner has "bad judgment" and is unfit to be president. Trump's statement comes after Clinton criticized the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in a CNN interview earlier the same day. In the interview, Clinton called Trump's positions "potentially dangerous" and concluded that he is not qualified to be president. She lambasted several of Trump's recent claims, including his declaration that he is willing to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. "The fact that Hillary thinks the temporary Muslim ban, which she calls the 'Muslim ban,' promotes terrorism, proves Bernie Sanders was correct when he said she is not qualified to be President," Trump fired back in his statement. "She has bad judgment and is unfit to serve as President at this delicate and difficult time in our country's history." He continued: Look at the carnage all over the world including the World Trade Center, San Bernardino, Paris, the USS Cole, Brussels and an unlimited number of other places. She and our totally ignorant President won't even use the term Radical Islamic Terrorism. And by the way, ask Hillary who blew up the plane last night - another terrible, but preventable tragedy. Trump was referring to the EgyptAir plane disappearance. The aircraft crashed early on Thursday morning on its way from Paris to Cairo. The plane is still missing and no cause has been determined, although officials have said that an act of terror is a more likely cause than a technical failure. NOW WATCH: Donald Trump has a warning message for David Cameron More From Business Insider Abuja (AFP) - Nigeria has claimed the rescue of a second Chibok girl but a campaign group on Friday said she was captured separately from the 219 held by Boko Haram, as questions were raised about the first release. Serah Luka was among 97 women and children rescued in the Damboa area of Borno state in northeast Nigeria on Thursday morning during military operations against the Islamist insurgents. The BringBackOurGirls group said background checks had established she was a student at the same school but was in a different class to those seized on April 14, 2014. "She was an SSS1 learner at (Government Girls Secondary School) Chibok, who was abducted by the insurgents in her home in Madagali (in neighbouring Adamawa state)," said spokesman Sesugh Akume. SSS1 is the first of the final three years at secondary school in Nigeria. The 219 schoolgirls were in SSS3. The announcement about Serah's rescue came just hours after the first girl to be found, Amina Ali, met President Muhammadu Buhari in the capital, Abuja. Buhari, who was criticised by human rights campaigners for making "political capital" so soon after she was found, said her return gave a "unique opportunity" to find the remaining hostages. The 19-year-old was discovered with her four-month-old baby girl, Safiya, and a man she described as her husband near Boko Haram's Sambisa Forest enclave on Tuesday. Nigerian troops have pushed out Boko Haram from captured territory in the last 15 months and have been conducting operations in the former game reserve in Borno state since late April. The mass kidnapping of the 219 Chibok schoolgirls provoked global outrage and brought unprecedented attention on the Boko Haram conflict, which has killed at least 20,000 since 2009. - Not on the list - The head of the Abducted Chibok Girls Parents group, Yakubu Nkeki, said that unlike the first announcement about Amina, the military had not contacted them beforehand to establish Serah's identity. Story continues Only two girls with the surname Luka were on the list of abducted girls and none was from Madagali, which has been repeatedly attacked by the rebels, he added. The military said the teenager was believed to be a Christian pastor's daughter but Nkeki said there were only four priests on the list of parents and none was called Luka. "I can say in my capacity as the head of the Chibok Abducted Girls Parents group that this girl is not among the abducted Chibok girls," he told AFP. In response, a senior military source stood by the army's statement, saying it was "beyond reasonable doubt" that she was among the girls snatched. The BringBackOurGirls group, which has campaigned for the release of all hostages, said: "Every citizen returned is victory for us all." Thousands of women and girls have been kidnapped in the conflict. Former hostages have said they were forced to marry Boko Haram fighters, cook, clean and become sex slaves. - Sign of talks? - This week's developments have raised hopes that the remaining students will be released and follows a so-called "proof of life" video sent to the government earlier this year. Until then, none of the kidnapped schoolgirls had been seen since May 2014, when they were shown in a Boko Haram video, apparently converted to Islam and reciting passages from the Koran. Nigeria's government was cautious about the "proof of life" video because of difficulties establishing whether those who sent it had the authority of the group's leadership to request talks. Security analysts tracking the conflict suggested Amina may have been released as a gesture of "good faith" by Boko Haram elements rather than by simply military action. Ryan Cummings, from Signal Risk, said escape was unlikely given that the Chibok girls were said to have been heavily guarded at militant camps in the Sambisa Forest, a vast semi-desert scrubland. "It seems very fortuitous that the hostage (Amina), child and BH husband just happened to run into a CJTF (civilian joint taskforce) patrol as described", he told AFP in an email. Nigeria's military have described the man found with Amina as a "suspected Boko Haram terrorist". Cummings also suggested reports of his "defection" with such a prized asset, straight into the hands of the Nigerian army and military intelligence, also seemed unlikely. Lubumbashi (DR Congo) (AFP) - Powerful Democratic Republic of Congo opposition figure Moise Katumbi, who has said he will run for the presidency, left the country for South Africa on Friday. Katumbi, who is seeking medical care and faces a trial at home for threatening state security, left aboard a plane which took off from Lubumbashi at 8:03 pm (1803 GMT), an AFP correspondent said, just hours after the DR Congo authorities said he was free to travel abroad. Congolese Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba told AFP earlier that Katumbi "asked for conditional release covered by a medical certificate saying he needed appropriate care abroad. The prosecutor agreed to the request and authorised his departure." Katumbi arrived at the airport by ambulance which drove straight up to a waiting plane. According to airport sources he was accompanied by his wife and a doctor on his way to Johannesburg. His entourage say he was injured during clashes between police and thousands of his supporters in Lubumbashi on May 13. His detractors accuse him of feigning medical problems. The 51-year-old businessman is President Joseph Kabila's leading rival for the country's top job after recently announcing plans to stand against the long-serving head of state. Immediately after that, judicial authorities opened an inquiry on May 4 alleging that Katumbi had hired foreign mercenaries. Katumbi has denied the allegations as "grotesque lies" and said the case, which followed the arrest of four of his bodyguards, including an American, was politically motivated. - 'Targeted actions - No date has been set for the trial of Katumbi, millionaire owner of a prestigious football club and former governor of mineral-rich Katanga province. The charges carry the death penalty, which has been systematically commuted to life since Democratic Republic of Congo suspended capital punishment, Kinshasa University law professor Sam Bokolombe told AFP. Story continues The news comes amid mounting domestic and international concern that Kabila will delay elections due to be held late this year when his second five-year mandate ends. The opposition claims Kabila, in power since 2001, plans to extend his rule, and last week the Constitutional Court ruled he could stay in office beyond 2016 without being re-elected. Human Rights Watch has slammed the case as "targeted actions against a presidential aspirant and close supporters". Katumbi was an ally of Kabila's but broke with him in September after the president announced he would carve up DR Congo's provinces, including Katanga, into smaller entities. Kabila's supporters want the presidential elections delayed for two to four years on the grounds of alleged logistical and financial difficulties. Sam Bokolombe, from Kinshasa University's international criminal law department, said Katumbi had "no interest" in remaining abroad and that he expected him to return to have his day in court. But his supporters claim the authorities are seeking to remove Katumbi from the political scene. Kinshasa (AFP) - Powerful DR Congo opposition figure Moise Katumbi, who has said he will run for the presidency, was given the go-ahead Friday to seek medical care abroad pending his trial for threatening state security. Congolese Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba told AFP that Katumbi "asked for conditional release covered by a medical certificate saying he needed appropriate care abroad. The prosecutor agreed to the request and authorised his departure." "Katumbi can leave whenever he wants," Mwamba said. On Thursday, officials announced that Katumbi will be put on trial for threatening state security. The 51-year-old is President Joseph Kabila's leading rival for the country's top job after recently announcing plans to stand against the long-serving head of state. Immediately after that, judicial authorities opened an inquiry on May 4 alleging that Katumbi had hired foreign mercenaries. Katumbi said the case, which followed the arrest of four of his bodyguards, including an American, was politically motivated. The incoming mayor of a major Philippine city said Friday he was offering police bounties to kill criminals, deepening fears of extra-judicial deaths under the rule of president-elect Rodrigo Duterte. Reports of another official forcing three children to walk through the streets with signs declaring they were drug traffickers added to the alarm of authorities being incited to act outside of the law. Tomas Osmena, the incoming mayor of central Cebu city, told AFP he would pay police 50,000 pesos ($1,060) for each criminal they killed and 5,000 pesos for wounding them. "If you kill a criminal in the line of duty, (you'll be rewarded), no questions asked. I'm there to assist the police, not to prosecute them," Osmena said by telephone. "That is my purpose: to instil fear in the criminals. If they want to commit crimes, they get into war with me. I will see to it that they will be casualties." Osmena's pledge comes after Duterte, the longtime mayor of southern Davao city, won the May 9 presidential election in a landslide largely due to an incendiary law-and-order platform. Duterte pledged to wipe out crime within six months by unleashing security forces with shoot-to-kill orders. He said 100,000 criminals would die in his crackdown, and that so many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish there would grow fat from feeding on them. He also vowed to forget human rights and boasted that criminals would be butchered. Since winning the election, Duterte announced he would bring back the death penalty, with hanging his preferred method of execution. Duterte's law-and-order platform hypnotised millions of Filipinos hoping for quick solutions to the deep-rooted problems of crime and corruption. However human rights groups and other critics voiced alarm that a Duterte presidency would lead to a breakdown in the rule of law, with other politicians to follow his lead. Asked for comment on Osmena's bounties, Duterte's spokesman denied the president-elect had ever encouraged bounties or any killings that broke the law. Story continues "Maybe mayor Osmena is just joking, attempting a new gimmick so that his administration will be popular. To each his own," spokesman Salvador Panelo told AFP. - Vigilante death squads - Duterte has also been accused of running vigilante death squads in Davao that killed at least 1,000 people. He has variously denied and acknowledged links to them. Osmena, a member of a powerful family who has previously served several terms as Cebu mayor, said he would similarly tolerate vigilante groups. "I'm not going to suppress vigilantes," said Osmena, who like Duterte will assume his post on June 30. "I'm focused on protecting the victims of criminals. You can protect the criminals if you want." Osmena said the bounties would not come from government funds, but would not disclose their source. Osmena already gave a reward this week of 20,000 pesos to a Cebu policeman who wounded two robbers in a gun battle, Superintendent Oscar Monteroyo of the Cebu police civil relations office told AFP. The head of the government's Commission on Human Rights, Chito Gascon, said fears Duterte would incite authorities to act outside the law appeared to be coming to fruition. "Mayor and now president-elect Duterte has emboldened other local officials to look at other extraordinary measures," Gascon told AFP. Aside from Osmena, he said another example was a mayor of town near Manila who had this week forced seven suspects, including three children, to walk through town with signs saying: "I am a drug pusher, do not follow my example". Human Rights Watch deputy director for Asia, Phelim Kline, expressed similar concerns about Duterte's campaign vows of bloodshed. "That rhetoric lends a dangerous credence to a widely held view in the Philippines that only tough-guy, 'Dirty Harry' approaches can remedy the countrys crime problem," Kline said. A few days ago I was leisurely stumbling through the automotive classifieds, searching for cars with unique and interesting stories, when I landed on something I did not expect to seea 2002 Toyota Rav4 EV. You see, mistakenly I had believed that all of these first-generation Rav4 EVs were rounded up upon their lease turn-in, and scuttled away to the wrecking yard in the sky. I was wrong. Toyota sold a small number back to the public (believed to be 328 cars) of which many still silently roam the California roads. This got me thinking, if there are only 328 original Toyota Rav4 EVs still zipping around public roads, someday that ought to make them quite hard to find. Given that exclusivity often foreshadows collectibility, perhaps these early EVs will one day become collector cars. And thats the question Ill pass on to you; what do you think? By early EVs I certainly dont mean the cars that brought electric vehicles into the spotlight in the early 1900sof course those are collectibleIm talking about the cars that brought about the EV resurgence following the oil crises and vehicle emissions snarls of the 1970s and 80s. Cars like this forerunning Rav4 EV, as well as other early models such as the Chrysler TEVan, GM EV1, Ford Ranger Electric, Chevrolet S10 EV, and the Honda EV Plus. What these vehicles all share (besides their all-electric powertrains) is a common thread that leads back to the state of California and its Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, which forces large volume automakers to sell a certain percentage of EVs in the state. Of its own accord, this program has pushed EV regulation now to nine additional states, but its also carved out a unique (though small) niche for these early EVs. As mentioned before, exclusivity often leads to collectability especially given that some of these cars were rounded up and collected at the end of their leases (and crushed). Heres looking at you, GM EV1. Still have one? Better hold onto it. Story continues RELATED: BMWs Isetta Bubble Car is Coming Back, But as an EV But theres more than just exclusivity to make these early EVs a hot ticket collectors item one day. Think about other vehicles that define a moment in timethe original Ford Mustang, the C1 and C2 Corvettes, the early Porsche 911 Turbos, fourth-gen Toyota Supras, and Ford Broncos, among many others. Its a bit of a stretch to put an electrified Rav4 in that same category as such icons, but these vehicles have undeniably opened the door for a new wave of vehicles, most notably those of Tesla, the 800 pound gorilla of todays electric auto industry, which actually had a hand in building the second-generation Rav4 EVs. If there is an early EV thats genuinely guaranteed to be a collector car, its Teslas first outingthe rarified Tesla Roadster. Just 2,500 were ever built and seeing as how the Tesla empire has grown since, at some point these will likely be fiercely, fiercely sought after. Looking down the road a bit, Tesla has also introduced a rather unique mix-up to the notion of collector carsthe rolling update. When Tesla Motors is ready to update its Model S or Model X, it just does. No need to wait for a new model year, in a days time, all new cars will simply feature that new tech. This opens the door for high levels of exclusivity. Imagine having one of just 10 Tesla Model S P85D sedans with a highly unusual equipment configuration between updates. This is of course just a hypothetical example, but a potential one if the pace of rolling updates accelerates. RELATED: A Corvette is Now the Worlds Fastest Street-Legal EV There is one inherent stumbling block for EV collectability, and it has nothing to do with the cars themselves, but instead our perception. A stigma. I was chatting with an industry analyst recently who raised this point, no one goes to the store looking to buy used batteries, many people share that same attitude when it comes to buying a second-hand electric car. They certainly have a point. Tesla is a bit of an outlier, it has the star power to convince 373,000 people to line up for a car that wont even arrive for one and a half years. But go looking for any used electric car of another brand and you likely wont be short of available options. Would you want my gently used digital camera batteries? Probably not. That said, as electric vehicles continue to get more advanced and go further mainstream, this stigma should dissipate too. All in all, this isnt meant to be some decree of what will or will not happen in regards to these foundational EVs in the future. Instead, I just wanted to start the discussion. Please voice your opinions below, and make any suggestions for electric vehicles you think will end up in collector garages in the future. RELATED: Check Out the All-New 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV Rav4 Photo Credit: Karissa Hosek/Auctions America * Airbus A320 was carrying 56 passengers, 10 crew * Greek calls to jet went unanswered before handover * Too early to rule out any cause, including terrorism - Egypt * 30 Egyptians, 15 French, 10 other nationalities aboard By Lin Noueihed and George Georgiopoulos CAIRO/ATHENS, May 19 (Reuters) - An EgyptAir jet carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean on Thursday in a crash that Egypt said may have been caused by a terrorist attack. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to rule out any explanation for the crash, including an attack like the one blamed for bringing down a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula last year. The country's aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure. The Egyptian civil aviation ministry initially said Greek authorities had found "floating material" and life jackets likely to be from the plane, an Airbus A320. However, late on Thursday EgyptAir Vice President Ahmed Adel told CNN that the wreckage had not been found. "We stand corrected on finding the wreckage because what we identified is not a part of our plane. So the search and rescue is still going on," Adel said. Greek defence sources told Reuters the material was discovered in the sea 230 miles (370 km) south of the island of Crete. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the civil aviation ministry, the army's search and rescue centre, the navy, and the air force to take all necessary measures to locate debris from the aircraft. In a statement issued by his office, Sisi also ordered an investigative committee formed by the civil aviation ministry to immediately start investigating the causes of the plane's disappearance. Officials from multiple U.S. agencies told Reuters that a U.S. review of satellite imagery so far had not produced any signs of an explosion aboard the EgyptAir flight. The U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the conclusion was the result of a preliminary examination of imagery and cautioned against media reports suggesting the United States believed a bomb was responsible for the crash. Story continues They said the United States has not ruled out any possible causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew. Amid uncertainty about what downed the plane, Los Angeles International Airport became the first major U.S. air transportation hub to say it was stepping up security measures. "In light of the disappearance of EgyptAir Flight MS804, we have heightened our security posture and enhanced our counter-terrorism security measures," the Los Angeles Airport Police said in a statement. Greece had deployed aircraft and a frigate to search for the missing plane. Egypt said it would lead the investigation and France would participate. Paris said three investigators would arrive in Egypt on Thursday evening. In Washington, President Barack Obama received a briefing on the disappearance from his adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism, the White House said. A White House spokesman said it was too early to know the cause of the crash and offered condolences. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the Airbus swerved 90 degrees to the left, spun through 360 degrees to the right and plunged from 37,000 feet to 15,000 before vanishing from Greek radar screens. According to Greece's civil aviation chief, calls from Greek air traffic controllers to flight MS804 went unanswered just before it left Greek airspace, and it disappeared from radar screens soon afterwards. There was no official indication of a possible cause, whether technical failure, human error or sabotage. Ultra-hardline Islamists have targeted airports, airliners and tourist sites in Europe, Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries over the past few years. Asked if he could rule out terrorist involvement, the Egyptian premier told reporters: "We cannot exclude anything at this time or confirm anything. All the search operations must be concluded so we can know the cause." French President Francois Hollande also said the cause was unknown. "No hypothesis can be ruled out, nor can any be favoured over another." The aircraft was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew, EgyptAir said. They included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals, along with citizens of 10 other countries. The Canadian government said on Thursday two Canadian citizens were aboard and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said Canadian officials were working with authorities to confirm if any other Canadians were on the flight. A man identified as an Australian-UK dual national was also aboard, according to the Australian government. The U.S. State Department said there was no indication that American citizens were on board. "LIVES ARE SO CHEAP" At Cairo airport, a man sat on a brown leather couch crying with his hands covering his face. "How long will Egypt live if human lives are so cheap?" he said. The mother of a flight attendant rushed out of the VIP hall where families waited in tears. She said the last time her daughter called her was Wednesday night. "They haven't told us anything," she said. Some relatives tried to beat up a photographer working for EgyptAir who took several pictures of the families waiting in the hall. Security officials intervened and escorted him out. With its archaeological sites and Red Sea resorts, Egypt is a traditional destination for Western tourists. But the industry has been badly hit by the downing of a Russian Metrojet flight last October, in which all 224 people on board were killed, as well as by an Islamist insurgency and a string of bomb attacks. A320s normally seat 150, which means the EgyptAir plane was barely a third full. Greek air traffic controllers spoke to the pilot as the jet flew over the island of Kea, in what was thought to be the last broadcast from the aircraft, and no problems were reported. But just ahead of the handover to Egyptian controllers, calls to the plane went unanswered. "About seven miles before the aircraft entered the Cairo airspace, Greek controllers tried to contact the pilot but he was not responding," said Kostas Litzerakis, head of Greece's civil aviation department. Shortly after exiting Greek airspace, it disappeared from radars, he said. In Paris, a police source said investigators were interviewing officers who were on duty at Roissy airport on Wednesday evening to find out whether they heard or saw anything suspicious. "We are in the early stage here," the source said. Airbus said the missing A320 was delivered to EgyptAir in November 2003 and had operated about 48,000 flight hours. The missing flight's pilot had clocked up to 6,275 hours of flying experience, including 2,101 hours on the A320, while the first officer had 2,766 hours, EgyptAir said. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, said no conclusions could be drawn yet but terrorism was a very possible cause. "If terrorism was indeed the cause, it would reveal a whole new level of vulnerability to aircraft - not only from those flights originating in the Middle East, but to those departing from the heart of Europe and with, at least in theory, far better airport defences," he said. Other countries offered to help in the investigation, including the United States, where engine maker Pratt & Whitney is based. Russia and Western governments have said the Metrojet plane that crashed on Oct. 31 was probably brought down by a bomb, and the Islamic State militant group said it had smuggled an explosive device on board. That crash called into question Egypt's campaign to contain Islamist violence. Militants have stepped up attacks on Egyptian soldiers and police since Sisi, then serving as army chief, toppled elected president Mohamed Mursi, an Islamist, in 2013 after mass protests against his rule. In March, an EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus by a man with what authorities said was a fake suicide belt. He was arrested after giving himself up. EgyptAir has a fleet of 57 Airbus and Boeing jets, including 15 of the Airbus A320 family of aircraft, according to airfleets.com. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein, Amina Ismail, Ali Abdelatti, Mostafa Hashem, Asma Alsharif, Eric Knecht, Victoria Bryan, Siva Govindasamy, Sophie Louet, Tim Hepher, Michele Kambas, Lefteris Papadimas, Renee Maltezou, Brian Love and Miral Fahmy; Writing by Lincoln Feast, Samia Nakhoul, David Stamp, Philippa Fletcher and Tom Brown; Editing by Peter Graff, James Dalgleish and Bernard Orr) By Ahmed Aboulenein CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt said on Friday that its navy had found human remains, wreckage and the personal belongings of passengers floating in the Mediterranean, confirmation that an EgyptAir jet had plunged into the sea with 66 people on board. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi offered condolences for those on board, amounting to Egypt's official acknowledgement of their deaths, although there was still no explanation of why the Airbus had crashed. "The Egyptian navy was able to retrieve more debris from the plane, some of the passengers' belongings, human remains, and plane seats," the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. The navy was searching an area about 290 km (180 miles) north of Alexandria, just south of where the signal from the plane was lost early on Thursday. There was no sign of the bulk of the wreckage, or of a location signal from the "black box" flight recorders that are likely to provide the best clues to the cause of the crash. EgyptAir Chairman Safwat Moslem told state television that the current radius of the search zone was 40 miles, giving an area of 5,000 sq miles, but that it would be expanded as necessary. A European satellite spotted a 2 km-long oil slick in the Mediterranean, about 40 km southeast of the aircraft's last known position, the European Space Agency said. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to rule out any cause for the crash. The aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure, but offered no evidence. NO CLAIM Although early suspicion centered on Islamist militants who blew up another airliner over Egypt seven months ago, no group had claimed responsibility more than 36 hours after the disappearance of flight MS804, an Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo. CNN reported on Friday that flight data, from an automatic system called the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), suggested there were smoke alerts aboard the EgyptAir jet minutes before it crashed. ACARS routinely downloads flight data to the airline operating the aircraft. Two U.S. officials told Reuters an electronic sensor system had detected some kind of disturbance outside the jet around the time investigators believe it began falling from cruising altitude. They could not confirm CNN's report that smoke had been detected inside the cabin. One of the officials said the disturbance outside the aircraft may have been caused by its sudden and rapid breakup, but also could have been generated by some kind of mechanical fault or accident or a possible explosion or attack. The two officials asked for anonymity when speaking about the still-evolving investigation. Jihadists have been fighting Egypt's government since Sisi toppled an elected Islamist leader in 2013. In October, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for blowing up a Russian airliner that exploded after taking off from an Egyptian tourist resort. Russian investigators blamed a bomb smuggled on board. That crash devastated Egypt's tourist industry, one of the main sources of foreign exchange for a country of 80 million people, and another similar attack would crush hopes of it recovering. The plane vanished just as it was moving from Greek to Egyptian airspace control. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said it had swerved radically and plunged from 37,000 feet to 15,000 before vanishing from Greek radar screens. Officials from a number of U.S. agencies told Reuters that a U.S. review of satellite imagery so far had not produced any signs of an explosion. They said the United States had not ruled out any possible causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew. Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived in Cairo early on Friday, airport sources said. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, played down comments from U.S. figures including likely presidential nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton that terrorism was the most likely cause. "At this point, we still can't corroborate the theory that terrorism brought it down or there was some structural problem with the plane," he told CNN. "Certainly, the backdrop is suggestive of terrorism in the sense that we have the Russian plane in Sharm el-Sheikh and we have the aspiration we've seen time and time again, not only of ISIL (Islamic State) now but of AQAP (al Qaeda), still very potent and still very determined to bring down aircraft. But the reality is, we don't have hard evidence that this was terrorism yet." FAMILY OF PILOTS Hardline Islamists have targeted airports, airliners and tourist sites in Europe, Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries over the past few years. Khaled al-Gameel, head of crew at EgyptAir, said the pilot, Mahamed Saeed Ali Shouqair, had 15 years' experience and was in charge of training and mentoring younger pilots. "He comes from a pilot family; his uncle was a high-ranking pilot at EgyptAir and his cousin is also a pilot," Gameel said. "He was very popular and was known for taking it upon himself to settle disputes any two colleagues were having." A Facebook page that appeared to be Shouqair's showed no signs of Islamist sympathies. It included criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood, repostings of articles supporting President Sisi and pictures of Shouqair wearing aviator sunglasses. Two former senior crash investigators said the list of possible causes remained wide open and noted there had been cases where deliberate action had been suspected wrongly. In 1996, a terrorism probe was launched after a TWA jumbo jet crashed off Long Island on the east coast of the United States, but investigators later found it had probably been brought down by a fuel tank explosion. The EgyptAir plane was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew. They included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals, along with citizens of 10 other countries. The aircraft had made scheduled flights to Tunisia and Eritrea on Wednesday before arriving in Paris from Cairo. (Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball; Writing by Lincoln Feast, Peter Graff and Kevin Liffey; Editing by Peter Millership and Tom Brown) ATHENS (Reuters) - Egyptian authorities found luggage, a seat and a body part during the search for an EgyptAir jet which plunged into the Mediterranean, Greece's defence minister said on Friday. "A short while ago we were briefed by the Egyptian authorities ... on the discovery of a body part, a seat and baggage just south of where the aircraft signal was lost," Defence Minister Panos Kammenos told reporters in Athens. The flight with 66 people on board vanished minutes after leaving Greek for Egyptian airspace on Thursday morning. Kammenos said Greece could not speculate on the reasons the aircraft crashed. He reiterated that Greek radars picked up sharp swings in its trajectory as it plunged from a cruising altitude to 15,000 feet, then vanishing from radars. (Reporting By Lefteris Papadimas, writing by Michele Kambas) By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union ministers on Friday backed making it easier and faster to suspend visa waiver with third countries and said relaxing travel rules for more states was not imminent amid deepening public concern about immigration into the bloc. The EU is in politically sensitive talks with Ankara on easier travel requirements for Turks seeking to visit Europe for up to three months and with no right to work. The 28-nation bloc is planning the concession as part of a deal whereby Turkey helps curb the influx of migrants and refugees to Europe. But some EU states are anxious about opening up to a mainly Muslim nation of 79 million people. To assuage such concerns, the EU is beefing up a mechanism that allows it to suspend visa waiver with any of some 60 countries that have such agreements in place. The plan, endorsed by 28 EU interior ministers on Friday, enjoys backing in the European Parliament, which must sign off on it as well. "Visa liberalization has great advantages for the EU and third countries," said Klaas Dijkhoff, migration minister for the Netherlands, which now holds the bloc's rotating presidency. "Yet we need... to make sure that visa liberalization cannot be abused. I'm pleased that we agreed today on a mechanism that makes it easier to act against abuse." As well as Turkey, the EU is currently working on lifting visas for citizens of Ukraine, Georgia and Kosovo. Countries which already enjoy such travel benefits include Japan, the United States, South Korea, Venezuela, Israel and Canada. NO MORE VISA LIBERALIZATION SOON? German interior minister, Thomas de Maziere, said the EU should not grant visa-free travel to more countries until the suspension mechanism is in place. His French colleague, Bernard Cazeneuve, said more relaxed travel rules for the four countries were not a matter "of the coming weeks and months". Dijkhoff said the 28 ministers agreed that the four candidates must meet all criteria given to them by the EU to enjoy visa-free travel and that, while they were capable of eventually doing so, that was not the case yet. In proposing extending the EU visa-waiver program to the four countries, the bloc's executive European Commission said Ukraine, Georgia and Kosovo had already fulfilled their requirements, while Turkey was due to meet them by end-June. But diplomats from EU states differ on whether that is the case, with most agreeing though that at least Georgia has done its homework in full. Visa liberalization for Turkey, a key puzzle in the broader migration collaboration, has now been pushed back to July or, more likely, the autumn, sources told Reuters. The new safety mechanism cuts to two months from six now the period after which a country can seek to suspend visa-waiver if it sees a sharp rise in overstays, asylum requests or readmission refusals from a non-EU state that has had travel rules relaxed. The changes would apply to the countries of Europe's free-travel Schengen zone, which comprises most EU states and several non-EU ones, such as Norway. Britain and Ireland are not part of the Schengen area and would not be affected. Immigration is a top issue in Britain's June 23 vote on whether to leave the EU. (Additional reporting by Tom Koerkemeier, Editing by Ralph Boulton) By Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) - Behind the noise of the referendum battle, five out of the seven most recent opinion polls showed the campaign to keep Britain in the European Union was in the lead, betting odds indicated a much higher chance of a vote to remain, and sterling rose. Boris Johnson began the week by saying the European Union was following the path of Adolf Hitler and Napoleon by trying to create a doomed European super state. Michael Heseltine said he feared Johnson's "judgment is going" while European Council President Donald Tusk said such a comparison was absurd. Johnson dismissed the criticism as "synthetic outrage". While the "In" campaign may have been cheered by the poll numbers and betting odds, turnout could decide the referendum, according to Vote Leave boss Matthew Elliott. The "In" campaign should be worried by a poll which showed 63 percent of students could not even name the date of the vote while 54 percent were not even aware it was being held in June. MONEY Sterling's trade-weighted index rose to its highest since Feb. 5 on Thursday and was on track for its best week in 10 months. A robust retail sales report for April along with growing expectations that Britons will vote to stay in the EU have made sterling the best performing G10 currency this week. BETTING ODDS Implied probability of an "In" vote rose 9 percentage points to 79 percent from around 70 percent last week, according to Betfair. William Hill cut its odds of Britons voting to remain to 1/5, the lowest level to date and indicating an implied probability of 83 percent, a spokesman said. POLLS * ICM telephone poll: In on 47 percent, Out on 39 percent, 14 percent undecided. * ICM online poll: Out on 47 percent, In on 43 percent and 10 percent undecided. * ORB telephone poll: In on 55 percent, Out on 40 percent, 5 percent undecided. * TNS online poll: Out on 41 percent, In on 38 percent, 21 percent undecided. * YouGov online poll: In on 44 percent, Out on 40 percent, 12 percent undecided. * Ipsos MORI telephone poll: In on 55 percent, Out on 37 percent, 8 percent undecided. * Comres poll: In on 52 percent, out on 41 percent, 7 percent undecided. FULL COVERAGE For full multimedia coverage please click: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=brexit For all news on the referendum, click on [BRXT] For a PDF of stories on Brexit: http://share.thomsonreuters.com/assets/newsletters/Adhoc/Brexit.pdf For a graphic of opinion polls: http://tmsnrt.rs/1Ke31HF Following are the main stories: QUOTES OF THE WEEK DAVID CAMERON: "Who would be happy if we left?" Cameron told an audience in London. "(Russian President Vladimir) Putin might be happy. I suspect [Abu Bakr] al-Baghdadi might be happy." KREMLIN SPOKESMAN DMITRY PESKOV "We are used to the Russian factor being one of the regular tools used in the U.S. electoral campaign, but for us it's a new thing that the Russian factor or the President Putin factor is being used in the Brexit debate. "It is a new phenomenon ... and let's not forget that President Putin has spoken more than once about our interest in forging good partner-like and mutually beneficial relations with EU nations." BORIS JOHNSON: Johnson told The Sunday Telegraph newspaper that the EU lacked democracy and a unifying authority and was doomed to fail. "Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically," Johnson was quoted as saying in an interview. "The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods. But fundamentally what is lacking is the eternal problem, which is that there is no underlying loyalty to the idea of Europe," the former London mayor said. EU'S DONALD TUSK Tusk told reporters in Copenhagen that Johnson had suffered "amnesia" and a "dangerous blackout" of memory: "When I hear the EU being compared to the plans and projects of Adolf Hitler I cannot remain silent," the former Polish premier said. MICHAEL BLOOMBERG "Im not advising the British electorate how to vote. But for centuries the British people and the world have benefited enormously from a confident forward-looking and outward-facing UK and based on my desire to see the UK and US both grow stronger in the years to come, Im hoping that tradition continues." (Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) Photo credit: Fast & Furious / Twitter From Road & Track It doesn't feel like it's been 15 years since the original Fast and Furious movie came out, but it has. Since then, there have been six more F&F movies, and there aren another three on the way before the end of the decade. That means the eighth installment, now officially known as The Fate and the Furious, comes out April of next year. While we wait, here's everything we've learned about the movie so far. This post is being continually updated. The first trailer is finally here What? Dom betrays the family? Hasn't he been the one saying nothing's more important than family for the last seven films? Yes, he has. We know this because that's what the previous teaser was all about: It may win an Oscar Now that F. Gary Gray is directing, Vin Diesel thinks Fast 8 finally has what it'll take to make an Oscar run. Speaking with ET, Diesel said Gray "went into making this movie with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, going 'Oh, really? Ok. Now I'm going to take the biggest saga in the world, and I'm about to throw Oscars at you.'" Sure, it sounds unlikely to anyone who saw the last couple F&F films, but who are we to question Vin Diesel? There will be a couple new faces, and probably a few old ones Most notably, Charlize Theron has signed on to play the film's villain, and Scott Eastwood is expected to play Kurt Russell's partner. Additionally, there are rumors that Eva Mendez will reprise her role as customs agent Monica Fuentes and that Lucas Black will return as Tokyo Drift's Sean Boswell. Oh, and Paul Walker's brother Cody is also rumored to have a role. You can also expect Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson to return, as well as Nathalie Emmanuel (the woman who played Ramsey). Update 5/20: Charlize Theron has been confirmed as the new villain, her character will be named Cipher. Update 6/15: Helen Mirren confirmed that she will join the cast of Fast 8, in an interview with our sister publication Elle. "I've always rather loved driving," said Mirren. I said, 'I'll be in it, but only if I'm allowed to drive if I do drive in it.' But we'll see" Story continues Sadly, Mirren recently revealed that her character doesn't get drive anything. What makes it even worse is that she's apparently one of the few actors on set who can drive a manual. The main location will be New York City Most of the F&F films have taken place in California, but Fast 8 will be set in New York City, at least that's what Vin Diesel told Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel. It's also what they hint at in their Instagram post. Part of the action takes place in Cuba This isn't much of a secret anymore, but it has the potential to be one of the coolest parts of the movie. Fast 8 is the first American film to be allowed to shoot in Cuba since the embargo. Not only are we looking forward to the location itself, we're also excited to see the awesome, old American cars that will be featured. Somehow Cleveland is involved, too We still have no idea what the context is here, but Fast 8 is shooting in Cleveland and was recorded dropping a car from a parking garage. A car crashing off a parking garage and into the street in a F&F movie isn't a surprise at all, but the bigger question is why? Does the team actually go to Cleveland at some point, or is it simply being used as a less-expensive shooting location? We assume the latter, but you never know. They also visit Iceland at some point The Fast 8 crew has been spotted filming in Iceland with a wide variety of vehicles, including some armored trucks. That's supposedly where the movie's biggest action scene will take place. But let's hope the rest of the horses stay safe. You can expect a return to more street racing The Fast and Furious franchise will reportedly go back to focusing on street racing, per Paul Walker's wishes. You probably won't see any more Lykan Hypersports driving through buildings like in the previous movie, but that's probably not a bad thing. Good luck going very fast in NYC, though. There's something big in store for Hobbs Luke Hobbs, the Diplomatic Security Service agent who has been chasing and helping the Furious gang since the fifth installment, was a major character in his own right in Furious 7. According to this Instagram post by star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, there could be more in store for Hobbs-potentially including his own spinoff series: We'll see plenty of exploding cars Would it actually be a Fast & Furious movie without cars crashing into other cars, a few explosions, and at least one scene of total carnage? Of course not. And now we have a better idea of what that'll look like. We also have a reminder that it's dangerous to park your car in a parking deck in the F&F universe. Other vehicles being included We're gathering shots of cars from the movie as we find them. Here, we have these Dodge Chargers (and one Subaru WRX STI). It also looks like a RallyFighter and a Lamborghini will be included, too. And the Iceland scene will reportedly use this awesome tracked snow machine called a Ripsaw. The best look we've gotten at the cars of Fast 8 (so far) comes from a Facebook Live video recorded in the warehouse they're keeping the cars in. It's more than 15 minutes long and includes far too many cars to list, but it's definitely worth checking out. Of the many, many cars shown in the video, one of the most interesting is what looks like the Nissan IDx NISMO concept. Now that's awesome. Fast 8 also posted a few clear shots of a few movie cars. Check them out below. It looks like Dom also gets a jet-powered Charger to drive around Iceland. Unfortunately, it's just a movie prop. The car isn't actually powered by a jet turbine in real life. Here's the ad for the movie than ran during Super Bowl LI You Might Also Like Ewan McGregor will be pulling double duty on FX's Fargo. The Scotsman has been cast as the lead -- make that leads -- in the upcoming third season of the critically-hailed drama, playing two brothers, Emmit and Ray Stussy. PICS: Meet the Key Players in FX's 'Fargo' Who are the Stussy brothers? According to FX's official description, Emmit is the "Parking Lot King" of Minnesota. Described as a handsome, self-made real estate mogul and family man, Emmit sees himself as the American success story. Meanwhile, younger brother Ray -- working as a parole officer -- is someone who peaked in high school. He has a big chip on his shoulder about the hand he's been dealt and blames Emmit for his misfortunes. Sounds like a modern-day family soap! While details are scarce on the third season, Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley revealed to Variety in December that it would be set in 2010, about four years after season one. No regulars from that season will return, however. RELATED: Ewan McGregor Dishes on His Lumiere Transformation in 'Beauty and the Beast' "That's not to say that one of our stories might not intersect with characters we've seen before for a certain period of time," Hawley said. Filming on the new season is scheduled to begin later this year. No official premiere date has been set, but it'll be a while before we get to see McGregor pull this off: Fargo isn't expected to debut until 2017. For McGregor, 45, this will mark his first TV series regular role. He's also starring in and making his directorial debut in this fall's American Pastoral and currently is filming the Trainspotting sequel. Watch the video below to hear McGregor dish on his "last-minute" cameo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Related Articles By Lauren Hirsch and Greg Roumeliotis (Reuters) - A consortium that includes sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC) and U.S. buyout firm KKR & Co (KKR.N) has ended discussions to buy a stake in Yum Brands Inc's (YUM.N) China unit, according to people familiar with the matter. Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum Brands, owner of the Pizza Hut and KFC fast-food chains, has been looking to spin off its 7,205 China restaurants by the end of 2016, amid pressure from activist investor Corvex Management, whose founder, Keith Meister, is on Yum's board. One of the main sticking points was the CIC consortium's desire to have majority control in the China business, something Yum would not entertain because of the negative tax implications on proceeds, the people said on Friday. CIC's consortium also had concerns around achieving the investment returns it desires in a capital-intensive business amid a slowing Chinese economy, the people added, asking not to be identified because the negotiations were confidential. "Our board is fully committed to maximizing shareholder value, and we are making great progress towards the separation of our China business by year-end and at the same time returning significant capital to our shareholders," a Yum spokeswoman said. "Our China business is a large, unique and valuable asset ... We're confident that, as a well-capitalized, standalone public company, it will have a long runway for continued growth," she added. KKR declined to comment, while CIC did not respond to a request for comment. Separately on Friday, Yum unveiled a $4.2 billion (3 billion) share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of 46 cents per share. The move follows its previous commitment to return $6.2 billion of capital to shareholders before the planned separation of its China business. Yum, still the largest fast-food chain in China, has been losing ground to McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) as they both strive to revive sales in the teeth of growing competition from local rivals and a slowing economy. In recent years, it has sought to address challenges in supply chain control and food safety. Story continues It is common for newly public listed companies in China to secure so-called "anchor investors" prior to a public listing. The spin-off is expected to proceed with or without an anchor investor. The auction for a roughly 20 percent stake in Yum's China unit also includes Singapore state investor Temasek Holding and another private equity-backed consortium, Reuters reported this week. Second round bids for the auction are due by the end of this month. Questions continue to persist around valuation, as Yum pursues its China unit spin. The entire China unit is valued between $8 billion and $11 billion, based on its core earnings of about $1 billion, according to the sources. "I will tell you as a large shareholder, the Yum board selling this business for $7 billion or $8 billion is not the right thing, and I don't think anyone would disagree about that," Corvex's Meister told CNBC in an interview in April. Corvex owns 5.2 percent of Yum, according to Thomson Reuters data. (Reporting by Lauren Hirsch and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Additional reporting by Denny Thomas in Hong Kong and Saeed Azhar in Singapore; Editing by Tom Brown, Bernard Orr) By Lauren Hirsch and Greg Roumeliotis (Reuters) - A consortium that includes sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC) and U.S. buyout firm KKR & Co (KKR.N) has ended discussions to buy a stake in Yum Brands Inc's (YUM.N) China unit, according to people familiar with the matter. Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum Brands, owner of the Pizza Hut and KFC fast-food chains, has been looking to spin off its 7,205 China restaurants by the end of 2016, amid pressure from activist investor Corvex Management, whose founder, Keith Meister, is on Yum's board. One of the main sticking points was the CIC consortium's desire to have majority control in the China business, something Yum would not entertain because of the negative tax implications on proceeds, the people said on Friday. CIC's consortium also had concerns around achieving the investment returns it desires in a capital-intensive business amid a slowing Chinese economy, the people added, asking not to be identified because the negotiations were confidential. "Our board is fully committed to maximizing shareholder value, and we are making great progress towards the separation of our China business by year-end and at the same time returning significant capital to our shareholders," a Yum spokeswoman said. "Our China business is a large, unique and valuable asset ... We're confident that, as a well-capitalized, standalone public company, it will have a long runway for continued growth," she added. KKR declined to comment, while CIC did not respond to a request for comment. Separately on Friday, Yum unveiled a $4.2 billion share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of 46 cents per share. The move follows its previous commitment to return $6.2 billion of capital to shareholders before the planned separation of its China business. Yum, still the largest fast-food chain in China, has been losing ground to McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) as they both strive to revive sales in the teeth of growing competition from local rivals and a slowing economy. In recent years, it has sought to address challenges in supply chain control and food safety. Story continues It is common for newly public listed companies in China to secure so-called "anchor investors" prior to a public listing. The spin-off is expected to proceed with or without an anchor investor. The auction for a roughly 20 percent stake in Yum's China unit also includes Singapore state investor Temasek Holding and another private equity-backed consortium, Reuters reported this week. Second round bids for the auction are due by the end of this month. Questions continue to persist around valuation, as Yum pursues its China unit spin. The entire China unit is valued between $8 billion and $11 billion, based on its core earnings of about $1 billion, according to the sources. "I will tell you as a large shareholder, the Yum board selling this business for $7 billion or $8 billion is not the right thing, and I don't think anyone would disagree about that," Corvex's Meister told CNBC in an interview in April. Corvex owns 5.2 percent of Yum, according to Thomson Reuters data. (Reporting by Lauren Hirsch and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Additional reporting by Denny Thomas in Hong Kong and Saeed Azhar in Singapore; Editing by Tom Brown, Bernard Orr) Top evangelical and social conservative leaders are planning a private meeting with Donald Trump to see if they will be able to address longstanding concern about his candidacy. Former presidential candidate Ben Carson is working with Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and Bill Dallas, who leads United in Purpose, to plan a closed-door session for about 400 social conservative leaders to meet with Trump in the coming weeks in New York City. A broader steering group of about 20 people includes people like American Values president Gary Bauer, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, and Family Leader president Bob Vander Plaats. We are looking for a way forward, Perkins says. The main thing here is this is to have a conversation. He described the planned meeting as a starting point for many. The Trump campaign has not publicly confirmed that the meeting will take place. For many of the expected attendees at the event, Trump was not their first choice as a presidential candidates. With the exception of Carson, who has endorsed Trump, the event organizers were not supportive of Trump in the primary, says Perkins, who supported Sen. Ted Cruz. The event is expected to be a closed-door interactive forum for attendees to ask questions of the candidate, likely in an interview format, not prepared speeches. This event is also not intended to focus on rolling out endorsements. I dont even know what it will lead to, Perkins says. It is just to have an honest conversation so that these leaders know what they need to do. Trump campaign surrogates are separately organizing a more official faith advisory committee for the candidate, with Mike Huckabee being discussed as a possible national chairman. Televangelist Paula White, a Trump supporter and a senior pastor of New Destiny Christian Center in Florida, have been organizing the group behind-the-scenes with Tim Clinton, president of the 50,000-member American Association of Christian Counselors, according to several people familiar with the project. Story continues Trumps team meanwhile announced Wednesday that he would send a video message to a conference of Latino evangelical leaders this weekend in Anaheim, organized by Samuel Rodriguez Jr., the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. Hillary Clinton is also sending a video message. All of these moves signal an attempt to unite a social conservative base that has been deeply fractured over the presumptive GOP nominee. Both the campaign and the constituents groups are testing whether Trump can win their support despite division in the primaryespecially over Trumps public refusal to ask for forgiveness, his past support for abortion, and his harsh rhetoric about women and non-whites, all things that have left leaders of many large coalitions in the lurch. The day after Trump became the presumptive nominee, for example, the lay Catholic organization Catholic Voteone of United in Purposes partnerscalled Trump too problematic in too many ways to receive their endorsement, citing concerns over his moral judgment, his past support for abortion, and his lack of foundational principles from which he proposes to govern. The group said it would not necessarily work actively to defeat Trump, but would turn its resources to critical Senate and House seats. That is an issue Carson hopes to address with social conservatives. Donald Trump is pro-life, Carson says of these types of concerns. Now he might not be quite as pro-life as I am, but he definitely believes in the sanctity of life, does not believe in abortion on demand. That is a misconception that people have. Carson is facilitating the gathering as the chairman of MyFaithVotes, a nonpartisan effort to mobilize 25 million Christian voters this election cycle. Invitations to the meeting are being organized by Perkins, the founder of the MyFaithVotes initiative Sealy Yates, and Dallas of United in Purpose, a 501c4 that helps conservative groups change American culture toward Judeo-Christian principles. United in Purpose has previously worked closely with Perkins, and has several dozen partners, including groups like Americans United for Life, Concerned Women for America, Catholic Vote, and the Faith and Freedom Coalition. The ideal event, says Carson, would be very similar to what happened a couple of weeks ago with Mr. Trump and people on Capitol Hill, getting an opportunity really to sit down face to face and interact with each other, and that allays a lot of anxiety on both sides. Ronnie Floyd, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, says Perkins has invited him to the meeting. The purpose is to have a conversation with Trump, says Floyd, to get to know him, and for him to get to know uswho we are and what we care about. For Floyd, that includes Trumps positions on Supreme Court nominations, abortion and racial justice, and religious liberty. Until now, Trump has largely skirted the traditional evangelical political apparatus in Washington, instead relying on unusual surrogates like televangelists to support his message among evangelicals. Whereas Jeb Bush approached Floyd, the Southern Baptist president, to meet last August, and Cruz visited Floyds church and met with him after the service, neither Trump nor his campaign has not reached out to Floyd. As president of the Southern Baptist Convention, I feel like if they had done their homework in relationship to evangelical leaders, sooner or later, that I might receive a call from them, but I have not received that yet, Floyd says of Trumps team. Several other social conservative leaders interviewed by TIME said they are just in the beginning stages of reaching out to the Trump campaign. Penny Nance, president of the Concerned Women for America, says a campaign surrogate reached out in January to offer a group meeting with Trump. When Nance said she would only go if it were a substantive policy conversation, she said they were no longer interested, and they did not accept her offer for her to gather a team to really brief him on pro-life issues. CWA has half a million members, a cohort of Republican women with a reliable ground operation. This is my fear, I work to get my members to, first to go vote, and I urge everyone to do the things that we do to get our favorite candidates to get elected, and all the hours and effort and money that people pour into these candidates, and then you wake up the next morning and realize it was all a ruse, Nance says. I did everything I could do to blow up the tracks in front of the Trump train, and it didnt work, and so at this point you either jump on, or stand on the sidelines and wave. Tom McClusky, vice president of March for Life Action, says theres a lot of concern in the pro-life movement now that Trump is the likely GOP nominee. In late April, Trump said he would add new exceptions to the Republican platform on abortion for rape, incest and life of the mother, raising big red flags for pro-life leaders. Lila Rose, president of the prolife educational nonprofit Live Action, called on him to not dilute the platform. Their fear with Trump is more than about just abortion. Our theme for the March this year is that pro-life and pro-women go hand in hand, McClusky says. Some of his statements have been, to put it mildly, misogynist. Chad Connelly, RNCs first-ever director of faith engagement, says he has not yet talked with Trump, and has had only limited interaction with Trumps team. He is working a turnout operation on his own, a heavy lift given the presumptive nominees lack of evangelical strategy thus far. Connelly has so far visited 40 states, and has hired some part-time pastors that help in some states, focusing in Florida and Ohio. I think our segment is the key this fall, he says. It is the key. Others like Ralph Reed, leader of the Faith & Freedom Coalition and a former senior advisor for the Bush-Cheney campaigns, are getting behind the presumptive nominee. Reed was neutral in the primaries, and now tells TIME that he will personally support Trump and do everything he can in his personal capacity to help Trumps campaign in the general. Reed is planning for 2016 to be the largest voter education program of his career. His team will make 200 million voter contacts, directed at 32.1 million faith-based voters primarily in battleground states like Iowa, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, and Ohio. His voter education program budget is projected for $28 million, and will include one million door knocks, 25 million pieces of mail, and on average 7 digital messaging impressions per voter. Operations like this are often the lifeblood for a successful voter outreachin 2014, Reeds 30-second videos earned an 80% completion watch rate. [Evangelicals] dont necessarily vote for the candidate who is most like them in terms of religious identity, that is just a myth, Reed says. If you understand they are issue driven, and it is a broad swath of issues on with they vote, if you understand that they are not driven primarily by appeals to religious identity, then you understand why Trump did so well in the primaries, and why he has the opportunity to over perform again in the general. David Lane of the American Renewal Project is planning a prayer rally in Cleveland the weekend before the Republican Convention begins. Im going to choose to believe that Donald Trump can be one of the top 4 presidents in American history, he recently wrote to his followers. We intend Evangelical and Pro-Life Catholic Christians to bring biblical-based values to the public square, bucking up a Trump Administration willing to confront totalitarian Political Correctness. Republican turnout for the first 31 primaries was highest since at least 1980, according to the Pew Research Center, and about half of that has likely been evangelical voters. Trump won a plurality of evangelical voters in the Republican primaries, with Cruz finishing a strong second, according to exit polls. Fifth Harmony is hitting the road! The chart-topping sensations are launching their 7/27 tour this summer in support of their upcoming album of the same name. WATCH: Fifth Harmony Will Explore 'Love' and 'Heartbreak' of the Last Year on New Album The 7/27 tour will kick off from the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire on July 27, with tour club pre-sale tickets going on sale May 23 at noon local time. Fans can join and find more information at 5htourclub.com. Tickets for the general public will go on sale May 27 at livenation.com. Fifth Harmony's latest single, "Work From Home," is already gaining popularity ahead of the group's sophomore album, 7/27, set to drop on May 27. The announcement of the group's sixth headlining tour follows rumors that they might be splitting up, speculation the ladies debunked to ET earlier this year. "Regardless of everything that's been going on, that's always been the focus, Fifth Harmony," Dinah Jane told ET. "Fifth Harmony is definitely our first love... it's always been the foundation of everything." EXCLUSIVE: Fifth Harmony Addresses Break-Up Rumors After Album 2 Jane also opened up to ET about the new album, which The X Factor alums described as "diverse," "eclectic," "vulnerable" and "mature." "It's very different," she said. "From our past album, Reflection, we kind of took the time for ourselves throughout that past year and we incorporated our experiences and what we've gone through -- heartbreak, love, everything. ... So we're sharing that with this album." See the tour dates below: Wed., July 27, 2016- Manchester, NH -Verizon Wireless Arena Thu., July 28, 2016 - Boston, MA- Blue Hills Bank Pavilion Fri., July 29, 2016- Fairfax, VA-EagleBank Arena Sat., July 30, 2016- Uncasville, CT- Mohegan Sun Arena Tue., Aug. 2, 2016- Brooklyn, NY- The Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk Wed. Aug. 3, 2016- Darien Center, NY- Darien Lake Performing Arts Center Fri., Aug. 5, 2016- Bangor, ME- Darling's Waterfront Pavilion Sat., Aug. 6, 2016- Providence, RI-Dunkin Donuts Center Sun., Aug. 7, 2016- Camden, NJ-BB&T Pavilion Tue., Aug. 9, 2016- Cleveland, OH- Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica Thu., Aug. 11, 2016 - Toronto, ON- Molson Canadian Amphitheatre Sat., Aug. 13, 2016- Rochester Hills, MI- Meadow Brook Amphitheatre Sun., Aug. 14, 2016- Noblesville, IN- Klipsch Music Center Tue., Aug. 16, 2016- Charlotte, NC- Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre Thu., Aug. 18, 2016- Virginia Beach, VA- Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach Fri., Aug. 19, 2016- Raleigh, NC- Red Hat Amphitheater Sun., Aug. 21, 2016- Nashville, TN- Carl Black Chevy Woods Amphitheater at Fontanel Tue., Aug. 23, 2016- Atlanta, GA- Chastain Park Amphitheatre Thu., Aug. 25, 2016- Tampa, FL- MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre Fri., Aug. 26, 2016- West Palm Beach, FL- Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre Wed., Aug. 31, 2016- Chicago, IL- FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island Thu., Sept. 1, 2016- Kansas City, MO- Starlight Theatre Fri., Sept. 2, 2016- St. Louis, MO- Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre Sun., Sept. 4, 2016- Dallas, TX- Gexa Energy Pavilion Mon., Sept. 5, 2016- Woodlands, TX- The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion pres. by Huntsman Tue., Sept. 6, 2016- Midland, TX- Midland County Horseshoe Pavilion Thu., Sept. 08, 2016- Phoenix, AZ- Ak-Chin Pavilion Fri., Sept. 09, 2016- Irvine, CA- Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre Sat., Sept. 10, 2016- Concord, CA- Concord Pavilion Tue., Sept. 13, 2016- Auburn, WA- White River Amphitheater Wed., Sept. 14, 2016- Ridgefield, WA- Sunlight Supply Amphitheater Fri., Sept. 16, 2016 - San Diego, CA- Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU Sat., Sept. 17, 2016- Las Vegas, NV- The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas Story continues Related Articles By Paul Lienert and Alexandria Sage DETROIT/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc has surprised parts makers with plans to move up the launch of high-volume production of its Model 3 to 2018, two years earlier than planned - an acceleration that supplier executives and industry consultants said would be difficult to achieve and potentially costly. In the past three months, Tesla (TSLA.O) has told suppliers the company was doubling its original production projections to 100,000 Model 3s in 2017 and 400,000 in 2018, several supplier industry executives familiar with the plans told Reuters. Details on Model 3 production projections have not been reported previously, and Tesla did not break out target volumes for the Model 3. Tesla has taken 373,000 orders for the Model 3 - which has a starting price of $35,000, about half its Model S - and has said it would begin customer deliveries in late 2017. But it has made no promises, and, on earlier models, customers waited months for delivery. Citing "tremendous demand," Chief Executive Elon Musk told analysts on an April call that the company planned to boost total production, including the existing Model S and Model X crossover, to 500,000 in 2018 - two years earlier than its original target and a 10-fold increase over the 50,000 vehicles it made in 2015. Musk said Tesla told suppliers to prepare for Model 3 production tests in July 2017, a goal he acknowledged may be unrealistic for some. But he said the "aggressive" target was necessary to reach production goals. "Now, will we actually be able to achieve volume production on July 1 next year? Of course not," he told analysts. "The reason is that even if 99 percent of the internally produced items and supplier items are available on July 1, we still cannot produce the car because you cannot produce a car that is missing 1 percent of its components, he said. Musk said the Model 3's simpler design, new production hires and enthusiastic suppliers would help the company make its goals. He said Tesla would drop suppliers that could not meet deadlines and would bring more parts production in-house than traditional automakers typically do. He did not specify how much or which parts. Story continues "It's very important for us to have the ability to produce almost any part on the car at will because it alleviates risk with suppliers," Musk told analysts. Industry experts said Tesla's new goals were extraordinary and raised doubts it could meet them. The handful of North American auto plants capable of building 500,000 vehicles a year are all run by automakers with decades of experience, they said. Tesla continues to have delivery delays for its Model X SUV. Its Model S also missed delivery targets when launched. SPEEDING UP ASSEMBLY One complication is that Tesla has not finalized the Model 3 design and specifications, said automaking consultants and supply executives who asked not to be identified because Tesla prohibits them from disclosing contract details. Musk has said the Model 3 design and engineering would be complete in June, 13 months ahead of the planned production startup. Under ideal conditions, automakers have launched new assembly lines in 18 months, but they typically take two to three years after the first tooling and supply contracts are signed, several manufacturing consultants said. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCAU.N), for example, is converting a Sterling Heights, Michigan sedan plant to make 300,000 Ram 1500 pickups a year, a 50 percent increase in capacity. "FCA already has the talent and the money, and the underlying machinery is already installed in the plant," said one longtime supply sales executive. "They're aiming to be up and running in 2018, so they have two years and suppliers are wondering if they'll make that deadline." Tesla says the Model 3 features 6,000 to 7,000 unique components, fewer than the typical automobile with a combustion engine and the Model S, which has more than 8,000 parts. The company still is soliciting bids for parts and machinery, according to representatives from several of companies that have received them, as well as industry consultants who monitor such bids. Automaking consultant Ron Harbour of Oliver Wyman said increasing production at the Fremont plant to 500,000 vehicles in 2018 would require more stamping, welding and assembly machinery that "could take up to 18 months to order and install." He said Musk's plan to make parts in-house can minimize risk, but it also can be more expensive and distracting. Tesla's production push comes at a time of high demand for machinery and tooling created by a surge in product launches coming from established automakers, said a Detroit-based supplier sales executive. Jeff Schuster of industry forecaster LMC Automotive said the goals were "implausible," in part because Tesla's battery factory in Reno, Nevada, was unfinished. Aluminum, lithium and other materials - already in short supply - "could be another limiting factor," said Sam Fiorani of AutoForecast Solutions. Earlier this month two top manufacturing executives left the company. Last week, Tesla said it had hired Peter Hochholdinger, formerly of Volkswagen AG's (VOWG_p.DE) Audi brand, as vice president of vehicle production. Tesla may pay a premium for work to speed up the Model 3 production launch, supplier executives said. The company has increased its 2016 capital spending forecast by 50 percent to about $2.25 billion. On Wednesday, Tesla announced it would sell up to $1.7 billion in new common shares, in part to pay for machinery and engineering for the Model 3. "I'd be really surprised if he can launch production by next July," said Frank Faga, a Detroit-based auto manufacturing consultant. "But this is a guy who says he's going to Mars. Who am I to say he can't do this?" (Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul. Editing by Joseph White and Lisa Girion) May 20 (Reuters) - Global health officials are racing to better understand the Zika virus behind a major outbreak that began in Brazil last year and has spread to many countries in the Americas. The following are some questions and answers about the virus and current outbreak: How do people become infected? Zika is transmitted to people through the bite of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same type that spreads dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Aedes mosquitoes are found in all countries in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile, and the virus will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found. How do you treat Zika? There is no treatment or vaccine for Zika infection. Companies and scientists are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine for Zika, but the World Health Organization (WHO) had said it would take at least 18 months to start large-scale clinical trials of potential preventative shots. How dangerous is it? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies. The CDC said now that the causal relationship has been established, several important questions must still be answered with studies that could take years. According to the World Health Organization, there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause the birth defect microcephaly in babies, a condition defined by unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems. In addition, the agency said it could cause Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis. Conclusive proof of the damage caused by Zika may take months or years. Brazil says the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly dropped to 1,326 in the week through May 7 as doctors and Brazilian health officials find that some suspected cases of microcephaly are not the disorder. Suspected ones under investigation declined to 3,433. Story continues Colombia confirmed two cases of microcephaly linked to Zika. Brazil registered 91,387 likely cases of the Zika virus from February until April 2. Current research in Brazil indicates the greatest microcephaly risk is associated with infection during the first trimester of pregnancy, but health officials have warned an impact could be seen in later weeks. Recent studies have shown evidence of Zika in amniotic fluid, placenta and fetal brain tissue. What are the symptoms of Zika infection? People infected with Zika may have a mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain and fatigue that can last for two to seven days. But as many as 80 percent of people infected never develop symptoms. The symptoms are similar to those of dengue or chikungunya, which are transmitted by the same type of mosquito. How can Zika be contained? Efforts to control the spread of the virus focus on eliminating mosquito breeding sites and taking precautions against mosquito bites such as using insect repellent and mosquito nets. U.S. and international health officials have advised pregnant women to avoid travel to Latin American and Caribbean countries where they may be exposed to Zika. Cases of sexual transmission have also been reported, prompting health officials to advise use of condoms, or abstaining from sex, to prevent infection between partners. How widespread is the outbreak? Active Zika outbreaks have been reported in at least 47 countries or territories, most of them in the Americas, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Brazil has been the country most affected. (http://1.usa.gov/1ovAJyh) Africa (1): Cape Verde Americas (38): Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelmy, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, U.S. Virgin Islands and Venezuela Oceania/Pacific Islands (8): American Samoa, Fiji, Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga. What is the history of the Zika virus? The Zika virus is found in tropical locales with large mosquito populations. Outbreaks of Zika have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Southern Asia and the Western Pacific. The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys and was first identified in people in 1952 in Uganda and Tanzania, according to the WHO. (Full Story) Can Zika be transmitted through sexual contact? The World Health Organization (WHO) said sexual transmission is "relatively common" and has advised pregnant women not to travel to areas with ongoing outbreaks of Zika virus. The U.S. CDC is investigating about a dozen cases of possible sexual transmission. All cases involve possible transmission of the virus from men to their sex partners. The WHO has also identified Zika cases in Argentina, Chile, France, Italy and New Zealand as likely caused by sexual transmission. British health officials reported Zika was found in a man's semen two months after he was infected, suggesting the virus may linger in semen long after infection symptoms fade. The PAHO said Zika can be transmitted through blood, but this is an infrequent transmission mechanism. There is no evidence Zika can be transmitted to babies through breast milk. What other complications are associated with Zika? Zika has also been associated with other neurological disorders, including serious brain and spinal cord infections. The long-term health consequences of Zika infection are unclear. Other uncertainties surround the incubation period of the virus and how Zika interacts with other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes, such as dengue. An In-Depth Exploration of NVIDIA's Fiscal 1Q17 Earnings (Continued from Prior Part) Data center is a key growth driver In the previous part of the series, we saw that new product announcements didnt discourage customers from purchasing NVIDIAs (NVDA) gaming GPUs (graphics processing units), resulting in revenue growth in the gaming segment. However, the data center segment showed the most remarkable growth, pushing up NVIDIAs revenue. In fiscal 1Q17, NVIDIAs data center revenue rose 63% YoY (year-over-year) to $143 million, accounting for 11% of the companys total revenue. This growth was the highest the segment had reported in two years. It came as a surprise, as Intel (INTC), which dominates the data center market, reported just a 9% YoY rise in its data center segment. Increasing adoption of deep learning NVIDIA attributed its data center revenue growth to the increasing adoption of deep learning by enterprises across different industries. Deep learning is a computing model that enables computers to find patterns in massive amounts of data and make forecasts. More and more companies are adopting GPU-accelerated computing for deep learning. The company has supported the growth of deep learning through its new Pascal products, which have been received well by various enterprises such as banks, oil companies, and insurers. NVIDIAs GPUs are used in almost every major deep learning project in the world. IBM, Twitter, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alibaba use NVIDIAs GPUs for both training and real-time inference. Tesla P100 NVIDIAs Tesla P100 GPU is aimed at accelerating artificial intelligence and deep learning in high-performance computing. The architecture has been adopted by web service companies Baidu (BIDU) and Google (GOOG) for their deep-learning initiatives. NVIDIA has also launched the worlds first deep-learning supercomputer, DGX-1, which was made using eight Tesla P100 16GB (gigabyte) GPUs. It was sold out even before its launch. Massachusetts General Hospital was the first to adopt DGX-1. NVIDIA expects the adoption of deep learning to continue to drive data center revenue in the coming quarters. Story continues Next, well look at NVIDIAs automotive segment, which was the companys fastest-growing segment in fiscal 4Q16. The PowerShares QQQ Trust, Series 1 ETF (QQQ) has holdings in technology stocks, including 4.9% in GOOG, 0.90% in BIDU, 2.8% in INTC, and 0.43% in NVDA. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Higher Fleet Sales and the F-150 Drove Fords 1Q16 Earnings (Continued from Prior Part) Why valuation multiples? Valuation multiples are widely used in the auto industry to compare companies. We can only use valuation multiples to compare companies that are similar in nature in terms of business, size, or financials. In this manner, Ford Motor Companys (F) valuation multiples can be compared with peers such as General Motors (GM) and Fiat Chrysler (FACU). In this article, well find out what factors could affect Fords valuation multiples in the coming quarters. First, lets take a look at Fords current valuation multiples. Fords forward valuation multiples The EV-to-EBITDA (enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) multiple values the worth of an entire company and not just its equity portion. Enterprise value is the market value of equity and debt less cash and cash equivalents. As of May 2, 2016, Fords forward EV-to-EBITDA multiple was 3.0x, much higher than the multiples of its peers. In comparison, GMs and FCAUs forward EV-to-EBITDA multiples were 2.5x and 1.3x, respectively. Fords forward PE (price-to-earnings) multiple was 6.5xalso lower than GMs and FCAUs forward PE multiples of 5.5x and 4.8x, respectively. Note that the valuation multiples of Toyota (TM) are typically much higher than those of other major US automakers (RWL). This is partly because Toyota has a strong presence in the premium vehicle segment, which yields higher margins than the mass-marketed vehicle segment. Key factors to watch in 2Q16 In 1Q16, Ford managed to post expanded margins. As noted earlier in this series, despite higher fleet sales, the companys margins improved considerably. Expanded margins and higher fleet sales should help the company to expand its market share as well. Therefore, the continuity in this trend in 2Q16 could drive Fords future earnings growth, resulting in higher valuation multiples. Story continues However, a potential slowdown in US auto sales may severely affect the future growth of US automakers, including Ford. Therefore, investors should pay attention to any data that reflects a possibility of a slowdown in US auto demand in the coming quarters. Continue to the next and final article to know what technical analysis suggests for Fords stock. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: London (AFP) - Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party, launched an open-top double-decker bus tour of Britain Friday to campaign for it to leave the European Union in next month's referendum. Joking that the bus had "the best drinks cabinet anywhere in the country" with British beer and French wine, the eurosceptic and bon vivant insisted that the "Leave" side could still win as music from the film "The Great Escape" blared out from speakers. "I have worked for this for 20 years," he told AFP. "The 'Remain' side have not just had the British establishment working with them but also the European establishment, the global establishment working with them. "But there is still a long way to go and it's a mug's game to predict how this referendum is going to go." An average of the six latest opinion polls by the What UK Thinks research project puts "Remain" on 55 percent and "Leave" on 45 percent, excluding undecideds, ahead of the June 23 vote. Prime Minister David Cameron is leading the campaign to keep Britain in the EU and has received backing from figures including US President Barack Obama and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. For Farage, the campaign is about questions such as "'do you want control of your life, your borders, laws?'" "Most people around the world want to control their destiny. We cannot do so because of this union," he added. "We want our borders back, we want our passports back, we want your country back." Farage, seen as a divisive figure among some voters, was not invited to join the official "Vote Leave" campaign bus which has been carrying figures such as former London mayor Boris Johnson. However, he was full of praise for Johnson, who he tipped as a strong possibility to succeed Cameron as prime minister. "I think Boris is a very good guy. He could be our next prime minister -- if we vote for Brexit, he probably will be," he added. Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron plays hardened criminal Cipher in upcoming "Fast & Furious" film "Fast 8," with the movie's Twitter account posting its first image of the pony-tailed, black-jacketed character As Cipher, Theron stands next to a rack of scoped assault rifles in a black jacket and blond ponytail, wearing a vintage-style t-shirt from US rock band Metallica that's been customized to show two pendant necklaces. The actress has come off a phenomenal year in which she picked up over 35 awards and nominations for her performance in Australian action movie "Mad Max: Fury Road." "Our crew has faced former miilitary, mercenaries & more. Now they meet Cipher," wrote the @FastFurious Twitter account on May 20. Charlize joins franchise newcomers Scott Eastwood and Kristofer Hivju on "Fast 8," with the films' established core crew including Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris and Lucas Black; Kurt Russell and Nathalie Emmanuel reprise their roles from 2015 blockbuster "Furious 7." Directed by "Straight Outta Compton" helmer F. Gary Gray, "Fast 8" is set for international debut the week of April 14, 2017. (Adds details) May 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it would update guidelines for nutritional labels on packaged food and beverages to include information on added sugar and to prominently display calorie count and servings. The move comes at a time the United States is staring at increasing childhood and adult obesity and lifestyle diseases such as heart problems. The FDA said on Friday that the modified guidelines, which companies would have to adopt within two years, would help consumers "make informed decisions about the foods they eat and feed their families." (http://1.usa.gov/1ODAIin) "What and how much people eat and drink has changed since the last serving size requirements were published in 1993," the FDA said. Currently, companies are required to provide details on the total amount of sugar in a product. Under the modified guidelines, they will have to break down details on the amount of added sugar such as corn syrup and white and brown sugar. Information about "Calories from Fat" will be removed because research shows the type of fat is more important than the amount, the FDA said. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than a third of U.S. adults are obese. First Lady Michelle Obama, who has used her White House position to launch the "Let's Move" campaign to fight childhood obesity, had called for the changes two years ago. (Reporting by Dipika Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey) Gold Touches Three-Week Low on Fed Fear (Continued from Prior Part) FOMC minutes After the FOMCs (Federal Open Market Committee) April meeting minutes were released, the Dow and the S&P closed with little change on Wednesday, May 18, 2016. However on Thursday, the US stock market completely erased its 2016 gains. William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, pointed to a hawkish June meeting, which sent jitters to the financial markets and caused a steep slide in gold. Dudley also pointed out that the Brexit vote on whether Britain should remain in the European Union complicated the Feds decision to raise rates. Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium have seen losses in the past five trading days. These four metals fell 1.5%, 3.6%, 3.1%, and 5.4%, respectively, on a five-day trailing basis. Palladium erased its gains in 2016, just like the US equity market. The performance of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) depicts the Market. Gold is depicted by the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), and palladium is depicted by the ETS Physical Palladium (PALL). Sometimes palladium shuns its precious metal side and tilts toward its industrial side. Increased volatility The Volatility Index is widely considered the best gauge of fear in the overall Market. The index traded higher at about 16.4% after earlier hitting 17.6%, its highest since March 15, 2016. Increased uncertainties in the Market couldnt pull precious metals higher. But many funds and miners still remained strong. Funds such as the leveraged Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (NUGT) and the Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (JNUG) rose 5% and 3.3%, respectively. The mining shares that rose the most on Thursday, May 19, were Gold Fields (GFI), Alacer Gold (ASR), and Yamana Gold (AUY). They rose 5.2%, 5.1%, and 3.5%, respectively. Combined, they make up 8.7% of the fluctuations in the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX). In the next part of this series, well see what impact economic numbers have had on precious metals. Story continues Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: * EIB nears UK annual lending budget before referendum * Investment body sharply increased media activity in UK * Officials say lending, publicity not linked to EU vote By Francesco Guarascio BRUSSELS, May 20 (Reuters) - When a manager of the EU's investment arm paid a routine visit to a Manchester sewage works this week and alerted British media to the event, it was the latest move in a concerted charm offensive ahead of Britain's EU referendum. The Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank insists that a surge in its PR activity in Britain and new loans this year to British projects that have already nearly matched what the EIB lent in all of 2015 is not related to next month's Brexit vote. Rather, the increase in the number of media releases it has published on British loans is part of a broader new strategy of transparency, it says; the fact it has nearly reached its 2016 annual lending target for Britain in under five months is due to a tendency for more projects to be announced early in the year. The figures, however, are striking. A review by Reuters found that so far this year the EIB has issued 16 press releases on loans in Britain, more than an entire year on average and three times more than it has issued on deals in Italy and twice as many as for Spain, both usually much bigger EIB borrowers. An apparent pickup in their publication since Prime Minister David Cameron's re-election a year ago made a referendum all but certain has seen 25 EIB statements on Britain, on average about two per month. New UK loans this year are about 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) compared with 5.6 billion in all of 2015. A spokesman said Britons could expect little new EIB lending this year after the June 23 referendum as the expected annual volume of loans to Britain had already been largely reached. While the European Commission has largely stayed out of the campaign for fear it would be counterproductive to Cameron's Remain camp facing a Eurosceptic electorate, the EIB has taken pains to present the benefits of its work to a British public evenly split on whether to quit the bloc, a move that would end access to EIB funding for British business. Story continues "As the largest lender to the UK water sector since before privatisation, the European Investment Bank is pleased to support the impressive new investment by United Utilities at Davyhulme," EIB Vice President Jonathan Taylor, a former senior official in Britain's Treasury, said on his Manchester visit. "The scheme will provide benefits for ... decades to come." The publicity efforts by the EIB, which is 16-percent owned by the British government as one of 28 EU member states, has drawn scorn from those campaigning to leave the bloc, however. "EU projects are paid for by British taxpayers, not some magical money tree in Brussels," said Matthew Elliott, Chief Executive of Vote Leave, when asked about the EIB. "It is safer to take back control and spend our money on our priorities." (Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Louise Ireland) * Investment body has sharply increased media activity in UK * Officials say lending and publicity not linked to EU vote * Most of planned 2016 lending already carried out (Adds comments from EIB spokesman, details) By Francesco Guarascio BRUSSELS, May 20 (Reuters) - When a manager of the EU's investment arm paid a routine visit to a Manchester sewage works this week and alerted British media to the event, it was the latest move in a concerted charm offensive ahead of Britain's EU referendum. The Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank insists that a surge in its PR activity linked to British projects is not related to next month's Brexit vote. Rather, the increase in the number of media releases it has published on British loans is part of a broader new strategy of transparency, it says. The figures, however, are striking. A review by Reuters found that so far this year the EIB has issued 16 press releases on loans in Britain, more than an entire year on average and three times more than it has issued on deals in Italy and twice as many as for Spain, both usually much bigger EIB borrowers. An apparent pickup in their publication since Prime Minister David Cameron's re-election a year ago made a referendum all but certain has seen 25 EIB statements on Britain, on average about two per month. Based on announcements made this year, the bank has nearly reached its 2016 annual lending target for Britain in under five months. New UK loans for a value of more than 4.5 billion pounds have been announced, compared with 5.6 billion in the whole of 2015, a lending target the bank intends to maintain in 2016. A spokesman said that the actual lending so far this year is lower than announced because some loans were disbursed in 2015. Britons are likely to get fewer new EIB loans in the months after the June 23 referendum, as most of the expected annual investment has already been paid. The European Commission has largely stayed out of the campaign for fear it would be counterproductive to Cameron's Remain camp as it tries to woo a Eurosceptic electorate. Story continues But the EIB has taken pains to present the benefits of its work to a British public evenly split on whether to quit the bloc, a move that would end access to EIB funding for British business. "As the largest lender to the UK water sector since before privatisation, the European Investment Bank is pleased to support the impressive new investment by United Utilities at Davyhulme," EIB Vice President Jonathan Taylor, a former senior official in Britain's Treasury, said on his Manchester visit. "The scheme will provide benefits for ... decades to come." The publicity efforts by the EIB, which is 16-percent owned by the British government as one of 28 EU member states, has drawn scorn from those campaigning to leave the bloc. "EU projects are paid for by British taxpayers, not some magical money tree in Brussels," said Matthew Elliott, Chief Executive of Vote Leave, when asked about the EIB. "It is safer to take back control and spend our money on our priorities." "The European Investment Bank is owned directly by the EU member states," a bank spokesman said. "The EIB is self-financing and raises funding on global capital markets as the world's largest supranational bond issuer." (Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Andrew Roche) To mark the 30th anniversary of the cult teenage movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, fans have organized a weekend festival in Chicago where visitors will be able to visit some of the iconic filming locations and take part in a recreation of the famous Twist and Shout parade sequence. Over three days, visitors to Ferris Fest will relive key moments from the 1986 film, paying visit to sites like Glenbrook North High School, which doubled as Shermer High School; Cameron's House, where Bueller's best friend Cameron crashed his dad's 1961 Ferrari through the glass walls: and other iconic Chicago landmarks which were featured in the film such as Wrigley Field and the Art Institute of Chicago. Likewise, fans will be able to visit Bueller's iconic bedroom, recreated in meticulous details by Toronto designer Sarah Keenlyside, which originally premiered at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto. Fans will be transported back to 1986, with posters of retro artists like Simple Minds, Bryan Ferry lining the walls, a ghetto blaster in the corner, old IBM computer terminal and floppy disc providing the timestamp for the setting. Some of the stars from the film, including Edie McClurg (who played Grace), Cindy Pickett and Lyman Ward who played Bueller's parents will also attend the special film screenings scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at the John and Nancy Hughes Theater in Lake Forest, Illinois and include a Q & A. One of the highlights of the three-day event will be the restaging of the Twist and Shout parade scene in downtown Chicago at the end of the film. Originally released in theaters June 11, 1986, Ferris Bueller's Day Off was written and directed by the king of teenage coming-of-age films John Hughes, and would go on to become a cult classic, catapulting the acting career of Matthew Broderick and making a meme out of Bueller? Bueller? Ferris Fest runs May 20 to 22. Think you know everything about Ferris Buellers Day Off? Think again! ET has dug up some little-known facts about the 1986 classic in light of its 30th anniversary this year. The movie turned star Matthew Broderick into a household name, but the Golden Globe-nominated actor told ET that the films success came as a total surprise. WATCH: Top Gun 30 Years Later: Jerry Bruckheimer Talks Surprise Success and Disastrous Test Screening I loved doing it. It was one of my favorites! 54-year-old Broderick told ET at The American Side screening earlier this month. But I didnt know that it was one that would last so long. None of us knew. Here are five more things that nearly no one knew about the movie. 1. The parade was real. One weekend was the actual German-American Day parade, Alan Ruck, who played Ferris best friend Cameron Frye, told ET in a recent sit-down. What we would do is wed have Matthew on the float and theyd kind of sneak him into the parade and go down a couple of blocks and then circle around a block and then sneak him back into the parade. And we did that for a whole Saturday. 2. Broderick and co-star Jennifer Grey were dating. Despite playing siblings in the teen comedy, the two actors were an undercover couple during filming. They didnt publicly announce their relationship until later, and there were even rumors that they got engaged at some point. PIC: 'The Goldbergs Meets Ferris Bueller! 3. Grey played a hand in Charlie Sheens casting. I was helping them cast, and I was in all the casting sessions and I said, 'Would you please use Charlie? Hes great, Grey told ET in a 1986 interview. They didnt even audition him. They said, 'OK, well take him. 4. The Ferrari was a lemon. They werent real Ferraris, Ruck revealed to ET. They were fiberglass bodies over Mustang chassis, and they didnt work right. Pretty much when they sent that thing flying into the ravine, the whole crew was like, 'Yeah! because it was a tiresome car. Story continues 5. It was the anti-Breakfast Club. Ferris Bueller director John Hughes made The Breakfast Club the year before and told ET that he wanted to do a film that was the complete opposite of the dramatic teen flick. I dealt a lot with the problems of being high school-aged, Hughes shared in 1986. This is about the undiluted joy of being that age. Related Articles MILAN (Reuters) - Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles fell on Friday after Germany's transport minister criticised the car maker for not showing up at a meeting on emissions. Fiat Chrysler was due to attend a meeting in Germany on Thursday over possible emissions irregularities of its diesel vehicles but sent a lawyer's letter cancelling the appointment. Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said this was "uncooperative behaviour" and "completely incomprehensible". Fiat is among several carmakers currently under scrutiny for car emission levels. Traders said the stock would remain under pressure until there was more clarity about the scale of the problems. But Italian Transport Minister Graziano Delrio said German authorities should contact Italian car regulators and not the company directly. Delrio said he had sent a letter to Dobrindt, making clear that the two national emissions authorities should discuss Fiat vehicle emissions. The minister said Fiat Chrysler was more than ready to send information regarding its emissions strategy to the competent authority. Fiat Chrysler has previously said its cars meet European Union emissions standards. A Fiat spokesman on Friday confirmed this position. At 1138 GMT, Fiat Chrysler shares were down 1.8 percent while the European auto sector was flat. (Reporting by Stephen Jewkes and Danilo Masoni; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) A terminal hunger strike that caught the worlds attention and arguably helped shift the struggle for Irish independence away from terroristic violence is recapped in Bobby Sands: 66 Days. Veteran documentarian Brendan J. Brynes feature does an excellent job contextualizing this famous chapter for viewers not already steeped in modern Irish history. He also accentuates the drama of events to create what many may find a more engrossing (as well as complexly balanced) treatment than Steve McQueens 2008 Hunger, which had Michael Fassbender as Sands. It should prove a viable niche theatrical release in select territories, with slightly wider home-format exposure to follow. Sands was 27 when he died on May 5, 1981 after refusing food for the titular 66 days. He was radicalized by the rise in Northern Ireland sectarian tension and violence during his youth, which had driven his own Catholic family from their home. At age 18 in 1972 he joined the Provisional IRA, getting arrested later that year on a weapons possession charge. The same scenario unfolded not long after his release from prison in 1976. While during his first stint he and other political prisoners were afforded Special Category Status allowing them somewhat different treatment from ordinary offenders, that exemption had been eliminated by the time of his 1977 re-entry. Republican inmates deployed various tactics to protest that policy change, including refusing to wear prison uniforms and creating grossly unsanitary cell conditions. But these had little desired effect. Once Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979, the U.K. government took a hard line of viewing all such activism as blackmail demanding special privileges for common criminals. It was against such opposition and, to an extent, the IRAs own disapproval after a prior such action had failed that Sands commenced his second, final hunger strike, eventually joined by several others. One voice among the rich array of observers that Bryne has assembled here comments early on that Bobby Sands was the perfect icon, being a figure of demonstrable passion and sacrifice, yet also a sort of blank slate (due to his youth and largely incarcerated history) onto which almost any qualities or message could be projected. That he was well aware of the martyr role hed chosen is implicit in the articulate journal excerpts read on the soundtrack by Martin McCann. Even those who knew Sands tend to talk about him less in personal terms than as a sort of conscious symbol. In the end, 66 Days argues, his death not only won most of the contested prisoner rights, but made a significant case for the power of self-inflicted suffering as being more effective than violence in serving the cause. (The international-publicity impact was heightened still further when Sands was successfully elected to the British Parliament just weeks before his demise, proving considerable public sympathy lay on his side.) Structured as a fatal countdown of days, Brynes docu (with much help from Paul Devlins inventive editing) manages to sandwich in a lot of diverse, useful errata, from general historical background to pulse-takings of the then disco-crazed popular culture simultaneous to this deadly serious conflict. Primary package elements are a wealth of archival footage, and latterday talking-head contributions from various contemporaries, historians, medical experts, et al. 66 also weaves in low-key, wordless reenactment elements, and even a couple impressive animated sequences. Reflecting and further enhancing the films complicated agenda is an original score by Edith Progue that runs the gamut from duly disco-influenced music to aptly more somber themes. While hardly the first and unlikely to be the last cinematic word on its subject (which was also notably dramatized by Terry George in the 1996 feature Some Mothers Son), this finely crafted docu may well long stand as the most balanced among such treatments, as it respectfully examines Sands folk-heroic legacy rather than simply amplifying it. (The following statement was released by the rating agency) JAKARTA, May 20 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has assigned Indonesia-based PT Wahana Ottomitra Multiartha Tbk's (WOMF, 'AA(idn)'/Stable) unsecured senior debt programme 2016 (of up to IDR4.5trn) a National Long-Term Rating of 'AA(idn)'. The agency has also assigned WOMF's programme a National Short-Term Rating of 'F1+(idn)'. Fitch has also assigned WOMF's proposed rupiah senior unsecured bond tranche I 2016 (up to IDR800bn with a maturity of up to three years, issued under the programme) a National Long-Term Rating of 'AA(idn)' and National Short-Term 'F1+(idn)'. Proceeds from the issue will be used to support business growth. 'AA' National Ratings denote expectations of low default risk relative to other issuers or obligations in the same country. However, changes in circumstances or economic conditions may affect the capacity for timely repayment to a greater degree than is the case for financial commitments denoted by a higher-rated category. 'F1' National Ratings indicate the strongest capacity for timely payment of financial commitments relative to other issuers or obligations in the same country. On Fitch's National Rating scale, this rating is assigned to the lowest default risk relative to others in the same country. Where the liquidity profile is particularly strong, a "+" is added to the assigned rating. KEY RATING DRIVERS SENIOR DEBT The bond programme and bonds are rated at the same level as WOMF's National Long-Term Rating and National Short-Term Ratings, in accordance with Fitch criteria. The issuer ratings reflect a moderate probability of extraordinary support from 68.55%- shareholder PT Bank Maybank Indonesia Tbk (Maybank Indonesia; BBB/AAA(idn)/Stable), since WOMF plays an important role in expanding its parent's consumer business particularly in the motorcycle business in Indonesia. The ratings of the parent are in turn driven by strong support from ultimate parent Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank; A-/Negative). RATING SENSITIVITIES SENIOR DEBT The ratings on the programme and debt issue will move in tandem with any changes to WOMF's National Long-Term Rating. Any significant dilution in ownership by - or perceived weakening of support from - the parent would exert downward pressure on the ratings of WOMF, including the possibility of multi-notch downgrades. However, Fitch sees this prospect as remote in the foreseeable future, given its strategic role in expanding its parent's business in Indonesia's consumer financing market. Any changes to the parents' ratings, or a multiple-notch downgrade in the ultimate parent's rating, could also have an impact on the ratings of WOMF. The rating differential between Maybank Indonesia and WOMF could narrow in the event the parent shares its name with WOMF, develops greater operational integration with the subsidiary, or provides other forms of tangible support to the subsidiary. Contact: Primary Analyst Iwan Wisaksana Director PT Fitch Ratings Indonesia Financial Institution DBS Bank Tower 24th Floor, Suite 2403 Jl. Prof. Dr. Satrio Kav 3-5 Jakarta, Indonesia 12940 +62 21 2988 6807 Committee Chairperson Jonathan Cornish Managing Director +852 2263 9901 Date of Relevant Rating Committee: 13 April 2016 Media Relations: Leslie Tan, Singapore, Tel: +65 67 96 7234, Email: leslie.tan@fitchratings.com; Wai-Lun Wan, Hong Kong, Tel: +852 2263 9935, Email: wailun.wan@fitchratings.com. Note to editors: Fitch's National ratings provide a relative measure of creditworthiness for rated entities in countries with relatively low international sovereign ratings and where there is demand for such ratings. The best risk within a country is rated 'AAA' and other credits are rated only relative to this risk. National ratings are designed for use mainly by local investors in local markets and are signified by the addition of an identifier for the country concerned, such as 'AAA(idn)' for National ratings in Indonesia. Specific letter grades are not therefore internationally comparable. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com Applicable Criteria Global Non-Bank Financial Institutions Rating Criteria (pub. 28 Apr 2015) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=865351 National Scale Ratings Criteria (pub. 30 Oct 2013) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=720082 Additional Disclosures Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1004811 Endorsement Policy https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&det ail=31 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. For airport officials, the ultimate nightmare scenario is to have their own employees plot with terrorists to circumvent security procedures and help bring down an airplane. If EgyptAir Flight 804 was destroyed by terrorists, as intelligence officials increasingly believe, authorities around the world will have to confront the fact that the last line of defense against such an attack would have been at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, nominally one of the most secure facilities in Europe. And theyll have to confront the sobering reality that security at one of the continents busiest and best-protected airports failed. After taking off from Paris on the way to Cairo, Flight 804 with 56 passengers and 10 crew on board disappeared off the radar Thursday over the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The plane was at 37,000 feet before it swerved twice and then quickly plunged to 15,000 feet, according to Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos. The wreckage of the plane has yet to be recovered, and officials in Washington and Paris said it remained unclear if the plane was brought down by terrorists, though suspicions are running high. No terrorist groups have yet claimed responsibility. Before it took off from France, the doomed plane made stops in Eritreas capital, Asmara; Cairo; Tunis; and Cairo again before heading to Paris. Experts say security is less rigorous at those airports, but flights that connect in Paris are meant to receive such stringent security checks there that explosives smuggled on board the plane or concealed on the body of a passenger would be detected before they could detonate. Passengers and airliners passing through Paris and other major European airports have been subject to ever stricter security in the years since the 9/11 attacks and the months since the Paris and Brussels attacks. Under EU rules, planes arriving from outside the European Union must be searched after landing, from the cargo hold to the cockpit to the toilets, according to Norman Shanks, the former head of airport security at Heathrow Airport in London and a consultant on airport security. Story continues The responsibility for the searches falls to the airline that operates the plane and not to local police or airport security, and often airlines hire contractors to carry out the search, Shanks said. The constant concern for airport security officials is the potential for a turncoat, an airport employee or contractor with a security firm that is secretly plotting with criminal or terrorist networks, he said. The thing that worries me is the so-called insider threat, where you have people working in secure areas. They may have been screened and their backgrounds checked, but you can never tell where their loyalties lie, Shanks told Foreign Policy. The background checks turn up past convictions, but someone with a clean record could easily slip through the cracks, he said. At Charles de Gaulle Airport, security has been markedly stepped up since the attack on the editorial offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January 2015. Armed French troops pace the terminal corridors, and police examine the papers of each passenger arriving from Middle Eastern airports. But the possibility that militants from groups like the Islamic State, which was responsible for the November 2015 attacks in Paris that killed 130, could have sympathizers working at the airport and willing to act on their behalf has remained a constant concern for authorities. Between January and November 2015, French officials said 57 people working at the airport had their security clearances revoked. French police official Philippe Riffaut told French media last year that the security review had found signs of radicalization among airport workers and that some male staff members had declined to work alongside female colleagues. Police also searched thousands of employee lockers looking for not only drugs and weapons but also extremist religious propaganda, according to Riffaut. After the Paris attacks, authorities announced they were reviewing the files of about 86,000 employees at Charles de Gaulle who had permits to enter a secure reserved zone. Based on the review, officials reportedly rescinded the security clearances of about a dozen staff members. The step was taken due to their links to Islamism and for some of them groups linked to terrorism, Jean-Charles Brisard, the chairman of the Center for Terrorism Analysis in Paris, told Time. If terrorism is confirmed to have downed the plane, it would represent a new, and dangerous, escalation of the militants ability to hit the West. The Islamic State attacks in Paris in November and Brussels in March struck soft targets including cafes, concert halls, and subway stations that arent walled off and guarded by armed security personnel. Airport terminals are, which means that terrorists would have found a way to breach multiple layers of security checks and screening procedures. A successful attack on an airliner flying out of Paris would undercut widespread assumptions about airport security in Europe and the West. If terrorism was indeed the cause, it would reveal a whole new level of vulnerability to aircraft not only from those flights originating in the Middle East, but to those departing from the heart of Europe and with, at least in theory, far better airport defenses, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. Schiff said terrorism could not be ruled out given the October bombing of a Russian plane that took off from the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh and was claimed by the Islamic States branch in the Sinai Peninsula. We are scouring our intelligence resources to see if we can aid in the determination of what happened to the plane, he said. Airports in the United States, which are widely considered the most secure in the world, have not been immune to insider plots. In 2014, a former employee for Delta Airlines and a baggage handler at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta worked together to smuggle guns and ammunition on more than a dozen flights bound for New York. In 2013, an avionics technician employed at an airport in Wichita, Kansas, was charged with planning a suicide bombing after a FBI sting operation. Not long after Flight 804 was reported missing Thursday, Egyptian Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said that an act of terrorism was more likely the cause of the planes disappearance than a technical failure. Fathys comments were a stark contrast to how Egyptian officials responded to the October downing of the Russian airliner over Sinai. In that case, Cairo officials waited months to acknowledge that the plane had been the target of a terrorist attack, one that the Islamic State had claimed from the outset. The quick reaction suggested Egyptian officials were keen to focus any blame for possible security failures on Europe. After the bombing of the Russian airliner, European officials had voiced concerns about possible security gaps at airports in North Africa, including Tunisia, as well as at Egypts Sharm el-Sheikh airport. International investigators suspect an airport employee likely helped the militants smuggle a small explosive onto the Russian plane, which had 224 people on board when it went down. And the Islamic State has claimed in propaganda that the bomb was concealed in a Schweppes soft drink can. That they were able to smuggle this soda can bomb onto the plane suggests that security at that airport in Egypt is not fool-proof, said Matthew Levitt, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former senior U.S. official who worked on counterterrorism at the Treasury Department. The day the EgyptAir plane landed in Paris, it had flown in three other countries Egypt, Tunisia, and Eritrea where airport security procedures are much less stringent than inside the European Union or most other industrialized states. The fact that the plane was in several airports on the same day significantly increases the number of potential vulnerabilities, Levitt told FP. One year ago, the U.S. State Department published an advisory warning that security at Asmara International Airport could be unpredictable and added that there was a lack of efficiency and consistency in the screening of passengers. To counter potential terrorist threats for U.S.-bound flights, American officials have adopted additional security precautions at airports abroad to check planes and passengers en route to the United States. The measures were introduced at airports in Ireland, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates. The Department of Homeland Security has also carried out assessments and offered advice to aviation authorities in other countries, officials said. FP staff writer Elias Groll contributed to this article. Photo credit: THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images A chilling photo posted by one of the victims of EgyptAir Flight MS804 nearly two years ago is making the rounds on social media following the devastating crash. Read: Search For EgyptAir Plane Wreckage Continues As Terrorism is Investigated As Cause The image, posted by flight attendant Samar Eldin, was posted in September 2014 to her Facebook page. The image shows a different flight attendant with a bag, calmly standing in water as a plane crashes behind her. Debris and body parts discovered in the Mediterranean Sea have been confirmed to be from the doomed flight that crashed near the Greek island of Crete Thursday morning. Investigators are backtracking the jet's itinerary for the last week, which includes takeoffs and landings in terrorism hotspots like Tunisia and Brussels. Of the 66 people on board, 56 of the passengers came from 12 different countries including 30 from Egypt, 15 from France, two from Iraq, two from Canada, other came from the U.K., Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Sudan, Chad and Portugal. There were also seven crew members and three Egyptian security staff members on the flight. Marwa Hamdy was an executive at IBM. The mother of three was originally from Saskatchewan, Canada, and was relocated to Cairo. (Facebook) She had been visiting family in Paris, according to a family friend. Following the news of two Canadians perishing in the crash, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted: Our thoughts are with the families of victims of EgyptAir flight 804, including 2 Canadians. Latest statement: https://t.co/c0ckWivEBb Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 19, 2016 Ahmed Helal managed one of Procter and Gambles plants in France. The Egyptian native was 40 years old. Read: Egyptair Hijacker Took Over Plane in Appeal to Ex-Wife: Reports Richard Osman, 40, grew up in Wales before moving to the island of Jersey in the United Kingdom. The geologist and father of two, was of Egyptian heritage. Story continues A colleague of Osman's paid respects to his friend on Facebook: Pilot and Captain Mohamed Said Ali Ali Shoukair, 37, had been promoted just four days before his fatal final flight. According to reports, the captain was an experienced pilot that had 6,275 flying hours under his belt. More than 2,100 of those hours were in an Airbus 806 like the one that crashed. According to friends, Captain Shoukairs co-pilot, Mohamed Mamdough Assem, had always dreamed of being a co-pilot. His Facebook page showed his love of the skies. By Thursday night, it turned into a memorial for him. A family of four from France also perished in the crash. The family, which has not yet been identified, were from the city of Angers. The parents were in their early 40s and had two children with them. One of the children, according to reports, was an infant. Watch: Donald Trump Calls EgyptAir Crash a 'Terrorist Attack' Before Officials Announce Cause Related Articles: Reddit, Facebook and Twitter have long been plagued by a subset of users that insist on harassing others. Beleaguered by death threats and stomach-turning verbal abuse, a group of former Reddit employees is launching a new social forum with a focus on taming harassment. The crew behind the new platform, called Imzy, is a recognizable bunch that includes founder of Redditgifts, Dan McComas and Reddit's former Head of Community Jessica Moreno. The group is receiving support from investors to build a place that's more thoughtful about how it curates positive community interaction, according to Recode. Imzy is also partnering with popular director and founder of Lenny Letter Lena Dunham and Community creator Dan Harmon. To keep the platform imbued with healthy social behavior, its creators are requiring people to become "members" in order to post in a forum. Moderators and support staff are available at all times to keep the community's values in place by actively monitoring and deleting comments that wade into offensive territory. The platform is also invite-only for now, which could help to slowly build a more positive community. Call to action: The launch comes as many platforms are considering how to weed out trollish behavior. Redditors like those found on the subreddit /r/TwoXChromosomes have long had to combat abusive behavior. To combat death threats and hate speech, Reddit introduced a series of anti-harassment tools. But Reddit is far from alone in its quest against bad actors. Last year, former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo aired his frustrations with users' behavior and his plans implement a hardline stance against bad actors. But once embedded, trolls like ticks are difficult to remove. This realization is causing many to reconsider their approach to developing community-based systems. That means rather than taking an if-you-build-it-they-will-come approach to online community building, platform makers are deeply considering how they want their platform to run prior to launching. Because the problem is, when you build a community, the trolls will always come unless there are provisions in place to stop them. Privacy controls and harassment flagging shouldn't be tacked on at the end. Story continues Trolls will be trolls: Of course not everyone is pleased about Imzy's launch. In response to Imzy's proposed community guidelines, which include the right to pull hate speech and other violence-inciting commentary, one redditor remarked, "Someone wanted a safe space for the Germans too. Nobody cared until the Germans kept needing more of it." "The problem in self-proclaimed 'safe spaces' is rarely written in words but in interpretation of them," another redditor wrote. "Where do they draw the line between 'encouraging hatred' and rational dislike of specific subgroups based on given evidence. Even here on Reddit places like /r/Worldnews don't place that line of 'allowed' comment in a rational place." There is a notion among some cohorts on Reddit that the oppressor is now being oppressed by those it once persecuted and that it's not fair. The assumption, as outlined by the redditor mentioned above, is that certain points of view will be valued above others and comments that don't follow the accepted line of thinking will be flagged as hate sp Can there be an all-inclusive platform? People clash on the internet. Topics like religion, politics and ethics can stir up a lot of emotion. What's needed online is a place that can temper the hostility that arises from such discussions, without limiting inclusivity. It's a hard balance to strike, but the payoff could be huge for everyone involved. Correction: May 20, 2016 An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated former Reddit employee Victoria Taylor was a part of Imzy. She is not involved with the project. Ottawa (AFP) - Firefighters have contained a massive wildfire in Canada's oil sands region, but thick smoke Friday continued to prevent a resumption of most oil production. The fires, which forced the evacuation of 100,000 residents of Fort McMurray and oil facilities to the north, interrupted extraction and refining of an estimated 1.2 million barrels of oil per day. The Canadian cutbacks have sent crude prices climbing towards the US$50 mark, by helping to reduce a global supply glut. In the past week the blaze has doubled in size, growing to more than 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres). Officials told a press conference it is now in check and firefighters are confident they can hold it over the coming days, until it rains. Before oil production can resume, however, the smoke must clear. The two largest facilities, operated by Suncor and Syncrude, remain shuttered. "They remain under mandatory evacuation," said Shane Schreiber, head of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency. "I can't see that being lifted until the air quality index becomes stable and until we get a couple more days of getting good firefighting done on that fire," he said. Air pollution caused by the smoke has fallen but remains high after recently peaking at more than three times safe levels at the height of the emergency. Bitumen processing at Suncor's base plant and production at its MacKay River facility were suspended after a total of 8,000 workers in the north were ordered out Monday as the fire spread and intensified, destroying a 665-room lodge. Syncrude's Mildred Lake and Aurora oil sands sites were also evacuated. Imperial Oil, meanwhile, said in a statement that it has resumed limited operations at its Kearl oil sands site, 70 kilometers (44 miles) north of Fort McMurray. The bitumen mine is jointly owned by Exxon Mobil (29 percent) and was producing nearly 200,000 barrels per day before the fires struck. - Firefighters hold the line - Story continues "We continue to have firefighters deployed closely around the oil sands operations and industrial camps," Alberta wildfire manager Chad Morrison said. "The fire will take some time to put out, but we feel that given the current conditions and the number of firefighters we have there, there is no immediate threat (to the facilities)." "Hopefully this weekend we'll see some much needed precipitation, but until then firefighters continue to dig in and hold the line around the community (of Fort McMurray) and protect critical infrastructure." A trace amount of rain fell on Fort McMurray and its surroundings on Thursday. Heavier rains are forecast for the next three days. "Longterm we're very optimistic, we continue to make very good progress there and everything continues to be well contained," Morrison said. There are currently 1,100 firefighters battling the blaze. Morrison said the province hopes to bring in another 500 next week, and 500 more the following week. Cost estimates, meanwhile, predict the loss to the Canadian economy due to the temporary oil sands production shutdown could reach 0.5 percent of gross domestic product. The oil sector accounts for four percent of Canada's GDP. Paris (AFP) - If Austria's far-right wins the presidential election on Sunday, the leaders of France's National Front will be rubbing their hands with glee. Fuelled by the same anti-migrant and anti-European Union stance as Norbert Hofer's Freedom Party (FPOe), Marine Le Pen's party can, however, only dream of his level of support. Hofer caught everyone by surprise when he scored 35 percent in a resounding first-round victory. Now the 45-year-old aviation engineer could give the far-right real power in a Western European country for the first time and confirm a trend of anti-establishment parties stamping on liberal traditions across the continent. Victory in the second round against the veteran ecologist Alexander van der Bellen would also pave the way for the Freedom Party to head the next Austrian government after parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for 2018. Le Pen saluted Hofer's performance, saying it was "in line with history". Less than a year before the French presidential election, opinion polls show she has a good chance of emulating her father Jean-Marie, who rocked France by reaching the second round in 2002. - 'Fundamental differences' - But Jean-Yves Camus, one of France's leading experts on the far-right, predicted Le Pen "will not be able to go the extra mile (and win)". He said there were "fundamental differences" between the Freedom Party and the National Front. The Austrian party, for example, has far more success in forging alliances than the FN, and unlike its French counterpart, it has already sat at the top table of national politics. Since the mid-1980s, the Freedom Party was in a governing coalition with the Social Democrats. In 2000, the party led by the now-deceased Joerg Haider, returned to government in an alliance with the conservatives. "The Freedom Party had the deputy prime minister's job at that time and important ministerial portfolios," Camus told AFP. "So whether the party can exercise power in Austria is not in question. Story continues "The Freedom Party portrays itself as being against the system but it is not completely outside the system." - FN isolated - In contrast, while the FN has made progress in local and European elections "it has not managed to get elected because it's on its own. Marine Le Pen is not 'coalition compatible'," Camus said. In December, the FN won 28 percent of votes in the first round of French regional elections, a record for the party. But tactical moves by the mainstream parties in the second round shut it out and it failed to win control of a single region. Even if Le Pen stands little chance of winning the presidency, the FN looks set to remain a major fixture in France's political scene thanks to her efforts to "normalise" her party and purge its anti-Semitic elements. A key step was sidelining her rabble-rousing father who was convicted last month for repeating his assertion that the Nazi gas chambers in World War II were "a detail of history". Both the FN and Freedom Party have benefited from the growing rejection of traditional mainstream parties. "Austria is paying the price for the failure of the big coalitions that the elite love so much -- when there is neither a left nor a right, when there is no debate, it leaves an enormous space for the extremes to fill," former French president Nicolas Sarkozy said in an interview this week with Le Monde. Austria's ruling coalition of Social Democrats and conservatives were thrashed in the first round of the presidential election, scoring just 11 percent each. "What is happening in Austria could happen in France," Sarkozy said. Italy's European Minister Sandro Goti said this week that the traditional parties' attempts to occupy the same ideological territory as the far-right had seriously backfired. "If you think you can counter populism with populist responses that are slightly more moderate, then you are heading for failure," Goti said. "That was the mistake that Werner Faymann made," he said, referring to the Austrian chancellor who resigned as a result of the far-right's success. Faymann, of the Social Democrats, had first supported an open policy on taking in migrants before hardening his line after 90,000 people applied for asylum in 2015. In France and Austria, "the far-right is gaining oxygen from the ideological mess of the current political class," Camus said. Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f93222%2f5bb1019ecc8b438983b23de697f6908e Game and app developers already working inside of virtual reality will be able to port existing apps and games to Google's brand new Daydream platform, if they are building on Unreal Engine. Epic Games appeared on the stage of Google I/O to unveil Unreal Engine 4's compatibility with Daydream, which was announced on Wednesday. SEE ALSO: With Daydream, Google's plans to dominate VR become more clear Since Daydream is a virtual reality platform that supports several different Android-powered mobile phones, it will allow more people to access VR in the next few years, said Nick Whiting, VR and AR Technical Director for Epic Games. The biggest benefit will be the required controller every Daydream user will need it to jump into VR so developers all can code for the same specifications. "Once youve interacted with motion controllers its really hard to go back, like going back to [Oculus] DK1," Whiting told Mashable. "You see the magic of being in game, but then you look down and the illusion is broken when you dont have hands." The Epic Games team built its own tech demo to show off the controller's capabilities in Daydream. In the dungeon crawler game, players can wave a wand, attack monsters, point at menus and drink potions, all with two buttons, a clickable trackpad and the included sensors. "Almost everyone can wave their hands around and use a trackpad. Its very simple so its very hard to do something wrong," Whiting said. "Many people grab Oculus Touch or Vive and they arent gamers, its amazing how many buttons are on them. It's good to have a simple, natural interface for people." Daydream will sell virtual reality games and apps through the Google Play Store. There isn't a release date yet, but Unreal Engine 4 access will appear when developers get their hands on the platform, presumably before wider consumer release. MUMBAI (Reuters) - IKEA Group, the world's largest furniture retailer, said on Friday it has bought land to build a 400,000 square foot (37,000 square metre) store in India's financial capital Mumbai as part of a plan to expand to 25 stores in the country by 2025. The privately-owned firm said it expects the Mumbai store to get more than 5 million visitors a year. It will be the Swedish firm's second retail store in India after it opens the first in the southern town of Hyderabad next year. IKEA is also scouting for land to set up stores in Bengaluru, Delhi and the NCR region around the capital. IKEA, which has been sourcing from India for its stores worldwide for three decades, plans to add suppliers and double its sourcing volumes by 2020, it said in a statement. Each of its stores in India would employ 500 to 700 workers directly and 1500 indirectly. (Reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in Mumbai; editing by Adrian Croft) SENDAI, Japan (Reuters) - The Group of Seven (G7) leading industry nations are more optimistic about economic growth in the world than previously, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Friday. "We agreed, that the world economic environment is better than some feared a few months ago," Schaeuble said after the first round of talks at a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Sendai. He added that Germany had growing room for fiscal maneuver and said he was in favor of using this in the next legislative period. (Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Caroline Copley; Editing by Joseph Nasr) BERLIN (Reuters) - The Group of Seven (G7) leading industry nations are not about to readmit Russia to their club, a senior German government official said on Friday. Moscow's membership in the G8 group was suspended in 2014 after Russian troops invaded and annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. The German government official also said that Berlin expected the summit of G7 leaders in Japan next week to discuss sanctions imposed against Russia over the Ukraine crisis. The extension or lifting of these sanctions is linked to the implementation of the Minsk peace deal and thus to Moscow's cooperation in the efforts to end the Ukraine crisis, the official added. Berlin was not expecting any call for an extension of the sanctions against Russia to be mentioned in the G7 communique issued at the end of the meeting, the government official said. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber,; Editing by Paul Carrel) By Kathryn Doyle Reuters Health - Although use of drugs to treat diabetes and other diseases related to obesity may decline after weight-loss surgery, use of neurological and psychiatric drugs may rise sharply, suggests a new study. Based on thousands of patients in Denmark, researchers found that three years after gastric bypass surgery, patients prescription drug use in general decreased, including blood sugar and cholesterol control drugs. But use of antidepressants and neuropathy drugs more than doubled. It isnt clear why neuropsychiatric drug use rises after weight-loss surgery, but the reasons should be explored, the study team writes in Annals of Surgery. It is well-known that weight loss induced by gastric bypass may improve e.g. type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases, lead author Dr. Sigrid Bjerge Gribsholt of Aarhus University Hospital told Reuters Health by email. But it is surprising that this improvement in metabolic diseases resulted in so pronounced reduction in medication for these diseases - such as more than 70 percent reduced use of drugs used for treatment of diabetes, 40 percent reduction for antihypertensive drugs, and 50 percent reduction for drugs against hyperlipidemia, Gribsholt said. The researchers studied data from a group of more than 9,000 patients who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery in Denmark between 2006 and 2010 and compared them to more than 99,000 similar people in the general population who did not have the surgery. Based on medical records, the researchers compared prescription drug use six months before surgery and three years after the procedure. Most surgery patients were women and an average of 40 years old when the study began. About 80 percent of those getting gastric bypass were taking a prescription drug at the beginning of the study period compared to 50 percent of those not getting the surgery. Three years later, gastric bypass patients were using fewer prescriptions while those in the comparison group were using more. In the bypass group, use of blood sugar-lowering drugs, cholesterol drugs, blood pressure drugs and inhalers for obstructed airways all decreased substantially. But even before undergoing surgery, use of neuropsychiatric drugs like antidepressants and antipsychotics was twice as high in the gastric bypass group relative to the others, and rose further after surgery. This indicates that bariatric surgery may not on the average have beneficial effect on psychological issues or psychiatric conditions, Gribsholt said. Diabetes, high blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol are closely related to profound obesity and are therefore cured in many patients after surgery, she said. Right now there is no other procedure, drug, regimen, anything, that seems to be effective for allowing people who have already gained weight to lose it and keep it off, said Pierre Cremieux, Managing Principal of Analysis Group, Inc., an economic, financial, and strategy consulting firm in Boston, who was not part of the new study. The picture is pretty dire, and so far at least bariatric surgery seems to be the only intervention that works but of course, it is a fairly radical and irreversible decision for a patient, Cremieux told Reuters Health. The new study involved many patients over the long term and yielded reliable results, but the situation in Denmark may not be applicable to other countries, he said. Previous studies had found that antidepressant and antipsychotic use stayed steady after bariatric surgery, while use of other drugs decreased. There may be less psychiatric treatment in Denmark, he said. When patients interact with the healthcare system for bariatric surgery, they may also be referred for mental health treatment that they werent receiving before. Drug use may reflect changes in underlying diseases and patients are generally informed that the use of drugs to treat diabetes often can be reduced immediately after the operation, Gribsholt said. On the other hand, obesity surgery is not a cure for everything - for example, psychological problems or pain may still be present - or even arise - after surgery, necessitating medical treatment, she said. In the U.S. there have been real efforts particularly at centers for excellence to make sure that there is a very careful mental health dimension to bariatric surgery processes, Cremieux said. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1U2ldEO Annals of Surgery, online April 2, 2016. GE Healthcare, a division of General Electric Company GE, recently introduced a new offering in collaboration with Accenture plc ACN to help improve medical claims processing and related cash flow for healthcare providers. The collaboration was declared at the GE Healthcares annual software summit held in Phoenix, AZ. The new offering is likely to enable healthcare providers save around 2550%, on an average, on their cost incurred to re-process denied claims. Alongside, this alliance is a strategic step, which will enable General Healthcare deliver best-in-class service to its customers, by partnering with the best in the industry. Per the collaboration, GE Healthcare will provide its advanced analytics solution, DenialsIQ, whereas Accenture will bring in its experience and expertise in the field of consulting. The new solution is expected to help healthcare providers, including large health systems, physician groups and hospitals, to ascertain the effects of claims management on financial performance and how proper action can help to redesign workflows and financial operations. The Healthcare industry has been struggling to manage claims denials for a long time. Per a research by Accenture, for every one in five claims thats denied, it will cost a typical health system $25 per claim to re-process on average. Now, for a health system that is worth a billion dollar, cutting down on claims denials can lead to a 0.51% improvement in operating margin, amounting to $510 million annually. General Electrics DenialsIQ will assist in the smooth functioning of this collaboration. DenialsIQ is an advanced analytics solution from GE Healthcare that uncovers unseen trends from within claims denials to help provider organizations improve financial performance. This system will show administrators hidden patterns and root cause factors before medical claims denials negatively impact the revenue cycle. Story continues Leveraging General Electrics DenialsIQ solution, Accenture will offer its services in three types of revenue cycle engagements. The collaboration is likely to improve the revenues of both the companies in the long run. General Electric carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A couple of better-ranked stocks in the industry include CLARCOR Inc. CLC and Honeywell International Inc. HON. Both stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report HONEYWELL INTL (HON): Free Stock Analysis Report GENL ELECTRIC (GE): Free Stock Analysis Report CLARCOR INC (CLC): Free Stock Analysis Report ACCENTURE PLC (ACN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Berlin (AFP) - German prosecutors on Friday sought six years' imprisonment for a 94-year-old former SS guard on trial for complicity in 170,000 murders at Auschwitz. Reinhold Hanning stands accused of having watched over the selection of which prisoners were fit for labour, and which should be sent to the gas chambers. He is also deemed to have been aware of the regular mass shooting of inmates at the camp, as well as the systematic starvation of prisoners. "The defendant contributed to the extermination aim of the camp," chief prosecutor Andreas Brendel told the court in the western German town of Detmold, according to national news agency DPA. "We owe it to the victims to pursue the crimes even today," he said. Hanning in April broke his silence on his time at Auschwitz 70 years after the war, telling victims "I am sorry". He admitted to the court that he knew prisoners were being shot, gassed and their bodies burned at the death camp in occupied Poland, but that he had been "silent all my life" about the atrocities because he was ashamed. More than one million European Jews were killed at the camp in occupied Poland, and among the 6,500 former SS personnel at Auschwitz who survived the war, fewer than 50 have been convicted. Hanning's trial came on the heels of a high-profile case last year against Oskar Groening, dubbed the "Bookkeeper of Auschwitz". Groening was sentenced in July to four years in prison, even though he had previously been cleared by German authorities after lengthy criminal probes dating back to the 1970s. But the legal foundation for prosecuting ex-Nazis changed in 2011 with the German conviction of former death camp guard John Demjanjuk, solely on the basis of his having worked at the Sobibor camp in occupied Poland. Another case is currently being heard by a German court, against former SS medic Hubert Zafke, 95, who is charged with at least 3,681 counts of complicity in killings. Hearings have however been postponed on several occasions owing to the poor health of the defendant, raising questions on whether it can go ahead. BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany see no need for a more expansive fiscal policy, a senior government official said on Friday, adding that Berlin was already making a contribution to growth with investment. "In the fiscal area, we in Germany have made a contribution. We are making a lot of investments ... So, a concerted fiscal action is not what we see as necessary," the official said, briefing reporters ahead of a meeting of G7 leaders next week. It is appropriate for the Group of Seven (G7) industrial powers to each have their own economic policy mix, but their governments must inform each other of these measures, the official added. The official noted that all G7 members had agreed that competitive devaluations of foreign exchange rates should not be used as a policy tool. Asked whether a British exit from the European Union was on the agenda for the summit of G7 leaders in Japan next week, the official said that G7 finance ministers had already discussed the issue. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Paul Carrel) Actress-filmmaker Rebecca Miller wrote the character Julianne Moore plays in Maggies Plan with her in mind. Moore, who stars along with Greta Gerwig and Ethan Hawke, won the Best Actress Oscar last year for Still Alice, which Sony Pictures Classics released. The company is taking Maggies Plan out this weekend. Penelope Cruz, meanwhile, will be in New York for Q&As for her latest film, Ma ma, beginning its U.S. release via Oscilloscope. The two features are among the narratives opening in the specialty arena, which will be joined by a number of diverse documentaries. Sundance Selects is opening Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Weiner, while the Film Sales Company is going to open 2015 Sundance Special Jury Prize winner Pervert Park, making its bow exclusively at IFPs Made in New York Media Center. And The Orchard is opening Tribeca 2015 docu Almost Holy in New York and Los Angeles. Maggies Plan Director-writer: Rebecca Miller Writer: Karen Rinaldi Cast: Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, J Maggie's Plan poster ulianne Moore, Bill Hader, Travis Fimmel, Maya Rudolph Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics Producer Rachael Horovitz and filmmaker Rebecca Miller knew each other well before their paths crossed again for Maggies Plan. After Miller spent time in Ireland, the two found each other again when their kids attended the same school in New York. She came to me soon after I worked [as a producer] on Moneyball in early 2012, said Horowitz. We talked about a lot of ideas she had, but this was the one that stood out. It was fortuitous and great timing for her to make a New York movie since she had come back from Ireland. Its a New York love story. In Maggies Plan, Greta Gerwig portrays Maggie Hardin, a vibrant and practical thirtysomething New Yorker working at the New School who, without success in finding love, decides now is the time to have a child on her own. But when she meets John Harding (Ethan Hawke), a ficto-critical anthropologist and struggling novelist, Maggie falls in love for the first time and adjusts her plans for motherhood. Complicating matters, John is in an unhappy marriage with Georgette Nrgaard (Julianne Moore), an ambitious Danish academic. With some help from Maggies eccentric and hilarious best friends, married couple Tony (Bill Hader) and Felicia (Maya Rudolph), she sets in motion a bold new plan that intertwines the three main characters lives and connects them in surprising and humorous ways. Maggie learns that sometimes destiny should be left to its own devices. Story continues RelatedRebecca Miller & Damon Cardasis Launch Round Films; Production Outfit Kicks Off With Maggies Plan We were both excited, and she was inspired to go home and write this, said Horovitz. She wrote quickly, and I [soon] saw 30 or so pages. We met regularly and developed the script together along with her producing partner. Others including Locomotive Films Alex Kerry and Lucy Donnelly along with London-based Protagonist Pictures, which also worked with Horovitz previously, came on board as producers. Financing came via a combination of private sources along with foreign presales, which Protagonist arranged out of Cannes. Miller wrote the Georgette character with Moore in mind. The two already were friends before the project. Gerwig and Hawke joined the cast afterward. Maggies Plan shot in February 2015, coinciding with a blast of winter weather in New York. The first two days were some of the coldest days I remember, coinciding with a winter vortex, said Horovitz. But we did have a wonderful shoot. We were looking at outtakes for the DVD yesterday, and it was fun to remember that time. The night of Bill Haders shoot, people just stayed late because they didnt want to go home. Sony Pictures Classics picked up the feature out of Toronto, where it had its premiere. Maggies Plan also played New York, Sundance, Berlin and San Francisco festivals. The film opens today in five New York and Los Angeles theaters before expanding to additional cities in the coming weeks. Ma ma Director-writer: Julio Medem Cast: Penelope Cruz, Luis Tosar, Asier Etxeanida, Teo Planell, Anna Jimenez Distributor: Ma ma poster Oscilloscope screened Ma ma ahead of its debut at Toronto last year. The combination of Oscar winner Penelope Cruz and Spanish filmmaker Julio Medem were attractive draws for the company. Ma ma follows Magda (Cruz) as she experiences tragedies and miracles alike. Just as Magda is diagnosed with breast cancer, she meets Arturo (Luis Tosar), a devoted husband and father in the midst of unspeakable loss. Their chance encounter leads both down a path of strength, grace, love and rebirth. RelatedJavier Bardem & Penelope Cruz On Croisette For Escobar Cannes Fifteen years later, [Medems] Sex and Lucia remains a seminal piece of Spanish art house cinema, so we were excited by the opportunity to work on one of his films, Oscilloscope exec Andrew Carlin said. This is classic melodrama in the best sense. So often that word is used as a pejorative, but good melodrama is one of the most inclusive and accessible genres of film, so we think the audience appeal within the art house world will be quite broad. On the promotional side, Carlin noted Cruzs schedule includes appearances on The Tonight Show, Good Morning America and Charlie Rose ahead of the weekends release. This has been something of a passion project for Penelope, so it was her desire to be integral to the films promotion, added Carlin. And because shes one of the most well-known and well-respected actresses in the world, we were able to secure a significant amount of publicity. The flip side to that, however, is her limited availability, so the release was somewhat a product of scheduling. Regardless though, we feel like the timing a late-spring release is a very appropriate period for the film. Oscilloscope is planning a traditional release with a standard 120-day window, opening exclusively in New York today at the Sunshine, where Cruz will be taking part in Q&As. The company said it will add about a dozen runs in the Los Angeles and South Florida area on Memorial Day weekend, ahead of opening in the top 25 markets by mid-June. Weiner Directors-writers: Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg Writer: Eli B. Despres Subjects: Anthony Weiner, Huma Abedin Distributor: Sundance Selects Weiner poster Weiner co-director Josh Kriegman worked for politician Anthony Weiner when he ran for mayor of New York in 2005. He later went into production, working with fellow filmmaker Elyse Steinberg on film and television projects. After hearing that Weiner would run for mayor again in 2013, the duo decided to pick up the camera to follow the events. From 1999 until 2011, Weiner served as a congressman on the cusp of higher office before a sexting scandal forced a humiliating resignation. Just two years later, he ran for mayor of New York City, betting that his ideas would trump his indiscretions. He was wrong. With unprecedented access to Weiner, his family and his campaign team, the documentary is a look inside a political comeback-turned-meltdown. What begins as an unexpected surge to the top of the polls takes a sharp turn once Weiner is forced to admit to new sexting allegations. As the media descends and dissects his every move, Weiner desperately tries to forge ahead, but the increasing pressure and crippling 24-hour news coverage halt his political aspirations. RelatedWeiner Trailer: You Cant Make This Stuff Up, But You Can Document It For me its one of the best documentaries about a political campaign Ive ever seen. I can compare it to The War Room (1993), said IFC Films president Jonathan Sehring. I find it amazing because of his hubris, but I also feel real empathy for him. I cant say I felt that when it was all going on, but I felt it for him and for [his wife, Huma Abedin]. I think the filmmakers did an amazing job. Kriegman and Sternberg won the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, where Sundance Selects announced its acquisition of the title. Sundance Selects is expecting to attract an audience beyond those familiar with Weiners rise and fall as it heads to theaters this weekend. I think its going to play well beyond political junkies and documentary film [fans], added Sehring. This is something Im very excited about. I think any intelligent moviegoer will find this [compelling], but also anyone interested in seeing how a tragedy plays out in [what is now] an altered media landscape. Sundance Selects opens Weiner day-and-date today, bowing theatrically at IFC Center, Lincoln Plaza and City Cinemas in New York. It will go wider heading into Memorial Day weekend. Almost Holy Director-writer: Steve Hoover Subject: Gennadly Mokhnenko Distributor: The Orchard Almost Holy poster The faith community is one major group that is being targeted for this weekends release of Almost Holy, executive produced by Terrence Malick. The film centers on religious figure Gennadiy Mokhnenko, who has made a name for himself by forcibly abducting drug-addicted homeless kids from the streets of Mariupol, Ukraine. As his country leans toward a European Union inclusion, hopes of continued post-Soviet revitalization seem possible. In the meantime, Gennadiys center has evolved into a more nebulous institution. You rarely see this kind of a hero portrayed in a documentary, said Paul Davidson, EVP of Film and Television at the Orchard. Hes an unforgiving subject. A lot of the actions he takes are against the law, but hes doing it for the betterment of kids. The title includes a score by Oscar winner Atticus Ross, who shared the Academy Award for Original Score with Trent Reznor for The Social Network in 2010. An EP hit iTunes today that features music from the film along with what Davidson described as a visual mood piece by Atticus. This time of the year felt like the right time to release Almost Holy, said Davidson, who saw the title at its Tribeca premiere in 2015. Some of the bigger docs will land in July, just like what we did for Cartel Land last year. The Orchard has been targeting public radio audiences in addition to tapping viewers of the Christian Broadcasting Network in the lead-up to the titles release Friday. CBN has been a good partner, added Davidson. CBN saw something worth messaging here to their community. There are many people who are in horrible situations, and anything we can do to drive action to help is a worthy thing to do not just in the Ukraine but also in our own backyards. The Orchard opens Almost Holy today at the Sundance Sunset in L.A. and Village East in New York. The film will expand into major markets during the next several weeks. Pervert Park Directors-writers: Frida Barkfors, Lasse Barkfors Distribution: The Film Sales Company Pervert Park poster The subject matter behind documentary Pervert Park would have posed a worthy obstacle for any filmmaker, let alone novices. Scandinavian filmmakers Frida and Lasse Barkfors tackled the project as their first feature film and in another country the U.S. Initially, the duo who read a newspaper article about the park, piquing their interest worked with a Swedish production company, but they approached another production group in 2011 in Denmark after parting ways with their earlier arrangement. The film chronicles the lives of 120 convicted sex offenders, who live in a place dubbed Pervert Park. Like in many other U.S. states, sex offenders are not allowed to live within 1,000 feet of places frequented by children. The crimes committed by the residents range from simple misdemeanors to horrendous acts. The feature blends candid interviews with observational footage, revealing the personal stories behind each of their subjects with their offenses as well as their demons, bearing witness to stories seldom heard. They had already been to the park and came to us to ask if wed produce the film, said producer Anne Kohncke. We tried to raise financing in Denmark, but the usual places we go to said, no. This was their first film and for them to take on such a controversial subject made it really hard. Although the Danish Film Institute turned the project down, the filmmaking team turned to a program run through the organization called Film Workshop, which provides very small funding and equipment. [Frida and Lasse Barkfors] received that and they just went back to Florida, said Kohncke, noting that the duo had built relationships with their subjects and were eager to get the filming process underway. They had the trust of the people in the park, so they had to go. Following the quick shoot, the Barkforses formed a production company in Sweden, eventually finding additional resources through traditional film funding entities at home. Kohnckes company showed footage to broadcasters, who picked up rights to the title, and the film also sold to other territories. Noted Kohncke: People were afraid of the balance that would be presented in [the film], but when we had a rough cut, we were able to get broadcasters on board. Pervert Park debuted at Denmarks CPH: DOX festival, followed by Sundance 2015, where it won a Special Jury Impact Prize. Andrew Herwitzs the Film Sales Company is handling the titles U.S. release directly. The sales outfit has released features on its own in the past, including Live-in Maid (2007), Bones Brigade: An Autobiography (2012) and The Birth of Sake (2015). The company is banking on strong reviews out of New York to push its further release beyond this weekends exclusive showing at IFPs Made in New York Media Center. Related stories 'Weiner' Top Doc Opener of the Year; 'The Lobster' Cracks $1M In 2nd Week: Specialty Box Office 'Maggie's Plan' Review: Greta Gerwig And Julianne Moore Hit The Right Notes In Delightful Screwball Comedy Rebecca Miller & Damon Cardasis Launch Round Films; Production Outfit Kicks Off With 'Maggie's Plan' Netflixs revival of the classic TV drama Gilmore Girls is getting its own title. Star Lauren Graham revealed in a segment taped Thursday for The Ellen DeGeneres Show that the series will be called Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Netflix announced in January that it would bring back the series, which ran from 2000 to 2007, with the original creator Amy Sherman-Palladino on board. Most of the shows original cast including Graham, Alexis Bledel, Scott Patterson and Kelly Bishop are set to return. Original cast member Melissa McCarthy will also make an appearance. The new series is set to be released on Netflix as four 90-minute installments. Sherman-Palladino will executive produce, write and direct the four 90-minute chapters with Daniel Palladino. Each of the four 90-minute episodes, Graham revealed Thursday during her appearance on the daytime talk show, would take place in a different season winter, spring, summer and fall. Asked by DeGeneres how much shooting remains on the project, Graham replied, Were almost done. The project hails from Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Watch the video of Grahams Ellen appearance below: Related stories 'Gilmore Girls' Producer Files Lawsuit Over Netflix Revival Vanessa Marano Teases Details on April's Storyline in Netflix's 'Gilmore Girls' Revival Melissa McCarthy to Return for 'Gilmore Girls' Revival as Sookie Giorgio Armani has announced Chinese designer Miaoran as the latest up-and-coming fashion talent to receive his support this Milan Men's Fashion Week. The Italian fashion mogul will host the new label's runway show at his Armani/Teatro space in the city as part of his ongoing support program for fresh new talent. Founded in 2015, the eponymously-named Miaoran has become known for its ecclectic and interdisciplinary approach to menswear, with designs combining oversized volumes in contrasting fabrics that express both masculine and feminine elements. Miaoran called the opportunity a "huge honor for a young designer who comes from far away." Milan's Spring/Summer 2017 men's shows take place June 17-21, 2016. (New throughout, adds details, Canadian program) By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - General Motors Co said on Friday it will give debit cards or extended warranties to 146,000 North American owners of new sport utility vehicles to compensate them because the automaker overstated the vehicles' fuel efficiency. The program covers about 135,000 U.S. owners and 11,000 in Canada, GM said. GM said most of the debit cards would be worth $450 to $900 for U.S. owners of 2016 SUVs and $1,000-$1,300 Cdn for Canadian owners. The maximum any owner would get is $1,500. The largest U.S. automaker said the program would not have a material impact on financial results. A source not authorized to discuss the issue told Reuters the program would cost GM around $100 million. On Wednesday, Reuters and others reported GM was planning the program after the mileage error forced it to temporarily halt sales of about 60,000 new 2016 U.S. SUVs. GM resumed sales once the correct fuel labels arrived at dealerships. "We want all of our customers to have a great ownership experience, so we designed this reimbursement program to provide full and fair compensation in a simple, flexible and timely manner," GM spokesman Jim Cain said Friday. GM this week blamed the 1-2 mile-per-gallon overstatement on improper calculations that did not include data from tests on new emissions-related hardware in the 2016 Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave SUVs. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has asked GM to provide testing data. GM said buyers may choose a debit card or a 48-month/60,000-mile extended warranty plan designed for high-mileage customers and those who plan to keep vehicles for an extended period. Customers who leased vehicles will be offered a pre-paid debit card. GM said it based reimbursement on the EPA formula used for window labels: "a fuel price of $3 per gallon and 15,000 miles of annual driving for five years." GM sold another 40,000 SUVs to rental car companies and commercial and government fleets. GM said it will work out compensation individually with government and commercial buyers. Story continues On Tuesday, a Florida owner of a 2016 SUV filed a class-action suit against GM on behalf of owners who bought vehicles with overstated fuel economy ratings. In April, Mitsubishi Motors Corp admitted to overstating fuel economy of four models sold in Japan. In 2014, Korean carmakers Hyundai Motor Co and affiliate Kia Motors Corp agreed to pay $350 million in penalties to the U.S. government for overstating fuel economy ratings in about 1.2 million vehicles, and to compensate owners. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Richard Chang and David Gregorio) The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and some growers of genetically modified crops like soybeans and sugar beets are calling on the Senate to again to take up a bill that would make GMO labeling voluntary and prevent states from passing their own labeling laws. These groups are concerned that food manufacturers would be subject to a variety of state labeling laws if there's no national standard. Vermont's law requiring labeling goes into effect July 1. Acknowledging that consumers want information about GMOs in their food, GMA created a "Smart Label" program in which manufacturers place a QR code on their product labels. Consumers would scan these special bar codes with their smartphone while shopping at the supermarket. The barcode would then take them to the companys website, where they could get information about GMOs and other ingredients in the products. Several major food companies have already announced a GMO labeling plan, and some have begun labeling their products. And many consumers and GMO labeling advocates say that QR codes are not the solution. Not everyone has smartphones needed to scan these codes. In fact, almost three quarters of people over the age of 65, half of those who live in rural areas, and half of those making less than $30,000 a year, don't have smartphones. In a 2015 survey by research firm The Mellman Group, 88 percent of consumers said they would prefer on-package labeling for genetically engineered food to scanning a QR code. In fact, only 16 percent of consumers said they had ever scanned a QR code for any reason. Backers of labeling want a law such as the one proposed by Senator Jeff Merkley that mandates GMO labeling on packages. While its good news that some major food companies, in response to Vermonts law that will require GMO labeling as of July 1, have decided to label their products that contain GMOs nationally, it still amounts to a voluntary decision on their part, which means it could be reversed, Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives at Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports. We want all food manufacturers to be required to give consumers information on GMOs in their food. And we want all consumers to be able to find it on the package, not to have to scan a bar code and wade through a website to get it. More from Consumer Reports: 8 Ways to Boost Your Home Value Why your cable TV bill is going up Get the Best Cell Phone Plan for Your Familyand Save up to $1,000 a Year Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright 2006-2016 Consumers Union of U.S. MADRID (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs' infrastructure fund GSIP (GGIAX.OX) is mulling the sale of all or part of its Spanish energy business Redexis in the second half of the year, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. GSIP is currently seeking banking and legal advisers for the deal which could be made through a tender process or an initial public offering (IPO), the sources also said. "The process is expected to be launched after the summer, after Spain's general election," a source directly involved in the process said. Goldman Sachs, which bought Redexis in 2010, declined to comment. The sources did not give any price estimate but analysts say the sale could fetch 1.75 billion euros (1.35 billion pounds) including debt. Redexis transports and distributes gas to retail and wholesale clients in 26 Spanish provinces through a network of around 8,500 km of pipelines and 600,000 supply points. It had a core profit or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 136 million euros in 2015 while net debt stood at 840 million euros. (Reporting by Andres Gonzalez and Jose Elias Rodriguez, writing by Jesus Aguado; Editing by Julien Toyer) Though Siri is now more user-friendly and capable than ever, its functionality seems frustratingly limited when compared to competing intelligent assistants from the likes of Google and Amazon. Siri's relative shortcomings were on full display yesterday when Google showed off Google Assistant at the company's annual I/O developers conference yesterday. DON'T MISS: Batman v Supermans critical failure might save the DC movie universe The problem here is twofold: firstly, Apple has done a mediocre job of actually informing consumers about the full range Siri's capabilities. Often times, Apple will make server-side updates to Siri and won't tell anyone, leaving it up to Apple-centric blogs and enthused users to keep the masses informed. Two, and more problematic, is the fact that Siri appears to be progressing much more slowly than the competition. To this point, it's worth noting that most if not all of the original members of Apple's Siri team have since left the company for other ventures, with many of them winding up at Viv Labs. Earlier this month, Siri co-creator Dag Kittlaus showed off Viv, a futuristic AI system that uses natural-language processing and third-party integrations to make Siri seem ancient. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI07aeZqeco Where Siri can only handle relatively simple queries, Viv was designed to understand and process multi-layered queries in real-time. For example, Viv can tell you if it was raining in Boston 5 days ago. Siri, meanwhile, can't even tell you if it was raining yesterday. Viv can also handle the following types of complex queries: Will it be warmer than 70 degrees near the Golden gate bridge after 5 PM the day after tomorrow? Find me a flight to Dallas with a seat that Shaq could fit in Google Assistant also appears vastly superior and more capable than Siri. Judging by the demos we saw yesterday, Google Assistant can handle contextual queries with ease. For instance, a user can ask to see a list of movies playing nearby. Following that, if a user adds, "I want to bring my kids this time", the search results will be refined as to only show kid-friendly flicks. Story continues In an even more impressive example, a user standing near the Statue of Liberty or The Bean in Chicago can simply ask "Who designed this?" and Google Assistant will be able to take the location of the user into account and return an appropriate answer. Another example of Google Assistant's capabilities was showcased with a user asking a basic question about the Taj Mahal. When the users follows up with a "Take me there" command, Street View quickly opens up. A quick video demo of Google Assistant can be seen below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okrvvPAXlAA Has Siri ever seemed even remotely as intriguing as Google Assistant? And while people love Amazon Echo, Siri is often viewed as more of a novelty at best or a useless frustration at worst. Part of the issue is that Apple, by its very nature, places a premium on privacy over personal data. The rub is that the more an intelligent assistant knows about us, the more useful it is. In other words, it's a trade-off that Google has no problem making but one that Apple is inherently reluctant to embrace. To this point, MacWorld notes: Unlike Google, Facebook, and other tech companies that make money from advertising, Apple doesnt collect your personal data because it doesnt need to. It makes money by selling you hardware and getting you to sign up for monthly subscription services like iCloud storage and Apple Music, among other revenue generators. That means most everything about you is stored on the device, which makes it harder for Apple to access the information it would need for Siri to serve up tailored information. Harder, but not impossible. My credit card information is stored in Apple Pay and I have location services turned on, so why cant Siri order an Uber for me or buy movie tickets from my nearest theater? The following excerpt from a Reuters article on Siri and Apple's privacy czars is also apt: Unlike Google, Amazon and Facebook, Apple is loathe to use customer data to deliver targeted advertising or personalized recommendations. Indeed, any collection of Apple customer data requires sign-off from a committee of three "privacy czars" and a top executive, according to four former employees who worked on a variety of products that went through privacy vetting. Approval is anything but automatic: products including the Siri voice-command feature and the recently scaled-back iAd advertising network were restricted over privacy concerns, these people said. A Siri API would be welcome in this regard so it will be interesting to see if Apple has some interesting Siri announcements at WWDC this year. Related stories Here's what Siri is going to look like on your Macbook Meet Google Home, Google's answer to Amazon's Echo Siri inventor to show off futuristic new AI software next week More from BGR: 5 Android N features you wont find on any iPhone This article was originally published on BGR.com Sundar Pichai Google has created an in-house startup incubator called Area 120 to formalize its approach to letting employees tackle new ideas. "Weve always had a strong interest from within Google for people to go work on new things and have developed many of our products internally that way," CEO Sundar Pichai told Forbes' Miguel Helft. "At our scale, we want to make sure that there is a thoughtful way by which you give an avenue for those projects to be ambitious." Pichai confirmed that the incubator, which was first reported by The Information last month, is a play on its famous 20% time, which gave employees freedom to work on things outside of their regular work that they were passionate about. Teams within Google can submit a business plan to the incubator, run by executives Don Harrison and Bradley Horowitz, and if they're selected Pichai said they'll be able to stay in the program even as long as six months. Heres a description of the original 20% time that founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin included in their 2004 IPO letter: "We encourage our employees, in addition to their regular projects, to spend 20% of their time working on what they think will most benefit Google," they wrote. "This empowers them to be more creative and innovative. Many of our significant advances have happened in this manner." NOW WATCH: How to see everything Google knows about you More From Business Insider ivy ross Ivy Ross is the head of Project Aura, Google's secretive wearables branch, but she took an unusual path to become a tech executive. Over the past two decades, Ross' career has included stints in companies ranging from Mattel to Gap Inc., and before that she was an acclaimed jewelry designer with work in the world's foremost museums. In her commencement address at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) on Thursday, Ross told the new graduates that she was grateful her unorthodox career path taught her fundamental truths. Business Insider caught up with Ross after her speech to distill her story into her top lessons for people still in the early stages of their careers. 'Get your ego out of the way so that your heart can be your operating system' Ross began her career designing jewelry using nontraditional metals and innovative techniques. By the time she was 28, in 1983, she had her work in the permanent collections of 12 museums including the Smithsonian in Washington DC, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Montreal Visual Arts Center and was the recipient of a De Beers Diamonds International Award. After the 12th museum, her excitement eventually faded. She had worked hard to achieve positive recognition on a large scale, and when she received it earlier than she had imagined, she couldn't chase it anymore. "I was like, 'Wow, there are some people who spend their whole lives trying to get their work into museums!' And then I was like, 'Oh my God, if this is what that is, then I'm so glad I understand that now,'" she said. With her ego's craving satisfied, she could then focus on contributing her talents to teams and taking joy in creating things with others, she explained, which in turn brought more satisfaction. Never live according to 5-year plans Ross said she would be incapable of predicting five years ago that she would be heading up a secret Google project, and she prefers it that way. Story continues It was actually her early and unexpected success as a designer in her 20s that allowed her to come to the Zen-like realization that "there isn't an end game. It's about the journey, and once you understand that, then it's about creating that journey," she said. She told the FIT graduates that they should avoid five-year plans now more than ever because of the rapid pace at which industries are changing and new opportunities are arising. Instead, she recommends people early in their careers stay open and curious. Ross' resume may look eclectic, but the thread running through it is that each position allowed her to both create and simultaneously offer value and extract value. "I always take my jobs by asking, 'What am I going to learn?' and, 'Are they going to use me for what I do best?'" she said. "I think the ideal career path idea will not get you to the right place," she explained. "The idea of tapping into who you are, the essence, will. NOW WATCH: 'Shark Tank' star Daymond John reveals the advantages of being broke More From Business Insider Abuja (AFP) - Nigeria's government was on Friday accused of exploiting the release of a Chibok schoolgirl who was found this week, more than two years after she was seized by Boko Haram. Amina Ali was found by troops and civilian vigilantes with a four-month-old baby and a man she said was her husband near the Islamists' Sambisa Forest enclave in northeast Nigeria on Tuesday. The 19-year-old and her mother were brought to the capital, Abuja, on Thursday to meet President Muhammadu Buhari, who said she had received five hours of medical tests and seen trauma counsellors. Buhari took office on May 29 last year vowing a swift end to the insurgency, which has killed at least 20,000 people since 2009. But Mausi Segun, Nigeria researcher for Human Rights Watch, said Amina's first days of freedom should have concentrated on her mental and physical health, as well as that of her daughter. The government should have protected and respected her dignity "before you roll the cameras and make political capital out of her recovery", she told AFP. Tsambido Hosea Abana, leader of the Chibok community in Abuja, on Thursday accused the federal and Borno state government of "treating Amina like an item". "She is a traumatised young woman who needs immediate care and not any further media circus," he said in a statement. Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from their school in the remote Borno town of Chibok on April 14, 2014. Fifty-seven escaped in the hours that followed but 219 remained in captivity until this week. Thousands of women and young girls have been abducted since the conflict began in 2009, Former hostages have said they were forced into sex and menial work and even made to fight on the front line. Buhari promised Amina "the best care the Nigerian government can afford". But Nigeria has been urged to do more to provide appropriate facilities and services for all former hostages, particularly for victims of sexual violence. Rescued women and girls have faced stigma when they return to their home communities as a result of their captivity. ATHENS (Reuters) - Eurobank said on Friday its Romanian and Dutch subsidiaries had agreed to sell a portfolio of non-performing loans worth 170 million euros (132 million) as part of the Greek lender's efforts to strengthen its balance sheet. Eurobank, which is 2.4 percent owned by Greece's HFSF bank rescue fund following its recapitalisation late last year, said this week that loans in arrears for more than 90 days had dropped to 34.8 percent of its loan book from 35.2 percent in the last quarter of 2015. Eurobank said Romanian subsidiaries Bancpost and ERB Retail Services, and Dutch ERB New Europe Funding, had agreed to sell the portfolio to ProsperoCapita, which is funded by a consortium consisting of the International Finance Corporation and Kruk. The deal was subject to the approval of the Romanian Competition Council, the bank said. (Reporting by Karolina Tagaris; editing by David Clarke) Washington (AFP) - The National Rifle Association on Friday endorsed Donald Trump for US president, saying it was time to unite behind the Republican or "kiss your guns goodbye" if Hillary Clinton is elected. "We have to unite and we have to unite right now," Chris Cox, head of the NRA's lobbying arm, said at the gun rights group's annual convention in Louisville, Kentucky. "So on behalf of the thousands of patriots in this room, the five million NRA members across this country, and the tens of millions who support us, I'm officially announcing the NRA's endorsement of Donald Trump for president." The NRA's endorsement of a Republican nominee is no surprise. But the timing is notable because it came months earlier than in the previous two election cycles, suggesting the nation's largest gun-rights advocacy group was seeking to help the Republican Party unite conservatives fractured over Trump. The group's chief executive Wayne LaPierre declared it was time to prevent Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner, from gaining the White House and appointing a new justice to fill a Supreme Court vacancy. "If she gets just one Supreme Court nomination, Hillary's court will hold that the (US Constitution's) Second Amendment is a government right, not an individual right, and you can kiss your guns goodbye," LaPierre said. Trump was welcomed warmly as he received the endorsement, promising: "I will not let you down." - Gun rights 'under threat' - "We're getting rid of gun-free zones, OK? I can tell you," Trump said to loud applause. He also took aim at President Barack Obama's executive orders on reducing gun violence issued after December's San Bernardino shootings, including the plan to crack down on unregulated Internet gun sales. "They'll be un-signed the first hour that I'm in office," Trump pledged. The New York billionaire touted his own support for gun rights, boasting that he is a "long-term" NRA member and one of 13 million Americans with permits to carry firearms. Story continues "I happen to be one of them," he said. "Nobody knows that. Boy, would I surprise somebody if they hit Trump." He also quipped that his sons are avid shooters with so many guns that "sometimes even I get a little bit concerned." Trump sought to paint former secretary of state Clinton as an anti-gun radical and "dictator" who will take away Americans' constitutional right to bear arms. "The Second Amendment is under a threat like never before," Trump declared. "Crooked Hillary Clinton is the most anti-gun, anti-Second-Amendment candidate ever to run for office." Clinton has made reducing gun violence a key plan of her campaign platform. Speaking Sunday at the majority black Canaan Christian Church, also in Louisville, Clinton pledged to build on Obama's efforts to keep firearms out of the wrong hands. "But it also means we... have to combat the culture of gun violence," she said. "For too many people, particularly young people in our country today, they seem to think that guns can solve their problem." Her campaign says Clinton supports "sensible action" to address the issue, including expanding comprehensive background checks, cracking down on illegal gun traffickers, keeping weapons out of the hands of domestic abusers, and repealing an NRA-backed law that shields gun manufacturers and sellers from lawsuits. The NRA was gearing for battle over the contentious gun control issue. "You want to turn this election into a do-or-die fight over the Second Amendment? Bring it on," Cox challenged. Meanwhile Trump repeated his assertion that last year's terror strikes in France could have been minimized or even avoided if citizens had been armed. "Paris is, probably in the world, the toughest place to have a gun," he said. "No guns on the other side, folks. If you would have had guns on the other side... I promise there wouldn't have been 130 people killed." W we think of psychedelics and music, visions of the , Jefferson Airplane's tie-dyed "Volunteers" and the dance in our heads. These bands lived and died by their trips, however, none of these bands truly consecrated the long and fruitful relationship between hallucinogens and music, which has utterly transformed the art form as we know it. Acid absolutely has, but it wouldn't have done so if it hadn't been for two bands few think of as explicitly psychedelic projects: The Beatles and the Beach Boys, whose inaugural psychedelic masterpiece Pet Sounds turned 50 on Monday. " ," Philip Auslander, a professor in the school of literature, media and communication at the Georgia Institute of Technology, said in a phone conversation in early April. "A group like the Beach Boys such a popular group, so successful to start experimenting and moving in odd directions and doing things that sounded very different, I think those were what put it all on the map. I think basically that sort of opened the door not for groups to be formed or to start to make music, but certainly to become as visible as say Jefferson Airplane or somebody like that." Acid inspired Pet Sounds; it shaped Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band; it's had a presence in the music of since the '60s from to Phish, to Chance the Rapper, to Lana Del Rey, whose recent is little more than an extended acid trip. That delicate chemical has orchestrated the artistic decisions of years of musicians, inspired numerous innovations and shaped the way countless fans listen. Source: Giphy Today, science may finally be able to help us understand why music has been obsessed with LSD for so long. In April, Imperial College London released a study showing the effects of LSD in the human brain. Researchers saw how the drug's infamous hallucinations take shape in the visual cortex and beyond, and how musical stimuli, of all things, magnify these effects by roping in portions of the brain responsible for mental imagery and memory. Story continues t took around 20 years for LSD to become a cultural force. But since then, it's been directing culture from behind the scenes in ways the Illuminati wishes it could. What follows, is a retrospective of crucial moments over the past decade when LSD redirected the flow of musical progress. Tracing this course reveals just how significant Hofmann's first Bicycle Day trip has been to understanding music and the role it plays in our everyday lives. Source: YouTube The '60s: Counterculture and the conception of psychedelic rock Mark Weitz is in the back room of reminiscing about LSD. "It would take the music that you're listening to, that your brain is processing, and do something else with it," he said in a phone conversation in April. "It might change it into colors. ... Once the music hit your ears, you were tuned in, and it would definitely take you somewhere on a journey." Weitz . Selling jellyfish is just his day job: He's also the lead keyboardist in the psychedelic-rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock who released its debut LP Incense and Peppermints in , fondly remembered as the Summer of Love. It's a year he described as a time when "people took more chances, got in touch with the ethereal side of music and experimented" with drugs and music and often a combination of the . Source: Mic/Getty Images LSD influenced the decade in a big way. , the Grateful Dead, a band that , formed in 1965. They under their new name at one of author and countercultural figure many Acid Tests, during which people would, naturally, trip on acid, listen to music and try to "pass." The Grateful Dead was one of the generation's unique and defining cultural moments. Wavy Gravy knows this better than most since he was there and helped . A . "There were two galvanized trash cans, brand new, both filled with Kool-Aid," Gravy said in a phone conversation in early May. "I said, 'Listen to me: The Kool-Aid on the right is the electric Kool-Aid.'" And the test ensued. As attendees "sucked up" the LSD-laced punch, they "joined hands and turned into jewels and light," Gravy said. They felt alive. They felt a sense of wonder, and they felt the music. "People would be dancing for three hours to the Grateful Dead," he said. "The music lifted people past their mundane existence to a higher place and make their realities that they had to deal with in their daily lives much more agreeable." But again, it was the Beatles and the Beach Boys that really brought acid into the mainstream. "As far as psychedelia goes, the Beach Boys' contribution was less direct and came largely through the album Pet Sounds, which was inspired both by Brian Wilson's experiments with LSD and his having heard the Beatles' Revolver," Auslander said in an email conversation in May. "Pet Sounds was his response to that album, just as Sgt. Pepper was the Beatles' response to Pet Sounds. So, the evolution of psychedelic rock was fueled in part by a kind of friendly rivalry between the Beatles and the Beach Boys from 1965 to 1967. And the Beach Boys, like the Beatles, put some pretty trippy songs into the Top 40 (think 'Good Vibrations' and 'Heroes and Villains')." In their attempts to as Auslander described their music, the Beatles introduced innovations in e, t and i, which went on to shape music far into the future. Both bands expanded the number of instruments that pop felt comfortable lending bars to, bringing in Eastern instruments like sitars and tablas alongside commonplace items like, Coca-cola cans and bicycle bells. The Beach Boys' Brian Willson utilized cutting-edge electronics for Pet Sounds, such as the , which electronic musician Daedalus focused on specifically in a recent retrospective discussion of the album's influence. "The vision of Brian Wilson!" Daedalus told Pitchfork. "The gumption even. It's like he plucked the future from 1966 and invented G-funk and acid house. I'm sure it must have sounded crazy on the radio dial, it certainly did for ." The '70s, '80s and '90s: The fall and rise and fall of psychedelics While the '60's might have been acid's halcyon youth, it was hardly the only important era for LSD and music. In his book Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America, Jesse Jarnow investigated the social, physical and musical subcultures that were shaped by drugs like LSD, mushrooms and others. Jarnow noted in an April that acid use would have declined abruptly in 1972 when the Brotherhood of Eternal Love a group that widely distributed "peace, love and acid," as one book title put it was busted. Heads pulls much of its data from the Monitoring the Future Report, which catalogs 50,000 middle and high school students' assessments of the world of drugs each year. After 1972, the psychedelic movement became far more clandestine, but, according to Jarnow, definitely still thriving. "There are all of these pieces of culture we don't think of as psychedelic, ," Jarnow said. "I'm thinking about disco and graffiti culture woven in the New York art-punk scene. There was always an undercurrent of heads and psychedelia there, and I think that sort of gets written out of history sometimes." "There was always an undercurrent of heads and psychedelia there, and I think that sort of gets written out of history sometimes." Television (the band), formed in 1973, put tripping into tune. The early '80s were dripping with psychedelic nods, as well. "People were taking acid and dancing to disco," he said. "There was acid in the punch bowl. There was no booze being served. People think of psychedelic culture and they think of long-haired dudes and women twirling in flowered skirts. But it was also a huge part of the gay New York underground." Jarnow said a Monitoring the Future report showed LSD use spiked in the mid-'80s, exactly around the time the Grateful Dead got popular really popular. Its hit "Touch of Grey," released in 1987, revitalized the world of tripped-out Deadhead- . "The Dead represented the mainstream of psychedelic culture , but that's also when electronic music starts to get really popular, Jarnow said. Alongside bands like Phish and the Dave Mathews Band of the '90s, . Electronic subgenres such as acid house and borrowed from the hippie aesthetic, drawing inspiration from hallucinogens and ecstasy to inspire a so-called "second summer of love." Jarnow said LSD use didn't slow down substantially again until the '90s, around the same time the Dead's lead vocalist Jerry Garcia died, igniting the turn of the century "LSD drought." Source: Giphy Today: LSD research is making strides. Mendel Kaelen, a doctoral student in the department of medicine at Imperial College London, thinks about LSD almost every day. "I'm hoping to dedicate my life to ," he said in a Skype conversation in April, but not in the take-acid-and-follow-B sort of way. Kaelen was one of the researchers in the groundbreaking study that took the scans of the brain on LSD, though he's been working with the drug for much longer. Kaelen spearheaded another study published in August found LSD enhances emotional response to music. For the experiment, he worked to create a carefully designed playlist composed of a "choreography that follows the drug's affect." "We wanted to evoke a diverse range of musical emotions," Kaelen said of the playlist, which included songs from neoclassical composer Olafur Arnalds and cross-genre musician G. Participants listened to the playlist both on a placebo and on LSD and rated the music based on the emotions they felt during their listening experiences. This is where science may get as sappy as it ever will: On a nine-item , those who had actually consumed LSD said they felt more "wonder," "transcendence," "power" and "tenderness" when listening to music on the drug. Now that he has neuroimages to consider with his original study, Kaelen compared the brain on LSD to a mailman on the highway. "It's like there's a postman, and he needs to deliver a message," he said. "He usually takes the highway to get from village to village, but this time, he decides to cut through the grass instead of taking his habitual route. Source: Giphy LSD and music are intrinsically linked now more than ever, Kaelen said. Not only did the drug change the trajectory of music history, music is changing the way people experience acid. "Psychedelic experiences changed the way we relate to music in history. But right now, in psychedelic therapy, music is shaping the psychedelic experience," Kaelen said. His newest project is designing playlists for psychotherapy sessions that he hopes will define the role of music in a clinical context. He said in the right environment, with the right playlist and , patients may feel better able to confront their demons with the help of a therapist. "There is a message intrinsically carried in music, and under the effects of a psychedelics, people seem to become more responsive to this," he said. "Emotion can be processed more deeply. It's a beautiful narrative. It's like a snake biting itself in the tail." Hailey Baldwin (Photo: AP Images) Boys. Who has time for them? Hailey Baldwin sure doesnt. Between maintaining her crazy social calendar and focusing on her blossoming career, the 19-year-old model has more pressing things to worry about than dating. Just dont let her cryptic tweets fool you. The Twittersphere erupted Wednesday afternoon when Baldwin posted a picture of L.A. social icon Jerry Lorenzo Manuel holding a cardboard cutout of the face of her rumored flame, Justin Bieber. She captioned the photo mood, which left her followers curious about the pairs relationship status. But Baldwin says people are taking it way too seriously. Honestly, I just said mood because I thought it was funny and its just, like, an inside joke, Baldwin told Yahoo Celebrity at the grand opening of the U.S.s first Magnum ice cream flagship store in New York City. It wasnt like mood in any type of lets read into it this way! Of course, the Internet did just that. Fans hoping for a Justin and Hailey (Team Jailey) rekindling flooded her Twitter profile with their approval; other commenters made it clear that they would prefer to see Baldwin stay single. Jailey (Photo: Instagram) But Baldwin shrugs off the haters. I dont really read all my mentions a lot, she said. Instead, Baldwin is focused on putting family and her foot before boyfriends. After breaking her foot not once but twice in the span of a single year, Baldwin is hoping to make a full recovery this time around. I definitely think I should consider listening to the doctor this time and doing the physical therapy so it doesnt happen for a third time, she said of her injury. Story continues Baldwin revealed to her Twitter followers earlier this month that she ironically re-broke her foot in the same place and on the exact same day one year later. Ditching her medical boot for a few hours at the Magnum opening, Baldwin sported a pair of comfy black adidas Stan Smith Originals in lieu of heels as she made her own Hailey original ice cream bar (coated with the unique combination of sunflower seeds, coconut, and cornflower toppings). Hailey opted for a pair of comfy kicks at the Magnum event. (Photo: AP Images) When shes not catering to her foot, she enjoys the moments she can catch up with the rest of the Baldwin clan. My dads mom is from Syracuse, N.Y., so a lot of the time we go up there, she said. And my dad has two sisters, and they have kids, so its just crazy. Familys family at the end of the day, and we always have fun. The famous family recently got together to throw a party for her father, who, in case you didnt know, is actor Stephen Baldwin. We just celebrated my dads 50th and that was cool, up in my parents house upstate, she shared. And, no, a certain blond heartthrob did not accompany her to the party despite, their May 5 reunion during the New York leg of Biebers Purpose World Tour. Just, like, close friends, old stories. It was good, Baldwin said of their get-together. After a brief pause, she corrected herself. It was great. (Reuters) - Alex Hales and Jonny Bairstow led England's recovery from a poor start as the hosts reached 171 for five before rain ended the opening day of the first test against Sri Lanka in Leeds on Thursday. Hales and Bairstow shared an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 88 to revive the hosts, who collapsed to 83 for five after Sri Lanka seam bowler Dasun Shanaka picked up three quick wickets on his debut. Hales moved on to 71 not out, his highest test score, with Bairstow unbeaten on 54 at tea and persistent rain prevented any play in the final session to leave the match finely poised. Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews won the toss in overcast conditions at Headingley and England openers Alastair Cook and Hales negotiated the first hour with few alarms in a partnership of 49. The game changed, however, when Shanaka came on. Bowling a full length, the 24-year-old dismissed captain Cook for 16 with his seventh delivery before removing Nick Compton and Joe Root for ducks in an inspired spell. Cook, needing 36 runs to become the first Englishman to reach 10,000 in tests, looked in good form until he drove rashly at a wide ball from Shanaka and was caught by wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal. Compton, under pressure for his place at number three, was undone by a full delivery just outside off stump which he edged low to Lahiru Thirimanne at first slip. Root was caught at gully following another loose drive and James Vince arrived at the crease on his test debut with England reeling at 51 for three. Vince survived to lunch and hit two fluent fours after the interval on his way to nine, but he perished when another drive off Shaminda Eranga flew straight to Kusal Mendis at gully. Ben Stokes played in typically aggressive fashion, striking three fours in his 12, but he carelessly chipped Nuwan Pradeep to Mathews at mid-on to leave England tottering on 83 for five. Hales and Bairstow, however, dug in. The former, trying to cement his place at the top of the order, reached his second test fifty and struck 12 fours while Bairstow was his usual busy self at the crease. The wicketkeeper, who survived two confident lbw appeals following reviews, launched spinner Rangana Herath over long-on for six before posting a half-century for the seventh time in tests. (Reporting by Ed Osmond; Editing by Richard Balmforth) Jerusalem (AFP) - The resignation of Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon on Friday has opened the way for a hardliner who advocates Jewish prayer at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound to enter parliament. American-born Yehuda Glick is the next in line on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party list, meaning he is entitled to take the seat of any party MP who dies or steps down. The 50-year-old New Yorker may not have thought he would get this chance, after being shot four times by a Palestinian from Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem in late 2014. The attacker was shot dead by security forces a day later. The nationalist rabbi, who immigrated with his family to Israel as a child, is loathed by Palestinians, who see as a provocation any Jewish presence at the flashpoint mosque complex in Jerusalem's Old City which houses Islam's third-holiest shrine, Jews believe the site was home to the first and second Jewish temples before being destroyed by the Babylonians and Romans, and thus revere it as the holiest site in Judaism. Current rules governing the site allow Jews to visit during set hours but not to pray there, for fear of stoking tensions. Glick has been an outspoken advocate of Jewish rights to the holy site and has also guided visits there. In March he returned to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound for the first time since the assassination attempt. Speaking to AFP at the time, he said it was like "returning home". However he will not be able to visit the Al-Aqsa compound once he becomes a member of parliament, as Netanyahu issued a directive in October banning all lawmakers from going there, in a bid to ease tensions. He told Israeli media Friday he would abide by the ruling: "With my entrance to politics, I am a team player and not an individual one." A court recently exonerated Glick of a charge of assaulting a Palestinian woman, and removed the police ban on him visiting the holy site. A new large-scale US study has found that many cancer cases and deaths in individuals could be prevented by following a healthy lifestyle. The team of researchers, from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, looked at data from two study groups of white participants to examine the possible associations between a "healthy lifestyle pattern" and the rate of cancer cases and deaths from the disease -- the leading cause of death in the United States. They defined a "healthy lifestyle pattern" as being a non-smoker or ex-smoker; no alcohol or moderate drinking of alcohol (one or less drink a day for women, two or less drinks a day for men); having a BMI of between 18.5 and 27.5,; and partaking in moderate exercise for at least 150 minutes a week or vigorous exercise for at least 75 minutes a week. The study included 89,571 women and 46,399 men in total. 16,531 women and 11,731 met all four of the healthy lifestyle criteria and were considered to be at a low risk from cancer. Everyone else -- 73,040 women and 34,608 men -- was considered high risk. The authors then compared the number of cancer cases and cancer deaths between the two study groups and against the US population to estimate the proportion of cancer that could be prevented in the high-risk group if individuals adopted the healthy lifestyle pattern of the low-risk group, and the proportion that could be prevented in the US population. Their results showed that around 20 percent to 40 percent of cancer cases and around 50 percent of cancer deaths could potentially be prevented through making lifestyle changes and adopting the healthy lifestyle pattern of the low-risk group. The authors acknowledged that as their study included only white individuals, the same results may not be found other ethnic groups. However the lifestyle factors that were considered to be cancer risk factors in this study have also been found to be risk factors in other ethnic groups in previous studies. Commenting on the results the authors emphasized the importance of lifestyle factors in determining the risk of cancer, and advised that adopting a healthier lifestyle and focusing on prevention "should remain a priority for cancer control." The study was published online in the journal JAMA Oncology. volcano lightning apocalypse It's the end of the hedge fund world as we know it, or so it appears. K.C. Nelson, the lead portfolio manager at Driehaus Capital Management, has lain out a grim assessment of the industry in a commentary to clients that perfectly sums up the many issues facing the industry. From long-term structural trends to current market conditions, Nelson lays out an ugly picture for hedge funds that he thinks will end with a massive shrinking of the industry. "So whats the bottom line of these changing industry dynamics?" Nelson wrote. "I believe there will be a culling of hedge funds like we've never seen before. I'd estimate the number of funds gets cut in half over the next couple of years." Thus, the title of Nelson's commentary: "The Hedge Fund Apocalypse." It all comes down to performance Nelson, whose fund manages $8.4 billion in assets, argues that hedge funds' biggest problem is performance, or more accurately the lack thereof. Nelson said all of the issues "start and end here," noting that hedge funds had "gotten trounced by plain vanilla investments" since 2008. In fact, the HFRX global hedge fund composite is down 1.19% over the past five years, while the S&P 500 is up 11.02%, the Barclays US bond aggregate is up 3.60%, and a classic 60/40 mix of stocks and bonds is up 8.20%, according to Nelson. This lackluster performance is an even bigger problem given investors' increasing impatience. "Further, this underperformance is magnified in today's marketplace, where investors are irritated after a bad quarter or month or week," Nelson wrote. "The idea of investing over a market cycle is increasingly a foreign one." With increased scrutiny on returns, the dismal run of the past few years could not come at a worse time, given the increasingly itchy trigger finger of investors. In addition, many hedge funds are beginning to crowd into the same trades, as Steve Cohen of Point72 noted recently at the Milken conference, making it harder for hedge funds to even differentiate performance among themselves. Story continues There are other places for investors to go In past cycles, a few years of underperformance would no doubt be a problem for hedge funds, but there was some sense that investors had no other place to go for the kinds of strategies the funds were providing. Now, Nelson said, there are plenty of other avenues for investors that offer not only the same types of strategies, but also better returns in today's market along with lower costs. "There are a number of commodity, currency and credit funds to now choose from in ETF and mutual fund vehicles," Nelson said. "Moreover, there are a number of daily liquidity funds that run the hedge strategies themselves. This gives investors the option to tactically move in and out of exposures that previously they often had to access through hedge funds." This is similar to commentary we have heard from other funds. Highland Capital chief investment officer Mark Okada has said liquid alternatives, similar to hedge funds but with the ability to move money in and out on a daily basis, will be as disruptive to the industry as Uber has been to taxis. uber taxi Nelson in fact mentioned that many institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies were already quickly reallocating away from hedge funds. "After years of inaction, the tide is now changing fast on this front," Nelson said. "Whether driven by their own decision making or their clients', the institutional consultant community is under severe pressure to justify the presence of hedge funds in client portfolios." To be fair, Nelson's firm provides liquid alternatives, putting him in competition with the hedge funds he is discussing, but he acknowledges that even liquid alts are getting hurt by the shift as many investors are moving to private equity or basic portfolios. The issue for both hedge funds and Nelson's firm is that with so many options it becomes easier for large investors to move money to the best-performing investment type. It will get ugly Thus, you get the "culling" of the funds. But even those that survive, Nelson predicted, will be hit where it most hurts: fees. "There will be a new push for lower fees, similar to the one that took average fees from 2 & 20 to 1.5 & 15 several years ago," he said in the commentary. The move to investment vehicles with lower fees is a more secular trend and is certainly not limited to hedge funds. But the push for lower fees from the aforementioned alternatives will hit the income of funds that are already struggling to make gains in the market. Add together the miserable performance, readily available alternatives, lower fees, and restless investors, and you've got a tough road for the hedge fund industry. NOW WATCH: FORMER GREEK FINANCE MINISTER: The single largest threat to the global economy More From Business Insider house of cards petrov 810x538 After being the darling of Wall Street last year, Netflix hasn't had a pleasant 2016 in the stock market, which has brutalized it to the tune of a 22% year-to-date fall. Hedge funds in particular have made big bets against the video-streaming company, according to a new report by Goldman Sachs. The report tracked the 2016 first-quarter activity of 841 hedge funds and showed them to have large short positions on Netflix. The report pegs the value of short interest at $3.4 billion as of April 29, representing 9% of float, or the number of shares readily available for trading. Historically, this type of percentage is not unusual for Netflix, given that it is one of the most volatile stocks on the S&P 500. International doubts Wall Street confidence in Netflix was shaken by the company's latest quarterly report on April 18, which showed strong results for the first three months but put out a Q2 estimate for international subscriber growth that was well below Wall Street targets. After Netflix's 130-country launch in January, which put it in every major market except China, international subscriber growth has been the key metric on Wall Street's mind. The company beat Wall Street expectations for Q1, adding 4.51 million subscribers internationally versus Wall Street estimates for 4.49 million. But a source of concern has been the small library of content that Netflix has in certain newly launched countries. And last month, UBS estimated that Netflix was seeing mixed results in its new markets, with some, such as India and South Africa, doing well and others, such as Russia and Turkey, lagging. Netflix's company narrative had focused on its compelling original content as a strength internationally, since the licensing is much simpler. The company will release 600 hours of original content this year, including 31 original shows. In its quarterly letter to shareholders, Netflix blamed some of the shortfall in its anticipated international subscriber growth on issues related to last year's anomalous Australia/New Zealand launch. Story continues Additional reporting by Bob Bryan. NOW WATCH: Reruns on cable are not the same as the originals check out these differences More From Business Insider While companies are increasingly diversifying their workforces, it can still be tough for women with diverse backgrounds to climb to the top. Today, women of color make up 18% of the US population, and a third of the female workforce. Yet less than 5% are in executive positions, according to a recent report by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Working Mother magazine has for years recognized corporations leading the way with diversity efforts at every management level. Its annual list of Best Companies for Multicultural Women, published this week, highlights 25 companies at the forefront of recruiting, retaining and advancing diverse women. These companies -- led by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, IBM (IBM), Procter & Gamble (PG), Prudential Financial (PRU), and Verizon (VZ) -- won top honors for sponsoring and promoting women of color and offering affinity programs to help educate and develop their careers. 92% of the best companies embed diversity & inclusion into the business growth strategy and 96% of those listed require diversity metrics dedicated to advancing women of color. "Even at the best companies, women [of color] lose their representation as they move up the ranks," said Jennifer Owens, editorial director for Working Mother media. Multicultural women represent 21% of the entire workforce at these best companies, but by the time they move up the ladder to corporate executive-level, only 4% remain. "You have a workplace and consumer base that is growing increasingly diverse. To be the smartest most effective company you need to know how to speak to them," states Owens. Yahoo Finance invited several of the women working at some of these companies to find out how theyve been able to climb up the ranks while embracing their authentic selves. Here are some of the key tips they shared for getting ahead. Always sit at the table Every single woman we interviewed spoke extensively about making the choice to sit at the table, and not retreat to the sidelines at work. Not only do I have to work hard and make sure my work is impeccable, but I have to really think about how I show up, what type of executive presence I exude, because people are constantly judging, said Michele Meyer-Shipp, Prudentials Chief Diversity Officer. And you dont need to wait your turn to speak. This doesnt always feel natural if youve been raised to work hard, keep your head down and be deferential to higher-ups. But women have to step outside their comfort zones and practice speaking up in larger groups. The more you practice and better prepared you are for meetings, the more natural it will feel over time. Earlier on in her career, Deepa Purushothaman, now a partner at Deloitte, was pulled out of a meeting by a senior partner, who asked why she wasnt speaking up. He gave me the advice and the feedback that I needed to speak up more and that sometimes my quietness, my hesitation, was a career limiter, Purushothaman told Yahoo Finance. Over the years, shes practiced using a louder voice at meetings and has found a level that feels comfortable for her. For Angela Chen, a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, being specific about the feedback she was seeking has helped her be more effective in communicating in meetings. Instead of asking, How do you think that went?, she uses a more direct approach and asks, Do you think my point about X and Y came across to this person? Speak up, but be even better at listening Being a good listener and sharing personal details can help establish common ground with just about anyone. Not only is it a good business practice, but it also helps bring your whole identity into the work you do. People can see right through phony. I am authentic, but before I put myself out there, I ask a lot of questions to size up the audience Im talking to, says Meyer-Shipp. Understanding the tone of the room helps her figure out whether to be direct on an issue or if she has to temper her delivery. Doris Gonzalez, IBMs Director of Corporate Leadership, thought she had to keep her sense of humor at home to be taken more seriously at work. I felt that I had to have two personas. But I felt like I was leading a double life and was starting to be unhappy, so I decided to bring my whole self, she said. Find mentors and sponsors with different backgrounds When you feel supported, youll inevitably also feel more optimistic about the way your careering is going. So its not surprising that multicultural women with mentors or sponsors said they were much more satisfied with their employers than those without mentors. If your company doesnt offer a program that partners you up with a mentor, you should seek out advisors of all backgrounds for feedback and advice. Ive found that Ive needed different mentors to help me navigate different aspects of my career at all different stages. I dont know what I would do without them, Meyer-Shipp said. All 2016 Best Companies offer mentoring to multicultural women, and specifically target those early in their careers. With an eye toward paying it forward, Gonzalez currently has 12 mentees that she meets with regularly each month. If you are in a leadership position, its your responsibility to lift others, she said. In some cases, her mentees have surpassed her own corporate success and Gonzalez shares that with pride: It doesnt matter, its your duty and privilege to lift them above you, and I am proud that there have been a few of those. TGIF, girl. To get you pumped for the weekend, Ryan Gosling sizzled (per usual) in a dark green suit on the red carpet for the London premiere of his film The Nice Guys on Thursday, May 19. PHOTOS: Ryan Gosling's Hotness Evolution Gosling, 35, looked dapper in his made-to-order emerald Gucci suit, which featured corduroy notch lapels, two buttons and three pockets. Just for you, he ditched a tie and left his crisp white shirt unbuttoned at the top. PHOTOS: Ryan Gosling's Movie Romances He secured his matching slacks with a gold-buckled black belt and polished off his outfit with coordinating lace-up dress shoes. Gosling, who Us Weekly confirmed welcomed his second child with Eva Mendes on April 29, completed his debonaire look with his finely 'scaped facial hair. The Drive actor looked well-rested despite the new addition to his family. PHOTOS: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes' Romance While Gosling and Mendes managed to keep Amada Lee Gosling's birth a secret for nearly a month, he did give insight into his daily life as a dad on the Ellen DeGeneres Show on Friday, May 13. "[My oldest daughter Esmeralda, 20 months, and I] go to the park, play with chalkwe always write her name in chalk, and some kid has been erasing her name and writing their name over it," he explained. Gosling joked with host DeGeneres about his plan of revenge on the playground prankster. "My little girl doesn't care; she's like, 'Well, let's just chalk anywhere else,'" he said. "And I'm like, 'No! They're disrespecting your mother, because she gave you this name, and they're erasing it. So the only way to really get back at them is to erase their name and not disrespect their mother, but definitely put her on notice.'" What do you think of Ryan's custom Gucci suit? American hero Charlie Linville has become the first combat amputee to make it the top of Mount Everest. Read: Family Fulfills Their Paralyzed Grandpa's Bucket List Dream: Hiking the Grand Canyon His wife, Mandy, celebrated from their home in Boise, Idaho after he reached the summit on Thursday. She spoke to Inside Edition about the pride she has for her husbands achievements. "We live with the most amazing person in the world," she said. Charlie lost his right leg below the knee in Afghanistan. He and a former Hell's Angel biker, Tim Medvetz, were determined to scale the world's tallest mountain. Before he headed to Tibet for the climb, the 30-year-old vet told CBS News: "I was looking for something to completely change myself... and really get rid of the demons that were created from war. Medvetz is the founder of The Heroes Project, an organization that works with vets and soldiers to improve the care and protection of heroes through individual support, community empowerment and systematic change," according to its website. The former biker summited Everest in 2007, six years after suffering a life-threatening motorcycle crash. His experience scaling the mountain also helped him begin The Heroes Project. But another attempt in 2014 ended in disaster when a monster chunk of ice crashed down on them and killed 16 of their Sherpa guides. They tried again in 2015, but a massive 7.8 earthquake that struck Nepal had other plans. Read: Hiker Carries 280-Pound Injured Man on His Back, Downs Double Portion of Tacos "It was a difficult time coming home last summer and like soul searching and really being like, 'Can I do this again?' ... But at the end of the day, we set to do this mission and be successful," Charlie told CBS News. But on Thursday, Charlie and his friend made it to the top of the mountain. Watch: Marine Dog Who Lost Leg Gets Highest War Medal Honor For Saving Soldiers Story continues Related Articles: The idea of wearing them to feel taller is beyond me. If thats the case, short men should be suffering in stilettos instead of relatively comfortable platform shoesif they care at all about their height, that is. I liken stilettos to Chinese foot-bindingjust another way to make women helpless, while at the same time telling them it makes them powerful. Theyre not good for your feet, and certainly not good for your back: Ask any podiatrist or chiropractor (but dont ask Stacy London [the fashion consultant and reality TV host]). And never mind running away from a muggeror chasing a muggerwearing heels. It only works in the movies. Google high heel quotes, and this is the type of hype you will see: [The Marilyn Monroe quote seen above] particularly bothers me. Grrrrrr. GARISSA AND MANDERA, Kenya The men who form Kenyas first line of defense against the Somali militant group al-Shabab wear sneakers or rubber tire sandals, bucket hats, and mismatched, hand-me-down fatigues. They are Kenya Police Reservists, also known as Home Guards. But theyre also goat herders, retired civil servants, and casually employed locals who are paid a meager $90 monthly stipend for their service. Anyone but active police and military professionals, really. Many of them hold their battered 1980s service rifles awkwardly, as if theyre not quite sure how to handle them. This ragtag bunch of reservists has become a cornerstone of Kenyas new security strategy for its restive northeast, put in place after the devastating al-Shabab attack on Garissa University College last year that left 148 people dead. Overseen by Mahmoud Saleh, a native of the northeast who was recalled from the diplomatic corps, the new strategy aims to professionalize these volunteer militias and leverage their superior local knowledge to patrol Kenyas wild and largely unprotected border with Somalia. As the sun goes down, home guards Farah Aden Zatton, Kulane Muhamed Ahamed, Bushar Amin Adan, and Daud Omar Kalil set out for their evening patrol in Ijara, near Kenya's sparsely populated border with Somalia. (Will Swanson | Foreign Policy) Home Guards are issued an assortment of recycled army and police uniforms and weapons. Here a Home Guard wears sandals made from rubber tires. (Will Swanson | Foreign Policy) Home Guard Kulane Mohamed Ahamed sets out along a so-called "rat track" that is used by herders and their livestock during the day, but often by militants and smugglers at night. (Will Swanson | Foreign Policy) Home Guard Daud Omar Kalil shows off his Belgian-made rifle that has been in service for almost 30 years. (Will Swanson | Foreign Policy) Following its 2011 invasion of Somalia, Kenya has faced a surge in terrorist attacks, including mass-casualty sieges like the one in Garissa and at Nairobis Westgate Mall in 2013, which killed 67 people. In the northeast, al-Shabab has carried out regular bombings, kidnappings of aid workers, and ambushes on lonely passenger buses. The ability of the groups fighters to blend in with local communities, which often span the porous border, and to disappear back into Somalia after carrying out attacks, has made them difficult to stop. Story continues Until recently, this threat was compounded by the governments policy of assigning police officers to areas far from their homes. Intended to reduce corruption, the policy also meant that the police sent to northeast Kenya didnt speak the language and had little understanding of local conflicts. So back in the 1990s, communities here began forming their own volunteer militias to manage clan infighting and cattle rustling two of the regions biggest problems that government police officers were poorly prepared to tackle. Saleh is now reversing the policy of deploying police officers away from their home regions. But hes also counting on the Home Guards to play a bigger role in countering the al-Shabab threat. In addition to increasing their numbers from about 300 in early 2016 to more than 1,000, the regional security chief says he plans to train them and start paying them an official government salary. Its his way of saying thank you for taking on what might be the most dangerous job on this side of the Kenya-Somalia border. Because theyre drawn from local communities in the northeast, the Home Guards can go places the police cant go, Saleh said. They patrol dried-out riverbeds and cross-border goat tracks deep in the bush, operating mostly at night. They know the types of Somalis, the dynamics of the place, said Job Boronjo, the police commander in Mandera County, wedged in the farthest northeast corner of the country. Home Guards discuss their planned night patrol near the Boni forest in northeast Kenya. (Will Swanson | Foreign Policy) Most units begin their patrols in the afternoon. First they gather information from herdsmen bringing their livestock in from far-flung pastures and from hotel owners, picking up tips on who might have arrived from out of town that day. Then they set out on foot, eyes sweeping the darkness for anything out of place, listening for unexpected sounds. They follow remote footpaths or stake out empty crossroads until dawn, often chewing a local stimulant called miraa to stay alert. On a recent evening near the town of Mandera, those patrolling a parched riverbed were particularly anxious; al-Shabab had planted an IED here a couple months earlier. Elsewhere in the arid border town, and just a stones throw from Somalia, another group of Home Guards waited in the shadows for militants who might use the cover of darkness to cross over into Kenya. Theres only a battered wire fence separating the two countries here. The nights are the crucial moment. That is the time things happen, when they use the panya [rat] routes, said Abdullahi Khalil Ibrahim, a reservist in Gababa, a small town 110 miles east of Garissa, using the local term for the goat tracks and back roads that traverse the 420-mile border. The Home Guards have had some notable successes. Late last year, after a Kenyan teacher was kidnapped from Dadaab, a Somali refugee camp in the northeast, reservists from the area tracked the militants across the border to their camp in Somalia. Acting on their intelligence, Kenyan and Somali security services were later able to launch a joint rescue operation that resulted in the teachers release. A Home Guard demonstrates the training he received at a local police training camp in northeast Kenya. (Will Swanson | Foreign Policy) In a village on the edge of the Boni forest, homguards interview local women about suspicious activity they may have seen. (Will Swanson | Foreign Policy) Home Guards interview a local near the Boni forest in northeast Kenya. (Will Swanson | Foreign Policy) Home Guards walk through the poorly lit suburbs of Mandera at night. (Will Swanson | Foreign Policy) Yet as the Home Guards become better integrated with Kenyas other security forces, they are changing in important ways. Previously, anyone could join the reserve police force. But now as a condition of formalizing the Guards, Saleh must vet its members, checking for criminal histories and ensuring that a recruitment drive wont upset the sensitive clan politics of the region. He also wants to coax some of the oldest and least physically able reservists to retire. To Khalef Hussein Mohamed, a 62-year-old reservist who has been with the Home Guards for more than a decade, thats a slap in the face. Ill stay doing the job as long as there is insecurity in this place, he says. There are also growing concerns that the Guards are abusing their new power. As they grow closer to the regular security services, which have been accused of widespread human rights violations, tensions are building between the Home Guards and the people theyre supposed to protect. Some young men in Mandera said the Guards have started arresting people arbitrarily, a common complaint lodged against security services here, and that they are becoming as corrupt as the regular police force. The public is losing trust, said Ali Ugay, a community organizer who works with young people in Mandera. They are the locals. We thought they were going to help us. This reporting was supported in part by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. For the first time in decades, gun control is going to be a "differentiator" in the general election, Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, told the New York Times. Currently, the two presumptive nominees, real estate mogul Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are taking their stances. On Friday, Trump spoke at the National Rifle Association convention in Louisville. On Saturday, Clinton will speak with Trayvon Martin's mother and other parents of gun violence victims in Florida. While Clinton supports the second amendment, she also wants to implement stricter background checks to "keep guns out of the hands of terrorists, domestic abusers, other violent criminals, and the severely mentally ill" and close what she calls the "Charleston loophole." Dealers and manufacturers would also be held responsible and at risk of losing their licenses. Assault weapons would be totally banned. Source: John Sommers II/Getty Images "I know we are a smart enough nation to figure out how you protect responsible gun owners' rights and get guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them," Clinton said in February, according to the Times. "What this Senate is doing, is in my view, a grave disservice to the Constitution." Last November, Clinton shared a childhood anecdote of her father teaching her how to shoot near her family's lake house in Scranton, Pennsylvania. "It's part of culture," she said about guns, according to Time. "It's part of a way of life. People enjoy hunting and shooting because it's an important part of who they are." But more regulation, which would make it difficult to buy a gun, is pivotal in Clinton's gun stance. In December of 2015, Clinton had said the no-fly list should be used as a basis for a no-gun purchasing list. Source: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Clinton has previously voted for a 2004 amendment that would require background checks on any purchasing of a firearm. A year later in 2005, she voted against an NRA bill that would protect "manufacturers, distributors, dealers or importers" involved in the transactions of firearms eventually misused in crimes. By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) - A late-stage trial will begin later this year in South Africa to test the effectiveness of an HIV vaccine that has shown promise in earlier trials, according to the National Institutes of Health. Results from an ongoing preliminary trial in South Africa and a previous late-stage trial in Thailand suggest the new vaccine may provide lasting protection against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS. "It is a follow up trial to the only trial that has shown partial efficacy," said Dr. Larry Corey, president and director emeritus of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and principal investigator for the HIV Vaccine Trials Network in Seattle. The new trial got the go-ahead this week from the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases based on promising results from an early study known as HVTN 100. That trial, involving 252 men and women in South Africa, aimed to confirm that the experimental vaccine is safe and tolerable and that it triggers a response from the immune system. Beginning in November, HIV Vaccine Trials Network researchers will start enrolling about 5,400 healthy men and women ages 18 to 35 into the large-scale trial known as HVTN 702. Participants will receive five injections over one year, but half will be randomly assigned to receive dummy shots. The half receiving the active injection will actually be getting two vaccines. One known as ALVAC-HIV is from Sanofi Pasteur, and the second is a bivalent gp120 protein subunit vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline. "Youre basically getting a combination of two separate vaccines," said Corey. The two-vaccine combo is very similar to a vaccine tested in a previous trial in Thailand known as RV144 that was led by the U.S. Military HIV Research Program. Results published in 2009 in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that the experimental vaccine was 60 percent effective after one year. The effectiveness waned to 35 percent after 3.5 years, however. For the new trial in South Africa, the vaccine was slightly reworked in an attempt to prolong its effectiveness. Also, it was designed to specifically protect against HIV subtype C, the predominant strain in South Africa. UNAIDS estimates that in 2014, about 6.8 million people in South Africa were living with HIV in 2014 and about 140,000 people died of AIDS. In addition to the vaccine, participants will receive usual care to prevent HIV infection, including condoms, lubricant, counseling, help with other sexually transmitted infections, information on circumcision and information on obtaining medicine in case of HIV exposure. Participants will also have access to programs that provide pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with the daily pill Truvada. The pill, manufactured by Gilead, is about 90 percent effective in preventing HIV transmission through sex when consistently taken, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Corey told Reuters Health that although PrEP is effective, it's a monumental undertaking to get all people at risk for HIV to consistently take a daily pill. "Thats an unprecedented concept and program for any disease," he said. "The need for a vaccine is just imperative from a population based standpoint." The results from the new trial are not expected until late 2020, which means the vaccine is years away from being potentially available to the general public. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1WFUGAP AVAC, May 18, 2016. Isabella Barrett is a millionaire at 9 years old. View: Before They Were Famous -- The Best Celeb Baby Pictures The tiny tycoon appeared on Toddlers and Tiaras in 2013 when she was six. Since then, she has used her pageant fame to promote her own jewelry and clothing lines Glitzy Girl and Bound by the Crown Couture. Inside Edition went to Rhode Island to see her at work, where she modeled her favorite designs. She runs her businesses with her mom, Susanna. "I think she definitely has an empire in the making," Susanna said. She even has her hand in the music industry with her own company, Bella Beats Productions. Despite only being in elementary school, she spends her days on shoots, shopping at Chanel and eating fresh lobster. Read: 90-Year-Old Former Miss New Mexico Finally Gets Her Crown, Nearly 70 Years After She Won It What does the pint-sized princess want to do with all her money? She wants to expand her American Girl doll collection. "School, business, American Girl dolls," those are the things she has on her mind. After having won 55 crowns and 85 titles, she's even taken her modeling career from pageants to the catwalk, as she debuted her line at New York Fashion Week. Watch: How This 'Toddlers and Tiaras' Star is Now a 9-Year-Old Self-Made Millionaire Related Articles: A new art installation displayed on Hong Kong's tallest building is the latest expression of the city's growing fears that its freedoms are under threat as Beijing tightens it grip. The artwork, which runs down the sides of the harbourfront International Commerce Centre each night for around a minute, is a giant digital countdown to 2047. That year marks the end of an agreement guaranteeing Hong Kong's semi-autonomous status, made when Britain handed the city back to China in 1997. Increasingly frustrated pro-democracy groups are calling for residents to have a say on what happens when the 50-year agreement lapses, with many young campaigners calling for more autonomy, self-determination, or even outright independence. China has dismissed that notion. Activists turned to the idea of a breakaway after mass rallies in 2014 calling for fully free leadership elections -- known as the Umbrella Movement -- failed to win concessions from Beijing. "Since the Umbrella Movement ended in 2014, the frustration towards a halted democracy in the city has been transformed into concerns about, and anxiety towards the fate of Hong Kong in 2047," artists Sampson Wong and Jason Lam said in a statement. "We seek to further highlight the importance of the '2047 issue' and hope that more debates and actions will emerge," they added. "We hope to draw the world's attention to the city's ongoing struggle." The large, glowing white numbers of "Countdown Machine" run almost the entire length of the 484-metre tall ICC skyscraper, counting down the seconds to July 1, 2047 -- the exact date the agreement ends. The art installation kicked off Tuesday, coinciding with the start of a highly charged three-day trip by Zhang Dejiang, a top Chinese official who chairs China's communist-controlled legislature. Zhang stayed at a waterfront hotel diagonally opposite the ICC tower, on the other side of the city's famous Victoria Harbour. Story continues The artwork will run until June 22, meaning it overlaps with more key dates for the pro-democracy camp -- the verdicts in ongoing trials of leading activists linked to the 2014 protests and the city's massive June 4 vigil marking the Tiananmen massacre in Beijing. Hong Kong is the only location on Chinese soil to see a major commemoration of the military's brutal crushing of pro-democracy protests in 1989. The 50-year agreement between Britain and China means Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland. But perceived interference from Beijing in a range of areas, from politics to education and media, has led to growing concerns the city's way of life is already disappearing. Hong Kong student pro-democracy leader Joshua Wong was released from custody just before midnight Thursday, after being detained for running onto a motorway to intercept the motorcade of a top Chinese official. The move came on the final day of a three-day trip by Zhang Dejiang, who chairs China's communist-controlled legislature, for which frustrated protesters have been kept out of sight behind barricades in a security lockdown. Zhang's visit was the first by such a senior official for four years and comes as concerns grow that freedoms are under threat in semi-autonomous Hong Kong as Beijing tightens its grip. Police chased a group of five protesters, including Wong, on Thursday as they ran along a major highway in eastern Hong Kong which had been cleared for Zhang. They were carrying a sign calling for "self-determination". The protesters were all members of Demosisto, a political party led by Wong, who became the face of major pro-democracy rallies in 2014. They were detained before Zhang's motorcade emerged from a tunnel. "The five arrested persons were released on bail and will need to report back to police in mid-June," a police spokeswoman told AFP, adding that charges had not been laid. They were arrested for "obstructing police officer in the execution of duty and disorderly conduct in a public place", she said. Demosisto said Wong, who already faces two imminent verdicts and a possible prison sentence for protests in 2014, was released on a HK$500 (US$65) bail. He has been in and out of court hearings for the past year after being charged with multiple offences linked to protests leading up to what became known as the "Umbrella Movement". Wong faces charges of taking part in an unlawful assembly and inciting others to do so, which carry a jail term of up to five years. The 19-year-old has always argued that the cases against him are political persecution. Hong Kong is semi-autonomous after being returned to China by Britain in 1997, with much greater freedoms than seen on the mainland. But there are fears those freedoms are being eroded by increasing interference from Beijing. By Lindsey Buhrmann May 20 (Reuters) - If Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist wins the 141st Preakness Stakes on Saturday, and then the Belmont Stakes in June, he will become the 13th horse in more than 140 years to capture the Triple Crown of U.S. horse racing. To get that chance, Nyquist will have to outrace the other horses at 1-3/16 miles on Saturday at Pimlico. However, should he capture the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, here are the perks he - and his connections - will receive: A share of the $1.5 million purse The winning horse's connections will receive $900,000 of the $1.5 million Preakness purse to be distributed between themselves. Comparatively, the Belmont also awards $1.5 million ($800,000 to the winner's connections), and the Kentucky Derby's purse was $2 million, where Nyquist's connections received $1.6 million. If Nyquist wins all three races, he will earn $3.3 million for approximately six-and-a-half minutes of racing. Nyquist, who originally sold at the Keeneland November 2013 Breeding Stock sale for $180,000, has already earned more than $4.9 million, according to Equibase. Getting a picture taken beside the Woodlawn Vase Although the intricate Woodlawn Vase will be on display during the race, the winning horse's connections can't get too cozy with it. The vase is considered to be the most valuable trophy in American sports, with an assessment in 1983 of $1 million, and a history that includes burial during the Civil War to prevent it from being melted into shot. Instead, the winning owner will receive a smaller silver replica, valued at $30,000. After the race, the actual vase is returned to The Baltimore Museum of Art for display. Its likeness painted on the track weathervane Shortly after the horses cross the finish line, the winning horse's saddle cloth number and jockey's silk colors will be painted on a weathervane at the track, a tradition since 1909. It will remain there until the 2017 Preakness winner is declared. A blanket of "Black-Eyed Susans" The Black-Eyed Susan is Maryland's state flower. However, because they don't bloom until June, daisies and paint are used to recreate the appearance of Black-Eyed Susans on the flower blanket that will be draped across the winning horse. As a complement, the race's signature drink is the Black-Eyed Susan, comprised of vodka, bourbon, orange juice, sour mix, cherries and an orange wedge. (Editing by Andrew Both) Madn e. The amendment, sponsored by New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney had at first seemed on the verge of passing before House GOP leaders muscled a number of Republicans from mostly western states to switch their votes, Politico reported. Read more: The House Just Voted to Prevent Syrian Refugees From Coming to the US Here's the before and after votes on striking anti-LGBT language from NDAA. They had it til some GOPers flipped.pic.twitter.com/yokSeFsyOO https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ci1HyTbW0AExGvi.jpg:large The dramatic final vote of 213 to 212 was met with jeers by Democrats, many of whom shouted "Shame! Shame! Shame!" over and over again as the gavel came down. Here's the C-SPAN footage of the scene: "This is one of the ugliest episodes I've experienced in my three-plus years as a member of this House," Maloney said after the vote, the Hill reported. Maloney added that the arm-twisting came directly from Republican leadership with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy personally leading the effort to swing several votes. Republicans, who control the chamber, denied any knowledge of wrongdoing, with Speaker Paul Ryan dismissing the amendment as an unmerited intrusion of federal power. "This is federalism; the states should do this," he said, the Hill reported. "The federal government shouldn't stick its nose in its business." Browbeating colleagues to change House votes & support fed discrimination is scandalous and more akin to the Russian Politburo. #Shame According to a list released by Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, Republican Reps. Darrell Issa, David Valadao, Jeff Denham, Mimi Walters, Greg Walden, David Yong and Bruce Poliquin were all among the vote switchers. "The members who switched are going to hold a very special place in American history as the people who didn't have the guts to stand up and support the will of the House," said Maloney, Politico reported. "They literally snatched discrimination out of the jaws of equality." The Big Short was a star-studded film that showed how four traders made a fortune from the financial crash of 2008. Starring the likes of Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale and Brad Pitt, it attempted to explain the complex economics behind the causes of the so-called Great Recession and show us what life was really like on Wall Street. The film was nominated for five Oscars and won rave reviews, but how realistic was it? We investigated The A-list cast looked similar-ish to their real life counterparts Ryan Goslings arrogant trader Jared Vennet really looked like this: Credit: Rex Features The character was based on a real life top trader at Deutsche Bank called Greg Lippmann. According to Michael Lewis, the author of The Big Short, Lipman modeled his hair on Gordon Gekko, Michael Douglas amoral protagonist in Wall Street. He left Deutsche in 2010 to start his own hedge fund, LibreMax Capital. Steve Carrells principled Hedge fund manager Mark Baum was based on Steve Eisman, below, left. Credit: Rex Features In 2011 he left FrontPoint, the fund featured in the film, after a colleague was accused of insider trading, and started his own fund. Talking about his portrayal in the film to the Boston Globe, he said: Its not 100%. What I would say is: Eliminate my sense of humour and make me angry all the time, and thats the portrayal. Its accurate enough, but its not really me. And Christian Bales quirky hedge fund manager Michael Burry looks like this. Credit: Rex Features Not that close a match, though Bale did wear Burrys real life shorts and t-shirt in the film. In real life Dr. Burry is still CEO of Scion Asset Management, the company that made billions in the film and he really did invest in water after the financial crash. The film did a good job explaining the economics The Big Short is filled with complicated concepts, such as credit default swaps, collateralized debt obligations, residential mortgage-backed securities and so on. The film explains these concepts with amusing celebrity cameos, such as Margot Robbie in a bath or Selena Gomez in a casino, but despite the flippant trappings the economics are sound, according to expert in Wall Street history Annaline Dinkelmann. Story continues She said: The film got it right. They explained very complicated events/systems in easy to understand language. Celebrated economist Paul Krugman agrees, writing in the New York Times that the film does a terrific job of making Wall Street skulduggery entertaining, of exploiting the inherent black humour of how it went down [did] the movie got the underlying economic, financial and political story right? The answer is yes, in all the ways that matter. Key scenes such as the Baums team flying to Florida to investigate abandoned cul de sacs, or Burry persuading sniggering investment firms to buy insurance against the defaults of Residential mortgage-backed securities did actually happen. The script also does a good job of telling you when something didnt happen the way they portray it in the film, such as when young investors Charlie Geller (John Magaro) and Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock) accidentally discover Vennets prospectus, but the film then pauses to tell us that in real life they heard about it from a friend. Credit: Rex Features But theres stuff that got left out For understandable reasons of length, The Big Short omitted many key players and events in the story. One key element that is touched on in the film, but not expanded on, is the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the financial services firm that declared bankruptcy after its involvement in the sub-prime mortgage crisis. In the aftermath of Lehman filing for bankruptcy, several other banks folded. It would be too much to also include that in the movie. That is a movie in its own right, says Dinkelmann. Another aspect that the film only mentions is the alleged corruption of mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the role they played in the collapse. In his article, Krugman also said that the characters we see in the Big Short were not the only people who saw the upcoming problems. The group of people who recognized that we were experiencing the mother of all housing bubbles, and that this posed big dangers to the real economy, was bigger than the film might lead you to believe. It even included a few (cough) mainstream economists. But it is true that many influential, seemingly authoritative players, from Alan Greenspan on down, insisted not only that there was no bubble, but that no bubble was even possible. He goes on: While the movie gets the essentials of the financial crisis right, the true story of what happened is deeply inconvenient to some very rich and powerful people. Watch an extended clip from The Big Short below. The Big Short is available on Digital on 16th May and Blu-ray & DVD 23rd May. Read more: The Star Wars Prequel Moments That Annoyed Fans The Most Who Are The Most Successful X-Men Stars? 10 Film Posters That Were Banned The United States methods for thwarting terrorism at airports took center stage in Washington on Thursday, after a Cairo-bound jet vanished over the Mediterranean with 66 people on board. Many people wondered whether terrorists might have infiltrated Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, where EgyptAir Flight 804 departed from before disappearing. When asked about this possibility at a press briefing Thursday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said it was too early to comment on the particular factors that led to the tragedy. SLIDESHOW EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes en route from Paris to Cairo >>> But it is fair for you to observe and for the American people to understand that over the last 18 to 24 months, the Department of Homeland Security has made some important enhancements to those international airports that are the last points of departure for international flights, he told reporters. Earnest explained that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), an agency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), works with security officials at international airports for U.S.-bound flights In other words, the United States makes sure that international flights heading into the country are subjected to exhaustive security and screening procedures. The DHS went into detail for Yahoo News about the steps the department has taken to prevent terrorists from boarding flights headed for the U.S. Over the last few years, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson has directed particular foreign airports to enhance their security in several ways, including: expanding the screening of items going on the aircraft, assessing the airport with the help of international partners and offering other foreign airports assistance related to security. DHS has also expanded U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) preclearance. CBP Officers stationed abroad can screen passengers and their baggage while they are still in a foreign airport. This lets the CBP stop potential terrorist threats before they reach U.S. borders. Story continues For CBP preclearance, more than 600 law enforcement officers and agriculture specialists are stationed at 15 locations in six countries: Dublin and Shannon in Ireland, Aruba, Bermuda, Freeport and Nassau in The Bahamas, Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and a string of Canadian cities: Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, and Winnipeg. CBP officers also check whether would-be travelers are in the Terrorist Screening Database. The TSA assesses whether foreign airports adhere to the International Civil Aviation Organizations security standards. The agency also shares its extensive expertise and best practices for improving security with operators of foreign airports, according to Earnest. TSA officials have also engaged in conducting airport assessments in conjunction with our international partners to ensure the security of the terminal and the airport more broadly, he told reporters Thursday. And the DHS has worked with partners to offer assistance to certain foreign airports related to broader aviation and airport security questions. According to the DHS, the TSAs transportation security specialists performed 146 foreign airport assessments and 289 air carrier inspections in the 2015 fiscal year. The TSA also deploys canine teams to screen baggage and cargo before it is loaded onto an aircraft at a foreign airport. Even though the ill-fated EgyptAir flight renewed interest in how the TSA operates abroad, the agencys efforts abroad are not necessarily applicable to the planes disappearance. As Earnest noted, the plane was not bound for the U.S. These expanded screenings, just to be clear, are applied to international aircraft that are bound for the United States, the White House spokesman said. Obviously, the EgyptAir Flight 804 took off from Paris and was bound [for] Cairo. So, it wasnt subjected necessarily to these specific enhanced screening. If you could find a way to extract, purify and condense the crude, coarse humour of every diehard Singaporean kopitiam connoisseur with coffee-stained teeth and darkened gums, youd get one half of Meenah And Cheenahs heady concoction of razor sharp humour. Distil one potent teaspoon of deadly sarcasm from a makcik in Geylang selling goreng pisang and mix it together with the crystalized essence of an ah lians crude sense of speech. Blend all these ingredients together with the collective experience of living in Singapores dense social ecosystem, and youll end up with a play so funny itll leave you in stitches for weeks. Featuring Siti Khalijah and Judee Tan, Dream Academys Meenah And Cheenah is one local production you dont want to miss out on. Written by decorated playwright Alfian Saat, the play is a series of sketches describing the tenuous friendship between a meenah and a cheenah in its different forms and intensities. To loosely quote an expression used in the play, it was so crazy I could have had my breasts slip out from all that havoc on stage. This alone should reassure you of any doubts about catching it before the end of its run. Siti and Judee carried out their parts as executors of Alfian Saats comical endeavours, without so much as a step out of place. Both actresses juggled several sketches by fluctuating their mannerisms and character quirks with laser-sharp precision in between scenes. From two preteens on the cusp of puberty fawning over a mutual love interest to eccentric office ladies sharing a table at dinner time, each scene gave ample opportunity for our comedic veterans to feed off of each other and bring some of Singapores craziest characters to life. Some scenes left me in stitches at how painfully accurate certain cliches were, whereas other scenes pushed certain stereotypes to the moon and back. What really gives each sketch its own flavour lies in how raw and blunt the portrayal of certain stereotypes were. Whether you identify with the labels or grew up knowing certain people who embody the spirit of meenahs and cheenahs alike, youre bound to feel an entire symphony resonate from within with the plays relatable humour. The witty quips and snappy repartees masterfully exchanged between our two leading ladies share the same vein of pseudo-offensive thoughts that cross our minds every other day, thoughts that rarely ever bypass the humour blood-brain barrier and never get expressed. Unabashed, high-spirited and undeniably accurate, Meenah And Cheenah tells the jokes we wish people said out loud more often. Story continues To be able to laugh at oneself is said to be the mark of true resilience, and Meenah And Cheenahs message is exactly that: we Singaporeans of diverse racial backgrounds have the ability to openly discuss anything, even our own observations of each others quirky practices, so long as we decide to put things like malicious prejudice aside and address things for what they really are. I highly recommend that you jio all your meenah friends from Woodlands and every single one of your ah lian sisters from Toa Payoh all the way to Pasir Ris to a good time at the theatre this week. Meenah And Cheenah will open an additional show on 22 May 2016 at 8pm, and tickets are going for $50 onwards. Be sure to make use of the on-going promotion of four tickets for the price of three promotion (limited tickets available). Tickets can be purchased at SISTIC. Photo credits: Dream Academy Stay updated and social with Popspoken: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram This article Hysterically Brazen: Meenah And Cheenah Says Everything Were Too Shy To Say appeared first on Popspoken. JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will send a mission to Mozambique in June after the original trip was postponed from April in the wake of disclosure of more than a $1 billion of secret government-backed borrowing, it said. In a news conference transcript posted online, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said the team would assess the implications of the additional borrowing, which has pushed Mozambique's foreign debt to around 80 percent of GDP. Asked about a potential bailout, Rice said it was all "under discussion". At a parliamentary budget commission this week, finance minister Adriano Maleiane admitted that state firm Mozambique Asset Management (MAM) would be unable to make a $178 million loan repayment that is due on May 23. According to the official AIM state news agency, MAM had told the government it was trying to restructure the debt to avoid a default that would trigger an automatic sovereign guarantee. MAM took out the $535 million loan from Russian bank VTB to build shipyards in Maputo and the northern city of Pemba to aid maritime security and service Mozambique's nascent offshore natural gas sector, according to an IMF source. However, the gas projects have been delayed and there is no sign of the shipyards, leaving MAM with no sources of revenue. VTB did not respond to requests for comment. AIM said Maleiane admitted the government was having "short-term payment difficulties" but that overall public debt was under control. According to government figures, total public debt at the end of 2015 stood at $11.64 billion, of which $9.89 billion is dollar-denominated. Maleiane has announced tough budget cuts but anlaysts say Maputo has very little chance of meeting its obligations, especially after the IMF and donors, who were kept in the dark about the extra borrowing, withdrew budget support. (Reporting by Ed Cropley; Editing by James Macharia) [Photo: Instagram @anotherjustinrobinson] Theres nothing like the sweet, sweet relief of peeling your bra off and slinging it to the floor at the end of a long day. I like to go bra free where possible; just let my girls chill under a cotton vest and yknow, live my life. If I do have to wear one I try to get away with something not-too-tight and preferably non-wired. Bits of metal sticking in my ribs do my head in and remind me Im wearing a bra all day. Which I am. Which I hate. And yes, I do know my correct size. Obviously on more formal occasions Ill pop my baps into a well fitted bra with decent coverage and pretend to the world I dont have nipples. High five, society! But theres really no good reason why we ladies should wear bras. Unless of course you like to. Who are we wearing bras for anyway? Push-up bras, add two cups, lacy, memory foam, strapless and backless; the effort we go to to, a) look like were not wearing a bras in the first place, and b) perpetuate the illusion we have perfect tits is ridiculous. Men stopped accentuating their penises with embroidered, upholstered codpieces centuries ago. These days no one bats an eyelid if they see a mans junk jiggling about under a pair of trackie bums. Hes not labelled a slut or a hippy or sent him home because the very distinct outline of his penis head is too distracting for the girls. So whats the difference? Apart from codpieces were worn on the outside of trousers, of course. Maybe women should start wearing bras over their clothes? Theyre bloody expensive, it would be nice to show them off. People would start to see the ridiculousness of them and gradually they could be phased out or replaced with something more comfortable that serves women rather than sexual image. Humankind would learn breasts come in all shapes and sizes. Future generations of women might be more inclined to accept their bodies as they are without the need to pad and enhance. God, Im so modern right now. Story continues Sweating into a bra feels minging Bra cups soaking up sweat after a commute, sweaty cleavage in the summer because your boobs are smooshed together and that damp feeling under the straps. Dont like it. Get it off my body. Evil bra will get you sacked from your job Every woman has that bra, the tight one that pinches, digs and refuses to be broken in. It lurks in their underwear drawer, hardly worn, whispering: I cost you 26 quid. The agonising decision over whether to wear the evil thing can make you late for work and will probably get you sacked. Bra shopping is LONG Bra shoppings not a casual thing, you dont just pop to the shops and buy one, its an event. Once youve psyched yourself up to do it, its a desperate hunt though styles to find one you like that fits your figure. No sooner have you achieved this than you discover they dont have your size in stock from now until forever. Then theres the constant compromise. Okay, you cant find one you like, how about one you could live with? Nope, none of those either. Youll just have to settle for the twin pack value t-shirt bras, one of which makes you hate yourself when you wear it. Long-term bra wearing can make your breasts sag Sports science researcher, professor Jean-Denis Rouillon, led a 15-year study on the effect of bras on 330 women aged 18 to 35. The findings suggested wearing a bra from an early age did nothing to support the chest, reduce back pain or prevent breast sagging. Women participating in the study who stopped wearing bras saw a seven millimetre lift in their nipples when compared to regular bra users. Professor Rouillon told France Info: Medically, physiologically, anatomically breasts gain no benefit from being denied gravity. On the contrary, they get saggier with a bra. Look, look, look, going bra free obviously isnt realistic for everyone. Perhaps your job requires you to wear formal clothes or youve got fair sized baps and you find bras necessary. Fair dos. Hundred quid says you experience deep joy unhooking and removing that damn thing from your body at the end of the day though. Photoshopped Image Reveals Ideal Female Body According To 18 Countries Holly Brockwell Wins Four-Year Battle To Get Sterilised On NHS By Libby George and Tife Owolabi NEW YORK/YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria's oil production showed further signs of strain on Thursday as intruders blocked access to Exxon Mobil's terminal exporting Qua Iboe, the country's largest crude stream. Exxon Mobil said the terminal continued to operate even as the intruders blocked staff from gaining access from early morning hours. The incident is the latest in a string of attacks and other problems at the oil infrastructure in Africa's largest crude producer. "Some unknown persons obstructed access to the bridge leading to (the terminal), thereby preventing our personnel and the public from conducting their legitimate businesses," a spokesman said in an email. "A peaceful removal of the obstructions is ongoing," after intervention from government, security agencies and community leaders, the spokesman said, adding that Exxon "condemns this criminality." Samuel Ayande, chairman of the Artisan Fishermen Association, which is in contact with various locals who have information about developments on the ground, said a threatening letter from militants was impacting Exxon's decision over staffing and operations at the terminal. Exxon directed enquiries about militant threats to security agencies, though it said the company had "plans in place to assure the security of our personnel and assets." The spokesman did not respond to earlier reports that the facility was emptied of crude or that Exxon had removed staff from the terminal. Militant activity in the oil-rich Niger Delta has taken out some 500,000 barrels per day of crude oil production from other companies in Nigeria, pushing oil output in Africa's largest-producing nation to more than 22-year lows. While President Muhammadu Buhari has extended a multi-million-dollar amnesty signed with militants in 2009, he upset them by ending generous pipeline protection contracts. He also cut the amnesty budget, which partly funds training for unemployed, by around 70 percent. The Niger Delta Avengers, a little-known radical group which has claimed a string of attacks on pipelines, has warned oil companies to leave the region within two weeks and has said it wanted a greater share of oil revenues and an end to oil pollution. An oil industry source told Reuters that key support staff were at the Qua Iboe terminal, but non-essential workers had been sent home. The stream is currently under force majeure due to an earlier accident that damaged a pipeline and caused a spill, but sources told Reuters earlier this week that Exxon had been ramping up production. Qua Iboe exports more than 300,000 barrels per day. While Nigeria's exports are typically close to 2 million barrels per day, they have fallen to below 1.4 million this month due to the attacks and issues. (Reporting by Libby George in New York and Tife Owolabi in Yenagoa; Additional reporting by Simon Falush in London; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Leslie Adler) Ninad Ambre The Suzuki Baleno hatchback has been launched in the UK for 12,999 (Rs 12.77 lakh). The hatchback is a made-in-India product, exported to UK from our country and will go on sale from June 1. One variant packs a 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol engine paired with the integrated starter generator (ISG) and a compact lithium-ion battery. This is the SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki) micro-hybrid technology also seen in the Maruti Ciaz and Ertiga in India. This mill comes mated to a five-speed manual transmission with the option of a CVT transmission. India-made Suzuki Baleno However, the main highlight is the other variant that comes powered by a 110bhp 1.0-litre three-cylinder Boosterjet turbocharged petrol engine. It comes paired to the same five-speed manual gearbox, but with the availability of a six-speed automatic transmission as well. The manual does the 0-100kmph sprint in 11.4 seconds, while the automatic does that in only 11 seconds. India-made Suzuki Baleno This Baleno is the companys first car to use Suzukis new platform. For the UK market, it gets more features than the Indian model. These include HID headlamps, 16-inch alloy wheels, front power windows, six airbags, satellite navigation, DAB Radio with USB and Bluetooth connectivity and cruise control with speed limiter as standard. Additionally, the top-end trims get LED tail lamps, rear power windows, automatic climate control, a 4.2-inch central MID display, Adaptive Cruise Control and Radar Brake Support. India-made Suzuki Baleno Suzuki has priced the Baleno in the UK in the range of 12,999-15,349 (Rs 12.77 lakh to Rs 15.11 lakh). The Japanese carmaker had earlier showcased the India-made Baleno at the Geneva Motor Show. This was in line with their marketing plan of selling the Baleno in over 100 countries including Europe and Japan. This fiscal we can expect a huge boost in Maruti Suzukis exports as its supplying the global hatchback to different countries. India-made Suzuki Baleno For more news,reviews,videos and information about cars, visit CarWale.com. Check On-Road Prices | Find New Cars | Upcoming Cars | Compare Cars | Dealer Locator By Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will on Monday sign a commercial contract with Iran to build and run a strategic port on Iran's southern coast, the Indian government said on Friday, to help it gain a foothold in Iran and win access to central Asia and Afghanistan. Talks to build the Chabahar port have been on for years but since the scaling back of Western sanctions against Iran, India has pushed hard for the project so it doesn't lose out to other such as China, who are keen to invest. The deal under which India will develop two terminals and cargo berths at Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman, will be signed during a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Iran beginning on Sunday. Gopal Baglay, a foreign ministry official in charge of Iranian ties, said India would make an initial investment of more than $200 million in the port, of which India's Exim Bank would provide a credit line of $150 million. "The focus of the trip is connectivity and infrastructure," he told reporters. India is blocked from land access to Afghanistan and through it to the central Asia countries because of opposition from Pakistan, which sees India's expansive diplomacy in the region as a threat. Baglay said India, Afghanistan and Iran would separately sign an agreement to set up a trade and transport corridor during Modi's trip that will have Chabahar as the hub. Road and rail links are to be built so that landlocked Afghanistan can get access to the Iranian port as an alternate to the Pakistani port of Karachi. "The trilateral agreement will be a game changer for regional connectivity especially for Afghanistan which can find an assured and reliable alternate access to India via sea," Baglay said. Chabahar is about 100 km (60 miles) from Pakistan's Gwadar seaport which China is developing as part of a $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The Chinese project, coming on top of investments in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Maldives raised disquiet in India about China's expanding reach in the region and prompted faster movement on the Iranian project. "A major flaw in Indias current policy towards Iran has been the lack of implementation of signed agreements," said Meena Singh Roy, an expert on India's ties with Iran at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. (Editing by Robert Birsel) NEW DELHI, May 20 (Reuters) - India has tightened rules for the sale of genetically-modified cotton seeds, a government order said, in a move that will cap royalties for any new variety that the market's sole supplier - U.S.-based Monsanto Co - decides to develop and sell. The farm ministry in March cut royalties that local seed firms pay to Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) (MMB), a Monsanto joint venture with India's Mahyco, following complaints from domestic firms that the venture was overcharging for a gene that produces its own pesticide. As well as cutting the royalties, the government capped genetically modified (GM) cotton seed prices at 800 rupees for a packet of 450 grammes after appeals by some state governments and farmers to lower the price of the Bt variety that commands 90 percent of the market in India. Now, if Monsanto decides to introduce any new, advanced variety of its GM cotton, the world's biggest seed company cannot charge royalties more that 10 percent of the price of seeds, fixed at 800 rupees, for five years from the date of commercialisation, according to Thursday's ruling. From the sixth year, the royalties, or trait value, will taper down by 10 percent every year, said the order, which laid down these guidelines without naming Monsanto. Also, as GM traits are expected to have a limited period of efficacy, any variety which loses its effectiveness will not be eligible for royalties, the order said. The new order is tougher than the royalty arrangements announced in March. "We are evaluating the order," said a Monsanto spokesman in India. The order also specified that any local seed company seeking licences for selling any new Bt cotton variety shall get the licence within 30 days of requesting the licensor. Terming the latest order as a "huge blow" to innovation in agricultural biotechnology, the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises-Agriculture Focus Group, a pro-GM advocacy group, said the decision would discourage companies from investing in research. (Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by MarkPotter) An extended offensive surge against their interleague rivals has the Cleveland Indians riding high. Though they again haven't had much success scoring runs for Corey Kluber, the Indians hope to change that and get the best of Boston's Clay Buchholz for the second time this season. The visiting Indians look to stay hot at the plate while trying for a fifth consecutive victory Friday night against the Red Sox. Cleveland (21-17) batted .346, recorded 20 extra-base hits and walked 24 times to outscore Cincinnati 43-16 during a four-game home-and-home series sweep. Carlos Santana went 5 for 12 with seven RBIs in the series, and homered twice in Thursday's 7-2 victory. "We're positive,'' Santana said. ''I see a lot of energy.'' The Indians tagged Buchholz (2-3, 6.11 ERA) for five runs - highlighted by a three-run first-inning homer from Santana - and five other hits in four-plus innings of a 7-6 win April 6. Though Boston (25-16) has won the right-hander's last three starts, he again gave up five runs, this time on two homers - including a second-inning grand slam - while lasting six in a 6-5, 11-inning win over Houston on Saturday. Buchholz has allowed eight home runs - two more than he did in 18 starts last year. Santana and Jason Kipnis are a combined 6 for 12 against him. The Indians, though, have scored once with Kluber (2-5, 4.30) on the mound in his last two outings. His 3.61 run support average ranks among the lowest in the AL. Kluber, though, didn't help his cause in those two efforts. After tossing a five-hitter in the 4-0 victory over Detroit on May 4, he's yielded nine runs, 12 hits and walked six in 9 1/3 innings to lose two straight. Four of those runs came in Saturday's 6-3 loss to Minnesota. Since Kluber went 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA during his Cy Young Award-winning 2014 season, he is 11-21 with a 3.64 ERA in 40 starts. That still isn't enough for manager Terry Francona to lose confidence in the right-hander. Story continues ''I know that when he pitches, we still really like him out there,'' Francona told MLB's official website. "He will continue to work on what he needs to - a little bit out of the stretch, things like that - and be the guy we always need." Jackie Bradley Jr. is 2 for 11 against Kluber (2-5, 4.30), but one of those hits came in two at-bats during Boston's 6-2 victory April 5. Kluber also gave up a two-run homer to Mookie Betts and two other runs in 5 1/3 innings of that contest. Bradley looks to extend a major league-leading 24-game hitting streak that's the longest by a Boston player since David Ortiz's 27-game run over the 2012 and '13 seasons. "I'm just pleased with helping the team out," said Bradley, who is batting .407 with seven home runs and 28 RBIs during the streak. "I'm sticking with my approach and the hits are falling." Bradley and Betts both homered Wednesday for the Red Sox, who avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of Kansas City by winning 5-2 in the nightcap of a doubleheader. Ortiz is batting .343 with four home runs and 10 RBIs in his last nine games against Cleveland. Donald Trump Donald Trump says America's enemies would "love" for Hillary Clinton to become president of the US. In a tweetstorm Friday morning, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said his Democratic rival had "no chance" of fixing the "total mess" on the world stage. "Crooked Hillary has zero imagination and even less stamina," Trump tweeted. "ISIS, China, Russia and all would love for her to be president. 4 more years!" He continued in a subsequent tweet: "Look where the world is today, a total mess, and ISIS is still running around wild. I can fix it fast, Hillary has no chance!" Trump also attacked the likely Democratic nominee for not being "presidential," a criticism that has often been aimed at him rather than at Clinton, a former secretary of state. On Thursday, Clinton said in a CNN interview that Trump was "not qualified" to be president, based off some of his stated positions. She specifically cited his at-times inflammatory rhetoric that she said helps ISIS' recruiting efforts. Clinton also noted his non-sympathetic past comments toward NATO, which she has previously said would be a boon for Russia and President Vladimir Putin. "The kinds of positions he is stating and the consequences of those positions and even the consequences of his statements are not only offensive to people but are potentially dangerous," she said Wednesday. "Crooked Hillary Clinton looks presidential? I don't think so!" Trump tweeted Friday. "Four more years of Obama and our country will never come back. ISIS LAUGHS!" The latest back and forth came after the crash of the EgyptAir jet that plunged into the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday. Though officials haven't definitively concluded what led to the crash, Trump has said it was "blown up." Clinton also on Thursday called it an apparent "act of terrorism." Throughout his campaign, Trump has marketed himself as a strong leader who could easily defeat terrorist groups like ISIS, which is also known as the Islamic State, ISIL, or Daesh. Story continues NOW WATCH: The NFL says theyll return $727,000 they received from the government to honor the military at games More From Business Insider Bamako (AFP) - Islamist group Ansar Dine on Thursday claimed responsibility for an ambush in northeastern Mali that killed five Chadian UN peacekeepers. "Our mujahedeens attacked... soldiers working in the international alliance against us," a senior member of the jihadist group, Nourredine Ag Mohamed, told AFP. "Many enemies" were killed, he added, without giving a precise toll. The peacekeepers were attacked Wednesday as they were escorting a convoy in Aguelhok in the Kidal region. They hit a landmine and then came under sustained gunfire, according to a statement on the UN Mali mission's social media accounts. Five Chadian peacekeepers were killed and three others wounded, according to the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Wednesday's attack was the worst since a February assault on the MINUSMA camp in Kidal by Malian Islamist group Ansar Dine in which seven Guineans were killed. The Mali mission is the most dangerous active deployment for UN peacekeepers and it has been hit by sharp internal tensions since its launch in July 2013. So far, 59 peacekeepers have been killed while on active service, while another four have died in friendly fire incidents, UN figures show. The bodies of the five Chadian soldiers will be repatriated to N'Djamena following a ceremony in the Malian capital Bamako, to be held in the coming days, a MINUSMA source told AFP. Ansar Dine was one of several Islamist factions that conquered vast swathes of the Mali's north in 2012 before being repulsed by French troops. A landmark peace agreement was reached last year between the Mali government and the rebels, but jihadist violence remains a threat and the government has been unable to maintain security with domestic forces alone. In 2009, more than 30 journalists accompanied a local politicians wife as she went to submit his name for the ballot. The incumbent and his armed gangs had made it clear that opposition wouldnt be tolerated, but the would-be candidate thought no one would dare mess with his wife. He was wrong. En route to the station, the entire party, over 50 people in all, was ambushed and killed by gunmen in what is now known as the Ampatuan massacre the single deadliest event for journalists worldwide. This horrific event didnt happen in Syria or Afghanistan. Nope, it occurred in the Philippines. The Philippines is the third-deadliest place in the world to be a journalist, behind Iraq and Syria. According to rankings by the Committee to Protect Journalists, 77 journalists have been killed in the Philippines since 1992, compared with Iraqs 174 and Syrias 94. That number also puts it ahead of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia. When you look past the island nations white sand beaches, youll find a country awash with guns and a vast network of death squads and hired guns. Toss in a president-elect who has boasted of killing around three people himself and who wants to up the ante on murdering criminals, and you have a deadly combination for journalists. Phelim Kine, deputy director of Human Rights Watchs Asia division, cites the countrys ongoing vicious, decades-long insurgencies and a wider problem of riding-in-tandem killings. In these drive-by murders, one guy operates the motorcycle and the other is the triggerman. Kine says such murders happen almost daily. Challenging the status quo is risky, and there are huge economic implications behind the violence, says Brian Hanley, regional director for Asia at Internews. Youve got drug transshipment centers, timber and mining interests and a vast network of more than 7,000 islands ruled by powerful, wealthy families with links to contraband. These families operate with the support of well-funded private militias that deal with rivals ruthlessly. Story continues Gettyimages 52981677 A group of journalists receive firearms training at a military camp in Manila. Source: Joel Nito / Getty While there has been a marginal decline in such murders, impunity reigns. The Philippines ranks fourth on CPJs 2015 Impunity Index, and is the only country among the lists top five that isnt an active war zone. Not a single person has been brought to justice for Ampatuan. And according to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, only 14 of 172 journalist murders have ended in conviction since 1986. Often, says Kine, those charged with investigating the crimes are those responsible for committing them, which sends a pretty clear message to would-be journalist-killers: Its doable. The U.S. is hesitant to push for major reforms since the Philippines is a strategic partner in countering Chinas advances in the South China Sea and is seen as an ally in the war on terror. Yet somehow the Philippines has a thriving civil society, a strong press and quite a raucous democracy, says Shawn Crispin, CPJs senior Southeast Asia representative. Its in the DNA of journalists to challenge the status quo relentlessly, says Kine. After all, the media played a crucial role in overthrowing the Marcos dictatorship in 1989. That pride has sustained a thriving journalistic culture that is, in many respects, one of the freest, most liberal media in all of Asia, Crispin says. But the double edge is that with that liberalization just about anyone can buy time on the radio and say whatever they want, creating what is known as the block time phenomenon. Those militias mentioned earlier? They hire journalists as mouthpieces. Rival groups then target those reporters. Its important to note that the number of journalists killed is defined differently by different groups, depending on whether an organization includes camerapeople and whether the motive has been confirmed. CPJs figures, Crispin says, are quite conservative. Yet the Philippines still takes the bronze in journalist deaths. Related Articles Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's defence minister resigned Friday, saying extremists had taken over the country, after he clashed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the army's handling of a wave of Palestinian violence. Moshe Yaalon said he no longer had any trust in Netanyahu after the hawkish premier offered his post to a hardliner loathed by the Palestinians, in a bid to expand the governing coalition's majority. "I told the prime minister this morning that due to his conduct in recent developments, and in light of my lack of trust in him, I am resigning from the government and Knesset (parliament) and taking a break from political life," Yaalon said on Twitter. The surprise move by the respected former armed forces chief follows a series of disputes over the military's values and role in society between ministers in Netanyahu's government and top generals backed by Yaalon. In an address broadcast after his initial announcement, Yaalon warned of a rising tide of extremism in the ruling Likud party and the country as a whole. "Extremist and dangerous elements have taken over Israel and the Likud and are threatening (society)," he said in Hebrew. He urged the "sane majority" of Likud voters as well as the rest of the nation "to realise the severe implications of the extremist takeover of the centre, and fight this phenomenon." Former Labour prime minister and defence minister Ehud Barak went even further. "The government of Israel has been infected by the shoots of fascism," the website of Israel's private Channel Two television quoted him as saying. Yaalon's resignation came two days after former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said he could bring his far-right Yisrael Beitenu party into Netanyahu's governing coalition if a number of conditions were met, including his being named defence minister. Netanyahu's Likud party pressed talks with Yisrael Beitenu on Friday on the terms of a deal to boost the coalition's wafer-thin majority in parliament. Story continues Netanyahu said he had wanted Yaalon to remain in government and take the foreign affairs portfolio but he "insisted" on retaining the defence post. "I think that he should have continued to be a full partner in the governance of the state, in the post of foreign minister," Netanyahu tweeted. "The change in distribution of portfolios was not a result of a crisis of trust between us. It was a result of the need to broaden the government in order to bring stability to the state of Israel in the face of the great challenges ahead of us," he added. Yaalon had been an outspoken defender of the army's handling of an upsurge of Palestinian violence since last October in the face of criticism from hardline ministers and lawmakers. He had also insisted on senior officers' right to "speak their mind" after deputy armed forces chief Major General Yair Golan enraged Netanyahu by comparing contemporary Israeli society to Nazi Germany. - Sane and balanced voice - Centre-left opposition lawmaker Merav Michaeli said Yaalon's departure deprived the country of a voice of moderation. "We lost a sane and balanced voice in the dangerous and deranged right-wing government Netanyahu is leading," she said. President Reuven Rivlin, known for having a difficult relationship with Netanyahu, said he was "greatly saddened" by Yaalon's resignation, which he called "understandable, and even appropriate" under the circumstances. Ironically, Yaalon's resignation will move the Likud parliamentary party further to the right as his seat in parliament will be taken by religious hardliner Yehuda Glick, who is next on the party list. The 50-year-old US-born rabbi is an outspoken campaigner for a change to rules governing Jerusalem's most sensitive site, the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, to allow Jews to pray as well as visit. Palestinian fears that the government might be preparing such a change were one of the triggers for the wave of violence that erupted last year. The expected return of Lieberman, who served as foreign minister under Netanyahu twice, is likely to raise international concern about his government's direction -- especially on the conflict with the Palestinians. As defence minister, Lieberman, who lives in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, would oversee military operations in the Palestinian territories and have a major say in policy towards the settlements. The international community considers the settlements illegal and regards their persistent expansion by successive Netanyahu governments as one of the biggest obstacles to peace. (JERUSALEM) Israels defense minister announced his resignation on Friday, saying the governing party had been taken over by extremist and dangerous elements and that he no longer trusted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following reports that he was to be replaced. Moshe Yaalons departure removes a strong voice of moderation in the Cabinet and deepens the rift between the security establishment and the hardline politicians. Yaalon told reporters that Israel is a healthy society with a sane majority that is tolerant of minorities and strives for a liberal and democratic society. But to my great dismay extremist and dangerous elements have taken over Israel, also over the Likud party, and are shaking the house and threatening to hurt its inhabitants, he said. I fought with all my might against manifestations of extremism, violence and racism in Israeli society that threatens its sturdiness and is seeping into the army and already damaging it. Yaalon said earlier he told Netanyahu that following his conduct in recent developments and in light of the lack of trust in him, I am resigning from the government. He added in a Facebook post, that he was also resigning from Israels parliament and was taking a time out from political life. Yaalon and Netanyahu have repeatedly butted heads over the role of the military in public discourse. Netanyahu was enraged earlier this month when a senior officer made public comments viewed as critical of the government, while Yaalon backed the generals right to freely express his views. Yaalon said he always put Israels security and other interests above his own, but unfortunately I found myself lately in tough disputes over moral and professional issues with the prime minister and several ministers and members of parliament. Tensions between Yaalon and Netanyahu escalated in March, when military leaders criticized a soldier who was caught on video fatally shooting an already-wounded Palestinian attacker. The solider is now on trial for manslaughter. While Yaalon has backed the military, hard-liners have backed the soldier. Story continues Reports over the past few days indicate that Netanyahu intends to appoint former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman to the post of defense minister. Lieberman, 57, is one of the countrys most polarizing politicians. Over three decades, he has at times been Netanyahus closest ally and at other times a fierce rival. Netanyahu said he regretted Yaalons decision and that he would have preferred him to stay on as foreign minister. The prime minister also said the political shakeup was not because of differences with Yaalon but out of the need to widen the coalition to bring stability to Israel against the big challenges it faces. He said the military will continue to preserve the highest moral standards and added that the army must remain outside of politics. In a democracy the military echelon is subordinate to the political echelon and not the reverse, Netanyahu said. Netanyahu this week invited Liebermans ultranationalist Yisrael Beteinu party to shore up his shaky parliamentary coalition and negotiation teams have been meeting to hammer out the details of their alliance. Yaalons resignation solidifies the takeover of hard-liners in the party. Cabinet Minister Gila Gamliel said that Yaalons leaving was a tremendous loss for the ruling Likud. She told Israel Radio she believes it was a mistake not to offer Yaalon another position and keep him in the coalition. Many Israelis have questioned the wisdom of appointing Lieberman to the sensitive post of defense minister over Yaalon, a former army chief of staff who is generally respected for his knowledge of military affairs. Lieberman has no such military experience, though he has held a number of Cabinet posts in the past, including stints as foreign minister. His hard-line stance has made him an influential voice at home but has at times alienated Israels allies overseas. He has questioned the loyalty of Israels Arab minority and confronted Israels foreign critics. He has expressed skepticism over pursuing peace with the Palestinians, and is now pushing a proposal to impose the death penalty against Arabs convicted of acts of terrorism. With Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts stalled, Liebermans addition to the government could push the prospect of reviving talks even further away. Yaalons departure also paves the way for Yehuda Glick an Israeli-American activist who campaigns to allow Jewish prayer at Jerusalems holiest site, sacred to both Jews and Muslims to enter the government. Any perceived change to the status quo that bans Jews from praying at the site has sparked Palestinian violence in the past. The hilltop compound in Jerusalems Old City is revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, site of the two Jewish biblical Temples. It is the holiest site in Judaism. Known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, it houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the gold-topped Dome of the Rock. It is the third-holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. Tensions over the site erupted in September and months of bloodshed followed with dozens of Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and security personnel. Since then, Palestinian attacks, mostly stabbings, shootings and vehicular assaults, have killed 28 Israelis and two Americans. About 200 Palestinians have been killed during that time, most of whom Israel says were attackers. Glick survived an attempt on his life in 2014 when shot several times by a Palestinian. Poignant anecdotes dominated the news that emerged in the days following James Gandolfini's death in June 2013: how he worked with wounded veterans both in front of and behind the camera (most famously when producing the 2007 HBO doc Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq) or his quiet support for numerous charities. Almost three years later, we're reminded of Gandolfini's death not because of what can emerge from the best of humanity, but rather how it's revealed the worst. On Tuesday multiple news outlets reported the impending trial of 43-year-old Claudio Bevilacqua, one of the paramedics treating Gandolfini in his hotel room following his fatal heart attack. Bevilacqua is charged with allegedly stealing the 40mm stainless-steel Rolex Submariner Date Gandolfini was often seen wearing, either from the actor's suite at Rome's Boscolo Exedra Hotel or, even more egregiously, from his wrist. During a hearing on Monday in Rome, the trial's start was postponed until November; Bevilacqua was not present and therefore did not enter a plea. "It's one of the dark sides of our business that we absolutely deplore," says Rob Ronen, co-founder of Material Good, a New York watch and jewelry boutique that specializes in vintage Rolexes. "A watch is really a piece of your personality; at that lowest point, to steal anything is horrible, but something that's also so reflective of your personality? That's pretty despicable." The value of Gandolfini's Rolex has been estimated at $3,000, a figure likely derived from the insurance form submitted when the theft was reported. A new Rolex Submariner Date in stainless steel retails for $8,550 - but even used, experts question the value cited for Gandolfini's watch. "That $3,000 figure is obviously an understatement," says Ariel Adams, founder and editor-in-chief of the popular site A Blog to Watch. "The vintage market can be very emotionally driven, but Rolexes do hold their value very well. And for valuation purposes, because it was a watch belonging to James Gandolfini, it would have been worth a lot more." Story continues ONE TO WATCH: The Rolex Submariner Date, the same style owned by Gandolfini. (Courtesy of Rolex) Ronen and Adams agree that thieves target Rolexes precisely because it's such a globally popular and well-regarded brand - though that doesn't mean you should be squirreling your favorite away in a safe. "The serial number is your best safeguard," Ronen says. "If it's stolen, there's a good chance at some point it's still going to find its way back to a Rolex service center for repair. The serial number is checked and, if it's reported as stolen, that piece is automatically flagged. A case proceeds from there." Until the trial unfolds, such a process could very well be what led police to Bevilacqua, Ronen surmises. Of course, given Italy's judicial system, widely regarded as clogged and convoluted, resolution of the case could take up to five years, if at all. "It's not surprising that [Bevilacqua] didn't show up for the hearing; if that happens two more times, the case very well could go away," says Alessandro Ciani, a Beverly Hills antiques dealer who specializes in rare and collectible watches, including vintage Rolexes. Born and raised in Italy, Ciani is ambivalent about a quick or successful resolution to the case. "One of the reasons I left Italy is because I was robbed of $200,000 by two people who worked for me; even at that amount, my lawyers told me, 'Let it go, or you'll be in court for 10 years.' That's why you have a lot of small crime in Italy, because they know the chance of prosecution is also small." If there's any aspect to emerge from this story that doesn't inspire Tony Soprano-level fury, it's the reminder that the watch Gandolfini favored indeed mirrored his personality. His most famous character sported a flashy Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date President in 18-karat yellow gold, but a stainless-steel Submariner for the actor? "It's a sensitive, conservative, timeless choice," notes Adams. "It's a watch for someone who approaches luxury in a casual way. You like nice things, but you don't want to look pretentious or like a snob." Ciani concurs. "It's an understated piece and shows a personality that goes for value and not price," he says. "James Gandolfini could have worn any watch in the world - that he wore this watch, and wore it often, shows a consistent personality, and someone who looks at things for what they are. It seems right that this was his choice." By Yoshifumi Takemoto TOKYO (Reuters) - A group of Japan's ruling lawmakers has urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to proceed with a planned sales tax hike next April and compile a supplementary budget to mitigate the impact of the tax on the sluggish economy. The proposal marks a reversal in thinking for the policy study group, which is led by a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker Kozo Yamamoto, one of the architects of Abe's economic policy strategy who previously proposed the tax hike be delayed. The lawmakers also proposed that the government should declare it won't raise the tax beyond 10 percent for the moment. They also said the government should compile 10 trillion yen (62 billion pounds) of stimulus measures to improve output gap for this fiscal year and set up a 5-10 trillion yen fund in response to damage caused by earthquakes in the southern island. This would be in addition to this year's 778 billion yen ($7 billion) supplementary budget, aimed solely at reconstruction in the earthquake-hit south. The government needs to allocate 10 trillion yen in the regular budget for next fiscal year and 7 trillion yen in fiscal 2018 to help consumer spending and for public work projects, the statement said. Taking an advantage of the Bank of Japan's negative interest rates, the government should issue government bonds to fund the stimulus measures, it said. "We propose financial authorities take responsibility to make the economy uptrend by fiscal spending equivalent with delaying the tax hike," said the statement. The government plans to raise the levy to 10 percent from 8 percent next spring unless there is a financial crisis on the scale of the Lehman Brothers collapse or a major natural disaster. Abe has said he will make an appropriate decision on the sales tax increase, taking into account opinions from experts on the economy. But there is growing speculation that Abe will postpone it again. He has already delayed it once after an increase to 8 percent from 5 percent in April 2014 hurt consumption and knocked the economy into recession. Story continues U.S. Nobel laureate and economist Joseph Stiglitz and economist Paul Krugman have both advised Abe to delay the tax increase and focus on fiscal efforts to boost a recovery. But OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria has said Japan should stick with its the tax plan and raise it further to pare public debt. Japan narrowly dodged a recession in the first quarter, but the rebound has not dispelled analyst concerns about a contraction this quarter. (Reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto, writing by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Sam Holmes) Tokyo (AFP) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday expressed "outrage" after the arrest of a US military base employee linked to the suspicious death of a woman on Okinawa, a week before a high-profile visit to Japan by President Barack Obama. The southern island was the site of a brutal World War II battle but is now considered a strategic linchpin by hosting numerous US military bases that support the two countries' decades-long security alliance. "I feel extremely strong outrage," Abe told reporters at his office, calling on the US to take action. Okinawan police arrested Kenneth Franklin Shinzato for allegedly disposing of the woman's body in a weed-covered area in southern Okinawa, a spokesman told AFP, without elaborating. Local media said the man, a US citizen and former US Marine, lives in southern Okinawa and works at the US Kadena Air Base. Police reportedly suspect that the victim, identified as 20-year-old Rina Shimabukuro and who had been missing since late April, was murdered. Obama is due in Japan next week for a two-day summit of Group of Seven countries which concludes on Friday, before venturing the same day Hiroshima -- becoming the only sitting US president to visit the world's first atomic bombed city. The Hiroshima visit by Obama, who has a record of calling for global denuclearisation, has been well received in Japan but the issue of the heavy US military presence on Okinawa has long been a periodic thorn in the side of relations. More than half of the 47,000 US military personnel in the country are stationed there, and rapes and other crimes by service personnel have sparked local protests in the past. In 1995 the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old girl by three US servicemen sparked massive protests, prompting Washington to pledge efforts to strengthen troop discipline to prevent such crimes and reduce the US footprint on the island. But continued crimes by American personnel remain a potent rallying point for Okinawans and others in Japan who oppose the presence of the bases on the crowded island, where pacifist sentiment runs high. Story continues Chief Cabinet Secretary and top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga described the recent murder as "abominable" but when asked if Abe would raise it with Obama he said only that the agenda for their talks was still being finalised. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida late Thursday summoned US ambassador Caroline Kennedy to lodge a protest, calling the case "very cruel and atrocious". Kennedy pledged to "cooperate fully with the Okinawa police and Japanese government and redouble our efforts to make sure that this never happens again". Okinawan Governor Takeshi Onaga, an outspoken critic of the US presence, told reporters Thursday the incident happened "because there are US bases" on the island. In Washington, officials also spoke out against the incident, with State Department spokesman John Kirby calling it "obviously an outrage." Japan pledged $6 billion in fresh aid to the Middle East Friday to prevent violent extremism and stabilise the region, ahead of next week's Group of Seven summit which is expected to address global hotspot issues such terrorism. Japan is hosting the annual event that draws leaders from some of the world's richest nations including US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. They are likely to discuss security threats as well as geopolitical instability in the Middle East and elsewhere. Japan's foreign ministry issued a statement promising to provide about $6 billion in aid for the troubled region between 2016 and 2018 to prevent more violent extremism and to create a "tolerant and stable society". The support was designed to tackle root causes of problems in the Middle East, including refugees it said. Earlier this year, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said that during the two-day summit, Japan plans to take up issues including "terrorism, the Middle East, refugees and internally displaced persons". Separately, Japan said it would accept up to 150 Syrian students over a period of five years. Last year it accepted only 27 refugees and rejected almost all applications, with rights groups urging the government to allow more people in. The country has long been nervous about an influx of refugees into its homogeneous society and has tightly restricted the number it accepts. By Tetsushi Kajimoto SENDAI, Japan (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday that some Group of Seven financial leaders had expressed support for a British exit from the European Union, a remark quickly retracted by his staff. Aso, 75, told reporters in Sendai, northern Japan, where he is chairing a meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bankers, that some financial chiefs had said Brexit would be good. A Japanese Finance Ministry official told reporters that Aso had misspoken. "What the minister meant was that it would be good if Britain remained in the EU," the official told reporters shortly after Aso's news conference. Britain holds a referendum in June on whether to leave the European Union. While the global economy continues a moderate recovery, downside risks and uncertainty remain over the outlook, Aso said, citing Brexit among the risks. A British exit would trigger volatility in global financial markets, undermine post-World War Two European efforts towards integration and raise questions about Britain's $2.9 trillion (1.9 trillion pounds) economy. The G7 groups the United States, Japan, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy and France. The finance leaders are meeting to discuss ways to prop up global growth in the run-up to a G7 summit in Ise-Shima on May 26-27. (Editing by Nick Macfie) JCPenney Eyes Growth in Home Category and Reaffirms Guidance (Continued from Prior Part) Strengthening the home department In part two of this series, we discussed JCPenneys (JCP) decision to expand the availability of appliances to about 500 stores and jcp.com. On May 9, JCPenney also announced other initiatives to strengthen its home department. JCPenney aims to enhance its offerings in window coverings by allocating an additional 25% of floor space to an enhanced display of ready-made curtains, blinds, shades, and decorative hardware. JCPenney offers window treatments from private brands such as JCPenney Home, Royal Velvet, Liz Claiborne and Studio, as well as from national brands like Bali, Levolor, and Umbra. Revamping the home business JCPenney has been taking several initiatives to revamp its home business including bringing back a printed home catalog in March 2015, restoring key private and national brands in the home category, and bringing back appliances. On May 9, JCPenney announced that it will test new initiatives with Ashley Furniture and Empire Today. The company will be adding Signature Design by Ashley, a leading furniture brand, to its furniture assortment in select stores and jcp.com by Memorial Day weekend. Pursuant to a venture with Empire Today, a leading player in the installed carpet and flooring industry, JCPenney will test the availability of flooring solutions in the Tampa, Florida, and Washington, D.C., markets beginning this summer. Other focus areas Aside from focusing on the home business, JCPenney is also enhancing its Sephora beauty business and the center core area in its stores. The center core shopping area includes fashion jewelry, handbags, sunglasses, and fashion accessories. JCPenney aims to redesign the center core shopping area of over one-third of its stores in the first half of fiscal 2016. The iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH) has 0.2% exposure to JCPenney. In April 2016, the company celebrated ten years of its association with Sephora stores inside JCPenney with the opening of 60 new locations, including a new flagship store slated to open this fall in Salinas, California. Sephora is owned by the luxury group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (LVMUY) (MC.PA). Story continues JCPenneys merchandising initiatives are evident in its top line growth. In fiscal 2015 ended January 30, 2016, JCPenneys sales increased by 3%. Macys (M), Dillards (DDS), and Kohls (KSS) delivered sales growth of -3.7%, -0.4%, and 1%, respectively, in fiscal 2015. JCPenney is scheduled to report its 1Q16 results on May 13. Analysts expect the companys 1Q16 sales to grow by 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. For more updates, visit our Department Stores page. Browse this series on Market Realist: To activate the text-to-speech service, please first agree to the privacy policy below. Taipei, May 20 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (Tsai Ing-wen) said Friday that it was her greatest honor to gain the trust of Taiwan's people and lead the country, and she promised that the new government will do its utmost to lead the country despite challenges ahead. Rest in peace. John Berry, an original member of the Beastie Boys, died at a hospice center in Danvers, Massachusetts, on Thursday, May 19. He was 52. PHOTOS: Celebrity Deaths in 2016: Stars Weve Lost The guitarist, who was credited by the band as the originator of their name, suffered from frontal lobe dementia, which had worsened in recent months, his father, John Berry III, told Rolling Stone. Berry and Mike Mike D Diamond, who were previously classmates at the Walden School in New York, formed the Beastie Boys in July 1981 with Adam MCA Yauch and Kate Schellenbach. PHOTOS: Stars Gone Too Soon The groups first show took place at Berrys old loft at the corner of West 100th St. and Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Berry and Schellenbach, 50, left the band shortly after the November 1982 release of their first EP, Polly Wog Stew. They were replaced by Adam Ad-Rock Horovitz. PHOTOS: Stars in Concert! In 2012, the Beastie Boys became the third rap group after Run-D.M.C. and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Later that year, Yauch died at age 47 after a long battle with cancer. In 2014, Diamond, 50, confirmed that the Beastie Boys would not continue out of respect for Yauch. Third time's a charm for Kate Middleton! The Duchess of Cambridge visited Sir Ben Ainslie's Land Rover BAR team to help open the 1851 Trust Visitor Centre in Portsmouth, England, on Friday, where she rocked an ensemble we've seen not once, but twice, before. WATCH: Kate Middleton Looks Absolutely Stunning on Cover of 'British Vogue' The 34-year-old brunette beauty stepped out in her favorite Alexander McQueen nautical pencil skirt and blouse combo, completing the look with a pair of navy blue heels and a matching clutch. Getty Images Middleton first sported the look during a visit to the Summerfield Community Centre in Birmingham with her husband, Prince William, in 2011. Getty Images PHOTOS: Kate Middleton Throws a Mean Punch in Stylish Skirt and Top During Charity Event She donned the two-piece again in June 2014 while visiting Bletchley Park. Getty Images Middleton's appearance on Friday was a way to help inspire young children to get involved in sailing and the marine industry. According to a post by the Kensington Palace via Instagram, the 1851 Trust's educational workshops "help students engage with the science, technology, engineering and math's of @Landroverbar's challenges." The Duchess was all smiles as she chatted with the aspiring sailors. At one point, Middleton even joined competitive sailor Ainslie and the Land Rover Bar Team for a sailing training session. Judging by her facial expressions, it seems like she had an absolute blast at sea! The Duchess joins @AinslieBen and the @LandRoverBAR Team for a Sailing training session pic.twitter.com/8eHSOQJDfh Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 20, 2016 WATCH: A Look Back at Kate Middleton and Prince William's Royal Marriage "Check out our new star sighting," Ainslie, 39, later tweeted. "It was an honour to take the Duchess of Cambridge sailing today #bringthecuphome." Story continues Check out our new star signing. It was an honour to take the Duchess of Cambridge sailing today #bringthecuphome pic.twitter.com/AMCHeFY4Zu Ben Ainslie (@AinslieBen) May 20, 2016 In more royal news, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary on April 29. Re-live some of their most memorable moments together in the video below. Related Articles ALMATY (Reuters) - Authorities in Kazakhstan warned on Friday they would crack down on organizers of protests planned against President Nursultan Nazarbayev's government and an unpopular land reform it has proposed. Opponents of Nazarbayev, who has been in power since 1989, have called for rallies on Saturday in all major cities, extending a series of demonstrations that started last month in response to plans to privatize large tracts of farmland. Although relatively small so far, with the biggest no more than a few thousand strong, the rallies have become the most visible and geographically broad display of public discontent against the president's rule in more than a decade. Nazarbayev has given some ground by putting the land reform on hold, but the protests now threaten to tap in to broader discontent about worsening economic conditions in the tightly-controlled oil-exporting nation. Prosecutor General Zhakip Asanov said on Friday that people calling for fresh rallies were provoking illegal actions and spreading "false information which showed signs of inciting social and ethnic discord." "Law enforcement bodies are obliged to prevent any violations and immediately take the necessary legal measures including criminal prosecution," he said in a statement published by his office. Highlighting security issues, police in Kazakhstan's biggest city Almaty said they had found five caches of petrol bombs, metal rods and gasoline containers near its two main squares, where rallies have been called for Saturday. They also found several pistols sawn-off shotguns and ammunition in two apartments, detaining five suspects, police said in a statement. Earlier this week, police and courts detained at least half a dozen activists in several cities who had planned to take part in Saturday's protests. Almaty police prevented a demonstration earlier this month by blocking access to the square where it was supposed to take place. (Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; editing by John Stonestreet) NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's president showed "room for discussion" over a decision to shut a refugee camp for Somalis but did not promise to reverse it, a delegation of U.N. Security Council diplomats opposed to any forced closure said after talks on Friday. Kenya said last week it was drawing up a timetable to shut Dadaab refugee camp, home to about 350,000 Somalis, because of security concerns. The United Nations and Western donors have urged Kenya to rethink and not forcibly return the Somalis. A delegation of U.N. Security Council diplomats, returning from a visit to Somalia, held talks with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Dadaab and other issues, such as the African force battling militants in Somalia, which Kenya contributes to. Egypt's U.N. ambassador, Abdellattif Aboulatta, said the delegation voiced concern about the Dadaab closure plan. "The discussion was open. We did not receive any promise. But what we understood was that there was room for discussion about it," he said at a news conference, with Britain's envoy Matthew Rycroft, who was also among diplomats on the trip. In a statement, the presidency said the Dadaab issue was "discussed at length" without giving details. Kenya, which has suffered attacks by Somali militants in the past three years, announced a three-month deadline for closing Dadaab last year, but did not follow through. Kenya, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR and Somalia signed a deal in 2013 on voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees, some of whom have lived in Dadaab for decades. Nairobi says implementation has been too slow. The UNHCR said in January it wanted to repatriate 50,000 in 2016 but said it might miss the target as the Somali government is still battling an al Shabaab insurgency and there are few schools or public services for returnees. The sprawling camp in northeast Kenya has shrunk from more than half a million people over the years, as some refugees have headed home as Somalia slowly recovers from conflict. (Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) A design and engineering centre will be established. Keppel Offshore & Marine has inked a shareholders' agreement with Rosneft, Russias national oil company, to set up a Singapore-incorporated joint venture company. Keppel O&M and Rosneft will each have a 45% stake in the company, while the remaining 10% stake will be held by Norwegian drilling equipment firm, MHWirth. The joint venture company will establish a wholly-owned Design and Engineering Centre (DEC) in the Russian Federation. Its main business activities will be the design and engineering of mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs) for shallow waters to cater to the region. The initial projects undertaken by the DEC will be from Rosneft for design and engineering work related to shallow water platforms. It will also look to take on work from other Russian and international customers. More From Singapore Business Review Kevin Spacey took aim at Hollywood and Washington with his opening act at the annual AmfAR Cinema Against AIDS Gala at Cannes, impersonating Johnny Carson, Bill Clinton and Jack Lemmon (with some wardrobe change assistance from Faye Dunaway). At the annual auction for the AIDS research foundation, Spacey called Cannes "'where we go to kiss Harvey Weinstein's ass' festival." Weinstein is the chair of the annual luxury live auction and fundraiser for foundation that takes place at the swanky Hotel du Cap in Antibes. Spacey opened the evening clad in a plaid suit jacket impersonating the late talk show host Carson. He went through a series of jokes on Trump, saying that the presumptive presidential host would hate the film festival's selection of foreign films, but he'd love the Riviera. "There are so many casinos to bankrupt," he said. After a quick onstage jacket change, he transformed into former president Bill Clinton, who joked that in Cannes he hadn't "seen so many red carpets since I went to a swingers party." As Bill, he encouraged attendees to vote Hillary: "Vote for her and you'll get me." Mads Mikkelsen, Kirsten Dunst and Vanessa Paradis took time off from their jury duties to enjoy the event. Dunst admitted to being very tired after the weeks of watching movies and hanging out until 4 a.m. with Mikkelsen, but Mikkelsen told The Hollywood Reporter the ladies of the jury were the drivers. "We're all of various ages, but they are more rock 'n' roll," he told THR. Mikkelsen was the man of the evening, graciously snapping selfies with fans all evening. Katy Perry, set to perform, was more guarded, calling over her bodyguards to keep photographers away. He said this festival was a big change from the first he attended with director Nicholas Winding Refn nearly two decades ago. "We didn't know where it was. We thought it was in the mountains and came with suticases full of winter sweaters," he recalled. Story continues An apparently dry Leonardo DiCaprio, also trailed by a bodyguard, was seen taking a bottle of champagne off another table to replenish his own. Spacey didn't spare the Oscar winner. "Tonight you can bid on a stay at the Las Vegas home of Leonardo DiCaprio. It's something very special, only a few hundred Victoria's Secret models have had," he joked. "Orlando Bloom is gonna bid on that." It was too dark to see if girlfriend Perry was amused. The weeklong stay for 12 guests in the former Dinah Shore house in Palm Springs, now owned by DiCaprio, went for $336,000 (&euro300,000) before the auctioneer did a switcheroo and sold a second for just $168,000 (&euro150,000). The switch was a signature move from former host Sharon Stone, who previously led the event for over a decade. With the aggressive auctioneer Simon de Pury lasting for hours, the jovial joshing of Stone was sorely missed. Bloom, for his part, put things in perspective when auctioning a luxury holiday in Papua New Guinea. "Basically you can put your carbon footprint on some of the last unspoiled areas in the world," he joked. A disco-themed fashion show with models such as Jourdan Dunn and Karlie Kloss dancing down the runway in dresses from designers such as Dior, Givenchy, Chanel and Roberto Cavalli among many others served as an intermission. With Uma Thurman conducting the bidding, the collection of 30 dressed went for $3.5 million (&euro3.2 million). The fashion show was curated by editor Carine Roitfeld. "It's getting harder and harder to find a theme after doing this for over a decade," she told THR. The famed fashion editor was herself clad in a vintage dress from the 1970s. She declared that she intends to wear nothing but vintage in the future "to show I have kept my figure," she joked. In character as President Frank Underwood from the Golden Globe-winning series, Spacey auctioned a day with him and a walk-on role on House of Cards for $560,000 (&euro500,000). Ron Burkle paid $1.12 million (&euro1 million) for Lapo Elkan's camouflage Ferrari, while a Damien Hirst sculpture went for "a steal" at $3.47 million (&euro3.1 million). A painting from Oscar-winner Adrien Brody, titled Jumbo Dropfish, closed the evening before Perry took the stage. It went for $504,000 (&euro450,000). Brody introduced the painting, noting: "This is a fish," he said, adding that it represented light in these dark times. "Please bid on this fish." In the end the event raised over $25 million for the foundation, which focuses on funding AIDS research. How Did the US Airline Industry Perform in 1Q16? (Continued from Prior Part) Analyst recommendation Delta Air Lines (DAL) has a buy rating of 93.3% by the analysts tracking the stock, the highest among all the airlines. Delta is followed by Spirit Airlines (SAVE), with 80% of the analysts recommending a buy and 20% recommending a hold. Plus, 73% of analysts recommend a buy on American Airlines (AAL) while 27% recommend a hold. United Airlines (UAL) also has 71% analysts recommending a buy and 29% recommending a hold. Both Southwest Airlines (LUV) and JetBlue (JBLU) have 67% of the analysts recommending a buy and 33% recommending a hold. Alaska Air Group (ALK) has 50% recommending a buy and 50% recommending a hold. None of the analysts have a sell rating for any of the above airlines. Allegiant Travel (ALGT) is the only airline to have a sell rating from a few analysts. Of these analysts, 46% recommend a buy on ALGT, 46% recommend a hold, and 8% recommend a sell. Return potential According to the Bloomberg consensus 12-month target prices, Delta Air Lines currently has the highest return potential of 45%, followed closely by UAL at 43%. The next in line is American Airlines with a 36% return potential, followed by Allegiant Travel with a 31% return potential and Southwest Airlines with a 30% return potential. JetBlue has a return potential of ~28% while Alaska Air Group has a return potential of ~27%. According to the analysts, Allegiant has the lowest return potentials of 21%. Investors can gain coverage to these stocks by investing in the SPDR Transportation Series Trust ETF (XTN). Upcoming events The 1Q16 earnings season just wrapped up. For a detailed look into how these earning shook out, you can read our post-earnings analysis for Delta Air Lines (DAL), Alaska Air Group (ALK), Spirit Airlines (SAVE), and Southwest Airlines (LUV). The expected earnings dates for 2Q16 are as follows: Delta Air Lines (DAL) July 13, 2016 United Continental (UAL) July 21, 2016 Southwest Airlines (LUV) July 21, 2016 Alaska Air Group (ALK) July 21, 2016 American Airlines July 22, 2016 Spirit Airlines (SAVE) July 22, 2016 JetBlue (JBLU) July 26, 2016 Allegiant Travel (ALGT) July 27, 2016 Story continues We will be covering all of these, so be sure to visit the Market Realist Airlines page. Browse this series on Market Realist: kfc gravy One year after KFC brought back Colonel Sanders, business is better than it had been in years. But the chain needs to accomplish one thing if it wants to truly come back: persuade Americans to trust its food. "In the birthplace of this brand, KFC hasn't done well in decades," KFC's chief marketing officer, Kevin Hochman, told Business Insider during a visit to the chain's Louisville, Kentucky, headquarters. As the chain exploded internationally, sales stagnated and locations rapidly shuttered in the US. KFC has lost more than 1,200 net restaurants in the US in the past 14 years, going from 5,472 locations in 2002 to 4,270 restaurants today. Then there's the issue of KFC's food. The chain has been plagued by rumors of using steroids to produce "Frankenchicken," even as KFC fries its chicken fresh at each restaurant. At the same time, business has been booming for its rival Chick-fil-A, which passed KFC as the No. 1 chicken chain in the US by sales in 2013 with half as many locations. To turn business around, KFC last year turned to the man who started it all: Colonel Harland Sanders. The chain is now undergoing a "Re-Colonelization," reinventing its menu, remodeling restaurants, and retraining employees across the US. Sales are rising, with growth every quarter since the Colonel's return. Here's why KFC's controversial campaign to bring back its founder's image worked and what the chain still needs to do to regain its spot as the top chicken chain in America. The fall of Colonel Sanders colonel sanders kfc As Hochman tells it, KFC began a decades-long decline in quality and sales when Colonel Sanders died in 1980. "The issues started with the brand when he died," Hochman told Business Insider, comparing the post-Sanders-era KFC to Apple after the death of its cofounder Steve Jobs. "People think he was just our spokesperson, and some people don't even know he's real. But, he's really the founder of our values and our recipes." Story continues Soon after the death of Sanders, the chain decided to ditch the Colonel and its iconic red-and-white stripes from marketing. It instead focused on ads featuring young customers, and it introduced a cartoon Colonel in the 1990s something executives today see as an embarrassing misstep. In 1991 the chain changed its name from Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC to highlight nonfried products, but the move inspired rumors that the company genetically modified its chicken. double down Operations broke down internally, as the chain added menu options without considering the effect the changes would have on employees. Attention to bone-in chicken which remains the bulk of KFC's business was downplayed in favor of popcorn chicken and other new developments. Tellingly, one of the chain's most memorable recent products is the Double Down, a double-meat, pseudo-sandwich that KFC is now eager to erase from Americans' memories. In the 1990s, KFC bet big on being hip, running ads starring young customers and chasing trends. The chain even produced an ad featuring a rapping Colonel Sanders. For a while, it worked. Now, as millennial consumers bristle at pandering and authenticity is the catchphrase of the day, it doesn't sell. "The consumer bulls--- meter couldn't be higher," Hochman said. "They know when you're being authentic and true." So the chain decided to return to its roots. The Colonel's revival kfc In May 2015, KFC released an ad starring comedian Darrell Hammond as Colonel Harland Sanders. It attracted a quick reaction in the US not all of it positive. Those who hated the new campaign quickly emerged as the loudest voices on social media. "So far the response has been about 80% positive, 20% hate it," Greg Creed, the CEO of KFC's parent company, Yum Brands, said at a conference a few weeks after the commercial ran. "And I am actually quite happy that 20% hate it, because now they at least have an opinion." Hochman told Business Insider that KFC knew bringing back a more traditional Sanders was a major risk but thought it necessary. "We have to have a point of view," Hochman said. "We've been playing it safe for so many years some people will like it, some people won't like it, but at the end of the day if we're growing our business and we get more people into our brand, it's worth it." KFC Col Sanders The campaign required some tweaking. Hochman said many critics thought KFC was mocking the dead in wanting to poke fun at itself. Sometimes jokes got a little too meta and went over some consumers' heads, such as an ad in which a family of four (a longtime go-to for KFC commercials) eats a family meal in the Colonel's limousine. As the campaign has continued, with three comedians playing the Colonel in the past year, critics' voices have died down. One year in, it looks as if the campaign has gone from a controversy to a marketing success. Commercials starring Colonel Sanders have accumulated millions of views on YouTube, with the Colonel's reintroduction in the No. 1 spot, reaching more than 7 million views. The British ad-tech company Unruly crowned the chain the most shared fast-food brand of the year. Perhaps most exciting for the brand, celebrities are increasingly talking about KFC without the chain paying them to do so. Colonel Sanders wasn't a chef until 40. He franchised his first @kfc at 62. Don't ever stop dreaming. https://t.co/TgAFezuGMf Steve Harvey (@IAmSteveHarvey) August 27, 2015 "The thing that destroys me," Hochman said, was when people say KFC is "disrespecting the Colonel." Hochman said he deeply researched Sanders (KFC has both a museum and an impressive archive) and spoke with as many people who knew Sanders as he could find. "Just the opposite I'm trying to make him relevant again so that a Steve Harvey will tweet about him unprompted!" While commercials have been the Colonel's most noticeable return to KFC, Sanders also dominates the company's multimillion-dollar remodeling efforts. More than 50 locations have already been remodeled, and there are plans to redesign 70% of the chain's US locations, or 3,000 restaurants, in the next three years. remodeled KFC In brand-new locations, the Colonel is everywhere: plastered on the building's exterior, quoted on walls, and even displayed behind-the-scenes in the kitchen. KFC's chief development officer, Brian Cahoe, says the design and new ads go hand-in-hand in revamping the brand's image and bringing customers back to KFC. Putting the Colonel front and center seems to be yielding results for the chain. KFC told Business Insider that millennials' belief that the brand was relevant to them grew in the double digits since the new campaign began. KFC recently achieved its seventh consecutive quarter of sales growth at locations open at least a year, or same-store sales. In 2015 the brand grew system sales, the total sales of all franchise and corporate locations, by 2% in the US. Simply bringing back the Colonel, however, can't save KFC. The Colonel's distinctive voice may help pierce the din of endless marketing by other brands, even for those who hated him. But now KFC needs to get Americans to listen to what he is saying. Killing the 'Frankenchicken' kfc pressure cooker In April, KFC announced it was undergoing "Re-Colonelization," which it describes as a public recommitment to quality involving national employee retraining and a new satisfaction guarantee. "Customers were saying, 'Your food doesn't taste the same,'" Jason Marker, KFC's US president, said in a press event announcing the program. "We're not making the food the same way the Colonel had, and we're not making food in what he described as 'the hard way.' Today marks the end of that." If year one of Colonel Sander's revival at KFC was about rejoining the conversation, part two is making the conversation about food. KFC Lung "Doing things the hard way we think that's our difference in comparison to McDonald's or most QSRs," or quick-service restaurants, said Hochman, who plans to double down on marketing the "food story" at KFC. "We aren't serving stuff that's being cooked in a central kitchen, frozen, and then reheated. We're really making food." KFC chicken is not organic or antibiotic-free, but it is prepared by hand in every restaurant, never frozen (except in special circumstances, such as transport to Hawaii and Alaska), and made without artificial hormones or steroids. Despite this, the chain has been plagued with rumors about mutant chickens and general skepticism regarding food quality. That's where yet again the Colonel comes in. Internally at KFC, Colonel Sanders represents high-quality chicken and "doing things the hard way." The Colonel launched a Re-Colonelization program of his own at KFC in the 1970s, when he was disgusted by the brand's departure from his recipes. KFC lore says that he would travel to restaurants around the US, testing gravy with a golden spoon. If he didn't like it, he would dump that gravy on the floor of the restaurant. If you aren't a KFC history buff, the Colonel-quality link is less clear. Re-Colonelization tries to make the connection, using the catchphrase "Colonel Quality Guaranteed." New ads further the effort, with commercials with lyrics like "the hard way is the way." KFC also launched a blog called "Chicken Chattin'," written under the Colonel Sanders name, with posts like "The Great KFC Mutant Chicken Myth" and "KFC & Colonel Sanders Pledge." Still, while the Colonel Sanders campaign may have grabbed customers' attention, getting Americans to believe a promise by a comedian dressed as Colonel Sanders that KFC sells genuine, "real" food might be more difficult. "I think it's going to take time," Hochman said. "You can't just pivot from Double Downs to 'We make fried chicken in the back of the house' overnight." Nashville Hot Chicken 2 New menu items far from the Double Down are also realigning KFC for a food-focused future. The chain launched Nashville hot chicken, based on an iconic Nashville, Tennessee, dish, in January. While some were skeptical of the product, sales were strong. Nashville, a city originally highly unimpressed by KFC's take on the spicy dish, ended up being one of the top markets of the chicken's sales, according to KFC. Still, the changes aren't enough. Re-Colonelization, with its employee retraining and attempts at improving customer service, needs to extend into KFC kitchens across the US for the chain to take on its biggest fried-chicken competitor. Why Chick-fil-A is still winning Chick-fil-a moms While buckets of Original Recipe chicken can be prepared perfectly in KFC's test kitchen, ensuring that chicken is made "the hard way" at every KFC location is a much more difficult task. Unlike reheating frozen food (like McNuggets) or preparing food (like a Subway sandwich) in front of customers, there's a much wider margin for error when cooking is put in the hands of employees. "Operations, quite frankly, has been broken for a long time," Hochman said. KFC's difficulties in maintaining quality are complicated by its biggest fried-chicken competitor. Chick-fil-A has some of the highest ratings for taste and customer service in the business a fact analysts say allows its locations to make triple the revenue of KFC restaurants. Chick-fil-A's dominance on a restaurant-by-restaurant basis can be traced in part to the chain's peculiar business model. The company accepts just 0.4% of franchisees, making it one of the most selective chains in the industry. Operators do not own or receive any equity in their business and can open only one location. KFC "I don't necessarily subscribe to their religious beliefs, or their beliefs about the world, but I think they find owners that are religious bent [who] tend to be more conservative," Hochman said. "They can make sure that procedures get followed. I think that's a competitive advantage for them. I don't know if it's an advantage I would want, but it's certainly working for them from a business standpoint." Today, Chick-fil-A is pushing a more apolitical, inclusive message than it has in the past. Franchisees are still encouraged, however, to become "entrenched" in their communities, including involvement in local churches a strategy that has helped build up the chain's loyal fan base over the years. It's difficult to pin down what sets Chick-fil-A employees apart (their pay is roughly equivalent to other chains' employees), though the company attributes its success to investing in training employees. With only one location per franchisee and a strongly cultivated company culture, that training may come more easily than at chains like KFC. In essence, Chick-fil-A has developed a reputation for customer-service excellence. KFC has developed the opposite, with even the company acknowledging that customers no longer trust restaurants to delivery quality food, sparking Re-Colonelization. Bringing back the Colonel KFC KFC's operations problems need to be fixed for the chain to stay competitive with Chick-fil-A. As with everything today at KFC, the company's game plan comes back to the Colonel. While Re-Colonelization at first seems like a consumer-focused quality pledge, it has far greater impact behind-the-scenes at KFC. Last year, pressure fryers across the country were recalibrated. The chain spent more than 100,000 worker-hours retraining more than 20,000 employees. KFC held 43 rallies across the US, attended by more than 97% of restaurant general managers, in addition to national training events at every KFC location in the US. KFC Perhaps more interesting are the subtle ways KFC is attempting to boost employee performance and customer service. Redesigned locations reportedly experience reduced turnover and encourage more applications; in the kitchen, new signs encourage employees to "Make the Colonel proud." Blackboards at remodeled locations tell customers where the chicken comes from and identifies the chef who is cooking the chicken that day. Much of the brand's tech innovations are focused on employees, not customers, with digital innovations to help employees schedule shifts, restock, and even chart their distance from work to encourage timeliness. "We've got an initiative right now where I'm trying to make it easier for our employees," Chris Caldwell, KFC's chief information officer, told Business Insider of the brand's tech developments that excited him most. "Working in our restaurants isn't the easiest. You have to freshly prepare food you don't have a whole lot of time for administrative tasks." KFC says taste scores have substantially increased across locations in the past year, apparent proof that the Re-Colonelization process is working by boosting not only customer interest but satisfaction. "I'm not going to tell you, 'Things are fixed! Say anything bad about me! We're Teflon!'" Hochman said. "We're not. We're still putting the pieces back together." It's a long road. KFC is still closing more locations than it is opening, though the company believes that will change in the near future, with growing sales and more remodeled locations. After the Colonel's success getting Americans' attention in the past year, however, KFC is doubling down on its roots. Now it will be left to employees across the US to make sure that the chain's chicken follows suit. NOW WATCH: Heres how many calories are in 6 of the most popular fast-food kids meals More From Business Insider FERIZAJ, Kosovo (Reuters) - A Kosovo court sentenced seven men to a total of 42 years in jail for recruiting on behalf of Islamic State or fighting for the group in Syria, a judge said on Friday. The main defendant, Imam Zekeria Qazimi, was jailed for 10 years for recruiting young Kosovars to go and fight in Syria. In a 2013 YouTube video Qazimi said: "The blood of infidels is the best drink for us," the judgment said. Five others were found guilty of "fighting with the terrorist organization called ISIS after traveling from Pristina to Turkey and later to Syria," the judge said. The seventh man was found guilty of recruiting fighters for Islamic State, also known as ISIS, and fighting in Syria. All the defendants, some chained around the ankles, looked calm as they entered the courtroom surrounded by anti-terrorist police. The case is seen as a test for the young Balkan country as it tries to stop its people joining Islamist groups. Police say around 300 Kosovars have joined Islamic State and more than 50 have been killed. More than 100 people in Kosovo have been arrested or are under investigation for recruiting on behalf of Islamic State or fighting in Syria and Iraq. Authorities say that so far this year no one has gone to join Islamic State in Syria or Iraq. Under a new law, Kosovo can jail its citizens for up to 15 years if they participate in foreign wars. More than 90 percent of Kosovars are Muslim, but they are mostly secular and fiercely pro-American. (Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Giles Elgood) MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Friday condemned NATO's membership invitation to Montenegro, saying the step risked fuelling geopolitical tensions in Europe. "In general, our stance is that NATO's further expansion is a negative process," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters. "This process yields nothing from the point of view of European security." "On the contrary, this process risks further increasing tensions on the continent." NATO formally invited Montenegro to become its 29th member on Thursday, a decision that must still be approved by the U.S. Senate, as well as the military alliances other 27 parliaments and Montenegros own parliament. (Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov/Robin Emmott; Editing by Andrew Osborn) Tarinkot (Afghanistan) (AFP) - Lashes swished and whirled through the air in a burst of celebration around a sea of opium poppies, as farmers in a southern Afghan village rejoiced over a bumper harvest with a traditional rope game. Hundreds of farm labourers from across the Pashtun heartland, many of them Taliban, congregated last month in Naqil in Uruzgan province for the most lucrative time of the year -- the poppy harvest. After labouring all day in the torpid heat, extracting milky opium resin from swollen green pods, they broke into revelry around the bountiful farms. Hands tethered to long ropes, men lunged forward and back within a chalk circle, kicking up dust and knocking down opponents with heavy lash strokes. Hissing and hooting, a crowd of turbaned spectators gathered around to watch the bare-knuckle game known colloquially as "dora". A tricycle cart pulled up nearby, selling ice-cream drizzled with raspberry sauce, lending a carnival atmosphere to the harvest that is expected to bring record opium production this year. "This is the only time of the year to make money," said Afzal Mohammad, who came all the way from Kandahar, standing amid chest-high poppy stalks nearby. "People work here for about 15 days and then are jobless for the rest of the year." The revelry highlights how opium -- refined into heroin -- remains an economic linchpin amid rampant unemployment, and lays bare how the West lost a multi-billion dollar war on drugs in Afghanistan as it pursued a war on terror there. Afghanistan, the world's top opium producer, recorded more poppy cultivation in 2014 -- at the end of which NATO troops officially ended their combat mission -- than in any year since 2002. Last year saw a sharp decline in production, but the crop failure was more due to drought than any eradication campaign, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The drop, observers say, has only intensified efforts to spike production this year. Story continues - Make opium, not war - Fighting usually ebbs during the harvest season, illustrating how the Taliban are deeply entwined in the $3 billion opium trade, believed to be the mainstay of their insurgency against the government. "As the harvest concludes... we expect to see an uptick in Taliban efforts to attack (Afghan forces)," Charles Cleveland, senior spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan, told reporters this month. "There is a concern that the very good poppy crop this year... is going to result in the Taliban being able to turn that into money for their (insurgent) efforts." The ubiquity of opium farms in Uruzgan, a remote mountainous province straddling drug-smuggling routes, is staggering. Poppy grows within eyeshot of the provincial governor's office in the capital Tarin Kot, government buildings and police bases, spurring allegations that officials are also profiting from the opium boom. "We are in a state of war," Uruzgan's governor Mohammad Nazir Kharoti told AFP, voicing helplessness. "Forced eradication will increase economic hardship, fuelling sympathy for the Taliban and people will start sheltering them in their homes." Naqil, hemmed in between verdant hills on the outskirts of Tarin Kot, is a netherworld of opium farmers, drug lords, addicts and, increasingly, the Taliban. It is officially under government control, but authorities are openly wary about visiting the area. With rolling fields of white-and-pink flowers splashed between dull green opium pods visible as far as the eye can see, Naqil is a magnet for labourers during harvest time. - 'Cradle the bulb gently' - The bulbs are typically lanced during the afternoon and left for the night as a sticky resin oozes out and coagulates into a dark brown mass. The labourers collect the sap in the mornings with a flat blade and wipe it into a plastic can hanging around their necks. Many wax philosophical about the process, almost as though it were an act of veneration. "Cradle the poppy bulb gently," said Sher Mohammed, going from bulb to bulb in his farm, making shallow incisions with sharp blades on the tip of a curved wooden spatula. He added: "Lance the bulb with love." For many, the labour-intensive season, which lasts less than a month, is the only productive period; the rest of the year is a hopeless blur. "Afghanistan has too much war, very little employment," said tribal elder Abdul Bari Tokhi, whose extended family owns hundreds of acres of farmland in Naqil. "The world might say if there was no poppy there would be no war in Afghanistan, but for us if there was no poppy there would be no work and no food on the table." Many of the labourers in Naqil were Taliban fighters, residents said. "How did you get here from Dehrawud district, my brother? The Taliban have shut down the highway," one of them asked a thickset man with scraggly hair and a gap-toothed smile. "The highway is closed for the government, not the Taliban," the man smirked. "That's right, you were the ones who shut down the highway," the labourer cackled with laughter. "You are welcome here, my brother. Even the Taliban need to earn money." Miami (AFP) - Nile crocodiles have been discovered living in Florida swamps, the latest in a line of exotic and often dangerous foreign species living in the southeastern US state. Florida's hot, humid climate is an ideal home for all kinds of illegal reptiles, including giant Burmese pythons, Nile monitor lizards and Madagascar geckos. Most were likely released by private exotic animal collectors. University of Florida experts have now confirmed the discovery of two and possibly three Nile crocodiles, animals that -- unlike the local alligators -- can prey on humans. Over the last decade several large groups of Nile crocs "have been imported from South Africa and Madagascar for both zoological display ... and the pet trade," read an article in the academic journal Herpetological Conservation and Biology. Nile crocodiles, which can grow up to six meters (20 feet) long, are known to prey upon creatures such as shrimp, fish, insects, birds, and mammals including humans, the herpetologists wrote. For comparison, American alligators -- common in south Florida and Louisiana -- grow to about four meters long. As for the less common American crocodile, a threatened species that is "shy and reclusive," there are only extremely rare reports of conflicts with people, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife brochure. The Nile crocs can feel entirely at home in Florida and much of the Gulf of Mexico, where the weather and flora is similar to that of its African habitat. mel gibson It's been 10 years since Mel Gibson was arrested on DUI charges on the Pacific Coast Highway in California. And while police officers took him out of his car, the Oscar winner said the infamous words: "F---ing Jews ... the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." After the public recoiled in disgust, Gibson did the revealing interview apologizing for the comments and met with Jewish leaders. In 2007, a judge even praised him for his progress in his alcohol rehab. But the actor who was a sex symbol in the '80s and went on to direct in the '90s and make one of the most profitable movies of all time, "The Passion of the Christ" has never rebounded since that summer evening. Gibson has starred in only six films since 2006 including one that's coming out this summer, "Blood Father." And outside of the disappointing "Edge of Darkness," none had a big studio backing it.* Things didn't get any better for the actor when in 2010 the talent agency William Morris Endeavor Entertainment dropped Gibson after tapes surfaced of him going into a racist rant and making a death threat against his ex-girlfriend. Shane Black director of the new movie "The Nice Guys" and who wrote one of Gibson's most legendary films, "Lethal Weapon" thinks that he knows why the actor has had a lack of work. "I think he's essentially been blacklisted in the industry," Black told Business Insider in a new interview. "I think people don't want to work with him." Shane Black Pascal Le Segretain Getty Gibson has had some big players in the industry try to revive his career, including friend Jodie Foster, who cast him in her 2011 directing effort, "The Beaver." But Gibson hasn't had near the revival of another of his buddies, Robert Downey Jr., whose substance-abuse problems in the late '90s led him to go to prison. In fact, Downey told Black a while back that he'd like Gibson to direct an "Iron Man" movie if another one happens. Black directed "Iron Man 3." Story continues But Black says that there's been no word since, and, as far as he knows, the idea of Gibson helming "Iron Man" is "nothing serious." Black is no stranger to substance abuse, either. He's been open about his hard-partying ways in the '90s and his battle to get sober in 2008. And as someone with his own struggles, Black believes that Gibson needs to be forgiven. Black said: I've always been a tremendous fan of Mel Gibson, not just as an actor, but I think he's a good guy. I just don't believe in holding anyone accountable for something that they say while they're drunk because if I'm drunk I'm going to be deliberately belligerent, first off. I'm going to say something that I know will piss you off and will delight in the fact that I'm destroying the house and burning it down. That's what drunk people do. So the idea that that's truly who a person is when he's had a few, I don't believe that at all. I just think that's wrong. I know a lot of great people and they are not necessarily great when they're drunk. So I don't trust that. Gibson is in postproduction on his first directing effort in a decade, the World War II drama "Hacksaw Ridge" starring Andrew Garfield. The Gibson we knew may never get his full comeback, thanks to the "nasty things" he said that night with the cops, as Black puts it. But he's getting somewhere. *This post has been corrected to reflect the fact that Mel Gibson has had one starring role in a movie backed by a major studio since his DUI charges, in "Edge of Darkness." NOW WATCH: Before you see Fury Road, watch the 1979 trailer for Mad Max that started it all More From Business Insider LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Libya plans to load three additional crude cargoes this month from the recently reopened Marsa El Hariga terminal, after a tanker for trader Glencore departed on Friday. The country's National Oil Corp (NOC) in Tripoli chartered the Kriti Breeze to load 400,000 barrels of crude at the terminal in the next two days to take to the 120,000 barrels-per-day Zawia refinery, according to shipping brokers. After it loads, the Kriti will be the second tanker to depart from the port after Glencore's Seachance which waited for three weeks to load its 660,000 barrel cargo amid a standoff between eastern and western factions. The Seachance has already left Hariga, according to NOC, and Reuters tracking data shows the tanker making its way to Malta. Two additional tankers are due to load at the port this month according to the loading programme, trading and shipping sources said. The additional tankers are most likely going to be lifted by Glencore as the trader has exclusive rights for exports from the terminal. Glencore loaded around 4.2 million barrels of crude from the port in April, according to traders. Traders said Indian buyers could turn to Libyan crude to replace lost Nigerian barrels after militant activity cut Nigeria's oil exports to a more than 22-year low of under 1.4 million bpd. Indian refiner HPCL bought a cargo of Qua Iboe crude from Glencore via a tender, but the tanker failed to load because of the supply disruptions, traders said. The heads of Libya's two NOCs signed an initial agreement in Vienna on May 15 asking the eastern parliament, known as the House of Representatives, and the Presidency Council, which represents the unity government, to unify the energy sector, NOC said in a statement on Friday. The agreement also called for the resumption of exports from Marsa el Hariga. "Resuming crude oil supplies will help to limit the deficit in the Libyan budget, the draw on Central Bank reserves and the direct effects on the Libyan dinar rates," the statement said. NOC also sought to assure the market on the future stability of Messla and Sarir crude exports from Hariga, adding it will do its "best to restore the confidence in the Libyan grades". (Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar and Dmitry Zhdannikov in London and Libby George in New York, editing by David Evans) RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images(MEXICO CITY) -- Mexico's Foreign Ministry has approved drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's extradition to the U.S. The extradition was sought by the Federal Distrtict Court for the Western District of Texas on charges of conspiracy, organized crime, weapons possession, murder, and money laundering. The District Court of the United States for the Southern District of California sought extradition for Guzman on the charge of association to import and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. Mexican officials said the U.S. government provided "sufficient assurances" that it would not seek the death penalty for Guzman if he was extradited and tried in the U.S. The Mexican drug lord can still appeal, but if chooses not to, his extradition will be imminent. Guzman was captured in January after six months on the run and the U.S. extradition request for Guzman was initiated just after his capture. Since his capture, Guzman had been housed in the maximum-security Altiplano prison near Mexico City, but earlier this month he was transferred to the Ciudad Juarez jail in northern Mexico near the Texas border. Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. On May 20, 1996, the Supreme Court issued an early landmark decision supporting the right of gays under the Constitution to seek protection from discrimination. justicekennedy640 The majority decision in Romer v. Evans was written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, who went on to play a prominent role in future decisions that affected the constitutional rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Link: Read The Decision Along in the majority with Kennedy were Justices John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day OConnor, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. The dissenters were Chief Justice William Rehnquist, and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. The issue in Romer v. Evans was Colorados Amendment 2, which was passed by a majority of the states voters in 1992. Amendment 2 barred any judicial, legislative, or executive action designed to protect persons in Colorado from discrimination based on their homosexual, lesbian, or bisexual orientation, conduct, practices or relationships. Quickly, a legal challenge was launched, and a Colorado state trial court issued a permanent injunction stopping Amendment 2s enforcement. The Colorado Supreme Court agreed with the lower court and the case went to the Supreme Court in 1996. In the opening of his majority opinion, Kennedy cited perhaps the most-famous dissent in Supreme Court history, John Marshall Harlans stirring opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson. One century ago, the first Justice Harlan admonished this Court that the Constitution neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens, Kennedy said. Unheeded then, those words now are understood to state a commitment to the laws neutrality where the rights of persons are at stake. The Equal Protection Clause enforces this principle and today requires us to hold invalid a provision of Colorados Constitution. Kennedy noted that a law can be sustained under the Equal Protection Clause, even if it seems to disadvantage a group, so long as it advances a legitimate government interest. We must conclude that Amendment 2 classifies homosexuals not to further a proper legislative end but to make them unequal to everyone else. This Colorado cannot do. A State cannot so deem a class of persons a stranger to its laws. Story continues Scalias dissent cited a previous Supreme Court decision, Bowers v. Hardwick, which he said allowed for disfavorable treatment of gays. Since the Constitution of the United States says nothing about this subject, it is left to be resolved by normal democratic means, including the democratic adoption of provisions in state constitutions, Scalia said. The constitutional amendment before us here is not the manifestation of a bare desire to harm homosexuals, but is rather a modest attempt by seemingly tolerant Coloradans to preserve traditional sexual mores against the efforts of a politically powerful minority to revise those mores through use of the laws, he added. Lambda Legal, a group involved in the case that advocates for gays and lesbian people, says the Romer decision was the single most positive Supreme Court ruling in the history of the gay rights movement when it was decided. Later, in 2003, the Supreme Court overturned the Bowers v. Hardwick decision in another landmark case, Lawrence v. Texas. And again, Justice Kennedy wrote a majority opinion that focused on gays rights versus laws that restricted them. The Texas statute furthers no legitimate state interest which can justify its intrusion into the personal and private life of the individual, Kennedy said. Echoing the recent cases in front of the Supreme Court, Scalia in his Lawrence dissent said that if moral disapprobation of homosexual conduct is no legitimate state interest for purposes of proscribing that conduct what justification could there possibly be for denying the benefits of marriage to homosexual couples exercising [t]he liberty protected by the Constitution? Recent Stories on Constitution Daily Jeffrey Rosen is taking your questions about the Constitution Constitution Check: Is plea bargaining a step toward closing Guantanamo? Podcast: Marijuana and the Constitution Zurich (AFP) - Richemont, the world's second-biggest luxury goods group, on Friday posted a 67-percent higher annual net profit, boosted by a lucrative merger, but fell slightly short of analyst expectations. Richemont, second only to France's LVMH in the luxury world, posted a net profit of 2.2 billion euros ($2.5 billion), with its coffers padded by the merger of its online sales platform Net-a-Porter and an Italian counterpart, Yoox. The merger took place in October, handing Richemont 50 percent of the new entity, although only 25 percent of voting rights. The operation alone translated into a net gain of 639 million euros, and Richemont said its net profit during its 2015/2016 fiscal year, which closed on March 31, was also boosted by a favourable comparison to the previous year, which was hard-hit by a stronger Swiss franc. The company meanwhile saw a six-percent hike in sales to 11 billion euros during its fiscal year. But analysts polled by Swiss financial news agency AWP had expected to see a net profit of 2.3 billion euros and sales of 11.1 billion. Following the news, Richemont saw its share price open more than five percent lower at 58.20 Swiss francs a piece. But by mid-morning it was trading down just 0.8 percent, at 61.10 francs, as the Swiss stock exchange's main SMI index swelled more than one percent. The drop likely also reflected Richemont's dreary outlook. While the Geneva-based company, which owns top global brands such as Jaeger LeCoultre, Van Cleef & Arpels and IWC, reported double-digit growth during the first half of its fiscal year, the second half was far weaker amid an overall declining appetite for luxury items, and especially high-end watches. For April, the first month of its current fiscal year, sales plunged 18 percent, with declines reported in all regions, the company said. "In the near term, we are doubtful that any meaningful improvement in the trading environment is to be expected," Richemont chairman Johann Rupert acknowledged. The company nonetheless proposed raising its dividend six percent to 1.70 Swiss francs per share for the last fiscal year, up from 1.60 Swiss francs a year earlier. By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Macedonian citizen was extradited to the United States on Friday to face charges related to his operation of a website called Codeshop that authorities say was responsible for selling the data of thousands of credit cards from around the world. Djevair Ametovski, 29, was arrested in Slovenia in 2014 and was extradited from there to face charges including aggravated identity theft and wire fraud conspiracy contained in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York. Ametovski, who authorities say was known online as "codeshop," "sindrom" and "sindromx," is expected to appear in court on Saturday, prosecutors said. A lawyer for Ametovski could not be immediately identified. The case stemmed from what U.S. authorities said was a seven-year investigation undertaken amid efforts to combat cyber marketplaces where consumers' financial and personal information are bought and sold. "Today marks a major step in bringing the alleged operator of one such criminal marketplace to justice and should serve as a warning to others who seek to profit from perpetuating these fraudulent schemes," Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Robert Capers said. Prosecutors said that from 2010 to 2014, Ametovski ran a "carding shop" online that obtained and sold data for more than 181,000 unique compromised credit and debit cards, enabling the loss of millions of dollars to thousands of victims. Ametovski obtained the data from hackers, who stole it from financial institutions and other businesses, and used a series of online money exchangers and digital currencies to pay them. Users who bought data on Codeshop used it generally to make online purchases and to encode plastic cards that could be used to withdraw cash at ATMs, prosecutors said. The case is U.S. v. Ametovski, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 14-mj-058. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Leslie Adler) By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Macedonian citizen was extradited to the United States on Friday to face charges related to his operation of a website called Codeshop that authorities say was responsible for selling the data of thousands of credit cards from around the world. Djevair Ametovski, 29, was arrested in Slovenia in 2014 and was extradited from there to face charges including aggravated identity theft and wire fraud conspiracy contained in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York. Ametovski, who authorities say was known online as "codeshop," "sindrom" and "sindromx," is expected to appear in court on Saturday, prosecutors said. A lawyer for Ametovski could not be immediately identified. The case stemmed from what U.S. authorities said was a seven-year investigation undertaken amid efforts to combat cyber marketplaces where consumers' financial and personal information are bought and sold. "Today marks a major step in bringing the alleged operator of one such criminal marketplace to justice and should serve as a warning to others who seek to profit from perpetuating these fraudulent schemes," Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Robert Capers said. Prosecutors said that from 2010 to 2014, Ametovski ran a "carding shop" online that obtained and sold data for more than 181,000 unique compromised credit and debit cards, enabling the loss of millions of dollars to thousands of victims. Ametovski obtained the data from hackers, who stole it from financial institutions and other businesses, and used a series of online money exchangers and digital currencies to pay them. Users who bought data on Codeshop used it generally to make online purchases and to encode plastic cards that could be used to withdraw cash at ATMs, prosecutors said. The case is U.S. v. Ametovski, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 14-mj-058. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Leslie Adler) The effort must be all consuming. Now that Donald Trump is the last man standing in the Republican presidential race, Democrats are searching for the best way to convince voters he should never be allowed to set foot in the White House. Hillary Clinton and her allies seem to believe that using his own words against him will prove effective. The question is, Why would that work now when it hasnt worked so far? Television ads featuring a variety of statements Trump has made about womenwhich might reasonably be assumed to offendstarted airing this week in the general-election battleground states of Ohio, Virginia, Florida, and Nevada. The ads are paid for by pro-Clinton super PAC Priorities USA. One shows womenyoung, old, black, and whitemouthing the words to comments from Trump. Does Donald Trump Really Speak for You? the 30-second ad asks ominously. Another starts with Trump proclaiming: Nobody respects women more than Donald Trump. It contrasts that with clips of him saying, There has to be some form of punishment for abortion and suggesting he would cut funding for Planned Parenthood. If it wasnt already clear that the presidential election would focus on gender politics, it is now. But will that do anything to hurt a politician who has so far seemed immune to harm? Trump supporters love the fact that, in their eyes, he tells it like it is, throwing political correctness out the window. Far from a liability, that has been a key reason for Trumps success. Still, while the Republican candidate has convinced plenty of voters to side with him, there is reason to believe his controversial statements have taken a toll on his standing with women. A Gallup poll released in April indicated that Trump has become increasingly unpopular with women as the primary election drags on. In July 2015, 58 percent of women had an unfavorable image of Trump. By March 2016, that had jumped to a full 70 percent. Story continues It seems likely that Trump being Trump has damaged his popularitynot necessarily with the conservative voters who have faithfully supported him, but with women who make up the broader electorate. The Republican primary electorate is going to be more forgiving of him, said Kelly Dittmar, a scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. But when he tries to win over female swing voters, those moderates at the center, and unmarried women who will be key to this election, they may be more offended by things he has said than women who were already in his camp. The teflon armor that has kept Trump safe so far may not protect him in the general election. Democrats have multiple paths to potentially win, and one that no one wants to talk about ... is making sure that turnout is low on the other side. But if so many women dislike Trump already, why focus attention there? Jennifer Lawless, the director of the Women and Politics Institute at American University, suggests the ad campaign may not be so much about trying to make Trump even more unpopular with women as it is about making sure feelings of ill-will toward him dont fade. The Trump campaigns efforts for the next few months will be to try and peel back some of that distaste, Lawless said. If Democrats are able to go out there and depict him as a candidate who will not, in fact, be good for women, that will keep them on stronger footing. Its not necessarily about motivating women even further; its making sure that they stay turned off. Women are of course not a monolithic voting bloc. But attacks against Trump focused on women could prove effective across several categories of voters. They might motivate turnout for Clinton among Democratic women inclined to dislike Trump but who may not follow politics closely and might otherwise consider sitting out the November election. They could sway undecided voters to support Clinton over Trump, or persuade Republican women who will never vote for Clinton to also not vote for Trump. Democrats have multiple paths to potentially win, and one that no one wants to talk about because its not good for democratic legitimacy is making sure that turnout is low on the other side, Lawless said. Recommended: Donald v. Ivanka The ads could be effective for other reasons as well. Swing voters are likely to be more receptive to an attack against Trump that comes from a third-party group with an innocuous-sounding name (like Priorities USA) as opposed to from a candidate. If youre a strong partisan, you prefer to hear from your party or your nominee, but the closer you get to the middle of the partisan spectrum, the more likely you are to be swayed by outside group advertising, said Erika Franklin Fowler, the co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks and analyzes election advertising. People tend to see candidates and parties as self-interested, whereas outside groups with generic names are less likely to generate backlash. (For his part, Trump will do his best to tie Clinton to any advertising paid for by outside groups. Earlier in the week, he tweeted: Amazing that Crooked Hillary can do a hit ad on me concerning women when her husband was the WORST abuser of woman in U.S. political history.) Still, the impact of political advertising shouldnt be overstated. There are many moving parts to any winning campaign. Negatively defining an opponent can be an important part of an effective strategy, but it is just one part, and advertising is only one way to achieve that. Campaign consultants and political commentators love nothing more than to dissect the messages of campaign advertisements, wrote George Washington Universitys John Sides in The New York Times in 2011, before ultimately concluding: The power attributed to specific campaign ads is vastly exaggerated. Recommended: The Narcissist As Democrats attempt to negatively define Trump in the minds of voters, they may struggle to concretely sum-up the supposed dangers of a Trump presidency, especially given how hard the candidate has been to pin down. Trump has defied conservative orthodoxy, and he continually seems to redefine his own positions. That will make it harder to come up with a comprehensive argument against him. The overall message of the ad blitz from Priorities USA has the potential to appeal to a broader electorate. It effectively suggests that Trump doesnt have the temperament or the qualifications to be president. But Democrats risk watering that message down if it is filtered through the prism of how Trump talks about women or any other other single segment of the overall electorate. Also, given the intense loathing on display for establishment politicians of all stripes this electoral season, voters may reject the argument that Trump isnt presidential. Sure, hes not the typical politician, but thats precisely why his supporters love him. Making people feel uneasy about the prospects of a Trump presidency may not be enough to convince them to vote against him. Even if voters dont like what they see of Trump in ads, they are sure to weigh that consideration against many other factors, including whether they think that Trumpwith his straight talk and promises to Make America Great Againwill be better for the country than the alternative. Recommended: Why It's So Hard to Get Rid of the Confederate Flag As Democrats look for the best way to build a case against Trump, they will also have to contend with the fact that the Republican candidate has proved remarkably adept at negatively branding his rivals. Frequently, he does so before they have successfully managed to land an attack against him. Trump already seems to have settled on a concise attack against Clinton, calling her Crooked Hillary on Twitter. Thats sure to stick in the minds of voters, and it plays on a long-standing vulnerability for Clinton: The perception that she may not be trustworthy. As the advertising blitz builds up and the next chapter of the presidential election opens, it will soon become apparent whether Trump can continue to defy the unofficial laws of politics. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. A Malaysian murder convict was hanged in Singapore Friday, police said, hours after the city-state's highest court rejected a final bid for him to escape the gallows. "A 32-year-old male Malaysian national, Jabing Kho had his death sentence carried out on 20 May 2016 at Changi Prison Complex," the Singapore Police Force said in a statement. Kho, who was sentenced to death in 2010 for the murder of a Chinese construction worker, had been due to hang in Changi Prison at dawn Friday, but was granted a brief last-minute reprieve after his lawyer filed a challenge. The Court of Appeal heard the latest plea Friday morning but said it raised no new arguments about the 2008 robbery gone wrong, clearing the way for the execution. "This case has been about many things but today, it's about the abuse of the process of the court," said Court of Appeal Judge Chao Hick Tin. Allowing Kho to continue with legal challenges would throw the judicial system "into disrepute," he added. Executions in Singapore are normally carried out by hanging at dawn on Fridays. After Kho was sentenced to death in 2010, Singapore amended its mandatory death penalty for murder, giving judges the discretion to impose life imprisonment under certain circumstances. Kho's case was reviewed and he was re-sentenced to a life term in 2013. But state prosecutors appealed that ruling and his death sentence was reinstated in January 2015. He was scheduled for execution on November 6 last year but another last-minute appeal saved him. Kho's accomplice in the crime had his conviction for murder overturned and got more than 18 years in prison and 19 strokes of the cane. Singapore, which has rejected calls by rights groups to abolish the death penalty, executed four people in 2015, one for murder and three for drug offences, according to prison statistics. Malaysia also uses capital punishment, executing murderers and drug traffickers by hanging, a system which, like that in Singapore, dates back to British colonial rule. LONDON (Reuters) - A man with a conviction for murder pleaded guilty to trespass on Friday after scaling a perimeter wall of Queen Elizabeth's Buckingham Palace and asking if the monarch was at home, the BBC reported. Dennis Hennessy, 41, climbed over the wall surrounding the queen's home in central London on Wednesday night and walked for about 10 minutes around the grounds of the palace where 90-year-old Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip were staying. Hennessy, who cut his hand scaling the wall, was arrested about 10 minutes later after an alarm was activated. Prosecutor Tom Nicholson said when detained by officers he repeatedly asked them "Is Ma'am in", the BBC reported. In an interview with police, Hennessy, who was convicted of murdering a homeless man in 1992, said he had walked through the garden to enjoy the view, the BBC added. He admitted one count of trespass on a protected site and one count of criminal damage and was jailed for four months, police said. The incident occurred hours after the queen had returned to the palace having earlier carried out the State Opening of Parliament. "He was located in the grounds by officers and arrested without incident - our security measures worked effectively and ensured the safety of those within the Palace," Commander Adrian Usher, head of London police's Royalty and Specialist Protection unit, said. A spokesman for the queen said the palace did not comment on security issues. There have been a number of security breaches at the palace over the years. In October 2013 a man armed with a knife tried to enter the palace through one of its gates and was later jailed for 16 months. That took place just a month after two men were arrested following a break-in at the palace in one of the most serious security breaches there for about 30 years. One of the biggest security breaches at Buckingham Palace happened in 1982 when an intruder, Michael Fagan, climbed a wall and wandered into a room where the queen was in bed. (Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Estelle Shirbon and Guy Faulconbridge) F home to giant, killer pythons, is now welcoming a new friend to the neighborhood: Nile crocodiles. The invasive species native to eastern Africa have appeared in the Florida Everglades recently, many thousands of miles from its homeland, where theyre responsible for some 200 human deaths a year, CBS Miami reported. Read more: The Bizarre Thing Baffling Amazon Users About This Toy Fighter Jet Nobody has any idea how the creatures came to the Sunshine state, though some have speculated that it may been through the illegal exotic pets trade. They didnt swim from Africa," University of Florida herpetologist Kenneth Krysko told CBS Miami. "But we really dont know how they got into the wild. Like killer Africanized honey bees of a different era, these African crocodiles are considerably more dangerous than their locally found American cousins. In addition to generally being a more cantankerous varietal, the crocs have been known to relish preying on cattle, large mammals and yes, given the chance, it would even eat a human. Between 2010 and 2014, 354 human fatalities were reported caused by the fearsome reptile, BuzzFeed reported. Florida has long been a haven for invasive species. In addition to the python and Nile crocodile, the state also boats such cuddly creatures as the Asiatic clam, the walking catfish, the brown basilisk and many others. T By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) - Many cancers in the U.S. could be avoided if Americans adopted healthier lifestyles, according to a new study. People could cut back on their cancer risk by maintaining a healthy body weight, exercising, not abusing alcohol and not smoking, the study suggests. The findings challenge the results of a 2015 report in the journal Science that attributed many cancers simply to the bad luck of mutations during cell division, according to the authors of the new report in JAMA Oncology. The study's lead author told Reuters Health that in addition to challenging the notion that most cancers can't be prevented, the researchers wanted to clarify what proportion of U.S. cancer cases can be tied to lifestyle factors. "We want to clarify the confusion that has been created by the Science paper and to make sure the public understands the importance of lifestyle factors on cancer risk," said Dr. Mingyang Song, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. Song and his colleague Dr. Edward Giovannucci used data on 135,970 people, mostly whites, to calculate how many cancer cases could be prevented if people maintained healthy lifestyles. They defined a healthy lifestyle as not smoking, not abusing alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight and exercising. Overall, 11,731 people, or about 9 percent, fell into the healthy group, which the researchers considered low-risk. People who didn't meet the healthy criteria were considered high risk. About 25 percent of cancers in women and 33 percent of cancers in men could be attributed to lifestyle factors, the researchers maintain. A large number of cancer-related deaths could also be tied to those factors. When they compared the healthy group and the general white U.S. population, the results were even more dramatic with 41 percent of cancer in women and 63 percent of cancer in men being tied to lifestyle factors. For individual types of cancers, they found that 78 to 82 percent of lung cancers, 20 to 29 percent of colon and rectal cancers, 29 to 20 percent of pancreas cancers and 27 to 32 percent of liver cancers may be tied to lifestyle factors. About 4 percent of breast cancer cases and about 21 percent of endometrial, ovarian and prostate cancers can be tied to lifestyle factors, too, according to the authors. Song said the results should encourage people to adopt or continue to follow healthy lifestyles. In an editorial, Dr. Graham Colditz and Siobhan Sutcliffe of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis agree that the new study shows cancer is preventable. "Thats not to say there arent some genetic components, but if youre not smoking your risk is substantially lower," Colditz told Reuters Health. Referring to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's initiative to find cancer cures, Colditz said it's also important to harness this information and implement population-based strategies to prevent cancers through lifestyle factors. "Clearly the vice president's 'moonshot' needs to really engage and take prevention as a serious strategy so we actually implement what we know," he said. "For me the challenge is to get beyond just thinking this is all an individual choice." SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1Xn1z96 and http://bit.ly/1Xn1r9J JAMA Oncology, online May 19, 2016. Maroon 5 announced Friday (May 20) that they're canceling their upcoming concerts in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, due to the state's controversial House Bill 2 legislation. Nick Jonas Explains Decision to Cancel North Carolina Concert A short statement explaining the cancellations was posted on the band's website. "This was a difficult decision for us to make as a band," the statement reads. "We don't want to penalize our fans in North Carolina by not performing for them, but in the end it comes down to what we feel is morally right." We are announcing our cancellation of our Charlotte and Raleigh, NC shows. Read our statement on our website here- https://t.co/3FIFqmaOfj - Maroon 5 (@maroon5) May 20, 2016 Laura Jane Grace Will Perform in North Carolina 'As a Form of Protest' Against Anti-LGBT Laws Maroon 5 joins the growing ranks of musicians scratching North Carolina off their tour list to protest the anti-LGBT law, including Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Nick Jonas. But there are others who are using their performances as protests in themselves, such as Against Me!'s transgender frontwoman Laura Jane Grace, who burned her birth certificate on stage at a show in the state. By Colleen Jenkins WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Reuters) - The band Maroon 5 is cancelling concerts planned in North Carolina, the latest musical act to take a stand against a state law on bathroom use that has been criticized as discriminatory against transgender people. "This was a difficult decision for us to make as a band," the American pop rock group said on its website on Friday. "We dont want to penalize our fans in North Carolina by not performing for them, but in the end it comes down to what we feel is morally right AS WE FEEL EVERYONE SHOULD BE TREATED EQUALLY." With a law passed in March, North Carolina became the first state in the country to require transgender people to use multiple-occupancy public restrooms and changing facilities that correspond with the gender on their birth certificate rather than their gender identity. The law, approved by the Republican-led legislature in a one-day special session, also blocks local governments from passing anti-discrimination ordinances that include protections based on gender identity and sexual orientation. It has sparked lawsuits by both supporters and opponents of the law, and a mounting backlash from corporations, conventions, tourists and entertainers. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department asked a federal district court to declare that the state is violating the 1964 Civil Rights Act. On Tuesday, renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman also backed out of a scheduled performance in North Carolina in protest of the law. Other performers who have canceled shows in the state include Bruce Springsteen, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Boston, Pearl Jam, Ringo Starr and the group Cirque du Soleil. The upcoming shows by Maroon 5, known for hits such as Moves Like Jagger, were to be held in Raleigh and Charlotte. The band's decision drew praise and criticism from fans posting comments on its website. "You shouldn't punish your fans who have no control over the politics!" one post said. Republican Governor Pat McCrory's campaign spokesman Ricky Diaz questioned the timing of the band's "political statement." McCrory is up for re-election in November. "At this point, the only people they are hurting by hypocritically targeting North Carolina for selective outrage are their fans and the hardworking men and women servicing these shows while they keep tour dates overseas even in Russia," Diaz said in a statement. (Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Frances Kerry) The wildfire that displaced more than 80,000 residents of Fort McMurray and forced the evacuation of thousands of workers on the Alberta oil sands has now officially reached neighboring Saskatchewan province. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reports that the fire now covers an estimated area of 1,952 sq. mi., but has so far burned less than 3 sq. mi. in Saskatchewan. Smoke and ash from the fire could now be a problem for the town of La Loche, close to the provincial border, Saskatchewan Fire Commissioner Duane McKay was quoted as saying. I would remind everyone that this fire has been completely unpredictable, he said. It was anticipated to be in Saskatchewan just over a week ago and it stalled out. It is now moving again, but weather forecasts are indicating that should slow. The report said nine fires were now burning in Saskatchewan, although officials say seven of those have been contained. [CBC] LONDON (Reuters) - New global guidelines on the treatment of heart failure endorse the use of Novartis' Entresto, boosting the prospects for a drug that has struggled to gain traction since its launch last year. U.S. and European heart experts said on Friday that Entresto should replace two older types of drugs known as ACE inhibitors and ARBs in heart failure patients who have adequate blood pressure and tolerance to standard drugs. However, Entresto should not be given together with an ACE inhibitor or used in patients with a history of fluid build-up, they said. The American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the European Society of Cardiology said they issued their guidelines simultaneously to "unify the message, minimize confusion, and improve and standardize the care of patients". The guidelines also said Amgen's new drug Corlanor may be beneficial when given on top of beta blockers for certain heart failure patients who have a resting heart rate of at least 70 beats per minute. There have been few new drugs for heart failure - a debilitating condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood around the body - and Novartis has touted Entresto as an eventual $5 billion-a-year seller. Entresto was hailed as a major advance in treatment after a pivotal clinical trial in 2014 found it significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular death compared to a standard ACE inhibitor. Yet first-quarter sales of the medicine were just $17 million and Novartis now predicts 2016 sales of a modest $200 million, well below earlier analyst forecasts. The lack of specific guidelines from professional bodies until now may have contributed to reticence among some doctors to prescribe Entresto - but cost is also an issue. With a price tag of around $4,500 a year, some physicians worry that patients might quit their medication. Novartis on Thursday unveiled a battery of new clinical trials for Entresto designed to boost confidence in the drug and assuage doctors' concerns over switching patients to Entresto when they are stable on older medicines. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Hugh Lawson) Berlin (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will raise concerns over democracy in Turkey when she meets President Recep Tayyip Erdogan next week, her spokesman said Friday, as Ankara began a final vote on a contentious bill lifting parliamentary immunity. "For the domestic stability of every democracy, it is important for every relevant group in society to be also represented in parliament. The situation will certainly be raised by the chancellor on the sidelines of the humanitarian summit with Turkey's president," said Steffen Seibert. Turkey's parliament was voting behind closed doors on a bill that could strip dozens of pro-Kurdish and other lawmakers of their parliamentary immunity and drive them out of the legislature. Lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) are particularly vulnerable to prosecution on allegations of links or even verbal support for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is fighting a renewed insurgency against the Turkish state. Seibert said the German government is "very concerned about the increasing political polarisation, the polarisation of the domestic political debate" in Turkey. "We see freedom of the press and opinion playing a central role in every healthy democracy, and that applies not only to the work of the media, but also to the public expression of all citizens who wish to participate in political and societal debate, and that applies particularly also to their elected representatives," he said. Ties between Germany and Turkey have been strained lately by a bitter freedom of speech row sparked by a German comic's crude satirical poem about Erdogan. The poem accused Erdogan of bestiality and paedophilia, and Ankara wants the comedian to be prosecuted under a little-applied lese majeste law in Germany. The row has come at a particularly awkward moment as the EU desperately needs Ankara's cooperation to help curb a massive influx of migrants. MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican drug boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman will file multiple legal challenges against Friday's ruling to extradite him, one of his lawyers said, a move that could delay his eventual transfer to face charges in the United States for weeks. Mexico's Foreign Ministry on Friday approved Guzman's extradition to the United States, and said it had received guarantees that the death penalty would not be sought against him. The ministry said he would face charges including drug trafficking, money laundering and murder in U.S. federal courts in California and Texas. Juan Pablo Badillo, one of Guzman's lawyers, told Reuters he would file "many" legal challenges in the coming days. "El Chapo" was the head of the Sinaloa drug cartel and one of the world's most wanted drug kingpins until his capture in January, six months after he broke out of a high-security jail in central Mexico through a mile-long tunnel. The government recaptured him in January and President Enrique Pena Nieto said soon afterwards he had taken steps to ensure Guzman was extradited as soon as possible. (Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Simon Gardner) Joaquin The Mexican government announced on Friday that it had approved the extradition of Sinaloa cartel chief Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, which had been requested by the US government last year. According to the Mexican Foreign Ministry's announcement, Guzman was notified that Mexico had agreed to the request for him to be processed before the US District Court for Western Texas on charges of criminal association, organized crime, weapons possession, homicide, and money laundering. He will also face charges of conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine in the District Court for Southern California. The US has guaranteed that Guzman will not face the death penalty, the ministry told Bloomberg in an email, which is a condition of the US-Mexico extradition agreement. Guzman's defense team now has 30 days to file an injunction against extradition, something his attorneys have said they will do, The Associated Press reports. "And we have to understand that Chapo Guzman has the best attorneys that money can buy in Mexico. He's got a legal team that are doing nothing more than filing injunctions," Mike Vigil, the former chief of international operations for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, told Business Insider earlier this week. "They actually filed an injunction based on Trump's statements that Mexico is sending all the murderers and rapists to the United States, saying as a result of Trump's statements he could not get a fair trial or due process here in the United States," Vigil added. The injunction process means that months could remain before Guzman's extradition is finalized. el chapo guzman The US sent a request for Guzman's extradition on June 25, 2015, just a few weeks before the kingpin escaped from a high-security prison through a mile-long tunnel. When Guzman was recaptured in January, the Mexican government formally began the extradition process within days. Story continues Guzman is currently jailed in a Mexican federal prison just outside of Ciudad Juarez, only miles from El Paso in western Texas. He was moved from a prison in central Mexico to the one near Ciudad Juarez without notice early this month, and his relocation was followed quickly by two Mexican judges signing off on the legal proceedings involved in his extradition. Their rulings sent the extradition request to the foreign ministry for approval, though many doubted that it would sign off so soon. While the Mexican government's announcement names Southern California's and Western Texas' District Courts as where he will face charges, the Sinaloa kingpin has also been charged in five other US courts, including District Courts in New York and Florida. El Chapo Guzman pinata image There has been speculation that US prosecutors would negotiate with Guzman once he arrives in the US. But the strength of the cases against him suggest to some that prosecutors will not be so inclined. "There's a lot of evidence. There's a lot of individuals that will be testifying, a lot of wire-intercept evidence, things of that nature ... cooperating individuals," Vigil said. "So the case is strong against him, and I think they're going to want to see him put away for the rest of his days." "The US government always has more leverage, particularly in a case like this where he is facing life in prison," Marcos Jimenez, a former US attorney for the Southern District of Florida, told Business Insider in an email earlier this week. NOW WATCH: Watch newly released video of 'El Chapo' being booked by Mexican authorities More From Business Insider Mexico City (AFP) - Mexico on Friday agreed to extradite drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to the United States where he faces narcotics and murder charges, the foreign ministry said. The announcement follows a series of dramatic escapades by El Chapo or "Shorty" Guzman, 59, considered the world's most wanted drug boss as leader of the Sinaloa cartel. "The Mexican government grants his international extradition to the government of the United States of America for him to be tried," the ministry said in a statement. Guzman escaped from a top-security jail in July 2015 and was recaptured in January. Police caught him after a colorful episode involving a US-Mexican soap opera actress and the Hollywood star Sean Penn, who met with Guzman in hiding. The ministry said it had approved the extradition after receiving assurances from the US government that Guzman would not face the death penalty if convicted, since he could not receive such a punishment under Mexican law. It said it had notified the suspect's lawyers of the agreement to extradite Guzman, who is wanted by courts in California and Texas. Guzman's legal team has a month to appeal against the decision before it is carried out. - Jail conditions - A Mexican judge on Monday ruled that Guzman could be extradited to face drug trafficking, money laundering and murder charges in a US federal court in Texas. Previously a judge had also endorsed an extradition request based on cocaine-smuggling charges filed at a court in California. Guzman's lawyer, Jorge Refugio Rodriguez, told AFP after those rulings that he would appeal if the foreign ministry decided to extradite his client. Refugio has vowed to fight extradition. He said Guzman has hired a US lawyer and would be willing to plead guilty in return for good US prison conditions. A US government official who asked not to be named told AFP on May 9 that the United States would not negotiate with Guzman over his plea or conditions. Story continues The official expected Guzman to be extradited by the end of this year. President Enrique Pena Nieto's government had previously balked at sending Guzman to the United States. But after Guzman was recaptured in January, Pena Nieto asked the attorney general's office to expedite the extradition process. - Hollywood tale - The government was embarrassed by last year's escape, when Guzman tunneled out of what was supposed to be one of Mexico's most secure prisons. It was one of two dramatic prison breaks the cartel boss has staged. In 2001, he hid in a laundry cart to sneak out of a maximum-security lockup in western Mexico. He was detained in February 2014 after a long manhunt. In July 2015 he escaped again, this time from the Altiplano prison, sneaking out through a 1.5-kilometer (one-mile) tunnel leading to his cell's shower. He was recaptured in January and sent back to Altiplano near the capital, which is still considered the highest security prison despite his escape. As the extradition drive gathered speed, Guzman was abruptly transferred last week from Altiplano to a jail in Ciudad Juarez, at the US border. His lawyers have complained about conditions in the Juarez jail. Refugio said Guzman is isolated and had complained his cell was dirty. The drama of Chapo's recapture was enhanced by the role of US-Mexican actress Kate Del Castillo, who played a drug boss in a popular soap opera. She admitted arranging a meeting between herself, Guzman and Penn three months before the capture, in which she wanted to discuss making a film about the drug lord. Penn wrote about the meeting in Rolling Stone magazine. MONTERREY, Mexico, May 19 (Reuters) - Mexican conglomerate Alfa now considers its investment in Pacific Exploration & Production a total loss after the Canadian hydrocarbons producer reached a restructuring deal with a private fund, a senior Alfa executive said on Thursday. Pacific in April reached a deal with some of its debtholders, including the investment fund Catalyst Capital Group, to convert almost all of its debt to equity as it looks to fight a prolonged slump in oil prices. The deal excluded Alfa, its biggest shareholder. The chief executive of Alfa, Alvaro Fernandez, told reporters the deal turns Pacific's creditors into the effective owners of the company, diluting to "zero" the participation of shareholders. "We in our results are now taking it as if it were worth zero, this investment," he said. The book value of Alfa's investment in Pacific fell to $38 million at the end of the first quarter due to the drop in oil prices, versus some $1 billion it had invested in the firm to reach a 19-percent ownership stake. (Reporting by Gabriela Lopez; Writing by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Sandra Maler) VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2016 / Mezzi Holdings Inc. ("MEZZI", "MEZZI BRAND GROUP" or the "Company") (TSX-V: MZI, FRA: 0MZ) is pleased to announce that it will be launching select styles with two major North American retailers for Fall/Winter 2016. One of the retailers is an American multinational clothing corporation, operating over 200 stores in the United States, Canada and a number of European countries. Products carried primarily consist of women's and men's fashion apparel and accessories including a focus on the fashtech segment. Their targeted group is young millennials. The retailer often collaborates with designers and luxury brands. The other retailer is a chain of nearly 100 department stores in North America and is a division of a globally focused retail group that operates several online and physical retail brands. Both of these launches are test campaigns and may lead to additional larger rollouts dependent upon positive metrics being achieved. "This demonstrates the success of our brand-building, supply chain development and product enhancements that we've been so dedicated to since launching MEZZI," Keir Reynolds, CEO, commented. About MEZZI BRAND GROUP MEZZI Brand Group is a Vancouver-based consumer accessory brand management company. We believe that great brands are built one great product and one valued customer at a time. We have gathered a group of young talented experts ranging from accessory design, product development, marketing, branding, e-commerce, digital media and PR to build and scale our millennial-customer focused brands. A well-defined, strategic philosophy and clear mission statement promotes and protects MEZZI Brand Group's most valuable assets our brands MEZZI Smart Luxury, Capital Eyewear and MLine Cases. For further information, please contact: Mr. Keir Reynolds CEO Tel: (778) 998-9242 Email: keir@mezzi.com ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Keir Reynolds Chief Executive Officer Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Story continues This news release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors discussed in the management discussion and analysis section of our interim and most recent annual financial statement or other reports and filings with the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable Canadian securities regulations. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws. SOURCE: Mezzi Holdings Inc. Despite losing his medical license following the death of Michael Jackson, Dr. Conrad Murray continues to visit patients. The doctor served two years in jail for the involuntary manslaughter of Jackson, who died from an overdose of propofol, a surgical anesthetic, in June 2009. Read: Conrad Murray Offers Advice for Prince's Doctor At Murray's 2011 trial, the judge called his treatment of Jackson a "disgrace to the medical profession" and, as a result of his conviction, Texas revoked his medical license. California also suspended his medical license. But today, he still visits patients and Inside Edition was there as he made a house call. "Thank you very much," the patient, who recently underwent heart surgery, told Murray as they shared a hug. Dr. Murray said he charges patients nothing for his services, and is not breaking the law because he is only providing a consultation, and does not prescribe medication or practice medicine, he said. He also gave Inside Edition a glimpse into his life following jail. The 63-year-old keeps a low profile and lives in a one-bedroom apartment in a luxury condo building near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He spends his days walking his dog, Sebastian. Read: Janet Jackson Pregnant at 49: What Are The Risks? "I just want my privacy," he told IEs Lisa Guerrero. Three years after he was released from jail, Murray maintains his innocence in the King of Pop's death. "I have lost a great deal," he said. "I've lost everything. Everything I've amassed has been taken from me as a result of an unjust verdict. I am and I remain an innocent man." Watch: Dr Conrad Murray: I Lost Everything After Michael Jackson's Death Related Articles: (Recasts with judge's decision that the case will go to trial, adds quotes from witness) By Cheyna Roth KALAMAZOO, Mich., May 20 (Reuters) - A Michigan Uber driver must stand trial on charges he killed six people in a February shooting spree, a judge ruled on Friday after a preliminary hearing that was interrupted when the defendant made an outburst and was hauled out of court. Jason Dalton, 45, is accused of shooting eight people and killing six of them within five hours on Feb. 20, in between driving customers for the Uber car service in the area of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Dalton participated in the hearing via a video hookup from jail after deputies dragged him out of the courtroom in the morning because he interrupted a witness who was testifying. Kalamazoo County District Judge Christopher Haenicke said he removed Dalton because he made a verbal outburst and had started to jump up from his chair. Haenicke heard testimony from three eye witnesses and forensic experts to decide whether there was probable cause to put Dalton on trial in Kalamazoo, located about 150 miles (240 km) west of Detroit. There was no testimony about possible motives in the case. "I remember everything about it. I can never forget. I can never forget his face," said witness Tiana Carruthers, who underwent multiple surgeries after being shot three times in her arms and legs. Carruthers, the first person shot, was trying to shield children outside an apartment building. The other shootings happened at a car dealership and the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel restaurant. When Carruthers first took the stand on Friday morning, Dalton, who was wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and was handcuffed, suddenly started talking about "black bags" and "going to temple." He tried to gesture with his hands, but was restricted because of a chain around his waist that held his handcuffs close to his body. The judge told him he could not speak during the proceedings. Carruthers began sobbing on the witness stand, which is when Haenicke asked deputies to remove Dalton. Story continues "I don't think that his behavior today will have any impact on the trial," prosecutor Jeffrey Getting said at a news conference after the hearing. In April a judge ruled that Dalton was mentally competent to stand trial after the Center for Forensic Psychiatry said he understood the charges against him. (Writing by Fiona Ortiz; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Leslie Adler) Millennial voters would overwhelmingly back Bernie Sanders in a head-to-head contest with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, but the contest between Trump and likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is much closer, a new poll finds. According to a CBS News/New York Times national survey released Thursday, Sanders would best Trump 66% to 25% among voters between the ages of 18 and 29, indicating that the robust support the Vermont senator has received from young voters in his primary bid would extend to the general election. But Clinton only leads Trump 47% to 34% among those voters a sign she may struggle to win over some of Sanders' most fervent supporters. Clinton does best among voters between 30 and 44, with whom she leads 56% to 32%. But even among that group, Sanders does better, thumping Trump 61% to 28%. The former secretary of state narrowly trails Trump among voters over the age of 45. Other polls have suggested Clinton would do better among millennials. A Harvard Institute of Politics survey found in April that Clinton would defeat Trump 61% to 25% with voters 18 to 29 years old. Source: Jae C. Hong/AP The big picture: Overall, Clinton leads Trump 47% to 41% nationally, according to the CBS/Times poll, though that lead is down from her 50% to 40% advantage in April a result that dovetails with a tightening race in other surveys. According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, Clinton's lead over Trump has narrowed to just 46% to 43%, down from about 50% to 39% in late March. Sanders, meanwhile, led Trump 51% to 38% in the CBS/Times poll, while the RealClearPolitics average finds the senator with a 51% to 39% advantage over the Manhattan real estate tycoon. As Clinton looks to seal the nomination after the California primary on June 7, her prospects for uniting the party look a bit better than then-Sen. Barack Obama's did eight years ago. At a similar point in 2008, the CBS/Times poll found that 60% of Clinton's supporters were prepared to cast ballots for Obama after the pair's bruising primary battle. This time, 72% of Sanders voters say they'll pull the lever for Clinton but resistance may be greatest among the youngest. Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport, Egypt. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport, Egypt. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) An EgyptAir plane carrying 66 people disappears off the radar Thursday morning over the Mediterranean Sea en route from Paris to Cairo. While a massive search in under way, Egypts aviation minister says the A320s disappearance is more likely to have been caused by a terrorist attack than a technical failure. A day after the plane vanished, the wreckage has yet to be located. DAKAR (Reuters) - Medical relief charity Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) has halted operations in part of west Central African Republic after a staff member was shot dead during an ambush on one of its convoys, it said on Thursday. The convoy carrying patients and doctors was stopped by unidentified armed men on Wednesday about 80 kilometers north of Bossangoa, said a statement by the charity, known in English as Doctors Without Borders Personal belongings and medicine were taken and one of the MSF drivers, a Central African Republic national, was killed. "MSF has been forced to suspend activities in the area until such time as it receives adequate guarantees for the safety for its staff and the acceptance of its medical and humanitarian activities," the statement said. It has called for a full investigation by local police. Central African Republic, a former French colony, spiraled into deep crisis in early 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka fighters toppled former president Francois Bozize. Christian militias responded to Seleka abuses by attacking the Muslim minority. A fifth of the population fled their homes to escape the violence and the country remains largely divided along religious lines and controlled by warlords. According to MSF, over 70 percent of the country's health facilities have been damaged or destroyed by the violence since 2013. (Reporting by Edward McAllister; Editing by Tom Heneghan) By Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO's build-up in eastern Europe could include up to 3,500 troops, Britain said on Friday, stressing that the planned deployments would not be aggressive toward Russia. Russia's seizure of Crimea in 2014 has prompted the Western military alliance to consider deterrent forces in the Baltics and Poland which British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said would be a "trip wire" to alert NATO of any potential threat. NATO defense ministers are expected to decide on the troop levels next month, while making clear no large forces will be stationed permanently, to avoid provoking the Kremlin. "It looks like there could be four, maybe five battalions ... the point of these formations is to act as a trip wire," Hammond told reporters. "It isn't intended to be aggressive," he said following a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. Hammond said that could amount to as many as 3,500 troops along NATO's border with Russia, with Britain, Germany and the United States taking the bulk of command duties. In total, the deterrent will be made up of small eastern outposts, forces on rotation, regular war games and warehoused equipment ready for a rapid response force which would include air, maritime and special operations units. NATO diplomats say the United States is likely to command two battalions, with Britain and Germany taking another each. That leaves a fifth NATO nation to come forward to lead the remaining battalion, with Denmark, Spain, Italy or the Netherlands seen as possible candidates, diplomats say. The force build-up follows a speech by U.S. President Barack Obama in Estonia in 2014 in which he said NATO would help ensure the independence of the three Baltic states, which for decades were part of the Soviet Union. NATO foreign ministers said they had agreed to propose to Moscow another meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, which met in April for the first time in nearly two years, to set out what the alliance says is a proportionate response to Russia's annexation of Crimea. NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Russia in April 2014 in protest over Crimea. NATO said high-level political contacts with Russia could continue but NATO and Russian ambassadors have met only three times since. "We are doing things that could be misinterpreted," Hammond said. "We judged that creating an opportunity through the NATO-Russia Council is the best way of avoiding Russia being able to say: 'we haven't been informed, we didn't know the details.'" (Reporting by Robin Emmott; editing by Andrew Roche) T avajo Nation, and Urban Outfitters, the United States' go-to vendor of crop tops, high-waisted jeans and T-shirts that remind people of the Holocaust and mass shootings, have been at w In 2012, the Navajo Nation sued Urban Outfitters for its use of the word "Navajo" on a number of products, from underwear to colorful, shapeless shirts. Additionally, it accused the company of trademark infringement and of violating a 1990 law known as the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, which protects Native American-made designs and goods by prohibiting the "misrepresentation in marketing of Indian arts and crafts products within the United States." The Navajo Nation is demanding that either all profits generated from all the items labeled "Navajo" , or they receive . A screenshot from 2014 Of the several claims Navajo Nation has filed against UO, last week the Navajo Nation lost two. The reason? The word "Navajo" just couldn't be proven famous enough by the court. Copyright and trademark infringement is i to prove, with organizations, per the Federal Trademark Dilution Act, having to prove that their name or title can be deemed famous enough to be widely recognized by the general consuming American public. And in this case, the judge didn't think the term "Navajo" qualified. A the Fashion Law, U.S. District Judge Bruce Black in New Mexico said, "While plaintiffs' evidence may be relevant to their infringement claim, it is not legally sufficient to establish a 'famous' mark and, hence, to defeat defendants' motions for partial summary judgment on the claims for dilution by blurring and garnishment." He then f by saying that "'famous' requires more than just widespread distribution and significant advertising expenditures," though he acknowledged that "very few courts have found a mark legally 'famous.'" Story continues Although the term "Navajo" is widely used, it's not strictly associated with the tribe, so it cannot be deemed legally "famous." And that's precisely what Urban Outfitters has been arguing all along. Screenshots from 2014 Since 2011, when criticism against UO's use of Native-inspired prints and garments began, that has been the brand's one defense: that the term "Navajo" "Just as the term 'Light Beer' is generic for a type of beer that is light in body or taste or low in alcoholic and caloric content, 'Navajo' is today a generic descriptor for a particular category of design and style," lawyers for Urban Outfitters wrote in an April 2012 court filing, according to BuzzFeed. Meanwhile, members of the Navajo Nation have rejected this idea, noting that it's much more than just the word "Navajo" that's bothersome, but the use of the culture's prints and aesthetic, which can lead people to believe that the products are coming from the Navajo Nation. The tribe also currently has s federal trademark registrations that include the word "Navajo," which UO continues to fight against. However, the lawsuit isn't over just yet. There are still six counts in the case that are pending against UO and its sister companies Anthropologie and Free People, including trademark infringement, unfair competition and false advertising. Source: Anthropologie Still, on all of those retailers' websites, , terms like "tribal" run aplenty, with Free People currently . This also comes just after Free People got in trouble for its festival collection, which featured feather headdresses, a rainstick and a medicine pouch. So clearly, as this lawsuit rages on, Urban Outfitters may have to realize it's time to rethink its aesthetic. Back in 2010, it would have seemed absurd to suggest that Rose Byrne was one of the funniest people in movies, what with a filmography dotted with titles like City of Ghosts and The Dead Girl. And yet in the six years since, the Australian-born actress has fashioned what may the most formidable (and unlikely) funny-woman resume in Hollywood a development she adds to this weekend, when she re-teams with Seth Rogen in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising. In the highly anticipated sequel to 2014s hit, Byrne reprises her role as suburban wife Kelly Radner, a character who is introduced ruining sex with her husband (Seth Rogen) by vomiting directly into his face. Such an inauspicious entrance is part and parcel of an anything-goes performance, as the 30-something parents played by Byrne and Rogen again must contend with a rowdy college Greek organization living next door in this case, a fledgling sorority led by Chloe Grace Moretz that wants to party as hard as the boys do. Whether donning a cheerleading outfit while pregnant to infiltrate a university event, or none-too-subtly ogling the chiseled body of enemy-turned-ally Teddy (Zac Efron) who, like every character here, is struggling to come to grips with adult responsibility Byrne is a droll riot, equally comfortable trading witty retorts with her co-star or, as the aforementioned puking gag makes clear, humiliating herself in pursuit of a gross-out laugh. Its part of a surprise turn for the actress whose early career was spent in dramatic vehicles of a somewhat standard sort. Byrne initially came to mainstream audiences attention alongside Brad Pitt in 2004s Wolfgang Peterson war epic Troy before treading water in a few subpar projects. (Wicker Park, anyone? I didnt think so.) Nonetheless, the latter half of the 00s would find her hitting a solid serious-minded groove in Danny Boyles 2007 sci-fi saga Sunshine and, the same year, in 28 Weeks Later, a zombie-outbreak thriller that arguably managed to outshine its predecessor. Story continues Genre work would continue with Knowing a 2009 apocalyptic mystery that paired her with Hollywoods most eccentric leading man, Nicolas Cage and 2010s Insidious, James Wans horror-series precursor to The Conjuring. However, those films, as well as X-Men: First Class and the inevitable Insidious: Chapter 2, largely required the actress to act like a grave or grieving cipher whose primary function was to help propel the plot forward. While she had far more to work with for multiple seasons on TVs Damages (opposite Glenn Close), her cinematic output amounted to functional roles that seemed determined to keep her from expressing anything like a unique personality trait. It all began to turn with 2010s Get Him to the Greek, which put Byrne alongside co-stars Russell Brand and Jonah Hill as a profane sexpot clown who got the laughs in a series of distinctly NSFW R-rated music videos (available here, here, and with Brand here and here). Related: Five Clips That Show Rose Byrne Is a Comic Genius A year later, her reinvention truly took flight thanks to Bridesmaids, 2011s paradigm-upending comedy from director Paul Feig and star Kristen Wiig. As Helen, a wealthy, uppity bitch who becomes the rival to Wiigs Annie over their engaged best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph), Byrne was deliriously unshackled from her prior dull girlfriend/mother/stalker parts, exploiting her svelte, dainty beauty and refined attitude for outrageously obnoxious comedy. Given the chance to use her fetching physical attributes for self-ridiculing purposes rather than merely as ornamentation for stolid drama, Byrne fit right in with her formidable comedy co-stars, and Bridesmaids quickly led to a raft of roles that similarly put her off-the-wall instincts to good use. Be it standing out as the only serviceable component of the dreary Google-commercial-masquerading-as-a-movie The Internship, playing off Nick Krolls absurd man-child in Adult Beginners, or snatching the goofball spotlight from Seth Rogen in 2014s original Neighbors, Byrne has established herself as one of Hollywoods most versatile and daring comedic actresses. That transformation peaked with last years Spy, in which she delivered a hilarious tour-de-force as a villainous weirdo pitted against her Bridesmaids colleague Melissa McCarthy. Especially in that 2015 Paul Feig espionage-adventure spoof, Byrnes capacity for being simultaneously sultry and stupid-level silly was on full, unbridled, scene-stealing display. As corroborated by sturdy turns in 2014s This Is Where I Leave You and this years The Meddler (with Susan Sarandon), Byrne is adept at channeling her daffier impulses for smaller-scale indie dramedies that are as sweet as they are ridiculous. But its outlandish films like Neighbors 2 a high-profile would-be summer blockbuster that champions a womans right to be as wild, immature, and out of control as a man that confirms the actress has long since evolved from being simply a foil for other funny people in rude, crude efforts. In 2016, lets call her what she is: a bona fide comedy star. Watch an exclusive clip of Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen from Neighbors 2: The Neon Demon director Nicolas Winding Refn made his third appearance at the Cannes Film Festival press conference this morning and expounded on everything from the acerbity of the fashion world, the shrinking definition of beauty in the face of his daughters, the portrayal of men in his latest film and his fellow countryman, that wild and crazy Lars von Trier. Neon Demon premieres tonight following yesterdays press screening, and the film drew divided reactions. For Refn aficionados, its another facet of his continued brilliance. For haters, the L.A. fashion world pseudo neo-noir pic is a notch below his previous Only God Forgives, while for others its a bumper car fiesta of David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, 80s kitsch titles like Heathers and David Cronenbergs Crash. In regards to audience and critics varied response to Neon Demon last night, Refn beamed, Thats punk rock. Look at the reactions. You cant deny it, its search and destroywhatever you got, Ill tear it down and build it again. Dont compromise on life or anything, thats where you feel life. Thats whats important to get across to those teenagers out there. A reporter in the room asked how Danish filmmakers such as Refn and Lars von Trier can push actors to their limits. Refn, quipped, Well, Lars is Lars. Hes done a lot of drugs. Well, you got that answer at which point the press room erupted in laugther. The last time I saw Lars he asked my wife if she wanted to have sex, Refn further joked. Big hilarious uproar from the room. In Neon Demon, Elle Fanning plays an 18-year old who arrives in L.A. and is completely swept up by the fashion world for her natural looks. She is told by her agent played by Christina Hendricks to lie, and to tell people that shes 19 because 18 is too on the nose. That whole notion concerned the 45-year old Refn, who is a father to two girls. Story continues Beauty its an obsession that has only grown. Even though we try to politicize it, the digital revolution has sped up mans evolution to the extreme. The idea of the movie when I talked to Elle Fanning was Lets make a movie about the obsession of beauty. Its in our social media, TV, movies whats gonna happen when longevity no longer exists? When the definition of beauty shrinks and shrinks, and becomes younger? Fannings Jesse is prized for her untouched looks, a quality that Alessandro Nivolas designer schools her rivals on as being a diamond among glass in the fashion world. Asked to juxtapose the fashion scene with Hollywood, Refn responded, Im not an expert and in no way can I critique that world, but any environment that focuses on how you look is extremely harsh. It comes down to: How were you born? Thats a horrible world to live in because it must be terrifying, living where the reality is so extreme, and at the same time its intoxicating. But we didnt make the movie to comment or politicize. Having delivered his first female driven movie, Refn throws a shade on his portrayal of men in Neon Demon, from the carnal fashion photographer to Keanu Reeves abusive, white trash hotel manager. Overall, theyre not the superhero that Ryan Gosling plays in Drive and Only God Forgives. Explained Refn, All the men (in my movie) are like girlfriends in other movies. All the women are everything in this movie. The men represent certain approaches of fear, controltheyre dominated by the female character that allows them to be predators, or the boyfriend with the good heart and morals. Related stories Paul Schrader On Unleashing 'Dog Eat Dog', The Studio System & Whether He'll Work With Martin Scorsese Again - Cannes Studio Un Certain Regard Winners: 'The Happiest Day', 'Captain Fantastic's Matt Ross, 'The Red Turtle' - Cannes Paul Verhoeven, Ever Fearless, Tests Easily-Offended With 'Elle'; Criticizes Hollywood Writing - Cannes From Delish If you're as addicted to Starbucks' frappuccinos as we are, then you're going to freak out over the news that the brand is now making it way easier to blend up the frozen drinks at home. According to Rocket News 24, the coffee company will be selling mini frapp machines that churn out your favorite flavor in minutes. Here's how it works: Remove the plastic inner core and place it in the freezer for eight to 18 hours. Once it's frozen solid, place it back into the frapp maker and pour in your favorite drink mix-ins (coffee, iced lattes, tea, syrups). Then mix it all together using the attached spoon. (The stirring process will take about five to seven to minutes before everything gets perfectly icy.) However, there is a catch. The new drink makers-offered in candy apple red, bright white, and baby blue-are only available at Starbucks in Japan. But before you freak out and break into a tantrum worse than a typical frappuccino-induced sugar crash, we found an almost exact match to the Starbucks branded machine. Made by Zoku, this widely available slush and shake mixer will only set you back $20 and it comes in more than just three colors. You're welcome. Follow Delish on Instagram. (Reuters) - Unbeaten Nyquist is a prohibitive favorite to add the second jewel of horse racing's Triple Crown at the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, while his top rival hopes rain and a sloppy track at Pimlico will be the equalizer. Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist is rated a 3-5 odds-on pick from the third post position to keep alive his Triple Crown bid in the 1-3/16 mile race in Baltimore, having out dueled second choice Exaggerator in four previous meetings. Exaggerator, rated a 3-1 pick from the fifth gate, closed fast to finish second 1-1/4 lengths behind Nyquist two weeks ago at Churchill Downs. But rain forecast from dawn to dusk on Saturday could muddy the Pimlico picture with Exaggerator having proven he can handle that footing with a decisive victory in the slop at the Santa Anita Derby. "With a horse like Nyquist Im not overly concerned about the weather, said trainer Doug ONeill, after the favorite jogged twice around the one-mile Pimlico Race Course oval on Friday morning in preparation for the 141st Preakness. He had a good gallop yesterday and jogged two miles real composed today. He looked good." The Preakness has taken on the look of a two-horse race as Stradivari (8-1) and Collector (10-1) are unproven against top-flight competition while the other seven entries are rated either 20-1 or 30-1 in the early odds. Nyquist has won eight races over five different tracks in positioning himself for a rare unbeaten run through the Triple Crown series for three-year-olds. Only Seattle Slew in 1977 has accomplished that feat. Nyquist's campaign follows last year's triumph by American Pharoah, who ended a 37-year Triple Crown drought. As far as rain or shine, were not going to change anything shoeing-wise. Hes going to wear the same shoes he has on, so were not concerned about that other than wed like to have a beautiful day, said O'Neill. A perfect scenario as far as Exaggerator trainer Keith Desormeaux is concerned would see a heavy watering of the Pimlico track. Two of Exaggerators three graded victories have come on wet tracks and he finished second in three other soggy tests. Where most horses havent run on a sloppy track or a quagmire like Santa Anita was that day, at least we know we can do it," said Desormeaux, whose brother Kent will be in the saddle shooting for his third Preakness win. "If you want to call that an advantage Ill take it. Several of the fresh horses in the race like to run from the front and could pose a traffic problem for fast-starting Nyquist. Japan-based Lani, who finished ninth in Louisville, is the only other entry from the 20-horse Derby field among the 11 colts that will be saddled up for the Preakness. (Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Steve Keating) By Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is still grappling with a historic decision on whether to lift the U.S. arms embargo on Vietnam just days before he travels there, the White House said on Thursday, signaling that human rights concerns could be a sticking point. Support has grown within the U.S. administration and on Capitol Hill to fully remove or at least further ease the ban on weapons sales, bolstering ties between former wartime enemies Washington and Hanoi to counter a rising China. But Obama also faces stiff opposition in some quarters. Ending the embargo - something Vietnam has long sought - would sweep away one of the last major vestiges of the Vietnam War era as Obama makes his first trip there beginning on Monday. It would also anger Beijing, which condemned Obama's partial lifting of the ban in 2014 as interference in the region. The U.S. deliberations come amid increased tensions in the disputed South China Sea. Beijing demanded an end to U.S. surveillance in the area on Thursday after two of its fighter jets carried out what the Pentagon said was an "unsafe" intercept of a U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft. Ben Rhodes, Obamas deputy national security adviser, said the administration has not yet finalized a decision on lifting the three-decade-old embargo but dodged a question on when or even whether an announcement might be made soon. It will be a subject of discussion with the Vietnamese, he told reporters in a preview of Obama's trip, saying the president would explain his thinking to the countrys communist leadership. Its something that we obviously have been looking at in the context of our broader relationship. White House officials made clear that the final decision would be linked in part to Vietnams human rights situation. Concerns remain, especially among rights advocates and some U.S. lawmakers, over the government's heavy-handedness toward political opponents and treatment of workers. There is also worry that Washington will lose some leverage if it gives up the arms embargo without securing concessions for reforms. 'UPGRADE' IN RELATIONSHIP Still, some of Obamas aides are mindful that a failure to satisfy Vietnams calls for rescinding the ban could inject a sour note into a visit meant to open a new chapter in security and economic relations. Some Vietnamese officials are suspicious that the United States seeks to undermine their one-party rule. What we want to demonstrate with this visit is a significant upgrade in the relationship between the United States and Vietnam as partners on many issues even as we have significant areas of difference, Rhodes said. Obama, who will make stops in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, will meet Vietnam's new president, Tran Dai Quang, as well as its new prime minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. He will also meet dissidents and will deliver a speech to the Vietnamese people, Rhodes said U.S. officials say that no matter the decision on the weapons ban they expect Obamas visit to yield tangible steps to boost military cooperation. Washington is looking for increased port visits by U.S. warships, possibly including access to the strategic port at Cam Ranh Bay, and to holding naval exercises, according to a person close to U.S. thinking on the subject. (Story refiles to add dropped letter to "rights" in lead.) (Writing by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) The House of Commons erupted in laughter Tuesday after a Conservative backbencher accused the Liberal government of "muzzling scientists."Alberta MP Jim Eglinski rose in question period to again express frustrations over the mountain pine beetles that are wreaking havoc in Jasper National Park, located in his riding.A day earlier, Eglinski said the park has been "overtaken" by the insects and that local governments and forest companies are looking to Parks Canada for a plan to stop the epidemic of "evil weevils." WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington next month to discuss security and other issues and the Indian leader will be granted the rare honor of addressing both houses of Congress. The White House said Obama and Modi will discuss economic growth, climate change, clean energy, and security and defense cooperation during their June 7 meeting. It will be Modi's fourth trip to the United States since he became prime minister in 2014. "The visit will highlight the deepening of the U.S.-India relationship in key areas," the White House said in a statement on Friday. The two countries' partnership is seen as critical in Washington, which is seeking to counterbalance China's increasing power. Modi will address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, an opportunity extended to few foreign leaders, the day after the White House meeting, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a tweet. The invitation is a sharp turnaround for Modi, who was once barred from the United States over massacres of Muslims. Last year there were only two joint addresses to Congress - by Pope Francis and by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, another important U.S. ally in Asia. In 2005, then-U.S. President George W. Bush's administration denied Modi a visa, citing a 1998 U.S. law barring entry to foreigners who have committed "particularly severe violations of religious freedom." More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in sectarian riots in Gujarat in 2002 when Modi had just become the state's chief minister. Modi has denied any wrongdoing, and India's Supreme Court in 2010 ruled there was no case. Obama, who has adopted a "pivot to Asia" strategy and is keen to encourage a greater Indian military role in East Asia, quickly dismissed the issue by inviting Modi to the White House as soon as he called to congratulate him on winning the 2014 election. The United States is also keen to encourage greater business and trade with India. Progress has been only gradual, but in late March, the chief executive of U.S. nuclear reactor maker Westinghouse Electric said he expected to sign a deal in June to build six reactors in India after marathon negotiations that began more than a decade ago. The deal would be the first nuclear commercial power project since the United States and India agreed in 2008 to cooperate in the civil nuclear arena. Westinghouse is owned by Japan's Toshiba Corp. (Reporting by Susan Heavey, Tim Ahmann and David Brunnstrom; Editing by W Simon and Alistair Bell) Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama will host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on June 7, as the pair try to flesh out nascent trade and security ties. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Modi's visit would "highlight the deepening of the US-India relationship in key areas since the president's visit to New Delhi in January 2015." "The President looks forward to discussing progress made on our climate change and clean energy partnership, security and defense cooperation, and economic growth priorities." This will be Modi's second White House visit since his Hindu nationalist party won a sweeping victory in 2014 polls. Obama has assiduously courted the Indian premier, cultivating a strategic relationship seen as a counterweight to an increasingly assertive China. It has been a dramatic transformation for a man who in 2005 was denied a visa to the United States on human rights grounds. He had served as chief minister in his home state of Gujarat, when anti-Muslim riots killed hundreds. But turning Obama and Modi's warm words into concrete agreement has proven difficult. A proposed bilateral investment treaty has languished for years, as New Delhi has taken a tough negotiating line. Talks have been stalled over several issues, including the lack of protection for foreign firms in disputes with the Indian government. "I think there is a reasonable chance we will see the leaders re-commit to engaging in BIT negotiations," said Rick Rossow of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, predicting limited progress. India's economy is rapidly growing, but poverty remains pervasive and foreign investment has lagged behind China, Brazil and even advanced economies like Ireland. Modi, who faces reelection in 2019, has pegged his political future on a reform agenda and boosting the economy. Observers say there could be more progress on security and energy cooperation. Story continues A series of technical steps could allow the men to announce US nuclear companies entering the potentially lucrative Indian market. In 2005, then-president George W. Bush lifted a three decade long moratorium on nuclear cooperation with India, introduced after the country developed a nuclear bomb. The issue had been a major hurdle to relations between two of the world's largest democracies. Modi has made nuclear energy a priority, to offset horrendous levels of air pollution that is worsened by the dominance of coal-fired power plants and reduce dependence on foreign gas and oil. A series of military agreements linked to support and logistics could also be signed by the two leaders and could pave the way for deeper military cooperation. Many of the agreements have been stalled for years by India's concerns about weakening the ability to act alone militarily. Modi will also address a joint session of Congress on June 8. Modi was invited to address the US Congress by Republican speaker Paul Ryan, who called the US-Indian relationship "a pillar of stability in a very, very important region." WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday urged the U.S. Congress to pass a bill to boost emergency funding to deal with the Zika virus, saying it was critical for Americans thinking about having children to be assured about the government's response. "This is not something where we can build a wall to prevent. Mosquitoes don't go through customs," Obama told reporters after meeting with top health officials in the Oval Office. "Congress needs to get me a bill. It needs to get me a bill that has sufficient funds to do the job. They should not be going off on recess before this is done," he said. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by James Dalgleish) Washington (AFP) - US President Barack Obama will try to turn the page on a war-strewn history with Vietnam and Japan when he begins a two-nation Asia visit Monday, including a somber pilgrimage to Hiroshima, site of the world's first nuclear attack. This will be the tenth trip to Asia by America's self-declared "Pacific President," who unapologetically sees America's future tethered to the region. But even with regional allies Japan and Vietnam, the blood and pain of the 20th century still echo. In Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Obama will stress improving relations with a dynamic and rapidly emerging country, but one which, for most Americans, remains a by-word for slaughter and folly. A major talking point will be the lifting of a US arms embargo, a last vestige of a war that ended in 1975. In Japan, Obama will attend a G7 summit and make history by becoming the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima, where his predecessor Harry Truman dropped the world's first atomic bomb in 1945. - Nod to history - The trip to Hiroshima has inevitably stirred debate about whether Truman's epoch-making decision was just. Many Americans believe that while it killed about 140,000 Japanese, bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki avoided an even bloodier ground invasion of Japan. Victims of the bombings have called for an apology, which the White House says it is not willing to give. Obama "believes it's important to acknowledge history, it's important to look squarely at history, it's important to have a dialogue about history," said close Obama foreign policy aide Ben Rhodes. Obama will begin his visit on Monday in Hanoi, the seat of Vietnam's Communist-ruled government. He will meet the president, prime minister, leader of the national assembly and the country's de facto leader Nguyen Phu Trong, the general secretary of the Communist Party. Trong and Obama met back in July, when the Vietnamese leader was given a prestigious Oval Office meeting. Story continues - US arms to Vietnam? - Tense maritime disputes between Vietnam and its larger neighbor China are also likely to feature prominently in discussions. Advocates of lifting the arms embargo argue it is vital to help Vietnam improve coastal defenses and bolster it militarily vis-a-vis Beijing. "Vietnam wants and needs to steadily pursue military modernization, and it values US military technology as a potential source of strategic leverage," said Murray Hiebert of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Not only does Vietnam need to build an effective deterrent force in the face of China's aggressiveness ... it also prefers to gradually reduce its overreliance on Russian-made systems." But there are concerns about Vietnam's ongoing political repression. While Vietnam is changing, political reforms have not kept pace with economic reforms. Any challenge to the Communist Party's primacy, or its leaders' economic interests, is met with an iron fist. "Critics, including some who support the upward trajectory of US-Vietnam relations in general, have honed in on the need for more progress on human rights prior to any decision," said Hiebert. US diplomats have pressed for the release of political prisoners as a sign that Hanoi can be trusted with advanced weaponry. Obama is likely to address the issue of political freedoms when he delivers a speech in Hanoi, but he will also make the case for a trans-Pacific trade deal that faces an uncertain future. Obama will also travel to Vietnam's economic hub Ho Chi Minh City, the former capital of South Vietnam, to highlight the country's growing commercial clout. From there, he will travel to Ise-Shima for a G7 summit before going on to Hiroshima, a stop that until recently would have been too controversial to make. "He is going because it's possible now," said Hugh Gusterson of George Washington University, "Twenty or 30 years (ago), you could not even go there." "Just the symbolism of going there as an American president was more than many Americans could bear." Obama is expected to visit the city's Peace Memorial Park and make brief remarks that focus on denuclearization. Obama came to office wanting to significantly reduce America's strategic stockpile of nuclear weapons, but hesitated when Russia would not take reciprocal steps. "We have a unique and moral responsibility as the only country thats used a nuclear weapon to prevent the future use of nuclear weapons," said Rhodes. By Linda Sieg and Matt Spetalnick TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japan and the United States are presenting U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Hiroshima as an affirmation of a strong alliance and a step towards world denuclearization, but critics see selective amnesia and paradoxes on nuclear policy. Aides have said Obama will not apologize when he becomes the first sitting U.S. president to tour the site of the world's first atomic bombing next Friday, accompanied by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Nor is Obama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 partly for making nuclear non-proliferation a centerpiece of his agenda, expected to address the debate over whether the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was justified. The bomb dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, killed thousands instantly and about 140,000 by the end of the year. Nagasaki was hit on Aug. 9 and Japan surrendered six days later. A majority of Americans see the bombings as having been necessary to end the war and save U.S. and Japanese lives, although many historians question that view. Most Japanese believe they were unjustified. Officials in both countries have made clear they want to stress the present and future, not dig into the past, even as the two leaders honor all victims of the war. "It is an important landmark in a continuing process of paying homage to the victims of war in general and the atomic bombing in particular, in the process of trying to eliminate nuclear weapons in the world," former Japanese diplomat Sadaaki Numata told Reuters. "... Both sides worked hard to shift the focus to a forward-looking agenda that has resonance worldwide." Even without an apology, some hope that Obama's visit will highlight the huge human cost of the bombings and pressure Japan to own up more forthrightly to its responsibilities and atrocities. Asian neighbors China and South Korea often complain Japan needs to be more sincerely repentant about the war, despite its numerous past apologies. "Part of the subtext is telling this and future Japanese leaders that 'If I can go to Hiroshima and take flak for it at home, you can certainly do a little more to own up to what Japan did," said one U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The visit was hotly debated in the White House, not least because of fear of domestic blowback in an election year. JAPAN "IN DENIAL" The Abe administration has affirmed past government apologies but asserts that future generations should not have to apologize for the wartime sins of their forebears. "We are successfully proceeding with (U.S.-Japan) reconciliation. As for how the war came about, leave it to the historians," said former Japanese diplomat Kunihiko Miyake. Critics argue that by not apologizing, Obama will allow Japan to stick to the narrative that paints it as a victim. "What the Japanese government is doing now is denying the fact that Japanese soldiers committed atrocities and the Japanese nation as a whole committed the war of aggression. Somehow, they are trying to sanitize Japanese war conduct," said Hiroshima historian Yuki Tanaka. Nuclear disarmament proponents meanwhile hope Obama's visit will breath fresh life into a stalled process. "At a time when, frankly, momentum is stalled, this visit will be an opportunity to reactivate that," Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki told Reuters, adding insistence on an apology might have prevented Obama from making the trip. But critics note Obama has made scant progress towards nuclear disarmament and is spending heavily to modernize the U.S. atomic arsenal. "Arguably, a nuclear-free world is less likely now that when Obama actually took office," Richard Fontaine, an Asia adviser under former president George W. Bush, told a think tank conference. Obamas aides counter that he has secured concrete achievements, such as a new nuclear arms control deal with Russia in his first term and last years nuclear pact with Iran. Japan stresses its unique status as the only nation to suffer atomic attacks and advocates disarmament, but nonetheless relies on the U.S. nuclear umbrella as an extended deterrent. And Tokyo has long taken the position that nuclear arms would not violate its pacifist constitution, although it rules out possessing them. Ultimately, Obama's visit may be a sort of Rorschach test, a psychological inkblot test in which viewers see what they are predisposed to perceive. "Anti-Obama-ites will call it an 'apology tour' even if there is no apology," said Massachusetts Institute of Technology political science professor Richard Samuels. "Japanese nationalists will declare vindication of the empire and of the Japanese people, even if the president insists we are all culpable for war and its effects, and pacifists will imagine this is a step toward the end of nuclear weapons despite new U.S. investments and Japan's open embrace of the nuclear deterrent." (Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Nick Macfie) When we draw up a summer to-do list, its always topped with getting our toes into the sand. Theres simply nothing better than whiling away the hours on a beach with a good book and an even better adult beverage. But if were really honest with ourselves, the true top to-do is to buy a beach house and lounge on the sand year-round. And if were going to dream, why not dream biga true oceanfront oasis? With great big beach goals in mind, we searched through the shifting sands of homes for sale. What we turned up were eight opulent homes along the ocean. These are all a few million steps up from a humble beach shack, but hey, youre worth it. So slather on the sunscreen, because these beautiful beach homes bring the heat. Price: $5,900,000 Beach read: Situated right along the Atlantic Ocean, this six-bedroom estate is known as Castillo de Mar. Besides the three stories of elegant living space on the sands, you can dock your yacht less than a mile away. Stuart, FL Price: $21,500,000 Beach read: Wedged between Southampton and East Hampton, this classic beach home sits on over 2 acres of prime land. With interiors done up in soothing white, its the perfect place to watch the waves roll in. Wainscott, NY Price: $22,800,000 Beach read: Of course there had to be a beach home in the island paradise of Hawaii. This brand-new, five-bedroom house on Maui has all sorts of sandy delighta buyer will wind up with 130 feet of frontage on Keawakapu Beach. The house itself is open and airy and flows right out onto the Pacific. And for the truly daring among us, theres not only an outdoor shower, but an outdoor tub as well. Kihei, HI Price: $26,500,000 Beach read: Named Tarpon Ranch, this getaway in the Florida Keys is also brand-new. For anglers, it has a 100-foot dock along with two boat lifts and a room devoted solely to tackle. And while this spread on a little over an acre of land doesnt currently have a helipad, the listing notes theres room for one, naturally! Story continues Summerland Key, FL Price: $12,850,000 Beach read: A little north of La Jolla, this stunner is only 5 years old. And while it sits on a bluff above the beach, its just a short walk to the sands below. With views of the Pacific all along the backside of the house, its a textbook example of California contemporary style. Solana Beach, CA Price: $10,900,000 Beach read: In this resortlike home sitting on 2 acres of land next to the Gulf of Mexico, the beach is your backyard. Theres a gorgeous pool in the courtyard, but we cant imagine it would get much use when the warm waters of the Gulf beckon. Sarasota, FL Price: $8,750,000 Beach read: A gated beach community? Of courseits an O.C. thing. This modern and angular home on the sand isnt your typical beach home, but that only adds to its allure. And because youre behind the gates, parking for you (and your esteemed guests) is never an issue. Dana Point, CA Price: $8,000,000 Beach read: Just south of Sarasota, this six-bedroom home on the barrier island of Casey Key also faces the Gulf of Mexico. The princess-style staircase isnt exactly what youd expect to find in a beach home, but this 9,048-square-foot mansion is all about oceanfront opulence. Nokomis More from realtor.com: 3 Fabulous Beach Houses From Across the Country The post Oceanfront Opulence: 8 Breathtaking Beach Homes for Summer appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. Related Articles By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An Ohio jury on Friday unanimously recommended the death penalty for a man convicted of murdering three women in 2012 and 2013 and keeping their bodies wrapped in plastic bags as trophies. Michael Madison, 38, showed little emotion as he was handcuffed after Cuyahoga County Judge Nancy McDonnell read the jury's decision in court. Madison is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday by McDonnell, who can follow the jury's recommendation or sentence him to life in prison without parole. After the hearing, prosecutor Timothy McGinty called Madison a "cold-blooded serial killer" and said the families of Shetisha Sheeley, 28; Angela Deskins, 38, and Shirellda Terry, 18, were thankful he will never kill again. "This was a hobby to Michael Madison, a thing he did for personal and sexual satisfaction. He hated women and he expressed that," McGinty said. On May 5, a jury of six men and six women found Madison guilty of three counts of aggravated murder. He was also convicted on additional counts, including rape, kidnapping and gross abuse of a corpse, and was ruled a violent sexual predator. The jury then had to decide whether Madison should receive the death penalty or serve a life sentence. If the judge sentences Madison to death, he will join 263 people on Ohio's death row. The state has postponed all executions until 2017 because it has had difficulty obtaining lethal injection drugs. East Cleveland police found the first of the three women in July 2013 after receiving a complaint about foul odors coming from a garage behind Madison's apartment. The bodies of two more women were discovered nearby the next day. Madison was arrested at his mother's Cleveland home after a two-hour standoff with police. During seven weeks of testimony, prosecutors showed the jury grisly video footage of Madison's victims and said he was a deliberate killer who wrapped his victims in multiple layers of garbage bags and kept them close to admire as trophies. Story continues Madison's attorney, David Grant, said his client was responsible for the women's deaths but had not planned them and said his client made no effort to cover up his crimes. During the sentencing phase, another defense attorney, Mary Tylee, said Madison experienced "a toxic family culture" where physical, emotional and sexual abuse was the norm and he was "a horribly damaged human being." The families of the victims and defense attorneys declined to comment on the jury's decision on Friday. (Reporting by Fiona Ortiz; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Friday as a stronger dollar encouraged investors to cash in on a second week of gains and the market stayed focussed on whether unplanned supply outages were reducing a stubborn global glut. The U.S. dollar hit its highest level against the yen in more than three weeks and cruised to a third week of gains on mounting expectations for a summer U.S. rate hike. [FRX/] [USD/] (.DXY) A stronger dollar makes greenback-denominated oil futures more expensive for holders of other currencies. Global benchmark Brent crude (LCOc1) settled down 9 cents at $48.72 a barrel, while U.S. crude (CLc1) settled down 41 cents at $47.75 per barrel. Trading was thin ahead of the weekend and the more active WTI contract (CLc2) for July delivery settled down 26 cents. Oil clocked its second straight week of gains, as unplanned supply outages have risen to the highest in at least five years because of wildfires in Canada and losses in Nigeria, Libya and Venezuela. For the week, U.S. crude rose 3.3 percent while Brent was up 1.7 percent. "The overall market sentiment remains biased to the upside as a growing contingency of market participants are of the view that the market is already in a rebalancing pattern and the current round of unscheduled production cuts are starting to accelerate the process," said Dominick Chirichella, senior partner at the Energy Management Institute. In Nigeria, militant activity has cut oil exports below 1.4 million bpd, the lowest in more than 22 years. In Canada, wildfires forced closures of around 1 million bpd, although output is gradually returning. Libyan output has been hit by internal conflict. "The risks are mounting and Venezuela could be the next shoe to drop," said Michael Tran, director of energy strategy at RBC Capital Markets in New York. Other analysts expect oil prices to come further off recent highs. Prices have risen for six of seven weeks. "We feel that markets have moved too high, too far, too soon," Harry Tchilinguirian, lead oil and commodities strategist at French bank BNP Paribas in London, told Reuters' Global Oil Forum. Story continues "The combination of a stronger dollar, still excess supply over demand and ongoing overhang of inventories can be expected to put strong downward pressure on prices." He said oil prices could fall to the mid to high $30 range. Chances of joint action among OPEC and non-OPEC producers to balance an oversupplied market remained slim. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said he saw supply in excess of demand of around 1.5 million bpd. U.S. oil rig counts were unchanged this week, indicating that a near two-year slump in the rig count could be ending as forecast by several analysts. (Additional reporting by Karolin Schaps in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy) Calgary's chief medical examiner has confirmed Alberta's first death related to the synthetic opioid W-18, a drug that's 100 times stronger than fentanyl and 10,000 times stronger than morphine. News of the death comes as the province is already reeling from a fentanyl overdose crisis.According to a police statement released Friday, officers were called into a hotel in south Calgary on the night of March 7 after reports that a 35-year-old man had overdosed. Emergency medical responders pronounced him dead at the scene, where drug paraphernalia and an unused naloxone kit a kit to reverse opiate overdoses were also found. Testing confirmed the man also had heroin and 3-methyl fentanyl, which is 10 to 15 times stronger than heroin, in his system, but it's unclear exactly which drug was the direct cause of his death. Police say the man had a long-term girlfriend and baby daughter.His is the first reported death of its kind in the province, but it could also be the first in Canada.more fun with drugs By Sonali Paul MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia's Oil Search Ltd (OSH.AX) agreed a $2.2 billion (1.5 billion pounds) deal to acquire InterOil Corp (IOC.N) on Friday, aiming to pave the way for two rival liquefied natural gas projects led by global majors to work together in Papua New Guinea. In the face of weak oil prices, PNG is considered one of the best locations for LNG projects, thanks to its high quality gas and low costs. The country has the existing PNG LNG project, run by ExxonMobil Corp (XOM.N), and the proposed Papua LNG project, run by Total SA (TOTF.PA). For Total, which will boost its stake in Papua LNG as part of the deal, Oil Search's move will open opportunities for collaboration and possible integration with ExxonMobil's project, said CEO Patrick Pouyanne. "It was a deal waiting to happen, a consolidation of the joint venture," said RBC analyst Ben Wilson. "Conceptually, it makes a lot of sense and should allow them to go forward to the development phase a lot faster than otherwise would be the case." Oil Search co-owns Papua LNG and PNG LNG and has been pushing them to cooperate in order to avoid wasting money on duplicating infrastructure as happened on Australia's east coast, where three LNG plants were built next to each other at a cost of $64 billion. The takeover of InterOil will give it a bigger stake in Total's project. "The days of industry profligacy are past with these sorts of oil and gas prices that we're experiencing and are likely to experience for some years to come," Oil Search Chief Executive Peter Botten told Reuters. ExxonMobil said it was "open to discussing infrastructure sharing opportunities with other operators where it is technically feasible and commercially attractive for both parties," in an email to Reuters. InterOil is coveted for its stake in the Elk-Antelope fields, which could hold at least 6.2 trillion cubic feet of gas, more than enough to fill one LNG processing train. Drilling of one more well this year could prove it holds much more. Story continues InterOil CEO Michael Hesson said the company had received a number of other proposals, but declined to give details. "I can also tell you this was the best proposal," he told a a conference call. Oil Search is offering 8.05 of its shares for each InterOil share plus a contingent value right tied to the size of the eventual reserves in Elk-Antelope. Oil Search said the offer valued InterOil at $40.25 a share up front, a 27 percent premium to its close on Thursday. Oil Search said the deal could see it double its output by 2023. "We think it's a very smart deal. It should be well supported," said Ric Ronge, a portfolio manager at Pengana Capital, which owns shares in Oil Search and Total. Oil Search shares rose as much as 5 percent following the announcement. TOTAL BOOSTS PNG STAKE As part of the plan, Oil Search has agreed to sell more than half of Interoil's stake in Papua LNG to Total. As a result, Oil Search will end up with a 29 percent stake in the Papua LNG project, complementing its 29 percent stake in PNG LNG. Total's stake in Papua LNG will increase to 48 percent. The deal follows Oil Search's rejection last year of an $8 billion takeover offer from Woodside Petroleum, which wanted Oil Search for its stakes in the PNG LNG project and Elk-Antelope. Asked if Woodside would consider a counter bid, chief executive Peter Coleman said on Friday the company's focus was on sub-$1 billion deals. "For us at the moment big M&A is not front of mind at all," he said at an investor briefing. Oil Search and InterOil said they expect the deal to close in the third quarter of this year, pending approval from InterOil's shareholders. (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Additional reporting by James Regan in Sydney; Editing by Richard Pullin) Its okay if you feel the need to copy Ariana Grandes latest 90s grunge look Its okay if you feel the need to copy Ariana Grandes latest 90s grunge look At the stroke of midnight, Ariana Grande dropped her latest album, Dangerous Woman, taking to the stage just a few hours later to perform three songs at Good Morning Americas Summer Concert Series. According to Billboard, Ariana said she had been crying all night and hadnt slept for one second due to all the excitement and support surrounding the albums release. Even with the lack of sleep, Ariana sounded AND looked amazing. Her stage outfit was totally 90s glam grunge a bustier, denim cutoffs, thigh high boots, and sparkly choker, all with a flannel shirt wrapped around her waist. Check out the outfit live in action: ABC Breaking News | Latest News Videos This isnt the first time Ariana turned to the decade she was born for style inspiration. During an April performance, she worn a Selena Quintanilla-inspired outfit consisting of black bra, high-waisted pants, and diamond choker. If anyone can pull off the 90s, its Ariana! And now back to listening to Dangerous Woman on repeat The post Its okay if you feel the need to copy Ariana Grandes latest 90s grunge look appeared first on HelloGiggles. By Jon Herskovitz and Heide Brandes (Reuters) - Oklahoma's Republican Governor Mary Fallin vetoed a bill calling for prison terms of up the three years for doctors who performed abortions, saying the legislation would not withstand a criminal constitutional legal challenge, her office said on Friday. The bill, which was approved a day earlier in the Republican-dominated legislature, would have made performing an abortion a felony. It also called for revoking the license of any doctor who conducted one. The bill allowed an exemption for an abortion necessary to save the life of the mother. The bill is so ambiguous and so vague that doctors cannot be certain what medical circumstances would be considered necessary to preserve the life of the mother, Fallin said, in a statement from her office, where she was described as "the most pro-life governor in the nation." Abortion rights groups had promised a bruising legal battle if the bill were signed into law, which would have resulted in an expensive legal battle. Cash-strapped Oklahoma is battling a $1.3 billion budget hole that has caused it to cut education funding and other state programs. Had the bill been approved, the state would have been the first to use its codes of professional conduct to implement a measure that would effectively serve as an abortion ban, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which backs abortion rights but whose data is used by both sides of the debate. Other states that have tried to impose outright abortion bans after the Supreme Courts landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision have seen their laws struck down by courts, it said. Supporters have said the bill could withstand a legal challenge because the state was within its rights to set licensing requirement for doctors. Legal experts have said the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that abortion is legal in the United States and Oklahoma must abide by the court's decision. Since Fallin took office in 2011, Oklahoma has been one of the leaders in adding restrictions to abortions. Governor Fallin did the right thing today in vetoing this utterly unconstitutional and dangerous bill," said Nancy Northup, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Reproductive Rights, an abortion rights group. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas and Heide Brandes in Oklahoma City; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) Last week, amid a months-long battle over North Carolina's bathroom bill, President Barack Obama issued a federal directive to public schools across the nation mandating that they allow students to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity. School districts that refuse to comply with the directive could be subject to lawsuits from the United States Department of Justice and could be denied federal funding. On Thursday, Oklahoma state officials said told the federal government: "Bring it." According to local news station KTUL, the Oklahoma legislature filed both a bill and a resolution in opposition to Obama's directive, the first of which is Senate Bill 1619, which calls for the creation of a law requiring students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that reflect the sex they were assigned at birth. The bill also stipulates that students, with the support of a parent or legal guardian, can request special accommodations for "sincerely held religious beliefs." It goes on to declare a state of emergency: "It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and approval." Senate Concurrent Resolution 43 seeks action against Obama himself, demanding Oklahoma's representatives in the House issue "articles of impeachment" against the president as well as Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the Secretary of Education and any other federal officials who have "exceeded his or her constitutional authority." "This directive to schools is not only unlawful, but the breadth of overreach in this instance by the Obama Administration is shocking," Rep. John Bennett, who sponsored the resolution, told KTUL. "We are working on legislation that would protect our citizens by not requiring our kids and women to share a facility with anyone who 'identifies' as a gender that they were not born. We are going to do everything we can to protect our women and children." Cheetah Mobile, a Chinese mobile Android-app developer, is down 12% in Friday's trading day after a brutal week that saw the company's stock price fall 30%. The stock fell on slower than expected revenue and user growth as expenses and the cost of revenues climbed. It also guided Q2 revenue estimates lower than Wall Street analysts expected. Sheng Fu, Cheetah Mobile's CEO, said: Our analysis suggests that there are three key reasons for the weakness in our expected mobile revenues growth, which is a key driver of our overall growth: 1) a decline in eCPMs from some of our third-party advertising platform partners in the international markets; 2) slower than expected progress in expanding our direct sales force; and 3) longer than expected time for us to execute our content product strategy. cheetah mobile stock And so the downgrades came from across Wall Street. Credit Suisse and Macquarie lowered their recommendations on the stock. "Downgrade to Neutral on slower mobile ad growth and low visibility on the direct sales transition and content product strategy. We cut FY16-17 earnings by 69-70%," Macquarie said in a note following the announcement. This a rough turnaround for Cheetah. It has grown at a startling rate, with a reported 500 million monthly active users. "We are the big mobile Internet company now based on our user base," Sheng Fu said at a conference last year, according to VentureBeat. Still, it's got nothing on what's been said about Cheetah in hedge fund and security-research circles. In February, Alecto Research released a massive report saying that its products, mostly cleanup and system-optimizer apps, don't actually work. There are also concerns over data security. Here's a bit from research firm The Capital Forum on that point: The apps require extensive access to the devices on which they run, and they are able to harvest a great deal of data about users' interests, demographics and location. Cheetah Mobile's business model is not significantly different from the way in which some major American tech companies such as Facebook monetize their free products. However, Cheetah Mobile is different from American tech companies in that its headquarters are located in China and its data servers are primarily located there as well, and its main business partners are major Chinese tech firms. The Chinese government, according to sources, accesses its companies' data for internal security, economic competitiveness or other purposes. Cheetah Mobile, and similar companies, represents a major point of entry for China to access American app marketplaces and their users to gather information. However, U.S. government officials in national security and intelligence agencies are highly aware of surveillance and hacking both inside and outside China, presumably coming from actors affiliated with the Chinese state. Story continues Cheetah has yet to respond to Business Insider's requests for comment. NOW WATCH: Steve Harvey makes fun of his Miss Universe gaffe in T-Mobile Super Bowl ad More From Business Insider New York (AFP) - Goldman Sachs' pay package for senior executives got a thumbs-down from a third of the investment bank's shareholders at Friday's annual meeting. Of Goldman's shareholders, 34 percent voted against the compensation package, according to preliminary results announced at the meeting in Jersey City in the state of New Jersey. Goldman chief executive Lloyd Blankfein in 2015 received compensation totaling $30 million. But the packages had been criticized as excessive by some shareholders for not reflecting the hit from multi-billion legal settlements to resolve charges Goldman misled investors on mortgage-backed securities ahead of the housing bust. "Say on pay" was mandated by US legislation in 2010, which calls for shareholder votes on executive remuneration at least once every three years. A proposal to split the role of chairman and chief executive garnered support from 30 percent of shareholders, according to the preliminary results. LONDON (Reuters) - British house prices would fall 10 percent to 18 percent if the country voted to leave the European Union, Chancellor George Osborne said on Friday. The Treasury provided a transcript of an interview with the BBC in which Osborne warned that a Brexit would also unsettle financial markets, sending mortgage rates higher and hurting Britons trying to get onto the property ladder. "If we leave the European Union there will be an immediate economic shock that will hit financial markets," Osborne told the BBC in Japan at a G7 finance ministers' meeting. Osborne said the Treasury would publish an analysis on the short-term impact of Brexit next week. "The Treasury analysis shows that there would be a hit to the value of peoples homes by at least 10 percent and up to 18 percent," he said, adding "first-time buyers are hit because mortgage rates go up, and mortgages become more difficult to get. So it's a lose-lose situation." The government has stepped up warnings against a Brexit as the June 23 referendum approaches. Several world leaders and international organizations have echoed the concern, including U.S. President Barack Obama and the International Monetary Fund. Osborne said Brexit backers were wrong to believe trade negotiations would be easy following a British departure from the EU, the world's largest trading bloc. After a Brexit, "we would have a two-year period to negotiate our exit with 27 other countries ... at the same time conclude over 50 trade deals with countries that aren't even in Europe. In other words that would be extremely difficult to do," he said. He said "businesses would have no certainty about what the future looked like, so they wouldn't hire people, they wouldn't invest." Conservative environment minister and "Vote Leave" campaigner Andrea Leadsom dismissed the warning on house prices. "This is an extraordinary claim and I'm amazed that treasury civil servants would be prepared to make it," Leadsom said in a statement. Story continues "The truth is that the greatest threat to the economy is the perilous state of the euro; staying in the EU means locking ourselves to a currency zone. The safer option in this referendum is to take back control of the vast sums we send to Brussels every day and Vote Leave on 23 June," she said. Britain's economy slowed in the first three months of the year as uncertainty around the vote took a toll on growth. The government warned in April that leaving the EU could cost each household 4,300 pounds a year by 2030. (Reporting by Ana Nicolaci da Costa in London and Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; editing by Andrew Roche and David Gregorio) TOKYO, May 20 (Reuters) - Panasonic Corp is prepared to move up its investment plans for Tesla Motors Inc's battery plant if needed to meet strong demand for the electric car maker's upcoming Model 3 sedan, an executive at the Japanese electronics group said. "We will do our best to move up the schedule if requested," Yoshio Ito, head of Panasonic's automotive and industrial systems (AIS) division, told reporters at a briefing on Friday. Panasonic plans to invest $1.6 billion of Tesla's $5-billion "Gigafactory" in phases over the next few years. Production of the advanced car batteries is scheduled to start later this year. A faster ramp-up of the battery plant would be crucial as Tesla has said it would respond to brisk demand for the Model 3 by tooling up its factories to build 500,000 vehicles a year in 2018, two years earlier than planned. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim) Paris (AFP) - The last surviving member of the jihadist team that attacked Paris, Salah Abdeslam, refused to answer questions in his first interview with a French anti-terror judge on Friday. Authorities had hoped Abdeslam would shed some light on the operational details of the November 13 attacks that killed 130 people, as well as provide clues as to whether other members of the wider jihadist cell are still at large. But his lawyer Frank Berton said: "He did not want to say anything today." The 26-year-old was prepared to speak at "a later date", the lawyer added. "We need to give him time." A source close to the investigation said Abdeslam's silence may have been the result of advice from Mehdi Nemmouche, the man suspected of a shooting at the Jewish museum in Brussels in 2014. They were locked up in the same prison in the Belgian city of Bruges after Abdeslam was captured in March and were able to shout to each other from their respective cells, the source said, quoting Belgian prison guards. Nemmouche reportedly told Abdeslam -- who was being kept in isolation without a television -- about the March 22 attacks in Brussels that left 32 dead and advised him to "keep quiet... because they'll send you to France to be tried." Abdeslam, who had responded to questions during his first interrogation with Belgian police, has not cooperated since. He is the only surviving member of the group of Islamic State (IS) gunmen and suicide bombers who attacked multiple night spots around the French capital and tried to breach the Stade de France national stadium. For months, he was the most-wanted fugitive in Europe until he was tracked down and arrested on March 18 in the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek where he grew up. Transferred to France on April 27, Abdeslam was brought for questioning on Friday in a large black 4x4 vehicle with tinted windows, escorted by heavily armed elite police and a helicopter flying overhead. Story continues The Paris prosecutor's office said: "From the start, he exercised his right to remain silent by refusing to reply to questions from an investigating magistrate." - Bataclan attacker buried - Meanwhile, Foued Mohamed-Aggad, one of the men who attacked the Bataclan concert hall where 90 people died on November 13, was buried in eastern France early Friday, an investigation source said. Mohamed-Aggad was buried in Wissembourg in the Alsace region where he had lived with his mother before travelling to Syria in late 2013. Abdeslam played more of a logistical role, renting cars and hideouts for the gang and transporting the three suicide bombers who blew themselves up outside the Stade de France, killing one person. A childhood friend of suspected ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud, Abdeslam is thought to have backed out of blowing himself up. An abandoned explosives vest was found in a dustbin in southern Paris close to where mobile phone data placed him on the night of the attacks, although his DNA was not found on it. CCTV pictures from petrol stations showed him fleeing back to Belgium in the hours after the attack. In the preceding months, he also transported other jihadists around Europe, including Najim Laachraoui, the suspected bombmaker who went on to kill himself as one of the suicide bombers who struck Brussels in March. - 'Often about denials' - Investigators hope Abdeslam can shine light on the links between the attacks in Paris and Belgium, both claimed by IS. Berton had told AFP before the hearing that Abdeslam wanted to "explain himself". However, Jean Reinhart, a lawyer representing some of the victims, had warned before the hearing not to expect much in the early stages. "The first interviews are often about denials. We should maybe leave the process to unfold for a while," he said. Abdeslam's lawyer before his extradition from Brussels, Sven Mary, has described him as a "little idiot" with the "intelligence of an empty ashtray". In his two interrogations in Belgium, Abdeslam gave the impression he was merely a pawn of Abaaoud and his own brother Brahim, who blew himself up outside a Paris cafe during the November attacks, though some have argued he may be putting on an act to lessen his responsibility. But he has already been caught in a lie, saying he only met Abaaoud once before, when in fact they had a record of teenage delinquency together in Molenbeek. From Esquire At its most elemental level, the buddy-cop movie, in its nearly 40 years of commercial success, is a lesson in problem solving. Two divergent personalities, often forced to work together, must learn to coexist and, ultimately, in the midst of disaster, find a way to cooperate. It is a timeless cinematic trope, comfort food (coffee and donut, perhaps?) that gives the genre its reason for being. But what keeps it going-what makes it remarkably exciting and important, even as it feels rather familiar-is its determined evolution. Since 1967's In the Heat of the Night, the movies have used the police force (and, more specifically, the squad car) as a container to smuggle racial, cultural, and political concerns into the sandbox of comedic car chases and showy shoot-em-ups. At its most elemental level, the buddy-cop movie, in its nearly 40 years of commercial success, is a lesson in problem solving. The latest contribution hitting theaters this week, The Nice Guys, offers another permutation to the well-established genre. Director Shane Black returns to the well of prickly partnership that he began (and set the bar for) writing Lethal Weapon, but this time dances just as confidently outside of law enforcement chalk lines. That's not to say that Russell Crowe, a street tough, and Ryan Gosling, a clumsy private detective and father to a precocious daughter (Angourie Rice) don't know how to solve a mystery together. Set in Los Angeles in the late 1970s, the movie pivots between the porn and automobile industry while our two-and-a-half protagonists must retrieve a missing actress among the smog-infested city. The dry humor (mostly Gosling's) offsets the pinball action-a thrown pot of coffee forces a gun to shoot, which knocks down a lamp, which punctures the floor, which ends with someone falling onto a car, rinse and repeat-but the formula remains unharmed. Punches are thrown, bullets are wasted, bad guys and friendships are made. So, in honor of another, if not unique, bullet point being added to the buddy-cop movie's always-growing resume, here's a list of the 10 best that have come before it. Story continues 10. The Heat Women in buddy-cop movies are usually reserved for the kitchen or the bedroom. They have a gun pointed at their head or have some white stuff under their nose. Wrinkling the genre with The Heat, writer and director Paul Feig decided to give both X chromosomes some long-deserved badges and confirmed that the blueprint for comedic cop work doesn't solely rely on hopped-up testosterone. Sandra Bullock, varying her Miss Congeniality role, offers a cocky, lonely but scrupulous FBI Agent that learns to tumble with Melissa McCarthy, a street-smart, reckless and, above all, foul-mouthed Boston policewoman. Together they're assigned to take down the leader of a drug cartel and manage to create a new vocabulary-"tattletits," for example-in the process. Feig is careful and clever enough to let the insults fly without being misogynistic. If there is any doubt, consider a scene when McCarthy plays Russian roulette with a criminal's crotch to get some answers. It plays for laughs and levels expectations. 9. Men in Black Race, age, and biology are all points of contention for Agent J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) in Men In Black, the secret agent movie from director Barry Sonnenfeld that made us re-think alien life on earth. Fresh off The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Smith introduces his character sprinting and sweating his way through a baggy white T-shirt with a badge flopping around his neck. It's a far cry from the suit and tie he eventually learns to wear next to Jones, who's been around the block and would rather not deal with his new partner's antics. Together they investigate a cockroach-like alien trying to take back the galaxy that's inhabiting Vincent D'Onofrio's body. Smith's trigger-happy style doesn't jive well with M.I.B.'s need to cover up intergalactic war on a consistent basis, but after a slimy showdown in Queens, this one's hard to forget-even after a memory neuralyzer. 8. 21 Jump Street Jenko and Schmidt were complete opposites in high school: one a chiseled, dumb jock, the other a brace-faced nerd. That they are played by Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, respectively, only enhances this distinction. But seven years later, now police officers posing as teenagers to infiltrate a high school drug ring, roles are reversed. 21 Jump Street imagines Hill sitting with the popular crowd and Tatum geeking out about covalent bonds. "I don't get this school," says Tatum, working to upend the stereotypes he helped reinforce years before. Most of the humor comes from this meta-conceit. Both get lost in character-the mission is a second chance at high school; to be cool, to get good grades-until their police chief, played by a wonderfully volatile Ice Cube, reminds them of their duties. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller prove that science class and prom night can blend seamlessly with a barrage of bullets. 7. The Other Guys Functioning as both a premonition for director Adam McKay's eventual leap into attacking the financial industry in The Big Short-and the next step in his relationship with crude comedy-The Other Guys cranks up the crazy in the word cop. Flipping expectations-Will Ferrell plays an uptight, anxious secretarial officer, Mark Wahlberg is a testosterone-injected "peacock" waiting to fly-McKay bottles up an ideal personality war. Each has some regretful histories (they include Derek Jeter and the name "Gator"), vulnerabilities that bring them closer during a case that starts with a scaffolding permit violation and ends with an attempt to stop a pension fund scandal. In between, The Other Guys puts some big-boy pants on the genre and won't let you forget how oblivious Michael Keaton is to TLC songs. 6. Rush Hour Blending Kung Fu with the detective procedural, Brett Ratner's Rush Hour offered some acrobatics to the tried and true tropes of the genre. Here, Chris Tucker plays overconfident LAPD officer Carter, who tag-teams with Jackie Chan, a Hong Kong policeman known as Inspector Lee, to rescue the Chinese Consul's kidnapped daughter. Conflict arises with language barriers-Chan is learning English, Tucker is abusing it-but smoothes when their cultural contrasts begin overlapping. Both prefer to work alone, but realize (around the time Chan begins singing Edwin Star's "War") that sharing their skillsets might prove mutually beneficial. Lee teaches Carter how to steal a pistol; Carter teaches Lee how to wave one. This could have been a cruel farce harboring racist contrivances. Instead, the international mismatches learn to respect each other, which spawned Hollywood stardom and two more sequels. 5. Training Day Director Antoine Fuqua provides the atmosphere. Denzel Washington provides the manic energy. Ethan Hawke provides the moral sanity. But it's writer David Ayer that provides the twist to the genre. Defying conventions, he penned a script committed to its predecessors while inversing their harmonious endings. Sprawling the saturated narcotics underbelly of Los Angeles, Washington takes Hawke under his tutelage (and gunpoint), teaching (forcing) him to be a wolf, not a sheep, which punctures his ethics and warps his reality. The relationship starts with nervous speculation and ends with a rooftop brawl; Washington's crooked cop becomes a thieving zigzag with professorial gusto. "This shit's chess, it ain't checkers," he barks about his livelihood. Hawke refuses to be his pawn and in doing so refuses to fit inside a formulaic finale. 4. 48 Hrs. I saw Purple Rain recently in theaters to commemorate Prince's untimely passing, and besides the incredible music videos that populate most of the running time, it's a much darker movie than you probably remember. There's domestic violence, attempted suicide, a woman being thrown into a dumpster. It came out in 1984, two years after Walter Hill's 48 Hrs., the foundational buddy-cop movie that pitted Nick Nolte with Eddie Murphy, which also strays darker than you probably remember (racial tension via the N-word swerves through a dangerous San Francisco). Nolte is on the hunt for a cop-killer and unwillingly gives Murphy-the killer's former associate and a current convict-48 hours leave to help find him. They argue a lot in between. The comedy comes from the characters, not the punch lines. "You're going to be sorry you met me," each tells the other. "I already am sorry," each replies. Eventually they cooperate under fire, creating the friction-filled blueprint for the genre. 3. End of Watch David Ayer earned critical acclaim in his jump to the director's chair for one of the most authentic portrayals of LAPD life. Using GoPros to enhance the immediacy and intimacy (and to kick-start the plot) of two partners' daily excursions, Ayer captures the unique bonds that get shaped in the line of duty. The movie isn't written with plot or comedy in mind, but the rapport between Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena as cocky officers Taylor and Zavala sustains a movie intent on exploring L.A's neighbor wars and the confined, intense and often comical police relationships from the view of a dashboard cam. Conversations and vignettes (including some with Anna Kendrick) only feed the inevitable tearjerker of an ending when the pair's curiosity places them in the crosshairs. 2. Hot Fuzz From the opening montage-a cinematic term that has been revolutionized with visual wit by its director Edgar Wright-Hot Fuzz establishes that Simon Pegg, playing an overachieving officer Nicolas Angel, takes his job extremely seriously. But, of course, this characteristic makes him loathed around the office, so that when his London inspector suddenly tells him he's been re-assigned to a small countryside village, they can't wait to say goodbye. When he arrives in quaint Sandford, he's partnered with a dimwit named Frank Butterman (Nick Frost), who has an immense affection for buddy-cop movies, and learns his job requirements now include capturing runaway swans. Quickly Butterman becomes an asset once Angel discovers a large conspiracy regarding the deaths of several members of the community. The second of the Cornetto Trilogy, Hot Fuzz is Wright's sharpest and most satisfying satire to date. 1. Lethal Weapon Lethal Weapon takes the torch from 48 Hrs. and ignites its flame, which is to say it perfects and exaggerates the jagged conflict between two detectives and fits them perfectly together. Danny Glover plays Murtaugh, who is introduced returning home after work on his birthday to his family and some cake. Mel Gibson plays Riggs, who wakes up in a trailer, gulps a beer for breakfast and flirts with a gun in his mouth. Murtaugh is a tired professional. Riggs is a jumpy suicidal. Naturally, the chief puts them together to chase some high-level drug smugglers (including a slick-haired Gary Busey) and they learn to bond over bullets and Christmas dinner. Under director Richard Donner, the movie became the stencil for future iterations (see all the above), and its own three sequels. "I'm getting too old for this shit," Glover says multiple times, a line that quickly became iconic. The irony is you'd never use it to describe watching this movie. By Tracy Rucinski CHICAGO (Reuters) - Bankrupt coal producer Peabody Energy Corp (BTUUQ.PK) said in a court filing Friday it believes its long-term debt should be included in its current liabilities, a position that favors unsecured creditors to the tune of $1 billion. A fight over how to treat long-term debt in calculating the mining company's assets has been looming since Peabody filed for chapter 11 protection in April with $10 billion of debt. The issue will have a major impact on how much each group will recover from the bankruptcy. Peabody initiated a lawsuit against secured creditor Citibank and Wilmington Savings Fund Society, a trustee for other secured creditors, on Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in St. Louis. The company asked the court to rule that long-term debt should be considered part of current liabilities. The company said it had taken action because its agreement for debtor-in-possession financing ties its submission of a confirmable plan to emerge from Chapter 11 to obtaining a resolution of the long-term debt issue no later than Oct. 10. Noting the adversary proceeding may entail lengthy discovery, Peabody also moved on Friday for the matter to be submitted to a nonbinding mediation. "Time is of the essence," Peabody said in its court filing on Friday. The company, which owns some of the largest U.S. mines, wants to exit bankruptcy by April 2017. At issue is Peabody's consolidated net tangible assets, known as CNTA, which are calculated by subtracting current liabilities from total assets. A higher CNTA would increase the recovery of secured creditors like Citibank and Franklin Resources Inc, while a lower one would put more in the pot for unsecured creditors including investment funds Aurelius Capital Management and Elliott Management Corporation. Aurelius and Elliott, two of the most litigious investment funds on Wall Street, have spent years battling Argentina in U.S. courts over the country's 2001 default. Story continues Franklin declined to comment on the proceeding initiated by Peabody while Aurelius and Elliott did not immediately return requests for comment. Secured creditors believe they are entitled to $1.5 billion of claims, while unsecured creditors think those claims are worth only about $450 million, two lawyers involved in the process said. The lawyers spoke on condition of anonymity because creditor groups' official replies to Peabody's lawsuit have not yet been filed with the court. (Editing by Anthony Lin and Matthew Lewis) Last years massacre at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina, launched a mass effort to rid the country of Confederate symbols. Local governments voted to remove rebel banners from Southern cities, including Charleston, and people pushed to remove war memorials in towns from Louisville to New Orleans. Now, if California Congressman Jared Huffmans bill becomes law, the Confederate battle flag could soon be largely barred from some military cemeteries, too. It would prohibit large versions of the flagsuch as those flown from flagpoles and over mass graves, Politico and The Hill reportfrom being displayed at national cemeteries operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Smaller versions would still be allowed at individual gravesites on two days, Confederate Memorial Day and Memorial Day. And some resting places, like state-owned veterans cemeteries, are exempt. The House passed the amendment Thursday with the support of GOP House leadership, including Speaker Paul Ryan, although roughly 160 Republicans and one Democrat voted against the amendment. Huffman argued his case in a speech late Wednesday night. Why in the year 2016 are we still condoning displays of this hateful symbol on our sacred national cemeteries? Symbols like the Confederate battle flag have meaning. They are not just neutral historical symbols of pride. They represent slavery, oppression, lynching, and hate, the Democratic congressman said. To continue to allow national policy condoning the display of this symbol on federal property is wrong, and its disrespectful to what our country stands for and what our veterans fight for. This wasnt the first time Congress has recently considered the flags removal. Last year, a similar bill from Huffman disrupted the appropriations process when southern Republicans objected to its provisions. Some on the Hill werent so fond of the amendment this time around, either. In a strongly worded message to fellow patriots and freedom loving history buffs, the legislative director for Georgia Representative Lynn Westmoreland urged members to vote down the measure. You know who else supports destroying history so that they can advance their own agenda? ISIL, he wrote, referring to the Islamic State. Dont be like ISIL. Westmorelands office later criticized the message as unprofessional and said the staffer had been disciplined. Recommended: Donald v. Ivanka Some who support Huffmans bill may see it as a way to claim moral victory over those who still honor the symbol. But it will be impossible to expunge Confederate imagery in its entirety. Not only do many Americans still think it has valueas members of Congress just showedbut Confederate memorials and namesakes are scattered across the country. According to a Southern Poverty Law Center tally, these symbols show up in 1,500 spots in 31 states, including military bases and forts named for rebel fighters. Most are in Southern states, but others exist in places from New York down to Miami, Florida. Nine states still honor Confederate holidays and six state banners boast Confederate flag imagery, as my colleague David Graham reported last year. These arent all 100-plus-year-old relics, either. The flag saw a revival in the mid-20th century as a response to the civil-rights movement, including in Westmorelands home state. Georgia redesigned its state flag in 1956 to incorporate part of the Confederacys. The U.S. government has also financially contributed to the flags permanence. Through Veterans Affairs, the feds still pay to mark Confederate graves that do not yet have headstones. Writing for The Atlantic, Steven Weiss noted in 2013 that the markers cost upwards of $100 each to produce: Most Civil War experts don't realize the federal government has spent more than $2 million in the past decade to produce and ship headstones honoring Confederate dead, often at the request of local Confederate heritage groups in the South, and overwhelmingly in Georgia. Going back to at least 2002, the government has provided more headstones for Confederate graves than for Union soldiers' graves. In that time, the Department of Veterans Affairs has provided approximately 33,000 headstones for veterans of the Civil War. Sixty percent of those have been for Confederate soldiers. More than 150 years after the wars end, many people are still working hard to keep Confederate memory alive. The occasional bill from Congress cant do much to change that, but members, it seems, will keep trying. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. Times Change. Websites Improve. The Work to Help the Seriously Injured Continues PHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCCESSWIRE / May 20, 2016 / A new website for those seriously injured in accidents will have legal information and suggestions is backed by Rand Spear's 30 years of accident law experience. Those in Pennsylvania and New Jersey who have been seriously injured in accidents can find many websites that are supposed to give them legal information and help. If you're in this situation rely on the new website with thirty years of legal experience behind it. Rand Spear the Accident Lawyer's new and improved website, which will provide more information and be easier to use. The website provides useful information and suggestions for those in Philadelphia and New Jersey who have been injured, which is where Spear practices accident law and where his offices are located (Philadelphia and Marlton). "I want them to have all the information at their fingertips. If they need me or have a question about their rights after an accident we'll be able to help," Spear says. Spear, known throughout Philadelphia and New Jersey as "The Accident Lawyer," has been practicing accident law for more than thirty years. Over that time technology and how people learn about and educate themselves about the issues impacting their lives has changed. The new website is the next step for Spear to provide helpful information and a convenient way for people to contact his firm about their injury or accident. "It will give the public an opportunity to learn about the claims they may have if they're injured and they have questions or need help 24 hours a day, seven days a week, we will be there to assist them, answer their questions, help them in any way we can," Spear says. He says he's very fortunate that his firm has developed a very good reputation and grown over the past thirty years. His staff includes about 14 attorneys and forty support staff and paralegals all focused on the many areas of personal injury law. "We're very experienced and passionate and we're working to help our clients all the time. Our goal is to help and assist all our clients in the best way that we can," Spear says. Story continues Spear's new website (http://www.randspear.com/) features practical information and will be easier to use than the current website so users will better understand their legal rights. Research will be simplified and users will be able to easily schedule a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer. If you've been seriously injured in an accident in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, contact Rand Spear the Accident Lawyer's office at 888-373-4LAW for a free consultation. Follow Rand Spear on http://randspear.com/blog.php. Watch the latest videos. Rand Spear recently recorded podcast on Dog Bite Injury here https://youtu.be/BgMpvRtvmDs. Media Contact Rand Spear 888-373-4LAW SOURCE: Rand Spear the Accident Lawyer via Submit Press Release 123 LONDON (Reuters) - British pollster YouGov said on Friday that online polls were doing a better job than phone polls of finding representative samples of voters before a referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union. A persistent divergence between telephone polls, which suggest the "In" campaign is ahead by a wide margin, and online polls, which suggest a tight race that "Out" could win, has flummoxed pollsters in the run-up to the June 23 referendum. The polls are being closely watched by financial markets and have repeatedly caused sharp moves in the value of sterling against other currencies, but the confused picture they have created has added to jitters about the outcome of the vote. YouGov, which produces online polls, said it had conducted new research that showed telephone polls were based on samples of the population that over-represented graduates, who are more likely to be in favour of remaining in the EU. (http://bit.ly/22hY2dd) Rob Ford, a political scientist from Manchester University with expertise on polling methods, said an online pollster's view on phone polls should be taken with a pinch of salt but YouGov had nevertheless put forward a plausible hypothesis. The entire British polling industry failed to predict the Conservative victory in last year's national election which Ford said had created a "nightmare scenario" for pollsters because they were now under pressure to do better on the EU referendum that was much harder due to a lack of precedent. "I'm sympathetic to their problem. The pollsters are sincerely trying to get the right answer but ultimately we just don't know," he said. People have also been closely watching betting action as a reliable guide. William Hill has cut its odds of Britons voting to remain to 1/5, the lowest level to date and indicating an implied probability of 83 percent. Implied probability of an "In" vote rose 9 percentage points to 79 percent from around 70 percent last week, according to Betfair. In an article by Andy Morris, its chief innovation officer, YouGov said it had analysed the data from two telephone polls by rival firm Populus, conducted in February and March, which had 44 percent and 46 percent of graduates respectively. Morris wrote that if the Populus data was adjusted to match the proportion of graduates in the population at large, estimated at 27 to 33 percent, the 11-point lead for "In" in the February poll shrank to just one to four points. The same calculation on the March poll shrank a 14-point lead for "In" to seven to nine points, he wrote. YouGov said it had tested its theory by conducting simultaneous online and telephone polls of its own, in which it weighted the samples to reflect the proportion of graduates in the population. It said the results were a two-point lead for "Out" in the online poll and a three-point lead for "Out" in the telephone poll. "This result is extraordinary but not, on reflection, surprising," wrote Morris. "Sample composition on education level is absolutely fundamental to referendum polling. With phone polls under-representing the less well educated so dramatically it is not surprising that they are skewing towards remain," he wrote. (Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Angus MacSwan) A species of porpoise only found in the Gulf of California in Mexico may become extinct by 2022 if harmful fishing practices continue, scientists say. The vaquita, the smallest of the seven species of porpoise, is considered the most endangered marine mammal in the world. Only about 60 vaquita porpoises remain, according to a team of international scientists created by the Mexican government. The porpoises are often caught and drowned in nets set by fisherman for other marine creatures, particularly the totoaba fish. The swim bladders of totoaba, another endangered species, can sell for thousands of dollars in China, where they are used as an ingredient in soup. We are watching this precious native species disappear before our eyes, said Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, the chair of the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita, last week. In 2015, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto imposed a two-year ban on the use of gillnets nets hung vertically in water to entangle fish by their gillsin the northern Gulf of California. The Mexican Navy also patrols the area to clear the nets. Conservationists say outlawing gillnets permanently is crucial for the vaquitas recovery and survival. Recommended: The False Promise of DNA Testing Vessel surveys and acoustic monitoring of vaquita sonar clicks shows the mammals population has decreased drastically in the last two decades. In 1997, about 567 vaquita swam the waters of the Gulf of California. By 2008, the population had shrunk to 245. Barbara Taylor, a conservation biologist with NOAAs Southwest Fisheries Science Center in California, said the Mexican government began to consider seriously the vaquitas potential extinction in 2006, after the Chinese river dolphin was declared extinct when Taylor and a group of scientists could not find a single dolphin in the Yangtze River. Mexico suddenly became home to the worlds most endangered marine mammal, she said in a NOAA podcast in March. Story continues Taylor said the vaquita population could recover with proper government intervention and enforcement. She cited the success story of the northern elephant seal: in 1922, the Mexican government designated Guadalupe Island as a protected area, allowing the population of less than 100 elephant seals there to grow to tens of thousands. Marine mammals show an amazing capacity to recover if you just stop killing them, Taylor said. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. Toulouse (France) (AFP) - Four French gendarmes were killed Friday when a helicopter crashed in a mountainous area of southwest France Friday, the force said. The helicopter crashed into a cliff face in the area around Cauterets in the Hautes-Pyrenees region, killing all four people aboard, the force said. The reason for the crash is not yet known. After some initial confusion about the number of casualties, the office of President Francois Hollande confirmed that the pilot, co-pilot and two rescue specialists on board were all killed. An emergency response team has found the debris in a hard-to-access area of the mountain, the local prefecture said. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, due at the scene later Friday, expressed his "infinite sadness" over the crash. The prosecutors office said they were holding off on announcing a full investigation until more was known. Police moved in to clear blockades at a number of French fuel depots on Friday, May 20, amid petrol shortages, most notably in Normandy, Brittany and the Pays de Loire region. Oil workers set up the blockades in an effort to force the French government to roll back on a controversial labour reform imposed last week. Oil workers of the CGT union voted to halt production at Totals Normandy refinery and extend a strike at another refinery in Grandpuits by 72 hours on Friday, according to Reuters. These videos show police clearing a blockade at a depot in Vern-sur-Seiche, just outside Rennes, Brittany, where a few dozen protesters occupied the premises since Wednesday. Credit: Twitter/@AnthoGonzalez56/ Finally, some good news for refugees. About four out of five people said people fleeing persecution should be offered refuge in other countries, according to a global Amnesty International poll published Wednesday. The human rights non-profit organization polled 27,000 people across 27 countries, posing various questions about refugees and the individuals' willingness to help those seeking asylum. Two out of three participants said their governments should be doing more to help out. Source: Amnesty International Overall, in order of receptivity, the top three countries in favor of offering support to refugees are China, Germany and the United Kingdom. Russia came at the bottom of the list as the least welcoming country. Source: Amnesty International Also promising is the number of respondents who said they would personally welcome refugees into their homes. T Yet, despite an overwhelming number of people favor of supporting those in need of refuge, many countries are falling short when it comes to institutionalized assistance. Humanitarian organization Concern Worldwide released a report Friday, which revealed just a sixth of the money governments pledged to the refugee crisis at a summit in February has been used. "Our survey results are overwhelmingly positive but most governments still just aren't listening," Amnesty wrote in its coverage of their global poll. "Only nine of the 27 countries covered by our survey have committed to taking in any of Syria's 4.8 million refugees. But they have only agreed to share fewer than 174,000 people between them." With roughly 20 million refugees worldwide and nearly 60 million forcibly displaced aligning an international response with public opinion could not be more needed. By Lin Taylor LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Swelling populations and demand for food combined with ever scarcer water and land resources could lead to a doubling of food prices and trigger civil unrest in some developing countries, a new report says. Demand for food with a higher environmental impact, such as meat, has surged as emerging countries like China and India grow in size and in wealth, said Martin Halle, policy analyst at Global Footprint Network (GFN). "A few things are very clear: the demand for food is going up tremendously because of population growth," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "[Food production] is becoming more unstable because climate change is affecting production, in the context of growing land and water scarcity. There's very little leeway between supply and demand." In the past, countries were able to meet those demands by growing more food on more land. But this has come at a cost, Halle said, since the planet is now running out of water and arable land. The last time the world saw a severe food crisis was in 2007 and 2008, the report said, when extreme weather events hit major grain producing regions the year earlier, causing spikes in the demand and cost of food. The higher prices led to social and political unrest in North Africa, the Middle East and South East and South Asia. The report published this week by GFN and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)said most of the same countries, namely Morocco, Bangladesh, Tunisia and Indonesia, are again at risk if food prices were to increase in the next few years. CLIMATE CHANGE VOLATILITY Climate change and extreme weather patterns will further increase volatility in food production, Halle added, meaning food prices will become more unstable in the coming years. "The real game-changer comes when you factor in the environmental constraints climate change, land scarcity and water scarcity, and all of these are linked," said Halle. Drought is becoming more frequent and severe in places like southern Africa, and that combined with the recent El Nino phenomenon is taking a heavy toll on rural lives and economies. For example, maize prices in South Africa, the continent's top producer of the staple crop, reached near record highs late 2015, in the face of rolling heat waves and poor rains over key growing areas. Using models from data across 110 countries, the study found that if the cost of food doubled, household spending would increase by more than 10 percent in 37 countries. Five African countries - Benin, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Ghana - would be the worst affected in terms of highest percentage loss to GDP. The major emerging economies of China and India are forecast to lose $161 billion and $49 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) respectively with a doubling of food commodity prices. "What this provides is a litmus test," said Ivo Mulder, economics advisor at UNEP. "We are overusing what is available for us and we don't really know what the magnitude of the risk is." While higher income countries, like the United States, could benefit from food price hikes, Mulder said, their high demand for meat-based products is contributing to the problem. "It's important to be honest about the types of risks that countries face," he said. "Because even if developed countries are less exposed than developing countries, it doesn't mean there is no risk at all." (Reporting by Lin Taylor @linnytayls, Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters that covers humanitarian news, conflicts, land rights, modern slavery and human trafficking, women's rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories) Sendai (Japan) (AFP) - British finance minister George Osborne warned Saturday that the UK would find it "extremely difficult" to conclude trade deals with European Union countries if it quit the bloc. Speaking to the BBC at a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Sendai, Japan, Osborne said it would be tough to strike those deals while also trying to reach new trade agreements with non-EU countries. "It's absolutely clear if you speak to the finance ministers here from France, Germany and other European countries athat if Britain left the EU, and wanted access to the single market, the access that we need for jobs and investment at home, then we would need to pay into the EU budget and we'd have to accept free movement of people but we'd have no say over those policies at all," Osborne said. Britain will decide in a referendum on June 23 whether to stay in the EU or leave the 28-country bloc. Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne, like Prime Minister David Cameron, is campaigning for Britain to stay in. "If we left the EU we would have a two year period to negotiate our exit with 27 other countries, we'd then have to negotiate new arrangements with those 27 other European countries and at the same time conclude over 50 trade deals with countries that aren't even in Europe," he said. "That would be extremely difficult to do." During that period, businesses would have "no certainty" about the future and so would not take on new workers or invest, he said. "It hits people's incomes, it hits the value of houses, it hits businesses and jobs. People are beginning to understand that," said Osborne. - 'Back of the queue' - With just over a month to the vote, the "Remain" camp is on 55 percent and the "Leave" campaign on 45 percent, according to the What UK Thinks website's average of the last six opinion polls. On a visit to London last month, US President Barack Obama said Britain being in the EU magnified its global influence, and outside the bloc it would go to the "back of the queue" when it came to signing trade deals. Story continues And Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned earlier this month that Britain would become "less attractive" for Japanese investment outside the EU. And last week International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned that quitting the EU would be "pretty bad to very, very bad" for the British economy. The Treasury in London released analysis Friday showing that by 2018, house prices in Britain would fall by at least 10 percent and up to 18 percent compared to what is expected if the UK remains in the EU, due to heightened uncertainty in the financial markets. The average house price in England and Wales was A189,901 ($275,360, 245,400 euros) in March, up 6.7 percent over the previous 12 months. In London it was A534,785. May 20 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. THE GLOBE AND MAIL ** The National Energy Board of Canada has conditionally recommended the C$6.8-billion ($5.19 billion) Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project, a controversial ruling praised by industry and panned by environmentalists.(http://bit.ly/1RbIPCm) ** Bombardier Inc is lightening the workload on its passenger rail-car plant in Thunder Bay in an attempt to speed up delivery on a problem-plagued contract for new streetcars in Toronto. The company confirmed on Thursday that it will shift production on one of four contracts the plant is currently executing to another facility in Kingston. (http://bit.ly/1NBBtNZ) ** Two Canadians were among 66 passengers and crew killed when a Cairo-bound EgyptAir flight crashed into the eastern Mediterranean early Thursday on an overnight flight from Paris. (http://bit.ly/1To3Dc7) NATIONAL POST ** The incoming CEO of the CPPIB Mark Machin says there will be no change in strategic direction when he takes over from Mark Wiseman who is leaving after just four years at the helm. Machin will be the first non-Canadian to lead the organization that invest funds not needed to pay current Canada Pension Plan benefits. (http://bit.ly/1WGeuUC) ** The Canadian National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier told lawmakers on Thursday that the government's position on tax evasion is unequivocal. The fallout from revelations contained in the so-called Panama Papers, has forced the government to do more to fight illegal means used by tax cheats. (http://bit.ly/1To6ouf) ** Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized "unreservedly" on Thursday for his "poor choices" the day before, as the government retreated from plans to give cabinet unprecedented power over the House of Commons.(http://bit.ly/1Tu18bO) ($1 = 1.3111 Canadian dollars) (Compiled by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru) Baghdad (AFP) - Supporters of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stormed the premier's office Friday after breaking into the Green Zone for the second time in three weeks, further escalating a long-running political crisis. They faced tough resistance from forces guarding Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office but some were able to muscle past and temporarily enter the premises, though demonstrators were later pushed back by tear gas, water cannons, sound bombs and a barrage of live fire directed into the air. Abadi reacted by saying that "storming state institutions... cannot be accepted," but added that he supports the "demands of the peaceful protesters." A curfew was announced due to the unrest -- which security and medical officials said wounded at least 58 people, including security personnel -- but was soon lifted. Sadr followers have been protesting for weeks demanding reforms and a new government, and had warned they would again break into the Green Zone if progress was not made. The cleric vowed Friday that "peaceful protests" would continue, warning that "the revolution will take another form" if there are attempts to block them. Demonstrators were enraged by security measures to keep them out of the Green Zone, which were much tougher than they faced when they broke into the restricted area three weeks earlier. "We came in a peaceful protest but the cowards began shooting at us," said one protester, displaying handfuls of bullet casings, a white cloth shielding his face from tear gas. "This is the biggest evidence of their cowardice and corruption," said another protester who held up a canister fired by security forces, a black cloth tied around his face. - Major security breach - Some demonstrators even equated Iraqi politicians with the hated Islamic State (IS) group, which frequently kills civilians in bomb attacks. The protesters gathered at Tahrir Square in central Baghdad before crossing Jumhuriyah Bridge over the Tigris River and converging on the Green Zone. Story continues Some were able to force one of the area's gates and then headed to the prime minister's office. They confronted security forces guarding the compound, and some protesters eventually forced their way in. Sadr supporters posted pictures of the premier's office on social media, including from the cabinet meeting room, but the protesters later withdrew. It was unclear where Abadi was at the time of the breach. While some demonstrators broke through a Green Zone gate located near Iraq's parliament on Friday, a much larger crowd of protesters, some of whom threw rocks and other debris over the wall, remained outside. Security forces sporadically fired tear gas into the crowd, and also shot sound bombs and live rounds overhead and sprayed demonstrators with water cannons. Security and medical sources said some people were wounded by bullets, but most of the fire was directed into the air, and tear gas accounted for the majority of the injuries. Protesters managed to hold the gate for some time despite repeatedly being tear gassed, but security forces eventually sallied out, firing automatic weapons into the air and unleashing more tear gas. - Political deadlock - They forced the demonstrators back down a street alongside the Green Zone, harrying them with tear gas canisters that hissed into the crowd. Ambulances became caught in the mass of people packing the street, which was divided by coils of barbed wire running down the median that also impeded movement. Security forces eventually pushed the demonstrators back across Jumhuriyah Bridge. Sadr supporters had encountered relatively little resistance when they pulled down slabs of concrete blast walls to break into the Green Zone last month. But Abadi subsequently sacked the security chief for the Green Zone and beefed up measures around the restricted area. The latest breach of the area -- which is also home to several embassies, including that of the United States -- could put angry demonstrators on a potentially violent collision course with security forces, and also ups pressure on the premier. Abadi has proposed replacing the current government of party-affiliated ministers with technocrats, a move resisted by parties that rely on control of ministries for patronage and funds. Sadr, a Najaf-based cleric who once fought the US-led occupation, has recently cast himself as a champion of the drive against corruption and has also demanded a technocratic government. Sadr supporters pulled out of the Green Zone on May 1, a day after storming parliament, warning they would return if no political change took place. But parliament has failed to even reconvene since the incident. Sadr supporters have also been angered by a deadly series of bombings in Baghdad, with protesters at the site of one attack blaming the government for carrying it out despite it having been claimed by IS. Johannesburg (AFP) - A South African university renowned as the launchpad for leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe celebrated its centenary on Friday against a backdrop of violent student protests. Police at the Fort Hare campus used water cannon to force back students who tried to march on the venue where dignitaries including President Jacob Zuma and Mugabe were gathered. The students later staged a protest vigil after their bid to block the main entrance was thwarted by police. "Students tried to barricade the roads leading to the university," police spokesman Khaya Tonjeni told AFP. "We have reinforced the security because there was a high level of intimidation two days ago when marquees were burnt down," he said. Overnight, police fired stun grenades and teargas at students who hurled rocks at them at the university in the Eastern Cape province. The violence at Fort Hare follows protests at campuses across South Africa over the past year by students over issues such as racism, fees and accommodation. Several universities were closed briefly in February after a wave of protests in which buildings were torched, while an auditorium was firebombed at the University of Johannesburg earlier this week. "Burning schools, libraries and university buildings means burning the future," Zuma said in his address at Fort Hare. "There can be no justification of violence and anarchy, especially in a country where people have freedom of speech and expression." Fort Hare was regarded as a beacon of light for black African scholars barred from universities reserved for whites during apartheid, and it trained several leaders and influential nationalists across sub-Saharan Africa. Mandela said in his autobiography that Fort Hare was like "Oxford and Cambridge, Harvard and Yale, all rolled into one." Mugabe on Friday lauded the university where "I was transformed and... truly discovered my African identity and African personality." Mugabe, 92, repeated his vow that he would not step down despite ruling since 1980. "In Zimbabwe they have said we will have regime change, I have said never ever, and that's one of the reasons I have stuck on," he said. bild bundesarchiv ww1 After World War I, an entire generation of battle-hardened veterans came home sporting military-issued 'trench watches,' or wristwatches as we know them today. Essential for keeping track of time and much more practical than pocket watches for troops in the trenches or flying aircraft, 'trench watches' became a "newly endowed emblem of masculinity, modernity, and First World status," author Aja Raden explains in "Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World." Before the war, these watches were called 'wristlets' and primarily seen as a female fashion accessory due to its delicate design. "Two decades earlier, men would rather have worn a skirt than a wristlet; after World War I, men wouldn't be caught dead without one ... watches had become sexual status symbols for men everywhere," Raden writes. Soon, wearing this emblem played a profound role in society. Outnumbering the once popular pocket watches fifty-to-one, there were cases in which men, who didn't serve in the forces were rebuked for wearing this "badge of bravery." marines france 1918 ww1 Author Fredric J. Friedberg's explains in his history of the "Illinois Watch Company," how one man was shamed for sporting a watch: After the end of World War I, a lawyer was arguing a point of law in court when Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis noticed that the lawyer was wearing a wristwatch. The judge halted the lawyer in mid-sentence and asked him if he served in the war. When the lawyer responded he had not, Judge Landis ordered him to remove the watch, admonishing him that it was inappropriate for non-veterans to wear a wristwatch. Ouch. Today, the standard timepiece continues its legacy among men's fashion. NOW WATCH: These are the watches worn by the smartest and most powerful men in the world More From Business Insider Is Rising Competition in Cloud Space Slowing Rackspace's Growth? (Continued from Prior Part) Rackspaces scale in the software space Earlier in this series, we discussed Rackspaces (RAX) recently announced acquisitions in the cloud space. Now, lets look at the value proposition of the company in the US software space. Lets start with Rackspaces size. As of May 17, 2016, and as the below chart shows, Microsoft (MSFT) was the largest global player by market capitalization in this space, followed by Oracle (ORCL). IBM (IBM), Salesforce (CRM), Akamai (AKAM), J2 Global (JCOM), and Rackspace are some other leading players in this space. Rackspaces enterprise value multiples Now lets look at Rackspaces EV/EBITDA (enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) multiple. Well also look at other US software players. Rackspace was trading at a forward EV/EBITDA multiple of ~4.0x on May 17, 2016. This metric was lower than Microsofts at ~9.5x. The same metric for IBM and Oracle were ~8.5x and 9.1x, respectively. Rackspaces dividend yield Microsofts forward annual dividend yield was ~2.9% as of May 17, 2016. Oracles and IBMs forward annual dividend yields were ~1.5% and ~3.8%, respectively, as of May 17. Rackspace, Akamai Technologies, and Salesforce dont pay dividends. In the final part of our series, well see what kind of recommendations analysts are giving for Rackspace. For diversified exposure to select software companies in the United States, you may want to consider investing in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). This ETF has an exposure of 8% in the application software industry. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: While trying to extend the Texas Rangers' success against the Houston Astros, Colby Lewis hopes to add to his own. Another win on the veteran's already sparkling resume in this AL West matchup Friday night would keep the visiting Rangers unbeaten against the Astros this season. Texas (22-19) swept a three-game home series from Houston (17-25) April 19-21 and has won 11 of the last 13 meetings. Lewis (2-0, 3.12 ERA) has won eight of his last nine starts against Houston, and he is 9-1 with a 2.71 ERA in 12 meetings since the start of 2010. The right-hander's eight-game winning streak against the Astros marks a career best against any opponent. Lately, wins have been tougher to come by for Lewis. He has tossed seven innings in each of his last four starts, though he has just one win to show for it after taking no-decisions in the last three. He dropped his ERA to the lowest it has been since his second start with seven solid innings in Saturday's 6-5 win over Toronto. He held the Blue Jays to four hits and two runs, striking out six without a walk. Lewis has lasted at least six innings in each of his eight starts. "I feel healthy, my knee feels good, I'm just feeling good out there," he told MLB's official website. "I have been throwing all my pitches for strikes, keeping guys off balance, moving the ball around, just doing what I need to do to continue to keep our team in there." Lewis did give up another home run against Toronto, making it 10 against him already. Houston's Carlos Correa and Luis Valbuena have gone deep twice against him, while Jason Castro, Colby Rasmus and Jake Marisnick each have homered once. The Astros will counter with Lance McCullers, who is looking to get back to form after sitting out most of the opening two months. McCullers (0-0, 9.64) returned from shoulder soreness suffered in spring training with a solid outing outside of one inning in Friday's 8-7 win at Boston. He gave up seven hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings while walking three and striking out four. Story continues McCullers, pitching in his first big league game since Game 4 of the ALDS against Kansas City in October, pitched well outside of a dismal second inning when the first five Red Sox hitters reached and scored. "It felt good to be back out there," McCullers told MLB's website. "The most important thing is we got the win and I rebounded there the next couple of innings." He will make his 2016 home debut after going 4-1 with a 1.95 ERA in 11 starts there during his 2015 rookie campaign. However, both his starts against the Rangers came in Texas. McCullers recorded only one out in his first, giving up seven hits and six runs in a 12-9 loss on Aug. 3, and surrendered five hits and three runs in six innings of an 8-2 loss on Sept. 17. Shin-soo Choo (3 for 4) and Mitch Moreland (2 for 4) homered off McCullers, and Adrian Beltre went 2 for 4 with a double and triple. They combined for eight RBIs. Choo is expected to come off the disabled list Friday after sitting out since April 9 with a strained right calf muscle. Choo went 3 for 16 in five games before getting injured. Since joining the Rangers in 2011, Beltre has hit .348 with 13 home runs, 44 RBIs and a .609 slugging percentage in 69 games against Houston. For a physical TV comedy loaded with gags, one in particular sticks out for Angie Tribeca star Rashida Jones, during the episode The Wedding Planner Did It: Tribeca turns to a surgeon, played by Adam Scott, and says, While I have you here doctor, Id love you to check out this mole. The surgeon responds, Thats a suspicious mole, you should have it looked at. And theres Jones with an animal trainer between her legs, wrestling a live mole to her face while it poops on her hands. For me, thats the heart of the show, says Jones remembering the scene. Whenever a comedy scene requires zany, call the straight man; or in this case, the woman. Thats what Steve and Nancy Carell did when they tapped Jones to play the no-nonsense LAPD detective of the RHCU (Really Heinous Crimes Unit) in their TBS comedy series, Angie Tribeca, a police comedy that has resurrected the satirical physical comedy genre made famous by the 1960s show Get Smart and the early 1980s short-lived Police Squad, which ultimately blossomed into the Naked Gun movie franchise. I didnt read for it, says Jones. Steve and Nancy emailed me directly and said, We have this script. We have you in mind. Its really dumb and we hope you like it. I liked it very much, but I wasnt looking to return to TV after having a daydream job on Parks and Recreation. I knew how difficult [that schedule] was. In addition, I was writing and producing. But this was non-negotiable. What intrigued Jones was the chance to sharpen up her comedic timing on Angie Tribeca. Every single scene is highly choreographed as there are several visual gags in any given scene. I say, Its a booby trap, and then someone is touching the boob on the mannequin. Theres so much technical stuff that has to be worked in, explains Jones. Case in point, during the pilot, theres a scene where Angie questions the mayors wife, played by Nancy Carell. During their exchange, Mrs. Perry offers Angie a ridiculous amount of food, which she scarfs down. With each take, all the action has to be reset, the actors repositioned, and food wiped off their faces. On Parks and Rec, Jones says, It was a little looser. Rarely were there marks on the floor, because there were two or three cameras capturing what was happening naturally. Story continues As the Harvard-educated daughter of award-winning musician and producer Quincy Jones, she quickly rose in Hollywood as an actress who could balance equal parts drama and comedy. While many remember Jones as Ann Perkins, the level-headed best friend to Amy Poehlers scatterbrain Pawnee, Indiana government official Leslie Knope on Parks and Rec, one of Jones early breaks was on David E. Kelleys drama Boston Public in which she played the high school secretary, embroiled in a romance with an English teacher, and penning a sex advice column in the school newspaper. Leslie Nielsen was known for sarcastically winking at the camera as calamity flew around him on Police Squad. However, Jones is more subtle on Angie Tribeca, and that characteristic kicks the onscreen hijinks to a higher echelon of hilarity. Her Angie is tough-ass (she destroys her plywood dummy during a fighting sequence), shes fearless about going the distance (goes undercover as a nude model and wears a wire), and like any career-obsessed, single woman on TV, is afraid of marriage (she lost her old partner Sgt. Pepper, played by James Franco, on the job, but hes coming back in Season 2). Theres a high level of difficulty to what shes doing, enthused Steve Carell about Jones at the Television Critics Association winter tour. She makes it look effortless. But she plays the part and commits to it, giving it depth amid all the absurdity and the silliness. Shes the lynchpin for the entire show. We met with a lot of funny people. Its such a specific tone. Its not about being funny, but understanding when to pull back, and not have a self-awareness of being funny. Angie Tribeca returns June 6 for Season 2. The timing couldnt be more perfect, as it raises the shows profile during what is a very competitive Emmy nom period. Season 2 will send-up shows like Fargo and True Detective, and will feature such guest stars as Heather Graham, Mary McCormack, Noah Wyle, Maya Rudolph, Eriq La Salle, Danny Pudi, Busy Philipps, Kevin Pollak, Rhys Darby, Ed Begley Jr, Joe Jonas and Joey McIntyre. Some of Angies headaches include drug-dealing lifeguards, and the murders of a sushi chef and a boy band bad boy. Says Jones about Season 2: Our hope is that it will be a little drier since the audience is accustomed to the way we tell jokes. Related stories TBS: Behind Network's Plan To Air Two Seasons Of Comedy Series A Year Turner Upfront Presentation 2016 Live Blog Matt Fogel Comedy Pilot Not Going Forward At TBS, To Be Shopped Elsewhere Who better to entrust a high-tech, multi-billion dollar warship than Capt. James Kirk? In this case its U.S. Navy Capt. James A. Kirk, not Starfleet Capt. James Tiberius Kirk of the United Federation of Planets and Star Trek fame, and the ship is the USS Zumwalt, not the Enterprise. Related: The Navy Is Paying Contractors Millions to Fix Their Own Screw-ups Defense contractor General Dynamics formally handed over the keys for the first of the services newest class of destroyers on Friday at the firms Bath Iron Works subsidiary in Maine. "Zumwalt's crew has diligently trained for months in preparation of this day and they are ready and excited to take charge of this ship on behalf of the U.S. Navy," Kirk said in a press release. "These are 143 of our nation's finest men and women who continue to honor Admiral Zumwalt's namesake with their dedication to bringing this ship to life." The Navy originally wanted to build 32 of the cutting-edge vessels but ballooning costs prompted the service to cut the order to just three ships. The total cost of the three ships is around $22.5 billion, with roughly $10 billion spent on development and $4 billion for each ship. Related: Growing Debt Threatens US National Security: Defense Leaders The other Zumwalt-class ships -- the Michael Monsoor and Lyndon B. Johnson -- are under construction in Maine. The Monsoor is expected to be christened as soon as next month. The 610-foot-long warship weighs in at almost 16,000 tons, but its angular shape makes it more difficult to detect on radar, according to General Dynamics. The vessel is powered by turbines similar to those on a Boeing 777 jet. As for armaments, the Zumwalt comes with guns that can fire projectiles at targets over 60 miles away, along with an assortment of Tomahawk, Sea Sparrow and Standard missiles and anti-submarine rockets. Related: Why the Navys New Combat Ship May Fail Against Real-World Threats Now that the Navy has accepted delivery of the destroyer, it will be commissioned in Baltimore in October before going on to San Diego where it will undergo mission systems activation. All of the warships combat and mission systems will be installed and activated during the roughly yearlong process. Story continues The Zumwalt is not expected to reach initial operational capability, the point at which it can deploy, until fiscal year 2019, according to the latest Pentagon estimates. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: From Esquire Besides the Beatles and George Martin, there have possibly never been musicians more inventive in the studio than Radiohead and their masterful producer Nigel Godrich. You don't have to be an audiophile to get lost in the shimmering, layered beauty of Radiohead's ninth album A Moon Shaped Pool. Dating back to their rushed studio sessions with Hail To The Thief in 2003, Radiohead-the most obsessive of musical perfectionists-have always tortured themselves during the recording process. The band gives few interviews, and keeps an insanely low profile while in the studio recording a new album. "We think too much," Thom Yorke told Rolling Stone in 2007. Godrich called the A Moon Shaped Pool sessions, "a very intense experience." Probably to keep focused, probably to protect all the insane studio techniques that consistently push the boundaries of rock music, Radiohead is intensely secretive about their recording process. In possibly the most Radiohead-esque feature ever written, British poet Adam Thrope joined the band in a recording studio in the South of France that holds the largest collection of vinyl in the world. It's located in the same provence where Vincent Van Gogh voluntarily entered the asylum and produced dozens of paintings. In the piece, Thrope gives a lush description of both the studio, and the band's studio life: What I have understood through Colin is that Radiohead achieve their music through a kind of obsessional persistence, much of it by trial and error. Years ago, Colin played me the taped result of a week or so's exploration in their Oxford studios; it was a mere sketch, and I wondered how on earth those basic rhythms and chords could become one of the intricate, haunting and eccentrically original numbers, streaked by Thom Yorke's bright voice (frequently ranging into a crystalline falsetto), that have turned Radiohead from a sixth form band into the world's most inventive. Story continues He describes the look of the studio: The studio itself is strange: a sunlit suite of rooms with antique rugs, ornate fireplaces and elegant period furniture, lined with books in wooden cabinets and invaded by recording equipment, as if the teenage scion of a stately home has taken advantage of his parents' absence. A whiteboard shows only a list of tracks in black marker pen, starting with "Daydreaming" and ending with "Burn the Witch". The rejected James Bond film tune, "Spectre", floats in the middle, slightly separate. Colin points to the main console, a vast sweep of knobs, buttons and faders. "This is a Neve 88 R, seventy-two channels, made in Burnley. Worth about a hundred thousand. It's analog, like this reel-to-reel Studer, but we also use digital. It's all about looping and layering." In the older, vaulted section, part of the floor is stone, with a giant hieroglyph chiselled out. "Probably Roman", he explains. "Where the millstone went." Which includes a live, personal painter: The barn's speakers are wired up to the recording studios: the band's resident artist Stanley Donwood reacts in acrylic to what he hears, the results to be modified and manipulated on computer for the LP's cover. And the instruments guitarist Jonny Greenwood invents: Le Ly Hayslip. (Photo: Charlie Fields) By Jamie Reno for Yahoo News On Sunday, President Obama arrives for the first time in Vietnam to begin several days of meetings with Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on such issues as the economy and human rights. The talks are also expected to touch on lingering issues from the Vietnam War, including perhaps the ongoing U.S.-Vietnam effort to decontaminate dioxin residue in the central Vietnam city of Da Nang, the site of a U.S. air base during the war. Da Nang had one of Vietnams highest levels of dioxin, a contaminant of Agent Orange, which along with other toxic defoliants was sprayed by the U.S. military over enormous swaths of Vietnam from 1961 to 1972 to flush out the enemy and destroy food crops. One person who will be watching Obamas four-day Vietnam visit with impassioned interest is Le Ly Hayslip, the philanthropist and author who grew up in a small village near Da Nang. Hayslip, 66, gained international attention with her 1989 memoir, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Womans Journey from War to Peace. The heart-rending book chronicles how Hayslips life as a Vietnamese peasant girl changed dramatically when American helicopters landed in her village when she was 12. When Hayslip was born in 1949, Vietnam was a colony of France, but communist rebels were fighting for independence. During the day, government troops occupied Ky La, Hayslips village, but at night, the Viet Cong controlled it and Hayslip and her family were caught in the middle. She worked for the guerrilla fighters for two years and was often questioned by government troops, who would sometimes torture villagers to get information about the Viet Cong. Eventually, Hayslip said, the Viet Cong suspected she was a government informant, and sentenced her to death. The Viet Cong agents were supposed to kill her, but instead, two of them raped her and let her go. Shunned in her village, she fled to Saigon and eventually made her way to the U.S. while the war still raged. Story continues I want this meeting to actually be productive, not just a show, said Hayslip, whose book, along with the follow-up, Child of War, Woman of Peace, were the basis for the 1993 Oliver Stone film, Heaven & Earth, the directors third installment in his trio of Vietnam War-themed films (Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July). Since Heaven & Earth was released 22 years ago, Hayslip has mostly avoided the spotlight to focus on philanthropy. But in an exclusive interview with Yahoo News, she said Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry a Vietnam War veteran who will accompany Obama on this trip have an opportunity to make a huge difference in the lives of the Vietnamese people in just the few days they are in country. Le Ly Hayslip, author of When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, second from left, shares a laugh with her mother, Tran Thi Huyen, center, and an unidentified friend, left, while Hayslips sisters Phung Thi Xuan, second from right and Phung Thi Nghia, right walk with them through San Francisco International Airport, Dec. 31, 1993, after arriving from Vietnam. Hayslips book was made into a movie by Oliver Stone Heaven and Earth that was released on Dec. 25, 1993. (Photo: Matt Sumner/AP) I admire President Obama and Secretary Kerry, but it would be a big shame if they didnt address Vietnams real and dire problems, including the economic situation, while theyre in Vietnam, she said. There are still so few educational opportunities in Vietnam, there is very little access to decent health care, and there are rampant pollution and serious environmental issues, among other serious problems. Hayslip is still viewed by some in her native country and some Vietnamese-Americans as a traitor because as a young girl she sided with the Viet Cong. But since coming to America, she has devoted her life to bringing Vietnam and the U.S. closer together and to providing development assistance to rural Vietnamese villages, like the one in which she grew up. Through her East Meets West foundation and Global Village Foundation which have been supported by the Bill Gates Foundation and philanthropist Chuck Feeney Hayslip has provided the people of Vietnam a variety of services focused on basic human needs, such as drinking water, latrines and education, up to dental care and heart surgery. The list is long. Ive been working in Vietnam for 30 years. I just returned from another trip there in March, Hayslip said. The U.S. could do a great service for Vietnam and for the survival of the human race if they told the Vietnamese government in no uncertain terms to address the natural environment. Hayslip cited such things as the estimated 100 tons of dead fish that have washed ashore recently on the coasts of the four provinces of central Vietnam. It has been called the largest ecological disaster in Vietnams history. No official cause for the massive die-off has been announced by the Vietnamese government. But Hayslip and many others believe it happened because Vietnams neighboring countries put their industrial toxic chemical load into the ocean. Its a tragedy that threatens to destroy Vietnams very way of life, said Hayslip. She questions how the Vietnamese government can ask the U.S. government to fund millions of dollars to clean up their Agent Orange when Vietnam lets other countries dump their wastes in its coastal waters. Vietnam needs to better control its pollution, she said. The government also needs to reach out to the poor and needy villagers and children in remote villages with better health care and education. The gap between the rich and the poor is too overwhelming for people like myself to try to focus on from the philanthropic side. Hayslip, a twice-widowed mother of three grown children who still lives humbly in northern San Diego County, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She has already been through surgery and will begin radiation treatments this month. But she still looks healthy, and shes characteristically optimistic that she will beat cancer and that the U.S.-Vietnam meetings will lead to real change. Shes especially encouraged that Obama included Kerry on this trip. Hayslip at home this past October. (Photo courtesy of Le Ly Hayslip) Hayslip noted that in 1994, Kerry, then a senator, called her personally to say he had tried to obtain entry visas to the U.S. for her family to attend the premiere of Stones movie. She believes Kerry will have a say in how Obama addresses the issue of Agent Orange because of his personal experience in Vietnam and with Agent Orange. In 2004, Newsweek reported that Kerry was exposed to Agent Orange while captaining a swift boat in the Mekong Delta during the war. In 2006, Kerry told this reporter that his best war buddy, Giles Whitcomb, died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which is now linked to Agent Orange. Whitcomb was also exposed to Agent Orange while in the Mekong Delta, said Kerry, who urged the Veterans Administration to grant the Whitcomb family disability benefits for his late friend. In addition to the countless American war veterans still suffering from exposure to Agent Orange four decades ago, Hayslip said, the impact the toxin has had on Vietnam is impossible to measure. Its effects are now appearing in the children and grandchildren of those who were exposed. The Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan educational and policy studies organization in Washington, D.C., estimates that as many as 4.5 million Vietnamese civilians lived in areas sprayed with Agent Orange and other dioxin-contaminated herbicides at that time. The Vietnamese Red Cross also associates exposure to Agent Orange with reproductive abnormalities, developmental disabilities and congenital deformities such as cleft lip, cleft palate, club foot, hydrocephalus, neural tube defects, fused digits, muscle malformations and paralysis. I dont think the American people realize just how devastating Agent Orange was and still is, said Hayslip. Obviously, Vietnam has no Veterans Affairs, no government health mechanism to cover civilians or war veterans who are still sick and still dying because of exposure to Agent Orange. Secretary Kerry has spoken out on this issue many times before. What will he do and say when he reaches Vietnam? Meanwhile, Hayslips once-controversial roller-coaster life is now on a slightly slower track. She used to receive death threats regularly from Vietnamese people and even some Vietnamese-Americans. But most Vietnamese people now seem to see her as a heroic figure a survivor who always loved her homeland. Hayslips newest vision, she said, is to do something for her beloved adopted country. She wants to create a vast cultural center in a rural, mountainous corner of north San Diego County that will combine Eastern and Western traditions, and help and support troubled American war veterans and their families, cancer patients and their children, senior citizens who need love and attention, orphans and anyone who is heartsick. This will be for all people in this country, which has been so good to me for so many years. This story has been updated to reflect the actual number of Viet Cong soldiers Le Ly Hayslip says raped her: two, not 19. When you think of a council, you most likely think of a group of people sitting around a conference table or a committee room, debating issues and making decisions. You probably dont imagine a 400-person bureaucracy. Yet thats what the National Security Council has become. An entity originally created in 1947 to coordinate foreign policy and advise the president has quadrupled in size over the last two decades and doubled under President Obama. The ballooning bureaucracy of the NSC has alarmed senior officials outside the White House for years, and especially in the Pentagon, where former defense secretaries Robert Gates and Leon Panetta, among others, have complained that NSC staffers have centralized power and micromanaged the Cabinet. The White House says it agrees that NSC has gotten too big, having announced nearly a year ago that it was reversing the trend of growth across successive administrations. But its not moving fast enough for Republicans in Congress, who are advancing legislation that would either cap the NSC staff at 100 or subject the post of national security adviser to confirmation by the Senate. The House adopted multiple amendments aimed at reining in the NSC as part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which passed on Thursday afternoon. Recommended: Donald v. Ivanka To a certain extent, the Republican push is a partisan effort inspired, most recently, by the New York Times profile of Ben Rhodes, which depicted Obamas deputy national security adviser as a puppet-master of the Washington press corps. As GOP lawmakers see it, Rhodes was able to sell reportersand by extension, the publicon a misguided nuclear deal with Iran in part because the NSC is shielded from effective oversight and accountability. If there was any kind any kind!of accountability or transparency over those folks who were on the National Security Council, perhaps that never would have happened, Representative Jackie Walorski, an Indiana Republican, told me. We dont know because its just not there. Walorski, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, was able to pass an amendment that would subject the NSC to public-disclosure requests under the Freedom of Information Act if the post of national security adviser becomes confirmable by the Senate. Story continues They were not created to be this large, almost 400-member bureaucracy. On a practical level, requiring the NSC to participate in FOIA might change little, since government officials already have wide latitude to withhold or black out information that is classified or sensitive for national-security reasons. But Walorski points out that until a Supreme Court ruling in the 1990s, the NSC had been subject to freedom-of-information requests. They were not created to be this large, almost 400-member bureaucracy, she said. Im in the camp of keeping it where it was intended to be, or all the rules change. Yet although the timing of the GOP effort to restrain the NSC might be about seizing on the fallout from the Rhodes profile, it spotlights a real tension in the government. The expansion of the National Security Council over the last two administrations tracks with a centralization of power and decision-making in the White House, where officials are undeniably less accountable to Congress and the public. In late 2012, when Republicans protested the potential nomination of Susan Rice as secretary of state, Obama named her his national security adviser instead, ensuring that she could remain by his side without allowing the Senate to filibuster her nomination. As Politicos Glenn Thrush has written, Obama has sidelined his Cabinet as much asif not more thanany previous president, preferring the message-discipline that the tighter circle of authority inside the White House can offer. Recommended: The Narcissist In the realm of national security, a larger NSC is partly a reflection of the post-9/11 threat environment and the fact that the U.S. has been fighting two wars for more than a decade. Still, the complaints go beyond just how large the NSC has become. In his memoir, Gates wrote that NSC staffers would make direct calls to four-star generals in the fielda breach of the chain of command that would have been a firing offense in previous administrations. How seriously is the White House taking the push in Congress? Mark Stroh, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said that under Rices direction, the NSC staff had already shrunk by 12 percent in the last year-and-a-half. Her review has also led to fewer interagency meetings and streamlined internal procedures. More importantly, however, these measures will help to ensure the NSC staff is best positioned to assist the president in carrying out his ambitious foreign-policy and national-security agenda during his remaining time in office, Stroh said. He would not directly address the GOP proposals, but the White House has in the past noted that one reason the NSC staff grew so much under President Obama was that it was merged with a separate Homeland Security Council created by President Bush after 9/11. And as administration officials are quick to point out, the Republican bill wouldnt actually constrain Obama so much as his successor. The desire of some Republicans to try to limit the ability of the next president to make foreign-policy decisions, Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, mused to reporters on Tuesday, may reflect their lack of confidence in their prospects for the next presidential election. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. Just two days after a vigilante group found one of the missing schoolgirls that had been kidnapped more than two years ago by the militant group Boko Haram from a government school in Chibok, Nigeria, a Nigerian military spokesman announced on May 19 that a second schoolgirl had been rescued in a military operation against the terror group. The recovery of the two young women is a victory for the global #BringBackOurGirls campaign, and the first real sign that an agonizing chapter in Nigerias ongoing fight with Islamist militancy may yet come to an end. For parents of the remaining girls whose whereabouts are unknown, it is reason to start hoping again. Well, you know, it just shows that God is working miracles, even when we start to lose faith,Reverend Enoch Mark, the father and adoptive father of two of the missing women, tells TIME by telephone. I expect to hear from my girls again. Nigerian army spokesman Sani Usman initially said in an emailed statement that Serah Luka had been among 97 women and children rescued by the military following clashes with Boko Haram in the countrys northeast. A day later the military spokesman corrected his account, saying that while Luka had been enrolled at Chibok government school at the time of the kidnapping, on April 14, 2014, she was not present that day and had been kidnapped at a later date and a different location. Read More: This Powerful New Song Reminds the World That the Chibok Girls Are Still Missing According to Dauda Iliya, spokesman for the Chibok community in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, there is some confusion as to Lukas identity: she was not on the original list of missing schoolgirls, which had been drawn up based on students registered to take exams at the time of the kidnapping. Iliya says Luka was definitely in captivity with the other schoolgirls, and likely has important information to share about the location and condition of the others. This is undeniably good news. This young lady has come with a lot of information for the government to follow. This brings us closer to finding the rest of the girls. What remains in question, however, is how the remaining students will be treated if and when they are found. Other women and children who have escaped from Boko Haram the terror group is estimated to be holding several thousand captives have been rejected by their communities and treated with deep suspicion, for fear that they may have been brainwashed, or that they might have divided loyalties. Boko Harams leader, Abubakar Shekau, has repeatedly announced that female captives will be forcibly converted to Islam and taken as wives for his fighters. Read More: The Kidnapped Nigerian Girls Are Among the Many Victims in a War on Women According to escapees, rape is common, and many have returned from captivity pregnant or with small children. They are derided as Boko wives, and their children are often bullied and ridiculed, says Doris Yarrow, an activist who has helped other escapees from Boko Haram. They are traumatized. Psychologically and culturally there is a stigma that makes it even harder for them to reintegrate into the community. Its not going to be easy. Yarrow notes that the Chibok girls may in fact fare better, simply because their plight is so much better known than that of other women kidnapped by the terror group. And she takes heart in the fact that Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari personally met with Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki, the first girl to be rescued, on May 19. Nkeki had been discovered walking in the forest with a four-month-old baby and a man who said he was her husband. The government suspects that he is a Boko Haram fighter. Nonetheless, Buhari cradled the infant in his arms when he met with Nkeki, a strong symbol of acceptance, says Yarrow. The fact that Buhari took the baby in hands, it was a good example for the country. Any child is a gift from God. Even if comes from mad person, or a devil, its still a human being. Reverend Mark is anguished over the thought that his daughters might have been raped as well, but no matter what happens, he is prepared to take them back. Yes, I am worried that there may be a baby, he says. But its not a problem. Our only prayer is let them come back. Just as the rescue of two Chibok girls raises hope for the return of the others, their rapturous reception so far could make it easier for everyone else to come home. Americas brick-and-mortar retailers have reported dismal first-quarter sales, with many emphasizing consumers growing expectation to never pay full price. Even Walmart (WMT) whose 1% comparable store sales growth actually came in better than expectations emphasized the need for continued discounts. Were focused on making strategic investments to improve our position in the market and invest in price, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in the companys earnings call. It seems that consumers have become addicted to discounts and promotions and wont pay full price for anything they buy anymore. When you start tightening up in promotion, you are playing a game of chicken with your customers. And they try to wait you out. And so weve been playing that now for really the last quarter, Gap (GPS) CEO Arthur Peck said in a recent earnings call. In his round-up of earnings call highlights, Avondale's Scott Krisiloff points to Peck's comments as reflective of what has been especially plaguing retailers. In other words, promotions have become an addiction and consumers wont settle for anything less. And those promotions may be part of whats killing retail, at least according to those in that sector. The problem, as I see it, is more of a supply issue, especially in the apparel category. Simply put, America is overstored and overstocked. We have approximately 10 times more retail space per capita than our European counterparts and more direct-to-consumer choices, too, Urban Outfitters Chairman and CEO Richard Hayne said in his earnings call. Rather than trying to differentiate their products and experiences, Hayne added, many retailers try to drive demand by offering constant and ever-larger price promotions that erode not just the bottom-line, but brand equity as well. To avoid this outcome, Urban Outfitters brands are trying to draw customers in through the shopping experience rather than just through sales. The Urban brands have invested heavily in creative talent to make our products and shopping experiences unique and compelling, so demand isnt dependent solely on price-driven promotions, he said. The success of the Anthropologie large-format stores is one example of how to win through creativity. Story continues Retailers may be driven to keep discounting items just to keep up with their competitors, though. The competitive environment has become a lot more promotional. I think part of this is the result of the internet where every promotion happens across the country immediately, Macys (M) CFO Karen Hoguet said on the companys conference call. And also theres a lot of price-matching going on. Nordstrom (JWN) even sees price-matching as a necessity and not simply a strategic priority, the companys co-president and director Erik Nordstrom said on that companys earnings call. We do not look to price matching or price promotion in any way as being a big strategic lever and a way of driving our top line. We look at price matching as a customer respect and a customer trust issue: that when a customer comes to us, they know that theyre being treated fairly, he said. And we think the clearest way of doing that and what customers expect is not to pay more for a specific item when theyre shopping with us. Despite those intentions, sometimes discounting has actually hurt brands. Theres some big brands that we have that have had some precipitous declines. A lot of thats related to promotion and how thats adversely impacted that brand within our customers, Nordstrom added. And it doesnt look like this trend is going away anytime soon. Many of our competitors are sitting on meaningful excess inventory, which we expect will extend the very intense promotional environment into the months ahead, said Target (TGT) CEO Brian Cornell. Nickelodeon star. Diva. Donut-licker. Ariana Grande has been pinned with many labels over the course of her decade-long career, and none of them have suggested "dangerous" in any way. The insults thrown her way rather than a queen of her craft. It's likely why she's faced such skepticism and outright hate as she's worked to expand her artistry and embrace her sexuality for her third album Dangerous Woman, released Friday. R Most recently gotten called whore, then slut, then whore again, in response to her album's risque music videos. We see way more of Grande's shoulder and thigh than we ever have in her "Dangerous Woman" video, but it's nothing that couldn't air safely on Nick at Night. Yet this backlash album only makes one's first listen that much more delicious. Top to bottom, the album feels like a clap-back concept album that delivering immaculately nail-polished to all those pundits and trolls who have tried to tell her who or what she is. The song that delivers the sharpest slap is "I Don't Care." Its chorus captures so much of the message Grande is trying to deliver at this point her her career: "If I can't be me, then fuck's the point?" Source: Mic/Getty Images "Used to cry 'bout some crazy shit before," Grande sings on the song's opening verse. "I used to feel so obligated to be so much more/ I used to let some people tell me how to live and what to be/ But if I can't be me, then the fuck's the point?" It's the shortest song on the album. But really, what more needs to be said? There's no better way to shut down one's haters than with self-love. "Now I laugh about the things that used to be important to me," she sings later in the song. "Used to have a hold on me, used to have a hold/ Like what do you think/ And what he thinks and what they think/ But I love me." Story continues T On The title track, states this rallying cry again: She doesn't need "permission" to be bold, tell off fuck boys and be sexy if she wants to. "Made my decision to test my limits/ Cause it's my business, God as my witness." Grande's choice to change the album title's from Moonlight, also the name of the album's to Dangerous Woman speaks volumes. G In a Billboard profile published Thursday, she went in on internet commenters and radio stations who try to make women feel less-than for showing skin while praising the bare chests of Justin Beiber and Zayn Malik. "If you're going to rave about how sexy a male artist looks with his shirt off, and a woman decides to get in her panties or show her boobies for a photo shoot, she needs to be treated with the same awe and admiration," "I will say it until I'm an old-ass lady with my tits out at Whole Foods. I'll be in the produce aisle, naked at 95, with a sensible ponytail, one strand of hair left on my head and a Chanel bow. Mark my words. See you there with my 95 dogs." So. Savage. Real Housewives of New York star Carole Radziwill's boyfriend, Adam Kenworthy, was involved in a frightening plane crash on Thursday. Police confirm to ET that the 30-year-old chef, who makes regular appearances on the Bravo reality series, suffered moderate injuries after a two seat, single engine plane that he was riding in went down. Kenworthy's 64-year-old father, David, was piloting the plane, declaring an aircraft emergency due to a power issue about 10 minutes into the flight. He then attempted to make an emergency landing in a West Des Moines, Iowa, farm field. Both men were taken to Iowa Methodist Medical Center after the impact, with the elder Kenworthy suffering serious injuries. As of Thursday evening, both men were conscious and talking. According to a press release from the city of West Des Moines Emergency Medical Services, police will be securing the crash site until Saturday, when the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA will begin their investigation. WATCH: Luann de Lesseps Gets Real About 'Real Housewives of New York' Cast Tension Related Articles MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has proposed to the U.S.-led coalition that they stage joint air strikes on Syrian rebels, including militant Islamist group Nusra Front, who are not observing a ceasefire, but the United States responded coolly on Friday. Such action would begin as of May 25 and be coordinated with the Syrian government, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told a Defence Ministry meeting broadcast on state television, adding Moscow reserved the right to stage strikes unilaterally. He said joint air strikes should also target convoys carrying weapons and ammunition crossing into Syria from Turkey. "We believe the adoption of these measures will allow a transition to a peaceful process to be achieved in the entire territory of Syria," he said. "Of course, these measures have been coordinated with the leadership of the Syrian Arab Republic." Shoigu said discussions with U.S. military experts based in Jordan and other counterparts in Geneva had begun on Thursday. But the United States made clear on Friday it had little interest in the idea, noting Russia has floated similar proposals in the past and stressing that it expected Moscow to pressure its Syrian government ally and to avoid unilateral strikes. Washington has consistently refused to join forces with Russia in Syria ever since Moscow launched its campaign of air strikes in September last year, accusing it of acting solely to prop up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The United States has called on Assad to step down. Communication between the U.S. and Russian militaries on Syria has been limited to contacts aimed at avoiding an accidental clash as they carry out rival bombing campaigns and small numbers of U.S. forces operate on the ground. Western officials suggested that the proposal, which the Pentagon said had not been formally presented to the U.S. Defense Department, was an attempt by President Vladimir Putin to raise Russia's profile on the international stage. "There is no agreement to conduct joint air strikes with the Russians in Syria," said U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby. He added that the United States believed that Assad's government was responsible for most of the violations of the fitful ceasefire that began on Feb. 27. "We look to Russia to end such (government) violations, which includes strikes that have hit civilians and civilian facilities," he said. While Russia supports the Assad government, the United States and its allies support rebels trying to overthrow him in a civil war that has burned for more than five years and killed at least 250,000 people. However, both sides oppose the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which was not included in a ceasefire deal which has failed to prevent widespread violence. A U.S. military strike killed Nusra Front's leader, Abu Firas al-Suri, in April. White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the U.S. aim remains for Russia to persuade Assad to abide by the cessation of hostilities in Syria, saying it was not the first time Russia had made such a proposal. "You've seen Russia show an eagerness to cooperate with us militarily. This is not something that's new," Schultz said. In private, U.S. officials said the idea was a non-starter. "Don't see it happening," a U.S. official said, adding the U.S. military "will ensure safety of flight but nothing else." A Western official from a coalition country also played down the proposal. "Putin has long had a strategy regarding Syria of trying to share the geopolitical stage with the United States and its allies, and his latest proposal appears to reflect that goal," the official said. (Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Additional reporting by Phil Stewart, Yara Bayoumy, Doina Chiacu, Arshad Mohammed and Warren Strobel in Washington and Lesley Wroughton in Brussels; Editing by David Stamp and Alistair Bell) brexit special Vote Leave has lodged a complaint with the police about a Ryanair promotion that the pro-Brexit campaign claims is in breach of bribery laws, according to The Guardian. Ryanair's "Brexit Special" promotion offers British expats the chance to fly back to the UK on the day or the day before the referendum, June 23, for a discount price, starting at 19.99. "This appears to be corrupt, since the company is offering discounts on the commercial rate to customers with the sole aim of ensuring that they vote and vote to remain in the European Union," Dominic Cummings, campaign director of Vote Leave said in a statement. Scotland Yard told The Guardian that it had received the complaint and that it was in the process of considering a response. However, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary called the complaint "desperate" and Ryanair is extending the offer for another 24 hours. The "Fly Home to Vote Remain" is open until midnight tonight. O'Leary said in a statement sent to Business Insider: "Ryanairs Fly Home to Vote Remain seat sale, which allows UK citizens to buy a 19.99 one way fare to fly to the UK on 22 and 23 June next, fully complies with Ryanairs policy of lowering the cost of air travel to/from the UK. Vote Leave must be getting really desperate if they are now objecting to low fare air travel for British citizens." Scotland Yard was not immediately available for comment. NOW WATCH: Humans are defying the law of evolution More From Business Insider On a dusty Baghdad avenue, less than a day before the Gulf War kicked off in 1990, hundreds of Iraqi soldiers marched in sync with Star Warsthemed music a show of defiance against the American troops who would soon start bombing the country. The Iraqi soldiers passed under the citys Victory Arch, a giant pair of 141-foot crossed swords resembling Darth Vaders famous Empire Strikes Back pose with light sabers. The patriotic procession, broadcast live to millions of stunned viewers around the globe, marked an overlooked and surreal detail of military warfare in Iraq: an obsession with a galaxy far, far away. Saddam Hussein had a penchant for fantasy and owned paintings by American fantasy artist Rowena Morrill, whose friend and fellow sci-fi illustrator Boris Vallejo created the Empire Strikes Back poster. But it was the dictators eldest son, Uday, who took the sci-fi fixation to the extreme. Put in charge of the so-called Fedayeen Saddam, Saddams Men of Sacrifice, Uday whose unhinged brutality made his father look statesmanlike formed a sadistic team of regime enforcers and killers. His first order of business? Ordering black shirts, black ski masks and black helmets that sloped in the back to make his troops resemble Darth Vader. Its like they were saying, Were so tough were ready to go and die right now. The Fedayeen had a macho image and did a lot to stand out, says Kevin Woods, deputy director of the Joint Advanced Warfighting Division at the Institute for Defense Analyses, who analyzed the Pentagons secret study of Saddam Husseins regime based on Iraqi documents seized in 2003. Uday was seen as an extreme playboy, Woods says, noting how image was everything for his young guerrilla fighters, some of whom had been recruited as young as age 10 into the Ashbal Saddam, or Saddams Lion Cubs. While the black operation uniforms were reserved for the battlefield, the paramilitary unit would often dress in all white, the Middle East death shroud, likening themselves to martyrs for parades, or even stormtroopers. Its like they were saying, Were so tough were ready to go and die right now, Woods explains. Story continues Gettyimages 1881104 Source: Getty Often recruited from rural backgrounds, the Fedayeen reported directly to the Presidential Palace, not army command, and often carried out the regimes dirty work. This meant combating public vice by using methods that even Saddams Republican Guard would balk at. These were tactics meant to terrorize the masses that the formal military [were] loath to conduct, said Ibrahim Al-Marashi, a history professor at California State University San Marcos. Responsible for the patrol of neighborhoods and anti-smuggling duties, the Fedayeen handed down harsh punishments in Sharia-like fashion cutting off hands for theft and tongues for lying, tossing people off towers for sodomy and doling out 100 lashes for sexual harassment, even to members of their own unit. Military failings, from simply hesitating to complete ones duties to cooperating with the enemy, were all punishable by death. Its no wonder that the bloodthirsty commandos, who in promotional videos practiced the art of decapitation and, in one instance, ate a live dog, were the most fanatical of Iraqs forces. They portray a regime that was about as vicious as any regime could conceivably be, then U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told CNN in 2003, when the Iraq War began. The unit was incentivized, however, with on-the-spot bonuses for successful missions, free land just for volunteering and martyr privileges such as pensions for families of the deceased. Darth vader f Darth Vader; a Fedayeen helmet Source: Shutterstock and Flickr CC But the 40,000-strong Fedayeen didnt gain international attention until the 2003 Iraq War, when they offered stiff resistance while much of Husseins Republican Guard collapsed. They were among the last on the front lines before the regime was conquered, even ambushing a U.S. convoy in the town of Samarra in November, just a month before Saddam himself was captured. But for all their machismo, the lack of formal military training caught up with them; unprepared for modern warfare, these Star Warsesque fighters were killed by the thousands. The grand display, just a day before the bombs would begin raining down, was a moment of dress-up and a little bit of a fuck you to the Americans, says artist Michael Rakowitz, whose 2009 exhibition at Londons Tate Modern explored the parallels between Saddams regime and Star Wars. When Iraq fell out of favor with America, he says, the attitude was, This is what you think of us, suddenly were the villains? OK, well wear the uniform. Uday and his fanatical troops, Rakowitz says, were painting the lines of good and evil as thickly as people were talking about it. Related Articles brees There was a time when the New Orleans Saints were great at home and nearly impossible to beat. They went 6-2 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, before winning two home playoff games. AROUND COVER32 Fantasy Football: Ranking the top ten RBs of 2016 Fantasy Football: Tom Brady, Patriots poised for a big year 2016 Preview: A preview of the AFC South Throwback Thursday: The short-lived 49ers & Seahawks rivalry They went 8-0 in 2011, winning one playoff game and after a miserable 2012 season, went 8-0 at home in 2013. They went just 3-5 at home in 2014 and 4-4 all of last season, so theyve definitely lost their home magic. But can they rediscover it, for at least one more run, in the Drew Brees era? Its harder than ever before for a team to go undefeated at home in the regular season. The traditional dominant home teams werent so great last year. The Denver Broncos went 6-2, the New England Patriots went 7-1, the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks all finished 5-3. Only the Carolina Panthers went perfect at home. In 2014, only the Broncos and Packers were perfect at home. In 2013, the Patriots, Saints and Bengals all went perfect at home, and the Seahawks were the only team to be perfect at home in 2012. So can the Saints do it? Their 2016 home schedule isnt that easy. Besides the annual visits from NFC South foes Atlanta, Carolina and Tampa Bay, theyll host Oakland, Seattle, Denver, Los Angeles, and Detroit. The Saints always seem to lose one or two divisional matchups a year at the Superdome, so thats already a long shot they sweep out their NFC South rivals at home. The Raiders and Rams have talent, but probably wont be able to outlast Drew Brees in a shootout. Then leaves Seattle, Denver and Detroit. The Lions are obviously not on the other two teams level, but they won easily in New Orleans last season. Theyll be able to give the Saints a close game. As for Seattle and Denver? They are the two best defenses in the league, though New Orleans is lucky that both squads play much, much better at home. Story continues Its too early to tell, but right now, you cant say the Saints will go perfect at home. I wouldnt say any team that has to play Carolina, Seattle and Denver at home will go perfect in front of their own fans. 6-2 is probably the best case scenario, and 3-5 being the worst. This will be a fun season. The post Can Saints rediscover old home success? appeared first on Cover32. By Curtis Skinner SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - San Francisco's police chief, Greg Suhr, resigned under pressure from the city's mayor on Thursday, just hours after an officer's fatal shooting a black woman sparked new outrage in a city whose storybook beauty has been overshadowed recently by high-profile police killings. The police department and Suhr have faced mounting criticism and protests for months in the wake of some police killings and a scandal over racist text messages sent by police officers. "I have previously expressed confidence in Chief Suhr because I know he agrees with and understands the need for reform," Mayor Ed Lee told reporters at a press conference in City Hall. "But following this morning's officer-involved shooting and my meeting with Chief Suhr this afternoon, today I have arrived at a different conclusion to the question of how best to move forward." San Francisco Police spokeswoman Officer Grace Gatpandan said she could not comment on Suhr's resignation and said the mayor's statement was all the office could provide. Lee named Toney Chaplin, a deputy chief of police and head of the professional standards and principled policing bureau at the department, as acting police chief. Chaplin is African-American. Hours earlier, Suhr told reporters that around 9:45 a.m. two officers approached a 27-year-old woman as she sat in a car that had been reported as stolen. Suhr said he did not know whether the woman was armed. The woman tried to drive off, crashing into another vehicle fewer than 100 feet away. She was shot by one of the officers, a sergeant, after refusing to comply with their orders, Suhr said. She later died at an area hospital. Suhr said the officers had not been interviewed. The two officers and the woman have not been identified. The use of lethal force by U.S. police, against African-Americans and other minorities, has been the focus of nationwide protests since mid-2014. Story continues Thursday's shooting occurred in San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood, where in December police fatally shot a black man who was a suspect in a stabbing. Police said then that 26-year-old Mario Woods, whose family has sued the city, was holding a knife and refused to drop it. Bystander video of that shooting, which went viral after being published online, showed Woods being gunned down in a hail of bullets by officers. Following that shooting and amid escalating protests, the city and the U.S. Department of Justice launched a collaborative review of the police department in February, which critics said fell short of a civil rights investigation. (Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by James Dalgleish and Leslie Adler) Embattled San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr has resigned. The move came at the behest of Mayor Ed Lee after yet another fatal officer-involved shooting. An unidentified 27-year-old black woman was s in the city's Bayview neighborhood. It's the t officer-involved shooting since December. In a on Thursday, Lee suggested to reporters that the department's problems extended beyond Suhr, but he's ultimately to be held responsible. "The progress we have made has been meaningful, but it hasn't been fast enough, not for me and not for Greg, and that's why I have asked for Chief Suhr's resignation," Lee said. T, who is black, will serve as the city's interim police chief. SF Mayor Ed Lee announces interim chief Tony Chaplain (right). @CBSSFpic.twitter.com/xW46uG9IOd https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ci228FQUYAA2dL5.jpg:large Suhr's resignation validated complaints from city residents, many of them of color, who have long criticized the department. Last month, a group of protesters dubbed the "F " staged a 17-day hunger strike in an effort to force either the police chief or the mayor's designations. FriscoFive say they are going to keep pressure on as they push for the firing of Chief Suhr. @kron4newspic.twitter.com/zmHH7gmsfZ https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CiRpf9lUkAEDR0z.jpg:large Some of the Frisco 5's supporters' confrontations with police turned ugly. Sheriff's deputies push protesters, journalists onto ground at #Frisco5 #hungerforjusticesf rallypic.twitter.com/meczDhMwrb Earlier this week, in a sit-down interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Suhr said that he had no intention of stepping down. "There are a lot of things that are moving parts," he said about instituting reforms in the department. "I can't honestly think of somebody else who could get it all done as quickly as I can." Story continues But those reforms haven't happened fast enough for Alex Nieto, Mario Woods, Luis Gongora, and Amiclar Perez-Lopez, who have all been killed by San Francisco police during Suhr's five years at the head of the department. S In February, the Justice Department launched a federal investigation into San Francisco's police force. "In the days and months ahead, we will examine the San Francisco Police Department's current operational policies, training practices and accountability systems, and help identify key areas for improvement going forward," Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said in a statement at the time. "I am confident that together we can make certain that our officers have the tools and training they need to do their jobs, and that every member of the San Francisco community has the protection and service they deserve." Lee, who'd written federal officials asking for an investigation, said: "Our police department will have at least as much training in de-escalation as we do in use of force." Shortly after Suhr's resignation was announced, more than a hundred people held a candlelight vigil for the unidentified 27-year-old woman who was killed on Thursday. Vigil for 27 y/o black woman killed by #SFPD in Bayview this morning starts with 150+ crowd #BlackLivesMatterpic.twitter.com/ScbGl4hEzK https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ci3xBCjUUAEcX7F.jpg:large Early reports say that there are no signs that the woman had a weapon. Los Angeles (AFP) - San Francisco's police chief resigned at the request of the city's mayor, hours after a black woman was fatally shot by an officer. Mayor Ed Lee announced Greg Suhr's resignation at a news conference, saying he hoped to "heal the city" that has been rocked by racial tensions. "The progress we have made has been meaningful but it hasnt been fast enough, not for me and not for Greg, and thats why I have asked Chief Suhr for his resignation," Lee told a news conference. Hours earlier, Suhr had told reporters that a 27-year-old black woman driving a stolen car was shot and killed by police after she ignored orders to stop the vehicle. The shooting took place amid heightened tensions between San Francisco's police department and African Americans over a number of racially-charged incidents in the city. The police department has been under intense scrutiny following the fatal shooting of Mario Woods in December and Luis Gongora in April. It has also been embroiled in controversy over racist and homophobic text messages exchanged among officers. "The past several months have shaken and divided our city, and tensions between law enforcement and communities of color that have simmered for too many years have come into full view," Lee told reporters at the news conference. "These officer-involved shootings, justified or not, have forced our city to open its eyes to questions of when and how police use lethal force," he added. The mayor said he had appointed Toney Chaplin, a 26-year veteran of the force, as acting police chief, and vowed to continue with reforms. Activists for months had been calling for Suhr to step down and a group known as the "Frisco Five" had gone on hunger strike for nearly 17 days to press their demands. San Francisco is just the latest California community where law enforcement is under fire for race-related issues. Earlier this month, a senior official at the Los Angeles County sheriff's department resigned following criticism over emails he sent disparaging blacks, Muslims, Latinos and women. Tom Angel, chief of staff to Sheriff Jim McDonnell, had forwarded the emails from his work account while serving as a top police official in Burbank city near Los Angeles in 2012 and 2013. SPOILER ALERT: This story contains details about tonights season finale of ABCs Greys Anatomy. Greys Anatomy is seeing off a third longtime cast member in as many years. Sara Ramirez is leaving Shonda Rhimes veteran ABC medical drama starring Ellen Pompeo after 10 seasons, with tonights Season 12 finale serving as her farewell episode. Im deeply grateful to have spent the last 10 years with my family at Greys Anatomy & ABC, but for now Im taking some welcome time off, Ramirez said in a statement. Shondas been so incredible to work for, and we will definitely continue our conversations! I send my love to Ellen, the rest of the cast & crew, and I look forward to always being a part of the Shondaland family! Ramirez, who plays Dr. Callie Torres, originally joined Greys in the final episodes of Season 2, becoming a series regular at the beginning of the third season. Her departure follows the recent exits of original cast members Sandra Oh in Season 10 and Patrick Dempseys shocking ouster in Season 11. In tonights episode, Ramirezs Callie heads off to New York City, a development that capped an extended story arc in which Callie battled ex-wife Dr. Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) over custody of their young daughter Sofia, a battle Callie had lost. Last week, Callie saw her most recent partner, Dr. Penelope Blake (Samantha Sloyan), leave Seattle for a fellowship in New York, and tonight Arizona offered Callie a shared custody arrangement, presenting Callie with airplane tickets and saying that little Sofia deserves two happy moms. Over the years, Ramirezs character has been both thorn and rose to many of her medical colleagues. Brought on to the show by Rhimes as a recurring and not always likable character in the second season, Callie was first a love interest for T.R. Knights George OMalley before embarking on a relationship (and parenthood) with Eric Danes Mark Sloan. Her strongest and most popular love interest, though, was Capshaws Arizona, and tonights episode saw a friendly, if not a romantic, reconciliation between the two. Story continues Dr. Callie Torres came into our lives dancing it out in her underwear almost a decade ago, and I could not be happier or more proud of her journey, Rhimes said. Sara Ramirezs performance inspired me as well as millions of fans each week. We wish her the best on her well-deserved time off. I will miss Callie tremendously, but am excited for what the future holds for Sara. She will always have a home at Shondaland. Ramirez fueled speculation that she may be leaving Greys with a cryptic tweet last month when Greys wrapped production on Season 12. Ramirez is one of several Greys cast members whose contracts are up at the end of this season, along with star Pompeo; Justin Chambers, who had stated that he was coming back; Chandra Wilson; James Pickens Jr.; and Kevin McKidd. All had been negotiating and looking promising, though no one is confirmed yet for next season. Related stories 'Grey's Anatomy' Finale Ratings Steady With 2015, 'Blacklist' Down, 'Legends' Even Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders Visit Jimmy Kimmel Next Week Upfronts 2016: From 'Hamilton' To IP Overload - The Week's Top Trends From Seventeen What would you do if your school banned skinny jeans and leggings UNLESS you wore an actual dress over them?! Cry? Revolt? Beg your parents to change school districts? Students at the New Hanover County School district in North Carolina are dealing with this very real threat, as their school recently decided to change up its dress code policy, reports Wect.com. According to online documents on the school's website, the proposed new policy would prohibit students from wearing leggings, skinny jeans, and "excessively tight fitting pants," unless they wear a top of a dress that covers their butt entirely. If a student violates this new dress code, they will be asked to change and could face suspension. New Hanover County School Board Vice Chair Jeannette Nichols told Wect.com that one of the reasons for the new dress codes is because "bigger girls" were getting bullied over their tight jeans. Wait, what? So, to handle bullies you make all the girls cover themselves up? School officials actually asked students and parents for their opinions on Twitter. I'm not sure why they thought this would go over well, but it didn't. Not surprisingly, students expressed their frustration with the school. One girl pointed out that she wished the school would focus on more important things, like getting kids extra help and fixing up the school. Another argued that the overpopulation should be a bigger concern than skinny jeans. The school thanked students for voicing their opinions but added a cryptic warning. No one knows yet if this dress code will actually go into place, but I have a feeling the school won't be asking for opinions on Twitter again anytime soon. Follow @Seventeen on Instagram. Ninety-six aboveground, aquamarine pools around the country that hold the nuclear industrys spent reactor fuel may not be as safe as U.S. regulators and the nuclear industry have publicly asserted, a study released May 20 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine warned. Citing a little-noticed study by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Academies said that if an accident or an act of terrorism at a densely-filled pool caused a leak that drains the water away from the rods, a cataclysmic release of long-lasting radiation could force the extended evacuation of nearly 3.5 million people from territory larger than the state of New Jersey. It could also cause thousands of cancer deaths from excess radiation exposure, and as much as $700 billion dollars in costs to the national economy. Until an earthquake and a tsunami pummeled Japans Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan on March 11, 2011, the possibility of such a catastrophe in the more than 30 states where nuclear fuel sits in radioactive pools seemed almost unthinkable. But the Academies new report their second and final study of that event says that the operators of U.S. nuclear plants and the commission that regulates them havent fully grasped all the safety risks and as a result may be exposing the public to unwarranted dangers. There were some important issues that were not considered, said Joseph E. Shepherd, a professor of aeronautics and mechanical engineering at the California Institute of Technology who chaired the Academies board that conducted the study. Specifically, he was referring to the NRCs choice not to evaluate the risk of terrorism or insider sabotage as it considered spent-fuel pool safety. The reports authors called not only for a new federal estimate of the safety and financial risks of a fuel fire but for a new examination of the relative benefits of withdrawing the spent fuel rods from the pools and storing them instead in dry casks aboveground. That idea has been promoted by some nuclear physicists and engineers for three decades but furiously opposed by the struggling industry because it could cost utilities as much as $4 billion. Story continues This story is part of Up in Arms. National security-related events, reports and findings that deserve more attention. Click here to read more stories in this series. Don't miss another National Security investigation: Sign up for the Center for Public Integrity's Watchdog email. The report, ordered by Congress and entitled Lessons learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for Improving Safety and Security of U.S. Nuclear Plants, starkly contradicts parts of a study by Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff released more than two years after the earthquake off Japans coast drained power and coolant from three of Fukushimas reactors, causing a meltdown of their radioactive cores. In its 2014 study, the NRC staff said a major earthquake could reasonably be expected to strike an area where spent fuel is stored in a pool once in 10 million years, maybe even less often, and even then, spent fuel pools are likely to withstand severe earthquakes without leaking. The NRC staff study also rated the threat of a terrorist attack that drained one of the pools as unknowable and said as a result that it need not be considered in weighing the costs and benefits of continuing to use the storage pools. Based on the staffs view that security issues are effectively addressed in the existing regulatory program, they are not part of this analysis, the NRC report said. But the Academies report, written by 17 distinguished nuclear physicists, engineers, and other scientists, said the industry and the NRC calculations were too narrow. In fact, a spent fuel pool accident can result in large radioactive material releases, extensive land contamination, and large-scale population dislocations, it said. The report said the industry and the NRC need to strengthen their capabilities for identifying, evaluating, and managing the risks from terrorist attacks. It said the commission, which regulates the industry, sets safety standards, and enforces compliance, should finally carry out a promise it made a decade ago to organize an independent review of the industrys spent fuel surveillance and security measures. And it said the commission also needs to conduct a more realistic appraisal than it has so far of the health consequences of a severe nuclear accident. The NRC staff did not provide the committee with a technical analysis to support its assertion that security requirements are being effectively addressed in its regulatory program, the Academies report said. The NRCs immediate response to the report was not exactly a tight embrace. Even with the recommendations that the Academies board has put together, we continue to conclude that spent fuel is being stored safely and securely in the U.S., Scott Burnell, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said. Nothing in the report causes immediate concern. Similarly, Steven Kraft, a senior technical advisor at the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry advocacy organization, said no policy shift was warranted because the risks associated with keeping spent fuel in pools are teensy. Everyone, he said, likes to accuse us of being overly worried about money. If something has to be done, we do it. What we look at is: Whats the best use of the money? If youre looking at extremely tiny improvements that cost a lot of money, you have to look at if its the best use of money. The Academies conclusions were based in part on its view that even though the Fukushima disaster forced the hasty evacuation of 470,000 people and the ensuing cleanup costs could reach $93 billion a more dire economic and health catastrophe was only narrowly averted, largely due to good luck. In particular, according to the report, one of the spent fuel pools at the reactor site lost a significant portion of its coolant due to evaporation, when pumps bringing in a regular supply of new coolant lost power. If its highly radioactive rods had been uncovered, their heat and exposure to oxygen could have caused a fire, giving radioactive materials and gases from inside and around the rods a way to escape into the environment. The ensuing contamination might have forced long-term relocation of the population of Tokyo, 177 miles to the south. Just like leaving a tea kettle on the stove, Shepherd said, as the water surrounding the fuel rods would have boiled off without replenishment and the level would have steadily dropped. While the reactor rescue operation was still under way, Japanese scientists prepared an internal report on the possibility of Tokyos contamination for the Japanese prime minister. But its existence was initially kept secret because of the frightening nature of the scenarios it described, the Academies report said. The content [of the report] was so shocking that we decided to treat it as if it didnt exist, a senior Japanese government official told the Japan Times eight months later. But the fuel rod pool in question was fortunately located next to another pool containing water that surrounded a reactor core, and by chance a leak developed between them in the earthquake, allowing extra coolant to spill into the most vulnerable fuel rod pool. It kept the rods just below the waters surface. The reactors operators had no idea at the time that either the leak or the serendipitous water replenishment was occurring, because the pools in question lacked adequate monitoring systems, the Academies report said. They had not planned for or been trained to respond to the conditions that existed in the cooling pools, it said. As a result, they had to improvise, using helicopters, fire trucks, water cannons, concrete pump trucks, and ad hoc connections to other water supplies. That one of the spent fuel pools at Fukushima came so close to releasing massive amounts of radiation should be attention-grabbing, panel chairman Shepherd said. This was a very significant event and it should serve as a wakeup call for the industry and regulators. In its own analysis, the NRC has concluded dry-cask storage of spent fuel rods which is technically feasible after the rods cool for a year or more in the pools -- is only negligibly safer than leaving waste in pools for decades, as is routinely done. But the Academies study focused on other factors that the NRC chose not to consider, such as the chance that terrorists might strike a spent-fuel pool or an insider might sabotage a pool. The report said predicting human behavior poses challenges, but more effort should have been made to understand the consequences of a deliberate attack. Panel member Frank von Hippel, an emeritus professor and senior research physicist at Princeton University, said that in its deeply-flawed cost-benefit analysis, the NRC also excluded consideration of the consequences of property contamination more than 50 miles from a radiation release, even though a broader release is clearly possible. He said the NRC further used outmoded statistical estimates for the value of a human life, did not incorporate potential tourism losses after an accident, or consider the potential costs to the economy if a major accident forced multiple reactors to be shut down. In an interview, von Hippel said he felt the commission had bent too easily to the nuclear industrys lobbying against dry cask storage. The agencys decision was based on significant and thorough technical analyses which are publicly available, Burnell, the NRC spokesman, responded. But he said the commissions staff will review the report more carefully and deliver a formal report to the commissioners sometime during the second half of the year. This article was co-published with NBC News. This story is part of Up in Arms. National security-related events, reports and findings that deserve more attention. Click here to read more stories in this series. Related stories Copyright 2016 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C. Scott Disick enjoys his trip to Cannes, France. (Photo: Splash News) Nothing, not public embarrassment nor breakups, can slow down Scott Disicks infamous partying. Kourtney Kardashians ex, 32, has spent the past few days living it up in Cannes, France, with his reported new model girlfriend Christine Burke; Kourtneys younger sister Kendall Jenner; and rapper Tyga, who was the boyfriend of Kourtneys little sis Kylie Jenner until earlier this month. Related: Kendall Jenner Parties With Scott Disick After Wowing at Cannes in Basically Naked Gown: See the Pics! But Disick has been so focused on having a good time that he slipped up a little on social media. As Twitter user @frankygreek pointed out, he used the wrong caption for a sponsored Instagram post. He included instructions from the sponsor: Here you go, at 4pm est, write the below. Caption: Keeping up with the summer workout routine with my morning @booteauk protein shake!" In which Scott Disick copied and pasted the email from the skinny tea marketing team onto his Instagram caption pic.twitter.com/ocVdxi4jaZ Young Lady (@frankiegreek) May 19, 2016 The self-proclaimed Lord Disick eventually altered the post, but not before it was noticed. The goof amused Disicks 15.9 million followers, who made comments such as, "Lmao the original caption was better, and calling it a sneaky edit. There was also the painfully obvious: Damn scott you had one job. Somehow, Disick was able to go on with his life, although hell surely hear about the faux pas from the usually social media savvy Kardashians. Tyga the former boyfriend of little Kardashian sister Kylie Jenner shared a clip of himself enjoying the French nightlife with Disick late Thursday. Story continues Kourtney, the mother of Disicks three kids, was already unhappy about her ex partying with Tyga, as seen on an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians earlier this month. [Scott] needs to grow up, she said. It pisses me off that people like Tyga should know better." With Tyga or on his own, Disick seems determined to keep living large. (ELANGAPITIYA VILLAGE, Sri Lanka) Hundreds of soldiers resumed the slow and difficult search Friday for hundreds of people missing after landslides swallowed three hillside villages in central Sri Lanka, a dangerous effort as continuing rain kept the ground unstable and the risk of more mudslides a constant threat. By Friday morning, rescuers had recovered 30 bodies, out of hundreds believed buried on Tuesday when torrents of thick, red mud buried the villages of Siripura, Pallebage and Elangapitya. The Sri Lankan Red Cross has said at least 220 families were unaccounted for. Its a very difficult task, but troops will carry out their work in the hope of finding more in the remote, disaster site in Kegalle district, about 72 kilometers (45 miles) north of Colombo, said millitary spokesman Brig. Jayanath Jayaweera. Rescuers held out little hope of finding survivors. Pointing to an expanse of mud covering the 66 houses that once stood in Elangapitiya, Maj. Gen. Sudantha Ranasinghe said, All gone with that landslide. On the chance of someone being found alive, he said, I have my doubts. More than 1,550 displaced villagers sheltered in crowded schools and a Buddhist temple near the hill, waiting for news about the fate of missing loved ones. White flags decorated the doorways a symbol of mourning. The destruction is so bad, tea farmer A. Dharmasena said as he huddled in the Viyaneliya Buddhist Temple with hundreds of other evacuees. You cant bring the village back to what it was before. Rains triggered new, thunderous landslides on Thursday, sending frightened villagers running from shelters to higher ground. Most of the bodies recovered were in Elangapitiya, the village furthest down the hill, as conditions prevented search efforts higher up. Like much of Sri Lanka, the area around the villages had been cleared for agriculture and tea plantations, leaving the countryside exposed and raising the threat of landslides during seasonal monsoon rains. Story continues The downpours that started Sunday continued to lash all of Sri Lanka, causing severe flooding in cities including Colombo and unleashing smaller mudslides elsewhere in the country. Since Monday, 58 people have died from lightning strikes, floods, falling trees and landslides nationwide, including the 30 confirmed deaths in the Kegalle district, according to the Disaster Management Center. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from homes across the island to some 594 shelters. The government ordered all schools to close Friday, and more rain was predicted. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said there was an urgent need for water purification tablets, water pumps and drinking water. Many parts of Colombo and its suburbs were inundated, with floodwaters reaching rooftops in some areas. Everything is gone, said Mohomed Sabri, who was able to grab his childrens birth certificates and his passport before his home in the Kolonnawa suburb of Colombo disappeared under 3 meters (9 feet) of water. This is unbelievable, he said. All my savings, my valuables, have gone with the water. ___ Associated Press writer Bharatha Mallawarachi in Colombo contributed to this report. By Alexis Akwagyiram and Felix Onuah ABUJA (Reuters) - A second girl who was among more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in a raid on their school in the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok more than two years ago has been rescued, a spokesman for the Nigerian army said on Thursday. Army spokesman Sani Usman said in an emailed statement that the girl was among 97 women and children held hostage by Boko Haram who were freed on Thursday morning after clashes between soldiers and jihadist militants in northeastern Borno state. Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki, the first girl to be rescued, was found by soldiers working with a vigilante group on Tuesday near Damboa, south of Maiduguri in the remote northeast where Boko Haram has waged a seven-year insurgency to set up an Islamic state. Officials confirmed Amina was one of 219 girls abducted from the government school in Chibok in April 2014. Late on Thursday, the army said an operation in Damboa at around 11 a.m. (6 p.m. ET) led to the rescue of nearly 100 hostages that included the second Chibok schoolgirl. "We are glad to state that among those rescued is a girl believed to be one of the Chibok Government Secondary School girls that were abducted," said Usman, adding that she was receiving medical treatment. He said her name is Serah Luka and she was from the northeastern town of Madagali, in the state of Adamawa, which borders Borno. The army spokesman said it was possible that three other girls that Serah referred to as having fled and been rescued when the troops arrived may also be among the Chibok girls, adding that this was being investigated. A photograph of Serah released by the military shows her wearing a blue jilbab, a loose Muslim garment revealing her face but concealing her torso and arms. "She averred that she reported at the school barely two months and one week before her unfortunate abduction along with other girls over two years ago," said Usman. Earlier on Thursday the governor of Borno state, where Chibok is located, said the army was drawing up plans and moving into a Boko Haram forest stronghold in a bid to rescue the remaining girls. "We believe that in the coming weeks we shall recover the rest of the girls," Governor Kashim Shettima told reporters. "The military is already moving into the forest." Previous military attempts to storm Sambisa forest have met with mixed success, with soldiers making significant in-roads but failing to finish off the Islamist militants after running into bands of well-armed guerrillas, mines and booby traps. The #Bringbackourgirls activist group said Amina had told her rescuers the rest of the girls were under heavy Boko Haram guard in Sambisa. The governor's comments came shortly after Amina, the first girl to be rescued, met Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. "Amina's rescue gives us new hope and offers a unique opportunity to vital information," Buhari, a 73-year-old former military ruler, said during a meeting with the teenager, her mother and officials after a presidential jet flew her to Abuja. Amina was discovered with her four-month-old baby, and the army said it had detained a suspected Boko Haram militant called Mohammed Hayatu, who said he was her husband. On Thursday, the military released pictures of a clean-shaven man in a white shirt and cream trousers sitting beside Amina on a hospital bed holding the infant in his lap. INSURGENCY Amina, who was accompanied by her mother, Binta, Nigeria's defense minister and national security adviser, spent more than an hour with Buhari, who made crushing Boko Haram a pillar of his 2015 presidential election campaign. More than 15,000 people have been killed and 2 million displaced in Nigeria and neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon during its seven-year insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic state in northeast Nigeria. Under Buhari's command, and aided by Nigeria's neighbors, the army has recaptured most territory lost to Boko Haram. But the jihadist group, which last year pledged loyalty to Islamic State, still regularly stages suicide bombings. Boko Haram captured 276 girls in a night-time raid on Chibok in April 2014, its most high-profile assault. Some girls escaped in the melee but parents of the remaining 219 accused then-President Goodluck Jonathan of not doing enough to find their daughters, whose disappearance led to a wave of global outrage. (Reporting by Lanre Ola, Ulf Laessing, Felix Onuah and Afolabi Sotunde; Writing by Ulf Laessing and Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Diane Craft and Cynthia Osterman) Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton can't possibly know very many people who have been jailed or imprisoned. If he did, he wouldn't make terribly uninformed remarks like those in an anti-criminal justice reform speech he delivered Thursday in Washington, D.C. Speaking at the Hudson Institute, Cotton praised every problematic law enforcement policy that created this country's prison industrial complex and saw people of color locked up en masse over the last two decades. "If anything, we have an underincarceration problem." Cotton incorrectly said it's the mass incarceration that brought U.S. crime rates to historic lows, after the highs of the 1990s. He credited "broken windows" policing, which emphasizes enforcement of petty crime ordinances, mandatory minimum sentencing, which takes discretion in punishments away from judges, and "three strikes" laws, which puts people away for life after a third criminal conviction. The senator also criticized states like Virginia, which in April restored voting rights for 200,000 formerly incarcerated individuals, and condemned movements like Black Lives Matter for engaging the nation in a conversation about police brutality and injustice. @SenTomCotton: "If anything, we have an underincarceration problem."pic.twitter.com/SVNyY0WkEy https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ci1bAOlUkAA57UJ.jpg:large "We turned our society around and we made our streets safe again," Cotton said. "But this didn't just happen by accident." Read the text of his prepared speech here. The senator is right that America's criminal justice policies were deliberate in scope. However, there are so many statistics that prove Cotton has his " underincarceration" theory all wrong. Here are the most important ones: Story continues The U.S. locks people up at a rate that is higher than any other country on the globe. The country's rate is 716 per 100,000 people, according to the World Prison Population List by the U.K.'s International Center for Prison Studies. More than half of the 222 nations on the list had incarceration rates below 150 per 100,000. Approximately 1.5 million people were living in state and federal prisons in 2013, according to federal data. Each year, those facilities release about 650,000 men and women, some of them without the right to vote and most of them with severe disadvantages in the job market. A guard tower is pictured at San Quentin State Prison in California. Mass incarceration has made the U.S. less productive. The Center for Economic and Policy Research has estimated that because formerly incarcerated people have poor job prospects, the nation's gross domestic product in 2008 was reduced by as much as $65 billion, according to its 2010 report. While the unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated individuals isn't tracked nationally, in New York, the unemployment rate for parolees was as high as 60% one year after release, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union. A corrections officer is seen at the Rikers Island jail in New York City. Men of color are locked up at disproportionate rates compared to white men. Black men were six times more likely to be incarcerated than white men in 2 013, according to the Sentencing Project. Hispanic men were 2.4 times more likely to be jailed than white men. Despite these statistics, it's Cotton's belief that advocates of criminal justice reform are wrong to "speak and act as though criminals are victims, too." Someone should tell the senator that it's actually the criminal justice system that does so much of the victimizing. Formerly incarcerated people often have hard times finding employment, can be saddled with incarceration-related debts, and prohibited from public assistance services, such as Section 8 Housing and financial aid for college. Too many can end up right back in jail because so-called leaders like Cotton would prefer the formerly incarcerated never get the opportunity to move on to better lives. Paris (AFP) - Serena Williams said she is feeling relaxed about her hopes of defending her French Open crown on Friday and drawing level with Steffi Graf's Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles. The 34-year-old, whose two previous attempts to retain the title at Roland Garros ended prematurely, will begin her defence against Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova, the world number 76, who has yet to make it beyond the second round in Paris. "I think in the past there was," said Williams, who beat Lucie Safarova in last year's final, when asked whether she approached tournaments where she was the defending champion with a different mindset. "I think now it's different because I want to win more than I think most people ever, but also I think it's different now because I don't have anything to prove and I don't have anything -- it's just a different feeling. "Whereas five, ten years ago, oh, I'm defending and I feel that pressure. Now it's like I'm defending, I'm in Paris, it's cool, and I'm having, you know, the time of my life. I'm just happy to be here." The top-ranked American is launching a third bid to match Steffi Graf's major record, although just three of Williams' 21 Grand Slam titles have come in France -- the first in 2002 and then a long gap until 2013 and 2015. Williams could come up against former world number one and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, who defeated the American at Indian Wells in March, in the quarter-finals. However, a pair of former champions lie in wait beforehand with 2010 winner Francesca Schiavone a potential third-round opponent and Ana Ivanovic, who claimed her lone Grand Slam on Court Philippe Chatrier in 2008, a prospective last-16 foe. Williams arrives in the French capital full of confidence and on the back of a first title in nine months after knocking off compatriot Madison Keys in last weekend's Rome final. Story continues "It felt good to win in Rome, obviously. I was feeling pretty confident, I think, just going into some of those matches. Especially the last few I felt a lot better. Even if I'd have lost, I feel like some of those matches really gave me the match play that I needed." Williams has played sparingly since losing out on a chance at the calendar Grand Slam at last year's US Open, featuring in just four tournaments this season but reaching the final in three of those. "I guess when you win all the time, if you go a couple of tournaments and don't win them it's like you're in a drought," she said, with her victory in Italy the 70th of her career and first since triumphing in Cincinnati last August. Two players Williams won't have to worry about in Paris are two-time champion Maria Sharapova, who is serving a doping suspension, and the injured Caroline Wozniacki. Preacher kicks off on AMC this Sunday, ending the decades-long struggle to adapt the Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon graphic novel to the screen. But what everyones talking about is the violence. The show has an epic fight scene on an airplane that shows one guy getting impaled with a champagne bottle. One woman chews off a mans ear. Bones are broken, blood is splattered. And this is a series about a clergyman. I dont think theres a line the show wont cross, star Dominic Cooper told TheWrap. Whats great about the first episode is you establish what your three main characters are capable of in these three fight scenesBut [the producers] dont hold back at all from the violence. They want this to be as true to the comics as possible. From executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the series stars Cooper as Jesse Custer, a West Texas preacher with a mysterious past. After a supernatural experience, he sets out with his ex-girlfriend Tulip (Ruth Negga) and Irish vampire Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) to find God and ask him to explain himself. See photos: New 'Preacher' Images Tease Fallen Angels, Toilet Humor (Exclusive) The graphic novels were just thatgraphicfeaturing scenes of violence that were often used for dark comedic effect. The TV adaptation doesnt shy away from the violence at all, using it to underpin the more serious and silly moments on the show. Theres no channel on Earth thats going to let you get away with everything going on in the comics, Gilgun added. Youve got to be realistic but make it as ruthless as possible. I just think its unlike anything else, Gilgun added. I cant compare it to anything else. I know theres vampires in stuff, and I know theres preachers in stuff, and I know theres assassins in stuff, but very rarely do you bring those three things together and go on a quest for fing God. And while the show also deals with many questions of faith and the Almighty, but neither Cooper nor Gilgun had any religious experiences onset. Story continues See video: AMC's 'Preacher': New Clip Is One Big, Bloody Backseat Brawl I didnt have time to question [my faith], Cooper said with a laugh. It was interesting seeing people who were much more deeply moved by the idea of faith though. You could see the onesin the background of a shot just with the congregation, you could certainly see the ones who were much more open to the idea of faith and belief. Gilgun said he doesnt believe in a man in the sky, but doesnt disparage anyone who does hold religious beliefs. Ive got a lot of respect for people who do whatever they need to do to be happy. Thats the most important thing, he said. And youve got to respect everyones faith otherwise it just makes you a prick. But I dont feel like I need that. In the midst of all the gore, Gilgun stands out for his portrayal of the hard-drinking bloodsucker Cassidy. They let me by myself, he said. They let me run riot and be a total ahole and do my jobTheres not the right words in the right order to describe it. Thanks just feels a bit empty. And they pay me! They pay me to be a complete wanker every single day! And Ive been doing that for years without making a fing penny. Also Read: Why Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg Made 'Preacher': We're Not Doing 'Stupid Stuff for a While' Preacher premieres on Sunday at 10 p.m./9c on AMC. Related stories from TheWrap: New 'Preacher' Teaser Is Hellish, Bloody and a Little Gross (Video) Why Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg Made 'Preacher': We're Not Doing 'Stupid Stuff for a While' Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg's 'Preacher' Ordered to Series at AMC You can mop out all the swear words and sex business you like from Seth Rogens R-rated animated comedy Sausage Party, but even a G-rated makeover cements that some impressionable youths are guaranteed to be traumatized Rod and Todd Flanders style by this upcoming opus. (And thats okay.) Our first taste of Sausage Party (hmm that doesnt sound right) came courtesy of the red band trailer that popped up a few months back. Now weve been presented with a green band trailer that curbs the cursing, but manages to keep in all the sentient food wailing in agony. So instead of our Irish potato friend including the word f*ck as hes skinned alive, its a slightly different brand of screaming. It remains a great gag, although theres still something remarkably unsettling about a more family-friendly version of a tater getting a torture porn send-off. If youve seen the original saucier trailer, this preview will probably come across a tad redundant, but if you havent or would like a refresher, the jokes are still worthy of your laughs and gasps. Theres also a new poster thats flopped out to drive home that you will get dong jokes in this motion picture. This August, watch this Frank rise to glory. #SausagePartyMovie pic.twitter.com/qkhQ5kP09N Sausage Party Movie (@sausage_party) May 19, 2016 Reliable comedy hands Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg paired with Kyle Hunter and Ariel Shaffir to write this Pixar-skewering film which includes the likes of Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, and James Franco among the voice talent. Sausage Party is scheduled to appear in theaters on August 12. NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2016 / Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC reminds investors that a securities class action has been filed against certain officers of SunEdison Inc. ("SunEdison" or the "Company") (SUNE) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on behalf of those who purchased shares of Vivint Solar, Inc. ("Vivint Solar" or the "Company") (VSLR) during the period between the July 20, 2015 and March 7, 2016, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Vivint Solar, Inc. is an American solar energy company. In July 2015 SunEdison and Vivint announced a merger that SunEdison would acquire Vivint. Following this release, Vivint's stock increased $4.87, or roughly 44.8%, to close at $15.75 per share. On February 24, 2016, at the Vivint's shareholders meeting, investors voted in favor of the SunEdison merger. The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. Particularly, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) SunEdison would not be able to attain financing for the acquisition of Vivint; (2) SunEdison's earnings were less than Defendants had stated; (3) SunEdison would be unable to complete the acquisition of Vivint; and (4) consequentially, Defendants' statements regarding the SunEdison and Vivint merger were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. On February 29, 2016, post-market, SunEdison filed a Notification of Late Filing on Form 12b-25 with the SEC, unveiling that it would be late to file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015. The Notification of Late Filing included information that in late 2015, former SunEdison executives had made accusations of the truthfulness in SunEdison's financial statements. Following this news, Vivint stock dropped $1.37 per share, or more than 17%, to close at $6.52 per share on March 1, 2016. On March 2, 2016, The Wall Street Journal printed an article, "SunEdison's Takeover of Vivint Solar in Jeopardy as Banks Balk" explaining how the Vivint-SunEdison merger was at risk. Following this news, Vivint stock dropped $1.63 per share, or 25%, to close at $4.89 per share on March 2, 2016. On March 8, 2016, Vivint announced the Merger Agreement was cancelled. On that same day Vivint also filed a lawsuit against SunEdison in Delaware Chancery Court claiming it breached the contract. Following this news, Vivint stock dropped $1.04 per share, or roughly 20%, to close at $5.21 per share on March 7, 2016. No Class has yet been certified in the above action. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, please visit the firm's site: http://www.bgandg.com/#!vslr/wwxww. You can also contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Investor Relations Analyst, Yael Hurwitz of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 212-697-6484 or via email info@bgandg.com. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address and telephone number. If you suffered a loss in Vivint Solar you have until July 5, 2016 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a corporate litigation boutique. Our primary expertise is the aggressive pursuit of litigation claims on behalf of our clients. In addition to representing institutions and other investor plaintiffs in class action security litigation, the firm's expertise includes general corporate and commercial litigation, as well as securities arbitration. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Contact: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC Peretz Bronstein or Yael Hurwitz 212-697-6484 | info@bgandg.com SOURCE: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC From Seventeen Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes have both made it abundantly clear (on multiple occasions) that there's nothing going on between them but friendship. Sure, they may have chemistry that sets your soul on fire and sing duets about looking their lover in the eye, but no. Put all that they're-so-perfect-for-each-other-it-hurts stuff out of your head because they're just friends, okay? Not so fast. There's no way you'll be able to stop shipping them when you hear what Shawn spilled about Camila in the latest issue of Seventeen. "She's phenomenal," Shawn said. "I love her and she's so talented. She's one of the sweetest girls I've ever met and super, super-smart." We know you're on the floor swooning hard core right now, but the cuteness didn't stop there. "We aren't dating, but musically she blows my mind," he added. Yes, you read that right. Camila Cabello blows Shawn's mind. BUT... they're still just friends. Tragedy of epic proportions right there. *sob* Find out what Shawn had to say about the scary side of fame! For more, pick up the June/July issue of Seventeen, on newsstands May 24th! You can also subscribe to the digital issue here. Grey's Anatomy is losing one of its own. Sara Ramirez, who played Dr. Callie Torres for 10 seasons on ABC's medical drama, is leaving the show. The 40-year-old actress made the news official following the show's season 12 finale on Thursday, tweeting a heartfelt message to fans about her decision not to return. (Ramirez's contract was set to expire in June.) READ: 'Grey's Anatomy' - Is McDreamy Coming Back From the Dead?! "I'm deeply grateful to have spent the last 10 years with my family at Grey's Anatomy & ABC but for now, I'm taking some welcome time off," Ramirez wrote. "Shonda [Rhimes has] been so incredible to work for, & we will definitely continue our conversations!" "I send my love to Ellen [Pompeo], the rest of the cast and crew, and I look forward to always being a part of the Shondaland family!" she concluded her note. Rhimes also took to Twitter to confirm the news, praising Ramirez for making an impact on Grey's from the moment she was introduced in season two. "Dr. Callie Torres came into our lives dancing it out in her underwear almost a decade ago and I could not be happier or more proud of her journey," the Grey's creator wrote. "Sara Ramirez's performance inspired me as well as millions of fans each week. We wish her the best on her well-deserved time off." RELATED: 'Grey's Anatomy' Finale Just Introduced a Stunning New Love Triangle "I will miss Callie tremendously, but am excited for what the future holds for Sara. She will always have a home at Shondaland," Rhimes continued. In Ramirez's final episode, Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) offered an olive branch to her ex, Callie, making the decision that they could try and co-parent their daughter together even if they were no longer romantically involved. Last month, Ramirez raised eyebrows when she posted a tweet ">that alluded to a potential departure from Grey's. Story continues "That's a wrap for Doctor #CallieTorres #Season13 #GreysAnatomy," she tweeted on April 27. "#ThankYou all for an enriching & unforgettable #Rollercoaster ride!" Ramirez is just one of the latest regulars to leave Grey's. Last season, Patrick Dempsey's Dr. Derek Shepherd, was killed off after the car he was in was struck by a large semi truck. "Patrick Dempsey's performance shaped Derek in a way that I know we both hope became a meaningful example happy, sad, romantic, painful and always true of what young women should demand from modern love," Rhimes said following Dempsey's final episode in April 2015. "His loss will be felt by all." Related Articles Salah Abdeslam, the main suspect in the deadly Paris attacks, has refused to talk during questioning in Paris on Friday, ending the court session. 1st court hearing of #ParisAttacks suspect Salah Abdeslam over, he remained silent (Lawyer) https://t.co/LdSF5PFpLR pic.twitter.com/SZzWYMLnEq FRANCE 24 (@FRANCE24) May 20, 2016 Authorities had hoped he would provide details on the attacks that killed 130 people. Abdeslam was captured in Brussels in March in a counterterrorism operation carried out shortly after the attacks in the Belgian capital. He was transferred to Paris last month. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. By J.R. Wu TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's new president, Tsai Ing-wen, has a reputation as a patient, canny negotiator and she'll need those skills as she takes responsibility for what is potentially one of Asia's most dangerous flashpoints. Tsai, 59, leader of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is being sworn in on Friday as the first woman president of Taiwan, a beacon of democracy off the coast of Communist Party-ruled China. Beijing has been watching warily since she won a January election and has warned her it will brook no hint of a move towards independence of an island it has regarded as a wayward province since China's nationalists fled there after Mao Zedong's Communists' civil war victory in 1949. Tsai has said she will maintain the status quo with the mainland but has stopped short of endorsing its cherished "one China" principle, which allows the Communists to say they rule all of China, including Taiwan. Those in Tsai's inner circle speak of a steely-minded, cautious individual with a firm grasp of detail and a pragmatic long-term view. When Tsai was vice premier in 2007, she took part in a mock drill about an economic crisis with China, said York Chen, who designed the exercise to test Taiwan's leadership in crisis. It took Tsai 40 minutes to broker a consensus among cabinet officials, including those for economics, the central bank and China policy. She quietly jotted notes for 20 more minutes before explaining her plan to the president. "She was extraordinarily capable," said Chen, who last week was named an incoming deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council, which reports directly to the president. In biographies, two written by her and one semi-authorised, a picture emerges of Tsai as a negotiator unwilling to score quick points, or concede too much. A polished English-speaker, hers has been a political life of firsts. She was the first woman to become chief of the DPP in 2008. She was the first woman named as Taiwan's main China affairs minister in 2000. Tsai studied law and economics at the most prestigious universities in Taiwan, the United States and Britain, and hails from Pingtung, deep in Taiwan's heavily pro-independence south. She returned to Taiwan in the mid-1980s to spend the next decade and a half negotiating for the island's entry into the World Trade Organisation - a role that pitted her brains against international experts as Taiwan, recognised as a country by only a handful of others, fought for its diplomatic life. Chinese state media and its agency handling Taiwan affairs have bemoaned "turbulent" ties and accused the DPP of "destroying bridges" after eight years of warming relations under out-going President Ma Ying-jeou of the Nationalists. Tsai has not risen to the tough talk but has calmly insisted democratic principles will rule Taipei's ties with Beijing while reiterating her government will keep the peace and forge a consistent, predictable and sustainable relationship. (Reporting by J.R. Wu; Editing by Robert Birsel) Paris (AFP) - France's Gael Monfils has been forced to withdraw from the French Open starting on Sunday because of a viral infection. The world number 14's agent said on Friday the 29-year-old had been "weakened and hospitalised in recent days". He becomes the second Top 20 player to pull out of the clay-court tournament after third-ranked Swiss Roger Federer because of a back problem. It is the second time that Monfils has been forced out of his home Grand Slam after a knee injury sidelined him in 2012. Monfils had represented one of France's top hopes in Roland Garros after reaching the semi-finals in 2008 and quarter-finals in 2009, 2011 and 2014. He had gotten off to a good start on clay this season reaching the Monte-Carlo final - the first French player to do so since Cedric Pioline won the title in 2000 - losing in three sets to Rafael Nadal 7-5, 5-7, 6-0. The Parisian then withdrew from Munich with a groin injury, the third straight year he was forced to quit the German tournament. He subsequently lost in the second round in Madrid to Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas and in the first round in Rome, blaming sickness, against Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci. Simon Cowell is bringing his signature snarkiness to America's Got Talent, but it looks like he'll have to take it as much as he dishes it out. The talent judge everyone loves to hate is returning to American television by replacing Howard Stern on AGT. Cowell, who created the show, will join Heidi Klum, Mel B and Howie Mandel on the judges panel, and Klum is already giving him a hard time. WATCH: The Top 5 Highest-Paid TV Personalities "He needs a makeover, because he's a handsome man, but did you see these jeans on this man?" Klum said in a behind-the-scenes clip. Cowell was able to show a sense of humor about his persona as an acid-tongued critic in a new promo showing him constrained Hannibal Lecter-style. "He's sometimes a little brutal and therefore we put him in a straitjacket," Klum quipped. Still, nothing is making Cowell change his ways. WATCH: Nick Cannon Kisses America's Got Talent Audience Member and It's Excruciating to Watch "Honestly, don't waste your time," Cowell said, giving advice to would-be contestants. "It's hard enough if you're good. It's impossible if you're awful, so I kind of think it's like public service." America's Got Talent returns to NBC on May 31. Related Articles Sir Mix-a-Lot has Blake Lively's back! The "Baby Got Back" rapper is defending Lively's controversial Instagram post from Cannes, in which she posted a side-by-side image of her front and backside in a curve-hugging gown. The caption, a reference to Sir Mix-a-Lot's 1992 hit: "L.A. face with an Oakland booty." WATCH: Baby Got... Backlash? Blake Lively Slammed for Quoting Sir Mix-a-Lot "I liked it," Sir Mix-a-Lot writes in an op-ed published by The Hollywood Reporter. "I like stuff like that." The 52-year-old admits he was "surprised at the criticism" Lively received from the post, especially considering previously well-received references to the same line used by Katy Perry (in 2012) and Khloe Kardashian (in 2015). "I wrote this song not as a battle between the races. I wrote the song because I wanted Cosmopolitan, I wanted all these big magazines to kind of open up a little bit and say, 'Wait a minute, this may not be the only beautiful,'" he writes, pointing to an unrealistic "waif-thin, borderline heroin addicts" standard of beauty in the '90s. (He's also quick to point out that his drug reference isn't meant to be taken literally. "I mean the look," he clarifies.) "What I meant by 'L.A.' was Hollywood. In other words, makeup or whatever it took to make that face look good, they do it in L.A. But, as much as you can throw makeup on something, you can't make up the butt," he continues. "That's what L.A. face and Oakland booty meant. You can put makeup on that face and make it look beautiful, but a butt is a butt, a body is a body." WATCH: Blake Lively Finally Shows Off Her Baby Bump at Cannes It's safe to say that Sir Mix-a-Lot is definitely pleased by Lively's hat tip. "Doesn't that mean that the norm has changed, that the beautiful people have accepted our idea of beautiful? That's the way I took it," he ponders. "If what Blake Lively meant by that comment was, 'Oh my goodness, I've gained weight, I look horrible,' if that's what she meant and I doubt that she did then I'm with the critics. But no one in the world is gonna tell me that a woman that wears that dress is thinking that she's fat. No, I'm sorry, it just doesn't happen. It sounds like to me like she was giving the line props." Story continues He also cautions fellow African-Americans against being too quick to criticize the actress. "I think we have to be careful what we wish for as African-Americans, because if you say she doesn't have the right to say that, then how do you expect her at the same time to embrace your beauty?" he writes. "That song was written with African-American women in mind, but trust me when I tell you that there are women out there with those curves everywhere, and they were once considered fat. And that's what the song was about. It wasn't about some race battle." The 28-year-old Cafe Society star is currently pregnant with her second child with husband Ryan Reynolds -- and with all eyes on her growing baby bump, there's still no denying Lively's flawless sense of fashion! See her most fabulous Cannes looks below. WATCH: Blake Lively Continues to Dazzle in Chic Maternity Wear at the Cannes Film Festival Related Articles Unsafe at any speed. On Tuesday, two Chinese J-11 jet fighters intercepted an American surveillance plane flying over international waters in the South China Sea, the first incident of its kind since 2014. The Pentagon described the flyby as unsafe, as one of the Chinese jets came within about 50 feet of the U.S. Navys EP-3E Aries aircraft. (FP has lots more on how important the plane is, here.) The last such incident took place in August 2014, when an armed Chinese jet harassed a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft over international waters. The passby comes as tensions in the region are rising. Over the past week, China scrambled fighter jets when the USS William P. Lawrence sailed within 12 nautical miles of Chinese-occupied Fiery Cross Reef, and Beijing complained loudly that a new Pentagon report on Chinese military capabilities deliberately distorted Chinas defense policy. The intercept also comes just days before President Barack Obama travels to a Group of Seven summit in Japan and visits Vietnam for the first time. While no one was hurt in the high-altitude meetup, recall that in 2001, a U.S. EP-3 collided with a Chinese J-8, killing the pilot and forcing the American plane to make an emergency landing in China. Arming Vietnam. Much of the talk before Obamas trip to Vietnam revolves around the White Houses upcoming decision whether or not to sell lethal arms to the communist country. FPs Dan De Luce recently did a deep dive on the topic that you might want to revisit. Also at issue is the American desire to start sailing its ships into strategic Cam Ranh Bay, which served as a hub for U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. But Hanoi has yet to endorse the idea publicly. The deep water port would give the U.S. Navy a stopping-off point on the western edge of the South China Sea, bookending the waterway with U.S. access to ports in in the Philippines on the seas eastern boundary. In a statement released Wednesday, Arizona republican Senator John McCain called the current arms ban a product of our past history and an inhibitor of our future relationship. Story continues Baghdad not burning (yet). Baghdad has grown increasingly nervous after a series of bloody suicide bomb attacks carried out by ISIS in the capital killed over 100 civilians. But the Americans are concerned, too, reports FPs Paul McLeary, and recently had to convince the Iraqis not to pull troops off the line near Mosul to reinforce the capital. Gen. Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Central Command, told reporters traveling with him Wednesday that ISIS is trying to regain their momentum or regain the initiative. He added, they believe it will cause the Iraqi government to divert forces, and effort to Baghdad. The strikes come as Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is embroiled in a major political crisis over government corruption and huge street protests by powerful Shiite groups demanding action over the flailing economy. Yes NATO, no Trump. A bipartisan group of 20 lawmakers have cosponsored a resolution in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the bedrock international alliance that the presumptive Republican nominee for president has derided as being outdated and obsolete. The resolution, first obtained by FPs John Hudson, was sponsored by Democratic Rep. John Delaney of Maryland and Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who say the timing of the resolution is solely linked to the legislative debate over a new defense authorization bill, but both lawmakers are outspoken critics of Trump. The bill, so far. Weve got months to go before theres a final 2017 defense bill, but the House passed its version of the defense policy bill Wednesday night by a 277-147 vote. Progress? Sure. But the $610 billion bill features a whopping 120 amendments that still need to be plowed through, including one repealing the 2001 war authorization being used to cover the wars in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, and anywhere else Washington can find an ISIS fighter to bomb. Quote of the day: U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition battling ISIS in Iraq and Syria, on the airstrike that recently killed mid-level ISIS commander Abu Hamza: He was sort of a cheerleader for the local forces here. And hes a cheerleader who will cheer no more. Because hes dead. Thanks for clicking on through as we tear through another week of SitRep. As always, if you have any thoughts, announcements, tips, or national security-related events to share, please pass them along to SitRep HQ. Best way is to send them to: paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or on Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley Whos where when 5:00 p.m. Republican Senator John McCain appears at the Brookings Institution to talk about the defense bill currently making its way in bits and pieces though both houses of Congress. Livestream here. NATO The U.S. and France dont see eye-to-eye on the command and control for a NATO missile defense system in Romania, the Wall Street Journal reports. French officials have withheld approval for the Atlantic alliance to assume control of the system, saying they want to make sure that its under NATO command and not just an American-controlled system with a NATO brand. U.S. officials, however, worry that any delay in the systems development could send a signal of disunity and weakness within the alliance to Russia. The missile defense system is designed to intercept missiles from the Middle East, but Russia has opposed the system on the belief that it could pose a threat to Russian missiles. Russias economy is in rough shape, but the bears not down yet, according to U.S. News & World Report. Western sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea along with plunging oil prices have taken their toll on Russias economy. And the recent $3.4 billion U.S. investment in deterrent capabilities in Eastern Europe would seem to put Russia on its back foot, but Moscow still has cash reserves, and Putin remains a popular guy. Syria Despite Russias recent withdrawal of some aircraft from Syria, the U.S. says Russias military footprint in the country hasnt changed much, Agence France Presse reports. A U.S. spokesman for the anti-Islamic State coalition said Wednesday that Russian capabilities are largely the same, as what they were before the withdrawal announcement. Officials also say its too early to say conclusively whether or not the new Russian base in Palmyra is a permanent or temporary installation. Russian officials have claimed the facility is only a temporary step, used to house explosive ordnance disposal personnel involved in demining the ancient city. Iraq Fallujah is in the crosshairs of an Iranian-backed Shiite militia in Iraq, Long War Journal reports. Akram Abbas al Kabi, a man double-hatted as the secretary general of Harakat al-Nujaba and U.S.-designated terrorist, said in an interview on the groups website that its planning to send its special forces to Fallujah for an upcoming battle, pleading vengeance against the Islamic State. Kabis spokesman also said that Harakat al-Nujaba is working to secure the Fallujah-Amirayat road leading to the city and clear it of jihadists in preparation for the assault. Iraqi police officers in the town of Bashir, just south of the city of Kirkuk, claim they were hit by artillery rounds filled with chemical weapons on May 8, and Time has unearthed some medical records that back up their claims. The records, and eyewitness accounts, say that the officers were shelled by ISIS with artillery rounds that contained sulfur mustard. Afghanistan A U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan has reportedly killed an al Qaeda commander. The report, originally published by Afghanistans TOLO News, said that Afghan special forces had claimed the strike killed the groups Mullah Mohammad Ali. A Defense Department spokesman contacted by Fox News confirmed that a U.S. counter-terrorism strike had taken place in Afghanistans Zabul province, but declined to give further specifics, citing operational security concerns. Israel The Wall Street Journal reports that Israel is planning to put its Iron Dome missile defense system on board ships in order to protect offshore gas facilities from small rocket and missile threats. The naval version of Iron Dome would divvy up responsibility for protecting the facilities between radar systems placed aboard frigates and land-based missile interceptors. About half of Israels electricity capacity is produced with gas extracted from its offshore facilities. Israeli officials are increasingly concerned that those facilities will become targets of its enemies during the next war, citing Hamass 2014 attempts to target them with rockets and Hezbollahs 2006 use of an anti-ship missile to hit an Israeli navy corvette. Nigeria Amina Ali Nkeki, one of the missing Chibok girls kidnapped by the Islamic State-affiliated Boko Haram terrorist group in Nigeria, has been found. The BBC reports that the Civilian Joint Task Force vigilante group found Nkeki near Nigerias border with Cameroon with a baby while in the company of a suspected Boko Haram member. The suspected Boko Haram member, Mohammed Hayatu, claimed to be Nkekis husband. Nkeki and the baby have been sent to Maiduguri for medical care. Nkeki was one of 218 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014, kicking off widespread global outrage and sparking the #BringBackOurGirls hashtag. Hacking Like swallows returning to Capistrano, hackers have made their quadrennial migratory return to the campaign networks of U.S. presidential candidates. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told an audience at the Bipartisan Policy Center, weve already had some indications of hackers attempting to breach candidates systems. Clapper was mum on details, such as whether the breach attempts had been successful or who was responsible for them. Since 2008, U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama, John McCain, and Mitt Romney each had foreign hackers attempt to break into their campaign networks. Budgets The House Armed Services subcommittees on seapower and readiness are planning to hold a hearing on board the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier, but few subcommittee members are planning on attending, the DC Examiner reports. Rep. Randy Forbes, chair of the seapower subcommittee, says the floating hearing will be an opportunity to hear about readiness issues directly from servicemembers, but not all of his colleagues are so hot on the idea. Nearly half of the 35 members on both subcommittees say theyll be skipping the event. Photo Credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images By Madeline Kennedy (Reuters Health) People who fear they have skin cancer, or know it, and decide to try an unapproved product called black salve may face infection, scarring and worse cancer outcomes, doctors warn. Utah researchers surveyed black salve users and found that most did not talk to a doctor before trying the product - which is on a U.S. Food and Drug Administration list of fake cancer cures consumers should avoid - nor were they aware of its harmful effects. Black salve refers to products containing zinc chloride and sanguinarine, both corrosive ingredients that can severely damage skin, the study team writes in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. The salve is widely available online, touted as a way to eliminate skin cancers. It does scour off top layers of skin, giving the appearance that a lesion is gone. But, the authors explain, cancer remaining deeper in the skin may go unseen, and undiagnosed, until it becomes more advanced and potentially even life threatening. People who use black salve are largely unaware of how serious the side effects of black salve can be, and over-estimate how precise or effective it can be in treating their problem, said senior author Dr. Mark Eliason of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, by email. His team surveyed 340 adults attending primary care and dermatology clinics in Utah to gauge perceptions of black salve. Twenty-three people said they'd used black salve to treat potential skin cancer, and the researchers later did follow-up interviews with most of them. Seventeen of the 23 said they hadn't talked to a dermatologist before trying the product and relied instead on the experiences of friends or family. Seven patients said they used black salve on a cancerous lesion, four used it on a precancer and seven used it on benign growths like warts and skin tags. More than half said their lesion had not been evaluated by a doctor. Thirteen people had a personal history of skin cancer, and 11 said the result of using black salve was that the lesion was still present or a scar was present. Nonetheless, more than half of users said they were likely to recommend black salve to others. Seventeen users said they were not aware of the possible side effects, including infection, scarring and disfigurement, before using black salve. The most common reason patients gave for using black salve was to avoid surgery, and specifically the pain, scarring and costs of surgery that might not work. Half of the interviewees brought up issues with talking to their doctors about black salve, including fear of being judged and the doctors not wanting to answer questions about the product. Instead of using black salve, we hope that people will talk with their doctors about their concerns, Eliason said. If a patient feels like a doctor is not approachable or unable to explain the rationale for a treatment, getting a second opinion from another licensed medical professional is the best next course of action. Lynne McFarland, a researcher at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, noted that patients often turn to friends or internet sources for information and may not get valid medical advice. McFarland, who was not involved in the study, recommended using the websites of the National Cancer Institute (1.usa.gov/27AFBV7) and National Library of Medicine (1.usa.gov/1TkhYGt) to find information about medical topics. She also points out that many patients are afraid of the scarring that can result from surgery, but black salve is not a solution. The scarring by these uncontrolled skin products can be severe and disfiguring. This is not a minor issue, McFarland said by email. Nobody likes surgery, but you can die if you allow skin cancer to spread, McFarland added. Patients need to voice their concerns clearly, and doctors and other health providers must do a better job listening supportively and explaining clearly their reasoning for treatment. Doing so can lead to an abandonment of this harmful, unproven therapy, Eliason said. SOURCE: bit.ly/1THXuXM Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, online April 13, 2016. Cividale del Friuli (Italy) (AFP) - Spanish climber Mikel Nieve soloed to victory on stage 13 of the Giro d'Italia on Friday putting a smile back on Sky team's face after they lost their leader Mikel Landa to illness this week. The overall pink leader's jersey switched hands again after a tough mountain run, Movistar's Andrey Amador taking charge after the Costa Rican rider finished alongside race favourites and climb kings Vicenzo Nibali and Alessandro Valverde. Overnight leader Bob Jungels made a valiant effort to keep hold of the pink jersey only to fail narrowly and is now second in the standings by 26 seconds. "I suffered on that penultimate climb trying to stay with the group and on the last one I couldn't keep up," Jungels admitted after the race. "But I still have the white jersey (top under-25-year-old rider) and that's my priority," said the 23-year-old Etixx Quick Step man. Having been part of an early 25-rider escape group, Nieve launched his assault on the day's toughest climb 34km from home and held on for a welcome victory for the British team. Also in the original escape Giovanni Visconti tried to bridge the gap but finished 43 seconds off the pace. Race favourite and 2013 winner Nibali made a sudden turn of pace on the last climb but Valverde and Poland's Tinkoff rider Rafal Majka, the Astana man's chief contenders, held on to finish at the same time, as did Amador. "This was the first really hard day," Nibali said. "And I can't just concentrate on Valverde. The guys in front are also on very good form." Movistar leader Valverde admitted he hadn't realised that there were only two riders ahead of he and Nibali, who came third and therefore took four seconds bonus time. "This Giro won't be decided on four seconds however," predicted the 35-year-old Spaniard. Jungels, who had been in pink for three days, paced himself after Nibali's attack and avoided a complete meltdown, but was 51sec adrift of Nibali's group. Ahead of Saturday's much awaited mountain stage in the Dolomites, seen as a potential Tour decider, Nibali is third at 41sec, Valverde fourth at 43sec and Majka sixth at 1min 37sec. Veteran soap opera actress Jensen Buchanan is experiencing some real-life drama. Buchanan whose decades-long run in soap operas include stints on One Life to Live, Another World, General Hospital and The Young and the Restless was arrested Wednesday in California for suspicion of DUI after crashing head-on with another vehicle. A spokesman for the California Highway Patrol told TheWrap that Buchanan was traveling eastbound on Highway 154 in Buellton, California, shortly after 6 a.m. when her Mercedes drifted across the double yellow line, striking another car. Also Read: 'Days of our Lives' Star Freddie Smith Charged With Felony, DUI After Car Crash Both Buchanan and Bradley Asolas, the driver of the other vehicle, were hospitalized. The actress was treated for minor injuries, while Asolas was treated for major injuries. Interestingly, Buchanans most recent soap-opera run, on The Young and the Restless last year, was as Judge Elise Moxley. Related stories from TheWrap: 'Days of Our Lives' Star Freddie Smith Gets Two Years Probation in Car Crash Case 'Days of our Lives' Star Freddie Smith Charged With Felony, DUI After Car Crash 'Days of our Lives' Star Freddie Smith and Girlfriend Injured in Car Crash (Updated) Can't keep up with what's been going on in the social media world? Fret not. Here, a gathering of what the stars have been up to this week on social media. Leonardo DiCaprio's Chanel Purchase Leo dropped $18,100 on a Chanel bag - but relax, boo-boo, it's for his mom. For the second year in a row, the Oscar winner purchased a Chanel bag at The Heart Fund's Generous People Dinner Gala in Cannes and reportedly gifted it to his mama instead of one of his model girlfriends. The heartthrob reportedly purchased silk scarves, too. Selfie-Squad Goals Jennifer Lopez, featured as one of The Hollywood Reporter's Drama Actress Roundtable cover stars this week, posted an epic selfie with her fellow roundtable actresses - Kerry Washington, Constance Zimmer, Regina King, Julianna Margulies, Sarah Paulson and Kirsten Dunst - on Instagram. Styled by THR style editor Carol McColgin, the ladies wore various shades of blush and cream - needless to say, the Internet is smitten with the cover looks. #WCW On all These talented beauties... #hollywoodreporter #roundtable #shadesofblue #harleesantos #actorslife @kerrywashington @constancezimmer @iamreginaking @julianna.margulies @mssarahcatharinepaulson @kirstendunst A photo posted by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo) on May 18, 2016 at 12:15pm PDT Hermes Guy in Cannes The Hermes store in Cannes is popping with well-to-do clients trying their best to purchase the Kelly bag off the shelf. And the man to mingle with is Michael Coste, head of external relations at The Hermes Group. Coste shared an Instagram shot of himself having dinner with Kris Jenner at the Cannes Hotel Martinez in the kitchen of two-time-Michelin-starred chef Christian Sinicropi. A guy who can get you on Hermes' infamous years-long waiting list and take you to a fancy dinner? What a keeper. Thank you @martinezhotel and more especially Chef @sinicropi_christian and @gitte_harder for inviting @krisjenner & I backstage, in the kitchen of #PalmeDOrRestaurant ! So grateful (and so delicious too!) Story continues A photo posted by Michael Coste (@michaelcostefr) on May 16, 2016 at 7:01am PDT Kirsten Dunst's Cannes Style If you need something new in your feed, check out Dunst's style gurus, Nina and Clare. The pair shoot candids of Dunst, with images cropped and filtered to perfection. Plus, you get incredible behind-the-scenes scoop on the actress' looks. Post to look for: Dunst's Cannes jury wardrobe. The stylists sewed a Chopard necklace into a gown and dressed Dunst in a straight-off-the-Havana-runway Chanel dress. Baller. Head to invisible toe. Nobody does it better. Thank you @kirstendunst you wear it well. Modern "Diorama" dress custom made for this little bird by @Dior #daytimecouture @ferragamo #theinvisablesandal #juryduty #cannes @festivaldecannes @sabrinabmakeup @carlosferraz_ styling @nina.clare dress and shoe both 1947 Neiman-Marcus Award winners for visionary design. #togetheragain #kirstendunst #classicninaandclare A photo posted by @nina.clare on May 11, 2016 at 7:13pm PDT Unconsciously Dressing Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow were trending online for most of the week over a photo from Paltrow's Instagram feed. The amicable pair took daughter Apple to Disneyland for her 12th birthday. But fans weren't so nice. They wanted to know why Martin was completely bundled up. "Wearing a puffy coat at Disneyland... This is why I have trust issues," wrote one user. Anaheim, Calif. averaged around 70 degrees this week - hardly calling for a puffer jacket, sweater and wool cap. A Goop post on "What to Wear to Disneyland" would have come in handy. When your parents can't handle #thundermountain anymore so they wait for you at the bottom. #disneyland #thehappiestplaceonearth #birthdayweekend A photo posted by Gwyneth Paltrow (@gwynethpaltrow) on May 15, 2016 at 4:34pm PDT Braids for Days We totally paused over Mad Men sweetheart Kiernan Shipka's new do this week. The teen rocked double French braids (as seen on the Kardashians and co.) with extensions. After a day, Shipka unbraided her mane and headed to Monaco to celebrate joining The Net Set's Style Council. Artribe arrivals A photo posted by Kiernan Shipka (@kiernanshipka) on May 15, 2016 at 1:25pm PDT Billionaire David Geffen's Leo DiCaprio Shot DreamWorks founder, producer and philanthropist Geffen posted a photo of pal Leonardo DiCaprio on his yacht in Cannes this week. The bearded actor, who doesn't look too far off from his character in The Revenant with his facial hair, donned a clean white tee, Persol shades and slicked-back hair. And in case you're still wondering who Geffen is, follow the instructions in his Instagram bio: "Google me." Leo on RS A photo posted by David Geffen (@davidgeffen) on May 15, 2016 at 3:21pm PDT Happy Bike to Work Day! Patrick Dempsey, aka McDreamy, rode with THR staffers from Santa Monica to The Hollywood Reporter's Wilshire office to celebrate Bike to Work Day, organized by THR features editor Peter Flax. Emmy-nominated writer and producer Tom Smuts (Mad Men) joined the #RideOnHollywood fun. Smuts is no stranger to long rides - the producer led a 15-person bike ride to the 2015 Emmys. A photo posted by Pret-a-Reporter (@pretareporter) on May 20, 2016 at 9:16am PDT The League Dating app The League is taking applicants now in Los Angeles. The elite app that connects busy professionals celebrated the launch Thursday night. Users are vetted by an algorithm that collects information from Facebook and LinkedIn. As of now, The League drafts approximately 30 percent of applicants to maintain a close-knit, highly exclusive community. The app is currently live in three cities: San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles. Look out Boston, Washington, D.C., and Chicago - you're up next! LA draft starts tomorrow!!!! ARE YOU IN???? A photo posted by @theleague on Apr 27, 2016 at 7:33pm PDT Eyebrows So French? What's the next big thing in French beauty? Pinterest revealed this week the biggest growing beauty trend in France is "painted eyebrows" and "under eyebrows." Are your eyebrows raised? Try painting a swipe of teal shadow or chartreuse glitter under your brow line. JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African state prosecutors will respond on Monday to a court ruling ordering the review of its 2009 decision to drop 783 corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma, a spokesman said on Friday. The High Court ruled last month that the April 2009 decision to drop the charges, which allowed Zuma to run for president in elections the same month, was irrational and should be reviewed. "We said initially that we're applying our minds (on the ruling) ... We're going to be briefing the media on Monday on the way forward," the National Prosecuting Authority's spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku said. The hundreds of corruption charges relate to a major government arms deal arranged in the late 1990s. Zuma said last month that an investigation into the deal had found no evidence of corruption or fraud. Critics denounced the findings as a cover-up and said they would continue to campaign for justice. The ruling to review the decision to drop the charges was yet another blow for Zuma, who has been dogged by controversy for much of his presidency. The Constitutional Court, the country's top court, found in March that Zuma breached the law by ignoring an order to repay some of the $16 million in state funds spent on renovating his private residence. Zuma leads his African National Congress party to local elections in August, where he is facing a strong challenge from opposition parties seeking to capitalize on what they see as the president's missteps. (Reporting by Stella Mapenzauswa; Editing by James Macharia) By Tom Bergin and Nathan Layne LONDON/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Shortly after 7 p.m. on January 12, 2015, a message from a secure computer terminal at Banco del Austro (BDA) in Ecuador instructed San Francisco-based Wells Fargo to transfer money to bank accounts in Hong Kong. Wells Fargo complied. Over 10 days, Wells approved a total of at least 12 transfers of BDA funds requested over the secure SWIFT system. The SWIFT network - which allows banks to process billions of dollars in transfers each day - is considered the backbone of international banking. In all, Wells Fargo transferred $12 million of BDA's money to accounts across the globe. Both banks now believe those funds were stolen by unidentified hackers, according to documents in a BDA lawsuit filed against Wells Fargo in New York this year. BDA declined comment. Wells Fargo, which also initially declined comment on the lawsuit, said in a statement to Reuters on Friday that it "properly processed the wire instructions received via authenticated SWIFT messages" and was not responsible for BDA's losses. BDA is suing Wells Fargo on the basis that the U.S. bank should have flagged the transactions as suspicious. Wells Fargo has countered that security lapses in BDAs own operations caused the Ecuadorean banks losses. Hackers had secured a BDA employees SWIFT logon credentials, Wells Fargo said in a February court filing. SWIFT, an acronym for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is not a party to the lawsuit. Neither bank reported the theft to SWIFT, which said it first learned about the cyber attack from a Reuters inquiry. "We were not aware, SWIFT said in a statement responding to Reuters inquiries. We need to be informed by customers of such frauds if they relate to our products and services, so that we can inform and support the wider community. We have been in touch with the bank concerned to get more information, and are reminding customers of their obligations to share such information with us." Story continues SWIFT says it requires customer to notify SWIFT of problems that can affect the "confidentiality, integrity, or availability of SWIFT service. SWIFT, however, has no rule specifically requiring client banks to report hacking thefts. Banks often do not report such attacks out of concern they make the institution appear vulnerable, former SWIFT employees and cyber security experts told Reuters. The Ecuador case illuminates a central problem with preventing such fraudulent transfers: Neither SWIFT nor its client banks have a full picture of the frequency or the details of cyber thefts made through the network, according to more than dozen former SWIFT executives, users and cyber security experts interviewed by Reuters. The case - details of which have not been previously reported - raises new questions about the oversight of the SWIFT network and its communications with member banks about cyber thefts and risks. The network has faced intense scrutiny since cyber thieves stole $81 million in February from a Bangladesh central bank account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Its unclear what SWIFT tells its member banks when it does find out about cyber thefts, which are typically first discovered by the bank that has been defrauded. SWIFT spokeswoman Natasha de Teran said that the organization was transparent with its users but declined to elaborate. SWIFT declined to answer specific questions about its policies for disclosing breaches. On Friday, following the publication of this Reuters story, SWIFT urged all of its users to notify the network of cyber attacks. "It is essential that you share critical security information related to SWIFT with us," SWIFT said in a communication to users. Reuters was unable to determine the number or frequency of cyber attacks involving the SWIFT system, or how often the banks report them to SWIFT officials. The lack of disclosure may foster overconfidence in SWIFT network security by banks, which routinely approve transfer requests made through the messaging network without additional verification, former SWIFT employees and cyber security experts said. The criminals behind such heists are exploiting banks willingness to approve SWIFT requests at face value, rather than making additional manual or automated checks, said John Doyle, who held a variety of senior roles at SWIFT between 1980 and 2005. SWIFT doesnt replace prudent banking practice he said, noting that banks should verify the authenticity of withdrawal or transfer requests, as they would for money transfers outside the SWIFT system. SWIFT commits to checking the codes on messages sent into its system, to ensure the message has originated from a clients terminal, and to send it to the intended recipient quickly and securely, former SWIFT executives and cyber security experts said. But once cyber-thieves obtain legitimate codes and credentials, they said, SWIFT has no way of knowing they are not the true account holders. The Bank for International Settlements, a trade body for central banks, said in a November report that increased information sharing on cyber attacks is crucial to helping financial institutions manage the risk. The more they share the better, said Leo Taddeo, chief security officer at Cryptzone and a former special agent in charge with the FBI's cyber crime division in New York. SYSTEMIC RISK SWIFT, a cooperative owned and governed by representatives of the banks it serves, was founded in 1973 and operates a secure messaging network that has been considered reliable for four decades. But recent attacks involving the Belgium-based cooperative have underscored how the network's central role in global finance also presents systemic risk. SWIFT is not regulated, but a group of ten central banks from developed nations, led by the National Bank of Belgium, oversee the organization. Among its stated guidelines is a requirement to provide clients with enough information to enable them to manage adequately the risks related to their use of SWIFT. However, some former SWIFT employees said that the cooperative struggles to keep banks informed on risks of cyber fraud because of a lack of cooperation from the banks themselves. SWIFTs 25-member board of directors is filled with representatives of larger banks. The banks are not going to tell us too much, said Doyle, the former SWIFT executive. They wouldnt like to destabilize confidence in their institution. Banks also fear notifying SWIFT or law enforcement of security breaches because that could lead to regulatory investigations that highlight failures of risk management or compliance that could embarrass top managers, said Hugh Cumberland, a former SWIFT marketing executive who is now a senior associate with cyber security firm Post-Quantum. Cases of unauthorized money transfers rarely become public, in part because disagreements are usually settled bilaterally or through arbitration, which is typically private, said Salvatore Scanio, a lawyer at Washington, D.C.-based Ludwig & Robinson. Scanio said he consulted on a dispute involving millions of dollars of stolen funds and the sending of fraudulent SWIFT messages similar to the BDA attack. He declined to name the parties or provide other details. Theoretically, SWIFT could require its customers, mainly banks, to inform it of any attacks - given that no bank could risk the threat of exclusion from the network, said Lieven Lambrecht, the head of human resources at SWIFT for a year-and-a-half through May 2015. But such a rule would require the agreement of its board, which is mainly made up of senior executives from the back office divisions of the largest western banks, who would be unlikely to approve such a policy, Lambrecht said. FIGHT OVER LIABILITY This week, Vietnam's Tien Phong Bank said its SWIFT account, too, was used in an attempted hack last year. That effort failed, but it is another sign that cyber-criminals are increasingly targeting the messaging network. In the Ecuadorean case, Wells Fargo denies any liability for the fraudulent transfers from BDA accounts. Wells Fargo said in court records that it did not verify the authenticity of the BDA transfer requests because they came through SWIFT, which Wells called "among the most widely used and secure" systems for money transfers. BDA is seeking recovery of the money, plus interest. Wells Fargo is attempting to have the case thrown out. New York-based Citibank also transferred $1.8 million in response to fraudulent requests made through BDAs SWIFT terminal, according to the BDA lawsuit against Wells Fargo. Citibank repaid the $1.8 million to BDA, according to a BDA court filing in April. Citibank declined to comment. For its part, Wells Fargo refunded to BDA $958,700 out of the $1,486,230 it transferred to an account in the name of a Jose Mariano Castillo at Wells Fargo in Los Angeles, according to the lawsuit. Reuters could not locate Castillo or verify his existence. ANATOMY OF A CYBER HEIST The BDA-Wells Fargo case is unusual in that one bank took its correspondent bank to court, thus making the details public, said Scanio, the Washington attorney. BDA acknowledged in a January court filing that it took more than a week after the first fraudulent transfer request for BDA to discover the missing money. After obtaining a BDA employees SWIFT logon, the thieves then fished out previously canceled or rejected payment requests that remained in BDAs SWIFT outbox. They then altered the amounts and destinations on the transfer requests and reissued them, both banks said in filings. While Wells Fargo has claimed in court filings that failures of security at BDA are to blame for the breach, BDA has alleged that Wells could easily have spotted and rejected the unusual transfers. BDA noted that the payment requests were made outside of its normal business hours and involved unusually large amounts. The BDA theft and others underscore the need for banks on both sides of such transactions often for massive sums to rely less on SWIFT for security and strengthen their own verification protocols, Cumberland said. This image of the SWIFT network and the surrounding ecosystem being secure and impenetrable has encouraged complacency, he said. (Additional reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston and Alexandra Valencia in Quito; Editing by David Greising and Brian Thevenot) By Abhinav Ramnarayan LONDON, May 19 (IFR) - At least four more law firms may be lining up to sue a group of five banks for alleged collusion in bond trading, following a lawsuit brought by a US pension fund this week. Boston Retirement System filed the lawsuit against Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Nomura for alleged collusive activities to fix the prices of the US$9trn sovereign, supranational and agency bonds The action is being brought on behalf of Boston Retirement itself and "all others similarly situated", according to the lawsuit's documentation. The lawsuit also names as defendants individual traders Hiren Gudka, Amandeep Singh Manku, Shailen Pau and Bhardeep Singh Heer, all of whom are or were employed by the banks in question in London. The action comes at a time when the traders and banks in question are already under investigation by the US Department of Justice for potential collusion, as IFR reported exclusively in January this year It has since emerged that the matter was also being investigated by the FCA in the UK and the European Commission. LINING UP The action, filed with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, may be only the first of many class action lawsuits to be brought against those parties, according to one person with knowledge of the matter. "A number of firms have been considering bringing a class action lawsuit against these banks and traders but my sense is that no one else could figure out a credible theory of what the market-wide collusion entailed," the person told IFR. "[The law firms representing Boston Retirement System have] filed a case anyway, perhaps to try and obtain the advantage of being the first to file the case." Labaton Sucharow and Hausfeld are the counsel for Boston Retirement System and the proposed class action. They were not immediately available for comment. If there are a number of lawsuits, the court will appoint one of the law firms involved as lead lawyers. As a result, this first suit may trigger others, he said. Story continues "People will worry that if they stay on the sidelines, these firms will get to run the case," said the person. EXPERT ADVICE There is very little in the way of information on what the alleged wrongdoing is that is being investigated by the DOJ and its British and European counterparts. According to the lawsuit, Boston Retirement System is suing on the basis of independent research on bid-ask spread data for SSA bonds and on the fact that there is an investigation into those banks and traders. Experts hired by the plaintiff found "anomalous intraday movements of between 2 and 4 basis points in the bid-ask spreads for certain SSA bonds", which support the inference of conspiracy among the defendants, the lawsuit says. "Defendants have inflated the prices at which they sold SSA bonds to investors and reduced the prices at which they purchased these products from investors, including plaintiff and members of the class," the lawsuit says. "Thousands of US-based investors have purchased and sold billions of dollars' worth of SSA bonds directly from the defendants," the suit adds. INVESTIGATION As IFR reported exclusively in January, the DOJ (along with the FCA and the European Commission) is investigating allegations that the SSA traders named in the lawsuit agreed prices and shared information on certain US dollar bonds in chatrooms they established for the purpose. The bonds were issued by sovereigns, agency borrowers such as German state-backed development bank KfW and supranationals including the European Investment Bank. The US DOJ is looking into whether any of the discussions in those chatrooms amounted to manipulation of market prices, sources told IFR. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Nomura declined to comment. Credit Agricole did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan, Editing by Matthew Davies) Where No Man Has Gone Before (Star Trek) Anyone looking to get into Trek should start with the original series second pilot, which NBC picked up after Lucille Ball urged the network to give the show another chance. In it, Kirk is forced to decide between killing a power-corrupted Enterprise crew member or putting the ship at risk. Its an early example of the ethical dilemmas that would become part of the series core. Balance of Terror (Star Trek) This episode from the very first season of the series introduces the Romulans, a war-like race that frequently locks horns with the Federation throughout the series. Spock leads the Enterprise into a battle against a brilliant Romulan commander in an episode that examines the nature of war and how people who find themselves enemies to each other can have more in common than it may first seem. The City On The Edge Of Forever (Star Trek) One of the most heartbreaking episodes of the original series. A disruption in the time-space continuum requires Kirk, Spock, and McCoy to travel to 1930s New York to stop the Federation from being erased from existence. The price Kirk must pay to save the future will haunt him forever. Devil In The Dark (Star Trek) Named by William Shatner as his favorite episode, this story shows the crew trying to fight a subterranean creature killing members of a mining colony. Their plans get turned upside down when they realize the true motives behind the creatures actions. Measure of a Man (Star Trek: TNG) Star Trek: The Next Generation took a while to get out of the shadow of its predecessor, but when it did, it produced some TV classics. Here, Captain Picard is challenged to prove that his android lieutenant Data is a sentient being deserving of human rights, leading to one of Patrick Stewarts finest speeches in his acting career. Justin Lin and Vin Diesel on the set of Fast Five (Universal Pictures) This July, the Starship Enterprise will get an adrenalized update when Star Trek Beyond the third entry in this reboot cycle soars into theaters. It comes courtesy of Justin Lin, the director who rose from indie fame to transform the Fast and the Furious films into Hollywoods most diverse and, some might say, dominant international franchise. And in a new interview with Wired, both he and one of his favorite leading men suggest that he might not be done with that car-racing series just yet. Related: Defending Tokyo Drift: The 'Fast and the Furious Wild Card Is a Stealth Winner Speaking to Logan Hill for Wired (in a glowing profile topped by an unflattering headline: Meet Justin Lin, the Most Important Blockbuster Director Youve Never Heard Of), the 44-year-old filmmaker reflects on his tough upbringing growing up as a poor Asian-American in California, and how his 2002 breakthrough Better Luck Tomorrow afforded him an opportunity to reinvent the Fast and the Furious with its third entry, 2006s Vin Diesel-less Tokyo Drift. That film so impressed Diesel that he agreed to do a cameo. And when it turned a profit thanks to global receipts that outpaced its domestic tally Lin had the headliner back on board and both were keen to recreate its story as one about inclusion. As Diesel says of the shift from the earlier Fast and the Furious movies: It was separate families: the Mexican crew, the homeboy crewYou didnt see a multicultural family. The idea that Doms brothers are Han and Brian and Roman and Santos thats a pretty intense idea. Related: 70 Things You Didnt Know About the 'Fast and the Furious Franchise After turning the franchise into a diverse and insanely lucrative Universal property with Fast & Furious, Fast 5 and Fast & Furious 6, Lin opted to leave it in the hands of James Wan for 2015s Furious 7. Nonetheless, Diesel is determined to get Lin to helm future installments. Im going to bring him backWhenever we had a day offeven on Thanksgiving, his favorite holiday it was Justin and me working on how far we could take it. Success comes from 10 years of that mentality. Story continues Lin himself is coy, but also implies that a reunion could eventually come to fruition, telling Wired, Vin says you finish what you started, and hes very persuasive. (Straight Outta Comptons F. Gary Gray is directing the currently-in-production Fast 8, which is set to hit theaters on April 14, 2017.) In the wide-ranging profile, Lin also expounds on the reasons he hopped aboard Star Trek Beyond, as well as his disappointment over some former franchise members notably, original Sulu himself, George Takei taking swipes at the upcoming sci-fi sagas action-oriented first trailer (He was a huge part of my life, so for him to swing a sucker punch, that hurt). And while he doesnt reveal anything concrete about his plans for a planned Space Jam sequel starring LeBron James, Hills article makes clear that the project remains high on Lins list of priorities. Check out the entire piece here. Star Trek Beyond beams into multiplexes on July 22. Watch the Star Trek Beyond trailer: What should be made of the flare-up between Morocco and Washington over the State Departments latest human rights report? It devotes more pages to Moroccan violations than Iranian ones, and Morocco gets a third more pages than Cuba does. Moreover, the document generally cites sources other than the U.S. governments own findings. No wonder the Moroccans are furious. On the basis of an Amnesty International assertion, the report alleges that eight activists were imprisoned for making false allegations of torture. It also states that activist Wafae Charaf was imprisoned for allegedly falsely reporting being abducted and tortured by unknown persons. It does not indicate the source of this particular finding. In response, the Moroccan government issued its own press release denying the veracity of the reports assertions, calling them outrageous, sloppy, and biased. The Moroccans insisted that they could demonstrate that the allegations were simply untrue. And, in a highly unusual move given the normally cordial and close relations between Washington and Rabat, both Moroccos Minister of Interior Mohamed Hassad and Minister Delegate for Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita summoned U.S. Ambassador Dwight Bush to protest the report. In general, the worst human rights violators pay little attention to the State Department reports. These countries simply go on doing what they have been doing. Irans violations are far more severe than any Morocco may have committed. The State Departments latest Iran report includes a long section on Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life and another on abductions. It should come as no surprise, however, that Iran is among the countries that take little notice. The State Department reports even more egregious violations by the Syrian government. Yet the Assad regime continues to attack and kill its citizens. It pays little regard to reporting by the State Department, or for that matter, condemnation and red lines issued by the president of the United States. Story continues Moroccos alleged violations stand in stark contrast to the crimes perpetrated by Iran, Syria, and other manifestly brutal regimes. Yet the State Department report blandly treats all states in the same antiseptic manner. Moreover, it judges them all in terms of Western indeed, specifically American standards, as if those who do not adhere to them are somehow less civilized. Rudyard Kipling would approve. Countries with poor rights records are not the only ones to ignore the reports. The State Department itself takes little notice of them. Otherwise, how could the administration have reached out to Cuba without receiving any guarantees that the government would ease its restrictions, which have not be modified one iota. Or, for that matter, given Irans human rights record: Why has the Administration sought to enable European businesses to circumvent sanctions imposed specifically because of the Iranian governments mistreatment of its citizens? It should therefore come as no surprise that Rabat thinks Washington is playing fast and loose with the facts, and is hypocritical to boot. Surely, it should not have been too much for the authors of the State Department report to take into account the nature of Americas relationships to countries that come in for criticism. At a minimum, the authors should have carefully examined the evidence that friendly states were willing to provide to support their cases, rather than blindly relying on assertions by non-governmental organizations that may well have their own axes to grind. On the other hand, perhaps it should come as no surprise that a friendly country has come in for criticism by the Barack Obama administration. That has been the pattern since 2009. In the meantime, the outreach to Americas adversaries continues; that too has been White House policy since Obama took office. Both sides of that policy, alienating friends and mollycoddling adversaries, will likely persist, at least until a new occupant enters the White House in eight months time. Photo credit: WIN MCNAMEE/Getty Images He sailed the ocean blue in 1492, and on his journey home in 1493, Christopher Columbus wrote of his voyage in a letter to his patrons, the royal husband-and-wife team Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Now, a stolen copy of the letter that had been donated to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., was returned to its rightful owner, the Italian government, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on May 18. "Preserving records and chronicles of our past, like this letter, is of utmost importance not only to the special agents who investigate these crimes, but to the global community at large," Dan Ragsdale, deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said in a statement. [Top 5 Misconceptions About Christopher Columbus] The Columbus letter Columbus supposedly wrote of his voyage while still on the high seas in February 1493; the letter is dated to a 10-day stint he spent in Lisbon on his way back to Spain. Printed copies of the letter, in its various editions (11 editions were published in 1493 and six more between 1494 and 1497), spread news of the New World throughout Europe. No more than 80 surviving copies of the editions of Columbus' letter exist today. One edition, known as Plannck II for the original printer, was stolen on an unknown date from the Riccardiana Library in Florence, Italy, and was replaced with a forgery. The original was then donated to the U.S. Library of Congress in 2004. The Plannck II investigation After receiving information in 2012 that a "Plannck II" edition Columbus letter had been stolen from the Riccardiana Library and had been given to the Library of Congress, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) notified Italian law enforcement. In a joint American-Italian investigation, the Riccardiana Library's Plannck II Columbus letter was determined to be a forgery evidence such as the lack of an original library stamp and mismatched stitching patterns led to this conclusion. Story continues The letter residing at the Library of Congress was proven to be the original Plannck II from the library in Florence when experts analyzing the document found evidence of chemical bleach used to remove the Riccardiana Library's stamp. U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware Charles M. Oberly III, commended the joint task force on the letter's return, "given the historical significance of this document." "Documents such as the 'Plannck II' Columbus Letter are of significant cultural value, as they provide historical facts about critical events in world history," Oberly said in the statement. "We are humbled to return this historic document back to its home country." The mystery of how the letter was stolen, replaced with a forgery and disguised before being donated to the Library of Congress is still being investigated. Follow Kacey Deamer @KaceyDeamer. Follow Live Science @livescience, on Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Thousands of Buddhist monks and devotees joined a lavish procession Friday to return a stolen golden urn said to contain relics of the Buddha to a mountain shrine where it was snatched from three years ago. The urn was placed on a decorated float shaped like a mythological bird and driven from the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh to a shrine at the top of nearby Udong mountain. The elaborate ceremony was timed to coincide with Visak Bochea, an annual religious holiday marking the anniversary of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death. "Ten of thousands of people greeted the Buddha's relics at the mountain," Seng Somony, a spokesman for the ministry of culture and religion, told AFP. The disappearance of the golden urn -- believed to contain hair, teeth and bones of the Buddha -- and several small statues came to light in late 2013, sparking a nationwide manhunt in the Buddhist-majority country. Authorities recovered the urn and relics during a raid in February 2014 at a house in the southern province of Takeo, around 130 kilometres (80 miles) away from the shrine in the former royal city of Udong. Last year, five men were sentenced to seven years in jail each for stealing the golden vessel. Seng Somony said authorities would ensure safety for the urn and relics. "It will be 24-hour security" at the shrine, he added. The relics are believed to have been brought from Sri Lanka to Cambodia in the 1950s to celebrate 2,500 years since Buddha's birth. In 2002, then King Norodom Sihanouk moved the relics from the capital Phnom Penh to Udong, around 45 kilometres (30 miles) away, in a ceremony attended by tens of thousands of people. During the colonial period and later the turmoil of the Khmer Rouge era, Cambodia lost a treasure trove of relics and statues to looters, unscrupulous dealers and greedy governments. Recently many Western governments, including some renowned museums, have begun returning items to the country. A dead whale that washed up on a southern Australia beach has something peculiar in its mouth: a sharp and pointy fang, say the researchers who examined it. The whale, identified as a Hector's beaked whale (Mesoplodon hectori), was found south of Adelaide on Waitpinga beach in February. For the past 25 years, the South Australian Museum has done necropsies (an animal autopsy) on "as many [stranded] whales as it can from its shores," but the museum's researchers didn't expect to find anything unusual when they examined this particular whale a female juvenile, said Catherine Kemper, a senior research scientist in mammals at the South Australian Museum. Instead, the researchers found an "intriguing" fang, which has never been seen before in a Hector's beaked whale, Kemper told Live Science in an email. [Whale Album: Giants of the Deep] It's possible that the tooth is vestigial that is, much like a human's appendix or wisdom teeth, it was useful in an ancestor, but isn't useful anymore, she said. Or, maybe it's an evolutionary throwback, also known as an atavism, meaning it was present in ancestors, but still pops up from time to time, much like a human baby born with a tail, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). "All whales are derived from animals that had more teeth," Kemper said. "What's happened with time is [that] some of them have evolved. They have lost teeth because they have specialized their feeding to not need them." However, it's difficult to say exactly what is going on, largely because scientists know little about beaked whales, said Nicholas Pyenson, a curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, who has not seen the new specimen. Case in point this is only the third Hector's whale the museum has collected, Kemper told ABC. "Beaked whales, they're among the most mysterious groups of whales," Pyenson told Live Science. Some beaked whale species are only known to science because their skulls have washed ashore, he said. Story continues "They're hard to see in the wild, they live off shore, Pyenson said. "They dive very deep into the ocean and don't surface too much." Yet, beaked whales are some of the most species-rich groups of whales, Pyenson said. And although scientists don't know much about them, they're famous for their weird teeth, he said. For instance, the male strap-toothed whale (Mesoplodon layardii) has teeth that curve up and over its snout, preventing it from opening its mouth more than a few inches, Pyenson said. Other whales have extremely long teeth that might be used for male-male sparring, "which we infer happens deep underwater because you find scars all along the bodies of males that wash up," he said. [In Photos: Tracking Humpback Whales in the South Pacific Ocean] Without more specimens, it's hard to say whether this whale's pointy fang is a common variation, an evolutionary throwback or something else, Pyenson said. "It's definitely weird, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's a throwback, because these [whales] already have teeth, [this one] just seems to have had an extra, strange tooth," he said. Follow Laura Geggel on Twitter @LauraGeggel. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Hayley Barna knows firsthand the benefits of having a best friend in the beauty industry and she wants to share the love with you. In 2010, Barna who worked previously as a Bain consultant and Katia Beauchamp a self-proclaimed "numbers whiz behind large corporate real estate deals" decided to start a wide-scale subscription service that shows its customers just how good it is to have the ear of a beauty industry insider. Their product? A curated package of top-shelf beauty products custom-tailored for each individual subscriber, delivered straight to her or his door every month. Little did Barna and Beauchamp know that, six years later, their company would grow to have over 1 million subscribers globally. Since 2010, Birchbox has turned into a mini-conglomerate. It boasts partnerships with premium companies such as Keds and Estee Lauder, and perhaps most impressively of all the opening of a brick and mortar store in New York City. Although the subscription beauty boxes may be what the brand is known for, it was never the only item on Birchbox's agenda. "We wanted to help our customer navigate the beauty community," said in a phone interview. "The industry can be intimidating and overwhelming so we wanted to create an enjoyable experience to shop with." Birchbox subscription box, Birchbox SOHO store, LOC The Birchbox experience was apparently so enjoyable that, soon after its launch, other companies that offer almost exactly what Birchbox offers began popping up everywhere. Liz Cadman, the founder of subscription box blog and directory My Subscription Addiction, estimates that she receives an overwhelming As Karen Grant, a global beauty industry analyst at market research company NPD noted in a phone interview, boxes are marketing towards millennials between the ages of 18 to 34. Story continues "They are extremely curious about new beauty products," she said. "The younger consumer, especially with makeup products, is a frequent shopper and more likely to Source: Instagram Besides mere curiosity, boxes are an easy way for consumers to reward and gift themselves every few . "This business is about the art of giving to yourself," Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD, explained to Fast Company last year. "Millennial consumers, in particular, love the idea of self-indulgence, and subscription companies really understand this." Mastering social media is key to roping in customers. Taking full advantage of millennials spending habits and the fact that five out of six connect with companies through these platforms, brands have created exclusive communities further perpetuated by its members. "The online space allowed for brands to be able to market themselves and promote themselves in ways that they didn't in the past." Grant said. "They have a lot of social-relevance success of creating buzz and awareness. They're able to get into the hands of consumers they wouldn't reach otherwise." GLOSSYBOX, a beauty box made up of five full-size products, embraced social media to communicate directly with customers while also promoting itself to those who might be on the platforms, but not subscribing. Ipsy, Love Goodly, GLOSSYBOX "Customers use social media platforms, like Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat to look for beauty products and to learn about brands," Britta Fleck, the brand's explained in an email. "It functions as a branding and educational tool." With a growing community of box fans on Instagram, many have taken their blogs onto the social networking service. One example of this is My Subscription Addition. "Instagram is a tool to verify whether different boxes have variations or not," she explains. For example searching #walmartbeautybox brings up all of the different products that people got in their boxes that month. If two people receive the same box, Cadman says that some will comment "oh we're box twins!" Brands have capitalized on the power of social influencers. Many send their boxes to bloggers with clout to try and reach this person's followers. "With Pinterest, social media is moving towards discovery," Tim Barrett, a retailing analyst at Euromonitor, said in a phone interview. He says smaller influencers have a "limited audience but substantial pull." One popular avenue for this is YouTube. Many vloggers post "unboxing videos." While watching someone open a box might seem low-arousing, these videos pull in staggeringly big numbers. The women behind the blog Eleventh Gorgeous, , received over 100,000 views within a few days on just one unboxing video. Source: YouTube This tactic actually seems to work as this is exactly how Elisabeth Foust, the blogger behind Everything & Nothin', started subscribing to boxes. "I remember watching Michelle Phan [on YouTube] talk about a beauty subscription called My Glam Bag (now called Ipsy)," Foust explained in an email. "I immediately signed up because it was only $10. My subscription box addiction truly took over and I started a blog to share my boxes." The growing group of millennials looking for convenience isn't limited to one gender. While men and women could easily purchase any beauty subscription box on the market, two companies Harry's and Dollar Shave Club in addition to Birchbox's male box equivalent, realized a gap in the market for grooming boxes specifically targeted towards men. "Guys want control over their grooming regimens, but they don't want to spend too much time searching or buying products that don't work," Michael Dubin, Dollar Shave Club's CEO, said in an email. "Subscription not only makes our service more convenient eliminating the inconvenience of going to the drugstore but also makes for a better shaving experience. Guys get lazy, and if they have to go to the store, they will milk their old blades longer than they should." Harry's, Dollar Shave Club But is it worth it in the end? Depends. If you love testing luxury or indie brands for a fraction of the price, then yes. As Cadman explains, one might want to further research the more expensive boxes, but the lower-price ones (like Play! by Sephora and Birchbox) are worth the gamble. "Part of the allure is the value," she said. "The price point is so low but you are able to try out high-end brands before purchasing." For example, as she notes on her most recent GLOSSYBOX review, the box was $40 but filled with $148 worth of products. While the most recent Ipsy glam bag she reviewed, which retails for $10, was valued at $74. If you are looking specifically for well-known, cult products and not interested in having an overflowing makeup cabinet full of items you would never use, you might want to stick to Sephora or Ulta. Source: GLOSSYBOX "Subscription boxes have to cater to a wide variety of people. Not everyone will be happy every single month," Foust said. "But, if you are buying them because you love being surprised and constantly trying new products, then you will be thrilled." Your favorite box might have a grim future. While Barrett believes that sampling beauty products in stores will never go away, he thinks the subscription boxes bring a novelty to finding and testing products. "Being able to incorporate the treasure hunting component to a shopping experience really helps makes things fun," he said. Grant agrees, referencing two companies that have long brought products directly to the customer's door: "Companies like Mary Kay and Avon have been around now for 100 years because of this being able to go right into your home and give you advice." Avon, which had women going door-to-door selling products, calls itself "the original social network." But this "social network" was very limited to an Avon Lady's own social circle or neighborhood. Now, with actual social networks, subscription-box companies are able to reach a wider demographic that includes younger generations and people that just simply might not be home during the day to answer a doorbell. (Do millennials even own doorbells?) It's difficult to gauge whether this is a sustainable business, as many companies do not release any numbers and consumer researchers don't have any data. But, as seen with these straight-to-your-door boxes and subscription services such as Netflix and Hulu, we're living in a society where people desire to have what they want when they want it. Subscription boxes is makeup on demand and for now this is how customers want to shop within the beauty industry. Newark Prep Charter School students listen to academic coach, Robbie Garland, while taking part in an advisory session at the school in Newark, New Jersey April 16, 2013. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson Segregation in American public schools is on the rise, according to federal data published by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). The number of students attending "High-Poverty and mostly Black or Hispanic" (H/PBH) public schools including charter and magnet schools more than doubled between 2001 and 2014. Charter schools are publicly funded but privately run while magnet schools have specialized curricula. Students in H/PBH schools increased by 4.3 million during that time, from about 4.1 million to 8.4 million. It's disheartening news, especially considering that the US Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954 that school segregation was unconstitutional. Many districts across the nation have acknowledged the issue while attempting to remedy the racial stratification in their schools. GAO highlighted in their report three such districts that implemented actions to increase racial and socioeconomic diversity in schools. Each of the districts, identified only by geographic location (Northeast, South, and West), experienced challenges in reducing segregation in their schools. The district they profiled in the South, for example, changed existing school-assignment zones in an effort to fix the problem. The new attendance zones allowed more choice for parents to decide where to send their children. Segregation in the district got worse, however, in part because the district couldn't control the choices parents made on schooling. The district also said that some families chose to send their children to private schools and that they believed that some white families did not want to send their students to more diverse schools. The school district was investigated by the Department of Education and served with a federal lawsuit. The current-day battle over segregation is playing out in real time in school districts across the nation. Story continues On Monday, a federal court ordered middle and high schools in Cleveland, Mississippi, to merge to satisfy the ruling on a decades-long legal battle to desegregate schools, according to a press release from the Department of Justice. NOW WATCH: Teachers are calling in sick to protest the deplorable condition of Detroit public schools More From Business Insider By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Surinamese man who U.S. authorities said acted as the "right-hand man" to the son of the country's president during a scheme to send large amounts of cocaine to the United States was found guilty of trying to ship the drug, prosecutors said on Wednesday. Edmund Muntslag, who was arrested after a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration sting operation targeting Dino Bouterse, Suriname President Desi Bouterse's son, was found guilty by a federal jury in Manhattan on Tuesday of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. His conviction came a year after Dino Bouterse, 43, was sentenced to 16-1/4 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges that he tried to offer a home base to the Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah in the South American country. Muntslag, 32, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life, according to a spokeswoman for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. Cesar de Castro, Muntslag's lawyer, said his client intends to appeal the verdict. Prosecutors said that in 2013, Bouterse and Muntslag sought to help people claiming to be Mexican drug cartel members, who were actually U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration informants, send millions of dollars worth of cocaine to the United States. At the time, Bouterse was the head of a counter-terrorism unit in Suriname, while Muntslag acted as his "right-hand man, his partner-in-crime," Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew DeFilippis said in his opening statement. "Muntslag and the president's son were corrupt to the core," DeFilippis said. "They used their power and status in Suriname to traffic cocaine and to line their own pockets." In July 2013, Muntslag shipped a test load of 10 kilograms of cocaine by a commercial flight from Suriname to Trinidad, understanding the drugs would be transported to New York for sale, prosecutors said. Bouterse had meanwhile agreed with the purported cartel members to discuss a weapons deal with Hezbollah, prosecutors said. During a meeting in Greece with an undercover agent and DEA source posing as Hezbollah members, Bouterse agreed to help the group establish a base in Suriname, located north of Brazil, in exchange for $2 million, prosecutors said. Bouterse was arrested in August 2013 in Panama, where he was discussing the purported Hezbollah deal. Muntslag was arrested days later in Trinidad, where he was waiting to take an undercover agent posing as a Hezbollah agent to Suriname, prosecutors said. He was extradited in August 2015. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) Photos: Getty Images/Instagram Its a sad day for Susan Sarandon and her family as they grieve the sudden death of her younger brother. Terry Tomalin, a Tampa Bay Times newspaper editor, passed away at the North Shore Aquatic Center in St. Petersburg, Fla. He was taking a lifeguard test with his 14-year-old son when he suffered a fatal heart attack. He was 55. We are devastated, his wife, Kanika Tomalin who is the deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, told the paper. He loved us. He loved his family so much, and we loved him.\ Sarandon, who was born Susan Tomalin, took to Facebook on Friday to remember her sibling, who also had a 12-year-old daughter. Along with posting a link to the Tampa Bay Times story about his passing, which detailed his storied career as the papers outdoors editor, the 69-year-old actress said that she would pass on prayers to his wife and family. The article detailed Tomlins fascinating career, which saw him swimming around Key West, sailing to Cuba, canoeing to the Bahamas, exploring sunken Mayan archaeological sites in Mexico, and living with witch doctors in the wilds of Amazonia. Sarandons daughter, Eva Amurri, also paid tribute to her late uncle, who was one of nine siblings. She called him caring, adventurous, and fun-loving, and said he was an avid outdoorsman, prolific writer, great friend, pillar of the community, and most importantly a dedicated husband and father who had such a fierce love for his family. Amurri continued, Our whole family mourns this heartbreaking loss today, and we are so grateful for the time we had with him and the positivity and dedication he taught us while here. Susan Sarandon's brother, Terry Tomalin, has died after reportedly suffering a heart attack while taking a lifeguarding test with his 14-year-old daughter, Kai. He was 55. Tomalin worked as the outdoors editor for the Tampa Bay Times, and was at the North Shore Aquatic Center in St. Petersburg, Florida ,when he collapsed and never regained consciousness, the newspaper reports. PHOTOS: Stars We've Lost in Recent Years "We are devastated," Tomalin's wife, Kanika Tomalin, told the Times. "He loved us. He loved his family so much, and we loved him." On Thursday, Sarandon's daughter, Eva Amurri Martino, paid tribute to her uncle on Instagram, and her mother later retweeted the message. "Thank you to everyone who reached out with love at the passing of my brother Terry Tomalin," Sarandon wrote, including a link to the Instagram post. "Today, Heaven gained the most caring, adventurous, and fun-loving Angel around. My Uncle, Terry Tomalin, passed away this afternoon- very suddenly from a heart attack," Martino captioned an image of her late uncle. "He was an avid Outdoorsman, prolific writer, great friend, pillar of the community, and most importantly a dedicated husband and father who had such a fierce love for his family." MORE: Eva Amurri Martino Gets Candid About Being Pregnant After Suffering a Miscarriage She added, "He leaves behind an incredible wife and two amazing children who can do with all the prayers, love and light you might send their way. Our whole family mourns this heartbreaking loss today, and we are so grateful for the time we had with him and the positivity and dedication he taught us while here." Tomalin and Sarandon are one of nine siblings who grew up in New Jersey. In 1980, Tomalin moved to Florida to pursue his love for the outdoors. WATCH: Hugh Hefner's Brother Keith Dead at 87 Related Articles By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A man suspected of murdering a missing Washington state couple has waived extradition from California, police said on Friday as they also sought his brother in connection with the grim crime. Tony Clyde Reed, 49, was taken into custody earlier this week after crossing the border from Mexico into San Diego under an arrangement to turn himself in to authorities. Reed and his brother are suspected of killing a married couple, Patrick Shunn, 45, and Monique Patenaude, 46, who were reported missing April 12 by neighbors in the foothills of the Cascade mountains, about 60 miles northeast of Seattle. Their remains have not been found, but they are presumed to have been slain based on evidence that includes blood found in the vehicles and at John Reed's former residence, said Shari Ireton of the Sheriff's Office in Snohomish County. Reed has since waived his extradition back to Washington, Ireton said, and detectives from that agency were traveling to San Diego to bring him back. His brother, 53-year-old John Reed, remains a fugitive and Ireton said investigators believe he may be still in Mexico, where the two men fled together last month. Neither man has been formally charged in the case. The couple and John Reed were neighbors in the Oso area hit by a deadly mudslide in March 2014, and Shunn had reported to police the previous that he and his wife were threatened by Reed in a property dispute. The couple's two vehicles were found abandoned in a wooded area north of their home two days after they were reported missing. Ireton said investigators believe the victims' bodies are hidden somewhere in a 23-square-mile area roughly surrounding their residence because "there's no evidence that shows they might have been transported somewhere else." In obtaining murder warrants against the Reeds, police cited the property dispute between the Reeds and the missing couple. Ireton said she could not be more specific until further investigation was completed. "We don't know honestly until we hear from the suspects," Ireton said. "We have to wait to hear what they have to say. Its all speculation at this point." (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by David Gregorio) STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's civil emergency agency held a crisis meeting on Friday to discuss a number of cases of suspected sabotage involving telecommunications masts and a computer outage that grounded air traffic across much of the country. The incidents have reignited fears of foreign spies and the readiness of Sweden's depleted security services to confront them in a country on the frontline of increased Western tensions with Russia. The Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) has said it has no grounds so far to believe the various cases are related but its decision to hold a "national coordination" meeting - confirmed by a spokeswoman - highlights the growing sense of public unease prompted by the incidents. Two telecoms masts have been damaged in the last few weeks and on Thursday a computer glitch grounded planes across much of Sweden, while technical problems knocked out Swedish railways' booking system. The spate of unexplained technical problems and apparent attempts to damage telecommunications equipment have fanned fears that Sweden's infrastructure is being tested by foreign security services. Wilhelm Agrell, professor in intelligence analysis at Lund University, hinted at a possible Russian link. "The scenario resembles the picture of so-called hybrid warfare which has developed since the Crimea operation in 2014," he told daily Aftonbladet, referring to Russian forces' seizure of Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula two years ago. The Russian Foreign Ministry has not responded to Reuters' requests for comments on allegations of possible Russian involvement made by Swedish media and academics. Sweden has for years seen Russia as its biggest geopolitical threat. Only last month Russia's Foreign Ministry warned of consequences if Sweden joined NATO, while Swedish media have carried reports of the nation's security services warning about Russian agents spying on important infrastructure. Anders Ygeman, minister for home affairs, told Swedish public broadcaster SVT on Thursday the incidents could be explained in a number of ways from "just pranks to a foreign power". (Reporting by Johan Sennero and Johan Ahlander; Editing by Gareth Jones) Alas, one day you will very likely have to leave a house youve lived in for years. And when the moving truck pulls away, it will be time to say so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, and goodbye forever to a place that was so much more than four walls and a roof. This was your home, where hundreds of memories were made, and simply driving off into the sunset may not suffice. Luckily for you, we gathered stories on how other homeowners cleverly honored their abodes when they had to bid them adieu. Go room by room As a military family, weve moved many, many times around the country, says Rachel Tenpenny Crawford, a grief recovery specialist. Since each home saw special milestones in their lives, Crawford developed a ritual before leaving. Crawfords family goes into every room of the house and talks about our favorite memories in that spacelike when my son drew all over a hallway wall in our home in North Carolina and I had to repaint it. Well also talk about something we wish we would have done in that room, such as put glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. Then we each say, Goodbye, room, and move on to the next. The Crawford family. Commission a painting When Stephanie Miles and her family moved out of their Portland, OR, house last year, it was important to say goodbye, because it was the first place my husband and I ever owned. It was also where we brought home our two sons. We couldnt just walk away without doing something special. A few weeks before leaving, Miles commissioned a painting of the home she had lived in for five years from Etsy artist Shauna Mailloux. The painting was the first thing we put up in our new house. As my boys get older and ask about all the places theyve lived, Ill be able to point to the painting, Miles says. Maybe it will help them remember that time in our lives. To commemorate her old home, Stephanie Miles commissioned a painting of it to hang in her new one. Put up an art installation When Gary Sweeney sold his childhood home in Manhattan Beach, NY, in February, he had one condition for the buyer: Let him put up one final art installation as a farewell. The result: A Manhattan Beach Memoir: 19452015, which pays homage to his life there by covering the walls, both inside and out, in 100 enlarged photos his dad took of them as kids. Story continues My father took a million pictures of us, Sweeney told ABC News. The hardest part was deciding which ones would make the cut. People came from across the country to see this tribute before the house was torn down. While Sweeney is sad he had to move out, the project really softens the blow. Gather seeds for sowing Ive often found myself leaving behind gorgeous plants and fruit trees that Ive spent years nurturing, says Monica Rivera, an income property expert. Repotting smaller plants or taking seeds from the fruit trees is a great way to say goodbye and take a little of your previous home with you. I have a loquat tree that Ive regrown through three homes, and it is absolutely gorgeous. Monica Rivera's loquat tree. Do one thing there you never got to earlier After Cheri Brennans parents died, she and her three siblings agreed keeping their childhood home in Kirkland, WA, wasnt feasible. They decided to subdivide it. Still, the siblings wanted to honor the only home we ever knew growing up. Mom always wanted to have an authentic luau, complete with a roasted pig cooked in the ground. We decided to have that luau after all, and invited all my parents close friends. A good time was had by allincluding a few extra laughs when the fire department came after getting a call about all the smoke. The Brennan siblings at their "Aloha" party (left to right): Tom, Cheri, Janine and Tim. Get it on videotape When Canadian Jesse Harrison immigrated to the U.S., his first home was a two-bedroom in Beverly Hills, CA. When the time came to move away, he made sure his camcorder had the right date and just started filming everythingthe bedrooms, bathrooms, living room, kitchen, and hallways. I still cant watch it though, its too emotional. More from realtor.com: The Home Features That Help Sell a Home the Fastest The post Sweet Ways to Say Goodbye to Your Home appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. Related Articles By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - International financial messaging service SWIFT told clients on Friday to share information on attacks on the system to help prevent hacking, after criminals used SWIFT messages to steal $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank. Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported that Wells Fargo (WFC.N), Ecuador's Banco del Austro (BDA) and Citibank (C.N), whose managing director, Franchise Risk & Strategy, Yawar Shah, is SWIFT's chairman, did not inform SWIFT of an attack last year in which more than $12 million was stolen from BDA. The banks and Shah all declined to comment on why they did not inform SWIFT. Banks use secure SWIFT messages for issuing payment instructions to each other. The network is considered the backbone of international finance but faith in its security has been rocked by the theft from Bank Bangladesh's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. SWIFT said in a communication to users on Friday that they should "immediately inform SWIFT of any suspected fraudulent use of their institution's SWIFT connectivity or related to SWIFT products and services." SWIFT spokeswoman Natasha de Teran said banks whose SWIFT systems had been hacked should inform SWIFT. She said she was unable to say whether banks, such as Wells Fargo, that received messages they later discovered were fraudulent, should inform SWIFT. SWIFT has a role to play in educating its members about cyber threats, said Doug Johnson, senior risk adviser at the American Bankers Association, noting there were disparate levels of security across financial institutions globally. The ABA is a powerful lobby group for the U.S. banking industry. This is a teachable moment for everybody who uses the SWIFT system to recognise that there is an effort by criminals underway to compromise the end points of companies using that system, Johnson said in a statement to Reuters after SWIFT communicated to its users on Friday. SWIFT is especially concerned about the use of malware to access interfaces with the SWIFT network. The Belgium-based co-operative, which is owned by its user banks, said it needed technical information from systems which have been compromised with malware to better understand the risks of attack. Story continues Malware was used in the hacks on Bank Bangladesh in February and in the BDA case in January 2015. "It is essential that you share critical security information related to SWIFT with us, "SWIFT said. SWIFT told clients it would notify them as soon as possible of cases where malware had been used to attack systems "so that you can better target your preventative and detective efforts". SWIFT did not inform clients about the BDA theft because it was unaware of it, a spokeswoman told Reuters. (Additional reporting by Elizabeth Dilts in New York; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Matthew Lewis) (Adds comment from American Bankers Association) By Tom Bergin LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - International financial messaging service SWIFT told clients on Friday to share information on attacks on the system to help prevent hacking, after criminals used SWIFT messages to steal $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank. Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported that Wells Fargo , Ecuador's Banco del Austro (BDA) and Citibank, whose managing director, Franchise Risk & Strategy, Yawar Shah, is SWIFT's chairman, did not inform SWIFT of an attack last year in which more than $12 million was stolen from BDA. The banks and Shah all declined to comment on why they did not inform SWIFT. Banks use secure SWIFT messages for issuing payment instructions to each other. The network is considered the backbone of international finance but faith in its security has been rocked by the theft from Bank Bangladesh's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. SWIFT said in a communication to users on Friday that they should "immediately inform SWIFT of any suspected fraudulent use of their institution's SWIFT connectivity or related to SWIFT products and services." SWIFT spokeswoman Natasha de Teran said banks whose SWIFT systems had been hacked should inform SWIFT. She said she was unable to say whether banks, such as Wells Fargo, that received messages they later discovered were fraudulent, should inform SWIFT. SWIFT has a role to play in educating its members about cyber threats, said Doug Johnson, senior risk adviser at the American Bankers Association, noting there were disparate levels of security across financial institutions globally. The ABA is a powerful lobby group for the U.S. banking industry. "This is a teachable moment for everybody who uses the SWIFT system to recognize that there is an effort by criminals underway to compromise the end points of companies using that system," Johnson said in a statement to Reuters after SWIFT communicated to its users on Friday. Story continues SWIFT is especially concerned about the use of malware to access interfaces with the SWIFT network. The Belgium-based co-operative, which is owned by its user banks, said it needed technical information from systems which have been compromised with malware to better understand the risks of attack. Malware was used in the hacks on Bank Bangladesh in February and in the BDA case in January 2015. "It is essential that you share critical security information related to SWIFT with us, "SWIFT said. SWIFT told clients it would notify them as soon as possible of cases where malware had been used to attack systems "so that you can better target your preventative and detective efforts". SWIFT did not inform clients about the BDA theft because it was unaware of it, a spokeswoman told Reuters. (Additional reporting by Elizabeth Dilts in New York; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Matthew Lewis) By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - International financial messaging service SWIFT told clients on Friday to share information on attacks on the system to help prevent hacking, after criminals used SWIFT messages to steal $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank. Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported that Wells Fargo , Ecuador's Banco del Austro (BDA) and Citibank , whose managing director, Franchise Risk & Strategy, Yawar Shah, is SWIFT's chairman, did not inform SWIFT of an attack last year in which more than $12 million was stolen from BDA. The banks and Shah all declined to comment on why they did not inform SWIFT. Banks use secure SWIFT messages for issuing payment instructions to each other. The network is considered the backbone of international finance but faith in its security has been rocked by the theft from Bank Bangladesh's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. SWIFT said in a communication to users on Friday that they should "immediately inform SWIFT of any suspected fraudulent use of their institution's SWIFT connectivity or related to SWIFT products and services." SWIFT spokeswoman Natasha de Teran said banks whose SWIFT systems had been hacked should inform SWIFT. She said she was unable to say whether banks, such as Wells Fargo, that received messages they later discovered were fraudulent, should inform SWIFT. SWIFT has a role to play in educating its members about cyber threats, said Doug Johnson, senior risk adviser at the American Bankers Association, noting there were disparate levels of security across financial institutions globally. The ABA is a powerful lobby group for the U.S. banking industry. This is a teachable moment for everybody who uses the SWIFT system to recognise that there is an effort by criminals underway to compromise the end points of companies using that system, Johnson said in a statement to Reuters after SWIFT communicated to its users on Friday. SWIFT is especially concerned about the use of malware to access interfaces with the SWIFT network. The Belgium-based co-operative, which is owned by its user banks, said it needed technical information from systems which have been compromised with malware to better understand the risks of attack. Malware was used in the hacks on Bank Bangladesh in February and in the BDA case in January 2015. "It is essential that you share critical security information related to SWIFT with us, "SWIFT said. SWIFT told clients it would notify them as soon as possible of cases where malware had been used to attack systems "so that you can better target your preventative and detective efforts". SWIFT did not inform clients about the BDA theft because it was unaware of it, a spokeswoman told Reuters. (Additional reporting by Elizabeth Dilts in New York; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Matthew Lewis) AT&T's Notes: Jefferies Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference (Continued from Prior Part) AT&Ts scale in the telecom market In the earlier parts of this series, we learned about some updates from AT&T (T). Now, we will take a broad look at the value proposition of the company among select telecom companies in the US. Lets start with AT&Ts size. On May 13, 2016, AT&T was the worlds largest telecom company by market capitalization. China Mobile (CHL) followed AT&T in this parameter. The third-largest global telecom company by market capitalization was Verizon (VZ) as of May 13, 2016. AT&Ts dividend yield AT&Ts (T) forward dividend yield was ~4.9% on May 13, 2016. It was higher than the same metric for Verizon at ~4.5%. The same figures for Frontier Communications (FTR) and CenturyLink (CTL) were ~8% and ~7.7%, respectively, on May 13, 2016. Enterprise value multiples of AT&T Now lets look at AT&Ts EV-to-EBITDA (enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) multiple. The integrated telecom company had a current year EV-to-EBITDA multiple of ~6.7x on May 13, 2016. This metric was slightly lower than the comparable EV-to-EBITDA multiple for Verizon of ~6.9x. In the wireline telecom market in the US, the same figure for CenturyLink was ~5.2x on May 13, 2016. In the US mobile space, the EV-to-EBITDA metric of T-Mobile (TMUS) was ~5.8x on the same date. For a diversified exposure to select telecom companies in the US, you may consider investing in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). SPY held ~2.7% in AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ), CenturyLink (CTL), Frontier Communications (FTR), and Level 3 Communications (LVLT) at the end of April 2016. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: taco bell naked chicken Taco Bell is tentatively planning to nationally launch a taco that swaps a tortilla for fried chicken. The "Naked Chicken Chalupa" hasn't yet been approved for national launch, but tests have been encouraging so far, reports BuzzFeed News. Taco Bell began testing the fried chicken shell in Bakersfield, California as the "Naked Crispy Chicken Taco" last September, expanding the test to locations in Kansas City in April. The Naked Chicken Chalupa is stuffed with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and avocado ranch sauce a combination that is resulting in some surprising customer reactions. "We were getting feedback like, 'It's so healthy. It's so fresh," Kat Garcia, Taco Bell's senior manager of marketing, told BuzzFeed News. "That really surprised us because it's fried chicken." While a taco with a fried chicken shell is a new phenomenon, the product is reminiscent of a dish from another Yum Brands chain: KFC's Double Down, which launched in 2010. double down The sandwich, which stuck cheese and bacon between two fried chicken fillets, went viral after it was announced on April Fool's Day. While the sandwich gained notoriety, however, it also may have hurt long-term customer perception of KFC. "People look at the Double Down and what do they think? Frankenfood, right?" KFC CMO Kevin Hochman told Business Insider. "The sad thing is that somebody in the back of the house was hand breading fillets and making the Double Down." Today, KFC is trying to convince customers its food is high-quality and reliable a perception that the Double Down may have damaged. "You can't just pivot from Double Downs to 'We make fried chicken in the back of the house' overnight," says Hochman. With plans to launch the Naked Chicken Chalupa, could Taco Bell be making the same mistake? The Mexican chain may not prioritize health or authenticity in its marketing, but the brand has made some major efforts to appeal to health conscious customers. Story continues While the Naked Chicken Chalupa may seem like a good idea in the short term, as curious customers boost sales, Taco Bell needs to be careful not to follow the Double Down down a dangerous path. NOW WATCH: Heres how many calories are in 6 of the most popular fast-food kids meals More From Business Insider Mark Mobius Discussed Emerging Markets at the SALT Conference (Continued from Prior Part) Best performance The best performance made by Mark Mobiuss Templeton Emerging Markets Group was an investment in Brazil (EWZ) in 19951996. The economy was supported by the business standard maintained by the companies. He mentioned the company named AmBev (ABEV). Management was involved in all of the aspects within the company. Mobius said that this was impressive. Current investments Currently, his group is mainly investing in commodities (DBC) and commodity-related stocks. Since commodity prices already touched their bottom in January 2016, theyre expecting upside. The group is also bullish on consumer discretionary (XLY) and consumer staples (XLP) stocks. Consumerism is the most important economic growth driver. Its mainly bullish on household appliances and soft drink companies. Worst performance Templeton Emerging Markets Group made a lot of wrong investment decisions. However, the worst decision was an investment in Indonesia (EIDO). The group invested in a pulp and paper company. The company fooled investors. Mobiuss group was only able to recover some of its money. Its important to note that the returns provided by the good companies cover some of the losses from the bad companies. In the next part, well analyze how the Feds decision is going to impact emerging markets (EEM) (VWO) (EDC) performance. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: By Marice Richter DALLAS (Reuters) - A Texas teenager convicted of capital murder will be released next month after serving five years in custody for killing his girlfriends mother and stepfather when he was 13 years old, authorities said on Friday. Dallas County Juvenile District Court Judge Andrea Martin ruled this week that the teen, convicted in juvenile court of killing the adults because they were interfering with his sexual relations with the then 12-year-old girl, will move to a halfway house on his 19th birthday. He will be at the house for at least six months and then serve out the remainder of his 28-year sentence on parole, according to Bill Edwards, assistant director of Dallas County Juvenile Services. Both he and his girlfriend pleaded guilty in 2011 to the August 2010 shooting deaths of Alan and Darlene Nevil of the Dallas suburb of Garland. The girl was sentenced to 20 years and will have a similar transfer hearing to consider whether she will be released closer to her 19th birthday next year. Neither of the youths has been publicly identified because of their ages at the time the crime. The case captured national attention because of the brutality of the crime that was methodically carried out with the shooting of each adult as they arrived home from work. The two youths were found by police shortly after the slayings at a nearby apartment celebrating by having sex. "These decisions are difficult to make," Edwards said. "There is an element in our system that supports rehabilitation of juveniles and another that prefers that punishment be carried out." The youth's hearing in Dallas County was closed to the public. Edwards said several witnesses from the Texas Juvenile Justice Department recommended the youth be placed on parole because of good behavior during his incarceration. Nevil family members were outraged by the judge's ruling. "Why would you let someone out after you murder two people, only serving five years?," Susan Nevil, Alan Nevils daughter told local broadcaster WFAA-TV. (Reporting by Marice Richter; Editing by Jon Herskovitz and Andrew Hay) By Amy Tennery May 20 (Reuters) - A Texas woman found fame this week after filming a Facebook Live video of herself in an electronic Chewbacca mask that racked up over 50 million views in less than 24 hours. Candace Payne recorded the video in a department store parking lot on Thursday. Chewbacca is a fictional character from the "Star Wars" movie series and adventurer Han Solo's sidekick. The mask emits a guttural sort of whine, characteristic of Wookiees, that Payne triggered when she opened her mouth. "I'm such a happy Chewbacca!" Payne exclaims, while laughing. "This is worth every penny!" "Chewbacca" began trending on Twitter in the United States on Friday, with users of the social media platform cheering the video. "If you haven't seen the Chewbacca mask lady video yet, you are missing out on a few minutes of pure joy," tweeted Gabe! Ortiz (@TUSK81). "Can we all agree that this reaction to a Chewbacca mask is everything?" tweeted Kohl's (@Kohls), where Payne said she bought the mask. "Laugh. It. Up," tweeted Star Wars' official Twitter account (@starwars). A Kohl's spokeswoman said the Chewbacca mask has sold out online. As for Payne, a subsequent Facebook post indicated that she is enjoying the reaction. "Thanks for all the feels, Internet webs," Payne wrote. "I mean it." (Reporting By Amy Tennery; Editing by Toni Reinhold) Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton has been on a bit of a losing streak lately. She did pull out a technical victory in the Kentucky primary on Tuesday, but she lost the Oregon contest and simply cannot shake Democratic challenger Bernie Sanders . To make matters worse, her national poll numbers against Donald Trump are also starting to sag. Two of those polls now show Mrs. Clinton behind Trump, and one poll shows her unfavorable ratings soaring to an all-time high. So, what's Hillary doing wrong? The answer is: a lot of things. But let's narrow it down to the three biggest dumb things she and her campaign continue to do. Is there a coffee table book called "Platitudes for Every Occasion?" If so, Hillary definitely owns it. Worse, she seems to have been consulting it as her primary political guidebook since 1999. It's sad that a woman who based her earlier career thinking boldly about policies and taking ideological risks has been positively boring, cautious, and predictable ever since she first became a candidate for the Senate. Even on a new media platform like Twitter, Clinton's statements are still as rigid as an old-style direct mail pamphlet. Really? I guess Hillary didn't get the memo, but it's not exactly the policy statements that have set the world on fire for Trump and even Sanders. It's the fact that both of them always seem to be talking and especially Tweeting in a natural, real, and definitely un-sanitized way. As academic and social critic Camille Paglia noted earlier this week, Mrs. Clinton's campaign messages and operation seem "slow and heavy," and like the "admiral of a bullion-laden armada of Spanish galleons, a low-in-the-water easy mark as they creak and sway amid the rolling swells." It's not going to be easy for Clinton to come off as off-the-cuff as Trump does, but that's okay. Plenty of voters are uneasy about that anyway. But she needs to loosen up and at least make it look more like she's the one actually making the statements and Tweeting, and not just saying or typing something her massive campaign staff and handlers have vetted for six days first. Story continues Another good way to do this right would be to talk and Tweet about a few things that have nothing to do with politics once in a awhile. Being non-political from time to time is good way to humanize yourself. Surely she must have some interests that aren't political right? Looking to mine Trump's high unfavorables isn't a bad idea, but Hillary should leave that to the negative ad masters and chose her own topics. Like the 16 GOP candidates Trump eviscerated in the primaries, she is making the mistake of spending most of her time focused on him and refuting his statements and supposed policies. That leaves a lot of undecided moderate voters wondering what Mrs. Clinton is for exactly. So far, anyone asking that question is just seeing a lot of platitudes, (see mistake #1), and that's not nearly enough in a year when the voting public is angrier and hungrier for change. But Hillary's mistake in this area is even bigger when you consider she's spent more than a week now clamoring for Trump to release his tax returns. In fact, it appears to be her top political goal at the moment. I'm not sure how many Clinton staffers think it's a good idea to impugn the integrity of someone based on a refusal to fully release documents, but those people need to be fired or at least reassigned to the Clinton Foundation right away. For a woman who's been dogged by unreleased financial documents, destroyed emails, and wiped servers for the better part of 25 years now, this is simply not the smart path to take. And with her legal status still in doubt over her State Department email scandal, this is like the pot calling the kettle black on steroids. Similarly unwise is her continued insistence on bringing up women's issues as much as possible. Here's another memo to the Hillary camp: you've already got the feminist vote sewn up. But the more you talk about women's issues, the more license Trump has to attack Bill Clinton's long record of sexual scandals and accusations. And every time Trump does that, Mrs. Clinton falls in the polls. Shutting up about all the women's issues we already know Hillary supports would be a win/win. This is a dicey one to be sure, as it's always hard for the new presidential candidate from the incumbent party to break out of the shadow of the sitting two-term president. But Sanders' stubborn popularity is daily proof that a lot of Democratic Party voters are clearly not satisfied with the Obama agenda and record. Some experts believe Hillary's been especially hindered from appearing to oppose the Obama White House because she's so desperately in need of a large African American voter turnout that only President Obama's strong support can ensure, and there's a chance the administration could do something to encourage the Department of Justice to indict her over the email investigation. But in 2008 and now, an overly cautious approach has doomed both of Hillary Clinton's national campaigns to the point that it really turns the voters off. If she could choose to oppose an Obama administration policy that does not define the White House but still has all voters at least uneasy, it might just work to set her apart. One such issue is the NSA's massively boosted surveillance programs during the last seven years. Not only would that attract some voter attention if it were done right and without the usual mealy mouthed approach, but it might also win Hillary even more fans and donors from Silicon Valley. As noted above, there's a lot more wrong with the Clinton campaign. The fact that she still can't decidedly defeat a 74-year-old backbencher socialist Senator who only officially joined her party last year and is also starting to weaken vs. an undisciplined political neophyte like Trump prove that beyond a doubt. But if she would focus on fixing or at least improving her top three problems right now, Hillary might be able to salvage her political future. Commentary by Jake Novak, supervising producer of " Power Lunch ." Follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. More From CNBC CAIRO (Reuters) - Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived at Cairo International Airport early Friday morning to help investigate the fate of a missing EgyptAir plane that disappeared on Thursday, airport sources said. The French investigators are part of the French civil aviation ministry's office of investigations and analysis, the sources said. France is participating in an Egypt-led investigative committee as it is the country where the plane was manufactured and the one with the second-most number of passengers, 15, on board. A total of 66 people where on board, 30 of them Egyptian. (Reporting by Abdelnasser Aboelfadl; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Dominic Evans) JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African sugar producer Tongaat Hulett flagged on Friday an 18 percent drop in full-year profit due to drought, which hit its main sugar growing regions. Headline earnings per share (EPS) for the year ended March are expected to have fallen 17.9 percent to 678 cents, Africa's second biggest sugar producer said in a statement. An El Nino-induced drought in southern Africa has crippled production of maize, sugar and other agricultural products. Tongaat Hulett said its total annual sugar production was expected to have fallen 291,000 tonnes to 1,023 million as the drought scorched sugar cane fields, with the biggest drop coming from South Africa which saw a 40 percent drop in output. Illovo Sugar last week warned its full-year profit could decline as much as 70 percent due to drought conditions. [nJseI0014a] Tongaat Hulett's shares were down 0.43 percent at 112.56 rand by 1355 GMT. (Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by Mark Potter) Chicago Med actress Torrey DeVitto and Dancing With the Stars pro Artem Chigvintsev are the new power couple in Hollywood, after meeting earlier this month. A source close to DeVitto confirmed to ET that the 31-year-old actress started dating the 33-year-old dancer after mutual friends set them up on a blind date. "It's all very brand new," the source said. "They're having fun." WATCH: DWTS Pro Kym Johnson and Robert Herjavec Are 'Still on Cloud Nine' -- and They're Ready to Hurry Down the Aisle! Both DeVitto and Chigvintsev -- who was rumored to be dating his former DWTS partner Mischa Barton last month -- attended the Philosophy Hope & Grace Luncheon for Mental Health Month on Thursday in Los Angeles, California, and an onlooker told ET that the two were "quite close," even holding hands as they left the event for a dinner date. DeVitto spoke about her battle with anxiety at the luncheon, and when she was finished, Chigvintsev -- who was seated at the same table as her -- was seen sweetly hugging and kissing her on the cheek. ET also chatted with DeVitto about her anxiety and how it affects her TV career. "For me, I feel like there's a lot of shame that's involved with people, you know, admitting that they have anxiety," she said. "You need to know and understand that it doesn't take away from your power in the workplace or your power as a person or as a woman or a man. You can still be all those powerful things and have anxiety or still be depressed. I just think people should feel comfortable talking about it. It's totally OK." EXCLUSIVE: Bethenny Frankel on Re-Entering the Dating World -- 'It Was Very Natural' DeVitto added that her Chicago Med co-stars have been very understanding about her struggle with anxiety. "I've been really lucky to work with such amazing people," she gushed. "I'm just always very vocal about things, and I feel like once you stop locking it in, it kind of helps release the symptoms as well." Story continues EXCLUSIVE: Paige VanZant Addresses Rumored Romance with DWTS Pro Alan Bersten Related Articles From ELLE DECOR If you're vacationing in Thailand soon, you should know there's a bit of trouble in paradise. According to the Bangkok Post, Koh Tachai a Similan Island off the coast of the Phang Nga province will be closing to all visitors indefinitely because of "overcrowding and the degradation of natural resources and the environment" from tourists. Tanya Nethithammakul, director general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation, pointed to litter, food waste, damage to blue coral, and gasoline from tour boats seeping into the ocean to the deterioration of the island's ecosystem. Yikes. Nethithammakul told CNN that while the island could accommodate a few hundred tourists a day, in reality, there were likely more than 2,000 daily visitors. Marketed to tourists as the "Maldives of Thailand," CNN reports that the island has no hotels, and most visitors take a day trip to Koh Tachai from other locations. It is typical for marine national parks in Thailand to close from mid-May to mid-October during monsoon season, according to HuffPost Travel. But this may well be the first time an island has ever closed due to tourists' influence. This isn't the first time tourists have trashed Thailand. As HuffPost Travel notes, when the Phi Phi Islands were featured in "The Beach," a film released in 2000 starring Leonardo DiCaprio, tourism boomed. Then, last summer, the spot reached a "critical" situation prompting locals to call on the government for aid with their natural resources, as tourists and tourist boats damaged coral while snorkeling. If you're still hoping to visit the area soon, don't fret: Nethithammakul told the New York Times that the Thai government is discussing ways to accommodate an increasing number of tourists and does not intend to close all islands. For now, it's probably best to head to a spot less travelled. h/t: HuffPost Travel Life may never be perfect for transgender people in Bolivia, but its about to get a little bit easier. Thats because a law allowing individuals to change their name and gender identity was just approved by the Bolivian lower house. The law will move to the countrys Senate on Friday afternoon, where it is likely to pass. Transgender women attending the legislative session reportedly cried as the Law on Gender Identity was approved. We are very happy, Alex Bernabe, the director of the Bolivian advocacy group Igualdad LGBT, told Foreign Policy in a phone interview. He added, However, we very much agree with our transgender colleagues that this is just a first step. The law is not going to solve all the problems and all of the precariousness in which transgender and transexual people are now living. With the law, Bolivia will join Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, England, and Spain in passing laws to make it easier for transgender people to change their gender identity. Argentinas laws are the most liberal, allowing trans people to change their gender identity without a medical diagnosis and even guaranteeing free hormone treatment and gender reassignment surgery to those who need it. Many U.S. states still require surgery in order to change the gender marker on a government-issued ID. In 2010, the U.S. state department began requiring appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition to the new gender instead of surgery to change ones gender identity on passport and consular documents. The Bolivian law will require an interview with a psychologist in order to change ones name and gender. Only a law can return life and the possibility of happiness to the hundreds of people that suffer discrimination and violence that can even result in death, Gabriela Montano, the head of the lower house of the Bolivian parliament, said during the session. Bolivian transgender people still face extreme discrimination and vulnerability, Bernabe told FP, including higher rates of HIV, rejection by families and schools, and risky black market gender reassignment procedures. Story continues Still, he said that for trans people, the new Law on Gender Identity dignifies their life, so we are receiving it with lots happiness, hope, and excitement. If the Senate approves the law, it will head to President Evo Morales. Though Morales has not commented on whether he will sign it, the law was originally proposed by his administrations Ministry of Justice. Photo credit: AIZAR RALDES/AFP/Getty Images Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Bob Gates found himself on the receiving end of Donald Trumps barbed tongue Friday. Gates had publicly criticized the presumptive Republican presidential candidates foreign policy proposals and temperament several times the day before. He said some of Trumps statements such as making Japan and South Korea pay more for U.S. military resources could spur others to take steps that would undermine cooperation with our allies. Mika Brzezinski, co-host of Morning Joe, asked Trump to respond to this criticism during a Friday interview. The comments are wrong. He knows nothing about me. He knows nothing about what I said, Trump replied. Im not a big fan of his, by the way. Look at where our country is with years of him being involved. We are a mess. He continued: I know he has a great reputation and all of that. All of these guys have a great reputation. Theyve been doing this stuff for 15 years. Look where our country is, OK? Trump also defended his argument that the U.S. cannot afford to protect other nations without being reimbursed. And Bob Gates, who I dont know at all, but Bob Gates has no idea. See, they are misrepresenting and hes misrepresenting, he jabbed. Brzezinski, who described Gates as one of the greatest foreign policy minds in history, said part of Gates concern is over the way Trump might express himself as commander in chief. She cited his recent tweet about the EgyptAir flight that disappeared Thursday over the Mediterranean Sea as an example that he may be too trigger-happy with his words. Trump quickly blamed terrorism, though authorities were still investigating. Looks like yet another terrorist attack. Airplane departed from Paris. When will we get tough, smart and vigilant? Great hate and sickness! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2016 The day before on Morning Joe, Gates took issue with Trumps tweet. He said that people with responsibility learn quickly that early reports of a situation often turn out to be inaccurate. He said many politicians dont have the discipline hold off until all the facts come in. Story continues I think it prejudges the outcome, and lets just suppose that it turns out not to be a terrorist event, Gates said. Then what do you say having made these allegations and so on? So its always better to wait until you actually know what the facts are before you open up. I realize thats a very unusual thing in American politics, but it ought to be tried occasionally. Brzezinski asked Trump if there was any validity to the concern that tweets like his one about the EgyptAir flight might generate panic and anger. Im thinking of the future, Trump replied. We cannot continue to let things like this happen. We are being taken advantage of by radical Islamic terrorists, and this world is changing. By Emily Flitter LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump assured gun owners on Friday he would protect their constitutional right to bear arms and eliminate gun-free zones if elected, accusing Democrat Hillary Clinton of wanting to weaken gun rights. Trump, who will almost certainly be the Republican presidential nominee, picked up the endorsement of the National Rifle Association, a politically powerful lobbying group which claims more than 4 million members. Trump's remarks at the NRA's national convention in Louisville, Kentucky, were not a surprise, but they could solidify his status among conservatives who see protecting the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment as a top priority. Trump also planned to meet on Monday with U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, a source close to the Trump campaign said. The two are expected to consult on foreign policy. The source said Corker remains on Trump's list of potential vice presidential running mates. Clinton, who is close to clinching the Democratic Party's nomination for the Nov. 8 election, has vowed to take on the gun lobby and expand gun control measures to include comprehensive background checks for gun buyers, including at open-air gun shows and online. Trump, who is trying to unite the Republican Party behind him after a brutal primary battle, accused Clinton, a former secretary of state to President Barack Obama, of wanting to end the 2nd Amendment, which says in part that the people's right to keep and bear arms "shall not be infringed." "Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment, not change it; she wants to abolish it," Trump said. Clinton campaign senior policy adviser Maya Harris said Trump is peddling falsehoods and denounced "Donald Trump's conspiracy theories." She said Clinton believes there are "common-sense steps we can take at the federal level to keep guns out of the hands of criminals" while protecting the Second Amendment. Trump told the NRA he would eliminate gun-free zones imposed in some areas, noting that the 2015 shooting deaths of four U.S. Marines at an armed forces recruiting center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, took place in a gun-free zone. "The Second Amendment is on the ballot in November," he said. "The only way to save our Second Amendment is to vote for a person you know: Donald Trump." The NRA's convention took place on the same day that a man brandished a gun at a checkpoint near the White House in Washington and was shot and wounded by a law enforcement officer. The New York billionaire's NRA speech was another step in his drive to make more conservatives comfortable with his candidacy. Earlier this week, he released a list of 11 potential Supreme Court nominees who are conservative jurists, a step well-received on the right. Many conservatives, who had backed other Republican candidates in the 2016 race, worry that Trump is a closet liberal on many issues. But Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, said it was time for them to get over their qualms about the 69-year-old candidate. "If your preferred candidate is out of the race, it's time to get over it," Cox told the NRA audience. "Are there valid arguments in favor of some over others? Sure. Will any of it matter if Hillary wins in November? Not one bit." In another step toward trying to unify the party, Cox has invited members of Congress to a small roundtable discussion with one of Trump's sons, Donald Trump Jr., on Wednesday at the Capitol Hill Club near the U.S. Capitol, a copy of the invitation said. (Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Susan Cornwell in Washington; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) To the extent that Donald Trump has any definable public policy positions, the main one is that middle-class Americans have been battered by trade policies written to favor other countries at our expense. Bernie Sanders doesnt put it quite the same way, but he attacks trade deals for benefiting corporate profits over American workers. Even Hillary Clinton moved away from supporting the Obama Administrations long-sought Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. What unites every remaining presidential candidate against the dominant consensus on trade for decades is a belief that the benefits dont outweigh the costs that U.S. workers are hurt by modern trade deals more than they are helped, and that whatever comes in the form of lower prices on goods doesnt do enough to offset that. Well, now we have substantive proof of that, from an independent body that is typically inclined to support the consensus on trade agreements. A government-mandated study into the effect of the TPP finds that it wouldnt actually move the needle on the economy very much at all, though it would displace manufacturing workers, facilitating that sectors race to the bottom on labor costs. Related: Members to AFL-CIO Head Trumka Whose Side Are You On? The study is actually required by the trade agreement approval process. Under trade promotion authority, also known as fast-track, which allows the president to negotiate trade agreements and bring them back to Congress for approval without filibusters or the opportunity for amendment, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) must write a report spelling out the likely economic outcome of the proposed deal. The ITC report on TPP came out on Wednesday. The panel is balanced, with three Democrats and three Republicans. Many experts complain that the ITC methodology systematically undercounts the impact of trade deals, because it assumes that every worker displaced by trade will find a new job, along with no real change in the trade deficit. It also doesnt account for currency manipulation, the greatest driver of trade deficits. Story continues ITC has been wildly wrong before. It predicted a trade surplus from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) when we actually got a deficit, and it predicted far smaller deficits from Chinas entry into the World Trade Organization. Related: China Is Buying Up US Companies Does Anyone Care? But even with that caveat, the top-line findings are striking for how negligible they are. The ITC estimates that in 2032, or fifteen years after the agreement went into effect, real gross domestic product would only be 0.15 percent higher than if we did nothing at all. In addition, employment would be, according to the estimate, 0.07 percent higher. Im not sure we can talk with specificity about the impact of a thousand-page agreement 15 years into the future. Some studies have shown positive impact to the economy from the TPP, some negative. But if the ITC conducted the most careful, dispassionate analysis of how a post-TPP world looks, then theyre telling us that its barely a blip on the radar screen. As Public Citizen wrote in a statement, The ITC projects that the United States would be as wealthy on January 1, 2032 with TPP as it would be on February 15, 2032 without the TPP. This is diametrically opposed to how the administration has been selling the pact. Earlier this month, President Obama wrote in The Washington Post, once the TPP is in place, American businesses will export more of what they make. And that means supporting more higher-paying jobs. Actually, while the ITC report finds that, in 2032, U.S. exports would increase by $27.2 billion, thats completely nullified by the fact that imports would increase by $48.9 billion. So TPPs implementation would widen our overall trade deficit. Related: The Pentagon Is Endangering Our Economic Ties With China As for higher-paying jobs, real income increases by a whopping 0.23 percent in 15 years, according to the report. And the biggest gainers would be in the agriculture and food sector, staffed at the ground level by mostly low-wage workers. Output in manufacturing, natural resources and energy, writes the ITC, would be $10.8 billion (0.1 percent) lower with the TPP Agreement. The result is similarly negligible, but for these higher-wage sectors, its negative. In fact, 16 of the 25 economic sectors studied in the report see worse outcomes after TPP implementation. The Obama administration countered this study by saying that it doesnt take into account all the great benefits of TPP. What cannot be quantified in this study or any other is the cost to American leadership if we fail to pass TPP and allow China to carve up the Asia-Pacific through their own trade agreement, said Michael Froman, the U.S. trade representative. Warning of diminished U.S. leadership is always the last refuge of a scoundrel. But in this case, its particularly laughable. According to the ITC, U.S. exports would grow faster than imports among TPP members, but that would get canceled out because imports would grow faster than exports with non-members. And our biggest non-TPP trading partner is China. So guess who ultimately benefits? Related: Bullet Trains May Finally Come to the US, Thanks to Chinese Investors While the ITC finds that the U.S. would receive fewer imports from China in textiles and footwear, as that business shifts to lower-cost countries like Vietnam and Malaysia, the report also predicts a battering for the auto parts sector. And weak rules of origin mean that up to 55 percent of a car could be made in China under the TPP agreement (and more textiles than is currently suspected as well). China will do fine whether theres a TPP or not. Meanwhile, what is mostly left out of the ITC analysis, though youd never hear it from the administration, is how corporate profits are guaranteed through stricter intellectual property laws, harmonized (that should read loosened) regulations and the ability to sue countries over lost profits under the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions. The real impetus for TPP is that corporations want to get insurance on their outsourcing operations. What it does for our economy is of more minimal significance. Related: 20 Companies That Have Slashed the Most Jobs in 2016 Ultimately, the economic benefits of trade rely on much more important considerations primarily exchange rates and whether countries intervene to devalue their currency, making their exports more attractive than these corporate-written agreements. Deals like TPP simply dont provide the economic juice that boosters claim. And the harms to sectors that have already been hit for decades from the negative consequences of globalization are usually not mitigated. So its no wonder that, however officials inside Washington like to tout trade agreements, anyone running to capture votes from people outside Washington on the left or the right oppose them. We need a new trade model that lifts up workers everywhere rather than a set of rules that boosts corporate profits. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Standing beneath a portrait of modern Chinas founding father Sun Yat-sen, Taiwans new President Tsai Ing-wen was sworn into office Friday, following her landslide victory in January elections that threatens to drive a wedge between the ever more independence-minded island and an increasingly hawkish Beijing. At this moment, Taiwans situation is very difficult, said Tsai in her inauguration speech. I invite every fellow citizen to carry the future of this country. Almost 700 dignitaries from 59 countries some in flamboyant national dress watched Tsai, leader of the Beijing-skeptic Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), receive the presidential seal at Taipeis Ching-kuo Hall. The 59-year-old former law professor takes over from outgoing Kuomintang (KMT, or Nationalist Party) President Ma Ying-jeou, who was ineligible for re-election after two four-year terms. That constitutional proviso was inconsequential, though: Taiwans flat-lining economy meant Mas approval rating dipped below double digits during his final stint in office, as a financially embattled populace railed against stagnant wages, rising costs and the perceived erosion of sovereignty of Mas closer ties to Beijing, especially as they failed to deliver the financial boost he banked on. The last couple of years of the Ma Ying-jeou administration pushed people into more ideologically pointed positions, says Rana Mitter, professor of the history and politics of modern China at Oxford University. The relationship [with China going forward] will be cooler, but I dont think in any sense we are likely to go back to the really bad days. Read More: Taiwan Elects Its First Female President A deterioration in cross-strait relations would have serious consequences for regional stability, given Taiwan is a staunch U.S. ally, and Washington and Beijing continue to spar over the latters expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea. In December, Washington inked a $1.83 billion arms package for Taiwan, much to Beijings ire, and the U.S. Navy has even been deployed when tensions heated up in the strait. Story continues The arms sale shows Americas commitment to Taiwan, says Zhu Feng, dean of the Institute of International Relations at Chinas Nanjing University. However, the U.S. would prefer to maintain the status quo rather than use Taiwan in a rebalancing strategy. That status quo Taiwan as a de facto independent nation yet, due to Chinese pressure, without international recognition is increasingly unsatisfactory to the islands 24 million people. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory despite the islands effective split from the mainland following the routed Nationalists flight across the strait at the end of the nations civil war in 1949. (Taiwans constitution claims the whole of the mainland also.) Nevertheless, ties have warmed considerably over recent years based upon the 1992 Consensus, which states that there is one China, even if both sides stubbornly insist that it is the legitimate power the geopolitical equivalent of agreeing to disagree. Tsais DPP refuses to acknowledge the 1992 Consensus, though, historically favoring formal independence, a prospect Beijing insists would herald a military response. Still, Tsai pragmatically obfuscated this key point within the DPPs founding charter in the recent campaign. Zhu takes this as a sign stability and workable communications between the two sides will continue. I dont think Tsai will suspend all the channels her predecessor has established, he says, and I dont think Beijing will use the upper hand policy to tightly corner Taiwan. Tsai made nods towards reconciliation in her inauguration speech, describing the 1992 Consensus as a historical fact and highlighting Taiwans current constitutional system, which is based upon One China, even if she did not explicitly endorse that key principle. A crowd of 20,000 gathered to witness the inauguration, with a float dedicated to Sunflower Movement a student-led popular uprising that occupied the national parliament in 2014 in protest of stealthy trade deals Ma signed with the mainland prominent in the parade. Taiwan has been a model citizen in global civil society, Tsai told the crowd, Since our democratization, we have persisted in upholding the universal values of peace, freedom, democracy and human rights. Read More: 3 Things China Wants From Taiwan The relative status of China and Taiwan has shifted significantly since the last DPP administration was voted in 16 years ago a victory that plunged cross-strait relations to arguably their lowest ebb of recent times. In 2006, Chinese GDP was about six times that of Taiwan; today it is about 20 times, and six of Chinas 32 provinces have larger GDPs than Taiwan. China has more chips to bet on Taiwan, to press Taiwan for compromise, says Yang Tai-shuenn, professor of political science at Chinese Culture University in Taipei. Tsai certainly has plenty of work to do. Foremost will be revitalizing the now sluggish economy of what was once considering the worlds manufacturing powerhouse. Exports were $285 billion in 2015, down from $320 billion the year before. Taiwanese wages have not meaningfully increased since 2008, growth was less than 1% last year and youth unemployment is rising. Whereas Ma bet on closer links with China, the worlds second largest economy, Tsais Look South policy emphasizes trade with South, East and Southeast Asia. Tsai is also looking to encourage some of the Taiwanese businesses that have invested on the mainland to move home, and for Taiwan to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade bloc, despite local concerns about the safety of imported U.S. pork. Beijing typically thwarts Taipeis efforts to forge such links, though it is impotent in this case owing to its own shunning of the TPP. It is a bold strategy by Tsai though a risky one. The Taiwanese government is not so resourceful as before in the 1990s, and I strongly doubt how much the government will be able to subsidize businessmen to move away from China, says Yang. Tsai made broad election pledges, including boosting jobs for school and university graduates, improved care for the elderly, and developing Taiwans traditionally poorer southern regions. Such programs will be expensive, though, and considering the mainland accounts for 45% of Taiwans overseas direct investment, convincing businesses to diversify elsewhere will require significant incentives to offset the sizeable risks. There is a strong integration between the mainland and Taiwan, says Mitter, and it would be increasingly difficult for Taiwan, as a very advanced economy but a relatively small one, to declare that this huge economic giant on its doorstep hadnt relevance, and simply to look purely at partners further away, who in the end had less direct affinities toward Taiwan. The cost of cooling ties is already apparent. Thanks to Mas reconciliatory efforts, there are now 890 cross-strait flights each week from 61 mainland airports. But Chinese tourists to Taiwan, accounting for 40% of last years 4 million arrivals, have fallen by a fifth since Tsais election, according to Taiwans Tourism Bureau. Any further decline in this $10 billion per annum industry would be serious, says Yang. It is unclear what exactly has prompted the drop both sides blame the other though a patriotic backlash is manifest on Chinese social media. Read More: Mainland Chinese Students in Taiwan Dont Know How to Respond to the Elections I dont like our governments way of trying to influence the Taiwanese by benefiting them with trade, wrote one user on Chinas microblogging website Weibo this week. Separatists would rather be Americas dog than be Chinese We should be ruthless and make them feel pain, so they understand the situation. Another forum of tension may be the South China Sea. Beijing claims vast swaths of ocean plunging south from its coastline, marked by the so-called Nine-Dash Line, but this resource-rich territory is also claimed by a hatful of neighboring nations, including Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Singapore. Owing to their shared history, Mas administration had effectively backs Chinas claim of sovereignty over the disputed territory, even if Taipei insists it rather than Beijing is the legitimate power. Earlier this month, the government-linked Chinese (Taiwan) Society of International Law submitted written evidence to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, arguing Taiwans claims in the disputed waters, thus likely delaying what was an imminent decision on a complaint filed by Manila. However, given her more Taiwan-centric outlook, and being unbound by the shared principle of One China, Tsai Ing-wens administration may stay away from the South China Sea dispute, says Zhu. Read More: Behind TIMEs Cover With Taiwans Tsai Ing-wen Tsai will still have a tightrope to walk. Any independence chatter will herald a stern rebuke from Beijing, which will be especially unwilling to countenance secessionist rhetoric in the run up to next years 19th national congress of the Chinese Communist Party. Tsai has a reputation as the brain trust of the two-state lobby, says Yang, though may be persuaded to extend the pragmatism that characterized her election campaign into the Presidential Office. Banging the independence drum is how politicians score domestic popularity points, meaning Tsai will have to be alert to ensure moderate voices remain dominant. Tsai Ing-wen is a politician of a later generation, says Mitter. Shes been careful in not putting forward the Taiwan independence agenda in a very explicit way. Whether Tsais speech will placate Beijing remains to be seen. In what looked like a foreboding omen, Taipei Zoo was forced Tuesday to deny reports that Tuan Tuan, a giant panda gifted from China to Taiwan in 2008 and whose name means unity, had died the previous day. Zoo spokesman Eric Tsao rushed to insist that Tuan Tuan was in good health. Only time will tell whether cross-strait relations remain likewise. Ankara (AFP) - Turkey's parliament on Friday adopted a highly controversial bill that would lift immunity for dozens of pro-Kurdish and other MPs and could see them evicted from parliament, sparking fresh domestic and international concern. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will raise concerns over the legislation during a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan next week, his spokesman said. The EU is pressuring Ankara to narrow its definition of terror to stop prosecuting academics and journalists for publishing "terror propaganda." The bill was backed by 376 MPs in the 550-seat legislature, parliament speaker Ismail Kahraman said, meaning it will become law directly without being put to a referendum. Only 140 voted against the measure. Under current law, Turkish lawmakers have the right to full immunity from prosecution. The bill -- which still needs Erdogan's approval before becoming law -- would lift the immunity of 138 deputies from all parties who face potential prosecution. The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) says the measure is aimed at expelling its members from parliament. - 'Sword of Damocles'- The move could see dozens of HDP deputies facing criminal prosecution and losing parliamentary seats on accusations of supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency in the southeast. Erdogan has repeatedly made clear that Turkish authorities see "no difference" between individuals carrying weapons or indulging in "terrorist" propaganda. Aykan Erdemir, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the law would be a "sword of Damocles" hanging over the heads of opposition deputies, particularly pro-Kurdish MPs. "This is a historic step toward the dismantling of parliamentary democracy in Turkey. Turkey has taken another big step toward authoritarianism and one-man rule," he told AFP. Story continues Should a number of HDP deputies leave parliament, it would ease the way for Erdogan to realise his dream of changing the constitution to create a presidential system and further beef up his powers. The HDP, the third largest party group in parliament, has said the bill could lead to the prosecution of 50 HDP deputies out of its total contingent of 59. Selahattin Demirtas, the HDP co-leader who is already the target of criminal investigations, blasted what he termed a "coup" and said: "Parliament belongs to people, not the fascists." He said the party would use all legal means including resorting to the top constitutional court to annul the law. Erdogan's government sees the HDP as political front for the PKK considered a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies. Following the collapse of a two-year ceasefire in summer 2015, Turkey has been waging an intensive offensive against its militants and the renewed conflict has claimed hundreds of lives. Erdogan on Friday lauded the "historic" vote in parliament and said: "My people do not want to see guilty lawmakers in this parliament especially the supporters of the separatist terrorist organisation." - 'Concerns over democracy' - The legislation set off alarm bells over the state of democracy in a country aspiring to join the European Union. "For the domestic stability of every democracy, it is important for every relevant group in society to be also represented in parliament," Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said. "The situation will certainly be raised by the chancellor on the sidelines of the humanitarian summit with Turkey's president," he added, referring to the two-day gathering in Istanbul. Merkel, who spearheaded efforts to conclude a migrant deal with Ankara, has become a target of criticism for compromising on rights abuses in Turkey in return for its cooperation on curbing Europe's worst migrant crisis since World War II. EU interior ministers meanwhile on Friday adopted a so-called emergency brake that would allow the bloc to swiftly halt visa-free access to Europe for Turks and other nationalities if key conditions were violated. Visa-free travel to the EU is a key demand by Ankara in exchange for taking back migrants who land in Greece under the migrant deal and Erdogan has ruled out any change to Turkey's counter-terror laws while its army is battling PKK militants. The Turkish parliament's session opened with a group of opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmakers walking out in protest against parliament speaker Kahraman, who stirred controversy in April when he proposed a religious constitution. Before leaving the parliament floor ahead of the secret ballot, MPs chanted: "Turkey is secular and will remain so." The bill sparked violent scuffles in parliament this month with frustrated lawmakers exchanging fisticuffs and kicks. And it received initial support in a secret ballot on Tuesday. WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - U.S. home resales rose more than expected in April, suggesting the economy continues to gather pace during the second quarter. The National Association of Realtors said on Friday existing home sales increased 1.7 percent to an annual rate of 5.45 million units. March's sales pace was revised slightly higher to 5.36 million units from the previously reported 5.33 million units. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast home resales rising to a 5.40 million-unit pace last month. Sales were up 6.0 percent from a year ago. However, there were regional variations. Home sales surged in the Midwest by 12.1 percent last month and also rose in the Northeast while the South and West lost steam. The housing sector has been relatively buoyant, helped by an economy that is nearing full employment. Earlier this week U.S. housing starts also increased more than expected in April as builders ramped up the construction of single- and multi-family homes. The number of unsold homes on the market rose 9.2 percent to 2.14 million in April from March, but was down 3.6 percent compared to a year ago. "Housing shortage is still present," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. At April's sales pace, it would take 4.7 months to clear the stock of homes on the market, up from 4.4 months in March. A six-month supply is viewed as a healthy balance between supply and demand. The share of first-time homebuyers rose to 32 percent from 30 percent last month and a year ago. Nationwide, the median home price stood at $232,500. That was an increase of 6.3 percent from one year ago. It was the 50th consecutive month house prices rose on a year-on-year basis, Yun added. (Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Andrea Ricci) By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers are looking to use a defence policy bill to increase restrictions on military aid for Pakistan, expressing frustration with what they see as Islamabad's failure to crack down on Afghanistan's militant Haqqani network. The $602 billion National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, passed by the House of Representatives late on Wednesday would block $450 million in aid to Islamabad unless it does more to fight the network, which lawmakers see as a major threat to U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The bill requires the Pentagon to certify that Pakistan is conducting military operations to disrupt the Haqqani network, not letting the network use North Waziristan as a safe haven and actively coordinating with Afghanistan's government to fight the network along their border. As they finalized the 2017 version of the annual bill, House members added three amendments related to Pakistan. All passed by unanimous voice vote. One added a fourth requirement to the release of the aid, that the administration certify Pakistan has shown progress in arresting and prosecuting Haqqani network senior leaders and mid-level operatives. Another required that the Secretary of Defense certify Pakistan is not using its military or any funds or equipment provided by the United States to persecute minority groups. And a third added a "sense of Congress" that Shakil Afridi is an international hero and calls for his immediate release from prison. Afridi is a Pakistani doctor believed to have helped the CIA hunt down Osama bin Laden. Pakistan sentenced Afridi in 2012 to 33 years in jail on charges of belonging to a militant group, which he denies. That sentence was overturned and Afridi is now awaiting trial on another charge. Pakistan says its courts will decide Afridi's fate, and has angrily criticized U.S. politicians, including Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, over calls to release him. The House version of the NDAA is not the final version of the legislation. It must be combined with a Senate bill before being sent to the White House for President Barack Obama to sign, or veto. However, there is also strong criticism of Pakistan in the Senate. This month, Senator Bob Corker used his authority as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee to bar the use of any U.S. funds for Pakistan to buy American F-16 fighter jets. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Chris Reese) BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States said on Friday it was looking forward to working with whoever succeeds Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon, after he announced his resignation in protest at his portfolio being offered to far-rightist Avigdor Lieberman. "We appreciate Mr. Yaalon's leadership and partnership as defense minister and we look forward to working with his successor," State Department spokesman John Kirby said. "Our bonds of friendship are unbreakable, and our commitment to the security of Israel remains absolute." (Story refiles to add dropped word "our" in quote.) (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Alison Williams) By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations human rights office called on Mexico on Friday to properly investigate large-scale extrajudicial killings and bring those responsible to justice, including higher-ranking military officers. Mexico's military has been accused on multiple occasions of extrajudicial killings and torture during a decade-long war against the country's brutal drug cartels. Last week a Mexican judge acquitted three military personnel of the extrajudicial killing of 15 suspected gang members during a confrontation in June 2014 in Tlatlaya. "We are deeply concerned that almost two years after the commission of serious human rights violations in Tlatlaya in Mexico State, including the alleged summary execution of at least 12 people, the case remains mired in impunity and victims continue to be denied their rights to justice and the truth," U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a briefing. "We call on the Mexican authorities to ensure a thorough, effective, impartial, independent and prompt investigation into this emblematic case," she said. Investigations should be extended to all those who may be responsible, "including higher-level military officers who may hold command responsibility", as well as anyone who may have tampered with the crime scene, she added. Authorities said at the time that the dead were suspected drug gang members and that the military had acted in self-defense. A total of 22 people died in the incident. But months later, foreign media reported that there was evidence of extrajudicial executions, a version later upheld by Mexico's CNDH national human rights body. Shamdasani also expressed disappointment with a lack of progress in solving another high-profile case, that of the apparent massacre of 43 trainee teachers in the southwestern city of Iguala in 2014. A panel of international experts last month accused the government of President Enrique Pena Nieto of undermining their investigation into the fate of the teachers. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Gareth Jones) TAIPEI (Reuters) - The United States looks forward to working with the new government in Taiwan, Washington's diplomatic representative on the island said after the inauguration of President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday. "The United States congratulates President Tsai Ing-wen on her inauguration as Taiwan's fourth democratically elected president," the American Institute in Taiwan said. The institute represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties. "We look forward to working with the new administration, as well as with all of Taiwan's political parties and civil society groups, to further strengthen the ties between the people of the United States and Taiwan," it said in a statement. (Reporting by J.R. Wu; Editing by Paul Tait) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There is no agreement between the United States and Russia to conduct joint air strikes in Syria, the U.S. State Department said on Friday, adding that it looked to Russia to stop truce violations by the Syrian government. "There is no agreement to conduct joint air strikes with the Russians in Syria. What we are discussing with our Russian counterparts ... are proposals for a sustainable mechanism to better monitor and enforce the cessation of hostilities (COH)," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement after Russia they stage joint air strikes on Syrian rebels, including militant Islamist group Nusra Front, who violate the truce. (Reporting By Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) SENDAI, Japan (Reuters) - Group of Seven finance leaders need to discuss global economic risks and what tools they have available to deal with them, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Friday. "The G7 is meeting at a critical time ... because there is a lot of uncertainty in the global economy," he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of G7 finance leaders in Sendai, northeast Japan. The Group of 20 meeting in Shanghai in February was successful because there was a renewed commitment to refrain from competitive currency devaluation and to communicate closely with each other "so we won't surprise each other," he said, expressing hope that the Sendai G7 meeting will produce equally effective results. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chris Gallagher) LONDON (Reuters) - Banks in Britain may be denying credit to consumers by cutting off services to pawnbrokers to avoid falling foul of anti-money laundering rules, a senior UK lawmaker said on Friday. Andrew Tyrie, chairman of parliament's Treasury Select Committee has told the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that a growing number of individuals, firms and charities are being denied access to banking. "Banks are reducing their exposure to risk financial and reputational - in response to anti-money laundering rules. Some of this de-risking is damaging small businesses and making life difficult for thousands of individuals," Tyrie said in a statement on Friday. Tyrie and other lawmakers want to see more competition in financial services. The National Pawnbrokers Association told Tyrie last year that denial of banking will reduce credit for consumers and cut competition in short term loans. Tracey McDermott, acting chief executive of the FCA said only a small proportion of the pawnbroking industry has been cut off from current accounts. "As present we have not seen evidence that leads us to conclude these closures are sufficiently widespread to compromise the public's access to credit from the pawnbroking industry," she said in a letter to Tyrie made public on Friday. It was the money transfer and cheque cashing activities of the pawnbrokers in question, rather than their traditional activities, that led banks to pull out, McDermott said. The FCA has commissioned an external consultant to look into denial of banking services more broadly. (Reporting by Huw Jones) Uma Thurman found herself in an unexpected lip-lock at amfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala in Cannes, France, on Thursday. Thurman was helping to auction off the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show experience, which included two tickets to brand's annual runway show and a pair of tickets to the exclusive after-party. With a bid of $196,000, Fiat heir Lapo Elkann was declared the winner, and he celebrated by planting a huge smooch on the 46-year-old actress -- all the while keeping his cigarette in hand. However, Thurman's rep told ET that the feelings were not mutual. Getty Images WATCH: Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke's Teenage Daughter Maya Makes Gorgeous Fashion Debut "It is opportunism at its worst. She wasn't complicit in it," the Pulp Fiction star's rep said in a statement. "Somewhere in his head he must have thought it an appropriate way of behaving. It clearly wasn't. She is very unhappy that this happened to her and feels violated." Images of Elkann kissing Thurman that appeared online have since been taken down. Getty Images WATCH: Uma Thurman Puts Her Slim Bod on Display in Adorable Retro Swimsuit Meanwhile, Thurman appears to be spoken for, as she's been seen out with hotelier Andre Balazs. The two broke up in 2007 after three years of dating, but were seen vacationing in St. Bart's in March of last year. What's more, Thurman also attended the 2016 Met Gala with Balazs earlier this month. Related Articles PARIS (Reuters) - Hardline French oil sector CGT union members have voted on Friday to shut down production at Total's Normandy refinery and to prolong the strike at Grandpuits refinery for 72 hours a union official said. Union members at Total's five refineries in France met on Friday to decide whether to halt production at the refineries toughening their stance in the rolling nationwide strike aimed at forcing the government to withdraw a labour reform law. "In Normandy, 56 percent voted for a complete shutdown of the refinery and in Grandpuits, they voted to prolong the strike for 72 hours," CGT union delegate Thierry Defrense, told Reuters. (Reporting by Bate Felix; editing by John Irish) It has a net lettable area of 10,900 sqm. UOL has sealed the deal with Clova No.1 Limited and Clova No.2 Limited to bag a GBP98.75m ($198.77m) London property from UBS Central London Office Value Added Fund. According to the firms press release, the sale and purchase agreement was entered through UOLs wholly owned Hong Kong subsidiary Success Venture Property Investments Limited. A deposit of GBP9.7m was paid on the signing of the SPA, with the balance to be paid upon completion of the property around 15 June 2016. The property, located in Londons Midtown, comprises offices together with retail space arranged over basement, ground, and eight upper floors. It is part-virtual freehold property, with about 10,900 sqm of net lettable area. UOL asserts that the acquisition will be funded by internal resources as well as external borrowings, and is not seen to materially impact the firms net tangible assets or earnings per share for FY16. More From Singapore Business Review From Cosmopolitan EgyptAir flight 804 from Paris lost contact with air traffic controllers Thursday morning shortly before it was due to land in Cairo, the New York Times reports. Though the airline is yet to confirm an official cause of the disappearance, both French and Egyptian officials believe the plane plunged into the Mediterranean. According to CNN, the plane's disappearance is more likely due to terrorism than a technical flaw. Greek authorities began trying to contact the plane as it flew through Greek airspace and received a distress signal from the area where the flight lost connection two hours after it was reported missing. The country's defense minister said the flight made "sharp turns" and plunged from 37,000 feet before all connections were lost entirely. The Greeks are leading a major search and rescue effort near the island of Karpathos. France's President Francois Hollande was the first to say the plane had crashed into the sea but would not speak to the cause. "We will draw conclusions when we have the truth about what happened," he said in a statement. "Whether it was an accident, or whether it was - and it's something that is on our minds - terrorism." The BBC reports the flight had 66 people aboard including three children, seven crew members, and three security personnel. There were 30 Egyptians, 15 French citizens, and a British citizen on board. Families have been gathered at the Cairo airport where the flight was due to land to await further information. This post will be updated as more information becomes available. Update 3/19, 12:13 p.m.: According to the New York Times, Greek authorities believe they've found wreckage from the plane in Egyptian waters. CNN reports an Egyptian search aircraft spotted two floating objects in the same area, but that it's not yet confirmed it is indeed debris from the plane. The U.S. Navy has joined the search effort for the EgyptAir flight. So far, no one has commented further on the official cause of the disappearance. Story continues Update 3/19, 1:16 p.m.: The Egyptian Civil Aviation confirmed to the Associated Press that life jackets and other debris have been found near where officials believe the flight crashed. Update 3/19, 5:06 p.m.: The vice president of EgyptAir Ahmed Adel told CNN, "We stand corrected on finding the wreckage," and that the debris found earlier is not from the missing plane. In fact, head of the Greek air safety authority Athanasios Binis said the debris "does not come from a plane" at all, though he did not clarify what it could have come from. Adel also told CNN the airline is in the process of contacting the passengers' next of kin, after which they will release the flight manifest. He also confirmed the search had turned into a "search and recovery mission," which, CNN notes, is language that oftentimes indicates a lack of survivors. Follow Tess on Twitter. Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero, left, and Sen. Richard Burr, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. (Photos: Paul Morigi/WireImage; Jacquelyn Martin/AP) A coalition of advocacy and transparency groups is asking the National Archives to take immediate steps to ensure the preservation of a Senate torture report in light of the disclosure by Yahoo News that the CIA inspector generals office mistakenly destroyed its copy of the document. The groups warned in a letter to David S. Ferriero, archivist of the United States, that the full unabridged report is in danger of disappearing from the public record entirely. A U.S Court of Appeals panel ruled last week that, as a congressional document, it is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, making it less likely the public will ever get to see it. Sen. Richard Burr, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who opposes any public dissemination of the report, said that, in light of the ruling, he anticipates the CIA and other U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies with remaining copies of the report will return them to the Senate Intelligence Committee. These developments seem to make it clear that there is a serious risk to the reports preservation, Patrice McDermott, executive director of OpenTheGovernment.org, a coalition of groups that advocate for more public disclosure of government secrets, wrote to Ferriero. McDermott said an earlier request by the groups for the National Archives to intervene is now more urgent. As reported in Yahoo News Monday, the office of the CIA inspector general, the spy agencys internal watchdog, last year inadvertently destroyed a computer disk containing an unabridged copy of the report, and also deleted an uploaded version of the document from its internal computer system. CIA officials have contended the destruction doesnt matter because the agency still has another unopened computer disk with the document in a locked vault. We have retained a copy of the report pending the resolution of the litigation, the agencys chief spokesman, Dean Boyd, said Friday, repeating the agencys position. Story continues A senior official at the National Archives, which has authority to ensure the preservation of government records, said in response to the letter that the Archives will make no decision about the request until the current Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit is resolved. (The ACLU, which brought the FOIA lawsuit for disclosure of the report, says it is weighing its options for appeal.) Were tracking the litigation and correspondence relating to the destruction, said the official, who asked not to be identified by name. Were taking no position and no action pending the resolution of this litigation. The 6,700-page report, the product of years of work by the Senate Intelligence Committee, contains meticulous details, including original CIA cables and memos, on the agencys use of waterboarding, sleep deprivation and other aggressive interrogation methods at black site prisons overseas in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. A 500-page executive summary was released in December 2014 by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the committees outgoing chair. It concluded that the CIAs interrogations after Sept. 11 were far more brutal than the agency has publicly acknowledged and produced often unreliable intelligence. The findings drew sharp dissents from Republicans on the panel and from four former CIA directors. The bitter dispute over the findings has now spawned an equally contentious battle over whether the full document should be publicly disclosed. In her closing days as chair, in December 2014, Feinstein had sent computer disks with the full report to the White House, the CIA and five other U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies asking that they review its contents to make sure that the conduct described in the document is never repeated. (The CIA received two copies, one for the inspector general and one for the agency itself.) But when Burr took over the committee, after Republicans regained the Senate majority in January 2015, he asked that those disks be sent back. Instead, after the ACLU filed its lawsuit, the Justice Department asked federal agencies not to open the computer disks lest they be construed as a federal record that is subject to FOIA and to preserve their copies pending the outcome of the litigation. Even if the report is not subject to FOIA, the advocacy and transparency groups argue, it still must be preserved under the Federal Records Act, a 1950 law that requires federal agencies to maintain government records (since expanded to include electronic records) unless there is approval from the National Archives to dispose of them. The law generally results in administrative penalties against violators, unless there is evidence that the destruction was intentional, in which case the Archives can refer the issue to the Justice Department. The groups note that the court of appeals panel, while finding that the document was a congressional record not subject to FOIA, also wrote that federal agencies have some discretion to use the full report for internal purposes language that appears to open the door for it to become a government record. In addition, Douglas Cox, a City University of New York law professor who tracks the disposition of federal records, said the CIA inspector generals actions may have already made the document a federal record. In an email to the Archives this week, which he shared with a reporter, he noted that the inspector general essentially destroyed two copies of the report the computer disk and the uploaded copy on its computer system. The existence of the uploaded copy, however brief, was significant, Cox contended, because the creation of that version may have constituted an electronic record, which is covered by the Federal Records Act. Abidjan (AFP) - With works by artists from each of Africa's 54 countries, a show with a political twist titled "The Illuminated Africa" kicked off a tour of the continent highlighting the right to energy. Half of Africa's estimated 1.1 billion people have no access to electricity while many of its biggest cities suffer daily power-cuts as dilapidated plants struggle to cope with growing demand. The show whose first stop in the Ivorian city ends in June was staged "to mobilise the world to give Africa access to energy", said the head of African Artists for Development (AAD), Mathias Leridon. "There is no future, no growth and no progress without electricity," said the group. Many of the photographs, paintings, sculptures and videos in the show, which next heads to Senegal, were inspired by Africa's energy problems. Chadian photographer Abdoulaye Barry for example portrays people in the darkness in a district of the capital, N'Djamena, "to show how difficult it is for them to walk at night." "I walked around with my camera but it was totally dark there. The only lights I ever saw were car or motorbike headlights," he said. Inspired by his country's quintessential coffins, Ghana artist Paa Joe produced one in the shape of an electric bulb, while Mauritian artist Amy Sow showed women's faces "because woman for me is light." The show is also to go to London and Washington after touring Africa and was co-organised by the African Development Bank, which is working to shore up Africa's energy deficit by 2025. Washington (AFP) - US health officials said Friday that they are monitoring 279 pregnant women in the United States and Puerto Rico that may be infected with the Zika virus. Of that number, 157 live in the 50 US states and Washington DC, while the other 122 live in Puerto Rico, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. All have "laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection," the CDC said. The new figure appears to be a dramatic jump from the 110 pregnant women with confirmed Zika cases that the CDC reported as of May 11. But officials say the figures are not comparable, as a new reporting system is being used. Experts agree that the mosquito-borne Zika virus is behind a surge in cases of the birth defect microcephaly -- babies born with abnormally small heads and brains -- after their mothers were infected with the virus. In Brazil, 1,271 babies have been born with unusually small heads and deformed brains since the outbreak of Zika began there last year. The virus, which usually triggers only mild, flu-like symptoms but can also cause the rare but serious neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome, is mainly spread by two species of Aedes mosquito but has also been shown to transmit through sexual contact. The CDC is now using two separate registries to track pregnant women residing in the United States and all territories, as Puerto Rico is keeping separate records. "Both of these systems include pregnant women with any laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection, with or without symptoms," said Denise Jamieson, the co-leader on the CDC's Pregnancy and Birth Defects Team, part of its Zika Virus Response Team. "We've learned a lot in the last four months," said Margaret Honein, a top official at the CDC's National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. Scientists now know of cases of infants born with microcephaly whose test results suggest a Zika infection, but whose mothers did not remember having any symptoms, she said. Story continues The new surveillance systems "cast a broad net to ensure we are monitoring all pregnant women who may be at risk for poor outcome associated with Zika," Honein said. The CDC did not release the number of cases of sexually transmitted Zika, saying it cannot definitively separate those cases from mosquito-infection cases. At least five women contracted Zika without leaving the continental US, but had sexual relations with someone who had, Honein said. The baseline rate of microcephaly in the United States is normally 6 per 10,000 infants, the CDC said. Fewer than ten of the pregnant women infected with Zika in the United States and Puerto Rico gave birth to an infant with microcephaly or any other congenital defect, the CDC added. - Obama wants $1.9 for Zika fight - There is no vaccine to prevent Zika. Experts have warned the continental United States will likely see an increase in cases during the summer months when mosquitos are more prevalent. President Barack Obama, after being briefed on the US battle against Zika on Friday, urged Congress to release more money to battle the virus. The White House asked lawmakers for $1.9 billion for Zika research and prevention. The US Senate Tuesday voted to advance $1.1 billion in emergency funds, but the Republican-controlled House wants to approve only $622 million. "This is something that is solvable. It is not something that we have to panic about, but it is something we have to take seriously," Obama said after the update. "If we make a modest investment on the front end, then this is going to be a problem that we don't have to deal with on the back end." Obama said that raising a child with microcephaly and providing him or her the proper support could cost up to $10 million over the child's lifetime. Fremont needs to look to its future What will Fremont look like in 15 years? A friend posed this great question regarding the impact on our community of locating or not locating the Costco poultry processing plant in our area. I have to believe that we hope to see a stronger, more vibrant community that offers jobs to attract others to move to our community and entices our young people to remain and make our community their home. Key attributes for this enhanced community would be a strong educational system, good healthcare and amenities that allow families to enjoy the Nebraska Good Life. The Fremont area is facing a watershed moment. Do we embrace and support the Costco opportunity or push it away? I refer to this as a watershed moment because if we push the project away, we create an image of our community as one that doesnt support economic development. We can attempt to justify our decision for a variety of reasons, but companies looking to locate in new areas will skip Fremont because it is a town not willing to consider business expansion opportunities. If that happens, Fremont will continue down the path we have witnessed over the past 30 years: a declining middle class, increased burdens on our school system, increased uninsured patients at the emergency room, and limited property tax base growth to provide funding for infrastructure improvements for utilities and public needs. A better future does not mean we should support just any type of economic development opportunity, but it should strongly encourage us to look seriously at economic opportunities that fit who we are and objectively weigh the positives and negatives. The present opportunity would offer jobs with a starting wage above the median income level of our current processing jobs in the area along with full benefits. In addition, at least six community members have been on a tour of poultry processing plants. They came back reporting that these plants were not noisy, smelly, or spreading feathers throughout the community. They werent even aware they were in the area of a poultry processing facility until they were in the parking lot. As one of the agricultural experts was recently quoted, Food safety technology has come so far. And of all the protein sources, poultry is the least impactful to the communities and the environment. Costco wants to be a strong community partner and the humane treatment of the chickens is of great importance. They like Fremont because of the labor force that is located within 45 miles of their plant locations, the overwhelming support by farmers in the area to contract as growers and the readily available grain production in the area. Yes, there will be challenges of such a large employer coming to town which will have to be managed but the positives far outweigh the negatives. Plus, there are many peripheral benefits. Restaurants, retailers, related support businesses (electricians, plumbers, farm implement dealers, equipment suppliers, etc.) will see increased sales. If we attract the Costco plant to Fremont, I predict in 15 years our city will be even better and more vibrant than the community we all love today. Russ Peterson Fremont Rubenstein on Macroeconomics, US Presidential Election, and Oil (Continued from Prior Part) US presidential election According to many analysts and investors, the US presidential election will be a game changer for the economy. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are both promising to drive economic growth in the United States (SPY) (QQQ) (IWF). But investors are still wondering whether or not either one will drive real growth in the economy. US growth drivers The United States is a consumer-driven economy. Consumerism is a key driver for economic growth. As you can see in the above graph, since 1992, shifting party control in the United States (IVV) (VOO) (IWM) has effected change in the consumer sentiment index. Whenever the president was a Democrat, the index showed a significant improvement, with better consumer attitudes toward spending and the business climate. The University of Michigans Consumer Sentiment Index recently showed a slowdown for April 2016. It was 89 in April compared to 91 in March. However, since September 2015, the index has risen 1.8 points. A victory for either presidential candidateTrump or Clintonwill have some impact on the economy. Some people question Trumps stance toward the Chinese economy (FXI) (YINN) (ASHR) and say it could hamper US-China trade relations. Recently, Trump said the import duty on Chinese goods should be increased up to 45%. He believes China has taken jobs away from Americans. David M. Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group believes that whoever wins the US presidential election wont be able to accelerate economic growth in the United States. He says the economy will experience a slow growth due to the slowing global (ACWI) (VTI) (VEU) environment. In the next part, well see why Rubenstein believes hedge funds will flourish again. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Washington (AFP) - The United States on Friday rejected a Russian proposal to launch joint air strikes against jihadists from next week in Syria, but said the two sides were discussing ways to better monitor a shaky truce. "We do not collaborate or coordinate with the Russians on any operations in Syria," Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis told reporters, explaining that Washington and Moscow have separate military objectives. "Russian operations are supporting and enabling the Assad regime and our focus is solely on degrading and defeating ISIL," Davis said, referring to the Islamic State group. Earlier Friday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu suggested the two countries launch joint strikes against Jabhat al-Nusra and other illegal armed groups that do not support a frail truce brokered by Moscow and Washington in February. He also proposed that joint strikes be made against "convoys containing weapons and ammunition, armed units that illegally cross the Syrian-Turkish border." Davis said Russia had not made a formal proposal to the United States. "I've only seen the same press reports you have -- nothing formal has been presented to us," he told reporters. Russia and the United States pledged earlier this month to redouble efforts to find a solution to the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions since 2011, and extend a truce across the war-torn country. This week in Vienna, the 17-nation International Syria Support Group (ISSG) -- co-chaired by the United States and Russia -- vowed to bolster the ravaged nation's shaky ceasefire and send humanitarian relief. "What we are discussing with our Russian counterparts -- in keeping with the ISSG communique last week in Vienna -- are proposals for a sustainable mechanism to better monitor and enforce the cessation of hostilities," State Department spokesman John Kirby said Friday. Story continues "None of those proposals have yet been agreed upon." Kirby said the "vast majority" of the violations of the truce had been carried out by the regime, which is backed by Moscow. "We look to Russia to end such violations, which includes strikes that have hit civilians and civilian facilities," he said. SENDAI, Japan, May 20 (Reuters) - Group of Seven finance leaders need to discuss global economic risks and what tools they have available to deal with them, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Friday. "The G7 is meeting at a critical time ... because there is a lot of uncertainty in the global economy," he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of G7 finance leaders in Sendai, northeast Japan. The Group of 20 meeting in Shanghai in February was successful because there was a renewed commitment to refrain from competitive currency devaluation and to communicate closely with each other "so we won't surprise each other," he said, expressing hope that the Sendai G7 meeting will produce equally effective results. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chris Gallagher) A Jones graduated valedictorian from his high school in Amite, Louisiana, but he didn't get to walk with his classmates down the aisle. Instead, he had to miss out, all because of a dress code rule about beards. Despite his straight As, Jones was barred from walking because of his facial hair. The school dress code forbids facial hair on students and required all graduates to shave it off if they wanted to walk, 11Alive reported. "Eventually they took my gown," he told the station. "They told me they had to take my gown from me." The school insisted that the policy was longstanding and that other students who were asked to shave before graduation were allowed to walk. Jones however, refused, because he said the policy was not typically enforced. "It don't make sense, every day of school I went with it, even more, I did shave," he told the station. "I had like sides and everything, but I shaved that for graduation." But it wasn't enough. School officials said they reminded Jones and others three times including the night before. The school declined to address to the station the extent to which the policy was enforced day-to-day at school. In any case, it won't matter in the long run as Jones will be off to Saint Louis University next fall on a full academic scholarship. CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan authorities have arrested congressional president Henry Ramos' head of security on allegations of masterminding the beating of police officers, including a female agent, during a protest march this week. Videos showed half a dozen youths attacking three officers with their fists and sticks on a road during chaotic scenes at Wednesday's opposition rally demanding a referendum to recall socialist President Nicolas Maduro. "The intellectual author who paid those terrorists to beat that young policewoman is in jail," Maduro said late on Thursday, referring to opposition leader Ramos' security boss Coromoto Rodriguez. "He will be judged and sent to a maximum security jail." Ramos' aides said Rodriguez had nothing to do with Wednesday's beating of the police officers, at least one of whom was a woman, according to state media. They described his arrest as an attempt to intimidate the head of the National Assembly. Rodriguez was taken on Thursday in a cafe near his house, they said, and was being held on Friday at the Caracas headquarters of Venezuela's intelligence service. "Typical cowardly attitude. As they don't dare with me, they persecute humble people who work with me," Ramos tweeted. Venezuela's opposition won control of the National Assembly in December elections, due to a voter backlash against Maduro's handling of the OPEC nation's economic crisis, and are seeking to oust him this year via a referendum. Maduro, who won a 2013 election to replace late president Hugo Chavez, charges the opposition is seeking a coup against him with U.S. backing. He described security official Rodriguez as a known "torturer" prior to socialist rule in Venezuela. Both sides constantly accuse each other of violence. The opposition says security forces have been heavy-handed in blocking marches and repressing protesters with pepper-spray and teargas. Officials say opposition hotheads are looking for trouble by throwing stones at security forces and attacking officers in incidents like the beating of the officers. State media identified one of the three as female officer Dubraska Alvarez, 22, who described being beaten, kicked and hit by objects. "You can see in the videos that at no point did I attack them," she told state TV, saying police had orders to keep the protesters off a road and only had riot shields. Alvarez identified the worst-beaten officer in the video as a male, though Maduro had referred only to a policewoman. Half a dozen protesters were detained on Wednesday, including some of those involved in the beating incident, witnesses said. (Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne and Diego Ore; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by W Simon) Caracas (AFP) - Foreign mediators trying to bring crisis-hit Venezuela back from the abyss announced a bid to get embattled President Nicolas Maduro's government and the opposition to sit down for talks. But the "national dialogue" initiative, unveiled by former Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in a Caracas news conference, will be an uphill battle given the unrelenting antagonism and obstinancy shown so far by both sides, and Venezuela's economic meltdown. Indeed, both sides dug in hours after the talks were announced. "It is a long, hard and difficult path," Zapatero admitted, urging support from the international community. "We must be prudent" about the chances of success, he said. The opposition coalition issued a statement saying the talks must focus on a recall referendum that it is orchestrating against Maduro. Maduro has previously dismissed the proposed vote as "not valid" and vowed it will not go ahead. On the mediated talks, he said Thursday evening he hoped they would lead the opposition to drop their "coup-oriented attitude." Maduro said it remains to be seen if the opposition "will collaborate in a process of dialogue so the country can overcome its problems and we Venezuelans can move forward in peace." The attempted mediation is taking place under a national state of emergency ordered by Maduro but rejected by the opposition-controlled congress. The decree gives sweeping powers to security forces to impose public order and help distribute food in a country plagued by shortages of basic goods like soap and toilet paper. The Supreme Court upheld the order as constitutional Thursday evening "given the extraordinary social, economic, political, natural and ecological circumstances that are gravely affecting the national economy." On Friday and Saturday, Venezuela's military will also be conducting war games ordered by Maduro to show preparedness against what he says are mounting internal and foreign security threats, particularly from the United States. Story continues Zapatero is leading the mediation team, which also comprises the former presidents of Panama and the Dominican Republic, Martin Torrijos and Leonel Fernandez. They have been in Caracas since Tuesday, at the invitation of Maduro. On Thursday they had separate meetings with the Venezuelan president and with opposition leaders. - Protests back recall vote - Operating under the aegis of the Union of South American Nations, a body meant to defuse regional crises and promote cooperation, they were to have participated in a "truth commission" set up last month by Maduro. But their remit changed with the climbing political tensions. On Wednesday, anti-Maduro protests in two dozen Venezuelan cities including Caracas resulted in some 30 arrests and half a dozen police reportedly injured. In the capital, riot police fired tear gas to prevent some 1,000 protesters from reaching the National Electoral Council (CNE) to demand it validate a petition meant to trigger the recall referendum. The opposition says there are more than 1.8 million signatures on the petition -- far more than needed for the vote to take place -- and accuses the CNE of stalling. The opposition leader has called on the army to join his side and for the public to defy Maduro's state of emergency. "The people want to RECALL you!" opposition leader Henrique Capriles tweeted at Maduro. The Venezuelan president has vowed to harden the emergency measures if violence challenges his authority. "I will not hesitate" to ratchet up the state of emergency "to fight for the peace and security of this country," Maduro said Wednesday. - US 'deeply troubled' - His decree came into effect this week for an initial period of 60 days, but Maduro has said it will probably be renewed through next year. Maduro blames the US and the "fascist" right in his country for the adversity he faces. He called the military exercises to show his country's preparedness against foreign "armed intervention." The worsening situation has exacerbated international concern. The US State Department said it was "deeply troubled" by it, with spokesman John Kirby expressing concern at reports of "excessive use of force and violence against protesters." Senior US intelligence officials said last week they believe the South American nation could be on the verge of public revolt. The head of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, has said Maduro would be considered yet another "petty dictator" if he continued to reject the referendum. According to recent polls, 70 percent of Venezuelans want a new government. By Simon Cameron-Moore SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Donald Trump's "isolationist" foreign policy pronouncements are feeding insecurity in some Asian nations fearful of China's growing power, and risk emboldening nationalists and authoritarians in the region. The real estate developer, who is very close to securing the Republican nomination for Novembers presidential election, has with undiplomatic abandon challenged much of the status quo in U.S.-Asia relations. Overall, his comments have sounded like a death knell for the "pivot to Asia" strategy adopted by President Barack Obama five years ago. Trump has said U.S. allies like Japan and South Korea should pay more toward their defense, warned he could withdraw U.S. troops from bases in Japan, and mulled whether Japan and South Korea should have their own nuclear arms. This week he told Reuters he is willing to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which would represent a major shift in U.S. policy. In a television interview on Friday, Trump told MSNBC that while he was open to talks, he "would never go to North Korea." Trump has also threatened to rein in Chinas big trade surplus with the United States, saying he will threaten to impose heavy duties on Chinese goods. And Trump says he will rip up and then renegotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade pact agreed to by the U.S., Japan, and 10 other countries in February. Furthermore, Trumps call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States risks undermining moderate leaders in Muslim countries like Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh. "If he becomes president and adopts his own version of foreign policy, the U.S. will cease to be a Pacific power. Thats the end result," said Kunihiko Miyake, a former Japanese diplomat, who served in both Beijing and Baghdad. "Its not that we would adopt Japan First, but if the U.S. leaves, there will be a vacuum and China will try to fill it," said Miyake, research director at the Canon Institute for Global Studies. "Its a survival issue for all allies of the United States." Trump could, of course, lose the election to the likely Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, who is well known by many Asia policymakers. And if he is elected he could act much differently in office. But Asian diplomats and policy advisers say that initial impressions count. Trump's idea of making Japan and South Korea pay up rather than enjoy a cheaper ride under the U.S. security umbrella sent shudders through Tokyo and Seoul. Trump reiterated his stance on Friday. "They have a lot of money, both of those nations," he told MSNBC, pointing to Japan's auto sales and South Korea's electronics industry. "We have to get reimbursed." In addition, his comments about the possibility of a local nuclear deterrent fanned fears among Asian diplomats that the world could become an even more dangerous place. "It is here that Trump is most scary," Lalit Mansingh, a former Indian ambassador to Washington, told Reuters in New Delhi, though he also noted it may be "just election rhetoric.. Japan's nationalist-led government has already boosted defence spending and has reinterpreted its pacifist constitution to allow its military to come to the aid of allies under attack even if Japan itself if not attacked, a major shift in Japan's post-war security stance. "His position is causing anxiety, especially in East Asia," said a senior lawmaker in Japan's ruling coalition. "It is really hard to comprehend because conservatives have supported a stronger military presence and more engagement. FLASHPOINT Mansingh said he expects China to test the foreign policy resolve of whoever occupies the White House next, and the South China Sea looms as one of the most likely flashpoints. Tensions over China's land-building and installations on islets in the disputed waters flared on Tuesday, when two Chinese warplanes carried out what the Pentagon called an "unsafe" intercept of a U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft. "They're building a massive fortress in the South China Sea. They're not supposed to be doing that," Trump told Reuters, without saying what he would do about it. At least, according to Mansingh, China's leaders and Trump shared the mentality of dealmakers, which could help settle diplomatic wrangles before they get out of hand. Jia Qingguo, an adviser to China's government on foreign affairs, said Trump sounds like an "isolationist" who doesn't want the United States to become too active internationally. "So, he doesnt sound that aggressive," said Jia, the dean of the School of International Relations at Chinas elite Peking University. "Chinese tend to think that too much so-called internationalism on the part of the U.S. is not that good." A senior Japanese government official said Washington could lose influence in Asia if there was any perception it was softening its stance on issues like the South China Sea. "And it would be very difficult to get it back," he warned. Mansingh says those fears are overblown as the United States' self-interest lay in protecting access to the Pacific and Indian Oceans. "What would American withdrawal mean? Does it want to hand over the affairs of the world to China? Would that serve anybodys interest? I dont think so." DEALBREAKER There are also fears that the TPP could unravel, or become worth a lot less to Asian partners, should Trump renegotiate the pact, as he has said he wants to do. The deal has yet to be ratified by the U.S. Congress, but Obama has warned that delay could allow China to steal a march through its own proposed regional trade deal with 15 other nations. I think it's hard to imagine that TPP would survive a Trump presidency," said a top trade official in a major country in the region, who declined to be more closely identified. "Less intervention would be a small benefit compared to the massive damage to the world from a USA that becomes more isolationist and more crassly commercial under Trump," he said. The lack of priority Trump appears to give to issues that don't serve his "America first" agenda could mean he'll soft-pedal on human rights and democratic values, some critics said. That would come at a time when generals are running Thailand, a strong man has just been elected as president of the Philippines, and Malaysia's prime minister has silenced independent media. "Let's hope that someone on his team realizes that respect for human rights must be a core U.S. foreign policy value and not just a reality show line," said Phil Robertson, deputy director for Human Rights Watch's Asia division. On the other hand, Panitan Wattanayagorn, an adviser to Thailand's defence minister, Prawit Wongsuwon, expressed confidence that Trump wouldn't apply pressure to countries like his. "All in all, if Trump arrives, the chances of stronger ties will be good because he would want allies," said Panitan. (Reporting by Linda Sieg and Tim Kelly in TOKYO, Michael Martina in BEIJING, Rajesh Kumar Singh in NEW DELHI, Jack Kim in SEOUL, John Chalmers in JAKARTA and Pracha Hariraksapitak and Simon Webb in BANGKOK; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington; Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore; Editing by Martin Howell and Leslie Adler) By Simon Cameron-Moore SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Donald Trump's "isolationist" foreign policy pronouncements are feeding insecurity in some Asian nations fearful of China's growing power, and risk emboldening nationalists and authoritarians in the region. The real estate developer, who is very close to securing the Republican nomination for Novembers presidential election, has with undiplomatic abandon challenged much of the status quo in U.S.-Asia relations. Overall, his comments have sounded like a death knell for the "pivot to Asia" strategy adopted by President Barack Obama five years ago. Trump has said U.S. allies like Japan and South Korea should pay more towards their defence, warned he could withdraw U.S. troops from bases in Japan, and mulled whether Japan and South Korea should have their own nuclear arms. This week he told Reuters he is willing to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which would represent a major shift in U.S. policy. In a television interview on Friday, Trump told MSNBC that while he was open to talks, he "would never go to North Korea." Trump has also threatened to rein in Chinas big trade surplus with the United States, saying he will threaten to impose heavy duties on Chinese goods. And Trump says he will rip up and then renegotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade pact agreed to by the U.S., Japan, and 10 other countries in February. Furthermore, Trumps call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States risks undermining moderate leaders in Muslim countries like Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh. "If he becomes president and adopts his own version of foreign policy, the U.S. will cease to be a Pacific power. Thats the end result," said Kunihiko Miyake, a former Japanese diplomat, who served in both Beijing and Baghdad. "Its not that we would adopt Japan First, but if the U.S. leaves, there will be a vacuum and China will try to fill it," said Miyake, research director at the Canon Institute for Global Studies. "Its a survival issue for all allies of the United States." Trump could, of course, lose the election to the likely Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, who is well known by many Asia policymakers. And if he is elected he could act much differently in office. But Asian diplomats and policy advisers say that initial impressions count. Trump's idea of making Japan and South Korea pay up rather than enjoy a cheaper ride under the U.S. security umbrella sent shudders through Tokyo and Seoul. Trump reiterated his stance on Friday. "They have a lot of money, both of those nations," he told MSNBC, pointing to Japan's auto sales and South Korea's electronics industry. "We have to get reimbursed." In addition, his comments about the possibility of a local nuclear deterrent fanned fears among Asian diplomats that the world could become an even more dangerous place. "It is here that Trump is most scary," Lalit Mansingh, a former Indian ambassador to Washington, told Reuters in New Delhi, though he also noted it may be "just election rhetoric.. Japan's nationalist-led government has already boosted defence spending and has reinterpreted its pacifist constitution to allow its military to come to the aid of allies under attack even if Japan itself if not attacked, a major shift in Japan's post-war security stance. "His position is causing anxiety, especially in East Asia," said a senior lawmaker in Japan's ruling coalition. "It is really hard to comprehend because conservatives have supported a stronger military presence and more engagement. FLASHPOINT Mansingh said he expects China to test the foreign policy resolve of whoever occupies the White House next, and the South China Sea looms as one of the most likely flashpoints. Tensions over China's land-building and installations on islets in the disputed waters flared on Tuesday, when two Chinese warplanes carried out what the Pentagon called an "unsafe" intercept of a U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft. "They're building a massive fortress in the South China Sea. They're not supposed to be doing that," Trump told Reuters, without saying what he would do about it. At least, according to Mansingh, China's leaders and Trump shared the mentality of dealmakers, which could help settle diplomatic wrangles before they get out of hand. Jia Qingguo, an adviser to China's government on foreign affairs, said Trump sounds like an "isolationist" who doesn't want the United States to become too active internationally. "So, he doesnt sound that aggressive," said Jia, the dean of the School of International Relations at Chinas elite Peking University. "Chinese tend to think that too much so-called internationalism on the part of the U.S. is not that good." A senior Japanese government official said Washington could lose influence in Asia if there was any perception it was softening its stance on issues like the South China Sea. "And it would be very difficult to get it back," he warned. Mansingh says those fears are overblown as the United States' self-interest lay in protecting access to the Pacific and Indian Oceans. "What would American withdrawal mean? Does it want to hand over the affairs of the world to China? Would that serve anybodys interest? I dont think so." DEALBREAKER There are also fears that the TPP could unravel, or become worth a lot less to Asian partners, should Trump renegotiate the pact, as he has said he wants to do. The deal has yet to be ratified by the U.S. Congress, but Obama has warned that delay could allow China to steal a march through its own proposed regional trade deal with 15 other nations. I think it's hard to imagine that TPP would survive a Trump presidency," said a top trade official in a major country in the region, who declined to be more closely identified. "Less intervention would be a small benefit compared to the massive damage to the world from a USA that becomes more isolationist and more crassly commercial under Trump," he said. The lack of priority Trump appears to give to issues that don't serve his "America first" agenda could mean he'll soft-pedal on human rights and democratic values, some critics said. That would come at a time when generals are running Thailand, a strong man has just been elected as president of the Philippines, and Malaysia's prime minister has silenced independent media. "Let's hope that someone on his team realizes that respect for human rights must be a core U.S. foreign policy value and not just a reality show line," said Phil Robertson, deputy director for Human Rights Watch's Asia division. On the other hand, Panitan Wattanayagorn, an adviser to Thailand's defence minister, Prawit Wongsuwon, expressed confidence that Trump wouldn't apply pressure to countries like his. "All in all, if Trump arrives, the chances of stronger ties will be good because he would want allies," said Panitan. (Reporting by Linda Sieg and Tim Kelly in TOKYO, Michael Martina in BEIJING, Rajesh Kumar Singh in NEW DELHI, Jack Kim in SEOUL, John Chalmers in JAKARTA and Pracha Hariraksapitak and Simon Webb in BANGKOK; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington; Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore; Editing by Martin Howell and Leslie Adler) A California Navy reservist has been reunited with a cat he cared for while stationed in Baghdad. The cat, whose name is "Mr. Meowgi," was flown into Los Angeles International Airport, and greeted by reservist Brad VanCleave with loud meows, the kind that earned him his name. Read: Newly Released Video Sheds Light on Death of Bison Calf at Yellowstone Park Upon being reunited with the cat, VanCleave said, Hi baby. He's lost a lot of weight. VanCleave had been working as a government contractor at the Baghdad International Airport when he befriended the feline. In July of 2015 I saw a baby kitten and he stuck his head out from one of the shipping containers. And we started feeding it and his mom, he said, according to CBS Los Angeles. Its kind of a neat little feeling to know that youre arriving at your work site and youre greeting by this meowing little baby, and hes chasing after you, he said. Read: Woman Selling House-Trained Bison on Craigslist for $5,950 Calls It 'A Gigantic Puppy' Mr. Meowgis mother had abandoned him, but VanCleave couldnt stop thinking about him when he returned to his family in California. "I knew if I left him there...[he] wouldn't be alive when I got back." The SPCA International and Operation Bagdad organized the reunion. Mr. Meowgi had a long journey. He departed Baghdad on March 27, and made stops in Erbil, Iraq, Frankfurt, Germany, and New York before finally landing in Los Angeles. Mr. Meowgi joins another cat and a dog in VanCleaves home. Watch: The Incredible Journey: Dog Reunites With Owner After 2 Years Apart Related Articles: HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam freed a catholic priest on Friday, one of its longest-serving political prisoners, just a few days before a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama in which human rights is expected to be a key talking point. Nguyen Van Ly, who has spent most of the past two decades in detention due to his relentless pursuit of democracy and religious freedom, was released from a prison in central Hue province after his fourth stint behind bars. "They released him in a special amnesty by Vietnam's president before the Obama trip," catholic priest Phan Van Loi told Reuters by phone. The communist country's state-controlled media has made no mention of Ly's release, which comes as Obama weighs whether to lift an arms embargo on Vietnam, a decision Washington has long said would hinge on human rights progress. Loi said that he met Ly after his release and that although he appeared weak, he was in high spirits. The U.S. embassy in Hanoi welcomed the release of Ly but said other dissidents should be freed too. "We call on the government to release unconditionally all prisoners of conscience and allow all Vietnamese to express their political views peacefully without fear of retribution," an embassy spokesman said. During Ly's long periods of incarceration, sometimes in solitary confinement, he suffered numerous health problems, including strokes and partial paralysis. Ly's release on Friday was three months before the end of an eight-year prison sentence for "anti-state propaganda", which comes under a section of the criminal code that rights groups say is vaguely worded and used to punish outspoken critics. The priest has been on the receiving end of some of the country's harshest verdicts, stemming from his opposition to the political monopoly of the Communist Party. He set up a pro-democracy movement and was behind several banned publications. Human rights is a thorny issue for Vietnam that has created dilemmas for western governments keen to engage with one of Asia's fastest-growing economies but alarmed by the arrests, harassment and jailing of its detractors. Vietnam is keen to see the arms embargo removed, to give it better bargaining power in defense procurements and access to advanced United States technology, in what experts say is to counter China's maritime assertiveness. (Reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Hugh Lawson) By Martin Petty and Matt Spetalnick HANOI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With police watching his home around the clock, Vietnamese blogger Huynh Ngoc Chenh sneaked out through a back door and reappeared the next day in a public square to hold a one-man, anti-government protest. But having been given the slip once, police wasted no time in nabbing him after only five minutes. It was one of many free-speech experiments squashed by Vietnam's communist government, underscoring the dilemma U.S. President Barack Obama has ahead of a visit on Monday in which human rights will be central to decisions about how far Washington is willing to engage its former enemy. Chenh got lucky. Unlike many dissidents, he was not arrested for Sunday's demonstration in Ho Chi Minh City, which got him 12,000 Facebook "likes" for making a stand against what he calls an endemic problem of abusive police. "There are six men watching my house right now," said Chenh, 64, who was escorted home and told to stay there. "Sometimes, they stop me from leaving, other times they let me go out but they follow me everywhere." His sit-in came as rights groups and activists accuse police of using heavy-handed measures to stop protests held in cities the past two Sundays to demand government answers over an unexplained environmental disaster that caused mass fish deaths last month. The timing of protests could not be worse for Vietnam. The White House on Thursday said Obama was still grappling with a decision on whether to lift a lethal arms embargo on Hanoi, one of the last vestiges of the Vietnam War. The United States has been clear that its removal hinges on progress on rights. Vietnam wants closer military ties and access to U.S. defense technology as a deterrent against Beijing's assertiveness in the South China Sea, over which the neighbors are bitterly at odds. Though that fits in with the U.S. strategy of containing China, Vietnam's jailing and intimidation of dissidents remains an obstacle to Washington's push to turn its former enemy into its newest Asian ally. Obama's top Asia adviser Daniel Kritenbrink on Wednesday told reporters human rights would be a key factor in "whatever arms sales decisions we may or may not make". Obama will not try to duck the issue. He is expected to meet dissidents and will address human rights in Vietnam "both publicly and in private", Kritenbrink said. THORNY ISSUE The issue is taboo for Vietnam's government, which did not respond to Reuters questions about the extent to which rights improvements had been made. The United States has been watching closely and is familiar with the Communist Party's boldest opponents, including Nguyen Quang A, an intellectual who met U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski last week. Quang A was among several dissidents named in a scathing, documentary-like news report broadcast on state television on Sunday that accused them of masterminding recent protests intended to violently overthrow the government. The arms embargo is contentious, with support in Washington for countries threatened by China's rise, but misgivings about losing leverage with Vietnam if too many concessions are given to a government that New-York-based Human Rights Watch described in a letter to Obama as "among the most repressive in the world". Loretta Sanchez, a Democrat on the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam, said the United States should be wary of "giving a free pass to a government that continually harasses, detains and imprisons its citizens". Republican Senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Hanoi who backed the easing of the embargo in 2014, said sales of technology for Vietnam's maritime security should be unrestricted, but the transfer of other arms should be case-by-case and linked to human rights progress. "There's still repression," McCain told Reuters. "Yes, there's been improvement but there's still quite a way to go." Obama will meet Vietnam's new president, Tran Dai Quang, who until recently ran the Ministry of Public Security, a powerful police-run agency that U.S. rights envoy Malinowski last year said "holds the key" to how far U.S-Vietnam ties could advance. But political analyst Le Hong Hiep said it was unlikely rights would constrain ties that are strengthening rapidly, as the United States had "other more vital interests" at stake. "It remains an issue of low politics at a time when issues of high politics such as strategic cooperation, and joint efforts to check China's ambitions in the South China Sea, have been placed much higher in bilateral agenda," he said. (Editing by Robert Birsel) When U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in Vietnam, he'll witness a young country that presents many contradictions. The ruling Communist Party has cautiously allowed independent candidates to seek candidacies for seats in the National Assembly, the country's legislature. Yet those independent candidates never advanced to the ballot provided to the public. State-owned companies in the communist country are making room for a more open economic policy. And while poverty has declined over the years, thanks to the "doi moi" economic policy begun in the 1980s, the gap between the urban affluent and rural poor is startling. Amid the contrasts, speculation will be high on Obama's visit to the Southeast Asian country, only the third such trip by a U.S. president since the end of the Vietnam War. Obama's trip itself will be the primary headline. [READ: Learn more about Vietnam] "I'm keeping low expectations," says Michael Kugelman, a senior program associate for South and Southeast Asia for the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. "I don't think it (Obama's visit) will achieve milestone agreements." Both countries represent important relationships to each other. In Vietnam, the U.S. sees an important source for its exports, investment opportunities in a rapidly growing economy and a growing strategic partner in the region. Vietnam, in turn, sees the U.S. as a partner to advance its economic development and as a source security against China. The U.S. war in Vietnam frames the two nations' relationship with each other, even after diplomatic relations were normalized in 1995. But the themes driving Obama's visit to the country will derive less from the past and more from today's pressing anxieties over China's regional ambitions. Beijing's activities in the area include oil and fishery exploration in the sea and dredging, occupying and building on island groups in order to serve as territorial claims. Those claims have become an increasing point of contention with the U.S., Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines and Malaysia. Vietnam claims both the Paracel and Spratly Islands, counter to China's activities. Story continues [ANALYSIS: U.S., China, court Vietnam] Obama is considering whether to ease a partial arms embargo on Vietnam, a vestige of the war between the two nations. For the White House, taking such action means balancing worries it and several Asian nations have over China's expansion against longstanding U.S. concerns over Vietnam's human rights record. The country's treatment of political prisoners, activists and proponents of moves to democratic governance has drawn international criticism and calls for reform. Rights groups such as Freedom House note that Vietnam's government tightly restricts all forms of basic human rights. In its report on Vietnam, Human Rights Watch cited a wide range of rights abuses in the country, including the intimidation of rights activists, police use of torture, inadequate compensation farmers for property seized for development and a lack of independent labor unions. Vietnam is a comparatively young population and its population is increasingly digitally engaged. About half of Vietnam's population of 94 million has access to the Internet, and more than a third has access to social media, including Facebook. Yet the media is one of the most tightly controlled areas of Vietnamese life. The organization Reporters Without Borders, which ranks Vietnam 175th out of 180 countries and territories assessed over press freedom, criticizes the country for cultivating an environment that the group says cracks down on citizen journalists. The United States is the largest export market for Vietnam and Human Rights Watch has urged the U.S. and other countries to use their economic influence to press for more reforms. Changes in the domestic climate, however, won't come quickly in Vietnam, considered one of the most authoritarian countries in the region. What Obama says about human rights will send an important message that could set the tone for his visit. De-emphasizing rights may signal to the Vietnamese that the U.S. is less concerned about how Vietnam's citizens are treated. "Washington will want to strike a balance in engaging the Vietnamese," Kugelman says. "The challenge will be finding that happy medium." Kevin Drew is senior editor, international, at U.S. News and World Report. You can follow him on Twitter here. Viggo Mortensens turn as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings gave him the potential for a couple of cinematic identities, all lucrative: He could be an action hero, or a smart womans sex symbol. But in the 13 years since he left Middle-earth, only two of his last five leads were in English. And he has a fondness for turning familiar genres inside out in films like the Athens-set thriller The Two Faces of January and the experimental period drama Jajua. I guess you could call the movies I do off the beaten track, the 57-year-old whos also a painter, photographer, poet, and publisher through his own Perceval Press says by phone from Spain. Hes working on his poetry before heading to Cannes for the premiere of Captain Fantastic, in which he stars. Im not willfully ignoring studio movies. Im just looking for stories I think are worth telling. The producers of those smaller films are grateful for his commercial draw. The Two Faces of January garnered $4.5 million worldwide, and Jauja took in $60,000 in its limited U.S. release. Mortensen should help target the boomer crowd when Bleecker Street opens Captain Fantastic theatrically on July 8. Im happy to make one really good movie a year, Mortensen says. The process does take a toll. Its hard just to get a movie made and find attention for it. So far, that hasnt been a concern for Captain Fantastic, the only Sundance title selected for the official Cannes lineup this year (in the Un Certain Regard section). Mortensen plays hippie patriarch Ben, whose idyllic life raising his five children in the Pacific Northwest forest comes to a halt with news of his wifes sudden death. Back in civilization, Ben must confront the shortcomings of his radical parenting. The second effort from actor-director Matt Ross, Captain Fantastic magnifies the good and bad of modern society. Its one of those movies that has its finger on the pulse of whats happening, like American movies in the early 70s, says Mortensen. Story continues Ross says Mortensens relationship to the material was essential to the role; the actor brought many of his own props to the set and knew the characters philosophical reference points well. It was a striking contrast to the comedic actors some agents suggested for the part. They were picking up a tone that wasnt really there, Ross says. Theres something about Viggo hes a mans man, but hes also physically fit, and believes intellectually in the words coming out of his mouth. His linguistic flexibility Mortensen grew up in South America, speaking English, Spanish, and some Danish has in-fluenced his global career. The more things youre willing to try, he says, the more possibilities you have for storytelling. Eric Kohn is the chief film critic and a senior editor for IndieWire as well as the manager of the CriticWire network. Related stories Cannes: Viggo Mortensen Talks Trump, David Cronenberg Collaboration Viggo Mortensen's Family Drama 'Captain Fantastic' Gets Release Date Film Review: 'Captain Fantastic' Vince Vaughn Looks like actor Vince Vaughn found the perfect formula for selling his Chicago triplex. Vaughn broke the listing into two apartments recently and lickety-split received contracts on both properties. The 12,000-square-foot apartment in the Palmolive Building on Chicagos Gold Coast originally went on the market in 2011 for $24.7 million. When buyers stayed away in droves, the actor recently split the listing into a 7,880-square-foot penthouse duplex for $8.5 million, and a 4,292-square-foot flat for $4.2 million. The phones ringing off the hook, says listing agent Katherine Malkin of Baird & Warner Real Estate. There appears to be a much wider audience for apartments under 13,000 square feet. Apparently so. Malkin confirmed that she has contracts on both units, but wouldnt say more than that. The larger of the two units sits on the buildings top floors and features three terraces, 14-foot ceilings, theater room, billiard room, and service kitchen for the patio area. The smaller unit is renovation-ready, with great views but no kitchen. At this price point, people do their own work anyway, Malkin informed us. View from the top Vaughn has made a career of playing the adorable schmo whos unlucky in love. He starred with Jennifer Aniston in The Break-Up, about a couple whose Chicago condo was the most valuable part of their relationship. The 2006 hit comedy grossed over $118 million domestically. Inside the larger unit The post Vince Vaughn Breaks Up His Enormous Chicago Penthouse appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. Related Articles FRANKFURT/HAMBURG (Reuters) - A power struggle erupted on Volkswagen's supervisory board after the owning Porsche and Piech families joined representatives from Qatar in what proved to be a failed attempt to dilute the voting power of Lower Saxony, German magazine Der Spiegel said. With 20 percent of voting rights in VW, Lower Saxony, where VW employs more than 100,000 staff, can veto decisions such as factory closures, which require a majority vote of more than 80 percent. The joint action by the Porsche and Piech families and Qatar centered on an attempt to prevent a dividend payment for preference shareholders for 2015, the weekly said. This would have diluted Lower Saxony's voting rights. Lower Saxony blocked the attempt to stop dividend payments by teaming up with VW's worker representatives, who have 10 of the supervisory board's 20 seats, Der Spiegel said. VW and Lower Saxony declined to comment on the report. A spokesman for Porsche Autmobil Holding SE, the investment company via which the Porsche and Piech families hold 52.2 percent of voting rights in VW, said there was no power struggle among VW's large shareholders. "Porsche SE, together with Lower Saxony and Qatar supports VW's management in its efforts to resolve the emissions issue and develop a new strategy," it said. Qatar is VW's third-largest shareholder with a 17 percent stake and two seats on the supervisory board. Activist hedge fund TCI has been putting pressure on Lower Saxony to stop blocking efforts to make the carmaker more efficient. Volkswagen (VW) has a two-tier shareholder structure with 206,205,445 non-voting preference shares and 295,089,818 voting, or ordinary, shares. If the preference shareholders are denied a dividend payment for two years in a row, their shares gain voting power, which would dilute the power of Lower Saxony, which owns 20 percent of voting rights in VW. VW on April 22 proposed a dividend of 0.11 euros per ordinary share and of 0.17 euros per preferred share. (Reporting by Edward Taylor and Jan Schwartz. Editing by Jane Merriman) People with Wal-Mart's MoneyCard continue to have trouble accessing their funds, despite comments from the card's operator, GreenDot, that the issue was resolved Wednesday evening. Several customers have reported going five days without being able to use their money. Nearly 600 frustrated customers have joined a Facebook group Wal-Mart Money Card Exodus since it was created Wednesday evening, about two days after people started experiencing problems, and the page is filled with troubling stories of people who haven't been able to pay bills, buy food or put gas in their cars because of the MoneyCard glitches. Plenty of people have posted updates to the page saying they now have access to their funds, but that's not the case for everyone. Cessari Gaines started crying as she explained she hasn't been able to make her car payment, and her phone payment doesn't seem to be going through, either. Gaines, of Lonoke, Arkansas, said she has had to borrow money from co-workers to buy necessities, but she's worried about losing her car or her phone getting cut off. She just got paid this morning, and even though her direct deposit shows up on her MoneyCard account summary, she hasn't been able to use it. "It's making me feel like I have no control over the situation," Gaines said. "I'm starting to get behind on bills that I need to take care of." There are a lot of stories like Gaines' in the Facebook group: People say they can't buy medication they need and that their utilities are being shut off after declined payments. Customer service is another common complaint, with users complaining about dealing with long hold times and getting conflicting explanations on what's going on and when it will be fixed. Wal-Mart did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Credit.com. Here's what Green Dot told Credit.com yesterday when first asked about these issues: "While we are still investigating a small number of complaints received Tuesday related to the inability to spend funds, actual customer transactional data indicates that the vast majority of customers were able to use their cards during this period of time, including for ATM cash withdrawals, purchases and the crediting of deposits," the company said in an email. "While impacted customers may have reached out through other channels, less than 100 customers in total over the aggregate three-day period lodged complaints on Green Dot's social media channels." Story continues Green Dot attributed those problems to a processor conversion that happened last weekend. The company has been silent on social media since May 18, has not issued a news release on the matter and has not yet today responded to multiple requests for comment from Credit.com. Meanwhile, customers continue to report all sorts of problems. Leah Ray of Benham Springs, Louisiana, checked her account balance this morning, and it showed two different balances ($0 and -$324) on the same page. Neither was correct. She said she should have about $1,100 in her account, but that's not what it says, so she had to ask her husband to mail her checks. He's working in Nebraska, and it took two days for the checks to arrive, at which point she could buy the things her family needs. Ray last tried to use her MoneyCard Wednesday evening, after she got off the phone with a customer service representative who told her the card should be working. After it was declined twice, Ray stopped trying. She said she's lucky, considering what some people seem to be going through, but she's still not sure where her money is, and she and her husband had to use a lot of their reserves to make sure they stay on top of their bills. Kelly Ramirez of Post Falls, Idaho, said she last tried to use her card this morning, and it was declined. "Even though we know there's money on the account, it is showing that our balance is -$100, which doesn't make any sense," she said. Ramirez said her husband has always been wary of banks, so they've been MoneyCard holders for years, but on Wednesday, they opened up a traditional bank account. "We'll no longer have a prepaid card," she said. This week's issues are the first time in more than 4 years as a customer that she's had trouble using MoneyCard. Both Gaines and Ray also said they have also been customers for years and never had trouble with MoneyCard prior to this week. In fact, they all said the same thing about why they used the service: convenience. Now, they all say they're planning to cancel their accounts as soon as they get their money. Ray and Ramirez both had cash on hand for emergencies, and this experience reinforced the importance of that practice. Gaines said she's going to open a bank account, but she can't do that until she has money to deposit in one. Having money in more than one place, whether that's multiple accounts or a cash stash, is a good idea (as these customers' experiences show). A credit card can also serve as a good emergency back up, keeping in mind that paying off the balance as soon as possible is important if you want to avoid going into costly debt. Even consumers with bad credit can get credit cards (they can actually help you build credit), but you'll want to make this decision carefully and check your credit before applying for any new accounts. You can get two of your credit scores for free every month on Credit.com. More from Credit.com Ariana Grande had plenty to celebrate on Thursday night when she made a visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live! Not only did she give a typically smoldering performance of the title track from her new album, Dangerous Woman, out today. She also offered a preview of a new SnapChat-based horror movie she's starring in called #DogFace. Billboard Cover: Ariana Grande on Defending Female Pop Stars and Staying Away From Drama Grande will, of course, also be on hand Sunday night to perform at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards alongside a boatload of other stars including Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, Fifth Harmony with Ty Dolla Sign, Troye Sivan, Meghan Trainor, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, Nick Jonas featuring Tove Lo, Rihanna and Demi Lovato, as well as the debut of Adele's music video for "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" and special showcases featuring Britney Spears, Pink, Celine Dion and Madonna honoring the legacy of Prince. Billboard Music Awards Sneak Peek: Madonna, Britney and More Major Moments to Expect While you're waiting, here's your first look at #DogFace, opening near you never. In a show of discontent with the Iraqi governments loose grip on security and slow pace of reforms, protesters once again stormed Baghdads Green Zone, this time to the sound of gunfire and ambulance sirens. Once inside the fortified area, which houses government offices and international embassies, protesters rushed toward the parliament building and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadis office. When protesters first marched into the Green Zone on April 30, security forces let them clamber over the blast walls without a fight. This time, under directions from the prime minister to not allow another breach, security forces fired water cannons, tear gas, and, according to witnesses, live ammunition. The Associated Press reported that one protester was shot in the head. Scenes of Fridays chaos captured by the Washington Posts Baghdad bureau chief, Loveday Morris, showed ambulances racing through a throng of protesters: Voice of America reporter Sharon Behn recorded sounds of gunfire: #Iraq: Iraqi protesters once again managed to breach into the parliament building in #Baghdad's green zone pic.twitter.com/Tg0P2DMSNc Thomas van Linge (@arabthomness) May 20, 2016 Footage near Green Zone, protesters shouting "we are the sons of #Iraq" pic.twitter.com/eukYOw4Alg Mustafa Al-Khaqani (@Khaqani_M) May 20, 2016 Photo credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images Just as Lyndon B. Johnsons sudden ascension to the presidency due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy was unexpected, so was the impressive productivity and success of his first year in office. The former Democratic senator from Texas was an exceedingly adept politician, pushing through major legislation and winning an election during a tumultuous time for the country. A cunning and complicated figure, Johnsons character still intrigues today just look at the popularity of Robert A. Caros impressively thorough series of biographies, or the Broadway play based on LBJs first year in office, All the Way. An adaptation of that Robert Schenkkan play premieres on Saturday on HBO. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter Before you tune in to watch Bryan Cranston as LBJ and Anthony Mackie as Martin Luther King Jr., brush up on the major moments of Johnsons first year in office. Taken from the TIME archive, these stories give a narrative of the year that was written as it happened: Oath of Office Heres an account of Vice President Lyndon Johnson taking the Oath of Office aboard Air Force One, just 98 minutes after John Kennedy was declared dead, from a Nov. 29, 1963 write-up in TIME titled The Transfer of Power: The planes sweltering, gold-carpeted living room was crowded with 27 people. At Johnsons right was his wife Lady Bird. Behind them ranged White House staff members; Larry OBrien and Kenneth ODonnell were in tears; the shirt cuffs of Rear Admiral George Burkley, President Kennedys personal physician, bore bloodstains. Federal District Judge Sarah T. Hughes, a trim, tiny woman of 67 whom Kennedy had appointed to the bench in 1961, pronounced the oath in a voice barely audible over the engines. Johnson, his left hand on a small black Bible, his right held high, repeated firmly: I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me God. The First Order. The President leaned forward, kissed Lady Bird on the forehead. Mrs. Johnson turned to Jackie, held her hand and said: The whole nation mourns your husband. Dallas Police Chief J. E. Curry stepped up and advised the widow: God bless you, little lady, but you ought to go back and lie down. Replied Jackie: No thanks, Im fine. Minutes later Johnson gave his first order as President of the United States. Now, he said, lets get this thing airborne. Story continues MORE: Bryan Cranston Talks Walter White, LBJ and His Own Political Ambitions Hitting the Ground Running In the Dec. 13, 1963 issue, the magazine assessed the new presidents priorities: CIVIL RIGHTS. Day after day, prominent Negro leaders such as James Farmer of CORE, and Whitney Young, executive director of the National Urban League, went to the White House to discuss the stalled civil rights bill and job discrimination. When Dr. Martin Luther King called, American Nazi Party members shuffled along Pennsylvania Avenue in storm-trooper outfits, carrying placards inscribed AH WANTS TO SEE DEE PRESIDENT TOO. SPENDING & TAXES. Through the week, Budget Bureau officials trooped into Johnsons office and left, as one of them described himself, looking grim and tight-lipped. To make Congress more amenable to a tax cut, Johnson was striving to cut expenditures for fiscal 1965, but he finally conceded that the budget would probably run in the neighborhood of $102 billion, thus would be the first to pass $100 billion. UNEMPLOYMENT. With Americas jobless totaling 4,000,000, Johnson said he hoped to increase employment from the present level of 70 million to 75 million, urged labor and business leaders to roll up your sleeves, stick out your chins and let it be known you are in this fight. Wheeling and Dealing By early 1964, the Revenue Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act were both moving aheadto the surprise of many. As explained by this piece called The Skipper & the Ship from TIMEs Feb. 14, 1964 issue, some wondered whether Kennedy or Johnson deserved more credit: In the House the civil rights bill was sailing through virtually unscathed; in the Senate the $11.6 billion tax cut was approved, and moved on toward conference committee. Both actions followed a gale of White House phone calls to Capitol Hill. As Lyndon Johnsons admirers saw it, the President deserved all the credit for breaking up the legislative ice jam. Others, however, insisted that Lyndons poking and prodding had little to do with it, that President Kennedy had already laid the groundwork for congressional action. The truth lay somewhere in between. A Shining Moment LBJ signing the Civil Rights Act into effect on July 2, 1964. TIME framed the landmark legislation with the story of 13-year-old Eugene Young getting a haircut at a barbershop that had refused him the day before: In the barbershop of Kansas Citys Muehlebach Hotel, a 13-year-old Negro boy, Eugene Young, hopped into a chair, opened his fist to display two $1 bills, and ordered a haircut. Without hesitating, Barber Lloyd Soper covered the lad with a white apron, took out his clippers and went to work. Only the day before, Eugene had been refused service in the same shop. But in the intervening 24 hours, the most far-reaching civil rights bill in U.S. history had become the law of the land and, as the Negro boy climbed into the chair, the time of testing had begun. MORE: What Martin Luther King Really Thought About Lyndon Baines Johnson Election Elation All the while, Johnson had been campaigning against renegade Republican Barry Goldwater. In November, he clinched the presidency in his first election to the position he already held, with 61.05% of the popular vote setting a new record. From TIMEs Nov. 4, 1964 extra election issue: Geneva (AFP) - French Open champion Stan Wawrinka defeated Lukas Rosol 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 on Friday to reach the final of the Geneva Open -- just days before they meet in the first round at Roland Garros. Wawrinka will face former US Open champion Marin Cilic in Saturdays final after the Croatian edged David Ferrer 7-5, 7-5. "Once we got into the rallies I was able to gain the upper hand by hitting a heavier ball, so that was tough for him," said top seed Wawrinka of Czech opponent Rosol. I was happy with my third set. I found my mark in some rallies even if he was looking for get to net or close out points quickly." "Nail house" in Shanghai Each country has its own unique language, cuisine, and culture. Unique, too, are the customs around buying, selling, and owning a home. For instance, did you know that in France, babies can own real estate? Or that in Ireland, negotiations feel more like a game of double dog dare? Check out this globe-trotting guide to surprising (or downright freaky) quirks in home-buying habits. Eastern Europeans are big on owning Although many Americans aspire to own a home, the countrys homeownership rate is one of the lowest in the developed world, according to data compiled by the Pew Research Center in 2013. (Thats the most recent international comparison available; the U.S. rate has since fallen from 65% to 63.5%.) At the very bottom is Switzerland, largely because of a policy that essentially taxes homeowners on the rent they could be charging themselves. And heading up the list with the highest homeownership rate was Romania (96.6%), with four other Eastern European countries rounding out the top five. Wonder why? The Pew Research Center cites a 2007 paper attributing the Eastern European phenomenon to relatively large rural populations, who typically either built their own homes or inherited them; and the rapid privatization of public rental housing in the 1990s after the collapse of state socialism. In France, your kid could block your homes sale If youre a widow or widower in France, youre not necessarily free to sell the home you owned with your spouse and turn over a new page in life. Per French inheritance lawswhich were created to keep estates within bloodlinessurviving partners must share homeownership with their children, and even need their kids permission to sell or rent out the home. In Ireland, house hunting is a big game of bluff Think negotiating to buy a home is stressful in the States? Its nothing compared with Ireland, where its more like an elaborate game of chicken, according to expat Catherine Dunne, who bought a two-bedroom home there in 1998. Story continues The system here involves just one real estate agent, who represents the seller, Dunne says. As a buyer, youre dealing with this person directly, with no Realtor representing you in a bidding system that can be very informal. Theres a lot of bluffing and banter that you just wouldnt get in the States. The reason? Irish real estate agents arent held to the same strict standards in other countries to negotiate in a transparent or verifiable manner with buyers. Likewise, they also expect buyers to engage in a lot of posturing. So, lowball offers are par for the course; only a rookie starts off offering full price. You may also want to negotiate with several sellers at once, which is what Dunne did to keep the seller of the home she truly wanted from resting on his laurels. In China, stubborn homeowners are compared to nails As Chinese cities continue to expand, many homeowners are being pushed to move out in order to make way for highways and shopping malls. But in many cases, the compensation offered by local government just isnt enough, according to the Associated Press. If a homeowner refuses to move, demolition of the surrounding area moves forward anyway. Such homes have been charmingly dubbed nail houses for their resemblance to a nail that refuses to be hammered down, and have attracted domestic and international attention. According to The Atlantic, nail houses have become powerful symbols of resistance in China. In Panama, nobody knows how much homes cost In Panama, pricing a home is much more of a mystery because this country lacks multiple listing services, the online services that real estate agents use to list homes, compare prices, and generally check out activity in their markets (and that provide realtor.com with its listings!). Take a minute to think through the implications, wrote Kathleen Peddicord in the Huffington Post. What should a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment of 2,000 square feet in a certain neighborhood in Panama City cost? Without an MLS, you have no idea. Which means its up to real estate agents to tap into their knowledge of the area and come up with their own best guess. In North Korea, housing is a black market In the socialist country of North Korea, buying and selling a home is flat-out illegal. But according to Reuters, many people secretly buy their homes instead of waiting for a government-issued one. How it works: Brokers sell property in private markets, and deals are conducted in U.S. dollars and Chinese yuan along the Chinese border. Buyers and sellers then bribe housing officials to approve the agreement by falsifying paperwork. According to a survey of 133 defectors conducted by Seoul National University, 67% had bought their own houses. Homes, one of the few resources North Koreans have, are now extensively traded unofficially, study author Jeong Eun-mee told Reuters. The regime has no option but to tolerate this because officials are involved as well. The post The Weird Ways People Buy Homes Around the World appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. Related Articles From Popular Mechanics The ocean waves were almost as tall as Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza, and they barreled across the red planet. Today, a team of scientists has announced the first discovery of extraterrestrial tsunamis. A team of astronomers and geologists led by J. Alexis Rodriguez at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona has uncovered evidence of massive tsunamis on Mars billions of years ago. As Rodriguez reports, two separate megatsunamis tore across the red planet around 3.4 billion years ago, a time when Mars was a mere 1.1 billion years old and nearby Earth was just cradling its first microbial lifeforms. The two tsunamis created 150-foot-high shore-break waves on average, and some absolutely monster waves up to 400 feet tall. Rodriguez and his colleagues outline their tsunami findings today in the journal Scientific Reports. The scientists say the Martian tsunamis were triggered by meteor impacts, which crashed into Mars' ancient water-oceans and "generated marine impact craters approximately [19 miles] in diameter," says Thomas Platz, a geologist with the team who specializes in crater formation. The two tsunamis took place millions of years apart, although they were set off by separate impacts of roughly similar size. Extraterrestrial Tsunamis Just like their brethren on Earth, Martian tsunamis would have washed sediments and boulders hundreds of miles inland and carved unique geologic features into the landscape. For example: These disasters could etch backwash water channels as they receded back into the ocean. But after 3.4 billion years of weathering and erosion, such geologic fingerprints are not easy to spot. Rodriguez and his colleagues stumbled across evidence of these tsunamis while scouring over images of Mars' relatively flat northern planes. Two regions called Chryse Planitia and Arabia Terra. Using detailed infrared maps rendered by the thermal camera on the 15-year-old Mars Odyssey orbiter, the scientists identified the high water marks of the tsunamis-features that look a lot like ancient ocean coastlines. The team found thermally bright, rocky, and boulder-rich exposures that bordered dark and flat sediment layers perched on a slightly higher elevation. That bright rocky exposure was churned up by the tsunami billions of years ago, where the dark swath stayed dry. Story continues Behind these high water marks are remnants of backwash channels carved by the retreating water. Tellingly, each of these channels juts directly backwards from the temporary shorelines. Behind the rubble, shorelines, and channels left by the tsunamis, Rodriguez's team found seven different meteoroid impact craters, each one of which might have set off the monolithic waves. Here's the picture all that geologic data painted: The first tsunami stormed across 300,000 square miles of Mars, and smashed inland about 320 miles. The second tsunami rolled across a far larger swath of red soil, almost 400,000 square miles, and traveled further inland as well, more than 400 miles. Compare that to Earth's devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which traveled 1.4 miles inland at its farthest and reached a maximum of 65 feet in height. Life-Bringing Waves? Perhaps counterintuitively, that second Martian tsunami didn't travel farther across the Red Planet than the first because it was more powerful event caused by a larger meteorite. Rather: "During the time period that separated the two tsunami events, the ocean level receded to form a lower shoreline and the climate became significantly colder," Rodriguez says. Because of this, the waves rolled across a Martian surface that had significantly eroded and smoothed, and that smoothness let the unhindered waves travel farther. The scientists also say that second tsunami might have thrown slushy, icy boulders across the Martian landscape. Strangely enough, that could have big implications for scientists' hunt for life on the red planet. "In spite of the extremely cold and dry global climatic conditions, the early Martian ocean likely had a briny composition that allowed it to remain in liquid form for as long as several tens of millions of years. Subfreezing briny aqueous environments are known to be habitable environments on Earth, and consequently, some of the tsunami deposits might be prime astrobiological targets," says Alberto Fairen, a research scientist with the team at the Center for Astrobiology in Spain. In other words, the slushy, salty chunks of ice thrown by the tsunami could have created long-lasting tidal pools perfect for primordial life. "We have already identified some areas inundated by the tsunamis where the ponded water appears to have [been formed by this ice.] As a follow-up investigation we plan to characterize these terrains and assess their potential for future robotic or human exploration," Rodriguez says. Daniela Di Giacomo and Dascha Polanco at the 50 Most Beautiful People en Espanol party. (Photos: Getty) Its every womans fear to show up somewhere wearing the same outfit as another attendee. And while its easy to laugh it off in the moment (totally been there), the celebrity media often has a way of spinning things for the worse. Enter: Who wore it better. Perhaps youve heard of it? The public loves pitting two women against each other but when youre one of the two involved, things can get ugly. On Tuesday, actress Dascha Polanco, who plays inmate Dayanara on Orange Is the New Black, went to the 50 Most Beautiful People en Espanol party wearing a revealing white cutout dress by affordable celeb-fave House of CB. As fate would have it, Venezuelan television host Daniela Di Giacomo had chosen the exact same dress for the occasion. In an Instagram post that now appears to have been deleted, Di Giacomo playfully shared a side-by-side of herself and Polanco, writing, #BitchStolemyLook! Hahaha typical you reach the #alfombra of #peopleenespanol of #los50masbellos and you get the beautiful bombshell #DaschaPolanco using the same dress! Puesss I say, we have the same taste! #loveher. And then things turned sour. Hosts of Univisions show El Gordo y La Flaca (The Fat Guy and the Skinny Woman) decided to take it upon themselves to comment very blatantly about their opinion of which woman wore the bandage dress better, as well as to discuss Polancos weight and curvaceous figure. (Watch the whole exchange below, in Spanish.) Unsurprisingly, their words didnt sit well with the actress, who retaliated with an Instagram post of her own on Thursday, lashing out at the hosts, as well as the medias overall lack of discretion when it comes to being rude and hurtful. Polanco wrote: Its really tasteless to come across today that a host of @univision @elgordoylaflacahave used poor choices of words that have become offensive. They have created an environment in which it has ignited bullying across their platforms & has instigated against my weight due to the same dress being worn by one of their host and I last night. Interesting that they chose to glorify something so superficial like this, and not focus on the issues Latinos face in Hollywood. I dont get how they allow their reporters to use profanity to make noise. #ismellgood #ieatbullies #OffensiveFoul #siempreyo #gordayto #estacurvasnuncasevanaenderezar. Story continues Waging war against an established media staple who wore it better-type segments is obviously an uphill battle. The hosts comments are proof that, while the body-acceptance movement has made massive headway in many ways, its very much not altogether there yet. And good for Polanco for getting the conversation going. Still, in this writers personal opinion, all the negativity couldve been avoided with the simple conclusion that neither of these women wore the dress better. Why? Because its absolutely hideous. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Whoopi Goldberg and Maya Elisabeth. (Photo: Michael Osborne) Whoopi Goldberg is one of the latest celebrities to launch her own cannabis brand. But unlike other marijuana-focused celebrity brands (like Leafs by Snoop and Wiz Khalifas collaboration with River Rock) that peddle chocolates, extracts, gummies, and more, Goldbergs project is about more than getting high. Its about relieving menstrual cramps. Called Whoopi & Maya named in part after Goldbergs business partner, Maya Elisabeth, who owns the cannabis company Om Edibles the line offers a tincture, a soothing body balm, a bath soak, and a chocolate spread, all aimed at making period cramps more comfortable. For many women, products that naturally ease cramps seem like no-brainers. Foria, another cannabis brand, offers suppositories aimed at doing just that. But when we spoke to Goldberg on the phone about her new venture, she mentioned that people dismissed the idea as something for a niche audience. If you look at the world, half of the people on the planet are women. And of that half, a whole bunch of them are coming into their periods or getting ready to go out of them, she explained. For years Ive smoked marijuana, and if I was having cramps, it was a great way to calm it all down. The Whoopi & Maya brand has already launched, but they still have a long way to go. Our chat with Whoopi revealed the challenges her women-run and -focused business faces in a market that is still trying to figure itself out. The product lineup for Whoopi & Maya. (Photo: Michael Osborne) Yahoo Style: What is most interesting is how your idea was immediately assumed to be for a niche market. Really, what makes this product niche and something like Midol, which you can find in any drugstore, not niche? Its essentially addressing the same issue. Whoopi Goldberg: Because some folks dont have to think about Midol. When you look at it, Midol isnt something most guys know anything about. Its not in their brains. But I tell ya, if guys got cramps, you can bet this product would have come out a long time ago. Story continues For sure! The governor of New Jersey and this is what makes me so angry pretty much said, We only give these prescriptions for real pain. And he has a wife, he has a daughter, I dont know if they have cramps, but how dare he? And thats what people do, they dismiss cramps because sometimes they dont believe theyre real. And I was thinking to myself, you think women are desperately trying to go buy marijuana to quell their cramps all you gotta do is get a weed map app and that will tell you where to find the weed! Thats not what were trying to do. Were trying to offer an alternate comfort zone for young women who are having these kinds of cramps and kinds of problems. I want moms to know, none of these things are meant to get you high. The rub doesnt get you high, the soak, when you have it and youre sitting in the hot water, youre not getting high, youre getting comfort. Now, if you need something stronger, we have THC products for that. I dont recommend that for young ones. The CBD has the extract, but not the high, but the THC does give you a high. There is a storied history of women using marijuana to treat period cramps as well, which is a tradition you guys are carrying on. Queen Victoria, she used tincture. People have used cannabis tinctures for a lot of different things. Doctors used to use cannabis for all kinds of things here in the United States. It became a Schedule I drug [ed. note: which the DEA classifies as drugs, substances, or chemicals with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence.] which makes no sense to anybody, because Schedule I means theres no purpose for this to be here, except to mess you up thats what crack is. But thats not was cannabis is, or has ever been. Whether youre a burn patient whose bones are itching, whether you are a family member of someone who has severe seizures, we know that cannabis products work for pain. Why? Because were watching and listening to all these parents who have changed their whole lives to make the quality of their childrens lives better. My granddaughters, who are grown women now, they have cramps, and I said, Try this rub, see what it does, does it need to be stronger? Does it need to be weaker? I dont say this is going to help every woman, because everybody is different, but it might help a whole bunch of people, and why wouldnt you want to do that? Why wouldnt we create something specifically for this? Now, if a guy wants to use it because he has muscle cramps, it might work very well for him too. But right now, Im focusing on women and their cramps. So, how did you and Maya come up with the concepts for the products? We wanted to keep it simple. Particularly in a medicinal space. What do people need? They need something they can carry in their bag, and something they can have at home that they can rub on. One lady I asked said, I want to soak when I get home. When I have cramps, I want to sit in hot water. We said, OK, we need that. Thats a good thing that makes people comfortable. It just brings the groove back. We said, What else do we need? Well, Queen Victoria used to use tinctures, can we make one? Maya makes this chocolate thats, like, off the hook! Everybody eats it, everybody loves it. Guys love it, women love it. If you get the non-THC version, youre dipping crackers in it. We wanted to keep it simple, so people would be able to say, Yes, I can get all of these products because theyre affordable, and I can pass them on to my friends. Were hoping that we can get people to recognize that this isnt just a dopey thing and women are just desperate to go buy marijuana. Were just saying, Hey, were in states where its legal, so why not have this as part of it? Its great that not all your products get you high, so you dont run into the situation where you took a cannabis product and now youre too stoned to work. When youre spending two or three days a month away from work because of cramps, female productivity goes down. Our rub allows you to carry it in the bag, so if your period comes on and you suddenly start cramping, you can rub it on and you can get through the rest of the day. I just dont understand why none of the places that talk about medicinal marijuana have ever included period cramps. None of the states have period cramps on their list [of marijuana uses]. Elisabeth and Goldberg. (Photo: Michael Osborne) I guess it goes back to what you were saying some people may not think its a problem. That, and there are not many female growers or female dispensary owners who say, Hey, this is missing! You have the Lets get high, lets get higher crowd, but you dont have the Oh my god, Im in such pain crowd. What are some of the challenges youve come across getting this business off the ground? Right now, we can only sell in California, because we need to find a local manufacturer for each state we want to sell in. Were a little company. We started with friends and family money. It would be wonderful if somebody said, Hey, we need you in Nevada. When you talk about some of the male names that are thrown out, theres a thing recognizing Snoop Dogg. Hes got his own products, but no money has come to us! Its kind of dopey because people are looking to make a lot of dough on marijuana. We would like to make some dough too, but we want to make sure that our product actually does something that is good for people. We want to correct those cramps and, yeah, it would be great if someone said, Wed like to open up a facility for you so you can continue this. Maybe that will happen. Ill keep my fingers crossed. This interview has been edited and condensed. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. How Did Aluminum Producers Fare in 1Q16? (Continued from Prior Part) Target price According to data compiled by Bloomberg, out of 16 analysts, six rate Alcoa (AA) a buy, and only one analyst rates the stock a sell. The remaining analysts rate Alcoa a hold. Alcoa carries a consensus one-year target price of $10.75, which represents a potential rise of 16.8% from the current price. Lets now look at the recent rating changes for Alcoa. Most analysts have maintained their ratings on Alcoa after the company released its 1Q16 financial results. However, Macquarie and Cowen reduced their one-year price targets after Alcoas 1Q16 earnings. Macquarie has cut Alcoas price target to $11.5 from $12 while Cowen has cut Alcoas price target to $10 from $13. J.P. Morgan raised Alcoas target price to $9 from $8 after its 1Q16 earnings while maintaining a neutral rating on the stock. Overall, Alcoas consensus one-year price target is similar to its pre-earnings price target. Alcoas 1Q16 earnings Alcoas 1Q16 earnings were a mixed bag for investors. While the companys upstream business performed better than expectations, the downstream business disappointed. Note that the downstream business, which will be split into a new company named Arconic later this year, is Alcoas crown jewel. Arconic will supply to the aerospace industry (XAR) and compete with companies like Precision Castparts (BRK-B), Constellium (CSTM), and Woodward (WWD). Aerospace demand Alcoa lowered its aerospace demand growth guidance during the companys 1Q16 earnings call. Alcoa also lowered the long-term guidance of the EPS (Engineered Products & Solutions) segment. The lower guidance for Alcoas EPS segment, which supplies to the aerospace sector, was negative for markets. You can read more about Arconics 1Q16 financial performance in The Uncertain Road Ahead for Alcoa and Arconic in 2Q16. Lets now explore what Wall Street thought about Century Aluminums 1Q16 earnings. Story continues Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Yesterdays Consumer Pops and Drops: FCAU, LEA, MO, and PVH (Continued from Prior Part) Price movement Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCAU) has a market cap of $8.8 billion. It fell by 3.3% and closed at $6.82 per share on May 19, 2016. The stocks weekly, monthly, and YTD (year-to-date) price movements were -10.5%, -16.5%, and -51.3%, respectively. This means that Fiat Chrysler is trading 12.7% below its 20-day moving average, 11.7% below its 50-day moving average, and 38.7% below its 200-day moving average. Related ETF and peers The Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA) invests 0.10% of its holdings in Fiat Chrysler. VEA tracks a market-cap-weighted index of large- and mid-cap stocks from developed markets outside the US. Its transitioning to include small-cap stocks and Canadian stocks. VEAs YTD price movement was -2.4% as of May 19, 2016. The market caps of Fiat Chryslers competitors are as follows: Toyota Motor (TM) $170.7 billion Ford Motor (F) $52.5 billion Tesla Motors (TSLA) $28.8 billion Fiat Chrysler recalled vehicles Fiat Chrysler will recall 506,420 Jeep Wrangler SUVs due to a defect in driver-side air bags during off-road driving. The air bag wont open in a crash. The company also recalled 2,185 trailer light module accessories for commercial vans due to a defect in the brake lights. Guangzhou Automobiles already denied buying stake in Fiat Chryslers Italy-based plant. On May 16, 2016, Exane BNP Paribas downgraded Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to underperform from neutral. TheStreet Ratings rated Fiat Chrysler as a hold with a C score. Fiat Chryslers sales in April 2016 Lets look at Fiat Chryslers US sales: Fiat Chrysler US reported total sales of 199,631 unitsa rise of 5.6% from April 2015. Jeep reported sales of 84,298 unitsa rise of 17.5% from April 2015. Chrysler reported sales of 22,843 unitsa fall of 17.5% from April 2015. Dodge reported sales of 43,575 unitsa fall of 3.0% from April 2015. Ram reported sales of 45,810 unitsa rise of 12.1% from April 2015. Fiat reported sales of 3,045 unitsa fall of 18.9% from April 2015. Story continues Next, well look at sales for Fiat Chrysler Canada: Fiat Chrysler Canada reported net sales of 30,108 unitsa rise of 9.6% from April 2015. Jeep Cherokee reported sales of 3,118 unitsa rise of 14.6% from April 2015. Jeep Grand Cherokee reported sales of 1,960 unitsa rise of 88.3% from April 2015. Dodge Grand Caravan reported sales of 6,368 unitsa rise of 76.0% from April 2015. Jeep reported sales of 9,040 unitsa rise of 20.8% from April 2015. In the next part, well discuss Lear Corporation. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Single women lead lonely, depressing and incomplete lives. Their unhappiness increases exponentially with each passing birthday, because past a certain age a woman is used up. All women are desperate to marry or remarry because marriage is their only real chance for security and happiness. This is a quote from a 1994 academic paper on the subject of settling, by Anderson & Stewart, which looked into decoding myths about singledom. While it's easy to write off as sexist crap, I find myself stalling over the words: "Marriage is their only real chance for security." Whether we talk about our need for "security" this overtly or not, the issue is underscored by the language we use to talk about relationships; "I wasted those years"; "I'm single "; "meet my other half "; "I've been ghosted "; "We've broken up." Another of those sinister words is "settling" a phenomenon that's been relatively well documented in terms of women's romantic behavioural patterns. The question is, what can this "security" possibly mean when you're only in your mid-20s? Is it financial, is it emotional, is it to do with social pressures? Lori Gottlieb is an American author. Her 2010 book Mr Good Enough pissed off every feminist going when it was published to include a trite observation that: "Every woman I know no matter how successful and ambitious, how financially and emotionally secure feels panic, occasionally coupled with desperation, if she hits 30 and finds herself unmarried." Sounds like something from a Jane Austen novel, right? Sounds like something from a 1994 academic paper, right? Journalist Melissa Lafsky published a reactive think-piece on Gottlieb's incendiary book on The Huffington Post: "Screw you, Lori Gottlieb. Screw you for exploiting my deepest fears for a piece you knew would clang the inflammatory gong. Screw you for cashing in after injecting me with your own regret and disappointment." If you think that's a bitter retort, fellow journalist Moe Tkacik's impassioned response piece on Jezebel was entitled 'What's Lori Gottlieb Smoking?' Story continues It's easy to be lulled into a false sense of progression, but I strongly detect these arguments seeping through into our Newspeak today in our romcoms, our magazines, our memes. We're all familiar with the folklore of the woman who "settled" for a bloke because their minute-hand just ticked over the 30 stroke. 'She married him, just in time, and they moved into a shoe in South London and had lots of children crisis averted!' Yet, somehow, this rhetoric has stumbled, IV drip intact, hospital nightie flapping in the wind, into 2016, and refuses to die. The sad reality is that, despite the popularisation of Feminism, the proliferation of conversation around women's autonomy at every trendy east London panel, the Tumblrs, the Instagram accounts, and the brilliant zines being laid at the alter of 'the fourth wave', I still know lots of upwardly mobile, 20-something women, on half-decent pay cheques, who have wonderful relationships- then there are the odd ones, friends of friends, who I wonder if deep down, have "settled". Why don't I just ask these people I know outright whether they think they've made a compromise? Because, of course, it's really awkward. I am 25 turning 26 very soon (so what do I know?) but I have harboured anxious questions about some of my friends' partners (only a few- and only at intervals). Like, "Really, him?" and "Are you happy? Are you having fun? Does he make you laugh?" I have wondered, occasionally out loud, about their true feelings towards these individuals that they're choosing to stay in with on a Saturday night, because I have been there, head on someone's chest, wondering if this is what I want. Of course, I could just be jealous and maybe these men/boys, with their expensive jeans and "cool" media jobs are actually hilarious behind closed doors. Maybe they're so cerebral that a trip to the cinema with her mates would just be too dull. Maybe they're just really, really good in bed. Maybe it's that they brush her hair in the shower and make a good curry from scratch. But I doubt it. But then I hear them lamenting the bad love-making and the lack of 'get up and go'. But then I see them the next day, from behind, stood side by side at the bus stop, hands entwined, idly looking into the distance. Living with integrity [means] not settling for less than you know you deserve. I don't blame my friends if they are "settling" pro tem, because in amongst the mixed messaging of this techno-industrial existence we find ourselves rushing through, I can comprehend the desire for something fixed. I have settled before and I just don't want to do it now. I have paused, at varying intervals, looked at the boy I find myself sat across from at a bar really looked him up and down like a homeowner might at an empty loft space, and thought, 'What might I do with you? Maybe I'll put my things in you and live in you for a bit. It might be cosy. I might feel comfortable.' I've thought about it, hard, and concluded that I'm too much of a narcissist to spend my time with someone I don't perceive to be wonderfully smart and extremely sexy. I of course, have also been weighed and measured and been found to be lacking. But, I still think a relationship should be "special" is that childish? As the academic Barbara DeAngelis wrote: "Living with integrity [means] not settling for less than you know you deserve." I just never imagined "settling" would be a 20-something past time, but then, I guess, times are tough. Rent is expensive, jobs are scarce, social media is a rash of anxiety that most are afflicted by, dating apps make us all romantically dispensable, and, well, London's relentless. Socialising can be relentless, having fun can be relentless, and I can see why my friends meet these people on apps, through friends, at work and quickly settle into what I perceive to be a compromising existence, because I guess, in all the confusion, it's a consistent (if somewhat temporary) ally. When I think of settling, I'm reminded of the unapologetic satire deployed in the film, The Lobster a film that unceremoniously unmasks romance and dating one false lash at a time. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, the plot revolves around recently single people who come to a rural "hotel" to meet a match. They have 45 days to do this, else they are transformed into an animal (David, our protagonist, chooses a lobster, because they can live for up to 100 years.) Brave losers, who fail to meet a partner at the "spa, sometimes flee into the nearby wooded forest and are referred to as "loners". How does it all work out? Well, one woman throws herself off the hotel roof rather than face another failed date. The guests read as us desperately seek things they might have in common with one another. One man breaks his nose in order for a girl who suffers from nose bleeds to take a shine to him. Another pretends to be heartless by letting a potential girlfriend drown in the jacuzzi knowing that she's a psychopath who is attempting to fake her own death. Needless to say, when she remerges from the bubble, she is won over and they get engaged. What the players in Lanthimos' Greek tragedy are doing is "compromising"; adjusting aspects of their personality to attract a potential partner. The compromise, the desire to "settle" a desire that comes to burn stronger than any erotic desire in the film is born out of fear. A fear of being alone. Of being "single", "unattached" and "available". The Lobster is a two-hour long open-heart-surgery that cuts deep into our own nonsensical dating rituals; the pomposity of our mating postures, the idolatry that western society imbues into the "married couple" (the words 'tax break' whisper in the wind) and the extraordinarily dreary lengths we go to to achieve it. But does the film reflect real life? I knew I was settling, my friends knew I was settling and worst of all, he knew I was settling. To find out, I very neatly laid my British politeness to one side (just for a moment) and hid behind a cheerily-worded email asking my friends, really, really casually, if they'd ever "settle" and if, in the event that they had, would they please tell me why. Here's what they said... Nicole*, 27, who had lived with a boyfriend for three years, confirmed to me that she had settled because she was afraid. "Id like to think I'm a pretty strong, independent woman, but I think I stayed with him because the thought of not having someone to spoon at night was too frightening. I knew I was settling, my friends knew I was settling, and worst of all, he knew I was settling. I went along with it and convinced myself that I loved him, but you can never really fool yourself for too long." The relationship ended when both cheated on one another. And yes, we all knew she'd settled, and no, no one spoke about it. My other friend Christine* still lives with her boyfriend. She's 25 and he's 32. In fact they very recently signed a year-long contract on a flat, despite breaking up and getting back together several times already this year. "The idea of not being with him is one I can completely get my head around. But being alone is not something I'm sure I could do. I get really, really wound up sometimes thinking that he's settling too; I'll lock myself in the bathroom and cry because I feel so angry. Then I see my single friends paying lots of rent, still going out and getting really pissed every weekend and I think I've made the right decision. It changes every day. I'll worry about it when I have to, and I know that's not healthy." Finally, I hear from my friend Frankie*, who is 28 and to my knowledge has been single for as long as I've known her. "Not entirely true," she explains. "I met *Mark on an app last summer and I play girlfriend with him on the weekend and week nights. He thinks it's a proper relationship despite the fact he's only ever 'accidentally' met my housemate and none of my other friends. We don't have any shared interests, but it's convenient in that he treats me well and the sex is amazing. I've also convinced myself that the guy that ticks all the boxes isn't going to like me." I spoke to Oliver Burkeman, author of The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking, about the phenomenon of settling, and why we do it, and his answer hit the proverbial notch on the bedpost. "My problem with the idea of 'settling' is that, actually, I think everyone 'settles', in romance and every other area of life, all the time, whether they realise it or not. Any choice you make always involves turning down an infinite number of alternatives, and making a tradeoff choosing certain benefits in return for missing out on others. "In fact, when you think about it, even deciding not to settle is a kind of settling: if you spend your twenties and thirties dating lots of people instead of choosing one, then you are getting one set of benefits (excitement, freedom) and sacrificing another set of benefits (security, a deep connection). That might well be the right answer for you, of course it's a perfectly good choice. But you're still making a tradeoff. That definitely doesn't mean you should just marry the first person who comes along, or settle for someone obnoxious or abusive, or have low standards. It just means realising that it will always be true in theory that you could be happier with some other life, some other person, some other job. " I think the trade off that Oliver talks about requires an understanding of your emotional priorities whether excitement makes you feel good in this moment, or whether stability is what you truly desire. And it's about being true to your gut. Don't ever compromise on your gut, is what I think we can all agree on. That and life is a series of little compromises and settlings and that is not all bad- great things come from putting someone else first; changing your own behavioural patterns and doing things you wouldn't normally. While I accept Olivier's notion of constant compromise, for me it's like this: I think we need to kick the doll's house. I think we need to stop for a moment, and take a look at the language were all guilty of engaging within. I think we should at least try to let go of the "fear" of an empty bed and embrace the space to roll about in it instead. We could all do with acknowledging the pressures of finding a partner and having a good old laugh at them from time to time. I should not be critical of other people's lifestyles in the hope that they aren't of mine. I look forward to future relationships and their endings too. I think if we all loosened up a bit and laughed at the madness of it all, we might be able to see more clearly about what makes us, personally, as close to content as we, as humans, can manage. I am, of course, talking as straight a woman in her mid-twenties. I'm not yet asked about the absence of a swollen stomach, or how my down payments are coming along all in good time. But I am forever asked about who I am 'dating', 'seeing', 'texting'. The answer for now is "my friends and my family". I will leave the last word to comedian and author of Modern Love, Aziz Ansari, who invites us to imagine a universe where matrimony isn't such a big deal: Imagine if marriage didnt exist, and youre a guy and you ask someone to get married. Imagine what that conversation would be like. Youd be the guy and youd be like: [guys voice]: Hey, so weve been hanging out all the time, spending a lot of time together and everything. [girls voice]: Yeah, yeah. I know. [guys voice]: I wanna keep doing that until youre dead. I want to keep hanging out with you until one of us dies. Put this ring on your finger so people know we have an arrangement. [girls voice]: Whos that guy? [guys voice]: Its a priest. I want you to swear to God you wont back out of this deal. [girls voice]: This is really strange. Why are we doing this? [guys voice]: Tax purposes." Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? I Flew 10,000 Miles For A First Date I Lost Weight & It Ruined My Relationship What To Do If You Can Orgasm Alone, But Not With Your Partner blue robot When Google unveiled its new smart assistant earlier this week, it revealed the most basic name possible: Assistant. Unlike Apple's Siri, Microsoft's Cortana, or Amazon's Alexa, "Assistant" isn't catchy. It has no identity. You don't even really call it that to summon it from Google's new smart speaker, you'd address it with a simple "Hey, Google" or the same "OK, Google" that you'd use to activate its voice search and predictive service, Google Now. But Assistant's lack of personality was quite intentional, according to Jonathan Jarvis, a former creative director on Google's Labs team. While at the company, he led a team doing concept, strategy, and design on products like the Search app and even Alphabet's logo rebrand. Jarvis worked on Assistant only up until February, so he wasn't there for the final decision to use "Assistant" as the platform's name. But he says that Google had spent a long time talking about whether or not it should personify its digital assistant. Jonathan Jarvis "We always wanted to make it feel like you were the agent, and it was more like a superpower that you had and a tool that you used," he tells Business Insider. "If you create this personified assistant, that feels like a different relationship." For that reason, Assistant likely won't be telling you jokes or serving up sassy responses, either. We also heard while at I/O that Google didn't want to give its assistant a gender or make it seem too American. While the team didn't want to give it a personality, they had to call it something, or else it would be hard to distinguish it from regular Google, even though that's essentially what it is all of Google's services mashed together with extra machine learning and artificial intelligence. Jarvis left Google earlier this year to join the startup studio Human Ventures, where he's working on a stealth new company that he plans to launch in the fall. He says that he's known for a while that he wanted to start his own company, but that the community and team-building offered by Human helped convince him to finally make the leap. Story continues NOW WATCH: Chrome has a ton of hidden features heres how to find and enable them More From Business Insider How much is the right amount for your child's allowance? As the father of 20-year-old twins, I not only strongly believe in an allowance, but also that bigger equals better. However, just throwing money at your child isn't a good idea. Money alone could easily destroy your child's ability to understand financial systems. When tied to a system of lessons about money management, large allowances can be a powerful tool. Some people are surprised by my view on allowances. As a financially conservative money-based podcast host, you'd think I'd have a different perspective. But done right, an allowance that's fairly large and frequent could be the right answer. Why? Because simply put, you'd rather that your children made mistakes with a few dollars early than to be left alone to figure out how to handle cash when they leave home. [See: 9 Scary Things Consumers Do With Their Money.] Here's what you're trying to avoid: In our family, we never talked about money. Ever. When I'd try to listen in on my parents' money discussions, my dad would tell me that it was none of my business, and I was reminded that polite families don't talk about money. Children especially don't participate in these discussions. I'm sure I'm not the only child who never received a f inancial education. When I was a financial advisor, many of my clients shared similar stories. Fast forward to my college years (and a military college at that), and for the first time ever, the kind people at American Express offered me my very own credit card. I signed up immediately, because I think it came with a free blanket. Then I proceeded to spend tons of money on it that I couldn't afford on things I didn't need. My credit was ruined. It took me several years to undo the damage I'd done with my first real financial decision. [See: 12 Simple Ways to Raise Your Credit Score.] In my own parenting life, I decided to treat my children differently. We gave our kids an allowance equal to their age. I can hear the question brewing already, "What does an 8-year-old need with eight dollars a WEEK?" The answer? Nothing. If you want to know the truth, they don't need that money at all, and yes, I agree. It most definitely is a ton of money for a child that age. Story continues However, we didn't just "give" them money. The allowance was only one small part of a bigger plan. I had to parent. My goals were to teach my children a few things: 1) You're a member of the family, and that isn't a part of our allowance system. 2) You're going to have to make purchasing decisions often in life, and some of them will undoubtably be mistakes. We should start the mistake-making process early. 3) Every member of the family should focus on talking through financial strategies together so that when you leave home, you're comfortable talking and asking questions about money. So, toward that end: Our children had chores that weren't part of the allowance. These tasks weren't tied to money. You made your bed. You took out the trash. You set the table and vacuumed. That had nothing to do with the allowance. A friend of mine (and great financial writer), Shannon Ryan at The Heavy Purse, uses a jobs board with her children. Her kids can apply for posted jobs, are interviewed about their strategy and then are compensated when those jobs are completed. That's also a great idea. My kids are older than Shannon's and I'd never heard of that approach, but it would have easily fit into our own. Our kids were responsible for their own movie tickets, concessions, ice creams and treats, and toys. If you wanted a cool video game, that's fine, but you were going to save for it and buy it. This one was difficult to monitor, and there were too many times when this slipped through the cracks. If I had it to do over again, I would have monitored what we purchased for our children more so that nearly anything that didn't involve food, clothing or shelter came from their own decision-making process. Some parents have asked me, "What if they're about to buy something they shouldn't?" If it's objectionable, you should step in; but if it's just a waste of money, this is a fantastic opportunity for your child to learn! Sometimes our children would make horrible mistakes with money. My daughter bought a few items that fell apart immediately. My job as a parent was to let her waste the money (I knew the stuff was going to fall apart, but wanted to help her learn her own lesson). Later, though, I took her aside and we had a discussion about quality, and how to make purchases that wouldn't disappoint you. Today, my daughter is in college and is the world's best thrift store clothing shopper. She only buys name-brand clothing and never pays more than a few dollars for items. They're always high-value, low-cost garments. Mission accomplished. [See: 12 Ways to Be a More Mindful Spender.] As much as possible, we'd encourage our kids to save their money. Because we wanted to emphasize the value of saving, we'd discuss letting your money work for you. That didn't just mean opening a savings account. My son opened a brokerage account early on and we talked about how to pick a stock to buy. Together we settled on Ford as his first stock. He still holds it, and through the years has added plenty of others. He's 20 and knows more about stocks than many folks in their 30s. Our children were involved in financial meetings. Before we implemented any of these strategies, I'd come home and all three TV sets in our house would be on, every light in the house would be on and everyone would be in the backyard. I needed to change this. So, Cheryl and I called a "team meeting" and decided to play a game. We'd chart electric usage on a grid each month, trying to see how low we could go. As you can see, the allowance was only one part of the equation. Parenting and explaining as much about money as possible was every bit as important. Summer is a great time to get started because you have your kid's time and attention. I've never regretted giving my children large allowances, but without financial education, it could have been a disaster. Help your children understand money now so that they don't have to worry later about whether to take the credit card in the student union. Let them learn from my mistake. My children did. Joe Saul-Sehy is the co-host of the award-winning Stacking Benjamins podcast, which focuses on earning, saving and spending with a plan. More From US News & World Report Estimates for Key Shales: Will Crude Oil Production Fall in June? (Continued from Prior Part) Haynesville Shale natural gas production The EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) has estimated that the Haynesville Shale, located in Louisiana, southwestern Arkansas, and eastern Texas, produced ~6.1 Bcf (billion cubic feet) per day of natural gas in April 2016. This estimation is based on the EIAs Drilling Productivity Report released on May 16, 2016. The Haynesville Shales natural gas production in April 2016 was 1% lower than its production in March 2016. On a YoY (year-over-year) basis, Aprils production fell 4%. According to the EIA, natural gas production at the Haynesville Shale has risen 45% in the last eight years. In April 2016, the region produced ~6.2 Bcf per day of natural gas compared to ~4.2 Bcf per day in April 2008. Haynesville rigs and monthly additions from the average rig The number of active rigs at the Haynesville Shale was 16 in April 2016, one less than in the previous month. In April 2015, there were 32 drilling rigs in the region. Its important to note that most of the Haynesville rigs are horizontal in trajectory. From April 2008 to April 2016, additional natural gas production per rig at the Haynesville Shale rose from ~1.2 MMcf (million cubic feet) per day to ~5.3 MMcf per day, or by 3.2x. In the 12 months leading up to April 2016, the natural gas production addition per rig rose 13%. What does this mean for oilfield services companies? Steady Haynesville Shale drilling and production activities can lead to steady revenues for oilfield equipment and services providers. Strong drilling, exploration, and production also help maintain steady margins for companies such as Baker Hughes (BHI), C&J Energy Services (CJES), Weatherford International (WFT), and CARBO Ceramics (CRR). CJES makes up 0.01% of the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM), but for investors looking for exposure to the energy sector, energy makes up 2.8% of IWM. Story continues How much US shale production adjustments have kicked in? Crude oil and natural gas production at key US shales has risen in the past few years. However, aggregate crude oil production in these shales has fallen 8% in the past year ending April 2016. Aggregate natural gas production, on the other hand, has risen ~4% over the past year. The EIAs projections suggest that production at many of these shales could fall further or stagnate within the next two months. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Few locations offer the diversity of looks and vast infrastructure that California does, which partially explains the 11 percent filming jump in the first quarter of 2016, according to a report from FilmL.A. "Tax incentives aside, we tend to be producers' first choice due to the ease of working here," says California Film Commission executive director Amy Lemisch, who adds that the network of 40 official film commission offices (each with its own unique enticements, a few examples of which are highlighted on the below map) helps to encourage shooting in all corners. "It's definitely more challenging to get people to venture outside of the 30-mile zone [around L.A.], but we're starting to see more of that because we have a wealth of looks that can match for other regions." An additional 5 percent tax credit for shooting outside the zone helps. The Film in California Conference on May 21 will promote the state's resources as well as honor producer Ryan Murphy - "a champion for filming in California," says Lemisch - with the first California Golden Slate Award. KEY WHITE: Film Liaisons in California Statewide (FLICS) offices ... BROWN: including locations with recent notable projects YELLOW: and a sampling of local enticements A. Swiss Army Man (A24) Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe spent six days shooting the surreal drama in Humboldt County last fall. B. Placer Lake Tahoe Spike Jonze filmed Her in this county, which offers free film permits and free use of county-owned locations. C. Sense8 (Netflix) The series shoots in San Francisco, which offers a refund of up to $600,000 on any fees paid to the city for qualifying projects. D. Ridgecrest This city just outside L.A. waives permit fees and has a desert landscape that easily can serve as "the middle of nowhere." E. Santa Barbara The county provides additional cash rebates for certain shows and films as well as for permit fees and 50 percent of affiliated CHP, sheriff or police department costs. Story continues F. NCIS (CBS) Santa Clarita, where some of NCIS is shot, subsidizes permit fees for approved productions and partially refunds hotel taxes. G. The People v. O.J. Simpson (FX) West Hollywood, where American Crime Story partially shot, is in the 30-mile zone and close to the major studios. H. Chips (Warner Bros.) The end of the 710 Freeway in Los Angeles was used for chase scenes in this upcoming remake (and in The People v. O.J. Simpson). I. Rosewood (Fox) Anaheim isn't just the home of Disneyland. This drama, starring Morris Chestnut, partially shoots in the Orange County city. This story first appeared in the May 27 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Read More: Garry Marshall Talks 'Pretty Woman,' Julia Roberts at Film in California Conference Can TJX Companies Continue Its Growth Streak in Fiscal 1Q17? (Continued from Prior Part) Gross margin contraction TJX Companies is scheduled to announce its fiscal 1Q17 results on May 17. In the guidance issued in February 2016, TJX Companies stated that its estimated gross margin for 1Q17 ended April 30, 2016, was in the range of 28.2% to 28.3%. In comparison, the gross margin in 1Q16 was 28.3%. The company expects its full-year fiscal 2017 gross margin to be in the 28.3% to 28.5% range down from 28.8% last year. The decline in gross margins in 1Q17 and fiscal 2017 is likely to be caused by currency headwinds. Aside from the US, TJX Companies operates its off-price stores in Canada, Europe, and Australia. Recap of historical margins The companys gross margin in 4Q16 ended January 30, 2016, expanded by 50 basis points to 28.7%. For the full-year fiscal 2016, TJX Companies gross margin increased by 20 basis points to 28.8%. This improvement was driven by buying and occupancy expense leverage on strong same-store sales growth as well as higher merchandise margin. The operating margin of TJX Companies in 4Q16 declined by 50 basis to 12% due to the impact of higher wages, an increase in contribution to the companys charitable foundations, and higher supply chain costs. The companys full-year fiscal 2016 operating margin declined by about 40 basis points to 12% due to higher store payroll costs and increased costs associated with higher units sold. The iShares Global Consumer Discretionary ETF (RXI) has 1.4% exposure to TJX Companies. The operating margins of off-price retailers Ross Stores (ROST) and Burlington Stores (BURL) were 13.6% and 5.8%, respectively, in the fiscal year ended January 30, 2016. Nordstrom (JWN), which operates full-line stores as well as off-price Nordstrom Rack stores, reported an operating margin of 7.6% in the comparable fiscal year. Operating margin under pressure TJX Companies operating margin in 1Q17 and the full year fiscal 2017 might be under pressure due to higher selling, general, and administrative (or SG&A) expenses. The SG&A expenses as a percentage of sales are anticipated to be in the 17.8% to 17.9% range in 1Q17, up from 17.0% in 1Q16. The company expects fiscal 2017 SG&A expenses as a percentage of sales in the 17.2% to 17.3% range, up from 16.8% last year, mainly due to higher wages. Story continues Well discuss expectations for TJX Companies 1Q17 earnings in the next part of this series. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: From ELLE This week I am a contestant on Jeopardy! Admittedly, it is not quite the real Jeopardy!-with its brutally difficult and obscure answers. This is 2016 Power Players week, in which a somewhat more approachable version of the beloved game is played by a motley crew of elected officials, journalists, political pundits, and brainy celebs. You can catch me tomorrow, when I'll be playing to support Girls for Gender Equity (GGE), a Brooklyn-based nonprofit organization committed to the physical, psychological, social, and economic development of girls and women. I first met Joanne Smith, GGE's founder and executive director, when we served together on a panel commemorating the impactful testimony of professor Anita Hill. During that event, I heard Joanne discuss the powerful vision she was pursuing along with her small staff at GGE. Their work amplifies the voices of girls of color in New York public schools, ensures accountability in those schools, and allows young women to be authors of their own futures. But my Jeopardy! appearance is not the biggest thing happening at GGE this week. Girls for Gender Equity was instrumental in helping the City Council of New York establish a working group focused on young women's issues. That group, called the Young Women's Initiative, released a major new report this week. The report is premised on a simple but revolutionary idea: produce an agenda addressing the lives and needs of young women and girls in New York City. It includes more than 100 recommendations across five issue areas: health, economic and workforce development, community support and opportunity, education, and anti-violence and criminal justice. It is truly groundbreaking because it relies on young women to identify their own challenges and the solutions to those challenges. In a press release, New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito called YWI "the first coalition in the United States to tackle the systemic gender-based inequality." Story continues For far too many black and brown girls, school is a place of punishment, not encouragement. This report is the result of a many-year gestation. When advocates for young women and girls, including Girls for Gender Equity, pressured the city of New York to create a road map for the success of young women and girls in New York City, the city responded by launching the Young Women's Initiative last year. But the movement had deeper roots: "Years of advocacy...combined with the equally important contributions of young women themselves, led to [the] public and unapologetic [declaration that] women and girls of color matter," Young Women's Advisory Council co-chair Gloria Malone told me. This is not just a report. The City Council and philanthropic partners are investing $20 million over the next two years to fund programs and services that align with the recommendations. These recommendations include: requiring city agencies to appoint a Gender Equity Liaison; creating a shared data infrastructure between youth-serving city agencies; training city employees and contractors on undoing structural inequity; and standardizing data collection that disaggregates sexuality and gender identity, and gender and race, and collects disaggregated data on Asian American/Pacific Islander, multiracial, and Middle Eastern/North African young women and girls. This is so important because girls of color, specifically black girls, are more likely to be suspended and expelled, sexually harassed and assaulted (as my ELLE.com colleague Mattie Kahn reported on earlier this month). Girls of color are also less well served academically, having fewer opportunities to study in STEM fields and scoring lower on standardized tests. For far too many black and brown girls, school is a place of punishment, not encouragement. Many cities have identified these challenges. What is new about the Young Women's Initiative is a lesson learned from GGE: the girls are not the problem, they are the solution! This approach is reflected in the very process used to create the report. Working groups prioritized the input of younger participants. Young women's votes on final proposals were given more weight than older participants. Because it can be so easy to forget trans girls and women or leave them out altogether, trans and gender-non-confirming young women were intentionally placed at the center of the process and recommendations. The girls are not the problem, they are the solution! The result is a report where the voices, opinions, ideas, and goals of the people most affected by school inequality are given the most weight for finding the solutions to addressing it. The Young Women's Initiative is intended to serve as a blueprint for other cities to take seriously the needs of young women and girls by embracing young women and girls as experts on their own lives, tackling complex issues, and exhibiting a willingness to invest in new solutions guided by the voices of young women and girl. One of the core concepts of the report is the idea that "poverty is not a character flaw." Poverty creates difficult barriers for young women, but it does not make these girls devoid of good ideas-a reminder of the lesson taught by civil rights activist and organizer Ella Baker. "Oppressed people, whatever their level of formal education, have the ability to understand and interpret the world around them, to see the world for what it is, and move to transform it." To cement the longevity of the YWI's work, the report recommends establishing a standing Young Women's Initiative and Young Women's Advisory Council to monitor implementation. "There is implementation work to be done," said Joanne Smith. "We're proud that our City Council is investing in cis and trans young women of color just as the state and nation should. This report offers an excellent blueprint and we won't stop there." We won't stop there. GGE is still operating in 800 square feet of space. The girls they serve still make graduation wish lists that include supplies as simple as paperback books and Post-it notes. I am playing Jeopardy! to support these humble and powerful goals of GGE, to help make sure they don't have to stop-to help ensure voices of young women of color are heard in every city hall in the country. To help make sure these young women are the next power players. Millennial US winemakers have established what they call the first commercially viable rooftop vineyard in New York, hoping wine harvested from the Brooklyn Naval Yard will hit the market next year. The young wine enthusiasts intend to produce 300 bottles a year from 50 specially commissioned urban planters installed on the roof of an industrial building overlooking the skyscrapers of Manhattan. The first harvest will be picked in the fall in the latest headline grabbing venture at a Naval Yard that has played host to Lady Gaga, fashion shows and the last presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. "The idea was really to re-purpose urban space in a sustainable manner," one of the founders, Devin Shomaker, explained to AFP. The vines are planted in 36 inches (0.9 meters) of soil, 40 percent of which is crushed, recycled glass that works as a sand element to make what Shomaker calls a "sustainable light-weight soil" similar to a traditional vineyard. They include grape varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Shomaker launched the business with brother Thomas and a friend, Chris Papalia, after studying business and viticulture. They went live after doing a test run in 2013 on the roof of Thomas's apartment to assess the air quality in Brooklyn. They are financing the project with help from a wine grower in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. Alongside their vines, their rooftop hosts private events and tastings, kitted out with a large bar, tables and hammocks, and sells three wines produced in the Finger Lakes. Shomaker said his inspiration was Brooklyn Grange, a successful start-up created in 2010 which produces fresh herbs, vegetables and honey on New York City rooftops. "New York State is the third largest (wine) producing state in the United States. But a very small percentage of New York City's consumption actually supports New York State wines," he said. And the future? He dreams of expanding his vineyard to other Brooklyn rooftops. This is going to be your last breath, they told Imam Baba Leigh as they threw earth over his bound body. Then they stopped and laughed. It was a mock execution, one of many tortures the Muslim cleric told Amnesty International he endured during his months in captivity. His crime? Criticizing the president. Little-known dictators: Fifth in a series Welcome to the Gambia, home to one of the most vicious and bizarre dictatorships in the world. Since taking power in a 1994 coup, President Yahya Jammeh has ruled Africas smallest mainland country through fear, force and what we can best describe as creepiness. He prefers that subjects address him by his full name His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Abdul-Azziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh and says he can cure AIDS. The 49-year-old also imprisons people for alleged witchcraft and has threatened to decapitate all homosexuals, because they are anti-God and anti-human. Oh, and theres his penchant for firing live rounds into crowds of peaceful demonstrators. Anyone who speaks up against his cruel, outlandish ways risks kidnapping, torture or murder, like Imam Leigh. In all this, Jammeh has made his country the neighborhood freak. The rest of West Africa has taken big strides toward democracy over the past decade, what with the election of the first female African president in Liberia and Ghanas status as rule-of-law beacon. Yet the Gambia, 50 years independent, is where human rights go to die. In 2013, it up and left the Commonwealth, a 54-nation grouping of former British colonies, suggesting to diplomats that Jammeh refused to tolerate any international criticism (hed gotten a spate of it the previous year for resurrecting the firing squad). Perhaps inevitably, attempts to topple Jammehs regime also take on a certain degree of bizarreness. The latest, in December 2014, was led by two Gambian-Americans with some military training, according to an FBI affidavit. In August, the men bought weapons (including eight semi-automatic rifles) in the U.S., disassembled them, swaddled them in used clothing and stuffed the whole thing into 50-gallon barrels that were shipped via container to the Gambia. In early December, the men arrived in the country, rented cars and drove them into the front and back of Jammehs palace. They figured Jammehs guards would flee being unwilling to die for the dictator but, oh, they were wrong. (The U.S. has charged the men under the Neutrality Act, which bars Americans from taking part in private military actions against friendly nations.) Story continues Absent a coup or burst of energy from the global community, 2016 will likely see Jammeh re-elected with a fraudulent majority. Indeed, though Jammeh is feared, he appears to have the genuine admiration of many of his citizens and some of the oblivious tourists who visit the beautiful country dubbed the Smiling Coast of Africa. For some 50,000 Britons each year, the Gambia remains a holiday destination Jammeh keeps it safe, plus its a six-hour flight from Heathrow and a hell of a lot cheaper than Marbella. Tourism and peanut exports are helping the tiny states economy grow at a rate of 6.3 percent. Republic of the Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh and his wife, Zineb Jammeh, arrive for the official U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit dinner hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington, August 5, 2014. The Gambias President Yahya Jammeh and his wife, Zineb Jammeh, at the White House in 2014. Source: Larry Downing/Corbis And even as most residents are poor, Jammeh scores well in the health department. Unlike its West African neighbors, the Gambia has avoided the Ebola epidemic, and its child mortality and maternal death rates are lower than the regional average. The country also has achieved one of Africas highest vaccination rates, which should certainly be applauded, says Jeffrey Smith, an international consultant who has worked closely with Gambian activists. To be sure, validating these claims is hard without a free press. In 2004, reporter Deyda Hydara was mysteriously gunned down after criticizing Jammehs regime. The presidents tight grip on the media also allows him to indulge his penchant for self-promotion. The newspapers report various honors: Jammeh being named the Pride and Champion of African Democracy, for instance, or his winning from President Barack Obama a Platinum Award. Neither exists outside Jammehs nightmare-scape. Obama did shake hands with him once which Jammeh likes to use as evidence of the leaders closeness. And the U.S. hasnt much pressured the regime: It has charged those coup perpetrators, after all, under the auspices of the Gambia being a friendly nation, and has stomached the alleged kidnapping of two American citizens, in 2013, by Gambias National Intelligence Agency. (Their whereabouts remain unknown.) Sometimes the U.S. issues outraged statements. But if we cant do anything about this isolated country with no economic ties to us, where will we? Hes the lowest hanging fruit, says Smith. For now, Jammeh continues to act with impunity. Absent a successful coup or some burst of energy from the international community, the 2016 election will likely see Jammeh re-elected with a vast, fraudulent majority just like the last election, and the one before that, and the one before that. In the meantime, human rights advocates say that Jammehs grip has tightened since Decembers foiled coup. Some 30 family members and acquaintances of the coup leaders have been detained without charges, some of them as young as 14, and Francois Patuel, a campaigner at Amnesty International, says the organization worries that repression will intensify. Last year in the Gambia, a bit of hope appeared when members of the U.N.s Human Rights Council were allowed into the country to investigate. Alas, they were forbidden to enter its detention centers. As Patuel puts it, With Jammeh, its always one step forward, three steps back. Related Articles By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Outbreaks of deadly yellow fever in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo do not constitute a global health emergency but require stepped-up control measures and mass vaccination, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday. The disease, which has a high fatality rate, has already spread to Kenya and China and there is an unrelated outbreak in Uganda, generating fears of the mosquito-borne disease jumping to sprawling cities in Asia and Africa. "This can be a devastating disease with rapid spread particularly in urban areas," Dr. Bruce Aylward, WHO executive director of outbreaks and health emergencies, said after its emergency committee on yellow fever held a first meeting. "The big push really is around surveillance and laboratory diagnostics capacity so that if people start turning yellow and dying, you get diagnostics rapidly and vaccination," Aylward told Reuters. The more than 2,400 suspect cases and 300 deaths in just four months in Angola "reinforced the potentially explosive nature of this disease and the risk internationally", he said. The panel of eight independent experts, led by Nigerian Professor Oyewale Tomori, said that urban yellow fever poses "serious national and international risks" but stopped short of declaring it a global emergency like the Zika virus or polio. "Much concern was focused on (ways) to ensure it does not become what we do not want it to become," Tomori said. Angola and Congo must step up surveillance to detect the virus and carry out mass immunisation, the committee said. Luanda, Angola's capital where the outbreak began in December, is now reporting 90 percent coverage with the one lifetime dose of the vaccine, Aylward said. The global stockpile of yellow fever vaccine should reach 7 million doses by the end of May and up to 17 million in late August, enough to combat current outbreaks but not if the virus spreads and causes "potentially explosive" outbreaks in other urban areas, Aylward said. "We expect 7 million doses, especially with additional doses expected by August, should be sufficient. It is sufficient vaccine we believe to stop the transmission that we currently know (of)." He added: "So the expectation is the current situation could be handled with the existing vaccine." "The challenge would be of course if there are other outbreaks in other urban areas, if these prove to be explosive because of an inability to rapidly detect or vaccinate, that is when we could end up potentially in a situation of needing to look at dose-sparing strategies." WHO is working with four vaccine manufacturers - Sanofi, Institut Pasteur (Dakar), Biomanguinhos (Brazil) and Chumakov Institute (Russia) - whose combined annual production capacity is 70 million to 80 million doses, Aylward told Reuters. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Hugh Lawson) By Marcus E. Howard NEW YORK (Reuters) - A suburban New York teenager who challenged a friend to a drag race that led to five deaths in 2014 was sentenced on Friday to six months in jail and five years of probation, the Nassau County District Attorney said. Cory Gloe, 19, of Farmingdale in Long Island, had pleaded guilty in March to all charges in a 17-count grand jury indictment relating to the crash. He was sentenced for manslaughter as a youthful offender, which means his criminal record would be sealed, by acting state Supreme Court Justice Terence Murphy. Prosecutors had pressed for a prison term of one to three years. Gloe's attorney, Stephen LaMagna, was not immediately available for comment. Parents of the victims of the crash which occurred in Farmingdale, about 37 miles east of Manhattan, criticized the relatively short jail sentence. "How many passes will Mr. Gloe receive?" Sandy Lonnborg, the mother of a victim, asked in court on Friday, Newsday reported. When he pleaded guilty, Gloe posted an Instagram selfie outside court with a message cursing police, the New York Daily News reported. That same day, he also allegedly posted messages on social media including, "I'll be in and out faster than you can spin a doubt," the paper added. Days later, Gloe was arrested on a weapon charge when he was a passenger in a car that had been stopped for speeding. Gloe will serve his sentence in a jail in East Meadow, less than 10 miles from his hometown. Prosecutors say Gloe, then 17, was driving a 2008 Toyota Scion just after midnight on May 10, 2014, when he left a mall parking lot where he had taken part in street races. He and a friend, Tristan Reichle, 17, who was carrying four passengers in a 2001 Nissan Sentra, had spotted each other at a red traffic light and agreed to race, according to prosecutors. During the race, Reichle's car crossed the center line and crashed into oncoming traffic. Reichle and passengers Jesse Romero, 18; Carly Lonnborg, 14; Noah Francis, 15; and Cody Talanian, 17, were killed. Two other motorists were injured and are still recovering, authorities said. District Attorney Madeline Singas has called the tragedy "completely preventable." (Reporting by Marcus E. Howard; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Richard Chang) Paris (AFP) - Rafael Nadal insists on Friday he still feels "young" ahead of his 30th birthday as the Spaniard looks to regain the French Open crown he surrendered last year. The record nine-time champion will turn 30 on June 3, which falls during the second week of Roland Garros, but stressed he remains as devoted as ever after an underwhelming 2015 campaign. "No, I'm not feeling old. On court it is true that I had a lot of years here on the tour, but in terms of mentality and in terms of life I feel myself young," said Nadal. "I don't think about going to be 30. Something that I don't -- even if I don't think is a real thing," he added, while smiling. "You know, time never stops. Nobody stops the time. That's not a good thing, but at the same time, I am happy with my life. I enjoyed all these years on the tour, and I hope to keep enjoying the next couple of years." For just the third time in his career Nadal heads into the tournament not as the man to beat, but instead a challenger in search of a 10th French Open title that would see him surpass Martina Navratilova's nine Wimbledon singles crowns. Nadal, promoted to the fourth seed after Roger Federer's withdrawal, will face big-serving Australian Sam Groth in round one and arguably has the toughest draw of the top men. He is on a semi-final collision course with world number one Novak Djokovic should he progress from a potential quarter-final against home hope, and two-time semi-finalist, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Djokovic has the edge at 26-23 after winning the last seven meetings -- Nadal's last victory came in the 2014 final in Paris -- but victories at Monte Carlo and Barcelona last month have reinvigorated the world number five. "I don't want to compare (this year to 2015). I am well into 2016 now, and I played a few good events in a row. So I hope to continue playing well here," said Nadal. Story continues "That's all my goal: keep going the same way that I am playing, and if it's possible to play even a little bit better and better. But I'm happy the way I have played since Indian Wells. A lot of tournaments in a row playing well. I need to just keep going." Nadal was bounced out by Djokovic in straight sets a year ago in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, but the Spaniard said it felt no different coming into the event without the title to defend. "Well, it's better to be here defending your title than not. But at the same time, it's obvious that it's impossible to have the same feeling every year. "I had that feeling a lot of times in my career, but I'm not arriving with this feeling this year. At the same time, I am excited. The goal is still always the same if you are defending or you are not defending. It doesn't make a big difference on what you want to do." From Esquire The United States House of Representatives is now a danger to the public health. The spread of the Zika virus is a serious threat. Acting on the advice of people who know more about epidemic disease than do the various Rotarian mud-fences who make up the House majority caucus, the president has asked for $1.1 billion to fight the disease. As Reuters tells us, the House majority isn't going to be fooled by your so-called expert opinion. We can do this on the cheap. On Tuesday, the Senate cleared the way for expected approval by the chamber on Thursday of $1.1 billion to fight the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects. Unlike the Senate legislation, the House bill requires that the $622.1 million be fully offset with spending cuts elsewhere. Many conservative Republicans in the House refuse to approve Zika funds that would add to federal budget deficits, while Democrats and some Senate Republicans favor treating the problem as an emergency that would not have to be financed with spending cuts. Fck the deficit. People got no jobs. People got no money. And some people got this disease. Apparently, small minds are multi-causal. You don't need the Zika virus. Sometimes, you just need enough votes in Bugtussle to get you elected. I mean, Jesus H. Christ on a respirator, even Marco Rubio thinks this is nuts. From The Chicago Tribune: "We can quite frankly do much better than what the House is proposing," Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said Tuesday on the Senate floor. Here's the way the scam works. The White House responded to the diddling of the House Republicans by using some of the money that is still there that was appropriated to fight the last public-health crisis-namely, the Ebola outbreak of 2014. In return, the House Repubicans promised to replenish the Ebola money at a later date, possibly in celebration of the inauguration of President Barron Trump for his second term. In other words, let's rob from sick Peter to pay deathly ill Paul. From CNN: Story continues "We will have hundreds of millions of dollars in that bill for next year's Zika response, so to suggest that somebody is being shortchanged-the money is just being prudently laid out at the appropriate pace and paid for along the way," said Oklahoma GOP Rep. Tom Cole, who chairs a key spending panel allocating money to the Department of Health and Human Services. (And, not for nothing, but, while Ebola is somewhat under control, according to the World Health Organization, it isn't going away either. Damn viruses just don't understand the need to rein in government spending.) The Deficit, and its fetishists, have gone a long way towards convincing the public that government can't do anything, which has sort of been the point of it all along. However, it's one thing to Deficit-mouth on long-term projects and quite another to do it in the face of a sudden natural disaster or an immediate public health emergency. And you may recall that the House's response to the Ebola crisis was to temporize about funding a response while screaming about cutting off flights to Africa and knuckling people under the immigration laws. Chris Christie maintained a cool head by tossing a nurse into quarantine. Sounds like a plan. Let's quarantine the House side of the Capitol for a spell, at least until democracy gets better. Click here to respond to this post on the official Esquire Politics Facebook page. HARARE, (Reuters) - Zimbabwe could double annual platinum production to more than 900,000 ounces in the next decade and become the nation's top export earner but current producers need $2.8 billion in new investment to do so, the industry associaton said on Friday. The southern African nation holds the second largest known reserves of platinum after South Africa but mines have struggled with low prices, a black empowerment law forcing mines to sell more than 50 percent of the business to locals, and power shortages. Zimbabwe Platinum Producers Association Chairman Winston Chitando told the annual meeting of the Chamber of Mines in the resort town of Victoria Falls that the industry needed new investments to raise annual production by existing producers from current levels of 458,000 ounces a year. "With vast platinum reserves, the sector has potential to increase production by the current producers from about 13 tonnes (458,562 ounces) to 20 tonnes (705,479 ounces) by 2020 and to 26 tonnes (917,123 ounces) by 2025," Chitando said. Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Aquarius Platinum are the three companies currently operating platinum mines in Zimbabwe. He did not comment on the separate Russian-backed project which was announced by the two governments 20 months ago for the joint development of the Darwendale mine which was projected to be producing up to 800,000 ounces a year by 2024. http://reut.rs/1Tojx6y Work on this project was still at the exploration stage, Zimbabwe's mining minister told Reuters in March. Chitando said on Friday revenue from platinum, which is the third largest export earner after tobacco and gold, could become the biggest at $1.2 billion in the next four years if more money was invested. "The industry requires around $2.8 billion over the next five years to ramp up and sustain operations. Bottlenecks that undermine capital inflows include clarity on indigenisation," Chitando said. Under the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, which was passed in 2008, foreign-owned businesses are required to sell at least 51 percent of their local operations to Zimbabwean investors. But on April 12 President Robert Mugabe said the empowerment policy was confusing potential investors and made it hard to compete for foreign investment. (Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by James Macharia; Editing by Greg Mahlich) By MacDonald Dzirutwe HARARE, (Reuters) - Zimbabwe could double annual platinum production to more than 900,000 ounces in the next decade, making the metal the nation's top export earner but current producers need $2.8 billion in new investment to do so, an industry association said on Friday. The southern African nation holds the second largest known reserves of platinum after South Africa but mines have struggled with low prices, a black empowerment law forcing mines to sell more than 50 percent of the business to locals, and power shortages. Zimbabwe Platinum Producers Association Chairman Winston Chitando told the annual meeting of the Chamber of Mines in the resort town of Victoria Falls that the industry needed new investment to raise annual production by existing producers from current levels of 458,000 ounces a year. "With vast platinum reserves, the sector has potential to increase production by the current producers from about 13 tonnes (458,562 ounces) to 20 tonnes (705,479 ounces) by 2020 and to 26 tonnes (917,123 ounces) by 2025," Chitando said. Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Aquarius Platinum are the three companies currently operating platinum mines in Zimbabwe. He did not comment on the separate Russian-backed project which was announced by the two governments 20 months ago for the joint development of the Darwendale mine which was projected to be producing up to 800,000 ounces a year by 2024. http://reut.rs/1Tojx6y Work on this project was still at the exploration stage, Zimbabwe's mining minister told Reuters in March. Chitando said on Friday revenue from platinum, which is the third largest export earner after tobacco and gold, could become the biggest at $1.2 billion in the next four years if more money was invested. "The industry requires around $2.8 billion over the next five years to ramp up and sustain operations. Bottlenecks that undermine capital inflows include clarity on indigenisation," Chitando said. Under the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, which was passed in 2008, foreign-owned businesses are required to sell at least 51 percent of their local operations to Zimbabwean investors. But on April 12 President Robert Mugabe said the empowerment policy was confusing potential investors and made it hard to compete for foreign investment. Noah Matimba, chairman of Zimbabwe Gold Producers Association said at the Chamber of Mines meeting that an investment of $600 million into existing gold mines would raise production to 50 tonnes. The mining chamber projects gold output at 24 tonnes this year, up from 18.7 tonnes in 2015. Gold producers say weak prices and electricity shortages and high tariffs are the biggest threat to producers. Partson Mbiriri, the permanent secretary in the ministry of power and energy development, said the country would be self-sufficient in electricity generation by 2019 at the latest. Zimbabwe's power demand stands at 1,400 megawatts (MW) a day, while generating ranges from 1,000 MW to 1,200 MW. The deficit is met by imports from South Africa and Mozambique. (Editing by James Macharia, editing by David Evans) Wall Street is looking to put the Fed's hawkish comments behind it and end the week on a positive note. All three major averages (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC) were solidly higher across the board in early trading. G7 summit The G7 summit kicked off today in Japan. The recent surge in the yen is likely to be a hot topic, as well as other global risks such as the volatility in oil prices, global economic growth, Brexit and monetary policy. Deere outlook disappoints Deere (DE) cut its profit outlook for the year due to the weak global farm economy and demand for its products. And even though the company's earnings and revenue topped estimates in its fiscal second quarter, profit tumbled 28%, while sales fell 3.5% from a year earlier. Gap (GPS) is closing up to 75 stores, mostly outside the US in an effort to achieve $275 million in annual pre-tax savings. This comes as Gap reported a 47% drop in first-quarter profits, with revenue falling nearly 6% as it saw sales declines across all its brands. Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App Yahoo (YHOO) shares fell in early trading after the Wall Street Journal reported that potential suitors are expected to bid between $2 to $3 billion for the company's core assets. That's substantially lower than initial price talk of $4 billion to $8 billion. Yahoo is the parent company of Yahoo Finance. Tesla (TSLA) raised about $1.5 billion in a secondary stock offering, according to Reuters. This comes as it seeks cash to finance production of its new Model 3 sedan. Kinder Morgan (KMI) got the green light from Canada's energy regulator to triple the capacity of the Trans Mountain Pipeline connecting Alberta's oil sands with Pacific markets. Virtual reality movies Imax theaters and Google (GOOGL) are teaming up to bring you a whole new type of movie experience. Theyre working on a camera that will capture 360-degree video that can be watched on virtual reality headsets. Imax will also open six virtual reality theaters in malls and multiplexes before the end of the year. Story continues Samsung strikes a deal Samsung Electronics and Alibaba (BABA) are teaming up. People in China will be able to use Alipay a lot easier than before using their smartphones. Users will be able to access their Alipay accounts directly from their Samsung Pay without having to switch accounts. Full disclosure, our parent company Yahoo owns a stake in Alibaba. Apple retail makeover Apple (AAPL) is giving its stores a retail makeover. The company overhauled its two-story location in San Franciscothe first of nearly 480 stores to be updated worldwide. The new look has lots of glass for natural light, sleek metal and blonde wood. Its goal on the design is to give shoppers the experience of walking into the companys headquarters. Apple Inc AAPL is now more than ever focused on India and intends to chalk out a winning strategy for the country. On his maiden visit to the country, CEO Tim Cook yesterday announced the opening of a map development office in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad in collaboration with regional firm RMSI. Though details of the investment werent divulged, the Cupertino-based tech behemoth said that the new office, located at the Waverock campus, will create about 4,000 jobs. Apple currently has created over 640,000 iOS app developers jobs and miscellaneous additional jobs pertaining to the iOS ecosystem in the country. Cook further added Apple is focused on making the best products and services in the world and we are thrilled to open this new office in Hyderabad, which will focus on Maps development. The talent here in the local area is incredible and we are looking forward to expanding our relationships and introducing more universities and partners to our platforms as we scale our operations. A day earlier, Apple declared that it will be setting up an iOS App Design and Development Accelerator center in Bengaluru to support and enhance numerous iOS developers and related startups in the country. This proposed iOS App Design and Development Accelerator is scheduled to be operational early next year. Bengaluru is the tech hub of India and has a huge base of skilled professionals, which can be leveraged by Apple to drive growth over the long run. It is the first visit by an Apple CEO to India, reflecting the growing importance of the booming market. As Apple faces slowing iPhone demand in most of the regions either because of competition or regulatory hurdles (China) or market saturation (the U.S), it makes sense for the company to solidify its position in a developing nation like India, which is projected to become the second largest smartphone market in the world. In 2016, the smartphone market in India is projected to grow 25% over the 100 million units sold last year. Furthermore, a younger (and skilled) population and increasing investment in broadband network by the government also make India an attractive growth opportunity for Apple over the long run. Story continues However, India is fraught with challenges. The market is cost sensitive and Apple will have to fight it out vigorously with dominant players like Samsung, which sell handsets running on Alphabets GOOGL Android system. Apple, of course, is not the only tech player eyeing India for growth. Given the potential of this market, Silicon Valleys interest is well understood. Microsoft Corps MSFT CEO Satya Nadella will be in the country on May 30, his third trip in the past 6 months. India remains Facebooks FB second largest market and is poised to topple U.S as the biggest market by 2017, as per an emarketer report. At present, Apple has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report APPLE INC (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report FACEBOOK INC-A (FB): Free Stock Analysis Report ALPHABET INC-A (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research News broke in February that hackers were able to steal no less than $81 million from the Bank of Bangladesh in what MANY described as a perfect heist. Well, maybe it wasnt perfect, as a silly spelling mistake prevented the culprits from walking away with nearly $1 billion. But the sophisticated attack worked almost flawlessly as the hackers were able to take advantage of the backbone of financial transactions, after infiltrating the banks systems. It turns out that the Bangladesh attack wasnt an isolated event. Hackers have attacked other banks as well in the past using the same methods. New reports show that some of these attacks could have been prevented, but only if only banks were willing to share more details about these attacks with the SWIFT organization. Apparently, the financial institutions arent just worried that theyre going to lose the trust of customers, but also that they might generate additional inquiries into their security systems from local regulators. And nobody wants that. DON'T MISS: Your iPhone could look so much better than it does right now The Bangladesh heist wasnt even the first one, and it likely wont be the last. Two others have been discovered in recent months; an unsuccessful attack in Vietnam using the same technique was thwarted in December last year, months before the Bangladesh bank was hit. But in mid-January 2015, more than a year before hackers stole the $81 million from Bangladesh, the Banco del Austro (BDA) in Ecuador was the victim of a similar attack. Over a period of 10 days, criminals used SWIFT credentials swiped from a bank employee to modify transaction details, including sums and recipients, for 12 transfers amounting to over $12 million. The security of SWIFT itself was not breached, but hackers used advanced malware to steal credentials and cover their tracks. The crime remained a secret for a long time, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal report, but BDA decided to sue Wells Fargo, the bank that approved the transfers. It turns out that SWIFT had no idea about the security breach, as neither BDA nor Wells Fargo shared details about it with the Belgian body that oversees wire transfers. Story continues SWIFT is urging partner banks to disclose similar attacks so that better defenses can be set up. But whats clear so far is that hackers have found ways to take advantage of this secure money transfer system that banks take for granted. And financial institutions are helping them by not disclosing hacks to SWIFT or to other banks. If a wire comes through via the SWIFT messaging system, banks act according to the information received and honor the transfer. Thats what Wells Fargo is arguing in its defense, which seeks to have the case dismissed. BDA, meanwhile, says that Wells Fargo should have seen the flags and stopped the transactions. Related stories Change your LinkedIn password right now Clever hackers can steal money directly from banks, ignoring customer accounts Act surprised: There's a new zero-day Flash exploit you need to fix right now More from BGR: 10 Marvel movie mysteries that still need solving This article was originally published on BGR.com Hate having to remember too many PINs or carry too many credit cards? Or just tired of heavy lifting? These prototypes are for you. Technology is usually a means to an end, not an end itself - any piece of technology that fails to solve a problem, or make something easier to do, remains a mere curiosity. That point was underlined at the InnovFest UnBound digital technology conference in Singapore this week, where much of the tech on display was designed to solve specific life problems. These were five of the best. Singapore startup Radiius has developed what it called a "card aggregation system." Multiple credit card details can be saved on the device, called Quadrus, that comes with its own chip-based card. Users can select the credit card they wanted to use and the device will program the card accordingly, eliminating the need to carry around multiple credit cards in order to get all of the loyalty points and perks on offers at various outlets. The technology is not yet available in the mass market. A familiar and tedious part of online banking and e-commerce transactions is PIN authentication, done mostly with physical tokens issued by banks, which means users have to carry a physical token with them at all times. Security software maker V-key, which is backed by Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial, has developed a technology called V-Tap, which virtualizes the process of PIN authentication using an app that can generate one-time-passwords. The app is also fully threat-aware and can defend itself if a user's mobile phone is compromised, the company told CNBC. Most residents of Asia know the dangers of a viral epidemic, having lived through the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2002, as well as 2009's H1N1 and 2015's MERS scares. Temasek Polytechnic, a pre-tertiary learning institute in Singapore, developed an anti-viral respirator with a mouth-piece, hose and bag that can be worn like a backpack. The technology is yet to be available to purchase but, in theory, during epidemics users can wear the mask to filter the air; the school claimed 99 percent of viruses passing through the device are killed using an ultraviolet light built into the apparatus. Story continues While self-driving cars dominate headlines when it comes to automated vehicles, start-up Ctrlworks developed Axon, a robotic vehicle designed mostly for indoor use. The vehicle has an on-board central processing unit that requires little power; it can navigate by itself using sensors to map the area and detect obstacles to avoid. Its customizable design makes it useful in many environments, including hospitals and warehouses, according to Ctrlworks. When dealing with a large supply volume, keeping track product can be tricky. Logistics technology company Display It Card, a subsidiary of Japanese logistics company AIOI Systems, used near field communication (NFC) technology to develop an electronic paper called VisibleRFID. Information can be written, read and transferred using NFC technology available in most smartphones, without needing to connect to the internet. The company said it would be most useful in areas where internet connectivity is sparse. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Google has no plans to expand its partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV to create a self-driving car, the program chief at the Alphabet Inc unit said on Thursday, affirming that the technology company was still in talks with other potential partners. Earlier this month, Google and Fiat Chrysler agreed to work together to build a fleet of 100 self-driving minivans in the most advanced collaboration to date between Silicon Valley and a traditional carmaker. Google said it was not sharing proprietary self-driving vehicle technology with Fiat Chrysler, and that the vehicles would not be offered for sale. "This is just FCA and Google building 100 cars together," Google self-driving car Chief Executive John Krafcik said in an interview on the sidelines of an energy conference in Washington. "We're still talking to a lot of different automakers," he added. "We've been very open about what the technology is and the problem we want to solve together. Solving this problem is going to require a lot of partnership." Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said after the partnership was announced that what had been agreed with Google was limited, but he suggested that the alliance could evolve. Google has no timetable for making self-driving vehicles available to the public and has logged about 1.5 million miles of test driving, Krafcik said on a panel at the conference. "We have a responsibility to get this out there as soon as we can and really as soon as we have data that says we're better than the current system of flawed human drivers," Krafcik said, citing 33,000 annual traffic deaths and more than 2.3 million injuries. "As soon as we're better we should push the button and go." Rival technology and auto companies are accelerating their efforts to master the complex hardware and artificial intelligence systems required to allow vehicles to pilot themselves. On Thursday, ride hailing company Uber Technologies Inc[UBER.UL] released photographs of a Ford Fusion it had outfitted with sensors to enable autonomous driving. The car is being tested in Pittsburgh, Uber said in a blog post. General Motors Co earlier this month closed its acquisition of self-driving car technology startup Cruise Automation. Another San Francisco startup company, Otto, said earlier this week it was developing systems for self-driving commercial trucks. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Richard Chang) Chinese tech firm Xiaomi is preparing to unveil its debut mass-market drone copter via live stream on May 25. "Something wonderful and cool is flying to us very soon," Xiaomi forum moderator Vincent Khoo wrote in an English-language tease on the company's public discussion forum (via 9to5Google). An accompanying image bears striking resemblance to the Yuneec Typhoon H shown at CES 2016 in January, noted The Verge, which could indicate the two are partnering for the device. The drone's unveiling is to take place May 25 on the Xiaomi website, mi.com. My iPhone looks so much better than yours. Sure the hardware is the same and so is the software, for the most part. But instead of using a photo of a cat or even Apple's stock images, I put a little time and effort into the wallpapers I use on my handset. As a result, my phone looks far more sleek than most, and I'm reminded of that every time BGR publishes a post with a photo of my iPhone at the top because so many people email me asking for my wallpaper. So beginning earlier this month, I began posting every once in a while when I come across a solid new set of wallpapers in an effort to help readers keep their phones looking as sharp as possible. DON'T MISS: How I added microSD support to my iPhone 6s The last set of iPhone (and Android) wallpapers I posted had about 300 different images in it, and they were all completely free. If you missed that post, you can check it out and see a bunch of samples from the set right here. I received so much positive feedback after that article that I decided to make sure I share new sets with readers each time I come across well-designed wallpapers that are suited to the iPhone. Samuel Zeller is a designer based in Geneva, Switzerland, and he's also something of an amateur photographer. He has a great eye, clearly, and he decided to transform some of his best original shots into iPhone wallpapers. Best of all, he posted them all on his website so that anyone and everyone can download them for free. Also of note, he created matching Apple Watch wallpapers for each one so that users with a Watch can keep their devices in sync, if they so choose. You'll find a few examples of the Zeller's wallpapers below, and they can all be downloaded for free from his website. 998e5a37076913.57339c32c6793 f651f537076913.57347aa2e3c21 f0fbb537076913.57339c32c85b1 62b84b37076913.57347aa2e2ff4 Related stories New leak shows Samsung's next iPhone Apple is stealing another great feature from developers for the next OS X Apple supplier mistakenly leaks details of next year's major iPhone redesign More from BGR: 5 Android N features you wont find on any iPhone This article was originally published on BGR.com From Popular Mechanics At 1:21am on May 6, 2016, SpaceX continued its run of aerospace brilliance with a night launch of its Falcon 9 rocket, carrying its Japanese communication satellite payload to geostationary orbit. The most spectacular portion of this event was the first successful night landing of the Falcon 9's first stage onboard their floating platform called "Of Course I Still Love You." While this was not the first successful landing for SpaceX, it was the first one at sea at night and also one that they predicted to have a high probability of failure due to the dynamics involved with the much higher energy needed to send the satellite to a higher orbit than previous launches. What does that have to do with me? Well, at the time, I was on Hunting Island in the southern portion of South Carolina doing what I love to do, shooting the Milky Way.... and I captured the moment! This was my 3rd time out with my new gear, the Sony a7R II and Zeiss Otus 28mm f/1.4 and I can't tell you how ecstatic I am with both of them in this early honeymoon stage, as they are providing me with the sharpest, most beautiful night skies I've ever seen without using star tracker equipment. This was very reminiscent of my capture of the International Space Station a couple of years ago. If you've followed me at all you might remember the night I went out to shoot star trails above Weaver's Needle in the Superstition Mountains just outside of Phoenix, Arizona, and the ISS photobombed me. Maybe I have a knack for being in the right place at the right time. My current method of nightscape shooting involves capturing a series of images and then doing some advanced stacking techniques in Photoshop to remove the noise (rather than using Adobe or other 3rd party noise removal software) and Sony's mirrorless line of cameras has a decent application that you can install directly on the camera (called Sony PlayMemories Time-lapse) that allows you to automatically capture a series of images, like I want, without having to resort to an external intervalometer. I'm all for less gear, so I've been doing it this way for a few weeks now. The downside is that the minimum number of images the application allows is 30, and while that's more than I need, it still works out to only about 5 minutes of shooting (I've settled into 10 second exposures with my current setup) and I'm never going to complain about having extra data just in case. Story continues Sorry for the sidetracking there, where was I? Right. I got out of my tent around midnight as the Milky Way was beginning to rise to the east and headed down to the pitch black beach where there is a plethora of trees slowly getting swallowed up by the sea. It's an incredible environment to shoot in, but there's a little wrinkle in all of this and it has to do with turtles. This time of year is sea turtle season in the southeast and the threatened turtles that come up on the beach to lay their eggs (and any little ones that hatch) are highly sensitive to light and often get turned around and disoriented by lights on the beach. For that reason, South Carolina (and presumably other states in the area) has instituted a no lights on the beach policy. Luckily there's enough light pollution that you can at least navigate without a problem, but not being able to use a flashlight to help with focusing, adjusting camera settings, etc., is a bit of an annoyance. I'm all for helping the turtles though, so I fully support this mandate. And the Sony a7R II is configurable enough so that you can view everything through the EVF. After adding some gaffer's tape to the lights on the outside I'm able to operate in complete no-light stealth mode. Capturing the moment At around 1:10am I set up by a particular tree that I was interested in and started capturing data for an ISO invariance test, unbeknownst to the countdown happening 250 miles to the south. Since I was still new to the Sony a7R II, I wanted to know what its sweet spot was for ISO settings. I've been using ISO 6400 almost exclusively (with some minor exceptions on particular nights) with my old Canon 5D Mark III, but I expect that the Sony can shoot higher without any problem. I still need to work up that data, but it's coming soon. Since I was already set up on a tree that I sort of liked, I figured I might as well capture my normal Milky Way data. So at 1:17am I turned on the Sony PlayMemories Time-lapse app to fire off 30 frames with a 1 second interval. I stepped back, looked up, and let the sky take me in for five minutes while my camera did its thing. As the camera slowly ticked down to its final few frames, I saw out of the corner of my eye what looked like a firework going off in the distance. I could make out a vertical red trail going straight up to the south of me. From the horizon, it was maybe a couple of fists tall before it disappeared and my timelapse completed while I shrugged my shoulders, wondering. As I stood there thinking, I remembered two other guys were out shooting as well and I initially thought that maybe they were playing around with a drone because I knew those typically have red lights on them. But I stood and watched for a few seconds and even though the red trail was gone, I could still make out some movement in the sky. It was very reminiscent of a satellite in orbit so I got to thinking that maybe, just maybe, it was some sort of rocket launch. Too bad it was almost due south and I was facing to the east. So I stood there dumbfounded and waited for about two minutes before I came to grips with what was unfolding. The rocket was no longer going up, but had made a turn and was maneuvering towards my frame. Without hesitation, I hit the shutter button and started another 5 minute timelapse. By the time it was complete, I could tell that the rocket was long gone. In my haste, I grabbed my tripod and set out to find the other photographers to see if they saw it too. In hindsight, this was a mistake. I always try to take a couple of longer, lower ISO, higher f-stop images with the foreground in focus so that I can blend it in later in post. It always make a more pleasing image when everything looks in focus. So yeah, when I got home and realized that I forgot to do that, I was a little frustrated in myself. But luckily there are some (limited) ways around it, which I'll get into. Processing the image The next morning, I groggily got out of my tent and drove home to recharge my batteries and see what I had captured on the big screen. The first step in the process is obviously importing the images into Lightroom. I'm running things on a Surface Pro 3 i7 with a 256 GB SSD and 8 GB RAM. I love it for just about everything except image processing. With my old Canon, RAW files were only around 29 MB per file, and it did a rather admirable job in keeping up with my workflow. But the 42MP Sony a7R II RAW files are clocking in at 84 MB per file. If things are settled down, previews have been created, and I'm not zooming in and out constantly, Lightroom can handle it, but the fan kicks in quite a bit and we get to take plenty of breaks while it thinks about things. Taking it one step further, most of my image processing is actually done in Photoshop after I do my initial RAW editing in Lightroom, and once you multiply 84 MB by 30 images, well you're talking a couple of gigabytes of files in Photoshop, and the short breaks turn into long ones. So it looks like a dedicated desktop mega-editing workstation is in my future, but that's neither here nor there. Back to the image processing. First I edit in Lightroom. I don't want to take away any thunder from working pros who put out impressive video tutorials on how to process images in Lightroom, so I'll leave that to Google (or I can make recommendations). Here's what the first image looks like after I complete this stage. I try to mainly focus on the sky with a little bit of shadow recovery in the foreground. I know I can do a little more fine tuning in Photoshop, so I just try to get it close at this point. Then I sync the settings to all 30 images. Finally, I highlight them all and right-click on the first one, click Edit In -> Open as Layers in Photoshop. The first thing I usually do at this point is to highlight all of the layers and set their blending mode to Lighten. This allows the brightest part of each layer to shine through to the layer above it. In landscape astrophotography terms, it creates the star trail effect. Over the course of five minutes of shooting, the stars are moving through the sky. In reality, the earth is rotating on its axis, but from our perspective, it's the stars that are moving. If I were looking for true authenticity in my final image, this would be where I would start. But as I looked at it, I decided to deviate a little. The star trail portion of the image was too much because the Milky Way is such a dense part of the sky. My goal was to represent the rocket trail and I felt that the smeared look of the Milky Way was too distracting of an element. I realize this might ruffle some feathers, but at the end of the day I'm trying to create an image that tells the story I want it to tell. And I wanted to tell the story of a rocket launch. So I decided to ditch the star trails and show the rocket launch as an overlay on a clean Milky Way sky. My image, my choice. Here's my plan: 1)Clean up the foreground 2)Clean up a single Milky Way image 3)Clean up the rocket trail 4)Combine (1), (2), and (3), add magic pixie dust, crack open a beer and smile at my creation Foreground As I was saying earlier, I screwed up. I forgot to take an in-focus shot of my foreground. Not that it would have been easy. Over the next two nights I continued to struggle taking in-focus foreground shots due to the no-lights-on-the-beach mandate. Trying to yoga-ize myself into a position where I could see through an EVF that was low to the ground and pointing up at the sky was painful. And then trying to make out detail on a tree limb in pitch blackness was near impossible. Anyways, that's not part of this story. I found out a way to get some sharpness out of an out-of-focus image. It's not perfect, but for an image that has a lot of noise and darkness in it anyways, I can get away with it. That and the tree isn't the point of the image, so you really shouldn't be looking at it in the first place. To do it was pretty simple. I took the first frame out of my layer stack and applied an unsharp mask and high pass filter to it. Then, to complete the foreground process, I took the top four layers, made copies, converted them to a smart object, and then applied a median stack filter to it. This does a fantastic job of eliminating noise and smoothing things out. Here's a before and after of the tree and surrounding beach. I think it's a remarkable improvement on the foreground. To finish the foreground, I also used Nik's Dfine noise removal software (Google made all of the Nik tools free, download them!) to do just a little bit more. It was very minor, but I knew it needed a little more. I also planned on adding this filter to the Milky Way so that the whole image would match up. The hardest part of this process is usually trying to get the foreground and background to match up without there being a distracting demarcation line of no-noise to lotsa-noise. Milky Way Most of my Milky Way processing is initially done in Lightroom, so for the most part it's already complete by the time I get here, though there are some additional color, curves, levels, and brightness adjustments that I tend to do in Photoshop to finish all of my images. At this point, there wasn't much that I did because I knew I'd be doing more once the rest of the image was put together. But to be fair, and to show where I started, here's the first image in the stack that I used as my base Milky Way image with the clean foreground masked in. Rocket Trail The Falcon 9 rocket raced through the sky for at least 7 minutes before disappearing from view. If you've been paying attention, you know that I missed the first 2 of those minutes. But, there's a reward at the 6 minute mark the landing, or at least the landing approach, of the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket. As the rest of the rocket continued to motor on to orbit behind the second stage, the first stage dropped off and successfully landed on a floating platform out at sea. How cool is that? This is probably the final part of where I used my personal creative freedom in creating my image. The drawback to shooting multiple frames instead of just doing long five minute exposures is that there is a short delay between frames where the camera is clearing the buffer and starting the next exposure. When you combine the layers, you'll see those gaps between star trails and, in this particular case, the rocket trail. Because of how bright the rocket trail is, I knew I had to fill in the gaps to make it look right. So after some careful clone stamping on each layer to extend the trail over the gaps and then some more extremely careful masking to just select the trails out of each image, I was able to come up with a layer that looks like this, only without the white background. One thing to note I am TERRIBLE at masking. I don't want to hear any comments about that. I already know it and need to work on it. It doesn't really show in the final image because the sky gets put back in behind the rocket trail, but still. It's a part of the image that I'm not totally proud about it. The Final Image The final step in the process is to combine all of the elements and clean things up. The base layer was the Milky Way from the first frame, with a Nik Dfine filter applied to it to smooth out a very small amount of noise without totally degrading the image. The Sony+Zeiss combo is extremely sharp and the noise is well within the bounds of being acceptable and pleasing, so I didn't need to do much. Then I added two Color Balance adjustment layers, one to the whole layer and then one to just the sky to balance the color out. From there, the rocket trail was added back in as well as the new foreground layer that showed a little bit more detail in the tree. I added another Color Balance adjustment layer to only this foreground layer since it had a little bit of a color difference from the bottom layers and I wanted to bring it back in line. The final adjustments were global without masking anything and were a Vibrance layer (added some vibrance, subtracted some saturation) a Brightness/Contrast layer (added a little brightness, subtracted a little contrast), a final Levels layer where I pulled in the white and black points to extend the image to both ends of the histogram and add some extra punch to it, and a light vignette because I like vignettes sometimes. Final Thoughts I figure this will probably get lost in the 2500 words above it, but the whole point of this is not to show you how to process your own image, but to give you an insight as to my thought process when I'm processing my images. The specifics of each step won't help you, but hopefully you'll come to realize that you're probably having the exact same conversations in your head that I usually am. And at the end of the day, it's your story to tell and this was mine. Now if you'll excuse me, time to crack open a beer. Zach Grether is a software engineer and nightscape photographer based out of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. You can find more of his work on his website, Facebook, and Instagram. His post was originally published here. On May 19, we issued an updated research report on Qualcomm Inc. QCOM. The company reported impressive financial results in the second quarter of fiscal 2016 wherein both the top and the bottom line steered past the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Notably, Qualcomms flagship Snapdragon 820 processor is now available in various leading devices and the company expects volume to ramp on this platform through 2H16. Meanwhile, the demand for Qualcomms Snapdragon 410 and 210 processors are scaling new heights which should help the company maintain its dominance in the smartphone industry. Qualcomm has also unveiled its Snapdragon 430 and Snapdragon 617 processors to power lower-priced and midrange devices, respectively. Being a leading name in the baseband chipset space, Qualcomms Snapdragon chips are used in Apple Inc.s AAPL iPhone, Alphabet Inc. GOOGL-developed Android smartphones and Microsoft Corp.s MSFT Windows handsets. However, of late, Qualcomm has been making attempts to foray beyond mobile phones. Qualcomm has revealed that it has entered into a partnership with Audi. Also, Qualcomm is working with Google to develop and power Android Auto in-car solutions with its Snapdragon automotive processors. Notably, Qualcomm presently has two Snapdragon system-on-chips (SoC) designed for the automobile market, namely, the 602A and 820A units. This should help the company accelerate innovation in the auto space and establish a new revenue stream. Qualcomm has signed a 3G/4G patent-licensing deal with Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc. For Qualcomm, associating with Chinas leading smartphone manufacturer means additional royalties. Moreover, Qualcomm has announced the signing of similar deals with various Chinese smartphone makers. We believe these new patent license agreements will lessen the chip makers struggles in China and take it a step closer to solving issues pertaining to its most profitable licensing patent business. Story continues However, regulatory proceedings against Qualcomm are on the rise with the company facing antitrust cases in various countries. We believe settlement of several regulatory issues is a major concern because if found guilty, the penalty imposed may hurt Qualcomms profits. Moreover, a shift in the share among OEMs (original equipment manufacturer) at the premium tier has reduced Qualcomms near-term opportunity to sell integrated chipsets from the Snapdragon platform. Additionally, Qualcomm has been facing challenges from low-cost chip manufacturers like MediaTek and Rockchip as well as handset manufacturers SoC projects such as Exynos by Samsung. Aggressive competition in the mobile phone chipset market may further hurt Qualcomms profits in the future. Qualcomm currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report QUALCOMM INC (QCOM): Free Stock Analysis Report APPLE INC (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report ALPHABET INC-A (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Dustin Volz and Sweta Singh REUTERS - The Senate Homeland Security Committee's top Democrat sought information on Thursday from global financial network SWIFT and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on steps being taken to bolster cyber security in the wake of the theft of $81 million from the central bank of Bangladesh. Senator Tom Carper of Delaware requested that both answer questions and brief his staff by June 17 on how they were handling issues following the February heist, during which hackers wired money out of an account at the New York Fed held by Bank Bangladesh, as well as how they were safeguarding against other potential cyber threats. "These cyber attacks raise important questions about the security of the SWIFT system and the ability of its members to prevent future attacks," Carper wrote in his letters. The inquiry comes as policymakers, regulators and financial institutions around the world increase scrutiny into the heist at Bank Bangladesh and a separate attempt to use fraudulent SWIFT messages to steal from a commercial bank in Vietnam. The Association of Banks in Singapore told Reuters it had invited SWIFT for a meeting in June to discuss the latest cyber attacks. The Bank of England last month ordered British banks to provide documentation on SWIFT security measures. In his letters, Carper said there appeared to be no evidence the Federal Reserve systems were penetrated or compromised in the Bangladesh attack. The New York Federal Reserve has denied responsibility for the intrusion, which some security researchers have said was due to a flaw in the SWIFT bank messaging network. The identity of the Bangladesh hackers remains unknown. Brussels-based SWIFT is a cooperative owned by some 3,000 global financial institutions. A representative for SWIFT could not immediately be reached for comment. The New York Fed plans to respond, a representative said. Carper asked SWIFT how it shares information about cyber security threats against member banks, whether there were consequences for members who did not follow security standards and if it plans to revise its cyber security policies in response to the Bangladesh attacks, among other questions. He requested similar information from the Federal Reserve, including steps it has taken to coordinate with SWIFT, Bangladesh Bank, the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Treasury since the heist. Major U.S. banks are scrutinizing security of the SWIFT messaging network following the cyber attacks, according to media reports. (Reporting by Dustin Volz in Washington and Sweta Singh in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Jonathan Oatis) Why is professional skier Jon Olsson flying around a glacier in a snow camo Lamborghini Murcielago? I think the better question would be, why wouldn't professional skier Jon Olsson fly around a glacier in a snow camo Lamborghini Murcielago? Welcome to the Fonna Glacier Ski Resort in Jondal, Norway, which recently played host to what appears to be one of the most fun and exhilarating joyrides of all time. I hope you're strapped in... DON'T MISS: How I added microSD support to my iPhone 6s While you were sitting at your desk in an office or at school earlier this month, Jon Olsson was stomping on a gas pedal inside a heavily customized Lamboghini Murcielago and doing donuts on a glacier. It's OK to be jealous I am too. I'm not positive since I've never tried it myself, but I'm reasonably certain that it's physically impossible to speed around a glacier in a Lamborghini without making this face: olsson-lambo Olsson floors it on the straightaways and really opens up the Murcielago's V12. Straightaways are no challenge for brand new snow tires though, so he also navigates a slalom course at high speeds and then does a bunch of donuts. The whole thing was filmed from above by drones and, needless to say, sponsored at least in part by Red Bull. Watching the video obviously isn't nearly as fun as filming it was, but we'll just have to make do. Related stories Tesla Model S P90D in 'Ludicrous Mode' races a Lamborghini Aventador A Lamborghini and a Mustang tear through an abandoned Russian town in this epic drift battle Watch a Lamborghini burst into flames while the driver revs his engine for a selfie More from BGR: 5 Android N features you wont find on any iPhone This article was originally published on BGR.com CEDAR RAPIDS Emilys List, an early endorser of Monica Vernons congressional bid, has announced a six-figure television ad buy in the U.S. House 1st District primary election race. Vernon, a former business owner and Cedar Rapids City Council member, is competing with former Iowa House Speaker Pat Murphy for the Democratic nomination in the June 7 primary. The winner will face Republican Rep. Rod Blum. The Emilys List Women Vote! ad, Promise, says Vernon is committed to protecting Social Security and Medicare, programs that are critical to Iowas seniors. Iowa women and seniors know they can trust Monica Vernon to protect Medicare and Social Security, said Emilys List President Stephanie Schriock. She will stand up to Republicans extreme attacks on seniors earned benefits and the economic security of Iowa families. Murphys campaign called that ironic considering Vernons position on Social Security, which has been a topic of discussion in four debates. In addition to Vernon receiving the endorsement of the NewDemsPAC that supports a plan to raise the retirement age and reduce Social Security benefits, and increase out-of-pocket expenses for health care, McLaughlin pointed out she opposes Murphys proposal to eliminate the cap on payroll Social Security taxes. Rather than pay the tax on only the first $118,000 of income, under his plan millionaires and billionaires would pay their fair share into Social Security, McLaughlin said. The ad also explains to voters why for the past two months Vernon has refused to join Murphy in signing a pledge to prohibit outside groups from coming into the race, McLaughlin said. With three weeks to go, Emilys List is coming in with a $150,000 ad buy to prop her up, he said. McLaughlin also noted that Vernon told a Waterloo forum the pledge was unnecessary because she didnt expect there to be outside spending. I think she should consider donating $150,000 to a charity of her choice whether thats the Madge Phillips Center or the Dubuque Labor Harvest or anything else, McLaughlin said. We need politicians who stand by their word. She said she is against Citizens United. Now in the final stretch of her campaign, she wants to have $150,000 spent on her behalf. Vernon campaign manager Michelle Gajewski suggested McLaughlin and Murphy have selective memories. Pat Murphy seems to conveniently forget that he has taken thousands of dollars from the Republican Koch brothers who spend money trying to elect politicians who will dismantle Social Security, Gajewski said. Vernon has been endorsed by groups and individuals who knows shes the only Democrat in this race they can count on to protect Social Security and Medicare. In his legislative races, Murphy received $2,900 in contributions from KochPAC, a conservative political action committee for Koch Industries, an oil and gas company that has facilities in Iowa. The Emilys List ad will run through Election Day in the Cedar Rapids media market on broadcast and cable television. Women Vote! is Emilys Lists independent expenditure arm that works to educate and mobilize women voters on behalf of pro-choice Democratic women candidates. FORT MYERS, Florida A memorial service is set for Monday for a Mason City woman killed in a car crash in Florida. Kristin Lee, 38, was killed in a seven-vehicle chain-reaction crash on May 16 in Fort Myers. Lee was a passenger in a Lincoln Town Car that was rear-ended by a semitrailer about 3:52 p.m. at Summerlin and Winkler roads, according to a Florida Highway Patrol crash report. Troopers say the Town Car, which had slowed for traffic, was forced into the back of a Toyota Camry in front. The Town Car then caught fire. Lee was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Town Car, James Cwanek, 70, of Fort Myers, and Lees fellow passenger, Austin Perkins, 34, of Minnesota, were critically injured, troopers say. Perkins was listed in fair condition on Friday. Cwanek remained in critical condition. Two other motorists received serious injuries and four had what troopers believed were minor injuries. The crash remains under investigation. Charges are pending. Lee's memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Monday at East Freeborn Lutheran Church, 23758 785th St., Albert Lea, Minnesota. Visitation will be 3-6 p.m. Sunday at Bayview/Freeborn Funeral Home, 1415 Hwy 13N, Albert Lea, and at the church one hour prior to Mondays service. MASON CITY Since the fall, students in Katherine Koehlers fourth-grade class have been corresponding with senior citizens with half a dozen letters sent back and forth through the RSVP Program. The program is in collaboration with NIACC and Senior Corps, which matches adults 55 and older to volunteer opportunities. For about four years, Koehler said, she has invited volunteers from the program to become pen pals with her students. The project gives them purpose for writing, she said of the students. About once a month, students wrote letters to volunteers, including at least three paragraphs with the basics, thanking them for their letters, responding to the prior correspondence, telling bits about their lives and asking questions about their volunteering. On Thursday, nearly 25 seniors came to the class to meet their pen pals in person. Carol Johnson attended Roosevelt Elementary and had been writing students there for about two years, she said. Its a break for her, said Johnson, 71, who said she rarely writes letters and mostly communicates through texts and electronic communication. Im as bad as the young people now, she said. On Thursday, she met Ian Carolus, 10, who she had been writing for months. With eight grandchildren, she said his frank nature reminded him of her own grandson. An avid athlete with a faux-hawk hairstyle, Carolus said he plans to participate in the Stu Nevermann Memorial Run on May 28. Johnson said she may go cheer him on. Janice (Scheibel) Cook BRITT Janice (Scheibel) Cook, 77, of Britt, passed away Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at Hancock County Memorial Hospital in Britt. A memorial gathering of family and friends will take place Friday, May 20, 2016, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Britt Evangelical Free Church, 810 Second Ave. N.W., Britt. Janice Mae Scheibel was born on Oct. 31, 1938, to Rudolf and Cornelia (Brouwer) Scheibel. She was born and raised on a farm north of Britt. She attended Orthel Country School #6 and graduated from Britt High School in 1956. Janice was united in marriage to Marvin Pete Cook on Oct. 11, 1958, at the Britt Evangelical Free Church where they were lifelong members. They were blessed with 57 years of marriage and together they raised four children. Janice worked as a secretary before landing a 35-year career doing advertising composition for the Britt News Tribune. Janice and Pete made their home in Britt, moved to an acreage in 1980 and moved back into town after Pete retired. Janice made every home a warm and inviting place for friends, family and neighbors to enjoy a chat over a cup of coffee. Janice enjoyed sewing, embroidering, reading, and supporting her grandchildren during their sporting events. She cherished her time with her grandchildren playing games or working on puzzles. She especially loved teaching her grandchildren how to bake; some of their favorite recipes include angel food cake and monkey bread. She would visit her neighbors regularly and enjoyed many years of fellowship with her womens Bible study group. Janice also loved spending time outside with Pete drinking coffee and watching the birds. She was a compassionate and loving woman who devoted her life to caring for others. Janice will be remembered for her kind heart and cheerful attitude, especially during the hardships of life. We are forever grateful for her presence in our lives, her genuine concern for others, her humble spirit, and her strong faith made her very special. Janice is survived by her children, Connie (Paul) Swanson of Britt, and their children Sarah, Bret, and Ryan; Ronald (Michelle) Cook of Story City and their children Jacob, Seth, and Abby; Rick (Kristin) Cook of Sioux Falls, South Dakota and their children Kyle, Katelyn, and Cassandra; and David (Rebecca) Cook of Pella and their children Grant, Spencer, and Avery. She is also survived by two brothers, Kenneth (Donna) Scheibel and Rudy (Bonnie) Scheibel, along with many nieces, nephews, and friends. Janice is preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Pete in December of 2015. Although she will be dearly missed, family and friends take great comfort in knowing that Pete and Janice are together again. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the family for their distribution. Ewing Funeral Home, 178 Center St. W., P.O. Box 342 Britt, IA 50423; 641-843-3839 Joan M. Bales MASON CITY Joan M. (Jo) Bales, of Mason City, died Saturday, May 7, 2016 at Muse Norris Hospice, Mason City. Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Saturday (May 21, 2016) at Hogan-Bremer-Moore Colonial Chapel, 126 Third St. N.E., Mason City, with the Rev. Steve Johnson officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery, Mason City. Memorials may be given to Hospice of North Iowa. Joan M. Bales was born May 28, 1935 in Mason City, the first born of four children to Alexander and Alice (Whitney) Speakar. She attended McKinley School in Mason City through sixth grade and then the family moved to Clear Lake after purchasing the Oakwood Grocery Store at Bayside. She attended Clear Lake Schools from seventh grade until graduating in 1953. She excelled in music, both instrumental band and choral. She earned several honors from singing in choir, duets, trios and madrigals. She was also selected homecoming queen in her senior year. After graduating from high school, she attended Mason City Junior College where she received a teaching degree. Teaching was definitely the right vocation starting with Sunday School at her church and later at Ventura public schools. During high school she met Kenneth (Ken) Bales whom she married in 1957. After their marriage, they moved to Arlington, Virginia, where Ken finished his military obligation serving in the Honor Guard at Fort Myer, Virginia, followed by a career in banking. While living in Arlington, she taught first grade at Congressional School (private) and served as a counselor at their summer camps. The family moved to Springfield, Va., and she continued to teach until their second child was born. She and Ken decided it would be best for her to be home with the two boys. After ten years of metropolitan living, they returned to Clear Lake where Ken accepted a banking position. She continued her duties as a mother and later took a part-time secretarial position at the North Iowa Fairgrounds. She later retired because of failing health. During her early years singing in the church choir along with duet and trio performances, she remained loyal to her Savior, Jesus Christ. She regularly read her Bible to promote her Christian faith and shared that with others. One of her greatest moments in teaching came from her role as a leader with the girls chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Clear Lake, leading the lessons, singing the songs and taking them to summer camps. Many of the girls who were part of that group became lifelong friends and communicated with her about their lives. She had to deal with Rheumatoid Arthritis for many, many years and had it not been for her faith, could not have endured the crippling pain. She remained loyal to her Redeemer until passing this life. She had many Christian experiences and was never afraid to share them with others. Two of her favorites hymns were Through It All and It Is Well With My Soul. And one of the most memorable Bible verses was, For me to live is Christ and to die is Gain. She remained diligent to the end of this life and as a teacher asks the question, where are you with your faith? Hallelujah, He is risen!! Joan is survived by her husband, Ken Bales, Mason City; sons, Ryan (Patti) Bales, Vacaville CA., Eric Bales, Mason City; grandchildren, Erin, Erica, Tyler, Tatum, Tessa, Alexander, and Ryanna; sisters, Sonia (Larry) Molencamp, Muscatine, Kathy (Eric) Thomsen, Muscatine; brother, Robert (Lee) Speakar, Clear Lake; several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; in-laws, Ira and Gladyce Bales; and a son, Brad Bales. ROCKWELL The pastor at Sacred Heart Church in Rockwell will not face criminal charges after using the church credit card for gambling. The Rev. Rod Allers also will remain at his current pastoral assignment unless it is determined its best he be reassigned, said John Robbins, director of communication for the Archdiocese of Dubuque. Robbins would not disclose the amount charged to the credit card for gambling, or what kind of gambling it was. He did say the amount is not so much that it cant be easily repaid. The archdiocese will repay Sacred Heart Parish and Allers will repay the archdiocese, according to Robbins. Robbins said law enforcement initially was involved. However, in light of the agreement to repay the parish, criminal charges will not be filed, he said. The archdiocese has offered professional help for Allers, according to Robbins. He said Allers has not been placed on leave. A representative from the archdiocese spoke from the pulpit at Sacred Heart during Mass on Sunday to explain Allers situation. Allers also serves as associate pastor at Epiphany Parish in Mason City. A phone message seeking comment from Allers was left Friday afternoon. The time has come for me to play my Woman Card. A male Republican politician in my state of Wisconsin has introduced a bathroom bill like the one passed in North Carolina, which requires transgender people to use the bathroom of the gender they were assigned at birth. He says its to protect women and children. Oh, knight in shining armor, thank you for trying to protect me and my fellow women. But I fear you misunderstand the real issues women have in restrooms. Here are a few laws you might propose instead to help us out: Ban men from leaving the toilet seat up, so we dont fall in. Mandate that public restrooms never run out of toilet paper so were not left stranded in stalls, fishing through our purses on the off chance well find some tissues. Require establishments to make more bathrooms available for women, particularly in places like theaters where everyone gets up to use the restroom at the same time and men hurry in and out while women spend 10 minutes or more in line. But those are, relatively speaking, all quite trivial. Perhaps instead, youd prefer to help with the bigger issues we women face. In that case, my biggest concern is that I will, on average, earn less than a man, even for doing the same job. If youre still intent on legislating values, though, how about weighing in on some of these? If I assert myself the way a man does, Ill be seen as shrill. Pursuing a PhD, as Im doing, hurts my dating prospects among men intimidated by my education even as higher education is seen to make men prime marriage material. I was raised in a culture that communicated to me continuously that my role as a woman is to be thin, beautiful and passive so that a man can rescue me. And when dating, Im forced to choose between seeming prudish or promiscuous both of which carry a social penalty. I want to live a world where young girls are taught to be strong and capable, just like little boys. Where a womans self-worth is not equal to her clothing size or her sexual availability. And then theres sexual assault, which brings us back to those bathroom bills. I can provide some womanly advice there as well. Ive been sexually assaulted four times. On all four occasions, I was with a man I knew. None of these assaults occurred in a bathroom and none of the assailants was transgender. They were simply people who wouldnt take no for an answer. If you want to prevent sexual assault, dear knight, support comprehensive sexual education and other programs to teach men about consent. Have a talk with your male peers about not treating women like objects. Bullying transgender people will have no effect other than harming an already marginalized group. In short, stop trying to legislate discrimination in the name of helping women. Instead, pass laws that actually help women. LISLE, Ill., May 19, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eckrich, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and savory deli meats, partnered with Safeway and Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families, to honor a Birkenfeld, Ore. military family on Thursday. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fc5fcaee-2172-409e-b1e5-7648c977c526 Eckrich hosted a special presentation outside a Safeway store in Portland to honor, thank and support the Hanner family. Mason Plumlee, a center for the Portland Trailblazers, helped surprise the family with a gift of free groceries for one year at Safeway, courtesy of Eckrich. I think sometimes were put on such pedestals as athletes that it takes away from the real heroes, said Plumlee. Its nice to come out here with Eckrich and be a fan of our service members for a day. As part of the event, crowds of shoppers were treated to samples of delicious Eckrich smoked sausage and deli meat, live country music and an appearance by Portland country radio station 99.5. In addition, Eckrich provided local military service members and their families with $25 Safeway gift cards to thank them for their service. Dan Hanner served in the Army for nearly six years. He was deployed to Iraq for 15 months beginning in 2007. His wife, Cathie, is his caregiver and leads a local support group through Operation Homefronts Hearts of Valor program. The Hanner family has two children. Wed like to thank Eckrich and Operation Homefront and all the service members out there for the sacrifices theyve made, said Cathie Hanner. There are so many military families in need, so this is wonderful. The surprise is part of the ongoing campaign by Eckrich to honor, thank and support military families through its partnership with Operation Homefront. The Hanner family is supported by Operation Homefronts Hearts of Valor program, a network of caregivers for wounded, ill or injured service members. Operation Homefront supports these caregivers through annual retreats, support groups and online communities. Eckrich, a brand of Smithfield Foods, in its fifth year of partnership with Operation Homefront, has donated more than $2 million to the organization since 2012. Now through July 4th, Eckrich is donating 5 cents for every purchase of specially marked products, up to $500,000, to Operation Homefront to assist military families. Eckrich continues to thank, support and honor our military families across the country, said Chuck Gitkin, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Smithfield Foods. These families make great sacrifices and we appreciate the partnership and support from Safeway for military families. Today, we were proud to thank the Hanner family for their service and to present them with one year of free groceries. For more information about Eckrich, please visit www.eckrich.com. About Eckrich Founded by Peter Eckrich in 1894, Eckrich has a rich heritage starting from a small meat market in Fort Wayne, Ind. Through it all, Eckrich meats have been recognized for their great taste and supreme quality, craftsmanship, care and pride. For more information, visit www.eckrich.com. About Smithfield Foods Smithfield Foods is a $14 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan's Famous, Farmland, Armour, Cook's, John Morrell, Gwaltney, Kretschmar, Margherita, Curly's, Carando and Healthy Ones. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com. About Operation Homefront A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront builds strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. With more than 3,200 volunteers nationwide, Operation Homefront has provided assistance to tens of thousands of military families its inception shortly after 9/11. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefronts expenditures go directly to programs that provide support to our military families. For more information, go to www.OperationHomefront.net. RALEIGH, N.C., May 19, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A groundbreaking for the SECU Memorial Walkway took place today aboard one of the most decorated ships of World War II, the USS Battleship NORTH CAROLINA. Representatives from the SECU Foundation and State Employees Credit Union (SECU) gathered with Battleship officials, state and community leaders for the special event in Wilmington. SECU Foundation Board Chair Jim Johnson spoke briefly to guests and supporters before participating in a ceremonial cutting of the teak, officially marking the start of the Walkways construction. A $3 million grant was provided by the member-funded SECU Foundation for the project. The SECU Memorial Walkway will honor the legacy of North Carolinas iconic landmark and pay tribute to all military personnel. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0db738e0-a7a1-49d3-aab9-1e04cbb5e278 The Battleship NORTH CAROLINA is enthusiastic about the start of the project. We have worked diligently and efficiently to bring it to fruition, states Captain Terry Bragg, Executive Director for the Battleship. It is a momentous day for us and its because of the support of members of State Employees Credit Union that we will be able to keep the Battleship here for future generations. Jim Johnson notes, The SECU Memorial Walkway will enhance the experience for all those who visit our states World War II Memorial. Through their Foundation, SECU members are proud to show support for a project that will honor the men and women of our military and bring greater awareness to the historical significance of this great ship for many years to come. About SECU and the SECU Foundation A not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, SECU has been providing employees of the State of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for nearly 79 years. The Credit Union also offers a diversified line of financial advisory services including retirement and education planning, tax preparation, insurance, trust and estate planning services, and investments through its partners and affiliated entities. SECU serves 2 million members through 255 branch offices, over 1,100 ATMs, 24/7 Member Services via phone and a website, www.ncsecu.org. The SECU Foundation, a 501c (3) charitable organization funded solely by the contributions of SECU members, promotes local community development in North Carolina primarily through high impact projects in the areas of housing, education, healthcare and human services. NEW YORK, May 19, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of all persons or entities that purchased the common stock of DeVry Education Group, Inc. (DeVry or the Company) (NYSE:DV) between February 4, 2011 and January 27, 2016, inclusive (the Class Period). Shareholders who have purchased DeVry Education Group within the defined class period and suffered substantial losses are urged to contact the firm immediately at classmember@whafh.com or (800) 575-0735 or (212) 545-4774. If you purchased shares of DeVry Education Group and suffered a loss, you may request that the Court appoint you lead plaintiff of the proposed class no later than July 12, 2016. The Complaint alleges that the defendants concealed from the investing public the true statistics relating to the efficacy of its education programs in relation to job placement of its students upon graduation. As a result of defendants alleged false and misleading statements, the Companys stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period. On January 27, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission filed suit against DeVry and DeVry University accusing them of deceptively advertising the benefits of obtaining a bachelors degree at DeVry University. Also on January 27, 2016, the U.S. Department of Education issued DeVry University a Notice of Intent to Limit DeVry Universitys participation in programs authorized pursuant to Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. After this news was released, shares of DeVry dropped over 15%, closing at $20.09 per share on January 27, 2016, on heavy trading volume. Wolf Haldenstein has extensive experience in the prosecution of securities class actions and derivative litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has attorneys in various practice areas; and offices in New York, Chicago and San Diego. The reputation and expertise of this firm in shareholder and other class litigation has been repeatedly recognized by the courts, which have appointed it to major positions in complex securities multi-district and consolidated litigation. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions regarding your rights and interests in this case, please immediately contact Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP by telephone at (800) 575-0735, via e-mail at classmember@whafh.com, or visit our website at www.whafh.com. All e-mail correspondence should make reference to the DeVry investigation. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome. NEW YORK, May 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against DeVry Education Group, Inc. (DeVry or the Company) (NYSE:DV), and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased DeVry securities between February 4, 2011 and January 27, 2016 inclusive (the Class Period). This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act). If you are a shareholder who purchased DeVry securities on or after February 4, 2011, you have until July 12, 2016 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased. [Click here to join this class action] DeVry provides educational services worldwide through a number of subsidiaries, including DeVry University (DVU or DeVry University), one of the largest degree-granting higher education systems in the United States. Through its five colleges, DeVry University offers programs in healthcare, business, technology, accounting, finance and law. Throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Companys business, operations, cash position, prospects, and internal controls. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) 90% of DeVry University students from a specific year (e.g., graduates from 2011-2016) who were actively seeking employment did not in fact land or obtain new jobs in their field of study within six months of graduation; (ii) 90% of DeVry University students since 1975 who were actively seeking employment did not in fact land or obtain new jobs in their field of study within six months of graduation; (iii) one year after graduation, the average or median salary of DeVry University graduates with bachelors degrees was not in fact 15% higher than the average or median salary of graduates with bachelors degrees from all other colleges and universities; (iv) as a result, DeVry overstated its growth, revenue, and earnings potential by concealing the true employment prospects of DeVry University graduates to investors and potential students; and (v) as a result of the foregoing, Defendants statements about DeVrys business, operations, and prospects were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. On January 27, 2016, the FTC shocked the market when it filed suit against DeVry for engaging in deceptive practices by purposefully misrepresenting the benefits of obtaining a degree from DeVry University. Also on January 27, 2016, the U.S. Department of Education issued DeVry University a Notice of Intent to Limit DeVrys participation in programs authorized pursuant to Title IV of HEA, after finding that DeVry was in violation of federal law. As a result of these shocking disclosures, DeVrys common stock price dropped 15%, or $3.65 per share, from $23.68 per share on January 26, 2016 to $20.09 per share closing on January 27, 2016wiping out over $230 million in the Companys market capitalization in one day, on unusually heavy volume. Over the next several trading days, DeVrys stock price continued to trade lower, closing at $18.08 on February 2, 2016. In total, from January 27, 2016 to February 2, 2016, DeVrys stock price share price dropped $5.66 per share, or 24%, wiping out approximately $360 million of the Companys market capitalization. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com Official Solution: Historian Situation Reasoning Which is an inference that can be drawn from the passage? tool of propaganda According to the passage, Baroque architecture had a role in the nation-building of absolutist governments. Specifically, that role was as propaganda , or as a method of increasing political power. The passage does not claim that Baroque works were built in North and South America. The passage does not make any claims about other artistic styles. The characteristics of older forms of architecture are not discussed in the passage. Although the passage claims that Baroque works served a political purpose, it does not claim that architects could be considered politicians. : The term Baroque refers to a style of architecture that developed along with absolutist governments in seventeenth century Europe. Works of Baroque architecture were characterized by opulence and grandeur and were often commissioned by leaders wishing to gain support in the race to expand their influence in newly-discovered North and South America. Because of its role in this early form of nation-building, Baroque architecture can be considered as much a tool of propaganda as a form of artistic expression.If all of the statements above are true, which of the following can properly be inferred on the basis of them?A. Architecture of the Baroque period often served the purpose of increasing political power.B. Absolutist rulers spent much of their countries wealth on Baroque works constructed in North and South America.C. Baroque architecture was the first artistic style to be inspired by a new form of government.D. Older, less politically-influenced forms of architecture displayed little opulence or grandeur.E. Architects of the Baroque period could be more rightly considered politicians than artists.: A historian claims that Baroque architecture was connected to absolutist government and that the style could be considered a tool of propaganda.The historian claims a connection between the opulence and grandeur of Baroque architecture and the political power of absolutist governments. The connection between political and artistic forms of power allowed Baroque architecture to be used as a. Propaganda, by definition, means the spreading of ideas in support of a (usually political) cause.Answer: A_________________ We rely on your support to make local news available to all Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today The police are hoping the public can help them find a man accused of forcible touching at a Queens subway station. According to the NYPD, the incident occurred last Friday, May 6th, at 6:30 p.m.: "A 23-year-old female victim was walking up the 'J' line escalator inside the Jamaica Center subway station when an unknown male approached her from behind and slapped her buttocks. The victim took a cell phone photo of the male after the incident occurred and exited to the street area." The suspect, who remained in the station, is described as being in his mid-30s and about 5'9" with brown hair and a goatee. He was last seen wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and tan pants. Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential. If you see or experience sexual misconduct in the subway (this includes seeing a masturbator, being groped, being grinded on, etc.), you can report it to the MTA and police on this website. There's also a place for you to upload photos and/or video. Don't let the perverts win. Weve all been there: youre the mayor of the biggest city in America and you need to have secret conversations with lobbyists and public relations specialists who you also really trust. Basic mayor stuff! But theres this dumb law that says youre supposed to disclose these emails and whatever. Do you release the communications? Or do you brandish the hundreds of lawyers and near-limitless resources at your disposal to show everyone whos boss? For Mayor de Blasio, the choice is simple. The New York Times, which has never been the mayor of a major metropolitan city a day in its life, just published the list of five of de Blasios close advisors who he considers agents of the city, and therefore exempt from the states Freedom of Information Law, which normally requires communications between non-city employees and city employees to be part of the public record. Two of de Blasios agents work for a political consulting firm, one works for a firm that supplies Democrats with messaging, and another is the ambassador to South Africa. The most prominent one is Jonathan Rosen of BerlinRosen PR, whose firm has been subpoenaed by federal prosecutors for its relationship to an alleged scheme to funnel illegal money into political campaigns. They work for firms representing real estate interests and corporations and people with money who need to get things doneexcept for when they stop working for those things and become agents of the city. How do you know when theyve become agents of the city? When they are talking to Mayor de Blasio about City business and not things that are on behalf of any client. But its cool for them to have clients though, because they dont work for the City. Except when theyre agents of the city. Make sense? If it doesnt, its probably because youre not a mayor. Here, let Mayor de Blasio explain it to you the way he explained it to a group on journalists on Wednesday, as he sat next to his personal attorney and the head of the Citys Law Department. Ive watched all the administrations since Koch, every administration came in with two kinds of people. The people who came in the government, and the people who were very central but not in government, de Blasio said. Outside advisors, close confidants of the mayor, people who have been part, often, of their work along the way to become the mayor. Every single time. Giuliani brought Peter Powers in but he had other folks who were outside, and same with Koch, over and over again, the same pattern. Theres a handful of people who have been advisors of mine for years, and who were so consistently sought, in terms of their knowledge and input that we thought were absolutely, legally in a different category. These agents of the city are so vital to the mayors success, that de Blasio does not try to hire them. These are free-range minds whose brilliance can't be fenced in. When he needs to talk to them in secret without any scrutiny, he can. There is nothing wrong with this because pretty much every other mayor has done it. You might ask: does the mayor pay these agents of the city for their work on behalf of the city? Of course not. A group that is totally separate from the mayor and helped push the mayor's agenda and get re-elected, Campaign for One New York, pays their firms, who pays them. Some of the firms' clients also donated to Campaign for One New York, but if this bothers you, go do some research. Bone up on your civics. Still want to know what Mayor de Blasio and these trusted lobbyists are talking about? Sue. By the time it goes to trial, de Blasio will have already reached the end of his second term. Two New Yorks will have become One. And you will be thanking these agents of the city for making it happen. Squinting over maps of the proposed Brooklyn Queens Connector route at the Red Hook Recreation Center on Thursday, locals wondered how Mayor de Blasio's $2.5 billion streetcar would fit on their narrow and truck-trafficked streets andconsidering that those streets lie on a vulnerable flood plainwhether that hypothetical was even worth considering. "I feel like flood protection should be the number one priority over building infrastructure that will be ruined in a flood," said William Matelski, 33, a Red Hook resident. Thursday night's meeting was the Economic Development Corporation's second "visioning session" for the BQX, following a heated meeting in Astoria, Queens. The 16 mile track would eventually run from Astoria to Sunset Park in Brooklyn along the waterfront, connecting startup hubs like Long Island City and the Brooklyn Navy Yard, as well as new waterfront residential developments and several large NYCHA housing projects. City officials predict that the project will cost $30 million annually to maintain, on top of construction. Meanwhile, funding for Governor Cuomo's post-Sandy Red Hook flood management system, initially earmarked at $200 million, was recently slashed in half. A feasibility study isn't due until October. Matelski lived in Red Hook during Hurricanes Irene and Sandy. "I just think it's kind of foolish spending all this money building this system when it's at risk," he said. Red Hook post-Sandy (Sam Horine / Gothamist). Seperated from the rest of the borough by the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, Red Hook residents have long advocated for better public transit. Two thirds commute by bus or train, and their options are sparse: the crowded B61 and B57 buses, or the Ikea shuttle, which runs to the Smith-9th Street subway station. Walking to the train from central Red Hook takes a good 20 minutes. Historically, the city hasn't done much to improve the situation. "We go [to the city] and say what we need, transportation is always on that list, and then nothing happens," said Jill Eisenhard, executive director of the Red Hook Initiative. The closest high school to the neighborhood is in Sunset Park, potentially a quick shot on the BQX. "Buses are overcrowded, they don't necessarily run on schedule," Eisenhard said. "This is a possible solution." But some residents countered that more comprehensive bus service is the answer. In 2014, the Department of City Planning endorsed the idea of direct bus service between Manhattan and Red Hook through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel something many residents have been advocating for decades. There are very few two-way streets in and out of Red HookColumbia, Clinton, Van Bruntraising concerns about years of BQX construction traffic (more than a third of Red Hook residents own a car). "There's only three ways in and out of here and they tied up already," said Henrietta Perkins, 70, a resident of the Red Hook Houses. "How are we going to get in and out?" "The bus options are not perfect, but I really think we should be expanding [those] options because it's cheap and flexible," said 34-year-old Red Hook resident Adrienne McIlvaine. (Emma Whitford / Gothamist) Some residents were also concerned that the streetcar is incompatible with the trucks that frequent Van Brunt Street, the neighborhood's main corridor. "At least once a week I'll see a backup on Van Brunt because there's an 18-wheeler trying to make a right turn and they can't do it," McIlvaine said. While the trucks create frustrating traffic jams, they also signify a dwindling industrial economy in New York Cityone that the Mayor wants to preserve. The Department of Transportation conducted a Red Hook streetcar feasibility study in 2011 and ultimately rejected the idea, in large part because the neighborhood's industrial zoning would prevent the mixed residential-commercial development that supports a streetcar. "If you have this project that's funded by anticipated property tax increases, that means you're going to price out manufacturing that already exists," predicted George Fiala, who owns a shipping company near Fairway Market. "We will end up with a lot of push for residential zoning along the corridor." The Williamsburg waterfront stands as an example. The EDC countered in a statement that, "The BQX would serve a much larger corridor [than just Red Hook] that has seen significant commercial and residential development in the last five years, leading to higher demand and greater ridership potential." "New York isn't what it was 50 years ago because it's constantly becoming more convenient and more accessible," said Maya King, who works in the neighborhood. "More expensive, yes, but New York just changes. I don't think there's a way to really stop that." Bob Diamond makes some suggestions for the Mayor to improve his streetcar plan (Emma Whitford / Gothamist). One of the most enthusiastic pro-BQX voices of the night was Bob Diamond, an MTA guru who for decades has been Red Hook's most vocal and dogged streetcar proponent. "The neighbors are still complaining from me jumping up and down for joy," he said, recalling the Mayor's BQX announcement in February. Diamond isn't fazed by his fellow Red Hook residents' concerns. Electric streetcars are emission free, he argues, and don't contribute to global warming; the city could try using water-absorbing pervious concrete, which would address the fact that Red Hook is in the flood plain. Ultimately, he says, global warming fears can't get in the way of connecting his neighborhood to the rest of the city. "There's a lot of people coming into the area lately and you see them pushing around baby strollers," he said. "The buses aren't going to cut it." Diamond is adamant that the streetcar of his dreams be carefully integrated into preexisting transit options in the citya condition that Red Hook riders brought up over and over during the meeting. He also says his neighbors need to be able to swipe a single MetroCard for BQX and MTA (a commitment that the MTA has yet to make). Diamond whipped his arms around on Thursday, pointing eagerly at possible transit connection points for the BQX, like the latent Triboro Rx plan. "This isn't just a project to benefit a select few on the waterfront," he said optimistically. "This is something I think will eventually penetrate into the neighborhoods." Hyping the BQX at Pioneer Works in Red Hook earlier this year, Mayor de Blasio described a more contained project. "A lot of people are just going to take this from one point to another without transferring," he said. "This is progress unto itself." A man was spotted wheeling around the body of a woman on a dolly in the Mariners Harbor section of Staten Island. Police say that when officers responded, the man abandoned the body and fled. According to the NYPD, cops were at 42 Post Lane at 7:10 a.m. Friday after receiving a call about a man and the body, which was apparently covered by a cloth. EMS pronounced the woman dead at the scene. Police are now looking for Anthony Lopez, 31, (pictured) to question him about the incident. The Staten Island Advance reports, "Police continue to rope off Post Lane as they investigate. An NYPD mobile crime scene canopy was set up in front of the home, and dozens of NYPD officials and detectives are working near the residence. The NYPD launched a manhunt for the suspect, with helicopters and canine units aiding in the search. The suspect is 'known' to police, an NYPD spokesman said." The police said that Lopez has a "lengthy criminal history." The photo the police released is "from an April 30, 2016 arrest for fare evasion in the confines of the 73rd Precinct." Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. For All U of U Health Patients & Visitors Journeys for 27 people that began in countries such as South Africa, Taiwan, Spain and the Dominican Republic ended Thursday in Helena where they pledged allegiance to the United States. Cristina Stefanescu, who arrived in the United States from Romania in 2005 with her husband, Eduard, was among those who became citizens of this country in a ceremony presided over by federal Judge Charles C. Lovell. Stefanescu knew exactly why she wanted to be a United State citizen. Theres just more opportunity here than in my country, she said. Those opportunities, she explained, included the chance to lead a life, a good life and for our kids to have a much better life than we had. Schools for their sons, Albert, 3, and Robert, 5, are much better in the United States, she said. They will have a brighter future here, she added. The Stefanescus journey took them from their homeland to Virginia and then Louisiana where Eduard studied for an advanced degree in science. A little more than five years ago, they moved to Butte where Eduard, who became a United States citizen at a December ceremony in Butte, now works at the Resodyn Corp. Cristinas days are spent at home caring for their sons. This is home now, Eduard said. I felt like a citizen for a long time, he said and explained that he felt like he was truly a part of this country for a long time before his citizenship ceremony. It was a dream come true, he added. NDjekornom Laibeul Dara, who had his name changed as part of his application for citizenship, was born in Belguim and had been a citizen of Chad. Lifes travels took him to Ivory Coast where he lived for nine years before he came to the United States in 2004 to study mathematics. He now teaches math at the University of Montana in Missoula. I like this country, so I want to be part of it, Dara said before he too joined the others in the federal courtroom and swore allegiance to their new country. He has strong ties to the country thats given him great friends, he said. Its done a lot for me, Dara said, and added, So I want to express my gratitude by doing this. And after his journey across Europe and Africa, he explained, Its good to settle down somewhere. Robert and Christel Harrison, whove been living in Helena for more than 30 years and married almost 39 years, would give up their Canadian citizenship on this day. They, like others, expressed their appreciation for what the United States has provided for them. The countrys been very good to us, said Robert, who is a sculptor. Having the right to vote was also important to Christel, a certified hand therapist at St. Peters Hospital, who called it key to her decision. I take this very seriously, she said. It is very important that you make a commitment, she continued as Robert stood and listened. Weve always considered ourselves a guest of this country thats treated us so well,Christel said. But the reality is weve lived more than one-half of our lives in this country, Robert said. So its a momentous occasion for us. Were just pleased to be here. Thumbs down Note to tourists: Montanans dont take kindly to anyone desecrating their national parks. Nor do people in Wyoming or Idaho, which helps explain why much of the West is in an uproar over several recent incidents involving tourists at the park located in the three states. On May 9, a visitor to Yellowstone National Park placed a bison calf in his SUV and drove it to a ranger station because he was concerned it was cold, despite park regulations requiring people to stay at least 25 yards away from wildlife. The animal was later euthanized after failed attempts to reunite the newborn calf with its herd. Just a few days later, a group of filmmakers walked onto a sensitive hot spring at the park in an apparent attempt to get photos and videos to post on social media, despite signs warning people to stay on the boardwalk. Officials are still working to assess the extent of the damage they may have caused to the sensitive bacterial mats that create the vivid colors of the spring. Though the suspects in the latter situation have not yet been located, both incidents have resulted in criminal charges. And if social media is any indicator, the court of public opinion is not on the side of the defendants. Let that be a lesson to everyone who visits the national parks we all hold near and dear. *** Thumbs up Everyone needs a little help now and then. Luckily, we live in a community filled with incredibly helpful people. That was abundantly clear during Thursdays Spirit of Service Day, when 510 volunteers spent much of the day helping elderly and disabled homeowners with painting, yard work and minor maintenance at 50 homes in Helena, East Helena and the surrounding area. These homeowners were not able to do this work on their own, which means it probably wouldnt have happened if it werent for the generosity of their neighbors. Thanks to the Rocky Mountain Development Council and the many volunteers from private businesses, nonprofit organizations and government agencies who made this great event possible. We are proud to live and work among you. Im supporting Terry Gauthier, Republican candidate for Senate District 40, because we need more pro-business legislators representing Helena in the Legislature. Terry owns and operates a small business and understands that small business is the source of most job creation in Montana. He stands for fiscal responsibility, minimal taxation and job creation. More importantly, hes committed to his family and the community, and Im confident he will advocate for Helenas best interests. Half-truths, I have always been told, are whole lies. And this appears to be what is being said about Gov. Bullocks opponent. I say half-truths in that we are led to believe that Mr. Gianforte was rich when he arrived in Montana and that his reason in coming was to run for governor and change Montana into something of what he left. (Which calls to mind the refugees some want here but thats another story.) From what I have read, this is not true, but first he came and after that he made it big, and has a concern for his adopted state he calls home. My concern at this point is not Mr. Gianforte, but those within the state who are backed by big money from out of state groups much like the Sierra Club and LGBT, who have large financial backing. These groups have their own agenda, not just with lands and what they desire to see done, but also outside groups who desire to change the traditional moral values of Montana to something most Montanans do not back. How many of these folks are really from out of state? And nothing is said about them not being third generation Montanans. These folks are usually loud and vocal and we know that for the most part politicians listen to such groups for they are numbers and votes. These groups are a concern for Montana. How long does one need to live in Montana to be a viable Montanan? According to a Native American and Montanan, there will never be enough generations for us. Besides, the Montana Constitution does not require only third or more generations to run for the office of governor. Charlie P. Hull Jr. East Helena Voters in House District 80 are fortunate to have a candidate for the Legislature like our neighbor, Patrick Johnson. I've known Pat and his wife since I attended grade school in Cut Bank. It was our good luck with they moved in next door eight years ago. They are hardworking, family oriented, caring people and great neighbors. Pat's many years of leadership and management experience in the Army and the Air Force will serve him well in the Legislature. As our neighbor, he also worked as an engineer for several years in Helena, great experience for understanding the infrastructure needs in the state. After Pat graduated from Cut Bank High School, he attended West Point, a great honor for a kid from a small town. He also has a master's degree in engineering from MSU. While at MSU, he was also a captain in the Montana Army National Guard. Pat's wife is an RN. They've been married for 37 years and remain close to their daughters, grandchildren and their mothers in Cut Bank and Billings. Besides his family focus, Pat is a hunter, motorcyclist and outdoorsman. I recommend Patrick Johnson for HD80. He has great leadership experience, is a good family person, is well educated and cares deeply about the state. Kris Inabnit North Helena Valley A public comment period is underway for a request to tap the Lewis and Clark County Open Lands Program for $260,000 toward the purchase of 729 acres owned by Stimson Lumber Co. The Specimen Creek project application is being made by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Funding for the $550,000 purchase price is to include $240,000 from the Montana Fish and Wildlife Conservation Trust. The Elk Foundation would pay $25,000 for an appraisal and other related evaluation of the property as well as $35,000 toward the purchase. A $15,000 grant proposal was submitted to the Cinnabar Foundation, according to information provided to the county commission. If the project moves ahead, the land would be transferred to the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The commission is slated to consider the proposal on June 14, after the 30-day public comment period ends. While there are no water rights involved in the purchase of the land, the mineral rights have been severed from the property and would not be part of the transaction, the funding application noted. The land is currently managed for timber production and Stimson Lumber Co. estimates it holds 3.7 million board feet. A plan for future timber harvest exists for the property although the last time it was logged was in 2007-2008. A citizens advisory committee for the countys Open Lands Program supported the proposal. The land is located about 2 miles south of Flesher Pass in the Canyon Creek drainage and contains portions of three creeks: Canyon, Specimen and Weino creeks, according to the county staff report. State Highway 279 passes through the property. The creeks contain brown trout, eastern brook trout and rainbow trout, the application stated while noting the creeks are also historic westslope cutthroat trout habitat. This landscape also provides either year-long or seasonal wildlife habitat for species that include deer, elk, bear, forest carnivores, raptors, upland game birds and endemic and neo-tropical migratory birds. The property is also within the Continental Divide wildlife movement corridor which, the application stated, is a priority area for conservation of species such as Canada lynx and grizzly bear, which are a listed threatened species, and wolverine. Canada lynx, grizzly bear and wolverine are said by the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to be within the Specimen Creek project area. If the purchase is completed, it will improve access to about 4,400 acres of national forest lands. The property is also adjacent to the 2,210 acre Canyon Creek Wildlife Management Area. CONDON Len Kobylenski and his partner Grace Siloti had an emotional couple days starting just after midnight Wednesday. Thats when they were startled awake by an unidentified hero pounding on their door, just in time to see 15-foot high flames engulfing the business Kobylenski started in 1979, the Mission Mountains Mercantile. The combination grocery and general store, gas station, real estate office and deli on a remote stretch of Highway 83 had become the lifeblood of this tiny community in the Swan Valley, and the as-yet unexplained fire completely destroyed it within hours. We went to bed crying last night, and we woke up crying this morning, Siloti said Thursday, gazing at the pile of charred rubble. Kobylenski cant believe what happened, either. A farm kid from New York, he tried the banking industry, but decided to move out West to pursue whitewater canoe racing and other outdoor passions. He came to the Swan Valley on March 1, 1979, and took ownership of what was then the Buckhorn Camp, which was built around 1950. He added on to it over the years and started a real estate business, and the Mercantile became essentially the only place to gas up and get groceries between Seeley and Bigfork. He and his first wife, Cindy, raised their two children there. After Cindy passed away, Siloti entered Kobylenski's life. All those years, rain or shine, he walked the 67 yards from his house to work at the store. We were all from farm families, so we worked, Kobylenski said. Yesterday, because of the fire, was only my 39th day closed for the day out of the last 13,500 days. Thats a real deal. You had to be consistent to be any good. I think I was closed 37 Christmases and two Easters. I dont know if theres going to be a day 13,501 yet. *** Kobylenski and Siloti both strain to hold back the tears at the thought of the uncertain future for their store and for what it will mean to their loyal customers. The demise of the Mercantile also means the loss of a dozen jobs for the community. The folks who live there will now have to drive the half-hour one-way commute to Seeley just to get eggs and cheese and toilet paper or gasoline, and many in Condon are retirees who cant drive long distances. Theres still a restaurant, a bar, a post office, a church, a school and several other businesses in Condon, but the fire wiped out an institution that served as a gathering place. Kobylenski and Siloti have been heartened by the outpouring of support theyve gotten from that community. People dont understand how tight this community is, Siloti said. When theres a devastating thing that happens like this, or a death, you know, something tragic, everybody pulls together. Ive seen our neighbors have just within days organize a fundraiser for a mother and three kids because her husband died, and they raised $23,000 like that. I mean its done within days and hours. Its not planned out for months. Its just a beautiful place. It doesnt exist anywhere else, I dont think. The fire has shown them what the Mercantile meant to people over the years. We had the best deli sandwiches this side of the Mississippi, Siloti said. It was a top-notch, first-class place. We had caviar. People have been calling, texting and emailing us from all over the world. People from France, California, wherever, Florida. We cant believe the reach of this place. *** It was Kobylenskis wife, Cindy, who encouraged him to build a bigger store when he first bought it. He empathizes with the emergency medical personnel who responded years ago when Cindy passed away in the store due to a sudden medical issue, and also for those who showed up on Wednesday to battle the flames in vain. The firefighters and all our local guys, they came, he said. And Ive seen it before on their faces here. Its one thing to call a professional outfit thats used to all this. When my wife passed it was a difficult process for them. And for the professionals, they see it all the time, and its largely people they dont know. But here, they know you. They know whats here. Both Kobylenski and Siloti stress that it isnt the physical building that will endure, but the memories of all the people for whom the Mercantile was an important place. What made this place really wasnt the physical place, he said. It was the people. Because you had to function all winter long and you had to make sure you had what people need and want. There were some lean winters here. The loggers had some rough years. It was feast or famine. The key here is the people. ... You know, the people in the old days, if they were having their baby in the middle of the night and they needed gas, you got up and you did it. When they reorganized the store after an addition, a whole crew of community members came from Liquid Louies (a tavern down the road) and helped move equipment. Kobylenski kept meticulous records over the years, but they were all destroyed in the fire. Ive met people all over the world and Ive never met anybody as loyal and as disciplined as he was to this store, Siloti said. He couldnt leave. He was on his regimen every day. Whats so sad is those 37 and a half years of bookkeeping that was immaculate, that was old-school pencil and ledger. He could tell you what exactly happened on August 6, 1987. Now its gone. *** In the end, it was the Good Samaritan who saved the huge propane tanks from blowing up that may have meant the difference between a non-injury fire and a deadly one. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. He almost wrecked his truck trying to turn around, Siloti said of the stranger, who apparently just happened to be driving by. He hit the ditch, you know his adrenaline, went down to the old Super 8 Motel, which are now little apartments, banged on their door to call 9-1-1 because cell service didnt work. Then he came back here because they told him that our house is here he didnt know that and he had the wherewithal to run around to all the propane tanks and shut off the valves. He was like a little guardian angel. Siloti still has Graces Greenhouse, and Kobylenski has things to keep him busy. They havent even had time to consider whether theyll rebuild with the insurance money. But Kobylenski wants people to know that small, rural communities like Condon are important to this country and great places to raise a family. Its a different deal here, he said. Its not a corporate culture. You dont wear a suit and tie here. Its America. And were losing places like this, in rural Montana. Its sad. There is no argument that the nuclear power plants in Illinois provide more than electricity. There are thousands of jobs because of them that provide an economic boost. In the case of the Clinton Power Station in DeWitt County, I can see firsthand the effect the plant has had on the economy, school district and other municipalities in the county. However, the closing of the plant would produce devastating effects on the county. I know firsthand how deeply this matters to the families of this community. Clinton CUSD 15 would lose approximately $8 million annually if the plant closed. The loss of revenue would most likely lead to major cuts in programs. These types of cuts would cause other challenges. With the plant closing and the district making cuts, there would be loss of jobs and a definite downward spiral to the local economy. This same scenario is playing out in other places around the country where nuclear plants are forced into closing. These plants are key resources of our economic and environmental health. We are asking lawmakers to seriously consider doing what is necessary to protect and invest in these plants as assets to keep jobs and the economy as strong as possible for local communities. We ask state lawmakers and Governor Bruce Rauner to make decisions that will positively affect the financial future of the small to mid-size communities and the livelihood of thousands of citizens. Please pass a comprehensive energy solution that preserves our states nuclear facilities. Curt Nettles, Superintendent Clinton School District DECATUR After allegedly threatening to kill his former girlfriend with a large knife Wednesday night, Demetrius G. Hill, a 47-year-old Decatur man, called 911 to report that shots were fired. However, he later admitted that there were no shots fired, but he just wanted police to arrive at the scene as quickly as possible. The victim told police that Hill was holding a large fixed blade knife above his head and waving it in an overhead stabbing motion while verbally indicating his intent to cause her harm, said an affidavit by Decatur patrol officer Scott Gilman. As Hill stabbed at the air from about 30 feet away from the victim he yelled, (expletive) you dead, the victim told police. A witness told essentially the same story. He recalled that Hill said to the victim, (expletive), I'm going to kill you, come down these stairs, as he waved the knife in the air. An officer who arrived on the scene heard loud arguing coming from the vicinity of the residence before he made contact with Hill. At about that time Hill called 911 and told a dispatcher that four or five shots had just been fired in the area. Officers later questioned Hill about those gunshots, and he stated that he was just trying to get police to respond quicker and there were no gunshots, Gilman wrote in his statement. There was no explanation written as to why Hill wanted police on the scene. Hill was arrested at 9:35 p.m. Wednesday and booked into the Macon County Jail on preliminary charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct/false report. He is being held on $15,000 bond, pending his arraignment by Thursday. Hill has convictions in 17 other criminal cases dating back to a stolen vehicle felony conviction in 1989 in Cook County. He has served five sentences in the Illinois Department of Corrections, most recently a nine-year term for aggravated battery/great bodily harm in a 2007 case in Macon County. DECATUR Lindy J. Miller, a female parolee who had multiple outstanding arrest warrants, was taken into custody early Friday, as well as Dave Dawson, the former managing editor of the Herald & Review, who was allegedly involved with helping her to avoid capture. Special Deputy U.S. Marshal Adam Walter contacted Dawson on May 11 to explain to him that he would be subject to arrest if he aided or concealed the whereabouts of Miller, who had a parole warrant from the Illinois Department of Corrections and a felony warrant for possession of a controlled substance. On Monday, two more arrest warrants were issued for Miller for the same offense. At about 1 a.m. Friday, Walter learned that Miller, 33, and Dawson, 59, left a vehicle at a Decatur residence to have the windows tinted. Dawson assisted Miller in getting the tinted windows, Walter wrote in a probable cause affidavit. After the vehicle with tinted windows was picked up at about 2:05 a.m., Walter followed the vehicle to an eastside residence. He took Dawson and Miller into custody at about 3 a.m. Dawson was managing editor of the Herald & Review until his relationship with the paper was severed earlier this month. He is being held in the Macon County Jail pending his bond hearing at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Concealing/aiding a fugitive is a Class 4 felony punishable by probation or one to three years in prison. Miller, who also was booked into the jail, is scheduled to appear at the bond hearing. DECATUR David D. McGowan, a career criminal awaiting trial in jail on seven felony charges, is facing new charges after DNA from a crime lab linked him to a gun that was used in a shooting nine months ago. McGowan, 30, of Decatur was injured in that shooting, which occurred in the near-northside residence of his 22-year-old girlfriend. About 2:30 a.m. Aug. 23, police were sent to a residence in the 900 block of North Morgan Street after someone called 911 from that location and the call was disconnected. Officers heard an argument inside an apartment and knocked. They heard a male voice say, That's the police, said an affidavit by a Decatur patrol officer. A few seconds later, officers heard the sound of a single gunshot coming from inside the apartment, the affidavit said. McGowan, whose hand was bleeding, exited the apartment. He told police he had shot himself. A short time later, he recanted his statement and said he was shot by his girlfriend's mother. The girlfriend told police that McGowan came to her residence with a gun in hand. When police came to the door, he ran into a bedroom. Then she heard a gunshot from that bedroom. The woman's mother said she arrived at the residence after 2 a.m. She began arguing with David and noticed he was in possession of a black handgun, the woman told police. When police arrived, McGowan ran into a bedroom. She heard a gunshot and ran out of the apartment. After McGowan was treated at a hospital, he told police he heard a gunshot but did not know where it came from, probably his girlfriend's mother. He said he never handled a gun while in the apartment. Police found a loaded Diamondback 9 mm pistol in the bedroom. The police took DNA swabs from all three of the apartment's occupants. The girlfriend's mother was never charged in the case. On Nov. 14, McGowan allegedly forced a couple into their near-northside home at gunpoint and robbed them. He was arrested and booked into the Macon County Jail, where he is awaiting trial on Class X charges of home invasion, armed robbery, armed violence and armed habitual criminal, as well as two felony counts for allegedly selling cocaine. After police received word from the Illinois State Police Crime Lab of the DNA match, McGowan was arrested Wednesday on an additional charge of armed habitual criminal, possessing a handgun with two prior felonies. His bond was raised from $100,000 to $200,000. He is due in court Tuesday for his arraignment in his most recent case and a hearing in the November case. DECATUR The Symphony Orchestra Guild of Decatur gives away scholarships for private lessons and band camp to talented youngsters from area schools every year. For some of those students, the scholarship is the only way they can have private lessons or band camp, both of which can be very expensive. For other students, the scholarship allows a continuation of lessons with a teacher they've worked with. Josanee White has been taking lessons from professor Sharon Chung at Millikin University for six years. The homeschooled student began studying violin at her mother's urging, and Chung helped her add viola. That's the instrument she won the scholarship for playing. Me and my mom was talking about it, and she came home one day when I was in second grade, and she asked me if I wanted to try violin, and I was like, Josanee shrugged her shoulders and made a face. She said give it a try, and if you don't like it you can stop. I tried it out, and I loved it. Josanee plans to be a pediatrician, but she said music will always be an important part of her life. She is a very conscientious student and has worked hard to get to the level she is at today, Chung said I truly enjoy teaching her every week, because she is very receptive to trying different ideas and techniques. I truly hope that her musical talent will take her far, and she has accomplished quite a bit already in a short time. Coming from a musical family, the Manley siblings already had a solid background and home support for their interests. Will, a senior, has already been accepted to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he plans to study jazz and contemporary music, with an eye to a career that will encompass performing, teaching and composing. His sister, Marion, an eighth-grader at Johns Hill Magnet School, won her scholarship on alto saxophone but also plays stand-up bass. Will plays violin, trumpet and piano. Their dad, Manley, is the guitar professor at Millikin and mom, Lyn, is a pianist. Both of the younger Manleys have taken private lessons for years, and both are seasoned performers. There were some nerves going in (to the audition), Marion said. But from auditioning over the years, I think I handled it. Private lessons, Will said, provide polish and finer points of musicianship that are difficult to achieve learning only in a group, in school band or orchestra, but those are important activities, too. Johns Hill music teacher Tom Miller starts discussing auditions with students months ahead of time, said Lyn Manley, and students have plenty of opportunity to choose a piece of music and practice before the March auditions. I tend to look for the ones that I think would really benefit and would commit fully to attending if they were awarded lessons, said Chris Strong, band teacher at MacArthur High School, where Will Manley and another winner, Isaac Cothern, are students. I pursued it because it was a year of free lessons with a professor at Millikin, and that's worth a lot of money, said Isaac, a junior who plays saxophone. That's a pretty good deal, and it helps a lot with improvement in a variety of music and technicality, and I'm really excited. When Mikaela Wattleworth, a student at Warrensburg-Latham High School, tried out different instruments in fifth grade, she couldn't get a sound out of anything but the oboe, which she jokingly called a last resort. Her father is the band teacher, and she has since added English horn and piano to her accomplishments. Her scholarship will pay for Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan this summer. She plans to major in oboe performance at Millikin and is the principal oboist for the Decatur Youth Symphony Orchestra. I'm very excited, she said. "I'll get to play with other musicians as passionate as I am about music. Her teacher is Tina Nicholson at Millikin, where her dad went to college. I heard incredible things about her, and that's how that started, she said. It's just an amazing opportunity to be able to have this extra help for my music career. In the past 15 years, the guild has awarded 200 private lesson scholarships and 127 band camp scholarships, worth a total of more than $182,000. Some have been funded by individuals in memory of a loved one, such as the Bob Jones Memorial Scholarship for private lessons. Those are slated for low-income students who wouldn't be able to afford lessons otherwise, said Marilyn Mertz, the retiring vice president of education for the guild. A lot of former scholarship recipients have gone on to music careers, such as Brian Culbertson, David McDonald, Michael Scherer, Matthew Muneses and Gustavo Cabrera. In the past 15 years, I know of at least 23 of our winners who either are professional musicians as a career or are music educators in schools, Mertz said. The guild provides assistance to school music programs with the instrument loaner program, the Decatur Youth Symphony Orchestra, instrument petting zoos, performances in schools to pique children's interest in music, and the scholarships. Many students would not be able to afford such training, Mertz said. It is the (guild's) hope that through these scholarships, the lives of our promising young musicians become richer. "In return, the recipients help to ensure the continuance of symphonic music in the future and help to pass on the joys of music performance in the lives they touch. DECATUR One of the things that struck MacArthur High School seniors who visited French Academy on Thursday was how unchanged, yet strange, it felt to be back in their elementary school. Everything is so much smaller than I remember, said Kylie Eller, chuckling because she knew why. Ife Adeoye saw a post on Facebook linked to an article about a group of seniors who wore their caps and gowns and walked through an elementary school to inspire the younger students. It caught my eye, he said. I don't usually click on things on Facebook because, well, you just don't. But I clicked on it. The idea struck him as a good one, and he contacted classmate George Coates. Both young men attended French. I learned everything I need to know here, Adeoye said. It made me who I am today. I thought (the walk) sounded like a really good idea, and I hadn't been to French Academy in a while, Coates said. Ife tagged me, and we joked about can we actually do this? So I called (French Principal) Mrs. (Julie) Fane, and she said she'd love to do it. They approached other MacArthur seniors who attended French to see if they would be willing to participate and ended up with six total. Some people had to work or had other plans and couldn't make it, said Sydnee Cearlock. Fane was more than happy to accommodate the seniors and lined up her students in the hallways outside their classrooms. She even found a recording of Pomp and Circumstance to play over the loudspeakers as the seniors walked the halls, slapping high- and low-fives with the kids, who applauded and cheered as the big kids walked past. Fane asked each one their plans for college and career, listening with a big smile and responding to each one with awesome! or phenomenal! You guys have it figured out, she said. I can't wait to hear about your successes as you continue to grow. Keep up with me. You're always welcome back here. You don't need to call or anything. Just show up. Linna Cunningham, who teaches kindergarten, had several of the six in her class and was effusive in her praise. She's retiring at the end of this school year. The first tears of the weekend, she said, dabbing at her eyes. I remember George (Coates) was this high and had so much personality. That Facebook article made the rounds, because seniors at Decatur Christian School ran with the idea, too. Each senior took a kindergartner by the hand for their walk, and sat down with the small students for a brief chat. The school dubbed their event The Alpha and the Omega, meaning the beginning and the end. They're just giving them a few words of wisdom, Administrator Randy Grigg said. Those words, said senior Andrea Whitacre, included advice to love God and work hard. I told Evan (Overheul, his kindergarten buddy) that I believe people are more important than anything except God, senior Benjamin Wilson said. CLINTON DeWitt Countys economic development office could shut down because of a lack of funding, the agency's executive director said Wednesday. We could run out of money next month, said Ruth Stauffer. We have been reducing costs for three years, but you still need money to operate. The DeWitt County Development Council was formed in 2007 to assist existing and prospective businesses and encourage economic development. To cover operating expenses and salaries, the city of Clinton donated $47,000 per year, the county chipped in $40,000, and the city of Farmer City added another $12,000 each year. This year, Clinton officials decided to terminate the intergovernmental agreement and Farmer City cut its investment to $5,000. Funding from Clinton was about half of our budget, Stauffer said. Clinton City Administrator Tim Followell said there were three key reasons for eliminating the funding. Springfield, the power plant, and pure economics, he said. We think we are proactive when we do things and knowing that Springfield keeps dangling the carrots of what they might not continue to pay us in the future, our city has to start to do something to even start to balance the budget. Anything we do is going to have an ill effect. But if we dont budget ahead of it, we have a bigger problem. Stauffer said its a terrible time for the agency to be in a struggle to stay open. Earlier this month, officials from Exelon Corp. announced Clintons nuclear power plant could close in May 2017 without passage of state legislation that could keep it open longer. Stauffer said the development council has been lobbying state lawmakers to keep the plant open. In addition to Stauffer, business development director Mark Killough and office manager Tricia Young would be affected. Stauffer and Killough are salaried; Young works 20 hours a week. "You cant run an economic development office without people, and if we are laid off, everything will come to a screeching halt, Stauffer said. We will volunteer and do what we can, but if it takes a long time, at some point, we are going to have to look for jobs of our own. Economic development is the hardest job in the world, Clinton Finance Commissioner Tom Edmunds said. You have about a 99 percent failure rate. Everyone does. Last week, council officials sent requests to local businesses asking for financial support to help keep the office running. Thats going slowly, very slowly, Stauffer said. We have had some good input and some have offered some in-kind services to us, such as offering us office space, but there are no donations large enough to save us. Stauffer said county and city officials have not closed the door entirely on future funding. Officials from both are awaiting decisions from Exelon. Everybody is waiting to see what happens there, but there is so much work to be done to help with the fight to keep the plant going, I honestly dont know how its going to get done without financial assistance, she said. A crowd aged 11 to 91 gathered at Arlington Cemetery outside Philadelphia on May 14 to experience a walk through the citys Armenian history. This is part of a growing trend throughout the diaspora in recent years to rediscover their history and piece together family trees torn apart by the genocide. Thanks to the digitizing of records online and the ability to connect through the internet, new information about the immigration and life of our early Armenian ancestors in America has come flooding to amateur sleuths and historians. This has led to initiatives such as the Armenian Immigration Project website which digitizes immigration records of Armenians from the 19th and 20th centuries, and the first ever Armenian Genealogy Conference which was held in Watertown, Massachusetts this April. The walk in Philadelphia was yet another example of the growing interest in learning about those who came before, creating the diasporan communities we have today. The first in a series of planned tours, the tour was a walk through Arlington to visit the graves of important figures in Philadelphias Armenian-American history, along with some of the notable non-Armenians who lie with them. Arlington has been a landmark for Philadelphias Armenians since 1907, when a major figure from its early history, Rev. Harutune Jenanyan,became the first Armenian buried there. Rev. Jenanyan was the founder of St. Pauls Institute of Tarsus in Cilicia and traveled throughout the United States giving a speech called The Suffering Armenians about the Hamidian Massacres of 1895.Heraised money and hosted many refugees at his Philadelphia home. In the years that followed his death, numerous Armenians followed Rev. Jenanyans example by choosing Arlington as a final resting place- numbering over 3,000 today. The tour, led by local historian Paul Vartan Sookiasian, took participants on a one mile walk from grave to grave, where he told the life stories of notable community members at their tombs. These included Dr. Mihran Kassabian, a pioneer of x-ray studies who alerted the world to theirdanger, dying in 1910 from radiation exposure due to his studies. Found just a few steps from each other are the graves of Dr. Lucy Gulezian, humanitarian and one of the first female Armenians to get a medical degree in the United States, and that of Karapet Sital, an author and folklorist who was popular in Soviet Armenia, best known for his epic The Heroes of Kasht. The tour also explored unique stones, such as the cemeterys oldest stone with Armenian lettering inscribed on it from 1913, and one with the figure of mythical hero Sasountsi Davit carved on it. The group also learned that many of Philadelphias earliest Armenians are buried in unmarked mass graves, because as poor immigrants many could not afford stones. A special part of the tour was dedicated to notable non-Armenians buried there, including Miss America 1924, whose careerwas launched by Armenian photographer John Ivazian. Next to her is the grave of Henry Blank, a wealthy jeweler who survived the sinking of the Titanic, an event which has captured the imagination of the world for over a hundred years now. Buried next to theTemoyan and Jerrehian families of rug-dealers from Dikranagert is English-American Mary Lee, who volunteered as a nurse during the U.S. Civil War and tended to soldiers at many famous battles including Gettysburg and Antietam. The Armenians of Arlington Cemetery made a place in history and are surrounded by history there as well. The tour ended with a reception featuring Armenian delicacies. The success of this Armenian Tour has created interest for more such events. Another historic Philadelphia cemetery, West Laurel Hill, is planning an Armenian Tour of its own, where Armenians can be found buried amongst the graves of Philadelphias most elite and prestigious families. Arlington is also planning for more Armenian Tours due to the demand. Through such initiatives, Philadelphias fascinating Armenian history is being brought to light for new generations, making sure their stories will remain alive. This morning at 10, residents of Garni and neighboring Goght united in Garni and close the main road to Yerevan, demanding that the government pull out of the Kaghtsrashen Gravity Irrigation Project. Residents say that if the government doesnt comply they will turn off the drinking water supply to the Ararat Province, which is regulated from the Azat River gorge. As this news goes to print, there has been no comment from the government. The project, if fully implemented, would draw water from the local Azat River and divert it to irrigate several communities in Ararat Province. Residents have also launched a signature drive for a petition destined for Armenias Human Rights Defender. Wisconsin's elected officials don't have the right to sue to block the release of public records pertaining to them, the state Supreme Court affirmed Friday in a ruling open government advocates hailed as a victory. The case stems from a dispute between Vilas County District Attorney Albert Moustakis and the state Department of Justice. The Lakeland Times newspaper asked the DOJ in 2013 for records tied to an agency investigation into complaints about Moustakis' conduct. Court filings don't detail the allegations, although Moustakis has said they were leveled by a political rival and didn't involve on-duty misconduct. The DOJ has noted in court filings the investigation found the complaints were unsubstantiated, but Moustakis still filed a lawsuit in 2014 seeking to block disclosure. Wisconsin's open records law allows public employees to sue to block disclosure of records pertaining to disciplinary proceedings, records obtained through search warrants or subpoenas and records prepared by employers who aren't government agencies. The DOJ argued that the law clearly doesn't extend the right to sue to elected officials such as Moustakis. Both a Lincoln County judge and a state appellate court agreed. Moustakis argued that he's a state employee and is therefore allowed to sue. The court disagreed and sided with the lower courts, saying Moustakis' argument creates confusion and doesn't fit with any reasonable reading of the open records law. Moustakis' attorney, Ben Krautkramer, said he hadn't read the decision and had no immediate comment. A DOJ spokesman said only that the agency was reviewing the ruling. Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, praised the ruling. He said the court recognized that the open records law clearly doesn't allow elected officials to sue to block disclosure. "District Attorney Moustakis wasted a great deal of time and taxpayer dollars fighting to keep the public from obtaining records to which it is clearly entitled," Lueders said in an email to The Associated Press. Moustakis has amended his original lawsuit to add arguments that the DOJ didn't properly apply the so-called balancing test a test of whether releasing records would hurt the public interest and allowing public employees to sue but not elected officials amounts to a violation of constitutional equal protection guarantees. The Supreme Court did not address those arguments, allowing Moustakis to continue to pursue them in Lincoln County Circuit Court. Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less. Ricardo Gonzalez has owned and operated the Cardinal Bar for the better part of the past 42 years. Unaccompanied homeless youth face the dual challenges of being without a place to live and without the guidance of an adult. There are an estimated 200 unaccompanied homeless youth in Dane County and 1,300 homeless schoolchildren. A 14-year-old girl who didn't want to go to a certain class at Monroe High School admitted to police she sent a threatening email to the school district so school could be disrupted. The unidentified girl could face charges in the incident and was released to her parents after being interviewed by police on Wednesday, Monroe police said. On Sunday night the school district got an email that allegedly threatened violence against the school, but there were no specifics as to a date or time. The high school was searched Sunday night, and nothing was found. Classes were held as usual on Monday and all week. The girl told police she hacked into another student's email account so she could hide her identity before sending the email. "She said the reason for the threatening email was to have the school be closed on Monday, so she didn't have to attend a specific class," police said. A woman and her daughter were accosted, then allegedly attacked, by a man on the city's East Side Thursday, police reported. Mario Materazzo, 50, no permanent address, also allegedly smashed out a car window before being arrested. He was tentatively charged with battery, disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property, Madison police said. According to police: The mother and daughter were walking on North Livingston Street near East Washington Avenue at about 2:30 p.m. when a stranger approached. "She said he began yelling at her and was acting crazy," said police spokesman Joel DeSpain. "She was fearful of what he might do." Materazzo allegedly kept after the woman and child, swinging his heavy leather coat at the woman, striking her in the head. "Another woman said he was yelling profanities at her and she was ready to use pepper spray on him if he advanced any closer," DeSpain said. Police arrived and arrested Materazzo, but not before he allegedly took a chair and smashed out the rear window of a parked car. "He had been drinking and repeatedly spoke about sexually assaulting women, as he was taken to jail," DeSpain said. Elijah Washington III, who was shot to death last week outside a town of Madison gas station, was also armed with a handgun as he tried to run from Kortney Moore, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday that charged Moore with first-degree intentional homicide. Moore, 28, whose address on the complaint is listed as being in Chicago, turned himself in late Sunday, four days after police said he shot Washington, 28, outside Capitol Petro Mart, 2570 Rimrock Road. Moores lawyer, Robert Hurley, didnt correct the Chicago address in court Friday but said that Moore has lived in Madison for many years and that all of his family lives here as well. Washingtons death was the third fatal shooting in the Madison area in just over three weeks. The first shooting victim was Martez Moore, 30, who was Kortney Moores brother. The complaint against Kortney Moore does not mention any information gleaned from an interview with Moore by town of Madison police early Monday, after Moores arrest. Town of Madison Police Chief Scott Gregory said Monday that Moore had been interviewed, but he divulged none of the contents of that interview. The complaint also does not discuss either of the other homicides, which police have said are connected. Hurley said the second homicide victim, Darius Haynes, 38, was a friend of Kortney Moore. Moore was jailed on $500,000 bail after appearing in court Friday. Hurley said afterward that he hadnt seen the surveillance video referenced in the complaint showing Washington with a gun. But he said again that Moore has been afraid for his life since his brothers death, one of the reasons that he turned himself in to police on Sunday night. I think the motivation was clear, that he was very concerned about where he was going to be next, whether it would be in the ground like his brother and best friend, Hurley said. He said he also didnt know if there was any prior relationship between Moore and Washington. According to the complaint: Video surveillance inside the store showed Moore and Nyshae Loftin, with whom Moore has a child, were near the register when Washington entered the store and appeared to notice Moore and Loftin. Washington appeared to put his right hand into his jacket pocket and turned to leave, when Moore appeared to pull out a gun and followed Washington out the door, extending what appeared to be a gun. Moore ran along the east side of the store, then west near a Milios drive-through window. He fell to the ground near a green minivan before crawling on the pavement headed north. Video from a nearby business showed Washington running with what appeared to be a handgun, then he turned to face Moore, who was also running with what looked like a handgun. Moore brought the gun up to eye level as Washington turned to run south behind the building, then stumbled to the ground. Moore continued to pursue Washington as he struggled to get up, and again raised his gun toward Washington, continuing to approach him. Moore then backpedaled, turned his back and ran, the complaint says of the video. Washington is seen trying to get up, and then trying to crawl using only his arms. The complaint doesnt make clear at what point the shots were allegedly fired. A witness who was in his apartment nearby told police he had headphones on when he heard a loud crack. He took off his headphones and looked out his window, overlooking the rear parking lot of Capitol Petro, and saw a man fall to the ground, then saw a second person about 20 feet away with his right hand stretched out toward the man on the ground. He watched that man fire four to five more gunshots, then run away. As he fell, the man on the ground appeared to drop something that sounded heavy and appeared to be a gun, the witness said. Police recovered 12 .40-caliber shell casings at the scene. No other shell casings were found. Washingtons sister, Menvinnia Dotson, who had come to Capitol Petro with Washington, told police she saw Washington being chased and heard multiple gunshots. She drove around the gas station and found Washington on the ground, bleeding but breathing and conscious. Dotson said Washington asked her to take him to the hospital and to get his mother, saying, Im probably going to die today. Then he became quiet. Dotson denied knowing who was chasing her brother and denied that Washington had a gun with him. She later told police that people on Facebook had identified the shooter as Moore. In a later interview with police, Dotson admitted that Washington had given her a gun at the gas station and that she took it, along with Washingtons shoes, and put the items in her car. A search of the car turned up a loaded 9mm handgun under the drivers seat. An autopsy found that Washington had been shot twice in the right foot and twice in the torso. One bullet entered his lower left back and damaged his left kidney, left diaphragm area and struck his left lung before lodging in his spine. The other entered his lower right abdomen and struck his liver and right lung. Police at the scene could not find a pulse or signs that Washington was breathing, and he was taken to UW Hospital where life-saving measures ended. Mustafa L. Qureshi, 48, of Pewaukee was identified by officials as the man killed in a single vehicle crash in the town of Montrose early on Friday morning. According to Barry Irmen of the Dane County Medical Examiner's Office, Qureshi's death was the result of injuries sustained in the crash and the death is still under investigation. ----------------------------------------------------------- A 48-year-old Pewaukee man was killed early Friday morning when his SUV crashed in the town of Montrose, officials said. The crash happened at about 1:25 a.m. near 7367 Highway 69, just west of Belleville, the Dane County Sheriff's Office said. A preliminary investigation showed the man was driving south on Highway PB when he failed to turn at the T-intersection with Highway 69. The SUV crossed the highway, hit a ditch, went airborne and ended up next to a brick retaining wall. The driver died at the scene. The driver's identity was not released pending notification of family. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy A 16-year-old student was arrested Thursday after she used pepper spray in a fight with another student at Janesville Craig High School, police said. The incident put the school into a soft lockdown as school officials, police and EMTs responded. The teen was referred to juvenile authorities on tentative charges of intentional use of an oleoresin device (pepper spray) causing bodily harm, battery and disorderly conduct, police said. The two girls were fighting in the commons area of the school when one of the girls used the spray against the other, police said. Over-spray hit other students, who were treated by paramedics. There were no reports of anybody taken to a hospital. Janesville Superintendent of Schools Karen Schulte told the Janesville Gazette that the student who allegedly used the pepper spray would be recommended for expulsion. Heres how members of Wisconsins congressional delegation voted on major issues this week. Note: Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, did not vote. By custom, the speaker does not vote except in rare circumstances. HOUSE FISCAL 2017 MILITARY BUDGET: Voting 277 for and 147 against, the House on Wednesday authorized a $610 billion military budget (HR 4909) for fiscal 2017. The bill sets a 2.1 percent pay raise for uniformed personnel; bars closure of the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, military prison; authorizes 1,541,000 active-duty, guard and reserve personnel and requires at least 9,800 American troops to be based in Afghanistan. In addition, the bill would negate President Barack Obamas executive order prohibiting firms receiving federal contracts from discriminating against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. A yes vote was to pass the bill. Voting yes: James Sensenbrenner, R-5, Glenn Grothman, R-6, Sean Duffy, R-7, Reid Ribble, R-8 Voting no: Mark Pocan, D-2, Ron Kind, D-3, Gwen Moore, D-4 UPDATED WAR AUTHORITY AGAINST ISIS: Voting 138 for and 285 against, the House on Wednesday defeated an amendment to HR 4909 (above) that sought to revoke the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) as the legal authority for U.S. military actions against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) so that it could be replaced with an up-to-date war authorization. A yes vote was to update U.S. authority to wage war against the Islamic State. Voting yes: Pocan, Kind, Moore Voting no: Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Duffy, Ribble BAN ON CONFEDERATE FLAG: Voting 181 for and 243 against, the House on Wednesday defeated a bid by Democrats to prohibit federal funding of Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) programs at any institution displaying the Confederate battle flag. A yes vote was in opposition to displays of the Confederate flag at ROTC institutions. Voting yes: Pocan, Kind, Moore Voting no: Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Duffy, Ribble 1% CUT IN MILITARY SPENDING: Voting 63 for and 360 against, the House on Wednesday refused to cut the base amount of the 2017 military budget (HR 4909, above) by 1 percent or about $5.5 billion. A yes vote was to cut the military budget by 1 percent. Voting yes: Pocan, Moore Voting no: Kind, Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Duffy, Ribble $622 MILLION TO FIGHT ZIKA: Voting 241 for and 184 against, the House on Wednesday passed a bill (HR 5243) that would appropriate $622.1 million for programs to deal with the Zika virus as it migrates from South America and the Caribbean to the United States. The mosquito-borne virus causes birth defects. A yes vote was to pass the bill. Voting yes: Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Duffy, Ribble Voting no: Pocan, Kind, Moore VETERANS, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION: Voting 295 for and 129 against, the House on Thursday sent the Senate a bill (HR 4974) that would appropriate $73.5 billion in fiscal 2017 discretionary spending for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill also would appropriate about $8.1 billion for building or repairing family housing, schools, medical units and other facilities at U.S. military bases worldwide. Additionally, the bill provides $102.6 billion in mandatory veterans spending for programs such as disability compensation, pensions and the post-9/11 GI Bill. The bill also appropriates several hundred million dollars to operate Arlington National Cemetery, the Armed Forces Retirement Home, the American Battle Monuments Commission and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. A yes vote was to pass the bill. Voting yes: Kind, Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Duffy, Ribble Voting no: Pocan, Moore DISPUTE OVER MIGRANT CHILDREN: The House on Thursday voted, 219 for and 202 against, to prohibit the use of funds in HR 4974 (above) for housing unaccompanied migrant children at U.S. military bases while their immigration status is under review. A yes vote was to adopt the amendment. Voting yes: Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Ribble Voting no: Pocan, Kind, Moore, Duffy VETERANS, MEDICAL MARIJUANA: The House on Thursday voted, 233 for and 189 against, to allow the Veterans Health Administration to counsel patients on using medical marijuana for ailments such as chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). With marijuana illegal under federal law, the VHA is prohibited from prescribing it or counseling veterans on its medicinal benefits. A yes vote was to adopt the amendment. Voting yes: Pocan, Kind, Moore, Grothman, Ribble Voting no: Sensenbrenner, Duffy CONFEDERATE FLAG BAN: Voting 265 for and 159 against, the House on Thursday adopted an amendment to HR 4974 (above) that would prohibit the display of Confederate flags on flagpoles at national cemeteries while allowing small Confederate flags to be displayed at individual gravesites. A yes vote was to adopt the amendment. Voting yes: Pocan, Kind, Moore, Duffy, Ribble Voting no: Sensenbrenner, Grothman EXECUTIVE ORDER ON LGBT DISCRIMINATION: Voting 212 for and 213 against, the House on Thursday refused to uphold an executive order by President Obama that prohibits companies receiving federal contracts from discriminating against employees based on the fact that they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). A yes vote was to affirm the presidents order on LGBT discrimination by federal contractors. Voting yes: Pocan, Kind, Moore Voting no: Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Duffy, Ribble SENATE 2017 TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING BUDGET: Voting 89 for and 8 against, the Senate on Thursday passed a bill (HR 2577) that would appropriate $56.5 billion in fiscal 2017 discretionary spending for the departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development and related agencies. The bill would fund initiatives such as airport improvements, air-traffic control, maritime programs, highway safety, mass transit, Amtrak, public and elderly housing and Community Development Block Grants to cities. A yes vote was to pass the bill. Voting yes: Tammy Baldwin, D, Ron Johnson, R $1.1 BILLLION TO FIGHT ZIKA: Voting 68 for and 30 against, the Senate on Thursday included $1.1 billion in HR 2577 (above) for steps against the Zika virus such as developing a vaccine and diagnostic tests, improving pre-natal care and eradicating insect breeding grounds. The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked Congress for $1.9 billion to combat the virus as it takes hold in the U.S. The $1.1 billion would be added to the deficit. A yes vote was to approve $1.1 billion in Zika funding. Voting yes: Baldwin Voting no: Johnson KEY VOTES AHEAD House and Senate legislative schedules for the week of May 23 were to be announced. Thomas Voting Reports BROOKLYN, N.Y. Get over it, #NeverTrumpers. No amount of praying for a political unicorn to inhabit conservative commentator Bill Kristols www.renegadeparty.com can overcome the cruel logic of the electoral calendar, with its expired filing deadlines and hopelessly uphill signature-gathering requirements. Theres only one non-Republican or Democratic entity likely to be on the ballot in all 50 states come November, and thats the Libertarian Party, which selects its presidential nominee in Orlando, Florida, next weekend. Politico reported Wednesday that an unnamed anti-Trump schemer (Im guessing rhymes with Shill Pistol) said there was a 50-50 chance either Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska., Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Wyoming, or Mitt Romney would agree on an independent run by maybe some time next week. When that Hail Mary inevitably fails, the Libertarian Party will have already popped the first corks on what promises to be its most intensely scrutinized convention in the partys 45-year history. For the majority of non-Beltway Americans who prudently maintain unfavorable opinions of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the Libertarian candidate is certain to advocate several welcome policies that neither major-party nominee will touch. In a political year that has broken one precedent after another, the Libertarian Party may well shatter its previous record of 1.1 percent of the vote. Fiscal conservatives anxious about the countrys $19 trillion debt will be happy to hear that all three leading Libertarian contenders former New Mexico Republican Gov. Gary Johnson (who was the partys 2012 nominee, pulling 1 percent), antivirus software designer John McAfee and 35-year-old libertarian media entrepreneur Austin Petersen want to eliminate large swaths of the federal government. Those alarmed by Trumps cavalier approach to the Constitution will notice Petersen waving around a pocket-sized copy while Johnson talks up repeal of the 17th Amendment (which provides for popular election of U.S. senators.) Progressives who dig Sen. Bernie Sanders opposition to drug prohibition and military interventionism issues on which Clinton has been awful for decades can rest assured the Libertarian Party embraced these positions decades ago. Johnson as governor in 1999 became the first major American politician to come out for ending the drug war. McAfees core message is our bodies and minds belong to ourselves, and Petersen dreams of a world in which gay married couples can defend their marijuana fields with fully automatic machine guns. As that last quote attests, the Libertarian message can sound jarring to those accustomed to the political status quo, not least because of the, shall we say, colorful track record of the messengers. McAfee, who seems to have taken Dos Equis Most Interesting Man in the World ad campaign as a personal dare, was wanted for questioning in Belize in connection with the alleged murder of his neighbor, is married to a former sex slave that he rescued (according to his account, anyway; he delights in pulling reporters chains), and is frequently accused in the tech press of making extravagant some might say fraudulent claims to publicize his companies. Petersen comes off like an eager libertarian dudebro on the make, an impression furthered by his extensive and occasionally ribald footprint on social media. Even the comparatively staid Johnson has gotten weirder with age, launching a pot business between presidential runs and rhapsodizing recently to the Wall Street Journal about driving while stoned back in the day. Major-party veterans, even ones currently proclaiming disgust with the 2016 nominees, are likely to cite such Libertarian eccentricities as deal breakers. This justification should not be afforded undue respect. In a race between a joyless machine politician under FBI investigation for misconduct in office and a one-man branding scheme who brags of never losing his fan base even if he commits murder in broad daylight, Republican and Democratic grotesqueries make the Libertarian Party excess look like childs play. Unless McAfee (who is undeniably charismatic) ends up winning the nomination. With nearly six more months of Trump vs. Hillary in front of us, many Americans will be grasping for anything that looks and talks different. And rightly so. There are more ideological flavors in the United States than nannying, big-government liberalism vs. bullying, big-government conservatism. There has never been a stable major-party home for that vast expanse of America that describes itself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal, and probably wont be until we start voting for people and parties who better represent our values. So hello, Orlando. If not Belize. Jonah Goldberg's Wednesday column, "Millennials like socialism, but do they know what it is?," oversimplified the old debate of socialism vs. capitalism. He dismissed the young supporters of Bernie Sanders as naive in their wishes for social harmony and generosity. He glossed over human greed, capitalisms weakness. He failed to appreciate the social and economic success of modern Scandinavian social democracy (not democratic socialism), a blended system grounded in capitalism and regulated by democratic government. Social democracy pursues the highest promise of democracy, the guarantees of human rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution by escapees from medieval European tyranny. In 1817, Norway modeled its constitution after the United States Constitution and now celebrates it each May 17, which is Syttende Mai. In her Syttende Mai address to the Yggdrasil Society of Madison, Wisconsin native and author Ann Jones highlighted Norways success and our failings in their constitutional commitments to human rights. Maybe Sanders young people are on to something. The 2016 World Happiness Report lists the United States as 13th most happy. Denmark is No. 1 and Norway is No. 4. Top contributing factors to the ranking were social support, freedom to make life choices, perceptions of corruption and generosity. -- Norman Jensen, Madison SPRINGFIELD - A group of Illinois House Republicans wrote a letter appealing to the Illinois Republican Party's Platform & Resolutions Committee to move their platform deliberations from "smoke-filled" rooms of non-elected officials to an open discussion on the party's convention floor. The letter, signed by 19 20 GOP House members, says that they have watched Speaker Michael Madigan and his Democrats prevent debate and cut deals behind closed doors, all to the "severe detriment" of the people of Illinois. "That's the Chicago Democrat Way, and it has become the Illinois Democrat Way," the group says. "We reject those corrupt practices." The letter, organized by State Rep. Peter Breen (R-Lombard) was delivered to every platform committee member before Friday morning's state convention meeting in Peoria. Roskam issued the following statement: There is no higher priority than the safety and well-being of the American people. Im proud to support an NDAA that strengthens and begins to rebuild our nations military. We live in an increasingly unstable world and our brave men and women in uniform must have the support and resources to meet any and all threats. Im pleased my colleagues voted to include two amendments I authored to strengthen our commitment to our international partners and keep a close eye on Irans malicious activity. The first requires the administration to regularly report to Congress on the steps the president is taking to ensure Israel maintains the capability to defend itself against existential threats. We also significantly boosted funding for critical U.S.-Israel missile defense cooperative programs. Ive been an outspoken opponent of Boeings ongoing negotiations to sell airplanes to the Iranian government. This bill now requires the administration to provide Congress with a comprehensive report on Irans usage of commercial aircraft for military and terrorist activity. The American people and the aviation industry must fully understand the risks of selling militarily-fungible products like airplanes to the worlds leading state sponsor of terrorism. Great American companies should not be complicit in global terror. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has declared the results on the official website i.e. May 21, around 10 am on the official website. All the candidates can check the results on cbse.nic.in. CBSE to go digital and mobile for the first time By India Today Web Desk: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has declared the result son the official website i.e. May 21, around 10 am on the official website. All the candidates can check the results on cbse.nic.in. CBSE conducted the examination from March 1 to April 22. Last year, a total number of 10, 40,368 candidates appeared for the examination. advertisement As per official data, for the first time the CBSE will provide Class XII digital mark sheets, as well, in DigiLocker . All the candidates can access to the digital mark sheet on the official website, the link for which is https://digilocker.gov.in. And, the CBSE will soon give the DigiLocker account credentials to students via SMS on their mobile number registered with the CBSE. Also, the CBSE Class 12 results will also be available via Android mobile app "DigiResults". After the results will be declared, a post-result counselling will be held from May 21 to June 4. And, the timing of the cancelling will be between 8 am to 10 pm. About the board: Established in the year, November 3, 1962 the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is headquartered at Preet Vihar, New Delhi. The board supervises and regulates the development of education across the nation. The main motive of the board is to conduct examination for both Class 10 and 12. Here is India Today Education Team wishing good luck to students for board results: READ: CBSE results to be declared on time, says Smriti Irani READ: CBSE Class 12 Results 2016: To be declared tomorrow at www.cbse.nic.in Get latest updates on exam notifications and scholarships across India and abroad here. --- ENDS --- The CBSE Class 12 2017 board exams result have been declared on the official website on May 28. We bring before you 8 kinds of parents according to how they react to your results. You decide which one is yours! By India Today Web Desk: The CBSE Class 12 2017 board exams result have been declared on the official website on May 28. Most of the students who had appeared for the same will have a sleepless night today, some due to nervousness, anxiety and others due to excitement. At this moment, the support of one's parents is most important as somewhere down the line, even they have contributed by helping their ward study and score well. advertisement Read: CBSE Class 12 Results 2017: Here's how you can check your results More than what the neighbors would say, students are worried about their parents reaction. Not every parent is the same, as some may be super strict expecting their child to excel in the papers and some may still be partying hard before the result arrives, so as to cheer up and motivate their kids. Read: CBSE Class 12 Board Results 2017: Meet the top 3 rank holders We bring before you 8 kinds of parents and it's for you to decide that which one are yours: 1. God-pleasing parent: They had been keeping all kinds of fasts and visiting every place of worship, praying for you to score really well. From havans to providing free food to the needy, they have left no stone unturned to please the heavenly father. 2. Comparison expert parent: You are always compared to 'Gupta ji's son' and how he scores better than you. They have asked you to score well in your exams, but more than that you have been asked to get more marks than the neighbor's son or daughter. 3. Gift promising parent: Be it an iPhone, a new laptop, that new bike and what not, score more than 85 and it shall be yours. It might be a way to lure you so as to good excellent marks, but for parents it is just a motivational technique. 4. Chilled out parents: These set of parents are uber cool. They believe that marks do not decide your destiny and still have complete faith that whatever score you will fetch, will make them proud. 5. Society fearing parents: What will the relatives and family friends say if they come to know you haven't score well? This question is what bothers them 24 hours. They even scare you by providing you a bleak picture of your future, in case you don't score very well. Quite a wrong method it is. 6. Over-excited-for-results parents: Sometimes their too much optimism may freak you out as they have full belief that you will be the topper of your class and have informed every other known person about the same. 7. Over-expecting parents: advertisement Now these parents have put forward their expectations before anything else. You anyhow have to be among the toppers of your class and make it to the merit list. 8. Dissatisfied parents: You score 85 and you're gone. You score 95 and you're gone. How much so ever you score, you will still be taunted regarding those unachieved five marks. India Today Education wishing you all the very best for the results! Read: CBSE grace marks policy: All you need to know For more updates, follow India Today Education or you can write to us at education.intoday@gmail.com --- ENDS --- The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has declared the results of the Class 12 on the official website. By India Today Web Desk: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has declared the results of the Class 12 on the official website. The candidates can access the results from the official website, the link for which is cbse.nic.in. (READ: Meet CBSE topper Sukriti Gupta: Check her percentage here!) How to get the results? In order to get the results, the candidates are required to follow the steps listed below: Go to the official website Click on the link, 'CBSE Class 12 Results 2016' Enter the roll number and school number (as given on your admit card) advertisement On submitting the same, the results will appear on the screen. The candidates must take a printout for future use. This year, a total of 14,99,122 candidates have applied, out of which 44,66,41 are girls and 6,21,259 are boys. The results will be emailed to the candidates. The post-result counselling will begin from May 21 and continue till June 4, the timings of the same will be from 8 am to 10 pm. (READ: CBSE Class 12 results declared ahead of time) About the board: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) was founded on November 3, 1962. It's headquartered at Preet Vihar, New Delhi. CBSE regulates and supervises the development of education in the country. Its primary function includes preparing academic programmes and organising examinations, especially for Class 10 and Class 12 students. For any query, the candidates can visit the official website, the link for which is cbse.nic.in. India Today Education wishing you all the very best for the results! Get latest updates on exam notifications and scholarships across India and abroadhere. --- ENDS --- Almost 300 women scavengers have also been employed in zardosi work in areas such as Mangolpuri and Dwarka. Uber and Ola also signed an MoU with the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation to provide employment to women. By Adila Matra: Thanks to the National Safai Karamcharis Finance & Development Corporation (NSKFDC), many women who were earlier engaged in manual scavenging will now be seen driving Uber and Ola cabs in the city. The 'Commercial Motor Driving Training Programme with Self-defense Skills for Women' trained 200 women in Delhi, creating jobs/self employment opportunities for these women, belonging to the families of safai karamcharis. Many of these women are now employed as drivers with Uber and Ola. advertisement In a recently-held event at Scope Complex, Delhi, Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment, distributed course completion certificates, driving licenses and employment letters to trainees. Uber and Ola also signed an MoU with NSKFDC to provide employment to trained women. Wheels of change "The self defence skills taught during the training, will provide self confidence not only to these women, but will also give a sense of security to female passengers, particularly, those who have to travel at odd hours. Out of 200 trainees, 192 trainees have already received driving licenses." The said programme is of utmost importance keeping in view the increasing incidents of eve-teasing, molestation, rapes, etc," Gehlot said . NSKFDC also distributed loan sanction letters and keys of e-rickshaws to the beneficiaries of NSKFDC. Almost 300 women scavengers have also been employed in zardosi work in areas such as Mangolpuri and Dwarka. Says Savitri, who has given up manual scavenging to take up zardosi, "I was given a seed amount of Rs 40,000 by NSKFDC. They also gave me training." Many men have also been rehabilitated into occupations such as operating JCBs. Anita Agnihotri, secretary, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment says, "This initiative by NSKFDC will meet the objective of social & economic empowerment of women by creating job/self employment opportunities for these women who were forced to be Safai Karamcharis." Also Read: Indian women must chart their own path --- ENDS --- Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum are accused of abetment to murder, attempted murder, planning and executing the attacks. By India Today Web Desk: Lashkar operations commander Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi and six others accused in the 2008 Mumbai attack case will be individually charged for the abetment to murder of each of the 166 people who died in the carnage, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court ruled today. "The seven suspects will be charged individually for the abetment to murder of each victim of Mumbai attack case," a senior court official said, quoting the verdict of the trial court. advertisement The official said the court, however, did not allow cross examination of the suspects in this regard. The trial The prosecution had filed an application in the ATC Islamabad some two months ago requesting it to make amendment in the charges against the suspects in abetment to murder of each individual in the carnage. The trial court in March last year had reserved the verdict after the prosecution and defence lawyers completed their arguments on the plea that amendment in the charges against all seven suspects in abetment to murder of each individual in Mumbai attack should be made. ALSO READ: Hopeful that Modi will bring back Lakhvi: Togadia 166 people, including six Americans, were killed and more than 300 injured in the attack in November 2008 by 10 Pakistani terrorists. The prosecution was of the view that it was seeking amendment to the changes "for further strengthening the case against the suspects". Post-mortem reports required It had also pleaded for including the post-mortem reports of those killed in the attack. The prosecution said India should be asked to send the post-mortem reports of each victim of Mumbai attack while the defence lawyers opposed it. Meanwhile, the Mumbai attack case has faced inordinate delay as no proceedings were held for the previous seven consecutive hearings. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for May 25. The blame game The Pakistani authorities are blaming India for the delay in the case, saying it cannot move further till the Indian government sends witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case. "The seven consecutive hearings of the case were adjourned without any proceedings because the Pakistani government is still awaiting its counterpart's response about sending (Indian) witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case," the court official said. The foreign ministry of Pakistan had written to the Indian government about three months ago asking it to send all 24 Indian witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the trial court in Mumbai attacks case already completed recording the statements of all (Pakistani) witnesses in the case which has been underway in the country for more than six years. advertisement "Now the ball is in India's court. The Indian government should send all Indian witnesses of the Mumbai case to Pakistan to record their statements so that the trial could further move ahead," a prosecution lawyer said. Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum are accused of abetment to murder, attempted murder, planning and executing the attacks. Lakhvi is living in undisclosed location after he got released from jail on bail a year ago. The other six suspects are in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi. ALSO READ: Pakistan says Lakhvi's voice sample not an evidence --- ENDS --- The BJP had never ever won a seat in Kerala and 86-year-old Rajagopal was its best bet this time. By Maha Siddiqui: At around nine on Thursday morning, as he walked into the BJP office in Thiruvananthapuram, O Rajagopal had already taken a lead of almost 2,500 votes in his constituency Nemom. It was a big deal -- the BJP had never won a seat in Kerala and the 86-year-old was its best bet this time. Bhartiya Janata Party workers, sitting glued to a TV set under a tent, cheered loudly each time the screen flashed Rajagopal's name with an upward arrow. advertisement The man himself remained cautious, unwilling to speak to the waiting journalists until all EVMs were counted. A party worker whispered: during Lok Sabha elections Rajagopal was leading against Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor, but lost out in the last few rounds of counting. This time, he wanted to take no such chances. No premature celebrations for the man who had half a dozen electoral defeats to his name -- from Mancheri in 1989 to the Aruvikkara by-election last year. Even though O Rajagopal may have never won an election he is no stranger to power. This election was being seen as Rajagopal's last attempt at campaigning, and the many defeats ensured he remained grounded. When CPI(M) state secretary Kodeyeri Balakrishnan called this "Rajagopal's personal victory and not a win for the BJP," many seemed to agree, but Rajagopal defended his party's performance in the state. "I may be the only one who has won, but there are seven other candidates who ended second," he told India Today. Once it became certain he had won Nemom, Rajagopal rushed to the constituency for a victory tour. Enthusiastic party workers welcomed him with 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' chants, garlands, lotus flowers and ladoos. Wearing a green kurta, Rajagopal stopped to thank them at several spots. HISTORY OF POWER He may have never won an election, but Rajagopal is no stranger to power. O Rajagopal (left) with party workers. He joined the BJP following a split in the Janata Party in 1980 and served as its president till 1985. Then, as a Rajya Sabha member from 1992 to 2004, he held several portfolios in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. For almost two decades now, Rajagopal has virtually been the face of the BJP in Kerala. And on Thursday, he created history by ensuring his party opened its account in the state. THE PATH AHEAD For the BJP, this election was a do or die, with its image at stake. ALSO READ: O Rajagopal helps BJP register maiden win in Kerala What worked was that the party managed to create a buzz around itself during campaigning, with some even cheekily boasting of capturing the state. In a surprise, the party even managed to do inflict damage upon the UDF by eating into its upper caste vote-bank. advertisement Even so, the work has only just begun for the BJP. A lotus may have bloomed in God's own country, but the party has its task cut out to build on this victory. --- ENDS --- "CPM veteran VS Achutanandan is Fidel Castro of Kerala. He will continue to guide and inspire the party," CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said today. By India Today Web Desk: Shortly after the Left today refused to make VS Achuthanandan - the main architect of its huge victory in Kerala - and picked Pinarayi Vijayan as the next chief minister, the party said the 92-year-old veteran is like Fidel Castro who continues to inspire. "CPM veteran VS Achutanandan is Fidel Castro of Kerala. He will continue to guide and inspire the party," CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said today. advertisement Who is Fidel Castro? At 89, Castro, who ruled Cuba for five decades from 1959 to 2008 before passing on the mantle to his younger brother Raul, is four years junior to Achuthanandan. Both are considered people's leaders with a massive following in their own geographies. Under Castro's administration, Cuba, a tiny island nation next to the US, became a one-party communist state, industry and business were nationalized, and socialist reforms implemented. Achuthanandan's clout Such is Achuthanandan's clout in Kerala politics that Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him, and not Vijayan whom his party as picked, to congratulate for the Left's stunning victory yesterday. The Prime Minister also tweeted, "Spoke to V S Achuthanandan ji & wished him on his victory & his Party?s impressive performance in the elections." Achutanandan had travelled the length and breadth of the state during the campaign for the May 16 Assembly polls, defying his advanced age. He contested from Malampuzha and won by a margin of 27,142 votes. The senior leader was in Malampuzha when the results were announced. VS vs Vijayan Achuthanandan's rivalry with Vijayan is also an old one. Vijayan's elevation to the chief minister's chair is also seen as a victory in the bitter power struggle with Achuthanandan. Both Achuthanandan and Vijayan were suspended from the politburo in 2007 after the two openly criticised each other. Later, they were reinstated in the politburo. However, Achuthanandan was again dropped from the highest party body for breaching party discipline. --- ENDS --- Salman's love life has yet again become the talk of the town. However, his younger brother Arbaaz Khan decided to remain tight-lipped on Salman-Iulia wedding rumours. By India Today Web Desk: It's been a few days since rumours about Salman Khan tying the knot with his rumoured girlfriend Iulia Vantur started doing the rounds. And Salman's first official public appearance with Iulia at Preity Zinta's wedding reception only added fuel to the fire. And now the latest buzz has it that Salman and Iulia will get married on Salman's 51st birthday. advertisement ALSO READ: Salman Khan to tie the knot with Iulia Vantur on his 51st birthday? ALSO READ: Is Salman Khan embarrassed with congratulatory messages? However, Salman's younger brother Arbaaz Khan decided to remain tight-lipped about the latest gossip and declined to confirm or deny the news at a recent event in Mumbai. Arbaaz, who was present at a concert by Berklee College of Music, was asked if it was true or false that Salman is getting married soon. The actor-turned-producer told IANS, "Well, listen, this (event) is not for that. You think I'm going to answer that?" And this very statement by Arbaaz has even more upped the curiosity quotient. Salman's love life has yet again become the talk of the town. The rumours of them getting married first sparked when a blind item in Mumbai Mirror suggested that Salman's mother has not been keeping well and wants him to get settled by the end of this year. And his frequent appearances with Iulia only confirmed the rumour. A recent report in Pinkvilla.com stated that Salman's house has been filled with bouquets and gifts ever since the news of his marriage came out. And this has left the 50-year-old actor quite embarrassed. On the other hand, there are reports that Salman is yet to propose to her ladylove and December 27 might not be the D-Day for Salman's marriage. However, his fans can't wait to see their favourite actor finally drop his 'most eligible bachelor' tag soon. On the work front, Salman will be next seen in Ali Abbas Zafar's sports-based film Sultan. The film is set to release this Eid. --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, May 20 (PTI) BJPs massive win in Assam casts spotlight on an unlikely campaigner whose use of modern communication methods and expertise in data-crunching helped the party craft a winning strategy in the border state. The partys maiden victory in the state has led to a comparison between Rajat Sethi (30), an IIT and Havard passout roped in by party general secretary Ram Madhav, and poll strategist Prashant Kishor. Kishor is with JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar after being involved with Prime Minister Narendra Modis successful Lok Sabha campaign in 2014. He has also been drafted by the Congress for Assembly elections in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh due next year. Sethi has though tried to play down the significance of work done by him and his associate Shubhrastha, who had earlier worked with Kishor in the Citizens for Accountable Governance. advertisement "Data crunchers have the capability to offer prescriptions based on numbers. But what about chemistry which works to translate prescriptions into suggestive reality?" they said today. Noting that swayamsevaks (RSS volunteers) have done selfless service in tribal areas of the state to see this day, they asked, "Can professional data crunchers one time dashboard substitute these sacrifices?," It may be noted that Kishor fell out with BJP as the party leadership disapproved of attempts to project him as a central figure in Modis win and instead claimed his role was "peripheral". Sethi has also sought to underline his ideological association with the saffron camp. Sethi said he was not a mercenary, an apparent swipe at Kishor whose camp has projected him as an apolitical professional, and asserted that he will never work for Congress. PTI KR GSN --- ENDS --- By PTI: Thrissur (Ker), May 20 (PTI) A BJP worker who was injured in an attack allegedly by CPI(M) workers, succumbed to his wounds today at a private hospital here, police said. Pramod (38) sustained head injuries after he was allegedly hit by a brick following a clash during a victory rally by CPI(M) workers at Idavilangu yesterday. BJP alleged that the CPI(M) workers who took part in the Assembly poll victory rally attacked Pramod. advertisement He was admitted to a private hospital in the city for better treatment, but succumbed to his wounds, police said. BJP has called for a dawn to dusk hartal in Thrissur district tomorrow in protest against the killing of its worker. Post-poll violence yesterday afternoon had claimed the life of a CPI(M) worker at Pinarayi in Kannur district. PTI TGB APR BSA --- ENDS --- The chef is part of the cultural-interaction initiative by the Indian Embassy in Israel, and is busy exchanging food stories and recipes with the people there. By Shreya Goswami: The Indian Embassy in Israel joined hands with chef Sanjeev Kapoor to promote Indian cuisine in Israel and pave the way for culinary collaborations and Indian restaurants in the country. The chef is holding two workshops and a series of other events to showcase India's wealth of age-old recipes at the Dan Hotels, Jerusalem. But the masterchef of Indian cooking has done more than just teach Israel about Indian culinary gems. Chef Sanjeev Kapoor with Michael Federmann, Chairman Dan Hotels and H. E. Pawan Kapoor (Indian Ambassador to Israel). Photo courtesy: Twitter/Sanjeev Kapoor Sanjeev Kapoor and Moshe Basson, two chefs who bonded over a huge handi of biryani. Photo courtesy: Twitter/Sanjeev Kapoor advertisement Also read: India organises Indian culinary week in Israel Walking down the roads of Jerusalem and savouring the varied goodies on offer, Kapoor engaged in a culinary road trip. With chef Moshe Basson of The Eucalyptus restaurant as his guide, Kapoor explored Jerusalem's main markets, and learned quite a few tricks from bakers and shop owners of the ancient city. Kapoor interacting with the owner of an old but popular juice shop at the Mahane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem. Photo courtesy: Twitter/Sanjeev Kapoor Israelis might be living through political conflicts, but their ancient heritage dates back to the Old Testament of the Bible. It's quite easy to imagine the kind of culinary heritage such an ancient culture has, and it's very rarely that we get a chance to discover what food habits and traditions are popular in such a nation. Learning the secrets of Jewish baking at the Mahane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem. Pjoto courtesy: Twitter/Sanjeev Kapoor At a spice shop at the Mahane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem. Photo courtesy: Twitter/Sanjeev Kapoor Also read: This fan's letter had chef Sanjeev Kapoor totally overwhelmed While the main event and workshops associated with the Indian Embassy will help Indian entrepreneurs connect with the public and make future food startups a possibility, Sanjeev Kapoor's interactions with the culinary hot-spots of Jerusalem will make a more sustained difference. The chef has always been open to adaptations and loves to share the secrets and nuances he learns with global audiences. We hope he shares the secrets of Israeli cooking he learnt this week in Jerusalem, and gives us all a chance to peek into the culinary heritage of the country. --- ENDS --- By PTI: From K J M Varma Beijing, May 20 (PTI) As Chinas strongest critic Tsai Ing-wen assumed power in Taiwan today pledging democracy and close ties with the US,a wary Beijing warned her against seeking independence and said the One-China policy remained the corner stone of its relations with other countries. Tsai, 59, who took oath today as new President of Taiwan in Taipei, is the head of the Democratic Progressive Party, which advocates Taiwans independence from the mainland. advertisement "Once again, the people of Taiwan have shown the world through our actions that we, as a free and democratic people, are committed to the defence of our freedom and democracy as a way of life," Tsai said in her address after taking oath. Referring to Taiwans ties with China, the islands first female President said the "stable and peaceful development of the cross-Strait relationship must be continuously promoted". She called on on both sides to "set aside the baggage of history, and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides," the BBC reported. Experts say what Tsai said in her speech is unlikely to satisfy Beijing. It sees eventual unification with the island as non-negotiable. With tensions rising in the South China Sea, Beijing is keen for Taiwan to be its ally rather than be aligned with rival claimants to the disputed islets in the sea. "If independence is pursued, it will be impossible to have peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits," the Taiwan Affairs Office said hours after Tsai was sworn in. "Independence is the greatest disaster for the peaceful development of peace in the Taiwan straits and the peaceful development of cross-straits relations," it said. Commenting on Tsais swearing in, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chun Ying said, "I want emphasis that One China policy is widely recognised by the world and one-china principle is important corner stone and prerequisite for China to develop relations with other countries". "What ever political changes Taiwan may go through, the Chinese government will remain unchanged in sticking to the One-China principle and oppose the Taiwan independence or one China or one Taiwan," Hua said. While refraining from any critical remarks against Tsai, Hua reacted guardedly to her remarks to raise the profile of Taiwan by improving trade ties with democratic countries like the US and Japan, which Beijing considers as rivals. "With regard to foreign relations between Taiwan and other countries the one-China policy is a prerequisite and basis for relations China and other counties," she said. "We have noobjection to Taiwans unofficial trade relations with other countries. We are opposed to other countries signing official agreements with Taiwan. For any trade arrangements they should be discussed through pragmatic cooperation between the two parts," Hua said. advertisement As Tsai, who was elected after strongly opposing Beijing friendly policy of outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou, took over power concerns rose in China about future course attempts to normalise cross straits relations. China and Taiwan split in 1949. But Beijing has always seen the island as a rebel province awaiting reunification. PTI KJV ZH AKJ ZH --- ENDS --- Congress is facing intense rebellion with several party leaders questioning Siddaramaiah working style and the way he is handling drought and farmers' suicide. By Mail Today: With the Congress performing poorly in the elections of the four state Assemblies, Karnataka's Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been summoned to New Delhi by the party High Command, as the state will face elections in two years' time. CONGRESS' LAST BASTION Karnataka happens to be the largest state ruled by the Congress and the party is keen on retaining power. But Congress is facing intense rebellion with several party leaders questioning the CM's working style and the way he is handling drought and farmers' suicide. advertisement For the upcoming elections to the Legislative Council, it is alleged that Siddaramaiah is favoring his followers. CONGRESS AND SIDDARAMAIAH AGAINST THE WORLD The public opinion has also been against Siddaramaiah. "The CM has been summoned to New Delhi on May 26 to discuss various issues, including the selection of candidates for the Legislative Council polls and the Cabinet reshuffle. The next two years is crucial for the Congress in Karnataka. Siddaramaiah has to take everyone into confidence and mend his ways," a senior party leader, said. Also read: Assam Assembly results: 5 reasons why BJP won and Congress lost its bastion Rahul Gandhi on election results: Accept verdict of people with humility --- ENDS --- "We are not saying the national leadership is not responsible," Congress spokesman PC Chacko said on the party's poll debacle. By India Today Web Desk: Whatever be the outcome of the recent elections the Congress has gotten used to losing, the party has never questioned - and in fact rallied behind - its senior leadership, especially the Gandhis. But it seems something changed on Thursday after the verdict in four states saw the Congress losing two - Assam to the BJP and Kerala to the Left - and faring badly in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. advertisement "We are not saying the national leadership is not responsible," Congress spokesman PC Chacko told PTI on the party's poll debacle. Why the rumbling within Congress? In the results announced on Thursday, Congress lost its government in Assam, the party-led government in Kerala and finished third in Tamil Nadu. In West Bengal, it finished a distant second to Trinamool Congress but performed better than the CPM with which it had an understanding. The only good news for the party came from Puducherry, where it is poised to form the government in alliance with the DMK. Chacko's statement on national leadership has come shortly after senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, considered close to both president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul, called for a "major surgery" and not just introspection in the party to take on a resurgent BJP. Singh also proposed a larger role for Sonia's daughter Priyanka Gandhi within the party, a demand not raised for the first time after Congress loses an election. The big debacle on Thursday The defeat in assembly polls to four major states on Thursday has come as a big disappointment to Congress and a dampener to its ambitions to replace the Narendra Modi government in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The results could also delay Rahul's elevation and lead to demands within the party for immediate organisational revamp. The results of polls in Assam, Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu showed that decline of Congress since the Lok Sabha elections has not ebbed. The party has lost nine assembly elections after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when its tally had touched a historic low of 44 seats. Rahul Gandhi has in the past fiercely contested Modi's suggestions to make India "Congress-mukt (Congress-free)" but there is growing concern in party circles over the series of defeats. But the analysts say the Congress does not have a proper strategy to win states and this is crucial for it to stay in serious contention for power in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Digvijaya Singh today had said a major surgery is needed to revamp the party. advertisement --- ENDS --- Heavy to very heavy rainfall has been predicted over Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. By India Today Web Desk: The weather department has issued warning of heavy rains along coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha as cyclone Roanu is expected to move towards the Indian coastal region after wreaking havoc in Sri Lanka. According to Skymet, cyclone Roanu may develop into a severe cyclone. However, the present weather conditions and cloud configurations indicate that the cyclonic system may not gather as much of strength as it was indicating initially. advertisement Here are the latest updates: 1. According to the weather department, cyclone Roanu is currently centred at about 110 km south-southwest of Visakhapatnam and 60 km east-northeast of Kakinada. The system is likely to move northeast along and off Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm. 2. Heavy to very heavy rainfall has been predicted over Andhra Pradesh during next 24 hours. Odisha is also likely to witness heavy to very heavy rains today and tomorrow. A look at how vulnerable India is to natural calamities in light of cyclone alert for Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Photo: Newsflicks 3. Wind speed can reach 90 to 110 kmph along and off North Andhra Pradesh coasts during next 12 hours. Odisha may witness squally wind speed reaching 60-80 kmph. Several places in north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts are also likely to be affected by stormy winds during the next 24 hours. 4. Fishermen have been warned against venturing in the sea along and off Odisha, Andhra and Tamil Nadu coasts. 5. "The cyclone is now moving towards Odisha coast and will bring heavy rains in Andhra, Odisha and West Bengal. It will hit the coast near Chittagong near Bangladesh on May 21," Ranjeet Singh, director, Weather Department-Delhi, told India Today. 6. NDRF and SDRF teams have been kept ready alongwith essential items like food, water, medicines and other material has been kept ready to meet any eventuality. 7. Meanwhile, India has rushed two naval ships with relief materials to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka . INS Sunayna, an NOPV (Naval offshore patrol vessel) and INS Sutlej, a survey vessel have started for Colombo from Southern Naval Command Kochi. 8. As per reports, at least 18 people have been killed in Sri Lanka and 200 families are still missing following a series of mudslides as Roanu brought heavy rainfalls across the island country. With inputs from Siddhartha Sharma. --- ENDS --- Daniel Craig has reportedly told studio bosses he is "done" playing James Bond after turning down a GBP 68 million offer for two more movies. By Bang Showbiz: Daniel Craig has reportedly turned down a GBP 68 million offer to play James Bond in two more movies. The 48-year-old actor - who has portrayed 007 in four films - is said to have rejected the huge offer, which is thought to be made up of profit shares, endorsements and a role as co-producer, from MGM studio and told bosses he is "done" playing the suave spy. advertisement A Los Angeles film source told the Daily Mail newspaper, "Daniel is done - pure and simple - he told top brass at MGM after Spectre. They threw huge amounts of money at him, but it just wasn't what he wanted. "He had told people after shooting that this would be his final outing, but the film company still felt he could come around after Spectre if he was offered a money deal." The Hollywood actor's future as Bond has been the subject of much speculation in recent months. Just last week, British actor Tom Hiddleston was spotted meeting with Bond director Sam Mendes and producer Barbara Broccoli in London - fuelling rumours he could be the next 007. An onlooker said at the time, "At first it was Barbara, Tom and another good looking young man. Then Sam Mendes joined them at about 11 pm and they stayed until around 1 am ... There was lots of laughter; they all looked to be having a very jolly time." This prompted some bookmakers to suspend betting on Tom taking on the role next, but the actor insisted earlier this month that he hadn't been offered the part and wasn't aware that Daniel - who is married to actor Rachel Weisz - had hung up his Bond tuxedo. He said, "The thing is, the position isn't vacant as far as I am aware. No one has talked to me about it. "I think the rumours have all come about because in The Night Manager I play a spy and people have made the link." Last year, Daniel - who has starred as 007 in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and 2015's Spectre - said he would "rather slash (his) wrists" than portray the spy again, but later admitted he would do another Bond movie "for the money". He also threw his Bond future in doubt when he signed up for 20-episode US TV series Purity. --- ENDS --- The joint initiative by the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC), the PWD, traffic police and municipal corporation will ban the motorised vehicles from Red Fort to Fatehpuri Masjid. By Shashank Shekhar: Facing a new hurdle, the plan to restrict motorised vehicles in the busy Chandni Chowk market has been deferred till the time footpaths, streets and parking lots near the area are upgraded. The joint initiative by the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC), the PWD, traffic police and municipal corporation will ban the motorised vehicles from Red Fort to Fatehpuri Masjid. advertisement The plan was dropped for a few months after PWD minister Satyendra Jain paid a visit to the site and found the current infrastructure inadequate to launch the ambitious project. "We want to make this project a great success and do not want anyone to suffer. PWD minister has asked the department to speed-up road and footpath repair work. This will be done in phases," Alka Lamba, AAP MLA from the area said. PWD WANTS TO SPEED UP WORK The PWD minister has ordered to speed up the repair work. He also inspected the nearby parking lot and found it in a miserable state, and asked the municipal corporation to ensure the facility inside is upgraded. "Fresh dates will be announced after ascertaining the preparative measures of different departments," said Nitin Panigrahi, nodal officer for SRDC. This is a trial project and based on the results, it will be made a permanent affair. The government's move to restrict motorised vehicles on this stretch was resisted by a group of traders but others welcomed it and highlighted the poor condition of nearby parking spaces. ALSO READ: AAP tries to decongest Chandni Chowk, no motor vehicles in walled city --- ENDS --- The United States has not ruled out any possible causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew. An unidentified woman reacts as she waits outside the Egyptair in-flight service building, where relatives and friends of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo are being held, at Cairo Intern By Reuters: An EgyptAir jet carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean on Thursday in a crash that Egypt said may have been caused by a terrorist attack. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to rule out any explanation for the crash, including an attack like the one blamed for bringing down a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula last year. The country's aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure. advertisement WRECKAGE STILL NOT FOUND The Egyptian civil aviation ministry initially said Greek authorities had found "floating material" and life jackets likely to be from the plane, an Airbus A320. However, late on Thursday EgyptAir Vice President Ahmed Adel told CNN that the wreckage had not been found. "We stand corrected on finding the wreckage because what we identified is not a part of our plane. So the search and rescue is still going on," Adel said. Greek defense sources told Reuters the material was discovered in the sea 370 km south of the island of Crete. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the civil aviation ministry, the army's search and rescue center, the navy, and the air force to take all necessary measures to locate debris from the aircraft. In a statement issued by his office, Sisi also ordered an investigative committee formed by the civil aviation ministry to immediately start investigating the causes of the plane's disappearance. US REACTS Officials from multiple US agencies told Reuters that a US review of satellite imagery so far had not produced any signs of an explosion aboard the EgyptAir flight. The US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the conclusion was the result of a preliminary examination of imagery and cautioned against media reports suggesting the United States believed a bomb was responsible for the crash. They said the United States has not ruled out any possible causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew. Amid uncertainty about what downed the plane, Los Angeles International Airport became the first major U.S. air transportation hub to say it was stepping up security measures. "In light of the disappearance of EgyptAir Flight MS804, we have heightened our security posture and enhanced our counter-terrorism security measures," the Los Angeles Airport Police said in a statement. Greece had deployed aircraft and a frigate to search for the missing plane. Egypt said it would lead the investigation and France would participate. Paris said three investigators would arrive in Egypt on Thursday evening. advertisement In Washington, President Barack Obama received a briefing on the disappearance from his adviser for homeland security and counter terrorism, the White House said. A White House spokesman said it was too early to know the cause of the crash and offered condolences. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the Airbus swerved 90 degrees to the left, spun through 360 degrees to the right and plunged from 37,000 feet to 15,000 before vanishing from Greek radar screens. According to Greece's civil aviation chief, calls from Greek air traffic controllers to flight MS804 went unanswered just before it left Greek airspace, and it disappeared from radar screens soon afterwards. There was no official indication of a possible cause, whether technical failure, human error or sabotage. Ultra-hardline Islamists have targeted airports, airliners and tourist sites in Europe, Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries over the past few years. Asked if he could rule out terrorist involvement, the Egyptian premier told reporters: "We cannot exclude anything at this time or confirm anything. All the search operations must be concluded so we can know the cause." advertisement French President Francois Hollande also said the cause was unknown. "No hypothesis can be ruled out, nor can any be favored over another." The aircraft was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew, EgyptAir said. They included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals, along with citizens of 10 other countries. The Canadian government said on Thursday two Canadian citizens were aboard and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said Canadian officials were working with authorities to confirm if any other Canadians were on the flight. A man identified as an Australian-UK dual national was also aboard, according to the Australian government. The US State Department said there was no indication that American citizens were on board. "LIVES ARE SO CHEAP" At Cairo airport, a man sat on a brown leather couch crying with his hands covering his face. "How long will Egypt live if human lives are so cheap?" he said. The mother of a flight attendant rushed out of the VIP hall where families waited in tears. She said the last time her daughter called her was Wednesday night. "They haven't told us anything," she said. Some relatives tried to beat up a photographer working for EgyptAir who took several pictures of the families waiting in the hall. Security officials intervened and escorted him out. advertisement With its archaeological sites and Red Sea resorts, Egypt is a traditional destination for Western tourists. But the industry has been badly hit by the downing of a Russian Metrojet flight last October, in which all 224 people on board were killed, as well as by an Islamist insurgency and a string of bomb attacks. A320s normally seat 150, which means the EgyptAir plane was barely a third full. Greek air traffic controllers spoke to the pilot as the jet flew over the island of Kea, in what was thought to be the last broadcast from the aircraft, and no problems were reported. But just ahead of the handover to Egyptian controllers, calls to the plane went unanswered. "About seven miles before the aircraft entered the Cairo airspace, Greek controllers tried to contact the pilot but he was not responding," said Kostas Litzerakis, head of Greece's civil aviation department. Shortly after exiting Greek airspace, it disappeared from radars, he said. In Paris, a police source said investigators were interviewing officers who were on duty at Roissy airport on Wednesday evening to find out whether they heard or saw anything suspicious. "We are in the early stage here," the source said. Airbus said the missing A320 was delivered to EgyptAir in November 2003 and had operated about 48,000 flight hours. The missing flight's pilot had clocked up to 6,275 hours of flying experience, including 2,101 hours on the A320, while the first officer had 2,766 hours, EgyptAir said. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, said no conclusions could be drawn yet but terrorism was a very possible cause. "If terrorism was indeed the cause, it would reveal a whole new level of vulnerability to aircraft - not only from those flights originating in the Middle East, but to those departing from the heart of Europe and with, at least in theory, far better airport defenses," he said. Other countries offered to help in the investigation, including the United States, where engine maker Pratt & Whitney is based. Russia and Western governments have said the Metrojet plane that crashed on Oct. 31 was probably brought down by a bomb, and the Islamic State militant group said it had smuggled an explosive device on board. That crash called into question Egypt's campaign to contain Islamist violence. Militants have stepped up attacks on Egyptian soldiers and police since Sisi, then serving as army chief, toppled elected president Mohamed Mursi, an Islamist, in 2013 after mass protests against his rule. Also read: Greek authorities find crashed EgyptAir plane debris: Egyptian civil aviation ministry --- ENDS --- Rental company HomeAway will be transforming the Eiffel Tower's first floor into Hausmannian-style living quarters for the duration of the UEFA Euro 2016. By India Today Web Desk: Eiffel Tower, arguably the most romantic place in the whole wide world, is now open to be a home for travellers. Didn't quite get it? We'll elaborate. A Texas-based rental company, HomeAway, is taking over part of the Eiffel Tower's first floor for the duration of the UEFA Euro 2016 , and transforming it into Hausmannian-style living quarters. advertisement But here's the catch: A competition, which kicked off yesterday, will decide four lucky winners who get to be the first people in history to use the Eiffel Tower as a vacation home next month. What's more? The winners will get to enjoy their morning tea lying on the 300-metre-tall landmark, while enjoying the panoramic views of the Arc de Triomphe, the Sacre Coeur and the Seine river. HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples called the move "unprecedented" and said it was "guaranteed to provide the most epic vacation memories of a lifetime." Relax, Monsieur Sharples. You had us at 'Eiffel'. You will make me blush if you keep looking at me... pic.twitter.com/agFm6nb4zk La tour Eiffel (@LaTourEiffel) May 16, 2016 --- ENDS --- The actress hasn't made an appearance on the red carpet of the film festival, but she's working all her looks. By Hemul Goel: When Freida Pinto confirmed her attendance at the Cannes Film Festival this year, we were excited to see her on the red carpet, having missed her in action last year. However, while the actress did attend the festival, she wasn't spotted sashaying down the carpet. Also read: Unseen shots of Aishwarya getting ready for Cannes prove she's the most beautiful woman in the world advertisement Instead, she raised the style stakes from the sides by attending two very different events at the film festival. Attending a press conference for We Do It Together--a non-profit feminist production company--Freida wore a moulded seam dress by Prabal Gurung, hand-embroidered with Nepalese jewellery. Her look was finished with Amarapali jewels, a pair of Kurt Geiger shoes and Audemar Piguet watch. Also read: Amy Jackson was at the same Cannes party as Kim Kardashian; here's what she wore This look is right up Freida's alley. Pictures courtesy: Instagram/@prabalgurung Seen attending the Women in Motion Prize reception at the festival, the actress switched up her style in an embellished Elie Saab dress cinched at the waist. A ponytail, red lips and silver heels finished her look. The actress at the Women in Motion Prize reception. Picture courtesy: Instagram/@glamourfashionista_ The actress at the Women in Motion Prize reception. Picture courtesy: Instagram/@glamourfashionista_ We kinda like the Prabal Gurung look a little bit more and we do wish we had got an opportunity to see her on the red carpet; nevertheless, our fingers are still crossed. Do you have a preference between the two looks? --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Shirish B Pradhan Kathmandu, May 19 (PTI) Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli today said fresh anti-government agitation by the Madhesis was "not necessary" at a time the country was still recovering from last years devastating quakes even as minority groups launched the second round of protests. "The agitation launched by the Madhesis and other ethnic groups was not necessary at this time," Oli told PTI on the sidelines of a grand International Buddhist conference here. advertisement "The government believes in resolving the issue related with the Madhesis and the ethnic groups through talks," he said. The new Constitution has already been promulgated and if they have any grievances, the government has called them for talks in the past, he added. His remarks came amid a fresh round of agitation by the Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, mainly to protest against the seven-province federal model enshrined in the new statute. The minority had led a nearly six-month-long violent protest over better representation in the Parliament and the federal structure of the Constitution that divides their ancestral homeland. The agitation that began last year also witnessed blockade of key border trade points with India and claimed over 50 lives before being called off unexpectedly just before Olis maiden visit to India but the impasse is far from over. The agitating Madhesi Front has rejected the governments earlier call for talks and asked the ruling coalition to create a "conducive atmosphere" for dialogue to end the political crisis plaguing the country as it went ahead with the first phase of protests, in a bid to bring the waning Madhesi movement back to the limelight, which ended yesterday. The first day of their second phase of programme, however, witnessed a low turnout. The protests have been launched by the Federal Alliance, that led Kathmandu-centric agitation for the past six days to press for demands relating to rights and representation of Madhesis and other ethnic groups. A few hundred people assembled in a protest rally organised by the alliance in Mangalbazaar of Lalitpur district near Kathmandu. However, the programme was largely peaceful. The twin quakes of last year that killed nearly 9,000 people coupled with hundreds of aftershocks pushed Nepal to the brink, causing widespread devastation and hitting its major tourism sector badly. PTI SBP SAI AKJ SAI --- ENDS --- Good colleges don't often confess they are in a mess. But Hindu College-one of Delhi's oldest and most popular-is doing just that. At first glance, under a late afternoon sun, everything seems the same. Wide corridors with sunrays streaming past back-lit brick columns as trendy students engaged in lazy banter lie sprawled on the lawns. But dig deeper. Worry lines crease the forehead of T.C. Arora, accounts administrator, as he thumbs through a stack of balance sheets, thick as an encyclopaedia, in his office. "The first three months of this financial year have already chalked up a deficit of Rs 14 lakh," he says. Around him, his staff juggles funds, shifting money from "less important" heads (like leave allowance for teachers) to "more important" ones (like building maintenance). Nothing works. The "rainy day" bank accounts are wiped out, even the students' deposit money has been used, but there still isn't enough even for salaries in July. Nearby, the principal, S.N. Maheshwari, talks of how his library has been affected and maintenance of buildings ignored. Out on the science block, Bhim Singh, laboratory assistant for the chemistry department is anxious. "Chemicals are so expensive that routine practicals are being missed out." It's been called an invisible liquidation. There is no escaping the pestilence of a resource crunch that has continued to shroud the university system for close to seven years. Like a cancer, it works silently, destroying insidiously. advertisement by Vijay Jung Thapa June 1997 --- ENDS --- By PTI: Panaji, May 20 (PTI) Goa government today announced that even as its health insurance scheme, Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva (DDSS), would be formally launched on May 30, it would only become operational from August 15 this year. State Health Minister Francis DSouza said, "The scheme would be rolled out on May 30, but after going through all the process, the actual benefits would be available only from August 15 this year onwards." advertisement The DDSS is expected to cover 447 diseases, including psychological and chronic lifestyle problems, besides the conventional illnesses. Institutions like AIIMS and Tata Memorial Hospital have also been roped in for the scheme, where the patients can undergo treatment and get financial reimbursement. State Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said the scheme might go for further expansion, wherein residents of neighbouring Karwar (Karnataka) and Sindhudurg (Maharashtra) districts can also avail the benefits of the insurance cover. "Health Ministers from the concerned states of Maharashtra and Karnataka are in talks with us, wherein they are ready to pay the required installment to the insurance company for health cover to their citizens," Parsekar said. "We have assured them that their demand would be looked into in due course," he added. State cabinet on Friday approved the scheme which will be implemented by M/s United India Insurance Company Limited. As per the note circulated in the cabinet, the insurance cover up to 2.5 lakh per annum for a family of three or less members and up to 4 lakh for a family of four and more would be provided. The scheme is intended to benefit all the resident population of Goa, except the serving government employees and their dependents. PTI COR NP ANP RDS --- ENDS --- By PTI: depts New Delhi, May 20 (PTI) Six central universities - one each in the north, south, east, west, central and northeast - are likely to start a department of yoga from the forthcoming academic session. According to a report submitted by a HRD-appointed panel on setting up yoga departments in universities, the government should in the first phase begin from six varsities. advertisement These are Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in Uttarakhand, Visva Bharati in Shantiniketan, Central University of Kerala, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University in Amarkantak, Manipur University in Imphal and, either the Central University of Rajasthan in Ajmer or Central University of Gujarat in Gandhinagar. The panel, headed by H R Nagendra who is also regarded as Prime Minister Narendra Modis yoga guru, had recommended six kind of courses ranging from certificate courses to Bachelors, Masters and PhDs. The committee had also recommended that expertise of Ramdevs Patanjali Yogpeeth, S-VYASA Yoga University headed by Nagendra and some other institutes could be used for setting up of these departments. The panel had also recommended a grant of Rs 10 crore to each university over five years for setting up of these departments. PTI ADS ZMN --- ENDS --- By PTI: Mumbai May 20 (PTI) Without debunking his marriage rumours, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan said he will inform about his wedding through social media. Gossip mills are abuzz that the 50-year-old "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" star would be tying the knot with his rumoured Romanian girlfriend Lulia Vantur on his birthday, December 27. "When I want to get married I will get married. I dont need to tell you when I am getting married. When I am getting married, I will tweet it and put in on Facebook. So I will keep it to me and my fans," Salman told reporters here at the IIFA awards press conference. advertisement Salman made his first joint public appearance with Vantur recently at actress and good friend Preity Zintas wedding reception. The Romanian TV star was also spotted with Salmans mother Salma and sister Alvira at the Mumbai airport. PTI KKP NRB SHD NDS SRE --- ENDS --- In 2016 Assembly Elections as many as 5,57,888 people took the NOTA option in Tamil Nadu. Election Commission introduced the NOTA in 2011 as a category to those who want to nullify their votes. The recently-concluded 2016 Assembly elections saw the return of AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. However, as unlike the historic pattern, AIADMK did not get a landslide victory. It was a close call for both the Dravidian parties. In 2011, DMK won only 24 seats and this time, DMK+ has acquired 99 seats making them a strong opposition, but still not a winner. advertisement DMK chief Karunanidhi explaining the vote share said, "DMK acquired 1,71,75,374 votes, meaning 39.7 per cent and AIADMK acquired 1,76,17,000 votes which sums up to 40.8 per cent. The difference is 1.1 per cent." However, there was one entity that was deliberately left off the equation here - None of The Above (NOTA). WHAT IS NOTA Election Commission introduced the NOTA in 2011 as a category to those who want to nullify their votes. And in 2016 as many as 5,57,888 people took the NOTA option in Tamil Nadu. DMK's M Appavu lost in Radhapuram by 45 votes and NR Dhanapalan lost in Perambur by 498 votes, Thol Thiruma (PWF) lost in Kaatumannarkoil by 87 votes, Krishnasamy (DMK) lost in Ottapidaram by 468 votes. One in 50 voters in Chennai opted NOTA and 1 in 100 punched NOTA in whole of Tamil Nadu. However, the parties are not ready to accept this fact as it would mean that people are losing faith in the present voting system. "If we get more NOTA counts we can opt for presidential rule", believes Sonali, a second year, college graduate. Unfortunately, neither the parties nor the Election Commission took any steps to create accurate awareness about NOTA. And so NOTA is slowly gaining access into polling and is expected to definitely cause decisive effects in the future. --- ENDS --- China has opposed India's bid to get NSG membership on the ground that it was yet to sign the NPT. By PTI: India today rejected China's contention that it must sign the NPT to get membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, saying France was included in the elite group without signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty. "I think there is some confusion here. Even the NPT allows civil nuclear cooperation with non-NPT countries. If there is a connection, it is between the NSG and IAEA safeguards and with export controls," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. advertisement He was asked about a Chinese official linking China's support to India's bid for NSG to the country signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT.) "NSG members have to respect safeguards and export controls, nuclear supplies have to be in accordance with the NSG Guidelines. The NSG is an ad hoc export control regime and France, which was not an NPT member for some time, was a member of the NSG since it respected NSGs objectives," said Swarup. China opposes India's bid China has opposed India's bid to get NSG membership on the ground that it was yet to sign the NPT. Its Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang had said all the multilateral non-proliferation export control regime including the NSG have regarded NPT as an important standard for the expansion of the NSG. "Apart from India, lot of other countries expressed their willingness to join. Then it raised the question to the international community - shall the non-NPT members also become part of the NSG?" he said, adding "China's position is not directed against any specific country but applies to all the non-NPT members". Liu Zhenmin, China's Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, later denied that his country was blocking India's bid for a membership in elite NSG and said it will "work" with the members of the 48-nation grouping as well as India to find a solution. "Members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group should be party to NPT. So, I think China will also work with others including Indian colleagues together to find a solution," he had said. President Pranab Mukherjee is likely to raise the issue during his visit to Beijing next week. --- ENDS --- By PTI: Kathmandu, May 20 (PTI) A 43-year-old seasoned Indian mountaineer became the second climber to die in the Himalayas this week after he fell ill while descending Mount Dhaulagiri in Nepal, the worlds seventh-highest peak, an expedition agency said today. Rajib Bhattacharya, who has earlier scaled Mount Everest in 2011, complained of difficulty in vision and collapsed while on his way down from the 8,167-metre high Dhaulagiri peak. He died yesterday afternoon. advertisement "Bhattacharya complained of snow blindness and collapsed. He died soon after at Camp III at an altitude of 7,600 metres," said Pemba Sherpa, manager at the Kathmandu-based Seven Summit Treks, organiser of the expedition. "We will know the exact cause of death once his team returns to the base camp," he said. Mingma Sherpa, another official at the agency said that efforts were underway to airlift Bhattacharyas body to Kathmandu from the mountain. Bhattacharya, who hails from West Bengals Howrah district, was a seasoned climber and had earlier scaled Mt Everest in 2011 and Mt Kanchenjunga in 2013. Earlier yesterday, a Nepalese sherpa guide, accompanying Indian soldiers in their attempt to summit the worlds fourth- highest peak Lhotse Face, fell 2000-metres to his death while fixing ropes during the expedition. The two deaths on a single day has cast a shadow over the otherwise successful expedition season in the Himalayan mountains so far. Mount Everest has seen nearly 300 summits this season, after a nearly two-year-long drought season on the worlds highest peak following two disasters in 2014 and 2015. A seven-member team of Indian soldiers were also among the people who scaled Mt Everest yesterday. As many as 18 climbers had died after an earthquake- triggered avalanche at a Everest base camp last year. Sixteen Nepali guides had died in 2014 in another avalanche. Mountaineering and trekking expeditions on the Himalayas are a major source of revenue for Nepal, which is struggling to return to normalcy after a devastating earthquake killed over 9,000 people last year. PTI SBP SUA AKJ SUA --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, May 18 (PTI) Tata Group firm Indian Hotels Company, which runs Taj group of hotels, today said the company is planning to sell its Taj Boston hotel for a base price of USD 125 million (about Rs 836.09 crore). The board of the company, at a meeting held today, approved its wholly-owned subsidiary United Overseas Holdings (UOH) plan to "pursue the option of divestment of the Taj Boston hotel by way of sale/disposal of the LLC interests in IHMS (Boston) LLC", Indian Hotels said in BSE filing. advertisement IHMS (Boston) LLC is a direct subsidiary of UOH. The board has also authorised the present management of the company for sale of Taj Boston, the company added. Price consideration should not be "lower than USD 125 million to an independent third party, subject to negotiations and execution of suitable agreements", the hospitality major further said. "The management will seek and evaluate suitable offers from prospective unrelated third-party purchasers who are interested in leveraging the Taj brand," it said. The company further "intends to negotiate a divestment while retaining brand presence on the hotel on terms to be agreed". Net loss before tax for the Boston-based property has widened to USD 7.3 million in 2015-16 as against USD 6.7 million in 2014-15. Taj Bostons total revenue in 2015-16 dipped 1.15 per cent to USD 34.1 million, from USD 34.5 million in 2014-15. IHC had acquired Taj Boston Hotel in 2006, recognising the importance of the need of presence of brand Taj in the US, which is the single largest source market for the company. However, global economic recession impacted fortunes of the hospitality sector around the world and its profitability as well, which explains the fact that the company is now focusing on high-margin markets. "In recent times, the company has been relooking at all options for a course correction in strategy, focusing on growth in high-margin markets, evaluating relevance of some of its existing assets in the portfolio to reduce leverage," Indian Hotels said. PTI KRH AKT SRK ARD --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Gurdip Singh Singapore, May 20 (PTI) An Indian-origin Singaporean and his Nepalese wife have become the first to be charged for labour trafficking activities in Singapore after they were found harbouring and exploiting seven Bangladeshi female staff in a music pub, the government said today. Balakrishnan, 52, and his wife Khema Batta, 29, are the first to be charged for labour trafficking activities under the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act here, the Channel News Asia reported. advertisement The Ministry of Manpower said in a statement that Balakrishnan and Khema were the director and manager of a Hindi music pub "Taraana" where the seven women were performing artists. The couple are facing seven charges each under the Act for abusing their power as employers to harbour and exploit the women, the ministry said. The ministry said it has taken steps to ensure the seven Bangladeshi women are provided with appropriate care. "Our investigation officers are visiting them regularly to check on both their physical and mental well-being. We have also engaged professional counselling services to look after their emotional needs," it said. "To help in their rehabilitation process, we have facilitated the victims to gain interim employment under the Temporary Job Scheme (TJS)," the ministry said. Any person who is found guilty of an offence under Section 3 of the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act 2014, in the case of a first offence, shall be fined up to Singapore dollars 100,000 with imprisonment of up to 10 years and shall be liable to caning of up to six strokes of the cane. PTI GS AJR AKJ AJR MVV --- ENDS --- The Congress vice-president failed to retain key leaders like Hemanta Biswa Sarma, Kalikho Pul and Vijay Bahuguna before crucial Assembly elections and even ignored their timely advices. Former Congress leader Hemanta Biswa Sarma says Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi (in pic) kept playing with his dog instead of concentrating on the problems of Assam. The results of the just concluded Assembly elections are out and the Congress has faced a severe setback in Assam - known as its bastion for the last 15 years. Post the 2104 Lok Sabha debacle, the record of the Congress at the hustings has certainly not been to write home about. But in Assam, Rahul himself played spoilsport and ensured his party's defeat. advertisement Man behind BJP win in Assam attacks Rahul Hemanta Biswa Sarma, current BJP MLA and one of the architects of the BJP's victory in Assam, has accused Rahul of "not taking swift decisions even when he was apprised of the ground realities". Sarma says he personally informed Rahul that if the party does not act in time, it will not get more than 20 seats in Assam but the Congress vice-president kept playing with his dog instead of concentrating on the problems of Assam. "Rahul likes a master-servant relationship," yelled Sarma, a former Congress leader. Sources in the Congress say it would have been better had Sarma been retained by Rahul. Certain senior leaders of the party had even devised a compromise formula that Sarma will become the campaign committee chief for the elections. But according to senior leaders, the Gogoi camp and the general secretary in-charge prevailed over Rahul and Sarma went and joined the BJP. The decision was after all taken by the Gandhi scion. ALSO READ: How Rahul Gandhi and Gaurav Gogoi ensured Congress defeat in Assam Same mistake in Arunachal Interestingly, Congress repeated the same mistake in Arunachal Pradesh. Kalikho Pul, the then Congress MLA, was not happy with the functioning of the then Chief Minister Nabam Tuki. Pul wanted the high command to intervene and sort the issue out but once again, Rahul did not take the correct decision. Pul says, "I waited for 13 months but Rahul did not have the time to meet me. When we went against the CM and court order came then Rahul met me and said the state leadership will be changed when I want it to be." As a result, beleaguered Pul spilt Congress and formed a new party. Now, Pul has become the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh with BJP's support. Arunachal Pradesh Congress leaders say that had the central leadership intervened in time, there would have been be a Congress government in the state. They add that Pul is still a Congressman. Uttarakhand saved by a whisker The latest example is that of Uttarakhand. Former Congress leader Vijay Bahuguna, who joined the BJP after his disqualification from the Uttarakhand assembly, said, "We are Congress people. We wanted time from Rahul but he must have been busy and didn't meet us". advertisement The Congress party, after the intervention of the Supreme Court, was able to save its government. But such a revolt in the ranks speaks poorly of the leadership. However, the fact remains that in all three states the former Congressman are blaming Rahul for joining the BJP. ALSO READ: Congress poll debacle: Siddaramaiah summoned to New Delhi The Congress refutes this claim. Congress general secretary PC Chako terms these people as "traitors". "These people betrayed our leadership, they think that whatever change they want should be implemented immediately," he told India Today TV. Another senior spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit says, "It is unfair to blame Rahul. There are always differences of opinions in the party but such action is uncalled for." There are calls for structural changes coming from within the Congress setup. Former leaders are leaving the party and attacking Rahul Gandhi vociferously. If corrective measures are not taken seriously and immediately then Congress Mukt Bharat may just become a reality. ALSO READ: Digvijaya's prescription for down-and-out Congress: Major surgery, Priyanka --- ENDS --- advertisement Women are increasingly feeling pressured to look beautiful, but they don't feel it from within. It's time to break the silence. By Radhika Bhalla/Mail Today: How many times have you held yourself back from going for a date, a social event or work because you thought you weren't looking 'good enough'? It may come as a surprise, but according to a recent global survey called 'Truth About Beauty', 67 per cent of Indian women and girls between the ages of 10 and 64 years have actively avoided social engagements, work, school or health-related activity because they don't feel good about their looks. advertisement Also read: Sonam Kapoor to Mallika Sherawat: All the looks from the amfAR gala at Cannes The results were found through a four-week long global research of 4,000 women in India, the US, UK, Brazil, China, Japan and Turkey by Edeleman Intelligence, a specialist applied research firm based in London and Clinical psychologist and psychotherapist Varkha Chulani for beauty brand, Dove. Pressure to conform: They found that despite the diverse socio-economic backgrounds, only 11 per cent of Indian women had high self-esteem (confidence in overall self-worth or self-respect), while 40 per cent of Indian women had high body-esteem (confidence in one's body and physical appearance). In the report, Chulani states, "It is distressing that in such a diverse country with 631 million women, women still feel undoubted pressure to conform to a traditional beauty ideal that is excruciatingly narrow and restrictive," while adding, "It is not uncommon for a woman to be patronised about how to dress, style her hair, carry herself, speak, or in some cases, not speak as rhetoric in most households. These narrow standards are putting undue pressure on women." Actresses like Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra have touched international shores with their acting and singing talent. Speaking to Lifestyle, Chulani shares, "I see a number of young clients on a daily basis with tremendous body image issues. Very often, the cause is linked to the family, or the mother. Sometimes we send direct or indirect messages to our daughters to only celebrate their physical appearance, but not other attributes--all those are taken for granted." She adds that erroneous messages can include phrases like 'your ass is too big', or 'you are looking too busty', which the child begins to believe and live by. "Too often I have seen that it leads to personality disorder, self-doubt, inferiority complex, and comparison, and the child begins focusing on things that are too superficial." Also read: In her last Cannes appearance Sonam Kapoor could be Queen Elsa from Frozen Take a stand: Along with familial pressures, misrepresentation by Bollywood and media of the 'ideal' and classical norms of beauty are sending the wrong signals to women. The study also reveals that "the majority of Indian women and girls believe that conforming to this narrow beauty ideal will make their lives easier and provide them with greater opportunities." In the wake of low selfesteem that negatively impacts all aspects of women's and girls' lives (from work to school, social activities and how they manage their health), Chulani suggests, "It is important to be aware of the verbal and non verbal messages you receive in the walls of your house. Young girls and women need to question when people at home emphasise physical appearances as a measure of confidence." Nandita Das has actively spoken out against 'racism' in cinema towards darker skin tones. Nandita Das has actively spoken out against 'racism' in cinema towards darker skin tones. advertisement She next suggests working towards immediate correction, "Once you have identified the issue, remind yourself that you do not need to believe all that is told to you by an adult, a sibling or mother. This does not mean one takes a radical decision or become self-destructive, but calmly realises what is creating selfdoubt. It is better to not believe." Vidya Balan redefined beauty by celebrating her curves, and received an honorary doctorate in 2015. Question 'beauty': Other steps towards reclaiming selfworth include de-emphasising. "Do not make looks the be all and end all of your personality," asserts Chulani. "Delink your body shape with self worth and remind yourself of the qualities that make you a unique, special person so that you can revel in being a total human being instead of focusing on one aspect." She further states, "Teach your child to question everything, including what parents tell them because what parents say isn't always the gospel truth. A questioning child is a thinking child, a confident child, and one who will decide herself what is beautiful and worthy." advertisement --- ENDS --- Here's why you should also try them out. By Shreya Goswami: As I made my way to Jamie's Italian in Vasant Kunj on the 18th of May for the Food Revolution Day Cook-Out, I was looking forward to an evening of tasty and nutritious food cooked from scratch, just the way Jamie Oliver recommends. Those who aren't familiar with the chef's Food Revolution should know that it's a global grassroots effort to address the health crisis we are all facing, by introducing good eating and cooking habits to our children and families. With six cook tops and a small crowd of excited kids and adults, the event was all about cooking and sharing meals together. advertisement Also read: Jamie Oliver is on a Super Food journey across Korea After a warm welcome by the staff at Jamie's Italian, where I was part of a small crowd of enthusiastic children, parents, food bloggers, etc, we all got cooking. While Jamie Oliver will have a global cook-out with 10 selected recipes today, we stirred up 3 delicious recipes. While we got measured and chopped ingredients, which no doubt took away half the hassle of cooking, the recipes in themselves were easy and super tasty. Here they are: Minestrone Soup My bowl of minestrone soup. It was a well-balanced, wholesome soup. Ingredients: 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped 1 red onion, finely chopped 2 carrots, roughly chopped 2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped 1 zucchini, roughly chopped 1 small leek, roughly chopped 1 large potato, par-boiled and diced 1 can of boiled chickpeas Olive oil, to cook with 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1 fresh bay leaf 1/2 cup tomatoes, blanched and peeled 4 cups vegetable broth 1 handful of seasonal greens, like cabbage or spinach 1/2 cup pasta, boiled Fresh basil, garnishing Parmesan cheese, garnishing Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, leek, oregano and bay leaf, and cook slowly for about 15 minutes (or until vegetables have softened). Add the potato, chickpeas and tomatoes, and pour in the vegetable broth. Stir well, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Cover with a lid and bring everything to a boil, and simmer till the potatoes are fully cooked. Add the greens and pasta, and cook for a further 10 minutes till the pasta is al dente. Add a bit more broth if it has dried out. Garnish with basil leaves and a grating of Parmesan cheese. Serve with a slice of bread. Classic Tomato Spaghetti The ingredients for the minestrone were measured and laid out by the restaurant staff. Ingredients: 1/2 bunch of fresh basil 1 medium onion, thinly sliced 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced 2 cups tomatoes, blanched and pulped 1 tablespoon red wine or balsamic vinegar 2 cups spaghetti, blanched Olive oil, co cook Parmesan cheese Pick the basil leaves (leaving a few baby leaves for garnish), then roughly chop the leaves and finely chop the stalks. Put a saucepan on a medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and then the onions. Cook till the onions are soft and golden. Add the garlic and basil stalks, cook for a few minutes. Add the pulped tomatoes and break them down further. advertisement Season with salt and pepper, and keep stirring. Add the chopped basil leaves, reduce the heat and let it cook. Once the sauce sufficiently reduced, tip in the blanched pasta and toss well till the spaghetti is coated completely. Serve with the reserved basil leaves and a good sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Also read: How about a little minestrone magic for your dinner bowl? Sole and Pesto-dressed Veggies The slightly tangy, low-cheese classic tomato spaghetti I cooked. Ingredients: 3 small potatoes, par-boiled and cut in half 1/2 cup green beans, par-boiled 1/2 cup broccoli, roughly sliced and par boiled 2 sole fillets Olive oil, to cook 1 lemon 1/2 cup pesto* Rub the sole fillets with salt, pepper and olive oil. Heat a large non-stick pan. Place the fillets in the pan and turn the heat down. Cook for 4 minutes on one side and 2 minutes on the other till both sides are golden brown. Remove the fillets from the pan. Turn off the heat and rest the pan for 30 seconds. Then add a good squeeze of lemon juice and shake the pan. Sole fish and veggies drenched in pesto. My dish was all about the greens. advertisement In a separate bowl, add the pesto to the par-boiled vegetables and mix well to coat them. Place the vegetables on the plate, top with the fish fillets and drizzle the juice from the pan on top. Once the whole group of us had cooked these dishes, we shared the food together and interacted over our experiences. The kids in the group were happy and the adults were happier still. We were all members of the Food Revolution community. I left Jamie's Italian with my tummy full, and happy with what I had cooked. Try out these recipes and you'll be as content. *[Put 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, small clove of garlic, 1 cup fresh basil and 1 teaspoon olive oil in a mortar-pestle. Bash and grind till you get an oozy consistency. Add lemon juice, salt and grated Parmesan cheese to taste.] --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: Come May 28, 24 actor Anil Kapoor will be all set for his guest appearance in the popular animated sitcom Family Guy. The actor has released the first look of his character in the show, and if you ask us, he seems to be saying Jhakaas in his trademark style. Reports of Anil Kapoor's appearance on the show have been doing the rounds for a year now, and his fans have been eagerly waiting for this episode. AK fans, your wait is finally over. advertisement Also read: After 24 and Modern Family, Anil Kapoor to bring another American show to India "Family Guy is one of the biggest shows on the planet. It has made people roll with laughter with its witticisms since its inception. I have always been a huge admirer of this show. The experience of plunging myself in that absolutely crazy world of the Griffin family, was both surreal and exciting. After the rich pedigree of stars who have lent their voices to the show, I was both humbled and honoured to be given this opportunity. The role was fun and challenging at the same time, I am really glad that the fans in India will be able to watch the episode," Anil told DNA. Ladies & Gentlemen, Girls & Boys! Introducing to you... for the very first time ever...my character in #FamilyGuy! Bole toh ekdum.....?!! ;);) A photo posted by anilskapoor (@anilskapoor) on May 19, 2016 at 8:29pm PDT Created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company, the series revolves around the Griffins, a family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their pet dog Brian. The show is set in the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island. This is not the first time that Family Guy will be seeing a guest star. The show has had guest appearances from celebrities like Brad Pitt, Matthew McConaughey and Liam Neeson. Family Guy has been renewed for a 15th season. --- ENDS --- The journalist has lodged an FIR at Laheri police station saying that he will identify the people who threatened him. By India Today Web Desk: As Bihar recovers from the murder of journalist Rajdev Ranjan, another journalist alleged that he was threatened. This time by JD(U) MLC Heera Prasad Bind and his men. THREATENED FOR EXPOSING THE TRUTH? A journalist with Dainik Jagran, Rajesh Singh has alleged that four men entered his office and asked about the piece about voters being threatened during the panchayat elections. advertisement Rajesh allegedly told them that the piece was based upon the District Magistrate's inputs. He alleges that ever since that report he has been receiving threats from the JD(U) MLC. The goons then reminded Rajesh about what had happened to Rajdev Ranjan and threatened him with dire consequences if he did not apologise and stop writing against Heera Bind. WILL POLICE HELP? He lodged an FIR at Laheri police station said that he will identify those people if they were to be produced before him. Confirming the FIR, the Laheri police station in-charge said a probe was on in the matter. The incident comes six days after journalist Rajdev Ranjan was gunned down by unidentified men in Siwan. Also read: Journalist Rajdeo Ranjan shot dead in Bihar's Siwan Slain journalist Rajdev Ranjan was 7th on Shahabuddin's hit list --- ENDS --- LDF candidates maintained a steady lead right from the start and the Left coalition touched the magical figure of 71 within one hour of counting. By Jeemon Jacob: As predicted by exit polls, CPI(M) led Left Democratic Front emerged victorious in the 140-member Kerala Assembly with a thumping margin (91-46). LDF candidates maintained a steady lead right from the start and the Left coalition touched the magical figure of 71 within one hour of counting. Election commission withheld results for two constituencies -- Vadakanchery and Tarur -- due to a technical snag. In Vadakanchery - where a UDF candidate was leading with three votes - one voting machine with 960 votes could not be opened. In Tarur, the LDF candidate was leading with over 23,000 votes. advertisement "Corruption matters in Kerala" Leader of Opposition VS Achuthanandan, who won his Malampuzha seat, thanked Kerala voters for gifting LDF a thumping victory. "I thank all for defeating UDF government. I think that now Chandy will realize that corruption matters in Kerala," he told India Today. Achuthanandan believes it was clear by the initial rounds of campaign that the wave was in favour of the Left. "Institutionalized corruption was the hallmark of Chandy government. Violence and abuse against women, price rise and divisive tactics of the Modi government helped the Left Front to cross 90 seats in the Assembly," he said. Other prominent winning CPI(M) leaders included Politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan (Dharmadom), former minister for finance Dr Thomas Isaac (Alapuzha), central committee member EP Jayarajan (Mattannur) and S Sharma (Vypin). Vijayan and CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan also expressed joy over LDF victory in Kerala. "Kerala has proved once again that corruption has no space in its soil. Chandy government disfigured Kerala with its mantra of corruption and people voted against UDF with vengeance," said Balakrishnan. The CPI(M) state committee and State Secretariat will now meet tomorrow to decide upon the parliamentary party leader, he told India Today. In his home constituency Dharmadom, Vijayan trounced his nearest Congress rival by more than 40000 votes. "I thank all for their support for the LDF in the poll battle," he said. "It was Congress that helped BJP open its account in Kerala. But people of Kerala kept their vigil and supported LDF," he added. In Poonjar, former chief whip PC George contested as an Independent and trounced all three Fronts candidates, retaining his seat with a margin of 27,000 votes. Former PCC President and son of late K Karunakaran, K Muraleedharan retained his seat in Vattiyurkavu, but his sister K Padmaja lost in Thrissur. BJP's wins and losses The Bhartiya Janata Party opened its account in Kerala Assembly by winning Nemom, where former Union Minister for Railways O Rajagopal won the seat with a margin of more than 8,000 votes against the sitting CPI(M) legislator V Sivankutty. BJP came second in Vattiyurkavu, Kazhakootam, Chathannur, Palakad, Malampuzha, Manjeswaram and Kasargod constituencies. advertisement The outgoing cabinet Oommen Chandy, who will resign from the chief ministerial post on Friday, managed to retain his Puthupally seat. Though he initially maintained he would solely be responsible for the poll verdict, Chandy changed his stand while talking to the media on Thursday. "It was most unexpected, but everybody is responsible for the unexpected verdict - UDF coalition partners and Congress party leadership. I'm more responsible as chairman of UDF. We will conduct a detailed poll analysis soon," he said. The winning candidates from his cabinet included, home minister Ramesh Chennithala, public relations minister KC Joseph, forest minister Thiruvanchiyur Radhakrishnan, industries minister PK Kunhalikutty, water resources Minister PJ Joseph, finance minister KM Mani, PWD minister Ebrahim Kunju and social welfare minister MK Muneer. Four ministers from the Chandy cabinet lost their seats: minister for exicse K Babu, minister for tribal development PK Jayalakshmi, minister for agriculture K Mohanana and minister for labour Shibu Baby John. Speaker Shaktahan Nadar and deputy speaker Palode Ravi also failed to retain their constituencies. advertisement The stars of the election Former Indian pacer S Sreesanth, who recently joined the BJP, gave an impressive performance by coming third in Thiruvananthapuram with 34,764 votes. He came second in many rounds of counting , but ultimately lost to health minister VS Sivakumar of Congress. Sivakumar won the seat with over 10,905 votes. Film star KB Ganeshkumar - a former forest minister - retained his Pathanapuram seat with over 25,000 votes, defeating fellow actor and television anchor Jagadeesh. Mollywood hero Mukesh, who made his debut in electoral politics on a CPI(M) ticket from Kollam, won the seat by over 8,000 votes. Photo finish on six seats The Kerala election also witnessed a photo-finish contest for six constituencies - these candidates won by less than 1,500 votes, and by luck. In Manjeswaram, BJP's K Surendran lost to IUML's PB Abdul Rasaq by a thin margin of 89 votes. Surendran polled 56,781 votes and demanded recounting of the ballots. His opponent emerged victorious even after recounting. Karat Razak, LDF Independent from Koduvally polled 61,033 votes, and unltimately defeating his nearest rival IUML's MA Razak with a thin margin of 573 votes. Sitting CPI(M) legislator from Peerumedu, ES Bijimol managed her victory with 314 votes, defeating Congress rival Cyriac Thomas. advertisement IUML nominee and minister for town planning Manjalakuzhy Ali also got lucky and retained his seat by defeating CPI(M)'s V Sashikumar with a meagre margin of 579 in Perinthalmanna. Ali, who was a CPI(M) legislator earlier, joined IUML in 2011 and won the seat. In Kattakada, CPI(M) youth leader IB Satheesh defeated Shaktan Nadar by a margin of 849 votes. Finally, in Kannur, Congress leader Ramchandran Kadannapally defeated his nearest Congress rival Satheshan Pacheny with a margin of 1,196 votes. ALSO READ: O Rajagopal helps BJP register maiden win in Kerala CPI(M) focus now on who should be the CM in Kerala --- ENDS --- Maharashtra ATS picked Indore-based Patidar in 2008, and his family has no information on him ever since. Malegaon blast witness Dilip Patidar has been missing for 8 years. Maharashtra ATS picked Indore-based Patidar in 2008, and his family has no information on him ever since. "He had no connection with any political organisation. We don't have any idea why he was picked up and where is he," his wife Padma Patidar said. According to Dilip's family till no chargesheet has been filed against him. They approached the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court and filed hebius corpus. advertisement High court ordered CBI inquiry in the matter. The CBI report names two ATS officers Ramesh More and Rajendra Ghule, but no action has been taken against them. "We met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and asked him to sanction action against ATS officers whom CBI had indicted in their report," said Dilip's brother Ramswarup. --- ENDS --- By PTI: Visakhapatnam, May 19 (PTI) A man was arrested today for allegedly stealing auto-rickshaws and recovered three stolen vehicles from him, police said. Explaining the modus operandi, ACP (Crimes) Phalguna Rao said the accused, K Naresh Kumar used to steal parked auto rickshaws and drive them in rural areas by changing number plates to earn fast buck. He was arrested today when he was trying to steal another rickshaw. advertisement In another case, PM Palem police arrested a history-sheeter indulged in crimes of burglary and chain-snatching. He is identified as P Nagaraju. Police recovered 45 gms gold, one mobile phone handset and two silver anklets from him. PTI CORR NSK --- ENDS --- It is expected that during this visit Nadella will meet students, young achievers and developers in India. By Javed Anwer: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is expected to visit India later this month. However, unlike his last visit when he met policy makers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on this occasion Nadella may have a more relaxing schedule. It is expected that during this visit Nadella will meet students, young achievers and developers in India. His visit will come barely a week after the visit of Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is currently in India, meeting policy makers, Bollywood celebrities, business leaders and the Apple employees. advertisement Nadella is also expected to talk about "how technology is fostering a culture of innovation to solve real-world problems and driving India's transformation", said sources. During his earlier visit in December Nadella had met PM Modi and had discussed how Microsoft was keen provide any support and assistance required for the government's Digital India programme. It was also revealed that Microsoft was exploring ways to improve internet connectivity in India using TV whitespace and dynamic spectrum. Also Read: Satya Nadella, Indra Nooyi among highest paid CEOs As more and more Indians get a smartphone and the try to connect to the world wide web, for big technology companies, India has become a big growth area. Even Apple, which has traditionally not pushed hard in India, is hoping to grow business here as the growth of the iPhones slows down significantly in the developed markets. CEOs -- including Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sundar Pichai of Google -- of big tech companies have visited the country in the last one year. Apart from looking for prospective consumers, the tech companies also hope to find more prospective employees and the partners in India. Apple CEO Tim Cook during his on-going visit announced that Apple would support Indian developers making iOS apps through a centre in Bengaluru. Nadella too, during his visit, hopes to woo Indian developers. When he arrives in India before May 30, this will be his third visit to the country in less than a year. --- ENDS --- The Sena asked how could Mamata Banerjee return to power in a state BJP President Amit Shah had called "a factory of bomb-makers and terrorists". By India Today Web Desk: While the BJP is being considered the biggest gainer from the Assembly election results announced yesterday, its ally in Maharashtra and the Centre, the Shiv Sena, today said that the Narendra Modi magic did not work in 2016 the way it did in the last two years. BJP VICTORY IN KERALA ONLY BECAUSE OF ALLIANCES? advertisement "Achche din for BJP only meant opening its account in Kerala, " taunted the Uddhav Thackeray party in an editorial in its mouthpiece, Saamana. 86-year-old O Rajagopal made history on Thursday by being the first BJP leader to enter the Kerala Assembly. For the Sena, even the victory in Assam - where the BJP and its partners won 86 of 126 seats - is because of the regional allies, the Assam Gana Parishad and the Bodoland People's Front. "The BJP benefitted from its alliance with the regional parties," Saamana said, calling the victory a "sanjeevni" after the Bihar debacle. DID AMIT SHAH FAIL IN WEST BENGAL Attacking BJP president Amit Shah, the Sena asked how Mamata Banerjee could return to power in a state Shah had called "a factory of bomb-makers and terrorists". "Shah had attacked Mamata over corruption, terrorism and a decline in law and order. He had called for a Mamata-mukt Bengal. What happened to that?" Sena asked as it wondered why had the BJP had thrown its entire weight, including a number of rallies by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when it could only win three seats. "Mamata ended up having the 'rosogulla' of victory," it quipped. The Modi magic in 2014 had downgraded the Sena from being a senior NDA partner in Maharashtra to a junior ally in the current regime. It took the Verdict 2016 to claim the regional parties were the biggest gainers. "The national leaders cannot match the popularity of their regional counterparts," it said. Also read: Assam Assembly results: 5 reasons why BJP won and Congress lost its bastion West Bengal results: It's Mamata all the way, Left-Congress experiment fails Routed in Assam and Kerala, Congress faces severe existential crisis --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Aditi Khanna London, May 19 (PTI) A London-based not-for-profit organisation has teamed up with the University of Aberdeen in Scotland to devise a new therapy for Type 1 diabetes, which could replace the need for insulin shots. Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT) told the World Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine congress in London on Wednesday that their new technology could dramatically increase the number of patients who can receive transplants of insulin-producing islets. advertisement The positive pre-clinical results have led to the team setting up a start-up called Islexa, which will manufacture lab-grown islets, the organoids responsible for insulin production, by reprogramming donated pancreatic tissue. "The technology essentially takes the exocrine tissue from donated pancreas, once the islets have been removed from it... reprograms it and forward differentiates it from a kind of mesenchymal stem cell state. That makes functional islets," CGT CEO and Islexa director Keith Thompson told FierceBiotech. If clinical trials are successful, the technology means tens of thousands more people around the world could live without the need for frequent insulin injections, although it will take a few years until the treatment is available. Prof Kevin Docherty, from Aberdeen University, said: "Donated islets are already effectively treating severe cases of type 1 diabetes. Having a hugely expanded supply of lab-grown islets will enable us to significantly extend this established clinical treatment." Around the world, 21 million people have Type 1 diabetes, a condition that occurs when the pancreas does not produce any insulin. PTI AK NSA --- ENDS --- Ordinary citizens and tourists in Delhi continue to battle the heat and soaring temperatures. Many tourists say that traveling has become challenging with the rising temperature.North India continues battle with heat wave, marginal relief with eastern winds in Delhi By Anusha Soni: A red alert was issued on May 18 after severe heat waves hit parts of northern India. Searing heat prevailed across seven states, including Rajasthan which recorded a temperature over 50 degrees Celsius. As for the National Capital, there was marginal relief as the temperatures fell below 45 degrees due to eastern winds. The relief is likely to last for another two days with temperature expected to remain below 45 degrees Celsius. advertisement Delhi was on a boil just two days ago when the temperature touched 47 degrees. The National Capital also experienced power outages in many parts of the city. However the easterly winds have brought some relief and the temperature has dropped down by two points. "The temperature in Delhi should be around 43 degrees at least for the next two days due to the cooler eastern winds. There is probability of rainfall around May 23," says scientist BP Yadav from Indian Meteorological Department. Ordinary citizens and tourists in Delhi continue to battle the heat and soaring temperatures. Many tourists say that traveling has become challenging with the rising temperature. An orange alert has been issued by the MeT department asking people to stay indoors between 11 am to 4 pm, also telling them to take health precautions to avoid a heat stroke. Also read: Severe heat wave cripples parts of India, red alert in Delhi and 7 other states --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, May 20 (PTI) Online shopping is more popular among consumers with 80 per cent of buyers preferring to shop over the Internet instead of visiting different stores to purchase their favourite products, according to a new survey. The study undertaken jointly by Yahoo and Mindshare analyses the shopping behaviour of customers to reveal that 31 per cent shoppers opt for online shopping in order to save the time and effort that might be spent on physically going to stores to buy the same products. advertisement About 28 per cent customers are driven to buy online due to the availability of discounts and promotions while the convenience to shop anywhere, anytime attracts the remaining 21 per cent, it said. The study also highlights how more and more customers are taking to mobile phones to make online purchases as compared to other electronic devices. "The ecommerce landscape in India is perhaps the most dynamic in the world, largely due to the rapidly evolving mobile ecosystem. This research highlights the role of mobile from the top of funnel to the bottom and how it varies across product categories. It will help us develop sharper, more connected communication strategies for brands," M A Parthasarathy, Chief Product Officer, Mindshare South Asia said. According to the survey, majority of consumers use only mobile devices while making purchases related to apparels, electronic devices, baby and pet care products. Most purchases made online over mobile phones tend to be regular or impulsive buys rather than expensive ones, the study claims. Over 90 per cent of the consumers use mobile devices for quick and frequent purchases of travel, music and movies, contrary to 36 per cent who purchase high consideration products like insurance on their PC or laptop. About 30 per cent people prefer buying products of personal hygiene from the store itself. The study also provides marketers with insights on India, to sharpen their digital and mobile commerce initiatives and build a strong mobile strategy. "The study shows that the consumer path-to-purchase is turning more complex and nonlinear, with mobile at the center of this evolution. "As mobile devices become more important in the consumers last mile of purchase decision, brands need to build targeted, more seamless shopping experience across all channels to strengthen sales and acquire new customers," Francis Che, Head of Insights, APAC, Yahoo said. For those who continue to prefer in-store shopping, major detractors include non-authentic goods, unreliable delivery and lack of quality control. PTI TRS ANS --- ENDS --- Obama will meet with Modi at the White House next month, both the External Affairs Ministry and the White House said in different statements today. By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the US on May 7-8 - his fourth in two years - on the invitation of US President Barack Obama. Obama will meet with Modi at the White House next month, both the External Affairs Ministry and the White House said in different statements today. The India-US ties The two leaders will discuss economic growth, climate change and clean energy as well as security and defense cooperation during the June 7 meeting, the White House said. advertisement "The India-US bilateral strategic partnership has developed strongly, particularly during the last two years under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and President Obama," the MEA said in a statement. "The main objective of the forthcoming visit of the prime minister would be to consolidate the progress made in diverse areas such as economy, energy, environment, defence and security, and to intensify cooperation for the future," it said. Modi to address US Congress, the first by a foreign leader Modi has also been invited by the Speaker of the US House of Representative, Paul Ryan, to address a joint meeting of the US Congress which he has accepted. According to the statement, Modi will be the first foreign leader to be given this honour in 2016. "The US Congress has been a source of strength for the India-US strategic partnership and the India Congressional Caucus is the largest such group in the US Congress," it said. "During the visit, the prime minster will have interaction with CEOs of major US companies. Realisation of the full potential of our economic partnership has been a key priority for both the countries and the progress achieved in this regard is reflected in the increased investment flows," it added. --- ENDS --- If not for RTE, today students from lower middle class would never afford these private schools, whose business is to make money like in prostitution," he told journalists a day after he made a similar comment in his public speech. By Mail Today: Karnataka's Social Welfare Minister, H Anjaneya, who is known for his controversial remarks, landed in a soup by calling the private schools as "brothels" for charging a high fee. Despite the federation of management of the private schools taking strong objection and demanding an apology from him, the minister, a close aide of Karnataka's Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has reiterated the charges. Wrong choice of words advertisement "These private schools are like brothels fleecing money from people. Their existence is aimed at only making money. Having said that I admit that there are good private schools also. Likewise, several private schools managed by religious institutions are also doing a fantastic job. If not for RTE, today students from lower middle class would never afford these private schools, whose business is to make money like in prostitution," he told journalists a day after he made a similar comment in his public speech. Mansoor Ali Khan, general secretary, CBSE Schools Association, contended that it was unbecoming of Anjaneya to have used to such words. "A person of his stature should not be making such remarks. We urge the CM to initiate action against him. He cannot ignore the role of the educational institutions in society," he asserted. --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, May 20 (PTI) Tata groups agro-chemical firm Rallis India has formed a joint venture firm in Indonesia with a local partner to set up a seed production and distribution firm. Rallis Indias wholly-owned subsidiary Metahelix Life Sciences Ltd (Metahelix) would have 49 per cent stake in the JV firm PT Metahelix Lifesciences Indonesia, which would have an initial paid up capital of USD 1,25,000 and the same would be doubled by March 2017. advertisement In a filing to the BSE today, Rallis India said that Metahelix has "entered into a joint venture with Indonesian local partner Suresh Gobindram Vaswani for the establishment of a seed production and/o distribution company, viz. PT Metahelix Lifesciences Indonesia". The JV partner would have 51 per cent stake in the PT Metahelix Lifesciences Indonesia. "The current paid up capital of the JV entity is USD 1,25,000, to be increased to USD 2,50,000 by March 2017. Metahelix and the JV partner will invest in the paid up capital to the extent of their share in the JV, viz, 49 per cent and 51 per cent, respectively," Rallis India said. The joint venture firm would engage in the activity of seed production, processong and/or packing, importing or purchasing parent seeds and distributing and trading of JV seeds under any distribution model within Indonesia. The objective of the formation of this JV is to expand the Metahelixs seed business in relevant crops in South-East Asia. Rallis India, a Tata enterprise, is a leading player in the Indian crop protection industry. PTI MJH MR --- ENDS --- Sonia & Rahul Gandhi avoided public appearance on Thursday. Sonia said the party would introspect & rededicate itself to the service of the people. By Amit Agnihotri: Reduced to a few pin-tip states and Karnataka, the complete wipeout in four out of five assembly elections has pushed the Congress deeper into crisis, with many leaders now demanding an overhaul of the party structure right from the top. Calls for Rahul Gandhi to take over the party re-emerged even when the votes were being counted. Sinking ship advertisement A shrinking Congress has contracted to six states, Karnataka being the biggest of them. The others are Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Manipur. Puducherry was added to the tally on Thursday when the Congress lost Kerala and Assam. Though Congress spin doctors tried to downplay the poll losses, the disquiet has clearly set in. "Rahul should be given charge to prepare for the long term. But it is for him to decide," Congress leader Shashi Tharoor told Mail Today. He said that no one wants to come out and suggest this change as party leaders have huge respect for Sonia. "But a rejuvenation of the organisation is needed. We need a new Congress presence across the country. We need to have strong grassroot networks like those in Kerala," he said. Party veteran Anil Shastri also supported Tharoor's suggestion saying Rahul should take over now. The issue has been talked about in the party many times ever since the Congress was wiped out in the 2014 national polls but is yet to fructify. Shastri acknowledged the status quo (Sonia as party chief and Rahul as vice-president) was hurting the party as not many strong state leaders are left. "We need to regain its organisational muscle across the country. We have to motivate workers and get them more involved," said Shastri. Congress catastrophe The assembly results, he said, were a matter of concern. Tharoor said that "younger faces who are competent people and able to deliver results" are needed. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi avoided public appearance on Thursday. Sonia Gandhi said in a statement that the party will "introspect" and will rededicate to the service of the people with greater vigour. Rahul, who was said to be unwell, tweeted to express similar sentiments. "Vested interests keep advising Sonia to main status quo in power structure," said a senior functionary on condition of anonymity. When asked if the party would put on hold Rahul's upgrade, Congress communication department chairman Randeep Surjewala rejected the idea. Sources said Rahul did not take timely action in Assam and allowed dissident Hemant Biswa Sarma to leave the party and join the BJP. Some feel that 15 years of anti-incumbency for chief minister Tarun Gogoi was hard to fight. advertisement Congress managers said though the party in alliance with DMK could not dislodge the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, its pact with CPI(M) in West Bengal too could not dent the TMC. However, they pointed out that the party improved its vote share and number of seats in both the states. "The pact with CPI(M) in West Bengal was not at policy level, but tactical. It was borne out more because of the concerns expressed against TMC by local party workers," said Tharoor. Also read: Rahul Gandhi on election results: Accept verdict of people with humility --- ENDS --- By Suhani Singh: Director: Omung Kumar Cast: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Randeep Hooda, Richa Chadha, Darshan Kumaar Ratings: (1.5/5) Filmmaker Omung Kumar hasn't just dropped a vowel from the unlucky hero's name for his film based on Sarabjit Singh, who Pakistan alleged was an Indian spy responsible for carrying out bomb blasts in its territory, but he has also made the reel story a mawkish, screechy mess. The blame lies largely in the script which doesn't leave much for its actors to do other than excessively cry or scream or otherwise sit sulking. advertisement ALSO READ: Bachchan khandaan joins Aishwarya at Sarbjit premiere ALSO READ: Sarbjit gets a thumbs up from B-Town The film begins with the search for Sarabjit, a farmer who one night in 1990 drunkenly wanders over from Bhikiwind, a village in Punjab, India to Pakistan and is caught immediately. Then it shuttles from his family's mission to prove his innocence and get him back, and his own agonising ordeal in jail where he suffers many atrocities so as to coerce a confession. The first half waywardly rushes through 18 years of Sarabjit's life, barely giving depth to any of the characters in process. They include his sister, Dalbir Kaur (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), his wife (Richa Chadha) and his two daughters. Subtlety is a word that doesn't exist in Kumar's dictionary. The treatment is so maudlin and shrieking that one craves for some stillness and perspective in the narrative. There are sporadic scenes of Kaur staging a protest or going on a hunger strike and terrorist attacks on India in the period that Sarabjit is in jail. The quiet, poignant spell finally arrives when the family meets Sarabjit for the first time in years. One does wonder what is Kaur's estranged husband doing on this trip given that he had left her early on? Kumar's way of addressing this query is by getting rid of him immediately once they return to India. The film may be titled Sarbjit but Dalbir Kaur is more central to the film. Kumar wants to lionize the sister's struggle which is great but the way he goes about is contrived. What's needed are scenes where we get a real sense of Kaur such as when Sarabjit lauds her for her valour and tireless efforts while she expresses her frustrations. Of the cast, Randeep Hooda stands out as he demonstrates the emotional toll of the physical abuse and solitary confinement Sarabjit endured, making audiences empathise for the man who obtained freedom only with death. He also does a credible job with his Punjabi delivery. Chadha's job here is to look mopey and faint whenever the need be, which is throughout the film barring a few songs. There's just one scene to showcase the wife's point of view in this sister-dominated act and she does well. Aishwarya Rai wails and shouts a lot and has another struggle - with the Punjabi accent. But she does shine in rare, few moments of silence. Darshan Kumar steps late in second half to play the sole good Pakistani soul in lawyer Awais Sheikh who fights for Sarabjit and is attacked by his own countrymen. If you are looking for context on Ranjan Singh Mattoo, the man Pakistan alleged Sarabjit is, or the debate over Sarabjit's identity, then this is not the film. This is a tearjerker in which the tears hardly flow. Sarbjit is the kind of film where as Sarabjit lays dying in a Pakistani hospital, Kaur gets a podium to stand and deliver a raging lecture. The director's decision to end the film with his own didactic quote than with Kaur's words is unfortunate and denies the real Kaur a platform to speak about her battle or her brother. Instead we get are photos of the man himself and his family which will make viewers more mournful for the clan than the film itself. --- ENDS --- advertisement By PTI: Mumbai, May 20 (PTI) The merger of five associate banks and newly created Bharatiya Mahila Bank with SBI will cost USD 250 million (around Rs 1,660 crore) and have limited impact on the lenders credit metrics, ratings agency Moodys Investors Service said today. Earlier this week, countrys biggest lender State Bank of India had proposed merger of five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with itself. advertisement The six lenders include five associate banks -- State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBJJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT). "The merger will have limited impact on SBI credit metrics given that SBI already fully owns SBH and SBP and has majority stakes in the other three associate banks," the rating agency said in a report. Based on current stock market prices, Moodys estimated the acquisition of the remaining outstanding shares in SBBJ, SBM and SBT would cost SBI about Rs 1,660 crore (approximately USD 250 million). "Assuming SBI completes the transaction using own cash, its common equity tier I ratio would decrease by only about 12 basis points," the report said. Moodys said BMB only started operations in 2013 and accounts for less than 0.1 per cent of SBIs total assets. On a consolidated basis, the merger will have limited impact on financial metrics of SBI, including asset quality and capitalisation level. While the merged banks have different geographic areas of focus, they do have some overlap in their branch networks, particularly in the larger and mid-tier cities, which offer scope for streamlining. "In addition, having full control of the associate banks will also help improve SBIs oversight and management of its consolidated operations," the report said. It, however, expects the implementation of the merger will be challenged by strong employee unions that oppose this action. Around 50,000 employees of the all associate banks are on strike today to protest the proposed merger plan. "Given this context, there is considerable risk that the potential synergies, if any, may not materialise," the report added. PTI HV DK ABK RDS --- ENDS --- Sarbjit opened to mixed reviews, but Randeep's performance has been appreciated by both the critics and viewers. Amitabh Bachchan sent a hand written note to Hooda and wished him luck for future. By India Today Web Desk: Randeep Hooda's film Sarbjit has hit the screens today (May 20). The film opened to mixed reviews, but Randeep's performance has been appreciated by both the critics and viewers. Sarbjit Review: Aishwarya and Randeep-starrer is a screechy, mawkish melodrama ALSO READ: Sarbjit has affected Randeep Hooda in this way... and it's beyond imagination advertisement The Highway actor plays the role of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian farmer imprisoned in Pakistan and condemned to death for terrorism, for Omung Kumar's biopic Sarbjit. Amitabh Bachchan sent a hand written note to Hooda and wished him luck for future. "I had always admired your talent, but after watching you in 'Sarbjit' last night I could not resist writing to you and expressing my immense admiration for your work in the film. May you continue to prosper and may you give us many more occasion to applaud you and your tremendous talent," the note read. Randeep Hooda took to Twitter to share the note and wrote, "Feels like a validation sir, you are my idol, a legend I've always admired, feel humbled & honoured @SrBachchan #Sarbjit (sic)." Feels like a validation sir,u r my idol,a legend I've always admired,feel humbled & honoured ?? @SrBachchan #Sarbjit pic.twitter.com/pOZuTA0Xn2 Randeep Hooda (@RandeepHooda) May 20, 2016 Randeep lost 18 kgs in just 28 days for his role in Sarbjit and this transformation shocked all his fans and the film industry. The Jism 2 actor, at the trailer launch, had said that the film has affected him tremendously. Directed by Omung Kumar, Sarbjit also stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Richa Chadha in the lead roles. Here's the trailer: --- ENDS --- SHELJA SEN Author, child and adolescent psychologist, Delhi Have dreams, will travel might be a mantra for many families, but they settle for a mundane life when faced with children who seem to acquire horns while travelling. Each child is wired differently and it so true for travelling too. Our firstborn was an easy traveller but the second one was not. But that did not stop us from making travel one of the top joys of our life. Over the years, I have figured out some ways to make it less stressful and more fun. Imagine a pyramid where as the children grow older, their basic needs also keep getting less. You cannot cut corners on this. Start this process sometime in advance so you have enough time to make lists, recheck and pack. I would always find a spare bed in which I would keep piling stuff-day time, night time, toiletries, medicines, books, gadgets and toys. The final day you just have to put them in the luggage and you are ready to go. advertisement 2) Involve them in your research Brainstorm ideas of where they would like to go and what they would like to do. For younger children, you could google and show them pictures of places. You could start a travel board on www.pinterest.com where you could pin pictures of things to do, museums, cuisine, culture and shopping. Fire their curiosity, infect them with your travel bug and love for exploring new places. Once they have been more active in the choice of destination and planning the itinerary, they would have a greater sense of ownership. 3) Keep the buzz alive If you are going on a long car journey then you could organise different games to play on the way. We used to do a round robin of storytelling where every person in the car would add his/her bit to the storyline. At times we would hold a car concert where each person was allowed the mike (a random pen) to entertain the audience for three minutes each with a song or an act. For little children, you could also keep a bag of surprises which they could be allowed to dip into every two hours; an assortment of inexpensive little toys in gift wrap. This is always a total hit. Make sure you pack their favourite food. This is one time you do not have to be too fussy about policing their candy and chocolate intake. Believe me, a child happily sucking on a candy can give you some peaceful moments while waiting at the airport or going a few extra miles on the road till you find a decent place to eat. 4) Travel media companion Make sure you have downloaded their favourite music, TV programmes and movies onto your laptop, ipad, ipod or iphone. Use it very judiciously and only give it as a last resort. You do not want to travel hundreds of miles to loose them to their screens again. However, they work like magic to calm an overwrought child, a hungry toddler, a cranky pre-teen as you make your way through airports, long car journey, museum cues, or hunt for that most talked about restaurant in the Lonely Planet. Make a deal with your teenager in terms when and how much screen is allowed. No point making your travel into a battle-ground, take it easy, have fun and let them be. 5) Mix and match It's important that travel is seen as a family project where each person's needs are weaved in. So, it is quite possible that the father might want to go for a walk early morning whereas the mother wants to go to the art museum and their teenager daughter might want to go shopping and younger son might want to go to the amusement park. There need to be discussions on what can be done together as a family, who can go in pairs and what can be done solo. 6) Let them explore too Depending on the age of the child, travel is a great opportunity to let them explore things a little on their own too. A six-year could be encouraged to go and play in the park on her own in a resort, a 12-year-old could be left for a swim in the hotel pool, a 16-year-old could be allowed to go on his own to explore the town. There is nothing more exciting for children than to manage on their own in a strange place, as long as safety precautions have been taken care of. 7) Let them face inconvenience We go a little overboard to design our holidays to be too convenient for the children. No matter how troublesome it is for us. So, let me put you out of your misery straightaway. It is alright for you to insist that some adult things are added to the plan no matter how uncool they are. It is fine if they are bored when you browse through the paintings in the art museum; it is perfectly okay for you to insist that the whole family visit family friends, they might hate it but too bad if they have to share the bathroom with you. As long as you are doing enough fun things for them, keep some share of the fun for yourself. 8) Keep it playful Let your playfulness quotient go sky-high during holidays. Let your children see that you can put your adult world aside and really let your hair down. Especially with the younger ones as teenagers' embarrassment of their parents might mean that you need to restrain it a little. Laugh, play, do crazy things, be silly; your children will get an extra kick out of joining in with you. 9) Be more accepting Don't lose heart if your child moans and groans a lot. Some children are not easy travellers and take time to develop these skills. Cut them some slack and do not pack too much into your daily itinerary. Best is to just keep it simple. 10) Recognise and appreciate Make sure you keep the appreciation radar on and recognise every little effort on the children's part to make the family holiday fun. Compliment them more often; "I really appreciate the way you have agreed to share room with your brother". "I notice that you are being responsible about managing your things". "Good teamwork guys." These are some of the examples. Such statements help them feel appreciated and add fun to the family time and break. --- ENDS --- advertisement No wonder, they call her the Khoobsurat actress! P.S. Wait till you see her beautiful braid, you'll want to copy it ASAP! By Hemul Goel: If you have been keenly following Sonam Kapoor's style at this year's edition of the Cannes Film Festival, then you know that you should expect nothing less. In pictures: Sonam Kapoor looks unbelievably gorgeous in these black & white shots from #Cannes2016 After leaving millions spellbound with her outings at the film festival, Sonam again chose to make a grand statement, ensuring that her last appearance would also be a memorable one. advertisement Donning her fourth Ralph & Russo attire at the festival, Sonam cut an elegant picture while making an appearance at amfAR's Cinema Against AIDS gala. The gala is normally attended by Sonam's fellow L'Oreal ambassador and industry senior Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, but the former beauty queen's promotional commitments for her film Sarbjit required that she return to the country early. Also read: Loved Sonam Kapoor at Cannes? Get her look with these step-by-step tips from her makeup artist Aishwarya's early return turned into an opportunity for Neerja actress Sonam, who raised the style stakes during her first amfAR appearance. We fell for Sonam's look at the first glance itself, after all in that dress, she looks like the Indian version of Queen Elsa from Frozen! This is Sonam's fourth Ralph & Russo pick at the festival. Picture courtesy: Instagram/@rheakapoor This is Sonam's fourth Ralph & Russo pick at the festival. Picture courtesy: Instagram/@rheakapoor Having taken over Aishwarya as the brand ambassador of jewellery brand Kalyan Jewellers, the actress finished her pale blue gown with gold jhumkas from the brand. Her beauty look comprised of dewy makeup and a messy braid, that was finished with gold thread. Seriously, now that's something only royalty would do! What more proof do you need of her being an actual princess? Look at that braid. Picture courtesy: Instagram/@rheakapoor Someone make Frozen with Sonam Kapoor as Queen Elsa a reality, please? That cape, though. Picture courtesy: Instagram/@sonamkapoorx --- ENDS --- Ramji Lal Suman started his career as a student politician in Agra and was among the founders of the Samajwadi Party. Ramji Lal Suman started his career as a student politician in Agra and was among the founders of the Samajwadi Party. By Siraj Qureshi: With the release of Samajwadi Part's list of Rajya Sabha nominations, the list of dissenters in the party is growing. Another name added to the list, after Azam Khan and Ramgopal Yadav, is Ramji Lal Suman. Suman was hopeful of being nominated for a seat in the Uttar Pradesh cabinet. His son, who also is a member of the party was unable to make it. advertisement Suman represented the party in the 2014 parliamentary elections from Hathras district, but faced defeat. RAMJI LAL SUMAN'S POLITICAL CAREER Ramji Lal Suman started his career as a student politician in Agra and was among the founders of the Samajwadi Party. He also served as Social Welfare Minister in the Chandra Shekhar's cabinet at the Centre. However, currentley serving as the national general secretary of Samajwadi Party, Suman seems to have lost respect in Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's eyes. Yadav is said to have publicly berated Suman and his government from time to time. Suman's supporters in Agra are disappointed with the fact that party president Mulayam Singh Yadav embraced his onetime sworn enemies Beni Prasad Verma and Amar Singh and sent them to the Rajya Sabha, but forgot to acknowledge the lifetime of services rendered by Ramjilal Suman. PARTY MEMBER'S REACT While Suman refused to comment on the issue, his close confidant told India Today that he was disappointed for being neglected by the party in and is now contemplating his next course of action. A local Samajwadi Party leader claimed that the party does not need leaders like Suman who were too free-handed when it came to doling out criticisms on how the party was functioning. "These are the times for "yes-men" and "nay-sayers" won't be tolerated at this juncture, when the party is struggling to establish the second line of leadership after Mulayam Singh Yadav," he said. Also Read UP elections: Beni Prasad Verma re-enters Samajwadi Party --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) With Sebi tightening the norms, investments through the participatory notes route will become more expensive, say analysts. Acting upon recommendations of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team on black money, Sebi has tightened the due diligence requirements for issuance and transfer of controversy-ridden P-Notes and put the onus on investors to ensure the Anti-Money Laundering compliance. Now, it would be mandatory for all end-users of P-Notes to follow anti-money laundering law in India and asked their issuers to report any suspected breach immediately. "The new norms are in line with suggestions made by the SIT in its July 2015 report. These changes will not only make the route difficult to access India market but also make it more expensive," Suresh Swamy, who is Partner Tax & Regulatory (Financial Services) at PwC India said. ODI issuers would have to put in place a robust mechanism to track end beneficial owner, he added. Among others, Sebi has said that P-Note issuers would have to conduct periodic review and report the complete to Sebi on a monthly basis in addition to the present requirement of reporting details of their holders. After the meeting here today, Sebi said its board has approved additional measures for the purpose of enhancing the transferability and control over the issuance of ODIs. Corporate Professionals Founder Pavan Kumar Vijay said though this stringent rule may have short-term effect on the capital market, it would be a boon for honest investors and FIIs and market as a whole in the long run. Recently, major foreign investors including JPMorgan, HSBC, UBS and Goldman Sachs supported provisions for immediate reporting of any breach to the regulator and filing of suspicious transaction reports related to P-Notes. advertisement However, they had also opined that introduction of any further control measures is unlikely to be "resource effective" as the regulatory requirements in India are already more stringent than other jurisdictions globally for P-Notes. P-Notes now make up for about 10 per cent of the total FII inflows as against over 50 per cent at the peak of stock market bull run in 2007. Rules have been tightened several times in recent years to check any misuse of this route, but P-Notes have still continued to court controversies. The total outstanding investment through ODIs stood at over Rs 2.2 lakh crore at the end of March 2016. PTI RAM MR --- ENDS --- Dilip Shanghvi is the Founder and Managing Director of the Mumbai-based Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and one of India's richest man. By India Today Web Desk: Dilip Shanghvi, Founder and Managing Director of the Mumbai-based Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and one of India's richest man, IDFC Bank and Telenor Financial Services have jointly agreed to withdraw plans to establish a payments bank venture in the country. Last year, RBI had issued payments banks licenses to 11 players, including Sun Pharmaceutical. Telenor held 39 per cent stake in the partnership, with Shanghvi, in his personal capacity, holding 41 per cent and IDFC the remaining 20 per cent. advertisement "Telenor Financial Services, IDFC Bank and Dilip Shanghvi today jointly announced withdrawal of the on-going efforts to form a payments bank venture in India. This decision, collectively made by the three partners, will be communicated to RBI. Consequently, the payment bank license will not be pursued," a media release from Dilip Shanghvi Family & Associates said. RBI GIVES A NOD TO START PAYMENTS BANK Other firms that have received the RBI's nod to start payments banks include Aditya Birla Nuvo, Reliance Industries, Paytm, Fino Paytech, National Securities Depository Limited, India Post, Tech Mahindra, Airtel and Vodafone. After the initial euphoria died down, there was a buzz that several players were evaluating the real potential of payment banks, and some were concerned with their viability once launched. "In September 2015, Dilip Shanghvi as lead applicant along with Telenor Financial Services and IDFC Bank was granted in-principle license by RBI to form a Payments Bank in India. During the past eight months, representatives of these three partners have worked together to establish relevant frameworks and a governance structure for the proposed joint venture." However, following the mutual decision to withdraw these plans, the payments bank license will not be pursued," Shanghvi said. WHAT IS PAYMENT BANK? Payment banks allow mobile firms, supermarket chains and others to cater to individuals and small businesses. They will initially be restricted to holding a maximum balance of Rs 1 lakh per individual customer and will be allowed to issue ATM/debit cards as also other prepaid payment instruments, but not credit cards. They will also not be allowed to undertake lending services and non-resident Indians will not be allowed to open accounts. --- ENDS --- By Javed Anwer: Tim Cook is openly gay. In fact, he is the only gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Before he became the Apple chief this wasn't something that was in spotlight but after 2011 he not acknowledged only this in public but also, in his personal capacity, pushed for greater inclusion and equality for LGBT community in the US. Now, when he meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow, unwittingly he would be putting spotlight on India's archaic laws against homosexuality. advertisement India still criminalizes homosexuality. It has the Section 377 that forbids "unnatural sex" even if is between consenting adults. And while there has been some efforts to do away with this 155-year old law, nothing specific has come out of it yet. One of the reasons why India continues to keep and enforce Section 377 is the unwillingness of political parties to come out and call it barbaric, which it is. In fact, most political parties support it, including BJP, which is a good cheerleader for the Section 377. "We support Section 377 (the law) because we believe that homosexuality is (an) unnatural act that cannot be supported," Rajnath Singh, who is the home minister in the current government, said a few years ago. This adds an interesting context to Tim Cook's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow. Although, Modi had met Cook earlier when he visited Silicon Valley, this time it is different. When Modi meets Cook, he won't be meeting just the Apple CEO but he will also be meeting someone who is probably on the wrong side of the law in India. A person with the sexual orientation that Cook can be lawfully imprisoned for life in our country. Also Read: Apple is in India for next thousand years: Tim Cook And this shows the absurdity of the Section 377, which if you see makes a person like Tim Cook a "criminal" in India, whose "crime" is punishable by life term in jail. While we can be sure that Cook, during his meeting with Modi, won't broach on this subject -- even in the US his public advocacy for LGTB rights has been quite subtle until recently -- but the mere fact that the Indian Prime Minister is meeting an openly gay person is bound to put spotlight on the plight of Indian gay community. Though, Cook may want to lend a helping hand to the Indian LGBT community, outside his meeting with PM Modi. When the Supreme Court in the US ended discrimination against LGBT community and allowed gay marriages, Cook led a team of 8000 Apple employees celebrating the decision in public. "Great to celebrate with over 8,000 Apple employees, friends and families. Happy Pride everyone! #applepride," Cook had tweeted. In India too, he may want to reach out to the LGBT community to show solidarity. May be he can reach out to them publicly. Or maybe he can tweet in their support and highlight the absurdity of Section 377. Now, whether he will do it or not is something we will have wait and watch. --- ENDS --- advertisement Mobile payments just got a leg-up, thanks to the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), probably the only app of its kind in the world. Virtual wallet services have been around for a while now. UPI goes a step further and allows you to make payments by simply entering the payee's virtual ID on your smartphone and feeding the PIN the app requests. The money is debited directly from your account and transferred to the payee in a matter of minutes, without you having to provide either your bank details or the payee's bank IFSC code. In a few simple steps you can make transactions worth up to a lakh. The app on your phone need not be of the bank you hold your account in, but of any bank whose user experience you prefer. The same goes for the payee. But the transactions still take place between the underlying banks, without you even knowing about it. No need to worry about your credit card details being compromised. Making all this happen is the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for all retail payments in India. The NPCI has aligned with 15 banks, including the State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Citibank and HSBC to provide the service. A dedicated team from NPCI is working on developing the app and coordinating with the tech teams of the various banks to make it a reality, a virtual reality, so to speak. advertisement But is it a new app? The UPI will not be a single app but will allow banks to either incorporate the UPI function in their existing apps or launch an all-new UPI app. "There is no common app," says Dilip Asbe, Chief Operating Officer, NPCI, "because that would have killed innovation. We want the innovation in the front end to grow to the capability of the industry and the ecosystem." "What we have in India is the most sophisticated public payments infrastructure in the world," RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said while announcing the UPI's impending launch. "It is not just payments that are part of this revolution, but a whole new set of banks that are coming in." The story in numbers In 2015, the central bank gave in-principle approvals to 11 payment banks and 10 small banks. India has an unbanked population of 233 million in 2015, according to PwC, India. Much of India still conducts business in cash, entailing huge transaction costs. The RBI spends Rs 4,000 crore every year on printing currency, says Asbe, highlighting the enormity of India's cash economy despite the strides in e-commerce and debit/credit card use. India has 150 million smartphone users at present, and their number is expected to rise to 500 million in the next five years. Mobile banking has surged in India in recent months as banks have pushed both retail and corporate customers to adopt their mobile apps. RBI data shows that transactions done via smartphones rose more than fourfold in December 2015 to Rs 49,029 crore compared with a year ago. The launch of UPI could quicken this pace. "UPI has the potential to transform the arena of mobile payments," says Kunal Pande, a partner with KPMG, India. For the customer, it means far greater ease in transacting with multiple entities. For banks, it implies multifold growth in transactions due to the ease of conducting them, he says. How will UPI be different from PayTM? A major difference between UPI and an app such as PayTM is that the latter is a semi-closed mobile wallet. This means that only parties registered in that ecosystem can transact with one another. UPI, on the other hand, is interoperable between banks. advertisement Will UPI, then, eat into the business of firms such as PayTM? On the contrary, says PayTM founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, it would benefit them, since UPI would open mobile payment gateways to most banks. At present, some banks such as SBI do not allow PayTM access to their gateway; SBI, instead, pushes its own wallet service, MobiCash Easy. "UPI is essentially a protocol, a payment network for banks," says Sharma. "It will help digitise mobile banking." Mobile wallets had, in the short span since their launch, expanded their user base far in excess of credit card users. According to RBI data, there were 22.7 million credit card users in the country in December 2015, conducting transactions to the tune of Rs 21,468 crore. PayTM, on the other hand, has 126 million users already, and is targeting 500 million by 2018. It records transactions worth Rs 50-70 crore a day, or around Rs 18,250 crore a year, says Sharma. And we have not even started talking of other mobile wallet services such as MobiKwik, Oxigen, Citrus Pay and MRupee from Tata Teleservices. NPCI's Asbe says India has 15 million retail merchants, but only 1 million card machines. Hence the limits to credit card penetration, and the opportunities for the UPI app. advertisement How does it work? Let's say Kishore is a New Delhi-based merchant, and Gautam, a corporate executive, a buyer of his goods. Both have downloaded UPI-enabled apps on their respective smartphones after making a one-time registration and acquiring virtual IDs for themselves. Kishore now wants to collect payment from Gautam for an article he has sold him. He has an account with Bank A, but is using the app of Bank B. Gautam has an account with Bank C, and is using the app of Bank D. Kishore uses his Bank B app to collect money from Gautam's virtual ID, which would be something like gautam@BankD.com. A request message goes to UPI, which recognises that underlying Bank B's request is a Bank A account, which is where the money has to be credited. But all it has is the payer's virtual address. It then sends details to Bank D which knows that behind these details is a Bank C account. UPI now knows which bank to debit money from and which account to credit. The transaction is conducted accordingly and e-mails sent to both payer and payee notifying them of the transaction. advertisement You can thus choose to pay, or exercise what is called the 'push' option, or the other party can choose to receive payment via what is called the 'pull' option. And the transaction can be effected across all banks registered in the ecosystem. But is it secure? Security is a prime consideration for the NPCI in creating the app. It has to provide strong, end-to-end security and data protection. The use of a mobile phone as the authentication device, virtual payment addresses and portable third-party authentication schemes such as Aadhaar can help banks save on the cost of building their own authentication structures, and focus on their core business. Simplicity is another factor. Paying and receiving payments should be as easy as swiping a phone book entry and making a call. Anyone with an account should be able to send or receive money with just an identifier and no other bank or account details. The solution also has to be minimal and scalable up to a billion users. It has to allow full interoperability between multiple identifiers such as an Aadhaar number, mobile number and new virtual payment address. However, the effort is not without its challenges. "The success of the rollout will depend on its adoption by the masses," says Pande. There has to be greater awareness about such payment systems. Besides, a large part of the Indian economy is still cash-oriented, and things are unlikely to change overnight. Also, unlike say a Nandan Nilekani for the UID programme, the UPI does not have an anchor person, which some feel could be a disadvantage. Having said that, the superior user experience and UPI's great reach, once most banks come on board, promise to make it a breakthrough technology in mobile payments. "Given all the bottlenecks in conducting transactions, there is still scope for a new system to come in and occupy the space, predominantly in the cash [economy]," says Asbe. It's worthwhile optimism. Follow the writer on Twitter @MGArun1 --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Lalit K Jha Washington, May 20 (PTI) The US has said that it was reviewing the "unsafe" intercept of one of its spy plane by two Chinese fighter jets in international airspace over the disputed South China Sea to decide an "appropriate response". "The Department of Defence is reviewing public claims of a May 17 intercept of a US maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft by two tactical aircraft from the Peoples Republic of China," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. advertisement "The incident occurred in international airspace during a routine US patrol in the South China Sea. Initial reports of the incident characterised it as unsafe," he told reporters. The incident comes more than a decade after a collision between a Chinese fighter jet and a US spy plane in 2001 in which a Chinese pilot was killed and the US jet was forced to make an emergency landing on the Chinese province of Hainan. Earnest, however, appeared to downplay the incident saying that the two countries have made progress in reducing the risk of conflict by improving dialogue at multiple levels. "Weve reduced that risk by improving dialogue at multiple levels under the bilateral confidence building measures, and the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement," he said. He said the next military maritime consultative agreement talks were scheduled for May 24 and 25 in Hawaii. Over the last one year, the Department of Defence has seen improvements in the way Chinese military pilots fly, consistent with the international guidelines and in a safe and professional manner, the White House Press Secretary said. The Pentagon said the intercept of the US Navy EP-3 in the South China Sea happened in international airspace about 100 nautical miles south of mainland China and about 50 nautical miles east of Hainan Island. "... there were two Chinese aircraft that approached and our air crew felt that the approach was not conducted in a safe and professional manner," Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said. "So thats the concern that we have and thats whats being reviewed at this time," he said adding that the US will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever the international law allows. Cook said the Pentagon was confident that "our crew was conducting this, again, in international airspace as allowed under international law". "Well review this incident to determine whether or not there needs to be an appropriate response," he said. The State Department said such a move by China increases tension in the region. "Theyre not doing anything to lessen tensions and to do anything to decrease the possibility for miscalculations and perhaps put people in real harms way. So we absolutely share the concerns that were expressed by the Defence Department about these maneuvers," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters. advertisement He refrained from giving specific diplomatic conversations between the two countries on this issue. "This is something that we routinely have raised in the past when its happened, and Im quite certain that well continue to raise our concerns about this going forward," Kirby said. PTI LKJ ABH AKJ ABH --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: A few days back, Kapil Sharma came under fire from nurses in Amritsar, who protested against the comedian and burnt his effigies, for the so-called demeaning depiction of them on The Kapil Sharma Show (TKSS), said a news report. Nurses said that Kapil, on his show, presents their profession in a bad taste. Kapil is often seen implying that nurses were of "loose character" and "easily available", they said. advertisement Punjab Nursing Association president Raj Bedi Anand demanded an immediate apology from Kapil Sharma, who also belongs to Amritsar, or an FIR be registered against him. Also read: Kapil Sharma faces nurses' anger in Amritsar for 'vulgar portrayal' on TV Kiku Sharda who portrays a nurse on the show (Bumper Lotter) has reacted to the controversy. "I am confused. What is the bone of contention here? Is it about showing a glamorous nurse or a fat one? Is punching a fat nurse, who is played by me, a problem?" he told The Times of India. Also read: Kapil Sharma faces nurses' anger in Amritsar for 'vulgar portrayal' on TV "The cast has been cracking fat jokes at all the characters I have played so far, including the ones I played in my previous show. That's because I am overweight, I sport unibrows and a huge mole on my face - it's definitely not a pretty picture. Besides, everyone is following a profession in the show. It is set in a mohalla, where people are not skilled to do the jobs they have taken up. We have a chaiwallah (Chandan Prabhakar) and Sunil Grover, who actually repairs punctures, as a doctor. We are making fun of people, and not any profession. The protest is uncalled for," he added. Also read: Chris Gayle and Jacqueline Fernandez to grace The Kapil Sharma Show next? In January, Kiku was arrested for mimicking Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh; he was sent to 14-day judicial custody in Kaithal, Haryana but was released on bail later. Sharda was arrested despite offering a public apology for "hurting sentiments" of Ram Rahim's followers. --- ENDS --- While the Left in Kerala maintained that it will stay away from the Congress, the strategy for West Bengal was different to ensure the BJP is kept out of contention. By Mail Today: If the BJP went to the polls with the "Congressmukt Bharat" (Congress free India) slogan, Mamata Banerjee ensured that West Bengal goes Left free, at least figuratively considering that once dominating red front was pushed to the third slot even behind the Congress. The Left front's defeat in West Bengal overshadowed its return to power in Kerala, the only two communist flag bearing states in the country. advertisement The Left's dilemma was too stark to ignore as it was contesting against the Congress in Kerala and as partners in West Bengal. There are voices questioning the decision of forming a pre-poll alliance with Congress in West Bengal. The defeat in West Bengal will push the Left in introspection mode despite a spectacular come back in Kerala. The Left was supposed to be the lead partner in the alliance in West Bengal but ended up getting only 31 seats, far less than Congress's tally of 44. "We respect the verdict of the people with all the humility in Bengal. We will examine and review the results in order to draw proper lessons from it. We though salute our comrades, who worked unitedly despite the attacks by TMC," CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said. Left and Leftover While the Left in Kerala has maintained that it will stay away from the Congress, the strategy for West Bengal was different to ensure the BJP is kept out of contention. The BJP with only three states turned out to be a nonplayer. The contrasting positions had Yechury and former CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat on different sides. Facing tough questions on the massive defeat in West Bengal, Yechury said they hoped to do better and therefore the results have come across as setback and said reasons for the same will be reviewed. "We are political soldiers, not astrologers. I am there in a war. In a war, you lose some battles, you win some battles. We won Kerala battle, we lost West Bengal battle," he said. When asked about reports that daggers are out against him within CPI(M) over the West Bengal results, Yechury said that all the decisions were taken by the party collectively. "... it is your (of reporters) right to interpret it in the way you want to. But the responsibility (for the defeat in West Bengal polls) will be decided during review. As far we see, these are all decisions taken by party collectively and they will be reviewed," he said. advertisement Congratulating the Left workers for the victory in Kerala Karat said the Left Democratic Front. "LDF has registered a big victory in Kerala because the people have endorsed a platform for a corruptionfree government. The people have rejected the UDF government, its misrule and corruption," Karat said. On BJP's performance in the state, Yechury suggested the saffron party did not fare well. He claimed, its vote percentage declined from 16.84 per cent in 2014 Lok Sabha polls to 10.20 per cent in the Assembly polls. Clearly, BJP was able to win some seats ably assisted by a vote transfer between BJP and the TMC. In Kerala, it could open its account due to similar assistance from Congress-led UDF there. ALSO READ: West Bengal poll debacle: Split wide open in CPI(M) Kerala turns Left: CPI(M) state committee to decide upon party leader tomorrow --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal had an awkward moment during a press conference on Friday. Just when he was talking about the improvements made by Modi government in power generation and capacity, electricity went off twice. Together, the cuts lasted for about a minute-and-a-half. They didn't faze Goyal, though, who seemed to see its lighter side and even shared a funny anecdote. advertisement "I think I mentioned last time that my wife tells me that power should go off once in every program that I hold so that I can be sure that I have miles to go before I rest and sleep. I don't know if now they've made it a practice because of her guidance or it is actually gone," said a smiling Goyal. Goyal was holding the presser to brief the media on achievements of his ministries, in light of Modi government completing two years in power, and it was being livestreamed on YouTube. UPDATE According to PIB release, the government ordered a preliminary enquiry report on the incident. Here are highlights from the release and the enquiry's findings: The report puts the onus of the power failture on New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). The National Media Centre (where Goyal was holding the presser) has a back-up of four Gensets two 500 KVA and 750 KVA each. These are always in auto-mode. A surge in requirement of power caused tripped the supply's air circuit braker. The load was automatically transferred to 500 KVA Gensets, which, under auto-mode, were unable to maintain a stable power supply. PIB officials then put the Gensets on manual mode to maintain supply without any further tripping. The power supply from NDMC's side was restored after 45 minutes at 12:10 pm. --- ENDS --- The Anytime Pizza Machine (APM) will soon make healthy pizzas available to you whenever you get the craving. By Shreya Goswami: Imagine it's the middle of the night and you suddenly get this craving for a pizza. Or you're back from a late shift at the office and there's no food at home. Your neighbourhood joints closed hours ago. You're thinking, 'If only there was a vending machine that ejected readymade pizzas'. Voila! Someone just heard your prayers. advertisement Also read: From a food truck to restaurant chain in Mumbai: the inspiring journey of Paninaro Yess Pizza, a pizzeria in Thane, Mumbai, has just launched this dream machine. Their Anytime Pizza Machine can be plugged, filled and you'll get your pizza in 4 minutes. You can choose the toppings you want and watch the machine do everything from kneading the dough, placing the toppings and baking the pizza. The idea is quite revolutionary and the first APM store has already been launched in Thane. When we contacted the company, they said they were planing to launch several more APMs across Mumbai by next month. Sound too good to be true? The website for Yess Pizza says their vending machine will help you get 10.5", thin-crust Italian pizzas in 4 minutes flat. It will occupy anything between 32-40 square feet of space, and is hygienic ("no human touch"), and fully automated. Also read: A chef guides us through Mumbai's street food and the top 10 places to find them While the idea of an APM is brilliant, and we just have to admire this Make in India effort, the expectations from such a machine are quite high. We hope the vending machines are a success, but we'll just have to wait and try it for ourselves first. With inputs from PTI --- ENDS --- Starting today beta builds of Android Marshmallow, which are the result of the Project Highway, are available for four Yu phones. By Javed Anwer: We had written about Yu's Project Highway earlier. But on Friday evening the company formally announced its in-house project to create better software for Yu phones. The company also said that starting today beta builds of Android Marshmallow, which are the result of the Project Highway, are available for four Yu phones. These phones are Yureka, Yureka Plus, Yunique and Yuphoria. The Yutopia, which was launched a few months ago, is the odd-one out. advertisement "Developers and contributors have been special to us. When we rolled out Project Highway, we wanted to get as many people on board as possible. Pleased to share that developer.yuplaygod.com is live as of NOW and happy to share today we are making available the open-sourced OS for (four Yu phones)," Yu founder Rahul Sharma wrote on the company's official user forum. As we had written earlier, the Project Highway will give Yu ability to cook up unique software for its phones, especially now that the company's exclusive partnership with Cyanogen Inc is over. While the base of the Project Highway software will be stock Android, Yu will add several features to it. The most significant of these features is going to be the Around Yu. Also Read: Micromax says people are loving 'Nuts. Guts. Glory' At the same time, says Yu, the company will try to keep the look and feel of the software close to pure Android. For Yu, the Yunicorn that was supposed to launch on May 20 was likely to be the first phone running Project Highway software. But the launch of the phone was pushed forward. Now, it is slated to come to the market on May 31. "Under Project Highway we will be curating source codes from multiple drop points, such as Google's AOSP repos, Chipset Vendors Repos, Various ROMs (where the community developers contribute), Internal YU customisation... and creating one manifest which will be able to support all YU based devices," wrote Rahul. He said that the stable builds of the Marshmallow based Project Highway software will be available for various Yu phone in the next 30 days. --- ENDS --- That is, a number of analyses of Irans recent economic indicators showcase a rapid return to pre-sanctions oil exports, and the growth of interest in investing in or trading with Iranian businesses. Yet, others highlight the persistent obstacles to more broad-based recovery and the possibility that some of the recent, positive indicators will prove to be short lived. On the positive side of this divide, the Times of Malta reported on Thursday that Irans oil exports for the month of May appeared to be on track to represent a 60 percent increase over its oil exports in May of last year. This would carry on from highly significant growth figures that were already recorded in April, when Iranian oil exports reportedly averaged 2.1 million barrels per day, the highest since January of 2012, before large-scale sanctions on the Iranian nuclear program went into effect. These figures represent substantially faster growth than most foreign analysts predicted upon the announcement that those sanctions would be removed in January. But some have argued that the figures are not an accurate representation of Irans new oil output, and therefore are not sustainable over the long term. While under sanction, the Islamic Republic could not find sufficient foreign demand for their domestic oil production. As such, large quantities of Iranian crude were placed into storage both inside the country and in tankers floating offshore. It is presumably the case, therefore, that at least some portion of the countrys recent exports represents it merely running down these built-up stockpiles. After they are exhausted, Iran may not have the sustained output to continue to match current export figures. Still, the foreign interest in re-engagement with the Iranian market is sure to have positive effects on the Iranian economy, even if those effects are mitigated by constraints on Irans commodities. However, that foreign interest is itself mitigated, and many media reports on the effects of the nuclear agreement have emphasized that some Western businesses are deliberately keeping their distance. City AM reported on Thursday that a business conference had taken place in London that day with the express purpose of encouraging vigorous investment in the newly de-sanctioned Iranian market. This report stands toe-to-toe with a Handelsblatt report pointing out that Iran has apparently become a recent target for major German industrial trade fairs. But while both stories suggest strong interest in a return to the Iranian market, City AM also carefully highlights the reasons why attendees at such conferences may not want to jump at the chance of investing in Iran under current conditions. The article points out five main risks. One is the extent of control exerted over the Iranian economy by the hardline Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which remains under sanctions due to its support for terrorism, human rights abuses, and wrongful intervention into the affairs of other countries. This control leads to a situation in which foreign businesses can find themselves unknowingly channeling money into the IRGC, thereby opening themselves up to fines and general sanctions enforcement by the US Treasury Department. This ties into each of the other risks highlighted by City AM. That is, the IRGC and other hardliners are prominent among the sources of corruption and money laundering which make the Iranian market internally unstable. Meanwhile, the danger of unwittingly investing in such hardliners poses a reputational danger that many Western firms are sensitive to. Furthermore, the prominence of the IRGC in the Iranian economy and Iranian society poses a potential danger to Western businessmen and their employees who happen to visit Iran or work there over the long term. This latter risk has been highlighted, for instance, by the case of Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese-American entrepreneur who was arrested in September by the IRGC just before he was scheduled to fly back home after attending a conference in Tehran where President Hassan Rouhani had spoken about sustainable development and job opportunities for women. Zakka was back in the news on Wednesday after the Associated Press published an article detailing some of his ties with the US. The article pointed out that a non-profit organization headed by Zakka had done considerable work on progressive causes in the Middle East, and had received a total of 730,000 dollars in grant money from the US government. This by no means substantiates the IRGCs accusation that Zakka was a spy with deep links to American intelligence services. Furthermore, there is no evidence at this time to suggest that any of Zakkas work in the Middle East was specifically in Iran, although he had traveled there on four previous occasions. But it is certain that these connections between Zakka and the US government will be utilized by the IRGC and the Iranian judiciary as further justification for their broader crackdown on American citizens, persons with permanent US residency (like Zakka), and anyone with connections to the West. In November, several Iranian journalists were arrested en masse as part of this crackdown, They were accused of being members of a foreign-based infiltration network solely on the basis of their professional connections with individuals living in the West. These and other incidents have been variously highlighted as reasons why Western businesses should be wary of sending their affiliates into the Islamic Republic. This persistent hardline behavior on the part of the IRGC and the Iranian regime as a whole also speaks to the fifth risk highlighted by City AM, namely that it remains quite possible that Tehran will violate the nuclear deal at some point, thereby invalidating sanctions relief and leaving foreign businesses once again unable to legally perform transactions with the Islamic Republic. But even under current conditions, such transactions remain difficult even for those who are willing to ignore certain risk factors. On Thursday, Reuters once again provided some detail on Irans persistent inability to access systems of global transactions. This obstacle is based partly on lingering US sanctions, but mainly on Irans failure to safeguard against money laundering and corruption, as is required of all countries that desire access to the US dollar. The article reiterated, however, that Iranian officials, among them the governor of the Central Bank of Iran, exclusively blame the US for these difficulties. Those officials commentary on the situation specifically indicates that they have no intention of making relevant changes, such as the unification of Irans official exchange rate with the market rate, until such time as Western entities let them back into global payment systems. This presumably leaves the Iran and the international banks at something of a stalemate for the time being. [May 19, 2016] Fitch Rates Maine Health & Higher Educational Facilities Auth's $62.3MM Series 2016A Revs 'AA' Fitch Ratings assigns a 'AA' rating to the following bonds issued by the Maine Health and Higher Educational Facilities Authority (MHHEFA) under its reserve fund resolution: --$62.3 million revenue bonds, series 2016A. The series 2016A bonds are expected to price via negotiation the week of June 6. Bond proceeds will be used to refund certain outstanding bonds for debt service savings. In addition, Fitch affirms the following MHHEA reserve fund resolution bonds at 'AA': --$750 million in outstanding revenue bonds. The Rating Outlook is Stable. SECURITY Bonds are secured by loan repayments and pledged reserve funds. KEY RATING DRIVERS STABLE FINANCIAL STRUCTURE: Fitch's cash flow modeling demonstrates that MHHEFA's reserve fund resolution program (the program) can continue to pay bond debt service even with portfolio loan defaults consistent with Fitch's 'AA' liability rating stress hurdle, as produced using Fitch's portfolio stress calculator (PSC). SUITABLE PROGRAM CREDIT ENHANCEMENT: Bondholders are protected from losses by a debt service reserve (DSR) funded at maximum annual debt service (MADS) and backed by the state's moral obligation. Additionally, a supplemental reserve account was funded in 2010 and pledged to bondholders. CONCENTRATED POOL: MHHEFA's pool is highly concentrated, as the largest 10 obligors represent 71% of the total pool. The program's top-10 concentration compares unfavorably to Fitch's 2015 sector median of 61%. To account for concentration risk, concentrated pools are subjected to higher stresses in Fitch's PSC. FAVORABLE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND UNDERWRITING: MHHEFA maintains sound underwriting and loan monitoring procedures as evidenced by the pool's strong overall historical performance. RATING SENSITIVITIES WEAKENING POOL QUALITY: Recent increases in pool concentration driven by refundings and a moratorium on new bond issuance have somewhat weakened overall pool quality. As pool concentration continues to increase, Maine Health and Higher Educational Authority's reserve fund program may eventually fail to pass Fitch's 'AA' liability rating stress hurdle, at which point the program could be downgraded. CREDIT PROFILE MHHEFA is an instrumentality of the state created to assist health care and higher education institutions in financing the construction and improvement of related facilities. Most of the state's eligible institutions use the authority as their primary borrowing vehicle because it offers participants the lowest cost of capital. Program metrics have been somewhat declining over the last few years due to the aforementioned increases in pool concentration. However, Fitch's most recent internal assessments of the largest borrowers have demonstrated some credit improvements thereby resulting in slightly improved overall pool quality. ADEQUATE FINANCIAL STRUCTURE Fitch measures the financial strength of municipal loan pool programs by calculating each program's asset strength ratio (PASR). The PASR is calculated by summing all pledged resources and dividing this sum by total scheduled bond debt service. MHHEFA's PASR is 1.1x, which is considered adequate for the rating level yet is well below Fitch's 2015 sector median PASR of 1.9x. Cash flow modeling demonstrates that the program can continue to pay bond debt service even with hypothetical loan defaults of 99% in the first four-year period and 100% in the middle and last four year periods of the program's life (per Fitch criteria, a standard 90% recovery is applied in its cash flow model when determining default tolerance). This is in excess of Fitch's 'AA' liability rating stress hurdle of 58%, as produced by the PSC, which is derived based on the overall pool credit quality as measured by the rating of underlying borrowers, size, loan term, and concentration. In accordance with its latest criteria, Fitch also ran lower recovery scenarios in its cash flow model to account for the authority's 'non-traditional' municipal loans. Fitch's recovery range for non-traditional loans, or those loans secured by borrowers without taxing power or so-called 'natural monopolies' with the ability to raise rates to meet bond legal covenant requirements, is 60%-70% but can be scaled up or down based on factors such as the seniority of the pledge, strength of program management, and historical performance of the program. Given the program's 'AA' liability rating stress hurdle of 58%, Fitch's model analyses showed that an average recovery of at least 83% would be necessary to ensure full payment of bond debt service. Fitch believes that this minimum recovery value is justified at an 'AA' rating level based on the historical performance of the program's borrowers, the aggregate pool credit quality, and other structural features of the program including available reserves and the state's moral obligation pledge. LOSS PROTECTION PROVDED BY RESERVES Loss protection is provided to bondholders via a DSR funded by bond proceeds at 100% of MADS. As of March 2016, the DSR totaled $83 million, which equated to approximately 11% of bond principal outstanding. In addition, the authority has approximately $25.1 million in pledged supplemental reserves that were transferred from its operating fund in 2010. The reserves are invested in tax-exempt municipal bonds (rated at least in the 'A' category), money market accounts, and investment agreements with certain counterparties that must post collateral upon downgrade below 'A-'. If there is a shortfall requiring DSR funds to be used, the executive director of MHHEFA is required to certify to the governor whether additional funds are necessary to restore the DSR to its required level. Although this is not legally enforceable, Fitch believes that the broad public purpose of the authority creates incentive for the state to honor its moral obligation. While not pledged, bondholders are afforded additional protection from approximately $20.6 million in operating funds, which MHHEFA expects to use first in the event of a loan repayment shortfall. The operating fund balance has been steady over time. The authority also has the ability to intercept any funds held by the state treasurer that are payable to the borrowers. To date, the intercept mechanism has never been tested. SIGNIFICANT POOL CONCENTRATION The aggregate pledged loan pool is composed of approximately 41 combined system obligors (or 54 individual borrowers), with the top 10 representing approximately 71% of the pool total. Combined system obligors include individual borrowers backed by a guarantee or similar provision with a parent. On a combined basis, Central Maine Healthcare is the program's largest obligor, representing 15.1% of the total pledged portfolio. At 13.7%, 12.9%, and 10.4%, respectively, the next three largest obligors are the University of New England, MaineHealth, and Eastern Maine Healthcare. None of these borrowers are publicly rated by Fitch, but each is assessed to be at least investment grade. The remaining top 10 borrowers range in size of 2.9%-4.1%. Top-10 concentration compares unfavorably to Fitch's sector median of 61% and has shown a slightly increasing trend over the last few years as new money issuance continues to be frozen. Pool credit quality is mostly solid with approximately 62% of the pool's loans held by what Fitch assesses to be investment-grade borrowers. Approximately 76% of the outstanding pool loans are to borrowers in the healthcare industry (i.e., hospitals, mental health facilities, community care retirement communities and social service organizations) and the remaining 24% are to higher education institutions. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND UNDERWRITING ARE SOUND MHHEFA maintains sound underwriting and loan monitoring procedures. The authority requires all borrowers to submit detailed credit applications. Borrowers are also required to provide a senior lien pledge of gross revenues and a mortgage on property and/or equipment being financed. Generally, the terms of the financings are prohibited from exceeding the useful life of the financed asset. Borrower loan repayments are made on a monthly basis, which allows time for the authority to intervene before each bond payment date if there is a problem. Borrowers must demonstrate the sufficiency of the source of revenues available to repay the financings. Among other provisions, borrowers must have demonstrated a history of responsible financial management and willingness to pay their obligations. In the past, MHHEFA has rejected or required modifications to applications it determines to be below its quality standards. Borrowers must submit annual audits, which are reviewed and monitored by the authority for key financial and debt statistics. The program has recorded only one pledged obligor default since it was established in 1991. In October 2015, the authority executed a partial acceleration following Parkview Adventist Medical Center's bankruptcy filing in June of the same year. The total pool exposure was an insignificant 0.06%. Nevertheless, the authority prudently used its non-pledged operating funds to cure the default. PROGRAM QUALITY REMAINS STRONG WITH LIMITED ISSUANCE The Internal Revenue Service requires that the senior elected official in the state of Maine approve the sale of any tax-exempt bonds in accordance with the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA). In June 2011, Fitch was informed that the governor reportedly will not sign any TEFRA approval letters for proposed tax-exempt bond sales which utilize the state's Moral Obligation Reserve Fund Program. This decision by the governor means that MHHEFA can only issue refunding bonds for the foreseeable future. While this decision does not materially impact the credit quality of the program bonds in the near term, Fitch will continue to monitor the any changes in credit quality of the program that could result from increased pool concentration. Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. Applicable Criteria Revenue-Supported Rating Criteria (pub. 16 Jun 2014) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=750012 State Revolving Fund and Leveraged Municipal Loan Pool Criteria (pub. 29 Oct 2015) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=872307 Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=1004787 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1004787 Endorsement Policy https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160519006651/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 19, 2016] Saab to Supply KleinPilot to Great Lakes Pilotage Authority and U.S. Coast Guard Defence and security company Saab has been awarded separate contracts from the Canadian Great Lakes Pilotage Authority and the Great Lakes Pilotage Division of the United States Coast Guard to upgrade their Great Lakes Pilot Management System to the latest version of Saab's KleinPilot. The new KleinPilot system will replace the existing Saab supplied system installed in 2006. It will be used by the two organizations and the three U.S. Great Lakes pilotage associations to manage and coordinate the dispatch of marine pilots on the Great Lakes and automatically generate billing in accordance with the applicable tariffs. Saab will host and administer the shared system on behalf of the two organizations on a secure site to ensure the confidentiality of the parties and data. The KleinPilot is based on Saab's state-of-the-art N-Tier management information system platform and will include the following new features and functionality: Fully web based user interface to facilitate easy user access Agent web portal for agents to submit pilotage requests and monitor assignment status Pilot web portal (and optional iPhone (News - Alert) application) to receive assignments, record job information and submit time cards The new system is scheduled to commnce use in live production for the start of the Great Lakes navigation season in March 2017. The Great Lakes Pilotage Authority is a Canadian federal crown corporation responsible for providing a safe and efficient pilotage service within the Great Lakes region for commercial vessels. http://www.glpa-apgl.com/ The U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes Pilotage Program is a specialized program that manages the processes and procedures for the United States registered pilots on the Great Lakes. http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg552/pilotage.asp Pilotage within the international waters of the Great Lakes is managed by the two organizations under a memorandum of arrangements between Canada and the United States. KleinPilot is a product of the Maritime Traffic Management product area of Saab, a leading provider of Maritime Enterprise Software. Saab serves the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions within military defence and civil security. Saab has operations and employees on all continents around the world. Through innovative, collaborative and pragmatic thinking, Saab develops, adopts and improves new technology to meet customers' changing needs. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160519006728/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 19, 2016] Fitch Affirms Leander ISD, TX's ULT Bonds at 'AA-'; Outlook Stable Fitch Ratings has affirmed Leander Independent School District, Texas' (the district) approximately $110.2 million in unlimited tax (ULT) debt at 'AA-' as follows: --ULT school building bonds, series 2009, and 2010; --ULT school building and refunding bonds, series 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2008; --ULT refunding bonds, series 2010, 2010A, and 2011. In addition, Fitch has affirmed the district's Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'AA-'. SECURITY The bonds are secured by an unlimited ad valorem tax pledge against all taxable property within the district. KEY RATING DRIVERS The 'AA- ' rating reflects Fitch's expectation that the district will maintain financial flexibility throughout the economic cycle due to its solid expenditure control that assists in maintaining a robust reserve cushion. Weighing on the unlimited tax bonds and IDR is the district's large long-term liability burden which Fitch expects to remain a sizable burden on resources. Economic Resource Base The district is largely residential in nature, and is located northwest of Austin within the broader Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. Its large service area includes the cities of Leander and Cedar Park, and portions of Austin and Jonestown. Area population has increased rapidly due to its proximity to job opportunities in the cities of Austin, Round-Rock and Georgetown. Revenue Framework: 'a' factor assessment Revenues have historically grown well in excess of national GDP, due to the state's support for school funding and rapid enrollment growth. Fitch expects revenue increases will moderate somewhat going forward, comparable to tempered enrollment growth trends in recent years. The district's revenue raising ability is minimal, as its tax rate is at the statutory cap, without voter approval. Expenditure Framework: 'aa' factor assessment District expenditures are likely to keep pace with revenues as enrollment growth continues on a more moderate trajectory. Carrying costs are currently moderate but are expected by Fitch to rise slightly given a slowly rising debt service schedule. Long-Term Liability Burden: 'a' factor assessment The long-term liability burden is elevated - a function of rapid enrollment and the need for school facilities - and is largely comprised of a slowly-amortized debt burden. Fitch anticipates the district's long-term liabilities will remain a sizeable burden on resources. Operating Performance: 'aaa' factor assessment The combination of the district's expenditure-cutting flexibility and healthy reserve funding levels leave it well positioned to address cyclical downturns. RATING SENSITIVITIES Maintenance of Financial Flexibility: The rating is sensitive to material changes in the district's solid expenditure flexibility, which Fitch expects it to maintain throughout the economic cycle. Elevated Long-Term Liabilities: A material increase in the long-term liability burden, although not expected, could pressure the rating. CREDIT PROFILE The district's tax base performed well during the recession, with only one year of modest decline in fiscal 2011.The availability of affordable land within district boundaries will likely continue to spur additional residential development. In a moderate growth scenario the district is projecting enrollment increases of 2%-3% annually through 2025, compared to year-over-year increases as high as 10%-11% a decade ago. Revenue Framework The state school funding framework, underpinned by Texas' robust credit profile (GOs rated 'AAA'/Stable), ensures comparable, statewide per pupil funding levels despite varying local property wealth. Revenue growth is primarily a function of enrollment. Established per pupil funding levels ensure additional state revenue will offset weakness in local (property tax) revenue. The district's general fund revenues have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 8% over the past 10 years, well above the growth rate for U.S. GDP. Fitch believes revenue growth prospects are favorable but may not match the prior rapid pace as enrollment growth moderates compared to the rapid pace of prior years. The district's tax rate for operations is at the legal limit of $1.04 per $100 TAV, without voter approval. The district has independent control over only a very small portion of its operating revenues. Per state statute, the district cannot increase its operating property tax levy further without voter approval. Expenditure Framework Instruction is the district's largest spending responsibility at over 60% of total general fund spending in fiscal 2015. Strong workforce flexibility and one-year cntracts allow the district solid expenditure flexibility. Mandated class size staffing ratios for certain grade levels by the state can be exceeded in certain circumstances by receiving a class size waiver. The district has regularly taken advantage of this flexibility in the past for a large number of its elementary schools. Spending has expanded at a measured pace historically. Fitch expects the district's natural spending pace will remain equal to or slightly exceed revenue gains based on its current expenditure trends and the enrollment- based state funding formula. Solid operating flexibility exists in the district's labor costs given the lack of group/collective bargaining or contractual agreements and short employment contracts. Now moderate fixed carrying costs (about 17% of fiscal 2015 governmental spending) are expected by Fitch to increase over time given a slowly rising debt service schedule. If calculated using maximum annual debt service (which occurs in 2049), carrying costs would be a very high 30% of fiscal 2015 spending. Recent capital needs have been funded by the district's remaining bond authorization. Exceptionally strong growth in the district's taxable assessed values in the past two years has allowed the district to use a small portion of its debt service tax rate of $0.47 per $100 TAV in fiscal 2016 to pay down debt early. Nevertheless, at $0.44 for current debt service, the tax rate affords little flexibility for additional debt or a less protracted amortization schedule for outstanding debt. Preliminary taxable assessed values for fiscal 2017 point towards a further reduction in the tax rate necessary for debt service at around $0.40. Only 21% of debt will be repaid within 10 years. The cap for new issuance is $0.50. Long-Term Liability Burden The district's long-term liability burden is elevated at 31% of personal income, and is made up almost entirely by the slowly-amortizing outstanding debt load. Fitch expects this profile to persist going forward. The district has two facilities slated to open through 2017, which management estimates will be sufficient to address the district's capital needs for the next several years. There is no outstanding authorization for new money debt, but the district may explore additional GO authorization for around $400 million in calendar year 2017. The district has a history of debt management practices which deferred debt repayment with slow amortization and significant use of zero-coupon capital appreciation bonds (CABs). The district implemented a 10-year plan to reduce the CAB portfolio to 25% by 2025, and has made headway by lowering the total CAB portfolio to a still-high 67% currently from 78% in 2014. Furthermore, growth in the tax base has eased pressure on the debt service tax rate, but the district continues to levy enough to retire some debt early. The district participates in the Texas Teachers Retirement System (TRS), a cost-sharing multiple employer pension system. Under GASB 67 and 68, TRS's assets cover 83.3% of liabilities as of fiscal 2015, a ratio that falls to 75% using a more conservative 7% return assumption. The state assumes the majority of TRS' employer contributions and net pension liability on behalf of school districts, except for small amounts which state statute requires districts to assume. Like all Texas school districts, the district is vulnerable to future policy changes that shift more of the contributions and liabilities onto districts -- as evidenced by a relatively modest 1.5% of salary contribution requirement effective fiscal year 2015 for certain districts. The proportionate share of the system's net pension liability paid by the district is minimal. The district's contributions totaled $5.2 million in fiscal 2015. Operating Performance Fitch considers financial resilience to be consistent with an 'aaa' assessment. Fitch believes the district would use a combination of it solid expenditure flexibility and strong reserves to maintain a satisfactory reserve safety margin in a moderate economic decline scenario. Strong revenue growth and expenditure control allowed the district to maintain positive financial operations and growth in reserves in each of the past seven fiscal years. The general fund balance reached roughly $120 million or 46% of spending in fiscal 2015. The fiscal 2016 operating budget increased about 14% over the prior year's budget, and appropriates approximately $13 million of general fund balance. The main drivers of the increase were the addition of 155 new positions, costs associated with the opening of two new schools, and a 2% salary increase for all staff. Management anticipates using a much smaller amount of fund balance, currently estimated at less than 1% of budgeted spending. Fitch expects the district will maintain a strong and stable financial position given its historical financial trends, which Fitch considers a balance against the district's previous practice of structuring debt in a manner that elongates principal repayment. Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. In addition to the sources of information identified in the applicable criteria specified below, this action was informed by information from Lumesis and InvestorTools. Applicable Criteria U.S. Tax-Supported Rating Criteria (pub. 18 Apr 2016) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=879478 Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=1004797 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1004797 Endorsement Policy https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160519006741/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 19, 2016] CallCabinet's "Perfect Compliance" Call Recording Makes the Leap to Vodia Hosted PBX BOCA RATON, Fla., May 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CallCabinet, long trusted for its multiple award-winning compliant call recording solution, Atmos, has teamed up with Vodia, the company that pioneered multi-tenant PBX, with a cloud-based solution for every firm that needs to record calls for training, dispute resolution, regulatory compliance, or security. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160519/370070LOGO Vodia's Hosted PBX customers are already used to the cost savings, CRM and billing integration, and WebRTC features of their wholly owned technology, which is more secure than Asterisk according to Vodia. With CallCabinet's integrated solution Atmos, Vodia customers benefit through unlimited, securely encrypted storage of recorded calls that meet regulatory compliance requirements. Atmos is a cloud-based call recording environment where every recorded call meets compliance and is individually encrypted at its source with a rotating encryption methodology that is unique and specific to each call. "Vodia was a clear choice," said Ryan Kahan, CEO at CallCabinet. "They've led the way for multi-tenant solutions for more than a decade, allowing resellers to host thousands of companies inside a simple architecture. Combined with Atmos, Vodia customers now have a hosted recording solution that meets regulatory compliance and offers a "pay as your grow" business model." Regulatory compliance is growing within the business community and is now affecting a ide range of organizations from small business to global enterprises. Traditionally, regulatory compliance was limited to contact centers, where today compliance reaches all aspects of an organization including, finance, human resources, technical support and many other departments. The combined solution offers Vodia resellers a unique business opportunity to sell CallCabinet's Atmos platform and expand their offering to their customers. CallCabinet has an excellent reseller program that pays commissions to Atmos resellers. The partnership with Vodia opens up Vodia resellers to be included in the program. "We knew we had to have CallCabinet as soon as we met them," said Christian Stredicke, CEO of Vodia. "Recording calls in a compliant way is difficult enough by itself. Atmos now leads a breakthrough in ease of use, scalability, and security. You can manage recordings through a simple interface and search, sort, or locate any call within seconds. It gives Vodia customers complete peace of mind." In the coming weeks, CallCabinet and Vodia will announce its programs for both end customers and resellers. To find out more please contact CallCabinet or Vodia. About CallCabinet Winner of "Best in Show" awards at ITEXPO shows in Miami, Anaheim, and Fort Lauderdale, and winner of the 2016 Internet Telephony Product of the Year and other awards, CallCabinet is a leading developer of innovative, flexible and cutting-edge cloud and premise-based call recording solutions. Atmos puts a fully compliant, cloud hosted, industrial-strength, and easy-to-implement call recording solution within reach of distributed and smaller enterprises for the first time. About Vodia Vodia Hosted PBX is the award-winning and technically pioneering solution for resellers who've "gotta have" superior features in WebRTC, security, and multi-tenancy. Unlike competitors, Vodia PBX was built to run in public and private clouds from Day One, and on virtual machines as well. Customers save 60% of costs and find a strikingly large array of integrated VoIP phones and features. Vodia is the rocket in your telephone's socket. Contacts Marketing Department CallCabinet Corporation 23123 State Rd 7 Boca Raton, FL, 33428 [email protected] 1.800.653.1389 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/callcabinets-perfect-compliance-call-recording-makes-the-leap-to-vodia-hosted-pbx-300272053.html SOURCE CallCabinet Corporation [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 19, 2016] Long Beach City Attorney, Gomez Trial Attorneys, and Baron & Budd File Seventh PCB Lawsuit Against Monsanto for Contaminating the City's Storm Water and Contributing to the Sedimentary Contamination in Adjacent Ocean Areas Today, the City of Long Beach, Gomez Trial Attorneys, and Baron & Budd filed the seventh lawsuit of its kind against Monsanto for PCB contamination of Long Beach's city storm water and the Port of Long Beach. Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are toxic chemicals which cannot be contained and last for decades. PCBs off-gas from their original application, enter into city storm water through urban run-off, and deposit into the Port of Long Beach. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160519006792/en/ Long Beach joins San Jose, San Diego, Seattle, Oakland, Berkeley, and Spokane, all which have filed similar lawsuits against Monsanto. The case was filed in federal district in the Central District of California, Case No. 2:16-cv-03493. Monsanto produced PCBs for approximately 50 years until the U.S. Congress banned them because they endanger human and environmental health. Despite the 1979 ban, today PCBs are a common environmental contaminant found in all natural resources including water and plants as well as tissues of marine life, animals and humans. PCBs bioaccumulate in the food chain and are associated with illnesses and cancer in humans. "The City is committed to holding Monsanto responsible for the significant amount of ontamination it has placed into the City's eco-system and Monsanto should shoulder the burden of cleaning up the environment, not the taxpayers of Long Beach and the State," says City Attorney Charles Parkin. "Long Beach is standing up for clean water and holding Monsanto responsible for producing and distributing products in knew would become a significant risk to the environment." "Monsanto unleashed an environmental virus that cannot be contained and is now in virtually every living organism in our food chain," says Baron & Budd attorney Scott Summy, who leads the litigation for each of the seven cities. "Long Beach is standing up for clean water and holding Monsanto responsible for manufacturing a product it knew would become a global contaminant." "PCBs are found in the consumable tissue of fish and other wildlife. Monsanto's PCBs are one of the largest public nuisances on the planet," says attorney John Fiske of Gomez Trial Attorneys. "It's unfair that Long Beach taxpayers and cities are stuck cleaning up Monsanto's mess." During the five decades prior to the 1979 ban, Monsanto's PCBs were incorporated into a wide variety of products and applications including power transformers, electrical equipment, paints, caulks and other building materials. Monsanto knew that PCBs were toxic and could not be contained as they readily escaped into the environment, finding their way into bays, oceans, lakes, rivers, streams, soil and air. Although documents show Monsanto recognized PCBs were becoming a global contaminant, Monsanto continued to manufacture PCBs and ignored the health risks to humans and the environment. California's Water Quality Control Board has determined that the presence of PCBs in storm water runoff in Long Beach threatens fish and wildlife in the Port of Long Beach. Long Beach will continue to incur significant costs related to PCBs in its storm water and the sedimentary deposits in Port of Long Beach and adjacent ocean floor areas. Gomez Trial Attorneys, based in San Diego, represents cities and families in water contamination cases. Baron & Budd, P.C., based in Dallas, Texas, has represented hundreds of public entities nationwide whose water supplies, properties or natural resources are affected by chemical contaminants. For questions, please contact John Fiske at Gomez Trial Attorneys at 619-237-3490 or [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160519006792/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 20, 2016] Gas Sensors Market Worth 1.01 Billion USD by 2022 PUNE, India, May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Gas Sensors Market by Technology (Electrochemical, Infrared, MOS, Catalytic, Zirconia, Laser, PID), Gas Type (Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, Hydrogen Sulfide, Nitrogen Oxide, Hydrocarbon & VOC), End-Use Application, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2022", the market is expected to be worth USD 1.01 Billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 6.22% between 2016 and 2022. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 70 market data Tables and 45 Figures spread through 165 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Gas Sensors Market". http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/gas-sensor-market-245141093.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. The gas sensors market has a huge potential across consumer electronics and building automation applications. The major factor driving the gas sensors market across the world is the rising stringent government regulation for occupational safety health of employee working in hazardous industrial environment. The growth of the gas sensors market is also driven by the growing concern for environment pollution control through air quality analysis by detecting the concertation of harmful gases released in environment. The laser-based gas detection technology is expected to grow at the highest rate in the market The laser-based gas detection technology in gas sensors market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2016 and 2022. The laser diode uses tunable diode laser absorption technology (TDLAS) which HAS higher sensitivity, higher response time and accuracy as compared to other gas sensors. Laser-based gas sensor is expected to have high growth potential in applications such as chemical, building and automation, oil & gas and power plants to measure critical gases. The market for the consumer electronic application would grow at the highest CAGR between 2016 and 2022 The market for the consumer electronic application of gas sensors is expected to grow at the highest rate. This high growth can be attributed to the fact that gas sensors are expected to be integrated into smartphones and wearables that can detect ases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and VOCS. The gas sensor would be used in smart phones for air quality measurement and for health monitoring applications such as sleep quality measurement through breath analysis. North America to dominate the gas sensors market in terms of market size North America held the largest share of the gas sensors market in 2015. One of the main reasons for the large share of North America in this market is the major application of gas sensors in safety systems for detecting concentration of toxic and harmful gases at oil & gas plants in the region. The companies in the U.S. have developed advanced techniques for extracting hydrocarbons from shale which has increased oil and gas production in the country. That has led to the rise in demand for gas sensor for monitor and detecting concentration of toxic and harmful gases for employee and oil & gas plant safety. This report describes the market trends, drivers, and challenges for the Gas Sensors Market and forecasts the market up to 2022. The report also includes the value chain and Porter's analysis of the market along with a detailed view of the market across the four major regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World (which includes the Middle East, South America, and Africa). The report profiles the 10 most promising players in the gas sensors market. Inquiry Before Buying: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=245141093 The companies that are profiled in the report are City Technology Ltd (U.K.), Dynament Ltd.(U.K.) Alphasense (U.K.), Amphenol Advanced Sensors (U.S.), Bosch Sensortec GmbH(Germany), ams AG (Austria), Senseair AB (Sweden), FIGARO Engineering Inc. (Japan), MEMBRAPOR AG (Switzerland), Cambridge CMOS sensors (U.K.), Sensirion AG (Switzerland), and MSA (U.S.). Browse Related Reports Process Spectroscopy Market (Molecular, Atomic, and Mass), Gas Chromatography (Process, and Natural Gas Chromatography), Process Analyzers (Liquid & Gas) , by Component (Hardware and Software User Interface), Industry, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/process-analyzers-market-148603279.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is the world's No. 2 firm in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". 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Contact: Mr. Rohan Markets and Markets UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ Magarpatta city, Hadapsar Pune, Maharashtra 411013, India Tel: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/electronics-and-semiconductors Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] SPRINGFIELD -- It remains unclear whether the Illinois General Assembly will act before the scheduled end of its spring session on legislation that Exelon Corp. says is essential to the future of its financially struggling nuclear power plants in Clinton and near the Quad Cities. Near the end of a committee hearing Thursday that lasted more than three hours, Democratic Sen. Mattie Hunter of Chicago, chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee, said the measure wont be coming to the Senate floor for a vote anytime soon. Exelon has said that it will shut down the Clinton Power Station next year if adequate legislation is not passed that properly values nuclear power for its economic, environmental and reliability benefits during the spring Illinois legislative session scheduled to end May 31. Among many other changes, Exelons Next Generation Power Plan would extend state subsidies similar to those granted to the wind and solar energy industries to nuclear power, which the company says is warranted because, like those power sources, nuclear doesnt generate carbon emissions. But Hunter said there are still ongoing discussions among the company, environmental and consumer groups, and other interested parties that must continue before the legislation is ready for a vote. It appears our committee is split, Hunter said. I dont know if we even have enough votes to get it passed anyway. While acknowledging that theres no way to please everyone completely, she said there are signs that negotiations are moving in a positive direction. Indeed, organizations that often oppose legislative proposals from Exelon and other utilities expressed partial support for the current proposal during Thursdays hearing or said theyre engaged in discussions with Exleon. David Kolata, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board, a consumer watchdog group, said the current proposal is significantly better than what youve seen before from (Commonwealth Edison) and Exelon," ComEds corporate parent. The organization has estimated that 60 percent of ComEd customers would see savings under new rate structures the bill would introduce, Kolata said. He said one issue that remains is fixing problems with the states renewable portfolio standard, which currently calls for 25 percent of Illinois energy to come from renewable sources by 2025. Jack Darin, director of the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, said his group likewise is at the table with Exleon. The Sierra Club wants a comprehensive energy policy that builds on earlier energy conservation efforts, encourages renewable energy development and reduces carbon pollution, Darin said. We are working through those issues, he said. We have made some important progress. But Exelons proposal also faces stiff opposition from groups like AARP Illinois, the Illinois Public Interest Research Group and the Illinois attorney generals office. Many of their concerns center on the impact the legislation would have on utility customers. We think this is a terrible proposal, said Abe Scarr, director of the Illinois Public Interest Research Group. Of particular concern to these groups is a proposal to shift from charging customers for energy distribution by the kilowatt-hour to imposing a demand charge, which would be assessed based on each customers peak usage during the month. Opponents say this could result in wide month-to-month variations in power bills. Its designed to ensure profits and more consistent profits for ComEd and Exelon and not the public policy goals that our state should be pursuing, Scarr said. For many in Clinton and the Quad Cities, the issue comes down to jobs and local property tax revenue. Clinton City Administrator Tim Followell testified that the plant accounts for half of the citys property tax collections. Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, who represents the plant, issued a statement during the hearing noting that it also provides $7.6 million in tax revenue to the Clinton school district and $1 million to Richland Community College in Decatur. The plant also provides nearly 2,000 direct and indirect jobs, Followell said. Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, the bills sponsor, said it is a work in progress and discussions will continue. CHARLESTON -- With its hiking trails twisting through acres of woodlands and other natural areas, Fox Ridge State Park is a place where Helen Plevka enjoys spending time. For a few months, she plans to spend time getting other people to enjoy the park as well. She graduated this month from Eastern Illinois University with a degree in English education. But the fact that she won't start her student teaching until the start of the new school year means she can work as an intern at Fox Ridge until then. On one recent sunny morning, Plevka stood by the small prairie plot near the park's main entrance, an indigo bunting alight on one of the nearby plants. She said her message should be an easy one to get across. "It's the best place you could possibly imagine spending the summer," she said. Plevka's duties will be mostly planning and promoting public events at Fox Ridge, something the Morton native said will help her with the planning and organization skills she'll need for teaching. Letting people know what the park has to offer and helping make sure there are things to draw them there is also the role of the organization that's paying for Plevka to be there. The Fox Ridge Foundation, a private organization, raises money for the park and sponsors some public events there. The foundation has been in place for 35 years but has a limited number of volunteers, none of whom are experts on fundraising, but is mainly there to promote the park, , foundation board member Mark Esarey said. "We're just doing what we can," he said. "It's mostly designed to make people aware of the park and to come out to the park." The foundation sponsors a park intern most summers. That means more public activities and events such as speakers on topics about nature and the environment can take place, park Superintendent Glenn Lyons said. "We're able to continue doing that" despite the state of Illinois' budget standstill that's meant the park hasn't received much of the money it needs, he said. There are annual public events at Fox Ridge such as "Bug Night," during which people get to capture, study and release insects, and Plevka said those are the kinds of things she wants to continue. She said she's also planning an open house at the park's Ridge Lake, an Illinois Natural History property that's available for fishing. Plevka said she wants to have the open house sometime next month to include a fishing competition, nature displays and stories for kids. With its location on Illinois Route 130 south of Charleston, Fox Ridge is "slightly farther" than some destinations and people might not think about visiting, she said. "It's trying whatever to get people in the park," Plevka said. "I just want to show people what a great resource it is and all you can do there." Lyons said repairs and other projects at the park are nearly all on hold because of the state's budget problems. Park staff had been working on erosion control on the park's hiking trails system before the money ran out, he said. "That's a never-ending project here with our clay soil," Lyons said. The staff have been able to keep the park's picnic shelters maintained and take care of other things the public uses, he said. Utility companies have been understanding with the park's lack or complete absence of money to pay their bills, he added. "It's trying to keep the place open and functioning," he said, adding that he thinks the park will remain open. Esarey said the foundation tries to spend money on things people can enjoy at the park. Over the years, the group has paid for hiking trail maps, playground equipment, shelters and other facilities. The foundation also provided money for the sign with a fox design at the park's main entrance and "multiple" scout projects, which include the recently installed mile marker signs on the park's trails, he added. The foundation conducts some fundraisers such as its annual pancake breakfast, Esarey also said. Entrance fees and any other money that other events bring in mostly mean the foundation breaks even, but those go more toward the main goal of getting people to visit, he said. Esarey said anyone who's interested in volunteering with the foundation or donating can contact any foundation board member, call the park at 217-345-6416 or send mail to the foundation at PO Box 714, Charleston, 61920. Esarey is the board's treasurer. The other officers are Marcus Ricci, president; Jeff Bennett, vice president; and Charles Wharram, secretary. ARTICLE IN BRIEF DATA ON PREGABALIN USE IN PREGNANCY ARE SCARCE. Investigators reported a significant increase in the risk of major birth defects after first trimester exposure to pregabalin. Pregnant women who took pregabalin in one multicenter, prospective study had infants with a higher rate of major birth defects than a group of matched control subjects not taking an antiepileptic medication, according to a study published in the May 18 online edition of Neurology. Most of the women 96 percent were exposed to pregabalin during their first trimester of pregnancy, and were taking it for relief of pain (73 percent for migraine and neuropathic pain), psychiatric disorders (45.1 percent, with some overlap with pain disorders), and epilepsy (3 percent). While animal studies have suggested reproductive toxicity for pregabalin with skeletal malformations, neural tube defects, and other abnormalities, data on pregabalin use during human pregnancy are scarce, the study authors noted. But based on the current findings, the study authors recommended avoiding any unnecessary exposure of pregabalin during pregnancy. Our findings raise a signal for a significant increase in the risk of major birth defects after first trimester exposure to pregabalin, which will have to be replicated in other studies, said the lead study author Ursula Winterfeld, PhD, a clinical pharmacologist in the department of clinical pharmacology at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois in Lausanne, Switzerland. In the meanwhile, we recommend thoroughly reconsidering the indications to expose potentially childbearing women to this medication. STUDY PROTOCOLS Researchers from eight participating Teratology Information Services in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Finland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Turkey gathered data on maternal characteristics and medication exposure as well as birth outcomes on 164 women who took pregabalin during pregnancy and 656 women who did not take any antiepileptic drug between 2004 and 2014. The median daily pregabalin dose taken by patients was 150 mg. Seventy-seven percent of the patients started pregabalin before pregnancy and discontinued the medication at a median gestational age of six weeks, and 33 percent stopped the medication after the seven-week mark. In the pregabalin group, 22 (13 percent) patients were also treated with another antiepileptic drug. Examining medication exposure during the first trimester of pregnancy separately and excluding chromosomal aberration syndromes, researchers found a significantly higher rate of major birth defects in women taking pregabalin during pregnancy than those in the control group seven out of 116 or 6 percent compared with 12 out of 580 or 2.1 percent; OR 3.0, 95 percent CI (1.2-7.9, p=0.03). DR. URSULA WINTERFELD: Our findings raise a signal for a significant increase in the risk of major birth defects after first trimester exposure to pregabalin, which will have to be replicated in other studies. In the meanwhile, we recommend thoroughly reconsidering the indications to expose potentially childbearing women to this medication. When researchers limited analysis to 19 patients who took pregabalin monotherapy during the first trimester of pregnancy and compared them to the control group, the association with major birth defects remained significant three out of 19 or 15.8 percent compared with 16 of 573 or 2.8 percent; OR 6.5, 95 percent CI 1.7-24.7, p=0.02 but became non-significant after exclusion of chromosomal or genetic anomalies. The birth defects in the pregabalin group included one infant also exposed to another antiepileptic medication who developed with multiple cardiac defects. The study authors noted that in this case, pregabalin exposure occurred beyond the critical period for cardiac birth defects, however. Other major birth defects in the pregabalin-exposed group included four chromosomal and eight structural anomalies distributed in the central nervous system (n=4), skeletal system (n=2), heart (n=2), and skin or vascular system (n=1). When compared to controls, the risk for major birth defects was higher in pregabalin-treated patients who reported smoking during pregnancy (OR 9.5, 95 percent CI 1.9-46.9) than in patients who did not smoke (OR 1.3, 95 percent CI 0.3-6.0). Among other findings, the rate of live births was lower in the pregabalin group, mostly due to a higher rate of both elective and medical pregnancy terminations 71.9 percent versus 85.2 percent, p<0.001), mostly due to a higher rate of both elective (9.8 percent versus 5 percent, p=0.02) and medically-indicated pregnancy terminations (5.5 percent versus 1.8 percent, p=0.008). Pregabalin exposure significantly increased the risk for pregnancy termination (HR 2.81, 95 percent CI 1.60-4.93, p=0.001). The rate of CNS malformations in the pregabalin group was higher than in the control group (3.2 percent compared with 0.5 percent, OR 6.2, 95 percent CI 1.4-28.3, p=0.02). However, given that pregabalin is a centrally acting agent, the possibility that these findings may signal a teratogenic effect in humans needs to be considered, the study authors wrote. Our data are too scarce to establish whether a distinct phenotype might characterize pregabalin-induced CNS changes, and the cerebral ventricle enlargement reported in all four cases can still represent a fortuitous association. The study authors pointed out that in the four cases of malformations (in the pregabalin-exposed group), the infants had also been exposed to additional medications that resulted in more complicated medical conditions, and genetic causes for the malformations have not been formally investigated. For instance, one infant exposed to pregabalin in utero was also exposed to paroxetine and citalopram, and was diagnosed with an atrial septal defect. Study authors acknowledged some limitations of the study design. Among them, they cited the absence of a control group treated for similar conditions, a disease-matched control group, small sample size, and limited data on folate use and on prior pregnancy complications, among other factors. They concluded, however, that pregabalin should only be prescribed in women of childbearing age on a valid indication and after [a] thorough risk-benefit analysis. In patients exposed to pregabalin during pregnancy, enhanced fetal monitoring may be warranted. EXPERTS COMMENT In an accompanying editorial, Page B. Pennell, MD, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and director of research in the division of epilepsy and women's health at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Kimford J. Meador, MD, FAAN, professor of neurology and neurosciences at Stanford University, and clinical director of the Stanford Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, noted that it is not always possible to clearly distinguish the effects of one medication from concomitant medications, maternal disease, or associated behaviors. In an interview with Neurology Today, Dr. Pennell pointed to important differences between the pregabalin-treated and untreated controls, including primary indicated neuropsychiatric diagnoses, other medical conditions, and concurrent medications. For instance, while 45 percent of the women taking pregabalin reported a psychiatric condition, just 18.6 percent of the control group did. The small sample size further limits study inferences, she said. The small sample size further limits study inferences, she noted. However, the study reflects the typical, real-world prescribing pattern for pregabalin, Dr. Pennell said. This is the reality of how this type of medication is prescribed, the diagnoses of the patients to which it's prescribed, disease comorbidity, risk factors that go along with the disease, and what types of concurrent medications these patients are taking. DR. PAGE B. PENNELL: What we can take away from this study is that we need to not only think about birth control and planned pregnancy for our patients, but also when we have patients who present to us pregnant on these medications, we need to have them monitored early by an obstetrician. Dr. Pennell pointed out that such complex factors do not make for easy attribution of direct cause and effect when it comes to pregabalin and major birth defects. What we can take away from this study is that we need to not only think about birth control and planned pregnancy for our patients, but also when we have patients who present to us pregnant on these medications, we need to have them monitored early by an obstetrician, she noted. In cases where there may be a malformation identified early, doctors can work with the pregnant patient to offer therapeutic options, including obtaining a neonatal treatment plan for the fetus-at-risk, Dr. Pennell added. Just as Corey Mohnike embarked on a new career and life, he nearly died. Newly graduated from respiratory therapy school and working at Lincolns Bryan Medical Center, Mohnike was on a solid trajectory. Then on April 9, 2004, it came to a crashing halt. Mohnike was a passenger in a car that veered out of control and slammed into a tree. Not wearing a seatbelt, Mohnike was thrown through the vehicles T-top as it flipped. He landed in the yard of a Bryan co-worker. The driver escaped serious injury. But Mohnike was in bad shape -- ribs on both sides of his body broken, his lungs collapsed and his brain hammered when the bony plate at the base of his skull fractured from ear to ear. His left ear was nearly torn off. Mohnike was raced to Bryans Trauma Center where Dr. Reginald Burton was told the patient was one of ours. Burton didnt recognize the 26-year-old on the gurney before him. But he did recognize the signs of a body near death. Mohnikes brain needed oxygen that his lungs couldnt deliver. Blood leaked to places it shouldnt be. Body enzymes went into panic mode -- putting Mohnike at risk of seizure and brain damage. He was very smooshed, recalled Burton, medical director of the trauma center. He had a bad head, bad lungs -- together it was really really bad. It was nip and tuck for awhile. Today, Mohnike, now 40, is near fully recovered. Still a respiratory therapist at Bryan Medical Center, Mohnike takes a keen interest in trauma patients -- particularly those facing a long road to recovery. He was once one of them. Now, hes a trauma survivor. A title he wears proudly. Bryan Trauma Center opened in 1984, making it the states first verified trauma center. With an average of 1,800 trauma patients a year, the Level II Trauma Center is the busiest in Nebraska. Were great at saving people, Burton said. Our mortality rate is extremely low. More than 97 percent of patients arriving with any sign of life survive. The rate jumps to 99 percent for pediatric trauma patients, Burton said. Survival is the goal. But as many trauma patients and their families will attest, life rarely -- if ever -- goes completely back to the way it was before the crash. Trauma survivors need to connect and rebuild, said Heather Talbott, Bryan trauma outreach and injury prevention coordinator. We do a great job of saving them while they are here, but what happens after? Talbott asked. A study by the American Trauma Society finds than only half of trauma survivors return to work one year after their injury. The physical injury was not always the reason for poor outcome, according to ATS. Anxiety, depression and lack of self confidence and good social support often got in the way of a good recovery. Which is why the Bryan Trauma Center joined the Trauma Survivors Network about 18 months ago. TSN helps patients and their families connect with the available services as well as others weathering similar storms. It empowers and embraces people, pairing trauma patients and their families with peers, and helping them discover that life after trauma, while different, can still be pretty darn good. Mohnike is living proof. Trauma is so different from any other event that lands people in a hospital, Mohnike said. Its completely unexpected. Its usually life-threatening. No one arrives prepared. Family and friends dont know what to do except say it will be OK, which is not true," Burton said. "The majority will not be OK." Trauma, even when it isnt life-ending, is still life-altering. Mohnike was lucky. When he regained consciousness nearly two weeks after the crash, we knew he was in there and rehab-able, Burton said referring to Mohnikes cognitive function. But Mohnike had a long road to recovery. He didn't return to work until months after the accident. For his own peace of mind, he retested in all the competencies required respiratory therapists. I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing, Mohnike said. Everything was fine. Nine years after the accident, Mohnike said he still sometimes struggles to find the right words, and his short term memory is not always reliable, so he keeps lists posted throughout his house. And I have this ringing in my ears whenever the weather changes, Mohnike said. Minuscule problems, he said. It could have been far worse. Today, hes a different man than the one who climbed in that car on that Good Friday in 2004. He came back with a new fire and vim for trauma care, Burton said. He has been on the other side. So when he hears of a trauma victim -- especially one with a traumatic brain injury -- Mohnike makes a point of stopping by the ICU to talk to the family. He tells them, he is a survivor. And there is life after trauma. I feel very sympathetic," said Mohnike, who is also a clinical educator for respiratory therapists. "I am more observant of the whole picture of things. Said Burton, Hes quite a resource for the trauma surgeon. He helps the next guy up. And he helps the patient's families simply by knowing what they are going through and will go through. To continue that support after leaving the hospital is critical to trauma survivors and patients. The connections are lifelong, Mohnike said. Trauma Survivors Network keeps them strong. Tyler is 9 years old, and he can't fathom the transgender bathroom debate raging across the country. "There are lots of other problems in the world," the Maryland third-grader said. "Like world pollution. War. People who are hungry. I think it's mostly stupid to care about where I go to the bathroom." Tyler was born a girl but started insisting he was a boy at age 2. He has used the boys' bathroom at school for years now. If he were to go to North Carolina, he'd be required to use the bathroom matching the sex on his birth certificate or he'd be breaking the law. "But I don't use the girl's bathroom," he explained. I've been writing about Tyler - using his middle name to protect his identity - since he was 5. For transgender kids like Tyler and for their families, the breakneck social progress they've made in the past few years feels like it just hit a brick wall with this bathroom furor. "I was kind of shocked by this," said Tyler's mother, Jean. "I had no idea that in some places, this would be an issue. Now I have to check the laws before we travel." And just when she was about to loosen the grip on her "safe file," the folder of all her son's paperwork, including the doctor's diagnosis of gender dysphoria and the prescription for Tyler's issues: "Let him live like a boy." She carried that file everywhere they went because there was always the fear that some innocent action, such as using a bathroom, could turn into a social services case. Now the safe file won't protect them in some states. Still, the world has become far more accepting of Tyler in the four years since he announced his new gender to his Sunday School class. There have been hundreds of articles, news segments, magazine covers and even television shows about transgender people. The people at the doctor's office don't even blink now when Jean checks Tyler in, and she explains that "he's trans" when the insurance card says he's a girl. He goes to public school now. His parents have stopped worrying about what to tell families at playdates. The monthly support group for transgender children they founded has ballooned to more than 30 families. The bathroom? It's no biggie. Tyler has been using the boys' bathroom and the boys' locker room for years and simply uses a stall, like any shy kid would. Every year, his parents sit him down for The Talk. "Are you sure everything is okay? You're happy? We switched once, we can switch back if you're uncomfortable," they say. Tyler rolls his eyes. "What are you talking about?" he asks them. "I'm a boy." He doesn't even want to talk about being transgender. Can he go play Minecraft now? he demands. "Really, at this point, it's become such a small part of who he is," Jean said. So it's deeply disappointing that where their child pees has become an issue in the presidential election. "I feel like all the talk about bathrooms has made some people downright hateful," Jean said. Those who object to transgender people using the bathroom of their choice frame it as a privacy and safety issue. But Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch sees it differently. Last week she announced that the Justice Department would sue her home state of North Carolina for stigmatizing the transgendered, who are already the frequent targets of hate crimes. "You've been told that this law protects vulnerable populations from harm - but that just is not the case," Lynch said. "Instead, what this law does is inflict further indignity on a population that has already suffered far more than its fair share. This law provides no benefit to society - all it does is harm innocent Americans." Lynch put the issue in perspective, reminding people that "state-sanctioned discrimination never looks good in hindsight." Tyler's family is hoping that those are the words people remember. "I'm sort of glad this debate is happening now, when he's still at home, and I can protect him a little more," Jean said. "And in some ways, it's helped us. Intelligent people who were on the fence about this probably came over to our side because this law seems so ridiculous and hateful." Listen to Tyler, people. There are more important issues this election season than debating which bathroom he should use. On the spectrum of human sexuality, transgender kids are probably the smallest, most vulnerable minority. Its sad to see that they have become ground zero in the nations ongoing culture war. Gov. Pete Ricketts wasted little time jumping into the lead of efforts in Nebraska to shut down the effort to accommodate transgender youth in the nations public schools. Schools should reject this bullying by the Obama administration, Ricketts said, referring to a directive sent to school districts across the country. The letter, signed by a couple of underlings in the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice, says, Schools have a responsibility to provide a safe and nondiscriminatory environment for all students, including transgender students. Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson fired back a letter to federal officials saying that his office would do everything in its power to fight the guidelines. Thats a harsh response for a segment of the population that is so stressed that more than 40 percent at some point in their lives will attempt suicide, according to a study by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Not surprisingly the statistics improve for transgendered individuals who have supportive families and a nondiscriminatory environment. Social conservatives make the mistake of thinking that transgender issues are an outgrowth of a permissive society. Instead of blaming liberals, they ought to blame Mother Nature, or any higher power, for confusing the issue. Its a verifiable fact that a small percentage of babies are born with genitalia that are not clearly male or female about 1 in every 1,500 to 2,000 births, according to the Intersex Society of North America. And thats only one facet of transgender issues. The righteous who thunder that boys should be boys and girls should be girls are ignoring the reality that confronts parents whose children are transgender. A column elsewhere on this page describes one parents fight to protect her child in a cruel world. To be sure, one can have some empathy with a school board member whose prior experience with transgender issue may be limited to hearing about Olympic hero Bruce Jenner transitioning to become Caitlyn. Most school board members signed up for an unpaid job expecting to deal with tax rates and budgets; now theyre confronted with a Dear Colleague letter about sex-segregated restrooms and locker rooms with the threat that federal funds are at stake. However, the opposition from Ricketts and Peterson is not universal in Nebraska. The Lincoln Public School System says the guidelines will pose no problem. Its not an impossible task for schools to offer a supportive and nurturing environment for transgender students. We urge them to get to work on it. I was reading the news on my laptop at a restaurant the other night. The article I was reading at the time was an article about a woman who had been born a boy. It contained a picture of her. A waiter walked behind me. Not knowing what I was reading, he glanced at the picture and said, "Oh my, she's very pretty." I couldn't help but wonder how shocked the waiter would be were he to be using a public restroom and see this beautiful woman walk into that same restroom. That's what would happen if the Nebraska GOP gets its way in establishing a law requiring transgender people to use the bathroom associated with the gender listed on their birth certificates ("Ricketts to schools: Ignore transgender guidance from feds," May 17). Some things simply defy common sense. How would women feel if Chaz Bono, who was Chastity at birth but now is very masculine with a beard and all, walked into the women's room because that's what the law requires? Will we all have to start carrying our birth certificates and show them to an attendant before using the restroom at the mall? C'mon people, we're better than this. Chuck Bentjen, Beatrice This months article features an interview with Clive Jones the winemaker for Nautilus Estate of Marlborough, New Zealand, who was in Lincoln for a visit. TB: Clive, welcome to Nebraska. I hope the 8,300-mile trip from New Zealand was enjoyable. Please tell us the history of Nautilus, where you have been the winemaker since 1998. CJ: Thanks, Tim. It is great to be here my first visit to Nebraska. Nautilus Estate was founded in 1985. Back then there were about 80 wineries in New Zealand. Now there are close to 700, so the wine scene has changed dramatically over that time. We were one of the pioneers of the Marlborough wine industry and have now been making Sauvignon Blanc for over 30 years. We are also one of a few wineries that have remained in the same family ownership for the entire time. TB: Clive, how did you end up at Nautilus and tell us about your training and also your work at Domaine Dujac, the famous Burgundy Estate. CJ: I got the opportunity to work at Nautilus in 1998. It was perfect timing in terms of my career. The move to Marlborough, which is the heart of the New Zealand wine industry, was appealing from both a professional and personal point of view it is a great place to live. As a Pinot Noir producer, a vintage in Burgundy is a real pilgrimage, and I was lucky to spend five weeks at Domaine Dujac in 2004. It was great to absorb all that Old World character, and I got to try some truly wonderful wines. I guess I learned that we were not doing things much differently back at home, but the importance of a vineyard site is paramount in defining a wines character. TB: Many people know New Zealand for Sauvignon Blanc. Please tell us of other varietals that thrive and that you would recommend. CJ: Pinot Noir is very good from several regions in New Zealand. This variety is gaining a great reputation in the wine world and is the second-most planted variety. Pinot Gris is also well established and very popular at home. Chardonnay is probably our best-kept secret, and there are some wonderful complex, yet fresh, examples coming out of New Zealand. Most aromatic whites do well in New Zealand, and we have recently made our first Gruner Veltliner and Albarino, which is exciting. Other reds, such as Syrah and Bordeaux blends, do well in the North Island, but it is considered to be too cool for these varieties to do well in Marlborough. TB: If you were advising our readers on travel in New Zealand, what are some of the must dos that you would recommend? CJ: The scenery is wonderful, and the population is small. A tour around the South Island is a must do. There is a great cafe culture with good coffee everywhere, and there is a vibrant food and wine scene. You are never very far away from the coast, so there is an abundance of fresh seafood. Adventure tourism is strong with hiking, mountain biking, fishing and, of course, bungee jumping. It does take some effort to get there, but it is well worth your while, so do come and visit us! We love showing people around our winery and having them taste our wines. TB: Thanks for visiting the Cornhusker State. I hope to see you in the land of the Kiwi soon! RACINE Heroin has made an indelible change on Rachel Huberty, 26, of Waukesha but it was a decade-long change, starting with recreational use of marijuana when she was 12 and then developing an addiction to opiate pain killers in high school and college. She shunned those around her who switched to heroin, but eventually she turned to heroin herself as a cheaper way to sustain her opiate addiction: using, dealing, and eventually dancing in a strip club. She told her story to about 50 area residents at Park High School, 1901 12th St., Thursday night as part of A Night with Ellsworth. I was now a stripping heroin addict, a far cry from the bilingual nurse I wanted to be, she said, going on to describe how she began shooting up, and would even deliver heroin to her pregnant friend. Her addiction brought her life crashing down around her when two police detectives visited her at work and she was soon charged with first-degree reckless homicide for selling heroin to someone who overdosed and died. The event During the event Thursday, six inmates of the Robert E. Ellsworth Correctional Center a minimum security prison for women located at 21425 Spring St. in Dover told poignant and sometimes gruesome stories of how heroin has devastated their families, friends and lives. The free event was organized by Park High School and Focus on Community as a way to show area residents the havoc that heroin is causing around Wisconsin and the country. One of the key messages from organizers is that heroin addiction often starts with more benign substances like alcohol and marijuana, but then escalates to expensive opiate pain killers and then to the much cheaper heroin. That pattern was evident in the stories told by the six inmates of Ellsworth, most participants of the Earned Release Program, which allows inmates convicted of nonviolent crimes early release if they take part in a substance abuse treatment program aimed at reducing their likelihood of reoffending. The women, all in their 20s, told stories that took innumerable twists and turns leading to heroin, sometimes involving abusive relationships, children, prostitution, abduction, violence and brushes with death, but they all ended with prison. After the six women told their stories, they took questions from the audience and gave advice. In particular, Rhena Rouse, 23, of Tomah who went through several drug-fueled relationships and lost friends to overdoses, advised anyone at risk of taking heroin to find someone to talk to when feeling depressed and not turn down the road to drugs. If youre using drugs, even if its just weed or pills, its not just a little thing before you know it, it will spiral out of control, she said. Just know that drugs are not a cure or a solution; theyre a problem. They dont make you cool or accepted. Do yourself a favor and say no, because just one time could be too many. People who die waiting for a state-issued voter ID are recorded as a "customer-initiated cancellation" by the state Department of Motor Vehicles, a DMV official testified Thursday. On the fourth day of a trial challenging a series of voting changes implemented in Wisconsin since 2011, U.S. District Judge James Peterson heard testimony from a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor and Sun Prairie's city clerk. But lawyers focused on Susan Schilz, a supervisor in the DMV's compliance, audit and fraud unit, who was questioned for several hours. Schilz's unit oversees the ID petition process, or IDPP the system qualified voters use to obtain a free ID from the state. The lawsuit, filed about a year ago, argues the IDPP is ineffective and is failing minority groups in particular. Attorneys challenging the laws say the measures were passed with the intention of disproportionately burdening non-white voters, young voters and poor voters. Lawyers for the state have noted the increased turnout in elections that have occurred since the state's voter ID law was passed in 2011 and emphasized that the DMV provides free IDs to those who need them. Lawyer Josh Kaul called the IDPP "almost cartoonishly unconstitutional" on Monday, noting that the majority of IDPP applications that have been denied have been for non-white applicants. But Assistant Attorney General Clay Kawski said those denials pale in comparison to the number of free IDs that have been issued. According to the state, 420,000 free state ID cards have been issued since July 2011, 127,000 of which were new IDs, while 1,389 IDPP petitions were filed. But 70 percent of the would-be voters who have gone through the IDPP process are non-white, Kaul said. And of 61 denials issued, he said, 81 percent of those who were denied were non-white. Asked about some of those statistics on Thursday, Schilz stressed that neither she nor her employees take note of the race or photos included in the applications they review. "Were investigators, and we try to get to yes, whether its issuing a voter ID or solving a fraud case," Schilz said. "Thats how were wired." Starting in February 2016, the number of denials issued by Schilz's unit hit a sharp uptick. That's because, Schilz said, she learned there were a large number of applications in "suspended" status for more than 180 days the longest they are supposed to be considered suspended. After 180 days, cases are to be forwarded to supervisors to either be revisited or denied. Two black women whose applications sat in "suspended" status for 180 days, both born in Jim Crow-era Mississippi and both longtime Milwaukee residents, died before resolution was reached. An investigator recommended they be listed as "denials" with no letters sent, but DMV administrator Kristina Boardman directed they be listed as "customer-initiated cancellations," Schilz testified. Last week, Gov. Scott Walker approved an emergency rule that would allow people who have a hard time getting a photo ID to vote with a receipt from the DMV. The rule took effect May 13. Under the emergency rule, the DMV will issue receipts to would-be voters who are in the process of obtaining a photo ID but aren't able to provide the necessary documents in time for an election. Voters will be able to cast ballots with those temporary receipts. The receipts are valid for 60 days and can be renewed. The DMV sent 146 of those receipts on May 13, the day the rule was implemented, Schilz said. She said her department "knew ahead of time" it was "something the governor's office was discussing." "We worked collaboratively to make it easier to vote in Wisconsin," said Walker spokesman Tom Evenson in an email when asked about the impetus for the rule and where the process began. Some would-be voters' circumstances are more challenging than others, Schilz said. Conflicting birthdates on legal documents can be difficult to reconcile. And people born in some states, like South Carolina and Mississippi, can face hurdles obtaining records like birth certificates, she said. "Thats the saddest part of this whole process," Schilz said when asked about an applicant who can't reconcile his birthdate. "Because there is a percentage of people who, theyve went this far in their life and theyve never been able to prove their identity. I dont know what the answer is to that." Also on Thursday, a group of 34 Republican lawmakers asked the Legislature's budget committee to consider funding an educational campaign for the state's voter ID requirement. Chris Borgerding, a spokesman for Joint Finance Committee co-chair Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, said the committee currently has no plans for a meeting but could look for a date in the future. The lawsuit challenges not only the voter ID provision, but several other changes to voting practices including restrictions on early voting and the elimination of straight-ticket voting. Plaintiffs include One Wisconsin Institute, Citizen Action of Wisconsin Education Fund and six individuals. Arguments are expected to last nine days. Offering mandatory courses in cultural studies, improving campus housing security and formally addressing the larger community about bias incidents are a few of the ideas put forth for improving the climate on the UW-Madison campus, according to proposals released Thursday by university officials. UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank asked for the university communitys help in March to determine ways to improve the campus climate, and 107 students, staff, faculty and campus groups responded with proposals, some containing multiple ideas. A committee will review the proposals, make recommendations to Blank and begin testing the ideas over the summer and the upcoming academic year. In response to a string of racially charged incidents during the 2015-2016 academic year, the university is already making changes to begin in the fall with mandatory competency training for all new students as well as the hiring of two additional counselors for University Health Services. Several of the proposals called for similar training options for current students in addition to the newly established competency training for incoming students. Yoshiko Herrera, a political science professor, submitted ideas on behalf of her students, including that the university offer a required ethnic course for all new incoming students and transfer students. Herreras students also suggested that there should be an effort to increase diversity among house fellows and the installation of security cameras in dormitory hallways to increase safety measures. Michael Kruse from the Office of Undergraduate Advising echoed the need for learning opportunities in his proposal, suggesting that the university explore the expansion of the ethnic studies requirement into a series of several small, dialogue-based seminar courses focused on institutional racism and white privilege, ethnic minorities in Wisconsin, religious differences, immigration, and gender and sexuality. Rather than implementing new programs, one staff member recommended extending the reach of the emails sent as part of the Hate and Bias response protocol to include the offenders community as well as the victims. Gail Ford, interim assistant director of the universitys Pre-college Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence (PEOPLE), proposes that expanding the email audience is vital since the offenders community is a part of the larger problem. Fords proposal reads, in part, This proposed change would shift the narrative from hate and bias crimes being a problem of the offended community, to being a issue with the majority community...I would like to see reactions to not just the victims but corrective steps for the majority. A proposal under the group name #TheRealUW also was submitted outlining significant changes to the campus community to promote understanding and tolerance. Many suggestions reflect programs already in place at other universities, according to the proposal. #TheRealUWs proposal offered seven main points, including expelling students involved in bias incidents for two years, hiring full-time staff to analyze and change the campus climate, establishing safe spaces for students of ethnic or racial minorities, and lifting the maximum free visitation limit to the universitys mental health services. The breadth of responses we received are a testament to our campus communitys commitment to making UW-Madison a place where everyone feels valued and able to thrive, said Blank in a statement. 17 doctors among 20 get pink slip for playing truant The Ministry of Health has sacked 20 officials, including 17 doctors, for their professional misconduct. 21,856 stray dogs in Capital There are 21,856 stray dogs in the Capital, according to the first census of stray dogs conducted by Kathmandu Metropolitan City with supports from Humane Society International and The Jane Goodall Institute. 4-day Kantipur Hissan Edu-fair kicks off The four-day Kantipur Hissan Edu-fair 2016, jointly organised by the Kantipur Media Group (KMG) and the Higher Secondary Schools Association Nepal (Hissan) kicked off at the Exhibition Hall in Bhrikutimandap on Thursday. Arbaaz Khan declines question on Salman's marriage Actor-producer Arbaaz Khan on Thursday declined to confirm or deny if his brother and superstar Salman Khan is set to tie the knot soon. Bottled drinking water: Shrink wrapping made mandatory The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) has said that bottled drinking water must be shrink wrapped in plastic from mid-June, one month later than previously announced. Alisha Sijapati is an arts and culture reporter at The Kathmandu Post, primarily covering human interest stories. She is intrigued by history, culture and films. Before joining the Post in 2015, she worked as a journalist for The Himalayan Times and ECS Media. Death toll in Lamjung mishap increases to 11 The death toll in the bus accident that occurred on Thursday evening has reached 11. A bus (Na Chha Kha 4136) en route to Jeetakot from Damauli plunged some 300 metres down off the road in Madhyanepal municipality-5, Tamakhani. Development achievements In this bicentenary year, the exhibition Hatemalo helps us celebrate the things Nepal and UK have achieved together EgyptAir flight: Search intensifies for missing plane A massive search is continuing for a second day for an EgyptAir plane that disappeared over the Mediterranean. Govt invites agitating parties for talks Government has called on the agitating political parties to come for dialogue. An aerial photo taken on Sept. 25, 2015 from a seaplane of Hainan Maritime Safety Administration shows cruise vessel Haixun 1103 heading to the Yacheng 13-1 drilling rig during a patrol in south China Sea. [Photo/Xinhua] In a recent clarification to domestic and foreign media on its stance on the case submitted by the Philippines to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on its territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea, China's Foreign Ministry emphasized that the court has no power of jurisdiction over what is fundamentally a sovereignty case and its ruling has no legal force. China News Weekly and National Interest recently published a co-signed article by Fu Ying, a senior official in China's top legislature, and Wu Shicun, an expert on South China Sea studies, which pointed out the various provocative moves made by the United States under the pretext of stopping "China's expansion" have only spurred China's stronger determination to safeguard its national interests. While the US with its ingrained "exceptionalism" defies the constraints of international rules, it demands other countries accept these rules. China will naturally not accept such a double standard. Under the universally recognized "sovereignty exclusion" principle, China has the right to refuse the Hague court's arbitration. As a matter of fact, no country in Southeast Asia has sought international arbitration for the settlement of its maritime disputes with regional countries. The Philippines has elaborately disguised its territorial dispute with China as a dispute on maritime rights and entitlements under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in an attempt to bypass the "sovereignty issue". Despite the ray of hope offered by a change of Philippine president, whether or not Rodrigo Duterte will be able to extricate his country from the influence of the US when he takes office remains to be seen. Particularly, how to tackle the South China Sea dispute from a Philippine perspective rather than from the perspective of coordinating with the US' "rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific" strategy will put the political wisdom and capability of the new Philippine leader to the test. --Overseas edition of People's Daily Hillary Clinton says race against Bernie Sanders is 'done' US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has said her primary race against Bernie Sanders is effectively over. I was raised to make a difference: Kanye West Rapper Kanye West says that he was raised to do something bigger in life, to "make a difference". Kaskelis solo art exhibition Artist Baburam Kaskeli Bastakotis first solo exhibition kicked off at the Nepal Art Council premises in the Capital this week. The exhibition, titled My Creative Epoch, was inaugurated by the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Anand Pokharel. Speaking at the opening, the Minister lauded the Kaski-based artists novel approach to art and highlighted the important role artists play in a society. Lakhpa Sherpa breaks own record to climb Everest a seventh time Lhakpa Sherpa has broken her own record for the most summits of the worlds highest mountain by a woman scaling Mount Everest for a record seventh time. Lumbini gears up for Buddha's birth anniversary (with photos) Lumbini is preparing to celebrate the 2,560th birth anniversary of Buddha by organising various programmes. Modi needs to introspect on Nepal policy: Ex-envoy Sood New Delhi should introspect its relations with Nepal if the Indian prime minister wants to make his neighbourhood first policy a success, a former Indian diplomat said on Thursday. Naya Shakti to hold party foundation gathering from June 12 to 14 The Naya Shakti Nepal is scheduled to hold a national gathering for the party foundation in Kathmandu from June 12 to 14. Nepal is 85th most food insecure country Nepal is 85th most food insecure country in the world though 65.5% of its population is dependent on agriculture, according to the global food security index 2015. No laughing matter Some of Prime Minister Olis ideas may seem far-fetched now but they might come to fruition in the future Prioritise our livelihood issues: Conflict victims Conflict victims have demanded that the transitional justice process prioritise the issues of livelihood of conflict survivors, instead of solely focusing the debate on legal provisions for settlement. Rights closure Political parties need to face their fears and let the transitional justice process go ahead SSB encroaches upon Nepals land in Bardiya Indian Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) has reportedly restricted some villagers of bordering Kharipur VDC-6 in Bardiya district from growing crops on their own land. Taiwan's Tsai Ing-wen sworn in as first female president Tsai Ing-wen has been sworn in as the new president of Taiwan, the island's first female leader. Thousands of child labourers in brick kilns Thousands of child labourers are being used in numerous brick kilns scattered across the district. UK advises its citizen to abstain from political involvement in Nepal The British government has advised its citizens to not participate in political activities in Nepal. Visitors held for politics might face 10-year ban The Department of Immigration (DoI) has said it will strictly implement the laws that bar foreigners on tourist visa from taking part in political activities. Yes, its hard to to tell when one enters the city limits Yes, they will make the city more inviting Maybe ... does it really matter? No, the signs in place are fine No, it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars Vote View Results The Commercial Court has temporality blocked Uganda Revenue Authority from taxing MPs allowances. Justice Christopher Madrama has ruled that the stay is to give chance to Parliamentary Commission to exercise its right of appeal against the judgment of Justice Henry Peter Adonyo delivered on 29th,January,2016. The judge also said the Court of Appeal should be given chance to review the Parliamentary Commissions grievances before the High Courts decision is implemented. Early this week the Commissions lawyer Citina Cherotich argued that if court did not stop URA from collecting this money, it would suffer serious loss and would not be able to cater for the welfare of the MPs. Cherotich submitted that if the MPs pay the taxes now and they win the appeal, URA may not refund their monies, fears which the tax body allayed. Tobacco Farmers have been urged to look for alternative means of livelihood following the coming into force of the tough new law on smoking and tobacco sales. Dr.Shilah Ndyanabangi the National Tobacco Control Focal Person at the ministry of health says the new law that came into effect yesterday will now make it very hard for tobacco farmers to survive. Ndyanabangi says the ministry of health is more than ready to support the farmers through sensitization. According to the new law people lighting up in bars, restaurants or hotels now face a $60 dollar fine or a two-month jail term. Smokers are also required to be at least 50 metres away from public spaces, such as schools, hospitals and taxi ranks. The new law also bans the sale of electronic cigarettes and flavoured tobacco for water pipes which have become popular in Kampalas clubs. Tobacco advertising, promotions, sponsorship and sale of single sticks has all been outlawed. Story By Dianah Wanyana Moroto regional referral hospital in Karamoja sub region has stopped carrying out postmortems due to lack of space in the hospital mortuary. The Moroto Hospital Director Dr. Filbert Nyeko tells KFM that the hospital mortuary is full of unclaimed bodies that the Moroto Municipal Council has failed to bury. He says over 15 bodies are piled inside the small spacesome of which have been kept for more than three months. Patients have shunned the facility complaining of the foul smell from the corpses. Meanwhile, Alex Lumu the mayor of Moroto Municipality has instead blamed the hospital management for not reporting unclaimed bodies to the municipal authorities. He has promised to address the situation as soon as possible. The Uganda Christian University has expelled 2 students for alleged involvement in a strike in April this year. Last month, the students staged a demonstration in protest against the 15 percent tuition increment. Three other 3 students have been suspended while have been reprimanded. The UCU public relations officer Ganzi Insharaza says the decision is meant to bar the rest of the students from engaging in protests in future. Isharaza says a comprehensive report with final recommendations on the matter is to be produced on Monday next week. U.S. Army infantry platoons will soon have the 84mm Carl Gustaf recoil-less rifle, a devastating anti-armor system, as a permanently assigned weapon. Service officials completed a so-called conditional materiel release authorization late last year, making the M3 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System an organic weapon system within each infantry platoon, IHS Jane's 360 recently reported. The service is also working on an effort to achieve Full Material Release of the M3 later this year. Army light infantry units began using the M3 in Afghanistan in 2011, but only when commanders submitted operational needs statements for the weapon. Read the rest of the story at Military.com. South Korea on Friday called on North Korea to end its nuclear and missile programs as Seoul marked the 100th day since shutting down the joint industrial complex in the communist country. Seoul shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North's border city of the same name on Feb. 10 in response to Pyongyang's January nuclear test and long-range rocket launch in February. The decision came amid concerns that money generated from the factory zone is bankrolling the North's nuclear and missile programs. Seoul's unification ministry said that the closure of the complex reflects the government's resolute decision to take into account national security. "We urge North Korea to suspend its nuclear and missile provocations and show its sincere commitment toward denuclearization," Jeong Joon-hee, a ministry spokesman, told a regular press briefing. ANGOLA Steuben County Commissioners and Steuben County Council members are meeting in a joint session on Monday in an effort to work out pressing issues facing Steuben County government. The meeting will be held in the commissioners room in the Steuben Community Center, 317 S. Wayne St., at 9 a.m. Tops on the agenda, not only numerically but perhaps in terms of divisiveness, is the proposed sale of the McCutchan Administrative Center to the Metropolitan School District of Steuben County. On May 10 the County Council voted to table action on the proposal, which had been in the works between Commissioners and MSD administration for more than a year. The sale had been approved by the commissioners months prior. Since that meeting, some members of the council have gone on tours of the administrative center to get a feel for its maintenance needs. The administrative center is part of the Community Center complex, which is the former Angola High School. Students moved from the old facility to the new school in April 1990. After the MSD administrative center was built and opened in 1992, basically adding two stories atop the former high school cafeteria what is now the Community Centers multipurpose room school administration sold the addition to Steuben County for $1. Commissioners have been working on the sale of the tower, as its called, for nearly 18 months. The topic has been brought up in many meetings of the commissioners as well as the MSD school board. That all came to a standstill when council members voted to table sale of the administrative center to MSD until further study of the countys needs for court facilities. Those two floors could be nicely utilized for courtrooms, Rick Shipe, president of the council, said in the May 10 meeting. The needs of the courts will also be a topic in Mondays meeting. Commissioners President Ron Smith maintains the MSD center has become a maintenance issue and school officials felt they would be in a better position to take care of the facility. Even if the county were to decide to take over that portion of the building, MSD has the property leased through 2021 with an option for another 10 years. There are numerous repairs that need to be done to the building and the parking lots. I proposed transferring ownership back to MSD as a way to save the county the cost of the repairs while allowing MSD to make the much needed repairs. The repairs will far exceed the rental income for many years to come, MSD Superintendent Brent Wilson said in an email to The Herald Republican on May 9. MSD pays the county $2,950 a month in rent. The Steuben County Courthouse Study Committee has been looking at alternatives to find more space for the cramped courthouse that has many Americans with Disabilities Act deficiencies. Until this month, it has not considered the MSD Tower in its work. Also scheduled to be discussed in the meeting is the event center at the Steuben County Park as well as the proposed show arena for the Steuben County 4-H Fairgrounds. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by increasing clouds with showers developing this afternoon. High 72F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight A steady rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 53F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. ALBION A North Manchester man charged with burglary with a deadly weapon and armed robbery has been returned to the Noble County Jail to stand trial eight months after being declared incompetent. Marty Jay Robbins, 46, was committed to Logansport State Hospital for mental health treatment after being declared incompetent to stand trial in Noble Superior Court 1 in late September. Logansport State Hospital cleared Robbins on May 12, and he was booked back into the Noble County Jail Wednesday. Robbins is facing multiple felony charges for an alleged May 2015 crime spree that sprawled across three counties. Police said Robbins and his wife stole two vehicles at gunpoint, including charging into a southern Noble County house, pointing a handgun at the owner and demanding keys to the sport utility vehicle outside. The resident in the 600 block of East C.R. 600S told officers he was afraid he was going to be shot during the May 26, 2015, break-in. Robbins is facing a Level 2 felony charge of burglary; a Level 3 felony charge of armed robbery; a Level 5 felony conversion charge; and a Level 6 felony auto theft charge. He could face between 10 and 30 years in prison for the most serious burglary charge. The alleged crime spree started in Kosciusko County, where Robbins and his wife reportedly stole a vehicle at gunpoint. The couple drove the vehicle to southern Noble County, according to a Noble County Sheriffs Department report. About 6:45 p.m. May 26, they allegedly entered the house on C.R. 600S and demanded the homeowners keys. They stole a 2007 Subaru Forester, leaving behind a black Ford F-150 pickup they had stolen earlier in the day, according to the report. While speaking with the homeowner, police were informed that authorities in Whitley County had located the stolen Subaru and were following the couple. The Robbinses reportedly crashed the vehicle and were injured, and police recovered a handgun from the crash site. Police arrested his wife, Dawn Robbins, at the time of the incident, but a charge against her of aiding in a robbery was dismissed and she was given a pretrial diversion for a count of theft in July 2015. She was released own her own recognizance. Marty Robbins reportedly said at the time of his arrest he had forced his wife to commit the crimes with him. On Monday, his attorney filed a motion requesting a psychiatric evaluation to determine his state of mind at the time of the alleged offenses. Judge Robert Kirsch appointed two doctors to conduct evaluations of Robbins on Wednesday and June 22. A new pretrial hearing date hasnt yet been set in his case. La Crescent: La Crescents Memorial Day schedule starts at 8:30 a.m. Monday, May 30, with cemetery services. A Memorial Day parade starts at 11:30 a.m. on Walnut Street, lining up in front of Heth Hardware by 11:25 a.m. Marching units include the American Legion Color Guard, the La Crescent Fire Department, Gold Star mother, the Auxiliary Poppy Queen, the La Crescent High School Band, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, all marching to Veterans Park for an 11:45 a.m. program. A chicken que dinner will follow at the Legion. La Crescent American Legion Post 595 will hold short memorial services conducted by its color guard and firing squad at the following cemeteries: Dresbach, 8:30 a.m.; Dakota Catholic 8:45 a.m.; Dakota public 8:55 a.m.; Hiller at Nodine 9:15 a.m.; Nodine Lutheran 9:25 a.m.; Toledo Cemetery 9:45 a.m.; Prince of Peace Cemetery 10 a.m.; Pine Creek Catholic Cemetery 10:30 a.m.; Crucifixion Cemetery 10:25 a.m.; South Ridge Lutheran 10:40 a.m.; South Ridge Methodist 10:50 a.m.; and Prospect Hill Cemetery 11:05 a.m. Hokah: The day begins at 8:30 a.m. when members of Hokah American Legion Post 498 lay a wreath in the Root River to honor those lost at sea. A Memorial Day parade begins at 9 a.m. starting at city hall. The parade proceeds to Veterans Park, where a Memorial Day address will be given. Several patriotic musical selections will be presented by the band. The program continues with graveside services at Mount Hope and Mount Calvary cemeteries. A picnic will be served following the program. Brownsville: A memorial service will take place at Veterans Cemetery by the VFW Post and Auxiliary at 10 a.m. followed by a program at the Brownsville Community Center at 10:45 a.m. At 11:30 a.m. there will be a march to the river for a service at 11:45 a.m., followed by a noon potluck dinner at the community center. In case of inclement weather, the cemetery service and march to the river will be canceled. However, the community center service and dinner will be held as scheduled. Houston: A memorial service will take place at 10 a.m. in Houston City Park, sponsored by American Legion Post 423. In case of rain, the service will be at Houston High School. ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) A couple years ago, Riverside Elementary School added a school-wide breakfast program. Now about 75 percent of students eat breakfast in their classrooms each morning. "If they're hungry at 9 a.m., they're not going to stop worrying about it throughout the day," said Riverside Principal Jacque Peterson. Collecting data on students has revealed patterns like this sometimes they act out at certain times of day because they're hungry and can't focus. The idea behind providing breakfast is to meet students' basic needs so they can focus on learning. Peterson said since the program began, they've seen fewer discipline issues, especially in the morning. Districtwide, the breakfast program has expanded to 12 schools, Superintendent Michael Munoz said at the May 3 school board meeting. While discipline problems have always existed in schools, district officials are looking for answers in a new way through collecting data. Many think this type of data tracking will provide answers and allow educators to start identifying and addressing the root problem for students who have behavioral issues. According to a Minnesota Department of Education report, Black and American Indian students were disproportionately disciplined in the state's public schools. Black students make up 12 percent of the population, but are involved in 38 percent of disciplinary actions taken that's about three times their population. American Indian students are overrepresented by four times their population. They make up 2 percent of the population, but account for 8 percent of disciplinary actions. Emphasis on data It's this trend that is apparent statewide, and in Rochester, that caused RPS to hire Principal Afolabi Runsewe following the OCR agreement. Runsewe oversees PBIS efforts and tracks and reviews student discipline with each of the district's schools. At weekly meetings district leaders discuss trends in behavior, where those behaviors occur, like the physical rooms and spaces and what behaviors look like in different locations, especially for categories that are considered subjective. For example, what does defiance look like does it happen in the classroom? Does it happen in the hallways? Districts are required to track and report data through the Minnesota Department of Education, through a system called disciplinary incident reporting system, or DIRS. The district reports the behavior, the action taken by the district and demographic information of the student. "We are in a new era of looking towards the data to improve our systems, specifically our public education systems," said Josh Crosson, an advocacy manager with MinnCAN, a state education advocacy group. Data review groups meet weekly at all of Rochester's public schools to talk about specific students, but also to address overall issues like discipline disparities. This is a major component of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, and a growing trend statewide. The hope is that the data will lead to answers answers that show in what types of classes and environments students are misbehaving, or what times of day they're having problems. "The best way is to look at the data and see where resources are required," Crosson said. More reporting? Statewide, groups like MinnCAN advocated for bills that would require an increase in data collection this legislative session, on the specifics of day-to-day student behavior, but also on suspensions, expulsions and other classroom removals. While many districts collect and report this information back to the state now, MinnCAN hopes the data will be further broken down to have schools report things like foster care status and whether or not a student is homeless. In Rochester, 30-year-veteran teacher Kelly Wright-Glynn said the data collection process allows teachers to look at the bigger picture, at factors they might not have previously considered, and for trends like the types of environments students struggle in. "School districts have data coming out of their ears, but they need to understand what kind of information the data will tell you," Gibbons said. Factors examined could be, for example, classrooms with male teachers or in classes that are less hands on. Eric Kloos, a statewide PBIS coordinator who works with the Minnesota Department of Education, said collecting data reveals patterns to educators at certain times of day, or in certain environments and recognizing those has transformed how people think about discipline. "You have the tools and processes to get deep into the conversation," Kloos said. "PBIS really gives the system and tools to help find (problems) earlier and really orient people's attention to problem-solving around that" The last five years, there's been a decrease statewide in the total number of days for out-of-school suspensions. Expulsions also decreased, marginally. With the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act a federal education bill that replaced No Child Left Behind federal regulations shifted slightly in what will be required of districts. Currently districts only need to report in-school suspensions for special education students, and that will extend to all students. It will also require the foster care, military family and homelessness status to be reported. Currently, the state is required to track disciplinary actions by districts, like out-of-school suspensions that last more than one day, as well as incidents involving dangerous weapons. Next year, districts around the state will be required to report in-school suspensions as well, under new federal rules. Another issue, highlighted earlier this year in a report released by MinnCAN, is that school districts don't further break down race/ethnicity data. For example, the category "Black" would include an African-American student and a student that's a Somali immigrant. State organizations say breaking that down further and reviewing data could provide more answers overall and for teachers. More than data points All this data is great, but it doesn't always tell the whole story. Many districts struggle to wade through it. Often districts don't have the capacity to use the data yet, whether it be academic or behavioral data, said Kim Gibbons, associate director with the University of Minnesota's Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement. "Despite substantial motivations and efforts to use data, most districts lack the capacity to meet their own needs for data-based decision-making, in part due to a lack of qualified personnel," concluded a 2016 CAREI needs assessment. Gibbons said while the report focuses primarily on collecting data for academic achievement purposes, Gibbons said that the concepts extend to disciplinary actions as well. Gibbons said there is a huge need for data literacy, and districts need to understand how the types of data they're collecting can answer their questions and present solutions. Many said their capacity to use that data was poor, and districts need to work on that. It's also sometimes difficult to capture social-emotional behavior issues. "If you're just relying on behavioral data that is infractions that annoy teachers not following directions, annoying teachers that'll capture one group of kids, but there's a lot more attention given lately to school-based mental health," Gibbons. But despite shortcomings, education leaders say it's time to shift how we look at discipline, and data is the place to start. "I think as a nation, we're starting to see data as a need to create a solution," Crosson said. "We're all coming together to change the narrative on school discipline." Thursday night, Ana Gonzalez celebrated finishing an educational journey that was cut short more than 20 years ago. The 37-year-old mother of three was the speaker at Western Technical Colleges Goal Oriented Learning Program graduation ceremony celebrating the achievements of more than 250 students. Gonzalez graduated from the program after earning her GED and taking English language learner courses nearly 25 years after she was pulled out of school in her native Mexico after the sixth grade. Gonzalez is originally from Jalisco, Mexico, where her grandfather on her fathers side ruled the family. At that time, it was common for women to be pulled out of school early, and her grandfather demanded she stop going to school, as a womans place was in the home, raising a family. Gonzalez said that made her very sad and angry, as she wanted to continue going to school, but her grandfathers word was the law. So she stayed at home helping her mother before getting a job at a pharmacy when she was 17. Gonzalez, her husband, Elias, and their oldest son, Gerardo, came to Wisconsin 16 years ago when Ana was in her early 20s. It was hard to find good work in Mexico, she said, and so the family moved to Spencer, Wis., to pursue better opportunities. They lived in that town for seven years, taking English courses, as no one in the family spoke the language. Ana worked on a farm the first five years in Spencer, then at a restaurant, before the family moved to Whitehall. There Ana and Elias worked at Ashley Furniture Industries until Ana quit her job two years ago to pursue her GED. By now she had three kids, two sons and a daughter, Marisol, and she said she decided to go back to school for them. I want to be an example for my children, she said. I want to continue my education. It had been more than 20 years since she dropped out of school, and Ana said several of the subjects tested to earn a GED were really tough, such as mathematics and social studies. She had to learn lots of things over again, such as fractions, and she struggled to master a whole host of new concepts including algebra and the entire U.S. social studies curriculum. Westerns GOAL program really helped, as did the support of her family. Elias looked after their youngest son, William, during the mornings when Ana went to the colleges Independence campus to study and work on her English, usually having lunch cooked for her when she got home. Now that she has her GED, Ana said, she wants to continue her education, probably at Western. She said she is interested in pursuing a career in education or health care, maybe as a teachers aide or a phlebotomist. She said her experiences have made her really value education. In two years, Ana has gone from a sixth-grade level to a high school level in mathematics, science, social studies and English language arts. Instructors Jane Bautch and Nancy Anderson said her hard work and determination are an inspiration, and two of the reasons she was chosen to speak at the graduation. She is a great example of an adult learner, Anderson said. She took responsibility for her own learning. Ana said her graduation speech focused on her life story. She said she wants to be an inspiration to other students, and that if I can do it, anybody can do it. There was also a special guest at the graduation ceremony, held at the Lunda Center on Westerns La Crosse campus. Abelina Vazquez, Anas mom, hadnt seen her daughter in person in more than 16 years, and she recently continued her own education, receiving her junior high certification. I am very happy and proud of my daughter, Vazquez said through a translator. I am proud of everything she has done. She is leading an exemplary life. A judge has determined state wildlife officials followed state law in issuing permits for BNSF Railway to build a second track through the La Crosse River marsh. A group of area residents last year challenged the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources decision and asked the court to block the railroads wetland permits and to require the DNR to complete a more thorough environmental review of the project, which was completed in September. In a decision issued Wednesday, La Crosse Circuit Judge Scott Horne found the agency adequately considered the environmental impact as required by state law. A petition filed by Midwest Environmental Advocates on behalf of the local rail safety advocates argued the agency did not take into account the environmental and public safety risks associated with the derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials, the disturbance to neighbors from increased train traffic and the incremental impact of continuing to fill in the marsh, which has been reduced over the years to about half its original size. The DNR did not conduct a full Environmental Impact Statement, saying its two-month review of BNSFs application covered most of the same ground. But Sarah Williams, staff attorney for Midwest Environmental Advocates, argued that does not comply with the Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act. The plaintiffs also contend that the agency rule under which it reviewed the application is in violation of the law. Horne disagreed on both counts. The Petitioners see (the rule) as providing the DNR with a mechanism for skirting WEPAs detailed statement requirement, Horne wrote, whereas the court takes NR 150 at its face value as a framework for the DNR to determine whether its actions are in compliance with WEPA and requiring the DNR to create an EIS when dictated by WEPA. Horne ruled that the agencys decision not to prepare an EIS was made in good faith but did not question the analysis itself, noting the court must defer to the technical expertise of the DNR. MEA staff attorney Sarah Geers said the decision the first court review of the DNRs new rules sets a bad precedent for the review of future projects. This allows the DNR to go forward with its rules for implementing WEPA, which we think represent a large step back in the level of detail DNR has to include in its environmental analyses, Geers said. Basically the DNR just says our permitting programs are enough. Geers said the plaintiffs have not decided whether to appeal Hornes ruling. BNSFs La Crosse project was one of more than a dozen upgrades the railroad scheduled last year for its route along the Mississippi River between the Twin Cities and the Illinois border. The railroad said the marsh upgrade would ease delays at each end of what is the areas only section of single track. Opponents contended it would lead to increased train traffic, particularly the number of trains carrying highly explosive crude oil from North Dakota. Horne conceded there are valid concerns about the environmental impact of increased traffic and a potential oil train derailment. But these are issues of rail regulation that are outside the purview of the DNR, he wrote. The DNR does not have the authority to deny BNSFs permit on the basis of these concerns. Crude oil rail shipping took off in the last decade as new drilling techniques released previously hard-to-reach oil reserves in North Dakota. At its peak, BNSF was running 29 to 39 fully-loaded oil trains through La Crosse every week. But crude shipments from the region including North Dakota to refineries in the Midwest, East and Gulf coasts plunged by 45 percent between December 2013 and December 2015, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Lead plaintiff Maureen Freedland said in spite of the reduction, she remains concerned about the estimated 350,000 barrels of oil that move each day through the Midwest. In addition to crude oil weve got pesticides, insecticides, ethanol and other hazardous materials including acids, she said. Freedland said she was disappointed that Horne took a narrow view of his role and that the DNR has not been more aggressive in environmental protection role. Were disappointed that the DNR keeps lowering its bar for analyzing permits, and that their review process is not as thorough as it ought to be, she said. It keeps straying away from its mission to protect our resources. The robust economy and area construction boom have a downside. The countys landfill is filling up faster than expected. The good news is the greater-than-anticipated flow of waste also has meant more money coming into the La Crosse County Solid Waste Departments account, and the department has the funding on hand to start construction on a new cell a year early. At its monthly meeting Thursday, the La Crosse County Board voted unanimously to let the department spend a little more than $1 million to move up work on the new cell as well as accelerating work on a new entrance road, scale and scale house at the landfill. The work was in the solid waste departments budget for next year, but the county board needed to sign off on moving that spending into this year. Hank Koch, the countys solid waste director, said in an interview earlier this week that its important that work begin early on the landfill project, but, he added, its not like its a crisis. At this point, Koch said, the landfill cell now in use has a window of usefulness of about 18 months, if there are no extraordinary circumstances. We want to keep that window open to us. What if we had a major tornado in our area? What if we had a major flood? Koch said. We want to try to keep enough capacity so that if we had a catastrophe like that we could absorb it in the landfill. The new cell will require more work and about $500,000 more than originally expected. Results of a geological study released earlier this year revealed that there was more bedrock on the site of the new cell. But Koch noted the extra expense of removing the bedrock will extend the life of that cell by about five years, during which the county would bring in an additional $2 million in tipping fees. The new cell will be the fourth out of five new cells approved by the state Department of Natural Resources in 2005. Previous cells were built in 2007, 2009 and 2014. The previous plan was to build the final two cells in 2017 and 2018, but the increased flow of waste last year, particularly demolition debris from construction sites, prompted Koch to move things up a year. Part of the reason its a great idea to open a new cell before the old one is full, Koch noted, is it will cut down on wind-blown litter issues. If the landfill has a lower cell to use in the summer months, he explained, there will be less litter to deal with. Building the two cells close together will help a lot, according to Koch. With the final two cells built, Koch estimated the county will have about 23 years of use left. Like the fourth and fifth landfill cells, a new entrance road has been in the long-term plans for a while. The existing entrance is on a curve on Berlin Drive, and the scale is so close to the road that theres not room to accommodate more than a few trucks in line before they are backed up onto Berlin Drive. Weve always had this safety issue, and for years weve talked about a new entrance, Koch said. This is prudent to have a new entrance and make it safe. Koch said the plan originally was to phase the construction of the new entrance road, scale and scale house over four years. But work on a new frontage road by the city of La Crosse means the landfill entrance project timeline will be cut in half, with completion of the $1.4 million project expected by fall 2017. The solid waste department has the money to cover the unbudgeted costs without borrowing or tapping the county coffers for help. Koch said the department, which is a self-sustaining entity, has about $4.3 million in the undesignated fund balance, $1.3 million above the minimum fund balance recommended by the countys finance department. New attorney The county board also unanimously approved the hiring of a fourth attorney for the corporation counsel office, the first expansion of the office since 1997. The office has long been in need of help, but the decision to add the new position mid-year is related to the planned year-end retirement of Dave Lange, who has headed the corporation counsel office since 2012. I dont know how theyve gotten by without it until now, board member Sharon Hampson said of the fourth attorney. The new position offers about $91,000 in annual salary and benefits. The new attorney will work on child support-related cases, and about half the cost of the new position will be covered by increased federal funding for handling those cases. MADISON Wisconsin's elected officials don't have the right to sue to block the release of public records pertaining to them, the state Supreme Court affirmed Friday in a ruling open government advocates hailed as a victory. The case stems from a dispute between Vilas County District Attorney Albert Moustakis and the state Department of Justice. The Lakeland Times newspaper asked the DOJ in 2013 for records tied to an agency investigation into complaints about Moustakis' conduct. Court filings don't detail the allegations, although Moustakis has said they were leveled by a political rival and didn't involve on-duty misconduct. The DOJ has noted in court filings the investigation found the complaints were unsubstantiated, but Moustakis still filed a lawsuit in 2014 seeking to block disclosure. Wisconsin's open records law allows public employees to sue to block disclosure of records pertaining to disciplinary proceedings, records obtained through search warrants or subpoenas and records prepared by employers who aren't government agencies. The DOJ argued that the law clearly doesn't extend the right to sue to elected officials such as Moustakis. Both a Lincoln County judge and a state appellate court agreed. Moustakis argued that he's a state employee and is therefore allowed to sue. The court disagreed and sided with the lower courts, saying Moustakis' argument creates confusion and doesn't fit with any reasonable reading of the open records law. Moustakis' attorney, Ben Krautkramer, said he hadn't read the decision and had no immediate comment. A DOJ spokesman said only that the agency was reviewing the ruling. Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, praised the ruling. He said the court recognized that the open records law clearly doesn't allow elected officials to sue to block disclosure. "District Attorney Moustakis wasted a great deal of time and taxpayer dollars fighting to keep the public from obtaining records to which it is clearly entitled," Lueders said in an email to The Associated Press. Moustakis has amended his original lawsuit to add arguments that the DOJ didn't properly apply the so-called balancing test a test of whether releasing records would hurt the public interest and allowing public employees to sue but not elected officials amounts to a violation of constitutional equal protection guarantees. The Supreme Court did not address those arguments, allowing Moustakis to continue to pursue them in Lincoln County Circuit Court. SPARTA A New Lisbon man fatally shot a man during a robbery Tuesday in Sparta, according to court records. Turner Wood, a 22-year-old convicted felon on probation, is jailed on a $1 million bond and faces a charge of first-degree intentional homicide in the death of 27-year-old Adam Garcia of Sparta when he returns to Monroe County Circuit Court on June 8. Jailed on a $500,000 cash bond is co-defendant, 22-year-old Matthew Rasmussen, who faces homicide and armed robbery charges on the same date. Wood, whose alias is Bam Bam, and Rasmussen entered 508 N. Water St. about 7:30 a.m. wearing masks before Wood shot Garcia twice in front of at least two other people, according to court records. The men also ordered a woman to leave the house with them. Officers found Garcia shot in the chest. He died at a hospital. Wood was arrested Tuesday in New Lisbon and Rasmussen on Wednesday in Tomah, police said. Rasmussen told authorities that he left his house with Wood to go make some money, court records state. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow could be leaving the school for a new job in South Dakota. In an email he sent Friday morning, Gow said he had been invited by Northern State University in Aberdeen to explore the possibility of becoming that institutions next president. He is one of three candidates who will visit the campus next week for a series of public meetings with the campus community and the South Dakota Board of Regents. The other two finalists for the position are Don Capener, the dean of Davis College of Business at Jacksonville University in Florida, and Timothy Downs, provost and chief academic officer at Niagara University in New York. Gow, 55, said he wanted to see whether he could do at Northern State what he has done at UW-L during the past decade. While he said he was intrigued by the high-quality of Northern State, he also said he had to make sure the position would be a good fit for him as well as those he would be serving. Northern State serves about 3,500 students, including 450 graduate and 200 international students on its 75-acre campus in Aberdeen, a city of 27,000 on the South Dakota plains. Gow was named chancellor of UW-L in 2007 and before that he served as both the interim president and provost of Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln and was the dean of the college of liberal arts at Winona State University. Gow said he was one of several being interviewed for the position and that it would take a lot to pull himself away from UW-L. Northern State is closer to where Gows wife, Carmen Wilson, works as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Dickinson State University in North Dakota. Regardless of what happens in the next few weeks, though, Im deeply grateful for all that I have here at UW-L and all the more aware of just how incredibly fortunate I am to be the chancellor of such an extraordinary university, Gow said in his email. He is the senior chancellor serving in the UW System. Gow was also a finalist for president of State University of New York at New Paltz in 2011, but he withdrew from consideration. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will reopen its search for a director of international education and engagement. The committee was formed last year but was suspended twice, first during the legal battle between former international education director Jay Lokken and the university over discrimination claims, and again in October when the provosts office was restructured and Associate Vice Provost Fred Pierce became the director of the international education office. In a statement sent to university personnel Friday morning, UW-L Interim Provost Betsy Morgan said the search and screen committee will restart next week and that the university wants to have a new director in place by early September. Fred Pierce is no longer with the university, and Morgan is serving as the units supervisor in the interim. UW-L has an excellent tradition regarding international education, and I am hopeful about the future, Morgan said in the email. At this point, the best thing Bernie Sanders supporters can probably do for his reputation is to vote against him in the remaining primaries and caucuses. Hillary Clinton long ago wrapped up the nomination. Tuesdays results her narrow victory in Kentucky and his win by about 10 percentage points in Oregon doesnt change anything: Its over. If you include superdelegates, Clinton is only about 100 delegates away from clinching, and with Democratic proportional allocation, she is basically guaranteed to get there. Yet the closer Clinton gets to her official victory, the more Sanders and his campaign act as if the nomination was unfairly stolen from him that somehow the doors of the party have been unfairly closed against his followers. This culminated in an ugly scene in Nevada last weekend, with Sanders supporters threatening Democratic Party officials there. The result? Liberals have turned on Sanders, urging him to get out of the race now or, at least, to change his tone. Josh Marshall, of Talking Points Memo, said Sanders is lying to (his) supporters. At Mother Jones, Kevin Drum called him very, very bitter. Paul Krugman, of The New York Times, said Sanders has a problem in facing reality and called his campaign a terrible mess. And, as New York Magazines Ed Kilgore explained, claims that the nomination was stolen or rigged are complete bunk. Some longtime rules worked against Sanders. He did worse in states with closed primaries (restricting voting to only registered Democrats). But the systems in other states worked for him. He cleaned up in the caucuses. The biggest rule-based effect has probably just been that the Democrats proportional representation system has created an illusion of a tight battle. The truth is that Hillary Clinton has won more states. She won bigger states. She won, overall, by bigger margins, with the exception of a handful of caucuses, most of which were in small states. Overall, she has won about 57 percent of the vote, beating Sanders by some 14 percentage points. Thats a blowout. And, for what its worth, it matches Clintons national polling lead over Sanders. Sanders has said he would support Clinton against Donald Trump in a general-election battle, and theres no reason to doubt his word. Nor is a national party convention as easy to disrupt as a state gathering. Sure, Sanders supporters could hold demonstrations and grant interviews to a media that is always looking for controversy, but his fans are more likely to look like sore losers than anything else. Meanwhile, almost all rank-and-file liberals who, remember, have always liked Clinton even as many of them have voted for Sanders will line up behind the nominee and against Trump. This is true even if a handful of Bernie or bust die-hards dissent. But the Vermont senators truculence could have serious effects on his movement and on his own ability to wield influence after the campaign. His ability to excite large crowds and win plenty of votes could make him a more formidable presence in the Senate than he has been. But if he behaves irresponsibly, hell forfeit that influence. This is why at this point the best thing for Sanders may be that he loses solidly in California and New Jersey on June 7, making it clear to his followers and perhaps to the candidate himself that he lost the nomination fair and square. Yes, hell fall short even if he wins each remaining contest, but it wont be nearly as obvious that he was solidly beaten. And apparently being solidly beaten is what its going to take for Sanders to convert his impressive but losing campaign into a positive force for his ideas in the future. In a hazardous year for political predictions, Ill offer one confidently: if the Republicans currently freaking out over Donald Trump can redirect that energy toward beating Hillary Clinton, shes toast. But that is a giant if. Many conservatives need to examine what keeps them mired in their objections to Trump now that the Republican primary race is over. During that race, it was proper to weigh his pluses and minuses versus the competition. Maybe his inconsistent conservatism made some people prefer Ted Cruz. Maybe his sharp edges made some lean toward Marco Rubio. Those are the battles of months gone by. But Cruz and the rest of the field are gone. The choice of Republican voters is Donald Trump, which yields two types of conservatives: those who can handle that, and those who cannot. I can, and I will. Not because Trump is perfect; I expect him to annoy me with ideological and behavioral curveballs all the way to November, and perhaps beyond. But on balance, the issues where he resonates conservatively stronger borders, lower taxes, rebuilding the military, ditching noxious political correctness and, most importantly, constitutionalist Supreme Court justices make him the obvious choice for anyone claiming to favor conservative principles. Yet it is principles that are flaunted by the malcontent faction of conservatives as they proudly crow how they could never vote for Trump, the only human being who can stop Hillary, who most of them have spent decades opposing. What is it about him that melts their otherwise sharp minds? Any claim that the Clinton and Trump presidencies would be indistinguishable is evidence of a severe perceptual disorder. Yes, the prospect of his candidacy is filled with some very valid questions. But her questions are all answered, and from a conservative perspective, the answers are all horrible. The notion that he is no better on borders, job creation, gun rights and the Supreme Court is certifiably crazy. Voters supporting other candidates are simply licking fresh wounds. Many followers of Cruz, Rubio, John Kasich, Jeb Bush and a dozen others still cannot believe they were dismantled by the EF5 tornado of Trump. Those voters, and the candidates themselves, will come to their senses if they have the slightest desire to prevent a Hillary presidency that will do violence to all, not just some, of their conservative beliefs. And among establishment ivory tower types and the writers and talkers who have spent years espousing conservatism but who will now facilitate a Hillary presidency by failing to show preference for Trump? Its all about the comfort zone. A second Clinton era would be a disaster, but it would be filled with predictable moments that would make conservatives look smart as they tick off several I-told-you-so moments on the way to the end of the America they once fought to protect. A President Trump? They have no idea what hell do, and it drives them insane. The so-called conservative intelligentsia has been bloodied by months of being wrong about virtually everything about his rise. They have zero interest in additional years of embarrassment as a Trump presidency churns out possibly surprising successes they did not allow themselves to see coming. After the tantrums and third-party fantasies fade, conservatives with any remaining shred of coherence will settle onto the fact that the Trump candidacy, with all of its flaws they have dutifully listed, is infinitely preferable to the return of the Clintons. About 50 years ago, Pope John XXIII opened the windows of the house called the Catholic Church, and in blew the reforms of Vatican Council II. For the past three decades, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI although they gave many gifts to the church moved from room to room shutting windows. They feared the winds were going to blow the house down. When Pope Francis was elected three years ago, he thought the house was way too stuffy. He immediately went from room to room opening windows again. In blew such things as mercy for the divorced and remarried; reform of the Curia, the administrative arm of the Vatican; openness to Muslims; and a new pastoral job description for bishops. Now he is opening doors. Strong winds are blowing through, with the possibility of female deacons, open discussion about infallibility and letting go of the just-war theory. For many, the winds are refreshing and invigorating. On May 12, Pope Francis met with about 900 leaders of members of Leadership Conference of Women Religious. They asked why women are excluded from serving as deacons and why a study has not been commissioned to study this question. I accept, the pope said later. It seems good for the church to clarify this point. Many church historians have said there is abundant evidence that women served as deacons in the early church. The apostle Paul mentions such a woman, Phoebe, in his letter to the Romans (16:1-2). The pope also said women need to be treated with more respect in the church. He said that many times sisters are made to do work of servitude and not service. The pope told them should someone ask you to do something that is more servitude than service, you are courageous to say no. Open door No. 1. On March 9, Father Hans Kung, a Swiss theologian who was an expert at Vatican II, issued an urgent appeal to the pope to permit an open and impartial discussion about infallibility. The dogma of infallibility means that when the pope speaks with his full authority in union with the bishops on matters of faith and morals, he unfailingly speaks the truth. On March 20, the pope replied personally and not through his private secretary. His answer was affirmative. Kung thinks that such a discussion could clarify a dogma that creates controversy within the Catholic Church and is a difficulty in relating with other Christian churches. The controversy about the doctrine of infallibility began in July 1870 when it was passed. A large majority of the bishops voted for the proposal, but not all. In fact, about 60 bishops left early from Rome so that they would not be associated with the approval of the doctrine. Since then, some Biblical scholars have suggested that the distance from Jesus declaration that he would build his church on Peter and entrust the keys to the kingdom to him (Matthew 16:16-19), to the declaration of the infallibility of the pope is too much of a stretch. Open huge door No. 2. From April 11-13, there was a global conference at the Vatican about how to develop a vision of nonviolence instead of using the just-war theory. The conference began with an encouraging statement from the pope. The just war theory is based on natural law and has nothing to do with Jesus words, life or actions. It goes back to Cicero, Christianized by Augustine, revised by Thomas Aquinas and updated periodically. There is little evidence it ever stopped a leader from starting a war; rather, it was used to justify a war that was already going on. Two of its principles are violated consistently in modern warfare. The first is noncombatants are to be protected. During World War I, about 10 percent of the deaths were civilian; now civilian deaths, euphemistically called collateral damage, often range as high as 80 to 90 percent. The second, is proportionality; that is, there is no danger that a response will be greater than the evil that is addressed. With nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, this is always a danger in modern warfare. The conference focused on the words of Jesus, such as his Sermon on the Mount, and his nonviolent life and put these in dialogue with modern issues. Open door No. 3. Pope Francis has brought a new springtime to the Catholic Church. A good time to open the windows and doors and feel the life-giving breeze. An 18-year-old Madison man was arrested in Chicago on Thursday in connection with a shooting that occurred in Madison on May 1, the U.S. Marshals office announced. Members of the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force arrested Maurice Graham Jr. in Chicago on a warrant, according to a news release. Graham, arrested without incident, is being held by the Cook County Sheriffs Office while awaiting extradition to Wisconsin. On May 1, Madison police reported that a car traveling on Fish Hatchery Road near Wingra Drive at about 2 a.m. was shot at from another vehicle. One person was hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries. US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Century Center in South Bend, Indiana, US, May 2, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] US Republican presumptive presidential candidate Donald Trump has run a campaign rife with political incorrectness. And on Tuesday, Trump said he would be willing to talk to Democratic People's Republic of Korea leader King Jong-un. "I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him," Trump told Reuters, adding that he would "absolutely" try to talk some sense into the DPRK leader. With the US government now refusing to engage directly with the DPRK, Trump's words have made major headlines in the United States. His Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state, clearly disapproved. China's Foreign Ministry has generally remained cool in the face of the frequent outrageous rhetoric regarding China by US presidential candidates. But spokesman Hong Lei, when asked to comment on Trump's words, said on Wednesday that China supports direct talks and communication between the US and the DPRK. "We believe this is beneficial," he said. China has been long pushing for a direct engagement between Washington and Pyongyang to defuse the growing tension on the Korean Peninsula. The Obama administration has won praise for engaging Iran and Cuba in the past few years. But Obama has not taken the same approach with the DPRK. In February, State Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed that the US rejected the DPRK's proposal to discuss a peace treaty to replace the 1953 Armistice agreement, citing the DPRK's lack of sincerity in dropping its nuclear program. Instead, the US has increasingly relied on economic sanctions and shows of force, such as its frequent military drills with the Republic of Korea aimed at the DPRK, something that further justifies the DPRK's concerns for its own national security. Tuesday, May 17, 2016 I am a fairly strong proponent of marijuana reforms in large part because there seem to be a number of tangible immediate benefits from legalizating, regulating and taxing the marijuana marketplace, while significant drawbacks rarely prove to be as dire as predicted by opponents of reform. Two new stories in major newspapers today discussing developments in Colorado reinforce my views. Here are headlines, links and exceepts: From USA Today here, "These kids are going to college on pot": Colorado pot smokers are helping send 25 students to college, the first scholarships in the U.S. funded with taxes on legal marijuana. The awards offered by Pueblo County, in southern Colorado, are the latest windfall from legal Colorado marijuana sales that are also helping build schools and aid the homeless and in one county, providing 8% raises to municipal workers. Pueblo County is granting $1,000 each to the students, with recipients to be announced later this month. Its incredible, said Beverly Duran, the executive director of the Pueblo Hispanic Education Foundation, which is overseeing the scholarships. "Every year we get a nice pool of students but we can always only award to a small percentage. This for us expands that to extraordinary lengths.... Further south in Colorado, Huerfano County expects to collect an extra $500,000 in cannabis taxes this year. Thats bankrolling an 8% raise for almost all of the county's 96 municipal employees, a big deal in an area where a county road worker earns $12 an hour and most employees havent had a raise in more than five years.... In Aurora, the states third-largest city, marijuana taxes are helping improve roads, pay off a municipal recreation center, and provide direct services for homeless men and women. Aurora has nearly 20 pot shops and five grow sites, generating a projected $5.4 million in new taxes this year. From the Los Angeles Times here, "Governor who called legalization 'reckless' now says Colorado's pot industry is working": The predictions of fire and brimstone have failed to materialize, said Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, a national group working to reform pot laws. Most Coloradoans, including the governor, recognize that the law is working. From the start, [Colorado Gov] Hickenlooper saw the legalization of marijuana as a great national experiment, something utterly new in this country and fraught with potential public health and safety issues. He fretted about a potential rise in drug use among children and was clearly uncomfortable with an amendment directly conflicting with federal law, which considers pot an illegal drug on par with cocaine. There were plenty of snags at first. Marijuana edibles proved especially problematic because few people had experience with them. High-profile overdoses made national news. Just last week a lawsuit was filed against the maker of a marijuana-laced candy, alleging the product triggered a "psychotic episode" that caused a man to kill his wife in 2014. Still, none of Hickenloopers worst fears were realized. Colorado is booming. The state has a 4.2% unemployment rate, one of the best in the country. High-tech companies are moving in. Small towns across the state, some once teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, have been saved by tax revenues from pot dispensaries. And the $1-billion-a-year cannabis business will pump $100 million in taxes into state coffers this year. Andrew Freedman, director of marijuana coordination for Colorado, said the governors views reflect a growing sense of optimism about how the industry is regulated. In the short run, there have been a lot fewer public safety and health issues than the governor feared in the beginning, said Freedman, who is often referred to as the states marijuana czar. In the beginning, we had problems with edibles and hash oil fires but now, for the most part, Colorado looks a lot like it did before legalization. Marijuana consumption has not changed much from pre-legalization levels and there has been no significant increase in public health and safety problems, he said. As for the $100 million in tax revenue, Freedman noted, that's out of a $27-billion state budget. Some 70% of the money is earmarked for school construction, public health initiatives and other projects. The rest goes back into regulating the industry. The governor has called this a grand experiment from the beginning. He looks at data points as he goes along and I think hes pleasantly surprised that there were not as many challenges as he thought, Freedman said. He would say the jury is still out on this experiment but hes optimistic. Some are less circumspect. The states image is actually rising. We were just ranked as the best place to live in America, Tvert said. The idea that businesses would not relocate here or conferences wouldnt be held here was untrue. In fact, attendees at conferences are now offered pot tours as day trips. https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/marijuana_law/2016/05/even-among-skeptics-benefits-of-marijuana-reform-seem-to-eclipse-drawbacks-in-colorado.html As reported in this local article, headlined "John Bel Edwards signs medical marijuana law," I think it is now proper to count Louisiana as a state that has now enacted real, functional broad medical marijuana reform. Here are the basics: Gov. John Bel Edwards signed a landmark medical marijuana bill into law Thursday (May 19) that is expected to make medical marijuana available to patients for the first time in Louisiana history. Edwards signed the bill during a ceremony on the fourth floor of the Capitol in front of key legislators who guided the bill to passage, First Lady Donna Edwards, and the families of children with conditions they believe can be treated with the drug. Among those present were a family from Edwards' hometown of Amite who have a son that suffers from daily seizures and would qualify for the drug. "This is one of those bills I believe will have a positive impact on the people that need it the most," Edwards said. "The state of Louisiana should not interpose itself between doctors and patients when the doctors believe they have a patient who will benefit from medical marijuana." Although Edwards' signature marked a significant moment for dispensing medical marijuana, it will be some time before doctors could actually recommend the drug to patients and a pharmacy could dispense it. By one estimate, it could take about 18 months, but if other states adopting medical marijuana legislation give any indication, it could take even longer. Even so, advocates have said the legislation passed this session gives them hope that one day, family members could benefit from the drug and they won't have to make plans to move to states like Colorado where medical marijuana is available. Edwards said the idea that families would move away from Louisiana to obtain a safe and legal product in other states was a driving force behind his support. "It simply is unacceptable to tell parents of kids that if they want to make them available to the kids the medicine recommended by their doctors to achieve some better quality of life -- some reduction in pain -- that they should have to move," Edwards said. The title of this post is the headline of this notable new CNN article, which discusses Israel's medical marijuana program. Here are excerpts: Moments of joy are all too brief for Lavie Parush. They have been since the 2-year-old was born. "Gray" was the word his father used to describe his son, born unconscious. That night, Lavie had his first seizure. "Immediately, they took him to the emergency room," said his father, Asaf Parush. "They doped him up and he was basically passed out the first week of his birth." For six months, Parush and his wife, Noa, held on to the belief that Lavie's condition would improve. But the seizures worsened. He suffered dozens a day. Doctors diagnosed him with epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Lavie was severely brain damaged. Doctors put the baby on one drug after another to try to stop the seizures. Each drug required another visit to the hospital. And each one led to another disappointment as the seizures continued unabated. Some drugs had severe side effects, Parush said. Steroids, for example, weakened Lavie's immune system and caused him to become incredibly bloated. Just before Lavie's first birthday, Parush heard about the use of medical marijuana -- commonly called medical cannabis in Israel -- to treat epilepsy. Unlike other medicines, cannabis is not prescribed by a doctor in Israel. Instead, specialist doctors request a license for a patient to use cannabis for treatment of chronic pain, chemotherapy-induced symptoms, epilepsy and other conditions. The license allows medical cannabis patients between 20 and 200 grams per month. The cannabis is sold at a fixed price of approximately $100 per month, regardless of the amount. The Ministry of Health points out that the efficacy and safety of medical cannabis "have not yet been established," but the ministry also acknowledges cannabis can help patients suffering from certain medical conditions. Israel has approximately 23,000 licensed medical cannabis users, according to Daniel Goldstein, an industry advocate with Israel Cannabis. Recreational cannabis remains illegal in the country.... Lavie's family requested a license for him from the Ministry of Health for the boy to use medical cannabis. He takes a few drops of cannabis oil every day, mixed into his food. "After a few weeks we didn't see any seizures at all," Parush said. The cannabis oil, extracted from a strain of cannabis called Avidekel, was developed in northern Israel by one of the country's largest cannabis growers, Tikun Olam. The oil is high in cannabidiol -- or CBD - the pharmacological ingredient in cannabis that has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. It is low in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient that makes marijuana users high and has been shown to relieve pain. According to Tikun Olam, Avidekel is the strain used for toddlers and babies. Of Tikun Olam's 6,500 medical cannabis users, only 15 are under 3 years old. The Ministry of Health couldn't confirm the number of toddler and baby cannabis patients in Israel, but Tikun Olam's spokeswoman Ma'ayan Weisberg estimates that no more than 25 children under 3 years old are licensed.... A 2015 study by Dr. Orrin Devinsky of the NYU Langone Comprehensive Epilepsy Center showed a 54% reduction in some types of seizures in 137 people suffering from severe epilepsy who took a liquid form of medical marijuana and did not respond to other treatments. But the study's results will need to be replicated, since it did not adhere to the strictest standards of scientific research, including randomized testing and peer review. A 2013 Stanford University survey of 19 children between the ages of 2 and 16 suffering from epilepsy found 16 of them self-reported or their parents reported a reduction in seizures from using medical cannabis.... Dr. Uri Kramer, head of the Department for the Treatment of Childhood Epilepsy at Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital, said medical cannabis shows promising results in children whose epilepsy has not responded to multiple drugs. "If they are not good candidates for surgery, there are almost no options," said Kramer, who requested the medical cannabis license for Lavie. Kramer said his patients have shown that medical cannabis has a success rate of approximately 20% in reducing seizures by 75% in epileptic children. "That's much higher than any other drug on the market," said Kramer. But acceptance is not universal. "Some of our colleagues are not convinced yet," he added. "I'd say only about half of the pediatric epiloptologists in Israel are using cannabis." Research is underway regarding CBD use in children with intractable epilepsy, according to Dr. Angus Wilfong, a pediatric neurologist at Texas Children's Hospital, but Wilfong urged caution. "These studies are complex and take time. No drug should be approved for use in children until scientific studies have validated its efficacy, safety, tolerability, and dosage," said Wilfong. As reported in this local article, headlined "Ohio pharmacy board would run medical marijuana program under bill changes," the Ohio legislative process keep moving ahead swiftly as the state continue a path toward becoming the latest to enact significant medical marijuana reforms. Here are the details: Patients would be allowed to use medical marijuana from other states while Ohio sets up its own program, under changes made to a bill moving quickly through the General Assembly. House Bill 523 would allow people with certain medical conditions to buy and use marijuana with permission of an Ohio-licensed physician. The Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday made several changes to speed up the time line for establishing the program and increase patient participation in the process. The biggest change made was moving the medical marijuana program from the Department of Commerce to the state Pharmacy Board. Sen. Dave Burke, a Marysville Republican and pharmacist, said the board would begin licensing cultivators six months earlier than under the previous version of the bill. Then the board would write rules for businesses that make marijuana products and retail dispensaries. Burke said the bill has no written limit on who can participate; it maintains a requirement that minority business owners receive 15 percent of all marijuana business licenses. "It's not the intent to have a monopoly but to have a market of equity and equal participation," Burke said.... Patients could obtain and use marijuana from other states before it's legally sold in Ohio without being arrested, if it was recommended by a doctor for a qualifying condition and not smoked. Each dispensary would be under the control of a licensed pharmacist. Doctors would not be required to specify dosage and delivery methods in their recommendations nor submit periodic reports about their recommendations. Recommendations would be good for 90 days and doctors could renew them for three additional periods without seeing the patient.... A 12-member advisory board including a patient, caregiver, nurse, physicians, pharmacists and representatives from law enforcement, labor, and employers. Some members would have to support medical marijuana use. Alzheimer's disease and fibromyalgia would be added to the list of qualifying medical conditions. Employers would have to prove employees violated a workplace anti-drug policy for the employee to lose unemployment or workers' compensation benefits, and employees could appeal similar to other controlled substances. Two problems advocates have with the bill were not changed. Smoking marijuana is not allowed in the bill, but patients could inhale vaporized cannabis. The bill does not allow people to grow their own marijuana. The bill cleared the Ohio House last week with broad, bipartisan support, and has been fast-tracked for passage before lawmakers break for summer. The title of this post is the headline of this notable new Christian Science Monitor article. It carries this subheadline: "A California law passed in October denies felons with drug convictions a license to sell medical marijuana. An new initiative would change that." And here are excerpts: If you committed a felony for something that is no longer illegal, should your criminal record keep you out of the business now? A California law denying medical marijuana licenses to those with felony convictions for drug possession answers that question with a "yes," and it touches on the debate about how long a felony record should follow someone who has served their time.... The question could have even deeper implications for the state's pot industry, because although only medical marijuana is legal now, California voters will likely see a referendum for full marijuana legalization on the November ballot. Many current or prospective sellers of medical marijuana do have felony charges because of for example past drug possession. Casey O'Neill, board chairman of the marijuana group California Growers Association, told the Los Angeles Times' Patrick McGreevy that 25 to 30 percent of California's weed growers have felony convictions. The current initiative, if passed by referendum in November, would change the law to permit people with felonies for drug possession of any kind to apply for a license to sell marijuana, according to the Coalition for Responsible Drug Policies for California. Some members of law enforcement suggested that giving felons licenses to sell marijuana supports the growing pot industry at the expense of safety. "This new initiative will specifically allow for convicted major meth and heroin dealers to be licensed recreational marijuana vendors in California," said Chief Ken Corney, president of the California Police Chiefs Association, in a statement. "You have to question proponents in terms of placing personal wealth and corporation profits ahead of community well-being." California's law enforcement has said fighting the black market by keeping felons out of these businesses is part of the reason the state requires licenses. California Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R) said the October law provides law enforcement with "clear rules for overseeing medical marijuana activities in their communitysomething badly lacking for the past 20 years," according to a press release for the California Police Chief Association. Other states where medical marijuana is legal have different approaches to the question of whether a person convicted of selling marijuana before the state legalized it deserves a legal license now. Applicants for a medical marijuana license in Colorado must have all felony charges and sentences at least five years behind them; for drug charges, their record must have been clean for ten years. Colorado offers a case-by-case exemption for past state-level marijuana charges "that would not be a felony if the person were convicted of the offense on the date he or she applied," according to the Colorado Department of Revenue. The title of this post is the headline of this notable report authored by Tom Angell explaining a notable vote today in Congress. Here are the notable details: The U.S. House took action to increase military veterans access to medical marijuana on Thursday. By a vote of 233-189, representatives approved an amendment preventing the Department of Veterans Affairs (V.A.) from spending money to enforce a current policy that prohibits its government doctors from filling out medical marijuana recommendation forms in states where the drug is legal. The language is now attached to a bill funding the V.A. and military construction efforts through next year. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on its version of the legislation later on Thursday. Medical cannabis protections for veterans were added to that bill last month in bipartisan vote of 20-10 in the Senate Appropriations Committee. It is not expected that any senators will offer floor amendments to strike the marijuana provision before passage. One of the great concerns we have is how the two million young Americans who were sent to Iraq and Afghanistan reintegrate back into society, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), the House amendments sponsor, said in a floor debate early Thursday morning. What I hear from veterans that I talk to is that an overwhelming number of them say that medical marijuana has helped them deal with PTSD, pain and other conditions, particularly as an alternative to opioids. Under current V.A. policy, military veterans have to go to separate private doctors to get medical marijuana recommendations, which can be costly and time-consuming. Those patients who want to pursue medical marijuana have to go ahead and hire a physician out of their own pocket, said Blumenauer. Not dealing with the medical professional of their choice, their V.A. doctor, who knows them the best. But there was some reluctant disagreement on the House floor. I understand that the country is evolving on this issue as many states, including my own, have moved forward on medical marijuana, said Rep. Charles Dent (R-PA), whose home state just became the 24th in the U.S. with a comprehensive medical marijuana law. As a member of this House, Im a bit uncomfortable, however, in trying to dictate policy on marijuana without guidance from Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health and other medical professionals. But Blumenauer took exception to that characterization. This amendment does not dictate treatment options. Its not interfering. Its not superimposing anybodys judgement about the merits of marijuana. It simply enables V.A. doctors and patients to interact with state-legal marijuana systems, he said. We should not be limiting the treatment options available to our veterans. Last year the Senate approved the Fiscal Year 2016 version of the V.A. spending bill, with similar medical cannabis protections for veterans attached, but the House narrowly defeated a move to add the amendment to its version of the legislation by a vote of 213-210. As a result, the provision was not included in the final omnibus appropriations package signed into law by President Obama in December. Since then, momentum on medical cannabis and broader marijuana law reform issues has continued to increase. Last month, for example, Pennsylvania became the 24th state in the U.S with a comprehensive medical marijuana program. This month, both chambers of the Louisiana State Legislature and the Ohio House of Representatives approved medical cannabis bills. The U.S. House measure also would have passed last year if two medical marijuana supporters hadnt voted against it. Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA), admitted at the time that he misread the amendment and voted the wrong way. Another supporter, Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) said he voted no because the measure didnt go far enough in his view. With those two votes flipped, the result would have been 212-211. The V.A. policy disallowing its doctors from recommending medical marijuana in states where it is legal actually expired on January 31 but, under the departments procedures, the ban technically remains in effect until a new policy is enacted. Advocates expect a new policy soon, but arent sure what it will say. In February 2015, a top V.A. official testified before a House committee that the department is undertaking active discussions about how to address the growing number of veterans who are seeking cannabis treatments. Separately, a trio of Democratic senators submitted an additional amendment this week intended to spur medical cannabis research by the V.A. The V.A., in partnership with the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder may conduct clinical research on the potential benefits of therapeutic use of the cannabis plant by veterans, reads the amendment offered by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Cory Booker (NJ) and Barbara Boxer (CA). The senators want the government to look into the use of cannabis as a treatment to achieve and maintain abstinence from opioids and heroin. The proposal directs the secretary of veterans affairs to submit a report on efforts to expand such research within 180 days. It is not yet clear if the amendment will receive a vote on the Senate floor. Last week medical marijuana opponents succeeded in getting the House Rules Committee to kill two amendments aimed at increasing government research on medical marijuanas possible impact on opioid abuse. Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier The board earmarked $1.54 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the dredge, designed to keep channels open and supply sand to nourish eroding beaches up and down the York County coast and beyond. This week, we explore a national park -- and UNESCO World Heritage Site -- in the American Southwest. This national park, near the city of Carlsbad, New Mexico, is unusual in a major way --- it is mostly underground. Carlsbad Caverns National Park contains more than 100 caves below the surface of the desert. Most are closed to the public. But anyone can visit the main attraction, one of the largest caves in the world. Huge. Incredible. Inspiring. Words like these come to mind as visitors enter a world of silence, darkness and cold, almost 230 meters under the ground. An elevator lowers you into the world of Carlsbad Cavern. It is silent, except for the quiet voices of guides and visitors. It is not fully dark though. The National Park Service has enough lighting to see many of the beautiful formations all around. The temperature in the cave is about 13 degrees Celsius. A cavern is a large cave. But Carlsbad Cavern is really a long series of chambers. One of these is called the Big Room. The Big Room measures more than three hectares. The ceiling is 77 meters high. The Big Room is the single largest underground chamber ever found in North America. The Big Room and other parts of the cavern contain huge, sharp formations of minerals. People are free to explore the lit formations in the Big Room. But park rangers must guide visitors to other areas of the cave. Stalactites hang from the ceiling. Stalagmites rise from the floor. Some even meet to create a column. Other formations look like needles, popcorn, pearls and flowers. One of the first questions visitors might have is how did Carlsbad Cavern form? Guides explain that it did not result from the action of waterways like other limestone caves. Its creator was sulfuric acid. The limestone developed about 250 million years ago. Then, within the last 20 million years, movements in the earth pushed the rock upward, forming the Guadalupe Mountains. Today these mountains extend from west Texas into southeast New Mexico. The action of oil and natural gas created hydrogen sulfide in the limestone. The hydrogen sulfide reacted with oxygen in rainwater moving through the rock. Sulfuric acid developed. The acid created the caves by dissolving the limestone in its path. Later, the water and most of the acid left the caves as the Guadalupe Mountains continued to rise. This permitted freshwater to move through. The freshwater left behind minerals. These minerals became the formations and shapes on the ceilings, walls and floors of the caves. People are not the only visitors to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. About 400,000 Mexican free-tailed bats come from Mexico every summer to give birth in the big cave. As the sun goes down each day, thousands of adult bats fly out of the cave. It can take from 20 minutes to more than two hours for them all to leave. They go to nearby river valleys to feed on insects. Then, toward morning, they return to the bat cave within Carlsbad Cavern. Park Service rangers explain that mother bats find their babies by remembering their location, their smell and the sound of their cry. Mothers and their babies, called pups, hang in groups on the ceiling. They spend the day resting and feeding. While the adults go out at night for food, the young bats hang out in the cave for four or five weeks. Then, in July or August, they join their mothers on these nightly flights. Finally, in late October or early November, the bats all leave and return to Mexico. But they always come back the next year. It is possible that it was the bats that led ancient people to discover the cave. Archaeologists and others have found evidence of Ice Age hunters near the cave entrance. They have also found pieces of spear points left about 10,000 years ago. More recently, Apache Indians painted pictures at the entrance. And evidence of one of their cooking areas was found beside a nearby path. Around 1900, a teenage cowboy named James Larkin White began to explore the cave. Jim White told his story in the 1932 book, "The Discovery and History of Carlsbad Caverns." Here is a reading of his description of his first sight of the bats and the big cave: "I thought it was a volcano, but then, Id never seen a volcano -- nor never before had I seen bats swarm, for that matter. During my life on the range Id seen plenty of prairie whirlwinds -- but this thing didnt move; it remained in one spot, spinning its way upward. I watched it for perhaps a half-hour -- until my curiosity got the better of me. Then I began investigating " Jim White told how he built a ladder from rope, wire and sticks and returned to the entrance of the cave a few days later. "Standing at the entrance of the tunnel I could see ahead of me a darkness so absolutely black it seemed a solid. The light of my lantern was but a sickly glow. Nevertheless, I forged ahead, and with each step the tunnel grew larger, and I felt as though I was wandering into the very core of the Guadalupe Mountains." Several years later, in 1918, Jim White took a professional photographer into the cave. Ray Davis' pictures of the Big Room appeared in the New York Times newspaper. National interest began to grow. In 1923, scientists from the National Geographic Society explored the caves. The following year, President Calvin Coolidge named Carlsbad a national monument. Presidents can declare national monuments, but Congress must act to establish a national park. And that is what Congress did in 1930. Since then, parts of Carlsbad Caverns have been used for movie sets, weddings, even meetings of the Carlsbad City Council. Most visitors go to the main cavern. But some experienced cavers are permitted to explore five "wild" caves in the park. And, in another one, scientists are studying microbes in search of a cure for cancer. As for Jim White, he became chief ranger of Carlsbad Caverns. In one story in his book, he talks about all the work that was done in the area. "I doubt if you can understand how happy this modernizing has made me. It's like the pleasant end to a dream." I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Caty Weaver. Ashley Thompson adapted this report from VOA Learning English archive materials written by Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story attraction - n. something interesting or enjoyable that people want to visit, see, or do incredible - adj. extremely good, great, or large inspiring - adj. causing people to want to do or create something or to lead better lives elevator - n. a machine used for carrying people and things to different levels chamber - n. a small space inside something swarm - v. to move in a large group prairie - n. a large, mostly flat area of land in North America that has few trees and is covered in grasses whirlwind - n. a very strong wind that moves in a spinning or swirling motion and that can damage buildings, trees, etc. range - n. open land that farm animals (such as cows and sheep) use for feeding and roaming As Egypts tourism industry is trying to recover from a terror-related air crash in 2015, the crash of flight 804 has dealt another setback to the countrys efforts. The EgyptAir jet was carrying 66 people when it crashed Thursday as it approached Cairo on a flight from Paris. Egypt's army said it found debris from the EgyptAir jet in the Mediterranean Sea. Recovery teams continue the search for wreckage. Egyptian officials have raised the possibility that the crash might have been terrorism in a possible repeat of events last year. Tourism Suffering It would be the third terror attack against foreign visitors in Egypt in the last 12 months if terrorism is found to be the cause of the crash. Egypts economy is highly dependent on tourism. The World Travel and Tourism Council says tourism makes up 11 percent of the countrys economy. Russians visit Egypt the most, with Britons and Germans being the next largest groups of visitors, according to the website Euromonitor. Yet tourism fell four percent last year and is expected to decline by the same amount in 2016, the World Travel and Tourism Council says. In late October 2015, a Russian plane leaving the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh crashed, killing 224 people. A local branch of Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for bringing down that plane. Afterwards, both Russia and Britain suspended flights to the popular resort area. That incident was another major blow to Egypts tourism industry. Once a major source of income, tourism in Egypt has been declining since 2011. That year, a popular uprising led to the ouster of long-time President Hosni Mubarak. The elected government of Mohammad Morsi of the once-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood replaced Mubaraks in 2012. But Morsi clashed with Egypts military and was himself was removed from office the next year and put on trial for abuse of power. He is awaiting sentencing. Too Early to Know if Terrorism Cause Crash The latest air crash threatens Egypts efforts to improve security and bring back foreign visitors. Because the flight started in Paris, three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived in Cairo one day after the crash. They are to aid in the investigation. Frances foreign minister on Friday rejected comments that terrorism is to blame for the crash of the EgyptAir flight. He said there is absolutely no indication as to what brought down the plane. On French television, Jean-Marc Ayrault said, "We're looking at all possibilities, but none is being favored over the others." However, Egyptian Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said France would be responsible for any security lapse if terrorism is found to be the cause of the crash. He again offered the theory that terrorism is more likely than mechanical problems as a possible cause of the crash. However, he said no group claimed responsibility for the crash. Egypt in Fight Against Extremists The air crash takes place as Egypt combats extremism in the Sinai Peninsula. Egypts military is carrying out operations against Islamic State fighters in that area, according to the top U.S. general. General Joe Dunford is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He told a small group of reporters Thursday that, The Egyptians are taking the fight to the Islamic State (IS) right now. Dunford said he was looking forward to hearing the results of Egypts ongoing operations in the Sinai. He was unable to provide further details. The U.S. estimates the number of IS fighters there to range from the hundreds to about 1,000. The general said there also is a sizable Bedouin insurgency in the Sinai that has cooperated with IS fighters. The Sinai is an isolated territory. Egypts military is positioned to the West and Israels military is to the East. The U.S. military says it sees connections between fighters in the Sinai and Islamic State militants across the Middle East. Im Mario Ritter. Mario Ritter adapted this story from reports by Carla Babb, Joshua Fatzick, Hamada Elrasam, Ed Yeranian, and Lisa Bryant. Hai Do was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story indication n. a something that shows or points to another thing lapse n. an occurrence when something is missed debris n. what is left after something is destroyed, wreckage Dry weather in southern Africa has reduced agricultural production and left 28 million people hungry. Scientists have blamed the lack of rainfall on El Nino weather conditions. El Nino results from unusually warm water along the western coast of South America. The warm water causes many changes in weather around the world. Places that usually get a lot of rainfall can be dry. Areas that traditionally are dry can receive more rain because of El Nino. El Nino is being blamed for agricultural shortages across southern Africa. Dry weather has affected farming in countries such as Zimbabwe and Malawi. A drought is affecting Zimbabwes Mudzi district, about 250 kilometers east of Harare. The countrys main crop is corn, known in some areas as maize. Other major crops are soybeans, wheat and tobacco, according to the United Nations. Elhadj As Sy is secretary-general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. He went to southern Africa to investigate the food shortages. What is touching is to see children that go to bed hungry. Children that may not go to school and a mother having to listen to, you know, the children crying and have no food to give to them. I mean that is profoundly, profoundly touching, and totally unacceptable. This week, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched a four-year program to help National Red Cross Societies respond to the drought. The group said an estimated 31.6 million people across southern Africa are struggling to get food. It warned this number may climb to more than 49 million people by the end of the year. Zimbabwe, Malawi, Lesotho and Swaziland have all declared states of emergency. Seven of South Africas nine provinces also have declared emergencies. In Mozambique, the government ordered the highest level of national emergency preparedness in the central and southern provinces. In Zimbabwe, 60-year-old Mabel Nyamono is looking forward to more money to buy food. Here, there is real hunger, she said. Most of the days, kids go to school on an empty stomach and may go for three or four days without a decent meal. In Mudzi district, the Zimbabwe Red Cross currently gives $40 a month to over 1,200 families. But many other families receive no financial assistance. Such is the case of 61-year-old Virgilance Tsabora. She has yet to receive financial assistance from the Red Cross or UN agencies. Tsabora cares for her 89-year-old mother. Neither woman has a source of income. Tsabora says she depends on fellow villagers for help, but hopes the Red Cross can ease their struggle. Im Anne Ball. Sebastian Mhofu wrote this story for VOANews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted the story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story El Nino n. a flow of unusually warm water along the western coast of South America that causes many changes in weather in other places drought n. a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain soybeans n. beans of an Asian plant that contain a large amount of protein and that are used as a food profoundly adv. having or showing great knowledge or understanding kids n. sons or daughters; children decent adj. good enough but not the best income n. earnings Several American movies are among the leading candidates for the biggest award at the Cannes Film Festival, the Palme dOr. Others got booed. The prize for worst reception so far goes to The Last Face directed by Sean Penn. The movie star-director-political activist attempts a story about the romantic and humanitarian struggles of two aid workers in Liberia. It stars Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem. Some critics wonder why the film centers on their relationship instead of the horrors faced by the local people they are supposed to help. Benjamin Lee of the Guardian online writes, This is not a film about Penn helping people, its a film to show how much he wants to be seen helping people. The movie was severely panned on Twitter after its Cannes debut. Tweets described The Last Face as racist, transcendentally bad and a chore to sit through. Joachim Kurz tweeted The Last Face feels like competition in suffering. Who suffers most: Theron? Bardem? The Refugees? Or maybe the viewers? Candidates for Palme d'Or Two American movies are considered strong candidates for the Palme dOr. Loving from director Jeff Nichols is based on true story of two Americans who were sentenced to prison for marrying each other in the 1950s. Mildred and Richard Loving fled Virginia to avoid jail after they were found guilty of violating state law barring interracial marriage. Mildred Loving was black and Richard Loving was white. The two took legal action against the state of Virginia for its action. They won the case in 1967, when the Supreme Court ruled the law violated the United States Constitution. A joint British-American movie is also on top of some Palme dOr prediction lists. British filmmaker Andrea Arnold directed the film American Honey. It stars American actors Sasha Lane, Shia LeBoeuf and Riley Keough. Lane stars as a poor Texas teenager with little support or supervision from adults in her life. She meets up with a group of similar teenagers and begins a cross-country trip with them. American Honey is Arnolds first film set in America. Reviews have been mostly positive. Critic Eric Kohn of Indiewire praised the film for capturing the explosive sense of liberty that comes with living dangerously. Reviewers also expressed excitement about the debut film performance of Sasha Lane. The Hollywood Reporter described the young actor as luminous. The Palme dOr jury this year includes Australian director George Miller, American actor Kirsten Dunst and Iranian producer Katayoon Shahabi. The winning film will receive the prize in a ceremony on the festivals closing day, Sunday, May 22. Im Dorothy Gundy. Caty Weaver wrote this story. Hai Do was the editor. What movies have you liked this year so far? Let us know in the Comment Section or post a message on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________ Words in This Story boo - v. to show dislike or disapproval of someone or something by shouting boo slowly romantic - adj. of, relating to, or involving love between two people pan - v. to criticize (a book, movie, play, etc.) severely transcendentally - adv. surpassingly debut - n. the first time an actor, musician, athlete, etc., does something in public or for the public luminous - adj. producing or seeming to produce light; shining We present the short story "The Caliph, Cupid and the Clock" by O. Henry. The story was originally adapted and recorded by the U.S. Department of State. Prince Michael of Valleluna sat in the park on the seat he liked best. In the coolness of the night, he felt full of life. The other seats were not filled. Cool weather sends most people home. The moon was rising over the houses on the east side of the park. Children laughed and played. Music came softly from one of the nearer streets. Around the little park, cabs rolled by. The trains that traveled high above the street rushed past. These cabs and trains, with their wild noises, seemed like animals outside the park. But they could not enter. The park was safe and quiet. And above the trees was the great, round, shining face of a lighted clock in a tall old building. Prince Michaels shoes were old and broken. No shoemaker could ever make them like new again. His clothes were very torn. The hair of his face had been growing for two weeks. It was all colorsgray and brown and red and green-yellow. His hat was older and more torn than his shoes and his other clothes. Prince Michael sat on the seat he liked best, and he smiled. It was a happy thought to him that he had enough money to buy every house he could see near the park, if he wished. He had as much gold as any rich man in this proud city of New York. He had as many jewels, and houses, and land. He could have sat at table with kings and queens. All the best things in the world could be hisart, pleasure, beautiful women, honor. All the sweeter things in life were waiting for Prince Michael of Valleluna whenever he might choose to take them. But instead he was choosing to sit in torn clothes on a seat in a park. For he had tasted of the fruit the tree of life. He had not liked the taste. Here, in this park, he felt near to the beating heart of the world. He hoped it would help him to forget that taste. These thoughts moved like a dream through the mind of Prince Michael. There was a smile across his face with its many-colored hair. Sitting like this, in torn clothes, he loved to study other men. He loved to do good things for others. Giving was more pleasant to him than owning all his riches. It was his chief pleasure to help people who were in trouble. He liked to give to people who needed help. He liked to surprise them with princely gifts. But he always gave wisely, after careful thought. And now, as he looked at the shining face of the great clock, his smile changed. The Prince always thought big thoughts. When he thought of time, he always felt a touch of sadness. Time controlled the world. People had to do what time commanded. Their comings and goings were always controlled by a clock. They were always in a hurry, and always afraid, because of time. It made him sad. After a little while, a young man in evening clothes came and sat upon a seat near the Prince. For half an hour he sat there nervously. Then he began to watch the face of the lighted clock above the trees. The Prince could see that the young man had a trouble. He could also see that somehow the clock was part of the trouble. The Prince rose and went to the young mans seat. I am a stranger, and I shouldnt speak to you, he said. But I can see that you are troubled. I am Prince Michael of Valleluna. I do not want people to know who I am. That is why I wear these torn clothes. It is a small pleasure of mine to help those who need help. First I must feel sure they are worth helping. I think you are. And perhaps your trouble may be ended if you and I together decide what to do about it. The young man looked up brightly at the Prince. Brightly, but he was still troubled. He laughed, then, but still the look of trouble remained. But he accepted this chance to talk to someone. Im glad to meet you, Prince, he said pleasantly. Yes, I can see you dont want to be known. Thats easy to see. Thanks for your offer to help. But I dont see what you can do. Its my own problem. But thanks. Prince Michael sat down at the young mans side. People often said no to him, but they always said it pleasantly. Clocks, said the Prince, are tied to the feet of all men and women. I have seen you watching that clock. That face commands us to act, whether or not we wish to act. Let me tell you not to trust the numbers on that face. They will destroy you if they can. Stop looking at that clock. What does it know about living men and women? I usually dont look at that clock, said the young man. I carry a watch, except when I wear evening clothes. I know men and women as I know the trees and the flowers, said the Prince, warmly and proudly. I have studied many years. And I am very rich. There are few troubles that I cannot help. I have read what is in your face. I have found honor and goodness there, and trouble. Please accept my help. I can see that you are wise. Show how wise you are. Do not judge me by my torn clothes. I am sure I can help you. The young man looked at the clock again, and his face grew darker. Then he looked at a house beside the park. Lights could be seen in many rooms. Ten minutes before nine! said the young man. He raised his hands and then let them fall, as if hope had gone. He stood up and took a quick step or two away. Remain! commanded Prince Michael. His voice was so powerful that the young man turned quickly. He laughed a little. Ill wait ten minutes and then Ill go, he said in a low voice, as if only to himself. Then to the Prince he said, Ill join you. Well destroy all the clocks. And women, too. Sit down, said the Prince softly. I do not accept that. I do not include women. Women are enemies of clocks. They are born that way. Therefore they are friends of those who wish to destroy clocks. If you can trust me, tell me your story. The young man sat down again and laughed loudly. Prince, I will, he said. He did not believe that Prince Michael was really a prince. His manner of speaking proved that. Do you see that house, Prince? That house with lights in three windows on the third floor? At six tonight I was in that house with the young lady I am going towas going to marry. Id been doing wrong, my dear Prince, and she heard about it. I was sorry. I wanted her to forget it. We are always asking women to forget things like that, arent we, Prince? I want time to think, she said. I will either forget it forever, or never see your face again. At half-past eight, she said, watch the middle window on the third floor of this house. If I decide to forget, I will hang out a long white cloth. You will know then that everything is as it was before. And you may come to me. If you see nothing hanging from the window, you will know that everything between us is finished forever. That, said the young man, is why I have been watching that clock. The time was passed twenty-three minutes ago. Do you see why I am a little troubled, my torn Prince? Let me tell you again, said Prince Michael in his soft voice, that women are the born enemies of clocks. Clocks are bad, women are good. The white cloth may yet appear. Never! said the young man, hopelessly. You dont know Marian. She is always on time, to the minute. That was the first thing I liked about her. At 8:31, I should have known that everything was finished. Im going to go West. Ill get on the train tonight. Ill find some way to forget her. Good nightPrince. Prince Michael smiled his gentle, understanding smile. He caught the others arm. The bright light in the Princes eyes was softening. It was dream-like, clouded. Wait, he said, till the clock tells the hour. I have riches and power and I am wiser than most men. But when I hear the clock tell the hour, I am afraid. Stay with me till then. This woman shall be yours. You have the promise of the Prince of Valleluna. On the day you are married I will give you $100,000 and a great house beside the Hudson River. But there must be no clocks in that house. Do you agree to that? Sure, said the young man. I dont like clocks. He looked again at the clock above the trees. It was three minutes before nine. I think, said Prince Michael, that I will sleep a little. It has been a long day. He lay down on the seat, as if he had often done it before. Youll find me on this park on any evening when the weather is good, said the Prince. Come to me when you know the day youll be married. Ill give you the money. Thanks, Prince, said the young man. That day isnt going to come. But thanks. Prince Michael fell into a deep sleep. His hat rolled on the ground. The young man lifted it, placed it over the Princes face, and moved one of the Princes legs into an easier position. Poor fellow! he said. He pulled the torn coat together over the Princes body. It was nine. Loud and surprising came the voice of the clock, telling the hour. The young man took a deep breath, and turned for one more look at the house. And he gave a shout of joy. From the middle window on the third floor, a snow-white wonderful cloth was hanging. Through the park a man came, hurrying home. Will you tell me the time, please? asked the young man. The other man took out his watch. Twenty-nine and a half minutes after eight. And then he looked up at the clock. But that clock is wrong! the man said. The first time in ten years! My watch is always But he was talking to no one. He turned and saw the young man running toward the house with three lighted windows on the third floor. And in the morning two cops walked through the park. There was only one person to be seena man, asleep on a long park seat. They stopped to look at him. Its Michael the Dreamer, said one. He has been sleeping like this in the park for twenty years. He wont live much longer, I guess. The other cop looked at something in the sleepers hand. Look at this, he said. Fifty dollars. I wish I could have a dream like that. And then they gave Prince Michael of Valleluna a hard shake, and brought him out of his dreams and into real life. Download activities to help you understand this story here. Now it's your turn to use the words in this story. Do you feel that you are often in a hurry? How often do you stop to enjoy the world around you? Let us know in the comments section or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story prince n. a male member of a royal family cab(s) n. a car that carries passengers to a place for an amount of money that is based on the distance traveled beating v. to make the regular movements needed to pump blood comings and goings idm. the activity of people arriving at and leaving a place nervously adv. done in a way showing feelings of being worried and afraid about what might happen pleasantly - adv. done in a way that is friendly and likable hopelessly adv. done in a way that shows no feeling of hope cop(s) - n. a person whose job is to enforce laws, investigate crimes, and make arrests Nicole Hansen sold 15 tickets this year for Ticket to Ride, the annual event that raises money for cancer care services supported by the St. Francis Foundation. Two of them were winners, including the grand prize winning ticket she sold to her grandmother, Lois Melsen of Grand Island. Melsen clasped her hands to her mouth in surprise when her name was announced Thursday evening by Tom Dinsdale, the owner of Dinsdale Chevrolet that sponsors Ticket to Ride, now in its 14th year. Just before Dinsdale made the announcement, it was noted that the winner was standing in the Dinsdale showroom. Melsen said that caused her to look around to see who the winner might be. "I never win anything," she said following the drawing, which prompted a number of friends and well-wishers to come up and congratulate her. But this year, Melsen and her husband, Virgil, have won either a 2016 Chevy Sonic, a 2014 Hyundai Elantra, a 2014 Hyundai Genesis Coupe, a 2014 Hyundai Veloster or $15,000 in cash. Melsen said she would have to return home Thursday night and talk with her husband about which prize to accept. Melsen has purchased tickets the past three years, all from her granddaughter, Nicole. Nicole's husband, Ryan Hansen, has been involved with Ticket to Ride for the past three years, including serving as chairman this year. Each year, Ticket to Ride makes a maximum of 999 tickets available for the drawing. Hansen noted that this year's Ticket to Ride sold a total of 704 tickets. "Any time you've sold more than 700 tickets, you've had a good campaign," Hansen said. Each ticket costs $100. Hansen is a member of the St. Francis Foundation Board, which explains his involvement the past several years in the Ticket to Ride fundraiser. Because of Ryan's involvement, Nicole said, she has tried to do her part by selling individual tickets for each of the past three years. Nicole said she sold 15 tickets this year. Incredibly enough, the other winning ticket was sold to her mother, Billie Guyette of Grand Island. Even more incredibly, that ticket was for a $500 Visa card donated by Ryan and Nicole, as well as Gary and Susy Tournor. When Guyette's name was drawn, Derek Apfel, who served as a master of ceremonies, jokingly asked the Hansens if it would have been easier to just give her the $500. The drawings were all on the up-and-up with all the names drawn from a wire drum that was spun before the 10 names were picked out of the pile of 704 tickets. But a smiling Nicole acknowledged that if she sells tickets again next year, a lot of people might want to buy from her because she had something of a hot hand this year in selling winning tickets. Meanwhile, Melsen, has volunteered in the gift shop at CHI St. Francis since 2006, said she always felt the money she spent on her tickets the have gone to a very good cause. Melsen said that during a recent luncheon to honor volunteers, she was recognized for working a total of 1,000 volunteer hours over the past 10 years. Melsen said she's always enjoyed her volunteer job because she made friends with so many nice employees at the hospital and has also met lots of nice people who have visited the gift shop to buy items for family members or friends who have been hospitalized. The ticket winners were drawn at a Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce business function hosted at Dinsdale Chevrolet, sponsor of Ticket to Ride. In addition to grand prize winners Virgil and Lois Melsen, the following people are the winners of prizes worth $500:Tyler Dishman of Central City, a $500 Conestoga Mall Gift Card donated by Conestoga Mall.Dawn Gilbert of Hastings, a $500 grocery Gift Card donated by Super Saver.Gerri Zrust of Grand Island, a $500 Gas Card donated by Tom and Sue Pirnie.Richard Kuehner of Phillips, a $500 Visa Card donated by Agricultural Services, Inc.Brian Fausch of Grand Island, a $500 Visa Card donated by Arby's of Grand Island.Barry Keslar of Grand Island, a $500 Visa Card donated by Lacy Construction.Barb Schleichart of Grand Island, a $500 Visa Card donated by FBFS Lisa Huismann Agent.Central City Bank employees, a $500 Visa Card donated by Kim and Russ Rerucha.Billie Guyette of Grand Island, a $500 Visa card donated by Ryan and Nicole Hansen and Gary and Susy Tournor. HOLDREGE Tri-Basin Natural Resources District directors approved hiring Olsson Associates Tuesday to do a feasibility study of the proposed Platte-Republican diversion project. The project, which involves the Tri-Basin and Lower Republican NRDs, would transport high Platte River flows, when available, into the Republican Basin via the east branch of Turkey Creek in Gosper and Furnas counties, starting west of Smithfield. Project leaders have said the augmentation water would go into the Republican River between Oxford and Edison as credit for Republican River Compact compliance. The LRNRD board approved hiring Olsson Associates at its meeting Thursday. The cost will be about $237,000 if officials of both NRDs decide to proceed to the project permit stage, Tri-Basin General Manager John Thorburn told the Hub, but the cost will be $168,500 if it is decided to not continue past the feasibility study phase. The cost of either option will be equally divided between the two NRDs. However, Thorburn said a qualifier in his boards approval motion was that the Department of Natural Resources be contacted about paying a share of the cost and that DNR then would get a copy of the Olsson Associates reports. He added that negotiations continue on an agreement with Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, which would divert water through its system into the Republican Basin diversion project. CNPPID already puts excess Platte water into Elwood Reservoir and the E-65 irrigation canal in Gosper County for groundwater recharge that benefits both river basins. On another issue, Tri-Basin directors were reminded at Tuesdays board meeting in Holdrege that the first Tri-Basin stakeholders meeting to work on a Little Blue Basin integrated water management plan is at 7 tonight at the Kearney County Fairgrounds in Minden. The Tri-Basin and Little Blue NRDs are developing individual plans for the Little Blue Basin, but trying to make them compatible. Ag producers in eastern Kearney County, within Tri-Basin, have said their irrigation use and development is much more restricted than is the case for Little Blue NRD irrigators in adjacent Adams County. Thorburn said there will be stakeholders meetings like the one tonight in Minden within each NRD. Joint meetings of the two stakeholders groups will be scheduled periodically. The first one was in late March and Thorburn has said the next one may be in October. The stakeholders groups will make recommendations for the individual management plans, but decisions about the actual plans will be made by the two NRD boards. In another update Tuesday, Thorburn said county boards in Gosper, Phelps and Kearney counties have agreed to participate in renewing a hazard mitigation plan that covers all three. Such plans are required for public entities to qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency funds after natural disasters. At the April Tri-Basin meeting, the board agreed to be lead entity for work on the plan. Thorburn said then that the original plan started six years ago, but was not finalized by FEMA until three years ago. Because plans must be re-approved every five years, its time to start work on the update. He is completing an application, due May 27, for federal funds to help pay for the renewal process estimated to cost $60,000-$70,000. If approved, federal funds will pay 75 percent and the local match of 25 percent will be divided equally between the three counties and Tri-Basin. Also Tuesday, the Tri-Basin directors set 2017 unit-of-benefit assessments for drainage improvement project areas in northern Kearney and Phelps counties as recommended by the boards projects and Construction Committee. The rates, based on each IPAs reserves and project needs, are: Fort Kearny, 20 cents; Fort Kearny West, 10 cents; North Dry Creek, 5 cents; Sacramento Creek, zero; South Dry Creek, 15 cents; Whiskey Slough, zero; and Odessa, $5.66. In other business, the Tri-Basin board: n Heard about the Central Platte NRDs new groundwater exchange from General Manager Lyndon Vogt of Grand Island. n Heard a report on CNPPID groundwater monitoring data from Irrigation Division Manager Dave Ford. n Voted to reschedule the next regular board meeting from June 14 to 7:30 p.m. June 21 at the Tri-Basin office in Holdrege. n Voted to renew an agreement for a weather station south of Holdrege that is part of a University of Nebraska-Lincoln system of stations. n Held public hearings before approving bylaws revisions related to per diem eligibility and electing a temporary chairman, and erosion and sediment control rules to conform to state law changes. The rule changes still must be reviewed by DNR. WHITECLAY, Neb. More than 60 people crammed into a quonset hut in this notorious village Thursday to learn more about the epidemic of fetal alcohol syndrome in the surrounding rural area. For organizers, it was a chance to show the alcohol-related misery caused by the millions of cans of high-alcohol beer sold in this unincorporated village. Most of that beer is sold to residents of the officially dry Pine Ridge Reservation, just across the South Dakota border. It was an unusual, remote location for a medical conference, but the site was picked for dramatic effect: Some street people lay passed out along the highway amid dilapidated buildings the night before the event. Its easy to talk about this issue in a fancy hotel and go to lunch and say, Thats too bad,? said one of the organizers, Nora Boesem. We really wanted to bring people to ground zero. Organizers revealed Thursday that the effort to combat fetal alcohol syndrome and alcoholism has enlisted a new ally: the Uni versity of Nebraska Medical Center. In March, the documentary film Sober Indian, Dangerous Indian was shown at UNMC. The film, which follows the lives of some of the street people as they struggle with alcoholism and broken family lives, prompted concern from med center researchers about the public health crisis in Whiteclay. Dr. Shilpa Buch, director of the Nebraska Center for Substance Abuse at UNMC, said the research hospital is figuring out its role in the issues at Whiteclay. Those issues have been in the state and national spotlight for more than two decades. Last year, the towns four beer-only liquor stores sold the equivalent of 3.5 million cans of beer. Many blame the town, known as skid row of the Plains, as the main contributor to high rates of alcoholism on the reservation and to problems such as fetal alcohol syndrome. Although scientific studies are hard to find, its estimated that 1 in 4 children born on the reservation suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome, a birth defect that causes physical abnormalities as well as lifelong learning and emotional disabilities. By contrast, the national rate for fetal alcohol syndrome is 1 or 2 per thousand. State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln, whos leading a new interim study for the Legislature of Whiteclay alcohol sales, was among those at the conference, which continues through today. The situation is a public health emergency that demands action, Pansing Brooks said. She said the damage being caused to South Dakota infants by alcohol from Nebraska is much worse than that caused by the sale of marijuana for recreational use in Colorado yet Nebraska has sued Colorado. In recent months, the fetal alcohol problem has prompted action from activists such as Boesem of Newell, South Dakota, who has served as a foster parent for dozens of fetal alcohol kids, and Barbara Vancil, who has fostered such kids from her home in nearby Hay Springs, Nebraska. The two women organized this weeks conference at Whiteclay. They have been lobbying health officials and government officials to help increase awareness and diagnosis and to improve treatment options for the victims. We are just two moms who want to tell others about the dangers of drinking alcohol while pregnant, they said in promotional materials for the conference. Their work seems to be having an impact. Attendance at the conference, Broken Lives: Addiction and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, is more than double the attendance of a summit on Whiteclay issues last year. Having UNMC involved is significant because of the resources the medical center can bring to the issue, said John Maisch, an Oklahoma lawyer who produced the recent Whiteclay documentary. Frank LaMere, a Native American activist from South Sioux City, Nebraska, who was one of the first to call attention to Whiteclay, Thursday called the village the illegitimate child of Nebraska and Sheridan County. Nobody wants to talk about it. People think if you leave it alone, it will go away, LaMere said. Pansing Brooks, the state senator, said its been much more effective to focus on the public health situation than to try to shut down the Whiteclay beer stores. State officials have said they are powerless to shut the stores so long as they obey state liquor laws laws, such as prohibiting sales to intoxicated customers, that activists say are regularly broken. Earlier this year, a group of local business owners and Sheridan County officials began meeting in private to devise ways to address the vagrants who live, drink and pass out on Whiteclay streets. Some say the street people have become more aggressive, hurting businesses in Whiteclay that dont sell alcohol. The group, formed at the urging of Gov. Pete Ricketts, has withheld comment on its work until it composes some final recommendations, which are expected in the next few weeks. LaMere called the group a ruse designed to buy more time to maintain the status quo. Its hard to talk about Nebraska Nice here, he said. Actress Zarine Khan has denied endorsing weight loss pills and says she cannot endorse something she doesn't believe in. "I cannot endorse something I don't believe in. I work very hard everyday in the gym and believe there are no shortcuts to weight loss!" Zareen said in a statement. The actress, who can be seen in a sizzling new avtar in the song "Khallas Veerappan" from filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma's forthcoming movie Veerappan, was approached by a weight loss pill company to endorse the product. She was offered an amount close to Rs.1 crore for this endorsement but she rejected the offer. Zareen believes in working the hard way and is training under Abbas Ali, who also trains actor Shahid Kapoor. India's capital market regulator on Thursday took steps to stop suspected illegal money flowing into the country by making issuers of securities known as offshore derivative instruments register their customers. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) also tightened rules for transferring ownership of these offshore instruments to other investors. And the watchdog said issuers must report any suspicious transactions to regulators. The watchdog's action provides more evidence that India is stepping up measures to crack down on foreign money flowing into the country illegally. These have included amendments to tax treaties with certain countries which will affect wealthy Indians who route cash through these countries to avoid Indian taxes, a practice known as "round tripping." Last week, for example, the Indian government said it would start imposing capital gains tax on investments coming from Mauritius starting next year, after the two countries agreed to amend a three-decade old treaty. The stricter rules on offshore derivatives will mainly impact so-called participatory notes, or P-Notes, derivative products that track domestic equity markets and have been popular with foreign investors because of their less stringent registration process. Stronger action had been expected after a Supreme Court-appointed special investigations team said last year that the watchdog needed to provide greater oversight of money laundering in stocks as well as "black money" being repatriated to the country, including through tougher scrutiny of P-Notes. "(Offshore derivative) issuers shall be required to identify and verify the beneficial owners in the subscriber entities," the watchdog said, adding the rules would apply to investors with holdings above a minimum threshold. The new rules were announced after the watchdog's quarterly board meeting in Mumbai. As of March, foreign portfolio investors had outstanding offshore derivative instrument positions of Rs 2.23 lakh crore, according to the watchdog's website. The bulk of these are believed to be made up of P-Notes. Names of 14 more new cities would be announced soon under the flagship 'Smart City Mission' which will receive the first tranche of funding, the government today said. "Already 20 cities have been selected. Another 13 or 14 cities are going to be announced in a day or two and these will be included in the first set of cities, which will receive the first tranche of funding," Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told a gathering at the CII Smart City Investors Meet here. He said there are huge opportunities for private players as the first 20 cities would require investment to the tune of $7 billion. Emphasising on the role of the private sector in the development of smart cities, Naidu said there is an urgent need to involve it and bring in their expertise and technology to meet the aspirations of the citizens in these cities. In the backdrop of Assembly results being declared today in five states, the minister said there is a move towards stability in the states as well, which will augur well for the developmental initiatives. Later on the sidelines of the event, he said the ground work for the first round of smart city projects have been completed and construction was expected to be begin in these cities by June 25. "Happy that smart city mission is becoming a reality, ground work is completed, detailed project reports (DPRs) are approved, money being released for the first installment and by June 25 I would like to see smart city construciton work start in different cities," he said. The event was attended by ambassadors of the US, Japan, South Korea, Spain and the High Commissioner of UK, among others. US Ambassador Richard Verma brought out the challenges for the Indian urban landscape including governance, pollution and congestion. He emphasised that these can be converted into opportunities through the Smart City Mission. He reiterated the US' commitment to help India in three cities - Allahabad, Ajmer and Vizag -- through cooperation of some of the best of US companies. Naidu said a lot of investors are showing interest in the public-private partnership (PPP) projects. "They can invest in transportation, water supply, sewerage plants, alternative transport systmem... all opportunities are open," he said. Meanwhile, he said, the passage of Real Estate Bill by Parliament will bring in "credibility" and once the regulators are established in the states, it would bring in "correction in the negative trend" in the market. Verma also emphasised upon need to focus on local solutions and careful planning through means like community engagement and collaboration, continue implementation of advanced technologies and apply innovative financial solutions. British High Commissioner Sir Dominic Asquith said India's estimated smart cities market is the 12th largest globally. He promised to support Smart City Mission through the UK's expertise in urban design; planning and architecture; infrastructure engineering and construction; data, software and analytics; project management; financing and real estate; and public engagement and customised user-centric solutions, among other areas. All these themes would be displayed in the three cities chosen by the UK - Pune, Indore and Amravati. Ambassador of Japan Kenji Hiramatsu highlighted some of the key areas of collaboration with India, including sewerage and water supply systems, energy efficiency and conservation, maximising the use of energy through stable Smart Grid systems, solar technology, and urban transportation systems. Hiramatsu shared that Japan would also provide technical assistance to India to make the cities and urban infrastructure resilient to natural disasters like floods and earthquakes. He also highlighted the financial commitments made by Japanese companies to the Indian economy, like Softbank's $20 billion commitment to India's renewable energy sector in the next 10 years. Ambassador of Korea Cho Hyun suggested that while transforming cities, the focus should be on the use of technologies and meticulous planning involving local communities and stakeholders. New Delhi: Telecom regulator Trai on Thursday proposed exploring models to give consumers free Internet service within the Net neutrality framework, months after barring platforms like Facebooks Free Basics and Airtel Zero under its differential pricing rule. "The consultation paper (on free data) is being issued to explore model(s) that could achieve benefits of offering free data while avoiding the ingenuity that the differential tariff regulation is meant to prevent," the regulator said in the consultation paper. The model should facilitate the un-connected and under-connected consumer to become better connected and should not allow any telecom service providers (TSPs) or large company playing a gatekeeper or biased role, said Trai's consultation paper. The process opens up scope for those applications or platforms that promise to provide free data without the intention of gate-keeping consumers on content access. "Were a little surprised that this is the consultation paper that has been released because it only concerns means of making data available for free. It appears to be a follow-up from the last consultation, and not what we were expecting," the SavetheInternet volunteer Nikhil Pahwa said. However, it might help bring a little more clarity to issues related to offering data for free, he added. The regulator in February this year barred the platforms like Airtel Zero and Facebooks Free Basics which offered content for free. However, there are platforms that credit back data or money spent on accessing content. In the first model, the regulator noted that "allowing service providers to perform what effectively amounts to a gate-keeping function, might potentially empower TSPs to select certain content providers at the disadvantage of others, thereby adversely affecting public interest and creating non-level playing field". In the second model of providing free data to all consumers, irrespective of the telecom network, "there is a need to enable smaller entrepreneurs to flourish without permitting gate-keeping function in the hands of TSPs and also to give consumers more choices for accessing the Internet". It has sought public views on if there is a need to have TSP-agnostic platform to provide free data or suitable reimbursement to users, without violating the principles of its differential pricing for data rules. Trai is also examining whether platforms like Gigato, mCent, Ladoo, Taskbucks need to be regulated or market be allowed to develop these platforms. The last date for comments for this paper is June 16 and that of counter-comments is June 30. WASHINGTON U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington next month to discuss security and other issues, the White House said on Friday. In a statement, the White House said Obama and Modi will discuss economic growth, climate change, clean energy, and security and defence cooperation during the meeting on June 7, which follows Obama's trip to New Delhi in January 2015. "The visit will highlight the deepening of the U.S.-India relationship in key areas," the statement said. The two countries' partnership is seen as critical in Washington, which is seeking to counterbalance China's increasing power. Modi will address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, an opportunity extended to few foreign leaders, the day after the White House meeting, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a tweet. In 2005, then-U.S. President George W. Bush's administration denied Modi a visa, citing a 1998 U.S. law barring entry to foreigners who have committed "particularly severe violations of religious freedom." More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in sectarian riots in Gujarat in 2002 when Modi had just become the state's chief minister. He has denied any wrongdoing, and India's Supreme Court in 2010 ruled there was no case. Obama, who has adopted a "pivot to Asia" strategy, quickly dismissed the issue by inviting Modi to the White House when he called to congratulate him on winning India's 2014 election. (Reporting by Susan Heavey and Tim Ahmann; Editing by W Simon) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Patna: After Mohammad Shahabuddin was shifted from Siwan jail to another location in connection with the murder of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan in Bihar, his three associates were given the same treatment on Friday. "Three associates of Shahabuddin have been shifted from Siwan jail to Motihari jail," said a police official. One of them is Upender Singh, who was arrested and interrogated in connection with the murder of Rajdeo Ranjan in Siwan last week. Upender Singh is well known to be a sharpshooter of Shahabuddin, who has been serving a life sentence in connection with a murder case. Shahabuddin was shifted from Siwan jail to Bhagalpur jail on Thursday, a day after his prison cell was searched by police in connection with the murder of the journalist. He has been lodged in Siwan jail for over a decade. He has only twice been shifted to Bhagalpur and Gaya jails for brief periods. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have alleged that Shahabuddin had been pulling strings from his prison cell and had played a role in the killing of Rajdeo Ranjan. The BJP leaders also demanded that Shahabuddin be shifted from Siwan jail to some other place. Shahabuddin has been convicted in several criminal cases and being tried in more cases, including murder, attempts to murder, abduction, theft and rioting. He was elected four times as a Member of Parliament from Siwan as a member of Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) which is part of the ruling coalition in Bihar with Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and Congress as other members. He was also twice elected as a member of the Bihar assembly. Last month he was included in the RJD's national executive along with former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and the state's Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav. The media also reported that Bihar Minority Affairs Minister Abdul Ghafoor visited Shahabuddin in Siwan jail on 6 March and was caught on camera feasting with the murder convict in violation of the jail manual. The BJP had then accused the state government of functioning with the help of convicted criminals while RJD chief Lalu Prasad had said there was nothing wrong with Ghafoor visiting Shahabuddin. The Bihar government led by Nitish Kumar has already recommended a CBI probe into the journalist's killing. Ranjan, Siwan bureau chief of Hindi newspaper Hindustan, which is part of the HT Media, was shot dead last Friday in a busy market near Station Road in the district. New Delhi: Women and Child Development Ministry on Friday signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for strengthening and better monitoring its ongoing nutrition programmes for women and children across the country. The foundation will provide technical support at the national and state level to achieve its nutrition goals, especially during pre-conception, pregnancy and first two years of the newborn. "It will support an enhanced framework of collaboration in Information and Communication Technology enabled Real Time Monitoring (ICT-RTM) of Integrated Child Development Services(ICDS) and technical support on nutrition," a statement from the ministry said. "The government has a significant focus on improving the health and lives of women and children in India, by strengthening nutrition programmes in order to promote their holistic development," it said. It will also help in developing a shared national communications campaign for maternal and child nutrition among target populations, the statement said. Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the scheduled visit of a central team which will inspect the condition of Sri Jagannath temple at Puri on Friday, opposition Congress demanded on Thursday that the state government release a a white paper on the state of the 12th century shrine. "People of Odisha must be informed about the actual condition of Sri Jagannath temple. They should know whether there is immediate danger to the temple. The state government and ASI must publish a white paper on the condition of the shrine," Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan told reporters after visiting the temple at Puri. Accompanied by leader of opposition Narasingha Mishra of Congress, Harichandan said, "The state government in 1992 had published a white paper on the condition of Sri Jagannth temple after certain stone fell from it. As the uncertainty continues over safety of the temple which created anxiety among the people, the state government must publish authentic document." Harichandan alleged that both the BJP-led Centre and the BJD government in the state are responsible for the delay in repair of the 'Jagamohan' the prayer hall of the temple. "The repair work of the Jagamohan has been put on hold just for Rs 2.5 crore. This is really unfortunate for the people of the state," Harichandan said. New Delhi: India has asked China to stop all activities in parts of Jammu and Kashmir occupied by Pakistan, the external affairs ministry said on Friday. Vikas Swarup, the ministry spokesperson, told reporters here that the issue of "Chinese activities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have been taken up with the Chinese side, including at the highest level." "Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India... We have asked them to cease all activities (there)," Swarup said. China is believed to have made huge investments and is sponsoring development projects in Pakistan-controlled Jammu and Kashmir, including in the volatile Shia-dominated Gilgit-Baltistan area. New Delhi: India has asked China to stop all work in parts of Jammu and Kashmir occupied by Pakistan, the external affairs ministry said on Friday. Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said at his weekly media briefing. Chinese activities in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir have been taken up with the Chinese side, including at the highest level, he said. Swarup was responding to a question on India's stand on Chinese activities in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a large part of which falls within Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. China is believed to have made huge investments and is sponsoring development projects in Pakistan-controlled Jammu and Kashmir, including in the volatile Shia-dominated Gilgit-Baltistan area. We have asked them (the Chinese side) to cease all activities in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Swarup said. Kannur: CPI(M) and BJP workers clashed in various places on Thursday night during the Left party's election victory celebrations, leaving at least 30 people injured, following which prohibitory orders have been clamped in the district. The injured 24 belonging to BJP and six of CPI(M) have been hospitalised, police said. Panur, Dharmadam, Thalassery and Pinarayi saw workers of the two parties attacking each other on Thursday night, they said. Crude bombs were hurled at houses of some BJP workers and vehicles were also damaged. Kannur is a stronghold of the Left party. On Thursday, one person was killed and eight others were injured when two country made bombs were hurled at CPI(M)-led LDF's poll victory rallies in the district. Dharmadam, from where CPI(M) politburo member and chief ministerial aspirant Pinarayi Vijayan won, is observing half-day bandh on Friday over the killing of the CPI(M) worker. CPI(M)-BJP and CPI(M)-IUML clashes were also reported from some places in northermost Kasaragod district on Thursday following which prohibitory orders had been clamped at Kasaragod, Kanhangad and Manjeswaram. In the poll results declared on Thursday, CPI(M)-led LDF returned to power getting a comfortable majority dealing a huge blow to ruling Congress-led UDF while BJP created history making its debut. In the 140-member assembly, LDF won 91 seats, UDF 47, BJP and Independents, one each. Jammu: The Army on Thursday rejected Pakistan's allegation of "insider's role" in the terrorist attack on Pathankot airbase and said it was planned and sponsored from across the border. National Investigation Agency (NIA) that probed the terrorist attack has ruled out the role of an "insider", the General officer Commanding in Chief (GoC-in-C) of the western command of Army, Lt Gen K J Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a function on Thursday. "NIA has carried out a thorough probe an investigation and said that there was no insider hand. The statement of the Pakistani team is incorrect", he said. Singh said the attack on the airbase was "planned and sponsored" from across the border. "It (the attack) was all sponsored, controlled, planned and logistics provided from across the border, especially by Jaish-e-Mohammed. People have been named, we have asked for Red Corner notice against them," he said. "Our investigation agency has carried a very thorough probe. They have screened the concerned people and a conclusive judgment has been arrived at that there was no insider hand", Lt Gen Singh said. Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team (JIT) had visited India in March in connection with the probe in the Pathankot terror attack perpetrated by the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The terrorists had intruded into the strategic air base at Pathankot on the intervening night of January one-two and mounted the assault. In the fierce encounter that erupted, seven security personnel besides four terrorists were killed. Asked about the Pakistani rangers' statement that they had no role in the cross border tunnel detected in the R S Pura sector, he said India need to remain vigilant, as Pakistan will not give up "their efforts". "It is unfortunate...tunnel was detected accidentally, so it is a fact that they (Pakistani side) will not give up their efforts, but we should remain vigilant", Lt Gen Singh said. On the allegations leveled by some people that the Army was not allowing them to construct the second storey of their houses near an ammunition depot he said it is necessary for the security of the nation. "See if you have to secure your nation, you have to make some sacrifice, no security can be done without sacrifice," Lt Gen Singh said. He said, that people need to be made aware about the terrorist activities and it is the common civilian who can give information about militant activities to the Army. "Terrorist who infiltrate moves about 10 to 15 km inside Indian territory, he has to change his clothes, he often takes lift or hijacks a car and there are certain civilians who spot this activity and if they inform the security agencies at an early stage such activities can be tackled", he said. New Delhi : Power Minister Piyush Goyal will lead a high-powered delegation to Singapore from Monday, eyeing deeper engagement in the energy sector with the city-state which is an important source of FDI in India. "The visit would primarily focus upon engaging with the leading energy and technology companies and also strengthening connection with Singapores strong investor community," FICCI said in a statement. "It aims to further strengthen relations, which have been elevated to the level of 'Strategic Partnership' between the two nations having received a boost under the present Government," it added. Singapore is a global financial hub for clean technology funds, asset management companies and private equity funds. It is home to commodity traders especially those dealing withproducts like coal and natural gas. Mumbai: Punching holes in BJP's claims, the Shiv Sena said on Friday that the outcome of the assembly elections in five states show that national parties can't vanquish regional parties. The results of the elections in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry was "nothing shocking or surprising," the Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana. "The BJP could only defeat the Congress in Assam but could not vanquish Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu or the Left in Kerala and the Congress won in Puducherry. We have to admit that the BJP could not defeat the regional parties," the editorial said. Now, it is being touted that the Congress was thrown out in Assam and Kerala but why is not being said that the BJP was defeated in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, asked the Sena. The Sena is a constituent of the BJP-led central government and in alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra. It wanted to know why people voted for the Trinamool Congress if West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was accused by the BJP of promoting corruption, goondaism and terrorism? It pointed out that BJP President Amit Shah had called for a 'Mamata-mukt Bengal'. Now, however, the BJP said it was satisfied with opening an account in West Bengal. The Sena asked if "opening an account" alone was the motive, why did the entire BJP brass including Prime Minister Narendra Modi camp there? Turning to Kerala, the party pointed out the tradition of Left and Congress alternatively bagging power continued and the BJP could only "open an account". Apparently, for the BJP, merely "opening an account" is equivalent of 'acchhe din', the Sena added sarcastically. In Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha managed to retain power with 126 seats but faced a challenge from 92-year-old M. Karunanidhi's DMK whose tally shot up from from 32 to 105 seats. "Hence, the 'Modi Magic' failed to work in these four states though the Assam victory serves as a soothing balm after the Bihar defeat," the Sena noted. It reiterated that the assembly election verdict again proved that national political parties can never defeat popular leaders of regional parties. "We congratulate all the winners!" Kolkata: A day after Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress scored a resounding victory in the assembly polls to retain power, people of West Bengal on Friday woke up to huge photographs of 'Didi' smiling from full-page ads in leading national dailies. With the name and symbol of All India Trinamool Congress in the top left corner, and a map of West Bengal in white against a blue background -- white and blue are Banerjee's favourite colours -- the advertisement termed the victory as "historic." "The people have spoken. Development has been chosen." "This is a victory for Ma Mati Manush", the party said, reiterating Banerjee's pet slogan of mother, land and people. In the body of the advertisement, the party spoke of the "countless hurdles faced and the malicious propaganda against us," and took potshots at the Congress-Left Front (LF) alliance. "The coalition between two contradictory ideologies has been outrightly rejected by the people," it said. "They have also rejected political entities that are alien to our culture and only seek to fuel communalism. The people of West Bengal did not want to regress." The ad said the people of Bengal have recognised the wave of development and progress. "The sole reason for this is that we had always given development and progress the highest priority, and had not stooped to petty slandering and hostility towards our opposition." The party promised to vindicate the people's trust and said it was its mission to ensure "holistic development." In the 294-member assembly, the Trinamool Congress finished with a whopping 211 seats, leaving far behind the Congress-Left Front alliance that got 77. The Bharatiya Janata Party and its alliance partner Gorkha Janmukti Morcha won three seats each. The Left Front major CPI-M's Bengali mouthpiece Ganashakti came up with a banner headline "Sarkar fer Trinamooleri" (Trinamool again forms government). The daily gave prominent space to party secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra's comment "we accept the people's verdict, but our fight in the interest of the people will continue." The largest circulated daily Anandabazar Patrika's headline said "Didii - Dusho par" (Didi crosses 200) and acknowledged that the people's trust for Banerjee has remained intact. Sydney: Researchers have identified a gene that can cause defects in insulin secretion in people with Type-2 diabetes as well as in those with Down syndrome. Type-2 diabetes (T2D) is a complex metabolic disease associated with obesity and insulin resistance due to pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction. Many individuals with Down syndrome experience lower insulin secretion, mitochondrial dysfunction and increased oxidative stress in the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. These same conditions also appear in people with Type 2 diabetes. In experiments with mice, the researchers found that the over expression of the gene RCAN1 can cause these problems common in both the disorders. The findings, detailed in the journal PLOS Genetics, suggest that this gene may be playing a lead role in development of Type-2 diabetes in the general population. For the study, the team led by Damien Keating, professor at Flinders University in Australia, used four mouse models, two with high blood sugar and two without to identify genes duplicated in Down syndrome that contributed to problems with insulin secretion. They narrowed down the list by comparing it to genes over expressed in beta cells from humans with Type-2 diabetes. The results of the five State Assemblies which went to poll in the last two months are on expected lines. The most important political analysis emerging from the results is a significant setback to the Congress party. It lost both the States of Kerala and Assam. In Kerala, it lost because its government was mired in corruption scams. In Assam, its traditional policy of encouraging illegal immigration as a source of vote bank invited a popular wrath. The strategic alliance between the BJP, AGP and the BPF highlighted this historical blunder of the Congress. In Tamil Nadu, it was a laggard in the DMK-Congress alliance. Its poor strike rate pulled the DMK alliance down. In West Bengal, the alliance with the Left was an ideological compromise. It proved counter-productive. Post 2014 General Elections, the Congress has increasingly adopted fringe positions. It didnt behave as a natural party of governance. Its obstructionism was blended with its leaders rent a cause approach. The Congress is, today, threatened with being pushed increasingly to the margins. Will it be the main challenger to the BJP led NDA in 2019, or will it stand behind a hotchpotch combination of ideologically disparate regional groups? What is the nature of surgery the party leaders are now talking about? Will the Congress evolve into a structured party with a galaxy of leaders or will it remain a dynastic party? For the BJP, this election marks a significant geographical expansion. There were not many takers in 2008 for the idea that BJP can form its own government in Karnataka. Karnataka was then seen as a gateway to the South. We are now on a come-back trail in Karnataka. We have since, a coalition government in Andhra Pradesh and are increasingly pushing the politics of Kerala to a tri-polar position. We are unquestionably the largest party in Bihar. In our Eastward movement, we will now form a government with a comfortable majority in Assam. We are already a part of the two coalition governments in the North East and have made a sizeable seat and vote presence in West Bengal. We seek to work in cooperation with the Governments of the regional parties. The Left has ideologically become irrelevant globally. The political and economic models that they espoused have been widely rejected. In India, it is their battle for an ideological survival. Their victory in Kerala is the result of an unpopular government losing an election and an opponent winning by default. Their marginalization in West Bengal, a State they ruled for 34 years, is significant. Extreme positions espoused by a few in the Universities of Jadavpur and JNU cannot be a mainstream agenda of India. For us in the Central Government it will be an opportunity to work closely with all the five elected State Governments for the larger welfare of the people. Streams of buoyant party workers and supporters moving in and out of the BJPs Assam state office in Guwahati made it difficult to enter the party office for any visitor. At around 10 am on Thursday, the local television channels darting figures of vote counting showed the party leading in more than 50 seats. By 11 am, party workers started dancing to the tunes of popular Assamese songs played through a high intensity music system in the office premises. By then a large television screen was set up on a stage decked in saffron in the lawns of the BJP, showing the party's climbing vote share leading in more than 60 seats out of the 126 assembly constituencies; the state still had several rounds of counting left. Was not it too early for BJP, a party that never was even a part of a government in Assam to celebrate? The final result could be very different from what the early trends predict. Certainly not, said Utpal Das a party worker, rejoicing along with his co-workers in the office premises. We are just early to catch the signal of victory, he added smilingly see, there is a tried and tested formula to predict election result in Assam, he said and further illustrated, the formula says that if a political party manages to win over the Guwahati East constituency in the city, then it is certain that the party will form government in Assam eventually . It is a strange historical co-incidence in the states electoral politics, that has been showing itself up in every assembly election in Assam,said Das. Results of assembly elections held in the earlier years show that this strange historical co-incidence has been continuing to occur since the election held in 1967. In that year Mahendra Mohan Choudhury of Indian National Congress won Guwahati East seat and the party formed government. This trend continued with each government formed in Assam after that. Even in 2011 assembly election, Congress candidate Robin Bordoloi won the seat and Tarun Gogoi of Congress remained in the position of the Chief Minister for the third consecutive term, said Santanu Sharma, another party worker. He explained that even well researched exit polls sometimes prove wrong. But Guwahati East never goes wrong in its prediction. BJP had an inkling that it will win the seat this time around. In fact one of our leaders and election strategists Himanta Biswa Sarma declared beforehand that the party will win this seat with a record margin of almost one lakh votes. This only boosted our belief that this time we will be forming the government, said Das. It is no wonder that the party set up a stage in the lawn decorated with bright saffron cloth by Wednesday, a night before the counting had actually begun. The mercury soared high in the party office on Thursday, as soon as the television screen in the stage showed the partys Guwahati East candidate Siddhartha Bhattacharya leading in number of votes, for the first time at 11am. And that lead came as a indisputable cause to rejoice for the party workers. By the time the Siddhartha Bhattacharya won the seat of Guwahati East with a margin of more than 960000 votes on Thursday, many of the congress stalwarts namely former Ministers Prodyut Bordoloi, Gautam Roy, Bharat Chandra Narah, Irrigation Minister Chandan Sarkar, Parliamentary Secretary Bhupen Bora saw themselves defeated. Air was filled with smoke of crackers bursted by BJP workers, after Election Commission website showed the party having won 43 seats and leading in 18 seats with Congress barely managing to win 21 seats and with a lead in 4 constituencies. It was a historic day for the party marching towards forming a government for the first time with historical co-incidence that predicted a political partys victory in the election well ahead of time again. Expectedly, the BJP has delivered a knock-out punch to the Congress in Assam with 80 plus seats going to the alliance it led. By forming a government for the first time since Independence in Assam, the BJP has expanded its presence to an area which till about 10 years back hardly had much impact on state politics. This massive win in the most commercial capital of the North East will help to expand the BJP's footprint in the remote north eastern region of the country. The BJP government in Arunachal Pradesh is through defection and not really an electoral victory. What the BJP did right By firming up an alliance with regional parties like the Asom Gana Parishad, and the Bodoland People's Front, and projecting Sarbananda Sonowal as their chief ministerial candidate, the party learnt the lessons from their defeat in Bihar. Unlike in Bihar, people knew who the chief minister would be. The elections were not fought on the Narendra Modi ticket though he loomed very much in the background and campaigned extensively in the state. Tarun Gogoi's mistakes Three-term chief minister Tarun Gogoi pushed all the wrong buttons. For one, he helped to divide the Muslim vote by rejecting an alliance with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) of perfume baron Badruddin Ajmal. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had tried to get an understanding between Ajmal and the Congress but failed. The AIUDF had been earlier taking away Muslim votes from the Congress. This time around, realising that a split in the vote will help the alliance, Badruddin Ajmal had reached out to the Congress. Tarun Gogoi, aware that the Congress was seen in Assam as a party appeasing the minorities, did not want to have any truck with Ajmal's AIUDF. This led to the split in the sizeable 34 percent Muslim vote, while the Hindu votes consolidated behind the BJP alliance. In the previous elections, Gogoi did not have to bother about the AIUDF, but this time it was different as the BJP had already lined up an alliance. Himanta Biswa Sarma Perhaps more important, was the fact that Gogoi's former blue-eyed boy, Himanta Biswa Sarma crossed over to the BJP. Sarma, a great organiser and had been the main strategist for Gogoi in his earlier elections. Though there are major allegations of corruption against him, the fact that he was a good minister who delivered on his promises made him one of the most popular ministers in Gogoi's cabinet. Though he was a Gogoi loyalist, he had been inducted into the Congress by former chief minister Hiteshwar Saikia, and trained under him. Saikia was a master strategist and good administrator, and passed on many of these qualities to his protege. Sarma, an ambitious man, was dismayed when he found his godfather, recall son Gaurav Gogoi from the US and get him into politics. Since then Tarun Gogoi and Sarma had fallen out. Sarma tried hard to get the Congress high command, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi to back him but got no traction from them. Sarma was bitter at Rahul Gandhi not giving any heed to his advice. Towards the end, Rahul Gandhi refused to meet him. So the die was already cast and it was a matter of time before Sarma switched sides. At an interview to a television channel on Friday that bitterness was evident when Sarma spoke about Rahul. He said dynastic politics was all right for Rahul, who is there because of the family, but questioned whether dynasty should be encouraged right up to the state and panchayat levels. He was obviously hinting at the projection of Gogoi's son as a future leader of the state. He also said that Rahul Gandhi was surrounded by a coterie of "blue blood." Bangladeshi influx Since the late 1970s, xenophobia about being reduced to a minority in their own state by the influx of illegal Bengali-speaking immigrants from Bangladesh has been a major concern of the Assamese. An anti-foreigners movement, aimed at Bangladeshi immigrants was spearheaded by the All Assam Students Movement (AASU) in the 1980s. BJP's chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal, Biswa Sarma and AGP leader Prafulla Mahanta, were all part of the student movement, which has an anti-Bangladeshi agenda. Now that all three are in the ruling party together, the issue of influx will be on top of the agenda. Sarma already said that all those who entered Assam after 1971, must be deported. The question is who will identify them after so many years? The BJP's Assam Vision Document 2016-2025 promises to protect the identity of the Assamese. A new law aimed at stopping Bangladeshi infiltrators from getting employment in the state whether in industry, business or any other agency employing illegal immigrants has the potential to snowball into a major issue. This could lead to a witch hunt and Muslims become the natural target. Now that the elections are done and dusted, the foreigners issue may not be taken up in a big way by the BJP. The border fencing will be strengthened no doubt, but sending people back to Bangladesh would be a major problem. Considering that relations with Bangladesh is at an all-time high, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unlikely to let domestic considerations hamper ties. The land border agreement with Bangladesh is being implemented without problems. There are many projects on the anvil between India and Bangladesh, and with Modi keen on seamless trade with the neighbours, it is unlikely that things will go out of hand in Assam. That is till another election has to be fought. For the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), 2016 is a landmark year in Kerala politics. Amid the Left wave that swept through the state, the lone lotus bloomed in Nemam, a suburb of the state's capital, marked the first victory for the party in Kerala Assembly elections. As O Rajagopal, BJP's sole winning candidate put it, the party no longer needs to take a visitors pass to enter the state assembly and sit in the visitors gallery as once ridiculed by Congress leader from the state, A K Antony. But Rajagopal, 86, who is more familiar to poll defeats than success in his political life, is a consolation prize for the party in an election, where the party fielded Prime Minister Narendra Modi to spearhead its campaign and roped in the Hindu Ezhavas under the Hindutva umbrella. One could also argue that Rajagopals victory is more on account of his acceptability among voters in Nemam, rather than BJPs growth. Beyond that, the question is has the party succeeded in making strong inroads to the bipolar political landscape of the state? Take a look at the numbers. BJP's vote share in this election, 10.5 percent, has risen as compared with the 6 per cent in 2011 assembly elections, but has remained flat when compared with the 10.2 percent it scored in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Seen together with its ambitious ally, Bhartiya Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), the vote share is about 14 percent as compared with 16 percent the alliance clocked in local body polls last year. The BDJS contested in 37 seats and garnered 3.9 percent total vote share while BJP finished with 10.5 percent. At this stage, that's hardly any progress considering the huge clout of Hindu Ezhavas in central Kerala (Alappuzha, Kollam districts where the BJP-BDJS combine didnt live upto the expectations) whose support BDJS chief, Vellappalli Natesan claims to enjoy. Easy win for LDF As noted in an earlier article, the LDF's victory is a gift by the Congress-led UDF government that has spent most of its five-year term excelling in the art of embracing scams ranging from Solar Saritha to bar bribery to flip-flops on liquor policies, with no major development progress to show. There was a strong anti-incumbency wave. Also, the governments inability to act on time in the Jisha murder case too added to an anti-incumbency wave in the state. There are reasons to believe that a large chunk of the Hindu Ezhava votes have gone to the LDF in the pro-Left wave. This, along with a drift in the minority votes, enabled LDF to score 91 seats in the 140 seat assembly leaving UDF with only 48 seats. But, the bigger points to note here are these. Even though, BJP alone has not made a big progress in this round of polls, the BJP-BDJS combine has managed to retain most of its vote share it scored in local body polls (just above 14 percent vs 16 percent). This proves that the gain in vote share in November last year was no one-time wonder. If things turn favourable, this combination can emerge as a major challenge for both fronts and more to the UDF in future. Prior to the BDJS tie up, the BJP, in Kerala has so far remained largely as a party of upper caste Hindus. It is changing that image by embracing Ezhavas (considered to be socially backward). That has the design of a third front emerging in the southern most state to challenge the bipolar politics began in 1970s. Second, the BJP-BDJS alliance has evidently forced a triangular contest in many constituencies, which used to be LDF vs UDF battle scenes earlier. As this report says, in Kodungalloor, the NDA won a little over 6,000 votes in the last assembly polls, but the BDJS nominee polled over 32,000 votes. Elsewhere, in Kuttanad in Alappuzha district, while the BJP candidate had won over 4,000 votes in 2011, the BDJS nominee finished with 33,000 plus votes this time. UDF has evidently lost its votes in both these places and Left candidates have gained. Past evidence shows that caste-centric politics has hardly worked in Kerala beyond certain pockets. The fact that the BDJS has managed to make impacts shows BJP's Hinduvta focused strategy is working slowly. Third, evidently, in the context of BJPs emergence, the united minorities in the state have favoured the Left more than the UDF. The state has key minorities Christian and Muslim constituting 45 percent of the state. Of this, Muslims are the bigger chunk making up 26.56 percent of the population. Traditionally, this community has put its support behind the UDF ally, the Indian Muslim League (IML) but this time, there are reasons to believe that the BJPs emergence has united the minorities and this benefited the Left than the UDF. Political analysts agree that, over the years, there has been a trend of LDF widening its hold in traditional IML strongholds in Malabar. BJPs election gain is also due to the fact that it has consolidated the NDAs position in Kerala with high-profile campaigns by PM Narendra Modi and other central leaders and promise of change from the bipolar politics of the state. Modis comparison of the states Scheduled Tribes with Somalians, which created a massive social media wave against Modi and the BJP in the run up to the elections, doesnt seem to have caused much impact in the elections. One needs to watch how the BJP- BDJS alliance grows from here. If BJP needs to morph itself into a mass political outfit in Kerala, it shouldnt confine within the Hindutva banner and focus on more secular, development-focused approach. But the big takeaway from the polls is this. The NDA is no longer a non-factor in Keralas political scene dominated by left parties and Congress. An influential third-front is taking shape and Congress-party is its first casualty. The SNC Lavalin corruption case hanging over his head and a dour demeanour he put up in the public were the major hurdles that kept Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan from parliamentary politics for nearly two decades. He cleared the first hurdle in November 2013 when a CBI court accepted his discharge petition in the case pertaining to a loss of Rs 374.50 crore the state exchequer suffered from a deal he initiated with Canadian company SNC Lavalin for the renovation of three hydro-electric plants in violation of norms during his term as electricity minister from 1996 to 1998. He sought to cement his position for the top post by going through an image makeover before the election. The 72-year-old leader changed his tough body language and tried to sport a smile whenever he appeared in television and interacted with people. He also tried to interact with the people by opening accounts on Facebook and other social media forums. However, the people were not impressed. They gave him a poor ranking in the pre-poll opinion polls. Most of the surveys placed him below 12 points in popularity among the major contenders for the chief minister. Ninety-two-year-old V S Achuthanandan topped the chart in popularity with 35 points. Even solar scam-tainted Chief Minister Oommen Chandy fared better than Vijayan with a ranking of 34. This did not matter for the CPI(M) central leadership, which wanted a younger and tougher leader to steer the government and prevent the movement from collapsing at a time when it is facing its biggest crisis in its other bastion West Bengal. Vijayans colleagues in Kerala feel that he is the most suitable leader to become the chief minister as he has already proved his administrative capability as power minister and his organisational abilities by steering the party as state secretary from 1998 to 2015. Even his critics acknowledge the contributions he made for enhancing the power supply during the three years he handled the electricity portfolio. They see Vijayan as a pro-development leader, who is ready to shake hands with corporates whom the party had alienated with its anti-capitalist ideology for the development of the state. Many mega projects like a high-speed rail corridor from north to south and the Kochi-Palakkad industrial corridor included in the CPI(M) manifesto are seen as an example of his development vision. Most of these projects were opposed by Achuthanandan during his term as chief minister from 2006 to 2011. Born on 21 March 1944 in a poor family at Pinarayi in the northern district of Kannur, Vijayan had worked as a handloom weaver before joining politics. He left the job after a year and joined for preuniversity course in the Government Brennen College, Thalassery. Subsequently, he completed his degree course from the same college. The student union activities at the college drew Vijayan into the Communist movement. He started his association with the party by joining the Kerala Student's Federation (KSF), which is now the Students Federation of India (SFI). Vijayan who served as the president and secretary of the body later became the president of Kerala State Youth Federation (KSYF), a precursor of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI). During the period, when communists in Kerala were organising the political activities from different hide-outs, Vijayan was imprisoned for one-and-a-half years. He was also arrested during the Emergency and tortured by the police. Vijayan was noted after he became the Kannur district secretary of the CPM following the expulsion of late MV Raghavan over his deviation from party lines in aligning with communal parties. Within three years, he became a member of the state secretariat. He was elected to the Assembly in 1970, 1977 and 1991 from Koothuparamba and in 1996 from Payyannur. Vijayan acquired the stature of a state-level leader after he was appointed as the state secretary of the CPM in 1998 following the death of the then secretary Chadayan Govindan. He used the 17 years he headed the party to cultivate a group of loyalists. He built up his base in the party by eliminating rivals one by one and adding friends from the rival group headed by Achuthanandan, who in fact had promoted him as the state secretary. Those who showed unwavering support to Achuthanandan were removed from party positions and his loyalists were packed in both the state secretariat and state committee by the time he relinquished the post in favour of his friend Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. This has come in good stead now. Pinarayi, who perceived Achuthanandan as his rival, had tried to clip his wings by using the brute majority he enjoyed in the state forums. The state committee prior to the last party conference at Alappuzha in February last year even termed Achuthanandan as a leader with anti-party mentality. Vijayan had recalled the state committee resolution even during the present election campaign. Vijayans opponents consider him as a bundle of contradictions. This is because of the contradictory positions he has taken on several occasions. Though he was in the forefront in opposing the self-financing colleges when A K Antony opened up the professional education to the private sector in 2002, he sent his daughter to a self-financing college and his son to a foreign university for higher education. A palatial house he built in Kannur in early 2010 also remains as an example of his double-speak. His opponents describe him as a proletarian leader with a liking for capitalist lifestyle. Vijayans elevation as chief minister can be embarrassing for the party if the High Court orders re-trial of the SNC Lavlin case. The chances cannot be ruled out as the court had observed that the CBI courts decision to discharge Vijayan and other accused in the case without trial was legally untenable. The court has resumed hearing in a pre-election petition filed by the UDF government for speedy disposal of the revision petitions filed by the CBI and others against Vijayans acquittal in the case. If the court allows the CBI plea for trial Vijayan may find the going tough. Jerusalem: Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon resigned on Friday, charging that extremists had taken over the government after he clashed repeatedly with hardline ministers over the army's handling of Palestinian violence. Yaalon said he no longer had any trust in Benjamin Netanyahu after the prime minister offered his post to a hardliner loathed by the Palestinians, in a bid to expand the governing coalition's majority. The surprise move by the respected former armed forces chief comes after a series of disputes over the military's values and role in society between ministers in Netanyahu's government and top generals backed by Yaalon. "I told the prime minister this morning that due to his conduct in recent developments, and in light of my lack of trust in him, I am resigning from the government and Knesset (parliament) and taking a break from political life," Yaalon said on Twitter. His resignation comes two days after former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said he would be open to bringing his far-right Yisrael Beitenu party into Netanyahu's governing coalition if a number of conditions were met, including being named defence minister. That condition looked likely to be met as Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party pressed talks with Yisrael Beitenu on Friday on the terms of a deal to boost the coalition's wafer-thin majority in parliament. Yaalon's resignation does not take effect for two days and, hours after it was announced, he used the podium of the defence ministry to deliver an impassioned tirade against the extremism that he said was gripping the Likud party and the country as a whole. "Unfortunately extremist and dangerous elements have taken over Israel and the Likud and are threatening (society)," he said. "This isn't the Likud I joined," he added, calling on the "sane majority" of Likud voters as well as the rest of the nation "to realise the severe implications of the extremist takeover of the centre, and fight this phenomenon." Yaalon said he had worked harmoniously with Netanyahu in the past, but recently "found himself in serious dispute over professional and moral issues with the prime minister, a number of ministers and lawmakers." Within the government Yaalon had been an outspoken defender of the army's handling of an upsurge of Palestinian violence since last October against criticism from hardline ministers and lawmakers. He had also insisted on senior officers' right to "speak their mind" after deputy armed forces chief Major General Yair Golan enraged Netanyahu by comparing contemporary Israeli society to Nazi Germany. A Hindu consolidation in favour of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cost the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) heavily in the assembly elections in Kerala. A seven percent shift in its votes saw the UDF losing 26 seats in the Hindu heartlands. Though the consolidation helped the NDA increase its vote share in the assembly polls from 6.3 percent in 2011 to nearly 16 percent in 2016, the benefit, in terms of seats, went to the Left Democratic Front (LDF)-led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The Left coalition lost only the Nemam seat in Thiruvananthapuram district in the saffron surge that saw the front fully sweeping the southern district of Kollam and winning all, but one seat in Thrissur district in central Kerala. The UDF that had won eight of the 24 seats in the two districts in the 2011 election had to content with just one seat. It won the Wadakkancherry seat by a margin of just 43 votes. The macro data shows that the BJP votes in both the districts have more than doubled compared to the last election in 2011. In Kollam, where it came in second in the Chathanur constituency, the BJP has increased its votes from 2.07 lakhs in 2011 to 4.96 lakh votes in 2016. Similarly, the BJP votes in Thrissur district went up from 1.34 lakhs to 3.36 lakhs. The LDF also made big gains in Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad districts, where the BJP and its allies made big inroads into the UDF vote bank. The UDF lost six seats in the two districts compared to 2011. The UDF has been able to withstand the saffron advance only in the minority belt. The coalition has lost only two seats in the Muslim dominated Malappuram district in north Kerala. It managed to retain the remaining six seats in constituencies in other districts where the Muslims have an edge. Similarly, the UDF has been able to win 19 of the 22 seats it got in the 2011 elections in the Christian-dominated Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts. The macro data shows that the UDF votes in the four districts have in fact gone up from 18.49 lakh votes in 2011 to 19.28 lakhs in 2016. The BJP votes showed only a marginal increase of just 566 votes in these four districts compared to 2011. The BJP advance in Thrissur with several Christian pockets saw the UDF votes dropping from 7.38 lakhs in 2011 to 6.55 lakhs in 2016 and its seats coming down from six to one in this election. This shows that the LDF has won 12 of the 13 seats in the district due to the shift of UDF votes to the BJP and its allies. The data shows that the LDF has got power at the cost of the UDF votes and not because of any anti-incumbency sentiments as it has claimed. In fact, the LDFs vote share has come down from 44.9 percent in 2011 to 43 percent this time. This shows it lost nearly two percent votes to the NDA. However, the NDA upsurge did not affect the LDF to the extent it hurt the UDF. Political observers believe that the impact of the growth in the BJP votes on LDF might have been less since the lower caste Hindu Ezhavas, who form a big chunk of Communists cadre in the state, remained firmly behind it this time. Many had thought that BJPs alliance with Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), a political outfit of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, would lead to a flight of lower class Ezhavas, which are traditionally affiliated to the Communist parties, to the new party. The poll results showed that they have refused to shift their age-old political affiliation. This is evident from the failure of BDJS to make any major impact in the election. The fledgling party could not even come to second position in any of the 37 seats it contested. The party could get only the upper class Ezhava voters, who traditionally supported the UDF. The huge erosion in the UDF votes could be because of the shift in these votes. Apart from this, a section of the upper caste Nair community may also have deserted the UDF as a result of the attempts by the BJP to consolidate the Hindus against the alleged minority appeasement policy of the two dominant fronts. The upper caste Nair community was concerned about the minority slant of the ruling front. The feeling that the minorities were pocketing benefits under the UDF regime had gained strength when the UDF conceded a fifth berth in the Oommen Chandy ministry to the IUML nominee. Though the Congress had sought to check the damage by elevating Ramesh Chennithala, a darling of Nairs, to the second position in the Cabinet with Home portfolio, the results show that it did not assuage the feelings of the majority community. Senior Congress leaders like A K Antony had warned the UDF against neglecting the majority community. The BJP leaders had highlighted Antonys remarks during the campaign. They supported it by pointing out the dominance of the IUML and Kerala Congress which represents the Muslims and Christians respectively in the Oommen Chandy government. Though the saffron party accused both the fronts of pursuing minority appeasement, it hurt the UDF most. The LDF played its cards deftly and kept both the majority and minority communities in good humour. It sought to rally the minorities and secular-minded Hindus behind it by playing up the dangers of BJPs Hindutva agenda. Additionally, the LDF tried to make inroads into the minorities, who account for about 46 percent of the population, by forging ties with parties and organisations representing the minorities and fielding prominent Muslims and Christian candidates in the minority belts. This paid off well for the LDF in Malappuram district, where it won two additional seats this time. Three of the four seats the LDF got in the Muslim-dominated districts were won by Muslim candidates they fielded as independents. Malappuram is perhaps the only district where LDF has made gains on its own strength. The BJP was not a factor in the district as its votes increased only marginally from 92,000 in 2011 to 1.7 lakh this time. The votes that the UDF lost in the district are more than the votes gained by the BJP. While the BJP votes in Malappuram increased only by less than 78,000 votes in the last five years, the UDF lost votes heavily even in seats it has won. There was a steep fall of 1.37 lakhs votes in the victory margins of UDF in 12 constituencies in Malappuram. The victory margin of UDF candidates in 12 seats it has won in Malappuram was 321,118 in the 2011 election. It came down to 183,599 votes in the present election. Similar fall in victory margins was also seen in six other seats that the IUML won outside Malappuram. This indicates a sharp division in the Muslim votes, which were monopolised by IUML until recently. If the trend continues, it will be hard for the UDF to survive by banking on minorities as its major support base. The huge loss the UDF suffered in the Christian pockets in Thrissur and Alappuzha also indicates erosion in its Christian support base. The steady decline in Christian population as a result of demographic changes adds to its woes. Though the poll results do not support the LDF claim regarding anti-incumbency factor, it shows that the sleaze and scams that rocked the government and the rape and murder of a law student at Perumbavoor in the run up to the election had influenced the voters, especially women, to a big extent. This is evident from the advances the LDF has made in constituencies where women voters outnumbered male voters. The LDF won 16 of the 26 seats where the women turnout was 5 to 13 percent more than the male turnout. Six of the 10 seats that the UDF won in this segment are in the IUML pocket boroughs in Malappuram. Women voters had outnumbered male voters in as many as 78 constituencies. CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has acknowledged the support of women to the LDF. He said that they had voted against UDF because of the feeling of insecurity they faced under the UDF regime. The UDF had expected the women to vote for the phased prohibition policy introduced by its government in the middle of its term. However, the concern of security raised by the Perumbavoor murder over-weighed their minds. Political analysts view the May 2016 poll results as an ominous sign of NDA emerging as a third alternative in Kerala, where power has been alternating between the two dominant fronts since 1977. They see a bright future for NDA if it softens it strident Hindutva stance and focus on a development agenda. Patna: The ruling JD(U) in Bihar on Friday said it suspended its MLC Manorama Devi from the party not under pressure from the Opposition but on instruction of the party president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The party suspended its MLC Manorama Devi for allegedly harbouring her son Rakesh Ranjan Yadav alias Rocky Yadav, an accused in the Aditya Sachdeva murder case in Gaya, for days. "The suspension of the MLC from the party and the action against her by law enforcement agencies have been taken on the basis of (Chief Minister Nitish) Kumar's unequivocal belief that law must take its own course," JD(U) spokesperson Sanjay Singh told PTI. Singh was reacting to media reports suggesting that Manorama Devi was suspended by the JD(U) under "mounting pressure" from the Opposition. He said the Chief Minister has maintained a consistent stand that the law must function without fear of anybody, be it JD(U) legislators or those from its coalition partners. "Nitish Kumar neither frames anybody in a case nor comes to the rescue of those facing charge," Singh said. He said, "Under the Nitish Kumar regime, nobody will be spared for committing a crime, however powerful or mighty that person may be and the same yardstick has been applied in the case of Manorama Devi." He said Opposition BJP and its senior party leader Sushil Kumar Modi in particular should not be under "illusion" that the action against the MLC or in any other case has been initiated under their pressure. The government has taken strict action in the Aditya Sachdeva murder case and the murder case of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan in Siwan on the CM's directive to enforce rule of law and not due to the Opposition pressure, Singh said. The state government has also recommended a CBI probe in the journalist Rajdeo Ranjan murder case in view of the demand by his family, he said, and charged the Opposition and Sushil Modi in particular, for taking "false credit" over this. The spokesperson slammed former deputy chief minister Modi for suggesting that the Bihar Police lacked guts to take action in high profile cases. "If the senior BJP leader felt that the policemen are incompetent then he should surrender the police escort provided to him by the state government," he said. Thiruvananthapuram: Oommen Chandy on Friday stepped down as the chief minister of Kerala. Chandy handed over his resignation to Kerala Governor P Sathasivam. The CPM led LDF swept the assembly polls by securing 91 seats in the 140 member Kerala Assembly after the votes was counted on Thursday. He issued a statement on his Facebook page where he thanked the people for the help and support that he and his government got since he came to power in May 2011. "We will never blame the people. We failed to reach the people with our achievements. I now wish the new government all the best and expect that all the development projects that they started and which has reached its last stage be quickly completed," Chandy added. CPM strongman Pinarayi Vijayan is all set to become the next chief minister of Kerala with the party unanimously choosing him over 92-year-old veteran VS Achutanandan, who played a major role in bringing the party back to power in the election. The decision to nominate Politburo member Vijayan, 72, as the leader of the LDF legislature party was taken at a meeting of the CPI(M) State Secretariat and Committee, a day after LDF trounced the Congress-led UDF bagging 91 seats in the 126-member Assembly. Announcing the decision, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, who attended the meetings, said "the party has decided to propose the name of Pinarayi Vijayan as LDF chief minister." The time and date of the swearing-in ceremony of the new government, which will be soon, will be decided after consulting other Front partners, he said. The CPM had to choose Kerala's 22nd chief minister between veteran leader VS Achuthanandan and politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan. The speculations about Vijayan's nomination emerged after star campaigner and ex chief minister VS Achuthananadan walked out of the key LDF meet. In a bid to scuttle reports that Achutanandan was reportedly unhappy after he was informed about the Secretariat decision to propose Vijayan's name for the chief minister's post, Yechury met the press flanked by the nonagenarian and Balakrishnan. Describing Achutanandan as a 'war horse' and likening him to Communist hero Castro, Yechury said the veteran leader will continue to guide and inspire and play that role. "Comrade VS is like Fidel Castro to Kerala. Like Fidel in Cuba today, advising, guiding, inspiring, Comrade VS will continue that role," he said. Vijayan, who won the assembly election from Dharmadom in Kannur district with a majority of 36,905 votes, will be the fourth chief minister of CPM. He is the only politburo member who has been elected to the Assembly this time. He won his Dharamadom seat in Kannur district by 36,905 votes margin against rival Mambaram Divakaran from Congress. The 72-year-old CPM leader had a brute majority in the state committee and was expected to win if the selection was based on show of hands. In the 140-member state Assembly, CPM-led LDF won 91 seats, UDF headed by Congress got 47 while BJP and Independents bagged one each. Soon after the decision to nominate Vijayan to the chief minister's post became known, party workers at AKG Bhavan started celebrating and began distributing sweets. Congress' Oommen Chandy stepped down on Friday as the chief minister of Kerala. He took to Facebook to issue a statement upon his resignation. "We will never blame the people. We failed to reach the people with our achievements. I now wish the new government all the best and expect that all the development projects that they started and which has reached its last stage be quickly completed," Chandy said. With inputs from agencies Silence, it is said, is half-consent. But it can also be half-dissent. VS Achutanandan, the CPMs 93-year-old fire-breathing leader in Kerala, was silent when partys general secretary Sitaram Yechury told him on Friday he wont be the chief minister. A day after the party won the Kerala Assembly elections with a clear majority, Yechury told him that the party favoured Pinarayi Vijayan. For Achuthanandan, the 72-year-old Vijayan is no ordinary enemy. He is an arch enemy, one he can never compromise with. When VS, as Achuthanandan is known as, suggested that he should be the chief minister for at least some time to implement some of the partys election promises, before giving way to Vijayan, Yechury politely rejected the idea. VS, who normally minces no words and is known to call a spade a spade, only maintained sphinx-lie silence and left the party office without a word. Its the kind of silence that can be very disturbing, a party insider told the Firstpost. When in a foul moodVS is often in such a frame of mindhe walks out of party meetings without a word, and he has done it before. And Yechury, friend and mentor of VS, knows that well enough. On his part, VS knew that Yechury would have liked him to be the chief minister but was helpless. VS cant forget that Yechury had rushed to Kerala to ensure that he contested the elections. Its no secret that the Kerala unit of the party, under the control of Vijayan, who was the state secretary of the party for 16 years over four terms between 1998 and 2015, was reluctant to even allow VS to contest the 16 May election. The state unit had denied him the ticket in 2011 but the politburo got him one. VS also knows that Yechurys own rival in Delhi, former general secretary Prakash Karat, who was also in the Kerala capital on Friday, would stop at nothing to make his own man Vijayan the chief minister. In a way, the Lefts disaster in West Bengal has a lot to do with the turn the fate of VS has taken in Kerala. Thats because the utter flop of the Left-Congress alliance, an idea of Yechury and his supporters, brought down his stock in the party. And the nonagenarian in Kerala must have seen the writing on the wall for himself the moment he heard of the partys debacle in West Bengal. That perhaps explains the silence. Party insiders say that when the opinion polls were out projecting a TMC victory, Karat and his friends at once seized the chance to put down Yechury with some razor-sharp barbs at party meetings. The idea of Left joining hands with Congress was an anathema to Karat. But, determined to do better than Karat in building up the party, Yechury fell for it, and VS was the only leader in Kerala who openly supported the idea. During the ten years that Karat was the partys general secretary before Yechury, the partys tally in Lok Sabha had crashed from 43 members in 2005 to 15 in 2009 and just nine in 2014, and Yechury wants to do better. But with the result in Bengal being what it is, Yechury maintains a low profile. So does VS. Karat, Vijayan and the Kerala lobby now have a decisive upper hand in their war against Yechury, VS and the Bengal lobby. When he flew to Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, Yechury was in no mood to suggest VS as chief minister in Kerala. Yechury can never forget how Vijayan and his camp had tried hard last year to stop his election as the partys general secretary and give the post to Keralas Ramachandran Pillai. Yet he had to agree to the choice of Vijayan. When Yechury told the media that the party had not picked VS as the CM because of his advancing age and when he said comrade VS is like Fidel Castro in Cuba who will play an advisors role, neither the reporters nor VS himself who was present there were fooled. Again, the partys old war horse did not utter a word, though his aides said he might address the press separately later. A close associate of VS points out that when he was the chief ministerial candidate in the 1996 elections, his election from Mararikulam was sabotaged by enemies within. Then the LDF won and EK Nayanar became the chief minister. VS became the chief minister in 2006, and his camp claims that the front would have returned to power in 2011 with him at the helm again but for the enemies within. The LDF lost the 2011 polls by four seats and 0.89 vote share. The VS faction, which believes that it was his popular appeal that brought about the latest victory, is convinced he has every right to stake his claim for the chief ministers post again. Those who support Vijayan argue that he sacrificed power to build up the party in Kerala. He quit as a minister to take up the party post in 1998 and left that job last year only because he had crossed the limit of tenures. They have no doubt that if anybody has a right to be the Kerala CM now, its Vijayan. And Vijayan has won. But there is no doubt that he needs to constantly watch his back to find what VS is up to. A businessmen with close links to the LDF told Firstpost that if Vijayan is the CM, VS wont let him do his work, and if VS is the CM Vijayan wont let him do his work. For now, the truce that was enforced between the warring leaders during the election run-up in the mutual interest of both, still continues. Now that the elections are over, there is only one question that is upfront: how long will this truce last? Shillong: A bye-election in Meghalaya was won, much to the expectation of the electorate by Conrad Sangma. Conrad will represent the Tura Lok Sabha constituency, a seat made known by his father, the late Purno A Sangma, former Speaker of the House, and probably one of the most well-known politicians from the North East. Conrad spoke to reporters and attributed his win primarily to the love of the people for his father. The people remember his work and a fitting tribute has been paid to him, the new Tura MP said. In moments such as these, the easier option is to fawn over a politician who is young and well educated. Coupled with the fact that image and identity are such important driving themes, Conrads well spoken demeanour will capture many an aspiring heart. And the results of Thursdays bye-election clearly bear testimony to that. He defeated his opponent, Dikkanchi D Shira by a margin of 1.92 lakh votes. He won in 23 out of 24 Assembly segments. Shira is the wife of Chief Minister Mukul Sangma. Mukul had promised to wipe out the National Peoples Party (NPP) from the Garo Hills. He, of course, failed to live up to that promise, but more consequentially Conrads victory has given the BJP a wide window of opportunity in a state where the Congress party and a few regional parties dominate. The BJP supported and campaigned for Conrad during this election. "Conrad Sangmas win shows an anti-Congress, anti-Mukul Sangma wave. The BJP is going to become even more active at the grassroots," David Kharsati, the general secretary of the BJP unit in Meghalaya told Firstpost. What does this result mean for the people of the Garo Hills? Clifford K Sangma, who works in the animation industry was jubilant because he honestly believed the better candidate won. "Conrad is a very intelligent man and he speaks so well," he said. "Finally we have someone whom the entire state can be proud of to represent us in New Delhi, and may be theyll take us seriously now. Clifford, like a new breed of young, urban, and educated Garos see in Conrad a role model and an idea of success that they can aspire to. But the reasons are cynical. Conrad had the opportunities that an overwhelming majority of the population does not. The education system is below-standard and there is little or no industry. The sentiment of the working class, a segment of the population that has been ignored for years in terms of opportunities remains nonchalant. There is pride among the faithful that the legacy of Purno A Sangma will be carried forward. But little else. Even the aura of optimism feels forced and dated. Like theyve seen the story unfold before. F Shira, a septuagenarian has voted for the late Purno A Sangma her whole life. "Its a habit," she says, and was glad that she was able to do the same for the son. Her daughter who has six children of her own say they voted out of loyalty and duty. We dont expect anything. Rudolph Marak is young man who works construction in Shillong. A religious Baptist, he has not visited his home in the South Garo Hills for two years. He hasnt been to church either in the past two years because he doesnt like the ambiance of the Baptist churches in Shillong. He says that it is extremely dangerous for him to go home; so many young men and even women now who have big and sophisticated weapons make life unbearable for people like him, people who just want to earn an honest living. His parents and three younger siblings live in the Garo Hills and he fears for their safety and well-being everyday. Over the past two years the Garo Hills has seen a spate of violence and an increase in the number of militant groups. According to a June 2014 The Shillong Times report, as per the official list of the Meghalaya government there are a total of 10 militant groups in the state. And nine of them are in the Garo Hills. As per the latest Human Development Index reports, Meghalaya is one of the worst performing states in the country. Take away Shillong, the capital located in the East Khasi Hills, and the state has an even more dire situation. The West Garo Hills has a literacy rate of 51.03 percent, and the South Garo Hills has an infant mortality rate of 102. 01. These are astonishing figures even in a state where the literacy rate is 63.31 percent and the infant mortality rate is 52.28. But a responsible electorate should not fawn over Conrad. They should hold his feet to the fire and make him earn every vote he received. They should demand answers and results. And his most important job as Member of Parliament is to try and introduce legislation that will provide relevant educational and economic opportunities to both the middle and working classes. Conrad already has his job cut out for him. Brasilia: Brazil's Public Prosecutor's Office denounced former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for allegedly obstructing the course of justice during probe into the scandal-ridden state-oil company Petrobras. TV Globo, which obtained the complaint against Lula from the public prosecutor on Thursday disclosed that Lula teamed up with an entrepreneur closely linked to a corruption network in order to offer 250,000 reais ($71,000) to Petrobras' former international director Nestor Cervero, and he did not declare this before the justice system, Xinhua news agency reported. The allegations came after former senator Delcidio Amaral, who was removed from office on May 10 for obstructing investigations, said he personally paid 50,000 reais ($14,000) to Cervero. The complaint detailed Lula's participation in the alleged payment to Cervero which was not declared before the justice system. After the allegations, the Lula Institute, assured through a press release that the former president "never" tried to interfere in Cervero's conduct or in any other issue related to the investigations into Petrobras, known as Operation Car Wash. The Petrobras case encompasses a "gigantic" network formed by politicians, entrepreneurs and top executives from the oil company that rigged and distributed contracts between 2004 and 2014. It is thought that this network was able to divert at least $2 billion in the aforementioned time period. Since investigations began two years ago, allegations have been presented before the courts involving 207 accused people and so far 111 out of this figure have been sentenced. Brussels: Foreign banks and businesses should not hold back from conducting legal business with Iran, Western powers said on Friday. In a joint statement released after talks in Brussels, the United States, the European Union, France, Britain and Germany sought to reassure companies that, after the Iran nuclear deal, certain forms of trade are permitted. "We will not stand in the way of permitted business activity with Iran," the four powers plus the European Union said. "And we will not stand in the way of international firms or financial institutions engaging with Iran, as long as they follow all applicable laws," they added. Under the terms of the Iran nuclear deal signed last year and implemented in February, international sanctions aimed at Tehran's nuclear programme have been dropped. But the United States has maintained its sanctions targeting Tehran's alleged sponsorship of armed movements in the Middle East and its ballistic missile programme. European banks, which often have subsidiaries on US soil, have therefore been slow to resume business with Iran, fearing prosecution in the United States. But, a joint statement by the western parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the implementation side of the Iran deal, gave business the green light. "The interest of European and other global firms in Iran is high. And it is in our interest and the interest of the international community to ensure that the JCPOA works for all participants, including by delivering benefit to the Iranian people," the statement said. "This includes the re-engagement of European banks and businesses in Iran." US Secretary of State John Kerry - a key architect of the Iran deal - was in Brussels for a NATO ministers meeting, and held talks on the Iran deal while he was there. President Barack Obama's administration has been criticised at home for moving too quickly to allow Iran to return to the international fold after agreeing to nuclear controls. But Tehran's leaders have complained that the deal was oversold, arguing that they upheld their end of the bargain in surrendering most of their nuclear enrichment capacity in return for sanctions relief. Meanwhile, European banks have been reluctant to renew ties with the Islamic republic, fearing that - despite the end of some sanctions - they could fall foul of US law. "We understand that firms may continue to have specific sanctions-related questions or concerns about doing business in Iran," the statement said. "And we stand ready to provide expeditious clarifications," it added, encouraging banks and other enterprises to come forward and seek advice as to how to deal legally with Iran. "We encourage firms to approach our governments to address remaining questions, rather than forgo opportunities due to misconceptions or lack of information." Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, under fire for getting involved in an unprecedented physical fracas in Parliament, said on Thursday that he was only human and in a high pressure job but promised there would be no repeat of his actions. Trudeau, impatient at what he saw as stalling tactics by the opposition ahead of a vote on Wednesday evening, crossed the floor in the House of Commons to grab one legislator and drag him to his seat, accidentally elbowing another in the chest. He has apologized three times already and said he would accept any punishment meted out by a special committee of legislators examining the incident. "I think people understand that there is a tremendous amount of pressures that come with this job and I am human," Trudeau said in his Parliament Hill office, which was dotted with pictures of Trudeau, his family, and his former prime minister father as well as a Lego canoe with four miniature figures in it. "But I think at the same time, a big part of recognizing strengths and weaknesses is when you make a mistake you admit it, you make amends, you ask for forgiveness and you make sure it never happens again." The affair was a rare public loss of control for Trudeau, 44, who led his Liberals to power last October with a promise of "sunny ways", and dented his image. Telegenic and tattooed, Trudeau has gained a rock star level of celebrity thanks partly to an avowed feminist stance and he is often swarmed by fans seeking selfies. "Quite frankly a lot of people said, 'Don't worry about it, everyone has bad days'. But the people who know me said 'OK, Justin, is there something bugging you? Is the atmosphere in the House getting particularly toxic?'" he said. Trudeau said his response was that "you can't separate one from the other" but that he should have refrained from getting involved in the incident, which was gleefully dissected on Twitter with the hashtag #elbowgate and splashed on newspaper front pages across the country. "I made a poor judgment call in wanting to step in on a situation that I should have just let evolve without the prime minister thrusting himself into the middle of it," he said. Trudeau is in no immediate political danger since the next election is not due until October 2019 and opinion polls put him far ahead of his rivals. The special committee of legislators could find him in contempt of Parliament, thereby potentially triggering a vote of confidence which he would easily win given the Liberals' majority in Parliament. The incident, while mild compared to the brawls between legislators in Taiwan, Japan and Ukraine, was rare in Canadian politics. "We started this parliament with the promise of 'sunny ways,' but what we've seen in particular in the last few weeks is the furthest thing from that," Rona Ambrose, leader of the official opposition Conservative Party told the chamber. Tensions are rising as opposition members complain about what they see as Liberal attempts to pre-empt discussion on a bill that would allow assisted death. Watch the video here: New Delhi: A 14-member Chinese delegation of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on Friday met Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, and discussed with him how to strengthen trade and cultural ties. Welcoming the delegation, Rijiju said India is eager to enhance trade and cultural ties with China and invited the Chinese entrepreneurs to take benefit of the huge potential that India offers in various sectors. Besides ancient links between two civilisations, the Minister of State for Home said, India is looking forward to increase interaction between the youths of both the countries for more cultural contacts and exchanges in other fields. The Chinese delegation also invited Rijiju to visit China. The meeting bears significance as Rijiju hails from Arunachal Pradesh, which China considered as part of southern Tibet and maintained that it has "huge dispute" with India over the state. People belonging to Arunachal Pradesh have been given staple visa by China in the past and a project sanctioned by Asian Development Bank for Arunachal Pradesh was also blocked by China in 2009. Rijiju was once denied visa by China about nine years back. He, however, visited Beijing in 2008 as part of Indian Olympic delegation with a regular visa. The Chinese delegation, led by Wang Pu, Vice Chairman, Shenzen Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, arrived in India to participate in the China (Shenzhen)-India Economic and Trade Cooperation seminar. Rijiju said India has attracted the maximum Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2015. Observing that the Chinese delegation comprised leaders from the business, political and cultural spectrum, Rijiju appreciated the rapid transformation of Shenzhen into a 'dream city' and hoped that India will get tremendous success through the recently unveiled Smart City project. Rijiju said the government encourages close coordination between Indian and Chinese Industry. Wang mentioned that India and China represent one-third of the world's population and also share a 'natural bond' due to Buddhism and together the two countries can impact a lot of change. The Chinese delegation evinced keen interest in India's pharmaceuticals and biotech sector and invited investments by Indian pharmaceuticals companies in China. The Chinese delegation inquired about the sectors of the economy which are attracting foreign investment. The delegation members also inquired about the incentives for the investors in India and requested the Minister for favourable policies for the Chinese investors. They also raised the issue of facilitating the visas for the businessmen and for tourism even as more and more Chinese tourists and businessmen are visiting India every year. Rijiju said India encourages people-to-people contact and in order to facilitate this, the Government recently extended the electronic Tourist Visa (eTV) scheme to China and under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the "Visit India Year" was launched in China last year following which the "Visit China Year" has kicked off in India this year. Regarding the investment, MoUs on establishing two Chinese Industrial Parks in Maharashtra and Gujarat were signed during President Xi's visit and the Chinese companies can explore the possibilities of investment in the same. He hoped that more Indians can visit and do business in China especially in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Senior officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs attended the meeting. Conjectures about the possible reasons for the crash of the EgyptAir flight MS804 are abound. Media companies and Egypts Aviation ministry have come out and speculated over the disappearance of the flight. The plane, which departed from Paris on Wednesday night at 2.26 am, reportedly crashed in the Mediterranean Sea minutes after it lost contact with the Greek and Egyptian air traffic controllers. The flight, with about 56 passengers was headed to Cairo and lost contact with radar over the Mediterranean shortly before its landing time. One of the most prominent reasons, following the bombing of a Russian passenger jet by Islamic State last year, is the involvement of terror groups. Egyptian Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi said that a terrorist attack was a higher possibility for the planes disappearance than a technical problem, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. A technical problem or a mechanical malfunction is another and most general hypothesis. However, The Telegraph reported that a major technical fault the explosion of a motor, for instance seems improbable, according to aeronautics expert Gerard Feldzer. Aviation safety experts, however, suggest that there was some kind of in-flight emergency because the suddend movements of MS804 were not usual, according to The New York Times. After entering the Egyptian airspace, it made a 90 degree turn to the left and then a 360 degree turn to the right, falling from about 11277 to around 4572 metres. Terrorism is another and most likely justification for the crash of Airbus A320. It was either shot down, similar to Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 or an explosion took place in the flight. Egypt has recently been receiving a number of threats from terror organisations like the islamic state and al-qaeda. However, unlike their previous stint with a Russian passenger jet, ISIS has not released any statement claiming to bring down MS804. EgyptAir, however, retains its stand that the reason for the crash is still unknown. It posted on social networking site twitter: of the disappearance of EGYPTAIR flight MS804 and the company confirms that the reason of disappearance hasn't been yet confirmed. EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) May 19, 2016 The Egyptian armed forces on Friday found debris of the missing plane and personal belongings of passengers around 295 kilometres from the Egyptian coastline. EgyptAir announced through a Facebook post: The EgyptAir flight MS804 was carrying 56 passengers from disparate nationalities and 10 crew members. On their Twitter account, EgyptAir confirmed that there were about 30 Egyptians and 15 French people on board Airbus A320. the passengers' nationalities are as follows: - 15 French - 30 Egyptian - 1 British - 1 Belgium - 2 Iraqis - 1 Kuwaiti - 1 Saudi EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) May 19, 2016 - 1 Sudanese - 1 Chadian - 1 Portuguese - 1 Algerian - 1 Canadian EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) May 19, 2016 The Airbus A320 models are 37.57 metres in length and 11.76 metres in height. It can fly upto 220 passengers. According to a report by Daily News, aircraft manufacturer Airbus has claimed that its A320 model is the most secure aircraft. One of it was delivered to EgyptAir in 2003 and had accumulated a flying time of 48000 hours. The White House press secretary Josh Earnest said that the US offers our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the passengers and crew od EgyptAirFlight 804, according to PTI. However, he also added that the US does not know definitely what caused the disappearance of the flight. EgyptAir changed its cover picture to MS804 on its Twitter and Facebook account to mourn the tragedy. With inputs from agencies Washington: Sri Lanka's ethnic and religious minorities including Tamils still feel marginalised, seven years after the end of the civil war with the LTTE, a senior American lawmaker has said as he appealed to the Lankan government to take "concrete" steps to address their concerns. "The leaders of the new government have made many ambitious promises to advance toward the goal of a stable and prosperous future for all. Now is the time to turn those promises into concrete action," Congressman Danny K Davis said on the House floor on Thursday. "The US, must assist and support in any way we can, but we must also keep incentives in place such as conditions on military and other aid until the government has accomplished real reform," said the Democratic Party lawmaker from Illinois. Speaking on the House Floor to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the end of the war in Sri Lanka, he said the Lankan government won the war to keep the Sinhalese and Tamil communities within one country, but has not yet won the peace. The Sri Lankan government has made commitments on transitional justice and accountability, a political settlement of the ethnic problem, security sector reform, the return of land, the release of Tamil political prisoners, actions to end human rights violations and other ambitious reforms, Davis said. "Unfortunately, not enough improvement has yet been seen by the Tamils, Christians and Muslims who feel marginalised and discriminated against," the Congressman said. "Courageous leadership is needed to gain trust if reconciliation is the goal, not just promises. "Now is the time for real action," Davis said. Editor's note: This article was originally published on 20 May, 2016. It is being republished in light of the Supreme Court of India's landmark ruling to legalise euthanasia. When one battles death at the age of 70 or more, the cause is heroic. But public reaction is a bit restrained. Death is eventually triumphant. Sadly, an old person fighting death, does not look as heroic as a young person battling it. When the protagonist is young, and chooses death, the atmosphere itself gets charged. There is shock. Even dismay. That is when the unfairness of nature strikes home. The vibrance of youth gets juxtaposed against the steely (often bitter) resolve to end life. It shocks the world. Why must it be so? is a cry on the lips of most people. Why must pain, and the finality of ailment be so damning? This concluding part of the four article series on euthanasia is precisely about some such people. Their private pain was made public. And their rallying cry for the right to die with dignity compelled even the most cynical policymakers to look at the laws afresh. In most cases laws were re-written. That is what happened with Aruna Shanbag. And this is what happened with each of the cases listed out below. It must be borne in mind that these are just a handful of incidents that took place. Each of the few thousand people who have opted to embrace the die-with-dignity philosophy during the past two decades has a story to tell. It is always a story of human will triumphing over suffering. Eluana Englaro was born on 25 November, 1970 and opted to die on 9 February, 2009. She was an Italian who was in a car accident in January 1992 and slipped into a persistent vegetative state. She was young, vivacious, and just 22. For some time she was kept alive on life support systems, but when conditions did not improve, her father requested the doctors to remove the feeding tube from her mouth. The authorities refused this request. But after lying in a vegetative state for 17 years, the state finally agreed, and allowed life support systems to be removed. The process was not easy. The case was debated in the courts for years. The fathers request was denied first in December 1999 by the Milan Court of Appeal, and then in April 2005 by the Court of Cassation. Finally, as the pleas became more fervent, and as the national mood demanded a resolution to this endless suffering, the father was allowed a new trial by the Court of Cassation on 16 October, 2007. Finally, the Milan Court of Appeal declared on 9 July, 2008 that Eluana's father and legal guardian Beppino Englaro was allowed to suspend feeding and hydration. But the pressures brought about by the church led group insisting that ending any life is taboo compelled the Italian Parliament to bring a jurisdictional conflict before the Final Court of Appeals in July 2008. The Parliament stated that the decision was actually changing existing laws (quite similar to Parliamentarians in India complaining about judicial overreach). This request was rejected by the Court. On 13 November, 2008, Italy's highest court awarded Eluana's father the right to stop his daughter from being fed. The court's decision met with immediate criticism from the Roman Catholic Church. She was finally allowed to pass away in February 2009. Italy was witness to another similar end-of-life situation a few years earlier when Piergiorgio Welby (26 December, 1945 20 December 2006) opted to die. His method was to refuse treatment altogether. He was a poet, painter and activist, whose three month battle to establish his right-to-die led to a debate about euthanasia in Italy. Welby was in his teens when he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. The disease progressed, and in 1997 he became unable to breathe on his own. He became politically active in the right-to-die movement. In 2006 he publicly declared his wish to refuse the medical treatment that kept him alive. The case was controversial, with liberal politicians supporting him and conservatives and the Vatican speaking against his cause. After three months, he was allowed to die, though he was denied a church burial. You have a similar story in Ramon Sampedro (5 January, 1943 - 12 January, 1998, ). He was a ship fisherman from Spain. He became a quadriplegic in a diving accident at the age of 25. He fought for his right to an assisted suicide for the next 29 years. His need for assistance was understandable. The nature of his ailment prevented him from taking his own life. He needed help. His request was denied. But on 12 January, 1998, his body was discovered. He had died from cyanide poisoning. Days later, a close friend, Ramona Maneiro was arrested for assisting his suicide, but was released for lack of evidence. Seven years later, when the statute of limitation had expired, Ramona spoke on a Spanish talk show and admitted to providing Ramon with a drink laced with cyanide. She said, "I did it for love." She also said she had turned on the video camera that recorded Ramon's last words before he drank the poison. She admitted that she was in the room, behind the camera, when he died. The story electrified Spain. Ramons story was made into a Spanish movie Mar adentro (English title: The Sea Inside). The movie drew international attention and won the Best Foreign Language Film at the 77 th Academy Awards. But the case that foxed parliamentarians was that of Debbie Purdy. She died at the age of 41 (4 May 1963 23 December 2014). A British music journalist and political activist from Bradford, West Yorkshire, she had primary progressive multiple sclerosis. What she did was something that no lawmaker was prepared for. She said that she wanted to go to Switzerland and end her life, but wanted her husband Omar Puente to accompany her. She wanted him to help her during the journey and also be by her bedside during her last moments. What she wanted was an assurance from the British government that Omar would not be arrested for abetting a suicide on his return to the UK. This was tricky. UK had a law which treats abetment to suicide as a crime punishable with a possible 14-year jail sentence. Many told her to go quietly, and that nothing would happen. They pointed to the 92 Britons who had proceeded to Switzerland with their companions in the past, and how none of the people who returned was ever prosecuted. But Debbie wanted a categoric assurance. This the UK government was unwilling to give. Finally, her legal team won its argument that a lack of prosecution policy was a violation of human rights. Debbie, was now 46, was ecstatic calling the ruling a huge step towards a more compassionate law.Wheelchair-bound Debbie, of Bradford, West Yorks, declared that the win gives me my life back. With her husband next to her, she added, We can now live our lives. We dont have to plan my death. She remained wheelchair-bound, and soon both her sight and hearing began to deteriorate. Purdy died on 23 December 2014 at the Marie Curie Hoispital in Bradford. She never went to Switzerland. Another case that got the whole of the USA fixated was that of Terri Schiavo (December 3, 1963-March 3, 2005). The entire case was a a legal struggle over end-of-life-care in the US from 1990 to 2005. Terri suffered from an irreversible persistent vegetative state. Her husband and legal guardian argued that she would not have wanted prolonged artificial life support without the prospect of recovery. He elected to remove her feeding tube. But her parents argued in favor of continuing artificial nutrition and hydration and challenged her medical diagnosis. The highly publicized and prolonged series of legal challenges presented by her parents ultimately involved state and federal politicians including the US President. It caused a seven-year delay before Terris feeding tube was ultimately removed. After appeals through the federal court system upheld the original decision to remove the feeding tube, staff at the hospice facility disconnected the feeding tube on 18 March, 2005, and Terri died on 31 March, 2005. One case which actually forced the state of California (USA) to change its laws was that of Brittany Maynard (19 November, 1984 1 November, 2014). She suffered from terminal brain cancer and had decided quite early that she would end her own life "when the time seemed right." She was an advocate for the legalization of aid-in-dying (or assisted suicide). She graduated from the University of California, Berke School of Education. Brittany taught at orphanages in Nepal, and also travelled to Vietnam, Cambodia and other South east countries. On 1 January, 2014, she was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer, and had a partial craniotomy and a partial resection of her temporal lobe. The cancer returned in April 2014, and her diagnosis was then elevated to grade 4 astrocytoma, with a prognosis of six months to live. She moved from California to Oregon to take advantage of that states Death with Dignity Law. She said that she had decided that "death with dignity was the best option for me and my family. Then she began lobbying for the cause for the right to die with dignity. She created the Brittany Maynard Fund and wrote an opinion piece for CNN titled "My Right to Death with Dignity at 29". Brittany wrote in her final Facebook post, "Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love. Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me ... but would have taken so much more. Her death was reported in the media on 2 November, 2014. In accordance with the Oregon state law regarding death with dignity, her official cause of death was mentioned as brain tumoureven though she had taken her own life. In fact, her story, and her lobbying, eventually made California adopt end-of-life laws for the terminally ill. However, while all the above cases were people who opted for death, a word must be said about a doctor who actually championed this cause to the point of becoming controversial, and even getting imprisoned. This was Jacob "Jack" Kevorkian (May 26, 1928 June 3, 2011). He was a pathologist, euthanist, activist, painter, author, composer, and musician. He is best known for publicly championing a terminal patient's right to die via the physician-assisted suicide route. He is said to have assisted at least 130 patients to that end. He was often portrayed in the media as "Dr. Death". But many consider him a hero as he helped set the platform for reform. He famously said, "Dying is not a crime." In 1999, Kevorkian was arrested and tried for his direct role in a case of voluntary euthanasia. He was convicted of second degree murder and served eight years of prison. He was released on parole on 1 June, 2007. The condition was that he would not offer advice nor participate nor be present in the act of any type of suicide involving euthanasia to any other person; nor would he promote nor talk about the procedure of assisted suicide. After his parole period was over, he gave several talks and interviews. In an interview, when asked for his comments on existing laws in Oregon, Washington and Montana (California comes into effect in June 2016) which were meant only for the terminally ill, he remarked, "What difference does it make if someone is terminal? We are all terminal." In April, 2010, he appeared on CNN, where he was asked "You are saying doctors play God all the time?" Kevorkian said, "Of course. Anytime you interfere with a natural process, you are playing God." His story was later made into a film (You Don't Know Jack ) which premiered on 24 April, 2010 on HBO. Al Pacino who featured as Kevorkian received Emmy and Golden Globe awards for his portrayal. He was finally diagnosed with liver cancer. He died on 3 June, 2011. According to his attorney, Mayer Morganroth, there were no artificial attempts to keep him alive and his death was painless. The epitaph on Kevorkian's tombstone reads, "He sacrificed himself for everyone's rights." To follow live updates, click here BEIRUT Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah on Friday vowed to strengthen its presence in wartorn Syria and send more leaders to the conflict, a week after its top military commander there was killed. The death of Mustafa Badreddine, who Hezbollah said was killed near Damascus by shellfire from Sunni Islamist rebels, was one of the biggest blows yet to the Iranian-backed group's leadership. Hezbollah, Lebanon's most powerful political and military group, has provided crucial support to the Syrian army, along with Iranian forces and the Russian air force. The group is estimated to have lost around 1,200 fighters in Syria's five-year-old conflict. "No death of any of our leaders has driven us from the battle. This precious blood will push us to a larger, stronger and more sophisticated presence," leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech broadcast live on the group's Al Manar television. "We are staying in Syria. More leaders will go to Syria than the number that were there before. We will be present in different forms as well," he said without elaborating. "We will complete this battle." Nasrallah spoke on a big screen, projected live in a hall in southern Beirut as part of a ceremony honouring Badreddine a week after his death. A military band dressed in white marched past the screen shortly before Nasrallah spoke, and men in fatigues paraded with yellow Hezbollah flags. IRANIAN COMMANDERS KILLED Nasrallah said Badreddine had been involved in recent weeks in the planning of an offensive to capture territory from rebels southeast of Damascus. Syrian government forces and Hezbollah fighters seized that area on Thursday, taking a substantial amount of territory from insurgents. Badreddine directed Hezbollah's military operations in Syria, insisting on basing himself in the country, and had been a top commander since the 1990s, responsible for breaking up Israeli spy networks and helping develop the group's media apparatus, Nasrallah said. He reiterated a Hezbollah statement that Badreddine was killed by insurgent shellfire, and not by an Israeli attack, following speculation after one Hezbollah figure initially blamed Israel. But he warned that Hezbollah would retaliate if Israel targeted "any of our fighters". At least four prominent figures in Hezbollah have been killed in Syria since January 2015. A number of high-ranking Iranian officers have also been killed, either fighting Syrian insurgents or in Israeli attacks. Hezbollah has said it sees the Syrian war as an existential battle against Sunni extremists. Nasrallah said the loss of commanders was not weakening the group. Badreddine "is not the first martyr to die in this way nor will he be the last," he said. "We have a generation of leaders" ready to fill the void left by those killed, he said. (Reporting by John Davison and Laila Bassam; editing by Andrew Roche) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Washington: Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton has asserted that she would secure her party's nomination, even as the former Secretary of State is yet to reach the magic number of 2,383 delegates. "I will be the nominee for my party. That is already done in effect. There is no way that I won't be," Clinton told CNN in an interview on Thursday. However, Clinton is yet to reach the coveted figure of 2,383 delegates required to become the nominee of the Democratic Party for the November presidential election and face presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. She currently has 2,293 delegates, while her primary rival Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has 1,533. Sanders, however, has refused to leave the race and says he would fight till the last vote in the primary election is cast till early June. But political pundits believe Clinton is on her way to become the first woman to be nominated as a presidential candidate of a major US party. The Sanders campaign was quick to criticise Clinton for claiming to becoming the nominee even as she doesn't have enough delegates. "In the past three weeks, voters in Indiana, West Virginia and Oregon respectfully disagreed with Secretary Clinton. We expect voters in the remaining eight contests to also disagree," said Michael Briggs, spokesman of the Sanders' campaign. "And with almost every national and state poll showing Senator Sanders doing much, much better than Secretary Clinton against Donald Trump, it is clear that millions of Americans have growing doubts about the Clinton campaign," Briggs said. But, in her interview to the CNN, Clinton exuded confidence that she would be the nominee of the party as the numbers and the math are on her side. "I am confident. Well, in part from my own experience, you know?" she said when asked where from she was getting the confidence. "I went all the way to the end against then Senator Obama. I won nine out of the last 12 contests. Back in 2008, I won Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, so I know the intense feelings that arise, particularly among your supporters as you go toward the end. But, we both were following the same rules, just as both Senator Sanders and I are following the same rules," she explained. "I'm three million votes ahead of him, and I have an insurmountable lead in pledged delegates, and I am confident that just as I did with Senator Obama, where I said, you know what? It was really much closer than it is between me and Senator Sanders right," she asserted. "I worked really hard to make the case, as I'm sure Senator Sanders will, that whatever differences we might have, they pale in comparison to the presumptive nominee of the Republican party. Name an issue you care about, domestic or international, and clearly we are much closer Senator Sanders supporters and mine, than either of us is with Donald Trump," Clinton said. "Look what Trump has done just in the last week. He's attacked our closest ally, Great Britain. He has praised the reckless dictator in North Korea. He has said we should pull out of NATO, our strongest military alliance. He has advocated for more countries having nuclear weapons," she said. By his dangerous rhetoric, Trump is being used to, essentially, be a recruiter for more people to join the cause of terrorism, she claimed. "I think if you go through many of his irresponsible, reckless, dangerous comments, it's not just somebody saying something off the cuff; we all misstate things. We all may not be as careful in phrasing what we say. This is a pattern. It's a pattern that has gone on now for months, and it's a pattern that adds up, in my opinion, having watched presidents, having seen the incredibly difficult work that they do, and the decisions that they have to make, the thinking that goes in sitting in the Situation Room," she said. "Do we go after Bin Laden, or not? I was part of that. Was it a clear easy choice? Of course not. Did it have to be carefully parsed, and analysed, and then we all gave our opinions, but it was up to the President to decide. I know how hard this job is, and I know that we need steadiness, as well as strength and smarts in it, and I have concluded that he is not qualified to be President of the United States," Clinton said. Hours later, the real estate tycoon fired back by asking the former secretary of state who are responsible for the Egyptian plane crash, an incident being described by some as an act of terror. "Ask Hillary who blew up the plane last night another terrible, but preventable tragedy," Trump said in a statement. "She has bad judgement and is unfit to serve as President at this delicate and difficult time in our country's history. The fact that Hillary thinks the temporary Muslim ban, which she calls the "Muslim ban", promotes terrorism, proves Bernie Sanders was correct when he said she is not qualified to be President," the presumptive Republican nominee said. "Look at the carnage all over the world including the World Trade Centre, San Bernardino, Paris, the USS Cole, Brussels and an unlimited number of other places. She and our totally ignorant President won't even use the term radical Islamic terrorism," he alleged. Yangon/New Delhi: India on Thursday offered to assist Myanmar in the area of public healthcare and provide support in boosting agricultural production. The offer was made by Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the India Myanmar Business Conclave held at Myanmarese capital Yangon, according to an Indian commerce ministry statement in New Delhi. "India can cooperate in boosting productivity by providing technology and agri equipment," Sitharaman said at the conclave. Pharmaceutical sector is another area where India can engage actively for public healthcare, she added. Sitharaman also identified textiles, IT and automobiles as the industries where the two countries can work together. "Sitharaman congratulated Myanmar for landslide victory by the National League for Democracy led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the elections held in November 2015," the statement said, adding she "acknowledged the calibrated and pragmatic stand of the (Myanmar) Government towards a peaceful and orderly assumption of power". Leading businesspersons from Myanmar as well as many ministers attended the conclave. Sitharaman later held bilateral meetings with Myanmar's Minister for Construction Win Khaing, Minister for Commerce Than Myint, and Minister for Industry Khin Maung Cho, the statement said. Issues related to long-term engagement on procurement of pulses, easy access to Indian pharma products and pharma companies, Indian investment in infrastructure, capacity enhancement and upgrading border infrastructure, were discussed between the two sides, it added. Sitharaman conveyed India's commitment to Myanmar's development, including road and connectivity, as well as border projects such as border 'haats' and Integrated Check Posts. "The transition from barter trade to normal trade with effect from December 1, 2015 was a step forward to boost trade. Similarly, a liberal access was available for services including a visa fee waiver for Myanmar applicants applying for Indian Business and Employment visas," she said. The minister also invited Myanmar to hold roadshows in Indian cities to showcase opportunities for Indian businesses. Sitharaman is leading a high-level CEO delegation to Myanmar May 18-20 as part of India's Act East policy. The delegation includes Naushad Forbes, president of industry chamber CII, Rakesh Mittal of Bharti Enterprises, Shobana Kamineni of Apollo Hospitals, Arundhati Bhattacharya of State Bank of India, and Madhu Kannan of Tata Sons, among others. New Delhi: India will sign a contract to develop Phase-1 of Iran's Chabahar port during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Persian Gulf nation on 23-24 May. Indian Ports Global Pvt Ltd will sign a contract with Arya Bandar Company of Iran for developing two terminals and five multi-cargo berth in Phase-1, said Gopal Baglay, Joint Secretary (Pakistan-Afghanistan-India) in the Ministry of External Affairs. Signing of the contract for Chabahar will be the highlight of Modi's two-day visit to Iran during which he will meet Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. An agreement for Exim Bank providing a USD 150 million line of credit for the development of the Chabahar port will also be signed, he said adding the Indian investment in the Phase-1 of the project would be in excess of USD 200 million. "The visit of Prime Minister to Iran will mainly focus on connectivity and infrastructure, energy partnership with Iran, boosting bilateral trade, promoting regular consultation on peace and stability particularly in our region and extended neighbourhood and encouraging people to people contract," he said. Chabahar in southeast Iran will help circumvent Pakistan and open up a route to landlocked Afghanistan where New Delhi has developed close security ties and economic interests. The two nations had in 2003 agreed to develop Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman outside the Strait of Hormuz, near Iran's border with Pakistan. But the project moved slowly because of western sanctions against Iran. The sanctions were lifted in January and since then India has been pushing for conclusion of an agreement. The Indian company will undertake the development of two jetties in Chabahar port for a period of 10 years and will transfer all cargo consignments except for oil products. From Chahbahar port, the existing Iranian road network can link up to Zaranj in Afghanistan, about 883 km from the port. The Zaranj-Delaram road constructed by India in 2009 can give access to Afghanistan's garland highway, thereby establishing road access to four major cities Afghanistan-Herat, Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a two-day visit to the US from 7 June during which he will address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress and hold talks with President Barack Obama to review the progress made in key areas of defence, security and energy. Modi, who is leaving for Iran on Sunday, will also pay a two-day visit to Qatar from 4 June. At the invitation of the US President Barack Obama, the Prime Minister will visit Washington DC on 7-8 June 2016, the External Affairs Ministry announced on Friday. "The main objective of the forthcoming visit of the Prime Minister would be to consolidate the progress made in diverse areas such as economy, energy, environment, defence and security, and to intensify cooperation for the future," it said. The Prime Minister has also been invited by the Speaker of the US House of Representative, Paul Ryan, to address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress which he has accepted, it added. Modi, who was invited by Obama for a bilateral visit when Modi travelled to the US for the nuclear summit in March, will be the fifth prime minister of India to address a joint meeting of Congress. Earlier, Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh (19 July 2005), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (14 September 2000), PV Narasimha Rao (18 May 1994) and Rajiv Gandhi (13 July 1985) addressed the joint meeting of the US Congress. The US Congress has been a source of strength for the India-US strategic partnership and the India Congressional Caucus is the largest such group in the US Congress, the MEA said. During the visit, Modi will have interaction with CEOs of major US companies. Realization of the full potential of Indo-US economic partnership has been a key priority for both the countries and the progress achieved in this regard is reflected in the increased investment flows, the ministry said. WASHINGTON President Barack Obama is still grappling with a historic decision on whether to lift the U.S. arms embargo on Vietnam just days before he travels there, the White House said on Thursday, signalling that human right concerns could be a sticking point. Support has grown within the U.S. administration and on Capitol Hill to fully remove or at least further ease the ban on weapons sales, bolstering ties between former wartime enemies Washington and Hanoi to counter a rising China. But Obama also faces stiff opposition in some quarters. Ending the embargo - something Vietnam has long sought - would sweep away one of the last major vestiges of the Vietnam War era as Obama makes his first trip there beginning on Monday. It would also anger Beijing, which condemned Obama's partial lifting of the ban in 2014 as interference in the region. The U.S. deliberations come amid increased tensions in the disputed South China Sea. Beijing demanded an end to U.S. surveillance in the area on Thursday after two of its fighter jets carried out what the Pentagon said was an "unsafe" intercept of a U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft. Ben Rhodes, Obamas deputy national security adviser, said the administration has not yet finalised a decision on lifting the three-decade-old embargo but dodged a question on when or even whether an announcement might be made soon. It will be a subject of discussion with the Vietnamese, he told reporters in a preview of Obama's trip, saying the president would explain his thinking to the countrys communist leadership. Its something that we obviously have been looking at in the context of our broader relationship. White House officials made clear that the final decision would be linked in part to Vietnams human rights situation. Concerns remain, especially among rights advocates and some U.S. lawmakers, over the government's heavy-handedness toward political opponents and treatment of workers. There is also worry that Washington will lose some leverage if it gives up the arms embargo without securing concessions for reforms. 'UPGRADE' IN RELATIONSHIP Still, some of Obamas aides are mindful that a failure to satisfy Vietnams calls for rescinding the ban could inject a sour note into a visit meant to open a new chapter in security and economic relations. Some Vietnamese officials are suspicious that the United States seeks to undermine their one-party rule. What we want to demonstrate with this visit is a significant upgrade in the relationship between the United States and Vietnam as partners on many issues even as we have significant areas of difference, Rhodes said. Obama, who will make stops in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, will meet Vietnam's new president, Tran Dai Quang, as well as its new prime minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. He will also meet dissidents and will deliver a speech to the Vietnamese people, Rhodes said U.S. officials say that no matter the decision on the weapons ban they expect Obamas visit to yield tangible steps to boost military cooperation. Washington is looking for increased port visits by U.S. warships, possibly including access to the strategic port at Cam Ranh Bay, and to holding naval exercises, according to a person close to U.S. thinking on the subject. (Writing by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Paris: The last known survivor of the team that carried out last November's Paris attacks refused to talk during questioning on Friday by anti-terror judges, and the session ended abruptly. Salah Abdeslam's lawyer, Frank Berton said his client invoked his right to silence. Abdeslam, 26, had said last month he wanted to explain all. Berton told reporters that Abdeslam was disturbed by the 24-hour video surveillance in his maximum-security cell, and called the practice illegal. "He can't tolerate being watched on video 24 hours a day," Berton said. "Psychologically that makes things difficult." Friday was the first time Abdeslam was questioned since his extradition from Belgium last month. At that point, Berton said his client wanted to talk to investigators and explain his path to radicalization.It was unclear why the suspect changed his mind. Abdeslam, a French citizen of Moroccan origin, was handed a half-dozen preliminary terrorism charges after his transfer on 27 April from Belgium, where he was arrested after four months on the run. He is the only suspect still alive believed to have played a direct role in the 13 November bloodshed at a concert hall, stadium and Parisian cafes, which killed 130 people. The other attackers died in suicide bombings or under police fire. Authorities and families of attack victims had hoped Abdeslam's testimony will shed light on how IS plotted the attacks, solve mysteries that remain about what exactly happened on 13 November, and identify others who might have been involved, or support networks still hiding in the shadows. Abdeslam's precise role in the attacks has never beenclear. The Paris prosecutor has said he was equipped as asuicide bomber, but abandoned his plans and fled to Belgium, where he had grown up. Abdeslam's older brother blew himself up at a cafe during the Paris attacks. Abdeslam was captured on 18 March at a hideout near his childhood home in Brussels' Molenbeek neighborhood. Four days later, suicide bombers detonated their explosives in theBrussels airport and metro, killing 32 people. French anti-terror judges will on Friday begin their first questioning of Salah Abdeslam, a member of the jihadist cell which killed 130 people in a series of attacks in Paris in November. The 26-year-old arrived early Friday for interrogation in central Paris under heavy security, escorted by military police, elite police units and a helicopter. Authorities hope Abdeslam will be able to shed light on the operational details of the Paris attacks, as well as provide clues as to whether other cell members are still at large. For months, Abdeslam was the most wanted fugitive in Europe until he was tracked down and arrested on 18 March in the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek where he grew up. Transferred to France under high security on 27 April, he has since been held at Fleury-Merogis prison, southeast of Paris. Key role A childhood friend of suspected ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud, Abdeslam is thought to have played a key role both on the night of the Paris attacks on 13 November, and in their preparation. Two others have been arrested in France in connection with the attacks carried out by the Islamic State group, but they are considered secondary participants. Abdeslam played a key role, dropping off the three suicide bombers who blew themselves up outside the Stade de France national stadium in northern Paris. He is thought to have backed out of blowing himself up. Authorities found an abandoned explosives vest in a southern Paris district close to where mobile phone data placed him on the night of the attacks. CCTV pictures from petrol stations showed him fleeing back to Belgium after two friends came to pick him up. He also played a critical role in the build-up to the attacks, renting the cars and hideouts used by the gang. He also transported several other jihadists around Europe in the preceding months, including Najim Laachraoui, the suspected bombmaker for the November attacks who was killed in a suicide bombing in Brussels on March 22. The coordinated attacks in Brussels that day also struck a metro station, killing 32 people overall. Limited expectations French police hope Abdeslam could also shine light on the links between the attacks in Paris and Belgium, both carried out by a network linked to the Islamic State group. His French lawyer Frank Berton told AFP that Abdeslam "wants to explain himself". But few are expecting any major revelations. "The investigators have only him in custody. He could help if he collaborates, either to confirm elements of the investigation, or to give fresh leads," said Gerard Chemla, a lawyer representing some 50 of the victims and their families from the Paris attacks. "However, we should not hang on his every word and wait for any sensational revelations," added Chemla, pointing out that the police have already done much of the vital work in dismantling the network. "The first interviews are often about denials. We should maybe leave the process to unfold for a while," added Jean Reinhart, another lawyer representing some of the victims. Reinhart said he was not expecting repentance or any "great sincerity" from the suspect. Abdeslam's lawyer before his extradition from Brussels, Sven Mary, has described him as a "little idiot" with the "intelligence of an empty ashtray". Mary also said Abdeslam was "more of a follower than a leader", though some have argued he may be putting on an act to lessen his responsibility. In his two interrogations in Belgium, Abdeslam gave the impression he was merely a pawn of Abaaoud and his own brother Brahim, who blew himself up outside a Paris cafe during the November attacks. But he has already been caught in a lie, saying he only met Abaaoud once before, when in fact they had a record of teenage delinquency together in Molenbeek. Islamabad: A top Pakistani foreign affairs adviser on Friday asserted that peace cannot be achieved in Afghanistan without the reconciliation process, media reported. Addressing the inaugural session of the fifth round of Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) meeting here, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz said this group of Afghanistan, Pakistan, the US and China was striving to ensure peace in the war-torn country. Aziz welcomed the signing of the peace accord between Gulbuddin Hekmatyar group, Hezb-e-Islami and Afghan government, and, according to Geo News, hoped other militant factions would also ink peace agreements soon. The adviser also rejected the impression from some countries that Pakistan was controlling Afghan Taliban. Aziz urged Kabul to have a clear and positive response for the Afghan Taliban. He, however, went on to say that the Taliban had not yet extended a positive response for dialogue with the Afghanistan government. He asserted that anti-Pakistan statements from Afghanistan were having a negative impact on the peace process. "Pakistan and Afghanistan can jointly control infiltration," he said. The first formal talks with the Taliban since their 2001 ouster collapsed in 2015 after it was announced that their founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar, had been dead for two years, throwing the militant group into disarray. The movement has since split on whether to participate in talks. New Delhi: Ahead of his state visit to China, President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said India seeks a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement of boundary question which will help in achieving full potential of Sino-India relationship. Talking to state-run Chinese Central Television (CCTV) and Xinuha News Agency ahead of his first state visit, beginning 24 May, the President spoke on various issues including India's concerns on terrorism, bilateral trade and cultural and educational exchanges. In reply to a question about some sensitive problems left over from history between India and China, Mukherjee said India would like to expand and diversify its engagement with China across various fields while proactively addressing outstanding issues including the boundary question. "We seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement of the boundary question and, pending the boundary settlement, to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas. Both sides should strive to ensure that the outstanding issues are addressed in a manner that demonstrates mutual sensitivity to each other's concerns, interests and aspiration," he said and added that it was only in this manner can "we ensure that these differences will not come in the way of continued development of bilateral relations." The President also favoured increasing mutual trust and understanding through stepped-up dialogue on political, security and strategic issues. "We should expand our defence exchanges and increase economic engagement, especially through greater investments," he said and also suggested "functional cooperation at international fora." In reply to another question on his state visit, the President said, "We are doing well but the full potentiality is yet to be achieved. That is why we want to resolve all outstanding issues in a mutually acceptable manner, keeping in mind the aspirations, concerns, sensitivities of each country." NIAMEY Six people were killed on Friday in a village in southern Niger in an attack thought to have been carried out by Boko Haram militants, the Defence Ministry said. The six victims died from gunshot wounds or being burnt alive, the ministry said. Another seven people were wounded in the attack and have been evacuated. The militants torched about 10 homes, the market and some cattle and stole two vehicles, the ministry said. A teacher in Bosso, 4 km (2.5 miles) from Yebi, said the attackers were young men who arrived on foot, horseback and camel. They filled up two pick-up trucks with food, he added. Mamadou Bako, Bosso's mayor, said the death toll could rise because security forces were searching through the rubble of burnt homes. Niger's southern region of Diffa, which houses many refugees and internally displaced people who have sought to evade Boko Haram violence elsewhere, has been targeted numerous times in attacks blamed on the militants. The attack took place one day after the military announced the liberation of 97 girls and women from the Islamist group and three days after the rescue of a teenager who was among more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped from Chibok, northeast Nigeria, two years ago. The group, headquartered across the border in northeastern Nigeria, seeks to carve out an emirate and impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law. (Reporting by Boureima Balima; Writing by Marine Pennetier and Makini Brice) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. BANGKOK Thailand's 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej has received treatment for 'water on the brain', the Royal Household Bureau said in a statement on Friday. The world's longest-reigning monarch has been treated for various ailments during a year-long hospitalisation in the Thai capital. He was last seen in public on Jan. 11, when he spent a few hours visiting his Bangkok palace. Most Thais have known no other monarch, as the widely revered king ascended the throne 70 years ago. He has spent most of the past six years in hospital, and nervousness over his health and the succession has formed the backdrop to more than a decade of political crisis in Thailand, where the military took power in a coup two years ago. The palace said examination of the king showed he had 'water on the brain', or hydrocephalus, a build-up of the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain. He was treated for the same thing last August. Fluid was drained and the king was being monitored, the statement said. News about the royals is tightly controlled in Thailand, where laws protecting the royal family from insult make it a crime to defame, insult or threaten the king, queen, heir to the throne or regent. Updates on King Bhumibol's health are typically made public once he is recovering. The palace last issued a statement on his health on May 14, stating he had suffered from a swollen lung and knees. (Reporting Orathai Sriring; Editing by Simon Webb and Mark Trevelyan) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. WASHINGTON U.S. lawmakers are looking to use a defence policy bill to increase restrictions on military aid for Pakistan, expressing frustration with what they see as Islamabad's failure to crack down on Afghanistan's militant Haqqani network. The $602 billion National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, passed by the House of Representatives late on Wednesday would block $450 million in aid to Islamabad unless it does more to fight the network, which lawmakers see as a major threat to U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The bill requires the Pentagon to certify that Pakistan is conducting military operations to disrupt the Haqqani network, not letting the network use North Waziristan as a safe haven and actively coordinating with Afghanistan's government to fight the network along their border. As they finalized the 2017 version of the annual bill, House members added three amendments related to Pakistan. All passed by unanimous voice vote. One added a fourth requirement to the release of the aid, that the administration certify Pakistan has shown progress in arresting and prosecuting Haqqani network senior leaders and mid-level operatives. Another required that the Secretary of Defense certify Pakistan is not using its military or any funds or equipment provided by the United States to persecute minority groups. And a third added a "sense of Congress" that Shakil Afridi is an international hero and calls for his immediate release from prison. Afridi is a Pakistani doctor believed to have helped the CIA hunt down Osama bin Laden. Pakistan sentenced Afridi in 2012 to 33 years in jail on charges of belonging to a militant group, which he denies. That sentence was overturned and Afridi is now awaiting trial on another charge. Pakistan says its courts will decide Afridi's fate, and has angrily criticized U.S. politicians, including Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, over calls to release him. The House version of the NDAA is not the final version of the legislation. It must be combined with a Senate bill before being sent to the White House for President Barack Obama to sign, or veto. However, there is also strong criticism of Pakistan in the Senate. This month, Senator Bob Corker used his authority as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee to bar the use of any U.S. funds for Pakistan to buy American F-16 fighter jets. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Chris Reese) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. TOKYO An American man working at a U.S. military base in Japan was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of dumping the body of a 20-year-old Japanese woman, police said, a case likely to stir anti-U.S. sentiment ahead of a visit by President Barack Obama. The 32-year-old civilian working at the base on the island of Okinawa admitted to abandoning the corpse but did not make any comments about whether he had killed the woman, an Okinawa police spokesman said. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida summoned Caroline Kennedy, U.S. ambassador to Japan, to lodge a protest. "I expressed a strong regret to Ambassador Kennedy and lodged a stern protest. I told her an incident like this is inexcusable and that I feel strong indignation," Kishida told reporters. Kennedy told Kishida the United States would redouble its efforts to prevent similar incidents, the foreign minister said. In Washington, the Pentagon said the individual was a contractor, but did not name him. Spokesman Peter Cook said the Pentagon would provide "complete cooperation" in the investigation, while State Department spokesman John Kirby expressed condolences. "This is a terrible tragedy and it's obviously an outrage," Kirby told a daily news briefing. "We're treating this situation with the utmost seriousness." Obama, who is to attend a Group of Seven summit in Japan next week, will become the first U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, a city destroyed by a U.S. atomic bomb 71 years ago. Okinawa, the site of a bloody World War Two land battle, hosts the bulk of U.S. military forces based in Japan since the war, and many residents resent what they see as an unfair burden. U.S. installations take up about 18 percent of Okinawa's land area and past incidents involving Americans have fuelled resentment. In 1995, a 12-year-old schoolgirl was raped by three U.S. servicemen on Okinawa, sparking huge protests, and earlier this year, a U.S. sailor was arrested on suspicion of raping a woman at a hotel in Naha in the south the island. Japan's ambassador to the United States, Kenichiro Sasae, said he hoped the latest incidents would not affect the mood towards Obama's visit to Hiroshima, as the Japan-U.S. alliance had made "tremendous progress" under the current U.S. president. "The Okinawa issue is the Okinawa issue," he told reporters. "This is a tragic event, but a tragic event should not overshadow the fundamental objective of the alliance that's what I hope," he told reporters in Washington. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Idrees Ali and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Andrew Hay and Sandra Maler) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Washington: The US is at "real and increasing risk" of losing its military technological dominance that it had taken for granted in the aftermath of the end of Cold War, a top Senator has said, ruing that America's monopoly is now being challenged by countries like Russia and China. "For years after the Cold War, the US enjoyed a near monopoly on advanced military technologies. That is changing rapidly," Senator John McCain, Chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, told a Washington audience. "From China and Russia, to Iran and North Korea, we see militaries that are developing, fielding, and employing long-range precision guided weapons, advanced fighter aircraft, anti-access and area-denial systems, growing space and cyber capabilities, and other advanced weapons," he said speaking at the Brookings Institute, a top American think-tank. "The result is that we are at real and increasing risk of losing the military technological dominance that we have taken for granted for thirty years," he said. McCain said the US is now struggling to innovate against an acquisition system that too often impedes their efforts. The F-35 jets, he said, has been in development for 15 years. "I get a new smart phone every 18 months. We should be able to upgrade our weapons on a similarly rapid turn," he said. Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter expressed his deep concerns regarding proposals included in the National Defense Authorization Act which passed the House a day earlier. "This legislation includes a budget gimmick that would underfund the Department of Defense's overseas warfighting accounts by USD 18 billion and spend that money on programmatic items that are not our highest priorities for national defense," Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said. This approach is deeply troubling for several reason. "First, it's gambling with warfighting money at a time of war, proposing to cut off funding for ongoing operations in the middle of the fiscal year. Second, it's a step in the direction of unraveling the bipartisan budget agreement agreed to just seven months ago, which has provided critical stability the Department of Defense needs," he said. This provision threatens US' readiness to respond to the challenges of a complex world. "Buying force structure today without the resources to sustain it tomorrow is not a path to increased readiness. It's a path to a hollow force and exacerbates the readiness challenges we currently have," Cook added. Washington: A California commission mandated with recommendation and revision of school text books has rejected demands of replacing India with South Asia for pre-1947 references, which had become a major bone of contention from various academic groups in the US. The California Department of Education's (CDE) Instructional Quality Commission (IQC), at its hearing on Thursday which was marked by presence of a large number of academicians, teachers and students from both sides decided not to replace mentions of India with South Asia in the new framework for History Social Science textbooks in California. During its meeting, the commission also decided to restore the mention that Hindu sages Valmiki and Vyasa were born non- Brahmins. It also agreed to replace the word "untouchable" with "Dalit" as demanded by the various Dalit groups. The final draft of the framework was voted by the commission on May 19th and will be submitted to the State Board of Education (SBE) to be approved later this year. Over a hundred Indian-American children and parents testified at the public hearing at the CDE, opposing the proposal, and seeking restoration of the word 'India'. Earlier this year, the Commission had proposed to replace instances of 'India' by 'South Asia' in its school textbooks at the behest of South Asia Faculty Group (SAFG), led by top academicians like professors Kamala Visweswaran of University of California at San Diego, Lawrence Cohen and Robert Goldman of University of California at Berkeley. The group had suggested that all mentions of 'India' before 1947 had to be replaced with "South Asia". The suggestions were opposed by another group of 41 academics led by professors Barbara McGraw of Saint Mary's College of California, and Diana Eck of Harvard University who called the proposal "anachronistic" and "not historical". "Hinduism should be represented in California K-12 textbooks in a manner comparable to other religions fairly, accurately and equitably," said McGraw. "This debate concerns a teaching document for K-12 teachers. It should not create unnecessary obstacles for a more constructive understanding of the Indian subcontinent and the world's third largest religion," McGraw said. "In this regard, ironically, the South Asia Faculty Group's attempt to nuance Indian history caused the opposite effect. Robust academic debate about the politics of India are welcome, but that debate is not appropriately addressed in a K-12 textbook framework narrative in California. Luckily, some of today's decisions reflect that thinking," McGraw said in a statement. Hindu-Americans groups have welcomed the decision. "Coming from an underprivileged community myself, I am really proud that our collective efforts were able to bring the contributions of Sage Vyasa and Sage Valmiki back into the framework," said Sandeep Dedage, coordinator for the Hindu Education Foundation USA. Washington: The US House of Representatives has approved a bipartisan legislative move to bolster defence ties with India and bring it at part with other NATO allies in terms of sale of defence equipment and technology transfer. "It seeks to promote greater defence trade and encourage additional military cooperation between the United States and India," Congressman George Holding said on the floor of the House of Representatives in favour of the amendment in this regard in the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA)-2017. The amendment (Enhancing Defence and Security Co-operation with India) was sponsored by Holding and Ami Bera (House India Caucus Chairs) and Chair and Ranking Member of House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce and Elliot Engel, respectively. "I believe that by requiring our government to take actions such as strengthening Defence Technology and Trade Initiative and encouraging combined military planning with India, we can make certain that the US-India defence relationship endures," Holding said. "Mr Chairman, given the dynamic nature of the Indo-Pacific region and its importance to our own national security and future economic growth, now is the time to build on recent successes and propel the US-India strategic partnership forward," Holding said. For the US, it encourages the executive branch to designate an official to focus on US-India defence cooperation, facilitate the transfer of defence technology, maintain a special office in the Pentagon dedicated exclusively to the US-India Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI). It urges the US government to enhance India's military capabilities in the context of combined military planning, and promote co-production/co-development opportunities. For India, it encourages the government to authorise combined military planning with the US for missions of mutual interest such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counter piracy, and maritime domain awareness. Senators Mark Warner and John Cornyn, the Senate India Caucus Chairs, introduced a similar bill earlier this week in the Senate. Senator Marco Rubio, the former Republican presidential candidate, became its co-sponsor this week. It is only when it is passed by the Senate and the House as part of the NDAA-2017, it will head to the White House for US President Barack Obama to be signed into law. The move has been welcomed by the US-India Business Council (USIBC). "Now that we have bipartisan support from the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House India Caucus, we believe this amendment has a good chance of making its way into the House's version of the defence authorisation bill," said USIBC president Mukesh Aghi. Among other things, the House legislative approval requires the Secretary of Defence and Secretary of State to jointly take such actions as may be necessary to recognise India's status as a major defence partner of the US. It calls for approving and facilitating the transfer of advanced technology, consistent with US conventional arms transfer policy, to support combined military planning with the Indian military for missions such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counter piracy, and maritime domain awareness missions. "The Secretary of Defence and Secretary of State shall jointly, on an annual basis, conduct an assessment of the extent to which India possesses strategic operational capabilities to support military operations of mutual interest between the United States and India," it said. KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA -- Oakwood Asia Pacific Ltd, which manages an award-winning portfolio of the finest serviced apartments in the world for business and leisure travellers, confirmed a partnership with Plenitude Berhad today to open the first Oakwood-branded property in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in the second half of 2016. Located in the Malaysian capital's historic Ampang district, Oakwood Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur aims to provide spacious living, comfort and security for both business and leisure travelers. "We are proud to establish our footprint in Malaysia with the opening of the first Oakwood-branded property in Kuala Lumpur," said Dean Schreiber, managing director of Oakwood Asia Pacific Ltd. "Kuala Lumpur is an important destination for us, especially with the Malaysian capital emerging as one of Southeast Asia's most alluring metropoles. We have seen a rising demand for a dual hotel and residence property in the city and know that Oakwood Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur will be an environment in which guests will feel right at home. As more travellers appreciate the benefits of the Oakwood accommodation offering, we will continue to grow its portfolio to meet these demands around the globe." Elsie Chua, chairman of the board of Plenitude Berhad added, "We are excited to partner with Oakwood. They have a proven track record of more than 50 years in providing spacious residences to discerning travelers in key locations, complete with modern amenities and backed by informed, responsive service professionals which we think is suited to our building and its location. We picked the Oakwood Residence brand for its promise of elegance, comfort and convenience, supported by personalised service that cares for your every guest and resident. Plenitude has invested RM50 million for the renovation and upgrading of Oakwood Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur and the refreshed development will meet the varied needs of leisure and business travellers alike, seamlessly." Oakwood Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur will boast of 252 units, offering residents a calm oasis in the heart of the business district with a swimming pool, a children's wading pool, gym and restaurant. These facilities are typical of the Oakwood Residence brand, which combines the spacious comfort of a private home with the services of hotel-like meeting rooms and a grand ballroom ideal for large group events. Oakwood Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur will provide guests with a comfortable home environment that enables them to set their own schedules and enjoy day-to-day activities. Services and facilities also include a 24-hour concierge and front desk services, business services and high-speed internet connection. Conveniently located along the bustling Jalan Ampang in the heart of the business district, the development counts many international embassies as its neighbours and is a short walk to attractions like the National Art Gallery and renowned restaurants. It is also a stone's throw away from some of the Malaysian capital's top attractions and shopping malls such as Petronas Twin Towers and Kuala Lumpur City Center, as well as an international school. Oakwood Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur is the company's 28th Oakwood-branded property across 16 cities in Asia. About Oakwood Oakwood, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mapletree Investments, is a global leader in hospitality management and development. The company manages a portfolio of award-winning properties that combine the space and comfort of a private residence with the thoughtful services and amenities of a hotel, ideal for both short- and long-term stays. Through this specially crafted Oakwood experience, guests are invited to feel a sense of belonging, familiarity and reassurance whenever they stay at any Oakwood property around the world. For more information, please visit www.Oakwood.com. Pam Krebs Director, Global Communications (310) 444-2552 Oakwood Australian developers are tight-lipped about the potential impact bank and regulatory changes suggesting the crunch point will come in two or three months' time when a number of big city projects are due to settle and the impact becomes apparent. The headwinds facing the apartment sector are stronger in Victoria where the state government will also boost stamp duty surcharges on foreign buyers to 7 per cent and increase absentee owner land tax to 1.5 per cent. Chinese investors are invited to information sessions about investing in Australia. "Realistically we need another 2 or 3 months to see the impact," said one developer who did not want to be named. Development to slow Property-focused private equity firm, Qualitas, said new starts on apartment construction would slow "substantially" in the medium-term as a result of banks and governments making it more difficult for overseas investors to purchase new property. Booths promoting Australian property at an international property fair in Beijing. Credit:5iphoto Looming constraints on foreign buyers could impact supply over the medium term, leading to price increases, Qualitas managing director Andrew Schwartz said. The proportion of foreign to local buyers has been steadily increasing over the last two years with developers taking advantage of demand to accelerate projects. It was now common for many projects to have 40 per cent of total buyers being foreign. Property in Canada is becoming more attractive ti Chinese investors. Credit:AP "There are certainly unprecedented levels of new apartments coming into the main cities - particularly in pockets of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. However, it's likely that any excess supply will be absorbed by the market over a short period of time, due to continued strong migration levels," Schwartz said. More change to come? Wang Peng, general manager of overseas-focused Chinese property group UNME, says the tightening of rules aimed at foreign buyers were being interpreted by Chinese buyers as a potential signal of more to come. He said the moves were seen as politically motivated as both federal and state governments seek to appease local buyers worried about the impact of foreign cash on housing affordability. The crackdown on loans substantiated by overseas income has the greatest potential to impact all but the wealthiest of Chinese buyers, says Wang, who owns investment properties in Australia himself. "When a downpayment has been raised and then loan restrictions are introduced, inevitably it will impact investment. Many of our customers are concerned about this issue," he says. He says many buyers had bought off-the-plan properties but are now scrambling to find alternative loans before settlement, often forced to pay higher downpayments. "This is the most disadvantageous part to overseas investors. The impact is quite big and very direct." Echoes in Canada The impact of Chinese money on Sydney and Melbourne housing markets is mirrored in Vancouver, where intense public outcry has erupted against what many Canadians consider speculative real estate investment by wealthy Chinese which is contributing to inflated home prices and pricing out many local residents. "Moreover, there are some legal concerns about the origin of Chinese funds; protestations that nonresident, property-owning Chinese evade Canadian taxes; and allegations of empty investment homes exacerbating the housing crisis," said a report published by the Asia Society and Rosen Consulting Group this week. It said the backlash to increased levels of investment in both Canada and Australia "whether warranted or not, has driven some Chinese investors to invest in the United States". But Wang noted that Chinese buyers already attracted to Australia likely had their heart set on the country because of personal connections there, whether through existing family, children attending Australian universities, or future plans to migrate. He said around 20 per cent of his clients were "pure investors" who would consider switching focus to entirely different countries which were more welcoming of their money. China tightens capital rules Chinese buyers are also being squeezed by regulatory tightening at home. Capital controls in mainland China have long meant that each person is only allowed to move a maximum of $US50,000 a year out of the country. But those rules had been laxly enforced until recent months, with the central government urgently trying to combat an unprecedented rush of hot money flows out of the country, as investors fret over a downward trajectory on the yuan and the long-term health of a slowing Chinese economy. The hurdles now facing offshore buyers have heightened fears of settlement risk in apartment projects across Australia's capital cities as developers face the possibility foreign buyers might not be able to access funding from banks following a clampdown on lending by Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac and other banks. Industry sources suggest the bank clampdown on foreign lending was prompted by a spate of bad loans originated through mortgage brokers in Sydney. Major developer Mirvac was recently downgraded because of similar settlement concerns. Developments progressing There were no such settlement problems on a major 225-apartment project called The Bouverie in Melbourne's CBD recently completed by Qualitas and construction giant Grocon. "We experienced default rates of around 1.5 per cent among those who bought off the plan. That was true of both foreign and local buyers and is a positive result," Schwartz said. Colliers International's managing director of residential Tim Storey said the increased stamp duty surcharge due to be introduced in July in Victoria had prompted a "buying frenzy" beforehand. Hong Kong-based developer Far East Consortium has a major 1000-plus apartment project due to settle in the next few months. The federal Liberal candidate for Fremantle Sherry Sufi has resigned after details emerged of an expletive-ridden, sexually explicit impersonation of his former boss. He told Sky News on Friday it was "sad and tragic" a video of him making controversial comments about women and the now speaker of the WA parliament, Michael Sutherland, was made public. Resigned Liberal candidate for Fremantle Sherry Sufi with Foreign Minister and deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop. Credit:Liam Wilde "I made some silly remarks. I apologised to Mr Sutherland at the time, the issue was dealt with," he said. When the word retirement is mentioned in everyday discourse it's often associated with numbers. The amount you'll need to retire. The age at which you'll stop working. The tax you'll incur as you draw on your super. But what these numerical references neglect is the psychological dimension. As someone who's decades away from retirement, I can't talk about my personal experiences (there are none) or expectations (what retirement?). I'll instead just refer to fresh research that explores the non-financial aspects, which are arguably as important as the financial. Having a purpose in retirement aids longevity. Credit:iStock image But first let's go to a story broadcast on 60 Minutes a few years ago. Journalist Liz Hayes travelled to the Greek island of Ikaria "a magical place where people live longer than anyone else on the planet. They also have lower rates of cancer and heart disease and almost no dementia." So what makes the inhabitants live so long (approximately 10 years longer than the rest of us) and so well? Is it the food? Is it the wine? Is it the island's beauty? One local thinks it's her love of Pepsi. Another attests it's infrequent sex. A 100-year-old credits a hard life working on rocky hillsides. There are places in this world where one wants, and expects, adherence to the highest standards. From hospitals to restaurant kitchens, from banks to our childrens schools we have the highest expectations of these institutions. Let us add to that list, the courtroom. In the place where justice is supposed to be served, we set the bar high. Unfortunately, when it comes to the standards for scientific studies, data, and expert testimony allowed in a court trial, the Show-Me State is one of the weakest in the nation. But Missouri has a chance to change all of this. This session, the Legislature passed SB 591, a measure that would require Missouri courts to adopt a higher expert evidence standard known as Daubert. The Daubert standard is the law in 40 other states and U.S. federal courts. It measures scientific expertise on common-sense factors, such as: Is the evidence being admitted in court relevant to the facts of the case at hand? Are the conclusions of a scientific study seen as reliable by scientists other than those who conducted the study? And, were the studys findings reached using broadly accepted scientific methods? Weve all seen the headlines of supposedly scientific studies that turned out to be less than accurate. The controversy over whether vaccinations cause autism in children, for example, started after a single research paper was published in a British medical journal. That research, later proven to be false, was paid for by plaintiffs lawyers wanting to sue vaccine makers. Last month, a St. Louis jury heard a star witness testify on the link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer. Only one problem: There has never been a scientifically proven link between talc and cancer ovarian or otherwise. The American Cancer Society has looked but found no definitive link. Two years ago, the Food and Drug Administration denied a petition to put a warning label on talcum powder because of a lack of evidence. A connection between talc and ovarian cancer is, even in its most forward-leaning interpretation, merely a hypothesis. But Missouris low standard allowed the expert to testify. The jury was persuaded. And health products company Johnson & Johnson paid $55 million to a woman claiming its product caused her ovarian cancer. This verdict is the second against J&J this year over talc and cancer. And the star witness in both cases? The very same scientific expert. But in the broader scientific community, there is doubt. And with doubt, there can be no sense of justice. And without a confidence in justice, Missouri is not a good place to do business. This is why, in a national survey of some of the nations largest employers, Missouris judicial system ranked 42nd out of 50. Specifically on the issue of scientific and technical evidence, respondents ranked Missouri 43rd in the country. In this survey, employers said they are less likely to build facilities or create jobs in states with weaker lawsuit systems, like Missouri. Missourians themselves get it. In a different survey of Missouri voters conducted by Public Opinion Strategies last fall, 79 percent said the number of lawsuits in Missouri is a serious problem; 66 percent said Missouris lawsuit system benefits plaintiffs lawyers most, while only 6 percent said the system helps victims. Changing Missouris standard of scientific evidence isnt just good for civil justice, but wrongful criminal convictions as well, where innocent people are put in jail based on shoddy evidence. For Gov. Jay Nixon, improving Missouris courts should be a simple decision. Instead, he has said he will veto the bill. Why? We know that the governor is under tremendous pressure from the Missouri plaintiffs bar. Theyve lobbied hard against this bill, because heightened expert standards mean some of their high-dollar cases that hinge on questionable evidence may no longer reap a huge payout. Gov. Nixon should set aside politics and do what is right for Missouri. For both justice and jobs, Missouri needs a higher expert evidence standard. Lisa A. Rickard is president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (instituteforlegalreform.com). Pilots of an Egyptian military plane take part in a search operation for the EgyptAir plane that disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea in this still image taken from video May 19, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] CAIRO - A translation mistake of EgyptAir's press release about finding wreckage of the missing flight MS804 has caused misunderstanding, a source from EgyptAir told Xinhua. An EgyptAir source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Arabic version of a press statement on the "possibility of finding parts of the missing airplane" was mistakenly translated into English by EgyptAir's official Facebook page, which caused "confusion." The source further explained that EgyptAir "has never confirmed the finding of any wreckage," a translation mistake was the reason behind the "confusion." "In the Arabic version, we only spoke about the possibility that the objects found might belong to the airplane," the source said. Earlier on Thursday, EgyptAir said the Egyptian Foreign Ministry had confirmed to the Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry that wreckages of the missing airplane were found near the Greek Island of Karpathos. Those reports were shortly denied by Greek officials who said the objects they found during the ongoing search operations do not belong to the Egyptian aircraft. EgyptAir has earlier confirmed that the missing plane, an Airbus A320, disappeared from radar screens en route from Paris to Cairo at 2:45 a.m. Cairo local time (0045 GMT) on Thursday. The flight had 66 people aboard, including 30 Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis and nine others each from Algeria, Belgium, Portugal, Britain, Canada, Chad, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off the Greek island of Crete yesterday, Egyptian and Greek officials said. Egypts aviation minister said the crash was more likely caused by a terror attack than technical problems. Later in the day, an Egyptian search plane located two orange items believed to be from the EgyptAir flight, 230 miles southeast of Crete within the Egyptian area of Flight Information Region, a Greek military official said. One of the items was oblong, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with regulations. In Cairo, Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi told a news conference that he did not want to prematurely draw conclusions, but that indications suggest a terror attack as a more likely cause of the crash. Answering a reporters question on whether a technical failure was behind the crash, Fathi said: On the contrary [] if you thoroughly analyze the situation, the possibility of having a different action or a terror attack, is higher than the possibility of having a technical failure. But he cautioned that the truth would not be known before the investigation is concluded. Earlier, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail also said a terror attack could not be ruled out. We cannot rule anything out, Ismail told reporters at Cairo airport. Earlier, Greek defense minister Panos Kammenos said EgyptAir flight 804 made abrupt turns and suddenly lost altitude just before vanishing from radar at around 2.45 a.m. Egyptian time. Kammenos said the aircraft was 10-15 miles inside the Egyptian FIR, Flight Information Region, and at an altitude of 37,000 feet. It turned 90 degrees left and then a 360 degree turn toward the right, dropping from 38,000 to 15,000 feet and then it was lost at about 10,000 feet, he said. EgyptAir said the Airbus A320 vanished 10 miles (16 kilometers) after it entered Egyptian airspace, around 280 kilometers (175 miles) off Egypts coastline north of the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. Their account fits closely with an account from Konstantinos Lintzerakos, director of Greeces Civil Aviation Authority. The airline said the Egyptian military had received an emergency signal from the aircraft, an apparent reference to an Emergency Locator Transmitter, a battery powered device designed to automatically give out a signal in the event of a sudden loss of altitude or impact. The Egyptian military denied it had received a distress call and Egypts state-run daily Al-Ahram quoted an unidentified airport official as saying the pilot did not send one. The absence of a distress call suggests that whatever sent the aircraft plummeting into the Mediterranean was both sudden and brief. Exploring the possibility of a terror attack, Egyptian security officials said they were running background checks on the passengers to see if any of them had links to extremists. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. In Paris, the citys prosecutors office has opened an investigation into the incident. No hypothesis is favored or ruled out at this stage, the prosecutors office said in a statement. Egypts chief prosecutor, Nabil Sadeq, followed suit, ordering an urgent investigation into the crash. The head of Greeces air traffic controllers association, Serafeim Petrou, told The Associated Press that everything was operating normally prior to the planes disappearance from radar. Egyptian military aircraft and navy ships were taking part in a search operation off Egypts Mediterranean coast to locate the debris of the plane, which was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two babies, and 10 crew members. The pilot had more than 6,000 flight hours. Greece also joined the search and rescue operation, officials at the Hellenic National Defense General Staff said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault offered to send military planes and boats to join the Egyptian search for wreckage. We are at the disposition of the Egyptian authorities with our military capacities, with our planes, our boats to help in the search for this plane, he said. He spoke after French President Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting at the Elysee Palace. Later, the French military said a Falcon surveillance jet monitoring the Mediterranean for migrants had been diverted to help search for the EgyptAir plane. Military spokesman Col. Gilles Jaron told The Associated Press that the jet is joining the Egypt-led search effort, and the French navy may send another plane and a ship to the zone. Hollande spoke with Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on the phone and agreed to closely cooperate to establish as soon as possible the circumstances surrounding the incident, according to a statement issued in Paris. In Cairo, el-Sissi convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, the countrys highest security body. The council includes the prime minister and the defense, foreign and interior ministers, in addition to the chiefs of the intelligence agencies. Those on board, according to EgyptAir, included 15 French passengers, 30 Egyptians, two Iraqis, one Briton, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi, one Sudanese, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Belgian, one Algerian and one Canadian. Ayrault confirmed that 15 French citizens were on board. Around 15 relatives of passengers on board the missing flight arrived at Cairo airport after hearing the news about the missing plane. Airport authorities brought doctors to the scene after several distressed family members collapsed. In Paris, relatives of passengers on the EgyptAir flight started arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside the French capital. A man and a woman, identified by airport staff as relatives of the flights passengers, sat at an information desk near the EgyptAir counter at Charles de Gaulle Airports Terminal 1. The woman was sobbing, holding her face in a handkerchief. The pair were led away by police and airport staff and did not speak to gathered journalists. The Airbus A320 is a widely used twin-engine, single-aisle plane that operates on short and medium-haul routes. Nearly 4,000 A320s are currently in use around the world. The ubiquity of the A320 means the plane has been involved in several accidents over the years. The last deadly crash involving the plane was Germanwings Flight 9525, in which all 150 onboard died when one of the pilots intentionally crashed it in the French Alps. Airbus said the aircraft was delivered to EgyptAir in 2003 and had logged 48,000 flight hours before it was lost over the Mediterranean. The European plane-maker said in a statement yesterday that it had engines made by Swiss-based engine consortium IAE, and had the serial number 2088. An EgyptAir plane was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus in March. A man who admitted to the hijacking and is described by Cypriot authorities as psychologically unstable is in custody in Cyprus. The incident renewed security concerns at Egyptian airports after a Russian passenger plane crashed in Sinai last October, killing all 224 people on board. Moscow said it was brought down by an explosive device, and a local branch of the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for planting it. In 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed into the Atlantic near the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, killing all 217 people aboard. U.S. investigators filed a final report that concluded its co-pilot switched off the autopilot and pointed the Boeing 767 downward. Egyptian officials rejected the notion of suicide altogether, insisting some mechanical reason caused the crash. Maggie Michael, Elena Becatoros & Angela Charlton, Cairo , AP China rejected U.S. claims that its fighter jets maneuvered unsafely when they intercepted an American Navy reconnaissance plane over the South China Sea, and demanded that the U.S. end such missions close to Chinese territory. The Chinese jets monitored the U.S. plane from an acceptable distance and operated in a safe and professional manner, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told journalists at a regularly scheduled news briefing. According to the related Chinese authorities, the U.S. allegation is not true, Hong said. Frequent reconnaissance missions by U.S. Navy vessels aircraft off the Chinese coast jeopardizes Chinas sea and air safety, Hong said. We urge the U.S. to immediately stop spying activities and prevent such events from happening again, he said. The Pentagon said two Chinese J-11 fighters flew within about 15 meters of the U.S. EP-3 Aries aircraft this week, forcing the U.S. pilot to descend sharply to avoid a collision. It said the U.S. plane was conducting routine operations in international airspace. It characterized the incident as an unsafe intercept and said it is being reviewed. The U.S. has sought to prevent such confrontations through frequent communication and the signing of an agreement on handling unexpected encounters at sea and in the air. However, such incidents may now be on the increase as the U.S. challenges Chinas claims that its newly created artificial islands in the South China Sea enjoy legal rights to territorial seas and airspace. China says it is entitled to keep watch over such airspace and seas. China has long been irked by U.S. reconnaissance missions off the Chinese island province of Hainan, which sits at the northern end of the South China Sea and is home to a number of highly sensitive naval and air installations. In 2001, a collision between a Chinese fighter jet and a U.S. surveillance plane in which the Chinese pilot was killed and the American crew detained on Hainan led to a crisis in U.S.-China relations. AP A top Chinese official visiting Hong Kong warned against heeding calls for independence for the semiautonomous Chinese region. Zhang Dejiang, who is the Communist Partys No. 3 official and responsible for Hong Kong affairs, made his remarks at a dinner banquet attended by senior city government officials and business leaders. Zhang is making a three-day inspection visit to the former British colony, where discontent is rising over Beijings tightening grip on the city. Tension remains high two years after Beijing said it would not allow unrestricted elections for the citys top leader, a decision that sparked pro-democracy street protests that brought parts of the city to a standstill for 11 weeks. Some radical localist groups have recently started calling for greater autonomy and even independence for the specially administered Chinese region. There are a very small number of people rejecting one country and resisting the central government. Theyre even flying the banner of Hong Kong independence, Zhang said. This is not a matter of localism, but its separatism under the name of localism. Zhang also warned people not to break the law, but did refer to any specific offenses. No one can override the law, and no offenders can evade legal jurisdiction with any excuse, he said. Society should severely condemn those actions which challenge the rule of law. He said the one country, two systems framework, under which Beijing allows Hong Kong a high degree of control over its own affairs and civil liberties unseen on the mainland following its 1997 handover from Britain, is in the citys best interests. Hong Kong authorities have ratcheted up security for Zhangs visit, with as many as 8,000 police officers deployed for the visit, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported, citing an unidentified police source. Water-filled plastic barriers and metal barricades ring the hotel and conference center where Zhang is spending much of his time. Paving stones have been glued together to prevent protesters from throwing them, construction work has been suspended, and some shops and restaurants have shut temporarily. Earlier in the day, a group of about 100 protesters who tried to get close to the business conference where Zhang was delivering a speech were kept well away in a designated protest zone. Ines Lei, a community planner and co-founder of Macau Root Planning, claims the government is not focusing on the citys development concept in the long-term, stressing that the development spirit in the city is missing. In an interview with the Times, the urban planner also noted that several plots of land in the city could have been better put to use to pursue a more sustainable concept. Macau Daily Times (MDT) -What are the heritage issues Macau is currently facing? Ines Lei (IL) The heritage protection list hasnt been updated for over 20 years. Although last year they [the Cultural Heritage Committee] had the first [public consultation] round of updating the heritage protection list, the progress is really going slow. About modern architecture, it seems to me that the heritage value is mainly based on the historical value. They are really concerned [whether] it has a long history or someone important lived there. But I think social value is also a really important factor. MDT Is Macau losing its identity due to the recent developments the city has experienced? IL I wouldnt say that its losing its identity because I think Macau identity is never a fixed concept. It has been changing over hundreds of years, so it is hard to say if were really losing the identity, because it is a changing concept. [] Coloane would be a really good example of how people are strongly opposed to the sweeping change of the landscape because the changes [there] are really obvious. MDT Whats your take on the six areas of the city that are undergoing land reclamation? IL This is a huge topic but I think the [governments] plan for the six areas istrying hard to use the reclaimed land to solve [the problem] we are facing now. But it doesnt provide a real development concept in the long-term. That is my main concern. It doesnt have a concept and a big vision about how we should build and change our city in the long-term. It just focuses on dealing with the problem that we are facing now. And because of that, I think it will just somehow limit [future] possibilities and limit the publics imagination of our citys future. Because when urban planners plan, we always like [to emphasize] make no little plan, so its really hard to feel the passion. Something is missing; the development spirit is missing. The philosophy of how we should grow the city is missing; I think thats really important. MDT Can you suggest another example of how the government is not delivering the development concept youve mentioned? IL It seems like nowadays its a hard topic, and a big trend, that our citys direction is in the creative and cultural industry. But when we talk about culture, we also need to think [about how] we are really pursuing the cultural development, where is the source of culture? [] One of the examples is the bike lane. It seems like the bike lane development is just used as a recreational facility, and not as a mode of commute for the citizen. If the city provides more bike lanes for citizens, it would help the society in pursuing a more sustainable concept and future development for the city. MDT What can you say about the Cultural Heritage Councils decision to support the governments exclusion of the Hotel Estoril from the heritage protection list? IL What really made me shock[ed] about the voting is that the Cultural Affairs Bureau didnt hand in our documents when the Council was having a meeting to talk about whether [to] protect it [or not]. [] Our organization had documents which consist[ed] of public petition and also potential assessment of the cultural value of the building complex. So we kind of write up a technical document and list all the reasons why we think they should start the process. Its an important document, and they didnt really hand [it] in to the council. This is a critical mistake. They dont have to agree with what we say but they dont have the right to rip off the rights of the council to know about this document. This is against the procedural justice; this is something really wrong. MDT What difference would it make if the MSAR updates the heritage preservation bill? IL If they dont update the whole list [] maybe later on there would be more buildings that would be torn down, even though the public would want to preserve them. [] Its better for the government to study more about the potential buildings [that need protection], so there wont be so much debate in the future. MDT Is the government interested in accepting proposals from urban planners? IL In Macau, the opinions and comments of professional urban planners and architects are not really respected enough, like they deserve. Staff reporter Yesterday, the Marine and Water Bureau participated in a national maritime search and rescue drill in the Pearl River estuary. The drill was organized by Chinas Ministry of Transport and the Guangdong Government. Zhuo Li, vice-director of the Maritime Search and Rescue Center of China, reported that the drill had by far the largest number of participating official departments compared to other national maritime search and rescue drills. Approximately 4,000 ferries pass through the Pearl River estuary on a daily basis, culminating in roughly 400 maritime emergency calls being made in the last three years. Sewage-waste leak inside building Sewage has been leaking inside Edificio Vai Fung since the end of last month. According to a Macao Daily News report, residents living in the building have complained that the government has not helped solve the problem. Flats on at least two stories have been affected by the sewage spill, which has leaked along the corridors of the ground floor. On top of this, mold has appeared. Residents claim to have reported the situation to several governmental departments, but a response is yet to be received. An interviewed resident explained: This is obviously more urgent than building the infectious diseases building. The report notes that approximately 600 buildings have similar problems. Juliet Risdon is a Director of JML Property and a property investor. Having established the company in 1994, JML Property offers Investment Property & Homes. It specializes in managing properties for owners and investors, and providing attractive and comfortable homes for tenants. The agreement between a landlord and a tenant is relatively straightforward. The landlord invests time and money in buying a property that a tenant can live in without the inconvenience or financial commitment of buying something themselves. At the next level, the landlord is duty bound to provide an environment that is safe and has the basic functions, whilst a tenant is duty bound to pay the monthly rental amount in a timely fashion. Each party needs the other, and in a good relationship there is the realization and mutual respect for this fact. Whilst tenants may moan about rich landlords and owners complain of troublesome tenants, neither party could survive without the other. So why do so many owner-tenant relationships turn sour? The answer, in our experience, usually starts from two things; Expectations and rental payments. The expectations of the owner are usually pretty clear; Pay the rent on time and dont bother me with anything. The expectations of the tenant are usually pretty clear; Fix everything that goes wrong in the property immediately and at your cost. Of course there is a middle ground, although this may not be found without a few heated discussions in the short term. So why are rental payments so important? In our experience, rental payments are the focal point of discussions between owners and tenants. When a tenant feels unfairly treated, the conversation often starts with I always pay my rent on time. On the other hand, when an owner faces a situation with their tenant, a late rental payment record is the first thing raised. One suggestion to keep both parties satisfied is that the tenant always pays their rent on time in order to avoid any argument from the landlord to the contrary. At the same time, if the tenant must conduct work in the apartment, send a quote to the landlord and state that you will proceed with the work and withhold the amount of money from the next rental payment. For clarification, many rents are due payable by the first day of the month. Once a rent is 9 days overdue, the landlord has the right to charge an additional 50 percent of the rental amount, and if this reaches 30 days overdue the landlord is entitled to a figure equal to an additional 100 percent of the rental amount. Receiving rent on time and responding to tenant requests on time are the cornerstones of a good relationship. Once this starts to break down, the happiness and peace of mind of both parties is in danger. We collect rent for many owners who live inside and outside Macau, and staying on top of the collection is the top priority for all the reasons given above. Owners often prefer someone to conduct the rental collection for them in order to keep the relationship professional and to ensure someone is paying attention to the cornerstone of the relationship. www.JMLProperty.com info@JMLProperty.com Forget Beijing and Shanghai. Chinas economic future is emerging in Shenzhen. Once a collection of fishing enclaves next door to Hong Kong, Shenzhen, which has become the epicenter of Chinas manufacturing-driven miracle, is staking its future growth on finance, technology and culture. The metropolis teeming with millions of migrant workers is home to some of Chinas biggest and hottest companies. Many are led by a new wave of young Chinese entrepreneurs hoping to build global brand recognition. Divided from the former British colony of Hong Kong by a river, Shenzhen has been the preferred laboratory for experiments by Chinas communist leaders since reformist Deng Xiaoping designated the tranquil area as the countrys first special economic zone in 1979. Now a sprawling megacity of 11 million people, its fortunes were made churning out cheap clothes, electronics and toys for big foreign brands. But low cost manufacturers like Apple supplier Foxconn have been moving inland or out of China as labor costs increased. Now the focus is on higher value-added, homegrown technology. Innovative new companies are drawn by Shenzhens well-established manufacturing supply chains and transport links, proximity to Hong Kongs banking and financial expertise, and better traffic, milder weather and less air pollution than Beijing and Shanghai.READ MORE * Movies: The nice guys * Books: The Second Life of Nick Mason by Steve Hamilton * Music: Couchville Sessions by Darrell Scott * Wine: The Quintessence of Japan V * Food: Say Aloha to Summer DOWNLOAD PDF Extra 2661 Shenzhen Valley | @ China When Taiwan inaugurates Tsai Ing-wen as the self-ruled islands first female president today, shell confront major challenges including navigating increasingly fractious relations with Beijing and rejuvenating the flagging economy. Beijing has responded to the January election of Tsai and her pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party by intensifying pressure on Taiwan with military exercises, diplomatic moves and cross-border deportations and prosecutions. At home, Tsai faces an economy that has fallen into a recession as exports have dropped due to sluggish demand from China and elsewhere. The challenges are enormous and I think that she does not underestimate them, said Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. With declining economic growth and exports, it is a difficult time, and China is not making it any easier, of course, Glaser said. Tsais election served as a resounding rejection by voters of the China-friendly party that has led Taiwan for eight years. The polls, which also gave the DPP its first parliamentary majority, were also seen as an expression of concern that the islands economy is under threat from the Chinese mainlands economic juggernaut. Beijing has warned that delicate relations between the sides would be destabilized unless Tsai explicitly endorses Beijings stance that the island and the mainland are part of a single Chinese nation, which it calls the 92 Consensus. Tsai has avoided doing so, but has promised not to pursue changes to the current status of de facto independence. Tsais inauguration speech will be closely watched for remarks on relations with the mainland. Analysts say shes unlikely to deliver any surprises, neither deliberately antagonizing Beijing nor wholly satisfying its demands. Chinas got a wide range of retaliatory measures waiting for Taiwan, said Alexander Huang, a strategic studies expert at Tamkang University in Taiwan. I believe Dr. Tsai understands that and she will not step on the tripwire and cause trouble. Regardless, experts say, Beijing will continue asserting its demand that Tsais administration endorse its one-China principle and may take further action if the demand remains unmet. Since she wont say exactly what Beijing wants to hear about the 1992 consensus, a testy admonition from the Chinese leadership is sure to follow, said Professor John Ciorciari, a University of Michigan professor who follows Taiwan politics. Zhu Weidong, deputy director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, depicts the stakes for Tsai more starkly: It is impossible for the mainland to get along with a party or a leader that doesnt recognize the one-China policy or seeks to split the country. Zhu and some other analysts predict that Beijing could cut existing exchanges and regular contacts between the sides if it is dissatisfied with the new administrations policies toward cross-strait relations. That could send relations back to the tense situation that existed under the last DPP president, Chen Shui-bian, who was the target of relentless rhetorical attacks by Beijing. There will be no so-called cold peace, but will definitely be a fresh confrontation, Zhu said. In that case, the domestic and international situation for Taiwan will only get more and more difficult. Since Tsais election in January, China has made moves seen by analysts as cranking up the pressure. In March, China established formal diplomatic ties with the small African nation of Gambia, which had severed ties with Taiwan in 2013, ending the undeclared diplomatic truce between the sides that had endured for almost eight years. The sides split amid civil war in 1949 and China has long sought to isolate Taiwan diplomatically by preventing it from maintaining formal ties with most countries or membership in international organizations such as the United Nations. The timing of Chinas diplomatic move with Gambia sparked speculation that it was possible retaliation over the election. In the past several weeks, China has pressured Kenya and Malaysia to deport Taiwanese fraud suspects to the mainland for prosecution, moves that Taiwans government has protested. Some saw the deportations as Chinas move to assert its claim to sovereignty over the island, but Beijing says theyre necessary in order to deal with criminal suspects targeting its own citizens. In the same vein, China has sought to marginalize Taiwans participation in international arenas. In April, a meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Developments steel committee ejected a Taiwanese delegation after China complained. The most immediate indication of Chinas approach to the Tsai administration will come days after her inauguration, when Taiwanese observers are due to attend the U.N. World Health Organizations annual World Health Assembly in Geneva. China has said Taiwans participation is dependent on its recognition of the 92 consensus. If Tsai fails to recognize the 92 consensus and one-China principle, there will be no room left for Taiwans diplomacy, said Li Fei, deputy director of the Taiwan Research Institute of Chinas Xiamen University. Relations with China also play into Tsais challenges in revitalizing the Taiwanese economy, which is heavily dependent on trade with the mainland. Tsai is going to try to maintain a modicum of normal relations with the other side and hope that she can convince the Chinese to limit the harm that they may inflict on Taiwans economy, Glaser said. By taking a hard line, the Chinese government risks further alienating the Taiwanese public, who already feel bullied by China and deprived of their due place in international society. Sean King, senior vice president with consulting firm Park Strategies in New York and Taipei, said, In some ways, Beijings hard line only reaffirms for many Taiwanese their choice to have voted for Tsai. Taiwanese want to peacefully coexist with mainland China, travel and do business there, but dont see themselves as part of it, King said. Gillian Wong, Beijing, AP TWIN FALLS Chobani has invested nearly $750 million into its Twin Falls plant, but the company isnt stopping there, CEO Hamdi Ulukaya said. At a celebration Thursday, Ulukaya welcomed the governor, state dignitaries, city and company officials and economic development partners to commemorate the factorys latest project a nearly $100 million expansion already under construction. Just three years after opening the worlds largest yogurt factory in Twin Falls, the company is adding new production lines and building an office headquarters for its global research and development team. For Ulukaya, investing in Twin Falls and Idaho was the right decision. I thought I made the right choice the minute I arrived here, he said. The addition and new production lines are expected to be complete and operational later this year. The new offices will be ready by the middle of next year. Gov. C.L. Butch Otter commended the companys founder on his confidence in the state, which he said has resulted in other companies making the same choice to come here. Youve been a tremendous source of pride for me, Otter said. Every day is a great day when you invest $100 million in Idaho. To commemorate the event, representatives from various groups were invited to sign their names on a beam to be placed inside the new addition. The original factory opened in 2013 with just a few hundred workers. Recently, the company announced it would hire an additional 100 employees in the first half of this year, pushing its total local employment to more than 1,000 workers. We needed the jobs even separate from this expansion, company spokesman Michael Gonda said. We needed jobs to produce more food. Twin Falls has been the birthplace of several new Chobani products already, Otter said. These include Chobanis popular Flips line and its Meze Dips and yogurt drinks launching this summer. Other products now being formulated will also be produced at the Twin Falls factory, the company said. This is just a celebration of the first phase, Ulukaya said. Im so happy. Im so honored. Chobanis three building permits recently filed with the city call for 72,677 square feet of expansion. The growth of Chobani here has been the gift that keeps on giving, Mayor Shawn Barigar told reporters, referencing other businesses that have relocated to the Magic Valley in the wake of Chobanis success. That includes Fabri-Kal, Otter noted, which opened in Burley last year. The company supplies millions of the yogurt producers single-serve cups. And its not just the corporations that are benefiting. Chobani and other new companies are helping to drive up regional wages and benefits packages as they compete for employers. As more locals find better and higher-paying jobs, some economic analysts are beginning to worry the areas labor pool is too shallow. Economic development organizations are diversifying their strategies with college and high school programming, and even reaching out to tourism organizations for external marketing, Barigar said. Those efforts, in turn, are helping Chobani fill jobs almost as fast as they create them. We have been privileged over the past few years to have an incredible network of support in this community, Gonda said. Ulukaya considers himself and his company representatives to be among Idahos biggest cheerleaders. He tells his business colleagues: Invest in Idaho youll never be sorry. TWIN FALLS A Twin Falls man is charged with punching his 13-year-old stepson and lacerating his spleen during an argument with the teen and the boys mother. Robert Snow Derrick, 46, was arraigned Thursday in Twin Falls County Magistrate Court on a felony count of injury to a child and a misdemeanor count of domestic battery in the presence of a child. The Department of Health and Welfare reported Derrick to police after the boy went to the emergency room the day after he was punched in the stomach. The teen was vomiting and feeling ill, and doctors told the mother he might require surgery. The mother told police she and her son were arguing with Derrick when Derrick spit on the teen and hit her several times. She said her son got a knife to try to protect her, but Derrick snatched the knife away, grabbed the boy by the head and neck and punched him in the stomach. The boy also told police Derrick spit on him and punched him in the stomach. Derrick told police he didnt spit on the boy but did spit on the boys bed, court documents said. He also said he grabbed his stepson by the head and neck area but denied punching him and told police the boy should be arrested for pulling the knife. I am more of a victim than he is, Derrick told an officer. Police described Derrick as 6 feet tall and 170 pounds and significantly larger and stronger than his 13-year-old stepson, described as 5 feet tall and 90 pounds. Derrick is being held in the Twin Falls County Jail in lieu of $25,000 and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 27. BURLEY A trial for a Declo man charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife has been pushed back to November. Ronnie Gene Kincaid Jr. 34, was set to go to jury trial Monday. The trial is now set for Nov. 2 in Cassia County District Court. Kincaid is also charged with mayhem, a charge used when a person dismembers or disfigures a victim, two counts of penetration with a foreign object and concealing or destroying evidence along with a persistent violator charge. Kincaids 17-year-old son, Ronnie Kincaid III, was charged with accessory to murder and concealing and destroying evidence after police say he helped his father wash blood and DNA evidence from his step mother Melissia Kincaids body. The charges were dismissed in April. Cassia County Prosecuting Attorney Doug Abenroth said in a statement in April that a judge was unwilling to delay the trial, so he instead dropped the charges. He plans to refile the case at a later date. Thursday Abenroth wrote in an email that he can not comment further on the case. ...it is still being actively investigated. Any public comment by the prosecutor could hamper further prosecution of the case, he wrote. Sheriff deputies arrived at the Kincaid home on Highway 81 between Declo and Burley the morning of Sept. 6 for a 911 call about an unresponsive woman. Melissia Kincaids body was in the back bedroom of the familys single-wide mobile home. Kincaid Jr. told police his wife hadnt been feeling well and was having female medical problems. He said he and his wife drank alcohol and played a drinking game with water after a night out at the Twin Falls County Fair. Kincaid said the couple had sex, and about 2:30 a.m. she was unresponsive. He told police he tried wake her up by putting her in the shower, then he covered her up and placed her in bed, went to sleep next to her and awoke to find her unresponsive just before 9 a.m. Kincaid pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held at the Mini-Cassia Criminal Justice Center on a $5 million bond. One of the biggest philosophical differences between liberals and conservatives is the role government can and should play in curing social ills. Generally speaking, liberals believe government can and should play a significant role; conservatives tend to be of the mind that its really not the role of government to begin with, and when government gets involved, it often causes more harm than good and just runs up more debt, despite the best of intentions. About 35,000 children in Idaho have a parent who has served prison time, according to a report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. That equates to about 8 percent of kids in the Gem State, compared to the national average of 7 percent. Obviously thats bad for the children. It means a key provider isnt there to provide. It can also reduce the negative stigma associated with incarceration. Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador recalled an experience he had speaking with middle school students in Caldwell one day. He was trying to urge the youngsters to stay out of trouble so they wouldnt end up in jail. One student raised his hand and said something to the effect of, I have a family member in jail, and jail isnt so bad. You get to do art projects and get three hots and a cot. Kids with parents who have served time are six times more likely than other kids to wind up in jail themselves, according to a study from the Bureau of Justice. Its a vicious cycle. Everyone should agree that finding a way to break that cycle should be of paramount importance to a civilized society. Which brings us to the question of whether theres anything government can or should do. To a limited extent, yes, there is something it can do. Lets start with what government shouldnt do. It shouldnt create a new, money-devouring program which pays social workers to encourage kids to stay out of trouble. Nor should it pay people not to commit crimes. And if you think thats a crazy, silly idea that nobody would take seriously, its exactly what theyre doing in Washington, D.C. Conservatives would suggest that social ills such as this one are best handled at the grassroots level by motivated citizens who want to help people who can be found in churches, schools, charitable organizations and nonprofits, especially those which work with youth. And theyre right these are the folks in a position to have the most impact on the lives of young people. There is, however, a role that government can play that would cost little yet make a huge difference. Agencies such as Health and Welfare could play the role of facilitator in getting these various grassroots groups together and coordinated on working with kids who have incarcerated parents. The people in these groups want to help, but fighting a war against the cycle of incarceration is like fighting any other war without good coordination and communication, its tough to win. Lowering that vicious cycle and reducing Idahos incarceration rate wont be easy, but it progress can be made if we work together. Government can, and should, help by bringing people together. Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday said the United States would attend the ministerial conference organized by France to be held on 3 June to launch a new framework for peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis. I told him [French Foreign Minister Jean- Marc Ayrault] that I would be there, Kerry said at the sideline of a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. I will work with the French, I will work with the Egyptians, I will work with the Arab community in good faith in an effort to see if we can find a way to help the parties see their way to come back, Kerry said. France is expecting the U.S., close ally of Israel to attend the conference which will gather 20 foreign ministers including the Middle East Quartet to prepare the ground for a major conference focused on peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis based on two-state solution, for the fall. Last U.S. attempts to revive talks between Palestinians and Israelis collapsed in 2014 as both camps came with wish list difficult to compromise on. Kerry reportedly rejected claims that the U.S. had failed to bring the rival side to the peace table, throwing the blame of the Palestinians and the Israelis. It is not the failure of the US or any other country to bring people back to the table. It is the failure of those countries themselves to make the decision to come back to the table, Kerry said. Israel has rejected the French initiative saying that only direct talks between the two sides could lead to genuine talks and solutions. Israeli reports say that proposal by the Egyptian President this week to mediate between opposed Palestinians brother has been welcomed in Tel Aviv. President la-Sisi this week in a televised address urged Palestinians and Israelis to seize the French opportunity and renew peace talks. He claimed that creation of a Palestinian state will give hope to Palestinians and also provide security to Israel. The United Nations Chief, Ban Ki-moon on Thursday laid a wreath in honour of peacekeepers died in 2015. About 129 peacekeepers lost their lives in the line of duty last year. The peacekeepers from 50 countries lost their lives due to malicious acts, accidents and disease, the UN chief said. It was the 12th time in the last 13 years that more than 100 Blue Helmets fell in one year. The tragic total since 1948 is nearly 3, 500, he noted. In his words, Ban Ki-moon stressed that the confidence that the world places in UN peacekeeping is reflected in its massive growth in recent years, in terms of both numbers and complexity. According to the UN chief, peacekeeping is becoming more and more dangerous. All too often our personnel are targeted by armed groups, spoilers and terrorists. In some areas where the UN operates, our blue flag has gone from being a shield to a target Ban Ki-Moon assured that the legacy of the fallen peacekeepers will not be in vein. The United Nations is doing everything possible to protect civilians, end fighting and create conditions for lasting peace. Today we mourn those who lost their lives and we also pay tribute to the scores of others who were injured. This wreath is for the peacekeepers who died so that others may live. We honor their bravery. Although their lives were cut short, their legacy will live on. He said. The beleaguered Central African Republic on Thursday launched a national committee for the prevention and punishment of crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and all forms of discrimination. CAR suffered the worst crisis in its history in early 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka fighters toppled former president Francois Bozize. Christian anti-Balaka militias responded by attacking the Muslim minority in retaliation leading to a three year religious and communal conflict that only subsided after the election. A fifth of the population has fled their homes to escape the violence. Officials said, the committee will help strengthen the national reconciliation, but also to identify early warnings of communal violence to definitely turn the page from the recent turmoil. We need to keep a fundamental aspect which is the respect for rule of law. It has been a long time since we enforced respect for human rights and long time since we do not fight impunity. We need to ensure that the mistakes from the past are not repeated, said UN Secretary-Generals Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng. The newly elected committee made up of 36 members from the government, civil society, womens associations, youth and religious leaders underwent training by legal experts from all backgrounds, from May 17 to 19. An early kidnapped schoolgirl in the Nigerian town of Chibok has been found, the army said on Friday, two days after the rescue of another Chibok girl, Amina Ali Nkeki. According to the army spokesman Col Sani Usman, Serah Luka was among 97 women and children rescued by troops in such operations in the north-eastern Borno State. We are glad to state that among those rescued is a girl believed to be one of the Chibok Government Secondary School girls that were abducted on 14 April 2014 by the Boko Haram terrorists, Col Sani Usman said. In his words, the troops killed 35 Boko Haram terrorists and recovered several arms and ammunitions and other items. In addition, they rescued 97 women and children held captives by the Boko Haram terrorists. Earlier on Thursday, the first Chibok girl found, Amina, 19, met President Muhammadu Buhari in the capital city of Abuja. Buhari said he was delighted she was back and could resume her education. According to Amina, six of the 219 girls have died during the long period of captivity but the rest are still being held at a heavily guarded Boko Haram outpost in the forest. Sudans Foreign Minister Kamal Ismail on Thursday said the government wants the UN-backed force in Darfur to leave when its mandate expires in June, on the grounds that rebel activity had receded and civilians are no longer under threat. It is time to end the mission of UNAMID in Darfur, Kamal Ismail said. The situation is stable in Darfur and the rebel activities receded. There is no citizen in Darfur that is under threat and in need of protection from UNAMID, he noted. The Darfur conflict erupted in 2003 when mainly African tribes took up arms against the Arab-led government in Khartoum. The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has been deployed in Darfur since 2007 with a mandate to stem violence against civilians in a war that has seen the International Criminal Court issue a warrant for Bashirs arrest on charges of war crimes and genocide. Officially, the mandate of the mission will end next month, but renewed violence in parts of Darfur last month and widespread displacement has raised many questions about their planned departure. However, South Africa has already announced that it will be withdrawing its troops. As a reminder, Sudan asked UNAMID to prepare to leave in 2014 amid a dispute over attempts by the mission to investigate an alleged mass rape by Sudanese soldiers in the Darfur town of Tabit. (HealthDay)Survival odds for colorectal cancer may depend on which side of the colon the primary tumor develops, according to a study released Wednesday during a media briefing that previewed some of the research to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held from June 3 to 7 in Chicago. In a study of 1,025 men and women with metastatic colorectal cancer, those with left-sided tumors survived 33.3 months, while those with right-sided tumors survived only 19.4 months. The researchers also found that patients with tumors on the left side of the colon lived an average of 36 months after cetuximab (Erbitux) was added to their treatment. However, patients treated with cetuximab whose tumor was on the right side of the colon survived 16.7 months. The researchers found a similar pattern among patients who were on bevacizumab (Avastin): Overall survival was 31.4 months for those with left-sided tumors and 24.2 months for those with right-sided tumors. "It's a stunning and surprising finding, and the difference is dramatic," lead researcher Alan Venook, M.D., a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told HealthDay. "Now that we are aware of this, there's a whole lot more to learn and a lot of digging to do. People don't just have colon cancer, they have a particular brand of colon cancer, much as we see with breast cancer." The study received funding from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, and Imclone. Explore further Tumor location in colorectal cancer may influence survival Copyright 2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Communication about end-of-life care can improve how likely Latino patients with terminal cancer are to sign a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order, helping to close the gap with white patients, according to research by Weill Cornell Medicine scientists. Prior studies, as well as the new paper, demonstrate Latinos are less likely than whites to sign a DNR, a form of advance-care planning that helps ensure better quality of life for patients who are dying. The study, published May 19 in Cancer, shows "having an end-of-life care discussion has a very large influence on the odds of Latinos signing a DNR order," said lead author Dr. Megan Johnson Shen, assistant professor of psychology in medicine and a researcher at the Center for Research on End-of-Life Care at Weill Cornell Medicine. Notably, Latinos were about 10 times more likely to sign a DNR if they discussed end-of-life care with a health care provider than Latinos who did not. Moreover, Latinos who had this conversation were as likely as whites to complete a DNR. White patients, however, were not as greatly influenced by these discussions. Those who had end-of-life counseling were only 1.5 times more likely to complete a DNR order than whites who did not. Shen and her co-authors Dr. Holly Prigerson, the Irving Sherwood Wright Professor of Geriatrics, and Dr. Paul Maciejewski, associate professor of biostatistics in radiology and in medicine, both co-directors of the Center for Research on End-of-Life Care are unsure why the benefit of having an end-of-life care discussion with Latino patients was greater than in whites. The investigators theorized Latino patients might be less knowledgeable about advance directives than whites, possibly due to lower levels of health literacy, language barriers or barriers in communication. Consequently, end-of-life discussions may have been especially effective in deciding to sign a DNR. "Oncologists should be having conversations about end-of-life care with their Latino patients, considering the large impact these discussions can have on improving advance-care planning," Shen said. Additionally, physicians need to ensure that communication about end-of-life care is relevant to patients' cultural and religious beliefs, she said. To evaluate the association between these discussions and the signing of do-not-resuscitate orders in Latino and white terminally ill patients, researchers analyzed responses to structured interview questions from 117 people with advanced cancer and a life expectancy of less than six months at Parkland Hospital, a public facility in Dallas. Of the study participants, 61 were Latino and 56 were white. This research was part of a larger, federally funded initiative called the Coping with Cancer Study, a multicenter, prospective evaluation of the impact of psychosocial factors on end-of-life care. Shen and her colleagues hope to conduct further research to develop a better understanding of Latino patients' cultural and religious beliefs and their effects on end-of-life communication and DNR completion rates. Explore further Researchers study palliative care preferences of Latinos on dialysis More information: Megan Johnson Shen et al. Impact of end-of-life discussions on the reduction of Latino/non-Latino disparities in do-not-resuscitate order completion, Cancer (2016). Journal information: Cancer Megan Johnson Shen et al. Impact of end-of-life discussions on the reduction of Latino/non-Latino disparities in do-not-resuscitate order completion,(2016). DOI: 10.1002/cncr.29973 Credit: Vera Kratochvil/public domain We've heard it before: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Such a cliche, right? But a single step will start you on the path toward better health, and you'll need to accrue significantly less than a thousand miles. In fact, you just need 10,000 steps. That magic number may seem daunting but is much easier to reach than you think. Clocking in at roughly 5 miles, this guideline meets the U.S. surgeon general's recommendation of 30 minutes of moderate activity a day. The result? Decreased risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure, weight maintenance and reduced risk of osteoporosis are just some of the benefits of hitting 10,000 daily steps, according to the American Heart Association. Citing 2013 research in the National Runners' Health Study and National Walkers' Health Study, the AHA argues that moderate-intensity walking is as beneficial as vigorous running, though runners end up exercising twice as much in the same amount of time as walkers. That said, any spurt of activity is beneficial to health, according to the group. It all begins with that one step. If you're starting from the beginning, nonprofit group Shape Up America offers tips on building up to the magic number, but their first tip? Get a pedometer. (Luckily, many smartphones now offer walking apps to track your daily steps, among other things.) Shape Up says most people walk between 900 and 3,000 steps, but it's easy to build up to 10,000 without strain. Setting daily goals - 2,500 the first week, 3,000 the next - helps scale your walking until you eventually reach 10,000. And don't think that you have to knock out 10,000 steps all at once. The AHA's Russell Pate, a professor of exercise science in the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, suggests breaking up your walks into manageable 10- to 15-minute chunks. "It's not a skill-dependent form of activity," Pate said. "It's the most accessible form of physical activity." Build in a walk on your lunch break, or walk after dinner with a friend or loved one. A few simple changes - even pacing while on the phone - will get you to the magic number in no time. "You can do it almost anywhere," Pate said. Explore further How many steps each day are enough? 2016 Chicago Tribune Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A confocal image of immune cells (green and red) migrating through the 3-D space (blue) within a living Drosophila embryo. Scientists at the University of Bristol have identified the trigger for immune cells' inflammatory response a discovery that may pave the way for new treatments for many human diseases. Immune cells play essential roles in the maintenance and repair of our bodies. When we injure ourselves, immune cells mount a rapid inflammatory response to protect us against infection and help heal the damaged tissue. Lead researcher Dr Helen Weavers, from the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences said: "While this immune response is beneficial for human health, many human diseases (including atheroscelerosis, cancer and arthritis) are caused or aggravated by an overzealous immune response. A greater understanding of what activates the immune response is therefore crucial for the design of novel therapies to treat these inflammatory disorders. "Our study found that immune cells must first become 'activated' by eating a dying neighbouring cell before they are able to respond to wounds or infection. In this way, immune cells build a molecular memory of this meal, which shapes their inflammatory behaviour." The team's research, published in the journal Cell, used the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) to study how a particular immune cell (the macrophage) becomes activated in order to respond to injury or infection. Using the fly allowed researchers to make time-lapse movies of the dynamic behaviour of the immune cells as they migrate within a living organism. It also allowed them to easily manipulate different genes and signalling pathways within the fly, to test which genes are important for immune cell behaviour. Using genetics, the researchers dissected the mechanism by which the molecular memory is generated within the immune cell. Ingestion of the dying cell activates signalling via a calcium flash, which leads to an increase in the amount of an important damage receptor Draper in the immune cell. High levels of this receptor enable the 'primed' immune cell to sense the damage signals that entice them towards a wound during inflammation. Without this priming, the cells are blind to wounds and infections. Professor Paul Martin said: "Our work has important implications for human health, given that the pathology of many human diseases is often caused by an inappropriate inflammatory response. Understanding how one signal (in this case a dying cell) can influence the ability of an immune cell to respond to a subsequent signal is a major step towards finding novel ways to clinically manipulate immune cells away from sites of the body where they are causing the most damage." Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow Professor Will Wood said: "Using flies to study human disease might seem at first glance to be a rather strange approach, but this is an exciting advance in our understanding of immune cell behaviour, and takes us a step closer to designing novel therapeutic ways to influence immune cell behaviour within patients in the clinic." Explore further Scientists discover key to what causes immune cell migration to wounds More information: Corpse Engulfment Generates a Molecular Memory that Primes the Macrophage Inflammatory Response. Cell, DOI: Journal information: Cell Corpse Engulfment Generates a Molecular Memory that Primes the Macrophage Inflammatory Response., DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.04.049 Cross-sectional data from 1003 people with normal glucose regulation and prediabetes. NAFLD=non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. IFG=impaired fasting glycaemia. IGT=impaired glucose tolerance. Credit: Source: Stefan et al. Phenotypes of prediabetes and stratification of cardiometabolic risk. Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology 2016. Copyright: The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Prediabetes is associated with increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia and cancer. However, the disease risk varies considerably among subjects. In a study reported in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, DZD scientists have summarized information from the literature and provided novel data indicating that the future determination of the four major phenotypes fatty liver, visceral obesity and impaired production and action of insulinmay improve prediction and prevention of cardiometabolic risk in prediabetes. In many countries, the prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes has reached epidemic numbers. In the USA and in China, more than half of the adult population already has elevated blood glucose levels. Prediabetic hyperglycemia is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia and cancer. However, the disease risk considerably varies even in the state of prediabetes. This led scientists to study what parameters might explain this variability in disease risk in prediabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a heterogeneous disease Among scientists, it is well established that several pathophysiological mechanisms are involved in the development of type 2 diabetes. However, in a clinical setting, it is very difficult to disentangle these mechanisms that may be very useful to implement personalized prevention and treatment of diabetes. In diabetes diagnosed by elevated fasting or 2 hr glucose levels during a standard oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), the prevalence and the sequence of appearance of impaired insulin production and impaired insulin secretion differ. This variability can already be observed in the prediabetic states isolated via impaired fasting glucose (IFG), isolated impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or IFG+IGT combined. At-Risk Phenotypes predict prediabetes and cardiovascular risk In an analysis of data from 1003 subjects of the Tubingen Diabetes Family Study of whom 405 had prediabetes, the four at-risk phenotypes were independent determinants of prediabetes. Two phenotypes were notBMI category (normal weight, overweight, and obese) and visceral obesity based on waist circumference. Except for visceral obesity, the other three at-risk phenotypes also predicted the regression from prediabetes to normal glucose regulation (NGR) during a lifestyle intervention. Among the individuals with prediabetes, fatty liver was the strongest determinant of increased carotid intima-media thickness, an early marker of atherosclerosis, followed by MRI-determined visceral obesity. Phenotypes of prediabetes Based on the emerging evidence for the existence of the very interesting extreme metabolic phenotypes metabolically healthy obesity and metabolically unhealthy normal weight, the scientist then studied the prevalence of the four at-risk phenotypes among the different BMI categories (normal weight, overweight, and obese) in subjects with NGR and prediabetes. They demonstrated that there are distinct signatures of these phenotypes among these BMI categories (figure). For example, while insulin secretion failure is by far the most prevalent at-risk phenotype in normal weight subjects with prediabetes, fatty liver and visceral obesity become more prevalent in overweight and obese subjects. Conclusion: Phenotypes of prediabetes should be considered in prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases Norbert Stefan, the first author of the article, says," After initial classification of the glucose categories NGR and prediabetes, fatty liver, visceral obesity and impaired production and action of insulin should be included in assessment of cardiometabolic risk. If proven to be effective, this strategy could be included in medical guidelines about the prevention and treatment of diabetes and associated diseases." Hans Haring, the last author of the study, adds, "The application of precise phenotyping strategies in clinical trials will also help to improve understanding of the pathophysiology of cardiometabolic diseases." Explore further Serum prolactin in pregnancy predicts prediabetes / diabetes Provided by Deutsches Zentrum fuer Diabetesforschung DZD Portable device to detect arrhythmias in real time Researchers at the Technological Institute of Morelia (ITM) in Mexico created a portable device for detecting cardiac arrhythmias in real time using electrodes placed on the chest of the patient or as part of clothing. It also alerts medical personnel of any irregularity in the heartbeat. Dr. Jose Gutierrez explained that the device sends real-time results to doctors with a wireless measurement system. It also stores data for subsequent analysis. One of the advantages of this new technology is that it is smaller than existing devices on the market. The device developed at the ITM measures less than half of typical devices, at 20 x 20 centimeters. The device enables the detection of eight different types of arrhythmias. Its design considers user safety as a primary factor. One of the challenges in the development of this device, explains Gutierrez, is improved recharging. He adds that future devices can be made even smaller. In addition, this technology can be used by people who currently have not been found to have a cardiovascular disease for prevention and, where appropriate, early detection, essential to diagnose the development of this disease. Moreover, the device fits the patient's body, which allows detection of heart rhythm through electrodes placed in a shirt. The specialist explained that given the high amount of data to analyze, both computer systems and specialists have trouble detecting irregularities, especially occasional ones. For five years, the researchers developed various measurement systems for both detection and signal processing. This technology has social importance, since cardiovascular disease is a common cause of mortality and morbidity around the world . In Mexico, these diseases are increasing due to widespread unhealthy eating habits with high content of saturated and trans fats, increased sodium intake, smoking and alcohol abuse and physical inactivity. Gutierrez Gnecchi and other researchers at ITM are also working on a device to determine deafness in babies, and another for detecting breast cancer without the hassles of current mammography. Explore further New device could improve cancer detection First-year medical student Sarah Budik and David Holmes, MD, give a steroid injection to a patient complaining of significant knee pain thought to be due to osteoarthritis. Medical Trainees Providing Crucial Care to Underserved Overseas story based on news release by ellen goldbaum University at Buffalo medical trainees are providing much-needed medical care to underserved populations in Haiti and Honduras. The reciprocal benefits are gaining valuable clinical experience and a firsthand look at global health issues. UB students and faculty have basically become the primary care physicians for the people of Fontaine and surrounding villages. Underscoring the critical nature of the visits is the fact some residents of Fontaine, a poor, medically underserved village in rural Haiti, have come to view the medical students and faculty as their primary care providers. Repeat Trips Allow Ability to Provide Continuity of Care A group led by David M. Holmes, MD, clinical associate professor of family medicine and director of global health education, visiting Fontaine for the fifth time in three years, treated 540 patients. A second team, led by Jennifer M. Corliss, MD, clinical assistant professor of family medicine, went to Honduras, providing care for about 450 patients. Fontaine is about five hours north of Port-au-Prince, and while a medical clinic is less than a 30-minute drive away, most people in the village have no means to get there. I really liked this trip because I got to see a number of patients that I had treated on earlier trips there, says Vinny Polsinelli, a third-year medical student who started the UB medical trips to Haiti. There was a day on this trip where every patient I saw was a follow-up patient, he says. Due to their familiarity with the patients and knowledge of their medical histories, the medical students are able to provide some continuity of care. UB students and faculty have basically become the primary care physicians for the people of Fontaine and surrounding villages, Polsinelli says. EU offers 3.2 million to better monitor Georgia-Turkey border The European Union (EU) is providing 3.2 million to better control Georgias border with Turkey.The funds will be provided under the EU-funded More for More project and will facilitate the installation of better surveillance and control of green border areas that are unmanned and located forestry areas.The money will be used to purchase and install surveillance and communication equipment at four sections of the border between Georgia and Turkey, said the EU in a press release on informedmigration.ge website.The initiative was part of the EU-funded project Reinforcing the Capacities of the Government of Georgia in Border and Migration Management (More for More), implemented by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Georgia.The project aimed to assist the Georgian authorities in implementing the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP) and in dealing with the challenges posed by the management of border and migration flows, the IOM said.The IOM has already completed three scoping missions to Sarpi, Kirnati and Vale border sections. The final visit to Kartsakhi in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia was completed on May 10 this year.The aim of the missions was to gather information on the challenges faced by border officials due to the irregular movements by a range of different nationalities in recent months.The IOMs border management experts have also analysed how the EU investment in surveillance and communication equipment would enhance operational effectiveness of the Georgia-Turkey border. Parliament Adopts Corporate Income Tax Reform Bill With its third reading, Parliament passed on May 13 a bill on corporate income tax reform, known as Estonian model.According to the bill, corporate income tax (a regular rate is 15%) will only apply to distributed profit; undistributed profits, reinvested or retained, and will not be subject to income taxation starting from January 2017.But unlike other businesses, the rule will apply to banks, insurance companies, microfinance institutions and pawnbroking businesses starting from 2019.The 2016 state budget targets revenues from corporate income tax at GEL 980 million, accounting for more than 11% of budget expenditures and 12.3% of total tax revenues of GEL 7.98 billion planned for this year.According to the Finance Ministrys estimation, the state will get GEL 600 million less in corporate tax revenues next year when the reform goes into force and there will be GEL 300-400 million less in 2018.On the third and fourth year of the reform, this loss is expected to be fully compensated at the expense of economic growth, which this reform should stimulate, Deputy Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili told lawmakers in April.The governments initial draft envisaged enacting the new rule from July 2016, but decided to delay it until 2017 citing the request of some business lobby groups, which said that applying of the reform in the middle of the tax year would be quite problematic for implementation.According to the bill, a calendar year - which is now the tax period for corporate income tax - will be replaced by a month.In other amendments to the tax code, only the Finance Ministrys Revenue Service will remain authorized to carry out tax inspections; the Finance Ministrys Investigative Service, or financial police as it is known informally, as well as other law enforcement agencies will no longer have these powers.Currently, existing legislation allows relevant authorities to order the freeze of bank accounts of business entities in case of tax disputes. The Revenue Service will retain this power, but decision on freezing bank accounts will require authorization from court within 48 hours. If the request is declined or if the court fails to consider the request within 48 hours, the freeze on bank accounts should be removed according to the bill. Ombudsman says more than 2,500 domestic violence cases were recorded last year By Messenger Staff Georgias Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili believes protecting womens rights and gender equality still remains a challenge for Georgia.In his 2015 Report for the Parliament of Georgia, the Ombudsman covered all directions related to human rights. Here he widely spoke about the problems of violence against women, early marriages and gender equality complications.Nanuashvili provided official data from relevant state structures and said 2,726 cases of domestic violence were recorded in 2015. He stressed that the cases involved 5,106 individuals in total.The relevant bodies also revealed 28 cases of murder (or attempted murder) of women, 16 of which were committed by men against their own family members, while the other 12 cases were a result of other motives.Nanuashvili then claimed that 611 minors had registered as being married.However, the Ombudsman said most early marriages were not officially registered, as 1,449 minors gave birth or became fathers last year.Nanuashvili also stated that 408 pupils had suspended studying at schools in 2015 due to becoming married, their ages ranging between 13-17.The Public Defender said more women than men were employed at state institutions, but in most cases they did not hold leading posts.The Ombudsman said he supported establishing quotas for women in the legislative body in order to encourage the growth of womens role in politics and state leadership.Nanuashvili urged for more state support for single parents and stressed the government must define the status of a large family.The Ombudsman also spoke about the problems of drug-addicted women, who, in many cases, have no access to treatment or other programs and relevant shelters in cases of domestic violence.Nanuashvili said the category of women should have adequate support from the state and special services should be elaborated for them.The Ombudsman positively assessed the situation in shelters for trafficking victims but said the institutions performed without clear standards.Solving all the issues, requires systemic changes, starting from improving economic problems in Georgia to large-scaled information campaigns regarding the negative aspects of early marriages and a comprehensive approach to domestic violence issues.It also requires time, as such problems cannot be solved swiftly.Georgia has made various positive steps against domestic violence or early marriages. However, the problems are still on the agenda and even more efforts are needed for the issues to be settled. The News in Brief Harassment audio file is authentic, Imedi TV actress to sue former boss The National Forensic Bureau has confirmed the authenticity of an audio file which appears to show that a well-known Georgian journalist threatened to ruin the career of an actress working for him if she did not sleep with him. Tatia Samkharadze claimed April 8 that her producer, journalist Shalva Ramishvili, threatened to end her career if she did not respond to his sexual approaches. She said she was in possession of an audio recording where Ramishvili promised to stop harassing her. But the harassment didnt stop, and she therefore quit her job. It is not right when girls go to a TV company and are told that their career can only succeed through someones bedroom, she said then. Samkharadze, who is also known as Taso Barnova, said on Monday that now that the authenticity of the audio file has been confirmed, her lawyers will file a lawsuit against Ramishvili. After Samkharadze spoke up about being harassed at work, several other girls working for Imedi TV admitted they had had the same problems with Ramishvili. Shalva Ramishvili, the host of the talk show Politics, was fired by Imedi on April 5. I am aware that some of you do not like me and even hate me. I havent lived the life of a saint, but have never been violent. I want to remind everyone that the Constitution and laws protect every citizen, including me, and including the presumption of innocence. Accusations against me are part of a campaign. Everything is part of a staged scenario, Ramishvili wrote on his Facebook page. (DF watch) European Commission proposes introduction of "quick suspension mechanism for Georgia, Ukraine, Turkey and Kosovo The European Commission addressed the European Parliament and the EU Council with a proposal to introduce "quick suspension mechanism for free visa-free travel for citizens of Georgia, Ukraine, Turkey and Kosovo. According to euroline.ge, the relevant change will be made to regulation 539. The EU Justice and Internal Affairs Council, which includes the interior and justice ministers of 28 countries, will discuss the European Commission's legislative proposal on introducing "quick suspension mechanism for Georgia, Ukraine, Turkey and Kosovo On 20 May," says euroline.ge The change is aimed at facilitating the existing mechanism to allow any member state to individually activate the mechanism. In particular, the current term for suspension will be reduced and the grounds for suspension will be expanded. CEC does not register referendum issue on the concept of marriage Georgias Central Election Commission has not registered a referendum issue over the concept of marriage. The Central Election Commission has decided not to register the issue as it is formulated in a way that is against Georgias legislation, CEC speaker Ana Mikeladze says. According to Ana Mikeladze, the issue has been presented as 'Do you agree same-sex marriage to be admitted in Georgia? A similar issue presented by Sandro Bregadze, Zviad Tomaradze, Soso Manjavidze and Kakha Migineishvili, was worded as 'Do you agree with making an amendment in Georgias Constitution saying marriage represents a relationship between a man and woman aimed at creating a family?' Reportedly, Sandro Bregadze was at the CEC but did not attend the session in protest. (ipn) London hosts Georgia Investor Day The capital city of the United Kingdom hosted Georgia Investor Day on May 13, giving Georgias Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili the chance to address more than 100 potential investors. Georgia Investor Day allowed Georgia to showcase the positive business environment and investment opportunities offered in the country. Kvirikashvili, as the keynote speaker, described Georgias investment potential and current projects to representatives of leading British investment fund, banks, financial intuitions and private business. Alongside the British audience, representatives of large Georgian companies attended the event. By attending they were given the opportunity to enjoy Business to Business (B2B) meetings with British companies. This was positive as it would help Georgias business society to deepen ties with the British business community, said the Georgian National Investment Agency. The Georgia Investor Day event was co-organised by the Georgian National Investment Agency and the Embassy of Georgia to the UK, together with international financial services J.P. Morgan, UBS and Barclays. (Agenda.ge) Parliament approves new Tax Code Georgia will now enjoy a more simplified and liberal tax code.The new Tax Code will contribute to improving the investment climate, attracting more investors and additional capital to the country.The Parliament of Georgia approved amendments to the Tax Code at its third reading on May 13 with 85 votes in favour and none against.The amended Tax Code Law, which has modified Georgias income tax rules, will come into force in January 2017.Georgias economic team created the amendments to align the countrys tax system with the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) the Estonian Taxation Model. Under the Estonian Taxation Model, all businesses, except profit-sharing businesses, should be exempt from income tax.More specifically, if a company reinvests their profit they will no longer be obliged to pay income tax. In other words if a private entity does not receive a dividend from his/her company, he/she will not pay income tax meaning he/she will not pay tax for the reinvested money.A dividend is a sum of money typically paid annually by a company to its shareholders out of its profits.However, Georgias tax rules will not change for companies or individual entrepreneurs who are prohibited from profit-sharing. This includes individual entrepreneurs, insurance and micro financing organisations, banks, public legal entities and non-profit organisations.Georgias Finance Ministry announced the new Tax Code would bring the following positive results to the country: Will accelerate economic growth; Will increase the access of companies to financial resources; Will increase the liquidity of business assets; Will increase investments in Georgia; Will increase the amount of capital in Georgia; Will increase the sustainability of businesses during times of crisis; Will reduce external financial constraints; Business will have more opportunities for development; Will establish a more attractive climate for starting a business and production in Georgia; and Will simplify tax accounting and administration.Furthermore, the Ministry said the amendments to the Tax Code will cause the following changes: During tax disputes, confiscation of bank accounts will happen only if this is decided by the court. Until now the Revenue Service had the right to sequester bank accounts without the courts involvement. Imported goods will be exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT), which will simplify tax administration; About 100,000 taxpayers will be exempt from tax debts. More specifically taxpayers will not pay tax debts that were accrued before 2011 and will not pay tax sanctions which were accrued before 2013; and Tax system will be controlled only by the tax authorities.Georgias Finance Minister said in March this year the countrys new Tax Code would be implemented in three stages.In the first stage, changes will be applied to Value Added Tax (VAT). Imported goods will be exempt from VAT, which will simplify tax administration. The change will become operational once the new Tax Code Law comes into force.For the second stage, income tax will be replaced by profit-sharing tax, which will enter into force from January 2017.In the final stage, changes will apply to the financial sector from January 2019.The Government of Georgia started working to simplify the countrys Tax Code after Georgia signed its Association Agreement (AA) deal with the European Union (EU) in mid-2014.Since then, Georgias economic team has worked to improve the countrys investment climate, attract more investors and additional capital to the country. In this process the Government invited the business associations and organisations to use their opinions in decision-making processes. Non-governmental institutions were also actively involved in modifying the countrys tax rules.Georgias partner donor organisations, especially experts from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Governing for Growth (G4G) and officials from Estonia, were instrumental in improving Georgias Tax Code. @PatriciaMazzei Democrat Andrew Korge is a third-generation Miamian with Greek roots. But hes running for a Florida state Senate district where the majority of voters are Hispanic. So Korge seized on a Spanish-language radio interview this week to show off his Latino cred. He introduced himself in Spanish, saying he speaks only a little of the language, but I love Hispanics and Latinos. He Hispanicized his last name, pronouncing it CORE-hay. He claimed his friends call him El Gordo. And then he dropped the name of his Republican opponent, Sen. Anitere Flores, in the same sentence as Arizona-style immigration bill and Donald Trump. She proposed an Arizona-style immigration bill in 2011. Donald Trump supports that bill, Korge told Zeta 92.3 FMs Ahora con Oscar Haza on Monday, noting his mother immigrated to the U.S from Greece. Whether you are a Latino or griego, that is a crazy bill that no one should ever propose. But Korge is distorting Flores record. While its true she sponsored a 2011 Senate immigration bill, it was well-known at the time that she did so to make sure the legislation would not be like the Arizona crackdown that allowed cops to ask for papers. Flores position so upset then-Senate President Mike Haridopolos that he ended up yanking the bill from her hands. She ultimately voted against it. I have no problem defending my record. I do have a problem with people distorting my record and in this case saying something that is a blatant lie, Flores said. Had it not been me the one that was involved in this issue in the beginning, we would have maybe ended up with an Arizona law. The reason we didnt is we said no, were going to deal with this issue delicately. Former state Sen. Rod Smith is wasting no time reintroducing himself to voters in a Gainesville-based state Senate district. At a time when most legislative candidates are busy stockpiling money for direct mail in August or later, Smith is already on network TV stations and his election isn't until November -- but there's almost no ad clutter in May. A Democrat seeking a return to Tallahassee after a decade, he's airing a homespun 30-second TV spot that shows him sipping coffee at his farm in rural Alachua, talking about the virtues of hard work and responsibility and bashing Tallahassee politicians. "They raise our taxes just to turn around and give tax handouts to corporations," Smith says in the spot. "That's not being responsible." The spot, produced by the Murphy Vogel firm and paid for by the state Democratic Party, shows Smith in a work shirt and jeans and leaning against a wooden fence with a John Deere tractor in the background. (You'd swear he's running for commissioner of agriculture). In a tumultuous election cycle in which at least six of 14 Democratic senators won't be back, the minority party will be losing plenty of institutional knowledge at the Capitol. But Smith, 66, a former Senate Democratic leader, is one of the party's best hopes of gaining ground in the Senate. A political fixture for decades in the heart of Gator country, solidly Democratic Alachua County, he's running in the redrawn 8th District that includes all of Alachua and Putnam counties and the northern half of Marion. Smith's lone opponent is three-term Republican state Rep. W. Keith Perry, a Gainesville contractor. Smith leads Perry at fundraising, $238,000 to $160,000. President Barack Obama carried the district narrowly in 2012 by 51 to 49 percent, and Democrat Alex Sink beat Republican Gov. Rick Scott by a 52-48 margin in the district in 2010. Democrats held a 15-point advantage over Republicans in voter registration in 2010 in the district. Smith is a former Gainesville-area state attorney who left the Senate in 2006 to run for governor, but he lost the Democratic nomination to then-U.S. Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa. And speaking of TV ads, the Smith of today speaks much more slowly and clearly than he did back in '06, when his "helicopter" spot of a windblown Smith shouting over the whirr of a chopper at a landing strip in Fort Lauderdale, instantly became the stuff of Florida political legend. U.S. Senate hopeful Ron DeSantis is back in Tampa on Friday, aiming to build up support within the region's military and veterans community. Last month, DeSantis was near Tampa International Airport outlining his foreign policy vision. Tonight, he speaks to a veterans groups that has been highly critical to President Barack Obama's policies and has ties to the Koch brothers. The Concerned Veterans for America said the event at the Cuban Club in Ybor City is not a campaign event for DeSantis, but instead a town hall meeting to discuss "critical issues facing Florida veterans, military families and -- by extension -- all Americans." DeSantis is a lawyer who served with the Judge Advocate General Corps of the U.S. Navy and was a legal advisor to Navy SEAL teams in Iraq, DeSantis, 37, lives in northeast Florida in Ponte Vedra Beach, but grew up in Dunedin. Concerned Veterans for American is classified as a non-partisan, non-profit group, but has been flagged by groups like SourceWatch for having ties to the politically active Koch Brothers. DeSantis is one of 5 Republicans in the Aug. 30 primary aiming to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio in Washington. Besides DeSantis, U.S. Rep. David Jolly, Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, real estate developer Carlos Beruff and Army veteran Todd Wilcox are fighting for the seat. HANOI - Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Hong Xiaoyong on Thursday met with Vietnamese Minister of Defense Ngo Xuan Lich, during which the two sides agreed to further strengthen military cooperation, a Chinese embassy official told Xinhua on Friday. Speaking at the meeting in Vietnam's capital Hanoi, the Vietnamese minister spoke highly of military cooperation between the two countries, reaffirming to continue adhering to the guidelines of "friendly neighborliness, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability and looking towards the future" and the spirit of being "good neighbors, good friends, good comrades and good partners." Lich emphasized the significance of enhancing exchanges and cooperation between the two armies, vowing to uphold the pivotal role of army cooperation in bilateral traditional friendship. Chinese Ambassador Hong Xiaoyong, for his part, said Chinese party and government attach great importance to friendly cooperation with Vietnam. China is willing to join hands with Vietnam in implementing the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries and maintaining the frequent high-level visits. The two sides agreed to boost exchanges and cooperation in various areas, including military cooperation, thus bringing the relations between the two parties, states and armies to a new height, said Hong. Not since Colstrip 1 and 2 were built in the mid-1970s or since Montana Power broke up in the early-2000s has there been such an important time in energy production in Montana. Washington and Oregon have recently decided not to buy electricity generated from coal. Talon Energy, formerly PPL, recently met with Gov. Steve Bullock and indicated Colstrip 3 and 4 are a liability. Market effects are having huge impacts on coal production and electrical generation worldwide, but nowhere will the impacts have more of an effect than here in Montana. Changes are occurring almost daily. Recently the plan to build the Tongue River Railroad was scrapped.The Otter Creek Coal Tracts south of Miles City that the railroad was to serve has been abandoned. Jobs will be lost and taxes reduced. We need to prepare for these market changes now and look for opportunities to lessen their impact. Montana is an energy-rich state with diverse sources of generation. We export nearly 50 percent of the power we generate. Over half of the electricity generated (51 percent) is currently produced by burning coal. Other sources of electrical generation in Montana include hydroelectric (37 percent), wind (7 percent), natural gas (2 percent) and oil (1 percent). Past Gov. Brian Schweitzer once referred to Montanaas being the Saudi Arabia of wind energy. We currently produce less than 1/10 of 1 percent of that potential, developing just 1 percent of that wind energy potential could generate twice as much electricity as we currently produce. The trouble with wind (fortunately) is that it doesn't always blow, so it needs to be backed up with other sources of generation. In 2011, NorthWestern Energy built a 150 MW natural gas electrical generating facility near Anaconda. The David Gates facility was built to integrate with wind energy that was being built in north central Montana specifically the Spion Kop Wind Farm. When the wind isnt blowing the natural gas plant will fire up to meet demands. The project was permitted for 200MW, so it has the capacity to increase by another 50MW. Other energy sources that are promising, and can work when the wind isn't blowing is pump store hydroelectric such as the Gordon Butte Project in Meagher County near Martinsdale. This off-stream hydroelectric facility has nearly completed its Federal Energy Regulation Commission permitting process and has the capacity to generate 600MW of electricity. One of Montana's greatest energy assets is our electrical transmission grid. There is currently twin 500 KV lines running from Colstrip supplying power to the west coast. These lines will continue to deliver desirable clean energy to Washington,Oregon and California. Wind farms and pump stored hydro and other generating facilities will be built in close proximity to take advantage of these transmission lines. Rooftop solar has good potential, with electricity being generated at the place of consumption:our homes and residents. NWE,as the regulated Utility, needs to work with the PSC and consumers to find ways to develop this source that is mutually beneficial forboth the utility and the consumers.Energy efficiency also has great potential on both the generation and consumption side. NWEs hydroelectric dams were constructed in the early 1900s and can be retrofitted and upgraded to produce more power through efficiency. The Northwest Power and Conservation Council in a recent document estimated that in the Pacific Northwest region nearly 85percent of new energy needs over the next 20 years could be met with conservation and efficiency. In Montana we have a secure, diverse, clean energy portfolio that is backed by our own hydroelectric, wind, natural gas and coal generated electricity. The future is bright. As a member of the PSC, I will fight for rate payers and consumers and demand electricity costs reflect this diversity and that it remains affordable and dependable. As consumers we have a lot at stake. Changes are taking place and we need a strong representative who understands these complicated technical issues. We need someone who is on the job daily, interacting with other professionals and working for our best interests while on the PSC. *** Mark Sweeney of Philipsburg is a candidate for the Public Service Commission District 4. OVER the past few weeks, cable news networks and other media sites have trumpeted wild fluctuations and surprising results in polling on the presumed general-election matchup between Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton. The Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll showed a roller-coaster ride: It went from a 13-point Clinton lead on May 4 to a tie just five days later. Six days after that, on May 15, Mrs. Clinton had a six-point edge. But an NBC/Survey Monkey poll showed a bare three-point margin for Mrs. Clinton nationally over Mr. Trump. At the same time, Quinnipiac polls focused on key battleground swing states showed success for Mr. Trump: up by one point in Ohio, and down by only one point in Pennsylvania and Florida shocking results in states that were expected to be much more favorable to Mrs. Clinton, and particularly striking when other surveys showed the red state of Georgia, which should be a Trump stronghold, a tossup. In this highly charged election, its no surprise that the news media see every poll like an addict sees a new fix. That is especially true of polls that show large and unexpected changes. Those polls get intense coverage and analysis, adding to their presumed validity. Earlier this month, Montana candidates and the small staff of the Commissioner of Political Practices made history: For the first time, all statewide and state district political candidates were required to file their campaign finance reports electronically. The new system worked. Amazingly, 312 candidates for Legislature and Public Service Commission successfully filed their reports on or before May 9. Only 27 missed the deadline. Additionally, county office candidates who expected to spend or receive more than $500 filed under the new electronic reporting rule. The rule stems from the Disclose Act of 2015, which passed with support from Democrats and some Republicans. It was sponsored by Sen. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip, and backed by Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. The law allows the commissioner of political practices to require electronic campaign finance reporting, which Commissioner Jonathan Motl did last fall through a process that involved public hearings. Electronic filing is nationally recognized by open government advocates as fundamental to public information. Previously in Montana, only statewide candidates had to file electronically. Legislative candidates and others could file hard copy reports, or email documents to the COPP. Both of those methods delayed public access to information that had to be scanned in manually. It took many hours of staff time just to get all the paper reports online several days later. Once online, those scanned reports werent searchable. With the online filing system that debuted this month, reports are publicly accessible immediately upon filing. The reports are searchable by candidate, contributor and expenditure. What can voters learn on the website of the Montana Campaign Electronic Reporting System? -- Who has donated how much to a candidate. -- What and how much the candidate has spent money on. -- Loans made to the campaign. -- How much the candidate has spent overall and how much is left in the campaign bank account. For example: The latest filings by gubernatorial candidates show that Gov. Steve Bullock has $748,047 in the bank for primary campaign spending and $382,729 for the General Election. His main challenger, Greg Gianforte reported having $115,232 in his primary account and $246,826 on hand for the General Election. Once the three COPP staff members who handle campaign reports got the electronic platform up and running, they focused on making the data more searchable, according Motl. He expects the COPP site will be searchable later this week for political action committees that must report spending. Over the next reporting periods, we will provide guides for public and press to access information, Motl said. The comprehensive online filing has been accomplished with no additional funding from the 2015 Legislature. Motl praised his staffs dedication to making the filing system work for everyone. Candidates were encouraged to phone in with questions and concerns. Staff members provided answers. Now the public, even those who are voting early, can check into the money behind the candidates. Another round of campaign finance reports will be due before the June 7 Primary Election. Statewide candidates are required to report again on May 23, while legislative and other state district candidates, and county office candidates must report again by May 26 on contributions and expenditures through May 21. Theres also a post-primary report due in late June. General Election reports are due at the beginning and end of October and in late November. Find answers to your campaign money questions at the COPP website: www.politicalpractices.mt.gov. Another great resource is followthemoney.org, a service of the private, nonprofit National Institute for Money in State Politics, which is based in Helena. -- The Billings Gazette I am writing in support of Brooke Erbs candidacy for House District 72. As an active Republican, supporting Brooke is an obvious decision for me to make. Ive seen how hard Brooke is already working for Beaverhead County. Brooke attends and provides her feedback and service at regular Beaverhead County Republican Central Committee meetings, and in the rare occasion that she misses a meeting, she is serving in some other capacity including her service on the Montana Environmental Quality Council. Her dedication to conservative values, agriculture, public lands and the Republican Central Committee is unquestionable. In a time when honesty and integrity are vanishing from the political arena, Brooke provides a stark contrast and firm foundation on which District 72 can trust. I know that Brooke will do what she has promised when she goes to Helena. Brooke will work with fellow conservatives and honest Democrats to do the right thing, but has the wisdom and discernment to know when alliances are not in the best interest of Beaverhead County or the State of Montana. That couldnt be more important in the Montana State Legislature at this time. We need representatives who do what they promise and truly represent the principles and party platforms they espouse in their campaigns. Thats why I am supporting Brooke Erb for House District 72, and if you agree with Republican principles and conservative governance, Id encourage you to join me in supporting Brooke when you cast your vote by mail or on June 7. -- Mitch Staley, Dillon I am writing to ask your support of Ray Shaws reelection as your Representative in House District 71. I served with Ray in the 2013 Legislative Session and worked with him in the 2015 Session. Ray is dedicated, focused, thoughtful and honest in his deliberations. He is not a robot, blindly supporting ideological issues just because some think he should. He listens to his conscience and his constituents, carefully considering what is best for Madison, Jefferson and Silver Bow Counties. Debbie Barrett is a strong supporter of Brooke Erb for representative of House District #72 and appointed Brooke to the Legislative Environmental Quality Council. Debbie Barrett had been one of the worst state legislators and senators for wildlife, hunters, anglers and recreationalists. Debbie sponsored House Bill 42 that mandates Fish, Wildlife and Parks to kill elk, deer and antelope until the populations are down to or below population objectives. This law is the reason elk have been over harvested on public lands and private lands open to hunting and elk have been pushed onto private lands that are closed to public hunting. She strongly opposed the Montana Stream Access Law. In an editorial she stated that the Montana Supreme Court got it all wrong by ruling in favor of the stream access law over turning the James Kennedy challenge to stream access. She also supports transferring our federal public lands to the state were they could be sold off to private ownership. As a hunter, angler and recreationalist, I am concerned that Debbie Barrett will have a strong influence on Brooke Erb if elected to House District # 72. Brooke, in a session of the Environmental Quality Council concerning game damage hunts and elk shoulder seasons, stated that landowners dread big game season and shared stories about two hunters that abused her property. This is unfair to the many hunters who do respect private property and appreciate permission to hunt. -- Ray Gross, Dillon Montana The Muscatine County Board of Supervisors met in regular session at 9:00 A.M. with Howard, Kelly, Sorensen and Sauer present. Bonebrake was absent. Chairperson Sorensen presiding. On a motion by Kelly, second by Howard, the agenda was approved as presented. Ayes: All. On a motion by Howard, second by Kelly, claims dated May 9, 2016 were approved in the amount of $3,487,373.43. Ayes: All. Discussion was held with Information Services Director Bill Riley regarding possible live streaming/archiving website options for Board of Supervisors meetings. Riley stated the County can purchase 10 gigs of storage which would allow for online archival of approximately 7 meetings for $1,000 per year through CivicPlus. Riley stated live streaming is included in the $1,000 per year cost, but a hardware upgrade would be required at an approximately cost of $10,500. Riley stated the County could wait to do the live streaming portion when equipment needs replacement. Riley stated additional storage could be purchased for an additional $1,000 per year for each 10 gig block added. Sorensen stated he has not had a lot of people concerned or requesting to view the meetings online so he is not inclined to spend the money at this time. Howard agreed. Kelly said people out in the rural part of the County may not have MP&W to be able to view the meetings. Sorensen and Howard stated they would reconsider when the equipment needs replaced. Sauer asked what problem arose to drive this to spend the money. Kelly stated it is transparency for as many people as possible be able to see the meeting and know what is going on in local government. Howard agreed, but stated he has not had any contacts regarding the need for meetings to be viewed online and would encourage people to bring it to their attention if they see this as a need. Sauer stated no one has ever approached him about not being able to find the meeting anywhere to watch. Board consensus was not to proceed at this time. Riley updated the Board on the Smart Connections Conference he attended. Riley stated the public sector is the number one target for malware and suggested a Fire Eye solution at a cost of $8,500 per year for threat protection. Riley stated there are no other threat protection solutions as good as Fire Eye at this time. Board consensus was to proceed with the threat protection solution from Fire Eye. Riley updated the Board on help desk tickets for the month of April. On a motion by Kelly, second by Howard, the Board approved the following utility permits for placement of fiber optic in the rural areas throughout the County: CenturyLink - place equipment for fiber optic at Tipton Road and Bayfield Road; CenturyLink - place fiber optic cable and equipment along 170th Street; CenturyLink - place fiber optic cable and equipment along 170th Street between North Tipton and Isett Avenue; CenturyLink - place fiber optic cable in the right-of-way of Bayfield Road and Isett Avenue; CenturyLink - place fiber optic cable along 180th Street between Hwy 61 and New Era Road; CenturyLink - place fiber optic cable along 231st Street from Hwy 61 to 4,038 feet west of High Ridge Road Ayes: All. Discussion was held with County Engineer Keith White regarding the purchase of a light duty truck at the April bid price of $30,703 to replace the survey truck which has 117,000 miles on the odometer. White stated the current survey truck would be reassigned to replace a 2008 truck with 147,000 odometer miles which would be traded for $8,500. White also stated $9,822 of loss contingency funds will be applied from a vehicle which was previously totaled. On a motion by Kelly, second by Howard, the Board approved the purchase of a light duty truck from Krieger's at a net cost after trade of $12,381. Ayes: All. White updated the Board on Secondary Roads projects. On a motion by Kelly, second by Sauer, the Board approved an ordinance centralizing the penalty portion of each chapter of the Muscatine County Code of Ordinances on the first of three readings. Roll call vote: Ayes: All. On a motion by Sauer, second by Kelly, the Board approved an ordinance amending the enforcement sections of various chapters of the Muscatine County Code of Ordinances on the second of three readings. Roll call vote: Ayes: All. On a motion by Howard, second by Kelly, the Board approved an ordinance amending the Digital Submission Standards Ordinance on the second of three readings. Roll call vote: Ayes: All. On a motion by Kelly, second by Sauer, the Board approved 2015 business property tax credit applications, with the exception of 2 parcels, as recommended by the Auditor's Office. Ayes: All. On a motion by Howard, second by Sauer, minutes of the May 2, 2016 regular meeting were approved as written. Ayes: All. Correspondence: The Board received a Notice from the Iowa DNR that a construction permit was issued to the Doug and Nic hog confinement site. The Board received a Notice from the Iowa DNR of intent to issue a construction permit to the Tipton Road LLC hog confinement site. Committee Reports: Kelly attended a Muscatine Health Association meeting May 4th. Howard attended a Milestones Area Agency on Aging meeting May 3rd. Howard attended a Bi-State Regional Finance meeting May 6th. Kelly and Sorensen attended a Ribbon Cutting for the West Liberty Regional Learning Center May 4th. On a motion by Kelly, second by Sauer, the Board approved the hiring of Demetri Wheeler as Corrections Lieutenant at $45,469.00 (Grade 12, Step 7) for the Jail. Ayes: All. On a motion by Sauer, second by Kelly, the Board approved Resolution #05-09-16-01 Abating Taxes: Buildings on Leased Land. Roll call vote: Ayes: All. On a motion by Kelly, second by Sauer, the Board approved Resolution #05-09-16-02 Transferring $35,177.46 from the Mental Health Fund to the Case Management Fund. Roll call vote: Ayes: All. On a motion by Kelly, second by Sauer, the Board accepted April 2016 payroll claims. Ayes: All. On a motion by Sauer, second by Howard, the Board authorized the Chair to execute paperwork necessary to renew health and dental benefits with Wellmark, Inc. effective July 1, 2016. Ayes: All. On a motion by Kelly, second by Sauer, the Board approved the proposed health and dental premiums effective July 1, 2016. Ayes: All. On a motion by Howard, second by Kelly, the Board set an annual enrollment period for health insurance and an open enrollment for dental insurance for May 23, 2016 through June 3, 2016. Ayes: All. The Board recessed at 9:53 A.M. and reconvened at 10:00 A.M. On a motion by Kelly, second by Sauer, the Board went into closed session at 10:00 A.M. pursuant to Chapter 21.5.1(j), Code of Iowa, to discuss the purchase of real estate. Roll call vote: Ayes: All. On a motion by Kelly, second by Howard, the Board returned to open session at 11:06 A.M. Roll call vote: Ayes: All. The meeting was adjourned at 11:06 A.M. ATTEST: Betty L. Wamback First Deputy Auditor Jeff Sorensen, Chairperson Board of Supervisors MUSCATINE, Iowa The motto, "Once a bobcat, always a bobcat," was everywhere as the public came to say goodbye Thursday to Washington Elementary School. The building will close following the last day of school on May 26. The Muscatine School Board voted in March to close the school as a cost-saving measure. The school was also losing more students than other elementary buildings in Muscatine. Fey Sanches-Bueno remembers her days as a Washington Elementary student from kindergarten through fifth grade. "You know not much has changed. The environment is still the same. It is very inviting and very warm," she said. Sanches-Bueno's stepdaughter Kendra, 7, a second-grader at Washington, will attend McKinley Elementary in the fall. "I think at first it took her a while to understand what was going on. It helped a lot that she has friends that go to McKinley. But I think most importantly, the teachers have been very good at explaining what is going on," Sanches-Bueno said. Kendra and her family have toured McKinley which has helped prepare them all for the move in the fall. "But most importantly the teachers are taking one-on-one time with the kids to explain to them 'We'll still see you. We'll be in touch.' That kind of thing. I think they're really excited," Sanches-Bueno said. Kendra firmly said she doesn't want Washington to close but she admits to liking her new school. PTO president Lorinda Torborg, has two children who attended Washington. "It's sad but to see the kids and the family unit that we have. I am sure they will take that with them wherever they go," Torborg said. She said PTO school carnivals are one memory she will carry with her as Washington closes. "We had some really, really nice carnivals here. It was always just a good time." Washington kindergarten teacher Hayli Scheffler has taught at the school for five years. It was her first teaching job following graduation from St. Ambrose University. She will be relocating to Wisconsin following the end of the school year. "It's just really been a wonderful place to start my teaching career." Washington students are being divided between McKinley, Franklin and Jefferson. DAVENPORT, Iowa This week on the podcast, reporters discuss the U.S. Senate race, GOP unity and why candidates for the Democratic nomination in Iowa's 1st District are talking squat. On Iowa Politics is a weekly news and analysis podcast that aims to re-create the conversations that happen when Iowa's political reporters get together after the day's deadlines have been met. This week's show features James Q. Lynch, Erin Murphy, Todd Dorman and Christinia Crippes. This week's show was produced by Clare Murphy and the music heard in the podcast is courtesy of Holiday Road Band. Chat with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @OnIowaPolitics, and subscribe on iTunes. Know an Iowa musician who should be on our show? Send their band sound files to oniowapolitics@gmail.com. LETTS, Iowa A YouTube video is responsible for a new tradition in the Louisa-Muscatine School District. Doug McBride, the principal at L-M Elementary School, said that after he saw a video of seniors walking through their old elementary school hallways in caps and gowns, he called the high school principal and a new tradition was born. The seniors took the walk at the school in Letts Friday morning. "I thought, 'What a great idea.' We're constantly encouraging our kids to look ahead, we're constantly encouraging our students to think about their future and what's possible, and this way they can actually see what the possibilities are," McBride said. Several fifth grade students agreed, and said that they hoped they could walk the halls someday when they were seniors. Spencer Kessel said that he had even more reason to be excited to follow in a high-school student's footsteps. "It was really cool because I got to see my brother," he said. Alison Reinolds, a para-educator at the elementary school, was fighting tears as she watched the graduates approach. "I just think it's neat for the kids to kind of get that feeling that 'wow, someday that'll be us,' and as moms, and working at the school, time goes so fast and it's pretty amazing to look out and see these kids and think that they were just here not that long ago," she said. Melanie Wachtel, also a para-educator at the elementary, and also a mom, said that she also felt seeing the seniors was important to the staff. "I think it's neat for the elementary staff to see that they made it," she said. McBride said that he hoped both high school seniors and elementary students would benefit. "For the seniors walking through it serves as a good remembrance, they get to see their old teachers, they get to see their old classrooms," he said. Caitlyn Guldenpfennig, a senior at L-M High School, said that she enjoyed the chance to look back at her old elementary school. "It's really cool to look at where we came from and all the accomplishments we've made, and seeing all our old teachers and knowing that they're still behind us," she said. Haily McClanahan, also a senior, said that she hoped their walk-through would also benefit the students in the elementary. "We're being role models for all of the kids in the elementary so they can get an education and make sure that they graduate," she said. MUSCATINE, Iowa The Wilton United Methodist Church is hosting a 12-week Bible study program, "Run For GodThe 5K Challenge." The course meshes faith, the study of the Bible and endurance while helping those who are new to running to prepare for their first 5K run. The Rev. Mike Agnew will lead the group. All level of runners are welcome to participate in the challenge. Participants meet each Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. beginning May 25 from at the church, 1401 Maurer St. in Wilton. The goal is to train and run the Wilton Eager Beaver 5K on Aug. 27. The run is held during Wilton's Founders Day celebration. To register for "Run for God" call 563-732-2084 or email michael.agnew@iaumc.net by May 22. MUSCATINE, Iowa Iowa State Senator Rob Hogg, Democratic candidate for the United States Senate, visited with constituents at Muscatine Community College Thursday, and said that he feels positive about the upcoming primaries. Currently in his third term in the Iowa Senate after serving two terms in the Iowa House, Hogg said he chose to run because he wants to move things forward. "We really actually need Congress to do it's job, and it's become so dysfunctional, obviously not having a hearing on a replacement for Justice Scalia is the latest and probably the biggest form of obstruction because it's actually interfering in the functioning of the court system," Hogg said. But he said that is not the only time when Congress has made forward motion difficult. "When they make what is supposed to be routine hard, we all have to work so much harder just to get them to do what should be routine, and it really contributes to the overall dysfunction of the body," Hogg said. He asked attendees to remain positive, and said that he still holds to the belief that government can be a force for change, something that he has seen as an Iowa legislator. "I have learned in that process that government is not a debating society, it's not a marketing gimmick, it's not a popularity contest, and it's not a lifetime achievement award, it is a real, practical tool that we have to help real people and solve real problems," Hogg said. Hogg said he has been an consistent leader for clean water, energy, and climate change, and has received endorsements from more than 90 past and present legislators. Another issue Hogg focused on was the economy. "We need an economy that works for everyone, and one way to do that is to invest in education, I've always been a big supporter of our community colleges because they're part of the process by which you connect our educational system with our economy," he said. Marlyn Schepers, of Muscatine, asked Hogg about his foreign policy, and he said that was a complicated issue, but his hope would be to help America be a force for peace. "These issues are really delicate, and my job as the United States Senator would be to support a President of the United States that wants to engage in that diplomatic effort and engage in that international effort, and that's what I really hope we can do... but I'm really optimistic that we can engage in the world and make a real difference," Hogg said. Hogg stated that he feels he would be a good candidate for the Democratic party. "I am running because I really want to do the job and I think Iowans are hungry for people that want to do the job...and I thnk it is increasingly important to voters about a person's stand on clean water, clean energy, climate change, and environmental sustainability," he said. Other candidates looking to face U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley in November are Democrats Thomas Fiegen, Patty Judge and Bob Krause. WAPELLO, Iowa Rehabilitation of two abandoned and dilapidated buildings in downtown Wapello may finally be accomplished over the next year, Mayor Shawn Maine reported to the city council Thursday. Maine said the buildings at 304 Van Buren, which formerly housed Birthright; and 308 N. Second, which was last used as a church, were both being targeted for a state program that City Clerk Mike Delzell had recently learned of during a meeting. We have a way of acquiring them through legal channels, Maine said, adding the acquisition would not use the citys eminent domain powers. Neither he nor Delzell could recall the actual title of the program that would be used, but Delzell said after the meeting the program would allow the city to move forward even if the properties had been sold at tax sales. We need to notify everyone who may have a claim, Delzell said. Although the city has not attempted to force any repairs at 308 N. Second, it has moved several times against owners of 304 Van Buren. At one point the citys police department arrested one owner in 2014 and held him in jail on a $1,000 bail. Despite those efforts, there was only a limited amount of work completed on the building, but Maine acknowledged Thursday, the work had helped stabilize the building. He said roof repairs had managed to keep the building dry and it now offered an opportunity for rehabilitation. We have a person of interest in town who wants to rehab it, Maine said, explaining the program Delzell had discovered would be the first step. We need to get control and move forward, he said. Meanwhile, the current owner of 308 N. Second has indicated an interest in assigning ownership over to the city at no cost to the city. Maine said a south wall of the building and the roof needs repair work, otherwise it seems to be in relatively good condition. He said once the city acquires the buildings, he would ask the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission to assist in obtaining state grants to aid in the rehabilitation work. Maine said it likely would be next year before any work could actually begin. In other action, the council approved purchasing a new control panel and alarm system for a lift station in the north end of the city. The control panel will be supplied by Mississippi Valley Pump, Inc., Bettendorf; while WILLCO, Inc., Omaha, will provide the alarm. The council also accepted a $6,225 quote from Burlington Glass Company, Burlington, to install two entry doors and one closet door at the swimming pool. Delzell said two other companies contacted by the city had failed to submit bids. The council also approved two resolutions transferring funds from several city accounts to the citys debt service fund. Delzell said one set of transfers included $294,457 from the TIF Fund, $15,658 from the Water Fund and $15,658 from the sewer fund to pay an installment on a bond series that is due June 1. The second transfer included $35,351 from TIF to the debt service fund for a June 1 payment to the State Bank of Wapello for earlier work on the Weaver Blvd. storm sewer. Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes [] Internet ride-sharing service Uber will switch on its cash payment option in South Africa next week as part of a pilot. Since launching in South Africa in 2013, Uber has only accepted credit card payments in the country. However, Uber has experimented with cash payments in countries such as Nigeria, Kenya and Singapore. And the internet app plans to accept cash payments with half of all its driver-partners in South Africa, Ubers head for Sub-Saharan Africa Alon Lits told Fin24. The cash payments option is expected to go live in South Africa on Thursday, May 26, Lits told Fin24. Uber says South Africa will be the first country in the world where cash payments will go live across five cities simultaneously these being Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth. If it goes well, we will obviously scale it up, Lits told Fin24 by phone on Friday. We need to see if it will increase the sign-up flow, Lits said. When Uber enables cash payments in South Africa, the company will prompt users of the app to choose cash or credit card payments, said Lits. Fin24 further asked Lits if cash payments could prompt more tips for drivers of the service, but he said several users who use credit card payments are already tipping drivers. Ubers move to accept cash payments in South Africa comes after the company cut its fares by up to 20% in the country for the winter period. The move to cut prices has been controversial with several Uber driver-partners and car-owners telling Fin24 of longer hours and less earnings. Uber, though, has previously said that the price-cut is designed to drive up demand and benefit drivers by encouraging passengers to take more trips. Another controversy that Uber has faced in South Africa is opposition from metered taxi drivers. Metered taxi drivers took to the streets in Cape Town and Johannesburg last year to complain of unfair competition from Uber. On Monday, a group of metered taxi drivers clashed with their Uber counterparts as the Gauteng provincial government announced it would formally license the car-hailing app service. Both the Western Cape and Gauteng provincial governments are allowing Uber drivers to apply for metered taxi permits. Despite the controversies, demand for Uber has boomed locally as the company said in February that it has moved over 500 000 riders across South Africa since its 2013 launch. Fin24 More on Uber This is Ubers first self-driving taxi How to deal with the Uber challenge Deputies say a St. Pete Beach hotel guest used a handgun to shoot the lock on his room door because he had locked himself out. Deputies: Man shoots hotel door because he got locked out Incident occurred at the Beachcomber Hotel on St. Pete Beach The incident occurred at the Beachcomber Hotel, located at 6200 Gulf Boulevard in St. Pete Beach, at approximately 7:58 a.m. on Thursday. According to deputies, when they arrived at the hotel they located the suspect, 35-year-old Charles Richardson, of Dunbar, West Virginia, sitting in the lobby unarmed. Deputies determined that Richardson, who was a guest at the hotel, used a handgun to shoot the lock on his hotel room door because he had locked himself out of his room. Deputies said Richardson then proceeded to shoot a glass window at the hotel for no apparent reason. No one was injured at the hotel as a result of the shooting. Deputies recovered the handgun near Richardson's hotel room. Richardson was arrested and transported to the Pinellas County Jail without incident. He was charged with two felony counts of shooting a deadly missile into/at/within an occupied building. Gospel hitmaker Willy Paul has applauded the decision by Groove Awards to exclude his name and that of his gospel counterpart Bahati from the nominees list. Willy Paul says that even though he at first failed to understand why he was left out, he later came to be. Groove Awards team made the right decision to exclude Bahati and I from the list of nominees. On the day nominees were unveiled, I failed to understand why they made such a harsh decision. But on the same night when I got home, I thought deeply and understood where they were coming from, Willy Paul told eDaily. He says the decision was meant to integrate the Kenyan gospel industry. The team is trying to bring musicians together. The gospel industry should operate like that. I havent communicated to Groove Awards team because I think the move they made is the right one. Meanwhile, Bahati said that he did not make online submission to Groove Awards team. I did not submit my name to the Groove team for consideration in this years Groove Awards not even in one category. You can confirm with them. I did not go to Groove Camp or Groove Awards Nomination night, Bahati said. I want to give upcoming artistes a chance to shine. If I had featured, probably I would win again and what would be left for new crop of gospel artistes? So, it was purely my decision and not what is being said: that I am not leading a Christian lifestyle, Bahati added. There was a time controversial blogger Robert Alai was a reliable source of information mainstream media could not touch. He was a one man media house, with his tweets often relied on by the public and other media houses. However in recent times, he has been making statements unsupported by facts, and has continued to refuse to accept wrong doing. Case in point, on Tuesday morning he killed Ngatia and even after the guy was found alive under under a different name Manono, Alai continued to insist it was a government cover up. Up to this day, he has not apologized to his followers for misleading them. Even before the Manono storm was gone, he announced that Deputy President William Ruto had collapsed and was rushed to Nairobi Hospital. When Ruto turned up in Mandera looking healthy, Alai continued to insist that those were old photos and that there was no way Ruto was in Mandera. A lot of people are now not only questioning his information, but his judgement too. Where do you stand? Its an open secret now who the opposition blames for Jacob Jumas murder. Deputy President William Ruto was mentioned directly and indirectly during the requiem mass and burial of the late businessman. Juma was reportedly buried with a torch and knife according to traditions. Apparently, the moment the torch exhausts its batteries and goes off, bad things will start happening to his killers. Now on Wednesday night, blogger Rober Alai posted on his social media pages that a VVIP had been rushed to Nairobi Hospital. On Thursday night, he revealed who it was Deputy President William Ruto. That was the beginning of the hashtag #TorchWentOff. The DP and the President were to begin their visit to North Eastern Province, and soon pictures started surfacing showing Ruto arriving in Mandera. As expected, Alai dismissed the photos, insisting Ruto was not in Mandera. Well, it remains to be seen whether the torch indeed went off. Meanwhile, the killers are probably hoping some long lasting batteries were used and not some cheap Chinese brand. When Nairobians referred to as Slum dwellers take to the street, middle class Kenyans attack them on social media as being idle people out to destroy this country. Raila Odingas daughter Winnie is fed up with this nonsense and has penned this opinion piece posted on her brother Juniors Facebook. ****************************** The Kenyan middle class online chastism of the lower class right to protest is the most disgusting, elitist thing Ive ever seen in my life and I simply cannot believe this is Kenya. It reminds me of the French statement Quils mangent de la brioche or in English let them eat cake. Supposedly spoken by a French Princess upon learning that the peasants had no bread. It is a complete lack of understanding to believe that people take to the streets because they are commanded to do so by politicians or the uppity assumption that they are unable to reason simply because they are lower class. It is disdainful and elitist to refer to poverty stricken people as dear stupid Kenyans. I mean honestly, do you think the lady you pay to wash your underwear, clean your floors and bathe your children that you know very well has two children of her own but you insist on paying 10,000 shillings a month doesnt have anger inside her? Do you think that by making your children call her auntie and letting her have Sunday off to go to Church is a satisfactory way of living for her? As you sleep until 8am and shes up at 6 waiting in the cold for the Makini bus to pick your children up while hers walk an hour in this torrential rain to go sit in a dusty classroom , did you expect business to always be as usual for her? Middle class Kenya needs to wake up. Every time you pay someone less than 50,000 shillings a month you are responsible for creating a home in the slum. Surprised? Or did you think 12,500 would afford your househelp a chalet in Muthaiga? A lady in Mukuru kwa Njenga, Mathare, Kangemi, who believes her vote was stole is 100% capable of reasoning that this electoral commission must go. a commission that is directly responsible for forcing upon a corrupt, tribalistic, elitist government. Just peer out of the tinted window of your Subaru to see all the people you splash water on when it rains. That is real kenya. Life isnt always Village Market, Mercury or Nakumatt Junction, real life in Kenya will not be shown on Netflix it will not be televised. Real life is in the streets and if you ever stood up for anything a day in your life you would know how important this struggle is for your fellow man that is unable to provide. Lastly, I insist that we all read The flame of freedom, and if youve read it, read it again. It aptly describes the eight glorious years spent by the person in the forefront of these unlawful protests at Nyayo torture chambers, at Shimo la Tewa prison at Kamiti and a host of other prisons being tortured for the rights of Multi-party democracy and freedom of expression, freedoms that I will forever be grateful allow me to express myself on a forum such as this today. ****************************** Quick observation. Winnie Odinga has a great point on how privileged Kenyans perceive low income earners. If you think demonstrating in the streets is too primitive, let those who do not be, as long as their intentions are genuine. But as Winnie drives her point home, she comes out as a person who has no idea of the reality on the ground. To her, paying a house girl less than Sh50,000 is tantamount to creating a home in the slum. Surprised? Or did you think 12,500 would afford your househelp a chalet in Muthaiga? she adds. Winnie, Ive got a message for you. Sh50,000 is what the middle class Kenyan on Twitter earns, (the housegirls employer). Any house girl earning the Sh12,500 you think is little, is privileged and thats the status of our economy. Sh5000 is probably more of an average figure of what house girls in Nairobi earn. Its even lower upcountry. Telling Kenyans to pay house girls unaffordable amounts is no different from the princess telling peasants with no bread to eat cake. I think you need to get out there and visit estates like South C, Nyayo, Roysambu, Ruaka etc. where the Kenyan definition of middle class lives. A house girl getting paid Sh12,500 there, probably has her own house girl. NEW YORK Morley Safer, the veteran 60 Minutes correspondent who was equally at home reporting on social injustices, the Orient Express and abstract art, and who exposed a military atrocity in Vietnam that played an early role in changing Americans view of the war, died Thursday, according to Kevin Tedesco, a CBS News publicist. Safer, who had been in declining health, died at his home in Manhattan. He announced his retirement last week and 60 Minutes aired a tribute hour on Sunday, which he watched from his home, Tedesco said. That program marked the close of a 61-year career for Safer, who, the network said, had the longest-ever run on prime-time network television. Safer, who once claimed there is no such thing as the common man; if there were, there would be no need for journalists, was 84. This is a very sad day for all of us at 60 Minutes and CBS News. Morley was a fixture, one of our pillars, and an inspiration in many ways. He was a master storyteller, a gentleman and a wonderful friend. We will miss him very much, said Jeff Fager, the executive producer of 60 Minutes. Safer did 919 stories in his 46 years on 60 Minutes, from his first in 1970 about U.S. Sky Marshals to his last this March, a profile of Danish architect Bjarke Ingels. On Sunday, Safer posted what would be his final tweet: Its been a wonderful run, and I want to thank the millions of people who have been loyal to our 60Minutes broadcast. Thank you! Morley was one of the most important journalists in any medium, ever, said CBS Chairman and CEO, Leslie Moonves. He broke ground in war reporting and made a name that will forever be synonymous with 60 Minutes. He was also a gentleman, a scholar, a great raconteur. Matt Lauer, host of NBCs Today show, offered two pieces of advice for young broadcast journalists: 1. Watch Morley Safers segments. 2. Repeat step one. A true professional/original. In 1970, Safer joined 60 Minutes, then just two years old and not yet the national institution it would become. He claimed the co-host chair alongside Mike Wallace. During the next four decades, his rich tobacco-and-whiskey-cured voice delivered stories that ranged from art, music and popular culture, to gotcha investigations, to one of his favorite pieces, which, in 1983, resulted in the release from prison of Lenell Geter, an engineer wrongly convicted of a $50 holdup at a fast food restaurant who had been sentenced to a life term. A memorable 1984 profile of Jackie Gleason took place in a bar around a pool table, where the Great One showed Safer and his viewers how its done. A pair of essays in the 1990s Yes, But Is It Art? examined the relative merits of representational and abstract art, and outraged the world of modern art. A 1991 story close to Safers heart reported a not-yet-popular view among some medical experts that regular consumption of red wine can be good for ones health. As with many 60 Minutes stories, this piece had an immediate impact: Dropping by his neighborhood liquor store the day after it aired, Safer learned there had been a rush on red wine. And in 2011, he scored a coup: a sit-down with Ruth Madoff, offering her first public description of the day she learned from her husband, Bernard, that he was running the biggest Ponzi scheme in history. Safer won a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for his 2001 story on a school in Arizona specifically geared to serve children who are homeless. Other honors include three George Foster Peabody awards, 12 Emmys and two George Polk Memorial Awards. Safer, who was born in Toronto in 1931, insisted he was stateless and, as a reporter chasing stories around the globe, claimed, I have no vested interests. He eventually became an American citizen, holding dual citizenship. He began his career at several news organizations in Canada and England before being hired by Reuters wire service in its London bureau. Then, in 1955, he was offered a correspondents job in the Canadian Broadcasting Companys London bureau, where he worked nine years before CBS News hired him for its London bureau. In 1965 he opened CBS Saigon bureau. That August, The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite aired a report by Safer that rocked viewers, who, at that point, remained mostly supportive of the war effort in Vietnam. Safer had been invited to join a group of Marines on what a lieutenant described as a search-and-destroy mission in the tiny villages that made up Cam Ne. But what he encountered there, and captured on film, was the spectacle of American soldiers employing their Zippo lighters to burn the thatched-roof, mud-plastered huts to the ground, despite having encountered no resistance from village residents. Safers expose ignited a firestorm. President Johnson gave CBS President Frank Stanton a tongue-lashing and suggested that Safer had Communist ties and had staged the entire story. Safer feared for his safety in the company of angry U.S. soldiers. He said the Pentagon treated him with contempt for the rest of his life. The Cam Ne story was broadcast over and over again in the United States and overseas. It was seized upon by Hanoi as a propaganda tool and by scoundrels of the left and right, in the Pentagon and on campuses, Safer wrote in his 1990 memoir, Flashbacks: On Returning to Vietnam. Safer served three tours in Vietnam, then, in 1967, began three years as London bureau chief. In 1970, he was brought to New York to succeed original co-host Harry Reasoner on an innovative newsmagazine that, in its third season, was still struggling in the ratings, and would rely on Safer and Wallace as its only co-anchors for the next five years. In 1971, Safer won an Emmy for his 60 Minutes investigation of the Gulf of Tonkin incident that began Americas war in Vietnam. He became a fixture at 60 Minutes and part of that shows rough-and-tumble behind-the-scenes culture. A former producer for Safer kept on display a framed remnant of the curtain that was the landing place for a cup of coffee Safer once threw at him. He had an especially combative but ultimately respectful relationship with fellow 60 Minutes reporter Wallace. The Sunday special on Safers career which notably contained no new interview footage featured outtakes from an interview that Safer conducted with Wallace upon the latters retirement. The two of them were still flattering and baiting each other. By 2006 Safer had reduced his output. But he remained with the show after the departures of Wallace who retired in 2006 at age 88, and died in 2012 as well as legendary 60 Minutes creator-producer, Don Hewitt who stepped down in 2004 at 81, and died in 2009. Safer was seen in a wheelchair at fellow correspondent Bob Simons funeral last year. Morley Safer helped create the CBS News we know today. No correspondent had more extraordinary range, from war reporting to coverage of every aspect of modern culture, said CBS News President David Rhodes. NBC News anchor Lester Holt tweeted, Morley Safer was a master of his craft and set a high bar for all of us in broadcast journalism. Safer is survived by his wife, the former Jane Fearer, and his daughter Sarah Safer. Dwight Murray Plaza is going to get a total makeover befitting downtown Napas growing popularity. A $1.5 million overhaul to modernize the First Street square, a onetime showpiece that has grown increasingly dated in its four decades, won unanimous City Council approval on Tuesday. Work to flatten and replace its surface and install new seating, tables, shade trees and a flat-surface fountain is scheduled to begin in the fall, with the redesigned plaza expected to open next spring, around the time the Archer Napa hotel may open to the west. The project part of a downtown renewal effort that also may include redesigning the nearby Brown Street promenade is meant to steer more visitors and festivals to a plaza that has languished even while hotels, restaurants and shops have grown around it. Dwight Murray Plaza opened in 1974 to serve as Napas prime assembly space, but large gatherings have increasingly shifted toward downtown streets, Veterans Memorial Park, and most recently the Oxbow Commons green space off the Napa River. The overhaul by the Oakland-based Bottomley Design & Planning will strip the plaza of nearly all traces of its mid-1970s design, removing its brick-like pavement and filling its seating pit. Also slated to disappear are the original waterfall fountain long since converted to a planter and the footings of a much-derided clock tower that eventually was taken down. Instead, plaza visitors will encounter a single-level surface equipped with movable, cafe-style tables, chairs and umbrellas. Three rows of London planetrees will be added for shade, and a new water feature with multiple knee-high flumes will be set flush into the center of the square, allowing children to run through its spray and the city to switch off the water for more floor space during festivals. Besides beautifying the new Dwight Murray Plaza, the fountain should give visitors an easy point of reference the area has lacked since the demise of the 70-foot-tall clock tower, according to Phil vanderToolen, a Napa landscape architect consulting with the city on the project. It used to be Meet me at the clock tower, he said. Were trying to get people to say, Meet me at the fountain. The square also would gain new signage, bicycle racks, and LED lighting on poles and around the water feature with the last being especially important for the image First Street presents to newcomers, said Councilman Peter Mott. When you drive downtown and its 10 at night, you will still see a space that looks active and beautiful, he said of illuminating the plaza. Planning for the plazas redesign has included two public forums and months of talks with business owners in the area. But shortly before the council vote, a local architect tried to inject one more element permanent shade structures he said would add more protection and visual flair than trees and umbrellas alone. Dwight Murray Plaza is like our front room, our parlor, Chris Craiker told council members. We have our family room in Veterans (Memorial) Park, but if we cover Dwight Murray Plaza with fabrics, we can make it into something really exciting to look at. Why dont we think beyond the box? Council members, however, were concerned about staying within the projects budget, and asked Napans to give the new tree plantings time to mature and to support making the essential changes first. Were making a blank canvas and we can go back later to look at shade structures, but were not there yet, said Mary Luros. Just having a functional design is an improvement for this area. With the approval of the Dwight Murray Plaza renewal, the city will put out requests for artists to create works to adorn the square. A council vote on which art pieces to install at the plaza should take place by November, said Rick Tooker, community development director. The city is weighing an equally radical restoration of Brown Street north and south of First where several blocks were converted to a pedestrian-only zone with the same 1970s-style red-brick styling as the plaza. Starting north of First, the Bottomley firm has proposed replacing the corridors dense tree canopy with two widely spaced tree rows to make room for fair booths, a step that could reduce the need to close downtown streets for festivals. Stone Brewing, one of craft beers most recognizable brands, will open a new brewery and restaurant in downtown Napas historic Borreo building as early as next spring. The historic Borreo building is the perfect space for us to put down our roots in Napa, Greg Koch, CEO and co-founder of the San Diego brewer, said in a release announcing the project. Not only is it literally made of stone, its one of downtowns most iconic links to the 19th century and a landmark thats been vacant for the past 15 years. The brewery will offer the full line of Stones core beers, typically known for their robust hoppiness and strong alcohol, but will also offer unique beers available only in Napa. We recognize the high quality of wine that comes from the region and the appreciation that Napa Valley locals and visitors have for fresh, well-crafted drink. We are elated to become a contributing part of such an artisanal town, said Koch. He has been vacationing in the area for 20 years and has scouted locations in Napa County, including a previous attempt to locate at the Borreo building. Stone, founded in 1996, is the 10th largest craft brewer in the United States by volume, according to the Brewers Association, a craft brewing trade group, and number 15 even when compared with non-craft brewing giants such as Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors. It is among a handful of U.S. craft brewers expanding in a major play for national and international business. Stone is building a large brewery on the East Coast, in Richmond, Virginia, that should more than double its capacity, and has plans for one in Berlin, Germany as well. That would give Stone the ability, unusual among craft brewers, to reach all 50 U.S. states and all of Europe. The Borreo building, built in 1877, is owned by West Pueblo Partners, which bought it from the city this year after planners in January approved its request to add a restaurant and brewery on the site. Several possible restaurant plans have been rumored since then, but the exact operator of the brewery has been a closely held secret. Our mission has been to bring this historic building back to life as a vibrant, active site, while integrating the river as the center of downtown, said Michael Holcomb of West Pueblo Partners in announcing the Stone deal. It is an absolute bonus that it can as serve as a catalyst to Napas emerging presence in the beer world. West Pueblo Partners is a real estate group based in Napa, headed by John Nichols of St. Helena, and Holcomb and Kevin Teague, both of Napa. The project was designed by a local team: Steve Cuddy and Sarah Marshall from Napa Design Partners, civil engineer Ryan Gregory from RSA+, structural engineer Chris Jonas from ZFA and project manager George Nielson, Nielson Construction. After more than two and a half years of working on the purchase, plans, permitting and leasing, we are excited to finally start construction and are even more exited about opening the building to the public, said Teague. This will be a great spot for locals and fans of craft beer. The Napa facility and the new Virginia plant are Stones first breweries outside of San Diego County. The main brewery is in Escondido and there is one small facility in Liberty Station, on the waterfront in San Diego. Company officials say production is maxed out at the Escondido brewery and the Liberty Station operation is too small to distribute widely. The Napa brewery will produce beers primarily for service in the Borreo building, but it is possible it may produce kegs for a few local accounts, Stones Director of Hospitality Steve Robbins said, including the Napa-only specialty beers the brewery will make. If you want to get those really cool beers, youre going to have to go to Napa to get them, he said. The one major logistical headache for the new brewery is parking. The Borreo building sits on a narrow triangular parcel wedged between the Napa River, the Third Street Bridge and Soscol Avenue. The small handful of parking spaces on the site will be sacrificed to allow delivery trucks to get supplies into the brewery. There will be a drop-off spot for customers, but no onsite parking. Robbins said the company is not worried about the lack of parking. They are expecting locals to walk in, and the nature of beer tourism is such that visitors coming to town specifically to visit the brewery are likely to either come by bus or walk in from area hotels and parking garages. Napa Mayor Jill Techel said the building would have been challenged by parking no matter what use was picked for the site. We knew about that with that site, she said. We needed to have a destination that people would walk to. Stone plans to operate the restaurant in the building, but details are still being worked out, Robbins said. The specialized nature of the equipment needed for the brewery means it will take many months to build and install, so Stone has time to develop details of the food service. They do not, however, plan to partner with an outside chef or food service company. We are not looking to have a marquee chef, Robbins said. The new brewery vaults Napa into the competitive and lucrative world of craft beer and tourism. Although neighboring counties, particularly Sonoma, are home to nationally and internationally famous breweries, wine-centric Napa County has been relatively slow to embrace the malt-based beverage. The countys largest brewer, Napa Smith, isnt even ranked in the top 50 of craft brewers nationally on the Brewers Association annual list. Smaller producers, such as Napa Palisades, Downtown Joes and Calistoga Inn, serve primarily their own brewpubs and a few limited local accounts. We believe this is an untapped sort of market, Robbins said. We really like to find areas that are untapped. Local business and tourism officials hope the new Stone Brewery will prove to be a major draw for the worldwide market for beer tourism, much as are other Northern California attractions such as Bear Republics original pub in Healdsburg, Lagunitas Brewings taproom in Petaluma, the Anchor Brewing plant in San Francisco, and the brewery and restaurant complex at Sierra Nevada Brewing in Chico. Several companies specialize in beer-related bus tours in the San Francisco area, and the Stone brewery in Napa is sure to become a stop for them. Major craft brewers in the region draw tens of thousands of visitors per year in addition to their local customers. The Sonoma County Economic Development Board has estimated that the 23 breweries in that county alone generated $169 million in economic activity in 2013 and supported at least 770 jobs. Napa Chamber of Commerce President Travis Stanley described the deal as quite a coup for West Pueblo Partners, and noted that craft brewing is one of the nations fastest growing industries. According to the Brewers Association, independent American craft brewers contributed almost $60 billion and 424,000 jobs to the U.S. economy in 2014. Winemaker Miljenko Mike Grgichs autobiography and memoir of his life, A Glass Full of Miracles, was released on his 93rd birthday April 1. Most people in Napa Valley are at least somewhat familiar with Mike Grgichs story, but this interesting book expands its greatly. The book was written with Napa Valley Register features editor Sasha Paulsen, who turned Grgichs recollections into a readable story. A Glass Full of Miracles chronicles the life of a boy in Croatia, then part of Communist Yugoslavia, whose search for freedom and the chance to fulfill his American dream led him through countless hardships and experiences to become a winemaking legend. My life has been filled with miracles, Grgich said. How else do you explain that a little boy from a little village in Croatia now has his wine on display in the Smithsonian Institution, in the same place as Abraham Lincolns hat and Neil Armstrongs spacesuit! Grgich was the youngest in a poor family of 11 in the tiny village of Desne in Croatia. He studied enology and viticulture at Croatias University of Zagreb with the goal of making great wine. While he was a student, a professor whispered to him about California, a paradise where winemakers were free to make the best wine possible. Just before graduating, he fled Croatia to escape communism. With $32 hidden in his shoe, Grgich finally arrived in California after four years of uncertainty and adversity in Germany and Canada. The book takes readers along his journey to freedom as he becomes a California winemaker and earns his place as an icon in the wine business. Along the way, he worked for Lee Stewart at Souverain Cellars, which was then in Napa Valley, with Brother Timothy at Christian Brothers, Andre Tchelistcheff at Beaulieu and Robert Mondavi An inductee to the Vintners Hall of Fame, Grgich crafts wines in the classic Old World tradition that have won local and international awards. Its a style that is back in vogue in Napa Valley and with wine lovers after years of excess. May 24, 2016 is the 40th anniversary of the famous Judgment of Paris in which the 1973 chardonnay Grgich made for Chateau Montelena beat the best French white Burgundies. In the same tasting, Warren Winiarskis cabernet from Stags Leap Wine Cellars also beat the best French Bordeaux. This tasting put Napa Valley on the global wine map. The following year, Grgich joined Austin Hills of Hills Bros. Coffee company to open what became Grgich Hills Estate. Situated on Highway 29 in Rutherford, its become one of the top wineries for visitors. Grgich has also built a winery in his native Croatia, where he also supports the modernization of the local wine industry and removing land mines. In Croatia, he helped grape geneticist Carole Meridith determine that zinfandel in California is the same grape as the Croatian crljenak kastelanski or tribidrag, to use its old name. That proved that zinfandel, often called Californias grape, comes from Croatia. He also finally got his college degree from the University of Zagreb at the age of 74. Grgich, who lives in Calistoga, spends winters in La Quinta, in Southern California for his health, but maintains actively involved in his winery, where his daughter Violet oversees operations and his nephew Ivo Jeramaz is winemaker. A Glass Full of Miracles retails for $40 at www.ViolettaPress.com and www.grgich.com. It contains many color and black and white photographs from Mikes life. Its a great read and very inspiring. Foreign Ministers from the nations participating in Resolute Support agreed today (20 May 2016) to sustain the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan beyond 2016 in a sign of strong commitment to the stability of the country. The Afghan forces are showing real courage, determination, and professionalism; and they are benefitting from our training, advice and assistance; but Afghanistan continues to face serious security challenges. That is why today, ministers agreed to sustain the Resolute Support mission beyond 2016. Our military authorities will now address the details of the mission beyond 2016, including in the regions of Afghanistan, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. Ministers also reviewed financial support for the Afghan security forces, with total contributions to the Afghan National Army Trust Fund now exceeding 1.4 billion US dollars. I am confident that we will be able to announce at the Warsaw Summit firm commitments to continue funding the Afghan forces through the year 2020. This is critical for Afghanistans ability to build sustainable security forces and ensure Afghanistans lasting security. Ministers also reaffirmed our long-term ambition for a strong political partnership and practical cooperation with Afghanistan, Mr. Stoltenberg added. The Afghan Foreign Minister expressed his appreciation for NATO Allies and Partners continued support to Afghanistan and briefed the Ministers on the Afghan National Unity Governments continuing reforms to fight corruption, protect human rights and advance the peace process. Todays meeting was an important stepping stone towards the NATO Summit in Warsaw, as Ministers made clear that the Allies and Partners political, military and financial support for Afghanistan will endure. The United Nations Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, the Secretary General of the European Union External Action Service and high level officials from Japan and South Korea also attended the meeting of Foreign Ministers from the Resolute Support mission. OSCE needs assessment mission is briefed on situation in Armenias Jermuk after Azerbaijan military aggression (PHOTOS) Armenias Pashinyan to Kazakhstans Tokayev: Mutually beneficial cooperation corresponds to our countries interests Driver, 41, dies in hospital 2 days after Armenia car accident US: Former student opens fire at school Armenia premier: Italy is friendly country, important partner for us Turkish Finance Minister says he would seek gas discount from Gazprom US State Dept.: We are interested in seeing stable Caucasus where we work both with Armenia and Azerbaijan US plans to allocate $25M to project to strengthen Armenia economy Copper prices decline Pashinyan to Xi: We will succeed in qualitatively raising Armenian-Chinese political dialogue to new level Zelenskyy: If Moscow says Ukraine is making dirty bomb, then Russia made it Newspaper: Anti-CSTO consolidation initiative group of Armenia sends petition to parliament speaker World oil prices going up Newspaper: Armenia PM forbids political teammates to say anything about Karabakh Azerbaijan opens fire at Armenia positions Kremlin says Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents prepare to meet Leading Party Sponsor: Conservative Party is not fit to run Britain 'From Old Memory': Drivers can't see road signs on section of North-South highway under construction in Yerevan Russian MFA: We are sure that attempts of external forces to split Moscow and Yerevan will not succeed Yair Lapid: Israel is deeply concerned over Russia and Iran's military ties Another school shooting in U.S.: 3 dead, including shooter Azerbaijani Armed Forces shell Armenian positions Kenyan police shoot and kill prominent Pakistani journalist OSCE representatives visit villages affected by Azerbaijani aggression in Syunik Province US presidential adviser calls OPEC's decision to cut oil production political move Lavrov: Russia and Iran gave comprehensive answers about alleged use of Iranian drones Netanyahu's comeback dominates Israel's elections Georgian president complains that she was not informed about Aliyev's visit S&P Global Market Intelligence: Recession in Eurozone looks increasingly inevitable Benny Gantz tells his Ukrainian colleague that Israel will not supply weapons to Kiev Greek Armed Forces can effectively respond to any provocation by Turkey Qatar urges to depoliticize oil and gas General Staff of Armed Forces head discusses Ukraine with his British colleague Zelenskyy: Russia wouldn't cooperate militarily with Iran if Israel had not denied air defense systems to Kyiv Azerbaijan sends note in connection with 'anti-Azerbaijani statements' on Channel One Goldman Sachs foretells European business worst year since global financial crisis Artificial intelligence leads political party in Denmark Aliyev says Baku-Tbilisi-Kars route should be increased U.S. State Department official expresses support for Armenia's sovereignty Iranian MFA: IRGC exercises on borders with Azerbaijan are not directed against any neighboring state Pashinyan: Damage caused to country by corruption must be restored Rishi Sunak to become UK PM Armenia official: Defense sector expenses will increase the most, state budget allocations will increase by 160bln drams Iranian president congratulates Xi Jinping: Tehran is determined to expand comprehensive relations with Beijing Russian MOD: Work on Ukraine's 'dirty bomb' comes to end Dollar drops, euro goes up in Armenia Fly Arna planning to conduct 2 weekly flights between Yerevan and Beirut Ilham Aliyev: Azerbaijan doubles gas and oil exports to Europe via Georgia Two quakes hit near Tbilisi Aliyev: Azerbaijan-Armenia agreement signing will be guarantee of peace in entire South Caucasus Over 1.5 million light bulbs lit simultaneously in India: New Guinness World Record Garibashvili: Georgia is ready to support peaceful neighborhood initiative in South Caucasus Azerbaijan to export 157 GW of electric energy via Georgia 3, including one foreigner, arrested after illegal weapons, ammunition found in Armenia town house Milliyet: Turkey has tightened control over the Bosphorus Strait due to mines in the Black Sea Northern France hit by tornado Armenia FM to head for Vatican on official visit NYT: Israel gives Ukraine intelligence data to fight UAVs Police detains opposition activists in Azerbaijan Armenia, Azerbaijan deputy PMs to meet in Brussels in first week of November Azerbaijani Defense Minister goes on working visit to Turkey Artsakh ombudsman shows Azerbaijan destruction of Armenian cultural heritage Naryshkin urges international community not to allow Ukraine's nuclear status Azerbaijan president visits Georgia Macron: Ukrainian conflict should not make us forget about Armenia, Syria, Iraq and other wars Charles Michel: Ukraine itself must decide when to resume talks with Russia Finance ministry: Armenia national debt will decrease in dram terms but we will borrow new debts Man, 38, dies after being hit by car in Armenia Partial solar eclipse set on October 25 Foreign cyclist, 38, dies in Armenia road accident Marukyan: Why are you so nervous about expected international presence in Armenia if you aren't planning new aggression? Driver dies in hospital 25 days after Armenia road accident Gold weakly appreciates Komsomolskaya Pravda: PM Pashinyan is handing over Karabakh in order to take Armenia to the West Vedomosti daily: Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia leaders to hold face-to-face talks Russia to evade G7 plan to cap oil prices, export 90% of its oil? Russia military forces announce reason for fighter jet crash in Yeysk OSCE fact-finding mission visits Armenias Syunik Province (PHOTOS) US dollar may be closer to peak than markets think Syunik governor in Frances Vienne, sister city of Armenias Goris, discusses implemented projects, future cooperation Climate protesters throw mashed potatoes at Monet painting in Germany museum There is chance for peace in Ukraine, Macron says US, Russia defense chiefs discuss Ukraine situation for 2nd time in last few days Turkey plans to set up 2 more military bases in northern Syria Germany wants to use Israel UAVs to protect its key infrastructures UK defense secretary holds phone talk with Russia counterpart US to attempt set Russia oil price cap above $60 per barrel? Russia, Turkey defense ministers confer about Ukraine situation Armenia official: Terms for buying, building houses for those displaced from Artsakh have improved Saudi Arabia forum set to draw American business leaders despite existing tensions Iran plans to increase natural gas exports to Turkey Iran army ground forces holding exercise in West Azarbaijan Province Sovereignty renunciation to be punished in Armenia with 12-15 years of imprisonment, as per justice ministry draft 2 pilots killed in Russia fighter jet crash Russia, France defense ministers discuss Ukraine Fighter jet crashes into house in Russias Irkutsk 150 residents of 3 Karabakh settlements handed over to Azerbaijan get compensation certificates Rishi Sunak confirms UK premier bid Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson hold talks Biden slammed for 'scary' long pause during interview The most important is the support to the fundamental concept that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has no military solution. Alexei Pavlovsky, Director of the Fourth Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Russia, told the abovementioned to Armenian reporters in Moscow. In Pavlovskys view, it is therefore very important that Russia and the other Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chair countries (US and France) record their position on paper that the 1994-1995 agreement is the basis for the continuation of the ceasefire and the peace talks. The Russian MFA official noted that the possible deployment of peacekeeping forces in Karabakh is considered in the conflict settlement plans that are put on the negotiating table. It is believed that when an agreement is signed, the deployment of peacekeeping forces is possible at the initial phase, said the Russian diplomat. And reflecting on the chances of Nagorno-Karabakh returning to the peace talks as a negotiating party, Alexei Pavlovsky noted: No one has officially submitted such a proposal. YEREVAN. The President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, on Friday received Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who is in capital city Yerevan to attend a regular session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council. The Presidential Press Office informed Armenian News-NEWS.am that, first, Sargsyan expressed the hope that this meeting will be marked by its effectiveness. A few days ago, I returned from Vienna where, at the initiative of the foreign ministers of the OSCE [i.e. the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] Minsk Group Co-Chair countries [i.e. Russia, US, and France], we discussed the [current] situation [following Azerbaijans military aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh in early April], and the ways out of this situation, the Armenian President continued. We [i.e. the Armenian side] certainly we will do everything on our part so that these violations are no more. And I hope the foreign ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries will consistently implement decisions which we jointly adopted. Medvedev, in turn, stressed that this is his second meeting with the President of Armenia in a month, and noted that this describes the level of Armenia-Russia relations. My last visit [to Armenia] took place during very difficult conditions, the Russian PM added. Nonetheless, we, in Russia, were very tensely following the development of events [in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone]; we were helping as much as possible to settle the situation. It is important that the ceasefire regime that was achieved would be maintained. In this context, we certainly fully welcome your meeting with the president of Azerbaijan, which took place in Vienna, as well as the efforts within the framework of the Minsk Group, which are launched toward maintaining dialogue, continuing contacts, and preventing incidents of such nature in the future. Russia always has helped and will help in the settlement of this difficult conflict. YEREVAN. Vienna not simply hosted a meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents, but concrete results have been achieved, German Ambassador to Armenia said. The meeting of presidents can be described as a success, Matthias Kiesler said during a business forum in Yerevan. This happened especially due to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and with the great political support of the three foreign ministers, he noted. Among the results of the meeting the diplomat especially highlighted the fact that an accord was reached on the need to respect the ceasefire agreement of 1994. The Ambassador also called important the agreement on the need to implement mechanisms for monitoring on the contact line as well as expanding the capacity of the office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk. The German chairmanship in the OSCE is also working to solve these issues, and does everything so that they could be implemented, he added. Commenting on the remark that Azerbaijan had already expressed disagreement with the expansion of the powers of Ambassador Kasprzyk, the Ambassador said: "There is a statement by the co-chairs, which stipulates that both parties have reached an agreement to expand the office. And, I assume from the fact that both parties must feel committed to the implementation of this agreement. " YEREVAN. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received members of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council and chairman of the board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Tigran Sargsyan. The President welcomed the guests in Yerevan, stressing that Armenia is for the first time hosting a meeting of the Intergovernmental Council. We all have joined the Eurasian Economic Union stemming from our economic interests and the interests of our citizens. It is important that the decisions were tangible for the business environment, for every buyer of goods and consumer of the services. To achieve this goal, I believe that the most important issue is to remove barriers, technical barriers that hamper the free movement of goods and services, thus reducing the economic impact of the integration process , President Sargsyan said. Noting that he is aware of numerous issues on the agenda of the meeting, Serzh Sargsyan asked Karim Masimov, the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan that is holding presidency of the Eurasian Economic Commission at the moment, to present whether if there is a common understanding on the issues that are on the agenda, and what are the expected results from this meeting. Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, on behalf of his colleagues thanked for the hospitality and comfortable conditions created for the preparation and work of the intergovernmental meeting of the Council. We've got a working day to discuss issues related to the further development of the Eurasian Economic Union. On the eve of the meeting of the Presidents, we will try today to remove most of the problems, so that only the big strategic issues for the further development could remain for the discussions at the level of the presidents, Mr. Masimov said. During the meeting, Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission Tigran Sargsyan presented the opportunities of cooperation with other integration unions, as well as prospects for the development of relations with individual countries. In terms of further development of the economies of the member states, the President of Armenia stressed the importance of safety components and in this context presentd the recent developments around the Karabakh dispute. YEREVAN. The heads of the Eurasian Union discussed signing of an agreement with China, formation of a common market of oil and oil products, as well as a common customs code, the chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission Tigran Sargsyan said. He noted that the main purpose of the agreement to be signed with China is to create more favorable conditions for economic entities and citizens of our countries. The members of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council have agreed on key points. The second item on the agenda is the question of the formation of a single market of oil and petroleum products, he added. He stated that the agreement, and this document will be submitted for discussion by the heads of the Eurasian Union member states in late May in Astana, RIA Novosti reported. During the meeting, the head of the Russian Government Dmitry Medvedev said that the EAEC countries should not lose the opportunity of cooperation with Asian countries. Earlier, representatives of ASEAN have repeatedly expressed their interest in cooperation. He also urged not to delay negotiations with China. European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) Brussels organization hosted 15 press representatives from May 7 to 15. The latter had arrived in Armenia and headed for the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) to cover the developments following the period of Azerbaijani aggression in early April. The journalists visited the frontline and made shootings in the shelled settlements of Martakert and Talish. They also talked to the families evacuated from the border regions and wounded soldiers undergoing treatment at Stepanakert military hospital. Apart from this, the journalists met with a number of NKR officials, including the Speaker of NKR National Assembly (NA) Ashot Ghoulyan, PM Arayik Harutyunyan and FM Karen Mirzoyan. One of the journalists, Liuba Maxim, noted that as a journalist it was interesting for her to discover new people and stories through which the world should know about Nagorno-Karabakh. She also added that before her trip, she had a vague idea about Artsakh and was very concerned about her security. According to another journalist, Monika Elena, she was able to approach and get familiar with a conflict which is selectively and incompletely presented to the international community. The group of journalists included representatives of newspapers and television, who had arrived from Belgium, Italy, Britain, Germany, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine. They had been joined by two photo journalists from U.S. The team was composed of regular and freelance journalists, who represented such media outlets as La Stampa, New Business Europe, BBC, NewsWeek, as well as editors from Getty Images Image Bank, photojournalists from New York Times, editors from English language KyivPost, and shooting groups of Bulgarian Btv and Moldovan Atlantic Media TV company. In the framework of their visit, some of the journalists covered the situation via live stream, while others published and continue to publish various materials after returning to their respective countries. The links to the mentioned materials are partially available on the official EuFoA Facebook page. The subsequent session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council took place Friday. The session kicked off in a restricted format, being followed by an extended session. The PM welcomed those present, noting the positive dynamics in the establishment of a common market of goods and services at the current stage of the EAEU development. The PM also attached importance to the expansion of cooperation in international and other formats, as well as the closer trade and economic cooperation of EAEU with separate states, which will enable to raise the EAEU development level. In this context, Abrahamyan considered the cooperation with China as one of the key issues on the meeting agenda. According to him, the establishment of legal framework of cooperation between EAEU and China will enable to not only increase the volume of trade, but also involve investments for large infrastructure projects and diversify logistical opportunities. In this regard, the PM attached importance to the work aimed at establishing Chinas Silk Road Economic Belt. Having a historical experience, and being the only EAEU country to have land border with Iran, Armenia is ready to implement that project, Abrahamyan said. He also attached special attention to the formation of common markets in the EAEU, whose activity will enable to eliminate the obstacles on the way to the movement of goods, as well as increase the speed and volume of economic cooperation between the states. For his part, Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev attached importance to the regular meetings in terms of activating the integration processes and solving the issues set before them. He considered it necessary to reinforce the legal framework of the Union, fully ensure the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons, eliminate the obstacles and limitations, as well as form common markets in key areas of economy. The Russian PM also attached importance to the speedy adoption of the EAEU Customs Code in order to ensure clear, foreseeable and favorable legal framework for the business community. Medvedev noted that it is necessary to develop trade and economic ties with the key partners, including China, Vietnam, Southeastern Asia and other states. Kazakhstan PM Karim Massimov attached importance to the trade between EAEU and states such as India, Egypt, Iran, etc. In his speech, Belarus PM Andrei Kobyakov considered as a priority the concept paper on the formation of common markets of oil and oil products, attaching importance to the adoption of the Eurasian Union Customs Code. In the words of Kyrgyzstan PM Sooronbai Zheenbekov, the targeted and consistent work with the EAEU countries is a key direction. The session also addressed the concept paper on the formation of common markets of oil and oil products, implementation of the provisions of the report on coordinated transportation policy, draft decisions of the Eurasian Economic Commission, etc. As a result of the session, the aforementioned documents, which strengthen the economic cooperation between the member states, were approved and signed. The document on the negotiations on signing a trade and economic agreement between EAEU member states and China was also signed. Pursuant to the decision, the next session of the Eurasian Economic Commission will be held on August 12 in Sochi. STEPANAKERT. - On May 17, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry voiced another farfetched accusation of the alleged use of prohibited ammunition, including white phosphorus shells, during the military operations on April 2-5, 2016, the statement disseminated by the NAgorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) reads. Continuing its usual campaign of disinformation of the international community, Azerbaijan does not disdain resorting to fraud and outright manipulation. To add weight to its propaganda, the Azerbaijani side tries to involve foreign diplomats and military attaches accredited in Azerbaijan. Falsification and distortion of the reality have long become regular, constituting an integral part of Azerbaijan's foreign policy. Back in 1992, the Azerbaijani side made similar accusations of the alleged use of chemical weapons, which were then denied by the UN special fact-finding mission. Based on the findings and conclusions of the UN experts set forth in the UN Security Council document S/24344 dated July 24, 1992, the UN Secretary-General noted that "no evidence of the use of chemical weapons had been presented to the team". In subsequent years, the Azerbaijani side has been making similar absurd and unconfirmed accusations of the use of nuclear weapons against Azerbaijan in 1993 and disposal of nuclear wastes in the NKR (PACE document N 9444 dated May 7, 2002), transformation of Armenia and the NKR to a depot of bacteriological weapons (PACE document N9336 dated January 31, 2002), cultivation and production of drugs, etc. In doing so, the Azerbaijani side referred to nonexistent scientific journals, reports, organizations, and laboratories. Resurrecting its old allegations, Azerbaijan does not only try to justify its policy of use of force and denial of full and strict compliance with the ceasefire agreements of 1994 and 1995, on which the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries insist, but also aims to distract the attention from the real war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani army against the military servicemen and civilian population of the NKR. In this regard, we call on the international community to treat the unfounded statements of the Azerbaijani side with utmost criticism. For its part, the NKR is ready to host a special monitoring mission for an on-site study of all the facts and investigation of the circumstances of the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan on April 2-5, 2016, as well as the violations of the norms of international humanitarian law committed during that period. A Nile crocodile captured in Everglades National Park. Credit: National Park Service GAINESVILLE, Florida DNA analysis has determined that invasive Nile crocodiles captured in Florida between 2010 and 2014 are related, according to a new study by University of Florida researchers. Nile crocodiles are the second largest crocodillians in the world that can grow to 18 feet long and weigh as much as a small car. Unlike alligators that typically swim away from human encounters, Nile crocodiles view humans as a food source, having developed a taste for the primates over millions of years in their native Africa. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Three juveniles of the monster crocodile have been found in South Florida swimming in the Everglades and relaxing on a house porch in Miami. Scientists verified the animals were Nile crocodiles linked to native populations in South Africa, and confirmed the species can survive in Floridaand potentially thrive, said Kenneth Krysko, herpetology collections manager at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus. In other words, there likely are more. The odds that the few of us who study Florida reptiles have found all of the Nile crocs out there is probably unlikely, said Krysko, co-author of the study published in April in the Journal of Herpetological Conservation and Biology. We know that they can survive in the Florida wilderness for numerous years, we know that they grow quickly here and we know their behavior in their native range, and there is no reason to suggest that would change here in Florida. Crocodylus niloticus, were responsible for at least 480 attacks on people and 123 fatalities in Africa between 2010 and 2014. They are generalist predators and eat a wide variety of prey. In Florida, everything from Nile crocodiles,, were responsible for at least 480 attacks on people and 123 fatalities in Africa between 2010 and 2014. They are generalist predators and eat a wide variety of prey. In Florida, everything from native birds , fish and mammals to the states native crocodile and alligator would be fair game for the carnivorous croc. The study found one juvenile grew nearly 28 percent faster than wild Nile crocodile juveniles from some parts of their native range. DNA revealed the three similar-size Nile crocodiles were genetically identical, suggesting they were introduced via the same source, but Krysko said the source has not been confirmed. Prior to graduating in 2013, former UF doctoral student and co-author Matthew Shirley extensively sampled DNA of live Nile crocodiles housed in U.S. zoos, including Florida. The DNA of the three crocodiles did not match any of those Shirley sampled, suggesting they were either acquired by a permitted source later, or introduced by someone without a permit. Study scientists note that over the last decade, large groups of Nile crocodiles have been imported from South Africa and Madagascar for display at places like Disneys Animal Kingdom and to supply Floridas flourishing pet trade, with the latter being the most likely introduction pathway, according to the study. While there is currently no evidence of an established population, study scientists recommend a scientific risk assessment to evaluate the potential for Nile crocodiles to breed and spread across the state. According to the study, Floridas Atlantic coast and the entire Gulf of Mexico coastline provide favorable climate for Nile crocodiles The records of the SCLC/Women's Organizational Movement for Equality Now, Inc. (SCLC/W.O.M.E.N.) are now open to researchers and the public at Emory University's Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library. Evelyn G. Lowery founded SCLC/W.O.M.E.N. in her home in Atlanta in 1979. Originally part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the group encouraged women's participation and leadership in the organization. SCLC/ W.O.M.E.N. focused on serving the needs of women and families and developed programs in support of family values, education, wellness and human rights. In 1989, SCLC/ W.O.M.E.N. separated from SCLC, though the two organizations continued to work closely on numerous projects. SCLC/W.O.M.E.N. currently operates in the historic Auburn Avenue neighborhood of downtown Atlanta. This collection will add immeasurably to the growing body of research on the role of women in the struggle for equality, says Carol Anderson, professor of African American studies at Emory. We are beginning to get a handle on the contributions of and challenges for women during the traditional era of the civil rights movement. We are beginning to uncover the role of women in the Black Panthers," she explains. "How the women of the SCLC/W.O.M.E.N. identified, then mobilized, strategized and organized to take on the HIV/AIDS crisis that engulfed the black community, the injustices of the criminal justice system, and more is now open and ready for scholars to explore. The collection at the Rose Library primarily documents the activities and business of SCLC/W.O.M.E.N. from 1979-2013, with particular emphasis on the years 1985-1995. Materials include administrative files containing correspondence, memoranda, reports and meeting minutes; program files documenting the planning and execution of events and initiatives; and printed material such as fliers, posters, programs and brochures promoting the organization. This is a rich array of materials that gives insight and texture to the daily workings of an important organization that initiated important community, educational and health programs, says Rosemary Magee, director of the Rose Library. In fact, notable among the materials are extensive records of the National AIDS Minority Information and Education Program, commonly known as the National AIDS Program, which began in 1988. Fighting the HIV epidemic National AIDS Program greeting card featuring Reverend Joseph E. Lowery, undated. Credit: SCLC/W.O.M.E.N. Inc. records, Rose Library at Emory University. Funded by a grant from the Centers from Disease Control, the National AIDS Program was a multi-year effort that emphasized church and community involvement in the fight against HIV and AIDS. The program was managed from the national headquarters of SCLC/W.O.M.E.N. with six additional program sites across the country: Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; Dayton, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Kansas City, Missouri; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The records of the program document meetings with community leaders and educational workshops that often included surveys to gauge community knowledge of the disease. The surveys offer an important window into contemporary popular conceptions about HIV and AIDS. SCLC/W.O.M.E.N. was involved in AIDS education and awareness as early as 1986 when the group hosted the first annual Conference on AIDS in the Black Community. These documents, along with the records of the National AIDS Program, highlight the early leadership of civil rights organizations, and specifically women, in efforts to educate America about the disease. In addition to innovative projects such as the National AIDS Program, SCLC/W.O.M.E.N. offered educational programs through the Family Life Learning Center and frequently led efforts to honor and promote civil rights activists. The Drum Major for Justice Award, first given in 1982, honors national and local community leaders for their achievements, while students on the Civil Rights Heritage Tour experience the history of the civil rights movement in the locations where events took place. Civil engineering professor Binod Tiwari, center, the recipient of the 2016 Carol Barnes Excellence in Teaching Award, is congratulated by Emily Bonney, Academic Senate chair, and Provost Jose L. Cruz. It is often the goal of an educator to be an inspiring teacher, to be enthusiastic not only for his discipline, but for those he teaches. A prime example of one who does this well is Binod Tiwari, professor of civil and environmental engineering, who was honored today (May 19) as the recipient of Cal State Fullertons 2016 Carol Barnes Excellence in Teaching Award. Im thrilled and honored, said Tiwari, who was surprised as University Provost Jose L. Cruz made the announcement of the Universitys top teaching honor at the Academic Senate. This award inspires me to do more and more to help Titans reach higher. Cruz noted some of Tiwaris many accomplishments and teaching accolades, including the Distinguished Faculty Service Award from CSUFs Alumni Association and the Distinguished Engineering Educator Award from the American Society of Civil Engineering, Orange County branch. Bottom line, Cruz said: When Dr. Carol Barnes retired from Cal State Fullerton and the University recognized her career by naming this prestigious award in her honor, she asked only that future award recipients meet the same high standards of scholarship and teaching that she set for herself. I can say with confidence, this years honoree has done exactly that. President Mildred Garcia agreed. In a letter Cruz read, she wrote: His work is not only leading the high-impact practice charge, but also serving as a springboard for our aspiration to become the model public comprehensive university of the nation. Tiwari added that as a teacher, he strives to prepare his students for careers in industry and academia. The most important thing is I try to enhance the confidence of students in understanding the subject matter, he said. Current and former students praise his ability to get young scholars excited about engineering, while colleagues note his deep passion and caring. His ability to motivate his students to become lifelong learners, to look for ways to improve and challenge themselves and eventually become leaders in their chosen career path, shows that his teaching goes beyond the course syllabus and definitely beyond his call of duty, said graduate student Duc Tran. Mathematics professor Scott Annin, who co-chaired with Tiwari a 2014 undergraduate research conference that attracted more than 1,500 participants, called Tiwaris commitment to serving students and the institution exemplary. You will not find a harder worker, said Annin. He is a champion for our students; he has mentored a whole host of them, and he has bolstered his students future through journal papers, presentations and grants that he has involved them in. Since joining the University in 2006, Tiwari has taught and developed freshmen to graduate-level courses, mentored students in the classroom and the lab, and incorporated real-world applications in addition to important concepts from textbooks. The internationally known expert in his field holds a doctorate in geotechnical engineering from Niigata University in Japan. For his research, which focuses on slope stability, natural disaster/landslide mitigation and geotechnical earthquake engineering, he has received more than $1.5 million in external funding. His mentorship to more than 100 students on research projects has led to their presenting at regional and national engineering competitions and conferences. And through his guidance, his students have won numerous awards, including the national Geo-wall competition in 2014 and 2015. His students have landed careers in industry and pursued advanced degrees. One such student is Beena Ajmera, who after earning her doctorate at Virginia Tech rejoined her mentor last fall as a colleague and assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. One of the characteristics that I admire about Dr. Tiwari is his desire to see students succeed and his willingness to go the extra mile to make this happen, said Ajmera 12 11 (B.A. mathematics-applied; B.S., M.S. civil engineering). He is constantly looking for ways to showcase his students and help them build a bright and successful future. Beyond the classroom, Tiwari has led a summer engineering program for high school students since 2008, and for several years, taught engineering courses to professors from Duy Tan University in Vietnam. Tiwar has conducted research in Japan and Nepal and was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers post-disaster assessment team in Japan following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. After the 2015 Nepal earthquake, he co-led a post-earthquake reconnaissance team of geotechnical experts. He also is a board member of the International Consortium on Landslides. The award, established in 2006, is named for Carol Barnes, emeritus professor of elementary and bilingual education. The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] Summer openings available at Rainbows End Rainbows End Child Development Center has an exciting summer program planned for children who have completed kindergarten through second grades, starting Monday, May 25. The program, May 25 through Aug. 10, is Rainbows End Around the World. The program will feature daily field trips to incorporate swimming, hiking, crafts, community service, food experiences, public library visits and other activities to teach children about other cultures. The center is also enrolling infants, toddlers and preschool children for summer and fall. Rainbows End is licensed by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Call 453-6358 for more information or to enroll. "Security forces launched a major offensive against Taliban rebels in Marja district late on Thursday night and so far 13 rebels, including three key commanders, have been killed and nine others injured," an army spokesman told Xinhua news agency. The three important commanders killed in the operations were identified as Mawlawi Rahmat, the military operational commander; Mawlawi Hamidi, the in-charge of judiciary and military leader of Taliban in Marja; and Mullah Dur Mohammad, a mine expert and commander of roadside bomb planter unit in Helmand province, the spokesman added. --IANS lok/ksk/dg ( 119 Words) 2016-05-20-16:00:05 (IANS) Labelled as Bumchums Women, the collection takes a fresh leap forward towards endorsing women who lead an active life. The collection presents an exclusive range of active wear, leisure wear, lounge wear and relax wear available in multiple colours and styles. "The designs are chic and classy, quite akin to the taste of young modern women who are independent, stylish, bold, fearless, and always on the go. We've blended superior cotton and spandex fabric so that women can stay comfortable yet stylish all day long." said Mr Rajnish Agarwal, Brand President, Rupa and Company Ltd. Furthering adding to this, he said, "Inspired by celebrity looks and the latest catwalk trends, Bumchums Women bridges the gap between functional street-clothing and futuristic fashion. Each piece is crafted aesthetically and cut to perfection for that second look." Bumchums Women debuts with V-Neck and Round-Neck Tees, Lounge Pants and Capris. The next in line of production are printed tops and bottoms with attractive pipings. Bumchums is a casual wear brand owned by Rupa & Co. Ltd., which provides cool casuals and trendy Tshirts, Bermudas, Loungers and Capris for young men and kids. The brand also offers dedicated products like baba suits and frocks for toddlers under the brand name 'Tots'. (ANI-Businesswire India) European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday threw down the gauntlet ahead of Britains EU referendum, warning the people that deserters will not be welcomed back if Britain leaves the bloc. Juncker, who earlier this year promised to stay out of the Brexit debate, denied he was issuing a threat. The EC president, a former prime minister of Luxembourg, did not stipulate how Britains relationship with the EU would change - but simply saying it would be different from today. Im sure the deserters will not be welcomed with open arms, Juncker told French newspaper Le Monde when asked what would happen if the British people voted for Brexit, RT online reported. The United Kingdom will have to accept being regarded as a third country, which wont be handled with kid gloves, he said. If the British leave Europe, people will have to face the consequences - we will have to, just as they will. Its not a threat, but our relations will no longer be what they are today. Junckers stern warning comes three months after the European Commission pledged to stay out of the Brexit debate. The Commission will not campaign in the UK and will not be part of the campaign, EC spokesman Margaritis Schinas said in February. In the event Brits vote to leave the EU, there will be a two-year limit for negotiating the terms on which Britain would leave. Unless there was unanimous agreement, or an agreement to extend talks, Britain would be excluded from the bloc. Even if Britain votes to stay in the EU, there would still be difficult negotiations ahead as member states would still have to implement the deal Cameron struck with the EU in February. Juncker warned that it would not be easy for this to happen. The European Parliament still needs to agree to parts of the deal brokered by Cameron which ensure Britain has special status in the bloc. --IANS ahm/vm ( 333 Words) 2016-05-20-21:38:04 (IANS) The Social Service Branch of the Mumbai Police raided four dance bars for operating without permission under the new state legislation last evening in which. In the raid that is reported to last for more than two hours, 60 women were rescued and 75 persons, including bar owners, managers and customers were booked. Four bars in the city- Tejas Bar in Grant Road, Mehfil Bar in Ghatkopar, Pink Plaza Bar in Andheri and Samunder Bar in Mumbai Central were functioning without requisite permissions under the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women Act, 2016. The Supreme Court had on March 15 struck down the ban on dance bars brought by the state government over a decade ago. The police had issued certain guidelines before granting licences for dance bars to reopen. Last week, three dance bars had received conditional licences from the police in Mumbai. The Maharashtra Assembly had on April 12 unanimously passed the Dance Bar Regulation Bill, which has provisions for stringent actions against the violators. The new bill fixes accountability on the owner in case of violation of rules, exploitation of women employees, or in cases of obscenity. Owners or operators face up to up to five years in jail and fines of up to Rs. 25,000 for violations. Separate rules are being formulated on this, based on the provisions of the Bill. According to the new conditions, dance bars must be at least a kilometer from any education or religious institution, their timings restricted between 6 p.m. and 11.30 p.m., and liquor not to be served in the performance area. (ANI) As per the final tally, LDF got 85 seats, while UDF settled for 47. The BJP-led NDA created history by bagging the Nemom seat and coming second in some constituencies. Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Janata Dal (United) and the Kerala Congress (Democratic) have drawn a blank in the State. The CPI (M) leaders are going to meet today to decide that who will throne the chair of Chief Minister of Kerala. According to reports Pinarayi Vijayan or his rival, 92-year old V S Achutanandan might get to be the Chief Minister. Extremely anxious with the verdict of the assembly polls, Chandy said that the loss was unexpected but admitted that the decision of the people is final in a democratic system. "So, we are accepting the verdict of the Kerala people. We expected a better result for the UDF. In the last five years, we did everything and we kept our promises," Chandy told ANI. "The people's verdict is against UDF. So, we will discuss this in detail in the party and also UDF then only we will give you the final opinion about this," he added. (ANI) Google has no plans to expand its partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV to create a self-driving car, the program chief at the Alphabet Inc unit said on Thursday, affirming that the technology company was still in talks with other potential partners.Earlier this month, Google and Fiat Chrysler agreed to work together to build a fleet of 100 self-driving minivans in the most advanced collaboration to date between Silicon Valley and a traditional carmaker. Google said it was not sharing proprietary self-driving vehicle technology with Fiat Chrysler, and that the vehicles would not be offered for sale."This is just FCA and Google building 100 cars together," Google self-driving car Chief Executive John Krafcik said in an interview on the sidelines of an energy conference in Washington."We're still talking to a lot of different automakers," he added. "We've been very open about what the technology is and the problem we want to solve together. Solving this problem is going to require a lot of partnership."Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said after the partnership was announced that what had been agreed with Google was limited, but he suggested that the alliance could evolve.Google has no timetable for making self-driving vehicles available to the public and has logged about 1.5 million miles of test driving, Krafcik said on a panel at the conference."We have a responsibility to get this out there as soon as we can and really as soon as we have data that says we're better than the current system of flawed human drivers," Krafcik said, citing 33,000 annual traffic deaths and more than 2.3 million injuries. "As soon as we're better we should push the button and go."Rival technology and auto companies are accelerating their efforts to master the complex hardware and artificial intelligence systems required to allow vehicles to pilot themselves.On Thursday, ride hailing company Uber Technologies Inc released photographs of a Ford Fusion it had outfitted with sensors to enable autonomous driving. The car is being tested in Pittsburgh, Uber said in a blog post.General Motors Co earlier this month closed its acquisition of self-driving car technology startup Cruise Automation.Another San Francisco startup company, Otto, said earlier this week it was developing systems for self-driving commercial trucks.REUTERS JW PM0607 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0364-742395.Xml President of the European Gymnastics Union (UEG) President 68-year-old Georges Guelzec of France and Japan Gymnastics Association (JGA) , Secretary General Morinari Watanabe are contesting election to the post ;presidentship of International Gymnastics Federation.Contenders had until midnight on May 17 to submit their applications to the FIG through their national federations. On expiry of the deadline. the IGF has received two candidacies in view of the upcoming FIG Presidential election this fall. The Presidential election will be held during the FIG Congress October 18-20 in Tokyo. There, representatives of the FIG member federations will be called upon to choose a successor to Bruno Grandi (ITA), who will bow out at the end of his fifth Presidential mandate in late 2016. The new president will be the ninth in the history of the FIG, which was established in 1881.UNI XC JW PM0659 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0364-742402.Xml The government on Friday cleared an ordinance to defer the implementation of NEET, the common entrance test for under-graduate medical courses in India. The ordinance, which puts on hold a Supreme Court May 9 ruling ordering the implementation of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) from this year, was cleared in a cabinet meeting under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, official sources said. --IANS ruwa-sar/vt ( 77 Words) 2016-05-20-12:30:04 (IANS) South Korea's finance minister said on Friday sluggish domestic investment and exports made it urgent for the new parliament that opens on May 30 to get on with structural and regulatory reforms to revive economic momentum.Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho painted a gloomy picture for the country's efforts to create jobs, urging policy chiefs of the two main opposition parties, as well as the ruling party, to join the government's efforts to implement reform initiatives."Exports are not good, and employment growth is slowing and youth unemployment is growing due to sluggish investment and slowing vitality in the private sector," Yoo was quoted by Yonhap news agency as telling parliamentary policy leaders."So frankly, we have a situation where we don't have much room to create jobs," he said.South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party suffered a surprise defeat in parliamentary elections in April, stoking worry that it will get even tougher for the government of President Park Geun-hye to implement key economic reforms.Park's three major legislative proposals to reform the labour market, boost the services industry and ease regulations in Asia's fourth-largest economy were effectively scrapped as the outgoing parliament sat for the last time on Thursday without bringing them to a vote.She is expected to try and revive the bills in the next parliament.Weak global growth has hit South Korea's exports and sluggish capital investment and spending on R&D is a further drag on the economy's momentum, Yoo said."We need structural reforms to overcome this. But there's a limit to how much the government can do by itself. We need the cooperation of both sides in parliament to accomplish results."South Korea's economic growth halved in the first quarter to 0.4 percent from the previous three-month period.South Korea's central bank kept its policy rate at a record low 1.50 percent on May 13 for an 11th straight monthm believing economic recovery could continue at the current level without a cut, although many analysts expect a move in June.REUTERS RSD VP1253 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-742665.Xml The Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government is scheduled to resign later today after the party received a severe drubbing at the hands of BJP-led alliance in the state polls. Mr Gogoi has reportedly conveyed a meeting of his ministry at his official residence here. All ministers have been instructed to be present at the meeting. Notably out of 15 ministers who had contested in the state polls, 11 had lost their seats. Mr Gogoi is expected to call on Governor PB Acharyya at the Raj Bhawan in the evening and tender his resignation. Meanwhile, the BJP has conveyed a meeting of its newly elected legislators at the state head office here. Most of the MLAs are expected to attend the meeting. BJP's chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal is scheduled to go to New Delhi this evening. He is likely to consult the party's central leadership on ministry formation. The new government is likely to be sworn in later next week. The BJP won 60 seats in the state polls, while its ally AGP bagged 14 and BPF 12 in the House of 126 members. The Congress managed to win 26 seats and the AIUDF secured 13 seats. One seat was won by an Independent candidate. UNI SG AD SB VN1254 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-742621.Xml Tension ran high in Uska Bazar police station area after a pradhan pati( husband of a village pradhan) was brutally beheaded by criminals at Madanpur village here today.Police sources here said that Lalmohar( 55) went to the agriculture field this morning at Madanpur village when some criminals attacked him. The assailants stabbed him to death and escaped with his head.Rivalry in the panchayat elections was said to be the reason behind the killing. Additional police forces have been rushed to the village.The deceased, who was the pradhan of the village several times in the past. His wife Subhawati won the same post in last year's elections.UNI MB SB VN1246 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-742574.Xml Two days ahead of Panchayat election, criminals seriously injured former JD (U) MP Nawal Kishore Rai`s nephew and Mukhiya candidate by stabbing him. They kidnapped the victim`s brother near Pupari Bazar under Pupari police station area in the district last night. Police said here that the assailants attacked the Mukhiya candidate from Hariharpur Panchayat Manoj Kumar when he along with his brother Raushan Kumar were returning home after campaigning. The injured candidate had been admitted to a local hospital. A manhunt has been launched to nab outlaws. Manoj Kumar`s mother Shanti Devi is the Pramukh of Pupri block and is also in the Panchayat electoral fray. Election to Hariharpur panchayat would be held on May 21. UNI XC DH PL SB RK1305 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-742676.Xml Criminals have stabbed a labourer to death at Basudhar Majadia village under Kursaila police station area in the district. Police said here the desperadoes attacked Mahant Lal Muni (45) when he was asleep outside his residence late last night. The reason behind the killing was not immediately known. The body has been sent for post-mortem. A manhunt has been launched for the killers. UNI XC DH PL SB VN1306 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-742682.Xml The move came as the Bombay High Court will on June 7 hear a plea by Jiah's mother Rabia Khan requesting that this case handed over to the SIT for interrogation. The sessions court was expected to frame charges against actor Sooraj Pancholi, the key accused in the case, but adjourned the hearing after Rabia's request. Jiah's mother had earlier moved the Supreme Court, which directed her to approach the Bombay High Court. The apex court refused to intervene in the plea made by Rabia, who had demanded that the investigation be transferred from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to the Special Investigation Team (SIT). The CBI has termed Jiah's death as suicidal, not homicidal. Pancholi has been charged with abetment of Jiah's suicide on June 3, 2013, after the duo had a spat. (ANI) India is rushing relief material through sea and air route to Sri Lanka, where torrential rains and landslides have wrack havoc resulting in the death of 58 people and scores of families missing. The Indian Navy today dispatched its two ships INS Sutlej and INS Sunanyna with inflatable boats called Geminis, outboard motors, divers, tarpaulins, consumable stores and rations, MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters here. The Home Ministry held a review meeting this morning on coordinating an airlift with NDMA cargo. A plane load of relief material along with crew and officials from NDMA and NDRF will be airlifted through C-17 aircraft, which after halt at Chennai to pick up additional material, head to Colombo to reach in the evening today. The relief material include medical supplies, tarpaulins, tents, emergency lights consumables stores, and mobile toilets. "The Ministry is in constant touch with our High Commission for any additional logistical support that might be required," said the spokesperson. "Sri Lanka is a close neighbour and friend and India has always been the first responder in times of a crisis. As was the case during the Tsunami that affected Sri Lanka in the past, this time also India will extend all necessary help and relief to Sri Lanka, as requested," he said. UNI MK CJ 1425 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0090-742842.Xml A trilateral Agreement on transport and transit corridor among India, Afghanistan and Iran using strategic Chabahar port as a regional hub will be signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit two-day to Tehran beginning from May 22. Prime Minister's visit to Iran will focus mainly on connectivity and infrastructure, energy partnership, boosting bilateral trade, promoting regular consultations on peace and stability, particularly in our region and extended neighbourhood, and encouraging people-to-people relations.The Prime Minister will call on the Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei on May 23 and hold talks with President Dr. Rouhani the same day following an official welcome. The two leaders are likely to discuss entire gamut of bilateral relations, and exchange views on regional situation and global issues of mutual interest."The trilateral Agreement using Chabahar-Zahedan-Zaranj as a corridor will be a game-changer for regional connectivity, especially for Afghanistan to find an assured and reliable alternative access to India via sea," Joint Secretary in the MEA dealing with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran affairs Gopal Baglay said today. He said the route will also significantly enhance prospects for India's connectivity with Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond through synergies with other initiatives such as North South Transport Corridor. In the sphere of connectivity, the bilateral contract on development and operation by India of Phase I of Chabahar Port will be signed between Indian Ports Global Pvt Ltd and Arya Banader of Iran. Documents on EXIM bank line of credit to Iran, including for the port, will be inked. More UNI MK CJ 1426 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0090-742903.Xml Members of State Bank of Mysuru EmployeesUnion (SBMEU) today staged a protest opposing the proposed merger ofthe five Associate Banks with State Bank of India. The protest were held at the SBM Head office here and also at Branch offices in the District headquarters through out Karnataka. SBMEU General Secretary S R Powar, in a release issued inBelagavi, said the staff of associate banks would fight any moveto merge the Associate Banks with SBI. The merger move was renewed by SBI following a budgetannouncement by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that the Centre had initited the process of closig down 27 PSU banks through mergers and reducing the number to 10 to 12 Banks as recommended by P J Nayak Committee. The associate banks were State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Travankore, State Bank of Patiyala and State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur. UNI MSP-HVN CNR ADB1425 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-742864.Xml The Puducherry Pradesh Congress committee is expected to convene a meeting of the newly elected legislators here this evening to discuss the issue of formation of the government in the union territory. The local leaders would be holding preliminary meetings here and meet High Command representativesincluding Secretary in charge of the Union Territory Mukul Wasnik who is likely to reach Puducherry tomorrow after paying homages to late Rajiv Gandhi at Sriperambadhur. Party Sources also did not ruleout the possibility ofe local leaders meeting High Command leaders in New Delhi shortly. Presently all the elected members are busy in their constituencies thanking the voters. Meanwhile PCC President A Namasivayam told newspersons that the he is in touch with the high command in respect of formation of the government here and soon a meeting of the legislators would be convened to take a decision. Though the name of Mr Namasivayam was widely speculated for the post of the chief minister, former Chief Minister V Vaithilingam might contest for the post the sources indicated. The party would also find it difficult to finalise the names of ministers as six former ministers have emerged victorious at the hustings this time.The party leadership is hopeful of sorting out things amicably. Puducherry is having provision for only six ministers including the Chief Minister.UNI PAB CNR ADB1500 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-742968.Xml Airports Authority of India hosted a two-day ICAO Asia Pacific Civil Military Cooperation Regional Conference here in the national capital. Inaugurated by Director General of Civil Aviation M. Sathiyavathy, the event was attended by Rear Admiral Philipose George Pynumootil, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Air) and S. Raheja, chairman of Airports Authority of India. Delegates from Uganda, China, Malaysia, Afghanistan, IATA Singapore also participated in the event. Experts from defence and civil aviation sectors discussed ways for the flexible use of airspace in the country. "AAI has two main statuary functions one of air transportation and airport management and second all important provision of air navigation services. As an ANS provider AAI has always believed in collaborative decision making. Stakeholder agreement, engagement has been given utmost importance. Civil Military cooperation too is a field where AAI has continuously engaged with its military counterparts who do are involved in management of defence airports and defence air space under their control. AAI has established civil enclaves in the joint aerodromes which are defence air fields to facilitate civil operations," said Raheja. Civil and military agencies are seeking to set up airspace management cells at major airports to ensure optimal utilisation of airspace. There are more than 15 conditional routes at Indian air space which provide for shorter and direct routing through restricted airspace under the control of jurisdiction of Indian Air Force, Navy and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). When the air space is not used by military, it can be thrown open for civilian use which cuts down travelling time benefiting the passengers. "There have been several levels of protocols between the military organizations and AAI and I greatly appreciate the fact several issues are sorted out through lateral interaction and communication at various management levels. The implementation of flexible use of air space in India in a structured manner has only reinforced civil military cooperation in this country. I give four major areas of focus - safety, efficiency, capacity and environment," said Raheja. The two-day conference provided a common platform to discuss ways to improve and implement the flexible use of airspace between military and civil aviation in efficient ways. (ANI) A day after the Assembly results, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today made a sharp attack on the Congress and Left saying their obstructionism approach and ideological compromises proved to be their nemesis in the polls. Taking a obvious dig at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Mr Jaitley said Congress party's obstructionism was blended with its leader's "rent a cause" approach''. In a Facebook post, Mr Jaitley said the results of the five State Assemblies which went to poll in the last two months are on expected lines. The BJP leader said the most important political analysis emerging from the results is a significant setback to the Congress party. ''It(Congress) lost both the States of Kerala and Assam. In Kerala, it(Congress) lost because its government was mired in corruption scams,'' the Union Finance Minister said. Citing the reasons behind the defeat of Congress in Assam Assembly polls, Mr Jaitley said in Assam, its traditional policy of encouraging illegal immigration as a source of vote bank invited a popular wrath. ''The strategic alliance between the BJP, AGP and the BPF highlighted this historical blunder of the Congress,'' the Union Finance Minister said. On loss of Congress in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, Mr Jaitley said in Tamil Nadu, it was a laggard in the DMK-Congress alliance. ''Its poor strike rate pulled the DMK alliance down.'' The BJP leader said in West Bengal, the alliance with the Left was an ideological compromise. It proved counter-productive. ''Post 2014 General Elections, the Congress has increasingly adopted fringe positions. It didn't behave as a natural party of governance. Its obstructionism was blended with its leader's "rent a cause" approach,'' Mr Jaitley said. More UNI NY CJ 1541 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0099-743089.Xml With an aim to communicate more effectively with Indian youths, the British High Commission today launched its Facebook page in Hindi language.The Hindi Facebook page will be updated on a regular basis with fresh content covering UK's partnership with India. The page will also offer an opportunity to hear India's views about the UK, to engage on current issues, and provide the kind of content Indians want to see, the high commission said.The high commission said that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's digital strategy sets a clear, ambitious vision of how it will make use of digital to improve foreign policy and communications, and to transform its services. Stuart Adam, Director Press and Communications, India said, "In today's networked world, citizens are accessing information in rapidly changing ways. As a million more Indians come online every month, we want to ensure that Britain connects in an accessible manner.''"The new Facebook page will open a new window for the Indians who want information in their own language, whether they're interested in studying in the UK, visiting for holidays, doing business or just want to find out more about us", added Mr Adam.The high commission launched its Hindi website in 2010 with similar objectives, and has been very successful in projecting information on business, visas, studying in the UK, planning a holiday and more,it further added.UNI RN ASH CJ 1555 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0311-743046.Xml The International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad will organise a day long workshop 'Confluence Hyderabad' on May 21 . This is a joint workshop with industry leaders and institute faculty to identify and discuss deep-technology challenges, cutting across different industries and domains. The end-objective of 'Confluence 2016' is to seamlessly integrate new and innovative techniques in a corporate's current set-up to gain an edge in business efficiency and performance. Some of the critical areas which will be deliberated upon during the workshop are Intelligence, Healthcare, Security, IOT & IOS, actionable analytics, among others, a statement from IIIT-Hyderabad said here today. Speaking about the importance of research and the collaboration between industry and technology, Prof. Vasudeva Varma, Dean (R&D) said, "Confluence Hyderabad is an event to help business meet technology. IIIT Hyderabad is focused on making its research relevant to the industry and society. Through a dialogue between IIIT Hyderabad faculty and industry leaders, we hope to identify a few significant Industry, level problems that need attention from academic research. Here, we are making an attempt to understand the right problems and their complexities before we start working on the solutions. It is very important to listen to the problems on the field before investing a lot of valuable research time. We hope this exercise will be of immense value to both academic and industry partners."UNI VV MVR AK 1543 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-743041.Xml A senior operative of Indian Mujaheddin (IM), banned terror outfit, has been arrested by National Investigative Agency here at Indira Gandhi International Airport, official sources said today."Abdul was taken into custody upon his deportation from Dubai, United Arab Emirates and was primarily involved in recruitment and arranging finances for IM, responsible for many terrorist attacks," a source in the anti-terror agency said. Abdul Wahid Siddibapa, a resident of Bhatkal, Karnataka, is a relative of IM chief Yasin Bhatkal. Yasin Bhatkal is presently in jail, charged with terrorism.Abdul was wanted for his alleged involvement in the July 2006 Mumbai serial blasts, the 2008 Delhi blasts and the 2010 Chinnaswamy Stadium blasts in Bangalore. A warrant of arrest and a Red Corner Notice had been issued against him on the basis of which he was arrested.Apparently, Abdul's deportation from UAE was a result of stepped up security co-operation measures pledged during the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Abdul was the fourth alleged terrorist, who was deported from the Gulf country in recent past.UNI RG RP1725 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0377-743333.Xml Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) convener Rajesh Ranjan, MP, today asked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to sever ties with the RJD should the complicity of incarcerated former RJD MP Mohammed Shahabuddin in the killing of senior journalist Rajdeo Ranjan was proved. Mr. Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav, once a close confidant of RJD chief Lalu Prasad before he floated his own party before the last Assembly election, told newspersons here that the sudden transfer of Mr. Shahabuddin from Siwan divisional jail to high security Bhagalpur Central Jail had given rise to suspicions about his involvement in the murder of the media person. Pappu Yadav said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar always claimed that he established rule of law in the state after he came to power and now when RJD MP Shahabuddin`s name was being suspected in the murder of the senior journalist, he should sever ties with the RJD if the former MP was found guilty. He also asked the RJD to withdraw support from the alliance if Mr. Shahabuddin is proved innocent in the case as it would be proved that the JD (U) led grand alliance government was "unnecessarily harassing him in the case". He also demanded both RJD cheif Lalu Prasad and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar clarify their position on Mr. Shahabuddin, a member of the RJD national executive, the party`s main decision-making body. Mr. Yadav alleged that the Nitish Kumar government was virtually running on crutches of criminals and claimed that 140 MLAs belonging to the grand alliance were historysheeters. While providing facts and figures from ADR report, he said out of 81 RJD MLAs, 46 had criminal antecedents while 37 of 71 JD (U) MLAs were also not above the board. Similarly, 16 out of total 27 Congress MLAs are known for their criminal records, he added. UNI DH PL CJ GC1629 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-743133.Xml Mizoram government today issued a stern warning to the agitating owners of commercial vehicles against cancellation of their permits, as the indefinite strike entered the third consecutive day. "The government has taken a serious note of the strike which has been going on for three days that causes hardship to the public. "All the commercial vehicles should resume services for the public as per the permit issued to them. Failure to comply with this notice would invite appropriate action," said a statement issued by the state transport department. The three days' strike has paralysed normal life, even though the government has pressed into operation different departments' buses to ferry commuters in the absence of city buses and taxis. "Due to inadequate government vehicles, all private vehicles are requested to operate as public transport with the same government approved fares," a separate statement of the department said. As the commercial vehicles joint action committee even prevented goods carrying vehicles, including oil tankers from entering into Mizoram, the sabji bazaars in Aizawl where most of vegetable products are from outside the state and the state's rurals, have started to suffer shortage of supply. Mizoram university, situated at Tanhril on the western periphery about 20 kms from the city, is one of the worst-hit by the agitation. A release of the Mizoram university students' union said today, more than one thousands could not attend classes due to absence of transportation. "As there are ongoing internal examinations, project works and dissertations, many students have suffered from the strike," it said. As the strike included private water suppliers on which the university quarters and hostels heavily depend, there is acute shortage of water now, the statement added. The students' union implored the commercial vehicles owners and the government to find solution to the stalemate. The commercial vehicles' body has been demanding a re-look at the government raising various taxes concerning their services, disallowing replacements of old vehicles with new ones using the same permit and imposition of rates they allege make their business noncompetitive.UNI ZS AKM PY AE BL1827 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0213-743348.Xml Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel on Friday welcomed her BJP's win in the Assam assembly polls as well a state bypoll and made fun of the Congress. At a government function to dedicate an affordable housing scheme in this Gujarat city, she, speaking in Gujarati, told her audience: "You all must be happy that you have your houses now, but today we and you all are very happy because BJP has won Assam and we will be making a government there. We have snatched four seats in Didi's region (Mamata Banerjee's West Bengal) and opened our account in Kerala." "When we open an account, it keeps on filling and filling." Taunting the Congress, she said, "Yesterday, (Congress leaders Gurudas) Kamat and Jairam (Ramesh) were in Ahmedabad to hold a press conference, and they were to travel across Gujarat for one week. To do what? To plan for their victory in Gujarat in the 2017 elections. After this (election) results, I inquired where are those two. I was told they ran away." Amid applause and laughter, she went on: "They will now spend a week sitting with (party chief) Soniaji (Gandhi) and (party vice president) Rahul (Gandhi) thinking what to do next." Patel said it was thanks to the hard work of BJP workers "under the able guidance" of state BJP president Vijaybhai Rupani and party MP Mansukhbhai Mandavia that they could snatch the Talala seat in Saurashtra from the Congress after 14 years. Continuing to mock the Congress, she said just because it did well in the panchayat elections, it thought it could win the state. "And they want to win Gujarat in 2017 in this scenario. You have to work hard like us for good results," she said. --IANS desai/vd ( 301 Words) 2016-05-20-21:16:03 (IANS) The incident is said to have occurred at Pokhari village when a group of people pelted stones at him and his supporters when they were going to visit Silgur Devta temple. The Bharatiya Janata Party leader and his injured supporters were admitted to a nearby primary health centre. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan condemned the attack. "Strongly condemn the attack on party MP Shri Tarunvijay in Uttarakhand. Such acts have no place in democracy. Wishing him speedy recovery," Chouhan tweeted. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu also wished him speedy recovery. "My dear friend Tarun Vijay get well soon @Tarunvijay," Prabhu tweeted. --IANS nd/tsb ( 140 Words) 2016-05-20-21:50:04 (IANS) Odia migrant labourers from Kendrapara, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Berhampur, and Bhadrak in Odisha who were stranded in Sri Lanka finally returned to India, due to the timely intervention of district administration. Kendrapada District collector Debaraj Senapati, took steps for their return from Sri Lanka after a news was published highlighting the pitiable condition of the Odia workers in Sri Lanka. One Ramakanta Rout, of Madhyapada, who went to Sri Lanka about six months back to work as a foreman in Bhuwalka Steel Industry Ltd at Madmpe in Colombo had sent some video footage on May 12 on the ordeal of the workers working in the steel industry through a social media (whatsapp) and sought help. In the video footage the Odia labourers said when they protested the death of one of their co-worker Bikas Mohanty (28) who died untimely on April 21 due to the negligence of the company and stopped work, the company hired goons tortured them.Their salary was withheld so also the passport and they were locked inside the company. After the news aired in a local TV channel, the District Labour officer and the District collector intervened into the matter and drew the attention of the to the state government. Later the Indian Embassy at Colombo was informed about the incident and requested to make arrangement to send back the stranded Odia migrant workers. The district collector said the workers who were languishing in Sri Lanka, were finally released following the intervention of the Indian Embassy and the Odia labourers on their arrival at Chennai have boarded the trains for their homeward journey today. "The Indian Embassy at Colombo took steps and provided our passports from the steel company authority. The Indian Embassy also boarded us in flight by arranging tickets for us and offered a sum of Rs 3000 each for returning from Chennai to our native villages by train," said one labourer Ramakanta Rout. Sources said as many as 42 migrant labourers, including labourer from Rajasthan, Bihar and 27 migrant labourers from Odisha have boarded the flight from Colombo last evening with the help of Indian Embassy and landed at Chennai airport last midnight Yesterday, the post-mortem was conducted on Bikash Kumar Routat at Colombo based hospital after the Indian Embassy intervened. The autopsy of Bikas was held and the body will be sent back to India, soon, said Ramakant.UNI XC DP BM PY AE AN2121 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-743957.Xml Hearing the petition, the trial court judge held that there is no prime facie case against the Chief Minister on the basis of his statement. However, the Saket Court has summoned the Chief Minister on July 14 in another defamation case filed by a Head Constable posted at the local Lajpat Nagar police station against Mr Kejriwal's comment. While speaking to a TV news channel last year, Mr Kejriwal ridiculed as 'thulla' the Delhi Police cops evoking sharp reaction among the police personnel. Two police constable Harvinder and Havildar Ajay Kumar Taneja filed two different cases against him.UNI SS AE 2242 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0089-744172.Xml ''In view of prevailing heat wave conditions, Government ordered that all the educational institutions, including private schools, in Summer Zone of Jammu division shall remain closed from May 21 to 28,'' Shaleen Kabra, Commissioner Secretary, School Education Department in an order issued here said. As per the Govt order issued by the Commissioner Secretary, all the educational institutions, including private schools, in Summer Zone of Jammu division shall observe holidays from May 21 to 28. ''The loss of working days shall be compensated through suitable adjustment of the vacation,'' he said. Jammu however, yesterday witnessed season's hottest day with 43.2 degrees Celsius maximum temperature while today the maximum was recorded at 41.8 degrees, while the minimum was 27.4 degrees.UNI VBH PY AE 2224 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0298-744139.Xml Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Washington D.C. on June 7-8 at the invitation of U.S. President Barack Obama. The main objective of the forthcoming visit of the Prime Minister would be to consolidate the progress made in diverse areas such as economy, energy, environment, defence and security, and to intensify cooperation for the future, said the Ministry of External Affairs in a press release. The India-US bilateral strategic partnership has developed strongly, particularly during the last two years under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and President Obama, it said. The Prime Minister has also been invited by Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative Paul Ryan to address a Joint Meeting of the U.S. Congress, which he has accepted, said the MEA. He will be the first foreign leader to be given this honour in 2016, it said, adding that the U.S. Congress has been a source of strength for the India-U.S. strategic partnership and the India Congressional Caucus is the largest such group in the U.S. Congress. During the visit, Prime Minster Modi will have interaction with CEOs of major U.S. companies. Realisation of the full potential of our economic partnership has been a key priority for both the countries and the progress achieved in this regard is reflected in the increased investment flows. (ANI) Speaking as chief guest at the inaugural session of Highway Area Sumi Students Union (HASSU) Youth Festival 2016, which begun yesterday at Agri Expo site at the fourth mile area in Dimapur, Mr Jacob said people in developed countries use social media to bring about positive change, but lamented that social media culture was influencing "us" mostly in a negative way. Touching upon the employment issue in the state, parliamentary secretary said, there was excess employment as everybody was seeking for government job, adding that getting job in Government sector has reached a saturation point. Mr Jacob, however, encouraged the students not to be disheartened and said whoever study hard and work hard would succeed. Asserting that competition was very high and not everyone can become officers, Jacob, however, asserted that there was no task that was "below standard". He advised the students to be humble, sincere and consistent; adding that whoever was passionate to work hard would emerge successful. Mr Jacob encouraged the youth to uphold and preserve traditions and customs handed down by forefathers. Further, he emphasised on the importance of mother tongue and urged the students to protect and promote one's language. UNI AS PY AE AN2312 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-744107.Xml The book on Kashmir is titled "Dar-e-Zindaan, and is written by a journalist Amjid Shareef. A notification for banning the book in the region has been issued. Mr. Shareef has projected himself as a "nationalist" writer. His pro-freedom writings have been unpalatable to key agencies in Pakistan. (ANI) An election-year fight over addressing the spreading Zika virus intensified in the US Congress as the Senate on Thursday approved 1.1 billion dollars in emergency money one day after the House of Representatives voted 622.1 million dollars financed through cuts to existing programs.The two chambers would have to reach agreement on a spending level before they can send it to President Barack Obama, who in February requested 1.9 billion dollars. The White House has called the House measure "woefully inadequate" and has threatened to veto it.Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington State urged Congress to act quickly, saying, "This is a public health emergency and Congress should treat it like one."The Senate will enter negotiations with the House with a strong hand: a bipartisan 68-30 vote in favor of the emergency funds to battle Zika, a virus that has been spreading rapidly through the Americas, with more than 100 confirmed cases in the US state of Florida.However, the conservative group Heritage Action is lobbying against any Zika funding bill that is not paid for with an equal amount of spending cuts.The Senate's funding was attached to an unrelated transportation and housing appropriations bill that also passed the chamber yesterday.US health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies. The World Health Organization has said there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can also cause Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults.Conservative Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah tried unsuccessfully to kill the Senate funding, saying the Obama administration already had enough money to deal with Zika."What we should not do, however, is allow the Zika virus to be yet another excuse to run up the national debt," Lee said.But Senator Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate Republican, countered that US debt problems were rooted in the rapid growth in the cost of huge programs such as Social Security and Medicare and not so-called "discretionary" spending like on Zika.REUTERS JW0400 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0364-742375.Xml Tsai Ing-wen is to be inaugurated Taiwan's first woman president today, with the export-driven economy on the ropes and wary Communist Party rulers in China watching for any move towards independence by an island it considers its own.Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won parliamentary and presidential elections by a landslide in January on voter backlash against creeping dependence on China. There were massive protests in 2014 against a trade pact with China that the previous government had sought to push through.The DPP, which has traditionally favoured independence from China, takes over after eight years under China-friendly Nationalist Ma Ying-jeou.Tsai's inauguration speech at 11.10 am (0840 IST) will be widely watched for any hint of anti-China sentiment, which could sour economic ties further."The favourable interaction will be broken," said Chang An-lo, a pro-unification leader, rallying about 400 supporters outside the DPP headquarters this week.China has not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control. It is deeply distrustful of the DPP, whose charter includes a clause promoting "a sovereign and independent Republic of Taiwan".Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the Communists in China in 1949. China has pressured the new Taiwan government to stick to the "one-China" principle agreed with the Nationalists.That allows each side to interpret what "one China" means. The Communists say they rule all of China including Taiwan, while the Nationalists maintain Taipei is the ruler.Tsai has said she will maintain the status quo, but stops short of referring to "one China".During the inauguration ceremony, performers will pay tribute to demonstrations that have been key to the DPP's rise, including the 2014 Sunflower Movement protests.The DPP is distrustful of growing economic dependence on China and champions Taiwan's own history.Tsai, partly of aboriginal descent, will take the stage in front of the presidential office, a life-size replica of which Taiwan has said has been built in China and used for attack practice."We have emphasized ... our hope that both sides will continue to show flexibility going forward in the name of maintaining peace and stability," said Daniel Kritenbrink, senior director for Asian Affairs at the White House's National Security Council, earlier this week.The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, but is also Taiwan's biggest ally and arms supplier.Taiwan's political uncertainty pushed Taiwan's main stock index to over three month lows last week with foreign investors net equity sellers every trading session so far this month. Exports and orders have slumped for the last year.Many Taiwan technology companies produce their goods in China while also eyeing the vast Chinese market potential, making the mainland a major export destination. REUTERS JW PM0704 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0364-742404.Xml The United States looks forward to working with the new government in Taiwan, Washington's diplomatic representative on the island said after the inauguration of President Tsai Ing-wen today."The United States congratulates President Tsai Ing-wen on her inauguration as Taiwan's fourth democratically elected president," the American Institute in Taiwan said. The institute represents US interests in Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties."We look forward to working with the new administration, as well as with all of Taiwan's political parties and civil society groups, to further strengthen the ties between the people of the United States and Taiwan," it said in a statement.REUTERS RSD RK1004 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-742476.Xml Japan and the United States are presenting US President Barack Obama's visit to Hiroshima as an affirmation of a strong alliance and a step towards world denuclearisation, but critics see selective amnesia and paradoxes on nuclear policy.Aides have said Obama will not apologise when he becomes the first sitting US president to tour the site of the world's first atomic bombing next Friday, accompanied by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.Nor is Obama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 partly for making nuclear non-proliferation a centrepiece of his agenda, expected to address the debate over whether the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was justified.The bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killed thousands instantly and about 140,000 by the end of the year.Nagasaki was hit on Aug. 9 and Japan surrendered six days later.A majority of Americans see the bombings as having been necessary to end the war and save US and Japanese lives, although many historians question that view. Most Japanese believe they were unjustified.Officials in both countries have made clear they want to stress the present and future, not dig into the past, even as the two leaders honour all victims of the war."It is an important landmark in a continuing process of paying homage to the victims of war in general and the atomic bombing in particular, in the process of trying to eliminate nuclear weapons in the world," former Japanese diplomat Sadaaki Numata told Reuters."... Both sides worked hard to shift the focus to a forward-looking agenda that has resonance worldwide."Even without an apology, some hope that Obama's visit will highlight the huge human cost of the bombings and pressure Japan to own up more forthrightly to its responsibilities and atrocities. Asian neighbours China and South Korea often complain Japan needs to be more sincerely repentant about the war, despite its numerous past apologies."Part of the subtext is telling this and future Japanese leaders that 'If I can go to Hiroshima and take flak for it at home, you can certainly do a little more to own up to what Japan did," said one US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The visit was hotly debated in the White House, not least because of fear of domestic blowback in an election year.JAPAN "IN DENIAL"The Abe administration has affirmed past government apologies but asserts that future generations should not have to apologise for the wartime sins of their forebears."We are successfully proceeding with US-Japan reconciliation. As for how the war came about, leave it to the historians," said former Japanese diplomat Kunihiko Miyake.Critics argue that by not apologising, Obama will allow Japan to stick to the narrative that paints it as a victim."What the Japanese government is doing now is denying the fact that Japanese soldiers committed atrocities and the Japanese nation as a whole committed the war of aggression.Somehow, they are trying to sanitise Japanese war conduct," said Hiroshima historian Yuki Tanaka.Nuclear disarmament proponents meanwhile hope Obama's visit will breath fresh life into a stalled process."At a time when, frankly, momentum is stalled, this visit will be an opportunity to reactivate that," Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki told Reuters, adding insistence on an apology might have prevented Obama from making the trip.But critics note Obama has made scant progress towards nuclear disarmament and is spending heavily to modernise the US atomic arsenal. "Arguably, a nuclear-free world is less likely now that when Obama actually took office," Richard Fontaine, an Asia adviser under former president George W. Bush, told a think tank conference.Obama's aides counter that he has secured concrete achievements, such as a new nuclear arms control deal with Russia in his first term and last year's nuclear pact with Iran.Japan stresses its unique status as the only nation to suffer atomic attacks and advocates disarmament, but nonetheless relies on the US nuclear umbrella as an extended deterrent.And Tokyo has long taken the position that nuclear arms would not violate its pacifist constitution, although it rules out possessing them.Ultimately, Obama's visit may be a sort of Rorschach test, a psychological inkblot test in which viewers see what they are predisposed to perceive."Anti-Obama-ites will call it an 'apology tour' even if there is no apology," said Massachusetts Institute of Technology political science professor Richard Samuels."Japanese nationalists will declare vindication of the empire and of the Japanese people, even if the president insists we are all culpable for war and its effects, and pacifists will imagine this is a step toward the end of nuclear weapons despite new US investments and Japan's open embrace of the nuclear deterrent."REUTERS RSD VN1204 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-742577.Xml With police watching his home around the clock, Vietnamese blogger Huynh Ngoc Chenh sneaked out through a back door and reappeared the next day in a public square to hold a one-man, anti-government protest.But having been given the slip once, police wasted no time in nabbing him after only five minutes.It was one of many free-speech experiments squashed by Vietnam's communist government, underscoring the dilemma US President Barack Obama has ahead of a visit on Monday in which human rights will be central to decisions about how far Washington is willing to engage its former enemy.Chenh got lucky. Unlike many dissidents, he was not arrested for Sunday's demonstration in Ho Chi Minh City, which got him 12,000 Facebook "likes" for making a stand against what he calls an endemic problem of abusive police."There are six men watching my house right now," said Chenh, 64, who was escorted home and told to stay there."Sometimes, they stop me from leaving, other times they let me go out but they follow me everywhere."His sit-in came as rights groups and activists accuse police of using heavy-handed measures to stop protests held in cities the past two Sundays to demand government answers over an unexplained environmental disaster that caused mass fish deaths last month.The timing of protests could not be worse for Vietnam. The White House yesterday said Obama was still grappling with a decision on whether to lift a lethal arms embargo on Hanoi, one of the last vestiges of the Vietnam War.The United States has been clear that it's removal hinges on progress on rights.Vietnam wants closer military ties and access to US defence technology as a deterrent against Beijing's assertiveness in the South China Sea, over which the neighbours are bitterly at odds.Though that fits in with the US strategy of containing China, Vietnam's jailing and intimidation of dissidents remains an obstacle to Washington's push to turn its former enemy into its newest Asian ally.Obama's top Asia adviser Daniel Kritenbrink on Wednesday told reporters human rights would be a key factor in "whatever arms sales decisions we may or may not make".Obama will not try to duck the issue. He is expected to meet dissidents and will address human rights in Vietnam "both publicly and in private", Kritenbrink said.THORNY ISSUEThe issue is taboo for Vietnam's government, which did not respond to Reuters questions about the extent to which rights improvements had been made.The United States has been watching closely and is familiar with the Communist Party's boldest opponents, including Nguyen Quang A, an intellectual who met US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski last week.Quang A was among several dissidents named in a scathing, documentary-like news report broadcast on state television on Sunday that accused them of masterminding recent protests intended to violently overthrow the government.The arms embargo is contentious, with support in Washington for countries threatened by China's rise, but misgivings about losing leverage with Vietnam if too many concessions are given to a government that New-York-based Human Rights Watch described in a letter to Obama as "among the most repressive in the world".Loretta Sanchez, a Democrat on the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam, said the United States should be wary of "giving a free pass to a government that continually harasses, detains and imprisons its citizens".Republican Senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Hanoi who backed the easing of the embargo in 2014, said sales of technology for Vietnam's maritime security should be unrestricted, but the transfer of other arms should be case-by-case and linked to human rights progress."There's still repression," McCain told Reuters. "Yes, there's been improvement but there's still quite a way to go."Obama will meet Vietnam's new president, Tran Dai Quang, who until recently ran the Ministry of Public Security, a powerful police-run agency that US rights envoy Malinowski last year said "holds the key" to how far US-Vietnam ties could advance.But political analyst Le Hong Hiep said it was unlikely rights would constrain ties that are strengthening rapidly, as the United States had "other more vital interests" at stake."It remains an issue of low politics at a time when issues of high politics such as strategic cooperation, and joint efforts to check China's ambitions in the South China Sea, have been placed much higher in bilateral agenda," he said.REUTERS RSD VP1300 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-742661.Xml Pakistani grave digger Shahid Baloch is taking no chances.Like many people in the port city of Karachi, he was caught out by the severity of last summer's heat wave which killed more than 1,300 people, and has hired a digger to excavate three elongated trenches big enough for 300 bodies."Thanks to God, we are better prepared this year," said Baloch, 28, who works with three brothers at the vast Karachi cemetery run by the charitable organisation Edhi Foundation.When the heat wave struck in the summer of 2015, hospitals, morgues and graveyards in the city of 20 million people were overwhelmed, and drug addicts, day labourers and the elderly were the biggest victims of the searing heat.Temperatures hit 44 degrees Celsius 111 Fahrenheit, their highest since 1981 and above normal summer levels of around 37C 99F.Intervention by the army and charity groups staved off an even worse disaster, locals said, but the crisis exposed the shortcomings of Pakistani emergency services in coping with environmental disasters that scientists say will become more common in the future.Pakistan's meteorological office is not predicting a repeat of last year's extreme conditions, but, like Baloch in the cemetery, officials are preparing for the worst just in case."It will not get out of control the way it happen last year," said Karachi Commissioner Asif Hyder Shah, adding that nearly 60 hospitals now have spare capacity for 1,850 heat wave patients.Last summer patients slept on ward floors and long queues formed outside Karachi's main state hospitals at the peak of the heat wave.Shah said nearly 200 first response centres have been set up across the city, offering basic heat-stroke treatment to swiftly stabilise patients. There are also 700 makeshift relief centres, dishing out drinking water and rehydration salts."This will save lives. It's a comfort," said street vendor Muhammad Mahmood, 32, after downing a cup of water at one centre. Next to him, children in school uniforms queued to quench their thirst.Edhi Foundation, at the heart of efforts to limit the suffering caused by the heat wave last year, said it was expanding its huge fleet of ambulances, anchoring extra shelves in its morgue freezer and buying ice machines to keep patients and corpses cool.Last summer, the Edhi morgue ran out of freezer space after about 650 bodies were brought in the space of a few days.Ambulances left decaying corpses outside in sweltering heat.UNDER-INVESTMENT HAMPERS PLANSSimilar macabre scenes plagued Karachi's cemeteries, where grave diggers refused to work in the baking sun and charged up to five times normal rates for burial plots."People were not able to buy those graves," said Faisal Edhi, managing trustee of the Edhi Foundation. "They buried their dead in their relatives' graves."Efforts to prepare for extreme heat have been limited by decades of under-investment in Pakistan's crumbling electricity grid and water infrastructure, leaving the sprawling city vulnerable in times of crisis.The problem last year was compounded by power cuts which left people unable to cool themselves with fans and air conditioners, particularly affecting those unable to afford generators.Some Pakistani politicians pinned some blame on the provincial government and K-Electric, the company that supplies electricity to Karachi, for the high death toll. K-Electric did not respond to requests for comment.Some Karachi residents said much would depend on whether any future heat wave struck during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, when under Pakistani law it is illegal to eat and drink in public places.Abdul Qayyum Soomro, religious affairs adviser to the chief minister of Sindh province, said officials will meet clerics to discuss whether a fatwa, or religious edict, should be issued allowing people to break the fast for health reasons.Commissioner Shah said the subject was "extremely sensitive" among a devout population."If things get really bad, I may abandon the fast since God says life is most precious," said a fruit vendor selling mangoes and bananas from a push cart.Last year, his five-year-old son fell ill from the heat but was only treated at the third hospital they visited. The first two, including Karachi's biggest, were full.REUTERS RSD CS1440 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-742937.Xml NATO and the European Union will formally declare a cooperation pact at the alliance's Warsaw summit in July, officials say, overcoming decades of confusion and mistrust over how to provide security beyond Europe's borders.Forced together by fears of a Russian cyber attack, a migration crisis and failing states in Europe's neighbourhood, officials say the challenges requires both a military response and a softer security approach, combating propaganda and providing training to stabilise governments."If there was a Russian cyber attack, we would not want to spend two weeks in meetings discussing what each of us should do," said an EU defence official cooperating closely with NATO.While joint plans are still being agreed before the Warsaw meeting, the tie-up could eventually mean that taxpayers, currently footing the double bill of separate military planning in both EU and NATO, finance less duplication towards common goals.To underscore the cooperation, non-NATO nations Finland and Sweden joined a session of alliance foreign ministers on Friday at NATO headquarters with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.But while 22 of NATO's 28 members are also members of the European Union, both institutions face limits on what they can do together because of territorial tensions between Turkey and Greece that limit information sharing.Turkey, which is a member of NATO but not of the EU, blocks the sharing of alliance intelligence with the European Union, while EU- and NATO-member Greece does not want Brussels sharing any sensitive information with the alliance because of Turkey.There is also a reluctance to undertake missions without United Nations' support, which Russia, a UN Security Council member, is wary of granting with East-West ties at their lowest point since the Cold War over the crisis in Ukraine."We are facing challenges that are difficult to define," said Knut Hauge, Norway's envoy to NATO. "We are struggling to find quick fixes," he said.STRATEGIC MOMENTStill, diplomats talk of a "strategic moment" in EU-NATO ties. NATO and the European Union say their operation in the Aegean Sea, launched in February, shows what they can do.NATO patrol ships with powerful radars and the EU's border protection agency Frontex have brought together rivals Turkey and Greece to stop migrants risking their lives to reach Greek islands in flimsy boats off the Turkish coast.But the mission has been fraught with difficulties as Greece and Turkey do not agree on the names for the islands in Aegean, meaning NATO ships only use coordinates to identify them.Over ship radios, crews of Turkish and Greek boats can be heard bickering about who entered what territory illegally.Still, NATO nations including the United States hope NATO's so-called Active Endeavour mission, which was set up after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, could link up with the EU's "Sophia" naval mission that is operating in international waters near Libya to stop traffickers there."We can and should do more," Stoltenberg said.REUTERS RSD VP1554 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-742995.Xml The Kremlin today condemned NATO's membership invitation to Montenegro, saying the step risked fuelling geopolitical tensions in Europe."In general, our stance is that NATO's further expansion is a negative process," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters. "This process yields nothing from the point of view of European security.""On the contrary, this process risks further increasing tensions on the continent."NATO formally invited Montenegro to become its 29th member yesterday, a decision that must still be approved by the US Senate, as well as the military alliance's other 27 parliaments and Montenegro's own parliament.REUTERS RSD VP1552 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-743006.Xml Sweden's civil emergency agency held a crisis meeting today to discuss a number of cases of suspected sabotage involving telecommunications masts and a computer outage that grounded air traffic across much of the country.The incidents have reignited fears of foreign spies and the readiness of Sweden's depleted security services to confront them in a country on the frontline of increased Western tensions with Russia.The Civil Contingencies Agency MSB has said it has no grounds so far to believe the various cases are related but its decision to hold a "national coordination" meeting - confirmed by a spokeswoman - highlights the growing sense of public unease prompted by the incidents.Two telecoms masts have been damaged in the last few weeks and yesterday a computer glitch grounded planes across much of Sweden, while technical problems knocked out Swedish railways' booking system.The spate of unexplained technical problems and apparent attempts to damage telecommunications equipment have fanned fears that Sweden's infrastructure is being tested by foreign security services.Wilhelm Agrell, professor in intelligence analysis at Lund University, hinted at a possible Russian link."The scenario resembles the picture of so-called hybrid warfare which has developed since the Crimea operation in 2014," he told daily Aftonbladet, referring to Russian forces' seizure of Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula two years ago.The Russian Foreign Ministry has not responded to Reuters' requests for comments on allegations of possible Russian involvement made by Swedish media and academics.Sweden has for years seen Russia as its biggest geopolitical threat. Only last month Russia's Foreign Ministry warned of consequences if Sweden joined NATO, while Swedish media have carried reports of the nation's security services warning about Russian agents spying on important infrastructure.Anders Ygeman, minister for home affairs, told Swedish public broadcaster SVT yesterday the incidents could be explained in a number of ways from "just pranks to a foreign power".REUTERS RSD VP1601 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-743060.Xml Germany is concerned by the increasing polarisation of the domestic political debate in Turkey and Chancellor Angela Merkel will broach this topic with President Tayipp Erdogan at a meeting on Monday, a government spokesman said today.Government spokesman Steffen Seibert, responding to Turkey's parliament today approving the first clause of a bill to lift lawmakers' immunity from prosecution, said:"The German government has just taken note of the result of this vote. The increasing polarisation of the domestic political debate in Turkey fills us with concern.""The whole issue will definitely be among the issues that the chancellor discusses in Istanbul on the margins of the humanitarian summit with the president of Turkey," Seibert said."A bilateral meeting is planned on Monday." REUTERS RSD VP1556 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-743081.Xml Pakistani grave digger Shahid Baloch is taking no chances.Like many people in the port city of Karachi, he was caught out by the severity of last summer's heat wave which killed more than 1,300 people, and has hired a digger to excavate three elongated trenches big enough for 300 bodies."Thanks to God, we are better prepared this year," said Baloch, 28, who works with three brothers at the vast Karachi cemetery run by the charitable organisation Edhi Foundation.When the heat wave struck in the summer of 2015, hospitals, morgues and graveyards in the city of 20 million people were overwhelmed, and drug addicts, day labourers and the elderly were the biggest victims of the searing heat.Temperatures hit 44 degrees Celsius 111 Fahrenheit, their highest since 1981 and above normal summer levels of around 37C 99F.Intervention by the army and charity groups staved off an even worse disaster, locals said, but the crisis exposed the shortcomings of Pakistani emergency services in coping with environmental disasters that scientists say will become more common in the future.Pakistan's meteorological office is not predicting a repeat of last year's extreme conditions, but, like Baloch in the cemetery, officials are preparing for the worst just in case."It will not get out of control the way it happen last year," said Karachi Commissioner Asif Hyder Shah, adding that nearly 60 hospitals now have spare capacity for 1,850 heat wave patients.Last summer patients slept on ward floors and long queues formed outside Karachi's main state hospitals at the peak of the heat wave.Shah said nearly 200 first response centres have been set up across the city, offering basic heat-stroke treatment to swiftly stabilise patients. There are also 700 makeshift relief centres, dishing out drinking water and rehydration salts."This will save lives. It's a comfort," said street vendor Muhammad Mahmood, 32, after downing a cup of water at one centre. Next to him, children in school uniforms queued to quench their thirst.Edhi Foundation, at the heart of efforts to limit the suffering caused by the heat wave last year, said it was expanding its huge fleet of ambulances, anchoring extra shelves in its morgue freezer and buying ice machines to keep patients and corpses cool.Last summer, the Edhi morgue ran out of freezer space after about 650 bodies were brought in the space of a few days.Ambulances left decaying corpses outside in sweltering heat.UNDER-INVESTMENT HAMPERS PLANSSimilar macabre scenes plagued Karachi's cemeteries, where grave diggers refused to work in the baking sun and charged up to five times normal rates for burial plots."People were not able to buy those graves," said Faisal Edhi, managing trustee of the Edhi Foundation. "They buried their dead in their relatives' graves."Efforts to prepare for extreme heat have been limited by decades of under-investment in Pakistan's crumbling electricity grid and water infrastructure, leaving the sprawling city vulnerable in times of crisis.The problem last year was compounded by power cuts which left people unable to cool themselves with fans and air conditioners, particularly affecting those unable to afford generators.Some Pakistani politicians pinned some blame on the provincial government and K-Electric, the company that supplies electricity to Karachi, for the high death toll. K-Electric did not respond to requests for comment.Some Karachi residents said much would depend on whether any future heat wave struck during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, when under Pakistani law it is illegal to eat and drink in public places.Abdul Qayyum Soomro, religious affairs adviser to the chief minister of Sindh province, said officials will meet clerics to discuss whether a fatwa, or religious edict, should be issued allowing people to break the fast for health reasons.Commissioner Shah said the subject was "extremely sensitive" among a devout population."If things get really bad, I may abandon the fast since God says life is most precious," said a fruit vendor selling mangoes and bananas from a push cart.Last year, his five-year-old son fell ill from the heat but was only treated at the third hospital they visited. The first two, including Karachi's biggest, were full.REUTERS RSD VP1600 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-743097.Xml Donald Trump's "isolationist" foreign policy pronouncements are feeding insecurity in some Asian nations fearful of China's growing power, and risk emboldening nationalists and authoritarians in the region.The real estate developer, who is very close to securing the Republican nomination for November's presidential election, has with undiplomatic abandon challenged much of the status quo in US-Asia relations. Overall, his comments have sounded like a death knell for the "pivot to Asia" strategy adopted by President Barack Obama five years ago.He has said US allies like Japan and South Korea should pay more towards their defence, warned he could withdraw US troops from bases in Japan, and mulled whether Japan and South Korea should have their own nuclear arms. This week he told Reuters he is willing to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which would represent a major shift in US policy.He has also threatened to rein in China's big trade surplus with the US, saying he will threaten to impose heavy duties on Chinese goods. And Trump says he will rip up and then renegotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade pact agreed to by the US, Japan, and 10 other countries in February.Furthermore, Trump's call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States risks undermining moderate leaders in Muslim countries like Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh."If he becomes president and adopts his own version of foreign policy, the US will cease to be a Pacific power. That's the end result," said Kunihiko Miyake, a former Japanese diplomat, who served in both Beijing and Baghdad."It's not that we would adopt 'Japan First', but if the US leaves, there will be a vacuum and China will try to fill it," said Miyake, research director at the Canon Institute for Global Studies. "It's a survival issue for all allies of the United States."Trump could, of course, lose the election to the likely Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, who is well known by many Asia policymakers.And if he is elected he could act a lot differently in office. But Asian diplomats and policy advisors say that initial impressions count.His idea of making Japan and South Korea pay up rather than enjoy a cheaper ride under the US security umbrella sent shudders through Tokyo and Seoul.And his comments about the possibility of a local nuclear deterrent fanned fears among Asian diplomats that the world could become an even more dangerous place."It is here that Trump is most scary," Lalit Mansingh, a former Indian ambassador to Washington, told Reuters in New Delhi, though he also noted it may be "just election rhetoric".Japan's nationalist-led government has already boosted defence spending and has reinterpreted its pacifist constitution to allow its military to come to the aid of allies under attack even if Japan itself if not attacked, a major shift in Japan's post-war security stance."His position is causing anxiety, especially in East Asia," said a senior lawmaker in Japan's ruling coalition. "It is really hard to comprehend because conservatives have supported a stronger military presence and more engagement."FLASHPOINTMansingh said he expects China to test the foreign policy resolve of whoever occupies the White House next, and the South China Sea looms as one of the most likely flashpoints.Tensions over China's land-building and installations on islets in the disputed waters flared on Tuesday, when two Chinese warplanes carried out, what the Pentagon called, an "unsafe" intercept of a US military reconnaissance aircraft."They're building a massive fortress in the South China Sea. They're not supposed to be doing that," Trump told Reuters, without saying what he would do about it.At least, according to Mansingh, China's leaders and Trump shared the mentality of dealmakers, which could help settle diplomatic wrangles before they get out of hand.Jia Qingguo, an advisor to China's government on foreign affairs, said Trump sounds like an "isolationist" who doesn't want the United States to become too active internationally."So, he doesn't sound that aggressive," said Jia, the dean of the School of International Relations at China's elite Peking University. "Chinese tend to think that too much so-called internationalism on the part of the US is not that good."A senior Japanese government official said Washington could lose influence in Asia if there was any perception it was softening its stance on issues like the South China Sea."And it would be very difficult to get it back," he warned.Mansingh says those fears are overblown as the United States self-interest lay in protecting access to the Pacific and Indian Oceans."What would American withdrawal mean, does it want to hand over the affairs of the world to China? Would that serve anybody's interest? I don't think so."DEALBREAKERThere are also fears that the TPP could unravel, or become worth a lot less to Asian partners, should Trump renegotiate the pact, as he has said he wants to do.The deal has yet to be ratified, but US President Barack Obama has warned that delay could allow China to steal a march through its own proposed regional trade deal with 15 other nations."I think it's hard to imagine that TPP would survive a Trump presidency," said a top trade official in a major country in the region, who declined to be more closely identified."'Less intervention' would be a small benefit compared to the massive damage to the world from a USA that becomes more isolationist and more crassly commercial under Trump," he said.The lack of priority Trump appears to give to issues that don't serve his "America first" agenda could mean he'll soft-pedal on human rights and democratic values, some critics said. That would come at a time when generals are running Thailand, a 'strong man' has just been elected the new president of the Philippines, and Malaysia's prime minister has silenced independent media."Let's hope that someone on his team realizes that respect for human rights must be a core US foreign policy value, and not just a reality show line," said Phil Robertson, deputy director for Human Rights Watch's Asia division.On the other hand, Panitan Wattanayagorn, an advisor to Thailand's Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwon expressed confidence that Trump wouldn't apply pressure to countries like his."All in all, if Trump arrives, the chances of stronger ties will be good because he would want allies," said Panitan. REUTERS RSD CS1633 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-743175.Xml President Barack Obama today urged the US Congress to pass a bill to boost emergency funding to deal with the Zika virus, saying it was critical for Americans thinking about having children to be assured about the government's response."This is not something where we can build a wall to prevent. Mosquitoes don't go through customs," Obama told reporters after meeting with top health officials in the Oval Office."Congress needs to get me a bill. It needs to get me a bill that has sufficient funds to do the job. They should not be going off on recess before this is done," he said. REUTERS SDR BL2207 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-744148.Xml AMMAN, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Jordanian experts said Friday that China's New Silk Road project will help boost cultural ties between Jordan and China. In interviews with Xinhua, several Jordanian experts said the project will help boost ties at various economic levels including tourism and other fields. They said the project will build a key role in also enhancing cooperation between the two countries and strengthen the relations. "The Chinese Silk Road project will help boost dialogue between the Arab and Chinese civilizations and ties that are based on friendship. It will also increase cooperation in fighting terrorism and also in cultural and economic integration," Jordan's Minister of Culture Lana Mamkegh told Xinhua. She also stressed on the historic ties between China and the Islamic world, adding that the new Silk Road project will increase cooperation in various cultural fields and exchange of visits. Jordan, she said, is keen on increasing cultural cooperation and holding fairs and festivals between the two countries, adding that Chinese regularly participates in the Jerash Festival, which is held annually in Jordan. The minister added that a large number of Jordanians are learning Chinese and the number is on the rise, stressing the importance of the language to bringing the two countries' people closer. Meanwhile, Samir Habashneh, head of the cultural cooperation committee between Jordan and China, said the committee seeks to develop a strategy to boost cultural cooperation between China and the Arab world. He added that the committee is exerting efforts to revive the long heritage and history between China and the Arab world. "There are many similarities between the Arab and Chinese civilizations and both are working towards global peace and Jordan and China see eye to eye on many issues including the Palestinian issue," Habashneh added. He added that China is a key partner to Jordan and the Arabs and that ties are improving in several fields. Habashneh added that there are plans for increased cooperation between Jordan and China in the cultural field. Noting that the number of Jordanian students who learn Chinese is increasing, Dean of Faculty of Languages at the University of Jordan Adnan Smadi said many Chinese students at the same time come to Jordan for learning Arabic. He added that China extended several types of support to the university through furbishing several halls and labs. Smadi added that the exchange of faculty members between Jordan and China also plays a key role in enhancing ties in the field of education. According to Smadi, some 300 Jordanian students study Chinese at the University of Jordan. Support local businesses She called on the private sector to look beyond its typical modus operandi and be prepared to adjust their business models to the new economic realities of their consumers. She said that in addition to the responsibilities of the corporate sector, consumers too, have a major role to play especially in supporting local businesses. The Government is redoubling its efforts, the deputy Perm Sec said, to promote locally sourced and produced services and products; to create local networks and relationships; to encourage locals to buy local alternatives which do not deplete local foreign exchange reserves; and to incentivize local firms to raise their standards and meet the demands of local consumers. This initiative by the Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce is an ideal way to support the local community and create avenues whereby people are encouraged to buy from local firms within the community, which in turn creates jobs and a cycle of positive returns at the local, national and regional levels. Richie Sookhai, President of the Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CCIC) stated that the launch of the membership discount card could not have come at a better time to encourage persons to, shop local, shop Chaguanas given that a large number of the population is now opting to shop online. We must support our local businesses, especially the small and upcoming ones. This card allows members to shop at different merchants within the Chaguanas borough and receive discounted prices, Sookhai said. Debideen Manick, Deputy Mayor of Chaguanas and Councillor for Felicity/Charlieville commended the Chamber on this initiative which encourages persons to keep the business in the Borough of Chaguanas and contribute to the Boroughs growth and development. Suspect nabbed months after acid attack The man was on the run since February 22 and was being harboured at the house by two male relatives who are in their 40s and 50s. The two were also arrested and are assisting police in their enquiries. According to reports, officers under the supervision of Snr Supt Irwin Hackshaw and led by ASP Rawle Ramdeo and Inspector Don Gajadhar, surveillance was carried out at a specific location. At about 5.45 am, ASP Ramdeo and Inspector Gajadhar accompanied by officers Teeluck, Ramroop, Roland Ramlogan, Harrichand, Moses, Goddard, Lee Lum and Balgobin stormed the house and found the suspect hiding under a mattress. During the same exercise, officers arrested ten other persons for serious offences and outstanding warrants. On February 22, the man armed with a bottle of acid, a knife, rope and duct tape, attempted to murder his ex-lover Rachael Chadee at her home in La Romaine. Chadee was doused with acid, forced to consume some of the corrosive liquid and was cut across her face. The 35-year-old mother of three struggled with the man before he ran off. Chadee later told police she ended a stormy 14-year-long relationship with the man who had threatened to kill her. He was held on outstanding warrants for cocaine possession, breaching a protection order and also for the attack on Chadee. Judge focuses on States main witness He urged the jury to treat Glosters evidence with great care. The judge began with the evidence of clinical psychiatrist Professor Gerard Hutchinson, who evaluated Glosters ability to be questioned by the police. He reminded the jury of Glosters medical history and his condition of epilepsy. Keon Gloster is the main witness for the prosecution, the judge said, noting that other than Glosters statement, given to police on July 27, 2007, the State will also be relying on the forensic evidence of rubber gloves found at Upper La Puerta Avenue, Diego Martin, as well as a roll of duct tape with a drop of blood that matched to Naipaul-Coolmans DNA. The tape was also found at La Puerta in a red brick house where the businesswoman was allegedly held captive, killed and dismembered. In his directions to the jury, Holdip advised that Glosters evidence had to be approached carefully, as he was declared a hostile witness, adverse to the prosecutions case. He also reminded the jury of the procedure adopted in treating Gloster as a witness who recanted his evidence at the trial. A previous statement of a hostile witness is admissible for the truth of its contents, the judge advised, noting the statement, which he read out in full, will not be made available to them during their deliberations as it may foreshadow the viva voce (oral rather than written) evidence given by Gloster in the witness box. The judge said the jury will have to look at the entirety of the evidence as it relates to Gloster, including what was said under questioning by the defence, before they can determine if he can be believed or disbelieved and the proportion of their belief of his evidence. Was his statement (of July 27, 2007,) completely and accurately recorded? Gloster said he did not know what it contained but was only asked to sign it, the judge reminded. Look at the details in the statement...He may be a witness with an interest to serve, he further noted. The judge also told the jury that they should take note that Justice of the Peace Anthony Soulette was present when Gloster gave his statement, but that the prosecution sought not to bring him to strengthen its case as they are allowed to do. This statement is important, he said, as it implicates all ten men on trial for Naipaul- Coolmans murder. He also noted that Glosters account was in contrast with the contention of the defence that the men were simply present when Naipaul-Coolman was killed but did nothing to encourage or assist. When Justice Holdip continues his directions to the jury today he will focus on the evidence Gloster gave in court as well as his cross examination by the defence. Five in court for couples murder Kyle Belgrave, 20, of Kelly Village, Laventille; Olatunji Denbow, 25, from Eastern Quarry, Laventille; Seon Barnswell, 25, of Never Dirty, Morvant; Michael Findley, 24, of Picton Road, Laventille and Keelan Maxime, 21, from Kerr Road, Eastern Quarry, Laventille, appeared before Ayers-Caesar for the murder of Andre La Touche and Adeola Noel on February 22, at Eastern Quarry, Laventille. They were not called upon to plead as the charges were laid indictably by PC Mohammed of the Homicide Bureau, which worked in collaboration with officers of the Port-of-Spain Division, Criminal Investigations Division and the Inter-Agency Task Force. Twenty-eight year-old La Touche and his girlfriend 25-yearold Noel, a mother of two, were leaving Noels home at Eastern Quarry Road, Laventille, in his silver-coloured Nissan Tiida car, at about 8.30 am on February 22, when they were gunned down. Gunmen blocked the couples car and fired several shots at them. The car rolled forward for about 100 metres before crashing into a concrete dumpster off the road. As the gunmen ran off, La Touche and Noel lay slumped inside the car, in the drivers seat and front passenger seat respectively. By the time officers arrived, minutes later, both were already dead. Man charged for raping stroke victim Kayam Mohammed, 20, of Chaguanas, appeared in the Princes Town Magistrates Court charged with buggery, rape and kidnapping the woman. PC Dickie of the St Marys Police Post laid the charges. As soon as the matter was called in the First Court, Magistrate Rambachan cleared the courts public gallery. The charges as read out in court, alleges that Mohammed committed the acts on the woman on February 12, at a house in South Trinidad. Police officers arrested Mohammed on Monday and sources said that the accused is originally from Rio Claro. Court prosecutor Sgt Roger Richardson objected to bail being granted to the accused. Magistrate Rambachan denied Mohammed bail and remanded him into police custody to return to court next Monday. Female bandit, man rob PH driver Reports are that upon reaching Bhagaloo Trace in Enterprise, the man pointed a gun at the drivers head and announced a hold up. He ordered that Ali drive into Boss Lane where Ali was robbed of $2,193 and a cell phone valued $100. The woman and man then escaped on foot into a nearby track. PC Augustus is continuing investigations. In an unrelated incident, a 27-year-old Couva man was beaten and robbed at his Flamingo Avenue home. Reports are that at about 8.10 pm on Wednesday, two gunmen stormed the house of Cirten Thomas. They announced a hold up and pushed Thomas to the ground, kicking him in the face. He was robbed of $3,000, a gold chain valued $3,300 and a cell phone worth $800. PC Ramoutar is continuing investigations. Police also arrested several persons during different anti crime exercises in Central Trinidad. The exercises were conducted in Couva, Freeport, Chaguanas and Cunupia. A total $15,353 was seized along with a large quantity of cocaine. Was doctors dog poisoned with lanate-laced KFC ? In response to defence attorney Kwasi Bekoe, who is representing Roger Greene, Inspector Curtis Simon said he had no such discussion with the accused. Greene, 38, is from Pleasantville, San Fernando and is on trial before Justice Hayden St Clair Douglas and a jury of 12 members in the San Fernando High Court, for the 2006 murder of millionaire businessman Maharaj, 63. Maharaj owned Plaza Mall on lower High Street, a building on lower St James Street, and two properties in Canada. His body was found bound and tied in his house at the corner of Penitence and Chacon Streets, San Fernando on the afternoon of January 11. Senior State Attorney Trevor Jones is prosecuting while while appearing with Bekoe is attorney Jared Ali. Bekoe asked Simon if, when he arrested Greene, he wanted to know who chook up the doctors foot with an ice pick. Continuing with his questioning of Simon, Bekoe asked if, upon Greenes arrest, he (Simon) wanted to know who opened the vault in the doctors house which contained $100,000. I never asked Greene that, Simon replied. In answer to the attorney, Simon said that a man named Brian Worrel gave police a statement. Worrel is the State witness whom the prosecution intends to call to the witness box to testify. He has been granted immunity by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to give evidence of truth of what he knew happened in relation to the murder. Bekoe asked Simon if he was aware that there was a $25,000 reward posted for information about Maharajs murder and he said he was not. The trial continues today. Art on par with music at St Lucia festival Darwin Guard of BOLD Ink, a producer of the Arts Village, along with Dahlia Francis of Options Inc, described the village as a space for artists and visitors. From our perspective, we think the artists in St Lucia have limitless creativity to express and we just created that space for them through the St Lucia Tourist Board, which has given them the opportunity through its new branding by adding arts, said Guard. He said the board made a bold statement in giving artists, as well as the average person, the space to savour and enjoy the experience. He added that he was proud because he did not believe the kind of allocation of resources and impetus for the arts had been provided in the past. Guard said there was always room for improvement, but the village got great reviews and so, by popular demand, was extended from three to five days. There was a lot of support from both local and regional artists who attended or asked about participating, Guard said. He therefore anticipates that next year, there would be a larger variety of art in terms of mediums and countries, to create a bigger sense of cultural exchange. One of the co-ordinators of the Village, Sabrina Titley, added that the village took the art feature to a different level by giving it a home of its own. There was a booth by the St Lucia Floral Co-operative Society Ltd, displaying the flora and fauna of the island; a stage for performances; a corner showcasing the works of local authors; a caf? sharing the delights of a young local baker; and the gallery. The Sir Dunstan St Omers Gallery contained paintings, sculpture, and photography of mostly St Lucian artists, including five of the older works of the late Sir Dunstan St Omer, who designed the national flag of St Lucia. There were also sculptures by St Lucian artist Jallim Eudovic, and other works by artists from Martinique and Dominica. Titley noted that a Blues session was run by Head Funk, as well as poetry, dance, local film, and spoken word sessions. There were also master classes where artists gave presentations and had interactive sessions with the audience. There was also an educational programme where youths were brought from primary and secondary schools to the village and exposed to different types of art. After their tour of the gallery we have them gather in groups and different artists work hands-on with them. We tried to keep it grounded and interesting for everyone, she said. She also noted that most of the structures in the village were made out of pallets, and the furniture was made by some of the boys of the St Lucia Boys Training Centre. At the Arts Village people just came to relax, the artists came to chill out and the energy flowed. Its been a really wonderful thing. We are hoping it can be the beginning of a new generation of people who see art differently and have more respect for our artists, she said. Orchid Society marks 60th anniversary Vice president of the society Robin Naipaul said the event would be marked with a twoday exhibition and open shop. She said Reema Carmona, wife of President Anthony Carmona, has agreed to open the show titled A Diamond Celebration of Orchids. The official opening will be followed by a cocktail reception and viewing of the exhibits. The societys annual Spring Orchid showing which will feature displays and exhibits of large, medium and small arrangements and plants. Founded in 1956 as the Trinidad Orchid Society, an amateur, non-profit society, it is affiliated to the American Orchid Society. The objective of the society is to provide education, cultivation and conservation of the exceptionally beautiful and long-lasting, flowering plant. At this event, orchid growers will enter competitions in categories such as orchid arrangements; orchid and local grown cut flowers; orchid and imported cut flowers and corsages. The societys judging system is in keeping with the standards of the American Orchid Society. Naipaul says members of the society formed a conservation subcommittee to undertake a project to create an inventory of local orchid species. Plants will be on sale and there is a small entry fee. I FEAR FOR MY LIFE Defence attorney Yohan Pancham made the application on behalf of his client Reeshie Surajbally, 39, a technician who appeared before Senior Magistrate Rajendra Rambachan in the Fist Court. PC Alcala of the Child Protection Unit (CPU) charged Surajbally with two counts of kidnapping (one for each minor); two counts of serving alcohol and two counts of sexual assault. The charges stemmed from an alleged incident in the Princes Town district on Tuesday. As police walked him to the courthouse, a crowd jeered at Surajbally, shouting insults with an elderly crying out, Let him go...we will deal with him! Magistrate Rambachan ordered the public gallery to be cleared as he heard the case in-camera (in private). Both sisters were not present. The charges against Surajbally, a father of two of Lothians Road, Princes Town, were laid indictably and he was not called upon to enter a guilty or not-guilty plea. Court prosecutor Sgt Roget Richardson objected to bail on three grounds. First, the prosecutor submitted, the criminal record tracing was not done on the accused. Secondly, if granted bail, the prosecution believes attempts may be made to interfere with witnesses or obstruct the course of justice. And lastly, Sgt Richardson submitted, the accused should be kept in custody for his own protection. Attorney Pancham, in his bail application, also expressed concern for his clients safety while in police custody. For safety reasons, the attorney asked the magistrate to have Surajbally isolated from other prisoners as he (the accused) had indicated he was fearful for his life. Magistrate Rambachan said the court is not empowered to make such orders to the prison authorities. Instead, the magistrate referred the attorney to the Prisons and Police services to raise his concerns. Magistrate Rambachan then denied Surajbally bail and remanded him into custody to return to court on Wednesday May 25. Contacted for comment last night, Commissioner of Prisons Sterling Stewart said special provisions would be made to protect Surajbally. Stewart said a risk assessment was done yesterday and it was decided that Surajbally would be placed in a secured area by himself and he would be monitored around the clock. (Additional reporting by NALINEE SEELAL) TV presenters mother found murdered Bharath went to the Forensic Science Centre (FSC) in St James where she identified her mothers body and was later comforted by a female friend as they left the FSC. Police believe Ramlochan who lived in South Oropouche may have been abducted, beaten on the head and robbed of cash, while on her way to pay bills in San Fernando. Officers of the Southern Division were alerted to a call that the body of a woman, clad in a blue top and black tights, was seen along a grassy, gravel road off the M2 Ring Road. Officers led by ASP Rawle Ramdeo and including Insp Don Gajadhar went to the scene. Ramlochans handbag was found next to her body but there was no form of identification and her head appeared to have been bashed in. Yesterday, Bharath told Newsday the last time she saw her mother alive was on Tuesday afternoon when she dropped her at home before returning to her (Bharath) Chaguanas home. Bharath said she was in the habit of telephoning her mother every hour and on Wednesday morning, her mother told her, she was going to San Fernando to pay bills. Bharath added that at about 9.30 am, she began calling her mothers cell phone and when she got no reply, grew very worried. I grew very worried because I know what the crime situation is in this country. When I heard the news that a womans body was found, I dismissed the report because initial information was that the woman appeared to be in her 40s, Bharath said. On Wednesday morning, she asked a neighbour of her mother, to check and see if she had returned home. When the neighbour reported that the house appeared to be locked up, Bharath lodged a Missing Persons report to police. I did not sleep a wink on Wednesday night hoping my sweet, loving and gentle mother would be found alive, Bharath said. Later, Bharath was told by police to go to the FSC. Her worst fears were realised when Bharath found her mother in the morgue. No arrest has been made and investigations are continuing Maduro comes calling National Security Minister Edmund Dillon said this country is closely monitoring the situation and will ensure there is no illegal entry of Venezuelans into TT. Dillon said no travel restrictions are being placed on Venezuelans entering TT and the Immigration Department will ensure Venezuelans do not stay beyond their legal limit in TT. Young said Maduros ministerial delegation will include Foreign Affairs Minister Delcy Rodriguez, Petroleum and Mining Minister Eulogio Del Pino, and Industry and Commerce Minister Miguel Perez Abad. This is a visit that is being conducted at this time to enhance bilateral cooperation between our two countries in the areas of foreign policy, energy and trade amongst others and to take stock of the progress that has been made since our delegation went across to Venezuela on October 26, 2015, he explained. Asked whether Maduros visit was appropriate given the events taking place in Venezuela, Young said, Venezuela is one of our closest neighbours. The President of Venezuela who is still the sitting President, has made a request of our government for meetings during the day and we are facilitating those meetings. Describing Mondays meeting as a continuation of talks held in Venezuela last October, Dillon said, What is happening in Venezuela, we are fully aware of but that does not mean the discussions should not continue. He said this country is still interested in collaborating with Venezuela in energy, security and trade. He reiterated that Government is monitoring the situation in Venezuela and stated, If there is a situation where refugees start coming across to TT, then we have to be prepared for them. He explained, Under international humanitarian law, one cannot turn back people into your country. If they come in as refugees, then you have to be able to take care of them. However, Dillon added that while people can apply under international humanitarian law to any country for refugee status, it is up to the receiving country to grant that status. Judge tells father, sue your daughter But a High Court Judge told Mohammed yesterday that he might be procedurally wrong, in substituting the deceased wife in the contempt of court proceedings, with his daughter. Mohammed, 66, from Lachoos Road, Penal, was yesterday advised by Justice Gregory Aboud, that it might serve him better if he files a separate claim against one of his daughters for the balance her mother owed her father $89,000. Aboud said in the San Fernando High Court yesterday, I remember the case. What is before me is committal proceedings for contempt of court. How could I join, or substitute a daughter, in committal proceedings in a matrimonial settlement, between her father and her mother? So if the daughter doesnt pay, do I send her to jail? Mohammeds matrimonial claim for half of the property and money he and his ex-wife, Vedha, 63, once shared, and the subsequent filing of contempt of court proceedings against her, shot into the limelight in March last year. Aboud threatened to jail Vedha for contempt of court for not paying him his portion of the divorce settlement amounting to $125,000. Before Vedhas death in November, she had paid $26,000 and staved off a jail term after Aboud told her to walk with her toothbrush. Mohammed lived with Vedha at their Lachoos Road, Penal, home and they have three children. But following Vedhas death, Mohammed never withdrew his claim for the balance of the money. His attorney, Stephen Boodram, instructed by Jeevan Andrew Rampersad, on Wednesday filed an application in the High Court for Mohammeds daughter, Alicia Patrina Delpino, to be substituted for her mother as respondent and be made to pay the balance of the money owed to her father. There is no order against the daughter, Aboud said. You cannot jail the daughter for the wrongdoing of the wife. You might have to bring a separate claim. Rampersad, however, went on to explain that Delpino was a stakeholder having been entrusted with the money her mother had before her passing. It was on that basis, he submitted, the application for a substitution was filed. But the judge explained that the case before him was committal proceedings to have Vedha pay or found to be in contempt of court and since she died, a child could not replace her as the respondent in any subsequent proceedings arising from the divorce settlement between husband and wife. More power for police commanders Addressing the post-Cabinet media briefing, Dillon spoke about plans to empower the nine divisional police commanders, increasing joint police/army operations in more parts of the country based on intelligence and bolstering of this countrys maritime security. Young highlighted several pieces of anti-crime legislation Government has brought and will be bringing to Parliament. He also said the population should take note that an Opposition MP has opted to legally challenge Governments efforts to simplify the process to appoint a permanent Commissioner of Police (CoP). He asked who is serious in their effort to deal with crime? Describing what he called Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessars politicising of crime at a news conference on Wednesday as unfortunate, Dillon revealed that he briefed Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on crime when Rowley returned from his overseas trip last Saturday. The National Security Council (chaired by Rowley) met on Tuesday for four hours to discuss several anti-crime strategies. Dillon said he met with heads of the nine police divisions and these commanders will be empowered, to take control of the nine divisions. He stressed the commanders, must be able to treat with that real estate. He continued, So I am empowering them and making them accountable for the nine divisions that they are in charge of throughout TT. Declaring the police commanders must map out their territories and know who are the perpetrators within their respective territories, Dillon said intelligence will be coordinated through the fusion centre of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA), to make it operational for intelligence to be fed back into the nine divisions. Dillon indicated the Defence Force will be part and parcel of police operations in the nine divisions, based on intelligence. Disclosing that rural army/police coastal patrols on land were supplementing the maritime patrols being undertaken by the coast guard in certain parts of TT, Dillon said joint army/police operations took place recently in Bayshore, Marabella and Enterprise, Chaguanas. They will definitely be going in certain areas in TT, based on intelligence. Coming out of his meeting with the commanders, Dillon said there were several operations throughout TT, resulting in the seizure of narcotics and weapons and the arrest of 93 people. Based on the legal framework, Dillon said known perpetrators will be targeted and will not be allowed to live a normal life. He said Government is not satisfied with the countrys murder toll for the year which stands at 170, adding that the statistics showed that eight murders were the result of altercations; nine from domestic violence; 54 were gang-related; 29 were revenge/reprisal killings; 15 were due to robberies; 35 were drug-related, and the cause for another 28 murders were still being investigated. Hard times teachers delivering pizza Among the applicants seeking jobs as pizza delivery drivers were permanently employed school teachers - one of them with as much as 30 years service. It was one of the things that surprised me, Vice President of Pizza Hut Navin Maharaj confessed to reporters yesterday when they officially opened the doors of the newest branch to the public. There were people within the regular industry, like the teaching service applying for jobs as drivers in order to supplement their income. That is a strategic move on the brand especially where our focus has been on deliveries this year. We continue to see opportunities where people already having full time jobs are applying for part time jobs in the afternoons to be part of our delivery business. That has been a very significant observation. Yesterday, the ribbon was cut to officially declare open the newest branch which boasts a seating capacity of over 200 complete with an indoor dining facility exclusive to children. Maharaj told reporters: Under one year ago we opened in Chaguanas and we thought it would have been the largest, but this one in terms of layout and design , is just over 200 seats for dining. According to Maharaj, because South Park Shopping Centre is situated between Marabella and San Fernando and the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) campus next door as well as a movie theatre and other businesses in the area, the location was ideal for their type of business. It is a big investment for the group, he said. A total of 40 persons have been employed full time and within the next two to three months, another ten to 12 persons will be added to operate the delivery store which is not yet opened to the public, he said. Maharaj assured there will be no price increase in their pizzas despite a downturn in the economy. Pizza Hut is part of the Prestige Holding Group and Maharaj has been at the helm for the past two years. Pizza Hut, an American brand, opened its first restaurant in this country in Valsayn 22 years ago. Anglican Church: Review marriage laws Berkleys statement follows Roman Catholic Archbishop of Port-of-Spain Joseph Harris description of child marriages as legalised statutory rape. In a release yesterday, Berkley said, The Anglican Church would not perform marriages of this age group and does not support the practice. We would support efforts to adjust the age of consent upwards. He noted there was no Anglican representative present at the Inter-Religious Organisations meeting at which a decision was made to uphold the marriage of girls as young as 12-year old girls Berkley said the current debate on child marriages has to be seen in the light of the Marriage Acts in this country. He said Anglicans and other Christians are authorised to perform marriages under the Civil Marriage Act, which carries an age of consent of 18 years. On the other hand, he said, there are other Marriage Acts which govern the conduct of Hindu, Muslim, and Orisha marriages. Latter Day Saints says no This follows the revelation by Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph Harris that neither he, nor his Churchs regular representative, was at a recent IRO board meeting at which the issue of child marriage was discussed and an alleged unanimous decision took place. He described child marriages as legalised statutory rape. Adding their voice to the controversial issue yesterday was the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In a statement to the media yesterday, the Church also said it was not represented at the meeting. The Church affirmed that it did not convey its perspective on the issue to the Executive Committee of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) of Trinidad and Tobago, before or after the meeting, and it is not in favour of child marriage. Following recent public statements made by the current President of the IRO, there have been several calls by media practitioners, as well as on social media, for the member organisations of the IRO to express their position on child marriage, and the retention of provisions in current laws that allow for such a practice, the Church said. One of the tenets of the Church is that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creators plan for the eternal destiny of His children. We believe that marriage is a pledge, or solemn covenant, a spiritual sign or bond between the contracting parties themselves and between them and God. This covenant should be entered into willingly by two mature individuals who are emotionally developed to a stage at which they can responsibly make that decision, with adequate consideration of the consequences for themselves and especially for any children that may result from that union. The Church added that while it is in support of the right of individuals to practice their religious beliefs according to the dictates of their own conscience, if the exercise of such rights appear to be in conflict with the laws of the State, then the State must ...make and enforce laws after informed con Young: UNC being irresponsible Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar claimed statements by Al-Rawi in the Senate on May 10, and at a UWI forum on Wednesday, about the Strategic Services Agencys (SSA) work could result in a mistrial of the Dana Seetahal murder case. Commenting on Persad-Bissessars claims, Young said, To be honest, there is not much concern with it. Supporting Al-Rawis statement that he is not in possession of any information that he is not supposed to have, Young stated, He certainly did not receive any information from the Minister of National Security. Saying both of Al-Rawis statements were unsurprisingly being taken out of context, Young said it was clear there is a concerted attack against the AG, who we have the highest levels of confidence in. That comes from none other than the leader of Cabinet (Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley). Young continued, What the AG said was that he knows that intelligence- driven information, which may have been intercepted, has led to charges being laid. He declared, That is not the provision of any information. That does not get into any infringement, at any level whatsoever, of the legislation that is the Interception of Communications Act (ICA) or the SSA. So once again we see an Opposition trying to distract a national conversation and trying to mislead the public. Saying he and Al-Rawi sit on the National Security Council which is chaired by Rowley, Young pointed out that certain information may come to us but this is not the information that the AG has relied on. Young indicated that Al-Rawi said that at a surface level that interception is what has led to charges being laid. Recalling that former Senate president Timothy Hamel-Smith and other people were asking Al-Rawi about the SSA and the effects of interception at the UWI forum, Young said what Al-Rawi said in response will absolutely in no way whatsoever affect a fair trial. The minister explained, He did not get into any specifics. He just said he understands that there was interception used and that interception presumably forms part of the cadre of evidence that is being used for prosecution. Young continued, The attitude being taken by the Opposition, of highlighting... trying to misrepresent... that goes more into the realm of potential defence mistrial issues. He added that Al-Rawis statement was not injudicious in any form or fashion. Persad-Bissessar has called on Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams and the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate whether Al-Rawi or anyone else breached the ICA or SSA Acts. $91.7M spent, but no internal audit According to the Corporations annual report for that year, which was only tabled in Parliament last week, the revised allocation of the Corporation increased to $91.7 million, up from $59 million in 2012. However, there are no internal auditors. The Corporation does not have an internal audit department however; the Ministry of Local Government conducts internal audits during the financial year, the Corporation says. The external audit function is carried out by the Auditor Generals Department. At the same time the report, signed by Corporation Chairman Hazarie Ramdeen, says the Corporation also failed to properly comply with external examination. It listed lack of timely responses to audit queries among corporation weaknesses. Despite the various challenges presented, the Mayaro/ Rio Claro Regional Corporation has effectively delivered municipal services which demonstrate the corporations dedication to improvement of the quality of life for residents, physical infrastructural development and social enrichment of the region of Mayaro/Rio Claro, the report states. Govts have failed the homeless The Parliaments Joint Select Committee on Social Services and Public Administration heard of a litany of failings on the part of the State in its approach to this issue. These included: a lack of coordination of various agencies; outdated laws; mismatches in data; no measures to track or record the homeless in a database; unsuitable sentences upon conviction for loitering; the absence of regular, formal meetings by stakeholders; and inadequate facilities to holistically assess the homeless. Deodath Dulalchan, Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police said homeless or socially displaced persons are arrested under the Summary Offences Act 1921. In a recent case, 22 such persons were reprimanded. What happens after that, to prevent the revolving door of persons just being arrested and going back onto the streets, the officer asked. He said exercises often bring institutions to a standstill. At the end of the day, most of them would have ended back up on the street, Dulalchan said. Whilst we understand there is a role for the police, can the other agencies not supplement that role? Jacinta Bailey-Sobers, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services, said over the years a number of strategies have been pursued. These included an action plan; a Cabinet task force; one act of Parliament (which lapsed) and various inter-ministerial committees. All of these efforts met with limited success it would seem, Bailey-Sobers said. She said a two-day count done over Monday and Tuesday showed 349 persons on the streets of Trinidad. But the State officials present could not even agree on the data and, at one stage, under questioning by Cumuto/Manzanilla MP Christine Newallo-Hosein, officials of the Ministrys Social Displacement and the Inter-Agency Unit appeared at odds with each other on procedures relating to the processing of homeless persons. Why is it both units are not saying the same thing, Newallo- Hosein asked. Port-of-Spain Mayor Keron Valentine said the numbers given by the Ministry seemed low, as the capital alone had more than 400 homeless persons, according to previous counts. UNC Senator Khadijah Ameen said she was concerned over the lack of data and called for collaboration with the University of the West Indies. Bailey-Sobers said one of their students had been engaged. Socially displaced persons have a range of problems including: mental illness, drug addiction as well as economic and social pressures. Yet, individuals who may have one or more of these problems requiring a range of interventions cannot be assessed at one spot. The committee heard of 242 persons in privately-run facilities scattered all over Trinidad. Glenda Jennings-Smith, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, said she was not seeing enough cooperation. What I am not seeing here is real collaboration between the different units, she said. Everybody is passing the buck. She lamented that out of 408 vulnerable persons engaged by the Social Development Ministry in one period, only 49 were rehabilitated Hillary Clinton set up false flag gas attack to blame Syria and justify a U.S. invasion A recently published report says that a renowned journalist is claiming that the Obama administration falsely blamed the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad for the sarin gas attack, and that as secretary of state at the time, Hillary Clinton was directly involved. As reported by The Free Thought Project, in April 2013 Britain and France informed the United Nations they had found credible evidence that Syrian government forces used the deadly gas in an attack against rebel forces, which was documented by CBS News 60 Minutes program nearly two years later. A few months after the attack, the Obama administration said publicly that it had evidence Assads forces were behind the attack and as such, according to published reports at the time, Obama authorized the U.S. military to begin providing direct support to various Syrian rebel groups. Since the funding of moderate rebels began, as of August 2015, per the United Nations, more than a quarter-million people have been killed in the Syrian civil war, with more than 7.6 million displaced. All of this death and destruction carried out by a sadistic army of rebels whove been funded and armed by the United States government, based on, what we are now told, was a complete fabrication, The Free Thought Project reported. Now, journalist Seymour Hersh has revealed, in a series of books and interviews, that the Obama administration falsely blamed the gas attack on Assad, as an excuse to begin providing support for anti-Assad factions: As Eric Zuesse explained in Strategic Culture, Hersh pointed to a report from British intelligence saying that the sarin that was used didnt come from Assads stockpiles. Hersh also said that a secret agreement in 2012 was reached between the Obama Administration and the leaders of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, to set up a sarin gas attack and blame it on Assad so that the U.S. could invade and overthrow Assad. Hersh intimated that the gas actually came from a stockpile in Libya, one that was maintained by the late dictator Mohamar Gaddafi. He also said that the U.S. consulate in Benghazi served as a rat line to smuggle those and other weapons into Syria via Turkey. Clinton, Hersh said, was acutely aware of the rat line. Of Hillary Clintons involvement, Hersh told AlterNet: The only thing we know is that she was very close to Petraeus who was the CIA director at the time shes not out of the loop, she knows when theres covert ops. That ambassador [Christopher Stevens] who was killed, he was known as a guy, from what I understand, as somebody, who would not get in the way of the CIA. As I wrote, on the day of the mission he was meeting with the CIA base chief and the shipping company. He was certainly involved, aware and witting of everything that was going on. And theres no way somebody in that sensitive of a position is not talking to the boss, by some channel. Hershs claim is supported by another journalist, Christof Lehmann, who reported that he discovered, after the attacks, an evidence trail leading back to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, CIA Director John Brennan, Saudi Intelligence Chief Prince Bandar, and Saudi Arabias Interior Ministry. Lehmann noted that experts, including some in Russia, have repeatedly said that the chemical weapon used in Syria could not have been standard-issue from the Syrian military, and that all available evidence including the fact that those who first offered aid to the victims were not harmed indicates the use of a liquid, homemade sarin compound. And that is corroborated by the seizure of such chemicals in Syria and Turkey. Read the full report here. Submit a correction >> Obama criticizes China for violating rights with new counterterrorism laws modeled after the Patriot Act (NaturalNews) Sometimes President Barack Obama cant get out of the way of his own hypocrisy. In December, the Chinese government implemented a controversial new counterterrorism law that some see as a means of tightening Beijings already tight control over the media and threaten intellectual property of foreign technology companies. As reported by Agence-France Presse: The countrys first anti-terror law comes as Beijing wages a controversial campaign to stamp out ethnic violence linked to the western Xinjiang region and works to tighten controls over political dissent online and on the ground. The homeland of the mostly Muslim Uighur ethnic minority has been plagued by unrest in recent years, provoking China to launch a police crackdown on separatist terrorists it says are behind the violence. In a bid to tamp down online communication that the communist government deemed contributory to the violence, drafts of the legislation have included measures that would require technology companies to install backdoors in applications and IT products, or turn over keys to encryption measures that may threaten freedom of expression as well as intellectual property. So concerned is Obama about the laws provisions that he brought them up with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the latters state visit to the U.S. in September. Double standard Only, heres the thing: China actually studied U.S. counterterrorism legislation in crafting their own version of the law. Whats more, the very concerns Obama has expressed about the backdoors in IT products like routers, especially he has supported in the U.S., and of course, in the name of counterterrorism. In January, Obama came to the defense of British Prime Minister David Cameron, who was seeking the installation of electronic backdoors on IT products in the United Kingdom. Social media and the Internet is the primary way in which these terrorist organizations are communicating, Obama said during a press conference with Cameron. Thats not different from anybody else, but theyre good at it and when we have the ability to track that in a way that is legal, conforms with due process, rule of law and presents oversight, then thats a capability that we have to preserve, he added. FBI Director James Comey has called for them as well, and for the same reasons. While the administration ultimately backed off its pursuit of backdoors, the Chinese like millions of Americans also point out that these concerns are coming from the same U.S. government that conducts routine electronic surveillance on its citizens. While formulating our counter terrorism law, we learned from the legislatures of other countries, including the U.S., foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters last month, adding that some of the bills provisions were similar to American telecommunications legislation. Because of that, Obamas criticism amounts to a double standard, he said, adding the Chinese bill will not have any restriction on the lawful activities of enterprises. It will not leave backdoors, and it will not impede freedom of expression online or the intellectual property rights of enterprises, he said. Cyberspying in disguise As for cybersecurity legislation Obama signed in December, more the a few critics believe it will still allow massive government surveillance, with little parameters and little oversight. Whats more, the legislation will indemnify technology companies if they share user/customer information with the government, even if there is no warrant or probable cause. As with previous versions of the cybersecurity bill, the new legislation will, as reported by the Christian Science Monitor, give liability protection to companies that share cyberthreat information with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including details on data on breaches, phishing attacks, and malware downloads. The law also calls upon DHS to automate data sharing with other federal government agencies and scrub any personal information included thats not relevant to cybersecurity. Sources: ArsTechnica.com TheHill.com News.Yahoo.com NaturalNews.com CSMonitor.com Submit a correction >> Launched a Mobile App 'Monitor' for transformation of President New Delhi, Fri, 20 May 2016 NI Wire Smart Presidents Estate will work around the 4H theme of a humane, Hi-Tech, Heritage and Happy Township, says President The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated an Intelligent Operations Centre (IOC) in Rashtrapati Bhavan and launched a Mobile App 'Monitor' for transformation of President's Estate into a smart township at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan (May 19, 2016). Speaking on the occasion, the President said that Presidents Secretariat follows a value-oriented governance model that is based on the core civilizational values of compassion and service to others. Such a model relies on happiness to come not from material well-being but from following values that are the highest principles of human existence. Its approach to welfare in the Presidents Estate is on these lines. He stated that if he is to use a word to describe a human emotion associated with this ongoing transformation of quality of life in the township, it will be happiness. It is happiness that holds the key to the well-being of people and for the development of human society. He said that recognizing the smiles on the faces of his people, from now he would like to add one more H to the existing model of 3H, and that is Happiness. From now, Smart Presidents Estate will work around the 4H theme of a Humane, Hi-tech, Heritage and Happy Township. The President said that the Smart Presidents Estate can be a replicable model which can be adopted in other parts of the country through citizens engagement, public and private sector participation and deployment of intensive technologies. He said that Rashtrapati Bhavan is in the process of replicating its experience of Smart Township by applying and transferring knowledge and expertise to five villages in an adjoining state. We will try to convert these villages into model smart villages by following a convergence model. We will facilitate the establishment of linkages between expert bodies, administrative agencies and relevant state/ district level organizations. This will lead to the leveraging of different stakeholder expertise in finding unique solutions to the varied problems at the village level. On the occasion, Secretary to the President announced institution of awards to keep the Smart Presidents Estate a dynamic and inclusive platform. The President said that measurable performance parameters to judge the performance of the different departments under the Secretariat will help in the incentivization process. He said that this approach in urban governance where Presidents Secretariat recognizes stakeholders for their contribution to public causes is noteworthy. The President said that the scarcity of natural resources as well as trained and skilled manpower poses a challenge in governance. There is enough on this Earth to meet the need of the society as a whole, but over exploitation and greed could lead to disasters and catastrophe. In this context, technology is a powerful enabler to optimize the utilization and management of resources. Governments programmes like Digital India, Swachh Bharat, and Skill India are transformative in nature and their successful implementation will alter the governance landscape of the country. He called upon the citizens of India to dedicate themselves to the cause of the nation and society through constructive contribution to these programmes in all possible ways. Source: PIB Namotel Acche Din: Here's What You Should Know About The World's Cheapest Smartphone New Delhi, Fri, 20 May 2016 NI Wire Do you what's the latest rage in smartphone industry these days? Well, everyone is striving hard to release the cheapest smartphone in the world. Spicing up the already enticing competition a Bengaluru based startup, Namotel has announced the launch of world's cheapest smartphone - Acche Din and it's available at an exceptionally unbelievable price of R.s 99. It is noteworthy that at a price tag of Rs.99, it for sure beats the petitioners to the title Docoss and Ringing Bells. But the biggest question is the accountability of this device. Is Acche Din a worthy device? The smartphone is available for pre-booking on company's official website which started on May 17 and is to stay till May 25. The Namotel is promoted by Madhav Reddy. The company is new and was never heard of before. However, if one looks at Docoss and Ringing Bells, they too were unknown unless they got their share of fame designing the cheapest smartphones. So far we don't have adequate information about this brand which apparently increases the doubt over its authenticity. As per Phone Radar, a company official, the device is made in India and would be sold to Indian citizens who will have legitimate Aadhaar Cards. The device is available at Rs. 99 but interestingly the website talks about a shipping charge of Rs. 199 to deliver it at user's doorstep. Now this is somewhat comforting as one doesn't need to pay unless the phone arrives. It indeed has a lot in it to create anticipation but let's see what all specifications it boasts of at such a price. Namotel Acche Din At A Glance Talking of specifications, Namotel Acche Din has a 4-inch display with 480x800 pixels WVGA screen. It runs Android 5.1 Lollipop backed by 1GB RAM. The device is powered by 1.3GHz quad-core processor and comes with 4GB storage. If you thought at a price of 99, it might lack the camera then you're absolutely wrong. The device comes with 2MP primary camera and has a VGA front-camera for taking photos. It even supports dual SIM card and has a microSD card slots which state that the memory in it can be expanded further. Namotel Acche Din supports 3G bands. It's indeed intriguing that if we compare the specifications this device offers, the value would come something around Rs. 2,999. But it's really surprising as to how the company is selling it at such a low price which won't even cover the manufacturing cost. In the recent past, we've come across many scams which offered cheap smartphones and turned out to be completely a fail. We really wonder if this one will also turn out to be a similar experience but this is just an assumption and the way promotions are going on, we will have to wait and watch to see how long it runs and more importantly performs as per user expectations! Don't forget to watch this space as we bring to you the latest updates about the same! Lenovo Launches Sub- brand ZUK Z1 In India For Rs.13,499 New Delhi, Fri, 20 May 2016 NI Wire Like the other smartphone companies in the market, Lenovo too is keen to rule the roost when it comes to budget smartphones. After launching its K series and Moto series from its self owned Motorola stable, Lenovo has come up with its sub-brand ZUK in India. It's an online-only sub-brand and is geared up to take over mighty ones like the Xiaomi, OnePlus and LeEco. Z1 has turned to be the pioneer in the series to have the ZUK as brand. It is priced Rs. 13, 499 and it would be interesting to see how the sub-brand of Lenovo fares in the country. But before passing on the judgment let us analyze the smartphone and look at its features in more detail. Overview Boasting of a metal frame coupled with plastic panel at the back, ZUK Z1 for sure has a naive yet striking look. The smartphone has a wonderful built quality and is even lightweight. As the fingerprint sensor on the device is blended perfectly with its front glass panel, it stays away from sticking out. Its curved back offers the needed grip and adds to its overall appeal. It has a 4,100mAh battery which is quite commendable given the lightweight it has. ZUK Z1 has a 5.5-inch Full HD display with resolution of 1,080x1,920 pixels and pixel density of around 401ppi. It offers decent color reproduction and contrast ratio. Its viewing angles are upright too. But as the display is reflective, you'll find it really hard to use it under direct sunlight. Performance & Camera The ZUK Z1 has quad-core 2.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor which is paired with 3GB RAM and 64GB internal memory. Though it's a dated processor but it happens to be flagship-class because of which it causes no problem at all. The phone fares well in the performance department as it can very well tackle multi-tasking. Even gaming is quite good on the device. So far it's one of the cheapest devices offering 64GB of in-built storage but again, it lacks microSD card slot. The device supports dual-SIM and you get 4G connectivity for both of the SIMs. It has a 4,100mAh battery which will last for a day under moderate use. The device comes equipped with USB Type-C port. So far we feel that it's the software of ZUK Z1 which excels the rest of its features. It's quite different from the characteristic convention UIs found in most of the Chinese smartphones. The ZUK Z1 runs Cyanogen OS 12.1 supported by Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. Cyanogen OS allows you to have widespread customization. The software runs smoothly without any bus or error. If you're among the ones who love tweaking your device's look & feel very often, the ZUK Z1 is indeed an ideal choice. Coming to camera, it has 13MP primary camera backed by dual LED flash. It also has optical image stabilization and has a commendable 8MP selfie camera. ZUK Z1's camera is really fast and capable of capturing quite good pictures. But let us warn you that under low light, it won't offer desired results. Verdict We can't deny the fact that at Rs 13,499, it's indeed a budget smartphone with quite amazing features and a decent look. It may remind you of the earlier launched OnePlus One but as it's dated now, ZUK Z1 can surely be a perfect replacement. If you are looking for high-end functionalities then this surely is not the device for you. It's apt for those who have an ordinary use and want a smartphone below Rs. 15, 000. At this price, ZUK Z1 fares absolutely well and from what we believe, it will face competition only from the recently released Moto G4 Plus. Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain. Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred. For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here. Share Tweet In the Broadway musical masterpiece Oklahoma, courtesy of the genius of Rogers and Hammerstein, there is a song called, Everythings Up To Date in Kansas City. It starts as follows: I went to Kansas City on a Friday By Saturday I learned a thing or two But up 'till then I didn't have an idea Of what the mod'rn world was comin' to. The rest of the lyrics to what is one of my favorite shows are equally strangely modern. In fact, here is the YouTube link for those who may not know the score. What makes Kansas City so up-to-date today is a posting on AndroidHeadlines.com that Nokia (News - Alert) will soon be putting on a proof of concept (POC) involving, of all things, drones. Nokia is planning to fly three drones over the Kansas City Speedway as early as mid-June. They will be wired up with two Samsung Galaxy S4 units and an LG G2 (News - Alert) unit, in an effort to test signal strength and find out which radio waves are reachable as the drones make their flight. What is known is that Nokia has applied for special temporary authority (STA) with the FCC (News - Alert) for the drone trials and that the plans are to use one drone as the control unit while testing the remaining two for strength and accessibility. During the planned three-month period, the drone tests will measure AT&Ts LTE (News - Alert) networks on the frequencies of 1700-2100MHz and 1900MHz. The goal of the testing as specified in Nokias application is to use the PoC to collect RF data for mobile network optimization. By measuring RF performance in a space populated by many people at specific times, the company is looking to determine how well the network performs and potentially find ways to improve it. As the posting notes, prep work and NDA requirements mean little else is known about the full scope of the PoC. It also said that this will not be a first in terms of drone use by communications companies. In fact, the utility of drones for use in comms is growing. This includes T-Mobile (News - Alert) using them for tower inspections and comments from their U.S. CEO and President John Legere that he expects them to be used for telephony apps soon. For those of use with a little industry experience behind us, this may sound like deja vu to a certain extent. Going back over several decades, non-satellite high altitude vehicles as communications platforms for advanced networking have been the subject of several proposals. These include using airlines when in-flight and modern dirigibles (aka hot air balloons). In short, everything is going to be up-to-date in Kansas City, but unlike the refrain in the song this is the beginning of something with a lot of promise and not about as far as they can go. Edited by Ken Briodagh Tri Alpha Energy, nuclear fusion startup, has raised $500 million. Tri Alphas setup borrows some of the principles of high-energy particle accelerators, such as the Large Hadron Collider, to fire beams of plasma into a central vessel where the fusion reaction takes place. Last August the company said it had succeeded in keeping a high-energy plasma stable in the vessel for five millisecondsan infinitesimal instant of time, but enough to show that it could be done indefinitely. Since then that time has been upped to 11.5 milliseconds. The next challenge is to make the plasma hot enough for the fusion reaction to generate more energy than is needed to run it. How hot? Something like 3 billion C, or 200 times the temperature of the suns core. No metal on Earth could withstand such a temperature. But because the roiling ball of gas is confined by a powerful electromagnetic field, it doesnt touch the interior of the machine. The photos seen here were taken a few days before Tri Alpha began dismantling the machine to build a much larger and more powerful version that will fully demonstrate the concept. That could lead to a prototype reactor sometime in the 2020s. Tri-alpha energy was in stealth mode for many years but now has their own website. Compact Toroidal injector test stand The C2U is the worlds largest compact toroid device. 20 meters in length and 1.4 meters in diameter. Magnetic fields of 3.5 tesla deliver 1 megajoule in microseconds forming and accelerating compact toroids to 600,000 kilometers per hour. Tri Alphas machine produces a doughnut of plasma, but in it the flow of particles in the plasma produces all of the magnetic field holding the plasma together. This approach, known as a field-reversed configuration (FRC), has been known since the 1960s. But despite decades of work, researchers could get the blobs of plasma to last only about 0.3 milliseconds before they broke up or melted away. In 1997, the Canadian-born physicist Norman Rostoker of the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues proposed a new approach. The following year, they set up Tri Alpha, now based in an unremarkableand unlabeledindustrial unit here. Building up from tabletop devices, by last year the company was employing 150 people and was working with C-2, a 23-meter-long tube ringed by magnets and bristling with control devices, diagnostic instruments, and particle beam generators. The machine forms two smoke rings of plasma, one near each end, by a proprietary process and fires them toward the middle at nearly a million kilometers per hour. At the center they merge into a bigger FRC, transforming their kinetic energy into heat. Previous attempts to create long-lasting FRCs were plagued by the twin demons that torment all fusion reactor designers. The first is turbulence in the plasma that allows hot particles to reach the edge and so lets heat escape. Second is instability: the fact that hot plasma doesnt like being confined and so wriggles and bulges in attempts to get free, eventually breaking up altogether. Rostoker, a theorist who had worked in many branches of physics including particle physics, believed the solution lay in firing high-speed particles tangentially into the edge of the plasma. The fast-moving incomers would follow much wider orbits in the plasmas magnetic field than native particles do; those wide orbits would act as a protective shell, stiffening the plasma against both heat-leaking turbulence and instability. SOURCES Technology Review, Physics of Plasmas, Trialpha Energy, Youtube, Science Nebraska has recently been hit by a statewide drought. Most of the state, but especially Northeast Nebraska, has experienced little to no precipitation within the past couple of months. Records are being broken as the days without rainfall continue. This drought, however, should not come as We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Doha proposed the organization of an international conference to relaunch Tunisias battered economy, which has been affected since the 2011 revolution. The proposal was made on Wednesday by Emir Tamim Ben Hamad Al Thani during during talks with visiting Tunisian President Caid Essebsi. President Essebsi welcomed the announcement and thanked the Qatari Emir Tamim Ben Hamad Al Thani for the initiative. Even though the venue of conference was not announced, reports say it may be held in October. The conference will seek to gather the investments necessary to implement the large-scale projects planned under Tunisias five-year development plan. Tunisias economy has severely suffered from the 2011 revolution. The situation has gone worst since last year following three terrorist attacks which have left more 70 people dead, among whom more than 50 foreign tourists. Economy experts put last years economic growth at less than 1 per cent but forecasts for 2016 say growth may reach 2 per cent. The Tunisian Government, which claims it does not have a magic wand, is also facing growing unemployment rate. Unemployment rate has been estimated at 15 per cent of the total population (11 million) with more than 600,000 young graduates still on the dole. Egyptian authorities Thursday said theory that EgyptAir plane A320 which disappeared and crashed in the Mediterranean in early hours of Thursday on its way to Cairo from Paris, a terrorism act cannot be ruled out. Civil aviation minister, Sherif Fathi told reporters that it was too early to draw conclusion but it is highly possible that a part from a mechanic problem, the plane might have been victim of terrorism. The possibility of having a different action or a terror attack is higher than the possibility of having a technical failure, Fathi said. A Russian spymaster also underlined the terror act theory saying that missing plane in all likelihood might be brought down by a terror act. Unfortunately there has been another incident today concerning an Egyptian Airlines Plane. It appears this is a terrorist act that has killed 66 citizens of about 12 countries, said Alexander Bortnikov, head of Russian Federal Security Service. The ill-fated EgyptAir plane took off in Paris at 11.09pm local time from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport but went missing from radar at 2.30 am Egyptian local time as it was 16km into the Egyptian airspace. EgyptAir flight MS804 with 66 people on board is believed to have crashed in the Mediterranean, at around 130 miles from the island of Karpathos, Greek sources said. EgyptAir official later on Thursday refuted indications that debris of the plane was found. We stand corrected on finding the wreckage because what we identified is not a part of our plane. So the search and rescue is still going on, EgyptAirs Vice Chairman Ahmed Abdel told CNN. Earlier, Greek authorities announced a Greek frigate found remnants of the plane 230 miles south-east of the Greek island of Crete. The debris is believed to be lifejacket and a chair. As speculations mount that the plane may be victim of terrorism, Egyptian President al-Sisi ordered intensification of searches, the Egyptian presidency announced in a statement. The president has issued instructions to all concerned state bodies, including the ministry of civil aviation naval and air forces to intensify the search for the Egyptian plane and to take all necessary measures to find the plane debris, said the statement. Egyptian and French authorities are still baffled by the mystery behind the crash of the EgyptAir plane. Both have pledged to detect what happened to the aircraft. We have a duty to know everything about the cause and what has happened, Francois Holland of France said. No theory is ruled out and none is certain right now, he added. The Tunisian Islamist party Ennahda is refurnishing its image as party leaders announced Thursday separation of religious activities from Politics, reports say. The new orientation is to be confirmed at partys convention this weekend. Party leader Rached Ghannouchi reportedly told French newspaper Le Monde that the change is coming in a new context, with a new Tunisia fully immersed in democracy. Tunisia is now a democracy. The 2014 constitution has imposed limits on extreme secularism and extreme religion, Ghannouchi is quoted as saying. We want religious activity to be completely independent from political activity. This is good for politicians because they would no longer be accused of manipulating religion for political means and good for religion because it would not be held hostage to politics, he added. The party founded in 1989 has been active in Tunisias post revolution era. After winning first democracy elections organized after the ouster of former President Ben Ali, the party came under fire for Islamizing the country long known as the most secular Arab country. It then lost 2014 parliamentary election to the secularist Nidaa Tounes party of President Beji Caid Essebsi. On January, it joined Nidaa Tounes to form the ruling coalition and even became largest party in the coalition after Nidaa Tounes lost a wave of lawmakers who quitted the party over some rows. We are going towards a party which specializes in political activities. We are leaving political Islam and entering democratic Islam. We are Muslim democrats who no longer claim to represent political Islam, Gannouchi said. The relooking to be done by the party has received acclaims from President Essebsi who promised to be present during the tenth convention of the party. I think the best that Ennahda could do is to separate politics and religion. If they want to do politics, they must do it entirely. If they want to preach, they should limit to preaching! Essebsi said. Broaden your expertise, enhance patient care, and never worry about another license requirement again with Elite Passport Membership. Available across ten healthcare professions in a variety of options to suit your career goals, Passport Membership propels your career advancement and offers exceptional value to healthcare providers. Bernie Sanders. Photo: John Sommers II/Getty Images Five days before the most Jewish state in the union held its primary, Wolf Blitzer questioned Bernie Sanderss commitment to Israeli security. The average politician would not have seen this as an opportunity to attack his or her opponent for caring too little about Palestinian suffering. But Vermonts socialist senator is not your average politician. I read Secretary Clintons speech before AIPAC. I heard virtually no discussion at all about the needs of the Palestinian people, Sanders said at the Democratic debate in Brooklyn. Of course Israel has a right to defend itself, but long-term, there will never be peace in that region unless the United States plays an even-handed role, trying to bring people together and recognizing the serious problems that exist among the Palestinian people There comes a time when, if we pursue justice and peace, we are going to have to say that Netanyahu is not right all of the time. Until that moment, the Israel-Palestine conflict like every other issue of foreign affairs had received scant attention in Sanderss populist campaign. But now the Washington Post reports that changing American policy toward Israel will be one of the senators top priorities in the looming convention fight over the Democratic platform: Sanders is seeking a more even-handed U.S. approach to Israeli occupation of land Palestinians claim for a future state. The current platform does not address the nearly five-decade occupation directly, but it endorses a just and lasting Israeli-Palestinian accord, producing two states for two peoples. Sanderss decision to contest this part of the platform is surprising, both because domestic issues enjoyed pride of place in his campaign, and because even the most anodyne shifts in the Democrats official position on Israel is likely to inflame intra-party tensions. In 2012, whether the party would explicitly recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel prompted days of infighting. The resolution ended up passing on a voice vote that had to be taken three times, as supporters of the measure tried to drown out a chorus of noes. The senators eagerness to reopen this front of the partys civil war signals the Democrats growing generational divide over the Israel-Palestine conflict. Sanders boasts overwhelming support from his partys youngest voters a constituency uniquely sympathetic to Palestinian concerns. A 2014 poll found half of all Democrats under 30 supported punishing Israeli settlement expansion with economic sanctions. The vast majority of this demographic also preferred the United States to remain neutral in the Israel-Palestine conflict. But among those who wanted America to pick a side, more wished for their government to support the Palestinians, a stance shared by no other age group in either party. Several overlapping factors explain this generational shift. For one thing, young Democrats are less white than their co-partisans, and Hispanics and African-Americans evince more sympathy for the Palestinian plight than the general population. In fact, 44 percent of Hispanic Americans of all ages and political parties support sanctioning Israel over its settlement activity. Another factor is younger Jewish Americans relative disinterest in Zionism. Which is itself the product of multiple trends, including the cohorts progressive political leanings, higher levels of assimilation, lower levels of religiosity, and relative insulation from virulent anti-Semitism. But perhaps the most powerful force pulling millennials out of Israels corner is the steady right-wing lurch of the Jewish State itself. Hours after the Post reported Sanderss platform intentions, Israels defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, resigned in protest. I have lately found myself in difficult moral and professional controversies with the Prime Minister, a number of other ministers, and some members of Knesset, Yaalon told reporters in Tel Aviv on Friday. To my great sorrow, they have taken over Israel, and the Likud movement, dangerous and extremist elements, that upend the house and threaten it. This is not the Likud movement that I joined. Yaalon had recently encouraged Israeli generals to voice their concerns about the ethical ramifications of their governments policies, a move that attracted the ire of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The prime minister has asked ultranationalist politician Avigdor Lieberman to replace Yaalon as defense minister. Lieberman has argued that 90 percent of Israels Palestinian citizens have no place here, and should take their bundles and get lost. He also once called for bombing the Aswan Dam, a move that would, in the words of Middle East scholar Juan Cole, have the effect of murdering all 80 million Egyptians and sweeping them into the Mediterranean in a vast continental African tsunami. It is highly doubtful that Hillary Clinton will allow a significant change in the Democratic Partys official position on Israel-Palestine. But if the Jewish State continues marching ever rightward, it will become increasingly difficult for Democratic presidents to greet the expansion of Israeli settlements with mealymouthed disapproval and a few billion dollars of additional military aid. FORT WAYNE, IN - MAY 02: Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) speaks at a campaign event on the campus of Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne May 2, 2016 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Voters in Indiana go to the polls tomorrow for the states primary. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images In the 1990 movie Quick Change, Bill Murray, Geena Davis, and Randy Quaid rob a bank in New York with surprising ease, then find the task of simply getting to the airport almost impossible. Near the end, with no time to spare, the trio has managed to board a bus to the airport, only to be detained when a well, hippie is a bit of a cliche, so lets just say, a man who appears to have had formative experiences in the 1960s stages a mini-demonstration rather than exit. At the current stage of the Democratic presidential primary contest, Bernie Sanders is this man: Sanders has his reasons for staying in the race. They may not be entirely terrible reasons. Maybe he wants the chance to continue speaking about his policies through the last primary, or perhaps he wants the leverage to push through changes to the nominating process. But, given the overall stakes of his behavior, his decision is also maddeningly narcissistic. Despite his loud protests, the system, for all its hodgepodge qualities, is definitely not rigged against him. Sanders is losing because significantly fewer people have voted for him. Hillary Clinton has won 56 percent of the vote, and 54 percent of the pledged delegates. Primaries that have excluded independents (the democratic quality of which can be debated) have helped her, but caucuses (which are even less democratic) have helped him. Instead, his campaign is making increasingly hysterical claims of fraud and misconduct. At a convention in Nevada, Sanders supporters threw a fit when their attempt to overturn the results of a caucus, won fair and square at the polls by Clinton, failed. Numerous neutral journalists have described the Sanders campaigns complaints as utterly fallacious. Nonetheless, these claims are having an effect. The Sanders drumbeat depicting Hillary Clintons now-inevitable win as the product of corrupt machinations by insidious big-money interests is turning his supporters staunchly against her: Clinton is struggling in head-to-head polls against Donald Trump mainly because her supporters tell pollsters they would pull the lever for him against Trump, while his supporters increasingly refuse to say the same for her. Now, much or even all of this problem can be massaged away by autumn. However, it is at least possible that Sanders is getting carried away in a messianic fervor that he will not walk away from readily. A recent New York Times story described numerous Sanders staffers as disheartened by the campaigns near-obsession with perceived conspiracies on the part of Mrs. Clintons allies. If there is a reason to believe Sanders might not unify his supporters behind Clinton, as ordinary losing candidates do, its that Sanders has never seen his political project in ordinary terms. Sanders places himself substantively on his partys left wing, of course. But more than that, Sanders has depicted his campaign as a metaphoric revolution. A revolutionary campaign, even a bloodless one, does not follow normal political guidelines. Since it regards itself as the legitimate incarnation of the popular will, any mechanism that thwarts its triumph is ipso facto illegitimate. This explains the unusual propensity of Sanders supporters to circulate conspiracy theories suggesting Sanders has been robbed, which are merely more deranged versions of Sanderss own rhetoric. Sanderss statement in response to the outburst of his supporters in Nevada is a revealing peek into the revolutionary mindset: It is imperative that the Democratic leadership, both nationally and in the states, understand that the political world is changing and that millions of Americans are outraged at establishment politics and establishment economics. The people of this country want a government which represents all of us, not just the 1 percent, super PACs and wealthy campaign contributors. The Democratic Party has a choice. It can open its doors and welcome into the party people who are prepared to fight for real economic and social change people who are willing to take on Wall Street, corporate greed and a fossil fuel industry which is destroying this planet. Or the party can choose to maintain its status quo structure, remain dependent on big-money campaign contributions and be a party with limited participation and limited energy. What makes this so telling is that Sanders depicts a procedural quarrel one in which his campaign has no leg to stand on as a fight between the 1 percent and the people of this country. Sanders has a longstanding habit of attributing any disagreement with his policies as the result of corruption, disregarding the possibility that actual conviction might inspire any of it. He accordingly believes that only the corrupt power of big money has prevented his ideas from prevailing. Sanders is now applying the same logic to the primary fight, with Clinton in the role of greedy corporate overlord. Sanders does not merely believe he deserves to win, he believes that a Sanders defeat means the people have been thwarted; ergo, such a result is necessarily rigged. Its remarkable that the opponents to Donald Trump, who (accurately) depicted him as a con artist, an authoritarian, and an existential threat to their partys character have all stepped aside, even in the face of mathematical odds less daunting than those of Sanders, who continues to fight on. Its possible that both Sanders and the Republican opposition to Trump care less about stopping Trump than anybody expected. Instant C-SPAN classic. On Thursday morning, the House approved an amendment barring federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. And then, a few minutes later, it didnt. Initially, 217 House members voted yes on New York Democrat Sean Patrick Maloneys LGBT rights amendment. The Houses vote clock hit zero. Democrats clapped and cheered. And then, ten minutes later, the yes vote dwindled to 212, the measure was defeated, and the House floor fell into chaos. Per Politico: After the chair closed the vote, Democrats continued shouting in anger. There will be order in this chamber, the chair said. No there will not be! yelled Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), who stood at the base of the podium. She pounded her fists on the table in front of her. Other Democrats chanted, Shame! Shame! Shame! Their outrage was over matters both substantive and procedural: Once the vote clock expires, the lawmaker holding the gavel is supposed to ask if any members wish to change their votes. Then, flip-floppers are expected to walk to the front of the room and switch their allegiance in person, rather than using the electronic voting machines. But on Thursday, this formality wasnt observed instead, the expiration of the clock was simply ignored, as House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and his deputies twisted the arms of gay-friendly Republicans until the amendment was defeated. Here's the before and after votes on striking anti-LGBT language from NDAA. They had it til some GOPers flipped. pic.twitter.com/yokSeFsyOO Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) May 19, 2016 President Obama has already issued an executive order banning all federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT employees. But late Wednesday night, Republicans added an amendment to the defense appropriations bill that bars the federal government from denying contracts to corporations on the basis of their religious practices (including, ostensibly, practices that entail discrimination against gay people). That inspired Maloney, himself an openly gay man, to reiterate Obamas new rule with his amendment. (Republicans claim that their amendment merely reiterates the 1964 Civil Rights Act.) Its a classic case of mutually valid but irreconcilable values: Democrats want to protect gay peoples right to equal treatment in the workplace; Republicans want to protect the right of arms merchants to discriminate against gay people without risking the loss of taxpayer money. As conservatives have always done when their position is right on the merits and clearly going to stand the test of time, Speaker Paul Ryan defended the GOPs stance on the grounds of federalism. This is federalism; the states should do this, Ryan told the Hill. The federal government shouldnt stick its nose in its business. The procedural chaos was, in part, a result of norms established under Ryans Speakership. As a friendly gesture to his caucuss tea-party hardliners, Ryan opened up the amendment process, allowing lawmakers wide latitude to offer last-minute changes to legislation like, for example, anodyne assertions of LGBT rights that some Republicans can momentarily forget they oppose. Separately, Ryan promised a return to regular order, which heightened Democrats anger over Thursdays haphazard voting process. And, of course, Ryan has vowed to uphold the Hastert Rule, which stipulates that a Republican Speaker will never allow a floor vote on legislation that lacks the majority support of the GOP caucus. This last norm was likely the impetus for Thursdays last-minute arm-twisting: The amendment briefly enjoyed the support of a majority of all House members, but not a majority of all Republicans. Thus, if it passed, the whole appropriations bill may have become untenable. Still, Obamas executive order remains on the books. So its not clear what impact Thursdays vote will have in the real world other than to boost fundraising for pro-LGBT Democrats. They literally snatched discrimination from the jaws of equality, Congressman Maloney lamented to the Associated Press. Lets hope that this November, equality bites back. A SFPD cruiser. Photo: Justin Sullivan/2014 Getty Images The chief of San Franciscos police force has resigned just hours after an officer shot and killed a 27-year-old black woman. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Mayor Ed Lee announced in a brief news conference on Thursday that he had asked Police Chief Greg Suhr to step down in order to help heal the city after a series of incidents that had undermined public confidence in the police. Suhrs tenure at the helm of the SFPD, which began in April 2011, was marked by controversy over the police forces dealings with the African-American community, the revelation of racist and homophobic text messages exchanged among his officers, and a rash of fatal police shootings, of which Thursdays was the third in six months. Angry San Franciscans had been demanding Suhrs resignation for weeks, with five protesters going on a hunger strike and crowds as large as 1,000 marching on City Hall. The progress we have made has been meaningful, but it hasnt been fast enough, Lee said of Suhrs work. He went on, I have previously expressed confidence in Chief Suhr because I know he agrees with and understands the need for reform. But following this mornings officer-involved shooting and my meeting with Chief Suhr this afternoon, I have arrived at a different conclusion to the question of how best to move forward. On Thursday morning, a police sergeant shot and killed a woman who was driving a suspected stolen car. According to the Chronicle, there were no immediate signs that the woman was armed or driving the car toward the sergeant and his partner when he shot her. The names of the woman and the officers involved in the shooting have not been released. This and other recent shootings, such as the December 2 killing of stabbing suspect Mario Woods, which was caught on video, have sparked outrage in the city. Critics have accused police of being too quick to fire their guns, especially at minorities. Lee named Toney Chaplin, a deputy chief who was involved in the recent launch of a transparency unit at the SFPD, as acting police chief. By his deft handling of Donald Trump, Cotton may be leapfrogging rivals for future leadership in the Republican Party. Photo: Tom Williams/Getty Images Back in March, well before Republican politicians in their multitudes began making their way into Donald Trumps camp, often stealthily and sheepishly, U.S. senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas strode right in on the pretext of a meeting to discuss national-security issues with the mogul. Cotton afterward allowed as how he and Trump shared a lot of common ground on a subject like NATO cost-sharing, and immediately made it clear he would support Trump if he won the nomination. For Cotton, there was none of the public hang-wringing so many similarly positioned conservatives undertook, much less the frantic search for a third-party option pursued by his long-time patron William Kristol and his admirer Erick Erickson (who in 2015 called Cotton the most powerful man in Washington for his leadership against the Iran nuclear deal). Now Cotton is in a very comfortable place in the Trump-led GOP. He has no angry or disparaging words to eat, yet can maintain an independent posture as someone offering friendly pressure on Trump to overcome any reluctance to boost defense spending (Cottons most obsessive priority) or junk the Iran deal as quickly as possible. His bonds to Trump World have been strengthened by his latest crusade in the Senate: serving as wingman to Trumps closest Washington associate, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, in the effort to kill bipartisan criminal-justice-reform legislation. Speaking Thursday at the Hudson Institute, Cotton made headlines by arguing that the U.S. did not have a mass incarceration problem, but rather an under-incarceration problem, based on the number of crimes that go unsolved or unprosecuted. This is vintage Tom Cotton, who has both the mien and the worldview of a grim and unforgiving lawgiver right out of the Book of Deuteronomy or Calvins Geneva. In a perceptive profile of Cotton (entitled The Making of a Conservative Superstar) written during his 2014 Senate campaign, Molly Ball summed up his perspective as follows: [Cotton has] a harsh, unyielding, judgmental political philosophy, one that makes little allowance for compassion or human weakness. I dont think Arkansas needs to bail out the Northeast, Cotton once said of his vote against the Hurricane Sandy relief bill. He has dismissed the potential for default if the debt ceiling was not raised as a desirable short-term market correction, and said food stamps should be cut because too many recipients live high on the hog: They have steak in their basket, and they have a brand-new iPhone, and they have a brand-new SUV. This is, after all, the man who first rose to national prominence via an angry letter to the New York Times from Iraq (where he was serving as an infantry officer) suggesting the editors should be imprisoned for leaking information about a Bush administration anti-terrorism program. That Iraq service, of course, is an important part of Cottons powerful attraction to GOP movers and shakers: Hes the man with the golden resume. He emerged from rural Arkansas to graduate from Harvard and Harvard Law School (with an interim year in a prestigious fellowship at the conservative-friendly Claremont Institute) and managed to attract prominent conservative mentors along the way. As Ball puts it: From the time he was a teenager, Cotton has been nurtured and groomed by conservative institutionsscholars, think tanks, media, and advocacy groupsto be the face of their political crusade. His most politically valuable move, however, was to abandon a budding profession at a white-shoe law firm to volunteer for infantry duty in the Army, which in short succession led to deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq and the fateful letter to the Times. After his discharge in 2009, Cotton briefly signed on for work with the elite consulting firm McKinsey & Company, but was soon drawn into politics when an Arkansas congressional seat opened up. The legend of Tom Cotton was further enhanced by his 2014 Senate race against wily Democratic incumbent Mark Pryor, which turned into a 17-point Republican blowout. Given his background and trajectory, its not surprising that talk of Cotton as a future president followed him even before his Senate win. Both neocons and constitutional conservatives often at odds with each other absolutely adore him. And unlike that other neocon darling Marco Rubio, or that other constitutional-conservative champion Ted Cruz, Cotton doesnt have to live down a failed presidential bid or the various bruised feelings inevitably incurred. Indeed, at 39, Cotton could arguably make the 44-year-old Floridian and the 45-year-old Texan look like yesterdays news in a future contest. Though he seems to have successfully navigated the challenge of coming to grips with Trump, theres a chance Cotton could yet face a momentous decision with respect to the Donald: His name is occasionally showing up on Trump veep lists. In a recent interview, the Arkansan did nothing to rule it out. This could just be a head fake, another gesture of friendliness toward Trump so that he cannot be blamed for treachery if the tycoons general-election campaign crashes and burns. Or perhaps this golden boy sees an opening for a leap to the very top of the GOP career ladder, which he has every reason to consider his destiny. Its a separate question whether actual voters outside Arkansas share their approval of this dour, self-consciously elite figure, who has identified himself with the hardest-edged conservative positions on both foreign and domestic policy. It may depend on whether a majority of Republican voters or Americans generally crave a good tongue-lashing and a high risk of war and recession. Best friends. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, held a fundraiser on Thursday that he claimed would pay off the entire campaign debt of his erstwhile rival (and suspected hostage) New Jersey governor Chris Christie, the Associated Press reports. The $200-per-person fundraiser at the National Guard Armory in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, attracted around 1,000 people, which would indeed come to just about enough to clear the Christie campaigns debt of about a quarter-million dollars. You know Chris paid off his entire campaign debt tonight, right? His entire debt, Trump told the crowd before launching into a stump speech replete with praise for New Jerseys economic record under Christies watch. But being Trump, he couldnt resist a zinger at the governors expense while discussing his personal boycott of Nabisco for moving jobs out of the U.S. Im not eating Oreos anymore. Neither is Chris, he said. Youre not eating Oreos, are you? Its for either of us. For the real movers and shakers, Thursdays event also included a $25,000-a-head fundraiser for the state Republican party to cover its $500,000 in legal fees pertaining to the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal. An EgyptAir jet. Photo: Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images Greek authorities have been searching for the missing EgyptAir flight MS804 since 3:30 a.m. local time yesterday, when the plane disappeared from air-traffic-control screens over the Mediterranean Sea. So far, theyve discovered no trace of wreckage (an earlier report of wreckage thought to belong to the plane turned out to be false), and French president Francois Hollande told The Guardian that, No theory is ruled out, and none is certain right now. But in the case of the missing plane, terrorism looks increasingly likely. Egypts aviation minister, Sherif Fathi, said that, The possibility of a terror attack is higher than the possibility of having a technical failure, and according to CNN, U.S. officials are operating under the assumption that the plane was downed by a bomb although one said that theory is not yet supported by a smoking gun. Panos Kammenos, the Greek defense minister, said the plane made sudden swerves and a sudden drop in altitude before disappearing from radars. The plane carried out a 90-degree turn to the left and a 360-degree turn to the right, falling from 37,000 ft. to 15,000 ft., and the signal was lost at around 10,000 ft., he said. Authorities are grappling with conflicting reports and misinformation in their search for the plane. For instance, EgyptAir vice-chair Ahmed Adel told CNN that debris spotted in the sea south of the Greek island of Karpathos was not, in fact, from the crash. We stand corrected on finding the wreckage because what we identified is not a part of our plane, he said. So the search and rescue is still going on. (Adel said the airline isnt directly involved in the search but is getting information from Greek officials.) Whats more, initial reports by the airline that the plane had sent a distress signal before it went missing proved false, and Pentagon officials said a sensitive U.S. infrared satellite system hadnt detected evidence of an explosion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The plane, an Airbus A320, was carrying 66 people from Pariss Charles de Gaulle Airport to Cairo, Egypt, when it disappeared: Fifty-six passengers and ten security officers and crew members were onboard. In a statement, EgyptAir said it, Sincerely conveys its deepest sorrow to the families and friends of the passengers on board flight MS804. Family members of passengers and crew have been already informed and we extend our deepest sympathies to those affected. Photo: Hans Neleman The thinking among scientists regarding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, has long been this: Its something you develop in childhood, as a highly distractible little kid. Decades ago, the consensus among the scientific community was that this was a childhood-only disorder, disappearing by early adulthood, as Quartzs Jenny Anderson reports. This, of course, turns out to be not so true, but still the evidence has suggested that if an adult has ADHD, surely he or she showed signs of of the attention disorder as a kid, too. All of which is what makes two longitudinal studies out this week in JAMA Psychiatry so very interesting. Each of them suggests that its possible for ADHD to show up for the first time in adulthood even if those adults never had attention problems or symptoms of ADHD in childhood. A study led by researchers at Kings College in London, for example, tested the same 2,200 twins for ADHD starting at age 5, then following up with them at ages 7, 10, 12, and 18. At that most recent check-in when these children had grown into young adults, in other words 70 percent of those 18-year-olds who showed signs of ADHD had not shown those symptoms at any of the earlier check-ins. Another longitudinal study led by scientists in Brazil showed similar results. Also of note: Though ADHD is typically, if incorrectly, conceived of as a problem mostly affecting hyperactive young boys, these findings show an almost even split between genders. Actually, women were slightly more likely to develop ADHD in adulthood, though this could easily be because symptoms of the disorder are often overlooked in girls. Though ADHD isnt exactly common among adults, its not uncommon either, affecting about four percent of the population, Jessica Agnew-Blais, co-author of the U.K. study, told Anderson. These new findings suggest, Agnew-Blais added, that the absence of a childhood diagnosis should not prevent adults with ADHD from receiving clinical attention. As is usually the case with shiny new scientific findings, more research is needed. For now, though, the evidence is hinting that it may be time to reframe the conversation around attention disorders. Its not just the living room that deserves its own special scent. Here, New York tastemakers talk about the candles they choose to match every room of the house. Candle for the Living Room Mad Et Len Graphite Graphitum Its got this nice smoky smell that really sets a tone, so its good for a common entertaining space. It also has really beautiful, unique all-black packaging that I love. Lauren Larson, interior designer and co-founder of Material Lust $81 at Farfetch Candle for the Dining Room Avandi Beeswax Tapers I use old-school beeswax candles because they have air-purifying properties and its the most natural wax. They smell homey and clean, and theyre great for a dinner table because they wont compete with the smell of your food. Erin Boyle blogger behind Reading My Tea Leaves and author of Simple Matters. $35 at Spring Candle for the Office Byredo Bibliotheque We started bringing these into the office before we launched our own scents. It mixes clean citrus notes with a leather tobacco scent, so its really balanced. Andres Modak, co-founder of Snowe $80 at Neiman Marcus Candle for the Bedroom Manready Mercantile Bergamot + Teak Bedroom scents are really personal, so you have to find one that works for you. Manready mercantile has a lot of options. The cool thing is these are hand-poured in the South and you can use the glass as a whiskey glass after rinsing out the candle wax. It works beautifully. Briana Swords, co-owner of Swords-Smith $28 at Domino Candle for the Closet Cire Trudon Abd El Kader It has herbal notes alongside a pepperiness that provides it with a little bit of drama, and theres a lot of body in the scent. I actually get a little bit of fresh basil and leather, so for me its a fresh yet very masculine scent. It would be perfect for the wood-paneled den, but since thats hard to come by, Id say anywhere a man gets dressed. I have them at home and never get sick of it. David Alhadeff, owner of the Future Perfect $95 at Saks Fifth Avenue Candle for the Kitchen Fox Fodder Farm Summer Its perky and fresh, and itll balance out the dense smells of cooking once youre done, so your whole house doesnt smell like what you were cooking. Marva Babel, owner of the lifestyle bar Ode to Babel $22 at Fox Fodder Farm Candle for the Bar Booze Candle Itll fit right in. Maria Candanoza, owner of Object_ify 139 $35 at Objectify 139 Leave it to Warren. Photo: Astrid Riecken/2015 Getty Images Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton havent been getting along lately. True, they were never exactly friends, but after a tumultuous Nevada convention in which Sanders supporters hurled insults (and chairs) at party leaders, the Sanders campaign said it would double down on attacks against Clinton, even if doing so hurts her in the general election. Democrats worry that, even if Sanders loses, his supporters wont rush to back Clinton someone whose corruption Sanders has railed against. The party needs someone to step in and fix their mess, and according to The Hill, it has high hopes for Elizabeth Warren. Weve got to land this plane and I want her in the control tower, one lawmaker who spoke on the condition of anonymity said after a recent meeting with Warren. Shes trying. I think shes an honest broker. Another Democratic senator told Warren, Shes in a unique position to fix this. Lucky for Democrats, Warren appears to be onboard. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Clinton supporter who met with Warren on Wednesday, said the Massachusetts senator can and will be very helpful. She is very interested in doing everything she can to help get the party to unite for November, Shaheen said. Its the mirmir Kardashian photobooth. Photo: Kim Kardashian/Instagram When it comes to Kardashian-ing, the internet has done it all. Weve eaten salads like a Kardashian, tattooed like one, and enacted revenge like one. Thousands of people even broke Google to make their lips look like one. On Tuesday, I conquered the final frontier: I took a photo like a Kardashian. The legendary Mirmir photo booth first rose to fame with a supporting role at Kimyes wedding, where it was imported roughly 6,000 miles from California to Italy so that Kimye, Chrissy Teigen, Becky with the Good Hair, and other already-beautiful celebrity guests could take extra-beautiful photo-booth images. A Mirmir image posted on Instagram by Kim Kardashian BFF Jonathan Cheban was the first official picture revealed from the event. Since then, the photo booth has become a mainstay at Kardashian Christmas parties and other fancy Hollywood shindigs. It even made an appearance at Kourtney Kardashians bee-sy tour of New York. The Mirmir is special because everyone looks like a celebrity in the lens, even without hair, makeup, or styling. People often tell us its one of the best photos theyve ever taken, says Ryan Glenn, a Mirmir co-founder. They tell us they frame the picture and put it in their house, which isnt something you hear everyday. Each photo booth also gets a custom light setting for the venue to get that perfect exposure, says Spencer. The actual lighting settings are much-guarded all Glenn and Spencer would tell me is that they use diffused light. Then theres the secret sauce: the so-called skin filter, which the team spent several years developing. Automatically applied to every photo, it has the unusual effect of both smoothing and contouring the face. It makes people look pretty good is how the team modestly described it. Racked analyzed some Kardashian photos and concluded that it uses a mix of blurring and softening filters to make you look poreless and enhance your features. Even with all these features, theres still the possibility of not looking so great. A lot of people take bad photographs, says Glenn. The final safeguard to ensuring you photograph like you have an E! series are the two Mirmir employees who man the booth, tell you how to pose, and even take the picture for you. All of our staff are professional photographers, who do this for a living. Theyll tell you the best way to post for the way your chin sits. And its specific to every single person that comes through it, even if its a thousand people a night. At an event for Becca Cosmetics, I finally saw the photo booth in person. OMG, its the Mirmir! I said excitedly. You have a murmur? asked the editor next to me. No one else appeared to recognize it. Many of the Instagram-famous beauty bloggers continued taking selfies with their Lumees and Tylights, ignoring the photo booth completely. Fools, I thought, stepping into the photo booth with my friend Felicia, who had already attested that it was amazing. For the first picture, the Mirmir gentlemen let me attempt to pose on my own. But after seeing me stare into the camera like a deer in headlights with bared teeth, one of them then chivalrously offered some pointers. Turn this way, he gently instructed, positioning me into the same three-quarters pose that Tyra Banks recommends in every episode of Americas Next Top Model. Point your face up a little, and chin toward the camera. And a little attitude! he said, making a kind, goofy face. Just as I laughed, he pressed the shutter to capture the moment. Ugh, apps that blur your face can be so bad for self estee oh my god, I look amazing, I said as I walked over to the printing machine and surveyed the photos. I had entered the photo booth with lightly frizzy hair, a shiny face, and weakening under-eye concealer. The Mirmir somehow made my hair smooth like an otter pelt, blotted my face, added some cheekbones, and erased my under-eye circles, along with any negative thoughts I had about blurring apps. Blur my face away, Mirmir! The only thing it didnt do was curl my eyelashes, but perhaps thats an innovation for Mirmir 2.0. I thought of the possibilities of a life with Mirmir. Maybe I could use it to get a professional head shot. Maybe I could finally learn to smize. Maybe as Gandhi once sort of said, I could be the change I wanted to see in the world. Would we even need selfies? Would embarrassing high-school-yearbook pictures cease to exist if each school had Mirmir sittings instead? And if so, what would Planet Hollywood print on their place mats? Glenn and Spencer forgot to mention the final safeguard: The photo booth has a reflective mirror over the lenses so that you know exactly how you look, in case you dont trust their experts. It even comes prepared with a little apple box so you can cheat your height like Tom Cruise if youre dramatically shorter than everyone else. And so I returned to the photo booth four more times. Each time, the Mirmir employees directed me to a new optimally beneficial pose. I have now completed the full 12 steps to Kardashian ascension. And it feels good. For our next company get-together, I will be suggesting that we cut the liquor budget so that everyone can experience the brief joy and power of being a deluded hot monster. Photo: HBO As if authority figures could not be uncool enough in North Carolina right now, some school officials in New Hanover County believe skinny jeans should be banned in a convoluted attempt to prevent bullying. The school systems new rule would prevent students from wearing skinny jeans, leggings, and any other tight-fitting bottoms, unless they are covered by a long top or dress. Students who fail to comply to the new policy would face punishment. A school board member claims one of the reasons behind the policy change is a concern for bigger girls who were getting bullied over wearing tight jeans. Because shaming the victim into changing their behavior instead of teaching the bully how to not be an asshole is always the way to go. New Hanover students are certainly not here for this proposed policy change. how about you turn your attention to what we come to school for, education. Rather than bring your attention to our bodies. ktitty (@katy_leas) May 16, 2016 This week were helping you get through the beast that is wedding season with the best dresses, shoes, gift ideas, and more. Now wheres the open bar? Your friend (or colleague, or cousin, or boss, or person you never thought you were that close with) is getting married. Next week. And the only thing left on their registry is a $4,000 pink velvet couch and a $10 iPad Pro screen protector to go with the iPad Pro somebody else already bought them. Now what? Weve compiled a massive list, organized by price. Todays is $0$50 but check back tomorrow (and the next day) for bigger ticket items. Find everything from the lightweight carry-on suitcases theyve always wanted, to the Scandinavian pepper mills they never knew they needed, to enough tableware to last through their golden anniversary some of which has been picked by newlyweds with fantastic taste. And this isnt just a resource for wedding guests. If youre a bride- or groom-to-be looking for inspiration for your Zola or Amazon registry, you may just find everything you need to register for right here. Oster Electric Wine-Bottle Opener An opener to go along with all the glasses theyll get. $20 at Amazon Paderno Spiralizer For the couple who goes Paleo. $32 at Amazon We like to play games on our rooftop in the summer with friends, and Jenga is a classic! Its a fun and affordable gift that will remind us of the person who gave it to us every time we play. Jacqui Johnstone, senior account executive at Small Girls PR, and Jake Wimberly, attorney at Seward & Kissel, Manhattan Kassatex Stripe Beach Towels Grown-up (but not too grown-up) beach towels. $50 at Neiman Marcus Good Cook Can Opener A chef-approved can opener. $8 at Amazon We love this hand-painted rolling pin, and along with it we got a cake-decorating kit and some beautiful measuring cups and baking accessories. Kristen Green, publicist, Josh Green, director of franchise consulting, Gainesville, Virginia Blomus Lemon Squeezer This elegant stainless-steel vessel squeezes the juice and catches it all in one place. $36 at Amazon We already owned a home and therefore had most of the ordinary items that couples register for. A contribution to your Honeyfund is a way for guests to feel like they are giving you a gift rather than a check, and it gets you anything from a massage or dinner on your honeymoon to a night at your hotel. Mallory Williams, co-owner of the White Magnolia Bridal Collection, and Will Thorburn, corporate strategy, Atlanta, Georgia Dansk Tulip Salad Bowl Cant go wrong with a 70s-style tulip bowl. $47 at Amazon Minted Art Gift Card Fill out their new place with limited-edition prints (of photos, abstract illustrations, landscapes, watercolors, or drawings). $50 at Zola When we moved out of the city and suddenly had a big backyard, we were gifted a huge tiki bar by our friends and have since become the go-to house for summer parties. Now that we have a great selection of tiki mugs, our parties this summer can be more legit and delicious. Caitlin Sandberg, hospitality publicist, and Steve Brancale, director of sales, Oakland, California Handmade Leather Valet Tray You can never have enough places to put your keys, phones, and loose change. $50 at Etsy Wall Vessel Mount the diamond shape (a ceramic vase supported by a wire frame) on your wall, then fill it with greenery (or use it as aesthetically pleasing storage). From $42 at Macys Denby Malmo Mug This mug is inspired by Scandinavian design, but its a lot more durable than IKEA furniture the stoneware clay its made from wont chip. $43 at Macys While you may not think that storage containers would be at the top of a wedding registry, this is by far the best gift that we got. My future husband is addicted to bulk food, and these keep our pantry nice and tidy. Garrick Malone and Claire Sirois, engineers, Houston, Texas Thomas Paul Tea Towel From scarf designer turned textile designer Thomas Paul, this hand silk-screen printed tea towel looks jaunty in the kitchen. $24 at Zola We immediately loved these towels when we saw them. The subtle pattern and the muted color works perfectly for our bathroom. They are also great quality that you can feel right away. Since our wedding we have been adding to our collection with the bath mat, hand towels, etc. Were obsessed!Kelly Wolf Baldwin, executive director of public relations and social media at Neff Associates, and Gregory Baldwin, acquisitions and asset manager at Harvest Equities John Cho Moore Leather Cast Iron Grip Never burn your hand (or char something on the stove while youre searching for a lost potholder) with this leather grip, which molds to a pans handle over time. $18 at Heath Ceramics Photo: Christine Han/Christine Han Photography Caroline Z Hurley Block-Printed Apron This striped apron is unisex and useful (there are two pockets in the front to hold whatever cant fit on the counter). $47 at Of a Kind Corelle Livingware Cereal Bowl An ideal size for soup or cereal (or ice cream), and adorned only with a thin colored stripe. $37 for four at Amazon Fouta Chambray Bath Towels Woven like fine Turkish towels, these are cotton on one side with looped cotton terry on the other, for faster dry-off time. From $8 at Serena & Lily The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook 650 classic recipes have been scaled down so they serve just two people; choose from beef stew, asagna, and even dessert like fudge brownies. $18 at Amazon French Enamel House Plates Mark your house with these vintage enamel plates from the 1970s. From $17 each at Etsy I like this trivet because it is utilitarian but decorative. My home decor is fairly minimal so when I do introduce new items I like them to have a design element. My dinnerware is the Emerald collection from Vista Alegre, which has a very graphic Art Deco pattern. My everyday dishware is stoneware from Heath ceramics. I think this trivet will work great with either set for entertaining. Alexis Brooks, photo editor at Yahoo Style, and Michael OConnor, Youtube audience development for Driver Digital, Sunnyside, Queens Artisanal Kitchen Supply Marble and Wood Pinch Bowl Set Why choose one salt when you can put out all of your favorites himalayan pink salt, sea salt, fleur de sel in these stone pinch bowls. $40 at Bed Bath & Beyond Black Marble Pastry Board A sleek slab of black marble makes for a striking kitchen or desk, or coffee table accent. $30 at Amazon Greta Egg Cup Dress those soft-boiled eggs in gingham. $40 at enSoie lmao ouch at more than one of them insinuating this movie caused them to break up, LOL. this movie sounds dull as fuck and just more white savior cliched shit i really like adele's dress in that picture Reply Thread Link Honestly why would Fremaux even put this in competition? They need star power and Charlize and Adele will bring it. Also Fremaux is never averse to putting garbage in competition. Reply Parent Thread Link Honestly why would Fremaux even put this in competition? Publicity. This is getting them a whole lot more than if it was a film that just got an all right reception. Reply Parent Thread Link Would have walked out of Last Face but wanted to hear the boos. Def some but I think most didn't think it was worth the energy. #cannes Gregory Ellwood (@TheGregoryE) May 20, 2016 idk though, I can see him giving The Neon Demon a spot on the "so bad it's memorable" quota, but this just seems mediocre. idk though, I can see him giving The Neon Demon a spot on the "so bad it's memorable" quota, but this just seems mediocre. Reply Parent Thread Link Also I don't always agree with Melissa Silverstein but she has been so on point all festival. Cannes is always saying that not enough women directors make high enough caliber movies, and then they show The Last Face. Melissa Silverstein (@melsil) 20 May 2016 FOR REAL! Although crossing my fingers that Ade takes the Palme. looool @ Guy Lodge.Also I don't always agree with Melissa Silverstein but she has been so on point all festival.FOR REAL!Although crossing my fingers that Ade takes the Palme. Reply Thread Link I'll be super happy if they both win something! Scared that this will just give Fremaux an excuse not to program more women though. Like "See, women won prizes last year!" Ugh, he's the worst. Reply Parent Thread Link omfg......why did you agree to this adele! Reply Thread Link mte Reply Parent Thread Link THE LAST FACE a shoo-in to win the Face Palme. #Cannes2016 Sophie Monks Kaufman (@sopharsogood) May 20, 2016 I'm living for these reactions. I'm living for these reactions. Reply Thread Link Lol, I love this. Reply Parent Thread Link OMFG @ that second to last tweet. That Nicholas Sparks description tells me everything I need to know. Reply Thread Link see sean penn flop is always a good thing Reply Thread Link I hope she gets better opportunities in the future to transition over to the U.S., she was so good in BitWC Reply Parent Thread Link Plot summery: A director (Charlize Theron) of an international aid agency in Africa meets a relief aid doctor (Javier Bardem) amidst a political/social revolution, and together face tough choices surrounding humanitarianism and life through civil unrest sounds like the plot of Beyond Borders Reply Thread Link How awkward must that photo call be? Reply Thread Link Maybe he doesn't know a thing about last faces, but he sure knows a thing or two about leather faces. maybe he should do a texas chainsaw massacre remake? then have the angry nerds cry about it not being about women but about remakes. hire me hollywood. Reply Thread Link lmfao Reply Parent Thread Link theron and penn's past race-related behaviour is enough not to ever want to see this movie Reply Thread Link lmao serves this motherfucker right Reply Thread Link 18. Victoria Justice & Ariana Grande, 'Victorious' -Fans reportedly tried to blame Ariana for the shows cancellation which led to Ariana taking to twitter to state that it was Victoria's fault. Her wanting to go solo caused Nickelodeon to cancel the show. -Victoria bit back saying "Some people would throw some1 they consider a friend under the bus just 2 make themselves look good. 9. T.R. Knight, Isaiah Washington, & Patrick Dempsey, 'Grey's Anatomy' -The very beginning of many controversies to hit the Greys Anatomy cast, Isaih Washington used a gay slur against his co-star T.R. Knight which lead to a major fall out with him and many of the cast. He and Patrick Dempsey would end up getting into a fist fight on set due to all the drama. 12. Shannen Doherty & Jennie Garth, 'Beverly Hills, 90210' -One of the most well known feuds in tv history, Shannen and Jennie feud was so bad that allegedly it ended up getting physical even though both denied that it happened. They would fight over whose character got the better clothing, bigger dressing up, all of this plus Shannens reputation as a trouble maker lead the shows producers to fire Shannen after 4 years. 6. Balthazar Getty and the Cast of 'Brothers and Sisters' -Balthazar was often late for the show which caused shooting to be delayed and worked around to accommodate him. -He would often forget his lines and allegedly reduced some of his co-stars to tears -The cast was very close to his wife, who he started cheating on (with Sienna Miller) during the show. -Eventually he was written off though they said it was due to "budget" reasons 2. Gillian Anderson & David Duchovny, 'The X-Files' -Long hours and constantly being around one another led to Gillian and David to feud many times during X-Files run -David Duchovny went on to say Familiarity breeds contempt, We used to argue about nothing. We couldn't stand the sight of each other. Others that I posted (but apparently we can only do 5 out of 20 now...)-Fans reportedly tried to blame Ariana for the shows cancellation which led to Ariana taking to twitter to state that it was Victoria's fault. Her wanting to go solo caused Nickelodeon to cancel the show.-Victoria bit back saying "Some people would throw some1 they consider a friend under the bus just 2 make themselves look good. #StopBeingAPhony #IfTheyOnlyKnew ."-The very beginning of many controversies to hit the Greys Anatomy cast, Isaih Washington used a gay slur against his co-star T.R. Knight which lead to a major fall out with him and many of the cast. He and Patrick Dempsey would end up getting into a fist fight on set due to all the drama.-One of the most well known feuds in tv history, Shannen and Jennie feud was so bad that allegedly it ended up getting physical even though both denied that it happened. They would fight over whose character got the better clothing, bigger dressing up, all of this plus Shannens reputation as a trouble maker lead the shows producers to fire Shannen after 4 years.-Balthazar was often late for the show which caused shooting to be delayed and worked around to accommodate him.-He would often forget his lines and allegedly reduced some of his co-stars to tears-The cast was very close to his wife, who he started cheating on (with Sienna Miller) during the show.-Eventually he was written off though they said it was due to "budget" reasons-Long hours and constantly being around one another led to Gillian and David to feud many times during X-Files run-David Duchovny went on to say Familiarity breeds contempt, We used to argue about nothing. We couldn't stand the sight of each other. Reply Thread Link i mean, i might get in fights with david duchovny too if i had to be around him all the time. Reply Parent Thread Link I would fight when I wasn't busy fucking the shit out of him. Reply Parent Thread Link Isaiah was an asshole and TR Knight was a sweetheart. Reply Parent Thread Link i know duchovny's prob an asshole but he's such a babe jesus christ lol Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Gillian is so beautiful Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I can see some friction between David and Gillian. Especially when they were both trying to fuck the same PA girl and female extras. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link ariana is such a little witch. *plays dangerous woman in the background* Reply Parent Thread Expand Link god, gillian is so beautiful. Reply Parent Thread Link this makes me like patrick dempsey more lol Reply Parent Thread Link i wonder if thats why they wrote paiges magic addicted bf off Reply Parent Thread Link lies, gillian and david love each other!!!!!!!!!! Reply Parent Thread Link lol david and gillian are always on these lists. it didn't help that david was a complete asshole in the 90s. Reply Parent Thread Link But Gillian and David love each other now. So d'aaaaw. Reply Parent Thread Link He and Patrick Dempsey would end up getting into a fist fight on set due to all the drama. It will never E V E R fail to amaze me that Isaiah physically attacked Patrick and yet all anyone ever talks about is the slur he used in reference to T.R. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link When I was younger, I never understood the David Duchovny hype but good lord, he's fine. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I think David and Gillian are fine now, which is nice. I visited the X-Files set back in the day (mid 90's when they were supposedly not on good terms) and I can say that the day I was there, they were fine and I didn't sense any tension. I mean, they were both absolutely lovely and welcoming while I was there. David was a really interesting guy to talk to, really into literature. Gillian signed every single piece of merch I had (even though I was a bit worried I'd brought too many things), and was joking about how I could sell it all off later. I just remember it being a really great experience. Edited at 2016-05-21 07:37 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link the Martin one still creeps me out Reply Thread Link Is this well known cause I had no idea!! I'm so shocked by it JFC!!!! Edited at 2016-05-20 11:00 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link MTE. I know they had a fallout but I had no idea why omg Reply Parent Thread Link Same. I'm shocked, but I really shouldn't be. Reply Parent Thread Link Yep his vulgarity is a large reason hes banned from doing SNL. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i didnt know either Reply Parent Thread Link What is this Martin one everyone's talking about? Reply Parent Thread Link the one show with bruce willis and that one lady i can't remember Reply Thread Link Moonstruck? Moon something Reply Parent Thread Link isn't moonstruck the cher movie? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Moonlighting Reply Parent Thread Link Cybil Shepard - Moonlighting. Reply Parent Thread Link Moonlighting. Cybill Shepherd. Reply Parent Thread Link Cybill kind of has a crazy reputation, lol. De Niro thought she was unprofessional during Taxi Driver and during one of her AMAs, Alicia Witt said she was a 'pretty wild' co-star when they acted together on the sitcom 'Cybill' Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Stop answering this Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Bosom Buddies Reply Parent Thread Link they had SUCH good chemistry on that show tho lol its always the ones that can't stand each other Reply Parent Thread Link Cybill Shepherd is pretty universally hated by everyone who ever worked with her. She was beyond horrible to Christine Baranski on the set of "Cybill" after Christine won an Emmy for her role. I will never forget the insanely awkward interview that the network made them do together to try to disprove all the media reports that Cybill was bullying Christine (I think it was for "Entertainment Tonight" but I'm not sure). Cybill just started ranting about how no one even knew who Christine was "except on Broadway" and that SHE (Cybill) had made Christine a star. Christine, sitting next to her, obviously had no idea what Cybill was about to say and sat there looking like a deer in headlights. It was wild. Cybill also bullied Alicia Witt on the same show, and Tom Wopat once refused to discuss Cybill at all while heaping praise on Christine and Alicia. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link missing the good wife Reply Thread Link That was my first thought too, if we're counting the newest tv feuds Edited at 2016-05-21 12:21 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link who hates each other there? Reply Parent Thread Link given all the options they could've gone with after firing shannen, rose wasn't too bad. paige was a dumbass most of the time but rose played her competently. the show just went on longer than it should've i can't really remember any notable scenes between susan and bree on DH so i guess they tried not to film too many scenes together. susan was definitely marc cherry's favorite so i can see why the other 3 might have been annoyed at her getting some of the good plots Reply Thread Link Didn't Bree's fiance run over Susan's fiance with a car Reply Parent Thread Link Their problem with her doesn't seem to have been about plots, though. There were stories from the set that Teri would constantly have crying tantrums and lock herself in her trailer over nothing, making filming go on for hours longer than it needed to each day when Felicity and Marcia wanted to get home to their kids. And during testimony in the lawsuit that Nicolette Sheridan filed against Marc Cherry for firing her from the show, she called Teri "the meanest person in the world". When the show ended, the other actresses all got together and gave the whole crew sets of luggage as a farewell gift, but Teri did not join in. No one knows for sure if she refused to or if they didn't ask her. Reply Parent Thread Link lol wow I had no idea about Teri Reply Parent Thread Link I seem to recall Dean Cain saying some stuff about Teri too, alluding to the fact that they never know "which Teri" they were going to get on any given day. I can't find a direct quote right now, but I'm almost positive that the gist was that she could have pretty violent mood swings. There is also one episode of Lois & Clark form Season 4, "Toy Story", which when you watch it, just looks like they were not getting along while filming that episode. I haven't watched it in a while, but I remember watching it wondering what the heck was going on because usually they have such great chemistry and it's like they barely wanted to touch that ep (the characters were married by this point). Anyway, I don't think Dean and Teri hated each other, but it does seem like she wasn't all roses either. On the other hand, they looked pretty cosy when they reunited at her book signing years later. And boy, the chemistry was still there! Edited at 2016-05-21 07:49 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Everyone hated Topher on that show. Reply Parent Thread Link Word on the street from his hometown is that he's a prick IRL Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I mean he really thought he was going to be a huge star when he got that role in Spiderman and it really went no where. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Aw that makes me sad because I love the show so much Reply Parent Thread Link ive always read that part of it was because topher was very serious and didnt like to party, and the rest of them would party together all the time Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Laura and Mila were friends with him. He was excluded from the bro clique of Ashton/Wilmer/Hyde tho bc they were crazy partiers and Topher wasn't Reply Parent Thread Link That E true Hollywood story is A MESS. The producers were so bitter. Reply Parent Thread Link ugh i wish i knew that drama Reply Parent Thread Link they seem to have worked things out now though. topher has actually hung out with them in recent years. Reply Parent Thread Link I'd probably have a difficult time getting along with Ashton too. Reply Parent Thread Link Aw I'm actually watching "Martin" rn lol Reply Thread Link I never get why ONTD stans for Shannen. She's a crazy Republican bitch who wants all the attention on every set, then gets fired.... I mean what's there to like? Reply Thread Link Her feud with Alyssa had more to do with quality and wanting the show to be the best it could be. Everyone else on the show had nothing but praise for her. Her feud with Alyssa had more to do with quality and wanting the show to be the best it could be. Everyone else on the show had nothing but praise for her. Reply Parent Thread Link I think she's friends with Rose McGowan too which makes me wish they'd killed Phoebe so it could have been Pru/Piper/Paige Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yes and she's the best character with Piper and actress. Reply Parent Thread Link once someone pointed out her wonky eye it's all i can yeah i went a while before noticing it, i blame camera angles Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I don't get it either. She's always seemed stuck up to me. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I just think all the drama that follows her is hilarious. Reply Parent Thread Link I like Brenda tbh. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link She played 2 iconic characters flawlessly (3 if you count Heathers) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Brenda Walsh means a lot to me tbh. Also i used to love charmed and her character :( Reply Parent Thread Link It's pretty interesting, though, when you think about it. She's always considered to be this temperamental actress, yet every other party seems to get the nice rewrite. As if they're not temperamental, as well. By default, when people clash so heavily, no one's an angel. Reply Parent Thread Link I'm kind of shocked at the people praising her acting. I thought she was horrible on Charmed. Every time a scene called for her to display emotion, she would look down at the floor and act bored while delivering the line in a monotone. I could never decide which was worse - her surly monotone or Alyssa Milano's dopey baby talk. Holly Marie Combs was a better actress than either of them. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link ONTD loves villains because it fits their attitude perfectly. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Because Pru > Paige. Reply Parent Thread Link She's an Education Connection graduate! Reply Parent Thread Link I don't stan her, but her crazy Republican bitch self had a spark that made her respective shows better. Charmed was never the same after her. And it's not like she was an asshole on Charmed, Holly and Rose liked her, it was just Alyssa who didn't. She might have been an asshole on 90210, but the others were as well, so it was an asshole-off there. Reply Parent Thread Link People on here stan her? Reply Parent Thread Link Holly's shade towards Alyssa not even going to High School was legendary. Even Julian McMahon hated Alyssa, bc he had it contracted that he wouldn't shoot scenes w her when he came back in like Season 7. what???? all of this is news to me :/ that's so sad. Reply Parent Thread Link whoa, i had no idea about julian hating her and not doing scenes with her Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Daaaaamn Reply Parent Thread Link lmao i would have been shady towards kaley too. her character was a MESS and such a transparent play Reply Parent Thread Link Whoa. And I knew about Alyssa/Brian but I didn't know about Shannen/Julian. Reply Parent Thread Link Lol can you elaborate on them being shady to Kaley? I can't stand ha Reply Parent Thread Link Holly sounds like a bitch and a half. That story about her Cucuo is just smh. Fit with her permanent bitch face, I guess. Reply Parent Thread Link yasssss bts gossip! SMG and Alyson Hannigan couldn't stand each other, I think, at least for a while. Reply Thread Link Yeah, SMG totally distanced herself from the cast and crew once she and Freddie got together. Plus Alyson was PISSED that SMG didn't tell them that she was quitting the show. Glad they are friends again. Reply Parent Thread Link Plus Alyson was PISSED that SMG didn't tell them that she was quitting the show. Which was really dumb, bc Joss was the person she should have been really mad at for not telling them the show wasn't going to continue. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Pretty sure that's always been way overblown. You can see them joking around in the dailies together as late as S6. I think Alyson only was upset with her at the very end of S7 but they've made up since then anyway. Reply Parent Thread Link I think it was because Sarah quit the show and didn't tell anyone so it pissed a lot of them off. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Didnt Alyson Hannigan push her assistant down the stairs? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Lynda Carter and Debra Winger during Wonder Woman Reply Thread Link i want naya to spill all the glee dirt!! Reply Thread Link I was so hoping her memoir would have lots of juicy bts stories, but I guess she knows that Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk have real power in Hollywood and it wouldn't be good for her career to piss them off. We will probably have to wait another 10 or 15 years before one of the cast decides their career is never going to take off anyway and decides to spill the tea for a quick buck. ): Reply Parent Thread Link IA. It's probably career suicide to do this so early. Not to mention tacky, but I'd read this kinda dirt bc I'm trash. Reply Parent Thread Link She's not going to have a career regardless lbr. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Same! But sadly it won't happen any time soon. The thing I hated the most about Naya and Lea fighting was that they ruined the Rachel/Santana friendship. I loved them as friends because they had a great balance. Reply Parent Thread Link 5. Sarah Jessica Parker & Kim Cattrall, 'Sex and the City' Despite playing besties on the hit HBO series Sex and the City, unfortunately Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall did not share Carrie and Samantha's bond in real life. Things got even worse during the filming of the movies when Cattrall discovered that Parker's salary was significantly higher than the rest of the casts'. In an interview with Marie Claire, Parker discussed the on-set tension and said: There are times when all of us have been sensitive and sometimes feelings get hurt. 5. Sarah Jessica Parker & Kim Cattrall, 'Sex and the City'Despite playing besties on the hit HBO series Sex and the City, unfortunately Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall did not share Carrie and Samantha's bond in real life. Things got even worse during the filming of the movies when Cattrall discovered that Parker's salary was significantly higher than the rest of the casts'. In an interview with Marie Claire, Parker discussed the on-set tension and said: There are times when all of us have been sensitive and sometimes feelings get hurt. Reply Thread Link I always thought them not getting along in real life made me appreciate them as actresses since you really never felt any of that, especially when Samantha finds out she has breast cancer and they have that scene in the taxi cab. Reply Parent Thread Link Lol this is one that actually disappointed me :( Reply Parent Thread Link iirc, Jessica got more because she was an exec producer as well... idk, I think all four should've been the same. Not like they coulda made a movie without any one of them so... Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Vivian Vance & William Frawley Reply Thread Link I was always so offended for Vivian that they set her up with this old ass ugly dude Reply Parent Thread Link This!!! And he constantly belittled her. Reply Parent Thread Link and they tried to make it look like she was "fat" and "ugly" Reply Parent Thread Expand Link vivian was offended as well lol Reply Parent Thread Link when i was little, i thought they were really married and all four of them were actually neighbors in that building. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link omg i'm watching this show in color right now lol Reply Parent Thread Link lol yas the loathing was real Reply Parent Thread Link As petty as Lucy was for making Viv gain weight and play an older woman, it really works for the show. A young married couple and an old vet couple getting into mischief. I'm sure that if they were making the show today Viv would do it all over again. Reply Parent Thread Link Their E! true Hollywood story is ICONIC. Joyce DeWitt STILL being bitter as fuck towards Suzanne was hilarious. Reply Thread Link Yup - she dared to ask to be paid the same as her male co-star (John Ritter was making waaaay more than the women). She got fired and then dragged by the media for being a diva bitch for years when all she wanted was equal pay. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link wasn't there some lifetime/tv movie about it? and joyce as on their telling her side and still bitching? Reply Parent Thread Link this always surprised me, but especially now because i know someone irl who knows suzanne and says she's a really sweet, good person. Reply Parent Thread Link Market data from Reuters shows that Iranian crude oil exports in April reached 2.3 million barrels per day, exceeding forecasts, while May exports are expected to be around 2.1 million barrels per dayor almost 60 percent higher than a year ago. In May last year, by way of comparison, Iran was exporting about 1.3 million bpd, according to Reuters. Logistics were holding up Iranian exports, with tankers being a key problem and indications now that this has been partially resolved. A week ago, Iranian officials announced that sanctions on the countrys shipping lines have been completely removed, and that Iranian tankers are now free to dock at any port in the world. Related: Iraq Facing Perfect Storm Accordingly, all tankers that are under Irans ownership as well as any [foreign] tanker that enters Irans ports will not have any problem with regards to the issue of insurance, Iranian media quoted an official as saying. Its a tough pill for rival Saudi Arabia to swallow, as the two fight for market share. Iran has regained almost half of its pre-sanctions European market, and exported 1.7 million bpd to Asia in April. Last week, Iran introduced a discount on the June contract for its heavy crude going to Asia, just a few days after Saudi Arabia announced a price increase for its own June contract for the continent. With the discount, Iranian oil will be noticeably cheaper for Asian clients than both Saudi and Iraqi crude. Related: Who Will Benefit From The Electrification Of Transport? Also on Thursday, U.S. and European Union authorities came out with an official statement reassuring private businesses that they are free to conduct legal business with Iran. "This includes the reengagement of European banks and businesses in Iran," they said in the joint statement released after talks in Brussels. By James Burgess of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: When looking at this weeks key figures from the oil and gas industry, we can see that U.S. average gasoline prices are still rising while crude stockpiles rising and imports are slightly up. (Click to enlarge) (Click to enlarge) (Click to enlarge) (Click to enlarge) Friday, May 20, 2015 Oil prices bounced around this week, flirting with $50 per barrel but stopping short of that key threshold. The major supply outages in Nigeria (now at 900,000 barrels per day) and Canada (more than 1 million barrels per day) continue to put upward pressure on oil prices as they are erasing the supply overhang. Still, much of that will be temporary. The EIA poured a bit of cold water on the rally this week, reporting a surprise uptick in oil stocks. At the same time, U.S. production continues to slowly erode. The markets are more confident than at any point in recent weeks that prices wont crash back into the $30s, but more movement to the upside is not a given. Related: Can Oil Prices Hold Onto Gains At $50 Per Barrel? FMC Technologies and Technip tie up. Two large oilfield service companies agreed to merge this week, FMC Technologies (NYSE: FTI) of Texas and the French company Technip (EPA: TEC). The combined TechnipFMC would have a market value of $13 billion, and with 2015 combined revenues of $20 billion, the new company would earn more than Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI). The drilling services sector has been hit hard by the downturn in oil prices as producers cancel rig contracts and cut back on drilling. The WSJ notes the synergies between the two Technips engineering and construction expertise will work with FMCs underwater equipment portfolio. The deal comes as the Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) and Baker Hughes merger fell apart because of anti-trust concerns. Canadian wildfires rage but move away from key oil sands facilities. The massive wildfires in Canada continue to spread, encompassing more than 1.25 million acres, but cooler weather and efforts from firefighters have kept the blazes away from oil sands sites. More than 1 million barrels per day have been sidelined over the past two weeks, and the inability to get the fires under control has temporarily shelved some plans for restarts. The Alberta government said this week the 80,000 residents of Fort McMurray could start to return in increments beginning in June. Canada approves Pacific pipeline expansion. Canadas National Energy Board (NEB) issued a recommendation for approval for Kinder Morgans (NYSE: KMI) expansion of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline that runs from Alberta to the Pacific Coast in British Columbia. However, the thumbs up came with 157 conditions since the NEB also found that it would have negative environmental impacts, not the least of which is a five-fold increase in tanker traffic off the coast of Vancouver. The pipeline would nearly triple the capacity of the existing line from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 barrels per day. It would involve running 1,000 km of new pipeline parallel to the existing line. With so much oil trapped in Alberta with inadequate pipeline infrastructure, the expansion would be extremely welcome for oil sands producers. It would also allow Canadian crude to obtain a higher global market price, rather than the heavy discount it pays because of a shortage of pipeline capacity to the U.S. If the Prime Minister approves the project, construction could begin in 2017 and reach completion in 2019. Norway opens up Arctic for drilling. The Norwegian government offered new oil and gas drilling acreage for the first time in more than 20 years this week. 10 drilling licenses were offered to 13 companies in the Barents Sea and some of the offshore acreage is located in disputed territory with Russia. Iraq oil production could be at a peak. An official from Russian oil company Lukoil said that Iraqs oil production could be at a peak as the government moves to trim payments to oil producers. Lukoil operates in some of Iraqs southern oil fields near Basra. The Lukoil official told Bloomberg that the oilfields require more investment to boost production but spending cutbacks from Baghdad could lead to a decline in output. 2016 budgets could be cut by 50 percent. Lukoil, for example, will cut spending on the massive West Qurna-2 field from $3 billion in 2015 to $1.3 billion this year. The Iraqi government just reached a deal with the IMF for a $5.4 billion loan, the first major oil exporter to do so. Related: Can EVs Save Electric Utilities? North Sea asset sell off. BP (NYSE: BP) is mulling a sale of a stake in the Forties pipeline in the North Sea, a crucial pipeline for the whole region. The pipeline connects more than 50 oil fields in the North Sea and has a capacity to move as much as 1 million barrels per day. The British oil giant has not decided for certain yet if it will proceed with such a sale, but it has plans to dispose of $3 to $5 billion in assets this year. Separately, Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) is negotiating with potential buyers to sell off some North Sea assets, but also has not launched a formal sale process. Petrobras raises $6.75 billion in new bonds. Embattled and indebted state-owned Brazilian oil company Petrobras successfully raised $6.75 billion in a new bond offering, although it came with a heavy price tag. About $5 billion in notes due in 2021 were sold with an 8.625 percent annual yield while the remaining $1.75 billion in debt due in 2026 sold with a yield of 9 percent. Still, the company needs the cash injection; it has $13.2 billion in debt falling due in 2016 and $28.5 billion maturing in 2017 and 2018. France set for oil refinery strike. French workers could bring oil refineries to a halt as workers strike over changes to labor laws. The large CGT workers union will vote on Friday whether or not to strike. But truck shipments have already interrupted some fuel supplies around the country because of protests. French President Francois Hollande has supported the change in labor laws, reducing overtime pay and making it easier for workers to be fired from the job. Oil giant Total (NYSE: TOT) is the major refinery operator in the country. Chevron to restart Gorgon LNG. Chevron (NYSE: CVX) is in the process of restarting its enormous Gorgon LNG export facility in Australia, after several weeks of disruption due to mechanical problems. The $54 billion LNG facility completed construction earlier this year. By Evan Kelly of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The latest drilling productivity report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has shown that the Marcellus shale continues to be the largest source of natural gas in the U.S. by a wide margin, with daily amounts that put it on par with leading international producers such as Iran and Qatar. This is despite a serious dip in production that began last year as the market became saturated and prices plunged. The domestic gas market is still saturated, according to the EIA, which has projected that gas output in the Marcellus and elsewhere will continue to decline. International markets are the natural alternative for shale gas producers, but there are a few issues with this alternative, and these issues mean that the huge output in the Marcellus is not such good news. Related:Can Oil Prices Hold Onto Gains At $50 Per Barrel? First, there is the competition. The European market is an attractive destination for U.S. gas as it is looking to diversify away from Russias Gazprom. Asia, with its high levels of demand, is also an attractive prospect. However, there are suppliers with an established presence in both these markets, which are likely to cut prices in a bid to preserve their market share. U.S. exporters, on the other hand, have less space for maneuvering. The only way U.S. companies can transport their gas is after liquefying it and shipping it to Europe or Asia. Cheniere Energy is already doing this. There are several liquefaction terminals in construction across the country, driven by hopes for gas demand growth across the world. However, these hopes have not yet proved realistic. To complicate things further, pipeline projects at home are being delayed, adding to the pressure on gas producers. Related: Are The Saudis Facing A Full-Blown Liquidity Crisis? There is a glut on the international gas market comparable to that in oil, although various sources claim the oil glut is on the wane with the recent production outages in Canada and Nigeria. Last month, Barclays Commodity Research unit issued a note, in which its analyst team said: Given limited amounts of incremental demand in the premium markets of Asia, the Middle East and South America, increasing volumes of LNG will likely be imported into Europe, especially northwest Europe, given the region's liquidity relative to other global gas markets (the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands). The analysts went on to add: However, the LNG glut will converge on Europe, meaning Europe's prices will likely decline. Related: What Does The Next OPEC Meeting Have In Store? If European gas prices drop any further, U.S. gas will be unable to compete with current suppliers, which use an extensive pipeline system to feed gas into Europe at lower than LNG shipping rates. Maybe the best solution to the glut is the most obvious one: cut production, let the market rebalance, and try to survive in the meantime. By Irina Slav of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Reprinted from Paul Craig Roberts Website It is not only American generals who are irresponsible and declare on the basis of no evidence whatsoever that "Russia is an existential threat to the United States" and also to the Baltic states, Poland, Georgia, Ukraine, and all of Europe. British generals also participate in the warmongering. UK retired general and former NATO commander Sir Richard Shirreff, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander in Europe until 2014, has just declared that nuclear war with Russia is "entirely possible" within the year. My loyal readers know that I, myself, have been warning for some time about the likelihood of nuclear war. However, there is a vast difference between me and the Western generals. I see the war as the consequence of the neoconservative drive for US world hegemony. The neoconservative drive for world hegemony is acknowledged by the neoconservatives themselves in their public position papers, and it has a 15-year record of being implemented in America's many and ongoing wars in the Middle East and Africa. Although the Presstitute media does its best to keep our focus away from the known facts, the facts remain known. The position of the Western generals is that "Russian aggression" is driving an innocent America/NATO to nuclear war. Here is General Shirreff's list of "Russian aggressions": "He [Putin] has invaded Georgia, he has invaded the Crimea, he has invaded Ukraine. He has used force and got away with it. In a period of tension, an attack on the Baltic states... is entirely plausible." Shirreff is talking about make-believe happenings that even if real would be taking place inside what were until recently Russia's long-standing national boundaries. General Shirreff strikes me as either uninformed or a dissembler. It is the United States and Israel who use force and get away with it. The Russian invasion of the former Russian province, Georgia, was a response to the American puppet government's invasion of South Ossetia in which the American and Israeli trained and equipped Georgian troops killed Russian peace-keeping troops and a large number of South Ossetian civilians while the Russian government was at the Beijing olympics. It only took a small fraction of the Russian Army a few hours to roll up the American and Israeli trained Georgian Army. Putin had the former Russian province in his hand. He could have hung the American puppet president and reincorporated Georgia back into Russia, where it probably belongs, having spent all of modern history in that location. But Putin did not see Georgia as a prize, and having made his point, let the Americans have their puppet state back. The president at the time, a scummy scoundrel, was thrown out of the country by Georgians and now serves the American puppet state of Ukraine, like so many others who are not Ukrainian. Apparently, Washington can't find enough Ukrainians who will sell out their country for Washington and has to bring in foreigners to help Washington rule Ukraine. There has been, alas, no Russian invasion of Ukraine. Putin would not even accept the pleas of the Russian majority populations in the breakaway provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk to be reincorporated back into Russia where they belong. If Putin actually wanted Ukraine, he doesn't need to send in an army. He can take back the eastern and southern parts just by accepting the pleas of the people to again be a part of Russia. The only plea that Putin accepted was that of the Crimeans, who with an extremely high turnout never experienced in "western democracies" voted 97.6 percent to rejoin Russia, where Crimea resided for longer than the US has existed, until Khrushchev, a Ukrainian, transferred Crimea from the Russian Soviet Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Republic when both were provinces of the Soviet Union. Little doubt that Putin accepted Crimea's plea because Russia's only warm water port and entrance into the Mediterranean Sea is Russia's naval base in Crimea, and little doubt that Putin refused Donetsk and Luhansk in order to deflect Washington's propagandistic charges, such as those of former general Shirreff. Putin reasoned, mistakenly in my view, that his refusal to accept Donetsk and Luhansk would reassure Washington's NATO puppet states and lessen Washington's influence over Europe. For the corrupt Europeans, facts are of no consequence. Washington's money prevails. Putin doesn't understand the power of Washington's money. In the entire West only money counts. There is no such thing as Washington's word, government integrity, truth, or even empirical facts. There are only well-propagated lies. The entire West is a lie. The West exists for one reason only -- corporate profits. The retired general Shirreff claims, without any evidence, which is typical, that Putin "used force and got away with it." What force is the general talking about? Can he identify the force? The independent international observers of the Crimean voting report that it was completely fair, that there was no intimidation, no troops or any Russian intimidation present. The former NATO general Shirreff believes that a Russian attack "on the Baltic states is entirely possible." For what reason? The Baltic states, former provinces of the Soviet Union, comprise no threat whatsoever to Russia. The Russians have no reason whatsoever to attack the Baltic states. It was Russia that gave the Baltic states their independence. Just as it was Russia that gave Ukraine and Georgia their independence. Imperial Washington is leveraging the reasonableness of the Russian government to put Russia in a propagandistic light. The Russian government has permitted itself to be put on the defensive and has given the attack to Washington. Microsporidian spore (Image by (From Wikimedia) . ., Author: . .) Details Source DMCA Cancer as a Parasitic Disease by Jeffrey Dach MD For link to original article, click here. Highlights from the 14th Annual International Integrative Oncology Conference April 16th, 2016. I was intrigued by a presentation of five cases of Glioblastoma Multiforme treated over ten years in a clinic in Bellevue, Washington. All five brain tumor biopsy samples stained positive for the spirochete parasite, Borrelia, the organism found in Lyme disease.(1) The patient's tumors regressed upon treatment for parasitic disease, and progressed when treatments were halted. Borrelia in Mantle Cell Lymphoma This information was new to me, so I wondered if Borrelia had been associated with any other types of cancer. A quick literature search answered the question. Dr Claudia Schollkopf reported in Blood 2008 that patients who tested positive for Borrella antibodies had a 4 times higher risk of Mantle Cell lymphoma. (2) Four years previously, in 2004, Borrelia organisms had been identified in two cases of nodal lymphoma. (3) Cancer as a Parasitic Disease is an Old Idea Cancer as a form of parasitic disease is actually an old idea originally proposed by early microbiologists. They considered the idea self-evident from their microscopic observations of cancer cells. William Russell Pathologist -- 1890 On December 3, 1890 the Scottish pathologist William Russell reported a "cancer microbe" seen under his microscope inside cancer cells. His report in the Dec 18, 1890 British Medical Journal included detailed drawings describing parasitic spores within cancer cells.(24) Over the next 120 years, Dr Russell's hypothesis that cancer is a parasitic disease was picked up and championed by a long list of impressive scientists. However all were labeled as medical heretics and lived out their careers in obscurity. Parasitic Disease in Animals Parasitic protozoans may invade and hijack cell pathways to enhance survival. In doing so, they may resemble cancer cells. One such example is a tick borne parasitic infection called Theileria annulata, affecting South African cattle. The invading parasite transforms the animal's lymphocytes into lymphoma cells demonstrating all the hallmarks of cancer. (4) Because of the similarity with cancer, this model has been extensively studied, hoping for clues leading to an understanding of cancer biology. (4-9) Spirochete Parasite Transmitted by Ticks -- Resembles Lymphoma With an uncanny resemblance to the Borellia Lyme parasite in humans, Theileria is an intracellular parasites transmitted by ticks. One species, T. parva, is highly pathogenic for cattle and causes fatal lymphoproliferative disease known as East Coast fever. "Infected cells acquire a metastatic, cancer-like phenotype and are the primary cause of pathology"(9). The parasite resides in the cell cytoplasm where it inhibits host-cell apoptosis pathways to ensure self-survival. The parasites synchronize their replication with that of the host cell so that daughter cells are also infected. The parasite speeds up cell replication, benefiting its own survival. Cancer cells share many of these same features, such as inhibition of apoptosis (immortalization) and increased speed of replication. The disease is reversible with anti-parasitic drug treatment with buparvaquone. (8) Crytosporidium Mouse Model of Colon Cancer Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Hafeez Saeed needs no introduction to Americans. His name rings bells because his jihadi outfit, Lashkar-e-Toiba, (LeT), had carried out a blitzkrieg of sort on India's happening city, Mumbai, in Nov 2008, and claimed the lives of several Americans, Brits, and Israelis amongst other nationalities. Both the UN and U.S. have declared LeT a terrorist organization. Washington has placed a $ 10 million bounty on Hafeez's head but it has not come in his way of moving around Pakistan freely at the head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), an Islamic charity, holding out threats to the United States, India and Israel. These days, Hafiz Saeed is making ways in Pakistan for altogether different reasons from his perch in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, which is also the power base of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. A real estate agent, Khalid Saeed, of Lahore, has complained to the Punjab Police and the Lahore High Court that he was summoned by Darul Qaza Al-Sharia, JuD's kangaroo court, to appear in a property dispute case. The JuD warned him that "no excuse would be accepted and action would be taken according to Sharia." His case has created the impression that JuD has become bold in dispensing swift justice, which the official judicial system is unable to deliver. Pakistan's judiciary is saddled with over 1.7 million cases, according to the Law Commission of Pakistan. Litigants particularly from the poor strata of the society are generally reluctant to knock at the doors of courts because of tardy progress and absence of witness protection laws. Pakistan is not a functional democracy. The Army chief matters the most, as he calls the shots on India-Afghan- America policies. In fact the military enjoys the status of permanent establishment. Islamists, and a section of political class keep themselves afloat by proclaiming loyalty to and serving the interests of the Army General Head Quarters (GHQ), and also of the Army- run Inter-Services Intelligence, (ISI), which is the CIA plus of Pakistan. A manifestation of this phenomenon, which is compounded by a spineless political executive, is JuD's Sharia Court for instant justice. There are many such courts functioning in the tribal belt of the country that borders Afghanistan and provides shelter to the Taliban, and its clones. In addition, there are Jirgas, which are no more than councils of village elders all over rural Pakistan. The Jirga courts are guided by the principle of eye-for-eye. They often give away in barter women and order rape and force marriage of young girls particularly in cases of honour killings - killings in cold blood by members of a victim's family as punishment for bringing "shame" on the community. One such honour killing took place in the village of Makol, 50 km from Islamabad on April 29, 2016, and became front page news. A 16-year-old girl, Ambreen Riasat, was drugged, killed and burnt by a group of men of her village. Her crime: helping a young couple to elope. Ambreen's death demonstrates how ineffective the formal justice system is even near the seat of federal government. STATE WITHIN STATE Darul Qaza Al-Sharia is a cut above the Jirga courts, since it has been established by the all-powerful Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), which has perfected the art of hoodwinking the Washington-based Ayatollahs of anti-terrorism campaign. It started off as Markaz Dawa-wal-Irshad (MDI) and changed into JuD in the wake of the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament, which was launched by Lashkar-e-Toiba, (LeT), itself. The biggest plus of JuD and its chief Hafeez Saeed is ISI patronage. Today, it boasts of a big university, a large seminary at its base in Muridke, outside Lahore, and several centres to train in-house jihadis and ISI sponsored Mujahideen from home and abroad. The first JuD court was set up at its headquarters two decades ago. It has delivered justice in over 5,500 cases, according to The News International, an English daily. Any objection raised by any party to the verdict is "tantamount to disobedience of Allah and His messenger," Hafeez Saeed decreed as he empowered himself to appoint judges and reserved to himself the right to hearing appeals on decisions made by the "subordinate judges". JuD has become thus a state within a state, a Tier - II establishment, the Tier --I being the GHQ Shura-led permanent establishment. Since 1990 Hafeez's judicial system has been in place in Islamabad under the very nose of Pakistani government. Gujranwala, Bahawalpur, Multan, Karachi, and Quetta are among the other key centres where Hafeez courts are functioning, which goes to show that Pakistan's civil, military and judicial establishments have not stood in the way of JuD's parallel judicial system. It is a reward for Hafeez's services, which are available on tap. For instance, in Nov 2011, when 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed by American planes along the Afghan border, he had cobbled up 40 plus political, religious and Islamist groups to float Difa-e-Pakistan Council (Defence of Pakistan Council) with the war cry against NATO. You and I may argue that the Hafeez's enterprise poses a danger to the civil society as we have seen it elsewhere in the world. Well, there is something wrong rotten in Pakistan. Its zealots have just turned a murderer, Mumtaz Qadri, (the assassin of anti-blasphemy law crusader, Salman Taseer, in 2011) into a martyr. The shrine that has come up at Qadri's grave, which is a couple of miles away from Islamabad, mirrors the reality of Pakistan, where politicians court openly leaders of militant groups, and security forces and the bureaucracy publicly throw their lot with perpetrators of crimes in the name of religion. BENIGN JIHADISM Otherwise JuD, which has been on UN list of terrorist organizations could not have become a publicly visible face of vigilante justice. And Hafeez Saeed a free man. The Security Council Sanctions List includes Lashkar-e-Toiba (ID: QDe.118) and lists Jamaat-ud-Dawa as a secondary name. Hafeez was placed on the list in 2008. As Dr. Mohammad Taqi (The curious case of banned outfits, Daily Times, Lahore, Jan 29, 2015) says, "the delusional thinking about 'benign' jihadism remains rampant not just in the security establishment of Pakistan but also afflicts the political class and the intelligentsia". Orthodox Salafism is the doctrinal orientation of the JuD, al Qaeda and IS. All the three are active across Pakistan from Durand Line (Afghanistan-Pakistan border) to Radcliffe Line (Pakistan-India border) and Pakistan-Iran border to Northern Areas (Gilgit-Baltistan) -- Xinjiang (North-western China) border. CHINA FACES ACID TEST United States, as one of the 'A' trinity (Allah, Army and America) that guides Pakistan, knows the Pakistani system. No doubt but more than the US, it is China that is in a position to make its all-weather friend to fall in line with the UN quest to bring the likes of Hafeez Saeed and Maulana Masood Azhar of Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) to justice. Firstly, it has a better understanding of the Pakistani state and its ways, particularly its nexus with the jihadi groups like JuD and JeM, which have been operating under several disguises. Secondly, it has been dealing with the Pak Islamist zealots on its own, often paying ransom quietly without any demur, to secure its business interests that range from beauty parlours to highways and cellular phone services from the highlands in Talibanised North-west Pakistan to Karachi, the commercial capital of the country. Thirdly, it has been at the receiving end of Pakistani jihadis, who, are sheltering and arming the Uyghur Muslim rebels. Moreover, last December, China armed itself with a law that enables it to mount anti-terror ops abroad by projecting its Uyghur concerns as part of global war on terrorism. China faced the first acid test to its new doctrine on the eve of All Fools Day at the United Nations. It requested the Sanction Committee, which was considering a ban on Azhar, to keep the designation on hold. Azhar's JeM has been on the UN sanctions list since 2001. Logically, he too should come under restrictions but his case "did not meet" the Security Council's requirements, China said without elaborating. And another confessed terrorist leader remains a free man to roam around Pakistan without hindrance even after master minding an attack on Pathankot airbase! China should have been in the forefront of putting Azhar on the sanctions list while forcing Islamabad to enforce the UN ban on Hafeez Saeed. The Chinese did neither; instead, brazenly exercised a veto to save Azhar, who had secured his freedom in the most treacherous way - bartering the lives of passengers on a plane hijacked to Taliban controlled Kandahar with his own freedom in December 1999. Is this a short sighted tactic, an act to bail out a dear friend or a grand plan of eat the cake and have it too? Either way, Hafeez courts and China's love for Azhar appear on the same page, putting a question mark over the relevance of veto. Naturally! Regarding the passage of JASTA in the U.S. Senate, we would like to sincerely thank Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for their dedication and support. Their wisdom and leadership has demonstrated an understanding of the need to hold those responsible for funding terrorism accountable. Without accountability, there can be no justice. We look forward to members of the House joining with the Senate in demonstrating that same level of wisdom and leadership. In this time of angry partisan fighting, it is gratifying to see Senators from both parties joining together to fight terrorism in accordance with our legal principles. Ultimately, we hope to see this important legislation on the desk of President Obama for his swift signature. In light of that goal and in direct response to the Obama Administration's statement today that they still, "strongly continue to oppose this legislation," and that they may, "seek additional changes to the measure or try to get it killed in the House," we would like to respectfully request that the Administration refrain from using such violent language when opposing legislation specifically designed and intended to help victims of terrorism. For us, whose loved ones were killed, there is simply no room for the word "killed" in this dialogue. Obama and his speechwriters and spokespeople ought to know that. Moreover, we would also like to encourage President Obama to recalibrate his priorities by placing American citizens and victims of terrorism ahead of nations like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who fund terrorists that want to kill Americans. We are tired of witnessing President Obama block our path to justice. We do not appreciate such behavior being exhibited by a President who has the audacity to pride himself on holding such lofty principles of constitutionality, openness, transparency and accountability - not to mention being a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Furthermore, over the weekend, at Rutgers University, President Obama stated the following: "In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue. It's not cool to not know what you're talking about. That's not keeping it real or telling it like it is." In the spirit of keeping things real, we would like to draw Mr. Obama's attention to his own deliberate decision not to read the 28 pages of the Joint Inquiry of Congress' Final Report into the 9/11 Attacks. Perhaps if Mr. Obama had bothered to read the 28 pages, he would more rightfully comprehend and appreciate the need for JASTA. Ignorance is NOT bliss. Finally during the same speech, Mr. Obama quoted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, "The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice." Noting that to get there depends on, "... the choices we make, particularly at certain inflection points in history." Today, we stand at just such an inflection point in our history. We call upon President Obama to heed the words he so easily echoed from Dr. King, and make the right choice, one that bends towards justice for the 3,000 innocent souls murdered on 9/11. The Ticking Clinton Time Bomb: Hidden in Plain Sight - Part 3 Readers and concerned citizens now have a way to see ALL of the material on the topic, rather than read a hint here and a hint there. This timeline offers, for the first time, the ability to see the scandal/s as a whole, and therefore to connect the dots, which makes the whole story all that much more serious, sordid, and oh so much worse. Welcome back for the conclusion of this three-part series with Paul Thompson about Hillary's emails and The Clinton Foundation. [Read Part One, Hillary's "Damn" Emails? Or "Damning" Emails?and Part Two, Did Clinton Foundation Pimp Out State Department?] Joan Brunwasser: You've mentioned to me that timing is crucial here. Can you flesh that out a bit for us? What's the rush? Paul Thompson: Timing is everything in this case, in my opinion. First, the FBI has to decide whether to recommend to indict Clinton and/or her top aides or not. Then, the Justice Department has to decide whether to go ahead with an indictment or not. For me, the key is the FBI's recommendation, because if they were to recommend Clinton's indictment, that would totally change the public perception - there would be no way to maintain that this is just a right-wing smear or an inconsequential "security inquiry," as Clinton keeps calling it. And that could in turn completely transform the presidential election. JB: How so? PT: So much depends on the timing. Let's assume for a minute that the FBI does recommend Clinton's indictment. The effect of that could be very different, depending on when it happens. There are still Democratic primaries coming up. In particular, 800 delegates are to be rewarded on June 7th, with almost 500 of them in California. Bernie Sanders actually still has a chance to win a majority of the pledged delegates. If the FBI were to recommend Clinton's indictment prior to June 7th, that bombshell could lead to a Sanders landslide. He would need 70% or so of the vote in those states to win a bare majority of the pledged delegates. JB: But what if the FBI doesn't act until after that date? PT: Then, the next big date is the Democratic National Convention, starting on July 25th. If the FBI is silent until after the early June primaries, Clinton is likely to enter the convention with a sizable lead of pledged delegates. But there's the matter of the superdelegates. What would they do? They might switch in big numbers to Sanders if Clinton is seen as fatally wounded due to an FBI recommendation. Or they might not. Nobody knows, because nothing like that has ever happened before. Lately, there's been talk that establishment Democrats think Sanders is too liberal, so if Clinton drops out, most of her delegates could vote for Joe Biden or someone else, denying the nomination to Sanders. There are all sorts of "what if" scenarios. JB: Granted, but bringing in Biden at the convention would surely turn off the millions of Bernie supporters, and rightfully so. What if the FBI waits until after the convention before making any recommendation? Is that also a possibility? PT: It is. FBI Director James Comey has repeatedly said that he wants the investigation to be done well and quickly, but if there's a conflict, "well" takes priority over "quickly." He's also said the FBI hasn't set any deadlines to finish, such as the Democratic Convention. That said, news reports indicate the investigation is almost over. For instance, a couple of days ago, The New York Times said the investigation is expected to finish within a month. Basically, all the investigating is done, most or all of Clinton's aides have been interviewed, and the last step is interviewing Clinton herself, which should take place in the next few weeks. If the FBI inexplicably waits a couple more months after that, that could be seen as an effort to throw the general election to Trump, so I think it's very unlikely they'll wait that long. If that was their plan, we wouldn't be hearing the news reports that they're basically done and just waiting to interview Clinton. JB: How does your rushing to finish your timeline dovetail with all those timing permutations? PT: My thinking is that the Republicans are licking their lips and lying in wait. They're planning to make a very big deal out of both the email scandal and the Clinton Foundation's troubles, but it makes sense for them to wait until the start of the election to do so. Trump is disliked by a majority of likely voters. In fact, his dislike numbers are the worst of any major presidential candidate since favorability ratings began to be polled, back in the 1970s. Trump's only chance of winning is if he runs against Clinton, who has the second worst dislike numbers of any major presidential candidate ever! Even then, she would probably need to be heavily damaged by these scandals for Trump to have a decent chance to win. So, my goal is to get the facts about the scandal widely known prior to the Democratic Convention. Then, Democrats still have a chance to jump ship from Clinton to Sanders, or even to someone else like Joe Biden. Personally, I think picking someone who hasn't even been in the primaries like Biden would be a terrible idea, but literally anyone would be miles better than Clinton. There's no Biden Foundation or Sanders Foundation that is a conflict of interest can of worms like the Clinton Foundation. What Clinton has done with that foundation plus her email scandal is unprecedented. If the FBI does recommend her indictment, I think it would be absolutely crazy to continue with her nomination. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121 "The most effective ways to create a more inclusive, fair-for-all future will be from the bottom up. Rob Kall's book lays out how that would look with a hopeful, pragmatic vision that will change the way you see the world." Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation, a columnist for The Progressive, and the author of eight books on the politics of sports, including What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States and A People's History of Spo 38th Avenue and Balboa Street, 1951 and 2006 A branch of Bank of America still operates on the southwest corner of 38th Avenue and Balboa Street, but it has expanded to take over where Sterling Cleaners and the Balboa Club bar once stood. In 1951, there were a lot more windows on the 38th Avenue facade of the bank. Walter's Creamery was getting a delivery of Spreckel's Ice Cream in this shot. WNP photo from approximately same spot, December 29, 2006: Contribute your own stories about western neighborhoods places! Pakistan only country which always stood next to Afghanistan: NSA ISLAMABAD: Lt. Gen (Retd) Nasir Khan Janjua, National Security Adviser said, war can never be a road to peace and Pakistan was the only country which had always stood next to Afghanistan and its people for peace and stability. He expressed these views at the closing ceremony of the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) and German organisation Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSFs) joint two-day international conference on Evolving Situation in Afghanistan: Role of Major powers and Regional Countries. He said that Pakistan always stood with the right. Even now, when the world is saying that Pakistan is not doing enough, even now when our efforts are undermined, this country, its people, its government remain strongly and unequivocally committed to peace and stability in Afghanistan. Addressing in the presence of delegates from Kabul, Washington, Tehran, Beijing, Ankara and Moscow, Janjua said that the notions of victory are not visible from any side especially not to the Afghan people, and certainly not to its children. Initially aimed at driving out Al-Qaida and Taliban from Afghanistan based purely on the desire for vengeance, the post 9/11 US intervention has had the most far-reaching consequences for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Earlier, Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Foreign Secretary, while chairing the session on Role of States Assisting Peace in Afghanistan, emphasised that for effective counter-terrorism, strengthening border controls to regulate the movements across the border was vital. He stressed the need for a positive response from the Afghan government regarding effective border management. He further pointed out that vested interests had often tried to create a perception that Pakistan controls Taliban. Such an impression breeds unrealistic expectations from Pakistan. While, discussing the reasons behind the US launching a war in Afghanistan, Dr. Vanda Felbab-Brown from the Foreign Policy Programme at Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, stated that countering terrorism and disempowering terrorist groups in the country and making Afghanistan stable and peaceful had been the core objectives behind the US war on terror. Peter Topychkanov from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Moscow Center said that Russias primary concern in Afghanistan was maintaining security in the AfghanCentral Asian region. Moscow seeks to prevent instability in Central Asian countries, some of which Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan are its allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). Dr. Wang Xu, Executive Deputy Director, Center for South Asian Studies, Peking University said that China and Pakistan should strengthen their cooperation, play constructive roles and support the principle of Afghan-led and Afghan-owned to ensure the comprehensiveness, legitimacy and continuity of Afghan peace and reconciliation to achieve substantive stability and prosperity of the whole region at the earliest. In the session on Transnational Security Problems & Neighbouring Regions, Dr. Zubair Iqbal, Adjunct Scholar, Middle East Institute, Washington, DC, discussed the stakes and role of Saudi Arabia in Afghanistan. Mir Mahmood Mousavi, former Ambassador of Iran to Pakistan analysed Niches of Iranian Engagement in Afghanistan and shared the situation with a 900km border with Afghanistan. Iran had strong stakes in seeing a stable neighbour and hence wanted to play a constructive role like it did during the Bonn conference in late 2001, when the country broke a stalemate over the composition of Afghanistans first post-Taliban government. Landing rocket boosters on an open-ocean platform has been a massive engineering hurdle for SpaceX. Politics are proving to be a different sort of challenge. As competition in the satellite-launch sector intensifies, the battle between traditional aerospace giants and upstart companies backed by tech billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson is increasingly shifting to Congress. Both sides have boosted their spending on Washington lobbying and are marshaling support from legislators, especially those whose districts contain rocket facilities. Last month, as part of its markup of the National Defense Authorization Act, the House Committee on Armed Services called for a study on how a government sale of excess intercontinental ballistic missiles would reshape the commercial-satellite launch business. Emerging small-satellite launch outfits say that change in policy could destroy their burgeoning industry. The committee also approved a hotly debated amendment to that same bill that would allow for additional purchases of Russian rocket engines. The move was pitched by proponents as a way to guard against a potential SpaceX monopoly on national security launches, giving the current launch consortium - itself a monopoly until recently - time to transition to an American replacement engine. "Traditional launch providers see their market being threatened by nontraditional entrants," said Loren Thompson, aerospace analyst with the Lexington Institute, an Arlington, Va., think tank. "Basically, this is competition between launch providers over market share and money that in the political process gets related to local interests." In 2015, United Launch Alliance spent $1.4 million on lobbying, up from $1 million the year before, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks federal campaign contributions and lobbying efforts on its website opensecrets.org. That same year, SpaceX spent $1.7 million on lobbying, up from $1.5 million in 2014. The move away from the Russian RD-180 as the launch engine for Pentagon surveillance satellites has proved to be a flashpoint for rocket politics, pitting SpaceX, based outside Los Angeles, against ULA, a joint venture of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. The RD-180 powers ULA's Atlas V launch vehicle, which is used to blast military satellites into orbit. The U.S. has used Russian rocket engines for government and commercial launches since 2000. That decision was a product of post-Cold War cooperation between U.S. businesses and the Russian defense industry, which Washington also saw as a way to head off proliferation of Russian missile technology. Congress limited the use of the engines in 2014, however, after Russia annexed Crimea, and it has called for the development of a U.S.-made alternative by 2019. That opened the door for new space companies. Leveraging private business models that allow for more experimentation without fear of alienating shareholders, upstarts such as Bezos' Blue Origin and Musk's SpaceX have upended the existing launch market. SpaceX already boasts lower launch costs than its traditional competitors - the starting price to launch the company's Falcon 9 rocket is $62 million, while a former ULA executive said earlier this year that at its best, the joint venture will bid at $125 million. If Musk succeeds in making his first-stage rockets routinely reusable - as demonstrated in two straight landings on a "droneship" - SpaceX could drop its prices as much as an additional 30 percent. Those low costs already have forced established competitors to fight back on a number of fronts. ULA is developing the new, cheaper Vulcan rocket, which will be powered by an engine built by Blue Origin, the space company started by Amazon founder Bezos, and is intended for the national security launch market. That BE-4 engine will run on liquid oxygen and liquefied natural gas. That new technology could be cheaper, analysts say, though potentially more risky than a more conventional engine option being developed for ULA by Sacramento manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne. ULA could continue to compete with SpaceX if it is allowed to increase its purchase of Russian rockets, from nine to as many as 18, as proposed in the defense-bill amendment approved by the House committee late last month. The amendment was sponsored by Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., whose congressional district includes ULA's headquarters. During the bill markup, Coffman said a "hasty" prohibition on Russian rocket engines would harm national security and launch competition and raise concerns about fiscal responsibility. "The Air Force has asked for 18 Russian-made engines to ensure a safe, practical and responsible transition away from RD-180 powered Atlas V rocket, and that is exactly what my amendment does," he said. "Ending our reliance on Russian engines is clearly in the national security interest of the United States, but not at the expense of the paramount requirement of assured access for national security missions." SpaceX, meanwhile, has benefited from eagerness to cut ties with the newly assertive Russians. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., whose district is south of SpaceX's headquarters, noted that Musk's company saved the Air Force money on a recent satellite launch. "Guess what it cost them? $82 million," he said. "The same launch from ULA cost $200 million. There's no reason for us to line Putin's pockets right now." Another battleground is shaping up in commercial satellite launch, where Orbital ATK - a Dulles, Va., company formed by the merger of two legacy aerospace outfits - is pushing for clearance to use low-cost former intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs. Those ICBMs were originally intended to launch nuclear warheads thousands of miles, but as the U.S. and Russia negotiated smaller missile forces, the rockets were taken out of service. Orbital ATK wants the government to sell the decommissioned missile motors, arguing that it would allow that company and others to better compete with cheaper international rivals that launch small satellites weighing 1,100 to 4,400 pounds. Orbital ATK currently uses decommissioned ICBM motors in its Minotaur launch vehicles, but only for blasting government payloads into orbit. The U.S. has not allowed excess ICBMs or their components to be used for commercial launch services since 1998. "The commercial market in that class payload is very vibrant," said Mark Pieczynski, vice president of business development at Orbital ATK. "We look at that and say, 'Well, we've got a perfectly good rocket that can launch from U.S. soil, but it's not because it can't compete commercially. So we're sending that business to Russia, we're sending that business to India.'" But critics of the plan contend that government sales of the cheap missile motors could damage the dozen or more small-satellite launch companies that have cropped up. Virgin Galactic, founded by British billionaire Branson, is currently building LauncherOne, a launch vehicle designed to blast small satellites weighing less than 1,102 pounds into orbit. These companies have said they cannot use the solid-fuel rocket motors in their launch vehicles and that the Minotaur's larger size means it could "piggyback" a number of smaller satellites onto the already cheaper rockets, driving down launch costs. Pieczynski said Orbital ATK is focused on dedicated payloads for the Minotaur and that SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and ULA's Atlas V already load up a variety of satellites. "We have no intention of diminishing any of their market share," he said of the smaller companies. "We're dealing in completely separate markets." But Space Angels Network, a New York City-based investor in early-stage space companies, sent a letter to the Senate last month saying that a reversal of the policy could disrupt "strong positive momentum" in the market and increase investor uncertainty. "It could have a big impact on a lot of the small commercial launch companies that have invested a lot of private investment capital and a lot of innovation," said Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation trade group, which opposes changing the missile-use policy. Explore further Amazon founder strikes deal to build US rocket engines (Update) 2016 Los Angeles Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Bumphead Parrotfish Bolbometopon muricatum by Klaus Stiefel - Creative Commons license CC BY-NC 2-0 Fifty-nine finfish species have 'disappeared' from fishermen's catches in the world's most species rich and vulnerable marine region, new research has shown. In the largest study of its kind, experts from Newcastle University, UK, have highlighted the impact that uncontrolled fishing in particular is having on coral reefs. Drawing on the knowledge of local fishermen in the Philippines, the team were able to build a picture of how finfish populations have declined over the last 65 years. Recording 59 species that were once common and have now disappeared from catches, the team highlighted five finfish that are now fighting for survivalthe green bumphead parrotfish, the humphead wrasse, the African pompano, the giant grouper and the mangrove red snapper.Publishing their findings this week in the science journal PLOS ONE, the report coincides with Endangered Species Day and highlights the "urgent need for action". Lead scientist Nick Polunin, Professor or Environmental Science at Newcastle University, explains: "Most of us still think that nature is unlimited in the oceans.""But our coral reefs are good sentinels of global ocean change, and like the canary in the coal mine, they're telling us there's not much time left for action. "These losses we've recorded in the Philippines are reflective of unsustainable exploitation affecting this exceptionally species rich ecosystem and region but they mirror what is happening in ecosystems around the globe. "In the forests of India and Bangladesh it's the tigers and in China it's the Giant Panda; here in the Philippines we are showing that marine species are also very vulnerable. The list of endangered species is growing and we're very close to the tipping point." Coral reefs occupy less than one percent of the marine area but they are home to 25 percent of all known marine fish species. The team focussed their study on five areas recognised for being the most species rich in this exceptionally species-rich region: Lanuza Bay, Danajon Bank, Verde Island Passage, Polillo Islands and Honda Bay. Asking fishermen to recall their typical good days' catches over the last six decades, the team used key dates to help link the memories, such as the Japanese occupation of the 1950s, presidents of the 60s and 70s and also photographic evidence. Conducting 2,655 interviews, 59 finfish names were reported to have gone missing from catches between the 1950s and 2014. Of the five species with highest frequency zero reported catches in all five areas, four are classed as vulnerable or endangered on the IUCN Red List."Similar to the Newfoundland Cod, where we saw stocks crash due to overfishing, these reef finfish populations have been overexploited and they may never recover," explains Professor Polunin. "The knock-on effects of losing these species are huge: loss of the big predators is likely to radically affect the structure of the whole system." Professor Selina Stead, co-author and Professor of Marine Governance and Environmental Science at Newcastle University adds:"This paper provides clear evidence of the dramatic decline of once common reef fish, and the value of local knowledge in helping to build an accurate picture. "Governments worldwide increasingly request evidence to support policy change and hopefully this paper will highlight the need for urgency for action. Explore further Study identifies most vulnerable tropical reef fish More information: Margarita N. Lavides et al. Patterns of Coral-Reef Finfish Species Disappearances Inferred from Fishers' Knowledge in Global Epicentre of Marine Shorefish Diversity, PLOS ONE (2016). Journal information: PLoS ONE Margarita N. Lavides et al. Patterns of Coral-Reef Finfish Species Disappearances Inferred from Fishers' Knowledge in Global Epicentre of Marine Shorefish Diversity,(2016). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155752 Consumers turning to branded milk. Social media is coming to the aid of Australia's dairy farmers by promoting the virtues of stumping up an extra dollar to buy branded milk, leaving the $2 house brands on the shelves, says QUT retail expert Dr Gary Mortimer. "Shoppers have consistently and routinely been grabbing the cheap milk since January 2011 when the supermarket 'milk wars' first began," Dr Mortimer. "But now Facebook and Twitter are awash with images of the Coles and Woolies $2 milk left on the shelf and all the branded, more expensive offerings gone." Dr Mortimer said the change in attitude to cheap milk defied general marketing logic that grocery staples were a 'low-involvement' buy. "We are dealing with $2 milk or $1 bread. Supermarket shopping is a very low involvement, routine purchase decision and the majority of shoppers will rely on simple attributes, like price and brand, to speed up selection," he said. "While many shoppers claim a desire to support local producers, dairy farmers and small businesses, sadly few do." "It is quite frustrating to marketers who survey shoppers on their 'intentions to buy' or 'willingness to pay' and receive positive intentions, but then watch them select the private label milk, the cheap mince and the $1 bread." "In other words, intentions don't lead to actions." Dr Mortimer said what appears to be spurring this 'change of heart' and behaviour is the influence of social media and its ability to reinforce 'subjective norms' or the sense of approval from others. "Marketing theory states there are three things needed to bring about behaviour: a positive attitude toward a behaviour, subjective norms, and belief that it can be achieved. "In the case of cheap milk if a shopper considers a behavior as positive (attitude 'I will buy branded milk because this supports dairy farmers'), and if they think their family would want them to do that (subjective norm), and they think it will be easy to perform (self-efficacy) the behavior, this leads to a higher intention to act. "It's a lot of cognitive energy to spend on making a purchase decision, something usually left to larger, less frequent buys than groceries. "Dairy farmers' associations have had to change shoppers' behaviour, and this week we are starting to see the results transpire across social media sites. "They changed behaviour using intervention strategies, like educating shoppers that branded milk is only 99 cents more expensive than the private label. This taps into our self-efficacy in that we feel we can easily afford an extra $1 to support them. "These social media postings about buying branded milk are tapping into our subjective norms and we feel good about using social media to let others know we 'didn't buy the cheap milk and therefore supported dairy farmers'. "This in turn encourages our friends and family to emulate our behaviour and to tell everyone and so the movement grows. "It indicates that it is shoppers who ultimately drive trends and pricing, not the supermarkets." Explore further Pennsylvania dairy's raw milk is linked to listeriosis death Adding nanoparticles to lubricants enhances their ability to conduct heat, lubricate and protect from wear-and-tear. Credit: Zoya Fedorova Recent research has shown that adding nanoparticles to liquids significantly enhances some of their properties. "Nanofluids" have been synthesised using carbon nanotubes and various metallic, oxide and ceramic nanoparticles. Adding nanoparticles to lubricants enhances their ability to conduct heat, lubricate and protect from wear-and-tear. These are important properties in the automotive industry as better lubricants result in reduced engine wear, lower noise, and better and longer engine performance. So far, nanofluids employing carbon nanotubes have shown the best results. Now, a team of Malaysian scientists from the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus and Taylor's University are examining the effects of adding graphene nanoflakes to various commercially available lubricants. Graphene is an incredibly strong one-atom-thick layer of carbon with excellent thermal and electrical conductivity, and properties for reducing wear and friction. The team found that adding just 0.01% graphene nanoflakes compared to the total mass of lubricant improved its thermal conductivity by 17%, with almost no changes in viscosity. The enhancement of the lubricant's thermal properties generally varied according to the size, concentration and heating rates of the graphene nanoflakes used. The researchers believe that the enhanced thermal properties are due to graphene's large surface area, even distribution and Brownian motion the erratic random movement of its molecules due to collisions with other molecules. Improved thermal conduction means the lubricant is better able to carry heat away from an engine. Abdul Khaliq Rasheed of the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus is optimistic that graphene nanolubricants could last approximately 20% longer than the currently available 5,000 and 10,000 km motor oils. They may even cost less, because adding nanoparticles could reduce the amounts of other additives currently required. They could also protect engines better than currently available lubricants because they reduce friction. The main challenge for researchers now is to develop a complete nanoparticle-based formula that measures up to industry standards, he says. Dr Mohammad Khalid, the principal researcher of this project, believes that the commercialization of the nanolubricants is not far away, as many companies have shown interest in developing them. In the future, he plans to investigate graphene's impact on automotive coolants and electronic cooling. Provided by University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus Light moves at different wavelengths, represented here by the different colors seen in a prism. Credit: NASA and ESA Ever since Democritus a Greek philosopher who lived between the 5th and 4th century's BCE argued that all of existence was made up of tiny indivisible atoms, scientists have been speculating as to the true nature of light. Whereas scientists ventured back and forth between the notion that light was a particle or a wave until the modern, the 20th century led to breakthroughs that showed that it behaves as both. These included the discovery of the electron, the development of quantum theory, and Einstein's Theory of Relativity. However, there remains many fascinating and unanswered questions when it comes to light, many of which arise from its dual nature. For instance, how is it that light can be apparently without mass, but still behave as a particle? And how can it behave like a wave and pass through a vacuum, when all other waves require a medium to propagate? Theory of Light in the 19th Century: During the Scientific Revolution, scientists began moving away from Aristotelian scientific theories that had been seen as accepted canon for centuries. This included rejecting Aristotle's theory of light, which viewed it as being a disturbance in the air (one of his four "elements" that composed matter), and embracing the more mechanistic view that light was composed of indivisible atoms. In many ways, this theory had been previewed by atomists of Classical Antiquity such as Democritus and Lucretius both of whom viewed light as a unit of matter given off by the sun. By the 17th century, several scientists emerged who accepted this view, stating that light was made up of discrete particles (or "corpuscles"). This included Pierre Gassendi, a contemporary of Rene Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, Robert Boyle, and most famously, Sir Isaac Newton. Newton's corpuscular theory was an elaboration of his view of reality as an interaction of material points through forces. This theory would remain the accepted scientific view for more than 100 years, the principles of which were explained in his 1704 treatise "Opticks, or, a Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections, and Colours of Light". According to Newton, the principles of light could be summed as follows: Every source of light emits large numbers of tiny particles known as corpuscles in a medium surrounding the source. These corpuscles are perfectly elastic, rigid, and weightless. This represented a challenge to "wave theory", which had been advocated by 17th century Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens. . These theories were first communicated in 1678 to the Paris Academy of Sciences and were published in 1690 in his "Traite de la lumiere" ("Treatise on Light"). In it, he argued a revised version of Descartes views, in which the speed of light is infinite and propagated by means of spherical waves emitted along the wave front. Double-Slit Experiment: By the early 19th century, scientists began to break with corpuscular theory. This was due in part to the fact that corpuscular theory failed to adequately explain the diffraction, interference and polarization of light, but was also because of various experiments that seemed to confirm the still-competing view that light behaved as a wave. The most famous of these was arguably the Double-Slit Experiment, which was originally conducted by English polymath Thomas Young in 1801 (though Sir Isaac Newton is believed to have conducted something similar in his own time). In Young's version of the experiment, he used a slip of paper with slits cut into it, and then pointed a light source at them to measure how light passed through it. According to classical (i.e. Newtonian) particle theory, the results of the experiment should have corresponded to the slits, the impacts on the screen appearing in two vertical lines. Instead, the results showed that the coherent beams of light were interfering, creating a pattern of bright and dark bands on the screen. This contradicted classical particle theory, in which particles do not interfere with each other, but merely collide. The only possible explanation for this pattern of interference was that the light beams were in fact behaving as waves. Thus, this experiment dispelled the notion that light consisted of corpuscles and played a vital part in the acceptance of the wave theory of light. However subsequent research, involving the discovery of the electron and electromagnetic radiation, would lead to scientists considering yet again that light behaved as a particle too, thus giving rise to wave-particle duality theory. Electromagnetism and Special Relativity: Prior to the 19th and 20th centuries, the speed of light had already been determined. The first recorded measurements were performed by Danish astronomer Ole Rmer, who demonstrated in 1676 using light measurements from Jupiter's moon Io to show that light travels at a finite speed (rather than instantaneously). By the late 19th century, James Clerk Maxwell proposed that light was an electromagnetic wave, and devised several equations (known as Maxwell's equations) to describe how electric and magnetic fields are generated and altered by each other and by charges and currents. By conducting measurements of different types of radiation (magnetic fields, ultraviolet and infrared radiation), he was able to calculate the speed of light in a vacuum (represented as c). In 1905, Albert Einstein published "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies", in which he advanced one of his most famous theories and overturned centuries of accepted notions and orthodoxies. In his paper, he postulated that the speed of light was the same in all inertial reference frames, regardless of the motion of the light source or the position of the observer. Exploring the consequences of this theory is what led him to propose his theory of Special Relativity, which reconciled Maxwell's equations for electricity and magnetism with the laws of mechanics, simplified the mathematical calculations, and accorded with the directly observed speed of light and accounted for the observed aberrations. It also demonstrated that the speed of light had relevance outside the context of light and electromagnetism. For one, it introduced the idea that major changes occur when things move close the speed of light, including the time-space frame of a moving body appearing to slow down and contract in the direction of motion when measured in the frame of the observer. After centuries of increasingly precise measurements, the speed of light was determined to be 299,792,458 m/s in 1975. Artists impression of two photons travelling at different wavelengths, resulting in different- colored light. Credit: NASA/Sonoma State University/Aurore Simonnet Einstein and the Photon: In 1905, Einstein also helped to resolve a great deal of confusion surrounding the behavior of electromagnetic radiation when he proposed that electrons are emitted from atoms when they absorb energy from light. Known as the photoelectric effect, Einstein based his idea on Planck's earlier work with "black bodies" materials that absorb electromagnetic energy instead of reflecting it (i.e. white bodies). At the time, Einstein's photoelectric effect was attempt to explain the "black body problem", in which a black body emits electromagnetic radiation due to the object's heat. This was a persistent problem in the world of physics, arising from the discovery of the electron, which had only happened eight years previous (thanks to British physicists led by J.J. Thompson and experiments using cathode ray tubes). At the time, scientists still believed that electromagnetic energy behaved as a wave, and were therefore hoping to be able to explain it in terms of classical physics. Einstein's explanation represented a break with this, asserting that electromagnetic radiation behaved in ways that were consistent with a particle a quantized form of light which he named "photons". For this discovery, Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921. Wave-Particle Duality: Subsequent theories on the behavior of light would further refine this idea, which included French physicist Louis-Victor de Broglie calculating the wavelength at which light functioned. This was followed by Heisenberg's "uncertainty principle" (which stated that measuring the position of a photon accurately would disturb measurements of it momentum and vice versa), and Schrodinger's paradox that claimed that all particles have a "wave function". In accordance with quantum mechanical explanation, Schrodinger proposed that all the information about a particle (in this case, a photon) is encoded in its wave function, a complex-valued function roughly analogous to the amplitude of a wave at each point in space. At some location, the measurement of the wave function will randomly "collapse", or rather "decohere", to a sharply peaked function. This was illustrated in Schrodinger famous paradox involving a closed box, a cat, and a vial of poison (known as the "Schrodinger's Cat" paradox). According to his theory, wave function also evolves according to a differential equation (aka. the Schrodinger equation). For particles with mass, this equation has solutions; but for particles with no mass, no solution existed. Further experiments involving the Double-Slit Experiment confirmed the dual nature of photons. where measuring devices were incorporated to observe the photons as they passed through the slits. When this was done, the photons appeared in the form of particles and their impacts on the screen corresponded to the slits tiny particle-sized spots distributed in straight vertical lines. By placing an observation device in place, the wave function of the photons collapsed and the light behaved as classical particles once more. As predicted by Schrodinger, this could only be resolved by claiming that light has a wave function, and that observing it causes the range of behavioral possibilities to collapse to the point where its behavior becomes predictable. The development of Quantum Field Theory (QFT) was devised in the following decades to resolve much of the ambiguity around wave-particle duality. And in time, this theory was shown to apply to other particles and fundamental forces of interaction (such as weak and strong nuclear forces). Today, photons are part of the Standard Model of particle physics, where they are classified as boson a class of subatomic particles that are force carriers and have no mass. So how does light travel? Basically, traveling at incredible speeds (299 792 458 m/s) and at different wavelengths, depending on its energy. It also behaves as both a wave and a particle, able to propagate through mediums (like air and water) as well as space. It has no mass, but can still be absorbed, reflected, or refracted if it comes in contact with a medium. And in the end, the only thing that can truly slow down or arrest the speed of light is gravity (i.e. a black hole). What we have learned about light and electromagnetism has been intrinsic to the revolution which took place in physics in the early 20th century, a revolution that we have been grappling with ever since. Thanks to the efforts of scientists like Maxwell, Planck, Einstein, Heisenberg and Schrodinger, we have learned much, but still have much to learn. For instance, its interaction with gravity (along with weak and strong nuclear forces) remains a mystery. Unlocking this, and thus discovering a Theory of Everything (ToE) is something astronomers and physicists look forward to. Someday, we just might have it all figured out! Explore further Experiment suggests it might be possible to control atoms entangled with the light they emit by manipulating detection Fig.1 Cranial anatomy of Meemannia eos based on High-Resolution Computed Tomography. A Dorsal view; B Ventral view; C Endocast in dorsal view; D Endocast of Mimipiscis in dorsal view. Credit: Lu Jing Osteichthyans, or bony fishes, comprise two categories, each containing over 32,000 living species: Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fishes and tetrapods) and Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes). Nevertheless, actinopterygians have an obscure early evolutionary history. The earliest definitive actinopterygian is the Middle Devonian (Eifelian) Cheirolepis, with earlier candidates generally represented by fragments subject to differing phylogenetic interpretations. By contrast, earliest Devonian deposits yield a diversity of lobe-finned fishes and recent discoveries from China extend their origin into the late Silurian. The Early Devonian (Lochkovian) Xitun Formation of Yunnan, China, provides remarkable fossils to illustrate the evolutionary origins of individual sarcopterygian lineages, but apparently lacks any actinopterygians. Meemannia is the newestand least understoodmember of this fauna. Represented by four isolated skull roofs and a referred jaw, Meemannia presents an intriguing mosaic of characteristics: histology interpreted as a precursor to the "cosmine" of rhipidistian sarcopterygians (lungfishes plus tetrapods); an undivided braincase and skull roof resembling that of actinopterygians. Previous phylogenetic analyses placed Meemannia as the earliest-diverging sarcopterygian, based on histological features. In a study published May 19 in Current Biology, Drs. Lu Jing and Zhu Min, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and their collaborators used high-resolution computed tomography to re-examine the most complete remains of Meemannia, and presented new details of the internal skeleton and one of the earliest osteichthyan endocasts. Researchers revised hypotheses of bone histology in the ancestor of bony fishes, and found that "cosmine"-like tissues, previously thought to unite Meemannia with lobe-fins, are widely distributed among early bony fishes, including the ray-fin Cheirolepis. This finding revealed that Meemannia, once considered a lobe-fin, is the oldest ray-finned fish, providing new evidence for the origin of ray-finned fishes. Fig. 2 Life restoration of Meemannia eos. Credit: Brian Choo "The enigmatic osteichthyan Meemannia from the Early Devonian of China, about 415 million years ago, was previously identified as an exceptionally primitive lobe-finned fish. It combines 'cosmine'-like tissues taken as evidence of sarcopterygian affinity with actinopterygian-like skull roof and braincase geometry, including endoskeletal enclosure of the spiracle and a lateral cranial canal," said Dr. Lu Jing. "Our comparable study on histological structures in undoubted ray-finned fishes indicates that they are general osteichthyan features." "Phylogenetic analysis places Meemannia as an early-diverging ray-finned fish, resolving it as the sister lineage of Cheirolepis plus all younger actinopterygians," said study co-author Dr. Sam Giles, of the University of Oxford. "This brings the first appearance of ray-fins more in line with that of lobe-fins and fills a conspicuous faunal gap in the otherwise diverse late Silurian-earliest Devonian vertebrate faunas of the South China Block." "The rarity of early ray-fins supports a 'long-fuse' model for actinopterygian diversification," said Dr. Zhu. "Actinopterygians persisted at low levels of numerical abundance, taxonomic richness, and morphological disparity for millions of years before undergoing apparently explosive diversification in the early Carboniferous after the end-Devonian Hangenberg Event. Meemannia provides an anatomical snapshot of the earliest stages of ray-finned fish evolution, at a time when their rarity and limited ecological variety gave no indication of the dominant role they would play in aquatic vertebrate ecosystems of the future." Fig. 3 Summary phylogeny, simplified from the strict consensus tree, and the evolution of key Actinopterygian features. Credit: LU Jing London, 18 May 2016 Today, Google confirmed that Android Pay is now live in the UK, giving millions of MasterCard cardholders even more ways to make safe and convenient mobile payments. Android Pay enables seamless and secure contactless payments at more than 400,000 contactless payment terminals across the UK (plus millions more worldwide) wherever MasterCard contactless payments are accepted1. Owners of eligible Android devices those on Android v4.4 KitKat or newer can begin using Android Pay now. Once a MasterCard cardholder downloads the app and sets up an account, theyre ready to shop simply, safely and securely with Android Pay. Users can add their MasterCard credit and debit cards into the payment app, with customers of Bank of Scotland, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, MBNA and M&S Bank able to load their cards starting today. Once your card is added, you can use your phone to pay in the same way you would with a contactless card. Mark Barnett, President, MasterCard UK & Ireland said, We are thrilled to be Googles partner in delivering a safe and secure payment experience for cardholders with Android Pay. As more and more devices become connected and enabled for payments or shopping, were committed to bringing consumers the choice and convenience of paying how, when and where they want. In setting up a device for Android Pay, MasterCard generates a digital token that is associated with that device and stored on a secure server. There is a separate token assigned to each of the consumers devices, which means that not only is the token number different from the real card number but it is also prevented from transacting via any other device. When the consumer uses their mobile device in a transaction, it is the token and not the real card number that is provided to the shop. For consumers and retailers alike, every purchase made with a MasterCard using Android Pay offers all the benefits and guarantees of a transaction with the physical MasterCard. Were excited to bring the simplicity and security of mobile payments to MasterCard customers with Android Pay. Starting today, people will be able to use their Android device to pay at almost 460,000 contactless payment terminals in the UK. Pali Bhat, Senior Director, Product Management, Google MasterCard also recently announced that Google will participate in its Digital Enablement Express programme, providing Google a streamlined onboarding process to engage with all participating MasterCard issuers around the globe, accelerating consumer access to Android Pay, as it becomes available in different markets. Developers can quickly enable Android Pay for in-app payments through the MasterCard Payment Gateway, making it easier for retailers of all sizes to accept in-app payments securely from Android users. Android Pay is accepted at more than 400,000 contactless terminals throughout the country, as well as the 5 million contactless terminals in 77 countries around the world. To find a listing of contactless-enabled UK retail locations, download the MasterCard Nearby app or go to: www.mastercard.com/contactless. [5] [6] Grubhub Unveils New In-Restaurant Technology CHICAGO, May 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ Grubhub, the nations leading online and mobile food-ordering and delivery platform, today announced the launch of GrubCentral, the companys new in-restaurant technology platform. Accessible from any device, the GrubCentral platform makes it easy for restaurants to manage their menus, review Grubhub financial statements and easily process orders from any device. GrubCentral raises the bar on efficiency and functionality standards for in-house restaurant technology. It offers significant improvements over the first in-house restaurant technology, OrderHub, which Grubhub introduced in 2012. OrderHub is an Android app that allowed restaurants to manage online orders received via Grubhub. We are completely focused on connecting diners and restaurants, offering the best and broadest set of restaurant choices to diners and positively impacting the bottom line of our restaurant partners, said Sudev Balakrishnan, SVP of Product for Grubhub. Were thrilled that GrubCentral will make the lives of restaurant owners easier by improving accessibility, enabling real-time menu updates and offering tighter integration with our delivery drivers. Efficiencies driven by this new product will give time back to our restaurant partners to focus on what they love: serving up delicious food. A snapshot of GrubCentrals new features include: Access from any device, anywhere Restaurants can opt for a Grubhub-provided tablet, or they can use a web browser on their own hardware. This clears up the crowded, tablet-filled counter space, allowing owners to manage financials in a back office while staff can continue to manage orders from the front of the house. Restaurants can opt for a Grubhub-provided tablet, or they can use a web browser on their own hardware. This clears up the crowded, tablet-filled counter space, allowing owners to manage financials in a back office while staff can continue to manage orders from the front of the house. Manage menus in real-time Restaurants will be able to create and modify their online Grubhub menu in real-time, giving them control and flexibility over their menu. This enables restaurant owners to instantaneously change and update menu items, including daily specials that are being offered. Restaurants will be able to create and modify their online Grubhub menu in real-time, giving them control and flexibility over their menu. This enables restaurant owners to instantaneously change and update menu items, including daily specials that are being offered. Integrated Grubhub Delivery features Owners are given real-time status updates on driver location. In combination with map tracking, this helps restaurants decide when to fire food and also allows access to each drivers contact info, so restaurants can reach out to drivers to check on orders or resolve issues. We pride ourselves on our in-house, chef driven specials, said Rick Jurmark, General Manager of EJs Luncheonette in New York City. With GrubCentrals menu management capabilities, its been a game changer when it comes to offering daily specials. We can easily update our menu with just a few clicks, allowing us to provide a more diverse menu selection and increase our order volume while improving recognition of our brand. GrubCentral is being used by thousands of restaurants and will continue to be offered to more restaurants over the coming months. To find takeout restaurants available in your area, check out Grubhub.com. If you are interested in becoming part of the Grubhub Delivery team, please visit driver.grubhub.com. To find out how your restaurant can join Grubhub, check out get.grubhub.com. To learn more about Grubhub and its portfolio of brands, please visit http://media.grubhub.com. About Grubhub Grubhub (NYSE: GRUB) is the nations leading online and mobile food-ordering company. Dedicated to moving eating forward and connecting diners with the food they love from their favorite local restaurants, the companys platforms and services strive to elevate food ordering through innovative restaurant technology, easy-to-use platforms and an improved delivery experience. Grubhub is proud to work with more than 44,000 restaurant partners in over 1,000 U.S. cities and London. The Grubhub portfolio of brands includes Grubhub, Seamless, AllMenus, MenuPages, Restaurants on the Run, DiningIn, LA Bite and Delivered Dish. Other Point of Sale blogs that may interest you: University of Arkansas Graduates First Students with Virtual Reality Expertise Students at University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business to graduate with certification in InContext Solutions ShopperMX platform CHICAGO May 20, 2016 Virtual reality is taking over the world, with industries tapping into its power to uncover innovations and opportunities. With the retail industry being well positioned to harness the power of virtual reality, the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas announced today the first class of graduating virtual reality-trained students. Their training came via the colleges unique partnership with InContext Solutions, the leading provider of virtual reality solutions for retailers. At the Sam M. Walton College of Business we pride ourselves on being leaders of breakthrough retail innovations and educating the next generation of ingenious retail leaders, said Sue Sedberry, managing director at the Walton Colleges Center for Retailing Excellence. We are thrilled to offer a certification program so students can enhance their academic experience through virtual reality simulations and develop a strong foundation on which to build their future career endeavors. Through a partnership with InContext Solutions, students who are interested in merchandising and marketing products in a retail store environment have the opportunity to become certified in ShopperMX, a proprietary software that allows retailers and consumer product good companies (CPGs) to ideate, evaluate and activate new concepts using 3D virtual store simulations. Our academic partnership further demonstrates the growing trend in retail of using virtual reality technology to make faster, smarter and more profitable business decisions, said Mark Hardy, CEO of InContext Solutions. We are incredibly excited to have had a hand in creating the first class of ShopperMX-certified graduates and believe these students will have a leg-up on the competition when it comes to their future career pursuits. The ShopperMX certification program, created at the Walton College, is offered through the colleges Center for Retailing Excellence, an internationally acclaimed center for retail studies. Students can obtain their certification by completing a virtual reality shelf management boot camp or by enrolling in the colleges Category Management Special Topics course. In an effort to support the Center for Retailing Excellences primary mission of bridging the gap between academics and retail industry professionals, the ShopperMX certification program aims to educate and play a role in shaping the retail leaders of the future. By having the ShopperMX certification I feel I have a competitive edge over other college graduates that are vying for a career as a retail professional, said Alejandro Zeballos, a Walton College senior majoring in retail. The certification has given me the advanced knowledge I need to be of value to organizations that have a desire to use technology to be more forward-thinking and maintain or present themselves as a leader in the retail industry. With 50 graduating seniors certified in ShopperMX and positive feedback from students and professors alike, the Center for Retailing Excellence has re-upped their contract with InContext Solutions, with plans to train at least 70 more students in the 2016 2017 academic school year. The Walton College is continually looking for new ways to encourage innovation, which is something we are continuing to do through the help of our Center for Retailing Excellence, said Matt Waller, Walton College dean. It is because of the dedication of our board members, professors and partners that we are able to better prepare students to achieve their academic and professional goals. For more information on the ShopperMX platform, please visit www.incontextsolutions.com. About InContext Solutions InContext Solutions was founded in 2009 with a vision to revolutionize how virtual simulations could be used by leading businesses across the globe to research the placement of products in a retail setting. InContext Solutions provides a unique, in-depth perspective on what consumers see on the shelf, how this drives their purchase behavior and why. Visit www.incontextsolutions.com. About the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas Since its founding at the University of Arkansas in 1926, the Sam M. Walton College of Business has grown to become the states premier college of business as well as a nationally competitive business school. The Walton College combines excellent academic programs with a wide range of experiential learning to help its more than 4,000 students connect scholarship with real business practice. It offers a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in International Business in seven disciplines. http://waltoncollege.uark.edu/ Other Point of Sale blogs that may interest you: For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser How much money should Washington County to spend to replace a simple Google search? A consultant the county hired (to look into agriculture-education related initiatives) wrote up a report emphasizing the need for a database on how to use vegetables. The idea is that people would cook with more vegetables if they knew how to use them. Director of Economic Development Laura Oswald said food pantry officials told her they werent taking certain vegetables because they felt their clients wouldnt be able to figure out how to use them. We cant give out winter squash because people wont know what to do with it, she said. Um, really? I googled how to use winter squash and got thousands of great recipes, including this very simple explanation from seriouseats.com: Cut it in half lengthwise and rub it with butter, brown sugar, chili flakes, and salt, then put it face-down in the oven at 325F until it's tender all the way through. Once it's tender, remove it and let it cool. Then when it's cool enough to handle, carefully remove the strands of spaghetti squash with a fork so that they look like long strings of spaghetti. Hebron Supervisor Brian Campbell said residents should be able to find the information they need online somehow. I gotta believe theres a database out there somewhere, he said. There is! Its called Google. I suspect the problem isnt so much a lack of recipes as it is a lack of interest in trying new foods. GLENS FALLS Whether they were moving on to more school, work or a break to decide what to do next, the students graduating from SUNY Adirondack and SUNY Plattsburgh on Thursday got one night to take a breath and celebrate their accomplishment. About 700 students graduated in a ceremony held Thursday at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Many persevered in the face of obstacles. SUNY Plattsburghs student speaker, Matthew Stevens, spoke about how he left to go to the University of Vermont as a 17-year-old and then two months later, realized he didnt like his original field of study and returned home. He enrolled in SUNY Adirondack and got involved in activities as a resident assistant and Student Senate president. He graduated with an associate degree and then moved on to the SUNY Plattsburgh Queensbury campus and received his bachelors degree in business administration on Thursday. A six-credit internship at a firm turned into a full-time position. All the obstacles led him to this point. Without the failure that I faced when I first went away to college, I wouldnt have been standing here. Embrace your failure, without it, you will never be able to enjoy your success, he said. Marissa Hughes, who received her liberal arts degree in December, was SUNY Adirondacks student speaker. Hughes also had a false start a two-day stint at the University at Albany before returning home to Queensbury. She enrolled in SUNY Adirondack and then was recruited to be an orientation leader and later served as president of the colleges Activity Board. I had to relax and enjoy the ride. Most times, were so focused on getting to the next place, we forget to enjoy the present, she said. Overcoming obstacles was the theme of many students some who even wrote messages on their mortarboards. She believed she could, so she did, read the cap of Marissa Wood of South Glens Falls, who received a teaching assistant certificate. Wood said she had a really hard time in high school no friends and struggles with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression. However, she said she found her footing by believing in herself and staying strong in the face of adversity. I failed math three times and still didnt give up, she said. Glen Falls resident Samantha Savilles advice for prospective college students was to slow down. I didnt take my time and kind of rushed and had to retake things, she said. Rachel Frisch of Cambridge, who received an associate degree from SUNY Adirondack, is planning to continue on to the SUNY Plattsburgh to study childhood education. She hopes to become a teacher some day. The hardest part of college was keeping up with the work, according to Frisch. She pushed through with her sights set on graduation. Im the only one in my family to have a college degree, she said. Some people are switching careers. Fran Guilder of Granville received a criminal justice degree from SUNY Plattsburgh. He would like to work in the probation field helping young people. After being a retail manager for 20 years, he wanted a change. I wanted to do something for kids, he said. Balancing class and working full time was difficult but he did it. Eric Gonyea, 35, of Argyle was also looking for a career change. I had been stuck in dead-end jobs going nowhere and finally wanted to better myself and have a career, he said. He said his college internship led to a job at the OBrien Insurance Agency. He is currently working as an administrative assistant, but hopes to get his insurance license. Hudson Falls resident Lucas Knight, who received an associate degree in liberal arts, said he was planning to continue working at Hannaford, where he was recently promoted. He would like to return to school someday after some time away from the classroom. I want to transfer somewhere, but I want to figure out my focus, he said. Business professor Nicholas Buttino, who is retiring after 50 years with the college, was co-grand marshal of the processional along with Assistant Professor of Political Science Wendy Johnston. President Kristine Duffy encouraged the students to stay in the moment and not to give up in the face of adversity. This world will challenge you. Challenge back. Be brave, be strong and never stop learning and growing, she said. QUEENSBURY In early December, a local engineer told Warren County leaders that a purported money-saving energy project wasnt saving as much as it should have. A month later, county supervisors voted to hire an independent engineer to review the geothermal energy system at the heart of the dispute. Almost six months later, the request for proposals to hire that engineer have still not been released. And the local engineer who started the discussion, Travis Whitehead, and his supporters, are not happy about the delay. Whitehead told county supervisors Friday that he was disgusted with the lack of action, and said they wasted six months preparing the request for proposals. In the months since Whitehead raised questions, Warren County has made more than $220,000 in annual payments to the contractor who built the system, Siemens Building Technologies. And the county is on the hook for more than $2 million more in payments under the terms of the contract, which runs through 2022. Whether the county was defrauded through the project, which was supposed to heat and cool the county Municipal Center using the earths energy, is the subject of a Warren County Sheriffs Office investigation that began with Whiteheads complaint. Whitehead said his analysis found the county got only about 25 percent of the savings Siemens guaranteed. Warrensburg Supervisor Kevin Geraghty, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors and the acting county administrator, said there were a number of reasons why developing the request for proposals has taken as long as it has. The county had the sheriff, district attorney and Department of Public Works give their input, and also sought input from New York State Energy Research & Development Authority, he said. It is complicated, maybe more so than it needed to be, Geraghty said. Queensbury at-Large Supervisor Doug Beaty called the proposed RFP that was shown to supervisors an overcomplicated War and Peace novel. Whitehead said the RFP language should be fairly simple. You say, This is my question: Did I get screwed, or did I not get screwed, and explain it to me, he told supervisors Friday. You should find out what question you want answered and ask it. Geraghty said the county boards Facilities Committee will review the proposed RFP at its next meeting on Monday. The county went through a similar process to have the performance of a more complicated Siemens natural gas cogeneration project analyzed at the former county nursing home, and that review found that the county did not get the savings that had been guaranteed. A criminal investigation of that project led to a conclusion by police that two people could face criminal charges, but no charges were pursued. Civil litigation is being contemplated in the cogeneration case. According to figures from the U.S. Postal Service, Saturdays National Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Day brought in more than 20 tons of donated food for local food pantries and soup kitchens. Maureen Marion, a Postal Service spokeswoman based in Connecticut, said carriers based in Glens Falls brought in a total of 36,499 pounds of food. Local Postmaster Dan Cronin said this years collection was bigger than ever before. Carriers in Fort Edward collected 1,950 pounds of food, and those in Granville brought in 1,700 pounds. Other totals included 1,400 pounds in Hadley, 1,300 in Lake George, 650 pounds in Warrensburg and 390 in Lake Luzerne. Bill Toscano Making the list Lake George is lake house heaven, according to TripAdvisor. The online travel website recently compiled a list of 11 Great Places to Rent a Summer Lake House (That Probably Arent Your First Guess), and the Queen of American Lakes made the cut. We bypassed the touristy, crowded lakes, and identified 11 amazing summer lake retreats that offer just as much privacy, outdoor recreation and incredible scenery, a TripAdvisor representative said in an email. The Lake George area is chock-full of summer lodging, attractions, eateries and just about any form of recreation you can name, the TripAdvisor listing states in part. Lake Champlain both the New York and Vermont sides also made the list. Other locations on the list include Deep Creek Lake, Maryland; Moosehead Lake, Maine; Minocqua, Wisconsin; Grand Lake, Colorado; Lake Winnipesaukee in Meredith, New Hampshire; Soldotna and Sterling, Alaska; Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia; Lake Coeur DAlene, Idaho; and Mount Desert, Maine. Bob Condon Best in show Long Lake Central School senior Emily Porter recently received Best in Show for the third year in a row at the annual North Country High School Art Show. Her award-winning charcoal drawing is titled Sunshine. Fourteen area high schools submitted artwork for consideration for the juried show held at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. A total of 87 pieces were selected. In addition to this piece, Porter had an oil painting displayed at the LPCA exhibit. The painting depicts an ant that has the cordyceps fungus, according to a news release. Sophomores Lillian Dechene and Maria Black also had artwork displayed at the LPCA. Michael Goot Inventions recognized Several local students were among the 100 semi-finalists of miScis 2016 Invention Convention. The Schenectady-based museums annual competition invites students to create inventions. A volunteer team of General Electric scientists and patent lawyers, and other community members, judge the top 100 entries. Here are the winners from local schools: Oliver W. Winch Middle School, South Glens Falls: Maya Ahrens, Mitchell Beckwith, Mia Carpenter, Marissa Cash, Leah Collodi, Faster Booth, Zoe DeSimone, Caoilfhionn Zoe Estes, Sophia Gladding, Logan Holcomb, Ian Holub, Jacob James, Tasnim Jetter, Alycia Manning, Meghan Painter, Richard Patel, Hailie Thompson, Aidan Wilkins, Lauren Zimmerman; Ballard Elementary School, South Glens Falls: Arwa T. Ballou, Maddie Basile, Lexi Benincasa Kate Daly, Madison McCarthy, Mansi Sanders; North Warren Central School: Logan Finn, Rachael Hayes; Lake George Elementary: Riane Kassal, Andre Kassal, Analise LaPoint; Granville Junior/Senior High School: Ben Ramey; Hudson Falls Middle School: Caroline Tyler. The students were honored Thursday at a ceremony at MiSci. They heard from keynote speaker Kevin Harding, principal scientist with GE Global Research. Michael Goot Inventory needs to be managed and managed well, or you are going to get in recurring trouble, and lose your credibility and hard-earned conversions, whether Read more Japan has also restored to Ghana the Yen loan portfolio, he added in a Facebook post. President Mahama is on a state visit to Japan to enhance Ghanas trade relations with that country. I have been in Japan over the last three days, and I am happy to convey on behalf of my countrymen and women, our appreciation to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the people of Japan for the restoration of the Yen Loan Portfolio, which was cancelled in the year 2000, he wrote on Facebook. Japan is also financing the construction of the second phase of the Sekondi Fishing Harbour project, and a 2.3 billion Advanced Research Centre for Infectious Diseases at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research at Legon, he added. According to the president, Japan has also agree to finance a second bridge over the Volta River as part of the eastern corridor road network. Following our discussions, the Government of Japan has agreed to finance at the cost of 11.2 billion, our request for a new bridge over the Volta River, which is part of our eastern corridor road network and will be critical in improving transportation between the Northern part of Ghana and the South. Ghanaians will also enjoy scholarship under the ABE Initiative as part of a deal struck between the two countries. This follows a decision by the bank to withdraw an earlier petition it filed with the Commission concerning the returns of the IPO, which the Board of ADB decided not to approve. In a statement released to the media, the SEC said ADB on 19th May, 2016 wrote to the commission to withdraw the petition. It added, The SEC has therefore released its hold on the activities relating to the ADB IPO. ADB seeks to raise 390 million Ghana Cedis in its IPO, which closed in March, 2016. According to Solomon Atefoe, Head of Marketing and Communications at ADB, the IPO had done well, attracting both local and international investors. This is the combined percentage of the working age population, that is unemployed or underemployed and potential workers who are not part of the labour force, that is underemployed and unemployed. Though the informal economy contributes 50 to 80 per cent of GDP and 60 to 80 per cent of employment, although most of the people employed here are unskilled. Additionally, Ghanas working poverty rose from 23.8% in 2007 to 29.7% in 2015. This shows there has been little improvement since 2007 and the population of the moderately poor, that is working individuals living on $1.9 to $3.10 has also grown. The figure is projected to reach 30 per cent in 2016 and 30.4 per cent in 2017 buoyed by limited formal job opportunities available to the most vulnerable populations such as the poor, women and youth. The Finally hit-maker will face off Ghanas dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale on the night while EL and Pappy Kojo battle it out with Olamide and Harrysong respectively. Speaking to Amanda Jissih on E-Talk on Thursday, Flavour said he was fully prepared for the event. Im so prepared with my band all the way from Nigeria, he stated. Though he will not disclose the songs he will perform, Flavour was sure of giving patrons value for their money. Other supporting artistes include VVIP, Mr. Eazi, Nii Funny and Gallaxy. This year's edition dubbed, 'Musical Knockout' comes off on May 21 at the Accra International Conference Centre. Speaking to Accra-based Joy FM, Mr. Applerh said the region is currently experiencing a trend associated with stockpiling of weapons. He fears vigilante groups could end up using such weapons to perpetuate violence. Mr. Applerh's concerns follow the number of arrests and interceptions of arms in the various regions across the country, particularly the Ashanti region. The police recently arrested four persons including a Burkinabe after retrieving loads of rifles and ammunition in Kumasi. The ammunition intercepted included eleven AK 47 riffles, 10 G3s, 45 automatic side-arms, 9mm AK 47 tracer ammunitions, one machine gun, 45 automatic G3 ammunitions, four firing pins and five 12.7mm ammunitions. In the Western region, police seized at least 13 guns within three months. In January 2016, the Ghana Immigration Service seized 12 locally manufactured single barrel guns at Aflao in the Volta region The officer who was with a driver with the SWAT Unit at the Ashanti Regional police headquarters was shot after the armed robbers stormed a hotel at Dichemmuoso in Kumasi. According to Myjoyonline.com, the police officer was shot in his vehicle parked in the premises of Open Space Hotel on May 19. The masked armed men are reported to have entered the hotel at about 9p.m. and ordered two receptionists on duty to take them round rooms of guests in the hotel. When the receptionists were delaying, the armed robbers shot one of them. Sensing danger, the other person escaped. It is, however, not clear how the officer who had his police uniform hanging in the front seat of the Benz car he was shot in. Koliko, as he is popularly known, reportedly shot himself last night (May 19) at Bawdie. It is unclear why he took the decision. Read More: Armed robbers shoot police officer in Kumasi The Amenfi East district Police Commander, Chief Inspector Forster Berko, confirming the incident said the deceased appeared troubled months before taking his life. He has been troubled for some time now. He had an accident that affected one of his hands some time back, and since then, he remained quite worried and isolated, he recounted. He also disclosed that the Police does not suspect foul play. The young man, said to be a visa applicant, reportedly hurled stones at the Embassy in the morning amidst intentions to blow it up. He went to the Embassy with a gas cylinder and a lighter ready to torch the place. Superintendent Raymond Aggrey Fynn, Head of the Counter Terrorism Unit who confirmed the news to GraphicOnline said his outfit acted swiftly to arrest the man, along with his family including his wife, son and brother. "We understand he had a misunderstanding with the Embassy officials. When we came here earlier after the stone-throwing reports, he had left, only for him to return with gas and fire to attempt to carry out his threat," Superintendent Raymond Aggrey Fynn added. He added that the incident could have been avoided had members of the public been vigilant enough to at least notify the police when the man walked by them with the cylinder and lighter to commit his act. This follows reports from the Daily Guide Newspaper in its Friday, May 20 edition, that the suspect, Daniel Asiedu has reportedly claimed that he is now relying on his initial statement he gave to the police. The paper reported that he had mentioned that he, and two other friends, were contracted by a Member of Parliament to commit the act. But the Director of BNI, Pius Awelinga, has described the newspaper publication as false. Speaking during a meeting with a group of journalists from the Community Development Programme of ECOWAS in Accra on Friday, the Director of BNI said the BNI's involvement in the case is to only keep Daniel Asiedu in custody for the police. Daniel Asiedu, and one other suspect, Vincent Bonsu are currently standing trial for the murder of the late Abuakwa North MP. Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! The workers are on strike to demand the implementation of the consolidation of their salaries and allowances. Court rooms were locked and lawyers had no access to the newly inaugurated court complex. All Judicial staff members were on strike including senior judicial administrators. There were no proceedings at the Supreme Court as well. No Judge was seen at the court premises. This is the second time JUSAC is embarking on strike this year. It declared strike in April but suspended it after a day following assurances by the labour minister Haruna Iddrisu. The Judicial Council after a review of the conditions of service of workers of the Judicial Service last year noted that the allowances and salaries of the staff must be consolidated.However, government has failed to implement the recommendation after the Council forwarded the agreed salary structure in June. JUSAC executives were going round ensuring compliance of the strike action. In Bolgatanga in the Upper West Region, JUSAC members were reportedly observing the strike action. Police officials said Vandal was arrested on May 12 over a stolen phone but during interrogation, police spotted ink on his finger. They asked how he got it to which he said he took part in the voting registration, Police added. But, addressing the media, Mrs. Sonaike-Ayodeji said "The man on his own maintained that he is not a Nigerianthe man said that in the first place he is not Nigerian for him to even substantiate his nationalityand in the process it was established that he was not a minister." She condemned frequent negative reportage about Nigerians living in Ghana. According to him, international oil companies have been complying with the country's local content laws hence the created jobs. Additionally, ongoing constructions work in the sector, incentives to investors, consolidation of gains made, proper laws and value creation have all contributed to job creation. Speaking directly to residents in the Western Region, the minister asked them to be excited because of the on going projects around them. He listed the construction of oil enclave roads, the planned oil harbour, processing plants, a mini airport, all encapsulated in the oil enclave programme developed by stakeholders. Mr Buah added that president's Mahama commitment to create a growth pole in the Western Region is on course. "It is up to us to make sure that Adams did not die in vain," he charged NPP members. According to him: "The way in which we will not let his death be in vain is to rededicate ourselves to the struggle ahead, that is the struggle to redeem our country and return her to the path of progress and prosperity. When we have done this and put the smiles back on the faces of all the poor and needy people that Adams took care of, only then would we have truly 'avenged' his death." Nana Addo is currently in the Volta region canvassing for votes and it is unclear whether he will join the family of the late chairman in Bolgatanga to mark the anniversary. Suspects in the late chairman's death are on trial and an attempt by the family of Mahama to have the trial judge removed for bias was rejected by the Chief Justice. But Nana addo appealed to the family members of the deceased to allow the courts to deal with the matter as one Gregory Afoko faces trial over the case. "On this day, and on behalf of the entire membership of the NPP, we pledge to continue to work to keep the Adams flame alight. To his widow, children, and family, we pray for Allahs continued strength for them<" he added. IPAC was established to create a channel of dialogue between the EC and political parties. Acting General Secretary of party, John Boadu told Accra based Oman FM that the ECs position on the Supreme Court ruling and subsequent actions of the Chair of the Commission, Charlotte Osei makes IPAC less useful. I will hold discussion with [my] party about boycotting IPAC meetings, he told host of the programme, Fiifi Boafo. They said they are an independent body, so what do they need our input for? Boadu was reacting to a statement by the EC in which it said people who registered with National Health Insurance cards cannot be removed from the electoral roll based on current laws governing elections in Ghana. According to him, IPAC is made up moribund political parties, who are only revived to come and sing the praises of the EC and criticize the NPP. He cited one party called Democratic Freedom Party to back his case. He noted that the partys representative at IPAC was questioned by the EC boss if it was a registered party in Ghana, yet the person was allow to speak at the meeting. The mother of two shared the result of her pregnancy test result on snapchat few minutes after she told her fans that she could be expecting another child. Living up to her reputation as the queen of selfie Kim, posted a video she took while raking the test and a photo of three packets of pregnancy tests, with the simple caption: 'Panic attack.' 'I'm legit in the airplane bathroom taking a pregnancy test because I'm having a little bit of a scare, so no big deal,' Kim said. Oh well, the result turnout to be negative, apparently she was about to jet out of LA with her husband Kanye West before the whole pregnancy panic. Meanwhile, Kim is yet to respond to the accusation of her being a secret agent who have nefarious influence on the youth and young woman in Iran. According to Vanity Fair, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp, an agency tasked with policing domestic culture and heading off the influence of other nations, is concerned about the social-media popularity of Kim Kardashian. You think the whole idea sounds funny and absurd?Iran, has already began to crack down on locals who post glam shots to social networks. Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! ALSO READ: First class student barred from graduation for refusal to shave beard The suspect identified as Benson Gabriel Ossei who is a native of Agbor, Delta State, had been on his way to deliver the stolen vehicle to one Osas Igariba in Auchi when he had been apprehended by police officers in the state. The police men who had been on duty along Ugha road on the State, had reportedly arrested the suspect with the stolen vehicle with registration number NND670 AE from Ondo State. ALSO READ: Unical student nabbed for stealing car ALSO READ: Woman pens heartbreaking note to son as she graduates from college Andrew Jones who is a student of Amite High school in Louisiana, Mexico, is reportedly the head of his class and a first class student but none of these attributes had been enough to allow the school authorities overlook something as simple as his beard. Jones who had been meant to deliver the valedictory speech during the graduation has also been stripped of that honour over his violation of the school policy on facial hair. Local news station, WWLTV, reports that the 4.0 student has sported his goatee for four years now, but is also amo0ng a group of 14 students asked to shave their beard upon their arrival at the school's graduation ceremony held on Wednesday, May 18, 2016. Upon their arrival at the ceremony, they had been warned that if they refused to go into the bathroom to shave their beards, they would not be graduating with the rest of their class. The reports reveal that Jones had been the only one who had refused on the grounds that the rule had never been enforced prior to the graduation ceremony. Jones had held his ground even though he knew his high school graduation was a once in a life time event. Speaking during an interview, Jones said: "Eventually they took my gown. "They told me they had to take my gown from me. It don't make sense, every day of school I went with it, even more, I did shave. I had like sides and everything, but I shaved that for graduation." Expressing her displeasure over the situation, Jones' aunt, Sabrina Davis said: "What was the real issue that he couldn't walk with his class? "He was top of his class, you know, that moment was the most important moment of his life." Mark Kolwe, Tangipahoa Schools Superintendent while speaking with WVUE, disclosed that Jones had been warned about the policy on several occasions, adding that he had personally made an appeal to get Jones to shave his beard, but had also failed. The Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmos, made this known on Thursday, May 19, 2016, while speaking with Punch Metro. She said, The autopsy has revealed that Mr. Lekan Shonde, the alleged killer of his wife, has a case to answer. Therefore, he will be charged to court tomorrow (Friday) to answer to the charge of murder. The autopsy report released by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) revealed that Ronke died from respiratory seizure. She also had water in her brain and some bruises to her head, report says. According to Punch, her family are preparing to bury her anytime from Friday, May 20, 2016, after her corpse was released by the police, upon the conclusion of the autopsy test. Punch also reported that the family of the deceased intend to make her burial a discreet affair. This was revealed by a source, who lamented about Ronke's death, whom he described as a vibrant and energetic woman. The family has decided to bury her quietly and it appears to be a family arrangement together with some family friends. If you knew Ronke before she died, you would know she didnt deserve to die like this. She was a vibrant and energetic woman." "She and her late brother, Jide, were the most outspoken in the family and if this had happened to any other person while they lived, this matter would have gone farther than this. The death of Ronke came to be after having a confrontation with her husband, who alleged that the deceased was having an extra marital affair with her boss, Kayode Oluokun. The disposable $1 device consists of a small needle connected to a plastic bubble containing the contraceptive Depo-Provera which can be squeezed to inject a dose that lasts three months. Self-injectables could have a major impact on the lives of women who cannot access clinics or who face opposition to contraceptive use from their partners, said the global health organisation PATH which has designed the device called Sayana Press. "This is a life-saver. This is a game-changer for family planning," PATH's Emmanuel Mugisha told the Thomson Reuters Foundation at Women Deliver, the world's biggest women's health and rights conference in a decade. Unwanted pregnancies also cut short girls' education and stop them reaching their potential. Mugisha, PATH's Uganda director, said women in rural areas could spend an entire day trekking to a clinic and queuing for contraceptives only to discover they were out of stock. "In Africa, one of the hindrances with family planning is access. The second hindrance is us men," he said. "Most men don't want family planning. Some want more children, but others think it interferes with their sex life. "With Sayana Press a woman has the freedom to decide when she wants children and when she doesn't, and the man will have no control; the man will not know, which is very good." Mugisha said self-injectable contraceptives would also reduce the high numbers of women dying during botched abortions in Uganda. UNMET NEED Some 225 million women in developing countries have an unmet need for family planning, according to U.N. data. If this need were met, unintended pregnancies would fall by 70 percent, unsafe abortions by 74 percent, maternal deaths by 25 percent and newborn deaths by 18 percent. Trials with Sayana Press, which is manufactured by Pfizer, are being carried out to ensure women can remember to take it, administer it correctly and dispose of the device safely so that it does not get picked up by children. Nomi Fuchs-Montgomery, an expert on contraceptive technology at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which is helping support the trials, said early indications were very positive. "We see so much promise with this," she added. "This is really the future." Fuchs-Montgomery said increasing the availability of contraception had a major role to play in meeting many of the Sustainable Developing Goals - the U.N. goals agreed last year for ending inequality and extreme poverty. Access to contraception allows women to complete their education, follow careers and participate economically which has "an incredible knock-on effect" on their wider communities and national development, she added. PATH is also conducting trials in Burkina Faso and Niger where community health workers are using the device to deliver contraceptives to women. "The findings are of concern because it is further proof that the outbreak is spreading beyond South America and is on the doorstep of Africa," said WHO's Africa director Matshidiso Moeti. "This information will help African countries to re-evaluate their level of risk and adapt and increase their levels of preparedness," she said. Zika was first discovered in Africa in 1947 and until the past year it was thought to cause only mild symptoms with no known link with brain or birth disorders. Researchers identified two distinct lineages in 2012, African and Asian. As of May 8, there had been 7,557 suspected cases in Cape Verde, an Atlantic archipelago around 570 km (350 miles) west of Senegal, which has historic ties to Brazil. Until the virus was sequenced by the Institut Pasteur in Senegal, it was not certain if the outbreak was caused by the African or Asian type, which has hit Brazil and other Latin American countries. Moeti said she would not recommend strict travel restrictions to try to stop the spread of the disease further into Africa, but advocated efforts to control mosquito numbers and stop people being bitten. Bruce Aylward, head of outbreaks and health emergencies at WHO, said it remained to be seen if African populations would have some immunity to the virus which could mitigate the impact of a Zika outbreak on the continent. U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies. The WHO has said there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can also cause Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults. The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last year in Brazil, which has now confirmed more than 1,300 cases of microcephaly that it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. The spokesman for the party in the state, Sulyman Buhari, was said to have confirmed the incident on Friday, May 20. According to him, the victims were abducted on Friday morning at the Abuja-Lokoja highway while returning to Ilorin from Abuja. The APC in the state has called on the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, to ensure the rescue of the party leaders. This was disclosed by Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman via a statement. The statement reads: At about 11.00am today, Thursday, 19th May 2016, troops of 231 Battalion, 331 Artillery Regiment (AR), Detachment of Armed Forces Special Forces (AFSF) 2, Explosive Ordinance (EOD) Team and Civilian Vigilante group of Buratai, conducted clearance operations at Shettima Aboh, Hong and Biladdili general area in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State. During the operations, the troops killed 35 Boko Haram terrorists and recovered several arms and ammunitions and other items. In addition, they rescued 97 women and children held captives by the Boko Haram terrorists. We are glad to state that among those rescued is a girl believed to be one of the Chibok Government Secondary School girls that were abducted on 14th April 2014 by the Boko Haram terrorists. Her name is Miss Serah Luka, who is number 157 on the list of the abducted school girls. She is believed to be the daughter of Pastor Luka. During debriefing the girl revealed that she was a JSS1 student of the school at the time they were abducted. She further added that she hails from Madagali, Adamawa State. She averred that she reported at the school barely two months and one week before her unfortunate abduction along with other girls over two years ago. She added that there other three girls who fled from Shettima Aboh when the troops invaded the area earlier today which led to their rescue. She is presently receiving medical attention at the medical facility of Abogo Largema Cantonment, Biu, Borno State. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, who disclosed this in a statement on Friday, May 20, said Opara's dismissal took effect from Thursday (yesterday). His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has in the exercise of his powers, approved the disengagement of Mr. John Kennedy Opara as the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission with effect from Thursday May 19 2016, the statement read. Mr. President, however, thanked him for his invaluable services to the nation and wishes him well in his future endeavours. Daramola made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Okitipupa, Ondo State, on Friday.He said President Muhammadu Buhari's administration was committed to refocusing the energies of intervention agencies toward sustainable development and youth empowerment. "We call on all youths to eschew violence and embrace peace. It is only when we embrace peace that development can come to an area, he said. According to him, the frequency of cult clashes, violence and destruction of oil and gas pipelines among youths in the region is embarrassing and constituting a clog in the wheel of progress. "No development will take place if the youths continue their violence behaviour, he said. Daramola promised that the ministry would continue to improve the lives of the people of the region, especially the youths and women. "As we undertake to develop the Niger Delta and build capacity, we will ensure that the youths and women are not left out because they have the capacity to contribute meaningfully. "It is important to be loyal and cooperate as government rolls out some programmes for development of our region. We will soon embark on an empowerment programme in the region that will touch so many lives. The minister urged all the people to thrown their weight behind the change mantra of the present government. He advised them to take advantage of the huge resources available in the region to empower themselves, especially in the area of agriculture. He said that reducing unemployment among the youths was a top priority for the Federal Government. "The Niger Delta region is key to the Nigerian economy, and reducing poverty in the region is top priority of government.But the disruption of government activities and vandalism of oil installations by those who are dissatisfied is a matter of great concern. He, however, said that ministry was set to commence a series of stakeholder engagements within and outside the region toward addressing restiveness. The minister government had to explore dialogue as an option because some people were trying to exploit the security challenges to attack pipelines and cause tension in the region. "The call for persons with grievances to embrace dialogue is not an indication of weakness on the part of the government. Reports say Uduaghan allegedly received N450m from the $115m which the former minister of petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke kept for the 2015 presidential elections. Also on the EFCC interrogation list, is a former Senator, Ndudi Elumelu. The Managing Director (MD) of Fidelity bank PLC, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo told the EFCC that he was asked by the former minister of petroleum to help handle the disbursements of the $115m to some Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officers. Punch reports that an EFCC source said During interrogation at the Port Harcourt office of the EFCC, we were told that the money was N450m and it was received through the Nnebisi branch of Fidelity Bank, Delta State, and handed over to Uduaghan for disbursement to the local governments during the 2015 general elections. The next step will be to quiz Uduaghan so that he can explain his own side of the story. They will be in court as soon as investigations are completed. Ugonna Madueke, the son of the former Minister of petroleum, was also accused of handling the disbursement of the funds. Tinubu said he is aware of the mixed feelings the decision of the government is causing, adding that However, we should not lament the departure of something just because of its longevity, particularly, when that very policy had ceased to serve us long ago. Punch reports that Tinubu argued that the former system in the down-stream sector of Nigerias oil industry, only benefited the rich. The APC leader also said The bogus supplier was paid for supplying nothing, while you sweated in long queues for fuel that was never there. The smuggler secreted fuel across the border, while our economy crossed the border into fuel scarcity. While the price of fuel was cheap on paper, these were the hidden costs that made the subsidy regime an expensive and heavy yoke that the nation could not continue. With dwindling revenue from oil due to the slump in global oil prices and a dwindling forex reserve, the country could no longer live in denial. Tinubu also said investment in the oil and gas sector was low, because investors were skeptical about the possibilities of doing business under a fixed fuel pricing regime. The APC leader said President (Muhammadu) Buhari, after carefully weighing the options, decided to do what is right. In an act of courage, he removed the oil subsidy, thereby freeing the downstream component of this strategic sector of the economy from the distortions of price fixing. They offered no programmes of valid compensation to the people. Instead, they instigated a policy of monumental fraud known as SURE-P. However, the only thing sure about it was that its architects would siphon the publics funds to fatten their own wallets. They wanted to save money (for themselves) yet exploited the people for no good reason at all. He also said What the President did is about the future of our country and that of the next generation. This government is transferring the funds to better spend them and better save the people. Nothing in this world is perfect but this decision is a just and correct one aimed at bolstering the economy, while caring better for those the system has unfairly treated. The Federal Government announced the removal of fuel subsidy and a subsequent increase in the pump price of fuel to N145 on Wednesday, May 11, 2016. Azibaola is the cousin of the ex-president who has been in the custody of the EFCC since March 23, 2016. EFCC made this submission in a counter affidavit filed by one of his operatives, Mohammed Hassan. Azibaola had filed a suit through his lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, alleging that he has been detained unlawfully by the EFCC. He also claimed that he is being intimidated because he is related to ex-president Jonathan. In its response, the anti-graft agency operative, Hassan, asked the court to throw away the suit, saying This suit is frivolous, time-wasting, an abuse of court processes and should be dismissed with cost. GEJs cousin, who is the Managing Director of Katakar Civil Engineering Company,was arrested by the EFCC in connection to an alleged $40m fraud. Justice Olasunbo Goodluck of an Abuja High Court, however ordered the anti-graft agency to release Azibaola on April 7, 2016, stating that his detention by the EFCC for over two weeks is unconstitutional. The EFCC also arrested Azibaolas lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, over an alleged fraud over N61m. This is contained in a statement from Mr John Nwankwo, Senior Assistant/Advisor on General Affairs, Information and Culture of the Embassy of Japan in Abuja on Friday. The statement explained that the funding would be used to provide direct food assistance to selected 3,000 families of approximately 36,000 people over a period of six months. It would also provide vegetable seeds and fertiliser for production and sale of vegetables to generate income that will enable the families purchase food in markets, as well as revive their livelihood. It added that the benefiting households have been identified as some of the most vulnerable and extremely food insecure in seven local government areas in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. The statement listed the local governments to include Michika, Mubi North, and Yola North in Adamawa; Jere and Maiduguri in Borno and; Damaturu, Geidam, Nangere and Yunusari in Yobe. The statement indicated that the project would be implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and OXFAM. ''The implementing organisations are to collaborate with state government agencies and international and national NGOs to implement the activities which are part of the Nigeria Humanitarian Plan for 2016. ''The project would provide food assistance through obtaining food items from local markets and would facilitate efficient and effective distribution on a monthly basis to identified and registered IDPs and host families. ''The selection of IDPs and host families would be on the basis of vulnerability with a focus on women and children. ''The project would also support identified and registered IDPs and host families with access to land and water with agricultural inputs to engage in generating revenues from vegetable production and marketing,'' it said. The statement noted that the millions of people in the region severely affected by the insurgency and IDPs living in host communities had significantly increased the stress on communities already facing high levels of food insecurity. It recalled that the recent Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Analysis carried out by the Federal Government and partners showed that about 216,969 people were currently in emergency food situation and need immediate humanitarian assistance. "In addition, a further 2,315,407 people across the three North East states are in a crisis food situation and need humanitarian assistance. "This figure is expected to increase to 2,690,946 people towards the lean season of June to August 2016. The denial was made via a statement released by the companys spokesperson Cornel Osigwe. It reads: Our attention has been drawn to a news report published by various online media that the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has authorised the Attorney-General of Federation (AGF) to commence the prosecution of a Lagos businessman, Innocent Chukwuma, his company, Innoson Nigeria Limited, and four others for alleged forgery. Ordinarily, we would not have dignified this news report with a response but in a nation where silence may be seen as an admission of guilt, we therefore come out to state the true position of things. Although there is a charge pending against Innoson Nigeria Ltd, the charge is a trumped up. To this end, the police have through its letter of 17th February 2016 discontinued the charge in order to further investigate the matter. Also, Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation through paragraph 10 of its opinion referenced DPPF 30/03/2016 contained in the policy file of the Ministry of Justice directed that the charge be discontinued and the file sent back to the police to further investigate the matter. The court never ordered or directed the Attorney General of the Federation to take over the case since and more importantly no court in Nigeria has such power over the AGF. Already Innoson has over N15billion judgement in its favour against Guaranty Trust Bank (who is sponsoring the charge) in suit no Fhc/AWK/CS/139/2012, suit no Fhc/L/CS/603/2006 and Appeal no CA/I/258/2011 and Appeal no CA/E/288/2014. The charge is to blackmail Innoson and to force it to forgo the judgements sums of over N15 billion. The futility of the charge and the fact that it is a trumped one is demonstrated by the following: a) GTB kept and continues to keep a register where all its customers sign for every bill of lading it collected from it. Innoson signed for all the bills of lading it collected from GTB including the ones in dispute in GTB's register. During the investigation and till date GTB failed and refused to produce the register on the ground that it was destroyed by fire that gutted its office; b) in suit no Fhc/AWK/CS/139/2012 which was on excess and unlawful charges GTB imposed on Innoson's current account with it, GTB raised the issue of forged Bills of lading but could not establish that and Innoson got a judgement in excess of N4.7Billion against GTB therein; c) the bills of lading which GTB is parading as forged is not more than five and the goods imported with them is not up to N100Million. The question therefore is, how did the sum become N2.4Billion?; what are contained in the containers evidenced by the Bills of lading in issue that is worth N2.4Billion. We therefore urge the general public to disregard the news publication as this is a smear campaign to undermine the integrity of Dr Innocent Chukwuma OFR. -------------------------------------------------- The President also assured oil companies operating in the Niger Delta that his administration is making frantic efforts to safeguard their personnel and strategic assets in the region. Buhari stated this on Friday, May 20, at meeting with the Global Director (Upstream) of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, Andrew Brown. He said that he has directed the Chief of Naval Staff to reorganise and strengthen the military Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta to deal effectively with the resurgence of militancy and the sabotage of oil facilities. The President stressed that the operations of the JTF are also being enhanced with increased support and cooperation from the United States and Europe in the areas of training, intelligence, equipment and logistics. We have to be very serious with the situation in the Niger Delta because it threatens the national economy. I assure you that everything possible will be done to protect personnel and oil assets in the region, he said. He urged aggrieved persons, militants and communities in the Niger Delta to drop their confrontational stance and work with those who have been charged by the Federal Government to review the Amnesty Programme initiated by the YarAdua administration for the benefit of all parties. Premium Times reports that an ExxonMobil spokesperson, Oge Udeagha, said Mobil Producing Nigeria, MPN, operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC/MPN Joint Venture, confirms that in the early hours of Thursday May 19, 2016, some unknown persons obstructed access to the bridge leading to our Qua Iboe terminal complex in Ibeno, Akwa Ibom state, thereby preventing our personnel and the public from conducting their legitimate businesses. For today, May 20 2016 THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER NLC open to dialogue, may adopt sectoral strike optionAs the strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to protest against the increase in fuel price continued yesterday, the workers organisation expressed its readiness for dialogue when the Federal Government makes such an offer. READ MORE 66 die as EgyptAir plane plunges into seaEgyptAir flight 804 travelling from Paris to Cairo has plunged into the Mediterranean Sea with 56 passengers and 10 crew members on board. READ MORE Second Chibok girl Serah, pastors daughter, rescuedTwo days after the rescue of the first girl, Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki, and her four-month-old baby, the Nigerian Army yesterday said it has rescued a second Chibokgirl, Miss Serah Luka. READ MORE___________________________________ THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER NLC leaders meet Saraki, Dogara, say strike continuesThe President, Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, and his team met for about 40 minutes behind closed-doors on Thursday evening, with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to discuss the nationwide strike over the hike in fuel price. READ MORE Fuel subsidy, heavy yoke that couldnt continue TinubuThe National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has urged Nigerians not to lament the removal of fuel subsidy, which he described as a heavy yoke that the government could not allow to linger. READ MORE Another Chibok girl rescued, Amina visits BuhariTWO days after the rescue of one of the 200 schoolgirls abducted from the Chibok community in Borno State, another schoolgirl was rescued on Thursday night. READ MORE___________________________________ THE NATION NEWSPAPER Fed Govt draws up anti-oil theft battle planTo check oil thefts and illegal bunkering, the Federal Government will deploy appropriate surveillance technology combat vehicles and boats to difficult terrains. Apart from ensuring full benefits of uninterrupted power supply, the Federal Government has also been urged to set up special courts for speedy prosecution of oil bunkerers and oil theft suspects. READ MORE Fed Govt sets up 15-man panel on palliativesThe Federal government has constituted a 15-man technical committee to consider suggestions and contribution from relevant parties on the N500 billion social investment in the 2016 budget as palliatives to cushion the effect of the petrol price increase. READ MORE Strike continues, says WabbaLabour might have downgraded the national strike called by the Ayuba Wabba-led faction of the Nigeria Labour Cogress (NLC) to a mere protest as protesters resorted to arm-twisting tactics in some cities to force people to join the action in protest against the hike in petrol price to N145 from N86.50. READ MORE___________________________________ BUSINESS DAY NEWSPAPER Oil rally eludes Nigeria as pipeline breaks surge 24%Nigeria is currently unable to participate in the move to a 6 month high by crude prices, as what was once Africas largest producer sees its daily crude output slide by 36 percent to 1.4 million barrels per day (bd), due to sabotage by militants in the Niger Delta region. A total of 959 vandalised READ MORE Nigerias subsidised university education leaves students mentally poorStakeholders have raised concerns about the ability of the Federal Government to provide quality university education at a subsidised rate, given dwindling foreign exchange accruing from crude oil revenues. At the moment, the FG subsidises tuition leading to most Federal universities; charging tuition fees of between N9,000 and N25 000. The minister of education Adamu READ MORE Sahara Reporters say Amina was given a thorough medical check up on Thursday, May 19, 2016, before leaving for the presidential villa, Abuja. Reports also say that most of the abducted girls in the forest might be pregnant. President Muhammadu Buhari also announced that the Federal Government will take responsibility for Amina's education. The first lady, Aisha Buhari also seized the opportunity of Aminas visit to ask other Boko Haram escapees to come out of Sambisa forest. The Nigerian Army has also revealed another girl, suspected to be one of those abducted from Government Secondary School in Chibok, in Borno state, has been rescued. The community spokesperson in Abuja, Tsambido Hosea, said Hayyatu exploited their daughter. Premium Times reports that Hosea said We condemn, in strong terms, the calling of Mohammad Hayyatu as Boko Haram husband of our daughter. Upon confirmation by the Nigerian Military, he should be referred to as a: Boko Haram sexual exploiter. Amina had no husband and who ever that was rescued with her should not be referred to as her husband for any reason. Even if he is also abducted and forced to marry her, he should not be referred to in any way as her husband, because there was never consent in getting her with a baby. The community spokesperson also said Even if he is also abducted and forced to marry her, he should not be referred to in any way as her husband, because there was never consent in getting her with a baby. Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari also announced that the Federal Government will take responsibility for Amina's education. The judge threw out the application at the commencement of proceedings on Friday, May 20. In the application, Tarfa's counsel, Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN), asked the court to stay proceedings until the Court of Appeal decides an appeal on the matter. Tarfa was on March 10, 2016, arraigned by the EFCC for allegedly offering a N5.3 million bribe to a judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa, in order to compromise the judge. The anti-graft agency alleged that Tarfa transferred the money in several tranches to the judge and that the offence was contrary to Section 64 (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, No.11, 2011. The Army had identified Serah Luka as one of the Chibok girls after rescuing her on Thursday, May 19, 2016. Nkeki however told AFP that his records showed only two girls with the surname Luka. These are Kauna Luka Yana and Naomi Luka Dzakwa. Among the list of parents we have only four priests and none of them is Luka, he said. Among the girls none of them is from Madagali. They were either from Chibok, Damboa, Askira and Uba (all in Borno state). So I can say that this girl is not among the abducted Chibok girls. We were never contacted by the military for verification of the girls identity before the announcement was made, he added. The armys announcement of Serahs rescue was made via a statement released by its spokesperson, Colonel Sani Usman. ------------------------------------------------------------ Tinubu gave the assurance at the headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja, in his bid to pacify the labour union to suspend its ongoing indefinite strike over the hike in fuel price. The APC leader begged the aggrieved workers to return to the negotiation table with the government, adding that for the first time in a long while, labour should trust the current administration with Nigeria's resources. I can swear that Buhari will not touch a penny for personal gain. ," Tinubu said. The former Lagos State governor admitted that the Federal Government's decision to increase the price of petrol was not properly communicated to labour unions. He said: I cannot say, Im a part of the decision that created the situation. I can only say I noticed the communication gap. And I cannot say you are enemies of this government. Today, we came here to appeal to you. Go back to history, we worked real hard to bring Nigeria on progressive path. For me a progressive government is all about the welfare of the people. Mr president, the former president of NLC, and senators are here to make it clear that you are not an enemy of a government that is progressive. This is by the way, we must introduce history the political history of the country is not being taught in schools anymore. Buhari is straightforward. We didnt say we wont have problems with him, but he has integrity. They brought in SURE-P, but the only thing about SURE-P is corruption. It was sure stealing, sure diversion. Buhari will listen to us; we will work together to make this change possible. Let us look at a new mechanism of doing things. Let us work together for a government that we know is honest. My mission here is for peace, for us to return to the negotiating table. Let us build Nigeria, let us make it the centre piece of Africa. Let us call off this strike. I come to beg on behalf of my party. The NLC-led by its National President, Ayuba Wabba commenced the nationwide strike on Wednesday, May 18, after the union and the Federal Government failed to reach a mutual agreement. In a statement circulated online by PRNigeria, army spokesman, Usman Sani Kukasheka, said Luka was rescued on Thursday, May 19, following a military operation, in which 35 Boko Haram terrorists were killed and 97 women and children rescued. The girl, according to him, is the number 157 on the list of the abducted school girls. During debriefing, Luka told the army that three other Chibok girls fled when the troops invaded Damboa Local Government area of Borno State, the same hideout she was found. The statement said: At about 11.00am today, Thursday, 19th May 2016, troops of 231 Battalion, 331 Artillery Regiment (AR), Detachment of Armed Forces Special Forces (AFSF) 2, Explosive Ordinance (EOD) Team and Civilian Vigilante group of Buratai, conducted clearance operations at Shettima Aboh, Hong and Biladdili general area in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State. During the operations, the troops killed 35 Boko Haram terrorists and recovered several arms and ammunition and other items. In addition, they rescued 97 women and children held captives by the Boko Haram terrorists. We are glad to state that among those rescued is a girl believed to be one of the Chibok Government Secondary School girls that were abducted on 14th April 2014 by the Boko Haram terrorists. Her name is Miss Serah Luka, who is number 157 on the list of the abducted school girls. She is believed to be the daughter of Pastor Luka. During debriefing the girl revealed that she was a JSS1 student of the school at the time they were abducted. She further added that she hails from Madagali, Adamawa State. She averred that she reported at the school barely two months and one week before her unfortunate abduction along with other girls over two years ago. She added that there (are) other three girls who fled from Shettima Aboh when the troops invaded the area earlier today which led to their rescue. She is presently receiving medical attention at the medical facility of Abogo Largema Cantonment, Biu, Borno State. According to SaharaReporters, the development was confirmed by the army spokesman, Colonel Usman Sani Kukasheka, who report said did not give further details about the rescue. Vanguard reports that the unidentified girl was found inside Sambisa Forest, the main hideout of the terrorists.This comes two days after the rescue of the first girl, Amina Ali Nkeki, and her four-month-old baby. President Muhammadu Buhari had on Thursday, May 19, met with Amina and her family at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The film overtook Disneys Zootopia which held the title with $971 million since its March debut, The third highest grosser title is currently held by Warner Bros. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with $871 million. Recently, the film surpassed the $900 million mark to overtake "Spider-Man," "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," and "Spider-Man 3" to become the sixth highest grossing superhero movie of all time. ALSO READ:undefined Synopsis. "Political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability when the actions of the Avengers lead to collateral damage. The new status quo deeply divides members of the team. Captain America (Chris Evans) believes the heroes should remain free to defend humanity without government interference. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) sharply disagrees and supports oversight. As the debate escalates into an all-out feud, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) must pick a side". ALSO READ: undefined "Captain America: Civil War" is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, and stars Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Sebastian Stan as Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie as Falcon, Paul Bettany as The Vision, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye. It also stars Chadwick Boseman as TChalla/Black Panther, Emily VanCamp as Agent 13Don Cheadle as War Machine, Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, Tom Holland as Spider-Man, and Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man. According to him, the bill is necessary and needed to control the practice. He revealed this in an interview with NET. ALSO READ: undefined MOPICON is necessary. It is needed. Especially in the evolution of Nollywood as a business, as a sub sector of the Economy," he said. "We need a practice that is structured. People have argued that we want to control practitioners and I say no, we need to control the practice." "Thats what MOPICON can do for us at this time. We need to protect the practice, to define the code of ethics and the terms with which people practice and to improve generally the working conditions of practice in Nigeria. ALSO READ: ALSO READ: The Motion Picture Practitioners Council of Nigeria (MOPICON) Bill was created over 10 years ago after a group of industry practitioners sat to draft it. Recently, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, inaugurated a Ministerial Committee aimed at fast-tracking the passage into law of the MOPICON Bill. The demand was made by the groups National Coordinator, Nkechi Odoma while speaking to journalists in Abuja, Vanguard reports. In 2014, when over 200 girls were abducted from their school in Chibok, Borno State, the wife of the then President, Dame Patience Jonathan released that blockbuster of Na only you waka come? Diaris Guuuud o. We recall this unfortunate episode, because, funny as it was then, it typified the mind-set of the Goodluck Jonathan government and all its officials, and as we saw including spouses, she said. So widespread and effective was the propaganda that many Nigerians were misled into believing that the whole kidnap story was hoax or a plot by the opposition to make trouble for the ruling party. It was this criminal denial that led to sincere efforts being made to liberate the girls when efforts should have been made. We are therefore elated that one of the Chibok girls, Amina Ali-Nkeki has been rescued and reunited with her family. It is equally uplifting that that reports were filtering in that a second girl was rescued within 24 hours after Ali-Nkeki regained freedom. We salute President Muhammadu Buhari for the unique leadership he is providing which has made the same Army that was earlier being humiliated into the effective liberating force that we see today. On his part, we expect former President Goodluck Jonathan to take a break from his visits to fancy restaurants and shopping malls around the globe to tender an unreserved apology to Nigerians for lying that the Chibok girls were not abducted and attempting to pass off agitations for their rescue as paid for. We similarly call on Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose to do something he is allergic to, apologise. We would have asked him to hang his head in shame now that he has been proven to be a monger of all that is vile, but even that is beyond his reach as he has no capacity for shame. The entire saga might have bruised us but we are beginning to find our girls. We are optimistic that there will be a massive liberation soon, she added. Amina Ali Nkeki, one of the missing girls, was rescued near Sambisa Forest, Borno State on Tuesday, May 17, 2016. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Sani made the remark in a statement released by his Special Adviser on Politics and Ideology, Suleiman Ahmed today, May 20, 2016. The statement reads: The press conference and threat of expulsion made by one Tanko Wusono of Kaduna APC against comrade Senator Shehu Sani for objecting to the increase in pump price of petroleum products stands unambiguously condemned. Kaduna APC as it exists today is simply an extension of El-Rufais government. The press conference is the hands of Jacob and the voice of Esau. The said Tanko Wusono is the special assistant to El-Rufais Commissioner for local government Bashir Saidu at the same time member of Kaduna internal revenue board. El-Rufai is cowardly to directly confront Sen Sani and resort to using Buharis name to fight his domestic battles. Senator Shehu Sani reserves the right to freely express his opinion and no bespectacled pigmy can stop him from doing that. El-Rufai was never and is still never a Buhari man but a pretender who can kneel down to anyone as long as that can propel him to power. The use of APC Kaduna to fight Shehu Sani by El-Rufai is a testimony to how timid and mischievous the governor is. El-Rufai is a man who had abused PMB and only aligned himself with him when Yaradua and GEJ denied him juicy ministerial positions and recognition he craved. El-Rufai is a man who had spent 13 years of the 16 years of PDP in power and now claims false progressive credentials. The heart, the lungs and the blockos of El-Rufai are still PDP. He is an arrogant man allergic to criticism. Its shameful that the El-Rufai, who claims to be a Buharist, still cant publicly declare his assets like PMB. The threat of expulsion of the distinguished senator by El-Rufai spokesman is nothing but the hallucinations of a barely educated ogogoro drinker. It will be interesting for the general public to know that even the so-called state headquarters of the APC is a building owned by a top PDP chieftain in the state. It will also interest the public to know that 80 percent of Kaduna state APC exco are appointed into El-Rufai government. El-Rufai has simply destroyed APC in Kaduna state. In all states in the north people are decamping from PDP to APC except in Kaduna. El-Rufai is a bad and rotten egg in the APC. He knelt down for Atiku to become BPE chair and later betrayed him. He knelt down for Obj to become a minister and later betrayed him. He knelt down for Buhari to be governor of which later he will betray him. Fear El-Rufai whenever he kneels down before you. Senator Shehu Sani is one hundred percent a supporter of PMB but he is neither a sycophant nor a hypocrite who will not speak his mind when there is the need to do so. El-Rufai is a man who jails journalists and fears challenge to his tyranny. Senator Shehu Sani is an activist who remain consistent in his beliefs and struggles. Senator Shehu Sani is loved by his people and will continue to serve them. We call on El-Rufai to stop hiding behind APC Kaduna and wearing the mask of PMB to fight his battles. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sani was suspended by the Tudun Wada ward of the Kaduna state APC in December 2015 allegedly for anti-party activities. Sani described as illogical and irrational, the decision of the Buhari led administration to increase the pump price of petrol at this time, adding that those in support of the recent fuel price hike are in chains. The acting Publicity Secretary of the APC Kaduna state chapter, Salisu Tanko Wusono, in a press conference told newsmen that The APC Kaduna decided to teach Shehu Sani a lesson in party discipline in the hope that he will be reformed. He was placed on suspension, but rather than learn lessons, show remorse and work towards becoming a responsible senator, he has chosen to continue to show disloyalty to the APC and President Buhari. Given his disregard for the party, the APC Kaduna State has no option but to take further disciplinary measures that may lead to his expulsion Adding that In speech and conduct, he has shown himself incapable of loyalty to our party, the APC and our great leader, President Muhammadu Buhari. Having ridden on the back of our party and the popularity of Buhari to get to the senate, Shehu Sani has since abandoned any pretension to discipline or loyalty to any principle. Sanu has been at loggerheads with Governor El-Rufai, over what the Senator calls his anti-people policies. Speaking in Abuja, resident of NANS, Comrade Tijani Shehu, also added that the association has reached an agreement with the Federal Government as concerning palliatives for students. He said, NANS recognizes that Nigeria is faced with the crisis of deciding its future from present realities of economic challenges, and this justifies the reasons for the agitation for reversal of the pump price of N86.50 by some members of the public. NANS recognizes that the economy is sinking; however, we blame the government for allowing the situation to generate to position where Labour Unions will find it difficult to appreciate, accommodate policies and be on the same page with them. He maintained that there is no justification for the Federal Government to continue subsidizing imported petroleum products, adding that the removal of subsidy would guarantee availability of petrol across the country. We are worried that the Federal Government, instead of completely deregulating the importation of petrol is still controlling the business through issuing of licenses, and there is no assurance that the modular refineries will be operational before 24v month, he noted. He argued that the defense of the Federal Government on the diversion of petrol to neighbouring countries was an indictment on the security apparatus of the Buhari-led government. He said, Understanding was also reached that government should provide buses to tertiary institutions of higher learning, two per institution, to ease transportation on campuses as well as distribution of gas cylinders to all Nigerian students. It was also agreed that government should engage students across the four zones of NANS in a town hall meeting to enlighten students on the policy; provide immediate employment to graduates; establish an independent service monitoring group to monitor the current price of N145 per litre and also establish a students trust fund. Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman of the NCC, gave the warning at the 77th Edition of the Telecoms Consumer Parliament in Abuja, saying that based on the general complaints of subscribers over unsolicited text messages, the Commission issued a directive to telecoms operators to dedicate a short code 2442, on their networks for use by subscribers to opt-in to a Do- NOT-DISTURB database to register their numbers against unsolicited text messages. Danbatta warned that if telecom operators fail to comply with this directive, there will be stiff sanctions. Back in March, 2016, Adebayo Shittu, minister of Communications, held a meeting with Chief Executive Officers of telecoms operators in his office in Abuja where he warned the telcos to desist from sending unsolicited text messages through their networks, or face sanctions. The militants from al-Qaeda, the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar cell of the Taliban and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militant group were killed in three separate raids over the past 36 hours, a counter-terror official told newsmen. The official said that eight were killed when the commandos stormed their forest hideout in the eastern city of Multan on Wednesday. No fewer than six of their accomplices were killed in another raid on a highway the next night. Three militants had already been killed in a separate raid earlier in the week. Another official, also asking not to be named, said the militants were part of an al-Qaeda sleeper cell that was planning the university attack.Security forces have been combing Pakistan for al-Qaeda sleeper cells after a two-year military offensive against Islamist militants. The convoy carrying patients and doctors was stopped by unidentified armed men on Wednesday about 80 kilometers north of Bossangoa, said a statement by the charity, known in English as Doctors Without Borders "MSF has been forced to suspend activities in the area until such time as it receives adequate guarantees for the safety for its staff and the acceptance of its medical and humanitarian activities," the statement said. It has called for a full investigation by local police. Central African Republic, a former French colony, spiraled into deep crisis in early 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka fighters toppled former president Francois Bozize. Christian militias responded to Seleka abuses by attacking the Muslim minority. A fifth of the population fled their homes to escape the violence and the country remains largely divided along religious lines and controlled by warlords. "Yes, I'm mad as a goat, it's true," Maduro told a rally of the ruling Socialist Party. "I'm mad with love for Venezuela, for the Bolivarian Revolution, for Chavez and his example," he added, smiling as the crowd cheered, in a reference to former President Hugo Chavez. Mujica, a fellow leftist who ruled Uruguay between 2010 and 2015, said on Wednesday he respected Maduro, but still thought he and others in Venezuela were "crazy" for attacking each other rather than sitting down to resolve problems. Amid a deep economic crisis, Venezuela's opposition is pushing for a recall referendum to oust Maduro. Government officials say that will not happen this year, and security forces have been blocking protest marches demanding the vote. Australia will come hard at Sri Lanka with short-pitched deliveries, says confident Ponting Proteas coach Boucher confident washout vs Zimbabwe won't derail team's T20 World Cup campaign It's not an ideal situation for Australia; they need to have a frank discussion in the team: Gilchrist A record 611 certificates and degrees from Great Basin College were awarded this spring, with 45 of those coming from Pahrump. A record 611 certificates and degrees from Great Basin College were awarded this spring, with 45 of those coming from Pahrump. The number eclipses the previous record set last year of 553 certificates and degrees awarded. Those students from Pahrump that received diplomas, associate degrees and certificates celebrated their accomplishments with a dinner reception on Monday. Of the 45 who received a diploma or certificate, nine of them were bachelor degrees. Five of the bachelor degrees awarded were bachelor of arts in elementary education and four bachelors in management in technology. The steady rise in graduates can be attributed to the college beginning to offer more baccalaureate-level courses to rural Nevada. The initiative has spurred a 24 percent growth in total bachelor degrees awarded by Great Basin. Six out of the last seven years, GBC has graduated a record number of students, said GBC President Mark Curtis. GBC gained approvals to offer four new bachelor degrees, including Bachelor of Science in Biology, Bachelors of Arts in English, Social Science and Natural Resources. The ever-growing number of bachelors degrees awarded by GBC confirms our belief that there is a need for additional four-year degree options in rural Nevada, Curtis said. There were 483 students who applied to graduate and of those, 128 received dual credit, giving them a diploma and a certificate which accounts for the 611 total. Curtis said that the continued rise in graduates could also highlight national praise GBC was awarded for the affordability of its online classes. The incredible dedication of our faculty and staff have proved year over year they can find ways to be very efficient while continuing to provide high quality post-secondary educational opportunities to the citizens of Nevada and beyond, Curtis said. Curtis looks forward to continued success and increased graduation rates at GBC, as the college is set to celebrate a milestone anniversary. GBC has a vision for growth that has included more baccalaureate degrees, and more outreach to rural Nevada, Curtis said. Our next step is a push for state college status as we look forward to celebrating the colleges 50th anniversary next year and begin planning for the next fifty. Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter. With their win, Pahrump Valley has clinched a playoff spot in the 3A southern regional tournament. The Trojans need just one more win or a tie by Equipo Academy to lock up the No. 1 seed in the Mountain League. Despite a decline in equipment sales and lower profits in the second quarter, Deere & Co. is riding through the global farm recession in a stronger position than it has in previous downturns. In its earnings report Friday, the Moline-based manufacturer announced a net income of $495.4 million, or $1.56 per share, for the second quarter ended April 30. Profits slumped 28 percent from the same period last year when net income was $690.5 million, or $2.03 per share. Deere also reported a 30 percent decline in net income for the first six months at $749.8 million, or $2.36 per share, compared with $1.077 billion, or $3.14 per share, last year. The earnings report sent Deere stock tumbling $4.51, or 5.48 percent, to close at $77.74 in trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. In an earnings news release, Deere chairman and CEO Samuel Allen said the "performance reflected the continuing impact of the downturn in the global farm economy and further weakness in the construction equipment sector." With pressure on both its agricultural and construction equipment markets, sales and revenues decreased 4 percent to $7.875 billion in the quarter and declined 8 percent to $13.40 billion for the first six months. "In the face of challenging market conditions, Deeres businesses benefited from the sound execution of operating plans, the strength of a broad product portfolio and our success creating a more flexible cost structure," Allen said. Deere also forecast that its combined equipment sales will decrease about 9 percent for the fiscal year and 12 percent in the third quarter. Agricultural and forestry equipment sales, which had been projected to drop 10 percent, now are expected to decrease 8 percent for the year. Deere said industry sales in the United States and Canada are forecast to be down 15 percent to 20 percent for 2016. The anticipated declines are being driven by the continuing low commodity prices and stagnant farm incomes. The most pronounced sales decline will be of higher horsepower models, Deere spokesman Ken Golden said. For Deere, that will affect Waterloo, where it makes John Deere tractors, and East Moline Harvester, which produces combines. The outlook also calls for year-end earnings of $1.2 billion, which is down from $1.3 billion forecast a quarter ago. "Although our forecast calls for lower results this year in light of ongoing market pressures, Deere is continuing to perform at a much higher level than in previous downturns," Allen said in the release. "Deere's financial condition remains strong and we believe the company is well-positioned to capitalize on attractive growth opportunities that will deliver value to our customers and investors in the future." He added that the company remains focused "on ways to streamline our operations and make them more efficient and profitable." Golden said the company's business model has positioned Deere to be more profitable than it would have been in past downturns. "The difference is how we've built the business since about 2000 when (former Deere chairman and CEO) Bob Lane introduced the Shareholder Value Added, or SVA, model ... We have learned to run the business with fewer assets and more efficiencies, and that has reduced the cost and given us more flexibility, which is really the key," Golden said. Since the farm economy began the latest downturn, Deere has responded by cutting production to match demand by announcing layoffs, production cutbacks and seasonal plant shutdowns. Golden said other actions have included supply management and an emphasis on build-to-order production. "A couple decades ago, we would not have been as capable of holding down costs as we do today," he said. The company currently has about 2,000 employees on indefinite layoff across its core farm and construction equipment plants in Iowa and Illinois. As lower commodity prices negatively affect farm incomes, Golden said, "it leads to people holding onto their equipment longer." In addition to lower sales of new equipment, used equipment also is not selling at its usual pace. "We have more used equipment in our dealerships than is normal ...," he said. In the construction and forestry division, there is both a decline in equipment rentals as well as new equipment sales. "There are a lot of encouraging signs, like the U.S. GDP is growing, construction spending is growing and housing starts are OK," Golden said. But rentals are down as the energy sector is on the decline, and "we're seeing some construction equipment companies redeploying equipment from energy-producing regions to other areas of the country," he said. But for at least one Quad-City John Deere dealer, the turf and lawn equipment business is shaping up better than he expected. "It's been a real busy spring," said Paul Seyller, the owner/president of River Valley Turf dealerships in Davenport and Silvis. "Lawn tractors, compact utility tractors, Gators everything has been really good." He attributes the strength to "great financing deals" and that "John Deere is running some good sales at zero percent interest, and people are taking advantage of that." The John Deere brand also is finding new followers, Seyller said, estimating that about 30 percent of his sales have been to new customers. After a winter that left him with an inventory of unsold snowblowers, he's happy for the wet spring. While some types of yard work are getting to a late start, he said, "They're mowing every two days. The commercial cutters are running hard, so service has been busy because they're running so much." Deere took a hit in the second-quarter due to a weak global farm economy and a downturn in construction equipment sales. The agricultural equipment maker also gave a weak third-quarter outlook and lowered its full-year forecast. While the company's profit tumbled 28 percent it still made $495.4 million, or $1.56 per share. That's a dime better than the per-share expectations on Wall Street, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research. Revenue fell 4 percent to $7.11 billion in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. But shares edged lower because the Deere said it expects low commodity prices and stagnant farm incomes to continue weighing down revenue throughout the year. Equipment sales are projected to dip about 12 percent in the third quarter from the same period a year prior. Full-year income is expected to be about $1.2 billion, down from a previous forecast of about $1.4 billion. Shares of Moline-based Deere & Co. have risen almost 8 percent since the beginning of the year. They fell about 1 percent before the opening bell Friday. Here's the company's news release about 2nd quarter earnings Net income attributable to Deere & Company was $495.4 million, or $1.56 per share, for the second quarter ended April 30, compared with $690.5 million, or $2.03 per share, for the same period last year. For the first six months of the year, net income attributable to Deere & Company was $749.8 million, or $2.36 per share, compared with $1.077 billion, or $3.14 per share, last year. Worldwide net sales and revenues decreased 4 percent, to $7.875 billion, for the second quarter and declined 8 percent, to $13.400 billion, for six months. Net sales of the equipment operations were $7.107 billion for the quarter and $11.876 billion for the first six months, compared with $7.399 billion and $13.004 billion for the periods last year. "John Deere's second-quarter performance reflected the continuing impact of the downturn in the global farm economy and further weakness in the construction equipment sector," said Samuel R. Allen, chairman and chief executive officer. "In the face of challenging market conditions, Deere's businesses benefited from the sound execution of operating plans, the strength of a broad product portfolio and our success creating a more flexible cost structure." Summary of Operations Net sales of the worldwide equipment operations declined 4 percent for the quarter and 9 percent for the first six months compared with the same periods a year ago. Sales included price realization of 1 percent for both periods and an unfavorable currency-translation effect of 2 percent for the quarter and 3 percent for six months. Equipment net sales in the United States and Canada decreased 6 percent for the quarter and 11 percent year to date. Outside the U.S. and Canada, net sales decreased 1 percent for the quarter and 4 percent for the first six months, with unfavorable currency-translation effects of 4 percent and 7 percent for the periods. Deere's equipment operations reported operating profit of $688 million for the quarter and $902 million for six months, compared with $828 million and $1.242 billion last year. The declines for both periods were primarily due to lower shipment volumes, the unfavorable effects of foreign-currency exchange and the impact of a less favorable product mix. These factors were partially offset by price realization, lower production costs and lower selling, administrative and general expenses. Net income of the company's equipment operations was $393 million for the second quarter and $520 million for the first six months, compared with $524 million and $764 million for the corresponding periods of 2015. Financial services reported net income attributable to Deere & Company of $102.6 million for the quarter and $232.0 million for six months compared with $169.8 million and $326.6 million last year. Lower results for both periods were primarily due to higher losses on lease residual values, less-favorable financing spreads and a higher provision for credit losses. Results for the first six months were also affected by the unfavorable effects of foreign-currency exchange translation. Prior-year results benefited from a gain on the sale of the crop insurance business. Company Outlook & Summary Company equipment sales are projected to decrease about 9 percent for fiscal 2016 and to be about 12 percent lower for the third quarter compared with year-ago periods. Included in the forecast is a negative foreign-currency translation effect of about 2 percent for the full year and 1 percent in the third quarter. For fiscal 2016, net income attributable to Deere & Company is anticipated to be about $1.2 billion. "Although our forecast calls for lower results this year in light of ongoing market pressures, Deere is continuing to perform at a much higher level than in previous downturns," Allen said. "Deere's financial condition remains strong and we believe the company is well-positioned to capitalize on attractive growth opportunities that will deliver value to our customers and investors in the future. At the same time, we are continuing to focus on ways to streamline our operations and make them more efficient and profitable." Equipment Division Performance Agriculture & Turf. Sales were approximately the same for the quarter and down 5 percent for six months. The decline year-to-date was due largely to lower shipment volumes. Results for both periods were impacted by the unfavorable effects of foreign- currency translation, partially offset by price realization. Operating profit was $614 million for the quarter and $759 million year to date, compared with $639 million and $907 million, respectively, last year. Lower results for both periods were driven primarily by the unfavorable effects of foreign-currency exchange, lower shipment volumes and a less favorable product mix, partially offset by price realization, lower production costs and lower selling, administrative and general expenses. Construction & Forestry. Construction and forestry sales decreased 16 percent for the quarter and 20 percent for six months mainly as a result of lower shipment volumes and higher sales-incentive costs. Operating profit was $74 million for the quarter and $143 million for six months, compared with $189 million and $335 million for the periods last year. Operating profit decreased for the quarter mainly due to lower shipment volumes, higher sales-incentive costs and a less favorable product mix, partially offset by lower production costs and lower selling, administrative and general expenses. Six-month results decreased primarily due to lower shipment volumes and higher sales-incentive costs, partially offset by lower selling, administrative and general expenses and lower production costs. Market Conditions & Outlook Agriculture & Turf. Deere's worldwide sales of agriculture and turf equipment are forecast to decrease by about 8 percent for fiscal-year 2016, including a negative currency-translation effect of about 2 percent. Industry sales for agricultural equipment in the U.S. and Canada are forecast to be down 15 to 20 percent for 2016. The decline, reflecting the impact of low commodity prices and stagnant farm incomes, is expected to be most pronounced in the sale of higher-horsepower models. Full-year 2016 industry sales in the EU28 are forecast to be flat to down 5 percent, with the decline attributable to low commodity prices and farm incomes, including continued pressure on the dairy sector. In South America, industry sales of tractors and combines are projected to be down 15 to 20 percent mainly as a result of economic and political concerns in Brazil. Asian sales are projected to be flat to down slightly, due in part to weakness in China. Industry sales of turf and utility equipment in the U.S. and Canada are expected to be flat to up 5 percent for 2016. Deere sales are expected to benefit from new products and general economic growth. Construction & Forestry. Deere's worldwide sales of construction and forestry equipment are forecast to be down about 13 percent for 2016, including a negative currency-translation effect of about 1 percent. The forecast decline in sales largely reflects the impact of weak conditions in North America. In forestry, global industry sales are expected to be down 5 to 10 percent from last year's strong levels. Financial Services. Fiscal-year 2016 net income attributable to Deere & Company for the financial services operations is expected to be approximately $480 million. The outlook reflects less-favorable financing spreads, higher losses on lease residual values and an increased provision for credit losses. Additionally, 2015 results benefited from a gain on the sale of the crop insurance business. John Deere Capital Corporation The following is disclosed on behalf of the company's financial services subsidiary, John Deere Capital Corporation (JDCC), in connection with the disclosure requirements applicable to its periodic issuance of debt securities in the public market. Net income attributable to John Deere Capital Corporation was $69.6 million for the second quarter and $169.4 million year to date, compared with $115.9 million and $249.5 million for the respective periods last year. The decline for both periods was primarily due to higher losses on lease residual values, less-favorable financing spreads and a higher provision for credit losses. Net receivables and leases financed by JDCC were $33.208 billion at April 30, 2016, compared with $32.877 billion last year. River Bend Foodbank's partners took a bite out of hunger last year, but a national study shows 12 percent of the population across the Quad-City region still goes hungry. In announcing results of the Map the Meal Gap 2016 study, River Bend representatives said Thursday that 125,220 people including 46,070 children are food insecure in the agency's 20-county service area. The Davenport-based agency serves five eastern Iowa counties and 17 western Illinois counties. "The big news from the study is the people in this room are meeting more of the need than ever before," Mike Miller, River Bend's executive director, told nearly 260 agency partners gathered for an annual agency conference. The event, held at Stoney Creek Hotel & Conference Center, Moline, drew volunteers and staff from area food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens and feeding programs. "This community pulled together to reduce the unmet need by almost 4 million meals," he said. The study showed that the unmet need was reduced from 16 million meals to 12.2 million meals, a 23-percent improvement. Despite the improvement, Miller said children across the bi-state region still are missing 22 million meals a year. "The Map the Meal Gap study confirms that there are still 1 in 8 people and 1 in 5 children who do not have access to enough food to live an active, healthy lifestyle," he told those who are on the frontlines of hunger, running food pantries and other programs. The study, commissioned by Feeding America, is a detailed analysis of the nation's food insecurity based on county data from the five-year period of 2010 to 2014. Nationally, the report found 15 percent, or about 1 in 7 people, struggle with hunger at some point during the year. While the hunger situation is improving slightly locally, Miller stressed that "the need remains historically high." "We can celebrate that growth but it's equally important to know the need is still there." This marked the fifth and largest conference, which is designed to bring partners together to learn more about River Bend's programs and operations as well as share ideas and best practices, said Diane Erickson, River Bend's programs director. "Our goal is to value our agencies. This is a partnership; we can't do it without them." Jan Martin, director of the Hall Township Food Pantry in Spring Valley, Ill., was attending her fifth conference hoping to pick up ideas and learn details about River Bend's new ordering system. After hearing the region's hunger statistics, she said her volunteers also have seen signs of improvement. "One of the things that makes me very happy is a lot of clients are not coming every month. Luckily, some of them are taking a month off. Nobody wants to come to the pantry." But recognizing the ongoing need, she said the pantry launched a Second Helpings program three years ago to allow families to come twice a month in the summer when children are not getting food assistance at schools. Steve Wright, of the Orion (Ill.) Area Food Pantry, said the pantry also has seen a drop in numbers in the last couple years but it also continues to assist new families. "We serve about 25 families a month, about 100 people." The conference helps him ''get ideas on different place to solicit funds and food," he said. Miller said some of the best results of the conference do not occur in the classroom settings "but as people sit together and talk about ideas that have worked." "Our goal is to end hunger in western Illinois and Iowa," he said. "I know we can do it together." A daily look at what did well on the web while you were working ... and what's on tap for th The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that a Scott County judge violated the states code of judicial conduct when she ruled on a matter from which she should have disqualified herself. The Supreme Court issued a 46-page opinion Friday in which the justices publicly admonished District Court Judge Mary Howes. The Supreme Court wrote in the opinion that a public admonishment and no other course of action is adequate to repair an appearance of impropriety in service to the public interest. The justices added that the admonishment also may help avoid future incidents by instructing members of the bench as to how to avoid violating their ethical obligations when similar circumstances arise. Howes, through Cedar Rapids attorney Greg Lederer, said Friday that she cooperated fully with the (Iowa) Commission (on Judicial Qualifications) and respect the ruling of the Supreme Court. According to the opinion, Howes was represented by Davenport attorney Maria Pauly in a divorce case that was settled in May 2012. A dispute between the former couple on an income tax reimbursement arose nearly a year later. Howes wrote in a letter that she would pay her former husband half the amount he requested and sent him two checks, according to the opinion. She also wrote that she would provide Pauly with a copy of the letter she sent to him. Pauly, responding to a letter sent from the former husbands attorney, on May 22, 2013, reiterated Howes opinion that she had satisfied her obligations under the divorce decree. The checks eventually were cashed, and Howes and Pauly did not hear from the attorney again. The attorney, however, sent another letter to Pauly on July 31, 2013, indicating that Howes former husband was prepared to file a contempt action if she did not resolve the tax dispute, according to the opinion. Prior to July 31, Howes was involved in another divorce case in her capacity as a judge. A man who Pauly represented had asked her to file a temporary injunction to prevent his former wife from taking their child out of the country, citing allegations of abuse. On July 25, Pauly went to the Scott County Courthouse to find a judge who could review and sign off on an application for a temporary injunction. She said she took the application to Howes only after she could not find another available judge to review the application, according to the opinion. Howes approved the order temporarily preventing either parent from removing the child from the Quad-Cities for 30 days, according to the opinion. The mother was later notified by her attorney, who works in the same firm as the attorney who represented Howes former husband, about the attorney-client relationship between Pauly and Howes, according to the opinion. The Iowa Commission on Judicial Qualifications notified Howes on in December 2013 that a complaint had been filed against her and asked her to provide a written explanation of her conduct and the circumstances that led to the temporary injunction, according to the opinion. The commission made formal allegations against Howes in September 2014. They claimed she violated the Iowa Code of Conduct because she failed to disqualify herself from the proceeding involving Pauly and she had received free legal services from her, according to the opinion. Pauly and Howes later told the commission that they thought the matter had been resolved before July 25, according to the opinion. Howes told the commission that Pauly had represented her in the divorce case and that she had notified court administration that Pauly could not appear before her while the case was ongoing. She also said she had not decided any matter in which Pauly represented a party for approximately one year following the entry of the divorce decree, according to the opinion. Howes further said that Pauly refused her offers for payment on their legal services but acknowledged that she accepted her services without entering into fee agreements in advance, according to the opinion. The commission forwarded its findings and recommended sanction to the Supreme Court. In evaluating the case, Supreme Court justices concluded that a reasonable person with knowledge of all the facts on July 25, 2013, might have had a reasonable basis for questioning Judge Howes impartiality when she signed the ex parte order even if Judge Howes did not have an ongoing attorney-client relationship with Ms. Pauly on that date. Justices concluded that while Howes conduct took place during an isolated episode, it was particularly likely to erode the confidence of litigants appearing before her. Justices wrote, however, that they are convinced that Howes did not intend to give Pauly or her client any advantage by granting the application for a temporary injunction. Rather, the order she signed was merely a temporary order maintaining the status quo pending a further hearing, and she believed that an emergency warranting immediate action existed. We conclude these facts also counsel in favor of a lighter sanction, justices wrote. Howes has not had any other disciplinary actions brought against her, justices noted in the opinion. She has been a district court judge since September 2006. Prior to that, she served as an associate court judge, magistrate and was an assistant Scott County attorney. "Nothing's impossible for God" is a favorite phrase for Samantha Loose, as the 22-year-old celebrates her master's degree in criminal justice from St. Ambrose University, Davenport. Loose, with a background that includes bullying at Bettendorf High School and missing 367 school days in a two-year period, has been on a mission ever since that bleak period of her life. This faithful Catholic resides in Bettendorf with her protection dog, a German shepherd, and a cat. Loose graduated high school nearly a year ahead of her peers, got an associate degree from Scott Community College in one year and took two more years to earn a bachelor's and master's degree in criminal justice. Her hooding ceremony was May 13, and the university's commencement was held the next day. She joined Bettendorf's Police Explorers unit when she turned 18 years old, and that's where she developed her interest in criminal justice. She now has studied that topic, sociology and statistics and has hopes of eventually becoming a hostage negotiator. Or perhaps a statistics educator. Loose tutors math students in her scant spare time, and her next academic quest is to get a doctorate in sociology from the University of Iowa, Iowa City. Loose is "busy and motivated," said Chris Barnum, professor in sociology and criminal justice, who directs the master's degree program at St. Ambrose. Barnum was a police officer in Cedar Rapids for 25 years and helped Loose learn how to do research, statistics and methodology. She takes part in studies, such as for traffic safety in Iowa City and Davenport, and in measuring how people of different races or ethnicities fare during traffic stops in both cities. Even as an undergrad, Loose finished up quickly, Barnum said. She was president of the college's National Honor Society for criminal justice, a teaching assistant and participated in two fellowships. During all the St. Ambrose activities, she also worked full-time in Bettendorf, tutoring students and at a fitness center. She trains her protection dog named Custos ("The Guardian" in Latin). The dog training is done in Latin, in honor of her Catholic faith. Loose stays busy to cope with trauma. She tries to keep her past in perspective and sees it in a positive way. "Everyone has trials," she said. "You should not let your experiences hold you back." Loose also is religious, she said, and credits God with her success. "Without God, I can guarantee I would not have accomplished this," she said. Loose was always ambitious, decisive and assertive, she said, but as a teen, she chose to avoid the school bullies and tallied up the extensive absences. A principal backed up her decision to drop out of school at the age of 16 and earn his diploma in alternative fashion. She went before the Bettendorf School Board members, and they agreed. Still, it was traumatic. She walked with the Class of 2012 in the traditional May ceremony but went almost one more year before starting at Scott Community College, Bettendorf. She was able to take all but one class online and enjoyed the entire community college experience, she said. She enrolled at St. Ambrose for its criminal justice program and because it is a Catholic institution. Bettendorf Police Chief Phil Redington has confidence in her path to success. "If you have determination and the will to get things done and focus on it, you can do it," he said. "Even with issues Samantha may have had in high school, she put that behind her, and I have no doubt she will be very successful." Loose will continue her teaching and tutoring, both in Davenport and Bettendorf. She expects to apply to the doctorate program in Iowa City in December. SPRINGFIELD It remains unclear whether the Illinois General Assembly will act before the scheduled end of its spring session on legislation that Exelon Corp. says is essential to the future of its financially struggling nuclear power plants in Cordova and Clinton, Ill. Near the end of a committee hearing Thursday that lasted more than three hours, Democratic Sen. Mattie Hunter of Chicago, chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee, said the bill won't be coming to the Senate floor for a vote anytime soon. Exelon has warned that it will close the Clinton facility on June 1, 2017, and the Cordova plant on July 1, 2018, if Illinois lawmakers dont pass legislative relief for its money-losing facilities. Exelon is a major economic player in Rock Island County. In addition to providing 800 jobs, the nuclear plant is assessed at $155 million for tax purposes. The nearly $8 million it generates in property taxes to the county is the largest for a single property. Exelon is seeking state subsidies for nuclear power similar to those granted to the wind and solar energy industries, which the company says is warranted because, like those power sources, nuclear doesn't generate carbon emissions. But Hunter said there are still ongoing discussions between the utility, environmental and consumer groups, and other interested parties that must continue before the legislation is ready for a vote. "It appears our committee is split," Hunter said. "I don't know if we even have enough votes to get it passed anyway." While acknowledging that there's no way to please everyone completely, she said there are signs that negotiations are moving in a positive direction. Indeed, organizations that often oppose legislative proposals from Exelon and other utilities expressed partial support for the current proposal during Thursday's hearing or said they're engaged in discussions with Exelon. David Kolata, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board, a consumer watchdog, said the current proposal "is significantly better than what you've seen before from (Commonwealth Edison) and Exelon, ComEd's corporate parent." The organization has estimated that 60 percent of ComEd customers would see savings under new rate structures the bill would introduce, Kolata said. He said one issue that remains is fixing problems with the state's renewable portfolio standard, which currently calls for 25 percent of Illinois' energy to come from renewable sources by 2025 Jack Darin, director of the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, said his group likewise is at the table with Exelon. The Sierra Club wants a comprehensive energy policy that builds on earlier energy conservation efforts, encourages renewable energy development and reduces carbon pollution, Darin said. "We are working through those issues," he said. "We have made some important progress." But Exelon's proposal also faces stiff opposition from groups like AARP Illinois, the Illinois Public Interest Research Group and the Illinois attorney general's office. Many of their concerns center on the impact the legislation would have on utility customers. "We think this is a terrible proposal," said Abe Scarr, director of the Illinois Public Interest Research Group. Of particular concern to these groups is a proposal to shift from charging customers for energy distribution by the kilowatt-hour to imposing a "demand charge," which would be assessed based on each customer's peak usage during the month. Opponents say this could result in wide month-to-month variations in power bills. "It's designed to ensure profits and more consistent profits for ComEd and Exelon and not the public policy goals that our state should be pursuing," Scarr said. SPRINGFIELD If the Illinois General Assembly passes legislation that Exelon Corp. says is essential to the future of two financially struggling nuclear power plants, customers of downstate utility Ameren Illinois would help cover the cost but wouldn't enjoy some of the benefits, environmental advocates say. Exelon says it needs action on its "Next Generation Power Plan" before the Legislature's scheduled May 31 adjournment in order to avoid shutting down the Clinton Power Station next summer. The bill also is vital to the future of the Quad-Cities Generating Station in Cordova, the company says. The bill would extend subsidies similar to those granted to the wind and solar energy industries to nuclear plants, a move the company says is warranted because nuclear power, like wind and solar, doesn't generate carbon pollution. Exelon says its proposal would cost the average residential customer of its northern Illinois utility Commonwealth Edison 25 cents extra per month. Ameren Illinois spokesman Tucker Kennedy wrote in an email that the company is still analyzing the effect the legislation would have on its customers' energy bills. Advocates say Ameren customers could pay more as a result but won't reap the benefits of new energy efficiency commitments ComEd would make. "The bottom line is customers downstate are left holding the bag with the cost, and they're not getting the benefits or the savings," said Nick Magrisso, Midwest states legislative director for the National Resources Defense Council. The legislation would commit ComEd to expanding energy efficiency programs that would save customers an estimated $4 billion over the next decade. As a result of negotiations with environmental groups and other members of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, the plan includes requirements that ComEd cut its energy sales by 18.5 percent by 2025 and 23 percent by 2030. It would receive financial incentives for meeting the targets and face penalties for missing them. Efforts to meet those goals would create thousands of jobs in the clean energy sector, advocates and the company say, but only in ComEd's northern Illinois territory. Jason Vogelbaugh is director of energy solutions for Alpha Controls & Services, which helps commercial, industrial and governmental customers make their facilities more energy efficient. He works out of the company's Champaign office, which has worked on projects from Bloomington to Mount Vernon and elsewhere in between. Becoming more energy efficient allows companies to invest more in their businesses and create new jobs, he said. His company and its customers have benefited from existing energy efficiency programs Ameren offers, and he wants to see that expand under the new legislation. "Any proposal that leaves out central and southern Illinois means we're leaving big savings and jobs on the table," Vogelbaugh said. Jack Darin, director of the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, commended ComEd and Exelon for their willingness to work with environmental groups and other interested parties in shaping their proposal. "Those discussions have definitely borne some fruit," he said, adding that the exclusion of Ameren from the new energy efficiency standards "is one of the very significant problems" remaining. Kennedy, the Ameren spokesman, said the company favors "many of the provisions of the legislation, but we must consider the effect the entire package will have on our customers." "Ameren Illinois has been, and will continue to be, involved in talks with key stakeholders as this legislation moves forward," he said. Davenport police have identified the name of a woman who was killed Thursday after her vehicle crashed into a semitractor-trailer on Interstate 80 in Davenport. Nicole R. Van Hamme, 28, of Davenport was pronounced dead at the scene. Davenport police and fire, Iowa State Patrol, Scott County Sheriffs Office and Medic EMS responded at 5:22 p.m. to the crash in the eastbound lanes of I-80. A Swift Transportation semitractor-trailer driven by Martin Zermeno-Tapia, 50, of Grand Prairie, Texas, had been stopped on the interstate because of a large amount of traffic attempting to merge onto eastbound I-80 from northbound U.S. 61. The semitractor-trailer had just started rolling when it was struck by a black Cadillac CTS driven by Van Hamme, according to police. No one was hurt Thursday after a truck was struck by a train in Rapid City. Police said they found a pickup that had been struck by a train near the intersection of East Saint Patrick Street and East Saint Joseph Street around 1 p.m. Thursday. Police said the driver of a pickup, who was not identified, was westbound on East Saint Patrick Street when he stopped before the tracks to wait for an oncoming train. One of the railroad crossing barriers lowered onto the pickup, but the driver believed he was in the clear. The train struck the right rear quarter panel of the pickup. The driver of the pickup was uninjured. He was cited for failure to stop for a railroad crossing signal. Former Sakhalin governor's $17 mln assets confiscated MOSCOW, May 20 (RAPSI) A court has confiscated the property belonging to former Sakhalin Governor Alexander Khoroshavin valued at 1.1 billion rubles (about $17 million), the Prosecutor Generals Offices spokesman Alexander Kurennoy told journalists on Friday. Expensive apartments, fancy cars, money, jewelry were taken to the state based upon the facts of corruption established by investigation, according to the statement. Defense lawyers for ex-governor are going to appeal the ruling. In August 2015, Russias Prosecutor Generals Office filed a motion with the Yuzno-Sakhalinsk court to confiscate the assets registered to Khoroshavin, his wife and son. Last September, Irina Khoroshavina filed for divorce and division of property. Investigators announced in March 2015 that Khoroshavin and several other officials were arrested for allegedly taking a $5.6 million bribe to secure a contract to build a power unit for the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk thermal plant. In April 2015, Khoroshavin was charged in another criminal case with taking a bribe of at least 15 million rubles ($226,500) for providing credits on advantageous terms to one of the local businessmen. He pleaded not guilty. In January, the third criminal case was opened against Khoroshavin. According to investigators, he took 27 million rubles ($407,800) in bribes from candidates for the positions in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk City Duma in 2014. President Vladimir Putin dismissed Khoroshavin from his post due to loss of trust in March 2015. One of Gagiyev gangs leaders sentenced to 19 years in prison MOSCOW, May 20 (RAPSI, Diana Gutsul) - The Supreme Court of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania has sentenced Oleg Dzarahohov, one of the leaders of Aslan Gagiyevs gang that allegedly killed over 40 people, to 19 years in prison, the Investigative Committee representative Vladimir Markin told RAPSI on Friday. Dzarahohov has been found guilty of leading a structure within criminal organization, leading a gang, murder, attempted assassination, intended infliction of grave and medium gravity harm to peoples health, willful destruction or injuring of property and ammunition trafficking. Investigation and court found that Dzarahohov joined the Gagiyevs gang in 2009 and was responsible for organizing armed attacks within his structure of the criminal organization. Russian investigators claim that Georgian-born Gagiyevs gang has been operating since 2004 and includes over 50 members. Members of the gang committed more than 40 counts of murder in Moscow and North Ossetia. In March, the Moscow Region Court sentenced Robert Bagayev, an active gang member, to 22 years in prison and fined him 500,000 rubles ($7,500). He became the eighteenth convicted member of Gagiyevs gang. Earlier, 17 other members of the gang have received long prison terms; two of them have been sentenced to life. Currently, 14 members are in detention, 8 members are on the international wanted list. Leader of the gang, Aslan Gagiyev was arrested in Austria and is facing extradition to Bulgaria or Russia. On March 3, he was released on bail by an Austrian court. Russian company challenges ruling in dispute over Christian Louboutin trademark MOSCOW, May 20 (RAPSI) The Russian company Interlux-Perfume has appealed a courts ruling to recover 24.3 million rubles ($365,500) from four Russian firms in favor of famous French fashion designer Christian Louboutin and his company "Christian Louboutin S.A.S." for sales of counterfeit perfumery products, RAPSI learned on Friday. On April 22 the Moscow Commercial Court ordered Interlux-Perfume, InterPrestige Group, Image Perfume and Klementina to compensate "Christian Louboutin S.A.S." and prohibited those companies from selling perfumery goods misrepresented as the plaintiffs production. According to the plaintiffs representative, Moscow companies were selling fakes online using their websites. The defendants argued that the perfume products were imported legally. They admitted that the products were imported, but denied selling of them. Also the defendants claimed that there is a lack of similarities between contested trademarks and trademark of the plaintiff. French fashion designer Christian Louboutin is famous for his collection of trendy red-soled shoes. In 2012, the New York Court of Appeals granted Christian Louboutin the exclusive right to red soles in womens shoes. The court ruled that the contrasting red sole of Louboutin shoes is a distinctive mark that should be protected as a trademark. In 2012, Christian Louboutin launched a beauty product line. Former head of Probusinessbank complains about being pressured in US MOSCOW, May 20 (RAPSI) Sergey Leontiev, the former president of Russian bank OAO Probusinessbank, filed a complaint against businessman Alexander Varshavsky accusing him of using harassment, intimidation in an effort to extract $83 million. Leontiev, who left Russia in June 2015, has been domiciled in Cyprus and at present resides in New York, owns Varshavsky nothing, according to the complaint lodged with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. In support of his alleged right to payment from Mr. Leontiev, Mr. Varshavsky has produced several loan agreements, promissory notes, and bank guarantees. None of these documents provides any basis to hold Mr. Leontiev personally liable for any debt those documents purport to represent, the complaint reads. According to Leontiev, neither his name, nor the name of Varshavsky appears on the face of a single document relating to the presented demands to repay the alleged debt. Nevertheless, Leontiev claims that a campaign of threats, demands, and harassment was organized against him, with naturalized US citizen Varshavsky, who allegedly threated to persecute criminal charges against Leontiev, being behind this campaign. Leontiev asks the US court to declare that he does not owe a debt or obligation to Varshavksy, or anyone acting in concert or participation with Varshavsky, relating to the alleged loans; issue a permanent injunction barring Varshavsky, or anyone acting in concert or participation with Varshavsky, from taking any further steps to enforce the alleged loans against him in his personal capacity. Besides, Leontiev asks the court to award him punitive damages in an amount not less than $25,000,000. No comments from the parties have been immediately available to RAPSI. In August 2015, the Russian Central Bank revoked the license of Probusinessbank, acting upon the results of an inspection revealing that Prombusinessbanks management carried out large scale operations having markings of assets stripping of the bank. On October 27, 2015, the Moscow Commercial Court declared the bank bankrupt, appointing the state corporation Deposit Insurance Agency as the bankruptcy commissioner. This February, the Russias Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against a number of former Probusinessbank employees on suspicion of misappropriation and embezzlement of funds. According to investigators, in abuse of their office bank employees have arranged knowingly unrecoverable unsecured loans to entities controlled by them, which further transferred the funds to fly-by-night firms. As a result, about 2.5 billion rubles (about $38 million) were stolen from the bank. In February a Moscow court ruled to arrest Vyacheslav Kazantsev, former Vice-President of the bank, Nikolay Alexeyev, Sergey Kalachev, Marina Krylova, all former top managers of Probusinessbank, and businesswoman Oksana Kravchenko. According to the Russias Investigative Committee, Alexander Lomov, a former Deputy Chairman of Probusinessbank, and his wife left Russia two days before the criminal case was initiated. US citizen wanted in his homeland for stealing personal data arrested in Moscow MOSCOW, May 20 (RAPSI) A US citizen, 31, put on the wanted list by American authorities on charges of identity theft with regard to clients of US companies and large scale securities fraud was arrested in Moscow, RIA Novosti news agency was told by Irina Volk, the Interior Ministry official spokesperson, on Thursday. A man wanted by US authorities was arrested. He stands charged with committing crimes in the area of high technologies, Volk said. According to the Interior Ministry spokesperson, the alleged offender and his accomplices had carried out hacker attacks in their homeland resulting in multimillion tampering with dollar-denominated stocks. Volk reported that the man was arrested in the course of investigative activities carried out by officers of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department in cooperation with the Russias national Interpol bureau. Bitterroot Baroque is presenting performances of period music in two different concerts May 22, 26, 27 and 28. On Sunday, two baroque violinists Bozemans Carrie Krause and Londons Davina Clarke will present Stylus Fantasticus: sonatea 3 stromenti backed up by sackbut and theorbo. Also performing are Seattle lutenist John Lenti and San Franciscos Greg Ingles on sackbut, a precursor to the trombone, heard for the first time in Montana. Krause said the project came about because of performances she did with Clark. After we did our Bach double performances together this last summer [in New York, Boston, Leipzig, and London], we kept in touch, Krause said. Shes said many times that she would love to see Montana. Kraus said the evening repertoire would be fantastic and specifically suited to the sackbut. Were actually entitling our program Stile Fantasticus referring to 17th century music in Northern Italy and Germany, she said. This style is very improvisatory as instrumental composers were exploring the virtuosic capabilities of their instruments and writing down music of their improvisations for the first time. Kraus said the musicians will react to each other during the performance, creating a cat and mouse game between the players. The baroque concert of the music of Biber, Bertali, Castello, Marini and Bovicelli will be short and have no intermission. Tickets are on sale at Chapter One Book Store and at the door with $25 for general admission, $10 for students and a pay as you are able option. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m., May 22, at St. Francis Catholic Church, 411 S. fifth St., in Hamilton. Bitterroot Baroque will be presenting a second concert called Meanwhile back at Versailles French music in the time of the American fur trade on May 27 in Hamilton and May 28 in Missoula. These performances will feature Ginna Watson and Kelaiah Horat playing baroque violin, Joshua Romatowski and Alex Shaffer on baroque flutes, Cella Westray on viola da gamba and Donald Livingston on harpsichord. The musicians will perform the music of Marais, Lully, Couperin, Rebel, Philidor and Telemann. On May 26, the musicians will do an educational outreach event at Corvallis High School in the morning and give a concert at Sapphire Lutheran Homes in Hamilton at 7 p.m. The concert at 7:30 p.m. on May 27 will be at St. Pauls Episcopal Church, 600 S. Third St., in Hamilton. The concert at 7:30 p.m. on May 28 will be at St. Francis Xavier Church, 420 W. Pine St., in Missoula. Tickets are on sale at Chapter One Book Store and at the door with $25 for general admission, $10 for students and a pay as you are able option. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m., May 22, at St. Francis Catholic Church, 411 S. Fifth St., in Hamilton. For more information call 314-852-5099 or email bitterrootbaroque@gmail.com. After repeated postponements, the conference on the Sahara that the Bensaid Ait Idder Centre for studies and research intended to organize, with participants from the Maghreb and Europe, could finally not take place at all. According to an informed source in the Tindouf camps, the reason lies in Algerias opposition to the participation of the Polisario Front in the event. After an initial postponement in April, the organizers of the conference, rescheduled for this May 29 30 in Marrakech, have indefinitely postponed the event. However, the conference is sponsored by outstanding figures of the Moroccan left that are not part of the establishment. The research center named after the famous opponent of Hassan II, is actually close to the Federation of the Democratic Left (opposition.) After long months contacts with partners involved in the Sahara issue in Algeria, Mauritania, as well as in Spain, France and other European countries, members of Ait Idder Centre succeeded to come up with a discussion platform, far away from governmental agendas. But it was without reckoning the stiff position of the Algerian regime, particularly some Generals who dissuaded the Polisario representatives invited to the conference from attending the event, the source said. Finally, the Ait Idder Centre decided to postpone the conference once again, may be to the end of 2016. To explain this postponement, the organizers claimed that the regional context is not propitious for the holding of a conference of such a magnitude. But according to the same source, the project objectives were deemed too ambitious, not to say bothersome, by some sides in Algeria. If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE). Notable sentencing elements in Oklahoma bill making any and all abortions a felony subject to mandatory imprisonment of at least one year | Main | Notable new BJS report on "Aging of the State Prison Population, 19932013" May 19, 2016 "Criminal Justice: The Real Reasons for Reform" The title of this post is the headline of this effective new National Review commentary authored by Vikrant Reddy, a senior research fellow at the Charles Koch Institute. The piece's subheadline highlights its themes: "Theres no reason to exaggerate the need for it; the true state of affairs is bad enough." And here is how the piece starts and ends: For all public-policy ideas, there are good arguments and there are bad arguments. The bad arguments sometimes carry flash and sizzle, but they should be resisted. Criminal-justice reform an issue many prominent conservatives have begun to champion is particularly rife with bad arguments, but that is no reason to ignore the good ones. In a recent piece in RealClearPolicy, the conservative writer Sean Kennedy expertly filleted some of the worst arguments made by overzealous criminal-justice reformers on both the left and the right. But his takedown was not an argument against thoughtful reform efforts that have improved public safety, saved taxpayer dollars, and advanced individual dignity.... The broadly accepted view among criminologists is that incarceration does bring down crime rates, but it is a tool with diminishing marginal returns. At a certain point, if the goal is to decrease crime, each additional tax dollar is better spent on law enforcement and prevention. Indeed, there is even a point at which incarceration becomes criminogenic, causing more crime than it stops. This happens because, as noted above, some petty criminals spend lengthy stints in prison and emerge with limited reentry options and having learned more bad habits. The upshot of all of this is simple. First, whether or not America has the worlds highest incarceration rate, it certainly has a rate vastly higher than that of any comparable Western democracy. Second, a slight majority of the prison population consists of violent offenders, but this is hardly an argument for ignoring criminal-justice reforms that would (1) reduce the number of non-violent offenders behind bars and (2) better direct resources at preventing violent crime. Finally, reformers should not forget that our high rates of incarceration, in certain ways, make society less safe, and public-safety considerations must be central to any discussion of criminal-justice reform. Those are the good arguments in support of criminal-justice reform and they remain good arguments even when some are making weak arguments. Of course, not everyone who gets published in the National Review is advocating for sentencing reforms, as evidence by these other two notable recent pieces to be found there: "Why Trump Should Oppose Criminal-Justice Reform" by Jeffrey Anderson "Criminals are unicorns: And thats why it is so difficult to stop them" by Kevin Williamson May 19, 2016 at 04:17 PM | Permalink Comments Post a comment Fascinanting press report about fascinating prisoners and public health report suppressed in 2006 | Main | Suggesting we suffer from "under-incarceration," Senator Cotton calls federal sentencing reform "dead in this years Congress" May 20, 2016 Does anyone think former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle has any real chance to have his long federal sentence reversed as unreasonable? The question in the title of this post is prompted by this local story discussing the high-profile sentencing appeal being heard today by the Seventh Circuit. Here are the basic details: Former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle is asking a federal appeals court judge to shorten his nearly 16-year prison sentence. A hearing on Fogle's appeal, which is scheduled this morning in the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, comes about six months after U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt sentenced Fogle to 15 years and eight months in federal prison. Fogle argued that his sentence was unreasonable and that Pratt abused her discretion when she went beyond the sentence that federal prosecutors had recommended as part of a plea agreement. The one-time face of Subway sandwiches pleaded guilty to possession or distribution of child pornography and traveling across state lines to have commercial sex with a minor. Prosecutors recommended a maximum sentence of 12.5 years, while Fogle's defense attorneys asked for five years.... On appeal, Fogle argued that the sentence he received is "procedurally flawed" for three reasons. First, Fogle did not plead guilty to production of child pornography, and he played no role in producing the images and videos he received from Taylor, according to court records filed by Fogle's attorney. Second, the punishment is "erroneously grounded in acts that Fogle didn't do and in Fogle's fantasies," neither of which should have been used to justify an enhanced sentence, court records say. "Notwithstanding any fantasies Fogle may have had, or his discussions with third parties concerning possible sexual contact with children younger than the prostituted minors, these events never ultimately culminated in any chargeable criminal activity," court records say. Third, the sentence was erroneously based on Fogle collecting and viewing pornography of children as young as 6. Fogle argued that although he viewed pornographic images of children, he neither collected them nor asked Taylor for the images. The district court also seemed to punish Fogle for seeking treatment after his arrest, court records say, and erroneously rejected a probation officer's recommendation for a less harsh sentence based on the additional stress and collateral damage he will endure because of his notoriety. Fogle also argued that he never had sex with the minors whom Taylor recorded, and never shared any of the pornographic images and videos with anyone other than on one occasion, when he showed them to a woman with whom Fogle was romantically involved. Although he expressed interest in having sex with minors as young as 14, court records say, he never actually did. In response to Fogle's arguments, federal prosecutors said Pratt "thoroughly and appropriately explored the unusual nature and circumstances of Fogle's offenses and his history and characteristics." Although Fogle was not involved in the production of child pornography, "he knew where the production took place, knew that it was going to happen, and did nothing, instead waiting for his chance to receive the material," according to court records filed by the U.S. attorney's office. While prosecutors acknowledged the differences between Fogle and Taylor, they said Fogle rationalized and encouraged Taylor's conduct and, for several years, benefited from it. "Fogle's fantasies were grounded in reality, in that he fantasized about and sought actively to repeat what he had already done, i.e., pay minors for sex," court records say. Prosecutors also echoed Pratt's statements during Fogle's sentencing hearing last November. Fogle, unlike many offenders, had a relatively easy childhood, free of abuse and neglect. Although he did seek medical treatment, he did so only after he was caught. Prior related posts: May 20, 2016 at 12:35 PM | Permalink Comments If he were in the Fifth Circuit, filing a brief challenging the reasonableness of the sentence is akin to filing an Anders brief. Posted by: AFPD | May 20, 2016 2:55:35 PM Same in the 10th Circuit, which has never once found a sentence to be unreasonably high. Posted by: lawyer | May 20, 2016 7:22:04 PM Judges apparently can do what they want, doesn't matter what the plea deal. Did Fogle get more time then he deserved? Ask those who are doing 5-10 for first-time-non-contact CP. Did he get more time then he deserved for fantasies that he never acted on? It seems the law now takes into consideration crimes that you never or may never commit as "good enough reason" to give you more time. God help us all.! Posted by: kat | May 21, 2016 3:21:29 PM He should consider himself lucky, there have been court decisions upholding life sentences for mere possession of child porn, or under arizona, a 5-10 year sentence for each image. Granted, the only thing in his favor is he didn't act, though I have no idea what age the CP was, federal law means that a one day year old vs. a 17 year old 364 day , this even applies to the content, even if there is no sexual act, it can be considered CP. Recall a case in alabama where Jeff Pierson modeled teenagers in "suggestive poses" non-nude. The wide latitude and vaughness means that CP statue should be struck down to be amended, granted the congress doesn't want to do it, but the courts should step in, similar to the federal corruption case with the former va governor. Posted by: pat | Jun 4, 2016 4:22:11 AM Post a comment Can anyone forcefully assert that a major sentence enhancement based on acquitted conduct (or even uncharged conduct) is "fundamentally fair"? | Main | Fascinanting press report about fascinating prisoners and public health report suppressed in 2006 The former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, I. Beverly Lake, Jr., has this notable new Huffington Post capital punishment commentary under the headline "Why Protecting the Innocent From a Death Sentence Isnt Enough." Here are excerpts: Ive always been known as a tough-on-crime, pro-law enforcement individual, and I still am. During my years as a North Carolina State Senator, I vigorously advocated for the death penalty. As a superior court judge, I presided over trials where the death penalty seemed like the only suitable punishment for the heinous crimes that had been committed. Finally, as a Justice, and then as Chief Justice, on the Supreme Court of North Carolina, I cast my vote at appropriate times to uphold that harsh and most final sentence. After decades of experience with the law, I have seen too much, and what I have seen has impacted my perspective. First, my faith in the criminal justice system, which had always been so steady, was shaken by the revelation that in some cases innocent men and women were being convicted of serious crimes.... Last year in America, over half of the individuals that were executed had severe mental impairments. Too much reliance is put on jurors to identify those who are the worst of the worst. As Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, I was responsible for assessing the personal culpability of defendants in capital cases to ensure that the punishment would be applied appropriately, so I understand just how difficult this task can be. In order for mitigation evidence to be considered it must be collected and introduced at trial. In states where indigent defense systems are woefully underfunded, as it is in North Carolina, or where standards of representation are inadequate, this evidence regularly goes undiscovered. Additionally, a number of impairments are difficult to measure. For intellectual disability, we can use an IQ score to approximate impairment, but no similar numeric scale exists to determine just how mentally ill someone is, or how brain trauma may have impacted their culpability. Finally, even when evidence of diminished culpability exists, some jurors have trouble emotionally separating the characteristic of the offender from the details of the crime. The categorical exclusions for juveniles under the age of 18 and those with intellectual disability are simply drawn too narrowly to encompass everyone who has diminished culpability. These categorical exclusions are particularly inadequate when multiple impairments exist.... After spending years trying to instill confidence in the criminal justice system, Ive come to realize that there are certain adverse economic conditions that have made the system fundamentally unfair for some defendants. These systemic problems continue to lead to the conviction of the innocent, as well as those individuals for whom the death penalty would be constitutionally inappropriate, regardless of the crime. Our inability to determine who possesses sufficient culpability to warrant a death sentence draws into question whether the death penalty can ever be constitutional under the Eighth Amendment. I have come to believe that it probably cannot. "Criminal Justice: The Real Reasons for Reform" | Main | Can anyone forcefully assert that a major sentence enhancement based on acquitted conduct (or even uncharged conduct) is "fundamentally fair"? As detailed in this official press release, the Bureau of Justice Statistics has just released this interesting new report with lots of data about the sentencing and incarceration of older offenders. Here are the statistical basics from the press release: Prisoners age 55 or older sentenced to more than one year in state prison increased from 26,300 in 1993 to 131,500 in 2013, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. This represented a growth from 3 percent to 10 percent of the total state prison population during this period. From 1993 to 2013, the median age of state prisoners increased from 30 to 36 years. Two main factors contributed to the aging of state prisoners between 1993 and 2013: a greater proportion of older prisoners were serving longer sentences, predominantly for violent offenses, and the number of admissions of older persons increased. Both the admission rate and year-end imprisonment rate for state prisoners age 55 or older increased from 1993 to 2013, which indicates that the aging U.S. resident population was not solely responsible for the growth in older offenders in prison. The imprisonment rate for prisoners age 55 or older sentenced to more than one year in state prison increased from 49 per 100,000 U.S. residents of the same age in 1993 to 154 per 100,000 in 2013. Forty percent of state prisoners who were age 55 or older on December 31, 2013, had been admitted to prison when they were at least age 55, and 60 percent turned age 55 while serving time in prison. Additionally, 40 percent of state prisoners age 55 or older on December 31, 2013, had been imprisoned for at least 10 years, compared to 9 percent in 1993. Admission to prison of people age 55 or older increased 82 percent between 2003 and 2013. People age 55 or older accounted for 1 percent of state prison admissions in 1993, 2 percent in 2003 and 4 percent in 2013. In 2013, two-thirds (66 percent) of state prisoners age 55 or older were serving time for a violent offense, compared to a maximum of 58 percent of other age groups. In 2013, nearly half (48 percent) of state prisoners age 55 or older were serving sentences for murder or non-negligent manslaughter or sexual assault, compared to nearly a third (31 percent) of prisoners ages 45 to 54 and more than a quarter (27 percent) of those ages 35 to 44. In 2013, 30 percent of state prisoners age 55 or older were imprisoned for sexual assault, which was more than double the percentage of prisoners age 44 or younger. The mean sentence length for prisoners age 55 or older admitted on new court commitments was consistently higher than other age groups. Their mean sentence length was 82 months in 2013. In comparison, prisoners ages 18 to 39 had a mean sentence length of 69 months, and the mean sentence length for new inmates ages 40 to 54 was 71 months. Prisoners age 55 or older convicted of new violent crimes received longer sentences and were expected to serve a higher proportion of their sentences than younger offenders. Prisoners admitted in 2013 when they were age 55 or older could expect to serve an average of 182 months (15 years) for new violent offenses, compared to 116 months (10 years) for those admitted at ages 40 to 54 and 55 months (almost 5 years) for those ages 18 to 39. Does anyone think former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle has any real chance to have his long federal sentence reversed as unreasonable? | Main | Reviewing another notable week at Marijuana Law, Policy & Reform May 20, 2016 Suggesting we suffer from "under-incarceration," Senator Cotton calls federal sentencing reform "dead in this years Congress" As reported in this Politico article, headlined "Sen. Tom Cotton: U.S. has 'under-incarceration problem'," at least one significant opponent of federal sentencing reform is already claiming victory in his efforts to preclude any legislative changes this year to any severe federal statutory mandatory minimums. Here are the basics via Politico: Sen. Tom Cotton on Thursday slammed his colleagues' efforts to pass sweeping criminal justice reforms, saying the United States is actually suffering from an "under-incarceration problem." Cotton, who has been an outspoken critic of the bill in Congress that would reduce mandatory minimum sentences, smacked down what he called "baseless" arguments that there are too many offenders locked up for relatively small crimes, that incarceration is too costly, or that "we should show more empathy toward those caught up in the criminal-justice system." "Take a look at the facts. First, the claim that too many criminals are being jailed, that there is over-incarceration, ignores an unfortunate fact: for the vast majority of crimes, a perpetrator is never identified or arrested, let alone prosecuted, convicted, and jailed," Cotton said during a speech at The Hudson Institute, according to his prepared remarks. "Law enforcement is able to arrest or identify a likely perpetrator for only 19 percent of property crimes and 47 percent of violent crimes. If anything, we have an under-incarceration problem." Expanding upon his remarks during a question-and-answer session, Cotton said releasing felons under reduced sentences serves only to destabilize the communities in which they are released. I saw this in Baghdad. Weve seen it again in Afghanistan," recalled Cotton, who served in the Army during both wars. "Security has to come first, whether youre in a war zone or whether youre in the United States of America. Those advocating for criminal justice reform through such measures appear to have forgotten the high-crime days of the 1980s, Cotton remarked, noting that the federal prison population is declining.... "I believe the criminal-leniency bill in the Senate is dead in this years Congress. And it should remain so if future versions allow for the release of violent felons from prison," he went on to say. "I will, though, happily work with my colleagues on true criminal-justice reform to ensure prisons arent anarchic jungles that endanger both inmates and corrections officers, to promote rehabilitation and reintegration for those who seek it, and to stop the over-criminalization of private conduct under federal law. But I will continue to oppose any effort to give leniency to dangerous felons who prey on our communities." Based on these comments from Senator Cotton (which can be read/seen via this link), I am now growing ever more inclined to agree with Senator Cotton's suggestion that a significant sentencing reform bill will not get through Congress before the 2016 election. Despite efforts to tweak the SRCA to appease some conservative critics, the most vocal opponents of the bill, Senators Cotton and Session, remain vocal in their opposition. In addition, as reported here, Senator Marco Rubio has recently expressed opposition to the SRCA. Perhaps most critically, I have yet to see anyone make a truly forceful political argument that any of the most critical current GOP leaders (namely Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell or Paul Ryan) ought to see great political benefits from now starting to aggressively champion federal statutory sentencing reform efforts. That all said, I think some of the political calculations here remain fluid. It seems to me possible (though not likely) that the White House and/or leading Democrats might relent on opposition to mens rea reform, which could perhaps jump-start the stalled reform bills in the House of Representatives. Or maybe the even unpredictable Donald Trump will see some poll numbers suggesting he could improve his image with younger and minority voters by claiming he is better than the Clintons on criminal justice reform. And, not to be completely overlooked, it seems to me quite possible that lots of folks uncertain about the current national political mood on crime and punishment would feel comfortable moving forward on reforms during the lame duck period after the Nov 2016 elections. All those speculations aside, I view Senator Cotton's latest comments as still further confirmation of my own long-standing fear that it continues to be much easier for all sorts of federal political actors to talk a lot about sentencing reform than to actually convert all the sentencing buzzing into actual federal statutory reforms. A few 2016 related posts: May 20, 2016 at 01:08 PM | Permalink Comments Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner 4h4 hours ago Trump is going all Tom Cotton on the criminal sentencing changes being considered. [Geidner also had about 60 tweets talking about the Oklahoma grand jury report on execution procedures] Posted by: Joe | May 20, 2016 7:09:33 PM Senator Cotton is a true American patriot. On the Oklahoma thing, be careful what you wish for---N2 asphyxiation may be the way to go. Posted by: federalist | May 21, 2016 9:33:38 AM I agree with Cotton: There are too few of the prostitution class known as Congress behind bars. Posted by: albeed | May 21, 2016 4:49:14 PM Federalist writes, "Senator Cotton is a true American patriot. " Some patriot. By writing his infamous letter to the Ayatollah, he violated the Logan Act. He should be prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to prison. And so should the other 44 troglodyte Republicans who signed on. Posted by: madame de farge | May 22, 2016 8:50:25 AM Madame De Farge may have a point here. The Logan Act states as follows: 18 U.S.C. 953. Private correspondence with foreign governments. Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply himself, or his agent, to any foreign government, or the agents thereof, for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects. 1 Stat. 613, January 30, 1799, codified at 18 U.S.C. 953 (2004). It appears that Senator Cotton and his Republican fellow Senators have corresponded with officers of a foreign government (the Ayatollah) to "influence" Iran's attitude toward the Iran nuclear deal. Why shouldn't Senator Cotton (and the other signatories) be indicted? And, Federalist, how does writing such a letter make Cotton a "patriot" as opposed to a felon? Posted by: observer | May 22, 2016 9:22:30 AM Logan Act is a longshot: http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/10/politics/tom-cotton-iran-letter-logan-act/ Posted by: Joe | May 22, 2016 10:12:29 AM Joe writes: "Logan Act is a longshot" Maybe so. But Cotton stabbed Obama and the country in the back--and makes love with the Iranian hardliners. Cotton is no patriot; by writing the letter he proved himself a traitor. Posted by: anon | May 23, 2016 9:22:06 AM Well, Cotton wasn't alone by a longshot in signing that letter. "Traitor" to me is a bit too harsh, but I understand its broader symbolic usage. He isn't legally one. Posted by: Joe | May 23, 2016 2:12:12 PM Post a comment Notable new BJS report on "Aging of the State Prison Population, 19932013" | Main | Former Chief of North Carolina Supreme Court make pitch against death penalty May 19, 2016 Can anyone forcefully assert that a major sentence enhancement based on acquitted conduct (or even uncharged conduct) is "fundamentally fair"? The question in the title of this post is prompted by a few notable sentences at the very end of the (otherwise not-especially-notable) majority opinion from the Supreme Court today in Betterman v. Montana, No. 14-1457 (S. Ct. May 19, 2016) (available here). Specifically, after holding that the Sixth Amendment's Speedy Trial Clause does not apply to sentencing, the Court in Betterman has this to say about the possible role of the "more pliable standard" that relates to due process rights: "After conviction, a defendants due process right to liberty, while diminished, is still present. He retains an interest in a sentencing proceeding that is fundamentally fair." As regular readers know, in the wake of Apprendi and Blakely and Booker (and even in light of the advisory Booker remedy), I believe that the Sixth Amendment's jury trial right must create a constitutional limit of some sort on judicially-imposed major sentence enhancements that are based on so-called acquitted conduct. (My views here have most recently be articulated in full via this (unsuccessful) SCOTUS amicus brief in support of cert from a few years ago). But, as Betterman helps to highlight, even if and when a defendant cannot prevail on a Sixth Amendment claim at sentencing, he can always fall back on a Fifth/Fourteenth Amendment Due Process claim. And, of particular linguistic importance, if Betterman suggests that a significant majority of current SCOTUS Justices are serious about a possible due process right (or "interest") "in a sentencing proceeding that is fundamentally fair," perhaps it will be possible to get them to take up on due process grounds a challenge to a major judge-imposed sentence enhancement based on acquitted conduct or even uncharged conduct. I know this post may be just wishful thinking that the last phrase about due process quoted above might be given some real constitutional bite by SCOTUS or lower courts in days and months ahead. But hey, what fun is life without at least a little wishful thinking. May 19, 2016 at 04:46 PM | Permalink Comments Yes, I can. I basically believe that anything less than the statutory maximum for any offense is a gift to the offender. Gifts are not something people are entitled to. Posted by: Soronel Haetir | May 19, 2016 6:09:50 PM @Soronel. The point of creating a statutory sentencing range is to give judges discretion. Discretion by its nature is not a gift--it is an option. The exercise of an option is no more a gift in criminal justice than it is in the commodity markets. Having said that, I agree with the fundamental point that so long as the judge sentences within the statutory guidelines the sentence is fundamentally fair. I don't believe that the motivations of the judge matter at all. Posted by: Daniel | May 19, 2016 6:53:04 PM I see you filed an amicus brief in the Hebert case, which seems as good a vehicle as any to set some limits. I do wonder if Soronel and Daniel can say with a straight face that a 92-year sentence for a $16,000 fraud is constitutional. Posted by: Lady Fellow | May 19, 2016 8:10:47 PM Doug, as you know, sentencing has gotten extraordinarily complicated, and I am litigating a number of cases where judges simply don't follow the procedure. I think Betterman will be helpful in compelling judges to follow the law,or run the risk of a sanction by way of a due process violation. For example, during a guilty plea colloquy, the judge asks the def if he understands he has a right to prove mitigating factors. But, if he does prove the existence of a mitigating factor, by showing such things as payment of restitution or honorable discharge from the military, a judge doesn't have to find that the mitigator exists. What could be more cut and dried than whether a def was honorably discharged or not? I am glad to hear the court using language which suggests that due process, in the form of a fundamentally unfair sentencing hearing, is constitutionally protected. I can start citing Betterman tomorrow in multiple cases. bruce Posted by: bruce cunningham | May 19, 2016 10:03:17 PM The comment appears to be boilerplate given it received support of each justice but if it does any good, that would be nice. But, I took the basic point was that they wasn't really deciding the due process point -- see, though, SCOTUSBlog suggesting maybe a hint. Posted by: Joe | May 19, 2016 10:18:52 PM Good question, Lady Fellow. Posted by: Doug B. | May 19, 2016 10:35:55 PM Lady Fellow, Yes, I believe that a 92 year sentence is well within constitutional limits. I believe the court was simply wrong when it grafted a requirement for any sort of fit between offense and sentence. That is I believe the 8th amendment, properly understood, limits only what kind of punishments can be imposed (forbidding outright torture such as drawing and quartering) but says nothing about what offenses can draw an otherwise permissible punishment. I would, in fact, only have problems with execution as an outcome if you were discussing offenses comparable to thefts in the low tens of dollars. Posted by: Soronel Haetir | May 19, 2016 11:22:24 PM Soronel, Well, now I'm just curious why you "have problems with" execution for theft in the low tens of dollars. Do you think the 8th Amendment prohibits it, or is that just where it really starts to gnaw at you? (In the first case, you're backtracking on your understanding of the Amendment. In the second, I'm surprised that execution for a $100 theft doesn't gnaw at you.) Or another reason? We're a little off topic here, since these are Fifth and Sixth Amendment cases, but still, I wonder. Posted by: Lady Fellow | May 19, 2016 11:40:06 PM "low tens of dollars" Posted by: Joe | May 19, 2016 11:41:57 PM @Lady Fellow and others: My prior comment was only in reference to acquitted conduct. I don't think that acquitted conduct makes a sentence unconstitutional, but that doesn't mean a sentence which takes acquitted conduct into account cannot be unconstitutional on some other grounds. Abstractly, a 92 year sentence for 16K fraud is unconstitutional under the 8A. I have heard the argument Soronel makes in reference to the 8A and while I think it is a logically coherent argument, I don't buy it. Cruelty by definition implies some type of proportionality assessment. Posted by: Daniel | May 19, 2016 11:53:56 PM Thanks, Daniel. To give some background on the case I mentioned: at Hebert's sentencing, the judge found that the defendant had committed murder and imposed the 92-year sentence on those grounds. He was not charged with the murder. I gather from scanning the brief (although Doug B. knows the case far better than I) that this was below any statutory maximum, but well above the top of the guidelines range (~57 months). Posted by: Lady Fellow | May 20, 2016 12:10:10 AM Lady Fellow, I don't necessarily believe there is a constitutional problem with execution for thefts in the low tens of dollars, that is simply where I start having an ethical problem with it. As for thefts in the low hundreds it not only doesn't gnaw at me I believe that is where execution actually becomes justified; To me someone who has shown that they are that unwilling to respect the rights of others deserves no rights of their own. As for the range between those two points while I might not believe execution justified I would not invest my energies arguing against someone who did. Posted by: Soronel Haetir | May 20, 2016 8:50:18 AM Terminology matters here. Apprendi creates a distinction between sentence enhancements (things that change the range of punishment) and sentencing factors (things that influence a judge or jury in deciding between different sentences in a non-binding way). I think that, under Apprendi, a defendant has a right to notice of sentence enhancements (even if technically uncharged) and a right to a jury finidng on those enhancements. I think there may also be Ashe v. Swenson issues if the prosecution elects to enhance upon acquitted conduct (at least if the acquittal occurred in that jurisdiction). As to sentencing factors (especially in non-guideline jurisdictions), I think courts can give effect to character evidence which might in some cases include acquitted conduct. I have tried cases in which, after returning a not guilty verdict, the jurors told me that -- while they thought that the defendant's conduct reflected poorly on his character and judgment -- they did not think it technically met the elements of the charge. I do not think it is unfair for a judge or jury in sentencing to consider those non-criminal lapses of judgment in assessing the potential dangerousness of a defendant. Posted by: tmm | May 20, 2016 10:41:50 AM tmm,, with all due respect, Apprendi has nothing to do with sentence enhancements. If Apprendi means anything it means that we no longer have aggravated sentences, we only have aggravated crimes. As Scalia said in Ring, "Today's judgment has nothing to do with jury sentencing." bruce Posted by: bruce cunningham | May 20, 2016 2:50:33 PM Bruce, this may be a terminology issue based on different systems. In my state, the only sentencing enhancements that we have are the ones subject to Apprendi (other than prior findings of guilt). Everything else is just tossed into the mix for whatever weight the sentencer wants to give. Under the definitions that I used in my post -- enhancement = something to do with range of punishment -- Apprendi is all about enhancements. Apprendi has nothing to do with sentencing factors. Posted by: tmm | May 20, 2016 5:47:37 PM A criminal justice system cannot exist where those subject to its caprices believe it illegitimate. Notwithstanding any theoretical commentary regarding the "investment of energies" against a justice system which executes petty criminals, the end result of such a "justice" system would lead invariably to a dystopian justice system predicated on who had the guns. Who would have justice then? Posted by: MarK M. | May 21, 2016 11:47:48 PM Post a comment As reported yesterday, the shooting by a San Francisco Police Department sergeant of an unarmed African-American woman Thursday morning was the last straw for Mayor Ed Lee, who fired (let's call it what it is asking someone to quit is at least philosophically a firing) the beleaguered then-Chief of Police Greg Suhr. Following the Mayor's late-afternoon statement on Suhr's ousting (you can read it in full here), numerous other local leaders issued statements and press releases on the firing. First came a statement from Board of Supervisors president London Breed. Breed, who had not outwardly taken a side in the rising call to fire Suhr, has fond memories of Suhr, but seems hopeful that the change will do us good: Greg Suhr has served San Francisco valiantly for over three decades. I knew him when I was a child in the Western Addition, and he was a young narcotics officer working the beat. Greg was always respectful, always a servant of the community. I only hope his resignation today can help heal the wounds our community has suffered, and that all of us can dedicate ourselves to the police reforms Chief Suhr helped begin. May his departure be an opportunity at last for our City to come together, and for everyone, no matter their color or creed, to feel safe in our communities. A statement from Supervisor Jane Kim, one of the first Supes to call for Suhr's ouster, was short and to the point: I want to thank and acknowledge Chief Suhr for his 30 years of devoted service to the people of San Francisco. Now, we have to unite as a City more than ever to effect the deep changes that we know are necessary to heal and make the City safer and stronger. Supervisor Mark Farrell, perhaps Suhr's most vocal supporter on the Board, issued a statement moments after Kim's: I respect Mayor Lees decision, and want to personally thank Chief Greg Suhr on behalf of all San Franciscans for his decades of service and progressive leadership at the San Francisco Police Department. Chief Suhr has served San Francisco for decades with distinction. Chief Greg Suhr was one of the most progressive Chiefs in the nation and in San Francisco history. I deeply respect Chief Suhr as a person, as a true San Franciscan, and as someone who woke up every day to keep the public safe, strengthen ties in the community with our residents, and to make San Francisco a better place for all communities. I look forward to working closely with interim Chief Toney Chaplin on strengthening the relationships needed with communities across San Francisco to implement the ongoing, proposed, and needed police reforms. Lets come together as San Franciscans and move forward. The Police Officers Association's outspoken former president (and current consultant) Gary Delagnes spoke out yesterday in support of the ex-chief. Greg was a great guy, great chief, great cop, Delagnes told the Chronicle. The cops dont really know what to expect anymore. Theyre disillusioned, theyre distraught." Supervisor Scott Wiener issued a statement, telling the Chronicle, I dont agree with the decision. I continue to have confidence in and enormous respect for Greg Suhr." Supervisor John Avalos, who had been calling for Suhr's removal, told the Examiner, "I think it was the right move. Now the real work needs to get done. I am hopeful that things will get better. I didn't receive Supe Eric Mar's statement, but CBS 5 notes that he also sent one. From their report: Supervisor Eric Mar said in a statement that he applauded Suhrs resignation, but was troubled that the move had come after yet another officer involved killing of an African-American woman in San Francisco. This opens the door for the Police Commission to conduct a national search to select a chief that can challenge the culture of bigotry and racism in the department and rebuild trust with low income communities, Mar said. Cristina Guiterrez, the elder member of the Frisco Five, the hunger strikers who camped outside the SFPD's Mission Station and starved themselves for 17 days calling for the firing of Suhr, told ABC 7 Thursday evening, "It was the power of the people who did it, not the supervisors, it was the power of the people. This is our victory, all of us, not just the five. Everybody who's been fighting for this. So we're very happy for this. But the struggle continues." Addendum: Former supervisor and current president of SF's NAACP chapter Rev. Amos Brown gives a choice quote in support of Suhr to the New York Times. "You had some forces that made a scapegoat out of him," Brown says. "If Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad and Confucius were running that department, youd still have problems." Previously: Unarmed Female Suspect Fatally Shot By SFPD In Bayview Mayor Fires Police Chief Following Another Fatal Officer-Involved Shooting Following a ribbon cutting ceremony last November, the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center is ready to take its first patients, starting this weekend. As the Examiner reports, "around 200 patients" will be moved over to the 284-room facility beginning Saturday morning, making a 200-foot journey from Building 5, the current trauma center, to Building 25, the new one. The process is expected to last from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., with critical care patients and infants being moved first. And just to be clear, this is a pretty major undertaking, with this being San Francisco only Level One trauma center, treating 3,900 trauma patients each year, or an average of 10 new ones a day, and the hospital serving 100,000 patients per year. All new patients arriving to the ER as of 7 a.m. Saturday will be taken directly to the new ER, while women who are still in labor as of that hour will remain in the old hospital to give birth. The Zuckerberg-Chans announced their $75 million gift to the hospital last year, which got their name on the thing and which funded equipment and furnishings for the hospital, as well as funding a new ambulatory care center that will go into the original hospital building. The actual construction of the new, $884 million hospital was funded by a voter-approved bond initiative. As Dr. Chan, who has been a pediatric resident at General, said at the time of the gift, "Through my training at The General, I know firsthand the vital health care and trauma services this hospital provides to anyone who lives, works or travels through San Francisco. Day in and day out, I witness the compassion and dedication of my colleagues as they work tirelessly to deliver the best available care to all of our patients. Mark and I are proud to support such an important public hospital." The new nine-story building brings the facility's number of emergency beds from 27 to 58, and marks the fruition of a long effort to replace the General's aging trauma center. 90 percent of patient rooms in the new building are private, the facility has the capacity to quadruple the number of emergency beds in the event of a major catastrophe. As we saw last fall, each floor of the new building has its own color theme and is associated with a different SF icon, including the Presidio for the ground floor, Ocean Beach for the second, and the Golden Gate for the seventh. Funding to retrofit the hospital's current building and other structures on the 24-acre campus is something we're voting on on the June ballot. Open question: Will we continue to say, "They took him to SF General," or will we start to instead say, "They took him to Zuck." Previously: First Look Inside The New Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg SF General Hospital An individual calling and claiming to be near George Washington High School in San Francisco this morning and saying he had a bomb put that school on lockdown Friday morning, as KRON 4 reported, and as of 12:30 p.m. the entire school was being evacuated. The call came to the school, which is located at 30th Avenue and Geary Boulevard in the Outer Richmond, at 10:45 a.m., and as a precaution, two other nearby schools were put on lockdown as well, Lafayette Elementary School and Presidio Middle School. NBC Bay Area reports that the lockdown at the two other schools was lifted as of 1:30 p.m. after no bomb was found. The individual who made the threat has apparently been in contact with police, but has not been arrested. Students from Washington High remain dismissed, now with a free Friday afternoon. This follows on two other recent bomb threat incidents, one that involved a faux bomb discovered at a Salvation Army loading dock on Cesar Chavez last week, and another suspicious package earlier this week that briefly shut down part of SoMa. 'Strandbeests' is Dutch for beach animals because it's the beach that physicist/artist Theo Jansen designed his kinetic sculptures to navigate. "They have to survive the storms, the water, the sand," Jansen tells ABC7, "There have been many generations of strandbeest. It's an evolution process." Indeed, Jansen began designing his creatures, which look like strange, scurrying monsters or models of Howl's Moving Castle, in 1990. And, as evolution is always a work in progress, he's still iterating on his designs at his workshop in Ypenburg, a Netherlands town near Delft. Jansens' works are made from PVC piping and other light hardware materials, propelled by wind to walk, sometimes briskly, on mostly flat surfaces like beaches. But now Strandbeests will roam the Exploratorium as part of Strandbeest: The Dream Machines of Theo Jansen, the first North American tour of the works. The exhibit runs through September 5th. Jansen's work was the subject of a New Yorker magazine profile in 2011. Speaking of their mysterious, seeming autonomy, The Strandbeests themselves have let me make them, Jansen told the magazine. Related: Check Out The Exploratorium's Sweet Video From Yesterday's Eclipse Northwest Iowa's breweries will help celebrate American Craft Beer Week Saturday, May 21 with Tour de Tanks, a day that over 50 Iowa breweries open their doors for a daylong series of free VIP tours. Tour de Tanks, a backstage pass into the brewing processcomplete with samples of beer mid- and post-productionoffers a special opportunity for beer lovers to learn from the brewers who are making the Iowa brewing scene so exciting. While Tour de Tanks will be fun day for beer travelers to explore Iowas growing number of breweries, it will also be a great educational opportunity, said organizer J. Wilson of the Iowa Brewers Guild, which is organizing the event. Attendees will taste a deeper level of understanding about the impact of ingredients and fermentation as they sample actively fermenting beer as well as the finished product. Jackson Street Brewing in downtown Sioux City, will offer tours from 2 p.m. until 4:30 p.m., every half hour. Attendees will have the opportunity to not only learn directly from the brewmaster, but also to win limited-edition glassware marking the event. It's so exciting to share our love of craft beer and the process it takes to make it," said Jackson Street Brewer Dave Winslow. In Spirit Lake, Okoboji Brewing Company will offer tours from 2- 6 p.m. West O Beer in West Okoboji, Iowa, will have tours on the hour from noon to 5 p.m. with a first come, first served limit of 15 per tour. For those unable to participate in Tour de Tanks, the IBG is unveiling its Iowa Beer Trails program on the same day. Beer travelers can pick up maps at participating breweries to guide their ongoing beer travels around the state. When visiting a brewery, staff will stamp this passport and once all breweries in each of six trails have been visited, beer travelers will receive a button marking their accomplishment. With a little time and effort, focused travelers can collect them all. There are six Iowa Beer Trails to discover: Western Iowa, Central Iowa, Des Moines Metro, Northeast Iowa, Corridor and Southeast Iowa. Our goal is to encourage beer enthusiasts to get out and explore not only our breweries, but also the many other attractions around this state, said Wilson. Whether you like 'em hoppy, mild, roasty, or wild, Iowa's brewing industry has something for you! DES MOINES | A state board on Friday will consider awarding tax incentives to help a Sheldon, Iowa, manufacturer finance a $16 million expansion that's expected to create up to 54 new jobs. Rosenboom Machine and Tool Inc. plans to construct or purchase a 46,000-square-foot manufacturing production line in Sheldon, according to documents filed with the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The expansion will help the privately owned company fulfill a new contract with the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, Life Cycle Management Command. Rosenboom was selected to supply two key components -- a cylinder and a pump -- for the suspension system for a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, or JLTV. In addition, Rosenboom has identified a potential opportunity to vertically integrate the business through the creation of an in-house manufacturing operation that would prepare the steel suitable to feed the production requirements of its current manufacturing facilities, according to IEDA documents. Rosenboom has traditionally purchased these inputs from various North American suppliers. Under the proposal, the company would qualify for incentives from the state's High-Quality Jobs Program. The IEDA board will vote on an award at its monthly meeting Friday in Des Moines. Founded in 1974 in Sheldon, Rosenboom has 800 employees at sites locations in Sheldon, Spirit Lake, Iowa, and Bowling Green, Ohio. The business designs and produces a variety of products including hydraulic cylinders, actuators, accumulators, and high performance gas springs. MUNDELEIN, Ill. | On the bucolic Mundelein campus that houses a theological university and the largest Roman Catholic seminary in the U.S., there are 220 men studying to be priests plus one woman about to join a small cadre of female faithful blazing new paths. Last Saturday, Dawn Eden Goldstein graduated from the campus University of St. Mary of the Lake with a doctorate in sacred theology, which will allow her to help train aspiring priests. The feat marks the first time a woman at the north suburban school has earned such a degree. Priests and administrators at the university emphasize that Goldstein, 47, is not earning her degree from Mundelein Seminary, but from St. Marys, a co-ed theological school where most students are men. Still, Goldsteins accomplishment signals a new direction in American Catholicism. Ive found a kind of equilibrium here, she said, referring to the cautious pride professors have expressed about her pursuit. Ill be glad to move forward, but Im thankful for the experience of being here. She earned the degree, issued by the authority of Pope Francis, at the same time Francis is pushing to raise the profile of women in the Catholic Church, most recently in his 260-page apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, in which he praised some aspects of womens liberation, though he did not go so far as to say women should be priests. Goldstein is not calling for womens ordination. Shes not condemning celibacy, and she voluntarily took a vow herself. Shes simply pursuing an education to shape the churchs ministers of tomorrow and mentor women who feel called to serve the church. There is a lot more room for women in leadership positions in the church than has been allowed in times past, she said. But overcoming suspicion that she is out to alter church teachings from within has been one of many challenges facing Goldstein and other women who want to accept the popes invitation to lead. Only a small number of lay women have earned the churchs highest theology degree from one of the seven American institutions that offer it. Some people bristle at the term woman theologian, said Goldstein, sipping tea in the seminarys dining hall recently, surrounded by a sea of men. People think feminist theologian with an ax to grind. As a convert from Judaism, Goldstein has found a sense of spiritual fulfillment in the Catholic Church that she lacked for most of her first four decades. Raised in a Reform Jewish household in New Jersey, Goldstein became an agnostic in 1981 after a rabbi preparing her for her bat mitzvah told her questions about her Torah portion belonged to scholars, not 13-year-old girls. But by then, her connection to God already had begun to fray. At age 5, during her parents divorce, she accused a staff member at the synagogue of sexually abusing her an allegation the rabbi did not believe at the time, and one Goldstein did not pursue. Goldstein said she was abused a second time years later by someone close to her mother, leaving emotional wounds that one day would direct her calling. In high school, she began writing for rock music publications and dropped Goldstein from her nom de plume. Though she never legally changed her name, she remained Dawn Eden for decades to come. After graduating from New York University in 1989 with a degree in communications, she continued writing about rock, composing liner notes, covering shows and interviewing musicians. Battling bouts of suicidal depression, she found herself drawn to Jesus 10 years later and sought baptism at a Seventh-day Adventist church where she lived in Hoboken, N.J. But the Protestant denomination didnt hold much appeal for Goldstein. Initially, Catholicisms complex liturgy and lack of fellowship also turned her off. But the churchs position against abortion rights and fertility treatments reflected Goldsteins political views. In 2002, she launched a blog called The Dawn Patrol to rail against abortion rights, in-vitro fertilization and groups such as Planned Parenthood. During that time, she also worked as an editor and headline writer for Womens Wear Daily, The New York Post and New York Daily News. The blog occasionally prompted words of caution from editors and eventually cost her her job at the Post. She jokes that joining the Catholic Church in 2006 appealed to her rebellious streak. When I saw how the world is against the church, I did feel I was rebelling for something, for truth, for the dignity of human life and that attracted me, she said. Its not the main thing that attracts me now. If my only interest in the church was the pro-life teachings, then I think my life in the faith would be difficult to sustain. By 2007, she left secular media to work for the Cardinal Newman Society, a conservative watchdog that monitors Catholic education. The organization eliminated her job within six months, leaving her without health insurance shortly before doctors discovered thyroid cancer. Knowing she needed a full-time job with health insurance to cover the cost of any future treatment, she enrolled in a masters theology program at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., with the intent of working in Catholic college ministry when she was done. There, she fell in love with a different calling. Urged by a priest to change her plans and continue her education, she started down the road to a doctorate in May 2010. In 2012, she wrote My Peace I Give You, a book about how the lives of the saints could offer hope for abuse victims. As a Catholic, it disturbed her how defensive the church had become regarding the sexual abuse crisis. Its not enough for the church to simply be in damage control mode, she said. Were not serving our mission as a church if were not providing spiritual accompaniment to people who are hurting. SEATTLE | It took Karen Park and Peter Lorentzen more than a year to decide to post details of their 3-year-old sons rare genetic condition on social media but it took just six days to hear back from another family whose child shares one of Milos anomalies. When Bo Bigelow and Kate McCrann put up a website about their daughter, Tess, 6, who has another little-known genetic mutation, a doctor who studies kids with the same problem wrote back within 12 hours. We are so thrilled that we are laughing and crying at the same time, Bigelow wrote in a blog post about that day. The two families, who live on opposite coasts one in San Francisco, one in Portland, Maine say they now understand the power of publicly sharing their families most personal information. Thats why theyre among the first to join a new University of Washington website that aims to combine the massive reach of the Internet with genetic data to help families facing undiagnosed rare diseases find answers. Without a diagnosis, theres no prognosis, said Park, the San Francisco mother of Milo, now 5, who has significant developmental delays and physical problems, but no identified cause. The site, called MyGene2, went live in March and now has more than 100 profiles posted by families, researchers and clinicians with more added daily. Its one of the first advanced, searchable platforms that makes it easy to share clinical and scientific information about genetic mutations that may underlie unknown conditions. There are tens of thousands of families with information sitting in silos, said Dr. Michael Bamshad, a UW professor of pediatrics and chief of the division of genetic medicine, who co-founded the site. One of the obstacles to gene discovery is the sharing of data. For years, even decades, some families have endured what Bamshad calls the diagnostic odyssey, trying multiple doctors and tests in their search for a definitive cause for unusual conditions. In cases where they were offered gene testing and a little-known mutation was detected, the results might be published in a medical journal seen by a limited audience, if at all. That slow process has delayed discovery of genes that underlie so-called Mendelian disorders, named after Gregor Mendel, the Austrian monk who first identified the basic rules of genetics in the 1860s. They are conditions that typically rise from mutations in a single gene, often passed on through family inheritance. Of some 8,000 Mendelian conditions, scientists have identified genes for only about half, Bamshad said. Accelerating discoveries Accelerating the pace of discovery is one goal for the new website, said Jessica X. Chong, analysis group leader for the UW Center for Mendelian Genomics. Its a repository for a wealth of information, from results of whole exome sequencing to photos and personal essays that describe the impact of a disorder on a patients life. You can put (information) up on MyGene2 in 30 minutes, but a paper might take a year, Chong said. With this, families have the same access that researchers have. Thats important to Park, 45, a financial adviser, and Lorentzen, 44, an assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley, who suspect that mutations in two genes, KDM1A and ANKRD11, may be responsible for Milos differences. Such mutations are so rare, however, that theres been little research and scant awareness. The couple, who have two other sons without genetic problems, kept Milos condition private for a long time. But they, like Bo Bigelow, read a 2014 New Yorker magazine story about a child with an ultrarare disease and his parents quest to find a cause. That inspired them to create a website, Milos Journey, and to post their sons story on social media. That quickly led to the discovery of two other children, one in the U.S. and one in another country, with the KDM1A mutation. Locating others will be key to Milos future, said the couple, the first family to post on the MyGene2 site. In the world of ultrarare disorders, at the end of the day, its parents who are going to identify other families and these super-rare syndromes that dont yet have names, said Park. Finding a community Sharing information might provide a bigger pool of patients for research, and more support for families, said Bo Bigelow, whose daughter, Tess, has a rare mutation in the USP7 gene. Shes 6, but functions at about the level of an 18-month-old and doctors cant say why. For us, its all about community, said Bigelow, 42, a lawyer in Portland, Maine, who created a blog and podcast about his daughter. When you have a child with a rare disease, you have no community at all. Youre alone in the world. You come to believe that youll always be alone. SIOUX CITY | Surrounded by baskets brimming with stuffed animals and dolls, Paige Crawford fixated on a strand of shiny pink beads as she sat cross-legged on the floor of her light green-painted playroom in her Northside home. The 8-year-old cooed as she fidgeted with the necklace and gently moved her head from side to side, tossing her dark blond ponytail. A slight smile briefly washed across her face. Paige has been fascinated by necklaces ever since she started reaching for objects around age 1. Her first toy was a bulky, multi-colored beaded necklace. Before Paige developed muscle control, her mom, Kerry Hildring, said she would lie on her back motionless like a dissected frog with her hips retracted, her arms at her sides and her head turned. "When laying on her back, she started reaching for it," Hildring said of the toy necklace. At age 3, shortly after Paige entered preschool at Unity Elementary School, she rolled over. At age 4, Paige was pulling herself up to stand. At age 5, she discovered she could walk -- a seemingly inconceivable feat for a child doctors said early on would remain in a vegetative state for the rest of her life. "She's been on the move ever since," Hildring said. "She's laid down for too many years, so now she's up and moving and getting into everything." Although Paige now walks short distances with an unsteady gait, she can't talk and the food she eats must be pureed. Her body can't regulate temperature either. Even in the summertime, Paige wears footed pajamas and sleeps with a space heater in her room. A few months ago, Paige started having seizure-like episodes up to eight times a day. This new symptom led doctors to finally diagnose her with PURA Syndrome, a genetic condition that was first described in medical literature in 2014. Only 53 people worldwide are known to have it -- Paige was the 51st to be diagnosed. "Paige Syndrome" For eight years, Paige's condition remained a mystery. Hildring called it "Paige Syndrome." Paige was born Nov. 13, 2007, at a Sioux City hospital. She seemed healthy until her blood sugar levels plummeted about an hour after birth. "She was crying, kicking and moving. Then, within an hour she became very still and quiet," Hildring recalled. "They took her out and told me they would bring her right back to me and they never did." Doctors performed ultrasounds, MRIs and blood work on baby Paige. They couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. Hildring said caffeine kept her daughter alive in an incubator in the neonatal intensive care unit. Three and a half weeks later, Paige was transferred to an Omaha hospital. Before she left, medical staff told Hildring to give Paige a kiss goodbye because she might not survive the trip. In Omaha, Paige saw an endocrinologist and a geneticist who ordered a slew of tests, which all came back normal. A week later, Paige was discharged with a heart and lung monitor and no answers. "They pretty much said, 'What you see is what you get, and she'll never amount to anything else,'" Hildring said. Hildring, a special education teacher, was determined to help her daughter. Therapists came to her home weekly to give Paige physical, occupational and speech therapy. Hildring believed one day "something would spark" in her daughter. At age 1, Hildring noticed Paige was having problems breathing. She took her to see an allergist who found that Paige has an anaphylactic reaction to egg, a product contained in most baby foods. "As soon as I took her off of the egg she started developing muscle control. She was able to actually move her head and move her arms a little bit and stick out her tongue," Hildring said. "She became a bit more coherent." Paige communicates by making humming noises and pressing talk blocks scattered throughout the house with her hand to indicate she's hungry, thirsty or tired. When she's mad, she claps her hands. She greets people by leaning her body into them. "Sometimes, if she likes you more than others, it's a constant tug of war thing that she'll play with you," Hildring said. Medical mystery revealed Hildring estimates Paige has undergone more than 1,700 medical tests in her short life. When the seizures surfaced, Paige saw a neurologist at Sanford Children's Hospital in Sioux Falls, who ordered whole exome sequencing, one of the most extensive genetic tests available. Blood samples from Paige, her mom and her dad were collected to analyze their chromosomes -- threadlike structures that contain genetic information -- for mutations. Four months later, on March 30, Paige was diagnosed with PURA Syndrome. According to the PURA Syndrome Foundation, the genetic condition occurs when one of two copies of the PURA gene, located on chromosome 5, doesn't function normally due to a spelling mistake in the gene or by loss of one copy of the gene -- a deletion. Genes are instructions which play important roles in growth and development. The Foundation says the PURA gene encodes a highly conserved protein known as Pur-alpha, with regulatory roles in DNA replication, gene transcription, RNA transport and mRNA translation. "She has 101 genes that are affected and they're missing the A and the C, which is unique, because most of the kiddos who have PURA Syndrome are actually missing the Gs and the Ts," Hildring explained. "Now, we say it's PURA Syndrome with a twist of Paige because the fact of her being the only one with A and C deletions." Next month, Hildring will attend a PURA Syndrome conference in London, where pediatric neurologists and geneticists will speak. In July, her family will travel to Texas for a barbecue for people with the genetic condition. Individuals with PURA Syndrome have been identified in the United Kingdom, Australia, Israel, Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada in addition to the United States. Hildring doesn't know what the future holds for her daughter. She said the oldest known person with PURA Syndrome is a 27-year-old woman. A few children diagnosed with PURA Syndrome have already died from respiratory complications and seizures, she said. Paige seems to be beating the odds thus far. MCLOUGH, Kan. | For 10 years, Jessica Stroms biggest dream was to become a mother. But infertility kept that dream just out of reach. She found a silver lining in her work as a photographer, capturing beautiful images of moms and babies in the Kansas City area. She also volunteered to take photos of preemies in the neonatal intensive care units at local hospitals. The job was therapeutic, but Jessica still felt lonely and hopeless especially on Mothers Day. Every TV commercial about floral arrangements, every pink greeting card display at the grocery store, every mushy Facebook post was an emotional dagger. Mothers Day was, hands down, the hardest day of the year, she says. This Mothers Day was different for Jessica and her husband, Daniel: After 10 years of infertility, they welcomed their miracle baby boy, Charlie, in February. Weve spent so many years avoiding this day because it hurt so much, Jessica says. A common problem Because its not easy to talk about, those who struggle with infertility often feel incredibly lonely. You look around and everyone is pregnant, says Allison Spencer, president of the Kansas City Infertility Awareness Foundation. Whether its celebrities, or at work, or your best friend, it feels like everyone is pregnant except for you. Infertility is more common than some might think: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12 percent of American women ages 15 to 44 have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to full term. Unfortunately, people feel embarrassed by it, says Celeste Brabec, an infertility specialist with the Reproductive Resource Center, which has locations in Overland Park, Kansas, and Independence, Missouri. But its not a womans fault or a mans fault. Brabec says the best way to support someone with infertility issues is to give them time, give them room and listen. Jessica and Daniel, who live in McLouth, chose to open up about their struggle so they wouldnt feel alone. Jessica blogs about infertility on her website, jessicastrom.net. The best way that I can describe what infertility is really like is by comparing it to being in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship, she wrote in July 2013. It absolutely screws with your head every chance it gets. A difficult journey Jessica doesnt have a family history of infertility. She always figured it would be easy to get pregnant. Six months after marrying in 2005, she and Daniel decided to start a family. They were both healthy and in their early 20s. But when nothing happened after two years trying to conceive, they consulted a doctor, who couldnt diagnose a problem but gave them a 3 percent chance of having a baby without in vitro fertilization. We couldnt afford IVF, it was so expensive, Jessica says. And besides, she adds, I could never bring myself to do it because we didnt have a reason why we couldnt get pregnant. The couple saw several more specialists, but none could find a cause for their infertility. Jessica tried everything short of IVF: medication that stimulates ovulation, intrauterine insemination, supplements, daily blood tests and even acupuncture. When none of that worked, she and Daniel considered adoption. They completed a home study and bought a crib but a match was never made. Over the years, they lost touch with several close friends. They tend to just drop off the face of the earth because they dont know what to say to you, she says. Theyre in the mom group, and youre not. Jessica started meeting with a counselor, which helped her sort out feelings of frustration, guilt and sadness. Daniel dealt with difficult feelings, too. Its a big feeling of helplessness, he says. Its very difficult when you cant just fix something. Making peace It took seven years for the couple to accept that theyd probably never have children. Jessica focused on her NICU photos simple but extraordinarily meaningful gifts to other families who were grieving the loss of a normal birth experience. Jessica could see the beauty in our situation, says Samantha Nelson of Kansas City, whose son Joey was born nine weeks premature in 2013. In one of Jessicas photos, Joey is bundled in Samanthas arms, with tubes in his nose and a huge smile on his tiny face. That picture means so much to me, Samantha says. It lifted my spirits. I thought, Look at this beautiful baby I have. He shouldnt even be born yet and here he is smiling, looking at me as his mom. It made me feel normal. The photo was featured in a story about Jessica in The Kansas City Star in 2013. A few months later, the photographer was profiled on NBCs Today show and the Huffington Post. To raise awareness for premature babies, Jessica founded a nonprofit, Believe in Preemies. She started making plans to photograph NICUs in poverty-stricken parts of the world. I was allowing myself to live, she says. As her advocacy work blossomed, so did Jessicas friendships with other women who knew the pain of infertility. Kim Kesselring of Bedford, New Hampshire, reached out to Jessica on Facebook. Kim dealt with infertility for 10 years before adopting daughter Hannah, now 2. I wanted to let (Jessica) know that her story helped me, Kim says. She also wanted to share hope. Our daughter was the light at the end of the tunnel, Kim says. The pain was worth it. A reason to hope In February 2015, Jessica took a pregnancy test and watched in shock as two lines appeared. She and Daniel were so excited that they told everyone Jessica even posted a photo of the positive test on her businesss Facebook page. I cried, says Christine Hamele, assistant vice president of public relations at HCA Midwest Health. Christine became friends with Jessica through her NICU work. I thought, There is nobody more deserving. Jessica and Daniel nicknamed their baby Bean. At 6 weeks, they heard the heartbeat at a checkup, and it all finally felt real. But when they returned for the 10-week checkup, silence. The loss was devastating, and not only for the Stroms. Friends, family members and people they had never met sent flowers, cards and food. Jessicas inbox was flooded with messages from other women whod suffered miscarriages. Some had never told their own families. Jessica found strength in the support. She allowed herself to grieve but couldnt bring herself to hope for another miracle pregnancy. It took us nine years to get pregnant the first time, she says. What are the odds it would happen again? Two months later, it did happen again. This time, Jessica and Daniel waited to announce the news until after the 10-week checkup, when they watched their baby boy wiggle and dance on an ultrasound monitor. As weeks and months went by, their anxiety gave way to overwhelming excitement. When she was 35 weeks pregnant, Jessica spoke to her son and asked him if he could wait three more weeks, until she could finish her taxes. Charlie arrived the day after Jessica filed her return. Im your mama, she told the tiny bright-eyed boy as he lay on her chest. The nurses let the new mom hold her baby for an hour before they weighed and measured him. The next day, Christine visited Jessica at the hospital. That whole room was nothing but glow, she says. Bright yellow with smiles and sunshine. Jessica barely remembers her first week of motherhood. Sleep deprivation is no joke, she says. I havent slept for more than two hours in two months. On a recent Tuesday, she sat on the couch in her living room, looking exhausted but happy as she cradled Charlie in her arms. The 2-month-old had spit up milk all over her black shirt but she didnt seem to mind because he was smiling up at her. This is motherhood, she said with a laugh. SIOUX CITY | Metro area cities continue to grow, though at modest rates, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Sioux City's population rose by 135 people to 82,821 recorded on July 1, 2015, up from 82,686 in 2014, according to the federal agency's latest estimates. The city's population stood at 82,684 in the 2010 census. "There sure seems to be a lot more people around town now than there has been," Mayor Bob Scott said Thursday. Sergeant Bluff's population grew by 92 to 4,520 in 2015, an increase of about 2 percent, compared to from 4,428 in 2014. Sergeant Bluff's population was 4,227 in the 2010 census. Across the Missouri River in Nebraska, South Sioux City's population rose slightly to 13,319 in 2015. That's up 44, compared to the 2014 estimate of 13,275. The latest estimate is still slightly below the 13,353 counted in the 2010 census. South Sioux City Mayor Rod Koch said the city is moving in the right direction. "I'd rather see a positive population growth than anything negative," Koch said Thursday. "I think we'll continue to see that population in South Sioux City rise because of all the jobs and houses we're bringing in." In neighboring Dakota City, the population rose by 14 to 1,906 in 2015, up from 1,892 in 2014. The latest estimate city's 2010 population was 1,919. Dakota County had a population of 20,781 in 2015, up 64 people from 20,717 in 2014. The county's population was 21,006 in 2010. In South Dakota, North Sioux City's population grew by 97 to 2,731 in 2015, compared to 2,634 in the previous estimate. The city's population is up about 200 since the 2010 count of 2,530. "We certainly welcome any growth in our population base that we can get," North Sioux City administrator Ted Cherry said. "We know in the next few years we'll see a good population jump in the new housing development we have coming online." Vermillion, S.D., decreased by five people to 10,738 in 2015 from 10,743 in 2014. The city had a population of 10,571 in 2010. Sioux City is still the fourth largest city in Iowa, according to the latest population estimates, behind Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport. Ankeny, a Des Moines suburb, is among the fastest growing cities in the country. The city grew by 6.5 percent to 56,764, making it the third-fastest growing city in the country. Des Moines ranked 104th nationally with a 2015 population of 210,330. That was an increase of 621 from 2014 and 6,897 more than recorded in the 2010 census. Other Iowa cities also showed small population gains, with Cedar Rapids estimated at 130,405, Davenport at 102,582, Iowa City at 74,220, Waterloo at 68,460, Ames at 65,060, West Des Moines at 64,113, Council Bluffs at 62,597 and Dubuque at 58,799. The Omaha suburb of Bellevue is Nebraska's fastest-growing city, according to the latest Census estimates. Bellevue added 738 residents to have 55,510 residents by July 1 2015. That made Bellevue the 249th fastest growing city nationwide out of cities with at least 50,000 people. Lincoln was just behind Bellevue and ranked 264 on the national list. The state's capital gained 3,443 people to have 277,348 residents. Omaha remained the state's largest city, adding 1,569 to have 443,885 residents last year, and rank 510th nationally. -- The Associated Press contributed to this report. SIOUX CITY | More political endorsements flowed Thursday to U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, including one from the sometimes roommate of King's GOP opponent. King's team released the endorsements of four state legislators, including Sen. Bill Anderson, R-Pierson. During legislative sessions, Anderson rooms in Des Moines with fellow state Sen. Rick Bertrand, R-Sioux City, who is challenging King in the June 7 Republican primary. Anderson also is a member of King's congressional staff. "(King) knows his constituents, his district, its industries and businesses including agriculture, and serves us well, with integrity and honesty. I want this stalwart constitutional conservative to continue representing me in Congress. I know hes the best person for the job and he has my full endorsement for re-election," Anderson said in a statement. The other endorsements King's campaign released Thursday are also from state senators who represent districts in Iowa 4th congressional district. They include GOP Sens. Dennis Guth, of Algona, Mark Segebart, of Vail, and Jason Schultz, of Schleswig. Bertrand, a second-term state senator, on Wednesday again downplayed the role of endorsements in the primary. While Steve King is focused on announcing endorsements from politicians, I am crisscrossing all 39 counties in the 4th District, meeting with the voters every day and listening to their concerns. I believe we need leaders in Washington who will talk less and listen more. That is what I will do. We do not need career politicians," Bertrand said in a statement. King has previously received the endorsements of notable Republican statewide officeholders, including U.S. Sens. Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey. The winner of the Bertrand-King race will advance to face Democrat Kim Weaver, of Sheldon, in the November general election. SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa | A Spirit Lake woman suffered serious injuries Thursday after she was struck by a truck and dragged for more than 600 feet while pinned under the vehicle. The incident occurred just before 1:40 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of 23rd Street and U.S. Highway 71. According to a Spirit Lake police report, 39-year-old Kathryn Ann Kline, of Spirit Lake, was walking east across Highway 71 with a green light when she was struck by a 1999 Dodge Dakota driven by 87-year-old Earl Roger Millikan, of Lake Park, Iowa, that was turning north onto the highway. Not realizing he had struck Kline, Millikan continued north on the highway with Kline pinned under the vehicle for 635 feet, the report said. He was then stopped by another motorist. Kline was transported by ambulance to Lakes Regional Healthcare in Spirit Lake with serious injuries, the report said. Millikan was cited with failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk under a green arrow. SIOUX CITY | Sioux City Police arrested a Macy, Nebraska, man Thursday afternoon suspected of attempting to rob multiple people at gunpoint near the 200 block of Bluff Street. According to a news release from the Sioux City Police Department, police received a report of a robbery in the 200 block of Bluff Street around 4:04 p.m. The victim reported he had been walking on the sidewalk when he was approached by a male who pointed a black handgun at him. The suspect then stole the victim's cell phone and left on foot toward a house on Bluff Street, according to the release. The suspect then entered a residence and, while still in possession of the gun, demanded cigarettes from the victims. The suspect eventually left the house, the release said. According to the release, the suspect then attempted to steal a vehicle at gunpoint that was occupied by a female in the 200 block of Bluff Street. Officers arrived on scene and arrested the suspect, 25-year-old Dacota S. Stabler, of Macy, Nebraska. He was charged with second-degree burglary, two counts of second-degree robbery, and assault. The incident remains under investigation. SIOUX CITY | A Sioux City man has pleaded not guilty to having sex with three teenage girls in 2012. Lawrence Hoffman, 25, entered his written plea Friday in Woodbury County District Court to three counts of third-degree sexual abuse. His trial was set for Aug. 2. According to court documents, Hoffman, who was 20 or 21 at the time, had sexual encounters with the girls, ages 13-15, from Jan. 1, 2012, through April 11, 2012, at his home in the 700 block of Burton Street and at other locations. Hoffman would frequently hang out with the underage girls, giving them car rides, providing them with cell phones and cigarettes and taking them out to eat, court documents said. SIOUX CITY | Sioux City Police have arrested a suspect in the May 9 burglary of Palmer's Olde Tyme Candy Shoppe after receiving tips through Facebook messages and their tip line. Police arrested 54-year-old Michael Smith, of Sioux City, Friday. He was charged with second-degree burglary and fifth-degree theft and is being held in Woodbury County Jail on $10,300 bond. Police had posted a request for tips and a surveillance camera photo of the burglary suspect on the Sioux City Police Department Facebook Page on May 11. Sioux City Crime Prevention Officer Lori Noltze said the suspect had stolen personal items belonging to Palmer Candy employees. Noltze said multiple people submitted Smith's name to the department, and police found Smith's description matched the suspect they were looking for. Noltze then found Smith while working another police-related event Friday. The Police Department posted to its Facebook thanking the public for the tips. Hulse is doing what she believes to be right. If you want to call her something, call her an example to landowners whose property is along the route of Navigator's proposed CO2 pipeline. She wants others like her to know they're not powerless. The Journals April 22 editorial perfectly described what Engage Iowa wants to accomplish. As the editorial stated, our conservative think tank represents an effort to impact dialogue on important issues facing the state in bottom-up fashion through citizen engagement Thank you to The Journal for its endorsement of our conservative perspectives and our new voice in the conversation about Iowas future. Engage Iowas first policy paper has focused on the health and wealth of Iowans by pairing an income tax reform package with a pragmatic solution to Iowas water quality problems. As I presented these ideas recently to the Rotary Club and in several other meetings around Sioux City, it was clear to me folks here in Northwest Iowa understand these issues as much as anyone. Almost $4 billion of wealth has fled Iowa to retire and reside in other states. And while some people claim its just a weather issue, that doesnt explain why Iowas wealth has disproportionately moved across the border to South Dakota. The fact is we are losing wealth because we have a state income tax system that is complicated, unfair and expensive. And as a river town, just like my community of Cedar Rapids, people here also seem very aware of the need for Iowa to do something to clean up the unacceptably high number of rivers and lakes with poor water quality. The best solutions have urban and rural Iowa working together, rather than pointing fingers and playing expensive blame games. Engage Iowa offers several pragmatic and common sense ideas that would help solve these issues. Our complete policy paper, as well as more information on a number of tough Iowa issues, can be found at www.EngageIowa.org. Engage Iowa also is interested in hearing your solutions to these issues, as well as your feedback to our ideas. Our intent is to foster an honest, open exchange of ideas on issues that too often havent gotten a fair hearing in Iowa because of politics, or simply the lack of a forum for concerned Iowans to use for discussion. We believe were starting to see some progress coming from our efforts. Since the time Engage Iowa presented our water quality proposal last fall, at least a dozen other ideas have come forward from the Legislature and others. Im glad others have finally joined the discussion, and I believe Engage Iowas voice played a role in that. Wed like to start more serious discussions about education and economic development, too, and the income tax policy idea weve already published needs to gain greater attention. My journeys across Iowa are continuing, and Im definitely planning return trips to this area. Meanwhile, I hope all of you will join me in being engaged in finding solutions for the future of Iowa. Ron Corbett is a former Iowa House speaker who currently serves as both president of Engage Iowa and mayor of Cedar Rapids. Digital technology has permeated every aspect of our lives, and the workplace is no exception. One of the things that technology has done in the workplace is bring people together no matter where they are, making collaborative solutions a critically important technology for the way we work moving forward. The new Collaborate platform from issuu gives users in the digital publishing space a place where they can come together, whether they are across the desk from each other or on the other side of the planet. Established as a digital publication platform, issuu has simplified and democratized publishing so anyone can create their own magazines, catalogs and newspapers and find an audience. The companys platform is used by the biggest brands in the world, but it also gives individuals the same access to its 100 million plus monthly readers. Collaborate Editorial Tool The Collaborate editorial tool has been designed to bring some semblance of order in the chaotic world of publishing from start to finish. One of the biggest issues facing periodicals is globalization, which requires using talent from many different parts of the world. According to issuu, Collaborate streamlines your publishing process by bringing all of your contributors and workflow together in one place so you can create digital content more efficiently. With Collaborate, editors, contributors, ad sales and anyone else in the pipeline will be on the same page when new assignments are given, assets are gathered and deadlines have to be met. And it all happens in a single platform that can be accessed no matter what system or device you are using, thus eliminating issues of compatibility that hinder collaborative efforts. Collaborate begins with a flatplan. In this flatplan you can create the layout of what you are going to publish and invite users to start participating by uploading images or adding their own content. The approval system gives you control of every action that is being taken by the participants as materials are developed and revised. The platform also provides integration with Adobe InDesign, so you can download articles and ads for layout as well as uploading final design files for preview and approval. While not all publications cover global events with resources from disparate locations, the process of publishing a magazine or newspaper requires a solution that brings every piece of information together so it can be readily available. Collaborate does this in one central hub, giving media teams of any size access to tools for producing quality digital publications. Founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2006, issuu is now used by more than 25 million digital publications covering every imaginable subject under the sun from 2.5 million publishers. In March of 2016, the company announced shut-down of its Targeted Distribution Service. In responding to the article, issuu CEO Joe Hyrkin said this move is not affecting the growth of the company. Hyrkin went on to say: Weve had a host of vibrant product updates and releases including issuu shopping links, new ways to view content within a Twitter stream, updated our iOS app and Android App, overhauled our publishers home page and expanded to new offices in Berlin with launches of several major products over the next two-three months. The Collaborate editorial tool is available on issuus Optimum plan, but you can try it for free for 14 days. The pricing and plans are available as Free, Plus, Premium and Optimum. The paid plans are $26, $35 and $235 per month respectively. If you are going to create digital magazines with Collaborate or any other type of publication, please let us know how it has improved your workflow and the way you collaborate with all of your contributors. There are many fitness goals out there that we desire. Some of us want to be leaner and others wish to put on muscle mass. The thing is, for you to achieve your fitness goals, you need to You know your own mind. After thinking things through, you have your opinions and while youre willing to listen to what others say, youre also willing to defend what you believe in. And, as in the new book The Firebrand and the First Lady by Patricia Bell-Scott, your friends dont necessarily have to agree with you. Eleanor Roosevelts Camp Tera, nestled near New Yorks Hudson River, was initially meant to be a temporary, leg-up place for Depression-era women who were destitute and totally without resources. Though she was young, educated, and married, Pauli Murray was there because of ill health. Recovery-time aside, Murrays tenure at Camp Tera was beneficial: a friend had told her that Roosevelt answered all correspondence, and Murray took that to heart. In 1938, a few years after she was kicked out of Camp Tera for disrespecting the first lady, she wrote a protest letter to Roosevelt, requesting intercession in FDRs stance on anti-lynching laws. Activism was Murrays passion and the answer she got wasnt what shed wanted but it did, as promised, come from Roosevelt. Murray was born in 1910, the feisty granddaughter of a mulatto slave whose stories of injustice she grew up hearing. Murray lost her mother when she was just three; a few years later, her father was institutionalized, then murdered; and her brother was lobotomized. She, herself, had health problems and was often severely underweight; during one of her hospitalizations, she finally admitted that she was attracted to women, which was then considered to be a mental health issue. It took awhile for Murray to tell Roosevelt all that. Before she did, and because of that first protest note, the two corresponded for years in letters that offered guidance, outrage, and rebuttal. The women didnt always agree, but they always seemed to attempt to understand one anothers take on issues. Murray supported Roosevelt in her widowhood. Roosevelt encouraged Murray in her activism. It was a support that Murray imagined she felt long after Mrs. Roosevelts death. I would not, under the broadest of terms, call The Firebrand and the First Lady a pleasure read. Thats not to say that this book isnt a pleasure its just not something youd pick up to relax with. Author Patricia Bell-Scott goes deep into the politics and work of both Roosevelt and Murray (more the latter than the former) and that can be very dry. Its informative - Bell-Scott tells a story thats been largely hidden for decades, about a woman who left her mark on social issues in many ways - but its far from lively. Adding more details of Murrays personal life mightve helped; thats what I was hungriest for, but didnt get enough of. I think this is an important work of history and definitely worth reading but youll want to be in the mood for it, particularly if you usually like lots of energy in your stories. If youre a scholar or historian reading The Firebrand and the First Lady, though, the pace is something you probably wont mind. The Firebrand and the First Lady by Patricia Bell-Scott c.2016, Alfred A. Knopf $30.00 / $39.00 Canada 480 pages The other night I dozed off in front of the television and woke up to the cooking show Carnival Eats! I was a bit groggy, but I thought I recognized some of the folks. Then I realized it was the Florida State Fair. The show, which focuses on the guilty pleasures (cmon, admit you love funnel cakes!) found at fairs and carnivals, spent two days at this years fair filming scenes for the episode. Among the featured items; lobster fries, a quarter-pound slab of bacon on a stick and bacon popcorn. I might actually go t the fair next year just to try the lobster fries! You dont have to go to the state fair to visit the site of a televised food show. Wilton Manors own Andrews Diner was featured on Food Networks American Diner Revival. The show features ubiquitous reality star Ty Pennington and celebrity chef Amanda Freitag traveling across the country to spruce up failing diners. Heres what the Networks web site has to say about the episode in which Andrews Diner is featured; Drenched in Drama! Everyone from drag queens to senior citizens call Andrews Diner in Wilton Manors, home, but with trendy new eateries popping up all over town, its drab decor and deep-fried dishes are leaving a bad taste in everyone's mouths! While owners Angelo and Gerri are away, Ty and Amanda plan to transform this diner from drab to fab. Well, I dont know about you, but Ive never seen a drag queen in Andrews, much less a bunch of them on sky-high heels wielding a paint roller, but it made for fun television. The producers of the show did give the place a bit of a facelift, which remains, but not one of the menu items introduced can be found on the menu anymore. Did they really think folks went to a diner for a granola parfait, protein wrap, frittata, chocolate almond smoothie or mahi mahi ceviche? Soon after the shows crew packed up their gear Angelo and Gerri went right back to serving the favorites their customers have come to expect, and as usual, served with a side of Gerris sass. The new show Cheap Eats debuted last week with host Ali Kahn visiting Miami. He traveled the city sampling; empanadas, right-off-the-boat mahi sandwiches, a fisherman's stew and a Latin-Middle-Eastern-American fusion bowl that could only come from that city. You may recognize Katie Lee from the Food Network show, The Kitchen but shes not just a talking head; shes got some serious culinary chops. Her first cookbook, The Comfort Table, was released in 2008, soon followed the next year by The Comfort Table: Recipes for Everyday Occasions. In addition to her comfort food cookbooks, she writes a column for Self. In her latest adventure, on Cooking Channel's Beach Bites with Katie Lee, she crosses sand and surf in search of the best beach foods. During her gourmet getaways, Katie follows her taste buds to find delicious dishes, and along the way meets the chefs serving up the finest fare that the shores have to offer. From freshly-caught seafood to local twists on grilled favorites, Katie searches high and low for the most mouthwatering meals and gets a look at how they are prepared. The new show premieres on Thursday, June 2nd. While in South Florida Katie Lee snacked on pork and chicken Cuban pressed sandwiches at Tinta Y Cafe in Miami (with special guest Bobby Flay) and Azucar ice cream at Abuela Maria Ice Cream. After Miami, she headed down to the Schooner Wharf Bar in Key West for conch fritters and topped the trip off with a chocolate-covered Key Lime pie pop from the Key West Key Lime Pie Company. She also makes stops in Hollywood Beach to sample the burgers at Le Tub Saloon and heads up to Deerfield Beach for the snapper Reuben at Oceans 234. Future shows take her to Isla Verde, Puerto Rico for coconut shrimp arepas. On Georgias coast Katie finds crab hush puppies with homemade pickles. In St. Barts theres a touch of casual-island cooking with snapper chimichurri, while chile rellenos, and a pineapple raicilla cocktail are sampled in Puerta Vallarta. Forget your passport; all youll need are flip flops and an appetite when you visit Cooking Channels Beach Bites. If all thats not enough for you, the competition show, Next Food Network Star, debuting May 22, features a comeback theme and features Ana Quincoces, from Coral Gables. Canadian Fires ESA Wildfires have been raging in Canadas Alberta province for nearly three weeks, causing widespread destruction and forcing thousands of people from their homes. As the blaze grows and shifts, satellites are tracking its movement. The exact cause of the wildfires has not been determined, but unseasonably hot and dry weather has contributed to their rapid growth. Satellites from numerous space agencies across the globe have imaged the fires, including the recently launched Sentinel-3A for Europes Copernicus programme. The animation above shows that the fires were detected by Sentinel-3As Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer. It measures the energy radiating from Earths surface in nine spectral bands, including visible and infrared, and has dedicated channels for measuring fires. Launched in February, Sentinel-3A is still being commissioned engineers are checking to make sure the satellite and its instruments are working properly before the data can be distributed for operational use. These are the first results from the fire channels. Once the satellite is in service, images such as this will help to assess the size and power of a wildfire, provide an indication of how the fire front is developing and the course it may be taking important information for firefighting and planning evacuations. Together with the satellites Ocean and Land Colour Instrument, which can be used to assess the state of vegetation, this kind of information is also expected to be used by civil protection agencies for early warning and risk assessments. We are still in the early phases of using data from Sentinel-3A since it was launched only at the end of February. However, these new images show great potential for applications in civil protection, said ESAs Susanne Mecklenburg. Used together with other data such as soil moisture around plant roots from our SMOS satellite, for example, it will be a valuable source of information to forecast the fire risk and in the event of a fire help monitor how it evolves. SMOS has been measuring soil moisture and detecting dry areas that are susceptible to fires. The image on the left shows dry soils in North America on 1 May the day the wildfires broke out. This kind of information is a powerful tool for civil protection organisations, such as the Diputaci de Barcelona in Spain, who have been using SMOS information in their summer forest fire prevention campaigns since 2012. These new results were presented at the Living Planet Symposium held in Prague in the Czech Republic on 913 May 2016. Earth's Ring Current JHUAPL/NASA/CIW New findings based on a years worth of observations from NASAs Van Allen Probes have revealed that the ring current an electrical current carried by energetic ions that encircles our planet behaves in a much different way than previously understood. The ring current has long been thought to wax and wane over time, but the new observations show that this is true of only some of the particles, while other particles are present consistently. Using data gathered by the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment, or RBSPICE, on one of the Van Allen Probes, researchers have determined that the high-energy protons in the ring current change in a completely different way from the currents low-energy protons. Such information can help adjust our understanding and models of the ring current which is a key part of the space environment around Earth that can affect our satellites. The findings were published in Geophysical Research Letters. We study the ring current because, for one thing, it drives a global system of electrical currents both in space and on Earths surface, which during intense geomagnetic storms can cause severe damages to our technological systems, said lead author of the study Matina Gkioulidou, a space physicist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. It also modifies the magnetic field in the near-Earth space, which in turn controls the motion of the radiation belt particles that surround our planet. That means that understanding the dynamics of the ring current really matters in helping us understand how radiation belts evolve as well. The ring current lies at a distance of approximately 6,200 to 37,000 miles (10,000 to 60,000 km) from Earth. The ring current was hypothesized in the early 20th century to explain observed global decreases in the Earths surface magnetic field, which can be measured by ground magnetometers. Such changes of the ground magnetic field are described by whats called the Sym-H index. Previously, the state of the ring current had been inferred from the variations of the Sym-H index, but as it turns out, those variations represent the dynamics of only the low-energy protons, said Gkioulidou. When we looked at the high-energy proton data from the RBSPICE instrument, however, we saw that they were behaving in a very different way, and the two populations told very different stories about the ring current. The Van Allen Probes, launched in 2012, offer scientists the first chance in recent history to continuously monitor the ring current with instruments that can observe ions with an extremely wide range of energies. The RBSPICE instrument has captured detailed data of all types of these energetic ions for several years. We needed to have an instrument that measures the broad energy range of the particles that carry the ring current, within the ring current itself, for a long period of time, Gkioulidou said. A period of one year from one of the probes was used for the teams research. After looking at one year of continuous ion data it became clear to us that there is a substantial, persistent ring current around the Earth even during non-storm times, which is carried by high-energy protons. During geomagnetic storms, the enhancement of the ring current is due to new, low-energy protons entering the near-Earth region. So trying to predict the storm-time ring current enhancement while ignoring the substantial preexisting current is like trying to describe an elephant after seeing only its feet, Gkioulidou said. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, built and operates the Van Allen Probes for NASAs Science Mission Directorate. RBSPICE is operated by the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, New Jersey. The mission is the second mission in NASAs Living With a Star program, managed by NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Melali is an Indonesian word that translates to something like a leisurely stroll. Thats the feeling Victoria and Josselin Gobe, fans of a surfing movie also by that name, wanted to create at their coffee shop in Montmartre. Melali Coffee Riders, opened just under a year ago, is more Caracas than Copenhagen: wicker loungers and tropical patterns rather than wooden chairs and geometric prints. Locals have taken to Melalis great espresso, but the Gobes ongoing project is to convince the average French coffee drinker that filter can be just as good. At Melali, filter coffee is called guayoyo, after the traditional Venezuelan coffee beverage that Josselin recalls drinking with his in-laws in South America. Call it filter, a pour-over, guayoyo, its the same basic idea, he says. Traditional guayoyo is prepared using a gauzy filter that resembles a net attached to a metal ring with a short handle. The result is a mild, watery coffee that even kids are allowed to drink, usually with a splash of milk. Melali Coffee Riders uses a Kalita Wave to achieve a stronger version and serves it in a clay mug with a comforting heft. Here in France, filter coffee is disparagingly referred to as jus de chaussettes (sock juice). Josselin Gobes hope is that quality roasts by Belleville Bruleriewhich is also fighting to give filter coffee a better nameand skillful preparation by well-trained baristas can change that attitude. In fact, Josselin so believes in filter coffee that hed like to see Melali Coffee Riders reach the point where it supplies local businesses with thermoses of the stuff. The Gobes couldnt have chosen a better part of Paris in which to start their filter revolution. The pocket of the 18th arrondissement where Melali Coffee Riders is perched has a large population of creative professionals: La Femis, the national film school, is just around the corner, and the cafes courtyard gives out onto artist studios. The neighborhood is full of small businesses, people who work in photography or cinema. These are people who work hard and work late, says Josselin. Thermoses of Melali-style guayoyo would certainly give them fuel into the wee hours. Josselin also hopes that people will come for the high-quality coffee, but possibly end up starting a conversation or sharing a leisurely moment with friends or strangers. Im tired of coffee shops where people just talk about the coffee, he says. Id like people to be able to come down here and have discussions over coffee, to be able to show off their work, he says, referring to the revolving art exhibitions that enliven the white cafe walls. At the moment, theyre hung with oil portraits of jazz musicians by French artist Isabelle Terestchenko; last month, customers could sip a guayoyo or hot chocolate and contemplate a series of surfing-themed art. Its not a coffee laboratory for geeks, he emphasizes. Its true that you may not find the baristas weighing out every shotbut you wont find extreme roasts that require meticulous handling either. Melali goals are laid-back here as well, choosing roasts with notes of chocolate and caramel that work well for its staple espresso, reflecting a South American palate. The idea is to drink coffee, not intellectualize it. We like coffee, but if we make a good cup, were happy. Its not a big deal if its not the best, says Josselin. That said, the Gobes did invest in a La Marzocco GS3 and use a revolving selection of Belleville Brulerie roasts (including a Yirgacheffe Chelelektu Natural thats bursting with blueberry flavor); barista Leigh Gable did a stint with Jamie McCormick at Abraco in New York. Melali Coffee Riders has also hosted several pop-up boutiques since opening, transforming the cafe into a showcase for local artisans and stoking Josselins dreams for the shop. We want to stay a cafe, but were definitely going to grow into something more, he says. Eventually, we [want to] be a boutique where you can find gifts related to the world of coffee, but also things weve discovered here and there, he says. An expanded menu is in the works for May with cakes, cookies, and homemade granola, but also two types of savory empanadas. (The Gobes also run Bululu, a Venezuelan arepera a few doors down). Still, the menu will remain simplefor all of the Gobes varied interests, they plan to keep the focus on good coffee. As Josselin puts it: Ultimately, our goal is to see all those people on their way to the Lamarck metro [up the hill from the cafe] stop in for a coffee, then carry a bit of that perfume along with them as they continue on their way. Kate Robinson (@KateOnTheLoose) is a freelance journalist based in Paris. Read more Kate Robinson on Sprudge. The drive into Chillicothe, Ohio, is indistinguishable from much of the Midwest. Flat cornfields and truck stops line Route 35, interspersed with the occasional hand-painted sign advertising farm fresh eggs or produce. The town itself is quaint, with faded facades advertising small businesses and the marquee of the 158-year-old Majestic Theater crossing over the major thoroughfare. Rost Coffee is located on West 2nd Street, tucked in next to Totem Supply Company, a handmade goods store, and Market No. 9, a grocer that focuses on locally sourced foods. From the street, Rost is striking, a streak of white in a row of red brick buildings. The interior is aggressively minimalist without being pretentiouswhite and raw wood setting a clean backdrop for simple accents, including a large Ohio state flag hanging on one wall and a series of black and white photographs on the other. Though Rost began as a wholesale roasting company in Columbus, Ohio, owner Trent Fannin made the decision to open a cafe in Chillicotheabout an hours drive southafter negotiations with two different investors in Columbus fell through. When the space in Chillicothe became available, Fannin realized he could afford to move there while keeping the company wholly under his ownership. Chillicothe has never had a venue for specialty coffee before, but the community has responded incredibly well to Rosts simple menu, homespun feel, and unswerving dedication to quality. Fannin designed the space himself, putting his experience as a carpenter to good use in building out a clean and efficient bar space. The centerpiece of the cafe is the original 2001 two-group La Marzocco Linea Classic, restored by Fannin earlier this year. Next to the espresso machine are two of Mazzers new Lux D grindersFannin explained that he wanted to ensure that the grinders were small enough that there was no barrier between the baristas and customers, and said that the little Mazzers havent missed a beat since the store opened in February of this year. Rounding out Rosts core menu are FETCO-brewed drip coffee, pour-over options from Hario V60 drippers and a BUNN grinder, and a small selection of hand-blended teas from Dublin, Ohios Tehku Teas. Fannin also has put together a small menu of seasonally rotating signature drinks, including his take on a caramel lattebrown sugar and Kerrigold butter blended with Rosts seasonal espresso blend and steamed milk. The coffees Fannin roasts are approachable enough to be enjoyed by customers new to the world of specialty coffee while also packed with enough complexity to satisfy connoisseurs. The majority of the coffee available in the cafe was imported through Bodhi Leaf Coffee Traders in Orange County, California with the notable exception of the Kenya Kifahari, which was imported by a Kenyan friend of Fannins who lives in Columbus and runs Kenya Roasters Coffee. Fannin has found a number of ways to build relationships with the surrounding community. A small selection of rotating pastries are supplied by Small Folk Cafe in Chillicothe, and Rost also serves traditional glazed doughnuts from a nearby Amish community on the weekends. Rost uses grass-fed dairy from Pomeroy, Ohios Snowville Creamery. Though the cafe is only a couple months old, Fannin already has plans underway to host more community events in the space, including brewing classes and a meet and greet with Wilson Muinamia, the source behind the Kenya Kifahari. It is his hope that Chillicothe can become a destination in Ohio for specialty coffee enthusiasts. In a specialty coffee world oversaturated with new and exciting brewing gizmos and state-of-the-art multi-roaster cafes, Rost is a breath of fresh air. Fannins dedication to quality craftsmanship and community echoes through every section of the cafe and the wholesale roasting business. The Midwest coffee scene has grown exponentially over the past few years, and with companies like Rost moving away from the major cities, it looks hopeful that even the most rural communities will be able to enjoy specialty coffee in the coming years. Alex Evans is a freelance writer and coffee professional based in Cincinnati, Ohio. This is Alex Evans first feature for Sprudge. "Making things worse, [current US President Barack] Obama's regulations and the uncertainty they have produced are a permanent drag on the economy, and Hillary will use her phone and pen to bandage and expand them," Waters warned. Even if Hillary Clinton proves not to be the neo-conservative hawk that many people assume her to be, Obama's defense and foreign policies are going to force increases in military spending, Waters predicted. "She has promised, and her base will demand higher taxes and higher spending, which will be another drag on the economy. Personally, I think Hillary is at heart pretty far to the left and Bill is too, and they are opportunists, so they will move left for at least the first two years," Waters continued. All of the additional bureaucratic regulations imposed by Obama will make it hard for any technological breakthroughs during the Clinton years that could change the equation, Waters noted. "Hillary has promised almost open borders and complained about Obama's few fig leaf enforcement efforts, so [there will be] no tight labor markets at the bottom. Since the Democratic Party is a subsidiary of the tech industry, we will be friending a wave of foreign tech workers," he maintained. Waters concluded that the economic prospect for a Hillary Clinton presidency would be bleak and that her husband would not be able to transform the economy. There's absolutely no evidence that Daesh gives a monkey's whether we're in or out of the EU I hardly imagine it's a topic of conversation when Daesh head honchos get together for a chinwag in downtown Raqqa. Ditto, President Putin, who's said nothing about the issue. Of course he "might be happy" if Britain left but then again he might not and in any case why does it matter what the Russian President may or may not think? You can imagine the conversation that Cameron and the Remain camp would like us to be having at home: "Well, dear, being in the EU has not brought us many benefits. It costs us around US$13 billion a year and interferes too much with our daily lives but hey, let's vote Remain on June 23, because Mr Cameron says leaving 'might make Putin happy!' " Daesh Attacks As for the terrorist threat being increased what about the terrorist attacks we had in London in 2005, and the killing of soldier Lee Rigby? And the mass killings in Paris and Brussels? Did I imagine those? By Cameron's logic and the logic of Remainers who are playing the "national security card" the Daesh attacks should not have happened because France and Belgium are in the EU. Economic Meltdown Again this is Frazer-esque. Britain was doing fine in fact much better than now before we joined the EEC/EU. In 1970, for instance, we had a record balance of payments surplus of US$802 million (550m). In the province of Santa Fe, a nurse, Libertad Rondan, had been taking care of Benito Ojeda, who made a living selling lottery tickets, for the past ten years. On May 2, however, 65-year-old Benito died, but Libertad decided to continue to take care of him. Rumor has it that the nurse kept rinsing him with water and aloe to eliminate the disgusting smell of rotten flesh, according to Argentine media. The bizarre situation ended when a neighbor paid them a visit. Only then did the nurse inform him about Benitos death prompting the neighbor decided it was time to call 911. Despite the fact that over 70 years have already passed since the liberation of the prisoners of the former Nazi concentration camp, the museum's staff still finds items that belonged to the victims of Nazism that were hidden. During their regular check-up, the museum's experts found an unusual mug that presumably belonged to a Polish woman of Jewish origin. The mug contained a gold ring and chain wrapped in a piece of cloth that, as experts learned, were manufactured in Poland in the period from 1921 to 1931. On the bottom of the mug there is the name of a Polish company which was well-known for producing sweets and chocolate. "Specifically in this case, we know very little," museum employee Pawel Sawicki said in an interview with Sputnik. "Most likely, the mug was kept for a rainy day' by a Polish woman of Jewish origin who became a victim of the Holocaust." Japanese police have now arrested an American civilian in connection with the incident. Kenneth Shinzato, 32, works at Kadena Air Base. Using GPS evidence from Shimabukuros phone, police discovered her last known location was in an industrial area near her home. Authorities analyzed vehicle traffic and surveillance footage from the area that showed Shinzatos vehicle. TOKYO (Sputnik) Earlier this week, it was reported that Kenneth Franklin Shinzato, a US national and a former marine who works at the US Air Force base in Okinawa, was arrested on suspicion of disposing of Rina Shimabukuros body. The local authorities reportedly believe that he has also killed the young woman who has been missing since April. "We feel deep anger. There are no words when you feel about what [her] family is going through. We demand exhaustive actions and rigorous measures from the United States to prevent this from happening again," the minister told reporters. On Thursday, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida lodged a protest over the incident with US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy, calling it extremely regrettable. Later that day, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter pledged his full cooperation to Japan over the incident. Okinawa is home to a large US military presence and there have been mass protests over the years by the islands inhabitants over incidents of alleged rape by US armed forces personnel stationed there. Another murder in Okinawa, Japan. Sad that few few Americans make the entire race hate us pretty much. Sig (@RampageZayaLA) 19 2016 . Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga on murder of local woman: "This incident has occurred precisely because the base is there." SNA Japan (@ShingetsuNews) 20 2016 . The prefecture has also seen mass protest against the elocution of the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma was agreed on in 2006. Current plans envision the base to be closed by February 2019 and relocated within the Okinawa prefecture. Over 1.5 million square meters of the coastal maritime belt are expected to be filled as part of the relocation. @BarackObama How do you feel about the murder case by a US marine soldier in Okinawa. (@Martialmobb) 19 2016 . Following the incident, Tokyo demanded that Washington boost discipline at its military bases in Japan and assist in the investigation. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The statement came 100 days after the ministry announced that it was suspending operations at the Kaesong industrial complex, run jointly by North and South Korea, in response to Pyongyangs recent nuclear bomb test and satellite launch. "We urge North Korea to suspend its nuclear and missile provocations and show its sincere commitment toward denuclearization," ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee told a briefing, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency. Tensions over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs escalated after Pyongyang said on January 6 that it had successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test and put a satellite into orbit on February 7, violating UN Security Council resolutions and triggering condemnation from the international community in both cases. According to the Kyodo news agency, the corresponding decision was made at an extraordinary government session. Tokyo is also demanding US assistance in the investigation of the incident, according to local media. On Thursday, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida lodged a protest over the incident with US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy, calling it extremely regrettable. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Haji Rahmatullah, who oversaw the group's activities in Matjah and Helmand , and the judicial director of Taliban were killed during the operation, TOLO news reported, citing Noor Alam Khogiyani, the commander of the first regiment of 215 Maiwand Corps. The Afghan troops are said to have cleared 9 miles in the area of the operation. Afghanistan is struggling with political, social and security instability, attempting to tackle the Taliban insurgency. There is a double whammy situation for cotton trade in India. On the one hand there has been a more than 10 percent drop in cotton exports and on the other, major importer Pakistan is likely to cut cotton imports from India. thn this year wll be a difficult year for cotton growers, china has also reduced the import of Indian cotton. https://t.co/T1XO55tnrA Shailendra Patil (@cotton_oranges) May 19, 2016 The Pakistan Senate Committee on National Food Security and Research has asked the government to stop the import of cotton lint from India. The Committee believes that Pakistan's agricultural economy would be ruined if the imports of 0.5 million bales of cotton from India through the Wagah border are not stopped, as there is a sufficient stock of cotton lint available with the Pakistan Trading Corporation. "But there is still space for India to enter. There are lots of energy partnership that are open between India & Iran. Iran is also keen to engage with India because they also want to diversify their alignment of strategic & commercial partners," says Kanchi Gupta, Researcher on West Asia at the Observers Research Foundation in New Dehli. The Port of Chabahar is the only Iranian port with direct access to the ocean. #KautilyaAcademy #Education pic.twitter.com/2Qyv2aOK1V Kautilya Academy (@KautilyaIndore) May 20, 2016 Nevertheless, signing of a contract on the first phase of development of Iran's Chabahar Port will top the Indian Prime Minister's agenda as it will become a symbol Indo-Iran economic and strategic cooperation. It will also give India access to Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan entirely. The Chabahar port is also likely to help India receive natural gas imports from Russia. India's strategic planners also view the port as a strategic counterweight to China's pursuit of a port in Pakistan's Gwadar. India-Iran's Chabahar project will make Iran less vulnerable to int'l pressure/sanctions & virtually guarantee its rise as a nuclear state. F. Jeffery (F.J.) (@MrPolyatheist) May 20, 2016 The Indian External Affairs Ministry said that they will push for development of two terminals & five births which will have multi cargo capacity. India will invest 200 million dollars in first phase of the project, which they believe will be a game changer, especially for Afghanistan because it will provide an alternative route for trade with India. Apart from bilateral engagements between India and Iran, Afghanistan will also be pitching in for a "trilateral agreement on transport and transit corridor." According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs the trilateral agreement among India, Afghanistan & Iran will be signed on May 23. "It will highlight the significance India attaches to developing connectivity using Chabahar as regional hub." Prime Minister's impending visit to Iran next week shall give thrust to India Iran bilateral ties. Sadananda Gowda (@DVSBJP) May 20, 2016 However, just this past week, Afghanistan joined China's ambitious "One Belt, One Road" initiative, aimed at interconnecting major economies in Asia & Europe through infrastructure, investment & trade. Also, China has agreed to provide 500 million yuan (USD 76.7 million) of aid gratis to Afghanistan for mutually agreed projects. Kanchi Gupta said, "Afghanistan has since very long time looked at India as potential player in their country. But, we haven't moved beyond some humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and sometimes we have talked about training their forces but we haven't actually actively developed Afghan policy and actively supported the government, or played the large role. Whereas, Chinese investment in Afghanistan is rising. Economic development will be a very large factor in the stability of the country, so they will obviously look at China as a potential partner in their economic development and stability, which is a role India has not really stepped up commensurate the interest from Afghanistan." Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Iran visit starting May 22 will be a litmus test not only for India's desire to establish global influence but also its balancing act in regional politics. Besides the INS Sutlej survey vessel and the INS Sunayna patrol ship, an Indian Air Force transport aircraft has also been dispatched to Colombo as the tiny nation is being battered by cyclone Roanu. Essentials like food resources, medicines, and makeshift shelters have been sent as part of the relief materials. Indias Ministry of Home Affairs held a top-level meeting with the participation of bureaucrats and politicians to decide on the materials to be dispatched. A statement from Indias Ministry External Affairs read: India is extending help and relief to Sri Lanka which is battling torrential rains and landslides which have caused significant devastation and loss of life. The Indian Navy is sending two ships today, INS Sutlej and INS Sunanyna with Geminis [inflatable boats], OBMs [outboard motors], additional divers, tarpaulins, consumable stores, rations, etc. The analyst further said that this was a murder case and the man confessed but there are so many rape cases which do not get coverage and the perpetrators get away with the crime. The analyst further spoke about why there is such a large presence of military personnel in Okinawa and what the benefits to Tokyo are. There are too many people making too much money off it and they are mostly concentrated in Tokyo. So Tokyo doesnt have to deal with the problems because the US gives Japan a lot of benefits for accepting this base but the benefits go to Tokyo not Okinawa. Talking about the murder of the 20-year-old girl, the analyst said that currently her autopsy is underway. The murderer has been apprehended although he is a military contractor and under other circumstances he could not have been tried by the Japanese court. But because he was off-duty when the murder took place he will be punished under the Japanese legal system. I can guarantee to you that the Japanese legal system will be a lot stricter than the US system, he will probably get the death penalty, the analyst concluded. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Joining the nuclear material export-controlling organization reflects Pakistan's support for limiting nuclear proliferation, the ministry added, stressing that the country has taken legal, regulatory and administrative measures to bring its nuclear safety in line with international standards. "Pakistan has the expertise, manpower, infrastructure, as well as the ability to supply NSG controlled items, goods and services for a full range of nuclear applications for peaceful uses," the ministry said in a statement, as quoted by The Express Tribune newspaper. On Tuesday, Pakistans Foreign Minister Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry reportedly met with US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Rose Gottemoeller. The minister said that Pakistan has the credentials to join the NSG, while the US delegation recognized Pakistan's efforts to bring its nuclear material trade controls in line with the organization's demands. MOSCOW (Sputnik) A bus fell in a gorge in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh on Friday, killing at least 15 passengers and leaving 30 more injured, local media reported. The incident occurred in the Chamba district after, according to survivors cited by the Hindustan Times daily, the driver lost control over the wheel as he was talking on his mobile phone. The districts administration is reported to have given about $150 immediate relief for families of the victims and around $75 to injured passengers. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Aeroflot CEO Vitaly Savelyev said last month that the deliveries of 22 Airbus A350s in 2018-2023 and 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in 2017-2019 would be rescheduled because of the falling market. "At the moment, the contract with Aeroflot for 22 A350 XWB aircraft remains in force and is listed in our stock of orders, which is officially published on the website. As you know, the airline has ordered 14 A350-900 and eight A350-800," Bregier said in an interview with Russias Kommersant daily. Mainland China's drive to achieve a greater integration with the IMF stems from two main issues Beijing faces. First, mainland seeks broader and more flexible policy options for its transition from an export-reliant economy to an economic model driven by domestic consumption. Therefore, the PBOC needs wider policy options, including a carte blanche to affect the national currency's FX rate, which under the current circumstances is impossible due to a large-scale international mistrust of the PBOC's true intentions. Thus, a deeper and more transparent mode of interaction with the IMF could make the PBOC's communication with other central banks easier and more predictable, allowing for a broader scope of domestic reform. Second, mainland China has a massive issue with a growing number of bad loans in its domestic credit market, mainly due to its unprecedented debt imbursement in 2010-2015 undertaken by provincial governments and corporations. Therefore, external involvement in debt restructuring might be vital at some point, meaning an improvement in China's positioning within the IMF could provide a long-term solution. Some observers suppose that Zhang's alleged nomination might reflect Beijing's intent to tighten its grip on the IMF as a reflection of the nation's growing weight in global economy, with Chinese policymakers seeking ways to use their funds in global projects via the IMF framework. Even though that might also be the case, the mounting burden of structural problems and the ongoing economic slowdown amidst falling competitiveness against the nations of Southern and Southeast Asia suggest both China and the IMF have a mutual interest in expanding a comprehensive dialogue. In other words, other central banks want to make sure mainland China will not attempt sudden monetary policy moves, such as impromptu renminbi devaluations similar to that in August 2015, whilst China seeks opportunities to expand its global investment, as well as to attract credit to finance its costly structural reforms. MOSCOW (Sputnik) South Stream Bulgaria, owned by Russia's Gazprom and Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), suspended its operations in 2014 after Russia canceled the project due to alleged non-compliance with EU energy regulations. "This joint-stock company owns assets: documents related to the environmental impact assessment, a detailed territorial plan, a technical project that has been prepared for the most part It may be useful to Bulgaria in view of our concept to build a gas distribution center in Bulgaria because the routes, which can be used to transport gas are not different from those which we had already considered and approved," Petkova was quoted by Nova TV on Thursday. "Construction will take several years, but when the $45 billion project is completed in 2020, it will deliver 10 billion cubic meters per year of natural gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe," the article read. The official event was attended by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, high-profile officials from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Albania as well as the EU and the US State Department. The national governments and project developers expect direct profits and economic opportunities from the pipeline. For example, transit fees could help improve the economy of Greece. "From the perspective of the US government, TAP will reduce Europes dependence on and vulnerability to Russia; in essence, it is a major geopolitical victory. US Secretary of State John Kerry, in a congratulatory letter to Greeces Prime Minister, said that TAP is a 'prime example of infrastructure that enhances European energy security'," the article read. The EU intends to complete the project despite the fact that TAP is very expensive and unlikely to be economically efficient, economist Vasily Koltashov told Sputnik Radio. "TAP is unlikely to be frozen, for example like Nabucco. The goal of the European Commission backed by the US is to push Russia back from gas supplies to the European market. If the pipeline delivers Russian gas this will be gas bought by Azerbaijan from Russia. TAP is profitable for Azerbaijan, Turkey and Greece. The EU will complete the project because it would damage Russias interests," the expert said. According to him, it is important for the European Commission that Russia does not control any gas supplies. "Russian still holds strong positions in Europe, with Gazproms projects, like Nord Stream. Brussels doesnt like it. The EU does not want Russia to have any independent energy project in Europe," Koltashov added. According to him, TAP will not be economically efficient because the costs are very high and the project is politically biased. Other reasons are lowering energy prices and decreasing demand for gas in the EU. SOCHI (Sputnik) The Russian resort city of Sochi is hosting the Russia-ASEAN summit on May 19-20. The summit is attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of ASEAN member states, including Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Laos. "I very much hope for these talks to be shorter. In the case of Vietnam, they took six years. I think that they will be shorter now, given the experience of negotiation with Vietnam," Katyrin said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The H135 model of helicopter is already being used by Russian rescue services and medical facilities and could be customized as a police helicopter as well, he added. "We are currently negotiating the localization with the Ural Works of Civil Aviation in Yekaterinburg. There is an agreement as such but we will launch this project as soon as we will have the first customer. We plan to find a customer before the end of this year and begin deliveries already in 2017," Dmitry Perepelkin told RIA Novosti on the sidelines of the HeliRussia-2016 Expo in Moscow. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The Russian resort city of Sochi is hosting the Russia-ASEAN summit on May 19-20. The summit is being attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of ASEAN member states, including Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Laos. "I think that this is a promising direction," the minister said during an interview with the Rossiya-24 channel when answering a question regarding non-dollar transactions with ASEAN countries. Russian companies already have experience in non-dollar trade, he added, noting that there is a current energy contract being settled in the yuan. SOCHI (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova The Russian resort city of Sochi is hosting the Russia-ASEAN summit on May 19-20. ASEAN comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. The ongoing Russia-Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) summit in Sochi shows that Russia is an important dialogue partner for ASEAN and highlights the need to strengthen cooperation between the partners, Mario Montejo said. "The Commemorative Summit has affirmed that Russia is an important dialogue partner for ASEAN. The Summit showed that there is a strong political commitment for us to broaden and deepen cooperation, and that is reflected in the Sochi Declaration and the new ASEAN-Russia Plan of Action," Montejo said on the sidelines of the event. "An important conduit will be the creation of the Philippine-led Network of ASEAN-Russia Scientists and Researchers and we are fully supportive of greater engagement of the private sector in ASEAN-Russia cooperation in energy, transport, tourism and agriculture," he stressed. Cooperation in space science, disaster risk management and nano-technology are among the topics expected to be discussed by Philippine Secretary of Science and Technology Mario Montejo during his upcoming visit to Moscow, he told Sputnik on Friday. "After Sochi, I am visiting the Russian Academy of Sciences to conduct exploratory talks on potential areas of cooperation in in Science and Technology Space Science and Technology for climate monitoring, disaster risk management and agricultural applications. We are also interested in Materials Science, Energy Generation as well as Nano- and Bio-technology for health and food applications and Genomics," Montejo said on the sidelines of the summit. According to Montejo, he hopes to discuss collaborative research and development grounded on mutually-agreed principles. On May 19-20, the Russian resort city of Sochi hosts the Russia-ASEAN summit, marking the 20th anniversary of partnership between Moscow and the Asian bloc. SOCHI (Sputnik) Russia will be interested in the use of the announced Saudi Arabian $2-trillion sovereign wealth fund if it is established, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Friday. "If they do launch such a fund and proceed with investing in projects then we could definitely put a claim on Russian projects participation, on the use of these assets," Novak told reporters. Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud announced in early April that his country is going to set the world's largest sovereign fund of $2 trillion. The fund is expected to help the authorities to break the kingdom free from oil dependence and to diversify investments. NEW YORK (Sputnik) Smoke from wildfires raging in Canada has reached the greater New York City area, a spokesperson from the National Weather Service New York City forecast office told Sputnik on Friday. "Satellite imagery did show some residual smoke move across the area earlier this morning," the National Weather Service said. Most of the smoke drifted north of New York City throughout the North Eastern United States and did not affect air quality in the region, the National Weather Service added. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal which EU and US authorities are negotiating is madness and will become a catastrophe, famous French actress Brigitte Bardot told Sputnik. "The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is madness in every sense of the word. The international trade is already very intensive, it bankrupts French producers and cattle breeders, so TTIP will become a sanitary, environmental and economic catastrophe," Bardot said. The actress, famous for her animal rights activism, called on countries to produce everything they could themselves and only purchase goods from others if necessary. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Frances National Front (FN) party leader Marine Le Pen said she supported Russias position on the Syrian settlement and considered dialogue with Moscow on the issue essential. "On Syria, I think that the diplomatic process must be accelerated, to find a political solution to the crisis with [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad. On that I'm in complete disagreement with [French President] Francois Hollande who has no vision, apart from anything else We must now take a decision to sit down with Russia, which has taken matters into its own hands," Le Pen told the RT television channel in an interview released Friday. The FN leader said she was "glad" that Russia has taken the Syrian issue "into its own hands," but regretted that it was not France that did so. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Former US State Secretary Hillary Clinton is the most "dangerous" for France candidate in the race for the post of the president of the county as she has "gone hand in hand" with the US decisions that plunged the world into "chaos," Frances National Front (FN) party leader Marine Le Pen said. "There is a candidate who appears a lot more dangerous for France than the others that's Hillary Clinton this is a woman who has gone hand in hand with the full spectrum of American decisions which have plunged the world objectively into chaos, " Le Pen told the RT television channel in an interview released Friday. Le Pen expressed her belief that Clinton would continue this "destructive policy, a policy of conflict, a policy of imprisonment of Europe in blinded Atlanticism, I think it's a danger for world peace." MOSCOW (Sputnik) Almost 300 renowned British nationals, working in the arts, have signed a letter calling on the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union, saying that a Brexit may damage the creative industry. "Britain is not just stronger in Europe, it is more imaginative and more creative, and our global creative success would be severely weakened by walking away," the letter, organized by the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign, read, as quoted by the BBC. Actors Jude Law, Keira Knightley, Benedict Cumberbatch, Bill Nighy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sir John Hurt, Sir Patrick Stewart and Thandie Newton, architect Richard Rogers, artist Tracey Emin, author John le Carre, comedian Jo Brand, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, director Richard Curtis and writer Philip Pullman are among the signatories of the letter. KIEV (Sputnik) EU migration crisis could affect the introduction of visa-free regime between the 28-nation bloc and Ukraine, Head of the Mission of Ukraine to the European Union Mykola Tochytskyi said Friday. "There is an additional challenge that cannot be ignored by the Council of the European Union and [EU] member states migration crisis This is a force majeure, which has emerged. Of course, several European states would like to shield themselves from migration from the Middle Eastern and African countries. Unfortunately, this can also influence the timeframe of making a decision about Ukraine," Tochytskyi said in an interview with Evropeyskaya pravda ("European truth") news website, answering a question about factors that hinder the abolition of EU visas for Ukrainian citizens. He added that at the same time Kiev had already fulfilled all EU demands for visa liberalization. PARIS (Sputnik) Vidalies' statement comes a day after EgyptAir flight MS804, en route from the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris to the Cairo International Airport, disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea. "European and international security inspections indicate that France is at the highest level in terms of safety," Vidalies said in an interview with France Info radio. He added that staff inspections at airports in Paris led to refusals to grant access to sensitive areas inside airports "whenever there was some concern, not even suspicion." The average oil price in 2016 will hover at 45 dollars per barrel, Swedbank expects. With it rising to 60 dollars per barrel on average next year, reported industry newspaper Affarsvarlden Swedbank's forecasts imply an oil price of just over 50 dollars by the end of this year and close to 70 dollars at the end of 2017. "Expectations of higher oil prices generate higher oil production, which is why the actual rise could be more modest than we forecasted, especially next year," warned Swedbank. KIEV (Sputnik) It was added in the statement that the foreigner, who comes from an Asian country and who had been on the international wanted list, would be in custody for up to 40 days, until Kiev received a request for extradition. "The Security Service of Ukraine detained a foreigner involved in the activities of al-Qaeda international terrorist organization in Kiev," the statement reads. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russia has never strayed away from dialogue with NATO, but dialogue must be constructive and based on the respect of mutual interests, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. The Russian side has never strayed from dialogue. Obviously we have always been supporters of dialogue. We believe that this is the only actual method of solving problems and issues that are before us, Peskov told journalists in regard to NATOs initiative to hold a Russia-NATO meeting ahead of the NATO summit in July. The accession of Montenegro into NATO, which is the expansion of the alliance to the east, raises the degree in tensions on the continent, Dmitry Peskov said. Meanwhile, security is being further intensified at radio masts across Sweden as a reaction to the series of suspected acts of subversion. State-owned communications company Teracom said it would increase camera surveillance and employ more security staff to guard its 54 telecom stations across Sweden as the investigation goes on. "We are one hundred percent sure that the tower [in Boras] has been sabotaged," investigation head Jan Johansson told Aftonbladet earlier this week. "This could be something international, that someone wanted to test what would happen," he ventured. Intelligence professor Wilhelm Agrell of Lund University concurred, speculating this could be signs of a hybrid war on Russia's part. "It does not require a lot of imagination or knowledge about what has happened in the past two years to realize which foreign power is not far off, even if no one can be sure that they are actually guilty," he told the tabloid newspaper Aftonbladet, hinting at Sweden's paranoid fear of Russia. EDINBURGH (Sputnik), Mark Hirst EU year-on-year exports fell by 28.4 percent to 73.9 million euros in 2015, according to the European Commissions data released last month. "5.3 billion euros [$5.9 billion] wiped off from exports. It's been very damaging," Hogan said, asked about EU sanctions on Russia and how damaging that has been to EU farming. Brussels spends 50 billion euros annually to counteract the cost of Russias restrictions on European farm produce, which followed EU sanctions on Moscow over its alleged role in the Ukrainian crisis. TALLINN (Sputnik) Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are unlikely to normalize ties in the near future, Estonian Foreign Minister Marina Kaljurand said Friday after a late-night NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels. "The normalization of relations with Russia in the near future is not foreseen, and the heads of state and government will confirm the current policy toward Russia in Warsaw [at the July 8-9 NATO summit]," Kaljurand said in a statement published on the Foreign Ministrys website. The effectively disrupted Russia-NATO military and political cooperation, she noted, does not rule out political dialogue. MADRID (Sputnik) Two men and one woman died late Thursday when their aircraft crashed onto a roof and fell to the ground in the town of Arbizu, the Diario de Navarra publication said. The deceased were en route to Dax, France from Coimbra, Portugal. The outlet cited witness accounts of the aircraft striking a "vulture" and falling near the towns kindergarten. Polish trade unions are not required by law to make their membership lists available to employers. When asked whether he expected any official clarifications from ABW during a press-conference, he said that the agency would hardly provide any, citing the ongoing investigation. We have absolutely nothing to hide and we are going to speak freely about what is going on. They will not manage to shut us up, we are ready to fight, he emphasized. Piskorskis arrest followed his warning that the Polish government was cleaning the political space of the country of unwanted elements in the run-up to a NATO summit to be held in Warsaw on July 8 and 9. Our party is the only one coming out against the deployment of US troops in Poland. We also planned to publish a book about the death of Andrzej Lepper which they feared could create an angry outcry because we believe that the authorities have definitely had a hand in his death. As a former member of Samoobrona RP (Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland) party and a close ally of Leppers, Mateusz Piskorski has a lot to say about this, Tomasz Jankowski noted. When asked if the party was going to protest to the authorities over the ABWs action, Tomasz said that it would surely do so. It was an illegal act by the ABW. Here was no one of us present during the search. They broke inside and stole the documents. They had no right to do that. We will also hold public rallies in support of Mateusz Piskorski. Party and union members are all set to defend us. Small wonder Poland just got its first political prisoner! Tomasz Jankowski said in conclusion. Andrzej Lepper was a candidate in the Polish presidential election in 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010. He was found dead in his Warsaw office on August 5, 2011. Police said that he likely committed suicide. However, many people think that it was a political murder. Meanwhile, special services coordinator Mariusz Kaminski confirmed that the arrest of Mateusz Piskorski was a matter of national security. This is a very serious case and it has to do with this countrys national security, Kaminski said in an interview with RMF FM radio station in Krakow. He added that Piskorsi had indeed been arrested by national security agents on charges of espionage. Earlier this week, Interior Minister Petteri Orpo of the National Coalition Party acknowledged that the level of foreign intelligence operations in Finland was equitable to that of the Cold War era, whereas Security Police Senior Inspector Tuomas Portaankorva admitted that foreign intelligence activity has become "more aggressive." According to numerous experts, the reason for increased spying is the tightening confrontation between the East and the West. "It is about the general atmosphere abroad. As international contacts dwindle, and the use of diplomatic channels is reduced, as a result of which competition confrontation between the West and the East ensues. Then lesser countries get to play a bigger role as all the major powers are interested in, for instance, Finland's policy, that is which bloc to which we would like to belong to or who we are cooperating with," researcher Hanna Smith of the Aleksanteri Institute at the University of Helsinki told the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat. The artists projected on the Turkish Embassy images of Erdogan, the emblem of the Third Reich near the Turkish ruling party's logo and the phrase "Reichstag passes the power to the hands of Erdogan." Commenting on the move, Bienkowski explained that he and his associates seek to draw public attention to the authoritarian developments in Turkey. "We would like to draw attention to the problems arising in Turkey following the cancellation of almost all MPs' immunity. Erdogan seeks to transform Turkey into a presidential dictatorship. At least, the Turkish intellectuals are assessing the situation this way," Bienkowski told Sputnik. "We wanted to take the initiative in our hands and provide Merkel with some satirical material ahead of her visit to Turkey," he added. EDINBURGH (Sputnik), Mark Hirst According to Paterson, some EU countries, especially those in Eastern Europe, "are being denied the supply of very reliable labour" as these candidates choose to look for a job in the United Kingdom "Senior surgeons who I know are unable to recruit the better qualified candidates from California or India to posts in the UK because they are required to take people from the EU who are less qualified, less skilled and less safe," Paterson said. UK citizens are set to vote on June 23 in a referendum on the country's EU membership. Supporters of the UK exit from the bloc argue that EU membership has eroded Britains independence to legislate, direct its economy and control its borders. Opponents warn that leaving the European Union could deeply harm the countrys economy. The comments from Andriukaitis, a former physician, were designed to provoke thought on an area that the Health Commissioner is clearly passionate about. "Why we don't see headlines, why we are so blind, so silent Tobacco is a very profitable industry that only produces something that kills people, nothing more," Andriukaitis told journalists. Those campaigning in Britain to leave the European Union have been using the changes to Tobacco laws approved by the European Parliament to try to strengthen their case. @LeaveEUOfficial @Independent If you smoke or not these regulations are intrusive & authoritarian; stop this & other nonsense. #Brexit Mark Griffin (@MarkGriffin59) May 20, 2016 The new legislation will prohibit the advertising of e-cigarettes, and set minimum dimensions for health warnings on cigarette packaging. Several tobacco companies recently lost a High Court challenge against legislation which will see plain packaging for tobacco products, and a ban on menthol cigarettes coming into effect by 2020. @prwhittle @cjsnowdon I disagree, it should go further, smoking is a disgusting scourge on society. Hope this is another step towards a ban. Matt Castle (@torrentcastle) May 20, 2016 Unsurprisingly Britain's number one Euroskeptics, the UK Independence Party (UKIP), who recently campaigned at local elections to reverse the smoking ban in pubs, are not in favor of the new legislation. It's on this point that Google has crossed swords with the CNIL Google say that they do remove results in response to "valid" requests, but not on global, non-European versions of its site. Given the relative ease with which EU citizens can access international versions of websites such as google.com the CNIL wants Google to apply the "right to be forgotten" across the board. Google however, have argued that French authorities have no right to impose legal restraints out with the jurisdiction of their own borders: "If French law applies globally, how long will it be until other countries perhaps less open and democratic start demanding that their laws regulating information likewise have global reach? "This order could lead to a global race to the bottom, harming access to information that is perfectly lawful to view in one's own country," Google said. "This is not just a hypothetical concern. We have received demands from governments to remove content globally on various grounds We have resisted, even if that has sometimes led to the blocking of our services." The Conseil d'Etat is expected to take at least a year to review the appeal. Considering the fragile state of Ukraine 's economy, Sikorski argued that the loss of Donbass was a good riddance for the impoverished nation. "Of course, it is painful for any country to lose a part of its territory, but I am afraid that if the Donbass magically returned to Ukraine, the task of re-integrating and restoring the territory would be beyond its capacity," Sikorski said. With the conflict in eastern Ukraine seemingly coming to a halt, Kiev leadership has found itself in hot water amid as the nation is increasingly struggling to stay afloat economically speaking. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk resigned in April, severely criticized. Sikorski nevertheless chose to praise Yatsenyuk on how he reformed the energy sector. According to him, Yatsenyuk's highly unpopular measures were none other than necessary. However, Sikorski also expressed hope that Yatsenyuk's successor Volodymyr Groysman would be more successful in fighting Ukraine's raging corruption. So-called hotspots set up to process asylum seekers have not been properly implemented. Volunteers on the ground in Chios have told Sputnik that the situation is "chaotic" and thousands of families, like Wassim's, who have already been detained in filthy and unsanitary conditions for more than 25 days, are still unable to leave the island. Wassim, a qualified teacher has been on hunger strike on the island of Chios for four days. "Our children are not on hunger strike. We, their parents are. We are protesting because we have been here since 20 March 2016 and we cannot leave. No one is hearing our voices, we need someone to help us," Wassim told Sputnik. Wassim, like many other refugees remains in limbo. "Nothing is happening. We are told nothing. No organization can answer our questions. We keep asking, 'What next?' and we are always told, 'We don't know.' "We have been stuck on this island for two months, all we want to do is go to a safe country with our families," Wassim explained, speaking to Sputnik from Chios. 'Education Comes First' "We decided to do this difficult hunger strike so the world can hear our problem and help relocate us to another country. Greece has financial problems, we can't find work here. We want to go to Germany or Canada to get a better life for our children. My brother is in Germany." "It's not about us, it's about our children." Wassim said. "I want them to learn English, I want them to be educated. I don't want money, when they get educated, they can then earn money. Education comes first." The one-for-one refugee swap began on Monday 4 April. Human rights groups say the mass deportations breach international law. And Wassim's family, like many others who are stuck in Greece, just want to move on. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Harry Shindler and Jacquelyn MacLennan, both UK expats in the European Union, have lost their appeal against a High Court of Justice decision to uphold current UK law preventing citizens who had lived abroad for over 15 years from voting in the referendum, Sky News reported. The two expats had requested a judicial review of the 15-year rule, arguing that it was an arbitrary restriction of democratic rights and prevented UK expats from voting on matters that directly affect them. "I am still waiting for the Government to tell us why British citizens in Europe can't vote in this referendum. The Government had agreed to scrap the 15-year rule before the Referendum Bill was passed, agreeing it was arbitrary and undemocratic," Shindler was quoted as saying by the channel. They also say Turkey is not a "safe country" for migrants to be returned to, under the Geneva Convention. Falling Apart The EU-Turkey migrant deal is already falling apart because of the visa-free travel part of the agreement, which would allow for Turks to have access to the Schengen zone. The deal is contingent on Turkey meeting 72 conditions on various issues, including the loosening of its anti-terror laws, which have been used to attack journalists and opposition media. What kind of message does the #EUTurkey deal send to the world? You can buy your way out of providing asylum. pic.twitter.com/zeQzzuHH5I MSF Sea (@MSF_Sea) 13 May 2016 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to change the anti-terror law, saying: "When Turkey is under attack from terrorist organizations and the powers that support them directly, or indirectly, the EU is telling us to change the law on terrorism. They say 'I am going to abolish visas and this is the condition.' I am sorry, we are going our way and you go yours." The latest ruling by the asylum judges in Greece will be further pressure on the European Union to rethink its deal with Turkey, which many see as immoral, if not illegal. PARIS (Sputnik) On Thursday, EgyptAir flight MS804 vanished off the radars. A number of countries, including Greece, France and Egypt, are involved in the search operations. Earlier in the day, spokesman for the Egyptian Armed Forces Mohammad Samir confirmed to Sputnik that the wreckage of crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 had been located in the Mediterranean. "The Sentinel-1A radar satellite has detected a potential oil slick in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in the same area where EgyptAir flight MS804 disappeared early yesterday morning on its way from Paris to Cairo. The image was acquired by Sentinel-1A yesterday at 16:00 GMT," ESA said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The bill is scheduled to go the parliaments plenary session on Saturday and a full vote on Sunday, Greeces Kathimerini daily reported. The new law bundles together new tax hikes, a new privatization fund, and a contingency mechanism that would automatically cut state spending if the country misses budgetary benchmarks, the publication said. The ruling coalition of left-wing Syriza and right-wing Independent Greeks (Anel) backed the "multi-bill" to opposition from New Democracy, PASOK, the Communist Party, Potami, Union of Centrists and Golden Dawn. PARIS (Sputnik) Earlier in the day, the channel corrected an error in the article posted on its website, changing the number of the Crimean Tatars allegedly deported across the Soviet Union during the rule of Joseph Stalin from two million to 200,000, following remarks by the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. "The English version of our deportations commemoration story did include an inaccuracy regarding the number of deported Tatars. The story has been corrected and an amended version re-published on all Euronews platforms," Bonvallet told RIA Novosti. According to the newspaper, the US first watched the confidence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel with respect, especially when she refused to set higher limits for the adoption of migrants and assured that Germany "will get through this." However, the fact that other European countries have increasingly abandoned her open-door policy and followed a tougher approach to the migration crisis demonstrated a failure of the EU and Berlin's growing isolation. "Ultimately, this is about a chaotic handling of the crisis' in Europe and Merkel's decreasing influence on EU policy. Especially the fact that hundreds of thousands of people were able to get into Germany without any registration has surprised Americans who always think about their safety and sovereign border regime," the newspaper wrote. Europe has been beset by a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing their crisis-torn countries of origin to escape violence and poverty. In the context of the crisis, Merkel's popularity has significantly declined due to her open-door policy toward refugees. As a result, more than one million refugees have arrived in Germany from African countries and the Middle East, raising security concerns among country's residents. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Earlier in the day, Rinkevics and Dion met in Brussels to discuss the upcoming NATO summit and the security issues of the Baltic states. "The Ministers also were of one mind that under the current geopolitical circumstances the Alliance should place a stronger focus on reinforcing security on its eastern ans southern flanks," the statement published following the meeting of the top diplomats read. It was added in the statement that the ministers agreed that the Minsk deal on Ukraine settlement should be fully implemented. "They're all members of the World Trade Organization, so there is a limit to what they can do within that organizationIt wouldn't be in their interest [to impose restrictive tariffs]. Look at a country like Ireland which could be destroyed by some sort of nasty trade war between Britain and the EU." John Edwards does not agree, citing the specific example of Scottish services that could be at risk. "The idea that if we pull out, and cause ructions from both sides, we could end up with a more advantageous deal than beforehand just doesn't seem to hold up What is to stop those people pushing financial services in Paris and Frankfurt and pushing services elsewhere, to say well we'd rather keep that service industry ourselves' Manufacturing is one thing, but 80% of Scotland's trade with the EU is in services, and at the flick of a switch it could go somewhere else," Edwards told Sputnik. If trade deals became an issue, would big businesses move elsewhere? Richard Wellings believes that there are too many incentives for big businesses within London for them to risk rocking the boat: "London has so many attractions compared to other European cities. It has a depth of skills and specialist knowledge that can't be matched in other European citiesIt would take an awful lot to wrench these advantages from LondonIn fact current EU regulations are pushing away companies to other financial centers like Hong Kong and Dubai. I think the real threat is staying in the EU and getting shut down by all this regulation over the longer term," Wellings told Sputnik. John Edwards however highlighted the negative repercussions for big business if Britain left the EU: "The trouble is, that if London and the UK came out of the single market, then other financial centers like Paris and Frankfurt would be rubbing their handsWe're at the intersection of the Anglosphere, the Commonwealth and the EU; the idea that pulling ourselves out of that situation is something that businesses will find comfortable, reassuring and stabilizing doesn't bear any relation. In fact [business] is saying we don't need that kind of disruption,' " Edwards said. In what's fast becoming a familiar story on the Greek islands, Koutsoumani says the biggest problem is that people do not have any information about their fate. Her baby needs a doctor. At Kara Tepe site for @Refugees on #Lesvos she will see one. #progress pic.twitter.com/yYx9gdSwN7 Chris Boian (@ChrisBoian) May 19, 2016 "It makes them feel really insecure. They don't know if they are going to remain in Greece or go to another country, they have no information." Marooned in Moria After 25 days of detention in deteriorating conditions, migrants are free to move around the island but they must not leave Lesbos. Being able to leave the camp "has helped remove some of the tensions because they are no longer imprisoned," Koutsoumani told Sputnik, "but being in detention takes adjusting to." Meanwhile, local media report that dozens of migrants have been arrested after attempting to board a ferry bound for Athens by hiding in trucks and cars after leaving the Moria registration center. Others who remain marooned on the island after their 25 days in a detention center wander around looking for food and somewhere to sleep. Their fate remains unknown. In March 2016, the UK's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond suggested that the only country wanting Britain to leave the EU was Russia. Conversely, Prime Minister David Cameron has argued that Putin's "aggression" was a reason to remain inside the European Union. The latest #Russophobic comment from UK is Cameron citing Putin and al-Baghdadi in the same sentence as wanting to see the UK leave the EU. Marcus Papadopoulos (@DrMarcusP) May 17, 2016 The Russian Embassy in London has once again reiterated its position that Moscow has been unfairly dragged into a debate on which it holds no opinion. In a statement on behalf of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov said: "We are used to the Russian factor being one of the regular tools used in the US electoral campaign, but for us it's a new thing that the Russian factor or the President Putin factor is being used in the Brexit debate. EDINBURGH (Sputnik), Mark Hirst British ministers are treating the possible ramifications of the Brexit vote for the whole of Ireland as an "afterthought," according to Anderson. "Those in favour of an EU exit are being disingenuous when they claim it is highly unlikely that custom posts would be introduced in Ireland," Anderson, who used to serve as a junior minister in Northern Ireland's Executive Office, said. Among the UK politicians who are downplaying the fears that border posts would be reestablished between the British controlled province of Northern Ireland and the Irish State is former UK Secretary of State for Environment Owen Paterson. MOSCOW (Sputnik) This comes as the European Union is negotiating visa-waiver programs with Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia and Kosovo and against the background of a widening migrant crisis. "Visa liberalisation has great advantages for the EU and third countries. Yet we need an emergency brake for all visa free countries to make sure that visa liberalisation cannot be abused," Council President Klaas Dijkhoff was quoted in the statement as saying after the Brussels meeting. Dijkhoff, who also serves as the Dutch migration minister, said he was "pleased" that ministers had agreed on a mechanism that would make it easier to act against abuse. Next stage would be discussing the plan with the European Parliament, he added. "[The Kremlin] has thrown out the rulebook," Lute said, according to Deutsche Welle. "This is not the predictable partner we thought we had." The alliance continues to justify military buildup under the guise of peace, a contradiction mirrored by Gen. Sir Richard Shirreff, former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander in Europe for NATO, on Tuesday. The former military leader declared that a military buildup in the Baltics is necessary to avoid nuclear war. "The chilling fact is that because Russia hardwires nuclear thinking and capability to every aspect of their defense capability, this would be nuclear war," he told BBC Radio 4. "[NATO] should raise the bar sufficiently high for any aggressor to say it is not worth the risk," he added. "I would argue the bar is not high enough at the moment." The new agreement also opens the door for Montenegro to join NATO. BRUSSELS (Sputnik) EU sanctions against Crimea expiring in June will be extended, although a formal decision on the matter has not been made yet, an anonymous EU official told Sputnik Friday. On Monday [at EU Foreign Affairs Council] the issue will not be discussed. But the European position on Crimea is clear. Despite the fact that there will be a formal decision making process, the situation in Crimea has not changed, the Ukrainian sovereignty over Crimea has not been restored the sanctions should remain in force, the source said. Relations between Russian and the Western countries deteriorated in 2014 after eruption of the Ukrainian crisis and the Crimean reunification with Russia. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is calling on all sides to the Ukrainian conflict to end ceasefire violations, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier told Sputnik on Friday. "I continue to appeal to both sides to stop these violations, because that will create a better climate for the political process," Zannier said. In April 2014, Kiev launched military operations in Ukraine's southeast after local residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities, which came to power as a result of what they considered was a coup. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The ruling has challenged the two-month-old pact between the European Union and Turkey that requires Ankara to take back undocumented migrants coming ashore in Greece. Brussels said Turkey was able to guarantee refugee rights. "The committee has judged that the temporary protection which could be offered by Turkey to the applicant, as a Syrian citizen, does not offer him rights equivalent to those required by the Geneva convention," the committee said in a document seen by The Guardian newspaper. In March, Brussels and Ankara agreed on a deal under which Turkey pledged to take back all undocumented migrants who arrive in the European Union through its territory in exchange for Syrian refugees accommodated in Turkey, on a one-for-one basis. In return, the 28-member bloc pledged to accelerate the Turkish EU accession bid and introduce a visa-free regime between Turkey and the Schengen area. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) aims to increase the number of its monitors in Ukraine to 800 over the next couple of months, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier told Sputnik on Friday. We plan to bring more observers, Zannier said. Over the next month or two, we are planning to go up to 800. Zannier said earlier in May that 700 OSCE monitors were currently working in Ukraine, 530 of whom were in the countrys east. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The security conditions in the Donbass region in Ukraine must be suitable in order for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to deploy election observers there, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier told Sputnik on Friday. "We need security for our observers. We need proper security conditions for us to be able to send civilian observers," Zannier said when asked if the OSCE is planning to observe the election in Donbass this fall. "It is up to local security providers Kiev has to tell us how this is taking place. It comes also from the dialogue out of Minsk and contact group arrangements include also provision security to the observers." Zannier noted that Ukraine must invite the OSCE observers for them to be deployed during future elections in the Donbass. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Kiev should make it a priority to address the problem of oligarchs influence in Ukraine amid ongoing reforms, President and CEO of the International Crisis Group Jean-Marie Guehenno told Sputnik on Friday. Ukraine has many problems to address. I think there are a lot of people with energy in Ukraine who are trying to reform the country. But there has been a lot of influence of oligarchs, and I think that should be a priority of the present government of Ukraine to address those issues, Guehenno said. Last month, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk as well as five other ministers decided to resign amid the crisis in the countrys economic development and pervasive government corruption. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Coca-Cola FEMSA is suspending its production in Venezuela over lack of sugar, the company said in a statement. "Right now we are not anticipating the closure of our central office. We are not leaving the country," the company said in a statement Thursday as quoted by the La Patilla tabloid. According to the company, 90 percent of the products it produces requite sugar. MOSCOW (Sputnik) On Thursday, Parente, the former head of agribusiness group Bunge, was confirmed as the new head of Petrobras which was hit by corruption schemes linked to the countrys top officials. "[Acting Brazilian President] Michel Temer gave a very clear orientation There will be no political appointments in Petrobras This greatly facilitated my decision [to accept the job offer]," Parente told reporters Thursday as quoted by the Financial Times newspaper. In 2014, corruption schemes in Petrobras were revealed, triggering a wave of discontent in Brazil toward President Dilma Roussef who headed the company in 2003-2010. The 21-year-old Bin Laden is so busy with his music career that he can no longer communicate with journalists by phone without the permission of his PA Martins Emerson. Emerson does his job well, but seems to care about his protege too much, forbidding him from giving interviews on the phone and communicating with journalists without his approval, the website extra.globo.com wrote. "He is a superstar in Brazil," Martins Emerson says, explaining his strict rules and behavior. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Mexico will extradite drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman Loera to the United States, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) announced in a statement on Friday. "The Ministry is complying with each and every one of the requirements of the Extradition Treaty between the United Mexican States and the United States of America," the statement read. The statement noted that Guzman is will be prosecuted in two different US district courts in Texas and California on charges of organized crime, possession of weapons, money laundering as well as a number of drug offenses. NEW YORK (Sputnik) The United States and the European Union will not stand in the way of business activity in Iran in the wake of the Iran nuclear deal, according to a joint statement by France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy released by the US Department of State. "We will not stand in the way of permitted business activity with Iran, and we will not stand in the way of international firms or financial institutions engaging with Iran, as long as they follow all applicable laws," the statement said on Thursday. The European Union and its member states are exploring possible areas of cooperation with Iran, including the use of export credits to facilitate trade, project financing, and investment in Iran, the statement noted. He ingested only tap water, with the occasional addition of minerals and vitamins. His condition raised concern from the United Nations. He ended his hunger strike after Israeli authorities said earlier this February that they would not extend his detention under an administrative detention system which allows Israel to hold prisoners without trial for renewable six-month periods. Al-Qiq has been released, traveling to Dura in the Palestinian territories to reunite with his family. We hope that the Iranian side will identify seismic parameters at the site so we could start work on several new blocks already before this year is out, a source at Rosatom said on Thursday. Russia has already built a power plant in Bushehr. The agreement for the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant was finalized in 1995, but the project was delayed several times due to a number of technical and financial issues. Even with the international sanctions now lifted and foreign investors coming in, Iran still prefers to deal with its trusted partner, Russia, Mahmoud Shoori, head of the Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic Research in Tehran, told Radio Sputnik. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Flight MS804 disappeared from radar screens 10 miles into Egyptian airspace early on Thursday. The plane departed from the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris at 23:09 GMT the day before. The aircraft was heading for Cairo International Airport. According to the airline, there were a total of 66 people on board the plane, including 56 passengers. Earlier in the day, spokesman for the Egyptian Armed Forces Mohammad Samir confirmed to Sputnik that the wreckage of crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 had been located in the Mediterranean. "We will carry out the survey. There should be not one, but several debris pieces, life rafts and life jackets at the site of the supposed crash. Also, there may be spots from oil and fuel spills. There is an entire set of interpretive signs which can help determine whether a catastrophe took place in one place or another," Zaichko said in an interview with the Life television channel. CAIRO (Sputnik) On Thursday, EgyptAir flight MS804 vanished off the radars . A number of countries, including Greece, France and Egypt, are involved in the search operations. Earlier in the day, spokesman for the Egyptian Armed Forces Mohammad Samir confirmed to Sputnik that the wreckage of crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 had been located in the Mediterranean Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy has given instructions on the formation of a committee on the investigation of the EgyptAir plane crash under the supervision of Ayman al-Mukaddam, who is the committee head for investigations for accidents in the ministry, the Aviation Ministry said in a statement. The EgyptAir flight MS804 departed from the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France, at 23:09 GMT on Wednesday. The aircraft was heading for the Cairo International Airport. According to the airline, there were a total of 66 people on board the plane, including 56 passengers. Shoigu said the Russian deminers have already returned to Russia and that there is only a group remaining in Palmyra that is training the Syrians. A demining unit from the international anti-mining center of the Armed Forces has fully completed their tasks in Palmyra. An area of 825 hectares has been cleared, as well as 116 kilometers of roads. Approximately 19,000 explosive devices have been defused, Shoigu said. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Canada has increased its contributions to the US-led Coalition against Daesh by creating an all-source intelligence center in Iraq and deploying additional helicopters and trainers, according to an announcement by Canadian Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan. As a part of Joint Task Force-Iraq, the CAF[Canadian Armed Forces] officially opened an all-source intelligence centre, responsible for collecting, synthesizing, and analyzing information derived from a variety of sources, the announcement said. Sajjan explained that the collected intelligence will be used for operational planning and force protection. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Earlier in the day, the parliament backed a bill that provides for 138 lawmakers to be stripped of immunity from prosecution. "Today's vote is historic. My people do not want legislators who back a separatist terror organization [the Kurdistan Workers Party] to sit in Parliament. The ruling [Justice and Development] party, the Nationalist Movement Party say 'They should not be here'," Erdogan told supporters in the northeastern Turkish town of Rize. The ruling Justice and Development Party-sponsored bill, was mainly opposed by lawmakers from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) who are afraid of being prosecuted because of the party's pro-Kurd positions. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Earlier in the day, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Moscow offered Washington to jointly plan and conduct airstrikes against al-Nusra Front, as well as other illegal armed groups in Syria. "There is no agreement to conduct joint airstrikes with the Russians in Syria," Kirby stated. "What we are discussing with our Russian counterparts in keeping with the ISSG [International Syria Support Group] communique last week in Vienna are proposals for a sustainable mechanism to better monitor and enforce the cessation of hostilities." The US officials stressed that the liberation of Raqqa will deal a crushing blow to Daesh. During the meeting it was decided that the assault against Raqqa must begin soon. The operation will be conducted simultaneously from three different directions from Tsrin, Seregrar and Haseke. The coalition forces will help us with air support and weapons, Kobani concluded. ANKARA (Sputnik) The weapons that Germany sells to Turkey are used in Ankaras military campaign against the Kurds in the southeast of the country, lawmaker from Germanys Left Party Sevim Dagdelen told Sputnik Turkey. "Most of the weapons used in Ankaras operation in southeastern Turkey come from Germany These weapons are used against the Kurds, but Germany simply turns a blind eye to this," Dagdelen said in the interview. According to the lawmaker, Europe "bows the head in front of Erdogan's dictatorship" in fears that Turkey might back out of its migrant deal with the European Union. MOSCOW (Sputnik) On Thursday, Seif took part in the Euromoney Iran Conference in London, where he urged all the financial institutions to "actively communicate and work with Iranian banks with full peace of mind." "Banks need enough reassurances, even if this means rewriting guidelines or revising regulations, or giving banks written guarantees. Until our western interlocutors have fully fulfilled their obligations under the nuclear deal, we wont see a real change in our banking relations," Seif told The Guardian. On Monday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs Majid Takht-Ravanchi said that his country was not satisfied with the implementation of the nuclear agreement for the reason that European banks were still hesitant to do business with Iran. "The bill targets 130 members of parliament. A vast majority of them are members of the HDP (Peoples Democratic Party of Turkey)," Xulam tells Loud and Clear, adding that he believes Erdogan will use this bill to give himself sole control of the Turkish government. "So what youre saying is that President Erdogan, who has been acting as the head of state, in order to consolidate his power, had to first deal with the HDP, which is mostly Kurdish with progressive people in it," suggested host Brian Becker, adding that if the HDP were to remain a presence in parliament, "it would dilute Erdogans personal power," and that explains why Erdogan "scuttled the ceasefire with the Kurds, resumed war in Southeastern Turkey and now is attempting to strip immunity from members of parliament who are associated with the HDP, so that they can be arrested put in jail." Xulam agreed, responding: "[Erdogan] wants to be the absolute ruler he wants a pliable parliament. He wants a parliament that doesnt want Kurdish votes." Bugaighis also noted that GNA will be cautious that weapons it may import under the arms embargo exemption approved by the UN Security Council this week do not fall into the wrong hands. "The government needs to make and I am sure they will make an assessment for what we have, for the needed arms, and also where those arms are going to go, so in the end, we make sure it falls in the right hands and we make sure that its used by the proper, legitimate forces," Bugaighis said on Friday. "There are many armed forces in conflict with each other," Bugaighis said of the current state of affairs in Libya. "You should not support one armed faction against another. The idea is to build a coalition of legitimate armed forces and then assess their needs." In the past week, US military officials revealed that the United States has had special operations forces in Libya for at least the past year. The United Kingdom and Italy also sent special forces to Libya in late 2015, following the Islamic State takeover of the coastal city of Sirte. In 2011, the UN Security Council secured a resolution for the international community to form a no-fly zone over Libya. The measure predicated the overthrow of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi by Western-backed Islamic extremists, throwing the country into chaos. "The 2 per cent target is vital for the security of all NATO countries. Thats why weve committed to it and why we want all members to do the same," Fallon said Thursday as quoted by the countrys Defence Ministry. On Thursday, Fallon met with his Romanian counterpart Mihnea Motoc. BRUSSELS (Sputnik) Speaking ahead of the NATO foreign affairs ministerial meeting alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Mogherini hailed the ongoing Operation Sophia anti-smuggling campaign, which she said apprehended almost 70 suspected smugglers and neutralized more than 100 boats in the central Mediterranean in recent months. "As we move to potential additional tasks of the operation, such as the training of the coastguards of Libya or the potential work of the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution on the arms embargo, we would need also to strengthen our assets and our capacities, and the support and cooperation and NATO in this respect could be essential," Mogherini said. Intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance capabilities, as well as communications systems and logistics in the central Mediterranean are the "different and valuable" ways in which NATO could assist the European Union in tackling trafficking. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Previous reports placed the launch date for the vessel billed as the worlds largest and most powerful vessel of its kind at May 26, to coincide with the 160-year anniversary of the Baltic Shipyard. "The launch is somewhat postponed, for a time determined in weeks, but not more than a month," Rosatomflot Director General Vyacheslav Ruksha told RIA Novosti, noting that the moved schedule was "absolutely uncritical." Ruksha lauded the shipyard, part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, for continuing work despite the financial difficulties. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Stoltenberg was responding to reports that the Taliban militant movement had been making gains in parts of Afghanistan. "We decided today to sustain our Resolute Support Mission beyond 2016, so well continue to be there with NATO and partner forces to help train, assist and advise the Afghan army," the NATO chief told reporters. VILNIUS (Sputnik) Flaming Sword 2016, the largest special forces exercises in Eastern Europe this year concluded in Lithuania on Friday, the country's defense ministry said in a press release. "On May 20 largest special forces Exercise Flaming Sword 2016 in the region this year wrapped up," the press release reads. The exercises lasted for three weeks and were attended by British, Danish, Georgian, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, US and Ukrainian special forces, according to the statement. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Earlier in the day, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu offered the United States to begin work on May 25 on jointly planning and carrying out airstrikes against al-Nusra Front as well as other illegal armed groups in Syria. "We do not collaborate or coordinate our operation with the Russians. As the Secretary [Carter] has said, Russian operations are supporting and enabling the Assad Regime which is like pouring fuel on a fire. We remain focused solely on degrading and defeating ISIL [Islamic State]," Allen stated. However, the United States will continue to use the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Russia on flight safety during combat missions over Syria that has proven to be effective, US Department of Defense spokesman Matthew Allen said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Snap drills have been conducted in Russia's Southern Military District, involving some 40 units performing tasks in conditions approaching those faced during combat, he added, noting that the gained experience will help to minimize combat casualties. "Modern military conflicts have a rapid character. Decisions to create and train certain military units are taken within a limited timeframe. Taking into account these particular characteristics and the experience gained in Syria, the Armed Forces are introducing new forms and methods of combat training," Shoigu said. Russia started its counter-terrorist aerial campaign in September. In mid-March, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Shoigu to start withdrawing most of Russia's military contingent from Syria, having accomplished its campaign objectives. Russia left a minor residual force in Syria. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Reforms being carried out in the Russian military over the past three years have contributed to a successful execution of strategic tasks in the Arctic, on the Crimean peninsula, in the Mediterranean Sea, in remote maritime zones and in global airspace, according to the minister. "Over this time period, the capability of the Armed Forces has increased by 32 percent," Shoigu said while addressing a Defense Ministry board. Over the past year, the level of training of military personnel has risen 6 percent, he added. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The most commonly fielded US missile defense architecture employs "layered" long, medium and short-range interceptors, only capable of defeating a modest salvo of incoming enemy missiles at a high cost. "Continuing to adhere to traditional concepts and capabilities for missile defense could invite Americas adversaries to continue, if not accelerate, their investments in guided weapons, further eroding the US military's ability to project power," the report warned. US service chiefs, as well as officials at the Missile Defense Agency, have noted the costs of current kinetic approaches to missile defense, the notion of hitting a bullet with a bullet, are "unsustainable," given the rise in worldwide proliferation of guided munitions technology. "Meanwhile, the rail unions have also started an all-out strike, which is crippling the French railways," stated Gordon. "This is important, if you remember back to 1995, when the French labor movement rose up en masse against the proposed Juppe' reforms, which were an attempt to do away with the French welfare state, and that was led by French transport workers, particularly in the rail industry, so they have a kind of iconic role in the French labor movement." "When rail workers kick it off it is a sign that things are not going well for the government," said Gordon. Why is a Socialist government attacking workers rights in France? "Let me quote to you from the bulletin put out on Monday by the committee of Frances largest union, the CGT: 'After showing contempt for many workers protesting against this draft law and contempt for the 74% of French voters who oppose these socially destructive proposals, the French government has exposed itself as the loyal servant of dictates from Brussels and of the wealthy by resorting to article 49(3),'" recited Gordon. Last month, the airing of the controversial French documentary about the Maidan uprising was postponed. Now, the film will be shown on May 23 on the SVT2 channel. The Maidan documentary landed in trouble last month after several commentators trounced the film for containing factual errors and accused the authors of being a cog in the Russian propaganda machinery, whereas a number of exile-Ukrainian organizations (such as Ukrainian Youth in Sweden or Maidan Norway) stated in an open letter that the film gave a "misleading" picture of their beloved homeland. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said he resigned from office due to a lack of trust in the activities of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "This morning I informed the Prime Minister that the recent developments in his activities, and in view of the lack of trust in them, I resigned from the government and the Knesset and taking a break from political life," Yaalon tweeted. On Thursday, Montenegro was granted an observer status in the alliance after NATO member states foreign ministers signed an accession protocol for the country. Montenegro will be granted full-fledged membership after the protocol is ratified by all NATO country members. "Of course, there is the risk of unnecessary involvement of Montenegro in problems, dangers and temptations over the Middle East," Milic told Sputnik. Meanwhile, France is apparently not happy that NATO will take control of the US-built European missile-defense system, due to concerns that Washington and not the alliance will in fact be in charge. "I really don't think that we should take what the French are saying terribly seriously. Every few years the French would have this illusion that de Gaulle is still alive and that they are still pursuing a Gaullist independent foreign policy," the expert observed. Szamuely further noted that "the missile defense shield will always be under US control. Whether you call it NATO or call it something else, it will always be under US control. The French know this very well. It is just a Punch and Judy show." "Everything in NATO is under the US control. NATO is a US-controlled operation. This is why the supreme allied commander of NATO is always an American. The command and control system of NATO is the US," he added. "There is never an option of a non-US control. Everything that comes within the jurisdiction of NATO is under the US control." This issue, Szamuely asserted, is not a serious dispute that will be resolved either before the upcoming NATO summit in Warsaw or shortly after. PARIS (Sputnik) French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault expressed on Friday the growing viewpoint in the European Union that opposes extending anti-Russia sanctions. "The sanctions were imposed by the 28 countries of the European Union and expire before the summer. Do they need to be abolished? I made it clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin during my visit to Moscow that we want to lift the sanctions, be it gradually, but the situation has to change, in Ukraine particularly," Ayrault said in an interview with the France 2 broadcaster. The minister added that both Russia and Ukraine needed to contribute to settling the Ukrainian crisis under the Minsk agreements for the restrictive measures to be abolished. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Frances National Front (FN) party leader Marine Le Pen said Paris may recognize Crimea as Russia should she become president of the country. "Well, I see a quite clear and even quite credible possibility that France could recognize Crimea that's if I am President of the Republic," Le Pen told the RT television channel in an interview released Friday. The politician stressed that her party was against introduction of anti-Russia sanctions. Erdogan noted that Ankara was an aspiring EU member since 1963, when the precursor European Economic Community (EEC) signed the Ankara Association Agreement on the customs union. Additionally, the Turkish president suggested a religious factor in the standoff. "Germany is home to three million Muslims today and, as a whole, the number of Muslims in Europe has reached 15-20 million people, both immigrants from Turkey and African countries. Thus, such an approach toward Turkey causes indignation. They are attempting to use the visa regime simplification as a trump card in the Syrian issue," Erdogan said. In March, Brussels and Ankara agreed on a deal under which Turkey pledged to take back all undocumented migrants who arrive in the European Union through its territory in exchange for Syrian refugees accommodated in Turkey, on a one-for-one basis. In return, the 28-member bloc pledged to accelerate the Turkish EU accession bid and introduce a visa-free regime between Turkey and the Schengen Area. Turkey is yet to meet five out of the 72 total requirements, notably those related to data protection and anti-terrorism laws, among other issues. BEIJING (Sputnik) On Thursday, Zakharova told reporters that the Russian position on the Taiwan question was based on the consideration that there is only one China and the government in Beijing is the only legitimate Chinese government. She added that Russia opposes Taipei being independent from Beijing in any form. "Yesterday, the Russian Foreign Ministry also said that there was only one China and that Russia opposed any Taiwanese independence. We highly appreciate such a position," Hua Chunying told reporters. She added that Beijing's position on Taiwan had not changed either. Former Turkish Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu announced his resignation on May 4. Between 2009 and 2014, Davutoglu served as Turkish Foreign Minister and was one of Erdogans closest supporters and advisers. Two years ago, when Erdogan was constitutionally prohibited from being prime minister for the third term he made a power shift. He assumed presidency while Davutoglu became prime minister. Howeverm, the first Turkish political tandem was not successful. Over the last two years, relations between Erdogan and Davutoglu have deteriorated. After Davutoglu resigned the move was dubbed a "palace coup" by Turkish opposition politicians. According to analysts, the former premier had softer views on countering Kurdish nationalism. Moreover, Davutoglus influence had grown after Ankara and Brussels reached a deal to limit the influx of refugees travelling to Europe via Turkey. Finally, Erdogan decided to remove his once-close ally from politics. "It looks like currently Erdogan is less inclined to respect Turkeys democratic procedures, especially if they contradict with his interests," Alexander Filonik, an analyst at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, at the Russian Academy of Sciences, pointed out. Currently, Erdogan has three main political goals, including the fight against Kurds and their supporters in southern Turkey, bargaining with the EU over the migrant crisis, and making changes to the Turkish constitution. Yildirims loyalty will be very important for the third goal. According to political analysts, Yildirim will act as a "low-profile" prime minister and would further contribute to Turkeys transition from a parliamentary republic to an executive presidency, delegating greater powers to Erdogan. EDINBURGH (Sputnik), Mark Hirst In March, EU Ambassador to Russia Vygaudas Usackas said that Juncker had been invited to participate in SPIEF. "There is a conference in St. Petersburg in three weeks time between the EU President and President Putin that could unlock some future negotiations," Hogan said, speaking about possible thaw in EU relations with Russia. He added that the European Union would like to see normalization of trade between Brussels and Moscow. True, the S-300, that NATO refers to as the SA-10 Grumble, is a potent surface-to-air missile (SAM) system that is capable of intercepting fighter jets, bomber aircraft and cruise missiles at a maximum distance of 250 kilometers (over 150 miles). It is, however, a "purely defensive" weapon, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said recently. The S-300s "will not alter the balance of power" in the Middle East, Lieutenant General Aitech Bizhev told RT. "They will only provide air cover to Iran." In an interview with Die Welt, top EU diplomat Federica Mogherini said that the Veneto resolution would not change anything. She also noted that the principal condition for the removal of sanctions is "the full implementation of the Minsk agreements." On the one hand, it would be too optimistic to say that Europe is changing its position toward Russia, Ivan Konovalov, head of the Center of Strategic Environment, told Svobodnaya Pressa. "Veneto is a problematic region in Italy. The regional government has claimed that Veneto plays a special role for the Italian economy. There are some politicians calling for regional autonomy. In turn, Mogherini had no chance but to comment on the vote," he said. However, the fact that she commented shows that something is changing in Europe, the expert added. There have been a lot of European politicians calling to recognize Crimeas reunification with Russia, including from Germany, France, Hungary and the Czech Republic. "I believe that truth is somewhere in between Mogherinis and Zakharovas words. There is a growing number of European politicians and officials who understand that Crimeas reunification with Russia is a reality," Konovalov pointed out. "Many European countries have sustained economic losses after Washington and Brussels imposed their position over 'Russias aggression'," he added. "Many EU politicians and businessmen want the sanctions to be lifted." ANKARA (Sputnik) The bill was passed by 376 of the 550 parliament member, which will now require a change in the countrys constitution. The law will now be passed on to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for signing. The bill was proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), after a number of opposition legislators who support the Kurdish call for more autonomy in the southeastern Anatolia region were investigated for "inciting unrest and circulating terrorist propaganda" in January. Once Erdogan signs the bill into effect, 138 lower house lawmakers from all four parliamentary parties will be prosecuted to face 667 criminal proceedings lodged against them, with over 100 of these lawmakers representing the opposition. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The upper house of the Brazilian parliament voted last week to start impeachment proceedings against Rousseff. The 68-year-old said the vote was a "coup" against a democratically elected president. "What theyve done to the Brazilian democracy I can only describe as abuse, which has forced President Dilma [Rousseff] to step down before her mandate expired," Lula da Silva said. Rousseff has been suspended from office for 180 days, pending the trial, over accusations of concealing Brazils budget deficit ahead of the 2014 re-election. Michel Temer, who had been Brazil's vice president since 2011, is assuming presidency during that period. Professor Stephen F. Cohen has long warned that Washington's assertive policies, particularly in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states, have unleashed the new Cold War. "Are we sleepwalking towards an actual war with Russia or is this a plan to provoke a war with Russia?" the analyst asked during the latest John Batchelor show. He was referring among other things to the US-built Aegis Ashore base that became operational last week in Romania. "If we are sleepwalking, we all need to yell, 'Wake up!' If they actually now would not mind a war with Russia, then they are crazy," professor added. SOCHI (Sputnik) In order to strengthen bilateral partnership between Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Moscow should as soon as possible open a diplomatic mission accredited to ASEAN in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, the ASEAN-Russia Eminent Persons Group said in a report. Establish a separate Russian diplomatic mission with an Ambassador accredited to ASEAN in Jakarta as soon as possible, the report said, adding that the bilateral partnership should be further strengthened through closer interaction and collaboration on mutually beneficial activities and projects in all areas of cooperation. On May 19-20, the Russian resort city of Sochi hosts the Russia-ASEAN summit. ASEAN comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russia should participate in all activities of the Council of Europe including in its Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), PACE President Pedro Agramunt said Friday. Russia is an important member state of the Council of Europe and, therefore, it should participate in all activities of the Organisation, including in the Parliamentary Assembly. We have to work together to achieve this. They say, where theres a will, theres a way. I am confident that we have the will to progress and I am looking forward to the continuation of our contacts, Agramunt said after a meeting with Russian lawmakers, as quoted by the official PACE website. The meeting took place after Agramunts speech at the 44th plenary session of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The alliance has so far tripled the size of its response force, creating new high readiness units and intending to ramp up presence along its eastern flank, the secretary general added, stressing that NATO will nevertheless pursue more constructive relations with Russia and keep communication channels open. "I strongly believe that also Moscow, they understand that in the long run they will gain more from cooperating with NATO and the European Union and the West than confronting us. And I think it's ob vious that what we do is a response on the Russian behavior in Ukraine. Before that happened, we didn't have any kind of the same force presence in the eastern part of the alliance as we are planning to have now," Stoltenberg said at the close of a NATO foreign ministers' meeting. Korotchenko added that NATO will likely use its upcoming summit in Warsaw to further its strategy of building up the bloc's military capabilities close to Russia's borders. The new measures are expected to involve establishing military bases, airfields and arms depots in Eastern Europe and the Baltics. Earlier on Friday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the bloc wanted to hold the next NRC meeting before the Warsaw summit scheduled to be held in July. Moscow welcomed the initiative, but emphasized that dialogue should be "constructive and based on respecting mutual interests," as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov put it. SOCHI (Sputnik) All ASEAN countries unanimously voiced support for integration with the Eurasian Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization at the Russia-ASEAN summit in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday. "All participants were unanimous. It is necessary to combine the efforts of integration associations in the areas where this is possible, in order to eliminate duplication, parallel work, and overall create more favorable conditions for business development," Putin said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) On Wednesday, the European Commission drafted a formal opinion on the ongoing constitutional crisis in Poland and gave the country time until May 23 to make progress on the issue. "It is embarrassing that the European Commission cannot avoid exerting political pressure. The Polish government will never allow anyone to impose their will on Poles," Szydlo said in an address to parliament, as quoted by the TVN24 channel. MOSCOW (Sputnik) On Wednesday, the 51-seat council voted 27-9 to pass a resolution urging the national government to condemn the European Unions Crimea policy and work toward lifting the sanctions against Russia. We do hope that the EU next June may face the Russian-Ukrainian crisis with a more pragmatic approach. I therefore believe that this resolution voted by the Regional Council of Veneto may urge the EU to change course, Ciambetti, who is a member of the Liga Veneta-Lega Nord parliamentary group, said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The proposed deal aims to strengthen the international legal basis for cooperation between Russia and Panama on the extradition of criminals. "The whole point is to provide the opportunity of mutual extradition of persons for criminal prosecution or execution of sentences for both of our countries," Deputy Justice Minister Maxim Travnikov said, speaking before the lawmakers. According to the proposed deal, each party has to extradite any person that the other party seeks to prosecute for an extraditable offense, which is a crime that is punished with at least one-year imprisonment, according to both countries laws. The bill was backed unanimously. ANKARA (Sputnik) The bill was approved by the Turkish parliament earlier in the day. "Lawmakers represent the people's choice, and nobody can encroach on it. We will use every opportunity to challenge the decision of the parliament, including in the Constitutional Court," Selahattin Demirtas told reporters in Ankara. The Turkish Prosecutor's Office has submitted proposals to the country's parliament to strip of immunity from prosecution as many as 138 lawmakers, the majority of whom represent two main opposition parties, namely the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party and the left-wing Republican Peoples Party. Demirtas is among those facing a criminal prosecution. Following Yaalon's resignation, former Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman accepted the offer by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take the post of defense minister in the new coalition government, a move that has been criticized by several politicians and political experts. Ofer Zalzberg, a senior analyst with the Middle East Program of the International Crisis Group, said Lieberman's appointment surprised many analysts as the latter lacks military experience for this position and has been declared persona non-grata in many Western countries. "Lieberman was already a foreign minister. Several Western countries declared him to be a persona non-grata. They would not welcome him to visits and [] Netanyahu will have to nominate someone else [] to manage the strategic relations between Israel and the US," Zalzberg told Radio Sputnik, adding that it would add complexity to Israel's decision making and its relations with Western countries. According to Zalzberg, the main goal of Lieberman's appointment is to ensure that he wouldn't pose a challenge to Netanyahu in the next elections. However, his lack of experience in the military sphere might have negative consequences for Israel's military policy and escalate already existing crises. "Lieberman has none [military experience]. In this sense, small incidents may develop into major crises quite quickly," Zalzberg said. "He has never managed a military operation. [] He also spoke about very bold moves of reconquering Gaza in order to remove Hamas totally from power. I think he shows a lack of experience in such statements," the expert stated. SOCHI (Sputnik) Earlier in the day, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the organization agreed to hold a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council before the alliance's July summit in Warsaw. "There are procedures under which if someone wants to convene the NATO-Russia Council, there should be consultations and consensus. And if one is invited through a microphone without prior consultations, it says that the people are being guided by other interests. We have not been approached [on the issue]," Lavrov told reporters. In 2014, NATO suspended practical civilian and military cooperation with Russia amid strained relations over the Ukrainian crisis, as the alliance accused Moscow of involvement in the conflict. Political dialogue in the NATO-Russia Council, however, was not halted. "For now, one can say with all certainty that NATO is moving, in terms of politics and militarily, in the direction of containing Russia, and, considering everything, the alliance cannot exist without a major geopolitical rival," Grushko said. According to the Russian envoy, certain NATO members have pointed out that a lack of cooperation with Russia has led to serious political problems. "many Europeans are starting to realize that a policy of isolating Russia has failed, that common threats demand united efforts based on true cooperation, that the same states [NATO members] are cooperating with us on key security issues outside the Russia-NATO format," Grushko told journalists. Russia-NATO dialogue must facilitate decisions aimed at strengthening security, the Russian envoy to NATO stressed. "Trust-building measures, risks reduction, will be key issues under consideration if new consultations on viability of future Russia-NATO Council meetings begin," Grushko said. The ministers have agreed to hold a fresh Russia-NATO Council meeting prior to the NATO Warsaw Summit in July. In April, a Russia-NATO Council meeting at the level of permanent envoys was held in Brussels. If we look at the current political situation in Europe though, we see that such a scenario is not as unlikely as it may seem. In this programme, Dr Efriam Zuroff, director of the Simon Wisenthal Centre and a historian comments: If the leader of the Labour Party says he is friends with Hamas, then something is very seriously wrong. And yet it is not just the Labour party which shows signs of anti-semitism. Britain and many European countries sell arms to just about every Arab state, which is something that Dr Zuroff finds hard to justify. Meanwhile, the U.S. has made moves to appease Iraq. Iraq can attack Israel if it wants to, so Israel is very sensitive to U.S. attempts to appease Iraq. Every single Israeli, Jewish or not, and 20% of the Jewish population are not Jewish, face the same threat. A nation which has been the victims of the worst genocide in human history cannot take this lightly. The National Review threw its hat into the ring when it wrote Budweisers name change is part of an advertising campaign featuring the slogan America is in your hands. The brewer says this will remind people to embrace the optimism upon which the country was first built. So, between now and November 8, whenever you belly up to a bar, do your patriot duty by ordering a foamy mug of America. Of course, nothing says Its morning in an America that is back and standing tall quite like beer cans festooned with Americana by Anheuser-Busch InBev, a firm based in Belgium, and run by a Brazilian. Thats right. It is somewhat ironic that America is an ice-cold can of mass-produced poor-tasting beer brewed by a foreign company. Yum! In fact, just to dig a little bit deeper NR notes that The beer brands most familiar to Americans Budweiser, Miller, Coors are foreign-owned. Want to win a round of cold Americans this summer? Wager that no one in the saloon can identify the American-owned brewer with the largest market share and say what that share is. The answer is: D.G. Yuengling & Son with just 1.4 percent of the market, slightly more than Boston Beer Co., which makes the Sam Adams brand. So, there we have it. American in nothing except by name, but drink up! And speaking of name, or a noun in this case that has gone professional, ha ha, you know a pronoun, as in a he or she, bathroom equality rights have been heating up across America. For a while, gender-free pronouns were all the rage, such as Harvard University made a buzz after allowing students to select gender-neutral options like ze, e, and they on registration forms. In doing so, it joined a wave of other major colleges in acknowledging that gender identity, and the pronouns that go with it, is more fluid than how previous generations understood it. And how have those previous generations understood it? City lab noted Among academic institutions, the University of Vermont allowed students to select their own identifiers. Students chose their preferred first names and pronouns, which were then added to the campus-wide information system and distributed to professors. It was a welcome change for students like Rocko Gieselman, who is gender fluid and was born female bodied. Gieselman explained: Every time someone used she or her to refer to me, it made this little tick in my head. Kind of nails-on-a-chalkboard is another way you can describe it. It just felt wrong. It was like, Who are you talking to? Hmmmmm. But now, no longer confined to university white papers, gender neutral bathrooms have been the focus of media attention. And of stock analysts. A boycott of Target stores has led a significant decrease in share price while various states are attempting to pass legislation to combat this growing trend of allowing, as USA Today wrote- transgender guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity. So, there you have it. Yes, dear citizen. This is true freedom for all! The Founding Fathers would be ecstatic with the knowledge that no longer do the shackles of gender hinder you from using the bathroom of your choice! But there is more! As a knock-off effect of the great bathroom debate, another sticky issue has arisen. That of public school locker rooms and who gets to use which. Although there has been a great cry of outrage over teenage boys showering in the girls locker room, many are basing their arguments in the theoretical and the emotional, rather than the actual. But with that said, it seems as if the course has already been chosen, and you, dear listener, have no say in the matter. In fact, USA Today wrote- A leading North Carolina newspaper issued an editorial last week telling girls to attempt overcoming discomfort at the sight of male genitalia, should transgender bathroom laws be enacted. So, there you have it. As if being a teenage girl wasnt bad enough, now there is more. Enjoy! When it is all said and done, the great bathroom debate has many in Europe and the rest of the world shaking their collective heads. What is the big deal? Just take out the tiny little sheet metal stalls that are currently in use, use cement block from floor to ceiling, and install a common area washroom. Bada-bing, bada-boom. Political crisis averted and problem solved. Everyone can use every toilet without worrying about being labelled. And speaking once again of labels, with Hillary, or Killary as she is known on the internet, looking more and more likely to be the next President, maybe what Budweiser, by renaming its beer to America, was really trying to say was that there will be no more America as we know it by the end of November. So, what do you think dear listeners Will America really end by November? The bill was proposed by President Erdogan's AK Party, but is it simply a way to crack down on independent parties and Kurdish members of the Parliament? President Obama touches down in Vietnam on Sunday. Millions of Vietnamese died in the war with the United States that ended forty years ago. But now the US wants to sell arms to Vietnam. Is the main motivation for Obama's visit to boost cooperation with Vietnam against China? And will that work? Political analyst Eric Draitser joins Becker to discuss Obama's upcoming visit. The Pentagon says that Chinese jets intercepted a US spy plane this week over the South China Sea. This came as a Pentagon report about the development of the Chinese military has been slammed by Beijing as based on an "outdated Cold War mentality." What's in the report, and will the South China Sea Dispute intensify? Becker is joined by journalist Mark Sleboda. Two nationals of Tajikistan suspected of recruiting locals for the Islamic State (Daesh) international terrorist organization banned in Russia, have been arrested in St. Petersburg, the Investigative Committee said in a statement. The apartments of the two suspects, whose names are not mentioned, had earlier been searched by police. Earlier this month, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had detained a group of people from Central Asia who were planning to carry out terrorist attacks in the Moscow region during the May holidays. MOSCOW (Sputnik) European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is expected to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in June, though the last-minute changes are always possible, the Deputy Chief Spokeswoman of the European Commission told Sputnik on Friday. I can confirm that President Juncker has been invited and is expected to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum but we announce his agenda engagements only a week in advance once everything is confirmed, Mina Andreeva said. Earlier in the day, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan told Sputnik that the expected visit of Juncker to SPIEF may contribute to normalization of relations between Moscow and Brussels. This is an absolutely new development you wont find anywhere else in the world. Italys AugustaWestland uses a trackball, but no one has ever used a joystick to fly a helicopter before, Daniil Brenerman, the head of the Ramenskoye Instrument-Making Bureau, told Izvestia newspaper on Friday. We hope that joystick controls will become part of each and every future Russian helicopter design, he added. What makes the cockpit with four LCD displays and a control panel with a joystick and a trackball so special is that it can be installed on various types of rotorcraft, including the AugustaWestland the first Western helicopter to be built under license in Russia. BEIJING (Sputnik) According to the recent data by Russia's tourism agency, 1.36 million Chinese tourists visited Russia in 2015. "Last year, we were afraid that, probably, we have already reached the maximum. But now we see that the Chinese organized tourism to Russia by simplified visas has increased by 47 percent in the first quarter of the year," he told reporters at the Beijing International Tourism Expo. Introduced in 2002, the Ka-226 series of helicopters are designed by the Kamov Design Bureau, part of the Russian Helicopters company. The Ka-226T model is fitted with updated navigation and automatic control equipment, as well as an interchangeable mission pod, which allows for flexible equipment configurations. Technodinamika is part of the state technologies corporation Rostec. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The Russian Helicopters manufacturer has reached an agreement with the Czech state-owned LOM Praha company on repair of components for Russia-produced Mil Mi-8 helicopters operated by the Czech Defense Ministry, the manufacturing company said in a statement. "Russian Helicopters Holding (part of the Rostec state corporation) and the Czech state company LOM Praha have concluded a contract on repair of parts for the Mi-8 helicopters operated by the Defense Ministry of this European country," the statement read. According to the statement, the Russian company is due to conduct repairs under the contract by the end of 2016. MOSCOW (Sputnik) US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump suggested that the disappearance of an EgyptAir plane in the Mediterranean Sea was a result of it being "blown out of the sky" and was a terrorist act. "[It] happened about 12 hours ago. A plane got blown out of the sky. And if anything, if anybody thinks wasn't blown out of the sky, you're 100 percent wrong, folks," Trump said at a New Jersey fundraiser on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the Republican candidate wrote on his Twitter account that the siltation looked "like yet another terrorist attack." The community in north Marana, northwest of Tucson, claim that the smell, which has been described as a chemical smell or resembling diesel exhaust, became noticeable a few weeks ago, and is so pungent in some areas that residents have been forced to stay inside and close their windows. The smell is being reported in the mornings, from 5AM through 8AM and has become such a problem that the community has created a Facebook group to compare notes. It is very strong and irritates my throat, Gladden Farms resident Christy Hollinger told Marana News. I am pretty tolerant to smoke, exhaust, pollen so was a bit surprised this affected me. The reticence by the Oklahoma governor to place her stamp of approval on the measure comes in light of the bills opposition to a constitutional finding of the US Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade, meaning that the states taxpayers would subsidize litigation in support of a measure that is, by definition and intention, unconstitutional. Dahm, the bills sponsor, does not hide that his measure is designed to openly flout the Supreme Court ruling, in hopes that the countrys highest court will revisit the matter with conservative jurists on the bench. Not all of Senator Dahms Republican colleagues agree with his strategy, certain to cost the states taxpayers millions of dollars in legal fees. Republican Dr. Ervin Yen, the only physician on the Oklahoma Senate, blasted the measure, calling it "insane." WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Revelations that National Security Agency (NSA) officials took part in interrogations at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay indicated that the entire US intelligence apparatus was involved in illegal practices, ex-Judge Advocate General lawyer Todd Pierce told Sputnik. "This shows that our entire intelligence community with no exceptions corrupted itself with illegal activity," Pierce, a historian and expert on military law said on Thursday. According to internal NSA Signals Intelligence Directorate documents released by former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden this week, NSA personnel participated with US military and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) interrogators at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Last year, US District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled to not overturn Bouts conviction, after which his defense team submitted an appeal. "Today the prosecutors arguments were filed, this is a 40-page document with a 269-page addendum," Tarasov told RIA Novosti Thursday. The lawyer said he did not see anything new or shocking in the document. Another teacher and a paraprofessional who witnessed the incident stood trial for failure to report child abuse, but the judge decided there was not enough evidence to charge either of them. The second paraprofessional, Jacklyn Brownwell, said that the student, who has autism, was throwing a chair during a tantrum, frightening some of the other students. Brownell said that she was calming the other children when she saw Cammon lift the child up, but claimed that she did not see him hung on the chalkboard. Although she was also fired, Brownwell said she is "happy that justice prevailed, and I just have God to thank for that." Tiffany Thomas, the teacher present, was also fired. Tracy Brown, the childs grandmother, said that she was "outraged" by the courts decision, declaring that the consequences for the mistreatment of her grandchild dont match the seriousness of Cammons behavior. "I dont understand it," Brown said "now whos going to help my grandbaby get through all of this? Who? Yall failed him." WASHINGTON (Sputnik) US law enforcement think "suicide by cop" could be a possible motive behind the shooting near the White House on Friday afternoon that cause the US presidents residency to be under lockdown, local media reported. A US Secret Service officer critically injured the suspect, who may not survive, Fox News reported. Earlier on Friday, US Secret Service guards shot a man in his abdomen after he approached a White House security checkpoint with a firearm. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders are getting ready to hold large demonstrations at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this July, local media reported. "Philadelphia has approved four demonstration permits in support of Sen. Bernie Sanders including a large rally planned near the conventions epicenter," The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The report noted that while the city expects 30,000 people to turn out at one of the Sanders rallies, organizers hope there will be even more. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The US House of Representatives committee that has been investigating the 2012 terrorist attack in the Libyan city of Benghazi plans to release its long-awaited report next month, Congressman Trey Gowdy said in an interview. "I would have loved to have done it [released a report] in the summer of 2015, but yes, it will be done before the conventions," Gowdy told NBC News on Friday. Gowdy was referring to the Democratic and Republican parties national conventions to nominate their respective presidential candidates that are scheduled to take place in July. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Twenty managers of the Washington subway have been fired as part of restructuring prompted by safety problems in the Metro, General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Paul Wiedefeld said. "As part of this restructuring, 20 managers are being released from WMATA, including seven senior managers," Wiedefeld said in an in-house email, as quoted by The Washington Post on Friday. Over one third of those fired come from the subway operations, while others are from administrative areas. PARIS (Sputnik) French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Thursday said French aircraft and ships will be sent into the area of the missing EgyptAir passenger jet that disappeared in Mediterranean Sea to help with search and rescue efforts. Greece and Egypts armed forces have both joined efforts in searching for the missing plane. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Last month, France placed Panama back on its tax haven blacklist following the leak of Panama Papers allegedly linking numerous high-ranking figures of the world to offshore schemes. French President Hollande called on Panamanian authorities to respond to a request by the French taxation agency. "In light of what happens in Panama, this country should come out of these lists," Amado Philip de Andres said Thursday as quoted by the EFE news agency. The official said he did not like the topic of Panama Papers. "This is all directly linked to safety of our passengers," a high-ranking source in the Russian government told the newspaper, adding that the crash would definitely impact the flight resumption. Russia and several other countries suspended flights to and from Egypt last fall after a Russian airliner crashed in the Sinai desert on October 31 while flying from the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg killing all 224 people on board. Militants affiliated with the Islamic State (Daesh) terror group, outlawed in Russia, claimed responsibility for what they said was a bomb attack. CAIRO (Sputnik) On Thursday, EgyptAir flight MS804 vanished off the radars. A number of countries, including Greece, France and Egypt, are involved in the search operations. Despite several reports that the EgyptAir plane's wreckage has been found, the airline has said that the investigators are still searching for the remains of the missing plane. "Search of the Egyptian plane is in need of coordination between the states, especially between defense ministries, because there are certain rules that determine the cooperation between the military units involved in search operations," Mohamed Orabi said, as quoted by Al Nahar TV channel. CAIRO (Sputnik) According to the airline, the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation has received an official letter from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry saying that the wreckage of the plane has been found. "EGYPTAIR sincerely conveys its deepest sorrow to the families and friends of the passengers onboard Flight MS804. Family members of passengers and crew have been already informed and we extend our deepest sympathies to those affected," a statement on the airlines website said. "A few hours earlier we were informed [by Egyptian authorities] that a body part, two seats and one or more items of luggage were found in the search area" off the coast of Alexandria, Panos Kammenos told a news conference. Earlier on Friday, a spokesman for the Egyptian Armed Forces confirmed to Sputnik that the wreckage was identified as being from the EgyptAir passenger jet. "Yes, we confirm the discovery of the aircraft wreckage," Mohammad Samir, a spokesman for the Egyptian Armed Forces told Sputnik. SOCHI (Sputnik) Russia and the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed to boost cooperation in the fight against terrorism and extremism, according to the ASEAN Summit declaration released on Friday. "Enhance cooperation in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, as well as violent extremism and radicalisation in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. To this end, promote moderation to counter extremism as called for by the Global Movement of Moderates," the document reads. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) US Secretary of State John Kerry has spoken with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on the crash of the EgyptAir plane over the Mediterranean Sea and pledged to stay in close contact during the investigation of the incident, US Department of State spokesperson John Kirby said in a press release on Friday. "The Secretary [Kerry] and the Foreign Minister [Shoukry] promised to stay in close contact as the investigation progresses," Kirby stated. Early on Thursday, the EgyptAir Airbus A320, carrying a total of 66 people, disappeared from radar screens over the Mediterranean Sea, 10 miles into Egyptian airspace, while en route from Paris to Cairo. ISTANBUL (Sputnik) On Monday, German lawmakers proposed the resolution, condemning the mass killings of Armenians ordered by the Ottoman government during World War I as genocide, for a parliamentary vote. "I believe that this resolution is very important, because it can play a major role in the rejection of Turkey's Genocide denial policy," Dagdelen said in the interview. According to the lawmaker, the parliamentary vote, which is set to be held on June 2, will be an important step in preparing the grounds for a reconciliation between the Armenians and the Turks and in establishing a dialogue between them. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) World powers should build upon the common ground they share with Russia and engage Moscow diplomatically to resolve international crises more effectively, International Crisis Group President and CEO Jean-Marie Guehenno told Sputnik. "There is a lot common ground [with Russia] on some issues, and that common ground needs to be developed," Guehenno said on Friday. It is true, Guehenno noted, that in a number of cases Russia could have acted differently, yet that is not a reason to not engage Moscow diplomatically. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Time stamps from the flight data filed through the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) and obtained by CNN through a screen grab from an Egyptian source match the "approximate" time the plane went missing, CNN said on Friday. On Thursday, the EgyptAir Airbus A320 plane, carrying a total of 66 people, disappeared from radar screens over the Mediterranean Sea, 10 miles into Egyptian airspace. The plane was headed from Paris to Cairo. EgyptAir has said via Twitter that the Egyptian Armed Forces have discovered the wreckage and personal items from flight MS804 295 kilometers (183 miles) from the coast of Alexandria. Back by popular demand, Grand River Raceway will host its eighth annual backstretch Open House on Sunday, May 29. Guests are invited to drop-in any time from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a rare glimpse of horse racing behind-the-scenes. A full tour of the Open Houses six main stations will last approximately one hour. The itinerary includes the unique opportunity to drive a racehorse. Standardbred racehorses and double-seated jog carts from the Hands On Horses Program provide the horsepower. Other interactive stations include a tour of the judges stand and announcers booth high atop the grandstand with track announcer Gary Guy. Back in the barn, visitors will learn the basics of breeding, owning, training, driving and caring for racehorses in sessions led by industry experts. Dr. Alison Moores station will explore the high-performance racehorse by comparing it to human athletes. The Stable.ca will be on-hand to discuss their low-risk fractional racehorse ownership group. Machinery enthusiasts will enjoy the opportunity to view and learn about the equipment and techniques required to maintain the track surface. The starting car will also be on display, and open for photo opportunities. Riders from Racing Under Saddle (RUS) Ontario will also be on-hand to provide demonstrations of these Trot Monte races popular in Europe being showcased at harness tracks throughout the province. No registration is required for the Open House. The event is suitable for all ages, but children must be accompanied by an adult at all times. The Open House will run rain or shine. Participants are urged to wear closed-toe shoes and casual, comfortable clothing. Admission is free, but participants are urged to make a $2 donation at the door to support the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society. A BBQ lunch and beverages will be available for purchase between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. The Grand River Raceway Open House is presented in cooperation with the Hands On Horse Program and the Ontario Harness Horse Association. Nearly 2,000 people have attended Grand River Raceways Open House event in the past six years. For more information, visit Grand River Raceway's website or call (519) 846-5455 x238 or email [email protected]. (Grand River Raceway) City of Chicago and Illinois Department of Public Health Risk Women's Health and Safety Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312-422-1333, tc@tcpr.net CHICAGO, May 20, 2016 / Standard Newswire / -- Today, the Thomas More Society filed complaints against the City of the Chicago and the Illinois Department of Public Health for refusing to release information that is rightfully available under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, known as FOIA. The actions arise from requests by the Pro-Life Action League and private citizens for records that were legitimately requested in accordance with FOIA and have not been fulfilled. Both FOIAs were filed regarding matters involving the health and safety of women at abortion clinics.Thomas Olp, attorney with the Thomas More Society, explained, "Both the City of Chicago and the Illinois Department of Public Health have acted unreasonably and unlawfully in withholding the requested public records. These FOIAs were filed seeking information regarding abortion clinics at which women's health and safety may be at risk. In both cases, the legitimate public interest in seeking the records is provable and compelling. Yet neither the city nor the health department has complied with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act which declares the public policy of the State of Illinois to be that 'all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government.'"He added that the Illinois FOIA law raises a presumption that "all records in the custody or possession of a public body are ...open to inspection or copying." While private information may be exempt from public disclosure (if it is "highly personal or objectionable to a reasonable person and in which the subject's right to privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in obtaining the information"), the burden of proving the exemption rests squarely on the agency asserting the exemption. In neither case, Olp maintained, has the city or health department met the burden of proving that its refusal to disclose public records was justified.Pro-Life Action League & Jansen v. City of ChicagoThe Pro-Life Action League employs John Jansen to monitor abortion clinics. In this capacity Jansen submits FOIA requests for information related to 911 emergency calls pertaining to patients at abortion clinics who may be transported to hospitals due to health complications arising during an abortion procedure. The purpose is to alert women to clinic safety issues and to protect them from clinics which may be unsanitary, dangerous or use unsafe practices.Jansen is not interested in the identity of any patient but is seeking the patients' medical conditions as described in the 911 data and patients' ages. A request made July 2, 2014, sought "records and audio recordings of any and all 911 calls originating from 2744 N. Western Avenue." Another made on October 13, 2014, asked for "all audio recordings, transcriptions, notes, logs, reports, memoranda and all other files" related to any 911 calls that brought Chicago Fire Department personnel to Family Planning Associates, 659 W. Washington, on the morning of October 11, 2014.The city refused to disclose the information requested on the grounds that the federal HIPAA law prohibits its disclosure and that it is exempt from disclosure because it contains private and personal information. Jansen appealed to the Public Access Counselor of the Illinois Office of the Attorney General, who found that there was no "clear and convincing evidence" for exemption and that the requested information should be disclosed. Still, the City of Chicago declined to comply, requiring the filing of the suit.Pro-Life Action League & Crocco v. Illinois Department of Public HealthJean Crocco is a retired nurse who investigates the safety of abortion procedures and cleanliness of abortion clinics across the country. Her FOIA requests in Illinois and other states are filed to gather information about clinics which have failed to satisfy safety standards as disclosed in inspection reports, and to identify clinics which employ unlicensed workers or have staff under investigation. Crocco's end goal is to protect women from clinics which may be dangerous or unsanitary.In responding to Crocco's August 26, 2015, and subsequent FOIA requests, the Illinois Department of Public Health departed from longstanding practice and redacted from the disclosed public records the names and professional license numbers of clinic professional employees, something it had not done in the past. Its refusal also flies in the face of settled Illinois FOIA precedent holding that such public information (names and professional license numbers) are not exempt and must be disclosed.Read the complaints filed in Pro-Life Action League & Jansen v. City of Chicago and Pro-Life Action League & Crocco v. Illinois Department of Public Health About the Thomas More SocietyThe Thomas More Society is a national not-for-profit law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty. Headquartered in Chicago, the Thomas More Society fosters support for these causes by providing high quality pro bono legal services from local trial courts all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. For more information, visit www.thomasmoresociety.org Oklahoma Legislatures Plan to Suspend Licenses of Abortion Doctors Contact: Liberty Counsel, 800-671-1776, Media@LC.org OKLAHOMA CITY, May 20, 2016 /Standard Newswire/ -- Yesterday the Oklahoma Senate passed a bill 33-12 that would allow for the revocation of medical licenses for doctors who perform abortions on demand. The measure has an exception to save the life of the mother. SB 1552, which previously passed in the House 59-9, now heads to Governor Mary Fallin for consideration. SB 1552 was authored by Sen. Nathan Dahm. Yet this legislation was initiated by a local pastor, Paul Blair, with the support and guidance of Liberty Counsel. "Life begins at conception. Preborn children are in fact children, not merely fetuses, and their lives should be protected from the moment of conception," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. "This bill is a very positive step toward affirming the value of human life by taking away ability to murder children. Liberty Counsel stands ready to defend this legislature if it is challenged," said Staver. Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics. It's Election season and our editor's mailbox is overflowing. Who do your neighbors support? Read about it here. Looking head to July 1, Guy Norman suspects hell be mowing his lawn. He might also play some with his grandchildren. What he wont be doing for the first time in more than two decades is managing Columbia River fisheries. Norman, 61, will retire on June 30 from his job as regional director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. It ends a 38-year career that included stints managing Columbia River fisheries for both the Washington and Oregon departments of Fish and Wildlife. Hes been a decision maker for each state in the Columbia River Compact process and Washingtons lead negotiator with the treaty tribes in developing the Columbia River Fish Management Plan. Hes played an instrumental role in most Columbia River fish issues since 1995. Norman started in 1977 for the former Washington Department of Fisheries as a scientific aide capturing and tagging wild fall chinook juveniles in the North Fork of the Lewis River. Its a lot more complex now than it was in the 1970s and 1980s, Norman said, looking back at Columbia River fish management. There were fewer players involved then. Beginning in 1991, many Columbia River salmon and steelhead stocks got listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. Post ESA, the stakes got higher, he said. The federal government, utilities, ports, farmers, irrigators and so many other agencies expanded their roles and input in salmon management. Next year is scheduled to be a benchmark year in the Columbia River. Reforms adopted by the Washington and Oregon fish and wildlife commissions in 2013 call for elimination of gillnets in the lower Columbia mainstem in favor of alternative methods of commercial harvest. Many questions remain, including if the purse seines and beach seines which would replace gillnets for commercial harvest have too high of mortality rates on released wild salmon and steelhead. Or, if adequate off-channel areas will be available on the Washington side of the river for commercial fishermen. A comprehensive review of the 2013 through 2016 transition period is planned this fall. I think the foundation, the principles, of the plan will be continued, he said. There will be some details and specifics likely will need to be addressed to meet all the objectives. Chinook salmon in particular in the Columbia River have made huge recoveries during the time span of Normans career. Fishing targeting on upper Columbia-Snake-origin spring chinook salmon was closed for more than 30 years. Fishing on upper Columbia summer chinook was closed for 40 years. Both resumed in the early to mid- 2000s. Weve had record opportunities for sport fishing for chinook, fisheries we never had for decades, Norman said. Recovery plans, cooperative agreements with the treaty tribes, selective fishing (keep hatchery fish only) along with some good ocean conditions and improved salmon survival all contributed, he said. What the future will bring is uncertain, however. Competition for the fish is keen and warm-water conditions in the ocean in recent years may result in smaller fish runs, he said You cant control the ocean, he said. Progress has been made in removing more and more sea lions that prey upon salmon at Bonneville Dam, Norman said, acknowledging the continuing growth of marine mammal populations in the lower Columbia. When it comes to marine mammals, its necessary to get a national perspective, he said. You dont have to go very far from the Northwest and support for managing predation on salmon disappears, he said. Normans job includes managing all aspects of fish and wildlife in Clark, Skamania, Klickitat, Cowlitz , Wahkiakum and Lewis counties. He said about one-third of his time is spent dealing with issues other than fish. A hot-button issue that potentially could land on the desk of his successor is the recolonization of wolves in Southwest Washington. I think we should expect wolves to make their way over the Cascades in the not-too-distant future, Norman said. Its not much of a journey. Mount St. Helens historically was inhabited by wolves. Another wildlife issue hoof disease in Southwest Washington elk continues to be a challenge. Were still trying to determine the prevalence, the effect on the population, can they still produce and raise calves, and just what are the implications on the populations, he said. Other wildlife illnesses such as hair-loss syndrome in deer and tuberculosis in bighorn sheep persist, but have not decimated the populations. USDA (Department of Agriculture) has been looking for a vaccine for the treponeme bacteria (suspected cause of elk hoof disease) for a lot of years, Norman said. If there was one, whats the practicality? We dont have an effective way to treat the elk. The reality is well try to manage and contain it. What would he want to tell his successor? Be patient. Be collaborative. Try to respect all positions. There are diverse interests, so build trusting relationships, build a healthy relationship with our tribal partners. Treat your staff well.There are so many vested interests in salmon management and your decisions affect human beings and their quality of life. You need a full appreciation of that. LAMAR VALLEY, Mont. The Wolfe pack is back. When Karen Wolfe got word that a Yellowstone wolf packs den was visible from a road she scheduled an emergency trip from her Phoenix home located 17 hours and more than 1,000 miles to the south. She also called her sister, Virginia Wolfe, who lives in Vashon, Wash. 13 hours and almost 800 miles to the west of Yellowstone National Park to meet her in the Lamar Valley. We love wolves, Karen said. Theyre beautiful beautiful and mysterious. Waiting, watching Last Thursday Karen was bundled against a cold spring breeze in a knee-length blue parka with fake fur trim around the hood. Next to a large flat boulder placed at the edge of a parking area along Slough Creek, Karen had set up her tripod and spotting scope to zoom in on the wolf den about a mile-and-a-half away. In a purple notebook with a wolf illustration on the cover, she took notes of what she saw. Her sister, Virginia, had her tripod and spotting scope set up next to Karens, and together they took turns allowing tourists to look through their high-powered magnifying lenses to see wolves in the wild while also repeatedly answering the same questions about the wolf pack. The center of attention was on a hillside to the northwest. There, barely visible even with the intense magnification, were two adult members of the 10-member Junction Butte pack resting in the shade of pine trees. Behind the trees, on a steep hillside covered only with sagebrush, was the dark opening to a den. At about 5 p.m. four black pups exited, one with a bright white blaze on its chest. The pups were just a portion of two litters using the den, five black and three gray, according to Doug Smith, Yellowstone wolf biologist. This is what they had been waiting so long to see. First timer Woo hoo! shouted an excited Jim Smith as he saw the wolf pups at the entrance to the den through Karens spotting scope. He literally jumped for joy. Smith had driven from his home in Tampa, Fla., on a tour of parks around the nation. At age 60 he said there was no better time to take such an extensive excursion, which had also taken him to national parks in Arizona and Utah. He called the wolves a symbol of wilderness, along with mountain lions and grizzly bears. Shouldnt we save a little something that is wild and beautiful in us? he said. Now it has become a bit of a challenge to find these beautiful creatures. Karen seemed almost as excited by Smiths response to seeing the wolves as to spotting them herself. You see this reaction? she said pointing to Smith, a smile lighting her face. You dont get to see this all of the time. The reactions of people is marvelous, especially the reactions of kids. They are so excited to see a wolf. Hooked Becoming a Yellowstone wolf groupie was far from Karens mind when she worked as an economist for a utility company in Arizona, a job that she said gave her all of her gray hair well, that and her son. Then on a May trip to Yellowstone in 2011 following a very, very snowy winter Karen saw her first wolf in the Hayden Valley and someone let her look through their spotting scope. On the same trip she later saw a famed female wolf on a bison kill in the Lamar Valley. I had never seen anything like that, she recalled, wide eyed. And now I come here to relax and see the wild. Karen later brought her sister to Yellowstone and nurtured her infatuation with the parks wild wolves. Virginia, age 55, took a leave of absence from her job this year that will make it easier for her to visit Yellowstone more than twice. Next, Karen wants to bring her 9-year-old granddaughter to view the wildlife and incredible natural setting of mountains, forests and streams. I kind of feel young, said Karen, now 69 and retired. My head feels young, but not my knees. Returning Typically the Wolfe sisters visit twice a year in May and October. This year they plan on visiting four times. So thank the wolves for our tourist dollars, Karen said. On this day the Wolfes had set up their tripods and spotting scopes at about 6:30 a.m. A large crowd soon formed, including photographers with lenses as long as a mans arm and as big around as a babys head worth thousands of dollars. By 9 a.m. most of the wolf activity had died down and the wolf watchers dispersed to seek out other, more exciting subjects. Wolf biologist Smith said its great that visitors to Yellowstone can see a large carnivore that was nearly exterminated from the lower 48 states. But he cautioned that visitors, in their excitement to view the pups, park carefully, watch out for traffic and be respectful of other visitors and rangers. Right now, there are fewer visitors during the week. That will change in June when there are typically more visitors during the week. By last Thursday evening only a half-dozen cars and people were present. That made it easier for self-described city girl Victoria Condell, of Chicago, to look through Karens spotting scope and see the wolf pups. Now I know why you do this, Condell told Karen after looking at the wolves. Its so exciting. Oh my god! Sidebar: Month of May becoming bearable After a quiet spring, Yellowstone National Parks bears have become more visible in the past couple of weeks. Kerry Gunther, the parks bear management biologist, said a lack of dead bison is partly to blame for fewer bears visible along Yellowstones roads. Last week a large grizzly bear was seen next to Blacktail Pond. The bear nearly blended in with the big muddy bog it was lying in atop a dead bison. The grizzly was only about an eighth of a mile off the road that winds between Mammoth Hot Springs and Tower Junction. Every spring we get bears showing up there, Gunther said, as bison get stuck in the mud or fall through the ice on the ponds and die. We had a bear there earlier in March on a different carcass. The bear seen last Thursday entertained the gathered crowd by going for a short swim in the pond after napping. Then he returned to feeding on the bison carcass, his large posterior pointed toward the gathering of tourists carrying binoculars or professional photographers and videographers patiently staring through the lenses of large cameras. We dont have much information about that bear, Gunther said, since it isnt wearing a collar. In fact, only 5 to 10 percent of Yellowstones bears, out of a population estimated at somewhere between 600 and 800 animals ranging throughout the entire Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, are collared. Big male grizzly bears in Yellowstone grow to about 600 pounds, although occasionally there are larger ones. The largest of the species have often earned the nickname Bearzilla, a takeoff on Godzilla, the giant fire-breathing reptile of movie fame. People use that term for every big bear, Gunther said. They even call different bears the same name. American space agency NASAs New Horizons spacecraft that made a historic Pluto flyby last year in July has now spotted a new object located in the Kuiper Belt. After traveling for over 10 years and covering 5 billion kilometers, the spacecraft reached Kuiper Belt (area beyond Neptune that contains several mysterious objects from early universe). New Horizons has clicked the picture of 1994 JR1, an object that measures 145 kilometers in diameter and beamed it back to earth. Located in the Kuiper belt, the object orbits more than 5 billion kilometers from the Sun. The iconic space shuttle used its Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (Lorri) camera to click the image from a distance of nearly 111 million kilometers. It clicked the image last month on April 7-8, however, data communication speed between the spacecraft and scientists on the Earth is very slow (in bits/second) which is why it took nearly a month for the US space agency to process and release the image. Combining the November 2015 and April 2016 observations allow us to pinpoint the location of JR1 to within 1,000 kilometers (about 600 miles), far better than any small KBO, said Simon Porter, a New Horizons science team member from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado. Previously, scientists believe that JR1 is a quasi-satellite of Pluto, however, observing the location of the object with high accuracy has dispelled any such theory. JR1 has a rotation period of 5.4 hours which is relatively very fast for any object located in the Kuiper Belt. Porter further explained that scientists used a technique that measures any change in the light reflected from the surface an object to calculate its rotation period. The spacecraft will make another close encounter with 2014 MU69 on Jan 1, 2019. The Kuiper belt is a belt of objects orbiting nearly 7 billion kilometers from the Sun and contain objects from early universe. Scientists believe that several massive collisions took place in the region billions of years ago that gave birth to the planets like Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune. Astronomers have spotted three dwarf planets along with 33,000 other objects in the Kuiper belt region. Moreover, NASAs New Horizon spacecraft was launched on January 19, 2006, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and moving at a speed of more than 58,000 km/h it flew 12,500 km above the surface of Pluto. hidden Close on the heels of Apple chief Tim Cooks visit to India, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will be in India later this month. In his third visit to the country in just seven months, Hyderabad-born Nadella is expected to meet entrepreneurs and developers as part of the trip. Microsoft will also host an event with Nadella on May 30. According to invites, the head of the US-based software giant will talk about how technology is fostering a culture of innovation to solve real-world problems and driving Indias transformation. Nadella was in India last December. He had met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and visited the campus of startup incubator T-hub and Microsoft development centre in Hyderabad. In November, he had delivered a keynote address at Microsofts Future Unleashed event in Mumbai and met industry leaders like Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra and Axis Bank managing director Shikha Sharma. These visits and increasing engagements by global leaders highlight Indias rise as a huge technology consumer and not just as an outsourcing destination. (Also Read: Tim Cook in India, Day 2 recap) Apple CEO, Tim Cook is already doing his rounds in the country and has been meeting up with plenty of celebrities and members of the industry. From announcing a Design and Development Accelerator facility in Bengaluru to performing aarti at the famed Shree Siddhivinayak temple and attending a star-studded dinner at Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khans home in the evening, Apple CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday had a packed schedule as he kicked off his four-day India visit in a highly encrypted manner. With inputs from PTI hidden In this scorching heat, chilled beer is what comes to your rescue but what if it has gone stale, threatening to spoil your party? No worries as now there is a smartphone app that can tell you if your beer is fresh to be gulped down tonight. Chemists from the Complutense University of Madrid have developed a method that allows brewers to measure the freshness of beer by using a polymer sensor that changes colour upon detecting furfural - a compound that appears when this beverage ages and gives it a stale flavour. The sensor can be controlled from a smartphone app. Depending on the beer type and its storage conditions, its flavour may be altered as a result of changes in the chemical composition produced during beer that, unlike what occurs in wines, has a negative effect on the quality of the flavour. Now, the researchers Elena Benito-Pena and Maria Cruz Moreno-Bondi developed a simple, low-cost method capable of measuring whether or not beer has gone stale. Until now, brewers have measured furfural and other freshness indicators using methods based on chromatography techniques. But these methods involve the use of expensive equipment and sample preparation is very time-consuming, said Benito-Pena. The new method consists of sensor discs that detect the presence of furfural in beer. These sensors, made from a polymer similar to the one used to manufacture contact lenses, have been designed to change colour (from yellow to pink) when they come into contact with a beer containing furfural. We have incorporated a derivative into the sensor material which reacts with the furfural and produces a pink cyanine derivative that allows us to identify the presence of the marker in the sample, the chemists explained. The intensity of the colour increases as the concentration of furfural in the beer rises and, thus, as more time passes since the beer was produced, they added in a paper published in the journal Analytical Chemistry. The team has also created a mobile app for Android smartphones that, by taking a picture of the sensor disc, allows for the identification of the amount of furfural present in the beer. With this data, the degree of freshness can be determined. The app is available as open source and any programmer can utilise and modify it to be used on other platforms. It will also be available for Apple iOS devices soon. IANS hidden A bipartisan group of senators took a first step Thursday to blocking a Justice Department proposal that they say would make it too easy for the government to hack into computers during investigations. The proposal would change a rule of federal criminal procedure that generally permits judges to approve warrants for property searches only in the districts where they serve. Justice Department officials say that requirement is not practical in complex computer crime cases where investigators don't know the physical location of the device they want to search. In instances when cybercriminals operate on networks that conceal their identity and location, the government wants to ensure that any magistrate in a judicial district where a crime may have occurred can sign off on a search warrant that gives investigators remote access to the computer. The Obama administration says that authority is equally critical in cases involving botnets, which are networks of computers infected with a virus that spill across those districts. As it now stands, federal officials say, they might have to apply for nearly identical warrants in 94 different courthouses to disrupt a botnet. Technology companies including Google have aligned with civil liberties advocates in opposing the proposal, which they say raises important privacy concerns. A group of senators on Thursday introduced legislation to block the proposal, which has cleared several administrative hurdles, including approval by the Judicial Conference of the United States and the Supreme Court. The change would take effect at the end of the year unless Congress rejects it. The lawmakers, including Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., say the proposal would give the government broad new surveillance powers and allow access to potentially millions of computers on a single warrant. A House bill is expected, too. "When the country is in the middle of one of the most heated presidential campaigns in a long time, the Justice Department is trying to maneuver a vast expansion of the government's hacking authority," Wyden said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. Department officials insist the rule change would not give investigators any additional authorities to search and seize a computer, or change the government's requirement to have probable cause to obtain a warrant. They say they simply want to ensure that courts can be asked to review search warrant applications in cases where investigators can't locate the computer. "This rule change would make clear that where the suspect has hidden the location of his computer using technological means, agents know which judge to go to apply for a warrant," Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said in a statement. The proposal would help, he said, in cases of online child sexual exploitation in which criminals upload videos while masking their location. The rule change would help investigators go to court to obtain a warrant to discover where they are located. "One recent investigation of this sort rescued 38 children who were suffering ongoing sexual abuse," Carr said. But Wyden and other senators say the government is minimizing the impact that the rule change would have. He called the proposal an "enormous change from the current rule." "I don't think the (Justice Department) should be able to just wave its arm and say this really isn't doing anything new when in fact this is a major policy change that warrants the Congress's participation," he said. Associated Press hidden While the maiden visit by Tim Cook as Apple CEO can be defined as fully encrypted from the word go, his arrival here shows the importance the company holds India in as a smartphone market, only next to China, which Cook visited before coming to India. In its latest report based on a survey earlier this month, global market research firm Morgan Stanley said that India will overtake the US as the second-largest smartphone market next year. We model a 23 percent compounded annual growth rate for Indian smartphones through 2018 and the country should account for 30 percent of the global unit growth over the next two years and become the second-largest market in terms of units," the report added. In its latest report, market research firm Gartner on Thursday said that while the global sales of smartphones to end users totalled 349 million units in the first quarter of 2016, changing smartphone market dynamics" has led Chinese brands to emerge as the new top global brands. Apple's 'upgrade programme' in the US has helped sweeten its flagship iPhone 6s to drive sales in its largest smartphone market. Apple is also exploring ways to refarm second-hand iPhones coming through the program in emerging markets, said Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner, in the report. So here is Cook, exploring emerging markets, including India. After revealing plans for an iOS app design and development facility in Bengaluru and a new office in Hyderabad that will focus on development of maps for Apple products, what next can be on his plate when he meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi this weekend? Full-fledged manufacturing would be quite far off. As of now, we understand it would be more of bringing research and development into the country. Though, Modi had invited Apple CEO to start manufacturing, this may not happen just now. However, the roadmap could be in that direction, Faisal Kawoosa, lead analyst with CyberMedia Research (CMR), told IANS. Will Cook raise the issue of allowing Apple to import and sell refurbished iPhones at a cheaper price in India? A nod to import and sell refurbished iPhones at a cheaper price in India would put Apple in a very advantageous position. At a time, when its revenues have taken a hit, selling its products in mid and low-price segment would give the company an upper hand and in the meeting with the Prime Minister, this issue could be in Apple's priority list, Kawoosa explained. According to Vishal Tripathi, research director at global market consultancy firm Gartner, if Cook raises the refurbished iPhones issue with the prime minister, this will give Apple a slot in the mid and low-price segment where the actual war is currently taking place in India. Apple's largest manufacturing partner in India Foxconn is looking to set up a manufacturing base in the country, preferably in Pune, Maharashtra, Tripathi told IANS. A Morgan Stanley report also said that while the high-end smartphone market in India is small, macroeconomic and demographic trends -- and an appetite for 4G services -- will lead users to upgrade to better smartphones over time. We expect the high-end market to unfold like it did in China, where Samsung and Apple dominate. Our survey indicates Samsung is leading in India with 46 percent user share and slightly higher purchase intentions," it pointed out. "Apple needs to build its brand as, surprisingly, half of survey respondents were not aware of the company. However, this means Apple has the most room for upside as our survey shows it could double share in the $400 segment to 40 percent," the study said. From consumer's point of view, there is a need to have a neutral certification and testing facility for refurbished market to grow. This is beyond Apple, Kawoosa noted. IANS hidden Karnataka assured Apple Inc full support in setting up its first application design and development accelerator in tech hub Bengaluru. "On behalf of the state government, I assure you full cooperation and support to the Apple startup accelerator," Large & Medium Industry Minister R.V.Deshpande said in a letter to Apple chief executive Tom Cook, who is currently visiting India. Noting that the startup would give Indian IT professionals a boost to be part of Apple's global programme and innovation, he said he was looking forward to the US multinational technology firm to make more investments in India, especially in Karnataka. Expressing disappointment over Cook skipping Bengaluru during his current visit, Deshpande hoped the chief executive would first land in the tech city during his next visit and then go to other parts of the country. "I look forward meeting you during your next visit to Bengaluru. Alternatively, I will be happy to meet you at your convenience," he said in the letter. Cook, who is on a maiden four-day visit to India, arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday and flew to Hyderabad on Thursday to inaugurate the tech giant's development centre, which will focus on developing maps for Apple products -- iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. Later in the evening, Cook flew to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh to watch the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Gujarat Lions and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Green Park stadium in the city at the invitation of IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla. Cook will visit Delhi and Gurgaon on Friday and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. IANS High school football playoff pairings announced Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022, 7:20 p.m. -- AREAWIDE -- The high school football playoff pairings are being announced as you read this posting. In Div. 1, Reg. 2, Lapeer will play at Clarkston and Grand... Volleyball results from Thursday Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, 8:34 a.m. -- LAPEER COUNTY -- The Almont varsity volleyball team beat Madison Heights Lamphere and New Lothrop in a triple header at Almont Thursday. Dryden beat Bay City All Saints... Golf and tennis regional results Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, 5:41 p.m. -- LAPEER COUNTY -- Boys' high school tennis regionals and girls' golf regionals took place yesterday. Lapeer girls' golf placed 11th at the Div. 1 regional hosted by Oxford... Friday night football scores Friday, September 30, 2022 10:15 p.m. LAPEER COUNTY Lapeer beat Grand Blanc 39-17 at Lapeer to remain undefeated at 6-0. Almont upset Croswell-Lexington 37-26 North Branch routed Richmond 62-10 Imlay City/Dryden fell to Yale... Homeopath physician stabbed dead, IU teacher hurt in Kushita A homeopath physician was stabbed to death and a teacher of Islamic University injured by some unknown assailants at Sishirmath in Sadar upazila on Friday morning. Quoting local people, police said when Sanaullah, a homeopath physician and a resident of East Mazampur area of the district town and Saifuzzaman, a teacher of Kushita Islamic University, were going to Bottoil union in the morning a group of miscreants intercepted their motorbike. They stabbed them indiscriminately with sharp weapons, leaving Sanaullah dead on the spot and Saifuzzaman injured. The injured university teacher was admitted to Kushita General hospital, said Sahabuddin Chowdhury, officer-in-charge of Kushita Model Police Station. Local people said Sanaullah had been giving treatment to people in Bottoil area for the 13 years free of cost. However, the motive behind the killings could not be known immediately. -- Kushtia, May 20 (UNB) Orsha`s Eid play Kuakatai Katakati Sheikh Arif Bulbon :Earlier under the direction of noted director and actor Afzal Hossain popular TV actress and model Nazia Haque Orsha acted in several series titled Coxs Bazar-e Kakatua, Rajshahir Rosgolla, Late Korey Sylhet-e, Rag Korey Rangamati and Dinduprey Dinajpurey under the banner of popular series, Chhoto Kaku.On the occasion of coming Eid-ul-Fitr, Afzal Hossain is again making another play of Chhoto Kaku serial to telecast on Channel i. Under the story written Faridur Reza Sagor title of the play is Kuakatai Katakati. As usual Orsha is acting by self title. Already its shooting is going on. Today its shooting is scheduled to be held in the capitals Uttara area. While talking about the play Orsha told this correspondent, It is really a pleasing matter for me to get the scope to work under noted director like Afzal Hossain in his serial one after another. Today is my birthday. It is also a pleasing matter for me that I will celebrate my birthday with the attachment of a noted person. Everybody pray for me as I can successfully perform in new play of Chhoto Kaku series.But Orsha is sad because she will not be able to give time to her mother and two sisters - Chandni and Prito due to shooting schedule, she said.Meanwhile, last week Orsha has returned to Bangladesh from Malaysia after taking part in shooting of an Eid play under the direction of Sokal Ahmed. Sajal was her co-actor in the play. On the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, she has planned to work in several plays and telefilms under the direction of some directors including Kawshik Shankar Das. On May 23, Orsha will go to Sirajganj to take part in shooting of Zahid Hasans Eid play. Orsha became Lux superstar in 2009s contest. She has already established herself in media by virtue of her acting skill. Vietnam rights record puts Obama in a fix as US seeks new Asian alliance Reuters, Hanoi : With police watching his home around the clock, Vietnamese blogger Huynh Ngoc Chenh sneaked out through a back door and reappeared the next day in a public square to hold a one-man, anti-government protest. But having been given the slip once, police wasted no time in nabbing him after only five minutes. It was one of many free-speech experiments squashed by Vietnam's communist government, underscoring the dilemma U.S. President Barack Obama has ahead of a visit on Monday in which human rights will be central to decisions about how far Washington is willing to engage its former enemy. Chenh got lucky. Unlike many dissidents, he was not arrested for Sunday's demonstration in Ho Chi Minh City, which got him 12,000 Facebook "likes" for making a stand against what he calls an endemic problem of abusive police. "There are six men watching my house right now," said Chenh, 64, who was escorted home and told to stay there. "Sometimes, they stop me from leaving, other times they let me go out but they follow me everywhere." His sit-in came as rights groups and activists accuse police of using heavy-handed measures to stop protests held in cities the past two Sundays to demand government answers over an unexplained environmental disaster that caused mass fish deaths last month. The timing of protests could not be worse for Vietnam. The White House on Thursday said Obama was still grappling with a decision on whether to lift a lethal arms embargo on Hanoi, one of the last vestiges of the Vietnam War. The United States has been clear that its removal hinges on progress on rights. KHULNA : Prof Dr Shibendra Shekhor Shikder, President, KUET Teachersa Association speaking at a procession condemning teacher\'s assault in a Naryanganj Piyar Sattar Latif High School in Narayanganj on Thursday. High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Harsh Vardhan Shringla exchanging views with the leaders of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday. Of Judgment on the 16th Amendment of the Constitution A. Mannan : Recently the Hon'ble High Court Division of the Supreme Court (HD of SC) declared in a judgment the 16th Constitutional Amendment void and unconstitutional. Thoughts did foment my mind last few days to make some contribution in the basket of thought process, bearing in mind that it does give right to none to dishonour or disharmonize such process of the Judiciary and legislation. I have got to be excused should I digress from the legal horizon, presumed fortuitous. I, therefore, seek apology in advance. We may refer to my articles came out in some news papers titled, 'Of Sovereignty' in January 2011 and also published in my book "How Precious Is An 'Oath", and state the following: (A) Sovereignty means: Step 1: A state was based upon a compact of its citizens, term was thus given as popular sovereignty. Step 2: Since a state started exercising sovereignty, it was thus, vested in the 'Nation's Parliament'. Step 3: As a state has many functions, developed, thus, the idea of sovereignty on functional basis. Step 4: Different interests group e.g. political, social, economic, religious gave birth to the concept of pluralistic sovereignty. Step 5: At one stage sovereignty was identified as 'might' rather than 'law', it hence started commanding 'law'. Step 6: Due to intervening international laws, sovereignty ceased to be considered as synonymous with unlimited power. This is where we are today. (B) References of some provisions of our Constitution and their derivatives are highlighted here: Para (1) of the Preamble and Article (1) of the Constitution say that People's Republic of Bangladesh is sovereign. Para 4 of the Preamble of the Constitution reiterates that the Constitution is the supreme embodiment of the will of the people of Bangladesh, whereas Article 7 (1) of the Constitution spells out that all powers belong to the people and their exercise shall be effected only under the Constitution. Article 65 (1) clarifies that there shall be a Parliament known as House of the Nation which, subject to the provisions of the Constitution, the legislative powers of the state shall vest in. Should we dovetail the above provisions, definitions of sovereignty inclusive, we arrive, perhaps, at a junction to conceive that whereas the state is sovereign, so are the people, the Constitution and Parliament as well. (C) Sovereignty is a relative term, that may, inter alia, be focused as follows: (a) State's sovereignty is vulnerable to invasion. (b) International laws and UN's conventions may pose as an infringement and need to be accommodated to a degree by a state. Sovereignty of the people, Constitution and Parliament may be affected due to promulgation of Martial Law (In my book 'Laws, Unlaws, Above-laws, Outlaws and In-laws' I subscribed it as 'Rule' i.e. Martial Rule rather than Martial Law). (D) State's functions: Functions are (i) Legislative, (ii) Judiciary and (iii) Executive. Obviously the functions are complementary to each other to engage the state to function properly. (E): Supreme Court (SC) and judiciary: S.C. is an institution and judiciary is an organ of the state. We may at this stage move on to analyse a few Articles of the Constitution for further comprehension. As per Article 48(1) President is to be elected by Parliament which can also as per Article 52 (1) impeach him. Similarly, Article 95(1) authorises the President to appoint Chief Justice and Judges. Naturally the President has the inherent power to remove CJ and Judges under certain conditions. CJ/Judges are thus accountable to the President. On top of the above if we look at the provisions of Articles 96 (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) and ( 8) with regard to Supreme Judicial Council, the President has the power to remove CJ and Judges. Since the President is liable to Parliament under Article 52(1), so are the CJ/Judges to Parliament via the President. Further, one may also look at the provisions of Articles 115 and 116 regarding appointments, control, discipline etc which have empowered the President. Provision of Article 116A, an insertion from the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, empowers the judicial service's independence in exercising judicial functions. Here we have to bear in mind, critically, that should we skip over the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution in order to go back to 1972 Constitutional position due to the Fifth Amendment Judgement, the Articles 115, 116 and 116 (A) shall no more exist. It is, thus, clear that sovereignty's 'Might' for a time being shifts from point to point as shown in the above chart. It is a recycle-process. It is not survival of the fittest. The case in point is an issue of compliment, compatibility and mutualism amongst the three organs of the state. We may also reiterate to recognize that power corrupts people and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Since no one is above-law, so is not also the SC, - for we know that 'Fiat justitia, ruat caelum' i.e. let justice be done, though the heavens should fall. The Constitution's 16th Amendment was a replacement of the Article 96 as it was in the Constitution's Fifth Amendment, and since the HD (SC) has now declared the whole of 16th Amendment void and unconstitutional, it automatically replaces the one that was in vogue before the Judgment. The following may deserve to be pointed here quoting from my book "How Precious Is An Oath' article 'Impeachment of Judges Bill: - Progressive or Regressive? " in order to make it more clear: Article 96 of the Constitution of 1972 says - "A Judge shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed pursuant to a resolution of Parliament supported by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the total number of members of Parliament, on the ground of proved misbehavior or incapacity." The said Article 96 was amended and adopted through the Fourth Amendment by the then AL Govt. as follows : "Am`vPiY ev Amvg_i KviY ivocwZi Av`k viv Kvb wePviKK Zvnvi c` nBZ AcmvwiZ Kiv hvBe|" The issue after the Fifth Amendment introduced by President Zia stands as under : "There shall be a Supreme Judicial Council, in this article referred to as the Council, which shall consist of the Chief Justice of Bangladesh, and the two next senior Judges." It is thus crystal clear that the AL Govt. in 1975 amended Article 96 of 1972 by their Fourth Amendment whereas Fifth Amendment to introduce Supreme Judicial Council, a progressive one, was brought in by Zia in order to amend the Fourth Amendment as it stood at that time. Should the present Govt. have a pious wish, they should logically. revisit the whole gamut, this may include prevailing position in India: India's Constitution is one of our prime sources in drafting our 1972 Constitution. India, meanwhile, adopted in 1968 "The Judges (enquiry) Act to amend the said issue to include 100 members of the Lower House and 50 members of the Upper House (a bicameral system) who can bring such proposal and, if agreed to, then Chief Justice (CJ) of the Supreme Court (SC), one Judge of the SC, another from the High Court (HC) and an eminent lawyer nominated by the Speaker to preside over the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) shall constitute the SJC." When we hear a ringing bell that the 16th Amendment of the Constitution has already been declared by a HD (SC) bench void and unconstitutional, a praise worthily task, it could have by all fairness given a clue as to what would prevail in the absence of the 16th Amendment. Naturally and by all criteria, the one that existed before such Judgment declaring void and unconstitutional must come into force automatically unless the Govt. appeals otherwise which they did meanwhile. In such a situation, there was no need at all to raise the issue in Parliament for discussion, resulting into a not-very-welcome deliberation, until Appellate Division's verdict is available. Hon'ble Minister, In-charge, could perhaps understand the issue as I reckon and carefully procrastinate the matter to gain time for an amicable but judicious mitigation. Parliament (legislation), Judiciary (SC in this case), and the Executive (i.e. the Ministry) are left with few options at stake. Options, inter alia, are: (I) To continue with Article 96 having the provision of Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) or above (I) may be further updated with improved modifications/reforms. (II) We may also consider Article 96 of 1972 with substantial modifications through major amendments / reforms. Reforms may be needed if above (I) is to be adopted such as: Separation of Judiciary in letter and spirit. Following Bills of mine submitted to Parliament, published in my book 'Parliament and I' as well as in some news papers may be adopted with further modifications as are necessary. e.g., Bill to amend Article 96 regarding embarrassment of Judges. Bill to amend Articles 95 and 96 for appointment of Judges. Reforms may also be needed if (II) above is to be adopted such as: To avoid hassle for the time being we may consider the Indian reform of SJC save that the Speaker shall nominate a high profile Amicus curiae to preside over the S.J.C. in consultation with the Leader of the House and that of the Opposition. Until we change our mono-cameral system of the House to a bi-cameral one, we continue with CJ and two next senior Judges of the SC to remain as other members of the SJC along with an amicus curiae. Alternatively, we may also revert to the 1972 Constitution empowering Parliament for impeachment of Judges, we would however, for all fairness need obviously the following reforms, inter alia, in order to guard off any possible coercive actions by Parliament to bring about an internal check and balance system. Key points are as follows:- Election system be changed from the existing system of first past the goal post to a more representative one like proportionate representation - e.g. New Zealand system. To introduce 'Yes' or 'No' vote system in the ballot. Article 70 be repealed and made applicable in case of no-confidence vote to avoid horse trading and at the most be applicable in Budget passing. (Abdul Mannan is a former State Minister, Ministry of Civil Aviation & Tourism and Textiles, former Member of Parliament and former President, South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), E-mail : [email protected]) Bangladesh Medical Technology and Pharmacy Department students are on hunger strike for the 5th consecutive day in front of the Jatiya Press Club on Friday to realise their 10-piont demands. Mamata takes oath next Friday Thefastmail, Kolkata :Buoyant with a massive victory, and her return to power in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee will take oath as the Chief Minister on next Friday amid a huge public gathering. The oath taking ceremony will be held at the Republic Day parade venue in central Kolkata, the Red Road. Some of her cabinet colleagues are also likely to take part in the swear-in by the Governor, K.N. Tripathi.A meeting of all the newly elected TMC MLAs has been convened today to elect the party leader in the House. Ms. Banerjee will stake the claim to form the State government later in the day. The Election Commission sources have meanwhile informed the highest ever number of people, in all, over 8 lakh 30 thousand, opted for NOTA option in the West Bengal Assembly elections.Humble in her resounding victory, bagging 211 of the total 294 seats, Ms. Banerjee has said the opposition parties during the electioneering surpassed all the decent limits of protocol against her and TMC and Ma Mati Manush have given the due verdict. The Congress has emerged the largest opposition party with 44 seats in the new assembly, relegating the CPM to third place with only 26 seats. Ms. Banerjee said that Congress has lost every chance to stand with TMC by siding with Left parties during the elections.She, however, has clarified that TMC will provide issue based support to the BJP in spite of the ideological differences. CPM State Secretary Dr. Surjya Kanta Misra has reacted to the results saying that his party's efforts to unite all the democratic secular forces will continue. He agreed that the CPIM failed to feel the pulse of people prior to the voting. He repeated the charge of a tacit understanding between the BJP and TMC during the votes. The real source of terror in BD The New York Times By Willam B. Milam : Last weekend a Buddhist monk was hacked to death, presumably with a machete, in southeastern Bangladesh. The week before, it was a Sufi Muslim leader, up north. Less than two weeks earlier, it was an L.G.B.T. activist. Just days before that, an English professor. Some of these attacks have not yet been claimed, but they follow a gruesome pattern: There have been at least 25 violent, sometimes public, killings of religious minorities, secularists and free-speech advocates in Bangladesh since February 2015. A dozen more people have been assaulted in similar ways and survived. Of these attacks, more than 20 have been claimed by the Islamic State, about half a dozen by Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent and one each by the indigenous Bangladeshi extremist groups Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh and Ansar al-Islam. The surge is worrying Western governments, which fear that local Islamist terrorists may now be competing for the attention of international jihadist networks or cooperating with them. Several Western countries have responded with antiterrorism measures: Japan is providing aviation security; the United States has called for strengthening cooperation with the Bangladeshi authorities to counter terrorism and violent extremism. This is a predictable reaction, but it is misguided, and dangerous, because it proceeds from the wrong diagnosis. The recent string of vicious killings in Bangladesh is less a terrorism issue than a governance issue: It is the ruling Awami League's onslaught against its political opponents, which began in earnest after the last election in January 2014, that has unleashed extremists in Bangladesh. A zero-sum mentality has been the rule of Bangladeshi politics since the end of the military dictatorship in 1991. Between then and 2007, the country's two main parties, the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (B.N.P.), traded power every term. Whichever one was leading the government focused on enriching itself and weakening the other. That left the private sector largely alone to invest in economic expansion and NGOs to provide education, health care and other social services the government wasn't delivering. In some respects, the government's failure to do its job served the country well: The economy has grown by an average of 5-6 percent annually over the last two decades; Bangladesh has outdone India and Pakistan on various social development indicators, such as health care and education. But the country's political culture steadily deteriorated. Major protests broke out in late 2006, after the then-ruling B.N.P. tried to rig elections scheduled for 2007. The army took over for a time. The Awami League was voted back into office in 2009 and in 2011 used its vast majority in Parliament to remove from the Constitution a clause providing that general elections be overseen by nonpartisan caretaker governments. The B.N.P. boycotted the 2014 election, largely in response to that amendment, and since winning that one-party election the Awami League has been hellbent on turning Bangladesh into a one-party state. The B.N.P. has become the primary - really, the only - target of the government's so-called law enforcement efforts. The Awami League routinely deploys the judiciary and the police against its political opponents and any dissenting voices in civil society. High-ranking B.N.P. members have been framed on spurious corruption charges, among other things. According to the International Crisis Group and Human Rights Watch, the government has silenced critics by resorting to enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings. Journalists who dare cover any of this are being charged with sedition and treason. The Awami League's relentless campaign against the political opposition and civil society has allowed violent radicals of all stripes to let loose. Concentrating the state's limited judicial and police powers on the B.N.P. and its supporters reduces the resources that can be devoted to preventing terrorism and crime. Using illegal means to quiet perceived opponents undermines the rule of law, creating an atmosphere of impunity that emboldens extremists. The first machete killing - of a secularist blogger - occurred in February 2013, before the last general election. The Awami League reacted as you would expect from an incumbent party: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left her office to offer condolences to the family and vowed to catch the culprits. But since the party was re-elected, its response to similar attacks has become constructively evasive. It is not clear whether Awami League leaders are even paying their respects to the victims' families. At the same time that the leaders deny the presence in Bangladesh of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent or the Islamic State, they accuse the B.N.P. - or what is left of it - of conspiring with the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami to destabilize the government. Ms. Hasina repeated this charge most recently a few weeks ago, after the killing of the L.G.B.T. activist and U.S. Embassy employee Xulhaz Mannan. More pernicious still is the government's wavering on free expression. On the eve of a Hindu holiday in September, Ms. Hasina told a group of Hindu leaders that people had the right to practice their own religion but not "to hurt others' religious sentiment." At a Bengali New Year celebration last month, she reportedly said the writings of bloggers criticizing Islam were "filthy words" and asked why the government should take responsibility if those writings "lead to any untoward incidents?" Islamists could be forgiven for interpreting these statements as a free pass to attack people they consider to be enemies of scriptural Islam. Bangladesh has a history of fringe extremist groups. Some of those are a legacy of the war in Afghanistan, in which some Bangladeshis fought; others are byproducts of the Wahhabi influence that Bangladeshi workers in the Persian Gulf brought back when they returned home. But before the string of attacks that started last year, the last known terrorist attack in Bangladesh (by Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh) dated back to 2005. It's difficult to gauge the current terrorist threat in Bangladesh, especially any links between local and international groups. Whatever its exact nature, however, it is largely the result of the government's repression against mainstream dissent. Responding to this wave of attacks as though it were principally a security issue, rather than a governance problem, would only make matters worse. Shyamal Kanti now in DMCH for better care Staff Reporter : The much talked about humiliated Headmaster of a Narayanganj school, Shyamal Kanti Bhakta, was shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on Friday for better treatment. Upon a request by Shyamal's wife, the administration of 300-bed specialized hospital at Khanpur, Narayanganj shifted him to the DMCH by an ambulance at about 11am. He was admitted there under the care of Medicine Department. He has been reportedly suffering from pain in his whole body. "I feel pain and unease," Shyamal Kanti told the journalists, sitting in his bed at DMCH. Dr Sohel Rana, DMCH Emergency Unit's Medical Officer, told media that the teacher was complaining of dizziness and chest pain. Meanwhile, about 10 policemen from Shahbagh Police Station had been posted at the gates of his ward. "We are here to look after his safety," said Sub-Inspector Arefin, who was on duty. Regarding his reinstatement as Headmaster of Piyar Sattar Latif High School in Narayanganj district, he said that he had not yet received any formal notification in this regard. Nonetheless, he thanked the government and others for helping him get his job back. On May 13, Shyamal, Headmaster of Piyar Sattar Latif High School, at Bandar Upazila in Narayanganj, was beaten and squat and standing holding his ears in presence of local MP AKM Selim Osman and a large number of local people on the charge of passing remarks, hurting religious sentiments. Later, the school managing committee sacked him also. The incident angered the university teachers and students, the press and the government. The High Court on last Wednesday issued a rule upon the government to show cause as to why legal action should not be taken against local MP Selim Osman and others who were present when the headmaster was humiliated. New spate of terror attacks Doctor killed, his friend IU teacher injured in Kushtia Staff Reporter : In a new spate of terror attack, a homeopathic doctor was killed and his friend, a teacher of Islamic University, received severe injuries in Bottoil Shishirpara Math area of Kushtia Sadar upazila on Friday morning. The ill-fated doctor was identified as Meer Sanwar Hossain, 55, a resident of East Mazampur area of the district town, while the injured teacher was Mohammad Saifuzzaman, 42, Assistant Professor of Bangla Department. As the condition of Saifuzzaman deteriorated, he was flown to Dhaka by a helicopter. According to police and locals, both the physician and the teacher have been providing medical treatment and medicines among the people, especially the poor, free of cost every Friday for the last 13 years. On Friday morning, Sanwar along with his friend Saifuzzaman went to his bungalow adjacent to Shishirpara Math area at about 9:00am. As soon as they reached near the bungalow, a gang of three youths riding a motorbike intercepted them and started chopping from the back direction. Sanwar died on the spot while Saifuzzaman received severe wounds, Proloy Chisim, Superintendent of Police of Narayanganj Kushtia told The New Nation on Friday afternoon. He added Saifuzzaman was first admitted to Kushtia General Hospital. As his condition deteriorated, he was flown to Dhaka for better treatment. The Police Super said Sanwar, a resident of Saddambazar area of the town, had a bungalow where he used to provide treatment to the poor free of cost. "As Sanaullah was born in Kushtia, naturally he along with his friend used to arrange a function based on Baul ideology at his village every Friday," he said. Proloy Chisim said the murder might have been taken place over land feud and a previous enmity between the victim and someone. The Police Super said they launched an inquiry into the incident. "We are not confirmed whether militants were behind the incident. However, the assailants attacked them in a similar style of murders of bloggers, secular activists and university teacher." When contacted Shahbuddin Chowdhury, Officer-in-Charge of Kushtia Model Police Station, said they have recovered two pieces of severed fingers and sharp weapons from the spot. Unlike India Bangladesh govt must winelection or no election ELECTION results in four Indian states elections and center administered region of Puduchery released on Thursday by the Indian Election Commission showed the diversity of the Indian voters' choice in which parties were happy in one state or were to swallow defeat in another. As predicted the BJP, which has formed government at the center two years ago has been able to snatch power in Assam from the Congress. But in West Bengal Mamata Banerjee retained power despite formidable challenge from Left-Congress coalition. Interestingly in Kerala where the Left-Congress coalition won and West Bengal BJP has won only one and three seats respectively. In Tamil Nadu incumbent Chief Minister Jayalalithaa retained power while in Puduchery Congress won. It appears loser in one state won in another although the elections left terrible impact on parties to face voters, mitigate their angers and won the mandates. Especially the rise of BJP in Assam was noticeable while at the same time its route in West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, despite being the ruling party in the center showed that it was not able to unduly influence the voters. A free and fair election is thus as much as possible in India and the results largely acceptable to people. This is what is key to claim a clean mandate to govern. We must say that the neutrality of the Indian election system not disrupted by the government also brings hope to the people of Bangladesh to see the elections here similarly free and fair not interfered by the government. Here the government's interference is bold and naked that they do not worry about the opposition or the Election Commission. The controversial elections that were held in Bangladesh in January 2014 with Indian support to continue Awami League in power did not match with the Indian election system. Many wonder why India that helped us in our liberation war for democracy is not helping us to solve the crisis of democracy in Bangladesh. During West Bengal election, Indian Election Commission hastily transferred senior police officers on several occasions from Kolkata and other areas in the face of complains that they were working for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She was annoyed but did not cause obstruction. But now her landslide victory can't be questioned.In India the government could not dare to encourage violence to secure winning of the government party candidates. The Election Commission is also tough in maintaining impartiality. But in Bangladesh the government is for winning -- election or no election. Child abuse is not coming down VIOLENCE against children including sexual abuse across the country is on the rise while the Police Chief and Home Minister marked the present law and order situation better than anytime. Quoting Child Rights Organisation Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum, several national dailies on Friday reported that 727 children were sexually abused in 2015 which is 224.55 percent higher than that of 2014 and at least 95 children were killed and 138 minor girls raped from January to April this year, meaning an unsafe and horrible state for children. Criminologists blamed the culture of impunity and lengthy process of trial for the rise of the violation against children while sociologists blemished lax of moral teachings, cultural aggression, objectionable presentation of children in media amalgamate the cause of changing the social perception to children. Based on reports published in 10 national newspapers, the Child Advocacy Forum revealed that in 2015 rape of children increased by 161.81 percent compared to 2014, as 521 were raped in 2015 and 199 in 2014, although the real situation is more alarming as many of the incidents remained unreported. Gang rape of children has increased by 350 percent and killing after rape by 42 percent in 2015 compared to the year before. According to the report, 4,124 children became victims of oppression and different types of violence including killing, unnatural death and abduction in 2015. It also said that 2,913 children died unnatural death, 292 were killed and 228 committed suicide in 2015. It said that 30 children were killed after rape, 40 were killed after abduction, 25 were killed in political violence and 40 children killed by parents. Kidnapping, human trafficking, sexual harassment and other violence against children have also increased due to the government's inadequate action to ensure children's protection. The horrible scenario of crimes against children has denoted that the Bangladesh society has become crueller than any other times. Televising execution of death and the romantic presentation of death trial violating the norms of journalism in one hand have contributed the society to become tolerant to cruelty while glamour's presentation of children in soap operas and newspapers, and wider access to pornography through mobile internet have all contributing in changing the social views to the angel-like children. In our observation, upgrading law and order and speedy trial with exemplary punishment could not only successfully eradicate crimes against children. Moral teaching, strengthening family and social values and socio-cultural integration can successfully fight against the oppressors. In this context, the government must take the prime responsibility for degradation of social values while social, religious, cultural and educational organizations must become vocal to make it a national campaign against child abuse. The growing threats must be eliminated before it hits every house. Bail refusal and police remand no less alarming for innocent ones The Chief Justice of Bangladesh Mr Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha has found arrest of people by plain-clothes men alarming. The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court was hearing an appeal against the judgement of the High Court Division giving a fifteen-point guidelines on arrest and interrogation by police. Despite those clear, specific and binding guidelines these are ignored by the lower judiciary to follow to make justice kindly and fair. In Bangladesh, extremism is no less alarming because of the way the government policy is contributing to extremism and string of vicious killings. The high ranking US Ambassador Mr William B Milam who is known also as senior policy scholar has warned in an article published in The New York Times Friday that to respond to the wave of attacks as though it were principally a security issue, rather than a governance problem, would only make matter worse. He is critical of strengthening cooperation of US and India with Bangladesh authorities to counter terrorism. It is relevant for our judiciary to realise how important not to be influenced by wrong political perception of the government in dealing with the crime situation. The courts will have to be more cautious about easy abuse of police power in the name of fighting extremism when good governance is lacking. The judiciary must do what it is required to do, protecting people's rights in doing justice. Let politics be left for political leaders. Nobody must get away with the idea that the police can make anybody of a free country helpless to police power because the judiciary is not above them. If followed the guidelines given by the High Court Division in the form of a judgement, it would have greatly hindered politically abusing police power and in turn abusing the justice system. So it be said that by being tough on bail the criminal justice system has subjected itself to be abused. It has become easier to use the courts to deny innocent people their personal liberty when the courts' constitutional commitment is protecting one's right to be free. If the government wants to detain anybody politically let it do so politically without giving bad name to the judiciary. Again, by sending an accused to police custody the courts are making citizens of a free country totally helpless to the police. Whether used in all case or not we have a torture cell for use even in normal criminal cases. Countries use torture centres like American Guantanamo camp against enemies of the country. Even such actions are criticised as violation of human rights. But not torture cells as part of normal criminal prosecution. Our Constitution prohibits torture or degrading treatment for incriminating any one. Yet, using torture has become systemic in our criminal justice process. The sanctity of the Constitution means most importantly the sanctity of the justice system. It is the most sacred responsibility of the courts to be the protector of the constitutional rights of the people. The judges knowingly and freely have chosen to bear the burden of protecting freedom for the people. They cannot be faint-hearted about protecting the people's rights and freedom. They are independent and above politics. Our view has long been to make bail easy for the need of making justice to be transparent. Nobody should have reason to become fearful of false cases by police to suffer in jail and be harassed. To be innocent is to be proved when trial takes place after years of incarceration. We have insisted time and again that sending an accused into police custody for interrogation is a disservice to fair justice. Justice is not a matter to be determined in dark cells of a dark corner. We are civilised enough for deserving civilised treatment Being tough on granting bail has not stopped rising of serious crimes. The people have reasons to doubt that dangerous criminals remain free under political protection because keeping the innocent ones in jail is so easy. So harshness of police action has no justification for making life safe. The major corruption in the lower judiciary is centring on bail and police remand. The Supreme Court should know more about it. The story is, those who can afford do not come to the Supreme Court for bail. Those who come are told of law. Because refusing bail has not reduced crime should be the justification for making bail easy. Terrorism is growing for the incompetence of the government. The solution is not defending arbitrary power. Slater as a young girl in Berlin; from the film From recalling her ominous first and last cattle car sighting to recounting the minutes and hours after the failed assassination of Adolf Hitler, Lisa Kirsch Slater, erstwhile teletypist and later prisoner of the German army in World War II, spent a favorable chunk of her life in front of a camera. Now, the late Lafayette residents story of before, during and after the war is slated for full disclosure in On the Wrong Side, a short documentary by Lucy Henke, Ph.D., a UL Lafayette associate professor of marketing, that is set for screening at the GI Film Festivals International Warrior Night at 6 p.m. May 24 in Washington, D.C. The 39-minute film was spawned by a mutual connection between Henke and Slater as well as a shared Berlin lineage. After a preliminary meeting with Slater and her family in 2014, Henke became enthralled by the life of the then-92-year-old. Once I met (Slater), I knew I had to make it, says Henke. She was completely compelling and charming and lovely and totally driven to share her story. On the Wrong Side is Slaters recount of a member of the German army whose family (and herself) sympathized with the Jewish people. She joined the forces as a teletypist one of the few jobs available for women during wartime under her fathers condition that she did not affiliate herself with the Nazi party. After Hitlers almost-death on July 20, 1944, Slater and Kurt Kleinfeld, her then-partner, attempted to flee to neutral Switzerland. After American troops freed her, Slater returned to Berlin. According to her obituary, she emigrated to Enid, Okla., in 1955, where she served as a certified medical transcriptionist for St. Marys Hospital. It wasnt until 1990 that she moved to Lafayette so she could be close to her twin daughters. The film initially ran as a work in progress in November 2014 during the Southern Screen Film Festival in Lafayette, which Slater attended and answered questions. Now, the full-length production will air in the Canadian Embassy as part of the 10-day military movie festival, taking place Saturday, May 21 to May 29. There were many interesting chapters of her life that I had to leave out, and I found that very difficult to do, Henke confesses. Writing the final script eliminating whole story lines was a serious exercise in self-discipline. Lisa Kirsch Slater The two day-long interviews were swollen with conversation, pictures from Slaters childhood and even a letter from Steven Spielberg thanking her for contributing to his program, the University of Southern Californias Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, which he founded in 1994 to videotape first-person accounts of Holocaust survivors and witnesses. The two interviews scheduled months apart due to Slaters brief hospitalization spanned hours, and Slaters daughter, Rene Pearson, says I expected Lucy to call me in two hours and say that my mother was tired and that was enough. She went, like, six to eight hours, and she did great. Henkes film, which is her first foray into film making, was a selection for the 2016 Fargo International Film Festival, and will be screened at the Big As Texas Short Film Festival in December. Pre-purchase property inspection is a relatively new thing in the United Kingdom. Its not something that most people have heard about, but it has become increasingly popular over the last few years with the rise in property prices and increased demand for high quality homes. What are the benefits of pre-purchase building inspection? What can you expect to find out when you pay someone else to inspect your home before you buy it? And what should you look for during an inspection? Many people want to know if theyre buying a house thats been well maintained or if its had any serious problems. If youve found a place on the market that seems attractive, but then discover some issues after moving in, you may not be as excited about buying it as you thought you were. Its important to do your due diligence when looking at properties. A lot goes into making a property appealing to potential buyers, from the landscaping to the flooring to the kitchen appliances. The same applies when inspecting a property there are many things that need checking over to make sure everything is running smoothly. Here are some of the benefits of performing a pre-purchase inspection: You get to see exactly what will happen to your money When you go shopping for a new car, youll probably be shown several different models. You might even be shown one that looks like a great value, but doesnt fit around all of the extra features that you want. When it comes time to actually buy the vehicle, however, you wont have seen how your money will be spent on it once you drive it off the showroom floor. Likewise, when you shop for a new home, you dont really know what youre getting yourself into until you move in. In order to get a feel for whether the home youre considering is what you want, you normally have to spend quite a bit of time inside it. This allows you to learn more about everything that youre going to be spending your hard-earned cash on. A pre-purchase building inspection gives you much the same kind of experience without having to spend thousands of dollars. Since youre paying for the service, you can expect to see exactly what youre paying for, instead of just seeing a vague idea of what you might end up with. You find out about potential major repairs Some buildings are very expensive to maintain, which means that owners often neglect them for the sake of saving money. While youre paying for a building inspection, youre also paying for a professional who knows how to spot signs of trouble and repair work that needs doing. If you notice that a particular area of your new home needs fixing right away, you can call in an expert to take care of it quickly. If you find that theres something wrong with your boiler, you wont have to wait weeks for a plumber to come over and fix it. Instead, youll have access to a solution immediately. You can save hundreds of pounds by finding out about potential problems early on One of the biggest expenses when you first buy a home is the cost of moving in. Many people dont realize this until its too late. Buying a home involves not only paying for the actual house, but also for moving costs, furniture, and other items that have to be moved along with the home. Having a good idea ahead of time of what youre likely to encounter can help you avoid these kinds of costs. If you know youll need to replace the plumbing system, for example, youll be able to put together a budget for the expense and plan accordingly. You can protect your investment by finding out if the homes been well cared for While there are plenty of people who think that houses always look better when theyre newly built, youd be surprised at how well maintained older residences can still look nice. Sometimes, though, those homes need some additional maintenance to keep them looking their best. This could involve repairs that arent so noticeable or small improvements that you wouldnt consider otherwise. Even worse, some houses have fallen into disrepair without anyone noticing. This is why having a professional perform a building inspection prior to purchasing a home is such a big benefit. Not only will it give you insight into the state of the property, but it will also give you peace of mind knowing youre not getting taken advantage of. As long as youre aware of the potential pitfalls, youll have less reason to worry about the state of your new home. You can use information gathered during a building inspection to negotiate a lower price If youre worried about buying a home because you suspect that it may need extensive renovation work, you may already have a rough idea of how much work youll need to do to bring it up to scratch. That knowledge can come in handy if you decide to buy the home. You can use all of the details that you gather during a building inspection to present a realistic picture of what the home is worth to prospective buyers. If a potential buyer thinks that the home is worth more than what you paid for it, you can try negotiating a lower price. You can sell your home faster and for more money If you decide to list your home on the market soon after buying it, youll need to price it accurately in order to attract buyers. But if youve already done a thorough building inspection, youll know exactly what work is needed and what the current market conditions are. In other words, youll be able to make a more accurate estimate of the amount of money youve invested in the home and how much its worth. If you find that youre selling your house for close to its full market value, you can use this information to convince the potential buyer that your home is worth the asking price. Even if youre planning to stay in the home for a while before you decide to sell, the fact that you did a thorough building inspection will give you more confidence when listing it. Prospective buyers will know exactly what theyre paying for. Your home will hold its value longer As mentioned earlier, the value of a home depends heavily upon the condition of the building itself. If your home is in bad shape, potential buyers wont be interested in buying it. On the other hand, if youve performed a thorough building inspection and know what sort of repairs are necessary, you can offer your prospective buyer a compelling reason to invest in your property. When you buy a home, youre essentially agreeing to have it inspected periodically to ensure that it stays in top shape. Not only does this allow you to avoid expensive repairs down the road, but it can also increase the value of your home. You can make smart decisions about property investments Buying real estate isnt as simple as just driving a couple of minutes to pick up a house. There are lots of considerations involved, ranging from location to cost. The same is true when youre investing in property. If you find a house that meets all of your requirements, youll want to make sure that you have a solid understanding of where it stands with regards to the rest of the market. If you havent spent enough time researching the area, you could inadvertently end up with a bad deal. There are lots of resources available online that can help you determine the overall level of competition in your area. They can also help you figure out if there are any properties that meet your requirements that you didnt know about. If you own rental property, you can use the information to identify tenants who might cause damage If you own rental property and youve noticed that certain tenants consistently cause damage, you can use the results of a building inspection to identify them. You can then contact them directly to let them know that youre watching them closely and that you dont appreciate the problem theyre causing. They might start taking better care of their homes, which would be good news for everyone. It could also be the case that youll find out that theyre responsible for previous damages that werent caught during a previous visit. You can make smarter decisions about hiring contractors If youve hired contractors to build or repair your home, you might want to ask them for references. However, unless you perform a thorough building inspection, you might not know exactly what to look for. For instance, maybe you only checked the roof for leaks or the walls for cracks. You might not have looked underneath the foundation for anything that could cause a future issue. By performing a building inspection, you can ensure that you hire reputable contractors who will be trustworthy with your money. You can avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition Of course, the main benefit of structural inspections perth is that it helps you avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition. Before you make the decision to buy a home, you should do whatever you can to find out about the state of the building. You can also ask your realtor about what sorts of inspections are typically recommended. Some agents say that its standard practice to check the heating system, the roof, the electrical wiring, and the floors. Others will tell you that they recommend that you check the entire structure. Either way, if you choose to hire an inspector, youll find out exactly what needs to be fixed and how much it will cost to do so. As a result, it can be concluded that a pre-purchase building inspection is highly important for the buyers because it provides transparency regarding the current conditions of the structure. Additionally, the building owner is made aware of any upgrades or repairs that are required, which could lead to a fair deal throughout the purchasing and selling process. President Joe Biden has decided to ban Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia's economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. The United States generally imports about 100,000 barrels a day from Russia, only about 5% of Russia's crude oil exports, according to Rystad Energy. Last year, roughly 8% of U.S. imports of oil and petroleum products came from Russia. Gas prices have been rising for weeks due to the conflict and in anticipation of potential sanctions on the Russian energy sector. The U.S. national average for a gallon of gasoline soared 45 cents a gallon in the past week and topped $4.06 on Monday, according to auto club AAA. Should the US ban Russian oil imports over Ukraine war? You voted: The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now. Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market. In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender. India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex. Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted. But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted? Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner. If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems. I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now. I want more variation in masturbation I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own. If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end. What is sex toys for Indian? Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation. It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms. They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable. Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner. The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner. It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past. In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping. Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order. In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing. Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome. Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own. But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance. More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around. Sextoy situation in India Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years. In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India. Mumbai Kolkata Bangalore Delhi Chennai Hyderabad These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India. In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well. If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too. If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it. What are Sextoys for beginner? Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms. Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy. I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion. I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy. If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma. Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it. Advantages of using sextoy for Indians There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways. Can have stimulating sex Can develop new sexual zones If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern. However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways. You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation. Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever. There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure. This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it. When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems. It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms). For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles [Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou... Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India. Sextoy for beginner men in India So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners. For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men! The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men Masturbator Cock rings Love Doll Sex Lubricants Toys for the prostate Lets check each one in detail. Masturbator The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products. It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands. Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands. They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.) Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much. Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! ! Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa SEXToys India PR (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018 Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood. If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ... [For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien... Cock Ring A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis. It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow. It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber. In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection. Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction. It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it. Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time. Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function. Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy. You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect. [Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat... Love Doll Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex. There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women. Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price. The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true. You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste. There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice. You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls. If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to... Sex lubricants Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules. It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution. Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse. There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent. Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent. If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here. What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many... Toys for the Prostate Another sextoy for men is prostate toys. The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line. Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men. Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men. What is the prostate? The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm. You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus. By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms. Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.) The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation. Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure. sextoy for beinner women in India The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy. The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy. Vibrator. Dildo Electric Masserger Lets check out what each one is in detail. If you want to check out womens toys, click here. [BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm... Vibrators A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator. Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy. It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy. Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women. For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators. Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex. Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself. This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual. Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men. When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons. Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most... Dildo A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis. It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass. A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it. They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well. It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device. A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo. Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands. For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis. This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one. To learn more about dildo, please click here. What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th... Electric Masserger A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores. It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low. Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels. Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation. It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure. For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm. It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out. If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager? To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here. What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th... How to choose a sextoy for Indian Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one. Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points: Does the size fit you (the partner)? Does the size fit you (your partner)? Is the environment able to produce sound without problems? Price range First of all, the choice of size is quite important. Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women. For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage. Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems. Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise. If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level. Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it. Finally, there is the price range. The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest. Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy. Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy? I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance. For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics. If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out. How to buy sextoys in India The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping. For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below. Sextoy is one of them. Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping. SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India. They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry. Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card. To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy. ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal. Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on. Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture. Cautions for Indians using sextoy When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind Keep sex toys clean Watch out for electrical leakage Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone. Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there. It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case. In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness. Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful. If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it. You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly. Summary What did you think? In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India. The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future. As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values. However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health. If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try? Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women. I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it. CARBONDALE The Sunset Concert Series, a popular tradition dating back nearly four decades, returns to Southern Illinois University and the city of Carbondale on June 16. The 2016 season includes a wide variety of music, from rock-infused country and blues to Americana to reggae. The lineup is a mix of traditional and modern genres and includes the Latin Grammy-nominated band Locos por Juana. Concerts begin at 7 p.m. each Thursday through July 28 and alternate between the steps of SIUs Shryock Auditorium and Turley Park on the west side of Carbondale. As always, the concerts are free and open to the public. SIUs Student Center and Student Programming Council along with the city of Carbondale and the Carbondale Park District are the sponsors for the 38th season of the Sunset Concerts. Those attending are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs for the family friendly concerts. Each concert lasts about two hours. The 2016 Sunset Concert Series schedule: June 16: Reverend Peytons Big Damn Band from Nashville, Indiana, Shryock, rock-infused country and blues, www.bigdamnband.com. June 23: Hope Country from St. Paul, Minnesota, Turley Park, Americana, www.hopecountrymusic.com. June 30: Josh Garrett Band of Houma, Louisiana, Shryock, Louisiana blues, www.joshgarrettmusic.com. July 7: DieDra and the Ruff Pro Band from Birmingham, Alabama, Turley Park, blues/rhythm and blues, www.diedrathebluesdiva.com. July 14: Locos Por Juana of Miami, Florida, Shryock, bilingual Latin jam band, www.rtmp.com/locos-por-juana-1. July 21: Rusty Wright Band of Burton, Michigan, Turley Park, classic rock, www.rustywrightband.com. July 28: Roots of a Rebellion from Nashville, Tennessee, Shryock, reggae, www.rootsofarebellion.wordpress.com. The concerts typically draw large crowds, so to assure a safe and enjoyable time for all attending, there are a few restrictions. Rules prohibit glass bottles, pets and smoking. Underage drinking laws are enforced and only single-serve containers are permitted for those attending. For more information about the 2016 Sunset Concert Series, contact the Office of Student Engagement at 618-536-3393, visit the website at www.studentcenter.siu.edu/activities/student-center-programs/sunset-concerts.html or follow the Student Center on Facebook or Twitter. Ive often quipped that craft beer drinkers tend to be a promiscuous lot. Im not referring to their personal relationship habits, but rather their beer drinking ones. Many go from beer to beer, style to style and brand to brand, seldom returning to the same beer twice. Breweries and the beers they produce are so prolific now that it makes playing the field exceedingly easy and trying the next new thing the beer equivalent of speed dating. Citing the desire to seek out whatever is different or trendy, beer consumers sip myriad IPAs, barrel-aged ales and, most recently, sour beers in their passion for pushing the flavor envelope. What is most interesting, however, is that the beer trends above are not really new; theyre just new again. IPA (India Pale Ale), as a broad style category, has been around since the late 1700s. Before stainless steel fermenters and bright tanks for fermenting and conditioning beer, all beers were barrel (wood) aged in one way, shape or form. Sour beers might just be the oldest of all, finding their origins as a defined style in the burgundies of Belgium produced in the Flemish region of that country for several centuries and in other parts of the world for much, much longer. You might be asking yourself, sour beer?" People drink that on purpose? Indeed, and it is becoming more popular all the time. We are just a little behind the curve here in the United States, but were doing our best to catch up with more and more breweries producing their own versions of traditional sour beer styles like Berliner Weisse, Flanders Red, Gose, Lambic and a whole batch of novel sour beers that dont fit neatly into a traditional parameters, but are categorized loosely as wild ales. I believe we are experiencing the 'wild west' years of American sour beers on the national level with all the varied success you might imagine, said Dr. Matt McCarroll, director of Southern Illinois Universitys Fermentation Science Institute. Sour beers are made sour by utilizing special yeast strains or bacteria added during the various phases of the brewing process via a controlled dose or by spontaneous fermentation, a means by which native, ambient yeast or bacteria comes into contact with unfermented beer in an open vessel. This may sound crazy, but its actually how all beer was fermented before we learned about yeast and began using controlled cultures. Probably the most well-known wild yeast strain used in brewing is called brettanomyces, or simply Brett. This wild yeast is known to impart unique and often intense aromas and flavors affectionately described as funky. This wild yeast is what has traditionally given Belgian-made sour beer, like lambic, its sour power. Another common addition is lactobacillus, a bacteria you might already be familiar with since its used in a variety of food products such as yogurt. This bacteria provides the tartness in traditional German beers like Berliner Weisse and Gose and tends to produce a cleaner, more specific tart character. As popularity for sour beer grows, so does availability on local store shelves and taps. In my beer class I teach at SIU, we go through 40 to 50 styles during the semester, McCarroll said. One of my favorite classes is Sour Day. When I first began teaching the class, it was challenging to find good examples of most of the styles, such as Berliner Weisse, and some historical styles, such as Gose, were unheard of. Fast forward to 2016, and Gose has gone gangbusters and many American craft breweries are culturing rather than sanitizing wild yeast and bacteria in their breweries. A few prominent examples you can find locally are Perennial Artisan Ales Hopfentea (Berliner Weisse), Sierra Nevada Otra Vez (Gose), The Bruery Oude Tart (Flanders Red) and Goose Island Lolita (Wild Ale). Speaking of local, our Southern Illinois breweries are trying their hands at sour beers as well, with Big Muddy Brewing in Murphysboro and Scratch Brewing in Ava leading the way. Scratch Brewing Company co-owner Marika Josephson said we have had amazing results fermenting sour beers with our sourdough culture. The yeast and bacteria at work in that culture create something that's not bone-dry, but has a refreshing lemon-like tartness. It's an entirely native culture. We created it with yeast and bacteria in our kitchen. So, it's especially fun for us to play around with it because it represents the microflora of this area, just as the many plants we use in our beer do. Big Muddy Brewing owner Chuck Stuhrenberg echoed a similar idea when talking about his Sour Du Shawnee beer he produced for the first time a couple of years ago. The proximity of the Shawnee National Forest, along with the orchards throughout the area, creates an environment that is really interesting for capturing and using ambient yeast and bacteria to produce sour beers. If a sour beer sounds like something you would only pour down the drain, convinced it was defective, you might think again. Sours have been around a long time, and anything that has withstood the test of time and palates for this long is probably worth a shot. Some are very subtle. Some are complex and challenging. But, theyre all interesting and that is the real draw of craft beer. Pucker up! The building, painted cerulean blue, stands out on the two-block downtown business district in Alto Pass, population 389. Joining Grammers Market, Doo & Dye Salon, Farmers State Bank and Root Beer Saloon is Old Mill Inn Cafe and B&B. That business might be new to the Union County town, but the building is an historic one. It is where, in 1888, the Alto Pass Milling Co. was established and where Alto Pride Flour was produced. We have older folks coming by who say they used to work at the mill when they were youngsters, said Michael Jeremiah, who owns the Old Mill Inn with his wife, Dottie. There is a lot of history here. Michael and Dottie have an interesting history, too. Both were raised in Chester and attended Chester High School. He graduated in 1961, she in 1963. Although they dated in high school, nothing much ever came of it. She had two big brothers, and that was enough for me, said Michael, laughing. The pair went their separate ways, he to Alto Pass with his first wife, 45 years ago. Dottie moved to Columbia, Illinois. As Michaels 50th high school reunion approached, a mutual friend began to prod the pair into meeting up again. Both were unattached, but Dottie wasnt interested. She kept telling each of us that the other really wanted to get together, but I really had no idea of getting together with Michael Jeremiah, said a smiling Dottie, sitting at one of three tables for four in the first-floor cafe. But she kept at us, talking to us individually, and I finally gave in. Making a home They were married less than a year later, in April 2012, and made a home in part of the old flour mill, which Michael has owned for about 15 years. They talked about doing something with the empty space around them. Dottie said she always wanted to do something in the food business. Maybe a little bakery or something, she said. We talked about it for a couple of years, Michael said. But then we would ask ourselves, Do we really want to do this? But the couple, who said they love to sit on the porch and balcony that runs the full width of the inn, observed something that pushed them to take the chance. We watched the increased traffic, mainly because of the wine trail and especially in the fall, that Alto Pass was getting, Dottie said. People would come through asking about a good place to get food, so we decided to give it a try. Breathing new life in the space They spent last winter getting the building renovated, and plans for opening a cafe and bed-and-breakfast took shape. Once the hard work was done, I started to really enjoy it, Dottie said. It was a little daunting, Michael added. You never know what youre going to find in these old buildings. The building has three floors and a basement; the first floor houses the Jeremiahs on the west side and the cafe on the east. The second floor is for guests. Both Michael and Dottie shake their heads in a vigorous no when asked if there are plans in the works to expand into the third floor, which is used now for storage. Home of the 'stacked' pie Outside the cafe, which opened in late July 2015, a little chalkboard sign hangs, advertising the fare prepared by Dottie: baked ham, French dips, other sandwiches, and salads served with homemade Italian bread. When the weather gets cool, Dottie said she will add soups and stews. One of the most interesting items on the little board is the stacked pies. Dottie serves the pie in a glass, layering crust, then filling, then crust and more filling, topped off with whipped cream. They are made to order, so the crust is nice and fresh and maintains its texture, Dottie said. She whips up banana cream, coconut cream, lemon and chocolate cream varieties. Open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the cafe has a kind of English Tudor feel. All the wood, and theres lots of it, is original, with massive beams crossing the ceiling and broad window framing. People tell us they think it looks like an old pub, Dottie said. The setting is intimate; there are three tables for four, one table for six and a cozy table for two. The walls are lined with bookshelves made by Michael; paperbacks sell for $1, and hardbacks for $3. If kids come in and want books, Ill just give it to them, Michael said. Behind vintage glass cases are various flavors of homemade fudge, which Michael makes with his daughter, Rachelle, of Carbondale. Dotties daughter, Darla, of Kirkwood, Missouri, helps the couple with the website and business matters. Also for sale are Michaels craft projects. He has for years created original cameo brooches, and decorative wine bottle stoppers and caddies. The brooches are very popular with the younger women, Dottie said. Some of them are using them for their bridal bouquets. The cafe feels full, but cozy, not cramped. Everyone seems so comfortable here, Dottie said. After church, well have a crowd, and its like being at home; everyone is talking to everyone else. Thats exactly what we want. Reserve a room From that cafe, breakfast is served to guests of the bed-and-breakfast, which sprawls across the entire second floor. Even though the cafe is open only on weekends, guests can stay seven days a week and can expect a full country breakfast every morning. It is served in the guest dining room, in the center of the layout. Two sitting rooms, one large and one small, feature comfortable seating, flat-screen TVs, books and magazines. Everywhere you look is antique furniture Michael used to sell antiques and other pieces Michael has created. To a novice, its difficult to tell which is which. There are three bedrooms, and the English theme continues throughout. The Victorian Room is furnished with a substantial headboard and queen-size bed, a dresser and chest of drawers, upon which lay two pairs of vintage gloves and bouquets. It has a private bathroom and available for $125 a night. The Princess Room and Prince Room are also filled with antique furniture, lamps and paintings. The rooms share a bathroom, which can be made private from either bedroom, if there is no one staying in the other. The Princess Room, with queen bed, is $110; the Prince Room has a double bed and it's $80 a night. All bedrooms have modern amenities: flat-screen TVs, DVRs, DVDs, satellite television and free Wi-fi. Bathrooms are equipped with hairdryers, soaps and shampoos. Off the larger of the common rooms is a side table, built by Michael, with a coffee bar. Guests can make coffee whenever they like, and behind that is a small kitchen with microwave and refrigerator. That way, guests can bring in their food and not have to worry about going out, if they dont want to, Dottie said. A piece of Heaven Along the entire width of the second floor is a balcony equipped with cafe tables and chairs. We like to sit on the balcony and watch the world go by, Michael said. Guests can do the same, but they arent limited to that. Alto Pass is 20 miles from Carbondale and 35 miles from Cape Girardeau. It sits in the middle of the Shawnee National Forest, and it is on the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail. Hiking areas are nearby, and just on the east edge of town the road leads up to a dizzying scenic overlook, from which Bald Knob Cross is visible across the valley. Neither Michael or Dottie are quite ready to undertake another big project, but there are plans to create a patio and outside eating area in an empty space at the west end of the building. But, for now, the couple is getting used to running a thriving business. Its been much more of a success than we anticipated, which is a good thing, Dottie said. We are very happy here, together, and we love sharing it with people. BENTON The Digital Age has hardly dampened the popularity and the need for the Benton Public Library, its director said ahead of Saturdays 100th anniversary celebration. For instance, said Library Director Susan Stickel, a childrens summer reading program has outgrown space in 10,000-square-foot library so much, that organizers of the celebration are holding a fundraiser to address the space shortage. Its really an accomplishment for the community and for the library, Stickel said. Benton Public Library to begin centennial celebration BENTON On May 21, the staff at Benton Public Library will be kicking off their year-long c The library opened in May 1916 with the adoption of a city council ordinance and operated in some homes until space was leased at the Ward Building in 1924. There, the library was in business with a collection of about 3,000 books, according to information on the librarys website. A permanent location came five years later at 502 S. Main St. after Andrew S. Cleveland donated his family home and property. The home was remodeled and dedicated on Sept. 20, 1930. Fire destroyed that building in 1955, forcing services to be relocated until a new building was built the next year at the same site. In November 1985, voters passed a referendum that would establish the Benton Public Library District. This extended the boundaries of the library beyond the city limits to include all residents of the Benton Grade School District. The Library District was further expanded in 1995 when the community of Logan also voted to approve a referendum to be included in the Library District. The Library District was expanded once more in 2010 to include most of the Benton School District. In 2003, the Library Board began planning for the future of the Library that was now serving almost 11,000 residents. The increased number of people the library was serving, coupled with the needs of technology at the time, led to the decision to build a new library. Construction of a modern 10,000-square-foot library began in 2004 and was completed in November 2005. The new library houses nearly 45,000 books and other materials, 18 public access computers with high speed Internet access, a meeting room, childrens activity room and even a small coffee shop. Despite ease of access to information thanks to the Internet, the library continues to play a vital role, Stickel said. I just cant imagine a life without the library, Stickel said. They are that important. They were that important yesterday, today and certainly for the future. In addition to those who do not have their own Internet service, the library continues to draw a steady flow of patrons. Stickel was unable to immediately provide volume but said it has been consistently high from year to year. From childrens programs to genealogy resources to free access to periodicals or ebooks, the library remains an extension of a communitys knowledge base, she said. An if people cant get to the library, a program to deliver materials to homebound patrons is also available. The celebration will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a variety of events planned, including story-telling, speakers and music. A raffle is also planned. For more information, visit www.bentonlibrary.com. CARBONDALE Liquor advisory board members on Thursday approved an application from Carbondale Tourism for a Class F1 liquor license for the music event Live on Main. The not-for-profit organization's executive director, Cinnamon Smith, along with Jordan Wren, sales and administrative coordinator, were present at the meeting to discuss their application with the board. The event, Smith said, will take place June 17 on the 200 block of West Monroe Street and the Carbondale Civic Center parking lot. Additionally, Smith said the event has not caused any incidents in the past, and has been very successful in community response. "We had one application that we were approved for in October of last year. It was very successful," she said. Due to the organization's previous success with the series, the representatives requested for the board to consider a temporary license for beer and wine only license for their upcoming concert. The executive director said that Carbondale Tourism would like to continue the series, and feels as if the downtown location should remain special and unique. "It's probably a lesser version of Herrin Fest," she said. "In June of last year the live on Main first kicked off with Nikki Hill at this very location (on the 200 block of West Monroe Street)." Upon review of the application, the liquor advisory board moved to approve the Class F1 liquor license to conduct sales of alcohol for the Live On Main series. "This location would provide us ample access to other businesses," Smith said. "There is better access, and better parking, and people tend to like this area." The show is scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. and is free to the public. This year's performers will be Nikki Hill of North Carolina, and Aaron Kamm & the One Drops of St. Louis. HARRISBURG Inclement weather Friday did not dampen Mayor Dale Fowlers outlook of his citys current and future state. Talk with the mayor and hell leave one believing Harrisburg is the destination stop for all of southeastern Illinois. Fowler was set to say so again at an unveiling of a new city plaza, built to replace what had become a dangerous and empty storefront in the citys downtown at the intersection of Poplar and Vine. The unveiling was called off because of weather, though several musicians are lined up to perform there Saturday night from 6 to 9. They will be the first to perform at the corner lot, located within blocks of several eateries, in a series of Saturday performances planned during the summer. City officials also plan to schedule performances and a car show every third Saturday of each month from June through October. Im really excited about bringing people downtown for that, Fowler said. The sky is the limit for what we can accomplish. My initiative is really to promote Harrisburg as the destination capital of southeastern Illinois. From there, Fowler begins to rattle off a number of attractions that have opened in recent years, including this years multiplex theater and Z-Factor, a trampoline, skating rink and paintball extravaganza. More openings are planned, such as a high-end used car lot and an industrial fuel distribution plant that supplies coal mines and farmers. City officials are also doing their part, Fowler said. For starters, they city has operated under balanced budgets this and last fiscal years. While the line-item for police overtime was an issue last year, funding there has been restored and two new officers have been hired, Fowler said. A lot of praise goes to our city department heads, Fowler said. Meanwhile, the city continues to make infrastructure improvements. For instance, upgrades at a pump station, a $104,000 project with about 80 percent coming from the federal government, will address flooding at some businesses and retain jobs, Fowler said. The citys homebase, city hall, isnt being left out. A little-known and little-used 500-seat auditorium on the third floor is getting a makeover, complete with handicap accessible lift chairs. Fowler has been talking with school district officials about using the space for performing arts, making it another potential draw to the citys downtown, he said. Police and fire department personnel have also been working with schools to enhance safety, Fowler said, adding that the citys Insurance Service Office rating has improved from a 3 to 2, possibly bringing with it savings in homeowner insurance. The city has also demolished 17 structures considered dilapidated or dangerous and has recently sold several of those lots, he said. So people are going to build new structures on these lots. Thats encouraging, Fowler said. Fowler also pointed to construction projects at the high school and Harrisburg Medical Center, projects alone that will involve more than 500 workers. Coal mine layoffs persist as one challenge ahead of the city, Fowler said. We have to work hard to keep our momentum going, he said. For more information about the citys new plaza, visit facebook.com/Harrisburg-City-Courtyard-226997341014425/?fref=ts. HERRIN The Little Egypt Chapter of Bereaved Parents will meet from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at First United Methodist Church in Herrin. The group is open to parents and grandparents who have survived the death of a child, regardless of the age of the child or circumstances of the death. MARION Williamson County residents who have items that need to be thrown away, but cant be picked up by the regular waste service, will have an opportunity Saturday to clear some space. Williamson County will host its 12th annual Free Trash Dump Day from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Williamson County Highway Department at 1817 N. Court St., according to Williamson County Commissioner Brent Gentry. Gentry said this is a program he started when he was elected in 2004 with the help of Republic Services, a waste management company. The intent is to keep people from dumping trash on the side of the road. The key behind it is to keep the roadways cleaned up, he said. The service is only available to Williamson County residents, not businesses, Gentry said. Officials will be randomly checking drivers licenses. The service will take any waste, including electronics, but there will be a limit of two televisions per resident. Yard debris, paint materials and hazardous materials will not be accepted. Gentry said residents need to change their mindset about litter and waste management, saying it all matters when prospective investors come to the area. If a person is looking here to bring in a business, they want to see something nice and neat, not trash everywhere, he said. Gentry is hopeful the county can host a hazardous waste pickup day soon for residents, saying the state has promised him Williamson County is first on a list for a grant. However, any hope for a grant is tied up with the current budget impasse. He said it would cost the county about $60,000 to collect hazardous waste from residents. GALATIA While mine layoffs and cuts in coal production have hurt some financially, the overall economic impact has not gone as deep as initially feared at least not yet according to some Southern Illinois officials on Thursday. A large number of layoffs have occurred in Galatia at mines owned by American Coal Co., a subsidiary of Ohio-based Murray Energy Corp. The company is preparing to close one of two mines in the Saline County town at some point this year. A check with the company Thursday did not shed light on when the mine might close or what will become of employees working there now. The American Coal Company is in the process of closing the New Era Mine, and continues to operate the New Future Mine. The American Coal Company now has approximately 300 employees, a Murray spokesman replied in an email response to questions about the mine closing. Some 247 layoffs have been announced at the American Coal operations in a series of cutbacks dating back to about a year ago. Another mine company, Alliance Coal, laid off 275 workers at operations in White and Hamilton counties earlier this year. Peabody also laid off 75 workers this year at two Saline County mines. Coal mining jobs have diminished over the last several decades, down from 8,525 workers in the 1980s to 2,154 in 2000, hovering below 3,000 since, according to federal information. Those figures do not include residual jobs, such as truck drivers who haul the coal. For Mike Duncan, owner of the Mitchellsville County Store on Illinois 145, the decline in production has resulted in almost an 80 percent drop in diesel fuel purchases, he said. Overall sales are down about 30 percent. We used to do contracts with a lot of the trucking companies that went out of American Coal. Since they are not trucking anymore, they dont buy fuel. They dont buy sandwiches, they dont buy soda pop, Duncan said. It hit us hard. Duncan is seeking a county liquor license to sell packaged beer and wine and has introduced new products to compensate for the lost revenues. State Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, said the impact has been widespread, prompting the General Assembly to consider legislation that would prop up Illinois-basin coal. Im getting calls from everybody, businesses and individuals, Forby said. Its like a domino effect: You lay a coal miner off, you lose seven jobs. Yet, officials in two Saline County towns, Galatia and Harrisburg, remain cautiously optimistic that the job loss will not be too far-reaching. Galatia Mayor David Harrawood said in-town traffic has dropped, but not as much as he initially feared in the aftermath of the New Era closing announcement. Surprisingly, its not as bad as we would anticipate, he said. But the picture could change real fast. Neither he nor Harrisburg Mayor Dale Fowler could immediately say how much of a decline their cities have seen in sales tax revenue that might be attributed to layoffs. Fowler, who is running against Forby this fall for the Illinois Senate, said new commercial growth in his city gives him hope against a significant drop in revenue. The city generates about $2.2 million in sales tax receipts each year, representing roughly 50 percent of general fund revenues. The encouraging thing to me, as challenging as the loss of the jobs is, is that were still bringing in new businesses, Fowler said. One new business, a fuel distribution company that supplies mines, is seeking to expand. That company, Fowler said, remains optimistic that mines can survive. Fowler acknowledged that new job creation may not fully replace those lost at the mines, or their wages, but he maintains a positive outlook when it comes to growth. You just have to remain optimistic that we can hold on, Fowler said. SPRINGFIELD The Illinois Department of Corrections has committed to reusing a youth detention center that is slated for closure, a group of state lawmakers from central and northwestern Illinois announced Friday. The Department of Juvenile Justice plans to close the Illinois Youth Center at Kewanee as it transitions to more community-based programs for young people convicted of crimes. Thats despite a recommendation from the General Assemblys bipartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability to keep the facility open. Reps. Don Moffitt, R-Gilson, and Mike Smiddy, D-Hillsdale, and Sens. Chuck Weaver, R-Peoria, and Neil Anderson, R-Rock Island, issued a joint statement Friday saying that theyd received a letter from Gov. Bruce Rauner in which he committed to repurposing the youth center as an adult correctional facility. The exact use has yet to be determined, although supporters had suggested using it as a place to care for older inmates near the end of their lives. This announcement only became a reality with the combined legislative and Kewanee area community effort, Moffitt said in the written statement. This is good for the community, good for jobs, and good for the taxpayers." Smiddy added, This has been a strong bipartisan effort to ensure this facility continued to stay open and offer economic viability to Henry County. Weaver, who along with Moffitt represents the facility, said the lawmakers will work with Corrections to help the department meet its goals. He thanked the governor and the department for a continuing commitment to Kewanee, Henry County and criminal justice reform. Spokeswoman Nicole Wilson wrote in an email that Corrections "is in the early stages of planning and continues to analyze best uses for the facility." "Additional information will be made available after decisions have been made," she said. The Department of Juvenile Justice in February announced its plans to close the maximum-security Kewanee facility. After the forecasting commission voted to recommend keeping it open, department director Candice Jones issued a statement reaffirming the decision. We must focus on a meaningful dialogue about how to change Illinois juvenile justice system to improve public safety through better youth outcomes, she said. Supporters argued that it didnt make sense to close Kewanee, built in 2001, because its the departments newest facility. They also expressed concerns about what the loss of nearly 240 jobs would mean for the surrounding community. The lawmakers said Friday that shifting the facility to the Department of Corrections could help ease overcrowding, understaffing and excessive overtime at state prisons. SPRINGFIELD -- It remains unclear whether the Illinois General Assembly will act before the scheduled end of its spring session on legislation that Exelon Corp. says is essential to the future of its financially struggling nuclear power plants in Clinton and near the Quad Cities. Near the end of a committee hearing Thursday that lasted more than three hours, Democratic Sen. Mattie Hunter of Chicago, chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee wont be coming to the Senate floor for a vote anytime soon. Exelon has said that it will shut down the Clinton Power Station next year if adequate legislation is not passed that properly values nuclear power for its economic, environmental and reliability benefits during the spring Illinois legislative session scheduled to end May 31. Among many other changes, Exelons Next Generation Power Plan would extend state subsidies similar to those granted to the wind and solar energy industries to nuclear power, which the company says is warranted because, like those power sources, nuclear doesnt generate carbon emissions. But Hunter said there are still ongoing discussions among the company, environmental and consumer groups, and other interested parties that must continue before the legislation is ready for a vote. It appears our committee is split, Hunter said. I dont know if we even have enough votes to get it passed anyway. While acknowledging that theres no way to please everyone completely, she said there are signs that negotiations are moving in a positive direction. Indeed, organizations that often oppose legislative proposals from Exelon and other utilities expressed partial support for the current proposal during Thursdays hearing or said theyre engaged in discussions with Exleon. David Kolata, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board, a consumer watchdog, said the current proposal is significantly better than what youve seen before from (Commonwealth Edison) and Exelon, ComEds corporate parent. The organization has estimated that 60 percent of ComEd customers would see savings under new rate structures the bill would introduce, Kolata said. He said one issue that remains is fixing problems with the states renewable portfolio standard, which currently calls for 25 percent of Illinois energy to come from renewable sources by 2025 Jack Darin, director of the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, said his group likewise is at the table with Exleon. The Sierra Club wants a comprehensive energy policy that builds on earlier energy conservation efforts, encourages renewable energy development and reduces carbon pollution, Darin said. We are working through those issues, he said. We have made some important progress. But Exelons proposal also faces stiff opposition from groups like AARP Illinois, the Illinois Public Interest Research Group and the Illinois attorney generals office. Many of their concerns center on the impact the legislation would have on utility customers. We think this is a terrible proposal, said Abe Scarr, director of the Illinois Public Interest Research Group. Of particular concern to these groups is a proposal to shift from charging customers for energy distribution by the kilowatt-hour to imposing a demand charge, which would be assessed based on each customers peak usage during the month. Opponents say this could result in wide month-to-month variations in power bills. Its designed to ensure profits and more consistent profits for ComEd and Exelon and not the public policy goals that our state should be pursuing, Scarr said. For many in Clinton and the Quad Cities, the issue comes down to jobs and local property tax revenue. Clinton City Administrator Tim Followell testified that the plant accounts for half of the citys property tax collections. Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, who represents the plant, issued a statement during the hearing noting that it also provides $7.6 million in tax revenue to the Clinton School District and $1 million to Richland Community College in Decatur. The plant also provides nearly 2,000 direct and indirect jobs, Followell said. Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, the bills sponsor, said it is a work in progress and discussions will continue. MURPHYSBORO Two brothers were sentenced Thursday to prison for burglarizing several Jackson County churches in 2014, according to a news release Friday from Jackson County States Attorney Michael C. Carr. Kristopher Noble, 22, of McLeansboro was sentenced to six separate 14-year terms in prison, each to be followed by a three-year period of mandatory supervised release, all to run concurrently. William Noble, 27, of Jonesboro was sentenced to six separate eight-year terms in prison, each to be followed by a two-year period of mandatory supervised release, all to run concurrently, the release said. On Dec. 21, 2014, deputies with Jackson County Sheriffs Office received multiple reports of burglaries to churches in Jackson County. Deputies investigated reports of forced entry into Ava Missionary Baptist Church, Ava Assembly of God, Kinkaid Christian Fellowship Church, St. Lukes Evangelical Lutheran Church, Pate Chapel Baptist Church and New Life Tabernacle. It was apparent that the suspects entered the churches looking for items to steal, and some of the churches reported money and other items stolen, the release said. During the investigation, deputies learned that authorities in Union County also were investigating a large number of burglaries to churches in that county. The investigation led to a search warrant being conducted on a home in Anna that was associated with William and Kristopher Noble. During the execution of the search warrant, a number of items were recovered and identified as belonging to various churches in Union County and one church in Jackson County. The release said the Noble brothers both admitted to Jackson County Deputies that they burglarized each church in Jackson County. In May 2015, both of the defendants were sentenced in Union County for the burglaries that occurred there. More in The final three: Everything you need to know about Clinton, Sanders and Trump (9 of 11) NEW YORK The number of pregnant women in the United States infected with Zika virus is suddenly tripling, due to a change in how the government is reporting cases. Previously, officials had reported how many pregnant women had both Zika symptoms and positive blood tests. In a change announced Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's count will include all women who tested positive, regardless of symptoms. There are now 157 pregnant women infected with Zika in the 50 states, up from the 48 reported last week under the old definition. Experts emphasized that there does not appear to be any dramatic actual increase of pregnant women with the disease in recent months. There was a spike in diagnoses in February and March, but relatively few new cases since then, according to CDC data that includes women who experienced symptoms and those who didn't. The Zika virus causes only a mild and brief illness, at worst, in most people. But in the last year, infections in pregnant women have been strongly linked to fetal deaths and to potentially devastating birth defects, mostly in Brazil. The virus is spread mainly through the bite of a tropical mosquito called Aedes aegypti. It can be found in the southern United States, but there's no evidence that they've been spreading the virus in the U.S. yet. All the 544 total cases in the 50 states so far have been people who had traveled to outbreak areas, or who had sex with someone who did. Experts think mosquitoes on the U.S. mainland will probably start spreading the virus in the months ahead, when hot weather hits and mosquito populations boom. The sudden rise in the count of pregnant women with the disease in the U.S. may seem jarring. But Dr. Neil Silverman, a UCLA professor of obstetrics who has been advising the California Department of Public Health on Zika issues, explained the change in method does not indicate a greater risk of infection. When he gets calls from patients, he said, "About 90 percent of what we're doing is reassuring and calming people." Only an estimated 1 in 5 people infected with Zika develop symptoms fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes which usually last no more than a week. Initially, doctors recognized the connection between the virus and birth defects only in women who had suffered symptoms during pregnancy. But reports published this year indicate some pregnant women with laboratory evidence of a recent Zika infection but who never had symptoms have delivered infants with these defects. International health agencies have already been reporting Zika infections in women based solely on lab tests. Some experts have found it surprising that the CDC has been basing its official number on a more conservative case definition. However, CDC officials had voiced concerns that one kind of blood test is too prone to giving a false positive test result if a woman was infected with a different but similar tropical virus. CDC officials on Friday said it's possible the new count may include a few false positives, but they say the new count will offer a more complete picture of the effects of Zika in the U.S. states and territories. CDC says doctors should consider testing pregnant women who have been to an area where Zika is spreading, whether or not they have symptoms. Doctors also are encouraged to ask pregnant women if their sex partner has been infected or traveled to an outbreak area. The new counting "will give us a better idea of the correlation between a mom's symptoms and the effects on the baby," said Dr. Richard Beigi, an obstetrics expert at the University of Pittsburgh. The agency also presented new numbers for pregnant women in the territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It rose to 122 cases from 65. The CDC did not say how many Zika-infected pregnant women were believed to have been infected during travel and how many got it through sex. Officials said the count includes diagnoses made over several months, and while many of the women in the count still are pregnant, some of the pregnancies have ended since the women were first diagnosed. The agency did not detail the outcomes of the pregnancies. Also on Friday, President Barack Obama was briefed by top federal health officials about Zika. Administration officials have asked Congress for about $1.9 billion in emergency funding for vaccine development and other Zika work. The Senate on Thursday approved its $1.1 billion plan to combat the Zika virus. The House on Wednesday approved only $622 million, meaning difficult negotiations remain over how much money to devote to fighting the virus and whether to cut funding allocated to study and combat the Ebola virus to help pay for it. Obama repeated his call for the full requested amount. "Bottom line is Congress needs to get me a bill. It needs to get me a bill that has sufficient funds to do the job," he said. ___ Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report from Washington. NORTH Orphans in Haiti will receive 18,000 meals thanks to the efforts of volunteers from First Baptist Church of North and others. Sixty volunteers gathered in the North FBC gymnasium on Saturday, May 14, to assemble the freeze-dried meals for Atlanta, Georgia-based Food Aid International. The Rev. Stephen Wilson, children and youth minister at the church, helped lead the project and coordinated the fundraising for the meals. I attribute this as a blessing from God, Wilson said. We thought we would reach 15,000 meals, but we reached 18,000. Iris Cade, 87, was one of the volunteers from First Baptist of North busily packing the meals on Saturday. Our pastor and Stephen are two men of God. They are God-fearing men. They inspire us to do what we do, Cade said. We do a lot for the town. Audrey Harwell, 11, of North, who is home-schooled, said she was volunteering just to help all the other children. I volunteered for this cause because of the fact that such a small amount of money can have such an impact on children around the world, her mom Leslie Harwell added. Another volunteer, Wiley Jackson, 17, a 2015 Palmetto Boys State participant and Pelion High School senior, said, I feel like God has a plan for everybody. His plan for us is to feed them (Haitian orphans) so they will have more days to honor Him. Stephen Howard and Evan Hulst of Food Aid International were at the church helping to coordinate the efforts. We partner with businesses, churches and schools. We provide equipment, ingredients and transportation, Howard said. The meals packed will bring the children from stage three malnutrition back to health. He said each package contained six dehydrated meals, including rice, dehydrated vegetables and soy fortified with protein and 21 vitamins and minerals. The volunteers formed assembly lines, carefully measuring and packing the ingredients for the meals into bags. They then weighed each bag, adjusting the amount of rice to reach the desired weight. Howard said the church provided the labor and the funds. North has been super generous in donating funds for the meals, Wilson said. We had the youth go out to local businesses. They let us collect in front (of the businesses). Some let us put jars in and some donated. A lot of the youth donated their spare change. The pastor added, Its good for the children and youth to see the adults helping. The Rev. Rick Jones, senior pastor at North FBC, said, Its just a project by the youth and our church to meet the nutritional needs of those who are underprivileged in Haiti. Our youth are very involved in our community in raising money for foreign missions. In a video presentation played for the volunteers before the packing session began, Chris Lender, executive director for Food Aid International, said that 5.5 million children will die this year because they do not have enough to eat. We try to not just fill their bellies but their hearts, Howard said. This will also help spread the gospel. For more information about Food Aid International, go to http://www.food-aid.org. COLUMBIA Absentee voting for the statewide primaries in June is underway at county elections offices throughout South Carolina. As of Thursday, approximately 22,000 absentee ballots had been issued statewide. In comparison, approximately 25,000 absentee ballots were cast in the 2012 statewide primaries (the last com- parable statewide primaries). Absentee voters should be aware of the follow- ing procedures and deadlines. Qualified voters (reasons listed below) may vote absentee in person or by mail. To vote in person, visit your county elections office, complete an application and cast your ballot. You may vote absentee in person up until 5 p.m. on Monday, June 13. You can get an absentee application in one of two ways: Follow the link scVOTES.org to get your application online. You must be able to print your application. Request an application from your county voter registration office by phone, mail, email, or fax. You will be mailed an application. Complete and sign the application and return it to your county voter registration office as soon as possible and no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, June 10. You can return the application by mail, fax, or email. You will be mailed an absentee ballot. Vote following ballot instructions and return the ballot to your county voter registration office no later than 7 p.m. on June 14. You may return the ballot personally or by mail. Voters can find more information on absentee voting, check their absentee ballot status and their voter registration and get a sample ballot at scVOTES.org. Voters qualified to vote by absentee ballot: Students attending school outside their county of residence and their spouses and dependents Members of the Armed Forces or Merchant Marine serving outside their county of residence and their spouses and dependents residing with them Persons serving with the American Red Cross or United Service Organizations (USO) serving with the Armed Forces outside their county of residence and their spouses and dependents Persons who, for reasons of employment, will not be able to vote on Election Day Physically disabled persons Government employees serving outside their county of residence on Election Day and their spouses and dependents residing with them Persons with a death or funeral in the family within three days before the election Persons who plan to be on vacation outside their county of residence on Election Day Certified poll watchers, poll managers and county election officials working on Election Day Overseas citizens Persons attending sick or physically disabled persons Persons admitted to the hospital as emergency patients on Election Day or within a four-day period before the election Persons serving as a juror in state or federal court on Election Day Persons 65 years of age or older Persons confined to a jail or pre-trial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial Dean Hutto welcomes the help state lawmakers approved for farmers hurt by last years flooding. The Providence farmer lost all of his cotton and about 80 percent of his peanuts. About 20 percent of his soybean crop stayed in the field because of the water. I can definitely use it, Hutto said. I am going to get some benefit out of it and overall I see a lot of farmers in South Carolina are too. Gov. Nikki Haley vetoed a bill setting aside $40 million to help farmers recover from losses sustained during the floods. Lawmakers overrode her veto this week. The bill will allow farmers to apply for grants of up to $100,000 each, covering no more than 20 percent of their total loss. The grants will only cover production costs such as seed and fertilizer, not debt or new equipment. Hutto said approval is better late than never. As much as anything, the fact that people are eligible to apply for it now is going to be a morale boost for the agriculture industry, Hutto said. It is another opportunity to get over last year. But Hutto cautioned that there are many misconceptions about the aid. There are going to be some people who think they qualify and they are not going to qualify, Hutto said. I may not qualify. This is far from a hand-out, he continued. It is pretty strenuous criteria. A lot of people will qualify, but in order to prove their loss they will not get the money they think they will. This is a very conservative helping hand. This is not sign your name on the dotted line and you get $100,000. To be eligible for a grant, a farmer needs to have suffered a loss of at least 40 percent from the floods, be in a county that was declared a disaster and sign an affidavit certifying that each loss presented is accurate, according to the bill. The T&D Region counties were all part of the disaster area, with some areas receiving nearly 20 inches of rain. Statewide, the total crop loss as a result of the floods was nearly $400 million. It is estimated that about 33 percent of the crop loss was covered by insurance. The S.C. Department of Agriculture, with the assistance of the S.C. Department of Revenue, will be responsible for overseeing a farm aid advisory board which will make recommendations and specify eligibility and grant amounts to farmers. The advisory board will include S.C. Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers or his designee, who will serve as chairman; the director of the Department of Revenue, or his designee; Clemson Universitys vice president for public service and agriculture, or his designee; and the vice president for land grant services of South Carolina State Public Service Activities, or his designee. Other members will include one member from S.C. Farm Bureau, one member from the farm credit association, one member from the crop insurance industry and one agricultural commodities producer. The board will hold its initial meeting within 20 days of being formed to recommend an application process. Weathers hopes the first meeting of the Farm Aid Advisory board will be held by the end of May. He said the board will work in collaboration with farm service agencies to ensure distribution efforts are fair and equitable. That is a big challenge, Weathers said. One of the goals is to make the process easy to understand. We want to make sure we dont skip anything important and to follow all the steps in the process, he said. It is important to get this done as soon as we can. Weathers has expressed hopes that the money will be available by the end of summer. Hes encouraging farmers to build relationships with their suppliers in hopes credit will be extended until the money is available. When the process is approved, the Department of Agriculture will provide the chairmen of the S.C. House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee with a written copy of its application process. Farmers will then be able to apply for grants within 45 days after the adoption of the application process, according to the bill. To determine loss, the advisory board will measure the farmers total loss of all affected agricultural commodities for 2015 against the persons expected production of all agricultural commodities affected by the 2015 flood. The farmers production yield history will be used to gauge the loss for insured crops. In determining the loss for uninsured crops, the board will use the most recent years county price and county yield as determined by the National Agriculture Statistics Service and the United States Department of Agriculture, the bill states. As part of the application process, farmers will have to provide proof of farm ownership as well as some farm records. The bill notes that if farmers provide inaccurate information or use funds inappropriately, they will need to refund the entire grant amount. The advisory board will dissolve 45 days after the awarding of the final grant, or by June 30, 2017, whichever comes first. If there are funds remaining, they will go back into the states general fund, according to the bill. Students at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College will soon be paying about $5 more per credit hour. Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a 2.9 percent increase in tuition beginning with the fall 2016 semester. The main thing that probably drives a tuition increase in a year like this when you have a tight budget year were also faced with the possibility of a state-mandated salary increase, OCtech Vice President of Business Affairs Kim Huff said. Its still uncertain just how much the salary increase will be, Huff said. The S.C. House is calling for a 2 percent increase while the Senate says it should be 4 percent. Were hearing a compromise of 3 (percent), but were not sure, Huff said. If its 4 percent, that will cost the college $300,000. A decline in enrollment in 2015-16 led to a tight budget year for the college, and contingency funds were used to balance the budget, Huff said. The college includes at least $200,000 in contingency funds in each budget. Some $319,000 was designated as contingency for 2015-16. Huff noted that the college regularly increased tuition over the past few years. Its not just OCtech, he said. The other technical colleges are in the same situation. All of us are seeing some declines in enrollment, he said. All of us are facing tighter budgets. In other business, commissioners approved asking the S.C. Technical College System for permission to make the engineering graphics certificate program a degree program. Currently, the program offers three different certificates, Vice President of Academics Donna Elmore said. OCtech already has an articulation agreement with South Carolina State University that allows engineering graphics students to transfer into the university. Ministers of Foreign Affairs from across the Caribbean Community gathered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, May 9 10, at the Beachcombers Hotel, Villa, for the Nineteenth Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR). The opening ceremony heard addresses from: CARICOM Secretary-General, His Excellency Ambassador Irwin LaRocque; outgoing chairman of COFCOR, Hon. Alva Baptist, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saint Lucia; incoming chairman of COFCOR, Hon. Sir Louis Straker, Minister of Foreign Affairs, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. According to a communique following the meeting, in addition to matters pertinent to the region, including bilateral and cross border issues along with numerous multilateral and hemispheric issues affecting CARICOM, Foreign Ministers met with their counterparts from the Kingdoms of Sweden and the Netherlands. Discussions with Her Excellency, Margot Wallstrom, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden, centered on issues such as climate change, renewable energy, water management, ocean security, and citizen security. The engagement with His Excellency, Bert Koenders, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, centred on issues such as climate change, particularly its impact on SIDS and low lying States. . The role of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as the current President of the EU was also discussed as well as the concerns of the Community over blacklisting by EU Member States, and the withdrawal of correspondent banking services, both of which had an adverse impact on CARICOM States. According to the communique, the Ministers recognised: the International Decade for People of African Descent as an opportunity to bring awareness to the challenges facing persons of African Descent and for case for reparation; and the observance of the Tenth Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD. The Ministers also reflected on the activities that CELAC will undertake in 2016, following the Fourth CELAC Summit which took place in Ecuador in January 2016. They articulated CARICOM priorities within CELAC, including matters critical to Small Island Developing States and low-lying coastal States. The two border disputes involving CARICOM members were also deliberated on. As far as the Guyana-Venezuela impasse was concerned, the Ministers noted that the Secretary General of the United Nations met with the Presidents of Guyana and Venezuela in September 2015 at UN Headquarters, and high level teams from the Office of the Secretary General had paid visits to both capitals between October 2015 and February 2016, to discuss developments with respect to the controversy. The Ministers expressed their full support for the role of the United Nations Secretary General and his efforts, to bring the controversy to a definitive and judicious conclusion, and reiterated the firm and unequivocal support of the Caribbean Community for the maintenance and preservation of Guyanas sovereignty and territorial integrity. The communique said. With respect to the Belize-Guatemala dispute, the Foreign Ministers received an update on the most recent developments between Belize and Guatemala. The Foreign Ministers deplored the recent escalation of tensions caused by troop mobilisation. The Meeting supported the critical role of the OAS in working with Belize and Guatemala to expeditiously and deliberately adopt protocols that would govern the interaction of both countries on the Sarstoon River that defines the southern boundary between Belize and Guatemala. Even as they called on Belize and Guatemala to move deliberately toward mechanisms necessary to bring the matter to the International Court of Justice for final resolution, the COFCOR emphasised its resolute support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of Belize. The Twentieth Meeting of the COFCOR will be convened in Suriname in 2017. Left: Saboto Caesar, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, made an impassioned appeal for persons to desist from indiscriminately killing turtles. Right: The Atlantic (Windward) coast of St. Vincent is a favourite breeding ground for the endangered Leatherback turtle. A warning has been sent to individuals who continue to destroy turtles that come to shore to lay their eggs. The warning came last Monday during the annual Fishermans Day activities at the Calliaqua Playing Field, and was issued by Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Saboto Caesar. "There is a time for everything under the sun, and when the turtles come to lay their eggs, I am asking you to leave the turtles alone, he appealed. Caesar said that he was aware of the problem, and has evidence to that effect compiled from the internet and on the Social Media site, Facebook. The problem, he said, prompted a meeting with the Chief Fisheries Officer and certain divisions of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force. Notwithstanding, he was asking the public, as the Fisheries Division has done, to be on the lookout for perpetrators and also to refrain from the practice themselves. According to information from the Fisheries Division, there are four main species of turtles indigenous to this country the Leatherback, Hawksbill, Green Turtle and the Loggerhead Turtle. The Leatherback turtle is the most sought after, with nesting grounds along the Atlantic coast of the country. Reshevski Jack, Fisheries/Conservationist, explained that the Leatherback is critically endangered because of its low survival rate. About 1 in 3,000 survive, Jack said. He explained that often the newly hatched turtles are trampled on by humans and dogs, as they make their way to the water, or if they make it to the water, there are other predators that feed on them, making the survival rate very low. Those that make it to adulthood often return to the very beach on which they were hatched. The closed season (for hunting turtles) runs between March 1 and July 31. Offenders who are caught and prosecuted can be fined up to EC$5,000, or the presiding magistrate/judge may determine a period of imprisonment if an individual is found guilty of the offence and is unable to pay the fine. Left: Attorney Grant Connell suggested that Magistrate Rechanne Browne should make a tour of the ganja mountains. Right: Magistrate Rechanne Browne made it clear she would not be getting anywhere near those places. Attorney Grant Connell, a staunch advocate for the decriminalization of marijuana, has asked Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne to view the countrys vast areas of marijuana cultivation, to acquire first-hand knowledge of the reality. Connells request came at the Serious Offences Court on Monday while speaking as a friend of the court. He was assisting Barbadian national Greggory Dottin who had pleaded guilty to possession of 20 pounds of marijuana with intent to supply, possession of the drug for the purpose of drug trafficking, and attempting to export the drug. Dottin, a 33-year-old labourer, was unrepresented and remained silent when the Chief Magistrate asked him if he had anything to say, after the facts were read. This prompted Connell to rise on his behalf, in mitigation. Connell requested that the Magistrate go into the mountains so that she could be in tune with the reality with respect to the marijuana situation here. Browne, however, indicated that she would not be going through those tracks. Connell then suggested that the Magistrate take a trip down the coast, by boat or take an aerial view of "the mountains of marijuana. "There seems to be an increasing interest in our product, in that they (non-nationals) are coming to collect it themselves. There are thousands of pounds more where that came from, Connell said, referring to the marijuana in question. "We cannot fill the jails with people like this. He is Barbadoss problem. Impose a fine and send him back. If you impose a custodial sentence, you will also be imposing a liability on the state, the lawyer contended, as he contrasted that liability with the fact that the country needs assistance for projects such as the International Airport and road repairs. He noted that Dottin had no previous conviction and pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity. "Why are we going to impose a custodial sentence on a Barbadian?, Connell questioned rhetorically, adding that ganja is not grown in large quantities in Barbados. "There is plenty of it in our hills until it is spoiling, he stated. He expressed the view that when a man is jailed for four years, the state incurs a cost several times the value of the drug, which he said was an unnecessary burden on tax-payers. But while Senior Prosecutor Adolphus Delpleche agreed that the state needs the money, he declared, "We cant sell our souls. Connell, however, did not agree that it was tantamount to selling our souls. The lawyer stressed the need to revisit the laws with regard to marijuana, stating that they are much too harsh. "This level of hypocrisy must stop. It (marijuana) is growing in abundance here. It is only so much we can use, he said. While the Senior Prosecutor agreed that the laws with regard to marijuana should be revisited, he explained that this is an issue for parliament and not the court, whose role is not to pass laws but to interpret and apply them. Taking all the factors into account, the Chief Magistrate imposed a fine of $25,000 forthwith or nine months in prison for possession of the drug with intent to supply. She, however, sentenced Dottin to one year in prison for having the drug for the purpose of drug trafficking and nine months for attempting to export the drug. The sentences are to run concurrently. Connell asked that the custodial sentences be suspended; but his request was not granted, with the Magistrate informing him that, had it not been for his vigorous mitigation plea, Dottin would have received a harsher penalty. Corporal 272 Chris John of the Narcotics Unit had intercepted Dottin at the E.T. Joshua Airport last Monday as the Barbadian awaited a LIAT flight out of the country. A search of his luggage revealed a taped package which when opened revealed marijuana. Corporal John took Dottin to the Narcotics base at Arnos Vale where a thorough search was conducted of Dottins luggage, and 13 more packages containing marijuana were found. Dottin had arrived at the E.T. Joshua Airport on a LIAT flight from Barbados around 10:15 p.m. the previous day. When questioned by Corporal John then, he indicated that he would be spending seven days here, and had said where he would be staying. Prosecutor Delpleche commended Corporal John for his vigilance. An air services agreement has been entered into by the government of ST. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Agreements and International Relations, Department of Air Transport and Airport Affairs (AIR-DATAA) of Qatar. The agreement was signed by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves on behalf of SVG, and Mohammed Faleh Alhajri of the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, on Thursday12th may, at Cabinet Room. The agreement will become binding on the approval by the cabinets of SVG and Qatar. Upon signing, Dr. Gonsalves thanked the Emir of Qatar and his Government for so willingly entering into an agreement with the Government and people of SVG, on air services. With the construction of the Argyle International Airport and its commissioning near at hand, Dr. Gonsalves cited the importance of this country having air services agreement "with a number of countries with which we are friendly, and which have shown interest in the development of our country, and for us to have this as the framework for the actual, possible operations of air services. He also expressed gratitude to the "technical persons from Qatar and also from St. Vincent and the Grenadines for their tremendous work in concluding the memorandum and the agreement. Mr. Alhajri, in response, thanked the Prime Minister for "his warm reception and kind hospitality. The agreement will allow airlines to operate any number of flights between the State of Qatar and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, without any restrictions, Alhajri noted. Qatar is the first Arab country to enter into such an agreement with SVG. Dr. Gonsalves is expected to be invited to Qatar for the formal signing of the agreement in that country. Students, staff and a visiting delegation from the School of Nursing taking in the exercise. Students and teachers at the Schools for Children with Special Needs have a better grasp of sexual matters. They welcomed officers of the St. Vincent Planned Parenthood Association at their institution last Tuesday, May 18, for a programme dubbed Comprehensive sexuality education and youth rights. May 18 marked the launch of Vision 2020 agenda, Planned Parenthood Associations across the globe. The campaign is based on the theme: Comprehensive sexuality education and Youth Rights: Know it, Own it: your sexuality matters. It embraces the principle that sexual and reproductive health and rights are inextricably linked to the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development. Principal of the School for Children with Special Needs Naseem Smith was elated that the Association considered her school as target of the programme. Smith noted that aspects of reproductive health were important to every citizen, even more so, vulnerable ones such as those attending the School for Children with Special Needs. Nellie Phillips, Executive Director of the St. Vincent Planned Parenthood Association, emphasised the students rights, and justified her Associations presence at the school. She highlighted that information on matters of sexuality helps with reducing risk behaviours, and prepares citizens to make healthy choices, and pointed to the right of all citizens to information. Phillips expounded on the theme as earlier introduced by Vice President of the Planned Parenthood Association Cecil Charles. He stressed the importance of engaging young people in all the policy decisions that affect their rights. Charles harped on the matter of protection as involving everyone. Even after the initial phase of this programme expires, the bond between the Planned Parenthood Association and the Scholl for Children with Special Needs will continue. Phillips noted that the task of continuing to provide for the safety and protection of the entire nation was a difficult one, and that there was space for anyone who wanted to help. The School for Children with Special Needs has been in operation for about 40 years. It has a student population of 63. Students were treated to presentations from Nellie Phillips, Wendy Trent, Marlon Charles, Bilton Holder, Patricia Chance-Hoyte, Christine Shallow, Ruthlyn Noel and Cecil Charles. The major members of the Taiwan Medical team scheduled to visit SVG in May-June, 2016. The Taiwan Changhua Christian Hospital (CCH) is sending its first medical team of 2016 to visit St. Vincent and the Grenadines from May 22nd to June 11th, 2016. It is the ninth visit of the CCH medical team to SVG since 2010. The team, headed by Dr. Hsiao Ling Kao, will include a general and breast surgeon, an emergency medicine doctor, a Chinese medicine doctor, a dentist and two nurses. During the visit, the team will work closely with colleagues of Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, and outreach to local communities to provide medical services to Vincentians. Dr. Shou-Tung Chen, one of the top surgeons on breast cancer in Taiwan, will make two lectures to the medical staff from MCMH and local clinics. An exchange among some of the participants in the Level 1 Certification Training Programme. Twelve employees from Power Stations owned and operated by St. Vincent Electricity Services Limited (VINLEC) are better equipped to control operations at the various locations, following the completion of a training programme last Friday (May 13th). The four-day Power Plant Operator Level 1 Certification Training Programme was organised in collaboration with the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC). It was designed for Switchboard/Machine Operators, and sought to help participants develop a greater understanding of Power Station operations. It also sought to give the participants a better understanding of the basic theory and principles of operations of Electrical Power Systems and Diesel Power Plants. Among the topics addressed were energy conversion and conservation, basic electrical technology, introduction to transformers, introduction to generators and motors, compression ignition (diesel) engine: operations and performance. The participants also examined issues such as magnetism, heat rate/thermal efficiency and performance evaluation of internal combustion engines, plant operating problems and emissions and air pollution. Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Ali Ahmadov has today met with his Belarussian counterpart Mikhail Rusyi who is in Baku to attend the Caspian Agro-2016 Azerbaijan International Agricultural Exhibition. The deputy premiers discussed the current state and prospects of expanding the economic and trade relations between the two countries. They highlighted the importance of studying each other`s experience in the field of social policy. The two also underlined the importance of implementing new projects in different fields based on the presidents initiatives. /By Azernews/ By Fatma Babayeva Azerbaijans state energy company SOCAR has no plans for the construction of an oil refinery in Georgia, head of the SOCAR Energy Georgia LLC Mahir Mammadov told Trend on May 19. Mammadov noted that no agreement was signed with the Georgian government on the construction of a refinery in this country. Earlier, Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili announced about the construction of a refinery in Georgia's Poti by SOCAR in 2012. However, no decision has been made so far about the refinery's construction. At the moment, there is no single operating refinery in Georgia. Therefore, the country has to import oil products. SOCAR exported 333,020 tons of oil products to Georgia in 2015 compared to nearly 298,260 tons in 2014. The sale of oil products in Georgia is carried out through SOCAR Energy Georgia LLC which represents SOCAR's interests in this country and has several subsidiaries. In accordance with the statistics, 5.45 million tons of oil products were produced in Azerbaijan during 2015 compared to 5.31 million tons of oil products manufactured during 2014. In addition, 1.45 million tons of oil products were produced during the first quarter of 2016 compared to 1.34 million tons of oil products produced during the respective period of 2015. Currently, SOCAR implements modernization projects of its refineries in Azerbaijan. By Amina Nazarli As a result of the extra challenges that genetically modified products bring, today many countries try to avoid using them. The production of agricultural and meat products have increased significantly in recent years. Although genetic modification enables to increase crop yields and to rapidly increase weight of livestock, it has very harmful effect for human body. Azerbaijan with its natural environment favorable for breeding cattle in organic conditions, has not yet adopted the global trend of feeding animals containing genetically modified crops. This, prompted many countries from Middle East, Russia and Kazakhstan to be interested in organic livestock of Azerbaijan in recent years. Qatar, is another country interested in import of Azerbaijani small cattle. Agriculture Minister Heydar Asadov said that the main reason for this interest is the high quality of meat products produced from sheep and goats in Azerbaijan. We are ready to export sheep to Qatar, the minister emphasized. Azerbaijan, in turn, has offered Qatar creating joint ventures, as well as a number of other priorities for cooperation, according to Asadov. We offered to set up joint ventures or to build logistic companies in Azerbaijan for the purchase of goods and their further delivery to Qatar. In addition, we have also proposed to conclede contracts with Azerbaijani farmers for the purchase of their products," the minister said. Animal breeding is of crucial importance for restoring and protecting the country's food security, and it has already achieved positive results. The country is supporting cattle breeding sector, allocating multi-millions investments for the development of cattle breeding in the country. Azerbaijan ranks the 58th among 109 countries of the world according to the Global Food Security Index 2015. It has improved its score by 7 points from its 2014 ranking. Last year, Azerbaijan was the 10th among Asia and Pacific countries. The South Caucasus nation, with an access to the traditional markets, intends to look for new markets for its high-quality agricultural products which enjoy popularity and are in demand in neighboring countries. Diversification of economy is important for achieving long-term stability and agriculture can be the main export sector for Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Arab countries are very interested in the development of cooperation in the sphere of agriculture, since they almost have no suitable lands: up to 90-95 percent of the agricultural products consumed in Arab countries is imported. Experts say that Saudi Arabia can become one of the main important markets for supplying agricultural products. /By Azernews/ By Laman Ismayilova The Central School of Art named after great Azerbaijani composer Gara Garayev held a master class with the participation of director of the Saint Petersburg Music Lyceum Vitaly Romanov,Trend life reports. The concert featured the performance by the student of the Central School of Art Nargiz Aliyeva, students of Tofiq Guliyev Music School No. 12 Ayan Aslanova and Zergelem Mehdiyeva as well as students of musical school after Sharoyev, Hashim Hashimov and Maryam Veliyeva. The event was held within a series of cultural and educational activities named "St. Petersburg Meetings in Baku" on May 18-20. During activities organized by the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg Government, Russian Embassy in Azerbaijan, representative of Rossotrudnichestvo in Azerbaijan with the support of Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan and the mayor of Baku, meeting participants got better acquainted with the culture of the city and the possibilities of getting education there. Thus, on May 18, the Russian Information and Cultural Center hosted the opening of the photo exhibition "The voluminous St. Petersburg." During all three days of "Petersburg meetings" residents of the capital watched four films from the collections of the oldest Russian film company - the film studio Lenfilm in the cinema center Nizami. The culmination of a series of events was the presentation held at the Educational Center of the School-Lyceum of Baku Slavic University. On this presentation students learned about the revenue opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate studies on a paid basis and budgetary in universities of St. Petersburg. Armenia has again shot down its own drone, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said May 19. An Armenian X-55 UAV, which was carrying out a reconnaissance flight in the direction of Aghdam District along the frontline, was mistakenly shot down by the Armenian armed forces on May 19 at around 13:20 (UTC/GMT +4 hours). The drone fell not far from the Armenian positions, according to observations of the Azerbaijani armed forces. It is the second X-55 UAV shot down recently as a result of the nonprofessionalism of the Armenian servicemen. The appointment of Avigdor Lieberman as Defence Minister will further strengthen the relations between Israel and Azerbaijan, Mendi Safadi, Israeli politician, the head of "Safadi" in Washington - the Center for International Diplomacy and Public Relations, told Trend May 19. According to him, the appointment will not affect the internal situation in Israel, but will contribute to the expansion of military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel, as Avigdor Lieberman also has good personal relations with the Azerbaijani leadership. Avigdor Lieberman has accepted the offer of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take the post of defense minister in the new coalition government with the "Israel Our Home" party participation, "Kursor" reported. Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, president of the Azerbaijani Alumni Association of the Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Leyla Aliyeva visited MGIMO. Leyla Aliyeva met Rector of the University Anatoly Torkunov and with high school students. The sides touched upon the issues of cooperation among MGIMO, Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Azerbaijani Youth Association of Russia (AMOR). They also discussed the arranging regular meetings of high school graduates in Baku. Leyla Aliyeva had a conversation with students and teachers from Azerbaijan and stressed the importance of arranging such meetings and maintaining contacts among fellow compatriots. Vice-rector of Moscow State Institute for General Affairs Artem Malgin said Leyla Aliyeva is known and loved not only by the Azerbaijani students, and also all those students and graduates who were warmly welcomed at the Baku Forum of Graduates. Chairman of the Azerbaijan Club of the University Javid Huseynov spoke about the activities of the Club. Junior Research Fellow, Center for Post-Soviet Studies Elnur Mehdiyev stressed the role of the Center in development of Azerbaijani-Russian ties. Deputy Dean of the Faculty of International Journalism Nigar Masumova spoke about the significance of cooperation with the Azerbaijani Youth Association in Russia. Based on the most valuable traditions of humanism in Azerbaijan, the country's first lady, president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, MP Mehriban Aliyeva has proposed to announce an amnesty on the occasion of the Republic Day (May 28). Mehriban Aliyeva was delivering a speech May 20 in the parliament of Azerbaijan on the amnesty issue on the occasion of the Republic Day. Nearly 30,000 convicts have been exempted from various types of penalty since 2007 based on amnesty acts adopted on the initiative of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, said the first lady of Azerbaijan. Mehriban Aliyeva expressed deep gratitude to her colleagues in the parliament who supported the initiative of the Foundation in 2007, 2009 and 2013, and thus granted freedom to thousands of people. She noted that during its 12-year activity, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation has earned a lot of respect and trust both in Azerbaijan and abroad. "In its every step, each activity, the Foundation is guided by the ideas of humanism and philanthropy, it always tries to help the people in need of care and help," Azerbaijan's first lady said. "It is no coincidence that the people who appeal us today regard the Heydar Aliyev Foundation as the last destination of hope, and we have always tried to justify that hope." "Today, the greatest hope of thousands of compatriots deprived of freedom is to be released, to join their families and to establish a normal life," Mehriban Aliyeva said. "To forgive them, to give them a new chance means to give them a different path in life, where there is no place for crime, a new way in life built on the principles of respect for the law. Everyone who has committed a crime should surely realize his mistakes and avoid making them in the future." "At the same time, our state, our society and each of us should help the released people in establishing their normal lifestyle," said the first lady. "Dear colleagues, according to the draft amnesty act, all persons who were convicted of the crimes not posing great public danger, will be exempt from serving their sentences," she said. Moreover, women, non-adults, disabled persons, the elderly and old-aged persons who have non-adults or disabled children in their custody and people from some other categories, convicted of some types of crimes, will be released, Mehriban Aliyeva added. "I would like to especially bring to your attention that the amnesty act will apply to those who participated in the fights for Azerbaijan's sovereignty and protecting its territorial integrity, as well as the close relatives of those who were killed or went missing in those fights," said the first lady. Furthermore, the act of pardon will apply to those sentenced to correctional labor, community service and fine penalties, Mehriban Aliyeva said. "In general, it is expected that 10,000 prisoners will be pardoned and around 3,500 of them will be released from detention facilities," she emphasized. Azerbaijan's first lady noted that such feelings as mercy, philanthropy, and care should be uppermost in every society. If state structures and civil society build their life, their activities namely on the basis of these principles, then it can be called a developed and successful society, according to Mehriban Aliyeva. "Mercy is not only about lending a helping hand to those who are in difficult situation, it sometimes requires making difficult and responsible decisions," she said. "People, who made a mistake once, have the right to be pardoned. Today, we should give them a chance to regain their place in the society and live a decent life," the first lady added. "I am confident that the amnesty act will once again show the power of Azerbaijan," said Aliyeva. "I hope that those who are to be pardoned will use their chance to become decent citizens of our society." /By Trend/ /By Azernews/ By Rashid Shirinov Vienna meeting can be regarded as a possible beginning for serious contribution to the peaceful settlement of the conflict, Bahar Muradova, Deputy Speaker of Milli Majlis (Parliament) told Trend. She said that the meeting was quite expected on the background of the April provocation of Armenian army in the frontline areas and the conflict should be solved as soon as possible. The Vienna meeting is very important. As for discussions and agreements reached at the meeting, I believe that the Azerbaijani president took the right step, taking into account the current situation and perspectives, she said. Muradova mentioned the necessity of preserving ceasefire so that to ensure the appropriate environment for the next meeting of the presidents in June. She noted that the Armenian side constantly violates the ceasefire and they did that during the meeting too. If the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs say that the meeting achieved a result reflecting certain agreements, and express opinions on a positive future, it is necessary to exert pressure on Armenia to create the required environment. In the absence of such environment it will be difficult to speak about any positive result. Therefore, it is difficult to say how the process will go and whether Armenia will keep its promise, Muradova noted. She concluded that if the co-chairs want to solve the problem, they must not only control the observance of the ceasefire, but also contribute to the solution of the conflict. A meeting between the presidents of Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan, and Serzh Sargsyan, Armenia, was held in Vienna on May 16. U.S. Secretary of state John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the French Secretary of state for Europe Harlem Desir, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk group and the special representative of the OSCE Chairman Andrzej Kasprzyk also participated at the meeting. The presidents reiterated their commitment to the ceasefire and the peaceful settlement of the conflict and agreed to finalize the OSCE investigative mechanism in the shortest possible time. By Fatma Babayeva Iran keeps increasing its oil production since the international sanctions imposed on the country were lifted in January 2016. U.S. JP Morgan bank has reviewed its assumption on Iranian capacity and lifted output forecast from 3.5 million barrels per day to 3.9 million barrels per day by the third quarter of 2016. Since the beginning of the year, Iranian output has surged ahead of market consensus expectations with April output estimated at 3.5 million barrels per day, stated the bank in its weekly Oil Market report. Analysts of the bank said that the surge in Irans oil output has been achieved much more rapidly than JP Morgan forecasted before. The current output of the Islamic State is close to levels that the bank forecasted for the country to reach at the end of the year. Possibly, the steep increase in production may in part be a function of condensate volumes being blended into the crude streams, the analysts of the bank noted. Furthermore, the increased gas production - following the start-up of several phases of the South Pars gas field - has increased the rate of gas injection into key oil producing assets, for instance the Agha Jari field. The banks report referred to the recent reports by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) indicating that gas injection at this field has increased to around 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The ability to sustain the rate of gas injection in domestic fields will be tested in the coming years, as Iranian domestic demand continues to grow and incremental gas supplies rely largely on completion of additional phases of the South Pars gas field, the bank said. Given the updated capacity assessment, analysts of the bank emphasized that it is likely that Iranian production will make further gains in the coming weeks and months. Probably, the reported crude production of Iran will reach 4 million barrels per day which will be the highest level of output since 2008. Iran's oil production and export stood respectively at 3.56 million billion per barrel and 2 million billion per barrel in April, according to the International Energy Agency's latest report. JP Morgan bank also noted in its weekly report that OPEC's early June meeting looks unlikely to generate a deal that eluded major oil producers in Doha to freeze their oil output levels last month. Analysts of the bank believe that the prospects of Iran agreeing to participate in a deal to cap production would become more compelling for them than currently, if the country reaches oil production level of 4 million barrels per day by that period. However, the recent developments in Saudi Arabia, following the replacement of Ali Al Naimi with Khalid Al Falih as Minister for Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, raises a question over whether these production gains will prompt a renewed focus on market share between the Middle East Gulf producers, the report said. The analysts mentioned that some reports already highlight that Saudi Arabia is likely to increase production in coming months. The last meeting of top oil producers in Doha held in Qatari capital on April 17 ended without any consensus agreement on freezing oil production. The talks on oil output freeze collapsed after Saudi Arabia surprised the participants of the meeting by reasserting its demand that Iran should join oil freezing plan as well. Recently, U.S. president Barack Obama signed amendments to the law on national security on May 19. In accordance with the amendments, the U.S. will no longer prevent the sale of Iranian oil. The step was taken after the Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Iran has carried out key steps associated with its nuclear program. Currently, foreign energy companies hold intensive negotiations to get a foothold in Iranian oil and gas sector. Iran already concluded contracts with several European and Asian energy companies, and the implementation of those contracts is expected to take place in near future. The country strives to bring its oil exports to the pre-sanctions level (around 4 million barrels per day) by the end of this summer in the longest. BPs statistical review of world energy 2015 reports that Iran holds 9.3 percent of the worlds total proven oil reserves. Before sanctions, Iran was exporting 2.2 million barrels per day of crude oil. I was elected in March 2008, the Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara under the Democratic Action Party (DAP). I'm also the DAP National Publicity Secretary, as well as the investment liaison officer for the Penang Chief Minister based in the Klang Valley.Before joining politics full-time in January 2007, I was the CEO and founder of a Malaysian IT company, publicly listed in Singapore. I divested all my shares in the company to be able to serve the community and take part in socio-political affairs of Malaysia.I've always had faith that there has been a guardian angel looking after me all these while - my personal well-being, my education, my career. Some will call it "God's will", some "fate" while some others, "destiny". I strongly believe that it is time for me to repay the kindness and fortune showered on me by my family, the society and of course, not forgetting, my guardian angel. :-)Also, don't forget to visit my other blog at Education in Malaysia and my Chinese blog The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has sent banks a request for proposals for a potential US dollar bond, according to several sources. The sovereign is expected to issue in the international capital markets sometime this year to fund a burgeoning fiscal deficit. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia signed a $10 billion five-year bank loan, the government's first significant foreign borrowing for over a decade. JP Morgan, HSBC and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi coordinated the loan, which pays an all-in margin of 120bp. Saudi Arabia is rated A1 by Moody's, A- by Standard & Poor's and AA- by Fitch. All three agencies have cut the sovereign's ratings in recent months, with S&P downgrading it by three notches since October. - Reuters Saudi-based charity organisation Alwaleed Philanthropies has donated over $29 million dollars to the Humanitarian Leadership Academy to launch ten humanitarian rapid-response centres across the world. The centres will offer the next generation of front line humanitarian staff, the latest insight and technology, and empower those most affected by emergencies to be the first responders, said a press release. The Academy plans to train frontline aid workers and volunteers across 50 countries to prepare people to respond to humanitarian disasters in their own country. It is a global collaboration between the private sector, governments, academia and NGOs. The headquarters is located in London by Save the Children, where a group of academics and specialists in humanitarian work meet to exchange research, ideas, and then re-asses the needs of each country in order to make informed decisions. Save the Children was one of the first humanitarian organizations who saw the need for an initiative like the Humanitarian Leadership Academy and provided the initial investment to establish the Academy, offering support both during the setup phase and beyond. Alwaleed Philanthropies role will be to leverage its resources and its international network of partners to help scale the initiative. Centres have already opened in the Philippines and Kenya, with three further centres to be launched this year in Bangladesh, Middle East and a collaboration centre in the UK. The foundation plans to also launch centres in Latin America, South and West Africa. The Academy announced today that it will be launching its new digital learning platform, Kaya, at the World Humanitarian Summit on May 23. The Kaya platform is a one-stop shop designed to help train those working on the front line of a humanitarian disaster. Kaya will train the next generation of humanitarian leaders and responders, especially those located in vulnerable crisis-affected countries and communities. Kaya is an evolving and flexible platform and will be sharing content from global, country, regional and local partnerships. Princess Lamia Bint Majed Saud AlSaud, secretary general of Alwaleed Philanthropies, commented: We need to do more to ensure that humanitarian needs are better served at the point of impact, especially in the critical life-saving 72 hour aftermath of any crisis. The Humanitarian Leadership Academy will be central to our efforts to meet this challenge. It will harness cutting edge technology to ensure a rapid-response and on-the-ground training to those on the front line of a crisis. For over 35 years, Alwaleed Philanthropies, run by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, has supported and initiated projects in over 120 countries. It collaborates with a range of philanthropic, governmental and educational organizations to combat poverty, empower women and youth, develop communities, provide disaster relief and create cultural understanding through education. TradeArabia News Service Bahrain-Germany bilateral trade increased to $496.4 million last year from $453.3 million in 2014, German Ambassador Alfred Simms-Protz told a business meeting yesterday (May 19), according to a report in the Gulf Daily News, our sister newspaper. To read further, please visit www.gdnonline.com. Egypt launched an official investigation into the disappearance of an EgyptAir flight on Thursday, heralding what safety experts called a daunting probe into the apparent loss of an Airbus jet with 66 people on board. The A320 disappeared from controllers' screens over the Mediterranean south of Greece en route from Paris to Cairo, with Athens saying the plane swerved in mid-air before plunging from cruising height. Egypt will lead the probe with the help of officials from France, where the 12-year-old jet was built and which had the second-largest number of people on board after Egypt, Ayman Al-Moqadem, head of Egypt's air accident agency, said. A French minister said three investigators from the BEA air crash investigation agency were on their way to Egypt, together with an expert from Airbus. There was no immediate word on whether the US, where engine maker Pratt & Whitney is based, would take part. Under global aviation rules, the country that produced the engines can expect to take part in an air crash investigation. But a US official said US agencies there fear Egypt will try to keep American investigators at arms length due to historical tensions which date back to the crash of EgyptAir 990 off the US coast in 1999. Relations between Egyptian and US aviation agencies have been tense since US investigators publicly concluded that a suicidal co-pilot deliberately crashed the Boeing 767. Egyptian investigators accused the National Transportation Safety Board of twisting evidence to support its suicide theory and produced their own report citing technical problems. Relations also appeared cool following the bombing of a Russian jet equipped with similar engines over Sinai in October. "I think certainly during the early and even middle part of that investigation ... a lot of our people were kept at arm's length," US House Intelligence Committee member Adam Schiff told MSNBC. Safety experts said Egypt had moved noticeably more quickly this time to discuss possible causes including terrorism, though other technical flaws or human error could not be ruled out. "This is going to be a difficult investigation," a former investigator familiar with the region said. Egypt said investigators would start searching for black boxes and gather evidence as soon as the crash site was found. France's BEA is expected to play a major role in the underwater hunt after leading the search for an Air France jet that crashed in the Atlantic in 2009 and an Egyptian jet that crashed off Sharm el-Sheikh in 2004, killing French tourists. The black boxes are equipped with pingers that usually last for 30 days, but the search may be hampered by deep waters requiring the use of underwater robots. Britain and Greece have also offered to assist, Moqadem said. He did not say if the offers were accepted. - Reuters InterContinental Jordan has welcomed Ali Obeidat as the property's new director of sales and marketing. Obeidat carries 14 years of experience in the world of hospitality, specifically in Jordans top five star hotels and resorts in Amman, Dead Sea, and Aqaba. His communication and negotiation skills, accompanied by his dedication and hard work have contributed to his impressive career path that took him from the position of sales executive when he first started, to cluster director of sales and marketing for the IHG Dead Sea resorts before joining InterContinental Jordan as its director of sales and marketing, the hotel said in a statement. Obeidat is looking forward to working hand in hand with the hotels sales and marketing team and all colleagues to bring about more success and achievements, it said. - TradeArabia News Service State lawmakers and the developer of the largest onshore wind farm in America are increasingly at odds these days. The subject of their strife: a proposal to raise Wyomings wind-generation tax. Power Company of Wyoming officials say the measure puts in limbo their plans to build 1,000 turbines in Carbon County. The 3,000 megawatt project enough to power nearly 1 million homes will be left at a disadvantage relative to renewable producers in other states, they argue. Wyoming is already the only state in the country with a wind-generation tax. The Denver-based company had planned to begin construction on a haul road this year. Now, it is uncertain if that work will begin. Its just difficult to plan, said Kara Choquette, a Power Company of Wyoming spokeswoman. Were still working on our plans to begin construction. Whether we can begin construction, that is the question. Wyoming lawmakers are calling such statements a bluff. The Cowboy States bountiful breeze means developers will continue to flock to its vast expanses of wind-blown prairie, regardless of the tax, they say. Whats more, they argue, Congress extended the $23-per-megawatt-hour tax credit for wind producers last year. They contend Power Company of Wyoming can spare some of those proceeds. This isnt my first rodeo on this type of thing. People come in and say, If we dont get this tax exemption, were going to have to close down, said State Rep. Mike Madden, a Buffalo Republican who chairs the Revenue Committee. How do you prove that? The debate is especially fraught because it comes at a time when Wyoming is reeling from an extended downturn in the coal, oil and natural gas sectors. The number of people seeking unemployment in the state has risen by 40 percent in the past year. State coffers are $130 million short of revenue projections for the current fiscal year and Gov. Matt Mead has said state government may need to cut $300 million over the next two years. News of a potential tax hike on wind generation was greeted with fierce opposition by local officials in Carbon County. The Chokecherry Sierra Madre Energy Project, now nine years in the making, is expected to create 945 construction jobs at its peak and almost 115 full-time positions once the turbines go into operation. A neighboring substation is expected to require another 1,000 jobs during construction. I think the Legislature is getting greedy and trying to kill the goose laying the golden egg, said John Espy, a county commissioner. If they do this, and it shuts down Chokecherry Sierra Madre, I think a couple legislators should think about retiring. His colleague, Commissioner Leo Chapman, said it was foolish for the state to try and saddle wind producers with the responsibility of making up lost revenue from the fossil fuel industry. It doesnt replace oil, gas and coal, but it sure as hell helps, Chapman said. Wyoming legislators backing the proposal said they were not seeking to stifle wind development. Instead, they said they are striving to ensure wind producers shoulder the same tax burden as their counterparts in the fossil fuel industry. A study by the state Legislative Service Office found wind producers pay $1 per megawatt hour in taxes. That figure includes the states 40-cent-per-megawatt-hour wind-generation tax. Coal paid between $1.77 and $2.69 per megawatt hour, depending on its quality. Natural gas paid $3.49 per megawatt hour, the study found. State Sen. Ogden Driskill, a Devils Tower Republican, said lawmakers were attempting to even the playing field for fossil fuels. I really dont believe in the federal subsidy, he said. I feel it has had a detrimental effect on our very competitively priced energy in Wyoming. Wind power can provide benefits to the climate and consumers, said Republican State Sen. Cale Case of Lander. But it in a state where tourism provides a significant source of revenue, the spectacle of wind mills dotting Wyomings open vistas comes at a cost. Developers should pay to compensate for that loss, he said, arguing the change is permanent. My son, my grandchildren will never see the Wyoming I saw, Case said. Much of the current debate stems from comments made by Power Company of Wyoming CEO Bill Miller in 2014. Congress was debating whether to extend the wind production tax credit at the time. The credit would be beneficial to Chokecherry Sierra Madre, but was not necessary to make the project economically viable, Miller told the Star-Tribune that year. Lawmakers have used that statement to bolster their position. Since the credit has now been passed, Power Company of Wyoming should effectively be able to share some of the proceeds with the state, they say. Whats apparent is theres a production tax credit that totally overwhelms whatever tax weve got, said Madden, the Revenue Committee chair. But company officials argue its not that simple. The tax credit will be phased out over the next five years, falling 20 percent in 2017, 40 percent in 2018 and 60 percent in 2019. Meanwhile, Congress also passed an investment tax credit for solar projects. It provides a 30 percent credit on the price of installing a solar array through 2022, after which it declines to 10 percent. They also argue the states tax study was flawed. Wind pays $3.91 per megawatt hour when also accounting sales and ad valorem taxes, as well as royalties to the federal government, a company analysis found. I have said in the past, we can compete with any resource generating electricity without the production tax credit, Miller said in a recent interview. Thats only under the premise that were on a level playing field, with, for example, the solar industry. The company, an Anschutz Corp. subsidiary, still faces substantial hurdles. It has yet to sign an agreement to sell its power to a utility. And it is waiting for a series of approvals from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which will allow construction to proceed. Wyomings tax debate now joins its to-do list. Legislators asked Revenue Committee staff to draft two bills for consideration later this year. One will look at raising the generation tax. The other will contemplate asking companies to turn over a portion of the production tax credit to the state. Grownup Stuff Monthly vets service May 31 The Natrona County United Veterans Council, and the staff of the Oregon Trail Wyoming State Veterans Cemetery, conduct a monthly memorial service for those known Wyoming veterans who have died since our last memorial service. On April 30, 98 Wyoming veterans were honored. This months memorial service will be held at noon, Tuesday, May 31, in the Tom Walsh Chapel at The Oregon Trail Veterans Cemetery. All are welcome to attend. The memorial service is provided on behalf of a grateful state and nation as an expression of appreciation for the honorable and faithful service rendered by each of these veterans. The veterans name, Wyoming community, and branch of service is read at roll call. There is a rifle salute, taps, and the folding of a flag. Constitution Party meets May 31 Constitution Party monthly meeting is 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 31, 2016, at the Agricultural Resource Learning Center, 2011 Fairgrounds Rd. For more, visit wyocp.com. 'Marrying Walt' opens June 2 Casper Theater Company will present Marrying Walt, a comedy by James Danek, on June 2 through 5 and June 9 through 12, 2016. Weeknight performances will be at 7:30 p.m., and 2 p.m., on Sundays. The play is centered around Mary and Walt Fennell, a couple in their early 60s, who live in Winter Haven, Florida, in a mobile home park. They have several friends who pop in from time to time to make their lives interesting. The play will be performed at 735 CY Avenue, and tickets can be purchased at Charlie Ts Pizzeria, 112 E. Second St.; Greater Wyoming Federal Credit Union, 155 W. Collins; Casper Senior Center, 1841 E. Fourth St., and at the door. Tickets are $13 general admission and $10 for seniors. For more information, please call 267-7243. Playwright reception June 4 Casper Theater Company will host a Playwrights Reception for James Danek, the playwright for Marrying Walt, at 6:30 p.m., on June 4, 2016, prior to the 7:30 p.m., performance at the theater, 735 CY Avenue. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Meet the actors, meet and ask questions of the playwright, and get a tour of our theater. The reception is by donation only and we will provide food and drink. Please come join us for a riotous good time before the show and stay for the performance after. For more information, please call 267-7243. Cast iron Dutch oven cooking class A morning of cast iron Dutch oven cooking, history of the area, and brunch will be held from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 4, at Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park, east of Casper. See many different types of cast iron and how to season, clean, and store them. Discussion will also include various choices of heat sources and delicious recipes. You will prepare, cook, and enjoy a complete Dutch oven brunch together. While meal is cooking, learn about the history of the area along the Platte River. You will receive a complimentary Dutch oven cookbook and sour dough starter for biscuits and pancakes. To register, get directions, or arrange for a ride, please call 259-2869. (Free admission to the state park if you tell the gate attendant that you are with the class and ask for directions to shelter.) Instructors are Carolyn Buff and Jan Burnett. Adult book club on the move This summer the Natrona County Library is mobilizing its adult book discussion to celebrate the summer reading theme of "On Your Mark, Get SetRead!" Featuring interrelated outings and books, participants will gather at a new location each month for a book discussion. The first Book Club Field Trip will be held at 6 p.m., on Tuesday, June 7, at the Bart Rea Learning Circle. June's novel is "The River Why," by David James Duncan. The discussion is free and open to the public. To participate, pick up your copy of "The River Why," at the Library's second floor Reference Desk, and then join us at the Bart Rea Learning Circle for an immersive experience. Call 577-READ ext. 2 or email reference@natronacountylibrary.org for more information. Veteran Cigar Night Every Wednesday from 5:30 to 7 p.m., all veterans are invited to Veteran Cigar Night at the Casper Cigar Company, 4717 W. Yellowstone Highway, sponsored by Casper Cigar Company. There is no cost to attend. This is a time and place for our community's combat veterans to relax and share their stories with other combat veterans while enjoying a good cigar. Veterans receive 20 percent off cigars. For more information, call Josh Cruse at (307) 337-4400 or josh@caspercigar.com Senior enrichment Free to men and women 60 or older. Join the tap dancing group of Joyce's Senior Stompers. It is moderate, easy, balanced clogging keeping us seniors young. It is great exercise for developing flexibility, helps coordination, increases endurance and strength and helps stimulate our brain in learning different dance routines. Exercise is important to increase lung capacity, burn calories, relieve stress, and it is fun. We meet on Monday mornings at 10:50 a.m. Call Joyce Sisk, 237-4908, for more information. Franscell sets book signing Kelly Walsh, Casper College and University of Wyoming graduate Ron Franscell will return to Casper on Saturday, June 11, from 1 to 4 p.m., at Wind City Books to sign his newest book, "Morgue: A Life in Death," (St. Martin's Press). The nonfiction work explores some of the most historic, infamous, and heartbreaking cases of Dr. Vincent Di Maio, M.D., son of a famous New York City medical examiner and one of the lions of forensic science in his own right. Franscell is the bestselling crime author of "The Darkest Night," and "Delivered from Evil." A lifelong journalist, he worked for newspapers in Wyoming, New Mexico and Californias Bay Area before hitting the road in one of American journalisms best beats, covering the evolution of the American West as a senior writer for the Denver Post. Shortly after 9/11, he was dispatched by the Post to cover the Middle East during the first few months of the Afghan war. In 2004, he became the managing editor for the Beaumont, Texas, Enterprise, where he covered the devastation of Hurricane Rita from inside the storm. He now lives in San Antonio, Texas. Taylor Scott Band June 17 The Wyoming Blues and Jazz Society presents the Taylor Scott Band on June 17, 2016 at the Attic above the World Famous Wonder Bar. Doors open at 7 p.m., show starts at 7:30 p.m.Tickets are $12 for WBJS members, and $15 for non-members and can be purchased through the web site at www.wyobluesandjazz.org or at the door the night of the concert. Taylor, originally from Cheyenne, now lives in Denver. His music is influenced by soul, funk, blues, jazz, and rock and roll. His first band, Another Kind Of Magick, represented Wyoming in the International Blues Challenge in 2012. Gov. Matt Meads request for state agencies to trim their budgets by 8 percent has left many of Wyomings seven community colleges working quickly to reduce costs during the states economic downturn. Some are cutting staff. One is shedding programs. The governors mandate came shortly after the states Consensus Revenue Estimating Group released a report showing that earlier revenue projections could fall short by between $110 million to $130 million. Central Wyoming College was one of the most recent to announce its budget plans. Instead of cutting programs, the school decided, it would cut staff. Lori Ridgway, a spokeswoman for Central Wyoming College, said the school did not have a final number of positions being cut because of early retirements and some positions being consolidated. Before the cuts, the school had about 240 employees working full time, she said, and about 75 percent of the schools budget is personnel. Were second-guessing like everyone else is, Ridgway said. When the governor indicated that there may be more reductions, we know that thats possible. We certainly hope not. Its been a lot to absorb. Its a significant budget decrease. At Eastern Wyoming College, president Richard Patterson said the schools budget would be cut about $1.5 million for the next fiscal year. He said the school started looking at ways to be more efficient at the start of the year, including not replacing some employees who had retired or resigned. Then the governors request for cuts came down. We are looking at some reduction in staff, Patterson said. Were trying to figure out how to do that at the least negative impact to the college. The school is not closing any programs now, he said. Patterson said he expects staff cuts in the next three weeks. Six to eight positions could possibly be lost across the board, he said. Over at Northwest College, four staff positions and three programs will be cut. Western Wyoming Community College president Karla Leach said in a statement that the schools 2016-2017 budget has been trimmed by about $1.1 million. The college has avoided layoffs by cutting supplies, employee travel, conferences and events, a spokesman said in a statement. The college has also chosen to leave vacant positions open, and has filled some positions below the salary that they were budgeted. Casper College spokesman Chris Lorenzen said the school is reducing its budget by about $2 million. No departments are being cut and officials are trying to avoid laying off employees, Lorenzen said. Were reasonably sure were going to avoid those level of cuts at this level right now, Lorenzen said. If the outlook continues to worsen and were asked to cut more, you know, that becomes harder and harder to do. He said the school has been able to cut the budget through early retirement, controlling purchasing and and deciding not to fill some jobs when employees leave. It wasnt anything in response to the budget, Lorenzen said about the early retirements, which he added have been around for quite awhile. Northern Wyoming Community College District plans to shave $1.8 million from its previous years budget. The district is already under pressure from less local tax revenue, down 44 percent in Sheridan County since 2010, according to a district news release. Weve managed to absorb the year-after-year reductions in local revenue weve been seeing for the past six years, but with this loss of state revenue added on top of that weve come to the point where we need to look at reductions in staffing, said Paul Young, NWCCD president. The district will tap into their $500,000 reserves, cut five administrative positions and leave four others vacant, according to the release. One area of the state where local revenue has remained steady is in the state capital, but state cuts have still affected the community college there. Laramie County Community College brought a $1.5 million deficit budget before its board of trustees May 11, requesting guidance from board members on where to save money, said Rick Johnson, vice president of administration and finance. The school will avoid serious cuts, where personnel and programs are at risk, until the 2018 fiscal year, Johnson said. But at the boards request, the colleges administration will decide by December how best to face a likely deficit in the following years budget, he said. Some of the colleges are approaching these cuts in a broader sense, said Jim Rose, executive director of the Wyoming Community College Commission. Instead of making sure all the cuts happen for the upcoming fiscal year, some colleges are looking at the trimming for two years, he said. This would then help the schools move into the reductions gradually. The community colleges budget each year, Rose said. He also noted that some colleges can use reserves to soften the initial impact of the cuts and allow them more time to make decisions. This all happened in a pretty short period of time, Rose said. You know, going to these decisions that are pretty fundamental in terms of the operations of a college as to what programs are we going to consider for elimination, thats a fairly long term, has a long term impact. You dont want to rush into those kind of decisions. And even though budgets are being cut and staffs are shrinking, Rose expected the economy, in one way, to help many of the states schools. Funding may be down, but enrollment could be up as people laid off from industry jobs look to learn new skills or take on a different line of work. Id be surprised frankly if we dont see some increases in enrollment, pretty much across the system, he said. Education reporter Heather Richards contributed to this report. The remains found near Cheyenne last month have been identified as those of a woman who authorities say was killed by a former town board member from Pierce and a group of bikers. The Weld County Coroner's Office identified the victim Thursday as 34-year-old Tera Lewandowski, who was killed in September. The first of six defendants to be sentenced in the killing was sent to prison earlier this month for three years. Court documents say former Pierce Town Board member Daniel Meyer told authorities he killed Lewandowski after a hit was approved by his biker gang leader over an argument about drugs. The documents also show Lewandowski texted her mother the night before her disappearance, saying "stay by your phone, something might happen tonight." At the height of World War II, German submarines, also known as U-boats, gained a reputation as the terror of the high seas. With more than 1,100 built, Hitlers U-boat fleet was infamous for disrupting enemy supply lines, sinking more than 2,600 Allied ships during the course of the war. Toward the wars end, one of these U-boats, U-858, was sent to wreak havoc along the east coast of the United States. But two weeks after Hitlers suicide, on May 14, 1945, U-858 became the first-ever Nazi submarine to surrender to U.S. forces. Its a boat that Chuck Kline remembers well. Thats because, for nine months after its surrender, Kline served aboard U-858. Kline, now 93, is one of a dwindling number of American sailors who served aboard submarines during World War II, and the last to come from Wyoming. Born March 19, 1923, in Boulder, Colorado, Kline grew up in the town of Rifle, located in the western part of the state. Records show he began his naval service in July 1943, starting out in the V-12 Navy College Training Program at the University of Colorado in Boulder. I went to classes to major in engineering, but I got into trouble with some of the math in there, Kline said. So they called me and gave me a choice. We can put you on probation, or you can go to boot camp, and I chose boot camp. And Im glad I did now. Rather than take his chances on the top of the water as a motor machinist, Kline said he had the opportunity to volunteer for the Navys submarine program. He was selected as an alternate, and got in when the man ahead of him had to withdraw due to some physical problem. I ended up in the training program at a submarine base in New London, (Connecticut), Kline said. There I learned the big diesel stuff, and I already had a lot of mechanical background, welding and everything, which helped a lot. His first assignment began in the spring of 1945 aboard the USS Pollack, which had spent much of its time patrolling the Pacific Theater before being converted to a school boat by the time Kline joined the crew. But Klines time aboard the Pollock would be short-lived. Just months after he took his post, Kline was selected as part of a special detail to take control of U-858 after its surrender. They sent an escort out to bring it back to the states, and eventually got it up to New London, Kline said. Id had a lot of mechanical background and had already been on a submarine, so lo and behold, I was selected as part of the special detail. Rather than combat, the U-858 was given a special mission: fundraising for the war effort. The U-boat toured around various ports as a sort of floating publicity stunt for the war bond effort. But even though her combat days were behind her, the U-858 posed its own challenges to its new American crew. Contemporary reports referred to the vessel as a sewer pipe with valves, and Kline said that wasnt too far off. The Germans had no regard for creature comfort on their submarines, he said. The first time we got into cold weather, we were up at Portsmith, New Hampshire, and getting into that cold water, it was like a rain storm inside that boat. We put oil cloth over our sacks so they wouldnt get wet. Aside from the leaks, Kline said he can still vividly recall just how messy the boat was when the American crew first took over. It had nothing in the way of shower or laundry facilities, and Kline remembers having to clear out cans of bread floating in putrid water. Since all the controls were originally in German, Kline said the new crew had to draw up English tags and place them around all the controls to know what they were doing. And even then, the mere construction of the U-boat could pose issues for its sailors. It also had a snorkel we didnt have, and when the snorkel mast went up, it looked like a big wastebasket floating on the surface, Kline said. With that, we could operate at 33 feet submerged, and it had a fitting on it that went to the main (air) induction valve. When you were operating that, most of the guys in the engine room ... had their eyes glued on the barometer in there, because if you didnt keep a close eye on that thing, you start pulling suction and it was liable to pop your eyeballs right out of your head! A motor machinist mate, Kline described himself as the fuel oil king of the U-858, taking on the responsibility of getting all of the subs fuel on board. As an enlisted man, this was unusual, and Kline remembers some non-commissioned officers were a little upset at the responsibility he commanded. After nine months aboard the U-858, Kline officially separated from the Navy in March of 1946, while U-858 was stationed at Key West, Florida. He returned to Colorado to finish up a degree in industrial arts. U-858, meanwhile, was brought back to New England, where the Navy used it for torpedo practice before scuttling her toward the end of 1947. Klines wartime service prepared him well for civilian life; after matriculating at Colorado A&M (now Colorado State University), Kline moved to Cheyenne to help launch an auto mechanic shop program in Laramie County School District 1, which continues to this day. He also became heavily involved with the United States Submarine Veterans of World War II, a congressionally chartered veterans organization first formed in 1955 and formally chartered in 1981. One of Klines proudest accomplishments with that group was working to develop a carved outdoor memorial at the Oregon Trail State Veterans Cemetery in Evansville, to commemorate the crew of the USS Barbel, who were lost to a Japanese bombing attack in February 1945. Though he was too young for World War II, Ed Galavotti is a fellow local submarine veteran who has been working to promote Klines legacy in the run up to Armed Forces Day on May 21. Although Kline would never suggest it, Galavotti believes Kline is a living legend, and one Cheyenne should feel privileged to still count among its residents. There are hardly any submarine veterans of World War II left, and how do you capture that experience? Galavotti said. People dont realize what the transition was like, going from the crash of 1929 to going to war, the end of the war, and then going all the way to today. Todays nuclear navy has much more capabilities, much more comfort for the crew, Galavotti added. Back then, they had a battery and a snorkel. They couldnt go down and stay down all day; they had limited time. I think its important to let people know we have a veteran here who did all that stuff. CHEYENNE A Wyoming legislative committee voted Thursday to cut the Legislatures own budget by 12 percent for the next biennium in light of dwindling state revenues. The cuts include a reduction of one day in the legislative session, leaving vacant positions in the Legislative Service Office empty, no longer providing stipends to interns and cutting the amount of money individual legislators have for out-of-state travel. Were going into a period where difficult decisions have to be made, said House Speaker Rep. Kermit Brown, R-Cheyenne. In all, almost $2.2 million will be cut from the Legislatures $18.2 million budget for the two-year period that begins July 1. Most of the recommended cuts came from the Legislative Service Office and were approved by the Legislatures Management Council. The LSO also factored in about $62,000 that the Management Council could use to restore funds to the budget. The Management Council also decided to eliminate a to-be-vacated position in the LSO to have more money to use. The Management Council restored some funds that the LSO proposed eliminating, including $40,000 that can be used for LSO staff retention or raises. The council also voted to pay the full dues to the Energy Council, a legislative organization that involves legislative representatives from about a dozen states. Management Council member Sen. Eli Bebout, R-Riverton, also is a member of the Energy Council and advocated for the restoration of the full dues. He said lawmakers have gained useful information from Energy Council events. The full dues to the Energy Council will cost the state $76,800. Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, said he would not be opposed to cutting the funding to the Energy Council, saying he doesnt see value in being part of the group. Rep. Bob Nicholas, R-Cheyenne, said the Wyoming delegation to the Energy Council should ask that group to reduce the amount it requires for dues. Nicholas also questioned the value of the Energy Council membership, saying it seemed that the Energy Council seemed to meet at extravagant places and questioned how much value lawmakers get from being part of it. In addition to the Energy Council, the Wyoming Legislature will pay more than $376,000 combined for membership in the National Council of State Legislatures and Council of State Governments, though those dues will be subject to 12 percent cuts. Lawmakers also debated cuts to out-of-state travel budgets for legislators, which will be reduced to $200,000 from the $240,000 originally budgeted. Lawmakers were already limited to two out-of-state trips every two years. Now, all lawmakers will get identical amounts of money each year toward out-of-state travel expenses. A man charged with fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend and wounding her boyfriend in Cheyenne has pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness or deficiency. Daniel Guajardo changed his plea last week after initially pleading not guilty to murder and attempted murder in connection with the April 2015 shooting. Guajardo is accused of fatally shooting Janessa Spencer and wounding her boyfriend after breaking into the woman's Cheyenne home. He was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation at the Wyoming State Hospital last year and found competent to stand trial. A court-appointed examiner will now evaluate Guajardo to determine if he had a mental illness or deficiency at the time of the killing. SALT LAKE CITY Searchers combing the Wyoming backcountry on Thursday found the truck a slain rail line worker was driving when he disappeared amid a manhunt for two suspects in a bizarre Utah kidnapping case. An FBI agent spotted the pickup near the father and sons Wyoming hideout, the Sublette County Sheriffs Office said. The vehicle could be a key piece of evidence for police investigating whether the two suspects had anything to do with the death of 63-year-old worker Kay Porter Ricks. At a press conference Thursday afternoon in Utah, Centerville Police Chief Paul Child said police were still trying to determine if the kidnapping was connected to Ricks death, but it would be an amazing coincidence if they were not. Child said he could not say more about the Ricks investigation, which police are investigating as a homicide. The rail workers truck will be turned over to the FBI and Utah Transit Authority police. He vanished last week as he worked on Salt Lake Citys light rail system near where suspects Flint Wayne Harrison, 51, and son, Dereck James DJ Harrison, 22, were lying low during a police manhunt. The Mormon grandfathers body was found Tuesday along the route the two men likely took as they fled north to the elder Harrisons home in western Wyoming. Both men were arrested Saturday near their makeshift campsite. The father surrendered and led police to the suspects remote campsite near Pinedale, Wyoming. The pair was extradited back to Utah on Thursday to face kidnapping and other charges. Theyre accused of heavily using drugs and tying up a woman and her four teenage daughters in a Centerville, Utah, basement on May 10 because they wrongly believed the mother had reported them to authorities. The family managed to break free and escape. While theres nothing definitely liking the two cases, Ricks truck could explain how they traveled nearly 250 miles from Utah. It had last been spotted on surveillance cameras in Wyoming, near where his body was found. Authorities say the coincidences in the two cases are too strong to ignore. The Ricks family, meanwhile, is mourning their loss rather than speculating on what happened, family spokesman Richard Massey said. Ricks had three grown sons and six grandchildren. As you can well imagine, its difficult explaining to them what has happened to their grandfather, Massey said. Ricks was a handyman who spent his free time helping neighbors fix their electric lights and ceiling fans. He lived by a regimented daily routine and would never have left work or gone to Wyoming on his own, Massey said. SHERIDAN Like all Wyoming state agencies, the Department of Corrections is caught between budget cuts already made and more to come. In a letter from March that the department sent the Wyoming Board of Judicial Policy and Administration a body that oversees the states court system, Director Robert Lampert detailed how cuts made by the 2016 Legislature would impact areas of interest to the courts. Those cuts will mean a reduction in substance abuse services, a possible increase in recidivism, more overtime for correctional officers and hamstrung drug court programs that aim to help offenders get clean. That is the first phase of the squeeze. The DOC, along with other state agencies, is now looking at additional funding cuts. Gov. Matt Mead has told agencies to reduce general fund spending by 8 percent for the upcoming biennium, which begins July 1, in response to diminishing revenues from the states struggling energy industry. While the governors office said final cuts have yet to be made, they are looming. Substance abuse treatment in prisons Budget cuts made by the Legislature will force the department to eliminate outpatient substance abuse treatment programs in the five state prisons and could also reduce inpatient treatment by 15 percent. Both types of care are provided inside the prison to inmates. In outpatient programs, people attend individual and group treatment sessions three to nine hours a week, for six months or more. Inpatient treatment is provided in a separate section of the prison and lasts for nine months to a year. Sam Borbely has been the program manager for substance abuse treatment at the Division of Prisons for the past 14 years. He said curbing the care inmates receive would be problematic. I think this is a very real crisis in our state, he said in a phone interview with The Sheridan Press. Borbely said the cuts would force prison officials to prioritize treatment for those inmates who need it most, leaving the rest to wait for care until their release from prison. This will mean, in some cases, that offenders are not complying with court recommendations for treatment. It also shifts the burden of care to communities, since the exiting inmates who had missed out on care would need a higher level of it upon their release not simply a continuation of care theyd already begun. Borbely said its also likely the state will see more offenders relapsing into drug and alcohol use, but that its too soon to know how great an issue this would be. The same applies, he said, for an increase in offenders reengaging in criminal behavior or violating parole. Drug courts Drug courts, which provide an alternative to the traditional courts and aim to break cycles of substance abuse and crime, are also slated to take a hit with budget cuts. Drug courts are funded by a variety of sources, including the Department of Health, county and city governments. But with all public entities feeling the squeeze of spending cutbacks, drug courts arent likely to be spared. In the letter the DOC sent in March, officials noted that money for certain procedures could be eliminated. That includes drug testing, electronic monitoring and jail sanctions a mid-level consequence probation and parole officers can impose on offenders by placing them in jail temporarily without revoking probation or parole. For many people, theyre very effective, said Dan Lindly, acting administrator for the drug court in Sheridan. Lindly added that the components facing funding elimination are vital to the drug courts functioning and that the courts integrity would need to be reevaluated if all cuts go through. Addicted Offender program Cuts made by the Legislature reduced funding for the states Addicted Offender Accountability Act program by 24 percent. Those cuts could force the department to cut staffing levels. There are just seven AOAA assessors statewide, according to Steve Lindly, deputy director of the DOC. And while outside contractors have allowed the department to supplement the work those seven assessors do, money for their services also faces elimination. Lindly said the department would do its best to shift money around to avoid cutting staff, but that it remained a possibility. If no additional funding is secured to offset the cuts, it could mean that up to 400 fewer AOAA assessments are conducted each year, likely resulting in a growing backlog of substance abuse assessments, according to the DOC letter. Staffing cuts at the prisons Prisons have long struggled with retention of employees and Wyoming is no exception. There were roughly 200 open jobs at the DOC at the beginning of 2016, most of which were at the state penitentiary in Rawlins. But cuts lawmakers made in March during the budget session mean the DOC will now only be able to hire for 160 of those vacant positions, adding to the overtime burden that correctional officers already shoulder. On average, this ranges from 25 to 30 hours a month, or 6.25 to 7.5 hours a week. Steve Lindly, the deputy DOC director, said the department spends roughly $400,000 a month on overtime pay for employees. This states tight control on alcohol sales continues to create a rigged system. Rigged in favor of the state, which gets to set the prices local alcohol retailers pay and take a cut for itself. Rigged in favor of the business owners, who, once granted by the City Council, have control of the limited number of retail liquor licenses issued by the state (and can set a high price for those who want to buy one). Rigged against residents, who just want to buy their beer, wine or other spirits in a location convenient to them. The current process is contrary to the free-enterprise system that no doubt most state legislators would tell you they strongly believe in. But it also unfairly places the burden on local elected officials to decide who gets to sell alcohol in their community and who doesnt. Last summer, the City Council voted to deny Safeway a retail liquor license. We said at the time that the decision was corrupt because it went against the councils spirit of economic development and growth. But we can also understand where they were coming from. If their primary goal was to support local business owners, they made what they felt was the right decision and they should do it again. After all, communities like Cheyenne thrive thanks to small businesses. Without them, much of the good work done in the community would never happen. Without Bryan Alf Grzegorczyk, there would be no Thankful Thursday weekly fundraisers for local nonprofits. Many other local liquor dealers also are well-known for their charitable donations. Would Sams Club be as benevolent? Maybe, but we doubt it. For that reason alone, the council should deny this retail liquor license transfer. But that doesnt make it right that the decision has to be made at all. Liquor dealers should have to compete to keep their business open in the same way local lumber stores have had to do since Lowes and Menards came to town. Its long past time for state legislators to take the cap off liquor sales in Wyoming and let the free market work. To do otherwise is just not fair to anyone. Former Tucson Symphony Orchestra Conductor George Hanson has been named permanent guest conductor and artistic advisor of Orquesta Filarmonica de Sonora in Hermosillo, a role that will take him to the Mexican city six times next season. Hanson, who has led the ensemble three times since his debut there in March 2015, also will act as an artistic advisor. My focus will be on projects that will build cultural bridges to my home state of Arizona, Hanson said, adding that he already has begun working on several ideas. Hanson is expected to return to Hermosillo in early July to conduct the orchestra in a concert celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the U.S. Consulate. Hanson led the TSO for 19 seasons before leaving in 2015. A month later, in April 2015, he was named director of the Tucson Desert Song Festival. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. A federal judge ruled a Border Patrol agent was justified in the fatal shooting of a man near the border fence in Douglas. U.S. District Judge James A. Soto said Agent Lucas Tidwell was not liable for the death of Carlos LaMadrid, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen, in the March 21, 2011, shooting that followed a high-speed chase and suspected drug smuggling attempt. Sotos April 25 decision closed a civil lawsuit filed in 2012 by LaMadrids mother, Guadalupe Guerrero, and tried before Soto in July 2015. The lawsuit claimed Tidwell was grossly negligent in the shooting. LaMadrid was unarmed, was clearly fleeing the scene and had his back to the agent, was in the process of climbing a ladder, and therefore, posed no threat whatsoever to the agent or any third party. Soto disagreed, saying Tidwell fired his gun after rocks were thrown at him from atop the border fence. A reasonable person in Tidwells position would believe that he was facing unlawful deadly physical force where rocks the size of softballs or bricks are being thrown from 15 feet away and 10 feet above you directly at your head at 50 to 60 miles per hour, Soto wrote. The 14-page decision stated LaMadrid led Douglas police officers on a mid-day chase through the city after police received a tip that the vehicle LaMadrid was driving contained bundles of marijuana. Police called Tidwell for assistance as LaMadrid headed toward the border fence. LaMadrid crashed his vehicle into the vehicle driven by Tidwell, Soto wrote. LaMadrid and a passenger then ran to the border fence, where two men atop the fence lowered a ladder to help LaMadrid escape to Mexico. One of the men on the fence threw rocks at Tidwell while LaMadrid climbed the ladder, Soto wrote. Fearing for his life, Tidwell fired at the rock thrower and struck LaMadrid four times as he climbed the ladder and into the line of fire. Soto said he found the testimony of Douglas police Officer Marcus Gonzalez and Tidwell credible. Soto was not persuaded by two witnesses who said they had seen the shooting while working on a nearby construction site in Mexico and did not see anyone on top of the fence. Soto said he did not find their testimony credible after they admitted to crossing the border illegally multiple times and one instance of human smuggling. They appeared biased against U.S. authorities and their testimony was directly contradicted by Tidwell and Gonzalez, Soto wrote. Soto dismissed a conspiracy theory put forth by the plaintiff that the low quality of the video taken by Border Patrol cameras was the result of tampering. Similarly, Soto said the allegation that local and federal law enforcement officers moved the ladder and the vehicle driven by LaMadrid after the shooting in order to conceal evidence was not plausible. Instead, officers believed the scene was unsafe and high winds could have caused the ladder to fall on people in the area. During the trial, attorney Bill Risner said LaMadrid did not use or attempt to use deadly force. He argued Tidwell had never seen someone specifically throw rocks at him, moved away from his SUV door and fired his gun without knowing for sure if he was shooting at the person throwing the rocks. Risner did not respond to a request for comment. Whatever decision the court made in this case, it could not begin to fill the immense void left in the family when LaMadrid died, Soto wrote. Based on the evidence and law before the court, there is simply no legal relief that can be provided to the family. The U.S. Department of Justice reviewed the case and closed its investigation in August 2013, saying the evidence indicated Tidwell was acting in self-defense. In Pima Countys latest political caper, an upstart news organization appeared online last week, sent out a few emails to candidates on Sunday, then suddenly disappeared this week. The emails related to Supervisor Ally Millers recently released road-repair plan. And the editor-in-chief of the short-lived publication appears to have close connections to a Miller staffer, or is the staffers alter ego. Last week, an online persona named Jim Falken began making friend connections with Pima County politicos and journalists on Facebook. He identified himself as senior reporter and chief editor of the Arizona Daily Herald. I received one of those Facebook requests. On May 12, Falken also requested to be put on the mailing list for Pima County press releases, saying in an online message: I am the editor of newly founded paper and would like to stay informed with the workings of your office. Sincere Regards, Jim Falken Editor of the Arizona Daily Herald Then on Saturday, Millers campaign released her proposal to pay for road repairs. The next day, Sunday, Jim Falken got down to journalistic work. He emailed the campaigns of Republican candidates for supervisor Steve Christy, Marla Closen and John Winchester. Subject line: Statement Requested Regarding Supervisor Millers Road Plan. Heres how the email to Christys campaign went: Hi, Over this weekend, Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller has released a proposed plan she says will fix Pima Countys roads. The details of her plan include extending the RTA, dedicating 50% of its revenue to road repair instead of road creation, halting the issuance of 1997 road bonds, and allocating all HURF monies to go towards road repairs. Supervisor Miller says that none of the RTAs funds are going towards road/pavement repair. The full plan has been attached to this email in a PDF format. We are aware you are one of the Republican contenders for the Pima County Supervisor seat in District 4, and we would like a statement from you in response to Supervisor Millers proposed plan. Do you believe the conditions of roads in Pima County should be a major issue for the 2016 election? If so, do you support Supervisor Millers plan or do you have your own proposal? If so, please elaborate on how you plan to fix Pima County roads. Sincerely Yours, Jim Falken | Senior Reporter/Chief Editor The emails to Closens campaign and Winchesters were similar. All the recipients found them fishy. Anyone who wants to talk to me usually contacts me by phone, said Winchester, who is challenging Miller in the Republican primary for the District 1 seat. Its usually personal, not random email. Beth Borozan, Christys campaign director, said I immediately clicked on the link. There was a WordPress (a blogging platform) shell with no content and no contact information. She checked on when the Azdailyherald.com website had been established about a week before, on May 7. Said Closen: I clicked on the Herald and realized it wasnt a newspaper. Winchester began scouring the Internet for references to Falken. It wasnt hard to find connections between Jim Falken and Timothy DesJarlais, a young member of Millers Pima County staff who is also running for Marana school board. DesJarlais, who did not return my emails or phone calls seeking comment, has for years played around online with a fictional republic, apparently named after the street where he lives. He had called himself the president of said republic, created a national anthem and otherwise had fun with this new country. Eventually, DesJarlais reported that Jim Falken had deposed him as president of the republic. DesJarlais even delivered a Thanksgiving Day address to the republic, published on YouTube, under the name Jim Falken, back in 2014. DesJarlais picture also was featured on the Twitter page of Jim Falken. The story started circulating this week, and Tuesday evening Dylan Smith of the Tucson Sentinel contacted DesJarlais about Falken and the Arizona Daily Herald. Soon after, Jim Falken started disappearing from the Internet. His Thanksgiving address, his Twitter feed, the Facebook character who had asked to be my friend all gone. Miller told me Thursday that she asked DesJarlais if he had sent out the emails, and he said no. He thinks that someone took that name and sent those emails, Miller said. He was very adamant. Theft 1: Trump signs For months, Nadia Larsen has been putting up Trump campaign signs on her East River Road property. And for months, theyve been disappearing. After the last theft, a couple of weeks ago, the count is up to 32 signs stolen, she said. Neighbors have witnessed some thefts, but so far the Pima County Sheriffs Department hasnt been able to catch the thief or thieves. I put up 5, 6, 7 at a time, Larsen told me Thursday. It takes more work, and risk, to pull out six signs than to pull out one. Whenever signs are stolen, Larsen simply asks for more. But, of course, that costs the campaign money. And, cmon in what world is it OK to steal a campaign sign from someones private property? Theft 2: Campaign checks It was a crazy legislative session, and Rep. Stefanie Mach, D-Tucson, ended up staying in Phoenix for a couple of weekends. Unfortunately, one of those weekends, in late April or early May, is when her special-election ballot and campaign checkbooks arrived in her mailbox. Neither made it into her home. Someone passed about $4,000 in checks before Mach was able to catch up to the crime. She called her bank, had those checks canceled and has had part of the money returned already, with the rest of it to return soon. Its not the worst thing that could have happened, she said. Im not really spending a lot right now. Trump the next Reagan? The impending nomination of Donald Trump has put some Republican leaders in a pickle: Theyre not comfortable with him as the GOP candidate, but they feel obligated to respect the voters choice. Who knows if thats how Robert Graham, the chairman of Arizonas GOP, feels inside? But he put his best into a defense of Trump in a column published in TownHall.com this week. Its title: Is Trump a Modern Reagan? Now, its easy to simply answer, No and move on. But its interesting to watch Graham make his case, which centers on the news media underestimating the two candidates during their campaigns. But Graham doesnt sound thoroughly convinced about Trump near the end of his piece either: In a government of We the People, I think conservatives should think about the stakes, Graham writes. People can change. People can surround themselves with quality advisers, and there are many similarities between Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan at this stage of the campaign. PHOENIX A conviction and sentence for child prostitution doesnt necessarily require that an actual child be involved, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The justices rejected the arguments by Francis F. Kraps that he could not be sentenced to both enhanced and consecutive prison terms because the child he had arranged to meet at a Prescott-area motel actually turned out to be an undercover police officer. Justice Ann Scott Timmer, writing for the unanimous court, said Arizona law makes it a crime to engage in prostitution with a minor if the person knows or believes the youth was 17 or younger. That, she said, makes it legally irrelevant that Kraps was actually conversing online with someone who was older. Kraps was one of several people arrested in 2014 in a sting operation. Officers posed online as 16-year-old runaways willing to engage in sexual conduct for money. When a person showed up at the hotel room and met the child they were arrested. By law, those convicted of such offenses must be sentenced to at least seven years in prison and can be incarcerated for up to 21 years. There also is no possibility of probation. But in a pretrial ruling, Yavapai County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Campbell concluded the lack of an actual juvenile meant the mandatory sentence does not apply. DPS Trooper Joseph Hurtado spends his time at work inspecting school buses across the state, helping to keep children safe. But now that his own childs safety is threatened, Hurtados family, friends and coworkers at the Arizona Department of Public Safety are rallying around his family in support. Two weeks ago, 4-year-old Gianna Hurtado was diagnosed with an aggressive and rare brain tumor. Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, known as DIPG, are tumors found in the base of the brain, in the area that controls breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate. Roughly 300 children a year are diagnosed with DIPG and treatment options are limited, since surgery in that part of the brain is highly dangerous and chemotherapy options are experimental, according to the Dana-Farber/Boston Childrens Hospital. Since the diagnosis, its been a busy two weeks of doctor visits, testing and even a week-long stay at Phoenix Childrens Hospital, said Giannas mother, Lizette Hurtado. Right now were doing research to get all of the knowledge we can, she said. Neither of us had ever heard of this before. In late April, Lizette noticed her daughter watching television with one eye closed, and figured out Gianna was having double vision. She took Gianna to see her pediatrician, who sent them to the ophthalmologist, who sent them to the emergency room, all in the same day. The Hurtados are looking for alternative treatments, and plan to enroll Gianna in a clinical trial, after she completes the six-week cycle of radiation at Banner-University Medical Center Tucson, beginning next week. Were narrowing it down to see which clinical trials will be open when she finishes radiation, Lizette said. The two that stand out are in New York and the United Kingdom A friend of the Hurtados set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for any medical expenses or travel costs associated with the trial, which will not be fully-covered by insurance. In the 10 days since it was started, nearly $50,000 has been donated. Were so overwhelmed by all the support of our family, Joes work, friends and strangers, Lizette said. People are doing whatever they can, whether it be prayers, donations or coming to visit us. DPS Director Frank Milstead and members of the command staff stopped by the hospital during Giannas stay in Phoenix last week. She also received a visit from some of the characters from Star Wars, her favorite movie. She told Darth Vader at the hospital that hes her favorite, Joseph Hurtado said. After learning she was a fan of the movie, the DPS set the family up with a suite at Chase Field last Saturday to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks play on Star Wars Night. The department is very family-oriented, said DPS spokesman, Quentin Mehr. Trooper Hurtado has this time to take with his family. No one is pushing him to come back. DPS is family, too. The department has held fundraisers for Gianna, as has the city of Douglas, where the Hurtados live. Weve expalined (whats going on) to her in terms she understands. Weve been pretty honest with her, Lizette said. Shes strong. Shes getting through it. PHOENIX Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation Thursday to stop cities from telling pet stores they cant sell commercially bred animals. The new law that takes effect on Aug. 6 most immediately voids existing regulations in Phoenix and Tempe, which allow pet stores to sell only rescue and shelter dogs and cats. Those laws are designed at least in part to reduce the number of shelter animals that have to be euthanized. But it also overrides such an ordinance already adopted in Tucson, which had been placed on hold awaiting a federal appellate court decision on the rights of cities to enact such rules. Ducey, with his signature, makes the outcome of that case legally irrelevant and the Tucson measure permanently unenforceable. While overriding local regulation, the measure does have some concessions for animal-rights activists. Those include requiring pet stores to ensure they are obtaining their dogs and cats only from breeders who comply with standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, who opposed the new law, said those standards allow breeding animals to be kept in cages round the clock that are only six inches larger than the dog or cat itself. Those cages also can be stacked three high, he said, and need be cleaned only once a week. Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik was more blunt, calling the standards an absolute farce, and blasting the Legislature and governor for relying on that agency to ensure humane treatment of animals. The USDA is in business to inspect meat in Safeway, not to protect the welfare of dogs in stores, Kozachik said. The governor needs to understand that by signing this bill hes embracing puppy mill standards that the USDA has admitted in its own documents that they are unable to enforce. Ducey issued a letter citing his own dog ownership. Animal welfare is an issue that is close to my heart and of great personal importance, the governor wrote. Animal cruelty is disgusting and morally reprehensible. But Ducey said he agreed to sign the legislation because it imposes new penalties on pet store owners who do not take steps to ensure that their animals are from breeders that the USDA considers acceptable. He said he sees no purpose in telling legitimate pet store owners that they can sell only animals that came from shelters or were rescued. Shutting down the good guys will do nothing to stop the bad actors, Ducey wrote. Rather, it will open the doors for more puppy sales through unregulated sources, where abuse and inhumane conditions are more likely. Kozachik also had harsh words for the Humane Society of the United States, which agreed not to oppose the measure. Its an absolute sellout, he said. But Kellye Pinkleton, the organizations state director, said that decision simply reflected the political reality that there were the votes to override local ordinances. That left her group to negotiate the best deal it could. Disclosure was a big thing to us so that consumers could know what breeder the dog was coming from so they can look up that breeder, she said. The new law requires dealers to put information on each pets cage and in any marketing materials about the name of the breeder, the USDA license number and the federal website where would-be buyers can look up information about that breeder, including disciplinary action. It also spells out that cities and counties can go after pet stores that sell dogs or cats that they knowingly or should have known came from an unlicensed breeder or a breeder with multiple violations of USDA regulations. A first-time offense carries a maximum $1,000 penalty, with a $2,500 cap for a second within five years. Any store with three violations within that five years can be fined $5,000 and can be prohibited from selling anything but rescue and shelter dogs for up to three years. But there is a defense: A pet store can argue that it conducted a search of USDA inspection reports and did not find violations. The latest figures from the Arizona Department of Health Services are promising for parents of young children concerned about immunizations. Only six of 231 preschools in Pima County have high percentages of preschoolers whose parents have opted not to have their children vaccinated to prevent childhood infectious diseases, according to state data provided to the Star. The higher number of children not immunized makes it hard to establish within a group such as a school what health officials call "herd immunity." Without that herd immunity disease outbreaks can occur. For most vaccines, herd immunity occurs when 90 percent or more of a particular group are vaccinated. For measles its usually considered 95 percent since the disease is so contagious. Parents in Arizona can request an exemption in order not to have their children immunized if they object to vaccinations for religious or personal beliefs. Children can also be exempt from vaccinations for medical reasons. The Arizona Daily Star's immunization database, which covers the 2014-15 school year, allows parents to search by individual school rates for the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination as well as the exemption rate for individuals citing a personal belief exemption, as well as children who have medical issues that prevent them from getting vaccines. Finally, the database uses state figures to show the percentage of students who are fully vaccinated for various infectious diseases. The data, however, is not complete. The state does not provide vaccination rates for smaller preschools, withholding data from those with fewer than 20 children. There were 116 preschools in Pima County exempt from reporting under the state's guidelines. Dr. Elizabeth Jacobs, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Arizonas Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, is concerned with a growing trend for some parents to skip not only the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccinations, but all of their children's shots. She was concerned about the rise in the number of parents deciding against the DTaP vaccine, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. "What kind of alarmed me looking at the spreadsheets," Jacobs said. "You are losing coverage for three potential pathogens." She said there have been recent outbreaks of pertussis, also known as whooping cough. Jacobs said these diseases pose a serious threat. "We always say an outbreak is just one plane ride away," she said. In Pima County, the Tucson Waldorf School's preschool, 3605 E. River Road, had the highest percentage of non-medical exemptions among reporting preschools one-third of the children enrolled in the preschool, the state data shows. In 2013, the figure for the school was 50 percent. Rebecca Briamonte, the enrollment director for the Tucson Waldorf School, said the school avoids discussing why a parent might choose not to vaccinate their children. However, the school has stringent protocols on immunization and asks parents to avoid using a "waiver of convenience." As an example, the parent may intend to get the child to the doctor to be vaccinated but not in time for it to be reported to the state. Dr. Francisco Garcia, Pima County Health Department director, said while the numbers of children who have not been vaccinated are alarming, some of the numbers from smaller preschools could potentially be overstated. He said his staff has learned in the last two years that smaller preschools don't have a lot of experience with filling out the state-required forms and has led to some figures misstated. But he is still an advocate for the release of these figures. An 18-year-old motorcycle rider was killed in a crash with a car on Thursday in Green Valley, officials said. Deputies were called to the crash scene at about 7:40 p.m. on Continental Road near Abrego Drive, according to a press release from the Pima County Sheriff's Department. Investigators learned that Tyler Woelfersheim was riding a motorcycle westbound on Continental approaching Abrego. The driver of a car turned north on Abrego from eastbound Continental and collided with Woelfersheim's motorcycle. Woelfersheim was taken to Banner-University Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. A wildfire west of Nogales has grown to about 4,800 acres, officials said Thursday night. The La Sierra Fire, which crossed from Mexico into Arizona on May 16 is burning in oak grassland and brush. The fire is human caused, according to a news release from the U.S., Forest Service. There are 215 people assigned to the fire, including four hotshot crews. There are also eight engines, one water tender and three helicopters working the fire. On the U.S. side, the fire is burning on Coronado National Forest lands east of the Summit Motorway trail, west of Walker Canyon and south of Ruby Road. The fire's perimeter on forest lands is 25 percent contained, but the fire in Mexico is burning west and could also cross the border west of Summit Motorway. Fire managers might expand the fire's perimeter westward toward Sycamore Canyon. The size of the fire includes acres torched in burnout operations used to secure the fire's perimeter. Helicopters are dipping for water at Pena Blanca Lake. The lake is closed to the public as is the area between Sycamore Canyon and Walker Canyon south of Ruby Road. LAS VEGAS A programming error made three years ago on a Department of Motor Vehicles computer system mistakenly diverted about $19 million in car registration fee revenue from the state's general fund to local governments and school districts. Governor Brian Sandoval's Chief of Staff, Mike Willden, announced Thursday that the error was discovered earlier this spring and has been corrected. He said he doesn't expect the state will have to reduce any services because the money was sent elsewhere, and won't be requesting the money back from school districts and local government entities who were overpaid. But going forward, schools and local governments may have to adjust their budgets. "Counties got a three-year windfall and they will be short and will have to recalculate," Willden said. The error happened in 2013 when the state was setting up its My DMV web portal, which allows Nevadans to renew their registration and do other DMV business online instead of at the office. The mistake sent a portion of the fee called the Governmental Services Tax to the wrong accounts. Nobody overpaid their car registration fees as a result of the glitch, officials said. "No individual motorist was affected by this error, but we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused the local governments and school districts," said DMV Director Terri Albertson. Nevada had diverted a substantial portion of the Governmental Services Tax to the general fund during the recession, but lawmakers last year directed the state to send more of that revenue back to the highway improvement fund, where it's intended. Willden said he didn't know exactly who made the mistake but is asking the agency to update its protocols. "We've asked DMV to put additional safeguards in place so this doesn't occur in the future," he said. Help India! Thiruvananthapuram : A day after it suffered a rout in assembly elections, war erupted within the Congress in Kerala on Friday, with leaders blaming one another for the hWar within Congress in Keralaumiliating loss. Allegations and counter-allegations flew thick and fast, forcing state party president V.M. Sudheeran to appeal for calm. He said a meeting had been called here on Monday where everyone can speak. Support TwoCircles The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) suffered one of its worst electoral reverses when its tally crashed from 73 seats to 47 in the 140-member Kerala assembly. The Congress own strength in the house fell from 39 to 22. Among those who were humbled by a resurgent Left were two ministers, the speaker and the deputy speaker. The Congress in Kerala had always suffered from factionalism. The three main factions are led by outgoing Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, former Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and Sudheeran. Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of former Chief Minister K. Karunakaran who lost at Thrissur, said she was stabbed in the back by senior leaders. The grassroot workers in the party were always with me during the campaign while the leadership was not there, said an angry Venugopal. Another party leader and former minister C.N. Balakrishnan, who was not given a seat to contest, hit back, saying Venugopal was becoming emotional because she had lost the polls. State Congress vice president Laly Vincent, who lost badly at Alappuzha, blamed the rout on the partys decision to field some candidates facing allegations of corruption. Senior Congress leader and INTUC president R. Chandrasekheran said the UDF would not have been defeated if Chief Minister Chandy had not hijacked the party. Former Excise Minister K. Babu gave a reason as to why he was defeated: confusion over his seat. When the confusion is created in my party, what will my voters think? K. Muraleedharan, the son of K. Karunakaran who won his seat in the capital city, said there was no point in blaming any one person and that the Congress would have to introspect. The New MINI Seven combines stylish individualism and progressive technology with an awareness of brand tradition and the Britishroots of the original in the premium segment of small cars. The design model follows in the footsteps of the classic Mini, its name echoing the very first appearance of its legendary ancestor more than five and half decades ago in two virtually identical model versions. This first classic Mini ever produced was an Austin Seven. It left the Longbridge plant in Birmingham, UK, on 4 April 1959. The only features distinguishing the Austin Seven from its twin, the Morris Mini Minor, were the radiator grille complete with brand logo, the hub caps and the body paint finish. Tartan Red, Speedwell Blue and Farina Grey were the names of the colours in which the Austin Seven was available. In the current generation, MINI is also represented in the small car category for the first time with a 5-door model. Featuring a wheelbase extended by 72 millimetres, two additional doors, a third seat at the rear and the largest luggage compartment in its class with a volume of 278 litres, the new MINI 5 door provides a whole new range of options to enjoy the driving fun. Featuring front-wheel drive, an engine mounted transversely at the front, short overhangs and a wide track, the MINI offered an unusually generous amount of spacefor passengers and luggage within a minimum surface area. The launch of the new MINI 5 door made driving fun in the original of the small car premium segment accessible to additional target groups. The individual style of the new design comes into its own in both the MINI 3 door and the MINI 5 door. The new MINI Seven is available in four engine variants for each body type: MINI Cooper S , 4-cylinder petrol engine with MINI TwinPower Turbo Technology, capacity: 1.998 cc, acceleration (0100 km/h): 6.8 seconds, top speed: 235 km/h; , 4-cylinder petrol engine with MINI TwinPower Turbo Technology, capacity: 1.998 cc, acceleration (0100 km/h): 6.8 seconds, top speed: 235 km/h; MINI Cooper : 3-cylinder petrol engine with MINI TwinPower Turbo Technology, capacity: 1.499 cc, acceleration (0100 km/h): 7.9 seconds, top speed: 210 km/h; : 3-cylinder petrol engine with MINI TwinPower Turbo Technology, capacity: 1.499 cc, acceleration (0100 km/h): 7.9 seconds, top speed: 210 km/h; MINI Cooper SD : 4-cylinder diesel engine with MINI TwinPower Turbo Technology, capacity: 1.995 cc, acceleration (0100 km/h): 7.3 seconds, top speed: 227 km/h : 4-cylinder diesel engine with MINI TwinPower Turbo Technology, capacity: 1.995 cc, acceleration (0100 km/h): 7.3 seconds, top speed: 227 km/h MINI Cooper D: 3-cylinder diesel engine with MINI TwinPower Turbo Technology, capacity: 1.496 cc, acceleration (0100 km/h): 9.2 seconds, top speed: 205 km/h. The latest engine generation with MINI TwinPower Turbo Technology, likewise newly developed transmissions and extensive MINIMALISM Technology help ensure all model variants achieve an exemplary balance between driving fun and fuel consumption. The interior design created for the new MINI generation is defined by three-dimensionally moulded surfaces, high-quality colour and material combinations and a modern display and operating concept. A new interpretation of classic styling is reflected in the horizontal structure of the cockpit and the circular or elliptically shaped contours of key features such as the air vents, instruments and door trim. The central instrument - another characteristic element - offers additional display content. Functionality and ergonomics are optimised by the new dashboard on the steering column and the newly positioned controls. MINI Seven will hold theUK premiere at Goodwood Festival of Speed on the MINI stand from 23-26th June. Prices start for MINI 3 door Seven from 18,545 OTR and from 19,145 for MINI 5 door Seven. Ma makes a fashion statement Updated: 2016-05-06 08:35 By Andrew Moody and Yan Dongjie(China Daily) wang zhuangfei / china daily Chinese designers should now aspire for individualism like Western designers do, Ma Yanli, a former supermodel tells Andrew Moody and Yan Dongjie. Leading fashion designer Ma Yanli, also known as Mary Ma, says Chinese designers have no need to flaunt their Chinese origins in the clothes they produce. The 41-year-old former supermodel and actress says they should aim instead to be as individualistic as Western designers. "Today's top Chinese designers are designers in their own right and are competing with other international designers. Of course, designers reflect their personal influences and some of these may involve Chinese characteristics, but this is not what it should be about," she says. "It is not East versus West or China versus America, it is down to individual designers." Ma, once described as China's answer to American model Cindy Crawford, was speaking at the Kerry Hotel in Beijing, ahead of the launch of her new clothing range that combines the simple look of a white blouse with blue jeans. The blouses, which will be available online later this month, will range in price from 399 yuan ($61) to 2,500 yuan. The jeans - to be launched in June - will be similarly priced. "I like simple clothes in my daily life since they suit many situations - from relaxing at home and going to dinner with a friend to a relatively important event like an interview," says Ma, who was wearing an outfit from her new range for a China Daily interview. "I think girls are sexy when they are in jeans. You can forget about your height or weight, and just match a white shirt and jeans. Everyone can look great in this, if you are confident about yourself." Ma, who studied design at Shanghai-based Donghua University, launched Maryma Haute Couture in 2005. It is based in Beijing and now employs 20. Earlier this year, her company was chosen to design outfits for Chinese Premier Li Keqiang as well as leaders of five Asian countries for the welcome dinner of the 1st Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting in Sanya in South China's Hainan province. The design on the blue tunic made for the event had a representation of the Mekong River with a flower to mark each of the six countries that surround it. "It was our first design related to either diplomacy or government. I was so proud seeing the leaders wear our designs. We worked crazily for a whole month on them (the outfits)," she says. "Many at the dinner came to me and praised my design. It was a milestone for our business," she adds. Ma says fashion in China is now beginning to reflect the "new normal" of slower growth and the general economic climate, and she expects black and gray to be a feature of what people wear this summer in Beijing, Shanghai and elsewhere. "I think white, black and gray, are likely to be popular this summer instead of the more vivid orange, pink, yellow and red that have dominated in the past several years. "What people wear is influenced and also reflects the status of a society. After years of fast-paced development, people now need something simple, peaceful, but also high quality. They want calm colors, which can cool you down." Baby seats, sanitary goods fail standards Updated: 2016-05-19 09:01 By WANG XIAODONG(China Daily) Nearly 20 percent of imported baby safety seats for cars failed to meet China's standards last year, the country's top quality watchdog said on Tuesday. Almost 24 percent of disposable sanitary goods imported last year were also substandard, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said. Sample checks covering more than 1,000 imported baby safety seats found more than 200 were substandard. The administration said the main problems with the products were a lack of Chinese labeling or user guidance manuals, and failure in impact tests, putting infants at risk in case of car accidents. Baby seats that failed to reach sanitary, safety and environmental protection standards were destroyed or returned to their places of manufacture, the administration said. Sun Wenkang, director of the administration's Department of Inspection Supervision, said, "Many importers are not familiar with the inspection and quarantine rules and failed to label the goods in Chinese." Such products are usually allowed to enter China only after they are properly labeled, he said. Under the Product Quality Law, all products sold on the Chinese mainland must include labeling in Chinese. This must specify the name of the product, the manufacturer and the manufacturer's addresses. The administration also said similar problems were found in disposable sanitary goods, such as diapers and sanitary pads. Last year, authorities across China inspected 16,800 disposable sanitary goods with a total value of $737 million, and 23.9 percent of them failed to meet standards, a year-on-year increase of 3.03 percentage points. The substandard goods, valued at $229 million, included a wide range of products, such as paper diapers for babies, sanitary pads for women, face tissues and paper towels. They were imported from more than 30 countries and regions, including Japan, South Korea and the United States. China slams US spy flight near Hainan Island Updated: 2016-05-19 22:00 By ZHANG YUNBI(chinadaily.com.cn) A sailor is taking part in the fire drill on the Chinese patrol vessel "Haixun 01" on April 8, 2016 in the South China Sea. [Photo/Xinhua] China has confirmed that a US Navy EP-3 spy plane conducted close-in spying activities near China's Hainan Island on Tuesday and urged the US to "immediately stop relevant close-in reconnaissance actions". Such spy flights have led to serious clashes and sunk two-way ties before, including the collision in 2001 of a Chinese PLA Navy J-8 fight jet and a US Navy EP-3 spy plane off China's Hainan Island, which caused the death of Chinese pilot Wang Wei. The Pentagon said in a statement on Wednesday that two Chinese fighter jets carried out an "unsafe" intercept of a US military reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Thursday, "We have got information from the departments concerned, and what the US side has said is untrue." As the US plane embarked on a close-in reconnaissance on Tuesday, two Chinese military airplanes "followed and monitored it in accordance with laws and regulations", "maintained safe distance" from it, and "China's relevant operations subscribed to professional and security standards," Hong said. "The US military warships and aircraft have conducted close-in reconnaissance frequently for a long time, posing a serious threat to Chinas maritime and airspace security," Hong added. Photographer focuses in on the elusive snow leopard Updated: 2016-05-20 11:37 By Xinhua(China Daily USA) Wildlife photographer Geng Dong has braved perilous terrain and freezing temperatures across the Tibetan Plateau in search of his subject - the beautiful, yet elusive, snow leopard. Mostly active after dark, these big cats have great eyesight and choose to seek shelter among rocks or caves during daylight. This behavior has earned them the nickname "mountain hermits" among scientists, who can only study them with the help of sensitive infrared cameras. Geng, on the other hand, has braved the frigid cold for hours, days, and sometimes weeks at a time, poised to capture a photograph of these beautiful animals. Although it is a "game of luck", as he is first to admit, Geng has been rewarded for his patience and endurance with pictures of both lone snow leopards and cubs in the shadow of their watchful mothers - an enviable experience for any wildlife photographer. Yet his presence can sometimes be a threat to the snow leopard. Once, when he was photographing a mother and her two cubs, he realized something was wrong. Spooked by his presence, the cubs had fled from their mother - and the longer he stayed, the more dangerous it became for the cubs, as the mountains were full of predators. "At that moment, my pictures were less important than ensuring a family reunion," Geng said. After codirecting the TV documentary series Snow Leopard, which won numerous national awards, Geng turned his camera to the animal's life on the Tibetan Plateau, "to give locals more exposure to the animal and its conservation." This new documentary is the result of four years of hard work, with Geng traveling to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau dozens of times, developing strong relationships with wildlife conservation groups and scientists engaged in tracking, studying and photographing the snow leopard. His crew have had to camp out in the bleak terrain for weeks at a time, enduring icy winds, altitude sickness and snow blindness as they covered more than 40,000 km in Qinghai province alone during the film period, from 2011 to 2015. Along the way, Geng has acted as director, photographer and producer, dealing with the project's many headaches and money woes. Yet despite the hardships he never gave up, inspired by the area's residents who "have much harder lives than ours". Geng said the documentary also profiles wildlife conservation and the relationship between snow leopards and the local community, which he described as "the core of the story". Take Sori, who herds a flock of 240 sheep and a few dozen yak. He has struggled to protect his animals from snow leopards that stalk the plateau and once, almost at tipping point after losing a number of animals, took aim at one of these "hated cats" with his firearm, Geng explained. Though the snow leopard was in his sights, Sori did not squeeze the trigger because he saw a cub nearby, which reminded him of his own children. Geng was moved by this relationship between the people and wild animals on "the roof of the world", as the plateau is known, which he said can be partly attributed to the influence of Tibetan Buddhism. "Many shepherds have no idea of environment protection, but they understand the Buddhist teaching that all living beings should be cherished," he said. Another story that left an impression on Geng concerned the Buddhist monk Drukgyab, who chooses to live in the wilderness rather than at a temple. Known for his pioneering environmental protection work, the monk persuades locals not to hunt animals and is often one of the first to spot snow leopards in the wild. "He protects snow leopards from hunters because he believes the animal is weak," Geng said. "When he drives the snow leopard away from sheep, it is because he thinks the sheep are weak. He cannot bear to see life wasted." Animal conservation is a trickle-down business. If big animals are protected then so too are thousands of other species, and by association water resources, said He Bing, a project officer of leading wildlife conservation NGO Shanshui. However, little is known about the elusive snow leopard, its numbers or distribution. Mainly found in Central Asia, it is estimated that there are only about 2,000 left in the wild in China. Climate change, poaching, urbanization and pasture expansion are the animal's biggest threats, according to He. "The destiny of snow leopards is the destiny of all creatures in the world," said Zhou Bing, chief director of the documentary. For Geng, he just hopes that his footage will raise awareness of the snow leopard's plight. "Some say that there is not enough of the snow leopard in my documentary, but I don't mind. I just hope my work can make people aware of the animal and its fight for survival," he said. Investment expert banks on leading edge Updated: 2016-05-20 11:37 (China Daily USA) Hu Zhanghong said CCB International will aim to strengthen its asset management services and explore emerging opportunities related to the Belt and Road Initiative and internationalization of the renminbi. Edmond Tang / China Daily Emerging industries are a top priority as CCB International builds on its reputation as an investment services frontrunner, Chairman and Chief Executive Hu Zhanghong tells Sophie He. CCB International is doing very well in Hong Kong and will actively look for business opportunities from emerging industries and companies on the Chinese mainland, said Hu Zhanghong, chairman and chief executive of the investment institution. Hong Kong-headquartered CCB International is wholly owned by China Construction Bank Corp, and its services include sponsoring and underwriting, financial advisory services, corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As), as well as restructuring, asset management, direct investment securities brokerage and investment consultancy, Hu told China Daily. "Our core business has been performing very well in Hong Kong. (Take) our initial-public-offering (IPO) service, for instance. According to (financial analysts) Dealogic, CCB International in 2015 was the book runner for 18 IPOs and that makes us No 1 among the world's top investment institutions in Hong Kong." CCB International's corporate mergers and acquisitions drive is also doing well, thanks to the "going overseas" strategy of Chinese enterprises, Hu pointed out. CCB International has a competitive edge over its Chinese and foreign peers alike, as it is more familiar with the local market, Hu noted. During the past decade, most of the companies that came to Hong Kong looking for services from investment banks have been from the Chinese mainland. CCB International understands Chinese mainland companies, and its ability to provide comprehensive financial services is envied by foreign investment banks, Hu claimed. CCB International is among the few mainland investment managers that can boast international networks, which is quite an advantage, Hu said. Hu said that the mainland economy is obviously undergoing restructuring, on a scale that has never been seen by the world before. During the structural optimization, many opportunities have presented themselves. "We've seen many newly emerged industries and a lot of great companies. As an investment institution, we want to seize business opportunities, to invest in these companies and to be able to grow together with these companies." He pointed out that healthcare, logistics, high-tech and high-end manufacturing are among the sectors that have stood out during the Chinese economic restructuring. "From the structure of our organization to the allocation of our resources, CCB International is actively searching for business opportunities from these sectors. We believe there will be many national and even world-class enterprises emerging from these sectors," Hu said. M&A expertise He explained that in terms of seizing business opportunities, CCB International will undertake the role of financial consultant for these companies, helping them solve developmental problems. "We have also set up various funds, we have direct investment in Hong Kong as well as asset management products to help these companies meet their capital demands," Hu said. There are also great business opportunities related to the latest round of Chinese companies' overseas M&A, he noted, adding that here too CCB International undertakes the role of financial advisor. "The latest round of M&A is quite different from what we've seen before. Mainland companies used to acquire resources when they participated in overseas M&A, but recently, aside from acquired resources, we've seen that Chinese companies are interested in bringing back advanced technologies," he explained. "We've seen some consumer companies bring back new driving forces for themselves through acquisitions of foreign technologies. Some even acquired top-tier foreign companies in their field." Hu said that during overseas M&A, CCB International usually advises Chinese companies to pay special attention to valuation of the assets or company they are acquiring. It would also remind the companies to consider whether the technology they want to buy could be applied on the Chinese mainland. Why connections matter in vision for future Updated: 2016-05-20 11:37 By Sophie he in hong kong(China Daily USA) The business philosophy of Hu Zhanghong is centered on a focus on the market, focus on the clients, and also on being flexible in terms of dealing with different market situations. "The capital market is the major battle field for us investment institutions, and we all know that the capital market is ever changing, even though it still displays its own trends and regular patterns," the chairman and chief executive of CCB International told China Daily. CCB International has formulated a strategy which can be summarized thus: Stay connected to the Chinese mainland, stay connected to growing industries and stay connected to the capital market, Hu added. "This business strategy enables us to have a broader perspective when arranging our business, it also enables us to be more strong and steady when facing difficulties and challenges." Hu said the major fluctuations in the Hong Kong capital market during the past two decades, including the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in 2003 and the financial crisis of 2008, have taught him that CCB International needs to pay close attention to economic cycles and patterns, and its business operation needs to follow the economic cycle. CCB International attaches great importance to cultivating young employees, and has set up a "creative fund" to encourage and reward young employees who come up with good business ideas, Hu revealed. Aside from that, the management team of CCB International also spends time in communicating with its young employees to understand their demands, as youngsters these days are outspoken, and they have their own ideas and aspirations which should not be ignored, he said. "When I was at their age, I had the opportunity of learning from senior employees and many people also helped me." "So now as chairman and chief executive, I am obligated to help the youngsters." CCB International also spares no efforts in creating an environment that encourages youngsters to be outstanding at their work, Hu said. He explained that CCB International is focused on employee performance and ethics, rewards outperformers and provides a transparent promotion system for staff. For those keen on joining CCB International or any investment institution, the first quality they must have is professional integrity, said Hu. "I personally attend some of our recruitment interviews, and pay close attention to their experience and professional integrity." "Secondly, learning ability is crucial in our industry, as the financial industry - including the technologies used in the industry - is changing rapidly." "Only the ones who can learn new things very fast are able to deliver excellent performance," Hu said. Hu admitted that working in the financial industry is very stressful, as he needs to cope with ever-changing market situations. He depends on a workout before or after office hours to relieve pressure and stay fit. Hu said recently he has been reading a very interesting book by Japanese professor Takashi Saito, the English title of which reads as "Rules of Conversation", and he has recommended the book to young employees of CCB International. Hu said that it is a book about communication, and he believes communicating with other people is very important, not only in the work place, but also in daily life. "I found it very inspiring, and hopefully the book can help our young employees communicate better with others." sophiehe@chinadailyhk.com Wooing Chinese students with relaxed visa rules Updated: 2016-05-21 03:58 (China Daily USA) The promise of less painful visa application processes were highlighted as one of the main selling points by many of the overseas schools that participated in the China International Education Exhibition in Shanghai on May 15. A number of countries such as France and Canada have in recent months relaxed their visa policies in what looks to be an attempt to attract Chinese students who are seeking overseas education. China has for several years been the worlds largest supplier of students to foreign education institutes. The French Embassy in China announced on May 12 that undergraduate students from top Chinese universities who are headed to France for exchange or double degree programs will for the first time in history be exempted from a visa interview. Moreover, awardees of a government scholarship by either France, China or any country in the European Union will be exempted from paying the visa application fee. Canada also issued a new ruling in April stipulating that foreign students no longer have to submit proof of their parents incomes when applying for student visas. Meanwhile, the British Consulate has announced that those who have earned a PhD in the United Kingdom will be granted a work visa that is valid for two years. In addition, graduates with business plans can compete for the entrepreneurship visa that has a one-year validity. "Not all universities have quota for such visas. We have 15 headcounts for such visas this year," said Jin Jing, senior promotion manager of Anglia Ruskin University in East England. An increasing number of Chinese students are opting for undergraduate studies abroad these days. According to statistics from Chinas Ministry of Education, the number of students going abroad breached 500,000 in 2015, making China the largest supplier of students to schools in some Western countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. More than 120,000 Chinese students left for Canada to further their studies last year, up 11.6 percent year-on-year, while 71,000 obtained student visas for the UK, up 10 percent year-on-year. "The growth rate may seem to have slowed down when compared to 15 and 13 percent in the previous two years, but the population base is actually becoming bigger," said Lu Zhijian, an education officer with the British Consulate General in Shanghai. Li Weiping, deputy secretary general of International Education Association in Shanghai, expects the number of Chinese students studying overseas to grow in the following few years. Universities from some countries which made their debut at the exhibition, such as Poland, Hungary and the United Arab Emirates, used scholarships and promising career opportunities to compete for enrollment. For instance, outstanding students who earn government scholarships at Hungarian universities will be exempted from tuition and accommodation fees and be given an allowance ranging from 130 euros ($147) to 325 euros per month. zhouwenting@chinadaily.com.cn Fostering creativity with project-based work Updated: 2016-05-21 03:58 By YU RAN in Shanghai(China Daily USA) Students of IMA course at Shanghai NYU explain to their peers how their end-of-semester projects work. provided to china daily Using just four triangular acrylic sheets which she had created using a laser cutter, Sun Yue made a simple but elegant prism which was able to project a hologram of an animation being played on an iPad. The project was part of the end-of-semester show for students of Shanghai New York Universitys Interactive Media Arts (IMA) course, which had for the first time included animation in its syllabus. The course had also encouraged students to apply simple tools and materials to create their own unique animations. "I was inspired by an online post to create an innovative projector to reflect simple animations as a hologram. This is an example of a unique visual effect coming from simple ideas and easy tools," said Sun, a second year student who majors in Mathematics. The showcase, which is held twice a year, is an opportunity for students enrolled in the IMA course to showcase their final assignments and share their ideas with other students. There are around 150 students enrolled in the course at NYU Shanghai for this year. In contrast, the project by a team of four students, led by freshman Justin Amoafo from the United States, was more elaborate. Using aerial drones and a 7-minute documentary titled "Breath" that showed the before and after scenes of air pollution in five places around Shanghai, the teams aim is to educate Westerners on the remediation efforts being made. "This event gives students the chance to explain and talk to people who might not know anything about a particular topic and it is also a great way for them to get to know new people," said Marianne Petit, associate arts professor and director of IMA. True to its liberal arts core, students at NYU Shanghai are exposed to an ever-evolving project-based curriculum which is designed to facilitate the acquisition of both the conceptual insights and practical skills needed to build the innovative human-centered design projects imagined by the students. "Our students are challenged to create interactive systems that connect people, facilitate participation, convey information, communicate stories, enhance experiences and bring both meaning and delight to peoples lives," said Petit. Located in Lujiazui amid a cluster of skyscrapers that tower over a bend in the Huangpu River, NYU Shanghai has a student population of which half is made up of foreigners. Most courses are taught in English. All students, regardless of nationality, receive double diplomas one from the US and another certified by Chinas education ministry. Full-timers at the university spend two years in Shanghai and three semesters on exchange at one of NYUs many campuses around the world. NYU Shanghais student body numbers in the hundreds but is expected to peak at 2,000 by 2020. yuran@chinadaily.com.cn Ray of hope in US-made mire Updated: 2016-05-20 07:02 (China Daily) An aerial photo taken on Sept. 25, 2015 from a seaplane of Hainan Maritime Safety Administration shows cruise vessel Haixun 1103 heading to the Yacheng 13-1 drilling rig during a patrol in south China Sea. [Photo/Xinhua] In a recent clarification to domestic and foreign media on its stance on the case submitted by the Philippines to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on its territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea, China's Foreign Ministry emphasized that the court has no power of jurisdiction over what is fundamentally a sovereignty case and its ruling has no legal force. China News Weekly and National Interest recently published a co-signed article by Fu Ying, a senior official in China's top legislature, and Wu Shicun, an expert on South China Sea studies, which pointed out the various provocative moves made by the United States under the pretext of stopping "China's expansion" have only spurred China's stronger determination to safeguard its national interests. While the US with its ingrained "exceptionalism" defies the constraints of international rules, it demands other countries accept these rules. China will naturally not accept such a double standard. Under the universally recognized "sovereignty exclusion" principle, China has the right to refuse the Hague court's arbitration. As a matter of fact, no country in Southeast Asia has sought international arbitration for the settlement of its maritime disputes with regional countries. The Philippines has elaborately disguised its territorial dispute with China as a dispute on maritime rights and entitlements under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in an attempt to bypass the "sovereignty issue". Despite the ray of hope offered by a change of Philippine president, whether or not Rodrigo Duterte will be able to extricate his country from the influence of the US when he takes office remains to be seen. Particularly, how to tackle the South China Sea dispute from a Philippine perspective rather than from the perspective of coordinating with the US' "rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific" strategy will put the political wisdom and capability of the new Philippine leader to the test. --Overseas edition of People's Daily Brexit would entail huge economic costs for UK Updated: 2016-05-20 07:36 By Philippe Legrain(China Daily) British Prime Minister David Cameron attends meeting with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny during a European Union leaders summit addressing the talks about the so-called Brexit and the migrants crisis, in Brussels, Belgium, February 19, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] Those campaigning for the United Kingdom to exit the European Union claim that doing so would make their country both freer and richer. They assert that after the so-called Brexit, the UK could quickly negotiate a bespoke agreement with the EU that offers all the benefits of free trade without the costs of EU membership; strike better trade deals with other countries; and reap huge benefits from scrapping burdensome EU regulations. This is a delusion. In fact, Brexit would entail huge economic costs for the UK. The uncertainty and disruption of drawn-out and doubtless acrimonious divorce proceedings would depress investment and growth. Permanent separation would reduce trade, foreign investment and migration, and hurt competition, productivity growth and living standards. And a divorce would deprive the UK of influence over future EU reformsnotably, the completion of the single market in servicesfrom which it would benefit. The London School of Economics' Centre for Economic Performance calculates that the long-term costs to the UK of lower trade with the EU could be as high as 9.5 percent of its GDP, while the fall in foreign investment could cost 3.4 percent of its GDP or more. Those costs alone dwarf the potential gains. The UK's net contribution to the EU budget amounted to only 0.35 percent of its GDP last year, and scrapping EU regulation would bring limited benefits, because the UK's labor and product markets are already among the freest in the world. The exit process would generate prolonged uncertainty. Officially, it is meant to take two years. But it would probably take much longer. Moreover, any agreement on a new economic relationship with the UK would require unanimity among the EU's 27 remaining members. And the UK would also have to renegotiatefrom scratchthe 50-plus trade deals that the EU has with other countries. All this would take time. In the meantime, the UK's trading rules and domestic regulations would be up in the air. Investment and employment decisions would be postponed or canceled. The pound would plummet. The foreign investors financing Britain's current-account deficitwhich hit 7 percent of its GDP in the final quarter of last yearmight drive up the risk premium on UK assets or, worse, pull out. All of that would weaken economic growth, jeopardizing the government's fiscal plans. Brexit supporters claim that Britain could strike its own special deal with the EU, cherry picking the provisions it likes. The UK would have the whip hand, they argue, because it buys more from the EU than it sells in return. But this, too, is a delusion. The US also has a trade deficit with the EU, yet it doesn't get to dictate terms in the negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Moreover, exports to the EU matter more to the UK than exports to Britain do to the EU. In short, the EU would call the shotsand doubtless be tough with the UK. Many economic actorsfrom German car manufacturers to French farmers to financial centers around the EUwould want to hamper their British competitors. For their part, EU governments would want to punish Britain, not least because they know that a velvet divorce with Britain would bolster anti-EU parties, such as France's far-right National Front, which has already called for a referendum on EU membership. New trade deals with non-EU countries would also probably involve worse terms for the UK. While the UK wouldn't be hamstrung by protectionist interests in the EU, its smaller economy, largely open markets, and desperation for deals would weaken its clout. Indeed, the US has stated that it has no immediate interest in negotiating a trade deal with the UK. Thinking through all the economic implications of a Brexit is complicated. But the bottom line is simple: Leaving the EU would make Britain much worse off. The author, a former economic adviser to the president of the European Commission, is a visiting senior fellow at the London School of Economics' European Institute and the author of European Spring: Why Our Economies and Politics are in a Messand How to Put Them Right. Project Syndicate Chunhui Cup woos talent back Updated: 2016-05-20 11:37 By Lia zhu in San Francisco(China Daily USA) "Silicon Valley may be the closest place to realize an entrepreneurial dream, but China is the best place to realize that dream, and the Chunhui Cup is the best platform," said Wang Junming, science and technology counselor at the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco. Wang made the remarks at an event held on Wednesday in Palo Alto to promote China's Chunhui Cup national competition, a platform to link overseas Chinese entrepreneurs with potential investors in China. Chinese talent in the US, especially in Silicon Valley, is taking a leadership role in innovation and entrepreneurship, and the country has launched a series of measures to facilitate their projects, Wang said addressing the event, which attracted dozens of Chinese startup entrepreneurs who are currently studying or working in Silicon Valley. One of those measures is the Chunhui Cup, which has been sponsored by China's ministries of education and science and technology since 2006 to encourage Chinese entrepreneurs to bring their startups back home. In 2013, the eighth Chunhui Cup set up its first overseas division in San Francisco, and the following year added a New York division. In the past three years, the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco has received more than 300 entries from its consular territory, and 132 of them made it to the finals, accounting for 23 percent of finalists from around the world, according to the consulate. This year, the consulate will organize an initial business contact event for participants in October in San Francisco and further business contact opportunities for finalists in China in December. "Now is an opportune time to start up a business in China," said Liu Fei, a prospective Chunhui Cup contestant, citing the availability of capital, the large consumer market and manufacturing capability as reasons why. Liu, a postdoctoral fellow in nanomedicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, said his team, including three members in Silicon Valley and two others in China, has been pitching their project - precision cancer early detection devices - to venture capitalists in China. "The high energy consumption and low productivity industries still predominate in China, and the government has realized it and put a priority on innovation," said Liu. "Compared with the United States, it takes less time to get a product to market, which will help us in expanding our business globally." liazhu@chinadailyusa.com Vanke to invest in Seattle tower Updated: 2016-05-20 23:46 By AMY HE in New York(China Daily USA) Seattle is getting another infusion of Chinese capital. Real estate developer Vanke, the largest residential builder in China, is entering the market in a partnership to finance a $200 million, 43-story apartment tower three blocks from e-commerce giant Amazons headquarters. Vanke will be putting up a "significant" amount of the financing, though the amount is still being discussed and will be finalized next month, said Bob Kagan, senior vice-president of California-based Laconia Development, the partners with Vanke. The building on what is now a parking lot will have 400 one and two-bedroom units and retail on the ground floor. Construction will start early next year and take approximately a year and a half to complete, according to Kagan. Representatives for Vanke did not respond to a request for comment. Kagan said the buildings location in Seattles Belltown area is the citys most densely populated neighborhood and on the downtown waterfront. "It is a very up-and-coming area it would be like the Village or something similar in New York," said Kagan. Another project in Belltown involving Chinese investment is the 41-story Potala Tower, construction of which has stalled because of accusations of fraud and misuse of funds by its developer, Lobsang Dargey. The US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Dargey in August, and a judge will decide whether to transfer ownership from Dargey to a Las Vegas developer and Chinese firm that both own partial stakes in the tower. According to the Seattle Times, Chinese investors put $83 million into the project, through the US EB-5 visa program, which grants investors a visa in return for a minimum of $500,000 investment into a new or ongoing American business, according to the Seattle Times. Kagan said that Vanke sees business opportunities in Seattle, where there is a burgeoning tech scene. "They are going into areas where they see good job growth and high incomes, and Seattle is very much like San Francisco. Ive always said that Seattle is San Franciscos most northern suburb," he said in an interview. "They physically look alike and are similar. Seattle is about five years behind San Francisco, and you look at San Francisco today and itll tell you what Seattle will look like in five years. Because of the job growth and the kind of job growth in knowledge-based industries they want to be there." Vankes Seattle investment in the city is a significant step into the market, said Lucy Fletcher, managing director of international capital at JLL. "Theres proximity to the (major gateway port markets of the West Coast. Youve seen that immigrant wave in Vancouver, where today market pricing is at all-time record highs for condos and residential. Youve got a number of major growth drivers in the Seattle economy," she said in an interview. amyhe@chinadailyusa.com Diana Greer, president of USCPFA, in front of the China Central Television Building in Beijing in 2014. Provided to China Daily Diana Greer, president of the US China People's Friendship Association (USCPFA), was recently able to reunite with some old friends from the other side of the world. It's all part of her job, after all. "We just recently received a wonderful delegation a couple weeks ago from Zhengzhou in Henan province," said Greer. "We hadn't seen them in years, and they were so excited to come. We were able to meet with them and talk with them, and get our friendship ties going again. And they invited us to their shaolin wushu festival in the fall." Zhengzhou is tied to Greer's hometown of Richmond, Virginia, through the Sister Cities program, a network used to promote friendship and understanding between cities by encouraging trade and tourism. Such sub-national-level relations, while not as publicized as the governmental relationships between nations, paint a much brighter picture for the future of cooperation between China and the US, according to Greer. "It's the person-to-person relationships that make this exciting," said Greer. "It's just all of us working together, and sharing our experiences." Greer has been president of the USCPFA since 2011, and a member for longer. Her and her organization's approach to diplomacy happens at a person-to-person level, allowing for greater understanding of the differences and similarities between the two cultures. "Over the years, it's been an amazing experience," Greer said. USCPFA events range from seminars where scholars and government officials from China and the US give lectures on China-US relations, to more informal events like taking visiting Chinese delegations on personal tours of the US Capitol building. Greer frequently travels back and forth between China and the US to promote friendship diplomacy and has made ties with some high-profile people along the way. In 2014, she and a former president of USCPFA were invited to hear President Xi Jinping's speech at The Great Hall of the People in Beijing in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), her organization's Chinese counterpart and 20 year senior, founded in 1954. "President Xi was very appreciative of the work that Madame Li Xiaolin has done," said Greer, referring to the president of the CPAFFC who frequently visits the US to promote friendship diplomacy. Greer has also rubbed elbows with political figures from the US and fondly recalls meeting former President Jimmy Carter. "When we went to Shanghai, and President Carter was giving opening remarks at the friendship conference, we presented him with the USCPFA friendship medallion. So that was a high point," said Greer. Above all else, Greer cherishes the interpersonal cultural interactions she gets to partake in on a daily basis. "Just the day-to-day events are amazing," she said. "Our Richmond chapter meets all the time during the year, for our annual banquet, and a fall event around Moon Festival time. Over the years, we've invited people from the embassy to our events, and we ask them questions about issues of the day, and have great calm conversations about tough issues." Despite the significance of her organization's work in promoting China-US relations, Greer regrets that the sub-national dialogues do not receive more media attention. "These wonderful things and events of friendship really don't become a part of the everyday conversation, and people don't realize how hard we're all working to make good things happen between our two countries," said Greer. "It's a shame that all we hear is this awful, terrible rhetoric coming from our politicians. And we just don't get a chance to shout over the noise," she said. To increase awareness of the opportunities for cooperation between China and the US, USCPFA has been trying to expand its reach, targeting young Americans who are interested in US-China diplomacy. Whatever the future may hold for USCPFA, Greer sees tremendous value in what it brings to the table. "Sometimes it's just the smallest things, like getting together with your Chinese and American friends at picnics, or getting in a big circle and talking about what's happening in China now. It's just the smallest, friendly situations that are just as important as the huge events that we get a chance to do," said Greer. Allan Fong in Washington contributed to this story Russia reiterates support for one-China policy Updated: 2016-05-20 04:09 (Xinhua) SOCHI -- Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday reiterated that the country sticks to one-China policy. Speaking at a weekly briefing in the resort town of Sochi, the ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia is "monitoring the situation" after recent elections in China's Taiwan. "We would like to stress that whoever leads the administration of the island, our position on the Taiwan issue is consistent, firm and unalterable," she said. The Russian side recognizes that there is only one China, that the government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government which represents the whole of China, and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, Zakharova said. World in search for missing EgyptAir flight MS804 Updated: 2016-05-20 04:54 (Xinhua) The EgyptAir plane scheduled to make the following flight from Paris to Cairo, after flight MS804 disappeared from radar, taxies on the tarmac at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France, May 19, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] BRUSSELS -- Greek navy vessels and aircraft are assisting in the search operations for the missing EgyptAir flight MS804 after being alerted at 03:45 a.m. local time (0045 GMT), according to a Greek Defense Ministry announcement. Two orange plastic items believed to belong to the A320 have been located by Egyptian vessels about 230 miles south of Crete, the Greek state TV ERT said, citing Greek Defense Ministry sources. The plane, an Airbus 320, was off the radar at 2:45 a.m. Cairo local time (0045 GMT) en route from Paris to Cairo. It was flying at an altitude of 37,000 feet (11,280 meters) when losing contact with the radar, an official source in the airline said. Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said that the plane had made abrupt swerves and lost altitude within Egyptian airspace. "The plane was southeast of Kassos and Karpathos islands. It had entered Egyptian airspace when it turned 90 degrees to the left and then 360 degrees to the right," Kammenos told an emergency press briefing broadcast on national television. According to the Greek official the flight MS804 suddenly descended from 37,000 feet to 15,000 feet and then 10,000 feet while it was about 10 miles within the Egyptian airspace. Greece's Civil Aviation Authority said in a press release that Greek authorities did not receive a distress call from the plane. The flight MS804 entered the Greek airspace at 02:24 a.m. local time (2324 GMT, May 18), according to the press release. During the last contact of the plane's pilot with Greek air traffic controllers at 02:48 a.m. local time while the Airbus was flying over the Greek island of Kos no problems were reported. "The pilot was in a good mood and thanked in Greek," according to the press release. The aircraft exited the Greek airspace, before suddenly disappearing from radar screens within Egyptian airspace at 03:29 a.m. according to the Greek authorities. Athens attempted to contact the plane at 03:27 a.m. for the typical transfer of communication to Egyptian air traffic controllers, but there was no response, according to the official announcement. "Greece is by Egypt's side, Hellenic Air Force and Navy assist the search and rescue mission by all means," tweeted the Greek Foreign Ministry. Clinton calls Trump too unsteady to be president Updated: 2016-05-20 13:34 (Agencies) US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, US, May 16, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton pivoted to a general election match-up against Republican candidate Donald Trump on Thursday, saying he is dangerously unpredictable and not qualified to be president. Confident that she is finally close to defeating US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont for the Democratic nomination, Clinton turned heavy fire on Trump, who has been running about even with her in national polls of voters looking ahead to the Nov. 8 presidential election. On the Republican side, Trump promoted top aide Paul Manafort to serve as campaign manager and chief strategist, the Trump campaign said. Corey Lewandowski, the Trump aide who has been campaign manager, retains that title and will continue to oversee day-to-day operations, the campaign said. In addition, Trump has hired veteran Republican lawyer A.B. Culvahouse to help vet potential vice presidential running mates, a source close to the campaign said. In a CNN interview, Clinton used the example of the apparent downing of an EgyptAir plane from Paris to Cairo to say that Trump would lack the skills to bring together US allies to respond to global threats. "I know how hard this job is and I know we need steadiness, as well as strength and smarts in it, and I have concluded that he is not qualified to be president of the United States," Clinton said. Trump, the Republicans' presumptive presidential nominee, has been intensifying his criticism of Clinton by lobbing personal attacks at her and her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Clinton, a former US secretary of state, said she would resolutely refuse to respond to Trump's goading. "He can say whatever he wants," she said. But she said the EgyptAir crash reinforces the need for American leadership and that Trump's proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States has sent the wrong signal to countries that Washington will need to work with in the fight against Islamic militants. "He says a lot of things that are provocative, that actually make the important task of building this coalition, bringing everybody to the table and defeating terrorism more difficult," she said. "It sends a message of disrespect and it sends a message that makes the situation inside those countries more difficult." Clinton suggested the Democratic race was over because of her nearly insurmountable lead in delegates to the nominating convention, despite Sanders' insistence on staying in the race. "I will be the nominee for my party," she said. "That is already done, in effect. There is no way that I won't be." She said Sanders will have to eventually help her unify the Democratic Party after the prolonged nomination fight. "I am absolutely committed to doing my part, more than my part. But Senator Sanders has to do his part," she said. The Sanders campaign rebuffed Clinton's nudge to get out of the race, pointing to his recent victories. "In the past three weeks voters in Indiana, West Virginia and Oregon respectfully disagreed with Secretary Clinton. We expect voters in the remaining eight contests also will disagree," Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said. Trump stepped up efforts to rally Republican loyalists behind his campaign after winning a divisive primary fight that left the party ruptured. On Capitol Hill, Manafort and other Trump aides met with conservatives in the House of Representatives who are members of the Freedom Caucus group and canvassed them for policy ideas. "Manafort was reaching out for ideas" on policy, and several Freedom Caucus members made suggestions, said Republican Representative Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee. "It went very well, it was encouraging. I think the Trump team recognizes the relevance of the Freedom Caucus, and the influence they have. I think actually, despite some early skepticism by some members, I think the (Freedom Caucus) board received Manafort and his representation of Trump very well," DesJarlais said. Manafort also met with US Senator Mike Lee of Utah, a Tea Party Republican who was a big backer of US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas for president. Lee has expressed some concerns about Trump's candidacy. A spokesman for Lee said US Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, a key Trump adviser, was also at the meeting. Egypt army finds wreckage of crashed Egyptair plane at sea Updated: 2016-05-20 17:39 (Xinhua) Pilots of an Egyptian military plane take part in a search operation for the EgyptAir plane that disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea in this still image taken from video May 19, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] CAIRO -- The Egyptian Armed Forces said in a statement on Friday it had found parts of debris from the missing EgyptAir plane 290 kilometers north of the coastal city of Alexandria. "The Egyptian aircraft and navy vessels have found some personal belongings of passengers and parts of the wreckage," Mohamed Samir, spokesman for the army, said in a statement on his Facebook page. Working on combing the sea and recovering the wreckage are still underway, the statement added. The Egyptian Civil Aviation ministry said Egypt, Greece, and France were all involved in the search for the plane. The Airbus A320, which was carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo, was off the radar at 2:45 am Cairo local time (0045 GMT) en route from Paris to Cairo. It was flying at an altitude of 37,000 feet (11,280 meters) when losing contact with the radar, an official source in the airline said. Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said that the plane had made abrupt swerves and lost altitude within Egyptian airspace. The flight MS804 entered the Greek airspace at 02:24 am local time (2324 GMT, May 18), according to an earlier press statement. During the last contact of the plane's pilot with Greek air traffic controllers at 02:48 am local time while the Airbus was flying over the Greek island of Kos no problems were reported. The aircraft exited the Greek airspace, before suddenly disappearing from radar screens within Egyptian airspace at 03:29 am according to the Greek authorities. Athens attempted to contact the plane at 03:27 am for the typical transfer of communication to Egyptian air traffic controllers, but there was no response, according to the official announcement. The Greek Civil Aviation Authority, as well as Greece's Defense Ministry, have not confirmed local media reports that the captain of a passenger vessel reported a flash in the sky about 130 nautical miles off the Greek island of Karpathos, Greek national news agency ANA-MPA stressed. Paris attack suspect appears before judges for first hearing Updated: 2016-05-20 19:03 (Xinhua) PARIS - Salah Abdeslam, the surviving suspect of last November's deadly Paris attacks, Friday appeared before a French anti-terror court for a first questioning, local media reported. Under heavy security, Abdeslam arrived at the Paris main law court to face questioning on his role in the series of shootings and explosions which left 130 victims dead. The 26-year-old man was accused of belonging to a terrorist organization planning attacks, murder, kidnapping and holding weapons and explosives. Europe's most-wanted fugitive was arrested in March during a raid in Molenbeek in the Belgian capital of Brussels. Transferred from Belgium to France on April 27, Abdeslam is now in solitary confinement in a high-security prison in Fleury-Merogis, south Paris. Initially opposing to be sent home, Abdeslam later asked to return home "to explain himself," his defense lawyer Sven Mary said. According to a Paris prosecutor, Abdeslam had planned to blow himself up on Nov 13 last year at the Stade de France, but changed his mind at the last minute. New Zealand documentary reveals China in 50s Updated: 2016-05-20 19:38 By Liu Wei(chinadaily.com.cn) Mao Zedong wears Maori cloak in the documentary Inside Red China. [Photo by Liu Wei/chinadaily.com.cn] The late Chairman of China Mao Zedong in a Maori feather cloak in 1957 suggests China and New Zealand had forged a good friendship even before establishing diplomatic relations. The rare image of Mao came to light in a black and white documentary Inside Red China screened in New Zealand Embassy in Beijing on Friday. The 25-minute film made by New Zealand's independent directors Rudall and Ramai Hayward shows China back in 1950s. The filmmakers visited Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing and Wuhan to shoot the documentary. They recorded interviews with a foreign businessman, officials within the Christian churches as well as spoke to ordinary Chinese and captured daily life through the street scenes in China's cities and the historic construction of the Wuhan Bridge across the Yangtze River. John McKinnon, New Zealand's ambassador to China, said: "The film is quite candid and a valuable vehicle for us to know China vividly back then in context of Cold War and a link between China and New Zealand." The scene of Ramai draping the Maori cloak over Chairman Mao's shoulders puts cultural exchanges and memories between the two nations on record. Ramai reportedly said to Mao: "We are the smallest nation in the world, giving this gift to the largest nation in the world." Mao replied: "The smallest is as great as the largest." Ambassador McKinnon said he tried to find the cloak after watching the film and finally traced it in the National Museum of China. He considered finding the cloak is one of his achievements as New Zealand's ambassador to China. The cloak was loaned to New Zealand for several months in a ceremony in April 2013 as a historical testimony of China and New Zealand friendship. Obama 'focused' before 10th trip to Asia Updated: 2016-05-20 11:37 By Chen Weihua In Washington(China Daily USA) US President Barack Obama will leave on May 21 for his first trip to Vietnam and his 10th trip to Asia as president, a trip that his aides said "demonstrates Obama's focus on the Asia-Pacific region". The trip from May 21-28 will take Obama to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. On May 25, Obama will depart for Japan to attend the G7 summit and end his trip with a visit to Hiroshima. Obama will visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, a place that serves to commemorate the people who were killed in the atomic bombing of the Japanese city on Aug 6, 1945, which hastened the end of World War II. Most of the 70,000 people killed instantly were civilians. Ben Rhodes, the White House deputy national security advisor for strategic communications, said the visit is not about issuing an apology. "And of course the American people are extraordinarily proud of the generation of service members who fought in World War II at a time of maximum territorial nations. They have a revered place in our society," he told a conference call on Thursday. Michael Green, senior vice-president for Asia, and Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a majority of Americans and a large majority of historians in the US believe that the atomic bombing was necessary to shorten the war and forestall an invasion of Kyushu, which would have led to many more casualties. Rhodes emphasized that the visit is to pay tribute to the enormous suffering and loss of innocents and also to pursue a world without nuclear weapons, a proposal by Obama in 2009 that won him the Nobel Peace Prize. Obama has been criticized in the past year for his efforts to spend $1 trillion in the next 30 years to upgrade the US' nuclear weaponry. A possible US lifting of an arms ban on Vietnam has made headlines in the past days. Daniel Kristenbrink, senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council, said on Wednesday that all of the sales since the US enacted a partial lifting in 2014 on maritime-related articles are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. "And human rights considerations are a part of that process," he said. Rhodes said a decision on the issue has not been finalized. He expects it to be discussed by Obama in his meetings with Vietnamese leaders. "We are looking at it, not narrowly in the context of simply whether or not to lift the ban, but rather where is our relationship going " he said. There have been reports that the Vietnamese government is studying a request to grant the US Navy greater access to Cam Ranh Bay, a move that might draw attention from China. US Trade Representative Michael Froman, who also will make the trip, talked about how the Trans-Pacific Partnership will open the Vietnamese market and benefit US businesses, citing the high tariffs there now for automobiles and beef. But he also acknowledged the challenges there about child labor, intellectual property and environmental issues. He said the Obama administration is consulting with US congressional leaders to see when would be a good time for a vote on the TPP. The US, Vietnam and Japan all are members of the 12-nation TPP, an agreement reached last October. But Japan and the US are facing an uphill battle to ratify the treaty. Three standing 2016 US presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, all opposed TPP. China has always kept a close eye on US leaders trips to the region. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Thursday that we hope that cooperation between relevant countries will be constructive and conducive to peace, stability and security of the region. Kurt Campbell, chairman of the Asia Group and a former US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said the trip is not part of pincer movement aimed at China. chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com Healthcare innovation HOUSTON, TX Mauro Ferrari (right), president and CEO of the Houston Methodist Research Institute, talks about the organizations innovation research and collaboration with China to a group of Chinese delegates on Monday in Houston. It was part of the first US China Innovation and Investment Summit in Houston on Monday and Tuesday. MAY ZHOU / CHINA DAILY Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Loading... Checking your browser before accessing the website. This process is automatic. Your browser will redirect to your requested content shortly. Please wait a few seconds. Vietnam Airlines planes parked at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City. A shortage of infrastructure is the biggest challenge to the aviation sector. VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung Viet Nam News HA NOI The biggest problem facing the Vietnamese aviation sector is the infrastructure at airports, especially at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport, heard a conference in Ha Noi this week. Lai Xuan Thanh, head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam (CAAV), said airports nationwide are capable of accommodating a total of 75 million passengers annually. In the first four months of this year, 63 million had already been accommodated, adding more pressure on the countrys aviation infrastructure, he said. During the reviewed period, the sector grew by nearly 25 per cent, ranking fifth in Southeast Asia, Thanh noted. He said the speedy development has challenged domestic airlines and aviation businesses. The CAAV has submitted plans to upgrade aviation infrastructure, ensure safety for flights and create the best possible conditions for airlines. The Ministry of Transport plans to expand the Tan Son Nhat International Airport and raise its capacity to 40 million passengers per year, Thanh said, expressing his worry that the number was still moderate compared with the growth rate. His views were shared by Vu Pham Nguyen An, deputy director of the Airport Operation Department under the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), who said most airports, excluding the Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat and a Nang international airports, are incurring losses. The ACV is facing financial difficulties as it has been in charge of all the operation costs of the failed airports, he said. An suggested the air carriers use auxiliary ports in a bid to ease the load at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Duong Chi Thanh, deputy general director of Vietnam Airlines, proposed the CAAV assign airlines specific areas in the airports to ensure equality and healthy competition. Luong The Phuc, deputy general director of VietJet Air, suggested the CAAV create conditions for air carriers to upgrade aviation infrastructure and coordinate with each other during programmes to improve flight management.VNS Viet Nam News HA NOI Despite impressive past results, there is plenty of room to develop bilateral economic relations between Viet Nam and Cambodia further, Vietnamese Ambassador Thach Du told a business conference in Phnom Penh yesterday. One hundred Vietnamese and overseas Vietnamese businesses doing business in Cambodia participated in the event. The Vietnamese ambassador attributed the significant improvement in two-way trade and investment ties to the traditional friendship, geographic advantages, and great attention paid by both governments to facilitating cooperation between the two business communities. The purpose of the forum was to review Vietnamese investments in Cambodia and to update Vietnamese enterprises about the local governments new policies for foreign companies. Businesses could also ask the two governments for better conditions for their investment and business activities in Cambodia, Du said. In his speech, the director of the Council for Development of Cambodias Department of Public Relations and Promotion of Private Investment, Youn Heng, praised the contribution of Vietnamese enterprises to Cambodias development. He also briefed listeners on the countrys investment climate, the Law on Investment, and on investment licence granting procedures. Vietnamese firms have injected US$2.85 billion into 183 projects in Cambodia to date, confirming Viet Nam as one of the five leading foreign investors in Cambodia, said Nguyen Bao, the head of the Vietnamese Trade Office in Cambodia. Viet Nam is currently Cambodias third biggest trade partner. Bilateral trade reached $3.37 billion in 2015. The two sides are striving to record $5 billion in trade revenue in the near future, Bao said. Besides trade and investment, Viet Nam has ranked first in sending the most tourists to Cambodia in recent years. Viet Nam is also one of the favourite destinations of Cambodian holiday makers, Bao noted. VNS Viet Nam News HA NOI Insurance and finance conglomerate Bao Viet Holdings (Bao Viet) has set a target of VN22.5 trillion (US$1 billion) in revenue and VN1.19 trillion in after-tax profit this year, according to the companys general shareholder meeting on Wednesday. The figures are 6.2 per cent and 1.3 per cent higher than last years numbers, respectively. In 2015, the company recorded total revenue of nearly VN20.8 trillion and an after-tax profit of VN1.17 trillion. Bao Viet also plans to pay a dividend of eight per cent, or VN800 per share, to shareholders for last year and this years performances. Total dividend for last years business result is worth more than VN544 billion. Bao Viet aims to remain the top insurance and finance business in Viet Nam, become more competitive on the global market, and achieve efficient and sustainable business growth, said ao inh Thi, the companys Chairman. By 2020, the company will hold the top position in the life insurance and non-life insurance segments, and become the top provider of financial services for the domestic market, Thi said. During the first three months of the year, Bao Viet earned VN5.5 trillion in revenue and an after-tax profit of VN387 billion, which is equal to one-third of this years target. The life insurance business remains the key sector for the company, accounting for 79 per cent of the companys first-quarter total revenue, while financial services brought 19 per cent of the company revenue during the same period. Bao Viet also plans to sell more than 34 million shares to its employees for at least VN10,000 per share under the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) so that the company will be able to increase its capital this year to serve business activities in 2016 and 2017. The issuance of shares to employees came after the company had been unable to find a strategic investor, who is able to provide additional capital for the company by purchasing 40 million to 61.5 million shares. The companys management board is now developing better plans to improve its financial capability in order to prepare for new business activities as Viet Nam has been integrating into global markets, bringing both challenges and opportunities for Vietnamese companies. VNS HA NOI Finance markets will become more sophisticated and powerful in the near future, and this will pose a challenge if banks do not focus on renovating existing technology, financial experts warn. Banks that invest in new technology would see benefits of between 15-17 per cent profit, Can Van Luc, a finance expert told participants at Banking Vietnam 2016 yesterday, co-held by the State Bank of Viet Nam and International Data Group (IDG). In response to current challenges and competition, Banking Vietnam 2016 features the theme: Innovation and transformation key factors for banks improving operational efficiency and competitive advantage in the new context of integration. The conference covers key initiatives and innovative IT solutions through a schedule of discussions and presentations from leading national and regional banking experts, and world-leading technology providers. At the conference, Luc also outlined factors that will affect banking performance between 2016 and 2020. Namely that the legal environment has seen a tightening of regulations that will raise costs and reduce profits for the banking sector. In addition, changes in demographics, an aging population and rising incomes will all lead to increased demands on banks. Customers are becoming more knowledgeable and often use information technology to stay regularly informed about banking news, he said. Luc said that competition among banks and banking systems is becoming fiercer. A series of non-banking institutes have been established to offer convenient and rapid services, however, they often lack the risk management expertise of established institutions. Therefore, commercial banks have an advantage in being able to promote the protection of customers. In addition, Viet Nam also needs to foster strong participate in the international market with the adoption of new international standards. According to the Deputy Director of the Banking Strategy Institute Pham Xuan Hoe, one of the challenges for investment in science and technology in banking was that it required a lot of starting capital, however, revenue from banking services and banking products remains low after failing to recover their investment costs. Hoe offered an example of when he was working for a commercial bank, and being asked why ATM users had to pay a fee. He explained that users should share the burden with commercial banks to help them reinvest in better technology. Luc also noted that the potential for financial markets remained huge in Viet Nam. The size of the countrys financial market was still small while banking products and services remained modest and still, access to financial services remains limited for many people. The banking system remains thin and is unevenly allocated. Banking Vietnam is known as the largest and most influential annual ICT banking conference and expo in Viet Nam. The past 13 years of ongoing success has earned Banking Vietnam the reputation as a required event for leading bankers, technology professionals, and financial experts. VNS Egyptian artist makes water puppets popular CAIRO Vietnamese water puppets are being introduced for the first time to the world, and its not by Vietnamese artists. A water puppet show titled Isis and Osiris was performed by Egyptian artists from the Cairo Puppet Theatre at the Zamalek Sport Centre. The performance is based on a story from Egyptian mythology. The unique performance has made a strong impression on the local spectators. I like the show very much because of its uniqueness -- an Egyptian story is being presented by a Vietnamese water puppet, Noda Medhat, a spectator in Cairo, said. I hope the special show will be performed at other places in Egypt. The three-year project between Egyptian and Vietnamese artists has borne fruit thanks to the efforts of Egyptian artist May Mohab. Im happy that after eight years my dream has turned into a reality. I want to thank the Vietnamese embassy in Egypt, and in particular former ambassador ao Thanh Chung and present ambassador o Hoang Long, Mohab said. Vietnamese artists and students supported and helped a lot in my research and during the project. Water puppetry has the potential to develop in Egypt, a country of the Pharaohs with many mythological stories and epics related to the Nile River, according to Mohab. Mohab is a set designer at the Cairo Puppet Theatre, one of the leading theatres in researching and preserving puppet art in Egypt. The artist began researching Vietnamese water puppets in 2008 for her thesis. She was not satisfied with a document on Vietnamese water puppets, which was translated in Arabic, and wanted to learn how to handle puppets so that they could be used to present Egyptian stories. She contacted veteran puppet artist Chu Van Luong who she regards like a second father. Luong and other Vietnamese artists were convinced by Mohabs passion for water puppets and agreed to teach her the technique. The artist had a chance to attend the third International Puppet Festival in Viet Nam in 2012. It was the first time she watched a water puppet show. In 2013, she participated in a workshop to make puppets with artists and artisans from the Thang Long Puppet Theatre. Her thesis on Vietnamese water puppets is highly appreciated. Not only it is a good resource introducing Vietnamese water puppets in detail, but it also suggests how Egyptians artists can combine Vietnamese traditional art with Egyptian stories. Mohab has also contributed to promoting a co-operative project among Vietnamese and Egyptian theatres. In the first phase of the project, with the direct help of two Vietnamese artist Vuong Tat Loi and artisan Duy Bang, Egyptian artists have made 25 puppets symbolising the holy animals and the Pharaohs. The puppets were displayed at the Egyptian Centre for International Culture Co-operation. Vietnamese artists Hoang Tuan, Chu Van Luong and Thuy Tien also came to Egypt to train 12 Egyptian artists on how to control the water puppets. Isis and Osiris is the first water puppet show to be performed in Egypt, marking a milestone for the genre in Egypt in particular and in the Middle East region in general, Mohamed Nour, director of the Cairo Puppet Theatre, said. It is a special cultural event in Egypt, he said at a press conference held at the Cairo Theatre on May 11. He also said his theatre will tour and hold performances in other areas of Egypt in the future. VNS HA NOI Australian indigenous people are telling their stories through paintings on display for the first time in Viet Nam. Titled Canning Stock Route, the exhibition features paintings and portraits by the artists and showcases the process of creation. The Aboriginals of Australias Western Desert lived in their homeland for thousands of years. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the expansion of the Western Australian mining and pastoral industries led to the survey of a track along which cattle could be moved from Kimberley stations to markets in the south. This track, and the 54 wells that were created alongside it, became known as the Canning Stock Route (Yiwarra Kuju). It was first surveyed by Alfred Canning in the early 1990s. The route, which runs 1,850km across Western Australia and follows waterholes where animals and people could access drinking water, crosses the boundaries of many Aboriginal language groups. Similar stock routes were established across aboriginal land throughout Australia. This is the story of one such track, told from the perspectives of the Aboriginal people whose land it crossed. It is a story of contact with Europeans, of conflict and survival, of exodus and return. Above all, it is a story of family, culture and country. The exhibition grew from the Canning Stock Route Project, which brought together 60 artists from different remote communities, who painted their stories of how the stock route changed the lives of their families and ancestors. We are very pleased to share a part of Australian history with our Vietnamese friends through this unique exhibition, Hugh Borrowman, Australian Ambassador to Viet Nam, said. Art in general and painting in particular are wonderful tools, not only for passing on stories and exchanging experiences across generations but also as a universal method of communication throughout the world, he said. The exhibition is the result of the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnologys partnership with the Australian Embassy in Viet Nam and the National Museum of Australia. All the entries are part of a larger exhibition that is underway in Australia. It features 116 paintings, sculptural works, contemporary cultural objects, documentary materials and oral histories by 60 artists who travelled along the Canning Stock Route on a return-to-country trip in 2007. Thanks to an innovative idea from the National Museum of Australia, a selection of artworks from the Canning Stock Route exhibition was digitised to allow the Vietnamese audience to enjoy these works, while the originals, which are too large to transport to other locations, remain in Australia. The paintings utilise stories told by the artists, old legends and notes on symbols used by indigenous cultures, helping visitors easily understand not just the painting but also an age-old culture. The indigenous people live close to the waterholes, which are hallmarks in these paintings. The Vietnamese people have the opportunity to explore Australia, its people and its culture, Vo Quang Trong, director of the Museum of Ethnology, said. The exhibition is being held on the occasion of International Museum Day and will run until June 18 at the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology, Nguyen Van Huyen Street, Ha Noi. In addition to the exhibition, the Museum of Ethnology will also work with the National Museum of Australia to organise a series of workshops on museum management, displaying various techniques and building communication strategies for museums. Staff members from museums across the country will participate. VNS SENDAI, Japan - Finance ministers and central bankers from the G-7 kicked off meetings in Japan on Friday that could highlight a divide among the club of rich nations over currency policy and how to rev up global growth. The two days of talks will see host Japan keen to win an endorsement for its position that fiscal stimulus is the way to kickstart the world economy, after a rally in the yen hit the countrys exporters and worsened a slowdown at home. But Tokyos threat of a market intervention to reverse the rally could put it on a collision course with other G-7 nations, including the United States and Germany which have ruled out such moves. French Finance Minister Michel Sapin, attending the talks at a famous hot spring resort in a region badly damaged by the 2011 quake-tsunami disaster, also waved off the idea of countries gaining a trade advantage by manipulating their own currencies. "Today we are in a cooperation phase, and not in an intervention or a currency war phase," he said. The G-7 group -- also including members from Britain, Canada, and Italy -- will try to hammer out a strategy for keeping a global recession at bay. In April, the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for world growth for the third time in less than a year, as a slowdown in China and other emerging economies raised fears that the worst was yet to come. "Proactive financial policies and monetary easing are necessary, but not enough," said Ivan Tselichtchev, an economics professor at Japans Niigata University of Management. "The G-7 has to do more to pursue structural reforms, to raise economic efficiency,...to boost investment, including investment from large emerging countries." Among those attending the talks this week are US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, and IMF chief Christine Lagarde. The group will meet behind closed doors and tour an area hit by the quake-tsunami disaster on Friday afternoon. Money laundering Terrorist financing and offshore tax havens at the heart of the Panama Papers investigation will be discussed. A debt relief deal for Greece and Britains referendum on its future in the European Union could also be on the agenda. "As uncertainty about the world economy has increased, macroeconomic policies and structural reforms" will be discussed, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso told an opening reception on Thursday. "And as we saw with the Panama Papers situation, we are keenly aware that there is a lot of attention focused on things such as tax avoidance and money laundering." However, finding agreement on how the group can stimulate their own economies, and global growth, could be a challenge. Premier Shinzo Abes pitch for large-scale stimulus spending got a cool response from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron this month. Merkel suggested Germany was already doing its part to put the global economy back on track, pointing to the extra economic activity generated by the arrival of one million refugees and migrants last year. Her Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble this week pointed to reforms as the way forward, rather than focusing on more government spending and monetary policy. The finance ministers meeting comes a week before a G-7 leaders summit in Ise-Shima, a region between Tokyo and Osaka. -- AFP SOCHI Viet Nams Party, state and government continue to regard Russia as a significant strategic priority in its diplomatic policy of multilateralisation and international integration, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said yesterday. He made the statement at his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi City on the sidelines of the 20th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Russia Commemorative Summit. The meeting took place in a friendly, trusting and open atmosphere, during which the Vietnamese PM expressed his pleasure in paying an official visit to Russia and briefed the host on the socio-economic situation in Viet Nam as well as the outcome of the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam. He pledged that the Vietnamese leadership would proactively work to enhance the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries in a pragmatic and effective manner. In turn, President Putin congratulated PM Phuc on his new post while hailing the role of Viet Nam in Southeast Asia and confirming that the country was one of the external priorities of Russia in the Asia-Pacific region. Amidst regional and global changes, cooperation between the two countries has grown actively across the board from politics, economics/trade and security/defence to science/technology, education/training, culture and tourism, he noted. The two leaders agreed to strengthen coordination to effectively execute key collaborative projects and programmes, especially in the areas of trade exchange, oil and gas, nuclear power and tourism, to lay a foundation for the expansion of bilateral cooperation into other fields. The Russian leader promised to urge other members of the Eurasian Economic Union, particularly Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, to complete the ratification of the free trade agreement (FTA) with Viet Nam in a bid to enhance the bilateral economic, trade and investment ties in the coming period. PM Phuc said Viet Nam was willing to serve as a bridge to help Russian enterprises expand operations in Southeast Asian markets and the ASEAN, especially now that Viet Nam has signed and engaged in a number of FTAs with foreign countries and organisations. He thanked the Russian president for directing the relevant agencies to support overseas Vietnamese in doing business in the country and expressed his hope that the host society would provide more assistance for Vietnamese expatriates. During the meeting, the two leaders discussed various regional and global issues of mutual concern. They agreed to boost cooperation at the multilateral forums of the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation, the Asia-Europe Meeting and the ASEAN. He congratulated Russia on hosting the ASEAN-Russia Summit and expressed his confidence in the events success, which is expected to help raise the two sides relations to new heights. He also affirmed his intention to enhance Vietnamese-Russian cooperation within the framework of ASEAN-Russia ties. Touching upon the recent complicated developments in the East Sea, President Putin said Russia was keeping a close watch on the situation in Southeast Asia and particularly the East Sea. He reiterated Russias standpoint of resolving any disputes via peaceful means and with respect for international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, while fully and effectively enforcing the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea. Russia also supports the ASEAN and Chinas initiative to jointly build a Code of Conduct in the East Sea, he added. PM Phuc conveyed President Tran ai Quangs invitation to the Russian president to visit Viet Nam and attend the APEC Summit to be hosted there in 2017. - VNS TRA VINH Dozens of workers at a company in southern Tra Vinh Province were hospitalised yesterday morning with suspected food poisoning. As of 10:30am, more than 50 workers from Viet Tran Ltd were transported to Tra Vinh General Hospital with symptoms such as nausea, stomach ache and diarrhea. Initial investigations revealed that the workers ate a meal at the companys canteen yesterday afternoon before beginning their over-time work. Viet Tran Company is involved in manufacturing and exporting products such as ink film for fax machines, barcode ribbons and printer ribbons at Long uc Industrial Zone in the provinces Tra Vinh City. The meals the workers ate the day before were the likely cause of a mass food-poisoning incident, doctors said. By 11:30am the same day, all the workers were discharged, having made a full recovery. VNS HA NOI More than 70,000 teachers are likely to be out of jobs by 2020 since the demand is far short of supply, according to educational experts. Even if Viet Nams student-teacher ratio reaches that of developed countries, its education system will not be able to absorb all newly graduated teachers, Bui Van Quan, the rector of the Ha Noi Metropolitan University, said at a meeting held on Wednesday to discuss teacher training and education reform. Around 41,000 primary teachers, 12,200 secondary teachers and 16,900 high school teachers would be unemployed by 2020, he said. Quan blamed the redundancies on the countrys massive number of teacher training institutions. Sixty three out of 64 cities and provinces in the country have at least one university that provides teacher training courses, he said. ak Nong is the odd one out. Teacher training institutions mushroomed without taking market demand into account, Quan said. Many have poor infrastructure and lack qualified lecturers, he added. Assoc Prof Nguyen Manh An, rector of Hong uc University in Thanh Hoa Province, called for adopting policies to attract excellent students to sustain the quality of future teachers. Ariel Cegla, co-ordinator of Israels A. Ofri International Training Centre, said lecturers at teachers training universities should have exchanges with high-school teachers to improve their practical knowledge and learn about the latest teaching methods. Pedagogy students should spend more time interning at schools while at university, he said. Quan said curriculums should be changed in line with the requirements of education reforms. Teachers training institutions should assess future needs to avoid redundancy of teachers, he said. The country has 13 pedagogy colleges and universities and 144 institutions offering teachers training courses, according to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training. VNS HCM CITY Two teams of blind young people living in a HCM City shelter have created websites for job search and providing resume consultancy targeted at blind people that have won funding from a UNICEF programme to commercialise them. The seven members of the two teams live at the Thien An Shelter in Tan Phu District. Nguyen Minh Tuan of the team that set up the jobs website said from his own experience he knows the difficulties blind people have in seeking jobs. Though the country has several employment centres for people with disabilities including visual impairments, only 20 per cent of blind people have jobs, according to the Viet Nam Blind Association. A survey of 80 people with visual impairments the team carried out found 90 per cent of them complaining about the difficulties in looking for employment. Desiring to help people like them, he and three other set up the website www.jobsforblind.com to link up prospective employers and blind people looking for jobs. It also shares the working experience of many blind people, Tuan said. According to the Viet Nam Blind Association, 10,000 of the countrys million blind people have the ability to browse the internet, and the others could ask family or friends to help access this website, he said. People with visual impairment can work as IT engineers, teachers and others in addition to being masseurs. Enterprises and organisations should give them the opportunity to show their capabilities. When the website was still in its beta stage, seven blind people found jobs through it, he added. UPSHIFT, part of the larger By Youth, For Youth UNICEF programme and which aims to engage and empower disadvantaged young people to realise their role as agents of social change, gave the two teams from the shelter and two others VN20 million (US$888) each for their innovations. But Tuan said to run the jobs website another VN70 million (US$3,111) is needed this year. The other two teams innovations involved educating primary school students about respiratory health and helping people with disabilities use public transport. The four were chosen from 10 entries in late 2015 by the UNICEF Innovation Lab in partnership with the city-based Viet Youth Entrepreneurs. UPSHIFT teaches transferable career skills in leadership and collaboration and communication, provides training in entrepreneurship and gives young people the opportunity to define a problem in their community and help develop its solution. Its organisers met with 681 young people in the city during the course of the programme. VNS HA NOI A number of organisations have signed a joint action programme in Ha Noi yesterday to support farmers affected by drought, saltwater intrusion, and massive seafood death. The signatories include the Viet Nam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee along with the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour, the Vietnamese Farmers Association, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the Association of Vietnamese War Veterans, the Viet Nam Red Cross Society, the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Viet Nam Fisheries Association. President of the VFF Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan said with the goal of developing closer and more effective co-ordination, the involved parties agreed to directly support 450,000 households amounting to 1.8 million people suffering from water shortages. Due to massive fish deaths in central provinces, 12,500 fishing boats are yet to head back out to sea, affecting 63,000 fishermen, he said, adding that the Government had put forth a programme to assist locals with rice, money and loans. In the next three to four months, there is an urgent need to help 6,000 households buy social insurance cards and enable their children to go to school, he said, adding that this required close co-ordination between relevant agencies. Accordingly, the involved parties would mobilise necessary financial resources in June 2016 and transfer the money to support the affected localities next month, he said. The action programme aims to supply fresh water to around 45,000 families affected by saltwater encroachment in the Mekong Delta, and drought in the Central Highlands and south central region, while purchasing health insurance cards for around 6,000 underprivileged households affected by massive fish deaths. The involved parties will also inspect the delivery of the States urgent assistance to fishermen in central Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien-Hue provinces in accordance with the Prime Ministers Decision 772/Q-TTg issued on May 9, 2016. EU aid In a related move, the European Union is providing 90,000 euros (about US$101,000) in humanitarian funding to assist the most severely-affected populations in the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta regions. This EU-funding is part of the 178,000 euro package allocated from the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund to support the Viet Nam Red Cross Society (VNRC) in delivering much-needed assistance, including the provision of safe drinking water, the promotion of good hygiene and health care practices, and unconditional cash transfers for the poorest households to meet food and other priority needs. The humanitarian aid will directly benefit 17,600 of the most vulnerable individuals, impacted by the climatic events in seven of the hardest-hit provinces, namely Ben Tre, Binh Thuan, Gia Lai, Long An, Soc Trang, Tien Giang and Tra Vinh. The drought, which has hit the southern and central regions of Viet Nam, has caused water shortages affecting some two million people. Approximately 1.1 million people are in need of food aid, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. In the Mekong Delta, prolonged drought and the reduction in groundwater levels have resulted in the most extensive saltwater intrusion in 90 years into more than 400,000ha of crops with varying degrees of productivity loss. Another 25,9000ha have not been planted at all. VNS HA NOI Illegal hunters, transporters and smugglers of pangolins will face imprisonment for 1-15 years from July 1 under the amendments of the Penal Code. They will also be subjected to an administrative penalty of between VN500 million (US$22,400) and VN2 billion ($89,600). The move is aimed at better preserving pangolins, which are on the brink of extinction due to illegal hunting, trading for food or for use in traditional Asian medicine. The Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Program, a collaboration between Save Vietnams Wildlife (SVW) and Cuc Phuong National Park, yesterday saved two pangolins (Manis pentadactyla) from the Nam Can International Border Gate in the central province of Nghe Ans Ky Son District. Authorised agencies at the border gate found the pangolins, along with ten turtles, (Platysternon megacephalum) in the luggage of a man from the provinces Dien Chau District. He failed to show legal documents proving the origin of the animals. All the pangolins and turtles are in good health and have been taken to rescue centres at the Cuc Phuong National Park in the northern province of Ninh Binh. Nguyen Khac Chien, deputy head of the Customs Department of the Nam Can International Border Gate, said many wild animals, particularly pangolins, are trafficked and transported from Laos to Viet Nam. More inspections to save these animals and to transfer them to rescue centres are necessary to stop the illegal hunting and trade of the animals to protect them from extinction, he said. Save Vietnams Wildlife is a national non-profit organisation committed to protecting and increasing the population of endangered wildlife in Viet Nam by rescuing threatened animals, protecting entire populations and ensuring secured habitats. Viet Nams first pangolin education centre officially opened early this year at the CucPhuong National Park. The centres innovative and interactive design aims to help visitors, especially children, learn about pangolins in an enjoyable manner. It is part of Save Vietnams Wildlifes efforts to fight the illegal pangolin trade and raise public awareness about pangolins. According to a survey done by the organisation, 90 per cent of Vietnamese people do not know that Viet Nam is home to two species of pangolin -- the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) and the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla). The population of the two species has declined in Viet Nam over the last two decades, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The organisation has listed the two species as critically endangered, which means they face an extremely high risk of extinction. - VNS Adding to the spate of mysterious airline accidents in recent years, an flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board crashed in the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday. Flight 804, an Airbus A320, was flying at 37,000 feet when it disappeared shortly after entering Egyptian airspace at 2:45 a.m. local time, about 280 kilometres off the coastline north of the port city of Alexandria. Speaking to reporters in Cairo, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said that it was too early to determine whether the recent crash occurred due to technical problems or the flight had been targeted by terrorists. The incident comes less than a year after the crash of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt. In March this year, an EgyptAir flight from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked by an Egyptian national who claimed he was armed with explosives. The situation, however, was defused after hours of negotiations and without any casualties. While flying remains one of the safest ways to travel, a few major incidents involving planes have hit the headlines in the past few years. We take a look at some of the major accidents. MH370: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The Boeing 777 vanished from radar screens en route to Beijing with 239 people, including five Indians, aboard. Suspected debris from the missing flight have emerged as recently as March this year. A year after the crash, in July, a part of the aircraft wing was found on La Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. After almost two years, a South African teenager and an American lawyer recently found debris on separate occasions off the coast of Mozambique, renewing hopes of solving the mystery of how MH370 went down. MH17: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crashed on July 17, 2014, near the Ukraine-Russia border. The crash claimed the lives of all 298 people on board and was the second accident within months for the airline. The crash came in the midst of a raging civil war in Ukraine and immediate allegations were levelled against Russian-backed rebels for shooting down the flight. A long awaited report into the crash by the Dutch Safety Board said that a Russian-built BUK anti-aircraft missile was responsible for downing the aircraft. Germanwings: Flight 4U9525 of the German budget airline, with 150 people on board, crashed on March 24, 2015, in southern France while flying from Barcelona to Dusseldorf. The Airbus A320 crashed around 11 a.m. in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in the southern French Alps. The crash killed the 144 passengers and six crew members on board. Analyses of the cockpit flight recorder indicated that 27-year-old German co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed the plane into the mountains. According to reports, Lubitz was suffering from severe depression and had seen 41 doctors in five years, seven of them in the month before the crash. Debris of the Germanwings passenger jet is scattered on the mountain side near Seyne les Alpes, French Alps Metrojet Flight 9268: A Russian passenger plane carrying 224 passengers and crew members crashed shortly after take off from Sharm El Sheik, a popular Red Sea resort in the Sinai Peninsula, on October 31, 2015. Wilayat Sinai, an Egyptian-affiliated group associated with the Islamic States of Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the downing of the aircraft, which left no survivors. Initial examination of the black boxes of the Russian flight belied reports that it was shot down by a missile. However, investigators did not rule out an act of terrorism as the cause behind the crash. Egyptian Military experts examine a piece of an engine at the wreckage of a passenger jet bound for St. Petersburg in Russia that crashed in Hassana, Egypt. Photo: PTI DYSART David Hamilton Irvine, 76, of Dysart, died at home Wednesday, May 18. He was born Nov. 19, 1939, to David and Vi Mehlhaus Irvine. In 1964 he married Catheryn Rendleman. David graduated from Dysart High School in 1957, attended the University of Iowa and received an LLB from UI School of Law in 1967. Poor health forced his retirement from the practice of law and farming. There will be no visitation or service. The family will gather for a private interment. Memorials in lieu of flowers: may be directed to the Dysart Ambulance Service, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Salvation Army or charities of donors choice. Condolences can be left at www.overtonservice.com. INDEPENDENCE -- Testimony and evidence offered Friday presented divergent views of a boy's mental abilities, suggesting one issue jurors will eventually confront. The young man is at the center of the criminal case against Fayla Cannon, 56, of Rowley. She is charged with three counts of dissemination and exhibition of obscene materials to a minor and with three counts of malicious prosecution. The alleged offenses are serious misdemeanors. In 2014, Cannon served as the boy's paraeducator at Independence High School. In October she turned in multiple pages purportedly written "hand over hand" with the boy. The writings contained accusations -- allegedly conveyed to Cannon by the boy -- of multiple instances of sexual abuse by the boy's former paraeducator, Nicole Weber, and by two former students. Sometimes, the three abused the boy at the same time in a school restroom, according to the writings. School officers and investigators later surmised one of the former students' names was probably actually Matthew Hilbert. The writings also contained allegations of physical and sexual abuse by the boy's parents, Brian and Mary Beth Brinkema. Brian Brinkema is a captain with the Independence Police Department. The charges of malicious prosecution against Cannon are linked to allegedly false claims leveled against Brian Brinkema, Weber and one of the former students. County Attorney Shawn Harden called a number of witnesses Friday who each in their own way said the boy does not have the cognitive capacity to even formulate sentences. Communicating thoughts on advanced concepts, such as sexual abuse, domestic violence and peer pressure, would also be well beyond his abilities, according to the state's witnesses. The boy has a genetic disorder that affected the formation of his brain. Psychologist Patrick O'Conner of Waterloo tested and evaluated the boy in 2010 and again in 2014. From the first exam, O'Conner said the 11-year-old boy demonstrated a mental age of 2 years 7 months. At that time, the boy had an IQ of 26, well below the average of 100. Statistically, O'Conner said, out of 1,000 typical 11-year-olds, "he would be the lowest." O'Conner noted the IQ test includes a number of separate components. "He was unable to complete a single one of those tasks," O'Conner added. On the subsequent exam four years later, O'Conner said the boy had advanced only slightly to a mental age of 2 years 11 months. But because the boy was now compared to other 16 year olds, they boy's IQ dropped to 18. According to O'Conner, the boy in 2014 could not identify his own gender and could not name the part of his body used to hear. Later, Harden asked if anything in the writings purportedly done by the boy with Cannon's help struck O'Conner as unusual. O'Conner said two things, the vocabulary and the depth of the discussion. "I didn't believe that he had authored those," O'Conner added. Defense attorney Leon Spies objected to O'Conner's answer, and Judge Linda Fangman did strike the comment from the official record. On cross examination, Spies produced Iowa Test of Basic Skills results for the boy and asked O'Conner, a certified school psychologist, to interpret the numbers. As an elementary student, O'Conner noted the boy several times tested above grade level in vocabulary, spelling and math. Harden came back to the topic, asking whether the school district made "accommodations" for the boy's disabilities and whether the Basic Skills test would have been "modified" to meet the boy's individualized education program. "Absolutely," O'Conner said. Weber told jurors the boy used simple, basic words, such as "mom" and "home." "Usually it was one word," she testified, and generally would only repeat what he heard. "He would never try to spontaneously initiate a conversation?" Harden asked. "No," Weber said. "I've never heard him tell me a sentence," she added. As far as writing, Weber said the boy never wrote and never moved her hand to write. The boy would rest his hand on hers, according to Weber. On cross examination, Spies asked if the boy ever touched Weber's breasts or if she ever admonished him to stop. "He has never touched my breasts, and I have never had to tell (the boy) to stop touching my breasts," Weber testified. One of the former student, Jacob Zieser, 19, told jurors he knew of Weber and recalled Cannon "as another helper around school." He remembered being in a PE class with the boy, who at that time was attended by Weber. Zieser denied ever being in a restroom at school with the boy. On cross examination, Spies asked if Zieser and the boy were friends. "I would say we were not friends," Zieser testified, adding they had never even eaten lunch together. The other former student, Matthew Hilbert, shared similar information with the jury and said he had never socialized with the boy. "No. Honestly, I don't think he really could talk," Hilbert added. He did know Cannon. "She was pretty nice," Hilbert said. "You still like her a lot?" Spies asked. "Yeah," Hilbert said. Lisa Lutz, an orientation and mobility specialist with the Iowa Braille School in Vinton, has worked with the boy twice monthly for several years. She told jurors she has employed the "hand over hand" writing technique on multiple occasions. "Does he write the words?" Harden asked. "No, I write the words," Lutz testified. Harden then wondered if the boy had ever taken control of the pencil or moved Lutz' hand. "No," Lutz said. Michael Roehrkasse, a special agent with the Division of Criminal Investigation, also concluded his testimony Friday. He talked about a vocabulary list and definitions found in the boy's writings apparently for a health and wellness class. The list included "sexually transmitted," "sexual violence," "sexual assault," "foster care" and "peer pressure." As a definition for the latter, the boy allegedly wrote, "I had peer pressure to do those things with Nicky ... " For foster care, the boy allegedly wrote, "Mom thinks I will go to foster care" for telling what Weber did. Over Spies' multiple objections, Harden asked Roehrkasse if he uncovered evidence to support the allegations of sexual abuse by Weber, Zieser or "Welter" or of assault by Brian Brinkema. "No, I did not," Roehrkasse said each time. "I really do think this is a back-handed way to say this is all fabricated," Spies told Judge Linda Fangman during a sidebar outside the jury's presence. On cross examination, Spies asked if Cannon expressed doubt about the alleged incident with Zieser and Hilbert. "I believe she indicated that she thought it was far-fetched," Roehrkasse testified. MASON CITY -- A Nora Springs woman was given a suspended 10-year prison sentence in Cerro Gordo County District Court this week for delivery of methamphetamine. Mallorie E. Wolcott, 28, was put on probation for five years for that charge, a Class C felony. A $1,000 fine was suspended. Wolcott delivered methamphetamine to a cooperating individual under the control of agents of the North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force on Sept. 11 in Mason City, according to the criminal complaint. She pleaded guilty in March. CEDAR RAPIDS Angela Lawrence said Friday she talked to her cousin Crystal Gaffney a few days before she was murdered. Gaffney told Lawrence she would die for her three girls. And thats exactly what she did on July 8, 2014, Lawrence said in a victims impact statement. Lawrence, now legal guardian of Gaffneys daughters, said in the heart-wrenching statement she was thankful the girls wouldnt have to endure Shaun Hogans abuse ever again. She couldnt imagine what the girls had been through, as they had to watch Hogan killing their mother. The (oldest daughter) has nightmares she told me I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, Lawrence, fighting back tears, said. She (the child) said she was sorry she ever knew him and his family. Lawrence said it breaks her heart when the girls call her Mommy because their mother isnt with them and Crystal cherished being a mother. Lawrence showed photos of Gaffney and her daughters to the judge, telling him she wanted him to know Crystal wasnt just a woman found on a road. Hogan, 38, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for hitting Gaffney in the head with a pipe wrench and stabbing her in the head with a screwdriver July 8. Gaffneys body wasnt found until July 9 on the Linn-Buchanan Road, where she was killed, according to prosecutors. Assistant Linn County Attorney Jordan Schier said all three daughters, under the age of 13 at the time, were in the car when Hogan pulled their mother out of the vehicle and attacked her. The youngest girl was only 11-months-old and likely doesnt remember the event. He was originally charged with first-degree murder, but pleaded in March to second-degree murder. Prosecutors previously said the plea was offered to spare the children from testifying and this was basically a life sentence for Hogan. He must serve a mandatory 35-years before being eligible for parole. Hogan will be 73 at that time. Geoffrey Gaffney, Crystals father, said in a victims statement that Hogan was an evil person who would get off easy with 50 years and he doesnt deserve to see the light of day. Geoffrey said he believes Hogan also planned to kill the girls. He took away my daughter her girls had to watch this monster brutally kill their mother, Geoffrey Gaffney said in the statement. He took a plea knowing we wouldnt want the girls to go through (a trial) and relive this. Hogan said, before the judge sentenced him, that when he met Gaffney in 2012, she put the biggest smile on his face and they had many good times together. Hogan, who looked back at Gaffneys family, said he never meant for any of this to happen. He repeatedly said he loved her and her children, and said the news accounts, which made him out a villain, were wrong. Hogan apologized to Gaffneys family and his family at the end of his statement. Hogan also will be required to pay victim restitution. WATERLOO A magistrate has ordered a Waterloo woman to spend a month in jail for causing a crash that killed an off-duty sheriffs deputy in August. There is something to be said for the solitude of thought, Magistrate Patricia McGivern said Thursday as she sentenced 30-year-old Shawna Marie Flippo to 30 days in jail for a driving while suspended. Flippo needed quiet time to turn her life around and reflect on her role in the Aug. 4 collision that claimed 34-year-old Timothy Petersens life, McGivern said. Another 30-day jail sentence was suspended for a charge of failure to yield at a stop sign causing death, meaning Flippo faces even more jail time if she violates her year-long self probation. If imposed, the second jail stint would run consecutive to the first. McGivern also ordered Flippo to complete 50 hours of community service in remembrance of Petersen, who had dedicated his career to serving the public through the Black Hawk County Sheriffs Office. Prosecutor Brian Williams asked that traffic offenses count as probation violations. He had sought 60 days in jail, noting before the crash, Flippo had accumulated six tickets for speeding and one each for driving without insurance and driving on the wrong side of the road. This wasnt bad luck She had no right to be there, Williams said. Authorities said Flippo was driving a sport utility vehicle on a suspended license when she pulled onto Crossroads Boulevard from the Best Buy/BioLife driveway, causing the collision. Petersen, who was riding a motorcycle, died hours later of his injuries. Family said Petersens main concern during his final moments was the wellbeing of Flippos children, who were passengers in her SUV. During the sentencing hearing, Petersens relatives challenged Flippo to learn from her mistakes and work to become a role model for her children. You need to take responsibility for your actions. You need to give this family some peace after taking it away, said Nikki Bergmeier, Petersens older sister. Petersens wife, Katy, who is now tasked with being a single parent, said the prison sentence doesnt seem to be enough, although she said she wouldnt wish a life sentence for Flippo because it would leave her children without a parent. Flippo took the opportunity of apologize for the crash. I am so sorry I struggle every day knowing that I took him away from his babies, Flippo said, in tears. Flippo said at the time of the collision, her only thoughts were about feeding her children. She said she was heading to Wal-Mart to buy food. She said she pulled out after the driver of a delivery truck that was entering the driveway had waved her through. On May 12, McGivern found Flippo guilty of the driving and stop sign charges plus another charge for driving without insurance following a one-day bench trial. CEDAR FALLS If there was a unified reaction to the news University of Northern Iowa President Bill Ruud is taking a new job in July, it was surprise. Ruud, 63, announced Wednesday evening he will leave UNI after three years to take the helm at Marietta College in Ohio. The private liberal arts school has 1,200 students. UNI has 12,000 students. Ruud said his decision had nothing to do with the fact the Iowa Board of Regents had not updated his three-year contract, which expires June 1. That fueled speculation he was encouraged to leave. Ruud told The Courier no single factor spurred his decision. (My wife) Judy and I visited Marietta together and agreed that it was a great opportunity, Ruud said. He was approached by a recruiting firm about Marietta earlier this spring. In a message to faculty and students Wednesday, Ruud said he had mixed emotions about leaving. He said his days at UNI included many challenges but have passed in the blink of an eye. Despite his relatively short tenure, Ruuds time at UNI has been described as a success. Spotlight on success Cedar Valley leaders described a dramatic transition during Ruuds tenure at UNI. He arrived in 2013 after the recent closing of Malcolm Price Laboratory School and other cost-cutting measures. The university was under threat of censure by the American Association of University Professors. Now, faculty and others point to the positives. Under President Ruuds leadership, we were able to improve morale, rebuild a sense of community and purpose and stabilize enrollment, said Scott Peters, past faculty chair and associate professor of political science. Peters added, I felt a real sense of momentum and optimism on campus this year, and I hope his departure doesnt interrupt that progress. United Faculty President Joe Gorton said in a statement to colleagues Thursday United Faculty and the Faculty Senate are planning a reception to honor the Ruuds contributions to UNI and the Cedar Valley. Like many of you, I am shocked and disappointed by the announcement of President Ruuds departure, Gorton said. Though we have occasionally had our differences, I have never doubted President Ruuds commitment to improving UNI. Gorton, an associate professor of sociology, anthropology and criminology, said he believes Ruud was driven out. It is completely lacking in credibility to believe that Ruud just decided one day, Im going to go to this much smaller private school, he said. I have no doubt that this was the board not wanting to renew his contract. Civic sentiment Cedar Valley lawmakers were equally surprised by the news, and praised Ruuds efforts to help get the additional funding for the university. Honestly, I hate to see him go, but wish him well as far as his future position, state Rep. Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls said. I think hes been, in just three years, a pretty successful president for us. Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, likewise pointed to Ruuds successes. I think his contract should have been renewed, and if you look at the evidence, enrollment is up, the budget is in better shape than when he got there, theyve leveraged private investments at a moment in time for public projects that are hard to do, Danielson said. I dont see how you dont renew his contract. Cedar Falls Mayor Jim Brown worked with Ruud both as a school board member and as mayor. Hes a good advocate for CF and the Cedar valley as a whole, so you sort of lose that. You have the apprehension of who would be replacing him, and you have the disappointment that he is leaving, Brown said. Student surprise Among those most disappointed were students, particularly those who had worked with the president on increasing diversity and inclusion on campus. Im glad President Ruud gave us (students) that power, but at the same time, now its like, Well, do we have to start over? said Kaila Pacheco, who will be a senior next year and is a member of student government. Additional angst Among those who closely watched the University of Iowas presidential search and the Board of Regents hiring of businessman Bruce Harreld, there is concern UNIs search will follow a similar path. That search was criticized for its lack of transparency. In hiring Harreld last fall, the regents employed a search firm, involved a diverse and faculty-rich search committee and publicly introduced four finalists to solicit feedback. Despite widespread criticism of Harrelds candidacy, the board voted unanimously to hire him sparking protests, faculty and student votes of no confidence, and an inquiry by the AAUP. Given the process we used to hire the University of Iowa president, Im going to be engaged and advocating for a more open selection process, Danielson said. In the days after Harrelds hire, news media reports revealed previously undisclosed meetings between Harreld and regents, search committee members and an interim UI president. Said Danielson: Let me be very clear: What happened at the University of Iowa cannot happen at the University of Northern Iowa, Danielson said. Rogers and state Rep. Bob Kressig, D-Cedar Falls, agreed. Gorton, the United Faculty president, also said it is vital the search be open and include faculty involvement. Regents will name an interim president for UNI at their June meeting. Vanessa Miller of The Gazette contributed to this story. PLEASE NOTE! Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate! All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited! (One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!) MOLINE, Ill. The man who led Deere & Co. through one of the most difficult periods in the companys history has died. Robert A. Hanson, 91, of Moline, Ill., former chairman of Deere & C., died Thursday, in Jupiter Medical Center, Jupiter, Fla. the company and a Florida funeral home announced Friday afternoon. Hanson led Deere during the 1980s farm crisis, which saw massive layoffs of thousands of workers in Waterloo and elsewhere, and a bitter labor contract dispute with the United Auto Workers that resulted in a five-month strike and lockout in 1986-87, the longest labor-related work stoppage in company history. It led to the company and union, in subsequent negotiations, making significant changes for more stable and predictable production, inventory and labor pool management. Just a few years later, the company saw a five-year run of record profits in the mid-1990s, as company annual earnings broke the $1 billion mark for the first time. Bob Hanson served Deere & Company with great honor and distinction over his 40-year career, current Deere CEO Sam Allen said in a statement. Bob was instrumental in helping the company overcome the farm crisis of the 1980s and preparing Deere to compete in the global marketplace. He will always be held in the highest esteem by his colleagues and business associates for his humble manner, gracious spirit and genuine interest in the well-being of the companys employees and customers, Allen continued. In his every word and action, Bob Hanson embodied the Deere traditions of integrity, generosity and excellence. Funeral arrangements are pending at Trimble Funeral Home & Crematory, Moline. Area groups are organizing summer youth activities. A few available include: Downtown/Main Street Waterloo WATERLOO The Grout Museum & Imaginarium, Dan Gable Wrestling Museum, Cedar Valley Sportsplex, Phelps Youth Pavilion and YWCA are partnering with Main Street Waterloo to offer a new summer promotion, the Downtown Waterloo Summer Olympics Pass. From June 1 to Aug. 12, a $15 Summer Olympics pass will be available for children ages 4-13. This pass will allow the child one free admission to each of the participating downtown sites. The accompanying adult will be admitted for $1 per site. Children who complete an Olympic-themed activity and collect a stamp at each site can enter their pass for a chance to win prizes during the an Olympics awards ceremony on Aug. 12 in conjunction with Fridayloo at Lincoln Park. For more information or to purchase a pass, visit any of the participating sites. Grout District WATERLOO The Grout Museum District will offer a number of summer day camps in June and July. They include Little Museum on the Prairie, Beginner or Advanced Rocket Camp, Hogwarts Academy of Science, Sportsology and Space Camp. For more information, call the Grout at 234-6357 or go to www.GMDistrict.org. Camp Creamery DYSART Wolf Creek Players Theater is announcing Camp Creamery will be returning to conduct a theater workshop for kids ages 7 to teens from July 18 to 23. The theme this year is Lights, Hollywood, Action. Camp sessions will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the theater located in the St. Josephs building, 101 Clark St. Enrollment will be limited to 35 individuals. The registration fee is $35. Contact Nancy Havran at 476-3767 for an enrollment form and more information. Buchanan County Conservation HAZLETON Buchanan County Conservation 2016 Summer Camps are offered for pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Camps include Wee Nature Tales, Nature Explorers, Young Naturalists and River Raiders Program for Youth. For more information or to register, call 636-2617 or email fontanapark@iowatelecom.net. Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart is right. Image counts for a lot. Especially downtown. And theres more to downtown Waterloos actual image than meets the eye once you get past The Bridge. While city officials are stymied in their efforts to renovate and repair the Fourth Street Bridge pedestrian walkway rejecting a lone bid coming in $1 million over estimate another phenomena has set in. Creeping commercialism has crept its way across the Cedar River. Thats right, folks, that insatiable insidious incidence of free enterprise has spread from East Fourth Street to West Fourth Street. Four buildings in the 200 block of West Fourth, adjacent to the Ramada Hotel and across from the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center are seeing new life. The four buildings that housed Walden Photo have been renovated with their historic features revived. These are some of the oldest buildings left in Waterloo, said David Deeds, controller with JSA Development, the company that headed the projects. One of the four commercial spaces, 225 W. Fourth St., will be home to Basal Pizza. The pizzeria offered free sample slices to people attending a recent opening reception of the $2.5 million project. The entire project features four commercial spaces and six loft-style apartments. Three of the apartments have tenants planning to move in, and two of the four commercial spaces are occupied. The commercial space at 227 W. Fourth St. is occupied by 4u Clothing. The oldest building, 229 W. Fourth St., was built in 1882. The newest was built in 1904. Developers said renovating the buildings and finding new uses for them preserves the appeal of downtown. I have fun doing these projects because Waterloo needs them, said Jim Walsh, president and founder of JSA Development. Walsh said downtown Waterloo has lost about a third of its buildings. The renovations, which include foundation work, new ventilation systems and roofs, will add to their already long lives. These buildings would have been knocked down if we did not do this, Walsh said. Theyre good for another 150 years. Contrary to the perception of many longtime city residents, this commercial development is spreading from the east side to the west side. Thanks to the efforts of downtown developers like Walsh, Donna Nelson and others, the east side of downtown, particularly East Fourth Street, has seen considerable revitalization over the past decade or more contrary to longtime perceptions of the east side being more run down and crime ridden. While the west side has seen major public improvements like the Phelps Youth Pavilion and the RiverLoop Amphitheatre, that building-by-building storefront commercial revitalization seen along and near East Fourth had not quite made it to the west side of the river. That is no longer the case with the development in the Walden block area on West Fourth. And in fact, considerable economic incentives have been provided by the city on the west side of downtown. The storefronts are in a designated national historic district on the west side of downtown and the renovation work is in part being aided by historic preservation tax credits. JSA has renovated more than 50 upper-level apartments, roughly 20 of them in the past year. Theres a lot of people that dont believe it, Deeds said when we toured Walden Block apartments with him in January. You dont see them; theyre all on the upper floors. Theres plenty of vacant land in the world. Theres not plenty of historic buildings. Nobody ever went somewhere just because they could park, Deeds said. If this kind of thing keeps up, who knows? 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looking to try out an online casino, there are several things that will help you make a decision. Heres what you should look for when choosing an online casino Are they regulated? A lot of the larger ones have licenses issued by the authorities in their respective regions, so its worth checking this first. Do they offer games from different software providers? Some casinos just use one software provider and limit your selection. This is fine if you like playing those types of games but you may want to check other casinos as well. What does their payout percentage look like? The payout rate refers to how much money you can expect to win after every bet. A high payout rate means youll be able to play more often without having to worry about losing all your money. Its also important to know the minimum and maximum bets allowed on each game. If youre going to play roulette, for example, then you probably dont want a casino with a minimum bet of less than $2.50 or even lower than that. The players used to play the game slot online in the land based casinos in the past time. But now with time after the invention of the online casinos players play the game slot online. Online platform provide the players with the convenience in playing and even better winning. Even after keeping a good percentage of the profits, they distribute good funds to players. How many games do they offer? There are lots of different types of games to choose from. Roulette, blackjack and poker are some of the most popular options, but you might find slots, video pokers, video bingo and others as well. You can usually filter these games down to only show the ones that interest you best, so make sure that your list isnt too long! Is there a bonus offer? Many online casinos offer free bonuses as part of their welcome package which includes new players being awarded 100% up to $10 instantly, for example. These offers are great but not everyone has access to them all the time (and some require you to deposit real money). If youd prefer to avoid paying a fee, some casinos offer no-deposit bonuses where you can get a certain amount of funds before you need to put any actual money into the account. These are usually offered alongside welcome bonuses, so make sure you read both parts of the terms and conditions carefully before signing up. Does it offer live dealer games? Live dealers are much preferred by many over regular virtual versions, so it pays to check this option out too. Most online casinos now offer live dealer games in addition to their regular offerings, allowing you to experience the thrill of the real thing without needing to leave home. Now that youve got an idea of what to look for when choosing an online casino, heres some tips for making the right choice It really comes down to personal preference. No two people are exactly alike, so everyone has an opinion on what they like and dislike about each casino. That said, here are some things to consider in order to narrow down your choices Popularity. Check out reviews, forums and Facebook pages to see what other people think of the casino. Also, ask around at work or friends houses who they would recommend to you. You could always take a look at the casinos website too, to see what kind of information they provide about themselves. Reputation. Find out what the general public thinks about the casino. Check out any customer reviews on sites like Trustpilot, Amazon and Google Play to find out more. As far as gaming goes, you can also check out the Better Business Bureau to see whether there have been any complaints against the casino. Security. Make sure the casino uses SSL encryption to secure its transactions, meaning that your private data stays safe during transactions. Other than that, look for security seals on the site itself and verify that theyre legitimate. You can also check out the casinos privacy policy to see how they handle confidential information. Payment methods. Its good to have multiple payment options available, especially if you plan to play frequently. Its also nice to find a casino that accepts cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. If youre worried about safety, you can always opt for a credit card or PayPal instead. With all those criteria in mind, heres our top picks Betway: Betway is a relatively new UK casino offering online gambling to residents of the United Kingdom and European Union. They offer hundreds of games across both land based and digital platforms, with plenty of top software providers like Net Entertainment, Microgaming and Yggdrasil Gaming Network. With a generous welcome offer that gives players 100% up to 100, you really cant go wrong with Betway. Coral Casino: Coral Casino is operated by the same company that runs the famous Caribbean casino, Grand Reef. Like many casinos, Coral Casino offers a wide variety of games, including plenty of video slots and table games. New players can benefit from a huge 100% match bonus up to 1000, while existing customers enjoy 25% cash back on deposits made within 48 hours of opening an account. Ladbrokes Casino: Ladbrokes Casino is owned by the same company as the famous bookmaker that started life in 1921. With more than 500 games from leading software providers such as Amaya, NetEnt and Microgaming, you wont be disappointed by the quality of the games here. New players get a 200% match bonus up to 500, while existing customers can claim 35% cashback on their first three deposits. Paddy Power Casino: Paddy Power is another Irish-owned casino that operates throughout Europe. Not only does Paddy Power Casino offer traditional casino games like blackjack, roulette and slots, but it also provides a full range of sports betting, including football, tennis, boxing and horse racing. New players can receive a massive 100% match bonus up to 200, while existing customers can claim 35% cashback on their first three deposits. William Hill Casino: William Hill Casino is one of the biggest names in the industry, operating in Europe, Asia and North America. Founded in 1984, this online casino has more than 400 games to choose from, including slots and table games, with a wide array of software providers like WagerLogic, Big Time Gaming and Rival. Bonus: 100% Match Bonus up to 100 Register Now Betway: 100% Match Bonus up to 100 Claim Now Coral Casino: 25% Cash Back on Deposits Claim Now Ladbrokes Casino: 35% Cash Back on First 3 Deposits Claim Now Paddy Power Casino: 100% Match Bonus up to 200 Claim Now William Hill Casino: 100% Match Bonus up to 200 Claim Now If youre interested in trying out an online casino but arent quite ready to commit to one, why not try out one of the many no deposit casinos weve reviewed? You can test drive various casinos completely risk-free, so you can feel confident about your choice before you make a single penny deposit. Canl Bahis siteleri sektoru son derece onu ack ve farkl ozelliklere sahip bir sektordur. Elbette bahis secenekleri arasnda yuksek kazanc getiren alan kuskusuz canl bahistir. Peki, canl bahis nedir? Canl Bahis Nedir? Canl bahis adndan da anlaslacag gibi devam eden musabakaya bahis yapmaktr. Bu bahis musabaka devam ederken de yaplabilir olmasdr. Basta futbol olmak uzere voleybol, tenis, hentbol, basketbol, buz hokeyi ve masa tenisi gibi spor organizasyonlarna canl bahisler yaplabilmektedir. Canl bahis siteleri bu oyunlarn hepsine yuksek oranlara bahis yapmanza imkan tanr. En fazla tercih edilen futbol canl bahisleri diger alanlara gore daha fazla on plandadr. Siteden siteye degisen sartlar ve uygulama esaslar soz konusu olsa da kurallar sabittir. Canl bahisi populer klan ve heyecan katan en onemli ozellikle musabakann basladg ana dek bahis yapabilmedir. Canl bahis icerisinde yer alan secenekler kazanma sansnz da dogrudan arttrmaktadr. Ilk korneri kim kullanr, ilk tac, gol, sar kart, krmz kart gibi futbol musabakas icerisinde olabilecek hemen hemen her seye bahis yaplabilmektedir. Normal bahisegore de son derece yuksek oranda olmas avantajl yonlerini ortaya koymaktadr. Nitekim dogru secenek ksa surede kazancl ckmanza etki edecektir. Strateji ve dogru analizle 90 dakika gibi bir surede anaparanzkatlayabilirsiniz. Tabi bunu basarabilmek icin mutlaka musabakaya dair ayrntlar iyi degerlendirmek gerekir. Soz konusu musabakann detaylarn inceleyip, cezal, sakat oyuncu veya performans dusen takm oyunu gibi detaylar bilmek canl bahiste kazanc belirleyen onemli unsurdur. Guvenilir Canl bahis hem heyecanl zaman gecirmeyi hem de musabakalar takip ederken para kazanmay saglamaktadr. Canl Bahis Nasl Oynanr? Bahislerinizi guvenilir sitelerden gerceklestirdiginiz zaman herhangi bir sekilde para cekme de sorun yasamazsnz. Guvenilir bahis siteleri tespit edip sonrasnda da uyelik islemlerini tamamlamanz gerekmektedir. Belirlenen uyelik sartlarn yerine getirip hesabnza da paray aktardktan sonra bahis islemlerini sorunsuz yapabilirsiniz. Peki, canl bahis nasl oynanr? Oncelikle bahis konusunda mutlaka dogru site arastrmas yapmalsnz. Yapacagnz arastrma neticesinde buldugunuz site uzerinden canl bahisislemlerini gerceklestirebilirsiniz. Bunun icin uye olup, hesaba para atp, canl bahis bolumune girmelisiniz. Sonrasnda dahil olmak istediginiz musabakann saatini ogrenip, gerekli analizleri yapmalsnz. Tahminlerinizi belirledikten sonra karsnza ckacak olan bahis sayfasndan istediginiz hamleyi yapmalsnz. Bahis tutarn belirledikten sonra musabaka baslayacaktr. Canl bahis diger normal bahis esaslarna gore farkllklar icermektedir. Bunlardan en onemlisi musabakann gidisatna gore islem yapabilir olmaktr.Ayrca musabakann 2. Yarsna gore hamle yapp ayr bir bahisin soz konusu olmas da ciddi avantajdr. Dogru hamle ile sizde istediginiz bahisi yapp kazanc elde edebilirsiniz. Nitekim canl olarak yapacagnz bahis icin mac oncesi raporlara gore hareket etmek onemlidir. Cunku takmlarn durumlarn analiz etmek tahmin gucunu arttracaktr. Misal tamnn en iyi oyuncusu sakat ya da kart cezals ise takmn performansnda dusus yasanacaktr. Buna ek olarak takmn deplasman performans ile evinde ki performans ayr olacaktr. Burada da takmn musabakay nerede yaptgna bakmak gerekir. Bu ayrntlar da iyice analiz ettikten sonra bahsinizi yapp kazanmann keyfini yasayabilirsiniz. Canl Bahis Siteleri Son derece yuksek getiriye sahip bahis sektoru uzun zamandr faaliyet gostermektedir. Cok ciddi rakamlarn soz konusu oldugu bu sektor zamanla sanal ortamlara donusmustur. Elbette guvenli ve bir o kadar da avantajl olan bu siteler cok yonlu frsatlar sunmaktadrlar. Canl iddaa siteleri gerek yeni uyelere gerekse de hali hazrdaki uyelerine bolca bonus frsatlar vermektedir. Yatracagnz tutara gore belirlenen bonuslar site icerisinde rahat hareket etmenizi de saglayacaktr. Canl bahis sitelerini kullanmadan once mutlaka guvenli olup olmadgna goz atmalsnz. Zira baz kullanclar guvenli olmayan sitelerden yaptklar islemlerden dolay magdur olmaktadrlar. Nitekim guvenli ve sorunsuz hizmet sunan yurt ds site tercih etmek en dogru secenektir. Sektorde uzun yllar faaliyet gosteren siteleri tercih edebilirsiniz. Bu alanda yer alan yabanc siteler musteri memnuniyetine onem vermektedir. Oncelik site kullanclarn sorunsuz sekilde bahislerini yapabilir olmasn saglamaktr. Bahis sitelerinde amac hem daha fazla kullancya hizmet vermek hem de sektorde emin admlarla ilerlemek onceliklidir. Dogru site tercihi ile sizde canl bahislerinizi sorun yasamadan gerceklestirebilirsiniz. Sizler icin hazrlams oldugumuz canl bahis siteleri listesi su sekildedir; Mobilbahis Tempobet Bets10 Bahigo 1xbahis Betboo Youwin Superbahis Sralams oldugumuz bu siteler sektorde basarl islere imza atms sitelerdedir. Canl bahis konusunda beklentileri karslayacak olan bu siteler sizlere kolaylk sunmaktadrlar. Bol bonuslu secenekle de sizlere farkl bahis yonlerini sunacaklardr. Sistemsel etki icerisinde her zaman etkin sonuc alabilmek icin surekli olarak faaliyet icerisindedirler. Canl Bahis Taktikleri Bahis sektorunun en fazla dikkat edilmesi gereken hususu dogru taktik ve dogru tahmindir. Elbette dogru tahmini yapabilmek icin analizi cok iyi yapmak gerekir. Canl bahis taktikleri arasnda ilk sra analiz gelmektedir. Analiz yapamadgnz zaman basarl tahminlerde bulunmanz pek de mumkun degildir. Cunku bahiste onemli olan konu musabakann analizini cok iyi yaplmas gerektigidir. Canl bahisin ozelliklerini iyi bilmek ve nasl bir hamle yapacagnz bilmek gerekir. Ozellikle riskli maclarda yaplacak degerlendirmeler cok daha onemlidir. Canl bahis yapacaklarn takip edecegi degerler takmlarn durumlar ile alakal olmaldr. Performans uzerine kurulu bahis sisteminde takm degerlendirmesine iyi bakmak gerekir. Iki takmn son 5 macta nasl bir sonuc ortaya koyduguna bakarak hareket etmek onemlidir. Ayrca hangi takm evinde daha iyi performans sergiliyor diye de ayrca bakmak gerekir. Analizlerle alakal puan durumlarna da goz atmak cok onemlidir. Puan degerlendirmesinde oncelikle takmlarn ihtiyaclar ile dogru orantl hareket etmek gerekir. Cunku olusturulan performans takmn da durumunu ortaya koymaktadr. Nitekim istenilen sonucu elde edebilmek icin tum ayrntlar bilmek gerekir. Takm ici duzenden tutunda da takmn son durumuna kadar her ayrnt onemlidir. Iki takmn birbirleri arasnda ki sonuclar da incelemek gerekir. Burada dikkat edilecek detaylarn basnda maclarda kac gol oldugu ve gollerin hangi dakikalarda atldgdr. Cekismeli gecen musabakalarda bazen goller ilk yarda daha fazla olurken baz maclarda da ikinci yarda daha cok gol olmustur. Iki takm arasnda ki maclarda gollerin cogunlugu ilk yarda geliyorsa buna gore bahis yapabilirsiniz. Canl Bahis Siteleri Bonuslar ve Kampanyalar Bahis yapanlar veya yapmay dusununler sitelerin sunmus olduklar frsatlar merak etmektedirler. Cunku siteler daha fazla kullancya erismek icin her donem kampanyalar duzenleyerek kullanc odakl hamleler yapmaktadrlar. Canl bahis bonuslar ve kampanyalar oldukca populer olup, siteler bu konuda adeta birbirleri ile yarsmaktadrlar. Birbirinden farkl ozelliklere sahip olan kampanyalar size frsatlar sunmaktadr. Daha cok kazanma ihtimalinizi arttran bu bonuslar daha cesur olmanza da dogrudan etki edecektir. Nitekim bonuslar sitelerin cekiciligini ve avantajlarn arttrmaktadr. En cok kazandran canl bahis siteleri bedava bonuslar ve kampanyalar icin http://www.milano2018.com/canli-bahis-siteleri-2022/ linkinden yardm alabilirsiniz. Hos geldin bonusu ile baslayan ve sonrasnda para yatrdkca bonus veren cok sayda site bulunmaktadr. Canl bahis bonusu veren siteler yeni uyelere sunduklar frsatlar farkl kampanyalarla mevcut uyelerine de sunmaktadrlar. Hali hazrda siteyi kullananlarn da bonus frsatlarndan yararlanmalar icin donemsel kampanyalar olusturmaktadrlar. Boylece baska sitelere gidisler olmayacag gibi site de daha keyifli zaman gecirmek mumkun klnmaktadr. Bu tur eklentiler yapan sitelerde musteri memnuniyeti daha fazladr. Bahis siteleri ozellik ve uygulama bakmndan farkllklar bunyelerinde bulundurmaktadrlar. Verilen bonuslarn olusturulmas ve kullanclar aktarlmasnda yatrlan para miktarlar belirleyici olmaktadr. 1.000 TL yatran bir kullanc yuzde 20 bonus frsat olan bir kampanyadan 200 TL bonus kazanabilmektedir. Yatracag tutar 10.000 TL oldugunda bu bonustutar 2.000 TL olabilmektedir. Gerceklesen ve uygulanan esaslar tamamen donemsel olarak yaplan kampanyalarla alakaldr. Iyi Canl bahis siteleri bonuslar ve kampanyalar icin sitelerin vermis oldugu oranlar takip edebilirsiniz. Canl Bahis Siteleri Para Yatrma Online Canl bahis yapacaklarn merak ettigi konulardan bir digeri de para yatrma islemleridir. Oldukca onemli olan bu konuda hata yapmamak cok onemlidir. Canl bahis sitelerine para yatrma islemi sanlann aksine son derece basittir. Oldukca basit ve uygulama esas dogru etki olusturan bu yapda sizde islemi rahatca tamamlayabilirsiniz. Para yatrma konusunda su yolu izleyebilirsiniz. Guvendiginiz ve herhangi bir sekilde aklnzda soru isareti kalmayan bahis sitesine uye olmanz gerekmektedir. Uyelik islemini sorunsuz sekilde tamamladktan sonra para yatrma islemine gecebilirsiniz. Kullanacagnz siteye uye olduktan sonra karsnza kullanc ad ve sifresini gireceginiz yer gelecektir. Buraya giris yaptktan sonra site icerisine islemlere devam edebilirsiniz. Sitede yer alan para yatrma sekmesine tklayp sonrasnda karsnza gelen sayfay inceleyebilirsiniz. Para yatrma bolumunde yer alan ksma ne kadar para yatracagnz yazp devam tusuna basmalsnz. Yatrmak istediginiz tutar girip sonrasnda da devam tusuna bastktan sonra karsnza kart bilgilerinizi gireceginiz sayfa gelecektir. Kredi kart kullanarak para gondermek isteyenlerin tercih ettigi bu sayfa tum bilgiler girilip islem onaylanmaldr. Canl bahis sitelerine para yatrma islemini gerceklestirmek icin hesaba havale secenegini de kullanabilirsiniz. Site icerisinde musteri hizmetleri ile iletisime gecerek banka hesap numaralarn ogrenebilirsiniz. Belirtilen IBAN numarasna istediginiz tutar havale edebilirsiniz. Havale ederken acklama ksmna yazlacak bilgilere dikkat etmelisiniz. Kredi kart veya banka havalesi ile gerceklesen para yatrma islemi sonucunda site hesabnzdan bakiyenize bakabilirsiniz. Bakiyenize gore dilediginiz sekilde bahislerinizi gerceklestirebilirsiniz. Canl Bahis Siteleri Para Cekme Canl bahiste dogru hamleler ve dogru tahminler sonucunda kazandgnz bedeli geri almak isteyebilirsiniz. Kazanclarnz istediginiz banka hesabnza cekebilmek icin uymanz gereken kurallar soz konusudur. Oncelikle bahis sitelerinden para cekebilmeniz icin uye olurken dogru bilgi paylasmnda bulunmanz gerektigidir. Cunku canl bahis sitelerinden para cekme islemi icin kullanc hesab ile talep edilen banka hesap bilgilerinin ortusmesi gerekir. Yani uye olurken verilen bilgi ile banka hesab kime ait ise o bilgiler ayn olmaldr. Bu uygulama sitenin hem kullancsn hem de kendisini guvene alma politikasdr. Ayrca frsatclarn onune gecerek yeni bir uye olusumunun da onune gecmek amac gutmektedir. Uye olan kisi farkl para cekilme talebi verilen hesap farkl oldugunda para cekme islemi gerceklesmeyecektir. Bahisleriniz sonucunda kazanc elde edebilir ve bu kazancnz da hakknz olarak almak isteyebilirsiniz. Burada son derece basit uygulama soz konusu olurken siteler aras farkl gorunumler soz konusu olabilir. Fakat yine de tum sitelerde uyenin site icerisinde para cekme bolumune girmesi yeterlidir. Burada cekilecek olan tutarn belirlenmesi ve hesap numarasnn girilmesi ile birlikte islem onay gerekecektir. Para cekme taleplerinde sizden gerekli bilgiler istenmekte ve havale islemi istenilen bilgiler esliginde yurutulmektedir. Dogru bilgi paylasmak sorunsuz para cekebilmeniz en onemli kuraldr. Istenilen bilgiler girildikten sonra site sorumlular gerekli kontrolleri yapp herhangi bir sorun yoksa ksa surede hesabnza gerekli paray aktaracaklardr. Canl Bahis Sitelerinden Para Cekmek Icin Istenen Belgeler Bahis sitelerine uye olduktan sonra baz kullanclar para cekme taleplerinin karslanmadg konusunda sikayetlerde bulunmuslardr. Bu sikayetlersektorde uzun zamandr bulunan guvenilir bahis siteleri de yer almaktadr. Fakat sikayetlerin dayanaklarna bakldgnda ise islerin tamamen farkl oldugu gorulmektedir. Yasanan bu durum kullanclarn hatal bilgi girmesi ve uyelik bilgileri ile banka bilgilerinin uyusmamas ile dogru orantldr. Birde canl bahis para cekmek icin istenen belgeler eksik ya da hatal olarak sunulmus olabilir. Ortaya ckan karsklar neticesinde para cekme talebinde bulunan kisi istedigini alamadg icin sikayetci olmaktadr. Oysa ki istenilen bilgiler dogru ve istenilen evraklar eksiksiz sunulsa para cekme islemi sorunsuz olacak. Sitelerin para cekme konusunda dikkatli hareket etmesi hilelerin ve illegal faaliyetlerin onune gecmek adnadr. Cunku baz kullanclar farkl bilgiler vererek ikinci hesap acabilmektedirler. Bazen de bilincsizce hatal bilgi girilebilmektedir. Hatal islemlerin cozumu konusunda islem yaptgnz sitenin musteri temsilcileri ile gorusebilirsiniz. Talepleriniz dogrultusunda para cekme islemlerinde ki sorunlar giderilecektir. Canl bahis para cekmek icin istenen belgeler listesi su sekildedir; Kullanc bilgileri ile banka bilgilerini karslastrmak icin kimlik fotokopisi Banka hesap bilgileri Ikametgah ve kisiye ait herhangi bir fatura. Kacak Iddaa Turkiyede dogrudan bahis yapmak icin resmi kanallar kullanlabilmektedir. Fakat tercih edilen ve oran olarak cok daha fazla frsatlar sunan kacar iddaasiteleri bulunmaktadr. Bu siteler kanunlara aykr sekilde yaplmakta olup, yasal bir dayanag yoktur. Elbette bu sitelerin kurulus merkezi Turkiye olmayp, ds ulkelerdedir ve faaliyetler belirlenen siteler uzerinden yaplmaktadr. Kacak Iddaa oldukca riskli olup, cok dikkatli olunmas gerekir. Kacak Bahis Kanunlar cercevesinde istediginiz gibi bahis yapamayabilirsiniz. Bahis yapabilmek icin ya kanuni olarak sorun olmayan ulke dsnda ki kumarhanelere gitmeniz veya kacak bahis sitelerinden islem yapabilirsiniz. Zira bu durum tehlikeli olsa da cok sayda site guvenli sekilde bu alanda hizmet vermektedir. Kacak bahiste oldukca fazla secenek bulunurken yuksek oranda kazanc sunuyor olmas da ragbeti arttryor. Illegal Bahis Bahisin bircok alanda yasak oldugu Turkiyede bu alanda cok sayda yabanc merkezli siteler hizmet vermektedir. Illegal bahis sektorunde faaliyet gosteren siteler guvenli hizmet anlays ile kullanclarna frsatlar sunmaktadr. Yurt ds merkezli bu siteler sorunsuz sekilde hizmetlerini surdururken bulunduklar ulkelerde kanunlara uygun sekildedir. Elbette faaliyet noktasnda bulunduklar ulkelerde sorun teskil etmese de Turkiyede faaliyet gostermeleri kanunin yasaklanmstr. Yasads Bahis Gerek olusturulan etkenler gerekse de ortaya konulan riskler yasads bahis de oldukca tehlikelidir. Kanunlarn mudahil olduklar bu alanlar da hem kullanclar hem de populer bahis yaptranlar tum riskleri goze almaktadrlar. Fakat yasaklardan uzak sekilde guvenli hizmet sunan siteler de bulunmaktadr. Takipler neticesinde kapatlan sitelerin muhakkak alternatifleri kurularak yollarna devam etmektedirler. Canl Iddaa Siteleri Nelerdir? Dunya genelinde kabul gormus cok sayda guvenli hizmet veren populer bahis siteleri bulunmaktadr. Elbette bu siteler dunyann bircok ulkesinde faaliyet gosterse de Turkiyede yasaktr. Sektorde yer alan cok sayda legal iddaa siteleri bulunmaktadr. Herhangi bir kanunsuzlugun olmadg bu sitelerden hzl ve guvenli islem yaplabilmektedir. Tabi bu sitelerde uygulanan oranlar yasal olmayan sitelere gore daha dusuktur. Illegal sitelerin tercih edilme sebeplerinin en onemli etkeni de olusturulan oranlardr. Peki, Iddaa siteleri nelerdir? Faaliyetleri ve uygulama esaslar nelerdir? Turkiyede faaliyet gosteren yasal iddaa siteleri listesi su sekildedir; Iddaa Bilyoner Tuttur Birebin Oley Nesine Misli Iddaa 2004 ylnda hizmet vermeye baslayan Iddaa Spor toto tarafndan kurulmus olup, ilk etapta bayilik seklinde calsmaya baslamstr. Elbette zamanla gelisen teknolojiye ayak uydurarak internet uzerinde de populer bahis severlerin hizmetine sunulmustur. Kuruldugu donemde devletin resmi kurumu olarak faaliyet gosterirken gelinen yeni donemde ozellestirilmistir. Bilyoner Turkiyede faaliyetine 2006 ylnda baslayan Bilyoner ilk ozel yasal bahis sitesi olma ozelligine sahiptir. Guvenilir bahis siteleri Turkiyede bunlardr. Ksa surede populer olan site halen faaliyetlerini sorunsuz sekilde surdurmektedir. Tuttur Ksa surede adndan bahsettirmeyi basaran Tuttur 2009 ylnda faaliyetlere baslamstr. Guvenilir bahis siteleri arasnda yerini almstr. Gunumuze dek bircok alanda populer bahis yapanlara frsatlar sunarken avantajlar ile de begeni toplamstr. Birebin Kullanc odakl calsmalar surdurse de 2011 ylnda sektore giren Birebindiger sitelere gore daha az ragbet gormektedir. Bahis oynamak ise bu sitede oldukca kolaydr. Elbette farkl yaklasmlara sahip olmasndan dolay ilerleyen sureclerde adndan sklkla bahsettirecek gibi gorunuyor. Oley 2009 ylnda Dogus yayn gruplarnn istiraki olarak kurulmus olup yasal olarak herhangi bir sorunu olmayan sitelerdendir. Bahis siteleri arasnda hzl cks yapms bir sitedir. Oley yapms oldugu yenilikler ile kullanclarn da dikkatini ksa surede cekmeyi basarmstr. Nesine Birbirini takip eden surecte Nesine de yine 2006 ylnda hizmet vermeye baslamstr. Yasal bahis siteleri arasnda yerini almay basaran firma ksa surede sevilen ve ragbet goren bir site olmustur. Misli 2009 ylnda sektore cok hzl giris yapan Misli cok sayda reklam filmi ile on plana ckmay basarmstr. Internet uzerinden hem yasal hem de sorunsuz hizmet veren bahis sitelerinden bir tanesi olmustur. Canl Bahis Siteleri Kayt ve Uyelik Islemleri Her zaman populerligini koruyan ve surekli gelisim gosteren canl bahis gun gectikce daha da gucleniyor. Bahis oynamak icin ise sitelere uye olunmas gerekir. Yuksek getirisi ve begeni toplayan faaliyetleri ile cok sayda site bu alanda faaliyet gostermektedir. Elbette sorunsuz sekilde uye olmanz ve faaliyetler gostermeniz de oldukca kolaydr. Canl bahis siteleri kayt ve uyelik islemleri dakikalar icerisinde gerceklestirilecek yapya sahiptir. Uye olacagnz siteyi belirledikten sonra siteye girmeniz gerekmektedir. Girdiginiz sitenin ana sayfasnda uye ol ya da kayt ol bolumu bulunacaktr. Siteler arasnda degiskenlik gosteren bu alanda temel unsurlar bulunmaktadr. Elbette farkllklar olsa da temelinde benzer bilgiler uye olmak isteyen kisilerden talep edilmektedir. Uye ol bolumune tkladktan sonra karsnza uyelik bilgi formu ckacaktr. Bu formda sizin kim oldugunuzu ogrenmek ve sitenin guvenligini saglamak adna islemler yaplmaktadr. Uyelik formunda yer alan ad soyad bolumunu eksiksiz ve dogru sekilde doldurmalsnz. Sizden bu formda istenen bilgilerin tamamn girmeniz istenecektir. Istenen bilgiler mutlaka dogru ve eksiksiz sekilde olmaldr. Eksik veya hatal bilgi uyelik islemlerinde sorun teskil edebilir. Yine de yanls bilgi girisine ragmen uyelik islemleri tamamlanabilir. Fakat boyle bir yol izleyenler sonrasnda buyuk skntlarla karslasabilirler. Bu skntlarn basnda da para cekme islemlerinde yasanan sorunlardr. Uyelik islemleri dikkatli ve ozenle doldurulmas gereken yapdadr. Canl bahis siteleri kayt ve uyelik islemleri gerceklestirilirken verilen bilgiler site yonetimi tarafndan muhafaza edilmektedir. Herhangi bir sekilde 3. Sahslarla paylaslmas gibi bir durum soz konusu degildir. Bu faaliyetleri surduren sitelerin guven unsurlar arasnda bu nokta onceliklidir. Bahis sitelerine uye olurken hatal bilgi paylasmnda bulunmak size faydadan cok zarar verecektir. Diyelim ki bilgileri hatal girdiniz ve uyelik onayland. Uyelik tamamlandktan sonra siteye para yatrdnz ve kazanc elde ettiniz. Kazancnz sonrasnda hesabnza almak istediginizde karsnza banka bilgileri bolumu gelecektir. Para cekme talebi gerceklestikten sonra site uyelik bilgileri ile banka hesap bilgileri ortusmez ise paranz alamazsnz. Boyle bir durumla karslasmamak adna bu hususa ayrca dikkat etmelisiniz. Mexico has always been an important market for Daubert AGUASCALIENTES, MEXICO, May 20, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- To support growth of its corrosion inhibitor packaging products in Mexico, global manufacturer Daubert Cromwell recently added office and warehouse space and hired additional staff at its subsidiary, Daubert Mexico. They join Country Manager Luis Jacome at newly expanded facilities in Aguascalientes. "Our business in Mexico continues to expand, due to heightened demand for corrosion prevention by the growing automotive sector in Mexico and other industries focused on exports," said Martin J. Simpson, President and CEO of Daubert Cromwell, the Illinois-based parent company. Customers in Mexico have access to the full line of corrosion inhibitor products - VCI papers, poly films, rust preventive liquids and rust removers - plus technical expertise, local inventory, application assistance and service. Joining Jacome at Daubert Mexico are Evelyn Macias as administrative sales supervisor and Daniel Saucedo Franco as marketing and sales assistant. Macias is responsible for a wide range of activities, including tracking local inventories, purchasing local and import materials, and invoicing. Franco, who previously worked in quality assurance, is responsible for key accounts, sales and service as demand increases. "Mexico has always been an important market for Daubert," Simpson said. "We're pleased to be able to expand and improve the level of support we can provide to customers as their needs grow." The expansion announcement comes on the heels of Daubert Mexico's successful exhibit at Fabtech Mexico in May in Mexico City, as well as the re-launch of the company's revised website, in Spanish, complete with updated product listings and graphics. To contact the Daubert Mexico office, send an e-mail to [email protected]; [email protected], or call 52 1 449 3009930. About Daubert Cromwell Since the 1940s, the Daubert company family has set industry standards in corrosion prevention packaging. Today Daubert Cromwell VCI products are used in automotive, heavy equipment, electronics, military, and fabricated metal markets worldwide. Corporate offices are in USA, Germany, Mexico and China, with distribution and manufacturing networks in 32 countries. # # # May 19, 2016 | By Benedict Designers Ron Culver and Joseph Sarafian have developed a new construction method which involves casting concrete in sleeves of Lycra fabric, which are then stretched into position using programmed robotic arms. 3D printed couplers are then used to connect sections of the shaped concrete together. Additive manufacturing is, brick by brick, turning itself into a valuable architectural commodity. Dubai is planning to create huge numbers of 3D printed buildings, Amsterdam could soon have a 3D printed canal house, and now architects may have an exciting new method of concrete casting at their fingertipsone which uses 3D printing to secure unusually shaped concrete structures together. The key material in Ron Culver and Joseph Sarafians new concrete casting technique is not a 3D printing mainstay like PLA or ABS, but Lycra, an elastic fabric typically used for tight-fitting sportswear such as bicycle jerseys. By pouring a concrete fiberglass mixture into Y-shaped Lycra sleeves, Culver and Sarafian found that they could then use powerful six-axis robots to manipulate the concrete-filled fabric into unusual shapes. This technique helps to save on both time and money, as it enables a user to create many concrete shapes without casting a mold each time. The pair of designers programmed the robots stretching movements using Grasshopper3D and Kangaroo software, enabling extremely precise manipulation of the unhardened mixture. Both Culver and Sarafian believe that this digital manipulation of concrete-stuffed fabrics could become widely adopted, and for relatively large projects too: This casting method has implications at various scales in the construction site of the future, Sarafian said in an interview with Dezeen. We see it being scaled up to create unique building facade elements or even the primary structure of a building. 45 minutes after the six-axis robots have stretched the concrete into its correct position, the Lycra-enclosed mixture hardens. When this hardening process is complete, 3D printed couplers can be used to attach several of the concrete pieces together. The 3D printed couplers, each consisting of a node and bolt, allow the concrete casting technique to be used to create larger constructs, which could form the aforementioned building facades or load-bearing structures. Culver and Sarafians use of robots to stretch and manipulate fabric is the latest case in a growing architectural trend, first seen at the University of Stuttgart in Germany. Architect Achim Menges, a professor at that institution, suggested that programmed robots could create a fourth industrial revolution. Culver and Sarafians new concrete casting method was devised at the University of California as part of the Fabric Forms project, an independent study supervised by Julia Koerner with contributions from Peter Vikar, Shobitha Jacob, Oscar Li, and Qi Zhang. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: MarcC IoM wrote at 5/20/2016 4:15:06 PM:Robots not essential for this process and done before with expanding bead foams and steam.BIG Bob wrote at 5/20/2016 10:10:59 AM:At last, a use for my cycle shorts..... May 20, 2016 | By Alec It must be busy time over at the HQ of Arcam. The Swedish pioneers of Electron Beam Melting (EBM) 3D printing already offer a wide range of industrial 3D printers, and are aiming to further expand their services to the aerospace and medical industries. To that end, they have announced plans to open a new metal powder manufacturing plant in Montreal, Canada, while they have also unveiled two new 3D printers: The Arcam Q10plus, specifically designed for medical implants, and the Arcam Q20plus 3D printer, capable of producing key engine parts for aerospace applications. These new developments are the logical result of the companys significant growth over the last two years. Especially the demand for 3D printed titanium powders has skyrocketed over 2015 and 2016. To cope with that growing demand, Arcam already acquired Canadian metal powder developers AP&C in February 2014. Though Arcams headquarters is located in Molndal, Sweden, the bulk of their powders (especially made from titanium and other high melting alloys) are therefore being developed in Montreal. The forthcoming facility, the company says, will provide them with the manufacturing redundancy and short-term capacity increase needed for long-term growth. As the companys CEO Magnus Rene revealed, AP&Cs titanium powders are absolutely crucial for their EBM 3D printing platforms. The need for high end titanium powder is driven by the fast growth and adoption of Additive Manufacturing. Arcam is determined to serve the industry through cost efficient solutions thus converting traditional manufacturing into Additive Manufacturing. A requisite is to offer highest quality powder for production at competitive cost, he said. Their subsidiary AP&C, in turn, feels that this investment shows Arcams satisfaction with their products. With this investment we are committing to supply our present and future customers with superior quality materials to meet the high manufacturing standards of the biomedical and aerospace industries. With the powder plant and atomizing technology advancements, AP&C will add significant capacity in 2017 and onwards, said Alain Dupont, president of AP&C. Once the new facility opens, the company expects to produce at least 750 tons of metal powders per year. Arcam Q10plus 3D printer. Arcams two newest industrial 3D printers will doubtlessly become beneficiaries of that increased capacity. Whats more, both EBM 3D printers are specifically tuned to meet client demands. The Arcam Q10 plus (visible above), will replace their existing Arcam Q10 system, and has been designed for orthopedic implant production. Featuring a very large build area that easily accommodates most types of implants, the 3D printer has also been specifically designed for easy powder handing, fast turn-around times, and high volume production. Arcam has further said that the Q10plus has been optimized for processing high volume press fit implants with advanced Tribecular Structures, as derived from the CT scans of individual patients. The Arcam Q10plus has the latest generation electron beam (EB) gun, which improves productivity and resolution. It also includes Arcam LayerQam, a camera-based monitoring system for inline part quality verification, they add. But the Arcam Q20plus, the companys largest and fastest 3D printer to date, is even more impressive and has been specifically designed to 3D print aerospace components of all sizes. Arcam Q20plus is based on the Arcam Q10 technology platform, with the same electron beam (EB) gun for higher productivity and improved resolution, but with a larger build envelope (350380 mm), the Swedish developers say. Arcam Q20plus 3D printer. Like the Arcam Q10plus, the Q20plus benefits from the Arcam LayerQam and easy powder handling and fast turn-around innovations, but is capable of a lot more. The Arcam EBM process takes place in a vacuum and at elevated temperatures, resulting in stress relieved components with material properties better than cast and comparable to wrought material, the company says. Compared to its Q20 predecessor, the Q20plus 3D printer is up to 15 percent more productive, which is made possible by all these new features, as well as through an optimized software platform and more efficient beam control technology. Both 3D printing platforms have already received considerable attention from various industrial partners, and Arcam just revealed that the first Q20plus 3D printer has already been delivered to lightweight metals leader Alcoa in Austin, Texas. As Alcoa revealed, they will be using the Q20plus to meet the increasing demand for their complex, high-performance 3D printed aerospace components. Among others, engine components, aircraft frames and industrial gas turbine components are already on the agenda. Arcam is proud to support Alcoa, an innovation leader in 3D printing for aerospace, with our cutting edge 3D printing technology, Arcam CEO Rene said of the delivery. Posted in 3D Printer Company Maybe you also like: May 20, 2016 | By Alec The Chinese medical world is increasingly becoming known for their very open approach towards innovative 3D printing solutions. As a result, numerous Chinese patients suffering from rare of complex problems have already benefited from custom 3D printed implants, instruments or surgical models. They are now joined by the one-year-old Chen Chen from Yongzhou City in the Hunan province. Suffering from a rare skull deformity called narrow cranial disease, he has become the first Chinese patient with this disease to successfully undergo surgery involving a custom made 3D printed skull model. The disease is a rare, but debilitating complication that only occurs in about 0.005 percent of the population. As Chen Chens mother said, she noticed that her sons skull was growing a strange tip, causing Chen Chens head to become longer and narrower than that of other children his age. My son's head shape is obviously not the same as other children, the heads top is growing long and narrow like a boat, she said. the shape is becoming navicular. Concerned, she took her son to a local hospital for examination, but received little attention there. But as the weeks turned into months, it became apparent that Chen Chen wasnt developing like the other children. He did not begin to learn to speak or walk properly, so the concerned parents eventually took him to the Hunan Provincial Children's Hospital. Fortunately, they did receive the help they needed there. As neurosurgery physician Wu Shui Hua revealed, Chen Chen was actually suffering from narrow cranial disease. Also known as craniosynostosis or cranial suture ossification, it is a congenital disorder of the skull that inhibits normal growth. This, in turn, prevents the head and brain to grow at the same pace of the body, resulting in visible deformation and due to pressure on the brain various brain dysfunctions. The disease usually becomes apparent in children when theyre about two to three months old, when the various cranial sutures that cover the brain start to close prematurely. The intracranial pressure that is created can affect eyesight and movement coordination, and will result in learning disabilities and in some cases even papilledema, exophthalmos and more. But there is a solution, if the disease is diagnosed as soon as possible. As Wu Shui Hua explained, the only treatment method is to open the brain up again and expand the volume of the cranial cavity. As brains develop at very high rates the brain of a two-year-old has already grown to about 70 to 80 percent of an adults brain size the surgery ideally takes place before a child is two years old. If successful, the brain can continue its development process in the created space and overcome any early mental and motion development delays. But cutting open and rebuilding a skull is obviously very dangerous work. Usually, surgeons have little more than some CT data available to plan a surgery, greatly increasing surgical times and the likelihood of failure. Wu Shui Huas team therefore resorted to 3D printing. Using all biometric data available, a perfect replica of Chen Chens skull was 3D printed at a 1:1 scale. Accurately depicting all of the complications and pressure points, it enabled Wu Shui Huas team to discuss and practice all surgical steps to determine the safest and most effective surgical process. Thanks to this 3D printed reconstruction, Wu Shui Huas team was able to go into surgery on April 18. Being such a complicated surgery, it became a collaborative effort that also involved the hospitals comprehensive emergency surgery, anesthesia, intensive care, and special inspection departments. Through their efforts, Chen Chens surgery was successfully completed after about six hours. As Wu Shui Hua revealed, they worked hard to reset seven different bone segments during the surgery, creating a skull consisting of floating segments that give the cranial cavity every opportunity to expand. None of the crucial nerves were affected during the operation, and all post-surgery indicators revealed that Chen Chen came out just fine. The boy has recently been released from hospital, and the doctors hope that he will now be able to resume his development as a healthy young boy. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: May 20, 2016 | By Alec Remember Local Motors? Though numerous car manufacturers have been showing off concept cars that feature 3D printed interiors, this Arizona-based startup is developing the real deal: the worlds first road-ready 3D printed car, which could become available for pre-order this year. But as if 3D printing isnt innovative enough, Local Motors is also working hard to realize autonomous driving. And at a tech forum in Austin, Texas, they unveiled their latest achievement: a 3D printed Strati car packed with autonomous driving and IoT technology. As it happens, the Strati model is the first car design to ever be 3D printed, which happened back in 2014. In September of that year; they actually took it for a test drive. Though the innovating engineers of Local Motors are working hard to set up large scale car production with the help of Siemens product lifecycle management (PLM) software, they have also been dabbling in autonomous driving. Last year, they even announced a partnership with the University of Nevada - Las Vegas (UNLV) with that goal in mind. Recently, they also partnered with NXP Seminconductors N.V. with the express purpose of realizing autonomous driving. The first fruits of that collaboration were just unveiled at the FTF Tech Forum in Austin last Tuesday. In front of 2,000 enthusiasts during a keynote speech by NXPs Vice President and General Manager of Microprocessors Matt Johnson, Local Motors unveiled their first autonomous 3D printed Strati car. Packed with NXPs autonomous and Internet of Things (IoT) vehicle technology, the company will use this 3D printed car to test and showcase their latest autonomous driving breakthroughs. Perhaps the most crucial feature is the NXP BlueBox embedded into the car. The BlueBox enables the Strati to be programmed with advanced driving assistance and self-driving features. According to its developers, it is attached to a wide range of sensors and cameras, which enable the car to see and anticipate traffic at a long distance, detecting vehicles, roadblocks and other risks even before a human driver would see them. It also enables the car to look around corners. As NXP Vice President Johnson explained at the event, the BlueBox provides all the properties required for autonomous driving. [Its a] comprehensive autonomous vehicles platform that provides car makers the technology they need to meet stringent safety, power and processing performance requirements. NXP partnered with Local Motors to build a 3D-printed car, which featured BlueBox inside, he said. Local Motors 3D printing process provides flexibility in car manufacturing that enabled the build and delivery of the vehicle used at FTF in Austin in less than three days. Local Motors was also very impressed with the paradigm-shifting abilities of the BlueBox. Both in-person and online, the LM Labs co-creation community will push the boundaries of the BlueBox technology, Labs Director Gina OConnell said. Through the power of collaboration, there is no stopping how NXPs technology will advance autonomous vehicles. The futuristic Strati thus brings the most innovative technologies available to the automobile industry together. To further showcase this amazing combination of technologies, the BlueBox-equipped Strati will be displayed at several locations. After the keynote, it moved to the NXP FTF Technology Lab, where forum attendees can get a good look at it. Over the next month, it will be moved to various other car shows, before heading back to the Local Motors HQ in Arizona. There, Local Motors and their co-creation community will continue to expand on this BlueBox application. In particular, they will be looking to build on the partnership with NXP to realize more state-of-the-art autonomous driving solutions for 3D printed cars. NXP, in return, will be able to showcase their innovative technologies and get the opportunity to closely work with the next generation of cars. While numerous automobile manufacturers are also looking into 3D printing and autonomous driving, Local Motors might be the first to succeed on both fronts. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: May 20, 2016 | By Alec Thanks to a growing interest in craft beer, microbreweries have been popping up all over the US in the last few years. All seek to bring that one appealing, local and unique touch to their products, which has resulted in so many fantastic beers already. But one seaside brewery from Florida called Saltwater Brewery has taken their commitment to local culture to the next level. Specifically aimed at beachside bars, surfers and swimmers, they have sought to tackle one of the major beer drinking problems that can be seen at the beach: the discarded six-pack rings that fill the oceans, where they strangle or poison marine wildlife. Their solution? Edible 3D printed rings. Now you might think: surely the six-pack ring problem was solved decades ago? Well, theyve tried. The problems first surfaced in the 1970s, when images of fish, birds and other sea creatures stuck in six-pack rings appeared all over the news. In the 1990s, it even featured on an episode of the Simpsons. The problem is that most of the discarded six-pack rings end up in the ocean, where animals can get stuck in them (seriously inhibiting their ability to live normally) or even try to eat them. If the chemicals dont kill them immediately, theres still a good chance digestive systems are clogged with plastic, effectively starving the creatures. In response to the public outcry that followed, beer manufacturers have mostly switched to a photo-degradable plastic, which dissolves in sunlight (enforced by law since 1989). It sounds like a great solution, but it actually takes 90 days for the plastic to start to disintegrate, while the damage can be done on day one. And it takes a lot longer than 90 days for the rings to fully fall apart. This means that the problems of five decades ago are still around, but at a higher level than ever before. Right now, Americans drink 6.3 billion gallons of beer half of which is sold in cans. And most of them are packaged in six-packs. Through their close links with the sea-loving community, Florida-based Saltwater Brewery was only all too familiar with this problem. Deciding to take matters in their own hands, they teamed up with NY-based agency We Believers to develop edible six-pack rings made from left over brewing products wheat and barley. Not just very biodegradable in water, the materials are also safe to eat for all animals (including humans). It is believed to be the worlds first fully edible and biodegradable six-pack ring solution, but they are also easily strong enough to carry the weight of six beer cans. This innovative product is especially remarkable because Saltwater Brewery is just a modest craft brewery who could, like so many others, just say were too small to make a difference and nod their head in disappointment. It shows that through innovation the little guys can point the finger at governments and big business to motivate change that impacts our world and the one we will leave for our children, said Gustavo Lauria, We Believers founder and CCO. As Lauria explained, these edible rings were digitally designed, with the final molds being 3D printed. These have already been used to make the first batch of 500 edible rings for Saltwater Brewery's flagship IPA. Introduced in April at local events and venues, the rings were a huge hit with consumers. Many said that the rings were much more durable than they looked, while numerous people could not resist taking a bite out of the rings themselves. Perhaps not the nicest beer snack, but the most responsible. But the brewery is ambitious, and is aiming to turn this into something greater than a Florida seaside gimmick. Working with engineers from Mexico, they are currently working hard to set up production facilities to manufacture 400,000 edible six-pack rings per month enough to cover the brewerys entire monthly production. The only downside is that these rings are more expensive to produce than the conventional plastic alternatives costing between 10 and 15 cents per unit, pushing the costs of a craft beer six-pack over $10. This is not a huge problem so far customers have repeatedly argued that they are willing to pay a bit extra to save marine life. Over time, however, the company hopes to convince other breweries to get onboard with this project too, which would push down costs considerably. If most craft breweries and big beer companies implement this technology, the manufacturing cost will drop and be very competitive compared with the current plastic solution, while saving hundreds of thousands of marine lives, they said. While the full details of the production process behind the edible rings are still closely guarded, the initial results are certainly promising. This is exactly the type of solution our plastic-addicted societies could use. Other alternatives for six-pack rings have, of course, emerged already the top-hugging holder you see on many craft beers works well too. But they are still, of course, made from plastic. And with estimates suggesting that there could be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2035, completely plastic-free solutions are definitely necessary. Fortunately, beer drinkers can now do their part too. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: Mike wrote at 7/11/2016 3:50:31 PM:Packaging material already is, not from beer production by products, but from fungus... and this particular brand is made in the USA. I don't know if i would take a bite though.John wrote at 6/1/2016 9:40:31 PM:@ Nancy. It's probably cheaper.N S wrote at 5/22/2016 4:32:02 PM:If eatable/biodegradable can rings can be made, why not shopping bags? Shopping bags and packing material are a much bigger market segments.Nancy wrote at 5/21/2016 6:34:05 PM:I Love the Idea but you lost my enthusiasm at working with Engineers from Mexico to implement production. HELLO what's wrong with the United States for production. Gary Saul Morson in The New Criterion: One hundred and fifty years ago, when Dostoevsky published Crime and Punishment, Russia was seething with reform, idealism, and hatred. Four years earlier, the tsar-liberator Alexander II (reigned 18551881) had at last abolished serfdom, a form of bondage making 90 percent of the population saleable property. New charters granted considerable autonomy to the universities as press censorship was relaxed. The court system, which even a famous Slavophile said made his hair stand on end and his skin frost over, was remodeled along Western lines. More was to come, including the beginnings of economic modernization. According to conventional wisdom, Russian history alternates between absolute stasisRussia should be frozen so it doesnt rot, one reactionary writer urgedand revolutionary change. Between Peter the Great (died 1725) and the revolutions of 1917, nothing compared with the reign of Alexander II . And yet it was the tsar-liberator, not his rigid predecessor or successor, who was assassinated by revolutionary terrorists. The decade after he ascended the throne witnessed the birth of the intelligentsia, a word we get from Russian, where it meant not well-educated people but a group sharing a set of radical beliefs, including atheism, materialism, revolutionism, and some form of socialism. Intelligents (members of the intelligentsia) were expected to identify not as members of a profession or social class but with each other. They expressed disdain for everyday virtues and placed their faith entirely in one or another theory. Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin were typical intelligents, and the terrorists who killed the tsar were their predecessors. The intelligentsia prided itself on ideas discrediting all traditional morality. Utilitarianism suggested that people do, and should do, nothing but maximize pleasure. Darwins Origin of Species, which took Russia by storm, seemed to reduce people to biological specimens. In 1862 the Russian neurologist Ivan Sechenov published his Reflexes of the Brain, which argued that all so-called free choice is merely reflex movements in the strict sense of the word. And it was common to quote the physiologist Jacob Moleschotts remark that the mind secretes thought the way the liver secretes bile. These ideas all seemed to converge on revolutionary violence. More here. Thomas Frank at Bookforum: Its 2016, and another management guru is revealing the secrets of the creative mind. Its not really a very original thing to do. The literature on encouraging corporate nonconformity is already enormous; it goes back many years, to at least 1960, when someone wrote a book called How to Be a More Creative Executive. What was once called the creative revolution in advertising got going at around the same time. I myself wrote a book about that subjecta history book!nearly twenty years ago. There have been slight variations in the creativity genre over the half-century of its ascendancy, of course. The cast of geniuses on whom it obsessively focuses has changed, for example. And while the study of creativity has always been surrounded with a quasi-scientific aura, today that science is more micro than macro, urging us to enhance our originality by studying the functioning of the human brain. In the larger literary sense, however, it is now clear that the capitalists tribute to creativity and rebellion is an indestructible form. There is something about the merging of bossery and nonconformity that beguiles the American mind. The genre marches irresistibly from triumph to triumph. Books pondering the way creative minds work dominate business-best-seller lists. Airport newsstands seem to have been converted wholly to the propagation of the faith. Travel writers and speechwriters alike have seen the light and now busy themselves revealing the brains secrets to aspiring professionals. more here. Sick of sitting on hold waiting for someone to provide the assistance that you called up for? Those days could soon be over after a Big Five tech company engaged artificial intelligence company Crowd Media Holdings Limited (ASX:CM8) (FRA:CM3) for their digital avatars that interact with humanised responses in real time. FLEXIROAM Limited (ASX:FRX) is a leading telecommunications company offering universal voice and data services for mobile users globally. Its flagship data roaming product, FLEXIROAM X has coverage in over 100 countries with 4G speed in over 56 countries. FLEXIROAM is an asset light telecommunications company that does not own physical infrastructure yet is able to connect to around 580 network operators globally. FLEXIROAM aspires to be a household name in borderless mobile broadband service in Asia and beyond. Please visit http://www.flexiroam.com To Launch X For Data Roaming Selangor, May 20, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Flexiroam Ltd ( ASX:FRX ) ("the Company") is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary Flexiroam Sdn Bhd ("FLEXIROAM") is set to launch its new product X (www.flexiroamx.com) on 1 June 2016. X has received approval from Apple iTunes and will be available for download upon its launch. Initially, FLEXIROAM will be offering X in Australia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Thailand & Indonesia. FLEXIROAM plans to offer X in other countries in the near future. Highlights: - X is set to be launched on 1 June 2016 and will initially start shipping to 8 countries. - X is a patent pending technology to help travellers bypass data roaming charges without having the need to change sim card. - X is a revolutionary technology which radically changes the way global travellers roam. - The global data roaming market is estimated to be worth approximately US$50 billion in 2019. Travellers will be able to download the FLEXIROAM X app to order a thin microchip-embedded film that only requires a one time application on the user's existing SIM. Upon activation, travellers can easily switch over to FLEXIROAM partnering networks for data access without having the need to physically change their existing SIM to gain data access globally. The technology is the culmination of 6 months research and development and FLEXIROAM has filed 3 patents over the period in relation to the core technology. The Company's CEO, Jef Ong added "We launched the Flexiroam app in November last year and now with X, we've established ourselves as a pioneer in the travel industry, offering smartphone users a full suite of telecommunication services including voice, messaging and data services, using mobile apps. The FLEXIROAM X is highly scalable and we believe it will have a longer lifetime customer value, providing us with new revenue streams". With over 1.4 billion outbound travellers1 anticipated globally by 2019, of which many will be first time travellers, FLEXIROAM will be in a strong position in both the data and voice roaming market. It is estimated that by 2019 the data and voice roaming market will be worth US$139 billion, with data making up over 35% at US$50 billion. FLEXIROAM is set on taking advantage of these trends by offering both voice and data roaming services. In line with these plans, FLEXIROAM will be actively streamlining its products and phasing out their SIM card products following the launch of FLEXIROAM X. About Flexiroam Ltd FLEXIROAM Limited (ASX:FRX) is a leading telecommunications company offering universal voice and data services for mobile users globally. Its flagship data roaming product, FLEXIROAM X has coverage in over 100 countries with 4G speed in over 56 countries. FLEXIROAM is an asset light telecommunications company that does not own physical infrastructure yet is able to connect to around 580 network operators globally. FLEXIROAM aspires to be a household name in borderless mobile broadband service in Asia and beyond. Please visit https://www.flexiroam.com Agreement for Early Assignment of Nanocube Technology Perth, May 20, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - ASX listed Strategic Elements Ltd ( ASX:SOR ) is pleased to announce an agreement has been reached with the University of New South Wales for early assignment for 100% ownership of the Nanocube Memory technology. The parties will continue the existing research and development collaboration and the Company will seek to expand this in the near future. The existing licence agreement for the technology will fall away and full ownership will be passed over. The strong working relationship between the Company and UNSW has enabled the early assignment, which will significantly aid the Company to form global partnerships with other companies in the Printed Electronics sector and other corporate activities. All Intellectual Property including patents will be included in the assignment. The University of New South Wales (and in particular the School of Materials Science and Engineering) is proving to be a strong technology and development partner and the Company is looking forward to working together on the Nanocube Memory technology and other technologies that are relevant to its investment focus. About Strategic Elements Ltd Strategic Elements (ASX:SOR) shares are listed on the Australian Stock Exchange under the code SOR. The Company is registered under the Pooled Development Program run by the Australian Federal Government to encourage investment into SMEs. To assist Pooled Development Funds to invest and raise capital, the Federal Government enables most shareholders in a Pooled Development Fund to make capital gains and receive dividends tax-free. Presentation - Sandstone Gold Project Perth, May 20, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Enterprise Uranium Ltd ( ASX:ENU ) Presentation - Sandstone Gold Project: A Company defining acquisition of majority in Sandstone Goldfield The Project, the People & the Company - Substantial land holding over well endowed goldfield (1.1Moz mined to date) with considerable exploration upside - Highly experienced exploration team, with track record of exploration success in +1Moz gold systems in Western Australia (Eg. Jundee, Rosemont) - Company focus on meaningful outcomes - Low market value offering strong leverage to subsequent exploration success. Sandstone Project - Previous production in excess of 1Moz. - Large under-explored Archean greenstone belt - High grade Au drill results not yet followed up - Multiple targets identified from historical mining and AC/RAB/RC drilling - Project area: ~723km2 with tenements in application - Brownfields exploration, with initial target similar to that mined by Troy Resources NL - Magnetic survey data to produce "blind" litho-structural targets for drill testing To view the presentation, please visit: http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/IUAE261R About Alto Metals Ltd Alto Metals Limited (ASX:AME) is a Western Australian based company and is focused on gold and uranium exploration in Australia. The Company's primary objective is to create shareholder wealth through discovery and development of a plus 1 million ounce gold deposit and ISR style uranium deposits. WASHINGTON About 16 U.S. military personnel, including a two-star general, have been disciplined for mistakes that led to the bombing of a civilian hospital in Afghanistan last year that killed 42 people, a senior U.S. official said Thursday. According to officials, no criminal charges were filed and the service members received administrative punishments in connection with the U.S. airstrike in the northern city of Kunduz. A number of those punished are U.S. special operations forces. And while none was sent to court-martial, in many cases a nonjudicial punishment, such as a letter of reprimand or suspension, can effectively end a military career. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, so spoke on condition of anonymity. The Pentagon is expected to release the full report on the investigation on Friday, including details about what exactly happened and how the mistakes were made. Last month, The Associated Press reported that more than a dozen U.S. military personnel had been disciplined in connection with the bombing, and that they were all largely administrative. The hospital, run by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders in Kunduz, was attacked by a U.S. Air Force special operations AC-130 gunship, one of the most lethal in the U.S. arsenal. Doctors Without Borders has called the attack relentless and brutal. Last November, the U.S. military said the crew of the AC-130, which is armed with side-firing cannons and guns, had been dispatched to hit a Taliban command center in a different building, 450 yards away from the hospital. However, hampered by problems with their targeting sensors, the crew relied on a physical description that led them to begin firing at the hospital even though they saw no hostile activity there. Officials have said the accident was caused by human error, and that many chances to avert the incident were missed. A separate U.S. report on the incident, obtained last fall by the AP, said the AC-130 aircraft fired 211 shells at the hospital compound over 29 minutes before commanders realized the mistake and ordered a halt. Doctors Without Borders officials contacted coalition military personnel during the attack to say the hospital was being bombed from the air, and the word finally was relayed to the AC-130 crew, the report said. The attack came as U.S. military advisers were helping Afghan forces retake Kunduz, which had fallen to the Taliban on Sept. 28. It was the first major city to fall since the Taliban were expelled from Kabul in 2001. Afghan officials claimed the hospital had been overrun by the Taliban, but no evidence of that has surfaced. The hospital was destroyed and Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym, MSF, ceased operations in Kunduz. PHOENIX A Phoenix police officer died Thursday, a day after he was shot while responding to a call about a son stealing guns from his father, authorities said. Trying to hold back tears, Police Chief Joe Yahner said the memory and service of Officer David Glasser will be honored from this day forward. He embodied what a Phoenix police officer is, Yahner said. Dave served his community and he continues to serve right now as he is donating his organs for the betterment of people he doesnt even know. Mayor Greg Stanton called it a dark day. Our entire city is hurting, he said. Glasser had been in critical condition since Wednesdays shooting in suburban Laveen. Investigators say Glasser and his partner responded after a homeowner called 911 and reported his son was stealing guns. The officers parked behind a car in the driveway without knowing an armed man was inside, police say. The man opened fire when the officers got out of their car. Police returned fire, killing the gunman whose name has not been released, then turned their attention to Glasser. They did everything they could to place Officer Glasser in a position of safety and rendered aid, Yahner said. The officers actions at the scene were heroic and Im very proud of them. Glasser, a 12-year veteran of the department, was married with a young son and daughter. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey ordered flags at all state government buildings lowered to half-staff to honor Glasser. DALLAS As airport security lines get longer, the finger-pointing over blame is growing too. The nations leading airlines, already feuding with the Transportation Security Administration, are now taking on Congress. The trade group Airlines for America on Thursday said Congress should reverse a 2013 decision that diverted $12.6 billion in passenger-security fees to reducing the federal budget deficit. The airlines want that money to pay for airport security screening. Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has joined a handful of senators in asking airlines to waive fees on checked bags. They say that would lead to fewer carry-on bags for TSA to screen. Neither side is giving ground, and passengers are stuck in the middle. Airlines say lines are long because TSA is understaffed while travel is expected to hit a record high this summer. Congress has advanced TSA money to hire 768 more screeners and pay overtime this summer, but airlines say that wont be good enough. They have zeroed in on a 2013 budget bill in which Congress raised security fees on airline tickets and ordered the Homeland Security Department to set aside $12.6 billion over 10 years to reduce the deficit, including $1.25 billion this year. That decision has come home to roost, said Nick Calio, president of the airline trade group. He said in a letter to senators that Congress should immediately put that money into screening passengers, where it belongs. Earlier, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson asked the airlines to suspend fees on checked bags, which encourage passengers to take more carry-on luggage through TSA checkpoints. Inspecting carry-on luggage has a lot to do with the wait time, Johnson told reporters in Washington on Tuesday night. We have asked the airlines to consider possibly eliminating the checked-baggage fee to encourage people to check their luggage rather than putting it in the carry on. Airlines are resisting. They say that bag fees have been common since 2008 and that long lines were not a big problem until this year. They also note that some of the longest lines have been at Chicagos Midway Airport, where the dominant carrier, Southwest Airlines, charges only for three or more bags. U.S. airlines raised $3.8 billion from bag fees last year, according to the government. Airlines and TSA agree that lines would be shorter if more passengers paid for expedited screening. The airline trade group says TSA should make that happen by waiving the $85 fee for PreCheck, which speeds things up because passengers dont have to remove shoes, belts and light jackets and can leave laptops in their bags. The TSA says that about $35 of the fee which is good for five years goes to the cost of vetting passengers and the rest is paid to the vendor who signs up passengers, MorphoTrust USA, so there is nothing to waive. ___ Follow David Koenig at http://twitter.com/airlinewriter Deputies are looking for a woman in connection with a non-fatal shooting of a man in southwest Albuquerque Monday, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office. Deputies say Roxanne Martinez, 36, will be charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and shooting from a motor vehicle with great bodily harm. They did not give a motive for the shooting. The victim was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. His name has not been released. Martinez was last seen driving a maroon 2004 Chevy extended cab bearing NM plate 588-TAS, according to flier sent out by a BCSO spokeswoman. Detectives believe Martinez may be hiding in Texas, Artesia, or Las Vegas, New Mexico. She is five feet one inch tall and weighs 153 pounds. She is considered armed and dangerous, deputies say. Anyone with information on the case should call (505) 235-9199. For 10 years, Myra Buteau worked diligently on a project. Not because she was instructed to. Because she felt the story should be told. Buteau, a video producer at Sandia National Laboratories, has released the 32-minute documentary to the world. Cold War Warriors traces U.S. nuclear weapons testing from the first nuclear detonation in southern New Mexico in 1945 to the final test in September 1992. Buteau narrates, but the story is told largely by 44 Sandia field testers, the people she calls game changers in the evolution of nuclear weapons testing. I wanted to create a documentary that not only showed the significance of their contributions but also gave the essence of who these nuclear weapons field testers were, she says. All of the field testers are adventurous, and it takes a lot of perseverance. Buteau opens the film with a montage of historical and documents and progresses into interwoven interviews about nearly 50 years of nuclear tests in New Mexico, Pacific islands and the Nevada Test Site, now the Nevada National Security Site. It includes footage of the tests and the political events that shaped the era. Buteau calls the field testers behind-the-scenes heroes on the world stage during a frightening time in American history known as the Cold War. Theres a legacy of the labs and the people who help build it, she says. I wanted to pay tribute to these individuals who worked hard for this effort. Many of these stories are amazing and have stuck with me. The first interview shown is with the late Ben Benjamin, who teases that the filmmakers really wanted J. Robert Oppenheimer or Gen. Leslie Groves, the men who headed the Manhattan Project, which built the first atomic bomb. But they died decades ago, forcing the interviewers to go down a list until you finally got to a technician who was there, and that was me. For Buteau, Benjamin epitomized the field test, the can-do attitude, the esprit de corps mindset and the get-the-job-done motto. The idea for the documentary came from David Thompson, former manager of the Nevada Test Site, who suggested capturing the recollections of those behind the nuclear tests. He turned to then-Sandia President Tom Hunter, who backed the idea. Thompson tapped Buteau to put the documentary together more than 10 years ago. I made a great effort to get the stories from all 44 field testers, she says. There was one point when we had 30 field testers and the documentary was already running long. Editing down each story was the most difficult because I wanted them to be cohesive. SEND ME YOUR TIPS: If you know of a movie filming in the state, or are curious about one, email film@ABQjournal.com. Follow me on Twitter @agomezART. El Brunos was always a welcome stop in Cuba, N.M., en route to Chaco Canyon or Farmington. U.S. 550 is a long road; when it was N.M. 44, the ride seemed even longer. After fire took the original place, the hardworking Herrera family moved its establishment across the street and kept serving excellent salsa and chile on its lovely new patio. The choice of the empty North Valley Gardunos restaurant was a natural for El Brunos big city expansion. The cozy cantina and the dark, more formal Spanish-style dining room continue to offer local families, groups of friends, and date-night couples a welcoming place to spend an evening. Starting with the brass chile doorknob on the front door, not much has changed. Although the Albuquerque El Brunos has many fans and is rightly recognized for what it does well like chips and salsa and chile con queso something has been lost in the move to a more elaborate operation. El Brunos swears the food served in Albuquerque is exactly the same as that offered in Cuba, and the traditional family recipes may indeed be the same, but preparation and service lack that zing and polish that made eating in Cuba special and makes the place a destination. For starters, on the two recent occasions we dined at the Duke City El Brunos, once in the dining room and once in the cantina, the service was slow. I dont set a stopwatch, but in the cantina on a weekday night, the wait seemed extraordinary, and people who came in after us were waited on and served before us, always an annoying experience. El Brunos Restaurante y Cantina LOCATION: 8806 Fourth NW, 897-0444 HOURS: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Wednesday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday FULL BAR In addition, the chile rellenos ($11) were tough. Even the waiter agreed when we mentioned the problem that the supply was not up to par. He did not offer a substitute. In addition, on this occasion, by the time we got our food, it had cooled to lukewarm. On the first occasion, we ordered a Taste of El Brunos ($13), an assortment of taquitos, carne adovada, quesadilla and more to sample the menu. The thought occurred not a good one that we were eating frozen food appetizers. Of course, I knew we were not, but I suspected they had recently seen the inside of a microwave. The point is, there was nothing special about the dish. Fresh guacamole made tableside ($10), always fun, nachos ($8), or shrimp cocktail ($10), are perhaps a better way to go. Brunos has a selection of lunch specials for about $8 each, and it is a pleasant place for a midday break. However, tacos and burritos are a little pricey. Combination plates are $15 each. Brunos has an extensive menu of steaks, chicken dishes, burgers, salads, and kids plates at $6 each. Their prices are higher than some and not as high as others along North Fourth Street, where it is easy to find outstanding New Mexican food for much less, granted, in a less splendid environment. However, if you are in the price range where two people are not likely to get out without a $40 tab, other elements, such as service, or a special love for El Brunos chile, must make the expense worthwhile. Warning: the green chile is super hot. At $8, it may be ordered with chicken, beef, or, oddly, a whole pork chop in the bowl. And the sopaipillas are chewy and a bit heavy, as opposed to the light and fluffy yeasted variety. An attempt by two state senators to rein in the city of Albuquerques DWI vehicle seizure program crashed Thursday when a district judge threw out the lawsuit they filed against the city. Second Judicial District Judge Clay Campbell said Sen. Lisa Torraco, R-Albuquerque, and Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque, lacked standing to challenge the ordinance because they hadnt been directly affected by the seizure program. The judge didnt say we werent right with our arguments, he just said we werent the right people to bring them, Ivey-Soto said. The senators in their lawsuit said that because of the changes lawmakers made last year to the New Mexico Forfeiture Act, the city could no longer seize cars from accused repeat drunken drivers, or people driving with a license that was revoked because of a DWI conviction, or driving without an interlock when one was required because of a DWI conviction. Torraco and Ivy-Soto were seeking a court order to stop the city from taking possession of the vehicles until the owners are convicted. A law that prohibited civil asset forfeiture and only allowed criminal forfeiture received unanimous support from the Legislature and was signed into law by the governor. He ruled on the standing without addressing how the state law and the city ordinance interact, City Attorney Jessica Hernandez said after the hearing. We do still believe the state law left room for programs like this, and that municipalities do have the ability to pass ordinances to address public nuisance issues like repeat drunk drivers. Albuquerque police use a city nuisance ordinance to take the vehicles of accused repeat drunken drivers at the time of arrest. The vehicles are towed to a lot managed by the city, and some of them are sold. A car can be seized even if the owner wasnt the person driving drunk and there have been cases in which the owner claimed not to even know someone else was driving their car when it was confiscated. Owners who believe their vehicles were wrongfully seized, such as in a case where a vehicle was taken without permission, are forced to pay administrative and storage fees and often a fine of about $1,000 set by a hearing officer in a closed-door meeting if they want the car back. The Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office and a handful of other law enforcement agencies in the state take vehicles under similar ordinances. City records show police take more than 1,000 vehicles every year and collect more than $1 million from the practice. Several people who had been affected by vehicle seizures attended the hearing. Ken Starr, the president of Sunstar Capital Inc., said the ordinance may force him to shut down his business. The company finances cars for people with poor credit. He said about five times a year one of the cars is seized and the company has to pay to get it back. What the judge didnt understand or didnt appreciate is that when the city takes these vehicles from our customers, they are taking their groceries, theyre taking their job, theyre taking everything, Starr said. Attorneys for the Institute for Justice, a national law firm that advocates for limited government and personal freedoms, and Brad Cates, who formerly was the director of the Justice Departments Asset Forfeiture Office but has since become a critic of the practice, litigated the case for the senators. They argued that the senators had standing because of the public import of the issue. These are the people who wrote the law and they are trying to enforce the law that they wrote, said Robert Everett Johnson, an attorney with the Institute for Justice. Theres nobody more appropriate than them. Johnson said the group still plans to use Albuquerque as an example to spur changes to vehicle seizure programs in New Mexico. He said they likely will appeal the judges decision to the Court of Appeals or bring another lawsuit on behalf of plaintiffs who have had their vehicles seized. The city is taking peoples cars without convicting them of any crime, its taking them in hearings where theyre adjudicated by hearing officer who is not at all impartial, and people even if they get the car back, (the city) charges them storage and other fees that swamp the value of their car, he said. This municipal forfeiture program is contrary to state law, and its also deeply unconstitutional. A defense motion seeking more specifics of the murder of Jaydon Chavez-Silver, which Donovan Maez and two other youths are accused of committing, fell flat at a hearing before 2nd Judicial District Judge Cristina Jaramillo on Thursday. But it nevertheless allowed Maezs lawyer, John Day, to state his belief that the case has taken a remarkable turn since indictment of Maez, Christopher Cruz and Nicholas Gonzales in the fatal shooting of Chavez-Silver. The Manzano High School athlete, who had been accepted to the Air Force Academy, was shot in the neck last June through the kitchen window of a Northeast Heights home where teens were partying. Police have said they do not believe he was the intended victim but was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Day told the judge at a hearing on several motions, Every witness has totally and completely recanted (his) statements and claimed they were obtained as a result of police intimidation. Cruzs lawyer Scott Wisniewski joined in the motion. Day said he was requesting a bill of particulars, a document giving more detail about how the crime unfolded, as a result of this remarkable and noteworthy turn. I havent seen anything like this for a long time. One witness in particular gave what Day called a complete and utter recantation, of his previous statement, he said. Court documents show the prosecution had to obtain a material witness warrant requiring Drew Dugger, 20, to be arrested so he would be available for interviews and trial. The state had served him with subpoenas twice and his mother once, and an investigator told him that an arrest warrant could be served if he failed to show up for interviews. Assistant District Attorney Penny Gilbert said that what the defense was actually seeking was the states theory of the case. Were talking about a short period of time half an hour to an hour when this occurred, she said. That doesnt require a statement of facts. The case was indicted with specificity. Have witnesses recanted? Yes. Do I have a reason to believe theyre lying? I do, Gilbert said. Jaramillo told Day the defense has the date, time and particulars, and denied the motion. Trial of Maez and Cruz is scheduled to begin July 11 before Jaramillo. Social media and tips led to their arrests last year, some of which also were unsuccessfully challenged by the defense Thursday. Wisniewski argued on behalf of Cruz that warrants were defective because they relied on innocent facts found on Facebook postings about Cruz driving a light-colored Nissan that could not corroborate anything. Gilbert countered that the detective had independently obtained other information that was backed up by what she found on Facebook, and the judge agreed. Since the first three defendants were arrested, another defendant, Dominic Conyers, has been charged in the murder. Conyers turned himself in after detectives told his attorney in March they had filed a warrant for his arrest. He is charged with murder, shooting from a motor vehicle, and conspiracy, booked at the jail and released on $100,000 bail. A rainy Sunday prompted a visit to La Casa Sena recently in search of a cozy, warm place for brunch. We were disappointed not to find the live music that used to be a feature of Sunday brunch here, but we did find warmth, coziness and good food, all in one of Santa Fes most charming historic settings. We started off with Casa Senas version of chile con queso ($11), featuring chipotle chile and chunky wild mushrooms in melted white cheese. Served with thin, crisp and piping hot yellow and blue corn chips, it was an excellent beginning, and an unusual and very rich version of the more usual cheddar-and-green combo. From there we branched out to all corners of the menu, sampling one of the couple of breakfast dishes Casa Sena adds to its regular lunch menu for the Sunday occasion, as well as fish, steak and a sandwich. All of it was very good, if not spectacular. LA CASA SENA LOCATION: 125 E. Palace Ave. 988-9232; HOURS: Daily, 11 a.m.-close. FOOD: American and New Mexican favorites. Full bar ATMOSPHERE: Historic New Mexico setting SERVICE: Very good 125 E. Palace Ave. 988-9232; lacasasena.com Daily, 11 a.m.-close.American and New Mexican favorites. Full barHistoric New Mexico settingVery good One of my guests got the BLTA a BLT with avocado ($14). Be warned: Its gargantuan, and contains about three breakfasts worth of crisply fried bacon, plus what seemed to be an entire sliced avocado. To my astonishment, she ate it all. Side choices included fries or soup, coleslaw or green salad. In an effort to preserve an illusion of virtue, she chose the green salad, an attractive mix of greens plus the usual veggies, including jicama, in a red chile-laced dressing. Fish and chips ($17) was another of our choices. It, too, was generous: two big pieces of crisply fried cod, a pile of Parmesan-sprinkled fries, served with one plain and one habanero-laced dipping sauce. A mug-sized bowl of coleslaw rounded out the dish. The grilled flatiron steak ($19) got my vote for best of show. Thickly sliced and medium rare, it was served with a cognac-and-mushroom gravy and chile-laced mashed potatoes. Comfort food, plus. I only got a taste, but Id go back for this any lunchtime. My huevos rancheros ($14) were very good as well. I ordered them Christmas-style, and can report that green is the hotter of the two chiles, hot enough to notice, that is, without being overly spicy. Chile and two eggs topped blue corn tortillas. The black beans on the side were nicely laced with cumin and augmented by a zigzag of tangy crema. The papitas won my approval, too: crispy chunks of what I judged to be twice-cooked potato. After such a largesse of food, we hardly needed dessert. But duty called, and besides, these sweets sounded intriguing. Given the straightforwardly bar-and-grill nature of the lunch menu, we were surprised to see Deconstructed Blueberry Pie and Passionfruit Napoleon as choices ($10 each). The pie proved to be a handful of big, fresh blueberries garnished with a scoop of something called cashew strudel. Think cookie-dough ice cream. It was good! Peach and blackberry coulis (called gels here) adorned the plate and added sweet interest. Pie light, you might say. Or metaphorical pie. The napoleon proved to be a small tower of hand-stacked phyllo squares, dusted with cinnamon sugar and laced with passion fruit mousse. It was an even more ethereal version of the French pastry classic, and more shatteringly flaky pastry than filling, although the explosive tang of passion fruit made up for the lack of substance in the mousse. Strawberries graced the side. La Casa Senas dinner menu features several of the same soups and salads offered at lunch, as well as fancier and more substantial preparations of fish, lamb and beef. (Sea bass with caviar sauce takes the place of the fish and chips, for example, and the flatiron is upgraded to tenderloin, served with potatoes gratin. In place of huevos, the dinner menu offers enchiladas.) The same dinner menu is available at La Casa Senas Cantina next door along with that missing music, in the form of Broadway and opera classics. Not the least of La Casa Senas charms, especially in warm weather, is its extensive outdoor dining area in tree-shaded Sena Plaza. This historic interior courtyard, one of several along East Palace, is one of Santa Fes loveliest places. Party, party, party is the theme for this weekend with food, music and lowriders waiting for you both in Santa Fe and not too far away. First, dont forget Lowrider Day on the Plaza, when you can head downtown from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday and soak up some cherry styling on well-loved vehicles. Its free to look but be wary of some very expensive revisions you might be inspired to launch on your own ride. If Cajun and crawfish is more to your taste, head on down to the Crawdaddy Blues Fest at the Mine Shaft Tavern in Madrid. Three stages will be throbbing with tunes from local and visiting bands from noon-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $15 per day or $25 for both days, available through ticketssantafe.org. See crawdaddybluesfest.com for a band line-up. The Outside Bike & Brews Festival also will bring concerts, with Con Brio tonight and The Lonely Wild Saturday. A $25 weekend concert pass (outsidesantafe.com) gives you entry to both at a stage set up in Santa Fes Fort Marcy Park. OPENINGS: A bunch of new museum exhibitions are opening their doors this weekend, too, led by Mabel Dodge Luhan & Company: American Moderns and the West debuting Sunday up at the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos. It will focus on how the hostess with the mostest influenced the art movement both by bringing creative people together and attracting many of them to the stark landscapes of the Southwest. Closer to home Finding a Contemporary Voice: The Legacy of Lloyd Kiva New and IAIA opens 5:30-7:30 p.m. today at the Museum of Art, 107 W. Palace Ave., with artworks made by faculty and alumni at the Institute of American Indian Arts. At the same time, the museums Con Carino: Artists Inspired by Lowriders also will open. MORE MUSIC AND TAP: The Taj Mahal Trio will get down with blues and roots music and probably more in a benefit concert for KSFR radio 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Santa Fe Farmers Market Pavilion, 1607 Paseo de Peralta. This 21+ show includes beer, wine and hard cider. Tickets are $38-$79 (brownpapertickets.com). And jazz and tap dancing fill the bill 4 p.m. Sunday at the Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco St., when dancer Savion Glover teams up with the Jack DeJohnette Quartet. Tickets are $27-$100, available through ticketssantafe.org or by calling 988-1234. Its no surprise to New Mexicos secretaries of state current and former that the money they receive from the Legislature to conduct elections is chronically short of whats needed. But state Auditor Tim Keller has quantified the shortages and says they create a substantial financial burden to the Legislature and the state Board of Finance. Secretary of State Brad Winter, a Republican appointed to the post in December by Gov. Susana Martinez, says hes aware of the problem but says the solution lies with the Legislature and a revamping of a system that forces the secretary to make a budget request before counties know how many polling places, voting centers and machines they will need for upcoming elections. This piecemeal funding of elections the bedrock of a representative government is an embarrassment to New Mexicans. Since the 2008 budget year, the Secretary of States office has needed $24.8 million from 29 loans, grants or appropriations to help fund elections, according to Keller. But Winter points out that his office requested $6.1 million for the budget year that begins July 1 to run elections, including Novembers presidential election. And the Legislature approved just under $5 million, leaving a shortfall of about $1.1 million. That gap will force Winter to find cuts within his office or go scrounging for the money elsewhere. The Legislatures hesitance to fully fund elections for the Secretary of States office might be understandable, if regrettable, considering the checkered experiences with some past secretaries of state. Scandals in the office have done nothing to endear it to legislators, who hold the purse strings. Winter, who kept his vow to forgo running for the office he currently fills, is in a position to lobby for the needed reforms that can help ensure well-run elections worthy of voters trust. In the meantime, candidates for the office can explain what they would do to address the problems and, if elected, do their level best to rebuild voters and legislators confidence in their office. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. National political analysts talk of a rift in the Democratic Party as Bernie Sanders refuses to drop out of the race and throw his support behind Hillary Clinton. But, supporters ask, why should he? A Fox News poll showed this week that despite being behind in delegates, Sanders polls better than Clinton in a hypothetical race against the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump. And the same poll of registered voters nationwide showed Trump beating Clinton. Sanders still has a chance albeit slim at getting the nomination. Clinton has 96 percent of the delegates and superdelegates needed to clinch the nomination, leaving Sanders with a slim mathematical chance at sealing the nomination, according to The Associated Press. Analysts, though, say there are concerns at the national level that if he doesnt bow out and back Clinton, the split Democratic Party will have a harder time beating Trump. But the Sanders camp isnt backing down. The candidate has scheduled more campaign stops, including three in New Mexico in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Vado, near Las Cruces and has said he doesnt plan to abandon his campaign for the sake of solidarity. We are in until the last ballot is cast, Sanders told supporters at a rally that attracted a huge crowd in Carson, Calif., this week, saying he believes he can win the June 7 primary in the nations most populous state. New Mexicos primary is on the same date. The prolonged primary push, even while some see it dividing the national party, doesnt seem to be a problem in New Mexico and could even be a benefit, state Democrats say. Here in New Mexico, it just means our primary has a little bit more weight to it, said Felicia Salazar, spokeswoman for the Democratic Party of New Mexico. It is getting candidates out to the state and gives voters more access, more opportunity to hear their issues, and I dont see how that could be a bad thing. Sanders will visit the state today. And former President Bill Clinton will be here May 24 and 25. Weve seen in the past that sometimes primaries can be a little heated. In the end, Democrats come together to support our nominee. DPNM will continue to be inclusive, and I dont see this election being any different, said Debra Haaland, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. But after Clinton dropped out of the primary race in 2008, some of her supporters vowed they wouldnt support Barack Obama. That year, Sen. John McCain had the Republican nomination locked down by March, while Clinton kept Obama fighting in the primaries until June. She won most of those last contests, but Obama went on to win the nomination and the presidency. Clintons position in the Democratic establishment gave her a clearer imperative to unify the party in 2008 than Sanders has in his outsider role. Sanders has said that his followers unwillingness to back Clinton shouldnt be dismissed and that Democratic leaders must understand that the political world is changing and that millions of Americans are outraged at the political and economic establishment. Every person deserves a chance to vote for the person they want to see as president and have their voice play a role in the process, said Hannah Elhard, New Mexico state coordinator for Sanders campaign. The senator is coming to New Mexico to discuss his platform of raising the minimum wage, fighting for social justice and correcting a corrupt campaign finance system held up by a rigged economy. It will be several great events with the senator, and we look forward to engaging with the voters in New Mexico. Sanders has been on a winning streak lately, taking 11 of the last 19 contests. But Clintons early wins in larger states and advantage with Democratic superdelegates have made it mathematically near-impossible for Sanders to catch up. Although Kentucky where Clinton narrowly defeated Sanders on Tuesday isnt likely to be a swing state in November, problems there for Clinton may foreshadow difficulties in parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Any additional wins for Sanders, meanwhile, give him more standing to demand concessions from the party to bring over his supporters even if he cannot secure the nomination. The question now for a few weeks has been, what does Sanders really want? said Jennifer Duffy, an analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. While Clinton has pretty handily won this nomination, she does need his voters. Theyd have to give Sanders something that inspires his supporters, for lack of a better word. Bloomberg staffers Steven T. Dennis, Sahil Kapur and Arit John contributed to this report. It was a Saturday night in Rock Springs, Wyo., and 30 or 40 of us were partying in a derelict trailer house on a dead-end road. Suddenly, a queer couple we knew showed up and said a bunch of rednecks had been chasing them down Elk Street. Sure enough, four pickups pulled up moments later and a bunch of burly guys piled out. The encounter escalated into a full-blown brawl teenagers rolling around in the muddy snow beating on each other. There were more of us than there were of them, so we were able to whoop them soundly and run them off. Then we celebrated what felt like a righteous victory deep into the night. This was in 2001, just a few years after Matthew Shepards murder had made gruesomely public the anti-gay violence that was taking place throughout Wyoming. Shortly after, I left the state for about 14 years. During that time, it appeared to me that gay rights had made great strides not least with the incremental support to legalize gay marriage nationwide. Living in places as different from each other as Buenos Aires, Chicago and New Orleans, I witnessed homophobia now and then, but not nearly as often as I saw jubilant demonstrations of gay pride or, more frequently, plain old gay normalcy. Among the myriad people who are oppressed in this world, homosexuals seemed to be in pretty good shape, particularly white cisgendered men. Then I moved back to Wyoming. Trevor OBrien couldnt escape to a friendly trailer house when five young men attacked him one night in December 2015 in Gillette, Wyo. His mother told the Casper Star-Tribune that OBrien had responded to the mens comments about his being gay with a smart remark, so they threw him on the ground and stomped on his groin so hard he had trouble urinating for three days. OBrien didnt report the incident, nor did he report the homophobic slurs someone repeatedly carved into his car. In fact, few people beyond his closest friends and family would have known about any of this had OBrien not killed himself in a park this March 8. He was 20 years old. It is true that many factors likely contributed to OBriens decision to commit suicide. Likewise, the story of Matthew Shepards murder is more complex than it might seem on the surface. Many people in Wyoming, for instance, have gone to great lengths to emphasize that both Shepard and his killers may have been high the night he was tied to a fence and pistol-whipped. But rather than adding nuance to the conversation perhaps by acknowledging that anti-gay violence is sometimes drug-related, too this emphasis is meant to silence people who might suggest Wyoming has a problem. In Laramie, where Shepard was assaulted and where I now live, folks dont like to talk about him much. A student organizer here told me that even the gay community sometimes shies away from discussing Shepards murder because of all the negativity and distortion people have heaped onto it. But whenever horrifying instances of homophobia come to light, such as the attack on OBrien or an assault discussed on public radio last year, in which a Casper, Wyo., man had his teeth kicked in for cross-dressing any Wyoming citizen whose eyes arent clouded by delusion or prejudice should be able to put the pieces together. Anti-gay violence in Wyoming is real, and it deserves a real response. Shepards memory was invoked in 2009 when the U.S. Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. This law, co-named for a black man murdered by white supremacists in Texas, strengthened federal law enforcements ability to investigate and prosecute hate crimes, including those committed against people on the basis of their sexual orientation. Forty-five states have passed similar laws that empower state-level authorities. Wyoming is not one of them. It is time we changed that. Few of us believe that harsher criminal punishments can cure social ills. Hate-crime bills often include tougher sentencing provisions, but just as meaningful are the signals that enacting such laws send. Passing a hate crime bill in Wyoming would admit to the states citizens that hate crimes persist. It would communicate that acknowledgement and honest discussion of the problem are necessary if we want to stop the violence. A bill would also tell those at risk that they are not alone in facing anti-gay violence or abuse. It would let them know that we, as a state, have their backs. So far, the Legislatures consistent refusal to pass such a bill has sent a different message to anyone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual in Wyoming: This is the Wild West. Better run to your friends and hope they can protect you, because the rest of us dont really give a damn. Nathan Martin is a contributor to Writers on the Range, an opinion service of High Country News. He is a freelance writer in Laramie, Wyo. In 2009, the Santa Fe City Council voted to spend up to $35 million to buy and improve the campus of the collapsed College of Santa Fe and lease it to the for-profit Laureate Education Inc., which created the Santa Fe University of Art and Design. City governments move was something of a gamble this was a brave new world for higher education in Santa Fe. The College of Santa Fe was a historic New Mexico institution started by the Christian Brothers that had connections and a legacy in the community that were vast; Laureate was a rapidly expanding for-profit company based in Baltimore that now has institutions on every inhabited continent on earth. Laureate agreed to, 27-year lease at $2.35 million a year on the Santa Fe campus. From the citys standpoint, the deal struck in 2009 has worked out pretty well so far. SFUAD is accredited, says it has 900 students, its arts-related programs enrich the local scene (remember the uproar when the failing CSF tried to shut down The Screen art-house cinema?) and the school provides an activity center where a blank space might have otherwise been created. SFUAD has received kudos from the likes of Princeton Review, which has rated SFUAD in the top 25 percent among colleges in the West, and Backstage Magazine, for its theater program. But Laureate is a business, and it declared $4.7 billion in debt in October. It was expecting to have 3,000 students at its Santa Fe subsidiary by this year, including many from its other institutions, which are particularly numerous in Latin America. Now, in what appears to be part of a sell-off of assorted Laureate-related holdings around the world to shed debt ahead of a private offering, SFUAD is being sold to another private, international company that runs colleges. The buyer is called Raffles Education Corp. Limited and the Singapore-based operation has 30 schools in 13 countries. SFUAD will become a sister school to institutions in Hong Kong, Mumbai, Jakarta, Manila and Bangkok. The other schools are called Raffles such as Raffles College of Design and Commerce in Sydney and the Raffles Design Institute in Guangzhou, China. SFUAD would become Raffles second site outside of Asia or Australia the other is Raffles Switzerland. The purchase still needs approvals from Raffles stockholders. A document describing the proposed acquisition that Raffles filed with the Singapore stock exchange says that while the tangible asset value of SFUAD is $6.1 million, net loss attributable to SFUAD through last June was more than $7 million. The university is being sold for just one dollar, adjustable based on various factors, such as cash on hand or debt at closing. Also, the buyer and seller are each putting up $5 million for an escrow account to fund a portion of operating deficits at the university through 2018. Raffles, which appears to specialize in graphic, interior, fashion, product and digital design degrees, itself posted a net loss for the quarter that ended in March. Raffles CEO, fortunately, is promising to continue SFUADs current, strong curriculum by adding new, expansive program offerings and investing in the physical infrastructure of the campus to better prepare both U.S. and Asian students to design their future and success for the global community. The lease with city government stays the same and Mayor Gonzales said the city remains committed to having a thriving art and design university in the heart of town. Raffles, like Laureate before it, has rights under the lease to purchase the campus if desired. So here we go again, adapting once more to this concept of for-profit, international education, where, as we now see, universities can be transferred among corporations like other business assets. Thats a hard idea for American education traditionalists to accept and raises questions for students moving forward. Raffles University of Art and Design just doesnt have the same ring to it. But for now, theres no reason to not give Raffles a chance, count on its vow to continue and improve on the existing school offerings and hope that the university remains a positive local institution. If SFUAD, or whatever it will be called in the future, can continue to earn accreditation as a legitimate four-year college and attract students, including some from around the world, thats a good thing. Dona Teresa Aguilera y Roche was a privileged, educated, tenacious and outspoken woman who was not afraid to voice her complaints about living in what she considered a hardship outpost in dusty Santa Fe. In the mid-1600s, though, those complaints combined with her misunderstood ways not to mention the hardball politics of the day that pitted state against church brought her under the scrutiny of the Spanish Inquisition, whose reach crossed an ocean into the Americas. Frances Levine, director of the New Mexico History Museum/Palace of the Governors from 2002-14, brings the little-known story to light in Dona Teresa Confronts the Spanish Inquisition: A Seventeenth-Century New Mexico Drama (296 pp. University of Oklahoma Press), scheduled for release in July. Few people are aware that the Spanish Inquisition was active in the Americas, even in the heart of what is now New Mexico, Levine said in a telephone interview. Now director of the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis, Levine said she has learned that there also were cases in what is now Missouri and Louisiana. So people who fled Spain to escape the Inquisition and its persecution of people who did not hold to the Catholic faith saw it appear again in lands controlled by Spain. Levines book emerged from research she was doing on first ladies who had lived in the Palace of the Governors. She found arrest records that detailed every possession, every item of clothing confiscated from Dona Teresa before she was taken to the Inquisitions Mexico City prison. The imperious native of Italy and daughter of a high-ranking Spanish official popped out of the centuries-old documents and grabbed her. Her story became very compelling to me, Levine said. She literally grabbed hold of me and wouldnt turn me loose. She demanded her story be told. Governors wife In many ways, Dona Teresas misfortune came from the fact she was married to Bernardo Lopez de Mendizabal, governor in Santa Fe from 1659-62. A man with a reputation for straying from his wedding vows, Don Bernardo quickly got himself cross-wise with the local friars, reminding them their authority did not extend to state matters and sometimes interfering with their exploitation of native and slave labor. At the same time, he confiscated items from settlers and made use of such labor himself for the manufacture and shipping of goods whose profit apparently ended up in his pocket. He wasnt there long before local church officials were sending reports to their superiors about his alleged actions, which soon took the politically useful angle of claiming insufficient piety and even suspicions of activities related to Jewish rituals. Those suspicions extended to Dona Teresa, whose upper-class background separated her from the people she was living among, according to Levine, and whom Inquisition officials accused of having a haughty and presumptuous spirit. That didnt endear her to those around her, and whispers from household help spread rapidly through the villa and to the church higher-ups: She washed her hair and feet and changed into fresh clothes on Fridays (a sure sign of Jewish ritual). She laughed when reading a book written in Italian and kept a middle drawer of her desk securely locked (she must be hiding something evil). She put onion peels on her feet (she said it was for corns). She didnt go to confession (she said the friars spilled her sins to others). She and her husband avoided attending Mass and were not compliant in a host of religious rituals (they drank chocolate and ate meat even on Fridays and during Holy Week). They slept through the night behind locked doors, allowing only a young child in to serve them (what were they hiding?). Inquiry suspended But while Don Bernardo died while imprisoned in Mexico City, his wife, who described her health as delicate, fought tooth and nail to clear both their names. After two years, the investigation was suspended and Dona Teresa was released, but until her death she still appealed unsuccessfully to Inquisition officials to declare her innocent. Those continued struggles to have her name cleared stemmed from the importance of showing the purity of her blood, Levine said, at a time when Jewish ancestry was considered a taint on the bloodlines. She was trying to do it because of her family, on behalf of her brothers, she said. It might appear surprising that Dona Teresa was released at all from a system that seemed stacked against the accused the fact that someone was arrested often was seen as proof they did something wrong. But Dona Teresa vigorously denied all the accusations, often firing her defense attorneys and writing up her own defense documents, which still exist and offered a treasure trove of insight into the events. I dont think the Inquisition quite knew what to do with Dona Teresa because she was such a force, Levine said. And while we tend to think every trial in the Inquisition ended with someone burned at the stake, officials did follow a very formal process and detailed rules on how to proceed, she said. That was a surprise to me, she added. With Don Bernardos death, much of the political reason for Dona Teresas prosecution was removed, Levine noted. And the former first lady did confess finally to something, although it wasnt among the 41 charges brought against her: participation in an unapproved sex position with her husband. Inquisition inquiries, Levine noted, could be extremely prurient. Even more surprising than her release might be Dona Teresas ability to demand certain supplies in prison, including embroidery thread and sewing materials, pen and paper for preparing her defense (even though every time she was told to examine her conscience and write down her misdeeds, she used most of the time and paper to spill the beans on her enemies wrongdoing) and chocolate. Some eight pounds of chocolate and four pounds of sugar were included in her monthly rations. Chocolate presents a fascinating sideline in the book, with summaries of testimony against Dona Teresa offering many mentions of her drinking chocolate, an elixir that originated in Mesoamerica but still was viewed somewhat suspiciously among Europeans as stimulating libido and wanton behavior. Maybe it did. Levines book mentions an attempt by a Chiapas bishop to ban chocolate-drinking during Mass that ended with angry women severely beating him. Now working on research on women who traveled the Santa Fe Trail, Levine will be at the New Mexico History Museum on July 24 to give a 2 p.m. talk about Dona Teresa and sign copies of her book. New picnic shelters have been installed along the Rio Nambe near where it flows into recently reopened Nambe Lake. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal) Ranger Wayne Vigil stands near one of three debris flow barriers installed along the Rio Nambe to prevent leftovers from the 2011 Pacheco Fire from washing into Nambe Lake. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal) The family of Chano Olivo hauled in some rainbow trout at Nambe Lake last week. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal) A slurry bomber makes its drop on the Pacheco Fire in 2011. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal) Firefighters gather to take on the Pacheco Fire, which burned north of Santa Fe and damaged Nambe Lake in 2011. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal) One of three debris flow barriers installed along the Rio Nambe to prevent debris from the Pacheco Fire in 2011 from washing into Nambe Lake. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal) From right, Chano Olivo, his grandson Marcus Olivo and nephew Julio Valdez-Olivo fish for rainbow trout at Nambe Lake last week. Until recently, the lake had been closed for several years due to damage caused by wildfire. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal) Prev 1 of 7 Next NAMBE PUEBLO Chano Olivo is back at his favorite fishing hole the placid waters of Nambe Lake, located on Nambe Pueblo about a 20-mile drive north of his home in Santa Fe. To me, this place is the best, said Olivo, who on a recent sun-drenched Thursday was there with his nephew and young grandson to try their luck. They were wetting their lines among the ducks congregated near where the lake is fed by the waters flowing down the canyon from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. I used to catch em 17, 18 inches, he said of the rainbow trout hes pulled out of the lake in the past. He even won a fishing derby there years ago. But he hasnt been able to fish the lake for years due to the aftereffects of the 2011 Pacheco Fire, which burned more than 10,000 acres in the upper watershed. The entire Nambe Falls and Nambe Lake Recreation Area, including camping areas, picnic ground and hiking trails, were closed last summer while contractors with the Bureau of Reclamation cleaned up the area, repairing roads, dredging 65,000 cubic yards of sediment from the lake and installing three new debris flow barriers at different elevations up the canyon. The work was part of efforts to restore and protect the lake, which also serves as a source of water for the entire Pojoaque Valley, from being debilitated in the future. Almost all the fish in the 56-acre lake died, choked out by ash-saturated runoff that came down the canyon from six miles above where the Pacheco Fire burned roughly 156,000 acres in the Santa Fe National Forest and Pecos Wilderness. Once the rains came, woo! hooted Joe Vigil, the head ranger at Nambe Pueblo. That did it. The water cant go any other place. There was nothing to hold it. It all came down. And not just the ash, silt and sediment, he said, but boulders, logs and even whole trees still rooted in clumps of soil washed off the mountainside. It has been an uphill battle ever since then. Heavy rain in the fall of 2013 resulted in extensive damage to the recreation area, warranting a disaster declaration from President Obama that helped secure funding for both the pueblo and the Pojoaque Valley Irrigation District, which manages and maintains the reservoir and serves close to 1,000 landowners with surface water rights, many of them farmers, north of Santa Fe. Rains returned the following year, bringing more debris down the canyon. The pueblo and irrigation district applied for more federal funding and received it with the assistance of High Water Mark, a Cochiti Pueblo-based business that emerged from the flames of wildfires that have occurred in northern New Mexico over the years. The recreation area and Nambe Lake have only recently reopened. The lake freshly stocked with 3,200 fish, mostly rainbow trout is drawing Olivo and others back, and attracting new anglers. Mike and Shelby Herson of Espanola recently discovered the lake and the newfound fishing opportunities it allows. This is the best place Ive found for fishing, it really is, Mike said. He said the pueblo has done a real good job of setting this up. I like it up here because its peaceful and quiet, Shelby added. Plus, we love watching the ducks. After the fire Last week Nambe Gov. Phillip Perez met with the team from High Water Mark, formed in 2013 while Cochiti Pueblo was dealing with the aftermath of the Las Conchas Fire in the Jemez Mountains. The company was founded by Phoebe Suina, a Cochiti native, who had helped lead rehabilitation efforts after the 2000 Cerro Grande Fire that burned through parts of Los Alamos. Recognizing a need for tribal representation to mitigate flooding and other natural disasters, she partnered with water resource specialist Ryan Weiss and has worked as a go-between with the pueblos of Cochiti, Santa Clara and Nambe, local, state and federal government agencies, and contractors. There are a lot of layers of bureaucracy to wade through, but Suina says that since High Water Mark started in August 2013 it has been able to secure $56 million in federal grants to its clients. I tried fighting that fight myself in my first term in 2012, said Gov. Perez, who after the Pacheco Fire traveled to Washington, D.C., himself to appeal to Congress for funding. We try to look at the big picture and align things with stakeholders, said Suina, whose company works with the Bureau of Reclamation, the Army Corps of Engineers, FEMA, the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and others. Plain and simple, its about how do we keep people safe. High Water Marks meeting with the pueblo governor last week was to close out the recently completed FEMA projects. After the floods, about $600,000 in funding was appropriated for infrastructure repair and another $1.5 million for mitigation at Nambe, while Pojoaque Valley Irrigation District got $4.5 million. Suina said 75 percent of that is federal funding, while the state and applicant each pay 12.5 percent. Weve put a lot of work in getting the reservoir restored and doing work on the watershed, Perez said. We havent made a full recovery, but weve made a significant dent. The governor said he expects the opening of the recreation area will help spark economic activity on the pueblo. Were trying to develop some type of business plan. Theres marketing potential to draw more revenue to the pueblo and we are collaborating with Nambe Falls Casino on that, he said. The small casino that offers convenience-based gaming opened on U.S. 84/285 near Pojoaque Pueblos Buffalo Thunder Casino and Resort in June. About $1.5 million in funding went for installation of innovative debris flow barriers across the Rio Nambe as it runs into the lake. Theyre starting to be used more in the Southwest, typically in mountain regions, High Water Marks Weiss said, adding that one was installed in Santa Clara Canyon during the winter. The chain link fence-like barriers stretch across the width of the canyon, anchored in the bedrock on both sides. They effectively work as sieves to catch debris coming down the canyon and can be easily removed without leaving much of a trace once theyve served their purpose. They wont stop ash that comes down with the water flow, but they will keep the debris from clogging the channel into the lake. Gone fishing On the day a Journal North crew visited, several groups of fishermen had staked out spots around the edges of the lake. Ranger Vigil is excited to see the lake being used again. People have been calling me for four or five years asking if the lake is open yet, he said. Vigil said the lake gets used by tribal members but most people come from outside the pueblo. There are a lot from the southern pueblos Santo Domingo, Cochiti, Isleta that come up here to fish. A lot of people hear about it and come check it out. A lot of people taking the high road to Taos see the sign and swing by here, he said, adding that hes met people from such far-off lands as Germany, Switzerland and Japan. With the 3,200 fish added to the lake since last month, he expects more visitors this summer. Vigil said rainbow trout are most plentiful, but there are also some brown trout and sunfish to be found. Some guys said theyve hooked some big ones but couldnt pull them out, he said. Right now, fishing at the lake is limited to Thursdays through Sundays. Adults are charged $15 per day, while seniors and children pay $10. The pueblo charges $25 for a primitive camping site, and $35 for a site with water and electric hookups. A sightseeing pass to explore the Nambe recreation area costs $10. For more information, call the ranger station at 505-455-2304. The Miss New Mexico winner from 1948 Sarah Betha Mount received an unexpected thrill this past weekend when current Miss America Betty Cantrell dropped into town to personally honor her with a crown and sash at the Hyatt Regency in Downtown Albuquerque. Mount, whose last name was Young when she was 22, was a University of New Mexico student when she landed the state honor but was unable to receive the customary sash or crown from the Miss America Organization because of ongoing post-World War II economic struggles. It was fun! It always is when youre being pampered that way, she told KOAT-TV of the time when she won Miss New Mexico and the presentation on Saturday. Though the 90-year-old has stayed humble about everything, adding that it wasnt a big deal, she cant deny that her title and legacy remain strong. Youll never outgrow it. It will follow you for the rest of your life Ive discovered, she said with a laugh. Video of the Saturday presentation was shared on Facebook by the Miss America Organization and had more than 20,000 likes and more than 800,000 views. Cantrell had time to speak with Mount after the coronation this past weekend. She said Mount was the perfect choice for Miss New Mexico in 1948, and that the Miss America Organization has remained true to its core values of empowering young women across the nearly 70-year-span between today and when Mount first earned her title. Im so proud to call her one of my Miss America sisters, Cantrell said in a statement. Erica Costello, enrichment coordinator at Bear Canyon Estates where Mount lives, is the one who reached out to the current Miss New Mexico, Marissa Livingston, who in turn reached out to current Miss America Cantrell. Bear Canyon Estates, in a news release, called Mount their living legend. Copyright 2016 Albuquerque Journal They died in Iraq and in Espanola; in Afghanistan and Albuquerque; in Germany and in Rio Rancho, Santa Fe and the Jemez Mountains. Some were in the Air Force, special agents or security force officers. Others served with the New Mexico State Police, or with police and sheriff departments throughout this state. But all of these 44 men and women were police officers killed in the line of duty since the global war on terrorism started more than a dozen years ago. And on Thursday, they were all honored at a National Police Week memorial retreat ceremony hosted by Kirtland Air Force Bases 377th Security Forces Group at the Hardin Field Parade Ground on the base. Col. Richard DeMouy, commander of the 377th, told those gathered at Hardin Field that all of the 44, regardless of what uniform they wore, were part of the thin blue line that separates good from evil and order from chaos. The uniforms are different, but each leaves loved ones behind, each had stories to tell and stories that continue to be told, DeMouy said. And each, I suspect, could not imagine themselves doing any other job. They run toward dangerous situations others so desperately seek to flee. The roll call of those honored on Thursday started with Special Agent Lee Hitchcock, killed on Aug. 8, 2004, in Kirkuk, Iraq; and ended with Tech. Sgt. Joseph G. Lemm, killed on Dec. 21, 2015, at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. But in between were the names of Bernalillo County sheriffs deputy James McGrane Jr., killed on March 22, 2006, in Bernalillo County; New Mexico Motor Transportation Police officer Robert Potter, who died Aug. 16, 2012, in Vado; Rio Rancho Police Officer Gregg Anthony Benner, killed May 25, 2015, in Rio Rancho; Albuquerque Police Department Officer Daniel Scott Webster, killed Oct. 29, 2015, in Albuquerque; and many more. Representatives of the Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Estancia, Santa Fe and Bosque Farms police departments and the Sandia National Laboratories Protection Force attended the ceremony, which included a 21-gun salute and the playing of taps and Amazing Grace on a bagpipe. It is an honor to stand alongside so many distinguished public servants, DeMouy said to the military men under his command and to guests attending the ceremony. Action leads to change that makes a difference, and each of us is here to make a difference. SALT LAKE CITY Seizing new fuel for his appeal to Donald Trumps critics, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson has joined forces with another former Republican governor to strengthen his Libertarian presidential bid. William Weld, who served two terms as the Republican governor of Massachusetts in the 1990s, will announce plans Thursday to seek the Libertarian Partys vice presidential nomination, Johnson confirmed in a Wednesday interview with the Associated Press. The pair met privately in Las Vegas over the weekend when Weld agreed to run as Johnsons running mate in the partys upcoming nominating convention and into the general election. We got together and shook hands on it, Johnson told the AP in an interview in Salt Lake City, where his underdog presidential campaign is based. It brings an enormous amount of credibility to what it is Im doing. Im unbelievably flattered by this and humbled. Johnson is casting himself as the best and perhaps only alternative to Trump, as the New York billionaires Republican critics struggle to identify another third-party candidate. Johnson earned just 1 percent of the national vote during his 2012 presidential run, but reminds reluctant conservatives that hell likely be the only third-party candidate on the ballot in all 50 states this fall. Weld, a well-respected former governor in the Northeast, offers Johnson some credibility and badly needed fundraising prowess. The 70-year-old will announce his vice presidential bid in New York on Thursday, Johnson said. He could be a huge influence when it comes to fundraising. Huge, said Johnson, whose campaign had only $35,000 in the bank at the end of March. That was something that he in fact volunteered that he enjoys doing it. Weld was an active fundraiser for 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Like Johnson, Weld has a moderate view on social issues. He favors abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Years after leaving the governors office in Massachusetts, Weld launched an unsuccessful bid for New York governor as a Republican and a Libertarian. LAS CRUCES A Las Cruces District Court judge on Thursday rejected a motion to dismiss the murder charge against Tai Chan, the former Santa Fe County sheriffs deputy who shot and killed a fellow deputy in October 2014 at a Las Cruces hotel. Chans attorneys, John Day and Thomas Clark of Santa Fe, argued in a motion filed last week that the first-degree murder charge against Chan should be dismissed because they said evidence does support the charge. Chan, 29, was arrested and charged in the Oct. 28, 2014, shooting death of Jeremy Martin, 29, at the Hotel Encanto in Las Cruces. In Chans motion, his attorneys said they had conducted more than 80 pretrial interviews and poured over reports and other forms evidence produced by prosecutors, but have not found a single shred of evidence to support a first-degree homicide charge. Chans attorneys said the murder charge should be dismissed because the evidence is undisputed that shooting was not deliberate or premeditated. Chan, through his attorneys, has maintained he acted in self-defense on the night of the shooting. In rejecting the motion, Chief District Judge Fernando R. Macias, who is presiding over the case, said it was both untimely and lacking merit. Macias order cites a rule that requires such motions to be made at an arraignment hearing or within 90 days thereafter. Chan was arraigned on Nov. 17, 2014, court records show. Macias said the motion, which relied on unparticularized witness statements made during pretrial hearings, is purely factual, not legal in nature, and thus cannot carry the day under the Foulenfont analysis, referring to case cited in Chans motion. The question whether (Chans) conduct was actuated by requisite intent is a matter left best for trial, Macias wrote in the order. Chans trial begins Monday in Las Cruces District Court. More than 90 witnesses could be called to testify over the course of the trial, which could last three weeks. Chan has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he is facing life in prison. Macias on Thursday also denied Chans motion for bill of particulars/statement of facts that was filed on May 12. Carlos Andres Lopez can be reached 575-541-5453, carlopez@lcsun-news.com or @carlopez_los on Twitter. 2016 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at www.lcsun-news.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. _____ The New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed the murder conviction of a Carlsbad man who killed his Texas girlfriend. Robert Earley, who was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and tampering with evidence last year, will remain in prison. His conviction carried an automatic life sentence by state law, but a mandatory appeal was filed in the case. Earley killed Emily Lambert at the Stevens Inn on March 1, 2014, following an argument. His lawyers argued that his statements to the police should not have been allowed into evidence. However, the New Mexico Supreme Court disagreed. 2016 the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.) Visit the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.) at www.currentargus.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. _____ A Lubbock man was arrested Wednesday morning regarding a fatal vehicle crash that occurred in Portales in March. Jerry Nale, 18, was the driver of the vehicle involved in the fatal crash, which occurred in the early morning hours of March 29 in Portales. Three people were in the vehicle. Nale was air lifted to the Intensive Care Unit of Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock, along with 16-year-old Trinity Jackson, who later died from injuries sustained in the crash. Jacksons 14-year-old brother, Ashton, was released to relatives after being treated for minor injuries. At 1 a.m. March 29, Portales police officers responded to a call at 14th Street and Avenue D regarding a suspicious vehicle. When an officer began to approach the suspect vehicle on foot, the driver fled, losing control and rolling the vehicle moments later. The vehicle was reported as stolen out of Lubbock, and the two juveniles were listed as runaways, according to Portales police. A Portales Police Department press release said Nale turned himself in to the Lubbock Police Department Wednesday on a warrant obtained by the PPD. He is being charged with aggravated fleeing from a law enforcement officer, a fourth degree felony, homicide by motor vehicle, a third degree felony, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a fourth degree felony and receiving or transferring of a motor vehicle, a fourth degree felony. According to an arrest affidavit obtained Wednesday: * The three individuals fled to Portales to take Trinity Jackson and brother, Ashton, to a Portales childrens home as they believed Trinity and Ashtons family was going to try to separate the two of them. * Police officials said they found Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in Trinity Jacksons system. * Ashton Jackson told police that he and the other two individuals in the vehicle had consumed alcohol the night prior to the incident. * Nale told police he fled due to a belief that the two Jackson family juveniles would be placed in the custody of Child Protective Services. * Nale told police he had known Trinity and Ashton Jackson for a couple of weeks, but did not specify his relationship to them. According to the Lubbock County Detention Center, Nale has no bond set, because he is due to be extradited back to New Mexico. Family members of the two Jackson juveniles could not be reached for comment, and an attorney for Nale could not be located. When asked if the Portales police officer involved in the March 29 incident followed safe pursuit guidelines, Portales Police Chief Pat Gallegos declined to comment, saying he cannot comment on an ongoing investigation. This was an extremely tragic incident and has touched the lives of many on both sides of the families, Gallegos was quoted in the press release. Anytime a child is lost, it affects the officers, investigators and our entire community emotionally. Staff Writer Anna George contributed to this report 2016 The Portales News-Tribune (Clovis, N.M.) Visit The Portales News-Tribune (Clovis, N.M.) at www.pntonline.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. ABQ Health Partners has signed a lease agreement to move administrative services into the former Bank of America building at 303 Roma Avenue downtown. The multi-specialty physician group plans to move 240 employees to the building in November after renovations are completed on the four floors the company will occupy, said Carly Newlands, an ABQ Health Partners spokeswoman. The new headquarters will house the leadership team, revenue/operations, IT personnel and other support staff, said Newlands. In total, ABQ Health Partners will occupy 63,000 square feet of space in the building. The business had outgrown its current leased space at the Gibson Healthcare Center at 5400 Gibson SE, said Newlands. ABQ Health Partners also is in the process of building its new 80,000-square-foot flagship clinic near the Albuquerque International Sunport. The physician group, a division of DaVita Health Care Partners, said the multimillion-dollar project better positions the medical group to serve patients in the southeast part of the city. The clinic is expected to open in the first quarter of 2017. https://youtu.be/Cmcg_Z0xi00 Copyright 2016 Albuquerque Journal A northeast Albuquerque 7-Eleven turned into a chaotic scene Monday evening when a man wildly fired 17 rounds from a semi-automatic pistol, despite the fact that children were nearby, forcing a bystander who was pumping gas to run for cover. Police say it was the first of two shootings at different northeast Albuquerque 7-Eleven convenience stores this week. One man was wounded and two men are facing felony charges. In the first incident, Miguel Ortega, 37, fired 17 shots at another man after a fight at the 7-Eleven near Tramway and Copper on Monday night. The second shooting occurred Thursday afternoon, when police say Eugene Padilla, 32, also identified as Leondro Padilla in jail records, opened fire on his alleged drug dealer at the 7-Eleven near Wyoming and Candelaria. Incident one Surveillance footage of Monday nights shooting, described by police in a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, shows that Ortega went into the convenience store to grab some beer around 6:45 p.m. when a man, later identified as Greg Buchanan, rushed in and shoved Ortega. The complaint doesnt say whether the two men knew each other or why the fight started. The men continued fighting outside, and Buchanan pushed Ortega to the ground and punched him multiple times before Ortega escaped, according to the complaint. Buchanan fled, and Ortega started firing in his direction. Despite Greg being almost out of sight, Miguel shot 17 rounds at him, an officer wrote in the complaint. He effectively emptied his magazine while shooting in Gregs general direction. Miguel put many people in danger at this time. A 7-Eleven clerk told police that children were nearby and that at least one man was filling up his car with gas when the shooting started. The driver of this vehicle was so scared, he was running around his vehicle to take cover from Miguels reckless shooting and deliberate disregard for anyone else in the area, the officer wrote. Buchanan was injured running away but wasnt shot, according to the complaint, and he refused to give police more information. Mondays shooting was not the first time Buchanan has seen gun violence. He is known for his involvement in the high-profile Los Altos skate park shooting last year. In that case, Buchanan told detectives that he shot and killed 17-year-old Jaquise Lewis in self-defense when gunfire broke out at the park in March 2015. He has not been charged in that shooting, and the 2nd Judicial District Attorneys Office is reviewing the case, according to DA spokesman Phil Sisneros. Detectives dont believe Mondays shooting is connected to the skate park shooting, APD spokesman Tanner Tixier said. Ortega was arrested, charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful carrying of a firearm in a licensed liquor establishment, and was booked into the county jail on $100,000 bail. Buchanan has not been charged, though Tixier said thats not necessarily a final decision. He said that, even though Buchanan started the fight, that offense was a misdemeanor. The suspect committed a felony by opening fire when his life wasnt threatened, and officers typically charge the person who committed the more serious crime in that situation, Tixier said. Second shooting In a different incident a few days later, police say Eugene Padilla went to the 7-Eleven at Candelaria and Wyoming on Thursday afternoon to allegedly buy heroin from a man named Mark Schmoker. Padilla told officers that he was upset by the consistency of the heroin, according to the criminal complaint filed against him. Surveillance footage shows Padilla chasing Schmoker, then shooting him twice in an alley behind the convenience store. A juvenile riding his bike in the alley was almost hit by the gunfire, police say. Schmoker was taken to the hospital, and police say he is expected to survive. Padilla was arrested and charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence and possession of drugs. PHOENIX A federal judge has found that a U.S. Border Patrol agent was justified in the fatal 2011 shooting of a suspect who was caught in a line of fire while fleeing in southern Arizona. Judge James Soto ruled on April 25 that agent Lucas Tidwell cannot be held liable for the killing of Douglas resident Carlos LaMadrid because Tidwell was within the law. The Tucson Sentinel reported the ruling this week. Authorities say LaMadrid was attempting to climb a border fence from Arizona into Mexico with the help of two people. One threw rocks at Tidwell, who fired his weapon after one of the rocks nearly hit him in the head. LaMadrid was caught in the line of fire and killed. The shooting is one of several in which border agents have fired at rock-throwers, raising concern among civil rights groups. HONOLULU Honolulu will pay $80,000 to settle a lesbian couples lawsuit alleging a citys police officer wrongfully arrested them after seeing them kissing in a grocery store while on vacation. The settlement was announced Friday in federal court in Honolulu. Its still subject to City Council approval. Courtney Wilson and Taylor Guerrero were visiting Hawaii form Los Angeles last year when they say they were harassed and arrested because the officer didnt like their public displays of affection in a Foodland store on Oahus North Shore. The lawsuit says they were walking through the aisles holding hands and at one point hugged and kissed. The women say they complied when the officer told them to take it somewhere else. After a scuffle, the officer arrested them. A small southeastern New Mexico towns former police chief has been convicted of stalking and battery charges in a case that a prosecutor said involved abuse of authority to pursue women. A Magistrate Court jury late Thursday convicted former Dexter Police Chief Mario R. Contreras of petty misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor stalking. The jury acquitted him of another stalking count, and two other battery counts were dismissed previously. Magistrate E.J. Fouratt then sentenced Contreras to 20 days in jail, a 1-year probation term and ordered Contreras to perform 40 hours of community service and make a $500 donation to a shelter for domestic violence and sexual assault victims. Defense attorney S. Doug Jones Witt said Contreras will appeal. He remains free on bond. Contreras, 45, was put on leave when New Mexico State Police began an investigation after women complained that he stalked them, made crude gestures and touched them inappropriately. The town later fired Contreras. The Roswell Daily Record reported that jurors heard testimony that Contreras tickled one womans foot during a Town Council meeting, caressed the hand of a convenience store workers hand and made sexual advances toward another worker. District Attorney Andrea Reeb said shell ask state officials to revoke Contreras certification as a law enforcement officer. The prosecutor said Contreras used his position as a police officer to intimidate and harass women and that conduct should not be tolerated. Hes a police officer running around Dexter abusing his power with his badge, Reeb told jurors. Contreras testified that he didnt recall doing anything wrong, and Jones Witt said his client may have flirted with women but that the allegations didnt amount to criminal conduct. Lets just assume that hes a flirt, Jones Witt said in closing arguments. Touching someones leg is not equal to battery. What episode of the Twilight Zone have I officially tuned in to? KALAMAZOO, Mich. A man charged with killing six strangers in between picking up riders for Uber will go to trial, a Michigan judge said Friday after listening to a dozen witnesses, including a survivor of the random shootings who said its his face she sees in her sleep each night. Jason Dalton is charged with murder and attempted murder. Hes accused of shooting eight people in three locations in the Kalamazoo area on Feb. 20; six died. Tiana Carruthers, one of two survivors, was the first witness, but her testimony was interrupted by bizarre outbursts by Dalton, who was dragged out of court by deputies and ordered to jail to watch the hearing via video. Dalton, 45, who has been found competent to understand the charges and assist his lawyer, made strange references to old people with these old black bags. Judge Christopher Haenicke cut him off and called a recess after he said, Its time to get to temple. Carruthers sobbed loudly while stunned relatives of other victims watched Dalton being hauled away. After a break, she again described how she was shot four times outside an apartment building in the presence of children. Police have credited her with protecting them from possible injury. My body doesnt look real. Metal in three different places. Screws and bolts, the 25-year-old said. I hurt every single day. Carruthers identified Dalton as the shooter, saying: I can never forget his face. I see his face every time I go to sleep. Police have quoted Dalton as saying a devil figure on Ubers app was controlling him on the night of the shootings. Jeff Crump, a Michigan State Police firearms expert, linked casings at the shooting scenes to guns owned by Dalton. The judge found probable cause to send Dalton to trial. The legal standard at this stage is low; prosecutors didnt have to show all their evidence. Another witness, Alexis Cornish, 17, said she saw the killing of her boyfriend, Tyler Smith, and his father, Richard Smith, at a car dealership. They were looking at a pickup truck, but she stayed in their vehicle because it was a cold night. They put their hands up and said, What are you doing?' Cornish told the judge, recalling their encounter with the gunman. Asked how many shots were fired, she replied: Enough not to miss. Separately, four women were killed outside a Cracker Barrel restaurant. A 14-year-old girl survived. Dr. Paul B. Roth, chancellor of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, and Jim Hinton, president and CEO of Presbyterian Healthcare Services, were named this week as winners of the 2016 New Mexico Spirit of Achievement Awards. The awards were announced Thursday at a dinner at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Spa in Albuquerque to benefit National Jewish Health in Denver. Hinton told an audience of several hundred that he felt honored to share the award with Roth. Betweeen our two organizations, we care for one half of New Mexico a privilege we are honored to have, Hinton said of the UNM and Presbyterian health care systems. Hinton began working for Presbyterian Healthcare in 1983 and has served in the top post since 1995. The New Mexico native chaired the American Hospital Associations committee on research and operations, and was named one of the 100 most influential people in health care in 2013 and 2014 by Modern Healthcare magazine. Roth, who joined UNM as a medical resident in 1976, founded UNMs Center for Disaster Medicine, created the nations first civilian Disaster Medical Assistance Team, and starting one of the first of the nations first urgent care programs. He has served as dean of the UNM School of Medicine since 1994 and is the nations longest-serving medical school dean Let the sizzling begin. Ruths Chris Steak House opens its big red doors to Albuquerque today, serving up filets, ribeyes and New York strips on its famed 500-degree plates. It becomes perhaps the most upscale chain ever to set up shop in the Duke City, and company executives say the market is ready. Asked why the 150-location brand chose Albuquerque, Ruths Chris Chairman and CEO Michael P. ODonnell said Why not? Honestly, Albuquerque is a great place. Ive been to Albuquerque many, many times, and I think its a vibrant community, he told the Journal during a training dinner Friday at the new Uptown restaurant. I wish wed have gotten here sooner. More often associated with major cities, Ruths Chris has begun looking at more midsized markets. In addition to Albuquerque, it should open its first El Paso location later this year. Albuquerque appears to be ready. ODonnell said the restaurant already has 200 reservations for Mondays debut dinner service. He said the company has held openings in bigger cities with fewer than half that many. All indications are great, he said. I dont think its a leap of faith (to be here). Ruths Chris took over a former menswear shop at 6640 Indian School NE, remodeling the multilevel space into a 290-seat restaurant designed to reflect the city. Bob Feinberg of Colliers International, who represented Ruths Chris in its leasing deal for the spot, said the 51-year-old chain belongs in Albuquerque. I dont want to use the word blessing, but I think its such an addition (to the market), because the quality is incomparable, said Feinberg, who worked with partner Tom Jones on the deal. So what should you expect at Ruths Chris? An 11-ounce filet runs $48, but there are a few cheaper choices and also more expensive ones. Side dishes fall in the $10-12 range. Beyond beef, the restaurant also has chicken and seafood options. ODonnell said about a third of the guests come for celebration-type meals, while business-to-business dining represents another third. The rest comes from just everyday traffic, and he noted that there are more affordable ways to enjoy the restaurant. That includes happy hour at the bar (4:30-6:30 p.m. Sundays through Fridays) with its lineup of $9 meals including a steak sandwich with fries or a crab BLT and drinks. Dinner at Ruths Chris doesnt require a reservation but they are recommended. There is a standard of dress expected. No suit jacket is necessary, though; Ruths Chris is not a stuffy environment, said marketing manager Charlotte Desselle-Farley. Its just dress nice,' she said. Nice jeans? Come in. Starting Monday, May 23, the restaurant will be open for dinner nightly. It will not have lunch but can accommodate daytime group events. The phone number is 884-3350. Winners of the 2016 Effie UK programme were revealed last night at the inaugural Effie Awards ceremony in London. Since 1968, the Effie Awards have honoured marketing ideas that work, and now celebrate marketing effectiveness in more than 40 markets globally. The 2016 competition marks the arrival of Effies in the UK. All 2016 UK finalists were celebrated at BAFTA in London, with 11 of them taking away hardware. MullenLowe Group was named the Agency Network of the Year, earning awards for all three of their shortlisted campaigns a Silver for The Electoral Commission (with MEC UK) and both a Silver and a Gold for The MicroLoan Foundation. Other top honours earning Gold went to Three, Wieden+Kennedy and Mindshares Sorry for the #holidayspam; John Lewis and adam&eveDDBs Monty the Penguin and NSPCC, Leo Burnett and OMDs How the NSPCC changed the law. Additional winning brands included Kenco, Currys PC World, McVities, Sixt Rent a Car, and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. UK entries were rigorously evaluated by industry leaders over two rounds of judging. The finalists and winners truly deserve their accolades, because to be recognised as a finalist or a winner in the UK, a market-leader in effectiveness, is a huge achievement. All these teams should be extremely proud of their accomplishments, commented Alistair Macrow, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of McDonalds UK, and the Jury Chair for the 2016 Effie Awards UK competition. We are thrilled with how the UK ad industry has embraced the Effies. Our inaugural programme has been well received and, with the support of our very active IAA UK Chapter, we look forward to cementing the Effie Awards as champions of effectiveness in the UK, stated Felix Tataru, IAA Chairman and World President-Elect, under whose leadership the International Advertising Association organises Effies in the UK. Last night also saw the recognition for the 2016 Global Effie finalists and winners. Top Global winners were TBWAMedia Arts Lab and OMD for Apples iPhone World Gallery (Gold), TBWAChiatDay and Starcom for Airbnbs Never a Stranger campaign (Silver) and Grey NY and Procter & Gamble for Febreze/Ambi Purs The World Goes Noseblind campaign (Bronze). John OKeefe, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer at London-based WPP accepted a special recognition on behalf of the company for being ranked the #1 Most Effective Holding Company globally for the past five years in the Effie Effectiveness Index. In presenting the accolade, Effie Worldwide President and CEO Neal Davies said, The UK is a leading voice in the quest for effectiveness on a global stage and thats exemplified by London-based WPP topping the Index for the fifth time. To be awarded Most Effective Holding Company is a pinnacle in itself: to do it five years running sends a clear message to the worldwide business community about creating ideas that work. All of the 2016 UK and Global Effie finalists and winners will receive points towards their ranking in the Effie Index. Malta's national flag carrier, Air Malta, has appointed Flight Directors as its trade sales representatives in the UK in order to promote the airline as the best way to travel to the popular Mediterranean islands. This summer Air Malta will operate 30 flights a week between the UK and Malta from airports across the country, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Exeter, Bristol and Cardiff. Joaquin Cabbie (above) - who went on a personal familiarisation trip to the airline's headquarters in Luqa, Malta earlier this month - has recently joined Flight Directors and will be responsible for promoting Air Malta in London and the South of England. We are delighted to be working with Air Malta on this sales initiative, said Vikki Joyce, Head Of Sales for Flight Directors. The Maltese Islands are very popular destinations for British Tourists. The sun shines more than 300 days a year, there are ancient archaeological sites that pre-date the pyramids in Egypt, and it is a very safe destination. As with all the airlines we represent, we will be organising special agent familiarisation trips, so that agents can experience for themselves the warmth of the island and the friendliness of Air Malta service." Ursula Silling, Air Maltas Chief Commercial Officer added: "Air Malta is delighted to appoint Vikki and her team of sales professionals to promote our services throughout the UK. We have a great summer programme to promote and we're looking to extend our role as the airline of choice to the Maltese Islands that includes establishing the islands as a preferred year-round destination served by a strong schedule of winter flights. From balmy beaches and trendy nightclubs, to magnificent ancient monuments and a stunning legacy of centuries old art and culture, Malta has something for everyone to enjoy and is a little treasure at the heart of the Mediterranean." Growing airline sales organisation, Flight Directors, has been established for over 30 years and has extensive experience in the representation of scheduled airlines from around the world. As from May, Flight Directors is responsible for providing extensive field sales services to Air Malta, spearheading a personal-visit sales campaign; building on existing trade relationships and increasing ticket revenue from new agencies and operators keen to share in the upswing of demand for holidays in Malta. Joaquin Cabbie (above) - who went on a personal familiarisation trip to the airline's headquarters in Luqa, Malta earlier this month - has recently joined Flight Directors and will be responsible for promoting Air Malta in London and the South of England. The Air Force revised its utility allowance policy May 18 to ensure quality on-base housing for military families and continue to cover utility costs for the average energy consumer.For new tenants, the revised policy for the majority of residents will now be calculated using monthly meter readings instead of a five-year average with a 10-percent buffer the previous policy used. Current occupants will remain grandfathered in the old system for one year.Under the former policy, military privatized housing projects spent hundreds of thousands of dollars annually on rebates that went to residents whose actual energy consumption rates were above average, said Jennifer Miller, the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations.This meant, Air Force-wide, privatized housing income went toward above-average rebates each year diverting funds from key program features, like maintenance support, housing modernization and community amenities.Under the new policy, the utility allowance will still be determined by the average consumption rates of homes assembled in like-type groups at every installation, and will still be carved out of basic allowance for housing (BAH). The new policy still supports the rebate system. However, the rebates will only go to those users who fall below the average user rate and a bill will be generated for users who exceed the average user rate.The Air Force estimates 75 percent of residents will be within $8 of the allowance.The new policy empowers residents in privatized housing to manage their energy consumption, much like their off-base counterparts, and rewards those who are more energy conscious, Miller said. The intent has always been to promote energy conservation by rewarding residents with less-than-average energy consumption through rebates. The new policy allows the Air Force to better meet that intent.Live billing is when a resident has an identified utility allowance and pays for their utilities to either the project owner or directly to a third-party utility company, depending on the project. Mock billing is when the resident has a proposed utility allowance and has a set period of time to acclimate to the new process of paying directly for the utilities, but does not yet actually pay for their utilities until live billing starts.Implementation of the new policy will occur in stages with bases already in live-billing status starting first. Bases not yet in live billing will first enter into a mock-billing cycle, allowing residents the opportunity to assess their energy consumption, understand the billing system, and alter routines if they choose.The housing privatization program uses private sector financing and expertise to provide necessary housing faster and more efficiently than traditional military construction processes. With more than $8 billion invested by both the private sector and government contributions, project owners rely solely on BAH income to support all construction, renovation, and maintenance and operation costs for the duration of each 50-year development agreement.Everything we do has a ripple effect, said Robert Moriarty, the director of Air Force Civil Engineer Centers Installations Directorate. The old policy rewarded higher-than-average utility use and that wasnt sustainable because it diverted funds from long-term maintenance and repair or replacement of the homes.The multi-decade housing deals must remain financially stable for the Air Force to continue providing quality housing for present and future generations of Airmen, Moriarty said.For more information on the Air Forces Housing Privatization Program, click here The Air Force will apply new Environmental Protection Agency guidance for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) to its ongoing effort to determine if water supplies at its U.S. installations and in local communities are at risk for contamination.The Air Force has been following a 2009 EPA issued short-term provisional health advisory level for PFOA at 400 parts per trillion and 200 ppt for PFOS. On May 19, the EPA released new lifetime exposure health advisories for PFOS at 70 ppt and for PFOA at 70 ppt, which the service will apply.Protecting human health is our priority, said Mark Correll, the deputy assistant Air Force secretary for environment, safety and infrastructure. When theres a potential our missions are having, or may have had, an adverse impact on communities, we take appropriate measures to protect it.The EPA defines PFCs as a diverse group of compounds, consisting of PFOA and PFOS, resistant to heat, water and oil. These man-made compounds, used in many industrial and consumer products, arent known to degrade naturally and persist in the environment.Aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), a firefighting agent used by the Air Force and other Defense Department and civilian agencies to combat petroleum-based fires, contains both PFOA and PFOS.In response to PFCs and other emerging contaminants, the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, the agency responsible for environmental management and response across the Air Force enterprise, established a program to systematically identify potential releases, respond to drinking water contamination and prevent future contamination.The first step in the process is identifying where the firefighting foam may have been released from preliminary assessments. The second step is prioritizing the site investigations based on environmental risk factors that could indicate potential drinking water contamination, such as groundwater depth, offsite migration or a reasonable pathway to drinking water sources.Currently, the Air Force has tested for PFCs at 30 bases, with 202 homes showing levels above the new EPAs health advisory. AFCEC will continue to reevaluate completed assessments using the revised health advisory levels as part of a continuous process.Initial assessments, and if necessary, subsequent site investigations allow the Air Force to prioritize sites where drinking water sources and human health are at risk, requiring future Air Force action. If a drinking a water source shows PFC concentrations below the new EPA health advisory levels, the Air Force will continue to monitor the situation.Where we find PFCs in drinking water supplies where our actions have caused contamination we will immediately notify and provide alternative drinking water supplies, Correll said.The Air Force is finalizing plans to replace existing AFFF inventories with recently-approved alternatives that are more environmentally sound but still provide adequate protection. To prevent the future release of PFCs, Correll said the Air Force is limiting the use of AFFF to emergency responses to protect people and high-value assets.In events where we have to use AFFF, it will be cleaned up immediately to prohibit negative impacts to the environment, he said.For more information on the Air Forces response to PFCs, click here Hillary Clinton has asserted she will emerge as the US presidential nominee from the Democratic camp as she hit out at her Republican rival Donald Trump for his dangerous rhetoric including a ban on Muslims, saying the billionaire is unfit to lead the country. I will be the nominee for my party. That is already done in effect. There is no way that I wont be, Clinton told CNN. The 68-year-old former secretary of state is yet to reach the magic number of 2,383 delegates but with 2,293 delegates already in her kitty, she has a lead comfortable enough that she could lose all the states left to vote by a landslide and still emerge as the Democratic nominee to face Trump. This is so long as all her supporters among the party insiders known as super delegates continue to back her. I am confident. Well, in part from my own experience, you know? she said when asked where from she was getting the confidence. I went all the way to the end against then Senator (Barack) Obama. I won nine out of the last 12 contests. Back in 2008 I won Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, so I know the intense feelings that arise, particularly among your supporters as you go toward the end. But, we both were following the same rules, just as both Senator Sanders and I are following the same rules, she said about the contest with her sole primary rival Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. When asked if she thinks Trump is qualified to be the US president, Clinton said: No, I do not. I think in this past week, whether its attacking Great Britain, praising the leader of North Korea a despotic dictator who has nuclear weapons, whether it is saying pull out of NATO, let other countries have nuclear weapons, the kinds of positions he is stating, and the consequences of those positions, and even the consequences of his statements are not just offensive to people, they are potentially dangerous, Clinton said in the interview yesterday. She said Trump says a lot of things that are provocative that actually make the important task of bringing everybody to the table and defeating terrorism more difficult. For example, when he says bar all Muslims from coming to the United States that sends a signal to majority Muslim nations, many of whom we have to work with in order to defeat terrorism, some of whom are already among our strongest allies in this fight it sends a message of disrespect, and it sends a message that makes a situation inside those countries more difficult for them to call all-in the way we need them to go all-in, said Clinton. A key operative of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) was on Friday arrested from Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi by National Investigating Agency (NIA). Abdul Wahid Siddibapa, a resident of Bhatkal in Karnataka, was held after his arrival from Dubai, NIA officials said. He was based in Dubai and was allegedly recruiting people for IM to carry out terror activities in India. He has allegedly funded the outfits activities from there, they said. Abdul is wanted in a case pertaining to a conspiracy by IM to attack various places in India. He was held on the basis of a warrant of arrest and a Red Corner Notice already issued against him, the officials said. He was wanted in a case pertaining to conspiracy by Indian Mujahideen to attack various places in India. He was based in Dubai and had been involved in recruitment for IM and also funded their activities from Dubai, said an NIA official. A warrant of arrest and a red corner notice had been issued against him and he was arrested on its basis, said the official. Wahid was wanted for his alleged involvement in the July 2006 Mumbai serial blasts, the 2008 Delhi blasts and the 2010 Chinnaswamy Stadium blasts in Bangalore, according to an Interpol red corner notice. According to the dossier on Wahid with Indian agencies, the 32-year-old terror suspect Wahid is alleged to have routed money sent by Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal using banking channels and Western Union Money Transfer ahead of blasts in India. The results of Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal, polls have proved that Indian voters have indeed come of age and become more intelligent. Voters cannot be taken for granted anymore as no amount of antics, promises, or false propaganda and allegations will deter people from making a right choice when it comes to exercising their franchise. The Congress has been routed and thrown out from four states. Now I will undertake an analysis of assembly poll results. The BJP must be pleased with the election results for winning convincingly in Assam and making in-roads in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Though, I am not very happy with Mamata Banerjee retaining power despite large scale scams, communal violence, devaluation of secularism, pampering of minority community and Bangladeshi migrants but West Bengal residents had no other option. They had to make a choice between Mamatas Trinamool Congress or the Left. In a way, its a consolation too, that Left party leaders like Yetchury, Raja, Karat have been decimated and shown the exit door. They have always proved to be an impediment to the nations progress. Mamata, with practically no opposition in the assembly, will have to adopt a cooperative attitude with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for developing the state! On the other hand, Jayalalithaa has her work cut out. I am however happy that leaders like Captain Vijayakanth, Vaiko have been made to hide their faces and lick their wounds. Its better if they quit politics forever! For the first time ever, the Tamil Nadu voter has also voted in favour of a strong opposition. Voters have given Amma another chance as DMK will keep a watch on her performance. Jayalalithaa may have to take a very cautious approach and provide good governance. Else the strong opposition party DMK will give her a testing time. Besides, it needs to be seen, how Amma will implement those very generously announced freebies schemes. In Kerala, BJP has opened its account for the first time. Violence and all other socio-economic problems will increase due to lack of funds, internal conflicts and obsolete ideology under CPI (M) rule and they will be decimated in the next assembly election! UDF has won mainly in constituencies that have good Muslim representation. In states like Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, traditionally, people have had no third choice. Either they chose evil party no 1 or the next contender. They then vote the ruling party out of office the next time. Residents of these states have never mustered enough courage to elect a better alternative national party. Perhaps, with the BJP making in-roads in these states, with good share of votes, to begin with, this time, the people may watch the performances of the current government and chose better alternative the next time. But, kudos to the voters of Assam for ending the 15-year rule of the Congress and giving proper mandate to the BJP. The outcome of the assembly polls is likely to increase the strength of the BJP in Rajya Sabha as import bills will be cleared. Mamata Banerjee has already promised to support the passage of the long overdue GST bill. Now its high time for the Congress to introspect. With repeated defeats and many scams being unveiled it will not be easy for the party to revive itself. The newly elected governments also have a tough job to provide good governance and work truly for the welfare of the people. If the legislators of these states are found indulging in corruption and scams then they will be shown the door in the next election. S. Krishna Kumar (The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.) I am very happy to see that Amma and Didi retained power and both the leaders emerged victorious inspite of all odds. However, they back in power because of their good work towards people. These regional parties are hinting indirectly that they dont want the help of National parties like Congress and BJP to form a government. They are the lone crusaders. Jayalalitha has borne the responsibility to march AIADMK towards the path of victory. She has rewritten the history of Tamil Nadu politics. Her welfare policies like Amma canteens, Amma pharmacies, Amma Water, Amma vegetable markets and anything associated with Amma continues to be successfully implemented. She could connect with the common people and not only won their confidence but also gave them assurance that they will be taken care of. The subsidy price at which everything is being available for the middle-class and lower middle-class made her popular among the masses. In fact, no other state in India or the earlier regime of DMK had ever given a thought of these types of subsidized welfare schemes. During her tenure, she has bought transparency in the recruitment of schoolteachers and Assistant Professors in Arts and Science colleges through TRB. Whereas in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress has registered its best performance ever. The party has not only retained its traditional stronghold in the southern part of the State, where it has been winning local elections for a decade, but has increased its tally in the northern parts too. Moreover, for the first time in a State-level election, the party independently polled nearly 45 per cent of the votes. In the 2011 Assembly elections, the Trinamool bagged 38.93 per cent in an alliance with the Congress and in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, fighting independently, the party polled 39.77 per cent votes. The party was ahead in 214 Assembly segments in 2014 and bagged 184 seats in 2011. Results indicate that only the Left Front share has dropped sharply, while both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party gained, besides the ruling party. While the BJPs share dropped from 17 per cent in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls to a little over 10 per cent, the party has gained in seats and percentage from the 2011 Assembly elections. The Congresss share, hovering around 10 per cent since the formation of the Trinamool two decades ago, has reached over 12 per cent. The grand old party has bagged 42 seats as in 2011. Precisely why the party chief in the State, Trinamool won from Lefts constituencies, rather than from the Congress-controlled seats; the Lefts loss is the Trinamools gain. Didi actually wiped-out left from West Bengal. Her people trust her and she has actually brought change in the state. Mamata and Jayalalithaa are Iron Lady of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu respectively. The Jayalalithas conditions during the campaign would make anybody mad. However, she stood up with a fighting spirit and announced freebies in manifesto, which works to say the least. However, she can bring changes by correcting her rank as a standard leader. She must stop her first person projection in all her statements. She must stop her partys MLAs from wasting the public money by singing her praise. It is nauseating for the public ear. That would make Amma and her party more decent. The opposition must be given its due for debate. These are all very simple steps with far reaching positive consequences. Even people have given incumbent AIADMK government another chance, which is needed to close all existing schemes, and newly announced ones. Overall, Amma is a good choice! The DMK chief for his own reasons chose to carry the water soaked sand bag of Congress in his old shoulders. That load weighed him down. If as reported in some sections, as Stalin wanted, the DMK had gone alone without Congress, the results could have been better for the party. Kalaignar will have to rue for a second time, the effects of Koodaa Natpu even though his party is not a paragon of virtues. Even though, these are state assembly elections, better informed voters in all the five states, have expressed their anger against the Congress party for its infamous record of scams followed by organized disruptions in the Rajya Sabha sabotaging the legislative business due to loss of valuable man hours. Rahuls promise to work hard to win the confidence of the people is to be seen as admission that the Congress party has lost the confidence of the people. Congress needs a facelift and strong leadership; else party will lose its foothold. A corruption mukt Congress is what Indian democracy needs now. However, the BJP victory in Assam and relative victory reminds me of Arvind Kejriwal defeating age old Chief Minister Sheila Dixit of Delhi. When people look for change, they vote for less devil among them. Assam too was overboard with old man Tarun Gogoi, on state level they had no other option to choose besides BJP. Modi and BJP celebrated the partys victory forgetting losses in other states. Anyway, they have not won in Assam on their merits. Its an anger against Congress party and the promises that Modi made, gave them a chance here. Whatever may be the outcome still 20 per cent of Indian map shows the existence of Congress. Further, UP elections are ahead and there too Mayawati is strong this time. In short, the woman power is blooming in all corners. Lets see, India will be saffronised or still they will hang on to Congress Mukt Bharat. (Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com) But, as host, Senator and Doctor Richard Pan couldn't have guessed he'd confront these words on a protester's sign: "Senator Pan encourages hate speech." SACRAMENTO -- It was meant to be an evening all about words -- a forum on how hate speech damages society. "When you talk about hate speech, it's a very interesting thing for him to be talking about because when you go to his Facebook page, um, you see really hateful comments, people saying they're going to kill our children in front of us," said Kim McCauley. And these hateful comments have been up on Pan's Facebook page for months, according to protesters. Fox40 didn't make this a debate over vaccines and autism. They made the issue the unfair and hateful comments made about parents who question forced vaccination in California. Fox40 actually confronted the senator about his questionable actions for someone hosting a forum on hate speech. FOX40 asked Senator Pan about some of the comments living in threads on his page. After a long pause he said, "Extremist speech is concerning." "Trying to patrol the social media accounts, if you've ever tried doing that, is very challenging." What Fox40 also did here was wake up viewers to the reality of vaccine injury. Several children were mentioned in the coverage. "My oldest daughter Ella was injured by the Prevnar vaccine," said McCauley, a mom who supports choice in vaccinations. She's suing the federal government through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program about the reactive airway disease Ella has now. "Vaccines are bad. They could get you paralyzed like I did," 7-year-old Otto Coleman shared from his wheelchair. "My son at 17-months-old, he had a vaccine injury. He has vaccine-induced transverse myelitis. So, vaccines are reprogramming your immune system. Well his immune system got confused, attacked his spinal cord and did permanent damage," said Coleman, another parent for choice in vaccination. Senator Pan comes out of this looking like a hypocrite. In a related piece, also on May 18, "Senator Pan Hosts Forum on Hate Speech and Its Effects on Society," we read this about the discussion: More than a hundred people came out to the California Railroad Museum Wednesday to discuss how speech that seeks to exclude and inflame could lead to punishing national policies. Hate speech could lead to other things besides "punishing national policies. It would seem that allowing comments about killing the children of parents who want vaccine choice would fall under inflammatory speech. Pan should probably start on his own Facebook page. And while it may be "challenging" to moderate social media, Pan could pay someone to do that out of the nearly $100,000 in pharma money he received during 2013-2014, as reported in the Sacramento Bee in June, 2015. Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism. When I was growing up, I never heard about anyone who was nonverbal. When I was in college studying to be a teacher, I was never told about potential students who might be nonverbal. The mom reminds me of so many tireless mothers who will do everything to get what their children need in life. This trailer for the new ABC pilot "Speechless" hits home for so many parents in the autism community. This upcoming show is about a family with a severely disabled, nonverbal child. When I was first out in school systems in Wisconsin and Illinois (and in England), I still didnt come across students who couldnt communicate normally. Of course, that was thirty years ago. My how times have changed! Today, I spend time in different schools in my little town of 14,000. I have students who are officially nonverbal. We accept this as a condition of childhood today. (Of course, no one asks where the nonverbal adults are.) Three years ago, I wrote this story about how we have all become used to hearing about children who are nonverbal. Experts tell us 25 percent of ASD children are officially nonverbal. That doesnt bother health officials who also tell us that one in every 45 children in America has autism. That means of course that there are a lot of kids who cant talk. (My son didnt speak normally until he was almost four. I had him in speech therapy when he was two because he didnt talk.) In the end, Im happy about a show that makes a star of a young man with a severe disability. I can only imagine how wonderful it is for Micah Fowler and his family to have him doing this. Maybe this show will educate people about what parents of special needs kids struggle with everyday. There is another part of me that worries about a show that presents a really disabled, non-speaking individual as a normal and acceptable part of childhood. Ive heard hundreds of accounts over the years of kids who were perfectly healthy, happy, thriving little toddlers, and who inexplicably lost learned skillsincluding SPEECH, and ended up with the labels of autistic and nonverbal. My son is 29 now. He speaks very well (probably thanks to all the endless hours of speech therapy my husbands insurance paid for back when he was little), but he doesnt have a job, and I cant imagine him living independently. My biggest fear is that as more and more of our children age into adulthood, their disability will be accepted as a part of the human condition, and we wont remember a world without people who cant speak, cant learn, and cant function normally. People with deviant behaviors will be recognized and anyone who points out that it hasnt always been this way will be slammed as insensitive. Acceptance of this disabled population may sound like a good thing, but in truth it merely means that we dont have to do anything about the growing number of sick and disabled children and young adults everywhere. We just have to get used to all ages being like this. This is the new America. Web Toolbar by Wibiya Known for aggressive controversial rhetoric, Donald Trump, feeling sure of not just the Republican nomination but also becoming the next president of US super power to control the world, has made a major policy statement as he vowed to improve relations with Russia and China if elected US president. This is important as it is the only positive rhetoric he has ever made during his entire campaign for presidency. After the bogus terror wars launched following the Sept -11 hoax to destabilize Arab nations and Afghanistan, by republican Bush Sr. and Jr. and accelerated by democratic Barack Obama, targeting Muslim nations, resources therein, Muslims and Islam, now Americans are clearly heading towards another tragedy - the rise of a monstrous Republican presidential aspirant Trump who has declared he would cause more calamities to the humanity if elected to White House. Controversial rhetoric Donald Trump, who courted global controversy with remarks on "temporarily" banning Muslims from entering the US, today appeared to be slightly softening his hardline stance saying the proposal was "just a suggestion" until the issue is worked out. Trump said he would grant exemption to the Pakistani- origin mayor to come to the US under his presidency though he was critical of Khan who won the Mayoral poll of London u in UK, by defeating the opponents who spread Islamophobia to make the voters hate Khan and Islam. Trump had called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the USA. While he says there is Islamic radical terrorism all over the world right now, he does not admit the cause of terrorism and who is using the misguided so-called Muslims for terror exercises. Trump had called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States An interview to CNN, Khan joined the issue with him saying: "My message to Donald Trump and his team is that your views of Islam are ignorant. It is possible to be a Muslim and live in the West. It is possible to be a Muslim and love America". Trumps anti-Muslim rhetoric seems to have worked miracle among the republican voters who see him as a powerful trump card against Islam to save Bush-Obama co from any possible punishments for their cumulative crimes against humanity in Mideast. His persistent calls to bar Muslims from entering the United States are welcome by every fanatic American with anti-Islam mindset. And, the trend clearly shows he is almost at the White House a s per the hidden agenda of imperialist policymakers in Washington wanting the next president also to dutifully continue to advance US global interests by showcasing advanced militarism to advance imperialist-capitalist objectives globally. Trump seems to be sure of presidential chances as he is in control of poll campaign to emerge as Republican candidate and he is trying to make amendments to his arrogant polemics. . In a major shift in rhetoric, a strong New York billionaire and Republican front-runner Donald Trump vowed to seek better relations with Russia and China if elected president in November and said he would make US allies bear more of the financial burden for their defense. In a major speech, Trump delivered a withering critique of Barack Obama's foreign policy, saying the Democratic president has let China take advantage of the United States and has failed to defeat Islamic State militants. He pledged to "shake the rust off America's foreign policy." Earlier Donald Trump annoyed all NATO members in Europe with his 'America first' slogan. Trump's first major foreign policy address alarmed American allies, who view the Republican front runner's repeated invocation of an "America first" agenda as a threat to retreat from the world, leaving Europe to its own fate. While most governments were careful not to comment publicly on a speech by a US presidential candidate, Germany's foreign minister veered from that protocol to express concern at Trump's wording. "I can only hope that the election campaign in the USA does not lack the perception of reality," Frank-Walter Steinmeier said. "The world's security architecture has changed and it is no longer based on two pillars alone. It cannot be conducted unilaterally," he said of foreign policy in a post-Cold War world. "No American president can get round this change in the international security architecture.... 'America first' is actually no answer to that." Carl Bildt, a former Swedish prime minister and foreign minister who served as UN envoy to the Balkans in the aftermath of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, said he heard Trump's speech as "abandoning both democratic allies and even democratic values". "Trump had not a word against Russian aggression in Ukraine, but plenty against past US support for democracy in Egypt," Bildt said, referring to lines from Trump's speech that criticized the Barack Obama administration for withdrawing support for autocrat Hosni Mubarak during a 2011 uprising. Trump's speech, uncharacteristically read out from a teleprompter, seemed aimed at showing a more serious side of a politician who has said he intends to act more "presidential" after months of speaking mainly off the cuff. He promised "a disciplined, deliberate and consistent foreign policy" in contrast to the "reckless, rudderless and aimless" policies of Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump's likely Democratic opponent if he secures the Republican nomination. The speech included no dramatic new policy proposals that might generate headlines, such as his past calls to bar Muslims from entering the United States or to build a wall on the frontier with Mexico. Rhetoric shift As he is gaining in self confidence, Trump has begun talking some sense for the first time the campaign. He questions the exploitative tactics of attacking the NATO members and also supportive Russia and China- the first time an American leader has done it. Trump, a real estate magnate, spoke about new relations with Russia and China the day after victories in five Northeastern states that moved him closer to capturing the Republican Party presidential nomination for the Nov. 8 election. With USA-Russia relations strained over numerous issues including Moscow's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Trump said an easing of tensions with Russia from a position of strength is possible. Interestingly, Trump said he would use US economic leverage to persuade China to rein in North Korea's nuclear program. He says China respects strength and by letting them take advantage of us economically we have lost all their respect and he would call separate summits of NATO and Asian allies to discuss a rebalancing of the US financial commitment to their defense. Trump also turned against the NATO allies for exploiting their leader USA to their advantage. He was stern in charging that American allies have benefited from a US defense umbrella to protect from any possible Russian aggression but have not paid their fair share. "The countries we defend must pay for the cost of this defense. If not, the USA must be prepared to let these countries defend themselves. We have no choice, we cant go on feeding them" Trump said. Trump, also a reality TV star, has never held elected office and has built support - particularly among white working class voters - with a no-nonsense style and populist pledges to "make America great again." He set aside his rancorous campaign rhetoric for his address on foreign policy. Trump usually speaks in an off-the-cuff manner, but he delivered FP speech with the aid of a teleprompter as he sought to make himself appealing to more Republican voters. Where he was specific, like rejecting the terms of last year's nuclear deal with Iran, calling for more investment in missile defense in Europe and accusing the Obama administration of tepid support for Israel, he was firmly within the Republican mainstream. A major theme -- that more NATO allies should spend at least 2 percent of their economic output on defense -- is one that has also been taken up by the Obama administration itself, including repeatedly during the president's visit to Europe last week. Nevertheless, Trump's rhetoric raised alarm in allied countries that still rely on the superpower for defense, particularly the phrase "America first", used in the 1930s by isolationists that sought to keep the United States out of World War Two. Former South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Sung-han, who now teaches at the Korea University in Seoul, said Trump would be "the first isolationist to be US presidential candidate, while in the post-war era all the US presidents have been to varying degrees internationalists. Saying the USA will no longer engage in anything that is a burden in terms of its relationships with allies, it would be almost like abandoning those alliances," he said. It will inevitably give rise to anti-American sentiment worldwide and the speech suggests Trump would make Americas allies less secure rather than more. He talked about allies being confident but all of his rhetoric suggested that America should be unpredictable and that Americas allies needed to stand up for themselves. Americas allies are now less secure rather than more. Trump talked about allies being confident but all of his rhetoric suggested that America should be unpredictable and that Americas allies needed to stand up for themselves. Linking foreign policy with economy Donald Trump wants to take care of US economy and protect it from being misused for the protection of other countries. In his run for the White House, Trump has threatened to slap tariffs on imports from China, in almost-certain violation of international rules. He has threatened to confiscate money that immigrants from Mexico wire home to their families, in order to force the Mexican government to pay for a border wall. This week, he suggested that, in an economic crisis, the government might repay only some of the money it owes to certain holders of its debt. Those threats reflect an economic philosophy that is at odds with the traditional economic belief that markets cannot function well outside the rule of law. America has built 200 years of prosperity on a foundation of people agreeing to rules in business transactions, and then sticking to them. Trump appears willing to break those rules in the name of cutting better "deals" for American workers. Trump's pledge to take extraordinary steps to help left-behind American workers has powered his campaign and made him the presumptive Republican nominee. But he has worried many economists, on the right and the left, who warn that breaking laws and commitments could undermine America's credibility with trading partners, raise its borrowing costs and potentially spark global financial panic. The debt issue, which Trump raised repeatedly, but hazily, this week, especially troubles economists. Trump suggested in interviews Thursday that he would be open to a form of renegotiating the bonds issued by the government to fund deficit spending. Bondholders expect to be paid the value promised by the bond they purchased; Trump seemed to indicate that he might attempt to compel bondholders to accept a lower value. The mere suggestion that holders of U.S. Treasury might not be paid in full -- a practice sometimes referred to as "haircutting" for bondholders -- would be "insane" for Trump to make as president. It would lead to a financial crisis larger than 2008 if they went and haircutted US Treasury, which is supposed to be the safest asset in the world. If one person agrees to buy a pizza from a second person at a set price, the buyer needs assurances that the pizza will arrive. If it doesn't, and the seller takes her money anyway, the buyer needs to be able to do something to get her money back. The legal system provides those assurances. Several economists said Trump sees markets differently, more in line with his career in commercial real estate. In that view, transactions are "deals," typically with a winner on one side and a loser on the other. Trump's own real estate career suggests the rules that govern those deals are often negotiable; lending terms can be renegotiated when a borrower is close to default, for example. Nations, though, are not real estate moguls. Countries that default or come close to defaulting on their debt, such as Greece, are punished by lenders with much higher borrowing costs for future loans. Countries that agree to the World Trade Organizations rules for trade, and then break them, can be penalized harshly. Such would very likely be the case if the United States levies the sort of tariffs Trump has threatened. Perhaps most importantly, at a time when companies are increasingly able to spread their cash around the world, the rule of law is one of America's great remaining advantages over rivals such as China and Russia. The consensus of modern growth economics is that property rights, rule of law, good institutions are more important than you might even think to keep growth going. The difference between the United States and a lot of much poorer countries comes down to things like; can you do a zoning change without bribing the guy? Legal limitations give companies faith that they can invest and create jobs in America. Holtz-Eakin said that, after the fall of communism in Europe a quarter-century ago, the countries that installed credible laws and government institutions were the ones that attracted the most investment and growth. He worried that Trump's threats could destroy such credibility -- and backfire on Trump's presidency. Observation Like Trump getting ready to become republican candidate, in the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton, 68, won most of the contests, building a virtually insurmountable lead over rival Bernie Sanders, a 74-year-old US senator from Vermont, who vowed to keep fighting until the July convention. Trump and Clinton are set to face each other to begin the race for the White house and who will reach the target first would not be known until the elections are held. The highly powerful power brokers will play pivotal role in determining the best choice for the US capitalism, Zionism and imperialism. It is, however, makes no difference who win the presidential poll because as irrespective of who wins the presidency, the new incumbent at White House would advance only Americo-Israeli joint interest globally that includes shielding the Zionist crimes against humanity as part of defending the crimes committed against humanity jointly by the leaders of USA and Europe, Australia, etc. If one thinks as a woman with a charming daughter Mrs. Clinton would be kind to humanity and wind down all terror wars and withdraw all forces from foreign soil, they are mistaken. She has already declared USA would stand solid behind fascist Israel and shield all its crimes against humanity. She does not have a word of condemnation against Israeli murder of even Palestinian women and children What Trump has said thus far cannot be taken seriously as he has been only trying get fanatic Americans to support the Republican Party. As the real president Trump would be different as he will have to follow the traditions of US presidency. Web Toolbar by Wibiya Date: 15 May, 2016. Place: State of New South Wales, Australia. In recent times, the number of unidentified flying objects crossing the skies of the Australian Federation has increased very quickly, especially in the state of New South Wales. For example, on 06 May, YouTube user Anna Toth uploaded a video which shows an alleged rounded shaped UFO moving near a passenger airplane. In that recording, it is possible to see a brilliant sphere crossing the planes trajectory at very high speed. Then, a few days later, specifically on 15 May, YouTube user and UFO enthusiast SecureTeam10 published a video about an unknown object speeding from the sea towards Australia. Using a flight tracker application, this person realised that the object would move over 100 times faster than any other plane. Scott C. Waring, from UFO Sightings Daily is of the opinion that this UFO may not be alien at all. This could be a secret project that is headed by Bigelow Aerospace, which is an agency created by the United States government to make things like the TR3B, the Aurora Project, the Needles California blue UFO that crashed that was recovered by Janet planes and scientists, among other incidents, Mr Waring stated. Draw your own conclusions For further information: http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/2016/05/confirmed-ufo-caught-speeding-toward.html Confirmed! UFO Caught SPEEDING Toward Australia From Sea! 5/17/16 Video, UFO Sighting News. Date of sighting: May 15, 2016 Location of sighting: New South Wales, Ocean and Australia This guy was watching a flight tracking radar using a cell phone app and caught a UFO shooting across the ocean in a straight line and 100X times the normal speed. This is a great report by SecurityTeam10 of Youtube. This UFO may not be alien at all. This could be a secret project that is headed by Bigelow Aerospace. Thats an area of the govt that is paid to make things like the TR3B, the Aurora Project, the Needles California blue UFO that crashed that was recovered by Janet planes and scientists...you know where I going with this. Its ours...probably. Email or Tweet to Bigelow Aerospace and ask. Scott C. Waring www.ufosightingsdaily.com IDC Applauds Congressional Support for Self Defense and Restoration of Iraqi Minorities On May 19, 2016, IDC President Toufic Baaklini made the following statement: Yesterday evening the House of Representatives passed two amendments to the F.Y. 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to support Iraqi minorities including Christians. The first amendment "[e]xpresses the Sense of Congress that safe areas should be secured for the resettlement and reintegration of indigenous ethnic and religious minorities, including victims of genocide, into their homelands," which advances U.S. security interests in the region. The second amendment "[e]mpowers local security forces in Iraq--including ethnic and religious minority groups--to deter, hold, or roll back" ISIS. These local security forces include Christian (Assyrian Chaldean Syriac) and Yezidi groups. IDC applauds Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) who introduced both amendments. "IDC believes that the restoration of indigenous religious and ethnic minority communities to their ancient homelands should be a priority for the United States and the international community," said IDC President Toufic Baaklini. "As ISIS is driven back in Nineveh Province, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Yezidis, and other groups must be restored to their historic lands on the Nineveh Plain." "While Iraq has been torn apart by sectarian violence, Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac, Yezidi, and other communities of Nineveh have lived in peace," said Baaklini. "This is a model for pluralism in Iraq and the region. IDC therefore calls for greater local governance, self-determination, and self-defense. This should occur within the existing political framework. Moreover, they are fundamental rights, which we believe are supported by the overwhelming majority of Americans." Baaklini continued: "IDC demands that the fundamental rights of the Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac, Yezidi, Turkmen, and other distinct communities be guaranteed by regional and national governments and by the U.S. and the international community. Securing safe areas, including the Nineveh Plain, for purposes of restoring and reintegrating ethnic and religious minorities, including victims of genocide, into their homelands, is a critical component of a safe, secure, and sovereign Iraq. These groups should also be able to provide for their own self-defense." IDC supports arming those entities in Iraq that will defeat ISIS without worsening sectarian conflict or threatening the fundamental rights of vulnerable communities. American assistance should be conditioned upon a continuing, demonstrated commitment by national and regional governments to the dignity, self-determination, and special autonomy of religious and ethnic minorities, particularly those indigenous peoples of the Nineveh Plain. Reduce U.S. Casualties By Arming Iraq's Minorities The recent death of Navy SEAL ?Charles Keating after Islamic State terrorists ?burst through Kurdish defenses exposes a serious flaw in the US military's anti-ISIL campaign? that leaves our soldiers unsafe?: the needless exclusion of thousands of Iraq's non-Muslim soldiers from our counter-ISIL campaign. The attack occurred northwest of ISIL's stronghold of Mosul in an area known as Nineveh Plain, home to the ancient Assyrian Christian community. Their main force, the Nineveh Plain Protection Units, counts thousands of recruits, but only 300 are mobilized due to lack of support from Baghdad. Even though the Assyrian force is legally integrated into Iraq defense apparatus, and therefore eligible for U.S. military aid, U.S. Commanders favor counting on Kurdish forces to hold the battle line around Mosul. But these are not Kurdish lands and their lack of familiarity with the terrain and increasing local hostility towards them makes this approach a tactical liability that risks further American lives. The rare good news is that the legal basis for directly extending U.S. military aid to the Assyrians and nearby Yezidis is already in place. The 2016 National Defense Authorization Act funding the multi-billion Iraq Train and Equip Fund ?commits the U.S. Government to provide defense articles, services, and related training to "Kurdish and tribal security forces and other local security forces." The NDAA's Joint Explanatory Statement defines local security forces as those "committed to protecting highly vulnerable ethnic and religious minority communities, such as Yezidis, Christian, Assyrian and Turkmen." After much delay U.S. military aid is finally reaching the Kurds and Sunni tribesmen. That is progress. But our military will not include Iraq's minorities despite their concentration around Mosul and obvious tactical military value to Iraqi and Coalition forces planning ISIL's final death knell. This policy makes no sense. General Najim Al Jibouri, the Iraqi commander of the Mosul operation, complains that "I have limited forces" and claims he needs thousands more to succeed. Meanwhile, thousands of strategically located Assyrians and Yazidis are ready to take back their ancient lands, but lack basic supplies, arms, and training that a cash-strapped Iraqi government is unable to provide. In contrast, thousands of well-armed, pro-Iranian Shia militia, not particularly known for their religious tolerance, are poised to "liberate" Mosul on their own. This is a recipe for disaster. ?Congress should demand that the Pentagon immediately train and equip Iraq's minorities as the NDAA allows. A U.S. training camp recently opened in nearby Makhmour military base, so there is no logistical excuse. Furthermore, it would be a concrete follow on to previous Congressional calls on the administration to declare ISIL guilty of carrying out genocide against Iraq's religious minorities, but which has seen no subsequent action since it did so on March 17th. But it is in post-ISIL political stability that extension of U.S. military aid to Iraq's minorities finds it most persuasive argument. Neither Baghdad nor Washington, DC has provided clear plans for redressing the deep sectarian grievances the day after ISIL is defeated. For many in the West tired of seemingly intractable Middle East conflicts partition along ethnic lines has become a quick fix. In Iraq, where no one agrees where those ethnic boundaries lie, partition would actually spark a Hobbesian war of all against all. ?Others call for the Kurds to serve as American proxy ground forces to destroy ISIL, but? ignore the explosive issue of internal territorial disputes between Kurds and Arabs that, to date, are barely suppressed by a common foe. Only last week dozens were killed in a Kurdish-Shia militia firefight. In addition, neither Yezidis nor Christians are apt to forget how the Kurds forcibly disarmed them before the ISIL onslaught, contributing to their demise. In terms of extinguishing Christianity in Iraq, what ISIL started, a three-way Sunni, Shia, Kurdish civil war would complete. With Baghdad currently in political free fall, Iraqi media reports that Kurdish Regional Government President Masoud Barzani now wants minority lands north of Mosul incorporated into a Greater Kurdistan in exchange for his help to liberate Mosul. That is certain to stoke further sectarian conflict. Direct U.S. military aid to the region's minorities can act as a political palliative by signaling a "hands-off" message to any party seeking to resolve boundary disputes by force at the existential expense of Yazidis, Assyrians and other minorities. While in Baghdad recently I found Iraqi officials open to the idea of extending U.S. military aid to minority forces near Mosul as long as they operate within the national chain of command. Hence, there is no Iraqi opposition either. In fact, Baghdad sees a unified Iraqi military force composed of all of its constituent peoples as an ameliorative glue to solidify post-war national cohesion. They correctly view U.S. military aid as a major driver of post-war national reconciliation. But time is running out as the administration wants to liberate Mosul soon before presidential elections this fall. In sum, the case for immediately extending U.S. military assistance to Iraq's minority forces is justified by the gravity of ISIL's genocidal campaign, its strengthening of Iraq's military capacity to defeat ISIL, and as a political crucible for catalyzing a post-ISIL Iraq that is inclusive, stable and peaceful. Max Primorac served on the White House Task Force for Protection of Religious Minorities in Iraq under President George Bush and was the State Department's Senior Adviser on Stabilization and Transition. The final defendant in the long-running air cargo shipping antitrust litigation, Air India, has reached a settlement agreement with plaintiffs. Law firm Robins Kaplan LLP announced yesterday evening that Air India has agreed to pay $12.5m to bring the decade long litigation over an alleged air cargo cartel to a close. The agreement means there will no longer be a trial. After more than a decade of relentless effort, we are pleased to add these final settlements to our existing recoveries and achieve justice for those impacted by the defendants alleged anticompetitive practices, said Hollis Salzman, co-lead counsel for the plaintiff class. The court correctly described this case as irrefutably complex, and we were honoured to pursue it on behalf of the victims of collusion among air cargo shipping providers. The industry-wide litigation arose from allegations about the pricing practices of a number of air cargo carriers on routes to and from the US from January 2000 through September 2006. In criminal antitrust probes running parallel to the civil case, 21 different air cargo providers have pleaded guilty and have agreed to criminal fines of more than $1.8bn. Share this story A Silk Way-owned freighter has reportedly crashed in Afghanistan, killing seven of its nine crew members. The exact details of what happened to the aircraft have yet to emerge, but new agency Reuters and Azerbaijani publications are quoting the State Aviation Administration (ASAA) as saying an Antanov-12 aircraft crashed when taking off from Dwyer Airport in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. ASAA is quoted as saying that onboard the aircraft was an Uzbek, the captain, three Ukrainian and five Azerbaijani citizens. A team has been sent by the ASAA to investigate the incident. Silk Way has issued a statement in Azerbijani on its website and Air Cargo News has contacted the airline for more information. Silk Way currently operates Ilyushin IL-76, IL-76TD-90SW and Antonov AN-12 aircraft. The incident follows the disappearance of an Egyptair flight earlier today. Share this story May 20, 2016 BAGHDAD Iran's Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani has stirred a great deal of controversy in Iraq, where people have started arguing over whether his role is a positive or a negative one. Some Iraqi youths have created social media campaigns in support of Soleimani using the hashtags #WeAreAllSoleimani and #SoleimaniIsOneOfUsIraqis, while others denounce him with #SoleimaniUnderMyFeet. These campaigns emerged after April 30, when followers of the Sadrist movement shouted slogans against Soleimani and his country in Grand Festivities Square, located in the heavily fortified Green Zone. On the same day, Iraqi activists shared via YouTube an Al Jazeera broadcast about the raising of Iranian flags in Baghdad's predominantly Sunni area of Adhamiya. "Armed Shiite groups known as the Hezbollah Brigades raised the Iranian flag in Adhamiya," Al Jazeera reported. Iraqis are divided over Soleimani's role in the battles between Iraqi government forces and the Islamic State (IS). Some believe he is defending Iraq, while others suspect he has an Iranian agenda that could harm their country. On May 6, groups of civilians drove around the province of Basra waving the Iranian flag from their cars. It should be noted that prior to the events of June 10, 2014, when IS fighters took control of Mosul, many Iraqis did not know Soleimani. He started attracting attention when Iran announced its support for Iraq's fight against IS in mid-2014. The move raised the ire of Vice President Ayad Allawi, who said in March, "Iraqis do not need Soleimani's presence on the battlefield under the pretext of supervising the battles against IS." In reaction to the raising of the Iranian flag in the predominantly Shiite province of Basra and Sunni-dominated Adhamiya, a number of activists in the province of Basra organized a protest against the raising of the Iranian flag in their province, fighting back by hoisting the Iraqi flag. Asked to comment on the appearance of the Iranian flag in Iraqi cities, Majid al-Gharawi, an Iraqi parliamentarian for the Sadrist movement, whose followers chanted slogans against Soleimani in Baghdad during the demonstrations against the Iraqi government, told Al-Monitor, "In Iraq, only the Iraqi flag that represents the Iraqi state should be raised. Iraq is a sovereign country, and no other flag should be raised." He added, "There are people who want to underestimate Iraqi sovereignty, and we will not accept this. We are a sovereign country that everyone should respect so long as we respect everyone. We will face any act aimed at weakening and undermining our sovereignty." Iraqi TV presenter Ghazwan Jassem told Al-Monitor, "We all agree that Soleimani played a pivotal role in fighting IS, including those who believe he is an icon and those who see him as an enemy. But the recent division emanated from factions that had long worked under his banner on both the political and the military levels, albeit indirectly. Those factions believe that Soleimani now represents a threat to them, especially considering that he is closer than many Iraqi faction leaders to the Shiite fighters in the battlefronts." Jassem added, "Trying to involve the community in the dispute over Soleimani is a mere political maneuver and an attempt to promote nationalism against Iran on the part of a faction that finds itself unwelcomed by Tehran these days [an oblique reference to the Sadrist movement]. However, as soon as financial and political support returns, the relations will heal." Blogger Saadallah al-Majid, an opponent of Soleimani's presence in Iraq, told Al-Monitor, "Iraq has turned into an Iranian province, as Iran is dominating the political and security scene in Iraq. The raising of the Iranian flag in Adhamiya and Basra confirms the tragic and bitter reality that is currently plaguing Iraq." He added, "The raising of the Iranian flag in Iraq as well as Soleimani's presence in the country are intended to convey the message to the world that Iraq is under the control of Iran. Iran and Soleimani's influence should be terminated in Iraq." Unlike Majid, media figure Mohammed al-Shabaki, who supports Soleimani's presence in Iraq, told Al-Monitor, "Soleimani played a major role in the fight against terrorism. On Aug. 8, 2014, he rescued the city of Erbil from the IS threat, and he is the first military adviser to have arrived in Iraq from a neighboring country. He brought weapons and ammunition to stop IS' expansion toward Baghdad and to protect the city of Samarra." Shabaki noted, "The recent division over Soleimani has a political aspect. For the Sadrist movement, this division stems from the conviction that some factions of the Popular Mobilization Units that are close to Soleimani did not support the movement in its protests against corruption and are thus against the movements project." Regardless of the debate over Soleimani and his role in Iraq, his influence has become quite significant, not only on the battlefield against IS but on the Iraqi street as well. At the end of the day, Soleimani has links to armed factions such as the Badr Organization and the League of the Righteous, among others. He enjoys the support of influential political blocs, such as the State of Law Coalition led by Vice President Nouri al-Maliki, though some prominent figures such as Iraqi parliament Speaker Salim al-Jubouri do reject Soleimani's presence in the country. May 20, 2016 The Muslim cemetery in the suburban Haifa town of Nesher, where Arab nationalist Izz ad-Din al-Qassam (1882-1935) is buried, spreads over 43 dunams (10.6 acres). Part of the cemetery was expropriated by the State of Israel and sold 50 years ago to a private company. In 2015, the company decided to make use of the land and build industrial facilities on it. With that in mind, the firm went to court and demanded, among other things, that several graves be relocated in keeping with an agreement that it claimed was signed in the 1970s between the state and Islamic institutions. A Haifa court is deliberating this sensitive legal issue. Meanwhile, the Haifa Waqf (custodian of Muslim endowments) invited Arab Knesset members to visit the site to mobilize public opinion against moving the graves. We are always hearing about local and national projects being stopped and scrapped by the state when Jewish graves are accidentally discovered, but when it comes to Muslim graves, Arab burial sites, everyone thinks its quite normal [to desecrate them], Arab Knesset member Masud Ghnaim of the predominantly Arab unified Joint List told Al-Monitor. Orwa Switat, an activist opposed to construction on part of the cemetery, told Al-Monitor that in mid-May, following another court hearing, suspicious digging was discovered near Qassam's grave. His guess is that right-wing activists were responsible. These excavations were 2 meters [6.5 feet] deep. Its an ugly violation of the sanctity of this place, said Switat. He and some friends reported the damage to the police, who closed off the area involved and sought to calm tensions. One can easily guess how things might have evolved had Qassams grave itself or those of other Arab and Palestinian nationalists been desecrated or robbed. The complex, tense legal issue concerning the Muslim graveyard has now made headlines, in no small measure due to Channel 20, a nationalist, right-wing television outlet. On May 16, the channel posted a photo on its Facebook page showing Joint List Knesset members carrying wreaths at the cemetery in Nesher, one of which was subsequently placed at Qassams grave. Izz ad-Din al-Qassam was one of the Middle Easts biggest terrorists of the 20th century, read the caption next to the photo. The terrorist organizations he founded were responsible for the murders of dozens of people: British, French and Jewish. The Hamas terror organization named its band of assassins after him the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades as well as the rockets it fires at Israel, the famous Qassam missiles. This is the man on whose grave Israeli Knesset members of the Joint List laid flowers. Just dont tell us afterward that they aspire to live in peace. Channel 20, which broadcasts under license via satellite and cable, has for many months been violating accepted media standards and engaging in daily incitement against anything that does not conform to its radical right-wing line. Its programming and Facebook page present aggressive messages that are in no way journalistic or legitimate expressions of opinion. Thus, for example, members of the channels editorial board banded together to defend Elor Azarya, the soldier who shot to death a wounded Palestinian who had attacked another soldier, and organized a rally in his support in Tel Aviv. Harsh words were written on the channel's Facebook page against President Reuven Rivlin because channel directors were dissatisfied with his comments on the soldiers case. CEO Moti Sklar was subsequently forced to apologize. Regarding its post on the cemetery, the channel did not report the reason for the Arab Knesset members visit, leaving the impression that the lawmakers had made a pilgrimage to Qassams grave to honor him, on May 15, the 68th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba (or Catastrophe). Izz ad-Din al-Qassam is a historic Palestinian figure, said Knesset member Ghnaim. True, he is identified today with the Hamas brigades, and he carried out a revolution against the [British] Mandate, and we did lay a wreath on his tomb, but we came to this cemetery at the invitation of the Haifa Waqf to prevent the destruction or desecration of historic graves. Ghnaim surmises that Jewish radicals were the ones who had tried to damage Qassams grave. He said theres no proof that the grave was damaged or that bones were removed, but the fact is that someone tried to vandalize the tomb. As far as were concerned, theres a just struggle here against a plan to damage the cemetery, and thats why were fighting, said Switat. Were not trying to defy anyone or to preserve symbols hurtful to Israeli feelings. Ghnaim is also concerned about the incitement by some in Israel who are trying to turn a just protest against damaging an ancient cemetery into a clash between Muslims and Jews in an attempt to turn public opinion against Arab lawmakers. The hatred of the Arabs has reached unimaginable heights, Ghnaim said. Although he may not fear for himself, Ghnaim warned, There are threats against Knesset members of the Joint List like Jamal Zahalka and Hanin Zoabi. This could eventually end in blood. May 20, 2016 Iranians were elated when they discovered that actor Leonardo DiCaprio had shared on his Instagram account a photo of Iran. DiCaprio, a champion environmentalist, republished The Weather Channels photo of drying Lake Urmia to bring attention to climate change. What he didnt know was that so many Iranians at home and abroad would show an outpouring of love and support for his small gesture of raising awareness of this issue. The Instagram post went viral, receiving more than 313,000 likes and 117,000 comments, including, Leo thanks for being concerned about what's happening all around the world especially my motherland Iran, it's truly humbling and Iranians appreciate it. Love you Leo. What Mr. DiCaprio did is praiseworthy, Gary Lewis, the United Nations resident coordinator in Iran, told Al-Monitor. And it is important because as a result of his action to publish the picture a vastly larger number of other people on this planet now know about this problem. This will bring a sense of hope that others might get more involved to support efforts to overcome the Lake Urmia challenge and other similar challenges in Iran and beyond. In addition to Iranian environmentalists and journalists, Seyyed Hadi Bahadori, a member of parliament from Urmia and associated with one of the projects to revive the lake, welcomed DiCaprios gesture. Even Iranian actress Mahnaz Afshar tweeted on the issue: If only DiCaprios post about Lake Urmia would lead to prudence so that life will return to this half-dead lake. Lake Urmia, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and the sixth-largest hypersaline lake in the world, was once the largest salt lake in the Middle East. It used to span almost 90 miles in length and was 34 miles at its widest point. Since 1970, it has lost 70-80% of its surface area, with the greatest shrinkage taking place during the 1990s. In 2008, the lake was cut in half by a 9-mile causeway meant to shorten the travel distance between Tabriz and Urmia. The lake was also once home to migratory birds, which included ducks, egrets, flamingos and pelicans. The desiccation destroyed the habitat for a brine shrimp called artemia, which is an important staple for the birds. For the local population, the impact is more complex, as the tourism industry is dying. The lake was once a popular destination for those seeking its therapeutic black mud. Instead, the now dry lake bed has led to desertification, thereby allowing for the creation of noxious dust that causes health problems. Salt storms have also become more frequent, damaging the local crops by poisoning the soil. Ultimately, many farmers have been forced to move. Poor water management, a switch by local farmers to water-reliant crops, rising temperatures and drought, and the damming of rivers that supply 90% of the lakes water have all contributed to its drying. Lewis said, Water shortage is one of Irans biggest environmental threats and to me Lake Urmia is for Iran the most emblematic example of water concerns. Lake Urmia is a source of pride for northwestern Iran. Ethnic Azeris see the lake known as the turquoise solitaire of Azerbaijan as a symbol of their identity. Similarly, it is home to the Kurds, who desire to be more involved in managing the lake. In 2011, widespread protests took place in Tabriz and Urmia over the poor state of the lake, leading to countless arrests. Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed a foreign conspiracy for the state of the lake, saying, The Western countries devised a plan to cause our drought. According to accurate climate reports, the European countries used special equipment to create rain clouds in Europe and prevent them from reaching Iran and the Middle East. Ahmadinejad then pledged to release 600 million cubic meters of water from the Aras Dam, but nothing was done. Lake Urmia is high on the agenda of Ahmadinejads successor. President Hassan Rouhani has pledged the equivalent of $5 billion to help restore the lake over the span of a decade, which includes funds for 88 projects, most of which focus on infrastructure and the improvement of irrigation systems. In addition, the Urmia Lake Restoration Program was established to help save the lake. In past years, multilateral sanctions prevented opportunities for international conferences, the use of necessary equipment and the manpower to address the issue. With such sanctions now lifted, it allows for more collaboration between Iranian and international scientists. The United Nations Development Programme and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN are currently working with Irans Department of the Environment and the Japanese government to implement integrated natural resources management. They hope to preserve what remains of Lake Urmia by empowering rural women and optimizing water consumption patterns and agricultural methods. "I think the will is there, but more people need to be involved: local communities, donors, and national and international organizations along with the Iranian government to overcome this challenge, Lewis said. As I have mentioned multiple times, environmental challenges are global challenges and they require the attention of the national as well as the international community. Iran is on the front line of the impact of climate change in the Middle East. Our environmental decisions need to be correct. And they need to be implemented with urgency. After DiCaprio posted the photo on Instagram, the Urmia Lake Restoration Program invited the American actor to visit the drying lake. Al-Monitor was unable to reach DiCaprio for comment. While the UN has not reached out to him directly about the matter, Lewis told Al-Monitor that the UNs Tehran office is trying to get in contact to see if DiCaprio and fellow activists are interested in joining forces. The American actor founded the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998, which works to protect the Earths last wild places by implementing solutions that restore balance to threatened ecosystems, and ensuring the long-term health and well-being of all its inhabitants. With the foundation yet to commence a project in the Middle East, perhaps it will dive into Lake Urmia first. May 20, 2016 President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ouster of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to clear his own path to absolute power has left many wondering what effect the move will have on Turkey's foreign policy orientation and its relations with the West in particular. Given the way Erdogan has been ratcheting up his angry anti-Western rhetoric, some fear that Ankara's ties with the United States and Europe will remain strained for the foreseeable future over a number of seemingly irreconcilable issues. Erdogan's finger-wagging approach to the West is what endears him to Turkey's conservative Islamic masses. Faced with a need for political support as he pushes for a new constitution at home that will give him the power he currently lacks as Turkey's sole leader, Erdogan is not likely to alter his populist line anytime soon. "On those occasions when it is necessary for me to stand up defiantly to the whole world, I do this knowing that I have the support of the Turkish public behind me," he told a crowd in the eastern city of Malatya recently, adding, "The eyes of the Islamic world are on Turkey." His recent speeches and statements indicate that what he ultimately desires is a unified Islamic world with a leadership able to confront the West from a position of strength. Turkey's relations with Europe were in fact moving along a more positive trajectory under Davutoglu following the refugee agreement he negotiated with the European Union (EU) in March. The deal also includes the right to visa-free travel in Europe for Turks. That agreement now faces an uncertain future because of Erdogan. Enraged by one of the EU's preconditions for visa-free travel, namely that Turkey reduce the legal scope of acts defined as terrorism, Erdogan said Ankara would refuse to do so. The EU wants the law changed so that ordinary citizens, journalists and academics cannot be arrested on the grounds of "aiding terrorism" simply for airing their views. During an address in Istanbul, Erdogan suggested that if Europe is not happy with his position on this topic, then Ankara is prepared "to go its own way, and let Europe go its own way. His remarks were taken in Europe to suggest that he could dump the whole refugee deal if necessary. Erdogan was speaking a day after he toppled Davutoglu, and his words were widely taken to express dissatisfaction with the refugee agreement that the prime minister had negotiated with the EU. Many analysts argue that Davutoglu's high-profile negotiations with the EU, in which he seemed to have an independent political will, was the final straw for Erdogan. Erdogan is also angry over what he claims is Europe's lack of compassion for Syrian refugees. During an address in the northwestern town of Kocaeli last week, he blasted the West for showing sensitivity to gay rights and the welfare of animals while disregarding desperate Syrian women and children. "Shame on the slavery-and-colonial-era mindsets that set their eyes first on the money in the wallets of incoming refugees and the jewelry on their arms and necks," he said in inflammatory language. His was referring to Denmark, which announced some months ago that it would confiscate the money and valuables of refugees to offset their cost to the public. Elmas Topcu, an analyst for opposition news website Diken, is not hopeful that Turkish-EU ties will improve in the near future. She blames Erdogan and his power struggle with Europe, arguing, "Brussels and Berlin have had their fill of threatening and undiplomatic language from Erdogan and his advisers, and [they] are concerned now that Davutoglu, who knows English and German and can at least be considered an interlocutor when compared to Erdogan, is going." Erdogan also accuses the West of having double standards because it is not only lax in backing Turkey's war against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), but also actively supports PKK offshoots like the People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria. Ankara is particularly annoyed with Washington's refusal to declare the YPG a terrorist group as it has done with the PKK, and over the US alliance with the Syrian Kurdish group against the Islamic State. Referring to the PKK truck laden with 15 tons of explosives that exploded prematurely in an open field near Diyarbakir last week, killing 16 villagers, Erdogan said, "None of the Western countries, which not only allow [the PKK] to operate freely on their territory under different names but also provide support to these groups, had anything to say about this sad incident." He said the West speaks out when terrorists attack Paris or Brussels, but remains silent when these attacks hit Lahore, Ankara, Istanbul or Diyarbakir. "How far can you take such a double standard?" Erdogan asked accusingly. But how far can Erdogan take his own bellicose line against the West, when it is clear that Turkey, the United States and Europe are intertwined on so many political, military and economic levels? Retired Ambassador Nuzhet Kandemir, whose postings include Washington and Baghdad and who also served as undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, believes it is not possible for Ankara's ties with Europe and the United States to improve under these conditions. He told Al-Monitor, "Yet past experience has shown that what is said and what is done by this party do not always mesh. Even if tensions continue, a severance of ties with the West is highly unlikely." He was referring to the ruling Justice and Development Party, which will be under Erdogan's tutelage even more now that Davutoglu is gone. "They will continue to push for Turkey to get closer to the East, but the need to be realistic will ensure that they always maintain vital links with the West," Kandemir added. Clearly the West cannot afford a cut in ties with Turkey either, and it will have little choice for the sake of pragmatic considerations but to accept Erdogan for what he is. Turkey's foreing policy under Erdogan and its ties with the West in particular, nevertheless, appear set to remain confrontational. May 19, 2016 DIYARBAKIR, Turkey Mosul and its surroundings, which have been under Islamic State (IS) occupation for two years, are quite active these days. Kurdish forces besieging Mosul alongside the Iraqi army are frequently targeted in multipronged assaults by IS. Telskuf northwest of Mosul and a base for Kurds as well as American military specialists supplying coordinates to coalition aircraft has been a target in IS' sight. An American was wounded in an assault there launched May 4. As is often the case, a medevac helicopter couldnt extract the wounded American because of heavy fire in the area. Instead, a group of Kurdish fighters carried the American to safety in a building, where they quickly came under IS fire from a nearby ambush position. It took hours of sustained exchanges of fire to push the IS fighters back. Eight Kurdish fighters in the building were wounded, but they kept the American safe until a helicopter arrived. During the clashes, a middle-aged man attracted attention by issuing instructions to Kurdish fighters. From his accent, it was clear that he wasnt an Iraqi Kurd, but the directives he gave showed that he knew about fighting. That man was Sait Curukkaya, 48, who was born in Bingol, Turkey. The Kurds know him as Dr. Suleyman. Curukkaya, a former member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has been in action against IS for months while also training volunteers to fight the militant group. His combat experience derives from his time with the PKK. In 1989, Curukkaya abandoned his medical education hence Dr. Suleyman and joined the PKK. He was part of the group's leadership for some 11 years and served as a regional commander, taking part in numerous clashes in Turkey. He opposed the concept of democratic confederalism (or democratic autonomy) that PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan developed after his capture in 1999. Because he didn't share Ocalan's vision, Curukkaya left the PKK in 2000 and settled in Germany, where he studied social services at university. When IS captured Mosul, he headed back east. Al-Monitor reached Curukkaya by phone on May 8, a few hours after he had returned from the front. I was on the front line when they attacked Telskuf three days ago. An American soldier was hit next to us. We had to secure a building to keep him safe. My team took over a house, but we were under heavy IS attacks. Eight of our fighters were wounded. Our fights with IS are always hard, and in close quarters down to three meters, Curukkaya said, describing the ambush. Curukkaya had had an easy life in Germany, so why did he give it all up and return to the region? Daesh [IS] is an organization fighting against all of humanity, he said. Their ugly treatment of Kurds and Yazidis massacring men, selling women as concubines and doing this in a Kurdish region, bothered me deeply as a Kurd. I saw that these people needed help. I thought they had to be organized and trained to defend themselves. With the peshmerga here, I decided we could train Yazidi, Christian and Kurdish youngsters who would volunteer to fight Daesh to defend their villages and people and also assist our regular fighters on the ground. Curukkaya, who has trained about 700 volunteer fighters to date, makes good use of his experience with the PKK. Although they lack strict military discipline, volunteers have been successful in the field, he said. After all, they are the people of this region, who are familiar with the terrain, know the people and can detect dangers. My PKK experience has been useful for our training. Learning and applying the methods of guerrilla warfare, extensive use of explosives, sneak attacks and infiltration techniques give you an edge against regular armies. The most important operation Curukkaya took part in was the liberation of Sinjar (which the Kurds call Shengal) in November 2015. He was among the first Kurdish forces that entered the town. He now looks forward to the liberation of Mosul. As long as Mosul is in the hands of Daesh, we cant claim that Kurdistan is fully secure, Curukkaya said. Daesh can easily spread its attacks over time and launch assaults with units of 200-300 men equipped with vehicle-borne bombs. The final war will be the liberation of Mosul from Daesh. I will be staying until then. Our national forces have hurt Daesh with their attacks but have not finished it off. As long as it is not wiped out, Daesh can always recover and attack us. Curukkaya thinks the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq has not fully grasped the danger IS represents. The Kurdish government is ignorant of the issue, he asserted. They [government officials] have major deficiencies. They dont understand Daesh and its strategy. They coordinate with us, but they are nonchalant. Even the peshmerga command doesnt fully understand Daesh. They still think, If America helps, we dont have to do anything. The Americans will win it. This is a very misleading, dangerous mindset. May 20, 2016 The political union of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and departing Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was a marriage of convenience. Davutoglu knew this when Erdogan handpicked him to succeed him as head of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and thus the premiership of Turkey. The current outgoing prime minister had been brought to prominence thanks to former President Abdullah Gul, who became the first person Davutoglu disappointed. Accepting the nomination to be prime minister, Davutoglu expressed his gratitude to party elders but failed to mention Gul. He failed Gul's loyalty test, and then he failed Erdogans. On May 18, a day before Binali Yildirim was put forward to replace Davutoglu as prime minister, Tarhan Erdem, a respected analyst of domestic politics, interpreted the unfolding events as the advent of one-man rule in Turkey, alluding to arbitrary rule by Erdogan. Tracing its path, he said it began with the elections held on June 12, 2011, and laid out its three stages: preparation for one-man rule, transition to one-man rule and the advent of one-man rule. According to Erdem, the first stage began in 2011, when the ruling AKP took 50% of the vote for a stunning legislative victory; the second on August 10, 2014, the day Erdogan was elected with more than 50% of the vote in the first round of Turkeys first popular elections for president; and the third on May 4, 2016, when Erdogan pushed Davutoglu aside as prime minister. What the AKPs core Islamist constituency actually has in mind, however, is the revival of Ottoman glory in the personage of Erdogan. They want an authoritarian ruler with strong Islamist credentials who is simultaneously a shrewd international political figure, like Sultan Abdulhamid II. Those familiar with the latter period of Ottoman power understand this. For Turkeys Islamists, other than the founding sultans of the Ottoman Empire, the only other venerated figure is Abdulhamid, who reigned from 1876 to 1912, until being sacked in disgrace by the Young Turks, the forerunners of the Kemalists and todays secularists. History records Abdulhamid not only as a paranoid despot, but also as a great modernizer. Most pro-Western institutions associated with republican Turkey, from the high courts to technical high schools and many examples of urban modernization, owe much to Abdulhamid. In this respect, the newly anointed prime minister is the best choice to be grand vizier to the mighty sultan. Unlike Davutoglu, the mind behind unrealistic theories that ended in foreign policy disasters for Erdogan, Yildirim is a successful technocrat, a doer who delivers tangibles without displaying an iota of ego. He is efficient but never tries to outshine his boss. He has been unflinchingly loyal to Erdogan for nearly a quarter of a century. Davutoglu was pretending to be an Erdogan loyalist and didnt do enough to distance himself from suspected malcontents secretly gathering under his umbrella, away from the Chief. Yildirim has no umbrella for them. Rather, he will serve as Erdogan's umbrella. Erdogan took Davutoglu in the handover from Gul, but Yildirim was always his man. When Erdogan took control of the challenging post of elected mayor of Istanbul, Yildirim was in his small inner circle. Yildirim may have been the only technocrat among them whose primary educational background was in the imam-hatip religious schools, like Erdogan's. Yildirim studied as an undergraduate at Istanbul Technical University (ITU). His predecessors in his new post, from Suleyman Demirel to Turgut Ozal and mentor of political Islam in Turkey, Necmeddin Erbakan, were also engineers from ITU. Demirel studied civil engineering, Ozal electrical engineering and Erbakan mechanical engineering. Yildirim studied naval architecture and ocean engineering and later earned a masters degree in maritime safety and environmental protection at the World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden. Under Mayor Erdogan in the 1990s, Yildirim served as director general of the Istanbul Fast Ferries Company, a jewel in the crown among the numerous other successful operations overseen by the Istanbul Municipality during Erdogans administration. As a member of Erdogans inner circle, he emerged as a co-founder of the AKP in 2001 and became minister of transportation, maritime affairs and communication a year later. This is one of the principal areas in which Erdogan can claim good governance and service provision. Although Yildirim was severely criticized because of a fatal derailment of a high-speed train, he deserves recognition as the mastermind behind the development of Turkeys high-speed rail system. The construction of a network of highways is also one of the major achievements of Erdogans premiership, and as minister of transportation, Yildirim left his strong imprint on it. Yildirim always stood firm with his boss and kept a low profile. Yildirims background and history of performance had made him the best candidate to succeed Erdogan when he was elected president in 2014, but that was the time of transition to one-man rule, not the advent, which has now arrived. Instead, Davutoglu was selected for the transition with Yildirim assigned duty as Erdogans watchdog over Davutoglu's government, somewhat reminiscent of former Soviet-era political commissars. On May 19, an Israeli newspaper ran the headline, Turkish technocrat tapped as new prime minister. AKP co-founder to run unopposed after Davutoglu quit; expected to promote Erdogans bid for more power. The Wall Street Journals reporting opened, Turkeys ruling party tapped a stalwart ally of Recep Tayyip Erdogan to become its leader on Thursday, paving the way for a new prime minister who will champion the Turkish presidents priorities, including a constitutional overhaul that would give him more power. No one was surprised. Anyone who thought Berat Albayrak, the current energy minister and Erdogan son-in-law, to be picked for the post does not know how to read Turkeys president. If what he has in mind is to establish his republican dynasty as an authoritarian president-sultan (or vice versa), he needs a prime minister-grand vizier (or vice versa) who, apart from his unwavering loyalty, is an extremely capable political and technical operative who can provide guidance in governance to the sultans household. Yildirim is therefore an ideal choice for the Prime Ministry during the ensuing period of Erdogans presidency. That said, anyone who thinks Yildirim will be a low-profile prime minister is mistaken. He will not be. One should not forget that he is an expert operator, a doer and steadfast in his loyalty to Erdogan. International affairs and legislative changes in domestic politics that stand to alter Turkey is Erdogans domain and jurisdiction. Yildirim knows all of them and is supportive of them. Thus, he is the unrivaled and best choice for Erdogan. May 20, 2016 On May 15, four prominent politicians of Turkey's third-largest party, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), headed to a hotel in Ankara. They had invited thousands of supporters, including hundreds of party delegates, and they were planning to have a "snap party congress," as announced beforehand. But they found the hotel blocked by a squadron of policemen, who were ready to use tear gas and water cannons to disperse them. After a few hours of people shouting and several brief press statements, the politicians and the crowd dispersed; the MHP snap congress did not take place at least for now. This news was welcomed by many. First and foremost by Devlet Bahceli, the current leader of the MHP who seems determined to keep his position. He has been the party chair since 1997, but his popularity has rapidly declined in the last year, as his dull leadership is largely seen as the reason for the party's decline in votes, from 16.3% to 11.9% in just five months. An opposition has grown within the MHP that blames Bahceli for keeping the party weak and that says he is guilty of treason. But it was not only Bahceli and his supporters who were delighted to see the MHP snap congress fail; President Recep Tayyip Erdogans supporters were also overjoyed, which became clear from the pro-Erdogan media, whose standard-bearer, the daily Sabah, came out the next day with a bold headline: The MHPs pirate congress came to an end. According to the story, all the evil powers that work behind the scenes were disabled and the plan to create chaos within the MHP was luckily prevented. According to the MHPs opposition figures, however, the powers that worked behind the scenes are none other than the presidents men. The four contenders for Bahceli's job Meral Aksener, Sinan Ogan, Umit Ozdag and Koray Aydin explained this in a joint declaration. The legal battle they had launched to organize the congress was interfered by a phone call from the Justice Ministry. Based on that, a local court declared their congress-to-be illegal, and the Ankara governor mobilized the police to stop the illegal congress. The four politicians declared, A direct interference by the AKP [Justice and Development Party] in the organization of the congress of the Nationalist Action Party is unacceptable. The internal matters of the MHP have become a matter of the AKP and the government. The mindset that changes a prime minister [Ahmet Davutoglu] in just one hour and takes a decision for its own snap congress in just two hours has trampled on the law to deprive the MHP from having its own snap congress. In return, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag denied the accusation as a big libel. Yet many people in Turkey believe that not just the Justice Ministry but in fact the palace (i.e., Erdogan) is directly involved in the efforts to block the MHP snap congress and to keep Bahceli in power and hence the MHP weak. Many people also believe that the Court of Appeals, which has been withholding its decision on the MHP snap congress for weeks, is also under pressure from the palace. Meanwhile, Bahceli is clearly enjoying a rapprochement with Erdogan, his party and his media outlets. According to a pro-AKP commentator, Bahceli even began to speak as if he were an AKP spokesman. A joke going around in Ankara says Bahceli made a presidency-for-presidency deal with Erdogan: Erdogan will become the all-powerful president of Turkey under a new constitution, whereas Bahceli will keep his seat as the president of the all-weak MHP. This bizarre political scene is hard to grasp. Liberal-nationalist academic Iskender Oksuz, who wants to see some positive change in the MHP, summarized it nicely for those on the outside: The government is supporting the leadership of the opposition party; in return, the leadership of the opposition party is supporting the government; and, meanwhile, both the government and the leadership of the opposition party are blocking the opposition within the opposition party. There is even more to this master plan. While the MHP is not allowed to have its snap congress because of legal tricks and even brute police power, the incumbent AKP will have its own snap congress, without a hitch, on May 22. During this event, former Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim will replace Davutoglu as both the party chair and prime minister for the simple fact that Yildirim has proven more obedient to Erdogan. Meanwhile, based on a parliamentary vote held today, dozens of Kurdish parliamentarians may lose their legal immunity, perhaps to be imprisoned for links to terrorism, thanks mainly to the AKP-MHP collaboration in the parliament. This may help the AKP boost its seats in the parliament, which would be immediately used by Erdogan for a new constitution based on a presidential system. In short, every major act in Turkish politics right now seems to be linked to Erdogans ambition for more power. His ambition is so strong that it is able to manipulate even the dynamics within an established opposition party such as the MHP. The long-awaited new master plan for Cummings Research Park will be revealed next week at ADTRAN in Huntsville. The Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County hired Perkins Will (P+W) to lead the master planning process for Cummings Research Park. (Courtesy) The Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County will join Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, CRP Director Erin Koshut and others at 10:30 a.m. Monday to roll out recommendations for a 50-year master plan for the park. It will be the first major news about CRP since the Chamber announced in September it had hired architecture and design firm Perkins+Will to lead the master planning process. Former Madison County Commission Chairman Mike Gillespie also came out of retirement last year to assist with the effort. Chamber President/CEO Chip Cherry briefly discussed the new master plan Thursday during a media roundtable on the state of the regional economy. "(CRP is) a key economic engine for us," he told reporters. "The community didn't wait until it was broken." Koshut has said the new master plan will support the entire lifecycle of growth for companies, and may address the single vs. multi-tenant ordinance that restricts buildings from hosting more than three tenants at one time. Other changes could include reducing setbacks inside the park, which would allow for potential greenways in and around the buildings. Koshut said they may cut back on parking requirements for building footprints, add sidewalks, connect lakes on the west side and create a dedicated food truck park. CRP is the nation's second-largest research park with more than 300 companies and 29,000 employees. Officials hope an updated master plan will bring CRP into the future, produce jobs, attract and retain businesses and lure young professionals to the area. The City of Huntsville is also working to revitalize CRP after adopting an urban renewal plan for the eastern portion of the park early this year. The plan focuses on four priority zones, the first of which is the Madison Square Mall area at University Drive and Old Monrovia Road. Following the announcement Monday, the Chamber will convene in the ADTRAN parking lot for the Food Truck Lunchtime Fest. The late financial counselor and radio personality, Larry Burkett, would be proud of the Nashville area this week as it hosted Stewardship Conference 2016 for almost 500 pastors and leaders from all over the country, including several pastors and leaders from the state of Alabama. The conference organizer, Dave Ramsey, concluded the event on Wednesday by urgently reminding attendees that broke people don't feed hungry children. This was the exclamation point to a three-day event meant to educate pastors and leaders on the importance of leading individual Christian households to become more effective stewards of their personal finances -- not just for themselves but for their community and the world. Unfortunately, this is a significant uphill battle. Currently, 70 percent of American households are living paycheck to paycheck with very little margin. Christian households mirror this overall pandemic, but given the sheer amount scripture on the topic of money, that shouldn't be the case. This lack of personal finance acumen is what led Ramsey to invite some of the biggest names in the stewardship space to Nashville to help educate and inspire. Speakers for the event included well-known pastors Todd Mullins (Christ Fellowship), Pete Wilson (Cross Point Church), and Perry Noble (NewSpring Church) as well as financial icons Ron Blue (Kingdom Advisors) and Howard Dayton (Compass). There were several topics brought up during the conference, including the importance of financial margin. Nationally-syndicated radio host, Chris Brown, brought this point home by saying, "Where there's no margin, there's no ministry." Ministry often doesn't happen because the people who want to serve are in dire straits themselves. Blue reported that while Christians often come to church leaders for help on marriage, anger, anxiety, and a host of other issues, they don't usually come to church leaders for financial help. As a means to correct these widespread financial maladies, Blue said, "The church needs to be the center for financial wisdom." There will be pushback at such a call to action though because many people feel that doing well with money is a bad action. Conference speaker, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, confirmed the results of that sentiment by saying, "You can't be successful at something that you think is evil. It just won't happen." Due to massive commercialism though, these speakers and the leaders who came to listen to them will have a constant battle each and every day. However, if they listen to the words of Noble, they will continue to maintain their efforts. "We follow a Jesus who didn't quit. So because he didn't quit, we can't quit either." Ben Baxter is a Tuscaloosa dweller, a Dothan native, an experienced engineer, and a regular contributor for personal finance and career development topics. He is also an elder for a local Evangelical congregation. After 111 clergy came out as gay on May 9, risking being defrocked, more than 2,355 other United Methodist clergy have since signed a letter of support for them. Although none of the clergy who came out publicly as gay were from Alabama, some Alabama clergy stepped forward to support them. "They took enormous risk," said the Rev. Kevin Higgs, pastor of Sylvan Springs United Methodist Church. "I fear that many of them may lose their credentials. These people will probably be brought up on trial." Higgs and the Rev. Dave Barnhart, pastor of St. Junia United Methodist Church in Birmingham, signed a letter circulated by the Reconciling Ministries Network to support the gay pastors. "I think these gay and lesbian clergy who have come out of the closet are holding the church accountable for what it believes, that people are of sacred worth," said Barnhart. "I wanted to show my support for gay clergy," Higgs said. "We do have gay clergy in the North Alabama Conference who are closeted. They are serving in secret. Some have had distinguished careers. They would be defrocked (if they made their sexuality public)." Higgs believes the denomination needs to embrace ministry to homosexuals and allow openly gay ministers. "If the church is in ministry to all people, it should be ministering to them," Higgs said. The United Methodist General Conference, the denomination's law-making legislative body which meets every four years, concludes today. It approved a plan by bishops to delay all votes on the homosexuality issue and form a study commission. The church's current language calling homosexual behavior "incompatible with Christian teaching" remains intact. "Here we go again," Higgs said. "The United Methodist Church has not moved forward. We have the same language." The study commission is a delaying tactic to avoid schism, he said. "That is in my opinion a desperate attempt on the part of the bishops to avoid a split in the church," Higgs said. There have been study commissions before on the topic. Higgs was part of one after the 1992 General Conference. It recommended that the church welcome openly homosexual people. "That stance has been verified and confirmed in American culture and government," Higgs said. "The reason these court cases have overturned the barriers to gay marriage - it's based on science. An overwhelming amount of research has documented that gay and lesbian people are a natural part of the diversity of humanity. Gay folks are not in any way more likely to be dangerous, violent, sick or dysfunctional than anyone else. The courts have made it a major civil rights movement. Our side of the argument has grown stronger year after year." The authority of scripture has been misused to oppress homosexuals, Higgs said. "In terms of interpretation of scripture, there are more instances of slaves must obey master than there are negative comments about homosexuals," he said. "There are more comments that you should not eat pork than there are proscriptions on homosexuality. Those things have passed into history and should not be authoritative today." As the denomination is currently structured, conservatives will not allow the language on homosexuality to be changed, Higgs said. "The conservatives have the votes now," Higgs said. Africans and Asians, a growing segment of the global United Methodist Church, join with Southern conservatives to keep the language against homosexuality enshrined in church doctrine. "In those cultures, homophobia is even more extreme than ours," Higgs said. The only hope for change is a restructuring of the church into regions that will allow more autonomy, he said. Otherwise, "The Church will absolutely split, just like it did over slavery 150 years ago," Higgs said. "There's reorganization that needs to happen," Barnhart said. "If we're going to stay unified, the current state of things is unacceptable to everybody." Meanwhile, churches that welcome homosexuals will likely continue to do so. "It doesn't change my ministry," Barnhart said. "We are an accepting and affirming congregation. That doesn't change. My faith in Christ isn't in General Conference. It's realized at the local church level." Anton DiSclafini photo courtesy of Nina Subin Auburn University students know Anton DiSclafani as an assistant professor in the English department. But you -- and they -- may also know her as the New York Times bestselling author of "The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls." Teaching and writing go hand in hand for DiSclafani, whose second novel, "The After Party," released this week. Learning is also key to the process; like its predecessor, "The After Party" is set in the first half of the 20th century. This time, she takes readers to 1950s Texas, where a group of socialites will see their world forever changed. DiSclafani will sign books at 4 p.m. Monday at the Alabama Booksmith in Homewood and at Fairhope's Page and Palette June 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. Do your teaching and writing affect one another, and how so? (I also teach--in my case, as a journalism adjunct at Alabama--and it's so fun to see how my students keep me on my toes!) I have to begin my answer by saying War Eagle (sorry!). But, in all seriousness, I can't imagine teaching without writing, or writing without teaching. My students definitely keep me on my toes, and the classroom is my chance to engage with literature as a teacher, not a writer. I'm looking for ways to explain things to my students, not myself, if the distinction makes sense. And it's incredibly rewarding to introduce a student to Sarah Waters or Kazuo Ishiguro; it's also rewarding to see them figure out their own writing over the course of a semester. What prompts your interest in historical fiction? I'm fascinated by this, anyway, but especially since your books have been set within the past century. Because I don't want to include text messaging in my books? It's a question I ask myself all the time, and I haven't landed on a totally satisfying answer. I like the automatic tension setting your work in the past provides. In "The After Party," the women live in a cloistered world whose days are numbered. The reader knows the days are numbered; the characters don't. Does the South influence your writing? I've also been thinking a lot about what it means to be a Southern writer; again, haven't landed on a satisfying answer. I love the South; I'm also aware of the South's complicated history, and I try to make both these feelings clear in my writing. What do you read when you're in the middle of a writing project? Does that differ in any way from your normal reading habits? I'm always writing! And I'm always reading. When I'm working on a novel I read for research. When did you know you wanted to become a writer? In college. Although I always had a back up plan should writing not work out. What was your favorite childhood book? I loved The Babysitter's Club series. Impossible to pick just one! What is your favorite bookstore in your hometown? Well, I don't think there is an indie bookstore in Auburn. Charis is close by, in Atlanta--I was there all the time in college (I went to Emory). AN EXCERPT Prologue It's the women who still ask me about Joan. Young women, who have stumbled upon her story and my part in it. Old women, who used to admire her photographs in the gossip columns: Joan the jewel, a glimmer on some man's arm. Frank Sinatra's, Dick Krueger's, Diamond Glenn's. They want to know who she was. First, I tell them, she was Furlow Fortier's little blond darling. From the very beginning, she was adored. Then she was Houston's most famous socialite. They won't ever know what it was like to stand in her presence, but I try to paint a picture. There wasn't anything subtle about Joan, a woman born to be looked at. She was slender, but she wasn't a twig. Her dresses clung to her, drew attention to her shapely hips, her strong arms, her famous bosom. Wherever she went, champagne flowed like a fountain. She made people happy. She was beautiful, certainly, but she was more. She was lit from the inside. I stop here. They want to know how she disappeared. But I can't tell them that. I don't say that loving her was my earliest instinct, my first memory. I was her best friend since infancy, her modern-day lady-inwaiting, her sister in all but blood. She disappeared for the first time in 1950 when we were seniors in high school. It didn't take us long to figure out that she had run away to Hollywood to become a star. And if you had stood in a room with her at that time you would have been sure she'd make it. Because she was everyone's dream, in those days; why not some studio executive's? She was gone for a year, trying, and then she returned, and life as we all knew it resumed its orbit, with Joan at the bright, hot center. She disappeared in a thousand small ways after Hollywood. For a day, for an evening, for a week. Even when she was with me it felt as if she were vanishing. It was the one constant in our friendship: she would leave and I would look for her. Until I would not. In the beginning, we were both Joan. Joan One and Joan Two when our nannies dropped us off at River Oaks Elementary School for our first day of kindergarten. Our teacher, a young blond thing who was teaching rich babes their ABCs and colors until her beau finally proposed, paused as she was going through names. Paused at us, the two Joans. One fair, one dark. One, it seemed evident, even at this young age, destined to be beautiful; the other one dark, with clear, even features. Pretty enough. "What is your middle name?" she asked me, the dark girl. "Cecilia," I replied. I was five years old. I knew my middle name, my address, my telephone number. "And you?" she asked, kneeling before Joan, taking her tiny hand and holding it as if a fragile bird. I removed Joan's tanned hand from the teacher's grasp. I didn't like people taking liberties with my friend, even then. I was used to people wanting to touch her. I understood, but I didn't like it. "She doesn't have one," I said, and Joan nodded cheerfully in agreement. She wasn't scared of strangers, or big men with deep voices, or anything really. She'd started swimming lessons the year before and was already diving off the high board at the pool. "I don't." "Well," the teacher said, her hands on her hips. In my memory, she wears a pale blue dress dotted with delicate flowers, her hair in a modest bob. I could see the lacy edge of her slip when she knelt down to speak to us. It was 1937, and she must have been desperate to be married, desperate to teach her own children the ABCs, to identify for them the many hues of the bright and colorful world. "Let's say you're Cecilia from now on. No, Cece. Has a nicer ring to it. And you"-- she smiled at Joan, reassuringly--" don't worry, you're still Joan." Our mothers weren't friends, but they were friendly. We'd met because our nannies, Idie and Dorie, were sisters. They'd wanted jobs close together, in River Oaks, and they'd gotten them only a street apart with Mary Fortier and Raynalda Beirne, two very different kinds of women. Their differences stemmed from money, as so many differences do. Mary, Joan's mother, had grown up poor and plain in Littlefield, Texas. She was in high school when she met Joan's father, fifteen years older than she and already wealthy. Mary understood the magnitude of her good fortune, the unlikelihood of her escape from dusty, dead- end Littlefield. Joan was born when Mary had thought her childbearing years were through. She made Furlow a daddy, Mary a mother, and both parents seemed forever grateful to her for the gesture. Furlow, an oilman from Louisiana who kept making money right through the Great Depression, believed in divine providence, the way that lucky men often do, and Joan's late arrival into the world was proof of his blessed life. My family was rich, too, but not like the Fortiers. My mother had her inheritance, and my father was an executive at Humble, but he wasn't a diviner of oil like Furlow Fortier. My mother's married life was a steep decline from her childhood. She'd grown up with maids and butlers and nannies in Savannah; in River Oaks she employed one maid and one nanny, and lived in a house that wasn't even close to being the biggest. But still, both women had named their firstborn daughters Joan. The gesture seems hopeful to me now. Joan: such an elegant name. And strong, too: they must have felt like they were bestowing their tiny babies with men's names. Perhaps they hoped their daughters would inherit a man's world, with a man's privileges. Probably they thought nothing of the sort. Joan was the fifth-most popular name for little girls in 1932. Mary and my mother named us Joan just like everyone else did, because that's what people do, generally: what everyone else does. But back to that first day in kindergarten. That night, after my nanny, Idie, had fed and bathed me and my mother had come to tuck me in, I told her that my name had been changed. She was furious, naturally. My mother was always furious. But the name stuck, and from then on Joan got to be Joan, and I was Cece, less a name than a sound, a whoosh of air, twice; a near-whistle. I got used to it. From THE AFTER PARTY by Anton DiSclafani. Published by arrangement with Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright (c) 2016 by Anton DiSclafani. A north Alabama woman is behind bars, accused of slaughtering a Chihuahua to help her stage a miscarriage, authorities said. Anita Parker, 43, is charged with felony animal cruelty. She is being held in the Lawrence County Jail with bond set at $7,000. Investigators told WAFF television station that Parker faked a pregnancy for seven months. First responders were called to her home Thursday night on a report of pregnancy-related complications. They arrived to find the woman covered in blood, and she was taken to the hospital to be treated for what authorities believed was a miscarriage. According to the television station, doctors told authorities Parker has never been pregnant. Her boyfriend went back to their home and found the dead dog in a trash can. Deputies said she used the blood and tissue to fake her miscarriage. Hoover Officer.PNG (Brian May/Facebook) An investigation is underway after a Hoover resident captured a police officer giving him "the bird." Brian May posted the photo on Facebook earlier today and included this statement with the photo: "I wasn't going to post this and just let it go but after careful consideration I decided to do so. Please be patient for its length. After arriving for morning run at Veterans Park near my neighborhood in Hoover, I noticed an officer pull next to me and just stare in my direction. Didn't think anything of it, just got my run in and came back." "As I came back to my car, I noticed he was standing behind my car taking down my # (mind you my car was 1 of 25 or 30 in the parking lot). Cool, no big deal, I'm legal. So I decided to take a picture of him and this is what I got 'THE BIRD. Really Hoover, I thought we were better than this." Efforts reach May for comment weren't immediately successful, but his post is making the rounds on Facebook. Hoover police spokesman Capt. Gregg Rector issued this statement tonight: "This afternoon our department was made aware of a social media (Facebook) posting with a photo attached. The picture appears to show an officer sitting in a police Tahoe, possibly making an inappropriate hand gesture. We believe this incident occurred approximately one week ago at Veteran's Park on Valleydale Road. We are investigating this situation and attempting to identify the officer. We have also talked with the citizen who posted the photo and he has been very helpful, assisting us in our efforts. " "If the information posted is indeed accurate, this is certainly unacceptable conduct and will not be tolerated,'' Rector said in the statement. "Our department works very hard to earn the reputation of being professional in all that we do. We will do everything possible to identify this officer and address the situation promptly and appropriately." Jermaine Tolbert, one of two men charged in the 2014 shooting deaths of a pregnant Ensley woman and her boyfriend, was found not guilty Friday on all four capital murder charges in the deaths. After the verdict Jefferson County Circuit Judge Virginia Vinson ordered Tolbert released from the Jefferson County Jail. Tolbert was released early Friday afternoon. Tolbert had been on trial this week in the April 25, 2014 shooting deaths of 27-year-old Sharday Ware, her unborn child, and 36-year-old Dekova Jemille "Doc" Harris, of Fultondale. The shooting happened at Ware's house at 1309 57th Place Ensley. If he had been convicted Tolbert, 28, could have faced a possible death sentence. Another man, Dewayne "Bug" Barnes, 22, is also charged with capital murder in the shooting deaths. Barnes' trial is set to begin July 25. Both of Tolbert's attorneys talked to AL.com after Friday's verdict. "He (Tolbert) was very relieved. His family was very relieved," said defense attorney Mike Shores, who along with Tommy McFarland represented Tolbert. "We are very happy for our client and his family." Shores said they are sorry for the victims and their families. A culmination of a lot of different factors may have led to the jury returning the not guilty verdict, Shores said. Among them reason may have been that there was no "smoking gun," no physical evidence linked Tolbert to the crime, and jurors apparently did not believe the jailhouse snitch who testified in the case, he said. "I think they (jurors) did a great job. Both us and the state picked a very good jury to hear a case like this," he said. McFarland said he believed "justice was served." There was three other individuals that had opportunities to commit the crime that prosecutors accused Tolbert of doing. "There was reasonable doubt all over it" he said. Deputy Jefferson County District Attorney Kechia Sanders Davis declined comment after the jury's verdict. On Thursday Davis had told jurors Tolbert was a "hitman" and "assassin," killing Harris in retaliation for an earlier shooting of a girl in Bessemer. Tolbert had denied having anything to do with the killings, saying he loved Harris like a brother and that the two were fellow Bloods gang members. Gruesome scene Ware's 8-year-old daughter woke to a "nightmare," finding the bodies of her mother and Harris, Davis had told jurors. Jurors saw crime scene photos taken from inside the house that showed Ware slumped over in a chair. Harris' body was on the floor below her in a pool of blood, a cigarette still between two fingers. Ware had 29 bullet wounds from 12 or 13 bullets and Harris had 12 bullet wounds from nine bullets, Chief Jefferson County Medical Examiner and Coroner Greg Davis testified. Ware, who was eight or nine weeks pregnant, and Harris both had cocaine and other drugs in their blood system at the time of their deaths, he said. One of the prosecution's key witnesses was a jailhouse snitch who had cut a deal with prosecutors to reduce his sentence. According to testimony the jailhouse snitch for about 30 minutes had access to Tolbert's court documents while in jail. But Tolbert admitted that not everything the jailhouse snitch testified to had been in the documents. "Crimes committed in hell are going to have devils for witnesses," Davis told jurors at the end of the trial. Among the other testimony in the case, a neighbor called by defense attorneys also reported seeing one man with dreadlocks come out of the house after she heard gunshots. Tolbert did not match the description of that man. Prosecutors, however, had put on the witness stand two neighbors who heard gunshots an hour earlier. The documents that Tolbert had in jail also didn't include all the information that the jailhouse snitch had provided, prosecutors said. Tolbert stood by his innocence during the two years while he awaited tria. Tolbert testified Thursday he didn't kill anyone that night. "He was like a big brother. We were in the same gang," he said of "Doc" Harris and the Bloods gang. When he got to the house he smoked blunts (marijuana), snorted cocaine, played chess with Harris, and watched an NBA game on television, Tolbert testified. He said he called someone to pick him and Barnes up and they left around 10 p.m. - about two hours before two neighbors heard gunshots. Tolbert also testified that the jail inmate who testified against him was in the Crips, a rival gang of the Bloods. That inmate denied he was in the Crips. Deputy District Attorney Matt Casey also prosecuted the case. Burglary Arrests.jpg Jamarcus McKinney and Dadarrius Haywood (Jefferson County Jail) Two Bessemer men are in custody after a foot chase in connection with a midday break-in at a Center Point home. Jefferson County sheriff's deputies were dispatched about 11 a.m. Thursday to a burglary in progress at a home in the 400 block of 13th Terrace N.W. Witnesses told lawmen two black males were spotted going into the home, and then leaving with electronics, shoes and other items. They put the stolen goods in a white Mitsubishi Gallant and fled the scene, said Chief Deputy Randy Christian. Authorities issued a lookout bulletin with the description of the suspects and the vehicle. A deputy saw the Mitsubishi at Parkway East and Red Lane Road. When the car was stopped, both suspects fled on foot. Other deputies, as well as Birmingham police officers, arrived to help and both suspects were captured. The stolen property - including at least three televisions and a PlayStation - were returned to the victim. Christian identified the suspects as Jamarcus Keontoe McKinney, 21, and Dadarrius Keywond Haywood, 21, both of Bessemer. Both are charged with third-degree burglary, second-degree theft of property, possession of burglary tools, attempting to elude and resisting arrest. McKinney also has previous charges for three counts of fraudulent use of a credit card. His bond is set at $42,000, jail records show, and Haywood's bond is set at $19,000. After centuries of being overlooked and marginalised, Nepals Muslims are hoping for a brighter future. An earlier version of this story wrongly named Nepal's ruler in 1857 as Jung Bahadur Thapa. It has been changed to Jung Bahadur Rana. Nepalgunj and Kathmandu, Nepal In one corner of Kathmandus Jame Masjid, a stones throw from the former-royal-palace-turned-museum, lies the tomb of Begum Hazrat Mahal forlorn and shorn of its past grandeur. Mahal was the queen of Awadh, a princely state in neighbouring India, and the face of the 1857 rebellion against the British. She fled the Indian city of Lucknow after the revolt was crushed, and the then ruler of Nepal, Jung Bahadur Rana, who had taken his army to help the British quell the rebellion and plunder the city, offered her asylum. M Hussain, the secretary of Jame Masjid, says that many of Mahals supporters followed her to Nepal. READ MORE: Nepal After winter, a ray of hope for quake survivors But Islam had, in fact, been introduced to Nepal long before that. Kashmiri traders first arrived in Kathmandu in the 15th century on their way to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Many of them settled in what was then known as Kantipur and now as Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur during the rule of King Ratna Malla. The 500-year-old Kashmiri Takiya mosque, a few hundred yards from the palace in Kathmandu, is a testimony to this history. Muslims lived as a silent minority for centuries at the goodwill of the Nepali state, explains Hussain. But, in recent years inspired by the Maoist rebellion that lasted from 1996 until 2006 they have become more vocal and visible. The Maoist rebellion paved the way for their [Muslims] political and cultural rights, Hussain says, sitting in his small office in the mosque premises. Muslim festivals were declared public holidays for the first time in 2008 the year the monarchy was abolished and a democratically elected government led by Maoists took office. Escape from death More than 500km away from Kathmandu, in Banke district, which borders India, green flags with Quranic verses adorn Muslim homes to mark the Prophet Muhammads birthday a festival mostly observed by South Asian Muslims. Such public displays are a reflection of the newly recognised religious and cultural rights of Nepals minorities and indigenous groups. Banke is located in the southern plains, known as the Tarai or Madhes region, which is home to 95 percent of the countrys Muslims. Unlike their counterparts in the Kathmandu valley, an overwhelming majority of the Muslims in this area are poor and landless. Their political under-representation and negligible presence within the job market is in keeping with the broader marginalisation of the Madhesi population of which they are a part. Alam Khan, 28, is among the few Muslims who have climbed the economic ladder. Khan is a resident of Nepalgunj in Banke and works for the non-government organisation THRD Alliance, which campaigns against extra-judicial killings, torture and illegal arrests in the Madhes region. Everyone should get rights and [live with] dignity, Alam says in his tiny office in Nepalgunjs Rani Talau area. He was detained by the police for 17 days in 2007 when Madhesis began protesting against the discrimination they experienced. The Madhesis, who are culturally close to their neighbours on the other side of the border with India, have long complained that the country is economically and politically dominated by upper-caste Nepalis from the hilly parts of the country. I was charged with murder and sedition for interviewing an underground Madhesi leader, explains Khan, who worked as a journalist before joining THRD Alliance. They could not prove anything, he adds. It was, he says, an escape from death. Now Khan travels to remote parts of Nepal to document extra-judicial killings and illegal detentions. Despite opposition from his family, he has married a non-Muslim, ethnic Magar woman. When I was in police custody she stood behind me, he explains. I decided that I had to marry her. Khan says his family has since come to accept his wife, who is now studying to become a nurse. Educationally disadvantaged In a country where interfaith and inter-caste marriages are rare, Khan has broken many societal norms and continues to challenge them. Muslims are one of the countrys most disadvantaged groups, and Muslim women are particularly hard hit. Only 26 percent of Muslim women in Nepal are literate the national average for women is 55 percent while just 12 percent of Muslim girls complete secondary school. Abdul Rahman, the former chairman of the Nepalgunj Jame Masjid, attributes this, in part, to a perceived incompatibility between some Islamic values and the public school system. Muslim girls who observe purdah [wearing hijab or niqab] attract attention, he says. They [are looked at as though they are] aliens. Its a mental torture. READ MORE: Nepals Unsung Hero The softly spoken 52-year-old says the government should either give a special package [scholarships or financial assistance] to Muslims for their education or give us freedom to educate our kids according to Islamic values. There were fewer than 5,000 Muslim graduates and postgraduates in 2011, according to that years census. The post-revolutionary democratic governments have acknowledged the concerns of the community, and identified madrasas as a possible tool for improving access to education among Muslims. The madrasa board was formed in 2007 and, for the first time, courses were also made available in Urdu, which is spoken by many of the countrys Muslims. The government promised financial aid to registered madrasas on the condition that they would teach science, mathematics, English and Nepali. The languages spoken by other ethnic groups, such as the Magars and Tamangs, were also recognised. It was in sharp contrast to the time of the monarchy, when only the Nepali language was promoted. But nearly a decade after the policy was announced, more than half of the 2,000 madrasas in Nepal have yet to be registered, and those that are complain of inadequate help. Badre Alam Khan, who runs Aisha Banat, an English medium madrasa for girls, says government aid has been insufficient. The madrasa, which opened with six students in 2006, now teaches 406 girls. Others want to join but a lack of infrastructure and teachers means the school cannot accept any more students, says Khan. We started this madrasa which allows girls to observe purdah. We are imparting modern education along with Islamic education, explains Talat Parveen, the schools principal. Parveen, who is from the Indian city of Gorakhpur but whose husband is from Nepal, believes poverty stops many of the countrys Muslims from pursuing a higher education. There is a need for more colleges and schools with quality education, says the 28-year-old. Purdah does not stop you from anything. I [have a] Masters in English literature and [the] niqab did not come in my way. Abdul Qawi, a 36-year-old social worker, believes special programmes such as free education, hostels and scholarships are needed to lift Muslims out of poverty. But this is not being done, he says. A brighter future Community leaders believe Muslims, who form about 5 percent of Nepals 30 million population, are a distinct group. Though Muslims live in Madhes their culture is different from other groups, says Athar Hussain Faruqi, a local leader of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). Our identity should be different on the basis of culture, language, economic activity, Faruqi adds. The countrys new constitution, which came into effect in 2015, includes Muslims for the first time, adding them to a list of marginalised groups. The constitution also ensures a job quota for Muslims, who currently fill less than 1 percent of civil service positions. Many Muslims are feeling positive about what the future may hold. Nepalgunj, which has the largest Muslim population of any of Nepals cities, boasts a Muslim community radio station, schools and charitable organisations all run by the minority community. Faruqi is upbeat about the prospects of Muslims in Nepal. Eid has been declared holiday, [the] Muslim Commission and [the] madrasa board have been formed, says Faruqi, adding that his party, which is part of the current coalition government, will continue to fight for greater rights for the Muslims of Nepal. The few Yemeni refugees who make it to Greece find themselves bewildered and trapped by contradictory asylum rules. Athens, Greece Balloons float in the air and candlelight from a birthday cake dances across the walls of the dining room in a central Athens hotel. The hotel is usually host to tourists and school trips, but its newest guests are some of the 54,000 refugees in Greece who found themselves stranded after European borders were closed. The birthday party for the daughter of one Syrian family provides a brief respite. But one guest is finding it hard to celebrate. Twenty-year-old Waleed al-Shaibani spent thousands of dollars to escape war-torn Yemen in the hope of continuing his international management studies in Europe. After weeks waiting in the bitter cold to pass the Macedonian border, in the hope of reaching family in France, he gave up and returned to a camp in Athens where the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, recommended that he apply for relocation to another European country. Doing so plunged him into a nightmare. A plan agreed upon by EU states at the height of the refugee crisis in September 2015 proposed that refugees (mainly Syrian, Iraqi and Eritrean) be distributed around Europe to relieve the burden on the frontline states of Italy and Greece. Of an agreed figure of 160,000, to date only 1,441 have been moved, and some central European states are bitterly contesting the proposal. Yemenis no longer eligible Poland initially accepted Waleeds application, but after hed waited for months for further instructions, Polands deputy foreign minister, Konrad Szymanski, declared the quota deal dead and suspended the refugee programme. When Waleed asked the Greek asylum service to be relocated elsewhere, he discovered that Yemenis were no longer eligible for the programme. I have seen Syrians and Iraqis move from Greece, but we Yemenis are not allowed. Why not? he says, exasperated. The UN claims that an estimated 6,000 Yemenis have been killed in the countrys civil war. Waleed is originally from Taiz, a besieged city held by Houthi rebels. We have the same kind of war, but people dont know about us, he says. The nationalities considered eligible for relocation are chosen on the basis that they have an asylum acceptance rate of 75 percent or higher. But this methodology seems flawed. Refugees from Afghanistan, for example, make up a large portion of those stranded in Greece. But as more than a quarter of them are unsuccessful in their asylum claims across Europe, they are not applicable for relocation. Costa Ricans, by contrast, are, despite the fact that there is not one known refugee from that country in Greece. Yemenis did not figure in the top 30 nationalities claiming asylum in the EU in 2015, yet it appears that of the few who make it to Europe, more than a quarter are being denied. However, the guidelines for the relocation programme stipulate, as European Commission spokesman Markus Lammert confirmed to Al Jazeera, that Yemenis who have expressed their interest in relocation before Yemen was taken off the eligible nationalities list continue to be eligible for relocation. Waleed is nonplussed. I dont want relocation any more because they lied to me. They told me you will wait two months and you will travel. But when I went to the Greek asylum service, they told me to claim asylum here or go home, he says, shaking his head in disbelief. They just want us to go back to our countries; they dont care if we die there. Zoe Nasica, head of the relocation unit at the Greek asylum service, put the blame for the confusion on individual countries, telling Al Jazeera: When we submitted specific Yemeni cases to member states, they refused as [Yemen] wasnt any more included. Too dangerous for repatriation So our country is too dangerous for them to send us back, but not dangerous enough for Europe to accept us. by Waleed al-Shaibani, 20 Disillusioned by Europes refugee policies, Waleed is thinking of returning home. If I claim asylum here, there are no options, he explains. Even the Greeks dont have jobs, and they cannot provide housing, so I will be on the street. If I go back to Yemen, I know its war, but at least I can sleep in my bed. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) arranges flights for some refugees who wish to return home. Most of the current takers are Iranians, Afghans and North Africans. But when Waleed inquired if he could benefit from the scheme, he was confronted with a paradox. We went to the IOM and asked if they can repatriate us, but they said they cannot because its not safe, he explains. So our country is too dangerous for them to send us back, but not dangerous enough for Europe to accept us. The IOM confirmed to Al Jazeera that they do not organise voluntary returns to Yemen, as it is not considered safe for the beneficiaries. Even the clandestine options are now unavailable to Waleed. I thought about using a smuggler, but I have no money left, he says, pulling out a tiny gold sovereign bearing the face of Britains King George V. All I have is this. My mother gave it to me before I left. But I took it to be valued at a shop here and they quoted me 80 euros [$91]. Waleed smiles. So, Ill sell it, then thats the last thing for me. Khaled A Beydoun is a law professor, and author of American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear. After winning four pivotal presidential primaries on April 26, Hillary Clinton drew a line between hard working, terror-hating Muslims and (Muslim) terrorists. In front of a raucous audience of supporters in Philadelphia, Clinton the presumptive presidential candidate for the Democratic Party only made mention of Muslims in relation to terrorism, and reaffirmed the mythic good versus bad Muslim paradigm. Muslim Americans were either terror-hating or terrorists, slotted into one of these two caricatured categories with no space in between, or existential affiliation beyond. Within the broader context of counter-radicalisation policing, whereby local law enforcement monitor Muslim spaces through electronic surveillance and the seeding of informants, Clintons rhetoric presented Muslim Americans with an already familiar, yet never more threatening, ultimatum: choose the moderate brand of terror-hating Muslim identity sanctioned by the state, or be branded with the suspicion that invites its scrutiny, surveillance, and civil liberties infractions. The good Muslim Much ink, many film reels, and an infinite number of news headlines have focused on bad Muslims. From terrorists to dictators, foreign transgressors to fabricated threats, Muslim identity is marred by almost every imaginable negative stereotype and menacing trope. Representations of good Muslims, in every medium, are few and far between. READ MORE: Speaking Arabic while flying Indeed, the hegemony of the evil or bad Muslim has entirely eclipsed illustrations of good Muslims, and in instances where the latter are the subject of focus, are engaged in stifling terrorist acts, or stopping radicalisation. Like the 'bad Muslim', the identity of 'good Muslims' is inextricably tied to terrorism. by Like the bad Muslim, the identity of good Muslims is inextricably tied to terrorism. Both characterisations are rooted in that common baseline, which gives rise to linear caricatures that overshadow representations of good Muslims as Olympians or scholars, victims of gruesome violence and even mayors of world-class cities. Societal understandings of good Muslims are just as narrow as its conception of the bad Muslim terrorist. The states framing, particularly as it heavily invests into and expands its counter-radicalisation anti-terror programme, doesnt seek to dismantle this good versus bad Muslim binary but is doubling down on it. Clash of radicalisations For Muslim Americans, demonstrations of good citizenship are tied to terrorism. Namely, condemning any and every act that involves a Muslim culprit. Apologising for the actions of a deviant, distant view. And routinely on deaf ears, collective statements against the savage acts of savage actors such as ISIL (also known as ISIS). Muslim Americans are riddled with the assignment of collective guilt that obliges them to disavow or apologise for entirely unrelated actors, or completely unconnected actions. The popular good or moderate Muslim construct, now aggressively pushed forward by the state, and the clash of civilizations worldview more evident in US President Barack Obamas recent rhetoric, forces Muslim Americans to choose a side. Unfortunately, there are only two sides, and selecting the wrong side leaves one vulnerable to identification as a bad Muslim, followed by the surveillance and state violence attendant with that classification. The counter-radicalisation policing model, which I dub the new PATRIOT ACT, is founded itself upon a radical baseline. Namely, that the prospect of becoming a terrorist only rises from Islam, and no other ideology. READ MORE: Donald Trump and electing Islamophobia Terrorism is not only conflated with Islam, but exclusively tied to it and nothing else. This problematic tenet, which forms the very foundation of counter-radicalisation policing, informs how the FBI, local law enforcement, and Muslim American interlocutors and informants advance counter-radicalisation programming. The latter, Muslim Americans themselves, fill the role of the terror hating Muslims, fully invested in performing the states narrow conception of what it means to be a good Muslim. Not only those who conform their religious practice with western, liberal sensibilities, but perhaps more importantly within the American context, facilitate the surveillances state reach into private Muslim American geographies in the name of preventing radicalisation. The progressive Muslim informant These moderate Muslims, for the state, are the quintessential Muslim model minority. Little is known about counter-radicalisation policing outside government institutions and grass-roots Muslim discourses. The state has capitalised on grassroots ignorance, and opponents have thus far been ineffective with educating Muslim Americans at the grassroots level about the range of free exercise, free speech and privacy threats posed by the programme. The urgency to inform communities, particularly indigent and working-class Muslim American spaces where counter-radicalisation is disproportionately deployed, is especially pressing. Yet, disentangling Islam from radicalisation is perpetually complicated by the state, and more so, the growing front who embrace the moderate Muslim mantle. A front that has expanded under a Democratic White House, expedited by an outwardly progressive administration that enables Muslim liberals or democrats to engage in a fashion impossible under a Republican White House. Therefore, while expansion of the surveillance state under Obama is reality-politik, his party affiliation and racial identity broadens the net of who can serve as a native informant, and specifically, the progressive Muslim informant or counter-radicalisation proponent. Fringe voices Indeed, Muslim American engagement with former president George W Bush was limited to fringe voices from the right or establishment scholars, who traded academic objectivity for influence with the establishment. The vast majority of Muslim Americans, while Bush was in office, distanced themselves from these native informants. This paradigm hasnt changed under Obama. But the surveillance structures that stand atop have expanded, and the explicit derision of Islam expressed by Bush, and perfected by Donald Trump, are sugar-coated with tolerant language, Ramadan dinners, and belated mosque visits. Smitten, Muslim Americans from the left and centre rushed to Obamas aide, and stood by him as he quietly broadened and deepened surveillance of Muslim Americans, and coupled US PATRIOT with counter-radicalisation. These Muslim moderates, who are functionally wed to the notion that extremism is exclusive to Islam and radicalisation limited to Muslim actors, are the terror-hating Muslim Americans Hillary Clinton called out to on April 26. A manoeuvring rank and file, inside and outside of government, who are further embedding the very good versus bad Muslim binary that has long plagued Muslims in America, and diminished their citizenship and how Muslim identity is seen and understood. Being moderate, in the expanding witch hunt for Muslim radicals, has never been so bad. Khaled A Beydoun is an assistant professor of law at the Barry University Dwayne O Andreas School of Law. He is a native of Detroit. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. The tiny ethno-religious community in the occupied West Bank is fighting to keep its traditions alive. Kiryat Luza, occupied West Bank As the sun sets over Mount Gerizim, it is easy to see why the Samaritans regard it as the holiest place on earth. Looking out over the Palestinian city of Nablus on one side and rolling hills on the other, the mountain is an oasis in an increasingly troubled region. The Samaritans, a tiny ethno-religious community of fewer than 1,000 people who live in an area between Mount Gerizim, in the occupied West Bank, and Holon, in Israel, trace their roots back to two ancient biblical tribes that existed more than 3,000 years ago. Now they are fighting a battle to keep their community alive. Welcome to Kiryat Luza, the home of the Samaritans, one man said with a welcoming smile near the entrance of the Samaritan village on Mount Gerizim. Kiryat Luza, which sits at the end of a long, winding drive up the mountain and behind a set of sliding metal gates, feels like a little world of its own. INTERACTIVE: Palestine Remix But Mount Gerizim has not always been the Samaritans home. During the second Intifada, they moved en masse from Nablus to the mountain to avoid being caught up in clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli army. The sect, which prides itself on being politically neutral and whose members hold both Israeli and Palestinian citizenship, has made significant efforts over the decades to avoid being caught in the crossfire. War is not good for the Palestinians, and war is not good for the Israelis. We have to go together towards peace. by Hosni Cohen, Samaritan priest We dont go with Palestine, and we dont go with Israel, Hosni Cohen, a Samaritan priest, told Al Jazeera. We must go straight down the middle. While the Samaritans of Mount Gerizim are staunchly Palestinian in their nationality, their religious identity is more closely aligned with their Israeli counterparts across the Green Line, as Samaritanism shares roots with Judaism. Samaritans worship in a synagogue, speak ancient Hebrew, and their holy book is called the Samaritan Torah. This unique mix along with Samaritan history, which has seen the ethno-religious groups numbers depleted significantly through bloody conflicts in the past, including the Samaritan revolts against the ruling Byzantine Christians in the 5th and 6th century gives the Samaritans a chance to play an important role in Israeli-Palestinian relations, Cohen believes. We can be a bridge between both people, to show that there are similarities and that it is possible to live together, Cohen said. Three thousand years ago, we were three million; now we are just a small sect. Why? Because of war. War is not good for the Palestinians, and war is not good for the Israelis. We have to go together towards peace. The depletion in numbers of the Samaritan population, from three million to fewer than 200 in the mid-1910s, has made this community all but disappear. Gerard Russell, an author who has documented disappearing religions in the Middle East, told Al Jazeera that many members of the Samaritan community were forced to convert to other religions over the years. Samaritans] had over 1,000 years of being exposed to domination of missionary faiths, he said. Who knows why else they didnt hold out quite as well as, say, the Mandaeans in Iraq, but probably their location in a highly desirable and strategic location didnt help. They also didnt believe in emigration, so couldnt escape as the Jews did by moving to another country. Although Samaritans numbers have risen slightly in recent decades, community members say they are just barely clinging to their heritage. The lack of a robust resurgence in the Samaritan population has led the community to amend some of its traditions. Although Samaritans were historically barred from marrying outside the religion, men in the community have been told by Samaritan priests in recent decades that they can look outside for marriage, as long as the woman converts to Samaritanism. Women have not been granted the same freedom. Several dozen women including Israelis, Europeans and Azerbaijanis have married and converted in recent years, according to Cohen. AL JAZEERA WORLD: Stories from the Intifada Despite the new converts, many Samaritans fear they will be fighting an uphill demographic battle in the years ahead along with a battle to preserve their culture and heritage. The Samaritan language, ancient Hebrew, is not used on a daily basis within the community, while young members of the community continue to leave Mount Gerizim to seek employment opportunities elsewhere. As they are in a unique situation, carrying both Israeli and Palestinian passports, travelling and leaving the occupied West Bank is much easier for Samaritans than for their Muslim and Christian Palestinian counterparts. Some efforts are being made to preserve the sects culture. Classes on Samaritan history, rituals and language are compulsory for all children in Kiryat Luza, with children as young as seven learning to speak ancient Hebrew. Village teenagers, including 16-year-old Ishaq Shloabi, reel off facts about Samaritan history with pride. I can tell you all of our history, but I need to keep learning. Even these small kids here, they have done so much reading, Shloabi told Al Jazeera, gesturing towards the young children playing in the street. At 4pm, they come and learn, and the priest will come to teach them how to describe our book and know it, not just to memorise it. Shloabi says he is proud to be a Samaritan and has no plans to leave the small community yet but he worries about its future. We are a small community, so we have to keep learning so we dont lose the knowledge, our history and who we are, Shloabi said. I hope there are still Samaritans in the future. Police suspect Islamist militants behind the latest attack, weeks after several others were butchered with machetes. Machete-wielding assailants hacked to death a village doctor and wounded a university teacher in western Bangladesh in what police suspect was the latest in a series of attacks by hardline groups in the country. The attackers on Friday rode a motorcycle which they used to block another motorbike driven by their victims in the western district of Kushtia, 245km from Dhaka, local police chief Mohammad Sahabuddin Chowdhury said. The homeopathic doctor, Mir Sanaur Rahman, 55, was killed on the spot and his companion, identified as Saifuzzaman, 45, suffered serious wounds. Police found a bloody machete at the scene. Suspicious murders shock Bangladesh We suspect Islamist militants are behind the attack, police chief Chowdhury said. He said police were also checking whether the victims had any enemies or any other factors involved. Also read: Bangladesh: Extremism and shrinking space for dissent Over the past year, the South Asian nation of 160 million has seen a surge in violent attacks that have targeted atheist bloggers, academics, religious minorities and foreign aid workers. Earlier this month, a 75-year-old Buddhist monk was hacked to death inside the temple where he lived. That killing followed the murders of two prominent gay activists, a law student, a Hindu tailor and a university professor in April. An EgyptAir official says more wreckage of the missing flight MS804 has been found, including human remains, luggage and passengers seats, the Associated Press news agency has reported. The Egyptian navy was able to retrieve more debris from the plane, some of the passengers belongings, human remains, and plane seats, the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement on Friday. An unnamed official from EgyptAir said the search was continuing to locate the rest of the plane and the black box flight recorders to determine what exactly happened. Earlier in the day, the Egyptian army said that wreckage was found 290km north of the port city Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast. The plane disappeared over the Mediterranean with 66 people on board early on Thursday. EgyptAir Chairman Safwat Moslem told state television that the current radius of the search zone was 65km, giving an area of 12950 sq km but that it would be expanded as necessary. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to rule out any cause for the crash. READ MORE: Families wait for answers after EgyptAir flight goes missing Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi expressed his condolences on Friday to the families of victims. The presidency with utmost sadness and regret mourns the victims aboard the EgyptAir flight who were killed after the plane crashed in the Mediterranean on its way back to Cairo from Paris, Sisis office said in a statement. The search intensified on Friday, a day after Egypts aviation minister said while it was too soon to say why the Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo had vanished from radar screens, a terrorist attack would be a more likely scenario than a technical failure. The tragedy raised fears of a repeat of the bombing of a Russian passenger jet by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group over Egypt last October that killed 224 people. The plane disappeared between the Greek islands and the Egyptian coast without a distress signal from its crew. Kammenos said the aircraft swerved sharply twice in Egyptian air space before plunging 6,700 metres. Aviation analyst Tobias Rueckerl told Al Jazeera it was likely the searchers would find the black box quickly after locating the crash site, which could shed more light on what happened to the ill-fated aircraft. Basically we will have all the details up to the fatal event, Rueckerl said. If anything happened in the cockpit, it is likely they will hear it on the voice recorder. We dont know the cause of the crash right now. Both Egypt and Greece dispatched aircraft and naval vessels. They were expected to be joined by French teams, while the US sent a surveillance plane to help with the operation. READ MORE: Search stepped up for missing EgyptAir flight Richard Marquise, a former FBI agent who led the US task force investigating the Lockerbie bombing, told Al Jazeera that Egypt was quick to point to an attack, unlike France. Its becoming a game of finger-pointing about whos responsible, whether its a mechanical failure of EgyptAir, or a terrorist bomb on the aircraft, he told Al Jazeera. He added this was in contrast to the October 2015 Metrojet bombing, when Egypt was more reluctant than Russia to point to a possible attack. In that case, Egyptian authorities were responsible for security as the city of Sharm el Sheikh was the departure point. Officials from a number of US agencies told Reuters news agency that reviews of satellite imagery so far had not produced any signs of an explosion. They said the United States had not ruled out any possible causes of the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism, or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew. Thursday was Indias hottest day on record as the temperature reached 51 Celsius in Rajasthan. Severe heatwave conditions continue across much of the state, with Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat also experiencing the unusually high temperatures. Much of South Asia has recorded temperatures between 3 to 5 degrees above the average. The worst of the heat has been across Pakistan and northwest India, with daytime highs around the 50C mark as the pre-monsoon heat returns to the region. The new record was set in Phalodi in the desert state of Rajasthan with a maximum temperature of 51C on Thursday afternoon. That beats the previous record of 50.6 set 60 years earlier in the northern town of Alwar. Churu in West Rajasthan had a high of 50.6C on Thursday. The weather was even hotter for some across the border in Pakistan. Jacobabad had a top temperature of 51.5C, while Bahawalnagar and Sibi both reach an even 50C. May and June are the regions hottest months as temperatures climb ahead of the southwesterly monsoon. Maximum temperatures often pass 40C but 50 degrees is exceptional. The severe heat is expected to continue through the weekend and beyond. The heat is not likely to abate significantly until the clouds roll in, bringing the summer monsoon downpours. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, conditions are favourable for further advance of the southwest monsoon into southern parts of Bengal and the Andaman Sea during the next 48 hours. The rains are not expected across southern India before the start of June. Security forces open fire after protesters break into high-security area that houses PMs office and foreign embassies. Iraqi security forces opened fire and used tear gas on protesters who stormed into Baghdads heavily fortified Green Zone on Friday for the second time within a month. Dozens of demonstrators were injured by tear gas and live fire, witnesses told Reuters news agency. Some security personnel were stabbed, according to a military statement. Authorities could not immediately verify reports that several civilians had been killed. Oh army, the country is hurt! Dont side with the corrupt! the demonstrators chanted. The thousands of protesters included supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and people from other groups upset about the governments failure to approve anti-corruption reforms and provide security. Infiltrators exploited our forces preoccupation with preparations for the Falluja battle to penetrate state institutions and cause chaos, the military said, referring to a city 50km west of Baghdad controlled by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for more than two years. The government briefly imposed a curfew on Baghdad and authorities later said order had returned after what they called rioting at the Green Zone, which houses parliament, government buildings and many foreign embassies. Al-Sadr, who did not explicitly call for Fridays demonstration, expressed support for protesters and condemned security forces use of force against them. I respect your choice and your peaceful spontaneous revolt, Sadr said in a statement. Curse the government that kills its children in cold blood. Protesters occupied the cabinet building for several hours. Some held Iraqi flags and flashed peace signs near the insignia of the prime ministers press office and inside a meeting room. The protesters eventually withdrew to Tahrir Square, but witnesses said security forces and unidentified gunmen opened fire there as well. Supporters of al-Sadr and other groups have been protesting for months to demand reforms and an end to corruption and provide security. They had stormed the Green Zone on April 30. They have added to their grievances the governments failure to provide security after a wave of bombings claimed by ISIL, which is also known as ISIS, in Baghdad this month which killed more than 150 people. Iraqs political crisis broke out in February, when Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced plans to appoint a cabinet of independent technocrats, threatening to uproot a system of political patronage that makes the public administration open to corruption. He has warned that the impasse could hamper Iraqs fight against ISIL, which continues to control territory in northern and western Iraq. Suspect linked to several bomb attacks detonated explosives during a police operation in Gaziantep on the Syrian border. A suspected high-ranking member of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant blew himself up during a police raid in the Turkish city of Gaziantep. Another suspect, believed to be the suicide bombers brother, was taken alive during the raid on Thursday night at an apartment in the central district of Sehitkamil, Ali Yerlikaya, governor of Gaziantep, told Turkeys Anadolu Agency. We went to the location soon after we heard it happened last night, said Al Jazeeras Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Gaziantep.Witnesses said they heard an explosion. Yerlikaya said the suspect died after deliberately setting off explosives he was wearing. No citizens or security forces were hurt in the incident, he added. OPINION: Turkeys summer of mayhem The bomber may have been an emir of ISIL, also known as ISIS, in Gaziantep named Yunus Durmaz, the governor told the news agency. Durmaz has been linked to the Suruc and Ankara bombings that killed a total of 134 people last year. Turkish media reported that Durmaz planned both bombings and was in close contact with ISIL suicide attackers. He has also been accused of involvement in the suicide car bombing that killed a police officer in Gaziantep two weeks ago. The name of the suspect that we have in custody is Haci Ali Durmaz, the governor said. In the house that was raided there also was a woman and a child. During their interrogation, both the suspect and the woman said the man who set off explosives was Yunus Durmaz, Yerlikaya said. OPINION: Turkey is not in bed with ISIL The officials are not confirming his identity yet, reported Dekker. They are saying they are carrying DNA tests on his body. Durmaz and his brother Haci Ali Durmaz had been wanted by Turkish authorities for months. In April, the General Directorate of Security Affairs sent out a warning about the Durmaz brothers to police departments in 81 Turkish cities, stating they may be planning new bomb attacks on civilians. Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon has resigned after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly offered his post to Avigdor Lieberman. I told the prime minister this morning that due to his conduct in recent developments, and in light of my lack of trust in him, I am resigning from the government and Knesset [Israeli parliament] and taking a break from political life, the former armed forces chief of staff said on social media on Friday. Yaalons surprise resignation comes two days after former foreign minister Lieberman said he would be open to bringing his far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party into Netanyahus coalition if a number of conditions were met, including being named defence minister. Yaalon had been at loggerheads with Netanyahu over his insistence that senior officers be encouraged to speak their mind. Reports said Netanyahu had been considering offering the retired lieutenant general the foreign ministry as a consolation, though the offer was never made. Israels controversial ministers Yaalon, 65, as defence minister oversaw the 51-day Israeli war on Gaza in 2014, in which more than 2,000 Palestinians, a quarter of whom were children, were killed. Lieberman, 57, is one of the countrys most polarising politicians. Over three decades, he has at times been Netanyahus closest ally and other times a fierce rival. He has called for the execution of Palestinian members of the Israeli parliament who reportedly met with members associated with Hamas, and has signed on to controversial legislation, such as the so-called loyalty oath that would be required of Israeli citizens to maintain their citizenship. He has also called for the annexation of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and for the transfer of Palestinian citizens of Israel. Since 2011, Salim Omer Baras has raised more than $100,000 for the needy in the Arab worlds poorest country. Mukalla, Yemen Last year, Iman Ibrahims mother and siblings, fearing the Houthi rebel groups rapid advance into southern Yemen, fled by boat to Somalia. She found herself trapped in Somalia I contacted relatives here and asked them to help me, said Iman, who lives in a small house in the impoverished suburbs north of the port city of Mukalla. But her relatives turned her down, saying they were unable to help. One day, my former classmate told me that a man called Salim Omer Baras was famous for using social media networking sites to raise funds for the needy who approach him, she said. I reached out for his contact. READ MORE: Yemen revolution Our dream was sold Baras has become known in Mukalla for using social media networks, mainly Facebook, to collect thousands of dollars to help critically ill people, hungry families and those in need of life-saving surgery. Th e aid goes to destitute people in Mukalla and neighbouring regions. Baras, 42, told Al Jazeera that he has raised more than $100,000 in charitable donations since 2011. He recalled that this January, Iman visited him in his home, and explained her familys ordeal in Somalia. I posted her appeal online and asked for $2,310 [the total cost of the journey] to help her family return home. Some people from Saudi Arabia privately contacted me and agreed to donate half of the money. To raise the remaining amount, Baras wrote another post, urging followers to help the troubled family. Hours after posting the appeal for the second time, another man offered to pay more than $1,000, he explained. After receiving the funds from local exchange companies, Baras called Iman and told her he would transfer the money to her mother in Somalia. I could not believe my ears. I was so happy, Iman said. Baras, who works as a librarian at a secondary school in Mukalla, said he began raising money on social media in 2011. His first online humanitarian appeal was on behalf of a poor family that was crammed into a room that had no windows or doors, he recalled. Baras posted an appeal on Facebook to help the family. Two Saudi philanthropists gave 35,000 Yemeni rials ($140) apiece. I collected the money and fixed two windows, a door for the toilet, and gave them the remaining money, Baras said. His online fundraising is also financing breakfast for as many as 100 students in Mukalla. One day, teachers at the 14th of October School found out that students who faint during morning queue skip breakfast. Students said they had no food at home. They are hungry. When he learned about the problem three years ago, Baras asked his followers to support the hungry students. They generously responded to my appeal. I managed to secure breakfast for the students for years, he said. To reassure donors that their money is given to the beneficiaries, Baras scans receipts and poses for photos with those who receive the donations. People have increasingly trusted me, he said. They do not ask for evidence that their donations were given out to the right people. READ MORE: Starvation in Yemen We are hoping just to survive Amid Yemens ongoing war , Baras said, requests for aid have increased, especially among residents who have lost their jobs. He does not post all requests that he receives, but rather scrutinises each case and posts the most needy. I give priority to those cases that I can verify personally, he added. Baras, a father of three children, said he does not own land, a house or a car. His wife is a teacher. Most of Baras donors are from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, he said, while others come from Europe, Africa and North America. He said he was considering turning his online humanitarian campaigns into a registered foundation, in order to be able to receive larger donations. In the meantime, his charitable work continues as usual. Last week, a poor nomad from a remote area in Hadramout asked Baras to help him to buy a tent to settle down in a remote area. The man was visually impaired, Baras recalled. I told him, lets treat your eyes first and then buy you a tent. Soon afterwards, Saudi donors agreed to pay for an eye operation for the old man, and Baras took him to a hospital in Mukalla. He got more than he expected, Baras said. The Mexican government decided to extradite the drug boss to the US under condition that he is not given death sentence. Mexican drug boss Joaquin El Chapo Guzman will file multiple legal challenges against the governments decision to extradite him to the United States, his lawyers have said. The announcement came on Friday just hours after Mexicos foreign ministry approved Guzmans extradition. The legal challenges could delay his transfer to face charges in the US for weeks. Mexicos Extraordinary Escape The ministry said it received assurances that Guzman would not be given the death penalty, adding that he would face charges including drug trafficking, money laundering and murder in US federal courts in California and Texas. Juan Pablo Badillo, one of Guzmans lawyers, told Reuters he would file many legal challenges in the coming days. El Chapo was the head of the Sinaloa drug cartel and one of the worlds most wanted drug kingpins until his capture in January, six months after he broke out of a high-security jail in central Mexico through a mile-long tunnel. OPINION: El Chapo proves Mexico is failing Guzman was first captured in 1993 in Guatemala, but he escaped from a prison in western Mexico in 2001 by hiding in a laundry cart. In July 2015, he fled a maximum-security prison near Mexico City just 17 months after authorities captured him following a 13-year manhunt. He escaped through a 1.5km tunnel with a redesigned motorcycle on special tracks, emerging in a house outside the prison. The ministrys decision to extradite Guzman marked a change in the Mexican governments position. Embarrassed by the drug lords escapes, President Enrique Pena Nieto had previously refused to hand him over to the US. Medical charity suspends operations in part of the Central African Republic after attack. The medical aid charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has suspended its activities in part of the Central African Republic after one of its drivers was killed in an attack on a convoy. The incident happened on Wednesday in Kouki, some 400km (250 miles) north of the capital Bangui, the group said. A well-identified MSF convoy of two vehicles transporting staff and patients was stopped by armed men in Kouki, the group said in a statement. The team was forced out of the cars and onto the ground. They were robbed of personal belongings and medication. In the course of the incident, which lasted for more than 40 minutes, one of the drivers was shot and killed. Michelle Chouinard, the organisations head of mission in CAR, said the team was subjected to death threats during the attack. It is absolutely unacceptable that a team of medical workers and their patients were attacked while returning from providing life-saving medical care, she said. It is outrageous that one of our staff members was killed during this act of violence. The MSF team and their patients endured prolonged harassment, including bullets shot close to their heads and repeated verbal threats that they would be killed. The charity said it was stopping its activities in the area until it receives adequate guarantees for the safety of its staff and the acceptance of its medical and humanitarian activities. CAR was plunged into chaos in 2013 when a rebel group, Seleka, toppled president Francois Bozize, triggering a spiral of revenge attacks between the rebels and vigilante groups that left thousands dead and displaced many more. About one in five Central Africans were forced from their homes. The bloodletting in one of the worlds poorest nations was so serious that it triggered a military intervention by former colonial power France and led to the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force. A peaceful presidential vote held in February was hailed as an important step towards reconciliation. We will not be silent MSF, which runs 17 projects across CAR, added that it expected a full inquiry by police and local authorities into the violence. Earlier in May, MSF President Joanne Liu called for an end to attacks at the UN Security Council. Medicine must not be a deadly occupation, she said. Medical ethics cannot be buried by war. She was referring to a recent deadly attack on a hospital in Aleppo, a US attack on an MSF centre in Afghanistan in October 2015,the bombing of an MSF hospital in Yemen, and several strikes on medical facilities elsewhere in Africa. We will not leave patients behind. And we will not be silent, Liu said. Seeking or providing healthcare must not be a death sentence. Second girl from group of over 200 students snatched by Boko Haram two years ago freed, army says. A second girl who was among more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in a raid on a school in the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok more than two years ago has been rescued, the Nigerian army said. Army spokesman Sani Usman said in an emailed statement that the girl was among 97 women and children held hostage by Boko Haram who were freed on Thursday morning after clashes between soldiers and armed fighters in the northeastern Borno state. Thirty-five Boko Haram fighters were killed in the fighting. Nigeria remembers mass abduction Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki, the first Chibok girl to be rescued, was found by soldiers working with a vigilante group on Tuesday near Damboa, south of Maiduguri in the remote northeast where Boko Haram has waged a seven-year rebellion to set up their own state. Officials confirmed that Amina was one of 219 girls abducted from the government school in Chibok in April 2014. Late on Thursday, the army said an operation in Damboa at around 11am local time (10:00 GMT) led to the rescue of nearly 100 hostages who included the second Chibok schoolgirl. We are glad to state that among those rescued is a girl believed to be one of the Chibok Government Secondary School girls that were abducted, said Usman, adding that she was receiving medical treatment. He said her name was Serah Luka and she was from the northeastern town of Madagali, in the state of Adamawa, which borders Borno. The army spokesman said it was possible that three other girls that Serah referred to as having fled and been rescued when the troops arrived may also be among the Chibok girls, adding that this was being investigated. She averred that she reported at the school barely two months and one week before her unfortunate abduction along with other girls over two years ago, said Usman. Further rescue operations planned Earlier on Thursday the governor of Borno state, where Chibok is located, said the army was drawing up plans and moving into a Boko Haram forest stronghold in an effort to rescue the remaining girls. We believe that in the coming weeks we shall recover the rest of the girls, Governor Kashim Shettima told reporters. The military is already moving into the forest. Previous military attempts to storm Sambisa forest have met with mixed success, with soldiers making significant in-roads but failing after running into bands of well-armed guerrilla fighters, mines and booby traps. The #Bringbackourgirls activist group said Amina had told her rescuers that the rest of the girls were under heavy Boko Haram guard in Sambisa. The governors comments came shortly after Amina met Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who had made crushing Boko Haram a pillar of his 2015 presidential election campaign. Aminas rescue gives us new hope and offers a unique opportunity to vital information, Buhari said during a meeting with the teenager, her mother and officials after a presidential jet flew her to Abuja. More than 15,000 people have been killed and two million displaced in Nigeria and neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon in the past seven years. Under Buharis command, and aided by Nigerias neighbours, the army has recaptured most territory lost to Boko Haram. But the armed group, which last year pledged loyalty to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), still regularly stages suicide bombings. Salah Abdeslam, last known survivor of team accused of November attacks, invokes right to silence in French court. The last known survivor of the team that carried out last Novembers Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, refused to talk during questioning by judges amid frustration at 24-hour video surveillance of his cell, his lawyer said. The hearing ended abruptly on Friday, dashing French authorities hopes that Abdeslam would provide more details about the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant groups strategies and individuals behind the November 13 attacks. Abdeslams lawyer, Frank Berton, said his client invoked his right to silence. While Abdeslam did not give a direct reason, Berton said he was disturbed by 24-hour video surveillance in his maximum-security cell in the Fleury-Merogis prison outside Paris. He cant bear being watched on video 24 hours a day, Berton told reporters. It bothers him, and that doesnt make him want to collaborate with the judicial investigation. Berton called the surveillance illegal and said he would ask the Justice Ministry to stop it. He called it a political measure simply to reassure public opinion. Abdeslam, 26, had said last month he wanted to explain his path to radicalisation and his role in the attacks. Berton expressed hope that Abdeslam would decide to talk soon, but said there was no date set for new questioning. Berton described his client as weakened by his isolation and the constant surveillance. Other than me, he sees no one, Berton said. He doesnt speak He is in total isolation. That necessarily has very strong repercussions on his psyche and personality. Abdeslam, a French citizen of Moroccan origin, was handed a half-dozen preliminary terrorism charges after his transfer on April 27 from Belgium, where he was arrested after four months on the run. READ MORE: Double standards in the Paris attacks coverage He is the only suspect still alive believed to have played a direct role in the November 13 attacks at a concert hall, stadium and Parisian cafes, which killed 130 people. The other attackers died in suicide bombings or under police fire. Abdeslams precise role in the attacks has never been clear. The Paris prosecutor has said he was equipped as a suicide bomber, but abandoned his plans and fled to Belgium, where he had grown up. Abdeslams older brother blew himself up at a cafe during the Paris attacks. Abdeslam was captured on March 18 at a hideout near his childhood home in Brussels Molenbeek neighbourhood. Four days later, suicide bombers detonated their explosives in the Brussels airport and metro, killing 32 people. New president calls for Taipei and Beijing to set aside the baggage of history in her inaugural address. Tsai Ing-wen has been sworn in as the new president of Taiwan, becoming the countrys first female leader as she called for Taipei and Beijing to set aside the baggage of history. While Tsai called for positive dialogue with China, her soft approach was not reciprocated by Chinese authorities, who said regardless of what internal changes take place within Taiwan, China will oppose Taiwanese independence. Tsais Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won parliamentary and presidential elections by a landslide in January on a voter backlash against creeping dependence on China. The DPP, which has traditionally favoured independence from China, takes over after eight years under China-friendly Nationalist Ma Ying-jeou. Taiwans first female president takes the helm The new president did not mention the One-China policy in her televised inaugural address on Friday in a move likely to anger Beijing, which claims the self-governing island as its own territory. Tsai said in her speech that she respected the joint acknowledgements and understandings reached between the sides at a landmark 1992 meeting seen by China as underpinning all subsequent contacts and agreements. However, Tsai made no explicit mention of the concept that Taiwan is a part of China, which Beijing says is crucial to the entire relationship. Tsai called for Taipei and Beijing to set aside the baggage of history, and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides. READ MORE: Can democracy work in a Chinese culture? Cross-Strait relations have become an integral part of building regional peace and collective security, Tsai said. We will work to maintain peace and stability in cross-Strait relations. She took a cautious path today, said Al Jazeeras Adrian Brown, reporting from the Taiwanese capital Taipei. She didnt say exactly what China wanted her to say, but she also didnt say enough to really cause China to froth at the mouth. Biggest menace Chinas Taiwan Affairs Office said Tsais remarks were an incomplete answer, warning that China saw any push for Taiwans independence as the biggest menace to peace across the Taiwan Strait, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, asked about the inauguration, merely praised the record of the one China policy. Regardless of what internal changes take place within Taiwan, China will uphold the one China principle and oppose Taiwanese independence, she told a briefing. China maintains that Taiwan must unify with the mainland eventually, by force if necessary. However, Taiwanese public opinion is strongly against any sort of political union or outright conflict between the two sides, instead favouring the status of de facto independence and robust social and economic interactions. Many people who voted for Tsai Ing-wen in Januarys election did so because they want her to preserve Taiwans distinct identity. There are others, of course, who want independence, but mostly here in Taiwan, people want to stick to the status quo, said Brown. They dont want conflict with China. Focus on domestic issues While her comments on the future of Taiwans relations with the mainland grabbed the worlds attention, domestic issues were at the core of Tsais inaugural address. Taiwan has been suffering an economic slide in the recent years. The growth rate of the island nations economy is less than one percent. Most of her speech focused on domestic issues, Al Jazeeras Brown said. The economy, jobs, the fact that they have to overhaul the pension scheme in this country, mundane issues to people outside Taiwan, but here in this country they are very important. But Taiwans economy is also dependent on the mainland. Almost 50 percent of Taiwans exports go to China, Brown said. The new president wants to explore the possibility of developing stronger trade ties with countries in southeast Asia. Party leader Rached Ghannouchi calls for more democratic embrace after being labelled moderate Islamists for 30 years. Tunisias conservative Ennahda party says it has separated itself from any association with political Islam after being considered moderate Islamists for 30 years. Ennahdas leader Rached Ghannouchi made the announcement on Friday in the opening of the partys first congress since 2012, which was attended by thousands of people in the capital, Tunis. We are keen to keep religion far from political struggles, and we call for complete neutrality, he said. A modern state is not run through ideologies, big slogans and political wrangling, but rather through practical programmes. In 2011, Ennahda won the countrys first democratic election after President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced from power by a popular protest movement. #Ghannouchi: Freedom does not mean chaos, just as the states power does not mean repression and denial of freedoms Ennahdha Party (@EnnahdhaParty) May 20, 2016 But in 2014, it came second to the secularist Nidaa Tounes party in parliamentary elections and is part of a coalition government. Al Jazeeras Nazanine Moshiri, reporting from Tunis, said that Ennahdas decision to become more of a democratic party stems from efforts to broaden its appeal to the wider sectors of society. She said that as a result of its move to halt religious activities in politics, the partys members can no longer preach in mosques and people can join the party without having to obtain two signatures from the party. #Ghannouchi: we reaffirm #Ennahdhas absolute support for the state in its war against ISIS and takfiri extremists#Tunisia Ennahdha Party (@EnnahdhaParty) May 20, 2016 Tunisia and the West in general still view the label of Islamists as connected to groups like Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram. So it is trying to move away from that label, but it doesnt mean it wont have Islamic values. It still will. Ghannouchi and other intellectuals inspired by Egypts Muslim Brotherhood in 1981 founded the Islamic Tendency Movement, which became Ennahda in 1989. Banned under the leadership of Ben Ali, the party was legalised after the 2011 uprising. #Ghannouchi: #Ennahdha evolved since the 70s from an ideological movement engaged in the struggle for identity, https://t.co/uItgWqT3TL Ennahdha Party (@EnnahdhaParty) May 20, 2016 Ghannouchi, who lived in exile for 20 years, returned home to a triumphal welcome after the uprising and won post-revolution election in October 2011. The story of the secret century-old deal which aimed to carve up the Middle East in ways that still reverberate today. This is the story of the secret deal between the British and French, concluded in May 1916, which aimed to carve up the Middle East in ways that most benefited the two European powers. Modern world history has been heavily influenced by events in the Middle East, whose strategic importance has been magnified by both a global dependence on oil and the Israel-Palestine conflict. A hundred years ago, World War I saw Britain, France and Russia locked in combat with Germany, Austro-Hungary and the Ottomans. As the war in Europe fought itself almost to a standstill, Britain cast a strategic eye towards key areas of the Ottoman Empire. Should the allies be victorious, it would be important to claim the most strategically valuable territory Greater Syria and Mesopotamia particularly in relation to the French. The prime minister, Herbert Asquith, turned to a young British politician, Sir Mark Sykes, whod become chief government adviser on the Near East. In late 1915 and early 1916, he and the French lawyer-turned-diplomat, Francois Georges-Picot, would negotiate the terms of a secret agreement with potentially far-reaching consequences. But this is also a story of intrigue and double-dealing. At the same time as the British were negotiating with the French, they also made promises to two other separate interest groups and these three deals all seemed to contradict one another. They promised to support the Arab Hashemite leader, Sherif Hussein of Mecca, in his effort to create a united Greater Arabia; and also the international Jewish lobby in its goal of establishing a homeland in Palestine. Sykes-Picots borders were never actually put in place but the agreement did form the basis of future negotiations. As well as proposing areas of direct British and French rule, it also mapped out other areas of protection and, ultimately, the post-Ottoman Middle East closely resembled the spheres of influence that it created. Within five years of the deal, the Treaty of Sevres and the Cairo Conference would draw the national boundaries of modern-day states which have been plagued by wars and revolutions ever since. WATCH PART ONE: Revlon has been making nail polish for a long time. In 1932, it became the first nail-polish brand ever with the launch of a cream-colored lacquer, which was a big deal at the time since the only other polishes out there were clear and lame and sometimes even made out of the same stuff as car paint (gross). Fast-forward 84 years, and the brand has certainly evolved, branching out into cosmetics, hair tools, and even fragrance, but this week it's going back to where it all started. To celebrate the nail line (and in a sense the brand's heritage), today Revlon announced its first global nail stylistInstagram-famous manicurist Chelsea King. King's is a success story that could only be possible in the age of social media. After being forced by her mom to get her first manicure for her high-school prom, King became fascinated with painting her nails. "I went to the store andI always feel like people think I'm lying when I say this, butthe first polish I ever bought was a Revlon color, so it's kind of all come full circle," she says. King, who had always loved painting, discovered nail art online and began trying it herself. Once she got good enough, she started posting images of her work on Instagram, which caught the attention of a photographer, which led to an introduction to a talent agent and, ultimately, a career as an editorial manicurist. "I had to get my nail license before I could start, but once I graduated and saw my name on the agency website, that was probably the turning point of my career." English News West Africa: Evolving jihadist strategy increases threat to regional capitals Alwihda Info | Par PGI - 20 Mai 2016 PGI Intelligences latest Insight report is now available on the increased threat of terrorism to capitals in West Africa. Please attribute any reference to this report to PGI Intelligence. Shifting militant allegiances pose new threat to region An upsurge in attacks on hotels and tourist sites in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast since late 2015 is indicative of the growing reach of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its affiliates in West Africa. The first of these new wave of attacks was reported in November 2015, when gunmen stormed the Radisson Blu hotel in Malis capital Bamako. Although militants have long been active in Malis volatile northeast, the incident was the first time a major attack took place in the capital. This was followed by further shooting raids on a hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on 15 January 2016, and the beach resort of Grand Bassam in Ivory Coast on 13 March 2016. In the two latter cases, the incidents represented the first major Islamist attacks in those countries, while the Ivory Coast incident marked the furthest south Sahel-based militants have carried out an attack. More recently, on 21 March 2016, gunmen struck an EU training mission base at the Nord-Sud hotel in Bamako, before being quickly repelled by guards. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for each attack alongside multiple other independent groups, raising suspicions that more than one militant network helped facilitate the attacks. The Bamako and Ouagadougou attacks were also claimed by the Sahel-based group al-Mourabitoun, led by Algerian jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar, in what the group described as its first joint act with AQIM. Belmokhtar has long had a tense relationship with AQIM, but the Bamako attack appears to be a sign of growing coordination between the groups and was followed by al-Mourabitoun declaring a pledge of allegiance to AQIM in December 2015. Since its formation in 2013, al-Mourabitoun has persistently targeted French interests and its closer cooperation with AQIM partly explains the shift in focus to locations and countries with large French populations. The Massina Liberation Front (MLF) and Ansar Dine also claimed responsibility for the November 2015 attack in Bamako in what could support claims made by Malian authorities that AQIM was aided by local accomplices in the attack. The MLF is based in south-central Mali near the border with Burkina Faso, while Ansar Dine maintains a faction based in southern Mali that claimed responsibility for attacks on the southern towns of Misseni and Fakola in June and July 2015 near the border with Ivory Coast. The MLF draws many of its recruits from the Fulani ethnic-linguistic group that spans much of the Sahel and West Africa and which AQIM has been reportedly attempting to recruit from in a bid to tap into widespread grievances of marginalisation. Fulani fighters were allegedly used in the attacks in Ouagadougou and the utilisation of these independent militant networks likely provided AQIM with the logistical and reconnaissance capability to expand its operations further south. Since the attacks, Malian security forces have also arrested several high-profile Ansar Dine figures responsible for facilitating cross-border operations. These include the southern factions leader, Souleymane Keita, in March 2016, and in May 2016 his deputy and the factions logistics chief, Yacouba Toure, who is alleged to have been channelling weapons into Burkina Faso. The growing cooperation between the Islamist militant groups in the Sahel and their desire to conduct more spectacular attacks in West Africa is also likely driven by growing regional rivalry with Islamic State (IS). The emergence of IS in Libya and its increasing influence among jihadist networks in the Sahel have intensified regional competition between IS and AQIM, prompting the latter to seek closer cooperation with other autonomous militant groups and expand the countries in which it operates. In carrying out attacks in new geographies that result in mass fatalities of foreign particularly Western nationals, AQIM and its affiliates are likely hoping to both mimic and compete with the international attention drawn from recent IS attacks in Paris and Brussels. The spread of terrorism in West Africa The shift in AQIMs regional strategy represents a growing threat to the wider West African region, including countries that have hitherto had limited experience of Islamic extremism. In recent months, governments in Ghana, Senegal and Togo have all increased security measures in response to reports of expanding jihadist networks, including Islamic State, in their countries. Although none of these countries has any precedent for Islamist militant attacks, the expansion of fundraising and recruitment activities and their large expatriate populations make them potential targets: Senegal Senegals role in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) has long made it a potential target for jihadist attacks. In January 2016, French intelligence services revealed that they had warned both Senegal and Ivory Coast of the possibility of an attack, based on intercepted communications between militants. Senegal has traditionally enjoyed relatively peaceful Christian-Muslim relations compared to many countries in the region, but in recent years there have been reports of young Senegalese men travelling overseas to join IS. These reports coincide with the spread of the hardline Salafist forms of Islam that IS and AQIM subscribe to, which many fear may be promoting extremist ideas among the population. Despite efforts by the government to expand its counter-terrorism capability for instance, Senegal participated in the USs annual Operation Flintlock exercises in February 2016 training standards remain a concern, while the countrys porous borders with Mauritania and Mali make it vulnerable to infiltration. The concentration of international hotels in the Corniche area of Dakar offers an obvious target for future attacks, while beach resorts south of the capital could present softer, less secured targets, as in the case of Grand Bassam. Ghana There are growing concerns within the government that Ghana could be targeted in an attack. A leaked official memo in April 2016 cited intelligence from the National Security Council Secretariat warning both Ghana and Togo of the real threat of a terrorist attack and calling on immigration authorities to profile people from Mali, Niger and Libya. Like Senegal, Ghana has relatively peaceful Muslim-Christian relations, though the predominantly Muslim north is the least developed area of the country, giving rise to complaints of marginalisation. In January 2016, the government warned of a number of cases in which Ghanaians had been recruited by IS, indicating the spread of extremist ideologies in Ghana and raising the prospect of these individuals returning to the country to carry out attacks. Togo There is no record of a jihadist presence in Togo, although a previously unknown group called Ansar al-Nour in February threatened to launch attacks against Muslim leaders and the Togolese government. There is scant evidence that Ansar al-Nour represents a serious threat and little has been heard of the group since its initial declaration. Nonetheless, the announcement comes at a time of growing Islamist militant activity in the wider region and reports in neighbouring Ghana of a direct threat to Togo. The development of the group and the spread of jihadist ideas in Togo will, however, be an indicator of the evolving threat in the country. Outlook The hotel industry in West African capitals will remain a prime target for future attacks, due to its association with Western interests and the high number of foreign nationals who typically congregate in international hotels. This will place pressure on international hotels to invest in boosting security, resulting in increased checks of vehicles and guests. Armed police have already been deployed around major hotels in Senegal, Mali, Ghana and Ivory Coast, while a state of emergency imposed in Mali since late 2015 has been repeatedly renewed. False alarms and mass security deployments around sensitive dates, such as national and religious holidays, will become more common, resulting in road closures and diversions. Increased intelligence and training support from foreign governments, particularly from France and the EU, will partially mitigate the threat. Recent arrests of high-profile militants in Mali indicate improving counter-terrorism capability, which is highly likely to benefit from greater intelligence-sharing with foreign powers. Nonetheless, porous borders and poor security standards in many West African cities mean that the potential for future attacks remains. AQIMs ongoing efforts to exploit grievances among Fulani groups and marginalised Muslim communities across West Africa will be a key determinant of its ability to broaden its campaign and reports of recruitment should be monitored closely. As jihadist groups face growing difficulties in attacking large international hotels, they may seek to expand their targets to include other civilian locations that have weaker security measures in place, such as remote tourist destinations, markets and bus stations. In the case of Ivory Coast, security had been significantly increased in Abidjan following the attacks on Ouagadougou and Bamako, leading to speculation that the militants had chosen Grand Bassam due to the weaker security provisions and underscoring their ability to adapt to changing conditions. More indiscriminate attacks on bus stations, bars and markets are less common among Mali-based groups than IS or Nigerias Boko Haram, but could become more frequent as militant groups adapt to improving counter-terrorism capabilities around expatriate hubs. Dans la meme rubrique : < > CIIE makes huge Chinese market a big opportunity for world Chinese, Mexican cultures to take nourishment through exchanges, mutual learning: Mexican archeologist China will not change its resolve to open wider at high standard Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) AR's Editor Joe Shea Talks About Elections On Iranian TV Bear Stearns Saved By Fed As Lehman Bros. Falters; Major Bank Failure Looms Over Wall Street, Sends Markets Into 200-Pt. Dive Lie Upon Lie Five Years Into the Iraq War The Administration Still Churns Out Lies by Randolph Holhut A Small Tragedy Even at 90, As Friends Turn Cool She Knows the Show Must Go On by Joyce Marcel I'll Take Me Imagine John Wayne or Arnold In Heels, Silk and a Girdle by Elizabeth Andrews Sen. Nelson Calls For New Fla. Primary; Gov Crist Backs 'Do-Over' Who'll Win? Ask Spock Spock.com Engine Predicts Winners By Site Searches; It Can be Wrong by Jay Bhatti Chatting Up The Cat God Gave Me Dominion Over Him But I Think He's a Non-Believer by Constance Daley Death of a Thug The Life and Horrors of Suharto by Andreas Harsono ___________________________ This Just In Sierra Club: McCain Ducked All 15 Key Votes On Green Laws (AR) A Work By AR's T.S. Kerrigan Is Chosen As 'Best Poem' By Wordpress Site Murder At Mile 63 The Deadly Assault and Bush Administration Cover-Up by S. Eben Kirkesby and Andreas Harsono 5427 14th St. West, Bradenton, FL 34207 $6.99 Fish Fridays! Manatee Co.'s Only 24-Hr. FREE Wi-Fi Paid Advertisement On Native Ground AFTER 5 YEARS, WE'RE STILL LIED TO ABOUT IRAQ by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Next week is the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. And it is likely that sometime in the next couple of weeks, the 4,000th American soldier will die in Iraq. [MORE] Momentum OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. - It's 1931, and a 14-year-old girl is standing alone on a stage. She's small and lively with dark curly hair, widespread hazel eyes, slender wrists and an open, eager face filled with the wonder of performing. Her name is Rose, and one day she will be my mother. But now she is performing an Eugene O'Neill monologue called "Before Breakfast" for a ladies' club in a wealthy suburb of Long Island. [MORE] One Woman's World COMFORTABLE WITH MYSELF by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- I'm not sure but I think I may be socially incorrect. [MORE] On Native Ground ENOUGH FOR A WAR, NOT FOR A PEOPLE by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Last week, the National Governors Assn. met in Washington, D.C. One of the tasks the NGA had on its agenda was to ask President Bush to increase federal spending on roads, bridges and other public works projects as a way to stimulate the economy. He rejected their pleas out of hand, claiming that infrastructure projects wouldn't offer any short-term economic boost. [MORE] Brasch Words BEWARE THE SELF-REVERENTIAL PRESS by Walter Brasch BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Shortly before the primary votes this past week, Newsweek's Jonathan Alter called Sen. Barack Obama's surge to the Democratic nomination "inevitable." It also called for Hillary Clinton to "start her campaign for Senate majority leader." [MORE] Constance A CONVERSATION WITH MY CAT Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Normally, when the cat starts his evening rant of meowing continuously until he makes his point, I just take it as long as I can, pick him up, and put him in the garage for the night. He doesn't want to go, but the meowing stops and I don't care if he likes it or not. [MORE] Momentum OUT OF STRUGGLE, ART by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Here we are again at the crossroads of art and social change, having the opportunity to watch good and great films about the lives of women in support of the Women's Crisis Center. [MORE] Campaign 2008 HOW TO PREDICT SUPER TUESDAY II WINNERS? ONLINE SEARCH by Jay Bhatti NEW YORK, March 4, 2008, 7:00PM ET -- With the outcomes of the Texas, Vermont, Ohio and Rhode Island primaries to be decided tonight, how possible is it that online searching can predict who will win tonight's primaries? [MORE] One Woman's World DON'T VOTE; IT ENCOURAGES THEM by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Call me angry and disgusted but don't call me un-American because I won't be voting come November. [MORE] On Native Ground BUSH AND THE KEYBOARD COMMANDOS by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- As the days tick down toward the eventual departure of President George W. Bush from the White House, it's a hopeful sign that most Americans are no longer moved by his Administration's constant exploitation of terrorism for political gain. [MORE] Momentum WHICH AMERICA DO YOU LIVE IN? by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It's a little confusing. [MORE] Make My Dat THE LAWYER THAT ATE NEW YORK by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I used to know a guy who, quite literally, didn't get hyperbole. He didn't understand exaggeration. As a result, he missed most jokes that came his way. [MORE] On Native Ground FIDEL RETIRES: NOW THE COLD WAR IS REALLY OVER by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Maybe now, we can finally say the Cold War is over. [MORE] Make My Dat THE LAWYER THAT ATE NEW YORK by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I used to know a guy who, quite literally, didn't get hyperbole. He didn't understand exaggeration. As a result, he missed most jokes that came his way. [MORE] One Woman's World POLITICS IS NO PARTY by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Are you having a hard time focusing your eyes? Do you have faint red spots all over your body? Is there a ringing in your ears and do you see wavy lines when you look at your television set? Do your hands shake when you try to hold a cup of coffee? And have you recently been forgetting what day of the week it is - or what year? [MORE] Make My Day FOR BETTER OR WORSE ... A LOT WORSE by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- "Marriage: It's Only Going to Get Worse." [MORE] Constance YOU CALL THESE RIGHTS? by Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- When you express an opinion you hope to persuade others to your point of view. It doesn't always happen but still, opinion writers try. [MORE] Momentum THE BRIDGE WOMAN by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. - Out there in America - yes, still - is a generation of women who were born in the 1940s, raised in the 1950s, and who came to radical consciousness in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I am one of them. Hillary Clinton is one of them. [MORE] On Native Ground OBAMA AND MY GENERATION by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- I originally planned on voting for Dennis Kucinich in the Vermont Primary on March 4. [MORE] The Willies: WARNING: THIS MEDICATION MAY MURDER YOUR FRIENDS by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla. -- You've heard the warnings, haven't you? Stop Prozac and you may take a shotgun, an Uzi or an AK-47 and mow down your family and friends, or even a whole classroom full of your fellow students. You didn't? Well, that warning is not on the bottle, but like countless mass-murder incidents before it, Friday's shootings at Northern Illinois University, as well as the Virginia Tech shootings that killed 32 last year, was probably precipitated by the effect of stopping medications that suppress anger and other powerful emotions but do not relieve the underlying cause. Isn't it time we started warning people - or stopped prescribing these medicines? [MORE] One Woman's World DON'T KNOCK ON MY DOOR by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- I wish I could feel delight in my poet's mansion being like Grand Central Station all the time, but I can't. And I wish my place was such a place that someone would one day write: "Her door was always open and she always made you feel all fuzzy and warm in her presence. She could make a cup of coffee seem like a banquet." [MORE] Reporting: Panama PANAMA'S VIOLENT LABOR UNREST INTENSIFIES Mark Scheinbaum PANAMA CITY, Panama, Feb, 15, 2008 -- After just one day of relative calm, wildcat construction strikes by some members of Panama's largest union flared up again Friday morning, four days after a police sniper shot one worker. More than 140 demonstrators have been injured and at least 500 arrested, authorities say. [MORE] Brasch Words TO STIMULATE ECONOMY, BUY A CHINESE-MADE U.S. FLAG by Walter Brasch BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Walking down Main Street, pushing a grocery cart loaded with clothes, toys, and appliances was Marshbaum. Fastened to the right front corner of the cart was an American flag tied onto a three-foot ruler. [MORE] Make My Day THE TOOTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TOOTH by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- To commemorate the death of noted shark exploder Roy Scheider, and the "Jaws" movies that resulted in Erik never setting foot in the ocean again, we are reprinting this column from 2003. Shark Experts 0, Sharks 1 [MORE] Momentum THE WINTER OF MY DISCONTENT by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. - As I write this, it's raining ice. Maybe a half a foot of snow and ice has already landed up here in the woods of Dummerston. Our cars are encased in it, and the door to the house is blocked. The satellite dish that brings in our Internet service quit about 20 minutes ago - frozen solid. [MORE] The Willies AMERICA TO HILLARY: GET OUT! by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 13, 2008 -- Sen. Hillary Clinton has adopted the Rudy Giuliani strategy, and it's working - for Sen. Barack Obama. It turns out to be the strategy all Democrats are seeking - an exit strategy. But it's not for Iraq. It's for her exit from the race for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination. [MORE] Constance CONFESSIONS OF A DISAPPOINTED VOTER by Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- A week ago at just about this time, I completed an article and was about to submit it as scheduled to The American Reporter. I was feeling rather elated, ready to show up on Super Tuesday morning, firmly touch the X next to Rudy Giuliani's name and get on with my day. He was my choice; he would get my vote. [MORE] Reporting: Florida SIERRA CLUB SET TO SUSPEND FLA. CHAPTER by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 10, 2008 -- The national Sierra Club is set to suspend its Florida chapter after years of divisive infighting, the president of the national club told Florida members in a letter delivered to some this weekend. It is the first time in its 116-year history that such a step has been considered by the club, according to news reports. [MORE] One Woman's World PLANT A NEW WORLD THIS SPRING by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- For a little while, the men will just have to toss and turn in their fear-free-women beds. For a small space of time Hillary Clinton will just have to trudge on toward the White House without my faint applause in the background. [MORE] On Native Ground VERMONT AND THE 5 STAGES OF CONSERVATIVE GRIEF by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- First, Vermont tried to convince the nation to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney. [MORE] Make My Day REBEL WITHOUT A TONGUE by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Kids' brains work in amazing ways. At times, they can grasp complex concepts and make impressive discoveries. Other times, you have to wonder how we ever survived as a species. [MORE] The Willies FOR DEMOCRATS, NOW IT'S ABOUT RACE, INCOME AND GENDER by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Feb. 6, 2008 -- It's not a good time to be a Democrat. As the Super Tuesday results demonstrated, the presidential race between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has divided the partly along clear racial, income and gender lines - the very distinctions the party has sought to erase in principle but has emphasized in its pursuit of diversity. [MORE] Momentum SUPER TUESDAY BLUES by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Super Tuesday has come and gone and I still can't get excited about the upcoming presidential elections. [MORE] The Willies ON THE BRINK OF HISTORY, YOUR PUSH IS NEEDED by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 5. 2008 -- I'm expecting a sea change tonight. I believe that for the first time in this nation's history we will once and forever banish racism as the deciding factor in the destiny of African-Americans, and indeed adopt diversity as our path to the future. [MORE] Campaign 2008 AT 88, EVERY VOTE REALLY COUNTS by Ted Manna DENVER, Feb. 5, 2008 -- Pearl Turner will caucus for Mitt Romney tonight in Denver. [MORE] One Woman's World STAND BY YOUR WOMAN by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- The black vote. The gay vote. The fundamentalist vote. The Hispanic vote. [MORE] An AR Special SUSPECTS IN BENAZIR ASSASSINATION HAVE TIES TO MUSHARRAF by Ahmar Mustikhan WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When Gordon Brown this past Monday feted coup-leader-turned-President Pervez Musharraf at 10 Downing Street, Britain's new prime minister probably didn't ask the Pakistani dictator a question that is now on many minds: Did you order the murder of Benazir Bhutto? [MORE] Momentum TO THE VERMONT DELEGATION: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR US LATELY? by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. Back when President George W. Bush and Dick Vice President Dick Cheney were building up to their loathsome war in Iraq, very few people were brave enough to call the bullies' bluff. [MORE] On Native Ground IF BUSH HAS HIS WAY, WE'LL NEVER LEAVE IRAQ by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. - In his final State of the Union address on Jan. 28, President Bush cautioned against accelerating U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq, saying that it would endanger the process that has been made over the past year. [MORE] Campaign 2008 CLASH OF COMMENTS AND PROTESTORS AT CLINTON, OBAMA RALLIES IN DENVER by Ted Manna DENVER, Feb. 1, 2008 -- At least four presidential campaigns of both partiers rolled into in Denver this week ahead of the Feb. 5 "Super Tuesday" primaries in 22 states, but it was the Democratic presidential contenders who drew the big crowds and duked it out Wednesday. If sheer numbers are any indication, Sen. Barack Obama - preceded by a buoyant and beautiful Caroline Kennedy - won the round handily. He is the overwhelming favorite to win the Colorado primary next Tuesday. [MORE] The Willies WHY THE FLORIDA PRIMARY STINKS by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Jan. 30, 2008 -- I was with my wife and daughter driving the back way from Miami home to Bradenton when we stopped at a McDonald's in Clewiston, the only big town along the vast shore of Lake Okeechobee, the state's precious freshwater reservoir. The McDonald's had three televisions at a central seating area, each tuned to a different network, and our table was in front of CNN as the very first election results started to pour in around 7:30PM. With them, almost as counterpoint, suddenly came such an overwhelming odor of cow plop that my wife started to throw up as we all ran to the parking lot. [MORE] Passings: Suharto DEATH OF A KEMUSU THUG by Andreas Harsono JAKARTA - A few minutes after hearing that former president Suharto had died in his hospital bed, Marco, a militia leader in downtown Jakarta, raced to Suhartos house, wearing his jungle camouflage and began guarding the Suhartos residence on Cendana Street. [MORE] Constance I REMEMBER YOU by Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga.. -- It seems to be more often lately that the sentiment is spoken but it's always been out there: "You never get over the death of your child." This is true. But the heartfelt expressions come from some who cannot fathom the notion of losing a child; their own child is who is in their mind, not another mother's child. [MORE] The financial services industry has been battered by bad law, but worse by an administrative regime on steroids. The economic malaise highlighted by an April labor-force-participation rate hovering near its lowest level since 1978 is due in no small measure to regulators' sustained assault on the financial services industry. As the law firm Davis Polk reported last year in a five-year review of the Dodd-Frank Act's implementation, the law had spawned 22,296 pages of regulatory rules (including proposed rules), the equivalent of 34 copies of "Moby Dick." No CEO can know if he or she is within the law. At their whim regulators can find any financial institution noncompliant. The problem is that the regulatory agencies have abused their role to implement financial policy to actually make financial policy, usurping the role given to Congress in our tripartite constitutional system. In some cases, this is because Dodd-Frank allowed the regulators too much latitude to interpret the law or fill in specifics where the law was too broad. But in other cases, regulators are simply exceeding their authority, thereby making a mockery of our separation of powers. And it's not just conservatives and pro-business voices who are worried. Concerns about the administrative state cut across the ideological divide. Jonathan Turley, a liberal George Washington University law professor, has expressed alarm over both "the domination of federal agencies that have become increasingly independent in their actions and policies" and the rise of "the royal prerogative." In his book "Is Administrative Law Unlawful?" Columbia law professor Philip Hamburger warns that "rather than merely a means of completing the work of Congress and the courts at the margins, administrative power has become central." Administrative absolutism is gaining ground. In February, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s acting inspector general reported that the FDIC had "abusively" threatened three banks to force them out of the refund-anticipation-loan business in 2011 and 2012. In December 2010, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency forced a bank it supervised to exit RALs. Until March, the Financial Stability Oversight Council enjoyed what seemed like unfettered authority to dub financial organizations "systemically important" and subject to the Federal Reserve's special prudential supervision. In a rare show of defiance, MetLife challenged its SIFI designation. Judge Rosemary Collyer of the U.S. District Court for D.C. sided with MetLife, ruling that FSOC didn't follow its own rules or consider costs. However, she didn't question FSOC's authority to designate the life insurer systemically important. There are many other examples. The banking industry may have praised a Federal Reserve proposal eliminating early termination rights in derivative deals, but the rule which was based on an earlier protocol by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association amounts to the Fed effectively making retroactive changes to contractual terms, which is unconscionable. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network hasn't publicly disclosed its matrix for determining civil-money penalties, and doesn't even have to hold administrative law hearings, which means its exercises plenary power. Through Operation Choke Point and similar initiatives, regulators have used their unchecked power to make policy, curbing industries they dislike subprime lenders, pawnbrokers, firearms dealers and tobacco retailers by cutting off their access to payment processing and banking. No agency is more absolutist than the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It writes its own budget drawing funds from the Fed. CFPB Director Richard Cordray runs an agency with powerful discretion to rule any consumer financial product is unfair, deceptive or abusive. The problem, however, isn't Cordray. If an ideological clone of House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling were the bureau's director, its consolidated power would still be problematic. Dodd-Frank expressly bars the CFPB from regulating auto dealers' finance programs. In its overreaching enforcement of fair auto lending, the bureau evaded that ban by targeting auto dealers' wholesale bank suppliers. The agency's process for bringing discrimination claims essentially guesses borrowers' race in situations where lenders demonstrated no intent to discriminate. The disparate-impact theory fabricates racial-bias charges. Yet legislative efforts to rein in the CFPB thus far have failed. In April, the House Financial Service Committee voted along party lines, 33 to 20, for a bill bringing the bureau into the congressional appropriations process. Democratic lawmakers voted lockstep against their institutional prerogative because their ideological allies control the administrative state's commanding heights. They should reconsider. Bringing administrative agencies to heel shouldn't be partisan. Congress makes law. Agencies are supposed to be servants of the law. Moreover, Dodd-Frank was passed by Democrats. In the Senate only one Democrat, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, voted against it. Banning the CFPB from regulating auto dealers' finance programs is law because of congressional Democrats. They should be incensed the bureau flagrantly flouted their will and that of the legislative branch. Unfortunately, neither of the top presidential candidates appears willing to reverse this trend. Similar to President Obama, likely Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is a proponent of using administrative agencies to advance policies that can't clear Congress. While presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has decried Dodd-Frank's economic impact, he evinces little interest in structural separation of and checks on power. Both Clinton and Trump believe in a presidential royal prerogative at odds with Madisonian checks and balances. What's to be done? The financial services industry must more vigorously defend itself against regulatory policymaking and outright lawlessness in the courts and the political arena. The courts must step up. And Congress needs to stiffen its spine and reassert its institutional prerogative. Eric Grover is principal at Intrepid Ventures, a corporate development and strategy consultancy advising payment issuers, networks and processors, and other payments companies. B of A Called a "Bros Club:" A Bank of America executive has filed a discrimination suit against her employer in which she described the company as a "bros club" that allows egregious pay discrepancies between men and women. Megan Messina, a managing director in the structured credit products division, also said B of A tried to push her out when she raised allegations of improper behavior that harmed clients. Democrats Seek Fed Diversity: A letter to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signed by 11 senators and 116 representatives calls for improved diversity inside the "overwhelmingly and disproportionately white and male" central bank. It also urges higher priority in securing full employment for minorities as an economic goal. All of the signatories are Democrats and include Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. Goldman Swaps Leaders at its Bank : Goldman Sachs is making some leadership changes at its online banking unit. Esta Stecher, the CEO of GS Bank USA, will become it nonexecutive chairman instead. Stephen Scherr will succeed Stecher as the CEO. Scherr also will retain his job as Goldman Sachs' chief strategy officer. And Is a Laggard in Female Leadership Overall: Women make up about 21% of senior officials at Goldman Sachs, and about 37% of the U.S. staff overall, according to a company report. The national average for female senior officials in the finance and insurance sector is 29%. In the midlevel ranks, women make up 26% of Goldman employees compared to the national average of 48%. (You may recall that, in November, Goldman said a quarter of the 425 people promoted to managing director were women, the highest percentage in the firm's history.) Patience Will Pay Off: Some institutional investors are willing to place bets on struggling banks at a time when others are planning their exit strategies. But they need to be patient, says Jan Hollar, who came out of retirement to be chief executive of HCSB Financial in Loris, S.C. A bank's recovery "doesn't happen overnight just because you got a wire of capital," she says. "It takes a while to change expectations." The long-struggling HCSB recently got an infusion of new capital led by Castle Creek and brought on new executives like Hollar, who is optimistic about its prospects. "This bank's problem was its capital, not its ability to be profitable going forward," Hollar says. Mix, Mingle, Mentor in Chicago: Kim Butler Hegedus, a managing director at The PrivateBank in Chicago, has created an informal mentoring group for women in banking and finance called Financial Executive Women. Is there really a need? Hegedus says there is. "I still go to meetings where I'm the only female in a group of 30 men," she says. She got the idea for the group when a female job candidate asked her how she has survived the industry for as long as she has. The group has about 16 members so far, split evenly between experienced professionals and younger mentees. Role Call Fifth Third Bancorp has hired Citigroup's Melissa Stevens to the newly created position of chief digital officer and head of omnichannel banking. Stevens was most recently chief operating officer for the Citi FinTech unit. Regions Financial in Birmingham, Ala., has appointed Kate Randall Danella to lead its private wealth management group. Danella joined the bank last year in a wealth-management-related strategy role. Louise Walker, the president and CEO of First Northern Bank in Dixon, Calif., has become chair of the California Bankers Association for the 2016-17 term. In Case You Missed It Culture Gurus: Umpqua Bank in Portland, Ore., Bell State Bank & Trust in Fargo, N.D., and online lender Kabbage all have chief culture officers charged with keeping employees engaged and creating a positive workplace environment. Umpqua's Marty Dickinson says the bank considers its culture to be a point of differentiation, and executives at the other companies echoed her point of view, saying it makes sense to have someone dedicated to overseeing such an important aspect of the business. Beyond Banking Executive Pay Rank: Leaving Wall Street for Silicon Valley is working out well for Ruth Porat. The former Morgan Stanley chief financial officer is now the second-most highly paid female executive in the country, according to the Bloomberg Pay Index. The index lists 17 women among the 200 top-paid executives at companies that trade on U.S. exchanges. The top-paid woman is Safra Catz, co-CEO of Oracle, who received $56.9 million and $10.5 million in special equity awards. No. 2 Porat, now the CFO of Google's Alphabet, received $41.1 million in awarded compensation, including a $5 million sign-on bonus. GM CEO Mary Barra was third with $36.3 million awarded pay. The Stubborn Pay Gap: The Wall Street Journal examined 446 occupations and found women in "elite" jobs show the widest earnings gaps when compared with their male counterparts. Half of the 10 major occupation groups where women's earnings lagged were in finance. Among personal financial advisers, men made about $100,000 while women made just $62,000, the research showed. While some of the gender pay gap can be attributed to factors such as women taking time off to raise children, researchers said about one-third of the gap can't be explained so easily and could be indicative of discrimination. The gap has become a big issue in corporate boardrooms, state capitols and the 2016 presidential campaign. The application period for our Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance program is now open, but the submission deadline is approaching. Check out our Women in Banking page and join our LinkedIn group. (You can find the group by doing a search for "American Banker Women in Banking" on LinkedIn.) Like many banks, CIBC used to charge commercial clients a flat fee for everything they did at the bank. How that fee was determined and what individual products and services cost was a mystery. Recently the $362 billion-asset Canadian bank has been rolling out software that automates pricing and enforces a degree of discipline around what corporate customers are charged for products and services. The system lets the bank introduce new products quickly, provide understandable bills to customers which leads to fewer calls to the call center and gives relationship managers more customer information with which to sell. These benefits came at a cost: a huge, time-consuming data integration project that had to be undertaken first. CIBC is not alone in wanting to automate and control corporate pricing and billing. A large U.S. bank is also thinking about using Zafin's software to adjust the way it charges commercial clients. Instead of charging flat rates, the bank want to raise fees for high-risk, low-margin clients and lower what it charges low-risk, high-margin clients, and thus avoid punishing the best customer. The bank also wants to increase revenues overall and prevent salespeople from giving frequent discounts. One driver pushing banks to use pricing software is regulation. Basel III calls for greater pricing discipline and coordination across lines of business and product lines. "Basel III's liquidity coverage ratio links deposit balances to operational services, such as treasury management and other transaction services, which are generally fee-based," Chrystal Pozen, managing director of Treasury Strategies, wrote in a recent report. "To comply with the liquidity coverage ratio, banks must demonstrate the linkages between deposits and other banking services which, in effect, will force banks to harmonize their internal systems to monitor client relationships more holistically (including pricing)." Few banks have pulled this off. It's difficult to automate all the relationship hierarchies that exist in a corporate banking relationship, said Patricia Hines, senior analyst for corporate banking at Celent. Businesses tend to have divisions and subsidiaries that have separate deposit accounts and cash management services. To accurately price banking services, these need to be linked and tracked together. As a business gets larger, it may have several subsidiaries or operating groups, each with their own banking fee arrangements. The technology solution needs a way to link the underlying accounts into a "business household." "I tried to do a similar project years ago in my banking career and could not get hierarchies to work," Hines said. She's written about the concept since, and each time she's looked into it, no banks have been able to do it. "Maybe CIBC wouldn't have done it if they knew how hard it would be," she said. Robo Pricing According to Phil Griffiths, senior vice president of global transaction banking at CIBC, the main motivation for this project was a need to improve commercial clients' customer experience. "Our CEO has publicly said our goal is to be number one in client experience in Canadian business banking," he said. Billing for corporate clients at CIBC used to be mostly manual relationship managers would negotiate one-off pricing arrangements with clients. According to Griffiths, clients didn't see value in the flat-fee arrangement and frequently called the bank's call center with questions about their bills. "We had a lack of transparency around our fees," he said. The bank wanted software that would make billing faster and more accurate. It installed Zafin's myClient software, which computes prices and creates electronic bills for 300,000 business customers. "They have much more transparency now they can see their volumes and the unit prices," Griffiths said. They're not calling the call center as much. "For the average corporate treasurer that's got a lot of fees, any time they can break that down and know [the pricing] for sure, that's a benefit," Hines said. "They then can compare those fees. If you have four banks and they're all charging you a flat fee and you don't know what's underneath that flat fee, it's hard for you to comparison shop." The new system is populated with standard prices, yet relationship managers are given some discretion to offer discounts. For special pricing requests beyond that, the software has workflow that sends the request from client to relationship manager to a vice president or director with the right level of approval. "Our aim was to get much faster turnaround time when there's a client issue with pricing or a prospect opportunity," Griffiths said. The bank hopes the software will help it get new products out to clients quicker. Already, the system has allowed it to do something it's wanted to do for a while: offer promotional deposit rates to commercial customers. "We've seen many retail banks around the world offer special pricing for a limited period of time to attract new deposits," Griffiths said. "But nobody in Canada had done that on the business side." The bank offered a 90-day bonus rate and grew its business deposits. On the analytics side, the bank is now collecting more data than before through the Zafin software and plans to use it to identify new opportunities in commercial account relationships. Just as many retail banks use analytics to come up with a "next best offer" for customers, this software will let CIBC look at similar customers in a segment and do a "businesses like me" analysis that lets the relationship manager see services that the client's peers are using but the client is not. "It's a great door-opener for discussion," Griffiths said. The bank is integrating myClient with its CRM system. This should give relationship managers a full picture of the client relationship, including all the products and services each client uses, and customer profitability. "The relationship manager will have a far broader understanding of the client when they deal with them," Griffiths said. Painful Prelude Before the Zafin software could be installed, CIBC had to centralize all its corporate client information, which turned out to be a major, 18-month project. The bank uses more than 30 legacy applications and multiple databases to serve corporate clients. Billing data had to be pulled out of those legacy systems and brought into a centralized database the bank calls a Business Banking Data Mart. It tracks the commercial hierarchies in the bank's corporate customer relationships and feeds the Zafin billing engine. "It's a multiphase project, the size is not to be underestimated," Griffiths said. "But the benefits to the bank and our clients are significant." Before making a price change, product managers can do what/if scenarios: if I change this value from a to b, what's my revenue. And they can change prices themselves, using a product catalog in the Zafin software, rather than asking someone in IT to make the change in all 30 applications. This reduction of IT labor led to several million dollars of cost savings, Griffiths said. Editor at Large Penny Crosman welcomes feedback at penny.crosman@sourcemedia.com. A former head of the U.S. unit of Dutch-owned insurance company Aegon has been named chairman of a community bank in Illinois. Patrick Baird, 62, recently became chairman of the board of QCR Holdings in Moline, Ill., the $2.6 billion-asset QCR said in a news release issued Wednesday. He had been the vice chairman since 2011. Baird was president and CEO of Aegon USA from 2002 to 2010 and remains a vice chairman there, according to an online profile. He succeeds James Brownson, who stepped down from the job May 13, the release said. Brownson, 69, who had been the company's chairman since 2007, will continue to serve as a director to assist in the transition. Brownson is the retired president of W.E. Brownson Co. in Davenport, Iowa. QCR Holdings is the parent company of the $367 million-asset Rockford Bank and Trust in Illinois, the $1.4 billion-asset Quad City Bank and Trust in Bettendorf, Iowa and the $870 million-asset Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust in Iowa. Royal Bank of Canada has plucked away executives from Wells Fargo and Credit Suisse to be the co-heads of U.S. consumer and retail investment banking, according to a news report. The $855 billion-asset Toronto bank has hired Andrew van der Vord from Credit Suisse and David Frank from Wells, Reuters reported Wednesday. Sources familiar with the situation confirmed the story for American Banker on Thursday. Van der Vord was the global vice chairman of consumer investment banking for the $842 billion-asset Credit Suisse since 2009, according to his LinkedIn page. Previously, he was global head of consumer retail investment banking at JPMorgan Chase from 2005 to 2008, and global head of consumer investment banking at Citigroup from 2000 to 2006. Frank was head of retail investment banking for the $1.8 trillion-asset Wells Fargo since 2011. From 1999 to 2011, he worked at Credit Suisse, initially as a director and later as head of retail investment banking, according to his LinkedIn page. It has become the fact in American political talking points, even Mr. Trump insists that what is going on in the Middle East today is the result of the President Bushs 2003 policy in Iraq that opened the doors to chaos and the creation of ISIS. No one, however, is going back to search for the root causes of the events in todays complicated and problematic Middle East. The facts are, notwithstanding the forever continuing Palestinian/Israeli war, that the Middle East was kept relatively peaceful and political Islam and its terrorism was kept under control in a secular Iran until 1979. It was President Jimmy Carter and the Western European leaders, with the total support of the Western media and socialist elites as the likes of Michel Foucault and Noam Chomsky, who decided to support the radical Shia Ayatollah Khomeini in taking over peaceful modernity-seeking Iran and establishing political Islam. Unfortunately, the same people are still supporting Islamic clerical imperialism as their child. The sequence of pugnacious events in the Middle East since the advent of political Islamic domination of Iran in 1979 is evidence that many Middle Eastern problems are related to the ideological policies of the Islamic imperialist regime in Iran. It is the mullahs goal to establish the Islamic kalifate through interference, intrusions, and promotion of terrorism in the internal affairs of the neighboring countries. On October 21, 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: You can't keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbors. Eventually those snakes are going to turn on whoever has them in the backyard." In this case, the snake that was established to bite only Iran has been biting the whole world. Khomeini considered Iran a platform and a financial source for launching his expansion of the Islamic kalifate throughout the world, beginning in the Middle East. I was there and heard his terrifying speech every day. He established an Islamic military made up of thugs and hoodlums called the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps -- not to defend the country but to protect, guarantee, and expand Political Islam in Iran and abroad. Khomeini began by announcing a war against Israel as soon as he took control of Iran; calling it a "Zionist entity" and surrounded it by financing and arming the Palestinians, Hamas, and Hizballah in Lebanon. He encouraged and financed Hizballahs terrorism to destabilize the Lebanese Christian government and take the control of Lebanon. He instigated eight years of brutal and bloody war with Saddam Hussein to remove Sunni power over the Shia population of Iraq. Khomeinis successor Khamenei selected the Iraqi Shia mullah Moqtada al Sadr to establish a Shia movement against Saddam Hussein, financed and armed by the Iranian regime. By 2003, the Revolutionary Guards had infiltrated the Shia community of Iraq through Moqtada al Sadr, the anti-American rabble-rouser puppet of Iran whose goal was to remove the Sunnis from military and government positions. The Bush Administration was able to successfully arbitrate a reconciliation between the Sunnis and the Shias, bringing them together and under control. When the United States military evacuated Iraq in 2011, the Ayatollah Khamenei took the opportunity to expand his domination of Iraq by becoming the sole adviser of President Nouri al Maliki. Khamenei flooded Iraq with IRGC solders, assassins, and spies to keep the Sunnis out of power. With the Iranian regime behind them, the majority Shia took the control of the Iraqi government and military and established not only an embassy in Baghdad and three consulates-general in the cities of Sulaimaniya, Arbil, and Karbala, that provide them with a foothold in Iraq. U.S. State Department 2012 reports maintain that Iran remains an active state sponsor of terrorism and increased its terrorist-related activity in 2011. Weapons are smuggled into Iraq and used to arm Iran's allies among the Shiite militias, including those of the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi army. The Sunnis of Iraq were forcefully isolated and, in the absence of the American military, created a disgruntled angry Sunni population, that, joined by the defeated Al Qaida, became ISIS. Former American ambassador to the United Nation Zalmay Khalilzad writes in his book The Envoy: With money and bombs, Tehrans Shia Muslim regime was fueling frictions between Iraqs Shia majority and its Sunni minority, pushing the country into civil war. Mr. Khalilzad writes that it was a tragedy that President Obama withdrew all the American Military from Iraq. That move paved the way for the terrorists. At the same time, Khameneis IRGC was also interfering in the internal affairs of Syria, widening the division between the Alawites and Sunnis. By financing one side against the other and supporting Bashar Assads rule, they caused the internal war against the majority of the Syrian citizens who wanted sovereignty and democracy. While the children of Iran are living in hunger and poverty, Khamenei has been financing and arming Hamas, Hizballah, Moslem terrorism in poor African countries, and interfering in the internal affairs of Yemen, not to mention influence buying in South American countries. It is, by all documents and reports, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his Revolutionary Guards that have been instrumental in creating the current atmosphere of chaos throughout the Middle East. The Clintons are notoriously corrupt. Their pathological mendacity reaches back over many decades. They lie; they cheat; they bribe; they threaten. Often the Clintons seem to have almost supernatural "luck" that defies the best house odds in Las Vegas. Consider Hillary's "shrewd" investments as a virtual novice in the futures market. When Hillary entered the cattle futures market as the wife of the man who was set to become governor of Arkansas, she had virtually no experience or background in this very competitive and complex business. She was "lucky," wildly, beyond any reasonable probability analysis. How lucky? She turned an initial investment of $1,000 into a whopping $100,000 in less than one year. The only reasonable explanation is that she had illegal help from folks who gave her "advice" and who were also major political contributors to the Clintons. Of course, wildly improbable luck is not evidence of crime, and so when evidence of this profoundly suspicious series of transactions came to public light during Bill's first term as president, nothing happened. The whole history of the Clintons is one of incredible "luck," which stinks of something other than just good fortune. Bernie Sanders might want to consider how this has affected his run for the Democrat nomination against Mrs. William Jefferson Clinton. Forty-five states have held primaries or caucuses so far. Senator Sanders has won twenty of these states. His closet contest was in the Michigan primary, in which Sanders had 49.8% of the vote and Hillary had 48.3% of the vote, and most of his victories have been lopsided. Sanders has won in virtually every region of the nation except the South, typically by wide margins. Hillary has won twenty-five states, but unlike Sanders, she has had a remarkable number of razor-close victories. In fact, had Sanders won just three states that Hillary presumably won, then Senator Sanders would have won twenty-three states, and Mrs. William Jefferson Clinton would have won only twenty-two states. During much of evening of May 17, Sanders was ahead of Hillary in the Kentucky primary. Then, with a Cattlegate sort of "luck," Hillary pulled ahead by the infinitesimal rate of 46.8% to 46.3% and won the primary. Hillary won Kentucky by the same microscopic margin that she won the first state, Iowa, by 49.9% to 49.6%, in a symbolic victory of great political value. In mid-March, as Hillary was looking desperately to knock out a very popular challenger, Hillary "won" the Missouri primary by the closest margin in any race by any presidential candidate this year 49.6% to 49.4% of the vote. Curiously, in those states in the Midwest region that border Iowa and Missouri but went for Sanders Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Wisconsin the Vermont senator won by landslides, while in the neighboring Midwest states of Iowa and Missouri, Hillary won by the closest possible margins. Senator Sanders won the coal-dependent border state of West Virginia by a landslide one week before Hillary eked out the narrowest of victories in another coal-dependent border state, Kentucky. Could Hillary's supporters have stolen enough votes to deliver by the smallest of margins just enough votes to give her "wins" in states like Kentucky? One of the tightest allies of the Clintons is Allison Lundergan Grimes, the Kentucky secretary of state and chair of the Kentucky State Board of Elections. She actively campaigned for Hillary in the Kentucky primary despite being the state elected officer to oversee the vote-counting. The election results were posted by her office almost instantly and reflected her publicly stated opinion almost as soon as the polls closed that "there is no revolution for Sanders." The secretary of state in Missouri is Jason Kander, who was an early and emphatic supporter of Hillary and has described the incompetent and execrable Mrs. Clinton as "the most qualified person ever to run for president other than George Washington." Kander is also the Democrats' Senate candidate in 2016 against Republican senator Roy Blunt. Grimes and Kander are self-described "progressives" who reflect the approach reflected in the left's notorious "Secretary of State Project" a few years ago, which was to ensure the same "progressive" attitude toward registering and counting votes in elections and we all know what that means. Democrat machine politicians have all lined up behind Hillary and opposed Bernie. The unbelievable the quite literally unbelievable Hillary electoral "luck" was worked again. Sanders and his supporters ought to be very suspicious and very mad. Obama says that we are not a Christian nation. And yet: Our father's God to, Thee, Author of liberty, To Thee we sing. Maybe we arent any more. Lets define that term: It does not, nor has it ever meant, that every citizen is a professing believer in Jesus Christ, or ought to be. Even in the earliest days of westward migration there were Jews amongst the brave souls who ventured to cross the Atlantic. It doesnt mean that all of the founding fathers were Christians, though the language of their writings, both private and public, would indicate most were. A Christian country is one saturated with Christian standards, with biblical thinking, with a societal organization that runs close to the precepts of the Mosaic Law. For instance, the trickle-up allotment of power -- from family, to village, to county, to state, to federal government power was intended to be distributed most heavily at the lowest levels, as it was in the fledgling nation of Israel -- family, clan, tribe, nation, God. (Note: no king) A Christian nation bases its core law close to the Ten Commandments and Americas commitment to that concept can be seen in the monuments bearing those edicts on government buildings from small town to the Supreme Court. America is a Christian nation because our culture has always been saturated with Christian assumptions, references, and behaviors. The cords that have held this nation together are biblical. It is biblical thinking that brought people here, and the hard work such thinking produces built, in a very brief time, a thoroughly prosperous and functional civilization. Ill never forget the first time I saw the Old North Church. I had expected a rustic building, barn-wood red perhaps, weathered and crude. What I found was a gem of architecture brick, white trimmed, and gracefully steepled, the interior sunny, orderly, and beautiful. It was then that I understood what the colonists fought to keep. They had created a whole new world and England had no right to it. The world they built was Christian. Our bedrock suppositions, our ideas of what ought to be, are Christian principles. Americans grow up believing in the value of loving our fellow man, in justice, goodness, faithfulness, in producing things of worth with hard work and devotion to duty. True, our most recent generations are not learning these concepts; much effort has gone into disabusing our youth of the principles taught them by their parents and clergymen, but these concepts are so woven into the fabric of this nation that they take much effort to pull out. This makes America like no other country. You dont see these traits in predominantly Muslim societies. In those places women and children are treated cruelly, filth and sloth are the rule, and integrity is not seen as a useful, beneficial standard. Murder and mayhem prevail. I have had, over the decades as a high school teacher, a fair number of exchange students come through my classroom. Many have been from Asian countries, and those students have told me how much they love being in America because Americans are so kind -- a trait they saw much less of in their home nations. Even while church attendance drops, that concern for the wellbeing of others remains embedded in our thinking. That didnt come out of nowhere; it came from several hundred years of being admonished to Treat others as you would have them treat you. Christianity saturates the artistic part of our culture as well. From Negro spirituals, to more traditional hymns our music has been washed in Christian thought. Everyone recognizes the strains of Amazing Grace or Silent Night. Our literature, too, is rife with biblical references, starting with childrens stories about Noahs Ark, or Jonah and the Whale. Most people know that the Red Sea parted and the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. Those stories are buried in our national soul. Its hard to find a classic American novel thats free of biblical allusions, even when the author claims no biblical allegiance. The Christ-figures alone are impressive -- Jim Casey in Grapes of Wrath, Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea, McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Owen Meany in John Irvings famous novel bearing the same name. Over and over again American authors reach for a symbol of ultimate sacrifice and guess who they come up with? Jesus Christ. He is in our cellular structure, our cultural bones. Yet these authors are not evangelicals trying to proselytize. They are writers trying to connect with a readership that will know what they are talking about. We are a Christian culture. Or we were. Now all things Christian are fair game for ridicule, lawsuits, physical attack. Not only are our school children being robbed of their opportunity to learn our Christian heritage, they are being assaulted on one hand with anti-Christian teaching in many of their classes, followed by Islamic propaganda. The phrase separation of church and state masquerades as a constitutional statement applicable only to Christian concepts. A student entering public school from an un-churched family could complete his entire education and never hear the name of Christ, never know His story, let alone His message. Hell know who Mohammed was, but not Jesus. This student, like our president, will have no idea what made this country the greatest nation the world has ever seen. As our culture pulls further and further away from biblical morality, common sense evaporates. I recently began watching "House of Cards" -- years late, I know -- and I enjoyed the Machiavellian plotting and the Iago-like performance of Kevin Spacey until I hit the episode that had the vice-president of the United States, his wife, and his driver involved in a drunken, gay threesome. Its true, now that weve had the Clintons in office, just about any debauchery is possible, but placing it in my living room with no advanced warning passed my limit. It evidently wasnt past the limit of most viewers, though, because the show is moving into its fourth season. Much of the demise of the Christian tenor of America lands squarely in the laps of the churches. Little biblical teaching is going on in most of those institutions, so little that the Barna Group research shows 80% of Christian college students claim to have lost their faith. They evidently were not armed with the full armor of God. The popular rock-band-youth-group theology failed to prepare them. The subtle anti-Christian multiculturalism that places exceptions as more important than the norm, will undo the whole fabric of this amazing American experiment, an experiment in human social organization that brought civilization forward into a prosperity, a decency, a national integrity that had never been seen before. The warp and woof of that society has been Christianity. Our Christ-inspired largess toward those of other persuasions is not a surrender of our high ground; it is an expression of it. Our Christian concern for the welfare of those less fortunate is not a submission to Marxist principles because it is personal, not collectivist. Our Christian desire to come to the aid of refugees is not a willingness to offer up the wellbeing of our own children as sacrifices to other gods. Our readiness to treat others as we would be treated is not a refusal to stand up for all those ideals our Christian faith teaches us to hold dear. Long may our land be bright With freedom's holy light; Protect us by Thy might, Great God, our King! We are a Christian nation -- or we are no nation at all. Deana Chadwell blogs at www.ASingleWindow.com. She taught high school English for 30 years and currently teaches writing and literature at Pacific Bible College in Medford, Oregon. Theres no doubt that conservatives are in retreat. The combination of electoral defeats, ineffectual Congressional leadership and progressives rising popularity has taken its toll on conservativism. And now with the ascendancy of right-wing populism on the back of Donald Trump, conservatism has been thrown into a chaos not seen since before the rise of William F. Buckley. Conservatives have failed to focus on their core principles and struggled to maintain a cohesive identity. In numerous states, Trump won among conservatives and moderates alike. Certainly, he appealed to conservatives concerned about immigration, political correctness, and business experience. But the fact is, Trump is not a conservative and has implied as much throughout the campaign. The fact that conservatives could not demonstrate this simple fact shows that term conservative has been stretched to a near-breaking point. In the short term, some conservatives may rally around a third-party candidate. But if conservatism is to flourish, conservatives need to have a difficult conversation focused on question: What does it mean to be a conservative in American politics? Some have already started diagnosing conservatives struggles, both inside and outside the confines of the Republican Party, by attempting to answer that very question. Citing a number of influential conservative intellectuals, the National Reviews Rachel Lu describes two primary pillars to conservatism: The recognition of a societys vulnerability to government overreach and a robust moral order. As part of this second pillar, she claims that: Things can be objectively good or bad for us. We have obligations, not all of which are subject to our personal consent. We are capable of true excellence, but also of moral failure, for which we should rightly be held to account. These are fundamental truths that shape the conservative worldview. As a worldview, one cant help but agree with this description of a moral order. A belief in morality and right from wrong is shared by many of us. We try to live our lives in line with this morality, and some of us encourage others to do the same. But does the moral order need to be established and preserved by the government? Certainly, the government has established laws prohibiting murder, theft, and discrimination. But these are actions that fundamentally violate the individual liberties of another person. They allow for a peaceful society that protects the rights of safety, property, and contract. There is some baseline moral order the government has to preserve, something roughly in line with John Stuart Mills harm principle. There are certainly exceptions to this guideline. But for the most part, preserving a moral order is the task of conservatives in society, not in government. Governments involvement can infringe on individuals rights to make their own choices. And coming to a consensus about a moral order is more difficult than one might think. If drinking too large a soda is considered gluttonous, should we ban it? (Nice try, Bloomberg.) What about alcohol? The point here is that American conservatives should not be legislating morality, whenever possible. Otherwise, we become the government overreach we claim to oppose. When government seeks to regulate individual behavior on social issues, its still big government. For American political conservatives, there ought to be two pillars: Individual rights and limited, constitutional government. Americans that show a proper commitment to these two priorities are politically conservative. Individual rights are fundamental to any free society. A free exchange of ideas helps spur innovation, learning and personal growth. Choice is essential to our distinct individuality. The fewer choices we get to make, the more predetermined life becomes. Conservatives need to be about empowering individuals, not controlling them. This starts with defending constitutional rights from government encroachment, both those enumerated and otherwise. Protecting individual rights also protects the free markets. Free-market capitalism has been the catalyst for the United States position as an economic (and political) superpower. Allowing the forces of supply and demand to work enables mostly efficient outcomes and gives individuals the choice of employment opportunities, purchases and investments. Individual rights might fly in opposition to some notion of a moral order. Thats okay. While causing actual harm to another directly (abuse) or more indirectly (dumping chemicals in a river) is not ones right, other choices might be unethical or violate ones religious tenets. But individuals should have the right to grow on their own, establish their own values and make their own decisions. If you disagree with someones choices, you can make your opposition known in the free market of society by exercising your own individual rights. But the government should not be the tool of moral enforcement. Limited, constitutional government is a must at all levels of government. Governments should not be making personal decisions for individuals, nor violating their constitutional rights. If the Constitution allows gun ownership, dont make it nearly impossible to own a gun. If two individuals want to marry, the government (and its citizens) should not care about the individuals genders. Dont like alcohol consumption or gambling? Start a private campaign, not a government regulation. Excessive regulation or cronyism can devastate the economy and makes an incredibly uneven playing field, at home and abroad. Government ought to be taking care of its responsibilities at the appropriate level. Constitutionally, the federal government has a number of enumerated responsibilities, aided by a necessary and proper clause. With interstate commerce and foreign policy alone, the federal government should have its hands full. For other issues, like education, state and local governments ought to be taking the lead, allowing problems to be solved closest to the people affected. (See the Tenth Amendment.) In its required duties, the government ought to be enforcing the law consistently no selective or discriminatory enforcement of various laws. Conservatives need to be effective executives and legislators on the proper issues before them. Obviously these two points have more nuances and complications. There exists room for disagreement as to the exact role of government and the impact of individuals actions. But conservatives must focus on limiting government and maximizing freedom in the political arena. These two pillars dont mean conservatives shouldnt strive to participate in a societal moral order. Nor does it absolve us from choosing morally upstanding candidates to run for public office. But focusing on these two facets of conservatism clarifies the conservative message. We need to be the movement of smaller government, free markets and individual liberty. This is a more consistent, clearer message for the difficult process on converting Americans to the conservative cause which, judging by millennials beliefs and conservatives electoral struggles, has become extraordinarily important. It allows people of conflicting moral beliefs to gather under the conservative political banner, and lets individuals make their own decisions amidst the free market of ideas. It lets conservative politicians focus on exercising their constitutional duties, balancing a federal budget and maybe even solving a looming entitlements crisis. Freedom and limited government. Whats more than conservative than that? Andrea Mitchell of NBC is being a pure shill for Bill and Hillary, showing no concern for the facts when she says a rape allegation against Bill Clinton is "discredited." Juanita Broaddrick seems very credible as she claims that Bill raped her and Hillary threatened her. NBC has been protecting Bill and Hillary for a long time. Juanita says NBC removed the part of the story where Hillary threatened her in 1999. Last year Hillary said women have the right to be believed when they accuse others of rape. Of course, this must apply to anyone except those who accuse Bill. The media seems more concerned about Trump using the word "rape" than being concerned at all about how many women Bill Clinton has been accused of abusing and Hillarys actions to silence these women. Facts about the Clintons havent mattered for a long time. Why isn't our mainstream media showing any interest at all in the fact that Bill Clinton took 26 flights on convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's plane, the "Lolita Express"? Can anyone imagine the stories if Trump or Cruz had taken those trips instead of Clinton? Why is Bill Clinton treated so much better than Bill Cosby? Why isn't Hillary held to account for her treatment of women when that is one of her main campaign talking points? Infiltration This is the favorite horse of the Muslim Brotherhood. By using guile, deceit (taqiyya), and cunning, the M.B. has infiltrated its operatives into positions of influence in government agencies to destroy Western Civilization from within. The careful insinuation of Muslim Brothers into positions from which they can exercise influence on U.S. policy began long before the attacks of 9/11, although their success has accelerated dramatically under the administration of President Barack Obama. The massive Muslim Brotherhood organizational network in the U.S., so patiently built up over the decades since that first Oval Office meeting in 1953, eventually gave it a prominence and (false) reputation of credibility that was unmatched by any other Islamic groups, moderate or otherwise. Using a combination of taqiyya (deceit, dissimulation) and intimidation, the Muslim Brotherhood succeeded not only in making itself the "go-to" authority on all things related to Islam, but in suppressing those who would speak truth about Islam again, often by persuading the U.S.'s own senior officials to do the job for them: "by their hands". This picture of Huma Abedin, Hillary Clintons Svengali, whispering in her ear says it all. Bribery This is the favorite horse of the Saudi royalty. They use petrodollars to set up Islamic enclaves of power within universities, for hiring P.R. firms, buying politicians, and setting up radical mosques and their madrassas, resulting in isolated communities practicing sharia and advancing Wahhabism: House of Saud is simply a more established and diplomatic version of ISIS. It shares the extremist Wahhabi theo-fascism, the lack of human rights, intolerance, violent beheadings etc. but with nicer buildings and roads. Extortion This is the favorite horse of Iranian ayatollahs. Sensing the desperate need of the Obama administration to create the appearance of success of smart diplomacy, the Iranians are leveraging economic and military expansion by threatening chaos (close the Straits of Hormuz, trigger oil price war, wipe Israel off the map...) the classic example being the phony long drawn out treaty negotiations to upset the balance of power, especially, as mentioned, by threatening to undermine the perception of success in stabilizing the Middle East that the Obama administration desperately wishes to project. Terror This, of course, is the horse of al-Qaeda, ISIS, and its unseen backers. The threat of radical Islam and its terrorist acts from 9/11 on provide the clout behind the charge of Islamophobia long used by Hillary Clinton in claiming that anti-Muslim rhetoric is dangerously promoting violent jihad. General David Petraeus just got into the act warning of the same consequences in an op-ed in WaPo entitled Anti-Muslim bigotry aids Islamist terrorists. Petraeus claims that criticizing Islam just plays into the hands of ISIS and that we mustnt enrage Muslims, or they might become radicalized. Here is Robert Spencer commenting on the Petraeus op-ed: So the upshot of Petraeus argument is that we must not say things to which Muslims might object, because this will just make more of them become jihadis. His prescription for minimizing the jihad against the West is for the West to practice self-censorship in order to avoid offending Muslims. In other words, mustnt offend the bully, or he might hurt you. As Christine Brim in The Federalist points out, this theme is rampant in the MSM: For example, The Mirror: ISIS wouldnt be here if there wasnt Islamophobia; The Nation: ISIS Wants You to Hate Muslims; The Guardian: Islamophobia plays right into the hands of Isis; Salon: After Brussels, far-right Islamophobes are doing exactly what ISIS wants them to do. All four battle horses are ridden with great cunning by both Sunni and Shias, herding the West into the sunset. Meanwhile, U.S. politicians concern themselves with bathroom etiquette. Don't be surprised if the Clintons are singing "I'm Looking Through You" when they think of Mr. Trump these days: I'm looking through you, Where did you go? I thought I knew you, What did I know? You don't look different, but you have changed I'm looking through you, you're not the same.... We just saw a note that Mr Trump is using the R-word about President Clinton, and we don't mean "responsible." The "R" word coming from Trump is "rape": Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump used the word rape Wednesday to describe alleged sexual misconduct by former President Bill Clinton, reviving the most serious claim of womanizing leveled against the husband of his likely Democratic rival. The remark by Mr. Trump, made during an interview on Fox News, followed through on his vow to retaliate against attacks on his relationships with women by delving into the numerous allegations of philandering leveled against Hillary Clintons husband. It may be true that Mr. Clinton raped a woman. It is also true that Mrs. Clinton enabled his behavior by looking the other way because she needed Bill to become Madame President. Again, no defense here for Mr. or Mrs. Clinton! My surprise is that Mr. Trump kept the R-word to himself for such a long time. Does anyone remember Mr. Trump calling for President Clinton's resignation in late 1998? Or publicly defending Juanita Broaddrick when she was making those allegations years ago? I remember silence, the same as with any criticism of his good friend President Clinton. Also, does Mr. Trump still have a picture of President Clinton at his home? Yes, businessmen have to play both sides of the aisle. I recall a Dallas businessman telling me years ago: "I want to go to the election night victory party"! So I understand the relationship with Clinton or that he did not want to criticize him in public because there was business pending in Washington. However, it looks as though Mr. Trump and President Clinton were more than just acquaintances of convenience. As for the rape allegations, we heard them years ago, when Mr. Trump said nothing about them or the women. So back to The Beatles. Don't be shocked if you hear the Clintons say "you changed, you changed" when they watch their old friend blast them on TV these days. P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter. The recent news that Avigdor Liberman, a former Israeli Foreign Minister and head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, a small right-wing party, will replace Moshe Bogie Yaalon as the new Israeli defense minister and has been portrayed by the Israeli media and their elitist opinion makers with dismay and stupefaction. In Tel-Aviv, a city known for its progressive and leftist inclination, many muttered that the municipality should start opening up the air raid shelters as Liebermans appointment hit the airwaves. Lieberman, a politician feared and despised by the Israeli left, is being demonized and delitigitimized even before his appointed has gone into effect. Yet the potential appointment of Avigdor Lieberman as Defense Minister has thrown the whole Palestinian leadership and Israeli Arab politicians into a frenzy, making the reaction by Israels leftist elite seem mild. Claiming that Israel is adopting characteristics of a fascist regime and calling for the boycott of Israel; stating that the Israeli government is sending a message to the world that Israel prefers extremism, dedication to the occupation and settlements over peace, and encouraging blatant racism, are only a fraction of the derogatory and slanderous accusations against a veteran politician who has been democratically elected. The potential appointment of Avigdor Lieberman to the position of Defense Minister may very well herald a new and more effective deterrence against the Palestinians desire to get up in the morning and murder a Jew. The Palestinian Arab perception of Lieberman as a person who believes in the sanctification of power, ruthlessness, violence, and ignorance with murderous potential can very well be exactly what will cause the Palestinians to adopt a more realistic assessment of what a negotiated settlement will look like. This is their dilemma, and this is their choice. Either continue and deny reality, taking their chances with a Defense Minister who is perceived as having no problems with employing a strict crackdown wherever Palestinian terror erupts, who has no qualms about enforcing strict rules of engagement, making it crystal clear that Israel's strategy is based on the adage of our Sages, "If someone rises to kill you, kill him first," or begin to negotiate seriously and honestly to achieve a sustainable peace agreement with Israel. The perception of Avigdor Lieberman by the Palestinian Arabs could very well facilitate this change. As Israels strategic deterrence and capabilities have been proven to be highly effective in recent years with land, sea, and air strategic capabilities becoming literally impenetrable, the main task facing Israels Defense Minister will be primarily in the Palestinian theatre. The Middle East, being a region highly susceptible to a cultural disposition to base ones reaction on who how one perceives ones enemy, may very well bring the Palestinian Arab leadership to fold their cards and start the arduous and unavoidable process of negotiating with Israel. For the majority of the past eight years, President Obama and State Department experts have been treating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the central generator of political upheaval ravaging the Middle East. They do not realize just how marginal the conflict with the Palestinian Arabs has become or understand that as far as the Sunni Arab nations of the Middle East, the future Palestinian State, should it be established, will be just another failed Arab nation in perpetual conflict with its own people and with her neighbors. As far as the Palestinian Authority (PA) that resides in Ramallah is concerned, the lack of legitimacy in the eyes of their own people is only exceeded by the widespread and institutionalized corruption by its leaders, sustained by international funding from the United States and the European Union. Having rejected over the years any possibility of a negotiated settlement, the PA leadership have proven without a doubt that they have no intention of reaching any agreement.. The only goal of the Palestinian Arab leadership has been to gain territories and use them for the next attack aimed at minimizing and weakening Israel. Apart from that, there is nothing: No democracy, no economy, no law and no future for the Palestinian Arabs other than being in a perpetual cycle of meaningless and unsuccessful conflict with Israel. Israel will continue to move ahead and forge alliances with Sunni Arab neighbors and the Palestinian Arabs will wallow in their misery as they continue to deny reality and believe in their own made-up propaganda narrative. The unprecedented political changes having taken place in the Middle East in recent years mainly due to Obamas irresponsible and failed strategic policy decisions have resulted in new emerging alliances between Israel and her neighbors. Despite the challenges that Iran continues to pose to Israel and the potential of her leaders who might use the conflict with Israel as a means of rallying political support in her war with the Sunni Arab nations, the threat of renewed conventional conflict between Israel and her Arab neighbors has been downgraded, while more realistic scenarios envision a greater focus on economic cooperation and regional stability. Although it is far too early to predict the success of the new political alliances and strategic order that will eventually emerge from the changes in the Arab world, the inherent asymmetry of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs will maintain this conflict on low burner for the foreseeable future with sporadic eruptions of terror and limited missile attacks similar to what that the Israeli population has had to endure in recent years. The writer, a 25-year veteran of the I.D.F., served as a field mental health officer and Commander of the Central Psychiatric Military Clinic for Reserve Soldiers at Tel-Hashomer. Since retiring from active duty, he provides consultancy services to NGOs implementing Psycho trauma and Psychoeducation programs to communities in the North and South of Israel and is a strategic advisor to the Chief Foreign Envoy of Judea and Samaria. To Contact: medconf@netvision.net.il This most unpredictable election year ever has another variable at play: the Koch Brothers potentially could hand the election to Hillary Clinton. Yesterday, the Daily Caller reported: Billionaire businessman and philanthropist David Koch has pledged tens of millions of dollars to help bankroll the campaign of Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson, according to a source within Johnsons campaign. Kochs money will be made available should Johnson, a former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico, secure his second consecutive Libertarian Party presidential nomination, the source said. The report was quickly denied by both the Johnson and Koch camps. "We have no knowledge of it," Johnson told CBS News when asked about the report, which first appeared on The Daily Caller, a conservative news site. "None whatsoever." "You just got to laugh," Johnson added, chuckling. A spokesman for the Kochs was likewise dismissive. "Reports that we are supporting or considering supporting any third party presidential candidate are false," Philip Ellender told CBS News. So no big deal? Nothing to see here; move along? Maybe not. Rick Moran shrewdly notes: there may be good reasons for Koch and Johnson to keep mum until after the nomination, not the least of which would be the unknown effect on Libertarian convention delegates if such an alliance were made public, and the embarrassment of Koch if Johnson fails to secure the top spot. I have to wonder if the Kochs would like to see Hillary as president. A well funded Libertarian campaign could easily draw away enough votes to swing the election her way. And Johnson has indicated he would like another ex-governor, William Weld of Massachusetts, as his running mate. The two seasoned veterans turned Libertarian could have broad appeal. The bizarre events surrounding the bathroom battle between the state of North Carolina and the United States have the whiff of Sarajevo in 1914. Who knew Europe would collapse into the first world war in human history over the assassination of an obscure archduke? Will an obscure fight over bathroom use by transgenders in North Carolina be viewed in the rear window of history as the event that set off the looming war between the American people and their own government? The "ground," the term for the battlefield used by General Robert E Lee in a previous civil war, has been chosen for the Battle of the Bathrooms federal court. The righteous General Loretta Lynch, attorney general of the United States, has taken to the field with zeal to lead the Federals from the front. Her opening salvo was a shrill letter demanding that the state of North Carolina rescind N.C. House Bill 2 or face legal action and the withdrawal of federal funding to public schools and universities. In other words, she threatened and extorted a sovereign state over a bizarre issue that is claimed to apply specifically to so-called "transgenders," a miniscule percentage of the population. One statewide study in California estimates the "trans" percentage to be 0.1 of the population. The state's HB2 law states, rather logically, that your sex is legally identified by what is written on your birth certificate. The purpose of HB2 was to supersede a local Charlotte, N.C. ordinance empowering people to use male and female bathroom facilities of their choice, based only on their proclivity toward one sex or another. The letter infuriated N.C.'s governor and legislature on several levels, including the insulting demand that the state reply in three working days, obviously an act of war in itself. Cornered and angry, the state fought back with a lawsuit, claiming that the Obama regime had overreached its authority and hey, while the Feds are at it, would they please define who, or what, is what in the federal sexual identification handbook? General Lynch struck back with a rambling, incoherent national television address. She described the North Carolina law that women and men use specific bathroom facilities as the same as separate "White" and "Colored" restrooms in the South over 60 years ago. The general must be demented with fog of war syndrome by associating totally disconnected situations the preposterous fight over bathroom use and the world-changing battle against racial injustice. The tirade was an underhanded ploy suggesting just how deranged this whole mess is, including the mental stability of the "transgender community." By her actions and words, she escalated what had been a skirmish into total war. Canceled concerts and conventions and business relocations have taken their toll. Even Itzak Pearlman pulled out of a concert with the N.C. Symphony, citing HB2 as the reason. He probably was not informed that the issue is about men striding into female facilities with no consequences and applies only to state property and public schools and universities. Speaking of universities, North Carolina has experience dealing with the fabrications and misinformation that are part of a battle with the feds. In 1977, the Department of Health Education & Welfare (now defunct), under Jimmy Carter's administration, threatened to sue the UNC system of 14 colleges and universities (now 17) for failure to reach out to recruit minorities. The question was, why pick on UNC, a paragon of higher education "progress," including hiring a chancellor for minority enrollment, outreach to recruit disadvantaged applicants, and remedial courses for students accepted by affirmative action? Compared to its sister Southern university systems, HEW should have been congratulating rather than excoriating UNC's adherence to the new federally enforced paradigm of racial revenge in the South. The war between UNC and HEW stretched on for ten years, accompanied by incessant criticism of UNC in the local media for committing a crime no one could identify. Today, it's the same sad story. The media have taken the side of the DOJ against their own leaders and readers with no interest in fairly representing the facts of the issue. The DOJ is using harsh rhetoric to criticize the people of North Carolina just as HEW belittled the UNC university system in order to demand they ramp up outreach to transgenders. One evening in the HEW battle, UNC's leading negotiator woke up before dawn prompted by a thought: HEW is not telling me what it wants. That's why the struggle continued, even when UNC agreed to and implemented their demands. He flew to Washington without contacting the HEW staff he had worked with for a decade. Wheels down at National Airport, he called the HEW crowd and said, I need to meet with you right now. The meeting was convened, and the UNC V.P. asked point-blank: why aren't you telling me what you really want? After a few moments of silence, the HEW person in charge said, we want you to move entire departments and schools from UNC and N.C. State University to predominately black campuses in the system. Stunned, the UNC representative said, go ahead and sue. The people of North Carolina will never agree. HEW dropped the threat of a lawsuit and faded away. The people will never agree to allow boys in the girls' room in lower school or college, or men in the women's rooms. It's called chivalry, a notion the DOJ doesn't get. You'd think the Clinton campaign would have the good sense to stay far, far away from the issue of Donald Trump being a misogynist, or even his merely being a misbehaving boor toward women. It's becoming obvious that every time the Clinton campaign lays a media ambush for Trump, he not only sidesteps it nimbly, but also spins it back with far more effect. So the Clintons try to stain Trump with the bristleless brush of the Republican war on women; Donald responds with a fresh can of scarlet sexual predator paint, which he loudly upends on Bill Clinton's head, splashing a huge scarlet E on Hillary as Bill's enabler. The decades-old charges against Bill, the lawsuits, the payoffs, the cigars, his impeachment, all that sleaze that had faded to a dim pink is now screaming scarlet again, thanks to those geniuses on the Clinton campaign staff who said, "Hey, here's an idea..." However, the Clintons apparently failed to fire the errant geniuses, because now they and their in-house publicists, better known as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and network TV, are all busy doing their best to dig up some sexual dirt on the Donald. Instead, they get women praising the man as a gentleman who offers a helping hand for them to succeed and never asks anything in return. That is a completely alien concept to Bill Clinton, who believes that in such situations quid pro quo is an anatomical reference. Recently some CBS Clintonista was interviewing Trump's lovely daughter, Ivanka, and asked her about the possibility of her father groping women. Ivanka defended her father forcefully but gracefully, an ability possessed by all the Trump offspring, denying that he could ever do such a thing. Ivanka acquitted herself well, but should she ever be asked that question again, she should respond with a succinct "Who do you think I am? Chelsea Clinton?" and walk away. Can you imagine that liberal CBS reporter asking Chelsea about Juanita Broaddrick's very credible claims that she was raped by Chelsea's father? So what will the Clintons try next? I'm beginning to suspect that this campaign may play out like one of the old Roadrunner and Coyote cartoons, with the Clintons ordering all sorts of fanciful devices from the Acme Rocket-Propelled Election Corporation in scenarios that inevitably do not end well for the Clinton Coyotes while the beep-beeping Donald runs circles around them, all the way to the finish line. And doesn't that coyote "desperate to win" persona just fit the Clintons so exquisitely well? HTCs suppliers havent had a lot to be excited about in the last few years, at least when it comes to HTCs orders. As the Taiwanese company has continually seen their sales decline quarter after quarter. Although with the HTC 10 this year, HTC has put out a great smartphone. At least according to the reviews. Now with the rumors of HTC working with Google on their new Nexus devices, it appears that one of their suppliers, Catcher Technology, is expecting to see some strong growth in their revenue in the second half of the year. But thats not entirely due to HTCs orders. Catcher Technology makes chassis that are used by many companies. They will be beginning to ship notebook chassis to HP, Dell and Apple in the second half of this year, that will be used in their upcoming laptops. The company is expected to be shipping a chassis for a smartwatch in Q3 which will be stainless steel. However, Catchers chairman Hung Shui-shu did state that it would not be the Apple Watch. That definitely peaks our interest, since we do know that HTC uses Catcher, and they have been rumored to be debuting a smartwatch, for quite a while now. Advertisement Speaking of HTC, market watchers are expecting Catcher to benefit greatly from HTCs orders, since the vendor has supposedly signed a contract with Google to design Nexus-branded handsets in the second half of the year. Catcher, of course, did not comment on HTC or their orders. As they are likely under an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) of some sort, if they are aware of HTCs plans at all. Weve heard quite a few rumors about HTC building Googles upcoming Nexus devices. Of course, nothing has been confirmed by either company. Its likely that we wont hear confirmation about this until Google actually debuts these new devices. Which we expect to happen around August or September. Seeing as that is when the final version of Android N is expected to be hitting devices. Google always debuts a new version of Android with a new set of Nexus devices. Last year, it was the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P and Pixel C. Charter Communications recently announced its acquisition of Time Warner Cable Inc. as well as Bright House Networks LLC, two deals which have now made it the second-largest broadband provider and the third-largest pay-TV provider in the U.S. Flush with its success, Charter is now aiming its sights at offering nationwide wireless services by using Verizons wireless network. Back in 2011, Verizon had entered into an agreement with SpectrumCo, a group comprising of Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Comcast and Cox, to purchase AWS-1 spectrum. In return, Verizon gave permission to these companies to use its wireless network in case they chose to roll out wireless services as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs). Charter wants to take advantage of the 2011 agreement to debut as a wireless service provider in the near future. Charter is following in the footsteps of Comcast, the largest cable provider in the US, who is currently testing solutions to turn into an MVNO in due course thanks to the deal with Verizon. Tom Rutledge, CEO of Charter Communications, today said that the company is in a good position to offer wireless services and added that the company may offer a small cell service based on a licenced spectrum available at cheap rates. Charter has invested $56.7 billion towards the acquisition of Time Warner Cable and another $10.4 billion towards the acquisition of Bright House Networks and it wouldnt be too surprising if the company decides to make the most of these deals. On the pay TV front, Charter and other pay TV services like Comcast have been facing stagnation recently due to the emergence of over-the-web services like Hulu and Netflix, but the greater threat arises from services like HBO NOW and Sling TV which offer live or current season programming. The recent decline in the popularity of pay TV services may also have prompted Comcast and Charter to shift their focus on the wireless market using abundant low-cost spectrum from Verizon. Advertisement While approving Charters twin acquisitions last week, the FCC stated that the three companies contend that the transaction would enable New Charter to be a new entrant in the mobile wireless market by offering mobile products through increased WiFi deployment, the deployment of licenced spectrum or a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) arrangement- and likely through some combination of these. Given that it is impossible for FCC to make such a statement unless Charter and the other companies did make such submissions, Charter may have harboured its plans of entering the wireless markets for a while since the deals were hanging in the balance for over a year pending antitrust approvals from the U.S. Justice Department. Theres a list of objects one should not swallow, for example its okay to swallow coffee but not the mug, or the cheesecake but not the knife. However, regardless of common sense or perhaps because of another motive, sometimes people conceal objects in order to get them somewhere they are not supposed to be. This may explain the case of a twenty nine year old prisoner, who was admitted to Adelaide and Meath Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, after four hours of vomiting in prison. The man told staff that he had swallowed a mobile or cell phone. Staff were naturally suspicious of this, either because of the size of modern mobile phones or because, well, who would swallow a phone? The Adelaide and Meath Hospital, also known as Tallaght Hospital, is a teaching hospital facility. This means that it has a high proportion of student doctors and under training medical professionals, and this in turn means that any unusual case is a useful exercise in study for the less experienced members of the team. Doctors arranged to have the patient x-rayed and indeed discovered there was a cellphone inside the mans stomach, trapped and unable to go further. This meant that the usual procedure waiting for the body to dispose of the object itself was not going to work and the man was in danger. The team attempted to remove the cellphone from the patients mouth using a special tool, which required administering general anesthesia (as this is not a comfortable procedure!). Unfortunately the handset was lodged at the wrong angle and unable to be safely retrieved. With this in mind, the team had to operate, opening the mans stomach up to remove the phone with a pair of forceps. Advertisement Following the successful procedure, the man was observed and psychologically evaluated for a few days before being allowed back to prison. Unfortunately, we do not know if the handset survived the procedure, as it was handed to the police for forensic evidence. We do understand that it was the Long-CZ, described as the worlds smallest handset. This is a 2G-only handset under an inch wide and less than 2.3-inch long it would seem plausible that the prisoner deliberately swallowed this handset based on the small size, but things went wrong when it was lodged in his stomach. ZUK is a China-based company which is backed by Lenovo. This company has introduced two smartphones thus far, the ZUK Z1 and ZUK Z2 Pro. That being said, the third ZUK-branded device is going to be announced really soon. The companys CEO has released a ZUK Z2 teaser image yesterday, hinting that the device will be announced soon. That image showed us a device which resembles the ZUK Z2 Pro, but is a bit different though. Rumors have been saying that the ZUK Z2 will arrive before the end of this month, and the companys CEO, Chang Cheng, did not release any info when it comes to the phones release date. That being said, pretty much everyone assumed that the ZUK Z2 will be inferior to the ZUK Z2 Pro, but that doesnt have to be the case, at all. The companys CEO decided to release another piece of information via his official Weibo (Chinese social network) account, he basically confirmed that the ZUK Z2 will be fueled by Samsungs flagship Exynos 8890 processor which is utilized in the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. This processor is considered to be equivalent to the Snapdragon 820, and some people even consider it to be more powerful than Qualcomms flagship SoC. This is quite interesting, not only because the device will sport the Exynos 8890 SoC, but also because of the way Cheng Chang released this info. The companys CEO said something along the lines of: I spent the day using the ZUK Z2, and I really enjoyed the Exynos 8890. This is a quite obvious confirmation that the Exynos 8890 will be shipped along with the ZUK Z2, and the post itself was also shared through via that device. Now, the companys CEO has also decided to tag Meizus CEO, Li Nan, quite probably because Meizu tends to use Samsungs processors in some of their devices, like the Meizu PRO 5 phablet which was introduced back in September, that device was fueled by the Exynos 7420. Meizus CEO even responded to Mr. Cheng by saying the following: great minds think alike, which is also a confirmation of sorts. Rumors have been saying that Meizu plans to release an Exynos 8890-powered device this year, and Meizus CEO more or less confirmed that in his response. Advertisement So, there you have it, both ZUK Z2 and Meizus upcoming flagship will be fueled by Samsungs Exynos 8890 flagship SoC which has proven to be quite powerful. We still dont know when will either of those phones going to be announced though, but rumors have been saying that the ZUK Z2 might arrive before the end of this month. The second day of Google I/O has come to a close leaving us with more information on most of the things that were announced yesterday during the keynote. More has been discovered with Android N, as the third developer preview of the software was launched officially yesterday. Specifically, preview 3 brings physical keyboard shortcuts for developers and Google states that launcher shortcuts will not be part of Android N. We also learned more about Android Wear today, as Google noted that not only will Android Wear 2.0 allow for direct application installs to the device from the Play Store, it will also hone in on fitness and introduce better, more focused fitness features, and for those that are willing to take advantage of them they should certainly impress. Google announced the all-new awareness API for developers today, which essentially makes applications context aware so they can determine your environment to assist you by opening up at the right time. Of course, a big piece of news today revolves around Chromebooks and Google Play, as Google finally announced that the Play Store would be coming to a few Chromebooks as part of Chrome OS v53 in the dev channel in June, and a lot more Chromebooks as part of stable in the Fall. This is likely to be hugely beneficial for many Chromebook users. Advertisement Of course, a lot of todays news was centered around Daydream and Googles efforts in VR. It was discovered that the Daydream controller is mandatory for use with VR on Android N, while Google also announced that they would partnering up with companies like Yi Technologies and IMAX to make new Jump-ready camera rigs. If you have happened to miss any of the Google I/O related news from today, we have everything rounded up for you below. A.I. Apps Advertisement Android N Android Wear Daydream/VR Advertisement Android Pay Android TV Developer Advertisement Google Play Chromebooks Android Auto About three years ago, Google announced Project Tango. Its essentially their augmented reality technology that they are planning to use for a number of things, but more importantly they want to get this technology into the hands of consumers. At Google I/O this week, the company showcased a few new experiments for Project Tango, showing everyone how far theyve come since last year. At Google I/O last year, the demo they were showing was using Tango as a nerf gun to shoot at things in real life. This year, one of the demos was an app that allowed you to put a dinosaur in the middle of the room. Using a button, you could make the dinosaur much larger in the middle of the real-life environment in the background. Another demo was an improved measurement app, which now recognizes edges. This is a pretty useful app or experiment because it can be used to measure the dimensions of windows, tables, and many other objects. This would make it easier to measure how long a new piece of furniture is before you bring it into your home. On that note, there was also an app that you could use to select furniture and have it placed right next to you. Allowing you to see if that new couch or table would be a good fit in the room. The final demo was an app that would make flowers sprout in the middle of the floor. Advertisement It was also announced at the Project Tango session that Lenovo is going to formally showcase their Project Tango smartphone at their event on June 9th. This was noted on the invitation to the Lenovo Tech Week event, but it was nice to get confirmation from Google as well. Lenovo showcased this Project Tango phone, sort of, at CES in Las Vegas back in January. There wasnt much known about it, and the press wasnt even allowed to take pictures of the device at the event. Lenovo stated in January that they plan to have it available before the end of the year. Of course, no pricing was announced then, but we may get that information in a few weeks. There have been many rumors swirling around the new Samsung Galaxy Note 6, which will be arriving, most likely, in August. Samsung likes to differentiate between their Galaxy S series and their Note series by adding just a little more technology to the new Note device. One such piece of technology is that the new Galaxy Note 6 may have their new 6GB RAM chip, based on the companys 10-nanometer technology. That rumor may have some validity to it after all, as Samsung revealed the chip yesterday in Shenzhen, China at the Mobile Solutions Forum held by Samsung. The forum allows Samsung to share its latest technology and to show how they will continue to improve technology for the future. One might question the need for 6GB of memory in a mobile wireless device it was not long ago that 1GB was plenty, but then it increased steadily over the years to where if you have less than 4GB in your device, it is a reason for snickering. The real advantage of Samsungs new 6 GB 10-nanometer LPDDR4 mobile DRAM chip is not so much the 6GB of RAM, but the 10-nanometer design. It is extremely efficient when you compare it with the last generation of chip. This chip means less heat and less drain on the battery two things one tries to avoid in a smartphone that you hold in the palm of your hand. Samsungs CEO Choi for its semiconductor and display business said the following statement at the forum, in the ever-changing mobile market, innovation is to promote the sustainable development of the same power. Samsung will through continuous technological innovation, to maintain differentiated products and services, leading China mobile market growth and leap. If this memory does find its way into the Galaxy Note 6, it will really help make it a beast of a phone. The rumors have just a small jump in the QHD display size from 5.7-inches to 5.8-inches, and it will most likely be using the same 12MP camera from the Galaxy S7 series. Unless, by some miracle, the Snapdragon 823 processor makes its way into the Note 6, it seems very likely to have the same Snapdragon 820 found in the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. If Samsung includes a 64GB and 128GB model, that will make one believe there will be no microSD card in the Galaxy Note 6. Having the 6GB of DDR4 RAM would add a significant boost to the Galaxy Note 6 and help numb the fact that most everything else comes from the Galaxy S7 series. Over the past several weeks the Samsung Galaxy C5 gave plenty of reasons to hit the headlines. This unannounced device continues to be the subject of various leaks, and most recently the Samsung Galaxy C5 was spotted in a couple of new leaked images, showcasing the handsets exterior from all angles and in two different color choices. In light of this new exposure, the Samsung Galaxy C5 is very likely to be officially introduced next week (May 26th), along with the Samsung Galaxy C7. The latest leaked images seem to showcase the Samsung Galaxy C5 in a couple of press renders. In one image, the smartphone is presented in pink, while in another the chassis appears to have been treated with a gray finish. Either way, the smartphone is encased in a metal unibody design with rounded edges and 2.5D glass covering the display, and looks arguably similar to some of Meizus metal-clad smartphones. As far as the hardware is concerned, the Samsung Galaxy C5s specifications have been previously uncovered on several occasions by a variety of sources, including TENAA (Chinas equivalent to the FCC), AnTuTu, Geekbench, and GFXBench. All of these sources revealed the same components, including a 5.2-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080, a Snapdragon 617 64-bit octa-core processor, 4 GB of RAM, 32 / 64 GB of internal memory, and a 2,600 mAh battery to keep everything up and running. The smartphone should also be equipped with a 16-megapixel shooter, as well as an 8-megapixel front-facing camera for selfie enthusiasts. Reportedly, the smartphone weighs 153 grams and measures 145.9 x 72 x 6.7 millimeters. Advertisement While the Samsung Galaxy C5 has been designed as a mid-range smartphone, it does seem to include a fingerprint recognition scanner which can be used in conjunction with Samsung Pay, and sources add that the smartphone will also support Samsungs UHQA (Ultra High Quality Audio). Reportedly, the Samsung Galaxy C5 will be released in China for the price of 2,199 yuan, or the equivalent of roughly $335 at todays conversion rate. But whether or not the smartphone will debut in China next week remains to be seen. Either way, the Samsung Galaxy C5 was recently certified by TENAA, and a visit to Chinas telecommunication regulatory agency usually hints that a market release is just around the corner. According to a recent report published by Gartner, Samsung Electronics has retained its crown as the largest smartphone vendor in the world ahead of rivals such as Apple and Huawei. The South Korean company managed to ship as many as 81.18 Million smartphones globally during the first quarter of this year, carving out a market share of 23.2%, which is down from 24.1% during the same period last year. The decline in market share is on account of the companys largely flat sales, which were up slightly from 81.12 Million during the corresponding quarter last year. The overall smartphone market grew at 3.9% YoY, largely due to the growth in emerging markets, which is being fueled by the transition to 4G LTE from legacy 2G GSM and 3G HSPA / UMTS technologies. Another takeaway from the data revealed by Gartner is the continuing growth of Android at the expense of every other mobile operating system on the planet. Android improved its hold on the global smartphone market during the last quarter by increasing its market share to a whopping 84.1% from an already-impressive 78.8% during Q1, 2015, even as the third-largest mobile operating platform, Windows Mobile, lost a large chunk of its market share and now has less than 1% share of the global smartphone pie at just 0.7%. Meanwhile, Apple, too, suffered a major setback, as its iPhone sales registered a double-digit YoY decline for the first time in the companys history, selling just 51.62 Million units during the first three months of this year as opposed to 60.17 Million units during the corresponding period last year. Advertisement Samsung launched its Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge handsets earlier than it ever did before with any of the previous iterations of its Galaxy S-series devices in years gone by. The early launch allowed it to get some of the initial sales show up in the Q1 data, and with the Galaxy S7 devices having been accepted pretty well by the paying public, Samsung has now been able to translate the early sales into fairly healthy Q1 numbers that the companys investors shouldnt be too concerned about. Where the company is still struggling, however, is the lucrative mid-range segment, where top Chinese and Taiwanese brands like Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi and Asus are ruling the roost; especially in critical markets like China and India. It is no secret that the new Samsung Galaxy Note 6 will be making its grand entrance sometime this August, but what is not known is if there will be one or two models the Galaxy Note 6 and the Galaxy Note 6 Edge or Edge 2. Many users were very disappointed last year when only the Galaxy Note 5 appeared in its solo debut. We are hopeful that the rumors of the Galaxy Note Edge returning this year turn out to be a reality. One of the ways we can look into the future to see what a manufacturer plans to put on its new devices is via the Patent Offices. While true, they do not always make it from the drawing board to the device, but this latest one looks like an indication of things to come, possibly on the Galaxy Note 6 Edge. The reason this idea could be on the new Note Edge is that the patent is from August 2015 plenty of time for Samsung to implement it in the Galaxy Note series. The sketches show that Samsung is incorporating the use of the S-Pen directly on the curved edge of the display and since an S-Pen is only available on the Note series, it certainly shows us that Samsung is working on producing another Note Edge device. On the drawing, there are no uses indicated for this sort of technology, but being able to jot down a quick reminder or telephone number while in an application could be one of its uses. The Galaxy Note Edges curved display was considerably larger than the Galaxy S7 Edges, making it much more useful if only the third party developers designed some apps that would take advantage of that area. Advertisement The Galaxy Note 4 Edge sold fairly well, but not to the extent that Samsung was hoping that it would. They bypassed the Edge version last year and only came out with the Galaxy Note 5 however, they also released the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, which, in Samsungs mind, must have made up for the lack of a Note 5 Edge. Samsung heard the response loud and clear from the Note Edge lovers it did not compensate for the Note Edges absence. This year, Samsung came out with one Galaxy S7 and one Galaxy S7 Edge, which seems to be the most popular of the two devices. The time is ripe for a Galaxy Note 6 and Galaxy Note 6 Edge, and all things indicate that may be true. Rumors about the sixth-generation Galaxy Note phablet are trickling in nicely over the past few weeks. The closer we get to the actual event, expect the trickle to turn into a proverbial torrent, and if past device launches from Samsung and other OEMs are anything to go by, most of the important hardware specs should be public knowledge by the time the device is formally announced by the South Korean multinational. Now, even though the Galaxy Note 6 is quite a long way away from being announced officially, a few of the reports regarding the device already seems to hint at a couple new hardware components that might make the it a revolutionary product, if and when Samsung actually manages to incorporate them in the upcoming phablet. While one of those aforementioned new features happen to be a 10-nanometer 6 GB LPDDR4 DRAM chip, the other one happens to be a biometric sensor that has never before been seen on a mainstream smartphone an iris scanner. Samsung recently unveiled a 6 GB DRAM chip at the 2016 Samsung Mobile Solutions Forum in Shenzhen, China, and the company has now also reportedly filed for the registration of at least two trademarks in the European Union that has given rise to online speculations about the inclusion of the feature on its next-gen phablet. Now whether either of the two components actually manage to get in to the Galaxy Note 6 remains to be seen, but at this stage, not too many would probably bet against it. Advertisement Either way, not a whole lot is known at the moment about Samsungs patent filing in the EU, barring the fact that the company recently filed to register the Samsung Iris and Samsung Eyeprint trademarks in the continent. With the Galaxy Note 6 rumored to debut in August this year, theres no telling if Samsung will be able to get both the iris scanner and the 6 GB RAM chip ready for primetime within the small timeframe. However, if Samsung can address all teething issues in time, the Note 6 promises to once again be a giant leap in an industry that has often been accused of lacking in innovation. Xiaomi was the most successful smartphone manufacturer in China last year, and that is saying a lot considering China is the largest smartphone market in the world. This company managed to sell around 70 million smartphones in 2015, and a number of other smart gadgets, like fitness trackers, tablets, etc. That being said, Xiaomi has already introduced quite a few devices this year, including their Mi 5 flagship smartphone, and the Mi Max phablet. The companys executives have announced that Xiaomis drone is on its way as well, and that it will be announced before the end of the month, and now we know when exactly, read on. The companys latest teaser image not only gave us a sneak peek at Xiaomis upcoming drone, but also revealed the release date of this device. This drone will be announced on May 25th, which is next Wednesday. The teaser image does show off the drone, but due to the way the image was processed, we dont really get to see a lot. Xiaomi did this on purpose, of course, but it seems like the device will sport a camera on it, which was to be expected. Weve been hearing about Xiaomis drone for quite some time now, and a number of rumors actually suggested that consumers will be able to operate this device with the help of the Mi Band, and even some allegedly official patent sketches have surfaced a while back as well showing off that very same functionality. This drone is expected to be able to follow you around if youre wearing a Mi Band, and with the help of a companion app for your smartphone, youll be able to take full control of the drone. Now, keep in mind that this info has not been confirmed in any way, well just have to wait a couple more days in order to see whats what. Advertisement As a side note, Xiaomi will also introduce the Mi Band 2 soon, the companys CEO has said that it will arrive in early June. This means that we have two Xiaomi products to look forward to in the next few weeks, and were not looking at smartphones here. That is more or less it, stay tuned for additional info. Is Oxfams tax planning just tax avoidance? When Oxfam began to bemoan tax avoidance, it was inevitable some would cast their eyes on the charitys tax affairs. Oxfam is hot on everyone paying there fair share, having published such articles as: EU Anti-Tax Avoidance package will fail to end the era of tax havens, warns Oxfam Despite EU intentions to crack down on tax avoidance, the European Commissions Anti-Tax Avoidance Package does not do what it says on the tin, warns Oxfam, and developing countries will feel the EUs failure most. You get the idea. As does the Institute of Economic Affairs Richard Teacher, who writes: While it is commonly assumed that charities are exempt from tax, that is not actually the case. Although they are exempt from tax on certain types of income (from donations, rent or investments), the profits they make on business or trading operations are taxable, except in specific circumstances. By setting out the very limited circumstances in which trading profits are exempt (see section 524 of the Income Taxes Act 2007), Parliament made it very clear that it intends charities other business income to be taxable. The reaction of Oxfam, and most of the other charities, has been to run their business operations through a separate company. That company would be taxable on its profits, but it donates all its profits to its parent charity through the Gift Aid scheme, which exempts them from tax. This fits the standard definition of tax avoidance an artificial structure (separating out some of the charitys activities into a separate legal entity) that gives it a tax advantage. Of course I do not think there is anything wrong with Oxfam doing this; like all good tax avoidance it is perfectly legal and it is an ingenious way to escape a tax liability. But should Oxfam really be criticising other businesses for avoiding taxes when it does just that with its own? That question might well be rhetorical. Anorak Posted: 20th, May 2016 | In: Money, Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink (ANSA) - Rome, May 20 - School and university employees took to the streets Friday in cities across Italy to demand the renewal of contracts that have been frozen for years. Today's education strike of education workers, teachers, professors, researchers and principals was called by Italy's 'big three' union federations - CGIL, CISL and UIL. "The Constitutional Court itself has declared the (failure to renew contracts) illegitimate," the unions said. In Rome, commuters also grappled with a four-hour transport strike called by the small Cambia-Menti union, while bus lines in outlying neighborhoods were disrupted due to a 24-hour strike called by the UGL union. A wider transport strike called by all the major unions has been postponed to May 31. (ANSA) - Rome, May 20 - Premier Matteo Renzi reiterated Friday he would quit politics if he loses an October referendum on Constitutional reform to overhaul Italy's slow and costly political machinery. "It's being serious, I'm not like those who clung to their seats like in the past. The referendum is very important: it cuts by a third the number of parliamentarians, caps the wages of regional councillors, finally gives Italy stability", he told RAI's TG1 news. "The Italians should be proud that we are not the caste but on the front line to change Italy," he said. The reform replaces the Senate with a leaner, regionally based body with limited lawmaking powers. CAIRO - Wreckage of EgyptAir Flight MS804 that disappeared from radar screens early Thursday morning has been found 290 km north of Alexandria, Egyptian state TV reported Friday. Army spokesman Mohamed Samir has confirmed the reports. "On Friday Egyptian military planes and navy vessels found debris from the plane and passenger objects in the area north of Alexandria at a distance of 290 km" from the coast, Samir wrote on Facebook. "The search operations are continuing to retrieve everything that is found," he added. The navy is now looking for the plane's flight recorder, state TV reported. EgyptAir subsequently issued its 12th statement since the disaster, specifying that the wreckage had been found "in the early hours" of Friday "295 km from the Alexandria coast". The airline expressed its condolences to the victims' relatives and said it would "take all the measures needed to tackle the situation". The armed forces are continuing the search for remains, it added. According to the Guardian, the Greek defence minister, Panos Kammenos, said Egyptian authorities have said they have spotted a body part, two seats and suitcases in search for the EgyptAir plane. Book and exhibit on Christians of the East By Dorigo and Milluzzi; in Vicenza and Jerusalem (ANSAmed) - ROME, MAY 20 - Having left in June 2011, photographer Linda Dorigo and journalist Andrea Milluzzi proceeded to live with the Christian communities of Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Turkey to depict the daily lives of members of this ancient community in the Middle East. The result is a photo exhibit entitled 'Nostalgia', which will be Jerusalem's Austrian Hospice until November and from may 25 to June 2 in Vicenza. The two have also published a book in English entitled 'Rifugio: Christians of the Middle East' (Schilt Publishing) on the trips. The show includes about 20 prints and focuses on the concept of nostalgia, ''not only as a psychological state of sadness or regret since loved ones or certain places are far away'', the two authors said, ''but also as a response to the feeling of an impending danger to one's identity. This is the feeling shared by the Christian communities of the Middle East, often forced to flee from their lands, which are the setting for ever more violent clashes.'' Meeting these people and going in search of their land, Dorigo and Milluzzi went on a ''journey backwards through the centuries, marked by meetings, silences, confessions and trust.'' The journey ''aims to touch people's consciences as concerns what happens in those places while at the same time evoking the values of those communities, making us reflect on our own and helping to discover places and people without prejudice and fear.'' The Vicenza exhibition is at the Palazzo delle Opere Sociali as par of the Biblical Festival of Vicenza. The Jerusalem one - open to visit from pilgrims, tourists and delegations - is looking into possibly being held in other countries such as Lebanon or Iran. The photographic book 'Rifugio: Christians of the Middle East' (180 pages with 73 black and white photos) was recently presented in London as part of Fix Photo. The book states that there are an estimated 12 million Christians in the Middle East, but that many have left the region due to Muslim extremism and persecution. (ANSAmed) WASHINGTON - Egyptair has withdrawn an earlier statement that debris found in the Mediterranean is of missing Flight 804, CNN reports. EgyptAir's Vice Chairman Ahmed Adel had previously told CNN that the plane's wreckage had been found. The US is deeply concerned about Thursday's incident involving the Egyptian plane but is keeping an open mind about what happened, according to an advisor to Barack Obama. The country has offered assistance to the relevant authorities, the advisor added. ROME - Every year over 218 million people suffer from calamities and 80% of the victims of humanitarian crises are due to lengthy conflicts. There has been a sharp rise in recent years of forced displacement, and there are currently 60 million displaced in the world, including 40 million internally displaced and 20 million refugees. Against this backdrop, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has called the first World Humanitarian Summit to be held in Istanbul on May 23-24. Some 6,000 people are expected to come, representing governments, humanitarian aid agencies, communities affected, civil society and the private sector. The summit will focus on five main themes: reducing and preventing conflicts, ensuring respect for humanitarian law, ensuring that ever fewer people get ''left behind'' and on reducing risks and increasing funding. During the summit, the delegation from the Order of Malta - under Grand Chancellor Albrecht Boeselager, diplomatic advisor Stefano Ronca and the ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Marie-Therese Pictet-Althann - will take part in a special session on religious efforts, focusing on the role of religious bodies and religion-based organizations in humanitarian contexts. ''Religious leaders and faith-based organisations are often trusted first responders and long-term community partners in crises. The Summit is the ideal opportunity for representatives of all different faiths to come together and affirm their commitment to humanitarian assistance and protection,'' Boeselager wrote in a statement posted on the Order of Malta website. ''Our priority is to reaffirm the principles of international humanitarian laws, often ignored by parties, and not just armed rebel groups and non-state actors, as the attacks on hospitals, schools and against health workers sadly remind us.'' (ANSAmed) Terrorism: France, first round of questioning for Abdeslam Interrogated by magistrates at the Palace of Justice in Paris (ANSAmed) - ROME, MAY 20 - Salah Abdeslam, the alleged terrorist who survived the November 13 attacks in Paris, arrived at the Palace of Justice in the French capital on Friday for his first interrogation by anti-terrorism prosecutors. The website of Le Figaro daily said he was taken from his cell in Fleury-Merogis prison and arrived at the Paris law courts at 7.15 am local time, escorted by police and a helicopter. The presumed terrorist was extradited from Belgium to France approximately a month ago. (ANSAmed). Wreckage of EgyptAir flight found north of Alexandria Armed forces now searching for flight recorder (ANSAmed) - CAIRO, MAY 20 - Wreckage of EgyptAir Flight MS804 that disappeared from radar screens early Thursday morning has been found 290 km north of Alexandria, Egyptian state TV reported Friday. Army spokesman Mohamed Samir has confirmed the reports. "On Friday Egyptian military planes and navy vessels found debris from the plane and passenger objects in the area north of Alexandria at a distance of 290 km" from the coast, Samir wrote on Facebook. "The search operations are continuing to retrieve everything that is found," he added. The navy is now looking for the plane's flight recorder, state TV reported. EgyptAir subsequently issued its 12th statement since the disaster, specifying that the wreckage had been found "in the early hours" of Friday "295 km from the Alexandria coast". The airline expressed its condolences to the victims' relatives and said it would "take all the measures needed to tackle the situation". The armed forces are continuing the search for remains, it added. (ANSAmed). (ANSAmed) - Brussels, May 20 - European Commissioner for migration Dimitris Avramopoulos expressed his "disappointment" at the progress made by member states on relocating asylum seekers before entering a special EU home affairs council meeting on Friday. "I do not hide my disappointment over the poor results on relocations," Avramopoulos said. "Today will be an opportunity to solicit countries. Relocations are linked to solidarity and solidarity cannot be applied 'a la carte'," he added. During the meeting ministers will also discuss the state of application of the EU deal with Turkey on migrants and the lifting of visa restrictions for Georgia, Turkey, Ukraine and Kosovo. This last measure is accompanied by the so-called 'emergency brake' agreed by the EU council to facilitate its eventual suspension, which EU member states consider to be a prerequisite for granting visa-free access for Turkish citizens. (ANSAmed) (ANSAmed) - Rome, May 20 - European Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos expressed his "disappointment" at the progress made by member states on relocating asylum seekers before entering a special EU home affairs council meeting on Friday. "I do not hide my disappointment over the poor results on relocations," Avramopoulos said. "Today will be an opportunity to solicit countries. Relocations are linked to solidarity and solidarity cannot be applied 'a la carte'," he added. During the meeting, ministers discussed the state of application of the EU deal with Turkey on migrants and the lifting of visa restrictions for Georgia, Turkey, Ukraine and Kosovo. This last measure is accompanied by the so-called 'emergency brake' agreed by the EU council to facilitate its eventual suspension, which EU member states consider to be a prerequisite for granting visa-free access for Turkish citizens. Italy is, meanwhile, working on the creation of floating hotspots to be used "if necessary", Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said in Brussels on Friday. "We have been working on the idea of 'floating hotspots' for over a month, with all the preliminary technical studies, to prevent a situation of difficulty or disorder at quaysides and to organise photo ID directly on board, under the auspices of Frontex, in the presence of humanitarian organisations," Alfano said. The work is being carried out "within a context and logic of 'only if necessary'," he added. "I am the interior minister and I am preparing for the possibility that new (hotspots) might be needed," Alfano concluded. Avramopoulos also said that Italy needed to set up more hotspots in Sicily for asylum seekers as they arrive. "It's fundamentally important that Italy intensifies the efforts being performed to provide the necessary reception conditions and prevent escapes," he wrote. "While recognizing Italy's major effort to address the situations, I observe that many landings take place away from hotspots and the planned mobile groups are not yet operative. It is important to prepare the supplementary hotspots identified in Sicily". It is feared that, after the closure of the Balkans route, asylum seekers will be diverted to others, such as the central Mediterranean one to Italy. Renzi, however, knocked back the request, saying that the number of migrant arrivals in Italy has dropped by about 20%. "If, as we hope, the fall continues, no new hotspots will be needed," Renzi said Thursday. Avramopoulos said the idea of putting migrant hotspots on board ships "is being studied fully by our experts and we will soon give the result of this study; it is a good idea". So-called 'floating hotspots' were proposed by Alfano on Wednesday. According to EU sources, floating hotspots are seen as a good idea because of changes in migrant routes, which require flexible tools ready to be used in various places. A team of five experts is expected to issue an assessment of the technical and legal issues in a matter of days, the sources said. Libyan defense minister of Sarraj's gov't arrives in Tripoli Ordered to work there; UN envoy praises his courage (ANSAmed) - CAIRO, MAY 20 - The defense minister of Libya's new national unity government, Mahdi Al-Barghathi, has since Thursday been in Tripoli. His arrival was announced by a tweet and photos posted by UN Special Envoy to Libya Martin Kobler. Barghathi went to Tripoli to begin working from there, Libya Herald reported, noting that on Tuesday the presidential council under Prime Minister-Designate Fayez Al-Sarraj had ordered the national unity government to begin working in Tripoli. ''I admire his courage,'' wrote the UN envoy, in reference to the tense military situation in the capital. The photos show Barghathi shaking hands with the many soldiers and other people surrounding him. The government has not yet been entirely legitimized and has not yet received a confidence vote that has been expected since December from the Tobruk-based government, which is under the influence of General Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the ''Libyan National Army''. (ANSAmed). Merkel to meet Erdogan 23/5 in Istanbul on migrants issue On sidelines of UN Humanitarian Summit (ANSAmed) - Berlin, May 20 - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will on Monday be meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on the sidelines of the UN Humanitarian Summit, spokesman Steffen Seibert said. Disagreements on the EU-Turkey accord concerning refugees will be a key issue to be discussed. Merkel will arrive in Istanbul on May 22 and will speak at the summit the following day. Seibert added that Merkel intends to discuss with Erdogan the issue of lifting immunity for Turkish MPs. ''The government in Berlin is watching with concern growing polarization of Turkish domestic politics,'' Seibert said, underscoring that the representation in parliament of important groups in society is ''significant for domestic stability''. Merkel will on Sunday evening be meeting with Turkish civil society representatives, he added. (ANSAmed). Tunisia: Casini and Cicchitto to attend Ennahda Congress Hundreds of foreign guests (ANSAmed) - TUNIS, MAY 20 - The presidents of the foreign affairs committee of the Italian Lower House, Fabrizio Cicchitto, and Senate, Pier Ferdinando Casini, are among the people invited to attend the 10th Congress of the Tunisian Islamic party Ennahda that opens at the Olympic Palace at Rades in Tunis on Friday afternoon. Numerous European and African politicians are expected at what is set to be one of the key political events of the year in Tunisia. Hundreds of foreign journalists have also been authorised to attend. The novelties announced by party leader Rached Ghannouchi include a new party structure sanctioning a clear distinction between religious preaching and political activity. (ANSAmed). Tunisia: Ennhadha 'congress of change' opens today Party to vote on separation of politics and religion (ANSAmed) - TUNIS, MAY 20 - The 10th congress of the Islamic party Ennhadha, one of the key political events of the year in Tunisia, opens in Rades on Friday afternoon. Its importance lies not so much in the fact that Ennahdha, a member of the ruling coalition, is the second largest party in the country (and the biggest in parliament following the crisis within the secular majority party Nidaa Tounes) as in its agenda, which will sanction the separation of religion and politics within the movement itself, as announced by its charismatic leader Rached Ghannouchi. The historic change, at a time when fundamentalism seems to be holding sway in other countries in the region, must however be approved by the 1,200 congress delegates. (ANSAmed). Russian scientists will take part in the international ice drifting station's operations in 2017, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi told RIA Novosti. "The international drifting station project seems very interesting because it promotes international research cooperation in the central Arctic. I think that Russian scientists from related research institutes will be keen on joining it," he said. The drifting station will open in April 2017 with support from the Russian Geographical Society as well as research and public organizations from Norway, the UK, the US, Monaco and Iceland. As is planned, the facility will operate until spring 2018. The station will accommodate as many as 40 researchers and technicians. Le CBD, cette molecule active du cannabis a aujourdhui le vent en poupe. Et cela est en grande partie du au fait quil permet... Best Health Products and Services Would you like to submit an article in the Health category or any of the sub-categories below? Click here to submit your article. Would you like to have your product or service listed on this page? Contact us. Best Law Products and Services Would you like to submit an article in the Law category or any of the sub-category below? Click here to submit your article. Would you like to have your product or service listed on this page? Contact us. Best Relationship Products and Services Would you like to submit an article in the Relationships category or any of the sub-category below? Click here to submit your article. Would you like to have your product or service listed on this page? Contact us. By: Alexander Chipman Koty As Philippine president-elect Rodrigo Duterte prepares to take office on June 30, investors and business people both at home and abroad are wary of how the audacious politician will impact the countrys booming economy. Under President Aquino, the Philippines enacted several liberal macroeconomic reforms and experienced an average GDP growth rate of 6.2 percent, leading the Oxford Business Group to name the country the best economy in South East Asia. However, widespread anger over elitism, corruption, inequality, and crime catapulted the controversial politician to the countrys highest office despite little explanation of his economic policies. Duterte has made international headlines for his crude and seemingly off-the-cuff anti-establishment remarks, while drawing anxiety from some corners due to his uncompromising tough on crime approach and implicit support for extrajudicial vigilante killings, giving him the monickers Duterte Harry and The Punisher. His populist campaigning, self-description as a socialist, lack of commitment to the rule of law, and remarks that he does not know much about economics or care about the stock market have unnerved investors who fear a reversal of the previous administrations liberal economic reforms. To allay these anxieties, Duterte recently announced an eight-point economic plan setting out his agenda to maintain the Philippines vigorous growth. The plan addresses rural development, tax reform, corruption, education, tourism, ease of doing business, foreign investment, and public-private partnerships. Despite Dutertes fiery and unpredictable rhetoric, he appears set to continue former president Benigno Aquinos reforms and further open up the Philippines to foreign investment. While Dutertes presidency promises to be eventful and campaign pledges may not ultimately be wholly fulfilled, investors can take solace in his reassurances to the business community and commitment to attracting foreign investment. Law and Order Dutertes principal campaign promise to strengthen law and order features prominently in his economic plans. Duterte contends that eliminating gangs and organized crime will reassure investors wary of entering the Philippines due to concerns over their own personal safety. He touts his experience as mayor of Davao, where rampant lawlessness once earned the city the designation the Nicaragua of Asia, but now boasts the lowest crime rates in the country and strong foreign investment. In addition to expunging urban crime, Duterte has pledged to quell ongoing conflicts and insurgencies with Islamist and Communist rebels in the South, principally on the island of Mindanao. While Duterte is notoriously ruthless on crime, even admitting to killing criminals himself, he has signaled his openness to enter peace talks with rebels. If successful, he plans to promote the area the Philippines second largest island and home to over 20 million people for tourism, agriculture, and infrastructure investment. Corruption and Ease of Doing Business As part of his efforts to cleanse the Philippines of crime and elite entitlement, Duterte stresses the importance of eliminating government corruption. The Philippines ranks 95th in Transparency Internationals Corruption Perception Index, showing the pressing need for reform in this area. Duterte asserts that stamping out corruption will give greater guarantees and predictability to investments while safeguarding investors from unexpected fees and extortion. Eradicating corruption ties in with his plans to improve the countrys feeble ease of doing business standards, as he says government red tape is what investors dont like. Indeed, the country rates an unimpressive 106th for ease of doing business, according to the World Bank Group. To remedy this, Duterte aims to apply his Davao model, which he instilled as mayor of the city. He boasts that in Davao, processing government documents must be done within 72 hours and failure to do so must be justified to the Office of the Mayor. To further reduce corruption and government inefficiencies, he is also reducing the number of signatories required to issue a permit. Lifting Foreign Investment Restrictions Many of Dutertes economic policies follow his well-known campaign commitments to wipe out crime in its various forms. Not to be overshadowed, though, is the potential for significant liberalization of foreign investment. Duterte has expressed interest in granting foreign investors access to sectors currently restricted to Philippine nationals and allowing them to own at least 70 percent and possibly up to 100 percent of companies they establish in the country, up from the current limit of 40 percent. Getting rid of the so-called 60:40 rule should pose a challenge, however, as it requires amending the countrys 1987 constitution. Sectors that are currently heavily restricted to foreign access include: Mass media and broadcasting Retail trade Domestic shipping Pharmaceuticals Advertising Public services Small-scale mining Private security Utilization of marine resources While there is no guarantee that all or even many currently restricted industries will be opened to foreign investment if Duterte successfully amends the constitution, there could still be significant opportunities on the horizon in these largely untapped sectors. Further, Duterte has also indicated support for joining the TPP, which in itself could require altering the constitution due to foreign ownership restrictions. However, it appears that he will maintain restrictions on foreign ownership of land, which is currently limited to long-term leasing. Infrastructure Spending and Other Initiatives Dutertes team has put forward a variety of other measures to boost the economy, as outlined in the eight-point plan. To address the countrys infamous infrastructural deficits and congestion issues, Duterte has committed 5 percent of annual GDP to infrastructure spending. It is hoped that increased spending will improve tourism through upgraded transportation and stimulate the Philippines IT industry by enhancing the nations internet connectivity. Additional focus on education and the struggling agricultural sector are other target areas. Tax reform is another goal, although the specifics remain vague. To wit, Duterte stated that We need to be aligned with the tax system of our ASEAN neighbors. We need to be competitive. If investors see the tax system here is too punishing, theyre not going to invest here. Duterte has expressed interest in pursuing a more progressive income tax system and more transparent bank secrecy laws, and these comments potentially open the door to lower corporate income tax as well. However, it remains to be seen what shape tax reform will specifically take. Going Forward Despite Dutertes often incendiary rhetoric, the economic proposals he has put forward are largely a continuation of the previous regimes liberalizations and are generally pro-business. Many of his proposals ultimately might not succeed: eliminating crime in a nation of over 100 million, ending decades-old insurgencies, and amending the constitution are not tasks that can be done overnight. Further, his economic policies remain vague, and lack timelines and strategies for implementation. Even if he does not attain all his goals during his six year term, however, investors can heed his advice for the business community to relax due to the policy continuity he has put forward. Still, there remains potential for political instability during Dutertes tenure as president. Although he stresses the importance of law and order and creating a stable environment, he himself has threatened to skirt the rule of law. Reintroducing the death penalty, supporting extrajudicial killings, transitioning the country into a federal parliamentary system, and amending the constitution could all introduce serious political crises. Indeed, Duterte has threatened to dissolve parliament and create a revolutionary government if MPs do not follow his orders, giving credence to his critics fears of dictatorial strongman rule. Separating rhetoric from policy, as well as awareness of jokes and cultural references that could be lost in translation, is crucial to decipher Dutertes proposals. Although it might not be a smooth presidency, Duterte may very well attract foreign investment into his country that, while growing steadily, has traditionally lagged behind its ASEAN peers in that area. About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email asean@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. Annual Audit and Compliance in ASEAN For the first issue of our ASEAN Briefing Magazine, we look at the different audit and compliance regulations of five of the main economies in ASEAN. We firstly focus on the accounting standards, filing processes, and requirements for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. We then provide similar information on Singapore, and offer a closer examination of the city-states generous audit exemptions for small-and-medium sized enterprises. The Trans-Pacific Partnership and its Impact on Asian Markets The United States backed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) includes six Asian economies Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, while Indonesia has expressed a keen willingness to join. However, the agreements potential impact will affect many others, not least of all China. In this issue of Asia Briefing magazine, we examine where the TPP agreement stands right now, look at the potential impact of the participating nations, as well as examine how it will affect Asian economies that have not been included. An Introduction to Tax Treaties Throughout Asia In this issue of Asia Briefing Magazine, we take a look at the various types of trade and tax treaties that exist between Asian nations. These include bilateral investment treaties, double tax treaties and free trade agreements all of which directly affect businesses operating in Asia. Fr Paul Karam talks to AsiaNews about refugees serious "economic, social, moral and human conditions and emergencies These include the near impossibility for them to bury their dead for lack of space and high costs. Registering births belong to Syria and the international community." In the Year of the Mercy, he pleads for help to Caritas activities. Beirut (AsiaNews) Conditions for refugees in Lebanon remain critical. Problems compound each other and it is harder to meet multiplying economic, social, moral and human emergencies, said Fr Paul Karam, director of Caritas Lebanon, which has been playing a leading role in helping Syrian and other refugees fleeing war. Speaking to AsiaNews, Fr Karam said that Lebanon has not only welcomed Syrians. For a long time, the country has hosted for a long time Palestinians, as well as Iraqis who left in their homes and land in the past few years to escape violence." For this reason, we need concrete aid, starting with money to continue our work. Burying their dead is one of the many issues that touch Syrian refugees. There is little space, and the few existing cemeteries are reserved for Lebanese citizens. One story among many is that of Ahmad al-Mustafa, 29, a construction worker from Aleppo. After fleeing Syria at the start of the war, Mustafa and his wife lost three babies aged three months, five days and just two hours old. "The problem was where to bury them," he told Naharnet, his tone matter-of-fact, as if numbed to the suffering. When the second baby died, he was forced to open up the grave of his first dead baby and place the second one in it. With the help of a religious leader, he buried his third child in yet another district. He got no help from the authorities. Death rates among Syrian refugees are much higher than among the local population because they are more vulnerable. There are no official statistics, but at least two thirds of Lebanon's Syrian refugees live in extreme poverty. In Bar Elias, where Mustafa lives with his family, at least one person in the town's Syrian community dies each week. The cost per grave can sometimes be as high as US$ 250. So expensive is burial that many Syrians prefer to bury their dead secretly. We have heard these stories even though they do not touch our centres, Fr Karam told AsiaNews. I know about refugees temporarily burying their dead in mass graves. They expect that one day they will be able to come back to dig up the remains and bring them home. It's a real problem; like many others that complicate life of every day." Then there is the question of "children born in Lebanon," who "are not registered either in Syria or in Lebanon." Our country is not very big, the Caritas director said. It is unthinkable to grant citizenship to everyone; it would undermine the delicate ethnic and religious mosaic that underpins it. "The point is that we have to end the war, arms trafficking, oil interests, and allow people to return to live in their own land. Because that's what they want." Registering births cannot be an obligation of the Lebanese state; it must be the responsibility of Syria and the international community". In the meantime, Caritas Lebanon carries on its aid work in an extremely difficult conditions. "People are desperate and need help, the priest noted. It is not by dispersing them in other countries (Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey) or Europe that the problem can be solved. The point is to end the war, because those paying the price are the civilians, the poorest people." Heeding Pope Francis plea in the Jubilee Year of the mercy, Caritas and Lebanons Churches have promoted and continue to offer aid and assistance programmes amid great difficulties. "The health situation is really serious, and we are trying to cope with it as best we can, Fr Karam said. We provide money for daily expenses. The cost of living is high, especially for refugees. Lebanon has been impoverished by this crisis. In view of this, the clergyman appeals to Catholics around the world to help those working on the ground with a "donation to Caritas" so that they can bring "aid and comfort" to the less fortunate. by Nirmala Carvalho The results of the administrative elections in five states are released. The most important fact is that Sonia Gandhi's party has been undermined by corruption and by the disastrous political leadership of her son Rahul. Prime Minister Narendra Modi s party has won in one of the poorest and tribal states. At a regional level, policies in favor of minorities were rewarded. The comments of three Christian leaders. Mumbai (AsiaNews) - Extraordinary victory of Hindu nationalists in the State of Assam, the collapse of the Congress Party across the territory of India, the regional parties that are asserting themselves at the local level. These are the most relevant results of the election that ended yesterday in India. Five States were voting, two in the north-east and three in the southern part of the country. The result that is dominating todays headlines is the resounding defeat of the party Sonia Gandhi, increasingly undermined by corruption and by the disastrous political leadership of Rahul Gandhi, and the historic victory of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Assam. The local elections lasted several weeks and involved the electorates of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, West Bengal and Assam. For the first time the vote also involved the residents who live in the former Bangladeshi enclaves, deprived of voting rights for nearly 60 years. In recent weeks the spotlights were all focused on Prime Minister Modi. He has stepped up conferences, meetings, events to regain consensus after last years defeats in the federal Territory of Delhi and the State of Bihar. The Hindu nationalist efforts were rewarded in Assam, where they won 60 seats out of a total of 126. Here the victory was unexpected, especially given the ethnic composition of the population, divided into various tribal communities for decades fighting for autonomy from the rest of the Union. The Congress Party won only in the small territory of Pondicherry, where it got half of the seats (15 of 30). Elsewhere it was beaten by regional alliances, who have confirmed their influence at the local level. As for other states, in Kerala, where Sonia Gandhi s party ruled by tradition, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) won 58 seats out of 140; in West Bengal, the chief minister Mamata Banerjee has won a second term with the Trinamool Congress Party, which won 211 seats out of 294; Finally, in Tamil Nadu the outgoing chief minister J. Jayalalithaa "made history" in his state, as the first governor - in 32 years - to be re-elected for another term. Below we publish the comments of three Indian Catholic leaders, who shared their opinions on the vote with AsiaNews. The new governor of Assam "is a student of Don Bosco" The results are a big surprise for most of us. We knew money was being spent in a big way, but did not expect that it would make so much difference. You may be surprised to know that the proposed Chief Minister Sonwal was a past pupil of Don Bosco Dibrugarh where I was bishop 1981-92. He was a chief guest recently in some of our gatherings. Many restless young people opted for the BJP to build their future which they did not see under Gogoi. At the same time let us be vigilant about any negative moves that can harm us. . We shall cooperate with them in everything that contributes to nation-building and human growth Msgr. Thomas Menamparampil, apostolic administrator of Jowai Congress in Kerala "was crushed by corruption" In Kerala the United Democratic Front [UDF, left coalition led by the Congress, ed] got defeated on two grounds, one, the stories of corruption were rampant and the people knew there is truth in the allegations together with the unwillingness on the part of the Congress to address it boldly based on values, two the UDF and especially Congress was not at all forthright in their opposition to the communal forces especially the BJP. The thumbing victory of the Communists clearly shows that the people of Kerala reject in general the Hindutva ideology. Traditionally the Christians in Kerala are pro Congress. Even now it is central Kerala where Christians are concentrated gave some relief to the Congress. But there is a consolidation of minority votes in favour of the Left which clearly indicate their opposition to corruption and Hindutva ideology. I think the traditional anti-Communist mentality among the Christians seem to ebb away. The anti-liquor policy which could have given the UDF big dividends in election became a curse to them for they made it an occasion for big corruption. Fr. Paul Thelakat, director of "Light of Truth" and former spokesman for the Syro-Malabar Synod The victory of Mamata, "friend and protector of Christians in West Bengal" The population of Bengal gave a resounding victory to development. It is a historic result because Mamata has improved the voting margin (44.9%), obtaining 72% of seats in the assembly. She is the undisputed leader. Her election slogan "Poribortan" [parts] has earned the trust and approval of the people, who have seen and experienced this development implemented in the villages, cities and urban areas of Bengal. Some of the "schemes" initiated by the Mamata government have helped to increase confidence that "Mamata is for the people." Among those who have secured the highest number of votes, there is Khadya Sathi Scheme, which has distributed rice at very low prices (a kg to 2 rupees) to 70 million people, on the basis of the National Food Security Act. Then the Shabuj Sathi Scheme, which provided bicycles to girls in rural areas, so they can go to school. Finally Kanyashree Scheme, which gave the girls an annual subsidy: to discourage them from leaving school. As for rural development in the last four years, the villages have been linked with roads and the supply of drinking water improved. The district administration has assumed the supervision of work, since Mamata was not in favor of her ministries being in charge of these tasks. Minorities are very satisfied with Mamata. In many districts it was the vote of minorities to weigh more. Out of 294 seats, they were instrumental in more than 100. The governor is also very close to the Christians. She has never missed Mass on Christmas Eve, which is sponsored by the state government and is celebrated for the public in Park street. She is available to dialogue and to negotiate with the minority when problems arise. When the Ranaghat incident occurred [during which a convent was vandalized and the superior of 72 years raped savagely, ed], Mamata in person rushed to the spot and assured all necessary measures to protect the sisters. After that attack, police were put on guard at each place of mission, parish and institution, even in remote areas. Mamata has promised to make St. Xavier College autonomous and this project will be implemented soon. When Sister Nirmala MC, died, Mamata spent three hours in the missionary home for the funeral, wearing white and blue saris like any other missionary of Mother Teresa, mingling in the crowd! I heard that she is willing to go to the Vatican for the canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Mamata is simple, honest, with a frugal style of living: in this way she has won the hearts of millions of people in the State. In her second term, she wants to make sure that all the schemes introduced by her government are operating at full capacity. She aims to get rid of scams that have tarnished the party leaders and colleagues and reduce criminal organizations at every level. I feel that Mamata is capable of combatting the system of bribes, that characterized the first term. So the people will bless her with another mandate. Fr. Jothi SJ, director of the Udayani Social Action Forum Nearly two months after a fatal Cayuga County crash, the New York State Senate approved a pair of bills that aim to improve safety at highway-railroad grade crossings. A measure sponsored by state Sen. Terrence Murphy would allow municipalities to install devices similar to red light cameras to help punish drivers who don't abide by active railroad crossing signals. If the monitoring devices capture drivers committing violations, they will be fined. "The presence of warning devices such as flashing lights, signs and gates have helped to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities, but have failed to deter drivers that choose to ignore these safety measures," Murphy said. "There is no excuse for putting other people's lives at risk." The Senate also passed legislation directing the state Department of Transportation to conduct a study of highway-railroad grade crossings throughout New York. The review will cover several areas, including the design of crossings and whether changes could be made to bolster safety and reduce obstructions. State Sen. David Carlucci is the sponsor of the bill, which has already been approved by the Assembly. He said there are more than 5,300 rail grade crossings in New York, but the infrastructure hasn't been updated in over half a century. "In fact, the length between the crossing gate and the track is still the same size as the model T," he said. "Many of our crossings were designed for people on horses, not drivers in cars. It's high time that we take a new approach to what are now dangerous crossings, and our first step must be a comprehensive study." A Port Byron man was killed in March when the van he was driving was struck by an Amtrak train at a railroad crossing. Following the crash, investigators determined that the railroad crossing equipment worked properly. Murphy's bill has been sent to the Assembly for consideration. Carlucci's bill will head to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's desk for review. by Shafique Khokhar Faisalabad (AsiaNews) - Muslims and Christians praying side by side for more than 20 years without any violent incident. This is the reality of Nazimabad, Faisalabad (Punjab district), where a mosque and a Catholic church stand together on a road and even share the same wall. The Christian place of worship was built in 1970, while the foundations of the mosque were laid in 1994. The locals say that at the two facilities were originally five marla (about 100 meters) distant, but then the Islamic place of worship expanded to reach the side of the church. Imam Qari Zubair, syas that "both places of worship have set their times of prayer so that no one has problems. We have not installed the speakers on the roof of the mosque as usual, but we put them inside, so that our Christian brothers and sisters are not disturbed in their prayers". Fr. Basheer has been the pastor of the church for 30 years: "In 1994, when our Muslim brothers were going to build the mosque next to the church, they asked us if we had any objections, we accepted their decision with enthusiasm. We've changed our hours of morning prayer so that they do not have problems during the Namaz [morning prayer ed] ". "True humanity - continues the priest - is to serve man: before being Muslims and Christians we are all men and this brings us closer as we say our prayers together." Muhammad Rafique, a Muslim in his 70's, says: "If someone were to ask me how is it that Muslims and Christians pray together, I would say that all the credit goes to the people of the city, from both communities, who have open hearts and want to stay away from any type of confrontation and controversy. In front of the two places of worship we have a park, where Christians from Muslims mingle in friendship". Qari Zubair concludes by saying that Mohammed wrote: "One is God and one is your forefather (Adam). An Arab is not better than a non-Arab, and a non-Arab is not better than an Arab". (Amir Butt collaborated) The suspect worked in aircraft maintenance for 13 years, a security expert says. He was arrested along with 14 other people in March. This is a matter for concern, says political scientist, because such a person could sabotage a plane, or place a bomb or an improvised explosive device onboard. Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews) Malaysian authorities have announced that one of 15 suspected Islamic State (IS) group supporters arrested in Malaysia is a senior aviation technician, the South China Morning Post reports. The suspect, 49, is a former flight engineer for the Royal Malaysian Air Force who worked for 13 years at an aircraft maintenance company services chartered aircrafts for domestic flights for so-called VVIPs, a term often used to describe passengers who are corporate and political leaders. His responsibility was to check that an aircraft is safe for use. He is the person who gives the green light whether an aircraft is safe to take off or not, a security official said. He was arrested in late March along with 14 other suspects in an operation covering Malaysian six states as well as the capital Kuala Lumpur. The other 14 suspects have all been charged in court, but investigations into the aviation engineer are continuing. He has conducted religious classes where he propagated ISIS ideology, an official said. He is known to actively support ISIS* via his Facebook account. He has shown ISIS videos on his mobile phone to his friends with the aim of promoting ISIS. This is a matter for concern because this is precisely what I and others have referred to as the insider threat of transnational terrorism, said Associate Professor Kumar Ramakrishna, head of policy studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. Such a person would have the ability, at least in theory, to sabotage an aircraft with VVIPs on board either by deliberately tampering with onboard systems, causing them to fail in mid-flight, or by placing an improvised explosive device onboard, assuming that he can gain access to one, or has the ability to make one himself, Kumar said. The engineer is the second suspect in Malaysias aviation industry to have been arrested over their alleged support for IS. Last year, an armed auxiliary police officer who handled the screening of explosives and dangerous goods at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport was arrested. He is alleged to have helped his brother-in-law leave for Syria to fight for IS by escorting him through immigration. So far, Malaysian police have arrested more than 160 IS suspects. At least 19 Malaysians are known to have died in Iraq and Syria fighting for IS, some of them as suicide bombers. * ISIS is the acronym for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and is another name for IS. Google Patents Sticky Car Coating To Prevent Crash Injuries Trending News: Google Wants To Make Its Cars Sticky To Save Lives Why Is This Important? Because one day you could ghost ride the freeway stuck to the hood of your car. Long Story Short Google patented a sticky coating for its self driving cars that would limit crash injuries because the person who is hit won't be chucked from the car or run over they'll be stuck to the hood instead. Long Story Forget driving to a mountaintop to watch the stars from the hood of your car, the future involves romantic nights lying on the hood as you drive 65 mph down the freeway. Google's latest patent is a modification to make its already extremely safe self-driving cars even safer by limiting the likelihood that you'll die if you get hit. The idea is to coat the car's hood, front bumper and side panels with a sticky material that'll cause anyone who gets hit to be stuck to the car instead of being flung over, to the side, or under the car things that could lead to a crash actually killing someone. It's pretty much like flypaper for people. "[The pedestrian] is not thrown from the vehicle, thereby preventing a secondary impact between the pedestrian and the road surface or other object," says the patent, as seen on CNN. It's way too soon to get really excited about this potentially life saving innovation it is still just a baby patent for now but the idea is an intriguing one, especially since self-driving cars are getting closer and closer to being ready for mainstream use. Google's autopilot vehicles of the near future have already driven 1.5 million miles in autopilot mode and continue to rack up experience with 10,000 to 15,000 miles every week. In that time, the cars have demonstrated how much safer they are when a robot drives the car instead of a human. The only blip was a fender bender, that Google blames on human error. So if the cars are already so safe, and will only get better at sensing their surroundings so they don't hit anything why is this sticky coating even necessary? Google said in its patent filing that while the sensors are still being developed "it must be acknowledged that, on occasion, collisions between a vehicle and a pedestrian still occur." Better be safe than sorry, I guess, but the cars are already way safer than human drivers. I say get autonomous cars into the mainstream already. It's time. Own The Conversation Ask The Big Question Why don't people trust self-driving cars when there's so much evidence of them being safer than when humans take the wheel? Disrupt Your Feed People are definitely going to take advantage of this and ride the freeway stuck to the hood. Drop This Fact Google says 94% of accidents in the U.S. are caused by human error. Surveillance System Could Give Police The Power To Tap Into Millions Of Cameras Trending News: Cops Now Have The Technology To Monitor You Using Public Surveillance Cams Why Is This Important? Because the researchers say this won't be used for mass surveillance, and we're supposed to believe them. Long Story Short Computer scientists have come up with a way to give police access to public surveillance cameras as long as they're not password-protected. While the researchers say the technology will be used to prevent and respond to crime, it could just as easily be used for mass government surveillance. Long Story When George Orwell wrote about screens that the government could use to spy on us, it was science fiction, but now police have the technology to do it in real life with public network cameras. The creepy invention comes via Purdue University, who say the technology would be used to help police get to the scene of a crime as quickly as possible, but there's pretty clear reasons to be worried that it'll be used for more dubious reasons. How it works is simple. The technology reveals the location and orientation of public network cameras like the ones in front of apartment buildings, then gives the user with access the ability to watch the feed, as explained in a report by Wired. The system cannot be used for private devices like your smartphone, so at least there's that. Dave Maass, an investigative researcher with a digital rights group called EFF told Wired that the technology is pretty concerning. I can certainly see the utility for first responders, he said. "But it does open up the potential for some unseemly surveillance. The way that the researchers at Purdue say they'll prevent users from using the system to invade our privacy is by inserting a caveat in the terms of use that says you agree not to use the platform to determine the identity of any specific individuals contained in any video or video stream." But do you really think the government is going to listen to a measly warning considering what we've learned about the NSA from Edward Snowden? It's like a warning about health effects on your beer bottle nobody's going to read it. And even if it's not the government getting in on the surveillance, what about hackers? Scary stuff. Own The Conversation Ask The Big Question Can we trust police to use this system without invading our privacy? Disrupt Your Feed Michael Jackson's "I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me" could be truer than ever. Drop This Fact There's around 30 million surveillance cameras in the U.S. that could potentially be accessed by this system as long as they're not protected by a password. By the time Samuel de Champlain set foot on what would become New York State, the French had been visiting the St. Lawrence River Valley for 75 years. Jacques Cartier had explored as far up the great river as the rapids just past Hochelaga, the Indian town where Montreal now stands. He and another French explorer, Jean-Francois de La Rocque de Roberval, had traded with the natives along the river and attempted to build settlements, but between the harsh winters and the bad relationships they had each built with the Indians, their attempts failed. After two trips to learn about the area, Champlain decided to try and, in 1608, he established a settlement that would become the city of Quebec. He also made friends with several of the Indian nations in the region. To combine his exploration with that friendship, he agreed, in June, 1609, to travel with a group of Huron, Algonquin, and Montagnais down the Iroquois River in search of their enemies, for whom the river was named. Champlain re-named that river the Richelieu, in honor of a powerful French politician, and, when his group of Frenchmen and Indians reached the vast lake below it, he named that lake in honor of himself. Then, at the southern tip of Lake Champlain, he went ashore and made what many historians say was one of the greatest mistakes in our regions history. The People of the Longhouse were powerful warriors, and Champlains group of 60 Indians was outnumbered by the 200 Iroquois they found somewhere near Crown Point. But the explorer had a very large advantage: The Iroquois had never seen guns. Battles in that part of the world involved a great deal of shouting and acts of bravery, but the Indians made shields and armor of sticks woven together with vines, and more people were captured than were killed by arrows during these fights. Once captured, their fate was often a very unpleasant death, though we should remember that, in those days, the religious struggles back in Europe were also brutal and often involved torture and horrible deaths. And the Iroquois would learn about European-style war that day. When the strange man leading this group of Huron, Algonquin, and Montagnais fired his gun and killed two of the Iroquois leaders, the shocked and frightened Iroquois ran and Champlains allies were thrilled with the victory. Perhaps they should not have been so pleased. The shock and fear did not last, and, in that moment, the French had made a powerful enemy. The People of the Longhouse quickly realized that they needed to prepare for this new enemy, and for this new type of warfare. It is important to realize that this did not mean that the Iroquois always hated the French and always attacked them, though they did send raiding groups up to the St. Lawrence to attack both Indians and Europeans there. And a century and a half after the battle at Crown Point, the Iroquois would join with one of the European nations who had come to the area in a war that forced France out of New York, and out of Canada. But, for now, it mostly meant that they never trusted them or considered them real friends, even when they traded with them or made treaties. And when a second European nation appeared, and then a third, and wanted to purchase furs from the Iroquois, they were happy to trade for iron tools and other modern things. But they also wanted guns and powder and shot with which to protect themselves, and to wage war, and not only against the French. The new trade in furs sparked the Beaver Wars, in which Indian nations clashed over hunting grounds and attacked each others hunting parties to take furs that those hunters had collected. Meanwhile, after that first battle, Champlain and his Indian allies left the Champlain Valley and traveled up the St. Lawrence River, where they explored the northern shore of Lake Ontario and the land on the other side of the Niagara from the western door of the Longhouse. There were no lines on the map yet, and the French had claimed the St. Lawrence and all that flowed into it. Champlain wanted to see, and to map, the land his king now owned. Over the next few decades, the French would begin settling the area around Quebec and Montreal, bringing colonists from France. They also had another way of making the region their own: They wanted to make the Indians more like them, gathering them into towns near Montreal, and sending priests out to Indian towns to spread the culture and religion of France. This created a conflict within the Longhouse: Some Iroquois were tolerant of the foreigners with their strange religion, others treated them as enemies. In those more tolerant communities, traditional Iroquois lived alongside Christian Iroquois with few conflicts for a while. But when followers of the new religion felt they should no longer participate in the important dances and other ceremonies that kept their clans and families close, they often chose to move to the settlements the French had created for them far north of the Longhouse. For a people that based their culture on families, this separation was a true crisis. By then, however, there were more than two nations sharing the region: Just a few months after the battle at Crown Point, another European nation had appeared. The American Bar Association has established a Commission on the Future of Legal Services, looking into the alternative business structure debate in the legal sector. Resistance remains fierce. There can be no doubt that the public interest and integrity of the profession is best served when lawyers are owners of firms, the New Jersey Bar Association president Miles S. Winder wrote. But the ABA is leading the effort to improve the delivery of access to legal services in the US, stating the commission aims to seek comment from both the profession and the public and establish working groups to assess developments and propose new approaches, outside of the traditional model. Currently, only two jurisdictions permit forms of ABS in the United States. Washington state and the District of Columbia allow an ABS structure, provided all persons with financial or managerial authority abide by the Bars professional conduct rules and that lawyers are responsible for the non-lawyers at the firm. Very few ABS structured law firms exist in D.C., despite the fact an alternative structure is permitted in the district. The New York state bar indicated that a possible reason for the low uptake is that an attorney who is dual-licensed in DC and another jurisdiction may be concerned that the formation of or participation in an ABS in DC will constitute a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct in the other jurisdiction in which the attorney is also licensed. Rules in New York prevent a lawyer primarily practising there from joining a firm that includes a non-lawyer partner. Despite this, the New York Bar Associations current president, David P. Miranda, said the organisation remains open to the idea, but wants more proof on the potential upside, the Wall Street Journal reported. [The] burden of proof must remain on propoents of [Alternative Business Structures] to show that non-lawyer ownership, which the ABA has repeatedly said is antithetical to core values and professional independence, is necessary to achieve wider access to justice, and that ABS both helps the public and protects it, Miranda wrote. The American Bar Association said limited growth opportunity might also be a reason for the slow uptake of the ABS model, given that only two jurisdictions allow it. Access to justice; enhanced financial and operational flexibility; and increased cost-effectiveness and quality of services, are all noted by the American Bar Association as potential benefits of allowing ABS. But the risks out-weigh the benefits for many state bar associations, citing allowing the structure may be a threat to lawyers core values, that it may decrease pro bono work as firms look to maximise return on investment, it may be a threat to attorney-client privilege (as non-lawyers may have access to sensitive information) and it may fail to deliver the identified benefits. All jurisdictions in Australia, England, Wales and Singapore, allow full ABS in the legal industry. Some European countries also allow ABS but on a more limited scale: Scotland allows 49% non-lawyer ownership, Italy allows 33%, Spain 25% and Denmark 10%. New Zealand permits non-lawyer owners if they are relatives of actively involved lawyers and are only permitted to own non-voting shares. Free newsletter Subscribe to our FREE newsletter service and well keep you up-to-date with the latest breaking news, cutting edge opinion, and expert analysis affecting both your business and the industry as whole. Please enter your email address below and click on Sign Up for daily newsletters from Australasian Lawyer. The trend among international law firms to centralize certain business functions is adding two more to the list and in one case, Asia-Pac could be impacted.UK media reports say that Norton Rose Fulbright is to move 170 operation roles to the Philippines. The Manilla services centre is to open this September with 5 per cent of the firms business services staff affected.It is believed that most of the roles impacted will be in the US, Europe, Africa and Middle East, NRF confirmed that 15 per cent will be from Asia-Pacific.However, the firms COO Mark Whitley told UK publication Legal Business: This change will mean that we will have to take some tough decisions regarding our people. No fee earners are affected.Meanwhile, Dentons has confirmed that it is opening a central business services operation in Poland later this year.The Warsaw-based unit will provide services including finance, business development and marketing, human resources and IT predominantly for its Europe, and UK Middle East and Africa (UKMEA) regions.If they had the capital, 23 per cent of lawyers would choose to quit their current job and start up on their own. A poll by specialist recruiter Robert Half Legal revealed that there was an 18 percentage point increase from the last time it polled lawyers in the US and Canada in 2005.The barriers to starting a firm have reduced in that time, with technology playing a part in flexible working solutions, reducing the need for expensive premises.However, Robert Halfs Charles Volkert warned: "Just because you can go solo doesn't mean you should. It takes an entrepreneurial mindset and a significant amount of time to develop a market presence and cultivate client relationships. It also means rolling up your sleeves to tackle administrative tasks, such as billing and calendaring, in addition to practicing law."A prominent US judge says that there is no need to use legal jargon, peppered with Latin phrases. Richard Posner said that Judicial opinions are littered with stale, opaque, confusing jargon and advised that everything judges do can be explained in straightforward language and should be.In a subsequent interview Judge Posner said he was very bothered by the widespread use of legalese and blamed law schools for its continued proliferation. Hello everyone! Looking for some pretty simple advice, I just can't figure it out through searching the internet. Thanks in advance!Quick Question:How do I obtain documentation and details of my past, finalized, now expired visa(s)? My immiAccount just states that my Working Holiday Visa is finalized, and VEVO warns me that I do not have a current, valid visa..Looking to submit to the office of Births, Deaths, and Marriages for further documentation regarding a Registration of a Relationship, and unsure where to go.And here's the story.My partner (Citizen of Australia, has lived in Melbourne for 5+ years) and I went to the Birth, Deaths, and Marriages office in Melbourne in attempts to register our relationship, while I was living there on a Work and Holiday Visa from the United States (I am a citizen.) We waited until about three weeks before my visa expired, thinking that would be best, so as to hopefully fulfill the 12 months of residence in Victoria that they are looking for. This was nearly a month ago, and I have been getting so anxious. . Finally, yesterday I received an email from them, asking me specifically to provide evidence that I truly had the right to be in Australia for the 12 months prior to filing the application. My question is! What exactly are they wanting me to give them? I originally submitted a VEVO Visa Check, stating the visa grant date and the date that I entered Australia.. But now they've asked for further evidence. Nothing in my e-mail account would suffice.. And as I mentioned earlier, the immi website as well as the vevo website do not seem to have what I need. ALSO, I had an ETA before the WHV, on which I spent the month of March in Australia (I moved there on May 3rd, 2015.) that I am looking for submit - able proof of, details/ dates of. .(Also-- I left the country on April 24, 2016.. So obviously I was not residing in Melbourne for a full, exact 12 months (though I did live with my partner the entire time)- this would have been impossible while following the rules of my visa! Will this cause me problems?)Thank you so much for reading, and for any wisdom you may be able to share. Please let me know if this is unclear, if I can provide any further information to help my case..! Thanks again!Cheers We bring you a list of things you ought to know about the new Toyota Fortuner. The Fortuner has been the king of its segment for some time now. True, it tends to lollop on regular roads, and its interiors are not very attractive, but in terms of rough road ability, brute appeal and general practicality, it is difficult to argue against it. However, its competition (read, the new Ford Endeavour and Chevrolet Trailblazer) are overshadowing it now. In that light, the second-generation Fortuner couldn't have come at a better time. Here is a list of five essential facts to about the second-gen Fortuner. 1. It is tougher The first-gen Fortuner was, by no standard, a weakling. The second-gen, however, adds to the big SUVs air of indestructibility. Toyota has beefed up the new Fortuners ladder-frame chassis by reinforcing its side rails and suspension towers and fitting stouter cross members, resulting in a chassis whose stiffness is laudable. The SUV's ability to take a hammering is further reinforced by the large diameter dampers it comes fitted with. 2. It looks more Lexus than Toyota The second-gen Fortuner ditches the upright-SUV looks of its predecessor for something more rakish, flowing and edgy, bringing it more in line with upmarket cousins from Lexus than its utilitarian siblings from Toyota. Notable elements on the Fortuner are the new grille design, bracketed by thick V-shaped bands of chrome and the unique kink in the window line towards the rear. 3. The interiors are a major step up The new Fortuners cabin, with its leather-wrapped, chrome-sporting dashboard, touchscreen infotainment system and modern instrument cluster looks up to date and stylish, while still affording practicality in terms of storage for knick-knacks. The seats are supportive and comfortable, and the additional width of the car translates into more space in the cabin. The plastics, however, do feel cheap in places. 4. The engines are new Toyota has launched the new Fortuner with a new 177hp 2.8-litre diesel engine. Despite the unit being smaller than its predecessor's 3.0-litre, it produces more power, and is likely to be more efficient due to its smaller capacity. The unit come mated to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic gearbox. A 150hp 2.4-litre diesel engine variant will join at a later stage. The car is available in rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive set-ups. The new Fortuner is also the olny SUV in its class to use a petrol motor. This engine is the same 166hp 2.7-litre four-cylinder unit as on the petrol Innova Crysta and is mated to either a five-speed manual or a six-speed automatic gearbox. The petrol engine is only available in two wheel drive. 5. Improved ride The stiffer chassis takes some load off the suspension to deliver suppleness and grip. As a result, Toyota has been able to fit the new Fortuner with slightly softer springs and more absorbent dampers, which will improve its ride. With many of its strengths reinforced (literally, in the case of the chassis), the new Fortuner seems ready to assume its predecessors place on the throne. However, the competition, this time around, is tougher, raising the question: Will the new Fortuner assume the mantle of its predecessor, or will it cede it to keen rivals? Also read: 2016 Toyota Fortuner launched at Rs 25.92 lakh 2016 Toyota Fortuner features explained May 20, 1936 The winning design for the entrance gates to the U.S. Marine Base at Quantico, Va., was that submitted by Major Leonard E. Rea of Auburn. Major Rea had previously designed the newly erected permanent reviewing stand which has just been completed. Major Rea is the son of Mrs. L.L. Rea and joined the marines as an enlisted man, later being commissioned an officer during the past war, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross. May 20, 1961 Members of the Senior class leap frog team finished the race before their Junior class competitors. Participants were Bob Moon, Bruce Gillooly, Don Stebbins, Dennis Overman, Roy Parker, Jim Carris and Bob Heinzman. The Senior girls cheered their classmates to victory. Harold Button, faculty member, acted as judge. May 20, 2006 Cayuga County's largest private, for-profit employer may be getting a new parent company. O.Y.L. Industries, the Malaysia-based parent of McQuay International, has reached an agreement to be acquired by Japan-based Daikin Industries Ltd. McQuay, one of the world's largest heating, ventilation and air conditioning manufacturers, employs about 520 people at a plant in Auburn. McQuay officials declined to answer questions about how the acquisition would affect local jobs, but the company issued a statement indicating the impact would be minimal. May 20, 2011 BOCES cosmetology students Kira Becker, 17, and Kelleigh Lawler, 18, of Union Springs, presented their business plan for a traveling salon and spa at the second annual Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES Student Business Plan Competition on Thursday. They showed photos and a layout of the RV they would purchase for the traveling salon. Lawler and Beckers plan took third place. The Celerio diesel has become our favourite option for frugal long-distance travel. They say, Honesty is the best policy; I say Not always! Heres why. In the last long term report about this car, I confessed that the Celerio diesel is the most fuel-efficient car in our fleet and it is even lighter on the pocket than the Nano. In the couple of months Id used it for, the Celerio diesel had proven this time and again. What my honest confession resulted in was that I was suddenly upgraded to a brand new automatic Nano, which, according to my generous and caring colleagues, is better suited to my daily 25km commute. It took constant cribbing for the better part of a month for me to finally get back the keys to the Celerio. Yes, this car is frugal to use, but even apart from that, the Celerio diesel has a lot to offer. Despite the compact dimensions, the cabin is quite roomy. The back seat is spacious enough and has the right amount of softness to make you feel comfortable. When my sister was holidaying here with her twins, I used the car a few times to ferry them around along with my parents and grandmother. Even with three medium-sized adults and two infants at the back, there was not a single complaint. And my grandmother particularly found the seat to be at the right height for comfortable ingress and egress. What she was also happy about was the boot. At 235 litres, it may not be class leading but the opening is wide enough to accommodate her wheelchair (see photo) easily. And, of course, the suspension deals with Mumbais paver block-laden roads very well, keeping all occupants comfortable. Among the things I dont like about the Celerio, its the engine noise that rankles most. Despite Maruti adding sound-deadening material for the diesel Celerio, it is still very loud and thats not a good thing for a car that costs close to Rs 7 lakh on road. I am used to the surprisingly heavy steering but lately, the gearshifts have become a bit notchier than before and the car sometimes hates to be put in reverse gear. These small niggles aside, I am happy to have the Celerio back, and hopefully, I will get to use it for some more time before Im upgraded again. We are talking about a 1989 Volkswagen T3 Doka Pick-up once owned by Ferdinand Alexander Butzi Porsche . There is no name coincidence here, as we are talking about the late grandson of Ferdinand Porsche , and the designer of the iconic 911.And this vehicle had a very close relationship with the grandson of the brilliant engineer that designed the original Volkswagen Beetle and then started the Porsche brand.Ferdinand Alexander Porsche used this T3 Doka pickup to use for various purposes, including the daily running of the Porsche Design Studio. He used this vehicle on the Porsche family estate (Schuttgut) located in Zell am See, Austria.According to the auction specialists at Silverstone Auctions, the utilitarian vehicle was purchased by Butzi Porsche specifically for use at his company.The vehicle in question has a double cabin format and a Syncro four-wheel-drive system. Once owned and operated by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, this Volkswagen T3 has undergone a painstaking restoration process that focused on keeping as many original components as possible.The restoration was a full job and was done at the workshop of the unnamed current vendor, described a Porsche racing driver with long-standing links with the Porsche family. Over 700 hours of work were required to restore this vehicle to its former glory.Auction specialists expect this car to be sold for a sum between 60,000 and 80,000 euros ($67,000 - $89,000). Its odometer shows 141,000 kilometers (87,613 miles), but the vendor does not mention how many of these were done by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche and if anyone else drove it in between. However, the seller has the documentation to prove this example belonged to Mr. Porsche.The sale will be managed by Silverstone Auctions , and is scheduled for May 28 and 29, 2016, at an event held in Denmark. As the managing director of the auction company explained, The Porsche family is automotive royalty, and its an honor to have a vehicle in our auction with the prominence of being one of the few cars registered privately in the Porsche family name. Until today, it seemed as they will miss the target by a long shot, but it appears that the German government is attempting to fix things.The countrys Cabinet has approved a set of incentives and tax breaks for citizens and companies that buy electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles.The $1.1 billion (1 billion euros) plan will share costs equally between the government and the countrys car industry , so automakers will have a powerful incentive of their own to start offering more eco-friendly vehicles. The billion-euro project also includes a fund of 300 million euros, which will be spent exclusively on charging stations.On a first-come, first serve basis, customers of electric cars will get a subsidy of 4,000 euros. Meanwhile, those that purchase plug-in hybrid cars will get a bonus of 3,000 euros.If the 1,000-euro difference between the two does not motivate people to buy electric vehicles, customers of the latter will also be exempt from vehicle tax for ten years, and the measure is with retroactive effect from the beginning of this year.The previous exemption was of five years. Furthermore, if electric car owners in Germany charge their vehicles at work, they have a reduced tax rate of 25% on this non-cash benefit.At the moment, Germany has an estimated 45 million cars on its roads. Out of these, approximately 50,000 are purely battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, Automotive News informs. Hydrogen cars are not even mentioned in this statistic, and some analysts believe they might never take off if governments do not take action.Unfortunately for Germany, not even this incentive will bring the countrys dreamed million electric vehicle target for the roads of 2020. However, the Government hopes that 400,000 electric cars will be purchased thanks to these new incentives. A ten-year tax deduction might go a long way for some, but they still have to afford an electric vehicle first. As you've figured out by now, we're here to talk about the 458 's swansong. As if the Italian temptress weren't memorable enough on its own, the example we want to show you today has been customized in a way that appeals to most of our senses.For starters, the wrap on the supercar might turn this into a mobile billboard for a custom wheel company, but the first thing that came to our minds when seeing the colors and the font used was another guilty pleasure, namely Milka chocolate.Now that we've covered the visual and tasting bits of the supercar, we'll move on to the extreme aural pleasures it can deliver. Churning out 605 hp, the 4,497cc V8 at the center of the 458 Speciale has the greatest specific power output (naturally aspirated) in the world. Oh, and let's not forget that 9,000 rpm rev limit.Well, this Ferrari has been gifted with an Fi exhaust. The tuning hardware allows the atmospheric engine, which, by the way, is the last of its kind, since Maranello has returned to twin-turbo V8s now, to fully express its feelings and emotions.As a result, this Fezza will deliver one eargasm after another. And to make the most out of the experience, supercar spotter Marchettino flogs the Prancing Horse in the tunnels around Monaco - as you'll notice, the man gets high on the soundtrack, but having experienced a "standard" 458 Speciale , we totally get it.As it sometimes happens with ceramic brakes, using the pedal on the left makes the supercar's brakes squeak quite a lot, but imagining a racing scenario will make you get over this with relative ease.P.S.: If you're wondering whether this is the Speciale that got its windshield broken due to the hood being left open, the answer is "yes." Apparently, Tesla Motors is talking to LG Chem , SK Innovation, and Samsung for a possible deal on lithium-ion battery cell production.Americas only large-scale electric vehicle manufacturer is looking for new partners as orders for the Model 3 have made current suppliers insufficient for the companys needs.According to Korea Times , the source of the report, the guys at LG Chem might be at the top of Teslas preferences. The report also provides three reasons behind this claim - LG Chem has experience in the automotive battery field, as they supplied the batteries of the Chevrolet Volt , as well as lower prices and a little history with Tesla.All of the reasons mentioned above would make an executive think twice about selecting another supplier as a new partner, as Tesla needs to count on its allies to be on time when delivering ordered components.Tesla already has a deal with Panasonic on batteries, and the American company is in talks with two mining companies for the acquisition of lithium for its Gigafactory . Another deal signed by Tesla Motors recently designated the Koreans at Hankook Tires as the OEM supplier of tires for the new Model 3.Another branch of LG, LG Display, has already signed a deal with Tesla to supply its OLED panels for the interior of the Model 3. The closest alternative to LG Chem would be Samsung SDI, which is known for manufacturing a cylindrical shaped 18650 battery cell, a type of battery adopted by Tesla for its existing fleet.The 18650 battery cell refers to a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that has the shape of an AA battery, but is larger in every way, also having internal protection circuits and other particular characteristics. The Japanese corporation has sold over nine million hybrids since the beginning of the project. As of April 30, 2016, Toyota Motor Company s cumulative sales figures of hybrid models has reached 9,014 million units, easily surpassing the significant milestone.Whats more impressive about the latest feat of Toyotas hybrid range is the fact that the company achieved the new milestone just nine months after its latest multi-million total.The deployment of Toyota hybrid cars instead of conventional vehicles of similar size and driving performance is estimated to have saved the Globe from approximately 67 million tons of CO2 emissions.Instead of using just conventional propulsion systems, the hybrid cars sold by Toyota and its brands have saved the planet from the combustion of approximately 25 million kiloliters of gasoline.Well let you do the conversion to gallons on that last one, but we provide a quick conversion tip: one kiloliter means 1,000 liters, which is the equivalent of 264,000 gallons.The figure presented above is an estimate of Toyota Motor Company , as it is impossible to quantify the direct benefit. The appraisal is based on the number of registered hybrids, their distance traveled, fuel efficiency, and a CO2 conversion factor. Toyota has sold its first hybrid model back in August 1997, and hasnt skipped a beat since.However, the Japanese corporation wants to do more than just sell as many hybrids as possible. The biggest automaker from the country of the rising sun has announced the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050, a plan that wants to reduce the negative impact of automobiles of global environmental health. Toyota intends to lower the described damage as close as possible to zero, in an effort to create a sustainable society.The next plan for Toyota is to sell 1.5 million hybrid vehicles a year, as well as to reach a cumulative sale figure of 15 million hybrids by 2020. At the rate at which Toyota is expanding its hybrid car portfolio, we believe this is a reasonable objective. The new machine is called Victory RR and comes with a Brammo powertrain, as you perhaps already figured out. The TT Zero is the second road race in which Victory is fielding an entry this year, after confirming their presence at the Pike Peak International Hill Climb.Last year, Victory put their Empulse RR on the TT podium and for 2016, they envisage doing the same. The year passed with the R&D team improving on the previous bike using the input and data collected by William Dunlop. However, the new machine is also integrating both battery and powertrain technologies that are superior to those used in 2015.Victory Racing team manager Brian Wismann says that the battery pack was redesigned from ground level and demanded, in turn, a redesign of the chassis. The Empulse RR had a twin spar aluminum frame, whereas the Victory RR now boasts a steel trellis one. "The battery itself is an improvement in both the overall energy / capacity were carrying on board the bike, as well as a marked improvement in the energy density of the battery itself," Wismann adds.Parker GVM, the motor of the Victory RR was developed with Parker Hannifin and is only 8" in diameter and 5" long (20.3 x 12 cm). Still, it produces 174 hp and 240 Nm (176.9 lb-ft) of torque, with a peak efficiency of 97 percent, giving Victory high hopes for a great race at the Mountain Course.William Dunlop will once more be at the helm of the Victory electric bike. The battery and motor technologies will also serve as a basis for the future road-going motorcycles, Victory says. "With the Victory RR we are leading the way to batteries that will provide more performance, greater range and less cost in future vehicles.We feel like we can return to the TT with more performance as well as being able to test this technology for our future products," Wismann concludes. AUBURN Auburn officials are going back to square one in their pursuit of new headquarters for the city's police and fire departments. The Auburn City Council voted Thursday to formally reject four plans for a multimillion-dollar public safety complex, an endeavor that has been discussed since more than a year ago. Thursday's unanimous vote put a formal end to the city's negotiations with First Response Developers, who was identified as the preferred development group in January. First Response's plan would have seen the developer construct the complex for lease by the city and other participating public safety agencies across Cayuga County. But with initial cost estimates ranging between $22 million to $28 million, affordability was always a question. Around $110,000 was once included in the city's developing budget for the 2016-2017 year to potentially cover any early project payments, but was cut from the proposal. The reduction was one of several made to help offset proposed increases in fees for the city's trash collection services. "We just can't find it in our budget right now," said Councilor Debby McCormick of the project before adding, "The trash fee: We barely got that together. We're not in a position right now to do something like this." While Thursday's vote shelved the project, Auburn councilors said they would like to keep looking for a new home for the city's police and fire services. The complex had been proposed partially in response to the need for an updated headquarters for the police and fire departments. Their current facilities on North and Market streets have aged and crumbled to the point that they have become obsolete. However, city officials have been notified that there may be federal funding opportunities to cover short-term repairs, according to Councilor Jimmy Giannettino. "I do think that we have momentum," he said Thursday. "I think we need to keep the momentum going, keep the discussion going, keep the process going." Noting that some might call the months spent on the canceled project "a waste of staff time," Auburn Mayor Michael Quill said that "nothing could be further from the truth." Quill and other councilors spoke to the process as a learning opportunity, with the mayor hopeful to use that knowledge in their further pursuits of a new headquarters. "I do want to assure our police and our firefighters and our public that this is not dead," Quill said. "This is something that we're going to continue to work on." In other news Auburn councilors are confident in the city's chances to win a $10 million state grant toward downtown revitalization. Councilors voted to authorize the city's application for the funding, which is available through the state's Downtown Revitalization Initiative. The program will see one municipality from each of the 10 statewide regional economic development councils be awarded $10 million for downtown improvements. Officials are collectively enthusiastic about the city's shot at the prize, citing current investments by established downtown businesses and organizations as well as endeavors on the horizon, including the Harriet Tubman National Park. "If you look at what the requirements are for this project, it looks like momentum is on our side," Giannettino said. The Dulles House, at 67 South St., is the newest local landmark recognized by the City of Auburn. Councilors voted unanimously to award local landmark status to the property, a distinction that comes after three years of restorative efforts by the current owners of the three-story mansion, Dr. Paul and Elizabeth Koenig. The Dulles House is the seventh local landmark recognized in the City of Auburn's municipal code the first added since 2000. Fines for parking tickets will go up from $10 to $15 starting July 1. Councilors voted Thursday to amend the fines as part of an effort to generate more revenue for the city. The penalties will increase again to $20 in 2018. Any sort of hike first required approval from the City Judge Michael McKeon, who requested for the raises to be made in phases over the next two years, according to Corporation Counsel John Rossi. Waze, the famous navigation app from tech tycoon Google, announced a carpool service last Monday in San Francisco Bay Area. The new service, however, is only available to a selected group of employees and employers in Bay Area. Although the service is recently launched, yet if it gains proper exposure, it can compete with Uber and Lyft, the most known pickup service in the Bay Area. Employees, who will be enjoying the service, can download the free app, which will let them request a ride from Waze users who share same commute, reported SF Gate. After a specific request has been received, drivers can choose to approve or reject the request from the app. The drivers and the riders are matched with the app's user in the Bay area. "Coordination, communication and payment are automatically handled through the apps," Waze says in a blog post. "Waze Carpool connects riders and drivers with nearly identical commutes based on their home and work addresses," the company mentioned, according to reports from The Verge. "Thanks to Waze advanced mapping capabilities, the platform connects carpool partners from the same local community, making it easy to carpool with neighbors and colleagues you know or haven't met yet." Notably, carpooling has been quite popular in the present times, especially in San Francisco, where both Lyft and Uber are experimenting. While Lyft has been using non - professional drivers to test its "casual carpooling" service, Uber has been busy expanding its pool service to different locations. Riders who will use the Waze service, will be paying the drivers an amount based on the rates set by IRS, i.e. 54 cents per mile. Incidentally, the announcement comes from Google, when the company has been testing its mobility efforts in three cities, with the self - driving car. Thus, if Waze's introduction becomes successful, Google might use its own platform to release a commercialized system of driverless car service. The United States International Commission (ITC) launched an investigation over the lawsuit filed by Paice LLC, a Baltimore-based company. Paice claims that Volkswagen AG infringed their hybrid electric vehicle patents. According to Reuters, the commission has not yet made a decision whether the lawsuit should move forward or not. However, since an investigation has been launched, it could cause another setback to Volkswagen as they have strategized to fear towards hybrid vehicles after the emissions scandal last year. Volkswagen admitted that they have equipped their vehicles with software that would cheat emission tests making their vehicle seem cleaner as opposed to how it really is. Paice is seeking an ITC order that could block Volkswagen from importing and selling hybrid vehicles in the U.S. Market. Audi and Porsche are also being blocked by Paice, Auto Blog reported. The request was made last April 15. SYS-CON reported that the Volkswagen Hybrid models included in the ITC order are VW Jetta Hybrid, Audi A3 e-tron Hybrid, Audi Q5 Hybrid, Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid, and Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid. Paice filed the same ITC complaint against Toyota Motor Corp. and in 20130, Paice struck a licensing deal with them covering 23 hybrid electrical control patents. Last year, Paice also had the same deal with Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. And Kia Motor Corp. Accordingly, Paice shared their patented hybrid technology from 2001 to 2004 including modeling and control algorithms. However, after Volkswagen allegedly learned about what they needed, the German automaker abruptly ended its collaboration with Paice. Paice said that Volkswagen also never licensed their technology. Paice also claimed that after knowing about the hybrid technology, Volkswagen decided to pursue the "clean diesel" vehicles. However, after the emissions scandal, Volkswagen now wants to venture into the hybrid technology as they are no longer allowed to market their diesel vehicles in the U.S. A Volkswagen spokesman declined to comment citing ongoing legal disputes. On Wednesday, Fiat Chrysler automobiles issued a statement that they're recalling half a million units of the Jeep Wrangler SUVs due to an airbag malfunction. The company discussed that this might be due to faulty components in the steering wheel. According to Reuters, Fiat Chrysler revealed in a statement on their website that they're not aware of any incident with regards to the issue of its off-road vehicle. However, they've said that the issue is due to a clockspring located in the steering wheel that is part of the circuit which wouldn't employ driver-side air bags when crash occur. The Wrangler is known to be marketed as a categorical off-road vehicle which is prone to dangerous situations. The company just said that the clockspring issue can been noted when the airbag warning lamp lights up and must contact dealers for safety. Detroit News wrote that 498, 985 Jeep Wrangler units that have been deployed from 2007-2010 models are affected by the recall made by Fiat Chrysler wherein 392,464 are within United States. Further, 2011-2016 models of atleast 7,435 units are also included. The recall is to ensure safety since the company will handle the replacement of clockspring assembles and install a new steering wheel back covers and steering-column shrouds. Other than US, the company is looking for 35,412 units in Canada, 8,529 in Mexico and 62,580 outside of North America. Meanwhile, the Fiat Chrysler has been recalling too the Fiat 500 cars within 2012 - 2016 models due to the possible clutch defect in the manual transmission cars. An upgrade is waiting for those cars within the years and on manual transmission since the company has distinguished that owners might experience clutch travel. The company fears that if not upgraded, they will cause component damage which would restrict gear shifts and propulsion. However, Fiat Chrysler disclosed that they are still unaware of any accidents involving the Jeep Wranglers and Fiat 500 subcompact cars because of the faulty components. Following the Model S crash of a car in Ukraine, Tesla has updated their "Summon" mode, which is a self-parking feature, in order to assist drivers from avoiding mistakes when these are on. The feature of the Tesla Model X and Model S instructs one's vehicle to autonomously park or come to the person. The travel direction of the vehicle will then be confirmed by the owner once it is correct. The update comes after a Utah user's Model S vehicle rolled into the back of a trailer because it was in the "Summon" mode, Auto Blog reported. The owner of the vehicle claimed that he stood in front of the vehicle for a minute but the vehicle crashed on its own after he left it as he went inside a store. However, Tesla said that in the logs, it showed that the driver initiated the Summon mode and received several warnings and messages before the vehicle started moving. Accordingly, the crash came seconds after the man exited the driver-side door. The latest update will be preventing user error by asking for confirmation about whether the car will be moving forward or reverse before it does any action, Tech Radar reported. Tesla said that the self-parking feature of the Model S and Model X vehicles may not be able to detect certain obstacles such as bikes or those that are lower than the fascia and those that are hanging from the ceiling. Value Walk reported that Summon was first released last January and can be activated in two ways. The first way it via the phone app while the other is via the gear selector from inside of the car. Also in the past, Tesla issued a "dead-man's switch" for the Summon feature that requires users to continuously press the key for or their smartphone. If a person releases his or her finger, the car will immediately stop. Tesla said in a statement that they are always making improvements to the features in their vehicles. Suzuki Motors has become the latest automaker to admit that they have falsified fuel economy tests in the past, but denied that they cheated emission tests. The head of the Japanese based industrial company admitted that they did not use proper standards when they tested their vehicles for fuel consumption. Auto Blog reported that CEO Osamu Suzuki apologized for the wrongdoing of the company specifically the fact that they did not follow rules set by the country. Suzuki, however, maintained that the company did not mislead the public or the government regulators nor did they cheat regarding their vehicles' economy figures. It has been found out just this week after Japan's transport ministry ordered domestic automakers to resubmit the economy figures in compliance with government testing methods. BBC reported that Suzuki said in their statement that the testing method for 16 models of their vehicles were not in line with official regulations. However, the latest tests reportedly showed no discrepancies. After the announcement, the company's shares fell nine percent. Suzuki added that their engineers cut corners by extrapolating the running resistance from past tests instead of running multiple tests in order to come up with an average. This is not the first time that scrutiny over emission tests and data have hit Japan automakers. The New York Times reported that earlier this week, Mitsubishi admitted that their engineers used unapproved test procedures as well as exaggerated the fuel performance by as much as 15 percent of some of their vehicle models. As a result, the president of Mitsubishi Motors, Tetsuro Aikawa, stepped down from his post. In an attempt to save Mitsubishi, Nissan Motor bought one-third of the company becoming its new partner and financial savior. However, South Korea's environmental regulators accused Nissan of cheating fuel tests. Suzuki is Japan's fourth largest car company following Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. Suzuki withdrew from the North American market four years ago. It has sales strength in the Kei car segment and motorized products like ATVs, motorcycles, and many more. It has recently been confirmed that Tesla Motors Inc. is going to sell $2 billion of their stock to aid the company in financing the rapid launch of its new vehicle: Model 3 electric sedan. Last Wednesday, May 18, 2016, Tesla Motors announced that they will be selling a part of their shares to help the company in the launch of Model 3, which has now been accelerating. They offered about $2 billion in shares and the CEO, Elon Musk, will sell the remaining shares to deal with the tax obligations. It was estimated that the company only needed to raise $1 billion to fund the launch of Model 3 production. These funds are assured to be used to help the company meet the huge demand of their new product. As of last month, the company has reportedly already received almost half a million orders for Model 3. After the report of their earnings for the first quarter, Musk said that the company will definitely have some aggressive action towards the high demand of their vehicles, about half a million in two years. Their original target was initially on the year 2020, but it has now been set two years early. Tesla also added that Musk will donate $1.2 million shares of his stock to charity, since his overall stake will definitely increase after closing all of their scheduled transactions. Model 3 is a smaller, less expensive car compared to the others that Tesla has built. It also costs much lesser, hence the high demand of this new product. With this new model of an electric sedan, Tesla has also constructed a battery factory in Nevada to provide the lithium-ion cells that they will need to create the battery pack for all those cars. The markets closed last Wednesday and the shares fell about 4% in trading. Tesla Motors Inc. said that their company has intended to deliver the Model 3 by the end of 2017. That is only to begin the half a million purchases by the end of 2018. EgyptAir officials said late Thursday that debris spotted in the Mediterranean was not from the missing Flight 804.We stand corrected on finding the wreckage because what we identified is not a part of our plane. So the search and rescue is still going on, the airlines vice chairman Ahmed Adel told CNN. The Airbus A320 disappeared overnight en route fromParis to Cairo. The search continues for the fifty-six passengers and 10 crew members on board. CNN reports that government officials saysigns point to a terrorist bomb exploding on the jet. The flightwas at about37,000 feet and had just entered Egyptian airspace before approaching Cairo when it turned abruptly about 175 miles from Egypt before disappearing, officials said at a press conference this morning.News reports say the aircraftturned left, made a full circle to the right and plunged 22,000 feet before radar contact was lost. Search efforts include a C-130 and other aircraft dispatched from Greece. Egypt is deploying a submarine to search for the main wreckage of EgyptAir Flight 804, which could be as deep as 10,000 feet below the surface of the Mediterranean. Searchers found pieces of EgyptAir Flight 804 in theMediterranean Sea along with human remains, officials said Friday. Seats and passenger belongings also were found 180 miles north of Alexandria, Egypt, according to news reports. French officials also confirmed that the aircraft sent an ACARS message reporting smoke in a lavatory and in the avionics bay about the time the aircraft went missing. Crews from multiple countries continue to take part in the search for the Airbus A320 that crashed early Thursday en route from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board. Fridays announcement from Greek and Egyptian officials comes after retracting statements made the day before that the wreckage had been found. While officials have said its possible a terrorist attack caused the crash, no definitive evidence has been found. TheHellenic Civil Aviation Authority said Friday everything appeared normal at1:48 a.m. Cairo time, when Greek controllers last communicated with the flight, The New York Times reported.At 2:27 a.m., controllers were unable to get a response from the crew. News reportssay the aircraft was at 37,000 feet when itturned left, made a full circle to the right and plunged toward the sea before radar contact was lost. A Washington Post report noted that the discovery of the debris will help target the search of the Mediterranean, but the area includes waters at least 10,000 feet deep and strong currents. 20 May 2016 17:39 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), operated by Armenia, could repeat the fate of Chernobyl NPP in Ukraine when a large area was poisonously polluted because of explosion and people died. International observers and experts believe that the NPP poses a real threat to the region and should be immediately closed. The plant is located close to the regions four states borders: 120 kilometers to Azerbaijani and Georgian, 60 km to Iranian and 16 km to Turkish lands. Its explosion or other unwanted accidents will seriously affect not only Armenia, but also other countries of the South Caucasus and the Middle East. The Metsamor NPP was built in the days of the Soviet Union. It is an NPP similar to Chernobyl plant," Mehmet Emin Adiyaman, the MP of the Turkish peoples Democratic party told Trend. The Chernobyl accident led to increased cancer cases and birth of children with different pathologies in the region, while the consequences of the accident are still being felt in Turkey. "A radiation leak at the Metsamor NPP is suspected, he warned. Adiyaman supposes that the radiation from Metsamor NPP was the reason of rising cancer cases and abnormalities of newborns in the border areas of Turkey, including the Igdir province. The effects of radiation are also noticeable in Kars and Agri provinces of Turkey. The international community has to take responsibility for the solution of this problem and increase efforts in this direction, Adiyaman noted, adding that Armenia should understand that peoples lives and health are more important than the countrys economic problems. Meanwhile, Equilibrium Global, a news portal from Argentina, alarmed about the life-threatening Metsamor NPP. It compared the Armenian plant with Fukushima and Chernobyl disasters and warned about its possible explosion in the near future. The portal stressed that the European Unions envoy called the Metsamor plant as "a danger to the whole region", proposing a loan of 200 million Euro for its closure. However, Armenia rejected the offer, due to the fact that the plant provides nearly 40 percent of the countrys energy. Akira Tokuhiro, professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering of University of Idaho/Center for advanced energy studies (USA) told Trend that incorrect or careless use of technology can lead to negative consequences. "Due to the fact that a nuclear reactor contains a large amount of energy and harmful products of radiation, the negative effects can cause very much damage, he stressed. Tokuhiro noted that despite the example of Chernobyl, West-type protective coverage was never built at Metsamor NPP. He supposed that the reason is the government's saving the Armenian capital funds. I would hope that the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) will play a more prominent role in its calls for action in connection with the Metsamor NPP, he concluded. 20 May 2016 10:20 (UTC+04:00) The meeting held in Vienna on May 16 on settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is very important, Levente Kozma, the former Hungarian senior foreign policy advisor, told Trend May 19. Status quo should be changed, because it won't cease the conflict, it will just postpone an eventual clash again in the future, he added. Kozma noted that a second meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents should be held in the near future. The EU, Russia and the US should take an active role in paving the road to a durable peace in the region, based on mutual understanding, non-violence and respect for the UN resolutions, he added. A meeting was held in Vienna on May 16 involving President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, US Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, French Minister of State for European Affairs Harlem Desir, OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, and special representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office Andrzej Kasprzyk. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz A civilian employee with the Cayuga Correctional Facility in Moravia has been accused of smuggling drugs to an inmate and having sexual relations with an inmate, New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations announced Friday. Margaret A. Jones, 38, of Binghamton, allegedly had sexual intercourse with an inmate repeatedly over a period of months. She also smuggled marijuana into the facility for the inmate, officials said in a release. Jones was an office assistant for the correctional facility, whose salary was $29,842. She was hired back in April 2014. She has been suspended without pay. The New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Auburn and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Office of Special Investigations conducted the joint investigation and arrested Jones on May 19. Jones was charged with third-degree rape, official misconduct, second-degree promoting prison contraband and unlawful possession of marijuana. She was arraigned in the Town of Owasco Court and remanded to the Cayuga County Jail on $5,000 cash bail. Because they are in custody, inmates in New York state are legally incapable of consenting to sexual activity with prison staff. 20 May 2016 12:42 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov Vienna meeting can be regarded as a possible beginning for serious contribution to the peaceful settlement of the conflict, Bahar Muradova, Deputy Speaker of Milli Majlis (Parliament) told Trend. She said that the meeting was quite expected on the background of the April provocation of Armenian army in the frontline areas and the conflict should be solved as soon as possible. The Vienna meeting is very important. As for discussions and agreements reached at the meeting, I believe that the Azerbaijani president took the right step, taking into account the current situation and perspectives, she said. Muradova mentioned the necessity of preserving ceasefire so that to ensure the appropriate environment for the next meeting of the presidents in June. She noted that the Armenian side constantly violates the ceasefire and they did that during the meeting too. If the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs say that the meeting achieved a result reflecting certain agreements, and express opinions on a positive future, it is necessary to exert pressure on Armenia to create the required environment. In the absence of such environment it will be difficult to speak about any positive result. Therefore, it is difficult to say how the process will go and whether Armenia will keep its promise, Muradova noted. She concluded that if the co-chairs want to solve the problem, they must not only control the observance of the ceasefire, but also contribute to the solution of the conflict. A meeting between the presidents of Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan, and Serzh Sargsyan, Armenia, was held in Vienna on May 16. U.S. Secretary of state John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the French Secretary of state for Europe Harlem Desir, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk group and the special representative of the OSCE Chairman Andrzej Kasprzyk also participated at the meeting. The presidents reiterated their commitment to the ceasefire and the peaceful settlement of the conflict and agreed to finalize the OSCE investigative mechanism in the shortest possible time. Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to this day. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 20 May 2016 15:46 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov The Azerbaijani army has successfully demonstrated its modern weapons that have not been used in the South Caucasus before, Irakli Aladashvili, editor in chief of Arsenal military-analytical magazine and Georgian military expert told Day. The conditions of Azerbaijani and Armenian armies differ significantly. They have different equipment and different mentality. Many weapons are of Israeli production. They are drones, new anti-tank missile systems. Over the past 10 years, Azerbaijan was building up and strengthening its defenses very well and proved that its army was rearmed better than Armenian. In addition, the armament of the Azerbaijani armed forces includes modern Russian-made weapons, which Armenia, a strategic partner of Russia, does not possess, the expert said. Azerbaijan, which has lost 20 percent of its territory as a result of Armenia's illegal territorial claims, now targets to restore the international justice and liberate its internationally recognized area. In difference to the army of Armenia which has occupied other country's territory Azerbaijan's army holds military spirit high and serves to restoring peace in the region. The Armenian Army lacks sufficient military recruits and overall ready-to-fight male population, which put it to significantly poor position. Official statistics of the recent April clashes on the frontline of the Armenian and Azerbaijani troops clearly showed the miserable situation the country is. Armenia's losses -- both men and technique -- were more than the Azerbaijani losses by several times. Heavy problems within the army by force of numerous obvious factors make the Armenian authorities equip the armed forces through the prisoners. President Serzh Sargsyan recently pardoned eight convicted on condition of fighting for the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The move was not met unambiguously within the country, who called it "reckless" and "unconsidered" because of possibility to involve other prisoners to choose "NKR" in exchange to a prison. I think that the risk of renewed armed conflict in the occupied Karabakh will remain high regardless of May 16 meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Vienna. The attacks will stay on even after the installation of cameras in the frontline areas. This is not the way out of the situation. This method cannot stop the confrontation in the conflict zone, Aladashvili noted. Military expert thinks that in case of resumption of a full-scale war, it will not be protracted and will last for several days. In one word, blitzkrieg is possible, and the advantage is on the side of the Azerbaijani army. Precedent [referring to the April incident] has occurred before, thus, there is reason to believe that the Azerbaijani armed forces will demonstrate their success again, he concluded. Despite four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts, Armenia keep tension high in the region keeping under control the illegally occupied territory. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 20 May 2016 18:26 (UTC+04:00) President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) Ilkka Kanerva urged the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) to the joint efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, RIA Novosti reported May 20. "I would like to invite all colleagues of the IPA CIS jointly make efforts to find a global peaceful solution and an end to the conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group," said Kanerva. He pointed to the growth of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. Unfortunately, the number of deaths is increasing, noted Kanerva. "We unite our hopes that the number of victims would decrease and the parties would sit down to talk," he added. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 20 May 2016 11:14 (UTC+04:00) Chairman of Azerbaijan Constitutional Court Farhad Abdullayev attended the international conference on Modern Constitutional Justice: Challenges and Prospects in Russia, Azertac reports. The conference, hosted by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation in commemoration of its 25th anniversary, is one of the landmark events for the entire legal community. Conference participants represented various states, legal cultures and traditions. The goal of the Conference is to strengthen and promote dialogue on the relevant issues of law and constitutionalism and to search for effective ways to rise up to global threats and challenges currently faced by constitutional justice. The president and judges of the Constitutional Court joined the discussions and debates, together with the heads and representatives of international constitutional control bodies and supranational human rights authorities, as well as leading academics and statespersons from all around the world. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 20 May 2016 14:00 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli The current state and prospects of expanding the economic and trade relations between Azerbaijan and Belarus were discussed in Baku, as the Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Rusyi visiting Baku. The Belarusian delegation visited the capital as part of the Caspian Agro-2016 Azerbaijan International Agricultural Exhibition running in the country on May 19-21. At the exhibition Belarus displays the world famous largest manufacturers of agricultural machinery and the universal appliances, which are featuring model of their own production for the needs of the agricultural sector. President Ilham Aliyev received the deputy prime minister, who said that in a short period of time Azerbaijan and Belarus successfully implemented an agricultural project, adding that jointly manufactured products have been exported. Speaking of Caspian Agro-2016, President Aliyev expressed his confidence that as always Belarus would successfully put on display its potential and opportunities at the event. The Belarusian deputy prime minister hailed his countrys agricultural cooperation with Azerbaijan as successful. He said his visit created good opportunities for discussing the issues covering different areas of the bilateral cooperation. Rusyi also met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ali Ahmadov to mull the latest economic cooperation between the two countries. They highlighted the importance of studying each other`s experience in the field of social policy and implementing new projects in different fields. In an interview to Azertac, Mikhail Rusyi noted that currently, Belarus and Azerbaijan have reached a very high level of cooperation in all spheres. He said the purpose of his visit to Azerbaijan, alongside participating in the exhibition, is to conduct negotiations to strengthen the bilateral economic cooperation. He said the two countries are discussing new projects on creating joint ventures, opening new jobs and increasing trade turnover. "We are ready to share with Azerbaijani colleagues our experiences regarding the practice of conducting both small farms and large-scale commodity production, as well as experience in the training of specialists." The Belarusian delegation visited the Alley of Honors to lay a wreath at the tomb of national leader Heydar Aliyev. They also put flowers at the grave of prominent ophthalmologist, academician Zarifa Aliyeva. The guests then visited the Alley of Martyrs to commemorate Azerbaijani heroes who gave their lives for the country's independence and territorial integrity. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 20 May 2016 12:31 (UTC+04:00) Vice-President of Heydar Aliyev Foundation, chairperson of the Azerbaijani Youth Organization of Russia AMOR Leyla Aliyeva was awarded with the diploma of Honorary Professor of Moscow State University of Humanities and Economics, Azertac reports. Prior to the ceremony, Vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva met with the students. The event also featured demonstration of a video on the activity of the University. Rector of the University of Vagif Bayramov highlighted the activity of the University, as well as its international relations. Then the diploma of Honorary Professor was presented to Leyla Aliyeva by the rector of the University. Bayramov recalled the visit of Leyla Aliyeva to the university years ago: On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the university, the computer room was provided with modern equipment at the initiative of Leyla Aliyeva, and the linguistics room was also equipped with new state-of-the-art technologies, he added. Leyla Aliyeva thanked for the attention, saying she is looking forward to opening of the Baku branch of the university. The event featured a concert. Vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva signed the University`s guest book. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 20 May 2016 14:20 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Milli Mejlis [Azerbaijan parliament] held its regular plenary session on May 17. Among the issues on agenda was an appeal of the First lady of Azerbaijan, president of the Heydar Aliyev fund and parliament deputy, Mehriban Aliyeva, to adopt a new act of amnesty on the occasion of Republic Day, the 28th of May. After discussions the amnesty act was put to the vote and adopted with a majority of votes. This was the First Ladys fourth appeal to parliament requesting amnesty for prisoners. The amnesty act is expected to apply to 10,000 prisoners, about 3,500 prisoners will be granted amnesty and released from detention. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 20 May 2016 14:41 (UTC+04:00) Based on the most valuable traditions of humanism in Azerbaijan, the country's first lady, president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, MP Mehriban Aliyeva has proposed to announce an amnesty on the occasion of the Republic Day (May 28). Mehriban Aliyeva was delivering a speech May 20 in the parliament of Azerbaijan on the amnesty issue on the occasion of the Republic Day. Nearly 30,000 convicts have been exempted from various types of penalty since 2007 based on amnesty acts adopted on the initiative of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, said the first lady of Azerbaijan. Mehriban Aliyeva expressed deep gratitude to her colleagues in the parliament who supported the initiative of the Foundation in 2007, 2009 and 2013, and thus granted freedom to thousands of people. She noted that during its 12-year activity, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation has earned a lot of respect and trust both in Azerbaijan and abroad. "In its every step, each activity, the Foundation is guided by the ideas of humanism and philanthropy, it always tries to help the people in need of care and help," Azerbaijan's first lady said. "It is no coincidence that the people who appeal us today regard the Heydar Aliyev Foundation as the last destination of hope, and we have always tried to justify that hope." "Today, the greatest hope of thousands of compatriots deprived of freedom is to be released, to join their families and to establish a normal life," Mehriban Aliyeva said. "To forgive them, to give them a new chance means to give them a different path in life, where there is no place for crime, a new way in life built on the principles of respect for the law. Everyone who has committed a crime should surely realize his mistakes and avoid making them in the future." "At the same time, our state, our society and each of us should help the released people in establishing their normal lifestyle," said the first lady. "Dear colleagues, according to the draft amnesty act, all persons who were convicted of the crimes not posing great public danger, will be exempt from serving their sentences," she said. Moreover, women, non-adults, disabled persons, the elderly and old-aged persons who have non-adults or disabled children in their custody and people from some other categories, convicted of some types of crimes, will be released, Mehriban Aliyeva added. "I would like to especially bring to your attention that the amnesty act will apply to those who participated in the fights for Azerbaijan's sovereignty and protecting its territorial integrity, as well as the close relatives of those who were killed or went missing in those fights," said the first lady. Furthermore, the act of pardon will apply to those sentenced to correctional labor, community service and fine penalties, Mehriban Aliyeva said. "In general, it is expected that 10,000 prisoners will be pardoned and around 3,500 of them will be released from detention facilities," she emphasized. Azerbaijan's first lady noted that such feelings as mercy, philanthropy, and care should be uppermost in every society. If state structures and civil society build their life, their activities namely on the basis of these principles, then it can be called a developed and successful society, according to Mehriban Aliyeva. "Mercy is not only about lending a helping hand to those who are in difficult situation, it sometimes requires making difficult and responsible decisions," she said. "People, who made a mistake once, have the right to be pardoned. Today, we should give them a chance to regain their place in the society and live a decent life," the first lady added. "I am confident that the amnesty act will once again show the power of Azerbaijan," said Aliyeva. "I hope that those who are to be pardoned will use their chance to become decent citizens of our society." --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 20 May 2016 16:58 (UTC+04:00) President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received on May 20 head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission on Azerbaijan Mohamed El Gorchi, Azertac reports. President Ilham Aliyev hailed long-term successful cooperation between Azerbaijan and the International Monetary Fund. Saying this cooperation covers various formats, the head of state noted that the partnership has already entered a new phase. President Aliyev highly appreciated IMFs support and recommendations for economic progress in Azerbaijan. The head of state expressed his confidence that the activities of the mission led by Mohamed El Gorchi would strengthen the countrys relations with this organization and contribute to continuing substantial reforms. The president noted that the dramatic fall in global oil prices naturally led to decrease in the revenues. However, measures taken in the country such as consolidation of the budget and reforms to diversify economy helped to eliminate serious risks. The head of state said he hoped that cooperation between Azerbaijan and the IMF would successfully continue. El Gorchi highly appreciated the measures taken by the Azerbaijani government to eliminate the complications caused by the global economic crisis. El Gorchi said that devaluation of manat and other measures protected national production in Azerbaijan, and boosted exports in non-oil sector. He described the steps taken by the Azerbaijani government as brave and successful. El Gorchi stressed the importance of focusing on the banking sector in the current circumstances. El Gorchi noted that the IMF was ready to conduct exchange of views with related institutions in Azerbaijan, render technical assistance to the country and participate in the relevant consultations. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 20 May 2016 11:25 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have started the next phase of consultations on the fourth article of the agreement on the IMF's creation. Azerbaijani Finance Ministry told Trend May 19 that the IMF mission led by Mohamed El Gorchi is in Baku for that purpose. During a meeting with Azerbaijan's Finance Minister Samir Sharifov the parties discussed the country's macroeconomic and fiscal position, the situation in the banking sector, and exchanged views on the parameters of the state budget, and the Azerbaijani government's steps to neutralize the negative effects of external shocks on the country's economy. The IMF mission also plans to hold meetings with Azerbaijan's major state economic agencies. The last visit of the IMF mission to Azerbaijan was in late January-early February 2016. IMF's office has operated in Baku since 1992. In 1995-2005, IMF allocated loans worth $577.3 million to Azerbaijan for supporting the country's economic reform program. Azerbaijan has fully repaid the loans. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 20 May 2016 13:44 (UTC+04:00) By Fatma Babayeva The World Bank Group is ready to support the development of the agricultural insurance in Azerbaijan, said Rolf Behrndt, manager of the World Bank Group's finance and markets practice. He made the remarks at the meeting with Rufat Aslanli, head of the Board of Directors of Azerbaijan's Financial Market Supervisory Body in Baku. The implementation of the project in agricultural sphere has been planned jointly with the International Finance Corporation (IFC- a member of the World Bank Group), which has already sent its offers to the Azerbaijani government. Within the framework of the project, the IFC aims to share best practices and experience in creating an effective system of insurance for farmers against the weather risks with the government and private sector, to assist the management of this process at all levels and to create a legal basis. Behrndt noted that the draft law on the establishment of private credit bureaus in Azerbaijan is underway, as well as the duration of technical assistance activities on consumer protection and increasing financial literacy has been prolonged until October 2016. During the meeting, the progress of the project on modernization of Azerbaijan's financial sector was discussed by the sides. Aslanli stressed that a very effective business relationship has been created between the WB and the newly-created Financial Market Supervisory Body. He also expressed interest in establishing private credit bureaus in the country. The data collected in these bureaus will help effective regulation of the banking sector in the future, he added. The parties also discussed the progress of the project on providing financial services to the national postal operator Azerpost LLC, the cooperation in development of insurance sector in Azerbaijan. In March 2011, the World Bank approved a loan for Azerbaijan worth $12 million for the implementation of the Capital Markets Modernization project. Total cost of the project amounts to $15.8 million. Besides the WB loan, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland (SECO) has allocated a grant worth $1.6 million and the Azerbaijani government allotted $2.2 million for the project. The development of agriculture is one of the priority directions for Azerbaijan to boost the non-oil sector and to diversify its national economy. The country achieved 6.6-percent growth in the volume of agricultural production in 2015. Azerbaijani government supports agricultural sector at the state level and implements various agricultural projects aimed at increasing volume of domestic production and decrease dependence on the imported goods. Farmers are provided with high quality seeds and fertilizers and a discount on the initial cost of the agricultural equipment. The government provides farmers with subsidies for fuel and engine oil as well. A great importance is attached to the modern irrigation systems which will enable the country to move from the traditional method of irrigation - which leads to salinization and disintegration of soil - to the modern method of irrigation that saves water resources Moreover, the country is keen on developing electronic agriculture, an emerging field focused on enhancing agricultural and rural development through improved information and communication processes. E-agriculture involves the conceptualization, design, development, evaluation and application of innovative ways to use information and communication technologies in the rural domain, with a primary focus on agriculture. The agricultural sector is important in Azerbaijan not only to increase export potential, but also to restore and protect the countrys food security. Enjoying advantageous geographic location Azerbaijan has all possibilities to increase food security and production in the country. --- Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 20 May 2016 14:58 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli As a result of the extra challenges that genetically modified products bring, today many countries try to avoid using them. The production of agricultural and meat products have increased significantly in recent years. Although genetic modification enables to increase crop yields and to rapidly increase weight of livestock, it has very harmful effect for human body. Azerbaijan with its natural environment favorable for breeding cattle in organic conditions, has not yet adopted the global trend of feeding animals containing genetically modified crops. This, prompted many countries from Middle East, Russia and Kazakhstan to be interested in organic livestock of Azerbaijan in recent years. Qatar, is another country interested in import of Azerbaijani small cattle. Agriculture Minister Heydar Asadov said that the main reason for this interest is the high quality of meat products produced from sheep and goats in Azerbaijan. We are ready to export sheep to Qatar, the minister emphasized. Azerbaijan, in turn, has offered Qatar creating joint ventures, as well as a number of other priorities for cooperation, according to Asadov. We offered to set up joint ventures or to build logistic companies in Azerbaijan for the purchase of goods and their further delivery to Qatar. In addition, we have also proposed to conclede contracts with Azerbaijani farmers for the purchase of their products," the minister said. Animal breeding is of crucial importance for restoring and protecting the country's food security, and it has already achieved positive results. The country is supporting cattle breeding sector, allocating multi-millions investments for the development of cattle breeding in the country. Azerbaijan ranks the 58th among 109 countries of the world according to the Global Food Security Index 2015. It has improved its score by 7 points from its 2014 ranking. Last year, Azerbaijan was the 10th among Asia and Pacific countries. The South Caucasus nation, with an access to the traditional markets, intends to look for new markets for its high-quality agricultural products which enjoy popularity and are in demand in neighboring countries. Diversification of economy is important for achieving long-term stability and agriculture can be the main export sector for Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Arab countries are very interested in the development of cooperation in the sphere of agriculture, since they almost have no suitable lands: up to 90-95 percent of the agricultural products consumed in Arab countries is imported. Experts say that Saudi Arabia can become one of the main important markets for supplying agricultural products. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 20 May 2016 14:15 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova The Central School of Art named after great Azerbaijani composer Gara Garayev held a master class with the participation of director of the Saint Petersburg Music Lyceum Vitaly Romanov, Trend life reports. The concert featured the performance by the student of the Central School of Art Nargiz Aliyeva, students of Tofiq Guliyev Music School No. 12 Ayan Aslanova and Zergelem Mehdiyeva as well as students of musical school after Sharoyev, Hashim Hashimov and Maryam Veliyeva. The event was held within a series of cultural and educational activities named "St. Petersburg Meetings in Baku" on May 18-20. During activities organized by the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg Government, Russian Embassy in Azerbaijan, representative of Rossotrudnichestvo in Azerbaijan with the support of Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan and the mayor of Baku, meeting participants got better acquainted with the culture of the city and the possibilities of getting education there. Thus, on May 18, the Russian Information and Cultural Center hosted the opening of the photo exhibition "The voluminous St. Petersburg." During all three days of "Petersburg meetings" residents of the capital watched four films from the collections of the oldest Russian film company - the film studio Lenfilm in the cinema center Nizami. The culmination of a series of events was the presentation held at the Educational Center of the School-Lyceum of Baku Slavic University. On this presentation students learned about the revenue opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate studies on a paid basis and budgetary in universities of St. Petersburg. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 20 May 2016 17:32 (UTC+04:00) By Fatma Babayeva OPECs June meeting is unlikely to result in any significant decision for the global oil market, Eldar Kasaev, a consultant for the Expert Council of the Union of Russian Oil and Gas Producers told Trend on May 20. Oil prices began experiencing decline during the summer of 2014, whilst the cartel has neither cut nor frozen the oil production during past two years in order to prop up oil prices even when it fell below $30 per barrel, Kasaev noted. The analyst believes that it is naive to expect that OPEC will freeze oil production under the current circumstances when the oil prices are nearing $50 per barrel. Nevertheless, the constant production growth of oil will not be observed within the cartel, he said, adding that a number of the cartel members will be forced to take measures because of lack of foreign investments and financial means for the development and maintenance of the current volumes of oil production. Iraq can become one of these states, for instance. The country began the year with hitting record oil output and put forward decent volume of oil output and export, added the expert. The reduction of oil production is expected in Nigeria where terrorists are very active in attacking the oil infrastructure, said Kasaev by stressing out that the situation is not good in Venezuelas oil sector either. In addition, Saudi Arabia despite its announcements about readiness to give up oil dominance in filling its public purse - is not planning to lower its oil production and exports and allow competitors to take a niche in the European Asian markets, he said. The expert believes that it has been long time that OPEC operates on the principle every man for himself which is obviously proven by the ministerial meetings of the organization. Kasaev further reminded that one of the main tasks spelled out in the charter of the cartel is to use tools and methods to ensure price stability in the global oil market. However, the practice proves that OPEC is not successful in performing this task. OPEC's existence is de jure. It is de facto ill and have one foot in grave, said the expert. Sharp political discrepancies and fierce competition for the regional markets does not allow member countries to reach a consensus, according to the expert. Kasaev believes oil prices to fall as soon as participants of the market get convinced once again that it is groundless to have positive expectations from the upcoming meeting of the cartel. By the end of 2016, oil prices will most likely average around $40-45 per barrel, Kasaev said, adding that in 2017, oil prices are expected to rise as the supply in the market will decrease, and the balance in the market will be restored. Previous meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC oil producing countries held in Qatari capital Doha on April 17 resulted in failure as they could reach a deal on freezing oil output of the participating countries. During the Doha meeting, Saudis refused to curb its production level of oil without Irans joining the oil freezing act. The next meeting of OPEC is scheduled for June 2 in Vienne. Once again, oil producers are going to discuss to revive OPECs output quota and try to freeze their oil production. The cartel ceased setting production quotas for individual members in 2011 and abandoned an output ceiling entirely in December 2015. The price of OPEC oil basket stood at $43.84 per barrel on May 19, or $1.04 less than on May 18. --- Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 20 May 2016 11:53 (UTC+04:00) Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi termed Tehran-Tokyo relations during sanctions era as satisfactory, saying that the two countries managed to maintain their good relations despite such conditions, IRNA reported. "It is our pleasure that the two governments could maintain their links and communication capacities during sanctions era," Araqchi said in a meeting with Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama in Tokyo on Thursday. Araqchi, meantime, pointed to the Special Payment Account (SPA) during the sanctions era, and said, "This account that was opened due to the efforts of the Japanese government and helped to meet Iran's pharmaceutical and medical needs during the negotiations with the world powers is praiseworthy." The Iranian deputy foreign minister thanked the Japanese government for opening a 10-billion-dollar credit line, and said, "Continuation of this important step and making full use of this credit line to pave the way for participation of Japanese companies in Iran's economic projects requires the two countries' joint will." At the end, Araqchi asked Sugiyama to pay a visit Iran in the near future. Sugiyama, for his part, felicitated Iran on the occasion of achieving nuclear agreement with the world powers and the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 20 May 2016 12:30 (UTC+04:00) By Fatma Babayeva Iran keeps increasing its oil production since the international sanctions imposed on the country were lifted in January 2016. U.S. JP Morgan bank has reviewed its assumption on Iranian capacity and lifted output forecast from 3.5 million barrels per day to 3.9 million barrels per day by the third quarter of 2016. Since the beginning of the year, Iranian output has surged ahead of market consensus expectations with April output estimated at 3.5 million barrels per day, stated the bank in its weekly Oil Market report. Analysts of the bank said that the surge in Irans oil output has been achieved much more rapidly than JP Morgan forecasted before. The current output of the Islamic State is close to levels that the bank forecasted for the country to reach at the end of the year. Possibly, the steep increase in production may in part be a function of condensate volumes being blended into the crude streams, the analysts of the bank noted. Furthermore, the increased gas production - following the start-up of several phases of the South Pars gas field - has increased the rate of gas injection into key oil producing assets, for instance the Agha Jari field. The banks report referred to the recent reports by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) indicating that gas injection at this field has increased to around 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The ability to sustain the rate of gas injection in domestic fields will be tested in the coming years, as Iranian domestic demand continues to grow and incremental gas supplies rely largely on completion of additional phases of the South Pars gas field, the bank said. Given the updated capacity assessment, analysts of the bank emphasized that it is likely that Iranian production will make further gains in the coming weeks and months. Probably, the reported crude production of Iran will reach 4 million barrels per day which will be the highest level of output since 2008. Iran's oil production and export stood respectively at 3.56 million billion per barrel and 2 million billion per barrel in April, according to the International Energy Agency's latest report. JP Morgan bank also noted in its weekly report that OPEC's early June meeting looks unlikely to generate a deal that eluded major oil producers in Doha to freeze their oil output levels last month. Analysts of the bank believe that the prospects of Iran agreeing to participate in a deal to cap production would become more compelling for them than currently, if the country reaches oil production level of 4 million barrels per day by that period. However, the recent developments in Saudi Arabia, following the replacement of Ali Al Naimi with Khalid Al Falih as Minister for Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, raises a question over whether these production gains will prompt a renewed focus on market share between the Middle East Gulf producers, the report said. The analysts mentioned that some reports already highlight that Saudi Arabia is likely to increase production in coming months. The last meeting of top oil producers in Doha held in Qatari capital on April 17 ended without any consensus agreement on freezing oil production. The talks on oil output freeze collapsed after Saudi Arabia surprised the participants of the meeting by reasserting its demand that Iran should join oil freezing plan as well. Recently, U.S. president Barack Obama signed amendments to the law on national security on May 19. In accordance with the amendments, the U.S. will no longer prevent the sale of Iranian oil. The step was taken after the Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Iran has carried out key steps associated with its nuclear program. Currently, foreign energy companies hold intensive negotiations to get a foothold in Iranian oil and gas sector. Iran already concluded contracts with several European and Asian energy companies, and the implementation of those contracts is expected to take place in near future. The country strives to bring its oil exports to the pre-sanctions level (around 2.2 million barrels per day) by the end of this summer in the longest. BPs statistical review of world energy 2015 reports that Iran holds 9.3 percent of the worlds total proven oil reserves. Before sanctions, Iran was exporting 2.2 million barrels per day of crude oil. --- Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz BOSTON We sometimes roll our eyes at the mention of Canada, thinking of it as a bleak, cold and empty place, and the vast territory that sits above the cities of Montreal, Toronto, Saskatoon and Edmonton mostly is. But step inside a gallery of the much-ignored paintings of Lawren Harris, and your eyes won't roll so much as they will open open to a place bleak, cold and empty. That, after all, is one of the principal purposes of art: to open your eyes. And this exhibit, in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, surely will do so. The images are stark, forbidding. They are bereft of humans, even of the implements and structures of humankind. They are portraits of nature naked and untamed, and unromantic. "We are on the fringe of the great North and its living whiteness, its loneliness and replenishment, its resignations and release, its call and answer -- its cleansing rhythms," said Harris, whose three dozen modernist paintings are on exhibit here through June 12. It's all right to admit you've never heard of Lawren Harris, though perhaps it will help if you're told he was one of Canada's Group of Seven, the marvelous North American landscape artists. And though an introduction to his work, and to Canadian culture more broadly, may not be Internet click bait, that in itself is a reminder of the blinders we on this side of the 49th parallel have to life above our northern border. "I know of no more impressive scenery in Canada for the landscape painter," A.Y. Jackson, the Group of Seven painter you are most likely to have encountered, said of Lake Superior, where many of the Harris paintings are set. The two often traveled together. "There is a sublime order to it," wrote Jackson, "the long curves of the beaches, the sweeping ranges of hills, and headlands that push out into the lake." These Harris paintings of remote Lake Superior are dominated by bare trees. The colors he employs range from Windex azure to deep-sea blue. The skies almost always are awash in sunshine, a symbol of the optimism of this most optimistic of North American artists and of his view that wisdom can come from observing our surroundings. Harris, who died in 1970, harbored the conviction that human understanding was derived from nature, and he believed in the regenerative power of Canada's North. Harris painted widely on the shores of Lake Superior, in the Arctic, and in Canada's Rocky Mountains. An unknown artist here, he is an icon in Canada, in part because he created an iconography of Canada's landscape. "We wanted to present some of his best work to people who had no idea who he was," says Taylor Poulin, born in Bradford, Ontario, and reared in Toronto before joining the Museum of Fine Arts and becoming co-curator of this exhibit. The artist traveled to the Arctic only once, in 1930, with Jackson in tow, and in his paintings of the region there is a sense of calm that seems to exist in spite of the cold and bitter winds. "It seems that the top of the continent is a source of spiritual flow that will ever shed clarity into the growing race of America," Harris said, "and we Canadians, being closest to this source, seem destined to produce an art somewhat different from our southern fellows an art more spacious, of a greater living quiet, perhaps of a certain conviction of eternal values." Down here we don't like to be told that others have a greater conviction of eternal values. But the great, open spaces that defined the United States in the 19th century were gone, according to a Census Bureau reckoning, by 1890. They still exist north of the border, and the message from the Boston exhibit is that Canada is a vast and wild place, that its land is relatively empty of people, that nature is a powerful force, and that there is a divinity in it, waiting to be discovered far from human habitation. This is not the place to mourn the disappearance of the American frontier; historians have been debating its importance, if any, since Frederick Jackson Turner described it in 1893 as one of the defining elements of our national character. But it may be the place to acknowledge merely that a sturdy factor in our early national character has grown more elusive today. Its presence in Canada is the exception that makes the point. And so, as visitors linger in these galleries, it is impossible to ignore the fact that in all these paintings there are mountains but not men, wilderness but not women. In fact, there is almost nothing that lives but trees, and it may be that all of the trees in these Harris paintings are in fact dead by now. All that raises a question that preoccupied American artists of the Hudson River School, whose paintings suggested a divinity in the landscape of the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Catskills and Adirondacks of New York and later, curiously, of Canada's Maritime provinces: What kind of divinity is there without humans? Of course, humans ended up filling those divine wild places in America but generally have yet to do so in Canada. Surely we cannot believe, along with the English poet Reginald Heber, that every prospect pleases, but only man is vile? Perhaps that is the subject of another meditation, when this column returns next week to its usual political topics. But before we depart, let's meditate if only for a moment on one further aspect of this exhibit of great Canadian works, for the surprises do not end with these paintings. Look carefully at the exhibit and its catalog, and you will see that the curator is Steve Martin. You know him as the "wild and crazy guy" from "Saturday Night Live," from "Father of the Bride" and "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," but apparently you do not know him until you realize that among his many interests he's a playwright, screenwriter and musician, as well as an actor and comedian are Canadian paintings. By the time you complete your journey through Canada's far north, you may share his passion. Premium pie maker Pieminister has launched a summer giveaway, which will see over 10,000 pies delivered to selected events across the UK. Under the strapline, Little Acts of Pie-ness, the company is asking for non-profit events, from street parties to charity fundraisers, to apply through the company website for a donation of pies. The pies themselves are drawn from surplus or slightly less than perfect stock of the companys products, which have been frozen to avoid food waste. Pieminister said it would reply to all applications within 14 days and, as long pies were still available for that date, successful applicants would be able to pick up their order from a Pieminister site of their choice, complete with free wooden cutlery and napkins. Since launching on Tuesday, the company said it has already had 300 events apply. "donation of pies" Jon Simon, co-founder and managing director at Pieminister, said, We believe that one good turn definitely deserves another, which is why we want to help those who help others with a delicious donation of pies. Requests from good causes flood in to PMHQ every week and we try to help as many as possible. But we hope that by devoting our summer to doing little acts of pie-ness we can help more people with pies than ever before. The pies we will be giving away are a selection from our award-winning ranges, which have been frozen to avoid wastage. Our pies are sold fresh, but when we have a surplus batch we freeze them down ready to put them to good use at a later date and what better use can there be than lots of little acts of pie-ness? Pieminister recently announced it would be opening five new restaurants after securing a 1.4m finance package from HSBC. Mr Kipling, the cake producer, is aiming to attract new shoppers with the launch of two limited-edition versions of its Fancies. The Premier Foods-owned company said the Cocktail Fancies and Strawberries & Cream Fancies would be available in the grocery channel from mid-May in packs of eight with an MRSP of 1.50. Packs of the Cocktail Fancies contain three Mojito, two Pina Colada and three Raspberry Daiquiri flavoured cakes. With distinct packaging, the company says the product aims to bring a point of difference to the cake category and is ideal for the big night in occasion. The company launched limited-edition Cocktail Fancies last year but this year has replaced the Peach Bellini option with the Mojito flavour. Meanwhile, the Strawberries & Cream Fancies feature a strawberry flavoured sponge with a vanilla topping, covered in a soft, cream-flavoured fondant icing. The company said the cakes are designed to be enjoyed by the whole family and claims they have a distinct appearance, taste and aroma which differentiates them from the classic French Fancies range. Kelly Davis, Mr Kipling marketing controller at Premier Foods, said: Special editions not only enable us to offer exciting new flavours but also help attract new shoppers to the cake category. Our insight shows us that these types of flavour appeal to younger, more affluent consumers. Whereas only 10% of pre-family consumers normally buy ambient packaged cakes, the figure almost tripled (27%) when we launched the Mr Kipling Cocktail Fancies last year. With our classic French Fancies growing at +11% year-on-year, these new variants are perfectly placed to help retailers increase cake sales. Dozens of Tampa firefighters and Ybor City business owners came together Thursday to celebrate a job well done. Event to honor firefighters for efforts during April 6 Ybor City Amphitheater fire Fire was contained to just one building, and no one was hurt On Thursday night, Historic Ybor City Business Owners held a "Firefighter Appreciation Event" to thank Tampa Fire Rescue for battling the Ybor City Amphitheater fire on April 6. Jason Fernandez, who owns The Tequila Bar, said when the fire broke out just two doors down from his business, there was potential for catastrophe. "It could have been devastating," said Fernandez. "The whole block could have been gone. It could have bounced to another block. These are 1800 buildings and they're tinder boxes." Instead, firefighters managed to contain the fire to just one building, and no one was seriously hurt. "Thank God, with respect to all the resources we had, with our rehab areas and with the ability to change out firefighters on a regular basis to keep them fresh and on top of their game, we had very minor injuries," said Fire Chief Thomas Forward. Firefighters who were involved in the battle that night said it was exhausting, but well worth it. "I grew up in this area and we all knew that all we wanted to do was save what we could," said Captain Danielle Spradlin. Fernandez said business owners are very grateful. "There were flames 20 feet off the top of the roof and there's firefighters on the roof with it, I couldn't believe it," said Fernandez. "I was amazed, and the whole community felt very strongly about saying 'thank you.'" A 33-year-old Tampa man is in critical condition after a motorcycle crash Thursday on Interstate 75 in Tampa. Motorcyclist, 33, was critically injured in crash Thursday Troopers said he failed to stop in time, hitting the vehicle in front of him He was cited for careless driving According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Shaun Christopher Harris was injured just before 6:30 p.m. while riding his 2006 Honda motorcycle southbound on the I-75 merge lane to State Road 618. A 26-year-old Seffner woman driving a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe in front of Harris slowed down due to traffic in front of her and Harris failed to stop in time, trooper said. Harris struck the right back of the Hyundai. He was taken to Tampa general Hospital with critical injuries. The woman suffered minor injuries. Harris has been cited for careless driving. The crash remains under investigation. This is the 15th annual Flagstaff Bike to Work & School Week and today is Bike to School Day. There will be events and activities throughout the remainder of the week. Those who register (go to flagstaffbiking.org) and log rides each day can win prizes. New this year is the 5 Days of Biking Challenge where riders can win prizes for every day they commute or ride. Ride all five days to be eligible for prizes including a trolley rental from The Alpine Pedaler, a Flagstaff Extreme Adventure Course five-pack of passes and more. The annual Worksite Challenge encourages co-workers to commute by bike. Prizes will be awarded for registered businesses with the best participation. The week's remaining schedule includes: Tuesday, May 24 Bike to School Day: 6:30-9 a.m. This year, individual classrooms, rather than entire schools, are encouraged to participate. Prizes for the top 3 classrooms. Classes need to be pre-registered by Friday, May 20. Individual students can log in every day to win prizes. Kidical Mass Bike Ride: 4 p.m. Ride leaves at 4:15 p.m., starting at the parking lot of Sechrist Elementary School, 2230 N. Fort Valley Road. All kids under 18 must wear a helmet. All riders are welcome. Ice Cream Social: 5-7 p.m. In the parking lot of Sechrist Elementary School, 2230 N. Fort Valley Road. Enjoy ice cream, toppings and a variety of sweet treats. Participate in assorted bike games. Challenge your bike skills. There will be an iron-on transfer station and crafts. The Gringo Dillas Food Truck will be on-site to provide dinner options. Savvy Cyclist Bike Safety Class: 5-6 p.m. East Flagstaff Community Library, 3000 N. Fourth St. Adult-focused. Taught by League of American Bicyclists Certified Instructor Martin Ince. Wednesday, May 25 Bike to Breakfast Day: 6:30-9 a.m. Bike-friendly businesses around Flagstaff are once again sponsoring Bicycle Breakfast stops this year. Check to see which stop is along your route, hit one or hit them all. Coffee, juice, muffins, bagels, donuts and other breakfast treats will fuel your commute. For a map, visit flagstaffbiking.org. Lowell Observatory Mars Hill Challenge Ride: Any time between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. We challenge local cyclists to bike up Mars Hill to the Lowell Observatory Steele Visitor Center and experience first-hand what Lowell BTWW riders contend with all week long. The reward? A free 2-for-1 guest pass to Lowell Observatory, and a refreshing bottle of water. Just show your bike helmet to the front desk greeter in the Visitor Center when you reach the top. For directions and questions, contact Kelsey Banister, kbanister@lowell.edu, 233-3260. Thursday, May 26 Jack & Martins Excellent Adventure Cruiser Ride: 5 p.m. Meet at the Flagstaff Visitor Center, 1 E. Route 66, for a leisurely loop on the Flagstaff Urban Trail System. A 9.4-mile route to McMillan Mesa and Buffalo Park, with a optional 7-mile route. New Belgium Beer Night: 5-7 p.m. Historic Brewing & Bottle Shop, 110 S. San Francisco St. Stop by after the Cruiser Ride for New Belgium beer specials. Friday, May 27 Bike to Beer: 5-7 p.m. Tinderbox Annex. A free beer and raffle ticket to all new and current FBO members. The 25th Anniversary Bike from New Belgium Brewing will be raffled off at 6:30 p.m. A homeless family in Pinellas County will be moving into a completely renovated house Saturday thanks to an ongoing partnership between Florida Dream Center and Pinellas County Human Services. Homeless family in Pinellas to be presented with renovated house Family includes mother and three boys under the age of 15 Mayor Rick Kriseman will be at the ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday The home, located at 2000 43rd St. S., was a foreclosure property donated by Wells Fargo Bank. It took teams of volunteers countless hours to remodel and restore the house. On Saturday, those hard workers will be treated to a barbecue luncheon at a ribbon-cutting and key turnover ceremony for the family. St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman will be involved in the festivities. According to Geoffrey Rogers, executive director of the Florida Dream Center, a single mother and her three boys all under the age of 15 will be the property's new tenants. "The family was chosen as part of the partnership that the Florida Dream Center has with Pinellas County," Rogers said. "From the beginning of this program, we wanted to create housing for the homeless in Pinellas County so that the county could place them into it without any issues." Rogers also said that because some members of the homeless community often have criminal records, it can be challenging to find them proper housing. For this project, though, they made sure that wouldn't be an issue. "It's all really designed to get them set up for their own independent living," Rogers said. More than 50 people attended an event May 11 to commemorate Catholic Charities Community Services moving to a new larger, facility. A ribbon cutting ceremony, led by the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce, was followed by a blessing by Father Pat of San Francisco De Asis Parish. The event concluded with an open house and site tours. Prominent guests in attendance include Mayor Jerry Nabours, Flagstaff city staff, and representatives of several partner agencies including The United Way, Northern Arizona University, Goodwill Industries, and Housing Solutions. The new office is located at 2101 N. Fourth St., and the move was completed in mid-March. Catholic Charities Flagstaff offices main phone number remains the same -- 928-774-9125 -- as will all employee email addresses. The move strategically places us near other social service program offices, also located on Fourth Street, said Flagstaff office manager Judy Weisz. "This will minimize or eliminate extensive bus travel for those utilizing Catholic Charities services and the services of nearby agencies such as Arizona Department of Child Safety, Coconino Community Services, and North Country HealthCare." The increased office size will also accommodate more staff, and it may facilitate additional Catholic Charities programs or expansion of existing social service programs in the future. Founded in 1933, Catholic Charities provides care for the vulnerable of all faiths through programs in foster care, early start education, housing, veteran services, refugee relocation and poverty reduction. For more information, visit www.catholiccharitiesaz.org. PHOENIX -- Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation Thursday to kill the ability of cities to keep pet stores from selling commercially bred animals. The new law, which takes effect on Aug. 6, most immediately voids existing regulations in Phoenix and Tempe which allows pet stores to sell only rescue and shelter dogs and cats. Those laws are designed at least in part to reduce the number of shelter animals that have to be destroyed. But it also smothers an ordinance already adopted in Tucson that had been placed on hold awaiting a federal appellate court decision on the rights of cities to enact such rules. Ducey, with his signature, makes the outcome of that case legally irrelevant -- and the Tucson measure permanently unenforceable. While overriding local regulation, the measure does have some concessions for animal rights activists. That includes requiring pet stores to ensure they are obtaining their dogs and cats only from breeders who comply with standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, who opposed the deal, said those standards allow breeding animals to be kept in cages round the clock that are only six inches larger than the dog or cat itself. Those cages also can be stacked three high, he said, and need be cleaned only once a week. Tucson councilman Steve Kozachik was more blunt, calling the standards "an absolute farce," blasting the legislature -- and the governor -- for relying on that agency to ensure humane treatment of animals. "The USDA is in business to inspect meat in Safeway, not to protect the welfare of dogs in stores," he said. "The governor needs to understand that by signing this bill he's embracing 'puppy mill' standards that the USDA has admitted in its own documents that they are unable to enforce." Ducey, clearly defensive about his position, issued a letter citing his own dog ownership. "Animal welfare is an issue that is close to my heart and of great personal importance," the governor wrote. "Animal cruelty is disgusting and morally reprehensible." But Ducey said he agreed to sign the legislation because it imposes new penalties on pet store owners who do not take steps to ensure that their animals are from breeders that the USDA considers acceptable. Anyway, the governor said, he sees no purpose in telling legitimate pet store owners that they can sell only animals that came from shelters or were rescued. "Shutting down the good guys will do nothing to stop the bad actors," Ducey wrote. "Rather, it will open the doors for more puppy sales through unregulated sources, where abuse and inhumane conditions are more likely." Top Ten Oregon Coast Must-see's for Memorial Weekend Published 05/20/2016 at 8:11 AM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Oregon Coast) If you're heading to the Oregon coast for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, and you could see only one thing: what would you see? What if you'd never been to these beaches before and had to make a goal to check out one particular sight amid all your random explorations? (Photo: Hug Point, near Cannon Beach). Here's a few ideas. Ten of them, actually. Any area you go to on the northern half of the Oregon coast will be near one of these things you simply must see, and thus a short drive. Follow the links for virtual tours and maps of these areas. World War II Battlements and Shipwreck. Fort Stevens State Park, close to Astoria, is miles and miles worth of wildly engaging attractions. There's the shipwreck of the Peter Iredale on the beach, stuck there for over 100 years. Battery Russell is an impressive yet eerie sight: the former gunnery and concrete bunkers that guarded the Columbia River from the Civil War through World War II There's much more to this place, on top of that. Hug Point. Just south of Cannon Beach, this is one action-packed place of varied fun and attractions. A really freaky sea cave, a waterfall, massive rock indentations that fire the imagination and of course that irresistible road that was carved out of the point. Tidal conditions may not let you get very far: the first headland to the right (as you're descending the path) is the gateway to all the cool stuff, and sometimes that is has too much ocean lapping at it to go around it safely. However, most of the time there's lots to see and do. The big sea cave has wild colors inside and it portrays the power of the ocean rather dramatically with a giant log or two crammed into some crevices. The road was blasted out of the headland over 100 years ago so carriages and Model T's could head north, at a time when the beaches were the coastal highway. Train Rides of Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad. Ride an antique train from Garibaldi to Wheeler and back, all the while taking in the Tillamook Bay and Nehalem Bay as well as beaches. Their season kicks in over the Memorial Weekend. 503-842-7972. Website. Oceanside and Tunnel. This tiny village at the northern tip of the Three Capes Tour has a big hole in it: and it's mind blowing. The beach by itself is an ever-charmer, but head through the ancient tunnel and you'll find an unforgettable strand, full of funky rock features, tiny caves, one big cave, and gobs of starfish colonies. For an even more incredible experience, drive the tiny, winding road through the hills until you reach the top of Maxwell Point, where you'll be looking down on the massive Three Arch Rocks. Cape Kiwanda. Pacific City shines as the most bustling little town you've ever seen, with a host of amenities and sensory pleasures. But the massive sandstone Cape Kiwanda, with its towering dune and surreal rocky structures, is the real attention-grabber. Parts of this beautiful behemoth look like an alien planet or something out of Dr. Suess. Some sections of the headland have detached over the millennia and now rise up out of of the ocean in starkly jagged formations. It will fill you with awe. Cape Foulweather. About four miles south of Depoe Bay, Cape Foulweather gives you one of the grandest views along the entire Oregon coast, sitting up there at 500 feet above the ocean. From here you can look down on the Devil's Punchbowl, see Newport and its main lighthouse blinking in the distance, and gaze at those bulb-like rocky masses covered with green to the north. Insider's tip: take the slow route, starting at Otter Loop Road close to Depoe Bay, where soaring cliffs and exploding ocean vistas are your constant reward. Yaquina Head, Newport. Not only does this Newport eye-popper have a towering lighthouse, but the headland has a myriad of must-see's as well. There's that mysterious black beach below, where the ocean makes freaky noises on the large rocks. Hike to the top of Salaal Hill or wander around a manmade intertidal area, among other treats. Yachats 804 Trail. This little town at the southern edge of Lincon County is mostly one big rocky shelf after another, where gargantuan waves make an even bigger splash all day and night. It's riveting. One of the best spots to view this is the mile-long 804 Trail, which treads the edge of this consistent display. It starts at Smelt Sands State Park. Cape Perpetua. High or low take your pick. The bottom of the cape is the Devil's Churn, where a sizable slit in the basalt channels the ocean's energy into one furious display. The top of the cape allows you take in an unbelievable oceanic vista. Plus, it has that little stone lookout building that looks rather medieval. Strawberry Hill. Between Yachats and Florence, there's so much happening it's impossible to talk about all of it (this area includes Cape Perpetua). Strawberry Hill is a serious highlight, however. At one end, it's a thin cobblestone beach (that's often good agate hunting). The larger portion is a kind of semi-cove filled with laidback sands and a rocky labyrinth of unusual structures to climb around. At its northern edges it gets quite striking. Oregon Coast Hotels for this - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Cyclists gathered at Kickstand Bike Shop on Wednesday evening for the Ride of Silence, joining cyclists around the country in remembering those who have been killed while riding their bikes. Tom Simon, owner of the shop, said they started the local ride in memory of Kathy Grantham, who was struck and killed while riding on State Highway 105 on Oct. 15, 2004. Simon had seen Grantham in the shop the day before. There are two ghost bikes, solid white memorial bikes, on Highway 105. One for Grantham, and the other for George Gumberger, who lived in Port Arthur. Gumberger was struck while riding on March 4, 2012. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Caddo Lake in East Texas has been a popular spot for "monster" turtle sightings throughout the month, according to multiple social media posts. On May 9, Facebook user Martha Pylant shared photos of what looks to be a behemoth alligator snapping turtle. She said Game Warden Darren Peoples was called to the area and found that the "monster" had a trout line hooked in its leg. Peoples freed the reptile, which he estimated to be approximately 50 to 60 years old, according to Pylant's Facebook post. RELATED: Man enters bass tournament, reels in potentially record-breaking catfish for Lake Austin An additional photo of a large turtle found on the East Texas lake was posted by Facebook user Dan Anderson on May 18. It is unclear whether the turtles pictured in Pylant's and Anderson's posts are the same. Pylant, Anderson and multiple Texas Parks and Wildlife offices were not immediately available to comment on the Caddo Lake turtles. RELATED: Giant catfish caught in West Texas lake making a splash online According to the TPWD website, the alligator snapping turtle (Macroclemys temmincki) is a threatened species and cannot be collected. If you catch one, it should be returned to its habitat, as close as possible to the spot where it was caught, the site said. TPWD also warns they do bite, and their jaws are strong. RELATED: Texas girl, 12, reels in record 30-pound catfish in Lake Ray Hubbard for the second time TexasTurtles.org explained some alligator snapping turtles have weighed more than 250 pounds, but females are usually smaller than males. In 1993, Caddo Lake started an initiative with projects intended to protect the areas environment, according to the TPWD site. mmendoza@mysa.com Twitter: @MaddySkye A Port Arthur man found guilty of raping an aide at a nursing home nearly two years ago was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison. Wilbur Jones, 55, lured a nurse's aide into a resident's bedroom and sexually assaulted her while she worked the evening shift on June 30, 2014, according to Jefferson County prosecutors. Update, May 23: A Silsbee man reported missing on Friday has been found, according to a release from Silsbee Police Department. J. Douglas Johnson was located safe in West Texas and will be reunited with his family, according to Chief Mark L. Davis. This year alone the healthcare industry has seen major healthcare fraud lawsuits, with hospitals and payers alike paying millions of dollars. 6 major 2016 healthcare fraud cases this year 1. In May 2016, various Indiana surgery centers filed nearly two dozen lawsuits against UnitedHealthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth, for allegedly failing to pay for services the center's physicians rendered to patients, thereby violating state and federal law. In the suit, the surgery centers claim UnitedHealthcare deducted what the payer considered past overpayments from current patients' bills. UnitedHealthcare maintains it complied with all the appropriate state and ERISA laws and regulations, and utilized "cooperative overpayment recoveries." 2. More than six years ago, Hooper, Lundy and Bookman filed a class action against UnitedHealth on behalf of California ASCs. The class action claimed UnitedHealth and several of its corporate subsidiaries, including Optum, failed to properly calculate the reasonable and customary amounts for out-of-network ASCs. In September 2015, UnitedHealth agreed to the $9.5 million settlement fund, and in May, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted final approval for the $9.5 million settlement with UnitedHealth Services. 3. In April, a California jury ruled in favor of Aetna in a medical billing fraud case involving Northern California ambulatory surgery centers. The jury found Bay Area Surgical Management and its three co-founders overbilled Aetna for out-of-network procedures by giving referring physicians a substantial kickback. The jury awarded the payer $37.4 million in damages. Aetna claimed Bay Area Surgical Management cost the insurer $23 million for around 1,900 procedures in the past two years $20 million more than it should have been charged. 4. Dallas-based Forest Park Medical Center co-founder Richard F. Toussaint Jr., MD, was found guilty of committing a $10 million healthcare fraud scheme. The anesthesiologist began submitting falsified claims to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, United Healthcare, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and others, in 2009 through 2010. Dr. Toussaint submitted claims for procedures that took place while he was out of the state or at other hospitals. He also filed a claim for a procedure that he was undergoing. Dr. Toussaint was found guilty on seven counts of fraud. 5. Boston Medical Center agreed to pay the federal government $1.1 million for Medicare and Medicaid fraud allegations. Prosecutors charged the hospital and two of its physician groups for billing Medicare for more units of the cancer drug Rituxan than it actually used as well as for billing Medicare and Medicaid for services at a presurgical center which other fees covered. The hospital and physician group also faced charges for submitting claims to Medicare for outpatient podiatry services deemed unnecessary. 6. In May 2016, Florida family practitioner Ona M. Colasante, MD, was charged with committing 210 counts of healthcare fraud and money laundering. The physician allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for unnecessary tests, bought drugs from outside the United States that are not approved for use and administered those drugs to patients without their knowledge or consent. The physician faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the healthcare fraud counts, up to three years for each of the FDA counts and up to 10 years for each of the money laundering counts. Key statistics 7. In 2015, the Medicaid Fraud Control Units recovered almost $745 million. Each year, the federal government spends more than $845 billion on Medicare and Medicaid. 8. Improper payments cost CMS nearly $40 billion annually. Louisiana has the highest overbilling rate of 19.4 percent, followed by Texas at 17.3 percent. 9. In 2015, the Department of Justice received more than $1.9 billion in settlements and judgments from civil healthcare fraud cases. Since 2009, DOJ has recovered more than $17.1 billion, according to CMS. 10. A Government Accountability Office report found fraudulent billing makes up nearly 68 percent of all resolved healthcare fraud cases. The GAO found other common schemes comprised healthcare fraud including falsifying records (25 percent), kickbacks (21 percent) and fraudulently obtaining controlled substances or misbranding prescription drugs (21 percent). 11. In the GAO report, healthcare providers were complicit in 62 percent of the cases, and beneficiaries were complicit in 14 percent of the cases. 12. Fraudulent billing accounts for nearly 42 percent of convictions and judgments, and is deemed the most prevalent form of healthcare fraud. 13. In 2015, Medicare had a 40 percent improper payment rate for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies, resulting in $3.2 billion losses. 14. Insufficient documentation is the most common DMEPOS billing error and accounted for $2.6 billion in Medicare losses. 15. A Council for Medicare Integrity report found podiatrists were the most responsible for improper billing and overbilled nearly 67 percent of the time. More articles on coding & billing: The complex nature of healthcare fraud 5 highlights Medicare loses $3.2B from DMEPOS improper medical billing 8 key points Donald Trump, GOP agree ACA issue to emerge before 2016 presidential elections 5 takeaways Physician's Money Digest provides physicians a roadmap to retiring at 45. Here are five ways: 1. Choose your college wisely. Focus more on doing well at a school where you can save money and do well on your MCAT. You can also do research, volunteer and express genuine interest in a career in medicine. College tuition can vary by the thousands, so be cost-conscious when choosing a school. 2. When possible, save money on medical school. Medical school presents fewer options than undergrad, making saving money a bit more challenging. Check out all options to obtain scholarship money. While some can afford to go to a top tier medical school, this may not be an option for all potential medical school graduates. 3. Live like a resident when you are a resident, and beyond. Most residents make a salary relatively close to the average American's salary. It is paramount to save as much as you can if you want to retire by 45. Further, it is also important to save after your residency to repay loans and other expenses. 4. Accept the free lunch. If an insurance salesman invites you for a lunch or dinner, accept the free meal. The meal may come with a sales pitch, but you never know when a pitch will become a valuable resource. On the other hand, be wary of your investments and refrain from investing in technology or insurance you don't fully understand. 5. Weigh big life decisions carefully. Choosing wisely is applicable to all aspects of life ranging from finding a life partner to where you want to practice medicine. Divorces can be quite costly, and real-estate varies significantly across the United States. To retire at 45, you have to be smart about major life decisions. More healthcare news: 10 leadership do's & don'ts as seen on HBO's Game of Thrones Mid-Valley Oral Maxillofacial & Implant Surgery sustains major fire damage: 4 things to know California ASCs get final approval for $9.5M United Health suit 5 key notes The following hospital and health system rating and outlook changes and affirmations took place in the last week, starting with the most recent. 1. S&P assigns 'A+' rating to Northwest Community Hospital's bonds S&P Global Ratings assigned an "A+" long-term rating to Arlington Heights, Ill.-based Northwest Community Hospital's series 2016A bonds and affirmed the "A+" rating on the hospital's series 2008A bonds. 2. Moody's revises Palomar Health's outlook to stable Moody's Investors Service revised Escondido, Calif.-based Palomar Health's outlook to stable and affirmed the "Ba1" rating on its bonds, affecting $561 million of debt. 3. Moody's affirms ThedaCare's 'A1' rating Moody's Investors Service affirmed the "A1" rating on Appleton, Wis.-based ThedaCare's $239 million of outstanding rated debt. 4. Moody's affirms OhioHealth's 'Aa2,' 'Aa2/VMIG 1' and 'P-1' ratings Moody's Investors Service affirmed the "Aa2," "Aa2/VMIG 1" and "P-1" ratings on Columbus-based OhioHealth's $1.05 billion of outstanding debt. 5. S&P revises Health Quest's outlook to stable S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook to stable from negative and affirmed the "A-" ratings on LaGrangeville, N.Y.-based Health Quest's debt. 6. S&P revises Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System's outlook to negative S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the "A+" rating on Baton Rouge, La.-based Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System's bonds. 7. Moody's assigns 'A2' rating to Northwest Community Hospital's bonds Moody's Investors Service assigned an "A2" rating to Arlington Heights, Ill.-based Northwest Community Hospital's proposed series 2016A fixed rate bonds. 8. Fitch affirms Valley Medical Center's 'BBB+' rating Fitch Ratings affirmed the "BBB+" rating on Renton, Wash.-based Valley Medical Center's $17.5 million of series 2010A bonds and $61.2 million of series 2010B bonds. 9. S&P downgrades Mercy Health's rating to 'A+' S&P Global Ratings downgraded the long-term rating to "A+" from "AA-" on Cincinnati-based Mercy Health's bonds. 10. S&P lowers rating to 'BBB+' on Lawrence + Memorial Hospital's bonds S&P Global Ratings lowered its rating on New London, Conn.-based Lawrence + Memorial Hospital's bonds to "BBB+" from "A-." 11. Fitch affirms Denver Health's 'BBB+' rating Fitch Ratings affirmed the "BBB+" rating on Denver Health's series 2007A, 2007B, 2009A, 2010, 2014A and 2014B bonds, affecting approximately $286.2 million. 12. Moody's downgrades Spartanburg Regional Health Services District's rating to 'A2' Moody's Investors Services downgraded the ratings to "A2" from "A1" on Spartanburg (S.C.) Regional Health Services District's $190.2 million of outstanding debt. San Clemente, Calif., officials came up short this week when they asked state officials to postpone the impending closure of the community's hospital, according to The Orange County Register. Saddleback Memorial San Clemente is slated to close May 31. The primary reason for the closure is dwindling patient volumes. In early March, hospital officials said many days there are less than 10 inpatients at the hospital. MemorialCare, the hospital's parent system, explored other options before deciding to shut down the facility. In August 2014, MemorialCare announced plans to convert the 73-bed hospital into an outpatient medical campus. The system worked with state lawmakers on legislation that would have allowed a satellite emergency department at the outpatient campus in San Clemente. However, the legislation failed in January. The following week, the San Clemente City Council voted to rezone the San Clemente campus property to require hospital services. In a recently filed lawsuit, MemorialCare asks the court to repeal the zoning ordinance passed in January. MemorialCare claims when the system purchased the hospital in 2005, the city promised the facility could be altered to fit the healthcare needs of the community. With the lawsuit pending in federal court, San Clemente Mayor Bob Baker and City Manager James Makshanoff met with California Sen. Patricia Bates and Assemblyman Bill Brough on Monday. The purpose of the meeting was to ask the California Department of Public Health to keep emergency services at the hospital. Mr. Baker told the OC Register that the California Attorney General indicated the state could order MemorialCare to keep the hospital open until a new operator is secured. However, the California Department of Public Health said its doesn't have the authority to keep the hospital's emergency room open. Saddleback Memorial San Clemente will remain open until midnight May 30. Hospital Administrator Tony Struthers told the OC Register that no decision has been made about the site. "We are evaluating future uses of the property and will continue to evaluate the options as the lawsuit to overturn the city's new zoning ordinance proceeds." More articles on healthcare finance: Cincinnati Children's to shrink workforce as it cuts $250M in costs Dennis Kucinich files 2nd FTC complaint to investigate Ohio hospital closure Mount Sinai Beth Israel plans downsizing as losses mount A drug diversion investigation gone wrong at Sharp Grossmont Hospital resulted in filming patient procedures in the operating room without those patients' permission. The hospital, which then provided some of those video clips to an attorney, which is considered a breach of medical privacy, is now apologizing for its actions, reports KPBS. The La Mesa, Calif.-based hospital mounted video cameras inside computer monitors attached to mobile anesthesia machines in ORs to investigate the possibility of someone stealing sedatives from the carts. The surveillance began in July 2012 and continued for one year. When officials reviewed the tape, they realized they had accidentally filmed women undergoing cesarean sections, taping the procedures without the women's consent. However, the surveillance tapes also captured an anesthesiologist, Adam Dorin, MD, putting bottles of drugs in his pockets, according to the report. The hospital temporarily suspended Dr. Dorin for allegedly taking the sedatives, but lifted the suspension the next day upon learning the sedative, propofol, was in short supply, and physicians often took bottles to prepare for emergencies, according to the report. The Medical Board of California launched its own investigation into Dr. Dorin's actions when the hospital's former senior vice president and CEO Michele Tarbet alerted the medical board of Dr. Dorin's suspension and alleged behaviors. Sharp sent the medical board a thumb drive with 12 video clips that it said showed Dr. Dorin taking the drugs from the carts, but no identifying images of women. The medical board subsequently filed a formal accusation against the anesthesiologist. Dr. Dorin then hired Duane Admire as his defense attorney. Mr. Admire has asked to review all the surveillance tapes taken, approximately l4,000 video clips, because he believes they will clear Dr. Dorin's name by showing him replacing bottles in other carts or using the drugs on patients, according to the report. Sharp refused to do so, saying releasing the videos would breach patient privacy. However, Sharp did send Mr. Admire a thumb drive with approximately 77 video clips in response to his request for material. Mr. Admire said part of his review of the evidence included identifiable images of women in the operating rooms, according to the report. Now, the hospital has apologized for its breach of patient privacy. "It recently came to our attention that Sharp, in response to Dr. Dorin's attorney's request for evidentiary material, mistakenly provided Mr. Admire with video clips that included patients in the operating room," according to a statement from Sharp. "We have confirmed the information we provided to Mr. Admire did have 14 clips that included patients within them. Our intention was to send the attorney only the same video clips that were sent to the California Medical Boardthat contained no video of patients." The statement indicates officials are reviewing the clips and matching them to the surgery schedules to identify which patients were recorded. The hospital will then notify the patients. The California Department of Public Health told KPBS it is aware of the alleged incident and is investigating if it is a HIPAA violation. Dr. Dorin denies using or stealing drugs from the hospital for purposes other than patient care, according to the report. He resigned from the hospital in October 2013. More articles on data breaches: 13 latest data breaches Ohio mistakenly breaches 59,000 mental health patients' information Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic to pay $750,000 to settle HIPAA violation Dan DeBarba, executive vice president of Danbury-based Western Connecticut Health Network and president of Danbury and New Milford (Conn.) hospitals, has resigned, The News-Times reported. Here are four things to know about Mr. DeBarba. 1. He is leaving both the hospitals and the network at the end of May for a new opportunity with "a large health system in New York," hospital officials told The News-Times. Officials did not disclose the name of the system. 2. Mr. DeBarba was named a network executive vice president and president of both hospitals two years ago, shortly after the network merged with Norwalk (Conn.) Hospital. 3. During his time with the network, Mr. DeBarba contended with an ongoing battle with state lawmakers over hospital funding as well as an effort by members of the hospital's service, maintenance and environmental workers looking to join the American Federation of Teachers union, according to the report. 4. Previously, Mr. DeBarba was CEO of Norwalk Hospital prior to the merger in 2014. More articles on healthcare executive moves: meQuilibrium names executive VP of sales and business development: 4 things to know Novant adds to executive team: 8 things to know Anne Arundel Medical Center names new COO: 4 things to know Alternative payment models and bundled payments are becoming more common for orthopedic procedures, especially after Medicare launched CJR last month. Some hospitals are ahead of the curve while others are scrambling to fit into value-based care. An executive roundtable discussion at the Becker's Hospital Review 7th Annual Meeting in Chicago addressed the common misconceptions, anxieties, challenges and opportunities for CJR hospitals and where bundled payments are headed in the future. Syncera, powered by Smith & Nephew, sponsored the roundtable. In his opening remarks, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Signature Medical Group Jim Gera addressed many misconceptions about CJR, including: 1. The program's duration: CJR began April 1 and the first year ends sometime in the end of September/beginning of October. The performance years depend on when the episode ends, not when it begins so hospitals will begin entering the risk period in late September/October. 2. The stop loss in year 1 is 5 percent; however that 5 percent is based on the aggregate episode of care spend, not just the amount of the loss. For example a hospital with 500 annual episodes at an average cost of $20,000 would have a total episode spend of $10 million with a stop loss in year 1 of $500,000. 3. While CJR includes joint replacements, the focus goes far beyond just the orthopedic surgery to include non-clinical specialists and care managers. An effective episode care management program for bundled payments is comprised of a comprehensive biopsychosocial care model. We realized we had to add new resources to the care team, including certified case managers and social workers who are working with our patients to deliver a complete biopsychosocial care model, said Mr. Gera. The providers, including the surgeons, hospital, and other physicians must be on the same page to realize the quality improvement and cost savings. For example, total hip replacement surgeons doing the anterior technique should realize cost savings on the entire episode of care because their patients require less physical therapy and rehabilitation. But when Mr. Gera and his team assessed episode costs for total hip replacement patients, they didnt see any difference; the therapists and post-acute providers treated anterior and posterior hip replacement patients the same post-discharge. Mr. Gera indicated surgical technique choices and physician recommendations alone are not enough to improve quality and reduce cost. It is vital to have case managers engage and manage patients throughout the 90+ day episode. But there are ample opportunities to improve quality and reduce cost by eliminating waste and variation while improving communication across the continuum of care. Hospital executives can work with physicians and specialists to reduce readmissions, discharge patients home, and lower costs per case through gain-sharing. But each facility needs to review their own data. If you havent gotten your CMS data, you need it. Dont rely on the CMS summary data. It might not be accurate enough. You need to crunch the numbers yourself, said Mr. Gera. You need to know where you are at now and where you are going. Its not going to be the same for everyone. Physician engagement will also be key. Within CJR there is the opportunity for risk-sharing and gain-sharing. In our experience, when there is financial risk-sharing and financial upside on top of providing better outcomes for physicians, physicians will be highly engaged, said Mr. Gera. Syncera is a comprehensive solution designed to reduce total joint replacement costs and improve care delivery across multiple cost centers. The solution is particularly helpful for facilities participating in bundled payments and CJR. Syncera integrates clinically proven primary hip and primary knee implants with OR and supply chain efficiencies driven by easy to implement technology. Everything you see in Syncera is technology-driven. We interface with any EMR or ERP and the idea was to take out the cost of service and supply of implants and pass the savings on to the customer, said Stuart Morris-Hipkins, senior vice president and general manager of Syncera. The company also delivers new tools to speed up OR staff training on surgeon procedure preferences, and helps teams improve efficiency. The key areas making the biggest difference for episode of care cost savings and efficiency include: Clinically proven implants at value pricing Online interactive training and competency scores for OR staff on surgeon specific procedure preferences reducing the need for manufacturer reps Only the instruments needed for each procedure are pulled to the OR. Significant savings in sterilization costs. Point of Care scanning technology reduces near misses and can eliminate 85% of implant waste Automatic resupply of implants based on scanned products used for each case Performance dashboard to track metrics and savings Their software works for any service line and procedure. The idea was to create agnostic technology that drives value, said Mr. Morris-Hipkins. A pilot study at Johns Hopkins evaluated the impact Syncera's technology had on episodes of care. They found 60 percent of instruments made available during cases were never used across spine, neuro, GI and orthopedics. Syncera technology easily identifies those instruments that are unused, and the savings can be significant even for just one streamlined tray. Its a dramatic reduction, said Mr. Morris. . We are able to transform the way surgery is supported and change the way instruments are prioritized and sterilized. The savings range from $73 to $153 per case just for sterilization, said Mr. Morris. If youre doing 700 total joint replacements per year, savings with Syncera could be $4 million over three years. David Glaser, an attorney at Fredrikson & Byron, explained that in CJR, the hospital is financially responsible for a broad range care provided to a patient in the 90 days after the joint replacement. The hospital is subject to the new reimbursement model, but physicians, skilled nursing and therapists still get fee-for-service. Additionally, the hospital is responsible for a number of costs that most observers would not consider related to a joint replacement including substance abuse treatment, hospice and mental health. Patients with a lot of comorbidities will drive up costs but hospitals cant pick and choose which patients participate in the bundle, or which patients they will accept. Mr. Glaser discussed three other odd "quirks" in CJR: 1. Hospitals cant require patients to use preferred providers. 2. Hospitals cant require physicians or therapists to become collaborators, the term the rule uses to describe organizations that partner with a hospital to lower costs. 3. The collaborator can share gain without the downside risk. In a traditional gain sharing, its common, but not necessary, to have quality metrics; here its required. The total distribution payment going to the doctor cant be more than 50 percent of what the physician receives under fee-for-service payment. The payments from the hospital to the physician group can be any combination of sharing the amount paid from the CJR programor if there are internal savings, you can share those savings. But the total amount the physician receives cannot exceed that cap of 50 percent of the fee-for-service payment, said Mr. Glaser. He outlined additional rules in the program: 1. Only physicians who participate in the episode of care can receive the gain-sharing payments. Physicians who are part of a multispecialty group but dont directly participate in an episode of care cant benefit from the savings within the gain-sharing agreement. 2. A hospital cant take money back from the collaborator unless the hospital is required to pay money back to CMS. If hospitals recoup money from collaborators, they are not permitted to recover more than 25% of the total amount paid to CMS from any one collaborator, and the aggregate amount recouped from all collaborators may not exceed 50 percent, of the amount paid to CMS. . 3. When a physician group allocates money to its members, those payments need not be equal. In fact, since CMS suggests that payments be based on physician involvement in the process, there is some suggestion CMS may have a preference for unequal splits. 4. There are quality metrics in CJR and if you dont meet them, gain-sharing isn't permitted. Some of the measures arent under the physicians control. For example, the speed with which nurses respond to a call button may torpedo the ability to have a gain sharing payment. Under the model, hospitals at the bottom 30 percent of quality measures wont receive payments. The grading is on a curve, so a significant percentage of hospitals in the model wont be able to make any gain sharing payments. And the model is designed so 30 percent of the market will fall into that category, Glaser explained. You want to drive cost reductions; thats going to be a big deal in the episodes of care. But a lot of the costs are outside of the hospitals control. Implants and procedure efficiency are an exception, said Mr. Morris. Syncera is a unique way to lower costs without having an impact on quality. Laval, Quebec, Canada-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals has faced considerable scrutiny over its price increases and accounting practices making executive retention a major point of concern. But Valeant has a plan to retain its leaders by paying them hefty bonuses. A regulatory filing revealed the company is paying $10.8 million in bonuses to three executives this year, as first reported by STAT. While the retention bonuses may satisfy the wallets of those executives, they are sparking a whole new set of criticisms against the company. This is because many critics see the bonuses as direct benefits from the company's price hikes. "We are surprised by these bonuses as we believe this opens the company up to criticism of being brazen in the face of public and government scrutiny for pricing practices," Wells Fargo analyst David Maris wrote in an investor note, according to STAT. "It is not hard to see the criticism that the retention bonuses are being paid with money Valeant gained through excessive price increases and being paid to executives who in part helped oversee these pricing programs." Including both the retention bonuses and special equity awards, Valeant's Company Group Chairman and Executive Vice President Ari Kellen, MBBCh, will receive $4.8 million in bonuses, its CFO and Executive Vice President Robert Rosiello will receive $3.8 million in bonuses, and its other Company Group Chairman and Executive Vice President Anne Whitaker will receive $2.25 million, according to the filing. More articles on leadership and management: Government intervention: Boon or burden for healthcare? CNN's David Gregory and executives from Banner, Northwestern, Prism weigh in UCLA Health leader, healthcare futurist speak at C-Suite Invitational in LA Joint Commission appoints Dr. Desmond Thio to board of directors In the transition to a value-based reimbursement environment, a high-performing physician network can help hospitals and health systems remain relevant and achieve scale in an industry characterized by consolidation. A group of healthcare executives discussed the need for and development of high-performing physician networks at a roundtable sponsored by athenahealth at the Becker's Hospital Review 7th Annual Meeting in Chicago. "The thing that binds us and might be the thing that's most strategically relevant over the course of the next five to 10 years as healthcare transforms under our feet is this notion of the high-performing physician network," said Paul Merrild, senior vice president of enterprise solutions at athenahealth, at the roundtable. "The thing that brings us all together is this idea that I need to have better engagement with patients, better control of what goes on in the community, and whether with employed or affiliated [physicians], I need better help as it relates to structuring contracts in a way that's beneficial for my members, my providers and for my facilities." Executives participated in real-time polls throughout the roundtable, One of the questions asked of executives was why a high-performing network matters most to their organizations. Asked to select one answer, the majority of executives (55 percent) said it was to prepare for the move to risk- or value-based reimbursements. Twenty-five percent said to lower costs and/or achieve better clinical quality, and 10 percent said such networks would help prepare for the shift from inpatient to outpatient services. The COO of a health system-affiliated physician network in the northeast said there is tension between these forward-looking priorities and what healthcare needs to deliver today. "Regardless of whether we get to a value-based model or risk sharing, lower cost and better quality are demanded by consumers," she said. "At the end of the day, our patients are saying, 'I can't afford to pay three times as much to come to your hospital for an MRI, and I expect quality and high service.' Although [value-based reimbursement] is an enabler of potential in the future, our patients are saying they want that now." The exact definition of a high-performing physician network varies from organization to organization. Fifty-four percent of executives at the roundtable said they define their total provider network as also including the affiliated network. Twenty-one percent said they define it as their employed provider network, and another 21 percent said they define it as all providers in their community, including competitors. A senior vice president at a 2,500-bed health system in the south said his organization is transitioning from defining its physician network as solely employed physicians to one that includes the affiliated network. He said the health system is undergoing network adequacy testing and identifying gaps in care coverage. "If we're going to make ourselves attractive to payers and other folks and deliver elastic networks to cover service lines, we have got to engage with these independent physicians," the senior vice president said. "Quite frankly, they're comfortable being independent, but we need them in our clinically integrated networks." Fellow executives appeared to agree with his sentiment, as 58 percent said the rate at which they employ physicians will likely increase, while 17 percent said it would decrease. (The rest said the rate would either stay the same or that they don't employ physicians.) Among those who said his organization plans to reduce the rate at which it employs physicians was a vice president and CIO of an indepedent community hospital in Virginia. As an independent community hospital, the CIO said employing physicians is a last resort, partly because employment is a financial drain on the hospital. Instead, the hospital tries to provide support mechanisms to physicians while enabling them to maintain their independence. Perhaps what matters less is the specifics about the organization and contracts with physician networks and what matters more is that hospitals are forging these partnerships at all. "The manner in which we partner with physicians in the future is less relevant," said the senior vice president from the southern health system. The health system offers physicians other forms of partnerships, like clinically integrated networks and value-based purchasing. "We can't afford to employ every physician. There are adjacent markets where physicians and their patients are very important to us, but the ROI and care cost of practice and incremental market share you might pick up just doesn't work anymore. We've got to have different models to partner and affiliate with physicians and let the physicians choose which ones make the most sense for them." Similarly, a Midwestern health system with 13 hospitals and nearly 2,000 beds utilizes different types of partnerships, which have so far been successful in supporting physicians' independence while simultaneously fostering integration. A vice president here said the health system employs physicians, participates in a clinically integrated network that uses data access and exchange to drive quality improvements, and holds contracts for physician staffing arrangements. "We think that quality and focus on cost will allow us to be successful in fee-for-service today and transition over," he said. Despite these challenges in trying to navigate a constantly evolving environment, healthcare executives are optimistic about their ability to assess the success of developing a high-performing physician network, and most of them (63 percent) said the most important measure that indicates a high-performing physician network is a growth in market share. When asked to assess how strongly they agree that their organization has well-defined metrics and benchmarks for determining the success of their physician network, 65 percent of executives said they moderately agree, and 19 percent said they strongly agree, which Mr. Merrild said is a significant first obstacle to overcome. These executives are up to the challenge. "This is a bullish group," Mr. Merrild said in response to the results. "Knowing what success looks like and actually knowing whether that's good or bad, I find it to be one of the more complicated parts of medicine. We're a $3 trillion industry that's made up of 10,000 different subscale industries, and knowing success within that is a fascinating thing." More articles on physician networks: The new healthcare landscape: Integration, standardization and patient engagement 7 steps for building a clinically integrated network 5 ways to improve physician engagement Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System has reached a deal to purchase Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital in Humble, Texas from the Northeast Hospital Authority Board of Trustees. Here are three things to know about the deal. 1. In a prepared statement, Heath Rushing, senior vice president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Northeast, said the purchase of the hospital "further strengthens the ties so many of our staff and affiliated physicians have established in the area over the last decade." 2. The transaction comes on the heels of plans to build a 45,000-square-foot Memorial Hermann Convenient Care Center in Kingwood. The center will be anchored by Memorial Hermann Northeast and will join the Memorial Hermann Summer Creek Convenient Care Center in serving the greater Lake Houston area. 3. With this purchase, Memorial Hermann Health System also revealed plans to construct a new 123,000-square foot, five-story patient tower with 90 updated patient rooms, and the flexibility to add an additional 30 inpatient beds, as needed. The new tower, which will also house patient and staff dining services, is expected to open in 2018. More articles on healthcare transactions and partnerships: Navicent Health to manage Monroe County Hospital MD Anderson, UTHSC exploring ways to expand cancer care in Texas Lenoir Memorial Hospital decides to partner with UNC Health Care Judges have largely dismissed the argument that hospitals need to merge to meet the demands of the Affordable Care Act, but a Pennsylvania judge recently accepted the "Obamacare-made-me-do-it" defense, according to the National Law Review. In defense to an antitrust challenge by the FTC, plenty of hospitals have argued mergers are necessary to meet ACA goals, such as moving away from the fee-for-service model and providing high quality care more efficiently. Although the argument failed on numerous occasions, a Pennsylvania judge recently accepted it. He let the contested merger of Penn State Milton S. Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center and Harrisburg, Pa.-based PinnacleHealth System go through, in part because he said it was needed to adapt to changes in the industry brought on by the ACA. The judge's ruling differs from the position others have taken. In many cases, the FTC's argument that healthcare providers will use increased scale to negotiate higher payments from insurers has proven convincing. FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez reiterated the agency's view in a May 12 speech. She said the FTC recognizes that healthcare is shifting in the direction of risk-based payments and population health management, which hospitals argue requires scale. However, she said the scale can also lead to hospitals exerting market power on insurers. The FTC has repeatedly asserted there is no conflict between antitrust laws and the care coordination provisions of the ACA. "If you look at the ACA, it specifically says it's not meant to supplant competition and we think it is quite clear that the goals of the ACA and antitrust are in harmony, not in conflict," Deborah Feinstein, director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, told reporters at a briefing at the National Press Club last December. More articles on antitrust issues: Judge rejects FTC's attempt to block PinnacleHealth-Penn State Hershey merger Cigna CFO: We underestimated the 'depth and complexity' of antitrust investigation In the Midwest, health systems go big or go home: The new reality of system dominance Democratic Rhode Island Sen. William Conley, who serves Pawtucket and East Providence, is working pro bono as the lawyer on a suit filed to prevent Providence, R.I.-based Care New England Health System from cutting services at Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket. In March, Memorial Hospital officials announced plans to shut down the hospital's birthing center and one of its medical/surgical inpatient units. The intensive care unit at Memorial will also close and move to another location within Care New England's network. The cities of Pawtucket and Central Falls, R.I., are fighting against the proposal, and Sen. Conley is representing them. "We're asking the court to enjoin the dismantling of Memorial Hospital and to make sure that those services continue while we go through the process of restructuring with Southcoast," said Sen. Conley, according to a WPRI news report. Care New England and New Bedford, Mass.-based Southcoast Health System recently announced plans to join together under a new $2 billion-plus entity. With the lawsuit pending, the Rhode Island Department of Health is conducting its formal review of the proposed cuts at Memorial. The agency began the review April 22 and has 90 days to decide whether to approve the reduction in services, according to the report. Care New England President Dennis Keefe said the hope is that eliminating some services and relocating others will help reduce financial losses at Memorial. The hospital is losing about $2 million a month, according to WPRI. When Care New England made its proposal in March, system officials told Memorial employees that the restructuring would result in layoffs. Memorial Hospital President Michael Dacey, MD, told WPRI that only 25 jobs are considered for cuts. The union representing nurses at Memorial believes closer to 200 jobs are on the line, according to the report. More articles on healthcare industry lawsuits: Hospitals claim the ACA demands mergers: Are judges warming up to the argument? Highmark sues feds over $223M in ACA payments Ex-hospital guards indicted for death of MedStar patient An 86-year-old Florida man told authorities he killed his sick wife Monday because she was in poor health and pain, and they couldn't afford her medications, according to a St. Lucie News Tribune report. William Hager told authorities he shot his wife of 50 years, 78-year-old Carolyn Hager, in the head with a .32-caliber revolver while she was asleep. According to the report, he put the gun down, drank coffee and then told family members what had occurred. Deputies found out about the incident when they responded to Mr. Hager's home the day of the shooting, after a report of a verbal disturbance. St. Lucie County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Garry Wilson told the St. Lucie News Tribune Mr. Hager met law enforcement and said there was no disturbance and that he had shot his wife. Sheriff's Chief Deputy Wilson noted that Mr. Hager was concise and showed remorse in his interview with authorities. "He talked about her medical condition, that she was in poor health," Sheriff's Chief Deputy Wilson told the St. Lucie News Tribune. According to the report, detectives said Mr. Hager indicated he had contemplated shooting his wife for several days. Mr. Hager's arrest report shows he told detectives his wife had expressed her desire to die, but she never asked him to kill her, the St. Lucie News Tribune reports. Mr. Hager was arrested on a first-degree murder charge after the incident. Prior to the incident, he had no criminal history in Florida, according to the report, which cites information from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement records. Here are 10 spine surgeons and neurosurgeons in the news this past week. Joseph Martinez, MD, joined Houston-based Texas Medical Center and McGovern Medical School at UTHealth. Owoicho Adogwa, MD, presented research at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons annual meeting examining how baseline affective disorders affected 30-day readmission rates for patients undergoing elective spine surgery. Maya Babu, MD, presented a study at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons annual meeting examining the Open Payments Database's impact on neurosurgery. The American Association of Neurological Surgeons appointed Frederick A. Boop, MD, its new president. Michael Gleiber, MD, offered business advice for entrepreneurs in a recent Inc. Magazine article. Houston-based Texas Children's Hospital appointed Howard L. Weiner, MD, chief of neurosurgery. The International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine awarded Swiss-Canadian spine surgeon Max Aebi, MD, the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award. Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine named Alan R. Cohen, MD, the new chief of pediatric neurosurgery. Alexander P. Hersel, MD, and Bradley Spiegel, MD, have begun offering HF10 therapy spinal cord stimulation for back and leg pain at Pain Management & Injury Relief Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Adrian Doran from sponsor Barclays, keynote speaker John Holland-Kaye, Chief Executive of Heathrow Plc, and David Gavaghan, CBI Chair, at the Waterfront yesterday Heathrow could create up to 5,000 new jobs in Northern Ireland if an expansion bid gets the go-ahead, the London airport's chief executive has claimed. John Holland-Kaye said air links with Belfast International Airport could also be restored if the London hub is permitted to build a third runway. In July last year the Airports Commission recommended that the runway should be built at Heathrow alongside a "significant" package of measures to make its expansion more acceptable to nearby residents. A final decision has not been taken by the Government. Mr Holland-Kaye told a Belfast business audience: "We cannot be the generation that avoids the big decisions, that pulls the ladder up behind us. We need to make the right choices in our generation so that the next generation, our children, can enjoy the benefits we have enjoyed. "With Heathrow expansion we will create up to 5,000 new jobs here in Northern Ireland while we build and when we have built - providing opportunities for young people. "We can grow the number of airports in Northern Ireland connected to Heathrow - with flights to Aldergrove." Mr Holland-Kaye has already announced plans to end night flights in an attempt to support Heathrow's offer to build another runway. British Airways and Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus already connect George Best Belfast City Airport with Heathrow. Aer Lingus left the International Airport for Belfast City in 2012. Mr Holland-Kaye addressed the CBI in Northern Ireland's annual dinner in Belfast. He added: "We can bring in new airlines, meaning new competition and choice, higher frequencies and lower fares. "We can grow your competitive advantage further. More flights to more cities in China, and Asia, the Americas and Africa - the growing markets of the world. Let us give you the ability to get to the world and for the world to come to you." Saira Khan's husband has said it is "nonsense" that the couple have an open relationship, following comments she made on live TV earlier in the week. The former Apprentice contestant told ITV's Loose Women on Wednesday that she was so tired she had lost her libido, despite still being in love with her husband of 11 years, Steven Hyde. The couple appeared on the talk show to clarify her comments after a mixed response from viewers to her revelation that she told him: "If you really want to, go with somebody else." Khan initially spoke to the panel before Hyde appeared alone for a few minutes, saying: "To be honest I was pretty devastated for her really, to think that she would even think, that she needed to say something like that to me, because it's something that I would never contemplate doing and never think about doing. "The idea for me, of what people talk about as an open relationship is, well, it's just not for me, it's nonsense. So I felt really troubled, I felt heartbroken that she had got to such a point really, such a low point that she felt the need to say something like that." Asked by Andrea McLean if he thought it was a generous offer or made him wonder if his wife really knew him, he replied: "Little bit of both. "All the things we had been through, I think like many marriages, you start off and everyone has troubles and difficulties, so we'd both started businesses the year after we got married, we went through infertility, we adopted. "Of course it was challenging for me as a white bloke from London marrying a Muslim girl, that in itself was a challenge right from the beginning. So we have been through a lot. "I would have hoped that she'd have actually thought, 'Well, you know what, we are in this situation at the moment and that Steve will be patient, Steve will come round to it.' I don't think that she needed to say that (he could sleep with other women)." After Khan rejoined the panel in tears, he said: "I think we've got a really good marriage and a great family. "We've got a really strong relationship. I adore her, she's fantastic, she's my best friend, there's nothing happening to our relationship at all." Khan told the panel - of McLean, Nadia Sawalha, Sherrie Hewson and Kaye Adams - that she had not planned on making the revelation and it had been "quite frightening" and "shocking" at first to see her marriage in the headlines. But she admitted her relief: "I have felt so much lighter in myself, I feel like a heavy burden has been lifted." She said she had received thousands of supportive emails from as far afield as America and Germany after Wednesday's episode - plus a less happy phone call from her mother in Kashmir telling her not to talk about sex on TV. After the show she tweeted a message to her husband, writing: " Thank you @StevenPush for being my rock, I love you and so do all the girls and boys @loosewomen - You are an amazing person." She also thanked viewers on social media with a tweet saying: "Thank you everyone watching @loosewomen today your support has been sooo overwhelming and humbling - thank you." When Eibhlin Mac Maighistir Gede first met her husband, Laszlo Gede, she was tending to his dying wife Iren, while herself preparing for a life in the convent. But Laszlo's "magnificent pale blue eyes" set her on an entirely different course. Eibhlin has just written her late husband's story - and her own equally remarkable story - in her memoir, Liffey Green, Danube Blue. Laszlo was a Hungarian clarinettist, who came to Ireland in 1969 after surviving the Second World War and being imprisoned by the postwar communist authorities. He escaped to Austria with Iren, his third wife, during the Hungarian uprising of 1956, before settling in Ireland. As remarkable as Laszlo's story is, Eibhlin's is just as fascinating. When Laszlo died, at the age of 90, in 2005, she returned to her home town of Dublin. "I went into a terrible darkness. I couldn't manage life without him," she says. She started writing the book as a way of occupying herself, as well as paying tribute to her late husband. She remembers their first meeting: "I was working in St Vincent's private hospital, nursing his darling Iren. She was terminally ill. She loved me and I loved her, I really felt for her. I went in one day to do her checks and Laszlo was there. I must have met him many times, but she said, 'Lazlo this is Eibhlin'. His face was loving and I could see that he was a lovely man. "Iren was very clever. She wanted me for him, no doubt about it. I was a nurse, and nurses are kind. "She knew I would be very kind to him." It was love at first sight. "That was when I fell in love with him, even though I went to the monastery after that," she adds with a laugh. "But my journey was going in a different direction because one of the sisters had asked me had I thought about being a sister. I entered an enclosed monastery, the beautiful Carmelite nuns." When she first entered the convent, Laszlo came to visit her to talk her out of it. His wife had since died. "We argued politely, or exchanged views politely. He wanted me to come out immediately and I wouldn't. He said, if you ever leave, please get in touch with me. I said of course, never thinking in a million years I was going to leave because I loved it. It was just heavenly. ''I was there for a year, but my journey was not that journey. My soul craved that austerity and I wanted to stay in the monastery with all my strength, but it was like I was in my little boat and the wind and waves were pushing me out and back from where I came." When she was admitted to hospital in St Vincent's after a spell of bad health, an old nursing friend brought her out to visit her father in his apartment in Dundrum, which was strictly against the rules for a Carmelite nun. "When I saw dada and the apartment, I realised I had to come out." A day later, she was no longer a nun. Eventually, she contacted Laszlo. "He didn't answer, but he arrived on my doorstep several weeks later. He was living in Luxembourg at the time. I was overjoyed. I was madly in love with him and he with me. He had three wives before me. ''I introduced him to my dada and they got on well even though they were much the same age. My father looked his age, but Laszlo was extremely young-looking and handsome. You'd get weak at the knees." She describes him as a George Clooney for his time. The pair married four years later. She says it was a kind of relenting on her part as she was still struggling with dedicating her life to religion. And there was another issue. "When we married I was finding intimacy very difficult because of my childhood brush with paedophilia," she says. Eibhlin grew up in Dublin of the 1940s and 1950s. "It was nice, but tough because money was very scarce. My parents were terribly good, too good. They were beautiful human beings," Eibhlin says. "Mother took in paying guests to supplement father's income. They had a mortgage to pay and three mouths to feed. It was during this time that mother was asked would she care for this priest and she did. "She took him in and looked after him and it was during that time that he took advantage of their kindness and got me alone." Later, he suggested to her parents that he take all three children for a holiday to the west of Ireland, to say thank you for the kindness they showed him. "I was nine years of age and very timid. He got me in the dunes while my siblings were out swimming," she recalls. "He collared me and all I could do was pray to our lady. "The next thing, I heard my sister calling me and she came down and looked into the dunes and she took my hand and brought me away. ''Years later, I asked her why she came and she said she had a feeling in the water to go and look for me." The family's hardship may have been surprising, considering Eibhlin's mother's family were descended from Edward III, but her royal connections were not talked about at home. "It was never discussed because my mother's family were Protestants and became Catholics. And with all they had seen up in Belfast, they just didn't want to talk about it. ''And, anyway, we were just working-class people now and people would say you had delusions of grandeur." Liffey Green, Danube Blue is published by Merrion Press, 19.99 Public money allocated to a Northern Ireland jobs creation body was used to fund an appearance by a Eurosceptic campaigner at a pro-Brexit Champagne soiree in London, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal. Invest NI sponsored the pro-Brexit event, despite the body stating that it had no position on European Union membership. Now it can be revealed that public money was used to pay for an appearance by Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan, who has been one of the most prominent voices in the campaign for the UK to leave the EU. In a response to a Freedom of Information request, Invest NI said that it had funded a "minority share" in the total cost of the event. It also stated that sponsorship included a proportion of the speaker's fees, travel and accommodation. Mr Hannan was the event's sole speaker and made a speech entitled 'How British financial services will flourish outside the EU'. A spokeswoman for Invest NI said: "The subject of the event Q&A was not relevant to our decision to sponsor the event. "We sponsored this event as it provided a networking opportunity to meet decision-makers from the funds sector." News of the sponsorship broke just days after the Government-funded business advisory body declared it would not take a position on the upcoming referendum. Tom Kelly, chair of Northern Ireland Stronger in Europe, said: "This seems incredulous on two fronts. "Firstly, given that Invest NI declared it was neutral on the referendum, why then was Invest NI sponsoring an event involved with the Brexit debate at all, let alone sponsoring an event putting forward only one side of the argument? "Secondly, given Northern Ireland receives the largest share of foreign direct investment from the financial services sector outside of London and that the majority of City voices from the Bank of England downwards have expressed reservations about Brexit, why would a Government agency have thought this was a good idea? "However, it's done, and Invest NI must answer for itself. We are confident with or without their support. "The vast majority of businesses in Northern Ireland are behind our campaign to remain." The event - EUreka or EUlogy? Brexit and the British financial services industry - was run by Heritage, a financial services company with bases in Belfast, London, Malta and Guernsey. Between 80 and 100 guests were offered canapes and Champagne at the gathering, which was held in London on January 28. Invest NI was unable to disclose even a banded figure for how much it had spent on the event, but was able to confirm that its sponsorship had gone towards the cost of the room hire, refreshments, equipment, technology, speaker's fees, and travel and accommodation. A spokeswoman for Invest NI confirmed the body had not sponsored any pro-Remain or neutral EU events. Mr Hannan will debate with Lord Mandelson on the EU referendum next month. It is understood that he is not receiving a speaker's fee but his travel and accommodation expenses will be met by organisers, Manufacturing NI. Heritage Financial Services declined to comment. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby met members of the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) in London The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Justin Welby has met with Ulster Loyalists during a meeting in London. Former Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast Ian Adamson, PUP member Winston Irvine and former UDA Brigadier Jackie McDonald were among the delegation from the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) Dr Justin Welby's press office said Friday's private meeting was held over lunch at his residence, Lambeth Palace. Mr Irvine said the meeting was held at the invitation of the Archbishop, for him to be informed of the origins and work of the LCC; in particular its role in committing former loyalist paramilitary groups to the peace process and opposing all forms of criminality; and its work to address severe educational under-achievement in loyalist communities. During the meeting, the LCC members and the Archbishop discussed issues relating to social justice, peace and reconciliation and resolving the legacy of the conflict in Northern Ireland. The LCC was represented by David Campbell (Chairman), Richard Monteith (Secretary), Winston Irvine, Jackie McDonald, and Robert Williamson. The group launched in October 2015 with the backing of the three main loyalist paramilitary groups, the UDA, the UVF and the Red Hand Commando. The groups denounced criminality and gave their support for an initiative aimed at re-engaging them with the peace process. Belfast Telegraph Digital Journalist Claire Williamson accepts the award for News Website of year at the Regional Press Awards in London. Belfast Telegraph Digital Journalist Claire Williamson accepts the award for News Website of year at the Regional Press Awards in London. Belfast Telegraph wins Website of the Year at Regional Press Awards in London Belfast Telegraph Digital Journalist Claire Williamson accepts the award for News Website of year at the Regional Press Awards in London. The Belfast Telegraph has scooped a major industry award. Belfasttelegraph.co.uk - won the 2015 website of the year at the annual Regional Press Awards in London on Friday. Shortlisted in the category was the Birmingham Mail; The Chronicle, Newcastle; Southern Daily Echo; Eastern Daily Press and city rivals The Irish News. Judges praised the site's 50% audience growth, it's "great interactivity and media content" and "delivering what readers want on a daily basis". The awards are widely regarded as the industry's 'Oscars'. The Society of Editors event celebrates the best of British regional and local newspaper journalism across all platforms in 2015. Anita Rooney, seen here with husband Mickey, fell to her death at Craigavon hospital There have been calls for an inquiry into how a popular Co Tyrone businesswoman fell to her death in a Northern Ireland hospital. Anita Rooney fell from a fourth floor landing at Craigavon hospital at around 2pm on Wednesday. The 50-year-old mother, who was a highly respected businesswoman specialising in the recruitment sector, was described as a "true lady" and a "friend to everyone". It is understood that police are treating the incident as suicide. Friends and family yesterday paid tribute to the Dungannon woman, who was married with three children. Her sister, Geraldine McAlinden - a well-known actress - said the family wanted to thank everyone for their support and kind messages. She added that the heartbroken family are trying to come to terms with her sudden death. The DUP MP for Upper Bann, David Simpson, said he is to meet Paula Clarke, the interim chief executive of the Southern Health Trust following the devastating news, adding that he will call for a detailed inquiry into the tragic death. "Firstly I want to expresses my deepest condolences to the family as they come to terms with what happened yesterday at Craigavon Area Hospital," he said. "This is devastating news which has certainly rocked the hospital community, including staff and patients. Expand Close Anita Rooney. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Anita Rooney. "I do not have the full details, but I am due to meet with the interim chief executive in the coming days, at which time I will be expressing the need for a detailed inquiry." Denise Mullen, an SDLP councillor for the Dungannon area, recalled Mrs Rooney as a "mother and friend to many". She said: "I recall when my Aunt Annie died, Anita was one of her many neighbours that springs to mind. She was there with a helping hand to sort things out and for that I was always truly grateful to her. "To her husband, a true gentleman, I offer my condolences and to their children. She had a great, witty sense of humour, the life and soul." Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Michelle Gildernew said: "Such an awful tragedy for Anita's family and friends. She was hugely respected in Dungannon and across Tyrone, may she rest in peace." The Southern Health and Social Care Health Trust called it a "tragic incident". A spokesman added: "We can confirm the tragic incident involving the death of a patient at Craigavon Area Hospital. "We are co-operating fully with the PSNI investigation." The Craigavon hospital provides a wide range of services including acute inpatient services and outpatient services. It is understood that those at the hospital who witnessed the incident are being offered counselling. Tributes to the mother flooded social media yesterday with many describing her as a "bubbly, lovely" woman. One Facebook user said: "Rest in peace Anita. Anyone would count themselves lucky to have know you. "You were the bubbliest character I ever knew, I never spent a minute in your company that I didn't laugh. "The world is a duller place without you." Another said: "Never a dull moment in the office with Anita, great, pleasant woman. RIP Anita, thoughts & prayers with kids." If you are in need of help, you can contact Lifeline on 0808 808 8000 or the Samaritans on 028 9066 4422 A scene from the controversial ITV drama The Secret The controversial dramatisation of the events around Colin Howell and Hazel Stewart's murder of their spouses in Coleraine has attracted glowing praise on Twitter. In the final instalment of the series - which has divided opinion - Howell made his dramatic confession that he had not only murdered his first wife Lesley and lover's husband Trevor Buchanan, but that he had molested some of his patients. Actor James Nesbitt - who plays Howell - was particularly praised for his interpretation of the north coast dentist, while actress Geraldine O'Reilly also impressed playing Hazel Stewart. The final episode showed Howell's desperate attempts to secure investors for a scheme to find allegedly hidden gold in South America before he was confronted by members of his Baptist church. It then showed his shocking confession, and also Stewart's arrest and the subsequent court cases. It appeared to impress viewers across the UK, with Claire Davis tweeting from Bath in England: "Fantastic acting from James Nesbitt on The Secret @ITV chilling true story of love murder and religion". Stuart McHale agreed "brilliant performance from James Nesbitt and a great show from #itv". James McEneaney tweeted: "Brilliant final episode of #TheSecret - incredible performance by James Nesbitt, but equally chilling and moving", and Roy Lynch tweeted: "The Secret has been a fantastic drama. Incredible that its a true story. Well done to @ITV and James Nesbitt". Viewers had reacted with outrage and horror last week as the third episode portrayed the inquest into the murders inter-cut with graphic sex scenes between the two killers, played by James Nesbitt and Genevieve O'Reilly. ITV has been criticised by some of the relatives of Howell and Stewart. Howell's daughter Lauren Bradford, who now lives in Sheffield, has become a vocal critic of the TV drama. Writing in The Guardian, she said: "Behind the high viewing figures, whether for fiction or the coverage of real crimes, there are people living with murder bereavement on a daily basis. "An intrusive media experience can often compound this original trauma. "If deemed 'a good enough story', private grief then becomes public property." Computer-generated image showing a plain cigarette package set to be introduced by the Australian government Northern Ireland health minister Jim Wells has backed plans to introduce plain packaging on tobacco products across the UK Burning issue: Jim Wells introduced the measure, which Mr Paisley says has cost jobs. The DUP's Ian Paisley has called for his party colleague Jim Wells to apologise over his approval of plain tobacco packaging - which the North Antrim MP claims has cost almost 1,000 Ballymena jobs. Legislation comes into force on Friday, stripping brightly-coloured branding from tobacco packs with standardised, or plain packaging. Boxes of 10 cigarettes have also been banned. It follows after tobacco companies lost a legal challenge over the introduction of the laws. Government hopes the new packaging - which will also feature health warnings - will deter people from starting and encourage others to kick the habit. After the introduction of similar laws in Australia, there was a 15% reduction in the number of people smoking. Senior DUP members Jim Wells and Ian Paisley have clashed over the new law. Former health minister Wells welcomed the introduction of the law on Twitter, which he approved as minster. The North Antrim MP Ian Paisley hit back saying 980 people lost their jobs in his constituency over the measure - in reference to the JTI Gallagher closure. Expand Close Ian Paisley's tweet. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ian Paisley's tweet. The majority of workers at the Ballymena factory are to finish their final shift on Friday. "Daft policy that will not save one life," he tweeted. He also called on Mr Wells to apologise over the move. Speaking on the BBC Nolan show, Mr Paisley said his first responsibility was to his constituency despite his "close personal friendship" with the South Down MLA. He said Mr Wells tweet was "ill-timed". "The very morning 500 people walked out of the factory for the last time - not the day to do it," he said. While Jim Wells said the new policy was not solely responsible for the factory's closure. The DUP has been asked for a comment. A former Royal Irish Ranger has hit out at the "lunacy" of people criticising the invitation to Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness to attend Battle of the Somme centenary commemorations. West Belfast man Glenn Bradley, who served in 1st Battalion the Royal Irish Rangers, said Mr McGuinness had every right to attend any of the events. "Of course the Deputy First Minister should be at the commemoration ceremony," Mr Bradley said. "The Somme doesn't belong to unionists or nationalists - it happened before partition. "For elements of unionist society to try and claim that the Battle of the Somme belongs to them is lunacy. "No individual can claim to represent the dead of the Somme. And for some in Northern Ireland to adopt a petty attitude of ownership of the Somme is very foolish. "I've been to the Somme, and I wish some of the people spouting about it here in Northern Ireland would walk as I have walked along the rows and rows of graves." The 49-year-old grew up in Woodvale. He was eager to fight the IRA and joined the Army at 16, but instead of serving at home, he saw operational service in conflict zones across the globe, including Iraq and Lebanon. The former Ulster Unionist Party official is now an activist with Veterans for Peace UK, an anti-war organisation set up to challenge the more militaristic approaches to politics. "In the 21st century, war is not the answer," he said. In 1990, Glenn's uncle, RUC constable Louis Robinson, was murdered by the IRA. The policeman was tortured and shot execution-style, before his body was booby-trapped and them dumped along the border with the Republic. But the memory of the horror of that event has not stopped Mr Bradley working towards peace or from talking to his former republican enemies. "People have to talk to their former enemies," he said. "Nazis, Japanese - history has many examples of this process. "It's no different to what I'm doing today. We've all created suffering. I'm about eradicating suffering." The former soldier also sent a trenchant message to Northern Ireland's newly-elected political leaders about the path that society should now take. "What we need in Northern Ireland is a Bill of Rights, political stability and improvements in the quality of life for people who live here," he said. "Sinn Fein and the DUP have been returned as the two biggest political parties in the Assembly, it is now up to them to deliver for the people." The three surgeries have almost 8,000 people on their practice lists Health bosses have advertised for GPs to take over three surgeries in Northern Ireland in recent weeks, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal. It is understood two further practices have recruitment processes to find GP partners, as primary care in Northern Ireland slips deeper into crisis. In March, the Health & Social Care Board advertised for a GP willing to take over Rathkeeland House Surgery in Crossmaglen. It is now advertising the General Medical Services (GMS) contract to run primary care services at Roslea Medical Practice in Enniskillen and Silverbirch Medical Practice in Bangor. The three surgeries have almost 8,000 people on their practice lists. A senior GP warned the board may find it hard to recruit GPs willing to take on the contracts. Dr Brian Patterson, who is part of a task force working to help struggling GP surgeries, said: "Sadly, I can't magic up trained GPs, nor folk who want to run practices, as they are small business. These are short term issues but in the long term the model of general practice will have to change to survive." A large proportion of GPs across Northern Ireland are at or approaching retirement age, while there has been a shortage in the number of trainee places. Experienced GPs are also leaving due to working conditions and it is increasingly difficult for practices to find doctors to take jobs in GP practices, particularly in rural areas. According to the board's advertisement for Silverbirch Medical Practice, the sole GP who works there, Dr Nigel Majury, plans to retire next year. Dr Patrick Fee, the GP at Rathkeeland, has repeatedly said he does not feel he can deliver a safe service due to the number of patients he is responsible for. He had announced his intention to leave the practice last year, citing patient safety. Dr Fee failed to recruit a partner after his colleague left for a new job. Dr Patterson said: "General practice has lost its mojo for young doctors. Too much work, too few doctors and chronic underfunding from the department are all issues. If general practice fails, the rest of the NHS will struggle like never before. A board spokeswoman said it continues to take all necessary steps to ensure that services continue to be provided to the population of Northern Ireland. A serial flasher has been warned he faces up to four years in jail if he continues to expose himself. Belfast man Jason Leonard Shaw, who has a lengthy record for such behaviour, was before the city's Crown Court where he had pleaded guilty to a number of offences. Delaying sentence for four months, Judge Gordon Kerr QC told the 46-year-old that if continues to undergo specialist treatment and commits no further offences, he might pass a non-custodial sentence. However, Judge Kerr warned that while the maximum sentence was one of two years, he would pass consecutive terms should Shaw fail. "This type of behaviour simply cannot be tolerated," said the judge. Earlier, prosecution lawyer Simon Jenkins revealed that on three separate days in August 2014, Shaw was seen indecently exposing himself in front of a number of young girls, including a number of female Queen's University students. A father's prayers have been answered after the birth of his son - who doctors had warned would be born with no spleen, a heart condition and would not survive more than a week. Doctors in Australia advised couple Liam Glass, from Co Tyrone, and wife Cindy three times to terminate the pregnancy. At one appointment a medic said "it had gone beyond faith" but the devout couple refused and "left it in God's hand". Experts predicted that the baby boy would be born with a twisted bowel, impaired ducts that transfer blood between the heart and lungs and DiGeorge Syndrome, which causes brain function to be impaired. But despite the odds, the little boy - named David Hope Glass - was welcomed into the world minutes before St Patrick's Day on March 16, weighing 7lb 3oz. David spent the first hours of his life in intensive care, and doctors initially confirmed that David had no spleen. Hours later they admitted David had been misdiagnosed, and also that he was born with a complete non-defective digestive system. Sadly, the diagnosis of a heart complaint was confirmed, when a scan showed that David had two heart chambers instead of four, although the new parents were relieved to find that it was not DiGeorge Syndrome. Liam (32), originally from Greencastle, moved to Australia five years ago and married Cindy (31), from Mauritius, last year. Raised a Catholic, Mr Glass was baptised last week, and both are members of The Edge Church in Adelaide. Liam said when they first heard that David would probably not live longer than a week, they believed their faith in God would sustain them. "We didn't really get to enjoy the pregnancy after the first few weeks, because it was constantly bad news," said Liam, a foreman and plasterer. "So we prayed over the situation, as did members of our church. "Doctors told us right up to 24 weeks that it was our choice but that they leaned towards termination, but it was not something we were going to consider. We knew the wee man would be born with a lot of sickness but we trusted in God to heal him. "It was a real rollercoaster at times, so many ups and downs, but we knew we had to keep ourselves on track, trust in God, stay positive and keep going. "We kept going to our church where people prayed over us and for us, it was amazing support and it kept us going from strength to strength." The couple also sought help through Christian faith healer John Mellor, who flew from Adelaide to Melbourne to say healing prayers over a pregnant Cindy. And to the delight of the dedicated dad, the doctor told him that David was not as bad as they had first thought. "A guy called Costa did the scan, I remember it so clearly as he went over each of David's organs and called out each one - then he said, 'And here's the spleen'. "I told him that the doctors said he did not have a spleen, so he called his boss over and he confirmed that David did. "It was an absolute miracle and so overwhelming, that I burst into tears. I was so happy as we had been told hours earlier that without the spleen he would not live more than a week. We'd been told this so many times when Cindy was pregnant. "We firmly believe that it was God at work." The couple now visit doctors every two weeks for David's check-ups and are preparing for the first in a series of operations in Melbourne, to help David's heart function better. They say that "God has brought them thus far" and they trust that there is more miraculous healing to come. They have returned once more to Mr Mellor, who posted a video of the couple's triumph on YouTube. "David was due to have his first operation, but then the doctors said that he did not need it, which is great news," added Liam. "It also means that his immune system is strengthening in case he needs the operations, which we pray he won't." Doctors now predict that judging from David's progress so far he could go on to live a normal life. Liam added: "He continues to amaze the doctors, they just can't believe it when they see him and see how well he is doing, it's fantastic." The SDLP leader Colum Eastwood is flanked by his party colleagues as he announces that they will go into opposition at Stormont The SDLP has dramatically moved into opposition at Stormont and is now set to join forces with the Ulster Unionists. But SDLP leader Colum Eastwood pledged it would be constructive, progressive and would not amount to "opposition for opposition's sake". For the party whose former leader John Hume is regarded as the chief architect of the Good Friday Agreement, it was not an easy decision. But it followed a meeting with First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness to discuss SDLP demands for changes to the Programme for Government (PfG) which lasted only half an hour. The move came eight days after UUP leader Mike Nesbitt upstaged the reappointment of Mrs Foster and Mr McGuinness by announcing his party would form an opposition, even before talks on the PfG had begun. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said it became apparent the DUP and Sinn Fein were not prepared to bring about changes including stopping the continuing tide of emigration and improved investment in education. "It has become clear that our ambition for a full Programme for Government will not be matched by the document currently constructed by the DUP and Sinn Fein. We fear its inherent vagueness will fall far short of what is required," he said. Expand Close First Minister Arlene Foster and and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp First Minister Arlene Foster and and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness But he also added: "Entering into opposition is not an easy decision to make, particularly for a nationalist party in the North. "Since partition, our community was long denied power in this very building and therefore we have long been in opposition. That memory runs deep. "But those were different days and this is a different Ireland." The Foyle MLA said the decision had the unanimous support of the party's executive and Assembly group and would last for the entire period of the new Assembly term, until 2021. Addressing a Press conference in the Great Hall at Parliament Buildings, Mr Eastwood, whose party lost two seats in the Assembly election earlier this month, said: "We have made a bold decision that hasn't come lightly to us, but... it will not be opposition for opposition's sake, it will be positive and constructive." The SDLP chief said as builders of the institutions, the party had been reluctant to leave the responsibilities of government to parties that "hindered" their operation. Expand Close PACEMAKER BELFAST 19/05/16 The SDLP's Colm Eastwood and Alex Attwood speak to the media outside Stormont Castle. Picture Matt Bohill. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp PACEMAKER BELFAST 19/05/16 The SDLP's Colm Eastwood and Alex Attwood speak to the media outside Stormont Castle. Picture Matt Bohill. "It was a reluctance to give the keys of the house to those who had very little part to play in laying that house's foundation, never mind in actually building it, brick by brick," he said. "For the good of our politics, the SDLP is now breaking free from that past reluctance." Mr Eastwood said it had never been intended that the Good Friday Agreement should be frozen in time. "Change is as constant a feature in politics as it is in life," he said. UUP leader Mr Nesbitt said he was confident the move "will lead to new beginnings and possibilities for devolved government." Expand Close Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 19th May 2016 Crunch meeting take place at Stormont Castle in east Belfast between Northern IrelandOs main political parties over the makeup of the new Executive. Left to right. The Alliance Party's Stephen Farry and leader David Ford pictured leaving after the talks. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 19th May 2016 Crunch meeting take place at Stormont Castle in east Belfast between Northern IrelandOs main political parties over the makeup of the new Executive. Left to right. The Alliance Party's Stephen Farry and leader David Ford pictured leaving after the talks. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye The former chair of the Assembly committee which monitored Mrs Foster and Mr McGuinness said he had enjoyed working with Mr Eastwood on the committee. "I very much look forward to working in partnership as we bring on this new era," he said. "Be in no doubt, together we can offer the opportunity of a real fresh start." Independent unionist MLA Claire Sugden could be named as the new justice minister Young independent unionist MLA Claire Sugden has said she will consider taking the job of justice minister if it is offered to her while Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has said a full Executive will be elected on Wednesday. The Alliance party turned down the ministry yesterday as the SDLP and UUP announced they would form an official opposition. A justice minister must be appointed by next Wednesday or fresh assembly elections will have to be held. Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness held meetings with the 29-year-old independent unionist MLA and the Green Party leader Steven Agnew on Thursday. She told the BBC: "They simply asked me how I felt about things. If an offer is made I will consider it. I have no wish list. I will do what I think is the right thing for my constituents." It is understood Ms Sugden would have similar views to the DUP on law and order issues but nationalist sources said that Sinn Fein was also amenable to considering her for the job. "Sinn Fein MLAs have a constructive working relationship with Claire," one source said. Addressing the media at Friday lunchtime, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams would not rule out an election if the matter is not resolved. He also said it was a "pity" the UUP and SDLP did not tell the voters of the intention to enter Opposition. "Our focus is to get a full Executive including a justice minister elected on Wednesday - that's our focus," he said. "That's what Martin [McGuinness] is mandated by us to do. He is resolute about that, patient about that and confident he will succeed." Asked repeatedly if his party would chose a DUP justice minister over another Assembly election, he said Sinn Fein would fight any election called on a "positive" campaign. Speaking on BBC Northern Ireland's Sunday Politics programme five days ago, Ms Sugden spoke strongly in support of an official Opposition at Stormont. One unionist source said: "This could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her. She would go from being a backbencher right into front line politics. The lure of the ministerial car and all the trappings of office should not be underestimated." However, other unionist sources played down speculation. "Claire Sugden has admirable youthful energy and she has grown into her role as an MLA," a source said. "She is well-liked and has won increasing respect. "However, she is just too inexperienced for a key job like Justice. She isn't ready for it, and there would be a whiff of desperation about it if she was to be appointed." The East Londonderry MLA was co-opted to the Assembly to replace David McClarty following his death in April 2014. She had been his campaign manager, and then parliamentary assistant. Ms Sugden surprised many who had dismissed her as a one-Assembly wonder with her election this month, where she secured almost 10% of the poll. The situation regarding the Justice Ministry is unlikely to be resolved this weekend. Sources said that decisions concerning the post would not be made until Monday at the earliest. Ms Sugden was thrust into the spotlight after Alliance turned down a return to the role. Last night the party's ruling council strongly backed the leadership's decision not to accept the ministry. Both the DUP and Sinn Fein have previously vetoed the other taking the job, instead relying on the cross-community Alliance Party to fill the post. The news came at the end of a day of high political drama, with the SDLP announcing it would join the Ulster Unionists in Opposition. Despite the fragmentation of the former five-party Executive, First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness insisted the appointment of ministers and first meeting of the new Executive would go ahead next week. The two leaders appear to have told their former power-sharing partners that they could not agree to immediate major changes to the Programme for Government. Their meeting with an SDLP team lasted for less than half an hour. Their meeting with Alliance was even shorter, at only 10 minutes. Alliance had put forward demands in five areas, including a strategy to tackle paramilitaries and significant investment in universities. But the main sticking point was over restricting the use of the Assembly petition of concern mechanism, which both main parties have used to block legislation in the past. Speaking after last night's meeting of Alliance's council, Naomi Long said: "If the DUP and Sinn Fein wish to come to us, they know where we are. If they want to reopen negotiations on the basis of the paper we put to them, of course we will be happy to speak to them. "But, after tonight, it is very clear the party council is in agreement with the position that we took, and I see no one intent on moving from that position." Vivienne Westwood has lent her support to the anti-fracking campaign A succession of people living near a proposed fracking operation in North Yorkshire have told councillors they do not want to be the first community in the UK to allow the controversial gas extraction technique. A decision will be taken on Monday whether to allow the UK firm Third Energy to frack for shale gas at its existing drilling site near the village of Kirby Misperton, between Malton and Pickering. On Friday, councillors on the planning committee which will make the decision were greeted by hundreds of anti-fracking protesters as they arrived at County Hall, in Northallerton. The committee spent the day listening to dozens of objections to the scheme as around 300 protesters, many wearing Yorkshire white roses, created a festival-like atmosphere outside with music and stalls. The councillors listened as speaker after speaker outlined environmental concerns over the controversial hydraulic fracturing technique, ranging from global level climate change to the proximity of ponds and bats to the proposed drilling rig. Last week, officers at North Yorkshire County Council recommended the granting of permission for Third Energy's application. The first of more than 80 speakers at the meeting, independent Ryedale councillor Lyndsay Burr, told committee members: "Ryedale residents do not want to be the first in the UK to allow fracking." She said: "Do not devastate our area." Former Tory MP Baroness McIntosh said fracking could devastate the economy of the area. She said: "There are too many unknowns and there are too many answered questions." Baroness McIntosh said: "I believe you are being asked to take too much on trust today." Kirby Misperton resident Susan Rayment was in tears as she explained to the committee the noise problems she has experienced living close to the existing drilling site. Mrs Rayment had to pause to compose herself and said: "They (Third Energy) don't really give a damn." Introducing the meeting, committee chairman Peter Sowray said: "This is by far the most controversial application we have ever had to deal with." Mr Sowray said it was not the committee's function to determine national fracking policy and he told the packed hall: "I am sure all members have come along with an open mind and are ready to listen to the facts." Fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood was expected to attend the protest outside the meeting but was unable to travel because of ill health. But the designer told the demonstrators they are winning "one of the most important fights in the UK today", in a message read out to the crowd. International activist Bianca Jagger tweeted: "I'm not in Northallerton today, but I support your struggle against the #FrackingIndustry & hope everyone else does." The Government has said it is going "all out for shale" to boost energy security and the economy. But opponents fear fracking - in which liquid is pumped deep underground at high pressure to fracture rock and release gas - can cause problems including water contamination, earthquakes and noise and traffic pollution. Environmentalists also warn that pursuing new sources of gas - a fossil fuel - is not compatible with efforts to tackle climate change. No fracking has taken place in the UK since 2011, when tests on the Fylde coast were found to have been the probable cause of minor earthquakes in the area. Since then, two high-profile applications to frack in Lancashire have been rejected by councillors and are now the subject of appeals. Third Energy wants to frack for shale gas using an existing two-mile deep well - called KM8 - drilled in 2013. Rasik Valand, chief executive of Third Energy, stressed that the wellsite has been operational for decades for non-fracking extraction. He said: " Third Energy has been drilling wells, producing gas and generating electricity safely and discreetly in North Yorkshire for over 20 years and we will continue to maintain the same responsible approach in the future." The planning officers' report, which recommended that the application is approved, said planners came to this decision despite acknowledging that many of the 4,000 representations it had received in consultation were objections to the plans. The report said: " It should also be noted that there is national policy support for the development of a shale gas industry in this country and this is an important material consideration." All the speakers on Friday were opposed to the development. People supporting the proposal will be heard by the committee on Monday before it makes its final decision. Tourists take photos from the external terrace at the Sky Garden in central London Visits to the UK by overseas tourists increased by 5.1% last year, according to official figures. Foreign residents made 36.1 million visits to the UK in 2015, which is the highest number since the international passenger survey began in 1961, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Earnings from the visits also reached a record high of 22.1 billion, a 1% increase compared with 2014. The Government claimed the figures demonstrate that the tourism industry is "booming". The ONS data also shows UK residents took 65.7 million trips abroad last year - a 9.4% rise on the previous 12 months. Spending on these visits was up 9.8% to 3.5 billion. Spain continued to be the most popular destination for Britons, accounting for almost a fifth (19.8%) of all visits abroad, at 13 million. Figures for the first three months of 2016 show a 6% rise in visits by overseas tourists compared with the same period in 2015, reaching 7.36 million. Tourism Minister David Evennett said: " Our tourism industry is booming as our world-class attractions, heritage and culture make Britain the first choice destination for many, with visit numbers at an all-time high. "Tourism is making a massive contribution to our economy and we want to keep up this momentum, encouraging more people to come and enjoy the very best of Britain for themselves." VisitBritain director Patricia Yates described the figures as " a tangible demonstration of the growing importance of inbound tourism to the UK economy". Overseas visits to London grew by 6.8% to 18.6 million last year, with trips to the rest of England up by 6.9% to 15.2 million. The capital's newly elected mayor Sadiq Khan said: "It is fantastic that more people than ever before are opting to visit London, to sample the best of our capital and the best of Britain. London has something for everyone and an appeal that clearly extends across the globe." There was a 14% increase in domestic tourism expenditure in Scotland, although overseas visitors dipped by 4%. Scotland's Culture and External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: " It is encouraging that spending from domestic visitors has increased despite the industry operating in a challenging environment." A spokeswoman for UK travel organisation Abta said: " These figures demonstrate the resilience of UK travellers, and show the vital economic importance of travel to the UK economy." Tsai Ing-wen must deal with Beijing as well as economic worries at home (AP) Tsai Ing-wen has been made Taiwan's first woman president, returning her pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party to power amid new concerns over increasingly fractious relations with Beijing and a flagging economy. Ms Tsai took the oath of office at the Presidential Office Building in the capital Taipei before a national flag and portrait of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China that relocated to Taiwan in 1949 as the communists swept to power on the Chinese mainland. And in a move likely to anger Beijing , Ms Tsai omitted mentioning the one-China policy in her inaugural address. She said she respected the "joint acknowledgements and understandings" reached between the sides at a landmark 1992 meeting seen by China as underpinning all subsequent contacts and agreements. But she made no explicit mention of the concept that Taiwan is a part of China that Beijing says is crucial to the entire relationship. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has responded to Ms Tsai's election by intensifying pressure on the island with military exercises, diplomatic moves and cross-border deportations. At home, Ms Tsai faces an economy that has fallen into a recession as exports have dropped due to sluggish demand. Her swearing in on Friday was followed by a presentation in front of the office building featuring performers tracing the island's history from the era of its original aboriginal descendants to colonisation by the Netherlands and Japan to the arrival of Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese Nationalist forces at the end of the Second World War. Ms Tsai's election in January served as a resounding rejection by voters of the China-friendly party that has led Taiwan for eight years. The polls, which also gave the DPP its first parliamentary majority, were also seen as an expression of concern that the island's economy is under threat from the Chinese mainland's economic juggernaut. Beijing has warned that delicate relations between the sides will suffer unless Ms Tsai explicitly endorses Beijing's stance that the island and the mainland are part of a single Chinese nation, which it calls the "'92 Consensus". Ms Tsai has avoided doing so, but has promised not to pursue changes to the current status of de facto independence. Donald Trump has said he has been invited to Downing Street for talks with David Cameron. The Republican presidential hopeful described the Prime Minister as a "nice guy" and said they will "do just fine". No 10 insisted there were "no confirmed dates" for a meeting but said it was "long-standing practice" for premiers to meet nominees in White House races. Mr Trump has seen off the competition in the Republican race but has yet to be formally crowned the official candidate. The entrepreneur told US news channel MSNBC: "I will do just fine with David Cameron. I think he's a nice guy. I will do just fine." "But they have asked me to visit 10 Downing Street, and I might do it," he added. Mr Cameron has faced calls from the Trump camp to apologise after he branded the Republican's call for foreign Muslims to be temporarily banned form entering the US as ''stupid, divisive, and wrong'' in the Commons last December. The premier has refused to row back from the criticism but has insisted he "will respect the outcome of whoever wins" the presidential election. A Downing Street spokesman said: "It's long-standing practice for the PM to meet with the Republican and Democrat presidential nominees if they visit the UK. "Given the parties have yet to choose their nominees, there are no confirmed dates for this." No 10 confirmed in April that Britain's ambassador in the US has been ''engaging'' with Mr Trump in a move that was seen as an attempt to build bridges in preparation for the possibility of having to deal with the property tycoon. An EgyptAir jet like the one that crashed in the Mediterranean A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 is escorted at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris, Thursday, May 19, 2016. Egyptian aviation officials say an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed. (AP Photo/Michel Euler) A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 that crashed, reacts as she makes a phone call at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris, Thursday, May 19, 2016. Egyptian aviation officials say an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed. (AP Photo/Michel Euler) Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport, Egypt, Thursday, May 19, 2016. Egyptian aviation officials say an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed. The officials say the search is now underway for the debris. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Relatives of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo react as they wait outside a services hall at Cairo airport on May 19, 2016. The EgyptAir flight that vanished over the Mediterranean was carrying 30 Egyptian and 15 French passengers, as well as a Briton and a Canadian, the airline said. / AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKIKHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images Relatives of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo leave a services hall at Cairo airport on May 19, 2016. The EgyptAir flight that vanished over the Mediterranean was carrying 30 Egyptian and 15 French passengers, as well as a Briton and a Canadian, the airline said. / AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKIKHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images Relatives of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo leave a services hall at Cairo airport on May 19, 2016. The EgyptAir flight that vanished over the Mediterranean was carrying 30 Egyptian and 15 French passengers, as well as a Briton and a Canadian, the airline said. / AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKIKHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images Relatives of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo react as they wait outside a services hall at Cairo airport on May 19, 2016. The EgyptAir flight that vanished over the Mediterranean was carrying 30 Egyptian and 15 French passengers, as well as a Briton and a Canadian, the airline said. / AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKIKHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images An EgyptAir Airbus A330-300 takes off for Cairo from Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris, Thursday, May 19, 2016. An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board crashed in the Mediterranean Sea early Thursday morning off the Greek island of Crete, Egyptian and Greek officials said. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) Relatives of passengers on an EgyptAir flight that crashed early Thursday walk past journalists at Cairo International Airport, Egypt, Thursday, May 19, 2016. The EgyptAir jetliner bound from Paris to Cairo with 66 people aboard crashed in the Mediterranean Sea early Thursday after swerving wildly in flight, authorities said, and Egypt said it may have been a terrorist attack. (AP Photo/Ahmed Abd el Fattah) A British man who died in yesterdays air crash off Greece was a kind and loving father who had just welcomed a new baby into the world less than a month ago. Richard Osman, from Wales, was described by his brother Alastair as a workaholic and admirable person who never deviated from the straight path. Mr Osman told ITV News: Richard has two kids. He was a very kind person, loving person. A lot of people admired him for his strength and values. Hes a new dad. A dad for the second time now, and I know that would have filled him with love and joy. Its funny how quickly things change. Mr Osman also told how his brother let him know of the birth of his second child just over three weeks ago. He texted to tell me Im an uncle for a second time on April 27, he explained. Richard was a passenger on the EgyptAir flight that had 56 passengers and 10 crew on board when it went down near Crete while flying from Paris to Cairo. The plane spun all the way around and lost altitude before vanishing from radar. Search teams yesterday scoured the suspected crash area for traces of survivors or the plane, but nothing was found. Earlier reports of the discovery of floating lifejackets and debris were dismissed. Egypts civil aviation minister Sherif Fathi said the disaster was still under investigation but that the possibility it was a terror attack is higher than the possibility of a technical failure. Alexander Bortnikov, chief of Russias top domestic security agency, added: In all likelihood it was a terror attack. Expand Close Graphic: An EgyptAir flight carrying 66 passengers and crew on a flight from Paris to Cairo went missing on Thursday, disappearing from radar over the Mediterranean Sea. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Graphic: An EgyptAir flight carrying 66 passengers and crew on a flight from Paris to Cairo went missing on Thursday, disappearing from radar over the Mediterranean Sea. Asked about why Mr Osman was on the flight, his brother said: He would have been going to work, I assume. I know he works in Egypt and another country in Africa. Hes been doing this for years in the gold mining industry. This was a regular trip. He used to do it at least once a month. This is the reality of Isis and groups like that. Its indiscriminate. They dont think any of these people have family members, or a past, or a history of hopes and dreams. Its indiscriminate. According to the Carmarthen Journal, Mr Osman was 40 and a former pupil at the local Queen Elizabeth High School who had family in the Swansea area. The newspaper said Mr Osman was the son of the late Fekri Osman, a founder of the Werndale private hospital in Bancyfelin. His father moved to Wales from his native Egypt to work as a consultant in ear, nose and throat surgery in Singleton Hospital, Swansea, it added. The Journal also claimed that Mr Osman was a qualified geologist and worked for exploration and research companies in a career that involved him regularly travelling the world. Among those on board the jet were a child and two babies, EgyptAir said, adding that the 56 passengers also included 30 Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis and one each from Britain, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria, Canada, Belgium, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The Airbus A320 was built in 2003 and was flying at 37,000ft when it began to fall. Its airline tweeted that the pilot had logged 6,275 flying hours, including 2,101 hours on the A320, and that the co-pilot had logged 2,766 hours. There was confusion over whether a distress signal had been sent by the Airbus A320. Egypts civil aviation authority said one was received at 4.26am local time, believed to be an automated message rather than one sent by the pilot. However, in a statement on its website, the Egyptian military later said it had received no distress message from the aircraft. After the crash French President Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting at the Elysee Palace. He also spoke with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi by telephone and agreed to closely co-operate to establish as soon as possible the circumstances surrounding the disaster, according to a statement. An EgyptAir jet like the one that crashed in the Mediterranean A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 is escorted at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris, Thursday, May 19, 2016. Egyptian aviation officials say an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed. (AP Photo/Michel Euler) A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 that crashed, reacts as she makes a phone call at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris, Thursday, May 19, 2016. Egyptian aviation officials say an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed. (AP Photo/Michel Euler) Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport, Egypt, Thursday, May 19, 2016. Egyptian aviation officials say an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed. The officials say the search is now underway for the debris. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Relatives of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo react as they wait outside a services hall at Cairo airport on May 19, 2016. The EgyptAir flight that vanished over the Mediterranean was carrying 30 Egyptian and 15 French passengers, as well as a Briton and a Canadian, the airline said. / AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKIKHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images Relatives of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo leave a services hall at Cairo airport on May 19, 2016. The EgyptAir flight that vanished over the Mediterranean was carrying 30 Egyptian and 15 French passengers, as well as a Briton and a Canadian, the airline said. / AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKIKHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images Relatives of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo leave a services hall at Cairo airport on May 19, 2016. The EgyptAir flight that vanished over the Mediterranean was carrying 30 Egyptian and 15 French passengers, as well as a Briton and a Canadian, the airline said. / AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKIKHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images Relatives of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo react as they wait outside a services hall at Cairo airport on May 19, 2016. The EgyptAir flight that vanished over the Mediterranean was carrying 30 Egyptian and 15 French passengers, as well as a Briton and a Canadian, the airline said. / AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKIKHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images An EgyptAir Airbus A330-300 takes off for Cairo from Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris, Thursday, May 19, 2016. An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board crashed in the Mediterranean Sea early Thursday morning off the Greek island of Crete, Egyptian and Greek officials said. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) Relatives of passengers on an EgyptAir flight that crashed early Thursday walk past journalists at Cairo International Airport, Egypt, Thursday, May 19, 2016. The EgyptAir jetliner bound from Paris to Cairo with 66 people aboard crashed in the Mediterranean Sea early Thursday after swerving wildly in flight, authorities said, and Egypt said it may have been a terrorist attack. (AP Photo/Ahmed Abd el Fattah) The hunt is continuing for bodies and debris from the EgyptAir plane that fell out of the sky over the Mediterranean Sea as investigators try to determine whether the disaster was the work of terrorists. Search crews have found human remains, luggage and passenger seats from Flight 804, but Egypt's civil aviation minister has told relatives of victims there are no survivors, according to a newspaper report. The daily Al-Masry Al-Youm said Sherif Fathi told the families that Egyptian armed forces are doing their best to locate the wreckage and personal belongings of the victims. With no bodies to bury, relatives and friends of some of the 66 people on board held special prayers for the lost. Several mosques around Cairo held what is known as Salat al-Ghaib, Arabic for "prayers for the absent", held for the dead when there is no body. Mystery remains over why the Airbus A320 - which had been cruising normally in clear skies on a night-time flight from Paris to the Egyptian capital early on Thursday - suddenly lurched left and then right and plummeted into the sea, never issuing a distress signal. Egyptian authorities said they believe it may have been an act of terrorism, as have Russian officials and some aviation experts, but no hard evidence has emerged. No militant group has claimed to have brought down the aircraft, in contrast to the downing of a Russian jet in October over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula that killed 224 people. In that case, Islamic State's branch in Sinai issued a claim of responsibility within hours. A terror analyst who is in contact with members of IS and other jihadist groups said there have been "no credible or even semi-credible" claims of responsibility. Shiraz Maher, at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, said IS released a 20-minute video on Thursday about its plans to conquer India, and added: "If they had been involved in the crash, it would be very odd for them to have sent that video rather than boasting of the crash." Three European security officials said the passenger manifest for Flight 804 contained no names on terrorism watch lists. The manifest was leaked online and has not been verified by EgyptAir. Egyptian security officials said they were running background checks on the passengers to see if any had links to extremists. A French judicial official said investigators have begun to check and question all ground staff at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, who had either a direct or an indirect link to Flight 804 before it took off on Wednesday night. Workers including baggage handlers, maintenance staff, gate agents, security guards and airline boarding employees all carry "red badges" that provide access to restricted areas of the airport. Expand Close Graphic: An EgyptAir flight carrying 66 passengers and crew on a flight from Paris to Cairo went missing on Thursday, disappearing from radar over the Mediterranean Sea. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Graphic: An EgyptAir flight carrying 66 passengers and crew on a flight from Paris to Cairo went missing on Thursday, disappearing from radar over the Mediterranean Sea. The tragedy has fuelled suspicions of terrorism, especially in light of the bombing of the Russian plane and recent attacks in Paris and Brussels, but French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault insisted there is "absolutely no indication" of what caused the crash. Some aviation experts have said the circumstances suggest a bomb blast, but add that answers will come only with examination of the wreckage and the plane's black box recorders, although retrieving them may take time. The water is 8,000ft to 10,000ft deep in the area where the airliner is thought to have gone down, roughly halfway between Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria and the Greek island of Crete. The pilot, Mohammed Shoukair, was experienced by Egyptian standards, with 6,275 flying hours, and co-pilot Ahmed Assem had clocked 2,101 hours, officials said. Friday brought the first confirmation of debris from the crash. The Egyptian army said it found debris around 180 miles north of Alexandria, and that it was searching for more. EgyptAir said luggage and seats were found, as well as body parts. France, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Britain have joined the search, which encompasses a wide area of the Med south of Crete. Investigators from Egypt, France and Britain as well from Airbus will examine everything found in the search, Egyptian officials said. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's office issued a statement expressing its condolences to relatives and its "deep regret and sadness for the victims". "God give great mercy and host them in his heaven," it added. Bernard Cazeneuve said the EU "can't allow visa liberalisation to happen without any precautions" European Union nations have agreed to make it easier to suspend its visa waiver programmes with some countries, just as Turkey is trying to secure visa-free travel for its citizens. EU interior and migration ministers sealed an agreement on the emergency brake system during talks in Brussels. The so-called suspension mechanism would come into play to ensure security and if a country fails to respect its obligations. It is aimed at new visa waiver programmes in the works for Georgia, Ukraine, Kosovo and Turkey. The waivers would grant citizens of the four visa-free travel in Europe for business or leisure purposes for up to 90 days. But many European states are concerned by the prospect of opening the EU's gates wider at a time when the bloc is struggling to cope with hundreds of thousands of refugees. French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said: "We can't allow visa liberalisation to happen without any precautions, without a managed calendar or in a rush, as some want to impose on us. So we have taken an extremely firm position." Ministers have been at pains to point out that the mechanism applies to all visa waiver countries so Turkey does not feel targeted. The EU has offered Turkey a visa waiver as an incentive - along with up to 6 billion euros (4.6 billion) for Syrian refugees and fast-track EU membership talks - to get it to stop migrants leaving for Europe and to take back the thousands who have arrived in Greece from Turkey since March 20. Dutch migration minister Klaas Dijkhoff, who chaired the meeting, said: "Visa liberalisation has great advantages for the EU and third countries. Yet we need an emergency brake for all visa-free counties to make sure that visa liberalisation cannot be abused." To address concerns, the emergency brake provides more grounds for suspending the visa waiver, notably if a country fails to readmit people who left its territory but are not allowed to stay in Europe. Permanent monitoring would be put in place to ensure compliance and the respect of the original criteria sought by the EU for the visa-free travel - 72 conditions in Turkey's case. A suspension would also be much faster to put into action because the threshold for halting visa waivers would be lower, Mr Dijkhoff said. EU legislators must endorse the scheme for it to come into force. While the number of migrants arriving in the Greek islands has dropped significantly since the agreement between Turkey and the EU came into effect, the EU believes Ankara must do more. "There's still work to be done when it comes to processing people and giving them an individual assessment of their claim to asylum, and then getting people readmitted to Turkey," said Mr Dijkhoff. Under the migration agreement, the EU pledged to grant a visa waiver to Turkey by June 30, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected an EU demand to narrow the scope of Turkey's anti-terror laws to end crackdowns on journalists and dissenters. The baby girl was left in a car as temperatures soared A man has been charged with second-degree murder after his eight-month-old daughter died in his overheated car in Mississippi. Grenada Assistant Police Chief George Douglas said 25-year-old Joshua Blunt is being held in custody after his daughter Shania Caradine was found unconscious in the overheated car outside a restaurant where he worked on Thursday afternoon. Grenada County Deputy Coroner Jo Morman said the child was taken to a hospital but medics could not revive her. A post-mortem examination will take place in due course. Shania was the second child to die in a hot car in Mississippi this month. No charges have been filed in the previous case. Iraqi security forces have fired tear gas and gunshots in the air as hundreds of anti-government protesters stormed Baghdad's heavily secured Green Zone. Several demonstrators, mostly supporters of powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, were injured as the crowd rushed towards the prime minister's office and the parliament building. The violence prompted Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi to impose a curfew in the country's capital, but it was lifted just a few hours later. By evening, the protesters were cleared from the Green Zone compound. Earlier in the day, crowds of mostly young men gathered outside the Green Zone walls, with their numbers swelling into the thousands. This led security forces to push through the crowd on foot, firing volleys of tear gas in an effort to push people back from the gates. The violence quickly escalated. The protesters who made it into the Green Zone rushed towards the prime minister's office and the parliament building. Some posted jubilant photographs from inside the premier's office on social media. A reporter at the scene saw several protesters badly injured and one who was shot in the head. Ambulances weaved through the crowd to ferry away those hurt, and h ospital and police officials said five protesters were seriously injured. Al-Sadr released a statement condemning the government's use of force against unarmed protesters, saying he supports the "people's revolution". The violence came more than two weeks after the highly fortified compound was first breached by al-Sadr's supporters in April. Iraqi security forces at the time largely stood down, allowing protesters to scale walls and pull down concrete barriers. Mr Al-Abadi later replaced the head of the compound security. The initial breach followed repeated delays to proposed government reform legislation. Since then, Iraq's government has been gridlocked and the parliament unable to convene. Meanwhile, a string of deadly bombings has killed more than 200 over the past two weeks in and around Baghdad. The attacks, many claimed by the Islamic State group, follow territorial losses the Sunni militants have suffered at the hands of Iraqi forces backed by US-led coalition aircraft. On Thursday, Iraqi forces declared that the western town of Rutba was fully liberated after nearly two years of IS control. So, the British Government has backed down from breaking up the BBC. John Whittingdale, the Culture Secretary, who dubbed the licence fee worse than the poll tax, appears to have been overruled by the Prime Minister and the Chancellor. The BBC is surely the worlds best broadcasting organisation, as testified by its tally of trophies at the recent Baftas. Its news coverage, analysis and investigation is unparalleled, its documentaries and biographies have won numerous awards, its comprehensive coverage of music and the arts is second to none, and its comedies are often creative and adventurous. The BBC like the NHS is also a major source of national pride. Yet, the BBC is not perfect. Its sycophancy towards the monarchy is annoying, as is its bias towards the Christian religion. It also tends to rely excessively on authoritative opinion. Locally, too, while BBC1 Northern Ireland produces some excellent TV programmes, Radio Ulster suffers from the basic weakness of being a downmarket station that prefers pop to classical, business to philosophy and, worst of all, bear-pit political brawling to serious discussion and analysis. In short, Radio Ulster needs to become less like a philistine version of Radio 4. Why not be different and offer a regular slot for classical and world music? Come on, BBC Northern Ireland: if you seriously want to educate, inform and entertain the people, then start treating them with a little more maturity and respect. BRIAN McCLINTON Humanist Association of Northern Ireland If you go down to the woods today, you're in for a big surprise. If you go down to the woods today, you'd better be weapon-wise. For every bomb that ever there was, Will be uncovered from the dump because, Today's the day the dissidents had their gear nicked. The tune of the Teddy Bears' Picnic came to mind earlier this week when the PSNI praised two members of the public for stumbling across a significant haul of bombs, home-made rockets, landmines, ammunition and explosive material. Because the idea that two walkers out for a hike in Capanagh Forest, near Larne, stumbled across a hidden cache of New IRA weaponry in the woodland is as fantastical as a gathering of come-to-life teddy bears having tea and buns under the trees. Aside from the incredulous nature of the official version of how this terror arsenal was uncovered, there remains the fact that dissident republican organisations opposed to the power-sharing settlement at Stormont are still a potent, well-armed threat. The weapons the PSNI put on display contained enough components for dozens of bombs. There was also a sophisticated home-made rocket capable of piercing armoured vehicles, which suggests those who honed their technological skills building DIY devices, such as projected recoilless improvised grenades for the Provisional IRA during the Troubles, have transferred that know-how to the dissident republican cause. The Claymore anti-personnel mine is particularly frightening given the damage and carnage landmines have inflicted all around the world (the results of which this author saw first-hand in Lebanon during the 1990s). Yet, if - as seems significantly more likely - the unearthing of this latest arms dump was a result of human or technical intelligence, then it is clear that both the PSNI and Security Service MI5 have inside knowledge of the workings of the three main republican dissident terror groups. As even some of their former comrades (those less hostile to them than from within Sinn Fein) remind them: the State has its eyes and ears on anti-ceasefire republicans 24/7. The major technological advances in surveillance enables MI5 in particular to spy on and monitor these organisations on a round-the-clock basis. In fact, it has been argued before that MI5's presence at its regional headquarters at Holywood gives it the opportunity to test out its high-tech spying capabilities in the familiar "laboratory" that is Northern Ireland, and to use that experience to advance its skills in the secret war against the far more dangerous threat posed by Islamist terrorism. Then there is "humint", as it is known in intelligence circles, which to the rest of us means, basically, informers. No covert war against any underground, secret "army" can be waged successfully without placing or recruiting agents inside armed movements. Humint, in the long run, provides not only information, but also insight into the thinking of these groups - not only of a military, but also a political nature. Think of the successful way that the British (from their viewpoint anyway) both - often cynically - not only thwarted IRA operations, but also helped promote those operatives and commanders it had either recruited or compromised. George Larmour's new book about his policeman brother John's murder - and the handgun used to kill him - led him down some dark back alleyways of the secret war. One of the central allegations he has made in this newspaper is that his brother's murderers could have been caught because, at the time, RUC Special Branch had just recruited a "superspy" operating at a high level within the IRA's Belfast brigade. Larmour alleges that, instead of moving against the killers, the policy of Special Branch was to allow certain IRA operations to go ahead in order to establish the credibility of its informant within the Provisionals' structure in Belfast. In other words, for reasons of State, some people were sacrificed in order to promote valuable spies and agents up through the ranks. Another fascinating revelation in Larmour's book concerns the gun used to shoot his brother dead inside a south Belfast ice cream parlour. He raised the possibility that the police-issue Ruger revolver might have been taken from Michael Stone after mourners caught up with him during his murderous attack on the IRA Gibraltar Three funeral in 1988. That weapon may also be linked to the IRA killing of two Australian lawyers in The Netherlands mistaken for British soldiers. It ended up in Germany without proper forensic investigation into its past history in Northern Ireland. In terms of the organisation's access to arms, this raises the strange paradox that the IRA, which was at the time shipping in tonnes of heavy weapons from Libya, including anti-aircraft guns, flamethrowers and more, was lacking in handguns to carry out close-quarter murders in Belfast during the 1980s. Whichever paramilitary organisation secreted those rockets, mines and bomb-making equipment in an east Antrim forest, its members will be now engaged in a molehunt as opposed to a teddy bears' picnic. They will be involved in a forensic search of their own to find out who gave up the information and how this arsenal, buried in a predominantly unionist/loyalist part of Northern Ireland, was compromised. It is a setback both in terms of the loss of material and psychological confidence. It will also bolster the argument of dissidents republicans' critics that the so-called "armed struggle" is futile in the face of the State holding most of the technological and humint cards against them. Nonetheless, these groups still threaten peace and stability and, with Semtex at their disposal, have the ability to trigger major bombs here and possibly in Britain if they can get under the radar of MI5 and the PSNI. Around Easter a source close to one of the founders of dissident republicanism told this writer that following the IRA split that produced the Real IRA, a senior figure in the Provisionals went to the Irish Government and handed over the names of about a dozen prominent people who were going to form the hardcore of a new anti-Good Friday Agreement republican force. Given that some of the arms dumps under the control of the Provisional IRA - a few of which were raided of Semtex and other material to be transferred into new hides - you would wonder if other top Provisionals offered up information on these as well. Those who want to see more Capanagh Forest-style dumps uncovered might argue that, given their support for the PSNI and the Garda, senior mainstream republicans should come forward and reveal what they know about that network of secret hides - some of which never fell under the decommissioning process and might still contain more weaponry of war. Shutterstock.com The Bible does not prescribe an ideal form of government. Yet, for a long time, and to an exceptional degree among religious types in America, evangelicals have found in their national identity a convergence of first principles: They believe in constitutional democracy and they believe that their Bible-based religion is not only compatible with this system, but actually essential to it. The Bible museum under construction near the National Mall springs from this conviction. Its founder, Steve Green (who also founded Hobby Lobby), recently explained to The Washington Post that the $800 million structure will help to school the public on the biblical foundations of our nation. This concept is as axiomatic to many evangelicals as it is anathema to secularists. When evangelicals refer to America as a Christian nation, they venture more than just a demographic claim about the 1770s or an originalist argument about the intentions of the Founding Fathers. They maintain that modern democracy itself has theological moorings in the Bible. Sound as it may like a mythology of the New Right, the claim has long roots, predating even the American Revolution, and arguably playing a formative role in it. That is not to say that the claim is correct, but only that in order to scrutinize it, one needs to look beyond contemporary discussions of religion and politics and interrogate the Bible itself. So, where in the Bible do the foundations of modern democracy reside? Christians started embracing a pro-democratic reading of the Bible in the late sixteenth century. To do so, they rallied around the Old Testament book of I Samuel, and specifically to its account of a pivotal moment in Israels ancient history. In Chapter 8, the Israelites, who had by now lived in the Promised Land for centuries without an official monarchy, suddenly shifted gears and asked the prophet Samuel to appoint a king to judge us like all the nations. Samuel threw a fit, issuing a comprehensive warning against the idea he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots . . . he will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers but he eventually acceded to their demand, anointing Saul, a handsome and wealthy (if not especially cerebral) youth from the tribe of Benjamin. Saul seems handpicked to demonstrate the folly of monarchy. When the reader first meets him in Chapter 9, Saul is chasing his familys donkeys around Israel, traveling the equivalent of some 45 miles before giving up. The imagery is not subtle: Samuel is set to inaugurate the new regime by selecting a king who cannot locate his own ass on a map. But back to Chapter 8: In verse 7, God assures Samuel, they have not rejected you, but have rejected me from being king over them. This verse was an epiphany to Protestants living under abusive popes and monarchs, suggesting something fundamentally corrupt about monarchy and, by extension, something wholesome about a free society. Hence, a kind of Samuel thesis of democracy emerged early on in the Reformation. As Eric Nelson puts it in his book The Hebrew Republic, once early modern thinkers latched onto this interpretation, monarchy itself became a sin . . . everywhere and always the act of bowing down to flesh and blood instead of God. Protestant cognoscenti, from John Milton to the pulpiteers of the American Revolution, took to condemning the events of I Samuel 8 and to romanticizing the ancien regime that preceded what they named the Hebrew Republic. (We neednt get into it here, but modern democracy resembles what the ancients would have called republics, or representative systems). The linking of Christianity and democracy, in other words, really does have a substantive backdrop. However, the Samuel thesis has some major problems. We dont even have to leave the Old Testament to find them. Here are just four fallacies in the logic: 1. The Hebrew Bible also blesses the institution of monarchy. In an earlier passage of scripture, Chapter 17 of Deuteronomy, Moses tells the Israelites, When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me, you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. Moses warns the Israelites to limit the kings treasury and authority, but this approval still complicates the notion that monarchy is inherently idolatrous. 2. The Hebrew Republic was not actually a republic. The Bible refers to it as the era of the Judges. Israel was ruled by a series of warrior-prophets, who each rose to power on the basis of his (or, indeed, her) ability to amass armies against both internal and external threats. The lack of a permanent or consolidated power structure suggests a kind of limited government, but that fact neither reflected nor precipitated a durable era of peace and good faith among the people of God. They still engaged in repetitive cycles of idolatry and intertribal warfare, and experienced frequent bouts of disorder. 3. Israel really did need a regime change. Prior to Samuel, the Israelites suffered under the corruption of Eli and his sons, and Samuels tenure was marked by abuse as well: When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. . . . Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations. (I Samuel 8:1-5) To parachute into Samuels sanctimonious warning against kings in verses 11-18 is to ignore his own breach of public trust. The elders of Israel had a compelling grievance, not to mention misgivings about an ad hoc system that invited recurring patterns of corruption. The language they used to demand a king like all the nations explicitly echoes Deuteronomy 17, making loud and clear the scriptural basis of their request. Israels decision for monarchy comes as a rational and biblically grounded plea for change, not as some impetuous display of idolatry. To his listeners and especially to the victims of his familys corruption, Samuels lecture on monarchy would have lacked the barest credibility, like that of an exploitative factory owner warning against the perils of trade unions. Samuel neither takes responsibility for his sons behavior nor offers any reassurance about the future were Israel to back down from its demand. Samuel raises, at best, a diminished voice against the venality of kings. 4. The scriptures are inconclusive as to how Samuels prediction played out. The narrative makes no systematic effort to document the experience of monarchy from a populist perspective. The things that might have made life burdensome under kings the more frequent wars, the construction of the temple are also things that increased Israels security and geopolitical standing. Israel became a truly great nation in short order under its kings, even under King Saul the Pitiful. Thus the Samuel thesis, as empowering as it has been to Christian proponents of democracy, gets undermined even by the narrative logic of the Hebrew Scriptures. A larger exegetical lesson looms for modern political theology: The Bible does not offer a simple, categorical answer to the question of how to arrange authority in the city of man. Out of respect for scripture, American evangelicals would be prudent to concede this, even if it means also conceding a central trope of their cultural identity. Does this mean that devout readers of the Bible, evangelical or otherwise, should abandon the scriptures for political insight? Absolutely not. However, in the long arc of the Hebrew and Christian Bible, politics emerge as a highly circumstantial variable against the running subtext of Gods work in human history. Political theologies need to be constructed with attention to these individual contexts. By Benjamin Lynerd, as originally seen on OnFaith.com Bangladeshi investigators look over the body of doctor Sanaur Rahman after assailants hacked him to death in Kushtia, May 20, 2016. Less than 24 hours after Bangladesh police announced a bounty on six Islamic militants suspected in a string of recent killings, unknown assailants on Friday hacked to death a village doctor and seriously injured his friend, a university teacher. Police said Sanaur Rahman, 58, died from a machete attack similar to those which claimed the lives of secular bloggers, publishers, writers, gay rights activists and other minorities since February 2013. A statement by the Amaq News Agency of the Islamic State claimed that IS fighters in Bangladesh had killed the doctor, who had been called to Christianity, according to SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S. company that monitors extremist messaging. Bangladesh authorities have rejected such claims in the past, claiming that local militant groups are trying to add value to their names. The incident occurred in the southwestern district of Kushtia where police on May 15 arrested a member of the banned outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) on charges related to the April 25 hacking deaths of gay rights activist Xulhaz Mannan and actor Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy. Hours earlier, the government issued a red alert at all air and land ports, in a bid to prevent six suspected killers from leaving the country, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told reporters. He told BenarNews that Rahmans killers would be captured. The most recent killing raises the number of machete attack victims to 30 since the Feb. 15, 2013 killing of blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider the first victim of the ABT, according to the home ministry. A septuagenarian Buddhist monk was hacked to death on May 14 in southeastern Bandarban district. Free medical care Shahabuddin Chowdhury, the officer-in-charge of Kushtia police station, told BenarNews that Rahman, a folk music enthusiast and homeopathic doctor, and Saifuz Zaman, an assistant professor at the Islamic University in Kushtia, were attacked at mid-morning. Their motorcycle came under attack at around 9:45 a.m., Chowdhury said. He said police were not sure if the killing was in retaliation for the arrest of ABT member Shariful Islam Shihab. We are investigating the murder from all angles. What the local people have told us that Sanaur had a disagreement with some people over land ownership. Until the investigation is over, we cannot say whether he was murdered for his faith, Chowdhury said. Rahman had offered local people free medical care for years and arranged concerts at his village. Professor Habibur Rahman, a language teacher at the Islamic University, told BenarNews that his colleague Zaman had been involved in research at Indias Visva-Bharati University. He came back home from Visva-Bharat and joined our department about three months ago. Zaman developed a friendship with Sanaur Rahman, Habibur Rahman said. The bounty On Thursday evening, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) issued the alert on its official website asking people to help capture six alleged ABT members involved in previous killings. Police announced rewards of Tk 500,000 (U.S. $6,360) for information about the whereabouts of Shariful and Selim, and Tk 200,000 (U.S. $2,544) for leads on four other men identified as Sifat, Abdus Samad, Shihab and Sajjad. DMP claimed Shariful participated in the killing of Bangladeshi-American engineer and blogger Avijit Roy in February 2015, and Selim participated in the hacking death of Mannan and Tonoy last month. We have issued the alert as they are either the killers or the masterminds of the killings of the bloggers and others, spokesman Maruf Hasan Sarder told BenarNews. Avijit Roys father, Ajay Roy, expressed his frustration about his sons murder investigation. About a month ago, the DMP commissioner said three of the killers fled from Bangladesh. Now they declare bounty for six killers. I am not satisfied at all with the way the police have been investigating, he told BenarNews on Friday. Syed Mahfuzul Haque Marjan, a lecturer of criminology department at Dhaka University, told BenarNews that announcing the bounty and releasing photos might not lead to arrests. Members of the Jammu and Kashmir Teachers' Forum pose following a meeting about their campaign to keep students away from drugs, May 15, 2016. A group of teachers in Indian-administered Kashmir has kicked off an awareness campaign aimed at rehabilitating thousands who have taken to drugs in the midst of nearly three decades of insurgency in the conflict-torn Himalayan state. During a meeting earlier this week in Jammu and Kashmirs Kupwara district, the group vowed to spread awareness about the ill effects of drugs across the state and to identify addicts to provide counseling. A teacher can play an important role in spreading awareness about the ill-effects of drugs among students and make them stay away from the menace. In my opinion, a student will take a teachers advice more seriously than [that of] his father or guardian, Mohammad Amin Khan, a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Teachers Forum, told BenarNews. The state has more than 83,000 identified drug addicts, according to the Srinagar-based Drug De-addiction Center operated by the state police. Among the nearly 16,000 addicts undergoing treatment at the center, 1,800 are between the ages of 18 and 35. Research conducted by the government-run Psychiatric Disease Hospital in Srinagar last year, revealed that about 60,000, including an estimated 4,000 females between the ages of 18 and 35, were drug addicts. Hash, opium and heroin were the choice of drugs in the region for this age group. Khan said many Kashmiris were driven to drugs because of decades of instability and fighting in the disputed region, which is claimed in its entirety by India and Pakistan ever since the bitter partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947. Due to ongoing turbulence and political instability, the menace is fast spreading its tentacles and mostly Kashmiri youth are falling prey to it. It is high time teachers joined hands to fight against this social evil and contribute to combating this abuse that is destroying our youngsters, he said. Drugs smuggled across border Police said a large chunk of illegal substances are smuggled from across the border. In many cases, we found that banned substances are coming in from Pakistan. In a few cases, police established that the drugs were being manufactured near the Line of Control (LoC), Uttam Chand, north Kashmirs deputy inspector general of police, told BenarNews. In a statement released Wednesday, police said it had destroyed more than 137 acres (55.6 hectares) of poppy farms in the state this year alone. Poppy seeds are an important ingredient in the manufacture of and heroin. More than 380 people suspected of manufacturing and trafficking illegal substances have been arrested since February 2013, police said. The police [are] committed to fight the illicit manufacturing and trafficking of drugs in the state. We have tightened the noose against suppliers and peddlers to combat the menace, Chand said. But Shabir Ahmad, a member of the teachers forum, said it is the responsibility of all, not just police, to prevent the drug trafficking. Police alone cannot combat the social evil that is destroying the future of our youngsters. It is the collective responsibility of society, especially teachers and religious clerics, to play a role in doing away with the problem, Ahmad told a room full of teachers and academics at the forums last meeting. Nazir Ahmad, another member, told BenarNews that selected teachers will be tasked with identifying students who they believe may be addicted to drugs and convince those students to undergo counseling. Medical experts will also be engaged if needed to counsel or treat such students so their health is saved from getting ruined, he said, adding that, besides political instability, unemployment in the state was another major reason youths were falling prey to drugs. Thousands dead since 1980s insurgency Since the late 1980s, a separatist insurgency has claimed nearly 70,000 lives in Jammu and Kashmir. Mushtaq Margoob, a Srinagar-based psychiatrist, welcomed the program, but insisted that the greater responsibility lies with security forces to stop the flow of banned substances in the region. The latest move is encouraging indeed. We all need to play a part in defeating this menace, Margoob, who has authored a book titled Menace of Drug Abuse in Kashmir, told BenarNews. But we must realize the problem can be addressed effectively only when the availability of drugs is choked, he said. Law enforcing agencies, particularly the police, have to sincerely work to put a check on the sale of drugs and act tough against drug peddlers, he added. Lawyers for Malaysian Kho Jabing, Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss (left) and Alfred Dodwell (right), leave a courtroom in Singapore after a five-judge panel dismissed their appeal, May 20, 2016. Singapore hanged Kho Jabing of Sarawak, Malaysia, on Friday afternoon for killing a construction worker eight years ago, after a last-minute stay of execution was lifted. Rachel Zeng of the Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign confirmed that Koh, 32, was executed at 3:30 p.m. at the Changi Prison after meeting with his family. Kho had been granted the stay on Thursday night after his legal team filed an appeal. On Friday morning, a five-judge panel dismissed the appeal, clearing the way for the unusual afternoon execution. Singapore normally carries out capital punishment at dawn. This court should not be seen as a device to undermine the legal process. We cannot allow applications made at the eleventh hour, one after another, Judge of Appeal Chao Hick Tin said in dismissing the appeal Friday, according to reports. Khos family, who could not be reached for comment Friday, received a letter from the Singapore Prison Service last week stating the execution was scheduled for the morning of May 20. The execution brought a sudden end to a six-year legal saga that included a period in which Khos sentence was changed to life in prison. Six-year saga Kho was sentenced to die in 2010 after the Singapore High Court found him guilty of using a tree branch to kill construction worker Cao Ruyin during a robbery attempt in 2008. Cao, who died six days after being beaten, suffered multiple skull fractures. In August 2013, following revisions to Singapores mandatory death penalty laws, a court sentenced Kho to life and 24 strokes of the cane instead. The prosecution challenged the decision and the top court changed the sentence to death. Khos execution was stayed in November 2015 when his lawyers challenged the verdict. On April 5, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence. On May 13, Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem told BenarNews the state government had exhausted all efforts to persuade Singaporean authorities to grant Kho clemency. Condemnation Global rights group Amnesty International (AI) condemned the execution since it was mere hours after Khos last chance for a reprieve was dismissed. It is disgraceful that Kho Jabing was executed, particularly with such indecent haste, after his final appeal was denied this morning, AIs Deputy Director of South East Asia and Pacific Regional Office Josef Benedict said in a statement. AIs Malaysia chapter Executive Director Shamini Darshini said that Singapore had taken a step back toward the ranks of countries that use cruel and inhumane forms of punishment. He has variously [been] sentenced to death, re-sentenced to life imprisonment and caning, and sentenced to death once more. The ordeal Khos family had been put through for the past six years would have been puzzling and utterly cruel, she said. Singapore executed six people in 2014 and 2015 five for drug offenses and one for murder. The government did not release details on their nationalities. Malaysia has not abolished capital punishment and the government on Tuesday announced 1,041 prisoners are on death row. In November, Nancy Shukri of the Prime Ministers department of legal affairs, said the Malaysian government planned to submit a bill to abolish the mandatory death sentence for several crimes, particularly drug-related offenses and possession of firearms. A wildlife rescue team member climbs a tree to return the chick to its nest , May 17, 2016. [Nasueroh/BenarNews] Narathiwat authorities found a hornbill chick poached from the Budo mountain range when they raided a wildlife illegal trade shop, May 17, 2016. [Nasueroh/BenarNews] Thailand's Deep South is known for its rich assortment of hornbills, but populations of this spectacular and endangered species are declining as villagers clear forests for agriculture or poach chicks to sell for food or pets. Tourism authorities in Narathiwat province report that seven of 54 hornbill species worldwide are found in the Budo mountain range and Hala-bala wilderness in the southern tip of Thailand. Budo and Hala-bala are protected areas covering Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces. The region houses six national parks and two wildlife sanctuaries. A strong hornbill population is seen as an indicator of a vibrant wilderness area as the birds choose to live in a biodiverse region. Narathiwat police on May 17 raided an illegal wildlife shop in Yee-ngor district, rescuing several wild animals, including a hornbill chick, poached from Budo mountain range. Officials returned the chick and some of the other animals to the wild. ein Google-Unternehmen Google-Dienste anzubieten und zu betreiben Ausfalle zu prufen und Manahmen gegen Spam, Betrug und Missbrauch zu ergreifen Daten zu Zielgruppeninteraktionen und Websitestatistiken zu erheben. Mit den gewonnenen Informationen mochten wir verstehen, wie unsere Dienste verwendet werden, und die Qualitat dieser Dienste verbessern. neue Dienste zu entwickeln und zu verbessern Werbung auszuliefern und ihre Wirkung zu messen personalisierte Inhalte anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen personalisierte Werbung anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen Wenn Sie Alle ablehnen auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies nicht fur diese zusatzlichen Zwecke. 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The company's cancer genome diagnostic platform NEO will support pathologists and oncologists with comprehensive molecular information to help select targeted cancer therapies. NEO New Oncology is developing molecular profiling assays based on NGS (Next Generation Sequencing), both for tissue specimens and body liquids. This includes NEOliquid, a liquid biopsy test for the analysis of genomic profiles of solid tumors from a simple blood sample. NEO New Oncology's high quality 3rd generation hybrid capture technology allows for the analysis of circulating tumor DNA with high accuracy. The acquisition of NEO New Oncology provides Siemens Healthineers an entry point into NGS-based genomic testing and expands its capabilities in precision medicine and companion diagnostics. Furthermore, Siemens Healthineers establishes a business prospect in the field of molecular services, with the plan to provide testing and enablement services to physicians, hospitals and laboratories, including access to the latest medical knowledge and technologies. "Siemens Healthineers' mission is to be THE enabler of healthcare providers worldwide, working together with them as a trusted partner to improve medical outcomes and to reduce costs," says David Stein, head of Strategy and Innovation, Siemens Healthineers. "As part of this mission, we are focused on expanding our business in three fields: Molecular Diagnostics, Services and Advanced Therapies. NEO New Oncology aligned with these three fields by providing molecular diagnostics-based services and products that have the potential to guide diagnosis as well as therapy decisions in oncology. This acquisition allows us to enter this field, an area not covered by our current business, with state-of-the-art offerings." "The acquisition of NEO New Oncology will allow us to offer high-quality oncology tests and related services for physicians, hospitals and laboratories," says Sebastian Kronmueller, head of Molecular Services, Siemens Healthineers. "Covering both blood based and tissue based genomic tests, we will be able to provide clinically actionable results based on the latest scientific insights. We are already working with the NEO New Oncology team and strong partners in research to further broaden our Molecular Services portfolio and to extend our geographic reach by offering the tests in key global markets." "We are excited about being part of Siemens Healthineers," says Andreas Jenne, CEO of NEO New Oncology AG. "The global presence will help us to grow and expand into new markets. We want to develop new, integrated solutions for cancer diagnostics with Siemens Healthineers, expand our portfolio of tests and offer services that will help physicians to select the right therapy for their patients." NEO New Oncology AG was established in 2012 and has almost 30 employees. The acquisition of the Cologne-based company by Siemens Healthcare GmbH was closed in late March 2016. Many African countries are grappling with escalating unemployment figures. But in the meantime, the continent is home to an ever-increasing number of highly skilled, and highly motivated young people, who are raring to go. Image by 123RF Enter the continents tech startups looking to make freelance work an efficient and lucrative reality for Africas work-seekers. Here, Disrupt Africa showcases five of Africas freelancing startups that we will certainly be watching Kuhustle Kenyas Kuhustle claims to be the Freelancer for Africa; with chief operations officer Beverly Mbeke saying the startup has made important adaptations to the model to tailor the service to African markets. These modifications include a lower price-point, partnering with knowledge partners for technical skills, and providing training for users on the soft skills needed to deliver jobs. Funded by the Cheetah Fund and the Nailab incubator, Kuhustle is based in Kenya, but has already attracted developers and clients from Nigeria and Uganda; and says it is experiencing overwhelming growth. Asuqu Representing Nigeria on our list, Asuqu is hoping to tackle Africas unemployment challenge by enabling freelancers; with a belief that traditional recruitment is on the way out, to be taken over by outsourcing and project-based employment models. The platform places heightened importance on creating a strong profile and portfolio for listed professionals. Getting someone to work for you is about competence in todays workforce. How do you know someone is good? Portfolio. We have provided an online portfolio for our freelancers to showcase their works, a professional profile and a review system to get information from other customers about a freelancer before hiring is done, founder of Asuqu, RJ Musah says. Hooros South African startup Hooros launched in September last year, as an online marketplace aimed at disrupting the local freelancing market by connecting businesses with freelancers capable of executing on projects. While Hooros the name of which is derived from the Egyptian sky god Horus started life as a more traditional freelancing platform, with clients able to browse through profiles and portfolios of freelancers and hire individuals or teams depending on their project needs, last month Disrupt Africa reported the startup has pivoted to a new model. The startup has now begun vetting the developers, designers and copywriters that list themselves on the site. Users are no longer able to post profiles before the vetting process is complete. Hooros says the change has allowed it to provide a more efficient service to customers and has already boosted monetisation. Mintor Also from South Africa, Mintor is looking to disrupt the model adopted by freelancing platforms in order to make it accessible to students and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In many ways a freelancing platform much like Elance or Freelancer, Mintor is specifically tailored towards students on the supply side and SMEs on the demand side, and looks to marry the talent pool with businesses with needs in a mutually beneficial manner. In August 2015, the startup battled against three other startups at the #PitchVinny event held in Cape Town, and won, taking home US$4,000 in funding from angel investor Vinny Lingham. Crew Pencil South Africas Crew Pencil is todays wild card; with its platform connecting production companies with qualified crew members. The platform also automates the whole process of taking crew members on and managing shoots. Crew subscribed to the platform create and manage their own profile, listing all relevant information regarding designation, rate, contact details, CV, gear and showreel. Production companies are able to search and book crew whereby crew are notified via email regarding any pencils and confirmations. Crew and production companies communicate directly via a messaging system, while invoices are automatically generated by the platform. Crew can manage their own diaries on Crew Pencil, while production companies can manage their booking sheets. Crew Pencil launched a minimum viable product (MVP) in October last year, and has seen strong uptake, with over 420 crew and 120 production companies already using the platform. The startup is already planning rapid expansion on the continent and worldwide. BBC Connected Studio and the BBC World Service have selected two teams from Lagos to pilot digital innovations aimed at helping the BBC reach young African audiences. It is the latest stage of the BBC World Services activities in Africa, which has already seen pilots launched in Nairobi, Kenya and Cape Town, South Africa, as the BBC looks to increase its global reach to 500 million by 2020. A briefing session for 100 people was held in partnership with the Co-Creation Hub in Lagos in January, with teams briefed with reaching the growing mobile audience in Nigeria with innovative digital ideas. Workshops with digital experts were held to further help potential entrants, with submitted ideas scored and shortlisted by a judging panel. Two ideas have now been selected to be taken forward and built into pilots throughout the year. The teams are Codulab, a small company based in Lagos, and a collaborative team of Nigerian innovators, Team Timerail. Further details on the pilots will be announced later this year, but the selected ideas include innovation surrounding chat bots and connecting to audiences through instant messaging, as well as structured journalism and connected storytelling. It has been great to collaborate with technical innovators in Nigeria one of World Services most important markets. Having done hackathons in Kenya and South Africa in 2015 it was only natural for us to come to Nigeria, too, said BBC World Service group digital development editor and judging panellist, Dmitry Shishkin. This time we made extra effort to help with feedback and briefing for the event and were delighted by the great number of interesting submissions we received. Given the revolutionary changes mobile technology is bringing to Africa, the BBC is keen to be an integral part of this exciting journey. Rwanda will in October 2016 host the third Transform Africa Summit that will focus on developing 'smart cities'. Under the Smart Africa Initiative, Rwanda is spearheading the smart cities agenda. According to Dr Hamadoun Toure, the executive director of Smart Africa, the meeting will convene over 300 mayors of cities across Africa to showcase the components of a smart city. The smart cities initiative, which aims at leveraging technology solutions to improve efficiency of cities, has seen Rwanda roll out a number of developments such as WiFi in public areas, including public transport vehicles, as well as cashless payment systems in public transport. Currently, the initiative is backed by 11 African countries while more nations are expected to join. Toure told The New Times that the initiative will go on with efforts to bring more countries on board. The forthcoming Smart Africa summit will tackle the issue of developing smart cities on the continent. The initiative is on the verge of building partnerships with governments, academia, and private sector to increase its relevance in the ICT ecosystem. During the just-concluded World Economic Forum (#WEFAfrica)on Africa in Kigali, the Smart Africa Alliance entered into a partnership with Ericsson to meet the goal of developing a more connected and fully functioning knowledge-based society in Africa. As a result of the partnership, Ericsson will serve as a technical advisor and platinum private sector member collaborating with the Alliance to design blueprints supporting the implementation of the Smart Africa vision and plan. Toure said the agreement was a boost toward Smart Africa's aims as it would facilitate their work to create an enabling environment for the private sector as well as understand skills gap. "Since the inception of the Smart Africa Alliance, one of our main principles has centred on the critical need to create an enabling environment for private sector involvement. We realise that economic transformation must be driven by private companies focused on the use of ICT to increase access to markets and information for business," Toure said. Sharing skills For Ericsson, the partnership will be an opportunity to share skills and contribute positively to ICT growth in cities and countries. Fredrik Jejdling, the head of Ericsson in the sub-Saharan Africa region, said that they would be aiming at replicating the solutions pioneered in Rwanda, such as smart cities across the continent. "Our experience working on Smart Rwanda has provided an excellent platform to replicate and tailor similar solutions for other member states and governments. ICT will change cities, countries and industries and ultimately lead to a truly Networked Society in Africa," Jejdling said. The Smart Africa initiative last month set out to reduce call rates among member countries by implementing the One Africa Network Participating countries to date are: Ivory Coast, Gabon, Kenya, Mali, Uganda, Senegal, South Sudan, Chad, Rwanda and Burkina Faso. The UK NHS Blood and Transplant has launched a new digital OOH campaign in the UK, which uses innovative augmented reality technology to encourage the public to offer a virtual blood donation via an iPhone. The campaign, one of the winners of Ocean Outdoors annual digital out of home competition, was produced by UK creative agency 23red, using Cape Town based digital agency, Jolly Good Digital, on the augmented reality. Virtual Blood Donation uses an AR app, which is connected to an image on the large format screens featuring an empty blood bag and an ill patient. Visual recognition is used to detect a sticker on a participants arm which then overlays an AR needle, plaster and tube onto the participants arm. This triggers the blood bag on the screen to fill up and the virtual donor can watch as the image of the sick patient gradually returns to health. It is the first time that an augmented reality app has been used to trigger animation on Ocean Outdoors large format screens. The app is hosted on Oceans high-speed wifi network. 23red founding partner and creative director, Sean Kinmont, said, This innovative use of media and technology brings to life the power of a blood donation and shows donors and potential donors how their gift of blood can save and improve lives. Ocean Outdoor head of marketing, Helen Beacham said, The use of an augmented reality app via the phone for donation is superb. The creative mechanism of filling up the bag on the big out of home screen is simple and powerful. The NHS Blood and Transplant digital out of home campaign is amplified through online and social activity including a Canvas advert for Facebook, sponsored posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and organic social activity. Experiential activity will support the campaign with advisors at both out of home locations signposting members of the public on how to register and become a blood donor. To view, click here Today, 20 May, marks the 143rd birthday of the Levi's 501 button-fly. To celebrate the milestone of that red-tagged fashion favourite, members of the South African media were recently invited on an exclusive factory tour and screening of the new global documentary unstitching its history. Kicking off at Levis new offices on the 17th floor of the FNB Portside building in Cape Town, where theyve happily settled in over the past month, having been based just a few blocks away before we admired the amazing views of the city, wondering how the team ever gets any work done. But work they do, as was explained to those of us lucky enough to share this once-in-a-lifetime experience with the brand that brought us the blue jean. Thats right, every pair of blue jeans out there today is ultimately a copy of the original Levis 501. Thats why its seen as the most iconic piece of clothing in the world today, with all-round excellent fashion designer Tom Ford going so far as stating: I wish I invented the 501, and Time magazine naming the 501 the fashion item of the 20th century in the year 2000. {Stone)washed away by brand love Now, 16 years on from that headline, were saluting 143 years of the 501, with up to half of the global population at any given time wearing a pair of jeans in over 110 countries, and fans sharing their personal love-love relationship stories with this darling of denim simply everywhere. This may seem like a bit of a stretch, but just skim through the stories that litter the #weareoriginal campaign on social media and youll feel (stone)washed away by brand love. The reason? This is one fashion item that celebrates both authenticity as well as personal style as its just so customisable. Levi Strauss circa 1890. Copper rivet The oldest jeans. Miner trade card Sales flyer. Cowboy advertisement. Pocket flasher. Levis South Africa merchandise director Oliver Pywell let us preview the now-launched global documentary The 501 jean: Stories of an original, celebrating the brands heritage. It highlights the birth of the Levis 501 back in 1873 in the US, based on a basic need for tough pants with rivets at points of strain, to suit hard-labouring coal miners and cowboys alike. The number 501 was assigned to the lot of those now world-famous copper riveted-waist overalls. Through the ages, with the addition of belt loops in the 1920s; trademarked back-pocket stitching in the 1940s; and Steve Jobs 1980s staple uniform of black turtleneck, Levi's 501 jeans and grey New Balance sneakers; it has become both a style icon and the pinnacle of rebellion in its own right. Along the way its been everything from a uniform of progress to the ultimate in symbolism, freedom and style with a strong association with music. Now, the Levis 501 alone has 28 different fit variations.* Watch the one-minute trailer embedded below to get an idea of the richness of storytelling stitched into the documentary: What stood out for me is that Levis remains relevant to the youth as they do what so few brands make time for today they listen to what their fans want. Rebellions and uprising, typically associated with millennials, are part of the ethos of the brand and tie in to its belief of not chasing stories or trying to be something you're not, just be your true self. Riveted by rivets: Exclusive behind-the-scenes factory tour The product has become so pervasive that when you put on your denims in the morning, you don't really think about it. Its comfortable, stylish and a no-brainer. Thats why its a true eye-opener to get to walk around the Levis factory in Epping just 20 minutes drive from the Levis Portside building offices which opened in 1995 as an owned-and-operated factory. Fast-forward to 2016 and its one of the last two factories the global group still owns and operates itself, with the other based in Poland. Its a working factory so usually closed to the public. Interestingly, youll only find jeans in all stages of production here, from production to wash and finish all other Levis items are manufactured elsewhere and imported for the local market, sold at the 15 Levis stores dotted across the country and seen as a gateway to the rest of the continent. All factory images ANDPEOPLE. And what a factory it is. We were warned before entering that its hot and loud in there, with ear plugs compulsory for the 400-strong factory workers. Theres just so much to hear and see and feel, some of it doesnt register. For example, did you know some pairs of Levis have the moustache on the front custom-designed in Photoshop and then lasered on in full in just 45 seconds, while other pairs have theirs hand-scraped with a precision sandpaper-like tool? Whats clear from our special guided tour is that Levis is proud of the way they produce these products right here in South Africa, with a focus on sustainability and progress for people and the planet alike through lowered use of energy and water reduction. The factory produces about one million products a year, with 80% of all fabric used in its production process sourced from Africa. And while Levi Strauss himself started the company's philanthropic focus, it has zipped along in leaps and bounds since then to incorporate community investment and philanthropic thinking and acting around the environment, such as with their recent water ambassador training programme and a strong focus on HIV/Aids and workers rights. Thats retail with its heart in the right place. Click here to view a cultural timeline PDF of Levis 501s from the 1890s to now, here for more on Levis local CSI spirit and follow the #weareoriginal campaign on social media. *Historical photo captions: #1: Levi Strauss, c1890 Levi and his family left Bavaria in 1848 and moved to New York. In 1872 he got a letter from Reno, Nevada tailor Jacob Davis who made a business proposition: he had invented a way to make work pants stronger by using rivets, and he needed a business partner to get a patent and manufacture the pants. Levi agreed. #2: Rivet The copper rivet was used to reinforce the pocket corners and other points of strain on the first jeans, which were made from denim. #3: Miner trade card The pants were made for the working men of the American West, such as miners and other laborers. This trade card was made around 1899 as a gift with purchase, collected and pasted into scrapbooks. #4: The oldest jeans The first jeansknown as waist overalls or overalls--had only one back pocket; the second was added in 1901. These first jeans also had a strap and buckle on the back in the days before belts were used, and also had buttons for braces or suspenders. #5: Sales flyer These flyers, which demonstrated the many products made by Levi Strauss & Co. and the many consumers who wore them, were given to retailers by company salesmen. This one dates to about 1899. #6: Cowboy advertisement This wooden cowboy was attached to an extra long pair of jeans and a set of painted wooden boots, given to retailers as a striking display piece in the 1950s. #7: Pocket flasher The Arcuate stitching design has been on the back pockets of the 501 jeans since 1873, but during World War II, the U.S. government wouldnt allow the company to use it, because it was a decorative use of thread, essential for the war effort. So the company painted the Arcuate stitching on every pair, and included a special pocket flasher to explain that For the Duration of the war, the consumer would only see the paint, and not the stitching. Visitors to Decorex Cape Town, which took place recently at the CCITC, witnessed a line-up of creative inspiration and a variety of interactive installations, under the show theme: Take It Home, Make It Home. In addition to the showcase of the latest products and services from the decor and design fraternities, Decorex Cape Town also laid on a number of unique platforms to give visitors a taste of the very latest decor, design and lifestyle trends. Among these was the Designer Spotlight showcase, which, this year, was awarded to Adriaan Lochner in association with Home Fabrics. The Salt River-based designer put his trademark 'transitional-eclectic' design style to work in an elegant, timeless installation decorated in the very latest materials and wallpapers from fabric house Home Fabrics. At the Plascon stand visitors got their first look at the Plascon 2016 Colour Forecast. The paint giant, which has sponsored the show since its inception 23 years ago, uses Decorex as its annual showcase for the colour trends of the forthcoming season. Caesarstone, co-headline sponsor, launched its all-new stand, themed Collaborations, which featured several prominent collaborations the brand has initiated with top design brands. Local male celebrities The Top Man showcase had four local male celebrities paired with a prominent designer, who then interpreted the formers unique style in the ultimate men only room setting. Public and corporate proceeds from this installation went to the charity of the celebritys choosing, with visitors invited to vote for their favourite Top Man and one visitor winning Natural Stone Warehouse tiles to the value of R30,000. For the second year running, four of Cape Towns top kitchen companies took part in the Franke Heart of the Home Kitchen Design Project. These refined culinary zones, by Gardner Interior Concepts, Holly Wood Kitchens & Furniture, Milestone Kitchens and Beyond Kitchens showcased visionary kitchen design and materials. The Cape Town show also boasted a number of firsts, including The Considered Home, an exclusively curated space, which showcased all the elements that make up the now-trending look for interiors. Meanwhile, with concept and colours drawn from the rhythm and beauty of the Mother Continent, the Africa-inspired Trend Pods showcased the design genius of its awarded decorators, Nicky Tyers of Lion & Tyers and Dorothy vant Riet of DVR Design & Decor Consultants, who both used their allocated spaces to display their own unique interpretations of a theme that is reassuringly close to home. Picture Africa, at the 100% Textile pavilion, was another showcase for contemporary design with a unique African perspective. Giving visitors an evocative taste of whats to come at 100% Design South Africa, which runs alongside Decorex Joburg 2016, this installation celebrated the relationship between photography and textiles, exploring the union of these two powerful mediums and the impact they have on design in Africa. Visitors were treated to an amalgamation of the joyous, clashing and colourful textiles of the Mother Continent and the vibrant street and studio photography that encapsulates the spirit and energy of contemporary African life. Decor & DIY Theatre In addition to the above, the Cape Town show included the Decor & DIY Theatre, a series of talks and interactive advice-sharing platforms that served to arm visitors with an arsenal of fresh decorating know-how. There was also plenty on offer for those seeking vibrant shopping of all things artisanal. The Craft + Create Market presented a colourful collection of uniquely exclusive, handcrafted lifestyle products, which, for the first time, included a Makers Corner Hosted By SA Maker Collective, a fun, hands-on experience that encouraged visitors to upgrade from consumer to maker. New to Decorex Cape Town this year and a highlight for industry professionals was InStudio, a day of design talks on interior trends, commercial design and creative business. This free-flow forum exchanging fresh insights, trend observations and creative business ideas brought together a line-up of outstanding design minds, including Cathy OClery, Lauren Shantall, Leon Roodt, Nadia van der Mescht, and Quinton Abrahams. A group of the countrys leading decor and design experts undertook the challenging task of judging the most successful stands at this years exhibition. The prestigious Best Stand Awards were awarded to: Best Overall Stand: Neolith; Best Build And Plan Award: Palmers Exclusive Metals; Best Kitchen And Bathroom Award: Spotlight Kitchens; The Top Man Award: Warisan for Expresso presenter Katlego Maboe; Best Small Stand Award: The Cecil Blake Collective; The Best Plascon Colour Award: The Designer Spotlight in association with Adriaan Lochner and Home Fabrics; The Most Innovative Product Award: Milestone Kitchens; Best Newcomer Award: Tony Pinchuck; Most Interactive Stand Award: Mr Price Home; Best Craft And Create Award: Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal; Best Cooking And Cuisine Award: Spaza Store; Best Green Stand Award: All Women Recycling; Best Exhibitor Marketing Award: Window Art; Best Decor Stand Award: The Considered Home in association with the GoodWood Co; and Franke HEART Of The Home Kitchen Design Project Award: Hollywood Kitchens. The judges also gave Excellence awards to a number of other high-end exhibitors, credited with setting the scene for trend-forward South Africans. These were: Mr. Price Home, Caesarstone, The Kitchen Studio, Holly Wood Kitchens, Studio Masson, Plascon, Maes Artisan Rugs,The Designer Spotlight by Adriaan Lochner and Home Fabrics, Plantation Shutters, Pierre Cronje in conjunction with Dorothy vant Riet, Skinny Laminx in the 100% Textile Display, Sithabe African Craft, World of Marble and Granite, Belgotex and Franke. The 'Africa rising' narrative has resulted in several South African grocery retailers seeking to expand across the continent - in part to seize the opportunities presented by the 'last frontier', but also to reduce reliance on challenging market conditions at home. Many have learned along the way that doing business in Africa poses significant challenges, however. What can grocery retailers learn from those who have ventured north to set up (and sometimes close) shop in fast-growing markets elsewhere on the continent? Guy Lundy, a trends analyst and strategy consultant specialising in the retail and consumer sector across Africa, says there are several lessons to be learned from the trailblazers who have established businesses in African countries over the last few years: Source local products as far as possible: Governments across Africa are becoming increasingly strict about the import of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). Retailers need to source from local producers, or at least have a clear plan setting out how this will be achieved, said Lundy. He cites an example of a large South African retailer that initially imported the vast majority of products sold at its venture in Zambia a few years ago, but is now importing well under half of its offering; Employ local staff where you can: The same goes for staff African governments are becoming hesitant to extend visas to expats without a specific plan from the retail company to up-skill local talent. So, by all means bring in your expat team to get the show on the road, but then be prepared to hand over the reins to trained local managers who know the home market inside out, he said; Go Africa lite and start close to home: A number of South African retailers started their expansion drives in neighbouring countries, such as Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, before venturing further afield on the continent. These countries have markets similar to that of South Africa, and their geographic proximity makes them less risky than Nigeria or Kenya, for example. After learning the ropes in these countries, many companies do then set up shop in one or more of the regional hubs of Africa Kenya in the east, Nigeria or Ghana in the west, and Egypt, Morocco or even Dubai in the north.; Be very selective about the countries you choose for expansion: A countrys market may look great on paper with a burgeoning population and growing income but navigating this market may be fraught with difficulties. Angola and the DRC are notoriously challenging in terms of establishing a business, for example, Lundy said. Aspects to consider include language barriers, banking systems, and corruption levels; and Do your homework before choosing a local partner: In many African countries, such as Zimbabwe, partnering a local company is the only way of establishing a retail business in that country. It is also often the most desirable option, as the local partner knows its home market and understands the nuances of the local environment. However, things could go awry if the local partner does not perform to expectation, which could damage your brand. One major South African FMGC retailer that has been at the forefront of the Africa expansion story is Pick n Pay. The company now has stores in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique, Mauritius, Swaziland, and Lesotho. Additionally, Pick n Pay owns a 49% share of a Zimbabwean supermarket business, TM Supermarkets. Pick n Pay has adopted a systematic approach to expanding into countries adjacent to South Africa. Gareth Ackerman, chairman of Pick n Pay Stores, and co-chair of the Consumer Goods Forum, said: We have followed a deliberate, unhurried and well-planned strategy in Africa outside South Africa. We see good upside potential in this market and for us Africa is definitely a second engine for growth. Growth spots for grocery retailers Lundy said that Mauritius, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Nigeria and Ghana have become growth spots for grocery retailers in Africa. These countries have fast-growing populations and growing gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Infrastructure remains a challenge, however, and multinational retailers are increasingly joining forces with property developers and financial services organisations to address these issues. A major South African retailer recently partnered a property group to build 10 malls in Nigeria, for example, with the retailer as the anchor tenant in each. So South African grocery retailers moving into Africa are not only making use of opportunities in these developing markets they are also assisting in the growth of these markets, paving the way and making the ride smoother for other companies still considering their entry into these up-and-coming markets, Lundy concluded. The local and global issues affecting both grocery retailers and manufacturers will be cast under the spotlight at this years Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit, to be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 15 to 17 June, 2016. Scores of CEOs of both global and local FMCG companies will join the Global Summit the first of its kind on the African continent to debate issues such as sustainability, food safety and security, and global environmental practices. The Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit is expected to draw more than 800 delegates from over 365 companies in 40 countries. The co-chair of The Consumer Goods Forum and chairman of Pick n Pay Stores, Gareth Ackerman, will host the CEOs from the worlds most influential consumer and retail brands, such as Alibaba, Facebook, Walmart, Sainsburys, Nestle, McCain and Pepsico, at the event. Manufacturers, retailers and service providers within the consumer goods industry who wish to attend this years Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit can register here to attend. Read more at www.theconsumergoodsforum.com and www.tcgfsummit.com. A while back, South Africans reeled in shock when a rand figure of trillions was mentioned in the same breath as nuclear power. Whether it was the astronomical amount of money, the atomic fear factor, or even the subsequent hype in the media, the government appears to have toned down its nuclear-build aspirations. South Africa's only existing nuclear power station, Koeberg, north of Cape Town. Peter Titmuss 123RF.com It seems the mega nuclear power plant that was speculated about a few months ago has been shelved, in favour of other options. A programme similar to the French fleet system, or reverting to the pebble-bed option mooted in the past, were mentioned by several speakers at African Utility Week (AUW). At the one-day Nuclear Power Africa event, a sidebar to AUW, one of the panel discussions focused on, among other things, the cost of funding and financing of a new-build project. The investment case for nuclear The moderator, Anurag Gupta, director: global sector head for power, KPMG, said, The investment case for nuclear is tough, and lots of things have to fall into place regarding funding and financing. This includes the size and complexity of the project, licencing, planning, decommissioning and political risk. Its also difficult to attract investors for a one-plant project, they would rather look at a programme. In many instances, its not just building the plant that needs to be considered, but also the supporting infrastructure such as ports and roads. The role of government is also critical, and cross-party political support gives investors confidence. He went on to explain the difference between funding and financing. The former refers to who will pay for the electricity cost recovery, whether the market will support the long-term electricity price and revenue. While financing applies to how the developers go about raising money. Global overview No nuclear-build project is the same, and they depend on a mix of technological choices, jurisdiction and outcomes, said Irina Manina, project director, Rosatom, Russia. From an international perspective of the 87 nuclear projects instigated since 1995, 17 were commissioned by Rosatom. There needs to be the right planning from the very beginning and the country has to be new-build ready in terms of its legislation, which needs to be standardised to meet global safety regulations, she explained. Local perspective Whatever the technology, the powers-that-be have assigned 9,600MW to nuclear in the countrys energy mix, which has raised the question whether we need that much additional power. Dr Anthonie Cilliers, programme manager, nuclear engineering, North-West University, said the discussion shouldnt revolve around whether South Africa needs 9,600MW. The moment you think you dont really need it, you create uncertainty among potential investors. We need to look at what 9,600MW will do for our GDP and economic growth. This project could be real investment in South Africa, and one of the requirements will be local skills development." A request for proposal is out to see what the costs are. If it turns out to be too expensive well make another plan. Only then can we look at financing and funding, he said. As of 1 March 2016, the tax laws around retirement fund contributions have changed significantly, with the main changes affecting how much employees can contribute and deduct from their taxable income. Romeo Msipha, Senior Consultant of Old Mutual Corporate Consultants These changes enable most employees, who are members of a company retirement fund, to make bigger tax deductible contributions into their fund every month, which will ultimately boost their retirement savings. Romeo Msipha, senior consultant at Old Mutual Corporate Consultants, says, Employers should make it as easy as possible for employees to take advantage of this opportunity in order to maximise their retirement outcomes. Employers contributions to employees retirement funds will now be taxed as a fringe benefit. However, employee members do not need to be overly concerned about this because the taxman now views these employer contributions, as employee contributions, for the purposes of claiming deductions. Employees contributions are now tax deductible up to a maximum of 27.5% of the greater of taxable income or remuneration, with a maximum fund contribution of R350,000. For most employee members of pension and provident funds, the fringe benefit inclusion in respect of employer contributions is more than offset by the newly increased deductions claimable by these members. Example Where the employer contributes 10% and the employee member contributes 7.5% of pensionable salary; this amount is now seen to have been contributed by the employee member. The maximum contribution deduction from 1 March 2016 is 27.5%, therefore, the member is able to claim the full 17.5% (10% employer contribution + 7.5% employee member contribution) as a deduction. This offsets the fringe benefit inclusion. Assuming the member makes no other contributions to any other retirement fund, the member may contribute a further 10% to the pension fund and still enjoy a deduction (17.5% + 10% = the maximum yearly limit of 27.5%). Six steps to achieve maximum outcomes Making it easy for employees to contribute more towards their retirement savings is one of the best ways an employer can help their employees save more towards their retirement in the most tax efficient manner. To achieve maximum retirement outcomes, employers can offer employees the opportunity to change the amount of money that they can contribute towards their retirement funding through six simple steps. Assess current minimum contribution Assess the current compulsory minimum contribution and look at the total contribution of both the employee and employer. Consider whether this minimum contribution will realistically ensure the majority of employees will be saving enough to enjoy a comfortable retirement. Fund members should invest a minimum of 15% of their monthly income over their working lifetime from the age of 25. This amount will however vary depending on each persons personal circumstances and the age they started saving for retirement. Define a flexible contribution scale that works for the business and its employees Choose a range of contributions that allows employees the flexibility to contribute more to their fund, without it becoming an administrative challenge for the HR department. To do this, choose manageable contribution increments (for example 2.5%) to prevent too wide a spread of options. The maximum total contribution should be more than the tax-deductible amount of 27.5% of income because members close to retirement may find this attractive, as they will be able to deduct any un-deducted amounts when they access their retirement benefits. In this regard, these un-deducted contributions will firstly be applied to reduce the taxable amount of any lump sum accessed and thereafter be applied to any compulsory annuity income received by the member. Negotiate and update employment contracts Have conversations with your employees that centre on the value of the new, flexible contribution structure and the way it allows them to take advantage of the new increased tax deductions to contribute more and grow their retirement savings. If the minimum contribution rate is going to be increased, employers should be sensitive to the possible impact on the take-home pay of some employees. If the previous contributions were part of employment contracts, these will need to be amended. In addition, the new higher contributions rates may only be implemented for new employees and are voluntary for existing employees to ensure smooth implementation. Find out if changes need to be made to the fund rules Employers need to confirm if the Master Rules of their retirement fund make provision for additional voluntary contributions. This will remove the need to make any changes to their Master Rules or Special Rules. Partner with employees to help them make the right choices There are a few ways to make this process easier for employees: Give employees easy-to-understand guidelines on the contribution rates that would lead to a comfortable retirement. This could include face-to-face workshops and presentations so members understand the impact of contributing more. Use triggers to prompt them to take the right actions. This could involve reminders about the value of increasing their contributions accompanying their benefit statements or increases or bonuses. Make sure every employee fully understands the default contribution rate and that they will be paying that minimum if they do not specifically choose another rate. Make it easy for employees to communicate with HR or payroll about how much they want to contribute. Also, ensure that they know when they can change this rate and the frequency. Give employees easy access to financial advice, through workplace advisers or consultants. Adjust the contributions on monthly payroll submission Employers will need to adjust their monthly payroll file submission to their pension or provident fund administrator, so that this includes any additional contributions chosen by the employees. In May 2014, the accounting standards setting authorities released IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers (IFRS 15) - a new standard on revenue recognition which is effective for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018. Pierre Conradie, partner, KPMG IFRS 15 brings together in one standard the core principles for revenue recognition across all sectors. Publishing a new standard on revenue recognition is a major achievement for the standard setters, but for companies, especially those in the property sector, the real work is just beginning. The new requirements will affect companies in different ways and those engaged in major projects in South Africa - such as telecoms, public utilities, engineering, construction and real estate industries - could see significant changes to the timing of revenue. Although earlier concerns that revenue may be delayed until practical completion of a contract or that a single contract may be broken down into many small accounting units have been largely addressed, the devil is nevertheless in the detail. The new standard introduces many new concepts for revenue and cost recognition with companies required to carefully examine the key areas of potential change by considering the life cycle of a typical construction contract. Most notable change for construction The most notable change for construction contracts is that progressive profit recognition will only be permitted where the enforceable contractual rights and obligations satisfy certain criteria. There is no longer an automatic right to recognise revenue on a progressive basis for construction contracts. In addition, the standard does not prescribe how to account for foreseeable contract losses and this could have an impact on how loss-making projects are recognised and measured. Most importantly, while the effective date of IFRS 15, 1 January 2018, may seem a long way off, one key decision needs to be made early how to transition to the new standard. It is critical to make your decisions early in order to develop an effective and efficient implementation plan. However, making those decisions may not be so straight forward and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The standard offers a range of transition options and senior management needs to carefully consider the possible significant effects on revenue and cost trends in the financial statements. In addition, to identify the optimal approach, management must consider broader business issues from IT implementation plans and taxation to communication with stakeholders. The best approach to these complex issues is for senior management to consider a set of core issues that will be relevant to their business, to take early decisions and implement efficient transition plans. This will ensure that one of the most important financial reporting metrics revenue remains a robust and reliable reflection of the companys performance. Compliance with the South African laws and regulations is directly linked to a business's reputation and companies need policies in place to ensure adherence by employees, clients and suppliers. Organisations that do not adhere to certain standards, regulations and legislation, which have been put in place by the country and/or industry in which it operates, can have reputational, financial or audit implications, says Ina van der Merwe, director and CEO of background screening market leader, Managed Integrity Evaluation (MIE). Business leaders should put corresponding policies in place to hold employees, clients and suppliers accountable in the event of non-compliance with laws, regulations and ethical standards. Having these policies in place is an important strategic link for an organisation to realise its vision and be compliant with the countrys employment and privacy laws. Certain policies can also be developed in response to unethical, but common, behaviours such as fraud, corruption and bribery. Implementing these types of policies set a clear standard for an organisation. It also shows employees, clients and suppliers that the company is transparent and above board. POPI Act compliance Relevant laws in this regard include the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI) and the National Credit Act. The purpose of the POPI Act is to ensure that peoples privacy is protected and that all South African organisations collect and store the personal information of consumers in a responsible manner. This means that businesses need to take a hard look at how they store and manage their data, as they are compelled to comply with strict measures and guidelines that will safeguard the processing, usage and handling of personal information, as well as how they obtain and use this information. This includes employee and customer cellphone numbers, ID numbers, personal addresses and banking details. National Credit Act access requires consent Another consideration businesses ought to keep in mind is the National Credit Act Amendment (NCAA), which promotes a non-discriminatory, transparent, resourceful and accessible credit market. It is important to note that employers and staffing organisations can only assess a candidate or employees credit record if the candidates prospective position meets certain criteria. Firstly, the request for credit information needs to relate to a position which requires honesty in the handling of cash or finances. This requirement should be included in the candidates job description. Another major factor impacting compliance in this regard is to acquire specific and informed consent from the candidate before the request is made. This criterion has been put in place so that compliant businesses can still access the credit information for those who work in a position or industry at high risk for financial mismanagement. Anti-corruption policies needed Often overlooked by businesses, a policy which is becoming increasingly important for companies to adopt is an anti-corruption, anti-bribery or fair practice policy. This is surprising considering the increase in corruption scandals in South Africa over the past ten years which have a debilitating financial and reputational impact on the organisations involved. A vital component of an anti-corruption policy is to have clear guidelines on how to report corruption and how the company will respond to such behaviour. Employees who report corruption, which is often the case, should also be kept anonymous in order to lessen fear of intimidation. Recent research by EY (Ernst & Young), Fraud and corruption the easy option for growth? Europe, Middle East, India and Africa Fraud Survey 2015, found that while more than half of all respondents believe that bribery and corruption is widespread in their country, 42% noted that either their company does not have an anti-bribery policy in place or they didnt know if their company had one. Business leaders have more resources available to them to combat corruption than ever before with technology introduced to the market, which is able to flag potentially corrupt relationships and conflicts of interest between vendors and employees during the procurement process. Identifying potential cases of corruption before they happen can assist businesses in mitigating both financial losses and reputational risk. The unfortunate reality that often emerges is that the very people who are tasked with overseeing the procurement process may very well be involved in procurement fraud themselves. MIE is fully compliant in terms of the above laws and regulations and only conducts background checks on employees who fit the required criteria and who have given their consent. In an evolving business environment which requires regulation to protect companies and their employees, organisations should take note of which policies their current operations may require, van der Merwe concludes. Property industry veteran Frank Berkeley says while SA offers the best real estate investment opportunities in Africa, investors need to focus on funds that have strong property fundamentals amid difficult market conditions. Many South African investors have chosen offshore property stocks over local stocks during the past 18 months, as they seek hedges against a weak rand, and are also attracted to companies operating in faster growing economies than SA. Berkeley was the keynote speaker at a real estate industry update presentation held by advisory and auditor firm KPMG on Wednesday, 18 May. He is recently retired, having spent more than 30 years in real estate. "If I think of African property markets, SA is currently the best and safest bet. While people may worry about policy certainty, corruption, and political stability, SA is actually quite stable. "Our financial systems are reliable, we can get money in and out of the country and so on. So, while there are opportunities elsewhere in Africa ... right now I feel there are many opportunities in SA," he said. Berkeley said there was strong demand for residential assets in Cape Town that offered one such opportunity. "More people are moving to Cape Town than ever before. There have been spikes in the number of people looking to retire there and also student accommodation is in tremendous demand. "Residential property has become a popular investment for listed funds and I can see a lot of activity happening in Cape Town," he said. Berkeley said, however, investors needed to be circumspect when it came to choosing South African property stocks. This was because some stocks were far overvalued relative to others. "We've found that yields are too close for many property firms, as investors have not looked enough at the underlying assets and quality of the management at various funds and then valued stocks inaccurately," he said. Berkeley said a number of funds were looking overseas for opportunities, but they did not necessarily know enough about those markets. In a separate interview, Arrowhead Properties chief financial officer Imraan Suleman said investors needed to note that many offshore deals would initially be earnings accretive for South African funds, but the funds would then have to look for more acquisitions to keep up their enhanced distribution payouts. Source: Business Day SA's bulk export volumes rose 6.2% year on year (y/y) in April to the second-highest monthly total to date of 16.2-million tons (Mt), data from the Transnet National Ports Authority showed on Thursday. The record monthly tonnage of 16.4 Mt was achieved in January 2015. Christophe Badoux via Wikimedia Commons - Port of Durban The April y/y increase was the first y/y rise in 2016 after declines of 11.7%, 15.7% and 12.2% in March, February, and January respectively. This followed a 7.3% increase in 2015 to a record annual tonnage of 168 Mt. Bulk exports out of Richards Bay, which is mostly coal, jumped 19.3% y/y in April to 8.6 Mt after growing 8.2% in 2015 to 93 Mt. As Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) no longer releases operational statistics, economists are finding it more difficult to track economic performance in SA in a timeous manner. Despite the 40% plunge in the iron ore price in 2015, bulk exports out of Saldanha, which is mostly iron ore, increased 12.7% in 2015 to 63.4 Mt, but in April 2016 there was a 9.0% y/y fall to 6.5 Mt. If Saldanha exports are excluded, then total bulk exports would have grown by 19.5% y/y in April. The 30% slump in the maize harvest last season compared with the previous season also affected bulk exports with grain and sugar bulk exports from the other ports such as Durban down 19.3% in 2015 to 11.6 Mt, although there was a surprise 12.8% y/y rise in December, the first y/y increase since January 2015. In January 2016, bulk exports out of the other ports plunged 44.0% y/y to 742,140 tons but rose to 924,943 tons in February, which was still a 7.8% y/y decline. In March, there was a 27.5% y/y jump to 899,038 tons and that good growth continued in April with a 20.6% y/y increase to 1,149,484 tons. Despite the April y/y rise, total bulk exports are still down 8.2% y/y in the first four months of 2016. Source: BDpro Greatstock has launched a competition asking agencies to submit the oddest, most out-of-place and weirdly specific stock images, as a comedic relief to the stock struggle. Sometimes, the stock images and footage that appear on screen in response to a simple search term are so strange, so inexplicable; you stop to wonder, Who would ever use this? Working in the stock industry, we know full well that searches often yield the strangest results, so instead of ignoring the problem, we decided to get involved in the conversation, says Greatstock MD, Margi Sheard. Our blog is dedicated to all things ridiculous and we hope it will provide some light relief for the creatives who encounter these problems on a day-to-day basis. The visual blog, Theres Stock and then Theres Greatstock, aims to share hilarious stock content, as well as calls for submissions from creatives who come across any stock gems. We just want to embrace the lighter side of the stock industry and have some fun with it. Rewarding creative deviants As part of an awareness campaign, the site recently challenged South African agencies to use a box of bizarre props to shoot their own absurd stock imagery, and submit it to the blog with an outrageous caption. Greatstock will be continuing the competition in 2016 and offering a range of prizes, all aimed at adding a bit of laughter and lightness to the lives of agency creatives. The winning image from the first round of our competition, from Global Mouse, is something to behold, continues Sheard. As the blog grows in 2016, were challenging more agencies to push the boundaries and wow us with their weirdness. Well be giving away creative agency necessities, such as crates of beer and coffee vouchers, to reward the best of the bad. For more information, go to www.greatstock.tumblr.com. To submit your own ridiculous stock image, have it featured on the blog and win spot prizes, email moc.kcotstaerg@kcotsdab. A lot has been said about tourism's potential to contribute to and grow the economy, to create jobs and to overcome poverty. It certainly has the potential to do all those things, but it should also be said that tourism has the potential to allow Africans to tell authentic African stories thereby creating a truer, fuller picture of Africa and address misconceptions that exist for foreign visitors. Apart from the usual benefits, that is why events like We Are Africa are invaluable. Delegates from across the continent and the world came together to do business and to tell real African stories from real people who are really in Africa. Ryan Wallace with Anthea Myburgh (Fleewinter) and Charlotte April Harris (Charlotte Travel Limited). We spoke to Ryan Wallace, event director for We Are Africa and Conservation Lab, about the importance of telling authentic African stories and how this will influence tourism and growth in Africa. What was the mission of We are Africa and structuring it the way that Beyond Luxury Media did? Ryan Wallace: Our mission as a community is to rebrand African travel and demonstrate how Africa is on the cutting edge of hospitality with the greatest diversity of high-end travel experiences. We are bringing a more progressive and positive picture of Africa to the world via the different high-end hosted buyers and travel media that we host every year. We have, therefore, created a festival-like event to reflect our mission, with a huge pre-tour programme across the continent, an opening conference at Cape Town City Hall, three days of exhibition at Cape Town Stadium and incredible evening networking events throughout the week. What difference does it make in the industry to tell real African stories? Wallace: Africa is already and rightly known as the safari place, but many who have not visited perceive it just as a mashup of the Lion King and Out of Africa with lots of problems and, therefore, lots of reasons not to visit. Of course, the continent boasts the greatest wildlife shows on earth and many romantic, untouched destinations but the stories cannot stop there, we would really be limiting our tourism potential if they did. Its time to diversify our offering and replace the stories told about Africa with stories told by Africa, for Africa. How will telling authentic African stories influence tourism in Africa? Wallace: We know that the world has become increasingly overloaded with information and this is leading individuals to crave more and more for authentic stories and experiences. Fortunately, Africa excels at this and has endless captivating stories to tell. As people hear the diverse, homegrown stories they will see Africa in a completely different light and want to come more than ever and leave with the added benefit of feeling more connected to its people and its essence. THE STORY OF THE TRIBE from We Are Africa on Vimeo. Comment on the othering of Africa by international spectators and how this presents a challenge to growth in Africa. Wallace: As long as international spectators continue to have control over Africas narrative it will never truly be understood, we need to wrestle back the microphone! There is a huge opportunity for growth here because much of Africa has yet to be understood and discovered properly as a travel destination and it still remains the hidden gem in terms of its global tourism potential. If we can change the narrative to reflect reality and remove the misguided and negative perceptions tourism will no doubt flourish. Greatest misconceptions, in your opinion, of Africa? Wallace: Wow, there are so many that need to be obliterated but for me its ultimately the notion that Africa is one story and that if youve been to one part of the continent youve seen it all. Thats why our strapline for We Are Africa is #NotOneStory. Im all for unity and Pan-Africanism but we should also not hold back from celebrating the diversity of cultures, places, and experiences that this continent has to offer. It has been great to see the destination marketing in and around We Are Africa start to diversify and our community really celebrating the differences. The development of distribution centres in SA has gained momentum in the past two years, but demand is yet to match the growing supply. de Graaf Erik 123RF.com Certain property funds including Equites Property Fund, Fortress Income Fund and Stor-Age Property real estate investment trust, are nevertheless achieving healthy distribution growth and capital appreciation through good management, offering high-quality products and clever deal-making. "Globally, the industrial sector and specifically big-box distribution centres have been doing incredibly well on the back of increased demand and little or no new supply," said Grindrod Asset Management chief investment officer Ian Anderson. He said the major driver of demand had been increased online retailing, with retailers now needing more warehousing. "The situation is somewhat different in SA, where we have seen an increase in development activity and significantly less demand from online retailing. "At the same time, global trade has deteriorated over the past two or three years, and despite the weak rand, SA's import and export volumes have shrunk, reducing the need for warehousing," he said. But well-managed industrial property owners seem to be performing relatively strongly. For example, since listing in June 2014, Equites's share price has risen 26.51%. Year to date, the price has climbed nearly 7%. Equites's prelisting target was to grow its property portfolio of distribution centres and offices in the Western Cape and Gauteng from R1.2bn to R4bn in five years. It achieved this within two years, with its properties valued at R4.1bn for the year to 29 February 2016. "The strong numbers registered by Equites are not a reflection of the state of the industrial market in SA, but rather reflect a competent, highly focused management team driving shareholder value through their existing properties, but more importantly, unlocking significant value by being able to develop big-box distribution assets in-house," Anderson said. However, executive director of Meago Asset Management, Jay Padayatchi, said even though Equites had a strong team, it was not necessarily a buy currently. "Their share price most certainly appears to be full. Further, given the relative illiquidity of the Equites share price and the high concentration of management's holding, one has to wonder how accurately it reflects the underlying value of the assets at current yields," he said. Stor-Age Property Reit has gained 5.32% year to date. In November 2015, Stor-Age became the first storage facility provider to list on the JSE, with a R1.3bn portfolio, as it looked to attract investors who were seeking specialised property funds. The company has started to expand into more of SA's six major cities. Its pipeline sits at more than R400m. Fortress Income Fund, the best-performing property fund of 2015, grew its B-unit dividend 101.2% in the six months to December 2015 in a watershed period that saw it complete the takeover of Capital Property Fund, making it the largest listed industrial property owner in SA. The company's logistics pipeline is worth about R4.5bn, according to CEO Mark Stevens, who said more international players were looking to rent high quality assets in SA. Fortress's B shares have risen 6.47% so far in 2016. Source: Business Day Here are my eight tips to help you establish a solid social media presence: Maintaining a social media profile takes time and planning. From the outset it's important to commit to maintaining it regularly. It doesnt have to be daily, even once a week is fine as long as its regular. An outdated account which hasn't been updated for ages creates a negative perception. Especially if people comment or send questions that go unanswered. 2. Formulate a plan and a calendar Set out a clear strategy that outlines exactly how you intend to use your profile, who will manage it and the types of things you will share on it. Then formulate a calendar accordingly. It's impossible to predict the news but you can predict what people will be talking about. Special occasions and holidays are a great way to start a conversation. 3. Good content Less is more when it comes to social media. It is better to post fewer things that you know your audience will enjoy, rather than posting loads of uninteresting content that will leave your audience feeling irritated and may ultimate lead them to unfollow or unlike you online. 4. A pictures is worth a thousand words Choose good quality, interesting images to accompany your posts to grab your audience's attention. Studies have shown that posts that include images have a greater impact and have a greater reach. 5. How to know when you are onto a good thing A good social media strategy should not only drive traffic to your website, it should engage your audience. Make sure that you encourage engagement with your messaging and by keeping up-to-date with what people are talking about to ensure your messaging is topical. 6. Measurement is key Having a system in place to measure your social media activity, track your competition so that you can manage your online reputation is crucial to having a successful social media strategy and managing what people say about your products. Using social media monitoring tools is the ideal way to monitor activity. 7. Boost your reach with online advertising Your social media strategy must include social media advertising to create more awareness about your products and expand your reach. This will help to capture customers who might be shopping for alternatives or at risk of being distracted by competitors. 8. Get your website ready Over the last 12 months, there has been a 16% increase in ransomware attacks, a Data Breach Investigation Report by Verizon, has revealed. Image by 123RF Ransomware is a hot topic because of the organisations being targeted and because of how prevalent it has become. The report revealed that 89% of attacks involve financial or espionage motivations, with the former a clear catalyst. While every single individual is at risk to a ransomware attack, there is certainly a higher degree of risk attached to businesses, more so those that handle confidential and sensitive information, for whom the effects of ransomware could be devastating from both a financial and reputational perspective. Interestingly, the study noted how phishing is a growing concern, as it is evident a lot of people are not familiar with this tactic. For example, Verizon found that 30% of phishing messages were opened in 2015, which is up a massive 23% from 2014. Phishing has been used by cybercriminals for years to access personal information. It can manifest itself as an email, text message or even a website. Steve Flynn, director of ESET South Africa advises companies to, Backup, backup, backup. This may well be your saviour when faced with a ransomware outbreak in your organisation. Have an external backup that runs daily and make sure that you unplug the backup when it is not running, otherwise, it may also be encrypted. Despite advances in information security research and cyber detection solutions, we continue to see many of the same errors that we have known about for a decade or so. The author of the report highlighted a three-pronged attack, which is, being repeated over and over again by cybercriminals. It begins with a phishing email that comes with a link to either a corrupted website or attachment. On clicking through to a website or attachment, malware is downloaded onto a victims computer. This establishes an initial foothold, meaning that further malware can be downloaded to either encrypt data, access information and/or steal credentials. These credentials are used to carry out further cybercriminal activity, including breaching bank accounts. Flynn also recommends organisations to implement IT admin policies around email attachments. Network admin should enforce strict rules around allowing users to receive only necessary attachments, and furthermore, not allow, or impose conditions around personal emails on the organisational network. He was the commander of Light Infantry Battalion 503 (LID-503), a Burma Army unit that was staying in Kawng Kha Village in northern Shan State when the two teachers, Ma Maran Lu Ra and Ma Tangbau Hkawn Nan Tsin, were gang raped and murdered on the night of 19 January. Their naked and badly beaten bodies were found in their room the following day. They had been volunteering with the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC). An investigation team made up of lawyers and experts assembled by the KBC will not be allowed to question LID-503s commander, only the Burmese government will investigate him, explained Sara Lama Yaw, an official in-charge of the KBCs Information Department. The Kachin News Group (KNG) was unable to contact Rev. Hkalam Samson, the general secretary of the KBC, who has personally overseen his organisations investigation into the highly publicized case. Sara Lama Yaw said that the investigation into Major Aung Phyo Myint would begin on 17 May, but the KBC investigation team would not be able to ask him any questions and would be limited to just observing the proceedings. On their Facebook page the KBC urged the public to pray for the truth to come out. A joint report by the Kachin Womens Association of Thailand (KWAT) and the Legal Aid Network (LAN) released on 19 January 2016 alleged that LID-503s commander Major Aung Phyo Myint was likely to be the key suspect in the brutal rape and murder of the two Kachin teachers. The report also provided evidence to support this accusation. The two teachers, who were themselves refugees from Kachin state, had volunteered with the KBC to teach children in northern Shan State. Their bodies were found gang raped and murdered eight months after they were sent to Kawng Hka village. Translated by Thida Linn Dr Salai Lian Hmong, secretary of the Union-level Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC-U), said: Our experience at the first Union Conference was that each group made presentations for the five main topics. Reviewing these presentations we saw that the Tatmadaw [Burma Army] was able to make a well-planned presentations after having made thorough preparations. We were weak in our preparations. A total of 40 people from the eight EAOs, including five leaders from each EAO and representatives of other social organizations and groups have been attending the workshop. U Khun Myint Tun, the chairman of the Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO), said: We will discuss the five main topics in this political workshop. We will discuss the main topics of politics, society, security, natural resources and the environment and education. We will discuss based on the experience gained at the previous Union Peace Conference. These five main topics were previously discussed by various groups at the first Union Peace Conference held on 12 January held under the previous Thein Sein led administration. Dr Salai Lian Hmong said: In the political sector the ethnic armed organisations were able to present the eight basic principles that were based on federalism. We already agreed on these in 2015. As for other topics we were unable to present in an organised way with documents. So, we are holding this [workshop] because we need to make preparations in order to end the civil war that has been raging for over 60 years and establish a peaceful union, which is a federal union demanded by the ethnic people. The basic policies agreed on at the first Union Conference were given to the new NLD led Burmese Government and there is agreement that the new government will continue to implement the Union Conferences. Though the current government should hold the second Union Peace Conference the State Counselor and NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi previously announced on 27 April that the 21st Century Panglong Conference will be held within one or two months. However the NCA signatory groups said it is not clear whether the 21st Century Panglong Conference will be a replacement for the second Union Peace Conference or a separate conference. The eight ethnic armed groups that signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement with the previous Thein Sein administration are the Karen National Union (KNU), the Chin National Front (CNF), the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC), the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), the Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO), the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) and the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF). Translated by Thida Linn Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI It looks like you have reached this page in error ... The content you are looking for has either moved, or if you typed in the address there might have been a mistake. If you believe there has been a technical error please let us know. Most Popular Destinations Bankruptcy attorney Mark Kaufman has joined King & Spalding as a partner in its Atlanta and Washington, D.C., offices, the firm announced. He was formerly at Dentons, where he was a partner. Kaufman advises financially distressed municipalities, special purpose districts and related governmental entities. His clients also include bondholders and bond insurers, whom he advises on legal issues and strategies regarding fiscally challenged credits. "I am excited to continue working on cutting-edge municipal restructuring issues with a collaborative, smart team," Kaufman said in a press release. "This is a great opportunity." Kaufman previously served as lead counsel to the Pennsylvania Governor-appointed receiver to Harrisburg, when the city was able to successfully complete its financial restructuring without resorting to Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. He was honored as the Mid-Market Restructuring Lawyer of the Year by the Global M&A Network for his work on Harrisburg matter. "Mark is a well-known and highly regarded restructuring attorney with a combination of intellectual perspective and practical experience that is unusual in our field," Paul Ferdinands, head of King & Spalding's Financial Restructuring/Bankruptcy practice, said in the release. "Having Mark at the firm will provide our clients and the firm with the benefit of his network as well as insights into the latest issues in the restructuring world right now. We are delighted to have him." Kaufman has served as president of the Bankruptcy Section of the Atlanta Bar Association and is an emeritus director of the Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute. Kaufman served as president and chairman of SBLI in 2007 and 2008, respectively. He also chaired Georgia's Bankruptcy Bench and Bar Conference. He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell, and his JD from Harvard. An orphanage in Coffee Bay, South Africa will be the home of a Beatrice teen this summer. Beatrice High School senior Breanna Trauernicht will spend nearly 12 weeks, starting Monday, donating her time and love to children under the care of the Coram Deo Ministry. Im excited, Trauernicht said. I think when Im past security in the airport and my moms not with me anymore, it will start to hit me. Im most nervous about going through the airport by myself because theres just so much going on. Trauernicht will fly out of Kansas City, into Washington D.C., to Johannesburg, South Africa and then get on a smaller plane to Port Elizabeth, where leaders of the ministry will pick her up. The Coram Deo Ministry is a nonprofit organization housing about 20 children in its orphanage and teaching about 65 children in its school, Trauernicht said. Trauernicht will live in the orphanage, prepare meals for children and give general care and playtime to the children, while also integrating her religious beliefs. I went on a mission trip in Haiti in 2014, Trauernicht said. Seeing how they were so happy with the way they live just kind of made me fall in love with missions trips. Trauernicht said after that she knew she wanted to go on another mission trip and she had always wanted to go to Africa. I secretly started looking at all of these different organizations and I found one that wasnt terribly expensive and looked like it was in an OK location for it being in Africa, Trauernicht said. The secret, at first, was from her parents, Trauernicht said. I talked to my mom and it took some convincing, but she finally gave in and said that she realizes that this is my passion and shes going to let me do it, Trauernicht said. My mom did some Facebook stalking and found some people that had been there in the past and got in contact with them and asked them about their experience to get a good word and make sure its an OK place to send me. ... Now that she knows its a safe place, its a lot more comforting for her. Trauernichts trip to Haiti was eight days long. Prior to that, she said she went on a couple of smaller mission trips in the states. I think if I hadnt gone on the trips I have, Id be a lot more nervous, she said. Trauernicht said several friends, family members and strangers replied to her news with, Three months? Thats a long time. What if something happens? I just know that if something happens, its Gods plan for that to happen, Trauernicht said. Im a big believer in that. Trauernicht said she got a call from South Africa in the fall of 2015. I answered and it was them welcoming me to come live there for the summer, she said. I was in tears I was so excited. Ive been in communication with them since then. Coffee Bay is a small community on the southeastern edge of the country. Tourists visit to see a cliff called Hole in the Wall and its a really good surfing spot, Trauernicht said. Money comes in, but it stays right there. I think Im a mile away from the ocean and the poverty is already terrible there. Trauernicht said shes excited for her experience in general, including connecting with the children and working as a Christian servant. I think its going to be really hard to leave the kids after making those connections, Trauernicht said. Also, the people running the orphanage are going to bring me to the hot spots in that area. Im excited for that, to see more of the culture they live in. Trauernicht said she is going on the trip to help, connect and make impacts in whatever ways she can, but she knows that the trip will change her, which she always looks forward to. When I was in Haiti, I felt like I was going to help them, but in return they kind of helped me because they made me realize that theres so much more than getting what I want and that relationships really are important, Trauernicht said. Despite not having parents, the children in the orphanage in Haiti made others in their lives their family, she said. They call everyone their brothers and sisters and they take relationships to the next level, which I feel we lack here a lot, Trauernicht said. Trauernicht said she was inspired by how the community made a lot from a little and enjoyed living a simple life without technology and other distractions. They just love on each other and they love God and I think thats awesome, she said. So I just want to be able to embrace that more when I return and not be like, Oh I need this, I need this. Trauernichts pastor, Rob Bray of Start Church, described her as a standout student who is ready to learn and has personally grown in recent years. The church is behind her, Bray said. Were really excited for her to spread the light of Christ in another country. Its always encouraging to see young people ... have a desire for all nations of the world be touched by God and not just their own. I think our church body would feel the same. Bray said Trauernicht will touch a lot of lives in Coffee Bay. Not only that, shell be a different person when she comes back, Bray said. Shell be more like Christ, more solid in her walk in the Lord. As her pastor, I'm excited for that, too. Blue Valley Veterinary Clinic and Pickrell Veterinary Clinic were collecting donations for Trauernicht to take with her to Coffee Bay. Requested donations included school supplies, books, clothes and toiletries. They said that whatever you send, we run out of very quickly, Trauernicht said. Monetary donations can be given to the Coram Deo Ministry via their website. Trauernicht said she is interested in obtaining a nursing degree after high school and working in third world countries for a time as well as a childrens hospital in the states and participating in disaster relief efforts when and where necessary. I just really want to do something that will impact peoples lives, she said. PERU -- Ellie Kunkel has been named the dean of the School of Education at Peru State College. Kunkel began working at Peru State College in 2003. Dr. Kunkel has demonstrated excellence in the classroom and as interim dean," said Dan Hanson, president of Peru State College, in a press release. "She has a tradition of focusing on student success and a vision for building an even stronger education program. This past year, as interim dean, she led the schools exceptional accreditation review by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. Kunkel served as the interim dean of the school of education after returning from a hiatus where she was the interim coordinator of teacher education at Fortune School of Education in Sacramento, California. A representational photo. WASHINGTON (PTI): Two Chinese fighter jets made an "unsafe" interception of a US spy plane in the disputed South China Sea, the Pentagon said on Thursday as tensions between the two countries escalated over the strategically crucial waterway. The "unsafe" interception of a United States EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft was carried out by two Chinese J-11 tactical aircraft, which the Pentagon said was on an international airspace over South China Sea. Chinese jets came within 50 feet of the American aircraft at one point, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said in a statement. "We have made progress reducing risk between our operational forces and those of the People's Republic of China by improved dialogue at multiple levels under the bilateral Confidence Building Measures and the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement," Davis said. "Over the past year, we have seen improvements in PRC (Peoples Republic of China) actions, flying in a safe and professional manner. We are addressing the issue through the appropriate diplomatic and military channels," he said. The interception comes days after General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held a video tele conference with Chinese People's Liberation Army's Chief of the Joint Staff Department General Fang Fenghui on efforts to reduce tensions in South China Sea. Tensions between China and the US are high in the South China Sea, a vital shipping route believed to be home to vast energy deposits. China claims almost all of South China Sea which is disputed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. Beijing has been building islets in the disputed region into artificial islands with military facilities including radar systems and airstrips. The US has been dispatching its warships into the waters claimed by China to assert freedom of navigation. America, which is embarked on a foreign policy "pivot" towards Asia, fears China is seeking to impose military controls over the entire region. China opposes such action by the US, alleging that American intervention threatens its sovereignty and security, and also endangers the safety of people, besides harming regional peace and stability. SHILLONG (PTI): The Indian Air Force is prioritising modernisation of airfields, advance landing grounds and other infrastructure at a cost of nearly Rs 8,000 crore under its Eastern Command, IAF officials said on Thursday. "The Eastern Air Command of the IAF is giving priority to ongoing modernisation of airfields, Advance Landing Grounds (ALGs) and other associated infrastructure worth nearly Rs 8,000 crore under its area of responsibility," IAF Spokesperson Amit Mahajan said at a conference on Thursday. This is in addition to Rs 1,100 crore set aside annually for other public fund expenditure, he said. The discussion came about at a three-day conference of Senior Accounts Officers (SAOs) of all airbases under Eastern Air Command which began here on Thursday. Chaired by EAC Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Air Marshal C Hari Kumar, the conference laid emphasis on the protocol for procurement process, audit and use of non-public funds for welfare-related activities of air warriors, Mahajan said. Principal Integrated Financial Advisor Rasika Choube, Air Vice Marshal Manavendra Singh who is a senior officer in charge of administration, was also present at the meeting. An Indian Navy photo. NEW DELHI (PTI): Indian ships taking part in maritime exercise in the South China Sea was a matter of "concern", a senior Chinese official said on Thursday, a day after four naval vessels set sail for the disputed waters for participating in Malabar exercise with the US and Japan. The official said the colonial tactics of "divide and rule" was being used. "When there is some trouble in the South China Sea, India is worried. When Indian ships participate in maritime exercises in the South China Sea, of course China will show concern," the official told reporters. The statement comes ahead of Indian President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to China next week. Guided missile stealth frigates, INS Satpura and INS Sahyadri, INS Shakti, a sophisticated fleet support ship, and INS Kirch, a guided missile corvette, had set sail on Thursday on a two-and-a-half month long operational deployment to the South China Sea and North West Pacific. They will also take part in the Malabar exercise near the South China Sea. China claims sovereignty on almost all of the South China Sea which is disputed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. The US, which had been pushing for Japan's inclusion, has said the exercise is an important element for assessing the maritime capabilities of all the three countries. The US has in recent months ramped up its warnings over what it calls China's growing "militarisation" in the region. American warships and aircraft have undertaken a number of operations in the region to challenge China's moves even as the US hopes to stitch Asian military powers into a closer cooperation. The US has also been pushing for a quadrilateral security dialogue involving itself, India, Japan and Australia. Meanwhile, on the issue of terror group JeM chief Masood Azar, the Chinese official said his country has made no difference between India and Pakistan's enemy. "You need strong evidence. It is not a bilateral issue, it is at the UN. He (Azar) is not an Indian citizen," he said, adding that "terrorism sponsor" as a word for Pakistan was a "too heavy title". He said that it was good that foreign secretaries of the two countries met. "We encourage this kind of talk. You don't have a language barrier and you have been in the same family," he said. On the issue of India's entry into Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the Chinese official said China has never blocked the country's entry into any world body. "But as member of the UNSC, we are the watchdog of the world, we must ensure the rules. And we must also think about others not just India who want an exception to the rules," he said. China's stand on India's membership of the NSG and its action in blocking the move to put JeM chief Masood Azhar on the global terrorists list may come up for discussion when President Mukherjee makes a four-day visit to China from May 24. The official said Mukherjee's visit will be very successful and called for the two countries adopting a long-term strategy rather than short-term goals. "They will talk about everything. This is an important time for India and China to think about their strategy. Time for India and China to fulfil the dream for Asian century. "The financial crisis gives us this kind of chance. US and Western countries give us a chance. We should go hand in hand to see the broader picture for Asia," he said, adding that climate change and terrorism besides other global issues will also be discussed. Talking about bilateral border issues, the official said 19 rounds of talks have been held so far. "It seems too slow but it is already successful because no firing has taken place on this boundary," he said, adding no countries sharing a long border had such a peaceful situation. "It shows wisdom of India and China...To change the map is very difficult. So it's not easy to resolve, but we can control the situation," he said. He said both countries are working on delimitation and demarcation. The official said there are too many differences when the two countries exchange maps. "This creates more problem. But even the Line of Actual Control is not the same for both of us. There must be some flexibility. Need a basket solution that will give a meaningful solution," he said, citing example of China and Russia. He said under dispute with Russia was 1.5 million square metres which was more than the disputed land between India and China. "But China said let us base the negotiations on the actual line. One island went half and half. So let's discuss solutions, then better atmosphere will allow for resolution. Tawang is very sensitive for us as it is the birthplace of 6th Dalai Lama. It is the British who created the problem. So we need to settle that," the official said. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The acting music dean is now the actual music dean at Brandon University. The board of governors has appointed Greg Gatien, who has been acting dean of the School of Music since last August, to a five-year term as dean beginning June 1. Gatien began lecturing at the music school in 2001, later being promoted to assistant professor and then associate professor. Submitted Greg Gatien has been appointed dean of the Brandon University School of Music. Greg has long been a key contributor to Brandon University, said Steven Robinson, BUs vice-president, academic and provost. He is well respected for his abilities as an educator, and he has shown the same commitment to excellence in all aspects of his job during his time as an administrator. His desire to assist students is legendary and I always appreciate the insights he brings and the advice he gives. Gatien, who has appeared as a saxophonist on a number of recordings, was raised in Halifax and earned a bachelor of arts, majoring in music education and jazz studies at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S. He earned his masters degree in music (jazz and contemporary media) at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., and later taught at the New England Conservatory in Boston. At BU, Gatien has taught many courses including theory, jazz history, improvisation and saxophone. Along with faculty members Michael Cain and Eric Platz, he developed BUs jazz studies curriculum. As dean, Gatien will work closely with faculty and staff within the music school and other deans toward BUs continued growth and development. He will also serve as a member of BUs Senate. Its an exciting time at the school of music, Gatien said. Im honoured to have the opportunity to continue in this role alongside the extraordinary faculty, students and staff who make the school such an outstanding part of our university and community. The Brandon Sun Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. There were approximately 60 canola claims due to frost in Manitoba in the middle of May, according to the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation. David Van Deynze, manager of claims services at MASC, said adjusters are still assessing affected fields to see if the canola will bounce back. We have to figure out if the plant is going to ultimately die or if its going to survive and start regrowing, Van Deynze said. Producers who do qualify for insurance will destroy the earlier seeded crop and are compensated 25 per cent of their value to cover the cost of reseeding. As for other crops, Van Deynze said anecdotally he has noticed an uptick in soybeans and lentils this year. Producers report insured acres June 30 and numbers regarding trends are expected by the middle of July. Prices have been the major driver into the soybean and lentil market, according to Van Deynze. Were hearing a spike in lentil production, he said. They have been almost non-existent in the last few years so its not going to be a huge acreage, but it sounds like there is going to be more than there has been the last few years. Nationally, area seeded to soybeans was 5.4 million acres in 2015, 2.5 per cent below the record high in 2014. The decline, however, was driven by decreases in Ontario in Quebec, according to Statistics Canada. In Manitoba, soybeans have trended up over the past four years with each subsequent year setting a record for number of acres planted. In 2015, 1.4 million acres of soybeans were planted. Producers who selected the plant could be in store for strong prices, according to a Reuters report. Argentina, the third-largest exporter of raw soybeans, could export up to 25 per cent fewer soybeans this year due to flooding caused by extreme rain. The excess moisture is expected to wipe out some low-lying crop and damage oilseed quality in other areas. The problems are going to be fewer exports and some quality issues for oils and other soybean derivatives, Agritrend director Gustavo Lopez told Reuters. He expects Argentina to export between 8.5 million and nine million tonnes this season, down from 11.5 million tonnes in the 2014-15 season. Lopez also sees local mills processing between 42 million and 43 million tonnes of soybeans for export as oil and flour during the current season, slightly below the 43.5 million reached last season. The floods hit large areas of Cordoba, Santa Fe and Entre Rios, the countrys three top farming provinces after Buenos Aires province, whose crops were not affected by flooding. ctweed@brandonsun.com Twitter: @CharlesTweed Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. CALGARY Its the fear of the unknown thats a major concern for police in Calgary about the powerful street drug W-18 and whether it was responsible for a recent death. A toxicology report was ordered for a 35-year-old Calgary man found dead of a drug overdose at a hotel in March. The Office of the Medical Examiner concluded that W-18 was present in his system, along with heroin and 3-methyl fentanyl another more toxic form of fentanyl. But its not clear whether W-18, a powerful opioid 100 times stronger than fentanyl, caused the death. As far as which one resulted in the persons death, we cannot say, Calgary police Staff Sgt. Martin Schiavetta said Friday. W-18, 3-methyl fentanyl could result in a persons death independent of each other. The drug comes from a W-series of opioid compounds first discovered at the University of Alberta in 1982. There are 32 compounds with W-18 being the most toxic. W-18 is not currently regulated under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act and can be manufactured and bought freely. Schiavetta says W-18, like Fentanyl, is being produced in China, with a majority of the drugs coming through ports in B.C. He said there is no easy way of determining if W-18 is present in other street drugs and what affect it can have on an individual. Theres a lot of research going on both in Canada and the United States looking at what W-18 does to the persons brain. Does it react the same as an opioid? Does it react differently? I think the message is unclear at this time, Schiavetta said. He also said its frustrating for police because there is no easy way of determining if street drugs contain W-18, which represents an even more significant threat than other opioids such as fentanyl. Those who are taking drugs are playing Russian roulette every time they take a pill, Schiavetta said. This is a drugthat does not discriminate. Two-thirds of our deaths are in suburban communities. This is a drug that can affect any family in our community, he said. It does not allow for drug experimentation. Your first tablet could be your last. Schiavetta said the medical examiners office will be going through past overdose autopsies to determine if W-18 may have been present. The drug is difficult to detect, said Dr. Graham Jones, chief toxicologist in the medical examiners office. A preliminary screening test for W-18 does not exist at present and therefore it is not possible to detect in blood unless its presence is suspected, Jones said.. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner continues to work on developing a test that can identify small amounts of W-18. The Alberta government says it will meet next week with the chief medical examiner and chief medical officer of health to talk about how to support the collection of data on drug-related deaths. We are also taking a hard look at all the work being done to combat illicit drug use in order to make sure we are addressing this problem in the most effective manner possible, Brandy Payne, associate minister of health, said in a statement. Follow @BillGraveland on Twitter Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Parliament Hill was either seething with animosity or awash in contrition for most of this extraordinary week, with the opposition and the government manoeuvring elbows up to get the better of one other. The Trudeau government apologized no fewer than six times over a 24-hour period for transgressions past and present, and had to walk back a contentious proposal to impose stricter controls over debate in the House of Commons. The drama managed to drown out or throw off course several other developments that affect everyday lives. This undated 2010 file handout photo provided by AquaBounty Technologies shows two same-age salmon, a genetically modified salmon, rear, and a non-genetically modified salmon, foreground. A genetically engineered salmon has been approved for sale for consumption by humans and livestock feed by Canadian food regulators. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP Photo/AquaBounty Technologies NO SALES Here are three other developments in practical politics this week that will touch Canadians after the din of Elbowgate dies down. ASSISTED DYING: The law that would allow some Canadians access to medically assisted death has been knocked about by politics yet again. First, serious discussion was delayed by last years federal election. Then, the new government took time to set up a committee and consult, asking the court for an extension to comply with its order to allow access. Ottawa now has until June 6. Then this week, the schedule was jostled again this time by Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus collision with NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau on the floor of the House of Commons prior to a vote to shut down debate on the bill. The bill was already in trouble before Trudeaus controversial and ill-considered decision to expedite matters by dragging Conservative whip Gord Brown through a crowd of mischief-making New Democrats, which included Brosseau. An Alberta Court of Appeal decision this week took direct aim at the governments rationale, saying the government should not restrict assisted dying only to those near death. The court also said the government cant exclude people suffering solely from psychiatric conditions. The ruling gave pause to many MPs, who have already been told they will be able to vote their conscience when the time comes. The Senate has also made it clear it may not pass the bill unless it allows advanced directives from those with dementia or other competence-eroding conditions. Regardless, theres little chance the bill will pass before June 6. KOMAGATA MARU: Even as MPs hollered at each other inside the House, Sikhs from across Canada descended on Parliament Hill to hear the prime minister apologize for sending the steamship Komagata Maru back to India some 102 years ago. Their presence and the apologys prominence were a striking reminder of how diaspora politics have been pushing and pulling the fabric of Canada for more than a century. South Asians are now the largest visible minority in Canada, and 17 Sikh MPs were elected last fall. Wooing blocks of ethnic voters has become central to election strategy for all parties. Indeed, the day before the Komagata Maru apology, an official in Christy Clarks B.C. government was charged with criminal breach of trust for his alleged role in an ethnic vote-getting scandal that included efforts to make public apologies for historic wrongs in multicultural communities. The dynamic of diasporas in Canadian politics is not always black and white, however. As Conservative MP Michael Chong launched his bid for the party leadership this week, he pronounced himself in favour of the partys long-standing policy against niqabs and face-coverings at citizenship ceremonies even though the Conservative stand on niqabs may have cost the party heavily in the last election. FUNNY FISH: With little fanfare, the government opted to let Canadians buy and eat genetically modified fish. Health Canada this week approved the first genetically modified animal to be produced for human consumption: an Atlantic salmon, modified to grow twice as fast by using genes from Chinook salmon. The government says the fish are safe and nutritious, but thats not the end of the matter. Critics say there is a risk to introducing what amounts to a new species to the environment, and want, as a bare minimum, to see the fish labelled a practice the government has resisted for GM foods but now says it will study. For now, AquaBounty Technologies Inc. will produce the modified eggs in its facility in Prince Edward Island, grow the eggs into full-size fish in Panama and then ship them back to Canada for consumption. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 19/05/2016 (2350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A travelling photo exhibit began its final stop in Manitoba Monday night at Brandon University. Man-Up Against Suicidefeatures photos taken bypeople who have experienced suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide, or survived someone who has committed suicide. Many photos are paired with words from the photographer. Bruce Bumstead/Brandon Sun Dr. Kerstin Roger, a researcher involved with the Man-Up Against Suicide exhibit, speaks during an opening reception at Brandon Universitys Tommy McLeod Curve Gallery on Monday. A reception held at the Tommy McLeod Curve Gallery featured an address from Kerstin Roger, an associate professor in the University of Manitobasdepartment of community health sciences who organized the exhibits six stops in the province. Canadian men are four times more likely than women to commit suicide, but are only half as likely to be diagnosed with depression. Rogers said there are issues specific to Manitoba that are especially important to address. It has to do with our indigenous community, it has to do with our increasingly aging population, it has to do with our hard Prairie winters, the transportation issues we have here. To take this forward in Manitoba is really important, she said. Men have internalized that they shouldnt speak about their emotions. Theres no recipe or quick answer (on how to handle that), but to identify men who may have a hard time talking about their emotions and sort of being aware of that. Two major risk factors, Roger said, are self-medicating and hiding depression or emotions. The display is one of several projects Roger is working on as part of a three-year grant from the Movember Foundation. She says there are about 100 photos in similarexhibits across the country. Regardless of the location, the goal is to spur more awareness of mens mental health issues. Bruce Bumstead/The Brandon Sun A visitor studies one of the exhibit photos, which were taken by people who have experienced suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide, or survived someone who committed suicide. Several times, Roger and her research assistant were turned down after pitching the exhibit to the community-based centres and galleries around the province. Some places said no flat out, some places had questions like, What do the pictures show? What is this about? This is a really tricky topic, Im not sure. There were quite a few places that had no interest at all they just said no, she said. I would say theres a real hesitation for people. Its a difficult topic. In some faith-based communities its not an issue we talk about. The exhibit is impactful. One photo that stuck with Roger from the first time she saw the exhibit in Vancouver is of a bed by a man who suffers from depression. He said, My bed is both my haven and my prison. Its where I go to seek refuge but if I go there for too many days, it becomes my prison, Roger recalled. Bruce Bumstead/Brandon Sun A visitor looks at one of the photos in the Man-Up Against Suicide exhibit, which will be on display at the Tommy McLeod Curve Gallery until June 8. The exhibit will be on display at the Tommy McLeod Curve Gallery until June 8. tbateman@brandonsun.com Twitter: @tombatemann Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Shes not breathing! I dont think shes alive! came the screams of a Vincent Massey High School student on Thursday morning. Before her on the grass lay graduating student Jenna Dobson, bloodied and bent at odd angles. In fact, Dobson was alive and well but for the morning, she was playing the deceased victim of a fellow students impaired driving. Thursdays mock accident scene roadblocks, Tim Smith/Brandon Sun Vincent Massey High School students watch a mock car crash demonstration at the school put on by MADDs Brandon and Area chapter on Thursday morning. police cruisers, bellowing ambulances and all was orchestrated by MADD at the request of Vincent Masseys TADD committee, or Teens Against Destructive Decisions. Committee president and Grade 12 student Kira Toth, had seen a mock car crash demonstration last year and was inspired to bring it to her own school. She said normal awareness-raising techniques are rarely effective at informing students of the danger of drunk and distracted driving. Lots of time people will see the posters and theyll be like, Oh, its drunk driving, everyone knows you shouldnt do that, Toth said. But when it comes to actually making those decisions, theyll do it or they dont realize that texting is just as bad. The demonstration simulated an accident where an impaired driver and his three passengers run a stop sign and hit a pedestrian. Passersby notify first responders and an audience of students Vincent Masseys Grade 11 students in this case watch as fire and emergency crews respond to the crime scene. Finally, they see their peer lifted from the ground in a body bag. Tim Smith/Brandon Sun Emergency services members attend to a mock victim in front of the school. MADDs Brandon chapter president Nikki Boggs was impressed that the students initiated the event. We can sit there and we can talk to the students. I can tell them all the stats that I want, you know, across Canada, I can tell them all the stats about here in Manitoba, but at the end of the day, when they go out there and see that happening, thats whats going to stick with them, Boggs said. Afterwards, some of the students described the scene as emotional. (A lot of teenagers) get this invincible feeling that they wont die, this could not happen to them, when it really is a reality, student Bryston Langlois said. Thursday was designated as Distraction Free Day by TADD Manitoba. Vincent Massey, and other participating schools, encouraged students to shut off their mobile devices from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. To accompany the days focus of destructive decisions, Toth and her peers arranged a texting and driving simulator for the afternoon. Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun A young actor playing an impaired driver is arrested in front of the school. aantoneshyn@brandonsun.com Twitter: @AAntoneshyn Already have an account? Log in here CALGARY - A 29-year-old man is facing charges of using fake identification to get emergency money meant for Fort McMurray fire evacuees. We need your support! Local journalism needs your support! As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support. Starting at $4.99/month you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website. or call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527. Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA The Senate expense scandal has been petering out slowly, with Sen. Mike Duffy acquitted of all charges last month, the RCMP saying this week they would not proceed with charges against Sen. Pamela Wallin and prosecutors on Friday dropping charges against Mac Harb. Heres a timeline: June 13, 2012: Auditor general Michael Ferguson releases a study of Senate expense claims; in some cases Senate administration didnt have the right documents to support claims for travel and living expenses. Nov. 21, 2012: A Senate committee is asked to examine housing allowance for Conservative Sen. Patrick Brazeau, who lists a home in Maniwaki, Que., as his primary residence despite appearing to live full-time within a 100-kilometre radius of Ottawa. Dec. 3, 2012: Similar questions are raised about Conservative Sen. Mike Duffy, who claims a primary residence in P.E.I. despite being a longtime Ottawa resident. Dec. 6, 2012: The Senate expands its audit of housing expenses to include Liberal Sen. Mac Harb, who claims a home near Pembroke, Ont., as his primary residence, and begins examining residence claims of all senators, who are constitutionally bound to live in the provinces they represent. Feb. 8, 2013: Senate hires an external auditing firm to review Brazeau, Duffy and Harbs claims. Feb. 28, 2013: Senate audit fails to turn up any questionable housing allowance claims beyond those of Brazeau, Harb and Duffy. May 9, 2013: Senate releases a report into housing claims, along with the Deloitte audit. Deloitte says the three senators live in Ottawa area, but that the rules and guidelines are unclear, making it difficult to say categorically that anyone broke the rules. Harb and Brazeau are ordered to repay $51,000 and $48,000, respectively. Harb says he will fight the decision. May 12, 2013: RCMP says it will examine Senate expense claims. May 14, 2013: Brazeau says he also broke no rules and is exploring all options to overturn an order to pay the money back. May 16, 2013: Duffy resigns from Conservative caucus. May 17, 2013: Sen. Pamela Wallin also announces shes leaving the Conservative caucus. Her travel expenses, which totalled more than $321,000 since September 2010, have been the subject of an external audit since December. June 3, 2013: Sen. Marjory LeBreton, the Conservative leader in the Senate, says she intends to ask the auditor general to look into all the expenses of the upper chamber. LeBreton says she will introduce a motion calling for a comprehensive audit of expenses. June 13, 2013: Brazeau and Harb are given 30 days to reimburse taxpayers for their disallowed living expenses bills that together total more than $280,000. Aug. 13, 2013: The full extent of Wallins questionable expenses are laid bare as the Senate releases an audit of her travel claims, calls in the Mounties and orders her to repay tens of thousands of dollars. Aug. 21, 2013: Wallin is informed she would have to reimburse the Senate a grand total of $138,970 for ineligible travel expense claims. Wallin was already on the hook for $121,348 after an independent audit of her travel expenses. Aug. 26, 2013: Harb resigns from the upper chamber after having earlier left the Liberal party to sit as an independent. He also drops a lawsuit and promises to repay his questioned living and expense claims. Sept. 6, 2013: Wallin is told she has until Sept. 16 to repay tens of thousands of dollars in ineligible travel expenses. Sept. 13, 2013: Wallin pays back her dubious travel claims while accusing some fellow senators of succumbing to a lynch mob mentality. The Saskatchewan senator says she has paid back $100,600, plus interest, on top of $38,000 already repaid. Oct. 17, 2013: Claude Carignan, the governments new leader in the Senate, introduces motions to suspend Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau from the Senate. The motions call for the three to be stripped of their pay, benefits and Senate resources. Oct. 22, 2013: In an explosive speech in the Senate chamber, Duffy accuses Prime Minister Stephen Harpers office of orchestrating a monstrous fraud aimed at snuffing out controversy over his expenses. Duffy accuses the prime minister of being more interested in appeasing his Conservative base than the truth. Oct. 23, 2013: Wallin follows Duffys lead with her own speech in the Senate, describing the suspension motion against her as baseless and premature and designed to remove a perceived liability, namely me. Oct. 25, 2013: Brazeau drops a bombshell of his own, saying Carignan earlier that same day took him aside and offered him a backroom deal: apologize publicly for his actions in exchange for a lighter punishment. Carignan acknowledges the conversation but described the offer as one made out of friendship. Oct. 30, 2013: Senate Speaker Noel Kinsella rules that an attempt to cut off debate on motions to suspend Duffy Wallin and Brazeau from the Senate is out of order. This delays again the effort to suspend the trio. Nov. 1, 2013: Documents filed in court by the RCMP explicitly allege Wallin did commit breach of trust in connection with the duties of office and by deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means defrauded the Senate of Canada of money by filing inappropriate expense claims, contrary to the Criminal Code. The documents include a request for several versions of Wallins electronic Senate calendar, citing them as further evidence that could back up the allegations. Nov. 4, 2013: Brazeau addresses the Senate chamber, making an emotional appeal for senators to reconsider his case. At one point, he addresses his children: It is very important that you understand that I am not guilty of what some of these people are accusing me of. I am not a thief, a scammer, a drunken Indian, a drug addict, a failed experiment or a human tragedy. Nov. 5, 2013: Senators vote to suspend Brazeau, Duffy and Wallin without pay but with health, dental and life insurance benefits intact for the remainder of the parliamentary session, which expired with the election call in 2015. Jan. 29, 2014: Liberal leader Justin Trudeau expels the 32 Liberal senators from his caucus in what he calls an effort to reduce partisanship in the upper chamber. He says if he becomes prime minister he would appoint only independent senators, chosen through an open, public process. Feb. 4, 2014: The RCMP lay charges of fraud and breach of trust against Harb and Brazeau. July 17, 2014: The RCMP charge Duffy with 31 counts of fraud, breach of trust and bribery. May 14, 2015: The Senate appoints Ian Binnie, a retired Supreme Court of Canadian justice, as a special arbitrator for questioned expenses. June 4, 2015: Auditor general Michael Ferguson releases an audit which flags a number of senators for questionable expenses. March 21, 2016: Binnie releases his report. He says in 10 of 14 cases of questioned expenses, he reduced the total. He says he imputed no bad motives to any of the senators. April 21, 2016: Duffy is acquitted on all counts. May 19, 2016: The RCMP say they will not lay charges against Wallin, ending a three-year investigation. May 20, 2016: Prosecutors drop the charges against Harb, saying they saw no reasonable prospect of conviction. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. MONTREAL Bombardier is hoping to get its Toronto streetcar contract back on track and prevent delays at two other Ontario transit projects by shifting production among four sites in Ontario, Quebec and Mexico. The company will relieve pressure in Thunder Bay, Ont., by shifting light rail projects for Metrolinx in Greater Toronto and the Kitchener-Waterloo region to its facility in Kingston, Ont. Thunder Bay also makes bi-level cars for GO Transit and is completing a Toronto subway contract. The plant in La Pocatiere, Que., will lend a hand by taking on work transferred from an operation in Mexico where there have been quality issues. A second production line for the TTC streetcars will be added at a location to be identified at the end of May. Were taking bold and decisive action, spokesman Marc-Andre Lefebvre said in an interview Friday. Were doing everything necessary to hasten the deliveries and make sure we honour our commitments. The changes will result in the layoff of 60 workers in Thunder Bay, unless it becomes the home of the second streetcar line. However, it will preserve 60 jobs in Kingston once production of metro cars destined for Kuala Lumpur ends later this year. Up to 50 workers will be hired in La Pocatiere, which is making Montreal subway cars. The new president of the division overseeing transport in the Americas disclosed the revised schedule during a meeting with TTC officials on Wednesday. Bombardier said it will deliver 16 more vehicles this year, raising the total number of streetcar deliveries to 31. The TTC has said 73 streetcars had been slated to be delivered by the end of 2016 according to the original schedule. Meanwhile, Bombardier plans to deliver an additional 40 streetcars in 2017, 76 in 2018 and 57 in 2019 to fulfil the commitment for 204 streetcars as part of the $1.2-billion contract. Although pilot light rail vehicles have faced a few months of delays, the changes will ensure the production vehicles for Metrolink and Kitchener-Waterloo remain on schedule, said Lefebvre. Bombardier (TSX:BBD.B) is scheduled to deliver 182 light rail vehicles to Metrolinx starting in 2018 under a $770 million contract announced in 2010. Five production vehicles for the $66-million Kitchener-Waterloo project are being built in Thunder Bay, while Kingston will make the remaining nine. Lefebvre said Bombardier is tackling problems in Mexico and is deploying 26 experts from around the world to address welding problems. Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare said a couple of weeks ago that the company would do whatever is needed to deliver the streetcars following disappointing delays that prompted scathing criticism from the Toronto Transit Commission. The countrys largest transit authority declined to comment on Bombardiers production changes but said it hopes they will ensure timely deliveries. We just want the streetcars, said spokesman Kadeem Griffiths. Already have an account? Log in here OTTAWA - The British envoy to Canada says he welcomes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying this week that Britain should not leave the European Union. We need your support! Local journalism needs your support! As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support. Starting at $4.99/month you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website. or call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527. Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. VANCOUVER When Canadian mining executive Jim Cooney coined the term social licence in 1997, he was talking about building support for mines in developing countries, not resource projects at home. But nearly two decades later, the phrase is regularly invoked by industry, politicians and environmental groups in the Canadian pipeline debate. Some observers say its a sign of progress, but others say the ill-defined term is undermining legal and regulatory processes. Im sometimes praised and sometimes blamed, said Cooney, now an adjunct mining professor at the University of British Columbia, with a laugh. I wish now I had trademarked the term. I didnt think it was that significant. I thought it was just a way of sort of explaining a reality on the ground. A map of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline is seen in the foreground as Dr. Robert Steedman, Chief Environment Officer of the National Energy Board, centre, releases their report on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project are seen in Calgary, Thursday, May 19, 2016.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Cooney first used the phrase at a mining conference in Washington. He had noticed the power of local communities to derail projects was growing, in part because the Internet was enabling them to form alliances with non-governmental organizations and academics. He said he realized companies faced a two-track approval process, in which they had to obtain both a government permit and what he called a social licence. Local communities have concerns, which from their point of view, are not and cannot be adequately addressed by higher levels of government, he said. Companies, to satisfy local concerns, need to go beyond regulatory compliance sometimes. He acknowledged that social licence is difficult to define and often misused. He said his definition includes three characteristics: a precautionary approach to environmental impacts, a specific contractual agreement outlining benefits to the community and ongoing communication. Without a social licence, energy companies can find themselves mired in legal challenges and unable to get shovels in the ground, Cooney said. But Dwight Newman, a senior fellow with the MacDonald-Laurier Institute, said the term has been expanded to a more ill-defined idea, which activists are abusing to undermine major projects. Some of those who are opposed to a particular project, or to pipeline projects in general, can end up raising the idea of social licence to suggest that there are additional requirements beyond those that are provided for within the law, he said. Social licence is not a legal term and the regulatory process for resource projects already allows for the participation of affected municipalities and First Nations, as well as rigorous environmental reviews, he said. Indigenous rights are protected in the Constitution and aboriginal communities often have standing in the courts to pursue their rights claims, he added. I would say it diminishes those rights to call them social licence, because they are actually part of the legal licence in a sense. David Bursey, a regulatory lawyer and partner with Bennett Jones, said social licence appears to be defined differently on either side of the debate. Companies are usually referring to social responsibility and building community goodwill to allow a project to proceed, he said. (Companies) dont actually mean permission, he said. But the term licence, for people who might be opposed to a project, like to think of it as actually meaning consent. Law professor Chris Tollefson of the University of Victoria said social licence is won through a fair process, regardless of whether the participants support the outcome. I think where you have a process that has allowed citizens to participate in a meaningful way, you engender trust, said Tollefson. At that point, whatever decision comes out, theres a much better chance that it will have social licence. Tollefson represented B.C. Nature and Nature Canada in the National Energy Boards hearings on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, and he said the project will likely never have social licence because of the boards process. The board recommended on Thursday that Ottawa approve the expansion. The boards mandate under the previous Conservative government set limits on who could participate and didnt require it to examine upstream or downstream greenhouse gas emissions. The board also excluded oral cross-examination in favour of written questions and answers. Board spokeswoman Tara ODonovan said the absence of oral cross-examination doesnt mean the evidence of a proponent isnt tested. Its challenged by the written process, the energy boards expert staff, and the submission of information and final arguments that reach different conclusions, she said. Complaints about the process prompted Justin Trudeau to promise a new open process for all pipelines when he was an opposition leader. In January, Trudeaus government announced deeper indigenous consultation and an assessment of upstream greenhouse gas emissions. The government has made it a priority to restore the publics trust in the way major resource projects are reviewed, Natural Resources Canada said in a statement. Follow @ellekane on Twitter. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA The death knell echoed louder for the Senate spending saga Friday as prosecutors gave up chasing former senator Mac Harb, leaving the once-sizzling scandal little more than a fizzling heap of audits, investigations and trials. One month after the sensational acquittal of Sen. Mike Duffy, prosecutors finally pulled the plug on their case against Harb, 62, saying they did not see a reasonable prospect of conviction. That decision came just one day after the RCMP said investigators would not pursue charges against Sen. Pamela Wallin, despite having spent three years poring through her disputed travel expenses. Senator Mac Harb leaves the Parliament Buildings after attending a meeting of the Senate Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 9, 2013. Crown prosecutors have withdrawn charges of fraud and breach of trust against former Liberal senator Mac Harb. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Harb was facing one count each of fraud and breach of trust stemming from housing expenses once deemed unjustified by the Senate, forcing him in 2013 to repay $231,000 for years of housing claims, then promptly retire from the upper chamber. The one-time Liberal MP from Ottawa filed for a secondary home in the city while claiming his primary residence was far from the national capital. An RCMP investigation into Harbs spending alleged that his primary residence was in fact uninhabitable for three years, and that he maintained a 0.01 per cent ownership stake in it after selling the rest to a diplomat from Brunei. In a statement, Harbs lawyer Sean May said his client has steadfastly maintained his innocence throughout the arduous process of the RCMP investigation, one in which he co-operated fully. The withdrawal of the charges is a complete vindication of Mr. Harb, legally and ethically, May said. That leaves Patrick Brazeau as the only senator with a scheduled criminal trial related to expense claims. Brazeaus lawyer Christian Deslauriers said Friday that if the Crown cant make a case against Harb, convicting his client would be even harder. Just last month, an Ontario Court judge dismissed the 31 expense-related charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery against Duffy in sensational fashion. The Crown has until Tuesday to file an appeal in that case. Ontario Court Justice Charles Vaillancourt ruled that the Senate spending rules were too ambiguous, echoing conclusions from two private auditing firms one looking into Brazeau and Harb, the other the Senates own books. I would find it difficult for the Crown to prove without reasonable doubt that Mr. Brazeau wanted, intentionally, to defraud the system, knowing that the system is so unclear and impossible to understand, Deslauriers said. NDP MP Daniel Blaikie called Duffys case the litmus test: if the charges didnt stick there, they likely wouldnt stick to anyone else involved in the Senate spending scandal. If you couldnt convict Mike Duffy on the existing rules, its hard to believe you could convict anyone, Blaikie said. Canadians really felt like there was something that had gone on there that deserved punishment, and so if it didnt happen in that case, I think its likely that it wouldnt happen in any other cases. With files from Lina Dib Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 18/05/2016 (2351 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Theres a Punjabi phrase shouted to give thanks for victories: the truth will always prevail. So as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau concluded his formal apology Wednesday for the Komagata Maru incident of 1914, Amarjeet Singh Sidhu, who had travelled from outside Toronto to watch the event, could not restrain himself. With a turban proudly on his head and a chest full of medals for his Canadian community service, he rose to his feet in the public gallery of the House of Commons and shouted the phrase for all to hear. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally apologizes for a 1914 government decision that barred most of the passengers of the Komagata Maru from entering Canada, in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 18, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld And the hundreds of Indo-Canadians in attendance Wednesday for the historic moment roared back their thanks in union. This is a country for people who bring prosperity to be part of the mainstream, work together, play together, pray together, Sidhu said afterwards. It wasnt always that way. In 1914, the Canadian government turned away most of the passengers of the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru, nearly all Sikhs, whod hoped to start a new life in Canada. The 376 passengers arrived off the coast of B.C. hoping to challenge the immigration laws at the time which refused entry to any Indians who had not arrived in Canada via a continuous journey from the home country nearly impossible at the time. Except for 20 passengers who had previously lived in Canada, officials refused to allow the Indians in, even though they were British subjects just like every other Canadian of the time. The vessel sailed to India, where 19 of the passengers were killed in a skirmish with British authorities and dozens of others were imprisoned or forced into hiding. Canada cannot solely be blamed for every tragic mistake that occurred with the Komagata Maru and its passengers, Trudeau told the House, which was packed with MPs and onlookers, many of whom had travelled from across the country. But Canadas government was, without question, responsible for the laws that prevented these passengers from immigrating peacefully and securely. For that, and for every regrettable consequence that followed, we are sorry. Trudeaus formal apology is the second from a Canadian prime minister. Former prime minister Stephen Harper delivered an apology in 2008 in British Columbia, not the House of Commons. His words were part of a broader effort by the previous government to acknowledge the harsh treatment of Indians in the early years of the 20th century, said Opposition leader Rona Ambrose. We cant change the past, she said. But we can demonstrate that Canada has changed. That was true for Gurjinder Kaur Gill, who travelled from Montreal for the event and stood with dozens of people afterwards at a small reception, hoping for a chance to meet Trudeau. Only 24, she said it was important for her to be part of acknowledging a moment in time that while she never experienced, so many in her community had been touched by the legacy of the ship and the laws of the day. Its like closure, she said. It shows that Canada is inclusive to everyone. For B.C. Sikhs, the Komagata Maru incident was a pivotal moment. Many members of the community whose numbers had been dwindling in part due to the discriminatory immigration laws of the day raised thousands of dollars to support legal challenges for the people stuck on the boat. Today, there are over 200,000 Sikhs in the province and for all them, Wednesday was an exceptionally proud moment, said Harwinder Pal Singh, the high president of Vancouvers Khalsa Diwan Society, the oldest Sikh society in the country. He said there is a lesson in the experience of the Komagata Maru he hopes not just the government, but all Canadians, take to heart. We should welcome everybody who is in need and who is dreaming of a better future. Follow @StephanieLevitz on Twitter Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version had an incorrect surname for Amerjeet Singh Sidhu. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 19/05/2016 (2350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. SASKATOON One of the founders of the National Farmers Union has died at the age of 92. Roy Atkinson, born on the family homestead in Springwater, Sask., started out as president of the Saskatchewan Farmers Union in 1962 and was instrumental in creating the national organization seven years later. He served as president of the NFU the most militant agricultural organization of its time until 1978. One of the founders of the National Farmers Union, Roy Atkinson shown in this handout image provided by the National Farmers Union, has died at the age of 92. Atkinson, born on the family homestead in Springwater, Sask., started out as president of the Saskatchewan Farmers Union in 1962 and was instrumental in creating the national organization seven years later. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-NFU *MANDATORY CREDIT* During its heyday in the early 1970s, the NFU went beyond traditional agricultural laments over prices and profits and addressed problems such as Third World development, multinational corporations and stewardship of the soil, sometimes with picket lines and boycotts. Atkinson was arrested in Prince Edward Island during a tractor demonstration for what his lawyer jokingly described as trying to intimidate a road. In 1974, the federal government admitted the RCMP used a Saskatoon travel agency to monitor his movements. In 1977, rumours circulated that the NFU had been placed on a so-called security blacklist by the RCMP. It was a move that outraged Atkinson, who viewed it as interference with legitimate union activity. It is often said that we can see as far as we do today because we stand upon the shoulders of giants, Jan Slomp, NFU president, said in a release. Roy Atkinson is certainly one of those giants. His legacy as our farm movements leader is unmistakable. He was one of the visionaries who brought provincial farm unions together to create the foundation of our present national organization. That sentiment was echoed by Stewart Wells, who headed the organization between 2001 and 2009. Roy was a man of tremendous intellect and discipline, Wells said. He believed if you gave people all the information they would make the right decision, and that people should be able to control their own means of production and marketing. His activism was remembered by Nettie Wiebe, the organizations president from 1995 to 1998. Roy fought for and with farm families to protect their economic interests and their way of life, Wiebe said. Atkinson, who was large, genial and shrewd, once laughed when it was suggested that he was regarded as a folk hero by some Canadian farmers. During his years at the helm of the NFU, he continued operating the thousand-hectare farm his grandfather, father and uncles had homesteaded since 1905. He grew up in the Depression in a family where politics and farming were discussed over the dinner table. It always seemed strange to me that farmers were going bankrupt while other businesses were growing, he said in a 1977 interview. I guess I had to find out why. The other thing was coming to realize that workers had to organize in order to earn a decent living, to get decent wages. His obituary noted that Atkinson also served on the Economic Council of Canada and was a member of the Canadian Council for Rural Development. He was a board member of Federated Co-operatives Limited and was a grassroots general in Saskatchewans fight for universal medicare, serving on the Community Health Services Association formed in opposition to the 1962 doctors strike. He was inducted into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame and in 2002 was invested into the Order of Canada. A memorial celebration for Atkinson will be held in Saskatoon on May 27. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Six stories in the news today from The Canadian Press: OBSERVERS SAY TRANS MOUNTAIN FINAL APPROVAL NO SLAM DUNK Copies of the National Energy Board report on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project are seen in Calgary, Thursday, May 19, 2016.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Opponents and supporters of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion say a regulatory green light doesnt mean smooth sailing for the project that still must be approved by the federal cabinet. Observers point out cabinets decision will be influenced by a newly required assessment of upstream greenhouse gases emitted as oil is produced before it gets to the pipeline. FORT MCMURRAY FIRE THREAT MOVING INTO SASKATCHEWAN Fire crews held a wildfire away from oilsands facilities and communities in northern Alberta on Thursday as flames spread into Saskatchewan. The blaze, dubbed the beast by firefighters after it entered Fort McMurray two weeks ago, has grown to about 5,000 square kilometres in size, with nearly eight square kilometres stretching into Saskatchewan. No communities faced an immediate threat. MOUNTIES IN FORT MCMURRAY NOT PROPERLY PROTECTED FROM SMOKE, SAYS POLICE ASSOC. An organization representing many rank-and-file RCMP members is alleging officers deployed to the wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alta., were not provided with adequate masks to protect them from toxic fumes. The Mounted Police Professional Association of Canada says at least one member complained of having to wear a paper dust mask while exposed to smoke for five days. FATE OF ASSISTED DYING BILL IN QUESTION The fate of the governments controversial assisted death legislation and whether it can pass through Parliament by the Supreme Courts deadline of June 6 is now very much in question. When pressed on the timeline outside the Commons, Health Minister Jane Philpott would only say she looks forward to discussing the matter with Liberal House leader Dominic LeBlanc and other colleagues. REGULATOR ACCEPTS GENETICALLY MODIFIED SALMON Canadian grocery stores now have a green light to begin selling fast-growing, genetically modified salmon the first such species to gain such approval from federal agencies. Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it has completed a scientific review of AquAdvantages salmon and it has passed the final regulatory hurdle for the farmed fish. RAPTORS DOWN 2-0 IN NBA EASTERN FINAL The Toronto Raptors turned in a better effort, but it still wasnt enough against LeBron James and his undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers. James poured in 23 points to power the Cavaliers past Toronto 108-89 to send the Raptors home trailing 2-0 in their Eastern Conference final debut. Game 3 is on Saturday. ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY: Statistics Canada will release the retail trade figures for March and the consumer price index for April. Officials from MTS and Bell will announce improvements to cell service in Manitoba. Hydro-Quebec holds a conference call to discuss first-quarter results. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In the past several weeks Ive checked out the beer scenes in Regina and Minot and one thing I noticed is that craft sodas are becoming a thing. Not only that, but boozy sodas are becoming incredibly popular. Breweries are making boozy and non-boozy versions of root beer, ginger ale and other various drinks. I feel that malt-based alcoholic root beers will become more of the norm in the next five years. Speaking of boozy sodas, Ive been feeling incredibly bored lately and trying new fruity coolers because there are times when a full-on hoppy IPA just doesnt do it for me. Ive been drinking a great deal of alcoholic iced teas in recent days because, well, iced tea is delicious, and not only that, beer/malt-based iced teas may become the next Bud Light Lime even though Coors Light Iced T failed miserably a few years back. This week is all about my absolute favourite alcoholic iced teas that are available in Manitoba. Mill Street Lemon Tea Beer This tea brew predates the flop that was Coors Light Iced T by several years. In fact, Mill Street Lemon Tea Beer may have been one of the first tea-based beers on the market. The beer pours a rich orange/amber ale with a good amount of cloudiness. The aroma is very much tea forward. I find it to be a rich combination of Orange Pekoe and Earl Grey, with notes of lemon, a bit of a graininess from the malted barley and wheat, and a bit of a sugary sweetness. But its more Orange Pekoe than anything. The taste has the complexity of a wheat ale with the complementing tea flavours. The flavour gives off a gritty wheat thats more common in a Belgian witbier or a German hefeweizen, plus it has a decent amount of lemon. For the most part, Mill Street Lemon Tea Beer comes off as an ale with tea and lemon flavours, not overpowering and not overly sweet. It costs $3.06 per 473 ml can at the 10th and Victoria Liquor Mart and beer vendors around Westman. 4/5 Pints Boston Beer Co. Twisted Tea Original Who would have thought that Boston Beer Companys (a.k.a. Sam Adams) most popular product in Manitoba would be a barley malt-based iced tea cooler? I sure as heck didnt! Twisted Tea is a camping and Countryfest tradition in Manitoba for the past few years for those who are tired of Bud Light and want something sweet. Twisted Tea Original pours a clear orange/amber with just a hint of carbonation. The aroma is very much the typical summertime picnic in the park iced tea you get served from a plastic water pitcher very sugary, a moderate amount of tea and a hint of malted barley that gives it a bit of a hint of booze and grain. When tasting Twisted Tea, the first thing that hits my tongue is the booze burn from the malt, which is reminiscent of a typical vodka cooler. Im a bit surprised by the burn, but the iced tea and sugar follow-up give off that typical summery iced tea taste. However, I feel like its missing a bit of lemon, so feel free to use a lemon wedge. Looking back, it has a hint of a flavour that reminds me of Sam Adams popular amber Boston Lager, but I dont have the lager on hand to taste test. Its $2.34 per 355 ml bottle at most Liquor Marts and beer vendors around Westman. 3/5 Pints Snapple Spiked Rasp Cherry Tea Vodka This is the only non-barley/wheat-based beverage of the bunch. I felt it only made sense that if I was going to promote boozy iced teas, my favourite brand should be on the list. Snapple is known for some of the best bottled and canned iced teas out there. Their owner, Canada Dry Motts, has licensed out the iced tea to be turned into boozy form. This isnt the first time Canada Dry Motts has done this. They also have a decent variety of Motts Clamato Caesar products at Liquor Marts and vendors, including Motts Clamato Caesar Original, Lime and even Spicy. Snapples Spiked Rasp Cherry Tea Vodka beverage pours a slightly cloudy orange-golden lager in fact, this is the most beer-looking beverage Ive had all night! The aroma is a medley of raspberry, cherry and loose-leaf paper for some strange reason. It tastes like your typical Snapple iced tea right at the beginning, with a floral tea flavour followed by the fruitiness of raspberry and cherry. Then, the booziness from the vodka kicks in and leaves a light burning sensation on the palate. For the most part, this drink is all about the iced tea and retains that famous Snapple taste but the hint of vodka makes you realize that this isnt a non-alcoholic beverage at all. I know a lot of people tell me that they dont know when theres vodka in their beverage because its neutral, but I get a bit of an acidic bitterness on my tongue any time I taste something with vodka in it. This is pricey for a Snapple product, but if you are an iced tea aficionado, the Rasp Cherry Tea Vodka is worth trying because it goes down so well. It will set you back $2.99 per 458 ml can at Liquor Marts in Brandon, Dauphin, Minnedosa, Neepawa, Roblin, Russell, Swan River, The Pas and Virden. 3.5/5 Pints Cody Lobreau is a Canadian beer blogger who reviews every beer he can get his hands on as he believes that he should try every beer twice to get an understanding if its truly good or bad. BeerCrank.ca Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/05/2016 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. So. Long story short. In April, I was in Las Vegas on business. I focused on media education during the day. But in the evenings, I focused on my other business, namely wine and food. This is the final instalment in my wine and food guide to the tiny bit of Vegas Ive managed to discover in six years of going on an annual basis. I love the city and know lots of other western Manitobans including plenty of friends and neighbours who frequent it regularly as well. Theyve told me they like to read about what Ive discovered there so they can plan to try the places Ive experienced. Obviously, Im only too happy to oblige! But this is it for a while, even though theres so much to tell. Anyway, Ill try to be brief. For starters, Portofino. I had the best lasagna of my life in this elegant Italian restaurant in The Mirage two years ago. Rather than the standard ground beef, it was made with an incredibly generous amount of braised short ribs, along with two three-quarter-inch sections, interrupted only by some noodles, of herbed ricotta cheese. Topped with an acre of perfectly melted mozzarella, the portion is enough for two people I ate as much as I could but still left half on the plate. Its absolutely stellar, but theres no point eating until one is sick. This year, the waiter informed me theyd switched from braised short ribs to braised oxtail, and the result was still beyond delicious. I oohed and aahed over each and every bite. I paired it with a glass of what the restaurant termed Baby Amarone and was delighted by the wine, not just to sip while I waited for my Caesar salad and then the main course, but also with the meal. The wine is actually Allegrinis Palazzo Della Torre and was slightly oaky with a fruity and raisin-like character (naturally from Italy the vineyard is near Verona) and as mentioned, it was great on its own and a perfect complement to the meal. Next day, the Sky Lounge at Stratosphere for a glass of J. Lohr Chardonnay with my colleague and a friend from CBC Toronto. The lounge provides a breathtaking view of the Strip from the north end of the city get there about a half-hour before sunset so you can watch that happen, and then marvel as the lights twinkle on across the city at 844 feet in the air, the vantage point is fantastic. Here in Manitoba, prices of J. Lohr fluctuate crazily with the value of the Canadian dollar, so while a generous glass was $13 in the Sky Lounge, a bottle of J. Lohr Chard, which is lush and buttery and altogether fabulous, costs $27.09 plus taxes here at home. Its a great wine but the price has gotten out of hand. (At The Stage Door Casino with attached convenience store in Vegas, just three blocks from where we stay at The Flamingo, a bottle of J. Lohr Chard was $15.95.) Not wanting to change locations and impressed by the offerings at the Top of the World Revolving Restaurant, we opted to stay there for dinner, and enjoyed a fabulous New York steak accompanied by a bottle of 2013 J. Lohr Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon, which boasted plum, violet and tobacco aromas and flavours, tinged with nutty cocoa bean and oak. A beautiful wine, this was among my favourites of the trip. But then there was the next night. Tickets to the Blue Man Group had been purchased, and the show was at the Luxor, way down at the south end of the strip. The show was terrific great production values, super music, fun and funny audience interaction and was very much enjoyed by us all. But before that, dinner at Emerils New Orleans Fish House at the MGM Grand. A glass of the 2013 Lioco Chardonnay from Sonoma started things off for me this Chard had a wonderful buttery lemon/lime minerality that was great for $12 a glass. I had the barbecued salmon for my main, which was weird but absolutely delicious and cooked medium rare, just the way I like it. With it, I chose the Benton Lane Pinot Noir, and it was lovely. With black cherry, cranberry, cola, and chocolate flavours, this was a Pinot to be reckoned with. If time had allowed, Id have had another glass (this was also $12), but it didnt, and as they say, theres a reason for everything. Tickets for the show had to be picked up an hour prior to showtime, so there was time for a glass at the Luxor. I found the Aurora Lounge to my liking, and I was knocked out by the wine list. It was full of my favourites, and ones we can get here at home. The La Marca Prosecco, MacMurray Ranch Pinot Noir, Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon, Alamos Malbec, as well as what I chose that night, my new favourite Chardonnay, the William Hill Chard, all of which were $10 or $11 a glass. Fabulous! (The William Hill is $18.99 a bottle at the Corral Centre Liquor Mart, and I love its buttery richness and mineral quality.) The next day, a sinful brunch of Fried Eggs Benedict at Serendipity at Caesars Palace, which involved all the usual eggs benny ingredients set upon a bed of white gravy with spicy sausage. Ridiculously good. I could feel my arteries clogging as I ate. But one has to indulge in these sorts of things occasionally. Homeward bound, we had a seven-hour layover in Calgary, so a few of us took taxis to the nearby CrossIron Mills Mall (dont miss the BassPro store, which is like a museum!), where I dined alone at about 3 p.m. at Fionn MacCools, and very much enjoyed a glass of the Kim Crawford Unoaked Chardonnay (from New Zealand, and $19.99 a bottle here at home) to accompany my buttery lemon chicken and asparagus fettuccine. As usual, a splendid trip from both the business and pleasure perspectives. But now its time to move on to new or new-to-me offerings at home. Ive got a list a mile long to share in the coming weeks. Cheers! Diane Nelson is a longtime journalist and former Sun staffer who really likes wine. A lot. vinelines.ca Twitter: @vinelinesbdn The City will look for more details on how the new boss at Marks & Spencer plans to turn the retailer around, profits at airline Ryanair are expected to soar despite recent terror attacks, while top brass at Royal Dutch Shell will be wary of a rough ride over pay at the oil major's AGM. M&S's new boss Steve Rowe will be looked to for further details on his turnaround plan for the retailer's beleaguered clothing division when he reports full-year figures on Wednesday. Mr Rowe - who took on the top job from Marc Bolland in April - pledged to restore the fortunes of its general merchandise arm after reporting a 2.7% slide in like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks to March 26. He branded the performance as ''unsatisfactory'' and has said he would remain in charge of the clothing business because he was ''personally committed'' to getting it right. He has a task on his hands, however, given the dismal conditions for womenswear retailers in April, with Next recently warning over profits after last month's cold weather. It said the lacklustre figures could indicate a wider slowdown in consumer spending. But despite the ongoing woes at the clothing division, M&S's annual underlying pre-tax profits are expected to edge higher, up 1.8% to 673m. This would mark the second full-year profits rise in a row after it halted a four-year run of falling earnings in the previous year. M&S has been helped by robust performance from its food division, which held like-for-like sales flat against tough conditions in the grocery sector amid a supermarket price war. The chain has also been making efforts to cut sourcing costs in the general merchandise business, which is helping push up profits. But investors will be keen to hear more on Mr Rowe's plans for the group following his move to cull a raft of senior executives earlier this month. He announced he will almost halve the number of senior executives from 20 to just 11 as part of a management reshuffle. The group has also recently scored another coup for its clothing business in the fight to revive flagging sales by sealing a tie-up in February with TV presenter Alexa Chung to launch a fashion collection inspired by the company's extensive range. Shore Capital analysts said they have faith in the new chief executive, saying: "M&S is in good hands, to our minds." Fast-track planning permission is to be used to provide thousands of new homes in Dublin 4. The Government has approved city council plans to build as many as 3,000 units on the old Irish Glass Bottle site in Poolbeg. The Garda Inspectorate has been called on to investigate how whistleblowers are treated on the back of alleged attempts to discredit Sergeant Maurice McCabe. Transparency International Ireland, which promotes the fight against corruption, said an independent body is needed to examine the experience of officers who expose wrongdoing in the ranks. The organisation also said the oversight body was best placed to recommend how to stop whistleblowers being victimised. John Devitt, chief executive of TI Ireland, said he was seriously concerned at detail of exchanges from leaked transcripts of the O'Higgins Commission where the Garda Commissioner's lawyers said they would criticise Sgt McCabe. "The O'Higgins Commission observed that Sergeant McCabe had reason to believe that he was being 'set up' and wrongly faced disciplinary action in response to concerns he raised about Garda malpractice," he said. "The recently leaked testimony to the Commission that appeared to question the integrity and motivation of Sergeant McCabe also poses serious questions about commitments to respect and protect whistleblowers. "The O'Higgins Commission did not inquire into these matters further and it's for this reason that we believe a more thorough examination of current management practices and whistleblower protection procedures is required." Mr Devitt, who has spoken regularly to Sgt McCabe as he exposed bad policing and negligence among colleagues in the Cavan and Monaghan district, urged the Garda Inspectorate to assess current attitudes to whistleblowers among gardai. He also said it should look at a sample of cases and circumstances where officers reported malpractice but subsequently alleged being faced with formal or informal sanctions for doing so. Mr Devitt said Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan could partially answer some of the questions by clarifying what instructions she gave her lawyer. To date Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald and the Commissioner have refused to go down that road insisting that it would be illegal but their opponents claim there is no law to stop the police chief revealing her orders. Leaked transcripts claim to show that the barrister initially backed an assessment by the commissioner chair, Judge Kevin O'Higgins, that the Commissioner's case was that Sgt McCabe acted with "malice". Further documents allege the lawyer clarified that he had made an error in saying the case was to attack Sgt McCabe's "integrity" but that it was to challenge the respected officer's "motivation and credibility". Mr Devitt said the Commissioner should clear up what the basis was for these instructions. "She should also make it clear to all members of the service that any attempt to victimise whistleblowers or fabricate evidence against them will be met with fair but swift disciplinary action," he said. A statement from the Commissioner on the controversy has been expected - the second in a week. "Whistleblowers from every walk of life routinely face sanctions including unwarranted disciplinary action, reassignment of duties, the sharing of false and damaging information against them, unfair dismissal and other forms of maltreatment," Mr Devitt said. "It's important therefore that all employers understand the essential role whistleblowers play in exposing wrongdoing and have procedures in place to prevent harm to anyone who speaks up." Whistleblowers are supported by law under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014. Since it came into force TI Ireland's Speak Up helpline has seen a 100% increase in the number of calls received from whistleblowers with the majority from health workers. Update 4.15pm: Egypt's civil aviation minister has told the relatives of the victims of the EgyptAir crash there are "no survivors", according to a newspaper report. The daily Al-Masry Al-Youm said Sherif Fathi had told the families that Egyptian armed forces are doing their best to locate the wreckage and personal belongings of the victims. The report came after authorities say they had spotted a body part, two seats and suitcases in the search for the missing plane, according to Greek officials. The office of Egypt's president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, earlier issued a statement expressing its condolences to the relatives of the 66 killed. It said the presidency "expressed its deep regret and sadness for the victims". "God give great mercy and host them in his heaven," it added. The statement marked the first official recognition by Egypt's government that the missing plane had crashed. France, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and the UK have all joined the Egyptian search effort, Egypt's defence ministry said. Authorities had been scouring a wide area south of the Greek island of Crete. Update 1.45am: Egyptian authorities say they have spotted a body part, two seats and suitcases in the search for the missing EgyptAir plane, according to Greek officials. Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos said the items were found in the search area in the Mediterranean, slightly to the south of where the aircraft vanished from radar signals early on Thursday. He said the location was slightly north of where other debris was found on Thursday afternoon but authorities had been unable to identify that as having come from the missing Airbus A320. An Egyptian pilot searches in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane. Picture: AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry. Update 11.25am: Wreckage from the crashed EgyptAir flight has been found in the Mediterranean, Egyptian officials have announced. Flight MS804 - an Airbus A320 with 56 passengers and 10 crew members from Paris to Cairo - went down about halfway between the Greek island of Crete and Egypt's coastline, or around 175 miles offshore, after take-off from Charles de Gaulle Airport. Egypt's army spokesman said debris and passenger belongings have been located 180 miles off the coast of Alexandria in Egypt. Brigadier General Mohammed Samir said in a statement on his Facebook page that Egyptian jets and naval vessels participating in the search for missing Flight 804 had found "personal belongings of the passengers and parts of the plane debris", 180 miles north of the city of Alexandria. Airport officials in Egypt said investigators will inspect the debris and personal belongings that have been recovered. Egyptian and Russian officials said it may have been brought down by terrorists. Egyptian plane flies over a ship during the search in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane. Picture: AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry. Earlier: The search for a missing EgyptAir plane that disappeared over the Mediterranean is continuing for a second day as tributes have been paid to those who were on board. EgyptAir flight MS804 - an Airbus A320 with 56 passengers and 10 crew members from Paris to Cairo - went down about halfway between the Greek island of Crete and Egypt's coastline, or around 175 miles offshore, after take-off from Charles de Gaulle Airport. The Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos says the plane swerved wildly before plummeting into the sea. Among those on board were a child and two babies, EgyptAir said. The airline said the 56 passengers included 30 Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis and one each from Britain, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria, Canada, Belgium, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Relatives of passengers on an EgyptAir flight that crashed early Thursday walk past journalists at Cairo International Airport, Egypt yesterday. Picture: AP Yesterday, EgyptAir reported that wreckage from the plane, including life jackets, had been found near the Greek island of Karpathos by the Greek authorities. But EgyptAir's vice chairman Ahmed Adel later told CNN that the items were not from flight MS804. He said: "We stand corrected on finding the wreckage because what we identified is not a part of our plane. So the search and rescue is still going on." The distressed relatives of some of those on board have spent the night in a hotel in Cairo while they await news. France's foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said today there is "absolutely no indication" of the cause. The junior minister for transport, Alain Vidalies, said on France-Info radio that "no theory is favoured" at this stage and urged "the greatest caution". A French military Falcon jet is helping in the search for debris. Vidalies said France could offer undersea search equipment and experts. Amid fears it was an extremist attack, Vidalies defended security at Charles de Gaulle Airport, saying staff badges are revoked if there is the slightest security doubt. Plane spun all the way round Before it disappeared from radar screens around 2.45am Cairo time (12.45am Irish time), the plane spun all the way around and suddenly lost altitude. Egyptian and Russian officials said it may have been brought down by terrorists, and there are no signs of survivors. One of those on board was father-of-two Richard Osman from Britain. He was described by his younger brother Alastair as a workaholic and a very admirable person who "never deviated from the straight path". Alastair Osman told ITV News: "Richard has two kids. Richard was a very kind person, loving person, very focused. He was a workaholic and never deviated from the straight path. "A very admirable person and a lot of people admired him for his strength and values. He's a new dad. A dad for the second time now and I know that would have filled him with love and joy. It's funny how quickly things change." Egyptian and Greek authorities in ships and planes searched the suspected crash area throughout the day for traces of the airliner or its victims, with more help on the way from the US, Britain and France. Civil aviation minister Sherif Fathi said the disaster was still being investigated but the possibility it was a terror attack "is higher than the possibility of having a technical failure". Alexander Bortnikov, chief of Russia's top domestic security agency, said: "In all likelihood it was a terror attack." Asked about why Mr Osman was on the flight, his brother told the news programme: "He would have been going to work I assume. I know he works in both Egypt and another country in Africa. "I guess it was work-related. He's been doing this for years in the gold mining industry. This was a regular trip. He used to do it at least once a month, year after year." The Airbus A320 was built in 2003 and was flying at 37,000ft, the airline said on Twitter. It tweeted that the pilot had logged 6,275 flying hours, including 2,101 hours on the A320, and the co-pilot had logged 2,766 hours. A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 reacts as she makes a phone call at Charles de Gaulle Airport. Pic: AP There was confusion over whether a distress signal had been sent by the Airbus A320. Egypt's civil aviation authority said one was received at 4.26am local time, believed to be an automated message rather than one sent by the pilot. But in a statement on its website, the Egyptian military said later it had received no distress message from the aircraft . Meanwhile, French president Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting at the Elysee Palace. He also spoke to Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi by telephone and agreed to "closely co-operate to establish as soon as possible the circumstances surrounding the disaster". KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures ended the week 7% higher on Friday as the arrival of the monsoon season... MANILA: The use of LNG imports for power generation in the Philippines next year should not be a disincentive for... KARACHI: PIAs flights to Europe are likely to be resumed by next year as a top delegation of the Pakistan Civil... Canberra wine makers fear many emerging brands will abandon expansion plans and cut jobs due to changes to tax concessions that could cripple their business model. Smaller vineyards have relied on the wine equalisation tax rebate for more than a decade, which subsidises businesses for a 29 per cent tax on the wholesale value of their products. Mount Majura Vineyard winemaker Frank van de Loo is concerned about a small budget change that may have dramatic impacts on the future of Canberra's wine industry. Credit:Jay Cronan But in a move that surprised many, the government will reduce the rebate cap from $500,000 to $290,000 by July 2018 while tightening eligibility restrictions. Frank van de Loo, who owns the Mount Majura vineyard on the outskirts of Canberra, said the change could see businesses contract to minimise their tax liability. West Coast handed St Kilda a shellacking in round eight but the attention will turn to whether or not the Eagles can ditch the flat-track bully tag and do it on their travels against Port Adelaide on Saturday. The Dockers meanwhile face the prospect of a winless first nine games as they welcome a Richmond side buoyed by an unbelievable, after-the-siren, win against the Swans. Can West Coast emulate its performance against St Kilda on the road? Credit:Getty Images The Eagles will start favourites against a disappointing Port outfit, which couldn't get over the Blues in round eight, while the Dockers' horror 2016 means they go into Saturday night's clash with the Tigers at Domain Stadium as underdogs. But round nine serves up a couple of mouth-watering fixtures starting on Friday night with a blockbuster as reigning premier Hawthorn take on the Swans at the MCG. Sunday's Spotless Stadium tie between arguably the competitions' two surprise packages in GWS and the Bulldogs is another to keep an eye on. And so we bring you the round nine Friday Furnace.... fanning the flames on the burning topics of the weekend of AFL ahead. Brendan Foster (WAtoday's resident grumpy old man); Simon White (WAtoday editor and chief puppet hater); David Baker (WAtoday deputy editor and English footy convert); Tim Carrier (Fantasy footy nut and occasional WAtoday social media producer). Burning question: Are the Dockers already tanking? The club must be after recalling plodder Zac Dawson instead of playing youth. Headline you'd like to see: The Hawks ride rough for Jarryd. Pick of the round: Port is paying $2.65 at home against a West Coast team that can't win away from home. Tune in: Sydney V Hawks on Friday night. It will be fascinating to see how the Hawks' player respond after an emotional week with Roughead's cancer diagnosis. Question: Am I going to bother going out in the stormageddon on Saturday night to see Freo probably lose to Richmond? Headline: Giant leap from GWS with dog mauling Pick: I reckon Collingwood ($1.95) can cover the 36.5-point line against Geelong. Tune in: Suspect the Port Adelaide-West Coast game on Saturday afternoon could have plenty of end-to-end action. Ian McPhee, the former commonwealth auditor-general, will lead the review into sales commissions and whistleblower protections announced by the banking industry last month. The Australian Bankers' Association on Friday said Mr McPhee will report quarterly on the industry's progress in reforming itself. The first report will be released by July 21. Former Auditor-General Ian McPhee will investigate banker pay. Credit:Matt Bedford Mr McPhee retired as auditor-general last year after a decade in the role; he had been a public servant for 44 years. The banks announced the review into product sales commissions and product based payments on April 21 "with a view to removing or changing them where they could lead to poor customer outcomes". They also promised to improve protection for whistleblowers, to establish an independent customer advocate in each bank to deal with complaints, and to extend industry register to help identify rogue advisers. The announcements came the day after the federal government announced announced boosted resources, powers and consumer protections for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Both acts were seen as trying to shut down Labor's politically potent pledge for a royal commission if elected. Mr McPhee has worked in the Department of Finance and Australian Bureau of Statistics. He has also been a member of the Australian Accounting Standards Board and the Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. He received an Order of Australia last year for distinguished service to public administration, particularly in the areas of accountability and policy development. As auditor-general, Mr McPhee attacked perks for members of parliament perks and criticised the Coalition's Safer Streets program. The former chief political correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald, Lenore Taylor, has been appointed editor of Guardian Australia. Taylor left Fairfax Media in February 2013 to become the publication's founding political editor. Lenore Taylor, pictured in 2010, has been appointed editor of Guardian Australia. Credit:Fairfax Media The Walkley Award-winner, a former foreign correspondent who has been awarded the Paul Lyneham Award for excellence in press gallery journalism, made the announcement on Twitter on Friday. In it, Mr Gregory says McDonald's is relying on its "partners" to make its case in the pay and penalties debate. "The SDA will continue to clarify the facts on our behalf," he writes. He also reveals McDonald's is in ongoing, "direct" discussions with government ministers, and with "both sides of politics", about its stance on industrial matters. A package of documents distributed by Mr Gregory to the McDonald's franchisees - they control hundreds of stores - includes media releases from both the SDA and the AI Group. As McDonald's requested, both the union and employer lobby were active in the media on Friday. Pressed for his view, Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Dave Oliver said he understood the SDA/McDonald's agreement had been struck according to an enterprise bargaining system that allows employers and unions to negotiate on pay and conditions above the minimum, and subject to the Better Off Overall Test. However, working closely, the SDA and McDonald's were able to largely skip around that legal requirement by signing the agreement in mid 2013 and measuring it largely against archaic state awards. It's one of the great paradoxes of showbiz: we love an able-bodied actor who plays a disabled character, but we're not so keen on actors with genuine disabilities. Nowhere is this more evident than at the Academy Awards, where the choices in the acting categories have earned them the dubious nickname of the "gimp awards". "Oh man, if you are an actor and you have a role that has a disability you are guaranteed to win an award somewhere," says Sofya Gollan, the chronically deaf writer-director of Gimpsey, a terrific short film screening at St Kilda Film Festival that is both about disability and stars an actor with a disability, 19-year-old Bridie McKim. "Audiences find it deeply comforting when an actor they know and love plays a role with a disability, then they get up [at the end of it], shake off the role and become a normal person," says Gollan, who graduated as an actor from NIDA in 1992 but found work in the mainstream not easy to come by. IS PANTONE 448C the worlds ugliest colour? According to an advisory team that came up with the design for the Australian governments plain cigarette packets, its certainly the least appealing. And it is not a conclusion it came to lightly. Over three months an advisory group of academics and commercial market researchers was enlisted with the unusual task of designing a package that instead of luring consumers to a product, would have the opposite effect. Pantone 448C: The murky hue was chosen for its lack of appeal to smokers. It had as its aim the antithesis of what is our usual objective, says market researcher Victoria Parr, from research agency GfK Bluemoon, who headed the project. We didnt want to create attractive, aspirational packaging designed to win customers ... Instead our role was to help our client reduce demand, with the ultimate aim to minimise use of the product. The largest study ever into the impact of general anaesthetic on babies has found it is no more damaging to their brains than local anaesthetic at two years old, but the longer-term effects are not yet known. The first findings from the Melbourne-lead "GAS study" sent waves of relief through the global medical community after years of similar testing on animals had indicated that putting developing brains under general could be harmful. Researchers and doctors at 28 hospitals in Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada and Europe, tested the mental capacity of 722 infants two years after they underwent hernia repair surgery. They compared the mental performance of babies who had received less than an hour of general anaesthesia against those who had been given a local, or more specifically, a spinal anaesthetic. With a spinal anaesthetic the babies are still awake but immobilised and numb from the waist down. Gold Coast sergeant Rick Flori has admitted leaking CCTV footage of a violent bashing to shed light on police brutality but has called for his case to be thrown out of court. The suspended Flori must wait until next Friday to learn if his bid to dismiss a charge of misconduct in public office has been successful, or if he will be committed to stand trial. Gold Coast sergeant Rick Flori will have to wait a week to learn if he will be committed to stand trial for leaking CCTV footage of police brutality. Credit:Network Ten Southport Magistrate Michael Hogan reserved his decision for one week following a half-day committal hearing on Friday. Flori's barrister, Stephen Keim, said his client had no case to answer even though he admitted sending a video to the media in February 2012 which showed the bashing of a handcuffed Noa Begic, 22, in the basement of the Surfers Paradise police station. Slowly - very slowly - Queensland is working on correcting a raft of legislation which have given it the reputation as one of Australia's worst jurisdictions for gay rights. After decades of inaction, which saw the state's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex and Queer community ostracised and left at a disadvantage under the law, the last year has seen Queensland inch closer to legislative equality. Queensland is very slowly moving to correct laws which have left the LGBTIQ out of step with their straight peers under the law Credit:James Alcock State-sanctioned civil partnership ceremonies were reinstated in April, after a conscience vote in the Queensland Parliament saw the vast majority of MPs support the legislation the Newman Government wound back in 2012. Next is most likely to be the standardisation of age of consent laws, with Queensland still the only state to legislate different ages between vaginal and anal sex. When Brisbane City Council knocked back the filmmakers behind Struggle Street from filming in Inala, it did so because it feared residents would be subjected to ridicule on a national scale. So far, some media coverage has done little to allay those fears. In his letter sent to the series' producers on Tuesday, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the residents of Inala did not deserve the national stigma of featuring in such a show. Citing the perceived hit to the western Sydney suburb of Mount Druitt's reputation when the first series aired last year, Cr Quirk said the people of Inala were hard working and aspirational. Rather than imagine how that new couch will look in your lounge room, Google's augmented reality smartphone lets you drop virtual objects into the real world. Augmented reality doesn't get as much attention as virtual reality but in some ways it's a lot more practical and useful in everyday life. While virtual reality blocks your view of the real world to transport you somewhere else, augmented reality superimposes information over your view of the world around you -- a bit like a fighter pilot's heads-up display overlaying critical information over the view out the window. Google's Project Tango augmented reality brings the world into your home. Credit:Adam Turner In the real world Google's Project Tango aims to take that idea and put it into the hands of the masses, letting you point your smartphone's camera at a real scene and see an augmented view on the screen. Plagued by nightmares of self-driving cars running your children over? Never fear Google, pioneer of the autonomous vehicle, has all the answers. Oof! Credit:US Patent & Trademark Office The tech giant has patented a design for a sticky car bonnet that would glue pedestrians to the car in the event of a collision, stopping them from rolling or bouncing off the hood and suffering further injury. Google says the human flypaper "will be able to adhere to the pedestrian nearly instantaneously". "If you are an antenatal health care provider, tell your patients about the importance of maternal immunisation," Mrs Hughes said. "It's a method of prevention that can and does save lives. "It shouldn't be left to grieving families to stand up and be strong and raise awareness," she said. Mrs Hughes received messages of support and endorsement on her Facebook page "Light for Riley". "My daughter is four weeks old and I was not offered a whooping cough vaccination during my third trimester. It wasn't ever mentioned during any antenatal visit. In fact, when I asked if my husband and I needed a booster, neither the doctors or nurses could tell me.Clearly the message isn't reaching our health practitioners which I find disturbing." - Jenn Davie. "My newborn baby girl was taken ill with whooping cough as well. Not only was I not offered the whooping cough vaccination, but discharged from A&E three times as doctors misdiagnosed baby as having a cold and being cranky. Not knowing what to do, I planted myself in A&E and waited for a bad bout of coughing. Staff thought I was seeking attention and possibly suffering from depression. Eventually, she was rushed to the ward and put on oxygen therapy. All this could have been avoided with one vaccine." - Noemie L-g. "Protocol at my hospital is mentioning vaccines including flu and 3rd trimester whooping cough from the initial antenatal appointments and reminders at every other appointment. Pamphlets are also given for both at initial visit... Riley also gets a mention when we mention whooping cough vaccine as he and the work you've done was the reason our hospital has made offering these vaccines as part of our policy." - Kadj Alaouie. "At work today and I have just vaccinated a first time expectant mum at 30 weeks. I actively seek out the opportunity to inform all my patients of the importance of vaccination. This morning my patient and I discussed Riley and she has booked her husband in for tomorrow morning to get his shot too." - Raechael Stoops. Australian Medical Association (WA) president and obstetrician Michael Gannon said he was "gobsmacked" to hear of Mrs Hughes experience. "I would certainly have expected her advisers to have their antennae up and be super sensitive to her needs," he said. "That kind of blockage of information delivery would certainly not be regarded as best practice," he said. Dr Gannon said pregnant mothers should be offered a seasonal (flu) immunisation between April-June and the whopping cough vaccination between weeks 28-32 of their pregnancy. "It's not appropriate to offer the whooping cough shot before that period, but I would have thought they would have been told the right time to have the vaccination," he said. "We need to reduce barriers to women being immunised. Critically, they must receive accurate and timely information from their care providers, be they midwives, GPs or obstetricians." Dr Gannon said the process needed to include the facilitation of the injection. "Simply handing patients a piece of paper and telling them to make an appointment to see their GP is not best practice," he said. "Some obstetricians, some public clinics and some private hospitals need to do better." Dr Gannon said in the past 12 months, tens of thousands of newborns had been protected by the vaccination program. "The vast majority of whooping cough deaths occur in the first three months of life," he said. Most of the danger period is before a baby has their first routine vaccination at 6-8 weeks of age." A health department spokesman said WA Health recommended all pregnant women be vaccinated against pertussis (whooping cough) to protect themselves and their baby. "In a survey of more than 400 mothers who recently delivered, 72 per cent reported they had been recommended by one or more providers (GP, midwife, and/or obstetrician) to get a pertussis vaccination," he said. "About 70 per cent of women reported receiving the vaccination." The spokesman said since WA Health started its pertussis program in March 2015, 19,000 pregnant women had been vaccinated. The mother of six-year-old cancer sufferer, Oshin Kiszko, says she is "relieved" he has been granted a last-minute reprieve from forced radiotherapy after a WA Family Court Judge adjourned a court case into his treatment. Oshin was due to start radiotherapy on Monday to treat a medulloblastoma brain tumour, however Judge Stephen Thackray's adjournment of the court case has meant Oshin will only have to complete the previously enforced chemotherapy. It is understood that unless any party requests a relisting in writing of the case, no further decision on compulsory treatment will be made. Outside court, Ms Kiszko said she was relieved her son would not be forced to undergo radiotherapy but that she remained concerned about the up to eight weeks he would spend in hospital for his two remaining court-ordered bouts of chemotherapy. Greece needs another dollop of aid to meet its July interest payments, but the International Monetary Fund has been (rightly) worried that the country's debt burden is too big and it will miss its target of a 3.5 per cent primary surplus in 2018. German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the European Astronauts Centre in Cologne this week. Credit:Getty Images A Merkelian fudge has been readied: In return for the new reform package, Germany and the IMF will accept some of Greece's more heroic forecasts and stretch out debt repayments. Default has thus probably been skilfully averted again. But nobody in Berlin believes Greece will ever be able to pay off its debts. A woman holds her baby in the makeshift refugee camp near Serbia's Horgos border crossing into Hungary. Credit:AP "It is really an emerging economy, not a developed one," says one senior German, adding wryly that the Greeks should be dealing with the World Bank, not the IMF. Worse, from Germany's perspective, the lack of progress in Greece is symptomatic of the whole continent's uncompetitive economy. Six years into the euro crisis, France has barely started structural reform (German ministers roll their eyes whenever you mention "Francois Hollande" and "reform" in the same sentence), and Italy is still trying to fix its banking system. The single market is worryingly incomplete. Very few of the structural underpinnings of a successful single currency are in place. French President Francois Hollande. Credit:AP This contempt comes with a hefty dose of hypocrisy and self-delusion. Merkel has done few structural reforms herself; the hard work was done by her predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder. Content in their prosperous economic bubble, German voters have condemned the rest of Europe to needless austerity, resisted liberalisation (notably in the country's lacklustre service industries), and refused to stomach common Eurobonds and other long-term solutions to preserving the single currency. So the Germans are not the thrifty saints they imagine themselves to be. But, as they endlessly point out, they are the ones who write the cheques every time there is a bailout - and they don't feel as if they get a lot in return. A demonstrator carries a flag reading "Islam, no thanks" during the Erfurt rally of Alternative for Germany. Credit:AP Germans have more justification for their resentment when it comes to Europe's other main crisis: the flood of Syrian refugees. On the plus side, Merkel has found a way to stem the flow of people that threatened to overrun her country (and her chancellorship). Turkey has agreed to hold refugees within its borders in exchange for 6 billion in aid from the EU, while Italy and Greece are also getting help in exchange for not letting refugees who land on their coasts surge northward. A girl walks by a border fence near Serbia's Horgos border crossing into Hungary. Credit:AP These deals have brought some relief in Merkel's court - but not without nervousness and reproach. Nervousness, because the deals are fragile: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is already howling about the terms of his ("Since when are you controlling Turkey?"). Reproach, because when Merkel pleaded for help, she got precious little assistance. While Germany has taken in perhaps 1 million refugees, Britain and France have each absorbed a fraction of that. Eastern Europe, which Germany helped rebuild, was more rudely uncooperative. And what, Merkel's lieutenants wonder, will happen if the refugees start coming again? German dairy farmers are struggling as milk prices have fallen to approximately 20 euro cents per litre, far below the 35 to 40 euro cents that many need to survive financially. Credit:Getty Images So it is no wonder that Germany feels fatigue. A decade into her chancellorship (a somewhat tiring milestone for any government), Merkel must have found Johnson's remarks ironic. Rather than dominating Europe, she has merely the same sort of negative clout that Barack Obama has over much of the rest of the world: She can often stop things, but rarely cause them to happen. Part of that is her fault: If she had dared to get ahead of the euro crisis, rather than sticking various Band-Aids on it, she might have staunched it. But Germany is reluctant to lead, and the rest of Europe is reluctant to follow. Domestic politics don't make this any easier: The rise of the Alternative for Germany party, Germany's version of euroscepticism, is partly based on its claim to tell the harsh truths about the European Union that Merkel keeps papering over. If Merkel, who is still trusted, were to leave, chances are that her successor would have far less leeway to negotiate on Germans' behalf. The overriding worry is that a vicious cycle has begun: As Germany gets ever more frustrated with Europe's inability to change, it gets ever less likely to lead, so the change it wants becomes ever less likely to happen. In a strange way, Brexit might alter this dynamic. Merkel is desperate to keep Britain within Europe because she sees David Cameron, for all his Little Englander elements, as a voice for reform. Yet if Britain were to opt to leave and other countries threatened to hold referendums, then even the cautious Merkel might be forced to seize the moment and bully reforms through Brussels to create a more cohesive, modern euro zone with a deeper single market. Hence an irony for Johnson and his fellow Brexiteers: The dominant Germany they fear is more likely to come into being if Britain votes to leave the union. But Mr Kerry said he welcomed the French proposal because it could provide a "helpful" pathway back to negotiations. Secretary of State John Kerry stands between Israel's then Justice Minister and chief negotiator Tzipi Livni, right, and Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, as they shake hands after the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Washington in 2013. The talks collapsed in 2014. Credit:AP At a news conference at NATO headquarters on Thursday, Mr Kerry said he had assured French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault that he would come to the conference, scheduled for June 3. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the French initiative, because he is concerned it could try to dictate terms of a settlement instead of one forged in direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Brussels: Secretary of State John Kerry has said he will attend a Middle East peace conference in Paris next month that is an attempt to revive negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. "It is not inappropriate for countries, all of whom actually care about both parties, and care about peace, to want to try to come together in an effort to find a pathway that would be helpful," he said. "In the end the parties have to negotiate. You can't impose it on people. What we are seeking to do is encourage the parties to be able to see a way forward so they understand peace is a possibility." US Secretary of State John Kerry meeting NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday. Credit:AP Early in his tenure as secretary of state, Mr Kerry spent nine months trying to move negotiations forward, but the talks eventually collapsed in early 2014. More recently, amid a wave of Palestinian stabbings of Israelis and continued Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, Mr Kerry has tried to encourage more modest confidence-building measures to create an environment for talks to resume. But with the Obama administration's months in office drawing to a close, US officials have said they are not actively engaged in trying to relaunch peace talks. Mr Kerry also welcomed an offer by Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to mediate differences among Palestinian factions so talks could resume. Mr Sisi promised warmer ties with Israel, with whom relations have been frosty despite a peace agreement signed in 1979, if a settlement could be reached with Palestinians. Talk around Australias rental market in recent times has centred largely on falling rents and record low yields, but new research from University of Melbourne academics suggests a little bit of digging could see investors find properties that will deliver a healthy cash flow.Rather than rely broad overview of the rental market in any one area, Dr Andy Krause and Dr Gideon Aschwanden, from the Melbourne School of Design in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, believe investors should be more specific in their search for property.What motivated the research was this idea of this post codes good and this post codes bad, Dr Krause said.We said well theres a lot of variation within the postcodes between things like accessibility amenities and we thought there needs to be a different way of looking at things, he said.The research by Dr Krause and Dr Aschwanden consisted of analysing data on the Melbourne property market supplied by Domain Group.Rather than rely on the traditional yield calculation method of comparing median dwelling prices to median rents, the pair decided used the data to map yields based off data that is more specific to each property.One part of our research also found that if you just look at the median rent compared to the median price in postcode and say thats the yield, youre actually greatly underestimating your yield, Dr Krause said.The reason is that homes that sell are in a lot nicer condition than homes that rent. As part of our methodology, we went and mapped homes that were sold or rented and calculated yields off that. We found that when you do that your yields are actually much higher.Some of the information out in the market suggests you might be only getting yields of 3%, but thats only if you look at median to median, if you look at homes that are sold and then subsequently rented then its often more around 4.3% or 4.5%.According to their analysis of the Melbourne market, rental yields in the city could vary by 4.5 times between and within suburbs.The research claims Melbournes highest yield can be found in the areas of Carltons apartment market at 7%, while the lowest are found in the house of the citys prestigious eastern suburbs at 1.5%.By using their methodology to identify properties that deliver higher yields, Dr Krause believes investors will be able better mitigate any risk that comes with a property purchase.Yields are obviously half of the story for investors. The other half is the capital appreciation of the property.Bubbles are often times where people forget about yields and just look at appreciation. But if youre a savvy investor playing the long term, then that monthly yield coming in is much less variable than the likelihood of continued capital appreciation.So in some ways its a bit a safeguard. Do we know if home prices are going to keep going up? No we dont, especially with all the talk in the legislature and the government about that, but its a pretty good bet that youre going to keep getting that rental income year after year, especially in the inner city. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams You bet your arsenal this was a big bust. Police recovered more than two dozen firearms and 10,000 rounds of ammunition in a raid on a 19th Avenue apartment just a couple blocks from the 62nd Precinct building on May 18. The cache included 14 rifles, three shotguns, six handguns, two flare guns, a grenade launcher, two tear gas grenades, five pounds of explosive powder, 100 high-capacity magazines, and two Tommy gun magazines. Police arrested a 53-year-old woman and charged her with more than a dozen felony counts and some misdemeanor charges. Some of the firearms in the war chest were registered under the womans now-deceased husband, but she failed to turn in his permit for the hardware when he passed away, police said. The departments police impersonation unit and pistol license division conducted the raid on the home near Benson Avenue in Bath Beach. Police had information that the womans husband had a forged New York City Police Department identification card, although investigators did not recover one in the raid. Orphan Black knows how to pack a lot into a gut-wrenching hour without overloading you with too much. Thats the case with The Scandal of Altruism. A deal with Susan Duncan has to have its consequences, especially once Sarah gets that bot out of her and it does. Devastating ones. Meanwhile, for those eager to find out why Beth returned home with blood on her hands, this episode answers not only that, but also reveals what exactly put her on that train platform. Orphan Black Recap: Cosimas Investigation: What is Brightborn Really Doing?>>> The Guns in Beths Hand, But Whose Finger is on the Trigger? The flashbacks begin with Beth in the blonde wig using the Brightborn keycard to gain entry to an event. All it takes is a bump into a waiter to send Susan to the bathroom to clean up a spilled drink. There, she pulls out the gun. I know you, she tells Susan. I know everything. If I kill you, its over. The monitors, the testing, the lies, Beth says. You control Neolution. Susan disagrees; someone will just take her place, but whoever does wont protect her like she has been doing. Shes her creator. Shes invested in her. I have devoted my life to sustaining yours, Susan insists. Without me, your sisters will wither on the vine and I cannot bear that. I love you all. I love you. Beth then leaves Susan. So where did the blood come from? Moments after Evie tells Detective Duko over the phone that Beth didnt do it, the clone gets in the car with her and accuses her of setting her up and wanting to take Susans place. However, Evie then argues that Beth knows too much and suggests that if she wants to save the people she loves, she should use the gun on herself. Do you think Im afraid to die? You think Im scared of anything right now? Beth asks. The blood on her hands is from hitting Evie in the face until Detective Duko shows up. Is it true? She asks him. Will my sisters die for what I know? Theyve done it before, he informs her. And so, she goes home, remembering Evie telling her to turn the gun on herself and Dukos comment about keeping those he cares about safe and goes to the train station. That is just heartbreaking. This Is for the Best for Krystal The poor girl may be taking self-defense classes, but I still think its best for her to be kept out of clone business. After her experience at Brightborn, she goes to the police, and its only some quick thinking on Arts part that keeps her off Detective Dukos radar. He then takes over her case. She wants protective custody because Dyad or Brightborn will get her not because shes a clone, but because theyre cosmetic companies using stem cells and testing on humans. Does Leda mean anything to her? She likes their eyeliner. I sort of feel bad for Art but I feel worse for Felix, whom the detective introduces as Inspector Dawkins, from the Yard. What yard? Krystal asks. Scotland Yard. Hes a cop from London. But he said, Scotland,' she says. Oh, Krystal. Its conversations like this one that make it so easy to see why no one is worried about her delusions, as Susan put it in episode 5. However, shes become paranoid and poor Felix gets mace to the face. Shes right about everything, they tell her. All the big cosmetic companies are involved. (And when they mention Neolution, she just accepts when they say theyre Swedish because shes Krystal.) The best thing she can do is live her life as normally as possible while the case is open, Felix says, giving her a phone with their numbers in case of emergencies. But then she mentions smacking the French doctor at Dyad, and after they tell her Delphines a friend, she tells them that shes sorry. I saw her get shot. I saw everything. Orphan Black Season 4 Teasers: Kristian Bruun on Donnies Upcoming Hijinks with the Clones and More>>> Dealing with the Oh, Wait, Shes Not the Devil Right Now Its been two months since Iras last cognitive exam, and he knows that Susans reminiscing is really her testing him. Well, hopefully Sarah will listen to reason and theyll never have to test him again. With the bot in Sarah and Cosima running out of time to come up with a cure to save herself, Sarah has no choice but to agree to share Kendalls genetic material, which will allow Susan to restart human cloning, in exchange for her help. Knowing that Siobhan wont agree, Sarah decides to set the wheels in motion first. Its not her life, is it? She points out to her sister. Its our decision. However, theyre not going to let Susan cure Castor as well, not when the male clones are walking biological weapons. Heres the only good news to come from Kendalls cancer. It has allowed them to isolate her cells so they only hand over Leda. When Sarah meets with Susan, the first order of business is the bot in her face. The bots do different things for different people, Evie explains. Sarahs is making her sick. Shes immune to the disease, and they hoped to isolate it. They know it hasnt flicked off the right switch because shes still alive. Though Ira isnt pleased to hear that the plan involves letting Castor die out, Susan agrees and adds a couple more terms to the agreement herself: She wants to be there when the samples are taken from Kendall and wants Cosimas research transferred to her hard drive. Youre not the first Leda to make it this far, Ira tips off Sarah. Yes, Beth, Susan confirms and hopes Sarah doesnt make her mistakes. Look at her, another one thought she could do it all on her own, Siobhan pointedly remarks as she and Sarah watch Beths videos. She had to make the deal, Sarah argues. That doesnt change the fact that its Siobhans mother she bartered and that she thinks its the wrong play. Then comes time for the trades. Susan leaves a despondent Ira in bed with the promise that shell find a way to save him and goes to Felixs to watch Scott collect Kendalls samples. Cosima, with the hard drive containing her data, and Sarah head to Brightborn. And now its just a matter of seeing where and when everything goes wrong because it has to. Cosima insists on assisting in the procedure to remove the bot from Sarah, who is not letting Roxie come anywhere near her. (Who can blame her after her last run-in with her?). Though Evie has neutralized the receptors so Sarah doesnt have to worry about the toxic failsafe, as shes extracting the bot, she sees its leaking toxin. Cosima quickly plugs it if any of the toxin hits her bloodstream, Sarahs dead. The bot is removed safely. Thats a success. Ethan saw the best in people. I see the most, and right now, you are the most valuable person in the world, Susan tells Kendall. Once Scott has her samples, Siobhan sends her mother off with her driver, but as hes lighting her cigarette for her near the van, someone comes up to them. Kendall was right when she warned Siobhan it wasnt over as she left the loft. Upon discovering blood and the pack of cigarettes on the ground outside Felixs, Sarah hurries inside, confirms with Scott that the samples are done and pours bleach over everything. Kendalls driver isnt answering his phone, she explains. What did Susan do? Wheres Kendall? It wasnt her, Dr. Duncan insists, but they dont believe her and take her to the safe house. Thats a failure. Cosima is still at Brightborn at this point, but before she hands over her research, she asks Evie about Delphine. Dyads not her purview, Evie says, but she knew of her and her dedication to Cosima. They can finish the work they started together. As Cosima hands over the hard drive, she palms Sarahs bot. But when Roxie comes in and reports that Susan went dark, Cosima is not going anywhere. Thats another failure. As the others soon accept, it doesnt make sense for Susan to be behind Kendalls kidnapping and then let herself be taken hostage, so who is responsible? It could be Ira, since his life is on the line. You got my ma into this, you better get her out, Siobhan tells Sarah. But Ira is a dead end; Sarah and Benjamin find him overdosing in the bathtub in the hotel. (Hes going to be fine. Siobhan doesnt care.) Things just keep getting worse. Scott calls and reports that a Trojan has wiped their research. Theyre done. Everythings gone. Whoever did this doesnt care about Kendalls genome. They want Leda destroyed. So who is it? The engineer, Susan realizes. Devastating Losses Detective Duko is the one who has Kendall, and he takes the van to the middle of nowhere. Someone has the hooks in him, she knows. Hes just in over [his] head, he claims, like everybody else. So whos the engineer? Evie joins them and refuses to be swayed by Cosimas pleas to not do this, to not kill and destroy every last bit of Kendall. Evie never understood what Susan saw in her face, she says. She spent decades watching their tedious lives while technology passed her by. Clones are now obsolete, like Betamax. Because of the bots? Cosima asks. They can fix people now without their baseline. All Cosima can do is say goodbye to Kendall. Tell Siobhan shes done right always, the original tells her. And tell your sisters Im proud to have been part of them all. When its time, she has Cosima turn around before Duko shoots her in the head and burns her body. Siobhan may be Kendalls daughter, but I am so happy that Cosima is the last one Kendall sees because the scientist was the one able to get through to her when the first needed samples. Thats not all. Before leaving Cosima there with a phone and a message to tell Susan the originals dead and tell Sarah its over or Beth died for nothing, Evie informs her that Delphine was shot dead. Orphan Black season 4 airs Thursdays at 10pm on BBC America. (Images courtesy of BBC America) In a bid to encourage individuals to get into construction and engineering trades, Russell Roof Tiles has launched a 10,000 bursary for youngsters. Young people in its two hometowns Burton on Trent and Lockerbie - will have the opportunity to win one of 10 bursaries, worth 1,000 each for any training directly related to the three areas of industry. The John Gibson Fund / Bursary is named after the founder of the roof tile manufacturer, which was established 50 years ago. John Gibsons daughter Mark Colborn visited Russell Roof Tiles to launch the bursary. The fund can be used for education or training, to pay for clothing, books and other equipment for a course, transport and lunch, while training. The bursary has been created by Russell Roof Tiles managing director, Andrew Hayward, who is keen to support and encourage youngsters looking for a career. He said: There is a huge skills gap in manufacturing, construction and engineering, so it is vital that businesses like ours invest in the long-term. According to recent figures announced, 630,000 young people aged between 16-24 were unemployed, so despite this high youth unemployment, just like other manufacturers we struggle to attract young people who want to work hard, but also be trained and be well rewarded for their efforts. This bursary will be available to any young person in these areas who needs additional help with their training or studies. As part of the launch, the company is also looking for partners to come forward to assist with education and professional training for the youngsters awarded the bursary. Russell Roof Tiles has three manufacturing sites, covering a total of 23 acres and manufactures concrete roof tiles and accessories. In total, the business employs a team of 170 across its factories. As a whole the company already has 50 young members of staff under 30. They have been recognised for their flourishing talents by Andrew Hayward, who is a firm believer of nurturing young talent. Mr Hayward added: We are in a huge growth sector and we have seen turnover double in the last five years. There are still many dynamic British manufacturers thriving, which rely on youngsters joining the industry, and I hope this new bursary will encourage talented young people in their career. Picture caption: L-r: Andrew Hayward and Bruce Laidlaw from Russell Roof Tiles with Paul and Mary Colburn (daughter of John Gibson). On 19 May, Stamford Mayor John Dawson cut the ribbon to Kent Blaxills new decorative store in the town. The company's 11th branch is located on the Stamford Trade Park, where it is based on the template developed for other new and successful Kent Blaxill branches at Fakenham and Huntingdon. The Mayor told Kent Blaxill staff, customers and suppliers at the opening: We are very pleased to welcome a high quality business to the town. You are arriving here at the right time because Stamford is a growth town. The 2,400 sq ft, three-person branch will be managed by Suzanne Digby, who has worked at the Kent Blaxill Colchester and Braintree branches. Simon Blaxill, managing director of Kent Blaxill, said: It has taken us 178 years to travel the 100 miles to open a branch in Stamford, so you might think we take our time, but we like to do things properly. We like to find the right locations in the right towns and we like to get the products right, with an emphasis on quality and service. But the most important thing is that you enjoy the Kent Blaxill experience. We are very excited about being here. The branch will stock the full Kent Blaxill range of trade and designer paints, along with colour selection areas, and will provide same-day deliveries. James Park, Kent Blaxills decorative manager, said: Close to the A1 corridor, the area has massive potential for us, with the branch able to service Peterborough as well as Stamford. Picture caption: The Kent Blaxill Stamford team Colin Baxter (sales rep), Suzanne Digby (manager), Gary Eversden and Kevin Boor. COVID testing as we know it wouldn't have happened without this NJ lab For Quest Diagnostics, the pandemic could not have arrived at a more challenging time. A major new lab was being built in Clifton, New Jersey. A salt doll spends time frolicking on the shore, building sand castles or collecting shells. Enamoured as she is of the deep, calm sea, one day the salt doll decides to enter the blue waters for a good bath. And never returns." This brief note, slipped lightly in by the translator, Jerry Pinto, beautifully explains the Marathi title, Mee Mithaachi Baahuli, drawn from an old folk tale. It sets the tone for Vandana Mishra's lively memoir, I, The Salt Doll, (Speaking Tiger, Rs 299) of her life as a theatre actress and a young girl growing up in a now-distant Mumbai. Mishra, now 90, writes with such directness that it feels as if she's sitting next to the reader, lightly touching your shoulder for emphasis as she tells one story after another. She was born Sushila Lotlikar, changing her name after she married the writer and actor Pandit Jaydeo Mishra. Her family was originally from Goa, but moved to Mumbai after her father's sudden death and the refusal of relatives to let her mother claim her share of the family property. They settled down in the chawls of Mumbai, first in Lamington Road, then in Girgaum. The landlords were seldom seen; they conducted their business through the bhaiyyas, "a word from the old city", she writes, that meant just brother before it became an identifier for someone from north India or Bihar. "Radio was very young, hardly eight to ten years old." Instead, they listened to the "rooster-like call" of the Muslim bread vendor who brought pao, still warm from the oven. They sang songs at the festivals that marked the "woman's calendar". They heard Hirabai Badodekar and Kesarbai Kerkar sing; Bombay Talkies' film, Jawaani ki Hawa, made ripples in 1935. was bookmarked by a Goan Christian community and a Parsi neighbourhood. The Pathan guard and the Chinese sweatersignalled the wider world to the young Sushila. At home, she loved rice with buttermilk and mango pickle, herThe Ganesh festival was "a matter of joy and not an occasion for ostentation", and their locality, Khetwadi was a huge patchwork. "Each wadi had its own character and together they faced the city." Mumbai would fill your belly if you were willing to work, she writes: "Everyone was welcome, or so we thought. It was a workers' town." Onions were two annas for half a kilo before the war; potatoes were three. When she was 13, her mother was severely injured in an acid attack. The assailant was never identified. Sushila's Aai was young, beautiful, a widow and a nurse - positions low in "this terrible social hierarchy". Had she rejected some man? Had he taken revenge? That moment's cruelty marked their lives. Her Aai took years to recover, Sushila's education and her dreams of studying medicine ended. Instead, she joined Parashwanath Altekar's Little Theatre Group, accepting what came her way, stoic, but still full of life, gratitude, curiosity. Every day, Altekar delivered lectures to his troupe on the fundamental princples of theatre. He had pioneered the revolutionary idea that women should play women's roles on stage; the playwright Mama Warrerkar ("the first feminist I met") taught them speech. Her memories of Marathi theatre are as precious as her memories of Mumbai before the city grew "hard-hearted". Pinto's decision to retain the original Marathi of the many poems and songs Sushila shares, lends beautiful texture to a translation that feels deft and welcoming to the non-Marathi reader. There is a jarring note when the Pathan's accent is rendered clunkily - "She's a wee thing. How couldja hit her?" Translating Indian languages into foreign dialect rarely works well, but this is the only exception to Pinto's careful rendering of her vivacious storytelling. Pinto writes, about his translation, "I wanted to go back to a time when the city I live in was inclusive and welcoming, a city of workers, where man and woman toiled alike to build the mayanagri of India's imagination." The love that went into the writing of I, The Salt Doll, and its translation, makes this a very special memoir, of the life of an extraordinary woman in a city at a time when it, too, was extraordinary. nilanjanasroy@gmail.com THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR Author: Pierre Razoux [Translated by Nicholas Elliott] Publisher: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Pages: 640 Price: $39.95 So many catastrophes have befallen West Asia in the past 25 years that the war that started almost all the current conflagrations has faded from public memory. Pierre Razoux's monumental work on the Iran-Iraq war (September 1980-August 1988) has brought back images of major cities ruined by bombings, refineries blazing for several days, embattled warships, thousands of child soldiers mowed down by heavy artillery, the shooting down of the Iranian civilian aircraft with 300 passengers and, above all, the chemical weapons used in different theatres, leaving pictures of contorted bodies and disfigured soldiers. As Razoux has pointed out, this war had the major aspects of all the principal conflicts of the last century: trench warfare, human waves and chemical attacks of World War I; the use of armoured vehicles and bombings of cities of World War II; the aerial dog-fights and missile-use of the Arab-Israeli conflicts; and the ambushes and infiltrations across marshlands of the Vietnam war. The war lasted eight years, in which two million soldiers were mobilised, along with 10,000 armoured vehicles, 4,000 artillery pieces, and 1,000 aircraft at one time. About 680,000 people were killed, nearly half a million on the Iranian side, while about a million and a half were wounded or maimed. Contrary to the popular impression, about 85 per cent of those killed were soldiers, says Razoux. All told, about 9,000 armoured vehicles, including 4,600 tanks, were destroyed, along with 950 aircraft and 30 warships. The total cost of the war was $1100 billion, with Iran bearing 60 per cent. The war was triggered by the threat of the export of the Iranian Revolution to the neighbouring Arab regimes, which saw in it doctrinal and military challenges. Saddam Hussain, the authoritarian ruler of Iraq, viewed it as an opportunity to assert his leadership over the Arab world after defeating the Arabs' historic enemy. He planned a quick and sharp assault, using the maximum land and air power to seize Iranian territory and then dictate terms from a position of strength. The war is a long litany of miscalculations on both sides which extended the conflict and encouraged both countries to expand the theatre of war and resort to increasing ferocity and mutual abuse. Most of the eight-year conflict was a war of attrition made up of offensives and counter-offensives, expansion of the fight to the waters of the Gulf and the bombings of cities, with long periods of lull when exhausted supplies were recouped, new divisions with new commanders were raised and new war-plans were put in place. Razoux is perhaps the first writer to provide so much detail relating to the different battles, the strategies of the commanders and the political context in which these developments were taking place. This horrendous war was constantly influenced by deep-seated personal animosities on the part of the leaders of the two countries and the power play among the protagonists of the nascent Islamic regime, as also by the machinations of regional and global players who sought to manipulate the course of the war to their advantage. The last phase came quickly: from early 1988, it was clear that Iran had little capacity for further fighting, with its treasury empty, its population restive and its military commanders certain that major successes against the enemy were not possible. Iraq, on the other hand, rebuilt its forces, took back the lost territories and, in July 1988, began to make gains in Iran as Iranian forces retreated all across the battle front. On the advice of the commanders and the political leadership, Ayatollah Khomeini accepted the ceasefire, "drinking the cup of poison" proffered to him. The war left Iraq with the most powerful army in the region: enthused by the victory achieved on the battle-field, Saddam re-asserted his country's old claims on Kuwait and set in motion a series of events that reverberate in regional politics today - the first Gulf War, the sanctions-inspections regime and the no-fly zones, his regime's assault on the Shia after the war, which aggravated the sectarian divide in the country, and the western encouragement to Kurdish autonomy. The war served to consolidate clerical rule in Iran, strengthened nationhood and rallied the people around their leaders. The latter took the opportunity to re-build their nation in the face of continuous western hostility, but their resilience has paid off in that the world powers are now in the process of lifting the sanctions that have retarded Iran's progress. Iran, defeated, demoralised and bankrupt after the war, is now the principal power centre in the region. The war also sowed the seeds of the sectarian divide in West Asian politics, which is now in full bloom and defines the Arab competition with Iran in different theatres: Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and even Iraq. And though the Cold War is over, the US and Russia continue to be on opposite sides and compete for influence just as they had done in the 1980s. Not surprisingly, the pace of developments in West Asia is such that some of the author's assertions, written just two years ago when the first French edition came out, have already been overtaken by events. Thus, contrary to what Razoux says, Iran is today not radicalised but has adopted a moderate and accommodative approach in its interactions with the international community. In Iraq, there is no contentious divide with Iran; instead, it is the Kurds who are now most vociferous in demanding autonomy and stronger links with their compatriots across the region. The Gulf Cooperation Council, which looked so solid just two years ago, is today a deeply divided house. But none of these arrangements is cast in stone: they are just ephemeral episodes in the complex, even tortuous, narratives of West Asia which, like a kaleidoscope, which continues to throw up new and bewildering forms that taunt the short-lived vanities of powerful leaders who seek to manipulate the region's varied patterns to their advantage. The author is a former diplomat When Apple CEO meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he is likely to make the right noises about manufacturing iPhones locally but the single point agenda is likely be to make India a 'graveyard' for used iPhones and flood the country with its refurbished smartphones. "On the certified pre-owned issue in particular, if you think about automobiles - brands like Lexus and Mercedes have been selling certified pre-owned cars. We have this programme in the US and in most parts of the world. When they are sold they are sold with warranty, just like a new product. We would never sell a product that we didn't think was right. We think it is good for people," Apple CEO told the BusinessLine newspaper in an interview. "It's not the only solution but one part of puzzle. We would like to offer it and we hope we are able to articulate that clearly and we hope we can get an agreement." Apple's iPhones, which are priced over Rs 20,000, have less than 2% market share in India, where over 100 million smartphones were sold in 2015. The bulk of smartphones sold in India run on the Android OS from Google, Apple's global rival, at price points of less than Rs 10,000. Apple hopes that by bringing refurbished iPhones in India, it can bring down the cost of the phones to around Rs 10,000, helping it compete in the mass market segment. The Indian government, which is pushing the Make in India initiative, compelling global manufacturers to produce phones locally, has already rejected twice Apple's application to sell refurbished smartphones in the country. However, Cook has clearly indicated that it would be making phones locally over in the next few years. " It (manufacturing) is something we will look over time." he said. Phone makers in India have already raised a red flag to Apple's move, which they say would use the country as a dumping ground for electronic waste and undermine the government's Make in India programmes. There is also the fear that Apple would dump used iPhones at price points lower than what other phone spend on making new smartphones. Apple desperately needs to a market for its refurbished phones as sales growth for new iPhones in its traditional markets such as US and China have stalled. An upgrade programme that Apple launched globally last year allows users to go for new phones every year despite them being locked into a two year contract with telecom carriers. (From right) Apple CEO Tim Cook with Zomato co-founders Pankaj Chaddah and Deepinder Goyal at the companys Gurgaon office on Friday | Photo: Deepinder Goyals official twitter handle It was a busy day for Apple Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in Delhi with a slew of meetings with industry leaders and start-up bosses. On the last leg of his India tour, which will end with a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, Cook visited the Apple corporate office in Gurgaon on Friday. On the way he made a short visit to the Zomato office and met its co-founders, Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah. Sources said Cook wanted a feel of an Indian start-up and the visit was part of his tour. Goyal said on micro-blogging site Twitter, "Thanks for the visit to our office today, @tim_cook - was great catching up. Excited about your India plans!" Sources said Cook spent around 10 minutes at the Zomato office and was briefed about their operations. Cook later met Airtel's top bosses. Airtel was the first partner of Apple in India and introduced the iPhone here. Airtel has nationwide 4G spectrum and with India on the cusp of a data revolution, Apple needs to strengthen its bond with the company. Currently, 270 million people in India use smartphones, up from 110 million a year ago. "Apart from Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Mittal, others present at the meeting included Bharti Airtel Chief Executive Gopal Vittal. Mittal's son Kavin, founder of over-the-top messenger application Hike, was also present," said a source close to Airtel. ALSO READ: Cook may seek IPR shield to make in India The meeting lasted for about an hour at Airtel's corporate office in Vasant Kunj. Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Since he has made a statement that his commitment to India is for 1,000 years, I have to compliment . We need to work together for growth, manufacturing and value addition." Prasad and other Cabinet ministers are likely to meet Cook along with Modi on Saturday. As China's market becomes more saturated and people across the globe upgrade their smartphones less frequently, Apple, Samsung and other vendors are keen to sell to India's middle class, which is projected to quadruple to 200 million by 2020. The challenge for Apple is that its products are beyond the reach of many in India. In an interview with NDTV, Cook said Apple wants to lower the price of devices over time in India, sell pre-owned iPhones refurbished in the country and introduce Apple Pay. Earlier this month, India had rejected Apple's request to import and sell refurbished iPhones to the world's second largest mobile population. Apple doesn't feature in the top 10 in terms of smartphone market share in India. Cook in the TV interview said Apple is planning a long presence in India. "We are putting enormous energy here," he said. "We are not here for a quarter or two quarters or the next year or the next year, we are here for a 1,000 years." Even as the buzz gets louder of the government wanting Apple to manufacture in India, company CEO Tim Cook, on his first trip to the country, is likely to seek an assurance on intellectual property rights when he meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. This will be the third and final leg of the 55-year-old Cooks visit to India, after Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kanpur. But it is Cooks much-anticipated meeting with Modi on Saturday that is being tracked by all tech majors. Industry executives who have been following the Apple CEOs visit so far surmise that IPR will be a discussion point even as Modi raises his pitch for Apple to make in India rather than import and sell refurbished phones, something the government is not in favour of. The government has twice rejected Apples application to sell refurbished smartphones in the country. Cook, in his defence of the refurbished iPhone programme, is likely to raise the IPR point as a possible counter to making in India just yet even as the long-term plan of the company will be to shift manufacturing from China, which no longer enjoys significant cost and labour arbitrage, industry sources say. When contacted, an Apple India spokesperson did not comment on the matter. The government last week unveiled a National Intellectual Property Rights policy to promote creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. in sectors like consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and electronics have repeatedly complained of counterfeiting and weak enforcement. In 2015, India ranked 29 out of 30 countries in the International IP Index released by the Global Intellectual Property Centre of the US Chamber of Commerce. While China was ranked higher at 19 on the same list, it offers no consolation to Apple, say industry sources. According to Neil Shah, an analyst from CyberMedia Research, local manufacturing of handsets lowers their cost by eight per cent. The Modi government last July extended manufacturing sops under the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) in an effort to boost local production. A slew of have since expressed their interest to make in India. Some of them, including Apple, are planning to set up their branded stores in the country. In Apples case, the government is open to waiving local sourcing norms needed for those applying for a single-brand retail licence. In a bid to boost quality education across technical institutes, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has this year mandated that 10 per cent of courses be taken up through massive online open courses (MOOCs) to encourage credit based learning. On the other hand, to bridge the industry-academia gap as well as reduce faculty shortage, the council is setting up a faculty development centre at Vadodara this year. Given the industry's feedback on unemployability of students, has also asked institutes to take 20 per cent of the faculty from industry bodies as adjunct faculty members under the revised norms this year. "We are looking at improving quality of institutes and taking several steps accordingly.When industry representatives will come to teach at campuses, automatically there will be friendship and synergy with the faculty, which should reduce the industry-academia gap and help students become more employable," Anil Sahasrabudhe, chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) told Business Standard. The council expects number of engineering seats to reduce this year from 1.8 million to 1.6 million even as roughly 200 institutes are likely to close down. "We received applications for closure from over 300 institutes but gave approval to only 150-200 such institutes. Similarly, this year around 600 new institutes have applied for approval, of which 100-150 new institutes have been approved by . However, most number of applications for new institutes have been for pharmacy colleges," said Sahasrabudhe. According to the chairman, there are currently 10,800 technical institutes, including engineering, management, pharmacy, architecture and hotel management. He added that in all 150,000 technical seats including engineering and management fall vacant every year. Meanwhile, asserting on faculty shortage, Sahasrabudhe said that educational institutes in the country were facing a faculty shortage of around 30 per cent, thereby impacting the quality of education. The council is banking on the 20 per cent induction of faculty from industry to address the issue as well as enhance employability of students. Consulting a dermatologist over the Internet may have serious drawbacks, a new study suggests.Direct-to-consumer telemedicine, in which a patient receives an examination and treatment over the Internet, is rapidly expanding, and in 2015 attracted an estimated 1.25 million people seeking advice in the United States. And while telemedicine has substantial benefits, the researchers say - it is convenient and typically saves money - many of the websites they looked at were not providing adequate care. For their study, published in JAMA Dermatology, the researchers submitted six simulated cases involving skin symptoms to 16 direct-to-consumer telemedicine sites and apps for diagnosis and advice. The study excluded sites that failed to respond or responded intermittently, or that delivered incomplete or inconsistent responses. In all, 62 responses were included in the analysis. Most sites allowed patients to submit photographs, usually one to three images of the skin condition in question. In four cases, the site provided a diagnosis based only on the patient's description. Two-thirds of the sites failed to collect a complete medical history, and only 52 per cent asked female patients about pregnancy or lactation, even though such information can be essential in the diagnosis and treatment of some dermatologic disorders. Diagnoses were sometimes missed. In one case, a 28-year-old woman presented with acne, but not a single website asked about excessive hair growth or irregular menstrual periods, symptoms that would have led to the correct diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome. In another case, a woman with eczema complicated by a potentially fatal herpes infection was given a diagnosis of having an ordinary eczema flare-up in seven of nine encounters. The lead author, Jack S. Resneck Jr., a professor of dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco, acknowledged that such misdiagnoses could occur even in a face-to-face meeting with a doctor. But, he said, none of the telemedicine sites engaged in the kind of patient-doctor discussion and "give and take" that would happen in an office and provide the information that leads to successful diagnosis. "You could imagine a telemedicine conversation in which the patient discusses the diagnosis with the clinician," Resneck said, "but none of that was going on. There were no instances in which the clinician discussed the problem, asked about other symptoms and so on." Of patients who got a diagnosis, 65 per cent were given a prescription, but the risks and side effects of the medicines were mentioned only 32 per cent of the time. In addition, "when people go to an office in person, they're aware of who they're seeing - a clinician, a doctor, a nurse practitioner," Resneck said. "But only a minority of sites identified the person or gave information about licensure." Only six of the 62 responses offered to send a report to a patient's primary care doctor. Resneck said he would like to see telemedicine succeed. "We're inclined to support this kind of innovation," he said, "but it needs to be done right. Our results were disappointing." 2016 The New York Times Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday blamed the mess in the power sector on the lack of reforms in the state. Delivering the annual lecture of Competition Commission of India (CCI) here, Jaitley said the consumer has no option when it comes to the electricity provider - which has happened due to no competition. "Not creating competition has led to this aberration the power sector. Today, we have a situation where we have more power than we need. We have a distribution network which is spread throughout the country. But, when it reaches the consumer, they have no option. This is the sector reform which is yet to take place," he said. CCI Chairman D K Sikri also acknowledged that the body is facing a variety of challenges, including procedural and jurisdictional issues, he said the endeavour is to base its decisions on "sound economics" at the event. He added that while The Electricity Act, 2003 - the central Act which envisages that the customer must have number of electricity providers to choose from - its implementation lies with the states. "2003 Act was a central law but power sector - particularly distribution, which is the real challenge of the sector - is entirely with the states. And the old mindset still continues to exist in a number of states or in most of them as they are unwilling to let go of the state distribution companies," he said. Jaitley said that being pro-business without being pro-competition can create a dangerous situation like Russia - where the corporate sector is dominated by oligarchs. "Being pro-business alone is not enough. Being pro-competition is essential to be pro-business. If you are pro-business without being pro-competition, the consequences can be very dangerous," he said. ' "Take the example of Russia, they went in for a lot of privatization, but because there was no competition, the entire privatization led to the creation of oligarchs. And oligarchs again meant monopoly," he added. Using the ordinance route, the Centre on Friday announced it was postponing for a year the implementation of a Supreme Court order that made a common entrance test for admission to medical colleges mandatory. The Supreme Court had ordered that only one National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) must be held to seek entrance into medical colleges, regardless of whether they were owned by the government (central or state) or managed by private individuals or boards. The apex court's ruling last month was opposed by states which say their syllabus is different and their students will be at a loss compared to those who have followed the central board. However, the move is prompted by the massive education industry, especially privately-owned medical colleges across India. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted he had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to bring an ordinance as it would send a message that "the government is with those who have black or untaxed money." Kejriwal said "many leaders and lawmakers from many parties" run their own medical colleges and have their own reasons for opposing a common national test. Corruption in exams held in states was the reason the SC had ordered an uniform test. But, several states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, objected that this year it would be practically impossible to organise a common test and their students would suffer without home advantage. Reacting to the state protests, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a second cabinet meeting within a week. Sources say the decision to take the ordinance route came after Health Minister J P Nadda consulted with ministers of more than a dozen states. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also met leaders of six political parties, including the Congress. So far, about 600,000 students have appeared for the first phase of NEET on May 1. The second phase is on July 24. The apex court had earlier turned down petitions seeking permission to hold separate admission tests for medical colleges. Buoyed by the Bharatiya Janata Party's spectacular show in the Assembly elections, the Narendra is gearing up for a country-wide celebration to mark two years in office. If the run-up to the second anniversary of the has been thick and fast in Delhi, the real action is yet to begin. Soon, an outreach campaign, covering 200 cities, will be rolled out, with the Prime Minister holding a grand rally in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh (UP). From that day, Modi's ministerial colleagues will travel to remote corners to convey the message of "development" and "good governance". On May 26, the day Modi completes two years in office, he will travel to UP, a state that goes to polls next year. While the PM will set the mood for celebrations in a city that has been named among the 98 probables for the ambitious Smart City project, central ministers will take charge in different parts of the country, telling large gatherings about the government's achievements in the past two years. ALSO READ: Cabinet reshuffle buzz begins Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said starting May 26, 33 ministers will travel across the country for a fortnight to inform masses about Modi government's achievements. Many ministers have had to put off their summer vacations while some others may have preferred cooler climes. According to a government source, the instruction from the "top" is that no minister must repeat a state during the two-week "anniversary duty". Roughly, each minister would cover six cities, which also means six states. That would involve a lot of travelling in just two weeks. "We will report to the people how we have kept our promises," Naidu said, explaining the objective behind the rallies. Increasing the ambit of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) governments flagship scheme Ujwal Discoms Assurance Yojana (UDAY), the ministry of power would soon approach the Cabinet to incorporate private power distribution companies (discoms) in it. The government is looking at bringing in some amendments in the UDAY scheme to accommodate those states which have privatised discoms, said Piyush Goyal, Union minister of state for coal, power, and renewable energy. Goyal was responding to a question on power distribution in the states where privatisation did not yield desired results. The minister cited the example of Odisha, which has approached the Centre to join UDAY. I am going back to the Cabinet to see how we can support states like Odisha which privatised (discoms) but are going through problems, the minister added. Odisha was a pioneer in privatisation of discoms but possibly did not handle the process well and because of which it failed, said the minister. When asked about the ambit of the scheme, he said, It will be a policy decision. Any state which wants to join for operational benefits would be able to join. He clarified the private discoms that join the scheme would only benefit in terms of operational efficiency and there will not be any financial bailout. UDAY is the restructuring plan of the NDA government to bailout the financially and operationally beleaguered state-owned power utilities. One of the first steps enlisted in the MoU (memorandum of understanding) is the takeover of 75 per cent of discoms cumulative debt 50 per cent by March 2016 and the balance by next year. States would issue non-SLR (statutory liquidity ratio) SDLs (state development loans) against the debt at prevailing market rates. The balance 25 per cent would be issued as sovereign-backed bonds by discoms. The second part of the scheme envisages a slew of measures to improve operational efficiency, with major target being reducing AT&C (aggregate technical and commercial) losses from current levels to 15 per cent by 2019. Improving collection and billing efficiency, considerably reducing energy theft, reducing gap between ACS and ARR of discoms are also part of the targets. The scheme underlines the need of regular rate revision and keeping power affordable. Once signed, the states will also enjoy rationalised coal supply and central finance assistance. So far, 10 states have joined UDAY and eight have issued bonds worth Rs 1.11 lakh crore during the last financial year. The Delhi government has a joint venture with Tata Power and Reliance Infra-promoted BRPL and BYPL. Similarly, Kolkata has CESC as the discom in urban areas. Odisha, which tried privatising its three state-owned power discoms cancelled the licence of Reliance Infra last year because of the latters failure to bring in performance viability in 15 years of operations. Tata Power Delhi Distribution and Reliance Infra-promoted BSES wrote to the Centre regarding participation in UDAY last year. UDAY will help in reducing power and interest costs which will ultimately have a direct bearing on rate. Recovery of accrued revenue gap in an equitable manner will minimise impact on consumer tariff, BSES wrote in its letter. Even though Delhi discoms have been able to set off nearly 50 per cent of the average tariff increase by the reduction in AT&C losses in the last 13 years, yet the revenue gap of Delhi has reached Rs 25,000 crore. This is primarily on account of unprecedented increase in power purchase cost over last 5-6 years and non-availability of cost reflective tariffs, TPDDL wrote. Company executives said the matter did not go through as the Delhi government did not support the proposal. Aam Aadmi Party government halved the power tariffs after coming to power last year. Power tariffs in Delhi have not been hiked since 2014. There are also certain cities which have private distribution as a franchisee model. Some of these cities are Agra (Uttar Pradesh), Bhiwandi (Maharashtra), Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Surat (Gujarat). Torrent Power runs the franchise in all these cities. Kanpur, one of the largest industrial cities in UP, tried hands at private franchise with Torrent Power but the agreement fell through. PRIVATE DISCOMS & CHALLENGES Challenge: Challenge: Challenge: Tata Power Delhi Distribution, BSES Rajdhani Power and BSES Yamuna Power (both promoted by Reliance Infra)Delhi has operationally improved in past 13 years but rate hike still a political subjectIn 1999, the state was first to award its three discoms NESCO, WESCO & SOUTHCO to Reliance InfraLast year, it revoked distribution licence after R-Infra failed to turn around power supply and operations. Odisha wants to be part of UDAY to improve operationsCESC operates in urban areas of the cityWest Bengal power distribution utilities running in losses but are yet to join UDAY Higher size loans and buoyed bank funding helped institutions (MFIs) to increase their gross loan portfolio by 84 per cent in 2015-16 to Rs 53,233 crore, against Rs 28940 crore in FY15, according to data from Micrometer, a quarterly report on sectoral performance. Notably, this portfolio expansion happened even as one of the biggest micro lenders, Bandhan, was elevated to a bank. Bandhan used to account for almost a fifth of the MFI portfolio. About 60 per cent of the loan portfolio of MFIs was concentrated in urban and semi-urban areas in FY16. Five MFIs, all to convert into Small Banks, were among the top 10 lenders in terms of gross loan portfolio last year. These were Janalakshmi, Ujjivan, Equitas, ESAF and Utkarsh. All of them aggressively grew their portfolio in the past year. Janalakshmi emerged as the biggest MFI in terms of loan portfolio last year, at Rs 10,983 crore, up 194 per cent over a year before. Two major factors led to the growth in portfolio. First, there was a 45 per cent increase in borrower base. Second, the Reserve Bank increasing the (permitted) size of micro loans helped the industry, said Ratna Vishwanathan, chief executive of Institutions Network (MFIN). After the RBI regulation which increased the lending limit for MFIs from Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000 per borrower in April 2015, the average loan amount disbursed per account last year was Rs 17,805, against Rs 14,731 in FY15. The number of MFI clients increased from 22.6 million in FY15 to 32.5 mn in FY16. Debt funding to MFIs increased by nearly 55 per cent, with banks and institutions lending Rs 33,706 crore in FY15-16. The average cost of funds for MFIs as on this March was around 14.8 per cent. "There has been a return of confidence in the sector, and as a results, banks are now coming forward to lend. Hence, there is enough flow of fund," said Manoj Kumar Nambiar, managing director, Arohan Financial Services and president of MFIN. Southern India still accounts for a major 35% of the loan portfolio, followed by western and northern region, which each accounts for 25% of the portfolio. Interestingly, with the exit of Bandhan from MFIs, the share of eastern Indias portfolio reduced to 19%. In FY14-15, east accounted for nearly 28% of the MFI portfolio. Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor S S Mundra on Friday said banks should increase the provision coverage ratio (PCR) and aim to raise it to 70 per cent, the amount lenders were mandated to maintain earlier. "We do not have a prescribed level. We would encourage that on their own, they should inch it up to the extent possible. I don't have any percentage in mind. There is no prescription at this point of time but let's say there was a benchmark earlier, it would be a good thing to at least aim for that benchmark," said Mundra. Earlier, banks were required to mandatorily maintain a PCR of 70 per cent. But, the mandate was withdrawn in September 2011 after most banks had met the criterion. Now, with the rise in bad loan, banks are increasingly reducing the PCR to ensure that the profitability is not hit adversely. In fact, several public sector banks (PSBs) have seen a reduction in their PCR, as non-performing assets (NPAs) in balance sheets have increased. Several banks' PCR stand at about 50 per cent mark. Mundra also added banks should increase the PCR instead of chasing profitability. He also said it was not only the PSBs but also the private lenders that are increasingly witnessing asset quality pressure. "Even though the difference in NPA levels between PSBs and private sector remains, we are beginning to see some convergence (on the NPA level)," said Mundra. He also said early recognition of bad assets will help in preserving the health of the assets and will also ensure speedier recovery. In case where banks are responsible, lenders have been asked by the regulator to help in further financing as long as it is being done with the intention of resolving the problem and not for evergreening. Mundra also added a word of caution saying it was in the interest of the borrowers to co-perate in case of defaults. As there are several investigative agencies and the legal system which can bring the erroneous defaulter to task. Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh decorated the gallant officers and men of BSF on the occasion of 14th BSF Investiture Ceremony, 2016 here today. On this occasion, six BSF men were decorated with Police Medals for gallantry and 13 BSF officers and men with Police Medals for Meritorious Service. . . Delivering his key note address on Challenges of Border Management in current security scenario", Shri Rajnath Singh said that the Border Security Force is our front line of defence. There are different forces at the border and through their co-ordination, different challenges for effective Border Management are dealt by the authorities. Shri Rajnath Singh said that the proxy war in the present time is a great challenge and the Government is taking all necessary steps to effectively guard the borders. Smuggling of animals at the border has been brought down with the help of concerned State Governments and the co-ordination of the residents in the border areas with our security forces. . . The Union Home Minister mentioned that the Government is committed to incorporate technical upgradation in the border management and train our manpower for effective management of the borders. Shri Rajnath Singh said that the safety and security of the border provides safe environment for development which is an important requirement for the economic growth. . . The Union Home Minister paid rich tribute to late Shri K.F.Rustamji whose pioneering efforts were instrumental in the raising and growth of the Border Security Force. He said that the contribution of Shri Rustamji is a source of inspiration for all of us. . . During the Investiture Ceremony, a magazine Prahari Sangini was also unveiled by the Union Home Minister and a short documentary BSF- Indias First Line of Defence was also screened. . . Earlier, Director General of Border Security Force Shri K.K.Sharma delivered his welcome address. Recalling the journey of the BSF since its inception, he stated that BSF has successfully faced several challenges and crises over the years. The worlds largest Border Guarding Force enjoys an excellent track record and is ready to face any challenges that come its way. BSF remains in constant endeavor of preparing itself in terms of strategy, infrastructure, weaponry and training, stated the DG. . . Senior officers from MHA, Directors General and Senior Officers of other Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), BSF officers and men, Retired officers of the BSF and families of the force members were present on the occasion. . . A 14-member Chinese delegation led by Mr. Wang Pu, Vice Chairman, Shenzen Committee of Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, called on the Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju here today. The delegation arrived in India to participate in the China (Shenzhen)-India Economic and Trade Cooperation seminar. . . Welcoming the delegation, Shri Rijiju said that India is eager to enhance trade and cultural ties with China. Noting that India attracted the maximum amount of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) last year, Shri Rijiju invited the Chinese entrepreneurs to take benefit out of the huge potential that India offers in various sectors. Besides ancient links between two civilizations, Shri Rijiju said that India is looking forward to increased interaction between the youths of both the countries for more cultural contacts and exchanges in other fields. . . Noting that the Chinese delegation comprised leaders from the business, political and cultural spectrum, Shri Rijiju appreciated the rapid transformation of Shenzhen into a dream city" and hoped that India will benefit out of their tremendous success as we recently unveiled the Smart City project. Shri Rijiju said that the Government encourages close coordination between Indian and Chinese Industry. . . Mr. Wang mentioned that India and China represent one-third of the worlds population and also share a natural bond" due to Buddhism and together we can impact a lot of change. The Chinese delegation evinced keen interest in Indias pharmaceuticals and biotech sector and invited investments by Indian pharmaceuticals companies in China. The Chinese delegation inquired about the sectors of the economy which are attracting foreign investment. The delegation members also inquired about the incentives for the investors in India and requested the Minister for favourable policies for the Chinese investors. They also raised the issue of facilitating the visas for the businessmen and for tourism even as more and more Chinese tourists and businessmen are visiting India every year. . . Shri Rijiju said India encourages people-to-people contact and in order to facilitate this, the Government recently extended the electronic Tourist Visa (eTV) scheme to China and under the dynamic leadership of Chinese President Mr. Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the "Visit India Year" was launched in China last year following which the "Visit China Year" has kicked off in India this year. Regarding the investment, MoUs on establishing two Chinese Industrial Parks in Maharashtra and Gujarat were signed during President Xis visit and the Chinese companies can explore the possibilities of investment in the same. He hoped that more Indians can visit and do business in China especially in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The Chinese delegation also invited Shri Rijiju to visit Shenzhen. . . Senior officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of External Affairs attended the meeting. . . FM: Amid weaker outlook across the globe, Indias experience of strong economic growth, comfortable price situation, low current account deficit, and adherence to fiscal recovery path have projected her as an outpost of opportunity for global investors; Calls for expansion of the World Bank role in areas like social sector - education and health, agricultural development, small-scale industry, handlooms etc. . The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that the Indian economy is estimated to register 7.6% growth in 2015-16, notwithstanding contraction of global exports and two consecutive years of shortfall in monsoon. Amid weaker outlook across the globe, he said that Indias experience of strong economic growth, comfortable price situation, low Current Account Deficit (CAD), and adherence to path of fiscal recovery have projected it as an outpost of opportunity for global investors. The Finance Minister Shri Jaitlay was speaking at a meeting with a group of Executive Directors (EDs) of the World Bank Group here yesterday. The discussions held ranged from the performance of ongoing World Bank Projects in India to various policy issues related to the World Bank Group financing. . . Speaking further on the occasion, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley said that the focus of the present Government is on areas like non-conventional power generation, the Nation-wide sanitation campaign, electrification of villages in India, major and minor irrigation projects and rural housing for all among others. Highlighting the various macroeconomic variables favorable to India, he pointed-out good monsoon forecast, political reform process and low current oil prices as the key drivers of economic growth. He emphasized on the macro-economic benefit that India is experiencing due to the fall in oil prices. He stated that the fall in global oil prices during the time when India was recovering from the impact of Global Financial crisis, has greatly benefitted India in the recovery process. . . Talking about the role of World Bank Group in World development, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley stressed on the need for the World Bank to have a larger capital base, more activity and more projects. He also stated that the role of World Bank Group could be expanded in areas like social sector - education and health, agricultural development, small-scale industry and handlooms etc. . . A group of nine World Bank Executive Directors is currently on a six (6) day official visit to India as a part of their South Asian Region visit. They will also be visiting Bangladesh & Sri Lanka. In India, their visit covers meeting the senior Government of India officials and getting a firsthand experience of the implementation of the World Bank projects in Agra, Bhubaneswar and Jaipur. . . To implement the vision and philosophy behind Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan launched by the Hon. Prime Minister, the Health Ministry launched the Kayakalp initiative last year to set protocols for hygiene and sanitation at government health facilities. The initiative towards total Swacchta" in public health facilities is aimed towards building confidence of the users in public health facilities, provide quality service and encourage team work" stated Shri J P Nadda, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, here today. He added that the initiative will encourage every public health facility in the country to work towards standards of excellence to help the facilities stay clean and hygienic. . . The Union Health Minister was speaking at the launch of the Kayakalp Fortnight which shall be observed throughout the country in various central government hospitals from 20th May, 2016 to 3rd June, 2016 with a view to intensifying the Kayakalp initiatives under the Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan. Shri Nadda launched the Kayakalp Fortnight at AIIMS, New Delhi today. Shri Nadda stated that as part of the various activities to be taken up during the fortnight, senior officers of the Ministry will be inspecting various Central Hospitals in the country to take stock of the existing status and to intensify the Swachhta drive. The States have been requested to take up similar campaigns in their respective States. . . During his visit, the Union Health Minister reviewed the practices followed for maintaining cleanliness, sanitation and hygiene within and outside the premises of AIIMS and visited various wards including the OTs, ICUs, Emergency and private wards. The Union Minister also took rounds of disposal areas and toilets to review the protocols. Shri Nadda had a meeting with the Director and other senior officers and doctors of various facilities/wards to get inputs on the protocols followed and suggestions on how to further enhance these. As part of Kayakalp, standards and protocols have been put in place for upkeep of services within and outside the buildings; support services such as laundry and food are provided at various locations; waste management as per standards is undertaken; and infection control measures are taken. Committees and sub-committees are formed to periodically review and monitor the progress made in these areas. . . Shri Nadda interacted with patients during his visit and sought their feedback on the Kayakalp initiative, and also their suggestions on how to further enhance the standards of cleanliness at the premier hospital of the country. I am happy to note that the patients and their caregivers have shown satisfaction in the standards set by us. It validates our hard work", he stated. . . The Project Management Institute (PMI) India and Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE) signed a MoU in the capital today, to enhance project management skills of IAHE trainees. Speaking on the occasion the Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Shri Nitin Gadkari, said that, he hoped the training module would lead to quality roads at lesser cost. He also expressed his wish that the training would result in better road design and execution which would reduce the incidence of accidents on highways. The Minister said that with the signing of this MoU, he look forward to a qualitative improvement in the way DPRs are made. Shri Gadkari also said that those working on road construction projects should be open to new technology, innovation and international best practices and necessary research in order to take the country forward. The Minister advised the institutes to get the best speakers from IITs and abroad so that excellent skills could be imparted to the highway project managers. . . Earlier the MoU was signed by Shri V.L. Patankar, Director IAHE on behalf of IAHE and Shri Raj Kalady, Country Director, Project Management Institute (PMI) on behalf of PMI India. Shri V.L. Patankar said the objective would be to help Engineers and Project Managers enhance their knowledge and sharpen their skills in the area of project management and execution, which is critical in the successful delivery of the road transport and highways related infrastructure projects. . . Also speaking on the occasion Shri Raj Kalady said that PMI would aim to strengthen the abilities and skills of personnel working on various projects under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Holding workshops, training programmes and certification of personnel are the first steps it will take to achieve the overall objective of creating a sound project management culture. . . Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has approved delivery of specially structured certificate course on Road Safety Audit by Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE), Noida in association with International Road Federation (India Chapter) and Australian Road Research Board (ARRB). MORTH is substantially funding the course to the extent of about 55% of course fee which will be applicable to both private and public sector participants. While Ministry will contribute Rs.1.20 lakhs per participant, a fee of Rs.1.00 lakhs will be paid by the participant/sponsoring agency. The pool of safety auditors developed under this initiative will be engaged as key personnel in carrying out road safety audit. . . The fully residential course shall have 6 weeks duration and shall be delivered in three parts of two weeks each through class room lectures, field works and practical/demonstration combined with academic assignments. The first course is planned to start on 23rd May, 2016 at IAHE, Noida. . . . UM/NP Two Indian Navy warships, INS Sutlej and INS Sunayna, have been deployed to Sri-Lanka on 20 May 16 to provide assistance consequent to the calamity caused due to the cyclone Roanu".The ships sailed from Kochi with 30-40 tons of relief material which includes inflatable rafts, fresh water, medical supplies, clothing and other provisions necessary for disaster relief operations and are scheduled to reach Colombo harbour on 21 May 16 during the morning hours. A Chetak helicopter has also been embarked for the deployment. . . The decision to deploy the ships was taken by the government late in the night, on 20 May 16 in response to the request for assistance from Sri-Lankan government. Both the ships of the Southern Naval Command were made ready within six hours after directives were received. The ships, in addition to providing the relief material, would also be participating in the rescue and relief efforts. . . Two Dornier aircraft are also standby at Kochi for any emergent requirement. . . The swift action of deployment of ships reinforces Indian Navys commitment to reach out the countries in the region during the times of crisis. . . Koc/35/May 16 National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) called a meeting of Telecom Service Providers (TSP) here yesterday to discuss their participation in planning preparedness, information, and relief and rescue operations. . . NDMA member Shri R.K. Jain, who chaired the meeting, underlined the importance of communication networks before, during and after any disaster. He informed that all key members from telecom service providers fraternity would now be included in NDMAs list of e-mails and SMSes. This would enable forecasts and pre-disaster warnings to reach them, and thus the public, at the earliest. . . A detailed discussion on the role of telecom service providers in the time of a disaster and the challenges that they face was held. NDMA assured them of providing any assistance or expertise needed, as the case may be, in restoring their damaged infrastructure and communication networks. . . Addressing the concern of bubble pricing for essential services such as transport, fuel, shelter, etc. during a disaster for infrastructure restoration workers, NDMA advised the telecom service providers to coordinate with the district authorities, who can list them under Essential Service Providers. This would mean that the TSPs will receive a certain quota of essentials in case a disaster strikes. . . NDMA intends to make TSPs an integral part of its mitigation and relief operations across the country. They would now also be included in mock exercises that the disaster management authority conducts throughout the country. . . NDMA also advised them to ensure that they install mobile towers only at disaster resilient locations. . . NDMA Members Lt. Gen. N.C. Marwah (Retd.) and Dr. D.N. Sharma also attended the meeting and provided valuable inputs. Senior officials of NDMA, representatives of Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) as well as various telecom service providers attended the meeting. . . The Government of India instituted Prime Ministers Award for Excellence in Public Administration to acknowledge the extraordinary and innovative work done by the officers of Central and State Governments. A new category was added this year to the Prime Ministers Awards for the best implementing districts under identified priority Programmes namely Swachh Bharat (Gramin); Swachh Vidyalaya; Soil Health Card; and Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. Awards were conferred to ten districts in three categories North East & Hill States; Union Territories; and other States by the Prime Minister for excellence in implementing the aforesaid four priority programmes. . . The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances is organising two Panel Discussions on four Flagships/ Priority Programmes of the Government, namely, Swachh Bharat (Gramin); Swachh Vidyalaya; Soil Health Card; and Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana on DD-National Channel of Doordarshan on May 21-22, 2016 at 19.00 hrs. The panel discussions being organised on completion of two years of the present Government, focus on innovation and systemic reforms adopted by the districts in implementing the priority programmes and methodology followed by the Government in evaluating them. . . The panellists include Deputy Commissioners or District representatives of the four out of the ten awarded districts and members/ experts of the Empowered Committee on Prime Ministers Awards, who did the screening/evaluation of the performance of the Districts. The three outside experts of the Empowered Committee are Mr. Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman, Quality Council of India (QCI); Mr. Saurabh Srivastava, Member, National Innovation Council; and Mr. V.K. Saxena, Chairman, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) whereas District representatives include Ms. Aishwarya Singh, DC West Sikkim; Mr. Paritosh Shukla, District Education Officer, Dadra and Nagar Haveli; Mr. Ajit Balaji Joshi, DC, Chandigarh; and Mr. Madan Chauhan, DC, Hamirpur. . . Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh has expressed his deep sorrow and grief on the sad demise of Shri M.M. Khan, Deputy Law Officer of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). Shri M.M. Khan was murdered on May 16, 2016. . . In his message, Shri Rajnath Singh has said that Shri M.M. Khan was a dedicated and honest employee of NDMC. Delhi Police has apprehended all the seven accused in the murder of Shri M.M. Khan within 48 hours of the incident. Union Home Minister has conveyed his deepest condolence to the family of Shri M.M. Khan and has said that every possible support to the family of the deceased would be given. . . Shri Rajnath Singh has announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs.25 lakh to the family of the deceased. On the directions of Home Minister, NDMC has offered a job to the wife of late Shri M.M. Khan on compassionate grounds. NDMC has also been directed to extend every possible support to the family of the deceased. The employees of NDMC have also shown their solidarity to the family of Shri M.M. Khan and have decided to contribute their one day salary to the family of Shri M.M. Khan. . . Union Home Minister has said that Ministry of Home Affairs and NDMC stand united with the family of late Shri M.M. Khan in their moment of grief. . . Sri Lanka's ethnic and religious minorities including Tamils still feel marginalised, seven years after the end of the civil war with the LTTE, a senior American lawmaker has said as he appealed to the Lankan government to take "concrete" steps to address their concerns. "The leaders of the new government have made many ambitious promises to advance toward the goal of a stable and prosperous future for all. Now is the time to turn those promises into concrete action," Congressman Danny K Davis said on the House floor yesterday. "The US, must assist and support in any way we can, but we must also keep incentives in place such as conditions on military and other aid until the government has accomplished real reform," said the Democratic Party lawmaker from Illinois. Speaking on the House Floor to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the end of the war in Sri Lanka, he said the Lankan government won the war to keep the Sinhalese and Tamil communities within one country, but has not yet won the peace. The Sri Lankan government has made commitments on transitional justice and accountability, a political settlement of the ethnic problem, security sector reform, the return of land, the release of Tamil political prisoners, actions to end human rights violations and other ambitious reforms, Davis said. "Unfortunately, not enough improvement has yet been seen by the Tamils, Christians and Muslims who feel marginalised and discriminated against," the Congressman said. "Courageous leadership is needed to gain trust if reconciliation is the goal, not just promises. "Now is the time for real action," Davis said. China on Friday claimed it had the backing of over 40 countries in its campaign to shore up support for its stand opposing arbitration by a UN tribunal to end the dispute with its neighbours over the strategic (SCS). China, which has opposed the tribunal constituted under the UN Convention on Law of Seas (UNCLOS), has stepped up its campaign against the arbitration process. The tribunal is set to deliver its judgement on a petition by the Philippines against China over rival claims to the strategic reefs and atolls in the disputed waters of the . Ahead of the tribunal's judgement, China has mobilised backing from Russia, besides several countries in Asia and Africa. "Up to now there have been over 40 countries which have endorsed China's position officially and also Arab league has expressed its support," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters. Hua said the latest country to extend support to China was Niger, which has issued a statement backing China's stand that all and judicial arbitration institutions should respect every country's right to choose how to resolve disputes through their own choice. "We believe there will be more countries and organisations supporting China," Hua said. China says it has opted out of the UNCLOS arbitration several years ago, and therefore the UN tribunal has no jurisdiction to arbitrate the Philippines case. Despite Beijing's boycott the tribunal has gone ahead with the hearing. China believes the tribunal's judgement may go against it. China also cites the joint statement issued after last month's meeting of foreign ministers of Russia, India, China, (RIC) in Moscow as supporting its stand. The joint statement on the SCS has said: "Russia, India and China are committed to maintaining a legal order for the seas and oceans based on the principles of law, as reflected notably in the UNCLOS. All related disputes should be addressed through negotiations and agreements between the parties concerned. "In this regard the Ministers called for full respect of all provisions of UNCLOS, as well as the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the (DOC) and the Guidelines for the implementation of the DOC." China claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, through which more than $ 5 trillion of trade passes annually. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over some of the areas claimed by China. Drug maker Lupins stock fell nine per cent on Friday due to concerns over the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)s observations on its Goa plant and the likely impact on its earnings owing to a rise in expenses in FY17. On Thursday, the company reported a record 47 per cent growth in net profit and a 34 per cent rise in sales, including a sharp growth in its US business. While the company said its growth in the US market would continue, it did not impress investors. The stock closed at Rs 1,505.15 on the BSE on Friday, a nine per cent fall from the previous close. The Lupin stock has declined 20 per cent over three months. In March, Lupin received nine adverse observations from the US drug regulator at its Goa plant and the company expects resolution in the next three or six months. A delay in resolution will impact new product approvals and, thus, hit sales. On Thursday, the company management informed investors that one-third of its pending filings with the US FDA are from the Goa facility. The management also said it has initiated site transfer of existing products to facilities in Indore, Aurangabad and the US. Along with the Goa plant issue, the other concerns weighing on investors are the rise in expenses due in FY17. The tightening of the rules on Participatory Notes (P-notes) by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) might further reduce the instruments' attractiveness. However, flows into the domestic market might not be impacted in a big way, say those in the sector. Changes to the P-note regime have blunted the advantage the instrument provided over direct investing through the foreign institutional investor route, they say. Sebi on Thursday increased the Know Your Customer (KYC) requirement, issued curbs on transferability and prescribed more stringent reporting for P-notes issuers and holders. P-notes, also offshore derivative instruments (ODIs), allow foreign investors to take exposure to Indian stocks without registering with Sebi. These instruments are issued by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) registered with Sebi. The latest changes mean there isnt much difference in investing directly or through the P-note route. The KYC requirement for both will have to be the same. Also, an investor who doesnt qualify to register as an overseas investor will also not be eligible to subscribe to a P-note, said a senior official with a global brokerage. Business Standard spoke to several P-note issuers and most of them requested not to be named, as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Credit Suisse are among the biggest P-note issuers on the Indian market. Currently, a tenth of foreign flows into India come through this route. Dependence on P-notes to take exposure to the Indian market might go down further. In the next one year, P-note assets could be only five per cent of total foreign assets, said an official with a leading brokerage. Liquidation of some P-notes in the short term is possible, feel some. Holders who dont wish to comply with the stricter KYC norms might liquidate their positions. Also, if some investors who have taken exposure in excess of the permitted 10 per cent limit through opaque structures might be forced to unwind, said the official quoted earlier. By Sebi rules, a foreign investors cannot hold more than 10 per cent stake in a listed company. It is thought that some investors might be breaching this limit by investing through the P-note route. The new Sebi guidelines emphasise on identifying the ultimate beneficiaries. The most substantial change is compliance with domestic money laundering laws to all ODI issuers. It will certainly bring transparency and should not have impact on quantity and quality of flows, said Sandeep Parekh, founder, Finsec Law Advisors. Legal experts believe the increase in compliance will also make the P-note route more costly. These changes will not only make the route difficult to access the India market but also make it more expensive. P-note issuers will have to put in place a robust mechanism to track the end-beneficial owner, added Suresh Swamy, partner at PwC India. Following the introduction of FPI Regulations by Sebi in 2014, a lot of foreign investors have preferred to take the direct route. The trend might gather momentum, feel experts. Liberalisation of FPI registration regime over the past few years has brought down P-note volumes substantially. The liberal registration regime, coupled with further tightening of the P-note route, is likely to eventually make these less lucrative, said Tejesh Chitlangi, partner, IC Legal. The same should not lead to any adverse market movement or any substantial fall in inflows, as todays mature markets seem to have already factored in any potential impact and, in any event, the P-note issuance is at all-time low levels, he added. Three persons have died and six others were injuried when a landslide struck two villages in Kalikot district in Nepal on Friday morning. The deceased have been identified as Dhanmatti Tamata of Syuna-2, Hira Tiwari of Syuna-5 and Laxman Bhandari of Dhaulagoha. The Chief District Officer (CDO) Pradip Shrestha, the landslide that occurred at around 12:30 am buried 20 houses at Gaj Bazaar and Lalighat in Kotwada VDC in the district, reports The Himalayan Times. Shrestha informed that the injured have been sent to the District Hospital for treatment. The exact details of loss and damage to human lives and properties are yet to be established. After wrapping up Gauri Shinde's upcoming film, Ali Bhatt has shared a group selfie with her team in Singapore. The 23-year-old actress recently tweeted a picture on her Instagram handle, showing her chilling out with her friends and captioned it as, "Last day selfie number one. Longggggggg day to go but my happy helpers make sure it's a smooooooth ride :) #ShootLife #SingaporeVibes @lakshmilehr @pinka25 @rosbelmonte." Recently, the 'Highway' actress has jetted off to Singapore to shoot for a song sequence in Gauri Shinde's upcoming film. Alia will also be seen in the upcoming flick 'Udta Punjab' that revolves around drug abuse in the affluent north Indian State of Punjab and how the youth have succumbed to it en-masse resulting in a socio-economic decline, is being directed Abhishek Chaubey. The film that also stars, Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor and Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh, is slated to hit the theatres on 17 June 2016. Actor Arbaaz Khan has recently dodged the question on Salman Khan and Lulia Vantur's marriage, leaving the fans in doubt. When asked about his opinion, the 48-year-old actor refused to express any comments on it, saying it is not the right time to talk about it, reports PinkVilla. If the recent buzz is to be believed, then the 'Dabangg' will tie the knot with his Romanian girlfriend Lulia on his 51st birthday. The residents of Bastar District in Chhattisgarh have filed a complaint against Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) professors in Darbha Police Station, alleging that they have been antagonized by some of the faculty members against the government. In the complaint, the villagers have also alleged that they have been asked to support the Naxals. In their complaint letter, the villagers said that around four to five people from came to their village and had a conversation with them. "Those people told us, that the police and the administration will not do anything for you. Therefore, we should do as the Naxals say. They also told us to bring back the people who have surrendered before the police," the villagers said in the complaint. "The people (who came from Delhi) also told us not to allow the police to set up their camps in the village," they added. The villagers have, therefore, requested the administration not to allow such people who are trying to brainwash them and destroy the happy environment which is their in the district. Bastar is one of the insurgency hit areas of the state where Naxals have a strong hold. After a journalist lodged a complaint against a Janata Dal United (JD(U) MLC Hira Vind post receiving death threats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday said that criminals and false forces in Bihar are becoming powerful under the rule of grand alliance government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Union Minister Giriraj Singh drew flaks at incumbent Bihar dispensation and said that Kumar at the time of polls promised a fear-free Bihar but now the situation is totally contrary. "Ever since this government was formed in the state, the law and order situation is continually deteriorating in Bihar. The criminals and the false forces are becoming powerful in the state," said Singh. "Nitish Kumar at the time of elections promised a fear-free Bihar but now the whole state is enveloped in fear. The representatives of the fourth pillar of Democracy the media are not safe then it's obvious that the common is feeling unsafe in the state," he added. Singh further criticised Nitish government and said, "The situation is such that a boy gets shot for over taking and the situation worsens when journalists get murdered and receive life threats. And the surprising factor is this that such incidents are being reported from the area of the Chief Minister and when questioned he act oblivious." Rajesh Singh, a journalist with a daily, yesterday lodged an FIR at the Laheri police station against a Janta Dal United (JD-U) MLC Hira Vind after receiving death threats. The journalist alleged that four Bind supporters entered his office at Biharsharif and threatened to kill him. The reports come seven days after when Ranjan, a journalist with Hindi daily Hindustan was shot dead by criminals near the Siwan railway station. A day after being dropped from the ODI squad for the upcoming triangular series featuring Australia and South Africa, West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has questioned the national selectors' decision to pick compatriots Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard. Besides Bravo, all-rounder Andre Russell, T20 skipper Darren Sammy, and swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle were also omitted from the 14-man squad. Bravo questioned the selection of Narine and Pollard despite not meeting one of the West Indies' criteria for selection i.e. playing domestic 50-over competition. "Joke of the day: WI selectors. One minute Pollard & Narine were not good enough & now are perfect for Tri Nation series? It's like magic! One minute we have to be available for domestic super 50 to be selected and the next minute, it seems we don't. Magic! Get serious people!," Bravo wrote on Twitter. Gayle, Bravo and Sammy missed the domestic tournament, Nagico Super50, in January because they were playing in this year's Big Bash League in Australia at the time, ESPNcricinfo reported. Meanwhile, Sammy and Gayle also lashed out at the selectors following their omission. "@KieronPollard55 great to see u back in odi team but tell me how did u qualify for selection having not played the super50 or ODI since 2014," Sammy said. Questioning selectors' decision to call Narine in the squad, Gayle said, "@KieronPollard55 & #SunilNarine selected for WI Tri-Series. How is that possible @westindies?" asked Gayle on Twitter. "WICB stop Sunil from playing super 50 and now they pick him. If @KieronPollard55 was fit he would've play the B Bash just like the rest of us!!." West Indies will play first of the 10-match ODI tri-series against South Africa on June 3 in Guyana. With the Union Cabinet deciding to approve promulgation of an ordinance to keep state boards out of the ambit of the Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for one academic session, the Congress Party on Friday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government was serving the interest of a medical lobby, which included a large number of politicians and businessmen. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked the NDA regime to roll back the ordinance so that meritorious students get admission on the basis of their merit and the entire system of fleecing students through capitation comes to an end. "Modi Government is trying to help private medical colleges, who are charging capitation fee of Rs. 60 to 80 lakh from every student aspiring to be a doctor in this country. With this view, NEET, which was espoused by the Congress Government in 2010 and has been a subject matter of litigation till the Supreme Court decided it, is sought to be deferred by way of ordinance," Surjewala told ANI. "Who is Modi Government serving? Are they serving the interest of private medical colleges hold 100 examinations across India at which students spend crores of rupees? Is Modi Government serving the interest of students or a medical lobby just because a large number of politicians and businessmen have interest?" he asked. The Congress leader said that according to him, to dishonour the order of the Supreme Court is biggest dis-service to the young in this country. "We reject in toto. We demand that Modi Government should roll back this ordinance and permit NEET to happen so that meritorious students get admission on the basis of their merit and the entire system of fleecing students through capitation comes to an end," he said. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis welcomed the Centre's decision to clear the ordinance to postpone the NEET by a year so that the students have enough time to prepare. "I am happy that the Central Cabinet promulgated ordinance to postpone NEET exam by a year. There is a huge difference between the central board curriculum and state board curriculum because of which many students would have suffered," Fadnavis told ANI. The Centre earlier in the day cleared the ordinance to postpone the NEET exam by a year so that the students have enough time to prepare. The decision comes after a meeting chaired between Union Health minister J.P. Nadda and other state health ministers over the matter. The meeting was convened after several parliamentarians opposed the common medical entrance test, saying the NEET has created confusion among the students who have already applied for the state entrance exams. Earlier today, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Modi asking him not to bring any order against the Supreme Court ruling on NEET, saying the students had welcomed the decision as it discouraged well endowed parents from making 'donations' to get their children admitted into reputed private medical colleges. "It has come to my attention that reports are adrift that the Centre is making plans to overturn the decision by the Supreme Court and people have been tensed upon hearing this news. The people of the nation will be cheated if the Centre goes through with this decision. Just a few days ago, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda called a meeting over the issue, where almost all health ministers opposed NEET, except Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain," the letter stated. Kejriwal added it is also being said that many politicians are running their own private medical colleges, in which some institutions are indulging in the practice of accepting large donations, which is why they were vehemently against the NEET examinations. "It is my humble request to you to ensure that no orders are brought against the Supreme Court ruling in the matter, otherwise people will think that the Centre stand with those who garner black money," Kejriwal said. The apex court had earlier ruled that the students will have to appear for NEET starting this academic session to seek admission to any medical or dental colleges in the country. The opposition parties have raised concerns that the students passing out from the state boards in vernacular languages and living in remote areas may not be able to perform well enough in common entrance exam despite being competitive. After a rigorous scouring, the Egyptian military has found the personal belongings of passengers and other debris of the Airbus floating in the Mediterranean and about 290 kilometres north of Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria. The investigators tried to unravel the mystery of why it swerved suddenly and plummeted into the sea, reports the Guardian. No group had claimed responsibility more than 24 hours after the disappearance of flight MS804, an Airbus A320 that was flying from Paris to Cairo. Egypt's aviation minister (name)said that a 'terrorist attack'was a more likely cause than technical failure for the plane's disappearance from radar screens on a flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said there was "absolutely no indication" of why the flight came down. The plane disappeared between Karpathos and the Egyptian coast in the early hours of Thursday morning, without its crew sending a distress signal. Both Egypt and Greece dispatched aircraft and naval vessels on a search mission. They were expected to be joined by French teams, while the US sent a surveillance plane to help with the operation. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had demanded an 'intensified search' for the aircraft after earlier reports by the airline that wreckage from the plane had been found were retracted. French President Francois Hollande said that it was clear the plane had crashed, and authorities in both Paris and Cairo opened investigations. Egypt Air said 15 French citizens were among the 26 foreign passengers on the plane, who also included a Briton and at least one Canadian. Both France and Egypt have come under attack by Islamic militants in the past year, and Hollande promised a comprehensive probe into the cause of the crash. To further strengthen relations of India and Singapore in the energy sector, a high-powered delegation led by Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy, Piyush Goyal, will be visiting Singapore on May 23. The official delegation is accompanied by a high level delegation led by FICCI under the leadership of Mr. Harshavardhan Neotia, President FICCI. India and Singapore have enjoyed long traditions of friendship based on mutual trust and respect and a shared history. Ever since India embarked on its path of economic reforms, Singapore has been amongst the most active countries partnering in our endeavours. Singapore is an important source of FDI in India. This visit aims to further strengthen the relations, which have been elevated to the level of 'Strategic Partnership' between the two nations having received a boost under the present Government. The visit would primarily focus upon engaging with the leading energy and technology companies and also strengthening connection with Singapore's strong investor community. Singapore is a hub for clean technology funds, asset management companies and private equity funds, apart from being a hub of the financial sector in Asia. A strong financial hub which is also home to commodity traders especially products like coal and natural gas has even greater importance for India. Singapore's strength also lies in providing an enabling environment for nurturing innovation in clean technologies and facilitating test-bedding of new technologies. Research and innovation in solar applications is a strong focus of the country, which has also developed advanced monitoring systems. As India moves on with its COP21 commitments in view of its continued dependence on coal, clean technologies have a greater relevance for us. Singapore also has important lessons for India in the area of retail electricity sector, where India has been striving to make breakthroughs. The institutional structures, experiences in tariff setting, etc. can give very good learning for India's power sector. A man, Mohammad Zubair, who was wanted by British police for questioning about a double murder in Bradford was handed over to the authorities in Bradford, UK on Thursday after being extradited from Pakistan. This is the first extradition case between the two countries despite both not having any extradition treaty, reports the London-based The Nation newspaper. Mohammed Zubair, who was 31 at the time, has been charged with the murders of Imran Khan (27) and Ahmedin Sayed Khyel (35), who were found dead in New Lane, Tong in May 2011. Mohammad Zubair appeared in court on Thursday charged with a double murder in Bradford. He will appear in court again on Friday. Zubair, of Heath Terrace, Barkerend, has been in custody in Pakistan since November 2013 and his extradition is the first instance in more than a decade from that country to the UK. Zubair's solicitor Shahzad Ali, told the court that there was an appeal pending in Pakistan before the crown court. He said, "The decision had not been announced by that court as to his return so I'm not prepared to concede his return to this country was legal. I want it noted on the record." Zubair appeared in the dock blue with handcuffs. Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Simon Atkinson, said: "After five years, West Yorkshire Police has managed to arrange the extradition of Mohammed Zubair, who has been held in custody in Pakistan since November 2013. I would like to praise the Pakistani authorities for their assistance and endeavours in not only securing his arrest, but also ensuring his extradition back to the UK. This has been a process that has taken a long time to come to fruition, and is the first instance in more than 10 years that anyone has been extradited from Pakistan to the UK." In response to the extradition of Mohammed Zubair from Pakistan to the UK, British High Commissioner Thomas Drew CMG said, "I am delighted that the hard work of the Pakistani authorities, West Yorkshire police and at the British High Commission has paid off. The first extradition from Pakistan to the UK for ten years is an important achievement, and shows the value of British-Pakistani cooperation.I would like, in particular, to thank the Pakistani authorities for all their assistance. India is extending help and relief to Sri Lanka, which is battling torrential rains and landslides that have caused significant devastation and loss of life. The Indian Navy is sending two ships today, INS Sutlej and INS Sunanyna with Geminis (inflatable boats), OBMs (outboard motors), additional divers, tarpaulins, consumable stores, rations, etc. Officials in the Home Ministry held a meeting today on coordinating an airlift with NDMA cargo. In the meeting, they assessed quantity of relief material required. All the material will be collected in Delhi and a C-17 aircraft with crew and officials from NDMA and NDRF will leave with halt at Chennai to pick up additional material and head to Colombo. It will reach in the evening today carrying medical supplies, tarpaulins, tents, emergency lights consumables stores, and mobile toilets. The Home Ministry is in constant touch with the Indian High Commission for any additional logistical support that might be required. "Sri Lanka is a close neighbour and friend and India has always been the first responder in times of a crisis. As was the case during the Tsunami that affected Sri Lanka in the past, this time also India will extend all necessary help and relief to Sri Lanka, as requested," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) release said. Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister, Delhi Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him not to bring any order against the Supreme Court ruling on National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), saying the students had welcomed the decision as it discouraged well endowed parents from making 'donations' to get their children admitted into reputed private medical colleges. In the letter, Kejriwal said that the hard working and diligent students missed out on opportunities for a quality medical education, as the students from affluent families got into through donations, which is the why the apex court's ruling on the matter should not be challenged or questioned. "It has come to my attention that reports are adrift that the Centre is making plans to overturn the decision by the Supreme Court and people have been tensed upon hearing this . The people of the nation will be cheated if the Centre goes through with this decision. Just a few days ago, Union Health Minister J P Nadda called a meeting on the issue, where almost all health ministers opposed NEET, except Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain," the letter stated. Kejriwal added that it is also being said that many politicians are running their own private medical colleges, in which some institutions are indulging in the practice of accepting large donations, which is why they were vehemently against the examinations. "It is my humble request to you to ensure that no orders are brought against the Supreme Court ruling in the matter, otherwise people will think that the Centre stand with those who garner black money," Kejriwal said. Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet is expected to clear an ordinance or an executive order to defer the implementation of . The decision to issue an ordinance was taken in the aftermath of several meetings between Union Health Minister J P Nadda and state health ministers to discuss the issue. The meeting was convened after several parliamentarians opposed the common medical entrance test, saying the has created confusion among the students who have already applied for the state entrance exams. My Trade Box, India's first assisted bulk buying hybrid E-commerce start-up, will soon have a physical presence in local markets to give an ease of accessibility to local retailers as well as local buyers. With a brand motto of -'Happy sellers, Happy buyers', it will give the e-commerce industry a facelift. MTB works with a select group of sellers chosen for quality products and delivering quality service, to procure products of regular needs at very competitive rates under its arm, Trade Link. The company has a specific vision of developing Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets and SME's to reach out to local buyers through MyTradeBox local kiosks. The online hybrid e-commerce model helps them make better purchase decisions by giving them access to more listings across more product categories. Jayant Mehrotra, Co-Founder, My Trade Box, explains, "We are the first startup in India to truly focus on 'Assisted Buying' in the true sense of its term. Our local representatives and kiosks act as the bridge between local sellers and local buyers in all major sectors. We are currently expanding in the Northern region of India, with a vision to have at least 10,000 small manufacturers signed up, doing with 100,000 retailers across six major clusters across India. Our focus centre is to give the SME sectors a major facelift, get customers access to everything that a business or a household may require. Our hybrid model serves both the B2B and the B2C sector and our aim is to bring in a harmony between SME's, Manufacturers, Retailers and Buyers." The company has numerous quality touch-points to change how the e-commerce industry is progressing. A special feature called the 'ESCROW' account has also been activated with a leading bank 'Kotak Mahindra', where the seller/buyer can deposit any sum/large sum of money without having trust issues on either; the bank releases the money once a successful and satisfactory transaction of product is completed. MyTradeBox is a unique combination of B2C & B2B platform. The Nepal Government has decided to make a call to the Federal Alliance, a bloc of parties protesting the Constitution. The decision to this effect was made during a meeting of the Council of Ministers on Friday afternoon, reports The Himalayan Times. The government would show utmost flexibility in the talks with protesting parties The Alliance has been organising a Kathmandu-centric protest demanding rewriting of the Constitution. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa had invited the protesting United Democratic Madhesi Front for talks. The UDMF, however, responded to the government's invitation claiming that talks under the present circumstances were irrelevant. Meanwhile, the government also decided to extend a support of USD 1,00,000 to victims of recent floods in Sri Lanka. A suicide bomber in Peshawar has accidentally detonated his vest while riding a motorcycle on an empty road, killing himself and two other militants also on a bike. The incident took place in the Sufaid Sang suburb just northwest of Peshawar, where the trio were planning an attack,reports Dawn. Their plan was foiled when the suicide vest of one suicide bomber detonated prematurely, Kashif Zulfiqar said. Their target was not known but they were moving towards a crowded area where there are several police and military check posts," he added. Police defused a jacket fitted on the dead body of a second would-be bomber and recovered a Kalashnikov rifle, eight hand grenades and hundreds of live bullets. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other militant groups regularly target military and civilian installations as part of an insurgency. Prime Minister and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani will hold discussions on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest, during the former's visit to the country. Prime Minister Modi will paying an official visit to Qatar from 4-5 June at the invitation of the Emir of Qatar. Ministry of External (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, that this is the highest-level visit from India to Qatar since the visit of the then prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to Doha in 2008. There has been regular exchange of high-level bilateral visits in the recent past as the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim had visited India in March 2015. Previously, the then Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani had visited India in 1999, 2005 and 2012. India's historical and close relations with Qatar are marked by mutually beneficial commercial exchanges and extensive people to people contacts. Qatar is an important trading partner for India in the Gulf region with bilateral trade in 2014-15 exceeding US $15 billion and it is India's largest supplier of LNG requirements, accounting for 65% of India's total imports in 2015-16. "Over 6, 30,000 Indian nationals form the largest expatriate community in Qatar. Their positive contribution in the progress and development of their host country is well recognised," Swarup said. President will be leaving for a four-day state visit to China on Tuesday. Briefing the media on his visit, an External Affairs Ministry official said during the visit whole range of bilateral relations including political, economic and global issues will come up for discussion. Replying to a question if China's stand on Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership issue will come up for discussion, the official said the two countries would discuss all issues. Replying to another query on India's effort to put Masood Azhar, the main accused in the Pathankot airbase attack, on the UN (United Nations) list of proscribed terrorists, the official said both countries are in touch with each other on the issue. There has been several top level bilateral visits between the two neighbouring giants, including Chinese President visit to India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China last year, in which investment agreements worth $22 billion were signed. The Congress Party on Friday said that it would respond legally to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) notice to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat in connection with the alleged sting operation. "We don't have any information in this regard, when we get any details then only we can comment on it. When we get the CBI's letter, we will go through its legality and cross verify it with the letter that we have sent to the CBI. Only then, we will come to a conclusion," Congress leader Indira Hridayesh told ANI. "The CBI will give a notice and we will answer it legally. Harish Rawat is the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and a decision will be taken after all considerations," she added. The comments from the grand old party come after the CBI rejected the Uttarakhand Government's notification withdrawing permission for it to probe a sting operation allegedly involving Rawat. The investigative agency had yesterday maintained that it will soon call Rawat for certain clarifications in the case. The CBI, on its part, said they have received a communication from the Uttarakhand Government and are getting the matter legally examined. The video shows Rawat indulging in horse trading a day before President's rule was imposed in Uttarakhand on March 27. The BJP had alleged that the sting was proof of unfair means used by the Rawat regime to stay in power. Rawat has maintained his innocence in the matter and termed the entire episode as a conspiracy to tarnish his image. The Centre revoked President's rule from Uttarakhand on May 11 after Rawat proved his majority on the floor of the house. Calls for expansion of the World Bank role in areas like social sector - education and health, agricultural development, small-scale industry, handlooms etc The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that the Indian economy is estimated to register 7.6% growth in 2015-16, notwithstanding contraction of global exports and two consecutive years of shortfall in monsoon. Amid weaker outlook across the globe, he said that India's experience of strong economic growth, comfortable price situation, low Current Account Deficit (CAD), and adherence to path of fiscal recovery have projected it as an outpost of opportunity for global investors. The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley was speaking at a meeting with a group of Executive Directors (EDs) of the World Bank Group. The discussions held ranged from the performance of ongoing World Bank Projects in India to various policy issues related to the World Bank Group financing. Speaking further on the occasion, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley said that the focus of the present Government is on areas like non-conventional power generation, the Nation-wide sanitation campaign, electrification of villages in India, major and minor irrigation projects and rural housing for all among others. Highlighting the various macroeconomic variables favorable to India, he pointed-out good monsoon forecast, political reform process and low current oil prices as the key drivers of economic growth. He emphasized on the macro-economic benefit that India is experiencing due to the fall in oil prices. He stated that the fall in global oil prices during the time when India was recovering from the impact of Global Financial crisis, has greatly benefitted India in the recovery process. Talking about the role of World Bank Group in World development, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley stressed on the need for the World Bank to have a larger capital base, more activity and more projects. He also stated that the role of World Bank Group could be expanded in areas like social sector - education and health, agricultural development, small-scale industry and handlooms etc. A group of nine World Bank Executive Directors is currently on a six (6) day official visit to India as a part of their South Asian Region visit. They will also be visiting Bangladesh & Sri Lanka. In India, their visit covers meeting the senior Government of India officials and getting a firsthand experience of the implementation of the World Bank projects in Agra, Bhubaneswar and Jaipur. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Also secures USD 55 million investment from Proterra Partners Future Consumer Enterprise announced that International Finance Corporation (IFC) will invest US$20 million (Rs 134 crore) through equity linked instruments. For the said purpose, the Board has proposed to issue and allot equity linked securities to International Finance Corporation. The investment from IFC will aid the company in fueling its growth plans and further strengthening its balance sheet. The Company had also recently secured an investment of US $ 55 million from US based Proterra Partners (previously known as Black River Asset Management) and the promoters of the Company and this completes the current fund raising plan of US$75 million. IFC and Proterra Partners join other marquee institutional investors such as Brussels-based Verlinvest, Singapore-based Arisaig Partners who have invested in the company. The Board of Directors of the Company at its Meeting held on May 19, 2015 has, inter alia decided to: 1. Raise up to Rs 134 crore through the preferential allotment of Compulsorily Convertible Debentures (CCDs) at a face value Rs 100,000 per CCD to IFC and 100 Equity Shares 2. The CCDs are convertible into equity shares of FCEL within a period not exceeding 18 months from the date of issue of CCDs, at conversion price of Rs 22.73 per share FCEL has convened an Extraordinary General Meeting on 17 June 2016 at Mumbai for obtaining the Shareholder approval. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Investors across different continents across the world are looking forward and readying to participate in the urban market of India that is set to unleash a new growth driver in the economy. CII had brought together a diverse group of stakeholders of the urban landscape at the CII Smart City Investors' Meet. While the meet saw a huge response from foreign diplomats, it resonated equally among industry players who are looking at these smart cities as new investment opportunities. Speaking at the session US Ambassador to India, Dr. Richard Verma, while appreciating long and fruitful partnership between two countries at the CII Smart City Investors Meet declared India to be leader of global urban transition. Ambassador Verma also brought out the challenges facing Indian urban landscape like governance, pollution & congestion but also emphasized that these can be converted into limitless opportunities through the Smart City Mission. He re-emphasized the US commitment to help India in this crucial area through 3 lead cities - Allahabad, Ajmer & Vizag, through cooperation of some of the best of US companies. Going ahead, Dr. Verma emphasized upon need to focus on local solutions and careful planning through means like community engagement and collaboration, continue implementation of advanced technologies and apply innovative financial solutions. Bringing the British perspective to the forum, Sir Dominic Asquith KCMG, the British Commissioner to India, in his remarks stated that India's estimated smart cities market is the 12th largest globally. He promised to support Indian Smart City Mission through the UK's expertise in urban design; planning & architecture; infrastructure engineering & construction; data, software & analytics; project management; financing & real estate; and public engagement, and customized user-centric solutions, among others. All these themes would be displayed in the 3 cities chosen by UK in India - Pune, Indore & Amravati. Mr Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to India, appreciated the Indian Government's top-to-bottom approach for selecting the 20 smart cities for the first phase. He highlighted some of the key areas in which Japan is set to collaborate with India, including sewerage & water supply systems, energy efficiency and conservation, maximising the use of energy through stable Smart Grid systems, solar technology, and urban transportation systems. The Japanese Government is already proactively helping the cities of Varanasi, New Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and Ambassador Hiramatsu shared that Japan would be also provide technical assistance to India to make the cities and urban infrastructure resilient to natural disasters like floods and earthquakes. He also highlighted the massive financial commitments made by Japanese companies in the Indian economy, like Softbank's USD 20 billion commitment to India's renewable energy sector in the next 10 years. Sustainable solutions that can help cities deal with natural disasters and climate challenges could be one of the fundamental pillars for the smart cities. Speaking of his positive experiences in India, H E Mr Cho Hyun, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, the Republic of Korea admired the role of Smart cities as enablers for India's economic growth. He emphasised the need for a comprehensive and holistic approach to address urban challenges, which India could learn from the Korean experience. Ambassador Hyun also emphasised the need to formulate business models in collaboration with private players, and suggested that while transforming cities, the focus should be on the use of technologies, ICT, IoT, and meticulous planning involving local communities and stakeholders. He said it was essential to garner citizen participation through encouragement, ownership and credit for implementing solutions smartly. Rounding off the international perspectives, Ms Magdalena Cruz Yabar, Charge d'Affaires, Embassy of Spain in India, in her remarks highlighted that focus of Indian Smart Cities should be beyond technology and move towards smarter engagement. She reiterated the Spanish commitment to innovation in cutting edge technology, in sectors such as health, Smart Cities, urban mobility and clean energy. A lot can be learnt from Barcelona that ranks top amongst other Smart Cities in areas of smart transportation. Madrid too specializes in environment analytics project in areas of sewerage, water and sanitation. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Cigarette major ITC is scheduled to announce its Q4 March 2016 results today, 20 May 2016. Wipro announced that Designit, a global strategic design firm and part of the company announced the opening of its US headquarters in the heart of New York's Union Square. The new office will serve as a global center for Designit's product-service innovation and experience-driven design services. Wipro also announced that it has joined the partnership for New York City to mark Designit's entry into the city and commitment to growing New York as a center of innovation, particularly in design and technology. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 19 May 2016. Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) announced that it will undertake a service campaign to inspect fault and replace a brake part in 20,427 units of S-Cross. These vehicles were manufactured between 20 April 2015 and 12 February 2016. This service campaign applies to both the variants of S-Cross, MSIL said. The inspection and replacement will be done free of cost for the customers, it added. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 19 May 2016. Esab India reported a net profit of Rs 9.37 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2016 compared with net loss of Rs 1.38 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2015. Net total income from operations rose 7.56% to Rs 114.65 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2016 over the quarter ended 31 March 2015. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 19 May 2016. Gujarat State Petronet's net profit rose 48.6% to Rs 99.70 crore on 2.1% decline in total income to Rs 244.98 crore in Q4 March 2016 over Q4 March 2015. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 19 May 2016. GHCL's net profit rose 54.49% to Rs 78.96 crore on 1.45% rise in net total income from operations to Rs 650.40 crore in Q4 March 2016 over Q4 March 2015. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 19 May 2016. Vaibhav Global's consolidated net profit fell 50% to Rs 8.78 crore on 1.77% decline in net total income from operations to Rs 350.50 crore in Q4 March 2016 over Q4 March 2015. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 19 May 2016. Ajmera Realty & Infra India's consolidated net profit rose 35.03% to Rs 21.97 crore on 15.23% rise in net total income from operations to Rs 169.23 crore in Q4 March 2016 over Q4 March 2015. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 19 May 2016. Mahindra Lifespace Developers announced that it has launched on 19 May 2016 Phase 3 of its residential project 'Anthenia' in Pimpri, Pune. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 19 May 2016. WABCO India's net profit rose 88.44% to Rs 57.28 crore on 47.84% rise in net total income from operations to Rs 566.51 crore in Q4 March 2016 over Q4 March 2015. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 19 May 2016. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Total Operating Income rise 6.80% to Rs 1277.67 crore Net profit of Karnataka Bank declined 20.55% to Rs 106.79 crore in the quarter ended March 2016 as against Rs 134.42 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2015. Total Operating Income rose 6.80% to Rs 1277.67 crore in the quarter ended March 2016 as against Rs 1196.35 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2015. For the full year,net profit declined 8.01% to Rs 415.29 crore in the year ended March 2016 as against Rs 451.45 crore during the previous year ended March 2015. Total Operating Income rose 6.25% to Rs 4992.21 crore in the year ended March 2016 as against Rs 4698.42 crore during the previous year ended March 2015. ParticularsQuarter EndedYear EndedMar. 2016Mar. 2015% Var.Mar. 2016Mar. 2015% Var.Total Operating Income1277.671196.35 7 4992.214698.42 6 OPM %69.6482.52 -73.6075.17 - PBDT141.87193.84 -27 528.00509.29 4 PBT141.87193.84 -27 528.00509.29 4 NP106.79134.42 -21 415.29451.45 -8 Powered by Capital Market - Live News Maruti Suzuki India lost 0.53% to Rs 3,906.05 at 10:28 IST on BSE after the company announced that it will undertake a service campaign to inspect fault and replace a brake part in 20,427 units of S-Cross. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 19 May 2016. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 18.21 points or 0.07% at 25,417.93. On BSE, so far 11,000 shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 88,171 shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 3,920 and a low of Rs 3,885 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 3,202.10 on 29 February 2016. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 4,789 on 23 November 2015. The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 19 May 2016, gaining 5.61% compared with Sensex's 1.61% fall. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, advancing 9.66% as against Sensex's 7.13% rise. The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 151.04 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5. Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) said that the vehicles were manufactured between 20 April 2015 and 12 February 2016. This service campaign applies to both the variants of S-Cross, MSIL said. The inspection and replacement will be done free of cost for the customers, it added. Maruti's net profit declined 11.7% to Rs 1133.60 crore on 12.5% growth in net sales to Rs 14929.50 crore in Q4 March 2016 over Q4 March 2015. Japanese parent Suzuki Motor Corporation held 56.21% stake in Maruti Suzuki India (as per the shareholding pattern as on 31 March 2016). Powered by Capital Market - Live News The Indian urban juggernaut has begun rolling showcasing projects worth $7billion as its first offering in the twenty lighthouse cities that have made it to Round 1. The government is set to announce another 13 to 14 cities in a couple of days taking the total to 34 that will be financed in the first round under the Smart City Mission a flagship initiative of the government of India. Speaking at the CII Smart City Investors Meet, Minister for Urban Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs. Mr Venkaiah Naidu said We will announce the next set of cities in one or two days and these will be included in the first set of cities that will receive the first tranche of funding. Emphasizing on the role of the private sector in the development of smart cities and urbanizing India, Mr Naidu said that there is an urgent need to involve the private sector and bring in their expertise and technology to meet the aspirations of the citizens in these cities. The global interest in India's smart city mission was on display in the investors' meet which was attended by ambassadors of the US, Japan, South Korea, Spain and the High Commissioner of UK among others. The day long convention brought together diverse stakeholders from solution providers to city corporate's, policy makers and foreign investors. Speaking on a day when assembly results in five states were being announced, the minister said that there is a move towards stability at the states as well which will augur well for the developmental initiatives. Emphasizing on how the Union Government has established transparency by reducing human intervention in the delivery mechanism, the minister said This government is on a mission; a mission without commission is the new version of GOI. Talking on how this is being from the top, Mr Naidu said Prime Minister Modi's name stands for Making of Developed India, a dream that this government is committed to. Elaborating on the new and innovate financing means that cities will be adapting, the minister said that cities are looking at monetizing land assets, introduction of user charges and tax incentive financing. Citizens have paid and are willing to pay user charges as long as they get assured and quality services and this would be the biggest ask from the service and solution providers, he said. Mr. Rajiv Gauba, Secretary - MOUD said that a unique aspect of the entire Smart City Mission is about the citizen participation. Almost 14 million citizens across the country have participated in shaping the smart city plans and this needs to be built upon even as plans are rolled out. We need to institutionalize it and see that citizens play a proactive role through feedback loops, the secretary said. Mr Ravi Parthasarathy, chairman CII Smart City Mission said that CII is committed to work with the Government and all stakeholders to realize this ambitious Scheme by adapting the global best practices to Indian conditions. He also emphasized that cities have emerged as new nodes of growth, a fact that resonates with both local & global constituencies in contemporary times. Powered by Capital Market - Live News The CPI-M said on Friday that it did not pick V.S. Achuthanandan as Kerala's chief minister in view of his age and compared him with the legendary Fidel Castro. Announcing the decision to make Pinarayi Vijayan the new chief minister, party general secretary Sitaram Yechury said Achuthanandan, 92, was not given a second stint in view of his age and physical limitations. "Comrade VS is like Fidel Castro in Cuba where he acts in an advisor's role. Like Castro, VS will play that role here," Yechury told the media. When Yechury made the announcement, he was flanked by Achuthanandan and state party secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Yechury, however, did not take questions on the selection of Vijayan or why Achuthanandan was not given a second stint. Around 45,000 employees of SBI's five associate banks struck work across India to protest against the proposed merger plans and warned of more strikes next month, union activists said here on Friday. "The strike was forced by the State Bank Of India (SBI) management's arrogant and high-handed approach and was in protest agains the forcible closure and takeover of these associate banks by the SBI," said All India Bank Employees Association vice president Vishwas Utagi. He said similar strikes will be held in associate banks on June 7 and July 28, followed by a nationwide banking industry shutdown on July 29. "Employees of associate banks and other public sector banks express their anger and protest over such forcible actions of SBI. All political parties and central trade unions must take note of this attack on national assets," Utagi said. The five associate banks are State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBJJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT). Together, they have more than 67,000 branches and 9,000 ATMs across the country, according to an official. The total business of these banks as in March 2016 was Rs.900,000 crore with operative profit of Rs.10,500 crore. Utagi said the associate bank employees and their unions affilitate to AIBEA have been opposing the merger plans since long and agitating for the implementation of other demands relating to compassionate appointments, staff housing loans and other issues. He said the SBI's move last week was not in conformity with the AIBEA's views and suggestions conveyed to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in their meetings on March 23 and April 25. "It was proposed that all the five associate banks can be crossmerged into one single entity. Under the circumstances, we wonder how associates banks of SBI were forced to take a decision to merge with the SBI," Utagi said. --IANS qn/tsb/vm Greece on Friday announced that it found a body part, seats and suitcases from crashed EgyptAir plane, hours after other debris was spotted 290 km north of Alexandria, a Mediterranean port city of Egypt. A body part, two seats and suitcases from the plane were found by Egyptian rescuers, Greece's Defence Minister Panos Kammenos confirmed. Greece has been notified about the discovery by the Egyptian authorities, he said in Athens. "Regarding the outputs of the research, we have been briefed by the Egyptian Joint Rescue Coordination Centre about the discovery of a body part, two seats and luggage at the scene of the search, slightly to the south of where the plane's signal was lost. That is to the south and east of where the plane was lost, and further north of yesterday's (Thursday) sighting, that was not confirmed to be debris from the plane," Kammenos said. The Egyptian military in its Facebook post said that it detected parts of debris and some of the passengers' belongings while searching for the aircraft's black box. It added that naval vessels and military aircraft were continuing the search operation. The search operation which involves the Egyptian, French, Greek and US navies was intensified on Friday, a day after Egypt's aviation minister said it was too soon to say why the Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo vanished, but a "terrorist" attack would be a more likely scenario than a technical failure. The tragedy raised fears of a repeat of the bombing of a Russian passenger jet by the Islamic State group over Egypt on October 31, that killed 224 people. An anonymous intelligence source said the plane's flight path and high speed of its descent suggested it "fell like a rock". US officials and analysts believe a "catastrophic event" downed the plane, although they did not spell out what it could be. "All indications are that a catastrophic event took down the aircraft" as it passed over the Mediterranean Sea, they told CBS News, but it was unclear whether a mechanical failure, terror attack or other deliberate act was to blame. However, Egyptian Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi said: "Let's not try to jump to the side that is trying to identify this as a technical failure - on the contrary." "If you analyse the situation properly, the possibility of having a different action, or having a terror attack, is higher than the possibility of having a technical (fault)." Mike Vivian, former head of operations at British Civil Aviation Authority, told media on Friday that he thought the plane's sudden swerves before dropping off the radar screens were more likely to be caused by human interference than by a bomb. "It looks highly unlikely that this was consistent with some sort of explosive device," he said. "One's inclined to go towards the theory that there had been some interference in the aircraft and on the flight deck, with the control of the aircraft." Despite widespread speculation that the plane's disappearance is terror-related, there has been no claim of responsibility. Egypt President Adbel Fattah al-Sisi offered his condolences to families of those who were aboard the EgyptAir plane. "With utmost sadness and regret mourns the victims on aboard the EgyptAir flight who were killed after the plane crashed in the Mediterranean on its way back to Cairo from Paris," a statement on Friday from the president's office stated. The US White House also offered its "deepest condolences" over the disaster, which claimed the lives of all 66 people on board. "At this time we do not yet know definitively what caused the disappearance of Flight MS804," US White House press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement. "The US stands ready to provide our full support and resources to the governments of Egypt and France as they investigate this incident," he said. EgyptAir offered its condolences to the families of passengers in its first admission that they had died. "EgyptAir expresses condolences to the families of the plane's victims and expresses its deep sorrow over this tragic accident. The company affirms it will take all measures to handle the situation and will conduct a comprehensive investigation," Egypt's national airline said in a statement on Twitter. The Airbus A320 passenger airliner took off from Paris on Wednesday night at 11.09 p.m. and was expected to land in Cairo on Thursday at 3.15 a.m. It lost contact with the radar at 2.45 a.m. In March, an EgyptAir domestic flight MS181 from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked in mid-air by one of the passengers and diverted to Larnaca, Cyprus, with 81 people on board. After a six-hour standoff, the hijacker, Seif Eldin Mustafa, freed the passengers and crew, and surrendered to Cypriot police. --IANS lok/ahm/vt The union cabinet on Friday gave its nod to an ordinance to defer, for one year, implementation of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), which has been made mandatory for medical entrance across India following strong objections from some states, sources said. The ordinance, which puts on hold the Supreme Court's May 9 ruling ordering the implementation of NEET from this year, was cleared in a cabinet meeting under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, official sources said. This step of the government has come a great relief for thousands of students who were preparing for medical examination across the country this year. Many states and members of parliament, across spectrum of political parties, had raised concern over the apex court ruling. Amid protests by the students and states, union Health Minister J.P. Nadda also convened a consultation meeting of the state health ministers over the issue. Earlier, declining the plea by some states to allow them to hold common entrance tests under their respective laws and that of the private medical colleges, the Supreme Court refused to modify its April 28 order making NEET mandatory for admission to under-graduate medical courses across the country for the academic year 2016-2017. The Medical Council of India and the Dental Council of India had in December 2010 amended the then statutory regulations to provide for a single NEET for admission to the MBBS/BDS course. However, the notification was struck down on July 18, 2013, by the apex court, which in a split verdict of 2:1, held that NEET was flawed both procedurally and substantially. The NEET was restored on April 11, 2016, when the five-judge constitution bench of Justice A. R. Dave, Justice A.K. Sikri, Justice R.K. Agrawal, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice R. Banumathi, recalled the July 18, 2013 order. --IANS bns/vd/vt A court here on Friday extended the CBI custody of suspended union home ministry undersecretary Anand Joshi, arrested by the CBI on graft charges, for another four days. Central Bureau of Investigation Special Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna allowed the central agency to quiz Joshi till May 24 when he was presented before her after the expiry of his earlier four-day police remand. The CBI told the court that it had seized various official documents from his house. The agency said the accused was required to be confronted with these documents as well to trace his alleged immovable properties. Joshi had gone missing from his residence in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh after summons from the Central Bureau of Investigation. He was arrested on May 15 from west Delhi. Earlier, home ministry sources said that Joshi, recently posted in the Foreigners Division, had access to files related to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act and was under the scanner for several months. He was reported to the CBI for allegedly taking bribes to favour certain non-governmental organisations. Joshi, however, had denied the charge of giving clean chits to NGOs. --IANS akk/tsb/bg While smartphone growth is near saturation in Metros, Chinese players are busy building their base in tier 2 and 3 cities in the country, a new report from the International Data Corporation (IDC) said on Friday. In the first quarter of this year, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata accounted for 26.4 percent of the entire smartphone market as compared to 29.9 percent in the last quarter of 2015 - indicating that the smartphone market is gradually deepening towards smaller cities, the report added. "China-based vendors have understood this trend and are gradually building and investing significantly in the offline distribution network in tier 2 cities and beyond. This really shows that the offline channel remains significant and the vendors have understood that offline must go hand in hand with the online channel," explained Navkendar Singh, senior research manager, IDC India. "As Tier 1 markets saturate, the next growth frontiers for smartphone players are clearly the smaller cities and towns," he added. China-based vendors have already captured more than 20 percent of the smartphone market in 25 tier 2 and 3 cities and are expected to penetrate further as their offline presence increases. "Majority of the sales for Lenovo, Motorola, Xiaomi and LeEco are still coming from the online channel in these cities due to their superior positioning as quality brands, with a value for money proposition," Singh informed. Others like Oppo and Vivo are expected to grow in coming months in these markets with their huge marketing spends and increasing retail presence. "In tier 2 and 3 cities, China-based vendors are eating into the 4G device share of global brands, with almost 40 percent of the demand being generated by them," noted Varun Singh, market analyst (channels) at IDC India. --IANS na/bg A senior operative of the Indian Mujahideen, Abdul Wahid Siddibapa, was arrested when he flew in here on Friday after being deported from Dubai, officials said. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took Siddibapa, 32, into custody at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. He was described as the financial brain of the terror outfit. A resident of Maqdoom colony in Bhatkal in Karnataka, the former perfume trader was wanted on charges of conspiring to stage terror attacks at various places in India. From Dubai, Siddibapa allegedly recruited young Indians for the Indian Mujahideen and funded their activities. A warrant of arrest and a Red Corner Notice had been issued against him, leading to his deportation from Dubai. The extradition treaty between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) came into force in 2000. Siddibapa was wanted for his alleged involvement in the July 2006 Mumbai serial blasts, the 2008 Delhi blasts and the 2010 Chinnaswamy Stadium blast in Benguluru. Said to be a relative of the now jailed Indian Mujahideen chief Yasin Bhatkal, Indian security agencies described him as the controller of the outfit's finances. He allegedly routed money using both banking channels and the Western Union Money Transfer. He left for Dubai much before the crackdown on the Indian Mujahideen started in 2008. He was detained in the United Arab Emirates and arrested in January 2014. --IANS rak/mr Following the arrest of a Briton for participating in an anti-Constitution protest in Kathmandu, Britain has urged its citizens not to get involved in ongoing political activities in Nepal. "If you are involved in any political activities in Nepal, you may be liable to penalties, including deportation and/or a fine," said the British government in a travel advisory issued for its citizens. Nepal Police on Monday arrested British national Martin Travers for participating in an anti-Constitution protest carried out by Madhesi and Janajati activists in Kathmandu. After completing the investigation, the police handed him over to the British Embassy in Kathmandu. Earlier, Nepal had deported Canadian national Robert Penner for supporting the ethnic movement on Twitter. Disagreements arising from Nepal's new constitution have led to protests, rallies and strikes occurring frequently across the country, said the travel advisory issued by Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It advised its citizens to monitor the state media and follow the advice of the local authorities and tour operators. "British government officials in Nepal may sometimes defer travel on official business, depending on the security situation at the time. Transport and public services may be disrupted at short notice," the advisory added. --IANS ksk/dg Brazil's Public Prosecutor's Office denounced former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for allegedly obstructing the course of justice during probe into the scandal-ridden state-oil company Petrobras. TV Globo, which obtained the complaint against Lula from the public prosecutor on Thursday disclosed that Lula teamed up with an entrepreneur closely linked to a corruption network in order to offer 250,000 reais ($71,000) to Petrobras' former international director Nestor Cervero, and he did not declare this before the justice system, Xinhua news agency reported. The allegations came after former senator Delcidio Amaral, who was removed from office on May 10 for obstructing investigations, said he personally paid 50,000 reais ($14,000) to Cervero. The complaint detailed Lula's participation in the alleged payment to Cervero which was not declared before the justice system. After the allegations, the Lula Institute, assured through a press release that the former president "never" tried to interfere in Cervero's conduct or in any other issue related to the investigations into Petrobras, known as Operation Car Wash. The Petrobras case encompasses a "gigantic" network formed by politicians, entrepreneurs and top executives from the oil company that rigged and distributed contracts between 2004 and 2014. It is thought that this network was able to divert at least $2 billion in the aforementioned time period. Since investigations began two years ago, allegations have been presented before the courts involving 207 accused people and so far 111 out of this figure have been sentenced. --IANS ksk The highest percentage of female-headed households in the country was in the Christian community as per 2011 census, an official statement said on Friday. Citing data released by the Registrar General of India on households by religion, sex of head of household and household size, the home ministry release said that 81.3 percent of households in the country were from the Hindu community which also has the highest sex size variation. It said 12.5 percent of households were from Muslim community, 2.5 percent from Christian community, 1.7 percent from Sikh community, 0.7 percent from Buddhist community and 0.4 percent from Jain community. "The highest percentage of female-headed households is noticed in Christian community (17.4 percent) followed by Buddhist (15.9 percent). The lowest percentage of female headed households is in Jain community (11.5 percent)," the release said. It said the average household size was higher in male-headed households as compared to female-headed households in all the religious communities. "Sex wise variation is highest among Hindu community (male-headed household size 4.9, female-headed household size 3.8) and the least variation is seen among Sikh community (male-headed household size 5.1, female-headed household size 4.6)," the release said. --IANS ps/vd The first squadron of Tejas fighter jets will be flying before Diwali this year as a step towards taking the fighter formations the (IAF) closer to the sanctioned strength, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said. In an interview with All India Radio, the minister also said that the share of imports in defence will go down to 30-35 percent in next five to eight years. "In the air force, a new fighter has not been inducted since 1994. Tejas was stuck for 32 years. Now two planes have been supplied and a few more will be supplied in a couple of months," Parrikar said. "The first squadron of Tejas will be ready by September-October and it be flying before Diwali," the minister said. On the dip in number of squadrons in the IAF, the defence minister said the gap will be bridged soon. "The sanctioned strength of fighter squadrons is 42, but 100 percent is never reached. We have 34 squadrons at present. In next three to four years, four to five squadrons of Tejas will be added; a few more squadrons of Sukhoi will also come. By then two squadrons of Rafale jets will also come," Parrikar said. Asked about the plans to manufacture multi-role fighter jets in the country, Parrikar said: "By the end of this year, a decision will be taken on which fighter aircraft will be made in India. We have not decided yet whether we will make the F-18, Eurofighter, Rafale or Griffin." On making India self-sufficient in defence and reducing import, Parrikar said reducing imported component in defence to 30-35 percent will be a good figure, as there are certain articles which may be cheaper to import. The minister said the ratio of import in military hardware has come down from 70 per cent to 63 per cent at present. "If every year the decrease is five to ten percent, in next five years it can come under 40 percent. When it comes under 30 percent, we will be more or less self-dependent. Some items are such that manufacturing them in the country is not profitable. It is better to buy because the cost and numbers do not justify domestic production," he said. The first squadron of Tejas fighter jets will be flying before Diwali, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said, adding that the indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA) is as good as Rafale, even though its load carrying capacity and range is lesser. He also said that by the year-end, the government will decide on which multi-role fighter jets will be manufactured in the country. In an interview to All India Radio, the minister stressed that the Indian Air Force can get two Tejas fighters at the price of one Rafale jet. "In the air force, a new fighter has not been inducted since 1994. Tejas was stuck for 32 years. Now, two planes have been supplied and a few more will be supplied in a couple of months," Parrikar said. "The first squadron of Tejas will be ready by September-October and it be flying before Diwali," the minister said. "Our Tejas has the same qualities as Rafale. Although Tejas is in lightweight category, with its range also half compared with Rafale, but in terms of avionics, electronics and firepower it is no less than Rafale," he said. "One Rafale fighter is worth approximately Rs.700 crore to Rs.750 crore while an Su-30 costs about Rs.475 crore. Compared to these planes, India's Tejas is in the range of Rs.200 crore to Rs.250 crore only. We can get two Tejas at the price of one Rafale," the minister said. Parrikar said concluding the deal to buy Rafale fighters from Dassault Aviation of France will take a "few more weeks", and added that the negotiations on price was important. "You will have to bring down the cost. If you throw away the price they demand, our coffers will soon be empty," he said. Asked about the plans to manufacture the multi-role fighter jets in the country, Parrikar said: "By the end of this year, a decision will be taken on which fighter aircraft will be made in India. We have not decided yet whether we will make the F-18, Eurofighter, Rafale or Griffin." On the dip in the numbers of IAF squadrons, the defence minister said the gap will be bridged soon. "The sanctioned strength of fighter squadrons is 42, but 100 percent is never reached. We have 34 squadrons at present. In the next three to four years, four to five squadrons of Tejas will be added; a few more squadrons of Sukhoi will also come. By then two squadrons of Rafale jets will also come," Parrikar said. The minister, asked about the new Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP), said its effects will be visible from next year. In the next seven to eight years, the ratio of imports in defence equipments may come down to 30 to 35 percent, making India "almost self-reliant", Parrikar said. The minister said the ratio of import in military hardware has come down from 70 percent to 63 percent at present. "If every year the decrease is five to ten percent, in the next five years, it can come under 40 percent. When it comes under 30 percent, we will be more or less self-dependent. Some items are such that manufacturing them in the country is not profitable. It is better to buy (from abroad) because the cost and numbers do not justify domestic production," he said. --IANS ao/tsb/vt Falling prices of onion in wholesale markets in Maharashtra, escalating prices of pulses, edible oil and sugar, and the need to take steps for price stabilisation will figure prominently at the states' food ministers conference here on Saturday. The meeting, convened by Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, is expected to discuss specific action plans to strengthen the price monitoring mechanism and coordinated strategy to check hoarding of pulses, sugar and also onion in some states, in particular. The Food Ministry has been specifically instructed by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to work in coordination with the states to improve the supply chain, and use the Price Stabilisation Fund to ensure easy availability of commodities, an official source told IANS here on Friday. "The meeting will also take up agriculture sector reforms for marketing farmers produce," the source said. In order to prevent prices of pulses from skyrocketing like last year, the Union Food Ministry has released substantial quantities of tur and urad from buffer stocks to be sold at subsidised rates. Farmers from Nashik region in Maharashtra took to the streets on Thursday to protest against falling onion prices. Kolhapur MP Raju Shetti of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS), a constituent of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led the agitators. Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, the apex farmers' body in Kolhapur district, is demanding Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the commodity, an essential ingredient for major Indian dishes. Earlier this month, Paswan admitted that onions "bring tears" either way -- high or low prices. The Centre has procured 2,300 tonnes of onions directly from farmers this year so far to build buffer stocks. The buffer stock of onion is being created using the Rs.900-crore Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF), sources said adding that procurement so far this year by the government was higher than last year's procurement. The central government has allowed private purchase but remains cautious about hoarding. While it has asked the states to be vigilant about hoarding by unscrupulous elements in states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the Union Food Ministry has said that the states should also come forward and buy the produce. "The union government can provide support to such states and could pay up to 50 percent as assistance under the Price Stabilisation Fund," a source said. Since early May, farmers, especially in Maharashtra, are virtually being forced to sell onions at a throwaway price of Rs.3 per kg due to bumper crop this year and absence of adequate procurement and lack of storage. Raju Shetti has demanded that the government should immediately intervene and give incentives to onion growers and facilitate better exports. The fluctuating Minimum Export Price (MEP) for onion often discourages export of the produce. The government sources also admit that while wholesale prices have fallen considerably, there is a risk that improper management at this juncture could lead to huge destruction as well as hoarding of onion which could ultimately result in abnormally high prices by August. "We want to avoid a situation like September-October 2013 when retail onion prices skyrocketed to about Rs.100 per kg after rains affected crops in Karnataka and Maharashtra," a top source in the Food Ministry told IANS. --IANS nd/lok/dg Four women were injured near a supermarket car park in west London on Friday, local police confirmed. Metropolitan Police said on Friday morning they were called to The Avenue in Hampton, Richmond and Twickenham, following reports of a man in possession of a knife, Xinhua news agency reported. Police officers attended and discovered three women suffering from knife wounds. Their conditions are not thought to be life-threatening or changing at this time. A fourth woman who had also suffered knife wounds was subsequently located at a nearby property. She has been taken to hospital where her condition at this stage is thought to be life-threatening, the police added. A man in his 60s was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder. --IANS lok/vm A group of gangsters on Wednesday night stormed a mosque in Tanzania's northern region of Mwanza, killing three people, including the leader of the mosque, police have said. Ahmed Msangi, the Mwanza regional police commander, said the trio was hacked to death by sharp objects, Xinhua reported. A 13-year-old boy was wounded as he tried to get out of the mosque using the women's entrance. He has been rushed to the Nyamagana district hospital. Two survivors of the attack said the gangsters displayed a black flag with white words reading "Islamic State". "They were about 15 and had covered their faces with masks when they stormed into the mosque," said the survivors. "The attackers switched off lights in the mosque before they started ordering children to walk out through a rear door usually used by women," said one of the survivors, Abubakar Makabwe. "Before they began slashing our colleagues, they asked us why we were in the mosque while our fellow believers were in police custody," added Makabwe. Another survivor, Ridhwan Abdallah, said it appeared to be a woman who ordered the killings. "It was a woman, according to the voice, who ordered that the leader of mosque should be the first to be killed," said Abdallah. It is not immediately clear whether the attack is linked to the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. --IANS sku/ Two incumbents thundered back to power, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made history in Assam and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) swept Kerala, returning to power after five years. That's the story of the recently concluded assembly elections. 1. Three factors worked for the BJP in Assam The results declared on May 19 were an affirmation of BJP president Amit Shah's campaign strategy and a revival of the national party in the state assembly elections after the Bihar and Delhi debacles. The BJP, along with its ally, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), swept the state by winning 60 and 14 seats, respectively, in the 126-member assembly. The Congress was a distant second with 26 seats, losing 52 seats (down from 78) after being in power for 15 years. Here's what did it in: A wave of anti-incumbency: The wave ended the three-term rule of Tarun Gogoi's Congress government. Few chief ministers have governed for more than three terms, West Bengal's Jyoti Basu and Sikkim's Pawan Chamling among them. Assam witnessed a high turnout of 84.7 percent in the elections, a strong signal that the state wanted change, IndiaSpend reported earlier. Pre-poll alliances worked: An alliance with AGP and Bodoland People's Front (BOPF) also helped the BJP. With the Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) fighting elections independently, Muslim votes were divided and a communal polarisation appears to have worked for the BJP. Strong campaigning by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Upper Assam on careful designing of campaign strategies after analysis of the strengths and weaknesses in each constituency appears to have helped the BJP. Infiltration- and corruption-vexed voters: The BJP tapped into a widespread desire among Hindu voters that illegal migration from Bangladesh cease. Additionally, inner-party and corruption charges may have been a contributing reason for the Congress' defeat. The BJP's victory in Assam establishes the desire for development and change. 2. In West Bengal, Mamata gets a long rope; Congress alliance damages Left Over the last 40 years, only twice have incumbent governments been unseated in West Bengal, 1977 and 2011. In 1977, the Left Front ousted the Congress and held ground for the next 34 years. In 2011, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) dominated the election, winning 81.4 perccent of the seats it contested (184 of 226 seats) and had a contested vote-share of 50 percent. Riding on its success in the 2011 assembly elections, the TMC went solo in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, where it won 80.9 percent of the seats it contested, with a vote-share of 39 percent. TMC vote-share declined from 2011 to 2014, a result of the Narendra Modi phenomenon underway across India. The results make it clear that none of the recent incidents - a sting operation or a financial scam or the collapse of a flyover in Kolkata - affected TMC's fortunes. This is testimony to the fact that West Bengal's voters allow their leaders to make mistakes. The alliance that failed: Traditional enemies-turned-allies, the Left and the Congress, put aside their ideological differences and stitched together an alliance, although they were opponents in Kerala. The alliance may have appeared surprising, but it was based on vote-share arithmetic from the last election: their combined vote-share in West Bengal was 35 percent, compared to the TMC's 39 percent. This election did not see a consolidation of Congress and Left voters or the "shift voters of 2014" (those who moved from TMC to BJP). The Left-Congress alliance got 71 of 294 seats. The BJP's lost opportunity: The party's contested vote-share in West Bengal was 17 percent in 2014, compared with four percent in 2011, the jump attributed to the Modi wave. The BJP could have swayed voters from the TMC - as it did in 2014 - but by not having a clear strategy and not putting up a local face for the party, it appeared to have lost the plot. 3. Jayalalithaa's dominance continues but declines in Tamil Nadu The victory of J. Jayalalithaa's AIADMK signals her dominance. The AIADMK has now won the state four times under Jayalalithaa: 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2016. However, the gap between the AIADMK alliance and the alliance headed by runner-up DMK is closing: They were separated by 218 seats in 1991; that's down to 37 seats in 2016, indicating a decline in popular sentiment. Two-party regime continues: It was a six-cornered fight in Tamil Nadu for the first time. Apart from the two big parties - AIADMK and DMK-there was the Vijaykanth-led Third Front (including Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), Tamil Maanila Congress and People's Welfare Front (PWF)), the BJP and its minor allies and finally the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), which contested all the 234 constituencies. Their loss reinforces the fact that Tamil Nadu continues to be a two-party state. 4. Kerala continues history of voting out incumbent governments Approximately 20 million voters voted in Kerala to decide the fate of 140 legislators in the state assembly (there were 1,203 candidates). The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front defeated the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) with a clear majority, 91 seats to 48 in the 140-seat assembly. The UDF had won 72 seats in 2011. The BJP, which contested 51 seats, won its first seat ever with O. Rajagopal's victory in Nemom constituency. Rotational pattern in Kerala: Kerala voters continued the pattern of alternatively bringing LDF and UDF coalitions to power. Since 1980, neither coalition has managed two consecutive terms. Vote-split continues: Bipolar contests divide votes between Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Community leaders in each religion have considerable influence on voting patterns. The UDF's ally in this election, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), has a strong influence on Muslim voters which may have helped the UDF coalition in garnering votes, but the party won in only 18 out of the 24 seats it contested. Alliances with strong independents helped the LDF. (In arrangement with IndiaSpend.org, a data-driven, non-profit, public interest journalism platform. Rithika Kumar & Swapnil Bhandari are Associate and Senior Analyst at Mumbai based think-tank IDFC Institute. The views expressed are those of IndiaSpend. The authors can be contacted at respond@indiaspend.org) --IANS/IndiaSpend rithika/swapnil/vm A senior operative of the Indian Mujahideen, Abdul Wahid Siddibapa, was arrested after he flew in here in what was said to be "a carefully calibrated operation". A court later sent Siddibapa to a week's custody with the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which made the arrest at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the morning. But NIA officials denied reports that Siddibapa, a cousin of Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, was deported from Dubai. "It was a carefully calibrated operation. It is clarified that Wahid has not been deported or extradited," NIA's Inspector General S.K. Singh told IANS. He declined to say from where Siddibapa arrived. NIA officials had said that the former perfume trader was based in the United Arab Emirates, which has in the past deported criminals wanted by Indian authorities. Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Pandit sent Siddibapa, described as the financial brain of the terror outfit, to seven days of custody with NIA. A resident of Maqdoom colony in Bhatkal in Karnataka, he was wanted on charges of conspiring to stage terror attacks at various places in India. From Dubai, Siddibapa allegedly recruited young Indians for the Indian Mujahideen and funded their activities. The NIA told the court that Siddibapa had been in touch with other Indian Mujahideen operatives through electronic communication. "He was responsible in providing tactical, material and financial support to IM members in planning, preparing and organising terrorist activities," said a NIA source. He also reportedly played an important function in raising funds for the Indian Mujahideen. "He is one of the oldest and senior most members of the group," the source said. But Siddibapa's defence counsel opposed the NIA plea and said his name was not on any list including the wanted criminal list. A Red Corner Notice was issued for him in December 2013. Siddibapa was wanted for his alleged involvement in the July 2006 Mumbai serial blasts, the 2008 Delhi blasts and the 2010 Chinnaswamy Stadium blast in Benguluru. He allegedly routed money using both banking channels and the Western Union Money Transfer. He left for Dubai much before the crackdown on the Indian Mujahideen started in 2008. He was detained in the United Arab Emirates and arrested in January 2014. --IANS rak-akk/mr/vd India has asked China to stop all activities in parts of Jammu and Kashmir occupied by Pakistan, the external affairs ministry said Friday. Vikas Swarup, the ministry spokesperson, told reporters here that the issue of "Chinese activities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have been taken up with the Chinese side, including at the highest level". "Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India... We have asked them to cease all activities (there)," Swarup said. China is believed to have made huge investments and is sponsoring development projects in Pakistan-controlled Jammu and Kashmir, including in the volatile Shia-dominated Gilgit-Baltistan area. --IANS ruwa-sar/vt Damascus, May 20 (IANS/AKI) Militants from the Islamic State executed three men in northern Syria for apostasy, news website Aranews reported on Friday citing activists and witnesses. The three men were shot in the back of the head by masked gunmen in a public square in Tabqa on the outskirts of Islamic State stronghold Raqqa, according to Aranews. The victims, identified as Ahmed Ibrahim, Hussar al-Hamoud and Muhammad al-Daher, were dressed in orange jumpsuits when they were shot dead, Aranews said. The men were executed immediately after an Islamic State court sentenced them to death on charges of apostasy, the website said. They were arrested on suspicion of collaborating with hostile forces, Aranews said. Three days earlier, Islamic State shot dead and crucified a 23-year-old Syrian man in Manbij city in Aleppo province on charges of communicating with US-backed rebels fighting the IS in northern Syria, said Aranews. Islamic State has executed hundreds of civilians in the vast swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory under its control on charges of spying, apostasy and transgressions of their strict interpretation of Sharia law. Methods of execution have included beheading, shooting, drowning, burning alive and crushing to death. --IANS/AKI mr/ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that he "regrets" the resignation of Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon, amidst a move to replace the latter with an ultra-nationalist politician to enlarge his coalition. On Friday, Ya'alon announced he had decided to leave the government to take time out of political life, citing "lack of confidence" in Netanyahu. In a live broadcasted statement, he said the ruling Likud party was taken over by "extremist and dangerous elements" after Netanyahu reportedly decided to replace him with the hawkish Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Yisrael Beytenu ("Israel Our Home") party. Netanyahu released a counter-statement, saying he "regrets" the resignation. "I think he should continue being a full partner in the country's leadership by heading the foreign ministry," he said in a video statement released by the Prime Minister's Office. "I greatly appreciate the work we did together, day and night, for the security of Israel," he added. He said the proposed change in the distribution of portfolios "was not due to a crisis of confidence between us, but due to the need to expand the coalition in order to bring stability to the government so we can tackle challenges ahead". Ya'alon's leaving was widely perceived as a loss of a voice of moderation in Netanyahu's right-wing cabinet, which includes the Likud ruling party, the far-right Jewish home faction, and Jewish ultra-Orthodox parties. Netanyahu and Lieberman's factions were in intensive negotiations on Thursday to finalize the details of the deal, which would pave the way for Lieberman's party into the cabinet, expanding the coalition government from 61 to 67 in the 120-member parliament. Lieberman demanded the defence ministry portfolio from Netanyahu in order to join his coalition, as well as promoting a law that would seek death penalties to Palestinian attackers of Israelis. Ya'alon, considered a moderate member of Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, slammed Netanyahu's "loss of moral compass on basic ethical questions" on Thursday. Ya'alon and Netanyahu have had disagreements recently, with the former taking a more moderate tone regarding the military conduct amid a wave of unrest between Israelis and Palestinians, which claimed the lives of at least 203 Palestinians and 28 Israelis, whereas Netanyahu and the far-right Jewish Home party from his coalition have adopted a more hawkish approach. --IANS ahm/dg Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Transsion Holdings on Friday unveiled its flagship brand itel with three smartphones and three feature phones varients in India. The feature phones -- SmartSelfie, SmartPower and Shine series -- will be strategically priced below Rs.2,000 while smartphones SelfiePro, PowerPro and Wish series will be available at prices below Rs.10,000. "In today's digitally-led world, mobile connectivity has become a necessity instead of a privilege. With the launch of these phones, we are providing Indian consumers with the perfect amalgamation of value plus and functionality," said Sudhir Kumar, CEO, itel India, in a statement. SmartSelfie will attempt to redefine the consumer expectation with front camera. SmartPower will be focused on a long-lasting battery and Shine series will have good looks. Similarly, smartphones will have SelfiePro focusing on better camera experience, PowerPro catering long-lasting battery and Wish series providing value with better looks. The company will focus on rural and semi-urban consumers which have been "largely untapped by the incumbent mobile players". --IANS vr/na/vt Finance Minister Arun Jaitley called for the World Bank to have a greater role in the social sector projects like education, health, agricultural development and small scale industry. Jaitley stressed on the "need for the World Bank to have a larger capital base, more activity and more projects". He also stated that its role could be expanded in areas like social sector - education and health, agricultural development, small-scale industry and handlooms etc. He was speaking at a meeting with a group of executive directors (EDs) of the World Bank Group here on Thursday, to discuss the performance of the latter's projects in India to various policy issues related to its financing. Amid weaker outlook across the globe, Jaitley said that India's experience of strong economic growth, comfortable price situation, low current account deficit, and adherence to path of fiscal recovery have projected it as an outpost of opportunity for global investors. The Indian economy is estimated to register 7.6 per cent growth in 2015-16, notwithstanding contraction of global exports and two consecutive years of shortfall in monsoon, he said. Jaitley said that the focus of the government is on areas like non-conventional power generation, sanitation campaign, electrification of villages, major and minor irrigation projects and rural housing for all. Highlighting the various macroeconomic variables favorable to India, he pointed-out good monsoon forecast, political reform process and low current oil prices as the key drivers of economic growth. The fall in global oil prices has greatly benefitted India in the recovery process, he said. --IANS mm/vd On a day the Centre cleared an ordinance to defer NEET for a year, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the government must go ahead with the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for admissions in medical courses. "I sincerely urge Modi ji not to bring any ordinance to overturn SC order on NEET. Wrote this letter to hon'ble PM," Kejriwal said in a tweet. The Supreme Court on May 9 ordered the implementation of the common entrance test for under-graduate medical courses in India from this academic year. Kejriwal said multiple entrance examinations conducted by various state and private medical colleges deprive deserving students of seats. "Admissions to medical colleges are a fraud in itself. Students have to pay huge sums of money in the name of paid seats. Those who can pay money get admissions while the deserving are left high and dry," Kejriwal said in the letter to Modi, a copy of which he shared in his tweet. However, the union government earlier in the morning cleared the ordinance to defer the implementation of NEET. Several BJP MPs and several state governments, including Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, had opposed the implementation of a common entrance test from this year. --IANS vin/tsb/vt The Gujarat and Maharashtra Police have seized Mandrax valued at Rs.27.5 crore from a farmhouse in Palghar district in Maharashtra, a senior official said on Friday. Inspector B.P. Rozia of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) said a joint raid was conducted on the farmhouse in Gaurapur village on Thursday night. As many as 550 kg of Mandrax powder valued at Rs.27.5 crore was recovered. The owner of the farmhouse and one of his aides were detained, Rozia said. The Gujarat ATS had busted a drug racket last month and seized party drug Ephedrine valued at Rs.270 crore. --IANS desai/mr Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go on an official visit to Qatar on June 4-5 at the invitation of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, it was announced on Friday. This is the first prime ministerial visit from India to Qatar in eight years since the visit of then prime minister Manmohan Singh to Doha in 2008. "There has been regular exchange of high-level bilateral visits in the recent past," external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in his weekly media briefing here. "The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim had visited India in March 2015. Previously, the then Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani had visited India in 1999, 2005 and 2012," he said. India has had historical and close relations with Qatar and these are marked by mutually beneficial commercial exchanges and extensive people-to-people contacts. "Qatar is an important trading partner for us in the Gulf region with bilateral trade in 2014-15 exceeding $15 billion," Swarup said. "It is our largest supplier of LNG requirements, accounting for 65 percent of our total imports in 2015-16. It was also one of our key sources of crude oil." At 630,000, Indians form the largest expatriate community in Qatar. "Their positive contribution in the progress and development of their host country is well recognised," the spokesperson said. He added that during the visit, the prime minister and the emir of Qatar will hold discussions on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest. --IANS ab/bg Prime Minister will visit Washington at the invitation of US President Barack Obama on June 4-5 during the course of which the two sides will work to consolidate the progress made in bilateral cooperation across various sectors, the external affairs ministry stated on Friday. "The India-US bilateral strategic partnership has developed strongly, particularly during the last two years under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and President Obama," the ministry said in a statement. "The main objective of the forthcoming visit of the prime minister would be to consolidate the progress made in diverse areas such as economy, energy, environment, defence and security, and to intensify cooperation for the future," it said. Modi has also been invited by the Speaker of the US House of Representative, Paul Ryan, to address a joint meeting of the US Congress which he has accepted. According to the statement, Modi will be the first foreign leader to be given this honour in 2016. "The US Congress has been a source of strength for the India-US strategic partnership and the India Congressional Caucus is the largest such group in the US Congress," it said. "During the visit, the prime minster will have interaction with CEOs of major US companies. Realisation of the full potential of our economic partnership has been a key priority for both the countries and the progress achieved in this regard is reflected in the increased investment flows," it added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington at the invitation of US President Barack Obama on June 7-8 during the course of which the two sides will work to consolidate the progress made in bilateral cooperation across various sectors, the external affairs ministry said on Friday. "The India-US bilateral strategic partnership has developed strongly, particularly during the last two years under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and President Obama," the ministry said in a statement. "The main objective of the forthcoming visit of the prime minister would be to consolidate the progress made in diverse areas such as economy, energy, environment, defence and security, and to intensify cooperation for the future," it said. Modi has also been invited by the Speaker of the US House of Representative, Paul Ryan, to address a joint meeting of the US Congress which he has accepted. According to the statement, Modi will be the first foreign leader to be given this honour in 2016. "The US Congress has been a source of strength for the India-US strategic partnership and the India Congressional Caucus is the largest such group in the US Congress," it said. "During the visit, the prime minster will have interaction with CEOs of major US companies. Realisation of the full potential of our economic partnership has been a key priority for both the countries and the progress achieved in this regard is reflected in the increased investment flows," it added. --IANS ab/dg Music can go a long way to bring estranged neighbours Pakistan and India together, says the Pakistani co-director of a new moving film about how a group of Lahore's struggling musicians bridge the East-West cultural divide. Opening in select theatres in the US May 20, "Song of Lahore" takes a close look at these musicians' lives as they prepare for a concert in New York City in a unique experiment blending classical music with Jazz to save the cultural heritage of the subcontinent. "I think that art, culture, music, film - all of these do not have any language. They are all intrinsically linked to humanity," says two-time Academy Award winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy who has made the documentary with Andy Schocken. "Cultural exchanges especially around music can go a long way to bring countries together. Pakistan and India are no different," Obaid-Chinoy told IANS in an interview. On her part "I have always taken my work across to India; and encouraged Indian artists to come to Pakistan," said Obaid-Chinoy when asked about what role she saw herself playing in this process as a filmmaker. The film does refer to the common cultural heritage of the two nations, she noted. "In the film we talk about the history, Mughals, and all the rich history that came from the India subcontinent." Asked what inspired her to make "Song of Lahore," Obaid-Chinoy said she "grew up listening to my grandfather's stories of a time in Pakistan which was very different than what I knew." "The musicians all played on the street and in orchestras," she said speaking of how restrictions on broadcasting non-religious music and dancing imposed by Gen Zia-ul-Haq after his coup in 1977 shut down the Pakistani film industry and forced musicians onto the streets. "When I discovered that the musicians at the Sachal Studios were trying to restore and celebrate our musical heritage," she said, "I thought we could try to restore Pakistan's musical past through their story." Filming on two continents posed its own challenges. "Whenever you're doing a multi-country film it comes with its own set of issues," Obaid-Chinoy said. But "the biggest issue was that I was a woman working with all men and with all male subjects." "These men didn't want to show me their struggles, which is why I brought on co-director Andy Schocken," she said. "We knew it would be a better partnership with him onboard, and he was a perfect partner." "The men really opened up to him. When the production was in the US/New York, Andy would handle it, and I was handling production in Pakistan. "Then we were both in New York for the Jazz at Lincoln Centre portion but it took two of us to capture what we needed prior to the concert itself," she said. Inspired by the film featuring the music of The Sachal Ensemble of Pakistan and the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Universal Music Classics is also releasing a companion East-meets-West musical album on May 20. On this cross-cultural, genre-bending collection, the musicians of the film sing songs of understanding and hope alongside stars from across jazz, rock, R&B and Americana, all convened by Grammy Award-winning producer Eli Wolf. Initially it was not planned as "a companion album but it developed into that. We all reached out to artists together and got everyone on board," Obaid-Chinoy said recalling about how it grew from a conversation with American record producer Rick Rubin at a Google camp. Back in Pakistan, as music undergoes a revival, she does not think "Bollywood has affected the music industry at all. But Bollywood has influenced the film industry. Certainly some films seem to have been inspired by Bollywood stories." Today "Pop music in Pakistan is thriving," even as "instrumental heritage music that came from our roots is struggling," she said. "But then again, classical music all around the world is struggling. "There are no formal institutions in our country; the music lessons were all passed down from father to son and it is important to preserve these voices." "Soon we will have a whole generation who didn't learn their father's trade and we might lose the opportunity for the music to live on," Obaid-Chinoy lamented. (Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in) --IANS ak/tb Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui is excited to bring the life of Pakistan's short story writer Sadat Hassan Manto alive on the silver screen through actress and filmmaker Nandita Das's project titled "Manto". Calling it an "interesting project", the actor says he was drawn to the "interesting challenge of doing a period drama". Nandita will be tracing the life of Manto in her new directorial, which also focuses on the time of partition. And recently at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival, the critically-acclaimed actress announced that Nawazuddin will play the title role in "Manto". "Manto was a very famous writer in the 1940s-1950s and I am excited to play him making this a rather interesting project. When Nandita discussed this with me at Cannes, I was drawn to the interesting challenge of doing a period drama," Nawazuddin said in a statement. Nawazuddin attended the film gala as his film "Raman Raghav 2.0", which is based on Mumbai's notorious serial killer Raman Raghav, was screened at the fest. The actor won many plaudits for his gripping act in filmmaker Anurag Kashyap's film, which narrates the story of the serial killer, who went on a murder spree in Mumbai in the 1960s. It features Nawazuddin as the notorious serial killer alongside Vicky Kaushal, who plays a police officer. If sources are to be believed, Nawazuddin has initiated prep for the film and in fact he has already done costume tests for the role. Nandita, who co-wrote the film with Mir Ali Hussain, had earlier told IANS that actor Irrfan Khan was "seriously looking at the script" as he's a big fan of the Pakistani short story writer's body of work. Manto, who died in 1955 at the age of 43, penned an impressive body of work touching various genres. He churned out about 22 collections of stories comprising of a novel, essays, personal sketches and movie scripts. Out of his literary gems was a story on Mirza Ghalib, a poet who is oft compared with the stature of Shakespeare. His work also gained attention for weaving stories around the ordeal of partition as well as sexuality. Pakistani filmmaker Sarmad Sultan Khoosat has already made a film titled "Manto", and it was screened at the 21st Kolkata International Film Festival last year. --IANS sug/rb/bg A senior operative of the Indian Mujahideen was arrested when he flew in here on Friday after being deported from Dubai, officials said. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took into custody Abdul Wahid Siddibapa at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Siddibapa, a resident of Maqdoom colony in Bhatkal in Karnataka, was wanted on charges of conspiring to stage terror attacks at various places in India. From his base in Dubai, Siddibapa recruited Indians for the Indian Mujahideen and funded their activities, the official said. A warrant of arrest and a Red Corner Notice had been issued against him, leading to his deportation. --IANS rak/mr/sar Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday met the rescued Chibok schoolgirl, Amina Ali-Nkeki, at the Presidential Villa in the capital Abuja. The girl with her months-old baby, her mother and her brother, were led to a meeting with the president by the governor of Borno state, Kashim Shettima, Xinhua reported. Ali-Nkeki was the first Chibok girl to be rescued by Nigerian authorities. A total of 276 girls were abducted by Boko Haram militants from their secondary school dormitories in Chibok town in the northeastern Borno state in April 2014. About 57 girls managed to escape later, but more than 200 remain missing. President Buhari had a closed-door meeting with the Shettima and Ali-Nkeki. The girl and her baby were shielded from journalists by security officers. An army spokesperson on Wednesday said Ali-Nkeki was among a group of people rescued by Nigerian troops at Baale community in Borno state. Sources said Ali-Nkeki was rescued in the Sambisa Forest on Sunday by the Nigeria army. --IANS sku/ Meant to be an opportunity to highlight the power ministry's "achievements" in the last two years, the press conference of union minister Piyush Goyal here on Friday was short-circuited by repeated outages. Goyal sought to blame the power breakdowns on "slowing down of works" put in place in 2014 to ensure that outages were prevented in the national capital. "The speed of works for implementing our plans in Delhi -- put in place when we (National Democratic Alliance) formed the government at the Centre in 2014 -- have slowed down over the last year," Goyal said. He told reporters that he had met Delhi government officials regarding the matter only last week. Soon after the press conference held at the National Media Centre here, Press Information Bureau Director General Frank Noronha ordered an inquiry into the repeated outages. The union power ministry said in a release later that the outages happened since "soon after the power failure, the air circuit breaker of the supply tripped due to a surge in requirement for power". Earlier, Goyal said certain plans had been put in place to ensure that Delhi had uninterrupted power supply and become "islanded" like Mumbai in case of large-scale outage. Goyal also recalled his own "baptism by fire" after assuming charge of the portfolio in the 2014 summer, when cyclonic storms uprooted electricity poles in Delhi, leading to a massive blackout. "I had warned the Delhi government at the time to be prepared for extreme summer and they had reassured me they were taking all care to meet the growing demand," said the minister, who belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party. "Hope they (Aam Aadmi Party government) will ensure that all of Delhi gets uninterrupted power. We should not politicise every matter or meeting," he said, adding that the Arvind Kejriwal government had also been seeking to surrender about 2,000 megawatt of power. --IANS bc/tsb/dg Trade between Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) grew by 20 percent in the first quarter of 2016, Deputy Economic Development Minister Alexei Likhachev told the Russia-Asean business forum in Sochi on Friday. Likhachev, according to RT online, said Russia was increasing exports of machinery and metals, with "very positive dynamics in the food sector first of all." Asean was the only regional association Russia had positive trade dynamics with, in dollar terms, said Likhachev. Russia doubled its trade turnover with Asean nations in the past five years. Last year, trade turnover was $13.7 billion, according to Russia's Federal Customs Service. The volume of Russian direct investment in the countries of the association was $698 million in 2012-2014. Tourism is one of the most promising sectors with more than 2.3 million Russians visiting Asean states in 2014. "Russia is an extremely important partner for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations," said Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in an interview with TASS. Moscow suggested establishing an "integrated network" of free trade zones with Asean nations, according to Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov. Experts say trade liberalization would assist further economic cooperation. Broadening ties between Asean, the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), is also on the agenda. The idea was proposed by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at the SCO leaders' meeting in December. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, and has a total population of over 600 million people. It aims to develop economic, social, and cultural development, while strengthening peace and stability in Southeast Asia. --IANS ahm/dg San Francisco's police chief Greg Suhr has stepped down in response to the mayor demanding his resignation just hours after a police official fatally shot a black female suspect. The woman's death at the hands of police on Thursday increased tension between the force and some residents, mostly minorities, who accuse officers of racist practices and abuse of authority, EFE news reported. "I have previously expressed confidence in Chief Suhr because I know he agrees with and understands the need for reform. But after this morning's shooting and my meeting with him this afternoon, I have arrived at a different conclusion to the question of how best to move forward," said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee at a press conference. Regarding Thursday's shooting, police said they encountered the young woman in a car that had been stolen and tried to detain her. However, she then fled and collided with a parked vehicle, and she was shot while officers were trying to arrest her. Suhr's resignation is the latest incident involving police chiefs across the country losing their jobs in recent months, following a wave of street protests against law enforcement officers accused of persecuting minorities and abusing their position. San Francisco's police force came under criticism after an internal investigation in April revealed that some officers had exchanged racist emails and text messages. This followed the fatal shooting in December 2015 of Mario Woods, a black male suspect in a stabbing case. --IANS ksk/vt Actor Randeep Hooda hopes Bollywood film "Sarbjit", which tells the hard-hitting story of an Indian farmer who was held captive and eventually died in a Pakistan jail, becomes the basis of protest against cases wherein people are punished merely for their origin. Directed by Omung Kumar, "Sarbjit" is based on the real life story of Sarabjit Singh, who was convicted by Pakistani courts for spying and terrorism. He languished in a Pakistani jail for 23 years starting 1990, while his sister Dalbir Kaur, tried vigorously to get him released. Randeep, who essays the title role in the movie, told reporters here: "Sarabjit was tortured because he was an Indian rather than for what he was accused of. The film brings that point out. "If in India we are doing this to Pakistanis, then it's wrong." The actor cited the example of Mumbai-based engineer Hamid N. Ansari, who was sentenced to jail for three years by a Pakistani military court for espionage after he had crossed over to Pakistan from Afghanistan in 2012 and then went missing. He was later arrested and tried by a Pakistani military court, which pronounced him guilty of espionage. Randeep pointed out: "Both sides (India and Pakistan) should extend their hand now. Pakistan has an opportunity to extend a hand towards our government via his (Ansari's) case and India too has this opportunity to start making things right, perhaps. The honest people caught up on both sides should be released in this. "'Sarbjit' could definitely work as a basis of protest against the unfair, it might just shake things up and bring one's separated people together." Referring to the India-Pakistan partition, Randeep said "the division between brotherhood was a stupidity". The actor was here to promote "Sarbjit" -- featuring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in a pivotal role as Dalbir Kaur. Randeep believes "a family culture is very much" embedded in India. "After watching the movie, you will appreciate your family more," said the actor, who has Richa Chadha in the role of his onscreen wife in the movie. --IANS ks/rb/bg Punching holes in BJP's claims, the Shiv Sena said on Friday that the outcome of the assembly elections in five states show that national parties can't vanquish regional parties. The results of the elections in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry was "nothing shocking or surprising", the Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece "Saamana". "The BJP could only defeat the Congress in Assam but could not vanquish Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu or the Left in Kerala and the Congress won in Puducherry. We have to admit that the BJP could not defeat the regional parties," the editorial said. Now, it is being touted that the Congress was thrown out in Assam and Kerala but why is not being said that the BJP was defeated in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, asked the Sena. The Sena is a constituent of the BJP-led central government and in alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra. It wanted to know why people voted for the Trinamool Congress if West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was accused by the BJP of promoting corruption, goondaism and terrorism? It pointed out that BJP President Amit Shah had called for a 'Mamata-mukt Bengal'. Now, however, the BJP said it was satisfied with opening an account in West Bengal. The Sena asked if "opening an account" alone was the motive, why did the entire BJP brass including Prime Minister Narendra Modi camp there? Turning to Kerala, the party pointed out the tradition of Left and Congress alternatively bagging power continued and the BJP could only "open an account". Apparently, for the BJP, merely "opening an account" is equivalent of 'acchhe din', the Sena added sarcastically. In Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha managed to retain power with 126 seats but faced a challenge from 92-year-old M. Karunanidhi's DMK whose tally shot up from from 32 to 105 seats. "Hence, the 'Modi Magic' failed to work in these four states though the Assam victory serves as a soothing balm after the Bihar defeat," the Sena noted. It reiterated that the assembly election verdict again proved that national political parties can never defeat popular leaders of regional parties. "We congratulate all the winners!" --IANS qn/mr Support for gay marriage in the US has reached a new record high with 61 percent Americans saying that same-sex unions should be recognised by the law as valid, a poll revealed. According to the poll issued by research company Gallup on Thursday, this is the highest rate recorded in relative since 1996. US public support for same-sex marriage has more than doubled over the past two decades, Xinhua news agency reported. When Gallup first polled on the issue in 1996, only 27 percent said such marriages should be recognised by the law. Majority support was recorded for the first time in 2011, and the percentage has since been growing, Gallup found. Attitudes towards gay marriage have been shifting since Gallup started measuring them. This has taken place across all age groups, with each demographic subgroup demonstrating greater acceptance this year. Support for gay marriage has consistently been highest among adults younger than 30 years, but support declines with each step up the age scale. This year marks the first time in Gallup's trend that the majority of adults aged 65 and older said gay marriage should be legal. Fifty-three percent of Americans aged 65 and older now support same-sex marriage. That is still well below the 83 percent support among 18- to 29-year-olds, the highest support among the age groups, the poll added. --IANS ksk US Ambassador to India Richard Verma on Frida, called on Home Minister Rajnath Singh to discuss security matters concerning both countries. "The Ambassador of the United States to India Mr. Richard Verma called on the HM in New Delhi today," said a tweet from the home ministry's official handle HMO India. Rajnath Singh and Verma are said to have discussed about the India-US Homeland Security Dialogue scheduled to be held in June, an official source later said. The dialogue was drawn up as a major mechanism to enhance security cooperation and discuss building capacity in cybersecurity between two countries especially after the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. The home minister and the US counterpart meet every year for the dialogue alternatively in New Delhi and Washington. Both countries, through the US homeland security department and Indian home ministry, have close cooperation and share intelligence on terrorists and terror outfits operating in Indian sub-continent. Both sides also exchange information related to critical infrastructure protection and matters on countering illicit finance, global supply chain security, megacity policing, and science and technology, official sources said. --IANS nd/vd Shahabuddin's appeal is pending in a higher court and thus his politics should not be dismantled because the Bharatiya Janata Party desires so in the brazen absence of any legitimate political instrument." This was how the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) justified the inclusion of Mohammad Shahabuddin (or Shahabu Bhaiyya, as he is called in Siwan district) in the national executive of the RJD two months ago. Robots are more of a solution than a problem for China. That may sound odd when factory jobs have lifted many millions from poverty, and given Chinese leaders are obsessed with social stability. But, a huge push to upgrade via automation still makes sense. The workshop of the world is inefficient and low-tech, and the workforce is already shrinking. This week's $5 billion bid by Midea, the white-goods giant, for German robotics specialist Kuka reflects China's eagerness for automation. President Xi Jinping's "Made in 2025" plan aims to make China into a technological powerhouse within a decade. That makes sense - even if Midea's bid for Kuka is a bit mystifying. At present, China has just 36 robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers, compared with 314 in Japan, the International Federation of Robotics says. And factories are already struggling to fill jobs. In Dongguan, a southern manufacturing centre near Shenzhen, local industry is short of 200,000 workers despite the minimum wage doubling between 2010 and 2015, Chinese media have reported. There are two problems. One is simple demographics. China's working age population fell from 941 million in 2011 to 911 million last year, official figures show. The World Bank says it could drop another 10 per cent by 2040. The second is that people who have migrated across China are better educated than their predecessors and don't want grim production-line jobs, even if wages have risen sharply. Manufacturing needs even more basic upgrades, however. China's factories have won market share by selling cheap but often substandard goods. Improving logistics, waste management and quality control would boost productivity too. Eventually, as across the world, automation could pose a huge challenge: up to 77 per cent of China's jobs could be at risk, according to a study by Citi and Oxford University. But, China's technology upgrade will take a long time, and for now at least, robots are a useful tool. Congratulations on the 2016 Assembly elections! Got your heads bashed in in Assam, but anti-incumbency. West Bengal was never to be. The Kerala result was predictable so it didnt hurt. Tamil Nadu didnt want you and the DMK so bad that they created history by re-electing Amma, but you won a couple more seats. All in all, not your fault. There is one critical difference between the BJP and the Congress. One is willing to learn from its mistakes, the other is unwilling to learn even from its successes. The BJP suffered in Bihar by not projecting a state leader and making its campaign too divisive. Both approaches were abandoned in Assam where the party does not have its own indigenous (as in RSS-origin) leaders and where, given the nearly 34 per cent Muslim vote, more aggressive polarisation was tempting. It also learnt from its adversaries in Bihar to put together a larger alliance, even with those who may jostle with you for the same vote bank (as with the Asom Gana Parishad). A day after the Assembly poll results had the Bharatiya Janata Party declaring it was close to realising its mission of a Congress-mukt Bharat (Congress-freed India) and party seniors called for major surgery to get the once-grand edifice back on its feet, it was announced that a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting was on the cards. The CWC is the party's highest decision making body. Sonia Gandhi, the president, has reportedly been talking to seniors to fix a date. It is widely believed that the meet will also pave the way for Rahul Gandhis takeover as president and thereafter a long-awaited reshuffle of the All India Congress Committee, postponed since the poll debacle of 2014. After the Congress lost its two governments in Kerala and Assam, there have been voices from within the party for a major overhaul. Senior leader Digvijaya Singh created a flutter when he, soon after Sonia Gandhis statement about need for introspection, tweeted, "We have done enough introspection. Shouldn't we go for a major surgery?" On Friday, he tempered this with, "Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are the surgeons; they need to conduct the surgery. I want them to take action." Party spokesperson P C Chacko, welcomed Singhs remarks as wanting to improve the Congress style of functioning but added he should have said it within the party forum. Chacko went all out to assure that the CWC would be examining the reasons for the debacle and decide on steps to revamp the party. What riled the Congress most was former partyman and now BJPs man of the hour Himanta Biswa Sarmas public statements against Rahul Gandhi. Sarma had told a television channel that the Gandhi scion believes in only a relationship of master and servant. Chacko hit back by saying it was the BJP which when Sarma was minister in the Tarun Gogoi government had alleged he was the most corrupt minister; today, he is a saint for the BJP. Sarma had been summoned by probe agencies in the Sarada chit fund scam and after he defected to the BJP, all inquiries stopped, alleged Chacko. The Congress also dismissed the charges against Rahul Gandhi. It said in all five poll-going states/UT, the local leaders had decided on alliances and strategy. What also cost the party in Kerala, said Chacko, was infighting among leaders in Kerala. Denying allegations that no action had been taken after the Antony committee report on the 2014 Congress debacle, the spokesperson claimed that state chiefs had been changed after that. It was a unanimous decision by the state secretariat of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) that put Pinarayi Vijayan in the Chief Ministers chair in Kerala. While 93-year-old mass leader V S Achuthanandan was relegated to the role of "Fidel Castro, who will continue to guide and inspire the party. Party chief Sitaram Yechury, present during the meetings at Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, announced this at a press meet with a dejected-looking Achuthanandan beside him. Emerging out of the CPM State Committee meet in the afternoon, Yechury ascribed the decision taken to the age and physical limitations of the nonagenarian. When questioned by the media as to how Achuthanandans health was not a consideration when he was chosen to lead the election campaign and also contest polls, Yechurys answer was, I am not going to get into the details of this. VS sat silent through the press conference, with the look on his face conveying his disappointment. At a meeting at the AKG Centre this morning, where politburo member Prakash Karat was also present, the decision was taken to name Vijayan as the CM-nominee of the Left Democratic Front. News agencies alleged Achuthanandan had walked out of the meeting. Sources said as the senior was not a member of the committee, he was summoned and the unanimous decision conveyed, after which he left. Subsequently, Achutanandan was present at the second meeting in the afternoon and the ensuing press conference. That the party decision had left him crestfallen was clear, considering what he had told reporters two days ago, If the party wants me to take up responsibility, I will not shy away. Achuthanandan was eager for the CM berth again (he had the charge in 2006-2011) and according to some had staked his claim for it but the party secretariat had taken its decision even before it met this morning, if reports are to be believed. That the CPI(M) would not have succeeded in securing the 91 seats it managed to win without the leadership and face of VS is well known. No wonder then that Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah had thrown an open challenge to the CPI(M) to name its CM-candidate before the elections. He claimed that the party was using VS as the face of the campaign to make Pinarayi, not a mass leader, the CM. Those in the know of things allege Yechury, who has been backing Achuthanandans candidature all along, himself would have been on a sticky wicket after the partys debacle in West Bengal and his position considerably weakened. Although Yechury stated that Achuthanandan was 'Fidel Castro' and would continue to guide and inspire the party, there is apprehension that with the elevation of strongman Vijayan, the partys cell rule culture will dominate the state. Achuthanandan is popular and with an image of a relentless crusader. Not only was he the star campaigner for the Left but his principled position against corruption made it a foil to the scam-tainted Congress-led UDF. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday attributed the decimation of the Congress in the recently concluded elections in five states to its adoption of fringe positions, not behaving as a natural party of governance, its parliamentary obstructionism being blended with its leader and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhis rent a cause approach. Jaitley also said the Centre will work closely in cooperation with the governments of regional parties and all the five newly elected state governments. In his blog post on Friday, Jaitley said the Congress today is threatened of being pushed increasingly to the margins. Will it be the main challenger to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in 2019, or will it stand behind a hotchpotch combination of ideologically disparate regional groups? he asked. The Finance Minister wondered about the nature of the surgery Congress party leaders are now talking about? Will the Congress evolve into a structured party with a galaxy of leaders or will it remain a dynastic party? he asked. After election results were announced on Thursday, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had tweeted: Todays results disappointing but not unexpected. We have done enough introspection shouldnt we go for a major surgery. In his Facebook post, Jaitley said: the most important political analysis emerging from the results is a significant setback to the Congress party. He said Congress lost Kerala because its government was mired in corruption scams and in Assam, its traditional policy of encouraging illegal immigration as a source of vote bank invited popular wrath. He said that the Congress in Tamil Nadu was a laggard in the DMK-Congress alliance. Its poor strike rate pulled the DMK alliance down. In West Bengal, the alliance with the Left was an ideological compromise. It proved counter-productive, he said. He said this election for the BJP marks a significant geographical expansion. Jaitley said few had believed in 2008 that BJP can make a government in Karnataka. He said the BJP was on a comeback trail in that state which currently has a Congress government. He said the BJP has a coalition government with the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh, is pushing the politics of Kerala to a tri-polar position and is the largest party in Bihar. In the BJPs eastward movement, it will now form a government in Assam, is part of two coalition governments in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland and has made a sizeable seat and vote presence in West Bengal. He said the recent election was another reminder that the Left has ideologically become irrelevant globally and their political and economic models widely rejected. Jaitley said the Left victory in Kerala was the result of an unpopular government losing an election and an opponent winning by default. Extreme positions espoused by a few in the Universities of Jadavpur and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) cannot be a mainstream agenda of India, he said. Pinarayi Vijayan will be the next chief minister of Kerala. He was elected leader of the victorious Left Democratic Front (LDF) legislature party in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Earlier in the day, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)s Kerala committee met in the presence of party chief Sitaram Yechury. It decided to nominate 72-year-old Vijayan as the next chief minister. CPI(M) veteran V S Achutanandan, who was also in the race for the post, was called to the state secretariat and informed about the decision. Yechury said Achutanandan is the Fidel Castro of Kerala and will continue to guide and inspire the party. In Chennai, J Jayalalithaa was elected the leader of the AIADMK legislative party and is slated to take oath on Sunday. In Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee was on Friday unanimously elected as the leader of the Trinamool Congress legislature party. She is likely to take oath of office on May 27. While coming out of the Raj Bhavan after meeting Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, Banerjee said, May 20 (today) is an auspicious day because it was on this day in 2011 our government took oath after the poriborton (when TMC defeated the Left in the elections). So we have come today to meet the Governor and give him a letter on behalf of our party. Banerjee also congratulated Jayalalithaa on her victory in the Tamil Nadu polls. As for the swearing in of Bharatiya Janata Partys chief ministerial candidate for Assam, newly elected party legislators will meet in Guwahati on Sunday to elect Sarbananda Sonowal as the leader of the legislature party. The new BJP legislators on Friday informally met under the leadership of 53-year-old Sonowal, who is the Union minister of sports. The new government will be sworn in on Tuesday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, all the chief ministers of NDA states, senior central BJP ministers, said party leader Himanta Biswa Sarma. Sonowal on Friday held a meeting with the Assam Director General of Police and other senior police officials. Amit Mitra, a key lieutenant in the government of Mamata Banerjee, has been handsomely re-elected, with his party. In 2011, when the Trinamool Congress government was formed, he assumed the role of finance minister of West Bengal. In two years, he was given the additional responsibilities of industry and information technology, making him the second most important person in the government. An interview with Ishita Ayan Dutt on the renewed mandate. Edited excerpts: How can this mandate be explained? The main reason is the massive development of social and physical infrastructure. Before 2010-2011, plan expenditure (PE) was Rs 14,161 crore, which increased to Rs 53,100 crore in 2015-16. Growth in PE in 2010-11 was minus 2.3 per cent; in 2014-15, the growth was 61.9 per cent over 2013-14. And, if you look at asset-creating capital expenditure, it was Rs 2,225 crore in 2010-11, lower by 26 per cent over the previous year. In 2014-15, that figure was Rs 13,374 crore, growth of six times. This has gone in building roads, schools, colleges, water works. So, its not only talk. But, while plan and capital expenditure have grown phenomenally, we have also maintained fiscal discipline. In 2010-11, the fiscal deficit as a proportion of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) was 4.24 per cent; in the 2015-16 revised estimates (RE), it is 2.11 per cent. The revenue deficit as a percentage of GSDP in 2010-11 was 3.75 per cent; in the 2015-16 RE, it was 0.42 per cent. The debt to GSDP ratio was 40.65 per cent in 2010. In 2015-16, it stood at 33.14 per cent. It is still one of the largest ratios in the country. How much have you borrowed? Rs 1.13 lakh crore, of which Rs 94,000 crore has gone into servicing debt of the past. What are the contours of development? Rural development expenditure has grown by five times. During 2006-11, it was Rs 7,628 crore; in 2011-2016, it increased to Rs 38,214 crore. This is where the rural votes are coming from. Expen-diture on health has grown from Rs 3,139 crore in 2006-2011 to Rs 10,000 crore in 2011-2016. On education, from Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 22,000 crore; on minorities, from Rs 1,031 crore to Rs 5,526 crore. We have set up 170 new ITIs (industrial training institutes) and 81 polytechnics in these four and a half years. Primary and upper primary schools have grown by 6,000. Forty-six additional colleges have come up and 15 new universities, of which seven are government ones. Where are the resources coming from? Our (annual) tax collection has increased from Rs 21,000 crore to Rs 40,000 crore. What after this? Mamata Banerjee will decide. After the cabinet is formed, she will sit with her colleagues and the (government) secretaries, and set the agenda. What has happened in social infrastructure is still work in progress, as nothing has happened in the past 34 years. All the things in the manifesto, like health, education, will have to go further, deeper. As far as servicing the urban population is concerned, everyone would agree that Kolkata is much cleaner. Plus, we have continuous power. Roads are better, flyovers have come up and so, traffic movement has eased, and there is steady water supply. What can business look forward to? The scale at which the Bengal Global Business Summit has been held has never been seen before. In 2015, we got investment proposals of Rs 2.45 lakh crore, of which Rs 93,000 crore is under process. In 2016, we got investment proposals of Rs 2.5 lakh crore, which are under consideration. Since we came to office, investment of Rs 87,000 crore has been completed. Bank lending to the micro, small and medium sectors has increased three-fold, from Rs 32,384 crore to Rs 91,572 crore. So, small and medium industries are growing. Is that enough? Certainly not. More will happen. Large industries will also come. We have 5,000 acres with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation, in 23 parks. New parks are coming up, too. There is a new momentum in the cement sector. JSW is building a plant, so is Emami. Shree Cement has also expressed interest. Among larger industries, Tata Metaliks has asked for 300 acres for expansion, which will be in Kharagpur. Tata Hitachi has brought in three subsidiaries from Japan. Food processing is also a huge area. Is this mandate a disincentive to review some of your earlier policies, like special economic zones? It is very clear in the manifesto we will not accept SEZs that foster crony capitalism. The Centre's own studies are now saying that SEZs have not served the purpose. Atleast 19 devotees from Gujarat on their way to Simhastha-Kumbh Mela underway in Ujjain were today injured, three of them seriously, when the bus carrying them collided with a truck in Patharpada village near here. The ill-fated tourist bus from Vadodara in Gujarat was heading for Kumbh via Badhnawar area when a truck-laden with soyabean oil cans coming from Petlawad area here collided head-on, District Superintendent of Police Sanjay Tiwari said. He said the three seriously injured have been admitted to a hospital at Dahod in Gujarat. A case has been registered and a probe is on. LeT operations commander Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi and six others accused in the 2008 Mumbai attack case will be individually charged for the abetment to murder of each of the 166 people who died in the carnage, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court ruled today. "The seven suspects will be charged individually for the abetment to murder of each victim of Mumbai attack case," a senior court official said, quoting the verdict of the trial court. The official told PTI that the court, however, did not allow cross examination of the suspects in this regard. The prosecution had filed an application in the ATC Islamabad some two months ago requesting it to make amendment in the charges against the suspects in abetment to murder of each individual in the carnage. The trial court in March last had reserved the verdict after the prosecution and defence lawyers completed their arguments on the plea that amendment in the charges against all seven suspects in abetment to murder of each individual in Mumbai attack should be made. 166 people, including six Americans, were killed and more than 300 injured in the attack in November 2008 by 10 Pakistani terrorists. The prosecution was of the view that it was seeking amendment to the changes "for further strengthening the case against the suspects". It had also pleaded for including the post-mortem reports of those killed in the attack. The prosecution said India should be asked to send the post-mortem reports of each victim of Mumbai attack while the defence lawyers opposed it. Meanwhile, the Mumbai attack case has faced inordinate delay as no proceedings were held for the previous seven consecutive hearings. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for May 25. The Pakistani authorities are blaming India for the delay in the case, saying it cannot move further till the Indian government sends witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case. "The seven consecutive hearings of the case were adjourned without any proceedings because the Pakistani government is still awaiting its counterpart's response about sending (Indian) witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case," the court official said. The foreign ministry of Pakistan had written to the Indian government about three months ago asking it to send all 24 Indian witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the trial court in Mumbai attacks case. According to prosecution lawyers, the trial court had already completed recording the statements of all (Pakistani) witnesses in the case which has been underway in the country for more than six years. "Now the ball is in India's court. The Indian government should send all Indian witnesses of the Mumbai case to Pakistan to record their statements so that the trial could further move ahead," a prosecution lawyer said. Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum are accused of abetment to murder, attempted murder, planning and executing the Mumbai attacks. Lakhvi is living in undisclosed location after he got released from jail on bail a year ago. The other six suspects are in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi. Police say four people were injured when a gas explosion shattered windows and wrecked several apartments in a housing complex north of Copenhagen. Firefighters had rushed to the scene in Lyngby, just north of Copenhagen, after reports of a strong gas smell. They evacuated the place shortly before the blast in the basement of the building. Police said three of those wounded had been discharged while one remained hospitalized after Friday's pre-dawn explosion. More than 50 people were evacuated, officials said. A 70-year-old occultist has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman on the pretext of treating her for back pain at his clinic in west Delhi's Nihal Vihar area, police said today. According to police, the incident took place on Monday when the woman went to the occultist (tantrik), identified as Baba Kapil, for getting prolonged back pain treated. During the session, he allegedly persuaded her to strip herself naked for some medication and then sexually assaulted her. The woman later approached the police and handed them the occultist's visiting card, which had his name, phone number and clinic's address. A raid was conducted and the accused was arrested, a senior police official said. Around three months ago, the police arrested a 44-year-old occultist who allegedly raped a married woman and duped her of Rs 35,000 on the pretext of solving all her personal problems, in central Delhi. As India's corporate healthcare system faces allegations ranging from skyrocketing price to profit-driven practices, over 80 per cent doctors believe that corporate hospitals are encouraging unethical practices. The poll, which was conducted by Curofy, a community of verified doctors, interviewed 2,570 doctors and 86.38 per cent of doctors said that "corporate hospitals are encouraging unethical practices". "Better corporatisation is required in the healthcare industry. Hospitals cannot control the ethics of the doctor, it is a competitive market and hence the sensitivity is less," said Dr Anil Kohli, a senior consultant of Apollo. "Hospitals need to be more transparent, there is also a wide variation in the medical expenses, pharma companies have a margin of 30-40 per cent so profit could be made around that area," he said. A section of doctors also felt that corporate hospitals are not promoting unethical practices. About 8.63 per cent of the polled votes supported that. "I feel all doctors are ethical and they do not do any unethical practices. However, with businessmen venturing into the healthcare industry it is a different point. They have their own principles but doctors will not do anything unethical ever," said Dr Vijay Arora, Emeritus Consultant, General Laparoscopic Surgery, from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. About 4.66 per cent doctors stood divided and couldn't say if corporatisation has led to unethical practices or not. "Corporatisation is necessary to provide quality healthcare to the patients. It keeps the competition to be better alive. But the poll result clearly showed that we need stronger laws to keep unethical practices in check," said Nipun Goyal, Co founder, Curofy. An Afghan guard turned his gun on colleagues today, killing a Nepalese guard and wounding another at a construction site near a UN compound in Kabul, an official said. The shooter also wounded another Nepalese colleague, said Hassib Sediqi, acting spokesman for the National Directorate of Security as Afghanistan's intelligence agency is known. It was not immediately clear if the attack was planned or the result of a disagreement, Sediqi said. A third Nepalese guard was injured when he jumped off the building that was under construction and where the incident happened, he added. The site is next to the International Organization for Migration and opposite the UN Assistance Mission for Afghanistan. Many international agencies and embassies employ Nepalese security guards. The incident comes a day after an Afghan policeman killed eight colleagues in what's known as an "insider attack" in the volatile southern Zabul province. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack. The perpetrator escaped the scene in Qalat, the provincial capital, taking weapons and vehicles with him, said Ghulam Jalani Farahi, the provincial deputy police chief. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf later said the insurgent group was behind the attack and that the shooter had joined the insurgents. Insider attacks are commonplace among Afghanistan's security forces, often carried out by insurgent infiltrators. Two members of the international military stationed at Kandahar Airfield were shot dead by Afghan colleagues earlier this month. Both were members of Romania's special forces. Last September, at least one US serviceman was killed when an Afghan solider opened fire on a group of American troops in the eastern city of Jalalabad. That attack was claimed by the militant Hezb-i-Islami group, which this week finalized a peace agreement with the Kabul government, expected to be signed in coming weeks. Afghanistan's war against the Taliban, who are trying to overthrow the Kabul government, is now in its 15th year. The Taliban have said they will not enter a peace dialogue with the Afghan government. Pakistan today said Afghanistan should give a unified and coherent message for peace and reconciliation with the Taliban as it dismissed the perception that Islamabad actually controls the militant outfit. "We believe that there is a need for a more unified and coherent messaging from Kabul in favour of peace and reconciliation with Taliban," Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said while addressing the 5th round of Pak-Afghan Dialogue organised by the Regional Peace Institute think-tank. Highlighting the challenges for peace in Afghanistan, he said that prolonged political instability in Afghanistan had created a fertile ground for foreign meddling after 9/11, while different militant groups have become dominant in different parts of Afghanistan. He said the announcement of the death of Mullah Omar in July 2015 not only scuttled the Afghan peace process, it also led to the splintering of the Taliban. "Negative statements about Pakistan emanating from Afghanistan tend to impede the constructive bilateral engagement. Pakistan as a policy has continued to show restraint in responding to such negative remarks," he said. He said vested interests have often tried to create a perception that Pakistan actually controls the Taliban. "Such an impression breeds unrealistic expectations from Pakistan. The mistrust between the two countries has also affected the efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan," he said. He also mentioned the presence of 3 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan and the porous border as major challenges in Pak-Afghan relations. He said that without reconciliation, peace cannot return to Afghanistan for which the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) can play an important role. "The immediate goal is cessation of violence. The QCG can play a key role in achieving this goal. However, the process leading to that goal needs patience and time," he said. He also suggested that there is a need for wide ranging discussion between Pakistan and Afghanistan at all levels, government, intelligentsia, civil society and media to restore trust and strengthen bilateral relations. Aziz demanded robust institutional interaction at political, military-to-military and intelligence level to put relations on an even keel and restore trust and confidence. He said Pakistan has a vital stake in peace and stability in Afghanistan and it goes without saying that without a stable Afghanistan, the security challenges facing Pakistan cannot be effectively addressed. "For Pakistan, the security situation in Afghanistan is a matter of serious concern. We have strongly condemned recent terrorist incidents in Afghanistan, particularly the April 19 terrorist attack in Kabul," he said. He said Pakistan would continue to make sincere efforts for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. Supporters of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr managed to enter Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office today after breaking into the Green Zone for the second time in three weeks. They initially faced tough resistance from forces guarding the premier's office but some were able to muscle past and briefly enter the premises, an AFP photographer at the scene said. Sadr followers have been protesting for weeks to demand reforms, a new government and an end to corruption. Several people were wounded in the process and many others were also hurt outside the walls of the Green Zone, where security forces fired tear gas directly into the crowd to keep the bulk of the protesters at bay. Security forces also fired live rounds but it was not immediately clear how many people were wounded and what the nature of their injuries was. "We came in a peaceful protest but the cowards began shooting at us," said one protester, holding a handful of bullet casings. The protesters gathered on Tahrir Square in central Baghdad but they removed barbed wire on one of the main bridges over the Tigris and converged the Green Zone. After facing much tougher resistance than three weeks ago when they broke into the restricted area for the first time, some of the protesters eventually forced one of the gates. In late April they had stormed the parliament building but this time they headed to the prime minister's office. "Don't be with the oppressor, be with the nation," they chanted as they confronted security forces guarding the entrance to Abadi's compound. Some protesters eventually forced their way in, an AFP photographer reported. Sadr supporters were posting pictures of the prime minister's office on social media, including from the cabinet meeting room. The protesters eventually pulled out and security forces pinned the crowd back near one of the main bridges in central Baghdad as reinforcements were brought in. It was not clear where Abadi himself was at the time of the fresh security breach. Sadr supporters had encountered relatively little resistance when they pulled down slabs of blast walls surrounding the Green Zone last month. Abadi had subsequently sacked the security chief for the Green Zone and beefed up measures around the restricted area. The breach of the Green Zone -- which is also home to several major embassies, including that the United States -- further deepened the country's political crisis. Apple chief Tim Cook today met Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of India's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel, and discussed matters like 4G roll out in the country and growth in the Indian telecom space. Other top leaders from Bharti Airtel including CEO of India and South Asia Gopal Vittal were also present in the meeting that lasted nearly a hour. According to sources, Hike messenger founder and CEO Kavin Bharti Mittal was also present and he made a presentation to the head of the Cupertino-based company about the growth seen by the instant messaging app. Hike competes with the likes of Facebook-owned WhatsApp, Line and Viber. They added discussions revolved around forging alliances to help the US-based firm expand its retail presence in the country. "It was a great meeting. Airtel and Apple go a long way back. Given the lead of Airtel in 4G, this relationship is going to grow stronger," sources said. Cook, who is on his maiden visit to India, has already met Vodafone India CEO Sunil Sood in Mumbai. Besides, he has also met leaders from India Inc including ICICI Bank's Chanda Kochhar, Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry and Tata Consultancy Services CEO N Chandrasekaran. He also had a chance meeting with Mukesh Ambani's younger son, Anant, when he visited Siddhivinayak temple earlier this week. Cook has said he believes it is "exactly the right time" to be in India as telecom firms roll out 4G high speed internet services. Apple, which is seeing declining sales elsewhere in the world, is betting big on India for growth as sales here saw an impressive 56 per cent growth in January-March. Apple had forayed into the Indian market in 2008 in partnership with Bharti Airtel. In the following years, the US-based firm has expanded partnerships with players like Vodafone and distribution firms like Ingram Micro and Redington. In the US, iPhones are often carrier-locked to make them more affordable. However, in India that is not the case. Analysts have attributed high cost of Apple's devices to be a major deterrent to sales of iPhone that competes with Android-based smartphones. Apple is also pushing for introducing refurbished phones in the country that may help in making its smartphones more affordable to a larger audience. Cook, who is meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow, is expected to take up the issue as part of the discussions. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul has stressed on the need to foster cordial relations between the Army and the state government. During a meeting with General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Command Lieutenant General, Praveen Bakshi, when the later called on him in his office yesterday night, Pul said that border security has been accorded top priority by the state government who is also concerned about the welfare of defence personnel as they often serve in hardship areas in hilly and difficult terrains, an official report said here today. He requested the Army to maintain cordial and friendly relations with the civilians and to win the hearts of the local people by taking up welfare activities in the border areas. The chief minister while insisting that border areas need to be connected with all weather roads emphasised on quality maintenance of these roads. He specifically mentioned that construction work of Tawang Road, the progress of work of which was very slow, needed to be expedited as the road is strategically important in terms of defence and tourism point of view. Pul asked them to further strengthen their base at eastern part of the state too and requested them to inform him in case of hurdles in getting land requirement from the government. To expedite the process of land acquisition especially to facilitate the defence forces and Border Road Organizations, a single window system has been initiated by the state government with Chief Secretary as the Chairman of the committee with respective DCs, PCCF (Principal Chief Conservator) Environment & Forest as the members. He, however, asked them to maintain a uniform rate all over the state while giving land compensation and requested them not to deviate from the rates fixed by the govt. Pul further asked them to adequately compensate the family and next of kin of those who lost their lives while accompanying the forces as porter or local guide during patrolling in the border areas. Earlier, Lieutenant General Bakshi while citing land as the biggest issue apprised the difficulties in getting land acquisition for the establishment of their bases in the state and sought the intervention of the chief minister at appropriate level. He also apprised the chief minister that infrastructure development in the state is their highest priority and informed that the process to strengthen the BRO with sufficient machineries is on fast. Bakshi also requested Pul to exempt entry tax for the goods of the defence personnel as the same is exempted all over India and no separate fund is provided by the Ministry to pay for the entry tax to the state govt. The two candidates in Austria's closely watched presidential race met for a final TV duel ahead of a runoff vote this weekend, which could see the arrival of the European Union's first far-right president. Sunday's showdown pits 45-year-old Norbert Hofer of the anti-immigrant Freedom Party (FPOe) against the Green-backed economics professor Alexander van der Bellen, 72. In previous encounters, the pair had traded increasingly aggressive barbs, exposing their glaring differences over the migrant crisis and the European Union. The mud-slinging reached a crescendo last weekend when they tore each other down for 45 minutes on private Austrian channel ATV without a presenter to moderate the debate. "I'm talking about Europe: E-U-R-O-P-E. Never heard of it?" taunted van der Bellen his opponent at one stage. "My God, the schoolmasterliness, Herr Doctor Van der Bellen," his agitated rival shot back. Commentators afterwards "described the show as an "embarrassing" fiasco. In contrast, yesterday's 100-minute-long debate on the public broadcaster ORF was a mostly subdued affair, primarily summarising the candidates' main campaign points. "If you put two gladiators in an arena, it can happen that the two argue in a heated manner," said Hofer as he tried to downplay last Sunday's fiasco. The far-right candidate went on to reiterate his intention to be "a much more active" president. "The position has a lot of authority and weight in Austria and abroad, and you can achieve a lot," he said. Hofer has previously threatened to seize upon never-before-used presidential powers to fire the government if it failed to get tougher on migrants or boost the faltering economy. Traditionally, the role has been held by a candidate from one of Austria's two main centrist parties since 1945. But their crushing first-round defeat has now pushed Austria into unfamiliar territory. However, Hofer -- who is also a lower house leader in the Austrian parliament -- stressed that his "personal views and values" would not prevent him from being a "non-partisan president". For his part, van der Bellen repeated that he would not swear in FPOe leader Heinz-Christian Strache as chancellor if the far-right won the next general election scheduled in 2018. A homeopathic doctor was today hacked to death and a professor was seriously wounded when machete- wielding assailants attacked them in western Bangladesh, with police saying the incident bore the hallmark of previous killings of secular activists and minorities by Islamists in the Muslim-majority nation. Sanaur Rahman, 58, a homeopathic doctor, was riding home on his motorbike alongwith Saifuzzaman, assistant professor of Bangla literature at Islami University, while they were attacked by the assailants in Kushtia town this morning. Rahman died on the spot while Saifuzzaman has been shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition, police said. The deceased along with Saifuzzaman was going to his native village at Shishirmath to give free treatment to local people, Sahabuddin Choudhury, officer-in-charge of Kushtia Model Police Station, said. They were intercepted by three to four people and attacked with machetes indiscriminately, he said, adding the assailants attacked them in a similar fashion that bears the hallmark of previous murders of bloggers and secular activists. Proloy Chisim, superintendent of police (SP) of Kushtia, said that they were also probing whether personal enmity was behind the murder. Both the doctor and the professor were fans of a mystical musical tradition known as Baul, which is popular in western Bangladesh. Rahman also used to arrange musical concerts based on Baul ideology at his native village every Friday, his relative said. There have been systematic assaults in Bangladesh in recent weeks especially targeting minorities, secular bloggers, intellectuals and foreigners. Earlier this month, a 65-year-old Muslim Sufi preacher was hacked to death by unidentified machete-wielding assailants in northwest Bangladesh, two weeks after a liberal university professor was killed in a similar attack claimed by the dreaded ISIS terror group. The country's first gay magazine editor was brutally murdered along with a friend in his flat in Dhaka by Islamists two days after the professor's murder. Less than two weeks ago, a Hindu tailor was hacked to death by machete-wielding ISIS militants in his shop in central Bangladesh. Bangladesh today announced a bounty of up to 5,00,000 Taka for clues leading to the arrest of six suspected Islamists believed to be involved in recent murders of secular bloggers and a gay rights activist. The development comes as there has been no headway in a series of high-profile brutal killings that have rocked Bangladesh. "Dhaka Metropolitan Police seeks cooperation of the people of the country in tracking them down," said a police statement issued along with the names and photographs of six suspected Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) operatives. The police statement declared a bounty of Taka 500,000 (USD 6,359) for two ABT organisers and Taka 200,000 each (USD 2,544) for four operatives of the banned militant outfit. The announcement was made on the basis of their investigation findings and information gathered from the already arrested operatives of the outfit, they said. ABT earlier claimed to have carried out most of the deadly attacks on secular bloggers, writers, university professors and a gay rights activist, identifying itself as the Bangladesh affiliate of the Islamist State (ISIS). Bangladesh authorities, however, have rejected reports of presence any foreign Islamist outfits like the ISIS or al-Qaeda in the country, attributing the deadly attacks on homegrown militant outfits like ABT and Jamaatul Mujahideen (JMB). The bounty was declared shortly after Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina, now on a visit to Bulgaria, vowed to bring the perpetrators of recent secret killings to the justice. "Whatever some isolated incidents are taking place are pre-planned... But, we've already started arresting the perpetrators of such murders and they must be brought to justice," she told a function of Bangladeshi expatriates in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The Muslim-majority Bangladesh has been witnessing a series of brutal attacks over the past year in which atheist bloggers, academics, religious minorities and foreign aid workers have been killed. In the latest attack, an elderly Buddhist monk was found hacked to death on Saturday at a temple in a remote hilly region of southeastern Bandarban. Police last week arrested a suspected ABT militant over the brutal killings of gay rights activist Xulhaz Mannan and his friend Mahbub Tonoy in April. Several members of ABT were convicted last year over the 2013 murder of atheist blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider. One of the three suicide attackers at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris last November was buried today in eastern France, said a source close to the investigation. Foued Mohamed-Aggad, who was 23 when he died, was buried before dawn in a Muslim part of the Wissembourg cemetery in northern Alsace, the source said. He had lived in the town with his mother before leaving for Syria in late 2013 along with the other two men who attacked the Bataclan, Omar Ismail Mostefai and Samy Amimour. Leaked Islamic State group documents showed Mohamed-Aggad had arrived in IS territory on December 18, 2013 with an unusually large group of French jihadists that included 14 men and their families. A text sent from Syria by Mohamed-Aggad's wife to her mother, saying: "Your son has died a martyr with his brothers on November 13" helped identify him. His DNA was later matched to that of his mother. The three men, using guns and suicide vests, killed 90 people at the Bataclan during a concert by rock band Eagles of Death Metal in the deadliest attack of the bloody rampage that claimed 130 lives across the French capital on November 13. Former Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, incarcerated in an alleged money laundering case, today applied for bail on health grounds in Bombay High Court which asked the Enforcement Directorate to produce him before a medical board for examination. Justice Ajay Gadkari asked the ED to present Bhujbal (69) before a government-constituted medical board of senior doctors to seek an opinion about his health and submit its report on May 27. The court would decide the bail plea after going through report of the board. Bhujbal had sought bail on health grounds saying he had multiple problems, including diabetes, blood pressure, chronic asthma and blockages in heart. His counsel Amit Desai today submitted that Bhujbal was not in good health and urged the court to consider the risk factors involved before deciding on his bail plea. Public Prosecutor Purnima Kantharia opposed Bhujbal's bail plea, saying he has been getting good treatment at government hospitals. However, the Judge was of the view that an opinion should be obtained from an independent panel of doctors. On May 13, a Special Court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) here had rejected the bail petition of Bhujbal, following which he moved the high court. Judge P R Bavake of PMLA court had rejected the bail petition after ED objected saying investigations were still on and he was getting proper treatment in government hospitals. On behalf of the senior NCP leader, his lawyer pleaded that Bhujbal was in custody for nearly two months and was suffering from multiple health problems for which he needed to undergo treatment. Bhujbal was arrested on March 14 by the ED on charge of money laundering in the Maharashtra Sadan scam. The Anti-Corruption Bureau had filed an FIR against Bhujbal after it found irregularities in construction of Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi which was built at a cost of Rs 100 crore. It is alleged that the contractor had given kickbacks to Bhujbal. Another FIR was filed by the ACB against Bhujbal in which it was alleged that he had received kickbacks in awarding the contract of state central library in Kalina campus of Mumbai University. Bhujbal is currently lodged in Central prison at Arthur Road here along with his nephew and former MP Sameer Bhujbal, who was also arrested in the same case on similar charges. Indirectly targeting the ally Shiv Sena ahead of the next year's elections to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, the BJP today alleged "octroi mafia" were siphoning off tax of Rs 2,000 crore every year. "Very soon there will be an end to the octroi mafia prevalent in the MCGM. We will start our campaign against them today," BJP MP Kirit Somaiya said here. "If you get stomach pain again due to our stand against the octroi mafia, do not bring up my wife like the last time and (instead) fight me based on the facts," he said. He was apparently referring to the Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' which recently levelled allegations against Somaiya and his wife regarding Slum Rehabilitation Authority projects. MCGM is controlled by Sena-BJP combine. Somaiya said the civic corporation gets over Rs 6,300 crore of octroi a year. "About Rs 2,000 crore of octroi gets syphoned off. Our fight is not against a specific party, but against the mafia. Even the Shiv Sena has good corporators who are worried about the prevalent corruption," he said. "First we took on the nulla mafia, then road mafia, the (garbage) dumping and tanker mafia and now octroi mafia," he added. Somaiya also said he would be filing a defamation case against the owner and the editor of Saamana on June 1. "I demanded an apology from them, but they failed to tender it. I will make Saamana apologies," he asserted. BJP's massive win in Assam casts spotlight on an unlikely campaigner whose use of modern communication methods and expertise in data-crunching helped the party craft a winning strategy in the border state. The party's maiden victory in the state has led to a comparison between Rajat Sethi (30), an IIT and Havard passout roped in by party general secretary Ram Madhav, and poll strategist Prashant Kishor. Kishor is with JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar after being involved with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's successful Lok Sabha campaign in 2014. He has also been drafted by the Congress for Assembly elections in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh due next year. Sethi has though tried to play down the significance of work done by him and his associate Shubhrastha, who had earlier worked with Kishor in the Citizens for Accountable Governance. "Data crunchers have the capability to offer prescriptions based on numbers. But what about chemistry which works to translate prescriptions into suggestive reality?" they said today. Noting that swayamsevaks (RSS volunteers) have done selfless service in tribal areas of the state to see this day, they asked, "Can professional data crunchers' one time dashboard substitute these sacrifices?," It may be noted that Kishor fell out with BJP as the party leadership disapproved of attempts to project him as a central figure in Modi's win and instead claimed his role was "peripheral". Sethi has also sought to underline his ideological association with the saffron camp. Sethi said he was not a mercenary, an apparent swipe at Kishor whose camp has projected him as an apolitical professional, and asserted that he will never work for Congress. Holding the defeat of Congress in Assam as collective failure of its functionaries, vice president of the party's state unit today alleged that BJP and its allies won the polls on "false propaganda of identity crisis". "We accept the humiliating defeat of our party. It is a collective failure from leaders to grass-root workers. All are responsible for this," Assam Pradesh Congress Committee Vice President Ripun Bora said at a press conference here. The party's Rajya Sabha member alleged that the root cause of Congress' "worst performance since Independence in Assam" is "false propaganda" by BJP and its allies. "They created an atmosphere that identity of Assamese people and Hindus are at stake and campaigned in the same manner. This polarised people in favour of BJP," Bora said. He said the party and its workers failed to convey to the people the good works done by its government in the last 15 years which resulted in the defeat. "In the days to come, we will introspect our defects at grass-root level and rectify those. We will go to the people more in the future. As of now, we will act as responsible opposition," said Bora. BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014 by "false promises" like depositing Rs 15 lakh in everyone's bank account, which all believed and voted for them, he alleged, adding, "Now nobody believes in Modi and his promises. The same will happen to the BJP in Assam in future." Congress will closely watch how BJP fulfils its poll promises like providing 25 lakh jobs, giving salaries to government staff on time amidst financial constraints and solving the age-old illegal immigration issue, Bora said. When asked whether popularity of Congress is declining, he claimed that vote share of the party has increased since 2014. "In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Congress had a vote share of 29.6 per cent. This time it stood at 31.1 per cent. On the other hand, BJP's vote share declined to 29.4 per cent from 36.5 per cent," Bora said. "We will now prepare for 2019 Lok Sabha polls and form government at the Centre under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi," he said. A BJP worker who was injured in an attack allegedly by CPI(M) workers, succumbed to his wounds today at a private hospital here, police said. Pramod (38) sustained head injuries after he was allegedly hit by a brick following a clash during a victory rally by CPI(M) workers at Idavilangu yesterday. BJP alleged that the CPI(M) workers who took part in the Assembly poll victory rally attacked Pramod. He was admitted to a private hospital in the city for better treatment, but succumbed to his wounds, police said. BJP has called for a dawn to dusk 'hartal' in Thrissur district tomorrow in protest against the killing of its worker. Post-poll violence yesterday afternoon had claimed the life of a CPI(M) worker at Pinarayi in Kannur district. Bosnian prosecutors today charged a former Islamic fighter of Egyptian origin with war crimes allegedly committed while fighting alongside the country's Muslims during the 1990s conflict. Mirsad Hodzic, who obtained Bosnian citizenship, was a member of the notorious El Mujaheed unit of foreign Islamic volunteers during the 1992-1995 war, which was known for atrocities and criminal activities. At the time, he was known as Abdallah Hany. The 46-year-old was indicted for involvement in taking at least five ethnic Croat civilians hostage in October 1993 with the aim of exchanging them for detained members of his unit, a prosecutors' statement said. Specifically, Hodzic was charged over his role in abducting two people from their apartment in the central town of Travnik. The hostages were held at the unit's training camp in Orasac near Travnik, where they were tortured and beaten. The suspect, who lives in the Travnik area, has not yet been arrested but has been questioned, a spokesman for the prosecution said. Although allies against ethnic Serbs during most of the 1992-1995 war, Bosnia's Muslims and Croats fought against each other in 1992 and 1993. Bosnia's inter-ethnic war attracted hundreds of Islamists from across the world to join Muslim forces in the fighting. Most of the foreign fighters -- known as "mujahedeen" -- left when the war ended. But some stayed and obtained Bosnian citizenship, mostly by marrying local women. The 1992-1995 in the former Yugoslav republic claimed some 100,000 lives. "Sherlock" star Benedict Cumberbatch, Patrick Stewart, Bill Nighy, Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle and Keira Knightley are among leading stars who have appealed to the voters to back staying in the European Union. A joint letter, which includes author Hilary Mantel, John le Carre and fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood among the 282 signatories, ahead of June 23 referendum in Britain on whether to remain in EU. The group, including poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy and actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, said being part of the EU "bolsters Britain's leading role on the world stage", warning that Brexit would leave the country "an outsider shouting from the wings", reported Daily Mirror. "Britain is not just stronger in Europe, it is more imaginative and more creative, and our global creative success would be severely weakened by walking away. "And what would 'out' really mean? Leaving Europe would be a leap into the unknown for millions of people across the UK who work in teh creative industries, and for the millions more at home and aborad who benefit from the growth and vibrancy of Britain's cultural sector," the letter read. The letter comes as the Creative Industries Federation revealed that more than 96 per cent of its members supported a Remain vote on June 23. The signatories, also including Helena Bonham Carter, Kristin Scott Thomas and Dominic West, said: "From the smallest gallery to the biggest blockbuster, many of us have worked on projects that would never have happened without vital EU funding or by collaborating across borders. Chief Executive Mayank Ashar has quit the job, the third CEO to resign from the company, ever since it was taken over by billionaire Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group four-and-a-half-years back. Ashar, who was appointed CEO in October 2014, "has decided to step down for personal reasons effective June 5, 2016," the company said in a statement. Sudhir Mathur, Chief Finance Officer, has been appointed as the acting CEO. There have been murmurs about differences between Ashar and the promoters for the past couple of months. Ashar had succeeded P Elango, who in a sudden move quit the company in May 2014. Elango, who was named interim chief executive in August 2012 when the firm's face Rahul Dhir resigned, too had cited "personal reasons" for the decision to step down. "The Board expresses its appreciation for Mayank's contribution during his association with the company. Under Mayank's leadership, has delivered a resilient performance in a challenging business environment," the statement said. Navin Agarwal, Chairman, said: "Mayank has had a positive stint at Cairn. He leaves Cairn India in the hands of a strong leadership team." Elango's exit in 2014 had completed the exodus of the entire top management of Cairn India since billionaire Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta in 2010 announced buying majority stake in the firm from Scottish explorer Cairn Energy Plc. Rick Bott, who was Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of Cairn India, quit the firm on June 15, 2011, while its Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer Indrajit Banerjee resigned with effect from August 23, 2011. David Ginger, Cairn India's director of exploration and new ventures, quit the firm shortly after that and Dhir put in his paper after the Cairn-Vedanta deal was completed. Company's Director, Commercial and New Business Ajay Gupta quit the firm in January 2013. In February 2014, Sundeep Bhandari, the man credited with laying the foundation and then building what is now Cairn India, quit the company. He along with Dhir, Bott, Banerjee and Ginger ran the firm before Vedanta took over. Vedanta completed the $ 8.67 billion acquisition of Cairn India in December 2011. Hi-resolution cameras may be installed soon in the Chhattisgarh's northern forests to track the movement of elephants in order to avoid human-animal conflict, which is a major concern for people of the region. "We have found that hi-tech cameras can strengthen our alert system and can be used to check human-elephant conflict. It will help us to track if anelephantor its herd has strayed into the nearby villages and issue an alert on time," Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (wildlife) K C Bebarta told PTI. "It will help in generatingalotof information. We can plan intervention and protect both people and wildlife," he said. A proposal has been sent to the state government in this regard toexecutethe idea as a pilot project in Dharamjaigarh area of Raigarh district which is infamous for human-elephant conflicts, he said. "Under the system, which has been named 'e-Eye' (electronic eye), hi-definition cameras enabled with night vision will be placedata high altitude point from where movement of elephants canbeassessed from a long distance of about one or two kilometres, depending upon the visibility in the jungles," Bebarta said. Unlike static cameras, these cameras will be capable of360-degreemovement and can zoom and record the objects. These would continuously transmit video footage to the control centre to be monitored by forest personnel. Based on the visual data, theforest ground staff and villagers will be intimated about the exact location of the elephants so that they can immediately take precautionary measures, he said. The cameras will be placedatseveral locations, like near water sources, grassland areas and in the periphery of the villages, the official said. "As soon as we receive approval from the state government, we will start the process to set up the system. After examining the system in Dharamjaigarh, it will be expanded further," he said. According to senior forest officials, the cameras will also help to track poachers and timber smugglers. The thick forested northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Korba, Raigarh,Jashpurand Koriya districts, is infamous for human-elephantconflictincidents. According to a report, around 14 elephants died of electrocution in Chhattisgarh between 2005 and 2013. The human-elephantconflicts also led to 198 human deaths here in the same period, Wildlife expert Mansoor Khan said. Dharamjaigarh area is close to Korba district where this monthat leastthree people, including a woman, were killed by wild elephants. Khan has hailed the technology, but said instead of using such a system, emphasis should be given more todevelopa habitat for the elephant. "Cameras can be useful in detecting movement of elephants who often create havoc in villages as they look around for food while crossing forests. But stress should also be given as to why the animals are venturing into villages and human habitat. It is because their habitat is in danger," Khan said. There arenumberof incidents of property and crop damage for which the state government paid crores of rupees as compensation, he said. Coal mining in the region is another factor which has greatly affected the elephant habitat. The presence of elephants was recorded in most of the coal blocks in the area where mining is underway or have been identified for mining. Rampant mining could lead to an increase in human-elephant conflict in future, Khan said. US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter wants to accelerate the defeat of Islamic State and he will not be satisfied until their claims to a caliphate are eliminated, the Pentagon has said, a day after Iraqi forces captured the strategic town of Rutbah. "He (Carter) wants to accelerate the defeat of Islamic State (ISIS). And until that happens and their claims to a caliphate are eliminated, that that he won't be satisfied. He'd like this to move faster," the Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook told reporters at a conference yesterday. Iraqi forces entering the strategic town of Rutbah is a significant development in the war against ISIS, he said. "And in the last day, those forces have continued to expand government control and now have cleared 80 per cent of the town," he said. Rutbah outsized significance because of its position on the main land route between Jordan and central Iraq. Before ISIS seized this town, more than USD 1 billion in trade passed through Rutbah each year and the eventual reopening of that route will have important benefits for the economy both in Iraq and in the region, Cook said. This operation also recaptured the final ISIS stronghold in southern Iraq south of the Euphrates, he added. Iraqi forces retook Rutbah from ISIS on Thursday, in the wake of a weeklong series of deadly attacks by the insurgents in Baghdad. Responding to a question, Cook said the US troops in Iraq are not in combat operation. US troops are playing the role of training and capacity building. "In the course of doing that, given the situation with ISIL and the threat they pose, those US forces find themselves in harm's way and there have been instances in which they've found themselves in combat," he said. The Centre today said it would like to undertake a 3D structural analysis of the over 800-year-old Jagannath Temple in Puri to further strengthen it and assured the Odisha government that the 12th century shrine will remain intact. "We are taking steps to see that the structure remains intact. There should be no danger to the temple. We will ensure that nothing untoward happens to it," Union Culture Secretary Narendra Sinha said after a high-level meeting here. The meeting was attended by ASI Director General Rakesh Tiwari, Odisha Chief Secretary A P Padhi and others. Admitting that there were cracks in beams and columns of the temple, Sinha said "Short-term measures will be taken immediately to protect the temple." Stressing on 3D analysis of cracks which have developed in the structure, Sinha, who along with ASI DG inspected the temple earlier in the day, pointed out that the cracks were there for about 100 years, but they came to light only after deplastering the temple. "We have to go deep to analyse the structure and take right steps so that other columns and beams are not affected. A 3D analysis is likely to be required. The experts of IIT Chennai, IIT Bhubaneswar, NIT Rourkela and local core committee will study the damage," Sinha said, adding proper renovation work will be undertaken to protect the temple. Asked if help of international experts would be taken in conservation of the temple, Sinha said, "IITs are good enough to tackle the problems. However, we do not rule out opinion of international monument experts. They are rather happy to help us. Our IIT people will say whether outside opinion and help are required." He, however, could not say as to when exactly the repair and renovation of the Jagamohan, the prayer hall of the temple, would be completed. Padhi, who presided over the meeting, said the state government is in agreement with the Centre and ASI for immediate repair of the Jagamohan. "The repair work will start very soon, before the annual Rath Yatra (in July). However, the permanent work will be done after getting the report from IIT Chennai," Padhi said. Earlier, the central team comprising Sinha, Tiwari and experts from IIT Chennai visited Jagannath Temple and inspected the damage of the Jagamohan. They also held a discussion with Gajapati King of Puri Divyasingha Deb and senior priests and sought their cooperation for its repair. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on had Wednesday visited the temple and sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to speed up the repair of the Jagamohan. Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal today ruled out any mediation by the Centre in the contested Rs 4,200-crore arrears payment to Himachal Pradesh by partner states for projects under Bhakra Beas Management System. The minister however advised partner states of Himachal, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to sit across the table for expediting the matter through "out of court settlement". "The matter is in the court and the centre has no role in it and in case the concerned states want an early out of the court settlement, they should hold talks," he said while addressing a press conference through video conferencing. After protracted legal battle, the Supreme court had directed the respondent states to give 7.19 per cent share of power in BBMB projects and also pay the arrears, which were worked out around Rs 4,200 crore by the state government but the other states contested the quantum of arrears to be paid to Himachal government and the matter is pending in the apex court. Regarding strengthening of power supply network in high altitude areas bordering China, the minister said that 34 such villages had been identified, six villages had been provided power while plans have been finalised to cover remaining 28 villages. When asked about the environment clearances given to hydropower projects without proper study of 'environment impact assessment' and virtually choking the rivers with multiple run-of -the river projects, Goyal passed the buck to Union Ministry of environment and Forests, saying that the matter did not pertained to his ministry. Goyal said that there was no shortage of power or coal for any thermal power plant and the ministry is ready to meet the demands of the states. "However, the states are not keen to buy power or coal but there is no shortage," he stressed. Goyal said that the target of providing 24X7 power to all at affordable rates by 2022 has been advanced to 2019, adding that all the 18,452 left out villages would be provided electricity by May 2017 instead of May 2018. Meanwhile the Additional chief secretary(Power) Tarun Sridhar today informed that chief minister Virbhadra Singh had already written to the Union Minister to convene a meeting of partner states in BBMB to expedite release of arrears payable to Himachal as per the Apex court judgement. China has ordered the arrest of 125 people and put 37 officials under investigation for their suspected involvement in a USD 88 million worth of vaccine sales scandal. The investigation into the illegal network of vaccine sales, that began three months ago, has so far seen 190 criminal cases, involving 341 suspects, filed by the police nationwide. Fifteen people have been indicted and two convicted of illegal sale of vaccines, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said in a statement yesterday. Of the 125 suspects, 25 were from Fujian Province, 19 from Henan, 15 from Heilongjiang and 13 from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, state-run Xinhua agency reported. The 37 officials, who are suspected of taking bribes, abuse of power or negligence, are from Fujian, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong and Hubei, the SPP said, adding that 10 of them are to be arrested. Police in east China's Shandong Province said in February that they had arrested a mother and daughter suspected of selling improperly stored or expired vaccines worth more than 570 million yuan (USD 88 million) since 2011. The vaccines had allegedly been sold in more than 20 provincial-level regions. As China's strongest critic Tsai Ing-wen assumed power in Taiwan today pledging democracy and close ties with the US,a wary Beijing warned her against seeking independence and said the 'One-China policy' remained the corner stone of its relations with other countries. Tsai, 59, who took oath today as new President of Taiwan in Taipei, is the head of the Democratic Progressive Party, which advocates Taiwan's independence from the mainland. "Once again, the people of Taiwan have shown the world through our actions that we, as a free and democratic people, are committed to the defence of our freedom and democracy as a way of life," Tsai said in her address after taking oath. Referring to Taiwan's ties with China, the island's first female President said the "stable and peaceful development of the cross-Strait relationship must be continuously promoted". She called on on both sides to "set aside the baggage of history, and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides," the BBC reported. Experts say what Tsai said in her speech is unlikely to satisfy Beijing. It sees eventual unification with the island as non-negotiable. With tensions rising in the South China Sea, Beijing is keen for Taiwan to be its ally rather than be aligned with rival claimants to the disputed islets in the sea. "If 'independence' is pursued, it will be impossible to have peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits," the Taiwan Affairs Office said hours after Tsai was sworn in. "Independence is the greatest disaster for the peaceful development of peace in the Taiwan straits and the peaceful development of cross-straits relations," it said. Commenting on Tsai's swearing in, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chun Ying said, "I want emphasis that 'One China policy' is widely recognised by the world and one-china principle is important corner stone and prerequisite for China to develop relations with other countries". "What ever political changes Taiwan may go through, the Chinese government will remain unchanged in sticking to the One-China principle and oppose the Taiwan independence or one China or one Taiwan," Hua said. While refraining from any critical remarks against Tsai, Hua reacted guardedly to her remarks to raise the profile of Taiwan by improving trade ties with democratic countries like the US and Japan, which Beijing considers as rivals. "With regard to foreign relations between Taiwan and other countries the one-China policy is a prerequisite and basis for relations China and other counties," she said. "We have noobjection to Taiwan's unofficial trade relations with other countries. We are opposed to other countries signing official agreements with Taiwan. For any trade arrangements they should be discussed through pragmatic cooperation between the two parts," Hua said. As Tsai, who was elected after strongly opposing Beijing friendly policy of outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou, took over power concerns rose in China about future course attempts to normalise cross straits relations. China and Taiwan split in 1949. But Beijing has always seen the island as a rebel province awaiting reunification. has said China will "behave" and will be a "friend" of the US under his presidency even as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee asserted that he was not bothered if a trade war breaks out with the Communist trading giant. "Let me tell you something. China will behave and China will be our friend. We'll do better under China with me and we're also going to do better economically with me. They are going to respect our country again," Trump told his supporters at an election rally in New Jersey yesterday. Addressing his first major rally in New Jersey yesterday along with its governor Chris Christie who endorsed him early in the primary season, he said: "These dummies say, 'Oh, that's a trade war. Trade war? We're losing $500 billion in trade with China.' Who the hell cares if there's a trade war? Think of it. $500 billion and they're telling me about a trade war,". The 69-year-old real estate tycoon, who is likely to face Democrat Hillary Clinton, exuded confidence that it is unlikely to happen as being alleged by his opponents. "You're not going to have a trade war. Two things are going to happen. China devalues their currency, that's how they're killing us, Ok? They devalue their currency. They are behaving very, very badly. And, on top of that, they are building fortresses on the South China Sea. And they're doing things," Trump said. Trump also asked his supporters to leave the economy to him. "A lot of you don't know the world of economics. And you shouldn't even bother. Just do me a favour. Leave it to me. Just go enjoy your life," he said. Last year, China was the world's largest merchandise trader, with combined exports and imports worth $4,303 billion. The US was close behind in second place, with total trade worth $4,032 billion. A 14-member Chinese delegation of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference today met Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, and discussed with him how to strengthen trade and cultural ties. Welcoming the delegation, Rijiju said India is eager to enhance trade and cultural ties with China and invited the Chinese entrepreneurs to take benefit of the huge potential that India offers in various sectors. Besides ancient links between two civilisations, the Minister of State for Home said, India is looking forward to increase interaction between the youths of both the countries for more cultural contacts and exchanges in other fields. The Chinese delegation also invited Rijiju to visit China. The meeting bears significance as Rijiju hails from Arunachal Pradesh, which China considered as part of southern Tibet and maintained that it has "huge dispute" with India over the state. People belonging to Arunachal Pradesh have been given staple visa by China in the past and a project sanctioned by Asian Development Bank for Arunachal Pradesh was also blocked by China in 2009. Rijiju was once denied visa by China about nine years back. He, however, visited Beijing in 2008 as part of Indian Olympic delegation with a regular visa. The Chinese delegation, led by Wang Pu, Vice Chairman, Shenzen Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, arrived in India to participate in the China (Shenzhen)-India Economic and Trade Cooperation seminar. Rijiju said India has attracted the maximum Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) last year. Observing that the Chinese delegation comprised leaders from the business, political and cultural spectrum, Rijiju appreciated the rapid transformation of Shenzhen into a 'dream city' and hoped that India will get tremendous success through the recently unveiled Smart City project. Rijiju said the government encourages close coordination between Indian and Chinese Industry. Wang mentioned that India and China represent one-third of the world's population and also share a 'natural bond' due to Buddhism and together the two countries can impact a lot of change. The Chinese delegation evinced keen interest in India's pharmaceuticals and biotech sector and invited investments by Indian pharmaceuticals companies in China. The Chinese delegation inquired about the sectors of the economy which are attracting foreign investment. The delegation members also inquired about the incentives for the investors in India and requested the Minister for favourable policies for the Chinese investors. They also raised the issue of facilitating the visas for the businessmen and for tourism even as more and more Chinese tourists and businessmen are visiting India every year. Rijiju said India encourages people-to-people contact and in order to facilitate this, the Government recently extended the electronic Tourist Visa (eTV) scheme to China and under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the "Visit India Year" was launched in China last year following which the "Visit China Year" has kicked off in India this year. Regarding the investment, MoUs on establishing two Chinese Industrial Parks in Maharashtra and Gujarat were signed during President Xi's visit and the Chinese companies can explore the possibilities of investment in the same. He hoped that more Indians can visit and do business in China especially in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Senior officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs attended the meeting. Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton is leading by six points in a hypothetical presidential election match against Donald Trump of Republican party, according to a latest opinion poll. However, both Clinton and Trump have very high unfavourable ratings in the CBS News/New York Times poll released last night. Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont is only of the three presidential candidate left in the race to have a better positive rating and defeats Trump by a bigger margin of 13 percentage points in a hypothetical match up. In its latest poll, The New York Times and CBS said Clinton (47 per cent) leads Trump (41 per cent) by six percentage points among registered voters if the elections were held now. According to the poll, both Clinton (52 per cent) and Trump (55 per cent) remain highly unpopular among the voters. For Sanders, his unfavourable rating is just 33 per cent. "When compared to past major party presidential candidates at a similar point in the election cycle, Trump and Clinton's unfavourable ratings continue to be the highest in CBS News/New York Times polls going back to 1984, when the question was first asked," the survey result said. According to the survey, neither Trump nor Clinton has a clear advantage on handling the economy or on being the nation's commander-in-chief. About half of voters expressed at least some confidence in each to manage the economy or direct the country's military, but about half say they are not too or not at all confident in either candidate, it said. This poll was conducted by telephone May 13-17, 2016 among a random sample of 1,300 adults nationwide, including 1,109 registered voters. The Coast Guard has rescued 11 crew members of a tug, which was stranded 25 nautical miles east of Chennai following a problem with its steering. The tug was en route from Vishakapatnam to Mumbai when it developed a crack in the steering compartment, leading to flooding of the cabin and posed a threat of sinking, a statement by the Coast Guard said. On receiving the information, Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre alerted ships operating in radius of 50 nautical miles from the tug. A 'Mearsk Brooklyn' vessel operating close to the distressed ship was requested to provide assistance till the arrival of Coast Guard ship 'Varad'. The Coast Guard vessel sailed at 10.20 AM from here and rescued the crew. The crew has been brought back to Chennai. All the crewmembers are safe, the statement said. The Madras High Court today granted conditional bail to former DMK Minister K R Periyakaruppan, his son and 10 others in connection with an alleged incident of violence during campaigning in the run up to the May 16 assembly polls in Tamil Nadu. Justice Gokul Dass of the Madurai bench directed him to appear before the police station concerned and sign daily till further orders. Periyakaruppan, who contested from Tiruppattur Assembly constituency, has won the seat for the third time in a row. A case had been registered against all of them for allegedly pelting stones at AIADMK workers during election campaign at Pallathur on May 13. Fearing arrest, they had filed anticipatory bail application on May 18. Congress activists in Nagaland today protested throughout the state for setting up an enquiry commission against alleged "misuse and mismanagement" of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) funds. The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) staged the dharna outside Raj Bhavan here and submitted a memorandum to the Governor while the respective District Congress Committees handed the representation to all the 11 Deputy Commissioners. The Congress through the memorandum demanded setting up of an impartial enquiry commission headed by a High Court Judge to probe alleged discrepancies, misuse, mismanagement and misinterpretation of guidelines and also to underline for effective implementation of the scheme in totality according to the set guidelines. In the interest of the people, the NPCC shall continue to take up the issue as duty bound till job cards were distributed, 100 day wages achieved and the guidelines fully implemented without discrepancies, K Therie, NPCC President said. If the Governor do not initiate setting up of the Commission within 30 days, the party would seek justice through the court of law, he added. Congress today attacked the Centre's decision to issue an ordinance to keep NEET in abeyance alleging that it goes against the Supreme Court's verdict in the matter. "This Ordinance is being brought to benefit the private medical colleges lobby at the cost of the students of India", party spokesman P C Chacko told reporters. He said that the Union Cabinet decision to issue an ordinance to keep NEET in abeyance goes against the SC verdict on this matter. Chacko said that under the current scenario, students have to travel across the country to sit for entrance exams and "there is no transparency". Under mounting pressure from several states, Government today gave its nod for promulgation of an ordinance to keep state boards out of the ambit of uniform medical entrance examination, NEET, for this year. The ordinance, cleared by the Union Cabinet this morning, is aimed at "partially" overturning a Supreme Court verdict which said all government colleges, deemed universities and private medical colleges would be covered under NEET. On the eve of the 25th death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, Congress today attacked the government for not observing the "Martyrdom Day" of the late Prime Minister in a "befitting" manner. Talking to reporters, Party spokesman P C Chacko reminded the government that Gandhi had contributed to building of Modern India and also he was the man responsible for India's fast developing economy. Rajiv Gandhi, who was the sixth and youngest PM of India, was assassinated on May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu during a poll campaign. The Committee of Transport Ministers from various states here today evolved a consensus on enhancing the penalty for traffic offences. The committee constituted in March that met for the second time also discussed bringing pedestrians and non motorised vehicles under the ambit of law with the intention of maintaining road safety. "In Motor Vehicle Act 1988 there is a meagre Rs 100 and Rs 300 penalties for big offences. Looking at it we decided that penalties should be increased for offences under Section 177 to Section 200, there was unanimity on this," Rajasthan's Transport and Public Works Department Minister Yoonus Khan, who heads the Group of Ministers committee told reporters here. He said penalties should be decided at the nationallevel to maintain the uniformity. The Union Government had constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) from states to strategise on how to reduce road accidents in India, which accounts for the highest number of road deaths globally. The committee has Transport Ministers from eightstates, including Karnataka, which after studyingdifferent aspects, will come up with their suggestions that would be implemented to reduce fatalities. Pointing out that the Supreme Court had constituted a committee on road safety which has issued some guidelines to the states, Khan said, "We discussed it. We also discussed why don't states along with the central government come out with a policy on road safety." "It will be better than beingmonitored by the Supreme Court's committee. We have discussed it, there is unanimity on this," he added. Noting that there are different forms in states for permit, licence and other transport related matters, Khan said the committee feels there there shouldbe uniformity in the forms and they should be simple. To further look into it, they had constituted a sub committee, comprising Commissioner Transport of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and Additional CommissionerTransport of Rajasthan. The Ministers' committee also came to a consensuson recommending that 10 per cent of Central Road Fundbe set aside for road safety and they be distributed amongstates. India accounts for five lakh road accidentsper annum in which 1.5 lakh people die while another 3 lakhare crippled for life. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister NitinGadkari had earlier saidroad mishaps cause an annual lossof about Rs 60,000 crore or 3 per cent of the GDP, to thecountry. Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy who was part of the meeting said the next meeting will be inHimachal Pradesh after which the committee's final report would be submitted to the Union Transport Ministry. Goa MinisterRamkrishna alias Sudin Dhavalikar said there was also discussion in the meeting on the issue of drunken driving and about not giving wholesale bar licenses within 100 to 200 meters from the national and state high way. "We will have to discuss on this further," he said. Stating that there was consensus on almost all topics that the committee discussed today, Khan said the second interim report would be submitted to the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways in the coming days. A special court today sent alleged Indian Mujahideen's key operative Abdul Wahid Siddibapa to NIA custody for seven days after the agency said he was required to be interrogated in connection with fund transfer to the terror outfit. 32-year-old Siddibapa, a resident of Bhatkal in Karnataka, was produced before Special NIA Judge Rakesh Pandit, who said, "It is appropriate to say that custodial interrogation is required. I grant his custody to NIA for seven days." In the application, The National Investigating Agency(NIA) sought 15 days custody of Siddibapa, submitting that he was in Dubai and had assumed the name of Khan and he was an important cadre of IM organisation for regularly transferring funds from Pakistan to UAE and then to India for terror activities here. The agency also told the court that the accused was in touch with several IM members through electronic devices. Advocate M S Khan, who appeared for Siddibapa, opposed the plea for NIA custody saying that the NIA has already concluded arguments on charge in the case in which the accused has been arrested. He also argued that his client's name never appeared anywhere in the charge sheet filed by NIA or in the list of proclaimed offenders or wanted persons. Siddibapa, cousin of Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, was held at Indira Gandhi International Airport today after his arrival from Dubai. According to NIA's FIR lodged in September 2012, members of IM, in association with other IM sleeper cells based in the country and others, were conspiring to commit terror acts, by making preparations for targeting various important and prominent places in India especially in Delhi by causing bomb blasts with the active aid and support from their Pakistan- based operatives and associates, thus, waging war against the government of India. NIA had alleged that Siddibapa played an active role as the main conduit in the chain of fund supply from Pakistan via Dubai to other IM operatives based in India for the commission of terrorist acts. The court had on November 6, 2013 issued a non-bailable warrant against Siddibapa which was extended time to time and thereafter, a Red Corner Notice was issued against him on December 3, 2013. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today asked BSF to be more alert and vigilant to prevent cow smuggling along the Indo-Bangla border and asserted that the criminal activity "has to stop." The minister also said he has asked the Union Home Secretary to create a national "think tank" which will work to ensure India's security in all its spheres. He added that a plan has been chalked out to ensure that the country's land borders are "absolutely safe" and "fool-proof", while the government is deploying smart technological solutions like laser walls and surveillance gadgets to keep security at the frontiers 'chust durust' (fit and fine) at all the times. In his keynote speech on the topic 'Border Management in Changing Scenario', organised by the BSF here, Singh said forces will have to be alert and alive to changing security challenges to ensure India's economic security and prosperity as some elements have cast their evil eye and perpetrated 'naapak' (unholy) activities against the country, including some neighbours. There are "some deficiencies" in border management, the Home Minister said, adding "we are trying to make the scenario more alert and secure". "Cow smuggling has been taking place for many years now... I congratulate BSF jawans for bringing down the numbers from 23 lakh to 3-3.5 lakh now. I will like to exhort the jawans and officers of the BSF that in order to stop cow smuggling, we will have be more alert and vigilant. This has to stop," Singh said. He said apart from these measures, it was essential to get the support of state governments on this issue and his ministry has written to them on the subject. The Home Minister said he was confident about the capabilities of the security forces who guard the frontiers of the country and based on this confidence he can say that no one can "dare" look upon Indian borders. "The incidents of infiltration have come down by about 50 per cent and a big number of terrorists have been killed. I give the credit for this to the bravery of our security personnel," he said. (REOPENS DEL43) Talking about India's economy, Singh said his government is "determined" to make it grow up to the level of "double digits". He said the growth rate of the Indian economy was about 3-3.5 per cent during independence in 1947 and it was then called the 'Hindu growth rate', which moves forward at the slow pace of a tortoise. In 1998, Singh added, the growth rate went up to about 8.4 per cent and kept steady for sometime. "We are proud of the respect that India commands across the globe ... World ranking agencies have called India the fastest growing economy," he said. Getting back on the subject of border security, Singh said despite deploying all technology solutions, troops will always remain the most important component to secure the frontiers. He asked the security agencies to remain cautious against the nefarious "proxy war" being conducted against them and the country by using information technology tools. The Home Minister said some time ago a committee was constituted to analyse the ground situation and suggest measures to fortify Indian borders, even as he asked BSF, the largest border guarding force of the country, to ensure that the men on ground are put to training "regularly" and that they do not suffer stress. "As soon as the committee (headed by former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta) submits report to us, we will take its cognisance," he said. "Also try, as much as you (BSF top brass) can, that troops deployed on the borders do not have to undergo any kind of stress. I don't need to tell you how to do this," he told the BSF brass, led by Director General K K Sharma, who attended the event here. He added that an amount of Rs 635 crore has been earmarked by the government for creating as many as 13 new Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) at various land borders. The Minister asked BSF men to make the border population feel like they are "family" to them and ensure all help to them. (Reopens DES13) Singh also gave gallantry and other service medals to BSF personnel as part of the annual investiture ceremony held to pay tributes to the founding father of the force K F Rustamji. In a veiled criticism of CPI(M), CPI today said the Left Front's electoral tactic of "non-aggression" with Congress in West Bengal assembly polls did not help communist parties and instead reduced their strength, as it called for analysis of the results. The CPI though hailed the "historic" return to power of CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala and thanked people of the southern state for their "positive" support to the Left forces. It also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his claim that the result in Assam has reflected acceptance of ideology and politics of the NDA major and termed the same as one "without basis". "CPI expresses shock at the unexpected defeat of the Left in West Bengal, in spite its best efforts to defeat the arrogant, anti-democratic TMC government. "TMC winning with bigger margin is definitely not a positive development. Apparently the electoral tactics of the Left Front of non-aggression with Congress in each others seat did not help the Left. "It further reduced the Left strength. This is to be deeply analysed by the Left and its partners," CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said in a statement without naming any party specifically. Hailing LDF's victory in Kerala "with a big majority in seats and votes", Reddy said the "consistent and massive" struggles of the Front on the issues of corruption and misgovernance had "exposed" Congress. "The programmes and policies of LDF won hearts of the people. Now the LDF should work to fulfill the aspirations of the people, maintain harmony and secular values of the Kerala," he said. Reddy refused to buy Modi's claim that the poll outcome in Assam, where the BJP put on an impressive show to clinch power for the first time, reflected acceptance of the saffron party's ideology and politics by people. He noted the BJP could not open account in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry but for the first time got one seat in Kerala assembly and bagged three seats in West Bengal. Reddy further observed there was drop in BJP's vote share in West Bengal, where the latter bagged three seats, from 17 per cent in 2014 Lok Sabha polls to 10 per cent in the assembly election. The CPI national executive will meet on May 28 and May 29 in Delhi to review the electoral results and decides the future course of action. As BJP made debut in north-east with its victory in Assam assembly polls, Modi yesterday hailed win as "historic" and "phenomenal" and said the mandate reflects growing popular support for the party's ideology of development and effort to transform the lives of people. Pinarayi Vijayan, known as a taskmaster and an organisation man to the core, has pipped his bitter rival V S Achuthanandan to the top post in Kerala politics, notwithstanding the spirited campaign by the 93-year-old leader to ensure the Left's victory in the Assembly election. Hailing from a poor toddy tapper's family, the 72-year-old CPI(M) leader belongs to the politically dominant Thiyya community like his party rival Achuthanandan, who is an Ezhava from South Kerala. Popularly known as 'Pinarayi', Vijayan is a party politburo member and perhaps the only communist leader in recent years to have had a complete control over the party for 16 years till he stepped down from the post of state secretary last year. A man of few words, he proved his organisational capability in the state during this period. He had a short stint as the state's power Minister during 1996-1998. The cloud of a graft case in connection with awarding of contract to a Canadian company SNC-Lavalin for modernisation of three hydel projects during that period haunted him with his rivals using it to target him. Vijayan has always maintained that it was a politically motivated case and there was no wrong doing. While his critics described him as a leader "with no smile on his face, and the most feared politician in Kerala", his party rivals have often accused him of deviating from the party line. During his rule as state secretary, the infighting in the party between Vijayan and his bete noire Achuthanandan came to the fore. His elevation to the Chief Minister's chair is also seen as a victory in the bitter power struggle with Achuthanandan, a popular leader who campaigned extensively during the Assembly election and was in the race for the top post. Vijayan was suspended from the politburo in 2007 along with Achuthanandan after the two openly criticised each other through the media. Later they were reinstated in the politburo. However, Achuthanandan was again dropped from the highest party body for breaching party discipline. Vijayan proved his mettle as an able administrator during his short stint as power minister in the LDF ministry headed by late E K Nayanar during the period 1996-1998. During his tenure, the state witnessed a giant leap in power generation and distribution capacities due to the productive measures taken by him as a minister. Apart from the SNC-Lavalin case, the murder of RMP leader T PChandrasekharan, a former CPI(M) leader, at Onjiyam in Kozhikode in 2012, when he was the party state secretary, dented Vijayan's image. Vijayan was born on March 21, 1944 to Mundayil Koran and Kalyani in Pinarayi in Kannur district, the place where the Communist movement in Kerala began. He became the Kannur district secretary of the Kerala Students Federation while studying for BA (Economics) in Brennen College in Thalassery and also worked as a handloom weaver after his schooling for a year before being able to continue his higher studies. He went on to become its state secretary and, later, state president of the KSF. In 1968, at the age of 24, Vijayan even found a place in the Kannur district committee of the CPI(M). Two years later, the party gifted Vijayan a sure ticket at Koothuparambu and he became MLA at the age of 26. Vijayan was elected to the state Legislative Assembly three times later in 1977, 1991 and 1996. He rose to prominence when he won in 1977 and again in 1991 from the same constituency. With better grip on the party, he became the CPI(M) district secretary in Kannur in 1978. Vijayan, who took part in various agitations, was subjected to torture during the Emergency and during earlier agitations. He once recalled that six policemen continuously beat him on the night of September 28, 1975 till he fainted in the lockup. After his release, he came to the Assembly and made a powerful speech holding up the blood-stained shirt he wore during the assault on him in the police lock-up. His speech attacking then Home Minister and senior Congress leader late K Karunakaran was considered to be a glorious chapter in the legislative papers. Britain's longest-serving Indian-origin MP Keith Vaz today kicked off a curry war with senior-most Indian-origin minister Priti Patel as part of a debate to leave or remain in the European Union (EU), accusing her of playing "divide and rule politics of the worst kind". The Labour party MP from Leicester East accused Patel of playing "divide and rule" politics by claiming Britain's curry houses could be saved in the event of 'Brexit'. "I was furious to see Priti Patel claiming that leaving the EU and shutting the door on immigrants from Poland and elsewhere would save Britain's curry houses. This is divide and rule politics of the worst kind," said Vaz, who favours the 'remain campaign' in the debate ahead of the referendum on June 23. "The truth is that the stoking of anti-Eastern European sentiment is a new form of racism that is no less bad than that experienced by previous waves of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent... Giving in to rhetoric that sets one community against another would be to take a step towards a less tolerant and more mean-spirited Britain," he said. The chair of the influential Home Affairs Select Committee was reacting to Patel's 'Save the British Curry' campaign earlier this week, when she had declared that "curryhouses are becoming the victims of the EU's uncontrolled immigration rules" and called on the Indian diaspora to "Vote Leave" in the referendum. "I agree with Priti that there is a crisis happening in our country's curry houses. It is deeply alarming that on average two are closing every week. But this has nothing to do with the EU and everything to do the policies espoused by Priti Patel, who just happens to be an employment minister and the government's 'Diaspora Champion'," Vaz countered. He believes the crux of the problem lies is the current visa scheme, which has set a salary threshold of 29,750 pounds for chefs, much higher than the average salary for cooks in curry houses. "This makes it extremely difficult for the nation's curry restaurants to recruit chefs from abroad. This could easily be solved in a stroke of Priti Patel's pen by lowering the minimum salary requirement for chefs, something I have campaigned for along with MPs from all parties. "But Priti Patel has failed to address this vital issue and is now conveniently using the EU as a scapegoat," he said. Curry is used to refer to food originating in the Indian subcontinent and covers restaurants owned by Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin immigrants. Vaz's party colleague Seema Malhotra, Labour's shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, also echoed his views. "This Curry House con trick from Priti Patel demonstrates shocking hypocrisy. As a minister who attends Cabinet, it is within her power to influence government policy in this area, but she would rather try to blame Europe for the Tories' failure on immigration," she said. moved further northeastwards and lay centred about 50 km south-southeast off Gopalpur coast today causing rains coupled with gusty surface winds to lash several parts of Odisha and affect normal life. The system is likely to move further northeastwards along and off north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm in next 24 hours, the meteorological centre said. Thereafter, the system is likely to move east-northeastwards and cross south Bangladesh coast between Khepupara and Cox's Bazar, close to Chittagong tomorrow evening as a cyclonic storm, it said. Under its impact, rain and thundershower lashed many places in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts in Odisha disrupting normal life, the weatherman said. While the port town of Paradip received maximum rainfall of 96 mm today, 85 mm rainfall was recorded in Puri, followed by 63 mm in Chandbali, 52 mm in Balasore, 31 mm in Cuttack, 29 mm in Bhubaneswar, 16 mm in Gopalpur and 5 mm in Baripada, it said. The Met office predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places with extremely heavy rainfall at one or two places over coastal Odisha and heavy to very heavy at one or two places over interior Odisha during the next 24 hours. In view of the weather conditions 'local cautionary signal number three' was replaced by 'danger signal number five' at all ports in Odisha. The MeT office said there would be gusty cyclonic surface wind with 90 kmph to 100 kmph speed and gusting up to 110 kmph in south Odisha coast and 60kmph to 70 kmph, even 80 kmph in north Odisha. The sea condition is very likely to be high to very high along and off Odisha coast, it said adding fishermen have advised not to venture into sea off the Odisha Coast. As a precautionary measure, the state government has already issued an alert in at least 12 districts in coastal, southern and northern regions asking authorities to prepare for any eventuality, Chief Secretary A P Padhi said. The system, however, brought respite from the scorching heat in the state as maximum temperature dropped to 37.1 degree C at Hirakud and 26.2 degree C in Bhubaneswar during the day, the Met office said. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has directed all the departments to remain alert to face any eventuality due to cyclone 'Roanu'. He held a video conference meeting with the collectors of coastal and southern districts yesterday. Meanwhile, the state government has cancelled the leaves of government employees today and tomorrow which may be extended depending on the situation. Padhi said 10 teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and fire service personnel have been kept ready and the government will arrange more personnel if required. Steps have been taken for arranging food, medicine and other essentials at the cyclone shelters where people from vulnerable areas can be shifted when necessary, a senior official said. Legal proceedings to extradite a man accused of hijacking an EgyptAir plane and diverting it to the Mediterranean island officially got underway today. A Nicosia court received the official documentation requesting the extradition of Egyptian Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa, 58 to face trial in Cairo. Cypriot authorities had to wait six weeks to acquire all the necessary paperwork from Egypt so the justice minister could make the request before the Nicosia court. The court will now decide whether there is sufficient cause to send the accused back to Egypt. Proceedings were adjourned until May 26 to give the defence time to study Mostafa's initial statement to police and a list of demands submitted during the March 29 hijacking. Unlike his previous two appearances before the court, Mostafa was not wearing a political slogan on his shirt. His defence lawyer Robertos Vrahimi complained to the court that his client had his top forcibly removed at the prison under protest and was thus denied his freedom of expression. Last week he entered the court wearing a polo-neck with the message: "RELEASE THE 63 EGYPTIAN GIRLS YOU LIARS". He misspelt Egyptian - 'Egyption'. During another appearance last month he wore a white t-shirt with the message 'Cici killer' emblazoned on the front. It was unclear whether that was a reference to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Mostafa will fight his extradition on the grounds he will not receive a fair trial in Egypt, arguing he could be tortured or face the death penalty if sent back. Cypriot authorities have said they have written assurances from Cairo that Mostafa will not face the death penalty when he stands trial in Egypt. However, Mostafa's request for asylum has been refused as Cypriot authorities deem him a "perpetrator of serious crimes". Mostafa is accused of using a fake suicide belt to seize the Alexandria-to-Cairo flight on March 29 and force it to land in Cyprus. The Egyptian state prosecutor's office had asked for him to be handed over under a 1996 extradition treaty. Mostafa, described by authorities as psychologically unstable, has said he acted out of desperation to see his Cypriot ex-wife and children. According to police, Mostafa gave a voluntary statement admitting the hijacking. His ex-wife has been quoted by Cypriot media as describing their five years of marriage as a "hell". The hijacking ended peacefully with Mostafa's arrest. Singapore's Supreme Court has given a last-minute reprieve to a Malaysian murder convict hours before he was scheduled to be executed today, the latest twist in what has been a series of legal ups-and-downs. Kho Jabing was to be hanged early today, according to his family and lawyer, but the Supreme Court granted a stay on his execution after accepting an appeal by an activist lawyer, Jeannette Aruldoss Chong, late yesterday. The court "granted an interim order staying the execution pending the hearing of the appeal," said a Supreme Court spokesperson, who cannot be identified under court rules. Kho is accused of using a tree branch to assault and rob a construction worker in 2008. The worker died from multiple skull fractures and Kho was convicted and sentenced to death in 2010. The appeal, to be heard by the Court of Appeal later Friday, would be the 31-year-old's last hope. Over the course of his legal battles during the last six years he has been sentenced to death, won appeals, resentenced to life imprisonment and caning, and again sentenced to death. If the latest appeal is rejected the court will set a new date for execution, which in Singapore is by hanging, and is normally carried out before dawn at the Changi prison. Singapore's president has already rejected granting clemency. Yesterday, the Court of Appeal, Singapore's highest, had dismissed a different appeal by another defense attorney Gino Hardial Singh, who had suggested bias on the ground that one of court's judges had ruled against her client on two conflicting occasions. The European Union and Amnesty International have called on Singapore to grant Kho clemency. According to the prison records, there were four executions carried out in 2015, one for murder and three for drug-related matters. In 2012, Singapore amended its laws on the death penalty, making it no longer mandatory for those convicted of drug trafficking or murder to face the gallows. Faced with strong opposition from locals, Bhumata Brigade chief Trupti Desai today returned without entering the sanctum sanctorum of Kapaleshwar (Shiva) temple here. She was escorted out by the police for her safety, Deputy Commissioner of Police Shrikant Dhivre said. Except the priests, both men and women are not allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, situated on the banks of river Godavari. Desai, who has shot to fame with her agitations against the ban on women's entry in core areas of some prominent temples in Maharashtra and also at Haji Ali Durgah in Mumbai, met some trustees of the Kapaleshwar temple, said Dhivre. She left in view of the opposition by the people who had gathered there, the officer said. The temple premises were full of devotees who opposed Desai's plan to enter the temple's core area. Police had provided tight security, Dhivre added. Doctors working in government hospitals in Delhi today threatened to go on strike from May 26 if the government does not meet their demands regarding salaries and allowances. The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), which is an umbrella organisation of 15,000 resident doctors across 41 government hospitals in the capital, have now written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to revise the recommendations which they termed were "particularly discriminating to doctors". FORDA which has strongly been opposing the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission since November last year, in its letter to Modi said, "When the 7th CPC was constituted we doctors were very hopeful that our demands will be looked after, which is increasing Non-Practising Allowance (NPA) to 40 per cent from existent 25 per cent, instead it has been reduced to 20 per cent. "The basic pay and NPA were merged together while calculating House Rental Allowance (HRA) earlier, but this has now been omitted and HRA will be calculated only with basic pay resulting in less than the desired salary." The letter further said that, "The CPC has observed that availability of skilled healthcare professionals also poses a key constraint in expanding the health service delivery. "Against the desirable density of 85 physicians per lakh of population, the availability is 57 physicians. But the CPC has only observed this scarcity and has done little only to boost the morale of the doctors." FORDA in its letter also demanded uniform pay scales, night shift allowances which currently exists for nursing staff in government hospitals and the formulation of a uniform central residency scheme for the resident doctors of India. Dr Pankaj Solanki, President of FORDA, said the recommendations are strongly discriminatory and are against the interest of the medical profession and that retention of doctors in government hospitals will become difficult if they get implemented. "Government is not even bothered to listen to our demands. We do not want to go on strike but if our demands are not met we would be forced to go on strike from May 26," he said. A homeopathic doctor was today hacked to death and a professor was seriously wounded by machete- wielding Islamic State militants in Bangladesh amid a series of brutal attacks on secular activists and minorities by Islamists. Sanaur Rahman, 58, a homeopathic doctor, was riding home on his motorbike along with Saifuzzaman, assistant professor of Bangla literature at Islami University, while they were attacked by the assailants in Kushtia town this morning. Rahman died on the spot while Saifuzzaman has been shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition, police said. The deceased along with Saifuzzaman was going to his native village at Shishirmath to give free treatment to local people, Sahabuddin Choudhury, officer-in-charge of Kushtia Model Police Station, said. They were intercepted by three to four people and attacked with machetes indiscriminately, he said, adding the assailants attacked them in a similar fashion that bears the hallmark of previous murders of bloggers and secular activists. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. "Fighters from the Islamic State assassinated a doctor who called to Christianity in Kushtia, western Bangladesh," the IS-affiliated Amaq agency said in a brief Arabic message, according to SITE Intelligence Group. Proloy Chisim, superintendent of police (SP) of Kushtia, said that they were also probing whether personal enmity was behind the murder. Both the doctor and the professor were fans of a mystical musical tradition known as Baul, which is popular in western Bangladesh. Rahman also used to arrange musical concerts based on Baul ideology at his native village every Friday, his relative said. There have been systematic assaults in Bangladesh in recent weeks especially targeting minorities, secular bloggers, intellectuals and foreigners. Earlier this month, a 65-year-old Muslim Sufi preacher was hacked to death by unidentified machete-wielding assailants in northwest Bangladesh, two weeks after a liberal university professor was killed in a similar attack claimed by the dreaded ISIS terror group. The country's first gay magazine editor was brutally murdered along with a friend in his flat in Dhaka by Islamists two days after the professor's murder. Less than two weeks ago, a Hindu tailor was hacked to death by machete-wielding ISIS militants in his shop in central Bangladesh. Egyptian military scouring the Mediteranean Sea today found the wreckage of the crashed EgyptAir aircraft, a day after the ill-fated plane en route to Cairo from Paris went down with 66 people on board, with authorities hinting at a terror angle to the deadly incident. "Egyptian aircraft and navy vessels have found personal belongings of passengers and parts of the wreckage 290 kilometres north of Alexandria," Brigadier General Mohamed Samir said on his Facebook page. The military searchers had intensified their search for the missing EgyptAir Flight MS804 after earlier reports that its wreckage had been found turned out to be false. The discovery of the wreckage near the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria comes as the navy continues to sweep the area looking for the plane's black box and bodies. There were no signs of survivors after the Airbus A320 "swerved and then plunged" into the Mediterranean. The plane, on its fifth journey of the day, was travelling at 37,000 feet when it disappeared from radar. It had made a stop in Tunisia before flying to Paris. Soon after the wreckage was found, the Egyptian presidency expressed its "deep sadness and extreme regret" over the deaths of the people on board the jet, in the first official recognition of the tragic crash of the missing plane. The plane lost contact with radar early yesterday above the Mediterranean Sea about 280 kms from the Egyptian seacoast at 02:30am (local time) as the flight was expected to arrive Cairo Airport at 03:15 am (local time). The plane was carrying 56 passengers and 10 crew: two cockpit crew, five cabin crew and three security personnel. EgyptAir said two babies and one child were on board. Among the passengers were 30 Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis, and one person each from the UK, Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria and Canada. The Egyptian navy, air force and army were searching the sea to the north of Egypt's coast, with French, Greek, British and US support. The plane made "sudden swerves" before dropping off radar over the Mediterranean, Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos said. It made a 90-degree turn left, and then dropped from 37,000 feet to 15,000 feet before swerving 360 degrees right. The airline, identifying both the captain and co-pilot, said that captain Mohamed Said Shoukair had 6,275 flying hours, including 2,101 on the A320; while the copilot, Mohamed Mamdouh Ahmed, had 2,766. The plane was manufactured in 2003. Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathi said technical failures and terror each are possible explanations. "But if you analyse this situation properly, the possibility of having a different action aboard, of having a terror attack, is higher than having a technical problem," Fathi said. The tragedy raised fears of a repeat of the bombing of a Russian passenger jet by the Islamic State over Egypt last October that killed all 224 people on board. French President Francois Hollande yesterday said that it was clear the plane had crashed, and authorities in both Paris and Cairo opened investigations. In a statement issued by Sisi's office, he also ordered an investigative committee formed by the civil aviation ministry to immediately start probing the causes of the plane's disappearance. He ordered the civil aviation ministry, the army's search and rescue centre, the navy, and air force to take all necessary measures to locate debris from the jet. Investigators now need to unravel the mystery why the plane swerved suddenly and plummeted into the sea. French and Airbus investigators prepared to meet their Egyptian counterparts in Cairo to lay the groundwork for their probe. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told French television there was "absolutely no indication" of why the flight came down. "We're looking at all possibilities, but none is being favoured over the others because we have absolutely no indication on the causes," he said. In conflicting reports, EgyptAir initially said that Egyptian Foreign Ministry has "confirmed finding the wreckage" but later withdrew the claim. EgyptAir's Vice Chairman Ahmed Adel had earlier told CNN that when searchers got close to debris found in the Mediterranean Sea they realised it did not come from the missing airliner. He added that maintenance checks on the plane had been done on time and "no snags were reported". The Election Commission of India has decided to postpone elections to Aravakurichi and Thanjavur assembly constituencies by three more weeks. Orginally scheduled to be held on May 16 along with other constituencies in Tamil Nadu, polling to the two segments was deferred till May 23 due to charges of bribing of voters. Challenging the decision to hold it on May 23, BJP and PMK had moved the High Court, seeking further postponement of polling. Today, the EC made a submission in the High Court about further deferring when petitions filed by a BJP candidate contesting in Thanjavur and PMK candidate of Aravakurichi came up for hearing. The Commission said it will make an assessment of the situation in the two constituencies and also consult all candidates before holding polls in the two constituencies. After recording the statement by EC counsel Niranjan Rajagopalan, a vacation bench comprising Justices K Kayanasundaram and D Krishnakumar adjourned the cases to June for further hearing. BJP's Thanjavur candidate M S Ramalingam and PMK's Aravakurichi candidate M Baskaran had moved the court,saying that deferring polls by merely by a week would not serve the desired purpose. Though EC did not give any specific reason for its decision to postpone the elections, it had told the court earlier it had formed a seven-member committee to probe charges of money distribution and announcement of freebies for voters. In his petition, Ramalingam submitted that the Returning Officer himself had recommended postponement of polls due to alleged corrupt poll practices. He also alleged in the court that that a party candidate had distributed money to voters in Thanjavur constituency and he was apprhended by the Returning Officer and his team on May 14 after complaints were made. On the Returning Officer's complaint to EC, cases were registered and some party cadres arrested, too, he said. He wanted the court to order postponement of the polling to the two constituencies. Similarly, PMK's Aravankurichi candidate Baskaran wanted a court direction to EC to conduct a thorough inquiry into the charges before taking appropriate decision on conducting elections on a different date. Rabu Manohar, counsel for RSS, welcomed the decision and said the Commission must finalise a new date after consulting all parties concerned. DMK leader M K Stalin, who had campaigned in Aravakurichi on Wednesday, reached Thanjavur today for electioneering by the time the Election Commission decision was conveyed in the High Court. Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of European Research Council (ERC), will visit India next week to raise awareness among top Indian scientists about funding opportunities in Europe. The ERC delegation will visit several top universities and research institutes in Bengaluru and New Delhi such as the Indian Institute of Science, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research from May 23 to 27. They will also present funding up to 2.5 million euro (around Rs 18.75 crore) per grant to both researchers and university representatives. The team will meet officials from Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) and Department of Biotechnology of the Ministry of S&T (DBT) to discuss ways to promote greater scientific exchange between ERC grantees and Indian researchers. "For the ERC it is key to successfully encourage more scientific exchange between Indian and European top researchers, with the purpose of spurring new ideas and sharing expertise that ultimately will open the way to ground-breaking discoveries," a statement from the European Union said. Bourguignon will also participate in the Global Research Council (GRC) meeting from May 26 to 27, for the first time being held in New Delhi and co-hosted by Indian and British research funding agencies. The GRC is a discussion forum for heads of research funding agencies from around the world to share best practice and learn from each other. "The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the first European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. Since 2007, the ERC has awarded nearly 11 billion euro (around INR 82,500 crore) to more over 6,000 scientists and scholars from all over the world, both early-career and senior. Of these, 34 are Indian researchers working in prestigious institutions across Europe. The ERC wishes to see this number increase," the statement added. Former Manipur MLAs, who had resigned following passage of three contentious bills in the state Assembly a year ago, today urged the Centre not to give its consent to the "anti-tribal" bills. "We are here to apprise the central leadership, the President of India about the trauma we are facing today. The three bills were passed without referring to the hill people, as is the rule," Samuel Risom, one of the four MLAs, told reporters here. "With these enactments, they want to destroy the hill people and tribals. They want to give a free hand to others with vested interests to purchase land in the state," he said. The Manipur Assembly had passed three contentious bills--the Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015, the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015, and the Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015, last year. The former MLAs belonging to Naga People's Front (NPF)-- Dikho, Alexander Pou, Nunghlung Victor and Samuel Risom - had resigned, alleging "procedural lapses" and that the bills were "against the interest of the tribals". "The bills were passed within minutes without any debate and they called it 'unanimously passed'. We were not even given time to put forth our concerns," Risom said. "But, at least by our resignation, people are now aware about the situation of tribals in Manipur," he said. NPF Manipur state President Awangbow Newmai complained of the indifference shown to the "injured" state of Manipur. "It is time the Government of India intervenes and sees to it that normalcy is restored in Manipur and interests of all sections of people are safeguarded and that everyone is happy. And if otherwise, Manipur is going to face a very serious problem," he said. The former MLAs and other NPF leaders yesterday met Union minister Kiren Rijiju with their plea. They also want to meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister Rajnath Singh. After the passage of the contentious bills, tribals had launched protests and clashed with security personnel alleging the bills will allow the "outsiders" to snatch away their land rights. Nine people, including an 11-year-old boy, were killed during the agitation. Exim Bank on Friday reported a 56.5 per cent plunge in net profit to Rs 316 crore for the fiscal 2016, despite logging a healthy growth in loan disbursals, which crossed Rs 1 lakh crore mark for the first time. The lender had posted a profit of Rs 726 crore in FY15. The company did not attribute any reasons for the massive drop in profits, but said its bad loans grew by 26 basis points to 0.86 per cent during the reporting year. Exim Bank Chairman and Managing Director Yaduvendra Mathur said the bank's loan portfolio grew 18 per cent to Rs 1,02,537 crore, thus crossing the Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time. He said net worth of the bank too increased by 16 per cent to Rs 11,486 crore, while non-funded portfolio rose 6.5 per cent to Rs 11,555 crore and the total business increased 17 per cent to Rs 2,07,409 crore. Mathur said, as of March end, the bank's lines of credit stood at 203, covering 63 countries with credit commitments of over $14.26 billion. During the year, the bank inked nine LoCs amounting to $2.61 billion with Bangladesh, Cote d'Ivoire, Congo, Guyana, Guinea, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Myanmar. During the year, it funded 95 project export contracts in 39 countries by 50 exporters, aggregating to Rs 22,551 crore, while under the buyer's credit it sanctioned $2.19 billion for 22 projects valued $2.49 billion. The bank has also given in-principle commitment to support several projects and the current active pipeline includes 36 proposals aggregating $5.11 billion under this scheme. During the year, its approvals under the overseas investment finance programme amounted to Rs 5,264 crore, comprising Rs 5,217 crore towards acquisition/setting up of 26 overseas ventures and Rs 47 crore towards renewal of existing facilities. During the year, the bank raised debt worth Rs 23,183 crore and foreign currency resources of Rs 13,781 crore. Five pilgrims including three women were killed and a minor boy was seriously injured today when the car they were travelling in hit a culvert and overturned on Ujjain-Badnagar road near here, police said. The victims were relatives of local Congress leader in Ratlam, Aditi Davesar, and were returning from the Simhastha Kumbh mela which is underway here, Badnagar Police Station Inspector Gopal Parmar told PTI. Three of the victims --Prabha Dave (60), Asha Sharma (60) and Ajay Mishra (15)-- died on the spot while Usha Dogra (65) and driver Fareed succumbed to injuries on their way to the hospital, he said. One of the injured identified as Rudraksh Dave (15), is in a critical state and has been rushed to a hospital in neighbouring Indore district. Finance ministers and central bankers from the kicked off meetings in Japan today that could highlight a divide among the club of rich nations over currency policy and how to rev up global growth. The two days of talks will see host Japan keen to win an endorsement for its position that fiscal stimulus is the way to kickstart the world economy, after a rally in the yen hit the country's exporters and worsened a slowdown at home. But Tokyo's threat of a market intervention to reverse the rally could put it on a collision course with other nations, including the United States and Germany, which have ruled out such moves. French Finance Minister Michel Sapin, attending the talks at a famous hot spring resort in a region badly damaged by the 2011 quake-tsunami disaster, also waved off the idea of countries gaining a trade advantage by manipulating their own currencies. "Today we are in a cooperation phase, and not in an intervention or a currency war phase," he told AFP. The group also including members from Britain, Canada, and Italy will try to hammer out a strategy for keeping a global recession at bay. In April, the Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its forecast for world growth for the third time in less than a year, as a slowdown in China and other emerging economies raised fears that the worst was yet to come. "Proactive financial policies and monetary easing are necessary, but not enough," said Ivan Tselichtchev, an economics professor at Japan's Niigata University of Management. "The G7 has to do more to pursue structural reforms, to raise economic efficiency,...To boost investment, including investment from large emerging countries," Tselichtchev added. Among those attending the talks this week are US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, and IMF chief Christine Lagarde. The group will meet behind closed doors and tour an area hit by the quake-tsunami disaster on Friday afternoon. Terrorist financing and offshore tax havens at the heart of the Panama Papers investigation will be discussed. A debt relief deal for Greece and Britain's referendum on its future in the European Union could also be on the agenda. "As uncertainty about the world has increased, macroeconomic policies and structural reforms" will be discussed, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso told an opening reception yesterday. "And as we saw with the Panama Papers situation, we are keenly aware that there is a lot of attention focused on things such as tax avoidance and money laundering," he added. However, finding agreement on how the group can stimulate their own economies, and global growth, could be a challenge. Goa government today announced that even as its health insurance scheme, Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva (DDSS), would be formally launched on May 30, it would only become operational from August 15 this year. State Health Minister Francis D'Souza said, "The scheme would be rolled out on May 30, but after going through all the process, the actual benefits would be available only from August 15 this year onwards." The DDSS is expected to cover 447 diseases, including psychological and chronic lifestyle problems, besides the conventional illnesses. Institutions like AIIMS and Tata Memorial Hospital have also been roped in for the scheme, where the patients can undergo treatment and get financial reimbursement. State Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said the scheme might go for further expansion, wherein residents of neighbouring Karwar (Karnataka) and Sindhudurg (Maharashtra) districts can also avail the benefits of the insurance cover. "Health Ministers from the concerned states of Maharashtra and Karnataka are in talks with us, wherein they are ready to pay the required installment to the insurance company for health cover to their citizens," Parsekar said. "We have assured them that their demand would be looked into in due course," he added. State cabinet on Friday approved the scheme which will be implemented by M/s United India Insurance Company Limited. As per the note circulated in the cabinet, the insurance cover up to 2.5 lakh per annum for a family of three or less members and up to 4 lakh for a family of four and more would be provided. The scheme is intended to benefit all the resident population of Goa, except the serving government employees and their dependents. The Bombay High Court today stayed till May 25 execution of a non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued against Pankaj Bhujbal, son of former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, in a money-laundering case. The special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases has issued the NBW. On a petition filed by Pankaj, Justice Ajay Gadkari of the High Court stayed the warrant till May 25 when the plea of 10 other accused in the case, challenging non-bailable warrants and seeking anticipatory bail, would be heard. Two days ago, Pankaj had moved the Supreme Court which asked him to approach the High Court first. The PMLA court issued the NBW against Pankaj and others on April 27 after taking cognisance of the charge-sheet filed by Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with Maharashtra Sadan scam and some other cases. The agency arrested Chhagan Bhujbal in the Maharashtra Sadan case -- about alleged corruption in awarding of contract for the state guesthouse in Delhi -- earlier this year. Chhagan Bhujbal is now in judicial custody. The charge-sheet names Chhagan Bhujbal, his nephew Sameer, Pankaj, D B Realty, Balwa group of companies, Neelkamal Realtors and Builders, Neelkamal Central Apartment LLP and Kakade Infrastructure. The special women's court here today adjourned the hearing in actress Jiah Khan suicide case till June 10 in response to her mother Rabiya Khan's plea. Rabiya Khan had sought the adjournment saying that her petition demanding a probe by a special investigation team was pending before the Bombay High Court which was likely to hear it on June 7. Her petition in the High Court says she is not satisfied with the CBI probe. Judge A S Shende of the trial court today adjourned the case to June 10. On May 5, the prosecutor had told the court that Bollywood actor Sooraj Pancholi, the accused in the case, should be charged with murder and rape. CBI has charged him with abetting Jiah's suicide. According to the central agency, the two were in an "intimate relationship". On June 3, 2013, Jiah was found by her mother hanging from the ceiling of her house. As per the charge-sheet, Jiah had returned from Sooraj's house that morning, where she had been staying for the previous two days. CBI has alleged that a three-page note written by Jiah before her death narrates the physical abuse and mental torture she suffered at the hands of Sooraj. The Bombay High Court had transferred the case to CBI from the Mumbai police after Rabiya filed a petition alleging that her daughter had been murdered and sought a probe by the central agency. (Reopens LGB4) Rabiya says in her petition in the Bombay High Court, filed yesterday, that a probe by SIT is needed because CBI wrongly concurred with the finding of Mumbai police that it was a suicide and not a homicidal death. The petition came up for hearing before a vacation judge in the High Court yesterday who said his court had no time to hear the matter and asked her to approach another court next week. Accordingly, Rabiya's petition would come up for hearing on May 23 in the HC, her lawyer Subhash Jha told Actor Randeep Hooda hopes following the release of biopic "Sarbjit", Hamid Nehal Ansari, a Mumbai engineer jailed in Pakistan for alleged espionage, will get a speedy justice. Ansari had crossed over illegally to Pakistan from Afghanistan in 2012 reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online and then went missing. He was later arrested and tried by a Pakistani military court, which pronounced him guilty of espionage. "It's three and half years now and Hamid has not got any justice yet. I am sure he is not a spy. He had gone to meet his girlfriend there. It's not only Hamid, there are many innocent people in jails of both the countries. They should be released soon and our film 'Sarbjit' will help them to get justice," he told reporters here. Randeep, 39, who essayed the role of Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh in the film, said the character taught him to enjoy life to the fullest. "My takeaway from the role is that I have become more positive in life. I am lucky that I am getting food to eat and Fresh air to breathe. I have learnt that we should not be deterred by tough situations and we should always appreciate our family." For playing Sarabjit, Randeep had undergone a massive physical transformation. "I feel it was more emotionally and mentally challenging. Sarabjit spent 22 years of his life in Pakistan jail. So, it was quite tough for me to understand the nuances of his psyche." Directed by Omung Kumar of "Mary Kom" fame, "Sarbit" starred Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Richa Chadha in pivotal roles. The film released today. Industry body CCCI today expressed hope that the newly elected CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala would fulfil the developmental needs of the state, including timely commissioning of Kochi Metro Rail Project and supporting the plantation and rubber sectors. Presenting its wish-list before the LDF leadership, Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) said it is confident that the new government would cater to the pending demands of trade and industry in Kerala. "The chamber hopes that the government will do everything possible to ensure that the Metro project is commissioned on time. "We hope that the new Cabinet will seriously consider the fund requirements for KMRL so that it will accelerate the overall progress of pending work, including land acquisition," a release issued by the chamber said here. It also sought the government's intervention to assist the domestic rubber market. "The 5 per cent tax waiver has led to a minor increase in the rubber prices. But this has ended in March 2015. We urge the new Finance Minister to extend this to the end of the next two financial years," it said. The chamber noted that Kerala accounts for 90 per cent of rubber plantations in the country, spread over 6.5 lakh hectares, engaging over 1.1 million farmers. It also urged the finance and revenue ministries to provide adequate funds for the state's plantation sector. Noting that the development of the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarapdam was a top priority for the outgoing government, the chamber hoped that the new government too would provide every assistance to the Cochin Port, ICTT and the Petronet LNG project at Puduvypeen. "The government should push ahead with the 'city gas connection' phase as it will be a relief for thousands of consumers who are troubled by the present LPG distribution," it added. Meanwhile, trade bodies Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Confederation of Indian Industry today congratulated AIADMK Chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for emerging victorious in the state elections. "SICCI congratulates Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for her meritorious victory for the second consecutive term. This is a unique achievement and the people of Tamil Nadu have given the mandate for the second term which stamps her pro-active welfare policies," SICCI President Palani G Periasamy said in a press release. CII Southern Region Chairman Ramesh Datla said, "The landmark victory of AIADMK led by J Jayalalithaa strongly demonstrates the popular support for her proactive and inclusive governance in the last five years. Ignoring objections of the White House, the Republican majority House of Representatives has approved the National Defense Authorisation Act which blocks $450 million aid to for failing to take action against the dreaded Haqqani network. The NDAA 2017 (H R 4909) was passed by the US House of Representative (277-147) Wednesday night, which among included approval of three major amendments reflecting the strong anti-Pak sentiment prevailing among the US lawmakers. As a result, as per the House version of the Bill, the Obama Administration must certify that has met the aim before releasing $450 million in aid. " has shown progress in arresting and prosecuting Haqqani network senior leaders and mid-level operatives". Congressman Dana Rohrabacher's amendment adds an additional requirement that the Secretary of Defense certify to Congress that Pakistan is not using its military or any funds or equipment provided by the US to persecute minority groups seeking political or religious freedom. The NDAA-2017 also includes the sense of the Congress that Shakil Afridi is an hero and that the Government of Pakistan should release him immediately from prison. NDAA-2017 now needs to be passed by the Senate, before it can be sent to the White House for the US President Barack Obama to sign it into law. Early this week, the White House had expressed strong objections to several provisions of the bill, including the one related to $450 million in aid to Pakistan. "The Administration objects to section 1212 (of HR 4919), which would make $450 million of CSF (Coalition Support Fund) to Pakistan ineligible for the Secretary of Defense's waiver authority unless the Secretary provides a certification to the Congressional defense committees," the White House said in its statement. "We share the Committee's concerns regarding the threat posed to our forces and interests in Afghanistan by the Haqqani Network, and we continue to engage with Pakistan at the highest levels regarding the need for concerted action specifically against the group," the White House said. However, Congressman Mark Thornberry, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee late Wednesday night decided to ignore the White House's objection to this and asked the members of the House to approve these amendments in block, for which no voting took place. (Reopens FGN 8) Speaking on the floor of the House, Congressman Ted Poe Last year, alleged that the Haqqani Network and the Taliban killed more Afghan civilians and troops than in any other year since the Taliban was toppled in 2001. "My amendment adds a fourth condition on the aid to Pakistan. This new condition requires the administration to certify that Pakistan has shown progress in arresting and prosecuting Haqqani Network senior leaders and mid-level operatives," he said. "This forces Pakistan to make a choice: either go after the Haqqani Network in a public way that it has never done before or lose hundreds of millions of dollars of US aid," Poe said. The amendment moved by Rohrabacher makes it mandatory for the administration to certify that Pakistan is not using its military or any funds or equipment provided by the United States to persecute minority groups "seeking political or religious freedom," including the Balochi, Sindhi, and Hazara ethnic groups and minority religious groups, including Christian, Hindu, and Ahmadiyya Muslim. "It is time to end this irrational support that we give to Pakistan," Rohrabacher demanded on the floor of the House arguing that the US has given more than $30 billion in aid since 2002. "It is only prudent that we increase certification required to release American military or economic aid to Pakistan," he said. "It behooves us not to finance Pakistan's brutal suppression of ethnic groups and religious minorities like the Baloch and the Sindhis who are under attack today simply for seeking their political and religious freedom," he said. "I would ask my colleagues to join with me and to stand also with the people around the world. Send a message: If you stand with the US, we will not forget you; we will stand with you. The people of the US and the US Congress stand tall with you and appreciate that youhave risked your lives in a way that saved American lives," Rohrabacher said. Six central universities - one each in the north, south, east, west, central and northeast - are likely to start a department of yoga from the forthcoming academic session. According to a report submitted by a HRD-appointed panel on setting up yoga departments in universities, the government should in the first phase begin from six varsities. These are Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in Uttarakhand, Visva Bharati in Shantiniketan, Central University of Kerala, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University in Amarkantak, Manipur University in Imphal and, either the Central University of Rajasthan in Ajmer or Central University of Gujarat in Gandhinagar. The panel, headed by H R Nagendra who is also regarded as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's yoga guru, had recommended six kind of courses ranging from certificate courses to Bachelor's, Masters and PhDs. The committee had also recommended that expertise of Ramdev's Patanjali Yogpeeth, S-VYASA Yoga University headed by Nagendra and some other institutes could be used for setting up of these departments. The panel had also recommended a grant of Rs 10 crore to each university over five years for setting up of these departments. In addition, training sessions are also being conducted in coaching institutes in Kota, Rajasthan; private schools, colleges and universities across the country. Yoga for all - Apart from India, Yoga sessions are being conducted in 6 continents and over 80 countries. A large number of trainers are being prepared to offer free yoga sessions in 50,000 locations across USA. - In a massive event, more than 5000 people were trained in a single session at YMCA in Chennai on 5th June. They are now equipped to conduct free yoga sessions wherever required. - As a run up to the International Day of Yoga, Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore hosted a Hatha Yoga program in 7 languages - English, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Chinese, Russian and French. The program was attended by 2000 participants from 39 countries. - INOX has associated with Isha Foundation to provide a unique experience through screening of an interactive short film across over 100 properties. The special film produced by Isha Foundation, is titled, 'LIFE 70MM ? THE ONLY WAY OUT IS IN' which will give an opportunity to the viewers to learn Yoga also. - A mass yoga session was conducted in association with Government of Karnataka and Ministry of Ayush for over 2000 people in Bangalore. Shri U. T. Khader, Minister for Health and Family Welfare will participate in this event in Cubbon Park, Bengaluru. - Dainik Bhaskar in association with Isha Foundation hosted yoga sessions every morning from 18 to 20 June, open to public in eight major cities - Raipur, Jaipur, Indore, Vidisha, Surat, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Bhopal. About 10,000 people benefitted from these sessions. - Extensive and wide reaching sessions are also being conducted in conjunction with the CII, media houses, railways, government offices, orphanages, old age homes, banks, hotels, crossword book stores, reliance stores, museums, police, RTO, JNPT, navy, airforce, prisons, SpiceJet, the Airports Authority of India etc.Isha Foundation is also offering simple 5 minute yoga practices online and through a mobile app called 'Yoga Tools for Transformation'. About Isha Foundation: Isha Foundation is a not-for-profit, spiritual organization, founded by Sadhguru based at the Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore, India and Isha Institute of Inner Sciences, USA. The foundation offers yoga programs with over 200 centers & over five million volunteers worldwide and works in tandem with international bodies like the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. For more information - log on to isha.Sadhguru.Org [http://isha.Sadhguru.Org ] or call 83000 11111. Official hashtag: #YogaDayWitIisha @ishafoundation @SadhguruJV Media Contact: mediarelations@ishafoundation.Org Photo: http://photos.Prnewswire. Without debunking his marriage rumours, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan said he will inform about his wedding through social media. Gossip mills are abuzz that the 50-year-old "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" star would be tying the knot with his rumoured Romanian girlfriend Lulia Vantur on his birthday, December 27. "When I want to get married I will get married. I don't need to tell you when I am getting married. When I am getting married, I will tweet it and put in on Facebook. So I will keep it to me and my fans," Salman told reporters here at the IIFA awards press conference. Salman made his first joint public appearance with Vantur recently at actress and good friend Preity Zinta's wedding reception. The Romanian TV star was also spotted with Salman's mother Salma and sister Alvira at the Mumbai airport. Swedish furniture retailing giant IKEA today announced the purchase of its first land parcel in Mumbai Metropolitan region to build a 4,00,000-sqft store. This will be the second store in the country after Hyderabad. The 23-acre site is strategically located in Navi Mumbai on the Thane-Belapur Road, a company statement said. The IKEA store in Mumbai is planned to be of around 4,00,000 square feet and is expected to have an over 5 million visitors per year, indicative of the company's large expansion plans in the country. To be easily accessible the store site has good access to public transport and next to an existing suburban railway station, Turbhe. The company in parallel is evaluating suitable sites in the cities of Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi and NCR and plans to open 25 stores in India by 2025, it said. "Maharashtra is one of the most important market for IKEA. Along with setting up retail stores, we will expand our supplier landscape and grow local sourcing as much as possible. "Each Ikea store will employ 500-700 coworkers directly and another 1,500 indirectly, engaged in providing services," Juvencio Maeztu, Chief Executive Officer of IKEA India said. "We are committed to having 50 per cent women in our organisation at all levels and giving equal opportunities to all. We will bring a unique shopping experience through our inspiring stores offering affordable home furnishing products for the many people in Mumbai," he added. IKEA has been sourcing from the country for the last 30 years and plans to double its sourcing volumes by 2020, it said. Through its 50 suppliers, the retailer employs 45,000 people directly and about 400,000 in the extended supply chain. Mines Ministry is working on a pan-Indian surveillance network leveraging space technology to curb the menace of illegal mining in the country. The Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG) under the Department of Communications and IT (DEITY) is developing the technology for the system, a senior government official said. The Mining Surveillance System (MSS) for major minerals is being developed with the help of BISAG to curb illegal mining with the use of space technology, he added. Mines Ministry has now asked the states to provide the available digitised lease-wise information for all major mineral leases in their areas for expediting the development of MSS, the official said. Conforming the development, another official said the issue will also be taken up at the high-level State Mining Ministers' meeting, which will be chaired by Steel and Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, later this month. The Centre has also strengthened penal provisions to check illegal mining in the country. The penal provisions for illegal mining cases under Section 21 have been enhanced to a maximum penalty of Rs 5 lakh and jail term of 5 years. According to the latest government data, 48,467 illegal mining cases of major and minor minerals have been registered in April-September 2015-16. This is against 97,149 in 2014-15, 88,689 in 2013-14 and 98,597 in 2012-13. As per the action taken report, 14,458 FIRs have been filed, 43,091 cases lodged in various courts, 1,81 lakh vehicles seized and about Rs 1,170 crore realised by states during 2012-13 and April-September 2015-16. (REOP CCM10) As per the recent amendment to MMDR Act, 2015 the transfer of mineral concessions will be allowed only for concessions which are granted through auction. However, there is no provision for transfer of mining lease and prospecting licenses (captive mines) which were allocated earlier on first come - first serve basis, Mallik said. Nalco CMD T K Chand, who is also Chairman of ASSOCHAM National Council on Mines and Mineral, said mining in India has tremendous potential to grow manifold. For actualisation of this potential mining has to be done scientifically and confirm to sustainability parameters, he said. R K Sharma, principal secretary to the department of steel and mines of Odisha government, said there is need to upscale the exploration activities and private companies should come and set up office for exploration activities. Environment and forest clearance should be taken care by equal participation from industry and government, he said. Abhijit Pati , CEO-Aluminium Business, Vedanta Ltd, said Odisha has immense potential if it can leverage its mineral resources effectively and with urgency. The need of the hour is to have better mining governance by attracting the best in mining with state of the art technology, knowledge and skill set. He urged the state to develop a world class mining research centre so that a coordinated effort can be initiated by the Centre to work for a vibrant and responsible mining drive for the state. Terror outfit Indian Mujahideen's (IM) oldest operative and key fund raiser was today arrested by National Investigation Agency from Indira Gandhi International Airport here. 32-year-old Abdul Wahid Siddibapa, a resident of Bhatkal in Karnataka, was held after his arrival from Dubai, NIA officials said. Abdul is a close relative of Riyaz and Yasin Bhatkal, co-founders of IM, and was involved in providing tactical and financial support to the terror group in planning and organising its activities, they said. "It is a big catch for the agency. His interrogation can lead to many vital inputs about the IM's activities and arrest of many other operatives," a senior NIA official said. Abdul was based in Dubai and was allegedly recruiting people for IM from there. He was playing a very important role in raising funds for running the terrorists organisation and for commission of terrorists acts in India, he said, adding that Abdul funded the outfit's activities from there. Abdul was wanted in a case pertaining to a conspiracy by IM to attack various places in India. He was held on the basis of a warrant of arrest and a Red Corner Notice already issued against him, the agency's official said. He was produced before a special court today which sent him to seven days custody of NIA. India today rejected China's contention that it must sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to get membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), saying France was included in the elite group without signing the NPT. "I think there is some confusion here. Even the NPT allows civil nuclear cooperation with non-NPT countries. If there is a connection, it is between the and IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) safeguards and with export controls," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. He was asked about a Chinese official linking China's support to India's bid for to the country signing the NPT. " members have to respect safeguards and export controls, nuclear supplies have to be in accordance with the NSG Guidelines. The NSG is an ad hoc export control regime and France, which was not an NPT member for some time, was a member of the NSG since it respected NSG's objectives," said Swarup. China has opposed India's bid to get NSG membership on the ground that it was yet to sign the NPT. Its Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang had said all the multilateral non-proliferation export control regime including the NSG have regarded NPT as an important standard for the expansion of the NSG. "Apart from India, lot of other countries expressed their willingness to join. Then it raised the question to the international community shall the non-NPT members also become part of the NSG?" he said, adding, "China's position is not directed against any specific country but applies to all the non-NPT members". Liu Zhenmin, China's Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, later denied that his country was blocking India's bid for a membership in the NSG and said it will "work" with the members of the 48-nation grouping as well as India to find a solution. "Members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group should be party to NPT. So, I think China will also work with others, including Indian colleagues, together to find a solution," he had said. President Pranab Mukherjee is likely to raise the issue during his visit to Beijing next week. Reaching out to Sri Lanka, India today rushed two Naval ships with 30 to 40 tonnes of relief material to the island nation which has been battered by tropical cyclone Roanu and said it would also participate in rescue and relief efforts. "Two Indian Navy warships, INS Sutlej and INS Sunayna have been deployed to Sri-Lanka today to provide assistance consequent to the calamity caused due to the cyclone Roanu", Navy said here. The ships have been sent to Colombo coast from Southern Naval Command in Kochi. The ships sailed from Kochi with 30-40 tons of relief material which includes inflatable rafts, fresh water, medical supplies, clothing and other provisions necessary for disaster relief operations and are scheduled to reach Colombo harbour tomorrow during the morning hours, Navy said. A Chetak helicopter has also been embarked for the deployment. The decision to deploy the ships was taken by the government late in the night yesterday in response to the request for assistance from Sri Lankan government, Navy said. "Both the ships of the Southern Naval Command were made ready within six hours after directives were received. The ships, in addition to providing the relief material, would also be participating in the rescue and relief efforts," Navy said. Two Dornier aircraft are also standby at Kochi for any emergent requirement, it said. "The swift action of deployment of ships reinforces Indian Navy's commitment to reach out the countries in the region during the times of crisis," Navy added. Meanwhile, five truckloads of relief material provided by the Centre to Sri Lanka were sent by flight from Chennai. The relief material included medicines, food and dress material, officials said. The cyclone has wreaked havoc along Sri Lankan coast. 43 people have been killed and 133 were missing following massive landslides and floods in the Kegalle region. Schools throughout the country have been closed as a precaution. Heavy rainfall is also expected in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha as the storm will move away from Lanka tracking northeastward into Bangladesh and Myanmar. India will sign a contract to develop Phase-1 of Iran's during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Persian Gulf nation on May 23-24. Indian Ports Global Pvt Ltd will sign a contract with Arya Bandar Company of Iran for developing two terminals and five multi-cargo berth in Phase-1, said Gopal Baglay, joint secretary (Pakistan-Afghanistan-India) in the Ministry of External Affairs. Signing of the contract for Chabahar will be the highlight of Modi's two-day visit to Iran during which he will meet Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. An agreement for Exim Bank providing a $150 million line of credit for the development of the will also be signed, he said, adding that the Indian investment in Phase-1 of the project would be in excess of $200 million. "The visit of prime minister to Iran will mainly focus on connectivity and infrastructure, energy partnership with Iran, boosting bilateral trade, promoting regular consultation on peace and stability particularly in our region and extended neighbourhood and encouraging people to people contract," he said. Chabahar in southeast Iran will help circumvent Pakistan and open up a route to landlocked Afghanistan where New Delhi has developed close security ties and economic interests. The two nations had in 2003 agreed to develop Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman outside the Strait of Hormuz, near Iran's border with Pakistan. But the project moved slowly because of western sanctions against Iran. The sanctions were lifted in January and since then India has been pushing for conclusion of an agreement. The Indian company will undertake the development of two jetties in for a period of 10 years and will transfer all cargo consignments except for oil products. From Chahbahar port, the existing Iranian road network can link up to Zaranj in Afghanistan, about 883 km from the port. The Zaranj-Delaram road constructed by India in 2009 can give access to Afghanistan's garland highway, thereby establishing road access to four major cities Afghanistan-Herat, Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. India will sign a contract to develop Phase-1 of Iran's Chabahar port during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Persian Gulf nation on May 22-23. Indian Ports Global Pvt Ltd will sign a contract with Arya Bandar Company of Iran for developing two terminals and five multi-cargo berth in Phase-1, said Gopal Baglay, Joint Secretary (Pakistan-Afghanistan-India) in the Ministry of External Affairs. Signing of the contract for Chabahar will be the highlight of Modi's two-day visit to Iran during which he will meet Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. An agreement for Exim Bank providing a USD 150 million line of credit for the development of the Chabahar port will also be signed, he said adding the Indian investment in the Phase-1 of the project would be in excess of USD 200 million. "The visit of Prime Minister to Iran will mainly focus on connectivity and infrastructure, energy partnership with Iran, boosting bilateral trade, promoting regular consultation on peace and stability particularly in our region and extended neighbourhood and encouraging people to people contract," he said. Chabahar in southeast Iran will help circumvent Pakistan and open up a route to landlocked Afghanistan where New Delhi has developed close security ties and economic interests. The two nations had in 2003 agreed to develop Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman outside the Strait of Hormuz, near Iran's border with Pakistan. But the project moved slowly because of western sanctions against Iran. The sanctions were lifted in January and since then India has been pushing for conclusion of an agreement. The Indian company will undertake the development of two jetties in Chabahar port for a period of 10 years and will transfer all cargo consignments except for oil products. From Chabahar port, the existing Iranian road network can link up to Zaranj in Afghanistan, about 883 km from the port. The Zaranj-Delaram road constructed by India in 2009 can give access to Afghanistan's garland highway, thereby establishing road access to four major cities -- Afghanistan-Herat, Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. An Indian-American psychiatrist, dubbed by local media as "Dr Death" for his alleged role in the deaths of 36 patients, has been indicted on three counts of felony murder and 57 charges of unauthorised distribution of controlled substances in the US. Dr Narendra Nagareddy from Atlanta was arrested in January. He is being held in a county jail without bound. The indictment was charged against him on Wednesday. "Nagareddy has regularly prescribed excessive amounts of controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose, resulting in the abuse and diversion of the prescribed controlled substances," the indictment alleged. According to the court papers, these drugs were given to patients without presenting previous medical records, MRIs, X-rays, or prescription records. The indictment alleged that drugs were powerful painkillers that were outside the scope of his practice. At least 12 patients have died from overdose deaths and another 36 deaths have been directly linked to his practice, it alleged. "He became well known to addicts on metro Atlanta's south side as a doctor that you could score drugs from without a hassle. Nagareddy regularly prescribed Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Fentanyl and Methadone, as well as other highly addictive drugs," the indictment said. "What it means is there will no longer be prescriptions issued by Dr. Nagareddy that result in the deaths of any innocent people," Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham-Lawson told local Channel 2. In early March, Nagareddy had told a local channel that he was innocent. "I'm explaining to you, sir, I'm an honest man. I look after all the severely mentally ill patients, please understand, sir," he was quoted as saying by CBS46 . A court date has been set for July 7. US President Barack Obama has felicitated an Indian-American scientist and a Pakistani- American doctor with the nation's top honors on the field of science, technology and innovation respectively. 65-year-old Rakesh K Jain of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital was presented with the National Medal of Science for his role in developing novel strategies for manipulating tumors and translating those strategies into improved cancer detection, prevention, and treatment in humans. 53-year-old Humayun, who is a grandson of personal physician of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation for invention, development, and application of bioelectronics in medicine, including a retinal prosthesis for restoring vision to the blind, thereby significantly improving patients' quality of life. Humayun's family migrated from Jalandhar to Pakistan after partition. His grandfather Colonel Ilahi Bakhsh was the personal physician of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. Humayun's family moved to the US in 1972 when he was nine years old. Co-inventor of Argus Series retina implants that are intended to restore sight to the blind, Humayun is the only ophthalmologist ever to be elected a member of both US National Academies of Medicine and Engineering. At a White House function, Obama said that Humayun's invention was inspired by the illness of his grandmother. "When his diabetic grandmother lost her vision, he began studying to become an ophthalmologist, hoping he could save the sight of others. "Mark helped create the 'Argus II', a 'bionic eye' that has restored vision to patients who've been blind for up to 50 years," Obama said. "He says the moment when he witnessed someone seeing light and shapes, someone experiencing the miracle of sight for the first time in decades -- those moments have been some of the happiest and most rewarding of his professional career. In his words -- and I think no pun is intended --"There wasn't a dry eye in the operating room," Obama said. Humayun and Jain received the award along with 15 other recipients of the 'National Medals of Science and National Medals of Technology and Innovation. The award function was initially scheduled for January 22 but was postponed due to a major snow storm. Jain, an IIT-Kanpur alumnus, has received numerous awards for his work on tumor biology, particularly research on the link between tumor blood vessels and improving the effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. He received his B Tech degree from the IIT-Kanpur in Chemical Engineering in 1972. The National Medal of Science was created by statute in 1959 and is administered for the White House by the National Science Foundation. A 43-year-old seasoned Indian mountaineer became the second climber to die in the Himalayas this week after he fell ill while descending Mount Dhaulagiri in Nepal, the world's seventh-highest peak, an expedition agency said today. Rajib Bhattacharya, who has earlier scaled Mount Everest in 2011, complained of difficulty in vision and collapsed while on his way down from the 8,167-metre high Dhaulagiri peak. He died yesterday afternoon. "Bhattacharya complained of snow blindness and collapsed. He died soon after at Camp III at an altitude of 7,600 metres," said Pemba Sherpa, manager at the Kathmandu-based Seven Summit Treks, organiser of the expedition. "We will know the exact cause of death once his team returns to the base camp," he said. Another official at the agency said that efforts were underway to airlift Bhattacharya's body to Kathmandu from the mountain. Bhattacharya, who hails from West Bengal's Howrah district, was a seasoned climber and had earlier scaled Mt Everest in 2011 and Mt Kanchenjunga in 2013. Earlier yesterday, a Nepalese sherpa guide, accompanying Indian soldiers in their attempt to summit the world's fourth- highest peak Lhotse Face, fell 2000-metres to his death while fixing ropes during the expedition. The two deaths on a single day has cast a shadow over the otherwise successful expedition season in the Himalayan mountains so far. Mount Everest has seen nearly 300 summits this season, after a nearly two-year-long drought season on the world's highest peak following two disasters in 2014 and 2015. A seven-member team of Indian soldiers were also among the people who scaled Mt Everest yesterday. As many as 18 climbers had died after an earthquake- triggered avalanche at a Everest base camp last year. Sixteen Nepali guides had died in 2014 in another avalanche. Mountaineering and trekking expeditions on the Himalayas are a major source of revenue for Nepal, which is struggling to return to normalcy after a devastating earthquake killed over 9,000 people last year. The Indian export mining industry needs tax relief to compete globally, after its four-year absence from the international market, an industry official has said. "If and buts are there as we return to the competitive international market," R K Sharma, secretary-general of the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) said at the fourth Singapore Forum yesterday. "It will also be challenging to restart some of the mines after they have been closed for four years and flooded by the recent rainy season. Winning new contracts will be challenging," he said. "The Indian exporters have contacts with Chinese buyers though their contracts have been cut off for the last four years," Sharma said. But to support the exports, FIMI has renewed call for removal of export duty on high grade Iron Ore which is at 30 per cent. Delivering an industry address at the Singapore Forum, FIMI President H Noor Ahmed called on the Indian government to remove the export duty on high grade Indian iron ore as it has done so on the lower grade. "FIMI is putting across (to the) Government of India that exports of iron ore will not lead to any scarcity of ore for the domestic steel plants, present or future. Rather more production will lead to more exploration and discovery of more resources and create more jobs," he added. Noor Ahmed said past exploration has yielded 9.215 billion tonnes of iron ore, taking the total reserves to 31.323 billion tonnes as April 2013 from 22.108 billion tonnes in 2000. Only 2.041 billion tonnes were mined between 2000 and 2013. Sharma said the 30 per cent export duty should be removed and help Indian iron ore exports compete in the competitive market, where currently 62 per cent FE is priced at USD 51 CIF China. He even called for a minimum cut of 10 per cent in the export duty as has been allowed for National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) Ltd, the largest state-owned miner which has continued its exports to Japan and South Korea over the past four years. The higher grade Indian iron ore has to compete with the same material from Australia but it is better grade than those from Brazil, he pointed out. The Indo-UAE Global Investment Summit to be held here next week will boost trade between India and the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries in sectors such as infrastructure, construction, renewable energy and oil & gas. The day-long summit on May 24 will explore prospects for expansion and diversification of trade opportunities between India and GCC nations to widen the two-way trade basket. The GCC comprises six Middle Eastern countries - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. "India has emerged as the new frontier of investment opportunities, especially with the initiatives by government to facilitate trade and investment," PHD Chamber said. The Government in March cleared an MoU between India and the UAE to explore opportunities for mobilisation of up to USD 75 billion long-term investment in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). In December 2015, the government had set up the Rs 40,000 crore NIIF, which is an investment vehicle for funding commercially viable greenfield, brownfield and stalled projects. The Islamic State is laughing at America as the political leaders in the country have no effective strategy against the terror group, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said today. "We can't afford to be so nice and so foolish anymore. Our country is in trouble, ISIS is laughing at us," Trump told Fox in an interview. Trump lashed out political leaders, in particular Hillary Clinton, his potential Democratic rival in the November general elections, for not having an effective policy against ISIS. "I'm so tired of watching these politicians get up and say exactly what they're going to do with ISIS. And in the meantime, ISIS sits back, and they laugh and they go out and they prepare for it. You've got to hit people with a little surprise. There has to be some unpredictability," he said. Trump said Clinton's allegation that his proposal to ban Muslims is promoting terrorists is the "dumbest" thing he ever heard. "I just think it's absolutely dumb. In fact, if anything, it's just the opposite, because they're going to have to learn we can't take this anymore. And they're going to have to turn in the people that are bombing the planes. And they know who the people are," he said. "And we're not going to find the people by just continuing to be so nice and so soft. And I have many Muslim friends and they agree. They have a tremendous problem with the radical Islamic terrorism, tremendous problem. And what she said is so dumb," Trump said. Trump also attacked Clinton, in a series of tweets today. "Crooked Hillary has zero imagination and even less stamina. ISIS, China, Russia and all would love for her to be president. 4 more years!" he tweeted. "Look where the world is today, a total mess and ISIS is still running around wild. I can fix it fast, Hillary has no chance!" he said in another tweet. "Crooked Hillary Clinton looks presidential? I don't think so! Four more years of Obama and our country will never come back. ISIS LAUGHS!," the billionaire said on the social media. Trump's tweets were noted by the mainstream media. "Why are you tweeting early, Donald," he was asked by MSNBC in an interview. "Because I like tweeting. Because I like getting the word out. I think I have gotten the word out. You know, Hillary said some things and I said some things and now I go and I go back to work and I have a lot of fun," Trump said. Trump denied that he is attacking Britain or its Prime Minister David Cameroon. "I'm not attacking Great Britain. Where am I attacking Great Britain? I'm not attacking them at all. They asked me about the EU. I said, frankly, it's none of my business. And I don't even like asking it -- answering it, but, frankly, if I were Great Britain, I'd get out of the EU. I see what happened with the great migration destroying Europe and EU had a lot to do with that. Personally, I would get out but I said I don't want that to influence the people of Great Britain," he said. "I don't go after (Cameroon). You show me where? He came after me a little bit. And by the way, he would like me now to visit 10 Downing Street. They put out that invitation about two days ago. So I will do just fine with David Cameron. I think he's a nice guy. I will do just fine. But they have asked me to visit 10 Downing Street -- and I might do it," Trump said in response to a question. Islamist group Ansar Dine has claimed responsibility for an ambush in northeastern Mali that killed five Chadian UN peacekeepers. "Our mujahedeens attacked... Soldiers working in the international alliance against us," a senior member of the jihadist group, Nourredine Ag Mohamed, told AFP yesterday. "Many enemies" were killed, he added, without giving a precise toll. The peacekeepers were attacked Wednesday as they were escorting a convoy in Aguelhok in the Kidal region. They hit a landmine and then came under sustained gunfire, according to a statement on the UN Mali mission's social media accounts. Five Chadian peacekeepers were killed and three others wounded, according to the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Wednesday's attack was the worst since a February assault on the MINUSMA camp in Kidal by Malian Islamist group Ansar Dine in which seven Guineans were killed. The Mali mission is the most dangerous active deployment for UN peacekeepers and it has been hit by sharp internal tensions since its launch in July 2013. So far, 59 peacekeepers have been killed while on active service, while another four have died in friendly fire incidents, UN figures show. The bodies of the five Chadian soldiers will be repatriated to N'Djamena following a ceremony in the Malian capital Bamako, to be held in the coming days, a MINUSMA source told AFP. Ansar Dine was one of several Islamist factions that conquered vast swathes of the Mali's north in 2012 before being repulsed by French troops. A landmark peace agreement was reached last year between the Mali government and the rebels, but jihadist violence remains a threat and the government has been unable to maintain security with domestic forces alone. Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon resigned today, charging that extremists had taken over the government after he clashed repeatedly with hardline ministers over the army's handling of Palestinian violence. Yaalon said he no longer had any trust in Benjamin Netanyahu after the prime minister offered his post to a hardliner loathed by the Palestinians, in a bid to expand the governing coalition's majority. The surprise move by the respected former armed forces chief comes after a series of disputes over the military's values and role in society between ministers in Netanyahu's government and top generals backed by Yaalon. "I told the prime minister this morning that due to his conduct in recent developments, and in light of my lack of trust in him, I am resigning from the government and Knesset (parliament) and taking a break from political life," Yaalon said on Twitter. His resignation comes two days after former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said he would be open to bringing his far-right Yisrael Beitenu party into Netanyahu's governing coalition if a number of conditions were met, including being named defence minister. That condition looked likely to be met as Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party pressed talks with Yisrael Beitenu on Friday on the terms of a deal to boost the coalition's wafer-thin majority in parliament. Yaalon's resignation does not take effect for two days and, hours after it was announced, he used the podium of the defence ministry to deliver an impassioned tirade against the extremism that he said was gripping the Likud party and the country as a whole. "Unfortunately extremist and dangerous elements have taken over Israel and the Likud and are threatening (society)," he said. "This isn't the Likud I joined," he added, calling on the "sane majority" of Likud voters as well as the rest of the nation "to realise the severe implications of the extremist takeover of the centre, and fight this phenomenon." Yaalon said he had worked harmoniously with Netanyahu in the past, but recently "found himself in serious dispute over professional and moral issues with the prime minister, a number of ministers and lawmakers." Within the government Yaalon had been an outspoken defender of the army's handling of an upsurge of Palestinian violence since last October against criticism from hardline ministers and lawmakers. He had also insisted on senior officers' right to "speak their mind" after deputy armed forces chief Major General Yair Golan enraged Netanyahu by comparing contemporary Israeli society to Nazi Germany. In a surprise move, Israel's Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon today resigned from the Cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu citing "strong disagreement" with him over the army's handling of recent violent protests by Palestinians. Ya'alon's move came as Netanyahu seeks to bring hardliner Avigdor Lieberman of the Yisrael Beteinu party into his coalition, possibly as defence minister to shore up his one-seat majority in parliament. Netanyahu leads a government backed by only 61 parliament members in a 120-member Knesset. The entry of Yisrael Beteinu in the coalition would swell its strength to 67. "This morning I told the Prime Minister that I'm resigning from the government and the Knesset and taking a break from political life," Ya'alon said at a press conference in Tel Aviv adding, "I have no intention of leaving the public and political life, and in the future will return to compete for the national leadership of Israel. "I saw before me the safety of Israel and its citizens in all of my acts and decisions, and the good of the country above all other considerations. This was so in security and professional matters and in matters of values and rule of the law," said Ya'alon who also served as the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) before joining politics. Earlier, Ya'alon, 65, wrote on his Facebook account "I notified the prime minister this morning that following his conduct in the latest developments and in view of the lack of trust in him, I am resigning from the government and the Knesset and taking time out from political life". Emphasising that he worked harmoniously with Netanyahu for a long time, the defence ministry in his speech said that "Unfortunately, I recently found myself in strong disagreement on moral and professional issues with the prime minister, a number of ministers and several MKs (members of Knesset, the Israeli parliament). "I fought with all my might against manifestations of extremism, violence and racism in Israeli society, which are threatening its sturdiness and also trickling into the IDF, hurting it already," he asserted. The latest confrontation between Netanyahu and Ya'alon was over the public backing the defence minister gave senior IDF officials to "speak their mind" over the army's handling of recent spike in violence by Palestinian protesters. His remarks followed Netanyahu's criticism of comments made by IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Yair Golan on the Holocaust Remembrance Day which sparked a strong public debate on the issue of serving defence officials expressing their opinion on public matters. "In general, Israeli society is a healthy society, and the majority of it is sane and aims for a Jewish, democratic and liberal country," Ya'alon said adding, "But to my great sorrow, extremist and dangerous elements have taken over Israel and the Likud Party and are shaking the foundations and threatening to hurt its residents". Maharashtra unit of Janata Dal (United) has sought that the state should emulate Bihar government in enforcing a total ban on sale and consumption of liquor. "If states like Gujarat, Mizoram, Kerala and Bihar can ban alcohol consumption in their respective states then why not Maharashtra," Shyam Bhusevar, President of Janata Dal (U), Maharashtra, said. "Bihar government has banned sale and consumption of liquor in the state and set an example before the country," Bhusevar told reporters here. "If an economically backward state like Bihar can declare state-wide ban on liquor and forgo the revenue generated from its sale and consumption then why is it becoming difficult for a financially strong state like Maharashtra to ban liquor," he said. Bhusevar has written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to ban liquor consumption and sale in Maharashtra. Japan's prime minister expressed his "strong indignation" today after an American working on a US military base in Okinawa was arrested on suspicion of abandoning the body of a woman who disappeared last month. "I have no words to express, considering how the family feels," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters. "We urge the US side to take thorough measures to prevent the recurrence of such events." The arrest sparked outrage on Okinawa, where anti-US military sentiment is high because of a heavy American troop presence. It could fuel further opposition to the relocation of a US Marine Corps air station on the southern Japanese island, a long-delayed project that Abe has been trying to push forward in the face of large protests. Police said Kenneth Shinzato, 32, was arrested yesterday after he was questioned and investigators found the body at a location he provided, a forest in central Okinawa. Investigators determined that the body is that of a 20-year-old woman missing since April 28, when she messaged her boyfriend that she was going for a walk. Police said they suspect Shinzato was also responsible for her death. He has not been charged. In Washington, Defense Department spokesman Peter Cook said the man arrested was a US military contractor. "This is an appalling tragedy," he said. The US military extends its "deepest sympathies to the people of Japan, and express our gratitude for the trust that they place in our bilateral alliance and the American people." Kyodo service said Shinzato used to be a Marine. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the US military was cooperating fully with local authorities in their investigation. "This is a terrible tragedy and it's obviously an outrage," he told reporters in Washington. Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga said he was "outraged" and that the death of the woman broke his heart. "As I look back at all the developments to date, I'm simply speechless," he said. Onaga has spearheaded opposition to the relocation of US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from a densely populated neighborhood in central Okinawa to another site on the island, saying the facility should be moved away from Okinawa instead. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida summoned US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy to convey his "regret" over the crime. Kennedy said: "Nothing that I can do or say will make up the loss or to bring her back, but I want to express to you my determination and that of my military colleagues to cooperate fully with Okinawan police and the Japanese government, and we will double our efforts to make sure this will never happen again." Okinawa is home to more than half of about 50,000 American troops based in Japan. Many Okinawans complain about crime and noise connected to the bases. Japan has lodged a diplomatic protest with the United States after a US base worker was arrested in relation to the suspicious death of a woman on Okinawa, media reported, a week before a high-profile visit to the country by President Barack Obama. Okinawa was the site of a brutal World War II battle but is now considered a strategic linchpin supporting the two countries' decades-long security alliance. More than half of the 47,000 US military personnel in Japan are stationed there and rapes and other crimes by service personnel have sparked local protests in the past. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida yesterday summoned US ambassador Caroline Kennedy to the foreign ministry in Tokyo shortly after Okinawa police arrested a 32-year-old civilian US base worker in connection with the death of a missing 20-year-old Okinawa woman. "It is extremely regrettable that the very cruel and atrocious case occurred," Kishida told Kennedy, according to Nippon Television Network. Kennedy replied that the US side would fully cooperate in the investigation, local media said. Police arrested Kenneth Franklin Shinzato, who lives in southern Okinawa and works at the US Air Force's Kadena Air Base, for allegedly disposing of the woman's body. Local media said police also suspect the former US Marine murdered the victim, identified as Rina Shimabukuro, who had been missing since late April. Her body was found in a weed-covered area in southern Okinawa after investigators conducted search based on his deposition, while police found DNA matching Shimabukuro's in the man's car, Kyodo agency said. In 1995 the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old girl on Okinawa by three US servicemen sparked massive protests, prompting Washington to pledge efforts to strengthen troop discipline to prevent such crimes and reduce its footprint on the island. But continued crimes by US personnel remain an irritant in Japan-US relations and a rallying point for Okinawans and others in Japan opposed to the bases on the crowded island, where pacifist sentiment runs high. The arrest came ahead of Obama's trip to Japan next week to attend a Group of Seven summit and to make a landmark visit to Hiroshima. Obama will become the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima, where the first atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945, killing about 140,000 people in total. AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa, who led her party to a successive win in the assembly elections, today convened her party's Legislature Party meeting for tomorrow. She is all set to be elected as leader of the Legislature Party in the meet, setting the stage for her to be sworn in as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for the sixth time. "AIADMK's legislative members' meeting will be held tomorrow at 5 pm in the party headquarters and all the elected members should participate without fail," Jayalalithaa said in a statement here. AIADMK has won over 130 constituencies which includes seats won by allies -- Karunas (Mukkulathor Pulipadai in Thruvadanai), U Thaniarasu (TN Kongu Ilangyar Peravai in Kangeyam), and Thammemun Ansari (Manithaneya Jananayaga Katchi in Nagapattinam). Several of the sitting Ministers including her trusted aide and Finance Minister O Panneerselvam. Industries Minister P Thangamani is among the prominent winners. In another release, AIADMK headquarters said party chief Jayalalithaa would garland the statues of rationalist leader Periyar EVR and late Chief Ministers C N Annadurai and her party founder M G Ramachandran tomorrow afternoon. A jury has found that the owner of a Colorado movie theatre where a gunman killed 12 people during a Batman premiere in 2012 was not liable for the shooting. Court spokesman Rob McCallum said on Twitter that the jury had ruled in favour of theatre chain Cinemark in the first civil lawsuit stemming from the massacre. The case focused on whether Cinemark should have done more to prevent the carnage at the multiplex in Aurora, Colorado. James Holmes opened fire on July 20, 2012 during the midnight premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises." He was wearing body armour and was armed with numerous weapons when police arrested him outside the theater. During his trial, Holmes refused to say anything in his own defence, and the jury rejected the defence's arguments that he was mentally ill. In the civil case, attorney Marc Bern, representing the victims, argued that Cinemark should have hired more security and trained its personnel to better ensure the safety of patrons. "We certainly feel that the security on the night of the shooting was very, very lax and if certain minimal things had been put in place ... This entire event would have been prevented," Bern told AFP, adding that he planned to appeal. He noted that while the theatre beefed up security on weekends, it failed to do so on the night of the massacre, despite the fact that 1,000 people were expected to attend the Batman premiere. Attorneys for Cinemark, however, argued during the trial that the company could not have foreseen the assault and that the blame for the killings rested with Holmes. "The community has spoken," Cinemark attorney Kevin Taylor said after the verdict was announced yesterday, the Denver Post reported. "Its conscience has been heard." A separate case filed against the theatre is set to go on trial before a federal court in July. Holmes was sentenced last August to 12 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Union Home minister Rajnath Singh today announced compensation of Rs one crore and Rs 25 lakh respectively to the family of NDMC's estate officer M M Khan who was shot dead by bike-borne assailants earlier this week. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) also offered a job to one of the family members of Khan and allotted a three-tier house to them. The Delhi Chief Minister, who today visited the family members of Khan at his residence in Jamia Nagar, said that compensation will be given as "mark of respect". He was accompanied by NDMC Chairman Naresh Kumar. "Visited the family of Sh Khan, the honest NDMC officer, who was murdered bcoz he refused to budge to illicit demands," the CM tweeted. "Though loss can't be compensated, Del govt will pay Rs 1 cr to his family as mark of respect,(sic)," Kejriwal also said. Rajnath Singh earlier in the day announced an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh to the family of Mohammed Moin Khan, a lawyer and an assistant legal advisor with NDMC, who was shot dead a day before he was scheduled to pass the final order on the lease terms of hotel 'The Connaught' which was functioning on a property leased by the civic body. "NDMC has offered a job to one of the family members whoever is eligible. The Chief Minister was accompanied by NDMC chairman Naresh Kumar during his visit. Expenditure on education of Khan's children will also be incurred,"said a senior government official. The official further said that during the meeting, investigating officers briefed the Chief Minister about the case. "CM has asked the investigating officers to probe the case from all angles. His kin have been invited to meet the CM at his residence tomorrow," the official said. The owner of The Connaught hotel and six others have been arrested in connection with the murder of the 57-year-old estate officer. The main accused, Ramesh Kakkar, owner of the four-star hotel, is learnt to have sent two of his associates for a meeting which NDMC Vice Chairman Karan Singh Tanwar, who later sent a letter to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung seeking removal of estate officer Khan, eleven days before he was to give his final order on the hotel's lease. Denying any connection with the hotel, Tanwar said that two persons had approached him with a complaint against Khan and he had just forwarded the same to the LG. Khan's relatives, however, maintained that there was immense pressure on him from "higher authorities" to waive off the penalty of around Rs 140 crore imposed on the hotel for violation of license terms and pass an order in connection with the property's lease, favouring The Connaught. "There was immense pressure from seniors in NDMC but he (Khan) never mentioned any names," said Sham Khan, nephew of M M Khan. We have come across allegations that Kakkar had sent agents to bribe Khan, pressurised him through various means and even threatened him. But so far we have not come across any evidence to substantiate the same, a senior police official said. When asked about probing the role of NDMC officials in the matter, the official said, "the case is being investigated from all possible angles". The concerned hotel 'The Connaught' was functioning on a property leased by the civic body. NDMC had sealed the property last year after the hotel authorities failed to abide by the eviction order following expiry of the lease. The other party had then taken the matter to the court and on direction of the High Court, Khan was made the Estate Officer and he was to pass the final order in the lease matter on May 17. Delicacies prepared by Khasi tribesmen in Meghalaya had the taste buds of an international gathering tickling at the ongoing 15th UN Permanent Forum in New York. Officials said today that North East Slow Food and Agro-biodiversity Society (NESFAS) had presented a number of dishes of Meghalaya's Khasi tribes like ja stem (yellow rice), pork cooked with pumpkin, radish and sesame salads. The presentation by board member Anita Roy was made at an event organised by Rome-based Indigenous Partnership for Agrobioiversity and Food Sovereignty in collaboration with Center for Indigenous Cultures of Peru, Kenya-based Porini Welfare Association, Phillipines-based Tebtebba Association and the US-based The Sioux Chef. Roy also demonstrated at the event the use of turmeric, pepper, ginger and garlic not only for taste enhancements but for health purposes by the indigenous people of Meghalaya hills, the officials said. UN Special Rapporteur Vicky Corpuz Tauli praising the event called it "unique". "Our identity is linked to our traditional food system which must be nurtured to maintain our knowledge system. It will defend our territories and culture. Seeds are the symbols of our sovereignty," he said. A Kosovo court today sentenced an imam and six others to up to ten years in jail for recruiting fighters for the Islamic State or joining the group in Syria. Imam Zeqirja Qazimi was handed down a ten-year sentence, the court said in a statement. His six associates were convicted for trying to gather recruits and for fighting for the IS there from 2012 to 2014. They got jail terms ranging from three to eight years. "They have intentionally called on other persons to commit or participate in terrorist acts, participate in the activities of a terrorist group and try to gather funds and material resources for it." Qazimi had also posted a clip on YouTube in which he said that the "blood of infidels is the best drink for us." Local media reported that Qazimi was responsible for recruiting 11 fighters in Kosovo who joined the IS. Three of them were killed in Syria, media reported. The men were arrested in August and were detained at a high-security prison. As the verdict was being handed down, the court was sealed off by anti-terrorist police wearing helmets and bulletproof jackets. Muslim-majority Kosovo is home to 1.8 million people, around 300 of whom have joined the jihadists' frontlines in Iraq and Syria in recent years -- the highest ratio in any European country. Kosovo's authorities have subsequently strengthened legislation and made high-profile arrests in a bid to root out suspected Islamist networks. They say around 50 homegrown jihadists have been killed in fighting while around 120 have returned to Kosovo. The mortal remains of veteran BJP leader and former MP Laxmi Narayan Pandey were today consigned to flames at his hometown Jaora near here. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and a host of leaders paid their last respects to Pandey, 88, who passed away in Indore yesterday. Thousands of people took part in the last procession while shops also remained closed as a mark of respect to the former state BJP president. Pandey recently visited Ujjain and took a holy dip in Kshipra river during the Simhastha-Kumbh Mela. Later, went to Indore where he developed fever, following which he was admitted at a private hospital where he passed away. He represented Mandsaur Lok Sabha seat in MP eight times during the 5th, 6th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Lok Sabha. Pandey was instrumental in strengthening the saffron party in Madhya Pradesh during its formative years. He is survived by wife, three sons, including Jaora MLA Rajendra Pandey, and four daughters. Lifeguards engaged for safety of tourists along the beaches in Goa today began a three-day strike demanding wage increase and regularisation of service, but the BJP-led Government in the state suggested them to approach the Labour Department as they are employed by a private agency. Staying away from duty, leaving vast stretches of beaches unmanned, the lifeguards gathered outside state tourism department's head office here, raising slogans highlighting their demands. They said the state government had earlier given an assurance that their demands would be considered but failed to honour that promise. "The state government has forced us to take this extreme step. We didn't want to strike but this is the only way we can grab their attention," said Suhas Naik, state secretary, All India Trade Union Congress, spearheading the strike. He said strike will continue till Sunday, after which a decision will be taken whether to go on an indefinite agitation or not, depending on the government's response. Steering clear of the issue, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said the Government had sympathy for the lifeguards but it could not do much since they are employed by a private agency and directed them to take up their demands with the state Labour Commissioner. "We have sympathy for the lifeguards because they are Goans. But they are employed by a private agency and I feel government should not poke its nose in everything," Parsekar told reporters. "If contractor has not paid them the wages they should approach the labour department or the commissioner of labour. We have outsourced the work and it is for the contractor to fulfill their demands," the Chief Minister said. Nearly 600 lifeguards man 105 km-long sea line of the state and few other water-bodies in the hinterland, which are a big tourist attraction. Lifeguards are employed by Drishti Lifeservices Private Limited, which has bagged the contract from state tourism department. They had struck work between December 29 and January 13. The stir was then called off following an assurance by Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar and Goa Labour Minister Avertano Furtado. Recently, the agency had approached the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court seeking a stay on strike by lifeguards, arguing they they come under the Essential Services Management Act. However, the High Court had refused to pass any order and dismissed the petition. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after the central government cleared an ordinance deferring the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) by a year. Grateful to Modiji and the Centre for postponing NEET by a year, Fadnavis tweeted. It has brought relief to lakhs of students. Fadnavis on Wednesday met the Prime Minister in New Delhi in connection with the stand-off between states and the Centre over the NEET issue, amid concerns raised by parents and students. Minister for Higher, Technical and Medical education Vinod Tawde also thanked Modi. "A massive thanks to Modi ji for relieving students of Maharashtra from NEET exam. Our efforts for the students bore fruits," the minister said. Three weeks after medical aspirants took the first phase of NEET, the Union Cabinet today decided to bring in an ordinance, setting aside Supreme Court order that made a pan Indian common medical entrance test mandatory. Facing pressure from state governments, who opposed the proposal on grounds of logistical issues as well as regional differences in languages making NEET an unfair benchmark for students from state boards, the Centre will be deferring the implementation of the common medical entrance test by one year. Earlier this week, health ministers from all states had met with the Union Health Minister J P Nadda on the issue. The second round of NEET was to be held on July 24. A Malaysian murder convict was hanged in Singapore today, police said, hours after the city-state's highest court rejected a final bid for him to escape the gallows, sparking condemnation from rights groups. "A 32-year-old male Malaysian national, Jabing Kho had his death sentence carried out on 20 May 2016 at Changi Prison Complex," the Singapore Police Force said in a statement. Kho, who was sentenced to death in 2010 for the murder of a Chinese construction worker, had been due to hang in Changi Prison at dawn today, but was granted a brief last-minute reprieve after his lawyer filed a challenge before midnight. The Court of Appeal heard the latest plea Friday morning but said it raised no new arguments about the 2008 robbery gone wrong, clearing the way for the execution. "This case has been about many things but today, it's about the abuse of the process of the court," said Court of Appeal Judge Chao Hick Tin. Allowing Kho to continue with legal challenges would throw the judicial system "into disrepute," he added. Singapore, one of Asia's safest cities, takes a strong stand against crime and imposes the death penalty on offences such as murder and drug trafficking. But human rights groups, which have called on Singapore to abolish capital punishment, condemned the execution. Josef Benedict, deputy director at Amnesty International's South East Asia and Pacific regional office, slammed the execution as "disgraceful" particularly as it was carried out so quickly after his final appeal was denied. "Singapore is completely out of step with their position on the death penalty," said Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson. "There's no proof that executions prevent crime," Robertson told AFP. After Kho was sentenced to death in 2010, Singapore amended its mandatory death penalty for murder, giving judges the discretion to impose life imprisonment under certain circumstances. Kho's case was reviewed and he was re-sentenced to a life term in 2013. But state prosecutors appealed that ruling and his death sentence was reinstated in January 2015. He was scheduled for execution on November 6 last year but another last-minute appeal saved him. Singapore's president has rejected appeals to grant clemency to Kho. Kho's accomplice in the crime had his conviction for murder reduced to a lesser charge and got more than 18 years in prison and 19 strokes of the cane. Singapore executed four people in 2015, one for murder and three for drug offences, according to prison statistics. The ruling JD(U) in Bihar today said it suspended its MLC Manorama Devi from the party not under pressure from the Opposition but on instruction of the party president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The party suspended its MLC Manorama Devi for allegedly harbouring her son Rakesh Ranjan Yadav alias Rocky Yadav, an accused in the Aditya Sachdeva murder case in Gaya, for days. "The suspension of the MLC from the party and the action against her by law enforcement agencies have been taken on the basis of (Chief Minister Nitish) Kumar's unequivocal belief that law must take its own course," JD(U) spokesperson Sanjay Singh told PTI. Singh was reacting to media reports suggesting that Manorama Devi was suspended by the JD(U) under "mounting pressure" from the Opposition. He said the Chief Minister has maintained a consistent stand that the law must function without fear of anybody, be it JD(U) legislators or those from its coalition partners. "Nitish Kumar neither frames anybody in a case nor comes to the rescue of those facing charge," Singh said. He said, "Under the Nitish Kumar regime, nobody will be spared for committing a crime, however powerful or mighty that person may be and the same yardstick has been applied in the case of Manorama Devi." He said Opposition BJP and its senior party leader Sushil Kumar Modi in particular should not be under "illusion" that the action against the MLC or in any other case has been initiated under their pressure. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggesting that the demands for overturning the SC order on NEET had got to do with many politicians running medical colleges of their own. Kejriwal's missive to the PM came minutes before the Centre gave its nod for promulgation of an ordinance to keep state boards out of the ambit of NEET this year under mounting pressure from various state governments. We all know the amount of corruption involved in admission to private medical colleges. It's all about money. Meritorious students are sidelined and those with money are given admission," Kejriwal wrote. The AAP chief, a bitter critic of Modi, claimed that Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain was the sole voice of support for the common entrance exam in a meeting of state Health ministers called by Union Health Minister J P Nadda. "It's said that ministers and MPs of many parties run medical colleges of their own. There are a few good institutions among them but most are den of illegalities. This is why leaders don't want that NEET is implemented... I urge you to not bring any such ordinance as it will send a message that the Centre is siding with black money holders," Kejriwal said. A special court today extended the CBI custody of MHA official Anand Joshi till May 24 for allegedly issuing FCRA notices arbitrarily to several NGOs for financial gains after the agency said it needed to interrogate him in connection with some files seized during the probe. Special CBI Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna allowed the agency's plea in which it was mentioned that seven new files have been recovered during the investigation and the accused is also required to be confronted in relation to certain emails sent to private persons and properties in the name of his wife. "After considering the submissions, I am of the considered opinion that for the purpose of thorough investigation, the remand be extended till May 24," the judge said. The agency's plea was opposed by Joshi's counsel who said that CBI has already got enough time. He said that Joshi had cooperated in the interrogation earlier and five days were enough to investigate the matter. During the hearing, the accused told the court that he was "mentally depressed" after which the judge ordered his medical examination today. Joshi, who was arrested from west Delhi on May 15, was produced in court after expiry of CBI custody. CBI had earlier claimed that the files relating to several NGOs had gone missing from Home Ministry and they were recovered from his house although he was not supposed to take them away. It had alleged that Joshi had been issuing notices dishonestly to a large number of NGOs/societies registered under the FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) 2010, which have been receiving significant amount of foreign contributions, in an arbitrary manner. It has said some of these organisations are Care India, Snehalya Charitable Trust, Indian HIV/AIDS Alliance and All India Primary Teachers Federation and alleged that the representatives of some of these organisations were called and Joshi demanded and obtained illegal gratification. Joshi was arrested on May 15 after he allegedly gave unconvincing answers to the questions posed by a team of Special Crime division of the CBI, including those related to disappearance of files related to Sabrang Trust of activist Teesta Setalvad. Joshi, who had disappeared last week from his home in Indirapuram in Ghaziabad, was picked up from Tilak Nagar area of West Delhi on Sunday and taken to the CBI headquarters for questioning. Subsequently, he was arrested by the agency. Joshi has rejected the charge and instead accused his seniors of pressuring him to give a clean chit to NGOs. In a note which he had left before leaving home, Joshi claimed he had been subjected to "mental harassment" in recent months. CBI had alleged that Joshi laundered ill-gotten earnings in various immovable assets as well as certain private firms which were floated by him and his wife was one of the directors in them. It alleged even after his transfer from FCRA division, he continued to indulge in corrupt activities on the basis of documents which were in his possession unauthorisedly. The agency claimed that during the search conducted at Joshi's house, one file pertaining to FCRA which pertains to private NGO Care India Solutions for Sustainable Development has been seized and his interrogation was needed to know as to how the official files made way in his house and what was his intention in bringing them. The matter came to light after files pertaining to alleged FCRA violations by two NGOs run by Setalvad went missing from the Home Ministry. The files were traced and restored to the FCRA division but CBI was asked to investigate the matter. It was noticed that the files had gone missing when the Home Ministry took a decision to cancel FCRA registration of one of Setalvad's NGOs, Sabrang Trust, sources had said. An 11-year-old girl, whose one leg got amputated in a road accident involving a dumper in 2011, has been awarded a compensation of over Rs 24 lakh by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) here. MACT Presiding Officer Anoop Kumar Mendiratta directed HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Ltd, the insurer of the offending vehicle, to pay the amount to central Delhi resident Divya Sharma on the ground that she suffered 70 per cent permanent physical impairment in her right lower limb. "In the present case, the petitioner has suffered 70 per cent permanent physical impairment in relation to her right lower limb...The functional disability suffered by the girl is taken as 50 per cent qua the entire body," the tribunal said. According to the petitioner, on September 2, 2011, Divya, who was on her way to school on her bicycle, was hit by a dumper which ran over her leg and crushed it. She suffered amputation of her right leg below knee. The vehicle's owner and driver failed to rebut the charges and the tribunal held that the accident took place due to negligent driving of the dumper's driver. The insurance company disputed the compensation demanded by the girl and contended that the amount claimed was stated to be excessive and exorbitant. The presiding officer said, "Since the negligence has to be decided on the touchstone of preponderance of probability, the accident has been proved to be caused due to rash and negligent driving of offending vehicle." The tribunal after examining various factors like the age of the girl, her future marriage prospectus, pain, future medical expenses and other factors, awarded Rs 24,77,104 to her. Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Iran, an advocacy group in the United States (US) said he should focus his efforts on pressuring Tehran to halt its "destabilising and provocative" behaviour. It also claimed that should not be rewarded with lucrative business opportunities as there are "numerous risks" for Indian companies in doing business there. The United Against Nuclear (UANI), one of the most influential anti- advocacy groups in the US, said Iran's "irresponsible and belligerent" behaviour is in complete contrast to Modi's "powerful and timely determination" to tackle terrorism and corruption. Modi has a "special opportunity to focus his efforts on pressuring Iran to halt its destabilising and provocative behaviour, rather than prematurely rewarding the regime with lucrative business opportunities," UANI Chairman Senator, Joseph Lieberman and UANI CEO Ambassador Mark Wallace said in a statement released ahead of Modi's visit to Iran on 22-23 May. Modi's strategically important visit, at the invitation of the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, becomes crucial as India looks at stepping-up engagement with the sanctions-free energy-rich nation. Modi will also meet Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the visit. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in New Delhi that the visit will provide thrust to expanding bilateral cooperation in the wake of lifting of sanctions against Iran earlier this year. "The visit of Prime Minister to Iran will seek to build on these commonalities by focusing on specific cooperation in regional connectivity and infrastructure, developing energy partnership, boosting bilateral trade, facilitating people-to-people interaction in various spheres and promoting peace and stability in the region," the MEA statement said. "For these reasons, India's formidable economic and diplomatic power should not be used to further embolden and enable Tehran," it added. The influential group warned that the "risks" of doing business with the Iranian regime are "simply too great and too numerous" for Indian companies and the larger global business community. "World leaders cannot declare they are fighting terrorism and corruption around the world, while at the same time doing business with Tehran," it said. Citing the tough stand taken by Modi against terrorism and corruption, UANI said his call to the community to tackle terrorism together is "particularly relevant" to Iran, which the group described as the "world's leading state sponsor of terrorism". "The Ayatollah and his regime continue to openly support Hezbollah and Hamas, and even recently welcomed a delegation from the terrorist organisation Islamic Jihad," it added. The group also pointed out that Iran fares poorly on global indexes on corruption and in this context Modi "should be mindful" of his statements about fighting terrorism and corruption. UANI, an independent, not-for-profit group, was founded in 2008 by Wallace, former US Ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke and former CIA Director Jim Woolsey. In a bid to circumvent Pakistan and open a route to landlocked Afghanistan, India will sign a contract to develop Phase-1 of Iran's Chabahar port during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Islamic nation beginning Sunday. Modi's first visit to the Shite nation will also feature discussions on terrorism and extremism in the region as well as on India's desire to secure energy assets for a fast growing economy. Also, discussions would feature the mode of clearing the USD 6.4 billion Indian refiners like Essar Oil and MRPL owe to Iran in past oil dues. During the two-day visit, he will call on Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hold bilateral talks with President Hassan Rouhani and witness signing of two agreements, said Gopal Baglay, Joint Secretary (Pakistan- Afghanistan-India) in the Ministry of External Affairs. "The visit of Prime Minister to Iran will focus mainly on connectivity and infrastructure, energy partnership with Iran, boosting bilateral trade, promoting regular consultation on peace and stability particuarly in our region and extended neighbourhood and encouraging people-to-people contacts and relations between the two countries," he told reporters here. Indian Ports Global Pvt Ltd - a joint venture between Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and Kandla Port Trust, will sign a contract with Arya Bandar Company of Iran for developing two terminals and five multi-cargo berth in Phase-1 of the Chabahar port project. Chabahar in southeast Iran will help circumvent Pakistan and open up a route to landlocked Afghanistan where New Delhi has developed close security ties and economic interests. From Chabahar port, the existing Iranian road network can link up to Zaranj in Afghanistan, about 883 km from the port. The Zaranj-Delaram road constructed by India in 2009 can give access to Afghanistan's garland highway, thereby establishing road access to four major cities - Afghanistan-Herat, Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. He said the Indian investment in Phase-1 will be in excess of USD 200 million including USD 150 million line of credit from Exim Bank, an agreement for which would be signed too during the visit. Besides signing of commercial contract for Chabahar Phase-1, Modi will witness signing of a trilateral agreement on transport and transit corridor among India, Afghanisatan and Iran. On securing rights to develop the offshore Farzad-B gas field, which was discovered by ONGC Videsh Ltd, he said discussions have moved towards commercial conclusion and financial closure. The trilateral agreement "will be a gamechanger for regional connectivity especially for Afghanistan which can find an assured and reliable alternate route to assess to India via sea," Baglay said. The route will also significantly enhance prospects of India's connectivity with Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond such as North-South corridor, he said. Besides, "a host of measures will be discussed to promote bilateral trade including expanding and strengthening the legal framework and more business-to-business interactions," he said adding matters pertaining to restoring effective banking channels with post-sanction Iran will also be discussed. "Both Iran and India have stakes in peace and stability in the region which faces several challenges including terrorism and violent extremism," he said adding peace and stability in Afghanistan, on which three countries had their first trilateral consultations last month, will also be discussed. Also, discussions between Indian Prime Minister and Iranian President will cover regional challenges and related areas including cyber crime and maritime security. "Prime Minister will thus impart a timely impetus to the ongoing efforts to bilateral cooperation and mutually benefit from new opportunities from lifting of sanctions against Iran," he added. Asked about revival of the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline with the lifting of sanctions against Tehran, he said as a growing economy India was open to considering all options for evacuating resources from Iran. India and Iran had in 2003 agreed to develop Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman outside the Strait of Hormuz, near Iran's border with Pakistan. But the project moved slowly because of western sanctions against Iran. The sanctions were lifted in January and since then India has been pushing for conclusion of an agreement. (REOPENS DEL 46) The Indian company will undertake the development of two jetties in Chabahar port for a period of 10 years and will transfer all cargo consignments except for oil products. About a fifth of the oil consumed worldwide each day passes through the Strait, a shipping choke point that separates the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman and Indian Ocean. India plans to participate in implementation of the second phase of development of Chabahar, including building 500 km railway between Chabahar and Zahedan which will connect Chabahar to Central Asia. According to the provisional deal, the Indian joint venture will refurbish a 640-meter container handling facility as well as rebuild a 600-meter multi-purpose berth at Chabahar. Indians have guaranteed 30,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units of cargo handing in the third year of operations and aim to handle 250,000 TEUs in the 10th year. To help fund the project, the government of India had in February cleared a proposal by the Ministry of Shipping to secure up to USD 150 million in credit from the Export-Import Bank of India. Chabahar port, located in the Sistan-Baluchistan Province on Iran's southern coast is of great strategic utility for India. It lies outside the Persian Gulf and is easily accessed from India's western coast. The port project will be the first overseas venture for an Indian state-owned port. Jawaharlal Nehru Port, India's biggest container port, holds a 60 per cent stake in Indian Ports Global while Kandla port has the remaining 40 per cent. Amid talks of a reshuffle in the Union Cabinet and recasting of BJP's decision-making bodies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held consultations with party chief Amit Shah and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Though there was no official communication about what transpired in the deliberation among the top brass, sources said it could be linked to the changes in the government and party as the Modi dispensation approaches its second anniversary. A party official, though, noted that the top leaders meet frequently to take stock of the political situation. With assembly elections in several states, the one in Uttar Pradesh being the most crucial, approaching, there is likely to be more representation to the state in the government, sources have said. When asked about the reshuffle yesterday, Shah had parried the query saying a decision was yet to be taken. The changes in party's national executive are also due after Shah started his second stint early this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a two-day visit to the US from June 7 during which he will address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress and hold talks with President Barack Obama to review the progress made in key areas of defence, security and energy. Modi, who is leaving for Iran on Sunday, will also pay a two-day visit to Qatar from June 4. At the invitation of the US President Barack Obama, the Prime Minister will visit Washington DC on June 7-8, 2016, the External Affairs Ministry announced today. "The main objective of the forthcoming visit of the Prime Minister would be to consolidate the progress made in diverse areas such as economy, energy, environment, defence and security, and to intensify cooperation for the future," it said. The Prime Minister has also been invited by the Speaker of the US House of Representative, Paul Ryan, to address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress which he has accepted, it added. Modi, who was invited by Obama for a bilateral visit when Modi travelled to the US for the nuclear summit in March, will be the fifth prime minister of India to address a joint meeting of Congress. Earlier, Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh (July 19, 2005), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (September 14, 2000), P V Narasimha Rao (May 18, 1994) and Rajiv Gandhi (July 13, 1985) addressed the joint meeting of the US Congress. The US Congress has been a source of strength for the India-US strategic partnership and the India Congressional Caucus is the largest such group in the US Congress, the MEA said. During the visit, Modi will have interaction with CEOs of major US companies. Realization of the full potential of Indo-US economic partnership has been a key priority for both the countries and the progress achieved in this regard is reflected in the increased investment flows, the ministry said. Moscow today proposed that Russia and United States, which have been flying separate bombing campaigns in Syria, launch joint air strikes against jihadists from next week, a proposal the Pentagon swiftly rejected. "We are proposing to the US, as the head of the International Syria Support Group, to take part as of May 25 in joint operations between the Russian air force and the air force of the coalition," Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said in televised comments. Shoigu said that the proposal included strikes against Jabhat al-Nusra and other illegal armed groups that do not support a frail truce brokered by Moscow and Washington in February. He also proposed that joint strikes target "convoys containing weapons and ammunition (and) armed units that illegally cross the Syrian-Turkish border." "We believe that adopting these measures will ensure the transition to a peace settlement process over all of Syria's territory," Shoigu said. "Of course, the leadership of the Syrian Arab Republic has agreed to these measures." Hours later Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis rejected Moscow's proposal, saying the US military does "not collaborate or coordinate with the Russians on any operations in Syria." "Russian operations are supporting and enabling the Assad regime and our focus is solely on degrading and defeating ISIL," Davis said, referring to the Islamic State jihadist group. Davis added that the Pentagon had received "nothing formal" from its Russian counterpart regarding the proposal. Russia and the United States pledged earlier this month to redouble efforts to find a solution to the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions since 2011, and extend a truce across the war-torn country. Despite diplomatic efforts to resolve the five-year conflict, Moscow and Washington have been critical of each other's bombing campaigns in Syria. The West has accused Moscow -- a staunch supporter of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad -- of propping up the regime by targeting rebels fighting Assad in strikes Moscow said were aimed against "terrorist" organisations. Moscow has in turn repeatedly slammed the US coalition, saying its strikes in Syria have been ineffective. Shoigu said today that Russia would reserve its right to unilaterally strike "international terrorist and illegal armed groups that have not adhered to the cessation of hostilities" starting from May 25. Moscow today proposed that Russia and United States, which have been flying separate bombing campaigns in Syria, launch joint air strikes against jihadists in the war-torn country from next week. "We are proposing to the US, as the head of the International Syria Support Group, to take part as of May 25 in joint operations between the Russian air force and the air force of the coalition," Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said in televised comments. Shoigu said that the proposal included strikes against Jabhat al-Nusra and other illegal armed groups that do not support a frail truce brokered by Moscow and Washington in February. He also proposed that joint strikes be made against "convoys containing weapons and ammunition, armed units that illegally cross the Syrian-Turkish border." Russia and the United States pledged earlier this month to redouble efforts to find a solution to the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions since 2011, and extend a truce across the war-torn country. Despite diplomatic efforts to resolve the five-year conflict, Moscow and Washington have been critical of each other's bombing campaigns in Syria. The West has accused Moscow -- a staunch supporter of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad -- of propping up the regime by targeting rebels fighting Assad in strikes it said were aimed against "terrorist" organisations. Moscow has in turn repeatedly slammed the US coalition, saying its strikes in Syria have been ineffective. Shoigu said today that Russia would reserve its right to unilaterally strike "international terrorist and illegal armed groups that have not adhered to the cessation of hostilities" starting from May 25. President Vladimir Putin in March announced a partial withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria, saying Moscow's task had been "on the whole" completed. Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) has inked a pact with Chhattisgarh's transport department to set up an Institute of Driving and Traffic Research (IDTR) at Naya Raipur, the state capital. The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state transport department for setting up the institute, MSI said in a statement. The IDTR would be set up in 15 acres of land and the project cost has been pegged at Rs 17 crore. As per the pact, Chattisgarh government will provide the land and infrastructure for the project, while MSI will manage and run the facility. Besides, the carmaker will also provide training equipment - vehicles and simulators - and skilled trainers. "As a carmaker it is also our prime responsibility to create awareness and instill safe driving habits among car users. We are happy that Chattisgarh government has chosen Maruti Suzuki as their partner for this initiative," MSI Associate Vice President-Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said. The main objective of the IDTR will be to promote road safety in Chhattisgarh through awareness, education, and training amongst road users. Bank consolidation should wait for the ongoing balance sheet clean-up so that the merged entity can get a fair valuation, Reserve Bank Deputy Governor S S Mundra said today and allayed fears of job losses in case SBI merges its five associate banks with itself. "All these fears about job losses are without any base. Whenever such situation arises, there are doubts and fears. But slowly, as the dialogue goes on, there will be clarity on it," he told reporters here this evening. The comments came on a day when the unions at the five associate banks of SBI went on a nationwide strike protesting against the merger with their parent bank. They have also called for nationwide strikes on June 7 and July 20. Mundra, who joined RBI after rising up the ranks in commercial banks, said there have not been any job losses in such situations, even in the private sector. He, however, said it would be good for the larger process of bank mergers to happen after the ongoing balance sheet clean-up. "Consolidation has to be an activity which should be well calibrated. Right now, one important activity is on, which is the cleaning up of the balance sheets. "Why I say clean-up before consolidation is important is because that is the only way you can arrive at a fair valuation," he said. Mundra, however, added that the five associate banks of the country's largest lender are already integrated in a "major way". When asked if the weak banks should be merged first, he quipped that at present there is no dearth of weak banks, but consolidation should be carried for the "right reasons and with the right bank so that there is a synergy." "I don't say consolidation has no room. Consolidation will have its own merit with the growth in economy and whatever global (requirement) is there. What is important is right sequencing, right intention and right process. If all the things are there, outcome will certainly be right," he said. In a surprise move earlier this week, SBI it was ready merge all its five associate banks with itself and also take over the newly-created Bharatiya Mahila Bank, a move that will make it a Rs 37-lakh crore behemoth with over 50 crore customers and amongst the top 50 lenders globally. Some 50 Myanmar factory workers and activists involved in a protest march that ended in scuffles with security forces this week have been charged with rioting, police said today. The latest move by authorities to punish demonstrators from recent rallies comes despite efforts by Aung San Suu Kyi's new civilian-led government to amend draconian protest laws as the country tries to shake off the repressive legacy of the former junta. The labour protesters were on Wednesday blocked by a wall of police as they tried to complete an unauthorised march into the capital Naypyidaw. They had walked for three weeks in searing temperatures from northern Sagaing Region, where around 100 workers have recently been fired from a timber factory. Scuffles broke out as they were detained. Authorities said they had initially planned to charge just the rally leaders, but the remaining demonstrators had insisted on all being prosecuted together. "Now around 50 of them have been charged with... Joining in or continuing an unlawful assembly and rioting," said Naypyidaw region police head Ko Ko Aung. He told AFP that authorities had banned the march into the capital on the grounds of national security. Some 20 other protesters were sent home soon after the police clampdown. Naypyidaw was built ten years ago in remote tropical scrubland by Myanmar's former military rulers. It is still considered a stronghold of the army, despite playing host to the country's parliament and its first elected civilian government in half a century. Suu Kyi's party is stacked with former dissidents who served prison time for their opposition to Myanmar's military governments. Since taking the helm following a landslide election victory in November, the administration has freed scores of activists and political prisoners and signalled its determination to repeal oppressive laws. But rights groups have expressed concern over efforts to amend the Peaceful Assembly Act, fearing it could continue to penalise non-violent demonstrations, albeit with shorter jail terms. MPs debated the amendment bill in parliament on Thursday calling for further changes, but have not yet voted on the issue. Union Health Minister J P Nadda today launched 'Kayakalp Fortnight' to ensure upkeep of high level of cleanliness, sanitation and hygiene within and outside the premises of central government hospitals in the country. "The 'Kayakalp Fortnight' will be observed throughout the country in various central government hospitals between May 20 and June 3 with a view to intensify the 'Kayakalp' initiatives under the Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan launched by Prime Minister," Nadda said after the launch at AIIMS. He said as part of the various activities to be taken up during the fortnight, senior ministry officers will inspect various central hospitals in the country to take stock of the existing status and to intensify the Swachhta drive. "The states have been requested to take up similar campaigns," Nadda said. During his visit, the minister reviewed the practices followed for maintaining cleanliness, sanitation and hygiene within and outside the premises of AIIMS and inspected various wards including the OTs, ICUs, emergency and private. He held a meeting with the AIIMS Director, senior officers and doctors of various facilities/wards to get their inputs on the protocols being followed and also sought their suggestions. The Health Ministry launched the Kayakalp initiative last year to set protocols for upkeep of hygiene and sanitation at government health facilities. Committees and sub-committees are formed to periodically review and monitor the progress made in these areas. Delhi Daredevils kept alive their slender hopes of qualifying for the play-offs after Karun Nair guided them to a six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad with a 59-ball unbeaten 83 in a do-or-die Indian Premier League match that went down to the wire here tonight. Chasing 159, Daredevils rode on Nair's knock to secure a last-ball win against the butter-fingered Sunrisers Hyderabad who dropped two easy chances, though Barinder Sran pulled off one of the best catches of the tournament. After Mustafizur Rahman conceded just five runs in the penultimate over, Daredevils needed 11 off the final six deliveries bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The seamer had a good start, but a composed Nair managed to hit boundaries off the final two deliveries to help Delhi cross the line. Nair hit eight boundaries and three sixes. Daredevils remained on sixth position with seven wins from 13 games, while Sunrisers stayed at the top despite the reverse. Daredevils were off to a bad start as they lost Quinton de Kock (2) cheaply in the second over. The young duo of Karun Nair and Rishabh Pant (32) then shared a 73-run partnership for the second wicket to keep Daredevils in the hunt. Nair and Pant managed to hit the occasional boundaries. While Sran gave Sunrisers the opening breakthrough, the bowler was hit for two boundaries by Nair in the following over to keep the pressure on him. Nair then clobbered Moises Henriques's short delivery for a big six over square leg. At the end of the 10th over, Daredevils were 68 for two, needing 91 runs from 60 balls at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium. Two overs went without a boundary after that six by Nair till Pant dispatched a short ball from leg-spinner Karn Sharma through the midwicket region. That was the last time Pant would find the fence as he was run out due to a good piece of fielding by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Pant struck three boundaries in his 26-ball knock. Nair tried to wrest the momentum back by hitting Deepak Hooda's full toss through midwicket for a four. JP Duminy swept Karn Sharma, and the ball raced to the boundary despite David Warner's full-length dive. Nair reached his half century with a single. Luck was on Nair's side as Warner dropped an easy catch just after the batsman reached his fifty. (REOEPNS DEL 83) Looking for a breakthrough, Mustafizur was brought into the attack by Warner, but Nair sent him through fine leg for a boundary. The Bangladeshi seamer, though, picked up the wicket of Carlos Brathwaite in the penultimate over owing to a brilliant catch by Sran. Meanwhile, luck smiled on Daredevils one more time as Sunrisers Hyderabad dropped another sitter, this time by Bhuvneshwar. Duminy tried to loft one over mid-off, but could not time it, and Bhuvneshwar got under the ball which then bounced out of his palm. On that occasion, the fortunate batsman was Duminy. While Duminy got out soon, Nair's drop proved to be costly as he helped DD inch closer to victory by hitting a couple of sixes. Earlier, Warner struck yet another half-century to guide Sunrisers Hyderabad to 158 for seven. Sent into bat, skipper Warner led from the front and struck eight boundaries and a six in his 56-ball knock. This was Warner's eight fifty in the ongoing ninth season of the cash-rich T20 league. The in-form opener added 46 runs for the first wicket with Shikhar Dhawan (10) before the Indian fell to a brilliant piece of work by Carlos Brathwaite. As Dhawan hit one towards mid-on, Brathwaite made a diving save off his own bowling and then fired an accurate throw at the striker's end to run out the batsman who was on the lookout for a quick single. Deepak Hooda (1), too, was run out while going for what seemed like a needless attempt. Yuvraj Singh (10) was bowled by Brathwaite as Sunrisers Hyderabad slumped to 66 for three in the 10th over. Warner tried to forge a partnership with Moises Henriques (10) and added 39 runs for the fourth wicket before the latter was sent back by JP Duminy. Even as wickets fell around him, Warner stood firm at the other hand and kept finding the ropes. He was especially fluent in the off side to start with and scored a few boundaries in that direction. However, Sunrisers were dealt a body blow when they lost their captain in the 16th over to leave the side struggling at 117 for five. Brathwaite bowled one short outside off and Warner top-edged to give Amit Mishra an easy catch at third man. Down the order, Eoin Morgan (10) Naman Ojha made (16 not out) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (12 not out) made useful contributions to help the the team reach a modest total. Returning to the side, Brathwaite picked up two wickets for 27 runs in his four-over spell, while was one apiece for JP Duminy and Nathan Coulter-Nile. Earlier, Daredevils continued their trend of tinkering with their XI. They made three changes to their line-up that lost to Rising Pune Supergiants. Rishi Sunak, the son-in-law of Infosys founder Narayan Murthy and the Conservative party's prominent first-time Indian-origin MP, today threw his weight behind Britain leaving the EU in the June 23 referendum. Sunak branded uncontrolled immigration from Europe that makes immigration norms tougher for Indians as "irrational and unfair" and declared that 'Brexit' would ensure that such discrimination comes to an end. "As it can't control EU immigration, the UK also has to be much tougher on immigration from countries like India and Canada. This is irrational and unfair. "Irrational because Britain should be welcoming the best people from around the world, not just from Europe; unfair because we are discriminating against countries with whom we have ties of history, language and culture," he said in a statement on behalf of the official 'Vote Leave' campaign. The 34-year-old, who is married to Murthy's daughter Akshata, became an MP in last year's general elections from Richmond in North Yorkshire, in northern England. The Oxford University and Stanford MBA graduate co-founded a 1-billion-pound global investment firm and specialised in investing in small British businesses. On a personal note, he said "I grew up watching my parents work hard and serve our local community with dedication. My dad is a NHS (National Health Service) family GP and my mum ran her own small business, the local chemist shop. Small companies are the lifeblood of our economy: they employ more people than large companies and are responsible for 85 per cent of recent job creation". "But, while this government has worked hard to support our small businesses, EU red tape is holding them back. From working in my mum's tiny chemist shop to my experience building large businesses, I have seen how we should support free enterprise and innovation to ensure Britain has a stronger future," he said. He believes small businesses in the UK would flourish as a result of Brexit as the "vast majority of British businesses (94 per cent) don't have anything to do with the EU; but they are still subject to all EU laws". Sunak joins employment minister Priti Patel as high- profile Indian-origin voices in favour of Brexit and, like her, is appealing directly to UK immigrant communities. "Like many of you, I come from a family of immigrants. I am grateful to Britain for giving my family the opportunity to settle here and forge a better life. I am proud of our country's generous approach to welcoming hardworking and ambitious immigrants and believe it is in our interests to continue doing so," he said. NATO has reached "broad agreement" to seek another meeting with Russia before NATO leaders meet in Warsaw this July, the alliance's chief said today. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman swiftly welcomed the announcement, but said all dialogue must include a respect for Russia's interests. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, alliance foreign ministers agreed on a "dual track approach" toward Moscow: to keep reinforcing NATO defenses against what they see as a mounting Russian threat, but also to keep channels of communication open to the Kremlin. Stoltenberg said the ministers "all agreed in the current situation that we need a platform (like) the NATO-Russia Council to pursue transparency, predictability and to work for enhancing mechanisms for risk reduction to avoid dangerous situations, situations which can spiral out of control." The NATO-Russia Council, created in 2002 when relations between the former Cold War foes were much better, met for the first time in nearly two years last month. That meeting, however, failed to bridge differences between Russia and the US-led alliance that have led to a sharp downturn in relations since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. The Crimea takeover led NATO to suspend practical cooperation with Russia, but "we decided to keep channels for political dialogue open," Stoltenberg said. He said NATO officials will now "start to look into the modalities and practical arrangements" for reconvening the NATO-Russia Council. Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, welcomed NATO's intentions. "The Russian side has never avoided dialogue, we always have supported dialogue," he told reporters. "We believe it's the only way to tackle the problems we face. At the same time, a dialogue must be trusting and constructive and be based on respect of mutual interests, otherwise it hardly can be productive." Yesterday, NATO invited the Balkan nation of Montenegro to become its 29th member pending formal ratification by the US Senate and the parliaments of other alliance members and Montenegro. Peskov, however, said NATO's growth can only exacerbate the security situation in Europe. "From our point of view, further expansion of NATO is a negative process," the Russian spokesman said. "This process doesn't contribute to strengthening European security, just the opposite -- it's fraught with heightening tensions on the continent. Indian Medical Association (IMA) today welcomed the Centre's decision to keep the state boards out of the ambit of common medical entrance exam, NEET, for one year but the Delhi unit of the doctor's body "strongly opposed" the move saying, corruption prevails in state-run medical colleges. "IMA supports the Centre's ordinance to keep state boards out of the ambit of common medical entrance exams for one year on the ground that there is no inequality in terms of curriculum or language barrier for students appearing both for state and central exams," Secretary General of IMA, Dr K K Aggarwal said. He, however, clarified that states can have their own views on the issue. Meanwhile, Delhi Medical Association (DMA), which is the state branch of IMA, opposed the ordinance alleging that corruption is prevalent in some government medical colleges, and the states should not be allowed to continue with their separate entrance tests for MBBS and BDS courses. "We strongly oppose the ordinance as there are some state government colleges where corruption is prevalent, like it was in Madhya Pradesh. "We want Supreme Court's order on single entrance test NEET for admissions to the medical programmes across the country to be implemented to check alleged irregularities in the enrollment process," said Ashwani Goyal, State Secretary of DMA. Under pressure from several states, the Centre gave its nod for promulgation of an ordinance to keep state boards out of the ambit of uniform medical entrance examination, NEET, for this year. The next phase of the examinations is scheduled for July 24. About 6.5 lakh students had taken the medical entrance test in the first phase of NEET held on May 1. Once the ordinance is issued, students of state government boards will not have to sit for NEET on July 24. They, however, will have to become part of the uniform entrance exam from next academic session, government sources said. A Nepali mountaineer broke her own world record for the maximum number of Everest summits by a woman after scaling the peak for the seventh time today, her expedition company said. The daughter of a yak herder, 43-year-old Lhakpa Sherpa worked as a porter and kitchen hand on trekking and mountaineering expeditions when she was young, before becoming a climber herself. The mother-of-three retired from climbing after her sixth summit of the 8,850-metre (29,035-foot) high Mount Everest in 2006 before deciding to make a comeback, 16 years after she first scaled the world's tallest peak. "Lhakpa summited Everest at 5:00 am (2315 GMT) today for the seventh time," said Svetlana Nujoom, program manager of 7 Summits Adventure, which organised her expedition. In an interview with AFP in March, Sherpa said she intended to summit Everest twice this season, although Nujoom was unable to confirm whether she still planned a second bid before weather conditions worsen by the end of the month. "The team is descending at the moment and I am not sure if she will go back up this season," Nujoom told AFP. Sherpa, who works as a part-time housekeeper in the United States, scaled the peak from its Tibetan side, unlike most climbers who begin their ascent from Everest base camp in Nepal, the easiest and most popular route. Sherpa has said she eventually wants to beat the record held by male climber Apa Sherpa which stands at 21 total summits. Her record caps a successful season for climbing on Everest, which has seen around 300 summits since last week, ending a years-long drought after two disasters. Nine Nepalis last week became the first group of climbers in three years to summit the peak, paving the way for others to follow. Hundreds of climbers abandoned their expeditions last year after an earthquake-triggered avalanche at Everest base camp killed 18 people. Only one climber summited the peak in 2014, using a helicopter to transport tent equipment to higher camps after an avalanche killed 16 Nepali guides and prompted the cancellation of that year's mountaineering season. Mountaineering is a major revenue-earner for impoverished Nepal but last year's earthquake, which killed almost 9,000 people, threatened the future of the Himalayan nation's climbing and trekking industry. A non-government organisation, Sankalp Charitable Trust which had earlier moved the apex court in support of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test, on Friday said it would challenge the ordinance, approved by the Cabinet, as soon as it is notified. Advocate Amit Kumar, who had appeared for the NGO, said the SC order can't be circumvented by bringing an ordinance. There are multiple grounds on which we will be challenging the ordinance, once it is notified. The Centre during the hearing of the case had taken a stand before the Supreme Court that it has no difficulty in holding the NEET. Now it cannot just take a U-turn and allow state boards to be out of the ambit of the single common entrance test. The Union Cabinet today approved promulgating an ordinance to keep state boards out of the ambit of uniform medical entrance examination, NEET, for one academic session. The executive order is aimed at "partially" overturning a Supreme Court order which said the NEET or National Eligibility cum Entrance Test will be held on July 24. So far, 6.5 lakh students have already sat for the first phase of NEET held on May 1. The next phase of the exam is scheduled for July 24. Once the ordinance is cleared, students of state government boards will not have to sit for NEET on July 24. They, however, will have to become part of the uniform entrance exam from next academic session, government sources clarified. The exam will be applicable for those applying for Central government and private management institutions under the management quota. The apex court had on May 9 rejected pleas of state governments and minority institutions to allow them to hold separate entrance exams for MBBS and BDS courses for 2016-17, saying only NEET provides for conducting such test for admission to these courses. The top court had approved the schedule put before it by the Centre, CBSE and Medical Medical Council of India (MCI) for treating All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) fixed for May 1 as NEET-1. It had said that those who have not applied for AIPMT will be given opportunity to appear in NEET-II on July 24 and the combined result would be declared on August 17, so that the admission process can be completed by September 30. Former Congress MP Nilesh Rane was today arrested by the Chiplun police in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra in a case where he is accused of assaulting and kidnapping a local party worker. Nilesh, son of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane, was later produced before the magistrate's court in Chiplun which rejected his bail application after remanding him in 14-day judicial custody. He was placed under arrest after he surrendered before Chiplun police at around 8 AM. The Bombay High Court, on Tuesday, had refused him pre-arrest bail and asked him to surrender before the police on or before May 23. The police had told the High Court that there were serious allegations against Rane and his custodial interrogation was needed as investigation was on. A case was registered by Thane police against Nilesh Rane, his personal assistant Tushar Panchal and bodyguard Manish Singh last month for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting Congress's Chiplun unit chief Sandeep Sawant. According to the FIR, Rane and others allegedly kidnapped Sawant from Chiplun and assaulted him on way to Mumbai for not attending a rally organised by Rane to demand reservation for the Maratha community. According to Sawant, he did not attend the Chiplun rally because his mother was ill. Sawant was allegedly confined to a house in Andheri in Mumbai and later let off. He then reached Thane and got admitted to a hospital. Thane police registered a case. Narayan Rane had visited Sawant in the hospital, reportedly to request him to withdraw the complaint against Nilesh Rane, but Sawant did not budge. The Odisha Government today said there would be no power cuts'till June 30 even as the monsoon is delayed as per the forecast of the IMD. Energy Minister Pranab Prakash Das said this after reviewing the power situation in the state. He said though the state generates 3300 MW to 4,000 MW per day of electricity, its requirement is 4100 MW during the peak hours. "Around 50 to 60 megawatt is being brought through power banking from Delhi and Punjab", said the minster adding that the state government's proper handling of matters have ensured that the reservoirs have enough water for generating hydro-electricity for another 15 days. While in Balimela, the water level is at 30 feet, in Kolab around 3 metre water is in reserve, he said. The next decision on power cuts will be taken after a review meeting on May 30, the Energy minister said. However, the cyclone Roanu induced rainfall have helped to increase the water level in all the reservoirs, he said. Pakistani flags were displayed today during a procession led by moderate Hurriyat Conference chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in old city of Srinagar. Masked men were holding the Pakistani flags when the separatist leader took out the procession from Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area as part of a series of events organised on the eve of 26th death anniversary of his father Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq. "Pakistani and green (Islamic)flags were waved by a group of youthat the rally led by Hurriyat Conference chairman Murwai Umar Farooq," a police official said. The official said police is investigating as to who waved the controversial flags. The procession culminated at Mirwaiz Manzil, head office of Awami Action Committee. Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq was killed by two gunmen on May 21, 1990 at his residence here. In 2011, senior Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Bhat had said that Farooq had been killed by "our own people". The state government has maintained that that then Hizbul Mujahideen commander Mohammad Abdullah Bangroo had killed Farooq. During a rally organised by moderate Hurriyat conference in old city today Pakistani flags were waved. "Pakistani and green (Islamic)flags were waved by a group of youthat the rally led by Hurriyat Conference chairman Murwai Unar Farooq," a police official said. He said the rally was taken out from Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area of the city as part of series of events organised by Hurriyat on the eve of 26th death anniversary of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, father of the current Mirwaiz. The official said police is investigating as to who hoisted the controversial flags. The rally culminated at Mirwaiz Manzil, head office of Awami Action Committee. Pakistan has lost a staggering USD 57 billion due to terrorism in the past five years, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar today said. In a written reply to the Senate, the Upper House of the parliament, Dar said the Pakistani economy bore losses of USD 57 billion in the last five years due to terrorism. Pakistan has been battling home-grown terrorism for many years. In June 2014, Pakistan launched a major crackdown on militants with a military operation named Zarb-i-Azb. According to Pakistani military, more than 3,000 militants were killed during the offensive. A Pakistani national, who was sentenced for 28 months in 2006 for illegally entering through the Line of Control, was apprehended again near the International Border by BSF in Arnia Sector here. Jahid Farooq (30), a resident of Faisalabad in Pakistan, was apprehended yesterday when he tried to cross the fence at the International Border (IB), BSF DIG of Jammu Frontier Dharmendra Pareek said. Farooq had entered into Indian territory through the Line of Control (LoC) in Akhnoor sector of Jammu district in 2006 and was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment, he said. After completing his sentence, the man managed to give a slip and went to Mumbai from where he travelled to Amritsar and worked as a labourer, the DIG said. "Few days back, he returned to Jammu and yesterday he was found moving suspiciously in the Arnia sector, his activities were under surveillance when he reached near the border outpost", Pareek said. On being challenged, he tried to run towards the border fence at the International Border (IB) but was apprehended by BSF officials, he said. The man was later handed over to police for further questioning. is an epicentre of global terrorism and India does not need any lecture from it on its internal matters, India asserted today, reacting angrily to reported comments by Islamabad about the Handwara incident in Kashmir. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup also said comments by a senior minister in Pakistan's Punjab province that action cannot be taken against terror outfits JuD and JeM as the state itself was involved with them corroborated India's position. He said the remarks of Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah elucidated the reason for lack of effective action even against those entities and individuals against whom has international obligation to act, adding Islamabad must address the "unfortunate reality". "If the Minister indeed said so, it sadly corroborates the view that we have always held about the support and freedom available to anti-India terrorist groups in Pakistan, including internationally sanctioned terrorist groups and individuals," he said. The Pakistani minister had also ruled out the possibility of any legal action against the terror groups saying, "How can you prosecute a group with whom the state itself has been involved with?". "It is upto authorities in to address this unfortunate reality in the interest of a normal relationship between our two countries and in broader interest of Pakistan itself," he said. Asked to respond to Pakistan Foreign Office's reported comments about protests following the Handwara incident Swarup, in a strong reaction, called Pakistan an epicentre of global terrorism and that Islamabad has no locus standi to comment on such internal issues. "We do not need lectures from third parties, least of all from Pakistan, which would do well to reflect upon the state it finds itself in, as an epicentre of global terrorism and a country where religious minorities are routinely persecuted," said Swarup. He said India's robust and vibrant democracy has enough redressal mechanisms to handle such cases. "The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. Pakistan has no locus standi in commenting on matters that are entirely internal to the state of J&K and India. Pakistani police acting on intelligence killed 14 al-Qaida members and other militants in two separate shootouts in central Pakistan, authorities said today. Eight al-Qaida operatives and other militants were killed near the city of Multan, in Punjab province, on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by the province's counter terrorism department. It said several of the accomplices managed to flee but were traced to the district of Dera Ghazi Khan, where six were killed in a firefight with security forces the following day. Among those killed was a man linked to a 2010 militant attack on two mosques of the Ahmadi minority sect in the eastern city of Lahore that killed 97 people. Other were involved in attacks against the security forces, the counter terrorism department said. CPI(M) strongman Pinarayi Vijayan is all set to become the next chief minister of Kerala with the party unanimously choosing him over 92-year-old veteran V S Achutanandan, who played a major role in bringing the party back to power in the election. In a bid to placate Achutanandan, the party compared him with Fidel Castro and said he will continue to guide and inspire the front. The decision to nominate Politburo member Vijayan, 72, as the leader of the LDF legislature party was taken at a meeting of the CPI(M) State Secretariat and Committee, here, a day after LDF trounced the Congress-led UDF bagging 91 seats in the 126-member Assembly. Announcing the decision, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, who attended the meetings, said "the party has decided to propose the name of Pinarayi Vijayan as LDF chief minister." The time and date of the swearing-in ceremony of the new government, which will be soon, will be decided after consulting other Front partners, he said. Today's meeting was also attended by Politburo member Prakash Karat. CPI(M) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan will hold talks with front leaders and take a decision on this. Yechury said considering Achutanandan's age and physical limitations and recognising his role, "we have come to a unanimous decision to propose the name of Pinarayi Vijayan as leader of LDF legislature party". In a bid to scuttle reports that Achutanandan was reportedly unhappy after he was informed about the Secretariat decision to propose Vijayan's name for the chief minister's post, Yechury met the press flanked by the nonagenarian and Balakrishnan. Describing Achutanandan as a 'war horse' and likening him to Communist hero Castro, Yechury said the veteran leader will continue to guide and inspire and play that role. "Comrade VS is like Fidel Castro to Kerala. Like Fidel in Cuba today, advising, guiding, inspiring, Comrade VS will continue that role," he said. Vijayan, who won the assembly election from Dharmadom in Kannur district with a majority of 36,905votes, will be the fourth chief minister of CPI(M). On whether Achutanandan would be given any role in the government, Yechury said the party's present agenda is to form the new government. "All other things can be discussed later," he said. Asked about Trinamool Congress retaining their government in West Bengal and the Left drubbing in states where polls were held, he said, "Of the three national parties, BJP got 64, Congress 115, and we left parties 124. That is the absolute ground reality statistics." When asked about the comment of West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee that the Left had an unholy alliance with Congress, Yechury shot back saying "what is the holiness between Didibhai-Modibhai". He said the BJP's vote share had declined by seven per cent in West Bengal and it went to TMC. Describing the victory of LDF as "historic", he said the BJP victory at Nemom, where O Rajagopal was elected, was due to "match fixing". Yechury saluted the people of Kerala for reimposing their faith in LDF. Issues like prohibition and allegations of corruption directed against AIADMK by the opposition failed to cut any ice with the voters as the ruling dispensation not only retained power but also bettered its vote share in the May 16 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls. In a wide open electoral battle that saw a six-cornered fight, the split in vote share among parties like DMDK, PMK and BJP seemed to have dented the chances of the main opposition DMK, which pulled out all stops to come back to power after a five year hiatus. This even included party Treasurer M K Stalin's much hyped pre-poll initiative 'Namakku Name' where he covered all 234 Assembly seats in the state. AIADMK, which fielded its candidates in 227 seats, made sure its small-time allies also contested on the party's Two Leaves symbol, virtually making its presence felt in all 234 seats. However, elections were held only for 232 segments as the Election Commission had deferred polling in Aravakurichi and Thanjavur to May 23 following allegations of money power. AIADMK may have seen a dip in the number of seats it scored this time at 134 as against 150 last time, but the party managed to increase its vote share. The party had registered a vote share of 39.80 per cent in 2011 with 150 seats but made gains this time by registering 40.8 per cent. The party bucked the trend of parties alternatively forming government in the state, belying most exit polls that did not give it a favourable verdict. Amid a strong perceived anti-liquor mood where all parties, including DMK promised dry law with a single order, AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa took a gamble when she promised the same law, albeit in a phased manner. At the meetings attended by women in large numbers, the 68-year-old leader repeatedly insisted that prohibition at one go was not possible as it required rehabilitation of affected persons. She also stuck to doling out freebies, saying they were meant for people's welfare, and ridiculed the criticism by others including DMK, saying she was with the poor when it came to providing such sops. Delivering a virtual masterstroke by delaying her party manifesto and releasing it on a day when Congress President Sonia Gandhi and DMK chief M Karunanidhi were slated to address a public meeting, Jayalalithaa ensured the limelight stayed on her. Free 100 units of power, sops in education sector, free mobile phones and employment to one member in the family were the highlights of her party manifesto. DMK, which went all guns blazing, including making catchy ads even featuring the December 2015 deluge, failed to cross the finish line. However, the party stormed Chennai, its bastion wrested by AIADMK in 2011, even as it polled 31.6 per cent of the total votes. DMK won ten out of the 16 segments in Chennai district. Having managed to stitch a rainbow alliance despite failing to rope in DMDK after much wooing, DMK settled for 89 seats, increasing both its number of seats (23) and vote share (22.38) from 2011. DMK's ally Congress won eight seats and polled 6.4 per cent of the total votes. DMK, which had continued with the liquor policy introduced by AIADMK in 2003 through its 2006-11 regime, seemed to have bet on prohibition and deployed Stalin for the campaign in favour of dry law. DMK even promised to shut down distilleries run by its leaders but the issue failed to make any impact on voters as South and West Tamil Nadu stood behind Jayalalithaa and voted en masse for AIADMK. The DMK's manifesto paled before AIADMK when it came to offering freebies. The party seemed to have taken at face value the many exit polls which gave it the numbers to form government. The real flop, however, turned out to be the DMDK-PWF-TMC combine. The combined vote share of the coalition stood at around 6.1 per cent, much less than what DMDK (7.88 per cent) scored on its own in the 2011 polls. PWF constituents- MDMK, CPI(M), CPI and VCK besides TMC, could not even register one per cent votes. Political observers felt PWF coordinator Vaiko's decision to pull out of the race in Kovilpatti in the last minute had given confusing signals to voters. The voters also dashed the hopes of PMK and BJP to make a mark in the state polls. A South African university renowned as the launchpad for leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe celebrated its centenary today against a backdrop of violent student protests. Police at the Fort Hare campus used water cannon to force back students who tried to march on the venue where dignitaries including President Jacob Zuma and Mugabe were gathered. The students later staged a protest vigil after their bid to block the main entrance was thwarted by police. "Students tried to barricade the roads leading to the university," police spokesman Khaya Tonjeni told AFP. "We have reinforced the security because there was a high level of intimidation two days ago when marquees were burnt down," he said. Overnight, police fired stun grenades and teargas at students who hurled rocks at them at the university in the Eastern Cape province. The violence at Fort Hare follows protests at campuses across South Africa over the past year by students over issues such as racism, fees and accommodation. Several universities were closed briefly in February after a wave of protests in which buildings were torched, while an auditorium was firebombed at the University of Johannesburg earlier this week. "Burning schools, libraries and university buildings means burning the future," Zuma said in his address at Fort Hare. "There can be no justification of violence and anarchy, especially in a country where people have freedom of speech and expression." Fort Hare was regarded as a beacon of light for black African scholars barred from universities reserved for whites during apartheid, and it trained several leaders and influential nationalists across sub-Saharan Africa. Mandela said in his autobiography that Fort Hare was like "Oxford and Cambridge, Harvard and Yale, all rolled into one." Mugabe today lauded the university where "I was transformed and... Truly discovered my African identity and African personality." Mugabe, 92, repeated his vow that he would not step down despite ruling since 1980. "In Zimbabwe they have said we will have regime change, I have said never ever, and that's one of the reasons I have stuck on," he said. The government's headhunter Public Enterprises Selection Board (PSEB) has initiated the process of appointing Chairman and Managing Director of Ltd. The move comes after the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet had rejected the PSEB's recommendation to appoint Gopal Singh as CMD of the state-owned miner and asked it to start afresh selection process for the post. "The Public Enterprises Selection Board is seeking qualified candidates for the post of Chairman and Managing Director, National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) in schedule 'A' of the CPSE, the scale of pay of the post being Rs. 80,000-1,25,000/- (REVISED). A copy of the job description for the post is enclosed...," the PSEB said in a notification. The PSEB had earlier recommended the name of Singh, who is the CMD of Central Coalfields, for NMDC's top post, which fell vacant after the retirement of Narendra Kothari on December 31. Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser to Steel Ministry Bharathi S Sihag has been given additional charge as CMD of the iron ore company with effect from January 1. Four allegedly being run without permission were raided by Mumbai police and 62 women rescued from there, while 80 people were arrested, police said today. The Social Service Branch (SSB) of police conducted the raids at two bars in South Mumbai, and one each at Andheri in western suburb and Ghatkopar in eastern suburb, they said. The raids, which started last evening, continued till the early hours today. As many as 80 people, including some customers and staff of the bar, were arrested following the raids. They would be produced in a court today where police would seek their remand. The women rescued from the four bars were later let off. The police arrested 14 people from a bar at DB Marg in South Mumbai and rescued 12 women from there, while as many as 22 people were arrested from another bar in Andheri and 17 women rescued, police said. During the raid at bar in Ghatkopar, the SSB sleuths arrested 19 people and rescued 27 women. Besides, in a joint action by the Nagpada police and SSB, 25 people were arrested from a bar in South Mumbai and six women rescued from there late last night, police said. All the accused were arrested under the provisions of the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women Act 2016, police said. As per the new law, the accused can be sentenced to five years imprisonment and fined upto Rs 25 lakh, police said. Notably, the Mumbai Police had recently issued licence to two dance bars, as the per the new guidelines laid down by the Maharashtra government. Prior to that, the Supreme Court had directed the state government to grant licences to eight within two days and asked the owners to give an undertaking that they would not engage employees with criminal antecedents near the dance area. According to the new conditions, must be at least a kilometre from any education or religious institution, their timings restricted between 6 PM and 11.30 PM, and liquor is not to be served in the performance area. With the arrest of two persons from Samba district here, railway police today claimed to have busted a notorious gang, allegedly involved in looting several passengers in trains by offering eatables laced with sedatives. Kingpin of the 'zehar khurani' gang- Babloo and his accomplice Raju were arrested from Bari Brahmana area of Samba district yesterday, SSP Railways Rajinder Gupta said. "The gang used to offer eatables laced with intoxicants to vulnerable passengers at various points at the Jammu railway station and Jammu bus stand. After the victims fell unconscious, these people used to run away with their belongings," Gupta said. He said a large quantity of intoxicants and eatables laced with sedatives were recovered from their possession. A case has been registered and investigations are on to find out their other associates, he said. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today inaugurated a well-being camp with an aim to infuse positive thinking and new energy among public representatives and government officers. "The camp would infuse positive thinking amongst the public representatives and officers, which would inculcate a new energy. They would contribute to overall development of the state in a better way," she said addressing the inaugural session of the two-day well being camp "Inner Engineering- Technologies" at Sitapur area here. Ministers in Raje government, Members of Parliament and Legislative Assembly, Chief Secretary, IAS, IPS, IFS and RAS officers posted at Jaipur participated in the camp which has been organised by Isha Foundation, an official release said. The Reserve Bank has allowed overseas investors to buy equity shares in Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) after foreign shareholding in the bourse fell below the prescribed threshold caution limit. The aggregate share holdings in Multi Commodity Exchange of India by Foreign Institutional Investors/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors have gone below the prescribed threshold caution limit stipulated under the extant FDI policy, RBI said in a notification. "Hence the restrictions placed on the purchase of shares of the above company are withdrawn with immediate effect", it said. RBI further notified that all the approvals received against the said scrip are duly cancelled. "Equity shares of Multi Commodity Exchange of India can now be purchased through primary market and stock exchanges," it added. As per data available on BSE, public holding in the company was 99.64 per cent as of March 2016, while the rest of 0.36 per cent was held by others. MCX shares closed at Rs 857.80 apiece on BSE today, up 0.30 per cent. The Central Information Commission has directed the Centre to undertake a "critical review" of allocation of hundreds of seats in medical colleges across the country over and above the sanctioned capacity. In a stern order, Information Commissioner Yashovardhan Azad said such allocation is creating an "uncertain future for the candidates" admitted against these seats. The comments of the Information Commissioner came on an RTI application from a medical student who wanted to know whether the MS Ophthalmology seat offered to her, out of the two seats at Dr BR Ambedkar Medical College in Bangalore was recognized by Medical Council of India. But no response was given to her following which she approached the Commission. Azad said it is also clear that most of the provisions and stipulations laid down under the various sections of the Medical Council of India (criteria for identification of students admitted in excess of admission capacity of medical colleges) regulations, 1997 are not being followed. "It is in public interest and in the interest of thousands of meritorious students that the Central Government and the MCI should direct the Medical Colleges to furnish the list of students admitted in excess of admission capacity for every Academic session to the MCI and then take immediate appropriate action," Azad said. He said," The Central Government and the MCI are also strongly advised to undertake a critical review of the hundreds of seats to various courses in Medical Colleges all over the country which have been allotted over and above the sanctioned capacity, thereby creating an uncertain future for the candidates admitted against these seats." Giving a rap on the knuckles of the medical education regulator of the country, Azad said the MCI is charged with the responsibility of maintaining the highest standards of Medical Education in the Country. "It grants permission to new Medical Colleges and Courses as per well established norms. This responsibility of safeguarding the quality of the Medical Institutions in the country, therefore, does not end with merely giving permission for new colleges and courses but continues in ensuring that the standards are maintained throughout," he said. The applicant Sridevi Prakash T told the Commission that out of the two seats only one was recognised while the other had "permitted" status because of certain deficiency in the medical college. "It is the grievance of the appellant that the MCI did not issue a certificate of recognition to the MS programme pursued by her and therefore, she is unable to register herself with the State Medical Council," Azad noted. The complainant stated that she was allotted admission upon her performance in the entrance exam and she ranked higher than the other candidate who was also offered admission in the aforesaid course. Hence, she is entitled to be offered admission against the recognised seat. "...The appellant through her RTI has raised a matter of denial of justice to a meritorious and deserving student. The appellant has been clearly discriminated against by denial of her legitimate right in the instant case," Azad pointed out. The Information Commissioner said the tragic situation for the appellant in this case is that every concerned authority has evaded responsibility from giving a clear answer. "It is clear from the facts of the case that she is entitled to the seat recognised by the MCI, since she has come on merit through an entrance exam, ranking higher than the candidate who was offered admission to the other seat in the same programme," he said Azad said however, neither the Medical College nor the State Medical Council took decision on this case, which on merits could have been easily decided. He said CPIO (MCI) also evaded responsibility by stating that MCI is not a seat allotting authority but only a recognising body which gives permission for establishment of new Medical Colleges or new courses of study. "...It was MCI's bounden duty to declare the appellant who had ranked higher in merit as the rightful claimant to the recognised seat in the MS (Ophthalmology) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Medical College, Bangalore. A clear reply furnishing this information should have been provided to the appellant's RTI query," he said. The Commission directs the MCI to give information to the appellant in clear and unequivocal terms whether her seat is recognised by the MCI or not within 4 weeks of the receipt of the Order, under intimation to the Commission, he said. The head of security for the state of Rio de Janeiro wants soldiers to start policing the city immediately, two and a half months before the Rio Olympics are set to start. State Security Secretary Jose Mariano Beltrame, speaking alongside Defense Minister Raul Jungmann, said the military would help local police battle the city's rising crime. "The request of external (armed) forces for Rio de Janeiro is in order to release the police of the state to take care of the city, the citizen and the tourists," Beltrame said. Security is one in a long list of problems facing South America's first Olympics. They include the Zika virus, water pollution, steep budget cuts, a deep recession, and the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. Tourism officials estimate between 300,000-500,000 visitors will travel to Rio during the Olympics. Brazil has already committed to using about 85,000 soldiers and police to guard the Olympics, about twice as many as London four years ago. The state of Rio de Janeiro has cut about $550 million for its security budget, about 20 percent, and Beltrame has repeatedly said he would like to have more police. Beltrame and Jungmann were not clear about if and when soldiers would start patrolling the city. Beltrame said he would not focus only on the Olympics and "put aside the safety of the city." Also on Thursday, officials toured Rio's renovated international airport. Luiz Rocha, who heads the concession RioGaleao that runs the airport, said the company had not paid this year's installment of $270 million to operate the facility. Rocha said he focused his assets on renovating the airport before the Olympics open Aug. 5. He said he is negotiating late payments with banks and the government. "Efforts are being made to solve this as soon as possible," Rocha told reporters. RioGaleao is a joint venture with constructor Odebrecht, airport operator Changi of Singapore, and Brazil's state-run airport authority Infraero. Actress Sara Ramirez, who played fan-favourite bisexual Dr Callie Torres on long-running medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" since season two, is leaving the show. The actress, a Tony-winning Broadway star, will not return to the Shonda Rhimes-produced medical drama for its previously announced 13th season, said the Hollywood Reporter. "I'm deeply grateful to have spent the last 10 years with my family at Grey's Anatomy and ABC but for now I'm taking some welcome time off," Ramirez said in a statement. "Shonda's been so incredible to work for and we will definitely continue our conversations! I send my love to Ellen (Pompeo), the rest of the cast and crew, and I look forward to always being a part of the Shondaland family!," she added. Rhimes said she will miss Callie "tremendously" but was excited for the futher of Ramirez. "Dr Callie Torres came into our lives dancing it out in her underwear almost a decade ago and I could not be happier or more proud of her journey. Sara Ramirez's performance inspired me as well as millions of fans each week. We wish her the best on her well-deserved time off. I will miss Callie tremendously, but am excited for what the future holds for Sara. She will always have a home at Shondaland," Rhimes said. Ramirez's departure comes after a cryptic tweet on April 27, which read "That's a wrap for Doctor #CallieTorres #Season13 #GreysAnatomy #ThankYou for an enriching & unforgettable #Rollercoaster ride!" Pompeo, who plays Meredith Grey, Chandra Wilson (Bailey), James Pickens Jr (Richard), Justin Chambers (Alex) and Kevin McKidd (Owen) are expected to return for the next season. Ramirez is the latest big star to exit the long-running medical drama. Last season, leading man Patrick Dempsey (Derek) was killed off with a year remaining on his contract while Sandra Oh (Cristina) departed at the end of season 10. In the finale of the new season, Callie is set to move to New York to be with her new girlfriend after losing custudy battle of daughter Sofia to ex-wife Arizona. A section of employees of the five associate banks of SBI went on a one-day strike today to protest the proposed merger with their parent bank. The employees also called for nationwide strikes on June 7 and July 20. "SBI management's arrogant and high-handed approach has forced an all-India strike at five associate banks," the All-India Bank Employees Association said in a statement late this evening and claimed full success of the strike. "We will continue to oppose the merger move. This is a plan to hijack national assets. We also urge political parties to join us," the association said. SBI has five associate banks --- State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank Of Travancore. SBI's Board had on Tuesday discussed acquiring its associate banks, including all their assets and liabilities. "This discussion is purely exploratory at this stage and not certain. A proposal seeking an in-principle approval to start negotiations with associate banks will be submitted to the central government," SBI had said after the board meeting. Besides, SBI also proposed to take over the first women-oriented Bharatiya Mahila Bank and is awaiting government approval. Yesterday, another union, the All-India Bank Officers Association, requested the government not to give consent to the SBI's merger plan. Union Minister Arun Jaitley today raised questions over "selective and excessive" advertising by a state government and wondered if it amounts to "political bribery", a veiled attack on the Aam Aadmi Party government. "If today any state gets the right to disburse excessive and selective advertising, a trend which is being witnessed for the first time, under which friends are rewarded and opponents punished. "So the power of selective and excessive advertising is used.... I raised a question - will such advertising become political bribery or political incentive?" he asked. Jaitley, who holds the Finance and I&B portfolios, did not name any party but his remarks come at a time when the BJP has been attacking the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi over its advertisement budget. Speaking at an event organised by RSS linked Inderprastha Vishwa Samvad Kendra (IVSK) here, Jaitley said that he used to feel that the "era of censorship or pinching pockets had ended", but the first symptoms of a new method are being witnessed in the country. Jaitley said that he felt that if this experiment of "selective and excessive advertising" succeeds, then "all states will do it". "And those people, who are critics of the ideology which I support, their stunning silence is most eloquent," Jaitley said, adding that a debate is needed on the issue. Referring to the Constituent Assembly, he said the two media personalities in it - Ramnath Goenka and D B Gupta -had emphasised on aspects related to the need to preserve commercial independence of media. The Finance Minister, however, also said that the idea of any curbs on the freedom of media has been rejected by society and in this age, because of technology, this is not even possible. "If the Emergency, instead of 1975, had been brought in 2016, technology itself would have defeated it," he said. Jaitley said the definition of the term has been changing. He said there was a time when reading one newspaper gave you the entire picture. He said with the coming of 24X7 TV news, the definition of changed to what camera can capture. He said the "camera had a preference for capturing certain kind of things. If there is good weather, good rain or a good harvest, it would not make . But if there is drought and earth is torn, that camera can capture and it becomes news." He said that even foreign channels give a package of news in their bulletins but Indian channels show only a single news story throughout the day, whether it has a huge importance in the context of actual reality or not. He hailed the digital media as an empowerment tool but added that it is important that it is used responsibly or else this gift can be counter-productive. At the event, Jaitley also conferred honours on several journalists. The 'Narada Samman' for Lifetime achievement was given to veteran journalist Shyam Khosla. Several other journalists were also conferred awards in various categories, including The Indian Express photojournalist Ravi Kanojia, who recently lost his life in an accident. The National Green Tribunal today issued notices to the Chief Executive Officers of five municipal councils in Uttar Pradesh to show cause why environmental compensation be not imposed on them for their failure to comply with "statutory obligations" on discharge of untreated sewage water in Ganga. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar slammed the municipal bodies of Mirzapur, Chunar, Bhadohi, Fatehpur and Hastinapur in Uttar Pradesh for not complying with environment rules. "We direct the said authorities to show cause as to why environmental compensation in term Section 15 and 17 of National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 be not imposed upon them de-horse relief prayed for in this application. "The reply shall also contain show cause notice which is primarily issued for their failure to comply with statutory and public law obligations and the directions issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)," the green panel said. Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand, appearing for CPCB, said cleaning up of the Ganga is a priority for the government and if there would be non-cooperation then it would be difficult for it to meet the deadline on rejuvenation of the river. The matter is now listed for next hearing on July 11. The tribunal was hearing a plea by CPCB seeking directions to UPPCB and the CEOs of these five municipal councils to "prepare a plan of action to clean river Ganga and water bodies, ground water and soil in a time-bound manner and recover the cost of preparation and execution of such plan of action from the polluters." CPCB said it had earlier also issued direction to UPPCB for treatment of sewage and restoration of water quality and had also asked it to submit a time-bound action plan for proper collection, treatment and disposal of sewage. It had alleged that despite reminders no such action plan was formulated by these five municipal councils. "The respondents (UPPCB and five municipal councils) have failed to provide adequate sewage network and also failed to install sewage treatment plants for effective treatment of sewage discharged into the river," the petition had claimed. "Their failure to act is causing irreparable environmental damage to Ganga and has massive ramifications for the people at large in Uttar Pradesh," it had said. CPCB had also said that it has identified one of the longest polluted stretches in river Ganga from Kannauj to Varanasi and the main cause of pollution in the river was discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage. Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has extended an invitation to Hollywood filmmaker Paul Feig to visit India. The 50-year-old "Fan" star, who recently hosted a dinner for Apple CEO Tim Cook at his home Mannat, would love to have the "Spy" director and his wife Laurie as his guests. Commenting on one of the pictures of SRK, Feig's wife Laurie said she hopes to visit Mannat some day. In response to her Shah Rukh wrote, "@lauriefeig @paulfeig and all your friends are most welcome whenever you are in India. Tell Paul will keep French fries ready for him..." Feig, who is gearing up for the release of his film "Ghostbusters," replied saying it would be an honour for him to meet the Indian superstar. "You're on, @iamsrk! I'll bring the ketchup. It would be an honor to meet you. Many thanks, my friend," he tweeted. Laurie also thanked Shah Rukh for inviting them to India. "I think they could see my smile from outer space right now! Thank you sir," she tweeted. Sun Pharma founder Dilip Shanghvi, IDFC Bank and Telenor have dropped plans to set up a payments bank in the country, nearly nine months after getting in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank. They are the second applicant to withdraw after Cholamandalam group pulled out of payments banks race a couple of months back. Last year, Shanghvi as lead applicant, along with Telenor Financial Services and IDFC Bank was granted in-principle license by RBI to form a Payments Bank -- a differentiated bank that confine its activities to acceptance of demand deposits, remittance services and other specified services. "This decision, collectively made by the three partners, will be communicated to Reserve Bank of India. Consequently, the payment bank license will not be pursued," they said in a joint statement today. During the past eight months, representatives of these three partners have worked together to establish relevant frameworks and a governance structure for the proposed joint venture (JV), it added. "The intention of the JV was to combine our expertise to launch a robust payment bank service in India. Following the mutual decision to withdraw these plans, the payment bank license will not be pursued," Shanghvi said. "It was a good experience working with Telenor Financial Services and Dilip Shanghvi over the last year. We thank them for their support and look forward to future associations," said Rajiv Lall, Founder MD & CEO IDFC Bank said. While the partners did not disclose reasons, Telenor Financial Services Senior VP and Head Tine Wollebekk said: "From the day we signed the Letter of Intent, we have worked hard together with our partners to form a company which can meet the demand for basic banking services across India." The development is in contrast to announcement by Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (ABNL), which today said it plans to commence payments bank services by the end of the financial year. In August last year, the RBI had granted 'in-principle' to set up payments banks and had also proposed such licences 'on tap' in future. The in-principle approval is valid for a period of 18 months, during which time the applicants have to comply with the requirements under the guidelines and fulfil the other conditions as may be stipulated by Reserve Bank. The Payments Bank will not be allowed to undertake lending services and non resident Indians will not be allowed to open accounts. The other nine entities that were given in-principle approval included Airtel M Commerce Services Ltd, Vodafone m-pesa Ltd, Department of Posts, Reliance Industries Ltd and Tech Mahindra Ltd. Actress Shilpa Shetty will be conducting a special yoga class at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards in Spain next month. The 17th edition of IIFA awards will begin from June 23 to 26. "Today yoga is practised world over. I am glad to have a class there. Its (IIFA) a great platform. I feel privileged to do it (yoga), " the 40-year-old actress told reporters here at the event of IIFA. "I wonder how IIFA team comes up with a better show year after year...They have been a trend-setter. I am looking forward to IIFA," Shilpa said. A host of celebrities like Salman Khan, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Sonakshi Sinha and others will be performing at the ceremony. BJP's chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal today held a meeting with the Assam Director General of Police and other senior police officials. Sonowal met DGP Mukesh Sahay and other top ranking police officials at the government's guest house here, party functionaries said. Terming it a routine convention, they did not reveal details of the meeting. BJP and its allies won 86 seats in the 126-member Assembly in the just concluded elections. The new government will take oath on May 24. Scientists have identified a 'sunscreen gene' that may help protect against melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Researchers found that melanoma patients with deficient or mutant copies of the "UV radiation Resistance Associated Gene" are less protected from harmful ultraviolet rays. "If we understand how this UV-resistant gene functions and the processes by which cells repair themselves after ultraviolet damage, then we could find targets for drugs to revert a misguided mechanism back to normal conditions," said Chengyu Liang from University Of Southern California in the US. More than 90 per cent of melanoma skin cancers develop because of cell damage from exposure to UV radiation, researchers said. "People who have the mutated UV-resistant gene or low levels of the UV-resistant gene may be at higher risk of melanoma or other skin cancers, especially if they go sunbathing or tanning frequently," said Liang. "Our study suggests that the UV-resistant gene may serve as a biomarker for skin cancer prevention," she said. Researchers used data from 340 melanoma patients. The study also included two experimental groups with either reduced levels of the UV-resistant gene or a mutant copy of that gene in melanoma cells and 50 fly eyes. The control groups were melanoma cells or fly eyes with normal copies of the UV-resistant gene. Scientists gave a UV shot to cells carrying the normal UV-resistant gene and cells carrying defective copies of it. After 24 hours, cells carrying normal versions of the gene had repaired more than 50 per cent of the UV-induced damage. In contrast, the defective samples repaired less than 20 per cent of the damaged cells, researchers said. "That means when people sunbathe or go tanning, those who have the normal UV-resistant gene can repair most UV-induced DNA burns in a timely manner, whereas those with the defective UV-resistant gene will have more damage left unrepaired," said Liang. "After daily accumulation, if they sunbathe or go tanning often, these people will have increased risk for developing skin cancers such as melanoma," she said. Researchers were able to show a correlation with increased cancer risk. Scientists first discovered the UV-resistant gene nearly two decades ago in relation to a disease called Xeroderma Pigmentosum, which makes people extremely sensitive to sunlight and puts them at high risk for developing skin cancer. Researchers have now identified what the UV-resistant gene does and how it operates in a general population, said Yongfei Yang from USC. "We found the expression level of the UV-resistant gene is related to melanoma patients' survival and metastasis stages," said Yang. "Lower levels of the UV-resistant gene means a lower survival rate and advanced metastases stages," he said. The findings were published in the journal Molecular Cell. Taiwan's new president Tsai Ing-wen called for "positive dialogue" with China in her much- anticipated inauguration speech today, striking a conciliatory tone in the face of an increasingly hostile Beijing. Tsai took office as the island's first female president after winning a landslide victory in January to defeat the ruling Kuomintang, ending an eight-year rapprochement with Beijing under outgoing president Ma Ying-jeou. Voters felt Ma had moved too close to China, which still sees self-ruling Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification. Beijing-sceptic Tsai swept in with a campaign to restore Taiwanese pride, a message that resonated with a public tired of living in China's shadow. However she sought to cast Taiwan as a force for peace in front of a cheering crowd of 20,000 at the presidential palace in Taipei, where she was sworn in earlier today. "The two governing parties across the strait must set aside the baggage of history, and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides," she said. Relations with Beijing have already cooled since she won the presidency with China putting growing pressure on Tsai to back its "one China" message - the bedrock of the thaw under outgoing leader Ma Ying-jeou. Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party have never recognised the concept. While she showed no sign of backing down from that stance in her speech, Tsai emphasised the importance of cross-strait communication. "Cross-strait relations have become an integral part of building regional peace and collective security," she said. "In this process, Taiwan will be a 'staunch guardian of peace' that actively participates and is never absent." However, she still emphasised the need for Taiwan to diversify the economy and end its over-reliance on the mainland for trade. She also expressed the island's commitment to its vibrant democratic culture. "We, as a free and democratic people, are committed to the defence of our freedom and democracy as a way of life...My dear fellow Taiwanese, we did it," she said. Official mainland Chinese outlets snubbed the inauguration, while searches for Tsai's name and "Taiwan" were blocked on social media. In an editorial, the Global Times - a newspaper owned by the People's Daily group that often takes a nationalistic tone - said Tsai's assumption of power heralded "a new era for a cross-Straits region that is characterised by uncertainty". plans to raise Rs 300 crore through issuance of second series of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to bankroll its expansion plan. The fund-raising is part of the company's plan to mop up Rs 4,400 crore through issuance of NCDs in one or more tranches on a private placement basis. "The company is desirous of issuing the second series of its rated, listed, unsecured, redeemable NCDs aggregating Rs 300 crore and in this regard is holding a meeting of its duly-constituted committee of the board on May 25, 2016," said in a regulatory filing today. In April, in first tranche, the company had mopped up Rs 300 crore through the same route. In May last year, had proposed to raise Rs 4,400 crore from NCDs to finance its expansion. "It is proposed to issue NCDs on a private placement basis aggregating up to Rs 4,400 crore, in one or more series/tranches during the 12 months, with an intention to substitute short-term liabilities/borrowings and for financing part of the ongoing capital expenditure during the next 12 months as also for general corporate purposes," Tata Motors had said in its annual report. In continuation of its efforts to strengthen the capital structure, the company intends to augment long-term resources by substituting part of the short-term liabilities with medium- to long-term resources, it had said. The company intends to raise NCDs for a tenure ranging 2-10 years. The stock traded at Rs 390.50, up 0.72 per cent, on BSE at 1247 hours. A government teacher was suspended for allegedly forging the signature ofhis senior to withdraw money from his bank account inReasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. Farooq Ahmed, posted as teacher at GovernmentMiddle School Kouskand Saldar in Mahore area of the district,was suspended yesterday for allegedly forging the signature of Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) of Mahore to withdraw Rs 20,000from his account, an official spokesman said today. He said the ZEO brought the issue to the noticeof the Chief Education Officer (CEO) of the district following which he ordered immediate suspension of the teacher and initiated aninquiry against him. "After the inquiry is completed, the department would initiate legal action against the accused teacher," the spokesman said. Three persons were awarded 20 years rigorous imprisonment each by a special court here for raping a minor girl over a period of nearly a month last year. The special court set up to try cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act also slapped a Rs 10,000 fine on the three convicts yesterday. The accused were found guilty of "threatening and terrorising" the 15-year-old victim and raping her several times between March 27 and April 25 last year in Khedleemafi village under Indergarh police station area here. The court also upheld the Juvenile Justice Board's decision to send two other minors convicted in the case to Children Rehabilitation Home for three years, Public Prosecutor Bhupendra Sahay Saxena said. A case under section 376 of IPC and provisions of POCSO Act was registered against them at Indergarh police station on the basis of a complaint filed by the victim's father on April 29, he said. District sessions court (Special court, POCSO Act) judge Ashok Kumar Vyas convicted Pawan Kumar (28), Surya Prakesh Mali (19) and Ramhate Prajapat (20), all residents of Khedleemafi village, and awarded 20 years each of RI to them, Saxena said. The five convicts raped the girl in the Anganwadi centre located on the premises of a government school for over a month, Saxena said. Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff, who will be shaking his leg at the upcoming International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, feels privileged to be dancing alongside actors Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan. The 17th edition of IIFA awards begins from June 23 to 26 in Spain. "I am very excited as well as nervous. I feel privileged to be dancing alongside Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan. I have to step my game up. Both Salman and Hrithik are god of dancing in their own style," the 26-year-old actor told reporters today at the press conference of IIFA awards here. The "Heropanti" actor has never been to Spain earlier and he is looking forward to explore the place. A host of celebrities including Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Sonakshi Sinha, Tiger and others will be performing at the ceremony. Meanwhile, actor Sooraj Pancholi, will also be performing at the IIFA Rocks ceremony. "For the first time, I will be performing on stage. Also it's my first year with IIFA, so I am excited as well as nervous," Sooraj said. Actresses Daisy Shah and Elli Avram will be seen enthralling the audience with their dance moves. "I am nervous whenever I perform. I get butterflies. I think it's a good sign. It's a great opportunity to perform at IIFA," Elli said. Daisy too is excited about her performance and is looking forward to it. The failure of the Left-Congress alliance to make an impact and Mamata Banerjee's emphasis on development helped the Trinamool Congress script a stunning victory in Assembly polls in West Bengal, winning 211 of the 294 seats, an improvement over its 2011 tally of 184 seats. TMC's performance was all the more creditable as it contested the election on its own, unlike in 2011 when it had allied with the Congress. An analysis of the results indicate that TMC vote percentage also increased compared to the 2011 Assembly polls and the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. TMC secured 44.9 per cent of the total votes polled, compared to 39 per cent in 2011 and 39.03 per cent in 2014. Political observers noted that the TMC supremo achieved the stunning victory despite several odds stacked against her - Saradha scam, the Narada sting expose and the Vivekananda flyover collapse. Her slogan for development and various schemes for the common people caught the imagination of the voters. Referring to the charges of corruption against her party, Banerjee had yesterday dubbed it as "propaganda by a section of media." "There is no corruption in Bengal. Bengal is a corruption-free state. The people have rejected the allegation," she had asserted. On the other hand, the CPI(M)-led Left Front and Congress which had formed an alliance to fight the TMC have failed to put up a creditable show. CPI-M's vote percentage fell to 19.7 per cent this time from 29.58 per cent in 2011 Assembly election. In 2014 Lok Sabha poll, the party had captured nearly 23 per cent vote. The CPI-M this time won only 26 seats while its other Left Front constituents RSP won 3 seats, Forward Bloc-2 and CPI-1. The combined vote share of the Left Front was also reduced to nearly 24 per cent from 41 per cent in 2011. The Left Front had won 62 seats in 2011 Assembly polls, of which CPI(M) had won 40. Mamata Banerjee had dubbed the coming together of CPI-M and Congress as the "greatest blunder" and said the people had rejected it. The Congress, however, benefited from the alliance and bettered its vote percentage this time to 12.3, compared to 9.09 per cent in 2011, when it had contested in alliance with TMC. In 2014 Lok Sabha poll, Congress's vote share in the state was around 9.6 per cent. Poll analysts said it appeared that the people rejected the alliance between the former rivals because "it had come together with a single agenda of defeating the TMC". The leadership of the Congress and the the CPI-M dubbed it as a "people's alliance", but the results indicated that although there was transfer of votes from the Left to the Congress, the same was not true in case of Congress voters, they said. The analysts said it was clear from the results in north Bengal where the Congress had a substantial vote bank. The TMC bagged eight of the nine seats in Cooch Behar, four of five seats in Alipurduar and six of the seven seats in Jalpaiguri in north Bengal. On whether the much-touted Left-Congress alliance has failed, CPI-M state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra said, "I do not think so. To understand the reason, we need to do a deep assessment of the results". RSP, a Left Front partner, was forthcoming in admitting that the people rejected the alliance. "The CPI-M had gone overboard on the alliance with the Congress, even at the cost of Left partners. They had forgotten their old friends. The result shows that people have not accepted this alliance," RSP state secretary Kshiti Goswami said. Reacting to the alliance's poor performance, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "A defeat is a defeat. I don't want to give any excuse for it. I don't want to go into any blame game. The people believed it is better to vote for Mamata Banerjee." Although many poll experts had opined that any erosion of BJP's vote share which had gone upto nearly 17 per cent in 2014 Lok Sabha election, would benefit the Left-Congress alliance, the results indicated otherwise. The BJP's vote percentage had come down from nearly 17 per cent in 2014 to 10.2 per cent this time but it did not benefit the alliance in a significant way. On the other hand, TMC's vote percentage had gone up by nearly six per cent. Notwithstanding the erosion in its vote share compared to 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP's performance was encouraging as the party managed to win three seats for the first time in the state assembly. Earlier, the BJP had won twice in by-poll. Compared to 2011 Assembly election when the BJP had secured 4.06 per cent votes, the party this time polled 10.2 per cent voted barely two per cent less than Congress. As many as 202.4 million households in the country belong to Hindus, 31.2 million are of Muslims and 6.3 million belong to Christians, according to the 2011 census data released here today. The census data said that the total number of households in the country are 248.8 million of which 202.4 million are of Hindus, 31.2 million belong to Muslims, 6.3 million belong to Christians, 4.1 million of Sikhs and 1.9 million belong to Jains. An average 5.6 persons live in a Muslim household, 5.1 persons in a Sikh household, 4.9 persons in a Hindu household, 4.8 persons in a Jain household, 4.6 persons in a Buddhist household and 4.5 persons in a Christian household. The highest percentage of female headed households is noticed in Christian community (17.4 per cent), followed by Buddhist (15.9 per cent). The lowest percentage of female headed households is in Jain community (11.5 per cent), according to a release issued by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Sex wise variation is highest among Hindu community (Male headed household size 4.9, female headed household size 3.8) and the least variation is seen among Sikh community (Male headed household size 5.1, female headed household size 4.6). At least 20 people were injured, two of them seriously, when the bus in which they were travelling rammed into a wayside tree in Bihar's Jehanabad district today. The mishap took place near Gandhar Math village when the driver of the bus, which was carrying scores of villagers to a funeral, lost control over the vehicle which then rammed into a tree, sub-divisional officer Nawal Kishore Chaudhary said. The injured were rushed to the sadar hospital, where doctors referred two seriously wounded persons to Patna Medical College and Hospital. Britain today asked its citizens not to take part in political activities in Nepal, days after a British national was arrested in the country for allegedly participating in the anti-Constitution protests. "If you're involved in any political activities in Nepal you may be liable to penalties including deportation and/or a fine," a travel advisory said. Stating that disagreements arising from Nepal's new constitution have led to protests, rallies and strikes throughout Nepal, the UK administration has advised its citizens to "monitor the local media and follow the advice of the local authorities and concerned tour operator before planning visits." "Protests can occur at short notice and turn violent. Clashes between protesters and police may occur anywhere. Stay away from protest areas," the advisory said. The Immigration Department of Nepal has said it will strictly implement the laws that bar foreigners on tourist visa from taking part in political activities. The travel advisory comes few days after a Briton was arrested for participating in the protest organised by Madhesis and ethnic groups and was handed over to British mission in Kathmandu. Meanwhile, some 500 protesters held peaceful protest at Maitighar Mandala near Singhdurbar Secretariat, the country's main administrative centre in the capital, as part of their second phase of protests. US Ambassador to India Richard Verma today called on Home Minister Rajnath Singh to discuss various issues concerning both the countries. Singh and Verma are said to have discussed about the India-US Homeland Security Dialogue likely to be held next month, sources said. The Home Minister and the US counterpart meet every year for India-US Homeland Security dialogue alternatively in New Delhi amd Washington. New Delhi and Washington have close cooperation and share intelligence on terrorists and terror outfits operating in Indian sub-continent. (Reopens DES14) Later, Verma said he had a discussion with the Home Minister on US-India security cooperation facilitating US-India travel. "Imp (Important) discussion w/ (with) Home Minister @BJPRajnathSingh on deepening security coop & facilitating US-India travel-@TravelGov," he tweeted. US health officials said today that they are monitoring 279 pregnant women in the United States and Puerto Rico that may be infected with the Zika virus. Of that number, 157 live in the 50 US states and Washington, while the other 122 live in Puerto Rico, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. All have "laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection," the CDC said. The new figure appears to be a dramatic jump from the 110 pregnant women with confirmed Zika cases that the CDC reported as of May 11, but officials say the figures are not comparable, as a new reporting system is being used. Experts agree that the mosquito-borne Zika virus is behind a surge in cases of the birth defect microcephaly -- babies born with abnormally small heads and brains -- after their mothers were infected with the virus. In Brazil, 1,271 babies have been born with unusually small heads and deformed brains since the outbreak of Zika began there last year. The virus, which usually causes only mild, flu-like symptoms but can cause the rare but serious neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome, is mainly spread by two species of Aedes mosquito but has also been shown to transmit through sexual contact. The CDC is now using two separate registries to track pregnant women residing in the United States and all territories, as Puerto Rico is keeping separate records. "Both of these systems include pregnant women with any laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection, with or without symptoms," said Denise Jamieson, the co-lead on the CDC's Pregnancy and Birth Defects Team, part of its Zika Virus Response Team. "We've learned a lot in the last four months," said Margaret Honein, a top official at the CDC's National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. Scientists now know of cases of infants born with microcephaly whose test results suggest a Zika infection, but whose mothers did not remember having any symptoms, she said. The new surveillance systems "cast a broad net to ensure we are monitoring all pregnant women who may be at risk for poor outcome associated with Zika," Honein said. The CDC did not release the number of cases of sexually transmitted Zika, saying it cannot definitively separate those cases from mosquito-infection cases. At least five women contracted Zika without leaving the continental US, but had sexual relations with someone who had, Honein said. The US has said that it was reviewing the "unsafe" intercept of one of its spy plane by two Chinese fighter jets in international airspace over the disputed South China Sea to decide an "appropriate response". "The Department of Defence is reviewing public claims of a May 17 intercept of a US maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft by two tactical aircraft from the People's Republic of China," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. "The incident occurred in international airspace during a routine US patrol in the South China Sea. Initial reports of the incident characterised it as unsafe," he told reporters. The incident comes more than a decade after a collision between a Chinese fighter jet and a US spy plane in 2001 in which a Chinese pilot was killed and the US jet was forced to make an emergency landing on the Chinese province of Hainan. Earnest, however, appeared to downplay the incident saying that the two countries have made progress in reducing the risk of conflict by improving dialogue at multiple levels. "We've reduced that risk by improving dialogue at multiple levels under the bilateral confidence building measures, and the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement," he said. He said the next military maritime consultative agreement talks were scheduled for May 24 and 25 in Hawaii. Over the last one year, the Department of Defence has seen improvements in the way Chinese military pilots fly, consistent with the international guidelines and in a safe and professional manner, the White House Press Secretary said. The Pentagon said the intercept of the US Navy EP-3 in the South China Sea happened in international airspace about 100 nautical miles south of mainland China and about 50 nautical miles east of Hainan Island. "... There were two Chinese aircraft that approached and our air crew felt that the approach was not conducted in a safe and professional manner," Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said. "So that's the concern that we have and that's what's being reviewed at this time," he said adding that the US will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever the international law allows. Cook said the Pentagon was confident that "our crew was conducting this, again, in international airspace as allowed under international law". "We'll review this incident to determine whether or not there needs to be an appropriate response," he said. The State Department said such a move by China increases tension in the region. "They're not doing anything to lessen tensions and to do anything to decrease the possibility for miscalculations and perhaps put people in real harm's way. So we absolutely share the concerns that were expressed by the Defence Department about these maneuvers," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters. He refrained from giving specific diplomatic conversations between the two countries on this issue. "This is something that we routinely have raised in the past when it's happened, and I'm quite certain that we'll continue to raise our concerns about this going forward," Kirby said. Bolstered by US airstrikes, Iraqi ground forces have recaptured the western town of Rutba after Islamic State fighters who had occupied the town for nearly two years fled or put up only light resistance, US military officers said today. Army Lt Gen Sean MacFarland, the top US commander in Baghdad, told reporters Friday that it was an important victory for the Iraqi security forces, even though Rutba is a small town. MacFarland said that taking Rutba from IS will allow the reopening of the main road from Amman to Baghdad, which he said is a significant economic lifeline for Iraq. "Although it's a small town, it's an important success for the Iraqi security forces," he said. Another US officer, Marine Brig. Gen. Bill Mullen, said in a separate interview that the decisive action in Rutba was US airstrikes outside the town that seemed to persuade the Islamic State fighters to flee rather than put up substantial resistance. He said there were an estimated "couple of hundred" IS fighters in Rutba prior to the Iraqi assault and that by the time the Iraqis arrived all but about 30 had fled north to the city of al-Qaim or across the border into Syria. Col Steve Warren, spokesman for the US military command in Baghdad, said the Iraqis had sent about 1,000 troops to Rutba. They were a combination of federal police, Sunni tribal fighters, border security forces and members of the Counter-Terrorism Force. Warren said the Islamic State had used Rutba as a staging area for weaponry and foreign fighters flowing into Iraq. Beyond the recapturing of Rutba, U.S. Officials were focused mainly on preparing Iraqi security forces for an assault on Mosul, which is the Islamic State's main stronghold in Iraq. MacFarland said the US is pushing the Iraqis to prepare for that step but does not want to move faster than is prudent, given the Iraqis' military and political limitations. "We don't want to rush them out there and achieve fragile victories," MacFarland told a small group of reporters traveling with Army Gen. Joseph Votel, who was in Iraq today to consult with MacFarland and other US commanders. "We want to make sure that their victories are irreversible." Asked whether he believes the assault phase of the Mosul operation will be launched before the end of this year, MacFarland said, "I really am reluctant to make predictions. A state of emergency decreed in this week by President Nicolas Maduro is constitutional, the Supreme Court has ruled. As the opposition pushed for a referendum to remove him from office, Maduro issued the decree giving sweeping powers to the security forces to impose public order and help distribute food. The opposition-controlled congress rejected the decree. But the Supreme Court yesterday upheld it as constitutional "given the extraordinary social, economic, political, natural and ecological circumstances that are gravely affecting the national economy". David Warner struck yet another half-century to guide Sunrisers Hyderabad to 158 for seven in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Delhi Daredevils here today. Sent into bat, skipper Warner led from the front and struck eight boundaries and a six in his 56-ball knock. This was Warner's eight fifty in the ongoing ninth season of the cash-rich T20 league. The in-form opener added 46 runs for the first wicket with Shikhar Dhawan (10) before the Indian fell to a brilliant piece of work by Carlos Brathwaite. As Dhawan hit one towards mid-on, Brathwaite made a diving save off his own bowling and then fired an accurate throw at the striker's end to run out the batsman who was on the lookout for a quick single. Deepak Hooda (1), too, was run out while going for what seemed like a needless attempt. Yuvraj Singh (10) was bowled by Brathwaite as Sunrisers Hyderabad slumped to 66 for three in the 10th over. Warner tried to forge a partnership with Moises Henriques (10) and added 39 runs for the fourth wicket before the latter was sent back by JP Duminy. Even as wickets fell around him, Warner stood firm at the other hand and kept finding the ropes. He was especially fluent in the off side to start with and scored a few boundaries in that direction. However, Sunrisers were dealt a body blow when they lost their captain in the 16th over to leave the side struggling at 117 for five. Brathwaite bowled one short outside off and Warner top-edged to give Amit Mishra an easy catch at third man. Down the order, Eoin Morgan (10) Naman Ojha made (16 not out) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (12 not out) made useful contributions to help the the team reach a modest total. Returning to the side, Brathwaite picked up two wickets for 27 runs in his four-over spell, while was one apiece for JP Duminy and Nathan Coulter-Nile. Earlier, Daredevils continued their trend of tinkering with their XI. They made three changes to their line-up that lost to Rising Pune Supergiants. Women and Child Development Ministry today signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for strengthening and better monitoring its ongoing nutrition programmes for women and children across the country. The foundation will provide technical support at the national and state level to achieve its nutrition goals, especially during pre-conception, pregnancy and first two years of the newborn. "It will support an enhanced framework of collaboration in Information and Communication Technology enabled Real Time Monitoring (ICT-RTM) of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and technical support on nutrition," a statement from the ministry said. "The government has a significant focus on improving the health and lives of women and children in India, by strengthening nutrition programmes in order to promote their holistic development," it said. It will also help in developing a shared national communications campaign for maternal and child nutrition among target populations, the statement said. A woman was killed allegedly by her husband and in-laws over dowry demand in Ananadpur village in Awagarh Kotwali here, police said today. The incident happened yesterday when Sapna's husband Subhash Chandra, his father Diwari Lal, mother Pooran Devi allegedly set her ablaze, according to a complaint filed by the victim's father Om Prakash. Om Prakash, from Sandalapur village in Firozabad district, said Sapna was married to Subhash four years ago. He alleged that Sapna was "tortured and harassed" by her husband and in-laws for dowry. Besides the victim's husband and in-laws, one more person has been made accused in the case. AwagarhKotwali station officer Digvijay Singh said the police are investigating the matter. Attackers are no longer eyeing only your desktops and laptops to steal data. Smartphones, which are loaded with your personal details, are on their radar, too. Apps and pop-ups can have malware and viruses installed on your smartphones, even before you realise it. iOS and Windows devices are not as much at risk as Android devices. Given the penetration of Android phones in the market - according to research firm Gartner, Android dominates the smartphone market with 80.7 per cent share (in the fourth calendar quarter of 2015) - Google has been working continuously to enhance security for Android users using improved machine learning and event correlation to detect potentially harmful behaviour. According to the Google Security 2015 Annual Report, the company checked over six billion installed applications per day to prevent users from malware and other Potentially Harmful Apps (PHAs). There is a host of security protections and controls in Android 6.0 Marshmallow, including full disk encryption, Android security patch, verified bootloader and more; but only 7.5 per cent of Android smartphones run on Marshmallow OS. The rest still run on Lollipop and lower versions. Since your safety lies in your own hands (fingertips, actually), here's how you can protect your smartphones from malware, viruses and harmful apps. Avoid installing apps from unknown sources: Most of the viruses and malware are installed on Android devices through apps. Unlike Apple's iOS, it isn't restrictive in nature. You can install apps from Google Play Store, a third party store or even install .apk files. By default, Android devices have the option of installing data from unknown sources turned off, but can be turned on with a single tap. You should always install apps from Play Store or Amazon App Store because the incidence of downloading malicious apps on these stores is low. You should also avoid downloading .apk files of popular paid games and apps from Torrents and other sources, as there is a high probability of such files being harmful. They can gain access to your photos, contacts and personal information on other apps. You can prevent accidental app downloads from unknown sources by heading to Settings on your device, scrolling down to Security, and locating the option labelled Unknown Sources. Uncheck the box and you are done. A little research about the app developer can avert a possible threat, too. Check app permissions: While downloading an app from the Play Store, a 'Permissions' window appears which we seldom pay attention to. Mostly, the permission window is not asking, but only informing you of the other data the app will access. For instance, if a battery app wants to access your contacts, photos and e-mails, it is unusual. Avoid installing such apps. Avoid opening unknown links: The Internet is a scary place. You leave traces of your personal information as you browse. Based on your search history, content is pushed to you through ads and sponsored posts, which you end up opening - something you should absolutely avoid. Opening links from unknown and dubious sites tend to install malwares without seeking your permission. They also direct you to a false screen - that looks similar to the real one - where you end up entering your credentials. The bot stores this information which is later misused. Keep OS updated: An OS update means improved software which includes fixing numerous security bugs and openings in the software. So, if you are still using an outdated OS, your device is more prone to attacks. Updating to the latest version will keep you safe. Install anti-virus and ad-blockers: The golden rule to keep PCs virus-free applies to smart devices, too. Installing anti-virus, ad-blockers and pop-up blockers will save you from virus attacks and phishing. Norton Security, the most popular one, can be installed on a single device. One can go in for a deluxe or premium option which allows installation on up to 10 devices. Avast Mobile security includes device scanning, app scanning, and real-time protection, as also consistent anti-virus database updates, anti-theft features, and the ability to remote-lock your device in case you lose it. You can block pop-up ads on Android using your built-in browser settings or by downloading a third-party ad-block browser or apps such as Ad-Blocker Plus. Recently, Opera integrated a native ad-blocker to its browser for Android smartphones which also makes browsing faster. Log out of sites after transactions: Transactions on websites or mobile phones, although convenient, can pose a high risk. Always ensure that you enter your bank, credit or debit card details on verified sites only. Log out of the websites and close the window once the transaction is complete. Browse in incognito mode: The incognito mode in the Chrome browser allows private browsing, without storing browsing history. Use this mode to log in to your bank account or a website on which you will be making a payment and entering your personal details. It is also advisable to delete your browsing history from time to time. Change passwords regularly: Having the same password for all your accounts - including social networks, e-mail, and wallets - is a recipe for disaster. If someone gets hold of the password for one account, all your accounts are at risk. It is wise to have different passwords - unique passwords that no one can crack - for all your accounts. You should also consider changing your passwords every three months for security reasons. Never reuse your password. You can rely on password manager apps, as they lock your passcodes within an encrypted vault in order to minimise your vulnerability against attacks. They store all your passwords and all you need is the master password to get into it. Some of the popular password manager apps are LastPass, KeePass and Dashlane. Why iOS and Windows are less vulnerable to attacks: Unlike Google, where you can install third party apps that are not listed on Play Store, Apple and Microsoft are restrictive in nature. They don't allow users to download apps from sources apart from Apple App Store and Microsoft Windows Marketplace, respectively. Apps submitted to Apple are thoroughly reviewed for malware and viruses before they are approved to be listed on the App Store. However, jailbroken iPhones can be prone to such attacks and risks. Apple has combined software, hardware and services designed to work together for maximum security and a transparent user experience. The system also enables apps to run securely, without compromising on platform integrity. Windows OS, too, is secure as Microsoft has added security features within the API for app developers. All apps listed under the marketplace go through a certification process post submission. The app packages are checked for security tests including viruses and malware, along with technical compliance tests. Beware of Popups Warning of Virus Attacks Do you see messages on your smartphone browser cautioning you about your phone being infected with a virus, directing you to the Play Store to download a particular app or taking you to an unfamiliar web page? It's a ploy to take over the DNS settings on your WiFi router. It makes browsing on mobile almost impossible. When you encounter such a problem, be sure to clear all your cache memory and browser history, reset your WiFi router and reconfigure it. Although there isn't a concrete solution to such a problem, ensuring that your router has the latest firmware installed can be helpful. You can check and install the latest firmware by visiting the website of the router manufacturer. Log in to the router settings and reset. To do this, you can seek help from your broadband company's customer support. Make sure you change the password and the DNS settings. It is the end of the road for many 'shell' companies that used the Mauritius and Singapore routes to invest in India, and make gains without paying taxes here. After a long and hard negotiation, Indian and Mauritius governments have ironed out changes in their existing tax treaty, allowing India to tax capital gains from the sale of shares in Indian companies by entities based out of Mauritius. Though the decision has been hailed as a move in the right direction, as it brings certainty to the treaty laws, there are apprehensions that it may dampen the spirit of foreign portfolio investors. This is because the change in the Mauritius treaty also effectively means that the exemption on capital gains tax from Singapore treaty - unless amended - would also cease to exist. The Singapore treaty entails that the capital gains exemption under the treaty would remain in force only till the time the Mauritius treaty provides such exemptions. This means that the government has, at one stroke, closed the two most commonly used tax regimes for avoiding paying taxes in India. The move will impact investments from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), as well as venture capital and private equity funds from the two countries. They account for a significant part of the foreign direct investment (FDI) coming into India. Between April 2000 and December 2015, Mauritius and Singapore accounted for 50 per cent of the total FDI inflows into India, with Mauritius alone accounting for 34 per cent. "With this development, the two most popular jurisdictions for routing investments in India would no longer be tax efficient from the financial year 2019/20. This is expected to impact funds and companies from the US who used to come through Singapore/ Mauritius to avoid double taxation in lieu of peculiarity in the US domestic tax laws pertaining to foreign tax credit," says Amit Maheshwari, Managing Partner, Ashok Maheshwary & Associates. A Nomura report, however, says that it does not "expect the treaty changes to significantly affect FDI inflows into India, as FDI is driven by more fundamental factors such as growth opportunities in India and ease of doing business, among others. However, inflows attributed to round-tripping could moderate". It quotes a 2011 study of top equity inflows into India during 2004-09 which stated that about 10 per cent of FDI inflows could be linked to round-tripping. Equity markets have been jittery following the announcement of the treaty changes (on May 10), as the benchmark index - BSE Sensex - dropped 176 points (0.7 per cent) from 25,773 to 25,597, the next day, mainly on concerns that the change in tax treatment may lead to a pull-out of FPI investments. However, the fact that the amended treaty only talks about taxation of shares, and does not specifically mention derivatives gives some hope to FIIs, as derivatives account for 90 per cent of all equity trading in India. The New Rules According to the provisions of the new treaty, India has the right to tax any capital gain from the sale of shares in Indian companies by a Mauritius-based entity after March 31, 2017, till March 31, 2019 - at 50 per cent of the domestic tax rates, if the Mauritius entity fulfils the Limitation of Benefit (LOB) clause. The LOB clause put down in the amended treaty requires the Mauritius entity to at least spend Rs 27 lakh (or 15 lakh Mauritius rupees) on operations in the immediately preceding 12 months. Under the Singapore treaty, a company can avail treaty benefits only if its expenditure on operations is at least $200,000. From April 2019, India can tax such gains at full tax rates. (See Major Changes). The treaty, however, has a grandfathering provision for any investments made till March 31, 2017 - that is, any investments up to the date would continue to avail the benefit under the existing tax treaty. Under the existing treaty clauses, India does not have a right to tax short-term gains made by selling shares of Indian companies by Mauritius-based foreign institutional investors (FIIs). Apart from that, there is no LOB condition in the existing treaty. Daksha Baxi, Executive Director, Khaitan & Co, says, "The grandfathering provision ensures that there is no upsetting the apple cart for all those who have already invested in India through Mauritius under the existing provisions in the hope of saving Indian capital gains taxes, till March 31, 2017. Whatever the government had committed (that there would be no retrospective changes), it has fulfilled." The Escape Route With the two most popular FPI routes - Mauritius and Singapore - losing the tax arbitrage, companies are already looking at other countries such as the Netherlands and Cyprus that provide tax efficient investment routes. Any Indian entity making a payment to a person or entity based in Cyprus requires to withhold 30 per cent tax, since Cyprus is a notified non-cooperative tax jurisdiction. This makes routing of investment through Cyprus less attractive. The Netherlands already accounted for 6 per cent of cumulative FDIs into India between April 2000 and December 2015. However, experts believe that FPIs can use the tax treaty to their benefit only if they can get around its complex tax laws. The Netherlands treaty entails that if a Netherland-based entity holds less than 10 per cent share in an Indian company, the capital gains from sales of shares of such Indian companies is not taxable in India. "Given the fact that the capital gain exemptions are available only to those investors who hold less than 10 per cent shares in Indian companies, the route could be used by FPIs and not VC and PE funds," says Rajesh Gandhi, Partner, Deloitte Haskins & Sells. However, given the global war against corporate entities using tax havens to avoid paying taxes on a majority of their profits, and India being at the forefront of this war - under the aegis of Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development - it is unlikely that the government will leave many loopholes to be exploited. Alot is at stake if you don't have proper health insurance policies to tide over expenses resulting out of unexpected illnesses. Health insurance policies provide cover against certain health risks and ensure timely support in case of medical emergencies, amid skyrocketing medical expenses. Health insurance plans are offered by both life insurance and general insurance companies. Often, people are confused about where to purchase a health policy from. Some buy it from a health insurer, while others prefer a life insurer. With life insurance companies providing health plans for individuals as combination products, the choice has become difficult. Sanjay Datta, Chief, Underwriting, Claims & Reinsurance, ICICI Lombard GIC Ltd, says, "One should select a plan considering various covers and cost sharing features like co-pay, room rent sub-limit, outpatient cover, emergency ambulance covers, etc. Make sure your health plan is comprehensive to cater to all your health needs." According to Suresh Sugathan, Head, Health Insurance, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, "Health insurance plans offered by general insurers are very comprehensive and typically cover the entire ecosystem of health- and wellness-related requirements, whereas health products from life insurers may cover additional expenses during critical times." Basic Differences: What both life insurance and general health policies cover primarily is the insured's health. But the similarity ends there. Health insurance plans offered by general insurers are indemnity plans that reimburse hospitalisation costs, which means that an individual is entitled to the actual expenses, subject to the sum insured limit or availability. Meanwhile, life insurance companies mostly offer additional health plans that pay a lump sum amount, irrespective of actual medical costs, on diagnosis of a particular disease. So, having only benefit plans from life insurers as health cover may not be such a good idea, because it may or may not be able to cover the entire cost incurred. "Health insurers focus on expenses a person incurs while in hospital to recoup from an illness or medical problem, while life insurers try to pay a certain benefit on knowing or identifying that the insured has contracted a certain medical disorder or illnesses," explains V. Jagannathan, CMD, Star Health and Allied Insurance. Both life insurers and general insurers offer critical illness plans that are similar in that they provide a lump sum benefit. But products in the market differ in terms of features such as the number of critical illnesses covered, survival period and initial waiting period. Critical illness plans offered by general insurers are mostly sold as standalone products, whereas life insurers generally offer them as a rider to life insurance policies. Product Benefits: Health plans by general insurers are comprehensive plans that cover hospitalisation, day care, personal accident and critical illnesses. They have various in-built add-on covers such as outpatient cover and emergency ambulance cover that make them more comprehensive. Health plans by life insurers are benefit products that offer daily cash benefit and critical illness plans, paid on a lump sum basis, when the insured is diagnosed with a particular disease. A life insurance company's health cover can be used as a supplement to a general insurance health cover, and it can be a substitute for loss of income due to ill health. "The products offered by life insurers are mostly event-based. On being diagnosed with a particular disease, if it is covered by us, the sum assured will be paid to the policy holder irrespective of whether he is getting a treatment or not," says Manoj Kumar Jain, MD & CEO of Shriram Life Insurance Co. Ltd. A critical illness plan provides protection against certain major critical illnesses by providing a lump sum amount equal to the sum assured, in case the policyholder is diagnosed with any of the mentioned diseases (see Critical Illnesses covered by Health Plans). Policy Term and Premium Payment: Product terms of health policies offered by general insurers are up to three years, with lifelong renewal; life insurers usually offer a term of five years. The premium of a health policy depends on the overall benefit structure of the product. Factors affecting the premium are sum insured, age, pre-existing condition, ailments covered, underwriting norms of the insurance company, etc. A life insurer plan's premium may differ for males and females, but gender-based premium differentiation does not exist in health plans offered by general insurers. Premium paid for health policies from general health insurers may be higher than for policies issued by life insurers. This is because if someone suffers a heart attack, for instance, the benefit will be given only once in the lifetime. On the other hand, a policy from a general insurer is a lifetime cover (provided the policy is renewed) for the same illness, irrespective of an earlier claim. Premiums for both may differ based on plans and insurers. "You may be able to get a health 'benefit policy' or 'benefit rider' at slightly cheaper rates. But the benefits may also fall short of the actual need or requirement, and the benefit will be given just once. For this reason, the premium that you have to pay will be higher than for policies issued by life insurers," says Jagannathan. Mutual Fund Health Card: Mutual fund companies have started introducing health cards in the market. Instead of breaking liquid funds, these cards allow you to redeem a certain number of units at the hospital itself. ICICI Prudential AMC has a new product in the market called ICICI Prudential Savings Fund, which provides an easy means of payment by quick redemption at certain hospitals. For example: if a person gets hospitalised, he or she needs to present the card at the hospital and sign the redemption form. The TPA (third party administrator) will take the estimate of expenditure and inform the company. There is no cost for early redemption of units. On the flip side, the facility can be used only at empanelled hospitals. The scheme is, however, good for senior citizens who need to create a health fund, apart from having a health insurance policy. Last minute surprises such as exclusions or pre-existing illnesses can be handled well when you have the money. However, a health fund cannot replace insurance and its covers. Creating a fund takes time. For immediate use, funds cannot come in handy; they can get depleted completely within a single use, and may leave you in the lurch until a new one is created over a period of time. It may be a supplement to insurance. "A health insurance policy is a must for everyone, irrespective of whether one buys the plan from a general, standalone health or life insurance company. The priority must be on the nature of coverage purchased," says Antony Jacob, Chief Executive Officer, Apollo Munich Health Insurance. There are several health plans available in the market today. Premium should not be the only factor to determine which insurer to go with. The amount received from life insurers for treatment of a particular disease in case of critical illness plans may not be enough for the care. In such cases, standalone benefit products may not suffice. As most of the health plans offered by life insurance companies are benefit policies, one may incur out-of-pocket expenses if hospitalisation expenses are higher. Experts suggest that the indemnity cover should be the first layer. Then, one can opt for critical illness riders as an additional layer. First-time buyers should consider health cover from a general insurance company first. Based on this, you can narrow down on products that suit your healthcare needs and make an informed decision. Names of 14 more new cities would be announced soon under the flagship 'Smart City Mission' which will receive the first tranche of funding, the government today said. "Already 20 cities have been selected. Another 13 or 14 cities are going to be announced in a day or two and these will be included in the first set of cities, which will receive the first tranche of funding," Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told a gathering at the CII Smart City Investors Meet here. He said there are huge opportunities for private players as the first 20 cities would requre investment to the tune of $7 billion. Emphasising on the role of the private sector in the development of smart cities, Naidu said there is an urgent need to involve it and bring in their expertise and technology to meet the aspirations of the citizens in these cities. In the backdrop of Assembly results being declared today in five states, the minister said there is a move towards stability in the states as well, which will augur well for the developmental initiatives. Later on the sidelines of the event, he said the ground work for the first round of smart city projects have been completed and construction was expected to be begin in these cities by June 25. "Happy that smart city mission is becoming a reality, ground work is completed, detailed project reports (DPRs) are approved, money being released for the first installment and by June 25 I would like to see smart city construciton work start in different cities," he said. The event was attended by ambassadors of the US, Japan, South Korea, Spain and the High Commissioner of UK, among others. US Ambassador Richard Verma brought out the challenges for the Indian urban landscape including governance, pollution and congestion. He emphasised that these can be converted into opportunities through the Smart City Mission. He reiterated the US' commitment to help India in three cities - Allahabad, Ajmer and Vizag -- through cooperation of some of the best of US companies. Naidu said a lot of investors are showing interest in the public-private partnership (PPP) projects. "They can invest in transportation, water supply, sewerage plants, alternative transport systmem... all opportunities are open," he said. Meanwhile, he said, the passage of Real Estate Bill by Parliament will bring in "credibility" and once the regulators are established in the states, it would bring in "correction in the negative trend" in the market. Verma also emphasised upon need to focus on local solutions and careful planning through means like community engagement and collaboration, continue implementation of advanced technologies and apply innovative financial solutions. British High Commissioner Sir Dominic Asquith said India's estimated smart cities market is the 12th largest globally. He promised to support Smart City Mission through the UK's expertise in urban design; planning and architecture; infrastructure engineering and construction; data, software and analytics; project management; financing and real estate; and public engagement and customised user-centric solutions, among other areas. All these themes would be displayed in the three cities chosen by the UK - Pune, Indore and Amravati. Ambassador of Japan Kenji Hiramatsu highlighted some of the key areas of collaboration with India, including sewerage and water supply systems, energy efficiency and conservation, maximising the use of energy through stable Smart Grid systems, solar technology, and urban transportation systems. Hiramatsu shared that Japan would be also provide technical assistance to India to make the cities and urban infrastructure resilient to natural disasters like floods and earthquakes. He also highlighted the financial commitments made by Japanese companies to the Indian economy, like Softbank's USD 20 billion commitment to India's renewable energy sector in the next 10 years. Ambassador of Korea Cho Hyun suggested that while transforming cities, the focus should be on the use of technologies and meticulous planning involving local communities and stakeholders. Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Transsion Holdings on Friday unveiled its flagship brand itel with three smartphones and three feature phones varients in India. The feature phones -- SmartSelfie, SmartPower and Shine series -- will be strategically priced below Rs 2,000 while smartphones SelfiePro, PowerPro and Wish series will be available at prices below Rs 10,000. "In today's digitally-led world, mobile connectivity has become a necessity instead of a privilege. With the launch of these phones, we are providing Indian consumers with the perfect amalgamation of value plus and functionality," said Sudhir Kumar, CEO, itel India, in a statement. SmartSelfie will attempt to redefine the consumer expectation with front camera. SmartPower will be focused on a long-lasting battery and Shine series will have good looks. Similarly, smartphones will have SelfiePro focusing on better camera experience, PowerPro catering long-lasting battery and Wish series providing value with better looks. The company will focus on rural and semi-urban consumers which have been "largely untapped by the incumbent mobile players". Profits at Irelands Top 1000 companies roared to a record high of some 36 billion in the 2016 Irish Times survey. Key domestic companies are in the top ten, alongside globally recognized multi-national corporations; 1. CRH (Construction) 2. Microsoft (Technology) 3. Eaton Corp (Manufacturing) 4. Google (Technology) 5. Medtronic plc (Pharma) 6. DCC (Energy) 7. Allergan Inc. (Pharma) 8. Ingersoll-Rand (Construction) 9. Dell Ireland (Technology) 10. Apple Ireland (Technology) The largest presence in the top 1000 are in the Retail sector with 190 companies in the top 1,000; Business Technology contribute 137, with Irelands globally known food brands, such as Glanbia, Kerry Group and Moy Park making up the 132 food companies in the top 1000. Innovative health tech companies, alongside Irelands ever strengthening pharma industry contribute 102 and 96 companies respectively in the Irish Times top 1000. The Irish Times report that on a net basis (subtracting losses from the profit figure), profits of the 1000 companies rose to 28 billion (or 36bn in total), up considerably from the figure of 22.4bn reported in the 2015 survey. Source: www.businessworld.ie About Us Deutsche Bank is investigating staff involvement in a transaction suspected of causing a conflict of interest and has suspended bonus payments of the staff while the probe is ongoing, the bank said on Friday. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that six current and former employees had made about $37 million by chipping in their own money to trades between Deutsche Bank and a hedge fund in 2009 that were meant to remove some of the risk the bank had taken on from an insurance client. The report said the employees included Colin Fan, its former co-head of investment banking, who is alleged to have made $9 million on a $1 million investment in the trades. Fan left Deutsche last October, having made headlines in 2014 when he sent a video message to staff warning them not to be boastful or vulgar, and chastising those who he said had fallen short of established standards. A spokesman for Fan denied he had done anything wrong and said he had met all appropriate compliance procedures and had been entirely transparent at all times. Deutsche said that it was investigating the case and examining its controls. "We are reviewing a transaction that may have involved unacceptable conflicts of interest when structured in 2009," the bank said in a statement. It said that no client had been put at a disadvantage by the deal. "As we conclude our investigation, we will take disciplinary measures where appropriate and review further our controls to minimise the chance of a reoccurrence," it said, adding that bonus payments to staff under investigation had been suspended. The Wall Street Journal said that bank auditors were examining whether the trades between Deutsche and the hedge fund had resulted in inflated fees being paid to the hedge fund and the bank's staff. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie About Us Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday that some Group of Seven financial leaders had expressed support for a British exit from the European Union, a remark quickly retracted by his staff. Aso, 75, told reporters in Sendai, northern Japan, where he is chairing a meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bankers, that some financial chiefs had said Brexit would be good. A Japanese Finance Ministry official told reporters that Aso had misspoken. "What the minister meant was that it would be good if Britain remained in the EU," the official told reporters shortly after Aso's news conference. Britain holds a referendum in June on whether to leave the European Union. While the global economy continues a moderate recovery, downside risks and uncertainty remain over the outlook, Aso said, citing Brexit among the risks. A British exit could trigger volatility in global financial markets and raise questions about Britain's $2.9 trillion economy. The G7 groups the United States, Japan, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy and France. The finance leaders are meeting to discuss ways to prop up global growth in the run-up to a G7 summit in Ise-Shima on May 26-27. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie The Irish Brokers Association has elected Aidan McLoughlin as the 27th President of the Association. As President of the Association Mr McLoughlin will represent the Association at industry events, act as Chairman of the Management Committee, and Chairman of the Council. The Irish Brokers Association is the premier professional body of Insurance Brokers in Ireland and represents over 700 insurance intermediary offices that are authorised and regulated by the Financial Regulator. Speaking at yesterdays AGM Mr McLoughlin commented on his new role, I am really delighted to have been chosen as the Irish Brokers Association President for the next 12 months. I feel truly honoured and I promise to represent our members and the Association to the very best of my ability." "In the last few years the Association has greatly increased its level of engagement with the Media, Politicians, Civil Servants and other Groupings. This has succeeded in highlighting issues of concern to consumers and informing the debate on the financial challenges facing many households. It is my intention to continue this work and build on it in the year ahead. he added. CEO of the Irish Brokers Association Ciaran Phelan commented on the appointment, We would like to wish Aidan all the very best for his term in office and look forward to working with him over the course of the year. The Association would like to take this opportunity to thank outgoing President Joe Gogan for all his hard work and dedication during his term in office. Source: www.businessworld.ie Tech recruitment company Harvey Nash Ireland announced it will create 100 new jobs throughout Ireland over the coming 24 months. 40 of the roles will be directly with Harvey Nash Ireland, in the areas of recruitment and support services. The companys consultancy division will account for the remaining 60 positions and will be spread across a number of core services including life science, technology, finance and banking. According to Harvey Nash Ireland key factors such as the rapid success of indigenous tech start-ups, traditional businesses adopting more innovative cultures to compete with market disruptors and competition for talent from overseas markets have reduced the talent pool available in the Irish tech jobs sector. Managing Director of Harvey Nash Ireland, Sonya Curley comments, Ireland has a global reputation for creating highly skilled talent, and a lot of businesses are vying to attract and retain the very best techies available. Our research shows that while an attractive pay packet is extremely important, the opportunity to work on innovative projects and a better work/life balance also play a major role in an applicants decision to work for a company. With no sign of the talent shortage easing, employers must become more creative with their job offerings. Harvey Nashs 2016 Technology Survey also revealed that 35 percent of tech professionals in Ireland are from overseas, indicating that employers are searching beyond the domestic market due to the shortage of domestic talent. Source: www.businessworld.ie About Us Fianna Fail came under significant fire from the general public, via Twitter, in the run up to the interparty agreement for government on May 4th according to a media evaluation report published yesterday. Newsaccess Media Intelligence undertook an in-depth media analysis of election coverage across Mon 2nd May Thurs 12th May. Dublin based Newsaccess was commissioned by the Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII) to undertake a Media Analysis of the Formation of the 32nd Dail. The evaluation tracked all key press publications & websites, alongside all leading social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.) as part of a wide ranging report into the final formulation of the 32nd Dail. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael were mentioned 11,000 times each on Twitter in Ireland in the evaluation period. When focusing solely on the water charges issue, Fianna Fail were mentioned in 75% more tweets than Fine Gael during the analysis period, with both parties receiving in the region of 90% negative tweets for water charges. In terms of newspaper mentions both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail were mentioned in the press over 900 times each, across the evaluation period, however not all of these articles referred to the election. Negative press coverage peaked for Fianna Fail on the 5th May, largely fuelled by reaction to the proposals for water charges and Irish Water that were outlined in the FF/FG agreement. The Independent Alliance & Rural Alliance understandably did not get as much total coverage as some of the established political parties; however they scored the highest in terms of sentiment from the media with a higher positive percentage than other parties in the running. Source: www.businessworld.ie About Us Panasonic Corp is ready to bring forward its investment in a Tesla battery plant it is helping establish if this is required to meet demand for the electric car maker's upcoming Model 3 sedan. "We will do our best to move up the schedule if requested," Yoshio Ito, head of Panasonic's automotive and industrial systems (AIS) division, told reporters at a briefing on Friday. Panasonic plans to contribute $1.6 billion to Tesla's $5 billion "Gigafactory" in phases over the next few years. Production of the batteries is due to start later this year. A faster ramp-up of the battery plant would be crucial as Tesla has said it would respond to brisk demand for the Model 3 by tooling up its factories to build 500,000 vehicles a year in 2018, two years earlier than planned. Supplier executives and industry consultants have told Reuters that the acceleration in the plans to move up the launch of high-volume production of the Model 3 to 2018 would be difficult to achieve and potentially costly. Ito declined to comment on whether Tesla's target is achievable. "We just don't want to be a bottleneck," he said. Asked about the risks of being heavily involved in Tesla's plans, Ito said Panasonic "hopes to play a balancing act" of ensuring investment returns and fulfilling its responsibilities. Panasonic's partnership with Tesla is part of the Japanese company's effort to withdraw from low-margin consumer electronics like smartphones to focus more on automotive components and other businesses targeting corporate clients. Panasonic is aiming to nearly double its automotive business revenue to 2 trillion yen ($18.2 billion) over the next three years, representing roughly 20 percent of overall sales. To expand in the auto industry, it bought 49 percent of Spanish parts maker Ficosa International SA last year. Ito said Panasonic expects 300 billion yen to 400 billion yen of the 2 trillion yen revenue target to come from companies that it would purchase over the next three years. He cited automotive "infotainment" systems and automated driving as fields of mergers and acquisitions. "We are mulling acquisitions of companies with technologies that we do not possess," he said. "There are some possible deals on the table," he said. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie Welcome Aboard, Ana! Meet the New Spanish Editor Published on May 20, 2016 en es pl it fr de She arrived straight from Madrid with a suitcase full of dreams, though she still left room for her straw hat and diving goggles. She's travelled across the continent participating in European youth projects, and now she's hoping to fill our little magazine fit to bursting with videos. She defines herself as "a person with a great deal of enthusiasm, something that always puts me on the right track". We already knew Ana was full of motivation and energy after our first Skype interview. That's one of the reasons why this 25-year-old from Madrid will be in charge of the Spanish version of cafebabel for the next ten months. After working in various communication positions, she assures us that writing is her real passion, although she also pronounces her love for everything audio-visual here in the editorial department, we already have the confetti ready for her first piece of video content. "Working as a journalist is a privilege," she argues. "You learn a lot." While studying, she spent an Erasmus year in Riga, Latvia (we promise it's not becoming a requirement!) But she didn't stop there. Ana has also been part of European youth projects in Belgium, Germany, and Italy. "I applied for them all, just in case," she admits. Nevertheless, she claims Tenerife is the place that stole her heart she sends her regards to her friends on the island. Speaking of Tenerife, perhaps it was the influence of this Canary Island that encouraged her to put those diving goggles and that straw hat into her suitcase. For the Parisian summer, Ana? And speaking of Paris, how did a girl from Madrid end up in the cafebabel head office? "I decided to try my luck... and look where I ended up," she laughs. One of Anas main goals is to make cafebabel better known in Spain; another is to "learn a lot". "Were my answers too corny?" she asks. No, Ana, they were perfect. Welcome aboard! --- Story by Naiara Reig Pellicer Translated from Bienvenida Ana! Conoce a la nueva editora espanola What has Gov. Abbott done about the six mass shootings on his watch? Politics Caller-Times File Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi's commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 16, 2014, at the American Bank Center arena. SHARE By Beatriz Alvarado of the Caller-Times Islanders get their money's worth, according to Payscale.com. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi was ranked as one of the top 20 schools with the best return of investment for students. Of 68 universities in the state, the report ranked A&M-CC at 13th for annual return of investment and 25th for 20 year return of investment. The latter calculates the difference in median pay for a university graduate compared to a high school graduates minus the cost of attending the school for four years, according the Payscale website. Close to 70 institutions were ranked in the report. A&M-CC has been recognized similarly in the past. It made Forbes' list for highest return of investment in Texas schools in 2015 and on Affordable Colleges Online in 2013. "We are proud to be highly ranked on this list," said A&M-CC President and CEO Flavius Killebrew in a news release. "We understand the financial commitment our students and their families make to attend the Island University, so we strive to provide quality education that results in higher earnings throughout their lifetime." Twitter: @CallerBetty SHARE By Beatriz Alvarado of the Caller-Times A nonprofit wants all rural communities in Nueces County registered as colonias because it makes individual residents eligible for some federal grants and low-interest loans. It takes a stamp of approval from the city or county where the community sits, a form and final approval from the Texas Secretary of State. Thirty-eight rural communities in Nueces County are classified as colonias, according to the Secretary of State's website. During a Thursday morning Nueces County Colonias Coalition meeting, Lionel Lopez with the South Texas Colonia Initiative said there are 99 missing from the list. "We have plenty of colonias here, but only 38 are registered," said Lopez, a longtime advocate for colonia residents. Colonias are defined as residential areas that may lack some of the most basic living necessities, such as potable water and sewer systems, electricity, paved roads, and safe and sanitary housing. The coalition is made up of stakeholders that work together to provide resources for the communities in the county. Nueces County does not have the means to verify via house-to-house surveys that all rural communities in the county are indeed colonias, precinct 2 Nueces County Commissioner Joe A. Gonzalez said. And if the county did have the means, there's really no point. "For us to get 10 more new colonias (registered) when 15 are in line to being helped is not going to make it any faster," Gonzalez said of a grant process for communities that averages three to four years. "(We) can't even help those registered now, what difference is (registering more) going to make?" Lopez's wife, Janie Lopez, also with South Texas Colonia Initiative, said registering all rural communities with the state is part of the nonprofit's mission. Recently, the nonprofit was presented with opportunities for individual residents to apply for federal infrastructure improvement grants ranging from $5,000-7,000 and low-interest loans up to $20,000. She said community meetings are planned to help residents through the application process, but feels residents in communities not registered with the state as colonias should have the same opportunities to apply. At the coalition meeting, Lionel Lopez said although the federal grants for individual residents aren't big, it's money they can use. "To me, it's a case for a discrimination lawsuit," he told the group. Gonzalez said the county is doing all it can to help colonia residents. "We have to take it one colonia at a time, and that's what we've been doing," Gonzalez said of several grant-driven projects at registered colonias. Nueces County grants administrator Roxana Hunt Sandoval listed the projects: $1.7 million for Rose Acers; $800,000 for Petronila Estates No. 1 and 5; $500,000 for Twin Lakes Subdivision; and $830,000 for Cindy Park and The Ranch. "The ones we try to help are in dire need, like ones with arsenic-contaminated water," she said of Cindy Park, where residents worked for years to find a solution to elevated groundwater arsenic levels. The neighborhood has new distribution lines to their water. Secretary of State colonia ombudsperson Sinoel Contreras said there are federal resources to tap into for individual residents that don't require a colonia designation by the state, including nonprofits seeking funds or applying for grants specific to rural area communities and not colonias. Twitter: @CallerBetty EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this incorrectly reported the amount of grant money invested in the Rose Acres colonia and water infrastructure upgrades to Cindy Park colonia. About $1.7 million in grants was invested to improve Rose Acres and Cindy Park has new distribution lines to their water well. Secretary of State colonia identification form by Beatriz Alvarado Residential areas registered and not registered with Secretary of state Registered colonias in Nueces County: 38 Rural subdivisions not registered: 99 Source: Texas Secretary of State and South Texas Colonias Initiative SHARE The rise of Donald Trump and the emergence of Hillary Clinton as likely presidential nominees for the two major parties is THE current political story. The obvious reasons for that should have been: Trump will be the first "non-career politician" since Eisenhower to be a major party nominee while Clinton will be the first female major party nominee. Ordinarily, those two benchmarks would have been seminal political events. However, these are not ordinary political times but neither are these unprecedented political times. The United States has never been as demographically diverse as it is now, especially in the most populated states. This diversity has not, necessarily, led to new political battles. The issues that candidates from both parties have been playing to throughout the long nomination process trade; immigration; taxes; employment; health care; role of government; security; etc. have not really been different from those in the past. Further, the current fault lines of American politics such as: race; ethnicity; poverty; religion; regions; gender; sexual orientation; age; etc., are not significantly different from they have been in the country's recent political history. So, what's different? A few things. On the Republican side, Trump's campaigning style and verbiage have upset previous norms and his party's leadership has been mystified by both. That has created a seeming disconnect between Republican primary voters and the party's leadership. On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders, the only candidate not named Trump or Clinton still standing, and occupying a political space that is uniquely his, has offered a counternarrative to Hillary Clinton that she has been unable to completely dismiss. Both Trump and Sanders have support from voters who find them to be standard bearers different from those in the past. Some voters, self-identified "evangelicals" for example, who should have supported Ted Cruz in "traditionally conservative" areas, instead, mostly preferred Trump. On the other hand, voters who should have been sure bets for Hillary Clinton in places like Wisconsin and Nebraska opted for Sanders. Many coal workers in West Virginia might now be lesser Democrats than they once were; similarly, corporate entities and lobby groups which championed Republican Party ideas on free trade might be less Republican under Trump. These allegiance shifts could be the real story of the 2016 election. At the same time, it is important to remember that major shifts in support for both parties, accompanied by turmoil in national nominating party conventions, have happened before. The "solid south" for the Democratic Party no longer exists; it once did. Many African-Americans once supported the Republican Party. Now they overwhelmingly don't. The labels "conservative" and "liberals" are used frequently but their meanings change. Studies reported by the Pew Research Center reveal that the Millennial Generation has now surpassed the baby boomers as the country's largest generation, significantly boosted by young Hispanics. This generation's definitions of what "conservative/liberal" may mean are different; these differences will influence who they support. Their allegiance will matter, both now and in the years to come; those preferences, too, will evolve and change. The combined impact of the country's dramatic and continuing demographic changes with shifts in political allegiances is what we are witnessing. Meanwhile, the political chattering class that permeates the nation's digital and traditional news platforms is constantly driven to derive conclusions about these shifts. This is a difficult proposition; the instant conclusions that they are selling may not be accurate. What the allegiance shifts referred to here will lead to is unclear. It may take a few electoral cycles for the country's new political profile, reflecting new demographics and new allegiances, to emerge. This phenomenon has always been part of the American political experience. COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES Cars drive through water along the access road to South Padre Island Drive during a rainstorm, Thursday, May 19, 2016, in Flour Bluff. SHARE COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES Police and firefighters respond to a car on its side off the road along Farm-to-Market 43 near State Highway 286 during a rainstorm Thursday, May 19, 2016, outside Corpus Christi. COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES A truck drives through water along the access road to South Padre Island Drive during a rainstorm, Thursday, May 19, 2016, in Flour Bluff. By Fares Sabawi of the Caller-Times With Sunday's downpour still fresh in the memory of Corpus Christi residents, city officials and forecasters paid close attention to a band of storms that passed through Thursday afternoon. Luckily, the weather was drier than expected. From about 2-4 p.m., thunderstorms rolled in from the Rio Grande Plains. Earlier forecasts from the National Weather Service predicted up to three inches of rain, and the agency issued flash flood warnings because much of the soil was still heavily saturated from rain over the weekend. "We thought (the storms) would pass a little slower," said Christina Barron, National Weather Service meteorologist. "The system pushed faster than we thought and that's a good thing." At Corpus Christi Airport, the rainfall totaled .65 inches, while at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, 1.09 inches of rain fell. Other localized area measurements were not available Thursday evening. Oso Creek, which flooded Sunday night, was measured at 12.5 feet after the rain, well below the flood stage. Lake Texana is over capacity, measured at 44.2 feet. Lake Corpus Christi was measured at 90.1 feet, 73.4 percent of capacity. Choke Canyon Reservoir was measured at 196.7 feet, 32.9 percent of capacity. School district officials in Corpus Christi, Flour Bluff, Tuloso-Midway, Robstown, Calallen and London monitored the storm closely, but school continued as planned with no early releases announced. Tuloso-Midway Assistant Superintendent Rodney Sumner said some students on a field trip had to come back early because of the weather. All three school buses safely made it back to the campus, Sumner said. Not all drivers fared as well, though. Police were called to respond to several wrecks on local highways. On Interstate 37, multiple vehicles drove off the roadway while the storm was raging. One pickup hitching a trailer stalled out on Harbor Bridge and spilled oil, shutting down all three lanes of traffic heading south toward Corpus Christi. The Corpus Christi Emergency Operation Center was activated shortly before 2 p.m. to monitor the storm. The center deactivated around 4 p.m., when the city was no longer under a flash flood warning. On average, Corpus Christi receives 3.07 inches in May. So far this month, Corpus Christi has already had 5.76 inches of rainfall, Barron said. There's a slight chance of isolated showers throughout the weekend, Barron said, but no thunderstorms are expected. Twitter: @Caller_Fares Formerly Dentsu's creative chief, Kagami now serves as executive advisor to Drill, an independent Japanese agency. The first Japanese national invited to chair a jury at Cannes, he has won nearly every major creative award in the industry including Cannes, Clios and One Show. In his 40-year career at Dentsu, Kagami produced pioneering work for brands like Panasonic, Coca-Cola, Nissan China and WoWow. Here, he shares his thoughts on todays creative landscape and Japans place in it. How is Japanese creative work unique? One of the most significant aspects for Japanese creative work is that we really depend on the language, especially in TVCs. For me, this is a good thing about Japanese creative. Its very easy to communicate with each other using our common language. Also humour, which is related to language. Japanese commercials depend on comedy. The Japanese sense of humour is an essential differentiator in our creative work. Because there are such strong cultural differences between Japan and other parts of the world, it is hard for people who are not Japanese to appreciate this. They always ask, Why is this funny?. What can Japanese creatives do to increase their perspective? Young people should not just stick to their computer. They should go outside. Go to another city. Look at what is happening in new places. Go abroad and look and see what is happening there. I think this is key for creative people. Also, very few creatives working in Japan are able to speak and work in English. Whenever I am talking with younger people, I am always saying, You should learn English. Even if you are working in Japan on domestic accounts, still you need to learn English. This is the universal language for the creative industry. Why is Japanese advertising so dependent on the use of celebrities? Using celebrities is still one of the most effective ways for brands to communicate in Japan. This is because it is a kind of universal language for us. We don't need any introduction to these people. We know the celebrities very well so this makes it easy for them to communicate with their audience. Of course, I don't like this. Sometimes commercials or other ads seem to be only using celebrities as celebrities. For me, this is kind of a pity. Creative ideas should never depend just on celebrities. At the same time, I understand what an advertiser feels, and why they want to use celebrities. They never want to fail, especially the person in charge of the advertising or PR. How can creatives persuade conservative advertisers to take more risks? You should talk to the top people. I believe that is the only way. One of the biggest challenges of our job as creative people is how to make contact with the top people. It is the same all over the world. For example, Wieden+Kennedy and Nike; they did a wonderful job together. One of the reasons they could do that is that Dan Wieden could talk with Phil Knight at Nike directly. This top-to-top dialogue is how our business should work. There are a lot of other good examples of this too, like how Lee Clow and Steve Jobs worked in partnership at Apple. How important is Japanese identity to the success of Japanese companies globally? Recently, a lot of Japanese companies don't want to put Japan in front of their product because they want to work in a global way. There is no problem for them in doing this. Nissan does really well in mainland China. They have succeeded in part because they never put the Japanese brand in front of Chinese consumers, they just sell themselves as Nissan. There are a lot of anti-Japanese campaigns in China. But still, Nissan is doing well there. So I am wondering if the Japanese brand is still as important to the success of Japanese industry as it once was. Of course, sometimes I am judging award shows in Asia and there I can see that the Japan country brand is still strong. But regrettably, its not as strong as it was in a global way. I don't know what will happen in the next decade. But, to me, it seems like country brands used to represent ideals or idealistic visions, but now people have more realistic images of countries. People are believing less in country brands and more in themselves and their actual experiences with people in other places. For creative people, this means that we need to consider how to communicate with people as individuals rather than as groups. At least this is my wish. How can advertisers get the best work from their creative teams in Japan? I am always working on how to make a connection between the top people at the advertiser and creative people. If you want to do good creative, this is very important. Long term, stable relationships are how advertisers can get the best work. The most interesting part of having a long-term relationship with an advertiser is that the agencys scope of work expands over time. In my own career, I had some good success working with Panasonic for almost 20 years. Sometimes you are working to help develop new products, not just communications. Sometimes it's working on the advertisers business plan itself. But to do this from an agency perspective, you need to work with advertisers for a long period of time. If you have only worked with them for one year or something, advertisers wont believe you. I have also found that advertisers think very seriously about their products and company. This means that I am always learning new things from them. Listening carefully to advertisers provides creatives with a good chance to think about whats really important for their business. Clients need input from the outside, but they will not accept advice from people they have not known for a long time. Another important challenge is that its very hard for agencies to earn enough income from advising advertisers now. There are many management and design firms who have entered this space and compete. These consultants are smart. They know what is lacking in a clients business. They use their own creative way and creative thinking to help the clients with their business challenges. Its really natural for them to help clients innovate but its a terror for us. If we lose our ability to advise advertisers, we just become a kind of creative supplier. What are the biggest challenges for creatives working in Japan? We have two major challenges. One is history and the other one is craft. Sometimes, young creatives don't learn from the history of our industry. One of the reasons for this is that [traditional] work is almost out of print or creatives are working with a new technology and think that history doesn't apply to them. Sometimes young people spend a lot of time doing things that have been done before. This is a big loss for their talent and their brain. The other challenge is craft itself. Of course, craft is not just about directing photography or design for print. The most important craft we have in this industry is how to create an idea that focuses on one big message. With digital media, there are no time limitations. That means that anyone can say anything. So unfortunately, many creatives have lost their craft. What are your wishes for Campaign in Japan? Any industry, not just our industry, needs journalists. Unfortunately, in Japan, there are very few journalists covering our industry. So I have high expectations for Campaigns work in Japan. Our industry is changing very quickly. Now there are many new industry participants. Some are ordinary people. I hope Campaign can cover them as well as new and emerging talents to encourage our industry to become more inclusive. This article is part of Campaign Japan's Creativity in Japan series. Read this article in Japanese on Campaign Japan. Barry Lustig is managing partner of Cormorant Group, a Tokyo-based business and creative strategy consultancy To mark the launch of Campaign Japan, David Blecken, Campaign Japan's executive editor, and I have put together a series of interviews with some of the most creative and accomplished minds in our profession. We will feature creative leaders from agencies large and small, production companies who make us look better than we usually are, strategic consultancies whose influence on our industry continues to grow, and tech giants who shape the way we behave. Each interview has a distinct voice. Each leader is concerned with a different set of questions and priorities. Yet the series as a whole emphasises common themes about the special nature of Japanese creativity, and by implication, where Japanese advertising is heading as an industry. The views we highlight are designed to inspire a brilliant future for our companies and ourselves. At the same time, its our hope that the leaders we speak with will help us all to reaffirm the value and purposefulness in the work we do day-to-day. Whatever direction our industry takes in the future, we have no choice but to build upon the deep foundation of creativity, collaboration and craft that has and will continue to drive us. We are all thinking about what direction we are headed and how to respond to what comes next. But our anticipation of a bold and interconnected future, where the ways we now work become obsolete, is often blunted by the reality that the sky has been falling on our industry for quite some time. Unfortunately, the call for revolution has been a bit too shrill to motivate most of us to take the steps necessary to transform ourselves and our companies. As a practical matter, discussions about company and industry transformation can be paralyzing. More often than not the foundation of these conversation is fear of failure rather than optimism about the opportunities ahead. Maybe it would be helpful to start conversations about the future with the question What don't we want to change? Or put more directly, what aspects of ourselves and the companies in which we work do we value most? How do we preserve our best and most enduring qualities as we move forward? That we need to reconsider many if not most aspects of our work to remain competitive is a given. Constructing sturdy boats to navigate changing tides is a more complicated proposition. Its our hope that the brilliance of the creative leaders we feature will help us rediscover whats best about ourselves as we undergo our collective metamorphosis. The Creativity in Japan series opens with an interview with Akira Kagami, executive advisor to Drill. Read this article in Japanese on Campaign Japan. We have a unifying aspiration at AIG. Its a purpose that acts as an anchor for everything we do and allows us to assess our plans objectively. Our aspiration is to be our clients most valued insurer. We aim to do that by reducing fear of the future and empowering our clients to address their future challenges. This creates two questions for marketing: How do we deliver the outcome of being the most valued? And how do we build a culture that is best placed to achieve that reality? Our solution is to bring the power of insurance alive, both internally and externally, through storiesstories drawn from the experiences we deliver. Externally, we create new stories through partnerships. Recognising the world we live in today, we are partnering with Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at the American Consumer Electronics Association, to develop papers on the Internet of Things to demonstrate our commitment to innovation. Internally, when we shared the story of a customer in Malaysia who contacted us when their shop flooded, we brought to life our aspiration by showing how we responded to that claim very quickly and the customers delight at the level of service and how it made them feel. Our travel team also shares stories weekly with examples of the work we do to support our customers when they are travelling the globe. Each of these stories are drawn from, and told in the words of, our customers about our ability to solve problems, provide assistance and get them home safely. In the commercial space, we talk about how people have responded to cyber risk and how that helps some of our commercial customers. And critically, we share stories told by our people. We create stories within AIG by encouraging employees to connect directly with customers and then share their experience with the broader team. Visiting customers in their homes or inviting them into workshops are just two ways we connect and show how all parts of the organisation can contribute to the way we deliver on our aspiration. This process is designed to help people understand and engage with our common ambition. It cant be something that just sits on a piece of paper or remains in the boardroom. We need to remember that even in this very dynamic and changing world, at the core of everything, are human beings. Read more in the Project Reconnect series It is also important that we do not approach the communication of our aspiration by focusing on our differences to competitors. Our brand has to be built on the similarities we have to our customers, the relationship that we want to have with them and what we offer. Relationships come from a series of meaningful and relevant interactions, not direct comparisons. With the emphasis on stories, its no surprise that content has been a big focus over the last couple of years. The marketing industry probably has not been as thoughtful about content as much as it shouldhaving raced onto different social media platforms, excited about new opportunities to connect, without having reflected enough on the content in the context of building a mutually beneficial relationship. Not all of us are guilty of this; however, examples of #brandfail are not unknown to us, and the industry can do better than that. There is a role for brands to provide content or storytelling, but maybe we need to slow down and get it right. To do this, and to thrive in our organisations as marketers, there are three areas where we can focus. Be creative and rational We need to continue to develop our skill sets and demonstrate them to our organisations in different waysways that are both creative and rational. We still need a deep understanding of customers, built from observations, segmentation and customer experience feedback tools like NPS. And we also need to ensure we hold a deep understanding of the full value chain of our businesses. This combination is important because you need to understand the numbers, embrace analytics as well as be creative about how you create messaging that connects with the consumer. Think different, but stay focused Todays world requires us to adapt, but not lose sight of the things that matter. We need to be laser focused on the problems were trying to solve. Doing this stops us from being caught up in the latest trends just because they are exciting and new. New developments and trends are important; but we need to view them through the context of the broader problem we are trying to solve first and foremost We need to move from a traditional way of working and thinking if we are to help our organisations adapt. Marketing used to be about linear message and campaign development, but increasingly campaigns sit within an ecosystem. For example, even if we run a campaign a certain way through particular channels, some customers may connect via social media or word of mouth and others might contact us in another, sometimes unplanned, way. Understanding this interconnected ecosystem will help us add value. Provide context Take the lead to understand the environment and provide context. Marketers need to stay connectednot only to whats happening to our customers but also to whats happening more broadly in the world in which we live. We then need to bring these trends alive and highlight for our organisations whats staying the same and whats changing. Thats especially important now that consumers will compare AIG not only to other insurers but also to other service providers like Apple or an FMCG brand that delivered a great experience or had great content on a Facebook page. I have found this particularly relevant in the Asia Pacific region with its cultural diversity, rapid adoption of technology and ever increasing diversity of platforms and channels that we havent seen in other parts of the worldthink Wechat, Kakao or Line, for example. If we adopt this way of thinking, and ensure it underpins everything we do, we will deliver outcomes for all stakeholders: our people, our customers and our shareholders. Marketers are well positioned to be strong contributors and have an authentic voice within our respective organisations and industries. If we get it right and deliver positive tangible outcomes, we will not need to keep building the case for marketing in our organisations as our actions will have taken care of that. The WFAs Project Reconnect champions how marketing and brands can be a force for good. The project intends to improve perceptions of the industry. Follow Project Reconnect @WFAReconnect. Pokka Coffee has a new campaign out to celebrate its recent status as the number one ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee in Singapore, according to Nielsen. The campaign features a first-person perspective video staring the Pokka Coffee Man, the face of the brand, and invites consumers to imagine themselves as him in a bid to inspire them to be number one in their own worlds. With this campaign, Pokka Coffee aims to ignite and fuel a fire of excellence in every viewer, reads the release that popped up in Ad Nuts inbox. The campaign will be launched in phases, beginning with digital media, which launched on Tuesday. The full, uncut two-minute-long single take, which took more than 40 takes to get right, will also be available for viewing online, together with 60-second and 30-second cuts, which will also be broadcast on local TV and radio. The videos will be accompanied by advertisements on MRT station platform doors at strategically chosen stations, as well in print magazines. Pokka will also be reaching out to consumers online via a complementary social-media campaign. It will also be sending premium trade kits to its affiliated partners and retailers to celebrate and to convey its appreciation for their continued support. Ad Nut isnt quite sure about getting inspiration by spending some time in the shoes of a human male with sparkly teeth and chiselled jaweven if it is the Pokka Coffee Man himself. But Ad Nut would like to see more variations of this intriguing first-person-perspective video. Perhaps a day in the life of other number-one superstars and role models? That being said, Ad Nut is now thinking about devoting a whole day to scampering around the forest holding a bottle of Pokka Coffee, having it come to the rescue at strategic moments. It is after all, made with real coffee and all. | BY Ricki Green | The AANA has today announced that Louise Eyres and Amanda Banfield have been elected to the AANA board. Eyres is group general manager marketing at ANZ, responsible for the strategic development and implementation of ANZs global marketing strategy, including brand and sponsorship. Banfield is Mondelez Internationals managing director of the Australia and New Zealand markets. Eyres and Banfield said they are honoured to accept the new roles. Says Eyres: I am very pleased to be able to join a board of such high calibre, globally connected brand leaders and contribute to the national marketing agenda. The AANA has a significant role to play in driving the self-regulation of advertising and elevating the profession of marketing and communicating the role it plays in delivering business outcomes. I have been working closely with the AANA under CEO Sunita Gloster over the past three years and look forward to continuing that involvement. Banfield is a leader in consumer snacking, competitor analysis, market trends, and scaling new product developments with superior through-the-line activations. Says Banfield: Our business is founded on our reputation and much loved brands like Cadbury Dairy Milk and Oreo. So Im delighted to be joining the AANA Board to support the agenda for innovative, responsible and purposeful marketing. Matt Tapper, AANA chair and managing director global markets, Lion, said he is excited to welcome Eyres and Banfield to the AANA Board. Says Tapper: Their passion for the AANAs core purpose will complement our strong and united Board. As the peak national body for advertisers, having representation from businesses like ANZ and Mondelez adds real strength to the AANAs initiatives and with both head offices in Melbourne, it will deepen our connection to the Victorian marketing community. The other AANA Board members are: Mark Reinke, Group Executive Director, Customer, Data and Marketing, Suncorp Andrea Martens, Chief Brand Officer, Jurlique Andrew Caie, Marketing and Customer Experience Director, Inchcape PLC (Subaru) Mike Connaghan, Chief Executive Officer, WPP AUNZ Jeremy Griffith, Corporate Affairs Director, Carlton & United Breweries Therese Kallie, Director Communication and Marketing Excellence, Nestle Australia Bronwyn Powell, Senior Director of Marketing, McDonalds Australia David Scribner, Head of Virgin Mobile Australia | BY Ricki Green | At the 54th D&AD Professional Awards Ceremony tonight in London, two Black Pencils were awarded as well as three White Pencils, which recognises outstanding creativity for social good one of which was awarded to M&C Saatchi Sydney for Optus Clever Buoy the campaign which sent a smart ocean buoy that detects sharks and sent instant alerts to lifeguards via the Optus Network. Joy, Sydney scored Australias only Yellow Pencil for Domestic Violence NSW Cards Against Domestic Violence in the Writing for Design category. GPY&R Melbourne/Brisbane won a Graphite Pencil for Melanoma Patients Australia Melanoma Likes Me in the Creativity For Good category and Revolver/Will ORourke won a Graphite Pencil for Vodafone Piggy Sue in the Casting for Film Advertising category. Y&R New Zealand was crowned the Most Awarded Advertising Agency of 2016, winning 6 Yellow Pencils, one Graphite Pencil and one Wood Pencil for its Burger King McWhopper campaign. Y&R New Zealand CEO and CCO Josh Moore [far left, with Y&R NZ creative director Tom Paine and BK global team at the D&AD ceremony] told CB: To win anything at D&AD is amazing, but to have three campaigns recognised that combine to win Agency of the year is truly outstanding. It recognises the very hard work from everyone at Y&RNZ. When we began this agency we said Lets Not Die Wondering, we committed to that and here we are. As well as being the most awarded design agency at the Ceremony, UK technology startup what3words claimed a Black Pencil for its pioneering method of communicating precise locations around the world The World Addressed. iyamadesign also won a Black Pencil for its spatial design of the mt expo 2015 in Japan, on behalf of masking tape brand Kamoi Kakoshi. Says Christian Davies, FITCH ECD Americas, foreman for Spatial and Experiential Design about the judging process: We talked a lot about work that we viewed as game changing. We talked about the responsibility of sending a message to the design community to say this [a Black Pencil winner] will change the way we look at design. We also talked about the iconic work that had won in the past, and how you remember the impact it had. mt expo 2015 was beautiful in its simplicity. I thought it was a piece of work that inspired wonder in the people that experienced it. There was a common theme that was to discuss the backlash against digital for digitals sake. So I voted for something that was beautifully simple. The other two White Pencils were given to Ogilvy Brasil for Sport Clube do Recife Security Moms and seymourpowell for Fairphone Fairphone 2. The Creativity for Good (White Pencil) category launched as a standalone awards show in April this year in partnership with Advertising Week parent company Stillwell Partners, under the new name, D&AD Impact. In total, 747 Pencils were awarded during D&AD Judging 2016. The number of Pencils awarded by level are as follows: Black Pencil 2 White Pencil 3 Yellow Pencil 61 Graphite Pencil 149 Wood Pencil 532 Says Tim Lindsay (left), CEO, D&AD: Weve seen a record number of entries and some truly wonderful work, including stand-out pieces of creative thinking in our new Media and PR categories. Equally pleasing is that putting purpose alongside profit and seeking to do well by doing good is driving increasing numbers of incredibly high quality work for some very big brands. We love it when the commercial agenda and the sustainability agenda begin to intersect.' Most awarded Y&R New Zealand was crowned the Most Awarded Advertising Agency of 2016, winning 6 Yellow Pencils, one Graphite Pencil and one Wood Pencil for its Burger King McWhopper campaign. Technology startup what3words was the Most Awarded Design Agency, whilst DIVISION was recognised as Most Awarded Production Company and Burger King Corporation was the Most Awarded Client. Most Awarded Advertising Agency: 1. Y&R New Zealand 2. = Droga5 and AMVBBDO 4. Grey London Most Awarded Design Agency: what3words seymourpowell = johnson banks and The Partners Most Awarded Production Company: DIVISION The Mill 4Creative Most Awarded Client: Burger King Sky Volvo Results by country The United Kingdom topped the rankings again with a total of 217 Pencils, including 14 Yellow Pencils, 1 White Pencil and 1 Black Pencil. The US followed in second place, with 143 Pencils overall, of which 12 were Yellow, with France in third place, winning 6 Yellow Pencils and 48 Pencils in total. Japan led the way in Asia, with 1 Black Pencil and 4 Yellow Pencils amongst their haul of 42 Pencils overall, whilst Brazil topped the table for Latin America, with a total of 30 Pencils, including 1 White Pencil. New Zealand, which came in joint fifth position with Brazil (with 30 Pencils), claimed the third highest number of Yellow Pencils by country, with 11. Presidents Award This year the Presidents Award has gone to Steve Henry, co-founder of Decoded and one of the founders and creative partner of the world-renowned advertising agency HHCL. Working as part of the team that netted HHCL Campaigns Agency of the Decade, Henrys work is iconic. He is perhaps most renowned for his Youve Been Tangod commercials, alongside other well-known catchphrases such as Ronseals does what it says on the tin. His influence continues to be felt in the industry today. Says Andy Sandoz, president, D&AD: Steve Henrys work and approach has inspired, shaken and awoken a generation of todays creative directors. Populist TV, diversity, tech start-up, purpose and education its all here. As engaged today as ever, hes the person I most enjoy trying to reimagine the industry with over a cup of tea. Next Photographer and Next Director Awards Winners for two awards, separate to the Professional Awards, were also announced at the Ceremony. The Next Ph otographer Award, in partnership with Getty Images, sets out to find the best new photographers and promote them back to the creative industry. This years winner is Hong Kong-Chinese photographer Tam Hoi Ying. Says James Day, foreman: The overall standard of submissions for the Next Photographer award was very high but the Jury was unanimous in its decision to award the work of Tam Hoi Ying. We were all extremely impressed with the level of thought and execution which Tam brought to the subject matter and we all wish them the best of luck in what Im sure will be a very successful career. The Next Director Award, which aims to unearth the best new directorial talent, was given to British animation director Daisy Jacobs. Says director Dougal Wilson, one the Next Director judges: A beautifully innovative animation technique that expressed the films story in a deeply emotional and affecting way. | BY Ricki Green | Valley Eyewear has released its latest film and campaign, titled The Happening, shot in the historical hills of Bulgaria around the abandoned Communist Party headquarters known as Buzludzha. Already one of Australias most coveted brands, Valley continues to push the boundaries of art and fashion internationally with its latest shoot in Bulgaria delivering its most dramatic and powerful campaign yet. The campaign, directed by founder Michael Crawley, was shot over the course of four days around Buzludzha, a place that has laid dormant since the late 1980s. The combination of wild weather, incredible structures and top models Natalie Sole and Jordan Barrett, make for a visually stunning run of imagery that brings more of the straight forward, cutting edge creativity Valley has been presenting to the world since its inception. Previously known as the House-Monument of the Bulgarian Communist Party, the monument at Buzludzha is like something out of a 1950s sci-fi movie. Sitting atop a high promontory of the Balkan Mountains, the structure resembles a huge concrete saucer of sorts. The site has become one of the worlds most famous ruins and was the perfect backdrop for the latest Valley campaign. Campaign: The Happening A Valley Film Model: Jordan Barrett Model Natalie Sole Director Michael Crawley Photographer Jesse McDonald Stylist Sarah Birchley Cinematographer Liam OBrien Editor STEFCE MILESKI Music Chelsea Wolfe Sound Design Ahmed Natiq Method Rhubarb Filling: In large saucepan, bring rhubarb, sugar, orange zest, orange juice and flour to boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 1-3/4 cups and space remains when spoon is drawn through, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly. Meanwhile, whisk together rolled oats, flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt; with fingers or pastry blender, blend in butter until crumbly. Press two-thirds evenly into 9-inch (2.5 L) square cake pan. Bake in 350F (180C) oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes. Spread rhubarb filling over base. Toss remaining oat mixture with almonds, gently pressing into small clumps; sprinkle over rhubarb mixture. Bake in 350?F (180?C) oven until crumble is golden, about 40 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on rack before cutting into squares. Makes 16 squares. Plump shrimp, crisp snow peas and sweet spring carrots are glazed with a rich, nutty brown butter in this stir-fry and it only takes a few minutes to cook! Squeezing a little lemon over top at the table adds a bright citrus note that cuts through the richness of the butter. Serve with steamed rice or couscous. Prep time 15 minutes Total time 15 minutes Portion size 4 servings Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 6:35PM While Chromebooks make for affordable PC options, they are limited to running web apps on Chrome. This means you run most of everything within a browser and that is quite restrictive. But according to Googles announcement at its I/O conference in California, later this year Chrome OS will be able to run all apps and games on your Android devices. And they will run these natively to take advantage of the devices hardware. These apps will be running in windows so you can easily switch and use as many of them as you wantor as many as your system permits. Developers will get their hands on this new version of Chrome OS but they will need to be using a Chromebook Pixel 2, ASUS Chromebook Flip, or Acer Chromebook R11. They will add support to more devices later so all Chrome OS users will get access to it and hopefully drive sales for these Chromebooks. Source: Cult of Mac "As a frontline specialist service provider I'll be waiting in anticipation to see which of the recommendations are implemented and how and I would call on the government to provide tangible timeframes so we can actually start implementing some of these recommendations." "As of this week some of Canberra's most vulnerable people will have access to justice they might not have otherwise been able to obtain," Mr Corbell said. Ringwald is the daughter of a jazz pianist, and says she learnt to sing virtually before she could talk. Jazz, for her, was the "musical equivalent of comfort food", there to ground her in times of turmoil. But it was never just a singing-in-the-shower, private pleasure it's long been a passion, along with acting and writing. She's written two books Getting the Pretty Back, a 2010 guide to aging gracefully, and a 2012 novel When It Happens To You and performed on Broadway, but the dream of a jazz album has been bubbling beneath the surface all the while. Police discovered the body of Mr Wilkinson near the front door when they were called to the McWhae Circuit house on the evening of March 10. Lee was arrested the day after the killing and charged. He was later committed to the ACT Supreme Court. The rebate would be worth $5000 in the first year of the program and taper off to $1500 by 2021, in line with projected cost decreases for the technology. The issues he warns policymakers and legislators about includes that if they were to go from prohibition to a Colorado type of model, it could be a lot harder to put that "genie back in the bottle" once the industry is developed and there are lobbyists and people invested. His death was the second at the immigration detention centre in as many weeks and in a rallying cry on social media, the committee called on Canberra politicians to "represent the will" of their community and demand the closure of Nauru and Manus Island. Abbott may have cared. But he was like nearly everyone else in having very little idea of what the government ought to do to make things better, and he had a weakness for listening to people who also cared, but who tended to think that Aborigines needed to be both dragged and pushed into what was "known" (at least by such advisers) to be for the Aboriginal good. In this model, Aborigines are somewhat naughty children needing punishment rather more than reward, lectures rather more than things. The lives of the advisers are, apparently, the modern role models. As it happened, Dutton mentioned literacy, numeracy and Medicare in other words, health and education. His remarks were directed at refugees, but are true of all immigrants. Extra schools, hospitals, roads and the like need to be built for them. As Dutton said: "So there would be huge cost and there's no sense in sugar-coating that, that's the scenario." He was referring to the extra refugees that the Greens want to take but it's equally true of all migrants who come to Australia. [Your Business Name] Contact Info Phone: Fax: Email: Web: CAPITOLHILLCUBANS.COM Business Overview Geographic Area Line of Business Brands We Carry Products and Services Discounts Offered Additional Information Business Hours Timezone We Accept Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact. Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here. Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2. Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW), New Delhi has invited applications for admission to full time and part time M.Tech/Ph.D Programmes for the academic session 2016. Admissions at IGDTUW will be granted in the following programmes: Master of Technology (M.Tech): Mobile & Pervasive Computing VLSI Design Information Security Management Robotics & Automation Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) Engineering Computer Application Sciences & Humanities programmes Eligibility Criteria: M.Tech VLSI Design Programme: Candidates must have completed B.Tech/B.E degree in Electronics & Communication /Electrical & Electronics / Electronics & Instrumentation/Computer Science OR an equivalent degree from a recognised university. Ph.D in Engineering Programme: Candidates must be holding degree in M.E/M.Tech or its equivalent degree from a recognised university/institution in the relevant discipline with minimum of 60% marks in aggregate OR equivalent CGPA. Candidate must have completed B.E /B.Tech or its equivalent degree with minimum of 60% marks in aggregate or equivalent CGPA. Ph.D in Sciences and Humanities Programme: Candidates must have master degree in the relevant discipline from a recognised University/Institution with 60% marks or its equivalent CGPA and undergraduate degree in the relevant discipline with 60% marks in aggregate or equivalent CGPA. How to Apply? To apply online candidates should visit the official website Selection Procedure: M.Tech (full time) programme admissions will be based on the merit of the valid GATE score secured by candidates. Marks secured in the qualifying examination will also be considered while offering admission. Ph.D programmes admission will be based on the screening Test (Research Aptitude Test, RAT) or an interview, according to the decision by the Admission Committee of the university. Important Dates: Last date for submit duly filled application form: Ph.D programme: June 12, 2016 M.Tech programme: June 20, 2016 Also Read: The Karnataka 2nd PUC (Pre-university course) 2016 results are declared today i.e. on May 25 on the official website. Students should visit the official website to check the results. How to Check Results? Visit the official webiste Click on 'PUC Results announced on 25th May 2016 at 11:00 AM' Thereafter, enter your register number and click on 'submit' button Take print out of the result for future reference Also read: Karnataka II PUC Results 2016: District-wise Pass Percentage Results are available at respective colleges on May 26. The total pass percentage for the academic year 2016 is 57.20. As usual girls outperformed boys in the board exam. The results were released at 10.30 am by Kimmane Ratnakar, Minister for Primary and Secondary education, at the Department of Pre-University Education Board. Students can access the results only on the government official websites. Best Global Universities Rankings 2016: Top 14 Indian Universities District Wise Results According to district wise results, Dakshina Kannada retains the first place by registering 90.35 pass percentage while Udupi district secures the second place with the pass percentage of 79.35 and Coorg stood at third place. Yadgiri district records the lowest pass percentage. PUC Toppers Anita Basappa from Kottur, Bellary District tops Arts stream, while Sahana Kulkarni from Vijapura district bags first place in Commerce and Rakshitha from Bangalore secures first place in Science stream. A total of 6,36,368 students appeared for the exam, of which 3,64,013 have qualified the exam. Career Option After Class 12 Pointing the reason for delay in declaration of result Kimmane Ratnakar, Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education said, "Re-examination due to chemistry paper leak and evaluation boycott by lecturers has led to postponement of result." "This time, provision has also been made by the state board to issue scan copy of the answer script," he added. The Mastermind Behind Karnataka PU Paper Leak nabbed About Karnataka PUC: The Pre-university Course or pre-degree course is an intermediate course of two years' duration, conducted by state education institutions or boards in India. It is also called the Intermediate course. All the candidates will get an admission to this course on the basis of marks obtained in the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC). Also Read: Karnataka CET 2016 - Mixed Reactions Regarding PCMB The results of Central Board of Secondary Education class 12 will probably be declared on May 23. A total of 10, 67, 900 students attended the CBSE exams which commenced on 01 March 2016 and ended on 22 April 2016. Human Resource Development Minister, Smriti Irani told Zee News, "CBSE Class 12 result 2016 and CBSE Class 10 result 2016 will be declared "on time" before the end of this month and, as per a decision taken earlier, state boards are also expected to declare their results by May 31." Career Options After Class 12 Class 12 students can check their results soon or probably on the aforementioned date on the official website. About CBSE: The Central Board of Secondary Education came into existence in the year 1952 with an amendment to the constitution of the Board. In the year 1962, the CBSE was reconstituted with the following objectives: Providing effective service to the educational institutions Forthcoming to the educational requirements of those students who parents served as the Central Government employees and had frequently transferable jobs As a result of reconstitution, the Delhi Board of Secondary Education (DBSE) was merged with the Central Board and all the educational institutions recognized by DBSE became part of Central Board. As a result, all the schools in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar Island, Arunachal Pradesh, the state of Sikkim and currently Jharkhand, Uttaranchal and Chhattisgarh have been affiliated to CBSE. According to the statistics of September 09, 2014, the Cetral Board of Secondary Education has 15, 799 schools comprising 197 schools in 23 countries. There 1078 KendriyaVidyalayas, 2, 482 Government/Aided Schools, 11, 443 Independent Schools, 585 Jawahar NovodayaVidyalayasand 14 Central Tibetan Schools. Also Read: India Rankings 2016 - NIRF: Top 10 Universities The recently launched Giulia will get a Tesla-style Autopilot system . Harald Wester, Alfa Romeo and Maserati boss, told Autocar crowded cities and morning commute are ruining the pleasure of driving and can be energy consuming. We all know the situation, whether you live in London or Milan. You go to work in the morning and very quickly you find yourself in a sequence of stopping and starting, and it is a real waste of time and energy. In the future we will start to give you that time back so you can spend it better, Wester commented. The Autopilot feature, which will be in the same vein as the one developed by Tesla Motors, will eventually find its way on a wide number of FCA-developed vehicles, but the Giulia will lead the pack. However, dont expect fully autonomous driving on FCA cars in the near future, as such a system wont be ready sooner than 2024. I am absolutely convinced that once fully autonomous vehicles are established, the more people will appreciate driving on a road free of traffic and enjoy driving their car again. We have been asked several times whether such technology is in contrast with a brand like Alfa Romeo. I think the opposite is correct, Wester added. FCA spent approximately 1 billion ($1.13 billion) for the architecture of the Alfa Romeo Giulia, which will be used on future models coming from the Italian brand, including their first ever SUV, the Stelvio, expected to debut over the next few months, according to FCA chief, Sergio Marchionne. PHOTO GALLERY Diminishing sales and increased demand in crossovers and SUVs have made Citroen retire the C5 from the United Kingdom. The decision comes after the automaker delivered just 237 examples in the country in 2015, just 0.5 percent of the initial sales achieved by the D-segment saloon in its year of launch, 2001, when 45,502 units found new homes, as Autocar writes. While the automaker struggled to sell the C5 in the UK, demand remains at a competitive level in left-hand drive markets. In its home market, 6,549 examples were delivered last year. However, not a few French car buyers support the local automakers and, additionally, this number represents just 20 percent of the sales achieved by the model six years earlier. This puts a possible replacement under the question mark on the European market, as the it will be reportedly offered solely in China in its next generation. With one in four cars sold in the European Union being a crossover or an SUV, Citroen will follow this trend with a new family of vehicles inspired by the Aircross Concept and will also continue to focus on the C4 Picasso and Grand C4 Picasso MPVs too. Moreover, the manufacturer also has a new-gen C3 Picasso in the pipeline, which will share its architecture with the Opel Meriva, meaning that it will adopt a more crossover-like appearance. PHOTO GALLERY Opening the order books for the SQ7 TDI in Europe has kicked off with an official video meant to demonstrate its versatility. With an open road ahead, the worlds most powerful diesel SUV, as Audi labels it, shows its capable of tackling tight corners with ease and, if the tarmac somehow ends, its more than happy to take its occupants on a short adventure through the backcountry. Prices for the Audi SQ7 TDI kick off at 89,900 ($100,790) in Germany for the 4.0-liter TDI-powered SUV that benefits from an electric powered compressor (EPC), a first in a production vehicle. The total output sent to all four corners through an 8-speed auto gearbox stands at 435 PS (429 HP) and 900 Nm (664 lb-ft) of torque. Contributing to its character is an S kit on the outside that counts different front and rear bumpers, special door trim strips and 20-inch rims, adding up to interior features such as the Alcantara and leather-wrapped sport seats with heater and electric functions and paddle shifters behind the 3-spoke steering wheel, offered at no extra cost. Introducing the SQ7 TDI in the United States remains under question, but since the Dieselgate scandal is far from over, its likely that Audi will skip launching it on this side of the Atlantic. VIDEO Ever since the Coaster Hybrid EV was launched in August 1997 and the first-gen Prius debuted in December of the same year, Toyota managed to sell 9,014 million hybrid vehicles, worldwide. The 9 million unit mark, including plug-in hybrid cars, was reached on April 30 and the latest million-unit milestone was achieved in nine months. Toyota calculates that as of April 30, the use of Toyota hybrid vehicles in lieu of conventional vehicles of similar size and driving performance has resulted in approximately 67 million fewer tons of CO2 emissionsbelieved to be a cause of global warming. Toyota also estimates that its hybrid vehicles have saved approximately 25 million kiloliters of gasoline compared to the amount used by gasoline-powered vehicles in the same class, says the Japanese manufacturer. Toyotas best-seller hybrid globally is the Prius, with almost 4 million units, followed the Aqua and Prius C, with just over 1 million examples delivered, and by the Prius a, Prius v and Prius +, with 634,000 cars finding new homes. Japan remains the automakers largest market worldwide, with 4 million hybrids sold. The latest members to join the family are the Lexus 500h, unveiled this February, followed by the Toyota C-HR, presented in Geneva in its final production form, and the Auris Hybrid, launched in the Land of the Rising Sun. PHOTO GALLERY Despite more than 400,000 customers having shown interest in buying the new Model 3, Tesla Motors has yet to release an online configurator for the entry-level EV. However, a designer saw an opportunity here and is now allowing users to build their very own Tesla Model 3, based on the prototype version. The online configurator shows a car close to the San Francisco Golden Gate and offers a choice of nine exterior colors, from Solid Black to Pearl White and from Deep Blue Metallic to Red Multi-Coat. Those interested in personalizing Teslas latest product can also choose between two sets of wheels, the Silver Turbine and Grey Turbine, both 20-inches in size, but thats about it, as clicking on the Interior button will reveal a picture of a Millenium Falcons cockpit, accompanied by the words Check back again soon This site was encouraged by fans and created by an eager Model 3 reservation holder. It is intended to be fun. This site is in no way affiliated with Tesla Motors. All photos depict fan made mockups of prototype vehicles, as the Info section explains. The Tesla Model 3 will have a $35,000 starting price and is scheduled to hit the assembly line late next year. If everything goes to plan with no delays, then the first units are expected to arrive with their owners by the end of 2017. PHOTO GALLERY Photo: Flickr: scazon Seldom will a week go by while the House of Commons is in session without hearing the all too familiar suggestion that democracy is under attack. As I pointed out in last weeks MP report whenever time allocation or another legitimate parliamentary procedural tool is used by Government this is a re-occurring accusation used by many different interests in response. In my view that challenge that occurs with the frequent use of the democracy is under attack" theme is that eventually it is tuned out and ignored as the usual noise that comes from Ottawa. Democracy is a way of life that we as Canadians value dearly and have protected this principle for almost 150 years and at times with great sacrifice. Thus allegations of democracy being under attack must be discussed seriously. The reason I raise this is that the Liberal Government recently announced the creation of a parliamentary committee for democratic reform. What is democratic reform in this context? During the last election one of the promises made by Justin Trudeau and the Liberals was to change Canadas current first-past-the-post process to elect Members of Parliament and in turn Government to instead use a different electoral system. The type of electoral system to be used was not specified by the Liberals hence the creation of a parliamentary committee to make a recommendation to the Liberal Government for a new means of electing MPs. The concern expressed by many is the Liberals in turn announced a 12 person democratic reform committee that has a composition of 6 Liberals, 3 Conservative, 1 NDP, 1 Member from the Bloc Quebecois and Elizabeth May, the sole MP from the Green Party. Not only does this committee have a larger Liberal majority then what the Liberals were actually elected under, they have denied Elizabeth May and the Bloc Quebecois the right to a vote in other words it will actually be the Liberals who will decide the next voting system for Canadians. Why is this a problem? Obviously for the Liberals it is not a problem, however for other political parties different electoral system can have a significant impact. As an example for both the Green Party and the NDP, typically far more Canadians vote for them compared to the number of seats they will win in the House of Commons. For this reason they favour proportional representation as it would increase the number of seats they have in the House of Commons. For the Liberals, who often tend to be either the first or second choice for many voters, it has been suggested that the ranked ballot system could all but guarantee Liberal Governments for the foreseeable future. Obviously for the Conservative Party different systems that better advantage other parties will in turn be a disadvantage for them. What is the best electoral system? In reality every electoral system has advantages and disadvantages. From my perspective there is no perfect system and that any potential changes should not be rushed as Canada has a unique federation, wide geography and diverse population. From the perspective of individual political parties, obviously some electoral systems will be far more desirable than others creating a clear conflict of self-interest. The question that should be asked is what is the best electoral system is for Canadians? It is my opinion that it is not for political parties to decide on. Ultimately this is a question for Canadians to decide on through a democratic referendum. Canadian democracy does not belong to politicians; it belongs to the people of Canada who should have the democratic opportunity to decide our electoral future. I welcome your views on this or any subject before the House of Commons. I can be reached via email [email protected] or at 1-800-665-8711. This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet. Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer A messy dispute regarding repairing or replacing the existing building appears to be brewing at the Penticton Sikh Temple. On May 10, Devinder Garcha filed a claim in BC Supreme Court against the Penticton Sikh Temple and Indian Cultural Society to stop the temple's management committee from using funds designated for a new temple for roof repairs. According to Garcha's petition on or about Sept. 7, 2013, a general meeting of the society was held to discuss matters related to renovations or replacement of the temple. At the meeting, it was decided that rather than spend money on costly renovations, estimated to be in excess of $1.2 million, the society would build a new temple and a construction committee would be formed to raise funds for the new building. The committee subsequently established a bank account at the Bank of Montreal for the purpose of receiving donations for the new temple. However, Garcha claims that in March the management committee withdrew the money the construction committee had in the temple construction account to use for other purposes. According to a response filed by the society on May 12, by 2015 the construction committee had only raised slightly in excess of $110,000 and placed the money in a Bank of Montreal account in the name of the society only. During 2015, the board of directors of the society decided the temple roof needed repair and redesign because it was leaking in several locations and causing damage to the interior of the temple. It was decided a truss roof would be built over the existing tar and gravel roof to make the temple more closely resemble traditional Sikh temple architecture. The board of directors also made numerous demands to Garcha and the construction committee to provide an accounting of the funds raised by it and the expenses incurred by it in the process of raising money. The committee, however, declined to respond adequately to the board's demands. After a review of bank statements, it became apparent that Garcha had used society funds in the society bank account to pay his lawyers in the sum of $5,568.48. The board also took steps to close the account and transfer the funds to the temple's main bank account because it was concerned Garcha would improperly use the funds. The matter has also been brought to the attention of the Penticton RCMP. According to Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth both sides keep calling and making accusations. A special general meeting on the matter was slated to be held May 15, but neither the temple society or Garcha's lawyer could be immediately reached for comment. The building, however, does appear to have a new roof. Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer The Penticton Fire Department is helping residents to protect their homes from wildfire. The department, with the support of city council, has secured grant funding from the Union of BC Municipalities to encourage self-organized groups of residents to take the lead to improve wildfire safety in their own neighbourhoods. The grant funding is new this year and the city is one of the first communities to deliver this program. On May 29, the fire department, working with FireSmart Canada and Valhalla Consulting, will be hosting the first fire smart information session at 12:30 p.m. in Sendero Canyon. Fire Chief Larry Watkinson invites the community of Sendero Canyon and the wider community who live in wildfire interface areas to attend the session. "The fire department is encouraging residents to improve the fire resiliency and risk by taking proactive steps to reduce the damage to property should a wildfire strike," he said. Residents are asked to consider the following when it comes to being fire smart: Site Preparation Consider any kind of vegetation, mature trees, shrubs, grass and woodpiles as potential fuels and easily ignitable combustibles. It is important to manage the space around homes and buildings. Building Construction Are exterior walls, doors, windows, eaves and roof fire smart? Fire Smart Protection Plan Interface fires often start as small accidental ignitions. Reduce interface fires and be prepared by planning ahead. For more information, attend the session or find a copy of the FireSmart Homeowners Manual at bcwildfire.ca. Photo: Contributed UPDATE: 11:25 a.m. The Wilderness Committee has welcomed the release of a provincial government report summarizing the public consultation process relating to proposed protected areas in the South Okanagan-Similkameen. We are really happy the report has finally been released, and we look forward to the B.C. government sitting down with the federal government and First Nations governments to move this process forward again, said Gwen Barlee, the committee's national policy director. Establishing a national park reserve is widely supported here and would be excellent news for B.C. from an environmental and economic perspective. The report, which did not identify the number of national park supporters or opponents, found themes related to the inadequacy of protection provisions in the region, the importance of connectivity between protected areas and support for a national park reserve, said a release from the environmental group. The committee expressed some concern that the report appeared to minimize comments which supported a national park...There were 27 organizations supporting national park designation versus six groups in opposition. The South Okanagan-Similkameen ecosystem is one of the most endangered in Canada in terms of rarity, diversity and species richness. At the end of the day, the report shows the vast majority of people who participated in the public consultation process support a national park in the South Okanagan-Similkameen. Now we need to respect the publics wishes and get on with implementing it, said Barlee. Thousands of people responded to the B.C. government request for public feedback on South Okanagan land use. The report was released on Thursday. In total, 3,460 responded to the intentions paper on land protection measures. Thank you to everyone who submitted comments about the South Okanagan. Your feedback is invaluable to help us satisfy the varying interests in this special and unique region," said Environment Minister Mary Polak. "Our intent with the final recommendations is to protect significant geographic and cultural values, while providing recreation and tourism opportunities for future generations to enjoy. The feedback shows a public interested and passionate about issues of environmental protection, First Nations cultural values, tourism and recreation opportunities, according to a government release. Themes identified in the submissions included, the need to ensure connectivity between areas, to preserve and protect the remaining biodiversity and to recognize the importance of hunting, fishing, tourism, ranching and recreation in the region. Several additional land areas were put forward as requiring protection, including those around Vaseux Lake and the South Okanagan grasslands protected area. Comments also focused heavily on respecting existing land use commitments, such as access and recreational activities already in the Okanagan Shuswap land and resource management plan. Provincial officials will review the feedback when developing final recommendations, and continue to engage with First Nations to better understand their interests prior to any final decisions. The province is expected to move forward later this year. The full report is available here. Photo: The Canadian Press The National Energy Board says the contentious $6.8-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is in Canada's best interests, despite increased greenhouse gas emissions and threats to killer whales off British Columbia's coast. The federal regulator issued its long-awaited report on Thursday after a two-year debate that cost millions, and galvanized aboriginal and environmental protests. The board recommended Ottawa approve Kinder Morgan Canada's proposal subject to 157 conditions. "Given that there are considerable benefits nationally, regionally and locally, the board found that the benefits of the project would outweigh the residual burdens," Robert Steedman, the board's chief environmental officer, told a news conference. "Accordingly, the board concludes that the project is in the Canadian public interest." Read more. Photo: Skylar noe-vack Emergency crews responded to a truck that had gone over an embankment in Penticton Thursday night, but the driver could not be found on arrival. At about 7 p.m., RCMP, fire crews, and BC Ambulance Service arrived at Haven Hill Road to find a white pickup truck with an Alberta license plate had left the road and crashed into a tree behind a house on Pickering Street. Emergency crews shut down the road while RCMP investigated the scene. A tow truck was called to get the vehicle out of the embankment. Photo: BC Wildfire Service A dramatic change in the weather in northeastern British Columbia is being celebrated by crews fighting several large wildfires. Environment Canada posted a snowfall warning for the entire Peace River region, predicting at least 10 centimetres of snow will blanket the area around Fort St. John before turning to rain later on Friday. B.C. Wildfire Service information officer Kevin Skrepnek says "intense and significant" rainfall is expected to continue into the Victoria Day long weekend. He says the should produce a dramatic downturn in fire activity that has charred hundreds of square kilometres of bush around Fort St. John. The Siphon Creek blaze, which straddles the B.C./Alberta boundary northeast of Fort St. John, has burned 853-square kilometres and is considered 35 per cent contained, while the Beatton Airport Road fire covers 156-square kilometres and is 65 per cent contained. All evacuation orders have been lifted around both fires but evacuation alerts remain in place. Photo: Contributed Cpl. Dan Moskaluk has confirmed that the 60-year-old male driver and 40-year-old female passenger involved in the May 12 collision in Olalla were off duty RCMP officers. Out of respect for their privacy, the RCMP will not speak to specific injuries or identify the officers or their detachment location. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the officers and their families during this most difficult time and throughout their recovery period," he said. An off-duty officer was recently injured in a two-car collision in West Kelowna as well, when he was hit by one of the vehicles as he was walking nearby. Photo: CTV Authorities say a man from Nanaimo tried to bribe his way out of trouble at the U.S. border with Canada. Charges say the man was caught crossing the border with marijuana and shotgun shells. The Bellingham Herald reports Brian James DeCoteau, 52, has been charged with bribing a public servant, a class B felony, in Whatcom County court. Prosecutors say he offered an officer two $100 bills to look the other way and let him cross the border at Sumas on Monday. DeCoteau owns a landscaping business on Vancouver Island. Photo: The Canadian Press - file photo The Victoria Police Department has requested a $113,000 budget increase to cover the costs of policing a tent city. Insp. Scott McGregor says over the last three weeks, problems have increased at the camp on the lawn of the Victoria law courts. The B.C. government tried and failed to get an interim court injunction last month to remove the tents, and its application for a permanent injunction will not be heard until September. However, Housing Minister Rich Coleman has warned another injunction could be filed to force campers out by the end of the month, if fire and other safety regulations are not heeded. Police say requests for a heavier police presence have come from residents living at the tent city and in the surrounding neighbourhood. Photo: Google Maps The independent body that responds to all deadly or serious police incidents in British Columbia has offered an update on a fatal police shooting last month in the northwestern community of Granisle. A news release from the Independent Investigations Office says an eight-member team has now collected evidence and interviewed witnesses in the remote community on Babine Lake, about 60 kilometres east of Smithers. Spokesman Marten Youssef says police and non-police weapons were seized by investigators, but the statement does not say how the weapons might be connected to the April 21 incident. RCMP report they were called to Granisle when a handgun was produced during a dispute between neighbours. The statement from the Independent Investigations Office says a man was shot after interacting with police, while a woman was shot after leaving a house in Granisle and also interacting with officers. The coroners service identified 39-year-old Jovan (Joe) Williams and 73-year-old Shirley Beatrice Williams as the mother and son killed at the scene. Photo: RCMP Vancouver police are looking for a man convicted of a home invasion in 2014, but who has since fled. On March 29, 2014, two men knocked on the door of an 11th floor apartment in Vancouvers West End and threatened one of the residents with a knife and hatchet. The two men tied up one of the residents, threatened the other, and rummaged through the apartment, taking a number of things. Police found video of the two men believed to be linked to the crime, and identified, arrested and charged one of them. On May 10, Jay Tyler Brown, 38 was convicted of the break-and-enter and two counts of robbery and forcible confinement. He was released by the judge and ordered to turn himself in to the sheriff by 2 p.m. May 13. He never showed up. A warrant is out for Browns arrest, and police are asking for the publics help in finding him. Brown weighs 170 pounds, five feet 10 inches tall, Caucasian, with a missing tooth and tattoos on both arms. His right forearm has a tattoo of a shark, a nautical star and diamonds, while his left forearm has the words Think for yourself written on it. Police advise anyone with knowledge of his whereabouts to not approach him, and to call 911. I was just reading on the forum that someone wants to know some marker words for the Okanagan area. I think this is great. For all of you that had very very negative ideas for the Okanagan area, please leave. It is people like you that give wherever you live a bad name. Go find another place to live that you can bring down with you. Beth Lukin Photo: Twitter - @Aaron_Jasper UPDATE: 2:40 p.m. Police continue to investigate suspicious circumstances that sparked a heavy police response in downtown Vancouver. Just before noon, a 911 caller observed a foot behind the counter of a locked Wind Mobile store on Robson Street. When police arrived, they found a naked woman and a clothed man walking around inside the shop. Neither appeared to be in distress. VPD negotiators attempted to have them unlock and exit the store. About 1 p.m., two men were arrested leaving the back of the building. The woman was reluctant to leave and appeared to be under the influence of drugs. She was taken into custody a few minutes later. A representative for the store indicated by phone that it was closed and no one should be inside. However, he turned out to be one of the men arrested at the scene. The woman was taken to hospital to be examined by a doctor. The two men remain in custody. It remains unclear if any crime was committed. UPDATE: 1:50 p.m. A police incident that scrambled Vancouver's Emergency Response Team and VPD negotiators has ended. Police removed two suspects from a cordoned-off area of Robson Street about an hour after the incident began. The Vancouver Police Department has yet to confirm the nature of the incident, but is expected to release details this afternoon. Heavily armed officers surrounded a store near Robson and Hamilton streets. ORIGINAL: 12:45 p.m. Heavily armed police have converged on Vancouver's Robson Street. Officers have surrounded a business near the intersection of Robson and Hamilton streets. Few details about the unfolding situation are available. We are dealing with a suspicious set of circumstances at a business there, Vancouver Police Department spokesman Const. Brian Montague told CTV. We currently have our Emergency Response Team and negotiators at the scene. A portion of Robson has been blocked off with police tape. Castanet will provide more details as they become available. Send your news, photos and video to [email protected] with files from CTV Vancouver Photo: Flickr/BC gov't The B.C. government has announced funding for as many as 2,700 new spaces in Surrey's public schools. Premier Christy Clark made the announcement Friday morning, committing nearly $100-million to fund six so-called rapid expansion projects in the province's fastest-growing community. Up to 600 new student seats will be in place by fall 2017 for students at Sullivan, Woodward Hill and Panorama Park elementary schools. Clark says two schools will also be built, Grandview Heights Secondary and Clayton North Elementary, with work on both due to begin next year. The secondary school will provide spaces for 1,500 Grade 8 to 12 students, with completion expected by 2020, while the elementary school will add 605 spaces when it opens at the end of 2019. Announcement of the funding and additional spaces comes just days after Surrey parents rallied at the B.C. legislature demanding help for the estimated 7,000 students being taught in portables in the overcrowded Surrey school district. Photo: focs.ca Scientists have detected a potential disease in farmed Atlantic salmon for the first time in British Columbia, but say more research is needed to determine if it could affect wild populations of the fish. Dr. Kristi Miller, head of the molecular genetics research program in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, says pathologists found lesions on salmon on one farm in Johnstone Strait indicating they had heart and skeletal muscle inflammation. Miller says the lesions were present for at least eight months. She says the disease has been found in several countries, including Norway in the late 1990s, where it has been linked to low levels of mortality, with some farms showing no salmon deaths, while up to 20 per cent of fish die in others. The disease is not considered reportable by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency or the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health. The research using new technology and scientists from several countries was done between 2013 and 2015 on four Vancouver Island fish farms using over 2,400 live and dying salmon. The Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development (TDLWD) reported Friday almost 200,000 jobs were posted on the Jobs4TN.gov website in April. That marks a record number of job opportunities employers across the state have advertised on the site. As the unemployment rate in Tennessee declines, we continue to see job postings go up. Employers need workers and the Jobs4TN site is the best source for jobseekers to find jobs, said TDLWD Commissioner Burns Phillips. Middle Tennessee recorded 96,503 openings, almost half the total job openings for the state. West Tennessee had just over 60,000 openings and East Tennessee reported 42,000 job openings. The occupations represented by these openings include health care, computer and mathematical occupations, management positions, sales jobs, transportation occupations, business and finance, food preparation and serving jobs, personal care, building/grounds cleaning and maintenance jobs. There are a variety of job openings across the state, representing a wide range of educational and skill level requirements. Jobs4TN.gov was initiated by Governor Bill Haslam to help Tennesseans streamline the process of finding a new career. Employers in both the public and private sectors post job opportunities on the site. Jobs4TN.gov is a free service for job seekers and employers and also offers job seeker career resources. Click here for the Jobs4TN.gov website. Tennessees upcoming tourism news is consolidated for your convenience below. For a complete list of Tennessee events, visit tnvacation.com/calendar. Ongoing Nashville Receive reciprocal, half-off admission to see Macchine Italiane: A Tour of Italys Motoring Spirit through Oct. 9 at Lane Motor Museum and Bellissima! The Italian Automotive Renaissance, 1945-1975 through Oct. 10 at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. Nashville Neil Simons classic Rumors runs through June 5 at Chaffins Barn Dinner Theatre. May 21 Nashville Styx with the Nashville Symphony perform their classic hits 8 p.m. CT at Ascend Amphitheater. Nashville Celebrate World Whisky Day with the whiskey of the month, Virgil Kaine Ginger Infused Bourbon at Embers Ski Lodge in Nashvilles 12South neighborhood. May 21-29 Jonesborough Sense & Sensibility is Jane Austens classic novel performed on stage at the Jonesborough Repertory Theatre. May 22 Chattanooga Mountain View Bluegrass provides foot-stomping music all day at Chattanooga Market. May 21-22 Elizabethton Nearly 200 living history persons reenact the 1776 Siege of Fort Watauga at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park. May 23 Cookeville The 28th annual Run for the Wall motorcycle event, honoring veterans, POWs/MIAs, makes Cookeville a major stop in their cross-country route to Arlington with more than 300 riders arriving into town 4:30 p.m. CT down Jefferson Avenue. Jonesborough The live show of local stories, I Didnt Join, I Was Drafted takes place 7 p.m. ET at the International Storytelling Center. May 24 Nashville The Grand Ole Opry salutes the 75th anniversary of the USO with a red carpet arrival and special show featuring Trace Adkins, Charlie Daniels Band, Lee Greenwood, the Oak Ridge Boys and more 5:45 p.m. CT at the Grand Ole Opry. May 25 Nashville Join winery production winemaker Bill Anton and assistant winemaker Laura Cypress as they take a look at basic winemaking and advanced techniques 6 p.m. CT at City Winery. May 26-29 Crawford The Spring Music Festival: Americana Roots Music, Camping & Arts Festival features music by Guy Marshall, Little Johnny Kantreed, Hackensaw Boys, Barstool Romeos, Wild Ponies, Charly Horse, Jimmy Davis and more at Jammin at Hippie Jacks. May 27 Nashville Zoovie Nights kick off with the showing of Minions beginning at sundown at Nashville Zoo. May 27-28 Lewisburg Festival on the Rocks BBQ Cook-off Competition is filled with barbecue, cooking and competition at Rock Creek Park. May 28 Memphis International Blacksmiths Day is features blacksmithing demonstrations 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT at The Metal Museum. May 28-29 Brownsville Exit 56 Blues Fest is two days of live music from the porch of the last home of blues legend Sleepy John Estes at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center. May 28-30 Shiloh A concert, artillery demonstrations, special exhibits,ranger-guided tours and a Memorial Day service take place at Shiloh National Military Park. May 29 Jackson Touch a Truck Day invites guests to explore police cars, limousines, helicopters, firetrucks and more at Fairgrounds Park. May 30 Memphis Fans of Star Trek celebrate its 50th anniversary with the showing of Star Trek First Contact, Star Trek 2009, and Star Trek into Darkness 4 p.m. CT at The Pink Palace Family of Museums. May 31 Nashville The Music of Elton John with Michael Cavanaugh & the Nashville Symphony is presented 7:30 p.m. CT at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. June 1 Bristol, TN/VA Learn about Vintage Base Ball from Adam Alfrey of the Knoxville Holstons Vintage Base Ball Club 6:30-8 p.m. ET at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. Lewisburg The new Bonjour Boutique opens for business beside Tillis Jewelry on the Lewisburg Square. June 2 Collierville The 2016 Sunset on the Square Concert Series kicks off with Wolf River Rednecks on Main Street in downtown Collierville. June 2, 3 Memphis Kick off the 2016 Summer Movie Series with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 7 p.m. CT June 2 and Beverly Hills Cop 7 p.m. CT June 3 at The Orpheum Theatre. June 3 Collierville The next outdoor family-friendly movie is Minions as part of Movie Mania at Carriage Crossing. Knoxville Enjoy music by The Tallest Man on Earth 7 p.m. ET at the Bijou Theatre. Memphis Peter and the Starcatcher, based on the novel by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson, comes to the stage through June 26 at The Circuit Playhouse. Nashville Brew at the Zoo includes animal encounters, live music, local food trucks and 100 craft beers on tap 6:30-11 p.m. CT at the Nashville Zoo. June 4 Dover Take a day trip to Fort Donelson National Battlefield with the Tennessee State Museum departing 7:30 a.m. CT and returning approx. 4:30 p.m. CT from the Tennessee State Museum on Charlotte Ave. and 10th Ave. North. Red Boiling Springs The Red Boiling Springs Folk Medicine Festival features old-time medicine and natural healing, arts and crafts, and live demonstrations 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT in downtown Red Boiling Springs. Union City Beloved characters Peg + Cat spend a day visiting guests at Discovery Park of America. June 5 Knoxville Sturgill Simpson performs 7 p.m. ET on the U.S. Cellular Stage at the Bijou Theatre. June 8 Nashville Marty Stuarts Late Night Jam welcomes country music stars 10 p.m. CT at the Ryman Auditorium. # # # The mission of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development is to motivate travel to and within Tennessee by inspiring enjoyment, creating memories, producing a desire to return, and establishing key long-term relationships that result in visitors becoming residents. The promise of Tennesseethe birthplace of the blues, bluegrass, country, gospel, soul, and rock n rollis to be the global music destination of choice. To deliver an unparalleled experience of beauty, history, and family adventure, infused with music that creates a vacation that is the Soundtrack of America. Made in Tennessee. The shaded area of 150 mV is the operating voltage range of the transistor, which is much narrower than the operating range of conventional silicon transistors (500mV). The subthreshold swing (slope of the characteristic) of the proposed transistor is also significantly higher than the limiting slope that can potentially be gained from MOSFETs (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors). This limiting slope is shown as a dotted line on the inset image. (A) Electron spectrum E(p) in bilayer graphene (left) and energy dependence of its density of states, DoS (right). At energy levels corresponding to the edge of the "Mexican hat" the DoS tends to infinity. (B) The red areas show the states of electrons that participate in tunneling in bilayer graphene (left) and in a conventional semiconductor with "ordinary" parabolic bands (right). Electrons that are capable of tunneling at low voltages are found in the ring in graphene, but in the semiconductor they are only found at the single point. The dotted lines indicate the tunneling transitions. The red lines indicate the trajectories of the tunneling electrons in the valence band. Scientists have developed a new type of graphene-based transistor and using modelling they have demonstrated that it has ultralow power consumption compared with other similar transistor devices. The most important effect of reducing power consumption is that it enables the clock speed of processors to be increased. According to calculations, the increase could be as high as two orders of magnitude. "The point is not so much about saving electricity - we have plenty of electrical energy. At a lower power, electronic components heat up less, and that means that they are able to operate at a higher clock speed - not one gigahertz, but ten for example, or even one hundred," says the corresponding author of the study, the head of MIPT's Laboratory of Optoelectronics and Two-Dimensional Materials, Dmitry Svintsov. Building transistors that are capable of switching at low voltages (less than 0.5 volts) is one of the greatest challenges of modern electronics. Tunnel transistors are the most promising candidates to solve this problem. Unlike in conventional transistors, where electrons "jump" through the energy barrier, in tunnel transistors the electrons "filter" through the barrier due to the quantum tunneling effect. However, in most semiconductors the tunneling current is very small and this prevents transistors that are based on these materials from being used in real circuits. The authors of the article, scientists from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), the Institute of Physics and Technology RAS, and Tohoku University (Japan), proposed a new design for a tunnel transistor based on bilayer graphene, and using modelling, they proved that this material is an ideal platform for low-voltage electronics. Graphene, which was created by MIPT alumni Sir Andre Geim and Sir Konstantin Novoselov, is a sheet of carbon that is one atom thick. As it has only two dimensions, the properties of graphene, including its electronic properties, are radically different to three-dimensional carbon - graphite. "Bilayer graphene is two sheets of graphene that are attached to one another with ordinary covalent bonds. It is as easy to make as monolayer graphene, but due to the unique structure of its electronic bands, it is a highly promising material for low-voltage tunneling switches," says Svintsov. Bands of bilayer graphene, i.e. the allowed energy levels of an electron at a given value of momentum, are in the shape of a "Mexican hat" (fig. 1A, compare this to the bands of most semiconductors which form a parabolic shape). It turns out that the density of electrons that can occupy spaces close to the edges of the "Mexican hat" tends to infinity - this is called a van Hove singularity. With the application of even a very small voltage to the gate of a transistor, a huge number of electrons at the edges of the "Mexican hat" begin to tunnel at the same time. This causes a sharp change in current from the application of a small voltage, and this low voltage is the reason for the record low power consumption. In their paper, the researchers point out that until recently, van Hove singularity was barely noticeable in bilayer graphene - the edges of the "Mexican hat" were indistinct due to the low quality of the samples. Modern graphene samples on hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) substrates are of much better quality, and pronounced van Hove singularities have been experimentally confirmed in the samples using scanning probe microscopy and infrared absorption spectroscopy. An important feature of the proposed transistor is the use of "electrical doping" (the field effect) to create a tunneling p-n junction. The complex process of chemical doping, which is required when building transistors on three-dimensional semiconductors, is not needed (and can even be damaging) for bilayer graphene. In electrical doping, additional electrons (or holes) occur in graphene due to the attraction towards closely positioned doping gates. Under optimum conditions, a graphene transistor can change the current in a circuit ten thousand times with a gate voltage swing of only 150 millivolts. "This means that the transistor requires less energy for switching, chips will require less energy, less heat will be generated, less powerful cooling systems will be needed, and clock speeds can be increased without the worry that the excess heat will destroy the chip," says Svintsov. The company worked with East Lake Studios and Skender Construction to build out the new space at 222 N. Lasalle St. (Keri Wiginton, Blue Sky / Feb. 12, 2016) Chicago online lending startup Avant is laying off 60 employees and dumping major new offerings it was planning for this year, including a credit card. The announcement comes amid turmoil at the company Avant has called its biggest competitor, Lending Club. Advertisement Avant was founded three years ago offering personal loans to middle-class consumers who had been turned down by traditional banks. It had 950 employees in Chicago, Los Angeles and London as of last month. The layoffs are happening across the organization, spokeswoman Carolyn Blackman Gasbarra said in a statement. Advertisement "We made this move to realign our resources with a narrowed focus on our core personal loan product," she said. "Streamlined focus sets us up for strong near-term profitability given the challenges the market has faced." Crain's Chicago Business first reported the news. The layoffs come shortly after the CEO of San Francisco-based consumer lending firm Lending Club resigned after a controversy over some of its loans. CEO Al Goldstein , who Avant did not make available for comment Friday, told Crain's that Lending Club was his company's biggest competitor. The controversy at Lending Club left the industry at an inflection point, he said. Avant said it was planning to roll out a credit card this summer, and in March announced it would being offering car refinancing loans. Gasbarra said the company is scrapping those plans for now. Avant told Blue Sky last month that it was eyeing new geographic territory, hoping to add Australia and other countries to its international operations. Those plans are also on hold now, Gasbarra said. Avant has issued more than $3 billion in loans and is valued at nearly $2 billion, making it a rarity in Chicago as a "unicorn," a privately held company valued at more than $1 billion. Even before the Lending Club controversy, Avant was preparing for increased scrutiny of online lenders. The company recently added ex-FDIC chairwoman Sheila Bair to the board for her regulatory expertise. amarotti@tribpub.com Advertisement Twitter @allymarotti Bayer's proposed mega deal to buy Monsanto is likely to create a mega public relations challenge for the German company at home. Bayer faces a backlash against Germany's biggest planned acquisition because of two products from the St. Louis-based company that are widely detested in the country: genetically modified seeds and the weedkiller Roundup, which uses a compound called glyphosate that some believe can cause cancer. Advertisement "Germans view Monsanto as the main example of American corporate evil," said Heike Moldenhauer, a biotechnology expert at German environmental group BUND. "It may not be such a good idea to take over Monsanto as that means incorporating its bad reputation, which would also make Bayer more vulnerable." A German Environment Ministry study released last month found 75 percent of citizens are against genetic engineering of plants and animals. Aware of voter suspicions, members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats, have already come out against the deal, which would turn Bayer into the biggest supplier of farm chemicals. Monsanto, which has a market value of $42 billion, said Thursday it's studying the offer. Neither party has disclosed the terms. Advertisement A merger would "strengthen the economic power of genetic engineering in Germany, which we see as very problematic as the majority of the population in Germany is opposed to the technology," said Elvira Drobinski-Weiss, the lawmaker responsible for formulating policy positions on genetic engineering for the Social Democrats. BASF SE four years ago abandoned research into genetically modified crops in Germany, citing a lack of acceptance of the technology in many parts of Europe from consumers, farmers and politicians. The German company moved the unit to the U.S. and halted development of products targeted for Europe to focus on crops for the Americas and Asia. Monsanto Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean plants grow in a research field near Pirassununga, Brazil, in 2011. Monsanto was testing the genetically engineered variant of soybean seeds to tolerate the company's Roundup herbicide and provide in-the-seed protection from insects. (Paulo Fridman / Bloomberg) "There's virtually no market for genetically modified seeds in Europe because they're so unpopular," said Dirk Zimmermann, a GMO expert at Greenpeace in Hamburg. A deal combining Bayer and Monsanto would "hurt the future of sustainable agriculture." Bayer is no stranger to the public outcry that crop chemicals can cause and has been under fire itself for the use of two chemicals that some claim are responsible for the dying off of bees. The Leverkusen-based company has already enlisted two large PR firms to advise on the takeover and potential backlash, according to people familiar with the matter. Bayer declined to comment on its strategy. Glyphosate is another product provoking heated debate in Germany, with many wary of the potential health impacts. Nine of 14 letters-to-the-editor published in Thursday's Sueddeutsche Zeitung, one of the country's biggest newspapers, dealt with glyphosate, most of them against the continued use of the herbicide. Several German hardware store chains, including Hornbach Baumarkt AG, Obi and REWE Group's Toom, stopped selling products using glyphosate last year in the wake of a report from the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer saying the weedkiller is probably carcinogenic. A joint position paper released this week by committees from the World Health Organization and United Nations disagreed with that assessment. Merkel's governing coalition is squabbling about whether to back reauthorizing the chemical's use in the European Union when the current approval runs out in June. The chancellor and her agriculture minister support the continued use of the herbicide but many Social Democrats have come out against it, meaning the government hasn't been able to take a position on the matter in EU discussions. The opposition Green Party is against using glyphosate, said Renate Kuenast, Germany's former agriculture minister and now head of the justice and consumer protection committee in parliament. Advertisement Bayer's plan "is a wrong signal for Germany and environmental protection," she said in an e-mail. "Monsanto stands for glyphosate and agricultural bio-engineering and thus for a loss of biodiversity and good soils. It's a folly we need to stop." Ursula Burns, the first African-American woman to run a Fortune 500 company, will step down as chief executive when the struggling technology and services company splits itself in two later this year, Xerox announced Friday. Burns, who has spent her entire career at Xerox, is to become chairman of the printer, copier and document technology company created from the split, the company said. The other new company is to focus on business services; Xerox has yet to name a chief executive for either. "Our search for leadership is well underway and we have an extremely strong pool of talent across our organization as well as external candidates to build our management teams," Burns said in a statement. The news represents a backward step for diversity at the top of Corporate America. Following Xerox's split, there will no longer be an African-American female CEO at the helm of one of the largest U.S. corporations unless a black woman is soon named to lead one of them. Burns' departure from the CEO role would also leave the current count of female CEOs in the S&P 500 at just 23, and with very few minorities: PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi was born in India, but women of color remain rare in the corporate suite. Just 2.8 percent of directors on Fortune 500 boards are black, Latina or Asian women, according to the nonprofit research organization Catalyst. The news follows a first-quarter earnings report from Xerox that showed profits shrinking 85 percent at the company long associated with photocopier; it also noted break-up costs would be more than expected. The company has been shedding workers, cutting 8,300 jobs in the first quarter, as it prepares to split the company in two by the end of 2016. The decision to break up the 109-year-old corporate icon unwound a deal Burns had championed early in her tenure as CEO, when she made the bet in 2009 to acquire Affiliated Computer Services, pushing the company into back-office services for governments and businesses. Splitting the company in two amounted to a reversal of the strategy she had orchestrated, and was a decision the company said it made after a review by the board. Activist investor Carl Icahn, who will get three seats on the services company's board after the split, had been pressuring change at the company, but Burns said in January he did not drive the decision. Though she will continue to lead one of the new companies' boards, the job change closes a chapter in Burns' career, which began 35 years ago when she joined Xerox as an engineering intern in 1980. Raised in the public housing projects on Manhattan's Lower East Side, she has written that "many people told me I had three strikes against me: I was black. I was a girl. And I was poor." Yet she went on to earn two engineering degrees, rise through the ranks at Xerox, and become a trusted lieutenant to her predecessor, Anne Mulcahy. When she was named CEO in 2009, she became not only the first African-American female to be CEO of a Fortune 500 company. The succession from Mulcahy to Burns also marked the first time there had been a woman-to-woman hand-off at the top of a major U.S. public corporation. Back in January, Burns said she had urged the board not to think about her future as it considered its options. She reiterated those thoughts on Friday, speaking at the company's annual meeting, according to the Wall Street Journal: "My decision-making process has been grounded in making the best decision for Xerox and for me, personally, in that order," she said. A truck loaded with freshly printed copies of the Chicago Tribune leaves the Tribune's Freedom Center printing facility at 560 West Grand Avenue on May 16, 2016. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune) Gannett's unsolicited bid to acquire Tribune Publishing got more personal Friday, with each company calling out the other's leaders by name and questioning management's decision-making. In a Friday letter to Tribune Publishing shareholders, Gannett said Tribune Publishing Chairman Michael Ferro said during a May 12 meeting in Chicago that while a merger could make sense, he wanted a "significant role" in the company post-closing and he was unwilling to engage in the process unless he got "a piece of the action." Advertisement The letter urged shareholders to "protect their investment" by withholding votes to elect Tribune Publishing's board at the company's June 2 annual meeting. The largely symbolic proxy campaign is intended to send Tribune Publishing a "clear and coordinated message" to immediately engage in negotiations with Gannett, the letter stated. Tribune Publishing responded to Gannett's letter with a news release Friday afternoon that took issue with Gannett Chairman John Jeffry Louis and CEO Robert Dickey, who met with Ferro last week. Advertisement "Once again, Jeff Louis and Robert Dickey are misleading investors with half-truths and conjecture designed to mask their desperate need to acquire Tribune Publishing to save their own business and their positions," the company said. "To set the record straight, Mr. Ferro's alleged comments in the May 12 meeting were grossly mischaracterized and taken out of context." On Monday, Gannett boosted its all-cash offer to acquire Tribune Publishing to $15 per share, raising the stakes after the Chicago-based owner of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other major newspapers earlier this month rejected an unsolicited $12.25-a-share bid. The revised offer values the company at $864 million, including the assumption of $385 million in debt, and represents a 99 percent premium to the price Tribune Publishing stock was trading at before Gannett made its initial offer public on April 25. Tribune Publishing's board, which adopted a "poison pill" defense May 9 to discourage Gannett from going directly to shareholders with a tender offer, has yet to respond to the increased offer, according to Gannett's letter Friday. Traders work at a post that handles Gannett stock on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in 2014. (Richard Drew / AP) "Notwithstanding the fact that Gannett continues to engage in the reckless use of false and misleading comments about the meeting between the companies on May 12 ... our board is in the process of dispassionately, thoughtfully and thoroughly reviewing Gannett's latest proposal and will respond to it in short order," Tribune Publishing said in its statement. Ferro became Tribune Publishing's largest shareholder in early February when his investment firm, Merrick Media, bought a 16.6 percent stake in a $44.4 million deal that priced the stock at $8.50 per share. He subsequently donated his ownership stake in the Chicago Sun-Times to a charitable trust to avoid perceived conflicts of interest. In Friday's letter, McLean, Va.-based Gannett, publisher of USA Today and more than 100 other newspapers, discounted Tribune Publishing's recently unveiled digital strategy as "unproven," and questioned Ferro's publishing track record, calling him an "ineffective operator" when he owned the Sun-Times. Tribune Publishing's second-largest shareholder, Oaktree Capital Management, a Los Angeles-based investment firm that owns 14.8 percent of company, sent a letter to the board Wednesday urging the company to negotiate a transaction with Gannett. Advertisement rchannick@tribpub.com Twitter @RobertChannick Lombard-based furniture retailer The RoomPlace is rebuilding after a fire at its Woodridge warehouse caused nearly $80 million in losses. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune) (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune) Rebuilding a 104-year-old furniture company out of a temporary space, no less is no small feat. Paul Adams had just finished calling the owner of furniture retailer The RoomPlace to let him know that despite the frightening news that the warehouse serving as the company's hub was on fire, everything looked to be under control. All employees were safely outside. The smoke was white, signaling a dying blaze, not the acrid black of burning fabric and leather. Advertisement Adams, CEO of the family-owned business, immediately started working on solving the problem. He was worried about smoke damage and dialed a real estate agent to look for a temporary space to store merchandise. He's still shocked at how quickly things changed. Within seconds, he said, flames reignited and raced through the 320,000-square-foot building packed with flammable merchandise. Advertisement Fighting it, Adams said, "would have been like trying to put a bonfire out with a squirt gun." David Buckels sets up a display May 18, 2016, at a RoomPlace store in the 2700 block of Elston Avenue, near the Chicago River on Chicago's North Side. The furniture retailer's 700 employees are back at work after an April 21, 2016, fire destroyed its Woodridge distribution center. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) "There was not a moment I didn't believe we would get back to where we want to be," he said. "But that was a scary moment." Family businesses often talk about crisis management and recovery, but fewer actually make concrete plans, said Gezinus Hidding, an associate professor at Loyola University Chicago's Quinlan School of Business. Even those that talk about risks they face often aren't well-prepared for catastrophic problems they haven't experienced, said Serhat Cicekoglu, former director of Quinlan's Center for Risk Management. Even so, Cicekoglu said it's "highly likely" companies selling commodities, like The RoomPlace, can build themselves back up after a crisis if they take the right steps after the fact. Three weeks after the April 21 fire that destroyed the Woodridge distribution center, Adams walked the aisles of The RoomPlace's temporary home in Romeoville, proud and upbeat about the progress so far. The company's 700 employees are back at work. More delivery trucks are being sent out each day. A deal for a new, larger distribution center is in the works. Adams says he's feeling confident, but that doesn't mean getting the Lombard-based company back to full strength will be easy. May a popular time for moving, weddings and graduations is the hottest time of year for furniture retailers and a bad time to struggle with out-of-stock product, Adams said. "Over the last three weeks people have been really understanding. Over the next three months, who knows? People have lives. That's why we're moving as fast as we can," he said. Nobody put their head down and said, 'This is it.' Diego Delgado, RoomPlace supervisor One competitor tried to recruit Adams' employees, saying they'd be smart to jump from a sinking ship, while another offered to help, Adams said. He estimates the company's insurance claim will total nearly $80 million, including the loss of $29 million of inventory and 15 of its 35 delivery trucks. Advertisement The fire also shut down services and systems housed in the distribution center, including the work of "deluxers" who clean and repair products, and the customer service department. Many messages on The RoomPlace Facebook page cheered the company on. Some customers said they understood times were tough, but found delays and lack of communication frustrating. The RoomPlace has good insurance, Adams said, but he knows it's going to lose business to competitors, at least in the short term while deliveries are delayed. Canceled orders are only up about 2 percentage points, running roughly double The RoomPlace's normal rate, Adams said. People are still coming into stores, but sales took a hit, dropping 35 percent the week of the fire compared with the same period the year before, Adams said. This week, sales are trending above last year's level, aided by a sale. Some customers won't face any added delays, but restocking a product coming from overseas could take eight to 14 weeks, Adams said. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 4 A RoomPlace warehouse in Woodridge was severely damaged by a fire Thursday night. (Bill Bird / Naperville Sun) The RoomPlace had made plans to open a second distribution center serving its Indianapolis market before the fire, something Hidding said may have given them a head start in finding a temporary and long-term replacement for the building that burned. Johanna Parra, operations director at Roy's Furniture in Lincoln Park, said she understands what company leaders are going through. Advertisement Roy's only store was destroyed in a fire related to a gas pipe leak in summer 2012. The 45-year-old company was able to operate out of its Pilsen warehouse during the year and half it took to rebuild the store, but business dropped off significantly, Parra said. "You get nervous and think customers might forget about you and move on to someone else," she said. Parra said business is still slower than before the fire, but customers have been loyal, and sales have picked up since Roy's reopened in their old location. When the fire alarm went off at The RoomPlace's Woodridge distribution center, supervisor Diego Delgado assumed it was a drill or a false alarm related to a cookout held earlier that day. He said he helped evacuate roughly 80 employees working that afternoon, went back into the warehouse for a final check and saw white smoke. Delgado and another employee directed firefighters to the smoke-filled aisles, then waited outside with their workers for about an hour and a half, when firefighters said they had things under control, he said. Employees were walking back to the building to hold a meeting in the lobby when a firefighter opened the door and told them to run. Advertisement "It was unreal," Delgado said. "It was an inferno in there." Employees tried to gather in a building across the street but had to leave when heavy winds threatened to spread the blaze, he said. So they stood outside, farther away, watching as smoke "turned the sky dark" and the roof and walls collapsed, he said. It was unreal. It was an inferno in there. Diego Delgado, RoomPlace supervisor It all started with the flick of a lighter, authorities said. After forklift operator Ruben Antonio Ochoa Cruz's boss confronted him about missed days at work, he allegedly set a packing slip on fire and tossed it to the floor, according to court records. Cruz, 20, was arrested April 28 and charged with one count of intentionally damaging property by fire. The night of the fire, executives jumped on a conference call to figure out what to do next. They never calculated how many customers' orders burned that day it would have been in the thousands, and demoralizing, Adams said. Advertisement Instead, they made sure everyone had a task to focus on. Delgado was among the employees who turned The RoomPlace's small overflow warehouse into a distribution center and tried to figure out how many customer orders they could fill with its contents. Others worked on setting up a call center to replace the customer service department that had been lost. In two days, Adams found the temporary warehouse in Romeoville and had closed on it in about a week. That took much of the stress off, Adams said, as did figuring out they'd be able to pay employees who had nowhere to report for work until the company secured the temporary facility and guarantee compensation for those working on commission. It was the right thing to do for a business that's been in the same family for more than 100 years, said Adams, brought in as CEO four years ago. Owner Bruce Berman's grandfather founded the company, known as Harlem Furniture, in 1912. It also reassured employees they'd have a job to come back to amid the alleged attempt at poaching employees that still rankles Adams. But another competitor, Bob's Discount Furniture, tried to help, offering to let employees work out of its facilities and asking vendors to fill The RoomPlace's orders first. "They said they wanted to beat us, but they don't want to beat us this way," Adams said. Advertisement Two trucks with deliveries left the overflow warehouse the day after the fire. It was a small number but felt like a win, Delgado said. "Our systems were down, we were missing a lot of resources, but it felt like little by little we were making it happen." The RoomPlace released an ad promising it would outlast the fire and vowing, "We're here, we're open, we got this." Paul Adams, CEO of The RoomPlace, gives a May 12, 2016, tour of the company's temporary distribution center in Romeoville. The furniture retailer, which lost its Woodridge site to an April 21, 2016, fire, expects to move into a permanent distribution center in four months. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune) It was a way to thank customers for their support while being upfront about the fact that there would be some short-term challenges, Adams said, but both he and Delgado said there was never a moment they doubted the slogan. "Nobody put their head down and said, 'This is it,'" Delgado said. Mary Schmidt said she initially found the message overly optimistic when she struggled to get anyone at the company to return her calls to find out when her chairs, ordered the day after the fire, would be delivered. "My dilemma was they'd charged my card and I had to pay before I even knew if I was going to get it," she said. "I understand they need time to get reorganized, but I didn't think I should have to be accruing interest on something I don't have." Advertisement After posting her concerns on the company's Facebook page, The RoomPlace offered to cancel the order or waive her delivery fee if she was willing to wait a couple more weeks, she said. Schmidt said she was happy with the free delivery and is now in regular contact with the company, noting it's not unusual to wait weeks for furniture. The company expects to move into a permanent distribution center in four months. That center, along with an Indianapolis facility opening in the fall, will serve the RoomPlace's 19 Chicago-area stores and six in Indiana. As an added bonus, two hubs would keep a similar fire from disrupting the company's entire distribution network, though the new site was planned well in advance, Adams said. "We're well-capitalized, we're in a good position to recover and do the right things for our people," Adams said. "You always worry about competition and regaining market share, but we'll be able to put it back together better and stronger." lzumbach@tribpub.com Advertisement Twitter @laurenzumbach Silver Cross Health System plans to build a free-standing surgery center on its hospital campus in southwest suburban New Lenox to ease large patient loads and meet future demand. The project, which the hospital estimated would cost $11.1 million, would only handle surgeries that don't require overnight hospital stays, also known as "ambulatory" or "outpatient" surgical care. Examples of such procedures include colonoscopies, cataract surgery and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Advertisement Silver Cross made its plans public in regulatory documents filed earlier this week with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board. The surgery center requires state approval. Ambulatory surgery centers, which have been around for a few decades, are growing in popularity because they give surgeons more autonomy over their work and have been shown to provide lower-cost care than hospitals. Silver Cross' proposal is a sign of how hospitals are rethinking their organizations to drive patients into the lowest possible cost setting in which quality care can be delivered. Advertisement In its regulatory application, the health system said it chose to build an outpatient surgery center with three operating rooms rather than expand the 296-bed hospital because it was less expensive. Adding operating rooms to the hospital would have cost nearly $30 million, Silver Cross estimated. Silver Cross also considered opening the surgery center in Homer Glen, where it has a health center, but said the site would require more parking. The hospital said its operating rooms are currently overused and surgical demand is increasing, especially outpatient procedures. In 2015, total surgical cases increased 7.3 percent from the year before, but outpatient cases grew 10 percent. Silver Cross said it has extended operating hours to meet demand but that at a certain point patients are going to have to wait longer for procedures. The project would allow the health system to move surgical volume from the hospital to the proposed surgery center, which it would like to open in the first quarter of 2018. Since opening its New Lenox hospital in 2012, which replaced a facility in Joliet, Silver Cross has attracted more patients and medical staff. The increased patient volume has led to improved profitability, offsetting some pressure from its high debt load. The hospital's market share also has grown at the expense of its nearest competitor, Presence St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, according to Fitch Ratings, a debt-rating service. If the project is approved, Silver Cross said it intends to sell up to 49 percent of the ownership in the surgery center to physicians. asachdev@tribpub.com Twitter @ameetsachdev He was less tight-lipped on just about everything else. Numerous video interviews of Greenlee abound on YouTube, including one in which he is unsparing in his opinion of contemporary black cinema: "If we're gonna be outsiders, man, (let's) take advantage of being outsiders, OK? If you want to be a rich 'ho, then go to Hollywood. If you want to say something true about black people, then do what we did: Raise the money from the black community and shoot what you want." Bad news for fraternities: Those impressive-sounding programs designed to reduce alcohol consumption? They don't seem to work. A major new analysis of 15 studies involving over 6,000 Greek members found that well-structured drinking reduction programs weren't any more effective at getting people to imbibe less booze than, say, having them participate in unrelated programming. Advertisement RELATED: TRENDING LIFE & STYLE NEWS THIS HOUR "I was disappointed, honestly," said lead researcher Lori Scott-Sheldon. "In the past, we've always found that really strong alcohol intervention works. We can reduce college drinking if we provide people with the right kind of information and the right kind of interventions. But, in this case, we didn't find that." Advertisement The analysis in the journal Health Psychology included 15 studies of 6,026 Greek members, a minority of whom (18 percent) were women. The study of interventions targeting sorority members is "an important but neglected area of research," according to the article. Researchers found that, when it came to the category of "quantity of alcohol consumed per week or month," Greek members who participated in alcohol reduction programs actually did worse than those who did not receive any relevant programming. The study says alcohol use is "highly prevalent" among U.S. college students, in general, but fraternity and sorority members consume more alcohol than their non-Greek classmates and report more frequent drinking and more drinking-related consequences. Lori Scott-Sheldon, PhD was the lead researcher on the analysis. (The Miriam Hospital) Studies of structured alcohol interventions for the general college population indicate that they are capable of significantly decreasing alcohol use. So what went wrong on fraternity row? "I think that the interventions aren't targeted to Greek members," said Scott-Sheldon, a senior scientist at The Miriam Hospital, which is affiliated with Brown University, in Providence, R.I. "I think we need to involve a lot of different people in the conversation, maybe even include fraternity members or Greek leaders, so we can develop interventions that are better targeted to these students." RELATED STORIES: Advertisement Evanston filmmaker focuses on celiac disease in new documentary 5 podcasts to inspire recent graduates Looking beyond the obvious superfoods On Saturday night, at last, Salvo will get to go to prom the way he could barely dream of four decades ago. He'll go with a guy, his partner of a dozen years. He'll wear a feather boa with his tux and a sparkly hat on his head and revel in the kind of prom denied to virtually all gay teenagers of his vintage. Lincolnshire police officers Brian Balinski (left), Brittany Tazzioli, community service officer Chris Hess, and Ben Panitch, 18, of Buffalo Grove, stand on top of the rooftop at Dunkin' Donuts in Lincolnshire May 20 for the annual "Cop on a Rooftop" fundraiser that benefits Special Olympics Illinois. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press) Lincolnshire police participated in the annual "Cop on a Rooftop" fundraiser May 20 to benefit Special Olympics Illinois, an event in its 14th year. Police stood on the roof of a local Dunkin' Donuts, 435 Milwaukee Ave. during the morning. Officers from hundreds of other departments throughout Illinois did the same, standing on top of 237 total Dunkin' Donuts to raise money and awareness, according to Special Olympics Illinois. Advertisement Motorists could receive a free doughnut, and many people were generous, police said. "Growing up, my family has always served people," said Lincolnshire police officer Brittany Tazzioli. Advertisement Tazzioli, who grew up in Lake County, had no problem climbing a tall neon ladder to reach the rooftop. "I was a diver in college, so heights don't scare me," she said with a smile. As a department, Lincolnshire police raised about $14,000 at all of its fundraiser events for 2015 to benefit Special Olympics Illinois, said officer Brian Balinski. "It's a way for us to give back," Balinski said. "It's humbling to see the athletes getting to pursue their dreams, knowing we had a little part in that." Dunkin' Donuts district manager Patty Hacker said she spent time with Special Olympic athletes at the Deerfield store last year. "It's just heartwarming to hear their stories about how many medals they won and what it means to them," Hacker said. "It's always a pleasure to help, and (Special Olympics) is something special to me." Ben Panitch, 18, a senior at Stevenson High School, is chief of the cadet program with the Lincolnshire Police Explorer Post 2403. He also is part of the Best Buddies initiative at Stevenson, where friendships are made with people of many abilities. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > "We are getting closer to our dream of inclusion where we won't need events like this anymore, when it's second nature that everyone is accepted," Panitch said Advertisement Panitch was a rooftop volunteer in uniform before he left for school. Lisa Lukens, of Chicago, an English teacher at Stevenson, stopped by the Lincolnshire Dunkin' Donuts while on her way to work. "I have a niece who has Down syndrome, so I'm a big supporter of Special Olympics," Lukens said. Dunkin' Donuts customer Renee McGovern, of Lake Zurich, summed the morning up shortly after sunrise on a rain-free morning. "To whom much is given, much is expected," McGovern said of donating. "If you've got a roof over your head, then you've got more than most." Karie Angell Luc is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. The following items were taken from Lake Zurich Police Department reports and press releases. An arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt. Vehicle burglary A man reported on May 15 that his unlocked vehicle was entered into while it was parked in the 300 block of Church Street, police said. The total loss is estimated at approximately $800, police said. Advertisement DUI Erich A. Walschlager, 32, of the 100 block of West Harbor Drive, Lake Zurich, was charged on May 15 with driving under the influence of alcohol, subsequent to traffic stop on Deerpath Road at Route 12, police said. Walschlager was stopped after violating a stop sign in the 800 block of South Rand Road and for expired registration, police said. Walschlager failed field sobriety testing, police said. Walschlager also was charged with expired registration, police said. He was released on $3,000 bond with a court date set for June 21 in Waukegan, police said. Mario O. Washington, 35, of the 500 block of Deepwood Drive, Mundelein, was charged on May 15 with driving under the influence of alcohol, subsequent to a traffic stop at Route 12 and Miller Road, police said. During the traffic stop, officers observed a handgun sticking out from under the driver's seat, police said. A loaded .22-caliber Derringer was recovered, and Washington was taken into custody, police said. Additional ammunition was located inside the vehicle, police said. Washington also was charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, aggravated unlawful use of weapon, aggravated unlawful use of weapon without FOID, unlawful possession of ammunition, driving with a suspended license, operating an uninsured vehicle, and speeding, police said. Washington was held at the Lake Zurich Police Department, pending transfer to the Lake County Courthouse for a bond hearing, police said. Advertisement Phil Rockrohr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. From the moment Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police started negotiating its first contract with City Hall 35 years ago, the union identified an issue that would prove key to its members: ensuring officers had robust protections when they were investigated for misconduct. City Hall had its own focus: money. Advertisement Since that first contract, mayors from Jane Byrne to Rahm Emanuel have routinely fought to hold tight on the bottom line, while the union that represents thousands of rank-and-file officers has worked to, among other things, build layers of insulation from scrutiny. One product of that bargain between the city and the FOP has been a flawed system in which officers are rarely held accountable for misconduct. Indeed, since the dashcam video showing Laquan McDonald being shot 16 times and killed by Officer Jason Van Dyke was released in November, the city and Police Department have been roiled by protests over the failure to discipline officers, while a U.S. Department of Justice civil rights probe has been launched. Advertisement Amid the fallout, critics have zeroed in on the FOP contract and various rules that protect officers, and have called for a revamping. They have focused on a number of provisions, including one that allows officers to avoid making statements about shootings for at least 24 hours and another that requires internal investigators to notify officers of complainants' names before the officers are even questioned. Also at issue: a state law the FOP lobbied for that requires citizens to sign sworn affidavits to lodge an abuse complaint. While the FOP argues the stipulations are necessary to protect good cops from false accusations, critics say the provisions provide police the opportunity to collude and even formulate a favorable version of events after an incident such as a shooting. They say, too, that they can create a chilling effect that keeps some victims from coming forward for fear of retaliation. Removing those stipulations when the current contract ends next year won't be easy or cheap for the cash-strapped city. Many of those conditions have been in place since that first contract in 1981, and officers are reluctant to relinquish them. "The union people have always been very focused. They know what they want," said Samuel Walker, an expert on police oversight issues whose work was cited by a task force assembled by Emanuel to propose reform. "The city negotiators are much more focused on money. And the real costs are down the road." In an interview, FOP President Dean Angelo Sr. said if the city comes to the union looking for concessions, "we'll tell them to pony up." "We will fight to keep what we have. I don't think that we will voluntarily back off language in a contract that's been there for 31 years," he said. "Obviously discipline is going to be huge. But if, in fact, something comes our way that has been part of (the) first contract they want to chip at it, they're going to have to trade up." It may not be quite that simple. We will fight to keep what we have. I don't think that we will voluntarily back off language in a contract that's been there for 31 years. FOP President Dean Angelo Sr. James C. Franczek Jr., an attorney who has represented the city in contract negotiations with the police union since 1995, said the calls for reform cut both ways. The Justice Department investigation, for instance, is expected to result in a consent decree that will oversee how the department moves forward and could put pressure on the union to make contract concessions. Advertisement "It's going to weigh on his shoulders as much as the city's," Franczek said of Angelo. "So when we negotiate this agreement, we're going to be negotiating this in the context of the Department of Justice investigation, we're going to be negotiating this in the context of the task force investigation, we're going to be negotiating this in the context of public attention and concern about these issues like there's never been in the history of the city of Chicago." In a way, the consent decree could actually help the city in negotiations. Scott Greenwood, an Ohio lawyer who served on a mayor-appointed oversight panel in Albuquerque after a federal civil rights investigation there, said although the Justice Department does not have the authority to invalidate a union contract, a consent decree could require the city to find a way to meet the consent decree's requirements. If changing the contract is necessary, a consent decree could be used "as a wedge." Handshake deals Until the first contract was signed in 1981, Chicago's rank-and-file officers worked on little more than a handshake deal with the city. That situation changed after Byrne who had promised collective bargaining rights for city employees was elected mayor. Several unions lobbied to represent the police, who eventually voted for the FOP to be their bargaining representative. The FOP's first president was John Dineen, an investigator assigned to the Organized Crime Unit. Dineen said that before the first contract officers typically referred to their rights as "collective begging" instead of "collective bargaining," a reflection of how little power they had. He recalled that Mayor Richard J. Daley "used to tell us police, 'Don't worry about a contract while I'm alive, but after, when I'm gone, you better get a contract.' So we did." Advertisement "Back before there was a contract, if someone made a complaint against you or a boss didn't like you or they half-believed the complaint and you were working on the North Side, two weeks later you were at 104th and Avenue O," said Dineen, who served as FOP president until 1993. "And you couldn't do anything about it." At the same time, the city was strapped for cash. Facing a budget crunch, Byrne had recently initiated a new wave of taxes, including a sales tax and a cigarette tax. So the union focused energy on other areas of the contract, including police protections regarding internal investigations. Dineen described those issues under the rubric of "working conditions." "The city didn't have a lot of money but they wanted to keep the police happy, so they'd tell us what we'd get," he said. "So they'd give away a lot of working conditions things. It was always working conditions versus money." Several contract provisions that task force members and critics today have deemed troubling are among the bricks in the foundation of that first collective bargaining agreement. They include stipulations about how police were to be questioned and where they were to be questioned, requirements that officers be informed in writing about complaints against them and a prohibition against internal investigations based on anonymous complaints. The city didn't have a lot of money but they wanted to keep the police happy, so they'd tell us what we'd get ... It was always working conditions versus money. John Dineen, FOP president until 1993 The union "started with a very strong contract, and it has gotten only stronger over time," said Maurice Classen, a former prosecutor in Washington state who now is with the MacArthur Foundation and served on Emanuel's Police Accountability Task Force. Advertisement After Byrne and her successor, Harold Washington, the FOP negotiated several deals with Mayor Richard M. Daley in the 1990s and 2000s in which additional protections were folded into the agreements. In the 1995 contract, for instance, the contract added the provision that forbids investigation of complaints more than five years old without the permission of the superintendent. Flaws in the police oversight system caught up with Daley's administration in the mid-2000s, when a series of police scandals began to spin out of control. In 2006, Cook County prosecutors indicted several members of the Special Operations Section on a host of charges involving home invasion and robbery. Several months later, two videos of off-duty officers beating people in bars emerged and went viral. In mid-2007, then-Superintendent Philip Cline resigned and Daley rebranded the largely ineffective Office of Professional Standards as the Independent Police Review Authority, or IPRA. Around the same time, the city negotiated several changes to the contract dealing with disciplining officers. Since 2000, Franczek said, discipline has become more streamlined, including removing from the contract a cumbersome peer-review process that slowed the disciplinary system. At the same time, he said, the city got more power for the superintendent to unilaterally suspend officers, instituted drug and alcohol testing for officers who shot their guns, and created a loophole in the affidavit requirement that allows IPRA to sign an affidavit if the complainant does not. "We've done a lot of things that we like to say are positive and addresses some of the issues that the task force talked about," Franczek said. "Have we done everything that should have been done? No. But I think it would be grossly unfair to say that there haven't been some fairly significant changes that would have made things even worse than they are right now if they hadn't done them." Still, financial pressures played a role in negotiations. One of Daley's top attorneys, former city Corporation Counsel Mara Georges, acknowledged that the city bartered away some oversight tools to save money. But looking back at those negotiations, Georges said the city had different priorities. In some years, the city struggled with a violent crime rate that tallied more than 600 homicides a year. "Looking on it in hindsight, with what we know now, there are provisions that you say, 'Hey, they should be changed.' And, frankly, I'm sure they will be," Georges said. The administration, she added, was "trying to be fiscally responsible as well as responsible as a (policymaker)." Advertisement A possible chilling effect In 2003, the FOP pushed legislation that has since become a focus of criticism by reformers: the state law that requires a sworn affidavit to make a complaint. Union officials advocated for the law after they came to believe some officers were unfairly accused, so they wanted complainants who lied about police misconduct to face the possibility of criminal charges, said Mark Donahue, then president of the FOP. "The intent of the passage of this bill is not to curtail bona fide allegations of wrongdoing against law enforcement," Donahue told lawmakers in 2003. "Its intent is to curtail the non-bona fide allegations that now certain members of society are using as a means by which to remove active law enforcement officers from their duties and maybe impeding the activities of the criminal element in the areas in which they work." Among the sponsors of the bill was state Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, now Senate president. In Springfield, the affidavit law passed without opposition in the General Assembly in the same year lawmakers pushed through legislation that was seen as targeting law enforcement, including death penalty reform, racial profiling and the requirement that some interrogations be recorded on video, a bill pushed hard by then-state Sen. Barack Obama. "They were opposed to a lot of the stuff we were passing," Cullerton said of police. "We aimed a lot at police that year." Advertisement Emanuel's task force said changing the law should be a priority, and legislation that would strike the affidavit requirement is pending in Springfield. Cullerton said it "is something we absolutely should revisit" if it has had a chilling effect on people filing complaints. Angelo promises a fight, and he predicts the number of false complaints against officers will skyrocket if the requirement is removed. Franczek said he thinks the issue also will be a topic at the negotiating table, even though the loophole in the contract allows IPRA or internal affairs investigators to sign the affidavit themselves and proceed with an investigation a provision the task force said is rarely used. "Maybe we can make that easier. Maybe we ought to do away with the affidavit. Maybe even those exceptions aren't broad enough to cover what we need to be covered. Those are all legitimate issues," he said. Questioning officers In its report, the Emanuel task force cited more than a half-dozen other provisions in the FOP's collective bargaining agreement that make it more difficult to root out police misconduct and discipline officers. The task force recommended that several of those protections be removed or revised. Advertisement Among the recommendations, the task force said anonymous complaints against police should be allowed, officers should not be informed of complainants' names prior to interrogations, and provisions delaying interviews in shooting cases should be revised to ensure officers remain separated until all officers have given statements. Six years ago, the head of IPRA attempted to force officers involved in shootings to give statements about the incident within two hours of investigators asking for a statement. But that proposal ran into opposition from the FOP. Ilana Rosenzweig, IPRA's first chief administrator, said IPRA used to be able to hear officers' statements at what were called roundtable reviews, sessions with top police officials, prosecutors, FOP representatives and IPRA investigators at which officers provided an initial account of a shooting. Critics found the process flawed, however, because police would often draw final conclusions long before evidence was collected or a thorough investigation completed. Despite the flaws, Rosenzweig said the roundtables had value for IPRA investigators because it gave them an initial, voluntary statement from officers to begin investigations. After prosecutors voiced doubts about the roundtable system, the practice was ended altogether, leaving IPRA with no means to get a preliminary statement from officers. In 2010, IPRA and the city entered negotiations with the FOP to replace roundtables. Rosenzweig said the parties had a preliminary agreement to establish a two-stage statement process in which IPRA would have access to the officers at the scene when they did a walk-through of the incident with police. IPRA then would interview officers for a more complete account at least 24 hours later, after a "sleep cycle." Rosenzweig, who left IPRA in 2013, said negotiations fell apart and her agency moved to begin interviewing officers within two hours of the incident, under the terms for interviewing witnesses to shootings. The union filed a grievance, and the issue ended up before an arbitrator. Advertisement In 2011, the arbitrator issued a ruling affirming a 24-hour waiting period. The Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge No. 7 building on May 18, 2016, at 1412 W. Washington Blvd. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Former FOP President Michael Shields said officers did not want to be locked into a statement too early, while their minds were still clouded by the trauma of the event. He said officers viewed cooperating with IPRA as a naturally adversarial and dangerous situation. "When you talk about a level of trust with IPRA, it's kind of hard for that," Shields said. "IPRA is the entity that wants to put you in jail, and that's what an officer is thinking when they're answering questions." Overall, the FOP has been harshly critical of the task force's recommendations. Angelo said the union will fight to secure the protections it has won over the years. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > "I don't think the task force was very accurate in a lot of their findings," Angelo said. Franczek didn't take exception to the task force's findings, and he said he expects the city to try to remove or change several provisions, including allowing anonymous complaints and the 24-hour rule. But he acknowledges that as the two sides sit down to hammer out a deal, it will be an experience unlike previous negotiations. Advertisement "I can't remember in the 45 years that I've been doing this that we've ever gone through a period like we're going through right now," he said. "We're in a different time right now." jchase@tribpub.com dheinzmann@tribpub.com Twitter @chasejohn Twitter @davidheinzmann Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson vowed May 20, 2016, to come down hard on gangs as well as offer more help for drug addicts after the department announced May 20, 2016, that it had arrested nearly 100 people in a gang raid. (WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune) (Chicago Tribune) In a crackdown on the city's burgeoning violence, Chicago police have carried out an extensive gang takedown, arresting more than 115 people on the department's "strategic subject list" those believed to be most prone to violence. Just last week, after the bloodiest weekend since he became superintendent, Eddie Johnson said much of the bloodshed is being driven by about 1,300 people on the list, compiled with the aid of a computerized algorithm. Advertisement Calling the initiative the Police Department's "largest raid in recent history," Anthony Guglielmi, the department's chief spokesman, said 140 people were arrested primarily on narcotics and weapons charges starting at 4 a.m. Thursday in the violence-plagued Harrison and Austin patrol districts on the West Side. Police were targeting the Traveling Vice Lord and Four Corner Hustler street gangs in the crackdown. About 95 documented gang members were arrested, Guglielmi said. Advertisement In addition, all but 23 of those arrested Thursday were on the strategic subject list, police officials said. "Those individuals need to know that if they don't choose to take an alternative lifestyle then we'll bring everything we have at our disposal, including our federal partners to come at them to put the weight of the Chicago Police Department on them to stop them from driving the violence in our city," Johnson said at a news conference Friday at police headquarters. The algorithm used in compiling the list ranks the individuals on their susceptibility to violence. Some of those factors are their criminal background, their parole or warrant status, and any weapons or drug arrests. The department also takes into consideration their known acquaintances and the acquaintances' arrest histories and whether any of those associates have been shot in the past. Police said 21 of those arrested in the raid have been calculated to be at least 300 times more likely than the average person to become a victim or offender of violence. In addition to the 140 arrests, Johnson said officers recovered more than $45,000 worth of heroin and cocaine and more than 20 illegal guns. The superintendent acknowledged that police focused the operation on Harrison and Austin because they're considered two of the five patrol districts that are driving the most violence in the city. Through Sunday, Harrison led all 22 police districts in the city with 32 homicides, more than triple the 10 slain a year earlier, official Police Department statistics show. In Austin, 17 people were killed, up from four just a year earlier. Shooting incidents have risen to 159 in Harrison, more than double the 66 a year earlier, the statistics show. Austin reported 93 shooting incidents, nearly triple the 34 posted a year earlier. Advertisement By comparison, homicides have risen citywide to 216, up 62 percent from 133 a year earlier. Shooting incidents jumped to 1,062, up 60 percent from 665 a year earlier. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Johnson considered Thursday's raid a "major mission" as the department prepares to combat the expected rise in violence over the summer months. "I'm always concerned about upticks in violence and, you know, with the warmer weather, you're gonna have more people out there and more possibilities for disturbances that turn into violent confrontations," Johnson told reporters. Just after the news conference ended, Johnson responded to a shooting down the block from police headquarters that left one killed and another wounded the latest example of the department's challenges in staying ahead of the violence. Asked at the news conference if more police officers on the street were the answer, Johnson wasn't ready to make that concession. "We have to ensure that we use our resources effectively and efficiently," he said, "and after I'm convinced that we've done that, then we can move on to the next piece of that puzzle." Advertisement jgorner@tribpub.com Twitter @JeremyGorner In an unprecedented move, city attorneys on Friday offered to admit to a federal jury that a code of silence exists in the Chicago Police Department if it meant Mayor Rahm Emanuel would not have to testify about it at the upcoming trial involving two whistleblower cops. But U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman rebuffed the idea, saying that even though he was "reluctant" to take up the mayor's valuable time and cause a media circus, he believed Emanuel could offer "much more texture" to the existence of a code of silence by taking the witness stand rather than with a written stipulation from city lawyers. Advertisement Feinerman said he agreed with attorneys for the whistleblower cops that the mayor's testimony "would provide further evidence of an unwritten policy and practice." Emanuel could "speak to the pervasiveness of the problem," the judge said. The ruling was a blow to the city, which has fought tooth-and-nail to keep Emanuel off the witness stand. In a speech in December to the City Council, the mayor acknowledged the police code of silence amid the deepening scandal over the fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald by a Chicago police officer. Advertisement Flint Taylor, a civil rights attorney who has deposed officers about the code of silence for years, said the fact that the city came into court ready to admit the problem exists was a "big deal." "We've been fighting for 25 years to establish that there is a code of silence," Taylor said. "From time to time, we would get an individual cop or supervisor to admit it, but by and large it was denial, denial, denial. When it came up in court, they'd deny it in every form they could." Taylor said the judge's ruling likely increases the chances the city will seek to settle the lawsuit short of trial. In a statement Friday, Adam Collins, a spokesman for Emanuel, said the mayor in his speech "finally put voice to something we all know to be true." "He stands by what he said then, and what he's said since, but we don't believe he can offer anything further of substance in this case," Collins said. The trial, set to begin May 31, involves a civil rights lawsuit brought by Chicago police Officers Shannon Spalding and Daniel Echeverria over allegations they were blackballed by the department for cooperating with the FBI in an investigation into a corrupt tactical team. The two alleged that when supervisors learned of their role in the undercover investigation, they called them "rats" and passed along sensitive information to others in the Police Department. They were removed from their unit assignment and shuttled throughout the department to lesser jobs far from their homes and at bad hours, according to the lawsuit, which names the city and a dozen high-ranking officers as defendants. The trial will center on whether the department has a de facto policy that uses the code of silence to allow bad officers to act with impunity. During his December speech, Emanuel condemned "the tendency to ignore, deny or in some cases cover up the bad actions of a colleague or colleagues." Advertisement Referring to frequent police complaints that witnesses too often refuse to come forward, Emanuel said, "We cannot ask citizens in crime-ravaged neighborhoods to break the code of silence if we continue to allow a code of silence to exist within our own Police Department." The issue of a code of silence has long been raised in civil lawsuits alleging police wrongdoing. In a landmark decision in 2012, a federal jury found that such a code protected Chicago police Officer Anthony Abbate after he was caught on video beating a female bartender. In a controversial move after the verdict, the city tried to cut a deal with the bartender, offering to pay her the settlement immediately if she agreed to join in asking the court to vacate the judgment. But U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve blocked the deal, saying the jury's finding had "ramifications for society at large, not just the city's litigation strategies." Still, some police leaders deny the existence of the code. In remarks at City Hall earlier this year, Fraternal Order of Police President Dean Angelo called it "ridiculous" to think officers would risk their jobs and families to cover up for bad apples. And six months ago, a police captain responsible for officer training took issue with repeated questions about the code during a sworn deposition. "You're asking me to provide evidence for something that I don't believe exists," Michael Pigott said in October testimony in the whistleblower lawsuit. He testified the issue is not discussed with recruits. The training instead emphasizes that officers are duty-bound to report misconduct by fellow officers. The legal hurdles to require a sitting mayor to give sworn testimony are high. Last year, lawyers for 11 Chicago police officers who claim Emanuel removed them from his security detail for political reasons sought to require the mayor to sit for a deposition, but U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber denied the request. Advertisement For years, lawyers representing suspects who alleged they were tortured into confessing to murders by former police Cmdr. Jon Burge sought to question Mayor Richard Daley over whether he was aware of the torture while he was Cook County state's attorney. But the city successfully fought back every effort. In 2012, after he left office, Daley finally was ordered to testify in a lawsuit brought by alleged torture victim Michael Tillman, but the city abruptly settled the case for $5.38 million before the deposition took place. Taylor, who represented Tillman, said Friday that the city's last-ditch effort to keep Emanuel from testifying in the whistleblower suit was a strategy that's been employed for years. "Past experience shows they have gone to great lengths to protect a sitting mayor from having to testify, whether it be about police torture or code of silence or other systemic problems," Taylor said. "The city is still trying to worm its way out of its responsibility for the code of silence in court. But the judge in this case has rightfully called their number on it." Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Emanuel's testimony would add some political star power to a trial that already promises dramatic testimony about Spalding and Echeverria's cloak-and-dagger investigation of a corrupt crew led by Sgt. Ronald Watts that was notorious for shaking down drug dealers for protection money at the Ida B. Wells public housing complex. In an interview with the Tribune in December, Spalding said that after their undercover work was exposed, she often feared for her safety or that corrupt officers would plant drugs on her. She said she believed that supervisors set the tone for the harassment and said lower-ranking officers had little choice but to follow the directions laid out by their superiors or they would have faced retaliation. Advertisement The threats alleged by Spalding and Echeverria are backed by testimony from other officers who have signed affidavits as part of the suit. One officer said he was threatened by supervisors as well as Watts when he asked about drug money Watts had seized that was apparently missing from inventory logs. The FBI probe ended in 2012 when Watts and one of his underlings, Officer Kallatt Mohammed, were arrested on charges of shaking down a drug courier who turned out to be a government informant. Both were convicted and sentenced to federal prison. In court Friday, lawyers for Spalding and Echeverria said they may also seek to introduce testimony that Watts was suspected but never charged in at least two murders. jmeisner@tribpub.com Twitter @jmetr22b Gov. Bruce Rauner on Thursday talked about the marijuana decriminalization bill lawmakers sent to him. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman) Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield. Topspin Gov. Bruce Rauner says he'll "probably" sign legislation decriminalizing pot possession in Illinois but wouldn't commit for sure, saying he's been distracted by "more important issues" such as the state budget impasse. "We get caught up in what our state pie is going to be, and how much marijuana is going to get sold," Rauner said Thursday as he was pushing for passage of his "turnaround" legislative agenda at a Springfield steel fabrication plant. He noted that the General Assembly last year passed more than 500 bills, including one that designated pumpkin as the official state pie. "You know, it's lovely topics," Rauner said. "We got a budget crisis, we need more jobs, we need higher wages, we need more money for our schools. Let's focus on what matters." The marijuana bill is another attempt at legislation that was vetoed last year by Rauner, who thought the original version would let people carry too much pot and set the fines too low. The new bill drops the number of grams allowed from 15 to 10 and raises the range of fines from $55 to $125 to between $100 and $200. Rauner said he'd been told that the new bill reflects the changes he requested. "If that's true, then I'd probably be comfortable with it," Rauner said. (Kim Geiger) Advertisement What's on tap *Mayor Rahm Emanuel will be at O'Hare talking about TSA concessions to cut down on long security screening lines. *Gov. Rauner will talk about his "turnaround" agenda in Peoria. Advertisement *The Illinois House and Senate are gone until next week. *The Illinois Republican Party state convention kicks off in Peoria with some platform talk. What we're writing *Trump Illinois delegates a mix of the angry, eager, eccentric. *Illinois Senate approves automatic voter registration bill. *Protesters shout "16 shots" at Emanuel during antiviolence kickoff. *Hastert to report to prison by June 22. *Ousted principal/Emanuel critic LaRaviere to lead administrators group. *Protesters call on parks group to drop Lucas Museum lawsuit. Advertisement What we're reading *Charges filed in gruesome Gage Park mass murder. *Houston, Chicago has a (population) problem. *Where to go for Chicago Craft Beer Week. From the notebook *Parking garage windfall: Mayor Emanuel's financial team is happy about a bit of a windfall the city got when the company leasing the four garages beneath Millennium, Maggie Daley and Grant parks sold their concession to a new company for $370 million. As a result, the city and CTA collected a total of $3.8 million in real estate transfer taxes. Of that, $2.7 million went into city coffers with the rest going to the CTA. Millennium Parking Garages LLC, a consortium of global infrastructure investors, bought the concession from a group of lenders that took over the garages in 2013. The city got $563 million in 2006 when it leased the garages to a Morgan Stanley investment company. (Hal Dardick) Advertisement *Logan Square protests: Expect dueling events Saturday in Logan Square, where protesters plan to claim Ald. Proco "Joe" Moreno is permitting too much gentrification and the aldermen launches the process to get a new 88-unit affordable-housing building for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community off the ground. Somos Logan Square is organizing "a rally and mark to let (Moreno) and luxury housing developers in the area know that enough is enough," according to a news release put out by a spokeswoman for the group, which contends new transit-oriented development buildings going up in the 1st Ward don't include enough affordable-housing units. Ninety minutes after the rally's scheduled conclusion, Moreno plans to conduct an open house to release details about the John Pennycuff Memorial Apartments & Robert Castillo Plaza, which would become the second affordable LGBTQ project in Chicago. It would be funded in part with special taxing district money, Chicago Housing Authority funds and tax credits. "It's one thing to rally and meet and stuff," Moreno said. "I said to them, 'Bring me proposals.' ... You can't just go out and yell. This takes time. I've been working on this for a couple of years." (Hal Dardick) *How news conferences are put together, part 1,375: Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool was joined Thursday by a group of school superintendents and administrators at a rally to prod state lawmakers toward an overhaul of the state's complex school funding formula. CPS helped bus in a supportive crowd to a park on the city's West Side for the rally organized by the Stand for Children advocacy group. The organization offered attendants a catered lunch after they signed petitions that said: "No more waiting. The time to act is now. Let's fix the formula." Advertisement "You are here because you all heard, obviously, that next year's school budgets will be draconian if we do not get equal funding," Claypool told the audience. "Our schools face devastating cuts this summer and fall if we don't win this fight for equal funding. And the absence of equal funding is what is at the root of our crisis, and that is Springfield. That's the painful truth." (Juan Perez Jr.) *Auditor general federal probe: A spokesman for Auditor General Frank Mautino on Thursday acknowledged the former state lawmaker is under federal investigation for campaign spending while he was in the Illinois House. The Illinois State Board of Elections also is looking at Mautino's campaign spending. Republican lawmakers have raised questions about the issue. *Chicago schools at D.C. talent show: First lady Michelle Obama joined by Paula Abdul, Tim Robbins, Keb' Mo' and other performers will host the White House Turnaround Arts Talent Show on Wednesday with students from eight states and the District of Columbia. The program engages high-profile artist-mentors to help high-need, low-performing schools with arts, dance, theater and music programs, her aides said. Four Chicago schools will participate: the Chalmers School of Excellence, Herzl School of Excellence, Johnson School of Excellence and Dvorak School of Excellence, they said. (Katherine Skiba) *Oh baby: Congrats to a pair of West Side politicos on the birth of a daughter. Ald. Jason Ervin and Melissa Conyears-Ervin are parents to Jeneva Claudette, born a little bit after Wednesday's Chicago City Council meeting. Dad is the 28th Ward alderman. Mom is the Democratic nominee in the Illinois House's 10th District. *The Sunday Spin: On this week's show, Chicago Tribune political reporter Rick Pearson's guests are former state Republican chairman Pat Brady; Mayors Jerry Bennett, of Palos Hills, and Martin Tully, of Downers Grove; and state Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill. The "Sunday Spin" airs from 7 to 9 a.m. on WGN-720 AM. Listen live here. Advertisement Follow the money *Track campaign contribution reports in real time with this Tribune Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ILCampaignCash Beyond Chicago *Presidential race, Republican side: Republican voters want party to unite behind Trump, NYT poll finds. *Presidential race, Democratic side: Clinton supporters nudge Sanders toward reality. *Egypt says terrorism possible after flight vanishes. *Oklahoma lawmakers OK bill that would criminalize performing abortions. This Oct. 9, 2014, file photo shows the gurney in the the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Okla. (Sue Ogrocki / AP) OKLAHOMA CITY The top lawyer for Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin urged prison officials to go forward with a planned execution even though they received the wrong drug, telling a deputy attorney general to "Google it" to confirm it could be used, a grand jury said in a report Thursday. It faulted many officials for three botched execution attempts but issued no indictments after its months-long investigation. The panel noted that Fallin's general counsel, Steve Mullins, advocated for the use of potassium acetate in the Sept. 30 execution of Richard Glossip, even though the state's lethal injection protocol calls for potassium chloride, which stops the heart. Advertisement "The governor's general counsel stated potassium chloride and potassium acetate were basically one in the same drug, advising deputy attorney general to 'Google it,'" the grand jury report said. Mullins also argued that the state shouldn't file a stay for Glossip's execution because "it would look bad for the state of Oklahoma because potassium acetate had already been used in (Charles) Warner's execution." A deputy attorney general said she did look up potassium acetate online and found that it wasn't one and the same. Fallin issued a last-minute stay for Glossip, who remains on death row. Advertisement Mullins resigned in February as Fallin's general counsel. A home phone number in his name rang unanswered Thursday. "It is unacceptable for the governor's general counsel to so flippantly and recklessly disregard the written protocol and the rights of Richard Glossip," the grand jury said in its report. Fallin praised the work of Attorney General Scott Pruitt and the grand jury and said she was still analyzing the report. But she expressed confidence in the ability of prison officials to carry out executions in the future. Oklahoma's court system had put executions on hold pending the grand jury's probe. "With new management at the Department of Corrections, led by Interim Director Joe Allbaugh, I am confident we can move forward with a process that complies with the applicable policies, protocols and legal requirements," Fallin said. Pruitt had called for the grand jury investigation after the provider of Oklahoma's execution drugs sent the wrong chemical for Glossip's scheduled Sept. 30 execution and said the report clearly outlined the problems in the system. "A number of individuals responsible for carrying out the execution process were careless, cavalier and in some circumstances dismissive of established procedures," Pruitt said. The head of the prison system, Robert Patton, and the penitentiary warden, Anita Trammell, also quit after appearing before the grand jury. The report also was critical of Trammell, identified in the report as "Warden A," for not notifying anyone about the receipt of potassium acetate. It was revealed after Glossip's execution was called off that Warner had been executed with the same wrong drug in January 2015. Advertisement "Although the department and the state would have suffered embarrassment and criticism had Warden A told someone the wrong drug had been received for the Warner execution, potentially years of litigation and this investigation could have been avoided," the report said. "It is inexcusable for a senior administrator with 30 years as a department employee to testify that 'there are just some things you ask questions about, and there's some things you don't.'" The drug mix-ups followed a botched execution in April 2014 in which inmate Clayton Lockett struggled on a gurney before dying 43 minutes into his lethal injection and after the state's prisons chief ordered executioners to stop. The grand jury suggested the state should study the use of nitrogen gas to administer the death penalty, saying it would be "easy and inexpensive to obtain" and "simple to administer." Oklahoma now uses a three-drug protocol, beginning with the surgical sedative midazolam, in its executions. But the Oklahoma Legislature last year authorized the use of nitrogen gas in executions if lethal injection were ever ruled unconstitutional or if the drugs became unavailable. Nitrogen gas has never been used to execute inmates in the U.S. Pruitt has said he will not ask the court to schedule any execution dates until at least 150 days or about five months after the grand jury results were released and his office is officially notified that the prisons system believes it can execute prisoners according to the state's guidelines. In the meantime, five Oklahoma death row inmates have exhausted their appeals and are awaiting execution dates. Dale Baich, an assistant federal public defender representing several death row inmates challenging Oklahoma's lethal injection protocol, said executions should remain on hold pending an independent panel led by former Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry. "The moratorium on executions should continue in order to allow the commission to complete its study and for the federal litigation to be resolved," Baich said. Advertisement Associated Press When police arrived at the yellow brick house in Garland, Texas, on the afternoon of Aug. 17, 2010, they found Alan Nevil lying near death in a neighbor's yard. He had been shot five times. One bullet was lodged in his throat. His wife, Darlene, was found dead inside: shot in the back and the head. Despite the blood in his mouth, Alan managed to gargle the name of their attacker. Advertisement It was his stepdaughter's 13-year-old boyfriend, he said. Minutes later, police pulled up outside the boyfriend's house, just a few blocks away. Inside, they found Darlene's 12-year-old daughter and her boyfriend - having celebratory sex. Advertisement When Alan Nevil succumbed to his injuries 16 days later, the young couple was charged with capital murder. Adults convicted of the charge can be executed. Charged as juveniles, however, the youths faced a maximum of 40 years in prison. The boyfriend and girlfriend both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 28 years and 20 years, respectively. Neither has been publicly named because they were juveniles. "I feel nothing but disgust for you," Alan's sister, Fran Nevil Cawley, said to the girl in court. Less than six years later, however, the Nevil family's disgust has suddenly deepened. On Wednesday, a Dallas judge ordered the boy released when he turns 19 next month, the Dallas Morning News reported. The ruling was an astonishing - and for the Nevil family, terrifying - twist on the 2010 double murder. Had the boy been a year older at the time of the crime, he could have faced the death penalty. Even still, Judge Andrea Martin could have transferred him to adult prison for 10 years. Instead, he will now face nothing more than parole and anger management classes. Juvenile justice experts and officials said the boy had turned over a new leaf behind bars, accepting responsibility for the crime, getting his GED and becoming a role model for other inmates at his juvenile detention center. But the ruling left the Nevils furious, and fearful. "He gets to see his mom, and my dad is in a box," Susan Nevil told Fox4, displaying Alan Nevil's ashes. "This is how my kids get to visit their grandfather. And it's just not right." Advertisement She added that she has dreams in which her father's murderer tracks her down and kills her, too. The judge's ruling raises questions about the age at which juveniles can be charged as adults - in Texas, it is 14 - as well as the severity of sentences they should face when convicted. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty for crimes committed before age 18. Some scientists say adolescents' brains aren't as capable of controlling impulses and understanding long-term consequences as adult brains. In the past decade, many states have moved away from life sentences for minors. For the Nevils, no amount of expert testimony can justify the judge's ruling. "Five years?" shouted Alan Nevil's son, Alan Jr., as he left the courtroom, according to the Morning News. "For capital murder?" The saga began on June 6, 2009, when the girl joined her mother, Darlene, and her stepfather, Alan, in Garland, a suburb of Dallas. "We decorated the house in Garland, bought a cake and welcomed you with open arms," Fran Nevil Cawley, Alan's sister, would later tell the girl in court, according to the Morning News. Advertisement But problems quickly appeared. The girl claimed her father back in Ohio had thrown away her clothes and ice-skating medals, but her belongings later arrived. It wouldn't be the last time the girl lied. In the spring of 2010, the girl began dating a boy who lived nearby. He had had a hard life, psychiatrists would later testify in court. One of his uncles had murdered a family member. Another uncle had been killed. And he watched his mother endure domestic violence. He began smoking marijuana at age 10 and became involved with a gang. But the two seemed normal together. Neighbors saw them walking around the neighborhood, holding hands. "I just thought they were two teenagers having a teenage relationship," neighbor Michelle Campbell told the Associated Press. Jasmine Sepulveda, a 14-year-old who lived across the street from the girl, detected something odd about the relationship. Advertisement "She was a really cool person but when she hung out with him, her boyfriend, that's when she got weird," Sepulveda told the AP. "She didn't want to talk to me anymore." The Nevils didn't approve of the relationship. In July, a month before the murders, the girl ran away from home. When she returned, she began to plot to kill her mother and stepfather, according to police. "Her parents had grounded her to where she couldn't see [the boy]," Garland Police detective Bruce Marshall testified in court, according to the Morning News. "And she told me 'The final straw, Detective Marshall, is when they took away my coloring books. I knew they had to die.' " The girl was smarter than the boy and easily manipulated him, she told Marshall. Over the course of several weeks that summer, she tried to convince her boyfriend to kill her parents. When she first showed him Alan's gun, he wouldn't touch it, Marshall testified. When the Nevils insisted that the two break up, the boy was furious, according to text messages later introduced as evidence. Finally, the girl lied to her boyfriend. "She told [the boy] she was pregnant and that Alan Nevil tried to sexually abuse her," Marshall testified, according to the Morning News. Advertisement It wasn't true, but it worked: The boy agreed to the plot. On Aug. 17, he was waiting for Darlene when she came home from work. The boy shot her twice, killing her, then waited for her husband. When Alan arrived, the boy shot him five times. When the gun jammed, he used it to beat Alan over the head. But Alan clung to life, crawling out a window and toward a neighbor's house for help. When police arrived, he told them his stepdaughter's boyfriend had shot him. Police officers found the couple having sex and arrested them. Meanwhile, Alan underwent surgery. For a while it appeared as if he would live. Whenever he regained consciousness, he would ask for Darlene. "We'd tell him Darlene was dead and he'd start fighting and they would put him under again," Alan Jr. told the Morning News. When Alan Sr. suddenly died after 16 days in the hospital, it seemed as if his stepdaughter and her boyfriend might spend most of their lives in prison. Advertisement "They deserve everything they've got coming," neighbor Juan Garcia Jr. told the AP. "Kids nowadays, they don't think twice." The boy admitted to shooting the Nevils because his girlfriend told him to, according to police. "He was cooperative. He took responsibility almost immediately," Marshall testified Wednesday, according to the Morning News. But the boy's first couple of years in juvenile detention did not go smoothly. He was involved in 64 incidents, 21 of which required him to be moved to a security unit, officials testified. Six were major offenses, including assault and possession of a controlled substance. Those same officials said the boy had matured, avoiding trouble over the past two years, earning his GED, learning carpentry and working as a groundskeeper. "Having a job has built his confidence," testified Kathryn Hallmark, a psychiatrist who runs the therapy program at the boy's center. "He can be at peace while being focused on his work." Advertisement But Judge Martin's decision to release the boy next month, rather than send him to adult prison for up to 10 years, is unlikely to give the Nevil family any peace. "I'm going to be graduating in 11 days and my grandpa isn't going to see me walk the stage," Destiyne Nevil, Alan's granddaughter, who is the same age as the teen murderer, told Fox4. "We didn't get the outcome that we wanted. The guy, he only served 6 years of a 28-year sentence and I don't think that was just for my family." "They're considering him a good candidate for parole, well my dad was a good candidate to live," added her mother, Susan. "My kids are still suffering. I'm suffering. My brother is suffering. It's just not right." Adding to the family's agony is the fact that Alan's stepdaughter - convicted five years ago of killing him - could also soon be released. She faces her own hearing later this year. Jason Dalton was removed from a Michigan courtroom May 20, 2016, after disrupting the first witness testimony in a pre-trail hearing. He's charged with killing six people and wouding two more. (AP) Jason Dalton was removed from a Michigan courtroom May 20, 2016, after disrupting the first witness testimony in a pre-trail hearing. He's charged with killing six people and wouding two more. (AP) (Associated Press) KALAMAZOO, Mich. A man charged with killing six strangers in between picking up riders for Uber will go to trial, a Michigan judge said Friday after listening to a dozen witnesses, including a survivor of the random shootings who said it's his face she sees in her sleep each night. Jason Dalton is charged with murder and attempted murder. He's accused of shooting eight people in three locations in the Kalamazoo area on Feb. 20; six died. Advertisement Tiana Carruthers, one of two survivors, was the first witness, but her testimony was interrupted by bizarre outbursts by Dalton, who was dragged out of court by deputies and ordered to jail to watch the hearing via video. Dalton, 45, who has been found competent to understand the charges and assist his lawyer, made strange references to "old people with these old black bags." Judge Christopher Haenicke cut him off and called a recess after he said, "It's time to get to temple." Advertisement Shooting rampage survivor Tiana Carruthers cries on the witness stand as Kalamazoo County Deputies remove defendant Jason Dalton after an outburst during his preliminary examination in district court on May 20, 2016 in Kalamazoo, Mich. (Mark Bugnaski/Kalamazoo Gazette via AP) Carruthers sobbed loudly while stunned relatives of other victims watched Dalton being hauled away. After a break, she again described how she was shot four times outside an apartment building in the presence of children. Police have credited her with protecting them from possible injury. "My body doesn't look real. Metal in three different places. Screws and bolts," the 25-year-old said. "I hurt every single day." Carruthers identified Dalton as the shooter, saying: "I can never forget his face. I see his face every time I go to sleep." Police have quoted Dalton as saying a "devil figure" on Uber's app was controlling him on the night of the shootings. Kalamazoo County Deputies remove Jason Dalton after an outburst during his preliminary examination in district court on Friday, May 20, 2016 in Kalamazoo, Mich. (Mark Bugnaski / AP) Jeff Crump, a Michigan State Police firearms expert, linked casings at the shooting scenes to guns owned by Dalton. The judge found probable cause to send Dalton to trial. The legal standard at this stage is low; prosecutors didn't have to show all their evidence. Another witness, Alexis Cornish, 17, said she saw the killing of her boyfriend, Tyler Smith, and his father, Richard Smith, at a car dealership. They were looking at a pickup truck, but she stayed in their vehicle because it was a cold night. "They put their hands up and said, 'What are you doing?'" Cornish told the judge, recalling their encounter with the gunman. Advertisement Asked how many shots were fired, she replied: "Enough not to miss." Separately, four women were killed outside a Cracker Barrel restaurant. A 14-year-old girl survived. Associated Press In an attempt to head off an ugly conflict at its convention this summer, the Democratic National Committee plans to offer a concession to Sen. Bernie Sanders - seats on a key convention platform committee - but it may not be enough to stop Sanders from picking a fight over the party's policy positions. Allies of both Clinton and Sanders have urged Democratic leaders to meet some of Sanders's more mundane demands for greater inclusion at the Philadelphia convention. Their decision to do so is expected to be finalized by the end of the week, according to two people familiar with the discussions. But growing mistrust between Sanders supporters and party leaders have threatened to undermine that effort. Even with the committee assignments, Sanders plans an aggressive effort to extract platform concessions on key policies that could prompt divisive battles at a moment when front-runner Hillary Clinton will be trying to unify the party. Among other issues, he plans to push for a $15 national minimum wage and argue that the party needs a more balanced position regarding Israel and Palestinians, according to a Sanders campaign aide who requested anonymity to speak candidly. Much like their view that the economy has been "rigged" to benefit the wealthy more than the middle and working classes, Sanders supporters have become increasingly convinced that national Democrats have stacked the political deck with rules that have made it difficult for Sanders to win enough delegates to threaten Clinton's nomination. Party leaders, meanwhile, have grown more frustrated with Sanders, who they say has unfairly fueled that perception. "I don't think they've handled it very well and I think they've lost the moral high ground on this," said Ken Martin, chairman of Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer Labor Party. "It's very clear now that the longer they stay in this race the more damage they're doing." The mistrust hit a boiling point in Nevada over the weekend, when a ruckus caused by Sanders supporters prompted security officials to cut short the state party convention. The incident worried party leaders impatient with the prolonged Democratic primary and looking to avoid drama in Philadelphia. Their impatience spread to Sanders when he issued a defiant statement accusing Nevada Democrats of preventing a "fair and transparent process." Separately, the composition of three convention committees - platform, rules and credentials - has become key. Earlier this month, in a letter to DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Sanders threatened to bring the fight to the floor of the convention if she did not appoint more of his loyalists to the each of the three committees. Martin and other Democratic chairmen urged national leaders to give Sanders the concessions he seeks - especially when it comes to the platform, which in the long run does not have a material impact on Democrats' electoral chances in November. "There are other chairs who probably feel that way and feel like this is my party and f--- Bernie Sanders," said Martin, a Clinton supporter. "I'm not one of those. "I feel very passionately that we have to open up that party and make sure that those voices are heard," he said. One of Sanders's demands was the composition of the 15-person drafting committee, whose members are appointed at Wasserman Schultz's discretion and write the party's platform. One Democratic Party official requesting anonymity said Wasserman Schultz asked for recommendations from both campaigns and accepted three from Sanders. But Sanders had sought to split the committee evenly between his and Clinton's allies - plus one "neutral" appointment from Wasserman Schultz. The DNC eventually agreed to add more Sanders representatives. A spokesman for the DNC declined to comment. Sanders's aides have also publicly and privately complained about the appointment of two Clinton loyalists - former congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts to head the Rules Committee and Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy to lead the Platform Committee - as chairmen of two of the convention's standing bodies. Tad Devine, a senior adviser to the Sanders campaign, said this week that they may yet seek to have Frank and Malloy removed from their posts. In an interview with CNN Thursday, Clinton noted pointedly that she believes Sanders no longer has a shot at the nomination. She also said that Sanders will need to encourage his supporters to unify behind her, just as she did in 2008 when running against Barack Obama. "I have every confidence that we're going to be unified," Clinton said. "I think what brings us together is Donald Trump." That hasn't happened yet. A Sanders spokesman disputed Clinton's assertion that the nomination is hers. And Sanders has ramped up the rhetoric in recent days, saying after Clinton won Kentucky that he still intends to win the nomination despite an overwhelming disadvantage in delegates. Even if he doesn't, he still intends to pick a platform fight at the convention, according to a campaign aide who requested anonymity to discuss strategy. Clinton aides have said that on a slew of issues, Sanders is not far from the party. But the issue of U.S. policy toward Israel - which a Sanders adviser said "absolutely, legitimately will be a point of conversation" - has made some of Clinton's backers nervous. Sanders is seeking a more "even-handed" U.S. approach to Israeli occupation of land Palestinians claim for a future state. The current platform does not address the nearly five-decade occupation directly, but it endorses "a just and lasting Israeli-Palestinian accord, producing two states for two peoples." Speaking last month during a contentious debate with Clinton, Sanders - who declared himself "100 percent pro-Israel" - said that Israel's 2014 military assault on the Gaza Strip was "disproportionate" to the threat posed by Hamas rockets launched from the Palestinian territory into Israel. Behind his words is a long debate among U.S. and international policymakers - one that divides the Democratic base and could pose a challenge for Clinton when she must bring her party together: how to weigh Palestinian interests when dealing with Israel, and whether resolute U.S. backing for Israel diminishes leverage to promote peace and fair treatment of Palestinians. "On one hand there is not an enormous amount of difference between them. They are both pro-Israel, they are both pro-peace," said one longtime Clinton supporter. "But in the context of the campaign terms like 'even-handed' can come to mean that the United States is signaling a shift" - and Clinton would oppose that. LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP, N.J. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, delivered a thank-you gift Thursday to the man who arguably risked the most to endorse him: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Trump held a fundraiser that he claimed would pay off the entirety of Christie's debt from his presidential campaign. The fundraiser, held at the National Guard Armory in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, had all the trappings of a typical Donald Trump rally: big flags, barricades to corral the press, a soundtrack filled with Elton John and the Rolling Stones. The only thing missing was Trump's usual overflow crowd. Christie, flanked by his wife and three of his four children, said he hoped the state's June 7 primary would provide the votes and delegates to put Trump "officially over the top as the Republican nominee for president of the United States." Christie noted the two had once been rivals, but said he'd decided to endorse the business mogul because of their personal friendship. He said he told his wife: "We never ever make a mistake by standing with your friend. And Donald Trump is my friend." Christie ended his presidential bid after a disappointing showing in New Hampshire and became one of Trump's highest-profile backers with a surprise endorsement in February. Trump has appointed Christie to chair his White House transition efforts and his name is often raised as a potential vice presidential pick. Trump took the stage after Christie and announced that the event a $200-per-head fundraiser that attracted about 1,000 people had retired the bulk of Christie's roughly $250,000 presidential campaign debt. "You know, Chris paid off his entire campaign debt tonight, right? His entire debt," said Trump. "And Chris, you can't even give him a table and a seat? That's terrible," he joked. Trump turned his head back as if to acknowledge Christie, but the governor who was mercilessly mocked once for his expression while standing behind Trump had already left the stage. Trump delivered his usual stump speech, with some local flourishes thrown in. While Trump usually reads off negative statistics on the economy of the place he's visiting, his stats Thursday sounded like Christie talking points, touting the state's economic improvements. He also recounted a debate in which Christie had put Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in his place. "He looked like Perry Mason that evening," Trump recalled. At one point, though, Trump made a joke that appeared to be at Christie's expense when he noted that he is boycotting Nabisco for offshoring jobs. "I'm not eating Oreos anymore. Neither is Chris. You're not eating Oreos, are you? It's for either of us," he said, drawing loud laughs from the crowd. Trump also noted the crash of an EgyptAir jet in the Mediterranean Sea early Thursday: "What just happened about 12 hours ago? A plane got blown out of the sky. And if anybody thinks it wasn't blown out of the sky, you're 100 percent wrong." Egyptian and Russian officials have said the plane may have been brought down by terrorists, but an investigation is only just beginning, with no cause yet identified. The event also included a $25,000-per-person fundraiser for the state GOP to help it pay off about $500,000 incurred in legal fees responding to legislative subpoenas in the 2013 George Washington Bridge scandal. State party officials said they didn't immediately have a tally of how much either event had raised. Earlier Thursday, Trump's campaign announced the promotion of senior campaign aide Paul Manafort. Manafort, who was brought on by Trump at the end of March to serve as convention manager, will now hold the title of campaign chairman and chief strategist, spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed Thursday. Associated Press After becoming a registered nurse in the early 1940s, Elvera M. Fischer was providing care for the poor and indigent in public housing in Chicago when she was recruited by United Airlines. Fischer was chosen to become a member of the DC-3 Rare Birds, an elite group of stewardesses whose mission was to "Keep 'Em Flying!" and help represent the airline's maiden flights originating out of smaller cities around the country. Advertisement The airline wanted nurses to be part of the flight crew because in large part their job was to care for passengers who became nauseated or vomited in the noisy and uncomfortable DC-3 planes of the day. While some stewardesses wore regular nurse uniforms, Fischer and the other Rare Birds were dressed in designer outfits, some that included green berets and capes. United named Fischer "Miss West" and had her represent the airline's first flight originating out of South Bend, Ind. Advertisement "She had a blast," said longtime friend and former neighbor Cathern Vaccaro. "She traveled the country and met all kinds of fascinating people." One of the people she encountered during her 18 months on the job was her future husband, Maurice "Ritz" Fischer, an editor at the Chicago Daily News. "The best thing about (the job), she would always say, was meeting Ritz," Vaccaro said. Fischer, 97, died of natural causes May 14 at home in Brookdale Lake View, an assisted-living facility in Chicago. "She was out and about well into her 90s," said friend Judie Green. "Her calendar was filled with lunch dates. She loved going to brunch. She'd put on a dress and earrings, apply her lipstick and be out the door." Fischer was also a confidante of the late Gertrude Crain, the former head of Crain Communications in Chicago. "Elvera and Gertrude were best friends," Green said. "They went everywhere and did everything together." Born Elvera Lampe, she grew up on a farm in West Point, Iowa, attended the University of Iowa, and studied nursing at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Advertisement "She was a bright, engaging and attractive woman, and extremely driven," Green said. "She brought passion and a 'farm girl' determination to everything she did." Friends said her time as a nurse held special meaning for Fischer. "She talked about that time in her life fondly, and how much she enjoyed giving medical care to the poor, especially children," Vaccaro said. "She remembered how happy and excited they would be to see her." After getting married and leaving United, Fischer became a medical assistant and a charter member of the American Association of Medical Assistants, and later served as the Illinois chapter president. Before retiring at age 80, she worked as the office manager for a Chicago surgeon. Her husband, who was 15 years her senior, died in 1974. "As a couple, they had a very fun social life, mingling with many of the city's top movers and shakers," Green said. "They were invited to all the big events, and when dignitaries came to town, they'd attend parties at the consulates. Her gowns were some of the most exquisite I've ever seen." Surrounded by the publishing industry with her husband and friends, Fischer tried her hand at writing as she approached her 90th birthday, penning a memoir in 2008 titled "Sentimental Journey," in which she described the various chapters of her life and all the interesting people she met along the way. Advertisement "She couldn't wait to get out and share her memories of a bygone Chicago," Green said of Fischer's local book tour in 2008. "She'd tell people her charming story and they'd buy up her book." Survivors include a sister, Luella Evans. Services were held. Joan Giangrasse Kates is a freelance reporter. It wasn't exactly fair to blame the screeners for 9/11. The knives and box cutters reportedly used by the hijackers were not prohibited at the time. The 9/11 Commission faulted the Federal Aviation Administration because its policies "were aimed at keeping bombs out of baggage, not at keeping planes from being turned into guided missiles." Flight crews were trained not to resist hijackers which made it easy for the terrorists to take over the planes. The Transportation Security Administration has advised some passengers to arrive at airports three hours before their scheduled departures so that they can get through long screening lines without missing their flights. TSA staffing problems have increased wait times at checkpoints. So, too, has greater diligence by TSA employees following last year's scathing report on the ineffectiveness of screening. There is, however, a deeper, more pervasive problem. As long as the TSA continues to focus on finding objects instead of assessing people, delays will continue. Fifteen years after 9/11, screeners persist in looking for guns, knives and bombs when they should be profiling people. Effective profiling does not mean singling out members of religious or ethnic groups for special treatment. It means paying attention to personal characteristics and patterns of behavior, including the nature of passengers' trips. A young couple with two children flying to Disney World over the Christmas holiday does not need the same level of scrutiny as an 18- to 25-year-old male with a one-way ticket to Frankfurt in January. The business person who commutes biweekly to San Francisco merits less attention than a first-time traveler. A couple in their 80s heading to a family wedding requires little more than a cursory inspection. Those who arrive in zip-up boots with two-inch heels, chains and multiple piercings deserve to stand in the longest line. Advertisement Passengers who registered for the Trusted Traveler Programs already enjoy expedited screening. They do not need to take off their shoes and belts, discard their liquids or pull out their laptops. Infrequent fliers, of course, will not register for this program, but an expanded check-in process through airline websites might help identify the bona fides of travelers. Based on that information, passengers could be assigned a screening line number just as they are now given a boarding group. To accomplish this, the TSA would have to cooperate more closely with the airlines. Such an approach is not without precedent. Israel has long relied on a combination of assessing travelers and multilayered security checks. While the Israeli approach involves an element of ethnic and religious profiling that the U.S. should not imitate, it has many other worthwhile elements. Israeli airport authorities cooperate closely with intelligence services to learn of imminent threats. Screening of travelers begins at the entry to the parking lot, and El Al Israel Airlines interviews passengers flying to Israel before they board a plane. The small size of the country makes this comprehensive approach easier to implement, but some of its elements should be studied and perhaps applied here. Advertisement Expedited screening based on profiling need not increase the risk of terrorist attacks. All passengers would still have their carry-on bags X-rayed and be subject to random swabbing for traces of explosives. Random checks at boarding gates might also be increased. Effective security depends to a significant degree on unpredictability. Passenger profiling, however, is no substitute for hiring more screeners and paying them better to attract the best recruits. The number of travelers will inevitably increase faster than the number of screeners. But in the face of that reality, we have a choice between enduring increased cost and inconvenience or fundamentally changing our approach to screening. Thomas R. Mockaitis is a DePaul University history professor. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is struggling to sway Democratic superdelegates from his rival in the presidential race. Above, Sanders greets supporters before speaking at a rally in Baltimore on April 23. (Patrick Semansky / Associated Press) Bernie Sanders supporters aren't big fans of the Democratic Party's superdelegates, the political insiders who get a personal say in the nomination of the party's presidential candidate. These governors, members of Congress and other officials aren't obligated to follow the popular vote, and their preference so far for Hillary Clinton has buttressed a central tenet of her campaign the inevitability of her nomination. It comes as no small irony, then, that it is the very existence of superdelegates that will allow the Sanders campaign to take its call for a political revolution, and its quest for the nomination, all the way to the party convention in Philadelphia in July. It's all but impossible for either Clinton or Sanders to amass enough pledged delegates to ensure the nomination before the convention. To achieve the 2,383 votes needed just through pledged delegates, Clinton would need to take 77 percent of those still up for grabs in the remaining primaries and caucuses, even though her portion of those elected so far is just 54 percent. Sanders could not reach the mark even if he were to win all of the remaining pledged delegates. This puts the Democratic nomination squarely in the hands of the party's 714 superdelegates. Advertisement In Philadelphia, then, it will be the task of Sanders supporters like me I am on his slate of potential pledged delegates in California's 12th Congressional District in San Francisco to make our case to the superdelegates, as well as the nation at large. Sanders voters are often accused of thinking that just because our candidate says something should be done that it will be done once he's elected, as if there were no real-world obstacles to a Medicare-for-all plan, a $15-an-hour national minimum wage, tuition-free public higher education or any of the other ideas we're promoting. But we think nothing of the kind. We do however believe that if we elect a president who doesn't say or think these things should happen, they never will happen. Advertisement In Philadelphia we will start with an electability argument. Poll after poll has shown Sanders faring better against Donald Trump than Clinton does, particularly among independent voters. More importantly, we will argue that the Sanders approach represents the way forward for the party and the country. The central divide in the race among Democrats has been whether the political realities of Washington or the material needs of the nation and the world should prevail. The Clinton campaign contends that it is the former: If the congressional votes aren't there for big changes, we have no choice but to pare back our program to smaller increments. Sanders supporters, on the other hand, argue that the need to address major problems such as income inequality and climate change means that the preferences and customs of the nation's capital must yield to the demands of reality. We need a sea change, a paradigm shift. We need a political revolution. These things do happen. One such shift is within the memory of many voters the Reagan Revolution, when members of Congress moved rightward in response to President Reagan's landslide election in 1980. The result was the entrenched and glorified growth of economic inequality that Sanders is now trying to undo. Before that, there was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, which established the principle that the capitalist system should be the servant of the people, not the reverse. The difficulty of changing the minds of large numbers of superdelegates in Philadelphia can hardly be overstated. But consider this: A year ago, who would have seriously believed that a democratic socialist, down 50 points in the polls, could run a national presidential campaign decrying the dominance of government by billionaires, rejecting corporate cash and funding it with millions of donations averaging $27 and still be winning primaries in May? Change does happen. If the superdelegates want to know how to start bringing that change to Washington, they need only look in the mirror. Los Angeles Times Tom Gallagher, a past member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, has lived in San Francisco for 22 years. He is the author of "The Primary Route: How the 99 Percent Take On the Military Industrial Complex." Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, speaks to lawmakers while on the House floor during session at the Illinois State Capitol Tuesday, May 17, 2016, in Springfield, Ill. (Seth Perlman, AP) Two fixable problems plague the public education industry in Illinois: First, there's too much of it. Illinois has more than 850 school districts, some so tiny and choking on overhead costs that they cheat students of educational opportunities common in bigger districts. Advertisement Second, the formula for distributing state money to all those districts only widens the spending gap between schools that serve affluent and poor communities. How that state money gets divvied up matters: Last year 34 percent of the $30.1 billion spent on K-12 schools came from Springfield. About 56 percent came from local sources and 10 percent from Washington. Lawmakers could demand a fix for the first problem. But they've largely ignored calls to do so, afraid of backlash from local voters, even though other states have streamlined the enormous bureaucratic structure of education. A 2013 study by the Center for American Progress found that Illinois' 380 small, nonrural districts "potentially cost upward of an additional $90 million each year." Yet there is no move to consolidate. Advertisement But lawmakers do have a chance right now to address the second problem, by rewriting that unfair funding formula. No, the bill in question isn't perfect. But today we're smiling on it. That there's even a serious plan with some shot at passage is remarkable in a political culture that prefers paralysis to tough decision-making. You've heard the suspicions about school funding reform: Many suburbanites largely fund their own schools via exorbitant property taxes. They think fiddling with the state formula is a Democratic plot to steal from the rich and the not-so-rich, then give to areas that vote Democratic. But the inequities in how we educate this and succeeding generations of Illinois children have grown too egregious to perpetuate. Some communities in Illinois have property-rich economies shopping malls, corporate headquarters, pricey Italian restaurants that generate a wealth of tax revenue for local schools. Other communities struggle to attract development beyond the gas station, a discount store and a fast-food chain. Schaumburg, meet Robbins. For the first time since 1997, a proposal to overhaul the formula without raising taxes has traction in Springfield. Sponsored by Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, the plan would shift more money to low-income districts at the expense of wealthier districts. His bill, highly controversial and especially unpopular with suburban Republicans whose schools would lose some funding, passed the Senate but is being largely ignored in the House. House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, has taken no action yet on Manar's bill. That should be a wake-up call to his Democratic members, particularly the House Black Caucus and downstate lawmakers, whose schools have suffered under the current formula. Where are you city, south suburban and downstate representatives? Where are the teachers unions that rail against the social injustices of the current model? They've been awfully quiet. Speculation is swirling that Madigan or Gov. Bruce Rauner will offer a one-year funding bandage instead of leaping at the chance for long-term reform. Lawmakers should reject one-year fixes and promises to deal with the formula later. "Later" is what school reform advocates have heard for 20 years. No change. Not now. Not during an election year. No. But here's what those delays have wrought: The way the formula is structured now, it doesn't work as intended. Pumping more money through it has only worsened the gap between what rich and poor schools can spend per pupil. Advertisement Most lawmakers agree that the formula is broken. Only 44 cents of every dollar sent to schools is distributed through the current formula, which at least factors need into its calculations. Most state aid instead comes in grants that don't take poverty into account. These carve-outs for special education or transportation, for example, have gradually increased. This reliance on grants encourages superintendents to game the system and grab whatever they can from the state. One beauty of Manar's plan: The factors that should influence how the state doles out money would be in the formula. That is, nearly 100 percent of state funding for schools would go through one set of calculations that would weigh poverty, need and other logical variables. All of which helps explain why we hope lawmakers won't fall for the bandage and dump even more money into the current, inefficient formula. They would be accomplices to an inadequate, outdated system at a moment when they could pass meaningful reform. And now the verdict you've been curious about: Yes, Chicago Public Schools would get more funding under Manar's bill. No, this is not a CPS bailout nor is it the grand solution to the mess that CPS has spent years making of its finances. Consider: 104 districts rank ahead of CPS in their per-pupil increases under Manar's plan. Of those districts, 56 are in the suburbs and 48 are downstate. Beyond its additional $175 million a year from the new formula, CPS would get $200 million to pay for its annual routine pension costs much as the state covers those costs for every other Illinois district. The formula wouldn't relieve taxpayers of the crippling pension debt that politicians foolishly created. Chicago must find its own way out of that hole. Advertisement Despite all of that, Republicans and Rauner have tried to crush the bill by characterizing it as a CPS bailout. If it is, then it's a bailout for Berwyn, Summit, Joliet, Bloom Township, Waukegan, Elmwood Park, Aurora, Pleasant Valley, Beardstown, Streator, Oak Lawn, Frankfort and hundreds of other communities whose districts would benefit. The bill keeps all districts at current funding levels for next year and gives some of them up to seven years to gradually prepare for a full phase-in of the new formula. That's not draconian. We've often criticized the current school formula, which has become impossible to defend. Yes, we very much want lawmakers to separately streamline the public education industry in Illinois. But Manar's bill is a serious effort to fix one problem and deserves the chance that Madigan thus far hasn't given it. We'll ask again: Where are the Democratic lawmakers, the educators, the teachers unions who have been imploring the state to do something? This is your chance. Don't blow it. Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook. Beware of scam: I have received a number of phone calls from a 212 area code in New York. They say they are part of the Internal Revenue Service, and they are looking at me because they are going to file a lawsuit. This is a scam. People, heed this message. Don't answer the phone when they call. You can call the police and turn them in. They are just out to get you. The IRS does not call you. Issues involving illegal immigrants: I wonder how many more stories we're going to have to read in the newspapers now that it looks like Donald Trump will be the Republican candidate. We'll hear more about the poor illegal immigrants and how they are trying to legalize themselves. I'm sick and tired of it. They've had plenty of time to legalize themselves if they cared, but they don't. Let's hear stories about all the poor plumbers, roofers, carpenters, tree trimmers and landscapers who have lost their jobs due to all these illegal immigrants who come in here and do the work for half the cost. They open companies and only hire their illegal friends. Enough of this sympathy for illegal immigrants. Advertisement Time for a change: Why do so many want Donald Trump in office? Perhaps they are tired of a politically correct president who caters to every new age perversion the American Civil Liberties Union supports. Americans want a president who does not fiddle while Rome burns, so to speak. Better not elect a president at all if it's going to be the same status quo. Musing about MacArthur: I wonder what would happen in the Arab countries' so-called wars if General MacArthur was a general over there? He said he would never fight a war he could not win. He was fired for that. Advertisement Hola before hello: Has anybody called the Aurora police department's number to hear the first message in Spanish and then the rest in English? I don't understand this. A word about Ward: I see we have people protesting School District U46 board member Jeanette Ward over comments she has made and actions she has taken to try and protect taxpayers from some of the needless spending on minorities who can't speak English. How is it that when somebody speaks the truth, it is racist? Nothing she has said is racist. She just wants our money spent more wisely than the way it's being spent now. She's absolutely right. These people should know how to speak English. We shouldn't have to have a dual language program for these people for the rest of their lives. At what point will these generations actually speak English? Worst crime goes unpunished: Forget about Dennis Hastert breaking banking laws by withdrawing large sums of hush money. It's not top priority. I would like them to find a way around the law of limitations so he could be sentenced for what he did to those young boys. The people who stand behind him while saying he's a good man and he loves the Lord reminds me of the saying: Birds of a feather flock together. Transgender turmoil: The Obama administration needs to keep out of our business with this transgender fiasco. If a nationwide poll was taken, I bet that they would lose to people who detest the idea of anyone born a male going into a women's bathroom. Have we gone completely crazy? President Obama needs to take care of the huge immigration problem by following the laws of the land. We have too many problems like ISIS. Where are all the liberal women now? The ones who said the government should stay out of their uterus? Stick with your party: In regards to these Republican establishment people, like Paul Ryan, who are saying they can't get behind Donald Trump, what other choice do they have? Are they going to switch parties? Are they going to vote Democratic? Give me a break. They need to get behind whoever the candidate is, which is obviously Trump, and get busy to get him elected unless they want another four to eight years of another Democrat. Get serious, guys. Free ride not given to seniors: I'm a retired 67-year-old senior on disability. I can't get the medical card unless I pay $100 a month, which I don't have. They say my social security is income. I won't tell you what I get, but I hardly get anything and my rent is $600 a month. Why do illegal immigrants get food stamps and the medical card for free? When President Obama first got on the podium, he said illegal means illegal. I live across the street from a family with eight kids. The husband is a citizen, while his wife is not. They are driving a Hummer and an Escalade while they are on food stamps. Why doesn't Obama take care of the seniors? Ironic immigrant situation: I find it interesting that all these illegal immigrants want to become citizens so they can vote. For 20 or 30 years, they didn't want to become citizens. Now they want to become citizens so they can vote on immigration issues. Once you become a citizen, you're not an immigrant anymore. And why did you wait 20 to 30 years to become a citizen? I find that ironic. Money moving out of the country: They are making a big stink about these big corporations and rich individuals who put their money in offshore accounts because it takes money away from the United States. Well, how about all these illegal immigrants who sent their money to other countries? How much money did they take out of our country and out of our system? Advertisement Gauging higher wages: This is about the Speak Out about wage increases. This sounds like another person who wants the world to remain stagnant and not move ahead. I respect the caller's dad for not taking a 50-cent wage increase, but if you never take raises, the price of food, cars and clothing won't remain the same. Prices go up. There are companies hiring people at a higher wage because they are tired of paying for training people who go off to better paying jobs. Fifteen dollars an hour is not a lot of money. You can't take care of a family on that kind of money. You must have higher wages. If you do go up in a tax bracket, at the end of the year, workers with a family will gain back money when they file taxes. Bathroom brouhaha: To all the people throwing fits over transgenders using the same bathrooms as women, did you know that there are homosexual men who dress like women every day and go in women's bathrooms? Have you ever heard of unisex bathrooms? Everyone involved in downfall: I want to comment on the Speak Out "Stand up for the poor." I understand where this person is coming from, but I would like to make a few corrections, if I may. The poor did participate in the downfall. A lot of the poor who were too poor to buy and maintain a home were sold homes through these crazy mortgages which led to the recession. So the poor were involved. And what middle class is this caller talking about? There is no middle class anymore. It's the haves and the have nots, or the rich and the poor. Simple as that. Editor's note Speak Out is a reader-generated column of opinions. If you see something you disagree with or think is incorrect, please tell us. Call us at 312-222-2460 or email couriernews@tribpub.com. Please include "speak out" in the subject line. Jaythan Evans, 8, of Country Club Hills, was taken to the emergency room with a swollen arm and bruising around the wrist after an incident at Zenon Sykuta Elementary School Tuesday. (Courtesy of Nathaniel Brown) The mother of a third-grader at Sykuta Elementary alleges that Country Club Hills School District 160 is covering up an incident involving a library clerk that sent her son to the emergency room. What the district is calling an incident requiring "redirection," a form of discipline, the mother contends was a case of child abuse. The incident stems from reoccurring bullying of her son that the mother, Kyndra Byrd, said she reported several times to school and district officials. Had officials taken those reports seriously and followed through with instructions to staff, she says the library clerk incident could have been avoided. Advertisement "I think they just want to keep their image clean, and with that, it looks like they're justifying it," Byrd said. "Obviously they are dead wrong and trying to justify it is making it worse." On April 5, the Sykuta library clerk was placed on paid administrative leave after, Byrd said, she forced her son, Jaythan, 8, into a chair, causing internal and external bruising on his wrist and an acute strain of his arm. Byrd said her son refused to sit at a table with students who had a history of bullying the boy. He asked the clerk to call his mother or let him go to the office instead which is what Byrd instructed her son to do if incidents occurred. That's when the library staffer allegedly forced the boy into the chair for disobeying. Advertisement "The student continued to refuse, at which time (the clerk) grabbed his arm and escorted him back to his seat," according to the statement made by Principal Martha Jones in a police report. "(The clerk) tried to explain to him and the class the importance of managing differences among each other, at which time the student ran out of the room." The boy claims that before he left the room, the library staffer asked the students to raise their hands if they did not like him, humiliating him, according to Nathan Brown, Byrd's fiance. The police report does not indicate any interviews done with other students in the room. The clerk has declined to comment. The police report indicates that an attorney for the clerk told police that she "was using her Fifth Amendment rights and refused to be interviewed." The Country Club Hills Police Department at first denied a Daily Southtown request for the report under the Freedom of Information Act. However, the police eventually released the report only after the Daily Southtown appealed the denial to the Illinois Attorney General's Office, which requested the document. The report says the police "contacted Cook County Felony Review regarding the above incident" and "spoke to an (assistant state's attorney) in the felony review division and explained the incident" and "was advised by ASA that the case did not warrant a felony or arrest." Lisa Gordon, spokeswoman for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, said she could not comment why it declined to press charges because "Country Club Hills never formally presented the case to felony review." Repeated attempts to reach Country Club Hills Police Chief William Jones were unsuccessful. Byrd said she has also left messages for police that were not returned. Country Club Hills School District 160 Board Secretary Monique Thurman is employed by the Country Club Hills Police Department. Repeated attempts to contact school board President Tamara Young were also unsuccessful. Superintendent Sandra Thomas declined to be interviewed and said she would respond only to emailed questions, then issued a statement in response to questions submitted to her. Advertisement "The district remains committed to providing a safe environment for all students. Country Club Hills School District 160 has a policy prohibiting bullying," the superintendent's emailed statement said. "The district continues to cooperate with all agencies when matters are identified or claimed. Country Club Hills School District 160 ensures that any necessary support services that may be required are available for students when such issues arise." Thomas would not comment about her reaction to photos taken in the emergency room after the incident showing a ring of discoloration and bruising around the boy's wrist. According to the police report, the boy reported to school officials that his arm hurt, and the school nurse "did not observe any bruising, swelling or redness" and that "he appeared OK." Byrd said she has gone to the school to report the bullying "so many times," however Jones told the police she was "not aware of any specific issues with bullying," the police report said. However, the school nurse said there was an incident in February when the boy "came to the nurses office stating that someone hit him in the face," and that the nurse "did not see any swelling or any injuries at that time." According to emails dated Jan. 27 obtained by the Daily Southtown, Assistant Superintendent Tawanda Lawrence communicated with Byrd about setting a meeting with herself and Assistant Principal Stacy Oates, which Byrd said was to discuss the bullying. Afterward, Byrd said she met with Oates for an hour at the school and spoke 45 minutes on the phone with Lawrence, as well as 15 minutes with the superintendent's administrative secretary Tiffany Taylor. The result of those discussions was the boy was to stay away from the alleged bullies, Byrd said, which is why he disobeyed the clerk. The superintendent declined to comment if there were any reports of bullying to the school or district, saying instead, "District staff is required to follow the district's policy on bullying when such conduct is identified or claimed." The school district has denied a Daily Southtown request under the Freedom of Information Act for the state-mandated documentation, if any, concerning bullying involving the boy, claiming it is prohibited from disclosing records that identify a student. When asked for bullying documentation this school year for all the students in the district with personal information removed, the district denied the request claiming it was too burdensome. Advertisement "I don't have any documentation (of bullying) at this time and I don't have any confirmation that the mother has made those requests at the building," said the district's Director of Human Resources Pam Kibbons following the incident. Byrd expressed frustration at the alleged lack of support the district has shown her family. After hiring an attorney, she told the district staff they were not to speak with her son about the matter without his mother or attorney present. However, Byrd said he was interviewed at length without representation, forcing Byrd to withdraw her son and his twin brother and place them in private school. "They were still doing things I felt they should not have been doing," she said. "I did not trust the staff, I did not trust the district." Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > According to the police report, Jones described Byrd as "loud, aggressive and using foul language" at the time of the incident. Byrd said she was angry that the principal sent her son back to class after he described what happened, would not allow him to call his mother and would not get him when Byrd asked to take him home. The library clerk was hired in March 2015 as a substitute secretary, and was promoted to part-time library clerk in September at $14.50 per hour. According to personnel records acquired by the Daily Southtown, the school district did not document her reference checks, if any were conducted. Documents show Kibbons left a message in November for one of the three people the clerk listed as references, and emailed that same person in December, months after the clerk was hired. There is no document showing that reference ever responded to the calls or email. The personnel file also includes a blank two-page candidate reference questionnaire with the clerk's and the reference's names written at the top. There is no record of contacting the other two references in the file. Advertisement Also, the clerk's employment history showed she had held seven jobs in less than eight years. The clerk remained on paid administrative leave, and the incident was reported to the state Department of Children and Family Services. The district has no records showing any formal disciplinary action against her, officials said. Byrd said her son is doing better, although his regular physician restricted physical activity an additional week after a follow up visit because although swelling had declined, his wrist was still tender. Other than the x-ray in the emergency room, no additional MRI or CAT scan tests were required, Byrd said. Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. Of course you know a state budget still has not been passed after almost 11 months. There is talk of raising the existing tax rate about 1 percent. However, Illinois is one of the few states that does not tax Social Security, pensions and IRA withdrawals. The lure of taxing retirement income is like low hanging fruit to our politicians in Springfield. It may not happen this year but, as I said, it is low-hanging fruit to Rauner and Madigan and their minions and may soon be picked. Think about this: You have retirement income of $30,000 a year, a portion of that will be taken from you via a new state tax and given to a state or city retiree whose retirement income is $100,000 a year. That is how things work in a socialist society the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Call it the reverse Robin Hood approach. Bob, Homewood Advertisement To Tom from Oak Lawn: Kids are getting smarter by going to a community college? Wait till they try to transfer those credits to a real college. They will be lucky to transfer half of them. The community college will tell you till they are blue in the face that all of these credits transfer. They don't. Palos Heights Advertisement After having read about one more new, money-draining suggestion for a government program (your taxes) to help our youth, I came up with my own. It's called Stay and Stop. Stay in school. Stop disrespecting your teachers. Stay out of gangs, Stop having kids out of wedlock. Stay on the right side of the law, Stop doing drugs. This program can be expanded as needed, and needs no more tax money, money that really just goes to some community organizer and their friends to set up a shill program. It's also proven 98 percent effective when tried in the past. Orland Park Can someone please explain to me why former District 210 Superintendent Wiley is not being prosecuted for the things he and the School Board did during his tenure? According to published reports, he misappropriated funds, used schools funds for personal purchases and was party to creating a $300,000 annuity for his own benefit without public or board knowledge. He is now selling his home and moving so he won't even have to pay the excessive property taxes he created for district residents forever. Public officials have been sent to jail for similar indiscretions. I think, at the very least, the annuity should be recovered. Kay, Mokena All this stuff about religion. This is my take. Religion is personal. You can believe in something. You can believe in nothing. That is your right. You do not screw with a person's religion, nor his or her place of worship. But, you or anybody do not have a right to force me to convert or impose their religious beliefs on me. Oak Forest Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > I cannot fathom why, as stated by Chief Neubauer, Tinley Park would turn down the voluntary help of detectives outside of this village to solve the Lane Bryant murders. The police chief should have to look each of the family members of this still-unsolved crime and explain to them why this Police Department does not think their loved ones were important enough to accept all the help it could get to solve this now cold case. Tinley Park Advertisement To Joe from Oak Lawn: Your response to my comments about Donald Trump is typical of those who believe in Trump "logic." You accuse me of blaming the women involved in Bill Clinton's old extramarital affairs from "back in the day," decades ago. Wrong. I simply stated that these women understood and consented to the illicit affairs. They chose to sleep with Clinton, so they weren't "victimized," as Trump would have people believe. Donald Trump likes using the bullying tactics of spreading conspiracies, innuendoes, half-truths, distorting history and name-calling to destroy opponents. Labeling Bill Clinton a "woman abuser" just for having extramarital affairs, and blaming Hillary Clinton for her husband's infidelity, are just more examples of Donald Trump's misogynistic bullying. People are really getting more and more out of touch with what's important these days. Self absorption is rampant. I strongly suggest watching the video "The Human Experience." Hopefully it will help change the "it's all about me" attitude that's so prevalent in our society. You can obtain it free through your local library. Burbank What's Speak Out? Speak Out allows readers to comment on the issues of the day. Email Speak Out at speakout@southtownstar.com or call 312-222-2427. Please limit comments to 30 seconds or about 120 words and give your first name and your hometown. The last of three men who robbed a Radio Shack store in Downers Grove has been sentenced to 18 years in prison, according to DuPage County prosecutors. Brandon Jones, 22, of Woodridge, was sentenced Thursday by Judge Daniel Guerin for his role in the holdup, which took place Dec. 11, 2013, at the store near 75th Street and Lemont Road. He had been found guilty of armed robbery in a January jury trial. Advertisement Jurors convicted Jones as being one of two people who entered the store and forced a clerk at gunpoint to open a locked display case holding cellphones. The men pepper-sprayed the clerk and a customer who walked in during the robbery. Afterward, Jones and the accomplice left in a car driven by a third man. Advertisement Witnesses supplied police with a vehicle description, and the car was chased to a senior living facility in Naperville, where the men were arrested. Authorities say that during the chase they witnessed clothing worn during the robbery being thrown from the getaway car. DNA found on a discarded sweatshirt was a match to Jones, they said. Police also recovered a pistol alongside the road that was used in the robbery. Jones' accomplice, Carlos Brown, 23, of Downers Grove, pleaded guilty last year to armed robbery and also was sentenced to 18 years in prison. The getaway driver, BL Jones, 21, of Chicago, is serving an eight-year sentence for his role, prosecutors said. "The brazen behavior displayed by these defendants during the course of the robbery and the ensuing chase as they attempted to flee, placed the general public at great risk," State's Attorney Robert Berlin said. "All three men have certainly earned the sentences imposed by the court." Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter. Elgin resident Inez Tornblom, left, and Tashlyn Johnson discuss the mural painted by artist Dave Powers in Elgin May 19, 2016. Tornblom thought the people in the mural appeared upset at what happened, instead of proud to be posing by a lynching. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) As a survivor of a lynching that killed two other young men, James Cameron never shied away from the photograph that depicted the aftermath of that act. Cameron, who later founded the American Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee, put the photo of that 1930 lynching in Marion, Ind., on the cover of his memoir. Advertisement Cameron died in 2006, but when his son, Virgil Cameron, heard that an artist had used the photo as the basis of a public mural in Elgin, he hoped it would bring greater understanding to a little-known subject. "Hopefully, people will investigate and find out what this picture was all about," he said Thursday. Advertisement (WARNING: The graphic image mentioned in this story appears further down the page) That also was the intent of the Elgin artist behind the image that prompted debate this week after critics called for the removal of a depiction of such a heinous part of American history. "After 10 years, somebody decided to take notice, and misinterpreted that imagery," artist David Powers said. "The idea here was talking about lynching, asking questions, the history," Powers said. "You don't want to be on that wall with these monsters." But protesters Thursday called the painting offensive, questioned its motives, and called for its immediate removal. In response, Elgin officials planned two public meetings for June 7 and 13 to discuss the controversy. Community members react to a mural in Elgin that has been in place for 10 years and was modeled after the photograph of a lynching, and has raised questions about its origin. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune) The mural, called "American Nocturne," depicts a crowd at the lynching, with one man pointing up, but omits the two young men hanging lifeless from a tree. It has stood for about a decade in a downtown plaza in Elgin, apparently with little awareness or public comment about its subject until now. On Thursday, Elgin residents Tashlyn Johnson, Sequanda Haugabook and Katina Jefferson were among a group of a half dozen or so African-American protesters who gathered at the mural. Protesters taped paper to the mural reading, "TAKE IT DOWN NOW." Haugabook also led a brief bit of chanting, "Take it down. Take it down." Advertisement "If he really wanted to say something about racism he would have included the entirety of the photo," Haugabook said. The debate began after Elgin resident Richard Farr, 25, and St. Charles resident Alex Cokinos, 33, noticed the connection between the mural and the photo Tuesday night as they walked past the installation in the city park between Spring Street and Grove Avenue. Farr, a student at Elgin Community College, snapped a picture of the mural and posted a side-by-side comparison to the famous historical image on Facebook. Some Facebook users began commenting and calling for its removal from the city. "I think the work should stay up now that we have a statement from the artist that explains his intent," Farr said. "But I think there should be a plaque with it to provide context." Elgin Mayor David Kaptain, who was the council liaison to the city's Cultural Arts Commission before becoming mayor, called for meetings to hash out the issue with the community. Pushing boundaries, 66-year-old Powers said, has been his stock-in-trade. His family has always believed in standing up for the little guy, the immigrant, and people of all races, he said. Advertisement Powers said he was furious that people would attack him and his art without knowing what it was about. If people are not reminded of these crimes, if it is not addressed in our art and discussions, it can happen again, Powers said. The piece was created as part of an Elgin Cultural Arts Commission series funded by a city grant in 2004. City officials could not recall or find notes of any discussion of the content of the work Thursday. (Janelle Walker / The Courier-News) Similarities between this 1930 photo of the lynching of two black men in Indiana and a downtown Elgin mural (above) has led officials to call for a discussion of the public art. (Indiana Historical Society, P0411) Powers said the Elgin Outdoor Exhibition Group approached the city via the Cultural Arts Commission with the idea of working with Judson College students to create a series of murals. Four young artists from Judson College, all women, picked the themes for four murals one of a parade, one on the environment, another on immigration, and the last on race. While he sketched out the murals and the themes, the students did the painting, Powers said. To illustrate the racism panel, Powers used a photograph of the Marion lynching he found in a book at Elgin's Gail Borden Public Library. Advertisement Two of those original pieces now are stored away at the city of Elgin. The parade mural remains across the park from "American Nocturne." Deciding to paint about race came, in part, from conversations he had over the years with Ernie Broadnax and former Elgin Mayor E.C. "Mike" Alft, Powers said. Broadnax, 80, is a descendant of the "contraband" families freed slaves who arrived in Elgin by boxcar in October 1862. Last year he completed the film "2-3-1 Project," about those two boxcars of freed slaves and the three blocks they lived on in the one town of Elgin. Alft wrote many books on Elgin history, including some that took a stark look at race relations there. Contacted Thursday, Broadnax said he supported Powers and believed the mural did what it was intended to do: get people talking about race and the history of blacks in America. "I feel that all of our black history should be included, both the positive and the negative," Broadnax said. "It should be included in the teaching in our American schools." Advertisement Elgin has had its own troubled racial history at times, with former mayor Alft calling it the center of Ku Klux Klan activities in Kane County in the 1920s, black protests in the 1960s, and allegations of housing bias against the Hispanic population in recent times. Lynchings claimed thousands of lives from after the Civil War through the 1920s, not only in the South, but in the North as well, said Dr. Robert Smith, associate professor of history at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, who helped write the introduction to Cameron's memoir. By focusing on the crowd rather than the victims, Smith said, the painting shows that lynching was a community event, drawing large crowds, including some who smiled at the event. "Lynching was a way whites were able to maintain economic and political control over African-Americans," Smith said. Smith, who is black, said he wouldn't question anyone offended by the painting but said it opens a conversation about the history of racial violence in the country, including race riots and some cases of present-day violence. Lynchings reportedly once were depicted on souvenir postcards, and have been depicted repeatedly in art. One exhibit of 40 dolls hanging from a tree stirred controversy in Baltimore last year, and in 2013 the Milwaukee Art Museum exhibited "Duck Duck Noose," featuring a circle of stools topped with pointed white hoods, under a hanging noose. Advertisement Lynchings were also the subject of the song "Strange Fruit," a protest song that became a hit for Billie Holiday in 1939. Fran Kaplan, coordinator of the online America's Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee, said the mural raised an important subject, but was "troubling" because it lacked context to explain what it was about. She offered museum personnel to participate in a public discussion in Elgin to explain the history of lynching and the significance of depicting it now. "This is an opportunity to talk about race in Elgin," she said. "It's obviously generating some interest and conversation. What's the meaning of such an image for us today?" Robert McCoppin is a Chicago Tribune reporter. Mike Danahey is a Courier-News reporter. Janelle Walker is a freelance reporter for the Courier-News. Beware of scam: I have received a number of phone calls from a 212 area code in New York. They say they are part of the Internal Revenue Service, and they are looking at me because they are going to file a lawsuit. This is a scam. People, heed this message. Don't answer the phone when they call. You can call the police and turn them in. They are just out to get you. The IRS does not call you. Issues involving illegal immigrants: I wonder how many more stories we're going to have to read in the newspapers now that it looks like Donald Trump will be the Republican candidate. We'll hear more about the poor illegal immigrants and how they are trying to legalize themselves. I'm sick and tired of it. They've had plenty of time to legalize themselves if they cared, but they don't. Let's hear stories about all the poor plumbers, roofers, carpenters, tree trimmers and landscapers who have lost their jobs due to all these illegal immigrants who come in here and do the work for half the cost. They open companies and only hire their illegal friends. Enough of this sympathy for illegal immigrants. Advertisement Springfield trip: Will someone at the newspaper add up what Elgin council member Tish Powell and four city employees charged the City of Elgin for their trip to Springfield this week? For gosh sakes, Sen. Noland's office is literally across the street from city hall. Why did they have to drive to Springfield to meet him? To get money? Quit pulling my leg. Powell voted to raise my taxes this year. She knows the best way to get money is to put in another tax increase. Time for a change: Why do so many want Donald Trump in office? Perhaps they are tired of a politically correct president who caters to every new age perversion the American Civil Liberties Union supports. Americans want a president who does not fiddle while Rome burns, so to speak. Better not elect a president at all if it's going to be the same status quo. Advertisement Musing about MacArthur: I wonder what would happen in the Arab countries' so-called wars if General MacArthur was a general over there? He said he would never fight a war he could not win. He was fired for that. Hola before hello: Has anybody called the Aurora police department's number to hear the first message in Spanish and then the rest in English? I don't understand this. Roused about Roeser: I don't understand why the Village of West Dundee's board think they have to be in the real estate business. You have Mr. Roeser who apparently has more money than he knows what to do with based on what he's been buying over the last 10 to 20 years. He has plenty of money to develop his own property. The city doesn't have to get involved and help out. Let him do whatever he wants to do within the context of zoning. It's taxpayer money that you're spending to help out a multi-millionaire. He will be the one who will benefit in the long run. Start getting serious. A word about Ward: I see we have people protesting School District U46 board member Jeanette Ward over comments she has made and actions she has taken to try and protect taxpayers from some of the needless spending on minorities who can't speak English. How is it that when somebody speaks the truth, it is racist? Nothing she has said is racist. She just wants our money spent more wisely than the way it's being spent now. She's absolutely right. These people should know how to speak English. We shouldn't have to have a dual language program for these people for the rest of their lives. At what point will these generations actually speak English? Worst crime goes unpunished: Forget about Dennis Hastert breaking banking laws by withdrawing large sums of hush money. It's not top priority. I would like them to find a way around the law of limitations so he could be sentenced for what he did to those young boys. The people who stand behind him while saying he's a good man and he loves the Lord reminds me of the saying: Birds of a feather flock together. Transgender turmoil: The Obama administration needs to keep out of our business with this transgender fiasco. If a nationwide poll was taken, I bet that they would lose to people who detest the idea of anyone born a male going into a women's bathroom. Have we gone completely crazy? President Obama needs to take care of the huge immigration problem by following the laws of the land. We have too many problems like ISIS. Where are all the liberal women now? The ones who said the government should stay out of their uterus? Stick with your party: In regards to these Republican establishment people, like Paul Ryan, who are saying they can't get behind Donald Trump, what other choice do they have? Are they going to switch parties? Are they going to vote Democratic? Give me a break. They need to get behind whoever the candidate is, which is obviously Trump, and get busy to get him elected unless they want another four to eight years of another Democrat. Get serious, guys. Sign, sign, everywhere a sign: In Carpentersville, it's my understanding that you can only have one extra sign out on the highway front or tree bank. On Huntley Road, there is a gaming cafe and a cellular phone store. They have half a dozen flags out there all day long 24/7. What's up with that? It makes the place look like a carnival. Advertisement Concerned about Elgin council: It was a disappointment discovering that Elgin council members are fed on taxpayer dollars. Frankly, they should pay for their own food when eating out. Do city business on city time and not lunch time. Secondly, there was a political hatchet job on Councilman Prigge. He is one of the lone voices on the council who objects to the rubber stamp methods of other council members and the whims of the mayor. Get rid of anyone who objects to financial waste. Muscle the voice that speaks up. Let's not forget the mess at the College of DuPage. Free ride not given to seniors: I'm a retired 67-year-old senior on disability. I can't get the medical card unless I pay $100 a month, which I don't have. They say my social security is income. I won't tell you what I get, but I hardly get anything and my rent is $600 a month. Why do illegal immigrants get food stamps and the medical card for free? When President Obama first got on the podium, he said illegal means illegal. I live across the street from a family with eight kids. The husband is a citizen, while his wife is not. They are driving a Hummer and an Escalade while they are on food stamps. Why doesn't Obama take care of the seniors? Editor's note Speak Out is a reader-generated column of opinions. If you see something you disagree with or think is incorrect, please tell us. Call us at 312-222-2460 or email couriernews@tribpub.com. Please include "speak out" in the subject line. Naperville police to offer cyber seminar A free webinar on cyber safety for parents and their junior high- and high-school-aged children will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday. Advertisement Internet safety expert Detective Rich Wistocki of the Naperville Police Department will present the program, which is co-sponsored by the Naperville Exchange Club, school districts 203 and 204 and the DuPage Child Abuse Coalition. Topics will include texting, sexting and cyberbullying. Advertisement Participants must register in advanced at http://bit.ly/may24webinar. A recording of the webinar will be available in the coming weeks on the city of Naperville's Web site. Police announce Click It or Ticket campaign Naperville police will be participating in the statewide Click It or Ticket campaign now through Memorial Day, the department announced. Officers will be cracking down on seat belt law violators and impaired drivers. State law requires all front and back seat riders to buckle up. Of the 274 fatalities that occurred during nighttime hours in 2015, 42 percent were unbuckled, officials said. Lou Malnati's plans Kids Matter fundraiser Lou Malnati's Pizzeria will donate 20 percent of their restaurant and carry-out sales from noon to 10 p.m. June 6 to the Kids Matter youth organization. Advertisement During the event, vocalists from Metea Valley, Neuqua Valley, Waubonsie Valley, Naperville Central and Naperville North high schools as well as The School of Performing Arts will be performing at the pizzeria, 131 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville. Performances will take place from noon to 1 p.m. and from 4 to 10 p.m. This is Lou Malnati's 10th annual fundraiser for Kids Matter, an organization that helps kids say no to destructive choices. Edward Hospital invests in MRI Partnership Edward-Elmhurst Health is investing $7 million in Smart Choice MRI, the first MRI provider to offer every MRI for an all-inclusive fee of $600 or less. The investments will begin the groundbreaking this fall of five new Smart Choice MRI clinics in the Chicago area, including Bolingbrook, Oswego and Lombard. Edward-Elmhurst Health doctors will make referrals based on most appropriate location for the patients. Advertisement The Smart Choice MRI uses state-of-the-art GE technology and scans are interpreted by board-certified radiologists at the Cleveland Clinic. The price includes the scan and its reading. Take a look at this paper Cathy Janek's son brought home from school and see if you don't make the same mistake she did. (Cathy Janek / Naperville Sun) Here we sit, on the launching pad of summer. Day one of 84 days of summer vacation for District 203 students starts next Thursday. Kids in District 204 will be celebrating day one of 89 days of freedom the following day. As much as kids are looking forward to summer, I bet teachers probably are, too, especially those at nearby East Aurora High School. Advertisement In April, school officials learned that in setting up online gradebooks for certain classes, some teachers missed a step that resulted in grade weights for classes to be incorrectly set. As a result, thousands of grades were inaccurate for as many as four years. East Aurora's soon-to-be-outgoing Superintendent Mike Popp said the district will change those grades that go up but it won't be readjusting grades that drop. Advertisement "I don't see any way, as an educator, right now, how I can punish kids for adult mistakes," he said. While many students will see grade increases, the real beneficiaries of this mistake are the 14 students who now no longer have to go to summer school. It's a doozy of a mistake. In the crazy land of grade obsession, a glitch like this is frustrating and embarrassing to all. But errors are made by humans and we are all human, aren't we? Here's another example of what I mean. One of my kids participated in a fun run where a volunteer inadvertently veered kids off the official race course. After running a block or two in the wrong direction, the kids were told to turn around, retrace their steps and rejoin the official course. Talking with the race director later, she said, there was a bright side to her error a chance to teach my son that even "adults make mistakes." That's a lesson he learns frequently with me as his mom. My most recent gaffe was in response to a Spanish quiz grade that read, "Feliz Cumpleanos! 5/14 and a No." Grabbing it, I shrieked, "Did you get a 5 out of 14 on a quiz?" No, my son calmly replied. "It says happy birthday, since my birthday is May 14 or 5/14, and the 'no' stands for, no, I do not want my Spanish class to sing happy birthday to me." Of course, it does. Advertisement But what about when kids make mistakes? Just to be clear by mistakes, I don't mean a big, huge, fat one, if you could call it that, recently made by the University of Iowa student from Naperville who lied about being the victim of a racially motivated crime. I'm talking about the little ones, like turning in an assignment late or being caught daydreaming in class rather than memorizing rubrics, annotations and math problems. Naperville Sun Twice-weekly News updates from the Naperville area delivered every Monday and Wednesday > Richard Wormeli wrote a great article in Educational Leadership a good summer read for any teacher about redos and retakes in school. In it, he says, "The teacher who claims to be preparing students for the working world by disallowing all redos forgets that adult professionals actually flourish through redos, retakes and doovers." Yes, we do. As adults, we make plenty of mistakes and often bask in the adultness of either owning up graciously and correcting them or shrugging our shoulders and moving on. Why don't kids have the same opportunity? Maybe this summer between classes, camps and test prep sessions I'll schedule some time for my kids to make a mistake or two. So, happy summer, especially to the 14 East Aurora kids who no longer will be spending it in compulsory summer school. I hope they enjoy the break they've received and learn a lesson from it, too. Advertisement Cathy Janek is a freelance writer who lives in Naperville. cathymjanek@gmail.com twitter@cathyjanek Steven Isoye speaks during the 139th Oak Park-River Forest commencement for the Class of 2015 on May 31, 2015. (Patrick Gorski / Pioneer Press) Oak Park and River Forest High School Superintendent Steven Isoye will resign his position at the end of the current school year, officials announced Thursday night. According to a release from OPRF, Isoye has been hired as the new superintendent of Niles Township High School District 219, effective July 1. The Niles District 219 board approved Isoye's hiring at a special meeting May 19. Advertisement Isoye began serving as OPRF's superintendent in July 2010, when he agreed to a three-year contract. Isoye received an additional five-year contract with OPRF in 2013. "I am grateful for the opportunity to have served for the board of education and Oak Park and River Forest High School for the past six years," Isoye said in a statement. "I have had the opportunity to work with 16 board members during that time. All 16 have had an incredible commitment to the students, school and community. In addition to the board, I have had the opportunity to work with truly dedicated faculty, staff and students. I appreciate everything I have learned from the communities of Oak Park and River Forest." Advertisement Isoye had served as principal of Maine East High School in Park Ridge prior to arriving in Oak Park. Isoye will be leading Niles West, Niles North and Niles Central high schools. The 17-page contract the Niles 219 board approved with Isoye states he will serve as "interim superintendent" from May 23 to June 30, and as superintendent beginning July 1, through June 2019. He will be paid $250,000 annually with benefits. The "performance-based contract" also includes a list of "superintendent goals" including presenting a comprehensive recommendation to the board of education to increase student performance on standardized and curriculum-based measures in science and math through implementation of the STEM initiatives identified in the 21st century schools program and within the academic program of the district's schools. District 219 has been without a permanent superintendent since late last year when then-superintendent Nanciann Gatta and John Heitz, the district's assistant superintendent for operations and chief legal officer, left the district following an internal investigation into administrator spending habits and perks. "Any time there's any kind of issue that you go through in the past, and you turn the corner, it is a nice process," Niles 219 Board President Mark Sproat said. "I feel that Dr. Isoye will bring some great things to the district." According to the OPRF release, the District 200 school board will determine wither to hire an interim superintendent for the 2016-17 school year and will begin an immediate search for a permanent replacement. "I am very grateful to Steve for his service to District 200 over the last six years," OPRF Board President Jeff Weissglass said in a statement. "His commitment to our students has been unwavering, striving for both excellence and equity, which is at the heart of our mission. I wish him all the best in his work at Niles." Isoye's last official day as OPRF Superintendent will be June 30. Advertisement The OPRF School Board next meets May 26 for its regular board meeting. Freelance reporter Brian L. Cox contributed to this story. sschering@pioneerlocal.com Twitter: @steveschering Lynn Zmija, library assistant at the Park Ridge Public Library, holds a copy of "Burial Rites," by Hannah Kent, the book she recommended to presidential candidate and Park Ridge native Hillary Clinton during Clinton's visit on May 19. (Jennifer Johnson, Pioneer Press) When Hillary Clinton visited the Park Ridge Public Library on Thursday, small talk with several members of library staff ultimately turned to books. "She was looking at our 'most wanted' books and she said, 'I try to read a little bit for pleasure every day,' " recalled library assistant Lynn Zmija. "Then she said she has just read 'Dead Wake' [by Erik Larson], but would take any book suggestions." Advertisement Luckily, Zmija had a recommendation to give. "I recommended 'Burial Rites,' by Hannah Kent," she said. "I recommended it because, first of all, it's very well-written. It's also based in history, and it's a story about the last woman who is executed in Iceland. I just found it to be a very intriguing story, and since she mentioned she liked 'Dead Wake,' which is also historical, I thought that might appeal to her." Advertisement Clinton's visit to the library came as a surprise to staff and administrators alike. Executive Director Janet Van De Carr said the Clinton camp only confirmed the previous afternoon that the presidential candidate and Park Ridge native would be stopping by for an interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo before heading across the street to the Pickwick Theatre for a fundraiser. Prior to Clinton's visit, Secret Service personnel and bomb-sniffing dogs swept the building, Van De Carr said. That morning, all library patrons and employees heading up to the second floor underwent a security check, which included having their bags searched, the library director said. Clinton's interview with CNN was held in the library's new book room. The news crew hung thick, black drapes over the large windows to keep the light out and the entire readers services section of the library was cordoned off prior to and during the television interview. Park Ridge police stationed outside the front door of the library prevented citizens from entering while Clinton was inside. On the grounds directly in front of the building, a group of protesters, the vast majority of them waving Polish flags and objecting to comments they say Bill Clinton made regarding Poland's democracy, shouted "No more Clintons" as Hillary made her way into the library through the rarely used entrance along Touhy Avenue. Once the interview had ended, Van De Carr and about seven other staff members had an opportunity to meet and briefly speak with Clinton, the director said. "She talked about her memories of coming here as a child and being in the summer reading club and asked if we still do summer reading clubs," Van De Carr said. "I said yes, and she said she remember getting stickers. We said, 'Well, we still do that. They're still popular.' " Mary Mason, a library assistant from the children's department, said Clinton also asked if library personnel still did visited local schools and was told that someone was already headed out to do just that. Advertisement "She was very personable and warm with us," Mason said of Clinton. "It's the most exciting thing that's happened in the 30 years I've worked here," Zmija said. Zmija and Van De Carr said Clinton recalled checking out books from the old Park Ridge Library now a hair salon and office at Northwest Highway and Prospect Avenue as a child before a portion of the current building was constructed in 1958. "It hasn't changed all that much, especially the side she was on," Van De Carr said, referring to original, Touhy Avenue section of the building, in which Clinton sat for her interview. The southern addition to the library was added in 1977, long after Clinton had left Park Ridge. "I'm sure it was neat for her to come back to a place she remembers from her childhood," Van De Carr said. "It was fun and exciting. Certainly not an ordinary day at the library." jjohnson@pioneerlocal.com Advertisement Twitter: @Jen_Pioneer After five hours of deliberations, a Lake Superior Court jury rejected that a Gary man acted in self-defense when he killed his wife's ex-husband Thursday. Gentry Jackson, 35, told Gary police Detective Sgts. Michael Barnes and Dan Callahan that he knew Alec McCloud "was up to something" when he showed up Aug. 3 and parked across the street from Jackson's home in the 400 block of Ellsworth Street, in Gary. Jackson said he got his gun, tucked it in his waistband, and went outside despite prior confrontations involving McCloud to ask McCloud what he was doing there. None of the prior incidents was reported to police. Advertisement Jackson said McCloud called him over to the car to talk, then pointed a gun at him. Jackson said he turned away, raised his arm and started firing. Six shots hit the car. McCloud, 44, died after being shot in hip and buttocks, and the bullets damaged his liver and aorta. No gun was found in the car McCloud was driving. Advertisement During closing arguments, defense attorney Scott King said Jackson didn't go outside to confront McCloud, who had been living in California. King said the police investigation never determined what McCloud was doing in Gary. Testimony showed he flew in and took the train to the South Shore station in Gary earlier on Aug. 3, where his grandmother picked him up. Justin McCloud, 22, testified he'd communicated with his father about an hour before McCloud showed up at the Ellsworth Street home. McCloud said he planned to leave with his father that day. In his closing argument, deputy prosecutor Michael Toth said Jackson went outside to confront McCloud and opened fire. "Eight shots you're not defending yourself anymore," Toth said. "The state of the law in Indiana is with each and every subsequent shot, you diminish the claim of self-defense." In addition to considering a murder charge, jurors also had the option of considering a lesser offense of reckless homicide. Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. Gary St. Augustine's Episcopal Church: 2425 W. 19th Ave. The church Spaghetti Dinner and War Room Film will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday. The film will begin at 4:30 p.m. in the church undercroft. Tickets will be for sale at the door. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 5 to 12. Advertisement Christ United Methodist Church: 201 W. Ridge Road Louise Lee will present a praise dance festival and youth talent showcase in support of the Hazel B. Sanders scholarship fund at 4 p.m. Saturday. Donation is $10. Call Lee at 219-883-3907 for tickets. El Bethel Apostolic Church: 2216 Taney Place The 66th Anniversary will be at 7:30 p.m. May 24 to May 27. Guest speakers will be Elder David Hollis, May 24; Pastor Bettye Borom, May 25; Bishop Don Reynolds, May 26, and Elder Terrence Cooper, May 27. Advertisement First Baptist Church: 626 W. 21st Ave. The 108th Anniversary will be celebrated at 10:45 a.m. June 12. The guest speaker will be Reverend John E. Jackson Sr., pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ., The theme is "Celebrating 108 Years of God's Amazing Grace." Special colors of the day are orange, red, turquoise and white. The public is welcome. Information: 219-883-3216. First Church of God: 134 E. 43rd Ave. A Women's Day Weekend prayer luncheon will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Halls of St. George, 905 E. Joliet St., Schererville. The cost is $25. A worship service will be held at 10:45 a.m. Sunday at First Church of God. The guest speaker will be Donna Martin. Information: 219-887-1177. Koinonia Missionary Baptist Church: 510 W. 13th Ave. The 45th Church Anniversary will be celebrated at 4 p.m. May 22. Guest speaker will be Reverend R.E. Robinson of St. John Baptist Church. Information: 219-882-8118. Logan Park Assembly of Christ Church: 1513 Polk St. The Annual Church Convention will be May 29 to June 5. There will be no service May 28. Guest speakers are Evangelist Tanya Brown, 11:45 a.m. and 5 p.m. May 29; Bishop Larry Copeland, 7:30 p.m. May 30 and May 31; Bishop Charles Johnson, 7:30 p.m. June 1 and June 2; Elder David Hollis, 7:30 p.m. June 3, and Elder Jeffrey Allen, 11:45 a.m. and 5 p.m. June 5. Bishop George Stearnes will hold Bible class from noon to 1:30 p.m. June 6. Marquette Park United Methodist Church: 215 N. Grand Blvd. The 14th Annual BBQ Chicken & Rib Dinner will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 27. Dine in, carryout and drive-thru are available. Advance sale rib dinner is $12 and chicken dinner is $10. At-the-door rib dinner is $15 and chicken dinner is $12. Meals include cole slaw, beans and a roll. To purchase tickets in advance, call 219-938-4106. Leave name and phone number only on voicemail and calls will be returned. Advance sales required by May 22. Senior yoga is held Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at noon. Monday, Tuesday, Friday cost is $3 and Thursday is $4 and includes lunch. 1st Saturday Outreach at noon is on the first Saturday of the month. Mount Calvary Church: 1001 Garfield St. Soul Winning Revival Service will be at 6 p.m. May 26 and May 27 and at noon May 28. Pastor Roy Lawson, New Faith Outreach Church, Powder Springs, Georgia, will be the evangelist for all services. Information: 219-883-3608 Mt. Zion Pentecostal Church of Jesus Christ: 4937 Massachusetts St. The 36th Annual Women's Day Service will be Saturday. The theme is "Breaking the Chains Unto Holiness." Evangelist Justine Weems, New Day Pentecostal Church, Indianapolis, will be the guest speaker at noon. Evangelist Rebekah Mickens, Family Worship Center, Chicago, will be the guest speaker at 4 p.m. The public is invited. St. Paul Baptist Church: 2300 Grant St. The church is seeking former members of the congregation to participate in 100th Anniversary activities. For information, call 219-944-7313 or email saintpaul1916@comcast.net. Advertisement Merrillville The Love Church and The Healing Wings Clinic: 6844 Broadway St. Healing and Deliverance Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. May 29. Information: 219-769- 5683. Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church: 5861 Van Buren St. The 175th Anniversary Mass will be at 10 a.m. June 26. Lunch at Innsbrook Country Club will follow the services. Ticket information: call 219-980-2693 by June 14. Email church announcements to Paul Eisenberg at peisenberg@tribpub.com. Dancers seated in the foreground and actors with their backs to the camera perform for the crowd of spectators standing on the dune. (Courtesy of Westchester Township Museum) Editor's note: On Dec.11, 1816, Indiana became the 19th state in the Union. Lake, Porter and Newton counties originally were one, but on Jan. 28, 1836, Porter County was created. A year later, on Jan.18, Lake County became independent. As the state celebrates its bicentennial, the Post-Tribune will be taking a regular look back at the history of Northwest Indiana. After the turn of the century, Northwest Indiana, a wind-swept area positioned on sand dunes, prairie grass and fertile farmland along the shore of one of the world's largest bodies of fresh water, was on a trajectory of industrialization and urbanization. Advertisement By 1916, a collaboration of thoughtful minds and artful souls under the umbrella of the Dunes Pageant Association worked to slow the wheels of progress from driving through the region. Their aim was to create the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Their vehicle to promote this effort was called the "Pageant of the Dunes." It was an epic event. Advertisement The association had a $15,000 budget and a script titled "The Dunes Under Four Flags," written by a well-known pageant writer of the day, said Serena Sutliff, curator of the Westchester Township History Museum in Chesterton. The historical pageant depicted the story of the dunes under France, Great Britain, Spain and the U.S., with great homage to the Native Americans of the region and interpretive dance scenes and dramatic scenes. It was performed May 30 and June 3, 1917, on the beach in Port Chester. The program included about 1,000 performers dressed in elaborate period costumes depicting various historic scenes, including the death of explorer Pere Jacques Marquette on the shore of Lake Michigan in 1675 and Daniel Webster's 1834 visit to the area. The interpretive dances included vignettes of the winds and waves, shore birds, wood nymphs and sorrowing tree heart. Despite their best efforts, the Indiana Dunes did not receive designation as a national park until 1966. Now, as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore celebrates its 50th anniversary, it has partnered with the Save the Dunes Conservation Fund to sponsor a contemporary version of the pageant called "The Dunes Blowout," on Sept. 24 and 25 at West Beach. "The pageant's early demonstration of support and the later citizen-led fight to save the dunes continues today," said Bruce Rowe, public information officer for the National Lakeshore. "This national park cannot be sustained without the support of the local community." In the year preceding World War I, the U.S. was on a trend of land conservation and preservation. The National Park Service was created with the passage of the Organic Act of 1916, signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson. Not long after, a hearing on the status of the dunes was held in Chicago on Nov. 1, 1916. Stephen T. Mather, assistant to the secretary of the interior, the overseer of the national parks, was in charge of the hearing. Mather was a wealthy man who made his fortune in the borax business and went on to public service as the first director of the National Park Service. Mather was also a founding member of the Prairie Club, Sutliff said. "The Prairie Club was a group out of Chicago who camped in the Indiana Dunes. They purchased about 46 acres of land, but they were very conscientious about keeping the dunes the way they were. They hiked, but they had rules. They were conscious of land conservation and preservation," she said. Advertisement The group, organized in 1911, owned the Beach House, where it hosted an annual open-air festival. Attendance at these events could sometimes reach 1,500, according to information in the pageant's printed program. Those annual events sparked the concept of the pageant. According to Sutliff, nearly 400 people attended Mather's hearing, and not a single person spoke against establishing the dunes as a national park. When the Dunes Pageant Association formed in February 1917, it formalized its mission to save the dunes as a public park and playground. The association included members from Friends of Our Native Landscape, the Chicago Historical Society, the Audubon Society, the Chicago Geographic Society, the Chicago Public Library, Chicago Public Schools, the Municipal Art league and the Art Institute, according to coverage in the Chicago Tribune from Feb. 27, 1917. Its first order of business was to create a historical pageant and perform it on the beach May 30 and June 3 that year. The association hired Thomas Woods Stevens, head of the drama department at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh and president of the American Pageant Association, according to Sutliff. "They publicized it out the wazoo and they gave as much attention to the dunes as to the pageant," Sutliff said. "They printed a series of posters and stamps with 'Save the Dunes' printed on them." One of its circulars was quoted in a Feb. 27, 1917, Tribune article. Advertisement "The well-known history of the loss of Chicago's lake front from the Chicago River south is plain before us, and only concerted and strenuous action can prevent its repetition in the 25 miles of perfect beach and multifarious flora to be found between Gary and Michigan City," it stated. As the winter turned to spring, the U.S. entered World War I on April 6. There was talk of canceling the pageant as the nation went to war. Actors at Pageant of the Dunes festival. (Courtesy of Westchester Twp. History Museum) "It was a difficult situation," Sutliff said. "There was a discussion among the Dunes Pageant Association people, and they discussed canceling and postponing. They decided to go through with it because they had the script written and had actors ready to go. They had a special train (for spectators coming from Chicago) planned for these two sessions. It seemed pointless to cancel it." There were tents, concession stands and an emergency hospital on-site, Sutliff said, and tour guides, information stands, special parking and police patrols. In the days leading up to the pageant, the Tribune published a travel article on its auto page to provide directions and historical travel tips to motorists on their way to the event. But it was thunder that stole the thunder from the "Pageant of the Dunes" on May 30. It rained. The show went on and was performed again June 3. The Tribune reported 15,000 people attended the event. Advertisement But the duneland dream was deferred as the U.S. turned its attention to World War I, the Great Depression and then World War II. It would take almost 50 years for Congress to establish the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in a bill signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The effort was accomplished without much help from Indiana House members, according to the Oct. 15, 1966, Chicago Tribune. The paper quoted Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall's remark that Indiana had "no zest" for the park. Four of the Indiana members of the house were absent for the vote, three voted against it and four supported it. Nancy Coltun Webster is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. David Rueter, visual artist, programmer and visiting professor in New Media Arts at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Marissa Lee Benedict, sculptor and writer will be teaching residents how to design and build responsive LED lights to illuminate Borman and Reed parks. (Nancy Coltun Webster / Post-Tribune) "Gary Streetlights," a project to bring citizens together to design, build and position lights in Borman and Reed parks kicks off under the guidance of artists committed to empowering residents to illuminate the needs of their city. Under the auspices of the Gary Heat Light Water Project, Gary Streetlights is a collaboration of artists led by Jan Tichy, an assistant professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The GHLW Project is energized by the artists' aspiration to save the city-owned, vacant 90-year-old Gary Heat, Light & Water Co. warehouse, 900 Madison St., designed by George W. Maher & Son. Advertisement "Heat Light Water as a concept tries to be a platform to be in dialogue with the community," said Tichy. "The overall concept would suggest that there's a building that might be worth saving but the question for what and how lies in my eyes with the people in Gary. But it needs to come from the community, and Gary Streetlights as one part of Heat Light Water, is trying to answer that: There is not enough public light." The first community forum to discuss Gary Streetlights is set for 9 a.m. June 4 to kick off the project. A second forum will take place on July 2. The lights are expected to be responsive, networked and reprogrammable. The first installations are targeted for Borman Square Park at 8th Avenue and Madison Street and Reed Park (formerly Washington Park) at 1400 Pennsylvania St. Advertisement Gary Streetlights marries art with infrastructure, said Lori Peterson Latham, superintendent of the Gary Parks. "It is not just art for art's sake," said Latham. "It is using art to solve a serious and important problem in the city, which is street lighting," she said. "Many of our residents use our 311 system to report streetlights being out. Being able to use art and to work with artists to develop an approach for that is really exciting." Gary Streetlights is funded with a $30,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant to Legacy Foundation, in collaboration with Tichy along with Dr. Jeffreen M. Hayes of Bridge/arts and Threewalls. Legacy will add an additional $25,000. "The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and some of the professors have been working in Gary on community engagement projects for the past couple of years. That's what attracted us to this project, the community engagement," said Kelly Anoe, Legacy's director of grants and partnerships. "Legacy has had a focus on community engagement through Spotlight (Gary-Emerson and Gary-Miller). When we talked to the artists who wanted to start 'Gary Streetlights' we were especially interested." Hayes described her role with the project as part administrator and part community engagement director. She will help artists David Rueter and Marisa Lee Benedict connect with the community and to interpret their plan for a broader audience. David Rueter and Marissa Lee Benedict will bring LED lights to illuminate Borman and Reed parks in Gary Streetlights project. (Nancy Coltun Webster / Post-Tribune) "The beauty of the Gary Streetlights is asking how art, how creativity can help reinvigorate and energize a community," said Hayes. "Not from the point of the artists taking over the city instead, working with the community and creating something to benefit the community in the long run. It is easy to pop art projects in and leave, and then the community is never engaged. And, sometimes people don't know what happened until after the fact." "Our plan is to work hard and slowly in developing this project and in conversation with people," said Rueter, a visual artist and programmer. He is a visiting professor in New Media Arts at the University of Illiniois at Chicago. "We want to teach people the technologies and (have them) take ownership for the process and be able to design and modify them." Although the artists have created a prototype, the final design has not been created and will depend on the input of the residents who participate. Advertisement "These are not decorative lights," said Benedict, a sculptor and writer. "They are meant to function as street lights. They will do different colors. Each light as we are designing them will have sensors and anyone can adjust the brightness. We want some environmental settings. There will be embedded ways they will be able to reset." According to Latham, Gary Streetlights fits with Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson's vision for the city. "When we first began our initial conversation with Jan and Jeffreen and the artists, we discussed the three priorities of the mayor: reducing crime, creating jobs and supporting education," said Latham. "The Gary Streetlights project addresses crime by getting the community engaged and adding light and making our places less dark and less attractive to vandalism and crime. It creates job opportunities if more funding becomes available to make more lightsmore job opportunities. Supporting education, it could be a cool STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) project." Nancy Coltun Webster is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. Charles Canty waits in line Thursday to voice his opposition to a proposed human rights ordinance during a public comment meeting held by the Valparaiso City Council at Ben Franklin Middle School in Valparaiso. (Mark Davis / Post-Tribune) Charles Canty looked Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas directly in the eyes and with a deep sincerity pleaded with him. "Please don't pass this your honor," Canty said. Advertisement Canty, of Valparaiso, was wearing a green blazer, one of the many residents who donned green to symbolize their solidarity in opposition to a the city's proposed human rights ordinance. As a grandfather, Canty said, his biggest fear is the safety of his grandchildren when using a public restroom. Advertisement "They shouldn't have to worry about taking a crap," he said. The crowd erupted in laughter and the mayor gaveled the auditorium to order. But Canty's tone remained solemn and he didn't avert his eyes as he concluded his remarks. "I trust you would do the right thing your honor," he said, addressing the mayor firmly, but with deference. Adrian Duncil, a member of the LGBT community in Valparaiso, speaks in support of a proposed human rights ordinance during a Valparaiso City Council public hearing Thursday at Ben Franklin Middle School in Valparaiso. (Mark Davis / Post-Tribune) Canty was one of hundreds of people who jammed the auditorium at Benjamin Franklin Middle School Thursday evening as the Valparaiso City Council conducted a public hearing to solicit comments on the proposed human rights ordinance. The draft ordinance would protect all citizens against discrimination with regards to housing, employment and public accommodations based on race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity, age and veteran status. Canty, who was one of the 73 people who addressed the council, said he hopes his appeal against the ordinance resonated with the council. "I just talked from my heart," he said. David Bart, who was wearing a sticker that read "Liberty For All Hoosiers," said as a gay man he takes this issue personally. He said he hopes the City Council recognizes that repealing the proposed ordinance will infringe on the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. "I don't want to be told if I go to a restaurant or a coffee, 'We don't serve your kind here'" he said. "I really just wanted to be treated like everyone else." Sherry Alfred sits on the floor in the back of the auditorium while attending a packed public hearing with the Valparaiso City Council to discuss a human rights proposal at Ben Franklin Middle School. (Mark Davis / Post-Tribune) Jason Oxendine, who displayed his opposition to the bill by wearing a green collared shirt, warned the council that approving this ordinance violates Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was signed in March 2015. Oxendine said that act limits the local government's actions in enforcing unjust laws that impact people with religious beliefs. Oxendine, who is a pastor at the Heartland Christian Center, said his conviction in his faith will not waiver regardless of the outcome. Advertisement "The law of God is greater than the law of man," he said. Parker Stroller, who identifies as being gender-fluid, said he believes this ordinance would provide the extra protection necessary for members of the LGBT community. Stroller said he has been the victim of "hurtful language" and believes this is a "good step in the right direction" for the Valparaiso community. The community needs to be aware of the challenges people in the LGBT community face, he added. "If I know I'm going out in public or I know I'm going out for a while, I make sure I use the bathroom before I go out so I don't have to risk using the bathroom," Stroller said. "I don't want to cause a scene. I just want to be able to be who I am and be able to use the bathroom and do the things I need to do." Despite residents having dissenting opinions, Bart said he doesn't believe anyone has malicious intent towards the opposition. "I think all of us are really interested in promoting what's in the best interest for Valparaiso," he said. "This isn't us vs. them. We are one community." Costas said he was grateful for Valparaiso's citizens engaging in such a "challenging but fruitful conversation." Valparaiso Councilwoman Lenore Hoffman listens as supporters and foes of a proposed human rights ordinance offer ther views during a public hearing Thursday. (Mark Davis / Post-Tribune) Councilwoman Lenore Hoffman said she was encouraged by the large turnout. Advertisement "I think it's very impressive and it shows how invested the people are in our community," she said. The City Council will vote on the proposed ordinance at 7 p.m. Monday in the council chambers in City Hall. jaanderson@tribpub.com Twitter @JavonteA A member of the Lake County Police Honor Guard performs taps on Friday during a memorial for fallen officers. (Jim Karczewski / Chicago Tribune) A solemn procession of law enforcement officers walked Friday toward the Lake County Law Enforcement Memorial to place a flower near the eternal flame for each officer in the county killed in the line of duty. The Roll Call of Fallen Officers was part of the annual 2016 Lake County Law Enforcement Memorial Service hosted by Sheriff John Buncich at the Lake County Government Center in Crown Point. More than 100 people were on hand to pay their respects. Advertisement As the names of the 46 law enforcement officers and two K-9s who lost their lives in the line of duty were read, a tear rolled down Nancy Kirk's cheek. Kirk and her sons, Nicholas, 12, and Joseph, 10, all of Crown Point, attend the annual service each year to honor her father Joseph T. Kirk, a retired Indiana State Trooper who helped apprehend the killers of Indiana State Trooper John Streu and St. John Police Capt. James Larimer, who were shot on the job Feb. 20, 1971. Advertisement "I think we need to stand behind the men and women in blue. Despite the bad press police get, we want them to know we are the majority and will always be there for them," Kirk said. Hammond Police Department's Sgt. Jose Burgos, of the Hammond Police Department, offers a benediction during the Lake County Police memorial service. (Jim Karczewski / Chicago Tribune) She was joined by Danielle Eenigenburg of Valparaiso. Both women said they attend to support their significant others as well, Commander Thomas Hyde and Deputy Commander Brian Camadeca, respectively, both with the Lake County Sheriff's Department. The women say they understand what families go through when their loved ones leave for work every day, never knowing for certain whether they will return at the end of their shift. When a member of the law enforcement community is killed in the line of duty, it effects everyone in the law enforcement community. "We have to stick together," Eenigenburg said. Porter County Deputy Corporal Joe Dobson place a carnation behind the eternal flame at the Lake County memorial service. (Jim Karczewski / Chicago Tribune) Sheriff John Buncich, keynote speaker at the memorial, which included the lowering of the flags to half mast, a 21-gun salute, musical tribute by Kristyana Murray, flyover by the sheriff department's aviation unit and a performance of "Amazing Grace" by Lake County Pipes and Drums. Buncich took the podium on the heels of his return from the annual law enforcement memorial in Washington D.C., where he said people from across the nation gathered to honor the 20,000 men and women whose names are engraved on the memorial wall. "It is my sad duty to report that in 2015 in the U.S.A. 123 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty. Sadly, this year already 37 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty," Buncich said, adding officer death by gunfire is up by 50 percent. A Porter County deputy is escorted by a member of the FOP auxiliary to place a carnation. Jim Karczewski/Post-Tribune (Jim Karczewski / Chicago Tribune) Buncich said the world is a violent place and he asked those who attended the memorial service Friday to consider just how much more violent society would be without he men and women of law enforcement. Advertisement "Thank you. We salute you, we respect you, we honor you all for your service. I am proud to be a part of that team of police officers. I am proud to be a part of the thin blue line," Buncich said. Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. South Shore Line fares are set to increase this summer, but riders will get some new perks at the same time, including a "quiet car" and free rides for children during off-peak times. (Joe Puchek, Post-Tribune) Riders on the South Shore Line's trains will start paying higher ticket prices on July 1. They'll also start getting a couple new benefits. Advertisement The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation Board approved a two-step fare increase Friday to raise money for the railroad's capital improvements. One-way ticket prices will go up 25 cents on July 1 and again in July 2017; monthly ticket prices will increase about 2.5 percent on July 1 and a year later. For example, a one-way fare from downtown Gary or Miller to downtown Chicago, now $6.50, will be $6.75 on July 1 and $7 a year later. A monthly pass for the same distance, now $191.75, will rise to $196.50 and $201.50. Advertisement The new fares will raise about $1 million, NICTD General Manager Michael Noland said, and the money will help NICTD obtain grants for items like station improvements, new tracks, and safety equipment. Many riders who commented at public hearings said they favored higher ticket prices if the money goes to physical improvements, Noland said. The fare increase comes a year after South Shore fares went up from 9 to 15 percent to raise money for operating expenses. Noland added that regular commuters can save money with a federal tax provision that allows them to deduct monthly transit costs from their pre-tax income. Information is at mytransitbenefit.org. One new benefit for riders that will start July 1, the NICTD board decided, is a "quiet car" on each rush-hour train between Michigan City and Chicago. Chicago-area Metra trains already have quiet cars where riders can read, sleep or talk quietly without having to listen to someone else's music or loud conversation. Conductors and ticket collectors will tell passengers about the quiet rule but won't police it, Noland said. He expects riders will enforce it among themselves. Board member David Pranckus suggested putting up signs in each quiet car so riders understand when they board. Also on July 1, parents can take up to three children under 14 years old for free on weekend, holiday and non-rush hour trains; currently, the limit is one child per parent for free. Advertisement Weekend and off-peak trains have room for the additional free riders, Noland said, and children can learn about the convenience of using trains. Also Friday, Noland said a Federal Transit Administration announcement Thursday was "a big day for the railroad," but much remains to be done for NICTD's proposal to double the South Shore's trackage between Gary and Michigan City. The project is estimated now to cost about $210 million. NICTD hopes to get half of that from the FTA, which this week allowed NICTD to enter the project development phase of the grant process. The biggest hurdle will be to raise more than $100 million in state and local funding to obtain the federal money. Two months ago, the NICTD board approved a $4 million contract with a Chicago engineering firm, HDR Inc., for preliminary engineering work on the project. The next major step would be a June 2017 public hearing. If the local and federal funding comes through, construction would begin in April 2019 and end in October 2020. Advertisement "A lot of work is left to be done," Noland said. "We are laser-focused on making this happen." With two sets of tracks all the way to Michigan City, Noland said, the South Shore would have faster, more reliable service and could use its train cars more efficiently. Tim Zorn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. The Niles Township High School District 219 board of education on Thursday night voted to hire Steven Isoye as its new superintendent, a step that will help the district move forward following a difficult year in which the last superintendent resigned following an internal investigation, officials said. "Any time there's any kind of issue that you go through in the past and you turn the corner it is a nice process," the board's president, Mark Sproat, said after Thursday night's vote. "I feel that Dr. Isoye will bring some great thing to the district." Advertisement Isoye has served as superintendent of Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 since 2010, was principal of Maine East High School in Park Ridge from 2007 to 2010 and was named 2010-2011 Illinois high school principal of the year by the Horace Mann/Illinois Principals Association. Since 1998, he has served on the board of trustees for the Illinois Math and Science Academy, according to District 219 officials. "I am excited to have this opportunity to serve the Niles Township High Schools community and the board of education," Isoye said in a written statement. "I am thrilled to work with an excellent group of educators, staff and students. I realize that I will need to take the time to listen and learn, but, given the support for schools I see from your community, the possibilities are endless." Advertisement District 219 has been without a permanent superintendent since late last year when then-superintendent Nanciann Gatta and John Heintz, the district's assistant superintendent for operations and chief legal officer, left the district following an internal investigation into administrator spending habits and perks. Niles North High School principal Ryan McTague is leaving the school at the end of the school year to become the superintendent of McHenry School District 156. Officials had previously said they would not be naming a new principal until a new superintendent was found first. Prior to becoming principal at Maine East, Isoye was principal of Warren Township High School's freshman-sophomore campus in Gurnee, where he also served as head of the Division of Science, Industrial Technology, and Family and Consumer Sciences from 2000 through 2003, official said. They said that while at Highland Park High School from 1997 to 2000, Isoye served as science department chair. In 1998, he was named the Illinois state teacher of the year by the Illinois State Board of Education and received the Milken Educator Award. Prior to taking on administrative roles, Isoye taught science at Deerfield High School, The Latin School in Chicago, and Loyola Academy in Wilmette. "That was very important, that he was a teacher, that he has gone through the ranks," Sprout said. The 17-page contract the board signed off on during its Thursday night meeting states that Isoye will serve as "interim superintendent" from May 23 to June 30, and as superintendent beginning on July, 1 through June, 2019. He will be paid $250,000 annually with benefits. The "performance-based contract" also includes a list of "superintendent goals" including, presenting a comprehensive recommendation to the board of education to increase student performance on standardized and curriculum-based measures in science and math through implementation of the STEM initiatives identified in the 21st century schools program and within the academic program of the district's schools. In addition it says Isoye will present a comprehensive recommendation to the board to increase student outcomes in academic achievement and social-emotional growth by maximizing opportunities for students to receive targeted interventions, present a comprehensive recommendation to the board to facilitate professional development and collaboration time for educators during the school year, facilitate implementation of the recommendations contained in March and April reports to the board, present a recommendation for a written fund balance philosophy to the board and present a recommendation for a written employee compensation philosophy to the board. "It was a great process," Sprout said of the district's nationwide superintendent search. "We had wonderful input from the community and from the students and the teachers." Advertisement He also said one of Isohyet's first tasks will be to help hire a new principal for Niles North High School to replace McTague. "He's going to have to jump into that right way," Sprout said. "He's got the keys handed to him. That is the decision of the superintendent." "He is a very level headed intelligent gentleman who brings the whole package to the district," he added. "You can tell he cares about the students and staff. That's something that will really radiate amongst the whole community." Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. Combat veteran and veterans' advocate Charles "Chuck" Bosko will lead dozens of Scout troops, clubs and marching bands as the grand marshal in the Western Springs Memorial Day parade, sponsored by VFW Post 10778. Bosko was nominated by parade committee member Jim Boland, who shepherded his nomination through a lengthy selection process that doesn't just consider the candidate's military career. Boland said the committee considers "what makes them special, or in other words what did they accomplish while serving that makes their military service stand out. Then we look at what they achieved outside their service. Have they made a difference in the community?" Advertisement For Bosko, the honor was decades in the making. In 1969, one year after his high school graduation, Bosko was working as an orderly at MacNeal Hospital when he decided to enroll in Triton College's respiratory therapy program. The admissions office suggested he check his draft status before he enrolled. It was a good thing he did, as he was a month away from getting drafted. Bosko, who had already taken his armed forces entrance exam right after graduation, wasted no time getting to the recruiter's office. Advertisement "When I told (the recruiter) I was volunteering not only to be a medic, but also for Airborne, and also go to Vietnam, he offered me a cup of coffee and a couple cigarettes, pulled out a chair and said 'sit down and sign the enlistment contract before you change your mind,'" said Bosko. Fortunately for Bosco, his entrance exam scores were good enough to qualify him for medical training. "I wanted to be a combat medic, wanted to be in the mix, wanted to experience that," he said. While he was certain his medic training would be beneficial to his long-term career goals, he admits he didn't think about the combat. "There is nothing that can prepare you for your first engagement with the enemy. After your first fire fight, it changes you for life," said Bosko, who recalled his worst combat experience took place on March 5, 1970 near Tay Ninh. "That night we were attacked at 11 p.m.," he said. "(The enemy) would take breaks, and attacked until 6 a.m.. It was an all-night engagement. When I heard medic, I would run. I was busy all night." Bosko treated his captain, who had been severely wounded by shrapnel. The captain, who knew he would not be able to lead, told Bosko to find the first sergeant so he could take over his command. When there was a lull in the fighting, Bosko did find the first sergeant, but sadly he had been killed. Along with the three other medics in the troop, Bosko treated eight people who succumbed to their injuries that night. "Throughout that year, I must have taken care of 18 soldiers who were killed in action," he said. Advertisement Despite the intense combat Bosko saw while on active duty, he said many days were rather boring. "We would take turns on sentry duty. Most days I would be passing out malaria pills. I would have to watch them and make sure they would take them," he said. Among the mundane maladies Bosko treated were upset stomachs, headaches and the occasional broken heart when soldiers got "dear John" letters from home. Bosko himself was awarded the Purple Heart for shrapnel wounds received while tending to the wounded and dying at Tay Ninh. He said when focusing on wounded soldiers and worrying about the enemy, he would become unaware of anything on himself. "You're just focusing on the wounded soldiers it's intense," he said. "Sometimes all we could do was give them morphine so they didn't cry out in pain, because they were going to die." Bosko has no regrets about his service in Vietnam. Advertisement "History will determine if they were right or wrong," said Bosko, who sees the irony in the fact that the country is now popular with tourists. Jim Boland said while Bosko's service was honorable, it's what he has done since he returned from Vietnam that is most important. "He has made it is life passion to assist veterans," Boland said. He also noted Bosko's work on student programs at Lyons Township High School, such as Model UN and involving students in the VFW Poppy Day program. " In fact, there are so many ways Chuck has developed initiatives with LT including student guest speakers to our monthly meetings," Boland said. "This has proven to be most informative for not only our veteran membership but the student body as well." Bosko's military service includes two years of active duty, 30 years in the active Army reserves, and eight years in the retired reserves, He is the past commander of the VFW post 10778, Western Springs; member of the Coulter Post, American Legion, La Grange; and member of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment Association. He hosts and produces "Veterans Viewpoints" which can be seen on You Tube. Bosko also works with the Illinois Veterans Assistance program helping veterans navigate the VA system. Advertisement Memorial Day plans The Western Springs parade will begin at 10 a.m. May 30 on Hillgrove Avenue and Hampton Avenue near the Theatre of Western Springs. The route will proceed north of the tracks on Hillgrove and then follow north on Grand Avenue, east on Chestnut Avenue, south on Lawn Avenue, and end at the Tower Green, where a ceremony will be held. A series of ceremonies commemorating Memorial Day also will be presented by the Robert E. Coulter, Jr. Post 1941 of La Grange throughout the western suburbs. At 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 29, a La Grange Park ceremony and brick dedication will be held at La Grange Park's Veterans' Memorial, 1501 Barnsdale Road. Ceremonies on Memorial Day, May 30, begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Lyons Township High School North Campus with a ceremonial bell ringing honoring those La Grange area residents who gave their lives in service to our country from the Civil War to the present time. There will be brief memorial services at the following locations: Advertisement 9:15 a.m., Parkholm Cemetery, 2501 N. La Grange Road, La Grange Park 10 a.m., Lyonsville Cemetery 6871 Joliet Road, Indian Head Park 10:45 a.m., St. John's Cemetery, La Grange and Weeping Willow roads, Hodgkins 11 a.m., Hodgkins Memorial site, Lyons Street & Wenz Avenue 11:45 a.m., Countryside Memorial Park, 55th Street and Plainfield Road The final ceremony will be at about 1 p.m. at the American Legion Post Home, 900 South La Grange Road. Advertisement Paulette Delcourt is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. By Dezan Shira & Associates British payment systems firm VocaLink has formed a five year deal with Chinas UnionPay, the only domestic bank card issuing company in China and one of the biggest card issuers in the world. With over 5.4 billion UnionPay bank cards currently in circulation, the deal will greatly improve Chinese bank account holders international connectivity, granting access to Europe and the UKs vast ATM network. As Chinas banking system continues to liberalize and become more international, foreign investors have increasing flexibility over the management of funds. However, Chinas banking system remains complex, and many restrictions apply to foreign investors. The following article lays out the steps and options foreign investors must consider when opening a Chinese bank account. Account Types Foreign-invested entities (FIEs) in China need to establish a minimum of two bank accounts: an RMB basic account and a foreign currency capital contribution account. RMB Basic Account: An FIE must have one (and only one) RMB basic account for daily business operations in China. This account is the only account from which the company can withdraw RMB cash. The RMB basic account often acts as a designated account for making tax payments. Foreign Currency Capital Contribution Account: An FIE must also have a foreign currency capital contribution account to receive capital injections from foreign investors. Approval to open this account can be obtained from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). Additional general RMB accounts and other types of foreign currency accounts can be opened for different purposes. For foreign currency accounts, these may include a settlement account for the collection of current items in a foreign currency, foreign debt special accounts, and temporary capital accounts. RELATED: Business Advisory Services from Dezan Shira & Associates International and Chinese Banks Foreign investors can establish the above accounts in China with international banks with a local presence, the major banks being Bank of East Asia, Citibank, DBS Bank, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC, and Standard Chartered; or through a Chinese bank, the largest being Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of Communications. Foreign investors in China often prefer to establish an account with an international bank because of an existing business relationship. However, establishing accounts with a Chinese bank has a number of advantages, namely: The application process for opening a bank account with an international bank in China will be more document-intensive and take longer compared to opening such an account at a Chinese bank; There are substantially more Chinese commercial banks than foreign bank branches, which allows for more convenient and faster RMB remittance; Most Chinese companies have local bank accounts. Conducting transactions with them will be easier and faster if done from a Chinese bank instead of an international bank; and Chinese banks generally offer greater bank account security. When opening a bank account in China, an FIE will need to specify what will act as the signature of the company. Usually the companys financial chop (seal) is required to do so, along with either the legal representatives chop (or chief representatives chop for a representative office) and a handwritten signature. Banks generally prefer using the legal representatives chop instead of a handwritten signature, as the latter is easier to forge and harder to verify. Many bank transactions can now be done online in English, including the approval of transactions and viewing account balances from abroad. It is possible and sometimes necessary to make tax payments online in certain areas (including Beijing) by signing a three-party agreement with an authorized Chinese bank. For an entitys RMB basic account, it is possible to apply for different levels of e-banking access and multiple security keys (in the form of a key-ring/USB dongle) one with access rights and another with approval rights. Another common security measure is a device that generates a new password for every check that is written. About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email china@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. Establishing & Operating a Business in China 2016 Establishing & Operating a Business in China 2016, produced in collaboration with the experts at Dezan Shira & Associates, explores the establishment procedures and related considerations of the Representative Office (RO), and two types of Limited Liability Companies: the Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise (WFOE) and the Sino-foreign Joint Venture (JV). The guide also includes issues specific to Hong Kong and Singapore holding companies, and details how foreign investors can close a foreign-invested enterprise smoothly in China. An Introduction to Doing Business in China 2015 Doing Business in China 2015 is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in China. Compiled by the professionals at Dezan Shira & Associates, this comprehensive guide is ideal not only for businesses looking to enter the Chinese market, but also for companies that already have a presence here and want to keep up-to-date with the most recent and relevant policy changes. Strategies for Repatriating Profits from China In this issue of China Briefing, we guide you through the different channels for repatriating profits, including via intercompany expenses (i.e., charging service fees and royalties to the Chinese subsidiary) and loans. We also cover the requirements and procedures for repatriating dividends, as well as how to take advantage of lowered tax rates under double tax avoidance treaties. Chinese actress Angelababy will become a jet fighter pilot to battle aliens in upcoming Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster "Independence Day: Resurgence," directed by Roland Emmerich. Angelababy poses with one of the sleek space-crafts at Albuquerque Studios during the "Independence Day: Resurgence" Global Production Event on June 22, 2015 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. [File photo] Two decades after the first Independence Day alien invasion, Earth is faced with a new threat. This time, the United States will not be the only country fighting off the extraterrestrial invaders many more countries will join in, including China. Rain Lao, played by Angelababy, is the best Chinese pilot working at a moon base featured in the film. Singaporean actor Chin Han will portray the leader of the Chinese Space Squadron, while another Chinese actress, Grace Huang, will appear in the film. Many cast members from the previous installment will return, including Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch and Vivica A. Fox. The first "Independence Day" film grossed over US$817.4 million worldwide in 1996, becoming that year's highest-grossing film and the second highest-grossing film of all time at that point. It also won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. However, it was not imported to the China market and many Chinese fans watched it on DVD or online. Producers hope the new sequel will ignite the nostalgia of older audiences while attracting new fans with its dazzling battle scenes. The film will hit Chinese theaters on June 24, 2016, the same date that the film opens in North America and many other markets. Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation. You are here: Home A website providing users with instant consulting with doctors has received 500 million U.S. dollars in A round financing, the single largest sum in China's online medical field, the company behind the site announced on Thursday. Ping An Good Doctors, under Ping An Insurance, is valued at 3 billion U.S. dollars after the financing. Investors include domestic and overseas private equity funds, state-owned enterprises and financial institutions. The investment has been fully paid, the company said. The Ping An Good Doctors mobile app, launched in April of 2015, has over 77 million registered users. The company has hired 1,000 full-time doctors and 50,000 on a part-time basis. Ping An Good Doctors CEO Wang Tao said the company was providing an efficient use of medical resources. You are here: Home A screenshot from an Associated Press video shows Google I/O Developer's Conference 2016 in San Francisco on May 18. [Screenshot: CRIENGLISH.com] Google is partnering with China's Xiaomi on the cutting-edge Virtual Reality as announced at this year's Google I/O Developer's Conference staged in San Francisco. Clay Bavor Google's vice president announced that the two companies will work on its new VR product Daydream. Daydream, built on the Android N system, will connect users' handsets, VR headsets and mobile applications. It is expected to be released this fall. Xiaomi, HTC, Samsung and Huawei, among others, will due release their new handsets tailored for the VR headset, which are called Daydream-ready phones. On the software side, "VR Mode" on Android N will include a VR version of the Google Play Store as well as means for accessing content from partners including Netflix, Hulu and Imax, and Google-made apps including Google Photos, Street View and YouTube. Also at the I/O conference, Xiaomi released its 4K Mi Box, Xiaomi's first TV compatible device that supports Android's TV system. The TV box will soon be released in the U.S. market and may see global consumers in the near future. Xiaomi established its lab in 2016. The lab initially focuses on VR and robotics researches. Sales hall of a real estate project in China. [File photo] Local governments in China have rolled out measures to encourage farmers to buy homes in smaller cities with excessive inventories. Destocking the property market has been listed as a major goal by many local governments in their newly formulated supply-side reform plans. So far, more than 10 provinces have released their overall plans or special programs. In Shandong Province in east China, the local government announced that when farmers buy their first home in a city, they will enjoy a series of favorable policies, including subsidies for deed taxes and a reduction or exemption from various fees. They will also enjoy an extra subsidy of 3 to 10 percent of the total purchase if the home they buy is in an area with high inventory. Local governments in central China's Anhui Province and southwest China's Sichuan Province have also announced financial aid for farmers buying homes in cities. Besides housing aid, some local governments have also vowed to provide farmer home buyers with preferential social welfare policies to encourage them to buy homes in cities. In east China's Jiangsu Province, if farmers buy homes in cities, their children will enjoy the same education policies as the urban students do. The Chinese authorities have gone through great efforts to promote balanced development in the property market. While local governments in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have developed regulations to tame the property market, smaller cities across the country have been working hard to attract home buyers to relieve heavy inventory pressure. Major progress has been made in destocking property market in China, said Li Jiao, an analyst at the National Bureau of Statistics. In the first four months of this year, a total of 360 million square meters of commercial properties have been sold nationwide, up by 36.5 percent against last year. By the end of April, unsold commercial properties covered 727 million square meters, down by 8.26 million square meters as against March and 12.41 million square meters as against February. Smaller cities are still under property inventory pressure, Li warned. In smaller cities, unsold commercial properties covered 455 million square meters by the end of April. Despite a decrease of 2.26 million square meters as against March, the figure jumped by 12.33 million square meters compared to last year. You are here: Home Yili milk powder on the shelves of a supermarket in Shanghai. [Photo/China Daily] Dairy company Yili was the most popular consumer brand in China last year, according to a study of global purchasing habits. The company improved its position from second last year after researchers from Kantar Worldpanel found its goods were bought an average of 7.8 times a year by 88.5 percent of the Chinese population during the 12-month period. Its improved performance was a result of the company adapting to consumers growing demand for premium products and expansion into smaller cities, it said. The study ranks consumer brands by the number of times they are purchased around the world. Master Kong ranked second on the China list, followed by Mengniu and Want Want. The top-three global players were Coca Cola, Proctor & Gambles Colgate and Unilevers Lifebuoy. China has vowed to help 12 million people out of poverty in the next five years through tourism development and strengthening international tourism cooperation. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the First World Conference on Tourism for Development in Beijing, capital of China, May 19, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] Premier Li Keqiang made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the First World Conference on Tourism Development held at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing on Thursday morning. He said most of China's impoverished people live in poor and remote areas, which face difficulties in developing agriculture and industry, but have unique advantages for developing tourism. Many remote and poor areas have already reduced poverty through tourism development. Li said tourism will help China foster a new driving force for development, achieve entrepreneurship and innovation, reduce poverty and enhance friendship with other countries. China will treat tourism as an important area for promoting structural reform, especially supply-side structural reform and economic development. China will open the tourist market to non-governmental capital, deepen cooperation with foreign capital, strengthen hardware construction and market supervision, Li noted. According to Li, the tourism industry directly contributed 4.9 percent of GDP in 2015 and directly employed nearly 28 million people. He added that China will promote integration of tourism development and the "Internet Plus" strategies and achieve synergized development of primary, secondary and tertiary industries. He said China will make tourism development conducive to environmental and ecological protection, and coordinate ecological protection and economic development. Li also called on other countries to loosen visa approval policies, streamline entrance procedures, better protect consumers' rights and interests, and strengthen south-south and south-north dialogue on tourism cooperation to give full play to tourism as a bridge for friendly exchange. Mozambican President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi and Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Taleb Rifai also addressed the opening ceremony, expressing their willingness to promote communication and cooperation in this regard. A call for a more comprehensive system of sex education and post-abortion counseling in China to help prevent unintended pregnancies has been made by reproductive health experts. Gao Weiwei (right), a lecturer, talks to students about the human body at a summer camp focusing on sex education. The camp, believed to be the first of its kind in Shanghai, was established in 2009. [Zhang Dong/for China Daily] According to the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the abortion rate in China fell from 2.9 percent in 1994 to 1.8 percent in 2001. However, no noticeable drop was reported during the next decade. Liu Liqing, founding country director of Marie Stopes, one of the world's largest reproductive health charities, said, "Government-supported contraceptives in China have been well promoted among married people. But unmarried people need more attention." The commission says that 62 percent of abortions performed annually are on women who are between 20 and 29, most of whom are single. Nearly 20 percent have had more than one abortion. Zhang Lihua, a physician at Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, said repeated abortions increase the risk of premature births and have been linked to psychological disorders in women who have them. "At our hospital, nearly half of those having abortions are unmarried. Many of them did not take oral contraceptives due to a misunderstanding about the side-effects, but chose other unsafe methods instead, such as avoiding days in their menstrual cycle when they were most likely to get pregnant," she said. Guo Wei, deputy director of the Social Work and Social Policy Department at Nanjing University, said young people have limited access to contraceptives. "And sex education, which mainly focuses on physical knowledge, does not meet this practical need," he said. Police in Beijing are promising a "zero-tolerance" policy if police misconduct is found to be a factor in the death of young man earlier this month. Officers involved in the death of 29-year old Lei Yang insist their actions were justified when he resisted arrest after being busted trying to pay for sex while at a bath house in the northwestern Beijing suburb of Changping earlier this month. The graduate student died after struggling with police officers who had been detaining him. There is no video available for either the bust or the subsequent altercation between Lei Yang and the police officers involved, with police claiming both the outside cameras and the camera used during the raid were not active at the time. The "zero-tolerance" pledge by police in Beijing follows another report of a young college student being beaten for hours by police in Gansu a few days ago following a minor conflict on the street. You are here: Home China's top health authorities have launched a joint investigation with the public security ministry into the killing of a doctor in central China's Hunan Province. Photo shows the rescue of Wang Jun, a doctor with Shaodong County People's Hospital in Shaoyang City, central China's Hunan Province on May 18, 2016. [Photo: weibo.com] Wang Jun, a doctor with Shaodong County People's Hospital, was beaten by a patient's family members on Wednesday. Wang was seriously injured and died after five hours treatment. The patients are two boys aged two and four who had facial injuries due to a car accident, according to a report by the Shaoyang City Health and Family Planning Commission. The patients' family members believe the doctors gave insufficient checks and treatments to the patients, and knocked down Wang with their fists. Two suspects have been apprehended and another surrendered himself to police. China's National Health and Family Planning Commission has strongly condemned the attack in a statement. The commission says it is a vile criminal act that must be severely punished. It also says the normal order of medical treatments must be maintained and the personal safety of medical personnel guaranteed. Violence against medical staff has made headlines in recent years, underscoring strained doctor-patient relations in China. Earlier this month, a doctor in south China's Guangdong Province was killed by his former patient who allegedly had a history of mental disorders. China has the best national environment for higher education institutions in Asia, according to rankings released recently by higher education consulting company Quacquarelli Symonds. The 2016 Higher Education System Strength rankings placed China at eighth worldwide, followed by South Korea, which ranked ninth. Japan was 10th. It was China's best performance of the past three years and is also the first time the mainland surpassed Italy and Japan in the strength of higher education systems. Last year, Italy and Japan were at the eighth and ninth, while China was 11th. Some 50 countries and regions on six continents were ranked this year. The United States continued to lead the world in higher education, and four European countries, including the United Kingdom and Germany, also entered the Top 10, according to QS. The rankings represent a new attempt to put university performance rankings alongside other metrics to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a country or region's overall higher education environment, QS said. The latest QS ranking aims to measure the factors that make a nation's higher education system more likely to succeed. It is based on four criteria: system strength, access, flagship and economy. China's strongest score came in the economy metric, where it ranked second worldwide, with a weighted score of 99.9, only 0.1 behind the US, QS said. In addition, China has made improvements in all other metrics, including equity of education, educational investment and top universities, or flagships. "The big impact of efficient investment in higher education in China has empowered many Chinese universities to become world-class top universities," said Christina Yan Zhang, the China director for QS. Last year, the Chinese government added building world-class universities and subjects to its list of top priorities in education. Zhang said the government's commitment would not only help its universities excel internationally, but also lay a solid foundation for the country's economy to become the world's largest. With 37 million students studying at about 2,900 colleges and universities across China in 2015, the country's higher education system is one of the largest in the world. One in five college students worldwide is in China, according to a quality report released by the Chinese Ministry of Education last month. Spending on higher education has increased greatly in recent years, as has the number of educators, the amount of real estate and teaching resources, the report said. "The fast development of higher education in China has offered more ordinary Chinese people the opportunity to attend college," said Wu Yan, director of the Higher Education Evaluation Center, an institute under the ministry. Highest ratings 1. United States 2. United Kingdom 3. Germany 4. Australia 5. Canada 6. France 7. Netherlands 8. China 9. South Korea 10. Japan Source: QS 2016 Higher Education System Strength ranking "I need to earn 84,000 yuan (US$ 12,870) a month, equal to 2,800 yuan a day and spend it carefully by 30 to 40 yuan a day for traffic fees, so that I can buy my brother a house and a car as well as build a school in the future." A surveillance camera captures a thief stealing at a residents home in southwest China's Chongqing municipality on May 10, 2016. [Photo: cnr.cn] The note seems inspiring, but it was written by a thief recently caught after breaking into someone's house. Luo, the thief and a Sichuan native, broke into a family's home at 3:00 pm on May 10 after an elderly lady living there had taken her grandson out for half an hour. When they returned, the grandma found that the door was no longer double locked as she was expecting. She then came into the house and discovered that the drawers had been rummaged through and that a gold necklace, a diamond ring and 400 yuan were missing, a loss estimated at 10,000 yuan. The grandma immediately called the police, who begin an investigation with the help of video cameras installed both inside the home and outside the community. From the footage, the police found two thieves pretending to be the residents in the community by bringing a vegetable basket and a fake magnetic card with them. Although there was no response when they swiped the card, the security guards at the gate mistook them as the residents thinking their card was merely out of function. They then broke into the house. One of them took a knife from the kitchen and then they both searched the bedrooms. They left after five minutes. One of them who left later swiped the traces of their footprints with a towel. Following the clues, the police soon arrested Zhang, Luo's accomplice, and with his confession, caught Luo at a rented flat. The two suspects refused to confess at first, alleging that the police had arrested the wrong persons. But they soon fell silent when the police showed them the footage. Flash The European Union (EU) on Thursday announced it would add 18 people and one entity to the list of those subject to EU restrictive measures against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). According to a press release issued by the Council of the EU, those subjected to restrictive measures by the council's decision are mostly high-ranking military officials involved in key bodies responsible for "supporting or promoting the DPRK's nuclear-related, ballistic missile-related or other weapons of mass destruction-related programs." The additional listed entity is involved in the "development and operational implementation of" the aforementioned programs. Sanctions include travel restrictions and an asset-freeze. The decision brings the total number of people subject to EU restrictive measures to 66 and the number of entities to 42, said the press release. "These additional EU measures complement the sanctions regime imposed by several United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions," it said. EU restrictive measures against the DPRK were introduced in 2006. The EU last strengthened its restrictive measures on March 31, 2016, transposing UNSC resolution 2270, which cuts the country off from any means to develop its nuclear and missile programs. The UNSC unanimously adopted resolution 2270 on the DPRK on March 2 of this year. Flash Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida late Thursday lodged a protest to U.S. embassy in Tokyo on an ex-U.S. Marine's arrest over the death of an Okinawa woman, calling that the case "regrettable." Local police arrested 32-year-old Kenneth Franklin Shinzato after questioning him over the missing of the 20-year-old Okinawan Rina Shimabukuro, whose body was found later the day covered by weed at a location provided by the American, believed to be a former U.S. serviceman. Local reports said Shimabukuro went missing on April 28 after going for a walk, with the official filing of her disappearance being made the following day to the police. The police said suspicions were raised as she left home without her car or wallet. The suspect, who works for U.S. military and lives off the U.S. Kaneda airbase, allowed the police to search his car after being questioned, of his own volition. Local reports cited investigation source that DNA matches Shimabukuro's was found in the car. The latest case follows a U.S. Navy sailor being arrested in March after raping a woman in a hotel in Naha City, the capital of Okinawa. The sailor, 24-year-old Justin Castellanos, was based at the U.S. Marines' Camp Schwab in the northern part of the island. Okinawa hosts some 75 percent of U.S. bases in Japan, yet the tiny sub-tropical island accounts for less than 1 percent of the county's total land mass, with local citizens becoming increasingly irate at their base-hosting burdens and the central government's ongoing pandering to the U.S. requests, amid rising instances of crime, noise and pollution connected to the bases. In 1995, a 12-year-old schoolgirl was raped by three U.S. soldiers and the crime triggered large scale protests against U.S. bases in the prefecture. Flash UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura highlighted Thursday that the credibility of the next round of intra-Syrian talks seeking to broker a political end to the five-year conflict in the country hinges on tangible improvements on the ground. "Obviously, we're in a hurry to reintroduce the next round of intra-Syrian talks," he said. "We all know that there is no solution unless we have the talks...We also know that humanitarian aid and the cessation of hostilities alone cannot sustain themselves without the talks," he added. These comments followed an International Syria Support Group (ISSG) meeting in Vienna on May 17 which sought to put the Syrian peace process back on track by urging parties concerned to enhance a nationwide cessation of hostilities and grant unimpeded access to humanitarian aid in the country. A truce set in motion almost three months ago catalysed unprecedented humanitarian access while giving life to a political peace process which has since been put on hold. As many as 791,425 civilians living in hard-to-reach and besieged areas have received multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance since the beginning of the year. A total of 13 out of 18 besieged cities have received aid in 2016, compared to only two last year, while 35 airdrops have been carried out in the eastern Syrian city of Deir-ez-Zor, a town besieged by the Islamic State. Despite these achievements, both De Mistura and his senior adviser Jan Egeland warned that more needed to be done to restore hope in a conflict which has claimed the lives of 400,000 people so far. Attempts to reach all those in need are still hindered by ongoing violence. As directed in Vienna, if the access continues to be denied to those besieged cities which have to yet to receive aid, the UN's World Food Programme is to carry out airdrops of food, medicine and water since June 1. Flash Indonesia has set plans to improve the development and reinforce its border areas by building up military bases in the areas, expected of ready to operate next year. The plan to have military bases in key border areas originally came from President Joko Widodo who previously said that condition in border areas must be changed into maximum level within three years, Indonesia's Home Minister Thahjo Kumolo said. "By 2017, border areas must be reinforced with military bases," the minister said in his remarks to inaugurate the new office of National Agency of Border Management (BNPP) here on Thursday. According to the minister, government had initially allocated funds to finance the plan in the last two years. However the allocation continued to decrease as it was used to finance government's other priorities to develop infrastructure, health sector and many others. "The allocation was 16 trillion rupiah (about 1.1 billion U.S. Dollars) last year. This year it deducted to 14 trillion rupiah (about 1 billion U.S. Dollars). It could be further decreased next year as government is still focusing on other priorities," Thahjo added. As the ultimate project, government would make Natuna island near South China Sea into a military base. The other military bases would also be built in the nation's border area between Bitung and Morotai islands in eastern region, he added. Government also has plans to build a military base in Saumlaki, an Indonesia's area close to Timor Leste, the minister said. To make those would-be operated military bases effective, the minister said that a major military coordination would essentially be required. He added that the navy fleet should no longer be focused their operation from Jakarta and Surabaya like what they do at present. Tjahjo said that his ministry would coordinate with the military commander to immediately shift and enhance the military forces in the Natuna, Bitung and Morotai border areas so as to secure and effectively anticipate possible security threats from foreign elements. "It takes swift moves to prevent security breaches in border areas," the minister said. In different occasion, Indonesia's Military Commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said that infrastructure development in border areas should also address wisdom of indigenous people living in the areas. Gatot said that when he inspected construction of 135.63 kilometer-long road facilitating people's transportation near Indonesia's border to Malaysia in West Kalimantan province on Thursday. The road's construction process is massively involving military troops from the army along with their equipment. The road was built in Indonesia's territory 100 meter away from land borderline with Malaysia. West Kalimantan Governor Cornelis said that the road would enhance the efforts to monitor border areas. "The road would highly facilitate border patrol and other social functions for the people," he said. Development of the road in West Kalimantan province was part of Indonesia's aim to improving well-being of people in border areas and addressing security issue in the areas. Flash Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said Thursday the construction of the security wall along its border with Somalia to help deter terrorists from entering the country. Kenyatta also clarified that the 440-mile wall along the Kenya-Somalia border is not aimed at deterring movements of people but to enhance security. "There is nothing wrong with Kenya and Somalia establishing a common border entry point. This will help check on people who want to engage in activities which threaten peace in the two countries," he told local leaders in Mandera county. The East African nation is building the security wall along its border with Somalia in a bid to keep out Al-Shabaab and boost security after a wave of attacks that have claimed scores of lives and provoked severe criticism of the government's response. The wall, a series of concrete barriers, fences, ditches and observation posts overlooked by CCTV stations, is expected to stretch from the Indian Ocean to Mandera, where both countries converge with Ethiopia. Reports say the Somali authorities are concerned about the construction of the wall, saying Nairobi was encroaching on the Horn of African nation's territory. Nairobi insists the wall is for security purpose meant to prevent increasing armed group Al-Shabaab attacks inside its soil but Somalia is opposed to the plan which it says will only catalyze Al-Shabaab gruesome attacks. But President Kenyatta who was accompanied by Deputy President William Ruto said the government was committed to peace and stability of the country. The Kenyan leader said there were no any plans to divide Kenyans and the people of Somalia. "We have no any plans at all to divide the people of Somalia and the people of Kenya. We just want to ensure our people engage in internationally accepted standards of businesses, nothing else," Kenyatta said. The president thanked the people of northern Kenya for working closely with security agents in containing terrorism among other criminal activities. "It is because of this reason that I strongly commend leaders and residents for working with security agents in preaching peace," Kenyatta added. He said it was through teamwork and unity among leaders that challenges facing the region could be solved. "As leaders we should take a leading role in uniting our people besides preaching peace at all times. Development will be elusive if there is no peace," said Kenyatta. Security agencies have intensified border patrols to deter infiltration of the militants into the country at a time of increased threats by the terrorists' network and homegrown terror cells after attacks in the northeast region. You are here: Home Flash India's ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi won an absolute majority in the northeastern state of Assam, one of five states electing new legislatures. Assam, West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu states along with the union territory of Puducherry voted in April and May to elect new governments with the votes being counted Thursday. It is the first time the BJP has won in the northeastern state of Assam, expanding its political influence beyond its traditional heartland. "I thank the people of Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & Kerala for their support & assure them we will always work hard and serve them," Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on twitter. Regional parties in two key Indian states of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu Thursday retained power. West Bengal Chief Minister and leader of Trinamool Congress Mamta Banerjee got a second straight term. Likewise in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK Chief J Jayalalitha has secured her second consecutive term. Her victory proved the exit polls wrong, which had predicted victory for her rival party DMK led by 91-year old M Karunanidhi. The opposition Congress party that lost in two states of Assam and Kerala managed a win in Puducherry, while the Left Democratic Front emerged as winner in Kerala. In Kerala, the Left has pushed the ruling Congress party-led United Democratic Front out of power. However, in Puducherry, Congress has won 15 seats and its alliance partner DMK two seats, giving it a majority in the 30-member house to form a government. The Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi said her party would introspect into the reasons of their losses. "We accept the verdict of people with humility," her son Rahul Gandhi, the fourth generation scion of Nehru-Gandhi clan wrote on twitter. Flash The Ambassador of Pakistan to China Masood Khalid has said that the model of friendship between Pakistan and China - based on mutual respect and common prosperity - will captivate other nations of the region to join the "Community of Shared Destiny", and pave the way for win-win cooperation in Asia. Ambassador Masood Khalid cutting a cake at the reception marking the 65th Anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China in Beijing on 18th May 2016. He was addressing the participants of a reception marking the 65th Anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China here in Beijing Wednesday evening, according to a press release of the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing. "Our leadership is resolved to take Pakistan-China cooperation to new heights. The two governments have agreed to generate new momentum in the realm of economic cooperation. The launch of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor a flagship project of One Belt-One Road initiative, has laid the foundation for solid and vibrant economic, social and cultural connectivity between Pakistan and China. This connectivity will serve as a catalyst for regional economic integration, peace and development. The economic corridor will also complement China's broader vision of building a Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road in the 21st century," said the Ambassador. Ambassador Masood Khalid speaking of the cultural dimension of CPEC said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor would bring cultural harmony between the two countries. In order to build a pool of Pakistani specialists in Chinese language, the government of Pakistan's Punjab province had recently sent a batch of 66 students to China to learn the Chinese language. This familiarization with Chinese language would be instrumental in promoting wider understanding of culture, history, traditions, social and business environment of China. On similar lines, he said, the Chinese universities were promoting Urdu language programmes and nine Chinese universities had started such programmes at the graduate level. The Confucius Institutes in Pakistan were also engaged in introducing Chinese culture and language. China Radio International network was also active in Pakistan. As a result of these efforts a treasure of goodwill and mutual understanding essential for reinforcing foundation of friendship and understanding at people-to-people level would be created, he added. Talking about measures taken to boost bilateral trade as well as to deepen financial cooperation and facilitate inter-regional trade along the Silk Road, he said that the operationalization of Pakistani banks in China would place the implementation of CPEC projects on a faster track. Senator Mushahid Hussain, who is the Chairman of Pakistan's Parliamentary Committee on CPEC, and also the Chairman of Pakistan China Institute (PCI) speaking on the occasion talked about his long association with China dating back to the 1970s. He shared his views about the immense transformation of China and how the country had moved forward since then. He said despite changes in geopolitical landscape the one factor that had remained constant was the solidarity and brotherhood between China and Pakistan. He recalled that during one of his interviews by Chinese Central Television he was once asked about what was unique about China Pakistan relations? In response to that question he said he had replied that it was a resilient relationship that had strengthened despite changes in geopolitical landscape, because it's an all weather friendship whereby both countries had stood by each other and mutuality of interests had been reinforced by people-to-people, government-to- government, party-to-party and state-to-state contacts and relationships. The Chairman of China Pakistan Friendship Association (CPFA), Sha Zukang said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations 65 years ago, bilateral relations between the two countries had withstood the tests of time and remained firm and fresh, adding that on the basis of five principles of peaceful coexistence the two countries always respect, understand, trust and support each other, and that the all-weather friendship between China and Pakistan had become a paragon of mutual trust, cooperation, and harmonious relations between countries from various cultures and social systems. The Vice President of Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) Hu Sishe during his speech said that the tree of China Pakistan friendship enjoyed luxuriant foliage and countless fruits, and CPAFFC since its establishment six decades ago, had been actively contributing to enrich the relations. Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Pakistan last year has elevated the bilateral relation to all-weather strategic partnership, opening a new chapter of bilateral relations between Pakistan and China . The participants included a galaxy of old and new mutual friends of Pakistan and China including former Ambassadors to Pakistan, Madam Shen Yueyue, Vice Chairperson of National People's Congress (NPC), Mr. Liu Zhenmin, Vice Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Hu Sishe, Vice President of CPAFFC, Ambassador Sha Zukang, President of the China - Pakistan Friendship Association, Rear Admiral Li Ji, Senator Mushahid Hussain, and Mr. Salman Bashir. The reception was organized by the Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing,CPAFFC, and CPFA. A cake was also cut by Ambassador Masood Khalid and Madam Shen Yueyue, Vice Chairperson of National People's Congress to mark the occasion. Flash The death toll from Sri Lanka's flash floods and landslides rose to 63 on Friday as water levels in many districts continued to rise owing to heavy rains, the Disaster Management Center said. Sri Lanka's central Kegalle District has so far reported the highest number of deaths with 34 people killed after two massive landslides hit the district on Tuesday and Wednesday. Rescue teams are continuing with their efforts to search for those missing under the mud and rock and have so far recovered 16 bodies in Aranayake while 144 are still buried under the debris. The landslide which struck on Tuesday evening, buried three villages and has been recorded as the worst in Sri Lanka's history. Teams have also recovered 14 bodies from Bulathkohupitiya and are searching for a further 15 people trapped under the debris when a landslide struck on Wednesday morning destroying 6 rows of houses. The army said that additional troops had been deployed in Aranayake and Bulathkohupitiya to continue their search operations but efforts were being hampered due to heavy rains. More than 450,000 people have been affected by floods and landslides across the island country due to heavy rains and strong winds which began on Saturday evening. Several people remained trapped in many areas across the country and the Disaster Management Center said rescue efforts were continuing. The DMC on Thursday warned that water levels of the Kelani River was also rising and people residing along the river banks had been evacuated. People in the hilly areas have also been warned to self evacuate if they observe any signs of landslides. Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in a special statement to the nation on Thursday urged the public living in flood-hit areas to evacuate their homes if heavy rains continue. Wickremesinghe said that security would be tightened in districts across the country from Friday, to protect belongings and properties of families who would need to be evacuated. In the latest weather update, the Meteorology Department said that a cyclonic storm which had formed in the Bay of Bengal was now moving away from the island but heavy winds and rains would continue in many districts for the next few days. Flash Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Hong Xiaoyong on Thursday met with Vietnamese Minister of Defense Ngo Xuan Lich, during which the two sides agreed to further strengthen military cooperation, a Chinese embassy official told Xinhua on Friday. Speaking at the meeting in Vietnam's capital Hanoi, the Vietnamese minister spoke highly of military cooperation between the two countries, reaffirming to continue adhering to the guidelines of "friendly neighborliness, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability and looking towards the future" and the spirit of being "good neighbors, good friends, good comrades and good partners." Lich emphasized the significance of enhancing exchanges and cooperation between the two armies, vowing to uphold the pivotal role of army cooperation in bilateral traditional friendship. Chinese Ambassador Hong Xiaoyong, for his part, said Chinese party and government attach great importance to friendly cooperation with Vietnam. China is willing to join hands with Vietnam in implementing the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries and maintaining the frequent high-level visits. The two sides agreed to boost exchanges and cooperation in various areas, including military cooperation, thus bringing the relations between the two parties, states and armies to a new height, said Hong. Flash US President Barack Obama will leave on May 21 for his first trip to Vietnam and his 10th trip to Asia as president, a trip that his aides said "demonstrates Obama's focus on the Asia-Pacific region". The trip from May 21-28 will take Obama to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. On May 25, Obama will depart for Japan to attend the G7 summit and end his trip with a visit to Hiroshima. The president will visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, a place that serves to commemorate the people who were killed in the atomic bombing of the Japanese city on Aug 6, 1945, which hastened the end of World War II. Most of the 70,000 people killed instantly were civilians. Ben Rhodes, the White House deputy national security advisor for strategic communications, said the visit is not about issuing an apology. "And of course the American people are extraordinarily proud of the generation of service members who fought in World War II at a time of maximum territorial nations. They have a revered place in our society," he told a conference call on Thursday. Michael Green, senior vice-president for Asia, and Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a majority of Americans and a large majority of historians in the US believe that the atomic bombing was necessary to shorten the war and forestall an invasion of Kyushu, which would have led to many more casualties. Rhodes emphasized that the visit is to pay tribute to the enormous suffering and loss of innocents and also to pursue a world without nuclear weapons, a proposal by Obama in 2009 that won him the Nobel Peace Prize. The president has been criticized in the past year for his efforts to spend $1 trillion in the next 30 years to upgrade the US' nuclear weaponry. A possible US lifting of an arms ban on Vietnam has made headlines in the past days. Daniel Kristenbrink, senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council, said on Wednesday that all of the sales since the US enacted a partial lifting in 2014 on maritime-related articles are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. "And human rights considerations are a part of that process," he said. Rhodes said a decision on the issue has not been finalized. He expects it to be discussed by Obama in his meetings with Vietnamese leaders. "We are looking at it, not narrowly in the context of simply whether or not to lift the ban, but rather where is our relationship going " he said. There have been reports that the Vietnamese government is studying a request to grant the US Navy greater access to Cam Ranh Bay, a move that might draw attention from China. US Trade Representative Michael Froman, who also will make the trip, talked about how the Trans-Pacific Partnership will open the Vietnamese market and benefit US businesses, citing the high tariffs there now for automobiles and beef. But he also acknowledged the challenges there about child labor, intellectual property and environmental issues. He said the Obama administration is consulting with US congressional leaders to see when would be a good time for a vote on the TPP. The US, Vietnam and Japan all are members of the 12-nation TPP, an agreement reached last October. But Japan and the US are facing an uphill battle to ratify the treaty. Three standing 2016 US presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, all opposed TPP. China has always kept a close eye on US leaders' trips to the region. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Thursday that "we hope that cooperation between relevant countries will be constructive and conducive to peace, stability and security of the region". Kurt Campbell, chairman of the Asia Group and a former US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said the trip is not part of "pincer movement aimed at China". He emphasized that Obama's meeting with President Xi Jinping was the only bilateral meeting Obama had during the Nuclear Security Summit (March 31-April 1), and the two leaders will meet for a summit again in September during the G20 summit in China. You are here: Home Flash The Egyptian Armed Forces said in a statement on Friday it had found parts of debris from the missing EgyptAir plane 290 kilometers north of the coastal city of Alexandria. "The Egyptian aircraft and navy vessels have found some personal belongings of passengers and parts of the wreckage," Mohamed Samir, spokesman for the army, said in a statement on his Facebook page. Working on combing the sea and recovering the wreckage are still underway, the statement added. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has extended his condolences to all victims from Egypt and other countries in a statement. He ordered to continue investigations to uncover the reasons behind the accident. Meanwhile, three investigators and a technical expert from France's air accident authority and Airbus have arrived in Egypt early Friday morning to help investigate the EgyptAir plane's disappearance on Thursday, state-run Ahram website reported. France will join an Egypt-led investigative committee as it is the country that manufactured the plane. Sisi ordered on Thursday the civil aviation ministry, the army's search and rescue centre, the navy and the air force to take all necessary measures to locate debris from the aircraft. In a statement issued by his office on Thursday, Sisi also ordered an investigative committee formed by the civil aviation ministry to immediately start investigating the causes of the plane's disappearance. Egyptian civil aviation ministry said Egypt, Greece and France were all involved in the search for the plane. The Airbus A320, en route from Paris to Cairo, disappeared from radar screens on Thursday at 2:45 am Cairo local time (0045 GMT) with 66 people aboard, including 30 Egyptians and 15 French. The country's aviation minister said in a press conference on Thursday that possibilities of a terrorist attack are more likely behind the crash than a technical failure. Customers shop at a Canon store in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, April 21 2013.[Photo/IC] Japanese camera and printer maker Canon Inc said Thursday it is aiming to boost its Asia revenue to $10 billion by 2020, by leveraging the tourism and e-commerce boom in China and other countries. Fujio Mitarai, chairman and CEO of Canon, said despite the current economic slowdown, "Asia will continue to be the growth center of the global economy, driven by a growing population and an expanding middle-income class in the mid-to-long term". Last year, the company posted 867,200 million yen ($7.9 billion) in revenue in the Asia and Oceania region, with Japan excluded. Hideki Ozawa, president of Canon Asia Marketing Group, said China will remain one of Canon's most important markets, with the country's thriving tourism industry and growing demand from small cities expected to boost sales there. "We will further develop the markets in small cities through roadshows, so that more consumers can have first-hand experience of our products," Ozawa said, adding the company will also expand online retailing channels to reach consumers in a faster and more convenient fashion. Currently, e-commerce is becoming an increasingly important channel for Canon, accounting for 30 percent of cameras sales in China. The Japanese multinational plans to expand the e-commerce initiative to more countries in Asia. The announcement came as the 79-year-old enterprise wrestles with falling sales of digital cameras, which have been hurt by the proliferation of smartphones, and sluggishness in printers. Rivals like Nikon Corp are also facing the same dilemma. Zuo Yanque, brand director of industry watcher China Market Monitor Co Ltd, said the camera market, as a whole, is shrinking, but the high-end niche still enjoys steady growth. "China is the world's largest buyer of top-end single-lens reflex cameras. Recent years have seen a growing demand from teenagers and senior citizens who have become big fans of photography. The tourism boom in China will also spur its growth," Zuo said. Last year, more than 120 million Chinese traveled abroad, up 12 percent year on year, according to China National Tourism Administration. In addition to safeguarding its presence in the camera market, Canon is also looking for new growth points. "In the next five years, we will also focus on promoting medical equipment and security cameras in Asia. There is huge demand for these products," Ozawa said. Earlier this year, Canon agreed to buy Toshiba Corp's medical equipment unit for 665.5 billion yen in an attempt to enter into high-margin medical devices. SHANGHAI -- Tickets for Shanghai Disneyland have been booked for the first two weeks after the theme park opens to the public on June 16, local sources said Thursday. Tourists who want to visit the park can book tickets for later dates, according to Murray King, vice president of public affairs at Shanghai Disney Resort. Sun Jiwei, vice secretary-general of Shanghai municipal government, said that emergency drills will be held to address potential risks given the large number of tourists. The Shanghai Disney Resort, in Pudong New District, is Disney's sixth resort destination worldwide. Tickets for Shanghai Disneyland went on sale to the public on March 28. Regular price of admission is 370 yuan (around $56), while peak pricing for holidays and weekends is set at 499 yuan. Ticket prices for the opening period from June 16 to 30 are also 499 yuan. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp employees inspect natural gas pipelines in Zibo, Shandong province. Sinopec's profit jumped to $1 billion during the first quarter of this year. [Photo/CFP] China's 106 centrally-administered State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are expected to increase profits by more than 100 billion yuan ($15.3 billion), while reducing losses incurred by subsidiaries by 30 percent by the end of 2017, according to an executive meeting of the State Council chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday. During the meeting, Li again stressed that the centrally-administered SOEs need to "lose weight and get fit," an idea he brought forward in this year's government work report. He called on them to exit orderly from non-core assets and control headcounts in sideline businesses and operations that suffer from consecutive losses so as to improve core competence. The government will step up the elimination of outdated capacity, with a target of cutting steel and coal capacity owned by the centrally-owned SOEs by around 10 percent this year and the next year, according to the meeting. The enterprises are also required to reduce their management levels to less than three or four from the current five to nine while cutting 20 percent of their subsidiary legal entities within three years. They are encouraged to seek healthy development through innovation, playing a leading role in improving the country's innovation strengths. The centrally-administered SOEs achieved 339.88 billion yuan of profits during the first three months this year, down 13.2 percent from the same period last year, according to statistics from the Ministry of Finance. HANGZHOU - LeTV, China's online streaming site, has sold 10 million smartphones since it debuted its first device last year, the company announced. The company, also known as Leshi Internet Information Technology Corp, has now set its sights on marketing its smartphones, televisions and automobile products to overseas consumers, Feng Xing, senior vice president of the company, said on Thursday, its smartphone release anniversary. The markets in US, Russia and East European countries will be focused this year, said Feng, also president of LeTV Mobile, a branch company established last year. The company has released a customized smartphone in Mumbai, India. In addition, thanks to a collaboration with a local service provider, LeTV members in India have free access to 2,000 movies, 100 television cable channels and 3.5 million songs using their phones. "LeTV is not about selling cold hardware but, rather, providing content services with hardware as platform," he said. Founded in 2004, Shenzhen-listed LeTV has a total market value of around 100 billion yuan. Consumers look at Apple watches in an Apple store in Shanghai. Apple Inc invested $1 billion in China's largest ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing last week.QIU DAOCEN/CHINA DAILY Actions, they say, speak louder than words; and big-ticket investments, I'd argue, give the lie to views and rhetoric. Apple's vote of confidence in Chinese innovation and future business prospects, by way of a $1-billion investment in ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing last Friday, appears to have discounted recent negative Western discourse on China. It also shows the post-Jobs, Cook-led Apple, the world's biggest brand, is feeling the need to reinvent itself for a future that will likely be marked by convergence of telecommunications, transport, e-commerce, data and content. From Apple's perspective, the $1-billion investment in Didi is not big. It reportedly has $233 billion in cash and marketable securities. The Didi deal, therefore, appears to be a new beginning, a calculated diversification, if you will, given its own plans for an Apple car and Apple Pay, a mobile wallet/payment system. Although a newswire report suggested that the Didi deal came about in just 22 days, it is reasonable to assume that much thought and research must have preceded Apple's investment decision. Apple must have weighed many options before deciding to back a Chinese company rather than, say, an Indian, Japanese, Australian or Israeli company. That says something about China and Chinese companies. Apple's investment in a company that is already backed by Chinese digital behemoths, such as Tencent Group and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, signals the coming together of massive forces, analogous to a Hollywood multi-starrer. If time shows that the American Apple and the Chinese "Orange"a translation of Didi's legal name Xiaoju Kuaizhimake for a delicious, profitable punch, what could it signify? More than anything else, it would suggest Apple was right in seeing much value in an innovation-obsessed country when some chose to portray the land as one given to unfair practices and doomed to economic gloom. Clearly, global businesses and investors are not buying into the pessimism and negativity of some Western politicians and media toward China. The last millennium's wisdom was that economic concerns are paramount, and will eventually override political differences. Back then, they would say, "It's the economy, stupid." This millennium's nous, the Apple-Didi deal appears to indicate, is that technology, and the businesses' need to control its rapid, unpredictable evolution and dominate its commercial applications, will overlook leader-manufactured negative mood on political matters and media's slanted analyses. This is the age of Wi-Fi, social media, endless digital chatter and practical decisions. Everyone with broadband access appears to know which side of the smartphone, err, their bread is buttered. I'm inclined to believe Apple's $1-billion investment is just the beginning of a trend. Its CEO Tim Cook reportedly remarked during his Beijing visit on Monday that Apple would extend marketing help to developed-in-China mobile apps in order to help the latter go global. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple alone lines up many more billions for investing in various Chinese tech startups down the line. That would open the floodgates. In the digital age, if economically aware citizens and citizen-friendly businesses find themselves on the same side of an issue, could leaders and governments afford to stay on the other side for long? It's a question that pops up from the larger scenario surrounding the Apple-Didi deal. And all of us, I suspect, know the answer to that question, whether or not we acknowledge it at a conscious level. Contact the writer at siva@chinadaily.com.cn Four employees at a public clinic in Chongqing, Southwest China, were arrested on Sunday for making illegal profits from suspect vaccines. Last Friday, a post about a clinic nurse in Nan'an District suspected of replacing expensive, imported vaccines with fake ones went viral online. Hundreds of angry parents protested over the weekend demanding a thorough investigation into vaccine management at the clinic, which has been providing services to the community for years. The clinic is under the management of Chongqing No 6 People's Hospital. Concerns were first raised when a mother noticed a nurse at the clinic using different colored syringes to administer a 700 yuan ($108) imported pentavalent vaccine, which is intended to protect children from five potentially deadly diseases including tetanus, hepatitis B and diphtheria. According to the online post, the nurse would sometimes use blue syringes that came with the vaccine and at other times use white disposable syringes when giving the shots. Many parents commented that their children had suffered an adverse reaction to the vaccine and suspected foul play. A health expert with the team investigating the incident told the media on Sunday evening that it was acceptable for the clinic nurse to use disposable syringes if the original ones had become contaminated. However, the team also found that four employees at the clinic, including the nurse, had illegally profited from falsifying vaccine purchase and registration records. Last month, a revision of the previous regulation on the management of vaccines was approved by the State Council, China's Cabinet, after a scandal involving 570 million yuan worth of Category 2 vaccines that had been stored improperly and sold across China. This revision intensifies management rules for vaccines, including their transportation and storage, and increases punishments for violators. It also stipulates that chief government officials should resign if serious vaccine violations occur within their jurisdictions. Pedestrians pose for photos in front of a gate of Peking University in Beijing. [Photo/IC] China has the best national environment for higher education institutions in Asia, according to rankings released recently by higher education consulting company Quacquarelli Symonds. The 2016 Higher Education System Strength rankings placed China at eighth worldwide, followed by South Korea, which ranked ninth. Japan was 10th. It was China's best performance of the past three years and is also the first time the mainland surpassed Italy and Japan in the strength of higher education systems. Last year, Italy and Japan were at the eighth and ninth, while China was 11th. Some 50 countries and regions on six continents were ranked this year. The United States continued to lead the world in higher education, and four European countries, including the United Kingdom and Germany, also entered the Top 10, according to QS. The rankings represent a new attempt to put university performance rankings alongside other metrics to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a country or region's overall higher education environment, QS said. The latest QS ranking aims to measure the factors that make a nation's higher education system more likely to succeed. It is based on four criteria: system strength, access, flagship and economy. China's strongest score came in the economy metric, where it ranked second worldwide, with a weighted score of 99.9, only 0.1 behind the US, QS said. In addition, China has made improvements in all other metrics, including equity of education, educational investment and top universities, or flagships. "The big impact of efficient investment in higher education in China has empowered many Chinese universities to become world-class top universities," said Christina Yan Zhang, the China director for QS. Last year, the Chinese government added building world-class universities and subjects to its list of top priorities in education. Zhang said the government's commitment would not only help its universities excel internationally, but also lay a solid foundation for the country's economy to become the world's largest. With 37 million students studying at about 2,900 colleges and universities across China in 2015, the country's higher education system is one of the largest in the world. One in five college students worldwide is in China, according to a quality report released by the Chinese Ministry of Education last month. Spending on higher education has increased greatly in recent years, as has the number of educators, the amount of real estate and teaching resources, the report said. "The fast development of higher education in China has offered more ordinary Chinese people the opportunity to attend college," said Wu Yan, director of the Higher Education Evaluation Center, an institute under the ministry. Xinhua contributed to this story. The majority of Chinese travelers prefer to travel on their own instead of following arrangements made by travel agencies, a senior official said. In 2015, China counted more than 4 billion visits by Chinese travelers within the country, and more than 3.2 billion of those were tourists traveling on their own or who took road trips with their own cars, according to Li Jinzao, director of the China National Tourism Administration. "Their average spending surpassed 1,000 yuan ($153)," Li said, adding that the numbers show China has entered an era of mass tourism in which travel is no longer the sole purview of the rich. The trend also affects the overseas tourism market. According to a report by Chinese tourism information-sharing website Mafengwo.cn and Zuzuche.com, car rentals by Chinese visiting overseas reached 13.13 billion yuan in 2015 with the market expecting to see 88.6 percent of growth in 2016. Zhang Hui, 29, from Shanghai, is one of a growing band of Chinese travelers who have turned their backs on package holidays in the company of strangers and embraced a way of travel they can intimately share with their nearest and dearest. "Traveling is no longer something I need to seek advice for, from professionals like tour guides or a travel agency," Zhang said. Yu Dunde, CEO of Tuniu, another Chinese travel agency, said going on their own has given tourists more choicesand that's something that doesn't cut travel agencies' business but gives them new opportunities. "We didn't provide travel packages directly, but we offer services at cheaper prices," Yu said during the first World Conference on Tourism for Development in Beijing on Thursday. "For individual travelers, they also need to book hotels and air tickets, or pay entrance ticket fees for tourism attractions. And the price they pay could be very high." According to the Report on China's Tourism Development released by the tourism administration, by 2020 domestic tourists trips will reach 6.8 billion. "In 2015, the country recorded more than 4.1 billion domestic tourist trips. However, even though we are a large country, the average person made only three visits in 2015," said Li, of the tourism authority. "Internationally, a country is considered large for tourism when its individual average surpasses nine or 10 visits. "So if every Chinese made one more trip a year, we could have another 1 billion trips," he said. Contact the writers at zhaoruixue@chinadaily.com.cn Gao Weiwei (right), a lecturer, talks to students about the human body at a summer camp focusing on sex education. The camp, believed to be the first of its kind in Shanghai, was established in 2009. [Zhang Dong/for China Daily] A call for a more comprehensive system of sex education and post-abortion counseling in China to help prevent unintended pregnancies has been made by reproductive health experts. According to the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the abortion rate in China fell from 2.9 percent in 1994 to 1.8 percent in 2001. However, no noticeable drop was reported during the next decade. Liu Liqing, founding country director of Marie Stopes, one of the world's largest reproductive health charities, said, "Government-supported contraceptives in China have been well promoted among married people. But unmarried people need more attention." The commission says that 62 percent of abortions performed annually are on women who are between 20 and 29, most of whom are single. Nearly 20 percent have had more than one abortion. Zhang Lihua, a physician at Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, said repeated abortions increase the risk of premature births and have been linked to psychological disorders in women who have them. "At our hospital, nearly half of those having abortions are unmarried. Many of them did not take oral contraceptives due to a misunderstanding about the side-effects, but chose other unsafe methods instead, such as avoiding days in their menstrual cycle when they were most likely to get pregnant," she said. Guo Wei, deputy director of the Social Work and Social Policy Department at Nanjing University, said young people have limited access to contraceptives. "And sex education, which mainly focuses on physical knowledge, does not meet this practical need," he said. A delivery man receives 100,000 yuan ($15,286) award from police for his role in the seizure of 300 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Wednesday. He became suspicious when a customer wanted to send several large packages abroad. After the delivery man demanded that the packages be checked, the customer fled. The drugs were later handed to police. [Photo/CFP] Top legislator Zhang Dejiang (center) chats with a helper at a care center for the aged in Hong Kong on Thursday.[Photo/Agencies] Top legislator Zhang Dejiang called on Thursday for Hong Kong to focus on economic development. His appeal came in a speech to more than 200 key guests from various sectors of society on the last day of a three-day visit to the city. Hong Kong is well known because of its economic status, which decides its position in the world, said Zhang, who heads the National People's Congress Standing Committee. "In other words, the reason why Hong Kong is so famous around the world for its economic achievement is because it has strong backing from the mainlanda market with a 1.37 billion population. ... "That has made Hong Kong a window for the mainland's opening-up, a main source for the mainland to attract foreign investment, and a connector to reach out to the world, as well as a platform on which its finance and service industries thrive," Zhang said. The first State leader to visit the city since 2012, Zhang delivered his speech to local political heavyweights and business leaders at the Hong Kong government headquarters before visiting a nursing home and a public housing estate still under construction. "Hong Kong's superiority is weakening and its new growth point has not formed yet, so it should pull together to concentrate on developing its economy," Zhang said. He also called on society to support Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and his administration, saying the chief executive is crucial to maintaining the city's stability, rule of law, economic development and improving people's livelihoods. Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong, said the top legislator's visit shows that Beijing is determined to firmly uphold the "One Country, Two Systems" principle, and it has also boosted Hong Kong people's confidence. Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, head of the city's legislature, said in a local newspaper article on Thursday that Zhang's visit had reaffirmed the central government's confidence in Hong Kong's future and "One Country, Two Systems". Tsang said he believes that this confidence stems from the fact that the central government is familiar with the "reality" in Hong Kong, the issues that it faces, and ways to solve them. A Long March 3C cargo rocket lifts off in Xichang, Sichuan province, on Feb 2 to carry a Beidou navigation satellite into orbit. [Photo/Xinhua] China will strive to promote its Beidou Navigation Satellite System in Arab states, according to a senior official with the Beidou program. The country is in talks with several Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to help them introduce Beidou-based positioning and navigational services, said Ran Chengqi, director of the China Satellite Navigation Office. "We will open cooperation with them in terms of technological exchanges, personnel training and promotion of Beidou-based applications," he said on the sidelines of the Seventh China Satellite Navigation Conference, which opened in Changsha on Wednesday. "The countries involved have expressed an interest in the use of our satellite navigation services," he added. In a speech at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo in January, President Xi Jinping said China and the League had agreed to introduce the Beidou system to Arab states. He added that the two sides would hold a China-Arab States Beidou Cooperation Forum. Ma Jiaqing, deputy director of the China Satellite Navigation Office, said last week that tests in Doha, capital of the Gulf state of Qatar, showed local ground facilities could receive signals from up to eight Beidou satellites. This means the Beidou system is able to independently provide positioning, navigational and timing services to local users, and its accuracy is as good as other space-based navigational systems, he said. Ma made the comments at the seventh ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Doha. The First China-Arab States Beidou Cooperation Forum is due to be held next year. According to the China Satellite Navigation Office, one of the forum's main goals will be to enable Arab states to better understand the Beidou system and its achievements. It will also promote Beidou-based applications in a number of civilian sectors in the Arab world such as the mining and oil industries, agriculture, traffic management and urban administration. China launched the first Beidou satellite in 2000. It began providing positioning, navigational, timing and short-messaging services to civilian users in China and surrounding areas in the Asia-Pacific region in December 2012. The country has launched 22 satellites for the system and plans to launch about 30 more by the end of 2020. The government plans for the Beidou system to comprise 35 functioning satellites by 2020, five of which will be in geostationary orbita circular orbit more than 35,780 kilometers above the equator and following the direction of the Earth's rotation. Beijing's top procuratorate said on Thursday that the case of a 29-year-old man who died after being taken into police custody earlier this month has been delivered to the prosecuting authority in Changping district, where the death occurred. Beijing Municipal People's Procuratorate said it had accepted a criminal report from the family of Lei Yang on Tuesday, in which they were requested to investigate the district's police officers and auxiliary officers involved in the case. "We've reviewed the report and related materials provided by the family, but decided to hand the case to the district's prosecutors because they have done some preliminary investigations," a statement from the city's procuratorate said. The Beijng Public Security Bureau also said on Thursday that it will respect any investigation and will not shield any police officers if misconduct is found. Lei died on May 7 about an hour after he was detained on suspicion of soliciting prostitution. The case prompted a public outcry. Lei's wife, surnamed Wu, said: "I am not satisfied with the prosecutors' response. I'll negotiate with my lawyer for the case's follow-up procedures." The lawyer, Chen Youxi, welcomed the close attention and quick response of the city's procuratorate, but said that he does not think the case is suitable for the district's prosecutors to tackle. "Public security bodies and prosecutors in the same jurisdiction are too familiar with each other, so it is more proper for the prosecutors at the city level to deal with Lei's case," Chen said. In the report, the family accused police officers and assistants in the district of intentional injury, abuse of power and fabricating evidence, he said, adding that they hope to find out the truth as quickly as possible. In previous statements, Beijing police said Lei was uncooperative when he was stopped by plainclothes officers at a foot massage salon at 9:14 pm on May 7. He resisted arrest, bit the police and knocked down their video cameras, and he tried to escape and was later handcuffed, the police said. Lei was taken to a hospital at 10:05 pm after he looked unwell in the police car, and was pronounced dead at 10:55 pm after efforts were made to save him. Results of an independent autopsy, conducted on May 13, are expected to be released within 15 to 20 days of the examination. Editor's Note: China Daily is publishing a series of reports on cross-Straits relations as Taiwan's new leader takes office. The reports are jointly compiled with the Taipei-based China Post. This, the fifth and also the last in the series, explores the measures the mainland city closest to Taiwan takes to attract talent from Taiwan, and what expectations the experts and businessmen have for the new leader. Officers from the inspection and quarantine bureau in Pingtan, Fujian province, check fruit from Taiwan.[Photo/Xinhua] As an increasing number of people from Taiwan have been taking advantage of opportunities on the mainland, Pingtan, the mainland's closest city to Taiwan, has introduced a range of tailor-made policies to attract talent from across the Straits. Pingtan, which has a population of around 420,000 and occupies about 400 square kilometers, is home to a cross-Straits free trade area. And, with it only taking two hours to travel across the Taiwan Straits from Pingtan to Taipei on the high-speed vessel Haixiahao, it is a popular destination. The local government has taken several steps to attract more people from Taiwan, including acknowledging Taiwan's professional licenses and courting its leading human resources companies. According to Wu Pinyun, an official with the district, architects and pharmacists from Taiwan can now get straight to work in Pingtan with Taiwan-issued diplomas, and law firms can set up representative agencies on the mainland. Figures from the Pingtan government show that, since 2011, the district has officially brought in more than 600 skilled workers from Taiwan, including several that work as employees in the district government and the district's government-funded enterprises. By 2030, the city expects between 200,000 and 300,000 people from Taiwan to be working there. The local government has also taken steps to make it easier for people from across the Straits to buy homes in Pingtan, said Deng Peishu, deputy director of the district government's publicity department. According to rules released by the Pingtan district government in mid March, Taiwan house buyers can now enjoy the same beneficial policies as mainland residents, including minimum down payments being lowered from the previous 30 percent to 20. And, unlike mainland buyers who have to pay tax at a higher rate on second homes in the city, Taiwan people can get a beneficial tax rateas low as that levied on their first apartmentif they buy a second home there. Alice Lin, 25, who is from Chiayi in Taiwan, told China Daily she would like to buy a house in Pingtan, given that the local government has put forward encouraging policies. "It makes me feel stable while living in my own house," she said. "I plan to live in Pingtan for years to explore the tourism market here, so why not buy?" But others have hesitated over buying a house in a small city where they fear the real estate market could cool down. Nien Shun-jung, a Taiwan businessman who opened a gift shop in Pingtan three months ago, said he bought an apartment in Guangzhou, when he worked there for a decade. He said that he would prefer to buy homes in the mainland's first-tier cities. Mu Qiufeng, a salesman with Haitan Ancient Town real estate project in Pingtan, said his company's residential apartment project, which will be unveiled in June, has attracted many people. "I hope that the cross-Straits relationship can be enhanced, so more people from Taiwan will consider settling and buying homes here," he said. Contact the writers at anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn Yang Jie contributed to this story. A world-touring exhibition featuring more than 20 giant panda-themed artworks is being hosted by Ocean Park Hong Kong, in collaboration with the Sichuan Forestry Department, from Friday to May 29. The "Pandaful Art Global Exhibition" features the work of five renowned artists from China, Spain and France and has never been seen before in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, according to Zhang Zhihe, chief of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Among the pieces on display are photographs of panda cubs caught on camera by Zhang Zhihe; surrealist oil paintings that integrate elements of everyday life created by Zhang Qikai; sculptures in red, white and blue by Spanish artist Alejandro Santafe; eye-catching oil paintings produced by France-based Chinese artist Tian Ye; and art installations created by combing different textures by French artist Camille Rophe. Before arriving in Hong Kong, the touring exhibition visited Yongin in Korea and will next travel to Beijing, Tokyo and other locations worldwide. Yao Sidan, director of Sichuan Forestry Department, said: "Last year, Ocean Park and Sichuan Forestry Department signed a memorandum of understanding on further collaboration in conservation and education efforts." Matthias Li, chief executive-elect of Ocean Park, said: "Ocean Park is committed to fulfilling its educational mission through diverse approaches. The panda-themed art exhibition enables us to further expand our educational platform by raising concern for wildlife through art. "To help the public connect with nature, we signed a new agreement on Thursday with Sichuan Forestry Department to collaborate on various initiatives from now until 2020. "We will join hands with the different nature reserves in Sichuan to organize eco-tours to the resource-rich province, enabling the public to encounter giant pandas and various rare animals and learn about their habitats." Besides working with the Sichuan Forestry Department on a wide range of conservation and education initiatives, Ocean Park previously participated in post-earthquake reconstruction projects in Sichuan. In 2013, it signed the "Sichuan-Hong Kong Wolong Post-Reconstruction Collaboration Agreement" with the Development Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Sichuan Forestry Department to collaborate on the sustainable development of Wolong, and was appointed administrator of the Sichuan-Hong Kong Wolong Post-Reconstruction Collaboration by the HKSAR government in 2014. Among the 25 collaborative projects, "The Wolong Sustaining Tourism Development Plan" aims to help Wolong make the best use of HKSAR-funded facilities, and complement resources in the nature reserve to develop eco-tourism. A file photo shows senior students showing freshmen the way at a university in Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province on an enrollment day. [Photo/Xinhua] More than 70 colleges have been named and shamed for illegal enrollment and online fraud by a website, said Beijing Youth Daily. According to the website, sdaxue.com, 73 universities, of which 23 are in Beijing, were swindling students across the country. The list, the fifth of its kind, raises the total number of fake colleges to more than 400. Most of these institutes have their own website, and when exposed, they just change their domain names and continue their fraud. Sometimes these colleges even have their own campus or rent buildings and dormitories from authorized universities, making it difficult for students and their parents to confirm their authenticity. Students and their parents are suggested to read Guidance to Selecting Institutions of Higher Learning or visit the websites of authorized universities, which usually end with ".edu" and is updated frequently. The list of this year's authorized institutions of higher learning will soon be released by the Ministry of Education. The list can be accessed via the website, www.moe.gov.cn. The ministry issues the list every year to alert the public of "diploma mills" which are still seen in a lot of places despite repeated bans. A Chinese medical worker prepares to vaccinate a young kid at a hospital in Shanghai, China, March 20, 2016. [Photo/IC] Prosecuting authorities in China approved the arrest of 125 people suspected of involvement in a vaccine scandal worth 570 million yuan ($88 million) on Thursday. Another 37 suspects have been put under investigation for suspected duty-related crimes, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Friday. The vaccines involved in the case were sold by a mother and daughter in Shandong province to more than 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities since 2011. The duo did not store the vaccines under proper temperature thus making them less effective. Following media exposure of the incident in February, the government set up a special team in March comprising different ministries and the Supreme People's Procuratorate to investigate the case. The investigation has so far seen 190 criminal cases involving 341 suspects filed by police nationwide, 15 people indicted, and two convicted of illegal sale of vaccines, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said in a statement on Thursday. The 125 suspects include 25 from Fujian province, 19 from Henan province, 15 from Heilongjiang province and 13 from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The 37 officials implicated in 22 cases, who are suspected of taking bribes, abuse of power or negligence, are from Fujian, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong and Hubei, said the SPP, adding that 10 of them are to be arrested. Closing down "zombie companies", relocating workers and shutting sidelines businesses that detract from their core competences are among the measures the government will introduce in the coming two to three years to deepen the country's reform in central State-owned enterprises (SOEs). The decision was unveiled during a State Council's executive meeting on Wednesday chaired by Premier Li Keqiang. "Central SOEs have played an indispensable role for China's social and economic development, and we should give them full credit on that regard," Li said. "Yet crucial problems still exist, and now we must tackle them step by step, which is what the SOE reform is about." Central SOEs in China, which totals 106, refer to those Stateowned enterprises owned by the central government. Most of these companies cover key sectors such as telecommunication and energy, that are crucial to the country's social and economic development. Major problems currently existing with the central SOEs include weakness in core business, too many sideline businesses, low efficiency and excessive layers of administration and management. Yet such over hierarchy at these central SOEs are also part of the reason that why reforms has never been easy to realize. In many occasions, Premier Li has reiterated time and again that the government is determined to carry out such reform, describing such determination as "cutting one's own wrist like brave warriors". The Wednesday meeting decided that 345 "zombie companies" subsidized with the 106 central SOEs will be reorganized or left to the market within three years. Central SOEs are also required to shrink management levels from the existing five to nine to lower than three or four, while stripping off 20 percent of their subsidiary legal entities within three years. The government aims to reduce losses caused by central SOE's subsidiary enterprises by 30 percent, and realize 100 billion yuan of increase in central SOE profit by the end of 2017. Meanwhile, the government will cut the country's coal and steel capacity produced by central SOEs by 10 percent this year and in 2017. Coal, iron and steel are among the key objectives in the country's effort to reduce excess capacity. During the Wednesday meeting, Li again stressed that the idea of "weight loss and fitness" plan for SOEs should be further carried out, a metaphor that he first used in this year's government work report referring to an optimization of SOEs in general. The reform of SOE in general is a major working task set by the government in this year's government work report, delivered in March by Premier Li. It has pointed out that the government will push hard to ensure success in upgrading SOEs, pledging that structural adjustment will be made so that they will be developed through innovation, reorganization and reform in SOE personnel management. "Fostering greater spirit of craftsmanship is of vital importance for central SOEs while concentrating in their core business and improve product quality, and this should be the core competence of central SOEs", Li urged during the Wednesday meeting, adding that they should not turn too much into sideline businesses that the private sectors are good at. The new plan also encourages internal restructuring for central SOEs and optimizing allocation of resources. Social capital will be encouraged to participate and support central SOEs restructuring. The new plan also calls for more innovation and that scientific research should be carried out in central SOEs. Brazil's Federal Judiciary sentenced former chief-of-staff and Workers' Party (PT) founder, Jose Dirceu, to 23 years and three months in prison on Wednesday for corruption and money laundering related to government-run oil company Petrobras. The decision was announced by judge Sergio Moro who is conducting in the first instance the Operation Car Wash, an investigation that has uncovered a broad corruption scheme in the government-run company Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras). Another 10 people were also condemned during the same criminal proceedings, including bribe operator Milton Pascowitch; the negotiator, Fernando Moura; and the former minister's adviser, Roberto Marques. Dirceu, the former strong man during former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government (2003-2010), was previously sentenced to seven years and 11 months in jail for corruption, embezzlement, racketeering and money laundering in the Mensalao corruption scandal, a vote-buying scheme in Congress. The historic PT leader was imprisoned in November 2013, and in November 2014 was placed under house arrest. The former minister was put behind bars once again in August 2015 for his alleged involvement in the Operation Car Wash, when the attorneys investigated unlawful acts at Petrobras' service address. A giant corruption scheme was uncovered which amounted to millions of U.S. dollars, involving executives from the government-owned oil company and supplier companies, including Brazil's large construction companies. China's central leadership called on Friday for more standardized law enforcement so that the people can feel justice in all law enforcement practices and in every case. The call comes amid a series of cases that have occurred nationwide and involve allegations of abuse of police power. A meeting on Friday of the Leading Group for Overall Reform, presided over by President Xi Jinping, required the establishment of a professional police force with standardized law enforcement practices. The management of law enforcement should be "systematic" and procedures should be documented or recorded, to ensure that police power is used properly, according to a statement released after the meeting. "Relevant authorities should strive to let the public feel social justice and fairness in every single law enforcement and every single case," the statement said. The recent case of Lei Yang, 29, who died in police custody after a vice raid on May 7 in Beijing, has prompted questions by the public about whether the police used excessive force. Prosecutors in Beijing are investigating the case to see if there was any police misconduct involved. No conclusion has been reached. Yang Weidong, a law professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, said that the latest requirement from the top leadership is very timely, since police abuse and brutality do exist. "Some police officers are rude or even torture suspects in interrogations, while some don't inform suspects' family members in a timely manner," Yang said. Zhao Li, a criminal lawyer in Beijing, said that many law enforcement officers, especially police, do not follow standardized practices. Andreas Grobbauer, chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic, announces in Beijing that the orchestra will tour China every year from 2017 to 2021. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily] Ahead of major concerts by Vienna Philharmonic in China, few members are now playing in the country. Chen Jie reports In 2013, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra treated audiences in Beijing to a few of Beethoven's symphonies and piano concertos under the baton of Christian Thielemann. It was the orchestra's fifth visit to the Chinese mainland after its Beijing debut in 1973 was conducted by Claudio Abbado. Conductor Zubin Mehta came to the city with the orchestra in 1996 and 2009, and conductor Seiji Ozawa to Shanghai and Beijing in 2004. Then, in 2014, when a classical concert venue opened in Shanghai, conductor Gustavo Dudamel presented the orchestra. Chinese fans are now awaiting the Vienna Philharmonic's long-term concerts in China. Andreas Grobbauer, first violin as well as chairman of the orchestra, recently announced in Beijing that under a five-year contract signed with Wu Promotion, a performing arts agency, the Vienna Philharmonic expects to tour the country every year from 2017 to 2021, with up to 11 concerts in five cities during each visit. "We see huge development here. I'm a little jealous. You have the youngest audience in the world. ... It's good for the future of classical music," Grobbauer, 41, tells China Daily. As a warm up to the main tours, the violinist along with concertmaster Volkhard Steude, viola player Tobias Lea and the first cello Tomas Varga are presently in China as a string quartet. They were scheduled to play their first concert in Beijing on Sunday, but due to flight cancellations, they couldn't make it. Nevertheless, they performed at Shanghai Oriental Arts Center on Wednesday, at Xinghai Concert Hall in Guangzhou on Thursday and will wrap up with a concert at Tianjin Grand Theater on Saturday. Grobbauer describes the orchestra as "self-managed", with a vote held every three years to pick a chairman. Actor Sun Honglei. [Photo provided to China Daily] The kitchen of a Michelin-starred restaurant has been rarely showcased in Chinese-language television dramas, but such an eatery takes center stage in a forthcoming series. In To Be a Better Man, starring veteran actor Sun Honglei, a three-star Michelin restaurant and its kitchen become a major setting. A Michelin chef is hired as the consultant to teach actors cooking skills. Alongside the training, the chef creates more than 60 recipes for the storyline. The 40-episode drama will air on two satellite TV channels in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces from May 31. Simultaneously, the series will also be broadcast on the streaming site Letv.com. Centering on a Chinese chef, the series narrates the mans romances and struggles amid a series of cultural clashes after his return from the United States, where he has stayed for several years. Sun, a 20-year screen veteran, says his role is a charming, funny guy. "With his overseas experience, my character first encounters some misunderstandings back in China but soon finds his new orientation and goals," he said at a press event this week. Li Xiao, the scriptwriter, says it will be an unlikely tale that is "far from ordinary life". To re-create some millionaire characters' affluent lifestyle, the crew rented some expensive "props", such as 3-million-yuan ladies' bag and two drone cameras. Related: Homage to heroes While wearable technology companies have been eyeing the fashion world for a long time, fashion companies are now venturing into wearable technology. US accessories brand Fossil, which recently opened its refurbished store in Oriental Place in Beijing, plans to launch its smart analog watch collection in the Chinese mainland this fall. The collection comprises classic-looking watches that can also serve as sleep and fitness trackers. Compared to technology-oriented bands, Fossil aims to differentiate itself with an emphasis on fashion, says Alisha Shroff, marketing director of Fossil Brand Asia Pacific. "It will look like a watch, but have technology inside. It's a different angle ... Digital is where the future is headed and where we will invest heavily," she says. Besides Fossil, the company also makes watches for brands like Michael Kors, Diesel, Adidas, Karl Lagerfeld and Burberry. The company acquired American fitness and sleep monitor maker Misfit last year, giving a boost to its own smart technology development. "By doing that (the acquisition), we were able to do it (technology development) much faster. It was a great beginning. Technology and digital is a big push for us," she says. "We were always a fashion company, but now we are fashion with technology." "Consumers are now smarter. They want more functions with their product. It's a huge opportunity," she adds. Founded in 1984, Fossil has evolved from a watch brand into an integrated lifestyle label that also offers leather products, jewelry and bags. Fossil has more than 400 stores worldwide, with 15 in China. With the retail market in China seeing a sharp decline in recent months, Fossil is now exploring opportunities online, with both e-commerce sites and social media promotion, says Shroff. "It's a challenging situation now," she says. "Digital is a huge push for us. We are collaborating with Tmall, which is a great partner. We are going in for more things online. It's something that is inevitable: online and mobile." Fossil, which first came to China in 2008, is still in expansion mode in the country, says Shroff. The US and Europe are the brand's largest markets while Asia is still growing. A model wears a creation by Veeco Zhao. Photos provided to China Daily Veeco Zhao shows her origins by taking into consideration her customers' sensibilities. Sun Yuanqing reports. With fashion getting increasingly globalized these days, it is difficult to tell the origin of a designer from his/her work. For young designer Veeco Zhao, her origin is not expressed through obvious ethnic elements, but careful consideration shown to her local customers' sensibilities. Zhao recently displayed her 2016 autumn/winter collection at the Fashion Now event in Shanghai, a promotional platform for young Chinese designers. The collection highlights faux fur coats, leather skirts, lace gowns and oversized knitwear, with creamy colors like pink, mint green and ice blue. Zhao says her clothes are made for those who enjoy life like she does. "It doesn't matter how old she (the customer) is, but she has to have a young girl inside her," says Zhao, who is in her mid-20s. Born in Heilongjiang province in Northeast China, Zhao was trained in painting in Beijing and later went to Paris to study fashion design and pattern making at Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale. Kim Kardashian in LANYU Haute Couture at the Cannes Film Festival 2016. [Photo/weibo.com] On May 18, Kim Kardashian sparkled her way down the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival 2016 as she made her debut in a crystal-covered dress, shining from head to toe. The actress said she loved the design and wrote a grateful caption for the gown on Instagram. "Thank you@lanyucoutureofficial for making this amazing dress for me to wear at Cannes!" While the praise brought the Chinese designer's brand LANYU Haute Couture into focus, it also speaks how Chinese designs have won international recognition for their elegance and uniqueness in recent years. From Rihanna to Katy Perry, from Blake Lively to Emma Roberts, here are just a few that were chosen by celebrities. In Brazil "meat" means beef, including this hearty beefsteak with chorizo and hollandaise sauce. Photos by Bruno Maestrini/China Daily and Provided to China Daily Brazil's cuisine is getting global attention as the Summer Games in Rio near. A Brazilian chef visits Beijing to bring a sampling to Chinese diners, Mike Peters reports. Erik Nako's baggage must have puzzled the scanner operators at Chinese customs when he arrived in Beijing on Monday. "In a way, I traveled light - I think I have five T-shirts and a couple of pairs of pants with me," the young Brazilian chef says. But Nako wound up paying for excess baggage, because he was also toting 140 kilograms of exotic foodstuffs. The Rio de Janeiro native is in China's capital for a food festival that the Brazilian embassy has organized for a fifth year. This time, however, there is heightened interest in the weeklong party for foodies that starts on Saturday, because Nako's hometown of Rio de Janiero is about to host the Summer Olympic Games. LATAM Airlines and Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel are co-sponsors of the festival. The chef is an old hand at being an ambassador for his country's cuisine. At home, he shares his expertise through magazine pages, television screens and his varied food businesses. He studied culinary arts at the Institut Paul Bocuse (Lyon), and today he owns an Italian bar called Prima Bruschetteria, the Brazilian-Mediterranean restaurant Verso in the downtown Rio area, a Brazilian cheese-bread brand, and a food consultancy company. Recently, he and his partner have also traveled to Lebanon, Kenya and Ethopia to spread the world about Brazil's diverse food culture. "Of course, when you say 'Brazilian food,' everybody thinks churrasco - our barbecue," he says of his famously carnivorous nation. But when asked about what sets Brazil's food apart from the rest of Latin America's, the first example out of his mouth is not meat on a stick but "cassava", the root vegetable also known as yuca. A view of Shanghai. [Photo provided to China Daily] The French tire group Michelin announced Thursday that its international gastronomy benchmark Michelin guide will be launched for the first time in the Chinese mainland in the second half of this year. Michelin said in this guide named "Michelin Guide Shanghai 2017" that Shanghai's fine-dining scene will be inspected and reviewed as part of the first official selection of Michelin hotels and restaurants. This will be the 28th Edition of the international collection of the prestigious hotels and restaurants reference guide, following the announcement of two new editions in Singapore and Seoul. "Shanghai's culinary scene range from popular to fine dining restaurants, and we are eager to discover the high quality of Shanghai's gastronomy and starting the selection," said Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin guides. Bruno de Feraudy, president of Michelin China, said: "Here in China, mobility is developing at a great pace every day and shows great potential. We are eager to see the Michelin guide bringing Chinese consumers more exciting and joyful experiences when they travel." He added the arrival of the Michelin Guide Shanghai 2017 is good news as "in all the cities where we launch them, the quality of the Michelin guide is widely appreciated by both the professionals and the general public." Through the rigorous Michelin guide selection process that is applied independently and consistently around 28 countries, the Michelin guide has become an international benchmark in fine dining. Related: Once upon a starry night Executive chef Kwong Wai Keung at T'ang Court in Hong Kong, which won a third Michelin star this year. Photos provided to China Daily Foodies in China, from professional chefs to Joe Hungry, were abuzz this week with the news that the world's most prestigious restaurant guide is finally coming to the Chinese mainland. The Michelin Guide has launched its Chinese website, announcing that it will publish a 2017 guide for Shanghai - and that the first round of Michelin-starred restaurants will be unveiled this fall. Michelin's long-rumored arrival suggests that the guide, originally created in 1900 as a stimulus for French taxi drivers, has finally found a way to digest the Chinese puzzle. Guides that debuted in Tokyo (2008) and Hong Kong (2009) did a lot to cement the culinary prestige of those locales and made celebrities of chefs there. This has not been lost on restaurant promoters in China's big cities, who often tout their chefs by describing them as proteges of Michelin-starred uber-chefs abroad. Celebrity toques are regularly invited to the mainland for food-festival events, and many have established satellites of their award-winning restaurants in China. While the European kitchen wizards with a reputation on the mainland (think Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Umberto Bombana) are obvious targets of Michelin attention, how critics for the guide would assess Chinese cuisine and the attendant dining scene has been a burning question. Would, for example, respect for tradition win more praise in Asia, while European chefs are more readily rewarded for doing something more innovative? The guide is a selection of the best restaurants in a city, divided into four categories: "bib gourmand" restaurants that offer "exceptional good food at moderate prices"; one Michelin star denotes a "very good restaurant in its category"; two stars for "excellent cooking, worth a detour"; and three for, "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey". For a high-profile restaurant chef, the only thing more dramatic than gaining a Michelin star is losing one. A sailor is taking part in the fire drill on the Chinese patrol vessel "Haixun 01" on April 8, 2016 in the South China Sea. [Photo/Xinhua] The Pentagon has once again pointed accusing fingers at China, this time for what it claims was an "unsafe" intercept of one of its spy planes by two Chinese fighters over the South China Sea on Tuesday. But as a Chinese proverb observes, the offender complains first. The US has again defended its innocence by stressing the spy plane was flying in international airspace. But this was contradicted by the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, which said it was "extremely close surveillance of China by US military aircraft." Because the two militaries have agreed upon a code of conduct to control risks and to deal with unplanned encounters at sea and in the air, the event will probably end up as just another footnote in the history of the perennial cat-and-mouse game on China's doorstep. But we should not mistake the wood for the trees. The crux of the problem lies in the massive, intensive and close reconnaissance activities the US conducts against China. They not only constitute military provocations, but also threaten China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Reports indicate the US conducts more than 1,000 spying missions close to China's borders each year, more than the annual number of spying missions it conducted against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Yet it insists it is the wronged party and that it has no intentions of trying to contain a rising China. US saber rattling in the South China Sea has intensified in recent years, particularly after Washington announced its "rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific". And its top naval commander in the Asia-Pacific, Harry B. Harris, has called for an even more confrontational approach to China in the region. Thanks to its military and economic supremacy, the US has assumed the role of rule-setter worldwide. Yet it simply ignores those rules when it suits its purpose. Thus it deems its spying missions on China's doorstep are perfectly acceptable, while China's measures to safeguard its national security are slammed as "unsafe", "unprofessional" or even "dangerous". While more communication is needed between the two militaries to ensure that their militaries' air and sea encounters are safe, the safest bet for regional peace and stability is the US reduces, minimizes and finally ends its flagrant spying on China. To peep into other's courtyard uninvited is at best impolite; to criticize the host for objecting to such behavior compounds the injury. Shanghai Disneyland holds a parade for visitors on Wednesday during a trial run before the amusement park opens to the general public on June 16.[Photo/Xinhua] After Shanghai Disneyland Resort began its trial opening on May 7, some of the visitors complained online about the high food prices inside the theme park. China Daily's Zhang Zhouxiang summarizes the debate: Are the high prices for food inside the Shanghai Disneyland Resort fair? Answers vary. Beijing News commented that as long as the theme park neither cheats visitors nor forces people to consume the food, people can choose whether or not to buy. Beijing Youth Daily holds a different view and said the resort will have to adjust its food prices in order to welcome more low- and middle-income visitors. The focus of the debate is fundamentally about the market's role in deciding the price. And whenever a debate boils down to the market's role, public opinion is always divided into two groups: Those advocating the market's decisive role and those saying the market will exclude those at the lowest levels of society. Market-oriented reforms over the past 38 years have created an economic miracle for China, but they have also left many vulnerable groups behind. The solution is rooting out corruption and making the market fairer, while providing ample social welfare to the vulnerable. However, how to implement that solution will be a major challenge. Students from Sanmenxia No.2 Primary School take to the streets to help sanitation workers. [Photo/ismx.cn] Students at a primary school in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian province, were reportedly required to clean the school toilets to "help them nurture good habits". Cnr.cn commented on Thursday: For some of the pupils and their parents, who strongly opposed the idea of their children cleaning the school's toilets, the school is supposed to provide students with a proper education, not the opportunity to be school cleaners. But they fail to see the benefits of youngsters collectively doing such chores, which have great potential to instill in teenagers a sense of responsibility and a do-it-yourself mentality. In fact, parents, schools, and society as a whole, play an equally important role in developing the character of youngsters. It is good for schools to assign students such tasks as few will do them at home, because their parents want them to focus on coursework only. In recent years, parents tend to make mountains out of molehills when it comes to non-academic activities in schools. Some scold the teachers if their kids get a minor injury at school, some even challenge the school's teaching methods and management. As a result, many elementary schools, especially those in big cities, do not allow students to take part in outdoor activities during breaks, fearing that they might get hurt. This is by no means conducive to nurturing the best qualities of youngsters. What the primary school in Fuzhou is doing to enrich the students' in-school experience, as well as their efforts to carry forward the practice when challenged by a number of parents, are therefore praiseworthy. The kids who are "required" to clean the school toilets and their parents will thank the school later for teaching them the spirit of rules and teamwork. Domestic violence: Courts would be required to hear requests for protection by victims of domestic violence and to make a determination within 48 hours, under China's first draft law covering domestic violence. [Photo/China Daily] A man was seen continuously beating a 10-year-old boy in a street in Jiulongpo district, Chongqing, in southwestern China. When police officers arrived, they found the man was the boy's father who was angry because his son was slow in finishing his homework. The father promised he wouldn't discipline his son through such crude means in the future. Beijing Youth Daily commented on Thursday: Before they knew the boy was the man's son, some bystanders tried to stop the man hitting the boy. Even when it is a parent and child such intervention is to be encouraged. Domestic violence harms minors physically and mentally and damages the dignity of a family, especially as it is women and children who are the victims. Violence within a family can easily lead to its break-up. The reasons for domestic violence vary. Two factors, however, are evident in almost every case of domestic violence. First, the families tend to keep it within the family. Second, the authorities rarely called on to intervene because it is believed they are not capable enough to deal with domestic issues. Both of these result in the perpetrators being able to persist with their abuse. On March 1, the Law on Domestic Violence came into effect, it not only gives government agencies above the county level the right to intervene to protect women and children; it also extends special protection to the victims. The law is designed to protect the rights of women and children within the family, and to prevent domestic violence from being tacitly condoned by being considered an internal family problem rather than a social issue. Apple CEO Tim Cook takes a taxi hailed via Didi with Jean Liu Qing, president of Didi, to an Apple store in Wangfujing in downtown Beijing on May 16, 2016. Cook's visit follows Apple's investment of $1 billion in the Chinese ride-hailing service. [Provided to chinadaily.com.cn] New technologies change industries, and the taxi industry is no exception. App-based taxi services such as Uber (globally) and Didi Chuxing in China have created significant competition for the traditional taxi companies (licensed and with fare meters in their cabs). London black cab drivers are famous for learning "the knowledge" so that they can prove they know how to take a passenger the quickest route from A to B and, of course, their taxi vehicles are expensive to buy but very spacious, reliable and fit for the purpose. Equally the easy to recognise New York yellow cabs require a Medallion (license) to operate. These used to change hands at high prices, although now the value of these has dropped noticeably. However, the monopolies created by the old rules led to higher prices and app-based taxi services have emerged to break these monopolies. Many will say this is a good thing. And we all know that traditional taxis are difficult to get when it is raining, and that the drivers of some licensed cabs in big Chinese cities are reluctant to drive during the rush hours as the time spent in heavy traffic is financially unrewarding. And then there are times when a taxi will stop but then refuse the ride because of the destination or else stop but demand double the fare because it is late at night. There have always been some alternatives to licensed cabs such as pre-booked airport pick-up services but such companies cannot legally "ply for hire" in the street. Now a taxi app can search hundreds of taxis operating in a customers' area and find one near and available that will respond (and also adjust the fare in busy timesthe market at work). Add to that the more convenient means of payment through the increasing use of smartphones for bank account linked payments, such as Apple Pay, AliPay and WeChat pay. As an illustration of their impact, Didi Chuxing announced in March that it had hit 10 million ride hails per day in China. So should we be hailing a rosy future for the app-based taxi industry? Apple has announced a planned investment of $1 billion in Didi, which is good news for a taxi hailing company that is still loss-making despite huge business growth. Apple is keen to develop Apple Pay in China, and encouraging Didi customers to use it is a smart way to expand, in addition Apple has its own driverless car project and may see some synergies with that and the technologies that Didi Chuxing is developing. But only time will tell. Uber is profitable in most countries but, like Didi Chuxing, is also loss-making in China. There are some concerns about how the combined technologies are creating "instant taxi drivers"untrained, unlicensed taxi driversand concerns about the safety of female passengers, and the quality and condition of vehicles. A combination of due diligence by the app providers and government regulatory activity is needed as the industry grows. Lastly, spare a thought for visitors to a city. These are often the people most in need of a taxi. Do the taxi-hailing apps really help them? In China as a temporary visitor, what if you do not have the app? What if you do not have a local bank card registered to pay the service? What if you have an address in Chinese written on a piece of paper, you cannot give that address over the phone when using an app? For some visitors it seems to have increased the number of taxis with green lights on display that speed by rather than stopping because they are responding to an app booking. It is not win-win yet and some city authorities are banning app bookings in rush hours. Clearly there is still work to be done to establish the long term role of this game changer. We need to watch this space. The author is an economist and director of China Programs at CAPAThe Global Education Network, which cooperates with East China Normal University in Shanghai. A woman walks into a unisex public restroom in Chongqing on April 15, 2015.[Photo/CFP] Thursday is China's sixth National Tourism Day. China's domestic tourism market has been booming in last decade, with a 10 percent annual growth on average and spending is expected to reach around $890 billion by 2020. However, the bottleneck in China's domestic tourism market is now none other than its "inadequate, dirty and chaotic" toilets. As Li Jinzao, head of the China National Tourism Administration, has pointed out, a dirty toilet destroys the efforts of all kinds of tourist resort promotions and their negative impact is hard to erase. That was why, the CNTA launched a nationwide three year "Tourism Toilet Revolution" in January 2015, with the goal of building and reconstructing 57,000 public toilets by the end of 2017. Only last year, more than 20,000 new toilets were built. Actually, Beijing's 2008 Olympic Games was the beginning of China's toilet revolution. In an effort to ensure their success, the Chinese government invested billions of yuan in building 4,000 new public toilet facilities to world-class standards. To showcase the great progress that was made, Beijing hosted the World Toilet Summit in 2004, with the help of the World Toilet Organization. There is no doubt the Chinese government has the capability to deliver any ambitious infrastructure commitment quickly. But it is the software that is critical to the success of the toilet revolution. China's toilets are generally "unevenly scattered, poorly managed and low in quality". That could be remedied by following the "ABC" rule, namely architecture, behavior and cleaning. British Prime Minister David Cameron attends meeting with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny during a European Union leaders summit addressing the talks about the so-called Brexit and the migrants crisis, in Brussels, Belgium, February 19, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] Those campaigning for the United Kingdom to exit the European Union claim that doing so would make their country both freer and richer. They assert that after the so-called Brexit, the UK could quickly negotiate a bespoke agreement with the EU that offers all the benefits of free trade without the costs of EU membership; strike better trade deals with other countries; and reap huge benefits from scrapping burdensome EU regulations. This is a delusion. In fact, Brexit would entail huge economic costs for the UK. The uncertainty and disruption of drawn-out and doubtless acrimonious divorce proceedings would depress investment and growth. Permanent separation would reduce trade, foreign investment and migration, and hurt competition, productivity growth and living standards. And a divorce would deprive the UK of influence over future EU reformsnotably, the completion of the single market in servicesfrom which it would benefit. The London School of Economics' Centre for Economic Performance calculates that the long-term costs to the UK of lower trade with the EU could be as high as 9.5 percent of its GDP, while the fall in foreign investment could cost 3.4 percent of its GDP or more. Those costs alone dwarf the potential gains. The UK's net contribution to the EU budget amounted to only 0.35 percent of its GDP last year, and scrapping EU regulation would bring limited benefits, because the UK's labor and product markets are already among the freest in the world. The exit process would generate prolonged uncertainty. Officially, it is meant to take two years. But it would probably take much longer. Moreover, any agreement on a new economic relationship with the UK would require unanimity among the EU's 27 remaining members. And the UK would also have to renegotiatefrom scratchthe 50-plus trade deals that the EU has with other countries. All this would take time. In the meantime, the UK's trading rules and domestic regulations would be up in the air. Investment and employment decisions would be postponed or canceled. The pound would plummet. The foreign investors financing Britain's current-account deficitwhich hit 7 percent of its GDP in the final quarter of last yearmight drive up the risk premium on UK assets or, worse, pull out. All of that would weaken economic growth, jeopardizing the government's fiscal plans. Brexit supporters claim that Britain could strike its own special deal with the EU, cherry picking the provisions it likes. The UK would have the whip hand, they argue, because it buys more from the EU than it sells in return. But this, too, is a delusion. The US also has a trade deficit with the EU, yet it doesn't get to dictate terms in the negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Moreover, exports to the EU matter more to the UK than exports to Britain do to the EU. In short, the EU would call the shotsand doubtless be tough with the UK. Many economic actorsfrom German car manufacturers to French farmers to financial centers around the EUwould want to hamper their British competitors. For their part, EU governments would want to punish Britain, not least because they know that a velvet divorce with Britain would bolster anti-EU parties, such as France's far-right National Front, which has already called for a referendum on EU membership. New trade deals with non-EU countries would also probably involve worse terms for the UK. While the UK wouldn't be hamstrung by protectionist interests in the EU, its smaller economy, largely open markets, and desperation for deals would weaken its clout. Indeed, the US has stated that it has no immediate interest in negotiating a trade deal with the UK. Thinking through all the economic implications of a Brexit is complicated. But the bottom line is simple: Leaving the EU would make Britain much worse off. The author, a former economic adviser to the president of the European Commission, is a visiting senior fellow at the London School of Economics' European Institute and the author of European Spring: Why Our Economies and Politics are in a Messand How to Put Them Right. Project Syndicate It's like the beating of Chinas heart, a tradition, a part of its lifestyle, a gift that comes from heaven. Old as the nation, moutai has been a witness of nearly all episodes of Chinese history, from time immemorial until now. Beyond the political changes, disorders, tears and heartaches, moutai has remained the reliable anchorage point to revitalize the faith in friendship. Among other virtues, it has played a big part in China's international relations. The national liquor (guo jiu), which has become countrys second skin, sometimes creates misunderstanding among foreigners. Here is a question: Why is moutaiso relevant? - Yes it is! answered Zhou Enlai to the then-French president Georges Pompidou during a Beijing welcoming gala in 1973. In this very tiny and small glass, you will taste a subtle balance of strength and smoothness, the salt of the earth. That is why we must drink it in a one big gulp. As Pompidou showed some difficulties in finishing it in one gulp, Zhou Enlai added with a smiling face. - Sure the alcohol level is high but it serves as a resounding reminder of the road that has been travelled over the centuries. That same year, then-Mexican president Luis Echeverria Alvarez visited China, a year after the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. During dinner, a somewhat same scene occurred. Yet again, a foreign president found it difficult to drink moutai. - I usually drink tequila or mezcal, he apologized. - Take your time! Drink slowly, suggested Zhou Enlai . I guess you will enjoy it at the end. As the tequila is for the Mexicans, moutaiis for Chinese. A few years later, in 1986, the then-Mexican president Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado, apparently told how to drink moutai by the former president, finished it one gulp in front of the surprised Li Xiannian (), the then-president of China. - Next time, take all your time, and drink slowly. It takes time to train oneself to the Chinese millinery culture. And then in 1993, the newly elected Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, warned by both predecessors, took on the challenge. To ease the drinking, he recited at the same time the well-known poem of Li Bai, Jing ye si. Of course, he had a poor Chinese accent, almost incomprehensible, but when he came to the last verse di tou si gu xiang (), then-president Jiang Zemin congratulated him. Then Gortari drank the moutaiall of a sudden. - Poetry and alcohol are some of the brightest resources of the Chinese culture, said Jiang Zemin.There is also an anecdote of another Mexican president who boasted at an official luncheon that he was a very successful heavy drinker. Just then fish was served to him, with its head pointing toward him. According to old Hunan province tradition, the person must drink three cups of moutai instantly if the fish head is pointing toward him. No talks. The Mexican president asked for forgiveness. - I actually haven't been feeling that well lately, he said failing back on the defensive. Thats when his wife said with a mischievous smile. - Darling, if you dont drink it, you will never be a real man, as Sir Charlie Chaplin used to say. - Don't worry about it, said a Chinese official, make yourself comfortable. Do as best you can! But, all the same, dive into the real world of Chinese legends and fall under the spell of eternal tales. After a month of excitement in Africa and Asia, I find vituperation has broken out among the courteous people of my homeland Sometimes you need a reality check to bring you back down to Earth. In my case, a week in Senegal, three weeks in Beijing and a week in Vietnam was a dream trip, bringing exciting new sounds and sensations after months of toiling away here in London at the coalface of truth. Almost the moment I opened my eyes on my return, it seemed like I had walked into a madhouse. I left London at a time when politicians on all sides were gently limbering up for what everyone hoped would be a civilized debate ahead of Britain's planned referendum on whether to remain in the European Union or to leave. Some chance. By the time I got back, politicians of all hues were screaming abuse at each other in scenes reminiscent of the school playground. Chief screamer and bully seems to be Boris Johnson, the erstwhile mayor of London, who in many people's eyes has put personal ambition above public service. His problem is that in becoming the highly visible and somewhat buffoonish spokesman for the OUT campaign - I detest the word Brexit, by the way - he has allowed all the shadier elements in his past public life to be aired all over again. It's a matter of public record that he was dismissed in the 1980s from the Times newspaper for falsifying quotes, and that he was sacked as a front bench spokesman by the then opposition leader, Michael Howard, for lying to him over an affair he had. Former colleagues have rushed to print to claim that his reports from Brussels for the Daily Telegraph, when he was based there, contained a series of half-truths and myths. I make no comment. But what did worry me was when, in one of his trademark bombastic and off-the-cuff speeches, he claimed the European Union shared something in common with Nazi Germany's Adolf Hitler - the desire to unify Europe by undemocratic means. Despite what some of my younger friends may think, I was born well AFTER the end of World War II. But I'm politically and socially savvy enough to know that raising the specter of Hitler, with his dreadful determination to exterminate the Jews, Communists, gypsies, homosexuals and anyone else who didn't fit into his Aryan dream, is an unutterably stupid thing to do, politically. It's all very well to say that Johnson, described by the BBC as a classicist who therefore knew his history, was only making a point. But my dear late parents, who along with millions of others gave up the best part of their youth to fight against fascism, would despair of the crass insensitivity being shown by Johnson and his fellow OUT campaigners. There are issues with the REMAIN camp, as well. Commentators were right to criticize Prime Minister David Cameron when he warned that a vote to leave would expose Britain to the danger of war. What the run-up to the referendum has brought is the sight of slanging matches involving people we Britons are supposed to look up to as our leaders. After all, we elected them. Britain, and its government, whatever its political hue, have always respected the independence of the Bank of England and the professionalism of the International Monetary Fund. Yet when leaders of both august institutions came out with dire warnings about the danger to the economy and in particular the national currency, their statements were dismissed with barely concealed contempt by politicians for the OUT campaign who surely should have known better. I had hoped for a more rational debate rather than the "yah boo sucks" level to which it has descended in my absence. And depressingly, there's still over a month to go. I need a break. The author is managing editor of China Daily European Weekly, based in London. Contact the writer at chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com Brazil's prosecutor denounces former president Lula for obstruction in Petrobras case (Xinhua) Updated: 2016-05-20 09:20 RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil's Public Prosecutor's Office denounced former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for allegedly obstructing the course of justice during the investigations into the corruption scandal in Petrobras, local media reported Thursday. TV Globo, which obtained the complaint against Lula from the public prosecutor, disclosed that the former president (2003-2010) teamed up with an entrepreneur closely linked to a corruption network in order to offer 250,000 reais (71,000 US dollars) to Petrobras' former International Director, Nestor Cervero, and he did not declare this before the justice system. The allegations came after former senator Delcidio Amaral, who was removed from office on May 10 for obstructing investigations, said he personally paid 50,000 reais (14,300 US dollars) to Cervero. The complaint detailed Lula's participation in the alleged payment to Cervero which was not declared before the justice system. After the allegations, the Lula Institute, headed by the former president, assured through a press release that the former president "never" tried to interfere in Cervero's conduct or in any other issue related to the investigations into Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras), known as Operation Car Wash. The Petrobras case encompasses a "gigantic" network formed by politicians, entrepreneurs and top executives from the oil company that rigged and distributed contracts between 2004 and 2014. It is thought that this network was able to divert at least 2 billion US dollars in the aforementioned time period. Since investigations began two years ago, allegations have been presented before the courts involving 207 accused people and so far 111 out of this figure have been sentenced. OTTAWA - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Thursday apologized for the third time in two days for a physical encounter with two opposition members of parliament (MP) that resulted in a spat in the House of Commons last night. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pauses while responding to questions after delivering an apology in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, May 19, 2016 following a physical altercation the previous day. [Photo/Agencies] "I apologize to my colleagues, to the House as a whole and to you, Mr. Speaker, for failing to live up to a higher standard of behaviour. Members, rightfully, expect better behaviour from anyone in this House. I expect better behaviour of myself," the prime minister said in the House of Commons Thursday after he apologized directly to two opposition MPs.Trudeau said "how contrite and how regretful" he is over his behaviour and said he wants to make amends.Trudeau's apology came as members of Parliament continue to debate a motion by Conservative MP Peter Van Loan on whether "the physical molestation" of the female MP in the House of Commons should be referred to the committee on procedure and house affairs. Trudeau said he agreed the matter should be studied at the committee.The spat happened at the House of Commons just before a contentious vote to limit debate on Bill C-14, the Liberal government's assistance in dying bill.The Trudeau government is trying to meet a Supreme Court-imposed June 6 deadline on the bill. However, the Canadian Parliament isn't sitting next week, giving the House and Senate only one more week of sittings to put the legislation in place.Opposition MPs said Trudeau could make amends by withdrawing his government's motion M-6, which would give them enormous power to control the House agenda and limit the opposition's ability to slow down debate. The motion, if passed, will let a Liberal cabinet minister or parliamentary secretary adjourn the House for the summer with no debate and no advance notice.Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose acknowledged Trudeau's apology, but urged him to withdraw the motion which she called "extreme and aggressive.""I appreciate the prime minister's apology, but he's saying he wants to move forward. And he wants to do that responsibly and together. I don't know how we can do that unless he removes this motion that he has on the order paper," Ambrose said in the House of Commons Thursday.However, Trudeau rejected the Opposition's attempt to tie incident to the government's decision to limit debate on Bill C-14."I refuse to allow anyone to think there was any justification for my behaviour yesterday evening. It was on me, it was my mistake, it was unbecoming of anyone in this House. I know my colleagues expect better of me," Trudeau said. "I ask for Canadians' understanding and forgiveness."The debate is expected to push aside discussion on C-14. It is also expected to put opposition MPs in charge of how long the privilege debate continues. They can simply keep talking to extend the debate, which is likely appealing following tension between the parties earlier this week. An EgyptAir flight en route from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar screens early Thursday, the company confirmed. The plane, an Airbus 320, was carrying 56 passengers, three security staffers and seven crew members, the Egyptian airline said on its Twitter account. The following is a list of major aircraft incidents that happened worldwide in recent years: On March 19, 2016, a Boeing 737-800 passenger plane of FlyDubai crashed en route from the UAE city of Dubai to Rostov-on-Don early morning at the Russian city's airport, killing all 62 people aboard. On Aug. 16, 2015, an Indonesian ATR-42 turboprop plane crashed in Mount Tangok in Bintang district of Papua. The bodies of all 54 passengers and crew members on board the plane were discovered two days later. On July 24, 2014, an Air Algerie flight with 116 people onboard crashed in neighboring Mali, killing all the 110 passengers and six Spanish crew members. On July 23, 2014, an ATR-72 plane crashed on western Taiwan's Penghu Island amid stormy weather, killing 48 people and injuring 10 others. On July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, a Boeing 777 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, went down in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished with 239 people aboard en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. On Feb. 11, 2014, 76 people were killed when a C-130 Hercules military plane belonging to the Algerian Air Force crashed in the country's eastern Oum El Bouaghi province. On June 3, 2012, a Dana Air plane from Nigeria's capital city Abuja crashed in a residential area in the Lagos metropolis, killing the 153 people on board and 40 others living inside a two-story building hit by the aircraft. On July 28, 2010, an Airblue Flight ED-202 crashed into the Margalla Hills in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, killing all the 152 people aboard. On May 22, 2010, at least 158 people were killed when an Air India Express plane from Dubai overshot the runway during landing and crashed near Mangalore airport in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. On May 12, 2010, a passenger plane of Libya's Afriqiyah Airways crashed on landing at Tripoli airport, killing all of the 103 people on board except an 8-year-old Dutch boy. On April 10, 2010, 96 people aboard Polish President Lech Kaczynski's official Tupolev Tu-154 plane were killed in a crash near Smolensk airport in western Russia. The plane was carrying Kaczynski, his wife Maria and a large number of senior Polish officials. On July 15, 2009, an Iranian passenger plane crashed near the country's northwestern city of Gazvin, killing all 168 people on board. On June 30, 2009, an Airbus A310 crashed into the Indian Ocean as it approached the airport on the Comoros Islands, killing 152 people on board. Only a 13-year-old French girl survived. On June 1, 2009, Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, went down over the Atlantic Ocean after leaving Rio de Janeiro for Paris, killing all 228 people on board. On May 20, 2009, an Indonesian Air Force Hercules C-130 crashed and burned in Magetan, East Java, killing at least 96 people and injuring 15 others. On Aug. 20, 2008, 154 people died and 18 others were injured when a 15-year-old plane crashed and burst into flames during takeoff in Madrid. US President Barack Obama will leave on May 21 for his first trip to Vietnam and his 10th trip to Asia as president, a trip that his aides said "demonstrates Obama's focus on the Asia-Pacific region". US President Barack Obama attends a comedy show celebrating Military Appreciation Month as well as the 5th anniversary of Joining Forces and the 75th anniversary of the USO at Joint Base Andrews in Clinton, Maryland, US May 5, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] The trip from May 21-28 will take Obama to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. On May 25, Obama will depart for Japan to attend the G7 summit and end his trip with a visit to Hiroshima. The president will visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, a place that serves to commemorate the people who were killed in the atomic bombing of the Japanese city on Aug 6, 1945, which hastened the end of World War II. Most of the 70,000 people killed instantly were civilians. Ben Rhodes, the White House deputy national security advisor for strategic communications, said the visit is not about issuing an apology. "And of course the American people are extraordinarily proud of the generation of service members who fought in World War II at a time of maximum territorial nations. They have a revered place in our society," he told a conference call on Thursday. Michael Green, senior vice-president for Asia, and Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a majority of Americans and a large majority of historians in the US believe that the atomic bombing was necessary to shorten the war and forestall an invasion of Kyushu, which would have led to many more casualties. Rhodes emphasized that the visit is to pay tribute to the enormous suffering and loss of innocents and also to pursue a world without nuclear weapons, a proposal by Obama in 2009 that won him the Nobel Peace Prize. The president has been criticized in the past year for his efforts to spend $1 trillion in the next 30 years to upgrade the US' nuclear weaponry. A possible US lifting of an arms ban on Vietnam has made headlines in the past days. Daniel Kristenbrink, senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council, said on Wednesday that all of the sales since the US enacted a partial lifting in 2014 on maritime-related articles are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. "And human rights considerations are a part of that process," he said. Rhodes said a decision on the issue has not been finalized. He expects it to be discussed by Obama in his meetings with Vietnamese leaders. "We are looking at it, not narrowly in the context of simply whether or not to lift the ban, but rather where is our relationship going " he said. There have been reports that the Vietnamese government is studying a request to grant the US Navy greater access to Cam Ranh Bay, a move that might draw attention from China. US Trade Representative Michael Froman, who also will make the trip, talked about how the Trans-Pacific Partnership will open the Vietnamese market and benefit US businesses, citing the high tariffs there now for automobiles and beef. But he also acknowledged the challenges there about child labor, intellectual property and environmental issues. He said the Obama administration is consulting with US congressional leaders to see when would be a good time for a vote on the TPP. The US, Vietnam and Japan all are members of the 12-nation TPP, an agreement reached last October. But Japan and the US are facing an uphill battle to ratify the treaty. Three standing 2016 US presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, all opposed TPP. China has always kept a close eye on US leaders' trips to the region. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Thursday that "we hope that cooperation between relevant countries will be constructive and conducive to peace, stability and security of the region". Kurt Campbell, chairman of the Asia Group and a former US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said the trip is not part of "pincer movement aimed at China". He emphasized that Obama's meeting with President Xi Jinping was the only bilateral meeting Obama had during the Nuclear Security Summit (March 31-April 1), and the two leaders will meet for a summit again in September during the G20 summit in China. Seattle is getting another infusion of Chinese capital. Real estate developer Vanke, the largest residential builder in China, is entering the market in a partnership to finance a $200 million, 43-story apartment tower three blocks from e-commerce giant Amazon's headquarters. Vanke will be putting up a "significant" amount of the financing, though the amount is still being discussed and will be finalized next month, said Bob Kagan, senior vice-president of California-based Laconia Development, the partners with Vanke. The building on what is now a parking lot will have 400 one and two-bedroom units and retail on the ground floor. Construction will start early next year and take approximately a year and a half to complete, according to Kagan. Representatives for Vanke did not respond to a request for comment. Kagan said the building's location in Seattle's Belltown area is the city's most densely-populated neighborhood and on the downtown waterfront. "It is a very up-and-coming area it would be like the Village or something similar in New York," said Kagan. Another project in Belltown involving Chinese investment is the 41-story Potala Tower, construction of which has stalled because of accusations of fraud and misuse of funds by its developer, Lobsang Dargey. The US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Dargey in August and a judge will decide whether to transfer ownership from Dargey to a Las Vegas developer and Chinese firm that both own partial stakes in the tower. Chinese investors put $83 million into the project, through the US EB-5 visa program which grants investors a visa in return for a minimum of $500,000 investment into a new or ongoing American business, according to the Seattle Times. Kagan said that Vanke sees business opportunities in Seattle, where there is a burgeoning tech scene. "They are going into areas where they see good job growth and high incomes, and Seattle is very much like San Francisco. I've always said that Seattle is San Francisco's most northern suburb," he said in an interview. "They physically look alike and are similar. Seattle is about five years behind San Francisco, and you look at San Francisco today and it'll tell you what Seattle will look like in five years. Because of the job growth and the kind of job growth in knowledge-based industries they want to be there." Vanke's Seattle investment in the city is a significant step into the market, said Lucy Fletcher, managing director of international capital at JLL. "There's proximity to the (major gateway port markets of the West Coast. You've seen that immigrant wave in Vancouver, where today market pricing is at all-time record highs for condos and residential. You've got a number of major growth drivers in the Seattle economy," she said in an interview. Chinese Executive Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui and US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken co-chaired the China-US Strategic Security Dialogue in Washington on Thursday. The two sides conducted a deep discussion on strategic security issues of common concerns in a candid way, according to a press release from the Chinese delegation. Both sides agreed to use the strategic security dialogue mechanism to continue communication, strengthen mutual trust, promote cooperation, and properly handle differences in order to push forward a healthy and stable development of the China-US relationship. Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai, Central Military Commission Assistant Chief to the General Staff Ma Yiming and US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Christine Wormuth also attended the meeting. US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, US, May 16, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton pivoted to a general election match-up against Republican candidate Donald Trump on Thursday, saying he is dangerously unpredictable and not qualified to be president. Confident that she is finally close to defeating US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont for the Democratic nomination, Clinton turned heavy fire on Trump, who has been running about even with her in national polls of voters looking ahead to the Nov. 8 presidential election. On the Republican side, Trump promoted top aide Paul Manafort to serve as campaign manager and chief strategist, the Trump campaign said. Corey Lewandowski, the Trump aide who has been campaign manager, retains that title and will continue to oversee day-to-day operations, the campaign said. In addition, Trump has hired veteran Republican lawyer A.B. Culvahouse to help vet potential vice presidential running mates, a source close to the campaign said. In a CNN interview, Clinton used the example of the apparent downing of an EgyptAir plane from Paris to Cairo to say that Trump would lack the skills to bring together US allies to respond to global threats. "I know how hard this job is and I know we need steadiness, as well as strength and smarts in it, and I have concluded that he is not qualified to be president of the United States," Clinton said. Trump, the Republicans' presumptive presidential nominee, has been intensifying his criticism of Clinton by lobbing personal attacks at her and her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Clinton, a former US secretary of state, said she would resolutely refuse to respond to Trump's goading. "He can say whatever he wants," she said. But she said the EgyptAir crash reinforces the need for American leadership and that Trump's proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States has sent the wrong signal to countries that Washington will need to work with in the fight against Islamic militants. "He says a lot of things that are provocative, that actually make the important task of building this coalition, bringing everybody to the table and defeating terrorism more difficult," she said. "It sends a message of disrespect and it sends a message that makes the situation inside those countries more difficult." Clinton suggested the Democratic race was over because of her nearly insurmountable lead in delegates to the nominating convention, despite Sanders' insistence on staying in the race. "I will be the nominee for my party," she said. "That is already done, in effect. There is no way that I won't be." She said Sanders will have to eventually help her unify the Democratic Party after the prolonged nomination fight. "I am absolutely committed to doing my part, more than my part. But Senator Sanders has to do his part," she said. The Sanders campaign rebuffed Clinton's nudge to get out of the race, pointing to his recent victories. "In the past three weeks voters in Indiana, West Virginia and Oregon respectfully disagreed with Secretary Clinton. We expect voters in the remaining eight contests also will disagree," Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said. Trump stepped up efforts to rally Republican loyalists behind his campaign after winning a divisive primary fight that left the party ruptured. On Capitol Hill, Manafort and other Trump aides met with conservatives in the House of Representatives who are members of the Freedom Caucus group and canvassed them for policy ideas. "Manafort was reaching out for ideas" on policy, and several Freedom Caucus members made suggestions, said Republican Representative Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee. "It went very well, it was encouraging. I think the Trump team recognizes the relevance of the Freedom Caucus, and the influence they have. I think actually, despite some early skepticism by some members, I think the (Freedom Caucus) board received Manafort and his representation of Trump very well," DesJarlais said. Manafort also met with US Senator Mike Lee of Utah, a Tea Party Republican who was a big backer of US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas for president. Lee has expressed some concerns about Trump's candidacy. A spokesman for Lee said US Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, a key Trump adviser, was also at the meeting. Pilots of an Egyptian military plane take part in a search operation for the EgyptAir plane that disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea in this still image taken from video May 19, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] CAIRO -- Egyptian Armed Forces have found human remains and more wreckage of the crashed EgyptAir flight, Egypt's ministry of civil aviation said on Friday. In a press statement, the ministry said besides human remains, the army has found the plane's seats and passengers' belongings. The search is still going on, the statement said. Earlier on Friday, the military has found debris from the crashed EgyptAir plane 290 km north of the coastal city of Alexandria. The Airbus A320, en route from Paris to Cairo, disappeared from radar screens on Thursday at 2:45 am Cairo local time (0045 GMT) with 66 people aboard, including 30 Egyptians and 15 French. The plane was flying at an altitude of 37,000 feet (11,280 meters) when losing contact with the radar, an official source in the airline said. Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said that the plane had made abrupt swerves and lost altitude within Egyptian airspace. The flight MS804 entered the Greek airspace at 02:24 am local time (2324 GMT, May 18), according to an earlier press statement. During the last contact of the plane's pilot with Greek air traffic controllers at 02:48 am local time while the Airbus was flying over the Greek island of Kos no problems were reported. The aircraft exited the Greek airspace, before suddenly disappearing from radar screens within Egyptian airspace at 03:29 am according to the Greek authorities. Athens attempted to contact the plane at 03:27 am for the typical transfer of communication to Egyptian air traffic controllers, but there was no response, according to the official announcement. The Greek Civil Aviation Authority, as well as Greece's Defense Ministry, have not confirmed local media reports that the captain of a passenger vessel reported a flash in the sky about 130 nautical miles off the Greek island of Karpathos, Greek national news agency ANA-MPA stressed. PARIS - Salah Abdeslam, the surviving suspect of last November's deadly Paris attacks, Friday appeared before a French anti-terror court for a first questioning, local media reported. Under heavy security, Abdeslam arrived at the Paris main law court to face questioning on his role in the series of shootings and explosions which left 130 victims dead. The 26-year-old man was accused of belonging to a terrorist organization planning attacks, murder, kidnapping and holding weapons and explosives. Europe's most-wanted fugitive was arrested in March during a raid in Molenbeek in the Belgian capital of Brussels. Transferred from Belgium to France on April 27, Abdeslam is now in solitary confinement in a high-security prison in Fleury-Merogis, south Paris. Initially opposing to be sent home, Abdeslam later asked to return home "to explain himself," his defense lawyer Sven Mary said. According to a Paris prosecutor, Abdeslam had planned to blow himself up on Nov 13 last year at the Stade de France, but changed his mind at the last minute. BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping Friday sent messages respectively to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and French President Francois Hollande, extending condolences over the crash of EgyptAir's Flight MS804. In the messages, Xi expressed deep condolences to the victims of the disaster and sincere sympathy to their families. EgyptAir's Flight MS804, en route from Paris to Cairo, disappeared from radar screens on Thursday at 2:45 a.m. local time in Cairo (0045 GMT) with 66 people aboard, including 30 Egyptians and 15 French. The Egyptian Armed Forces said in a statement on Friday it had found parts of debris from the missing plane in the sea 290 kilometers north of the coastal city of Alexandria. Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming made the following remarks in his key speech on Friday to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, a leading international think-tank. It is truly a delight to be back again at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) after three years. Back then, I was invited by Dr. John Chipman to deliver a speech about China's Diplomacy in the New Era. Today my speech is also about China's diplomacy, but I will focus on one issue - the South China Sea. Recently the South China Sea issue has attracted much attention and media coverage. However, the articles and reporting show that the truth and facts behind the issue remain unclear to most people. Misunderstandings still exist. So I have chosen to speak about this issue at IISS, a prestigious institution that focuses on international studies. I will expound on China's position and policy, and then take questions from you. In this way, I hope our interaction today will help you gain a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of the issue. In order to be objective, impartial and rational on the issue of the South China Sea, one must get to the root of the issue and put it in perspective. So I would like to begin with the history of China and the South China Sea. The islands and reefs in the South China Sea have been Chinese territory since ancient times. I emphasise ancient times' to highlight the historical facts that put the South China Sea firmly on the map of China. To elaborate on this, let me share with you four "Firsts". China was the first to discover the islands in the South China Sea Some of the countries attempt to claim some of the islands on grounds of "prior possession". They try to get away with their illegal occupation by referring to Nansha Islands as "Terra Nullius". In fact, as early as 200 BC, during China's Han Dynasty, the Chinese had large-scale and frequent sea-faring and fishing activities in the South China Sea. There is clear evidence that the South China Sea was already used by China as an important shipping route since ancient times. It follows that, because of frequent shipping, the Chinese became the first to discover the islands in the South China Sea. Marwyn Samuels is known for his studies on the South China Sea. He wrote a book in the 1980s called Contest for the South China Sea'. In this book he wrote: "Along the way, both literarily and figuratively, the South China Sea and its islands helped shape the geographical cognita of the Chinese world order." Second, China was the first to name the islands in the South China Sea. Today, Nansha of the South China Sea is called the Spratly Islands in the west. This name comes from a British sea captain called Richard Spratly who thought it was he who had "discovered" and "named" the islands in 1843. But actually the Chinese had started to name the Nansha Islands about 2,000 years before he did. In various kinds of Chinese historical records dating back to over 2000 years, the South China Sea is known as "Zhang Hai", or "rising sea", and the islands, reefs, shoals and sands as "Qi Tou", or "rugged peaks". In historical documents of later dynasties after the Han Dynasty, ancient names referring to today's Xisha Islands, Nansha Islands and individual islands in the archipelagoes are clearly recorded. A popular sailing guide called "Geng Lu Bu" was compiled by Chinese fishermen. This was during the Ming and Qing Dynasties between the 14th and 20th century. In this book, names of dozens of islands of the South China Sea, including those in Nansha, are recorded. Many of these names have been widely adopted and used by international sailors until this day. Third, China was the first to exercise administrative jurisdiction in the South China Sea. Ever since China's Tang Dynasty, about 1,200 years ago, successive Chinese governments have exercised jurisdiction over the South China Sea. This included islands and the waters around them. China's sovereignty was established through administrative establishment, naval patrol, resources development and management. In the 10th century, during China's Song Dynasty, local chronicles explicitly recorded that the islands in the South China Sea were under the administrative jurisdiction of Qiongzhou, which is today's Hainan province. In 1279, China's famous astronomer Guo Shoujing was recorded traveling to the South China Sea and building observatorial facilities. The Governments of the Ming and Qing dynasties both placed the South China Sea under the supervision of naval patrols. Fourth, China is also the first country to develop the islands in the South China Sea. For centuries, the Chinese have been engaged in fishing, planting and other activities on the islands and in the nearby waters. The remains of this continuous habitation can be seen through archaeological evidence found on many islands. The fact that only Chinese lived on the Nansha islands is recorded clearly in the book called The China Sea Pilot published by the British Navy in 1868. The aforementioned four "Firsts" are based on substantial and concrete historical evidence. They testify to the fact that the islands of the South China Sea have long been Chinese territory under successive, peaceful and effective administration. Until the 1970s, it was widely recognised by the international community that islands in the South China Sea belonged to China. Let me give you two examples: In 1883, Germany sent military vessels to Xisha and Nansha for surveys. The Government of Guangdong Province protested to the Germans, citing Chinese sovereignty. Germany had to stop the survey and withdrew their team. In 1958, the Chinese government issued a declaration on territorial waters applicable to all Chinese territory including Xisha, Nansha and other islands in the South China Sea. Vietnam's then prime minister, Pham Van ong, sent to Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai a diplomatic note which explicitly recognizes that Xisha and Nansha belonged to China. I could give you more examples like these if we had more time. History speaks for itself as to who owns those islands in the South China Sea. Then how did the disputes arise? Since the 1970s, some countries have tried to lay claim on the natural resources in the South China Sea. It was then that some nations began to make territorial claims. Vietnam and Philippines sent troops and illegally occupied some of the islands. That is how the disputes started. Up till today, Vietnam has occupied 29 islands, Philippines eight and Malaysia five. In 1982, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was concluded after 9 years of negotiations. With this development of the maritime legal system in the 1980s, countries around the South China Sea gradually made further claims. These were based on UNCLOS agreements that include the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), continental shelf and other maritime rights and interests. Such overlapping claims in some cases gave rise to disputes of maritime delimitation. This has caused further complications to the issue of the South China Sea. It is clear that there are two disputes at the centre of the South China Sea issue: One is the territorial dispute caused by illegal occupation of Chinese territory. The other is the dispute over maritime delimitation caused by overlapping claims of maritime jurisdiction. These two disputes are intertwined and have made the issue highly complex. However, one thing is clear: whichever angle one chooses to look at the issue, China has never been the troublemaker. Quite the opposite, China has been a victim. Then what is China's position and policy? For a long time China has exercised a high-level of self-restraint and forbearance on this issue. We have always approached the disputes in a constructive and responsible manner. If China had not maintained self-restraint, the South China Sea would not have been what it is today. I would like to summarize China's position as five "commitments". First, China maintains a strong commitment to peace and stability in the South China Sea. For years, China has been a staunch force safeguarding and maintaining regional peace and stability. Building friendship and partnership with neighbours has always been a top priority in China's policy towards neighbouring countries. The Chinese people are a peace loving nation. Moreover, China's development needs a peaceful environment. In the past three decades peace and stability has enabled China to industrialise at a speed and scale that is unprecedented in human history. This advance by China can be largely attributed to the peaceful and stable environment in its neighborhood and beyond. So, China would be the last to wish to see instability in the South China Sea. It means that China would be the first to oppose conflicts in the South China Sea. Second, China maintains a strong commitment to solving disputes peacefully through friendly consultations and negotiations. The ultimate resolution of territorial disputes, regardless of its mechanisms or process, has to be agreed between parties directly involved. The dialogue must be based on negotiations on an equal footing if such a resolution is to be fundamental and lasting. Negotiations and consultations are the most effective way of disputes resolution. This is because they can, to the greatest extent, reflect the principle of sovereign equality and the will and wishes of the parties involved. Since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, we have signed boundary treaties with 12 of our 14 neighbours on land. These treaties involved over 20,000 kilometers of boundary. Most of the neighbors are medium-sized or small nations, but none of them has ever complained about the approach of China in the negotiations. These are examples of how China has resolved disputes through face-to-face negations with other countries directly involved in the disputes. The South China Sea disputes do not need to be an exception. Experience shows that only negotiation and consultation could help the parties concerned to constantly build mutual trust, manage problems, narrow differences and advance cooperation. Negotiation and consultation are the most realistic and effective approach to the South China Sea issue. Third, China maintains a strong commitment to rule-based dispute management. China and ASEAN countries signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in 2002 and are now working closely on the making of the "Code of Conduct in the South China Sea", or COC for short. Since the start of the COC consultation, there has already been much progress. China and ASEAN countries have worked actively to set up the "Senior Officials' Hotline Platform" in response to maritime emergencies, and the "Point-to-Point Hotline Communication" on search and rescue. All sides have also agreed to establish "Preventive Measures to Manage Risks at Sea", which will serve as the interim measure prior to the final conclusion of the COC. What happened over the years has testified to the effectiveness of rule-based dispute management. Fourth, China maintains a strong commitment to the freedom of navigation and over-flight. China is the biggest littoral state in the South China Sea. The vast majority of China's energy supply and trade pass through the South China Sea. This means China cares more than any other nation about freedom of navigation and over-flight in the South China Sea. Recently freedom of navigation' has become a hot subject. Some people talk about "protecting the freedom of navigation". This creates a dangerous misunderstanding as it implies that the safety and security of ships passing through the region were under immediate threat. The reality is that more than 100,000 vessels pass through the South China Sea every year. None of them has ever run into any problem with freedom of navigation. If there was real threat to maritime traffic in the South China Sea then this would immediately result in a jump in shipping insurance rates. This has not happened. The Reuters news agency reported in January that there are no signs of commercial shipping being affected in the South China Sea. The report went on to say that the South China Sea area was not listed as a high risk area by the industry's influential Lloyd's Joint War Committee. This means insurers do not charge additional premiums for vessels operating in the region. Business people, particularly insurers, are the most responsive to risks. Yet they haven't sensed any threat to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. This makes me wonder what kind of "freedom of navigation" some people are feeling so eager to protect. The fact is, "freedom of navigation" has recently been used as an excuse by the United States to flex its military muscles in the South China Sea. The United States sends military jets and warships on close-in reconnaissance in the nearby waters and air space of China's islands and reefs. Such dangerous actions has increased tension and posed a threat to China's sovereignty and security. For example, just ten days ago, the USS William P. Lawrence, a guided missile destroyer, illegally sailed into the waters near China's Nansha islands. The ship manoevered without Chinese government's permission in sovereign waters of China. Actions such as this, I am afraid, can not be regarded as protection of "freedom of navigation". They are a manifestation of superior military power and the assertion of maritime dominance. These actions have posed the biggest threat to the real freedom of navigation and the peace and stability in the South China Sea. To those who claim that they care about freedom of navigation and over-flight, I hope they will act in strict accordance with the international law and respect the sovereignty and security of coastal state. The actions of the United States should be judged at all times by its approach to international law. If the United States had a serious commitment to maritime law then it would have signed the UNCLOS. China has signed UNCLOS along with most other member nations. Respect for international law and peaceful dialogue on disputes is crucial for the stability and peace in the South China Sea. Military provocation and intimidation in the name of "freedom of navigation" is highly dangerous. Such actions directly undermine regional peace and stability. Turning to my next commitment point. Fifth, China maintains strong commitment to win-win cooperation. China values friendly and cooperative relationship with its neighbours. We have taken the initiative to call on all parties involved to "shelf differences and engage in joint development" in the South China Sea. This provides a useful approach to the resolution of the issue. And it is an approach that takes into consideration the interest of all parties concerned. To put this into practice, China has engaged in a series of cooperation initiatives with relevant countries. In 2005, oil companies from China, Vietnam and the Philippines signed the "Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking in Certain Areas in the South China Sea". This was an effort for joint development of oil and gas resources in the South China Sea. In 2011, China announced the establishment of China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Fund with a total of three billion RMB yuan, or more than 300 million pounds. This was set up to fund maritime cooperation projects. Two years ago, China put forward the initiative of the 21st century Maritime Silk Road. This demonstrated the mutual benefits which the ASEAN countries can enjoy by becoming regional hubs of development. These measures and initiatives are evidence of China's efforts and good faith in seeking further and deeper maritime cooperation with its neighbours. The aforesaid five "Commitments" constitute China's position on the South China Sea. They demonstrate China's sincerity: For resolving the issues. For securing the regional peace and stability. And for promoting the common development in China's neighborhood. Recently a number of hot issues have cropped up with regard to the South China Sea. In turn I will share with you my views. The first one is about the "arbitration" The reference to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) was unilaterally initiated by the Philippines. Many media reports are creating misunderstanding by not explaining clearly this circumstances of the arbitration'. A crucial point is that this is not a court of law. The PCA itself states: "The PCA is not a court in the traditional sense, but a permanent framework for arbitral tribunals" For any arbitration to work it requires the proactive participation and agreement of both sides. Another critical point is that China rejected to participate in the arbitration at the PCA. From the very start of the reference from the Philipinnes for the arbitration China made it clear this was not an acceptable way to resolve the dispute. Some media and politicians are now ramping up this topic of arbitration. They are erroneously making these claims: If China does not accept the ruling of the arbitration panel it will be breaking international law. It would be seen as "violating the international law" and "undermining the rule-based international system". This is completely wrong. China's rejection of the arbitration and non-participation in the arbitral process is an act of exercising its legitimate rights empowered by the international law. In contrast, it is the Philippines who is challenging the legal and moral bottom line of the international community because the arbitration is totally unreasonable, unfair and illegal. My second point about the arbitration is that it is unreasonable. It is not reasonable because the Philippines went against its commitment to China and other ASEAN countries. Let me briefly summarise the logic of this point. China and the Philippines reached a number of bilateral agreements long ago on resolving disputes through bilateral negotiations. In the Declaration of Conduct reached between China and Philippines and other ASEAN countries, it is clearly stipulated that "the parties concerned undertake to resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means." In 2011, the Philippines issued a joint statement with China to reaffirm its commitment to negotiations and consultations. However, a year later, it suddenly went back on its clear written commitment. Without notifying China, or even asking for consent from China, the Philipinnes initiated the arbitration against China unilaterally. "Pacta sunt servanda" is a basic rule in international relations. This is the bottom line of morality that every country must strictly observe. To put it simply, the Philippines has reneged on its words and deeds. Another point is that the arbitration is unfair. It is unfair because the islands in the arbitration case are the sovereignty property of China since ancient times. What the Philippines is doing is robbing its neighbour and asking the court to rule in its favour over the ownership of the booty. No one in the world should find this reasonable. Here in Britain, there is always an emphasis on a "rule-based international system". But if rules can be abused, as they are in the Philippine arbitration, what should we expect from such rules and order? The arbitration is illegal for three apparent reasons: First UNCLOS stipulates that States Parties have the right to settle a dispute by any peaceful means of their own choice. The aforementioned arbitration was unilaterally forced ahead by the Philippines, who did not seek consent from China. This violates China's legitimate right under the international law. Second UNCLOS also states: "If the States Parties have agreed to seek settlement of the dispute by a peaceful means of their own choice, the (arbitration) procedures apply only where no settlement has been reached by recourse to such means and the agreement between the parties does not exclude any further procedure." China has always been open to bilateral means and clearly bilateral means between China and the Philippines has not been exhausted. Third, UNCLOS states: "When a dispute arises between State Parties concerning the interpretation or application of this Convention, the parties to the dispute shall proceed expeditiously to an exchange of views regarding its settlement by negotiation or other peaceful means." However, the Philippines have never had any consultations with China. Its unilateral initiation of the arbitration is an overt violation of law. It should also be noted, for the record, that both China and the Phillipinnes signed and ratified UNCLOS. Compared with what the Philippines did, China has truly implemented and championed the international law. With the PCA the 15 submissions made by the Philippines concern territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation. The UNCLOS has no jurisdiction over issues related to sovereignty. As for maritime delimitation, China made a declaration in 2006 in accordance with Article 298 of the UNCLOS. This made it very clear China would exclude disputes on maritime delimitation from compulsory arbitration. So China has exercised its legitimate rights conferred by the UNCLOS. China's action complies with the international law. It should be noted that over 30 other countries, including the UK, have made similar declarations on the same principle of exclusion. These declarations have constituted an inseparable part of the UNCLOS. The reasonable and legitimate appeals and concerns of these countries should be considered. If the Philippines' arbitration case became a convention to be followed, then any of these 30 countries could be dragged into arbitration without prior notice. This would be a serious damage to state sovereign, international order and the dignity and authority of the international law. There has been speculation in the media that the PCA may soon make public its report on the so called arbitration' triggered by the Philipinnes. China is not hiding away from any outcome. China has been totally consistent in its respect for international law. What China refuses to do is participate, accept, recognize or implement any arbitration that has no legitimacy in upholding international law. The PCA is running a risk of undermining its authority and legitimacy. The PCA has created a situation where the arbitration is clearly unreasonable, unfair and illegal. Despite this the PCA has still chosen to proceed with the arbitration with only the Philipinnes participating. This raises grave concern about the PCA impartiality and legitimacy. It has also call into question the political attention behind the arbitration. The arbitration in essence is a political initiative under the cloak of law. China will never accept the result whatever comes from the PCA. Although China rejects the arbitration, the door to bilateral negotiation remains open. China and the Philippines are close neighbors. The Chinese and the Philipinne peoples have had a long tradition of friendly ties. The Philippines has just elected a new President. We hope that the new Philippine government will work with China on a proper settlement of differences and bring the situation in the South China Sea back on track following the principles established by UNCLOS and international law. Another issue I want to talk about is the developments on China's islands in the South China Sea. Development on some of the Nansha islands began a few years ago. The building efforts will improve the living conditions on the islands and will serve mainly civilian purposes. This includes providing necessary and emergency public services to China and to other countries in and from outside the region. The facilities built include lighthouses, maritime communication facilities, search and rescue facilities and medical centers. They will enable China to better fulfill its international responsibility and obligations, such as maritime search and rescue, disaster prevention and relief, maritime scientific research, meteorological observation, eco-environmental protection, navigation safety and fishing services. There are necessary defence facilities deployed according to Chinese security assessments. Such deployment on China's own islands falls within the right of self-protection that every sovereign state is entitled to under international law. In January 2016, according to Reuters news agency, it stated that: "Some shippers believe a greater Chinese presence could actually improve safety." The Reuters report quoted ship owners saying: "If China is to base search-and-rescue assets on the (disputed) islands then there would potentially be faster response times, improving the chances of rescue and survival." Earlier I described the crucial importance to international trade of the safe and free of navigation for ships through the South China Sea. Reasonable observers would then applaud China's investment and actions to make this critical international artery safer. However, some people complain about the scale and speed of the building efforts. I want to remind these people that scale and speed are not the benchmark for right and wrong. The scale and speed of China's building efforts match China's international responsibility in the South China Sea. Why would China sit on its hands and refrain from doing the right things simply because of its size? Some others accuse China of "changing the status quo". I would like to ask this question: What is the "status quo"? China's construction takes place on its own islands. China is not changing any "status quo". And I would also like to ask those who are so keen on not "changing the status quo": Why are they silent when some countries illegally occupied China's islands and went in for large-scale construction activities there? The third issue is the so called "militarisation" of the South China Sea. Recently the "militarisation" has been hyped up and the United States shouts the loudest. However, it is not difficult to see who is "militarising" the South China Sea. More than half of the US military force is deployed in Asia-Pacific. Yet, this is a region that has been largely peaceful and stable for many years. In addition to this huge military force, the USA, together with its allies in the region, frequently flexes its military muscles. This is shown with the conduct of highly-targeted military drills. Then there are the military jets and warships on close-in reconnaissance in the nearby waters and air space of China's islands and reefs. It is these provocative and hostile actions that have raised the tension in the South China Sea. These acts have sent wrong signals to Philippines and others who have recklessly deployed military facilities on their illegally occupied islands. The answer to the question of who is "militarising" the South China Sea is nothing but self-evident. Going forward it is the hope of China that the United States: Will act as a big country with responsibility. Be prudent in what it says or does on this complicated issue. Commit to and respect widely agreed international law, such as UNCLOS. And work with China to safeguard stability and peace. Therefore, to solve the "militarisation" issue, the United States needs to: First of all, stop its dangerous provocations that challenge China's sovereignty and security. Secondly, stop being provocative with its "militarisation". And thirdly, take concrete steps to facilitate peace and stability in the region. Ladies and Gentlemen, Complicated and sensitive as the South China Sea issue is, the region has maintained overall stability thanks to the joint efforts of China and its neighbours. China will, as it grows in strength, make greater contribution to the stability and prosperity of the South China Sea region. As President Xi Jinping once said, China pursues maritime power through peace, development and win-win cooperation. What China has achieved today can be largely attributed to its path of peaceful development. And China will keep to this path. Looking into the future: China is confident and capable of resolving disputes through negotiations and consultations. China has shown a consistent commitment to upholding international law. China has been continuous in safeguarding peace and stability of the South China Sea through cooperation. China is ready to join hands with other countries to create peaceful resolution. And China can always be counted on to build the South China Sea into a sea of peace, a sea of friendship and a sea of cooperation. SYDNEY - Chinese internet company Alibaba has announced it would expand its operations to Australia. New South Wales (NSW) state chief executive of the Australia-China Business Council James Hudson confirmed to Xinhua he would begin at Alibaba's Australian headquarters next month. "We see a lot of potential in the Australian market as Alibaba continues its globalization efforts," an Alibaba spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday. "We aim to have dedicated country operations to work closely with Australian merchants and partners and it is our plan to establish an office in Australia in late 2016 to better help local brands and merchants to access to the Chinese consumer market." Australia ranked as the fifth top-selling country into China during its Global Shopping Festival last year, the company said. "Australian brands and retailers like Woolworths, Chemist Warehouse, Bellamy's Organic, Jessica's Suitcase, Blackmores, Swisse and many others have opened a flagship online store on Tmall Global (owned by Alibaba) to sell to Chinese consumers,"they added. Alibaba surpassed $476 billion in gross merchandise volume in March 2016. Automaker aims to boost sales in domestic and international markets The car industry may be taking tentative steps toward producing new energy vehicles with a focus on small models, but SAIC Motor Corp Ltd, China's largest automaker, is thinking big. At the recent Auto China 2016 show in Beijing, SAIC Maxus, a subsidiary, displayed two large zero-emissions vehicles: the seven-seat EG10 and 15-seat EV80. A Production line of SAIC Motor Corp, whose subsidiary SAIC Maxus displayed two large zero-emissions vehicles at the recent auto China show in Beijing. Provided to China Daily What's more, the automaker is already thinking about exports, particularly to the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand, even though the governments there are not as zealous as China in encouraging environmentally friendly cars, company executives say. "We're in this for the long term. If you invest a lot, you earn a lot eventually," says Shawber Guan, SAIC Maxus' overseas business sales manager. SAIC Motor will also step up efforts to increase sales of its new energy vehicles in China, adds Wu Fengjie, its regional deputy general manager for sales. Three major initiatives will mark SAIC's efforts. First, it will focus on urban families for the EG10, and travel agencies and mobile businesses for the EV80. (To popularize the concept, SAIC Maxus designed an EV80 mobile coffeeshop for the expo.) Second, heavy investment will be made toward changing the mindset of people in global markets. "We have already made a good start," Guan says. "Supportive government policies and advanced technologies are good but not enough. We'll increase our advertising budget to explain the advantages of new energy vehicles to consumers in target markets." Third, SAIC will support creation of the necessary infrastructure like charging points. "It'd be good if city-level governments could emulate Shanghai, where buyers of new energy vehicles get free number plates that otherwise cost 86,000 yuan ($13,200; 11,500 euros)," Guan says. "The city will install 10,000 charging stations in the next three years." Executives say SAIC's green cars can cover a distance of 150 to 200 kilometers on a full charge, enough to cover the daily needs of an average couple with children. This year, in China, the company aims to sell 6,000 EV80s, priced about 500,000 yuan, and 1,000 EG10s, priced at 400,000 yuan. "Our e-vehicles can attain speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour. We can use our manufacturing capacity to make up to 20,000 units a year," Guan says. It was reported that a senior official with the People's Liberation Army was impressed with SAIC's new energy vehicles at the expo, he says. "But we're not intending to actively seek government orders. "We're proud of our quality and reputation. The government's support for new energy vehicles is encouraging. Past that, if we also receive orders, we'd be very glad." In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates is reported to be keener than others to switch over to new energy cars. After the Dubai Motor Show in November, local distributors requested that SAIC arrange a few sample vehicles for extended test runs, Guan says. As European Union regulations move toward the Euro 6 standard for emissions, which is expected to increase demand for e-vehicles, SAIC also plans to target that market, including Britain, he adds. "We also have long-term plans to enter the US and Canada." siva@chinadaily.com.cn Students from China continue to show a strong interest in studying in New Zealand, its education and immigration authorities say. Education New Zealand says 29,640 students from China were issued student visas last year, 15 percent more than in 2014. China, together with India, the Philippines, the United States and Brazil, formed the major driving forces for New Zealand's growth in the number of visas issued to students last year, it said. Chinese formed the largest group taking up tertiary studies in New Zealand last year, accounting for 45 percent of the visas issued. Steven Joyce, New Zealand's minister for tertiary education, skills and employment, said in a previous interview with China Daily that the number of Chinese enrolling for tertiary education had also risen notably in 2014. Many chose to study subjects such as business and management, English, science, creative arts and education, which are strengths of New Zealand. What is equally impressive, Joyce said, is that more Chinese families are considering a full range of schooling in New Zealand, from primary school to intermediate school and secondary education. Last year Chinese students accounted for more than 20 percent of those having their applications approved for visas to study in New Zealand primary and intermediate schools, second to students from South Korea, Education New Zealand said. Despite the economic slowdown in China and the possibility that the number of Chinese students studying overseas may shrink, Joyce said he is confident New Zealand will not be greatly affected. Joyce said that because China is moving from a manufacturing-based to a consumption-driven economy, it shares some interests with New Zealand. Trade in food and tourism are likely to increase, for example. "I think we will see flows continue to grow." Joyce said that with a population of only 4.5 million, New Zealand will never be a mass study destination. "Rather, it is a destination of choice for those seeking a high-quality, globally recognized English-language education in a safe, multicultural, Asia-Pacific environment." Apart from education, he said, New Zealand is a "boutique option" for Chinese students who seek a high quality of life. Research by Immigration New Zealand found that 43 percent of Chinese students who attained a tertiary degree stay on to work in the country. Liu Qibao (left), head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, attends the first BRICS Media Summit in Beijing in December. Liu arrives in New Zealand on May 24 for an official visit. JIN LIANGKUAI / XINHUA The Hobbit and much more are tourist draws, An Baijie reports. China-New Zealand cultural exchange events to be held from May 24 with participation of senior officials from both countries are expected to boost people-to-people communications between the two countries. A delegation led by Liu Qibao, head of the Communist Party of China Central Committee's Publicity Department, will promote bilateral cultural exchanges through a series of events including Chinese Film Week and the Beautiful China Photo exhibition. Cultural exchanges have played an important role in bilateral ties in recent years as more Chinese are traveling to New Zealand to enjoy its landscape and culture. On China's popular travel website mafengwo.cn many tourists say they have traveled to the places in New Zealand seen in blockbuster films and that their trips are unforgettable. "In the little township of Matamata the landscape is just the same as what you see in The Lord of the Rings," a traveler identified as Lai Lai said on the website. "The whole township is colorful, just like in a fairy world." The traveler said that even though the ticket price is a little steep, the NZ$75 is well worth it for any Hobbit fan. "Visitors can visit the 44 unique houses of the Hobbit, including the Bag End where Frodo and Bilbo started their adventure," said a traveler with the user name Am Cecilia. Sun Xiaopeng, a writer, said that whether travelers have watched The Lord of the Rings or not, they will fall in love with Matamata. "We attended the program of the Hobbiton Movie Set & Farm Tours. Following our guide, we traveled through the Kaimai farm, 500 hectares of beautiful land. We saw flocks of sheep eat grass at their leisure." Cows imported from New Zealand are unloaded from a ship in Qingdao, Shandong province. YU FANGPING / FOR CHINA DAILY The New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd, the world's largest dairy products exporter, is looking to China's new two-child policy to bolster its business in the country. Theo Spierings, Fonterra's chief executive, said the policy will help drive its sales growth in the next few years. "I have seen increasingly larger demand of high-quality and safe dairy products in China. We are deeply committed to make a tangible contribution to the sustainable development of the dairy industry in China." In April Fonterra signed a memorandum of understanding with Beingmate Baby and Child Food Co Ltd, a Chinese infant food manufacturer, to strengthen their collaboration in maternal and infant nutrition by promoting and developing the Anmum brand, a sub-brand of Fonterra, in China. Fonterra and Beingmate formed their partnership in August 2014 aiming to satisfy China's growing demand for infant formula. Last year Fonterra bought an 18.82 percent stake in Beingmate, which has started to sell Fonterra's Anmum products in China. Song Liang, an expert on China's dairy industry, said: "Fonterra has been one of the major global raw material dairy providers, and it is not that good at specific branding, marketing and setting up sales channels. Anmum had a small market share in China before Fonterra joined forces with Beingmate." China is the world's largest importer of milk products, and Chinese regard New Zealand dairy products as clean, green and safe. New Zealand's dairy products account for about 40 percent of China's imported dairy market. Whole milk powder, for example, is now imported almost solely from New Zealand. Fonterra has expanded its food service distribution in China to reach 40 cities. More than half the pizzas are topped with Fonterra cheese, and more than half the leading bakery chains use Fonterra dairy products as their ingredients. Fonterra says it plans to expand its business to more second- and third-tier cities soon. (Photo : China Photos/Getty Images) Dr. Wang Jun of Shaodong County People's Hospital was attending to the needs of a line of patients when he was attacked and beaten by a patient's relatives. He later died of the injuries that he sustained in the incident. Advertisement Another patient-related assault occurred in China recently, causing the death of a doctor in central China. Dr. Wang Jun, an ear, nose and throat specialist in Shaodong County People's Hospital in Hunan province, was attacked by a patient's relatives on Wednesday, the local government said in a statement released through its social media account on WeChat. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Three relatives of a child involved in a car accident first argued with Wang as the latter was attending to the needs of other patients waiting in line. They said Wang "was not attentive enough when treating the patient," hospital workers told the Global Times. The infuriated relatives then started swearing at and beating Wang. During the melee, a blow was delievered to Wang's head, knocking the doctor unconscious for a few hours. Wang was still severely beaten by the unhappy relatives. Experts later attended to Wang, trying to treat his injuries. He fell into a coma while being treated. Efforts to revive Wang failed, however, and he died several hours later, the National Health and Family Planning Commission announced. By the time Wang died, two of the suspects were already apprehended, the Shaodong County police said. The other assailant later surrendered himself to the authorities. Police declined to release details, save for the suspects' surnames which is Yang. Hospital-Related Crimes Wang's unfortunate death comes a few days after another doctor was the victim of a patient-related assault. Chen Zhongwei, former director of stomatology in Guangdong General Hospital, died a few days after sustaining serious stab injuries from an attack on May 5. Chen was attacked by one of his patients, who was confirmed by the hospital as having received medical treatment from him 25 years ago. The suspect committed suicide after stabbing the now-deceased doctor. Due to these incidents, authorities have launched a campaign to crack down on hospital-related crime. Hospitals have been mandated to record disputes between doctors and patients, as well as install 24-hour security cameras to upgrade safety. Advertisement TagsWang Jun, Shaodong County People's Hospital, Relatives, coma (Photo : Getty Images) Sogou and Microsoft's Bing are collaborating to provide English-language search service in China Advertisement China's search engine Sogou is collaborating with Microsoft's Bing to allow Chinese users make internet searches in English. The online search engine operator said it would leverage Microsoft Bing's global search technology to offer English web information and academic data to Chinese users. Sogou will offer two new features, namely, "Sogou English" and "Sogou Academic." Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The service will allow Chinese users to access a wide array of information across the Internet in English and will provide a premium quality service. To satisfy Chinese users more, Chinese language search requests will be automatically delivered with English language search results, according to China Daily. Sogou's newest update comes as Baidu has come under scrutiny for its paid listing system. Last month, a college student died after he sought medical treatment from a hospital that topped Baidu's search results. The search engine arm of Chinese internet firm Sohu has refused to comment on whether it would continue or stop publishing medical ad listings. Instead, the company said in an e-mailed statement that China's third biggest search engine "will do better to meet consumers' needs, and provide more authoritative and factual information to help users resolve their problems." Meanwhile, Sogou's revenue in the first quarter of this year reached $147 million, up by 27 percent year-on-year and down 11 percent quarter-over-quarter. The company's financial performance surpassed expectations, with total revenues and non-GAAP net income climbing to 35 and 42 percent, respectively. The company is also teaming up with Tsinghua University to build a joint research institute that will concentrate on artificial intelligence and potentially transform Sogou into a key player in this arena in China. Advertisement TagsMicrosoft, Microsoft Bing, Sogou, Sohu, Search engine, Internet, English (Photo : Getty Images.) Indian President Pranab Mukherjees maiden visit to China will begin on Tuesday next week. Advertisement Beijing on Wednesday said that it wants to enhance mutual ties with India as Indian President Pranab Mukherjee is set to embark on a three-day visit to China next week. President Mukherjee's maiden visit to China is scheduled for May 24 - 27 at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, according to Chin's Foreign Ministry. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement "This will be the first visit for President Mukherjee to China. It is also one of the high level exchanges between China and India this year," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a media briefing. "China and India are the major emerging countries and play a major role on the international stage. They have made great contribution for peace and stability in the world." Mukherjee's three-day itinerary includes a visit to industrial city Guangzhou where he is expected to address Indian businessmen and also address the India-China Business Forum. On May 25, the Indian President will be in Beijing to attend a reception hosted by the Chinese People's Friendship Association for Foreign Countries (CPAFFC). On May 26, he is scheduled to address a meeting at Peking University. Later on the same day, the Indian leader would hold talks with Chinese President Xi and Premier Li Keqiang before flying back to India on May 27. President Mukherjee visit comes amid a diplomatic crisis between Beijing and New Delhi over the Masood Azhar issue. Mukherjee would allegedly not be discussing the contentious issue of Masood Azhar and China's blockade of India bid to join the Nuclear Supplier's Group (NSG) during his visit next week. Mukherjee would be second high-profile Indian leader to visit China after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China in May last year. Advertisement TagsIndia, India and China, Pranab Mukherje, china (Photo : Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) Many patients who tried various treatments for hemorrhoids but failed have dubbed Chinese ointment a "miracle solution" after it cured them. Advertisement A Chinese-made ointment for hemorrhoids has apparently made it big in the United States after receiving positive reviews from scores of satisfied customers. Mayinglong Musk Hemorrhoids Ointment Cream became a hit on the internet after more than a thousand reviews were given for it, mostly from satisfied or delighted users, according to China Daily. The reviews can be seen on the website of the online retailer Amazon, who sells the ointment in packs of varying numbers. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The Chinese-made ointment has been given 4.3 out of 5 stars and has been hailed the most effective anti-hemorrhoidal cream available over-the-counter, or more precisely, over the internet. For years now, various users have claimed that the ointment is very helpful in alleviating pain and causing the mass to shrink. One hilarious comment said that using the cream is like applying rose-colored ice cream that brings a lasting cooling effect to the affected part. This cooling effect will also be felt right from the very first application, and will greatly soothe and shrink swelling tissue. Mayinglong Musk Hemorrhoids Ointment Cream is made by the Chinese drug maker Mayinglong Pharmaceutical Group. Despite some users commenting that it did not work for them, the majority of the reviews say that Mayinglong Hemorrhoid Ointment is effective. Some who tried it decided to do so after reading other reviews saying that it worked. Some even compared the amount of money that had spent and would have saved if they had just ordered Mayinglong Musk Ointment right from the start, and avoided other treatments altogether. The ointment, as a commenter calls it, is a Chinese miracle solution. Xia Youzhang, Secretary to the President of Mayinglong Pharm, expressed his delight regarding the products popularity in an interview with Thepaper.cn. Advertisement TagsMayinglong Hemorrhoids Ointment Cream, Mayinglong, Ma Ying Long (Photo : Qilai Shen/Getty Images) Baidu is currently test driving such cars in China Advertisement Chinese Internet company Baidu Inc. is going head to head against U.S. search engine giant Google in the autonomous vehicle industry. The Chinese company recently unveiled plans to launch a trial area for autonomous vehicles in the city of Wuhu located in the southeastern province of Anhui, China. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Earlier this week, Baidu and the municipal government of Wuhu have both signed a five-year cooperation agreement that will allow the company's autonomous vehicles - including cars, vans and buses - to move about freely around the entire city. During the first three years of the trial, the driverless vehicles will be exposed to limited areas only, and will not carry any passengers on board. In due course, however, the areas will be extended to include public highways, and "the service will be commercialized to allow some of the three million inhabitants of Wuhu to use it.", according to a report by BBC. According to Wang Jing, Vice President of Baidu and head of the company's autonomous driving business division, the driverless vehicles will then be exposed to the entire city after the five-year period, in which they will blend in with human drivers and "human-driven" vehicles. The Star reported that the local officials of Wuhu "are even considering replacing all of the city's buses and part of its taxi fleet with driverless vehicles", if the technology is proven to be successful. Self-driving technologies seems to be the future of the automotive industry. Major automobile manufacturers such as Toyota, BMW and Volvo have all jumped into the autonomous vehicle bandwagon. During BMW's 100th year celebration, the company announced plans to launch an autonomous electric car called "iNext" by the year 2021. During the 2016 Beijing Auto Show, which kicked off in April 25, Chinese Internet company LeEco unveiled its first ever four-door electric sedan called LeSEE EV, which uses a semi-autonomous technology. The electric sedan was designed for the Chinese market and could take on the likes of Tesla. Advertisement TagsAutonomous Vehicles China, Self-Driving Vehicles, Autonomous Cars, Baidu Inc., Baidu City of Wuhu China Trial Area, Driverless Vehicles (Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Google has opened an office in Detroit area to develop its self-driving technology. Advertisement Tech giant Google has registered a patent for an ingenious idea meant to prevent further injuries sustained by pedestrians involved in car accidents by sticking them to the car. The patent, given to the tech company on Tuesday, described a way to prevent or reduce injuries that pedestrians might sustain with self-driving cars. Once a car bumps a pedestrian, an adhesive material will allow the pedestrian to stick to the bonnet and prevent him or her from being thrown away when the car stops. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Of course, leaving the sticky material exposed will soon fill it with various things, like leaves and bugs. Google plans to prevent that from happening by covering the adhesive material with a protective shell that will only break upon impact. Once a pedestrian gets hit, the impact will break the shell and expose the adhesive to do what it is meant to do. While the idea sounds unusual, Google envisions that it will help prevent further injury. The patent states that many injuries pedestrians sustain from car accidents are not caused by the initial collision itself, but rather from the pedestrian being thrown off the car and onto the ground. Bill Visnic, editorial director of mobility media at the Society of Automotive Engineers, told the Washington Post that although the idea of a car flypaper sounds wacky, it just might help. Visnic notes that some car inventions seemed like a crazy idea at first, but prove to be valuable in the long run. In the patent, Google acknowledged that self-driving cars are not yet perfected and that they still might hit pedestrians. Until Google gets to the point of perfectly avoiding all sorts of collisions, the company is hoping to prevent accidents from happening and to lessen their effects if ever they do happen. Advertisement TagsGoogle, Google Car, flypaper, car flypaper, car crash, car accident (Photo : Reuters) Neo PS4K will use the same PlayStation Store, connect to the same online communities, and offer the same user experience. Advertisement Good news to all gaming enthusiasts as the much anticipated Sony's upgraded console PlayStation 4.5, codenamed NEO by Sony insiders, will reportedly arrive on September, and may possibly be introduced officially during Paris Games Week event. The September arrival news of the upgraded PlayStation 4 version sparked when a game distributor unintentionally leaked confidential information about PS4.5 NEO. During a press release, the French game distributor Innelec Multimedia said that PlayStation 4K NEO will arrive during the first half of their current financial year, which will be sometime in September since the middle of their financial year is set from April 2016 to March 2017. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement After realizing that they may have leaked an information pertaining to the soon-to-be-released upgraded console, Innelec Multimedia took down the said press release, and released a statement denying any official information about PS4k Neo launch. However, on the same statement released by the company via AFJV, the French game distributor acknowledged the fact that the upgraded PS4K version may possibly appear during 2016-2017 fiscal year. Although the September arrival of PS4.5 NEO is yet to be confirmed by Sony, details about the supposed specs and features of the upgraded console made its way online. PlayStation 4.5 NEO will feature 4K gaming support and will likely be equipped with upgraded GPU, RAM and CPU. Rumor has it that the said console will be able to support VR format. Meanwhile, since PS4.5 NEO will likely have a VR support, the release of the upgraded console version will be the same time or prior PlayStation VR will hit the shelves this year. Advertisement TagsPS4.5 NEO, sony, PS4K NEO, PlayStation Neo, PlayStation 4.5, PlayStation 4K, PSVR, Playstation VR (Photo : Mario Tama/Getty Images) A pair of tourists have gone viral after being photographed sleeping in an ATM stall in New Territories, Hong Kong. Advertisement Spending a night at the local hotel might have been too expensive for a pair of tourists, who both decided to spend the night sleeping inside an ATM room in Hong Kong. A photo shared On Facebook shows two women were sleeping on the floor inside the ATM room of a Wing Lung Bank outlet in San Fung Avenue, Hong Kong. The photo, uploaded by a man named Rocky Wong to a Facebook group named North District, has become a subject of ridicule amongst netizens. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Wong said he was looking to withdraw some money from the ATM in New Territories at about 4 a.m. on Sunday, but could not as the two women were sleeping in the ATM room. He took the photo of them and uploaded it later. He told the media that the women could be from the mainland. Some commenters on Facebook have condemned the tourists behavior. One such comment noted that the women probably chose to sleep in the ATM room because it had airconditioning and security for free. Some netizens, however, defended the women. One comment pointed out that if the two women were young western backpackers on a tour, everyone would praise them for traveling around the world on a tight budget." One comment also voiced concerned about the womens rights. "The man who took the picture violated the privacy of the two women," the comment said. Advertisement TagsATM, Wing Lung Bank, tourists, New Territories, Hong Kong (Photo : Eric K. Lund Patrick M. OConnor Mark A. Loewen Zubair A. Jinnah) Holotype cranial Material and Cranial Reconstruction of Machairoceratops cronusi Advertisement Scientists uncovered a new dinosaur species that was in Utah, that has never been seen before. A team of researchers that have been working at the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has identified that this new dinosaur species is this large, herbivorous animal that also possesses horns, is also estimated to measure from 19 to 26 feet long and could possibly weigh close to two tons. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement After three field excavation seasons, the team finally extracted the dinosaur fossils buried deep in the ground.This dinosaur is now officially named as Machairoceratops cronusi that thrived during a time where dinosaurs ruled the Earth, some 77 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period. However, scientists say that this kind of dinosaur is quite rare to be seen in this region especially in the United States, as their fossilized remains are usually recovered in areas like Montana and Alaska. According to co-author of the study, Patrick O'Connor from Ohio University, in western parts of North America, where most excavations and field research are being carried out, it still proves to be a rich region filled with new species that are waiting to be discovered. This ancient creature was living during the Cretaceous Period in a region located in North America that scientists have called Laramidia, which is a western part of land that was divided by a sea in between the continent. This new dinosaur was uncovered in the southern area of Laramidia, where dinosaurs belonging to the same family and group were also discovered in the northern part of Laramidia. Scientists suggest that these dinosaurs lived in two habitats in two different regions, making up two sub-groups that adapted through evolution. These dinosaurs are known as Centrosaurine ceratopsids where they possessed horns and beaks along with neck shields. According to lead author of the study, Erik Lund from Ohio University, the Machairoceratops is considered to be unique as it possesses two large spikes that are curving to the back of their neck shield, where each is marked with a strange groove beginning from the base of the spike across its tips, however, its main function is still a mystery. This new study is published in the journal PLOS ONE. Advertisement Tagsnew dinosaur species, horned dinosaur, Utah, Dinosaurs, Cretaceous period, machairoceratops (Photo : Getty Images) While Taiwan's new President Tsai Ing-wen omitted any mention of the 'one China policy' in her speech, she did say that she supports the '1992 consensus' between Taiwan and China. Advertisement Tsai Ing-wen conspicuously omitted the mention of the "one China policy" in her inaugural speech as the new President of Taiwan on Friday. Tsai, 59, who was sworn in as the first female president of Taiwan on Friday, urged China not to adopt an obstructionist policy toward Taipei. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement In her speech, although Tsai said she respects the "joint acknowledgements and understandings" reached by both countries at the historic 1992 meeting. She did not make explicit mention of the "one China policy" or that 'Taiwan is a part of China.' Instead, she proposed that Beijing and Taipei "set aside the baggage of history, and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides." Tsai reiterated that her government would "work to maintain peace and stability" with China. Tsai's stance on the "one China policy" is believed to be in stark contrast to her predecessor Ma Ying-jeou, who endorsed the controversial policy during his regime. However, her speech did not hint at such a perspective. The "One China" policy asserts that China and Taiwan are part of one China. However, several Taiwanese leaders and ordinary citizens claim that it impinges on Taiwan's sovereignty. The Chinese government has categorically stated to Taiwan's new government that future relationship between two countries depends on Taipei accepting the "one China policy." China considers Taiwan as a wayward province that is waiting for unification. Taiwan broke way from China after a civil war between the Communists and Nationalists in 1949. Since then, there have been attempts to declare Taiwan a 'sovereignty country.' Advertisement Tagschina, Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, One China policy (Left) The National Medal of Technology and Innovation and the National Medal of Science Advertisement The United States government has bestowed the prestigious National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation on 17 scientists, engineers and inventors for their outstanding contributions to advancing science and technology. Presented by U.S. President Barack Obama, the awards are the highest honors bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists, engineers and inventors. Recipients of the awards are: Like Us on Facebook Advertisement National Medal of Science Dr. Armand Paul Alivisatos, University of California and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, CA Dr. Michael Artin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA Dr. Albert Bandura, Stanford University, CA Dr. Stanley Falkow, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY Dr. Rakesh K. Jain, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, MA Dr. Mary-Claire King, University of Washington, WA Dr. Simon Levin, Princeton University, NJ Dr. Geraldine Richmond, University of Oregon, OR National Medal of Technology and Innovation Dr. Joseph DeSimone, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, and Carbon3D, CA Dr. Robert Fischell, University of Maryland at College Park, MD Dr. Arthur Gossard, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA Dr. Nancy Ho, Green Tech America, Inc. and Purdue University, IN Dr. Chenming Hu, University of California, Berkeley, CA Dr. Mark Humayun, University of Southern California, CA Dr. Cato T. Laurencin, University of Connecticut, CT Dr. Jonathan Rothberg, 4catalyzer Corporation and Yale School of Medicine, CT Obama presented the awards at the East Room of the White House. "These scientific laureates exemplify the American spirit and ingenuity that have enriched our society and the global community in profound and lasting ways," said Obama. "Their ambition and accomplishments are an inspiration to the next generation pursuing careers in the essential fields of science, technology, engineering, and math." He praised the awardees for putting "countless revolutionary discoveries within our reach." He again appealed to young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Obama also announced a new advisory board to solicit suggestions from youngsters on how the government can support budding scientists and innovators. "It is fun. I love this stuff," Obama said about science. He said the "real reason we do this" is because "it's not just the winner of the Super Bowl or the NCAA tournament that deserves a celebration. We want the winners of science fairs, we want those who have invented the products and life-saving medicines and are engineering our future to be celebrated as well." "Immersing young people in science, math, engineering ... that's what's going to carry the American spirit of innovation through the 21st century and beyond," Obama said. Advertisement TagsPresident Barack Obama, National Medal of Science, National Medal of Technology and Innovation BREAKING: The story behind the laughing woman in the Star Wars Chewbacca mask Editorial Staff | 20 May, 2016 by Joni B. Hannigan DALLAS (Christian Examiner) The non-stop hysterical laughter is so contagious it has people all over the world an estimated 48 million or so watching the 30-something woman in a Star Wars Chewbacca mask wondering how a kid's toy could bring such joy. Candace Payne, whose May 19 viral Facebook video about purchasing the mask at a local department store and trying it on for the first time inside her car in the parking lot, has the attention not only of avid Star Wars fans, but also of those who desperately need a good laugh, she said. And that's where her faith comes in, Payne told Christian Examiner in an exclusive telephone interview. In hiding, with her phone dying, the mom of two who has done stand-up comedy, said there's more to the woman than a mask, and her laughter comes from deep within from her faith in Jesus Christ. Story continues below video. "As far as the joy aspect, it is much deeper than the Chewbacca mask," Payne said. "It was fun watching it go viral and fun watching people get some joy out of it, too," but at the core of real joy is faith. READ MORE: Kohl's rewards 'Chewbacca mask' woman with gift cards and TONS of Star Wars toys Payne, a worship leader since age 14, sings, plays the guitar and writes music. She and her husband of 15 years met in church and found their "love story" there and have volunteered in student ministry together since then. They worship with their two children at a church southwest of Dallas. "We have a heart for our local church and just being obedient to God in the way we raise our kids and love our friends," Payne said. Surprisingly, Payne said besides the private messages she has received from fans who want to be "best friends" and "watch Star Wars together," she has also been told by others they have struggled with depression and anxiety and been uplifted by the video. "I haven't laughed in the two months since my dad died," Payne recalled one message. Another said: "I haven't had a gut wrenching laugh in two years." "If I am going to say anything ... our world that we live in has a dark cloud over us that keeps us feeling like we can't ever experience deep joy daily," Payne said. "It really is about thanking God for every single thing we have. When you have a heart that is grateful, we laugh more." Paraphrasing, Payne reference John 10:10: "10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and [a]have it abundantly. (NASB)" People often confuse joy with laughter, Payne said, but joy doesn't mean that. Indeed, "you will cry more; feel and hunger for thing passionately (when you have faith in Christ); you will experience joy at a fuller level you will ever think possible." READ MORE: Kohl's rewards 'Chewbacca mask' woman with gift cards and TONS of Star Wars toys "Joy will radiate that faith," Payne said, just like when inside the mask, she was radiating faith "from Jesus who promises me I will have a fuller life." "When people see that they are attracted to Jesus and His fullness and everybody loves that, every loves that," she repeated. Payne introduced the video, which has gained tens of thousand of viewers every hour since, with the message, "It's the simple joys in life ...." Is it 'ze' 'zir' 'she' or 'he'? Businesses that don't get on board face heavy fines in NYC Editorial Staff | 19 May, 2016 by Joni B. Hannigan NEW YORK (Christian Examiner) NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio is at it again. Businesses that fail to use customers' preferred gender salutations, such as "Mr." or "Mrs." or pronouns "ze" or "zir" may subject to fines of up to $250,000. The new "legal enforcement guidance" issued in December with the New York City Human Rights Law, now "requires employers and converted entities to use an individual's preferred name, pronoun and title, (e.g., Ms./Mrs.) regardless of the individual's sex assigned at birth, anatomy, gender, medical history, appearance, or the sex indicated on the individual's identification," according to an article in the Washington Times. "Misgendering" that is calling one by a title they have made clear they don't want used can result in a $125,000 fine, but it can double if the violation is the "result of willful, wanton, or malicious conduct. A law professor, Eugene Volokh, has speculated about how the First Amendment might apply in this situation. MAYOR'S NYC CHICK-FIL-A BOYCOTT The new rules on how to address transgendered individuals follow a call for a city-wide boycott of Chick-fil-A by de Blasio and the New York City Council, after the popular chicken restaurant was accused of spreading a "message of hate" because years ago the owner told a reporter he believes marriage is between a man and a woman. The boycott hasn't gained much of a following according to Todd Starnes, a FOX News commentator who suggested "maybe the mayor and the city council should mind their own business and let Chick-fil-A mind theirs." Noting Chick-Fil-A employees hundreds of New Yorkers, Starnes noted the boycott may have "backfired" with a lunchtime line stretched around the block. "Chick-fil-A is not in the business of spreading hate. They are in the business of selling chicken and waffle fries and deliciously refreshing lemonade," Starnes wrote. "And they do not have a policy that prohibits same-sex love," he continued. "That's a blatant lie. Chick-fil-A could care less whether birds of a feather flock together or not." The United Methodist Church voted on Wednesday to allow the Council of Bishops to appoint a commission to study the issue of whether to allow ordination of LGBT clergy or same-sex marriage. The delegates voted 428 to 405 in acceptance of the Council of Bishops recommendation to delay its debate on sexuality issues at this years General Conference which gathers every four years to revise church law and adopt resolutions on current moral, social, public policy and economic issues, according to the UMC website. We recommend that the General Conference defer all votes on human sexuality and refer this entire subject to a special Commission, named by the Council of Bishops, to develop a complete examination and possible revision of every paragraph in our Book of Discipline regarding human sexuality, the recommendation titled, An Offering for a Way Forward, reads. We will name such a Commission to include persons from every region of our UMC, and will include representation from differing perspectives on the debate. According to the United Methodist Churchs Book of Discipline, its governing book, homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. While many mainline Protestant denominations have allowed same-sex marriage and gay clergy, the United Methodist Church has maintained its ban for the past 44 years. Some point to the UMC's rapidly growing conservative branches in Africa and Asia as one of the possible reasons for its hesitation to change the language in the Book of Discipline despite a growing LGBT activism within the denomination's ranks. "We will continue to explore options to help the church live in grace with one another including ways to avoid further complaints, trials and harm while we uphold the Discipline, the Bishops statement reads. A majority of people would accept refugees into their countries and even into their homes, according to a new global survey. According to the Refugees Welcome Index, commissioned by Amnesty International, 80 percent of the 27,000 respondents who were polled across 27 different countries said they are willing to welcome refugees into their countries. "These figures speak for themselves," Amnesty's Secretary General Salil Shetty said. Participants were asked whether they would accept refugees into their home, neighborhood, town, country, or whether they would refuse to accept them altogether, ranking their level of welcomes on a scale of 0 to 100. China was found to be the most welcoming nation for refugees, scoring 85 on the Refugees Welcome index. Germany came in second with a score of 84 and UK came in third with a score of 83. 94 percent of respondents polled in China said they would welcome refugees into the country and half (46 percent) would welcome refugees into their homes. Respondents in countries with a large number of refugees already having been admitted into the country are found to still be welcome of more refugees, as seen in Germany, Greece (65), and Jordan (61). Germany has already accepted over a million refugees, mostly from Syria, into the country due to the refugee crisis and 96 percent of the respondents in Germany say they would accept more. "The Refugees Welcome Index exposes the shameful way governments have played short term politics with the lives of people fleeing war and repression. Governments must heed these results, which clearly show the vast majority of people ready and willing to make refugees welcome in their country, Shetty said in a statement. Russia scored the lowest on the index with 61 percent against letting refugees into the country. The poll found unfavorable attitudes toward refugees in Russia, Indonesia, and Thailand. When asked whether they thought their governments should do more to help refugees fleeing war or persecution, globally, 66 percent of respondents said they agree their governments should do more. Two unfathomable things happened, more quickly than almost anyone could have imagined, one year ago this June. First, the terror: A young man named Dylann Roof, armed with a .45-caliber handgun, sat through almost an hour of the Wednesday night Bible study at Charleston, South Carolinas venerable Mother Emanuel AME Church. Then he opened fire. Within minutes, nineDepayne Middleton Doctor, Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lance, Clementa Pinckney, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel Simmons, Sharonda Singleton, and Myra Thompsonwere dead. Five survived. In an instant, wives lost husbands, fathers lost daughters, children lost parents, and a church lost its pastor. Then, the mercy: Two days later, as the nation simmered with outrage and disbelief, the families of those murdered by Roof were allowed, in accordance with the law for bond hearings, to speak by closed-circuit television to Roof. Television networks carried the feed from both rooms: the room where Roof stood, nearly expressionless, flanked by police; and the room where his victims relatives were gathered. One after another, they spoke words of forgiveness even as their voices shook with grief and anger. Perhaps the baldest declaration of forgiveness came from Nadine Collier, daughter of slain member Ethel Lance: I forgive you. You took something very precious away from me. I will never get to talk to her ever againbut I forgive you, and have mercy on your soul. . . . You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people. If God forgives you, I forgive you. Of all the evidence in recent years that white supremacy remains imprinted on American life, the shootings were the most indisputable. A white boy had come of age in the 21st century drinking ... 1 You have reached the end of this Article Preview You have reached the end of this Article Preview To continue reading, subscribe now. Subscribers have full digital access. Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here. UKRAINE: Two years after Crimeas leadership changed hands, fighting persists between the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine. One local pastor, Sergey Kosyak, was arrested and tortured for leading prayer rallies for peace in Donetsk, the largest city occupied by separatists. But he went on to open Bread of Life in neighboring Maryinka with the help of Mission Eurasia. Amid near-daily bombings, the bakery (which recently drew the attention of The New York Times) gives away one-fourth of its 2,000 loaves of daily bread, alongside Bibles. Kosyak is one of 75 Russian-speaking missionaries on the 300-mile frontline trying to turn a political war into a spiritual one. 1 You have reached the end of this Article Preview You have reached the end of this Article Preview To continue reading, subscribe now. Subscribers have full digital access. Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here. One of Africas boldest attempts to prevent bad behavior within its mushrooming churches has been abandoned. In 2014, Kenyas attorney general, Githu Muigai, banned new churches amid a miracle-faking spree. Muigai began 2016 by proposing a lengthy list of new reporting requirements, including minimum theological education for pastors, annual membership thresholds, and churches joining an umbrella organization. At the same time, the Communications Authority of Kenya announced a new policy that banned radio and television preachers from asking listeners to send in money or get saved at the end of their broadcasts. The changes were welcomed by the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK). Horrible things are happening in the church today, bishop Beneah Salah told The Standard, a Nairobi newspaper. There is a lot of commercialization of the gospel. The ACK had no problem with the law as long as it allowed Christians to keep evangelizing, bishop Timothy Wambunya told The Standard. Our church constitution gauges the conduct and education of each cleric, and thats what the laws basically want. But backlash from Kenyan evangelicals, Catholics, and Muslims alike was so severe that President Uhuru Kenyatta sent the 2015 Religious Societies Rules back to the drawing board. While Muigai had consulted informally with church leaders, any new regulations must be subjected to further vigorous public consultations, Kenyattas spokesman stated. (The broadcast policy still stands.) Its not that Kenyan Christians dont see a problem with prosperity preachers. One recently told churchgoers that their money would double if they transferred half of theirs ... 1 You have reached the end of this Article Preview You have reached the end of this Article Preview To continue reading, subscribe now. Subscribers have full digital access. Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here. Update (May 21): In one of the last actions of its 10-day General Conference, United Methodist delegates voted 445 to 310 to repeal the denominations 40-year-old official resolution supporting Roe v. Wade. Paired with the earlier vote to withdraw from the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), the church took two MAJOR steps in the right direction, tweeted John Lomperis, the United Methodist director at the Institute on Religion and Democracy. The Book of Resolutions statement in support of legal abortion was adopted in 1976. It reads, in part: We believe that continuance of a pregnancy that endangers the life or health of the mother, or poses other serious problems concerning the life, health, or mental capability of the child to be, is not a moral necessity. In such cases, we believe the path of mature Christian judgment may indicate the advisability of abortion. We support the legal right to abortion as established by the 1973 Supreme Court decision. In ... 1 For more than 30 years, a state in Africas most populous country essentially ignored a law put in place by its military government that required preachers to get licenses, limited the playing of religious cassettes, and outlawed derogatory language by religious organizations and leaders. But this spring, governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai is attempting to revive the policy. A new bill from his administration would restrict both Muslim and Christian preaching among Kadunas 6.5 million people by requiring pastors to obtain annual permits. The proposed law is an effort to curb religious extremism, deputy governor Barnabas Bantex told reporters. We swore to uphold the Constitution, which recognizes the freedom of religion and thought as fundamental rights, he said. The same Constitution obliges us to ensure the safe exercise of these rights by legislating in the interest of public safety, public order, public morality or public health, and for the purpose of protecting ... 1 In the pilot of the hit show Silicon Valley, low-level programmer Richard Hendricks (portrayed by Thomas Middleditch) accidentally creates a file-compression algorithm that could revolutionize the digital landscape. Over the course of the first season, Hendricks is offered a $10 million buyout, fires his best friend, gets in a trademark dispute, competes directly with the worlds biggest tech company, wins a major business plan competition, and must recode his algorithm from scratchtwice. The dramatic ups, downs, and loop-the-loops of Hendricks startup journey, embellished with a quirky cast of socially awkward characters, seem perfectly orchestrated for the HBO comedyoutlandish and laugh-out-loud hilarious. But this is a case where reality actually lives up to fiction: the show depicts the obstacles, dilemmas, and baffling questions faced by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs with remarkable accuracy. Through the several startups my husband has founded, he and I have met some version of nearly every character on the show, from eccentric venture capitalists and smarmy consultants to bright-eyed MBAs and pagan engineers. His companies have flirted as much with wild success as with bankruptcy and collapse. We know intimately the highs of landing an investor or a big customer and the lows of product failures, personnel crises, and threatened lawsuits. Throughout its three seasons, Silicon Valleys producers have clearly researched the tech startup ecosystem in detail. The young, male-dominated cast closely resembles the ethnic and gender demographics of the Valley, where white men continue to control the money and the decision-making. Fictional investor Peter Gregory (in a brilliant turn by Christopher ... 1 The Christian Podcast that Doesn't 'Should' on People LOVELAND, Colo., May 20, 2016 / The They Say Podcast, which launched earlier this month, was created by popular Christian bloggers Kami Gilmour, Stephanie Hillberry, and Becky Hodges as a platform to debunk the ocean of advice given to women on issues including parenting, marriage, faith, and healthy living. "Recent studies have shown that Christians are commonly seen as judgmental and are known more for what they are against, rather than what they are for," said Gilmour, a co-host of They Say. "Our podcast doesn't take the approach of saying 'You should be doing X as a woman' or 'You're not a good mom if you aren't doing Y.' Rather, we aim to provide relief from that guilt." Each They Say episode highlights a single relevant topic that has people overwhelmed with given advice. Instead of injecting their own opinions, They Say will instead share real stories and real ideas from real imperfect people, often from the hosts' own lives. "I am personally overwhelmed with opinions," said Hodges, They Say producer. "Every day I open up Facebook or Instagram and I am flooded with advice on topics ranging from my body to my morning routineall of which conflict. Our goal with They Say is simple; we're going to tackle controversial topics, and we aren't going to give advice. Women are going to find that refreshingand we know we are doing it right because our listeners leave feeling free and full of grace." They Say creators explain the end mission of the podcast is to help listeners compare themselves less with others, and instead view themselves and their lives through God's eyes. "We want people to encounter Jesus in the midst of their daily lives, and allow his presence to make a real difference in how they feel about their purpose and problems," says Hillberry, a co-host. "We desire our listeners to feel more confident and peaceful when they're making decisions because they are making them through prayer and not through other people's advice." To date, They Say has eight podcasts available, with new podcasts releasing three times per month. To learn more about the They Say Podcast visit Images and interviews are available upon request. Share Tweet Contact: Becky Hodges, 970-292-4245LOVELAND, Colo., May 20, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- A newly launched Christian podcast is taking on the growing culture of 'shoulding' and instead offering a non-judgmental examination of topics impacting women on a daily basis.The They Say Podcast, which launched earlier this month, was created by popular Christian bloggers Kami Gilmour, Stephanie Hillberry, and Becky Hodges as a platform to debunk the ocean of advice given to women on issues including parenting, marriage, faith, and healthy living."Recent studies have shown that Christians are commonly seen as judgmental and are known more for what they are against, rather than what they are for," said Gilmour, a co-host of They Say. "Our podcast doesn't take the approach of saying 'You should be doing X as a woman' or 'You're not a good mom if you aren't doing Y.' Rather, we aim to provide relief from that guilt."Each They Say episode highlights a single relevant topic that has people overwhelmed with given advice. Instead of injecting their own opinions, They Say will instead share real stories and real ideas from real imperfect people, often from the hosts' own lives."I am personally overwhelmed with opinions," said Hodges, They Say producer. "Every day I open up Facebook or Instagram and I am flooded with advice on topics ranging from my body to my morning routineall of which conflict. Our goal with They Say is simple; we're going to tackle controversial topics, and we aren't going to give advice. Women are going to find that refreshingand we know we are doing it right because our listeners leave feeling free and full of grace."They Say creators explain the end mission of the podcast is to help listeners compare themselves less with others, and instead view themselves and their lives through God's eyes."We want people to encounter Jesus in the midst of their daily lives, and allow his presence to make a real difference in how they feel about their purpose and problems," says Hillberry, a co-host. "We desire our listeners to feel more confident and peaceful when they're making decisions because they are making them through prayer and not through other people's advice."To date, They Say has eight podcasts available, with new podcasts releasing three times per month.To learn more about the They Say Podcast visit www.TheySayPodcast.com or subscribe on iTunes and Google Play.Images and interviews are available upon request. home World 300 Muslim leaders gather to denounce extremism and curb radicalism Three hundred Muslim leaders from 33 countries gathered in Jakarta, Indonesia recently to denouce extremism and to find a way to curb radicalism. "Muslim majority nations are now making statements globally and nationally to push back on extremism, and you will see more of it," Texas pastor Bob Roberts told Christianity Today. "This is sending signals to their citizens and the world that the tide is turning." Nahdlatul Ulama, described as the largest Muslim organization in the world with somewhere between 30 million and 50 million members, hosted the conference. Called "International Summit of Moderate Islamic Leaders," it was attended by representatives of Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Turkey, and others, who signed the Jakarta Statement, which, according to The Huffington Post, calls for a coalition of governments and religious groups in order to stop the religious support for terrorism and extremism. One of the points that was emphasized during the summit is the misinterpretation of the idea of jihad by radical youth. "That's why the role of Islamic clerics is needed to do more to correct the misinterpretation," said Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla. "We gather here today for that purpose, to produce the solution to curb radicalism in the form of terrorism, wars and conflicts." Indonesia's population is comprised of around 87.2 percent Muslim, 7 percent Christian, 2.9 percent are Roman Catholic, and the remainder includes Hindu, Buddhist, Confucian and unspecified, according the CIA World Factbook. The officially secular country has seen its people of different religious backgrounds living quite peacefully alongside each other. "We don't want to dictate to the world, but we want to inspire [other countries by showing that] our concept of Islam could maintain peace and harmony within the diversity of Indonesia," NU chairman Said Aqil Siradj said. Roberts, according to Christianity Today, believes that this is a sign of what is yet to come. He was present at an earlier conference, held in January in Morocco, where a gathering of Muslim scholars, heads of state, and religious leaders called for predominantly Muslim countries to protect the rights to freedom of Christians and other religious minorities. It was where they released a document titled "The Marrakesh Declaration." "We hereby ... Call upon the various religious groups bound by the same national fabric to address their mutual state of selective amnesia that blocks memories of centuries of joint and shared living on the same land; we call upon them to rebuild the past by reviving this tradition of conviviality, and restoring our shared trust that has been eroded by extremists using acts of terror and aggression," the declaration reads in part, and they "AFFIRM that it is unconscionable to employ religion for the purpose of aggressing upon the rights of religious minorities in Muslim countries." home US South Carolina abortion ban at 20 weeks approved by lawmakers South Carolina lawmakers passed into legislation on Tuesday, May 17 an abortion ban at 20 weeks, making it only legal if the pregnancy imperils the mother's life. The House voted 79-29 in favor of the bill, which is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Nikki Haley. "I can't imagine any scenario in which I wouldn't sign it," Haley said in March, as reported by The State. She stated that she wanted to look into the details of the bill for her final decision. "I am so excited. This is something that we've been working on for four years," said the sponsor of the bill, State Rep. Wendy Nanney. She claimed that she and other lawmakers have pushed for the bill to protect a fetus that's assumed to already feel pain at the 20-week period since it's already past fertilization. Nanney is also pleased that the bill has removed exceptions for cases of rape or incest that were included in its original version. The only case that would make the abortion legal past the 20-week timeline is if the pregnancy endangers the mother's life. "In the case of the mother's life or the baby is deemed not going to live, I'm OK with (those exceptions)," Nanney said. A day after the bill's passing, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Franklin Graham took to Facebook to praise the passing of the abortion ban. "Good news a Yesterday the SC legislature passed a bill that prohibits abortion after 19 weeks. Now the bill goes to Governor Nikki Haley who has said she will almost certainly sign it. I pray that she will. That's a step in the right direction and will save a lot of lives," the evangelist wrote. According to a Marist poll conducted in January 2015, 84 percent of Americans agree that abortion should only be done within the first three months of pregnancy or in the usual exceptions of rape, incest, and endangering the mother's life. If passed into law, South Carolina will be the 17th state since 2010 to ban abortion at 20-weeks. home US Target sales weaken, but CEO says it's not due to transgender bathroom boycott Target's sales and shares are reportedly going down, although the retail giant maintains that it is not, for the most part, due to the boycott lodged against its transgender-friendly bathroom policy. "You've heard us talk over the years about our commitment to diversity and inclusion," Target CEO Brian Cornell said during a media call on May 18, as quoted by Fortune. "To date we have not seen a material or measurable impact on our business, just a handful of stores across the country have seen some activity and have been impacted." The Christian Post says that the plunge in the price of Target shares is the first such decline since Cornell held the post of CEO two years ago. Quoting The Wall Street Journal, CP reports that shares were priced at $68 as of Wednesday, off by 7.6 percent. And while the company's stores that have been open for a year or more had a sales incease of 1.2 percent during the February to April quarter, this is still short of the annual target of 1.5 to 2.5 percent. According to the report, Cornell claims that the cause of the decline is "an increasingly volatile consumer environment," citing Macy's, Nordstrom, and other retail companies also experiencing losses. Fortune, meanwhile, says that the company claims that the dip is due to many factors, including skittish customers and the cool, damp weather where some of their stores are located. "We're approaching our business with appropriate caution as sales trends at Target and many of our key competitors (have) weakened," Cornell said, according to Reuters. Reuters reported that the company's outlook for comparable sales would be somewhere between flat to 2 percent down in the second quarter, while still remaining positive that they would be able to meet their earnings outlook of $1 to $1.20 per share before special items. Its net income reportedly went down from $635 million the previous year to $632 million. Since Target announced in April that transgenders can use their stores' restrooms and fitting rooms consistent with their gender identity rather than biological sex, the American Family Association had spearheaded a boycott. The boycott had thus far garnered 1.25 million signatures from people who pledge not to buy at Target until the policy is changed. The YouGov BrandIndex data, as reported by Business Insider, shows that, after the boycott, 36 percent of consumers consider buying something the next time they shop at Target, a huge decline from the 42 percent prior to the boycott. home US White House appoints transgender woman to Obama's faith advisory council Pres. Barack Obama has recently appointed a transgender woman to join the Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships. Barbara Satin is a member of the United Church of Christ, where she served as an Executive Council. Satin, who was appointed together with 10 others, is the first transgender to have been appointed in the president's advisory council. "These fine public servants bring a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their important roles. I look forward to working with them," the president said. Satin is known to be involved in local and international concerns regarding the LGBTQ community. Satin, who presently sits as Assistant Faith Work Director for the National LGBTQ Task force, works to ensure that trans persons are not excluded in churches and ministry. In 2003, Satin was instrumental in the United Church of Christ's move to include transgender people in ministry positions. The Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships is expected to help the administration create policy recommendations concerning various faith-based groups. Most of its members are Christians. "Given the current political climate, I believe it's important that a voice of faith representing the transgender and gender non-conforming community a as well as a person of my years, nearly 82 a be present and heard in these vital conversations," Satin said. Satin's appointment comes at the heels of President Obama's directive that public schools allow transgender students to use bathrooms, locker rooms and shower rooms according to their gender identity and not according to their biological sex. The directive has elicited both negative and positive reactions. Many are opposed to the directive, saying their children could be exposed to potential predators. The debate on the transgender bathroom use intensified with the passing of North Carolina's House Bill 2, which requires transgenders to use bathrooms based on the gender specified on their birth certificates and not the gender they identify with. Archbishop of Canterbury warns against 'ignorant phobia' of other faiths The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned against using "dangerous political rhetoric" that raises tensions among different faith groups. At an interfaith gathering at Lambeth Palace on Thursday evening Justin Welby spoke out against the "unthinking, ignorant, fearful nature of much phobia" about other religions. He addressed an audience which included the chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis as well as number of Muslim, Sikh and Hindu representatives. "I spend a lot of time trying not to get grumpy when Christians comment on how dangerous this faith tradition is or that faith tradition," he said. "Come on. Look at the evidence." The reception was to celebrate the Near Neighbours project, which aims to forge relationships between people of different religious and ethnic backgrounds. "We are in a time of rising tension," Welby warned. He spoke of a "sharp rise" in antisemitism which he said was "intolerable". He told a packed tent in the grounds of Lambeth Palace: "I am not looking at any political party. It is deeply embedded in so much of our culture in this country, as is racism." In what could be seen as veiled barb at Zac Goldsmith's campaign for London mayor, he criticised politicians who use dangerous rhetoric and "play with words that raise tensions". It was a "false perception" that people of faith lead parallel lives which did not intersect, he said. "Here we are together scarcely parallel lives." Both Goldsmith, the Conservative candidate for mayor, and the Prime Minister sought to brand Sadiq Khan, the Muslim Labour candidate, as an extremist. The tactic backfired and Khan won with the highest individual mandate of any politician in UK history. Boko Haram: The rescue of two chibok girls is a 'miracle', 'we just need 211 more' More than two years after 276 Chibok schoolgirls were abducted in Nigeria by Boko Haram, 219 are thought to remain in captivity. Or they did, until this week when two girls were recovered, raising hopes for the remaining group. Until this point, despite ardent campaigning by family members and more further afield and bold claims from the government of eradicating the jihadist group, little progress had apparently been made. On the two year anniversary in April, Boko Haram released a video purporting to show 15 of the abducted schoolgirls. It was the first possible sighting of the girls since a video in May 2014. Now that two girls - Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki and Serah Luka - have been found, the question arises as to whether there is hope for the remaining 217 Chibok girls and the thousands of other abductees living under Boko Haram. The issue is complex, the Nigeria Researcher for Christian Solidarity Worldwide told Christian Today. "The Chibok girls are prized possessions for Boko Haram, because there has been such a huge campaign and publicity surrounding them" and so the group are unlikely to liberate the girls without some form of exchange. President Muhammadu Buhari said "Amina's rescue gives us new hope and offers a unique opportunity to vital information." Meanwhile the governor of Borno State, where Chibok is located, said the army was drawing up plans and moving into a Boko Haram forest stronghold in a bid to rescue the remaining girls. "We believe that in the coming weeks we shall recover the rest of the girls," Governor Kashim Shettima told reporters. "The military is already moving into the forest." Nigerian authorities have faced overwhelming criticism for their failure to find the girls over the past two years. President Muhammadu Buhari, elected over former President Goodluck Jonathan last May, has pledged to fight Boko Haram's brutal insurgency and made security a key pillar of his campaign. However, despite the Chibok case being brought to international attention through the #bringbackourgirls campaign and a number of false rumours of their release, the girls have remained missing. Boko Haram has been present in Northern Nigeria for almost seven years, seeking to impose its harsh interpretation of Islam on Africa's most populous nation. Around 20,000 people have died and more than 2.5 million have been displaced as a result of the insurgency. There have been increasing reports that Boko Haram forces are weakening, and the rescue of the 100 captives this week (a group of which one of the Chibok girls was part) appears to corroborate this. On May 14, French President Francois Hollande told a security summit in Nigeria that "[Boko Haram] has been weakened, it's been pushed back, it's been chased around and has given up the territories it was controlling, and as a result it's being even better targeted and fought. However, this terrorist group remains a threat." "It appears that Boko Haram are on retreat and are weakening, but given the fact that it is allied to it in so many countries, we can't count on it," CSW's Nigeria researcher told Christian Today. "For example, in 2015 the leader released a very depressed video saying Boko Haram was defeated, and then another was released denying it, so there is clear they are shaky. It seems they are on the back foot," she said. "The security situation in Northern Nigeria is very difficult, this makes it hard to get accurate information," Tania Corbett of Open Doors told Christian Today. "What we do know is that over the past few weeks Nigerian media have reported several times that people who have been kidnapped by Boko Haram have been found during security operations in Northern Nigeria," she said. "We hope and pray that Boko Haram are weakening as reports suggest but we do not know." Media reports issued by the army suggest that Nigerian forces are making headway in clearing the Sambisa forest, and as pressure mounts, there is hope that more people will be released as the jihadists cannot hold territory. The CSW researcher said that, according to local sources, the "husband" of the first girl discovered said that he had escaped Boko Haram with her and the child she bore because they feared starvation. "Reportedly the army are beginning to block supply routes, and military operations are increasing in intensity, and so hunger and ill health are becoming issues for both hostages and Boko Haram fighters," they said. The territory held by Boko Haram is seemingly decreasing, and with that comes a hope that more hostages will be released. This is in part due to the publicity garnered by the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, but that camapign is also the reason that the girls are likely to be the last released. It's thought six of the girls may have died, so the missing 217 may be reduced to 211. "We are praying that more hostages will be released, including Chibok girls. Two already have been, and even that is a bit of a miracle," said the CSW researcher. "We just need 211 more of those miracles." Controversial megachurch pastor John Hagee backs Trump for US president Megachurch pastor John Hagee has given an implicit endorsement to Donald Trump in the forthcoming presidential election. The Texas-based church leader is well-known for his frequent interventions in public affairs, especially his unswerving support of the Israeli government and his belief that America should bomb Iran. Now he's entered the debate on the 2016 general election as many Republicans struggle to decide if they should support Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. Trump has proclaimed that he will be a champion of evangelical values, but high-profile voices such as Southern Baptist Russell Moore and the Christian Post have come out strongly against the three-times married casino magnate who says he has never asked for forgiveness. In Hagee's video message he doesn't mention Trump by name but he makes it clear who he is supporting: "I'm going to vote for the candidate that's going to make the US military great again. I'm going to vote for the party that is going to solve the immigration problem, not the one that has created the immigration problem. I'm going to support the party that brings jobs back from China... I'm not going to vote for the party that has betrayed Israel for the past seven years. "If you can read a newspaper, you know who I'm talking about. No candidate is perfect, but I want you to go vote and may God give us a leader who has the courage to put America first and stand up for we the people." Hagee is also known for his apocalyptic prophecies. He asserted in 2013 that four 'blood moons' were predicting earth-shattering events, saying: "I believe that in these next two years, we're going to see something dramatic happen in the Middle East involving Israel that will change the course of history in the Middle East and impact the whole world." Nothing of the kind has occurred. This article was amended on 2nd June 2016 to correct the date of the blood moon prophecy and edit an incorrect picture caption. Egypt: Human rights activist working with Coptic Christians arrested, charged with terrorism A human rights defender who worked with the coptic community has been arrested and charged with belonging to a terrorist group in Egypt, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). Mina Thabet, minority rights program director at the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) was arrested at his home at 3.30am on May 19 and driven away in an unmarked car. He has been charged with belonging to a terrorist group, inciting violence and public assembly, spreading fabricated information for terrorist pruposes, inciting attacks on police stations, and possession of leaflets undermining national security and the ruling regime. "We are deeply concerned by the arrest of Mina Thabet and the worrying crackdown on civil society and human rights defenders," said Mervyn Thomas, chief executive of CSW. "Egypt undoubtedly faces an unprecedented terrorist threat that sometimes necessitates extraordinary measures; however human rights defenders ought to be viewed as allies in the effort to create a just and equitable society and accountable governance Mr Thabet and the ECRF perform invaluable work in highlighting the difficulties encountered by minority groups and assisting victims of violations to seek redress." ECRF works on minority rights, including the coptic community, and Thabet has worked on several cases, including the Coptic students who were convicted of blasphemy charges in February. The evidence against Thabet includes an introductory paper on the Bread and Freedom Party, a notebook containing Virgin Mary pictures and documents on international law relating to the rights of minorities, according to CSW. His arrest is not an isolated incident. The president of the board of the ECRF, Ahmed Abdalla, was arrested in April and faces the same charges as Thabet. "We...call upon the Egyptian authorities to adhere to the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which Egypt supported in 1998, which says that States should guarantee the rights of individuals, including in association with others, to promote and protect fundamental freedoms, which is what Mr Thabet and his colleagues are doing." said Thomas Filipino archbishop willing to die in place of death row convicts: 'Didn't Christ do that?' A Filipino archbishop has said he is willing to take the place of death row prisoners if the country brings back capital punishment. "Didn't Christ do that?" asked Archbishop Ramon Cabrera Arguelles of Lipa. The Philippines' newly elected president Rodrigo Duterte has said he wants to reinstate capital punishment, which was abolished in 2006. He hopes to apply it for offences including drug offences, rape, robbery, car theft and corruption. If this does come to pass, Arguelles said he "will volunteer to be executed in the place of all those the government will hang". Arguelles is not alone in challenging the new president and his proposed plans. "We will certainly oppose his plan, especially the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines," said Archbishop Oscar Valero Cruz, now retired from the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. "The Church will not take it sitting down, but will stand against the death penalty." Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga said Duterte would be playing God if he reintroduced it. "Only God has power over life. God gives life, and God takes life. No one should play God," he said. "Life is sacred. Life is promoted, respected and protected. It is the prisons they have to reform and the justice system they have to review." Speaking on May 15 in his first press conference since he won the election on May 9, Duterte told reporters that he will "urge congress to restore [the] death penalty by hanging". Central to his election campaign was a pledge to end crime within three to six months of being elected. He promised to kill tens of thousands of criminals and to give security forces "shoot-to-kill" orders. "If you resist, show violent resistance, my order to police [will be] to shoot to kill. Shoot to kill for organised crime. You heard that? Shoot to kill for every organised crime," he said. The current president of the national bishops conference, Archbishop Socrates Villegas of LIngayen-Dagupan, said he hopes to have a meeting with Duterte to persuade him to back down over capital punishment. "As people of faith, we do not adhere to capital punishment because we do not have the right to judge who should live and who should die," said Father Lito Jopson, head of the bishops' communications office. "It is not based on popularity...but rather on complete moral principles of the Catholic faith and faith demands we respect all persons' human dignity," Jopson said. German churches nail wi-fi 'God spots' in time for Luther Reformation Jubilee Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther had to nail his theses to the door of a church to get his message out into the world. They were written in Latin. But what really helped kick off the Reformation was the printing revolution, which allowed the wide distribution of the German translation from 1518. Now thousands of Protestant churches in Germany are innovating once again, in the new communications revolution of our own internet age. They are to be kitted out with free wi-fi "godspots" just in time for the Reformation Jubilee celebrations in Germany next year. More than 200 churches will get the service right away, with all 3,000 of the Evangelical state churches equipped with the free wi-fi surfing spots by next year. Among the first to get the service in Berlin will be the French Friedrichstadt Church in Gendarmenmarkt, the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at Breitscheidplatz and in Brandenburg, the Meyenburg Protestant Church. Fabian Blatner, Evangelical church IT manager, told RBB that the way people communicate had changed, with many talking now through social networks and digital communities. When people first log in, they will be directed to a home page with information about the building and the community as well as on topics of faith and life, he added. From there, they can move onto the main internet. It will be a secure service. Users of the "godspot" will not be targeted with commercial advertisements and there will be no harvesting of private information, he said. Blatner said: "People are no less spiritual than before, but the places of communication have shifted and much takes place on digital social networks and communities. With Godspot, we at the Evangelical Church want to create a safe and familiar home in the digital world." In Moscow, a similar service is already offered at some cemeteries after a survey showed a strong demand by visitors. In this Alabama church, worshippers take pot and mushrooms instead of bread and wine for their communion A church in Alabama offers a rather strange way of drawing its worshippers closer to God. While Christian churches commonly use bread and wine during communion, the Oklevueha Native American Church of Inner Light gives its members hallucinogenic drugs consisting of marijuana, mushrooms and peyote, according to al.com. Church CEO Christopher Rushing said his congregation is the only federally registered church granted permission by the U.S. government to use herbal "medicines" as ritual "sacraments." He said the "medicines" allow members of the congregation to develop a closer relationship with God. "Our prayer is that the earth gives us things for our health," he said. "Too many people need this help. We believe these medicines unlock and show people the true nature of God." Rushing said the plants are in no way toxic or deadly, adding that "they have been used for thousands of years for medicinal purposes, long before pharmaceutical companies began making synthetic versions of them." The Alabama branch of the church has 120 members who carry IDs that identify them as members of the church, giving them a federal religious exemption to use natural drugs that are otherwise prohibited by law, he said. The church has a mix of Christian and Native American beliefs, he said. "We believe what Christ spoke and taught," Rushing said. Although the church has a native American name, it is open to people regardless of race or ethnic background, he said. Unlike most churches, the Oklevueha Native American Church in Alabama doesn't have weekly services. Joining requires a letter of sincerity from the branch leader, Rushing said. The church has a religious ceremony where its members stare into a fire all night while ingesting peyote or mushrooms. "Medicines open portals to reality," Rushing said. "That's how we receive insights and healing. The medicine is personalised. The creator knows who will eat it while it's still growing." Rushing cited the "enormous" health benefits of marijuana, mushrooms and cacti, saying they can combat depression and cure people of addictions. He said he could not understand why pharmaceutical companies are allowed to gain large profits on harmful synthetic and dangerous drugs while people are barred from using herbal medicines. "I don't understand societies and governments that want to outlaw nature," Rushing said. "The only reason I see is so they can get rich." North Sudan: Archaeologists discover 'unique' ancient church paintings A large group of paintings has been discovered by archaeologists inside the ancient Church of Raphael in Northern Sudan. The church, discovered in 2006, is located next to the relics of a medieval palace in Dongola, the capital of the once-powerful kingdom of Makuria, which existed from the sixth to the 14th century. The largest group of paintings, from the turn of the fourteenth century, has been unearthed during excavations of the church by members of the Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw. "The design is unique it does not repeat the plans of other famous religious buildings of this type. Paintings are also unusual," Prof Wlodzimierz Godlewski, a long time researcher of Dongola, told Science and Scholarship in Poland. The paintings depict archangels, angels, priests, saints and Nubian kingdom officials from the beginning of the ninth century, each with a legend describing the person and their function. "It is the oldest example of the official iconography introduced into the sacred interior we know a similar example from Faras, but it comes from a later period," Godlewski said. An inscription on the wall of the baptistry has revealed new details about the King of Makuria and the city itself. "The inscription commemorates the meeting of the bishops of Makuria with the king and archbishop of Dongola that took place in this church. This record revealed the territorial division of the church in Makuria it listed the names of the bishops from particular towns,"Godlewski said. "The church was founded by King Joannes. Until now we did not know much about him. The inscription proves that he was an important person in the hierarchy of the church and had considerable political influence." Pray for Peru: More than 80 students believed possessed by evil spirits in school Now's the best time to pray for Peru, where the devil seems to be inflicting pain on innocent schoolchildren. More than 80 students aged between 11 and 14 from the Elsa Perea Flores School in Tarapoto town in northern Peru are believed to have been possessed by evil spirits. The students have reportedly been experiencing intense seizures, widespread convulsions and abrupt fainting. They were also seen screaming and appearing delirious. What's more terrifying is the fact that the schoolchildren experienced bizarre hallucinations, where they saw a man dressed in black trying to murder them. According to a report from The Mirror, local media initially stated that the students had been suffering from a "contagious condition" since last month. A medical practitioner from the area, Doctor Antony Choy, however, told Panamericana TV that his team could not find a scientific reason behind the students' unusual behavior. "We don't understand how this has kept on going on. We know it started on 29th April and now it is still happening. Now there are almost 80 pupils [still affected]," Choy told The Mirror. Parents of the schoolchildren believed to have been possessed by the demon are both worried and baffled by what has happened to their kids. "She fainted in school," one of the mothers was quoted as saying, in describing the condition of her daughter. "They didn't say anything at the hospital. She just fainted. She keeps on spitting froth from her mouth." One of the students who supposedly underwent mass possession recalled the terrifying ordeal she went through. "It's disturbing for me to think about it. It's as if someone kept on chasing me from behind. It was a tall man all dressed in black and with a big beard and it felt like he was trying to strangle me," she said. "My friends say I was screaming desperately, but I don't remember much," she added. Another anonymous girl, aged 13, also reported almost the same vision of a man in black. "Several children from different classrooms fainted at the same time. I got nauseous and started vomiting. I heard voices. A man in black chased me and wanted to touch me," she also told The Mirror. Franklin Steiner, a parapsychologist who investigates paranormal and psychic phenomena, attributed these supposed possessions to the fact that the school was built on a Mafia graveyard. "It is known that years ago there were many victims of terrorism here. When this school was built, some say bones and dead bodies were found," he explained. Second Chibok girl rescued from Boko Haram, says Nigerian army A second schoolgirl from the more than 200 kidnapped by Boko Haram in a raid on their school in the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok more than two years ago has been rescued, a spokesman for the Nigerian army said on Thursday. Army spokesman Sani Usman said in an emailed statement that the girl was among 97 women and children held hostage by Boko Haram who were freed on Thursday morning after clashes between soldiers and jihadist militants in northeastern Borno state. This comes two days after the first Chibok girl, Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki was rescued. There are 217 girls who remain missing who were abducted from the school in Chibok in April 2014. "We are glad to state that among those rescued is a girl believed to be one of the Chibok Government Secondary School girls that were abducted," said Usman, adding that she was receiving medical treatment. He said her name is Serah Luka and she was from the northeastern town of Madagali, in the state of Adamawa, which borders Borno. The army spokesman said it was possible that three other girls that Serah referred to as having fled and been rescued when the troops arrived may also be among the Chibok girls, adding that this was being investigated. A photograph of Serah released by the military shows her wearing a blue jilbab, a loose Muslim garment revealing her face but concealing her torso and arms. "She averred that she reported at the school barely two months and one week before her unfortunate abduction along with other girls over two years ago," said Usman. Nkeki, 19, was found with her four-month-old baby by soldiers working with a vigilante group on Tuesday near Damboa, south of Maiduguri in the remote northeast where Boko Haram has waged a seven-year insurgency to set up an Islamic state. The army said it had detained a suspected Boko Haram militant called Mohammed Hayatu, who said he was her husband. On Thursday, the military released pictures of a clean-shaven man in a white shirt and cream trousers sitting beside Amina on a hospital bed holding the infant in his lap. She has been flown to the capital Abuja to meet President Muhammadu Buhari who said he was delighted she had been freed. "Amina's rescue gives us new hope and offers a unique opportunity to vital information," Buhari, a 73-year-old former military ruler, said during a meeting with the teenager, her mother and officials after a presidential jet flew her to Abuja. "But my feelings are tinged with deep sadness at the horrors the young girl has had to go through at such an early stage in her life," he said. Earlier on Thursday the governor of Borno state, where Chibok is located, said the army was drawing up plans and moving into a Boko Haram forest stronghold in a bid to rescue the remaining girls. "We believe that in the coming weeks we shall recover the rest of the girls," Governor Kashim Shettima told reporters. "The military is already moving into the forest." Previous military attempts to storm Sambisa forest have met with mixed success, with soldiers making significant in-roads but failing to finish off the Islamist militants after running into bands of well-armed guerrillas, mines and booby traps. The #Bringbackourgirls activist group said Amina had told her rescuers the rest of the girls were under heavy Boko Haram guard in Sambisa. Insurgency Amina, who was accompanied by her mother, Binta, Nigeria's defence minister and national security adviser, spent more than an hour with Buhari, who made crushing Boko Haram a pillar of his 2015 presidential election campaign. More than 15,000 people have been killed and 2 million displaced in Nigeria and neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon during its seven-year insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic state in northeast Nigeria. Under Buhari's command, and aided by Nigeria's neighbours, the army has recaptured most territory lost to Boko Haram. But the jihadist group, which last year pledged loyalty to Islamic State, still regularly stages suicide bombings. Boko Haram captured 276 girls in a night-time raid on Chibok in April 2014, its most high-profile assault. Some girls escaped in the melee but parents of the remaining 219 accused then-President Goodluck Jonathan of not doing enough to find their daughters, whose disappearance led to a wave of global outrage. Additional reporting by Reuters. South Carolina pastor dies in hospital after motorcycle crash A US church community is in mourning after a pastor who was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in which his wife died, has himself now passed away in hospital. Tyus Butler, 55, pastor of Labor of the Fields Church in Anderson, South Carolina, since 2013, was driving a 2000 Harley Davidson motorcycle when it went off the road and hit a rail. He and his passenger, his wife, Anita, 45, were thrown off. Both were wearing helmets. Anita died immediately and Butler died yesterday at Greenville Memorial Hospital, where he had been placed in a medically-induced coma. The couple had been taking part in a "Look Twice, Save a Life" event promoting road safety. On its Facebook page the church posted: "This has been a rough 12 days for the Church and the Butler family. Please continue to be in prayer for them as Tyus and Anita are rejoicing in Heaven together now. You will both be missed dearly." A Go Fund Me account for the couple's youngest two children has raised nearly $3000. The page states: "The reason we are starting a go fund me account is to come up with the money to take care of my dad's two smaller children, my little brother and sister, also take care of his home bills. He is a pastor of Labor of the Field. Right now we are getting temporary custody of David and Addison to make sure they are taken care of and the cost of legal fees. We are having to take time off work and travel to Greenville everyday. Every little bit helps out and we want to thank everyone for the continued support." The church is well-known for its ministry to addicts and homeless people. It runs a soup kitchen and a rehabilitation programme. Tyus and Anita are remembered, among their other gifts, for their ability to reach out and connect with these people, and how they worked to help them make a better life for themselves. Turkey to get first new Syriac Orthodox Christian church in nearly a century The first new Syriac church for nearly a century is to be built in Turkey. St Mary's will be the first new church for Turkey's growing Syriac Orthodox Christian community since the republic was founded in 1922, the Turkish news website Agos reported. The church, to be built in Yesilkoy suburb, Istanbul, will seat 750 worshippers and will cater to a community of around 17,000 Syriac Christians living in and near the Bakrkoy area, many of them refugees from the fighting led by Islamic State and other terror groups in the Middle East. Plans for the church were announced earlier this year. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality gave planning permission for building work to begin a few days ago and the church design will be similar to that of some of the ancient churches in Mardin province, with some contemporary features. Sait Susin, chair of the Syriac Virgin Mary Church Foundation, said he expected it would take about six months to complete. Land has been given to the foundation but the costs of the building work will be paid for by the foundation. Christians in Turkey are proud of the country's heritage, with the Apostles Paul and Timothy both having been born there. Many Christians were killed in the early 20th century in the Armenian genocide and Turkey is now more than 97 per cent Muslim. Pope Francis made a significant visit to Turkey in November last year and prayed alongside a senior Islamic cleric at a Mosque in Istanbul. Church of Scotland to vote on priests in gay marriages Ministers in same-sex marriages may be appointed by the Church of Scotland as the Church's General Assembly is set to vote on the historic move on Saturday. The vote would not allow ministers to carry out same-sex weddings but would mean congregations could appoint a minister who is in a same-sex marriage. It comes after the Church's ruling body voted to recognise ministers in civil partnerships at last year's gathering. A statement from the Church stresses that if passed, the proposed amendment to Church law "would not imply the Church will permit its ministers to solemnise same sex marriages. "The Church maintains its traditional view of marriage between a man and woman," the statement continued, "but the change would extend individual congregations ability to 'opt out' if they wished to appoint a Minister or a Deacon in a same sex marriage as well as civil partnership." The vote on Saturday comes in the middle of a two year study on same-sex marriage by the Church's Theological Forum. It will be presented at next year's General Assembly but the chair of the forum has warned "absolute victory" was not possible for either side. In a report to go before this year's Assembly, Professor Iain Torrance, chair of the forum and former Moderator of the Church, said the debate over sexuality "threatens to polarise us into two camps". The forum would try to find an area of "constrained difference", Torrance said in the mid-term report. "The notion of constrained difference has not been pulled out of thin air. "Constrained difference has in fact been the flexible strength of the Church of Scotland through many historic disagreements and it is the embodied avoidance of polemic. "It is a fundamental part of our faith in the Reformed Tradition that we permit each other in good conscience to interpret scripture differently but to keep any such interpretations in check by what we understand as the substance of the faith." As well as the key vote on Saturday, the Kirk will welcome the Archbishop of Canterbury as the first Church of England leader to take part in a debate at the General Assembly on Wednesday. Justin Welby will address the General Assembly and debate an agreement known as the Columba Declaration between the two churches. The Declaration would formalise a link between the two churches which have until now been separate. Welby's address follows Dr Angus Morrison's at the CoE's General Synod in February, which passed the Declaration by 243 votes to 50. However the move is not without controversy. The Church of England has existing links with the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) which is unhappy with the new agreement. A rift has emerged between the CoE and the SEC after the SEC withdrew from discussions between the three churches over the Declaration. If passed the Columba Declaration would allow clergy to minister in the other's churches as well as formalising an agreement to move "towards fuller communion". Dr Morrison said he was "confident" the Assembly would pass the Declaration. "In itself the Declaration is largely of a symbolic nature but it does pave the way for our further growth in fellowship and for extending partnership in mission as sister and national churches who share many common roots, challenges and opportunities. "We wish this to happen in the closest possible fellowship with other sister churches in the United Kingdom as we seek together to address the challenges of mission in our country today." The General Assmebly will also discuss the European Union referendum, corporal punishment of children, climate change, the refugee crisis and exploring ways of growing the Church via the Internet and social media. Welby walks the line: evangelism and inter faith in the 21st Century Justin Welby is walking a fine line. As Archbishop of Canterbury he has overseen a number of cross-faith initiatives between Christians, Muslims, Jews and other faiths. Yet he has also begun the biggest evangelism project in the UK for decades. As such he's avoiding twin traps. One is that of religious relativism where all faiths are seen as the same. The other is religious fundamentalism where Britain is seen as a Christian country where all other faiths are a dangerous threat. Both Welby's immediate predecessors flirted with these traps. Although widely misunderstood, Rowan Williams' comments on the sharia law meant his inter faith efforts seemed woolly at best. There was a danger that in Williams' era, inter faith discussion meant a select group of people gathering to discuss inter faith issues and pat each other on the back for how accepting they were. George Carey risked falling into opposite extreme of alienating communities he could have reached out to. He has criticised Islamic leaders for not speaking out strongly enough against terrorism and said Islam was associated with violence across the world. More recently he has said too many Muslims have come to Europe and said multiculturalism has led to pockets of sharia law operating in the UK. No one can doubt Justin Welby's focus on evangelism. With the Archbishop of York he wrote to every single church in the UK to urge them to pray for "all to respond to the call of Jesus Christ to follow him" in the build up to Pentecost. Clearly he is not afraid to assert the differences between Christianity and other faiths in the UK. "We have different narratives and we disagree about some of the central features in our narratives," he told an inter faith gathering on Thursday at Lambeth Palace. Yet there is an openness and willingness to emphasis the common ground and work together. "We believe in the idea that life only makes sense in the context of an overarching narrative based in our scriptures, our traditions, in our community lives and in our history," he continued to the Near Neighbours gathering on Thursday. On top of this, his statements in response to terror attacks such as in Paris never condemn Islamic communities and always emphasise unity. In maintaining the balance between asserting the primacy of his faith while working with other religious groups, Welby has understood that the best way to evangelise is from within. Carey spoke of a "decade of evangelism" but it was a relative failure. Williams risked the impression he was too concerned with inter faith relations to focus on evangelism. Welby on the other hand is in a much better place. He speaks of evangelism from a position of positive relationships with other faith leaders. He can evangelise around the table rather than shouting from street corners. Welby is walking the line and we should pray that we all benefit from the results. How to answer people who say Christians are all hypocrites While the Church is one of the greatest 'apologias' for the gospel, it is also often the weakest link. How many people say they cannot believe the gospel because they see those who say they believe acting in a way that is contrary to their profession of faith? In other words they are hypocrites. And nobody likes hypocrites. Just think of the politician who campaigns on 'family values' while conducting numerous affairs, or the businessman who supports a charity arguing for economic justice while paying a pittance to his underage workers, or the sportsman who wins a sporting award while taking drugs. Then there are the hypocritical statements of those in public life, who attack someone while they are alive and laud them when they are dead. Or the national hypocrisies this April more than 400 African refugees died in attempting to cross the Mediterranean. The story appeared in a few newspapers but was quickly overtaken by the death of the pop star Prince. Granted he was a celebrity and in our celebrity culture his death is more newsworthy, but why were buildings not lit and numerous column inches devoted to the 400 rather than to the one? As a society we talk about equality, but ironically it appears that in our media world, death is not the great equaliser it is the ultimate way of showing who really matters. All you have to do is pick up today's newspaper to see numerous examples of hypocrisy. So why is it considered such a big deal when it occurs within the Church? Why is it such a 'defeater' belief? It's because we are held to a higher standard. This is not a new problem. Augustine warned in his City of God: "The heretics themselves also, since they are thought to have the Christian name and sacraments, Scriptures, and profession, cause great grief in the hearts of the pious, both because many who wish to be Christians are compelled by their dissensions to hesitate, and many evil-speakers also find in them matter for blaspheming the Christian name, because they too are at any rate called Christians." Hilary Mantel in Wolf Hall has her main character telling the King: "May I suggest to Your Majesty that, if you wish to see a parade of the seven deadly sins, you do not organise a masque at court but call without notice at a monastery?...What I cannot stomach is hypocrisy, fraud, idleness their worn-out relics, their threadbare worship, and their lack of invention. When did anything good last come from a monastery?" Anyone with access to the internet will soon come up with enough stories of hypocrisy within the Church to turn anyone off Christianity. Whether it's church child abuse being covered up, financial fraud or sexual scandals, there is more than enough to justify the charge. When U2 sang 'Bullet the Blue Sky' during the Joshua Tree album tour in the late 1980's, one line in that song stood out [TV evangelists] "stealing money from the old, the sick and the poor...well the God I believe in isn't short of cash, mister". The fact that people use religion to exploit other people is clear. The sadness for me is that the beautiful Good News of Jesus is distorted and perverted in this way. Bono explained his revulsion as a believer to this kind of behaviour: "I go to America and I turn on my television set, and I start sweating profusely because these guys have turned faith into an industry. It's appalling. It's ugly the guy's hand is virtually coming out of the television set." It's not only religious people who use religion to make money. A church in London asked me to debate Christopher Hitchens, something I would have been delighted to do. He agreed and it looked as though we would be able to go ahead with it, until we received the demands from his agent: two first-class return tickets from New York to London and $50,000. When the church said that that was still way beyond their means the agent said that churches in the US were prepared to pay that kind of money. More fool them. (It is beyond ironic that Richard Dawkins and his supporters are happy to accuse those who dare to write challenging his words of being "fleas seeking to make a living off a dogs back" while he himself has made millions rehashing old, tired arguments about the non-existence of God, and how those who say they believe in God are either ignorant or just out to make money.) So what is our answer? 1. Recognise that we are all guilty of hypocrisy. When someone tells me that the church is full of hypocrites I agree with them and then invite them to church, pointing out that they would fit in very well! The existence of hypocrisy in the church is just further evidence of the Bible's teaching that we are all hypocritical sinners. 2. Understand what Jesus thinks about hypocrisy. "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 'These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men'" (Matthew 15: 7-9). 3. Be thankful that Jesus died for hypocrites. It is while we were still his enemies, while we were still faking it, while we were 'inauthentic', that Christ died for us. His blood cleanses from all sins including hypocrisy. The trouble with hypocrisy is that once you have started you can't stop. One lie leads to another until your whole life gets built on a lie. You can't destroy it all and begin again. But Christ can. Those who trust in him are forgiven, reborn and set free to serve. 4. Get real with Christ. When asked about hypocrisy in the church I always ask the questioner: "But do you know any real Christians?" In my former church in the village of Brora, in the Scottish Highlands, I was astounded at how it was always the same people who were mentioned. Wee Margaret, Big Margaret, Ross the lorry driver, Angus the carpet fitter, Big Donald the Mill worker...people who lived unpretentious, unglamorous lives for the Lord. In some people's eyes they would not be regarded as special. In the Lord's eyes they were his saints his precious jewels. And in the eyes of many in the world they were recognised as such. Men saw their good deeds and glorified their Father in heaven. Christ gives us the freedom to be real. We don't need to pretend to be better than we are. We know what the Bible says about our sin. We don't need to crave acceptance and plaudits from the world, because we have been accepted by God. We know that it is pointless putting on the hypocrite's mask because our all-seeing God knows us better than we know ourselves. At last we are free to be real in all our beautified ugliness. In a world that hypocritically condemns hypocrisy in the Church, the only answer to that charge is for real Christians to live out real lives serving our real Lord. Before I became a Christian I had lots of mocking questions, answers and accusations for Christians. The answer that blew me away was seeing and experiencing real Christianity among real Christians. Their lives asked me questions that I could not answer and ultimately led to their source Jesus Christ. Some Christians ask for power to perform great miracles, or give great talks, or donate great sums of money. I just ask for power to live a real Christian life. Lord, grant holiness, not hypocrisy. This weeks recommended books: Real Christianity, William Wilberforce (Baker Publishing Group); Real Christian: Bearing the Marks of Authentic Faith, Todd Wilson (Zondervan). David Robertson is the moderator of the Free Church of Scotland and director of Solas CPC, Dundee. Follow him on Twitter @theweeflea. Why we have to stop talking ABOUT Muslims and start talking TO Muslims It's one of the very worst experiences. You walk into the room and everyone goes quiet, looking shifty. They don't have to explain what was going on you know intuitively. They were talking about you. I often wonder if that experience must be what it's like to be a Muslim in the US or the UK today. Vast swathes of our news, current affairs and debate programmes, acres of column inches in print and online and hours of talk radio are devoted to talking about Islam and about Muslims. The real problem with the people talking about you behind your back isn't that they're necessarily saying terrible things. The problem is that they haven't given you the dignity of being present and speaking for yourself. You haven't been listened to, understood or given the chance to be a rounded person, capable of saying surprising things and deviating from the stereotype. There's a good reason we talk so much about Islam and Muslims. From being a very small demographic in the US and UK, Muslims now represent a significant minority. There are 3.3 million Muslims in the US, with the expectation that figure will rise to 8.1 million people by 2050 (2.1 per cent of the total population). In the UK there are currently 2.8 million Muslims, and projections suggest that one in ten of all Europeans will be Muslim by 2050. In addition to these demographic factors, we can't ignore the huge profile given to a brand of Islam by the prevalence of wars in the Middle East, terrorist attacks in the West and the very public discussion over the role of Islam in violence. Until September 11th 2001, it was possible to live in large parts of the US or the UK and have very little awareness of radical Islam. Since the attacks on New York and Washington (and subsequent terrorist outrages in Madrid, London, Paris, Brussels) and the rise in profile of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Al Queda and IS in the Middle East, rarely a day goes by without debate. The questions asked seem to come up time and again, without conclusion. Can Muslims be fully integrated into a secular liberal democracy? Is Islam inherently hostile to pluralism? Does Islam need a reformation? While there may be merit in these questions, we're at risk of putting the cart before the horse. So often, we have the conversation without Muslims actually being in the room. Right wing media figures leap to condemn Muslims and tar the wider group with the brush of violent extremism. "Islam is the spectre at the woolly liberals' feast" claims Melanie Phillips "because unlike other minorities, many Muslims expected their host culture to adapt to meet their requirements." Commentators often seem to do this without having really met any Muslims, while there are sometimes racist overtones to the commentary. The liberal left on the other hand seems all too willing to suggest there's no problem to be dealt with. When Hillary Clinton tweeted after the Paris attacks, "Muslims are peaceful and tolerant people and have nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism" it was a laudible sentiment, but given that IS claimed responsibility, not accurate. Again, one wonders how much experience there is of actual Muslim communities. The right shouts offensive nonsense about all Muslims being terrorists or terrorist sympathisers. But the left struggles to get beyond parroting platitudes about Islam being a religion of peace. This is not a debate, it's a silly side show. The voices of Muslims themselves rarely make it into mainstream debate and discussion. In theologian Oliver O'Donovan's excellent phrase, this is a conversation waiting to begin. It would be easy to lay all the blame at the door of the media. Yet, I'm part of the problem here. I think of myself as an engaged political activist. I'm desperate to see the common good promoted, rather than the sectional interest of any particular group. But to see that achieved, I should be engaging with people who are different to me far more than I do. I have Muslim friends, but they are a tiny minority of my friendship group, despite living in the most heavily Muslim area of London. I've visited a number of mosques, in fact I've taken a group of Christians and Jews to visit our local masjid and I've worked alongside Muslims on various local campaigns. I've engaged with Muslim evangelists on the street. Yet I've never really had a conversation that goes deeper. What are the hopes and dreams of modern British Muslims? What do they really think is the answer to the perception of their faith as inherently violent. What do they think about my faith? Where does the contradictory and troubling history of Christian engagement with Islam leave us today? The Crusades are a long time in the past. But have we really ever dealt with them? Can we discuss the siege of Vienna and British colonial rule in India and the politico-religious issues in the contemporary Holy Land without resorting to the stereotypes fed to us by the media? I hope so. Can we begin to share our faith and accept that Muslims will want to evangelise us, as we want to share the love of Jesus with them? That's what religious freedom looks like. Jesus, as ever, is our example. In His day, the Samaritans were the religious minority, with an antagonistic history. But Jesus didn't only speak about them (and speak positively, in the parable of the Good Samaritan). He interacted with Samaritans, such as the woman at the well. I need to follow Jesus' example and do better to get beyond my comfort zone. So do the rest of us. For the sake of the Muslim community, and indeed the whole world. Follow Andy Walton on Twitter @waltonandy People have been predicting the end of the world forever. So far they have done so with a 100 percent inaccuracy rate. When he's in the middle of making a movie, Seth Rogen doesn't like to talk about the possibility of a sequel - even in jest. Why jinx things? "I can't allow my brain to assume that we're going to succeed in any way," the comedic actor, writer, director and producer said last week, letting out his familiar, rumbling huh-huh-huh laugh. "I have to be convinced that we're going to fail. It's the only thing that keeps me working." But in today's Hollywood, if you deliver a major hit, the prospect of a sequel is bound to arise, whether you've planned for one or not. In 2014, when the bawdy, anarchic R-rated comedy "Neighbors" - the story of a married couple (Rogen and Rose Byrne) who go to war with a neighboring fraternity - proved an outsize smash, grossing more than $270 million worldwide, Universal Pictures quickly ordered a follow-up. Having never seriously considered the possibility of a sequel, Rogen and the film's director, Nick Stoller, weren't sure at first where to start. "It took us a while to figure it out - it was the most challenging thing I've done creatively," Stoller, whose other films include "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Get Him to the Greek," said on a recent afternoon in an edit bay in Los Angeles. "It's just hard to come up with something that's as fun and exciting as the first movie, especially with a comedy sequel. The premise - a frat moves in next door - you've seen it, you get it. We knew we had to find a new way in." Pulling off a successful comedy sequel involves a high degree of difficulty; for every critically acclaimed "22 Jump Street," there are half a dozen or so forgettable duds like "Zoolander 2." With "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising," which hits theaters Friday, Stoller and Rogen are hoping to defy those odds with a sequel that takes an unexpected tack: flipping the gender dynamics of the original film. In "Neighbors 2," Mac (Rogen) and Kelly (Byrne) - now expecting their second child and still riddled with midlife angst and self-doubt - are trying to sell their house when a fledgling sorority, led by a subversive coed named Shelby (Chloe Grace Moretz), moves in next door. Initially allying with former frat leader Teddy (a returning Zac Efron), Shelby and her Kappa Kappa Nu sisters soon find themselves in a pitched feud with Mac and Kelly as they fight for their right to party. Looking to break what many consider the comedy-sequel curse, Stoller and Rogen set about studying a variety of previously successful sequels, including "Terminator 2: Judgement Day," that were far afield of a randy comedy such as "Neighbors." "For inspiration, I looked at the 'Toy Story' movies," Stoller said. "The themes are the same, but they each tell a different story as the characters evolve emotionally." He paused, then added dryly, "I've thought about this a lot. I could give a TED Talk about comedy sequels at this point." Having been tagged for so long as a purveyor of crude dude humor, Rogen is well aware that he's not exactly the first person audiences would expect to deliver a thoughtful, enlightened female-oriented comedy. "Oh, I'm sure a lot of people will say we didn't pull it off," he said, laughing. "But my mom told me we pulled it off." Though swapping a sorority for a frat may seem straightforward enough on the surface, Rogen, Stoller and their co-writers realized early on that, as men well beyond college age, they would need some help if they were going to realistically capture the experience and mindset of sorority sisters. So they turned to people closer to that demographic to bounce around ideas, starting with Moretz. "Seth and the boys called me in, and they said they were interested in making a 'Neighbors 2' involving sororities," said Moretz, 19. "They said, 'As 30-year-old-plus men, we think this is an interesting story, but do you think this is something your generation would want to see?' And I said, 'Hell, yeah!' There aren't many female-driven stories for 18- to 21-year-olds. They're mainly for 30-year-olds." Though films such as "Bridesmaids," "Spy" and "Trainwreck" and TV series "Broad City" and "Girls" have pushed the boundaries in the past few years, the lines for R-rated humor are often still drawn differently for men and women. Some moviegoers who may happily revel in watching frat boys drink, smoke weed and crack sexual jokes might find the same type of behavior off-putting coming from sorority girls - a kind of comedic hypocrisy the film addresses head-on in one scene involving feminine hygiene products. "Audiences are harder on women - they just are," Stoller said. "A guy can do something disgusting, and people think it's funny, but when an actress does it, they're like, 'That's gross.' It's bonkers, but, I mean, we live in a pretty sexist world. There were a lot of voices being like, 'That's unlikable, that's unrelatable.' I said, 'These are kids who want to go crazy, and they have to be as insane as the guys - otherwise we're not doing the story justice.' " For Moretz, the film's message that women can be every bit as flawed, inappropriate and out of control as men is a liberating one. "I think right now in this world, girls are having to push so hard to be perfect," she said. "The idea behind this movie is that girls can be just as confused and idiotic as boys, just as vulgar and raunchy. It might not be portrayed in cinema, but it's happening in real life, and it's about time that we all clue in." HPD Houston police have arrested a man in connection with last month's slaying of a truck driver who fell to his death from the Gulf Freeway after being shot. Kevin Peoples, 29, of Houston, is charged with murder in the death of Houston resident Alex Benson, 48. A man has been ordered to be held without bond after he was arrested in the recent stabbing death of an 11-year-old boy in north Houston. Che Lajuan Calhoun is charged with murder in the slaying of Josue Flores about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday in the 1900 block of Fulton as the boy walked home from school. During a brief court hearing Thursday night, a judge ordered him held in the Harris County jail without bond. He also is charged with evading arrest and assault connected to a fight along a Metro rail line the day before the stabbing. He was ordered held on $5,000 bond for each of those charges. READ MORE: Suspect in boy's stabbing has long history of brushes with law Calhoun stood handcuffed before the judge as a Harris County prosecutor read from court documents about the cases. On the day of the stabbing, a witness saw Calhoun pass Josue on the sidewalk and then heard screaming as the two struggled. After the attack Josue collapsed and Calhoun ran away. Another witness, prosecutors said, rushed to the boy's side and saw he had been stabbed. One of the witnesses chased Calhoun but lost sight him. A third witness saw Calhoun running on the sidewalk as the suspect dashed away from the scene of the stabbing. A day before the attack, Calhoun had been involved in a fight along a Metro rail line in the 2100 block of N. Main not far from where the stabbing happened, prosecutors said. An officer tried to detain Calhoun, shocking him with a Taser, but Calhoun slipped away. However, he dropped his wallet as he dashed off and his Texas identification card was inside. READ MORE: Fear grips Houston neighborhood after boy's fatal stabbing Investigators later realized the description of the suspect in the assault appeared similar to the description of the suspect in the stabbing. When witnesses to the stabbing were shown a photograph of Calhoun, they identified him as the man they had scene when Josue died. Calhoun was take into custody Wednesday on a street corner in southeast Houston. Investigators so far have not determined the motive for the attack on Josue. Color, culture, and fashion wowed the Latin Women's Initiative's sold-out crowd from beginning to end at the 14th annual luncheon last Friday. Attendees in vivid florals and pastels queued up early for the 26-vendor marketplace, chaired by Michele Leal, surrounding Northside Imports Houston's exotic Maserati parked on the Hilton Americas-Houston second level; ballroom doors swung open just before noon to reveal the fuchsia-washed space. Tables for some 700 guests snaked alongside Tootsies' zig-zag runway. Former Miss Universe winner Barbara Palacios and Michael Cordua presided over the extravaganza chaired by Sally Lechin, Marianelly Avendano Noble, and honorary chair, Mary Tere Perusquia. The trio ultimately raised more than $250,000 benefiting The Rose, El Centro de Corazon, Southwest School, Memorial Assistance Ministries, Kids Meals, University of Houston Center for Mexican Studies, and Life Houston. While most Houstonians are busy finalizing their summer plans, 31-year old Blair Bentley is already thinking about the 2016 holiday season. Her non-profit, Homemade Hope, provides hands-on cooking classes and festive celebrations for children living in homeless shelters during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and more. The organization's inaugural Spring Soiree, held at the JW Marriott Houston Downtown mid-May, quickly became a family affair once her mother, Beverly Bentley, and sister, Brooke Bentley-Gunst, signed on to help. Bentley-Gunst, a KUBE-57 sportscaster, emceed the event honoring Mary Lou Pringle for her support through SEARCH Homeless Services, Coalition for the Homeless. Last year, Homeless Hope's programming reached more than 2,000 children in the greater Houston area. A new public policy school at the University of Houston is one step closer to reality after the regents approved plans for the school on Thursday. The regents unanimously approved the creation of the Hobby School of Public Affairs, named after former Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board still needs to give approval to the plans, according to a UH statement. The chairman of the University of Houston's board of regents said Thursday that he believes a controversial new state law allowing people to carry concealed handguns throughout campus is a "non-issue." "It's just like when open carry passed," Tilman Fertitta, the billionaire restaurateur, amusement park operator and gambling mogul based in Houston, said. "I had both sides saying they would boycott all my businesses," the Landry's restaurant chain CEO said. "You know what I did? Nothing. There hasn't been an issue anywhere." The new campus carry law in Texas takes effect in August. It gives some leeway to universities to carve out gun-free zones and schools, including UH, have spent the last several months putting together policies. The regents on Thursday took no action to change the proposed UH policies, essentially giving the policies a thumbs-up. At UH, guns will be allowed in classrooms, but will be banned from most dorms, except for Calhoun Lofts, which is most popular with older students. Guns will also be banned from sporting events, childcare facilities and some laboratories, among other places. The law is deeply unpopular among faculty. The faculty senate passed a resolution opposing the law. A slide shown at a faculty discussion of the new state law earlier this year suggested faculty may want to drop some topics from their curriculum to avoid creating a tense situation. This echoes concerns voiced by professors across the state that allowing guns into the classroom will limit academic freedoms and inhibit discussion of sometimes touchy subjects. Dona Cornell, the university's general counsel, told the regents that she has a daughter at the school and even with the new state law, she has "no concern with her walking around on campus." "There is nobody more precious to me than my own child," Cornell said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A group in the Heights is hoping to reverse a 104-year-old decision that prohibits beer and wine from being sold in the historic neighborhood. The Houston Heights Beverage Coalition has been collecting signatures since Tuesday to ask Heights residents to vote in favor of the "legal sale of beer and wine for off-premise consumption only." A favorable vote will allow beer and wine sales in grocery and convenience stores. It won't allow for package liquor stores, however, due to restrictions from state laws. The group has 60 days to get 1,500 signatures from Heights residents in order to get the initiative on the Nov. 8 ballot. Attorney Steve Reilley, who serves as the chairman of the group, said allowing stores in the Heights to sell beer and wine would encourage more businesses to open there. He added that should the initiative pass, existing stores will see greater foot traffic and be motivated to update facilities. RELATED: Years after repeal, Heights is still high and dry "It would bring more stores and more jobs," Reilley said. "Stores there don't have the same services and options as other areas of Houston." The Heights roughly falls between the North Loop and I-10, bordered by North Durham on the west and Studewood on the east. Reilley said back when the Heights was its own city, residents voted in 1912 to go dry. The Heights joined the city of Houston in 1918. According to the Texas Almanac, the 18th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was ratified by the Texas Legislature in February 1918. Other states ratified the amendment by January 1919 and Prohibition was born. In May of that same year, Texans voted to include a dry amendment to the state Constitution. RELATED: Pi Pizza to leave food truck, establish Houston Heights presence By 1933, the 21st Amendment of the Constitution was passed, ending the Prohibition era. But since Texans voted to ban alcohol in the state Constitution, Texans had to vote again on the issue. Alcohol sales became legal in the state again in 1935. Reilly said Heights businessman John Plainos started selling beer shortly after Texans repealed the state's dry law. Plainos argued alcohol sales were allowed in the Heights again since the area was incorporated into Houston. A lawsuit against Plainos worked its way up to the Texas Supreme Court. In 1937, the court ruled Heights residents would have to cast votes in order to overturn the dry law. Since then, establishments known as "drinking clubs" have popped up to get around the dry laws. Places like Down House and Shade take IDs when they serve alcohol, initiating people into the 'club.' Reilley said he expects the group's efforts to be successful. "So far we've had pretty enthusiastic responses," Reilley said. "Our hope is to get some higher end and more modern grocery stores in the neighborhood, and to have the stores in place now reinvest." A Houston felon is accused of moving in with a college freshmen four years ago and forcing her into prostitution, according to documents filed by federal authorities. Joshua Jackson, 28, met an 18-year-old University of North Texas student in September 2012 at an anime convention in downtown Dallas, according to an April 28 complaint filed by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. RELATED: Police arrest 26 johns in SE Houston prostitution ring A month later, Jackson drove from Houston to visit the woman in Denton and moved into her dorm room. By February 2013, Jackson had allegedly forced the woman into prostitution. The woman told authorities that Jackson used various methods, which grew progressively worse, to compel her to engage in sex for money. In the fall of 2014, she said, he forced her to lie naked on a bed and used a Taser on her stomach, chest and genitals. Jackson pointed a pistol at her in December 2015 and threatened to kill her father, mother and other family members if she would not perform sexual acts, the woman told authorities. He also allegedly told her she had nowhere to run and that he would "find her and sell her." SEE ALSO: Officer among 19 arrested in Houston prostitution sting The woman said Jackson threatened to kill her with a gun approximately 10 times. From June 2013 to January 2016, the woman said Jackson forced her into prostitution in 10 different cities including Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Tampa, Fla. The woman escaped from Jackson in January and reported him to law enforcement. Agents with the firearms bureau and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, along with officers from the Wichita Falls Police Department, arrested Jackson April 27 in Wichita Falls. RELATED: Sex trafficker gets 30 years for operating prostitution ring Officers found Jackson in possession of two firearms, which is illegal for a convicted felon. Jackson's felony status stems from a probation sentence he failed to complete related to a May 2010 theft. The guns were found to be from Croatia, increasing Jackson's firearm possession charges to a federal offense. A former reserve deputy constable convicted of shooting a woman in a 2014 off-duty road rage incident took the stand Friday to defend himself and show remorse. "I did pull the trigger," Kenneth Caplan told jurors from the witness stand in the punishment phase of his trial. "This is a tragedy for her. I feel wrong. It's my fault." The 35-year-old was convicted a day earlier of assault, a second-degree felony that caps his possible sentence at 20 years. Prosecutors had argued for a first-degree conviction, which is punishable by life in prison. Although Caplan took the stand to elicit sympathy to help his case, prosecutors peppered him with questions about more than a dozen documented incidents of threatening violence and a long history of mental problems. "You knew that a badge and a uniform gave you instant credibility, didn't you?" prosecutor Maritza Antu asked. "And while you were wearing it, you used racial slurs, didn't you?" Antu got Caplan to admit to using racial slurs and acting like a gorilla, while in uniform, to try to provoke a violent outburst from a suspect while working for the Precinct 6 Constable's Office. In damning specificity, Antu noted that he had threatened to kill his grandparents, filed multiple false police reports blaming others for his actions and aimed his gun at 6-year-old boy while investigating fireworks. She said he had been fired from at least 15 jobs before becoming a licensed peace officer. After he was licensed, he had 18 incidents of road rage over two years, including waving his gun at other drivers while driving 95 mph on I-45. He also pulled over another driver while in his civilian vehicle. That driver was apparently a police officer who filed a report. Because of all his bad behavior, he was on employee probation at the Precinct 6 constable's office when he shot Lori Annab in traffic on 610 Loop South. The incident led to his termination. Annab survived and testified against Caplan earlier this week. Caplan's case has seen increased scrutiny because he was evaluated certified as mentally sound for law enforcement duty by psychologist Carole Busick. A Houston Chronicle investigation found that Busick cut corners on providing certification that law enforcement candidates were mentally fit for duty, including failing to conduct face-to-face evaluations as required by the state. She and her husband pleaded guilty to tampering with a government document and received deferred adjudication, a form of probation that means the charges will be dismissed if they complete the probationary term without incident. Annab, who is suing Caplan and Busick, has argued in court records that Busick should have discovered he was unsuitable to be a peace officer. Caplan's attorney, Allen Isbell, said he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was 7 years old. "He never should have been licensed as a peace officer," Isbell said. Jurors in state District Judge Denise Bradley's court are expected to begin deliberating Caplan's punishment Friday. brian.rogers@chron.com HUNTSVILLE Houston activists do not believe the in-custody jail death of a woman this month in Walker County was caused by official wrongdoing and do not think the incident can be compared to last year's Sandra Bland case. Symone Marshall, 22, died May 10 while she was an inmate at the Walker County jail in Huntsville. She had been there for two weeks following an April 26 arrest in the aftermath of a car accident where authorities said they found drugs. Questions had been raised this week in national news reports and on social media about the circumstances of Marshall's death. An online fundraiser to cover funeral expenses for the single mother of a young daughter has exceeded its goal. Local and regional media outlets had been criticized for not covering the in-custody death in Huntsville, which is about 70 miles north of Houston, at a time when jail deaths are receiving tougher scrutiny and reporting in recent months. In an interview on Thursday, Capt. Steve Fisher the Walker County jail administrator said that Marshall died at a Huntsville hospital. Walker County Sheriff's Office officials were in touch with her family and the Texas Department of Public Safety when it became clear she would require hospital care, he said. Texas Ranger Steve Jeter is leading an investigation into the woman's death, which is not complete. Marshall's autopsy was performed in Houston by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences last week. A final report is pending. Concern was raised earlier this week by a New York Daily News story by activist Shaun King linking Marshall's death to other black women who died in jail or in the custody of law enforcement. Fisher said King did not contact him or Walker County Sheriff Clint McRae before the story ran. Quanell and Houston activists met Friday morning at the jail with Fisher, McRae and Jeter in a conversation described as "transparent" in a news conference around 11 a.m. outside the jail. "I don't believe that [the] Walker County Sheriff or his department did anything to cause the death of this young woman," Quanell said. "I don't believe she was physically abused. I don't believe she was mistreated. ... This is a tragedy. This is a tragic case. There are other real deep circumstances surrounding the young woman that I don't want to go into here, but I would ask that we all pray for her family we all pray for this young woman and hopefully at some point we can use this young girl's life as a learning experience for many other young women who can perhaps be found in the same predicament." The activist said he appreciated the media's interest in the case, but called the New York newspaper's reporting irresponsible and blamed the story for causing an undue uproar in a state where people have been abused in jails. "Make sure you have your facts straight ... because you're dealing with a people that are very sensitive to issues of how our people are treated in jails," he said. Marshall was the driver involved in a rollover crash on I-45 south of Huntsville on April 26. She and a passenger, 26-year-old Amanda Arnold, were treated by paramedics in an ambulance but refused transport to a hospital that day, according to Walker County and DPS officials. Both women were booked into the Walker County jail on felony cocaine possession charges. Arnold made her $1,500 bail on a single count, but Marshall who is from the Detroit area, but was booked with a Huntsville address could not post $5,000 for three charges, including a misdemeanor accusation of providing a false identity to law enforcement. The DPS and Walker County joint investigation into Marshall's death remains in progress. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Following a social media backlash, a nurse-in is planned at Fort Worth-area restaurant West Side Cafe. It started Sunday when one of the cafe's regulars, Rebecca Olson, was breast-feeding her 3-week-old son in the restaurant. The manager reportedly then asked her to cover her child up, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The paper also said that Olsen later posted on the restaurant's Facebook page "I also wanted to inform West Side Cafe that it is ILLEGAL for them to ask a mother nursing her child to cover up." That sparked a fury of comments, which led to the restaurant's Facebook page being taken down. Another page for the restaurant is still up on Facebook, where commenters are sharing their opinions. "After hearing they asked a nursing Mom to cover up and being a long time customer, I'll never spend my money here EVER again," wrote Mariah Desiree Chaperon. "Way to lose this entire family as customers! A baby has every right to eat where everyone else is eating without a blanket! Eat your dinner with a blanket on YOUR head! Disgusted!!" SEE ALSO: Program pairs first-time mothers with nurses Not all commenters shared her sentiments. "We all have rights but the exercise of those rights cannot infringe on the rights of others," wrote a user by the name of MF Roady Fanelli. "West Side has a right to expect patrons to behave in a tasteful way, patrons have the right to leave if they do not agree." Olson and the restaurant owner have since made amends, and what began as a protest of sorts scheduled for Saturday morphed into an event to raise awareness for both sides of the debate. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Houston police are calling on the public to help find the man who fatally stabbed an 11-year-old boy as he walked home from school this week, and the reward for information in the case has risen to $15,000. "The murderer is still on the loose at this point," Houston homicide Lt. Robert Blain told reporters Friday after the surprise announcement that charges had been dropped against the initial suspect, Che Lajuan Calhoun. Harris County Constable Mark Herman has offered an additional $10,000 reward, on top of the $5,000 reward already offered by Crime Stoppers. "It is very important we get this suspect off our streets before he commits another senseless crime ," Herman said in a release. Police are seeking a black man with a tall thin, build. He was seen wearing black pants and a black shirt, with a green jacked over his shoulders. He would have been covered in blood from the brutal attack, Blain said. "We believe this was just a random act of someone attacking a child on a street," Blain said. A murder charge against Calhoun, 31, was dropped after officers confirmed his alibi that he was in Pearland at the time of the attack, Blain said. Josue Flores, a sixth grader at Marshall Middle School, was stabbed to death on the street near his home in northwest Houston as he walked a few blocks home from school. At a prayer vigil at the school, Juan Flores, the 23-year-old brother of Josue, called for calm from a community that has been on edge since the killing. "Keep calm and cool. The police are doing their job, they're hard at work," Flores said. "No more violence. What happened to Josue is enough violence for this community. "The person who did this, we want them off the streets. We don't want the kids in our community in danger," he said. Calhoun will still face charges for being involved in an altercation at a Metro rail line a few blocks away the previous day. He escaped from police but dropped his identification. Josue was killed about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday in the 1900 block of Fulton. Houston civil rights activist Quanell X, speaking on behalf of Calhoun's family, said Calhoun was at a Pearland convenience store shortly before the stabbing. He was captured on video at the store and would not have had time to drive to north Houston, even if he had a vehicle. "This brother is not a child-killer," he said. He said the police investigation was "absolutely appalling" and said detectives should be "ashamed to call it an investigation." Quanell said if an arrest of a suspect isn't made by Sunday, he will walk the blocks of Josue's neighborhood to ease resident concerns about Calhoun. Desiree Longoria, Calhoun's fiance who is pregnant with his child, said had been with her that night an all afternoon in Pearland, and she was with him at the convenience store. Nadia Irsan was wearing an orange jail uniform, an olive green long-sleeved shirt and a black head scarf with a small patch of maroon when she sat down across from her lawyer Thursday in a glass-partitioned conference room in the Harris County Jail. The 31-year-old observant Muslim, who will likely remain behind bars at least another year before she goes to trial on a charge of stalking, smiled at her attorney. "It was a lot of colors," said lawyer Jackie Carpenter. "But that wasn't an issue. She finally looked comfortable." A day after Carpenter and attorney Eric Davis went public with their concerns that Irsan's religious rights were being violated because she was not allowed to wear the covering that are tenets of her faith, officials with the sheriff's office saw to it that she had a hijab and a long-sleeved shirt. RELATED: Lawyers say religious rights were violated "It was like she said, 'oh my God, I can breathe again!'" Carpenter said of the immediate change in her client. "She was far more focused and energetic. She's happy." Accommodations Officials with the sheriff's office confirmed that Irsan had been given the requisite religious garb and said they are working with the Public Defender's Office and the Harris County Attorney's Office to continue to make accommodations for her. Irsan is behind bars in lieu of $500,000 bail that her lawyers say she will never be able to make. She is accused, along with other family members, of taking part in an extensive criminal plot that in 2012 ended with two fatal shootings that authorities called "honor killings." Irsan and other members of her family have been convicted of fraud in an unrelated case in federal court. After she was convicted last year, Irsan was moved to the Harris County Jail to face state charges for her role in the two shootings. The situation seemed unfair to her attorneys because she was allowed the religious coverings while in federal custody, but they were taken away when she got to the county lock-up. Security concerns Carpenter and another female attorney spent weeks meeting with Irsan instead of her primary attorney, Eric Davis, because it is against the woman's faith to be seen without covering by men who are not family. The lawyers said jailers told them there were security concerns about bringing in religious garb even though it had been issued in federal court. Inmates are not allowed to wear their own clothes, bring their own hygiene items or even bring their own prescription medication when they are booked into the jail, for a slew of security reasons. As a stopgap, jailers gave her a bedsheet to use as a hijab and socks to cut holes in to use as sleeves. Those were later taken away, and her lawyers said she was being retaliated against for complaining about the makeshift coverings. It was a charge sheriff's officials denied, saying it was more likely the coverings were taken as security precautions as she was repeatedly moved between her cell and the medical unit. RELATED: Prosecutors say father killed 2 in "honor killings" "No report of retaliation or refusal of access to accommodations has been reported to the Office of the Inspector General/Internal Affairs Division," according to a written statement from the agency. "All inmates are subject to search, and at times and in certain secured environments, are required to remove articles of clothing. As was the case when inmate Irsan was transported to the jail's medical clinic." Two-month fight Since there have been relatively few observant Muslim women who have spent long stretches of time in the jail, issuing and allowing hijabs seems to have been untrodden ground. Carpenter and Davis, two of the lawyer at the Harris County Public Defenders Office, spent almost two months trying to get the accommodations before going public. On Thursday, Carpenter said she hopes Irsan's plight means that the accessories will be available for other Muslim woman incarcerated in the jail. Irsan has been convicted in a federal fraud scheme, but she is awaiting trial along with her father, Ali Mahwood-Awad, and his wife and adult son. They are all accused of gunning down her sister's husband and her sister's best friend, Iranian activist Gelareh Bagherzadeh. Prosecutors say the family conspired to commit the shootings after the sister disavowed the family to marry a Houston man. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate An educator who once taught math at La Vernia Independent School District turned himself in Friday to the FBI after he was indicted on federal child pornography charges. Theodore De Aubrey, 57, taught at La Vernia High School for seven years before resigning amid a child-porn investigation that originated in Dallas, according to his lawyer Shannon Locke of San Antonio and Jose Moreno, superintendent of La Vernia ISD. This has no link to our school district, or our (students) Moreno stressed. We were assured of that by the FBI. Nothing was ever linked back to our computers or even anything within our zone. Moreno said the district was notified by the FBI of the investigation in January, and when De Aubrey was informed of the probe, he resigned immediately. We take student safety seriously, Moreno said. We dont take any chances. Locke said De Aubrey will enter a preliminary plea of not guilty. Hes cooperating with the investigation, Locke said. Its hopeful the truth will come out. U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad released De Aubrey on $50,000 unsecured bond Friday afternoon, after federal prosecutors did not oppose his release on bail. Bemporad also ordered him to be on home detention with electronic monitoring and imposed a number of other restrictions. De Aubrey was indicted Wednesday on one count each of distribution of child pornography, receiving it and possessing it, according to the indictment unsealed late Friday. The indictment lists three incidents in which he reportedly accessed child pornography: April 10, 2015; Jan. 9, 2016 and Jan. 15 of this year. If convicted, he faces five to 20 years in federal prison. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate AUSTIN -- In political campaigns, there's ugly. And then there's really ugly. Case in point: The District 128 race for the Texas House, where incumbent state Rep. Wayne Smith, R-Baytown, faces challenger Briscoe Cain, a Deer Park lawyer. On Friday, pro-Smith fliers were circulating alleging that Cain "is well known to those who frequent Montrose area night clubs and gay bars." SEE ALSO: Anti-gay activist sues city over petition Elsewhere the flier depicts a park restroom and two men kissing and states, "Houston voters want to keep men out of woman's locker rooms and restrooms. District 128 voters should keep Briscoe Cain out of the men's restrooms as well." A vacation-style photo of Cain sunning himself with a scuba mask on his head is superimposed in one corner. "On May 24th say NO to indecency. Say NO to Briscoe Cain," the flier states. Cain said Friday the allegations are baseless. "I'm disgusted by my opponents actions," he said, noting that the flier carried a "paid for by" identifier as from the Smith campaign. He said it was intended to force him from the race. Cain said he has no intention to quit. Cain, 31, said some of the photos of him in the flier may have been taken from a friend's MySpace page, from when he was much younger. NATIONAL NEWS: Anti-LGBT bills across the country face backlash "The accusations are false, and the Wayne Smith campaign knows better," said Luke Macias, Cain's campaign consultant. "It doesn't surprise me they'd be willing to go that ugly ... It's a desperate politician trying to protect the power he has." Macias said Cain's campaign does not believe the flier has been mailed to constituents in the legislative district, and, instead, is being leaked to the news media. The flier was first tweeted out by Quorum Report, a Texas politics newsletter. In a statement, Smith, 72, said the flier "was not authorized or approved by my campaign. "I have not seen it so I cannot comment further," he said. "I have conducted my campaign on the issues, and that will continue to be my focus through Tuesday." The runoff election is on Tuesday. CONSEQUENCES: Nike cuts ties with boxer Manny Pacquiao after anti-gay comments Dr. Steven Hotze, a conservative Houston Republican activist who is supporting Cain, said he was approached Tuesday night by Allen Blakemore, a Houston political consultant working for Smith. He said Blakemore said the flier was to be mailed out, and asked Hotze to withdraw his support of Cain and endorse Smith. "I asked him (Cain) if the allegations were true, and he said they weren't," Hotze said. He said, No, sir. I'm not backing down' ... I've known Briscoe for years and I take him for his word." "It's such a despicable piece, so sleazy ... but it's politics, for crying out loud. That's how it works," Hotze said. "I've known Allen for years. Allen wants to win. I don't blame him. He wanted to give me a chance, and I appreciate that." In a statement on behalf of Smith, Blakemore accused the Cain campaign of using the flier as a "publicity stunt." "In a last gasp attempt to breathe life into his latest attempt at political office, the Briscoe Cain campaign's most recent publicity stunt now included rumors of a malicious mailer," the statement says. "Cain has filed lawsuits at the courthouse, and now, starved for support and the attention of the voters, he reaches to the media for a life preserver." Briscoe and Cain have been locked in a pitched runoff-election campaign, after Cain bested Smith 48 percent to 43 percent in the March 1 GOP primary. "It's definitely an ugly turn of events in perhaps the most contentious runoff between establishment and movement conservative candidates," said Mark Jones, a Rice University political science professor who follows state political races. "This smacks of desperation by someone ... hateful on every side. I thought we'd sunk to the bottom already in politics, but this takes it one more level down." Chuck Smith, CEO of Equality Texas, a lesbian-gay-transgender rights advocacy group, criticized the message. "Does it have anything to do with anything? No," he said. "Does gay-baiting work in 2016? Maybe that's why we don't see this kind of thing. I don't think it's good. " Smith, a decorated Vietnam vet and retired land surveyor and businessman who has been in office since 2003, has faced intense criticism from right-wing Republican groups and fiscal-responsibility advocates who say he has been in Austin too long and has not voted on conservative issues to their satisfaction. For his part, Smith has been endorsed by a long list of conservative and elected GOP notables in Texas and in his district, including former Gov. Rick Perry, former Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman. Cain, a father of three who is a 1st lieutenant in the Texas State Guard, has campaigned on the need for better border security, faith and family issues, an improved economy and a pro-life agenda. Smith is a key lieutenant of House Speaker Joe Straus, who is opposed by tea party and ultra-conservative groups that support Cain. In recent months, Smith and Cain also have been involved in a legal fight over a state law that prohibits the use of audio and video from the floor of the House and Senate, along with committee hearings, in political ads. Cain, who wants to use footage in his campaign ads of Smith from the House floor during the 2013 and 2015 legislative sessions. sued the Texas Ethics Commission to strike down that law. Last week, state District Judge Brent Gamble of Houston granted a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of the law. >>THE LEAD: "State urges long-term contraception for women on Medicaid," by the Houston Chronicle's Andrea Zeliniski: "Texas officials want to sell women on Medicaid on the use of long-term contraception that can help them avoid unwanted pregnancies, especially those struggling with significant health problems that are more likely to lead to premature or low birth-weight babies. "The goal, state officials said at a House Public Health Committee meeting Thursday, is to urge women to use long-term contraception, particularly after finishing a pregnancy, to ensure they do not become pregnant again so soon. "There are wonderful little oopsies and then there are horrible oopsies," said Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton and committee chair. Long-term contraception that can keep a woman from getting pregnant for years would be "a game-changer" for Texas, she said." -- FOSTER CARE: "Patrick seeks faith-based help to fix foster care crisis," by the Chronicle's Mike Ward: "Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Thursday called on faith-based leaders to help the state repair its crisis-plagued foster care system. "In a meeting with 11 religious and faith-based service leaders, Patrick said he looked to them to identify ways in which the faith-based community can help children who are involved, or at risk of becoming involved, with the state's foster care system. "Faith-based communities have a long history of involvement with these children and we need this partnership to grow dramatically," Patrick said in a statement after the meeting. "Last session, we increased funding for Child Protective Services by $230 million, and resources for prevention and early intervention programs, but we need to do more." >> JAIL BLUES: "Harris County's pretrial detention practices challenged as unlawful in federal court," by the Chronicle's Lise Olsen: "An advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., challenged Harris County's bail system on Thursday, arguing in a federal civil rights lawsuit that hundreds of offenders are unlawfully jailed for minor offenses like trespassing and shoplifting simply because they are poor and cannot afford even nominal bail payments. "Lawyers for the non-profit, Equal Justice Under Law, filed the suit on behalf of Maranda Lynn ODonnell, a 22-year-old single mother jailed Wednesday for driving without a valid license, and all other pretrial misdemeanor offenders held in Harris County, asking the court for class action status." -- ABORTION VOTE: "Oklahoma Legislature passes bill making it a felony to perform an abortion," by The Oklahoman's Rick Green: The Oklahoma Senate gave final passage on Thursday to a bill that makes it a felony to perform an abortion. "Sen. Nathan Dahm, the author of the bill, said a court challenge is to be expected. "Most people know I am for defending rights," said Dahm, R-Broken Arrow. "Those rights begin at conception." The bill now goes to the governor, who will consider if it should be signed into law." -- TOP TEN CHANGE?: "Great isn't good enough," by Alcalde Magazine's Tim Taliaferro: "Abbott: One thing that I would like to see the University of Texas have greater latitude in is the percentage requirement of students that are admitted into the university so that they do have the ability to have the absolute best and brightest at the University of Texas at Austin. And they wouldI know the attitude and approach of the University of Texas, and that is they will do that while at the same time ensuring the diversity that is the trademark of the University of Texas at Austin. "The University of Texas needs to have greater latitude. Even when they do that, you'll see, if you look back to the university that they had before the automatic admissions compared to what they have now, it's my understanding it was fairly much the same." >> ED BOARD: "Mary Lou Bruner has made plenty of bizarre statements, but these might be the most damaging," by Texas Monthly's John Nova Lomax: "Since her recent entry into the political limelight, District 9 State Board of Education candidate Mary Lou Bruner's bizarre beliefs have caught the attention of the public. Among them: "President Obama has a soft spot for homosexuals because of the years he spent as a male prostitute in his twenties. That is how he paid for his drugs." "Many people believe the Democrat Party had JFK killed because the socialists and Communists in the party did not want a conservative president. Remember who followed JFK as president (LBJ). The exact opposite of Kennedy a socialist and an unethical politician. It does seem like this might have been the master plan: They sneaked the bad guy (LBJ) into the administration on the coat-tail of a good guy (JFK). Then they got rid of the good guy; in the end, they got a socialist president which is what they originally wanted." SPEED READ Republican tries to block Muslim from office, Houston Chronicle Energy stocks rise as Wall Street bets on oil recovery, Houston Chronicle Speculation rides along with Abbott's book tour, Texas Tribune How the wrong verb meant the Texas GOP called most Texans gay, National Public Radio Texas water future: More toilet-to-tap, aquifer storage, The Associated Press State officials investigated over their inquiry into Exxon Mobil's research, The New York Times Ken Paxton: No ban on open carry of guns in parks, Austin American-Statesman McCaul: Lax airport security overseas putting 'Americans at risk," Politico Will Trump awaken the Latino electoral giant in Texas? Houston Chronicle San Antonio-based Mexican entrepreneurs group taking on Trump, San Antonio Express-News New shakeup in Paxton's office as lawmakers eye leave policies, Quorum Report Texas suburbs among fastest-growing U.S. cities, Texas Tribune A peek at the golden age of prison rodeo, The Marshall Project Push to provide lawyers for immigrant children loses steam, Texas Tribune Alabama-Coushatta reopens East Texas bingo hall, Beaumont Enterprise Republic of Turket targets Houston-based charter school, Texas Tribune Lead detected in water at El Paso state center, El Paso Times Judge orders ethics classes for Justice Department attorneys, Texas Tribune CAPITOL DAYBOOK The House No committee meetings are scheduled. The Senate No committee meetings are scheduled. QUOTE TO NOTE "He called me Miss Piggy," Alicia Machado recounted to Inside Edition on Thursday, as what Donald Trump told her in 1996 when she was Miss Venezuela, and when he thought she had gained weight. RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE >> NEW POLL: "Republicans more positive about Trump, but many not pleased," by Gallup's Frank Newport: "As a number of Republican Party leaders express dissatisfaction with Donald Trump being their party's presumptive nominee, rank-and-file Republicans have become more positive about the billionaire businessman. "Over the last seven days, Trump's favorable rating among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents has reached 66%, the highest since Gallup began tracking him nine months ago. His unfavorable rating is at 30%.: -- TED REDUX: "Ted Cruz choses," by Texas Monthly's Erica Grieder: "For Republicans around the nation, it's a time for choosing. And Ted Cruz, I'd say, has made his choice. His speech at the state GOP convention, on Saturday, conspicuously made no mention of Donald Trump, the party's presumptive presidential nomineeand in an interview, about an hour before he took the stage, he explained that he hadn't made up his mind about whether to endorse Trump or even whether to vote for him." >> TEXAS DOLLARS: "Democrat Clinton wants Texans to open their wallets and help win nomination to defeat GOP's Trump," by the San Antonio Express-News Peggy Fikac: "Hillary Clinton will rake in campaign cash in Texas on Friday as she works to seal the Democratic presidential nomination against Sen. Bernie Sanders and move on to the general election race against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. "I know you've been watching all of this sometimes unbelievable campaign, uh, well, let's just call it 'fun.' In my view, we need to double down on Hillary and assure that some of that 'fun' doesn't end up in the White House," Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, wrote in an email touting the Clinton fundraisers in Austin, Dallas and Houston." -- THOSE SPEECHES: "Inside the Clinton paid speech machine," by Politico's Anne Karni: "Hillary and Bill Clinton's highly paid speeches whose transcripts they steadfastly refuse to release despite pressure on the campaign trail are cloaked in secrecy. "Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have both seized on the issue, raising red flags about what the Clintons say behind closed doors to Wall Street firms and other groups that they don't say in public. By digging in their heels, the Clintons have only drawn more attention to the question: What, exactly, do you get when you pay a Clinton hundreds of thousands of dollars for an intimate, closed-to-the-press speech? In Bill Clinton's case, it turns out, you get a dose of the full, unplugged Bubba." >> BORDER WALL: "What would it take for Donald Trump to deport 11 million and build a wall?" by the New York Times' Julia Preston, Alan Rappeport and Matt Richtel: "Big promises are to be expected from presidential candidates, but reality often intrudes. The elder George Bush broke the "no new taxes" pledge that helped lead to his election. And Barack Obama's administration has yet to live up to his prediction that his nomination would go down in history as the moment "when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal." "Donald J. Trump's vow to restore what he says is America's lost luster, while perhaps not as flowery, comes with campaign promises that are equally grandiose. But Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, has typically provided scant details on how he might make good on his promises and ambitious ideas, even the concrete kind, do not always add up." >> FRIDAY FINALE: "European's populist politicians tap into deep-seated frustration," by Wall Street Journal's Anton Troianovski: "Supporters turned out Saturday for a barbecue hosted by the Freedom Party of Austria, a populist, anti-immigrant group that polls say could win the country's presidency this weekend. "Things just aren't how they used to be," said Celine Danecek, a party volunteer handing out fliers, cigarette lighters and headphones. "It feels strange to say this as a 17-year-old." Since reaching voting age last year, Ms. Danecek has cast her ballot for a party asserting that the policies of the postwar political establishmenton immigration, trade and European integrationgo against the interests of regular people and urgently need to be reversed. After the migrant crisis erupted last summer, a throng of European voters have delivered a series of electoral successes to populist parties offering such messages. From Denmark to France, the parties' gains have heightened the sense of crisis in the European Union." The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p. Braves advance to semis at Unity CHEROKEE - Cherokee's volleyball girls took down Harlan 3-0 on Monday and headed to Orange City this past Wednesday to... Wolverines end season at West Bend-Mallard WEST BEND - The South OBrien volleyball team traveled to face West Bend-Mallard in the first round of the regional... Warriors suffer 44-14 loss to Gehlen Catholic ALTA - The Alta-Aurelia football team hosted Gehlen Catholic on Friday evening, but lost the game 44-14. The Warriors struck... Warriors take down Raiders to finish regular season ALTA - The Alta-Aurelia volleyball team hosted East Sac County on Thursday evening and took down the Raiders 3-1 to... Braves go 3-6 at Heelan Invite SIOUX CITY - Cherokee's volleyball team, 23-9, worked on fine tuning its skills here Saturday in a 12-team Sioux City... Peste 300 de liceene s-au inscris in Startup School si sunt gata sa invete bazele antreprenoriatului tehnologic. Vezi cum a fost la evenimentul de lansare a programului national de educatie antreprenoriala When it comes to political campaigns, journalists traditionally serve as the referees, covering the action but not taking sides. There is one issue, however, on which journalists might be forgiven for showing preferencechoosing who among the candidates is best for the media. For anyone trying to see how the candidates measure up, heres a scorecard to help them decide. Up to five points are awarded for policies or actions that benefit the media; likewise, up to five points are subtracted when they are detrimental. Trump Hes goodmake that greatfor the medias bottom line. In fact, Trump may be the successful revenue model the industry has been searching for. His campaign is attracting record viewers for big events, from debates to primary nights, and those clicks and eyeballs are being monetized on TV stations and news sites around the world. If elected president, Trump can reliably be expected to engage in outrageous antics, make bizarre statements, offend large groups of people, and generate controversy at every turn. This produces nothing but money if youre in the news business. As CBS chairman Les Moonves noted about this years campaign season, It may not be good for America, but its damn good for CBS. He wants to make it easier to sue journalists for libel. Trump has promised that when hes president media companies like The New York Times and The Washington Post will have lots of problems in the form of libel suits. Were going to open up libel laws, and were going to have people sue you like youve never got sued before, Trump said at Texas rally in February. His presidency would be a leakers paradise. A Trump presidency is likely to generate tremendous resistance from within the other institutions of government and the bureaucracy. That circumstance breeds leakers, who want to use the media to trumpet their side and voice their opposition. Trump is an admirer of serial press freedom violator, Vladimir Putin. Trump has praised Putin as a leader and said there is no evidence that Putin is responsible for the killing of journalists in Russia. This is technically true, but it is a bit like saying there is no evidence that the mob killed Jimmy Hoffa. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Trump thinks journalists are disgusting. Trump has variously denounced journalists as dishonest, scum, and sleaze. This kind of overheated rhetoric could be dismissed, except that Trump supporters seem to take it as license to insult, attack, smear, and heckle journalists and harass them online. In one well-reported incident, Trumps Secret Service detail roughed up a Time photographer who stepped outside the press bullpen at a rally. Trump returns calls. He obviously makes a habit of phoning into cable shows, but will also return calls from from Web and print reporters. On the other hand, theres a reason for the personal callbacks: Trump has a slim media operation and lacks the usual bevy of spokespeople and surrogates. Clinton She stood up for press freedom around the world. As Secretary of State she defended the rights of persecuted journalists and spoke out regularly on press freedom violations, notably in Russia and Turkey. However, her approach was inconsistent, and countries like China, where the strategic interests were paramount, did not receive the same level of criticism. She almost never talks to beat reporters. Clinton is notorious for controlling access to her and her close confidants, and some prominent journalists on the Clinton beat have never been granted interviews. She defended Internet freedom. As Secretary of State, Clinton launched a US government effort to defend the right to connect, declaring in a 2011 speech: We are convinced that an open internet fosters long-term peace, progress, and prosperity. Shes not defending it lately. With the Islamic State and other militant groups using the internet as an effective propaganda and recruitment tool, Clinton is now hedging. Late last year she declared Weve got to shut their means of communicating, noting that youre going to hear all the usual complaints about freedom of speech. (Well, yeah.) Negative coverage generates a cavalcade of organized attacks from Clinton surrogates. Negative coverage of generates a chorus of criticism, either from her aides or supporters like Media Matters, which have been established to defend the Clinton record. Sanders Hes alone in addressing media concentration. Since Sanders has virtually no chance of winning the Democratic nomination, a vote for him is a protest vote. But if what you want to protest is the concentration of media ownership, then hes your man. Sanders likes to point out that six corporations own 90 percent of the media in this country, which threatens pluralism and the diversity of voices essential to democratic debate. If he could do something about the issue, journalists may not like it. Sanders has promised greater media regulation, but he has been vague about what this might mean and how it might be accomplished. Media regulation can serve legitimate purposes, but also be manipulated to the advantage of a particular party or agenda. This is why specific plans are critical to making an assessment. Sanders gets docked for not having one. And the winner between the presumptive nominees isno surprise hereClinton with a total score of 1, compared to -8 for Trump. (If you want to express your outrage about media concentration and you live in a state with an upcoming democratic primary, you could, of course, cast your vote for Sanders.) The fact that Clinton comes out ahead with a negative score strongly suggests the challenges ahead. President Obama campaigned on a promise to lead the most transparent administration in American history but has failed to meet this commitment. Based on the candidates left in the race, there is a good chance the situation will get worse, not better, in the next administration. The question to be decided on Election Day is how much worse, and how quickly. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Joel Simon is a fellow at Tow Center for Digital Journalism. His next book is The Infodemic: How Censorship Made the World Sicker and Less Free co-authored with Robert Mahoney. Singapores Land Transport Authority said Tuesday it is investigating Hyundai vehicles following reports of accidents involving sudden acceleration while reversing. In a statement, the authority said it was looking into cases of Hyundai vehicles having unintended acceleration in reverse gear. It is premature to draw any conclusions at this point in time, it said. The statement gave no further details, but the local newspaper Straits Times cited recent incidents involving taxis from operator ComfortDelGro, which leases Hyundai Sonata cars, among other models. It is Singapores largest taxi operator with a fleet of 17,000 cabs. Hyundai Motor said it is looking into the matter. We will fully cooperate with LTA or any other authority in Singapore, it said in a statement. South Korean consumers have lodged complaints about accidents that they believed were caused by sudden unintended accelerations, not necessarily in reverse gear. But past government probes have found no evidence that this was linked to faulty vehicles. At a public demonstration in 2013, the government tried to reproduce conditions that were believed to cause cars to suddenly accelerate without intention but those attempts failed. The ministry concluded that it was reasonable to conclude the phenomenon of sudden unintended acceleration does not exist. Hairdresser Roger Choo, 45, said he experienced sudden acceleration while driving from the Thai cities of Krabi to Phuket in a rented Hyundai Sonata a few years ago. I heard a loud revving from the engine compartment and thought it was turbo kicking in, he said. But the car kept speeding even after we released the acceleration pedal. Fortunately for us, the road was long and clear of traffic, said Choo, who managed to stop the car after putting it in neutral gear and switching off the ignition. Once we calmed ourselves down, we started the engine and all was back to normal, he said. (AP Business Writer Youkyung Lee in Seoul contributed to this report.) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Andrew J. Heymsfield has an affinity for thunderstorms, particularly those nasty spring-born storms that darken the plains and drop hailstones similar to millions of tiny ice bombs, leaving crushed crops, car hood dings and dimples, and billions of dollars of damage in their wake. Visit the senior scientists offices at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, and youll find one of his prized possessions is a cast replica of the largest hailstone ever recorded a nearly 2-pound monster measuring 18.5 inches that fell July 23, 2010, in the small central South Dakota town of Vivian. The real one resides in a laboratory freezer down the hall, the Rapid City Journal reported. Im interested in all aspects of ice phases, snow, precipitation, and hail just happens to be one of them, says Heymsfield, who first began studying the icy phenomenon in 1978. For the past few years, his research center has been working in tandem with the Insurance Institute of Business & Home Safety, a consortium of insurers seeking ways to strengthen homes, businesses and communities and reduce the estimated 9 million claims for hail losses totaling more than $54 billion they received from 2000 to 2013. And, thanks to studies by the insurance institute and armored airplanes that have penetrated hailstorms for more than 30 years collecting data for studies conducted by the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City, scientists are gaining a greater understanding of how hail is produced, and what can be done to mitigate the billions of dollars in damages it does to crops and property. At the outset, Heymsfield says he was astonished that previous studies used outdated mathematical models to determine the characteristics of hail and to forecast thunderstorms that might produce hail. One such study widely used to calculate the relationship between the size of hail and the speed at which it falls was conducted in the 1960s using data collected in the 1920s, he said. The thing that really surprised me was that there was a kind of disconnect between the insurance industry and the science from standpoint they perhaps took things from some very old results, but not things we had learned more recently, Heymsfield explained. Now we are starting to look at the properties of hail in a more realistic way. Ian Giammanco, a meteorologist and Heymsfields counterpart at the institutes state-of-the-art research facilities in Richburg, South Carolina, 45 minutes south of Charlotte, said the studies are intended to not only identify the properties of hail, but to replicate storm conditions with the goal of improving the resiliency of products used in construction that might reduce damage from the icy projectiles. Its an exciting time in hail research, said Giammanco, whose wife, Tanya, is a fellow scientist working on the project. The goal is to make measurements of hail, multiple dimensions, evaluate shape, weigh hail and understand how size and mass change as hailstone shapes change, which plays an important role in aerodynamics. That makes a difference in how fast hail falls and subsequently, the damage inflicted when it hits roofs, Giammanco added. Working in institute laboratories that include 3-D scanners and printers, as well as a massive hail-making machine, Giammanco and his associates this month for the first time replicated individual hailstones, then measured strength and density in their effort to develop stronger building materials more resistant to hail damage. The scientist said the studies had found that, while hailstones smaller than 1 inch in diameter tended to be more spherical, larger hailstones became less round as they got bigger, and larger hailstones can even feature spikes and other unusual shapes. On the strength side, small stones typically are the strongest, Giammanco added. The strongest took 3,000 psi (pounds per square inch) to fracture it, which is somewhat amazing when you consider the typical car tire is inflated to 38-40 psi. While smaller hailstones might take 10 minutes to be produced in a thunderstorm, larger hailstones take an arcing path to the ground, collecting super-cooled water and other bits of atmospheric ice and even colliding with other hailstones on their journey earthward, he said. Its mind-blowing to consider the size of some hailstones a thunderstorm can produce, getting bigger and bigger, and the fact that 100 mph winds are needed to suspend those giant hailstones in the atmosphere for the 20 to 30 minutes they might be up there, Giammanco added. Andy Detwiler, a research scientist associated with the School of Mines for nearly 30 years, said he is proud the Rapid City institutions work is now playing such an instrumental role in studies designed to understand hail and reduce damages from thunderstorms. Noting South Dakota is one of five states most prone to hail storms, Detwiler said the Mines studies using an armor-plated T-28 with a bullet-proof canopy for more than 30 years, and a modified Air Force A-10 more recently, have led to a greater understanding of what actually occurs inside a hailstorm. Our work began with a grant from the National Science Foundation in 1968, said Detwiler, whose doctorate is in atmospheric sciences. At that time, there was no way to get measurements of storms and this was an attempt to do that. Praising Heymsfields hail studies and subsequent scientific papers as groundbreaking, Detwiler said aircraft used by the School of Mines and the data they helped produce were just two tools in the arsenal scientists are using to understand our natural environment. Were trying to deal with the environment as effectively as we can and preserve and protect our standard of living, he said. The airplane is just one tool. It takes airplanes, scientists, data and computer modeling to make the big picture understandable. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. When a settlement is reached in a personal injury lawsuit, a written settlement agreement is prepared, and, if medical expenses for the injured party have been paid by Medicare, a Medicare Set-Aside Account (MSA) may be created to reimburse Medicare for past, and potentially future, medical payments. The purpose of a MSA is to ensure that Medicare will not pay bills for plaintiffs injuries where there is other insurance available. The rationale is that since plaintiff received settlement money from an insurance company to cover future medical expenses, Medicare wants to ensure that a portion of the settlement money is spent on injury-related care before the taxpayers start paying through Medicare. Attorneys and claim representatives need guidance to advise clients and comply with Medicares demands. This article discusses the ramifications of a recent federal decision, Aranki v. Burwell, as well as other federal and state cases on personal injury settlements when dealing with the issue of the potential need for MSAs for future medical expenses. History Until 1980, Medicare was the primary payer for all services covered by Medicare except those covered by workers compensation. In 1980, in an effort to shift costs from the Medicare program to private payers, Congress enacted the Medicare Secondary Payer Act (MSPA), 42 U.S.C. 1395y(b), which made Medicare a secondary payer to certain plans, including liability insurance. Regulations implementing the nuts and bolts of the MSPA have been codified at 42 C.F.R. Part 411. As the secondary payer, Medicare provides coverage for any amount not covered by a primary payer or primary plan. Under the MSPA, a primary payer includes a tortfeasor and the tortfeasors private insurer. The importance of MSAs in todays litigation realm There is no federal rule or statute that requires the creation of MSAs for future medical expenses in third-party personal injury actions. Attorneys and claim representatives need guidance to advise clients and comply with Medicares demands. Some commentators believe that MSAs for future medical expenses are required in personal injury actions where the injured party is either a Medicare recipient or is Medicare eligible. Others believe no such requirement exists, reasoning that the federal government has no right to claim an interest in future medical expenses as part of a settlement given the absence of any enforceable regulations. So what is the answer? Case law and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services policy memoranda A recent case out of the U.S. District Court in Arizona, Aranki v. Burwell, makes it very clear that MSAs are not required for future medical expenses in personal injury cases, unlike such requirements in workers compensation cases. The following is an excerpt from the Aranki case: To comply with the provisions outlined in the MSP statute, in workers compensation cases CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) mandates the creation of a Medicare Set Aside (MSA) account. (42 C.F.R. 411.) The purpose of a MSA is to allocate a portion of a workers compensation award to pay potential future medical expenses resulting from the work-related injury so that Medicare does not have to pay. However, no federal law or CMS regulation requires the creation of a MSA in personal injury settlements to cover potential future medical expenses. The Aranki case involved the issue of whether a MSA is necessary in a medical malpractice case. The court held the case was not ripe for review because no federal law mandates CMS to decide whether plaintiff is required to create a MSA. As such, the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear this case. As the court noted, there may be a day that the CMS requires the creation of MSAs for future medical expenses in personal injury cases, but that day has not yet arrived. Those having to deal with MSAs and future medical expenses in liability settlement cases can also look to other recent court decisions for some guidance. For example: Berry v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (2015) The parties asked the court to determine whether there was a need for a MSA in connection with a settlement. Specifically, the parties sought a determination that CMSs interests had been adequately taken into account by the settlement to which the parties had agreed. The Berry court found there was no need for a MSA as part of the settlement of this case. Based on the evidence of plaintiffs treating medical providers and correspondence from CMS, Medicare had been reimbursed for all conditional payments that it made for plaintiffs accident-related treatment. Since it was not reasonably anticipated that plaintiff would receive any future accident-related treatment, the court found that Medicare would not be called upon to pay for such are in the future. Tye v. Upper Valley Med. Ctr. (2014) The Ohio Supreme Court decided that the parties were not required to set aside any portion of the settlement proceeds for future benefits which may be paid or payable to Medicare. In its decision, the Court noted several reasons for its holding, including: (1) the plaintiffs injuries were paid by a private health insurance carrier, (2) the private health insurance carrier would continue to pay plaintiffs medical expenses in the foreseeable future, and (3) Medicare did not have an established policy or procedure in effect for reviewing or providing an opinion regarding the adequacy of the future medical aspect of a liability settlement. Warren Frank v. Gateway Ins. Co.(2012) The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana held Medicare does not currently require or approve MSAs when personal injury lawsuits are settled. Sipler v. Trans Am Trucking, Inc. (2012) The court determined that no federal law requires set-aside arrangements in personal injury settlements for future medical expenses. Big R Towing, Inc. v. David Wayne Benoit, et al.(2011) The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana found that a set-aside for future medical expenses in a liability case was appropriate. Along with the above case law, CMS policy statements offer additional guidance in terms of when to set up a MSA account for future medical expenses. Although these statements do not have the force of law, they do reflect a body of expertise and informed judgment to which courts may properly resort for guidance. (See Anderson v. Burwell, (2016) F.Supp.3d (U.S. Dist. MI)) CMS policy memoranda CMS has issued several policy memoranda on how Medicares interests must be protected in liability cases. In 2011, CMS issued a 3-page handout with internal guidance addressing liability settlements and MSAs where no future injury-related care was required. Although not legal authority, the handout provides some guidance when dealing with parties respective responsibilities with respect to future medical expenses. With respect to the obligations of plaintiffs counsel, the handout advises that when a plaintiff attorney determines decides that a settlement is intended to pay for future medicals, he or she should see to it that those funds are used to pay for otherwise Medicare-covered services related to what is claimed and/or released in the settlement. According to Medicare Regional Coordinator Sally Stalcup: There is no formal CMS review process in the liability area as there is for Workers Compensation, however Regional Offices do review a number of submitted set-aside proposals.If there was/is funding for otherwise covered and reimbursable future medical services related to what was claimed/released, the Medicare Trust Funds must be protected. If there was/is no such funding, there is no expectation of 3rd party funds with which to protect the Trust Funds. Each attorney is going to have to decide, based on the specific facts of each of their cases, whether or not there is funding for future medicals and if so, a need to protect the Trust Funds. They must decide whether or not there is funding for future medicals. If the answer for defense counsel or the insurer is yes, they should make sure their records contain documentation of their notification to plaintiffs counsel and the Medicare beneficiary that the settlement does fund future medicals which obligates them to protect the Medicare Trust Funds. It will also be part of their report to Medicare in compliance with Section 111, Mandatory Insurer Reporting requirements. On September 30, 2011, CMS Acting Director Charlotte Benson issued a policy memorandum outlining the possible requirement of MSA funds in liability cases. This memo provided first-time guidance for MSA amounts related to liability insurance settlements, judgments, awards, or other payments. In discussing settlements of injuries related to liability insurance, the memo states: Where the beneficiarys treating physician certifies in writing that treatment for the alleged injury related to the liability insurance settlement has been completed as of the date of the settlement, and that future medical items and/or services for that injury will not be required, Medicare considers its interest, with respect to future medicals for that particular settlement, satisfied. If the beneficiary receives additional settlements related to the underlying injury or illness, he/she must obtain a separate physician certification for those additional settlements. In late 2014, the United States Department of Health & Human Services (the federal agency CMS reports to and takes direction from) issued the following: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has no current plans for a formal process for reviewing and approving Liability Medicare Set-Aside Arrangements. However, even though no formal process exists, there is an obligation to inform CMS when future medicals were a consideration in reaching the Liability Settlement, judgment, or award as well as any instances where a liability judgment or award specifically provides for medicals in general or future medicals. Similar to the 2011 CMS handout discussed above, this letter is not legally binding, but is useful for attorneys handling the issue of future medical expenses and settlements. To what extent are attorneys responsible for establishing MSAs for future medical expenses? As of the date of this article, there is no statutory requirement that attorneys establish MSAs in liability settlements if the plaintiff is not a Medicare beneficiary. Personal injury settlements are clearly distinct from workers compensation settlements. As one court noted, in contrast to the workers compensation scheme that generally determines recovery on the basis of a rigid formula, often with a statutory maximum, tort cases involve noneconomic damages not available in workers compensation cases, and a victims damages are not determined by an established formula. (Sipler v. Trans Am Trucking, Inc. at p. 638) However, that does not mean attorneys can ignore this issue and then plead ignorance. Medicares interests must still be protected, which may involve setting up a MSA. Otherwise, the attorney may face severe penalties of up to $1000 per day, per claim. When MSAs are required For a MSA to be appropriate, (1) the plaintiff must be a Medicare beneficiary and (2) it must be determined that plaintiff will incur future care related to the underlying lawsuit or injury which would otherwise be covered by Medicare. If these two requirements above are met, then the parties should determine what amount of the settlement should be allocated to future medical care. According to the Garretson Resolution Group (GSG), we now have some clarity about what the federal government considers material when it comes to future medical expenses under the MSPA. GSG, a neutral private provider of services to parties settling personal injury claims involving MSA and MSA custodial account services, has recently published a guide on how to handle future medicals in 2016 and under the MSP Statute. The 20-page guide lays out what GSG considers to be the best practices on the future medicals issue today. GSG explains the best practice is to (1) identify whether the amount of compensation from the primary plan exists within the settlement award, (2) identify the exact amount of compensation for future medical expenses, and (3) ensure Medicare is not billed until that amount is exhausted. Arguments for and against establishing these accounts for future medical expenses For MSAs At present, there is a heated debate among practitioners over whether MSAs are even required. Federal law explicitly states that if dealing with a recovery in a personal injury case, the interest of Medicare must be considered. (42 U.S.C. 1395y(b)(2)) By setting up MSAs, parties will avoid costly penalties if Medicare determines the parties improperly billed Medicare, including double damages in a claim by the U.S. for recovery of conditional payments, as well as a debt collection action by the Department of Treasury. MSs are cost effective, are easily accessible, and bring finality to the liability claim. They are not required by law, but it is a reasonable approach that parties can adopt to protect themselves from MSP liability. As noted, if MSA accounts are not set up but should have been, the attorney may face fines of $1000 per day, per claim. The $1000 per day, per claim fine is associated with the reporting requirements of Section 111 of the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act (MMSEA) and has no direct correlation with MSAs. (See When to Use a Liability Medicare Set-Aside Arrangement (LMSA) by Roy A. Franco) Against MSAs As noted above, there is no federal regulation nor does the United States Code specifically require that MSA fund be created. The federal regulations dealing with Medicare as a secondary payer to post-settlement medical expenses apply only to workers compensation cases. Medicare does not currently have an established policy or procedure in effect for reviewing or providing an opinion regarding the adequacy of the future medical aspect of a liability settlement or recovery of future medical expenses incurred in liability cases. Based on CMSs policy memoranda and recent case law, there seems to be a distinction being drawn between cases that require a MSA and those that do not. MSAs are not required where (1) the claimant is being compensated only for past medical expenses, and future medical expenses are not at issue; and (2) the claimant is not receiving Medicare, nor is expected to do so in the near future. Those against MSAs argue that a requirement to have personal injury settlements specifically apportion future medical expenses would prove burdensome to the settlement process and, in turn, discourage personal injury settlements. Medicare may refuse to pay future medical expenses related to the claim for which a responsible reporting entity has already assumed liability. Some believe that MSAs increase cost of the claim; however, MSA supporters remind those who oppose MSAs that the Medicare Set Aside comprises a portion of the settlement amount, and therefore there are no increased costs. While no regulation or statute currently requires the creation of a MSA for future medical expenses in a third-party injury settlement, given the current trends as discussed in this article, it would seem prudent to create a MSA in any case that involves a reasonable likelihood of future injury-related medical care arising out of the underlying events covered by the settlement. The wise practitioner or claim professional should make this part of his or her settlement checklist in personal injury cases. Richard M. Williams, partner with Gray Duffy, LLP, has more than 35 years of complex litigation experience. His practice covers a breadth of litigation matters including product and premises liability, catastrophic and other personal injury, public entity defense, professional negligence, real estate, intellectual property, employment and unfair business practices. He successfully represents a wide range of clients including insurance companies, business service firms, collection services, higher education organizations, major grocery stores, school districts, contractors, steel manufacturers and property management firms. Thousands of Texas homeowners victimized by severe weather may also be victims of a wide-ranging conspiracy involving door-to-door solicitors, public insurance adjusters and attorneys, according to a class-action lawsuit filed in Dallas. The lawsuit claims that individuals, companies and law firms purportedly representing residents with property damage insurance claims are actually operating a pyramid scheme to collect unlawful and fraudulent fees that can make completing the repairs almost impossible. According to court documents, the scheme typically begins when a door-to-door solicitor working on behalf of a roofing contractor claims that his company can get the homeowners insurance company to pay for property damage, such as a new roof. After the initial insurance payment arrives, the solicitor keeps the funds and brings in a so-called public adjuster to inspect the home and seek additional payment from the insurance company, charging a fee of 10 percent of the total claim plus other expenses. The solicitor also tells the homeowner that a lawyer must be hired to get still more payments from the insurance company, adding a 25 percent to 40 percent fee for any recovery. Having never met or even spoken with the homeowner, the attorney then files a lawsuit against the insurer without the homeowners knowledge, agrees to a mediation, and settles the matter without the approval of or consultation with the homeowner. When a settlement check finally arrives, the payment often is not enough to pay for roof repairs because of deductions to cover the fees and expenses of the attorney, public adjuster and solicitor. This is a very real and deceitful scheme that is carried out in this state every day by those who are supposed to be helping homeowners, not ripping them off, said attorney Mark Ticer, who represents Dallas resident Juan Guerra in the lawsuit. Guerra was approached in 2014 by a representative of Arlington-based roofing contractor Lambcorp, who said the company could handle his insurance claim for a new roof. Guerra turned over the payment from his insurer to Lambcorp, which demanded that he hire Arlington-based National Claims Negotiators LLC, a public adjusting firm, and the San Antonio law firm of Speights & Worrich to obtain additional payments from his insurer. Guerra still has not received the new roof he was initially promised by the solicitor, nor have the insurance proceeds taken by Lambcorp been returned to him. This lawsuit is bringing to light an elaborate web of conspirators and con artists who are lining their pockets at the expense of innocent and unsuspecting homeowners, with a goal of bringing accountability, honesty and integrity back into the system, said attorney Van Shaw of the Law Offices of Van Shaw in Dallas, co-counsel for Guerra and the proposed class. Dallas attorney Steven Badger of Zelle LLP has been vocal on behalf of the insurance industry in responding to the dramatic increase in hail damage lawsuits. In addition to his work defending insurance companies, Badger represents a group of homeowners in a class action lawsuit against North Texas roofing contractor Lambcorp alleging the unauthorized practice of public adjusting and other improper conduct. The Guerra class action was filed as an intervention into Badgers lawsuit, as it also named Lambcorp as a defendant. Ticer and Shaw say the lawsuit also exposes a troubling increase in Texas of an illegal practice called barratry, which includes the improper solicitation of potential cases by individuals not associated with the lawyer handling the matter. Such conduct is unfortunately becoming increasingly common, but Texas law provides victims of barratry a private right of action against the violating lawyers, said Ticer. The allegations of solicitation and barratry set forth in Guerras lawsuit are typical of what those of us involved in defending these lawsuits believe is going on all across Texas, Badger said. Badger expects to see additional barratry lawsuits filed in the months ahead. Each and every week I am contacted with concerns about Texas attorneys and their door-to-door canvassers following the same model described in the Guerra lawsuit. Badger said he is encouraged to see well-known plaintiffs attorneys like Mark Ticer and Van Shaw taking steps to address apparent illegal conduct by other attorneys. Mark and Van should be commended for their willingness to take on this important issue. The case is Guerra v. Jorge Garcia, Vivian Armas, et al., No. DC-15-03338, in the 134th District Court in Dallas. The Postal Service announced that 6,549 employees were attacked by dogs last year as it released its annual top dog attack city rankings. It also shared information on new safety initiatives it is putting in place to help protect its employees. Dogs are protective in nature and may view our letter carriers handing mail to their owner as a threat, said USPS Safety Director Linda DeCarlo at a news conference in Houston, where postal employees suffered 77 attacks, more than any other city. Fifty-one cities make up the top 30 rankings (see chart below). DeCarlo also announced two new safety measures to alert USPS Carriers of dogs on their delivery routes. The first goes into effect May 13 on usps.coms Package Pickup application. Customers will be asked to indicate if there is a dog at their address when they schedule a package pickup. The second goes into effect later this spring. The Mobile Delivery Devices that letter carriers use to scan packages to confirm delivery will include a feature that allows carriers to indicate the presence of a dog at an individual address. This is especially helpful to substitutes who fill-in for letter carriers on their days off. DeCarlo was in Houston to kick-off National Dog Bite Prevention Week which runs this week. The Postal Service, joined by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Humane Association, American Veterinary Medical Association, Insurance Information Institute and State Farm Insurance are driving home the message that dog bites are a nationwide issue and that education can help prevent dog attacks to people of all ages. Of the 4.5 million Americans bitten by dogs annually, half of all victims are children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many attacks to children are by the family pet or a dog familiar to the child, so its important to keep children and dogs separate, especially if a dog is known to act aggressively. 2015 Dog Attack Rankings by City Note: A total of 6,549 postal employees were attacked by dogs in calendar 2015. Fifty-one cities comprise the top 30 rankings as some cities reported the same number of attacks. Ranking City, State 2015 Dog Attacks 2014 Dog Attacks Change Percent Change 1 Houston, TX 77 63 14 22 2 San Diego, CA Cleveland, OH 58 47 37 11 21 23 57 3 Chicago, IL Dallas, TX 57 46 43 11 14 24 33 4 Los Angeles, CA 56 75 -19 -25 5 Louisville, KY 51 40 11 28 6 Kansas City, MO 46 32 14 44 7 Philadelphia, PA 44 33 11 33 8 Columbus, OH 43 22 21 95 9 Portland, OR 41 31 10 32 10 Fort Worth, TX San Antonio, TX 39 26 24 13 15 50 63 11 Denver, CO 38 40 -2 -5 12 Phoenix, AZ 36 35 1 3 13 St. Louis, MO 35 39 -4 -10 14 Seattle, WA 34 29 5 17 15 Detroit, MI Long Beach, CA 32 28 27 4 5 14 19 16 Indianapolis, IN Sacramento, CA 31 35 29 -4 2 -11 7 17 Minneapolis, MN Baltimore, MD 30 33 27 -3 3 -9 11 18 Miami, FL Cincinnati, OH 28 26 24 2 4 8 17 19 Brooklyn, NY 26 15 11 73 20 San Francisco, CA 25 23 2 9 21 San Jose, CA Albuquerque, NM St. Paul, MN 24 20 16 6 4 8 18 20 50 300 22 Oakland, CA Milwaukee, WI 23 22 11 1 12 5 109 23 Charlotte, NC Dayton, OH 22 23 18 -1 4 -4 22 24 Las Vegas, NV 21 19 2 11 25 Pittsburgh, PA Jacksonville, FL 20 22 10 -2 10 -9 100 26 Rochester, NY Fresno, CA Stockton, CA 19 18 17 9 1 2 10 6 12 111 27 Wichita, KS Flushing, NY Baton Rouge, LA 18 25 14 9 -7 4 9 -28 29 100 28 Memphis, TN 17 13 4 31 29 Richmond, VA Salt Lake City, UT 16 17 9 -1 7 -6 78 30 New Orleans, LA Omaha, NE Des Moines, IA Toledo, OH 15 19 14 11 10 -4 1 4 5 -21 7 36 50 Source: USPS A significant number of workers compensation claims are related to the careless use of ladders, according to the Accident Fund Insurance Company of America. The insurer reviewed its claims data and found more than 1,660 ladder fall claims occurred between 2011 and 2015. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 43 percent of fatal falls occurring in the last decade involved a ladder. The CDC found that men and Hispanics had a higher rate of both fatal and nonfatal falls. Self-employed workers had a significantly higher fatality rate than wage workers. Small companies also had more ladder-related fatalities. Not surprisingly, the highest number of fatalities occurred within the construction industry. Accidents involving ladders cause an estimated 300 deaths and 130,000 injuries requiring emergency medical attention in the U.S. each year, according to the University of Missouri. Factors that contribute to ladder falls, according to the American Ladder Institute, include haste, sudden movement, lack of attention, the condition of the ladder (worn or damaged), the users age and physical condition and footwear. A Travelers Indemnity Company infographic stated that ladder violations came in at number eight of the Occupational Safety & Health Administrations top 10 most cited standards. To educate employers and employees on the fall hazards associated with ladders, Accident Fund has introduced a spring safety campaign. Ladder safety remains a major concern of ours. Being conscious of ladder safety is one way to prevent workplace accidents and keep workers safe on the job, says David Hintz, manager of Loss Control for Accident Fund. And its not only a problem in the workplace. The same things are happening around the home as people often overlook common-sense safety tips when getting on a ladder to clean gutters or to perform other routine tasks. Most of these accidents are completely avoidable. Loss control experts from Accident Fund are working to raise awareness of the dangers involving ladders and by providing tips to avoid accidents. The campaign addresses everything from ladder selection and setup to a variety of recommendations regarding climbing and working safely on ladders. Ladder safety is also the focus in The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Healths creation of a new mobile application. The agencys first mobile application is designed to improve extension and step ladder safety. To prevent falls, the app offers a variety of guides and interactive tools, including: Angle Measuring ToolUses visual, sound and vibration signals to make it easier for users to set an extension ladder at the proper angle (approximately 75 degrees) and to check the verticality of extension and step ladders. Selection ToolProvides a procedure to select the minimum required ladder duty rating corresponding to user characteristics and task. Inspection ToolIncludes a comprehensive checklist for ladder mechanical inspection. Proper Use ToolPresents a set of rules for safe ladder use in a user-friendly format. Accessories Tool Describes a number of available extension ladder safety accessories. The app is available in English and Spanish as a free download for Apple iPhone/iPad and Google Android devices. The American Ladder Institute recommends the three point-of-contact climb when using a ladder, because it reduces the likelihood of slipping and falling. The Institutes website states: At all times during ascent, descent, and working, the climber must face the ladder and have two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand in contact with the ladder steps, rungs and/or side rails. In this way, the climber is not likely to become unstable in the event one limb slips during the climb. It is important to note that the climber must not carry any objects in either hand that can interfere with a firm grip on the ladder. Otherwise, Three Points-of-Contact with the ladder cannot be adequately maintained and the chance of falling is increased in the event a hand or foot slip occurs. U.S. auto safety regulators will oversee General Motors Cos decision-making about potential vehicle safety issues for another year, until May 2017, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) told the automaker in a letter made public on Tuesday. The Detroit automaker agreed to monthly meetings and enhanced oversight in 2014 and was fined $35 million by NHTSA over its delayed response to an ignition switch defect in millions of vehicles that was linked to 399 deaths and injuries. The agency in a Friday letter, which was reviewed by Reuters, exercised its right to extend the agreement for a third and final year. GMs costs related to the ignition switch defects topped $2 billion, including a $900 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department in September 2015, which also included a separate three-year consent decree and oversight by an outside independent monitor. Under the 2014 agreement with NHTSA, GM must provide a written list every month of all safety issues under review by the automakers investigators often before the company decides whether to launch a recall. Other automakers do not typically need to disclose safety issues until they determine the issues pose an unreasonable risk to drivers and vehicles must be recalled. NHTSA said in its letter Friday that GM shares its belief that the meetings have been useful to proactively and expeditiously address potential safety-related defects and to facilitate communication. GM spokesman Jim Cain said the automaker is committed to working closely with NHTSA. We have worked hard to build a productive and highly effective working relationship with the agency, Cain said. The monthly meetings and disclosures have at times helped prompt GM recalls. GM agreed to recall 317,000 2013-2016 Chevrolet Sonic and Trax vehicles and 2013-2015 Chevrolet Spark vehicles in the United States equipped with a Bring Your Own Media radio, documents posted Monday by NHTSA show. The recall came after at least two discussions between GM and NHTSA on the issue in March. The radios may fail to provide a warning chime when the driver, after turning off the ignition and leaving the key in, waits 10 minutes or longer to open the door. That fails to comply with U.S. theft protection rules. The recall also impacted about 44,000 vehicles in China. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Leslie Adler An Amtrak engineer whose speeding train jumped the tracks along a curve in Philadelphia last year, killing eight people, was distracted by radio transmissions, a U.S. official briefed on the investigation said Monday. Engineer Brandon Bostian told investigators three days after the May 12, 2015, crash that he recalled radio traffic that night from a commuter train operator who said a rock had shattered his windshield. The official was unable to say whether those were the transmissions that distracted Bostian, but the engineer spoke about no other radio chatter when interviewed by federal investigators, according to material released previously by the National Transportation Safety Board. The official was not authorized to comment publicly because the probe is still underway and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. The revelation came a day before the NTSB is scheduled to meet to detail the probable cause of last years fatal derailment. The cause wont be determined officially until the boards vote at the conclusion of that meeting. NTSB spokesman Peter Knudsen said the agency would not comment ahead of Tuesdays hearing. Bostians attorney didnt immediately return an email sent after business hours on Monday. An Amtrak spokesman said the agency will have a comment after Tuesdays hearing. The official briefed on the reports findings Monday said that investigators also believe there were some issues with the trains emergency windows and several people were killed because they were ejected through those windows. The investigation also found police transported many of the injured people to the hospital instead of waiting for ambulances, the official said. The NTSB is expected to recommend that engineers be retrained about distractions and recommend the city wait for ambulances to take injured people to the hospital at mass-casualty incidents. The director of Philadelphias Office of Emergency Management, Samantha Phillips, said that the city will adopt a revised mass-casualty plan this week to make sure responses to future disasters go more smoothly, Philly.com reported . Investigators are looking into why the train from Washington, D.C., to New York was going double the 50 mph limit around a sharp curve about 10 minutes after leaving Philadelphias 30th Street Station. Early in the investigation, the NTSB focused on whether the Amtrak train had been hit with a rock or other projectile minutes before the crash. Bostian told investigators he was concerned about the welfare of the commuter trains engineer and a little bit concerned for his own safety, but he never indicated in either NTSB interview that his train had been struck. Theres been so many times where Ive had reports of rocks that I havent seen anything, that I felt like it was unlikely that it would impact me, Bostian told investigators, adding that he figured whoever damaged the commuter train had probably left the area by the time he rolled through. Trains operating in the Northeast are frequent targets of rock-throwing vandals. Other nearby trains reported being hit by rocks that evening not long before the derailment. A grapefruit-sized dent was found in the windshield of Amtrak 188s locomotive. Bostian, regarded by friends for his safety-mindedness and love of railroading, has been suspended without pay since the crash. A letter from Amtrak in the NTSB files shows he was suspended for speeding. The lack of clarity on what caused the train to speed has frustrated crash victims, some of whom have racked up millions of dollars in hospital bills and are continuing to rehabilitate from injuries. Dozens of victims have sued Amtrak for compensation. (Michael R. Sisak in Philadelphia contributed to this report) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. AKRON, Ohio - An Akron man was sentenced Thursday to prison for his role in two separate 2015 crimes, including the shooting death of a teenage boy. David Quarterman, 19, was sentenced to 14 years in prison by Summit County Common Pleas Judge Tammy O'Brien, according to a news release from the Summit County Prosecutor's Office. Quarterman pleaded guilty in February to one count of complicity to commit voluntary manslaughter in a February 2015 fatal shooting and one count of aggravated robbery in a January 2015 home invasion. He pleaded guilty as part of a deal that he would testify against his accused accomplice, 19-year-old Marcus Price, in Price's murder trial. On February 15, 2015, Quarterman was walking with Price and Ahmed Hill, 17, in an Akron alley near Colfax Avenue. Witnesses said they heard gunshots before finding Hill shot in the head. Two men were seen running from the alley. Price was found guilty of tampering with evidence in connection with the case and was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison, the release states. Quarterman also admitted to authorities that he robbed three men in a January 2015 Akron home invasion, the release says. He and his brother, Davaughn Quarterman, demanded cash from the men. One of the robbed men was shot in the leg during the incident. If you'd like to comment on this post, please visit the cleveland.com crime and courts comments section. Screen Shot 2016-05-20 at 12.25.04 PM.png Cleveland Animal Protective League investigators seized these two horses -- Sassy, left, and Helena -- in January from stables at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds during an animal-cruelty investigation. (Cleveland APL) BEREA, Ohio -- Four men have been sentenced to probation in connection with horse abuse at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds. Two of those men are never allowed to own horses again. Gregory Davidson, 62, of Berea, pleaded no contest to attempted animal abandonment, a third-degree misdemeanor. Judge Mark A. Comstock sentenced him to two years probation, and a fine and court costs totaling more than $1,300. Charges against co-defendant Honester Davidson, 68, of Berea were dropped May 13, according to Berea Municipal Court Records. Comstock said that both men are no longer allowed to own horses, and that a condition of Gregory Davidson's probation allows for random wellness inspections of his other animals. Two other men, James D. Barrett, 81, and Marcus Barrett, 62, both of Cleveland, pleaded no contest to two counts of animal cruelty, a second-degree misdemeanor. Comstock sentenced them to five years probation and ordered them to pay fines and court costs totaling more than $1,000 each, according to court records. Daryle Foxx, 56, of Cleveland Heights, pleaded no contest to attempted animal abandonment on April 26. He was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay a $25 fine and court costs totaling more than $1,300. The men changed their pleas as part of a deal with special prosecutor Jeff Holland, who the Cleveland Animal Protective League commissioned to handle the case. Gregory Davidson, James Barrett, Marcus Barrett, and Fox initially pleaded not guilty to four counts of cruelty to animals. Honester Davidson pleaded not guilty to a single count of the same charge. The investigation began in January after the Cleveland Animal Protective League received a report that a horses being kept in Double D Stables at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds had starved to death, according to a search warrant affidavit. An anonymous caller told the APL on Jan. 5 that they saw the horse owner walking a brown and white horse in the pasture on Jan. 1. The caller described the horse as "lethargic, emaciated and bloated," according to court records. Two days later, the caller reported seeing the horse's dead body being removed from the stables, records say. Investigators spoke to two additional informants who said they saw at least three horses belonging to the same owner that looked considerably underweight and ill, according to court records. Allegations included: Horses being dragged, and beaten with shovels and wooden boards Neglect and starvation Prolonged isolation in dark stalls Horses being left to stand and sleep in two to three feet of manure Illegal on-site slaughter of animals. APL investigators obtained a warrant to search the stables, and seized two horses. Double D Stables was evicted from the fairgrounds in late January. The defendants all worked at the stables. If you wish to discuss or comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section. Like Chanda Neely on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter: CornerStone Business Park.jpeg An aerial photograph shows CornerStone Business Park in Twinsburg, on the former site of a Chrysler stamping plant that closed in 2010. (CornerStone Business Park website) TWINSBURG, Ohio -- Amazon.com is planning a project in Twinsburg, and a few clues point to a distribution center that's already under construction at a business park near Interstates 480 and 271. The project popped up Friday afternoon on an Ohio Tax Credit Authority agenda. That five-member board reviews and approves applications for tax incentives. The agenda simply mentions a company, Amazon.com.dedc, LLC, and a generic location of Twinsburg, in Summit County. Details about the project won't be available until after the board's Monday morning meeting. But the logical location for Amazon is CornerStone Business Park, the 165-acre redevelopment of a former Chrysler stamping plant site on Aurora Road. Scannell Properties, an Indianapolis-based developer, is constructing a distribution center there for an unidentified occupant. "We have a 248,000-square-foot building going up by Scannell, so I'm assuming that must be their tenant," Larry Finch, the city's planning director, said Friday afternoon. Finch confirmed that the building is a single-tenant distribution facility. But he wouldn't name that tenant. "You can fill in the blanks," he said. "I can't. I'm not at liberty to." Terry Coyne, the real estate broker who represents CornerStone, wouldn't comment. Amazon did not immediately respond to an interview request. In November, the e-commerce giant announced plans to open its first Ohio mega-warehouses - known as fulfillment centers - in Obetz and Etna, in the Columbus area. Those buildings are massive, at 800,000 square feet to more than 1 million square feet. The Twinsburg project appears to be much smaller. But it could involve 300 part-time jobs and 10 full-time jobs within three years of opening, according to a tax-abatement agreement that Twinsburg City Council approved May 10. Documents presented to council don't identify the tenant. But they describe a $13.4 million investment that must be complete by May 1 of next year. Twinsburg expects the distribution center to support $5 million in annual payroll. In exchange, the city will give the property owner a 50 percent discount for seven years on new property-tax bills generated by the building. Scannell teamed up with the DiGeronimo Cos. of Independence in 2011 to buy the CornerStone site, where the Chrysler stamping plant closed in 2010. The buyers razed the 2.2-million-square-foot automotive complex. Now new buildings there house companies including FedEx and Vistar, which stocks candy, snacks and drinks for vending machines and movie theaters. A spokesman for JobsOhio, the quasi-private state economic-development agency that handles negotiations with companies, wouldn't discuss whether Amazon will join that lineup. "JobsOhio doesn't comment on continuing project discussions, but all seven projects on Monday's agenda are exciting," Nick D'Angelo, the spokesman, said of the tax-credit authority's roster of applicants. The board also is scheduled to discuss tax incentives for PulseFlow Technologies, Inc., a British medical-device company that has its U.S. office in Willoughby. The other five potential projects aren't in Northeast Ohio. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- To help smooth over upcoming job cuts and branch closings with its purchase of FirstMerit, Huntington Bank today said it will pump $16.1 billion into various metropolitan areas during the next five years. The investments will be made in 11 communities, including Cleveland and Akron, which will be hard hit by FirstMerit's merger into Columbus-based Huntington later this year. The plan is part of Huntington's agreement with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and will involve more than 100 locally based community organizations. The $16.1 billion will include investments, loans and philanthropic donations to "under-served borrowers and communities" as well as small businesses. The goal is to support families and workers. The plans call for an additional $25 million in grants, in addition to the $25 million previously announced to support Akron, Canton and Flint, Michigan, during the next decade. It's becoming the norm for banks to agree to make huge grants, donations and loans in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods as they gear up for big mergers that will disrupt communities with job cuts and branch closings. Bank mergers require approval from regulators who look, in part, at any negative community impact. When it's time for a merger, banks often open their wallets to help neighborhoods and work with community groups to see what is needed most. "What we do is put meat on the bones as far as what their promises are," John Taylor, president and CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition in Washington D.C., said in an interview. KeyCorp this spring made a similar announcement -- a $16.5 billion on a "community benefits plan" that includes home and small business lending in lower-income neighborhoods, as well as philanthropic contributions to help students and workers. Its pending purchase of First Niagara Bank of New York will make Key the 13th-largest bank in the United States. Huntington in January announced its plans to buy Akron-based FirstMerit for $3.4 billion. It will become among the 20 largest banks nationwide. Huntington's plan includes: * $5.7 billion in single-family mortgage lending in low- to moderate-income areas. * $6.6 billion in small business lending including within low- to moderate-income areas. * $3.7 billion in community development lending and investment targeting affordable housing and community-based loan funds. * $25 million of additional grants and philanthropy primarily targeting housing and small business credit service access. * $30 million in support including 10 new branch locations within low- to moderate-income areas and/or majority minority areas; the addition of dedicated community mortgage loan officers; and the formation of a dedicated mortgage processing team to handle unusual underwriting cases. Huntington this spring said it will close 107 branches following its purchase of FirstMerit. The majority are in Ohio and Michigan -- two regions where the two big players have the most overlap. Nearly 50 are in the Cleveland, Akron and Canton regions. The majority are current FirstMerit branches, but a fair number are Huntington branches. It's not known how many of the combined banks' 16,200 employees will ultimately lose their jobs. "With the merger of FirstMerit into Huntington, we think it is important to share our intentions in continuing to provide exceptional support and service to the communities where we live and work," said Stephen Steinour, chairman, president and CEO of Huntington. "The strength and vitality of these communities and the people we serve are integral to our shared future," Steinour said in a statement. "Huntington has a 150-year track record of investing in our communities and we will continue to do so as we expand." Taylor of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition said the commitments to lend and donate to communities will help lower-income residents and people of color build wealth. The dollar amounts are "a significant increase over what they were doing." An important component will be opening full-service branches in low-income neighborhoods so residents have more options to the usual assortment of check cashers, payday lenders and pawn shops, he said. "This plan lays out activities that will produce the kind of significant public benefit that needs to be created when banking institutions merge," Taylor added. "I applaud Huntington for going the extra mile in working with community organizations throughout Ohio and in the neighboring states it serves," U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown said in a statement. "Huntington has a proven track record of investing to address critical needs in the communities where it does business." Taylor noted that the financial commitment by Huntington is "absolutely voluntary" but said "it doesn't hurt" the bank's standing with regulators when they're reviewing a merger application or activity related to compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act. Locally, Huntington plans to work with: In Greater Cleveland: Breaking Chains Inc. Burton, Bell, Carr Development, Inc. City of Cleveland City of South Euclid Cleveland Realtist Association Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization Fairfax Renaissance Development Corp. Home Repair Resource Center Lakewood Alive Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland Ohio Fair Lending Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio Slavic Village Development Union Miles Development Corp. Village Capital Corp. In Greater Akron: Unemployment Benefits Ohio's unemployment rate was 5.2 percent in April. The state lost 13,600 jobs (Associated Press photo) CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohio's unemployment rate was 5.2 percent in April, with the state losing 13,600 jobs, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reported Friday. Ohio ranked second in the nation in April for the most jobs lost, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Pennsylvania was first with a 16,900 decrease in employment and Wisconsin placed third by losing 12,600 of its jobs However, Ohio didn't rank in the top three for the largest percent decline in employment. Wyoming came in first, with that distinction, losing 0.9 percent of its employment. Ohio lost 0.2 percent of its employment. In March, Ohio's unemployment rate was 5.1 percent. In April 2015, it was 5.0 percent. "Ohio's job growth rate has now been below the national average for 41 straight months," said George Zeller of Cleveland, an economic research analyst. He said Ohio's job growth rate from April 2015 to April 2016 was 1.24 percent. The national average was 1.88 percent. Sectors losing jobs, included government employment, which was down by 7,000. Local government lost 6,100 jobs, state lost 500 and federal government employment was down by 400 jobs. "Public sector workers spend money in their local economy, just like private sector workers," Hannah Halbert, researcher for Policy Matters Ohio, which tracks the state's labor force, wrote in an email. "Job loss in the public sector slows recovery and is just as destabilizing as losses in the private sector. These jobs matter." Professional and business services, where employment was down by 5,100, was another sector with sharp declines. Transportation and utilities lost 2,900 jobs and manufacturing 2,700. Sectors gaining jobs, included: financial activities, which was up by 4,100 jobs; educational and health services, where employment increased by 1,200 and construction, which was up by 900 jobs. Zeller said the steep decline in employment in April can be attributed to large downward revisions for January through March, which ODJFS released Friday. Revisions, which are made as new data become available, are routine. "January 2016 was revised downward by 117,900 jobs, February 2016 was revised downward by 99,700, and last month's Ohio job figure was revised downward by 76,800 jobs. "This means Ohio only gained 2,400 jobs for the first four months of 2016," he said. Angela Terez, an ODJFS spokeswoman, said Zeller's point doesn't tell the entire story. "While the jobs number over the past four months is correct, you get a more accurate reflection of the jobs climate when you consider a longer period of time," she wrote in an email. "For example, over the last six months, Ohio has added nearly 32,000 jobs. Over the last 12 months, we've added 72,000 jobs, and over the last 24 months we've added more than 154,000 jobs." But Zeller said there was a bright spot in Friday's jobs report. The civilian labor force went up by 28,000 people to more than 5.8 million. He said the increase signals that workers are re-entering the labor force, which is comprised of those who are employed or actively seeking work. Terez agreed, adding: "This continued a trend that has been occurring for the last several months. Ohio's labor force has increased by 113,000 over the past year. Our labor force participation rate increased a full percentage point from January to April (62.5 to 63.5 percent). This was our fastest increase on record." Joe DiRocco, Ohio president of Citizens Bank, said the unemployment rate often increases when people begin looking for work again reflecting they are more confident they have a chance of landing a job. In order to officially be counted as unemployed, a person must be both jobless and actively looking for work. "We've seen steady, albeit sometimes painfully slow, progress in employment since the height of the last recession," he wrote in an email. "It's disappointing to see the unemployment rate move up in recent months, but more people have been looking for jobs even as Ohio businesses have been putting people back to work." Halbert said Ohio's labor force is still not as strong as it was before the Great Recession, which officially ran from December 2007 to June 2009. "Ohio has struggled against labor force losses," she wrote in an email. "The number of Ohioans working or looking for work remains down by about 157,000 since the start of the recession. We have a long way to go, but consistent improvement in the labor force suggests more Ohioans are entering the job market, and that is welcome news." As is standard, the jobs report for the nation was released two weeks earlier. The U.S. unemployment rate for April was unchanged at 5.0 percent, with the nation gaining 160,000 jobs. In April 2015, the U.S. jobless rate was 5.4 percent. By design, that report contains more detailed information than the one for Ohio and most other states, including: Unemployment rate by race in the U.S.: Asians - The Asian unemployed rate was 3.8 percent in April, down from 4.2 percent a year earlier. Blacks - The black unemployment rate was 8.8 percent, down from 8.9 percent in April 2015. Hispanics - The unemployment rate for Hispanics was 6.1 percent in April, down from 6.3 percent a year earlier. Whites - The white unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in April, down from 4.4 percent a year earlier. Unemployment rate by gender: The jobless rate for men was 4.0 percent, down from 4.2 percent a year earlier. The unemployment rate for women was 4.0 percent, up from 3.9 percent a year earlier. Labor force participation rate --The labor force participation rate was 62.8 percent, up from 62.6 percent a year earlier. The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the population that is either employed or actively looking for work. Employment to population ratio : The employment to population ratio was 68.6 percent, up from 68.3 percent a year earlier. This ratio measures the proportion of the civilian, non-institutional population at least 16 year old who are employed. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cuyahoga County jury recommended that convicted serial killer Michael Madison be put to death for killing three women and hiding their bodies near his East Cleveland apartment. The 12-person jury announced its decision just before noon Friday, nearly three years after police first discovered the remains of Shirellda Terry, 18, Shetisha Sheeley, 28, and Angela Deskins, 38, in July 2013. Members of the women's families hugged one another in the courtroom after the verdict. "It's over," said Belinda Minor, mother of Shirellda Terry, who would have turned 21 years old this year. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty applauded the jury. "Justice is that virtue which gives every man his due," McGinty told reporters after Friday's recommendation was read. "If anyone was ever due this sentence, it would be a cold-blooded serial killer like Michael Madison." Judge Nancy R. McDonnell will review the jury's recommendation and sentence Madison at 11:30 a.m. Thursday. The law allows the judge to impose a life sentence without parole is she disagrees with the jury's recommendation. The same jury deliberated for less than a day before it returned a guilty verdict May 5 on 13 counts of aggravated murder, rape, kidnapping and offenses against a human corpse, for the deaths. Madison had a deep-seated hatred of women, and the murders were the end result of Madison's pursuit for sexual and personal pleasure, McGinty said Friday. "This was a hobby for him," McGinty said. Madison spotted Terry walking to work July 3, and approached her on the street. He introduced himself as Ivan. In a series of text messages leading up to her death, he portrayed himself as a 25-year-old carpenter and painter. Madison was actually 35, unemployed and selling marijuana from his apartment at the corner of Hayden and Shaw avenues, prosecutors said. He took careful steps to cover up the three killings, and mutilated the genitals of one of his victims, Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Christopher Schroeder said. Police found Terry's body in Madison's garage on July 19, 2013. One day later, the decomposing corpses of Sheeley and Deskins were found in a lot and vacant home nearby. All three women's bodies were found folded in half and stuffed into duct-taped trash bags. Madison admitted to East Cleveland detectives in a series of interrogations after his arrest that he killed Terry and Sheeley, but couldn't remember where he hid their bodies. He remembered meeting Deskins but denied killing her. McGinty and his assistants called 50 witnesses to testify in the case and presented over a thousand exhibits to jurors during the trial. Madison's attorneys, led by David Grant, never denied that Madison killed the women. Grant argued that the slayings were the result of outbursts of violence laid the result of a childhood fraught with abuse and neglect that started almost immediately at birth. When Madison was two years old, his mother stuffed food down his throat, causing him to vomit. She then put him in a tub of hot water, and beat him with an extension cord when he screamed. The abuse continued throughout his childhood and turned to crime as a teenager. The abuse, though tragic, did not outweigh the heinous details of Madison's murders, McGinty said. "The death and torture of these three women had the weight of three locomotives versus the weight of the abuse he suffered as a small child," McGinty said. Madison told the court after his May 5 conviction that he plans to appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court. If you wish to discuss or comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section. Do you ever wish you could turn back time and save more, earn more or make better investment choices? If so, you are among the 75 percent of Americans that have financial regrets, according to a new study from Bankrate. The most common regret was "not saving enough for retirement," chosen by 18 percent of respondents, ahead of "not saving enough for emergencies" (13 percent) and taking on too much credit card debt (9 percent). Only 17 percent of respondents reported having no financial regrets at all. The survey polled more than 1,000 Americans in May, with a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points. Anxiety over past financial decisions is common, said Erika Safran, a New York Citybased financial planner. A client she once saw had sold his apartment, only to discover he was now priced out of both his desired new neighborhood and his former one. Another client had not saved a nickel for her son to go to college, while another regretted purchasing real estate out of his price range. And yet another had made poor financial decisions that forced him to sell his family vacation home, Safran said, which caused discord with his loved ones. "When my clients come to me asking me how to get themselves out of difficult situations, I don't beat them with a stick," Safran said. "People are always trying to mend the fences." "Our franchisees are into this in a big way because they believe it begins to change the story about Applebee's and eventually the trajectory of sales and traffic," DineEquity CEO Julia Stewart told Jim Cramer on Thursday. Applebee's unveiled American-made, wood-fired grills as a centerpiece in its U.S. restaurants and will now begin featuring USDA choice steaks that are hand-cut in-house. In a move to embrace its heritage as America's bar and grill, Applebee's just ignited a $75 million advertising and marketing campaign. At the end of the day, people want to go into an Applebee's and have a $30 experience for $13.75. And that is what we are able to do here. DineEquity, parent company of Applebee's and IHOP, made the move shortly after reporting an 11-cent earnings miss from a $1.69 basis and weaker-than-expected revenue in the beginning of May. Applebee's announced the turnaround plan as just the first chapter of a new story. Read more from Mad Money with Jim Cramer Cramer Remix: A stock that can handle anything from the Fed Salesforce CEO: Using the power of business for social change Cramer: Secret to winning in a Fed sell-off Stewart estimated that the company spent $75 million in new advertising, growth and training of Applebee's 100,000 employees. Employees were trained on how to cut, cook and talk about the new product. "At the end of the day, people want to go into an Applebee's and have a $30 experience for $13.75. And that is what we are able to do here," Stewart said. Stewart says this launch is not about taking price, it's about delivering a better price value to guests and a better product. Employee turnover is expensive, and training new workers is a deadweight cost. Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon finally figured that out and took action, with Jim Cramer applauding the move. "I know it seemed a little ethereal to worry about morale at Wal-Mart, but McMillon was right to be worried and these wage increases are at the heart of the turnaround," the "Mad Money" host said. Wal-Mart dropped a bomb on Wall Street in October, when McMillon said the company would need to spend money on e-commerce, supply chain management and wages for employees. The news sent the stock plummeting 10 percent. The company made back those gains, and then some, when it reported sharply higher than expected earnings, including a same-store-sales number that was double what Wall Street expected. Wal-Mart's success was driven by strong sales in health, wellness, apparel and home and seasonal goods. In other words, Wal-Mart is doing well in almost all of the categories that other bricks and mortar retailers have struggled with this season. watch now Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has traveled far and wide in his two years in office in a bid to raise India's global profile and make it an attractive option for international investors. It was, then, inevitable he would turn his attention to the Middle East - a region rife with conflict but rich in cash and natural resources. As Prime Minister, Modi's first visit to the region was in 2015, when he visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Subsequently in April 2016, Modi met Saudi Arabia's King Salman in Riyadh. Modi has also met several leaders in the region at the sidelines of global conferences. On Sunday, May 22, the Indian Prime Minister will embark on a two-day visit to long-time partner Iran, while local media reports suggested a visit to Qatar was also on the cards in the next few months. Securing India's energy needs Most experts point to oil as a key reason for India's continued engagement with the region. "The Middle East is of vital importance for India's energy security, providing around 60 percent of India's oil imports and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports," Rajiv Biswas, chief economist for Asia Pacific at IHS told CNBC. Countries in the Middle East accounted for 50 percent of India's top 10 import sources of crude oil between April 2015 and January 2016, according to data from India's ministry of commerce. Nearly 20 percent of India's total import of crude oil in this period came from Saudi Arabia, closely followed by Iraq. Iran was the sixth highest supplier for the period. Biswas added that Iran's large reserves of natural gas will also make it an important source for India's LNG imports in the future. Currently, Qatar, Nigeria and Australia are the largest LNG suppliers to India, according to government data. Attracting infrastructure investment India also sees the Middle East, already a key trading partner, as an important source of investment in infrastructure development, manufacturing and services sectors. "A big focus of this government is to attract long-term infrastructure financing that India cannot provide on its own, given the non-performing asset problems affecting local banks," according to Sasha Riser-Kositsky, an analyst with Eurasia Group. Following the visit to Riyadh in April, Modi encouraged the state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco, SABIC and other Saudi companies to investment in India's infrastructure sector, and participate in projects creating mega industrial manufacturing corridors and smart cities. But it's a two-way street, with Middle Eastern countries also "shopping around for economic and security opportunities and partners," Sumitha Narayanan Kutty, an associate research fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University, told CNBC. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan after the prince arrived at an air force base in New Delhi on February 10, 2016. The UAE was the first Middle Eastern country Modi visited as Prime Minister. Prakash Singh | AFP | Getty Images In late April, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the creation of a new sovereign wealth fund that could top $3 trillion and would be linked to the country's vast revenues from oil. "India is in a very strategic position to be that partner," she said. India is also carving out key investments in the region. Under previous governments, India signed agreements with Iran to develop the strategic Iranian port of Chabahar, which lies in the Gulf of Oman. The current government is working to finalize a trilateral cooperation between India, Iran and Afghanistan to facilitate better regional connectivity and flow of goods, services and people in the region. Experts say the port will allow India to develop a sea-land access route to Central Asia, bypassing neighboring Pakistan. "It is possible that Modi would travel to Iran in the coming weeks to sign this agreement on the strategic port," Nicolas Blarel, an assistant professor of international relations at Leiden University, told CNBC. Fighting terrorism and defense security During the visit to Saudi Arabia, the two countries agreed to improve cooperation in counter-terrorism operations, intelligence sharing and cracking down on terror financing. But the timing of Modi's visit to Riyadh had some wondering if India was trying to turn the relative cooling of Saudi Arabia's otherwise cordial relation with Pakistan in its favor. India has long accused Pakistan of supporting terrorism against the country. In a report from Reuters in early April, India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's national secretary, Ram Madhav, was quoted as saying India will do everything to win the hearts of Islamabad's allies as a way of dealing with Pakistan. Blarel said Pakistan sent mixed signals about its unconditional military support to Saudi Arabia by neither joining to the Yemen coalition against the Houthis nor by contributing troops to quell dissent in Bahrain. He said Modi likely saw this as a window of opportunity to further engage the Gulf states, especially in the area of counter terrorism. But he acknowledged Pakistan's ties to Saudi Arabia are old and strong. Riser-Kositsky told CNBC a strategy to win over Pakistan's allies would not bear any substantial fruit for India, as it won't be able to compete with the attractions and advantages between Pakistan and the other gulf countries. He also said India will likely steer clear of any regional politics in order to avoid seeing the ugly side of polarization between Sunnis and Shias, currently gripping the Middle East, rear its head in the country's large Muslim minority population. Another country important to India's defense interest is Israel, which according to Blarel is the third most important weapons supplier to the country, behind Russia and the United States. Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute showed in 2015, India was the biggest defense spender in South Asia, spending approximately $51.25 billion in military expenditure. Though the Indian government has yet to announce any scheduled state visit for Modi to Israel, both the Indian president and the external affairs minister have previously visited the country. Engaging the diaspora The words chosen by Taiwan's new president Tsai Ing-wen at her Friday inaugural address were likely examined carefully by Chinese officials, as she tries to maintain a stable relationship with the world's number 2 economy. In the speech, 59-year old Tsai promised to safeguard the island-nation's sovereignty, adding that "Taiwan will play a responsible role in maintaining Cross-Strait peace and stability," Reuters reported. That may cause rumbles in the mainland, where Beijing has been demanding Tsai to acknowledge the 'One-China' policy under a framework known as the "1992 Consensus" - a tacit understanding that the geographic territory of Taiwan belongs to mainland China, while leaving room for both countries to pursue their own interpretation of what 'One China' means. But the '1992 Consensus' remains unpopular in Taiwan, with Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) long rejecting the existence of the consensus, according to independent think-thank Council of Foreign Relations. So far, Tsai has emphasized she will maintain the status quo of the island nation's amorphous relationship with China, alluding to 'One China' but not accepting it explicitly. The language Tsai uses on Friday will be key in gauging the future of Cross-Straits relations, noted Richard Bush, senior fellow at Brookings Institution. "China takes the position that part of the status-quo is Taiwan accepting certain political conditions about the nature of its relationship to China. For domestic political reasons, Tsai isn't willing to make those commitments in the language Beijing prefers." While it's unlikely the DPP will push for formal, legal independence, Beijing still wants a clear statement of the DPP's intentions, he continued. Failure to comply with Beijing's demands for political clarity could result in Chinese sanctions, according to Bush. Possible measures include a suspension of official economic interactions and a reduction in the number of Chinese tourists and students going to Taiwan, he said. watch now Tweet Congress, the nonprofit website that helped push a number of politicians to join the twittersphere and made a few of them deeply regret it plans to relaunch in the next month, CNBC.com has learned. Co-founder Chris McCroskey said in an interview this week that a new version of the politician-tweet-tracking website will be up and running in the next few weeks, roughly three years after its original effort went offline. Most infamously, Tweet Congress was instrumental in helping bring down Anthony Weiner, after the then-New York congressman, married to a Hillary Clinton aide, tweeted a protuberant image of his boxer-briefed flanks to a 21-year-old woman who was following him on Twitter. Weiner immediately denied that he had sent the tweet, and claimed his account had been compromised. But metadata Tweet Congress provided at the time to the now-defunct publication, The Daily, laid the lie to Weiner's equivocations, and he eventually 'fessed up and resigned from office. McCroskey said his group is in the process of opening up additional versions of its site for European countries, starting with Slovakia. Tweet Congress originally launched in 2008 as part of a campaign to encourage members to bypass the mainstream media and interact more directly with their constituents through social media. However, the site soon became better known for its impressive archive of congressional tweets, which included those that members had retroactively tried to to delete from the social-sharing network. The Sunlight Foundation's Politiwoops project has similarly endeavored to keep the errant writings from our elected leaders and their social media staffers, forever in the public sphere. A beta version of the relaunched Tweet Congress, which CNBC.com was invited to view, shows a key new functionality to the website: the ability for users to conduct keyword searches of tweets, as well as to sift for results by Republicans or Democrats. Initially, the site will track and archive just members of Congress, although McCroskey said that it will "probably" expand to include presidential candidates. When Tweet Congress launched in 2008, McCroskey said, only 24 members of Congress were using Twitter. By the time the site disbanded in 2012 for financial reasons, McCroskey said there was close to full Twitter adoption among lawmakers. Though he is gratified by this technological transformation, McCroskey hesitates when asked whether this twitterfication of the political process, which he so passionately crusaded for, has presently done more harm than good. "That is a tough question," he said. "it really is tough. I would probably say that the political discourse has probably gotten worse as far as social media is concerned. It does surprise me. I came from a much more naive outlook in terms of political discourse, at the time. It has been eight years ago: I thought there would actually be some conversation on there, but more of what we have seen is social media trolling, or of people shouting at one another behind completely anonymous platforms." In the month following Weinergate, there was a noticeable chilling effect on members' Twitter activity. But the pause was only short-lived, as President Barack Obama's 2012 presidential campaign and the 2014 House Republicans proved the efficacy of the social networking service. I think whether you like it or you don't, the verbal honesty coming directly from a political candidate, being completely unfiltered, was exactly what we were looking for in 2008. We didn't get that [then] and maybe we chilled that to some degree because of scandals that happened; we are now seeing that happening in full force. Chris McCroskey co-founder, Tweet Congress Now, Donald Trump embodies the apotheosis of McCroskey's vision: the tweet-first (at times, think second) presidential candidate. "I think whether you like it or you don't, the verbal honesty coming directly from a political candidate, being completely unfiltered, was exactly what we were looking for in 2008," McCroskey said. "We didn't get that [then] and maybe we chilled that to some degree because of scandals that happened; we are now seeing that happening in full force." The economic pressure on Saudi Arabia showed little sign of relief this week, despite the country delivering its bold new vision for the economy in April. With the world's largest oil exporter heavily reliant on the commodity, it's been plagued by the plunging prices. And the bad news keeps on coming in spite of the recent uptick in price. CNBC highlights what's happened in the last seven days. IMF forecast Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia Olivier Douliery | Pool | Getty Images The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Thursday that real gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the country is projected at 1.2 percent this year, down from 3.5 percent in 2015. The global organization added that lower oil revenues have resulted in current account and fiscal deficits which are projected to be around 9 and 14 percent of GDP, respectively, in 2016, according to IMF staff forecasts. Bond sale Also on Thursday, the Financial Times - citing people familiar with the situation - reported that Saudi Arabia is advancing plans for its first international bond sale. Analysts at BNP Paribas have linked Saudi Arabia's increased borrowing with the fact that the kingdom's current deficit levels are unsustainable. "Public borrowing has begun to play a bigger role in financing the fiscal deficit, which slowed down the erosion in fiscal reserves. But, as noted above, the lack of transparency in public borrowing makes it difficult to monitor fiscal developments," the French banks said in a note on Thursday. Cash buffers These reserves came to light this week with the U.S Treasury indicating Monday that Saudi Arabia's central bank held $116.8 billion in U.S. debt at the end of March. Bloomberg added that it has about $587 billion in total foreign reserves. BNP Paribas said the "continued rapid decline" in foreign-exchange reserves should be ringing alarm bells. "The decline in reserves (from 2015) far exceeds the current account deficit, which implies that, in addition to the terms-of-trade shock, the country is also facing capital outflows," it added. IOUs for contractors? On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that the country is considering paying its contractors with IOUs, citing people briefed on the discussions. Saudi Arabia has slowed payments to contractors and suppliers working on the kingdom's infrastructure projects, according to the news agency, which may mean that some form of bond-like deals would be more beneficial to the contractors not being paid at all. Nonetheless, it adds to a growing picture of the dire straits the country now finds itself in. "Without meaningful reform, we believe Saudi Arabia faces another protracted cycle of stagnation and decay as the most recent boom unwinds a disturbing, and, we believe, highly motivating prospect given that the Kingdom's population is now twice as large as it was when the last boom went sour," Simon Williams and Razan Nasser, two economists at HSBC, said in a note on Tuesday. Downgraded watch now watch now watch now watch now On Saturday, ratings agency Moody's downgraded Saudi Arabia's credit rating by one notch, noting the fall in oil prices. It said the government had "ambitious and comprehensive" plans to address the shock by diversifying its economic and fiscal base, but added that those plans are at an early stage of development and their impact remained uncertain. ...and now the good news VCG | Getty Images Artificial intelligence (AI) is having a banner 2016. Companies such as Facebook are turning vast amount of data and computing power into AI, Microsoft is experimenting with machine learning chat bots, while one of Google's AI programs won the complex game of Go against the world's best player, pulling out moves a human mind could not comprehend. Advances in AI are changing the way people interact with technology across industries. The typically conservative banking and finance sectors seem particularly ripe for some disruption. In January, tech magazine WIRED reported that a Hong Kong-based company, Aidiya, launched a hedge fund that made stock trades in U.S. equities using AI, with no human intervention required. More recently, a technology company, Numerai, which has an artificial intelligence tournament to predict the stock market, raised $1.5 million in venture capital funds. The predictions are used by a hedge fund the company created to trade in the market. watch now watch now watch now Losing jobs to robots The advances have also fueled speculation of a wave of job losses as machines replace humans, just as the industrial revolution rendered many occupations redundant. The World Economic Forum predicted in January that by 2020, 5 million jobs could be lost to machines. Experts said when it came to the banking and finance sector, the topic needed a more nuanced approach. Speaking on a panel discussing global trends in fintech at InnovFest UnBound, a digital technology conference organized in Singapore, Avinash Hegde, co-founder of a chat bot service Supertext, explained that low-skilled finance jobs, such as basic analytics and number crunching, could soon be done by AI. "The way we interact with business and financial analysts is going to dramatically change in the next few years," he said. Would financial analysts find themselves out of a job? Not quite. Given what's at stake - people's finances - there would be plenty of regulatory, data and accuracy issues. "There's a lot of liabilities," said panelist Matthew Blume, director for client technology in ASEAN at financial services provider Thomson Reuters. AI systems, he said, could easily be gamed. Blume explained if much of the trading in the stock market was done based on sentiments that were generated by AI, it would be easy to game the price of a stock by suggesting the company was going to perform poorly, even if its finances were sound, which would automatically push the stock price lower. Need for a human touch Green Party candidate Alexander Van Der Bellen has won Austria's presidential election, scoring a narrow victory over Norbert Hofer of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria, according to official provisional results. Der Bellen's victory prevents Hofer becoming Austria's first far-right president since the end of World War II. Alexander Van der Bellen Roland Schlager | AFP | Getty Images The election was very close, with Hofer appearing to lead on Sunday. However, postal votes counted on Monday gave Van Der Bellen the victory. Van der Bellen won 50.3 percent of the vote, compared to Hofer's 49.7 percent after postal votes were in, the Austrian Interior Ministry said. Hofer conceded defeat in a post in German on his Facebook page on Monday. "Of course I'm sad today. I would like to watch out for you as president of our wonderful country. I will remain loyal to you and make my contribution for a positive future of Austria," he said. The weekend's voting was the second-round of the presidential election, following a first round in April that was won by Hofer. However, he failed to gain an overall majority, resulting in this weekend's run-off. The Freedom Party of Austria is viewed as right-wing to far-right, with a populist slant to its policies. It strikes a hardline on immigration, which is particularly contentious in Austria in the wake of Europe's refugee crisis. Norbert Hofer Robert Jaeger| AFP | Getty Images Hofer's opponent and Austria's soon-to-be president, Van Der Bellen, came second in the first round. "This victory in extra time may bring some relief to European policymakers and financial markets as the feared scenario of a populist at the head of a core euro zone country has not materialized after all," Carsten Brzeski, the Frankfurt-based chief economist at ING-DiBa, said in a note on Monday. "Nevertheless, the result also stresses that almost half of the Austrian voters in fact did vote for right-wing populist Hofer and seem to sympathize with a very strict stance on Austria's refugee policy and a very distant relationship with the European Union (EU)," he added. Van Der Bellen will be the first Austrian president since World War II without the backing by one of the two main parties. This would have applied to Hofer too, had he won. Anti-Hofer protesters in Vienna, Austria, on May 19, 2016. Omar Marques | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images In a conference call on Friday, the president of the Austrian Central Bank, Claus Raidl, said Hofer's putative success was "not flattering for us, to say the least." He added that Hofer's Freedom Party had failed to distance itself from the Nazi rule of Austria from 1938 to 1945. "In Austria we have the burden of the past and this Freedom Party never really drew a red line through the past," Raidl said. Hofer, who worked as an aeronautical engineer before turning to politics, has struck a more pragmatic line as party leader compared to his polarizing predecessor, Heinz Christian Strache. This may have helped Hofer make inroads in more centrist constituencies. The presidential role is a largely symbolic one in Austria, with the main leadership coming from the chancellor. Werner Faymann of the Social Democratic Party resigned from this role last week, after his popularity was hit by his handling of the refugee issue. He has been succeeded by Christian Kern. "He (the president) is more of a figurehead," Raidl said. "The chancellor is not the boss of president, but the president is also not the boss of the chancellor He cannot dissolve parliament the only thing he can do, but this has never been done, he can dismiss the chancellor and the government. I think (this) will never happen," he added later. watch now watch now watch now watch now Despite China signaling moves to cut its excess steel production capacity, industry chiefs say the country has declared a metals "war" that has had a "devastating" impact for the rest of the world's industry. Overcapacity in the steel industry has been a thorn in the side of the sector in recent years, pushing prices down and making it harder for some steel companies to survive. China's low-cost metal producers have been widely cited as the main culprit for the glut. In particular, the world's second largest economy has been accused of "dumping" cheap steel on to global markets, due to a slowdown in domestic demand, in a bid to gain market share. However Beijing has denied any wrongdoing and has said that its costs are lower than other producers. A worker polishes steel coils at a factory of Dongbei Special Steel Group in Dalian, China. China Daily | Reuters Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president and chief executive of mining and natural resources company Cliffs Natural Resources, told CNBC on Thursday that China had been acting unfairly. "China (has not been unfairly targeted). They are the perpetrator, they are the problem and they had a chance to discuss this within the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) and they elected not to participateChina has been walking away from a negotiated deal," he told CNBC on the sidelines of the Platts Global Metals Awards. It's war, not trade Other countries, including India, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan, have also been cited as contributing to the global steel glut. Goncalves said that each country had its own set of subsidies and problems that "create the massive problem of dumping steel in the international market." Similarly to the oil industry, however, despite a slump in demand, some producers have been slow to cut production in a bid to support prices and in 2015, the OECD forecast that global nominal steelmaking capacity is projected to increase to 2.36 billion tons by 2017, up from 2.16 billion tons in 2013. In addition, it said that non-OECD economies (such as China) are expected to lead the capacity expansion in the global steel industry, with their share of world capacity expected to increase to 71.4 percent by 2017. There aren't signs that global steel production is slowing in the immediate term. While world crude steel production was 385.7 million tons (Mt) in the first three months of 2016, down 3.6 percent compared to the same period in 2015, according to the World Steel Association, China's crude steel production for March 2016 was 70.7 Mt, an increase of 2.9 percent compared to March 2015. India's crude steel production was 8.1 Mt in March 2016, up by 3.4 percent on March 2015. "Just based on the numbers, China is by far the largest problem," Goncalves said, accusing China of not abiding by the rules of international trade. "You can't call yourself competitive if your competitiveness is based on cheating the international rules of trade. Trade without fairness is not trade, it's war." Devastating the industry The U.S. has tried to counteract the negative impact of cheap Chinese steel by upping its tariffs on imports of cold rolled steel, which is used in car production and construction, from China to 522 percent, saying that China had not cooperated in its investigations into dumping practices. Read More US raises duties on Chinese steel The U.K. and European Union have been urged to follow suit but, in comparison, the EU has only a tariff of 16 percent on Chinese cold rolled steel and EU countries are at odds over whether to impose higher import tariffs. China has responded to the U.S.' tariff hike by saying it would continue with controversial tax rebates to steel exporters that will help to fund a restructuring of its industry and effort to cut steel production capacity by 100 million to 150 million tons by 2020. James Bouchard, founder, chairman and chief executive of steel services group Esmark, agreed that there was "no doubt about it" that China was dumping steel and said that the impact had been "devastating" for businesses. "Whatever the lowest price is, whatever any country quotes through their trading companies, the Chinese will just come in and make it a lower price so there doesn't ever seem to be a bottom to the Chinese prices. They'll always take that order and that's had a very aggressive downward pressure on the American pricing," he said, also speaking on the sidelines of the Platts Global Metals Awards on Thursday. A John Deere 210G excavator loads soil onto a dump truck as a foundation is dug for a new home in Dunlap, Illinois. Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images Shares of Deere fell more than 5 percent Friday despite posting better-than-expected earnings. The company reported earnings per share of $1.56 for its second quarter, while analysts expected a profit of $1.47 a share. That said, Deere reduced its fiscal-year net income forecast to $1.2 billion from $1.3 billion. Last year, the company had forecast net income to come in at $1.4 billion for the fiscal year. "Although our forecast calls for lower results this year in light of ongoing market pressures, Deere is continuing to perform at a much higher level than in previous downturns," Samuel Allen, the company's chairman and CEO, said in a statement. Deere also forecast a fiscal-year sales decline of 9 percent, less steep than the 10 percent it had previously expected. "Deere's financial condition remains strong and we believe the company is well-positioned to capitalize on attractive growth opportunities that will deliver value to our customers and investors in the future. At the same time, we are continuing to focus on ways to streamline our operations and make them more efficient and profitable," he said. In the agriculture and turf segment, the larger of Deere's two equipment businesses, sales were flat at $5.7 billion. Global sales in the construction and forestry segment fell 16 percent to about $1.4 billion. Equipment sales fell 6 percent in the United States and Canada and decreased 1 percent internationally. The John Deere Capital financial services arm's net income dropped 40 percent to $69.6 million on bigger losses on lease residual values, less-favorable financing spreads and increased provisions for credit losses. watch now When an EgyptAir disappeared over the Mediterranean on Thursday, it left 66 individuals missing, upended the lives of countless families and mobilized a desperate, international search. And for airports around the world, it ratcheted up tension at a time when they were already under intense criticism about their security practices. As officials search for wreckage north of Egypt, key airports like Los Angeles International have reportedly boosted counterterrorism efforts. Investigators have yet to establish a conclusive cause of Flight MS804's crash, but other airports are likely to respond by increasing security scrutiny which could prove challenging at a time that they're also trying to make screening more efficient, experts said. "It's a natural response to increase security in the short term. It's about moving fast enough to get through quickly but not fast enough that they miss things," said Jeffrey Price, an aviation security expert and professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Passengers at O'Hare International Airport wait in line to be screened at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint on May 16, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. Getty Images As concerns mount, local and state officials met with TSA representatives at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Friday to discuss the lines. "I think this summer is going to continue to be a challenge. We have passenger growth, I haven't grown back as much staff as I need, but I think we are doing everything we can to mitigate that at the largest airports," said Peter Neffenger, the TSA administrator, in Chicago on Friday. The EgyptAir crash adds another variable to an already messy aviation security equation. Numerous passengers have complained about sometimes hours-long security lines recently, as the U.S. Transportation Security Administration deals with higher passenger traffic and tries to boost staffing. The agency started tightening security procedures last year after federal auditors slipped fake bombs and weapons past screeners, finding that TSA agents failed 95 percent of breach tests. European stocks closed higher on Friday, as Wall Street rose after falling earlier in the week on renewed concerns the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in the near-term. The pan-European STOXX 600 closed around 1.2 percent higher on the day on Friday and was nearly 1 percent up on the week. European markets The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and the French CAC 40 closed roughly 1.7 percent higher on the day on Friday. The German DAX was up 1.2 percent. Global stock markets appear to have dismissed remarks from New York Fed President William Dudley on Thursday that suggested a Fed rate rise might be on the cards in June and prompted major U.S. stock indexes to close lower. Richemont loses shine There is a tendency among entrepreneurs who are launching a new business to consider the United States as the only viable choice for launch and early operation. But in fact, this America-centric model forgoes tremendous opportunities that come with focusing on less saturated markets in which to build your brand before moving into the U.S. market, if at all. WhatsApp, the Internet-based messaging app which was bought by Facebook for an impressive $19 billion in 2014, is an outstanding example of how going global before "going American" can pave the way to success. Jose Luis Pelaez Inc | Getty Images A disputed Daily Caller story claiming the Koch brothers pledged to bankroll New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson's presidential campaign sent a momentary thrill to the Libertarian Party. Could it be that the party of free markets would finally get a fat wad from a very visible hand? Perhaps not: A few hours after it was posted Thursday, Johnson and a Koch Industries spokesperson dumped cold water on the story (although the Daily Caller report later doubled down, citing a "source with a leadership position in the Libertarian Party.") Wes Benedict, the Libertarian Party's executive director, told CNBC.com that he had no knowledge of any Koch money pledge to Johnson or, for that matter, anyone else in the party. "All I know is what I saw in some press stories," said Benedict. "They haven't contributed to the Libertarian Party in 30 years, so it would be new if they would help." So that seemed to settle it: no Koch for the pot candidate. Even still, Benedict said, he is hopeful that a Libertarian megadonor will emerge this cycle, owing to the broad voter dislike of the two presumptive major party nominees. "I think there will be some donors who put in a half million or more to a super PAC," Benedict predicted. Libertarian Party delegates will elect their presidential and vice presidential nominees during their four-day convention starting Thursday in Orlando, Florida. Johnson, the 2012 nominee, is positioned to win again. Campaign and party officials say they expect donor interest to immediately pick up afterward. In a statement knocking down the Koch story Thursday, Joe Hunter, Johnson's spokesman, said: "We won't comment specifically on those who may or may not be considering lending support to Gov. Johnson. We are hearing from a wide range of groups and individuals who are interested in the governor and our campaign." However, two of the more high-profile (little 'l") libertarian donors, PayPal founder Peter Thiel and banker Andy Beal, have already thrown their support to Donald Trump. Four years ago, both men had contributed to the Republican presidential campaign of Ron Paul. There was some guarded hope among Libertarian leaders that without another Paul-like figure in the race, the two donors might consider opening their billfolds for a third party. Beal has been a reliable contributor to the party over the years but endorsed Trump in February. So who's left to make it rain on the plains of John Maynard Keynes? In 2013, the pro-Ron Paul Purple PAC, led by The Cato Institute founder Ed Crane, made a $400,000 ad buy to an outside spending group supporting the Virginia gubernatorial campaign of Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis. By all recollection, it amounted to the largest single donation made in support of a Libertarian Party candidate. Crane had once served as campaign spokesman for the 1980 Libertarian Party ticket that featured David Koch as its vice presidential nominee. According to its latest FEC filing, Purple PAC had a little more than $1 million cash on hand at the beginning of this year. Crane did not respond to requests for comment sent to his personal email and through a Cato spokesperson. The Libertarian Booster PAC, an organization founded by Benedict, also made a five-figure donation to Sarvis' campaign that year, which rankled some conservatives. One of the PAC's major contributors is Joe Liemandt, a Texas software entrepreneur who was the most significant supporter of Johnson's 2012 presidential campaign. Liemandt has also supported Democrats, and was a six-figure donor for President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign. Some on the right later accused the Libertarian Booster PAC, working at the behest of Liemandt to help Sarvis in order to split the Republican vote and hand the election to the Democratic victor, Gov. Terry McAuliffe. The PAC suspended its activities in 2014. It stands to reason that Liemandt may again be Johnson's most promising financial backer if he were to win the nomination. A phone message left through his assistant was not returned. Chris Rufer, a wealthy owner of a California tomato processor, has also been a reliable six-figure donor to libertarian causes. "Yes, I'm mad as a goat, it's true," Maduro told a rally of the ruling Socialist Party. Called "mad as a goat" by Uruguay's Jose Mujica this week, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro retorted laughingly on Thursday that the former president was right - but he was only crazy with love for his country. "I'm mad with love for Venezuela, for the Bolivarian Revolution, for Chavez and his example," he added, smiling as the crowd cheered, in a reference to former President Hugo Chavez. Mujica, a fellow leftist who ruled Uruguay between 2010 and 2015, said on Wednesday he respected Maduro, but still thought he and others in Venezuela were "crazy" for attacking each other rather than sitting down to resolve problems. Amid a deep economic crisis, Venezuela's opposition is pushing for a recall referendum to oust Maduro. Government officials say that will not happen this year, and security forces have been blocking protest marches demanding the vote. Numerous foreign countries are calling for dialogue, but there is deep hostility and suspicion between Maduro's government and the opposition Democratic Unity coalition. watch now watch now watch now During the housing crisis, being a real estate agent was about as easy as being a swim instructor in the desert. That is why so many agents left the business. In fact, membership in the National Association of Realtors went from 1.3 million during the boom years to slightly under 1 million in 2012. Now it is back to just more than 1.2 million, and many of the new members are millennials. "The median age of Realtors is younger than in the past because more (young) people entered the real estate profession this year than in past years, with 20 percent of members reporting one year or less of experience," said NAR President Tom Salomone, broker-owner of Real Estate II Inc. in Coral Springs, Florida. Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images In the latest annual survey by NAR, a typical member reported a median of 10 years of experience in real estate, down from 12 years in last year's report. The median age also decreased from 57 in 2014 to 53 in 2015, the lowest it has been since 2008 when the median age was 52. Dan Galloway, 24, decided to become an agent in the Washington, D.C., area after he graduated from college. He and his partner bought a home in 2014, using an agent from Redfin, and the process made him decide to get into the business. He took a course with Redfin, which helped him learn the craft. He said the recent, epic housing crash didn't deter him. "It's something that I had been considering for a long time. I like the entrepreneurial aspect of it. That's something I think my generation has, a very entrepreneurial spirit. With the new way the economy works, you really have to go out and make your own way," said Galloway. Last year, 41 percent of NAR members were over 60 years old, while only 2 percent were under 30. This year, the over 60 group dropped to 30 percent, and the number of those younger than 30 years rose to 5 percent. watch now Due in large part to the sky-high valuations of Silicon Valley's technology darlings, San Francisco's start-up scene has been a dominant story line in recent years and rightfully so. But a powerful ecosystem has emerged in San Diego for entrepreneurs, bolstered by the fact it has developed itself as a center of excellence in biotech and life sciences, mobile technology and aerospace research. According to data from the Kauffman Foundation's "Startup Activity" report, San Diego ranks as a top 10 start-up city for the past two years, advancing one spot to No. 9 in 2015. Eighty percent of entrepreneurs are considered "opportunity share" in the metro, meaning founders were not previously unemployed before launching, but instead started up as they saw an opportunity in the market. What's more, there are nearly 155 start-ups for every 100,000 residents in the area. Venture capital money is also flowing to San Diego at a fever pitch, with investments totaling $1.28 billion in 2015. This is the most since 2007, when $1.18 billion was deployed to San Diego companies, according to the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), led by investments in biotechnology and telecommunications companies. "We have a culture of entrepreneurship and a collaborative environment that you don't see in a lot of other cities," said Jerry Sanders, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, who added that about 400 new businesses are launched in the region each year. Sanders credits a strong support system of 27 incubators and accelerators in the city, including those out of the University of California, San Diego, and SPAWAR, the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, in part for the development of new businesses. "There's a misperception that you have to be a start-up company based in Silicon Valley to receive venture funding. That's simply not the case," Bobby Franklin, president and CEO of the NCVA, said in an email statement. "Part of what makes a successful ecosystem is knowing what you're good at and building from there." Leveraging local talent One of the biggest lures for start-ups is San Diego's talent pool. A San Diego Regional EDC study showed the city has the second-highest concentration of science and engineering professionals in the United States. Building on the skill set of San Diego's military community is Darin Andersen, a serial start-up entrepreneur, who launched CyberHive four years ago to create a national professional networking organization for emerging technology. Government cybersecurity is a huge focus, but start-ups have expanded to include the Internet of Things, robotics and more. Since 2012, CyberHive has incubated 167 companies, and start-ups have raised $80 million in follow-on funding. CyberHive sits inside of The Nest co-working community, along with other specialized incubators including iHive for Internet of Things companies and xHive for start-ups focusing on things like drones, 3-D printing and robotics. "What we bring is an amazing digital workforce, a population of young millennials, mid-career and even older people in the workforce who have built technical solutions and products in San Diego it's where we tackle the hard problems," Andersen said. watch now One issue for the city is brain drain, with talent fleeing to San Francisco or opting not to launch in San Diego at all. Some are being lured away by the idea of working for big names like Facebook and Google or relocating there as the network of venture capital funding is well established in Silicon Valley. That's something The Vine is attempting to fix. Irvine, a real estate establishment that's been around for 150 years, partnered with EvoNexus, a tech incubator in 2010, providing free space to generate jobs and start-ups in the city, which led to the launch of The Vine in downtown San Diego in 2012. More than 40 percent of downtown companies are housed there, and in four years 134 companies have raised just over $1 billion in funding. Jeff Winkler launched Origin Code Academy in San Diego last year to try to cultivate and keep local talent in the city. Source: Kate Rogers One of those entrepreneurs is Jeff Winkler, who launched Origin Code Academy in September 2015, out of The Vine. The 12-week program costs about $12,000 and has 100 percent job placement so far. Winkler reaches out to big tech names in the area, like Qualcomm and Microsoft, to ensure he is teaching the skills needed for hiring post-graduation. "Everyone in San Diego was leaving to go to the Bay Area, so we are just trying to solve the overall problem of keeping talent in San Diego," said Winkler, who previously worked in finance before selling a fitness app, Gymsurfing, to the company that was later bought by ClassPass. He had first attended a coding class in Orlando. "I didn't have the best experience, and no one got a job once the course was over," he said something he is aiming to fix with his own model. Co-founders and husband-wife team Flash and Melani Gordon built on San Diego's craft brewing industry for their start-up TapHunter. Source: Kate Rogers Montana nursing education programs will require fewer credits to complete and decrease the amount of time in school by one semester under a revision outlined by a curriculum redesign committee on Thursday. The details were revealed during a meeting of the Montana University System Board of Regents in Havre. Nursing faculty from 11 colleges across Montana worked with 90 healthcare-related employers to develop the plan. While fewer credits and a semester less might seem counterproductive, the restructuring will have the opposite effect by placing more emphasis on nursing education, including a stronger focus on geriatric and community nursing, said Mary Nielsen, nursing curriculum director with HealthCARE Montana. "These changes better prepare the nurse for the current 21st century standards of nursing," Nielsen said. The revision is expected to graduate nursing students up to 25 percent faster and save students who complete the degree programs up to $6,599. In addition, graduates will enter the workforce up to six months earlier and the effort will increase by 20 percent the number of associate graduates over time, according to figures provided by the committee. Aging nurses Officials framed the need for curriculum redesign against an aging population in Montana and across the United States that is expected to strain nursing resources and numbers as nearly 80 million baby boomers age, boosting the need for more nurses. At the same time, that population will leave a huge nursing workforce deficit with as many as 1 million nurses expected to retire nationally in the next year. "One-third of the nurses are over the age of 50 and will retire in the next 10 years," said Peter Buerhaus, a health care economist and professor at the MSU College of Nursing. "...We have a major, unprecedented development where a third of this nation's (nursing) workforce is going to be retiring." Amy Watson, an economist with the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, said that the average age of a nurse in Montana is about 50 years old and that the most common age is somewhere in the early 60s. "Any estimation of future nursing demand is going to have to take into account this aging population," she said. According to a U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration report, Montana's RN demand is expected to reach 12,100, while its supply will be at around 11,300, leaving a deficit of 800 RNs. "These are big, big unprecedented forces that are all coming together at the same time," Buerhaus said. New plan The new plan creates three revised nursing programs: a Certificate of Applied Science practical nursing program, an Associate of Science registered nursing program and a Bachelor Science completion program. The design also allows graduates of associate programs to enter directly into a BSN Montana State University, Montana State University Northern and Montana Tech all offer BSN programs instead of having to take another semester or two of general education before moving on. For the bachelor program through MSU, students can also take their prerequisite courses in their own communities before taking upper division courses in Billings, Missoula, Kalispell, Great Falls or Bozeman, a step designed to open educational opportunities to more rural Montanans. Good job Regents and university system officials praised the curriculum effort for its detailed and proactive approach. "You've really done something special here," said Regent Casey Lozar. John Cech, deputy commissioner of academic and student affairs, commended the nursing faculty and health professionals who spent "hundreds and hundreds" of hours on the redesign and noted that the state is working closely as a whole on the issue. "It was hard work, but I think it's going to pay off," he said. Is there a coffee table book called "Platitudes for Every Occasion?" If so, Hillary definitely owns it. Worse, she seems to have been consulting it as her primary political guidebook since 1999. It's sad that a woman who based her earlier career thinking boldly about policies and taking ideological risks has been positively boring, cautious, and predictable ever since she first became a candidate for the Senate. Even on a new media platform like Twitter, Clinton's statements are still as rigid as an old-style direct mail pamphlet. Really? I guess Hillary didn't get the memo, but it's not exactly the policy statements that have set the world on fire for Trump and even Sanders. It's the fact that both of them always seem to be talking and especially Tweeting in a natural, real, and definitely un-sanitized way. As academic and social critic Camille Paglia noted earlier this week, Mrs. Clinton's campaign messages and operation seem "slow and heavy," and like the "admiral of a bullion-laden armada of Spanish galleons, a low-in-the-water easy mark as they creak and sway amid the rolling swells." The stage is set in Japan for the financial leaders of the Group of Seven of the world's leading economies to discuss policy, global growth and cyber-security. G-7 finance ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K and the U.S. have gathered in Sendai. But what's on the agenda? "With the latest G-7 finance ministers meeting due to start today (Friday) in Japan, it is quite likely that the subject of currency levels and fiscal policy is likely to be high on the agenda, and while markets have settled down a bit since the G-20 meeting in Shanghai at the end of March it remains clear that financial markets are still on edge, due to the lack of progress amongst policymakers with respect to fiscal reform," Michael Hewson, chief markets analyst at CMC Markets said in his morning note. Speaking to CNBC in a phone interview, Hewson said the financial consequences of a "Brexit" vote on market volatility will also be a top concern for G-7 members. While issues like the upcoming EU referendum, global uncertainty and central bank monetary policy are expected to remain the big focus over the weekend, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said the leaders are a lot more optimistic about the global economy than they were before. "We agreed that the world economic environment is better than some feared a few months ago," Schaeuble told Reuters after the first round of talks, adding that Germany had growing room for room for fiscal manoeuvre which he is in favour of using in the next legislative period. Over the past year and a half, two of the most consistent performers in the have been construction materials stocks Martin Marietta Materials and Vulcan Materials . While these are neither the most-exciting businesses nor the most widely watched stocks, they have each managed to follow up substantial rallies in 2015 with solid gains in 2016, which is something that can be said of relatively few S&P stocks. Vulcan and Martin Marietta both sell "construction aggregates," which are products like gravel, crushed stone and sand that are used in construction. And over the year, both have enjoyed tremendous earnings growth. Erin Gibbs, equity chief investment officer at S&P Investment Advisory, points out that "the growth is twofold: One, it is from housing growth, and that is happening, we are seeing good housing numbers but most of the growth is expected to come from highway growth," as America considers repairing its crumbling infrastructure. And for Vulcan, there's an additional bullish catalyst, Gibbs points out. "Vulcan is particularly well-poised because they actually operate a major quarry in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, which is very easy to export to Cuba," Gibbs pointed out Thursday on CNBC's "Trading Nation." "So if economic relations improve with Cuba, Vulcan could really be poised for a lot of growth outside of the U.S." For that reason, she'd prefer investing in Birmingham, Alabama-based Vulcan over Raleigh, North Carolina-based Martin Marietta. Taking a historical perspective, trader and technical analyst Frank Cappelleri of Instinet points out that Vulcan and Marin Marietta have seen substantial runups before, in the midst of the real estate bubble, only to collapse. While the stocks could continue to rise in the near term, "a more substantial mean-reverting move is probably in the offing sometime soon," Cappelleri predicted Thursday on "Trading Nation," referring to Vulcan specifically. At the end of the day, both names are highly vulnerable to the market and the economic cycle. Their betas indicate that for every 10 percent the S&P rises or falls, each stock might be expected to rise or fall some 14 percent. Francoise Gebel | EyeEm | Getty Images The U.K. became the second country in the world after Australia to introduce plain, standardized packaging for cigarettes on Friday, after a High Court ruling rejected a legal challenge from major tobacco firms. On Thursday, the judge rejected the case from the claimants - British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International, Philip Morris International and Imperial Brands who accused the regulations of being disproportionate. The judge noted in his ruling that there was a "significant moral angle which is embedded in the regulations which is about saving children from a lifetime of addiction, and children and adults from premature death and related suffering and disease." As of Friday, all cigarette packs sold in the U.K. will have to come in standardized packaging, although there is a "sell-through period" of twelve months to enable retailers to get rid of existing stock produced, imported and branded before Friday. The U.K.'s Department of Health indicates that packs will have to be cuboid in shape, and their colour a "non-shiny drab dark brown." Brand names will be allowed, but will have to be in a "set position, font and maximum size." Health warnings will be in both pictures and text, and each pack will have to have a minimum of 20 cigarettes in it. Trademarks, logos, promotional images and color schemes will be banned. A huge 'victory' Jane Ellison, a government minister for public health, said that the High Court's decision was a "victory for a generation that will grow up smoke-free. Standardized packaging will reduce smoking rates and save lives we will never allow the tobacco industry to dictate our policies." The U.K.'s National Health Service says that smoking kills roughly 100,000 people a year and causes cancer in many parts of the body, including the lungs, stomach, mouth, bladder, throat and pancreas. Smoking also heightens a person's risk of heart attack, stroke and coronary heart disease. "This landmark judgement is a crushing defeat for the tobacco industry and fully justifies the government's determination to go ahead with the introduction of standardized packaging," Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said in a statement. "Millions of pounds have been spent on some of the country's most expensive lawyers in the hope of blocking the policy. This disgraceful effort to privilege tobacco business interests over public health has rightly failed utterly." Not welcome Unsurprisingly, the tobacco companies did not welcome the decision. Responding to the judgment, a spokesperson for British American Tobacco said the court's decision was "by no means the final word on the lawfulness of plain packaging." "We believe that the judgment contains a number of fundamental errors of law and we are applying for leave to appeal the decision," they said in a statement. The spokesperson added that the judgement, if left to stand, would raise concerns for "many other legitimate businesses it creates a worrying precedent whereby public policy concerns can ride roughshod over long established fundamental commercial rights." Simon Clark, director of smoker's group Forest, called the judgement "very disappointing" in a statement and added that plain packaging was "gesture politics designed to appease public health campaigners who are forever searching for new ways to force smokers to quit." British American Tobacco's shares finished down 1.9 percent in London on Thursday, while Imperial Brands finished 0.6 percent lower. Japan Tobacco International fell by 2.0 percent overnight. A shift in attitudes Luke MacGregor | Bloomberg | Getty Images The cyberattack that knocked hundreds of school networks offline in Japan last week had at least one novel feature: It was allegedly instigated by a student. A 16-year-old high school student who said he was frustrated with his teachers unleashed an attack on the Osaka Board of Education server that took 444 elementary, junior high and high school networks offline, investigators said. The student monitored the attack from his cellphone and later told authorities that he wanted to join hacktivist group Anonymous, according to the investigators. Unusual until recently, student-launched attacks are becoming more common, said Radware security researcher Daniel Smith. The firm issued a threat advisory alert this week. Like the rest of the world, schools and universities are increasingly reliant on cloud-based infrastructure to function, making them more vulnerable to attack. At the same time, the widespread availability of free or inexpensive hacking software and services means malicious students no longer need special skills to cause trouble. "We have been getting approached by education institutions or regional IT firms who say they are starting to see some increased attack activity," said Smith. Aggression toward a school or staff member is one of several common motivations for the attacks. Others include delaying tests, changing grades and manipulating the registration process to gain an advantage over other students. In the U.S., Rutgers, Arizona State University and the University of Georgia have had denial-of-service attacks in the past year. These attacks are often so effective that they completely overwhelm networks and prevent students, teachers and administrators from being able to log on. This wreaks havoc on large administrations and results in delays, for example, in class registration and final exams. The Rutgers attacker, who has not been caught but is believed to be a student and reportedly goes by the name "Exfocus", carried out six attacks over the course of a year, starting in November 2014. "He wanted to show the vulnerabilities inside the college network," said Smith. "It was very simple for him to topple the network, and it caused a lot of issues for students and staff members." Attackers are taking aim at student portals, admission processing sites, mail servers and sensitive databases holding personal information. They are also targeting educational platforms connecting students and institutions including Blackboard and Moodle. One such example took aim at Janet, a research and educational network connecting 19 regional universities in England, which has fallen victim to several DDoS attacks over the past year. Of course, just because these attackers are often still in high school does not mean they will get off lightly. A 15-year-old in Adelaide, Australia, could face 10 years in prison for allegedly launching one for the largest DDoS attacks the country has ever witnessed. The attack was directed at several organizations, including Reynella East College, and was so widespread that it impacted around 10,000 customers of internet service provider NuScope. The reason behind the Turkish president's maneuvers is to force European authorities to take a more accommodating approach to Turkish legislation and practices. Erdogan calculates that Europe needs Turkey more than vice-versa, given the threat of a renewed deluge of Syrian migrants to EU member states. But Erdogan is all too aware he would benefit from a successful migrant deal. The lifting of long-standing and humiliating visa restrictions for Turkish nationals would represent one of the government's most significant diplomatic feats to date. An imminent or freshly-adopted visa deal could help secure the extra votes Erdogan would like for a new constitution. Either through a referendum or following new parliamentary elections later this year, the president is seeking to adopt new legislation which would arm him with full, formal executive powers. Although Erdogan already exercises immense de-facto power, Turkish society is heavily polarised between supporters and opponents of the president. Aid promised by the EU as part of the migrant deal is also a major factor - especially as Turkey is struggling to foot the bill of 2.75 million registered Syrian refugees. However, the 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion) in aid promised by the EU will be managed by international NGOs and UN agencies and not Turkey's own national authorities The soaring costs of paying workers both self-imposed by many companies and government-mandated via minimum wage increases make the calculus of replacing jobs with automation more attractive, said Andrew Puzder, chief executive of CKE Restaurants. "As you make labor more expensive, you make automation a more viable alternative," Puzder told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday. CKE is the company behind the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fast-food brands. Five or 10 years ago, ordering automated kiosks for 6,000 locations in the U.S. was too expensive compared to labor costs, he said. "[But] they're not too expensive now." Replacing jobs with machines is "not something you like to do," but research shows many millennials want to order with technology instead of dealing with cashiers, he added. "They don't like the personal contact. They're not going to malls or restaurants anymore." Other reported potential bidders have included Liberty Media Chairman John Malone. Recode also reported in March that Microsoft may offer financing to potential Yahoo bidders. Earlier this week, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett confirmed to CNBC that the company had offered to be a finance partner to a bid by Dan Gilbert, the billionaire chairman of Quicken Loans, to buy Yahoo. Verizon Communications is considered the lead candidate in a group of bidders that includes private-equity buyers TPG and a consortium among Bain Capital, Vista Equity Partners and former Yahoo CEO Ross Levinsohn, the WSJ said, citing people familiar with the matter. The auction for Yahoo 's core business is expected to draw bids of around $2 billion-$3 billion, well below previous expectations for $4 billion-$8 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Yahoo, once the world's largest consumer email service, has struggled in recent years to compete with Alphabet's Google and Facebook for digital advertising market share. In February, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer announced the company would auction off its internet business and cut 15 percent of its workforce. The company is also selling $1 billion to $3 billion in noncore assets, such as patents and property. Yahoo also owns more than 35 percent of Yahoo Japan and an around 15 percent stake in Chinese internet giant Alibaba . Last year, Yahoo called off its plan to spin off its Alibaba stake. Last month, Yahoo reported slightly better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, with earnings per share (EPS) of 8 cents on gross revenue of $1.09 billion, down from EPS of 15 cents and gross revenue of $1.23 billion in the year-earlier period. Those results were slightly less bad than Wall Street had estimated: Analysts expected Yahoo to report earnings of about 7 cents per share on about $1.08 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters. Becky Quick , Matthew Belvedere and Everett Rosenfeld contributed to this article. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. Shares of Yahoo fell more than 1 percent on Friday as suitors for the tech company's core business are reportedly willing to pony up less cash than expected. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday night that Verizon Communications considered the front-runner to buy Yahoo's core business and others are expected to bid about $2-to-$3 billion. Both firms declined to comment. C# Copy Code private static void DisplayUsage() { Console.WriteLine( " To start the server specify:" ); Console.WriteLine( " serverSync certificateFile.cer" ); Environment.Exit( 1 ); } public static int Main(string[] args) { string certificate = null ; if (args == null ||args.Length < 1 ) { DisplayUsage(); } certificate = args[0]; SslTcpServer.RunServer (certificate); return 0 ; } In this code sample, you will see that the DisplayUsage function calls the Environment.Exit(1). This is the problem when you don't pass the certificate file as a command line argument. I would suggest that you read the remarks[^] on that document where the procedure is explained, why file is needed and how you should pass it, and read this, https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc770735%28v=ws.11%29.aspx[^] The sh*t I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~ Or I have one .pfx file downloaded from Internet. When I pass this file it display Exception --> cryptographicexception :The specified network password is not correct. What should I Do??? Copy Code X509Certificate.CreateFromCertFile(certificate); So, pass the file that can be used to be mapped against this standard. X509Certificate.CreateFromCertFile Method (String) (System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates)[^] The sh*t I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~ I have given path of certificate to Server as command Line Argument. I have also given the same certificate to client as command line Argument. server Accept Certificate from the client but at client side it gives error: AuthenticationException was caught : The remote certificate is invalid according to the validation procedure. So any other option by which I can Create Certificate which can accepted by client? Just for Testing Purpose? On development environment, you just have to mimic the process. It can be done by either adding your own issuer (a software program) as a trusted one. Otherwise, ignore the request, which sadly cannot be done when the function always throws an exception. Working with Certificates[^] The sh*t I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~ I saw a simple example from microsoft "How to: Populate an XML Tree from the File System (C#)". But I cant figure out how to reverse the XML to get a list of all files with full qualified path simular to "dir /s /b" would produce: Copy Code Tmp\ConsoleApplication1\bin\Debug\ConsoleApplication1.exe
Size: 4608
Tmp\ConsoleApplication1\bin\Debug\ConsoleApplication1.vshost.exe.manifest
Size: 473
Tmp\ConsoleApplication1\obj\Debug\TempPE\ConsoleApplication1.csproj.FileListAbsolute.txt
Size: 322
... and so on
Can somone help with this? Example from MSDN: C# Copy Code class Program { static XElement CreateFileSystemXmlTree( string source) { DirectoryInfo di = new DirectoryInfo(source); return new XElement( " Dir" , new XAttribute( " Name" , di.Name), from d in Directory.GetDirectories(source) select CreateFileSystemXmlTree(d), from fi in di.GetFiles() select new XElement( " File" , new XElement( " Name" , fi.Name), new XElement( " Length" , fi.Length) ) ); } static void Main(string[] args) { XElement fileSystemTree = CreateFileSystemXmlTree( " C:/Tmp" ); Console.WriteLine(fileSystemTree); Console.WriteLine( " ------" ); long totalFileSize = ( from f in fileSystemTree.Descendants( " File" ) select ( long )f.Element( " Length" )).Sum(); Console.WriteLine( " Total File Size:{0}" , totalFileSize); } } XML Copy Code < Dir Name =" Tmp" > < Dir Name =" ConsoleApplication1" > < Dir Name =" bin" > < Dir Name =" Debug" > < File > < Name > ConsoleApplication1.exe < /Name > < Length > 4608 < /Length > < /File > < File > < Name > ConsoleApplication1.pdb < /Name > < Length > 11776 < /Length > < /File > < File > < Name > ConsoleApplication1.vshost.exe < /Name > < Length > 9568 < /Length > < /File > < File > < Name > ConsoleApplication1.vshost.exe.manifest < /Name > < Length > 473 < /Length > < /File > < /Dir > < /Dir > < Dir Name =" obj" > < Dir Name =" Debug" > < Dir Name =" TempPE" / > < File > < Name > ConsoleApplication1.csproj.FileListAbsolute.txt < /Name > < Length > 322 < /Length > < /File > < File > < Name > ConsoleApplication1.exe < /Name > < Length > 4608 < /Length > < /File > < File > < Name > ConsoleApplication1.pdb < /Name > < Length > 11776 < /Length > < /File > < /Dir > < /Dir > < Dir Name =" Properties" > < File > < Name > AssemblyInfo.cs < /Name > < Length > 1454 < /Length > < /File > < /Dir > < File > < Name > ConsoleApplication1.csproj < /Name > < Length > 2546 < /Length > < /File > < File > < Name > ConsoleApplication1.sln < /Name > < Length > 937 < /Length > < /File > < File > < Name > ConsoleApplication1.suo < /Name > < Length > 10752 < /Length > < /File > < File > < Name > Program.cs < /Name > < Length > 269 < /Length > < /File > < /Dir > < /Dir > ------ Total File Size:59089 FullName instead of Name C# Copy Code new XElement( " Name" , fi.FullName), First of all I am realy serious in finding out if there is a way to reverse the C# Copy Code new XElement( " Name" , fi.Name), version. Secondly I want it relative to the starting path. Maybe that was not clear. Lets say you have resulting XML (part ofthe example): XML Copy Code < Dir Name =" Tmp" > < Dir Name =" ConsoleApplication1" > < Dir Name =" bin" > < Dir Name =" Debug" > < File > < Name > ConsoleApplication1.exe < /Name > < Length > 4608 < /Length > < /File > < /Dir > < /Dir > < /Dir > < /Dir > I want to read the results: File.Name: temp\ConsoleApplication1\bin\Debug\ConsoleApplication1.exe File.Length: 4608 Without the c:\. Advantage: if you move all from c:\Temp to c:\Projects\Temp you can still find all files as in the XML if you revers the search. Greetings modified 22-May-16 16:55pm. for the problem (SHA256 was additionally added to XML): C# Copy Code using ( var reader = new XmlTextReader( @" c:\Users\andre\Documents\Test3.xml" )) { ListmyDir = new List (); bool isFile = false ; bool isFileName = false ; bool isSHA = false ; bool isLength = false ; string curFile = " " ; string curLength = " " ; string curSHA = " " ; while (reader.Read()) { switch (reader.NodeType) { case XmlNodeType.XmlDeclaration: break ; case XmlNodeType.Element: if (reader.Name.ToString().Equals( " Dir" ,StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)) { myDir.Add(reader.GetAttribute( " Name" )); isFile = false ; } else if (reader.Name.ToString().Equals( " File" , StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)) { isFile = true ; } else if (reader.Name.ToString().Equals( " Name" , StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)) { if (isFile) { isFileName = true ; } else { Console.WriteLine( " error on Line {0} Name <{1}> Value{2}" ,reader.LineNumber,reader.Name,reader.Value); } } else if (reader.Name.ToString().Equals( " Length" , StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)) { if (isFile) { isLength = true ; } else { Console.WriteLine( " error on Line {0} Name <{1}> Value{2}" , reader.LineNumber, reader.Name, reader.Value); } } else if (reader.Name.ToString().Equals( " SHA256" , StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)) { if (isFile) { isSHA = true ; } else { Console.WriteLine( " error on Line {0} Name <{1}> Value{2}" , reader.LineNumber, reader.Name, reader.Value); } } else { Console.WriteLine( " Unknown Element {0} Name <{1}> Value{2}" , reader.LineNumber, reader.Name, reader.Value); } break ; case XmlNodeType.Text: if (isFileName) { curFile = reader.Value; } else if (isSHA){ curSHA = reader.Value; } else if (isLength) { curLength = reader.Value; } else { Console.WriteLine( " Unknown Text Line {0} Name <{1}> Value{2}" , reader.LineNumber, reader.Name, reader.Value); } break ; case XmlNodeType.EndElement: if (reader.Name.ToString().Equals( " dir" , StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)) { myDir.Remove(myDir.Last()); isFile = false ; } else if (reader.Name.ToString().Equals( " File" , StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)) { isFile = false ; Console.WriteLine( " Path: {0}" , string .Join( " \\" , myDir.ToArray())); if (!curSHA.Equals( " " )) { Console.WriteLine( " File: {0} Length: {1} SHA256: {2}" ,curFile,curLength,curSHA); } else { Console.WriteLine( " File: {0} Length: {1}" , curFile, curLength); } } else if (reader.Name.ToString().Equals( " Length" , StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)) { isLength = false ; } else if (reader.Name.ToString().Equals( " SHA256" , StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)) { isSHA = false ; } else if (reader.Name.ToString().Equals( " Name" , StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)) { isFileName = false ; } else { Console.WriteLine( " Unknown End element {0} Name <{1}> Value{2}" , reader.LineNumber, reader.Name, reader.Value); } break ; } } } (Note: string.Join()-Line destroys coloring) Even it is not nice as it's not mucht better than just textparsing and manual decoding the XML , it works: Copy Code Path: Tmp\ConsoleApplication1\bin\Debug File: ConsoleApplication1.exe Length: 4608 Path: Tmp\ConsoleApplication1\bin\Debug File: ConsoleApplication1.pdb Length: 11776 Path: Tmp\ConsoleApplication1\bin\Debug File: ConsoleApplication1.vshost.exe Length: 9568 Path: Tmp\ConsoleApplication1\bin\Debug File: ConsoleApplication1.vshost.exe.manifest Length: 473 Path: Tmp\ConsoleApplication1\obj\Debug\TempPE File: ConsoleApplication1.csproj.FileListAbsolute.txt Length: 322 Path: Tmp\ConsoleApplication1\obj\Debug\TempPE File: ConsoleApplication1.exe Length: 4608 Path: Tmp\ConsoleApplication1\obj\Debug\TempPE File: ConsoleApplication1.pdb Length: 11776 Path: Tmp\ConsoleApplication1\obj\Properties File: AssemblyInfo.cs Length: 1454 Path: Tmp\ConsoleApplication1\obj File: ConsoleApplication1.csproj Length: 2546 Path: Tmp\ConsoleApplication1\obj File: ConsoleApplication1.sln Length: 937 Path: Tmp\ConsoleApplication1\obj File: ConsoleApplication1.suo Length: 10752 Path: Tmp\ConsoleApplication1\obj File: Program.cs Length: 269 If anyone has a better solution: youre welcome!!! I'm still serious if theres not a easyser solution to revert back this (my current test) 1-Liner: C# Copy Code return new XElement( " Dir" , new XAttribute( " Name" , di.Name), from d in Directory.GetDirectories(source) select CreateFileSystemXmlTree(d, progress), from fi in di.GetFiles() let myProgress = DoProgress(progress) select new XElement( " File" , new XElement( " Name" , fi.Name), new XElement( " Length" , fi.Length), new XElement( " SHA256" , GetChecksumBuffered(fi.FullName)) ) ); Member 2443306 wrote: myDir.Remove(myDir.Last()); myDir.RemoveAt(myDir.Count - 1); would be more efficient, and avoid a bug if multiple directories in the path have the same name (eg: Tmp\Path\Tmp\... ). Better yet, replace the List with Stack [^], which is specifically designed for this type of scenario. "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer Thanks I overseen the problem with C# Copy Code myDir.Remove() against C# Copy Code myDir.RemoveAt(myDir.Count-1) . I changed it to Copy Code Stack but not realy see a advabntage. This space for rent "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer the non-archived version[^], you'll see that the article was deleted in March 2015, and the source code was removed at the request of Mladen's employers. "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer We got hit with that windows 10 upgrade today on 1/2 the computers. So I wrote a console app to apply a tweak to Win 7 to stop the upgrades. When I go to delete the folder with the disk image of Win10, I get an error saying this is a special file. How can I skip the error? This is my first console app, and I'm new to c# Copy Code public static bool delete_win10Source( string winPath) { bool pValue = false ; try { DirectoryInfo dir = new DirectoryInfo(@winPath); bool rV = dir.Exists; if (rV) Task.Factory.StartNew(path => dir.Delete( true ), winPath); pValue = true ; } catch (Exception ex) { Console.WriteLine(ex.Message); pValue = false ; } return pValue; } I'm not shure but maybe something like this? C# Copy Code var directory = new DirectoryInfo(@winPath); directory.Attributes &= ~FileAttributes.ReadOnly; Give me a day to do this, time to go home. Just FYI, the 2nd key is what the group policy does from what I read. I can't access the LocalMachine Key, I just get a null back. I did the click run as administrator. Logged in as administrator. I really don't want to manually adjust every computer in the office. Guess Microsoft really tightened up the security which is good. Copy Code public static bool tweak_registry() { bool pValue = false ; const string subKey1 = " SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\OSUpgrade" ; const string keyName1 = " AllowOSUpgrade" ; const string keyName2 = " DisableOSUpgrade" ; try { using ( var _key = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(subKey1, true )) { _key.SetValue(keyName1, 0 , RegistryValueKind.DWord); _key.SetValue(keyName2, 1 , RegistryValueKind.DWord); } pValue = true ; } catch (Exception ex) { pValue = false ; if (ex.Message == " Attempted to perform an unauthorized operation." ) { Console.WriteLine( " " ); Console.WriteLine( " You must be an adminsitrator to perform this task!" ); Console.WriteLine( " Right Click on the program and select 'Run as Administrator'" ); Console.WriteLine( " Press any key to exit" ); Console.ReadKey(); System.Environment.Exit(-1); } else { Console.WriteLine( " ERROR: " + ex.Message); Console.ReadKey(); } } return pValue; } As far as I know to access the registry with "AnyCPU" you need to take care of 32 and 64bit on the SOFTWARE key. Montana Attorney General Tim Fox's office filed a motion for an immediate partial stay with U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after a ruling by U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell struck down the state's campaign contribution limits. The brief was filed late Thursday afternoon, and the attorney general's office which represents Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl, argued that unless the Ninth Circuit grants the immediate request, suspending contribution limits "will cause confusion and undermine the integrity of Montana's electoral process." "Military and absentee voting has begun ... and the primary election is less than 20 days away," the brief said. "... there can be no doubt that unlimited donations from political parties would create mass chaos in Montana's election." Motl said Wednesday, after Lovell's ruling, that his office would not challenge the reinstated contribution limits by individuals or political committees in order to not create the same confusion as in 2012. However, the brief argues that Lovell's ruling now creates an environment where individuals and political committees have restrictions, but political parties have none. "This loophole must be closed," the attorney general argued. By striking down I-118, Montana reverts back to the law it had before the initiative's passage. That means there are still limits for individuals and political committees, but no rules for political parties. "(There are) no limits on the amounts that political parties can donate," the brief said. The brief asks for the Ninth Circuit to stay Lovell's order and restore the 2016 limits for political parties in each election cycle (primary and general): $47,700 to governor/lieutenant governor $17,200 to other statewide offices candidates $6,900 to public service commission candidates $2,800 to Senate candidates $1,700 to House candidates In its motion, the attorney general's office argues that by not limiting what a political party can give, it would allow parties to circumvent the contribution limits, undermine the election process and make an unfair playing field by having rules for individuals and political committees. Matthew Monforton, GOP attorney, said its disappointing that Fox is trying to stop the Republican party from funding its candidates but isnt challenging the loophole Democrats used to finance Bullocks campaigns in 2008 and 2012. In Montana political parties can donate unlimited personal services to campaigns, something the GOP has previously called a laundering of corporate donations. It makes Montana campaign contribution limits a complete charade and gives Democrats an enormous advantage over Republicans, Monforton said. Gov. Steve Bullock's campaign spokesman, Jason Pitt, defended the attorney general's action. "For Steve, this issue is far more important than the differences between Republicans and Democrats. This is about the Montana values of transparency and accountability in our elected leaders, which is why Steve is trying so hard to make sure special interests and out-of-state multimillionaires can't buy elections that belong to the people of Montana." GREAT FALLS A man who skipped out on parole after being released early from a life sentence for a 1951 murder conviction and was returned to custody in 2010 has been denied release for the second year in a row. The Montana Board of Pardons and Parole denied Frank Dryman's request for release Thursday. The 85-year-old, who is on oxygen and has other health conditions, had asked to be moved to an assisted living facility for U.S. veterans. Dryman was given a life sentence after being found guilty in the shooting death of Clarence Pellett near Shelby 65 years ago. He was paroled in 1969 and moved to California before disappearing in 1971. Dryman was discovered in Arizona after 38 years on the run. Attorneys in Fiji case given until December to suggest trial date Judge gives defense and prosecuting attorneys until Dec. 19 to suggest trial date and duration. A 20-year-old man has been granted a retrial after new evidence suggests the woman who accused him of rape may have later told her counselor she lied. Casey Don Ehrlick, who was convicted last October of sexual intercourse without consent, was granted a new trial by Yellowstone County District Court Judge Mary Jane Knisely. The judge had already released Ehrlick from jail after spending about 18 months incarcerated. During a hearing Thursday, Ehrlick's attorney, Robert Kelleher, presented evidence that Ehrlick's alleged victim lied on the stand. The woman, who has a developmental disability, told police Ehrlick had raped her with a bundle of colored pencils. The same woman accused a second man of rape not long after the Ehrlick allegation, Kelleher told the court. Thursday's hearing was originally set to answer whether or not the Yellowstone County Attorney's office turned over evidence the woman had made a second rape accusation prior to Ehrlick's trial. Senior Deputy County Attorney Brett Linneweber, the prosecuter in Ehrlick's case, presented evidence he had not learned about the second rape accusation until after Ehrlick's trial. In that separate case, 30-year-old Joseph Raymond Weinreber was accused of raping the woman inside a portable toilet near a construction site. Linneweber said Yellowstone County District Court Judge Michael Moses has since dismissed charges against Weinreber as the case needs further investigation. That motion was granted May 9. "I would like the court to acknowledge the state would never hide evidence," Linneweber said. "I'd like the public to have confidence in the system." Knisely ruled the County Attorney's office had not committed a violation, but granted the second trial in light of the new facts. A trial date was not set Thursday, however, Knisely released Ehrlick from the Yellowstone County Detention Facility at the beginning of May at the request of Linneweber. Ehrlick was held at Yellowstone County Detention Facility after his 2014 arrest. He said he was attacked on three separate occasions in the jail by other inmates and still has scars on his head from the attacks. "I was stressed out everyday and picked on," Ehrlick said. Since his release, Ehrlick has been staying with his mother. Linneweber said he would never want someone wrongly convicted, although he wouldn't want a valid conviction overturned. He said this matter will be thoroughly investigated and "that is what has happened." During Ehrlick's October trial, the woman said she'd known Ehrlick since she was in the third grade and the two had been dating. The woman said Ehrlick had raped her in her apartment with a bundle of sharpened colored pencils as well as his penis. During trial, state forensic pathologist Thomas Bennett testified for the defense that he did not see any signs of an attack with sharpened pencils after examining the photos taken by the sexual assault nurse examiner, or SANE. The SANE nurse testified on the first day of the trial the photos did not show all the injuries the woman had. Bennett did note a laceration on the woman's cervix that could have been caused by a pencil. Archer Malmo is acquiring boutique creative agency Combustion. Last June, chief executive Russ Williams prepared to update employees on the acquisition of Austin digital agency Tocquigny. (File photo by Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal) SHARE By Wayne Risher of The Commercial Appeal Memphis advertising and public relations agency Archer Malmo said Friday it expects to complete the purchase of boutique creative agency Combustion by May 31. The acquisition will bump up Archer Malmo's workforce to 205 people in Memphis and Austin, Texas. It follows the purchase last June of Austin agency Tocquigny. Archer Malmo chief executive Russ Williams said the purchase was about adding talent. "Combustion's exceptional creative team led by Billy Riley adds considerable creative strength to the agency." Combustion, which Riley founded in 1997, will remain at 630 S. Cooper in Midtown until a lease expires in July 2017. Archer Malmo is the prime tenant in the Cotton Exchange Building at Union and Front Downtown. Why Kevin Durant called Morant 'the face of our league going forward' Grizzlies By Stephanie Norton of The Commercial Appeal A Memphis attorney is facing charges after he allegedly stole settlement money from two of his clients. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation began investigating George Skouteris in May 2012 at the request of Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich. Agents discovered Skouteris, 54, forged signatures on at least two settlement agreements and two checks, according to at TBI press release. He is charged with two counts of theft over $1,000 and two counts of forgery. Additional charges are possible, officials said. Skouteris was disbarred by the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility in February. SHARE Davin D. Clemons By Daniel Connolly of The Commercial Appeal The Memphis Police Department's LGBTQ liaison has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the department and the city government. The officer, Davin Clemons, argues in the suit that he faced discrimination, harassment and retaliation against him based on his same-sex orientation and his work as police liaison to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. He also argues he faced discrimination based on two other factors: a medical condition that stops him from achieving a clean shave, and his religion he's an elder in a Christian church that he helped found called Cathedral of Praise Church of Memphis. He was named in 2014 to the liaison position, which he does in addition to his other duties. Police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph said Friday that Clemons still serves on the elite TACT unit and that she believed he was still serving as LGBTQ liaison. "We are aware of the lawsuit, however, we are unable to comment on any cases pending litigation," she wrote in an e-mail. Clemons had complained to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, but earlier this year the organization ruled it couldn't demonstrate violations of the law, according to a court document. Clemons had the right to file a lawsuit within 90 days of receipt of the notice, and he filed on May 12. The suit describes many incidents that Clemons says are discriminatory. For instance, he alleges that when he got engaged to another male police officer in November 2015, a group of other officers passed around a social media video of the engagement and made fun of it. Clemons also says he was suspended for three days after a car accident while driving on snow and ice in November 2014, even though other officers involved in similar accidents didn't face the same punishment. He's seeking an injunction against any other discrimination, back pay, attorney's fees and compensatory damages of at least $300,000. The federal lawsuit says Clemons was fired in 2005 and came back to the department in 2008 after a legal battle. The suit doesn't say why he was fired. Clemons had faced a civil lawsuit from a suspect who accused him of inappropriate touching after an August 2003 stop. A federal jury rejected the suspect's claim in 2005. May 20, 2016 - Shelby County Commissioner Walter Bailey, Jr. (left) speaks to Shelby County Sheriff Bill Oldham during a budget and finance committee meeting by the commission. (Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal) SHARE Shelby County sheriff Bill Oldham May 20, 2016 - Shelby County Sheriff Bill Oldham (left) greets SCSO community relations employee Sidney Chism during a Shelby County Commission budget and finance committee meeting. (Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal) By Linda A. Moore of The Commercial Appeal Shelby County Sheriff Bill Oldham presented his budget request to the County Commission's budget and finance committee Friday, including $4.5 million for new hires and new cars. The request breaks down to $3.3 million to hire 30 new sheriff's deputies and $1.2 million for fleet vehicles. Oldham presented the request himself, accompanied by more than 20 members of his staff. He told commissioners his workforce is aging and moving toward retirement. "If they all go out at the same time, it will be devastating," Oldham said. Earlier this week Commissioner Heidi Shafer confronted Juvenile Court Judge Dan Michael after a Department of Justice monitor found conditions in juvenile detention were worse since the sheriff took over operations last July. In 2012, the DOJ entered into a memorandum of agreement with the county and the court, after a three-year investigation found systemic discrimination against African American children. The MOA did not require the sheriff to take over the detention center, which came at Michael's request. On Friday Shafer said she met with staff there and spoke with some DOJ officials "Based upon my meeting (Thursday), I believe the sheriff's department is on the right track," Shafer said. Most commissioners wanted to discuss the violent crime spree plaguing Memphis and what the sheriff could do to address crime. Oldham said it will require commitments from the faith and business communities. Also, "we're seeing a tremendous rise in crimes committed by repeat offenders," Oldham told Commissioner Reginald Milton. Commissioner Melvin Burgess advocated for a metropolitan police force that includes the city of Memphis and the sheriff's office. "It's not about us and them, it's about how can we fight this together," he said. The committee also heard from the Election Commission, which asked for an additional $260,634, an amount that includes $130,000 to replace batteries in voting machines, $72,634 in salaries and benefits for two new hires, funds for training and security cameras. The Election Commission had 20 employees in 2008, but the staff was cut to 14, election Commissioner Norma Lester told the county commissioners. The election commission's budget is $3.7 million, compared with Davidson County, which has a staff of 26 and a proposed budget of $5 million. It spends $12.27 for each of its 10,500 registered voters compared to Shelby County, which spends $6.89 per voter, according to documents presented to the county commissioners. And, the committee was also asked to increase the commission's budget, with an additional $56,840 for one new staff member and pay adjustments for part-time workers. CHEYENNE, Wyo. A man charged with fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend and wounding her boyfriend in Cheyenne has pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness or deficiency. Daniel Guajardo changed his plea last week after initially pleading not guilty to murder and attempted murder in connection with the April 2015 shooting. Guajardo is accused of fatally shooting Janessa Spencer and wounding her boyfriend after breaking into the woman's Cheyenne home. He was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation at the Wyoming State Hospital last year and found competent to stand trial. A court-appointed examiner will now evaluate Guajardo to determine if he had a mental illness or deficiency at the time of the killing. Muriel Bowser (Associated Press) SHARE By Michael Collins of The Commercial Appeal WASHINGTON Washington has become the second city to ban publicly funded travel to Tennessee over the state's controversial new law allowing mental health counselors to deny services to gay, lesbian and transgender clients and others. Mayor Muriel Bowser's order, issued May 11 and published Friday in the city's official legal bulletin, bars all city-funded travel to the Volunteer State on the grounds that the law could be "particularly harmful" to the LGBT community. Official travel to Tennessee is prohibited "to ensure a constant voice in policy and practice in the District of Columbia in favor of equal treatment for all," the order says. The ban will remain in effect until the Tennessee law is "permanently enjoined, repealed or amended." Washington's ban is the latest repercussion for Tennessee over its new law, which Gov. Bill Haslam signed late last month. Last week, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney banned all publicly funded, non-essential travel to Tennessee, saying the law "infringes on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals." The American Counseling Association, which has denounced the law as a "hate bill" against gay and transgender people, canceled its annual conference in Nashville next year in protest of the new law. Syrian refugees await approval to enter Jordan at the Hadalat reception area on the Syrian-Jordanian border, about 320 kilometers (200 miles) northeast of the capital of Amman, Wednesday, May 4, 2016. The commander of Jordan's Border Guard Forces says the number of Syrian refugees amassed in remote desert areas on the Jordanian border and waiting to enter has risen to a new high of 59,000. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) SHARE By Joel Ebert, USA TODAY NETWORK Tennessee Despite having concerns, Gov. Bill Haslam will allow Tennessee to become the first state in the nation to sue the federal government over refugee resettlement on the grounds of the 10th Amendment. On Friday, Haslam announced his decision to allow the measure, which directs Attorney General Herbert Slatery to sue the federal government for noncompliance of the Refugee Act of 1980, to become law without his signature. The federal act was designed to create a permanent procedure for the admission of refugees into the United States. In his explanation, Haslam said the resolution "directs the Attorney General to initiate legal action regarding refugee placements and authorizes the General Assembly to hire outside counsel in the event the Attorney General does not pursue action in this case." "I trust the Attorney General to determine whether the state has a claim in this case or in any other, and I have constitutional concerns about one branch of government telling another what to do. I am returning SJR 467 without my signature and am requesting that the Attorney General clarify whether the legislative branch actually has the authority to hire outside counsel to represent the state. "I also question whether seeking to dismantle the Refugee Act of 1980 is the proper course for our state. Rather, I believe the best way to protect Tennesseans from terrorism is to take the steps outlined in my administration's Public Safety Action Plan, which enhances our ability to analyze information for links to terrorist activity, creates a Cyber Security Advisory Council, restructures our office of Homeland Security, establishes school safety teams, and provides training for active shooter incidents and explosive device attacks." Refugee resettlement has become a hot-button issue throughout Tennessee and the rest of the country as the nation continues to take in people from around the world, including Syrians who have fled their country amid a bloody civil war. Proponents of the measure have argued the lawsuit is necessary because the federal government has failed to consult with Tennessee on the continued placement of refugees. Opponents, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, argue the resolution will negatively affect the state's refugee community and perpetuate a culture of fear. Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, who was among the more outspoken advocates of the resolution, said it is necessary to initiate legal proceedings for declaratory relief given the fact that the federal government has not consulted with the state on the resettlement of refugees. The legislation received wide support in both chambers, with as many as 23 Republicans sponsoring the measure in the Senate. The chamber approved it with a 27-5 vote on Feb. 22. The House voted 69-25 in favor of the resolution on April 19. While considering the resolution, several Democrats and even Haslam, a Republican, questioned a provision in the legislation that allows the legislature to hire outside counsel in the event that the state's attorney general declines to sue the federal government. Attorney General Herbert Slatery has not indicated whether he would follow the legislature's directive. "We are aware of the resolution and will consider it seriously and respectfully," Harlow Sumerford, a spokesman for Slatery's office, told The Tennessean in February. On Thursday, Sumerford elaborated, saying, "Our office continues to review ways to protect the State's interests in this matter. This was certainly the case in December 2014, when we joined the Texas litigation challenging the President's executive action on immigration. Due, in part, to inaction by Congress, there is understandable fear and frustration among many on this issue. Should the resolution become effective, it provides a number of options and we will carefully consider the best option to continue to protect the interests of Tennessee." Sponsors of the measure have indicated the Thomas More Law Center, a nonprofit public interest Michigan-based law firm, will provide free legal services to the state. The law center has been engaged in "fighting the culture war being waged against families by abortionists, pornographers, those against school prayer, those against the Ten Commandments, those against God," according to a testimonial found on the firm's website from Michael Savage of Savage Nation. Former U.S. Rep. Allen West said the law center has initiated and funded more cases "challenging the Stealth Jihad being waged against our Nation." Prior to Haslam announcing his decision, the ACLU and TIRRC encouraged the governor to veto the measure. "Attempting to block refugee resettlement blames refugees for the very terror they are fleeing and erodes our own civil liberties," Hedy Weinberg, ACLU of Tennessee executive director, previously said. "Especially in these times, using fear and misplaced blame to pursue litigation challenges the values of fairness and equal treatment that are at the heart of our constitutional guarantees." Stephanie Teatro, co-executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said the legislature tried to "twist the arm of the attorney general." But Haslam was also lobbied by Norris, who started an online petition, with the headline, "Don't let potential terrorists come to Tennessee," which asks Tennesseans to join in the effort to ask the attorney general to act. While some believed the legislation could not be vetoed by Haslam, the governor's office noted that the state's constitution indicates otherwise because it is actually a joint resolution. At an end-of-session news conference, Haslam said he believed he could veto the measure because it pertained to a substantive matter but declined to say which way he was leaning. Two other states Texas and Alabama have sued the federal government over refugee resettlement, Tennessee's lawsuit will be the first of its kind in that it will be based on the 10th Amendment, which states that the federal government possesses only powers delegated to it by the U.S. Constitution and that all other powers are reserved for the states. While arguing in favor of the resolution, Norris pointed out that although the state opted out of the federal resettlement program in 2008 under then-Gov. Phil Bredesen, the feds have required Tennessee to participate in the program. Although 14 states, including Tennessee and most recently Kansas and New Jersey, have opted out of the federal program, that does not mean refugees are not sent to their states. Instead, voluntary agencies, also known as VOLAGs, have entered into cooperative agreements with the U.S. State Department to coordinate resettlement efforts. In Tennessee, Catholic Charities handles refugee resettlement. Norris has argued that the state is being forced to appropriate funds for as many as 11 programs, including Medicaid, to support refugee resettlement. Catholic Charities has said funding for resettlement comes entirely from the federal government. Beyond the cost issue, another reason advocates have argued for the measure is due to safety concerns about continually allowing refugees to come to Tennessee although Haslam previously said he does not share such concerns. In December, Haslam said the state should not "abandon our values by completely shutting our doors to those who seek the freedom we enjoy." As the measure made its way through the legislature, some lawmakers pointed to the March 22 terrorist attack in Brussels to further that point. "I just don't understand how at this time with all that's going on in the world ... how we could not do everything we can to stop the influx of refugees from countries that we know have ties to terrorism, such as Syria," said Rep. Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin, during a March 22 committee meeting. Between last October and March, only 17 of the 702 refugees, or 2 percent, who were resettled in Tennessee came from Syria, according to statics maintained by Catholic Charities. The vast majority 514 were from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, Somalia and Iraq. Overall, Tennessee was 18th in the nation in terms of the total number of refugees received during that time period, according to federal statistics. Those defending the resettlement program have noted the financial benefit refugees provide to the state. A 2013 report presented to the Joint Government Operations Legislative Advisory Committee determined that refugees and their descendants provided $1.4 billion in revenue for Tennessee between 1990 and 2012, compared with requiring $753 million in state support. Gov. Bill Haslam SHARE By Richard Locker of The Commercial Appeal NASHVILLE Gov. Bill Haslam allowed the bill diverting about $436,000 from the University of Tennessee's office of diversity and inclusion into minority engineering scholarships during the next school year to become law without his signature on Friday. "This bill received considerable debate and discussion during legislative session, and the final form of HB 2248 was revised so that its primary effect is to redirect administrative funding for the Office for Diversity and Inclusion for one year into scholarships for minority engineering students. "Although I do not like the precedent of redirecting funds within a higher education institution's budget, I find the ultimate outcome of the legislation less objectionable and am therefore letting it become law without my endorsement," Haslam said in a message to the legislature. The governor's action comes a day after the University of Washington announced the hiring of UT Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion, Rickey Hall, who has been at the center of controversy and calls to defund his office. He becomes Washington's vice president for the office of minority affairs and diversity and chief diversity officer. House Bill 2248: Reallocates "all funds in the budget of the office of diversity and inclusion" at UT Knoxville for fiscal year 2016-17 into scholarships for minority students in engineering programs. That budget contained about $436,000 in the 2015-16 school year. The UT Board of Trustees has not yet approved budgets for 2016-17. Bans UT from spending state funds "to promote the use of gender neutral pronouns, to promote or inhibit the celebration of religious holidays, or to fund or support sex week," most of which already occurred. The bill has a dual set of roots one growing out of four years of student-sponsored "Sex Week" activities on the Knoxville campus and the other from a newsletter and web posting by the diversity office last year. Republican lawmakers denounced the first Sex Week in 2013, a wide-ranging set of events, programs and discussion panels some with salacious titles on sexuality, preventing sexual assaults and sexually transmitted diseases and other topics, including sexual abstinence. The statehouse outcry prompted UT to pull any state funding from the event, mostly funded with student activities fees and donations. In 2014, after failing to kill Sex Week, lawmakers forced the UT Board of Trustees to let students "opt out" of having a portion of their activity fees used for student programming. More than 80 percent of students have opted in annually since given the option. The event continued in 2015 and this spring, funded by students and donations. Lawmakers were relatively quiet until last August. At the start of fall semester in August, the UT Pride Center's newsletter suggested instructors learn students' preferred names and pronouns to be more inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. The newsletter said not everyone thinks in traditional male-female terms and may not identify with the gender listed for them on class rosters, generated by student information systems. It noted that some prefer pronouns such as "xe," "xym" and "xyr." Conservatives went ballistic, demanded defunding of the diversity office and lawmakers scheduled a Nashville hearing in the fall. As that furor was dying down, the diversity office posted on its website a "Best Practices for Inclusive Holiday Celebrations in the Workplace" memo that suggested but did not require ways to make non-Christian university employees feel welcome at holiday office parties on campus. Most were no different from recommendations from UT administrators in prior years but the web post's suggestions that office parties not be a "Christmas party in disguise" and discouraging an "emphasis on religion and or culture" and "secret Santa exchanges" first set off U.S. Rep. Jimmy Duncan, R-Tenn., who went on TV to charge it was political correctness run amok. At that time, state Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey called for Hall's firing and others called for the resignation of UTK Chancellor Jimmy Cheek. Cheek and UT President Joe DiPietro ordered the posts removed and required the diversity office to get administration approval of potentially controversial web postings. But as the legislative session began in January, Republicans remained outraged and held more hearings. When demands to "defund" diversity programs first surfaced last fall, the discussion revolved around a much larger $19 million figure spent throughout public higher education, including such diversity efforts as scholarships and faculty recruitment. In March, the Senate Education Committee narrowed its focus and recommended taking $8 million only from UT diversity programs. On campus, students protested the actions in Nashville. And UT officials maintained their commitment to diversity efforts. The compromise finally approved by the legislature on April 21 was much narrower, diverting money from the diversity office into scholarships for one year only and banning the use of state funds for sex week, which UT had already done. The House approved the final version 63-21, the Senate 27-3. After the legislative approval, DiPietro issued a statement noting UT administrators hoped their frequent discussions gave lawmakers an understanding of the "need to support and advance a culture of diversity and inclusion on our campuses. "While we appreciate what could have been an $8 million hit being reduced to $436,000, we continue to be concerned about the loss of those important inclusion and diversity programs impacted by this reduction. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion hasn't changed," DiPietro said, adding that he would be working with Cheek on how the campus will "move forward" on the issue. The legislative debate included angry rhetoric directed at UT but also some support for the university's diversity efforts. When Senate Minority Leader Lee Harris, D-Memphis, called the bill a "disproportionately strong" attack on UT, Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, argued that it was only "a slap on the wrist compared to the foolishness that's come out of" the diversity office and said "they're lucky we don't shut that office down" Rep. Joe Armstrong, D-Knoxville, said the bill would hurt UT's efforts "to recruit world-class scholars, world-class athletes, world-class researchers." And Rep. Micah Van Huss, R-Jonesborough, the bill's co-sponsor, said during the House discussion that if the UT administration "doesn't want the Legislature micromanaging, they should clean up their act. Nothing opens the closed mind of an administrator like the sound of a pocketbook snapping shut." SHARE By Eugene Robinson WASHINGTON Bernie Sanders is playing a dangerous game. If he and his campaign continue their scorched-earth attacks against the Democratic Party, they will succeed only in one thing: electing Donald Trump as president. I say this as someone who shares much of Sanders' philosophy; I too, for example, see health care as a basic right. He has run a remarkable and historically significant campaign, pulling the party to the left and pumping it full of new progressive vigor. Most important, he has brought legions of young people into the political process. But he hasn't won the nomination. Hillary Clinton has an insurmountable lead in pledged delegates, earned by her performance in primaries and caucuses. In the aggregate, she leads Sanders by about 3 million votes. The will of the party is clear: More Democrats prefer Clinton over Sanders as their nominee. Instead of accepting this obvious fact, the Sanders campaign is behaving like a 2-year-old who can't have ice cream for breakfast. All along, Sanders and his aides have claimed the party establishment was unfairly tipping the scales in favor of Clinton. Now the Sanders people have gone further and are deliberately stoking anger and a sense of grievance less against Clinton than the party itself. This is reckless in the extreme, and could get Trump elected. I do not believe I am being alarmist. The conventional wisdom holds that Trump's astronomically high disapproval numbers should make him unelectable. His misogyny turns off women; his bigoted immigration stance repels Hispanics; his shoot-from-the-lip temperament disturbs voters concerned about national security. On paper, this should be a cakewalk for any Democrat with a pulse. In this election cycle, however, the conventional wisdom has been consistently wrong. It didn't see the Trump phenomenon coming. It thought Jeb Bush would be the GOP nominee, or maybe Marco Rubio. It viewed Sanders as just a fringe candidate. The Real Clear Politics poll average has Clinton narrowly leading Trump, 45.8 percent to 42.5 percent; a Fox News poll released Wednesday showed Trump with a slight lead. At this point in a presidential year, general-election polls usually don't mean much. And yes, Democrats have a built-in Electoral College advantage. But it would be foolish not to plan for a tight contest in which every vote counts. Clinton is a better campaigner than many people give her credit for, but she has two major vulnerabilities Trump will seek to exploit: Many people do not find her trustworthy, and she has been a leading member of the political establishment for decades. Trump's central flaw is much more serious: He is completely unfit for the job of president and could do great damage to the nation both domestically and internationally. But clearly many Americans are in an anti-establishment mood. The question is whether they are so disgusted with traditional politics and politicians that they will cross their fingers and take a flier on Trump. I hope not. But the Democratic nominee will be all that stands between Trump and the Oval Office. It is possible to believe Clinton would be far from an ideal president and also believe she must be elected because Trump would be an unthinkable disaster. Given this context, Sanders and his campaign are being shamefully irresponsible. Rather than accept defeat, they claim loudly that the party's nominating process was rigged against them. They display a degree of entitlement they have not earned. They rail against "unfair" and "undemocratic" party processes unless they work in Sanders' favor. So party conventions such as the one last weekend in Nevada, at which Sanders tried and failed to win a couple of extra delegates through parliamentary maneuvering are bad. But holding caucuses, which have limited participation, instead of primaries is good, because Sanders did very well in caucus states. Sanders has every right to continue his campaign until the nominee is officially chosen at the convention. But if he means it when he says he will do everything in his power to keep Trump from being elected, he has to do more than just modulate his rhetoric against Clinton. He and his campaign must stop attacking the Democratic Party in a way that might discourage voters in the fall. I mean right now. This is serious. Contact Eugene Robinson at eugenerobinson@washpost.com. Bill Clinton should be the next first dude. That was the resounding opinion of the roughly 400 people who packed into a hot gymnasium at Will James Middle School here on Friday night to hear the former president speak in support of his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "It's great to be back in Montana, he told the crowd. I love it here." In an hour-long speech, the former president worked to highlight the differences between Clinton and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Over and over he repeated walls versus bridges, saying while Trump wants to put up a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, Clinton will build bridges between the U.S. and other countries and for citizens as a path to a better life. Now the bridge crowd, thats Hillary, but that crowds not naive, he said. The former secretary of state has the experience to navigate a world that includes threats from terrorism both homegrown and foreign, he said. You can build a wall across the Rio Grande River and here we are in Montana, theres a lot of foreigners in Montana from Canada, he said to laughter. If youre no dummy, bridges work better than walls. Clinton's experience was something people who attended the event cited over and over as the reason for their support. Waylon Bighead, 38, is from Crow Agency. He said Clinton has the "know-how to get things done. As much as I love Bernie, I think she has more experience." Jon Schneider, 26, traveled from Bozeman. He echoed Bighead's endorsement, saying Clinton's experience put her ahead of Sanders. "This is the closest rally we're going to get," he said. Schneider drove over with David Swedman, also 26. "She's good for LGBT issues," he said. "I feel as a gay man she speaks to my minority group." Clinton repeatedly emphasized how well America is doing. He said the country has the best economy in the world and 90 percent of people now have health care, a statement that was met with huge applause. Trump is playing on the fears of a struggling middle class that hasnt seen pay raises in years, he said, but that isnt the way to fix problems. The truth is the way it used to be wasnt so hot for a lot of people Native Americans, African Americans, first-generation Americans, he said. He hit on a big Montana issue infrastructure and said by making sensible investments there and in clean power and manufacturing, the country could create all the jobs it needs. He also called for more loans from the Small Business Administration to rural communities across the country. One of the few times the former president tried to draw a line in the sand between his wife and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, her opponent in the Democratic primary, was on affordable college education. Hillary Clinton, he said, would increase Pell grants, bolster work study opportunities, give people who served in AmeriCorps for two years and then did another year of public service $23,500 tax free to get rid of their debt and allow people to refinance college loans. I think debt-free college and manageable debt is a more productive way to achieve this goal than Sanders plan to eliminate college tuition, he said. Clinton met with tribal leaders before the event and devoted a chunk of the speech to issues in Indian Country. William Snell, executive director of the the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leadership Council, which met in Billings earlier Friday, said they discussed economic development and how it relates to natural resources. State Rep. Rae Peppers, D-Lame Deer, said she wasn't a part of the tribal leaders meeting but hoped to talk with Clinton about Native issues. She said schools are underfunded and need more support from the federal government. She said her son is a veteran and she also wanted to discuss problems at the VA. Peppers said she is supportive of what Sanders has been saying, and she attended his Billings rally, too. Hillary Clinton, her husband said, would give tax credits for people who invest in places that have high poverty rates and low incomes and would treat drug problems that ravage reservations like a public health issue. Clinton made several Montana-specific references. He said when Democrat Ted Schwinden was governor, he was so open and transparent he published his schedule every day and the public could sit in on meetings. He compared that to Trump, who he criticized for not releasing his tax return. Rep. Margie MacDonald, D-Billings, told a story about Hillary Clinton before the speech. MacDonald said she was making dinner one night in 1996 when the doorbell rang. It was a package, a book sent from and written by Hillary Clinton, autographed with a handwritten note. In the book, "It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us," Clinton referenced the Not In Our Town Campaign that happened in Billings after a series of hate crimes. "Clinton has stood strong for our children, our family and our elders for decades," MacDonald said. "And she will not give up or back down on that powerful mission." McDonald said the gesture shows how Clinton "pays attention to what is happening in this country." Montana GOP spokesman Shane Scanlon said Friday that "no sweet talking from Bill can cover up Hillary's anti-coal agenda that will put thousands of Montanans out of work, or her efforts to take away our right to keep and bear arms." Clinton's stop is one of several before Montana's primary June 7. Sanders made appearances in Billings and Missoula on May 11. Trump will speak at the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark at 4 p.m. on May 26. Tickets are available through the campaign website, www.donaldjtrump.com. Earlier Friday, Bill Clinton spoke in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Fargo, N.D. Clinton's last Billings visit was in May 2008 in support of his wife's first campaign for her party's presidential nomination. Hillary Clinton leads Sanders in pledged delegates, with 1,768 to 1,494; 2,383 are needed to win the nomination. A majority of the 714 superdelegates have declared support for Clinton, though they can switch candidates up until the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia on July 25-28. Montana is one of several states that hold their primary on June 7, including California, New Jersey and New Mexico.There are 27 Democratic delegates at stake. Microsoft yesterday said it will introduce changes in this summer's Windows 10 Anniversary Update to simplify switching from Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) to Edge, and back. The changes will be aimed at enterprises, the only customer group Microsoft recommends running IE11 in the new operating system. "We recognize that some enterprise customers have line-of-business applications built specifically for older web technologies, which require Internet Explorer 11," the company said in a Thursday post. Previously, Microsoft included "Enterprise Mode" in Windows 10, a feature that lets an IT staff limit IE11's operation to specific legacy websites or web apps. Starting with the Anniversary Update -- Microsoft's name for the one major upgrade it will deliver for 10 this year -- the "interstitial" page, one that pops up between running Edge and IE11 when Enterprise Mode kicks in, will vanish. Currently, a switch from Edge to IE11 opens a page that states, "This website needs Internet Explorer 11" before IE11 fires up. With the Anniversary Update, the interstitial will no longer appear: IE11 will simply open atop Edge when the user steers to a site or app on the Enterprise Mode whitelist. The same no-interstitial-page behavior will take place when a worker running IE11 types in an URL that is not on the list: Edge will open without a pause. Microsoft will also introduce a new group policy for IE11 that will limit the browser's use to only those sites on the whitelist, barring users from running IE11 for the bulk of their browsing. "Enabling this setting automatically opens all sites that are not included in the Enterprise Mode Site List in Microsoft Edge," Microsoft said. IE and Edge have a rapidly-shrinking share of the browser market, but the former will remain important to businesses with older apps and customized internal sites, which unless rewritten will require the older browser. Together, IE and Edge were run by 41.3% of the world's users in April, a new low that dropped Microsoft into second place behind Google's Chrome browser. For all its emphasis on Edge, Microsoft has seen the new browser struggle to retain users. Windows 10's Anniversary Update does not yet have a definitive launch date, but most expect it to ship this summer, perhaps on or near the July 29 one-year date of the OS's debut. Apples iPads may be the future of computing, but they already offer an array of tricks to make them even more effective Post PC replacements. Folders Most iOS users know how to gather apps inside specific folders because doing so makes it much easier to manage large collections. However, some iPad users may not have realized that they can have up to six apps included in the grey pervasive app strip at the bottom of the page and even fewer will know that you can also include folders full of apps in this place, making them much easier to find. To put a folder containing apps (Work apps, for example), just tap and hold its icon on the Home screen until all the apps begin to shake, then drag & drop it to the strip. Now youll be able to get to that collection of apps really easily. Search the page You can search for a mention on the contents of a Web page using this tip. When on a page in the search bar type the mention you are looking for but dont hit Go, instead scroll down the contextual search suggestions window that appears and look for the On This Page section, under which youll find the term you seek. Select this and every mention will be highlighted on the page and youll be able to navigate through them using a new menu that appears at the bottom of the screen. Switch between apps fast You dont need to return to the Home screen and then find an app youve been using. It is so much easier to place four fingers on your display and simply swipe left or right to navigate through all the active apps on your tablet, or swipe up (again with four fingers) get to the App Switcher view (or double click the Home Button) where your iPad will show you all your currently active apps in a carousel view, just flick through to the one you need (or close an app by swiping its window up). #Tip: Or ask Siri to open the app you want to use. More multitasking Split screen view and the capacity to run multiple apps sets modern iPads apart. While using one app you can open another in a sidebar at the edge of the screen by swiping in from the right until the list of compatible apps appear and selecting one of these. Now the app is running you can drag its window leftwards to give it more space, or tap the grey strip at the top of that apps window to scroll through other active apps. You can also pinch four fingers together (slowly is fun) to close the active app and return to the homescreen Virtual touchpad Have you ever been working in a text app and wished you had a cursor on your iPad? You have, but its a virtual one and is available to you whenever you have a visible keyboard in an app. When you do simply place two fingers on the on-screen keyboard and the keyboard section of the screen will become blank. Once it does youll be able to move that cursor round the text on the screen. Perhaps the best (and least used) additional feature in this is selection mode, which you get to by placing your two fingers on the on-screen keyboard and keeping them still for a second or two look at the screen and youll see two circles appear top and bottom of the on-screen cursor. Now you can select text with that cursor. To be honest the process is a little trickier than that you need to place your cursor at the beginning or end of text you wish to select before entering selection mode, after which you can select the text you want). Once youve selected some text you can tap it in the usual way to access edit functions. Undo Made an error in text entry? You can shake your iPad to undo the mistake, or tap the strange square and left-turning arrow at the left of the auto-correct suggestions bar to get rid of your error. PiP When you are watching a movie or using FaceTime you can minimize the video window by pressing the home button so you can use apps effectively on screen. Lost and found If you use your iPad in a busy home or a crowded office then you should already be using this tip, which lets you get your iPad to make a sound if you happen to bury it under a pile of magazines or papers or something. You achieve this using a function offered by Find My iPhone, which you enable in Settings>iCloud, Toggle Find My iPhone to On (green). You will need to enter your Apple ID and password. Now when you cant find your iPad you just need to log into iCloud from any computer or device, choose the Find iPhone command, select your device from the drop-down menu at the top of the screen and choose the Play Sound command from the options at the right. Google+? If you use social media and happen to be a Google+ user, why not join AppleHolic's Kool Aid Corner community and join the conversation as we pursue the spirit of the New Model Apple? Want Apple TV tips? If you want to learn how to get the very best out of your Apple TV, please visit my Apple TV website. Got a story? Drop me a line via Twitter or in comments below and let me know. I'd like it if you chose to follow me on Twitter so I can let you know when fresh items are published here first on Computerworld. A version of the background to Conservative MPs tabling an amendment to the Queens Speech in which some of them may not believe and to the Government accepting this same amendment by which it is not convinced is as follows. Earlier this week, the Daily Mail splashed on a letter from Rupert Soames, the CEO of Serco, to the Prime Minister following a meeting between them. The letter confirmed that the latter had been suggesting one thing in public (that Britain might leave the EU) while saying another in private (that business should prepare for a Remain campaign that he would support). Boris Johnson, never prone to use an understatement when an overstatement will do, described these proceedings as the biggest stitch-up since the Bayeux tapestry. The revelation was obviously inconvenient to Downing Street, to put it mildly, which then, first, threw a dead cat on the table to distract the media and, second, threatened a leak enquiry. Michael Heseltine is the dead cat or perhaps dead lion in question though the 83-year old former Deputy Prime Minister and leadership challenger to Margaret Thatcher is very far from a being a stiff. Boris, said Heseltine, had crossed the bounds of domestic debate and people in the Party will question whether he now has the judgement [to be a future party leader]. The latter was referring to some pungent remarks made by Boris earlier that week which managed to combine the EU and Hitler in the same sentence. The media duly hared off after the battle of the blonds, and the Serco story died a broadcast death. (One of the biggest problems the Leave campaign is having is getting a hearing on broadcast, especially on ITV: a letter it organised from 300 business leaders for Brexit gained little projection on TV). Meanwhile, Number Ten according to this account of events blamed Michael Gove for leaking the letter, a claim that he strongly denies. This gambit coincided with a sense among Conservative Leave campaigners that the Downing Street-orchestrated campaign is preparing to take the gloves off when biffing its opponents, not working to deny at best and actually aiding at worst hostile media inquiries about their business and private lives. Hence Steve Bakers article on this site yesterday morning, urging Number Ten to stop these nasty personal attacks, the writing of which, though undoubtedly a gain for this site, would otherwise be a bit of a mystery. And hence, too, the amendment to the Queens Speech, tabled by Peter Lilley and Paula Sherriff, a Labour MP, respectfully [regretting] that a Bill to protect the National Health Service from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership was not included in the Gracious Speech. Labour and SNP combined to promise support for the amendment. Defeat loomed for the Government. The last time a government lost a vote on an amendment to the Queens Speech it had to resign (in 1924, for those who are interested). And so it is, returning to where we began, that the Government accepted an amendment to the Queens Speech by which it is not convinced and which may have been supported by some Tory MPs who dont believe in it either but are so angry with Downing Streets conduct that they were prepared to back it. Now it should be added that this version of events may not be right in some respects, including some of those that matter most. For example, Heseltine needs no urging from Number 10 to take up his battle-chipped sword on behalf of a cause to which he has a religious attachment. Those Conservative Leave supporters might well have tabled the amendment anyway. Furthermore, David Cameron would probably not have had to resign had the amendment been carried. None the less, one certainty can be glimpsed amidst this swirling fog other than the commonsense observation that relations between Downing Street and some Tory Leave-backing MPs is very bad indeed. It is about Peter Lilley, who has previously written at length on this site about why the NHS needs, in his view, to be protected from the effects of the TTIP. His main objection is to the role of supranational tribunals in its workings. We should question whether ISDS tribunals are necessary, reject the 20-year stabilisation clause and insist on excluding the NHS from the treaty (as France has excluded movies), he said. Lilleys position on the matter might seem odd, given his reputation as a free marketeer. But it isnt. Strange though the news may be to some, the former Cabinet Minister is a long-time champion of the NHS. Indeed, his support for it cost him his post as Deputy Leader of the Party under William Hague. A brief account of what happened is as follows. Lilley delivered a lecture arguing that the free market has only a limited role in improving public services an exposition of his long-held view and an exploration of early modernisation. Most Conservatives have always accepted that the public services are intrinsically unsuited to replacement by universal delivery through the free market, he told his audience, before turning specifically to the NHS and shredding the case for an insurance-based system instead. Cue outrage from some of his colleagues and from the right-of-centre papers in Fleet Street. Shortly afterwards, William Hague axed Lilley as Deputy Leader and sacked him from the Shadow Cabinet. Speculation at Westminster suggested Mr Lilley had been axed, though the party insisted he had simply stepped down, the Guardian reported. He sparked an internal party row earlier this year by apparently seeking to realign Tory policy on the public services away from the Thatcher years. So there you it. Far from being a johnny-come-lately to the cause of defending the NHS, support for it once cost Peter Lilley his job. HELENA A judge will hear arguments next week on whether he should stay a portion of his ruling on Montana's campaign contribution limits that would allow political parties to make unlimited donations to candidates. U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell set a hearing on the Montana Department of Justice's motion for Tuesday, just two weeks before the June 7 primary elections. Lovell ruled this week that the campaign contribution limits approved by Montana voters in 1994 are unconstitutionally low. State officials reverted to pre-1994 limits for individual donors and political committees, but said they could not do the same for political parties because the 1994 initiative actually increased the amount parties could contribute. State officials say that means there are no limits on the amount that parties can donate, and the loophole must be closed. Close Apple iPhone 7 Release Date, Specs, Price Update: New reports suggest Apple is planning to launch not two but three iPhone 7 variants this year. According to tech blog site Mobipicker, citing information from an anonymous source, the iPad maker will release three iPhone 7 models including an iPhone 7, an iPhone 7 Plus and an iPhone 7 Pro or Plus Premium. The reports claims that, Apple device makers Foxconn and Pegatron have already increased their workforce in order to meet production demand for the three iPhone 7 variants, according to CNET. Until now, it was rumored that the iPhone 7 would be launched alongside a Plus variant just like the previous two flagship iPhone iterations. However, now, the report about a third iPhone 7 variant raises questions as to what extra features the handset would offer as compared to the other variants. While the Cupertino hasn't officially announced anything about specifications of the upcoming iPhone, CEO Tim Cook, in a recent interview, was quoted saying that the company is certainly doing all they can to bring a new iPhone that will compel people to upgrade to the new phone. "We've got great innovation in the pipeline. New iPhones that will incentivize you and other people [who] have iPhones today to upgrade to new iPhones," Cook said during the interview, reported The Christian Times. "We are going to give you things you can't live without that you just don't know you need today. That has always been the objective of Apple. To do things that really enrich people's lives. That you look back on and you wonder how did I live without this." The new iPhone 7 is expected to get released in September if in case Apple follows its normal release schedule. We advise our readers to take the iPhone 7 specification rumors with a grain of salt as the iPhone maker is yet to announce what it has in store. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close The premature disclosure of Android N was further beefed-up recently by the introduction of new features in Google's latest mobile operating system. According to The Verge, Android N has a fair share of latest features that can presently put it some distance against its mobile OS platform rival Apple iOS. Four of these featured features have not yet been established by the iOS platform but will be a part of Google's fall release. Split-screen capability Android N takes it up a notch with split-screen capabilities for both phones and tablets - a feature which has been limited in Samsung and LG handsets, however Google's mobile OS platform gives you native split-screen viewing pleasure. Apple also as split-screen capabilities but only limited to the iPad for iOS 9. The feature can be accessed by holding down the task-switching button. Instant Apps: Instant Apps which has not yet been countered by an iOS version gives you a chance to access certain apps without having to download and install said apps. This is especially useful for digital payment transactions, where you can pay with Android Pay instead of whatever system the app would have made you use. Currently, there isn't an equivalent on iOS. Updated Doze: Google's battery-saving feature, Doze, debuted on Android Marshmallow and snoozes background computing when your phone is not in use and stays totally still. But with N there's Doze on the Go, which does the same thing except it also works when your phone is in motion, like when it's inside your pocket sitting idle. With iOS, there is a low-power mode, but it doesn't work as automatically as Doze on the Go -- you have to toggle it on yourself. Google Assistant: The new Assistant software will let you take part in a more natural back-and-forth dialogue with the Android device than you can with Apple's Siri, in order to get things done, like research a restaurant and make a reservation through OpenTable. What do you think of these latest features? Hit us below with your comments! See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close Scientists have uncovered a trove of tiny glass beads they call spherules, particles that turned into vaporized remnants resulting from an asteroid that may have hit the earth 3.46 billion years ago. The size of the asteroid is believed to be somewhere around 12 to 18 miles (20 to 30 kilometers) wide, the impact of which would have been Apocalyptic. The size was based on the analysis made on the spherules. All these were uncovered by Andrew Glikson and Arthur Hickman from the Australian National University. "The impact would have triggered earthquakes orders of magnitude greater than terrestrial earthquakes. It would have caused huge tsunamis and would have made cliffs crumble," said Andrew Glikson. If true, this means that the alleged asteroid may have been bigger than the one that wiped out the dinosaur species 66 million years ago. While drilling for the Geological Survey of Western Australia, the two obtained drilling cores from some of the oldest known sediments on Earth. They were found in a place called the Marble Bar, preserved in a sediment layer originally on the ocean floor. Glikson believes that the asteroid was the second oldest when lined up to the other ones that may have hit the earth. The fact that the particles were found sandwiched in between two volcanic layers helped scientists to arrive at the precise date. When the spherules were tested, they were found to contain a mix of elements that included platinum, nickel and chromium which are incidentally the same ones found in asteroids. Glikson is no stranger when it comes to finding answers tied up with ancient impacts. He has been trotting the world for over 20 years and coming across the spherules, he had the immediate suspicion that something big landed on earth from space. While claiming it was the second oldest asteroid to hit the earth, other similar ones may have occurred but have yet to be discovered since asteroid craters from the period had been obliterated by volcanic activity and tectonic movements. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Weve only found evidence for 17 impacts older than 2.5 billion years, but there could have been hundreds, says Glikson. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close A psychiatrist in Georgia who is charged with three counts of felony murder is dubbed as "Dr Death" for having been associated with deaths of 36 patients. The doctor is also charged with 59 counts of unauthorized distribution of pain medicine after the alleged death of 12 patients that became the victims of medicine overdose. Initially, the 57-year-old psychiatrist, Narendra Nagareddy was arrested in January for overdose death of 29-year-old Audrey Austin. Nagareddy, who was bailed later, was kept under house arrest until he was taken back into police custody on Tuesday under few other charges. "Dr Death" is charged for the death of Robinson, 49, and Cheryl Pennington 47, two other patients of Nagareddy that allegedly died of medicine overdose. It is reported that in a period of 11 months till July 2015, Nagareddy has prescribed 500 times the amount of medicine oxycodone prescribed by any psychiatrist in Southern Regional Medical Center. It is also noted that post-mortem reports of about 12 patients of Nagereddy were confirmed to have died of prescription drug overdoses. "In all, federal authorities say 36 of Nagareddy's patients died while he was prescribing them controlled substances, including oxycodone, methadone, hydrocodone, and amphetamine. Authorities declined to give information on the causes of death for 24 patients," according to CBS News. According to the court, as per WGCL report the psychiatrist wasn't taking good care of the patients at his Jonesboro office. It is also reported that patients were prescribed of drugs without analyzing previous health history, prescription records, X-rays or MRI scans. However, the doctor who maintains his innocence stand till date has reported that he is an innocent man and pleaded authorities to understand that he takes care of severely mentally sick patients. "Mike Jones told the station that his wife, Cheryl Pennington, and son were both patients of the doctor," reported Mail Online. "I had no idea that our son had never been tested or anything. He was just given prescriptions. The doctor in the ER flat out told me that her liver was just completely shot from years of pain medication, and come to (find) out, he was the one giving her pain medicine, he added," noted the report. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Compartmentalized Thinking Syndrome Is A Threat To The Future By Linda Chhakchhuak 20 May, 2016 Countercurrents.org The world trade is not growing anymore and is facing a subdued and uncertain outlook. So who do they look to for saving them? According to the head of the United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)-SSWA, Dr Nagesh Kumar, they are looking at the borderland regions of the world where high poverty reigns to give them a fresh lease on the high rails. One of these regions is identified as the Eastern South Asia (ESA) and it includes the north east region of India. ESA where poverty is high is attractive for its latent potential for development, he said at the Economic Cooperation Dialogue in Eastern South Asia held in Shillong, Meghalaya last month (April 2016). This puts the people of the region smack in the eye of a global economic scramble for natural resources. International organizations and corporates have already cased out the area and have entered in a big way, aided by the well known banksters, including the old hands, the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The meet jointly held by the UNESCAP, North Eastern Council (a wing of the Union Ministry for the Development of North East Region-DONER) and the Government of Meghalaya is the third in a series. This is just one of the meetings of dozens of other business/development summits held in recent years aimed at transforming the north east region by opening up the area to the neighboring countries, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar for trade. The Dialogue thrashed out the trade pacts, agreements, and the numerous inter-country connectivity projects of rail, road and waterways, development of border economic zones etc which have been discussed over the years and decades and are being implemented now. Since the audience consisted only of Government servants and government consultants, the discussions sailed ahead in easy bonhomie. What holds the attention however at this stage, (might as well call it the post-capitalist environmental crisis stage), is that such plans for the NE region begs many questions when juxtaposed with many dire warnings on the failing eco-systems of the earth. Many of these warnings come, not from the fringe conspiracy theorists, but are studies churned out by none other than the UN sponsored bodies and its wings. Grandiose plans may have been acceptable even as late as the early nineties, but such nature gobbling projects at a time when the growing data and knowledge points to the depleting earth exhibits the compartmentalized mental state of leaders, economic experts and elite planners. Surely, the signs obviously call for a scale down, spreading the available wealth, nurturing the Earth for sustainability and not continue to scale up mega operations. At the opposite end of the UN activities in the northeast region are the numerous northeast based activists who have been sponsored over the decades for various international conferences and trainings in the various United Nations forums on the rights of the Indigenous peoples. Their collective voice for the promotion of the indigenous way of life (if it exists in the north east region) is yet to make any mark in the politics of the region or at such Business/Development Summits where it is most needed to publicly break the walls of complacency in these elitist gatherings.. The first question is, is NE India a high poverty region? What standards should be taken to measure poverty here where large tracts of the seven states that make up the region are not covered under the governmental administration? A large section of people are more or less living on their own and fending for themselves, despite the low money income in governmental language of GDP terms. On what are they living and subsisting? Their region is part of one of the mega-biodiversity regions of the Earth. In fact the whole ESA region is. This in itself demands the highest priority of protection as it is one of the last vestiges of gene pools still existing in a construction razed world. It holds one of natures last vestiges of pristine forests and fresh water sources. Added to this is that the region houses a record number of tribes, communities and ethnicities with their unique culture and traditional knowledge of living with nature. Respected scientific studies warn of mass extinctions and this area is included as more and more of the landmass is exploited. Many of the projects, the UNESCAP meeting discussed is causing misery on the ground in north east region whether it is Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal, Nagaland, Meghalaya or Sikkim. The UNESCAP meet glibly talked about duplicating the success of the ADB sponsored Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) here. But they failed to mention that the GMS has wholesale displaced the people and neighborhoods, and destroyed landscapes in its project areas without blinking an eye. Just recently, a study released by an Indonesian NGO, in the run up to the 50 anniversary of the ADB, shows the devastating impacts of ADB and World Bank Group support for secretive and opaque financial intermediaries to promote mega-infrastructure projects and the shocking lack of public consultation and disclosure, the risk of mass impoverishment, irreversible environmental damage... Indigenous people are supposed to have a nature friendly philosophy of living, but that is a fable in the NE India. At the UNESCAP meeting Dr Mukul Sangma, chief minister of Meghalaya, one of the so called Tribal States of India, used horrible imagery to explain the north east region and why the rulers want to change it to their own image. He said that the worlds economy has slowed down as global growth is saturated having used up their natural resources. In this scenario it is this region which offers virgin land with untapped natural resources, Sangma said, comparing the regions state of economy to an infant which needs feeding to grow into an adult. This according to him is the purpose of mega plans and mega projects. Sangma, like the other proponents of the unending growth model, seems to be suffering from a serious case of the CTS. He swooned over the fact that Meghalaya had bagged a place of pride as one of the top tourist destinations of the world in a high profile survey thanks to the presence of the bridges of living roots of trees, which the local people used to cross the mountain streams in the state. These, he said are products which helped to sell the state to the world, urging Meghalayans to create more such wonderful products. But, the simple fact is that these living root bridges are the result of centuries of harmonious living with nature. How long would these living roots bridges last given the kind of business he expects it to generate in terms of tourist footfalls, is a query he stops short of. Implementing mega plans based on exploitation of nature is not going to be a smooth ride for the Government and the banks even in the development starved north east as people have realized that these projects and programs are not about creating a better life for the people in the vicinity of the natural resource. The struggle is most terribly obvious in the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh, Orissa and the adjoining states where the Government is unabashedly using state violence to strip their citizens to feed their corporate ambitions. In the north eastern region similar struggles and peoples movements has been going on unfocused by the metro-media. The most recent flare up was in Tawang District of Arunachal Pradesh where two anti-dam activists were killed by police who fired into a crowd of protesters. It got wide coverage in media mainly because of its location being within the area claimed by China. Leaders like Meghalaya CM Sangma believe that those who question his kind of thinking are creating hopelessness and insecurity, in common peoples minds and this view continues to gain currency promoted as it is by the mainstream media. The reality is that it is leaders like him who are reminiscent of the Pied Piper of Hamlin, leading the innocent over the cliff to their doom while the ruling class lives on their common properties. The region, already a battlefield of varied interests, is now in the final stage of being taken over by the state armed-capitalist gods, ie unless the people wake up to the reality and unitedly resist. (the writer is an independent journalist based in Shillong, Meghalaya) The African Children's Choir will be in Red Lodge and Billings Sunday for a pair of high-energy concerts. The 18-member choir will perform at 11 a.m. at the Red Lodge Veteran's Memorial Civic Center and at 7 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 2800 Fourth Ave. N., in Billings. The concerts are free, but a freewill offering will be taken. The choir is made up of 11 boys and 7 girls, ages 7 to 10, who come from Uganda, said choir manager Tina Sipp. The youngsters are on a 10-month West Coast Tour, which includes Washington, Oregon, Montana, the Dakotas, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Texas. Watching the children wearing colorful costumes, dancing and singing upbeat songs appeals to people of all ages, Sipp said. The 70-80-minute performance includes children's songs, traditional spirituals and gospel favorites. "Nobody ever is sorry that they've gone to a concert," she said. The African Children's Choir is a nonprofit humanitarian and relief organization dedicated to helping Africa's most vulnerable children so they can, in turn, help Africa in the future. Participating in the choir yields many incredible benefits, Sipp said. Youngsters chosen to perform are guaranteed an all-expenses-paid education up through college. During their year as part of the choir they have the opportunity to read, write and speak in English, a huge advantage in a country that's a former British colony, Sipp said. "All of their testing is in English," she said. "So without English, you're not going to do very well." Two choirs are on tour at the present time. The other one is performing in the United Kingdom. In the 32 years Music for Life, the choir's parent organization, has been in existence, 45 choirs featuring about 1,000 youngsters have traveled the world. The children in the choir touring Montana were selected last fall and then went through five months of training. They arrived at a center in Kampala and went to school, as well as studied music, choreography, singing and drumming. They developed a routine that includes all of those activities, as well as meals, play time and devotions with staff members. "It's a schedule they pretty much replicate on tour," Sipp said. "It's a combination of life skills, music study, schooling and discipleship." At the choir travels from city to city, the children and staff are housed by churches in the towns they visit. It's a nice opportunity for an exchange of culture, she said, and it boosts their confidence, interacting with lots of different people. And children are exposed to many possibilities of what they can do with their lives. "Being exposed to so many different scenarios and opportunities, the vision that's cast is huge," Sipp said. "And they know their education is paid, so they can think about those kinds of careers." Growth And Its Discontents : Why India's Excellent Growth Story Is Gloomy By Ajaz Ahmad Rather 20 May, 2016 Countercurrents.org Now that even ten states have ultimately though rather reluctantly declared drought, celebrations at excellent growth for Indian economy seems quite sadist. The IMFs projections of around seven and half percent growth instead of being a strength represents weak aspects in the growth dynamics of India. From a public perspective it is based on relative exclusion of the majority. And if it continues without any dependence on such a vast labour resource, it's prospects of benefiting masses would definitely be curtailed. In such a situation this crony capitalism will not only be a policy failure, but a deep blow to the democratic spirit and people centric claim of the Indian republic. On May 5, finance minister's remarks exactly represents this misplaced euphoria, "economy which had been expanding on strength of public investment, highest foreign direct investment (FDI) and urban demand, can grow faster if rural demand is added". He appended the latter in the context of the predictions for better monsoon this year. What renders this excellent growth story, despite occurring in gloomy and challenging global economic conditions, a less worthy of celebration phenomenon is the severely limiting factors, both in its source as well as distributive side, that confront it. Important dimensions need deep rethinking for long terms policy appropriateness. Some of the important unaddressed problems we briefly take up here. The first is that even when agriculture is disastrously failing in India how come it was possible that growth of that magnitude would occur? After new agriculture policy initiated in mid 2000s, the situation in agriculture improved and growth for the following decade reached almost four percent, almost double than the previous decade. However, the dependence on rainwater and monsoon remained almost the same, and any disaster preparedness was never taken seriously. Consequently, as rains failed, the situation deteriorated. In fact the statistics show that growth in 2014-15 has been minus 0.2 percent. The situation has deteriorated sharply thereafter and the current year is proving to be the worst. Not only in 2014 and 2015 the southwest monsoon failed but even unseasoned rain and hailstorms over large parts of north, west and central India in spring 2015 led to two consecutive draughts and three back to back crop failures across large parts of India. It is well known that agriculture and industrial sector have linkages and a deterioration in one does make a trailing impact on the other, particularly in a less industrialised and high agriculture depended economy. However, Indian agriculture seem to be increasingly playing a neutral role in its growth story. It is well known that majority of people in the economy dependent upon agriculture as prime means of their livelihood. In fact, the latest employment-unemployment survey recorded a reduction in such dependence but still no less than half of the work force banks of agriculture. If fifty percent of the workforce fails to produce anything substantial and growth still happens, should it be looked as good for the economy in any real sense, unless the design of growth allows their exclusion. And if growth occurs independent of them, their possibility of benefitting from it stands already compromised. This structured exclusion of the majority and independence of growth from them is one of dark most aspects of the Indian high economic growth. Another important issue is that the recent economic growth has been relatively employment inelastic. While agriculture has severely failed and those dependent on it are more than willing to shift to other sectors, the way growth is taking place, there seems to be no or heavily compromised space for them. As per the Economic Survey, the growth rate of labour force during 2001 to 2011 was 2.23 percent in comparison to the 1.4 percent growth rate of employment. Further employment elasticity of growth has shown progressive deterioration in from the first decade of the current century. As per the twelfth five year plan document of planning commission "the employment elasticity in India in the last decade declined from 0.44 in the first half of the decade 19992000 to 200405, to as low as 0.01 during second half of the decade 200405 to 200910." The overall employability of the economy has lately weakened even more sharply. For example, the employment creation in eight labour intensive industries of textile, leather, metals, automobiles, gems and jewellery, transport, IT/BPO, and handloom/power loom for which quarterly surveys are carried out since October 2008 has reached a low ebb in first three quarters of 2015. In 2009 these industries created 8.89 lakh jobs with best record of 9.30 lakh in 2011. Even during 2014 employment creation was 4.21 lakh. However, for first three quarters of 2015, it has reduced to 1.55 lakh only which may turn out to be around 2 lakh for the entire year, less than half of the previous year. The gravity of the employment challenge become more pronounced when one considers President Pranab Mukherjee statement who in March this year said that India needs to create 115 million non-farm jobs over next decade. The higher growth could still be considered good from a welfare perspective if the either creation of jobs in public sector was huge or provision of public amenities would become accessible and affordable for most of the people. However, both tend to move in opposite direction. While public sector jobs have absolutely decreased after reforms, there is an increasing pressure on the curtailment of public provision of goods and service as well. In fact the ascendence of Narender Modi's government, more than anyone else before, meant curtailment of public support to common people. This happens in the name fiscal consolidation with emphasis on reduction in public expenditure and increase in revenue. What is even more serious is that the main public employment alternative for manual labourers in India, MGNREGA, has also not been functioning properly. The latest figures, for 2016 budget, have been deceptively called the best. The fact, however, is that the allocations have actually fallen from 0.6 percent of GDP to 0.26 percent from 2010-11 to 2016-17. Further, people are already disheartened to depend on the scheme because of the nonpayment of their earlier bills. Consequent to such long delay in payments to workers, a mere 7 percent of households in the drought affected states crossed 100 days of work. People who are confronted by failing agriculture, jobless growth and ultimately by non-functional social/employment security system in the form of MGNREGA as well, can find no pleasure in learning that India grows better than others, is recipient of highest FDI and happens to be one of the main growth engines of the world. The discontents of growth do not end here. The recent tax statistics have revealed another of the bizarre trends in the way Indian economy in working and who benefits from and who pays for Indian growth. the tax records reveal that only 18,359 presents themselves as crorepaties. As per the data released by the government until financial year 2011-12, this is a mere 0.06 percent of the total 28.7 million individual tax assesses. However, according to a 2013 Kotak Wealth Management and CRISIL report titled 'Top of the Pyramid' there were no less than 81,000 ultra-high net worth households, each with a minimum net worth of Rs 25 crore, in India in 2011-12. Thus, a potential huge number seems escaping the tax axe. Panama papers case in may be an eye opener and show how large income and asset holders evade the tax brackets. Further, corporation tax due to various loopholes is also falling short of the potential due to it. Apart from the administrative and efficiency loopholes, according to social investor Rohit Parakh, 52,911 companies that made profits in 2014-15 either didn't pay tax or ended up as recipients of funds from the government. The result of such a trend is that proportion of direct tax in the overall tax collection has reduced. For instance, the contribution of direct tax in total taxes has reduced speedily, from 60.8 percent in 2009-10 to 54.2 percent in 2012-13 and as per provisional data further to 51 percent in 2015-16. Since, low income people make more expenditure they end up paying more taxes per hundred rupees they earn than richer sections. Thus the growth which benefits rich disproportionately end up being disproportionately supported by poorer section through their demand as well as taxes. It may also be an issue whether the taxes actually help the richest sections most as they are in the process of acquiring more incentives in the Make in India Modi-type production philosophy. This is somewhat similar to what has happened in countries like USA as vividly portrayed by Joseph Stigtlz in his books 'the Price of Inequality' and 'the Great Divide'. Income may simply be moving up from the low slab groups to high slab ones that keeps them tickling with the production machine. And while they push it to perform the best, the further down the people are on the income ladder, the more they end up to be missing in the growth story. Ajaz Ahmad Rather, Lecturer Economics Author: Economic transformation in China Email: jazrather@gmail.com Only Billings and Jackson, Wyo., remain in Outside Magazines online contest to identify Americas best town of 2016. As of Friday morning, Billings boosters were well ahead of Jackson junkies, having garnered 83 percent of early voting. The magazine will shut down voting May 27. Until then, voting is available at www.outsideonline.com/2056761/best-towns-2016. This is a great story to tell, because we have never seen this level of support, said Alex Tyson, executive director of Visit Billings. We can tout this accolade to our visitors as we recruit meetings and events to tell people how we are an amazing community. If you live here, you should own it and love it. Billings, which was a late addition to the original field of 64 communities, made it to the finals by topping Ludington, Mich. Jackson turned away Seattle to earn its slot in the finals. Along the way, Billings bested Livingston, Leavenworth, Wash., Boise and Bend, Ore. Jackson also defeated communities known for their outdoor amenities Mammoth Lakes, Calif., Sedona, Ariz., Sun Valley, Idaho, and Steamboat Springs, Colo. Tyson credited the chambers Kelly McCandless with working diligently and tirelessly with John Pennell of A|D Creative Group, working to create videos of residents telling their Billings stories and make sure the contest was constantly being communicated. Also deserving credit, she said, is the chambers NextGen group of business leaders, including Jeff Ewelt of ZooMontana and Jennifer Mercer of Billings Depot. We had a NextGen meeting Thursday, and all 100 people there were completely excited about the contest, Tyson. They said, I live in this town. Lets win. For me, this is a huge deal. We all want to see our city start taking pride in itself, Mercer said. Our entire NextGen group is really focused on taking the city to the next level, and were not going to get there by being negative. Once you start believing, you start passing levies. People may see this as a silly contest, Mercer said, but being able to promote your city does attract employers. I want to see people recognizing this as a great place to live. I love to travel, but I cant imagine living anywhere else. Turning to Billings final online foe, Tyson called Jackson a force to be reckoned with. We have a bigger population, but people love Jackson. I love it. Its one of my favorite places to go. Whether its rafting the Snake River or hiking the Tetons, its definitely a great tourism destination and a great town. It becomes a border war, she said, and thats why shes glad to have tourism promotion allies in Bozeman, Missoula and other communities. It will come down to true support of the town, she said. The vote will reveal the base of support. The view from Jackson The communications manager for the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, Kate Foster, said her organization is working with our social media heavy hitters in tourism to share updates on the contest. Its been a casual collaboration, but it is a contest, she said. We feel the same way about it as you do. There is a little bit of one-upmanship, but we also like to play together. Its a good opportunity to highlight what makes both our communities special. She embraced the idea of waging a border war. The communities around Grand Teton and Yellowstone (national parks) are similar communities, but we didnt mind beating Seattle, she said with a laugh. We feel like we are an amazing outdoor destination and we certainly feel we have a lot to offer. Good luck to you! she said cheerily, ringing off a phone call. Commenters' corner Online comments told the tale of a fight that contesting cities clearly wanted to win. Not surprised that the vote turned out because Billings people pull together, said Jerry Vv. I hope your bitterness subsides. Being angry is not a trait of people from Billings. They work through problems and learn to accept the things that they can impact and change for the better. Try it it'll give you peace. I voted about 500 times today already, said saralynn s, whom other commenters accused of being a troll account. It is easy vote, and delete cookies and vote, delete cookies and vote, over and over. Only reason Im doing so is because everyone else is doing it. Yes Billings cheated, and so did everyone else. So game on. I voted 600 times (Thursday) night to beat out Ludington and yes, Jackson will not win this one. Tyson denies any charges of impropriety on the part of Billings voters. She said local supporters asked the magazine to include a voting tool that prevents robots from voting, which the magazine agreed to do. We are doing this organically, and we arent cheating, she said. Most commenters had no pretense of presenting an objective viewpoint. I get what youre saying. However, Billings has two things Jackson will NEVER have: JOBS and AFFORDABLE housing! said commenter jskreidler. Jackson: great place to visit, Billings: great place to live. Then theres this, from UnbiasedObserver, with tongue clearly planted in cheek: It would be more of a shame if Jackson won. Everyone knows that Jackson is the hub of all KKK activity in the Northern Rockies. Their city council directly funds illegal whale hunts and according to their own city code all government buildings must be built using non-recyclable materials and wood sourced from the Amazon rain forest. The Mayor's office is carpeted with polar bear and Siberian tiger pelts. What's even worse, they have REFUSED to boycott Target! Is that really the kind of town you want to win? Honda Civics being produced at the Honda Manufacturing of Indiana facility in Greensburg,Ind., on March 22, 2016. SHARE About 248,000 salaried workers in Indiana could benefit from the new rules By Kris Turner, IndyStar / USA TODAY Network New overtime rules pushed forward by the Obama administration are causing waves among some Indiana organizations who worry about their impact on small businesses. Barbara Quandt Underwood, Indiana state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, said 44 percent of the states small businesses would be affected by new federal overtime rules that go into effect in December. The new rule states that employees who earn up to $47,476 a year are eligible to receive overtime pay if they work past their normally scheduled hours. That threshold was previously set at $23,660. It has doubled. They didnt take any baby steps here, Underwood said The change is expected to impact 4.3 million workers nationally. In Indiana, 248,000 people or 25 percent of the the state's salaried workers are expected to benefit, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank. Underwood said businesses that employ salaried workers will be the hardest hit. They will have to limit employees to 40 hours of work a week and this will decrease opportunities to enter middle management, she said. Worker morale will likely decline because we anticipate the changes will hit low- to middle-level managers, she said. These managers will make less than the $47,476 threshold. Underwood said these salaried managers often enjoy perks like flexible schedules and working from home. Those benefits could disappear under the new rules. The Obama administration has said that the new rules are about fairness and ensuring workers are compensated for the time they spend at work. Its all basically about just being fair, Vice President Joe Biden told an audience of supporters at Jenis Splendid Ice Cream in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday. When youre asked to work more than 40 hours a week, you get compensated for more than 40 hours a week. The Indiana AFL-CIO applauded the move, calling it the right thing for Americans. "The unions fought for the 40 hour work week and have continued to fight for overtime wages," Indiana AFL-CIO President Brett Voorhies said. "It's about time all workers are compensated accordingly." Kim Dodson, executive director of The Arc of Indiana, said the new rules will have dire consequences for health care workers who earn a yearly salary. Those workers, who typically earn $37,000 to $43,000, can flex their schedules to spend more time with patients as needed. The Arc of Indiana aids people with physical and mental disabilities. Unfortunately, when people with disabilities need services and we need somebody to step in, stay late and work another shift, we cant say this person cant stay late because they cant go into overtime, she said. Dodson said a gradual roll out of the rule would be beneficial to the health care industry. The Dec. 1 implementation is too soon, she said. Even if its December, its way too soon, Dodson said. If were going to move toward a higher threshold, Id like to see it over a series of years instead of all once. USA Today contributed to this report. SHARE George Anderson By Max Roll of the Courier and Press An Evansville man was arrested Friday morning after police believe he used a firearm to confine and threaten someone who was staying with him. George S. Anderson, 63, is lodged in Vanderburgh County jail on preliminary charges of criminal confinement, intimidation and pointing a loaded firearm. The alleged incident happened about 1:30 a.m. at 515 South Bedford Ave. According to an Evansville Police Department arrest affidavit, the male alleged victim, whose age is unknown, told police he was staying with Anderson for a night until Anderson could take him to the bus station Friday morning. The alleged victim claimed to have been in Evansville since November and was looking to visit his mother in Georgia. The victim said he was arranged to stay with Anderson. The alleged victim told police Anderson was drinking vodka with a friend when he began to ask him about his religious beliefs and the Bible, according to the affidavit. Police said the alleged victim told them that Anderson had him go into the basement, where he was asked if he loved his mother and father. Anderson didn't believe the alleged victim when he said yes, so he went upstairs and came back with a revolver, according to the affidavit. The victim said Anderson fired several shots at him and held the gun to his head, telling him he needed to pray, according to the affidavit. The victim claims to have grabbed the gun from a table after Anderson sat it down. He then ran to a neighbor's house and had them call 911. SHARE By Megan Erbacher of the Courier and Press School meals are often the only regular source of nutrition many students receive daily. That's what makes a summer food program so important, said Paula Proctor, Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. assistant director of food and nutrition. Without school meals, many students wouldn't get "proper nutrition." The EVSC is able to offer free summer lunches and breakfasts as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Summer Food Service Program. The school district serves more than 16,000 lunches and about 5,000 breakfasts each day during the school year to EVSC students. Students, families and anyone in the community is invited this summer to eat lunch and/or breakfast at 10 EVSC schools during different dates and times. Those schools are: Caze, Cedar Hall, Dexter, Evans, Glenwood, Lincoln, Lodge, McGary, Washington and Tekoppel. In addition, free breakfast meals will be offered at Lincoln, McGary and Washington schools. Meals will be free to children 18 years old and younger. Everyone else is charged $3 per meal, a 25-cent increase from last year. The USDA Summer Food Service Program, which allows school districts or organizations to provide the meals in areas where at least 50 percent of the student population receives free or reduced meals. It was established to ensure low-income children have nutritious meals when school is not in session. The EVSC started the program in 2000 at Cedar Hall, and by the end of that summer about 4,000 meals were served. In 2014, the district served 35,000 lunches and about 24,000 afternoon snacks. EVSC summer meal locations and times: Caze Elementary School: May 25 July 1 from 12 to 1 p.m. Cedar Hall Community School: May 25 July 1 from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dexter Elementary School: May 25 July 1 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Evans School: May 25 July 1 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Glenwood Leadership Academy: May 25 July 1 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Lincoln School will serve breakfast May 25 June 24 from 9:15 to 10 a.m., with lunch available the same days from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and lunches only will be offered June 27 July 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Lodge Community School: May 25 July 1 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. McGary Middle School will serve breakfast May 25 June 24 from 9-9:30 a.m., with lunch from 12 to 1 p.m. Tekoppel Elementary School: May 25 July 1 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Washington Middle School will serve breakfast only May 25 June 24 from 7:45 to 8:15 a.m. All sites are closed May 30, and Lincoln is closed July 4. For a list of other area organizations that offer the program, visit the USDA website at fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks/. MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS The Schoenbaum family (from left to right) Mark, Sondra, Elizabeth and Ann Marie say grace before eating dinner at their home on May 10. SHARE MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS Mark Schoenbaum, an art teacher at Memorial High School, says goodbye to his twin daughters Elizabeth (center) and Ann Marie after they stopped by his classroom. Schoenbaum adopted the twins 18 years ago. Now those girls are graduating from Memorial, the same school their birth mother graduated from. MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS Elizabeth Schoenbaum (left) helps her twin sister Ann Marie with a school project during homeroom at Memorial High School on May 10. MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS Ann Marie, Sondra and Mark Schoenbaum (left) prepare dinner at their home on May 10. Related Photos 18 years after adoption, Memorial twins prepare for graduation By Abbey Doyle of the Courier and Press When Memorial High School art teacher Mark Schoenbaum and his wife Sondra started the adoption process, they never thought a student would give them the child they'd wanted for a decade. But in 1997 Memorial senior Liz Haury was praying for guidance. She discovered she was pregnant, but knew that keeping the baby wasn't the right option for her. When she heard Mark spreading the word about he and his wife's desire to adopt, Liz knew it was the answer to her prayers. "I knew he'd be a good father," said Liz Stanton, now a 36-year-old mom of two boys. "So I went up to him and asked." Liz hadn't been in any of Mark's classes, but she knew him. Most students at Memorial did. He was the kind of teacher students wanted to be around; he cared about them, had a passion for what he was doing and was a lot of fun. This one conversation in the hallway of Memorial High would change all of their lives. The Schoenbaums would finally be parents. Dave and Berny Heitzman said the teacher and his wife were an answer to their prayers too. Having a daughter get pregnant her senior year of high school wasn't what they'd expected. "We did a lot of praying about all of this," Berny said. "The Schoenbaums were a real blessing. There are so many ways this could have gone, but this was the best one possible." 'It's twins' Approaching a teacher, at a Catholic high school no less, to offer your baby for adoption wasn't easy. "It was awkward," Liz said. "I didn't even know how to say it. I just said, 'Would you and your wife like to adopt my baby?' He said he probably would have fallen over; it wasn't something he was expecting." Mark said he was excited but didn't want to get his hopes up. He'd heard so many stories of families going through disappointment, and he and Sondra were trying to protect themselves. But they were hopeful when they started the legal process. And after Sondra met Liz, she knew it was the right fit. Just a few weeks later Liz, completely distraught, approached Mark again. He was certain she'd changed his mind, or even worse, maybe something was wrong with the baby. "It's twins," Liz told him through tears. "Do you still want to adopt them?" He was terrified at the prospect, but relieved everything was OK. "I was shocked," he said with a laugh. "But I told her, 'They aren't puppies. We won't split them up. We'll adopt them both.' " It took no convincing to get Sondra on board with the idea of becoming a mom to two at once. But Mark did have to tell her several times before the news truly sank in. Now, more than 18 years later, the Schoenbaums are trying to comprehend a new bit of news: their daughters Ann Marie and Elizabeth are graduating from Memorial High on Sunday, 18 years after their birth mother did the same. And in just a few months the girls will be starting their college careers at Purdue University. 'It was incredible' Elizabeth and Ann Marie just looked at each other and smiled as their dad retold the story of their "coming to be." As Mark told the tale he'd woven more times than they can remember the part about the puppies, how tiny they were when born prematurely, the medical adventures they went through in those first few years the identical twins predict his phrases and even his hand motions. "They were this big," he said, gesturing to the space between his wrist and elbow. Elizabeth, born first, was 3 pounds, 12 ounces, and 16.5 inches long. Ann Marie was born four minutes later, weighing 3 pounds, 9.5 ounces and 16.75 inches long. "They couldn't even wrap their hands around my finger," he said. "They were so tiny and fragile." The two giggled at each other as they predict his movements. "When I hear them tell other people, it's so strange because they are talking about me," Elizabeth said, with a smile. "Then I get this warm, fuzzy feeling." The adoption couldn't be official until 48 hours after birth. Because the girls required so much NICU care, and to save her time off for when they'd come home, Sondra was back at work when she got the call about the adoption paperwork officially being signed. "I ran around the office saying, 'I'm a mom, I'm a mom,' " Sondra said, the glow of motherhood still bright. "It was incredible." Although they had grown to know, love and trust Liz, there was still a lot of worry in the corners of their mind. "You just don't ever know what's going to happen," Mark said. "There's always a chance that she could change her mind. We were both so afraid of that." Even with the adoption finalized, there was still a lot of stress. Both of the girls in those first few weeks and months had an uphill battle. They spent four weeks in the NICU, requiring monitoring of their heart rate and breathing overnight for about nine months. They required caffeine supplements to keep their heart rates up as well as special feeding requirements. And at 13 months came a diagnosis of hip dysplasia something Liz had as well requiring two sets of hip to chest casts and eventually braces for a year. But still gratitude. "I wanted to cry I was so happy," Sondra said. "I had been waiting for 10 years and finally I was a mom. I didn't even know what to do, how to act. So many people prayed for us, and our prayers were answered." Mark said the first feeling, after glee, was anxiety. At 40, he was scared about what it would be like to become a dad to two babies. "I knew life was about to change, a lot," he said. "I worried about all the things new dads worried about." The adoption was a secret until after the papers were signed. To avoid any complications stemming from Liz being a student, very few people knew. But once the papers were signed Mark shared the news with friends from the school and church. Everyone was receptive, even throwing the Schoenbaums a baby shower. Sense of grounding From the very beginning, Liz knew she wanted an open adoption. "I wanted to know what happened to them," she said. "I wanted them to know that I wasn't just giving them up. I was giving them a life that I couldn't have given them. I wanted to be involved in their lives in some way. And I'm thankful we've had a good relationship over the years." Anne Marie and Elizabeth describe the relationship they have with their birth mother as good one they are grateful to have. They see her a few times a year. The relationship with the Heitzmens is even stronger. The girls call their birth grandparents memere and pepere French to go along with Berny's ancestry. And Mark and Sondra quickly grew a strong friendship with their daughters' birth grandparents, finding they have several things in common. They've even gone on several vacations together, with a group of other couples. "It's always been so easy," Berny said. "It's always felt like the right thing. It was the best decision for Liz and the girls. They've had a wonderful, love-filled life. I'm grateful for all they've been able to experience. And the advantage is that I've been able to see all that and be a part of their lives from the get go." Dave said staying connected with the family all these years was important. "It gives the girls a sense of grounding, knowing where they've come from," he said. "So often you hear about people who learn they are adopted and then have this insatiable drive to understand their history and past. We never wanted them to think they were unwanted. They've always been loved and supported by us, just in the background." Sondra said like Liz, they also wanted an open adoption. They wanted everything about the experience to be something that was out in the open with the girls as soon as they'd be old enough to understand. They even found storybooks explaining the process. And Ann Marie and Elizabeth are grateful for that. "I'd rather know than not know," Ann Marie said. "I'm glad we are able to have a relationship with (Liz). I'm grateful to be able to be brought into the world, and it's nice to be able to face to face acknowledge what she's done for our family." Elizabeth said it's always been a part of their story. They've never known life without both a mother and a birth mother. 'Best decision' The option of adoption isn't one always considered, Mark said. "I think abortion is seen as an easy and quick thing to do," he said. "But there are so many people who desperately want a family. We've been so blessed by her giving us her babies. I admire her for that decision." Ann Marie said they didn't ever feel unwanted. They've always felt lucky and know Liz made the best decision. "You don't have to be a real parent to be a good parent," she said. And as the girls celebrate their baccalaureate tonight, they'll have both "parents" in the stands. The Schoenbaums and other family will be there, but so will Liz and her family. "It's amazing to me that it's been this long," Liz said. "It doesn't seem that long ago. But they've come so far and have been able to do so much. I'm just so proud. And I have no idea where they'd be today. ... Where they are is all because of the Schoenbaums." As Ann Marie and Elizabeth prepare to graduate from Memorial, they are leaving behind a place that has been a huge part of their story. They've roamed the halls even before they were born. They zoomed around in their brand new Barbie Jeeps that one Christmas when it snowed so hard they couldn't ride them outside. And the school has an interactive screen on the wall with past yearbooks in it. Over the years the girls several times found themselves wandering over there to scroll back to 1998, the year their birth mother graduated, to look at Liz's senior portrait. "It's cool to know we can go up to it anytime and see her picture," Ann Marie said. And Mark remembers exactly where he was when Liz told him right outside room 120 at Memorial she was pregnant with twins. He's taken his daughters to that very spot. Four local House races are contested this year, but upsets unlikely Every local member of the state's House of Representatives is seeking re-election. If any of them lose, it would qualify as a significant upset. Frederic Garrett, 20, signed in to vote at Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday's election day. SHARE By Joseph Gerth, The Courier-Journal / USA TODAY Network Author Toni Morrison once referred to Bill Clinton as "the first black president." That designation may have helped his wife on Tuesday when she won the Kentucky Democratic primary by fewer than 2,000 votes. Black voters across Kentucky gave Hillary Clinton the margin she needed to hold off a surging Bernie Sanders. While Sanders beat Clinton in voting precincts where white voters were the majority, those precincts where African-Americans were in the majority backed Clinton by a nearly 3-1 margin, according to records analyzed by the Courier-Journal. In fact, only two precincts in the state with a majority of black residents over the age of 18 voted for Sanders - both of them giving him single-digit margins of victory. "I think it goes back to Bill Clinton," Raoul Cunningham, president of the Kentucky State NAACP Conference, said. "The last year of his presidency and the last time he was to appear at the NAACP National Convention as president, we went wild. I found myself standing up on a chair, cheering him, and I mean the whole convention was up on its feet." In Jefferson County, Clinton got 8,616 votes in majority black precincts while Sanders got 3,053. Statewide, Clinton received 12,612 votes from black precincts while Sanders won only 4,443. Such lopsided victories have been the norm across the nation as Clinton has piled up wins in areas with heavily minority populations, whether they be black, Hispanic or Asian. Sanders, on the other hand, has done better in areas that are largely white. "That's how she swept the whole South," Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said. "It certainly isn't the white voters, it's African-American voters who have given her the nomination. She owes African-Americans more than any other single ethnic group." The results really shouldn't surprise anyone, said Cunningham, since the black community has long supported the Clinton family - except for 2008 when African Americans overwhelmingly supported Barack Obama. Heading into Tuesday's Election Day, it was clear Clinton knew the importance of the black vote in Kentucky. Two weeks before Kentucky's primary, Bill Clinton appeared at a rally at the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage in western Louisville and then campaigned at Franco's, an African-American-owned restaurant on Dixie Highway. And on the Sunday before the election, Hillary Clinton went to services at St. Stephen Church and Canaan Christian Church, two black congregations in different parts of town. At St. Stephen, the Rev. Kevin Cosby called her "she who shall be the next president." At Canaan, Sandra Malone, the pastor's wife, urged the congregation to "join Pastor Malone and I by standing on your feet to receive who we pray will be the next president." "The Clintons certainly know how to campaign in the African-American community," Cunningham said. Over time, the Clinton's have seen their luster in the black community dimmed a bit because Bill Clinton's policies on crime and illegal drugs are seen to be part of the reason for high incarceration rates in the black communities, said Cunningham, who suspects that if Sanders made any inroads, it was with younger blacks. Dewey Clayton, a political science professor at the University of Louisville, said that blacks have been loyal to the Clintons for more than two decades and even supported Hillary Clinton in 2008 before Obama began to gain momentum. "The author, Toni Morrison, called him (Bill Clinton) the first black president," Clayton said. "Many African-Americans felt that a lot of the Clinton policies were helping the African-American community. Times were better with them in the White House." Sabato said that Bill Clinton won over African-Americans during the 1992 election cycle, in part, because some of Clinton's opponents like Jerry Brown and Paul Tsongas were "really white." Clayton said that the former president made inroads by doing things like visiting black churches and appearing on the old "Arsenio Hall Show." "I think people just felt like he's one of us," he said. SHARE By By: Andrew Vailliencourt, andrew.vailliencourt@courierpress.com | @AndrewVcourt A crowd of supporters gathered around the Evansville Civic Center Thursday evening to honor local law enforcement. Mayor Lloyd Winnecke proclaimed it "Police Week" in Evansville in an effort to thank law enforcement for their efforts keeping the community safe. Members of both the community and law enforcement attended. There were no protesters at the event. "I think too many times they get a bad rep," Detective Jeff Hales said of the police. "If we don't stand up for law enforcement, someone's going to stand somewhere for bad. Someone's got to stand for good." Mike Sides, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 73, gave a short speech on the harm officers are placed in every day on duty. He said 128 officers were killed on duty in 2015, and that 2016 is on pace for an increase. "If the president of the United States would stand behind law enforcement instead of continuously cutting them down, and making them look bad in every situation possible, yes absolutely more could be done," said Hales. "When you look at what law enforcement does on our soil, they are the first line of defense when it comes to terrorism." Chris Cooke, president of the United Neighborhoods of Evansville, said he is going to reach out to area representatives to add police and their families to anti-hate-crime legislation so that stiffer penalties can be possible for people who commit acts of violence against officers or family members. He said he's not asking for a new law, but added that a tweak to the language is a good way to thank law enforcement for keeping us safe. "I'm not going to wait," Cooke said. "I'm going to speak out to our local delegation and try to contact some of these legislative folks before the session to get on the radar that this is something they at least need to have a discussion about." According to policeweek.org, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation in 1962 which designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week. "They do a thankless job," Cooke said. "To be out there on the frontlines enforcing our laws . . . between the bad guys and the good guys, they're standing up for all of us whether we want to admit it or not. They're serving everybody. They deserve all the credit and then some. "They are the ones that keep society's ills at bay on a daily basis." RiverStone Health has notified Yellowstone County that it will stop providing medical care at the jail. In a letter to commissioners on Tuesday, John Felton, president of RiverStone, said the public health agency will not be renewing its health services contract, which expires on June 30. RiverStone, however, will continue providing care through Sept. 30 to give the county time to find another provider. The agency has been providing Yellowstone County jail inmates with medical and dental service since 2011. The termination of RiverStones services comes at a time when the Mental Health Center, which was awarded a contract to provide services to the jail, is having difficulty finding qualified licensed therapists. County officials said on Thursday that it will be issuing a new request for proposals for medical, dental and mental health services for the jail. Felton also said on Thursday that RiverStone has liked working with inmates but is terminating its contract because its model of care no longer fits with the jail structure. Its just been a difficult match, he said. RiverStones approach is based on a team structure that includes a provider, like a doctor, nursing support staff, and medical assistants and is integrated with behavioral health, he said. The agency provides medical and dental services at the jail but mental health care is separate. Initially, RiverStone thought that was a good idea, Felton said, but that it has become difficult to coordinate all of the different services. Felton also said RiverStone has worked well with the county, sheriff and jail staff and that decision was not based on money. This is not like some sort of nasty divorce, he said. RiverStone respects the countys right to look at the services and decide whether the agencys model fit the countys needs, Felton said. The county paid RiverStone $1.47 million a year for services. Felton also said RiverStone may be able to provide dental care under a new agreement because dental service does not have the same extent of team-based care as medical service. Sheriff Mike Linder said the news from RiverStones did not come as a surprise. From the beginning, the county viewed the medical service contract as something of an experiment, he said. Linder and Kevin Gillen, a civil deputy county attorney, both said a new medical provider will likely be an out-of-state service that specializes in correctional care. Linder said there are a number of correctional medical care providers around the country. While the county ideally would like to have one provider offer all three services, it is not clear that will happen, Gillen said. The county also is open to partnerships to providing the services, he added. Meanwhile, the situation for mental health counseling may be improving. Commissioner Bill Kennedy said Thursday that MHC had received six applications in the last week for therapists at the jail. MHC had received zero applications after advertising for six weeks for two positions and recently sent 700 letters to all licensed professional counselors in Eastern Montana. In addition, two licensed therapists who work at the state Womens Prison for the Montana Department of Corrections said they are interested in helping to provide mental health services at the jail. In a meeting with county officials on Thursday, Dawn DeVor and Tara Sorenson said they are forming a private, part-time counseling service that is separate from their full-time DOC jobs. DeVor and Sorenson said their specialty is correctional mental health and that their services include consultations, needs assessments, case management and clinical services. The women also said they have notified DOC of their part-time business and that there is no problem with their state employment. DeVor said she and Sorenson did not respond to the countys request for mental health services because they didnt know about it and at the time they were not in private practice. DeVor also said they were glad MHC was awarded a contract with the county and that both of them are former MHC employees. The women said they learned through a Billings Gazette story that MHC was having problems finding therapists for the jail and wondered if there was a way they could help. It was about 3 a.m. on Nov. 2, 1946, when two men entered the Olive Hotel in downtown Billings. One flashed a pearl-handled .45-caliber handgun. The other concealed a .38. This is a robbery, one man told the 23-year-old night clerk. Minutes later, they left the hotel with about $60 in bills and coins and headed west down the old highway between Billings and Laurel. Billings Gazette and Montana Highway Patrol archives chronicled the incident. At 3:30 a.m., Montana Highway Patrol officers Gordon McDermid and Robert Steele heard the report on the police frequency. The officers, both World War II veterans, had returned after the war to the Highway Patrol as partners. After hearing the call, the patrolmen joined and headed east, scanning the Laurel highway. About 4 miles west of Billings, the patrolmen saw a coupe switch off its lights and turn onto a secondary road. They pulled up behind the parked car. Steele got out first and approached the car with McDermid close behind. A man behind the wheel didnt move. Steele demanded that the occupants exit. Then in an instant, a man in the passenger seat opened the door and leaped out. Suddenly a gunshot pierced the cold air. Steele fell to the ground. Blood stained the fresh snow, pouring from a fatal wound to the neck. He died at 3:40 a.m., his gun still holstered. McDermid scrambled toward to his squad car as the staccato pop of gunfire exploded from both sides. I returned the fire, he said later in court. I fired until my pistol was empty. One of his shots hit me in the right hip and I went down. The shot had fractured McDermids pelvis, but he crawled to his car and radioed for help. He reloaded his pistol and another volley ensued between the officer and the two men, who had taken up positions outside of their car. Bullets spent, McDermid grabbed his .30-30 rifle from the squad car. As he did that, one of the bandits took off running. McDermid fired, striking and killing 17-year-old Richard Smothers, a Missouri native. Then the other man fled. McDermid fired, but the man disappeared into the darkness. He was William Rose, a 24-year-old career criminal from Oklahoma. Rose would later be found, tried and given a life sentence for his involvement. Robert G. Steele, 30, was the first Montana Highway Patrol officer killed in the line of duty. For nearly 70 years, troopers have placed memorials on his grave at Rockvale Cemetery, near his birthplace of Edgar. His memory will be cemented on Saturday when officials dedicate two miles of Interstate 90 to Steele. It might have been a ceremony attended only by law enforcement. Steele had no children. But last fall, one trooper took up the search for relatives. It led him to a niece in California, who will return to Montana to share in the ceremony. Family ties Sgt. Scott Ayers of the Montana Highway Patrol took up the search for Steeles relatives last fall. He pored over newspaper archives, which mentioned that he had one sister. She was listed in the article only by her husband's name, as Mrs. Albert E. ODonnell. So I went and tried to find people in Billings who had the same last name as her married name, thinking that maybe I could track down relatives, Ayers said. A man by the name ODonnell lived on the same Yellowstone Avenue block but said he wasnt related, as did others by that name. He looked through census records, internet searches and word of mouth. No one in the area seemed to be related, and an out-of-state search became exhaustive. Ayers had to keep up with his normal patrol duties. There were a couple times when I told the colonel, Im sorry. Im at a dead end, Ayers said. And he said to keep trying. Ayers started talking with a retired MHP captain, Ken Hoefner, who had an account with an online ancestry site. He said that it opened up a link between census names and living relatives found through the site. Moving through Steeles sisters family tree, Ayers finally reached a distant relative, who forwarded the message to Steeles niece in California. The niece, Connie Murphy, spoke with Ayers and agreed to come to Montana for the dedication ceremony. Murphy was a year old when Steele was killed. In an email exchange, she said she had little recollection of that night, but the death of Steele was a hard blow. I was surprised by the news of a sign dedication ceremony after almost 70 years since his death, Murphy said. It has always been a deeply felt loss for our family. Ayers later found out that Stillwater County Undersheriff Chip Kems grandmother was Steeles cousin. The search was frustrating work at times, but Ayers, a 21-year MHP veteran, said that he's been fascinated with the history of the force. Ayers even caught a glimpse of William Rose, the man involved in Steeles murder, as a trooper stationed in Fort Benton. He said that Rose had been paroled in Choteau County in the early 2000s. I would see him at the sheriffs office periodically, he said. Ayers knew Rose and his story. The name is known well among troopers. The war at home Steele was born on July 2, 1916, near Edgar. He lived and worked in Red Lodge after college before joining the fledgling law outfit, Montana Highway Patrol, in the late 1930s. In 1942, Steele enlisted in the Army and eventually found himself in the Pacific Theater. He left the Army with the rank of captain. In September 1946, while still on terminal leave with the Army, Steele returned to the highway patrol to begin his sixth year of duty out of Billings. He was killed just two months later. His funeral, held Nov. 4, 1946, was attended by 50 patrolmen from across the state. Officers served as pallbearers as two women from the First Evangelical Church sang Goin Home. In 1949, the new radio show Dragnet dedicated its July 14 episode to Steeles memory. His name is engraved on the Mavity Law Enforcement Memorial in Billings. Rose was also an enlisted man for a time, but had a more audacious criminal history. He was described as a husky, ex-Navy heavyweight boxer in the newspaper. He worked for a while as a mechanic and logger in Oregon, where he also served prison time for beating a jail officer with a chain and making a brief escape. In Oregon he met Richard Smothers, Roses partner in the crime spree. The two had stolen the coupe in Spokane during a holdup before heading to Billings, where they crossed paths with the Montana Highway Patrol. Rose fled into the snow after the gunfight that left Steele and Smothers dead. An 11-hour search ensued, which included more than 100 law enforcement and residents. Floyd Clark, a local plasterer, joined the search. He said later that he thought a lot of these highway patrol boys. Clark was walking west atop the Rims when he saw the top of a mans head behind a rock. Clark went back for law enforcement and they arrested Rose, whose shirt was bloody from a bullet that grazed his back. His pearl-handled pistol was found nearby. After investigation and ballistics analysis, it was found that Steele wasnt killed by Rose, but by the .38-caliber pistol found clutched by the deceased Smothers. This was noted by Yellowstone County Attorney Melvin Hoiness at the sentencing hearing. Nonetheless, 25-year-old Rose received life in prison for his guilty plea of first-degree murder. He made a wallet in prison and sent it to my brother, Murphy said. I guess he did this as Bob (Steele) had no children so he picked his nephew. I guess this was a gesture of some remorse. While his sentence was for life, Rose was released from all state supervision in 2012. The Montana Department of Corrections has no record for Rose after that. The Department of Justices sexual or violent offender registry doesnt list Rose. Its unclear if hes still alive. In memory Since the Montana Highway Patrol was formed in 1935, eight officers have died in the line of duty. Trooper James H. Anderson was struck and killed by a vehicle during a traffic stop near Bozeman in 1954. In 1973, Trooper Richard Hedstrom was killed while issuing a warning ticket near Kalispell. A drunken driver crashed into his patrol car, which struck the trooper. Hed been on the job for 18 months and was still in field training. Five years later, Trooper Michael Ren was killed near Eureka when gunfire erupted at the end of a highway pursuit. Four troopersDavid Graham, Evan Schneider, Michael Haynes and David DeLaittredied during a harrowing stretch from 2007 to 2010. For a long time, we didnt have troopers killed in the line of duty, Ayers said. And then we went through a period of time where it was pretty much one per year. It was a hard time for us. Their names are up along dedicated roadways in the state, and Steele is the last to receive the honor. A sign bearing his name will be unveiled on Saturday at the eastbound Mossman scale, mile marker 439. Prior to construction of the interstate, Steele was killed at about that spot on the snowy November night. Murphy plans to attend the ceremony with her daughter, Steeles grand-niece. Afterward, they plan to visit the family grave plot at Rockvale. For Ayers, the contribution in the highway dedication is a point of pride, especially the long search that brought relatives together. Steele was unmarried and had no children, but his memory still rests with many. We havent forgotten Robert Steele, Ayers said. We havent forgotten Bob. Hundreds of Billings students will receive high school diplomas next weekend. There are students like Mason Dwayne Walker, who found school tough but buckled down his senior year and got on track to graduate. Theres a relief after all those years of struggling through school, he said. It feels like a weight off my shoulders. Theres Caleb Williams, who pushed himself to become a valedictorian. He plans to attend Amherst University and wants to study medicine or business. "I want to do some sort of field where I can help people, he said. Theres Kaitlin Hugs, who wrote the constitution of Senior Highs Native American Club with only one other student her sophomore year. Now more than 20 students are in the club. Ive really had a lot of people support me, she said, friends, family and teachers. Theres Daniel Rides Horse, whose friends motivated him without realizing it. I didnt want to be the only one that wasnt doing anything, he said. I wanted to be able to say I graduated. It seems like the air is fresher. It feels really good, like anything is possible at the moment. Thats the goal of the Billings Public School Indian Education program, to make anything possible for Native American students. Montana has long established racial achievement gaps Native American students typically have significantly lower test scores and graduation rates than their white counterparts. Students, their family and educators gathered at Veterans Park for a cookout celebrating the upcoming graduation of Native American students Thursday evening. Educators in the program train other teachers, provide academic support to students and reach out to families with home visits. We cannot do it without the families, Indian Education For All director Jen Smith said, speaking to the assembled group. If youre the one thats fighting to get (students) out of bed and get them to school, they will graduate. Events that bring families together help show younger students what they can achieve. Its really good to see all of the underclassmen here too and the little guys, West High home-to-school coordinator Don Barcus said. Predominantly white Billings schools can be a challenging environment for Native American students. Williams talked about hearing derogatory terms. The way that we can fight back without conforming to those stereotypes is to get a good education, he said. Hugs hopes to help other students get that education. She plans to attend Montana State University Billings to study history and hopes to become a teacher in Billings. Walker, who plans to get a highway construction certification from Salish Kootenai Community College, thanked his parents for pushing him to finish school. Im just seeing why (theyre) doing that, he said. A robotic carrier designed by elementary school students presented a big check from ExxonMobil to the Education Foundation for Billings Public Schools on Wednesday. The $10,750 will support Project Lead the Way, a nonprofit initiative promoting science, technology, engineering and math education in schools. The money will help purchase VEX robotics kits for next year's middle schoolers. The announcement was made in front of fifth-graders at Bench Elementary School, some of whom will make up the first class of sixth-graders at Medicine Crow Middle School next year. The robotic truck which delivered the check was designed by students Jacob Nickisch and Kailua Fatupaito. ExxonMobil has contributed more than $35,000 to support hands-on learning experiences in classrooms, since the start of Project Lead The Way. Sussex News Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. I am not generally inclined to engage in he said, he said political discourse. However, two guest opinions recently written by Commissioners Bob Lake and Kirk Bushman leave me no choice but to challenge their factually deficient attacks against me, Vice Chairman Travis Kavulla and Commissioner Roger Koopman. Let's begin with Bushman, who defends who defends his vote siding with NorthWestern Energy, which asked the Montana Public Service Commission to recoup from consumers $8.2 million due to a forced outage at Colstrip Unit 4. That outage, evidence shows, might have been prevented, or at least mitigated in its scope. Bushman's wrong Inexplicably, Bushman has disseminated inaccurate information in an effort to defend his vote. In his May 12 column in the Gazette, Bushman claimed Commissioners Kavulla, Koopman and myself were the only commissioners of the four states (14 commissioners total) in the Northwest to deny these recovery costs. This assertion is simply untrue and Bushman should have checked his facts before leveling the accusation. In fact, commissions in other states have ruled that Pacific Power and Portland General Electric, not their customers, are responsible for bearing the cost of the outage. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission was especially clear. Allowing the replacement power costs resulting from the plant outage to be recovered in consumer rates was an extraordinary request, commissioners said, and denied the application. Bushman has every right to conclude that NorthWestern should be able to charge its customers for the cost of the plant outage. He does not, however, have the right to use patently false statements to justify his position. O'Donnell endorsement I was deeply disappointed in the profoundly personal nature of the accusations Lake directed at me and two of my fellow commissioners in his April 26 column. I have known Bob Lake as a Republican colleague for well over a decade. During that time, he has shown himself to be thoughtful, collegial and willing to engage in constructive dialogue with those on the other side of an issue. His assertion that our endorsement of Tony O'Donnell over Kirk Bushman is somehow unethical is incomprehensible to me. Our support of O'Donnell has nothing whatsoever to do with how Bushman votes. Rather, it has everything to do with the fact that he is totally devoid of the collegial temperament and willingness to constructively engage with a majority of his fellow commissioners as necessary to function effectively as a member of the PSC. Lake's contention that there exists some kind of dark conspiracy to create and maintain a Kavulla-led majority is equally baseless. A thorough analysis of commission votes will show a wide variance of members constituting the majority position. In fact, that same analysis will show that commissioners Lake and Bushman vote together more often than do the three of us accused of participating in some power-grabbing cabal. I seek civility and professionalism on the PSC but not unanimity of thought. During my time as chairman, I have said many times that I am glad we are not a 5-0 commission even though we are all Republicans. Vigorous debate and diversity of thought are very healthy things. I have endorsed Tony O'Donnell because I believe he will succeed in helping foster civility, professionalism and constructive debate where Bushman has failed. Table of Contents Thinking Through the Dilemmas of Aid to Afghanistan Afghanistan is in the throes of a humanitarian crisis driven by displacement, drought, the COVID-19 pandemic and a struggling economy that has sharply worsened since the Talibans takeover and the prior governments collapse on 15 August. A fundamental challenge is the countrys extreme dependency on external funds, much of which are now suspended due to understandable foreign concerns about the Taliban governments direction. Humanitarian aid continues to arrive, but other disbursements that before the political upheaval were used to underwrite development programs, pay civil servants, provide public services and keep government functioning have ceased. Joblessness and poverty are climbing as a result. Afghanistans dire straits mean that donors, including the European Union (EU), have to grapple with the dilemma of how to support a population in growing distress while adhering to principles including protection of fundamental freedoms, equal rights for women and the rule of law that conflict with emerging Taliban government policies and practices. Although the Talibans transition from insurgency to governance is at an early stage, the groups history and its actions in government so far indicate that there will likely be a wide gap between the nature of their rule and donors values. This gap looks set to limit the extent to which the EU and member states can provide a funding lifeline that would inevitably accrue to the benefit of Taliban regime consolidation. The EU has framed its criteria for engaging the Taliban government around five benchmarks. These entail the Taliban: (i) allowing the safe, secure and orderly departure of all foreigners and Afghans who wish to leave the country; (ii) promoting, protecting and respecting human rights, particularly for women and minorities, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms; (iii) enabling free access for humanitarian operations (including for female staff) in line with international humanitarian law; (iv) preventing anyone from financing, hosting or supporting terrorist activity from inside Afghanistan and ceasing all ties with international terrorism; and (v) lastly, establishing an inclusive and representative government through negotiations. Brussels has made clear that it will continue operational engagement interactions with the Taliban on practical matters like evacuations and humanitarian operations that do not imply recognition or the resumption of normal diplomatic relations, though the concept is deliberately ambiguous to give the EU greater flexibility. Consistent with this framework, the EU and its member states should: Maximise humanitarian assistance. The EU has already answered a portion of a UN flash appeal for additional such aid. It could now take a lead role in funding the UN appeal for the rest of 2021, by making further contributions and rallying other donors. Particular attention is needed to ensure that the health care system, already in a precarious state, does not completely fall apart. Donors in this area will likely have to work with and through the Talibans health ministry to some extent, in addition to funding international NGOs still present in Afghanistan. Adhere to the EU Councils five-part framework for engagement with the Taliban but interpret it flexibly enough meaning the EU should work towards the achievement of the five principles rather than using them as prior conditions to help prevent the collapse of essential, life-saving public services, particularly health care, even though the Taliban are unlikely to meet all the conditions in the framework. Preventing such collapse will require provision of funding for some civil servants salaries, such as for health care providers. Through diplomatic engagement with the Taliban, keep making clear the benchmarks that the new government would need to meet in order to receive European development assistance. The EU and European governments should set a small number of specific objectives drawn from the five-part framework for particular diplomatic focus, tied to a modest volume of development aid, as a means of testing the prospects for using aid as leverage. Because of its importance, educational access for girls and women could be a benchmark for the delivery of non-humanitarian aid. Earmarking aid for girls and womens education is less likely to motivate the Taliban government to make changes than making aid available for other purposes of more interest to the group. Emphasise in engagement with the Taliban that they should follow through on promises they themselves have made, such as their public assurances that restrictions on girls education will only be temporary. Prepare for the possibility of increased migration to Europe of Afghan asylum seekers as the humanitarian situation deteriorates. Preparation predominantly should include increasing reception capacity in EU member states. Afghanistans neighbours, particularly Pakistan and Iran, already host millions of Afghans and are unlikely to welcome additional large numbers, even if Europe offers financial support. A Severe Humanitarian and Economic Crisis Since the Taliban seized power, the overall level of violence in the country has dropped considerably. But more than 3.5 million people remain internally displaced, and many of them have little prospect of returning home, due to property damage, crop failure and fear of Taliban revenge killings as well as fresh violence related to newly shifting power relations among tribes, clans and ethnic groups. Meanwhile, the countrys economic woes are deepening. The Taliban have put at the helm of economic policymaking individuals without relevant experience or qualifications, and the suspension of non-humanitarian foreign aid has starved the public sector of resources. Before the Taliban took over, public spending was about 75 per cent financed by foreign donors; without such assistance, the vast majority of civil servants are not being paid. The Afghan National Defence and Security Forces had been a major employer, providing income to many rural families, but are now defunct. Most of the Afghan central banks reserves, managed by the U.S. Federal Reserve, are now frozen and unlikely to be released soon, contributing to a liquidity crisis. The UN made a flash appeal for humanitarian aid that was the focus of a 13 September donors conference in Geneva, seeking $606 million to meet immediate needs. The EU increased its planned humanitarian aid spending for 2021 from 57 million to 200 million, almost a fourfold increase but more money is needed. The UNs appeal is only about 35 per cent funded as of early October. This aid may help Afghanistan avert severe food insecurity, but with non-humanitarian assistance suspended, it is unlikely to prevent a sharp economic downturn. Whether or not to restart that assistance and in what circumstances presents the EU and other donors with a true conundrum. EU Aid to Afghanistan and Conditionality The EU has been one of the main financial backers of the heavily aid-dependent Afghan state, with 1.4 billion committed between 2014 and 2020. Brussels sent much of this aid as budget support for the Afghan government, to help finance agriculture and rural development programs, health care, policing, the justice system, anti-corruption initiatives and democratisation projects. Even before the Taliban seized power in August, however, the Afghan governments uneven commitment to EU aid conditions (particularly enhancing governance and public institutions, fighting corruption, and fostering human rights and fundamental freedoms, especially for women, children and minorities) led the EU to slow or withhold the release of some of its assistance. The Taliban takeover prompted the EU to suspend non-humanitarian aid altogether and re-evaluate its conditionality framework. On 21 September, the EU Council defined five benchmarks, outlined above, that would guide any future engagement with the Taliban government, though the EU has made it clear that for now it intends to keep what it is calling operational lines of communication to the movement open. Neither the EU nor any of its member states have yet clarified how stringently these benchmarks will be used as aid conditions. Yet, even as humanitarian aid for 2021 has been significantly increased, so long as the EU is not able to verify progress on the benchmarks, the 1 billion that Brussels was planning to deliver from 2021 to 2027 for development assistance will stay in European coffers. Taliban Priorities and Reactions to EU Conditionality The Taliban have not publicly responded to the EUs conditionality framework. Indeed, few of the Taliban interlocutors who spoke with Crisis Group had even studied it. They were, however, aware of the broad contours of EU demands, given that various regional and other states have been pushing similar agendas to varying degrees. The Taliban are pressing for the establishment of a working relationship with the EU. The Taliban appear to have an optimistic set of objectives for what they want from the EU and its member states: formal recognition, normalised diplomatic relations and unconditional aid to the country. As an immediate priority, the Taliban are pressing for the establishment of a working relationship with the EU. They see the possibility of Europeans re-establishing diplomatic presences in Kabul as a stepping stone to formal recognition. The Taliban see these measures as warranted because they have unchallenged authority in Afghanistan and because they believe the country remains strategically important to the EU. Some Taliban interlocutors warn that if Western states shun their government, they could increasingly fall under the influence of meddling neighbours, particularly Pakistan. They also caution (whether genuinely or opportunistically is difficult to say) that if Western countries do not quickly display good-will, the group will assume that they are hostile and defer to hardliners who wish to reinforce the groups Islamist and jihadist credentials. Be that as it may, the Taliban leadership is increasingly cognisant they are unlikely to receive any time soon formal recognition or anything like the financial aid flows the previous government enjoyed. Their most pressing priority seems to be removal of sanctions. The Taliban leadership is aware that to maintain Afghanistans public services machinery and ward off state collapse, they will require financial and technical assistance that enables them to restructure their security and intelligence forces and build fiscal management, technological and service-delivery capacity. Without sanctions relief, almost none of that help is attainable. The Talibans leaders appear to believe that if they can get even a fraction of the aid the country previously received, then they would be able to run a functioning government. The Taliban seem to want to extract as many benefits as possible while offering little in return. The Taliban will accept financial aid only if there are minimal conditions. However bad the situation in Afghanistan, at least so far they appear willing to forego assistance if it entails stringent conditions. Publicly, top government officials have emphasised the need to remove conditions for providing aid. Privately, Taliban interlocutors acknowledge the futility of asking for aid with no strings attached but stress that they will be unable to fulfil strict conditions. They say donors should set realistic goals, though have not defined what they would regard as realistic. Conversations with Taliban interlocutors suggest that the groups policies are first and foremost driven by concerns internal to the movement, particularly maintaining its cohesion, followed by broader domestic considerations, with demands by outside powers, especially faraway ones, coming a distant third. In practice, the group may frame its actions as ways to address EU concerns, where those concerns align with the Talibans own goals. Where they diverge, however, the movement will put internal and domestic imperatives ahead of EU demands. The Taliban appear to believe they have already fulfilled some of the EU benchmarks. The group cites its cooperation during the post-15 August evacuation of foreign citizens and many Afghans as an example showing it can be a responsible, constructive counterpart. Interlocutors argue that with the main airports again operational, foreign citizens are free to enter and exit the country. Although concerned about brain drain, they say they are prepared to allow Afghans who want to leave the country to do so and they have facilitated some flights, even though there are also anecdotal indications to the contrary. For such cooperation to continue, they will want something in return. Taliban interlocutors also believe they are on track to meet the benchmark regarding humanitarian operations. The Taliban generally attribute occasional interference in humanitarian organisations work to lack of discipline among the rank and file, and the group claims to be taking steps to curb such behaviour. At the same time, it is likely that the Taliban will use engagement on humanitarian operations as an opportunity to maximise interactions with foreign states in the hopes of building informal diplomatic relations and implicit recognition. On counter-terrorism issues, the Taliban believe that compliance with their February 2020 Doha agreement with the United States (which they claim to be honouring) is sufficient to meet this benchmark. The Taliban argue that the Doha agreement set up a framework whereby their government will treat foreign fighters as refugees, with all the rights and obligations this status entails. They say they will take action against any foreign militants who seek to abuse this status. Yet Taliban interlocutors are also keen to emphasise probably at least in part to deflect responsibility that they would require continued security and intelligence cooperation from the EU and U.S. to detect and stop threats emanating from the country. Given the increasingly dire challenges the Taliban face, they are unlikely to place a high priority on countering militant groups that they do not see as a threat to themselves. The Taliban also do not appear to have a comprehensive understanding of counter-terrorism obligations under international law and practice, including the obligation to cut off terrorist group financing. The group appears to believe that the Doha agreement, rather than Afghanistans broader international obligations, defines its commitments in this area. Taliban interlocutors say they believe the group would require the removal of sanctions as well as financial and technical assistance to fulfil financial counter-terrorism obligations. The Taliban also argue that outside powers should interpret their latest appointments, which only slightly diversified the ethnic composition of their Pashtun-dominated government, as a sign of their willingness to form an inclusive government. Interlocutors claim that inclusion will be effectuated slowly and incrementally, as the group seeks to balance its fighters sensibilities against the need to fulfil its obligations to foreign countries. They also suggest that the government is preparing to form a specific ministry for women that will be led by a woman. If their conduct so far is any guide, however, it is likely that the Taliban will at best bring in one woman in a symbolic position, akin to the inclusion of a Hazara as a deputy public health minister, in order to claim that the government has now become inclusive. One area in which the Taliban have not come anywhere close to meeting European conditions is the protection of rights and fundamental freedoms for women and girls. One area in which the Taliban have not come anywhere close to meeting European conditions is the protection of rights and fundamental freedoms for women and girls. Taliban interlocutors insist that women will have the right to work and get an education, but they are studiously vague about when, and under what circumstances, women will be able to exercise these rights. On paper, the Taliban have extended girls schooling up to the sixth grade to all parts of the country, including the south, where, as an insurgency, local commanders forbade girls to attend even primary school. Anecdotal evidence about womens access to university education is mixed; while some reports indicate that women have been allowed to attend classes in some places, other reports say new restrictions have made that practically impossible in others. At present, however, girls are not being allowed to attend school from the sixth grade through the twelfth, despite the fact that boys of equivalent grades have resumed schooling. The Taliban have claimed that the exclusion of girls is temporary. But they have set no timeline for when girls will be able to resume their studies, making vague excuses for the delay. The group has also curtailed womens ability to work outside the home. They have allowed women to resume working in the health and education sectors as well as in a limited number of security roles that involve interaction with other women (such as at airports). Beyond that, the Taliban have generally barred women from going to work until further notice. While Taliban interlocutors told Crisis Group that these restrictions are temporary, the Talibans history gives reason for doubt. Scepticism is all the more warranted given many powerful Taliban commanders opposition to girls education beyond the sixth grade. On some issues the Taliban see themselves as performing a balancing act between appeasing (as they see it) Western donors and not antagonising their hardline elements. This is seen in spheres such as media and moral policing. The Taliban have so far let many media outlets continue broadcasting. At the same time, numerous journalists report being harassed, arrested and even severely beaten by the Taliban. In the resulting climate, most media outlets are forced to self-censor lest they draw the Talibans ire. In deference to hardliners, the group has also reinstituted the Vice and Virtue Ministry, feared under the Taliban regime of the 1990s for its harsh and often violent moral policing. The ministry has thus far abstained from regulating citizens behaviour nationwide. There have been reports, however, of ministry officials banning music, the shaving of beards and Western hairstyles, particularly in Helmand province, although the government has rejected these reports as fabricated. As the Taliban government wrestles with a multitude of governance and security challenges, there is a risk that it will reverse these meagre concessions to international opinion and to the views of many Afghans to placate hardliners. What the EU Can Do The immediate priority should be making sure that Afghanistan gets as much humanitarian aid as it needs. The EU and its member states should contribute additional funds to the UN humanitarian appeal for the rest of 2021 and urge other donor governments to follow suit. In addition to addressing immediate needs, it will be crucial to find ways to prevent the health care system from collapsing. Although this can be partly achieved by providing funds to international NGOs that remain active in the country, it is unlikely that donors will be able to entirely avoid working with and through the Taliban health ministry in doing so, as even if they scale up their operations, these NGOs alone will never be capable of providing health services across the country without some kind of collaboration with the government-run national health system. Although humanitarian assistance may be able to stave off disaster for the Afghan population, it will not replace the provision of public services. Nor will it prevent the countrys further impoverishment. Should the Taliban make sufficient progress toward the benchmarks set by the EU Council, the European Commission should at least prioritise resuming development assistance in the health sector. At the same time, the EU could evaluate the feasibility of a more expansive development aid program. While aid conditionality is not likely to shape Taliban policies to any great degree, it is not impossible that renewed aid with conditions could bring some small improvements. The Talibans practices are driven primarily by ideology and the groups perceived need to consolidate its grip on power. The groups leaders generally appear to believe that, as the military victors, they need not compromise. They seem inclined to blame the countrys economic woes on Western donors, whom they regard as inflexible and bearing grudges, even if it is clear that their own policies and actions, many of which are anathema to European values, are the chief factor obstructing the resumption of non-humanitarian aid. Nevertheless, the EU should continue to test through engagement whether renewed aid with conditionality could bring worthwhile changes, all the while sticking to its five-part framework. It should also keep reminding the Taliban government of its own commitments, such as its statements that the suspension of girls secondary education is only temporary. Lastly, the EU member states should prepare for large numbers of Afghans potentially fleeing the country. Even if humanitarian aid can stave off the worst in the approaching winter, the prospect of repeated humanitarian crises and possibly renewed violence in Afghanistan means that Afghans will continue to seek to migrate abroad. Many will probably head for Pakistan and Iran, the countries next door, where millions of refugees already reside. So far, the EU has suggested it will fund neighbouring countries to host Afghan refugees. But Afghanistans neighbours are baulking at accepting new arrivals. Moreover, past attempts to increase the reception capacity of other countries have not prevented large numbers of Afghans from attempting the risky journey to Europe. The EU and its member states should accordingly prepare politically and operationally to welcome large numbers of Afghans themselves. An Opportunity for the EU to Help Steer through Reform in Burundi After years of strained ties, the European Union (EU) and Burundi again are on speaking terms. The countrys president, Evariste Ndayishimiye, in power since June 2020, started talks with Brussels in February that could eventually lead the EU to resume direct budgetary support for Burundi. In 2016, due to concerns about Burundian government abuses, the EU invoked the suspension provisions in Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement its partnership pact with various African, Caribbean and Pacific states as the basis for cutting that support amid the violent turmoil following former President Pierre Nkurunzizas contested 2015 election bid. At roughly the same time, Brussels also sanctioned several Burundian officials for their repressive practices and their role in stoking the countrys political crisis. But President Ndayishimiye has sought to put relations between Burundi and its donors on a better footing. By loosening restrictions on civil society and taking a hard line against government corruption, he has tried to allay fears that he will govern like his late predecessor, Nkurunziza, while leaving the door open for dialogue. Brussels can take heart that several rounds of negotiations with Gitega, Burundis official seat of government, have yielded a general Burundian commitment to embark on human rights and good governance reforms. The EU should not open the floodgates of aid money, however, until it can agree with Burundian authorities on more precise benchmarks for these reforms, in light of continued, widespread and destabilising abuses. In the past months, and notwithstanding President Ndayishimiyes willingness to rein in repression, the intelligence services have cracked down harder on government opponents. The Imbonerakure, the youth militia of the ruling Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie Forces pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD), which is dominated by the majority Hutu ethnic group, also continues to harass civilians and target dissenters. Certain members of the minority Tutsi ethnic group are at particular risk. Though Ndayishimiye may be open to addressing alleged abuses, ruling-party hardliners could press him to resist reforms that might loosen the partys grip on power. For Brussels to steer Burundi toward reform, it will need to adopt a consistent negotiating position with Gitega, and make sure it has the ability to monitor the latters adherence to the agreements it makes. Two obstacles could derail those efforts. First, EU diplomats themselves appear to hold different views as to how hard they should push for reform. Secondly, the pending conclusion of multilateral observer and monitoring missions, partly due to Ndayishimiyes charm offensive, means that the EU will no longer have important sources of information about Burundis performance in meeting its commitments. Perhaps most importantly, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi is likely to wind down its multi-year efforts after it reports to the UN Human Rights Council, which rounds off its 48th session on 8 October. In negotiations with Burundi, the EU and its member states should thus: Propose precise benchmarks concerning respect for human rights and political freedoms that they expect Gitega to meet before Brussels again provides budgetary support. These should include a plan for the Burundian authorities to rein in the Imbonerakures abuses and hold to account those of its members responsible for grave human rights abuses. Ensure that the authorities compliance with any agreement to which Burundis government commits is monitored. In the event the UN Human Rights Council creates a new special rapporteur position to take the place of the Commission of Inquiry, which is likely to be disbanded, Brussels should provide the support needed to make it a meaningful oversight mechanism. In the event that the Council does not create this new position when it votes on 7 or 8 October, Brussels should as a fallback strengthen its own monitoring capacity. Brussels should also press Burundian authorities to cooperate with whatever monitoring mechanism it is relying on. Maintain a clear, fixed negotiating position based on the precise benchmarks and monitoring mechanism being sought and avoid sending mixed messages to the Burundian authorities as regards EU expectations. Challenges for Reform Despite President Ndayishimiyes attempts to convince international actors that he is serious about reform, the ruling partys machinery of repression is still firmly in place. According to Human Rights Watch and the UN Commission of Inquiry, the Imbonerakure and intelligence services continue to violate human rights, mainly by targeting opposition members, young Tutsi and members of the armys old guard, also mostly Tutsi, whom the CNDD-FDD sees as security threats. The authorities often use the youth militia to supplement or replace the security forces, particularly in rural areas, giving them free rein to terrorise the population. The militia, which Ndayishimiye oversaw when he was CNDD-FDD secretary general, is known for shaking down, torturing, abducting, sexually abusing women and killing opposition members and ordinary citizens alike. Its members conduct night patrols and house visits to demand funds for CNDD-FDD coffers or personal gain. They also prevent the opposition from organising, by disrupting meetings and vandalising offices. While Ndayishimiye has taken some steps to reel in the Imbonerakure, for example by directing its members to stop extorting financial contributions from the population, he has achieved mixed results at best. The intelligence services, meanwhile, have stepped up abductions and arrests of people considered government opponents, often using internal and cross-border security incidents as cover for round-ups. Any attempt by Ndayishimiye to roll back these practices is likely, however, to meet resistance from top generals in the CNDD-FDD, which started its life as a rebel outfit but has held power since 2005, when it transformed itself into a political party. Several top party and military figures, including many who enriched themselves during former President Nkurunzizas fifteen years in power, are deeply suspicious of Ndayishimiyes tentative rapprochement with the EU and baulk at the notion of conditions attached to renewed budgetary aid. The president will also likely take flak from hardliners who were Nkurunziza allies, such as Prime Minister Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni and Interior Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca, who is under EU sanctions for his role in the 2015 political crisis. Both of these powerful party chiefs supported Nkurunzizas preferred candidate, Pascal Nyabenda, in the 2020 presidential election. Having appointed them to top posts, Ndayishimiye nevertheless faces a struggle to retain their loyalty. Ndayishimiyes engagement with Western, regional and other diplomats, meanwhile, has contributed to their support for a drawdown of multilateral oversight bodies tasked with reporting on Burundi, making it hard to establish whether change is genuine and sustainable. In December 2020, the UN Security Council removed Burundi from its agenda, noting improved security in the country and acknowledging Ndayishimiyes reform efforts. The African Union Human Rights Observers and Military Experts Mission and the Office of the UN Secretary-Generals Special Envoy in Bujumbura, both established to monitor the situation in the country and find a way to end the violence, closed in May 2021. The UN Commission of Inquiry is the only internationally mandated body still active in the country monitoring human rights abuses and the risk of further conflict. But the UN Human Rights Council will likely not renew its mandate, and it remains to be seen whether there is sufficient Council support for replacing it with another oversight mechanism. This matter will be resolved on 7 or 8 October when the Council votes on its Burundi resolution, which includes an EU proposal to create a new mandate for a special rapporteur who could take over some of the Commission of Inquirys monitoring functions. What the EU Can Do It is good news that Burundi and the EU are back in regular contact. Diplomats tell Crisis Group that the Burundian authorities have become significantly more forthcoming since President Ndayishimiye assumed office. Burundian officials show a clear appetite for dialogue, and the reasons why are readily apparent. The country needs financial support. Its economy is shattered following the 2015 political crisis and years of dysfunctional government. It never fully compensated for the loss of the EU as its biggest donor by turning to less traditional partners, such as China, Russia and Turkey, who offered only limited assistance. Even some CNDD-FDD hardliners may thus be inclined to continue negotiation. This situation presents an opportunity for the EU, which should use negotiations to encourage the Burundian authorities to make reforms that can help bolster long-term stability and avoid the return to armed violence. Moving forward, the EU should focus on three priorities to ensure it can steer Burundi toward meaningful reform. The EU should propose clear benchmarks on human rights that Burundi needs to meet if it is to receive renewed budgetary support from Brussels. First, the EU should propose clear benchmarks on human rights that Burundi needs to meet if it is to receive renewed budgetary support from Brussels. The roadmap of reforms prepared by the Burundian authorities is an important first step, but it is not sufficient. A copy reviewed by Crisis Group details steps the government should take to adopt policies and strengthen institutions but makes no reference to the Imbonerakure. Nor does it define what authorities should actually do to curb abuses by the youth militia and intelligence services. The EU should push for benchmarks that are consistent with the concerns expressed in the 2016 European Council decision to suspend aid in the first place, focusing in particular on setting out further commitments to corral abuses by the Imbonerakure, the main tool of CNDD-FDDs repression, including by holding accountable those responsible for egregious abuses. Brussels should also draw upon the latest UN Commission of Inquiry reports, using the rights violations and other abuses documented as its reference points for the situation that Gitega must remedy. Benchmarks should also reflect the expectation that Burundi will cooperate with human rights monitoring mechanisms backed by Brussels. Secondly, in the event that the UN Human Rights Council disbands the UN Commission of Inquiry and as contemplated by the draft resolution on the calendar for 7 or 8 October replaces it with a special rapporteur on Burundi, the EU and its member states should put their efforts behind making this reporting mechanism meaningful. The EU, which drafted the resolution that would provide the special rapporteur with his or her mandate, should also allocate sufficient resources to finance the work of local non-governmental organisations on which previous reporting mechanisms have relied heavily for information. In the event there are not enough votes for the special rapporteur position on 8 October, a fallback would be for the EU to strengthen its own capacity to monitor the authorities compliance with any agreement to which Burundis government commits. Finally, when entering negotiations, EU officials should present a united front. At present, some EU delegates seem keen to turn the page and reach political normalisation with Burundi sooner rather than later. But other officials in Brussels appear convinced that Burundi requires meaningful reforms if it is to avoid further protracted crises, and thus are prepared for lengthy negotiations to see that Gitega adopts the best possible practices. Moreover, in order to revoke the suspension of financial assistance under Article 96, member states in the EU Council will need to adopt a legal act that requires unanimity, which may take time, particularly in the event of enduring concerns about Burundis progress. The EUs internal dissonance has distorted perceptions of the EU position in Burundian circles and could complicate talks going forward. Indeed, in June, after a meeting between Ndaysihimiye and the EU delegations head, the Burundian authorities wrongly announced on the presidencys official Twitter account that Article 96 had been revoked. National and regional media reported this statement as fact, undermining the publics understanding of the negotiations. Going forward, it will be important for Brussels to run a tight ship, with a coordinated position and messaging discipline, if it is to achieve its important goals in the negotiations. Iran: Push to Revive the Nuclear Deal, but Prepare for Worse Outcomes The fate of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 deal placing limitations on Irans nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, looms large in the countrys relations with Europe. The three European parties to the accord European Union (EU) member states France and Germany, as well as the UK have helped keep it alive, if not exactly thriving, since the U.S. unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and Iran subsequently began breaching its own obligations. Since April, with the U.S. wishing to rejoin the pact, the EU has coordinated six rounds of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington through the three European parties plus Russia and China (the other two JCPOA parties). The negotiations yielded considerable progress toward Washington and Tehran resuming mutual compliance with the JCPOA, but they stalled in mid-June as Iran held an election and inaugurated a new president. The urgency of compromise is growing as Irans nuclear program continues to expand and become less transparent with Iran limiting UN inspectors access to nuclear sites, potentially rendering a return to the existing agreement meaningless. Should the JCPOA collapse, the knock-on effects could hinder nascent efforts at de-escalating tensions in the Gulf and the wider Middle East. The EU and its member states should: Support the JCPOAs full restoration, including through proactive steps aimed at bringing Iran meaningful sanctions relief. Prepare contingency plans for the eventuality that JCPOA talks break down, including parameters for an interim arrangement to freeze mutual escalation, as well as a potential shift to better-for-better negotiations in which both sides gain benefits that go beyond the original agreements terms. Encourage efforts at regional dialogue, particularly between Iran and Gulf Arab states. Engage with Iranian authorities on Afghanistan, notably on areas of common interest, including helping refugees and interdicting narcotics. Explore opportunities for strengthening maritime security in the Gulf, including through military-to-military hotlines. The Nuclear Deal: Heading for Revival or Ruin? No issue on Irans foreign policy agenda is more consequential than the JCPOA, which has steadily unravelled since the Trump administration pulled out of it in 2018 and faces deeply uncertain prospects of restoration. Although the Biden administration and the Iranian government agree in principle on the need to revive the accord, progress has been halting. Beginning in early April, negotiators convened for six rounds of talks in Vienna, tackling the specifics of what the U.S. would offer in terms of sanctions relief, what Iran would do to reverse its breaches and in what order the parties would take these steps. Though significant gaps remained, a text was emerging when the sixth round of talks concluded on 20 June. The U.S. sanctions architecture ... remains substantially in place, with deleterious consequences for ordinary Iranians, especially women. Since then, however, Iran, which had a presidential transition in August that completed a conservative takeover of all centres of elected and unelected power, has moved slowly to resume negotiations. Iranian officials indicate they plan to return to the table in the near future, but have not offered an exact timeframe. In the meantime, Iran has continued to expand its nuclear activity while limiting verification and monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The U.S. sanctions architecture set up under President Donald Trump also remains substantially in place, with deleterious consequences for ordinary Iranians, especially women, who have seen their gains in employment, advances to senior management positions and promotions to leadership roles in multiple sectors reversed by the economic downturn. Exacerbated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, these pressures have also reduced womens capacity to pursue legal reforms and protections. The impasse in negotiations is concerning, particularly as Irans advances in nuclear capability risk making the JCPOAs restoration ineffective as a non-proliferation arrangement within a matter of weeks or, at best, months. If and when the parties resume talks, there are three scenarios for how Tehran might approach them. At one end of the spectrum, it may continue constructive deliberations based on the progress made in the previous six rounds; at the other, it may push for an altogether new negotiating paradigm that jettisons the JCPOA as a frame of reference. In between, and for now this scenario is most likely, it may enter the fresh talks with maximalist demands that could deepen the present impasse. The JCPOA standoff occurs against the backdrop of a mixed bag of regional developments of significance to Tehran, as well as to its friends and adversaries. The most positive recent news is that Iraqi mediation has facilitated three confirmed rounds of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, a positive development that could help ease frictions between the long-time rivals. But success is far from assured, especially if relations between Washington and Tehran grow increasingly adversarial and reinforce a zero-sum contest in the region. As for more concerning developments, tensions between Iran and Israel are running high on several fronts, with tit-for-tat attacks, including covert operations against Iranian nuclear facilities and maritime intrigue that could rapidly escalate. In Afghanistan, the return of Taliban rule raises major strategic concerns for Iran, even as Tehran cautiously comes to terms with a government led by men who were once its bitter foes but with whom it has built better, if still uneasy, relations over the past decade. The UN refugee agency has warned that as many as half a million people could leave Afghanistan for neighbouring countries by the end of 2021, including an estimated 150,000 to Iran. Brokering between Rivals Europe has a clear interest in seeing the JCPOA restored. Wishing to avoid another destabilising crisis in the Middle East, Europe has a clear interest in seeing the JCPOA restored. But while the two central protagonists in such an effort are the U.S. and Iran, whose respective sanctions policy and nuclear program are the core issues that must be addressed, the EU and its member states are not mere bystanders. European actors can contribute to diplomacy in two important ways. The first will be relevant in the event of a revived agreement. In this scenario, the EU should move swiftly to put in place measures to give Tehran an economic shot in the arm, including through EU lending institutions. Exploring avenues for such institutions to work with Iran could facilitate project financing and private-sector engagement. In addition, the EU and member states can support the deals long-term viability by shielding European trade with Iran from the risk that the U.S. again pulls out of the deal and reimposes unilateral economic sanctions. The impact of the Trump administrations maximum pressure strategy on Iran-EU trade was and remains substantial. Such trade dropped in value from around 20 billion per year after the JCPOA went into effect to just 5 billion in 2019 and 2020, thus nullifying much of the economic relief Tehran had expected in return for its JCPOA compliance. The dropoff in trade exposed the limits of efforts to retain private-sector interest in Iran, including through the Instrument of Support of Trade Exchanges to facilitate commerce notwithstanding the Trump administrations reimposition of economic sanctions, but it should not dissuade the EU from preparing further initiatives aimed at insulating legitimate Iran-EU commerce from a future U.S. withdrawal. Brussels could, for example, put in place a new and upgraded blocking statute (a law that shields EU companies from U.S. sanctions by prohibiting compliance as a legal matter) linked to the anti-coercion instrument that the EU plans to establish as part of its new trade strategy. The second contribution that the EU and member states could make, particularly in the absence of direct U.S.-Iran talks, is to ready options for the parties in the event that JCPOA negotiations continue to sputter or break down altogether. For example, the Europeans could propose an interim agreement in which Tehran suspends some of its most proliferation-sensitive activities (eg, uranium enrichment above 3.67 per cent, advanced centrifuge work or uranium metal production) in return for limited relief from sanctions on oil sales and/or access to frozen assets. This temporary deal might head off an escalatory spiral and buy time for a more comprehensive understanding. Such a JCPOA-minus arrangement could be a way station toward a JCPOA-plus pact. That sort of deal, in turn, would put more substantial sanctions relief on the table in return for longer-term nuclear restrictions than Iran agreed to in the 2015 deal as well as more rigorous monitoring. By expanding the original agreement into a better-for-better framework, Western powers would secure stronger non-proliferation terms while Iran would reap larger economic benefits. Beyond the JCPOA, the EU and member states can also help bolster diplomacy among the six Gulf Cooperation Council states. Beyond the JCPOA, the EU and member states can also help bolster diplomacy among the six Gulf Cooperation Council states, Iran and Iraq in locally led, internationally backed dialogue. European support can be particularly useful in facilitating discussions about certain areas of mutual concern to the parties, including public health and water scarcity. While the recent conference in Baghdad, in which most of Iraqs neighbours, including Iran, participated along with France, was a step in the right direction, an inclusive and focused sub-regional dialogue among states on both sides of the Gulf has a better chance of achieving regional de-escalation by opening regular channels of communication between officials of similar rank, brief and expertise. The EU and member states should also work with Iran to develop a common approach to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. The inclusion of Iran in the group of states the EU seeks to work with to address the spillover of the Afghanistan crisis, along with other neighbouring countries, is a positive step in this regard. Still, given the prospect of increased numbers of refugees crossing into Iran as they flee Taliban rule in the coming months, and with Iran still struggling to contend with the COVID-19 pandemic, Tehran will need all the help it can get from the EU and member states. Finally, the EU should seek to prevent further deaths like those of a UK and a Romanian national in a July drone attack upon the MT Mercer Street tanker off Omans coast, which the EU, U.S. and G7 have all determined bore Iranian fingerprints. The nine European states participating in the European-Led Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz could increase coordination or merge with other international efforts, including the International Maritime Security Construct, a parallel naval operation established in 2019 with U.S. and UK participation alongside six other members, to make key shipping routes safer. If the participating states are transparent about their intentions, Tehran need not see these measures as yet another way to exert pressure on Iran. Still, as a precaution, the European and other Western states should supplement the maritime security efforts with structured military-to-military communication with the Iranian side, including through a hotline that might be created to reduce the risk of miscalculation or misunderstanding that could lead to confrontation. Helping Stabilise the New Status Quo in Nagorno-Karabakh Almost a year after a Russian-brokered ceasefire ended the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan and Armenia remain at loggerheads. With Armenian forces withdrawn, Russian peacekeepers now patrol the part of Nagorno-Karabakh that remains outside Azerbaijani control, but they are operating without a detailed mandate and risk being stretched too thin. Meantime, Baku and Yerevan have not begun to talk about resolving post-war tensions, much less wrestle with the political status of the breakaway region, over which Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a war in 1992-1994. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, charged with managing the peace process, stands ready to help, but Baku has been recalcitrant, saying that after the 2020 war that format is no longer relevant. The situation thus remains unstable, with soldiers fortifying positions along the new front lines that separate Azerbaijani troops from local forces under the control of Nagorno-Karabakhs de facto authorities. Tensions are also running high along the new, undemarcated sections of the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia, where opposing forces regularly exchange fire, resulting in casualties. Meanwhile, politicians on all sides trade barbs addressed both to their own constituencies and to one another. This status quo affords international actors little space for engaging the conflict parties. Nonetheless, the European Union (EU) should keep facilitating the communication necessary to dampen tensions, as it has been doing since combat ended. It should also devise incentives that could, at some point, help bring real progress. To this end, it will need to work with Moscow, which has peacekeepers on the ground and the most leverage over the conflict parties. The EU and its member states should: Press Baku and Yerevan to begin talks to address post-war issues, including demarcation of the new borders between Armenia and the regions reclaimed by Azerbaijan in the 2020 war and other measures to stabilise the situation on the ground. Urge the sides to enable aid to reach people in Nagorno-Karabakh who need it, even if resolution of the regions long-term status remains elusive. Work with Russia, France and the U.S. to keep possibilities open for the OSCE Minsk Groups return to a mediating role, and continue shuttle diplomacy to mitigate tensions and resolve immediate problems. Explore the extension of development assistance to uncontested border areas, beginning with a comprehensive needs assessment. Based on that assessment, be prepared to support separate projects in Armenia and Azerbaijan, cross-border cooperation on non-political issues, or both. Continued Tensions Six weeks of fighting from 27 September to 9 November 2020 took over 7,000 lives in and around the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh an ethnic Armenian-majority enclave in Azerbaijan that declared its independence in 1991 and has been at the centre of tension and conflict between Yerevan and Baku. The 2020 hostilities fundamentally changed the situation on the ground. Azerbaijan regained control of a key town, Shusha, along with some of Nagorno-Karabakhs mountainous areas and most of seven adjacent territories that Armenian troops had seized in the 1990s. Two weeks after the Moscow-brokered ceasefire came into effect on 9 November, Armenia withdrew its soldiers from the remaining adjacent territories, leaving them in Azerbaijans hands. Russian peacekeepers deployed to the parts of Nagorno-Karabakh that remained outside Azerbaijans control and along the road corridor that connects the region to Armenia through Lachin, the main town in one of the adjacent territories returned to Baku. While the 9 November ceasefire ended the fighting, it did not bring a stable peace or resolve the longstanding questions about Nagorno-Karabakhs political status. While the 9 November ceasefire ended the fighting, it did not bring a stable peace or resolve the longstanding questions about Nagorno-Karabakhs political status that underlie regional instability. Before the ink had dried on the ceasefire statement, Azerbaijani and local forces under the direction of the de facto Nagorno-Karabakh defence ministry began building new barracks and digging trenches along their new, much longer front line. The peacekeepers Moscow has deployed have kept things fairly quiet in the spots where they are stationed. But in places where there are no Russian forces, including along some sections of the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border, troops regularly exchange fire, leaving casualties on both sides. The area between Armenias Gegharkunik region and the neighbouring Kelbajar district, now regained by Azerbaijan, has been the most volatile. In May 2021, as the snows began to melt, Azerbaijani soldiers established new observation posts in the mountains overlooking the new, but as yet undemarcated, border between the two regions. Armenia accused the Azerbaijanis of invading its territory and deployed its own soldiers forward. In late July, clashes culminated in a six-hour battle, with the sides using small arms, machine guns and grenades. While the bullets that strayed into nearby villages did not kill any civilians, the fighting left seven soldiers dead and eight wounded before calls from the Russian general staff to counterparts in Baku and Yerevan brought it to a halt. The casualty count from this and other clashes subsequent to the 9 November ceasefire is ten dead and twelve wounded. More fighting seems likely if Azerbaijan and Armenia do not demarcate a border that takes into account changes in territorial control following the 2020 hostilities. But talks on this and other issues require a go-ahead from political leaders in both countries, and that approval has thus far not come. Baku and Yerevan are also impeding the delivery of humanitarian aid by each insisting that access arrangements must mirror their respective visions for the regions political status. Armenia wants aid to flow both through its territory and Azerbaijans, while Azerbaijan insists on treating the territory as under its sovereignty and fully controlling access. Both governments refuse to budge, fearing that acquiescing in these matters would prejudice the eventual resolution of the territorys status. This inflexibility when it comes to issues that touch in any way on the regions status not only has humanitarian implications but creates risks for civil society actors on the two sides, who may be painted as traitors for wishing to engage one another and to tone down the increasingly antagonistic rhetoric in both countries. Relations are so strained that the very framework for negotiations is now in limbo. For over 25 years, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs (Russia, the U.S. and France) have mediated between Azerbaijan and Armenia. But in the aftermath of the 2020 war, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolved and the OSCE Minsk Group process created to mediate it was therefore obsolete. Russia, the U.S. and France disagreed and convened the first meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers since the war under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on 24 September. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether they will be able to sway Azerbaijan to rejoin talks. The two sides failure to talk about borders or Nagorno-Karabakh has forced Russian, U.S. and European diplomats to engage in painstaking shuttle diplomacy, by telephone and in person, to make incremental progress on basic humanitarian issues like sharing information about the location of landmines and detainee exchanges. Meanwhile, the renewed fighting has imperilled plans for broader regional cooperation, in particular the reopening of transport and commercial links between Azerbaijan and Armenia promised in the 9 November ceasefire deal. Such cooperation is the one thing that Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders have tentatively begun discussing since the 2020 war, participating in Russia-led talks on the subject. But even this dialogue was derailed for some months following the recent clashes. After three months of no meetings, representatives from Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan met in August to discuss transport and communications but further fighting could stall progress once more. Engagement with Purpose The goal for the EU, its member states, Russia and the U.S. is to coax Baku and Yerevan to the negotiating table to discuss immediate post-war issues such as border demarcation and other measures to stabilise the situation on the ground, with a view to the potential launch of talks to normalise relations among the conflict parties. Pending such talks, however, they must do what they can to help defuse what remains a dangerous situation. Brussels and its member states should persevere in the careful shuttle diplomacy [with Armenia and Azerbaijan] they have already undertaken. To both ends, Brussels and its member states should persevere in the careful shuttle diplomacy they have already undertaken. For all the inherent challenges, the EU is well placed to play this role. For years, the institutions engagement in Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations was limited because it was not a formal part of the OSCE Minsk Group. Today, Bakus rejection of that process renders EU involvement crucial. Brussels direct channels with Baku and Yerevan have already helped, for example, make possible a June exchange of fifteen Armenian detainees for maps of Armenian-laid mines in the territories Azerbaijan regained in the war. But EU engagement does more than fill gaps left by Bakus rejection of the OSCE Minsk Group. EU diplomacy with Baku and Yerevan can also help define what role, if any, the OSCE Minsk Group might have in future discussions, whether concerning borders, Nagorno-Karabakhs political status or humanitarian issues. The EU special representative for the South Caucasus is particularly well placed, and indeed mandated, to continue this work. Given Moscows many roles in this conflict, including as mediator and peacekeeper, the EU will be required to work closely with Russia. Fortunately, and in sharp contrast to the many regions where European and Russian interests clash, Russia is amenable to collaboration with Western states when it comes to Nagorno-Karabakh. While it has taken the undisputed lead in setting the post-war agenda for Armenia and Azerbaijan, and is the only state with peacekeepers on the ground, it has also consistently reached out to the other OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries, the U.S. and France, sharing information and coordinating calls and meetings. Paris and Moscow discuss Nagorno-Karabakh directly at the highest levels. In August, Russia appointed a new representative to the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassador Igor Khovayev, who has sought to re-energise the format by travelling to the region to meet with and urge both sides to return to negotiations. He will likely welcome the EUs help in doing so and perhaps also in nudging Armenia and Azerbaijan to agree to a clear mandate for Moscows peacekeepers. The EU should also seek to work with Russia to facilitate border demarcation. Moscow has tried to press Baku and Yerevan to begin talks on the subject, and Brussels can help define incentives to bring them to the table. In June, foreign ministers from Romania, Austria and Lithuania visited the South Caucasus to discuss confidence-building and border issues with Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders. The EU has followed up with offers of assistance. In addition to expertise on border management gleaned in the Balkans and between member states, the EU can offer to help mediate and provide technical support for the increasingly urgent challenge of water sharing across the new borders and lines of separation and other critical environmental and climate matters. Then there is aid. The EU is already a substantial supporter of post-war rehabilitation efforts. Brussels allocated 7 million during the war to support direct humanitarian aid. In the spring of 2021, it promised 10 million more, to assist with post-conflict needs, including demining. Baku and Yerevan would welcome more help, but there are complications. Azerbaijan would like more support to demine and rebuild in the seven regions it regained in the war, so that those displaced from those regions in the 1990s (and their families) can return. Per recent EU pledges, it will likely get more help with demining. But the EU prefers to offer development support in the form of loans, which Baku has long rejected, preferring grants. Moreover, Brussels is leery of granting such support to these territories absent two things. One is a better understanding of what Baku plans for both reconstruction and resettlement of the previously displaced in earlier phases of the conflict. The second is a clear path to assist the nearly one third of Nagorno-Karabakhs ethnic Armenian population displaced from territory now controlled by Azerbaijan as a result of the mid-2020 fighting, many of whom still lack sustainable housing. This last matter requires Azerbaijani-Armenian agreement on rules for international organisations access to the conflict zone. The impasse shows no sign of ending, but Brussels can and should keep the topic on its agenda with both capitals. There are also things the EU can do right away, even as Baku and Yerevan remain unwilling to talk about most items. In July 2021, Brussels announced an ambitious multi-year assistance program in the EUs eastern partnership countries, including Armenia and Azerbaijan. The EUs support for Armenia includes potential financing of a road cutting deeper through Armenias mountainous territory and bypassing the existing route crisscrossing the border with Azerbaijan that has proven problematic. In September, Azerbaijani police established a new checkpoint on that main transit road, which is used by Iranian truckers shipping goods to Armenia and other parts of the Black Sea region. Additionally, around 80 million in EU funding is allocated for investment in the economic development of the southern border region of Armenia, which not only suffered in the 2020 war, but now hosts both people displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and new military positions that put civilian settlements at risk. The EU could consider expanding these development programs along the uncontested parts of the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Brussels would have to work out with Armenia what additional programs might be needed. It would also have come to terms with Baku both on what the EU is to offer Azerbaijan and how to resolve the problems of grants vs. loans and access to territories on its side of the line. But unlike activities in Nagorno-Karabakh, border region assistance raises no questions of status. For starters, the EU could offer a comprehensive needs assessment mission in the border regions. Based on this beginning, it could support separate projects in Armenia and Azerbaijan, cross-border cooperation on non-political issues, or both. Nicaragua: Dealing with the Dangers of a One-Sided Poll An unrelenting crackdown on the political opposition by the Nicaraguan government has turned Novembers elections into a potential flashpoint and spurred a sharp deterioration in relations between President Daniel Ortega and other Latin American nations, the U.S. and the European Union (EU). At the start of 2021, almost three years after security forces met mass protests with violence over 300 people, most of them demonstrators, died in the unrest Ortega appeared to have consolidated his hold on power, in spite of the pandemic, and reaffirmed his political supremacy over a weak and fragmented opposition. Even so, the government has proven unwilling to take the risk of confronting an electoral challenge, opting instead for the iron fist. In recent months, state repression in Nicaragua has reached levels unseen in Latin America since the regions dictatorships waned in the 1980s, with the government arresting at least 37 high-level opponents, including seven presidential hopefuls, and compelling many others to flee into exile. The government has also proscribed the parties on whose ticket the opposition candidates would have run. These draconian steps have brought Nicaragua back into the international spotlight, and on to the EUs radar, but as of yet outside powers have not mounted a concerted response capable of swaying Managua. Nor are they likely to do so. To date, neither punitive measures from Western governments nor the more diplomatic approaches of left-leaning Latin American states like Mexico and Argentina have made inroads with Ortega, who has reacted furiously to what he perceives as interference. As election day draws nearer, it seems increasingly likely that Ortega will stroll to victory in a one-sided election, creating the conditions for further instability, humanitarian crisis and emigration, and setting a dangerous precedent for a region seeing increasing movement toward greater authoritarianism. Against this backdrop, the EU has called on Ortega to halt his autocratic drift and imposed individual sanctions on eight of his allies, bringing the total of sanctioned persons since 2018 to fourteen. The Nicaraguan government has pushed back hard. Member states who have been vocal in their criticism of Ortega have been condemned publicly by Nicaraguan officials or received private threats that Managua will expel their ambassadors. The European Parliament has called on the EU to increase pressure on Ortega, including by suspending Nicaragua from its association agreement with Central America, which establishes a free trade area with the region. With the aim of mitigating the risks of repression, deepening instability, diplomatic isolation and a migrant exodus from Nicaragua, the EU and its member states should design a sequenced approach comprising the following steps: Continue to press the government to stop arresting opponents, release political prisoners and meet certain basic electoral standards, such as allowing opposition campaigning, civil society observation of the polls and free press coverage of the process, with a view to rebuilding relations with European countries. The EU should also liaise with governments that still have communication channels open with Ortega in an effort to drive this message home to him. Work with the U.S., Canada and other regional governments on a coordinated response at the bilateral and multilateral levels in the event of a non-credible election, potentially including expanded targeted sanctions and disciplinary measures by the Organization of American States (OAS) so long as these are calibrated to mitigate their humanitarian impact. In coordination with the U.S., Canada and other regional governments, draw up a roadmap including clear conditions for lifting sanctions and restoring better working relations with Ortegas government. The roadmap should include the resumption of dialogue with opposition forces on humanitarian and electoral issues, as well as a general framework for future political coexistence. Step up humanitarian aid and technical support to neighbouring countries facing a rise in arrivals of Nicaraguan migrants and refugees, as well as support to humanitarian agencies liaising with migration authorities, shelters and processing systems in those countries. An End to Electoral Competition Since mid-2019, when the second round of talks between the Ortega government and the Civic Alliance, an opposition umbrella organisation, ended, the tug of war between the government and its political opposition has been frozen. But the balance of power between the sides has progressively shifted. Despite their initially egregious mishandling of COVID-19, the ruling couple of President Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, managed to reestablish a firm grip on the country by late 2020. Infighting between the two main opposition blocs, spearheaded by the Civic Alliance and the Blue and White National Unity, hindered efforts to create a cohesive political front that could stand up to the government. Meanwhile, most foreign governments engaged with Nicaragua became absorbed in their own pandemic-related woes. Notwithstanding its already strong hand, the government has sought to quash anyone who might pose an electoral challenge to its rule. Mindful of the 1990 election, in which the Sandinistas led by Ortega suffered a surprise defeat at the tail end of a decade-long civil war, the government has rolled out an unabashed strategy of coercion and intimidation. Between late 2020 and early 2021, the Sandinista-controlled National Assembly took a number of steps to entrench the current governments power. It passed laws relating to foreign agents, cybercrime and treason that expanded its powers. It also extended the permissible pre-trial arrest period from 48 hours to 90 days. As 2021 proceeded, it appointed new loyalist magistrates to the Supreme Electoral Council. At first, many observers assessed that the new legislation would be little more than a latent threat. But, starting in late May, judicial authorities proceeded to order the detention of 37 high-level opposition figures, including seven possible presidential candidates, on conspiracy and treason charges, while the Supreme Electoral Council stripped three parties of their legal accreditation and the National Assembly did the same to 45 civil society organisations, including six international NGOs. The government has also targeted the free press: press associations have privately reported attacks on at least 98 reporters in the first semester, including 35 women who were also victims of gender-based threats and harassment. The arrested men and women were held incommunicado for months, until authorities finally allowed brief family visits in late August. The state held their hearings in secret and sometimes in the absence of their lawyers, and relatives have alleged that prisoners are facing physical and psychological mistreatment particularly women, according to the UN and Inter-American human rights organisations. With politicians, business leaders, dissident Sandinistas and journalists among those detained, opposition groups [in Nicaragua] find themselves in complete disarray. With politicians, business leaders, dissident Sandinistas and journalists among those detained, opposition groups find themselves in complete disarray. Most of their leaders are either in jail or in exile, while the remaining five candidates set to run against Ortega in November come from parties that most opposition forces consider to be government collaborators. The few opposition leaders who remain in Nicaragua have fallen silent and seem unable to agree on whether to boycott the polls or to ask supporters to spoil their ballots. The Consequences of a Rigged Election Ortegas authoritarian moves risk stirring up the grievances at the heart of the countrys unresolved crisis. Enjoying only roughly half the popular support he enjoyed before 2018 (surveys show his ratings are stable at around one third of the population) and having damaged, perhaps irreparably, relations with the private sector and the Catholic Church after the crackdown on mass protests, Ortega is operating in an increasingly hostile environment. Three consecutive years of recession have piled ever more hardship on a population that was already among the poorest in Latin America. The recent wave of arrests has fuelled discontent among Ortegas adversaries and may raise the prospect of episodic political violence, which tends to increase in election years. Urnas Abiertas, a civil society organisation that monitors elections, recorded 1,375 acts of political violence, most of them harassment, between 1 October 2020 and 15 August 2021. Even though mass protests are unlikely to resurface in the short term given the highly repressive climate, state violence and economic despair could rekindle the protest spirit, in the words of a Nicaraguan security expert. An additional uncertainty is that Ortega, who turns 76 in November, has reportedly been suffering health problems. His sudden demise could spark unrest as potential successors jockey for power, given that he has no heir apparent with strong support in Sandinista ranks. The combination of economic stress and political persecution is also likely to prompt yet more Nicaraguans to flee. The combination of economic stress and political persecution is also likely to prompt yet more Nicaraguans to flee. After three years in which Nicaraguas GDP contracted by more than 3 per cent, the World Bank predicted the country to be the third worst economic performer in the Western Hemisphere in 2021, behind Venezuela and Haiti, though its recent update is more optimistic. A rigged election would only isolate the government further, driving away more private investment (which has already nosedived in recent years) and hindering Managuas access to multilateral loans, as the U.S., the EU and other stakeholders are likely to vote against their disbursement. Already, these conditions plus stepped-up repression are having an effect: more than 16,000 Nicaraguans booked hearings to file asylum requests in Costa Rica between June and August, marking the start of a second wave of arrivals, according to a UN official. But with Costa Ricas migration system overwhelmed since 2018 with a backlog of 89,000 unresolved asylum requests, Nicaraguans are increasingly looking to other destinations, above all the U.S. The number of Nicaraguans apprehended at the U.S. southern border has dramatically increased in 2021, from 575 in January to 13,391 in July, when it topped the number of Salvadorans for the first time in decades. The Nicaraguan surge toward the U.S. border is set to hit a record for the 2021 fiscal year, with 43,327 apprehensions so far, many of them people travelling in family units. Events in Nicaragua could well resonate beyond the its borders. Other political leaders in Central America may feel emboldened to follow in Ortegas footsteps, particularly if the U.S. prioritises cooperation on migration control and counter-narcotics and imposes few costs for democratic backsliding. In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele has already been concentrating power and chipping away at judicial independence; among other things, the Salvadoran Constitutional Court newly packed with the presidents political allies has overturned a constitutional prohibition on presidents running for immediate re-election at the end of their term. In Honduras, voters will also head to the polls within weeks of the Nicaraguan elections to choose a successor to President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who has been cited several times as a co-conspirator in drug trafficking trials in New York courtrooms including that involving his brother, sentenced to life imprisonment in March. (Hernandez has denied all accusations of involvement in the drug trade.) Although he is not eligible to stand for election again and has publicly ruled out doing so, Honduran analysts fear that Hernandez may meddle in presidential politics, either to impose his preferred candidate, Nasry Asfura, or to keep a grip on state and judicial institutions. The Way Forward: A Sequenced, Coordinated Approach Against this backdrop, the EU and its member states, along with other outside actors with influence in Managua, should step up their engagement in Nicaragua. While there is little if anything outside actors can do to change Ortegas immediate electoral strategy, looking away is not a good option, either. A failure to criticise increasing repression or impose costs for election fixing would send a dangerous signal, and increase the risk that other Latin American leaders resort to destabilising anti-democratic tactics in their own countries. Although the targeted sanctions and critical messaging that the EU has deployed to date have prompted a bristling response from Managua, Brussels should not back down. It should, however, choreograph its next steps carefully. First, Brussels and EU member states should work with the U.S. and regional partners to prioritise the demands that they will be making in advance of the elections. They should continue to call on Ortega to halt the crackdown against political dissent; to release political prisoners; and to allow national and foreign journalists and civil society organisations to monitor the election. They should work through their few remaining diplomatic channels and with parties to which Managua might be receptive (including the Vatican and friendly regional governments such as Bolivia and Peru) to persuade Ortega that his best interests lie in meeting minimum electoral standards in order to restore working relations with foreign partners and financial institutions, and to warn that without improvements in these areas, they will respond robustly including with additional targeted sanctions to credible accounts of election rigging. Imposing additional sanctions before the polls, on the other hand, runs the risk of fuelling Ortegas ire and attacks on the opposition rather than taming them. Once the vote has been cast and he has achieved his goals, the presidents calculations are likely to be different and pressure tools of greater use. The EU and its partners ... should calibrate the measures they take [to sanction Nicaragua] to mitigate the humanitarian impact they might have. Networking News Partners: Time Is Nigh For Cisco-VMware Software-Defined Networking Tech Integration Kevin McLaughlin Share this With Cisco Systems talking with VMware about a deeper and more meaningful software-defined networking relationship, could official integration of their respective technologies be far behind? That's a question many partners are pondering now that customers have begun deploying both VMware NSX and Cisco's Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) in their data center environments. Until recently, customers viewed their SDN purchasing decision as an either-or proposition between NSX and ACI, mainly because the former is software-only and the latter also includes Cisco's Nexus 9000 switches and its Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC). [Related: Why Enterprises Are Deploying Cisco And VMware's Software-Defined Networking Together And Loving It] Patrick Cronin, principal at Kovarus, a VMware and Cisco partner in San Ramon, Calif., said NSX and ACI can coexist and work well in customers' environments. "NSX provides rich virtual switch functionality, abstracting the network using a controller and overlays," said Cronin. "ACI melds both hardware and software into a policy-driven network infrastructure built around the needs of specific applications." VMware positions NSX as a way to ease network management and speed service provisioning, and as a network security technology. Cisco's ACI pitch focuses on hardware-based security, as well as automating IT tasks, speeding data center application deployments, and monitoring virtual machine traffic. Ryan Marsyla, principal SDN technologist at Trace3, an Irvine, Calif.-based Cisco and VMware partner, said customers would benefit if Cisco and VMware were to align and integrate ACI and NSX. "The obvious benefit would be the ease of client adoption, [and] clarity around which to support. This would eliminate debates between the network and virtualization teams," he said. Other potential benefits of SDN integration range from network underlay visibility when deploying NSX -- which could significantly ease troubleshooting -- to centralized management, policy enforcement and scale, Marsyla said. However, there are some hurdles to customers using both technologies. While ACI and NSX can provide "a powerful policy, compliance and highly scalable network," the costs of buying both can be prohibitive for some customers, according to Cronin. "If a customer would pay for ACI and NSX, theyd get the Cadillac of networks. But that Caddy would cost a pretty penny," said Cronin. Ron Flax, vice president at August Schell, a Rockville, Md.-based VMware partner, doesn't see NSX-ACI integration as a near-term play. "I don't yet see a world where you have integration between VMware NSX Controller [the vendor's SDN management system] and control ACI through that," he said. While it remains to be seen whether ACI-plus-NSX becomes a full blown trend, partners that work with both vendors said the trash talk that began after VMware acquire SDN startup Nicira in 2012 has subsided somewhat since Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins took the helm last July. Robbins, in an interview with CRN on Thursday, suggested that Cisco may be open to the idea of working more closely with VMware to make it easier for customers to jointly deploy their technologies. "As it relates to VMware, I think our teams are talking about where there might be points that balance the competitive nature of the partnership, but also meet perhaps some of the emerging customer asks. So I think it that's to be determined," Robbins told CRN. The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) in Australia has fined Carnival Corp. $15,000 after one of its P&O Cruises ships, the Pacific Jewel, breached new low sulfur fuel regulations in Sydney Harbour, said the EPA in a prepared statement. Carnival Australia, which operates P&O Cruises, has disagreed with the NSW EPAs penalty notice that Pacific Jewel breached the new regulation for cruise ships to use low sulfur fuel while at berth in Sydney Harbour, according to Carnival. The EPA said a fuel sample taken by the ships crew and provided to EPA officers while the ship was berthed at the White Bay Cruise Terminal on the 26 February 2016 had a sulfur level of 0.293%, nearly three times the 0.1% sulfur limit. Carnival Australia has disagreed with the NSW EPAs penalty notice and is appealing against the finding. They have called on the EPA to review the penalty notice on the basis that it failed to take into account available technical information that would have confirmed the ship had completed the changeover to low sulfur fuel within the prescribed time period. Carnival Australia said the company adhered to regulatory requirements wherever it operated and maintained that Pacific Jewel was using low sulfur fuel as required while berthed at White Bay Cruise Terminal. Pacific Jewels transfer to low sulfur fuel was conducted in compliance with the new regulatory regime for Sydney Harbour and the fuel transfer was fully documented onboard the ship, said Carnival. According to Carnival, the single fuel sample submitted to the EPA for testing did not properly reflect Pacific Jewels successful transition to low sulfur fuel on the day in question and this has resulted in a wrong outcome. The fine is the first to be issued under the new regulations which came into force from Oct, 1 2015. The regulations require cruise ships berthed in Sydney Harbour to use low sulfur fuel within one hour of berthing until one hour before departure. EPA Acting Director Metropolitan Greg Sheehy said that the EPA had also issued an official caution to the ships master. The ships crew had started changing over from using high sulfur fuel shortly after the ship had berthed at White Bay, but the sample showed that the fuel being used in the ships engine during the EPAs inspection did not meet the low sulfur fuel requirements, Sheehy said. Sheehy said that Carnival had advised the EPA that its P&O Cruises Australia ships will start their changeover from high sulfur fuel earlier to address the problem. With the appeal pending, Carnival Australia is now having ship fuel samples tested independently to ensure timely confirmation of the companys adherence to the low sulfur fuel requirement. A secret FBI hacking tool, used to compromise the Tor anonymous browser in one investigation, is facing challenges from criminal defendants, perhaps putting its future in doubt. Defendants have demanded to see details of the FBI network investigative technique (NIT), the agency's name for the relatively recent hacking tool, in a handful of criminal cases, but the agency has refused to disclose the information. A judge in a high-profile child pornography case, in which a website called Playpen was accessible only through Tor, is trying to decide whether the FBI should disclose the NIT"s source code to the defendant. If the FBI shares the source code, its hacking tools may be compromised in future cases, but the U.S. Constitution's Sixth Amendment gives the defendant a right to confront his accusers and challenge their investigation. Judge Robert Bryan of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington wrestled with the competing interests in a case status order he issued in the U.S. v. Michaud case this week. The defendant's request for the NIT source code "places this matter in an unusual position," Bryan wrote. "What should be done about it when, under these facts, the defense has a justifiable need for information in the hands of the government, but the government has a justifiable right not to turn the information over to the defense?" Ars Technica, which reported on Bryan's order this week, noted that two other judges, in Oklahoma and Massachusetts, have ruled this year to suppress NIT-obtained evidence. And a defense attorney in West Virginia has filed to withdraw a guilty plea in a case involving NIT evidence. In another order this week, Bryan refused Mozilla's request for the government to disclose the vulnerability in Tor. Tor is based on Mozilla's Firefox browser. The FBI's strategy with NIT-aided investigations appears to involve hiding its use of hacking tools, and, in some cases, pressing for guilty pleas before defendants and their lawyers question the investigative techniques, said Nathan Freed Wessler, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. The ability of defendants to confront the evidence against them is "absolutely essential" to conducting fair trials, Wessler said. Secret evidence is "irreconcilable" with the U.S. justice system, he added. The FBI has defended NITs, saying their use is limited. "The use of Network Investigative Techniques is lawful and effective, and only employed when necessary -- against some of the worst offenders," the agency said in a statement. "The technique is time and resource intensive, and is not a viable option for most investigations ..." The Michaud case raises several sticky issues, technology and legal experts said. Both sides should have access to evidence in a criminal case, but FBI disclosure of the NIT's source code could kill the tool's effectiveness going forward, said Paul Fletcher, security evangelist for security vendor Alert Logic. "Sharing that detailed information in this scenario doesnt necessarily mean that information should be released to the public," he said by email. "The implications of the FBI being forced to share these techniques could expose their technical capacity and/or their dependence on external sources to help with hacking techniques. In other words, the general public would begin to understand the level of technical capabilities of the FBI." In the Michaud case, the defendant's lawyer had agreed earlier to view the source code using FBI-approved security measures, but the FBI backed away from that compromise. Look for inconsistent rulings across the U.S. related to secret government hacking tools, added James Goodnow, a lawyer with the Fennemore Craig law firm in Phoenix. "This is a classic example of the law not keeping up with technology," Goodnow said by email. "The law on the disclosure of source code is murky, at best." The issue is "ripe" to go to an appeals court, or even the U.S. Supreme Court, he added. In addition, expect more defendants to challenge government hacking techniques, with their lawyers questioning whether the hacking exceeded the limits of a warrant, Goodnow added. "When it comes to source code, defendants are going to argue that they have a constitutional right to explore whether the officer provided the judge with enough specificity about how evidence was being obtained and whether the obtained evidence is within the scope of that warrant," he said. "No code; no due process; no conviction -- at least thats how the argument will go." Excuse me for asking, but exactly who is our current public service commissioner, Kirk Bushman, working for? The public, or the big utilities? Actually, I've been wondering about that for some time now, but several of Bushman's recent votes on the PSC have confirmed my suspicions. First, he votes against a settlement between the Montana Consumer Council and Montana-Dakota Utilities that reduced MDU's planned rate increase from 21 percent to 14 percent, complaining that the commission put too many unfair "conditions" upon the poor utility monopoly. Then, he votes against a motion by Commissioner Roger Koopman, disallowing an $8.2 million rate increase to NorthWestern Energy customers for a six-month outage at Colstrip that NWE could have prevented. On a second motion by Commissioner Travis Kavulla, he again voted "no" to a reasonable rate reduction for unjustified company administrative expenses. I would like to know what is going on here. As a Republican, I assume my Republican office holders will stand for conservative principles, keep rates low and just, and demand good business practices from the regulated utilities. Unfortunately, Bushman has done just the opposite, and if it wasn't for the good sense of his fellow Republicans (with whom he consistently breaks ranks), rate-payers would be paying dearly for his apparent loyalties to the energy monopolies. Bushman has forgotten that the agency he works for begins with the word "public" and continues with the word "service." I'm confident that Tony O'Donnell, his GOP challenger, won't make that mistake. Christine Wilnau Billings GREENWICH - For Greenwich Academys class of 2016, a graduation ceremony on the front lawn at 200 North Maple Ave. has always loomed as the final destination in their secondary-school careers. But the 79 graduates should not define their lives by end points, their commencement speaker told them Thursday. The end is nothing; the road is all, she said, quoting the 19th-century French historian Jules Michelet. The speaker PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger said a corollary of Michelets adage from American author Willa Cather reinforces the point: The road and the end are literally one. Your life journey, the path you have already started to follow and that youll continue to build as you move and grow are not moving towards some final destination, Kerger said. Instead, it is the journey, the experiences you will have as you move through your life, the people you will meet and the changes that you will help create along the way that are the true measure of your lifes work. She told the graduates to map their own route. Follow that thread, that inner voice that whispers to you about what you were put on this earth to do, Kerger said. Find that authentic voice that is yours and yours alone and use it. More Information Thursday, May 19,2016 Greenwich Academy 79 Graduates Valedictorian Caroline Dunn See More Collapse Head of School Molly King praised valedictorian Caroline Dunn and her classmates for their enthusiasm and willingness to test themselves with new experiences. Your signature characteristic its that youre all in with everything that you do, King said. Your teachers and I, we love this about you. Too many people are content to hug those sidelines, critics too afraid or insecure to put themselves out there. But you push yourselves to leave those inhibitions behind and bravely and joyfully embrace the new. You have led with your hearts by being all in. Katalina Connors gave the senior class speech. She urged her classmates to confidently pursue their goals and to not succumb to impostor syndrome, a feeling that they would not belong and not be worthy enough for new environments. You are smart enough, talented enough, Connors said. You belong. You have earned your seat at the table. You have worked through years of research papers, late nights of group projects and studying for tests, hours of proofreading and editing and thinking of the right word thats just on the tip of your tongue. You have worked so hard, and you will continue to do so. After the ceremony, the graduates gathered with family, friends and school staff in the schools front entrance for a reception to celebrate the occasion. It feels very weird because Ive been here such a long time, said Oluchi Ihionu, who is headed to Boston University after seven years at GA. This day was so far ahead, and I didnt think it would come. I think GA has prepared me so much for college, and Im really excited to see what the future holds for me. Kennedy Woods, a 2015 graduate of Greenwich Academy who now attends Spelman College, told Oluchi that she and her classmates have many reasons to be optimistic. It does not end, and your life will move on past GA, Woods said. High school is so challenging that you dont think that things will move on after high school, but it really does. Your freshman year at college will be amazing. pschott@scni.com; 203-625-4439; twitter: @paulschott This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MILFORD When he learned that his father needs a kidney, John Krusinski set out to find him one, using a combination of old and new technologies. First, the 24 year-old painted his truck with a message seeking a donor, including his e-mail address and his cell phone number, along with his fathers blood type. When that didnt work right away, he put a photo of the truck and message on his Facebook page, and tweeted it with the hashtag #helpjohnsdad. Thats when things exploded. By Friday morning there were nearly 600 Facebook shares and 40 comments, many of them offers to be tested as a donor. Ive gotten calls from Tennessee, Florida and Texas from people interested in donating a kidney, Krusinski said. When it was (only) on the truck, I got maybe one or two responses. A dedicated Boston Red Sox fan, the Milford native even tweeted the photo of his painted truck to the teams Twitter account, asking that they retweet it. The normal wait for a donated kidney is three to four years, he said, but the family is on a tight timeline. If its at all possible, were hoping my dad can have the surgery and recover in time for my sisters wedding in September, Krusinski said. The normal recovery time from kidney transplant surgery is two to six weeks, according to the website donatelife.net. Right now there are more than 120,000 people waiting for a kidney, the web site says. In the meantime, Richard Krusinski, 58, a heating, venting and air conditioning technician, is preparing to start dialysis after his kidney disease suddenly worsened recently. Both John and one of his two sisters have arranged to be tested as kidney donors for their father, who is on the transplant list at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Richard Krusinski said his son didnt warn him about the social media campaign, or even the message on his pickup truck. It was a complete surprise, but I am so proud of John for the thought he put into it, he said. I hope it finds the right match but if it cant help me, maybe it can help someone else who needs a kidney, the Milford resident said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STRATFORD Family members said the Stratford man who was struck and killed by a wrong-way driver on Route 8 in Shelton Thursday morning wouldnt hesitate to help people in need. The victim, Fernando J. Moreno-Rivas, 30, was a U.S. Army medic who served in Afghanistan. He died after his 2015 Chevy Tahoe was struck head on by a vehicle driven by and Kelly M. Wootten, 29, of Balance Rock Road in Seymour. State Police said Wootten was driving north on Route 8 in the southbound lane when her mini-van collided with his Tahoe near Exit 13. He was very outgoing always ready for an adventure, said family member Lissette Cruz-Jimenez. Im not exaggerating when I say that no one ever had anything bad to say about him. Always looked on the positive side of things and he was always ready with a joke to cheer people up. And he was a great father. Cruz-Jimenez is the wife of Moreno-Rivas cousin. They were very close growing up, she said. They did everything together. The victim has an 18-month-old daughter, Arianna, family members said. Wootten was also killed in the crash. Little information could be found Friday about her, and people close to Wootten could not be reached for comment. Moreno-Rivas grew up on Bridgeport and was graduated from Notre Dame High School in Fairfield in 2004. The school posted on its Facebook page: One of our own was in the accident on Rt. 8, and was taken from us too soon. Fernando Moreno was in the ND class of '04, and returned to ND in 2013 on Veterans Day to speak to the student body. He was a U.S. Army Medic and served in Afghanistan. Some of you may remember him from the school supply drive that he requested ND do, so he could distribute school supplies to the children in Afghanistan. While serving in Afghanistan, Moreno-Rivas wrote to the school: We had a patient to see today... he is an 8-year-old boy who had a follow up. He was injured a month ago and as we went to see him I took the opportunity to take him some school supplies that the ND family sent! The joy in his face can only be explained by this picture! Thank You again for all your help and as i said before once we get in contact a set things up with a school we will be handing out all of the stuff. Family members said that the funeral will take place Tuesday at the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church, 700 Old Stratfield Road, Fairfield. The wake will be Monday from 4 to 8 p.m. in Larsons Funeral Home, 2496 North Avenue, Bridgeport. On the Facebook page, there were many comments paying tribute to Moreno-Rivas. Janet Geary Haffner wrote. Fernando-One of the finest young men I had the pleasure to know. Always kind,always the gentle man,always willing to be of service. My deepest sympathy goes out to his family. Rest with the angels Fernando. Marcus Robertson wrote, RIP soldier y'all will be never forgotten. You were an role model for me for joining the U.S. Army. Katielynne Bevino said, I am completely devastated by this. Can't seem to stop crying. Prayer for his baby daughter Arianna and his family and friends. Thank you for your dedicated service to this country and most of all for your friendship. You were a wonderful friend and I always knew you were there if I needed you. While many salespeople have fought hard to get rid of the "sleazy salesman" stereotype, sadly, sales sleaze still exists. A sales expert on this very site recently posted an article suggesting 12 Shameless Tactics to get more sales. Of the twelve suggestions, six of them involved lying directly to a prospective customer, including this nugget: OK, this may be shameless lying. But on the scale of lying its pretty far down the list. Really, were on a lying scale now? I would love to see a blog post that explains just where the line is drawn on that scale. Ive somehow missed that. Perhaps the worst part of the article is the title: No Successful Salesperson is Too Proud to Use Any of These 12 Shameless Tactics. Related: Are Business Ethics at a Low Ebb? Oh, sorry to disappoint. But I am one of thousands of sales professionals who utilize ethical practices and are still successful. I sold more than 500 homes in my real estate career, and I later led a nationwide sales team that amassed over a billion dollars a year in revenue. Lying was never EVER a part of our curriculum. Exhibit B. Today I watched a blogcast of a sales expert in Dallas. The title of the piece: Theres an A** for Every Seat. Id quote some of the content, but the profound vulgarity would be wildly out-of-place on this site. Suffice it to say that it is language I would expect in a prison yard and not on an educational sales site. Related: Why Honesty and Integrity Really Do Matter Exhibit C. The awesome confrontation between Grant Cardone and Gary Vaynerhcuk that Will Barron expertly breaks down here. Related: Six Pillars Of Building Your Integrity The Showdown. Who are you? Who do you want to be? How do you define integrity? If we want to succeed in sales on our terms, we must answer these questions. There are two very different schools of thought on what makes for an appropriate sales message. You can live in only one of those worlds. Which one do you choose? Related: Are You a Sleazy Salesperson? The 6-Step Method for Managing Any Ethical Dilemma How to Deal When Personal Lives Impact Professional Goals Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved NORWALK Scratched, bruised and shaken. That's how they said their children are coming home. Three Norwalk mothers said their children are being abused by teachers and staff at High Road School during the Board of Education meeting this week. Their stories are alarming: four staff members restraining one 8-year-old girl, seclusion room "time-outs" that last up to six hours a day, bruises on thighs from adults holding down a 59-pound child. "No parent sends their child to school for them to come back with bruises. No parents wants their child in the morning screaming, fighting, saying 'Mom it's a bad school,'" said Nancy Michel, one of the High Road parents. The state Department of Children and Families is conducting an investigation into the school, said Superintendent of Schools Steven Adamowski. He did not respond to requests for comment after the Tuesday meeting. UPDATE: Special needs school cleared of wrongdoing following abuse complaints Gary Kleeblatt, spokesperson for the department, said that under state law, the department is unable to discuss specific reports or investigations. The Connecticut Department of Education had no record of pending complaints against High Road, said Communications Director Abbe Smith. High Roads' spokesperson Amber van Niekerk said the school would not comment on issues regarding its students. Brenda Penn Williams, a District C Democrat and commissioner of the Housing Authority, organized the mothers and spoke at the meeting herself. She said she received one more complaint from a parent, who couldn't make it to the meeting, and has heard from many more. 'We have asked our staff to look into these comments," said Michael Lyons, chairman of the school board, at the meeting. "Obviously we have to deal directly with the parents." Board members, including Bryan Meek, said the district is investigating the complaints with urgency. Meek said they were not at liberty to discuss the specifics of the "action plan" because of the sensitive nature of the complaints. High Road School, at 17 North Avenue, houses 47 special education students with social, emotional or behavioral problems. A state-certified private school, most students are referred there by public schools after a Planning and Placement Team meeting. Then, Norwalk Public Schools pays the High Road tuition of the student. "We don't actually have control over that school...," said Lyons. "But we do have the capacity to represent the kids." Though the school is supposed to be therapeutic, with a highly structured environment and a token system for rewarding students, the parents are claiming that it thrives on a culture of abuse. Barbara Profit said her daughter Shirley, 10, gets "restrained" every single day. "They put her hands behind her back, I guess holding on to her legs, pressing on her. I've never seen them do it but Shirley shows it to me," said Profit. "Shirley is so skinny and fragile, it makes me scared," she said. "When she comes home after all day at school, most of the time she goes straight to bed and sleeps for hours because her body is so tired." Michel said her 59-pound, 8-year-old daughter Na'chelle Jones has come back with injuries from these frequent restraints as well to the point that it has caused breathing irregularities. Jones made a video, said Michel, of where and how the staff hurt her and gave it to her mother. "I really just wanted to go to High Road and scream and do everything possible because I felt like I didn't protect my daughter. If felt like she was telling me and I never listened," said Michel. On Friday, when Jones came home from school with scratches on her nose and under her eyes, Michel decided enough was enough. She said she filed a formal report with the Norwalk Police Department on Sunday. But the allegations, at this point, are just that allegations. "There's always going to be two sides to any story," Meek said. "It's not fair to anybody if the child does require restraint if they're going to hurt themselves or other children, there's no choice or say in the matter, it has to be done," he said. "It's a tough situation, but we can't have them hurting other people or themselves." And there are children in that program, he said, who have required restraint for that reason. Meek said he thought placing cameras in the school an idea proposed by Michel at the meeting was a good idea. "If (the school) had that, you could put the whole case to rest either the child is exaggerating or someone is overstepping their authority," he said. Other accounts included teachers putting their children in "time-outs" or seclusion rooms rooms with little stimulus designed to calm a child down. The mothers said their children were left in there for up to six hours. Michel and Russell said their daughters were denied bathroom access and wet themselves in the seclusion rooms. "These children do not deserve abuse through punishment," said Penn Williams. "The treatment these children are receiving, bruises and scratches, is unacceptable and must stop." "I'm told they have a very stellar reputation and solid program that has controls in place to make sure those things don't happen," said Meek. "But no system is perfect, there's bad apples in any bunch and if there is a bad apple in this bunch, it needs to be rooted out." SFoster-Frau@CTPost.com; @SilviaElenaFF The state Board of Regents approved renaming Montana State University's computer science department after Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte on Friday. University officials said the Bozeman technology entrepreneur's family foundation pledged a total of $8 million to MSU, $5 million of which will go toward an endowment for the new Gianforte School of Computing. Another $2 million will go toward construction projects on the university's south campus and $1 million for the current use of the computer science department. The regents unanimously approved the proposal on Friday during its meeting at MSU-Northern in Havre. Democrats oppose MSU naming the school after Gianforte. Three legislators say they will introduce a bill next year to bar naming buildings and schools after candidates. Students from Montana State University lined up at the regents' meeting on Thursday to comment on the gift from Greg and Susan Gianforte. Most students strongly objected to having a building on campus named after a man who has also given money to the Family Research Council, a group idenfied by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group with an agenda against people who are LGBT. The group's leaders equate homosexuality with pedophilia, violence, sexual assault and predatory behavior, according to their quotes posted on the center's website. Money comes and goes, said Haley Cox, but values should hold steady. She noted that MSU's mission includes encouraging diversity, and she urged the regents to turn down the donation despite its generosity. She also asked the regents to imagine a gay student seeking a degree in computer science and having the Gianforte name on a diploma. "We cannot be loyal to something so fleeting as money, and instead must be loyal to our values," Cox said. Four other students opposed the donation, including Rozlyn Kinney. She said she wasn't a political person, but she as a woman in engineering, said she has had a glimpse of what it feels like to be in the minority and disregarded. "To me, being anti-LGBT is not a valid political view. It's just hatred," Kinney said. However, two other members of the public voiced support for the donation. Garrett Leach, president of the Associated Students of Montana State University, said it isn't the regents' place to screen the ideology of donors, but to evaluate the effect that gifts will have on recipients. By his estimation, the gift would provide "life-changing" opportunities for students. "The question we must ask is: How do you plan to benefit the students of Montana State University?" Leach said. Regent Robert Nystuen said people are questioning the timing and motives for the gift but that he suspected the donation was more about the future, and he requested MSU to elaborate. "I think there are aspects of this that will be there for generations to come," Nystuen said. MSU President Waded Cruzado agreed, and she said the Gianfortes have both been supporters of the campus for some 20 years, and she noted Susan Gianforte has been active in helping computer science in particular. As planned, the Department of Computer Science would be renamed the Gianforte School of Computing in exchange for the donation. "It's no secret that they are passionate about expanding opportunities for computer science in the state of Montana," Cruzado said. "It's no secret that Susan has been a passionate champion for girls and women in computer science." She said the timing is also linked to another matching grant deadline at MSU. Regent Martha Sheehy could not attend the meeting, but she provided comments to Regent Bill Johnstone to share on her behalf. Sheehy has raised concerns in the past about the lack of transparency in the process for naming public buildings in exchange for gifts. Sheehy would like improvements on the campus level and at the board level. He said Sheehy's objective is that the process "adequately reflect the value of the name and the amount of the gift." "She also believes that there should be more public participation relative to these issues and would suggest that naming occur over two board of regents meetings (than) over one," he said. MILFORD Theresa Torony held herself up as an example of what Boys & Girls Village can do for troubled teens. Torony a survivor, a fighter and an unmuted success story will enter Sacred Heart University in the fall after what she described as a wild journey with moments of loss, but also tremendous growth. Awards in the First Design Biennial of Havana Innovative design projects won the 2016 ONDi Prizes, an award conferred in this capital as part of the activities of the First Biennial of Design of Havana, BDHabana 2016. The winners of the highest recognition by the National Bureau of Design (Ondi by its Spanish acronym), governing body of this sector in Cuba, were professionals and students who developed projects, products or impact product systems in 2014 and 2015. The award ceremony took place at the headquarters of the Spanish American Culture Center, a space where the award-winning creations are exposed. According to the jury, to grant the distinction they took into account the level of innovation in the solutions of the various design components of the works and their economic and social impact. In the category of Industrial Design the awards were conferred to VIBRA Chairs Collection, GEM Bench and Roca Real Cuban Marble Stand, while in the category for students the prizes went to CUBIMOD, Monolith Projector and House of Honey. The jury decided to award, in this mode, a mention to the product Refrigerator NICE, and a special recognition to La Sierpe Children's Park Project. Cubans honored National Hero Jose Marti Submitted by: Juana Granma history personalities Personalities 05 / 20 / 2016 Cubans in the locality of Dos Rios, in the eastern Granma province, paid homage today to National Hero Jose Marti, who was killed in action in that rural site fighting Spanish troops on May 19, 1895. Students, workers, soldiers and academics gathered at a plaza built on the precise site where Jose Marti fell, to hold a patriotic ceremony marking the 121st anniversary of the historic event. Among the participants were children who participated in different actions held this week to recall Jose Martis life and work, such as a national visual arts contest, academic workshops and other cultural activities. High on the agenda of commemorations was a lecture entitled the Diseases of Jose Marti by professor Ricardo Hodelin, a neuro-surgeon that holds a PhD in medical sciences. The doctors personal thesis explains that since early age Marti suffered from Sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease that affects multiple organs in the body. The doctor said that the strength of Jose Marti in facing physical and moral challenges and even his pardoning of those who tried to poison him, expresses the extraordinary spirituality of the founder of the Cuban Revolutionary Party. Jose Marti, born January 28, 1853 in Havana, became one of the greatest thinkers on the planet and he left a huge legacy that includes very significant ethical teachings. CHEYENNE, Wyo. The Northern Arapaho Tribe has dismissed a federal lawsuit against Eastern Shoshone tribal leaders in a dispute over a joint government body. The tribes share the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. They have separate governments but operated a joint business council until the Northern Arapahos moved to dissolve it two years ago. The Northern Arapaho this year sued two Shoshone leaders and officials of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs in federal court in Montana. The lawsuit claimed the Shoshone unilaterally had continued to contract with the federal agency on mineral leases and other matters as the joint business council. The Northern Arapaho dismissed the case against the Shoshone leaders Friday. Lawyers for the BIA filed notice they're entering mediation with the Arapaho to try to resolve remaining issues. Pa. is about to vote. Here's what to know about voting and ballot access in 2022 Agricultural author John Ikerd asked a Bismarck crowd this week whether North Dakota needs more pigs, or more opportunities for people to make a living raising hogs. The Dakota Resource Council, which is opposed to recent exemptions made for dairy and pork producers in North Dakota's anti-corporate farming law, invited Ikerd to present Corporate Agriculture vs. Family Farms: A Battle for Hearts and Minds of the People on a tour of four cities: Fargo, Grand Forks, Rugby and finally Bismarck. Ikerd argued that its not the business type but the method of production that needs changing. He suggested a better model would focus on smaller grass-fed beef operations rather than large feedlots and hoop-house hog farms, which require more management and mechanization. Thats what we ought to be creating, Ikerd said. Thats where the new opportunities are were creating a whole new farm system. Last year, state legislators changed an 84-year-old law preventing corporate farming in North Dakota. The change was in response to a shrinkage in state dairy and hog production. North Dakota dairy production fell 41.5 percent from 2002 to 2013. Dairy cow numbers decreased by 60 percent, from 40,000 in 2002 to 16,000 in 2014. Fearing the change in the law would worsen the situation for North Dakota farms, a referral petition sent the law back to be voted on June 14. Ikerd made the argument that opening dairy farming to corporations may result in 5,000 or 10,000 more cows, but the number of farms raising them would be lower. Most of the about 30 attendees had already made up their mind on how they were going to vote on Measure 1, but went to hear more about the issue. We have a family farm, said LeAna Hug, who raises grass-fed beef near Baldwinwith her husband, Tom Hug. Their family opposes the exemptions to the corporate farming ban, suggesting using other business formats and programs to help young farmers get started. Takeaways from the DeSantis-Crist debate Democrat Charlie Crist came out swinging against Republican incumbent Ron DeSantis in the only televised debate in the Florida gubernatorial race. The man charged in Tuesday's confrontation at U.S. Foods allegedly called local dispatch and threatened to shoot police, as well as his ex-girlfriend, while fleeing to eastern North Dakota. Bismarck Police Officer Mike Renton testified at a probable cause hearing held Tuesday that the suspect, James Vann, called in threats: "Something to the effect of, I know you're looking for me, but I'm not going to turn myself in until she's or until I shoot her and she's dead," referring to his ex-girlfriend. He allegedly said he had a gun and "he's not afraid of law enforcement because he will shoot us all." Police traced the cellphone used by Vann to find him in eastern North Dakota, where he was arrested. The incident that shut down multiple city blocks midday Tuesday and ended with Vann's arrest in Wahpeton, started as a dispute with an ex-girlfriend, according to Renton. Vann allegedly went to the ex-girlfriend's house Tuesday morning while she was sleeping. Her son was home, too. The woman told police the two were in the process of separating and got into a verbal fight. The woman decided she had to get away and walked down the street. Vann followed her in a car. In an effort to escape Vann, the woman said she went through a neighbor's yard, hopped a fence and walked into the bathroom at U.S. Foods. Vann attempted to enter the building, but allegedly was confronted by two people near the building. He was reported to have cocked a pistol, looked at one of them and said, "Are we going to have problems?" One of the witnesses told police she was so nervous she could not use her fingers to dial 911. The ex-girlfriend told police that her son reported seeing Vann carrying a gun and saying he wanted to kill her. The son told police that he saw Vann flee in a pickup. Police traced the vehicle to Mandan, where Vann allegedly switched to another vehicle. Vann was arrested by Richland County law enforcement Tuesday night and returned to Bismarck for court on Thursday. He is charged with four counts of felony terrorizing relating to threats made to his ex-girlfriend, police and the two bystanders. He is being held on $200,000 cash bond. Each charge carries a two-year mandatory minimum penalty. The power suit has moved out of the office and onto the street in a variety of colours with the celebrity support of Julia Roberts and Cate Blanchett. by Damien Woolnough The Supreme Court yesterday displayed an astonishing, and indeed deeply depressing, inability to understand the sweeping changes being brought about by the internet. The judges instead swung their authority behind the ridiculous and unsustainable ban on publishing the name of a married celebrity who arranged a threesome with another couple. A few seconds online are sufficient to discover the identity of this celebrity, which has been published around the world, and also in Scotland. Only in England and Wales are newspapers prevented from running the story. Shock: The Supreme Court's decision yesterday morning (pictured) flies in the face of an Appeal Court ruling that said that the injunction had become pointless As the Mail last month pointed out, the law is an ass to uphold an injunction which has proved so porous as to become virtually meaningless. The court yesterday responded to this portrayal of the law as an ass by declaring: If that is the price of applying the law it is one which must be paid. Such purblind judicial obstinacy is threatening to bring the rule of law into disrepute. The judges believe they are engaged in a sophisticated balancing act, in which they somehow manage to reconcile contradictory commitments in the Human Rights Act to uphold privacy and freedom of speech. But in practice, this turns out to mean that celebrities who spend millions on their PR, can now spend further millions slapping an injunction on any newspaper which threatens to expose the sordid reality of their lives. Such hypocrisy stinks. And to add insult to injury, the defendants then claim they are trying to protect their children, whose welfare they might have considered before doing whatever it is they are now so desperate to cover up. Baroness Hale, one of the four judges who so vigorously took the side of the celebrity in this case, is a long-standing critic of the institution of marriage, an enthusiast for privacy laws and a feminist who has said domestic violence should include shouting. Focus: In the judgement the justices attacked this Mail front page - with Lord Mance saying: 'If that is the price of applying the law it is one which must be paid' Only one judge, Lord Toulson, had the courage and realism to dissent from the judgment by saying: The court must live in the world as it is and not as it would like it to be. The story is not going to go away, injunction or no injunction. The sooner his colleagues start agreeing with him, the sooner they will stop making a mockery of the law. Home truths at last Britain is facing an acute housing crisis caused by massive population growth. No, thats not the Daily Mail speaking (though for several years we have argued that massive immigration is imposing unsustainable strain on schools, hospitals and transport as well as housing), but the European Commission. If the EU actually cared about our housing problem, it would stop elevating the free movement of people into a sacred dogma taking precedence over every practical consideration, including the provision of housing. Instead of which, by proferring somewhat impertinent instructions about how much more of our country we must concrete over, the Commission has helped make Leaves case for it. Apocalypse delayed So heres a mystery. For months now, politicians, rapacious banks like Goldman Sachs, and the Bank of England itself have been predicting the apocalypse that will be the British economy if we leave the EU. This resource is no longer available This resource is no longer available. Return to previous page. Angela Wilkinson went to her 20 week pregnancy scan excited to find out the gender of her child. But Ms Wilkinson and her partner Scott's happiness at the news they were expecting a baby boy soon turned to concern when the doctor informed them that they had found an abnormality. After a nervous three-week wait, the couple, from Raglan in country New South Wales, were given the devastating news that their baby, whom they had already named Liam, had a rare genetic condition. When Liam was born in December 2013, he had 13 fingers and 13 toes, along with sensory processing disorder and slightly deaf in his right ear. Fighter: Little Liam was born with a rare genetic condition, Jourbert Syndrome Polydactyly: Liam has significant physical and mental impairments including 13 fingers and toes Successful: Doctors were able to remove the extra toes on Liam's feet WHAT IS JOUBERT SYNDROME? Joubert Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder characterized by decreased muscle tone, difficulties with coordination, abnormal eye movements, abnormal breathing patterns and intellectual disability. These issues are due to abnormal brain development, resulting in decreased size of the cerebellar vermis and other brain abnormalities that appear as the molar tooth sign on a brain MRI. Source: Joubert Syndrome & Related Disorders Foundation Liam has Jourbert Syndrome, which affects the brain and can cause varying degrees of mental, physical and visual impairments. '[There had been] lots of tears, lots of crankiness [during the the pregnancy] because we were both stressed out and worried. We didn't really know much about Joubert Syndrome,' Ms Wilkinson, 27, told Daily Mail Australia. All the doctors gave us answers like "we don't know, or maybe", not because they were being rude but because they honestly couldn't give us an answer because every case is different.' 'He's two years old now but he is a lot like a six to eight month old. He's still learning things at the moment but we're still trying to teach him how to eat properly, he eats pureed food at the moment.' 'We just live day-by-day, not knowing whether or not he will or won't walk. We'll never know until he does it. At the moment he's just lying on the floor or sitting in that special seat - he can't really do anything on his own.' Ms Wilkinson said. Last year he had two operations at the Sydney Children's Hospital at Randwick to remove three toes and three fingers. Because he is unable to carry himself, he moves by wriggling himself around has to sit a specialise seat and a custom made pram. Ms Wilkinson stays at home full time to take care of Liam and take him to his many specialist appointments around Bathurst and in Sydney. The family have set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to go towards equipment and travel expenses. Happy: Anglea Wilkinson with Liam and her two older daughters Chelsea, 5 (right) and Ellise, 3 (left) Post operation: Liam recovering at home after the surgery to remove the extra digits on his hands and feet Support: The family have set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to go towards equipment and travel expenses We're mainly trying to raise funds to help us financially with the travel expenses and accommodation so that way we don't always have to travel back and forth, so we can stay overnight and do all the appointments at once. The family are also trying to get him custom made equipment from overseas for his physiotherapy to help him build his core strength and back so he can sit up on his own. 'He is starting to get very vocal making new noises even though he can't talk properly. At the moment he can only say 'mum', 'dad' and 'bub,' she said. 'He's very bubbly... it's very cute listening to him when he cracks himself up laughing at his feet and wiggling them,' Ms Wilkinson added. LinkedIn wasn't enough for one job-seeking millennial - who decided that a dating app could be a better bet in landing her a London career. Jessica Anderson, 20, an international relations student in her third year at the University of Edinburgh, moved to the capital this month, in the hope of finding a summer job. After having little success following over 150 job applications, Jessica took the rather unconventional step of posting her CV on Tinder. Scroll down for video Jessica Anderson, 20, an international relations student in her third year at Edinburgh University, moved to the capital this month, in the hope of finding a summer job Jessica had noticed how many people in London were using Tinder, so decided to set up her own account The undergraduate, who hopes to find a job in either editorial work, journalism, publishing or broadcasting, had noticed how many people in London were using Tinder. She decided to set up her own account - but instead of showing off her most attractive photos in the hope of landing a date, she instead uploaded her CV and covering letter. It read: 'I am a student at the University of Edinburgh, and have just completed my third year with one final year left before I gain my Masters in International Relations in 2017 (projected 2:1). Instead of showing off her most attractive photos in the hope of landing a date, she instead uploaded a photo of her CV and covering letter (pictured) 'Throughout my time at university, I have incrementally saved money to enable me to move to London and pursue work experience. 'I have finally achieved this small feat, and moved to London in May 2016 with plans to stay here until September 2016. 'Thus, as evidenced, I am an extremely decided person with goals and a strong desire to be successful in everything I set myself to achieve. One stranger advised Jessica to network, hit LinkedIn and Twitter, and be prepared to take unpaid internships to get a foot in the door. They also recommended her to reconsider using her 'youth and looks to catfish professional contacts' Another Tinder user even suggested Jessica applied for an internship at the firm he worked for, giving her the link and telling her she could contact him if she had any questions before applying 'I am also not afraid of challenges and pushing myself to be the best I can, no matter how much work is necessary and how much time I must dedicate to such a cause.' Jessica said that she has been amazed by the response she has received to her Tinder profile. She was bombarded with 500 messages in just one day and is thrilled by how supportive strangers have been. Is he joking? One Tinder user suggested Jessica worked as model or porn star, claiming 'we pay around $3,000 a day' One advised her to network, hit LinkedIn and Twitter, and be prepared to take unpaid internships to get a foot in the door. They also recommended she reconsider using her 'youth and looks to catfish professional contacts'. One Tinder user even suggested Jessica applied for an internship at the firm he worked for, giving her the link and telling her she could contact him if she had any questions before applying. Alessandra Ambrosio has finally revealed why she appears in public without her engagement ring, an event which caused a storm of allegations and split rumours in 2013. The elegant 5ft 9in Victoria's Secret Angel told Vogue she had lost the band with three-carat square cut emeralds and micro-pave diamonds given to herby her long-term partner Jamie Mazur in 2008. While the model is clearly a fan of bling given her jewel-laden appearance at amfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc yesterday, she's now confessed she couldn't keep hold of her engagement ring. Scroll down for video Alessandra Ambrosio above at amfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala today, has finally revealed why she appears in public without her engagement ring, an event which caused a storm of allegations and split rumours 'Jamie has given me some beautiful pieces of jewellery that I could never part with - like the first thing he gave me, I still have - although I few of them I have lost. I'm pretty bad for that!', she told the fashion magazine. 'I actually lost my engagement ring a few years ago, so I do want to replace it. I don't know if he's going to make me replace it myself since I lost it!' Alessandra, 35, dismissed quashed rumours that she was splitting from fiance Jamie Mazur, who runs denim brand Re/Done, on 18 October 2013 when she made an appearance at the Performing Arts Inaugural Gala presented by Salvatore Ferragamo in Beverly Hills. Ambrosio, 35, quickly quashed rumours that she was splitting from fiance Jamie Mazur, who runs denim brand Re/Done, and who she was pictured with above on May 14, 2016 The Victoria's Secret Angel and the businessman have two children together: seven-year-old daughter Anja and son Noah, four. They have also been engaged since 2008, despite the misplaced ring. Ambrosio stunned in a typically sexy plunging gown, but it did little to detract from the missing rock on her ring finger as her engagement ring was nowhere to be seen. Reports had emerged earlier that week that the Brazilian model and her fiance had been 'living apart' according to Life & Style magazine - but Alessandra insists they are stronger than ever. The Victoria's Secret Angel and the businessman have two children together, seven-year-old daughter Anja and son Noah, four. The model, whose trim figure is the envy of thousands, also revealed that her new-found passion for yoga is helping her stay in shape. The model, posing with fellow model pal Rosie Huntington-Whitely, also revealed she regularly practises yoga and goes hiking with friend to stay in shape Alessandra Ambrosio at the 'The Unknown Girl' premiere at the 69th Cannes Film Festival on 18 May 2016 She takes part in the practice two or three times a week, as well as barre classes and hiking with friends, she said. The model is current the face of replay Jeans's new Hyperfree style, a cross between jeans and sweatpants. It's a good thing too, as stylish casual wear is vital to the mum-of-two. 'Sometimes I really have no time - like if I'm taking the kids to school, or if I'm going to work out, I don't care really - but if I have 15 minutes more I might put something together that looks a little better,' she said. A parenting blogger is claiming that a soothing night time bathing routing for your child may not be such a good thing for their skin after all. Lauren Knight, a parenting blogger based in the US, says that constant bathing of her eldest son at night when he was a baby was the reason he developed mild eczema on his back and legs. And when Ms Knight had two more sons, she and her husband weren't always able to give their boys their nightly bath. Scroll down for video Scrubbing up: Mum blogger says that soothing nightly baths caused her son to have mild ezcema as a baby Playtime: She noticed her oldest boy's skin healthier and less irritated going three or more days without a bath Playing in the dirt: Ms Knight said society's attitude towards cleanliness is linked with unhygienic practices 'During the times our children went for three (or more, I admit) days without a bath, I noticed that our oldest boy's skin seemed healthier and less irritated,' Ms Knight said on Essential Baby. She said that society's attitude towards cleanliness is linked with unhygienic practices, particularly doctors during the 1600 to 1800s who attended to one birth next to another birth without washing their hands and causing infections. The germaphobia developed is tied with overuse of anti-bacterial products. Ms Knight noted biology professor Dr Rob Dunn who wrote in his book that the medical community's hard work to get rid of harmful bacteria led to the development of anti-bacterial products. The overuse of antibacterial wipes and gels has potential to do more harm than good to our bodies and their immune system. Getting messy: development of anti-bacterial products and its overuse has potential to do more harm Outdoor play: Kids between six to eleven once or twice a week, or every time after messy outdoor play Bath time: She says 'spot clean with a washcloth between baths... I'm willing to bet everyone will be happier' 'We have become accustomed to antibacterial wipes and gels; parents carry around mini bottles of hand sanitisers and are encouraged to douse their children's hands in the liquid during every public outing,' she said. Ms Knight says the American Academy of Dermatology recommends kids between six to eleven once or twice a week, or every time after messy outdoor play. BabyCentre.com.au recommends washing a baby two or three times a week, but in between baths to wash baby's face regularly, bottom are after nappy changes and wiping of any other mess that your baby makes. Naomi Jael, from Germany, recently shared a snap of herself breastfeeding her 10-month-old son TJ at a friend's wedding. The 21-year-old shared the lighthearted photo on Instagram, which showed her breastfeeding TJ and laughing as she sat in her evening dress at one of the wedding tables. 'When you are at a wedding, wear fancy dresses and high heels and your baby gets hungry, she wrote. Scroll down for video 'You give no s***ts and feed the kid': Naomi Jael, from Germany, recently shared a snap of herself breastfeeding her 10-month-old son TJ at a friend's wedding Viral: The photo soon went viral and was picked up by a range of parenting Instagrams and shared to thousands around the world 'Well... You give no s***ts and feed the kid.' The photo soon went viral and was picked up by a range of parenting Instagrams and shared to thousands around the world. After earning close to 5,000 likes on the photo, Ms Jael edited her photo caption to address those who disagreed with her choice to breastfeed at the wedding. 'Here in Germany people don't get mad about it': After earning close to 5,000 likes on the photo, Ms Jael edited her photo caption to slam those who disagreed with her choice to breastfeed at the wedding 'Whoever gets mad about this,' she began, using a laughing emoji next to highlight her amusement at the situation. 'I also fed my son at the church ceremonie IN the church. Here in Germany people don't get mad about it [sic]. This is why I have breasts! Cause God gave me boobs for feeding my babies! 'It is NORMAL. Nothing rude or bad about it. This is why I have breasts! Cause God gave me boobs for feeding my babies [sic]. ' Thousands have commented on the photo - either praising or criticising the proud mother for her photo. 'I love this picture it's beautiful/funny and truly just plain inspiring and it represents what breastfeeding should be. This picture just makes me want to be your friend lol,' one woman wrote. Simple as that: 'It is NORMAL. Nothing rude or bad about it. This is why I have breasts! Cause God gave me boobs for feeding my babies,' she said 'Go mama! love this. we need more exposure like this. so over our society sexualizing breasts and allowing that to be "ok" but when used to feed your child, we're suddenly shamed. time to flip the script. you're helping us get there [sic],' another wrote. 'Did any of the other guests cover up and hide under a blanket while they ate??? NO THEY DID NOT!!!! So why should TJ have to [sic],' a woman agreed. Others disagreed. 'I do take issue with how much attention your trying to seek from such a "natural" thing. Don't over expose yourself. Wtf has happened to modesty,' one wrote. Mainly supportive: Thousands have commented on the photo - either praising or criticising the proud mother for her photo Ms Jael also commented on the post, thanking followers for their support. 'Thanks guys ! I am overwhelmed by the good and the bad! But eventually everybody is gonna realize, that's what has been done and that's what will be done ! Thanks for the support. And if you hate me so much... I'm sorry that's your problem [sic],' she wrote. Haddas Ancliffe, a 21-year-old mother from the Gold Coast, Queensland, also sparked debate after she shared a snap of herself breastfeeding her baby at a wedding in March. Mrs Ancliffe, who over 25,700 followers on Instagram, has always been open about her relationship and has shared numerous photos of herself breastfeeding and spending time with her baby boy Jonah. Raw: Haddas Ancliffe, a 21-year-old mother from the Gold Coast, Queensland, also shared a snap of herself breastfeeding her baby at a wedding in March Open: The stylish blogger, who goes by the name Dahsi, uses her blog as a platform for 'self expression and open sharing' and a place to share information about her 'life, adventures, discoveries and notions' 'Just me and my baby having a drink (Gotta do what you gotta do, wedding or not),' Mrs Ancliffe wrote on her the breastfeeding photo with the hashtag #normalizebreastfeeding. The photo showed the glamorous mother breastfeeding Jonah while dressed up for the wedding and sipping on her own glass of water at the same time. The image received over 5,200 likes and over 500 comments - some positive, some less supportive and slamming Mrs Ancliffe for over sharing. Controversial: The image received over 5,200 likes and over 500 comments - some positive, some less supportive and slamming Mrs Ancliffe for over sharing Natural: Mrs Ancliffe, who has over 25,000 followers on Instagram, has always been open about her relationship and has shared numerous photos of herself breastfeeding 'This is absolutely beautiful. People see breasts everywhere there go, yet have a problem when they are used for their purpose!' One woman wrote. 'GO MAMA!' 'I love this so much. You are a rock star, and I wanna be like you when I become a momma,' another said. 'Thanks for showing this and thanks for not being afraid. i always tell myself i'll be as brave as all these other women for my little babe when she arrives. you go on and keep encouraging other mamas. you grabbed my attention in the best way possible [sic].' Others were offended by the raw snap. Mixed response: 'I love this so much. You are a rock star, and I wanna be like you when I become a momma,' one said No regrets: Mrs Ancliffe defended her post and asked: 'How can people not been ok with this but ok with a girl in a skimpy thong bikini or less' 'It's cool you're breastfeeding but don't need to show it to the world. Attention w***e,' one said. 'Haha why post this on instagram. Do this in private,' a man said, with another saying the photo made him feel 'ill.' Mrs Ancliffe defended her post . 'How can people not been ok with this but ok with a girl in a skimpy thong bikini or less?' She questioned. Advertisement Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia Resort 17 has closed with a jaw-dropping collection by New York fashion House Oscar de la Renta. The renowned designer - who credits Taylor Swift, supermodel Karlie Kloss and and actress Jennifer Lawrence as fans - took to the catwalk at Sydney venue Carriageworks with an exclusive collection for MBFWA. The show was Oscar de la Renta's Australian runway debut and one of the first international luxury brands to present alongside Australias top talent as part of fashion week. Scroll down for video Grand finale: Oscar de la Renta has closed Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia with a stunning Resort 17 collection Simply stunning: The New York based fashion house showcased a collection of couture and ready-to-wear pieces, including bridal gowns Full house: The venue at Sydney's Carriageworks was packed with an A-list crowd, who had their camera phones at the ready Simple and sleek: A stunning two toned blue dress with a classic sweetheart neckline turns heads on the runway It was announced in April this year that Oscar de la Renta would close Fashion Week. The label's CEO Alex Bolen previously expressed their excitement at taking part in the coveted event 'We are very excited to partner with IMG and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia for our first show in Sydney,' Mr Bolan said. 'We look forward to bringing the world of Oscar de la Renta to stylish Australians.' Simple elegance: the jaw dropping collection featured pops of colour including pastel blues and orange Beautiful: Australian supermodel Shanina Shaik wore a stunning soft cream gown embellished with gold as she walked down the runway Pops of colour: Bright yellow designs were on display, including a strapless gown with floral embellishments (left) and a layered yellow mini (right) Simple stunning: One model wore a soft blue gown covered in black beaded roses, a matching necklace worn around her neck Pretty in orange: Bright orange designs were featured in the collection, including floor-length gowns with floral prints and embellishments Orange blossom: The models strutted down the runway in hues of burnt orange Floating on air: The design looked covered the models attire feet making it look as though she was floating on air Blooming beautiful: A model showed off her svelte frame in a floral boob tube dress Absolutely sparkling: The catwalk stunners strutted there stuff in beaded designs The collection itself was lady-like and feminine, with a beautiful mix of couture and ready-to-wear pieces. The designs included gowns, bridal wear and business-chic pieces. Models stunned in a series of yellow, blue and deep red designs, with strapless gowns a recurring theme throughout the show. One soft blue strapless gown featured a black rose print, corset top and full skirt that skimmed the grown. Turning heads: One model made an appearance in a sheer ice-blue floral number with matching heels Subtle beauty: Floral designs and hemlines that finished just below the knee set the tone for much of the collection Bold in burgundy: This winter's hottest colour made a splash on the runway with a series of printed pant-suits (left) and well-cut dresses (right) Business chic! The fashion powerhouse showed powerful business wear in a soft grey tweed, the skirts falling to just below the knee Clash of patterns: Tweed skirts were paired with high-necked blouses (left), as Shanina donned an orange printed skirt and well-fitted jacket (right) Midnight hues: No wardrobe is complete without a classic black dress, and Oscar de la Renta did not disappoint with their lady-like designs Striking: One model sparkled as she walked down the runway in a black and white evening gown with a dramatic tulle skirt Back to basics: The blonde showcased her slender frame in a billowing skirt teamed with a tight tank top Strutting it: The models had all eyes on them as they strutted down the catwalk in the designer garments Flaunting it: The models came down the catwalk showing off there beautiful dresses Business ready: The brunette stunner showed off the structured outfit which consisted of black trousers and beaded blazer Natural pallet: The model sported a full face of make-up which highlighted her natural features A series of bright yellow gowns, including a strapless gown with a floral print, added a pop of colour to the runway. While floral designs and hemlines that finished just below the knee set the tone for much of the collection, Oscar de la Renta also stunned with a series of business-chic designs. Using soft greys, deep burgundys, orange and black, the line was a show of well-cut dresses that accentuated the figure, business-like jackets and pencil skirts. One particularly bold pantsuit peatured a black and burgundy print, an hour-glass shape created with a thick waisted belt. Red hot! The deep scarlet gown included layers and intricate beading Making a turn: The audience pulled out there cameras and phones to film the models strutting it down the catwalk Picture perfect: Stunner showed off her figure in a boob tune gown that included different shades of red Sheer indulgence: This stunning sheer long-sleeved floral floor-length evening gown with a lemon gown featured on the runway Here comes the bride: One model walked down the catwalk in a full-skirted bridal gown, the bodice and skirt covered in soft feathers Gorgeous gowns: Models took the catwalk in a series orange, burgundy and black gowns with gorgeous full skirts Classic beauty: One model stunned in a floor-length black gown, the tulle skirt catching the light Every wardrobe needs a classic black dress, and Oscar de la Renta did not disappoint with his stunning collection. While flares, sheer pieces and ribbons were seen repeatedly on the catwalk throughout the week, the New York based fashion house appeared to play by their own rules with a more classic collection of feminine pieces. The designer also showcased a series of bridal gowns. Little girls dressed in white flower-girl dresses led the way down the catwalk, as a model stunned in a strapless white gown, the full skirt covered in soft white feathers, All kisses: The models blew kisses to the camera backstage before taking to the runway in their designer outfits Sticking together: The models slung their arms around one another, their backs to the camera Final touches: Make up artists gave the finishing touches to a model's make up, including putting foundation on her ears Behind the scenes, models posed playfully for the camera. The bevvy of beauties blew kisses to the lens and slung their arms around one another before taking to the catwalk for the fashion powerhouse. Photos showed the models getting the final touches on their make up done before stepping out in front of the A-list crowd. Strutting her stuff: Stylish Shanina walks down the runway for Oscar de la Renta All smiles: The Melbourne-born beauty looked happy to be back in her native country Mixing styles: Shanina showed off her figure in a tartan blazer teamed with a floral skirt Beauty! Shanina looked stylish as she walked on the runway A young boy has won over the internet after a moving photo of him helping his father to give skin-skin contact to premature twins went viral. The poignant snap was to Facebook showing a topless young boy keeping his sibling close as they are wrapped up in bedding, while his father does the same for the other newborn at Hvidovre Hospital in Copenhagen in Denmark. The post, by NINO Birth organisation, based in South Africa, explained this is a common practice in Sweden for babies to be taken out of their incubators and kept skin on skin to help recovery - and it has now been shared more than 17,000 times with 900 comments. Scroll down for video NINO Birth organisation, based in South Africa, posted the poignant snap to Facebook showing the topless young boy keeping his twin sibling close as they're wrapped up in bedding, at Hvidovre Hospital in Copenhagen in Denmark The caption explained: 'Skin-to-skin contact is not "new", but Sweden certainly leads the way in making this care family-friendly, even for very tiny babies. 'I love this picture of big brother helping his dad care for the twins!' The post by the page, which it says is for Neuroscience for Improved Neonatal Outcomes, continued it was a 'Revolutionary and innovative practices in Uppsala, Sweden. Children of 700 grams can be skin to skin on the parent's chest instead of the incubator. 'A Swedish Professor Uwe Ewald, came to Hvidovre hospital in Denmark to talk about his revolutionary practice, where even very small premature babies are taken out of the incubator to be skin to skin with their parents as much as possible. 'Premature babies, born three months prematurely, are put on the parent's chest instead of alone in an incubator. 'Uwe Ewald points out that the parent's chest regulates the temperature better than an incubator. Skin to skin contact helps the baby to breathe better. Women posted more hospitals should use this method instead of keeping babies in incubators and 'The child becomes more calm and gains weight faster. Research shows that parents bacterial flora - compared with hospital bacteria - reduces the risk of serious infections in these delicate children.' The baby wears only a nappy and the parent or relative topless to give maximum skin coverage. The comments on the picture showed many parents agreed this is a method which should be tried. Emily Ann wrote: 'I couldn't hold my twins until one week after they were born. Our skin to skin contact was so bittersweet and will definitely never be forgotten.' Stephanie Savole was also in favour of the method and posted: 'I love this and wish this could have been happening where I live when my daughter was born. I cried looking at her in that machine.' Some had their own stories of the practice helping their babies using 'kangaroo care,' which it's sometimes referred as, and was initially developed to care for preterm infants in areas where incubators are either unavailable or unreliable. Facebook users shared their stories of skin to skin, or kangaroo care, being used to help their premature children recover Rachael Westblade posted: 'We practiced this "kangaroo" care regularly with my micro premmies . One was born at 25.3 weeks and the other at 23.5 weeks. They are now strong adults at 19 and 20.' Tamara Tammy wrote: 'My son was born in 28th week, we spent 2 months in the hospital skin to skin contact. It's so wonderful, it regulates baby's temperature.' She continued: 'We did skin to skin from morning to evening,' and praised staff at the hospital for being 'fantastic.' Karen Barbato also had positive experiences of using the practice. She wrote: 'My son was born at 29.5 weeks. He weighed 3lb 3oz. He was in the neonatal intensive-care unit for seven weeks. IT was an amazing experience, skin to skin with my child daily. He is a healthy and strong 12-year-old today.' Marie Fleming had a similar experience where her own children also helped with skin to skin contact. BENEFITS OF SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT According to the NHS, having skin to skin contact with babies: Regulates their heartbeat - calming them down and soothing them Regulates their temperature skin to skin is an excellent way of keeping a baby nice and warm Regulates their breathing - again calming and settling them Encourages feeding skin to skin stimulates a babys natural urge to feed, whether breast or bottle fed Reduces stress releasing calming hormones and comforting them when theyre upset Advertisement She commented: 'All of my older kids had to take a turn with the new baby inside their T-shirts as he was so fractious... it settled him.' While one woman was happy to volunteer to help new parents to take turns. Beth Eady posted: 'I want this to be my job... snuggle babies when their moms and dads need a break to get some sleep, shower, eat etc. I want to be a professional baby snuggler.' Most mainstream medicine prioritises using incubators for premature babies, which separates them from their mother. Research shows it helps development but has not been widely used with extremely premature or ill babies. The picture was originally posted by a Danish family advocacy organisation Forldre og Fdsel on Facebook but has now resurfaced after the caption was translated into English. It's been a busy 24 hours for Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, who yesterday helped launch a brand new cruise ship before slipping to a stunning gown for a royal gala. The Dutch royal, who this week celebrated her 45th birthday, was invited to mark the opening of MS Koningsdam in Rotterdam in the morning. The luxury vessel, operated by cruise line Holland America, will set sail for the first time this month. Earlier, Maxima attended a dedication ceremony for a cruise ship in a navy A-line midi dress Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, who yesterday helped christen a brand new cruise ship before slipping to a stunning gown for a royal gala, pictured with husband King Willem-Alexander She wore a chic A-line midi dress in a dark navy mesh material, which she paired with a broad-rimmed hat despite the cloudy skies. Maxima added an oversized pearl necklace and earrings, with a nude clutch and pointed courts. The Queen was given a tour of the ship, before taking to the stage for the dedication ceremony, which involved dousing the bell in champagne and giving it a ring. Just later, Maxima joined her husband King Willem-Alexander back in Amsterdam for the annual Gala Dinner for the Diplomatic Corps at the Royal Palace. She wore a show-stopping maroon fishtail gown with a diamond drop brooch, delicate jewelled earrings and looked resplendent in a ruby and diamond three-pronged tiara. While the king, who served in the Royal Netherlands Navy, wore white tie along with military regalia for the occasion. later, Maxima joined her husband King Willem-Alexander back in Amsterdam for the annual Gala Dinner for the Diplomatic Corps at the Royal Palace Maxima looked resplendent in a ruby and diamond three-pronged tiara for the royal gala Maxima added an oversized pearl necklace and earrings, with a nude clutch and pointed courts Maxima smiles prior to the christening of the MS Koningsdam at the port of Rotterdam The Queen is given a bouquet and meets officials before opening the cruise ship officially Queen Maxima looks delighted with a bouquet she was presented with before the dedication The Dutch Queen waves to crowds and clutches the brightly-coloured blooms Maxima starts the ceremony in her navy dress and jokes around, left, before pulling a chain, right Maxima is game for a laugh as she pulls a playful face during the dedication ceremony Queen Maxima takes part in the dedication ceremony of the ship and wore a stylish wide-brimmed hat Captain Emiel de Vries, Stein Kruse, CEO Holland America Group and Orlando Ashford, President Holland America Line watch Queen Maxima of The Netherlands christening the cruise ship The couple were all smiles as the made their way into the 17th-century palace. Held to acknowledge the work of the Netherlands' ambassadors, foreign office and diplomatic staff, the dinner is an annual event usually attended by the Royal Family with Princess Beatrix and Princess Margriet of the Netherlands also in attendance at the dinner. It's been a busy month for Maxima, who stepped out on her birthday on Tuesday to visit the World Forum in The Hague for the first anniversary congress of the Federation of the Dutch Pension Funds. Wearing an eye-catching yellow dress with an intricate floral design and flared sleeves, believed to be from her favourite Dutch designer Natan. She paired her frock with a matching yellow clutch and pointed suede courts, with her blonde highlighted locks worn loose and swept into a side parting. Maxima wore a show-stopping maroon fishtail gown with a diamond drop booch, delicate jewelled earrings The couple were all smiles as the made their way into the 17th century palace Willem waved to the crowd before entering the gala which is traditionally attended by the royals The dinner is held to acknowledge the work of the Netherlands' ambassadors, foreign office and diplomatic staff In 2009, Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, 35, honeymooned in South Africa, where they enjoyed a safari Online critics slammed Ivanka for treating wild animals as if they were pets, with many bringing up her brothers history of big-game hunting The 34-year-old took to Instagram on Thursday to share a snapshot of Arabella, four, and Joseph, two, posing with a monkey and a white tiger Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner celebrated their wedding with a honeymoon in Africa in 2009, and nearly seven years later she has revealed that her two eldest children have also developed a love for exotic animals. The 34-year-old, who gave birth to her third child Theodore James on March 27, looked a bit tired as she carried her two-year-old son Joseph on the New York City streets on Thursday, but despite her undoubtedly hectic schedule, the mother-of-three took a moment to share a seemingly innocent throwback photo of her children that has since sparked some controversy. Before her evening walk, Ivanka posted an Instagram photo of Joseph and his four-year-old sister Arabella happily posing with a baby monkey and what is thought to be a white tiger cub and many angered commenters pointed out that wild animals that shouldn't be treated as pets. Scroll down for video Wild pets: Ivanka Trump took to Instagram on Thursday to share this throwback photo of her eldest children Arabella, four, and Joseph, two, holding exotic animals, however, the image sparked some online backlash Almost bedtime: The 34-year-old mother-of three looked weary when she took her son Joseph for a walk in New York City on Thursday evening 'When you say no to a dog (for now!!) and your children set their sights on exotic animals instead. #TBT,' she captioned the image, which was most likely taken at a petting zoo during a recent trip to the Trump family's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. In the photo, Arabella and Joseph's hair is lined with sweat from the humidly as they pose for the camera holding their new furry friends. The baby monkey being held by Arabella can be seen reaching behind itself to wraps its arms lovingly around her neck, while a tiny white tiger is sprawled on Joseph's lap. And while the picture was liked more than 14,000 times, some commenters criticized Ivanka for having her children pose with the animals, arguing that they aren't meant to be domesticated pets. 'Not good. These are wild animals and not a toy,' one person wrote, while another added: 'It's not cute or adorable! These are wild animals; it's not a petting zoo.' Laid back style: Ivanka, who gave birth to her third child Theodore James in March, left her hair in a messy bun and donned a camel coat over a cotton T-shirt during the outing with her eldest son 'Please don't promote tourists being able to take pictures with baby wild animals,' someone else commented. Other people were quick to make snide remarks about Ivanka keeping her brothers Donald Jr. and Eric away from the wild animals. 'Just don't let your brothers near these beautiful animals #trophy-hunters,' one person wrote, while another added: 'Just don't invite their uncle over.' Donald Jr. and Eric embarked on a big-game expedition in 2012, where they were photographed posing with the carcasses of many exotic animals, including an elephant, a cheetah, and a crocodile hanging from a noose. 'I think what made it sort of a bigger story and kind of national and even global news was that I didn't do what a lot of other people do, which is immediately start apologizing for what I am and that I'm a hunter and all this,' he told Deer & Deer Hunting after the photos leaked that year. Exotic trip: Ivanka and her husband Jared, 35, are pictured on a safari in Africa during their 2009 honeymoon Controversy: In 2012, photos surfaced of Ivanka's brothers Donald Jr. (left) and Eric (right) posing with animal carcasses while big-game hunting in Africa Personal opinion: At the time, Donald Jr, who is pictured posing with his prey, said he had 'no regrets' about the hunting expedition 'I kinda said, "No, I am what I am. I did all those things. I have no regrets about it."' The gory images of the Trump brothers posing with their game resurfaced in 2015 as the internet lashed out at Walter Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota who killed Cecil, the most famous lion in Zimbabwe. And while her brothers may be controversial hunters, Ivanka, much like their father, doesn't seem to see the appeal of hunting wildlife. The entrepreneur and her 35-year-old husband spent their honeymoon in South Africa visiting the Backsberg vineyard in Cape Town before heading on a safari, where she captured pictures of a lioness and a leopard. Every minute counts: Ivanka took to Instagram last week to share this photo of herself bonding with her newborn before she headed to her office Expanding: Although they already have a new addition to their family, Ivanka revealed that her eldest children also want a dog. The family is pictured in their first portrait together since Theodore's birth Six years later, their two eldest children appear to be hankering for a family dog in addition to their new brother, but considering that Ivanka has only given birth a few months ago, the mother-of-three may be holding off on a pet for quite some time. On Thursday, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization looked weary as she balanced Joseph on her hip on Thursday as she navigated her way through Manhattan's Upper East Side. The stylish mom donned a camel coat thrown over a cotton T-shirt and a pair of jeans, leaving her straight blonde hair thrown up in a messy bun. Ivanka covered her eyes with black sunglasses, although it appeared to be a dreary at the time of her walk. Great dad: Ivanka's husband Jared, 35, gave Arabella and Joseph an piggyback ride earlier this week Doting daughter: Ivanka, who is pictured during her father Donald's victory speech at Trump Tower on May 3, has been campaigning for her dad for months In addition to her duties at the Trump Organization, Ivanka is running a budding lifestyle brand, which includes a website geared towards working women and an eponymous clothing and accessories line. Between her career, her role as a mother, and her father Donald's presidential campaign, it would be surprising if Ivanka wasn't feeling tired from time to time. Earlier this week, Ivanka appeared on CBS News this week where she defended her dad and accused New York Times of 'creating facts' in its story about his treatment of women. 'Look, I'm not in every interaction my father has but he's not a groper, it's not who he is,' she said. The new rule would also apply to 'excessively tight fitting pants', dresses, skirts and skorts The draft proposal states that skinny jeans and leggings can only be worn with a top or dress that will 'cover the Students in North Carolina have hit out at their school system over a proposed ban on skinny jeans and leggings. New Hanover County Schools system - which is comprised of 43 schools and approximately 26,000 students - is considering banning students from wearing the popular garments and 'excessively tight fitting pants'. Documents on the district's website indicate that the proposed move would prevent students from wearing leggings or skinny jeans unless they are worn with a top or dress that 'shall cover the posterior area in its entirety'. The new rule would also apply to dresses, skirts and skorts. In the jeans: Pupils in North Carolina have spoken out against proposed changes to school dress code (file photo used) Change: The proposed new rules would require students in New Hanover County Schools system to stop wearing the fitted garments Banned: The draft proposal states that skinny jeans and leggings can only be worn with a top or dress that will 'cover the posterior area in its entirety' The proposed online policy document, which the school said is a 'draft version of changes under consideration', warns that any student who violates the code would be 'required to make necessary modifications' and repeated violation could lead to suspension. The district invited students to comment on their new policy on Twitter but were met with numerous negative comments. One person wrote: 'I'm gonna be graduated but for the upcoming students: how u gonna say no leggings [sic]'. Another said: 'This is ridiculous. What do you want me to wear? Curtains? Wide-reaching: The new rule would also apply to 'excessively tight fitting pants', dresses, skirts and skorts Alarmed: The district invited students to comment on their new policy on Twitter but were met with numerous negative comments Rule makers: New Hanover County Schools system is comprised of 43 schools and approximately 26,000 students Another student, Stephen, tweeted: 'I think it's more important to focus on the content of education rather than on dress code. 'I personally do not see the correlation between dress code and education. I've never seen a student cause distraction by being out of dress code.' Another girl, who tweets under the name 'Foot', said: 'I only own three pairs of jeans and they're all tight fitting. 'I wear leggings four or five days because they're comfortable and convenient.' One parent, Erin, branded it 'ridiculous' while another person claimed she felt 'ashamed' to have been a student in the school system. Review: NHCS said it is analysing parents' and students' comments before making a final decision Not final: The school district will meet on June 1 to discuss the proposal Review: The district shared the above proposed dress code on its website and invited parents and students to respond The school district confirmed that it is currently reviewing parents' and students' comments before they will reconvene to discuss the proposal on June 1. A spokeswoman for New Hanover County Schools told Daily Mail Online: 'The New Hanover County Board of Education is reviewing the comments from parents and students on the proposed changes. 'The Board will hold a Policy Committee meeting on June 1, 2016, to discuss the policy again.' New Hanover County School Board vice chairwoman Jeannette Nichols told Wect.com that one of the reasons behind the new dress code is because she claimed 'bigger girls' were getting bullied over their tight jeans. At this years Cannes film festival, Amal Clooney broke the golden rule of red carpet etiquette. She stole the thunder and grabbed the limelight from under the noses of the real Hollywood stars, winning all the attention for herself. Trotting around on the arm of her husband, George, the hair-tossing, cheek-sucking barrister was the plus-one from hell. Mr Clooney was there to be photographed with Julia Roberts, director Jodie Foster and British actor Dominic West, among others, to promote their new film, Money Monster. Amal was the only one posing in the billion-dollar line-up who had nothing to do with the movie so what was she even doing there? Scroll down for video Jack O'Connell, Jodie Foster, Caitriona Balfe, Dominic West, Julia Roberts, George Clooney and his wife Amal - but what was she even doing there? Amal stole the thunder and grabbed the limelight from under the noses of the real Hollywood stars, winning all the attention for herself Far worse, she was there in an eye-popping, lemon meringue pie of a dress; one that simply refused to behave. Her Atelier Versace one-shoulder gown foamed and billowed around her loins like a runaway parachute. It revealed every inch of her flamingo legs, certainly more than was polite. The flowing train train! got tangled up in her towering Jimmy Choo heels. Bystanders had to be drafted in to help. If you are the husband or wife of a star, it is your duty at public events to hover politely, but prettily in the background, basking in the reflected glow of their celebrity status. What you must never do is overshadow the talent. Nor ever, ever upstage the leading lady, especially if that happens to be Julia Roberts. The reclusive actress, 48, had been winkled out of her New Mexico ranch and flown halfway around the world only to stand there and be ignored as Amal battled with her chiffon frills and the cameras rattled like gunfire. Who on earth could compete with this knicker-flashing fiesta? Not even the original pretty woman Julia Roberts. As for director Jodie Foster, she shot Amal looks that seemed to hint at more than a little malice. Many must have looked askance at Amal in all her faux-panicked, knock-kneed gaucherie and wondered who in the legal world could take her seriously again. It has been nearly two years since Amal Alamuddin and George Clooney were married in a lavish three-day celebration in Venice. He was the most eligible bachelor in the world, she was the beautiful, international human rights barrister who had captured his heart. Since then, the axis of Amals world has changed for ever. These days she seems to be a celebrity first and a lawyer second. The most important dates in her diary are the days she blocks off to appear on the red carpet with George: the Cannes film festival, the Berlin film festival, the string of glittering movie premieres held in capital cities across the globe. Julia Roberts: The actress, 48, had been winkled out of her New Mexico ranch and flown halfway around the world only to stand there and be ignored as Amal battled with her chiffon frills Whether it is a Hollywood awards ceremony or the launch of Clooneys tequila brand in Spain, shes by his side, looking more like a movie star than a movie star does. It is clear she loves the attention and absolutely adores being photographed. The only outward sign she might feel the pressure brought by such intense scrutiny is that she sometimes tries too hard. Way too hard. For 38-year-old Amal has single-handedly turned over-dressing into an art form and, whether on duty or off, shes never seen in the same outfit twice. Her million-dollar wardrobe groans with couture and she seems to have more handbags than a medium-sized leather goods emporium. Yes, she does a nice line in power dressing, where she looks businesslike and fabulous. Then she will pitch up alongside hubby George in the kind of twee, dolly dresses most women stopped wearing when they were about six. What kind of powerful career woman wears a too-short balloon hem and then adopts a knock-kneed girlish pose when standing next to her man? Its all very confusing. Its all very mixed message. There are dreadful moments when Amal presents herself as some sort of decorative geisha at best or, at worst, a little girl in a party frock taking her old grandpa out for the day. Watching her come across like Kim Kardashian with a law degree is all very disappointing, particularly when one considers what an inspiration she first seemed to be. Oxford-educated Amal is brilliant and beautiful. At a stage in her career when most barristers would be knuckling down to the hard grind of making their name, what is she doing? Julia Roberts, George and Amal Clooney on the red carpet - but Amal is deep into Cherie Blair territory (left) Skipping around the world with George like some rich mans arm candy. How can this fit into the demanding timetable of a hard-working barrister? When he was the same age as Amal, a QC friend of mine said, he didnt have a holiday for years and delayed his wedding to take a case. Surely clerks and solicitors would soon get fed up of Mrs Clooneys plangent lack of availability? Perhaps none of this matters. Amal is deep into Cherie Blair territory, where putative clients are as interested in their barristers connections and high profile as they are in her legal abilities. When the simple act of engaging a Mrs Blair or a Mrs Clooney brings world attention to your case, youve practically won already. No wonder part-time Amal seems more in demand than ever. She works for the right-on, Left-wing Doughty Chambers in London, a set of self-regarding high-achievers who like to call themselves human rights lawyers, but surely all law is human rights? In a recent interview on U.S. TV, Mrs Clooney said some lawyers were content to work on bread-and-butter cases such as traffic violations not her bag, baby. She noted that they had a bigger success rate and could sleep better at night than she with her important political cases could. Im sure she didnt mean to be patronising, but surely the man with the bogus speeding charge is just as entitled to his human rights as anyone else? 'From the top of her chocolate bouffant, to her broom-sized eyelashes, to her hemlines whipping in the wind, I do wish shes stop trying so hard and tone it down just a notch' Amal specialises in the tempest-tossed, she lifts her lamplight beside the golden door. She is representing a female journalist who was detained in Azerbaijan after exposing corruption by the countrys rulers. Previously, she handled the case of the former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison in March 2012 under anti-terror laws. She also helped the Greek government in its bid to have the Elgin Marbles returned and has represented Wikileaks founder Julian Assange neither of those cases ended particularly well. According to some sources, she often works for free for those in challenging circumstances. At the moment, she is a visiting professor at Columbia University in New York, between more glamorous assignments with George. Of course, she could be drafting documents on a yacht or in a first-class plane cabin, but it is hard to imagine her ploughing through 100 lever arch files as she sifts through the evidence of a complicated case. No one is saying her legal life is over, but it is hard to see where her career trajectory is going. It seems unlikely she will be a High Court judge or progress much further up the legal ladder. Yet perhaps her ambitions lie elsewhere. If it is true that George Clooney will one day seek political office and become the new Kennedy, she is certainly paving the way to be his perfect Jackie. In the meantime, are we reaching peak red-carpet Amal? Oh dear me, yes. From the top of her chocolate bouffant, to her broom-sized eyelashes, to her hemlines whipping in the wind, I do wish shes stop trying so hard and tone it down just a notch. That was a very cruel thing to do a frail pensioner. Goodness knows, its not easy being seventy-one-and-three-quarters and hoping to nip out discreetly for an early morning blow-dry ahead of a days filming. It could have been worse, of course. The photographer who took my picture this week actually caught me leaving the salon, which is two doors down from my house in Kensington, West London. Hence the hair was OK. But I think we can agree that beneath the fringe it mostly looks as though someone has screwed a bicycle pump into the back of my neck, and my eyelids and cheeks are the nicely inflated result. Scroll down for video Makeover: Anne Robinson, 71, was pictured looking puffy at 8am on Monday as she left the salon, left, but had 'scrubbed up' by the time the second picture was taken, right, just 12 hours later Its all the puppys fault. Shes an English setter, eight months old, who belongs to my grandsons and is already the size of a small pony. Im not quite clear why she spends more time in my home than her own. But I do know she chews anything in sight, which the night before annoyingly included my Celine sunglasses. Obviously if Id had them to hand as I left the house on Monday morning, the paparazzo would have kept on driving and my dignity would still be intact. To be fair, later on the same day, I did manage to scrub up and look roughly presentable as I arrived at the V&A museum with my daughter, Emma. We were guests at the Man Booker International Prize awards. Comparing the two pictures, taken 12 hours apart, is a handy way to illustrate a universal and irreversible truth. For every 10,000 women in the afternoon of their years, there are probably fewer than a handful who can walk out without their slap: Audrey Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn and Anna Ford come to mind. DECADE BY DECADE, THE STORY OF MY FACE A fresh-faced schoolgirl at eight Growing up, an elegant teen of 14 Taking Fleet Street by storm at 36 Presenting Points of View at 46 The face of TV's Watchdog at 54 At 60, after my famous facelift Advertisement The rest of us know that the gap between with mascara and without mascara is many a kilometre. As it happens, the filming Im busy with at the moment is for four documentaries youll be able to see on BBC1 later in the year. Each of the hour-long programmes is asking a nosey question. Are You Happily Married? Are You a Good Enough Mother? Whats The Point Of Your Pet? And, fittingly, the final one: Whats Wrong With Being Ugly? Ive called it that because I want to examine how weve all become increasingly obsessed with our body image. These days its a brave female television presenter who allows her grey hair to show. And a foolish politician who thinks he can get away with being scruffy. Indeed, if Hillary Clinton looked more like Jane Fonda and less like too many mens first wives, Donald Trump wouldnt be half so sure of himself. Do I care about how I look? Of course I do! Would I be earning a decent living at my age on prime-time TV if I were a dead ringer for Evan Daviss older sister or John Humphryss twin? I dont think so. Am I complaining? Not for a minute. I was trained from an early age. Unusually for my generation, I grew up with a mother who ran a sizeable business, was the family bread-winner and thought most of lifes problems could be solved with a couture outfit, a regular facial and a Harrods credit card. When I landed my first job in Fleet Street in the late Sixties, as the only girl reporter in the Daily Mail newsroom, she bought me a mink coat so I wouldnt get cold waiting around on doorsteps. So, unsurprisingly, Im mildly dedicated not so much to looking younger, but to looking good and to being fit. Thirty years ago, when I was presenting Points Of View, nothing was a struggle. I was an effortless size eight, with a sharp chin and unassisted bright red hair. Now, the maintenance is endless. What do I do to keep up appearances? Let me count the ways.Theres a Tuesday and a Thursday workout at the gym (weights, treadmill, exhausting press-ups, painful stretching) with Jamie my personal trainer. At weekends, I run near my home in the country: four miles on a good Sunday. At Richard Wards Chelsea spa, theres the weekly manicure, fortnightly pedicure, monthly haircut and highlights. Plus the regular eyelash and eyebrow tints. Add to that the six-monthly HRT implants to guarantee me strong bones and masses of energy. I have been having them for 20 years. Oh, and let us not forget the regular trips to Dr Nick Lowe at the Cranley Clinic in London for face peels a mild, painless hose-down of the skin with a chemical formula. I also have the occasional Intracel micro-needling of parts of the face by radio frequency. Its the equivalent to taking five layers off the surface of the M40, and has me softly screaming. By contrast, the twice-yearly injections of Botox are a walk in the park. Of course, it helps that I dont drink, dont smoke and dont eat junk food. Regrettably, however, no amount of iron willpower can save me from the occasional late-night binge on chocolate and vanilla ice cream. Last Sunday, I returned from my biannual fortnight of fasting at the Buchinger Wilhelmi Clinic in Germany. Fourteen days of daily hikes, swimming, running, gym work and massage. All on two daily bowls of vegetable broth. It works Im back to a loose size ten. In a perfect world, of course, a journalist with my experience should be employable on prime-time television however she looks. But life is not fair. So if I had two more chins and three more stone, Id probably be looking towards a job in local late-night radio. Thirteen years ago, I had a face-lift. Not particularly because I feared for my career, but rather because Id begun to see on screen not me, but my mother saying: Good night and thank you for watching Watchdog. It helped that Id spent three years in Hollywood presenting The Weakest Link for NBC. In Los Angeles, it would be quicker to write a list of stars who havent had surgery than those who have. I wrote about my face-lift shortly afterwards. Why not? It hardly seemed fair for other women to imagine I was magically blessed with everlasting youth. I never expected the piece to cause shockwaves. But ever since, Im hardly ever alone at a party. My wife wanted me to ask who did your face and how much it costs? is a typical question. (Barry Jones, 14a Upper Wimpole Street, and about ten grand.) The other week, I was discussing the plight of Syria with a Foreign Office mandarin, only for her to grab my arm as I attempted to exit and whisper: Would you mind telling me the name of your surgeon? A decade or so later, Im delighted that ordinary women feel free to spend money on improving their looks and become more confident into the bargain. Puzzlingly, though, I still appear to be one of the few females on the small or big screen to need to take advantage of what surgery has to offer. If only I and the rest of womankind could discover the gale-force wind that has allowed Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, Diana Rigg and the rest to naturally retain their wonderfully sharp jaw-lines, single chins, line-free brows and flawless complexions. All those years ago, my generation marched for equality. (OK, I didnt actually march.) But I hoped that the fight was so women would have the freedom to do what they wanted. Be thin, be fat, have face-lifts, bigger breasts or wear purple. I dont want be lectured on how I should grow old gracefully. Ive chosen to earn a living in an industry where my looks need to match my brain, so I am not complaining. I love what I do. I just wish more clever young women in their 20s, 30s and 40s had the self-assurance needed to take risks. I wish theyd learn to be fearless in asking for what they want, better at negotiating their salaries and stop thinking that talking about money is a horrid thing to do. Equally, good luck to my fellow sisters, who prefer never to pluck a stray facial hair, cant be bothered to buy a packet of blonde rinse and feel most comfortable in frocks that look like tents. A couple of years ago at the Cheltenham Literary Festival, the distinguished academic Mary Beard chose to begin her lecture by announcing: This is what 59 looks like when you havent had any work done. Next day, on the same stage, I countered: This is what 70 looks like when you have. Theres plenty of room for both of us. Though, obviously, Mary has the extra time to make longer and more complicated television programmes. Has now had the growth removed after developing weakness in his legs Mother said it wasn't a problem at first and she as his spine didn't form properly in the womb A baby boy in China born with a 6 inch tail due to a birth defect has finally had it removed. The 11-month-old child, dubbed Yang Yang by local media, was born with the 15cm long fleshy growth. His family nicknamed him 'little monkey' and though they resisted having surgery to remove the tail at first - he had the operation this month. Scroll down for video Yang Yang, who is now 11 months old, was born with a 6 inch tail due to a birth defect. He had it removed at a hospital in Chongqing, in the province of Sichua, south-west China Yang Yang developed the tail in the womb as a result of a neural tube deformity, according to People's China Daily. During the first month of life, an embryo grows a structure called the neural tube that will eventually form the spine and nervous system. It is thought something went wrong with this process and Yang Yang's spine didn't develop properly. He had holes in the vertebrae in his back, and the membranes that protect the spinal cord poked through one of them, creating what is known as a menigocele, a fleshy growth that looks like a 'tail'. Yang Yang's mother said when she went for her check ups doctors didn't tell her anything was wrong with her baby. So when Yang Yang was born via a C-section, in Yibin, a city in south-west China's Sichuan Province, she was shocked to see he had a tail. Yang Yang's grandmother thought it was a good thing because it meant he might earn a lot of money when he grew up. MailOnline has also reported on the story of Arshid Ali Khan, 13, who was worshipped as a God in Punjab because he was born with a 7 inch tail His mother, unnamed in reports, said: 'It wasn't a big bother in the beginning - I' d just lift the "tail" when I needed to change his nappies.' But several months later Yang Yang started going to the toilet more frequently and his mother noticed he wasn't very strong when he kicked - and feared something was wrong. The family were told they would have to wait until he was a little older to have surgery to remove the growth. When doctors said he was old enough for the operation, they went to Southwest Hospital in the neighbouring city of Chongqing to have it removed. It wasn't a big bother in the beginning - I' d just lift the 'tail' when I needed to change his nappies Yang Yang's mother Lin Jiangkai, lead physician in Yang Yang's operation, said the tail was most probably due to the child's mother not taking enough folic acid supplements during pregnancy. The tail was removed during a successful surgery, as Mr Jiangkai said the child could develop problems in his lower limbs if the family had waited any longer. MailOnline has also reported on the story of Arshid Ali Khan, 13, who was worshipped as a God in Punjab because he was born with a 7 inch (18 cm) tail. Locals hailed him a reincarnation of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman - and refer to him as Balaji. They believed he too was born with a tail due to a neural tube defect known as spina bifida, where the spine doesn't develop properly. This week the Government's superbugs tsar unveiled a damning review of the global antibiotic resistance crisis. Unveiling the result, the Government's superbugs tsar said all doctors should be banned from prescribing antibiotics without test results proving they are needed. Lord Jim O'Neill warned that superbugs will kill more people than cancer by 2050 - and accused doctors of doling out antibiotics 'like sweets'. Professor Marc Mendelson, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Cape Town, says there are seven hard facts we need to swallow around antibiotics - including never taking them for a cold He said if antibiotics become unusable, key medical procedures including caesarean sections, hip replacements and chemotherapy could become too dangerous to perform because of the risk of infection. Marc Mendelson Profsesor of Infectious Diseases, of the University of Cape Town, welcomed global awareness of antibiotic resistance - but said there are still pervading myths surrounding antibiotic use. Writing for The Conversation, he debunks the most popular misconceptions around use of these vital drugs... The global public health crisis of antibiotic resistance is in the spotlight. What's at stake is the impending loss of antibiotics that threatens modern medicine as we know it. There has been a dramatic increase in multi-drug-resistant bacteria in the last few years. This is happening in the community, with examples such as gonorrhoea, and in hospitals where some 'superbugs' are now either virtually, or completely, untreatable. This week the Governmen't superbugs tsar Lord Jim O'Neill (pictured) warned that superbugs will kill more people than cancer by 2050 and called for new curbs to control their use Currently 700,000 people die each year from resistant infections. That number is set to rise to 10 million by 2050 if no action is taken. Far from being someone else's problem, the release of a World Health Organisation (WHO) multi-country survey describes public awareness around antibiotic resistance, and highlights common misconceptions that are driving the current crisis. Here are seven of them. 1. ANTIBIOTICS WON'T CAUSE RESISTANCE IF TAKEN PROPERLY False. Antibiotic resistance is all about Darwinian natural selection. For thousands of years bacteria have had to protect themselves from chemical substances produced by other bacteria and fungi, designed to kill them. Since 1928, when Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, we have harnessed these substances as antibiotics. The bacteria that are able to resist have a survival advantage and will survive an attack by an antibiotic. Some sensitive bacteria can also acquire resistance genes from other bacteria, also rendering them resistant. Whenever we use an antibiotic it kills all the bacteria that do not have a resistance mechanism that is, those that are sensitive, but leave any that are resistant. Given the right circumstances, the resistant bacteria will replicate and can either cause infection in the treated person, or colonise the skin and body surfaces. They are then able to be transferred to another person, for example by touch. This is one way in which antibiotic-resistant bacteria are spread, especially in healthcare settings, if healthcare professionals do not practice good hand hygiene. However well you take an antibiotic, it can still cause resistance. People believe our bodies become resistant to the antibiotics, but its the other way around, Professor Mendleson said. Therefore, there is nothing we can change to overcome antibiotic resistance 2. IT'S OUR BODIES THAT BECOME RESISTANT TO THE ANTIBIOTIC False. Nope, sorry, it's the bacteria, not our bodies. Therefore, there is nothing we can change about our bodies that will overcome the resistance to antibiotics in the bacteria. 3. ANTIBIOTICS ARE THE CURE FOR THE COMMON COLD AND FLU False. Antibiotics are only active against bacteria. The common cold and flu are caused by viruses against which antibiotics have absolutely no effect. And the more antibiotics we use, the more resistant bacteria will be selected out and will increase in number. The overuse and misuse of antibiotics for viral infections is one of the single biggest drivers of the increase in antibiotic resistance worldwide. A World Health report of 12 countries found the majority incorrectly believe that viruses such as colds and flu can be treated with antibiotics The only result of taking an antibiotic for a cold is to: do yourself harm through unwanted side effects of the antibiotic; and do yourself, your family, friends and society harm by increasing antibiotic resistance. The majority of respondents across the 12 countries surveyed by WHO incorrectly believe that viruses such as colds and flu (64 per cent) can be treated with antibiotics. Nearly 70 per cent of the 1,002 South African respondents shared this misconception, which often translates into pressure put on doctors and nurses by patients to prescribe an antibiotic when they feel ill. Overall, reported antibiotic use was higher in the lower income countries included in the survey, where 42 per cent of people say they used antibiotics within the past month compared with 29 per cent of people surveyed in higher income countries. Many of us stop taking our antibiotics when we feel better. But if you have a bacterial infection that needs treating with an antibiotic, then it is vital that you take the course as prescribed, Professor Mendleson said 4. IF I FEEL BETTER, I CAN STOP MY ANTIBIOTICS False. But there is a caveat. It clearly depends on whether you are taking the antibiotic for a bacterial infection, or incorrectly for, say, a viral infection. If this is the case, then the shorter the time you are on an antibiotic the better. But if you have a bacterial infection that needs treating with an antibiotic, then it is vital that you take the course as prescribed. Our symptoms commonly improve before all the bacteria are killed and dealt with by the body. If you stop your antibiotics early, or if you miss doses, then the amount of antibiotic available to kill the bacteria is not enough and the bacteria are still able to replicate. It is easier for bacteria to become resistant if there is too little antibiotic present. So always complete your course and don't stop just because you feel better. People believe they can take antibiotics that are left over from past treatments or given by family or friends. But this only leads to more resistance as the active ingredient may be impaired, Professor Mendleson said 5. I CAN TAKE LEFTOVERS, OR SOME FROM FAMILY OR FRIENDS False. Never take antibiotics that are left over from past treatments or given by family or friends. Only take antibiotics prescribed from a doctor or nurse. There are two good reasons for this: antibiotics past their date are more likely to cause resistance as the active ingredient may be impaired antibiotics from other people may not be the correct choice There are many different types of antibiotics used to treat different infections, which means that your infection will not be treated correctly, also increasing the chance that bacteria can become resistant. 6. RESISTANCE ONLY HAPPENS FROM REPEATED COURSES Professor Mendleson says its not just medics' fault as the pressure on doctors and nurses to prescribe antibiotics from the public can be intense (file photo) False. Antibiotic resistance can occur whenever you take an antibiotic, whether it is a single course or multiple repeat courses. The more courses you take, the more resistance can occur. But that doesn't mean it doesn't occur with a single course. On top of that, a single course of antibiotics can lead to life-threatening unwanted side effects and potentially catastrophic changes to the normal bacteria that live in our guts. The imbalance can allow dangerous bacteria like Clostridium difficile to predominate and cause severe diarrhoeal illness. 7. IT'S THE MEDICAL PROFESSION'S FAULT False. It is fair to say that the medical profession has failed the general public. We need to do a lot more to educate and raise public awareness around the problem of antibiotic resistance and the appropriate use of antibiotics. But the difficult truth is that we are all in this together. The pressure on doctors and nurses to prescribe antibiotics from the public can be intense. Good practice is often undermined by uncertainty either due to lack of knowledge and/or lack of point-of-care diagnostics. Patient pressure to prescribe compounds the problem. The bottom line is that we are all responsible for our future. Antibiotics are a global common good. They belong to everyone, so what one person does affects the next one. Leanne Lyon, 42, has a small, non-cancerous tumour lodged in her brain which triggers up to five seizures a day A mother has a rare brain disorder which she claims causes her to take off her clothes in public and says the condition is 'ruining her life'. Leanne Lyon, 42, has a small non-cancerous tumour lodged in her brain which triggers up to five seizures a day, each lasting up to half an hour. She blacks out during the fits - which have a strange and embarrassing side-effect - they often cause her to strip down to her underwear. They also sometimes leave her incontinent, meaning she is at risk of wetting herself publicly. Mrs Lyon says while the condition may seem amusing to onlookers, it is highly debilitating as she cannot hold down a job and struggles to raise her two young children. She relies on a carer to take her two children Kieran, nine, and Megan, six, to school and is heavily dependent on her husband David, 43, a shoe salesman. Mrs Lyon, of Northampton, said she doesn't strip every time she has a seizure, but it does happen around twice a month. 'To be honest, I'm lucky the police have never been called out for indecent exposure. 'When I have really bad seizures, it's sort of like sleep walking and I don't know the full extent of what's happening - until I come round and I realise I've taken my clothes off. 'When it happens in shops or public places it's humiliating. 'You wouldn't know there's anything wrong with me at first glance, so people don't know it's down to the tumour. 'People do make hurtful comments, but I just brush it off. 'I've even tried to put my daughter's nappies on in the middle of a seizure - I'm just completely out of it. 'I got one once at the check out in WH Smith's, It had come on suddenly and I ended up wetting myself right at the till, standing in a puddle. 'But I didn't know anything about it until afterwards, when I came to in their back office. 'I've completely stripped off in the middle of Wilkinson's before too - I just wanted to curl up and die when I came round. 'It's mortifying, and it's ruining my life.' When she was 17, Mrs Lyons had a part of her brain removed in order to remove the tumour. But the procedure, a left temporal lobectomy, only made the condition worse Leanne Lyon was born with a small, non-cancerous tumour lodged (bottom right of brain) in her brain but as she got older it caused her to have seizures with bizarre and embarrassing side effects She said that because she blacks out during the seizures, she can never remember what happened and simply come round with no clothes on. 'The same thing happened at a taxi rank. Mrs Lyon has had seizures since she was four years old. Medics were baffled by her condition until she was diagnosed with hypothalamic hamartoma at the age of 29. The condition is a small, non-cancerous brain tumour which causes seizures, blackouts and memory loss. It is thought to affect only one individual in every one million people. At 17, she had surgery to remove part of her brain and rid her of the tumour. But the procedure, a left temporal lobectomy, only made the condition worse. Now Mrs Lyon has five or more episodes a day. While some last for a few seconds, others can go on for half an hour. Mrs Lyon has a hypothalamic hamartoma, which is thought to affect only one in a million people. She says the condition is 'ruining her life' as she hates having seizures in front of her children: Megan, 6 (left) and Kieran, 9 (right) and feels as though she can't always look after them properly Mrs Lyon said: 'It's terrifying - not to mention dangerous - living like this. 'Once, I got onto a bus during a blackout and when I came round I had no idea where I was. 'I also am often incontinent when I have my seizures, which is excruciating. I had to wear adult nappies for a while. 'I can't go out for a night out with friends because I'm terrified I might have an episode. WHAT IS A HYPOTHALAMIC HAMARTOMA? Hypothalamic hamartoma (HH) is a small, non-cancerous brain tumour which causes seizures, behavioural problems, blackouts and memory loss. The condition is thought to affect only one in a million people. HH is often difficult to diagnose and even more difficult to treat. Some individuals can go years with very few symptoms, or ones that are so mild, they are often missed by both parents and medical professionals. However, for most people with HH, the most common symptoms are frequent daily 'gelastic' seizures (seizures which involve spontaneous laughing, giggling or smirking) or 'dacrystic' seizures (which involve crying or grunting). People with HH report behavioural difficulties, and some have been diagnosed with attention deficit behavior (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Asperger's disorder, depression, paranoid disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some have significant difficulties controlling angry outbursts, aggressive tendencies and many have been described as having oppositional-defiant disorder. These angry outbursts are often referred to as hypothalamic rages. What makes the actions different from a genuine angry ouburst is that the person typically does not make eye contact or the eyes seem vacant, they initially may not be able to hear any commands and they often require time and space to calm down. Sometimes they have no memory of the rage once it is over. These symptoms often start early in life for some, they become apparent shortly after birth, but are frequently misdiagnosed. They are most commonly treated by surgery or anti-epileptic medicine. Source: Hope for HH 'It would be really embarrassing to have to go home early because I wet myself or started stripping at the bar.' She is now fundraising for keyhole surgery in America. The procedure is not offered in the UK - which means Leanne needs to raise 100,000 to fund the procedure. 'It's really scary - when I was first diagnosed, I thought I was going to die. 'I'm lucky it's not cancer, but it's still ruining my life. 'I just want to be a normal mum - sometimes I feel like my kids look after me more than I look after them, I want them to have a normal childhood. 'That's why I'm trying to get this surgery in America - I'm a good candidate for keyhole surgery, so it's just a case of raising the money. 'The tumour is only about the size of a little fingernail, it's incredible that something so small can cause so much damage. 'The seizures completely take over my life - they're not what people think of as a 'normal' seizure, so when it happens in public people don't understand. 'I get at least five a day, and they can last up to half an hour - sometimes I get a feeling before but often they come out of nowhere, so I can't go anywhere with the children without a carer. 'If I try and go anywhere on my own there's always the risk of a seizure happening at any time. 'Living like this is dangerous and terrifying - it's not a life at all. 'I can't go out with friends and have fun, because I never know when I might have a seizure and end up stripping off. 'I'm just desperate to find a way to be normal.' Because of the debilitating condition, Mrs Lyon also struggles to hold down a job. For a brief period she was employed at a supermarket but left after one of her episodes. She said: 'I have no idea what happened but I could tell my colleagues were scared by me afterwards.' Mrs Lyon said: 'I'm desperate to find a way to beat this tumour. 'It would mean the world to me if I could just take my kids to the park without needing constant supervision. 'I'm trying to raise money for the expensive procedure in America one day, I'll beat this and be seizure free.' To donate towards Mrs Lyon's surgery, please visit her website. The seizures often leave Mrs Lyon incontinent, and she says they are dangerous. Once she had a seizure and got onto a bus and when she 'woke up' she had no idea where she was. She is pictured undergoing tests in hospital with Vivian Gattoc, who founded the Hope for Hypothalamic Hamartoma charity A dying woman's chance for a live-saving operation has been blocked because her mother is not being allowed into the country to give her a kidney. Rasha Abdalla desperately needs another transplant after her body began rejecting a donor organ two years ago. The 36-year-old, who first had a transplant in 2004 and was fine until 2014, says a kidney from her Sudanese mother Nimat Salih, 63, is her only chance of survival. But Mrs Salih has been blocked from coming to the UK because her husband entered an incorrect date of birth in a previous visa application. Ms Abdalla, a mother-of-two, from Manchester, says this is her only chance for a long life with her children, and says the Home Office is 'heartless' for refusing her mother entry to the country. Rasha Abdalla desperately needs a kidney transplant and her Sudanese mother Nimat Salih has agreed to donate an organ. But her chance for the life-saving operation has been blocked because her mother has been prevented from coming to Britain to give her a kidney, she claims Ms Abdalla, a GP practice manager, first had a transplant in Egypt in 2004 after one of her kidneys failed. A decade later, her body rejected it - and she had to go on dialysis- in which she is hooked up to a machine which manually clears her blood of toxins. Medics told her the chance of finding another suitable kidney would be slim because of the increased levels of antibodies in her system which caused the failure. She was handed a lifeline after mother Mrs Salih was tested in Sudan and proved to be a match. Ms Abdalla, who was born in Scotland and lived abroad until returning to the UK in 2001, applied for a visa for her mother in November 2014. Mrs Salih had entered the UK with no problems previously. But the application was refused a month later after Home Office officials said they could not match Mrs Salih's date of birth with a previous visa application. Ms Abdalla's mother entered the UK in 2004 with a Sudanese passport. It was issued with the wrong date of birth after her uncle filled in an application form incorrectly. However, Ms Salih was able to enter the country twice, despite the passport not matching her birth certificate. Ms Abdalla's mother Nimat Salih, 63, entered the UK in 2004 with a Sudanese passport- but was issued with the wrong date of birth after her uncle filled in an application form incorrectly. Now, the Home Office has denied her entry due to inconsistencies in the dates on her documents Ms Abdalla appealed the decision at the First Tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber, which ruled in the family's favour in February. However, the Home Office has appealed the decision with the Upper Tier Immigration and Asylum Chamber - and the family are now waiting on the result She then lost that passport, and now has one with her correct birth date, which she used to apply for her latest trip. But Home Office officials turned the visa application down because of the inconsistencies. Ms Abdalla appealed the decision at the First Tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber, which ruled in the family's favour in February. This is the only chance I have of a transplant. My chances of a long life are getting slimmer and slimmer. These people are heartless Rasha Abdalla, 36 However, the Home Office has appealed the decision with the Upper Tier Immigration and Asylum Chamber - and the family are now waiting on the result. Ms Abdalla is surviving purely because of dialysis. She said: 'This is the last chance I have for a decent life. Every day my mother isn't allowed into the UK, my life expectancy gets shorter. 'I don't have all the time in the world. This is all because of an issue with my mother's passport - it's crazy. 'This is the only chance I have of a transplant. My chances of a long life are getting slimmer and slimmer. These people are heartless.' A Home Office Spokesperson said: 'All cases are carefully considered on their individual merits and the onus is on the individual to provide the necessary supporting evidence to meet the UK immigration rules. The Zika virus which has infected more than 7,500 people in an island nation off the western coast of Africa is the same strain spreading through the Americas. Today, the World Health Organization confirmed the virus in Cape Verde is the same as the one behind an explosion of cases in the Americas. Three babies have developed microcephaly - the same devastating condition that has left babies in Brazil and elsewhere with undersized brains and skulls. 'This is the first time that strain of Zika which has been showed to cause neurological disorders and microcephaly has been detected in Africa,' said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's Africa regional chief. More than 7,500 people in Cape Verde, off the western coast of Africa, have been infected with the same strain of the Zika virus spreading through the Americas, the WHO has confirmed today The Zika virus may spread into Europe as the weather gets warmer, health officials warned this week. Many countries such as France, Italy, Malta, Croatia and Spain are at moderate risk for local Zika virus transmission The so-called Asian strain of the virus has infected some 1.5 million people in hardest-hit country Brazil alone, and was detected in Cape Verde through the sequencing of Zika cases in the island nation. 'It is the same genetic material as the virus in Brazil,' WHO spokeswoman Marsha Vanderford told AFP. 'The findings are of concern because it is further proof that the outbreak is spreading beyond South America and is on the doorstep of Africa. 'This information will help African countries to re-evaluate their level of risk and adapt and increase their levels of preparedness,' she said. The news comes days after experts said it was only a matter of time until Zika hit parts of Europe in late spring and summer. THE ASIAN STRAIN OF ZIKA IN AFRICA Dr Anna Checkley, a tropical disease specialist at University College London Hospitals said the Asian strain of Zika is probably more infectious to humans than the African strain. She said: 'There has been an outbreak of Zika virus infection in Cape Verde since October 2015, and today the World Health Organisation confirmed that it is the Asian, rather than the African strain of the virus that is causing these infections. 'The Asian strain was responsible for the outbreak in Polynesia in 2007, and it is also responsible for the current Zika epidemic. 'Prior to 2007 there were no known outbreaks of Zika virus infection, with just occasional cases (caused by the African strain) reported from countries in Africa. 'It is not known why the virus has become so much more aggressive since it was first described in 1947, and there are a number of possible explanations for this. 'It has probably been circulating at a low level in African countries for more than 50 years, so some of the population may already be immune. It is likely that the South American, Caribbean and Polynesian populations had no prior immunity to the virus, so a high proportion of people who are bitten by infected mosquitos caught the disease. It may be that the Asian strain of the virus is more infectious to humans, so it spreads from human (via mosquito) to human. The African strain is probably more infectious to primates other than humans, causing the occasional sporadic human case. 'Since human cases in Africa are so few and far between, we dont yet know whether the African strain of the virus also causes Congenital Zika Syndrome the form linked to microcephaly. For the same reason we do not know whether people who have been infected with the African strain are protected against catching the Asian strain. In fact, we do not even know whether individuals who have recovered from the Asian strain are protected against a second infection with the same strain.' Overall, a third of countries in Europe have a 'moderate' risk of an outbreak of the virus, which has been linked to severe birth defects in babies. Madeira and the Black Sea are on high alert - but popular tourist destinations including France, Italy and Spain are also at 'moderate risk'. The large and spreading outbreak of Zika that began in Brazilhas caused global alarm, after thousands of cases of microcephaly in babies were linked to women who become infected with the virus while pregnant. Experts agree that Zika is behind a surge in cases of the birth defect microcephaly - babies born with abnormally small heads and brains -after their mothers were infected with the virus. Cape Verde, which reported its first Zika case in October, is a former Portuguese colony like Brazil, where the mosquito-borne virus emerged last year before spreading to nearly 60 countries. Its emergence near Africa raises new concerns because many of the nearby countries on the continent have very poor health infrastructure as was laid bare by the Ebola epidemic that ravished Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. The virus, which also causes the rare but serious neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome, is mainly spread by two species of Aedes mosquito but has also been shown to transmit through sexual contact. WHO believes the Asian Zika strain was imported to Cape Verde by a traveller coming from Brazil, before it began spreading locally. The African strain of the Zika virus, which takes its name from Uganda's tropical Zika forest where it was first discovered in 1947, has been widespread on the continent for decades. But until recently, Zika sparked little concern, as it usually causes only mild, flu-like symptoms and Africans have generally built up immunity against the African strain. It remains unclear what impact the Asian strain of the virus could have in Africa, said Bruce Aylward, WHO chief on outbreaks and health emergencies. As of May 8, 7,557 suspected Zika cases had been registered in Cape Verde, as well as three microcephaly cases, WHO said. No cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome have been registered in the country so far. Dr Anna Checkley, a tropical disease specialist at the University College London Hospitals said the Asian strain of the virus was responsible for the outbreak in Polynesia in 2007, and it is also responsible for the current Zika epidemic. Today the WHO confirmed it was the Asian, rather than teh AFrican strain, that is causing the current infection on the continent. She said: 'It is not known why the virus has become so much more aggressive since it was first described in 1947, and there are a number of possible explanations for this. Three babies have developed microcephaly - the same devastating condition that has left babies in Brazil, like Joao Heitor (pictured) and elsewhere with undersized brains and skulls 'It has probably been circulating at a low level in African countries for more than 50 years, so some of the population may already be immune. It is likely that the South American, Caribbean and Polynesian populations had no prior immunity to the virus, so a high proportion of people who are bitten by infected mosquitos caught the disease. The findings are of concern because it is further proof that the outbreak is spreading beyond South America and is on the doorstep of Africa Marsha Vanderford, WHO It may be that the Asian strain of the virus is more infectious to humans, so it spreads from human (via mosquito) to human. She added: The African strain is probably more infectious to primates other than humans, causing the occasional sporadic human case. 'Since human cases in Africa are so few and far between, we dont yet know whether the African strain of the virus also causes Congenital Zika Syndrome the form linked to microcephaly. For the same reason we do not know whether people who have been infected with the African strain are protected against catching the Asian strain. In fact, we do not even know whether individuals who have recovered from the Asian strain are protected against a second infection with the same strain.' The Doll-Master and other Tales of Terror by Joyce Carol Oates The Doll-Master and other Tales of Terror by Joyce Carol Oates (Head of Zeus 18.99) Even the title fills me with fear. U.S. literary goddess Joyce Carol Oates, mistress of suspense and author of more than 70 books, adds a hyphen and thereby tilts our understanding of two simple words. And as expected, the title story sets the tone for this disturbing - no, lethal - collection. Oates inhabits the mind of a toddler as easily as that of a 60-plus bookseller, and seems to relish the use and abuse of snakes, guns and poison by a series of perpetrators. Mental anguish abides deep within Oatess protagonists, yet with a breathtaking control of the narrative, she manages to inject humour into their stories. Some of the villains get their comeuppance. Others dont, and we are left feeling uneasy, wondering where in our own lives dark characters such as these may be lurking. An unsettling read worth every resulting jump in the night. Hot Little Hands by Abigail Ulman Hot Little Hands by Abigail Ulman (Penguin 8.99) The small-town girls in these nine stories look both back to pony camp with wistfulness and ahead to adulthood with flushed excitement. Ramona, Elise and the rest are experimenting. They have boyfriends and make love on single beds while their mothers feed younger siblings downstairs. They escape to clubs at night, taunt predatory stepfathers and fantasise about science teachers. In sensual, enveloping prose, Melbourne-born Ulman completely captures that child/woman moment when a teenage imagination is alive with sexual possibility. Ulmans dialogue is real, and her characters seduce each other to a natural rhythm. Buy this for your daughter, but read it yourself. Whatever age you are, these alluring girls will take you right back to the place where your lust and confusion began. A brilliant debut. The High Places by Fiona McFarlane The High Places by Fiona McFarlane (Sceptre 18.99) Another exciting writer from Australia is Fiona McFarlane, whose highly acclaimed 2014 novel, The Night Guest, was described as an unnerving debut that explores the recesses of a disarrayed mind. Similarly, The High Places, McFarlanes first short story collection, digs deep. In her distinct and unusual voice - the disconcerting tone and dry humour are reminiscent of Margaret Atwood or Valerie Martin - McFarlane examines relationships with uncomfortable clarity and insight, observing the subtext of human behaviour while acknowledging a mysterious power beyond the reality we think we know. The natural world is alive in these stories and miracles abound: parachutists land in a country town, there is an accident on a country road, a scientist speaks to Darwins ghost. A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill Secker 12.99) An intoxicating debut by the son of Indian immigrants who was brought up in the west of Scotland, this introduces a detective of whom I am sure we will hear much more. Its 1919 and Captain Sam Wyndham is a former Scotland Yard officer who survived the trenches only to lose his wife in the influenza epidemic that followed the end of hostilities. In search of a new life, Wyndham sets off for a post in the Indian police where he is immediately asked to investigate the death of a Government official in suspicious circumstances outside what appears to be a brothel. Assisted by the pompous old India-hand Inspector Digby, and the British-educated but Indian-born Sergeant Bannerjee, Wyndham quickly finds himself grappling with the politics of the Raj at the highest level, but he navigates the waters with considerable bravery and skill. For me, he is the most engaging new detective since that wonderful English clergyman Sidney Chambers in James Runcies Grantchester series: utterly captivating. Far from True by Linwood Barclay Far from True by Linwood Barclay (Orion 18.99) The second in an exceptional trilogy set in the fictional upstate New York town of Promise Falls, this lifts the lid on the darker secrets of American suburbia. It opens with the collapse of the screen in an elderly drive-in theatre, which crushes and kills four people, including a man and his wife in a classic convertible Jaguar. The dead mans daughter asks former Boston cop-turned-private investigator Cal Weaver to look into a break-in at her fathers house, in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. He discovers a hidden room that has clearly been used for sexual purposes, all captured on film, although the DVDs themselves have disappeared. At the same time, detective Barry Duckworth is determined to solve two murders, of young women who bear a similar wound. Inevitably these two investigations interweave as the two men peel away the layers of deception that the towns population have constructed to protect themselves. Gripping and compulsive, it paints a vivid portrait of the decay that hides beneath the bright smile of small town life. The Hanging Club by Tony Parsons The Hanging Club by Tony Parsons (Century 12.99) This third outing for Parsons excellent, if troubled, Detective Constable Max Wolfe sees him confront a band of vigilantes who are abducting killers, paedophiles and rapists, and hanging them. The victims include a gang member who groomed and abused dozens of vulnerable girls, a wealthy driver who mowed down and killed a child only to get off scot-free, and a hate preacher calling for the murder of British troops. It is high summer and, as the bodies begin to pile up, so tensions in London begin to rise and riots break out, not least because some in the population believe the vigilantes are serving justice rather than breaking the law. It is a fascinating perspective on an age-old problem - should there be an eye for an eye or should society holds itself to higher moral standards? Wolfe confronts the dilemma in a drama that engulfs him as the story unfolds. The BJP is growing, like fungi after rain. Not by the design of nature, but of an astute and determined team spreading the party's spores on uncharted territory. The party stormed into the Northeast with a sweep in Assam, bloomed in West Bengal and Kerala, and almost seemed like wresting a couple of seats in Tamil Nadu in Thursdays assembly election results. Curated by PM Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah, the BJP asserted itself as the biggest pan-India party today, relegating the Congress to a handful of humble corners. By the efforts of PM Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah, the BJP has asserted itself as the biggest pan-India party in the latest state polls BJP workers celebrate their win after the Assam election results But the partys silent inroads into the Northeast, east, and south owe a lot to an army of faceless, tireless volunteers working at the grassroots - the RSS. The BJP's ideological mentors, along with workers of the fast-growing party, meticulously fashioned the win in Assam and the spread eastward and southward. Figures talk. The number of RSS shakhas or local organising units grew in Assam by 160. In a year, the number of shakhas went from 673 in 610 places, to 830 in 672 locations. In West Bengal, the BJP opened offices in all the assembly segments and deployed workers in the 77,000 booths. In 60,000 booths, the party had a fully-fledged team of 15-20 workers; in the rest, which were sensitive, only a few were deployed. The party also deputed coordinators in every seat. Kerala has the highest number of RSS shakhas among the states, and the BJP worked hard to reach diverse sections, including local Dalits and Christians. Its vote share has nearly doubled from 6 per cent in 2011 to 10.5 per cent this time. In Assam for instance, the BJPs landslide was the result of a combination of factors. The issues raised by the party, particularly illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, resulted in Hindu consolidation. But it also managed to get a slice of Muslim votes. The BJP did not repeat its mistakes from the Delhi and Bihar elections. The campaign in Assam had positive strains focusing on local issues like development and the fight against corruption. The uplift of rural Assam and a clear roadmap for the welfare of indigenous Assamese appealed to the voters. Congress workers sit dejectedly outside the partys head office in Guwahati after the BJPs win in the Assam Assembly elections Party in-charge for Assam Mahendra Singh told Mail Today that for the first time in the history of the states politics, the BJP managed to build its local organisation. At every booth the party had constituted a committee of 45-50 activists, along with respective coordinators, in-charges and ground workers. Workers had also been appointed at the panchayat, block, and district levels. Among Assams Hindus, fractured by caste - 33 per cent are OBCs, 30 per cent SCs and STs, and 2 per cent upper castes - the RSS decades-old Sewa Karyas, welfare programmes ranging from self-employment to running schools among these backward communities, made the difference. The number of Saptahik Milans or weekly congregations grew from 87 last year to 113 this year, and the number of monthly gatherings has also increased. According to Shankar Das, the Uttar Assam Prant Prachar Pramukh, the Sewa Karyas among marginalised communities have instilled their confidence in the RSS and the BJP. Das claimed that the organisation was running 3,500 homeopathic clinics among such communities under a programme called Arogya Mitra. However, the RSS claims that the most impactful of its programmes has been the schools run by Vidya Bharti. As of today, 540 Vidya Bharti schools are running in the state in which nearly 1.5 lakh students study and 8,000 teachers are employed. A large number of Muslim students also study in these schools, Das said. According to the RSS, while some Vidya Bharti schools have as many as 25 per cent Muslim students, the average is between 10 per cent and 15 per cent. We do not discriminate between Hindus and Muslims in imparting education. RSS has been painted as anti-Muslim, which is wrong. These students chant Vande Mataram and sing Saraswati Vandana, he said. While the BJP made no bones about its stand against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants (its Assam manifesto vowed to complete sealing of the India-Bangladesh border), Das claimed that Muslim support for the BJP was a reaction by the native Muslims against infiltrators. In West Bengal, the BJP seemed to have found its feet. In the run-up to the polls, it established its first fully-functional structure, right down to the booth level. Catchy local slogans helped, like the innuendo on the combined rule of Mamata Banerjee and the CPM: 34 becomes 39. Or, for example, Poriborton noy, poton (instead of change, degeneration). The party also ran a Booth Chalo Abhiyan to make people come out and vote. Booth Sammelans were held for booth-level congregations to activate party workers. The lone seat in Kerala which the BJP won might just give the party what it had been wanting for so long: an ideological victory against the Left, while leaving the door of state politics ajar. The party appointed Rajsekharan, a hardened RSS pracharak, as the state unit president to strengthen the party. A veteran RSS activist and pro-Hindutva hardliner, he had emerged as the face of the Hindu rightwing in Kerala. Also, Rajsekharan comes from the Nair caste, a vote-bank the BJP had been eyeing. Rajsekharan had cordial relations with a spectrum of Hindu community organisations, including the SNDP Yogam and the Nair Service Society. In Kerala, two Union Ministers - health minister JP Nadda and minister of state for skills development Rajiv Pratap Rudy - managed the campaigns at the district levels. Union ministers Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh and others visited the state. PM Modi himself went three times in May to address rallies. The party aimed to get at least one national-level leader to speak at least once in each of the 140 constituencies. In Tamil Nadu, the party kickstarted the campaign with Modis rally in Coimbatore, even as the party lacked the organisational muscle, ideological influence and leadership to replace either of the Dravidian parties. Thanks to the National Safai Karamcharis Finance & Development Corporation (NSKFDC), many women who were earlier engaged in manual scavenging will now be seen driving Uber and Ola cabs in Delhi. Two hundred women from safai karamcharis [scavenging] families have been trained in commercial driving and self-defence skills, creating jobs and self-employment opportunities for them. Many of them are now employed as drivers with Uber and Ola. Useful skills: As part of their training, the drivers-to-be were given lessons in self-defence In a recently event held at Scope Complex, Delhi, Thaawar Chand Gehlot, the Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment, distributed course completion certificates, driving licenses and employment letters to the trainees. Uber and Ola also signed an deal with NSKFDC to provide employment to the women. The self-defence skills taught during the training, will provide self confidence not only to these women, but will also give a sense of security to female passengers, particularly those who have to travel at odd hours. "Out of 200 trainees, 192 trainees have already received driving licenses. The said programme is of utmost importance keeping in view the increasing incidents of eve-teasing, molestation, rapes, etc, Gehlot said. Almost 300 female scavengers have also been employed in zardosi work in areas such as Mangolpuri and Dwarka. Savitri, who has given up manual scavenging to take up zardosi, said: I was given a seed amount of Rs 40,000 by NSKFDC. They also gave me training. Many men have also been rehabilitated into jobs such as operating JCBs. Delhi Police are probing a possible link between Kashif Jaan, one of the handlers of the terrorists who attacked the Pathankot airbase, and three youths arrested in the capital recently. Jaan is a known member of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), an Islamist terror group active in Kashmir. The special cell of Delhi Police and its anti-terror unit, seeking additional remand for the suspects, stated that data retrieved from pen drives, mobile phones, online chats, and email accounts indicates that two of the three men were in touch with a person named Rashid Awan. Awan is a known JeM cadre, based in Pakistan, whose name has been linked to Kashif Jaan - the alleged handler of the recent Pathankot airbase attack. Delhi Police believe three young men recently arrested in the Capital may have been in touch with a Pakistan-based JeM member with links to the suspected handler of the Pathankot attack terrorists Delhi Police stated this in the remand copy submitted in court on May 14, as they sought an extension of the police custody. The youths, named as Sajid, Shakir, and Sameer, were arrested for their alleged links with JeM on May 3. It also said that Sajid was in touch with Sajjad Ghori, another Pakistan-based JeM cadre. He was allegedly negotiating for Shakir to travel to Pakistan to collect ammunition and for training at a JeM camp. The duo were the members of a group called Sada-e-Mujahid that comprises members such as Maulvi Talha, Pakistan-based brother of JeM chief; Maulana Masood Azhar who is the editor of Al- Qalam, JeMs weekly news portal; and the chief of JeMs youth wing, the remand application stated. The police claim that a technical analysis of the Pakistani telephone numbers and the digital data retrieved from the suspects has revealed that Indians were in touch with Pakistan-based JeM handlers. Investigators are joining the dots to identify the new Indian contacts. The police said Sajids Facebook account was disabled some time ago, either by the social media firm as part of its in-house terror monitoring exercises, or by the accused himself in order to erase the trail of his terror activities. Investigators have sought the assistance of Facebook to get access to his account. The three operatives on May 14 were sent to 10-day police custody, although the special cell had sought 15 days' custody. Their lawyer, MS Khan, opposed the application saying the police had already been granted sufficient time and there was no fresh ground for further custody of his clients. Delhi Police had also detained around 10 more people suspected to be linked with a terror outfit planning an attack in the city. The police had recovered explosives from their possession after a series of overnight raids in the National capital and its neighbouring states. They were later let off after questioning. Special cell teams had conducted raids in Delhi and UP as a joint operation of Delhi Police and a central intelligence agency. If the BJP went to the polls with the Congress mukt Bharat (Congress-free India) slogan, Mamata Banerjee ensured that West Bengal goes Left-free after the once-dominant red front was pushed into third place behind the Congress. The Left fronts defeat in West Bengal overshadowed its return to power in Kerala, now the only communist flag-bearing state in the country. The Lefts dilemma was too stark to ignore, as it was contesting against the Congress in Kerala, and as its partner in West Bengal. The Left recorded a spectacular comeback in Kerala LDF workers celebrate their victory after Kerala Assembly election results were declared. There were voices questioning the decision to form a pre-poll alliance with the Congress in West Bengal. The defeat in the state will push the Left into introspection mode, despite a spectacular comeback in Kerala. The Left was supposed to be the lead partner in the alliance in West Bengal, but it ended up getting only 31 seats, far below the Congresss tally of 44. We respect the verdict of the people with all the humility in Bengal. We will examine and review the results in order to draw proper lessons from it. We though salute our comrades, who worked unitedly despite the attacks by TMC, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said. Left supporters celebrating their victory in the Assembly polls in Thiruvananthapuram While the Left in Kerala has maintained that it will stay away from the Congress, the strategy for West Bengal was different to ensure the BJP is kept out of contention. The BJP, with only three states, turned out to be a non-player. The contrasting positions had Yechury and former CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat on different sides. Facing tough questions on the massive defeat in West Bengal, Yechury said that they hoped to do better - and therefore the results have come across as a setback. He said the reasons for the same will be reviewed. LDF supporters show their delight after winning the Assembly polls in Thrissur We are political soldiers, not astrologers. I am there in a war. In a war, you lose some battles, you win some battles. We won Kerala battle, we lost West Bengal battle, he said. When asked about reports that daggers are out against him within the CPI(M) over the West Bengal results, Yechury said that all the decisions were taken by the party collectively. ... it is your (of reporters) right to interpret it in the way you want to. But the responsibility (for the defeat in West Bengal polls) will be decided during review. As far we see, these are all decisions taken by party collectively and they will be reviewed, he said. Congratulating the Left workers for the victory in Kerala, Karat said of the Left Democratic Front: LDF has registered a big victory in Kerala because the people have endorsed a platform for a corruption-free government. The people have rejected the UDF government, its misrule and corruption. On the BJP's performance in the state, Yechury suggested that the saffron party did not fare well. He claimed its vote percentage declined from 16.84 per cent in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls to 10.20 per cent in the Assembly polls. Clearly the BJP was able to win some seats, ably assisted by a vote transfer between BJP and the TMC. In Kerala, it opened its account due to similar assistance from the Congress-led UDF there. Left underlines the need for introspection By Agencies 'We respect the verdict of people with all the humility in Bengal", said CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury. The Left parties on Thursday underlined the need for serious introspection in West Bengal, where Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress is set to return to power. However, the party chiefs said that their impressive performance in Kerala was historic and expected. The CPI and CPI(M) also noted that the BJP clinched power in Assam for the first time due to the absence of a strong secular and democratic alternative, and added that it remains to be seen how the communal saffron outfit will work in the sensitive state. Accepting the peoples verdict of returning J Jayayalalithaas AIADMK to power in Tamil Nadu, the two Left parties alleged that money power played a crucial role in the southern states to ensure the victory for AIADMK. Without naming any party, they referred to the decision of the Election Commission to defer polls in two Tamil Nadu constituencies after evidence of bribes being paid. After successful visits to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is turning his attention to Iran, widely regarded as the decisive power in an increasingly unruly West Asia. There has been widespread concern that despite the historic nature of Indo-Iranian ties, the relationship has become strained over the last few years. This relationship needs to revive, and fast. India and Iran have a historic relationship and Modi must work to repair the damage done in recent years Modis visit is the most important signal that Delhi is ready to put its money where its mouth is. The Modi government has moved ahead on a number of initiatives with Iran in recent months. India has finalised the draft Chabahar Agreement - also known as the International Transport and Transit Corridor Agreement - with Afghanistan and Iran, and also come to a preliminary agreement on the development of the Farzad B gas field. These projects have been languishing for quite some time, much to Tehrans consternation. India and Iran have been talking about Chabahar since 2002, while the initial agreement for exploration and development of the Farzad B gas field was signed with a consortium of three Indian state companies in 2000. Invest During his recent visit to Iran, Minister for State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan offered to invest up to $20 billion in oil, petrochemicals and fertiliser projects in joint ventures with Iran, if Tehran provides land and gas at concessional rates. He also expressed an interest in setting up an LNG plant and a gas cracker unit at Chabahar. The official lifting of Western sanctions against Iran in January 2016 has expanded the scope of Indo-Iranian engagement, and thus Delhi is trying to quickly recalibrate its Tehran policy. Irans crude oil exports to India are now three times higher compared to last year. Delhi has signed an air services agreement with Tehran, enhancing the number of flights between the two nations and allowing each others airlines to operate to additional destinations. The two sides have also inked a 'memorandum of understanding' aimed at increasing bilateral trade to $30 billion from $15 billion. Plans are afoot for greater maritime cooperation, and Iran has already joined the Indian Navys annual initiative, the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, which provides a forum for the navies of the Indian Ocean littoral states to engage with each other. After years of dilly-dallying by the UPA government, the Modi government decided last year to invest $85.21 million in developing the strategically-important Chabahar Port in Iran, allowing India to circumvent Pakistan and open up a route to landlocked Afghanistan. The port, located 72 km west of Pakistans Gwadar Port, holds strategic and economic significance for India. It is already connected to the city of Zaranj in Afghanistans south-western province of Nimruz and can serve as Indias entry point to Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond. New Delhi and Tehran both view Chabahar as critical to developing connections with Kabul, and as a geopolitical lever vis-a-vis Pakistan. This is a high-priority issue for the Modi government. Powers The geopolitics of West Asia is always difficult to traverse, even for great powers, as the US has found to its considerable cost. Today, the Obama Administration is desperately trying to reduce its equities in a region that has been in perpetual turmoil, partly due to external interference and partly due to internal contradictions. This has led to an even greater regional turmoil in the process. Iran and India: The geopolitics of West Asia is always difficult to traverse, even for great powers like the US Enter China, repeatedly testing its ability to shape a new order in the region. Chinese President XI Jinpings visit to Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia earlier this year was aimed at gaining greater political and economic salience in a region where it has been reluctant to get involved so far. But as the balance of power in the region unravels, new equations are emerging and older paradigms are no longer sufficient. The most significant disruption to the Indo-Iranian relationship has come in the form of China, which is now Irans largest trading partner. Beijing has invested massively in Tehran, with more than 100 Chinese companies on the ground seeking to occupy the space vacated by Western firms that had grown skittish about international pressure on the country. The partnership with China benefits both sides: Iran evades global isolation by courting China, which in turn gains access to Irans energy resources without any real competition. Pressure India has always dutifully enforced any United Nations measures against Iran, often to the detriment of its energy investments in the country. Yet China, which as a member of the Security Council helps shape UN policy towards Iran, has been able to sustain its own energy business in the country without much trouble. Modis high-profile visits to the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been aimed at isolating Pakistan and enhancing Delhis strategic space in the region. Its time now to push for a reorientation in Indo-Iranian ties. A thaw in US-Iran relations, heralded by the new nuclear understanding between the two, should allow India to push forth with a more purposeful regional engagement with Iran. Modis visit should be the beginning of this reorientation. Rahul Gandhi interviewed over 600 leaders who would be given key party roles The knives are out in the Congress amid calls for major surgery to revive the organisation following a string of embarrassing electoral defeats, with questions being raised about the leadership abilities of the partys president-in-waiting, Rahul Gandhi. While strategists ponder options to pull the 131-year old party out of the morass that it has been sinking in since it was decimated in the 2014 parliamentary polls, the so-called Team Rahul Gandhi is still waiting in the wings. In party circles, the term Team RG is used to describe over 600 young leaders who have been picked through a corporate-style recruitment process but have no clue when they will get their jobs. Over the past year, Rahul personally interviewed these leaders who, sources said, would be given key roles whenever the Congress vice-president gives his nod to be named as party chief. I spoke about Delhi politics during the interaction. I was confident as I had met Rahulji several times before that, said Rohit Chaudhary, one of the candidates and a former NSUI national president. I worked during the recent Delhi municipal bypolls in Kamboj Nagar, said Rohit, who is an observer for the Karol Bagh area. He was Delhi University students union president in 2003. Advisers The plan to keep a pool of young leaders ready was set in motion when Rahuls advisers realised that a section of veterans with deep roots in the party was not enthused about the proposed change of guard. In the months following the Congresss worst-ever defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, some of the seniors got anxious that they may have no future if Rahul, who was pitching for a thoroughly revamped organisation, took over as party chief. Realising that bad press about the sharp divisions within the party was damaging the Congress, a truce was arrived at, assuring the veterans that Rahuls new team would be a mix of youth and experience. Subsequently, Rahul held extensive consultations with the senior leaders both at the central and state level to bring them on board over his plans for the organisational revamp. A blue print of sorts was prepared based on these discussions but was never implemented. Meanwhile, a status quo, Sonia Gandhi as Congress chief and Rahul as her deputy, was suggested till the time was right for the Amethi MP to take over the reins of the Congress. Sources said Rahul Gandhi had realised the shortcomings of the Congress culture of patronage. Pictured, the Congress headquarters in New Delhi bears a deserted look But a short-term measure to ensure a smooth transfer of power has been stretched too far, many in the party feel after the losses in four states this week. Congress veteran Anil Shastri told Mail Today the status quo was hurting the party more than helping it. Recalling that it took around six months for the party leadership to get out of the shock that the Congress was reduced to mere 44 members in the Lok Sabha, a senior leader said there was a glimmer of hope when Rahul inducted around 40 AICC secretaries who were all younger leaders and were given active roles in the organisation. Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said: 'The surgeons are Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and they should take action forthwith to set right matters in the party' That change was seen as a precursor to a bigger reshuffle which would present a new and rejuvenated Congress before the country. That momentum seems to have been lost. Party functionaries who are in their thirties are expressing concern over their future. Many of them might be exploring other options, a senior leader said on condition of anonymity. Sometime during the past year, another plan to prepare a younger team across the states was kicked off, but there are concerns over its fate now. As part of creating a talent pool of younger leaders, Rahul personally evaluated resumes and conducted interviews of around 600 members, who were to implement his plans. This group, in a sense, would be the new Team Rahul, which will give a new flavour and purpose to the Congress that is struggling to reconnect with the voters. Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Iran could provide a breakthrough in the revival of Indias historic cultural links Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Iran could provide a breakthrough in revival of Indias historic cultural links that had taken a hit following international sanctions on the oil-rich nation. With an aim to foster the relationship, Delhi Universitys department of Persian has prepared to showcase historic linkages of the Indian-Persian civilisation in the fields of art, music, poetry and literature. During his visit to Iran on May 22 and 23, he will focus on energy, strategic ties and connectivity Modi will also inaugurate a three-day conference entitled India- Iran, Two Great Civilizations: Retrospect and Prospect. The conference organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) will strengthen the cultural relationship among the two countries as they plan to hold Iranian cultural festival in India soon. The conference will focus on the linguistic journey and development of Persian literature. This will provide a backdrop for a new phase in the relationship of the two nations India and Iran, which will open up new arenas for cooperation in several areas of bilateral significance including trade, economic development and regional peace and stability, C Rajasekhar, director general, ICCR told Mail Today. Large number of miniatures and manuscripts will be displayed in the conference. The prime minister will also release a Persian manuscript Kalileh-Wa-Dimneh. From poetry reading to cultural music, the festival will be like a meet of two cultures. According to the historians, the rich and prolific Indo-Persian literature produced in the vast territories of India, from early medieval to early modern times was an outcome of the age old relations between the two cultures. The wall carvings on the staircase of the Hall of Nations in Persepolis, the capital of Achaemenids (550- 330BC) and the shrine of cave no 4 at Ajantas mural painting receiving an embassy from the Sassanian king Khusrau ll (596-628) are the most beautiful evidence of age-old relations between these two cultures. Considering this event as a prelude to their relationship, both the countries will soon be holding and reciprocating Indian-Iranian festival to promote their culture among the people of both the nations. In second half of this year, we hope to organise Iranian cultural festival in India and same will be organised in Iran. These cultural events revive the sense of nostalgia and our past association with each other. It will also bridge the distance and will help in promoting and understanding each others culture, added Rajasekhar. Classical Persian music and Indian classical music are the most glaring examples of the intermingling of the two cultures. Like literature, a new school of music emerged with the intermixing of these two schools of music and the new one gained prominence as Hindustani music. Abdul Wahid Siddibapa, a key Indian Mujahideen operative could not be extradited from UAE despite being taken in custody there as Pakistan resisted the move keeping in mind the interests of the groups top leadership that has found a safe haven in the country after fleeing from India. Being closely tracked Siddibappa was lured into coming to India by intelligence agencies and was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday morning after he landed at the Delhi airport. A relative of IMs founder members Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal who have been in Pakistan for many years, Wahid also belongs to Bhatkal town of Karnataka. He was wanted in several attacks like the Mumbai train blasts of 2006 and blasts outside Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru in 2008 had been facilitating funds and recruits from Dubai over the last 10 years. Abdul Wahid Siddibapa was the mastermind of the 2006 Mumbai serial train blasts. He is believed to be a key sponsor of the Indian Mujhahideen Back in 2014, India missed the opportunity to deport him when he was detained as Indian agencies reacted late. He was taken in custody and was later let off as the evidence provided by India was not considered substantial. After his release he was back to his terror activities targeting India. Sources said since his return seemed almost impossible intelligence agencies set a trap for him that left him with no option but to come to India and in a well-coordinated secret operation after being watched closely for two years he was trapped. He had been facilitating the movements of wanted IM members between Pakistan and UAE and played an important role in building and sustaining the organisation, said an NIA officer. Yasin Bhatkal, another top IM member who was arrested in 2013 had provided crucial leads on Wahid after which he came on radar of Indian counter-terror agencies. Wahid ran several businesses in Dubai as a cover for his terror activities, sources said. NIAs investigation in Yasin case also established a link between the Bhatkals and Pakistans ISI allowing them to carry out their activities. Wahid had been in close touch with Riyaz Bhatkal and Yasin Bhatkal in Pakistan discussing strategy, funding and new recruitment. Agencies have also managed to access their e mail chats after Yasins arrest. "Abdul Wahid was also involved in identifying and recruiting new members for the proscribed organisation Indian Mujahideen. He was playing a very important role in raising funds for running the organisation Indian Mujahideen and for commission of terrorist acts in India with an intention to wage war against Government of India. He is one of the oldest and senior most members of Indian Mujahideen, the NIA said in a statement. He has funded the outfit's activities from Dubai and a Red Corner Notice was issued against him in December 2013. He was produced before a special court on Friday which sent him to seven days custody. HRD minister Smriti Irani said the government will help parents in getting assistance for their differently-abled children HRD minister Smriti Irani on Friday said the government is working on a protocol which will help parents in getting assistance for their differently-abled children in the field of education. The NCERT, in association with the Ministry of Social Justice, is working on creation of a protocol that would list the measures which parents want to empower their differently-abled children through education and what assistance they can get, the minister said. Training session for BJP spokespersons The Bharatiya Janta Party will hold a quick training session for the team of its spokespersons so that they can effectively take the achievements of the Modi government to the people. Senior Cabinet ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari will speak to the spokespersons apart from party president Amit Shah. Over 200 events will be organised by the BJP from May 26. PM Modi to talk achievement Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold multiple public meetings to talk about the achievements of his government Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold multiple public meetings to talk about the achievements of his government which will turns two on May 26. On the second anniversary, Prime Minister Modi will be in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh and BJP president Amit Shah will hold a press conference in New Delhi. The PM will hold two other public meetings, one in Odisha and the other in a southern state. Ministers set for Poornima Diwas The entire Narendra Modi Cabinet seems to be gearing up to celebrate International Buddha Poornima Diwas on Saturday. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is the chief guest of the event celebrating the holy occasion at JLN Stadium. Others who will participate in the event are Union ministers Ram Vilas Paswan, Radha Mohan Singh and Nirmala Sitharaman. Sitharaman will also address a conference on the occasion. Kayakalp plan for government hospitals Union Health Minister JP Nadda launched Kayakalp Fortnight to ensure upkeep of cleanliness, sanitation and hygiene within and outside the premises of central government hospitals. Shahbaz Taseer, son of slain Paks Punjab province governor Salman Taseer They tormented him sadistically. They wanted to break his spirit. But he endured the torture with fortitude. Uzbek militants abducted Shahbaz Taseer in Lahore almost five years ago when he was driving to work. In his interview to India Today TV from the Pakistani city, the 31-year-old recalled how he survived and walked back to freedom after spending an excruciating 1,652 days as a war prisoner of ruthless Islamists fighting in the restive Pakistan-Afghanistan border regions. Seven months before his capture, Taseers father and then governor of Pakistans Punjab province was assassinated for his campaign to ease the nations stringent blasphemy laws. For his captors, he was a prized catch. They wanted no money for his release but demanded militants jailed across Pakistan be freed in exchange for his freedom. But he know that was not going to happen. He was subject to gruesome torture and shuffled between guerrillas. They drove pleasure in inflicting pain on him, physical and mental. Shahbaz Taseer was reunited with his wife (above) after his release The entire thing was a death experience, he recalled in his interview to India Today TV. I had no hope that the ordeal would end, he recounted. For more than two years, he wouldnt know what was happening in the outside world. But in that sordid confinement, he learned patience. What I went through made me patient though, Taseer said. I am taking one step at a time, the young businessman added. He surrendered himself to God. He felt liberated in suffocating, solitary captivity. I did not accept that I was a prisoner. They were trying to break my spirit. I had to come back to my life, my family, my wife, Taseer said. He clung to prayers and thats where he drew fortitude from. Late last year, he was captured by the Afghan Taliban after a fight erupted between them and his abductors, the Uzbek militants. On February 29 this year, he was set free by a Taliban elder. He was released outside the southwestern city of Quetta on March 8. Taseer said he rode a motorbike for eight days from inside Afghanistan to Pakistans Baluchistan province. Uzbek militants abducted Shahbaz Taseer in Lahore almost five years ago when he was driving to work. Here he is reunited with his mother Taseer was rescued in a joint military operation underway in those tribal areas. Hes now back home, stronger and braver. Once upon a time Dev Anand played a doting brother who struggled against all odds trying to bring his wasted little sister back home from the clutches of drugs in Nepal, in the film Hare Rama Hare Krishna. That was 1971, when the archetypal hero, playing his sisters saviour could be anything but vulnerable or flawed. Zeenat Aman, as the errant sister, had portrayed a role far beyond what commercial Bollywood normally allowed its heroines then, but then Zeenat was always exceptionally beyond norms. Sarbjit: The film uses the constant struggle of Sarabjit Singhs sister, played by Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan, for his freedom from incarceration in Pakistan, to establish a strong brother-sister bond Four decades later, another cross-border drama creates space for an interesting brothersister tale. This time, Omung Kumars Sarbjit gets into Pakistan right into the guts of its sordid prison system. Kumars film claims to be based on the life of Sarabjit Singh, a Punjabi farmer who lived in a borderside village and who was allegedly apprehended as a spy after he strayed into Pakistan. The film narrates how Sarabjits sister Dalbir Kaur, played by Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan, fought tirelessly for 23 years for her brothers freedom. Sibling Spin Sarbjit and Hare Rama Hare Krishna have a commonality somewhere, though one film is based on a real life and the other was a work of fiction. Both films talk of the protagonist risking all to rescue a sibling. Both films also reveal a strong connect with contemporary socio-political realities and popular tastes. However Sarbjit, with its bleak account of prison torture and alleged espionage, may not scale the blockbuster high of the very commercial Hare Rama Hare Krishna. Importantly though, the film does try adding a spin to the Bollywood sibling story. Dhanak: Orphaned siblings Pari and Chhotu embark on a journey in a bid to restore the boys eyesight in this Nagesh Kukunoor film The brother-sister formula will once again be put to test in the coming weeks when Nagesh Kukunoors Dhanak opens. The film promises to be a far cuter tale about sibling struggle than Sarbjit, though it will try to retain the emotional weight of the relationship. Dhanak stars child actors Hetal Gada and Harsh Chhabria as orphaned siblings Pari and Chhotu, who set out on a perilous journey to restore the latters eyesight. Kukunoor has said the idea of Dhanak was first suggested to him by a friend for an ad-film. He calls his film a magical journey, where the two kids make the trip inspired by Shah Rukh Khans campaign for eyesight. Dhanak will try understanding child psychology as much as sibling relationship. While kids portraying siblings in Bollywood is nothing new, the film adds a fresh twist by introducing the element of dream that the siblings share, about restoring the boys eyesight. Quirky turn It is not just about siblings on screen. Bollywood has started looking for fresh angles at understanding other equations, too. In Nil Battey Sannata, one of the more original films that Bollywood has made this year, Swara Bhaskar played a lower-class single mother who resorts to an outrageously quirky turn in life, to connect with her child. Nil Battey Sannata: Swara Bhaskar plays a lower-class single mother who joins her daughters school as a student, to understand her childs world better Faced with a situation where her daughter, who is weak in studies, is not interested in pursuing education beyond high school, the mother decides to join the daughters class as a student. She wants to understand the daughters world properly, before she can guide the latter in life. Nil Battey Sannata, directed by debutant Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, won acclaim in the global festival circuit before finding favour with the niche Indian audience that roots for the unconventional in cinema. This, primarily for the way the film has managed to give a new twist to the standard emotions that Hindi cinema allots to the mother-daughter relationship, an evergreen formula to woo the box-office. Tiwari prefers to define her film as a story of the relationship of a mother and her daughter and their complexities, told in a very fun way. Outside usual fun and frolic, though, Tiwaris film is an example of how a section of Bollywood is quietly moving beyond cliches when it comes to exploring relationship dramas, especially between parent and child. The idea, being dealt with depth and impact, is not a one-off case. It has been happening for a while now. Last year, Zoya Akhtar narrated the account of a dysfunctional family in Dil Dhadakne Do starring Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Singh. Earlier this year, the Karan Johar-produced Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921) impressed the urban crowds by dissecting familial discords without getting too heavy about it. Dear Dad: Arvind Swamy plays a father who is driving his son from hometown Delhi to Mussoorie, where the boy studies in a boarding school. Twists in the tale turn the trip into a confession session Beyond feel-good Johar has talked about how difficult it was casting for Kapoor & Sons, considering the uncomfortable personality traits his characters portray beneath the feel-good vibes. Fawad Khans role of the familys model son, who is his conservative- minded mothers darling, was apparently rejected by half a dozen actors because the character, it is finally revealed in the story, is gay. The film unflinchingly explores equations between parents and sons, grandfather and grandsons, and husband and wife as never before within the commercial set-up. If Rajat Kapoor finely portrayed a flawed father in Kapoor & Sons, the character was given a quirkier twist in the recent release Dear Dad. The relationship between a father and a son was once again in focus, as Bombay actor Arvind Swamy made a comeback in the Tanuj Bhramar film. The film is a coming-of-age story about a boy who is being driven to boarding school in Mussoorie from hometown Delhi by his dad, played by Swamy. Kapoor & Sons: The equations between parents and sons, grandfather and grandsons, and husband and wife are unflinchingly explored as never before within the commercial set-up Twists in the tale turns the father-son trip into a confession session, as the duo comes across random adventures. Although the films upper-middle class protagonists render it a radically different milieu from, say, Nil Battey Sannata, there is a trait of commonality between these films. Like Nil Battey Sannata and Kapoor & Sons, Dear Dad too tried understanding the psychological currents that drive parentchild relationship in the modernday milieu. Opening up the new Lifetime Isa to contributions from employers as well as savers themselves is essential to its overall success, argues investment firm boss David Harrison. One of the greatest challenges faced by policymakers is how to grab millennials attention for long enough to focus it on a problem that may be 30 years away. In competition with brands whose million-pound budgets tell us how to spend money today, save now to live well in several decades is a tough message to sell. Unsurprising then, the Government played its ace card and introduced a law that is working its way through every employer in the land, successfully enrolling millions of people into workplace pensions automatically. No entry: 'There's a fundamental flaw with the Lifetime Isa - employers can't pay in to their worker's savings' But there is something interesting about consumer behaviour that the Chancellor has noticed. While new money going into pensions has been in decline for years, the opposite is true of Isas. The amounts of money put into Isas continue to rise, up 20bn last year compared to 2014. Official figures show that on average savers contributed 6,064 to Isas in 2014/15, compared to 2,840 for personal pensions. People know they need to save and increasingly will have to provide for themselves in later life. But the rigidity and reputation of pensions leads many to look elsewhere. The birth of the Lifetime Isa caught the industry off guard and it should have been welcomed with open arms. Instead, it has had a rough early ride since it was announced in March. It wont be available to consumers until next year, but already many are queuing up to play down its potential and stymie its chances of success. Savers will be able to put up to 4,000 each year into a Lifetime Isa (Lisa) and get a 1,000 bonus from the government. Having just polled 2,000 adults, the Lisa is set to be popular. Our figures show that twice as many people would prefer a Lisa than a pension. It is a great idea and should be given every opportunity to flourish, but crucially there is one piece of the jigsaw missing. Without it, the Lisa may never reach its true potential. Employers are able to contribute to their employees pension but not their Lisa. Even the pensions minister has said that the Lisa will be a complementary product for those who can afford to save into both. But that option may not be available to many in the UK, who in reality will have to choose between them. Our data shows twice as many people higher up the income scale say they will have both a pension and a Lisa compared to those at the other end. If the Lisa ends up as a complementary product it will be one used mainly by the better off, and that would be a huge missed opportunity. David Harrison: 'If employers were able to contribute to Lisas and help people get on the housing ladder it would teach them financial discipline' Opening up the Lisa to employer contributions would level the playing field and is essential to its overall success. It will give consumers the viable choice they so clearly want. Without this, an innovative idea will be strangled before it has had a chance to breathe. The beauty of the Lisa is that it is both flexible and simple. Savers can withdraw their money tax-free and with no penalties to help fund a first home purchase or for retirement (after age 60). Our polling shows that consumer opinion is split 50/50 over whether to use the Lisa for buying a home or retirement. But among the 18 to 24 age group, 64 per cent intend to use a Lisa to save for a first home. Some will argue that employer contributions should not be allowed into a Lisa because those under 30 will most likely use it to help buy a house. Having employed thousands of people over the last 30 years, I cannot see a problem. There are few things employees would value more from their employer today than some help to get on the housing ladder. That would lead more people into the financial discipline required to pay the mortgage each month and budget accordingly. Accepting employer contributions into the Lisa and then limiting them to the retirement part of the product is both overly paternalistic and risks eroding the simplicity of Isas. Pensions have become far too complicated and we do the same to Isas at our peril. True Potential has argued since 2012 that an enhanced Isa represents the UKs best chance at closing the savings gap. Our Isaproposals earlier this year made the case for a 25 per cent top-up on contributions and a higher Isa limit, both of which were delivered by the Chancellor and True Potential Investor will be offering the Lisa from April 2017. How long should you hang onto a poorly-performing fund? A substantial majority of wealthy investors would bin a struggling investment in less than a year, new research reveals. Two thirds of investors aged 40-75 would lose patience before a year was out, while a younger cohort were even more ruthless with nearly nine out of 10 of those aged 18-39 ready to jettison their investment within that period. This strong intolerance for negative returns emerged in a survey of very well-off people - with at least 140,000 to invest - by Legg Mason Global Asset Management. These are clearly not average investors, who will have less money at their disposal and less ability to absorb losses. However, at some point all investors will wrestle with the question of how long to hold a money-losing fund, so we delve deeper into the issue below. Ruthless: A substantial majority of wealthy investors would bin a struggling investment in less than a year, new research reveals We asked David Miller, investment director at Quilter Cheviot, whose firm runs portfolios on behalf of individual clients, charities and pension funds, how he gauges when it's time to make changes in his fund selection. And we also asked economist Ian Bright, who heads the eZonomics behavioural investing team at Dutch bank ING, about the psychological traps people can fall into when making such decisions. How ruthless are rich investors about ditching poor performers? Rich investors, especially younger ones, won't forgive negative fund returns for very long, as we saw above. They don't have a lot of patience when it comes to broader financial market volatility either, but in this case younger people will hold their nerve in the face of bigger losses than more mature investors, according to the Legg Mason survey. Older investors aged 40-75 would put up with a 16.7 per cent decline in equity markets on average before rethinking their allocation to stocks, and an 18.6 per cent fall before selling. But the younger group aged 18-39 would reevaluate their equity exposure only after a 20.3 per cent fall on average and sell after a drop of 23.3 per cent. The findings emerged from Legg Masons 2016 Global Investment Study, which surveyed more than 5,000 wealthy investors across 19 countries at the turn of this year. However, the results above were only drawn from its cohort of 260 UK investors. 'The survey reveals an interesting dichotomy between investors attitude to market falls and their approach to funds that underperform in the short-to-medium term,' says Adam Gent, head of UK sales at Legg Mason. David Miller: Considers the excessive risk a fund manager might have taken to get to the top of performance tables temporarily Of the findings from the older group, he explains: 'On one hand, investors seem willing to tolerate reasonably steep market declines before re-evaluating their equity exposure, but only a third will give a fund a year to turn performance around, and 44 per cent just six months. 'It could be argued that this is insufficient time given that many funds have rolling return targets that stretch over years not months, which perhaps emphasises how important it is that investors understand what they hold and under what conditions they are likely to underperform. 'Investors with a firm grasp of their underlying funds, either directly or under the guidance of an adviser, are those who tend to avoid the classic investment mistakes and perform better over the long term.' Understand the fund, the manager, and the reasons for underperformance David Miller of Quilter Cheviot says his firm tries to judge where investment markets are going to go, and allocate money to the areas it thinks are going to make a good return. He explains that when looking into underperformance, it seeks to understand the overall strategy of a fund, and the style of the fund manager - whether they are pursuing value investments, or dividend growth, at a time when stocks like this are out of fashion, for example. 'Understanding what a fund manager is doing is important. There are good reasons for underperformance and bad reasons.' Miller also considers the excessive risk a fund manager might have taken to get to the top of performance tables temporarily. 'That can take you there for a good few months or even a year but you might find yourself at the bottom of the performance table in the following period,' he notes. When it comes what drives switches in fund selection, Miller watches out for changes of manager and in the wider organisation of fund houses, and also keeps an eye on fund inflows and outflows. If a fund is seeing a lot of money going in or out the door, this can cause problems. Miller explains: 'A manager might have to sell good, liquid investments and keep those that are more difficult to dispose of. Similarly, if a fund has grown very fast the past performance might not be replicable in the future.' Ian Bright: 'Just because you are rich doesn't mean you are a sophisticated investor' Miller suggests that exactly how long a fund has underperformed is not so much of an issue as understanding the reasons that lie behind this - but if you have grasped the reasons and decided there is a problem, you should act fast to get shot of the investment. What psychological traps can you fall into when a fund is doing poorly? Economist Ian Bright, of ING, is an expert on behavioural investing, which looks at the ways people risking their money often fall into psychological traps. Understanding these can offer insight into whether your investment judgment is sound or if you are just making excuses to yourself for irrational decisions. Bright says he is surprised by the quick response to sell underperforming funds shown by the wealthy investors surveyed by Legg Mason. He also notes that as a general rule of thumb, the annualised volatility of equity markets is 17 per cent, but those surveyed would apparently sell if stocks fell by around that amount or not much more. 'One of the things you have to get through your head no matter if you are rich, poor or average is that shares and funds involve risk, he says. 'If you are not prepared to have a 20 per cent fall in the value of your investments, you should not be 100 per cent invested in equities in any one year.' Bright believes being rich doesn't make you a more sophisticated or knowledgeable investor, and the wealthy are as prone to falling into behavioural traps as anyone else. He identifies the two common pitfalls when dealing with underperforming investments as over-confidence and over trading. 'I wonder if many of the investors interviewed could be trading too often or "over trading". Trading too often can be related to over-confidence by investors as they consider they know more about the market than others. Households with solar panels are being offered the chance to sell the income they receive from producing electricity for a lump sum. Owners will continue to get free electricity generated by the panels and retain ownership over them. They'll also get free ongoing maintenance of the system while they're still eligible for subsidies. However in exchange for receiving an upfront sum of 11,000 on average from investors, they will relinquish all future payments generated through the government's renewable subsidy programme. Peer-to-peer investment platform Abundance and green enterprise ShareSolar have teamed up for the new offering. Eligibility: Houses with solar panels fitted before 2012 could be eligible for the scheme They will offer savers the chance to invest in the scheme, benefiting from the government subsidy system called the Feed In Tariff without installing solar panels themselves. Savers can invest as little as 5 in the venture, but any money put in is at risk because unlike with a savings account they are not protected by the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which guards against losses up to 75,000. Households that fix solar panels to their roofs have until now received generous subsidies designed to help offset the cost of buying and installing them. However as the cost of solar panels has dropped dramatically in recent years, so the government has cut the level of subsidies, as it believes a smaller financial incentive is required to encourage households to invest in the renewable energy. Those who installed solar panels before the Feed In Tariff was reduced in April 2012 will be enjoying by far the highest returns. It is these 300,000 households across the UK that Abundance and ShareSolar are targeting. Households with solar panels installed after April 2012 who are interested in securing a cashback payment can still consider ShareSolar, although the sum received is unlikely to be as large. Meanwhile investors who take part will receive an effective rate of income of 6.5 per cent over a 20-year term, according to Abundance (see explanation of how this is calculated below). The project is looking to raise a total of around 1.3 million to purchase the right to future Feed In Tariff payments. The subsidies are locked in because although the government can cut subsidy payments for new solar panels, it cannot go back on its promise of higher rates for households who have already installed solar. While the 6.5 per cent effective return looks generous in the current low-rate environment, it is not guaranteed and if anything goes wrong, investors could be left out of pocket. While a savings account, for example, will pay a much lower rate, it does come with FSCS savings compensation backing of up to 75,000, unlike the ShareSolar scheme. Bruce Davis, co-founder and joint managing director of Abundance said, 'This partnership is another innovative step in green peer-to-peer finance. It releases substantial cashback payments to early adopters of solar panels, by allowing other people to buy out their future FIT payments to create a stable long term income at a rate better than any deposit account pays. 'It gives both sides a great deal a real win win arrangement while helping to give positive outcomes to all those supporting solar energy. 'The aim is to build ShareSolar PLC into a 10million programme of debentures, so people will be able to invest in several tranches, get a spread of income payments over the year and build up their holding over time across an increasingly diversified set of assets'. This is not the first solar crowdfunding scheme launched by Abundance. For example, in November 2014 it offered investors the chance to make an 'effective' 7.5 per cent return over 20 years for funding solar panels on social housing in Scotland. The Oakapple Berwickshire project raised 1.7million to put solar panels on roofs. Unlike the ShareSolar offering, the project involved installing the solar panels as well - the new scheme simply buys the returns from existing panels. Advertisement It could be a photo taken anywhere - the proud grandparents, posing alongside their loving grandchildren for the family album. But these children have not dropped in to see their grandparents for the day. Ramatu and Alusine have, in their seventies when they should be putting their feet up and resting, found themselves caring for 18 grandchildren after their family was decimated by Ebola. Now, instead of taking things slowly, Ramatu is desperately trying to earn enough to feed, clothe and educate the children in her care - the youngest of whom is not yet walking. This is the reality for hundreds of elderly men and women Sierra Leone, post-Ebola. Family: Ramatu and her husband are now responsible for raising 18 of their grandchildren - six of whom were orphaned when their parents died of Ebola. But, in their 70s, they are struggling to clothe, feed and educate the growing children, as well as themselves Survivor: Bintu, 11, lost both her parents to Ebola, along with her two brothers. She also got the disease, but survived it. But she and her three little sisters, one still a baby, were now orphans - and in Liberia, hundreds of miles away from their grandparents More than 12,000 children lost their primary carer during the outbreak in this small West African state, while more than 3,000 lost both parents. Bintu, 11, was one of those who lost both - although she and her three little sisters were living in Monrovia, Liberia, when their parents were struck down. 'My mother died, my father died,' she told MailOnline, speaking quietly with her head bowed as she sat outside her grandmother's house in a small village a few hours outside the capital Freetown. 'My two brothers are dead. It was Ebola.' Bintu was also infected, but she survived. 'I got it because I went to help my family,' she said. 'My parents were traders who travelled, and when they came back they were sick. My father was helping my mother, then he got sick. Then I was taking care of them.' By the time she recovered, the four children were alone - her youngest sisters having avoided the infection. It was then Ramatu, 70, made the long and treacherous journey across Ebola-infected Sierra Leone to Monrovia - an eight hour journey in a car, far longer when you are reliant on public transport. She returned with the four girls - one still a babe in arms. By the end of the epidemic, another two grandchildren had joined her, their parents also dead in the Liberian capital. Added to this, the 12 grandchildren Ramatu was already raising for her children - a not unusual situation in a country where death long before old age is commonplace. Saviour: Ramatu made the difficult journey to go and get the children, and bought them home with her. She is now raising them, with help from UK charity Street Child, who provide her with basic food for the children, and have set her up with a small business to bring in money Orphans: Ebola left more than 12,000 children without their primary care giver. Grandparents across this poverty-stricken country are having to find a way to raise their children's children, after the disease killed 8,0000 people. Pictured: A cemetery for young Ebola victims The children are all outside when MailOnline arrives, meeting the family ahead of the launch of Street Child's Girls Speak Out appeal. The older ones are looking after the younger ones, and Ramatu's husband sits in the shade, hiding from the heat of the midday sun. Brightly coloured clothes flutter on the washing line, while bush fowl peck at the ground. And Ramatu's face lights up when she sees the social worker emerge from the car. 'Thanks to Street Child,' she says, clapping her hands as she talks. 'So much, simply because the contribution they make.' Ramatu could not feed the children without the help she receives from the UK-based charity - deliveries of basic food keep them going. But Ramatu, at an age when others are thinking of retirement, has also set up her own business - like thousands of others last year, with the help of a grant. And, for the moment, Street Child is helping put the children through school. In an ideal world, she will one day be able to afford to pay the fees herself - but with 18 mouths to feed, it seems an impossible task. In the wake of the Ebola crisis, however, it is not just cost which is holding children back, but stigma. Across the country, huge billboards proclaim 'Ebola survivors are heroes and heroines. They cannot infect you with Ebola'. Others remind people that the children who beat the disease 'are still our children'. Stigma: But after people manage to get their children back into school, there are still huge hurdles to get them to stay there. Aja is back in school after her mother died, but has been bullied by her classmates because of the stigma attached to the disease Bullying: The problem is so bad that the government has had to put posters up to encourage people not to isolate children Determination: Amnata has also been bullied for having had the disease, but is defiant in the face of her tormentors. 'Everybody dies - my parents just died of Ebola,' she told MailOnline. 'I am a hero for surviving' 'In a normal disaster, like and earthquake or car crash or war, once it has happened, you go and look after the victims,' Street Child founder Tom Dannatt told MailOnline. 'But because there was this mysterious thing around Ebola, no one wanted to go near. It has resulted in extreme exclusion of people who have been through this grim experience.' Aja is one of those children: she was at school when her mother fell died from Ebola, and she was rushed into quarantine. She speaks proudly of her mother - a woman who desperately wanted her children to be well-educated, and was working hard to do so. 'My mother was a nurse,' she said. 'She was looking after people. Then she contracted the virus.' But when Ajais asked about what it was like going back to school, the tears begin to flow. 'I was stigmatised,' she says, and then cannot go any further. Amnata was also bullied when she began attending her new school in Sierra Leone. She too can barely talk about it, but she remains defiant in the face of the stigma. 'I am a hero for surviving,' she says, repeating the mantra the government has introduced as a way of combating stigma. 'And I would like to say to those who are calling me names, that everybody dies. My parents just died of Ebola.' Future: Stigma and a lack of money are just a handful of the reasons such a small percentage of girls in Sierra Leone reach secondary level education, meaning girls like Aja are few and far between. Street Child is trying to break down some of the barriers - including teen pregnancy and child marriage - with its new Girls Speak Out appeal THE TINY VILLAGE DECIMATED BY EBOLA - BUT WHICH REFUSED TO BE BEATEN The small village in Sierra Leone is still counting the cost of Ebola: 55 people died here, taken in the most horrendous way. So no one would be surprised if the survivors - less than 200, many of them now orphans - were still in shock. But they decided not to be beaten by this disease which killed 8,000 people across the small, West African state. The villagers gathered together and made a decision. 'We thought, maybe if we were educated, we would have known how to get Ebola. So we decided to build a school, so our children would have more knowledge.' Today, that school stands as a proud tribute to the 55 people buried nearby - a symbol not only of what the villagers of Mabamp can achieve, but what people across Sierra Leone are doing to rebuild their lives in the face of a disaster which left 8,000 dead, and 15,000 children orphaned. Built on hope: Mabamp villagers decided to build this school after it lost 55 people during the Ebola outbreak. They feared their lack of education had made them more vulnerable, and they wanted to give their children the knowledge to fight future epidemics But it would not have been built at all - or at least not finished - had UK charity Street Child not stumbled across the first mud blocks last May, just ahead of the rainy season. 'There was no way they were going to finish that school before the rains came,' the charity's founder Tom Dannatt. 'We didn't have the money in the budget at the time, but we were so inspired by what they were doing - with no outside funding - that we managed to pull together about 1,000. 'They used it to buy corrugated iron to protect the blocks they had made. When I went back six weeks ago, it was complete.' The school is just one minor victory for the charity - and a major one for the village. The stigma is just another block in the road for girls wanting to go to finish their education in Sierra Leone, a country where so few girls make it to secondary school, or higher. These girls are already fighting a range of issues which can stop girls going to school, like teen pregnancy, child marriage and being able to afford the 40 a year in fees. These are all issues that Street Child is trying to highlight with its new appeal, which aims to raise 1million to get 20,000 children into school - and help them stay there. In the wake of Ebola, it is hugely ambitious - but the UK government has promised to double every donation made from now until July 17. Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary, said: 'The worst of the Ebola crisis may be behind us, but countries like Sierra Leone and Liberia continue to feel its impact. The epidemic closed schools and forced children out of education. Many are yet to return. 'By doubling donations to Street Child's 'Girls Speak Out' appeal we will help as many as 20,000 children, mainly vulnerable girls, return to and stay in school and get access to essentials they've asked for, like desks, books and trained teachers.' Donald Trump fired back at Hillary Clinton Thursday night and Friday morning following her claim that his proposal to temporarily ban non-citizen Muslims from entering the U.S. would backfire and serve to enlarge the global terrorism problem. 'Is that the dumbest thing you ever heard?' Trump asked the hosts of 'Fox & Friends' on Friday morning. 'To me it's one of the dumber statements I've ever heard. I mean, she's so ill-equipped to be the president!' 'I just think it's absolutely dumb,' he added. Clinton had told CNN on Thursday that Trump's December 2015 proposal which he later framed as a speculative suggestion made him 'a recruiter for more people to join the cause of terrorism.' Trump blasted Hillary Clinton for claiming his Muslim ban made him a 'recruiter' for terrorism 'When you run for president of the United States, the entire world is listening and watching,' she said. 'So when you say you're going to bar all Muslims, you're sending evidence to the Muslim world, and you're also sending a message to terrorists.' In a statement Thursday evening, the billionaire shoved back hard. 'The fact that Hillary thinks the temporary Muslim ban, which she calls the "Muslim ban", promotes terrorism, proves Bernie Sanders was correct when he said she is not qualified to be President,' he said in a statement released by his campaign. 'Look at the carnage all over the world including the World Trade Center, San Bernardino, Paris, the USS Cole, Brussels and an unlimited number of other places.' 'She and our totally ignorant President won't even use the term Radical Islamic Terrorism,' he said in the taunting declaration. 'And by the way, ask Hillary who blew up the plane last night - another terrible, but preventable tragedy.' 'She has bad judgement [sic] and is unfit to serve as President at this delicate and difficult time in our country's history.' Terror recruiter? Trump says Clinton's statement proves she's not qualified to be president Trump said Thursday that anyone who doesn't think the EgyptAir got blown up is '100 per cent wrong' Appearing at a fundraiser for his formal rival Chris Christie now an endorser Trump referenced the Egypt Air passenger jet that crashed in the Meditteranean Sea on its way from Paris to Cairo, and slammed Clinton for refusing to utter the words 'radical Islamic terrorism.' 'She refuses to use that term,' he marveled. 'I'm saying to myself, what just happened about 12 hours ago? A plane got blown out of the sky and if anybody thinks it wasn't blown out of the sky you're 100 per cent wrong, folks.' On 'Fox & Friends,' he said proposing to shut America's borders to Muslim travelers who haven't been vetted would produce 'just the oppposite' of Clinton's predicted outcome. Muslim-Americans, he said, would feel pressure to police their own communities and 'turn in the people that are bombing the planes.' 'When you run for president of the United States, the entire world is listening and watching,' Clinton said 'And they know who the people are,' he insisted. 'They are going to have to start turning in you take a look even at San Bernardino. Everybody knew that they were going to do this attack! There were bombs all over their apartment. Everybody saw the bombs. They knew this was happening. And nobody turned them in,' an exasperated Trump insisted. 'And you take a look at Paris. Everybody knew what was happening. And by the way, the last person that they were looking all over for, for eight months, they found that person living practically where he lived before! Nobody turned him in!' Trump also claimed the ISIS terror army would take advantage of the United States if a weak leader were in charge beginning in 2017. 'We can't afford to be so nice and so foolish anymore. Our country's in trouble,' Trump said. 'ISIS is laughing at us, and they see somebody like Hillary Clinton who reads off her teleprompter.' The House has voted to ban the display of the Confederate flag on flagpoles at federal veterans' cemeteries. The 265-159 vote on Thursday would block descendants and others seeking to commemorate veterans of the Confederate States of America from flying the Confederate Battle Flag over mass graves on the two days a year that flag displays are permitted. California Democrat Jared Huffman drafted the prohibition, saying the flag represents 'racism, slavery and division.' The 265-159 vote would block descendants and others seeking to commemorate veterans of the Confederate States of America from flying the Confederate Battle Flag over mass graves, even on days that flag displays are permitted. Pictured: Confederate battle flags fly in Mountain Creek, Alabama The amendment would not ban the display of small Confederate flags placed at individual graves Huffman's amendment is mostly symbolic and applies only to instances in which Confederate flags are flown on flagpoles over mass graves. The amendment would not ban the display of small Confederate flags placed at individual graves. Such displays are generally permitted on Memorial Day and Confederate Memorial Day in the states that observe it. Top House GOP leaders such as Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and GOP Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana voted with Democrats to approve the amendment. But behind the scenes, some Republicans vehemently pushed against Huffman's amendment, according to The Hill. The legislative director to Rep. Lynn Westmoreland compared the effort to ban the Confederate flag to Islamic State's cultural cleansing. Pete Sanborn wrote in an email seen by The Hill: 'You know who else supports destroying history so that they can advance their own agenda? ISIL. Don't be like ISIL. I urge you to vote NO. California Democrat Jared Huffman drafted the prohibition, saying the flag represents 'racism, slavery and division.' After a mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina (nine victims pictured in the church) in June last year, the state legislature ordered the flag removed from the capitol And signed the email: 'Yours in freedom from the PC police.' Republicans said recently that the Mississippi State Flag, which contains Confederate imagery, will not be returned to a House hallway where it was displayed prior to a recent renovation. 'Symbols like the Confederate battle flag have meaning. They are not just neutral, historical symbols of pride. They represent slavery, oppression, lynching and hate,' Huffman said. 'To continue to allow national policy condoning the display of this symbol on Federal property is wrong, and it is disrespectful to what our country stands for and what our veterans fight for.' After a mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina in June last year, the state legislature ordered the flag removed from the capitol in Columbia. The House approved amendments last year to block the display and sale of the Confederate flag at national parks but a backlash from Southern Republicans caused GOP leaders to scrap the underlying spending bill. Democrats in the House are likely to continue to push for votes on the flag with the hopes of making it a campaign issue in an election cycle that has already shown itself to be racially charged, according to Slate. Former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader says Bernie Sanders shouldn't split with the Democratic Party and run as an independent. 'It's too late now. The deadline for ballot access it's really too late for it,' said Nader, the third-party candidate who is accused of spoiling the 2000 election for Al Gore. Speaking to DailyMail.com this week, Nader noted that Sanders 'gave his word last week that he was going to support the Democratic nominee.' The U.S. senator is known for his 'authenticity,' Nader said, and to go against his promise to support the candidate at the top of the Democratic ticket would sap his appeal. Former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader says Bernie Sanders shouldn't split with the Democratic Party and run as an independent 'If he breaks that word, he'll lose his cache with people,' Nader said. He added, 'But more important is he can't get on all the ballots, because the deadlines are falling as we speak.' The filing deadline for an independent seeking the presidency to get on the ballot in Texas, the second most populous state, came and went in early May. In North Carolina petitions must be returned by June 9, five days before the last Democratic primary, says Ballotpedia. An independent in the U.S. Senate, Sanders has been suggested as a possible third-party candidate in 2016. He said when he launched his long-shot White House bid last a year ago he believed the best way to get his message out was to run as a member of the Democratic Party. The senator's testy rant at Democratic officials this week sparked comparison to Nader, however, as Sanders widened his attacks on opponent Hillary Clinton to include the party apparatus. Like Sanders, Nader was upset with Democrats for embracing a platform he felt was too centric when he ran against Gore and George W. Bush in 2000. A political activist known for his 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed and advocacy for automobile safety, Nader ran as Green Party candidate twice, in 1996 and 2000. He fought for many of the same policies that Sanders is campaigning on now - campaign finance reform, universal health care, free higher education, and a minimum wage increase. On MSNBC this week, Nader hit on some of the same themes as Sanders as he angrily went after corporations who he said 'want to control everything' and believe 'everything's for sale.' 'They strategically plan our elections, our military procurement, they plan our tax system, they even commercialize childhood,' Nader said. 'In other words they know no bounds.' An independent in the U.S. Senate, Sanders has been suggested as a possible third-party candidate in 2016. He's pictured here on Wednesday in Vallejo, California In the 2000 election, Nader won 2,882,995 votes nationally, or 2.74 percent, after appearing on the ballot in 43 states and Washington, D.C. He didn't win any electoral votes, but his candidacy has been associated with Gore's narrow loss to Bush. Gore won the popular vote that year by half a million ballots yet lost the election to Bush after his opponent bested him in the Florida recount and earned four more electoral college votes than the sitting vice president. Nader has for years rejected arguments that he ruined the election for Gore. When he competed again for the presidency in 2004 against John Kerry in the general he blamed Gore for 'costing me more votes than I cost him.' As the consumer advocate noted in his conversation with DailyMail.com, Sanders and his campaign have been clear they will not go that route: the Vermont lawmaker will support the Democratic Party nominee. That's a title likely to be bestowed on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The U.S. senator is known for his 'authenticity,' Nader said, and to go against his promise to support the candidate at the top of the Democratic ticket would sap his appeal. Sanders fans are seen here in San Francisco on Wednesday Sanders has become increasingly frustrated with the Democratic Party over a system he says is rigged in favor of the establishment. He used an election night speech on Tuesday evening in California to demand the party 'open the door' to his supporters, many of whom are registered independents. The next day his campaign manager Jeff Weaver directly accused Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of working against the senator from the start of his presidential campaign and 'throwing shade.' Still, he said, Sanders would work seven days a week to make sure Donald Trump is not elected to the White House. In an in interview on Tuesday he predicted there would be 'unity' within the Democratic Party going into the convention and suggested that Sanders would campaign for Clinton in the fall if she wins the primary. Nader wouldn't say how he plans to vote in November - he keeps that information to himself - but he indicated that it wouldn't be Hillary Clinton or presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, which suggests a vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Clinton is a 'corporatist' he told MSNBC's Chris Matthews. 'I never vote for somebody I don't believe in, and obviously I don't believe in Hillary's' military record, he said. 'She scares the generals.' He made it clear he's not a fan of Trump, either. There's a 'dust -up or eruption around his ego every day,' Nader huffed. He predicted that whichever Democrat makes it to the general will beat Trump, though, based on national polling. 'I don't think that's going to be that difficult of a victory,' Nader said. A worker at a U.S. military base on Okinawa has been arrested on suspicion of killing a 20-year-old Japanese woman, police said Thursday. Kenneth Shinzato, 32, was arrested after giving police the location of the body of Rina Shimabukuro, 20. They believe he may also have killed her, but have not yet charged him with murder. When it was announced that Shinzato works on the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, locals - who had long resented the U.S. military presence - were furious, CBS reported. And with President Obama arriving in Japan next week, it couldn't have come at a worse time. Dead: Rina Shimabukuro (pictured), 20, disappeared on the island of Okinawa, Japan, on April 28. Her body was found when Kenneth Shinzato, 32, a civilian worker at Kadena Air Base, gave police a location Tensions: Shinzato said he only dumped the body, but cops believe he also killed her. The story raised anti-US tensions just a week before Barack Obama (pictured in March) is due to visit Hiroshima on May 27 Shimabukuro was last heard of at 8pm on April 28, when she messaged her boyfriend to say she was going for a walk. Her body wasn't found until Shinzato told police where her body had been left. They have yet to officially charge him, CBS said. Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga, who is spearheading a local campaign to have the military base removed from the island of Okinaway, said he was 'outraged'. 'As I look back at all the developments to date, I'm simply speechless,' he said. The U.S. currently plans to move the base, which is located in a densely populated area of the island to another location on Okinawa - but Onaga, and a good proportion of locals - want it gone altogether. U.S. installations take up about 18 percent of land on the island, which has already seen protests against the base. And tensions were already high after a U.S. seaman, Justin Castellanos, 24, was arrested on suspicion of raping a Japanese tourist to Okinawa in March. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida summoned CarolineKennedy, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, to lodge a protest against the Shimabukuro incident. 'I expressed a strong regret to Ambassador Kennedy andlodged a stern protest. I told her an incident like this isinexcusable and that I feel strong indignation,' Kishida toldreporters. Kennedy told Kishida the United States would redouble itsefforts to prevent similar incidents, the foreign minister said. Spokesman Peter Cook said the Pentagon would provide'complete cooperation' in the investigation, while StateDepartment spokesman John Kirby expressed condolences. 'This is a terrible tragedy and it's obviously an outrage,'Kirby told a daily news briefing. 'We're treating this situationwith the utmost seriousness.' This latest incident comes just a week before Obama is to make his historic visit to Hiroshima, the city destroyed by a U.S. atomic bomb 71 years ago. Protest: Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida (left) summoned U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy (right) to lodge a 'stern protest'. Kennedy said it will be treated 'with the utmost seriousness' He will be the first sitting U.S. president to do so when he arrives on May 27 - but has ruled out making any apology for the bombing, which was the first of two that sealed Japan's departure from the Second World War. Okinawa was also the site of a bloody WWII battle, and hosts the bulk of U.S. military forces based in Japan since thewar - something many residents see as an unfairburden. U.S. installations take up about 18 percent of Okinawa'sland area and past incidents involving Americans have fuelledresentment. As well as the recent rape allegation, in 1995, a 12-year-old schoolgirl was raped by three U.S.servicemen on Okinawa, sparking huge protests. Japan's ambassador to the United States, Kenichiro Sasae,said he hoped the latest incidents would not affect the moodtowards Obama's visit to Hiroshima, as the Japan-U.S. alliancehad made 'tremendous progress' under the current U.S. president. 'The Okinawa issue is the Okinawa issue,' he said in Washington. 'This is a tragic event, but a tragic event should not overshadow the fundamental objective of the alliance - that'swhat I hope.' Stephen Gidcumb faces charges after he allegedly used a counterfeit $100 bill to pay for a lap dance A Michigan man is facing charges after a stripper was paid with a counterfeit $100 bill following a lap dance. Stephen Gidcumb is charged with intentionally passing counterfeit notes. He's accused of paying with a counterfeit $100 bill at the Deja Vu club on May 13, according to a report from The Detroit News. Lt. Mike Gomez of the Saginaw County Sheriff's Office told the newspaper: '[Gidcumb] had some counterfeit $100 bills mixed in with regular $100 bills he was using to pay the one stripper he was getting dances from. 'They figured out it was counterfeit and called the police.' The 32-year-old was arrested May 13 after returning to the strip club in Kochville Township, near Saginaw, later that day. Chief Assistant Saginaw County prosecutor Christopher Boyd said that club workers were 'on the lookout' for Gidcumb. Other fake bills were found at his Mount Morris home. Boyd said that they were made on a computer. Gidcumb is facing a concealed weapon felony charge, too, MLive.com reported. He faces a May 31 preliminary hearing, and is being held on a $50,000 cash bond. Home Depot has banned a worker from wearing a hat emblazoned with the words 'America was never great' after legions of Donald Trump supporters complained. Krystal Lake, 22, wore a white cap carrying the slogan to work at a Home Depot store in Staten Island, New York, this week. A picture of her wearing the hat went viral and split Twitter and Facebook, with some calling her unpatriotic but others defending her right to free speech. Miss Lake says she has received a barrage of racist abuse and death threats, but insists she will not stop wearing the cap. Scroll down for video Home Depot has banned worker Krystal Lake from wearing a hat emblazoned with the words 'America was never great' after legions of Donald Trump supporters complained Miss Lake, 22, wore a white cap carrying the slogan to work at a Home Depot store in Staten Island, New York, this week The Home Depot worker and City University of New York student told the Staten Island Advance that she took inspiration from Trump's signature 'Make America Great Again' hats. 'I feel [the 'America was never great' hat] offended a lot of people because a lot of Trump supporters live in Staten Island,' she said. 'Trump is very rash and in your face, but when someone else has a message against him, his supporters can't take the criticisms.' Miss Lake, who is a Bernie Sanders supporter, added that her message is not unpatriotic but that she wants the U.S. to improve. 'People have been saying really racist things to me and that they're going to come and find me, and that what I said is disgraceful and I hate America - but I don't hate America. 'I know there are a lot of opportunities here. I just wish we would worry about making America better - not "great again". Miss Lake wore the controversial hat at this Home Depot store in Staten Island and has since been reminded of company policy Miss Lake, who is a Bernie Sanders supporter, added that her message is not unpatriotic but that she wants the U.S. to improve 'The point of the hat was to say America needs changing and improvement. I don't think it's a positive message to say, "Let's look to the past".' Miss Lake said she has only worn the hat to work once - when she was pictured - but 'definitely' intends to do so again. However, her bosses might have something to say about that. Home Depot branded the cap 'inappropriate' and said she would not be allowed to wear it at work in future. A spokesman for the hardware store told Daily Mail Online that no managers saw her wearing the hat and that they would have taken action if they had. 'The cap certainly doesnt represent the opinion of the company, and regardless of the message, our associates are not supposed to wear items with political statements,' he said. Home Depot took action after scores of people complained and the Bikers 4 Trump group called for its members to boycott the store Daily Mail Online understands that Miss Lake has not worked a shift at the store since the incident but was not punished. Home Depot said she was reminded of company policy. 'If an associate refuses to follow our policies any policies it can lead to termination,' the Home Depot spokesman added. Miss Lake says she has seen colleagues wearing Trump pins on their uniforms and claims they have not been told they cannot wear them. Home Depot took action after scores of people complained and the Bikers 4 Trump group called for its members to boycott the store. One Twitter user, using the handle District of Criminals, called Miss Lake's hat 'an insult to vets and all Americans'. 'I wonder if Home Depot considers the YUGE % of their customers who are patriots, vets, family of vets & military,' she tweeted. Tim Young wrote: Dear @HomeDepot employee wearing this hat. If it was "never great," then why haven't you moved yet? Sincerely, Tim.' Alex Barker tweeted: '@HomeDepot for the veterans that fight and give their lives for this country. I'm disappointed at Home Depot. My business is going elsewhere.' Kathryn Lucas added: 'If you're one of those people who say America never was great you're also commie scum & should probably just move to North Korea.' Dozens of people sent their support to Miss Lake, with some even asking where they could buy the hat Miss Lake defended herself on Twitter after scores of people tweeted her, saying she was unpatriotic However, dozens of people sent their support to Miss Lake, with some even asking where they could buy the hat. One Twitter user posted: 'Sooo, where can I purchase that "america was never great" hat?' Wonder Womanist tweeted: 'US: still has segregated schools US: cuts education and welfare $ US: bombs its own cities "America was never great" Yall: OMG HOW DARE YOU.' Miss Lake defended herself on Twitter, saying no one who was complaining had been able to tell her when America was great. Home Depot financially backed a number of Republican candidates in the 2006 midterm elections and donated the maximum $250,000 towards President George W. Bush's second inauguration. Internet users have revealed that dirty dishes and loud music at 4am aren't the only defining characteristics of a bad housemate. Victims of the worst-offending housemates shared their stories to Reddit, Facebook and Twitter. Daily Mail Australia has rounded up the most shocking tales of the worst housemates and their horrifying habits. 'My roommate's boyfriend peed in bottles and framed my other roommate's boyfriend for doing it' 'Pictures of my roommate's nest': One user documented their housemate's dirty habits, leaving fried chicken bones and other junk nestled between the pillows 'Picture's of my roommate's nest': The housemate's bedroom resembled a pigsty P*** jar 'Had a couple who shared a room in the basement. They did the p*** jar thing. Apparently, walking upstairs to go to the bathroom was too much work. So, this couple had this glass jar (probably 3-4 gallons) that they'd pee in to avoid the arduous walk up one flight of stairs,' NetaliaLackless24 wrote on Reddit. 'They were both alcoholics. I believe this was in part the reason why their piss jar filled quickly and also in part of why they knocked it over. I'm not sure if you can imagine what 3-4 gallons of human urine spilled on the carpet of a room smells like, but it wasn't pleasant, to say the least.' Pet murderer 'Killed my rabbit and used his bones to form some sort of makeshift Satanic summoning ritual thing on her bed. I wish I was making this up. I didn't even confront her, the next night when I knew she was working late at McDonald's I got a friend with a truck and got all of my shit out of there,' MisterPhamtastic said on Reddit. 'Probably the most stressful time of my college years.' The exorcist 'My freshman roommate's bed was lofted across the room from my bed that was lower. Right before I was supposed about to fall asleep, she sat up in bed, turned toward me, and projectile-vomited from her bed onto mine where I was lying down. She then puked half into the trash can and half on our carpeted floor for the next two days and never cleaned it up,' Tina Eileena wrote on Facebook. 'This was following months of foul smells drifting from her closet of dirty clothes that she never washed and sleeping on a sheet-less bed for most of the year.' 'Pretty sure this was my frozen pizza. At least he left me half...', one Imgur user shared 'Oh, so that's where our Tupperware went': This roommate and her boyfriend contributed food storage containers to have them thrown into the trash by their housemate 'My roommate hung scuba gear on our old clothesline, bending the whole thing to a 30 degree angle' Porn aficionado Kim Roccisano took to Facebook to describe her roommate's disturbing habit. 'He downloaded 150gb of porn in the first week of our month completely using all our peak data limit and then going over - then refused to pay for the excess as he 'doesn't use our internet'.' A near death experience 'An ex-housemate of mine accidentally set fire to my kitchen while I was in the shower. She had previously taken the batteries out of the kitchen alarm because 'it always goes off when I'm cooking and it's annoying',' Cerenitee told Reddit. 'She then left me in the shower, didn't call the fire department, didn't attempt to put the fire out, just ran outside and sat there, leaving my house to burn down with me inside (or at least that's what would have happened, if my neighbours hadn't called the fire department and my dog hadn't freaked out).' Cerenitee said she 'was able to put most of the fire out with a wet towel while half-naked' before getting 'charged $250 for not having batteries in the alarm, which my ex-roommate refused to pay.' Vomit stash 'I had a roommate that if he had a massive night would vomit in my vases and hide them under his bed,' Juli Cole wrote on Facebook. 'This is how my roommate left his room when he moved out' The series of photos shared to Imgur and Reddit show how messy some roommates can get The defecating artist 'When I was out of town, my roommate freshman year of college got belligerently drunk and painted her name on the walls with her own faeces. She was 'too tired' to clean it up for the REST OF THE WEEKEND,' fiancepeas wrote on Reddit. Where there's smoke there's fire Brainling wrote on Reddit that they 'had a housemate once that ran an illegal Ebay theft and resale ring' out of their apartment. 'I flew home to go to a family funeral and two days into the trip, FBI Special Agents called my phone, telling me they had confiscated all the computers in my house. I was cleared of all wrongdoing, but I learned my lesson if your roommate is cagey with you about how they pay rent, it's probably not good.' Urinals are outdated anyway 'I noticed that our drinking glasses would go missing from time to time. Cleaning up the house one day, I found one of the glasses under my roommate's bed, full to the brim with urine. He was too lazy to get out of bed at night to use the bathroom, so would periodically use the communal drinking glasses. We lived together for three years before I figured that out,' sippysippy13 on Reddit wrote. Dubious behaviour Mypopsecrets wrote on Reddit: 'I lived with a guy who charged me and another guy an extra fifty dollars a month saying the rent had gone up, only to find out he was pocketing it all along.' 'I can't take this anymore,' one Reddit user said of their roommate leaving dirty dishes out 'Went to retrieve my dishes as I am moving out, nothing could prepare me for what I found in my roommate's room' Star Wars fan? 'There was this guy that rented one of the bedrooms in my shared house for about a year.' Verity88 on Reddit said they have plenty of stories about him, but this is probably the weirdest. 'One night my other roommate and I got home to find this guy sitting on the hearth (back to the fire) with all the lights off, wearing the hood of his Jedi bathrobe all the way up, and very intensely eating beans out of a saucepan with a spoon.' Grab some popcorn 'I used to work the afternoon shift, which meant that I'd usually get home around 1am. My new roommate had just moved in a few days [before]. One Friday night I get home, walk in the door and there's 50-odd people in our tiny apartment. Some of the walls had hole punches in them and my TV was smashed on the ground. So I grabbed a beer, went outside, called the cops and watched the show,' ask_me_if_Im_lying said on Reddit. A bloody mess 'My husband had a horrible housemate who kept her used tampons in a big jar,' Sally Scrivenor shared on Facebook. Fight hate with love 'I had a roommate who would (attempt to) leave unjustified scathing, passive-aggressive notes for just about everyone: our apartment neighbours, cars parked outside, and even our landlady. The kind of notes with overly-polite language, underlines, and randomly capitalised words. Always written in red marker. Always rude and signed from both of us.' Omfglauren on Reddit 'spent that year following her around and removing the notes as quickly and quietly as possible.' No questions asked 'I had a really really weird guy rent a room off me once. Didn't see him much, just had a mattress on the floor. He worked fairly high up at a bank which is why he could afford the $400-per week rent. One day the cops showed up asking for him. Never saw him again, Sweetdish said on Reddit. 'I recently kicked out a roommate for multiple reasons. Here is the crazy person letter he left for us' Karma's a b***h 'I had a roommate that stopped taking care of her dog. I would have to to take the dog outside to do her business, however, my roommate was too lazy to take her out when I was at work (even though she didn't have a job). The dog started pooping in the house while I was away and my roommate wouldn't clean it up. I stealthily started to move one of the piles of poop closer and closer to her bed. She didn't notice until I moved the pile of poop onto her pillow,' mdobbs1 wrote on Reddit. No vegetarians allowed Mcbridesride on Twitter wrote: 'My housemates slow cook giant pieces of meat all day, I call it the death bucket.' Blood, sweat, tears and vomit 'I once had a job that I had to get up at 5am for to travel 2 hours by train. One morning I was really late and rushing whilst shaving my legs. Suddenly I gashed my leg (it was about 6cm long and about 5mm wide. This wasn't no ordinary shaving nick this was a gaping hole in my leg. Actually missing flesh. I tried looking for the chunk of flesh I had just shaved off and couldn't find it anywhere. I just assumed that it had gone down the drain. Did my best to stem the blood flow and clean up (but anyone who's done this know it's impossible).' The teenage girl who has become a voice for the dairy industry after the raw milk price paid to producers was slashed by up to 10 per cent has described her farmer father as her 'role model'. Chloe Scott, 16, and her father, from Boorcan in Victoria's south-west, appeared on Channel Nine's Today to talk about the milk price crisis after her petition calling on Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce to intervene went viral. She shared a tender moment with her father, Brendan, as she spoke about his drive to make good out of a bad situation and provide for his family. Scroll down for video Chloe Scott (right), 16, who has become a voice for the dairy industry after the raw milk price paid to producers was slashed by up to 10 per cent has described her farmer father, Brendan (left), as her 'role model' '[I] see a lot of extreme determination [in my dad] and a lot of positivity and just looking at the best of the situation and what possible pathways he can take to help better himself in this time and make the future a lot better,' she said. 'I really look up to him for that and I think that he is doing a really good job. He is just really amazing, my role model.' Chloe's response prompted Mr Scott to give his daughter a hug as she spoke so warmly of him. The pair also made an impassioned plea to consumers to buy Australian products to help give their industry a boost. She shared a tender moment with her father, Brendan, as she spoke about his drive to make good out of a bad situation and provide for his family Chloe's response prompted Mr Scott to give his daughter a hug as she spoke so warmly of him 'I would encourage all consumers to buy branded products, to buy Australian products,' Mr Scott said. 'Send a really strong signal to the supermarkets and to the processors that milk has a value. 'So that may not necessarily come straight back to us as farmers in the short term. 'But what it does it sends a really strong signal to supermarkets and processors that milk has a value, that food has a value and that farmers are valued. 'I think that's probably the most important that can happen at the moment.' Mr Scott said multinational dairy co-operative Fonterra had dropped the price of milk paid to farmers from 55 cents to 15 cents a litre. This means the price of milk solids were cut from $5.60 a kilogram to $5. 'It is a massive hit to our income... May and June were our biggest payment months so it has hit us pretty hard,' he said. The pair, who were interviewed by Today's Karl Stefanovic (above), also made an impassioned plea to consumers to buy Australian products to help give their industry a boost Mr Scott (pictured) said multinational dairy co-operative Fonterra had dropped the price of milk paid to farmers from 55 cents to 15 centre a litre Earlier this week, Chloe made headlines after she started a petition asking Mr Joyce to help save farmers from the brink of collapse She and her mother, Melissa, have been forced to move out of the family's Boorcan home, leaving her father to work the property alone and deal with mounting costs. Pictured is Chloe with Brendan '[Our bottom line] disappears. It goes the wrong way that is for sure. 'I have taken the drastic steps, culled quite a few cows. I have trucked cows off the farm to my brother's place up near Colac where he supplies Warrnambool cheese and butter. 'We are back to the bare minimum and minimising the losses. We are down 1,000 litres a day on this time last year. 'If I was sending that 1,000 litres an extra we would be losing somewhere between $400 and $500 a day.' Earlier this week, Chloe made headlines after she started a petition asking Mr Joyce to help save farmers from the brink of collapse. She and her mother, Melissa, have been forced to move out of the family's Boorcan home, leaving her father to work the property alone and deal with mounting costs. Both Fonterra (above is a stock image) and industry giant Murray Goulburn announced they would be slashing the raw milk price paid to farmers by up to 10 per cent In many cases farmers will have to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars because their milk did not sell at the same high price it was bought by processors Chloe said the success of the petition had taken her by surprise and everyone had been very supportive. '[The reaction] was pretty quick, it was just all of a sudden,' she said. 'All these people got on-board and left all these really nice hopeful comments and everyone was encouraging me to keep going.' Both Fonterra and industry giant Murray Goulburn announced they would be slashing the raw milk price paid to farmers by up to 10 per cent. In many cases farmers will have to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars because their milk did not sell at the same high price it was bought by processors. Reports have been circulating through the Victorian farming community that the pressure of mounting repayments is so bad that it has led to suicides in South Gippsland and Warrnambool. 'Its definitely been heard of, a lot of rumours are around like that, there's a lot of that going on,' Chloe said. 'They [farms] are our family's livelihood, I am worried for him [her father] because he is out on his own, he has already fallen off a tank, but he seems to be coping.' Her petition asks for Mr Joyce to 'step in and take action early to right this horrific wrong and to review the milk pricing system'. Since it was started to two weeks, the petition has garnered more than 130,000 signatures. This was his third attempt to climb the world's tallest mountain in the past three years He is the first wounded war veteran to reach the 29,029-foot peak A retired Marine who lost his right leg after being injured in an IED attack in Afghanistan has become the first wounded combat veteran to summit Mt Everest. The Heroes Project - the non-profit which funded the expedition - announced Thursday that retired U.S. Marine Corp Staff Sgt. Charlie Linville, 30, had reached the 29,029-foot summit. This was the married father-of-two's third attempt in three years to summit the world's tallest mountain. 'I was looking for something to completely change myself... and really get rid of the demons that were created from war,' Linville told CBS News in April before heading to Tibet for the climb. U.S. Marine Staff Sergeant Charlie Linville, 30, has become the first wounded war veteran to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Pictured above on the mountain in a photo posted online on Thursday Linville, pictured on Everest, had his leg amputated in 2013, after attempts to rehabilitate from injuries suffered in an Afghanistan IED attack failed Linville and the rest of the Heroes Project team arrived at Everest Base Camp on April 17, according to a press release. The team was temporarily delayed by a snowstorm, but reached Advanced Base Camp on May 2, where they spent several days acclimating their bodies to the high-altitude conditions. Linville is from Boise, Idaho. He is married and has two children. Pictured above in 2015, on his second attempt at climbing Everest The group set off to attempt a summit in the late evening of Wednesday, May 18. As of the 19th, at 9:22am Pacific Time, the group had reached the summit and were descending back down the mountain. The Heroes Project team was the first group to reach the summit of Everest this climbing season - a small window that happens around April and May each year. They plan to share photos from the summit as soon as they reach Advanced Base Camp. Linville's wife Mandi got the call about his summit around 9:30am on Thursday. 'I am so proud,' Mrs Linville told the Idaho Statesman. 'That he finally go to make an actual attempt at the mountain. Not only did he make an attempt, but he made it.' Each of Linville's climbs has been paid for by the Heroes Project, with sponsorship money from Equinox and Chrome Hearts. In 2014, the group cancelled their climb when 16 Sherpas died in an avalanche that struck base camp. And last year, the group cancelled again to provide relief in Nepal after the region was struck by a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The earthquake also caused the death sof 21 hikers and Sherpas on Everest - the deadliest day in the mountain's history. Linville's summit comes just three years after he had his right leg amputated, when he learned that his leg would not recover. After graduating from Boise High School, Linville joined the Marines as an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Technician. While stationed in Afghanistan, he diffused up to 40 bombs a day. While conducting a sweep for IEDs in the notoriously dangerous Hellmand Province on January 20, 2011, Linville was blasted several yards into the air by a buried explosive that caused devastating injuries to his right food and hand and left him with a traumatic brain injury. Linville and the rest of the Heroes Project team arrived at Everest Base Camp on April 17; they reached Advanced Base Camp on May 2, where they spent several days acclimating their bodies to the high-altitude conditions. The group set off to attempt a summit in the late evening of Wednesday, May 18. As of the 19th, at 9:22am Pacific Time, the group had reached the summit and were descending back down the mountain He was then sent to Bob Wilson Naval Hospital, where he underwent 12 reconstructive surgeries and spent more than a year trying to rehabilitate his right leg. In the end, the rehabilitation did not prove successful and he decided to have doctors amputate his leg from the knee down. But there was one positive thing that came out of Linville's hospitalization - it allowed him to meet Tim Medvetz, the founder of the Heroes Project. 'It was during this time that he met Medvetz and the two formed a bond, each drawing inspiration from one another,' a Heroes Project press release reads. 'When SSgt. Linville made the life-altering decision to say goodbye to his right foot, thus becoming a below the knee amputee, Medvetz found himself in awe of his courage. Having summited Mount Everest in 2007, Medvetz knew that Linville had the conviction to take on the worlds biggest mountain and The Heroes Project had found the man to be the first combat wounded veteran to summit Everest.' Linville started training for this most recent summit attempt in late 2015, working out for four to six hours a day. Charlie Linville pictured above with his wife Mandi and their two daughters, in a photo posted to Mrs Linville's Facebook page Equinox created a specialized altitude deprivation chamber which allowed Linville to grow accustomed to the low oxygen environment on the mountain. He would cycle for two hours a day in the high-tech champer., In the final two months of training, he slept inside a similar chamber that mimicked oxygen levels at 18,000 feet. A 26-year-old man has been charged after allegedly shooting a security guard in the ankle outside a Harvey Norman store in Brisbane. The 62-year-old was patrolling outside Harvey Norman on South Pine Road in Everton Park when he was approached by the alleged gunman about 1.05am on Friday. The man allegedly threatened the security guard with a gun and demanded his car keys. Scroll down for video A 62-year-old security guard has been was shot in Everton Park, Brisbane after he refused to give a gunman the keys to his car The man was patrolling outside Harvey Norman on South Pine Road when he was confronted by the man When the security guard refused, he was allegedly shot at several times and hit in the right ankle. The alleged gunman fled the scene on foot. Police set up a cordon around the area and found the man a short time later. The gun and a number of other items were found dumped in a yard nearby. Police have charged the man with a string of offences, including attempted armed robbery and discharging a weapon in a public place. He will appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday afternoon. The security guard was transported to the Royal Brisbane Hospital where he is being treated for non-life threatening injuries. The alleged offender threatened the security guard with a gun and demanded his car keys Police set up a cordon around the area and a man, 26, was found a short time later The gun and a number of other items were found dumped in a yard nearby by police Audiences in Cannes are getting a taste of the searing new documentary 'Clinton Cash,' which offers a harsh indictment of the paid speeches, personal favors, and personal enrichment that have accompanied Bill and Hillary Clinton through their decades in politics. And if the movie-maker's wishes come true, so will Americans - the night before Clinton is formally named her party's White House candidate The hour-long movie attempts to follow the money that has flowed toward Bill and Hillary Clinton since the former president left the White House, and suggests that much of it came from a cast of companies and countries seeking favorable treatment from the powerful pair. Among the more damaging revelations in the film: out of 13 speeches ex-president Bill Clinton gave that earned more than $500,000 on the speaking circuit, 11 of them were during his wife's reign as secretary of state. The film also probes the $1.4 million Bill Clinton got from a Nigerian newspaper to deliver two speeches in 2011 and 212, notwithstanding Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan's human rights record. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO 'Clinton Cash' author Peter Schweizer narrates the new hour-long documentary of the same name, which explores foreign influence on Hillary Clinton at the State Department through donations The New York Times called 'Clinton Cash' 'the most anticipated and feared book' of the presidential election cycle - and the movie will only make it bigger It also also lays out unsavory dealings in South Sudan, the Democratic of the Congo, and Haiti, as it constructs at thesis that regimes and companies ingratiated themselves with the Clintons through charitable contributions to the Clinton Foundation and by offering hefty speaking fees to the Clintons. Then it looks at who among the Clintons' employers had something to gain, like TD Bank, a company that backed the Keystone XL pipeline and payed $2 million for Bill Clinton speeches. The film doesn't present hard evidence of an illegal quid pro quo, but it lays out a torrent of information for viewers to consider, and throws in images of blood-stained cash to drive the point home. As if on cue, Hillary Clinton released a personal financial disclosure form this week that reveals she got $5 million in royalties from her 2014 book and $1.5 million in speaking fees in 2015 as she was gearing up to run for president. Based on the book by Hoover Institution fellow Peter Schweizer, the film connects the dots between donations to the Clinton Foundation or given to the ex-president for paid speeches and decisions Hillary Clinton made while being secretary of state. 'Cronyism and self-enrichment are a bipartisan affair, and Hillary and Bill Clinton have perfected them on a global scale,' Schweizer says in the film. Peter Schweizer's book and documentary links donations coming into the Clinton Foundation, along with money given to Bill Clinton for paid speeches, into policy moves Hillary Clinton made at the State Department The film is being shopped around at Cannes for a distributor, while the creators are looking toward a television deal too. The plan is to air the documentary the night before this summer's Democratic National convention at precisely the time Hillary will be trying to recover from persistent attacks by rival Bernie Sanders that she is beholden to corporate interests. The film follows the same storylines as Schweizer's 'Clinton Cash' book, which was released right as Hillary Clinton was getting on the campaign trail last year. At the time Republicans like Sen. Rand Paul, who was also seeking the highest office, called it 'big news' that will 'shock people.' The New York Times said it was 'proving to be the most anticipated and feared book' of the presidential cycle thus far. Schweizer narrates the hour-long documentary and says his investigation of the Clintons basically followed what he called the 'oldest adage in American politics.' 'Follow the money,' he noted. While the Clintons were 'dead broke' upon leaving the White House, as Hillary Clinton once said, the couple brought in at least $136.5 million between 2001 and 2012. Speaking fees helped pay the bills, but what was notable, Schweizer pointed out, was that while Bill Clinton had been out of office for nearly a decade, all of the sudden his speaking fees skyrocketed. The issue that's most familiar to Americans is that of the Keystone XL Pipeline, which Hillary Clinton signed off on after one of the pipeline's major stakeholders paid her husband $2 million for speeches The documentary Clinton Cash connects the dots between Hillary Clinton's 'shocking' approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline and money given to her husband by a major stakeholder to speak The reason? Hillary Clinton was just announced as President-elect Barack Obama's secretary of state. The author noted that of the 13 speeches in his career that fetched the ex-president more than $500,000, 11 of them were during his wife's reign as secretary of state. Politifact, for the record, rated this accounting as true. From there, Schweizer looked at who was giving money to Bill Clinton, either for paid speeches or to the Clinton Foundation, and then whether those donors ever got anything in return from Hillary Clinton's State Department. The example that's likely the most familiar to Americans revolves around the Keystone XL Pipeline project. TD Bank, which had a stake in the pipeline project going through, had never sponsored a Bill Clinton speech before, but then suddenly moved $2 million his way. At the same time, Schweizer pointed out, the State Department had to approve the project. The documentary also looks at some of the unsavory allies the Clintons have made around the globe, in part because those people are enriching the Clinton Foundation Hillary Clinton soon decided to support the pipeline delaying the Obama's rejection of it. 'It was shocking,' Schweizer noted in the film. 'Organizations like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth were stunned, they wanted investigations, but everybody was mystified.' 'Nobody could understand why Hillary Clinton would sign off on this deal, particularly when she had been in favor of dealing with climate change and her boss, Barack Obama, by all indications, seemed to be opposed to this deal as well,' the writer added. In another instance, Bill Clinton is paid $750,000 by the Swedish telecom company Ericsson, which was in trouble by the U.S. for selling equipment to Iran. A week later, the documentary points out, the State Department ruled that Ericsson and other companies were off the hook and could provide oversight to themselves. Beyond those cases, Clinton Cash explores some of the Clintons unsavory alliances in Africa, especially in countries where the leaders are known for civil rights abuses and corruption. Ministers are facing a backbench revolt over a crackdown on term-time holidays which MPs claim would hit parents living in tourist hotspots. Tory MPs lined up to criticise the policy yesterday after the government vowed to close a legal loophole by changing the law. A landmark high court ruling last week found in favour of parents who take their children out of school to get cheaper off-peak holidays, providing overall attendance is regular. Some Tory MPs said the policy risked taking decisions away from local head teachers and councils, including Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley (left). Nick Gibb (right) said a trip to Disney World should not trump the importance of school The landmark high court ruling: Jon Platt refused to pay a 120 fine for taking his six-year-old daughter to Walt Disney World in Florida, arguing that the law requires only regular attendance Yesterday, Nick Gibb told MPs a trip to Disney World should not trump the importance of school and the government would do everything in its power to stop parents flouting the rules. He said councils and schools should instead work to shift around their term time dates so that parents can still take children on holiday at off-peak times. But Steve Double, the Tory MP for St Austell and Newquay, who requested an urgent question on the matter, said the policy was damaging the economy of tourist areas, where parents risked losing their job or having hours cut. He said: There is [an] aspect to this policy that sadly today has been ignored and that is the economic impact that this policy is having on tourist areas, particularly in Cornwall. In 2014 a report published indicated that the tourist industry in Cornwall had lost 50 million as a result. He said a family holiday during term time does not impact on a childs attainment and family holidays are actually good for children. Nick Gibb: The MP said councils and schools should instead work to shift around their term time dates so that parents can still take children on holiday at off-peak times Jon Platt (pictured outside the High Court) who was taken to court by his council in a move the MP described as unfathomable John Glen, Tory MP for Salisbury, said: I have some sympathy. In a situation where we have a number of schools with a high concentration of parents in the tourist industry, when they are on relatively low pay, where there hasnt been a significant enough change in the cost of holidays, and when there isnt momentum with changes in term times there is a number of factors coming together. Other Tory MPs said the policy risked taking decisions away from local head teachers and councils. Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley, said: Whatever the rights and wrongs with the particular issue, its clearly inconsistent with the governments belief in giving schools greater freedoms. And Andrew Turner, Tory Isle of Wight MP, said: The head is undoubtedly in the best possible position to take account of the full picture in any request for absence. Its hard to envisage legislation or even guidance devised here or in Whitehall that could properly take into account all possible exceptional circumstances. Jon Platt's truancy penalty notice It follows last weeks court victory for Mr Turners constituent Jon Platt, who was taken to court by his council in a move the MP described as unfathomable. Mr Platt refused to pay a 120 fine for taking his six-year-old daughter to Walt Disney World in Florida, arguing that the law requires only regular attendance and that hers was 92 per cent across the year. Yesterdays debate drew anger on both sides and at one point the Speaker had to tell hecklers to to stop their verbal tug of war because young children watching at home would not be impressed by their behaviour. Mr Gibb rejected the idea that term-time holidays do not hurt a childs education, telling MPs that you cant understand why World War One ended if you dont know why it started. He said the judgement a represented a significant threat to the Governments drive to keep children in school. He added: I do not believe that we should be returning to the Dickensian world where the needs of industry and commerce take precedence over the education of children. The House should be assured that we will seek to take whatever measures are necessary to give schools and local authorities the power and clarity to ensure that children attend school when they should. The High Court ruling will influence decisions in other cases from now on, meaning councils will be less eager to hand out fines and parents may be more confident in bending the rules. It is a major blow for the government, after it introduced new guidelines three years ago telling head teachers not to authorise term-time holidays. Advertisement Frustrated by the lack of space in your current home? You might feel a lot happier with it after reading this list of the worst rooms to rent in the world. On the hit list is one in Sydney which boasts a toilet in the middle of the kitchen and doesn't even have a door for privacy. But at least the Australian entry is spacious compared to some of the cramped apartments discovered. In one room the plumbing is directly above a single bed while another features a mattress pushed up against a boiler with furnace in a basement. The report by by Domain.com.au compares some of the worst. SYDNEY, Australia (The room with a loo) AU$350 (175, US$ 250) per week This small Sydney apartment would make for an interesting dinner party when the toilet is adjacent to the kitchen COST OF SMALL ROOM VS AVERAGE WEEKLY RENT Sydney AU$ US$ Small $350 175 $250 Average $467 230 $336 Auckland Small $120 60 $87 Average $397 197 $287 Paris Small $213 106 $154 Average $426 212 $308 London Small $78 39 $56 Average $649 322 $469 Brooklyn Small $223 111 $161 Average $590 293 $426 Los Angeles Small $171 85 $123 Average $450 223 $325 *Based on average weekly rents in city by Numbeo This property in Sydney's supposed elite eastern suburb of Darlinghurst was such an eye-opener it made it onto worstroom.com. On the Domain report they call it 'perfect for the keen multi-tasker'. The toilet and shower recess sits adjacent to the kitchen. Some might enjoy the convenience of having a toilet within close proximity of the beer fridge although the lack of a door for the ablutions might make for awkward dinner preparations if you were to have a friend over. The Darlinghurst art-deco apartment was even referred to as 'city living at its best' and some other less than flattering descriptions popped up on the blog site. One simply said 'are you serious?', another 'design on a dime' and one summed it up by asking 'why?' OTTAWA, Canada (Use toilet sideways with feet out the door) Rent undisclosed The Domain report suggests the only way to use this toilet is to sit sideways and presumably with your feet out the door. And the owner was a little bit sheepish when it came to revealing just how much you pay for the cramped privilege. It is hard to see how you could even use the sink properly as there does not appear to be enough room to stand in front of it. Getting out of the shower might prove quite difficult as well as the toilet bars your path into the rest of the bathroom. It is unclear if this bathroom would even pass through Canadian building and health and safety regulations. But that might not put people off who are on a budget. Slide your way in: This bathroom in Ottawa somehow manages to squeeze in a basin, toilet and shower AUCKLAND, New Zealand (Spot on sofa but watching TV might cost extra) AU$120 (60, US$90) Do I get the whole sofa to myself? This Auckland pad (left) came with a sofa, only a sofa for $120 a week which left some interested parties whether they were allowed to 'watch TV' too. While, at right, this place in Brooklyn came with its own warning 'your other room-mate has to walk through your room to get to theirs' but you can fold the futon in half to make some space The Kiwi contender (in Auckland) charged $480 for a spot on the sofa, presumably that's for a month but it's unclear. Still one wag couldn't help himself, asking 'can I watch tv?' The owner made sure to include the warning: 'Please read carefully I would like to rent my couch in my living room' and that it was 'for one person only (who) doesnt mind to sleep in couch' BROOKLYN, United States (Warm and cosy with boiler and furnace by your bed) AU$294 (145, US$212) There's all the fittings, carpets, a light and desk and by the way, there's a boiler and furnace next to your fold-up bed on the back wall You won't ever feel the cold in this cosy Brooklyn basement with the boiler and furnace roaring into life most days. 'A very unique basement opportunity is available immediately,' the description states on worstrooms.com 'There is a boiler and furnace in the basement, which does make noise. Were really flexible about making the place right for you.' Presumably that doesn't include removing the boiler and furnace. LOS ANGELES, United States (Hope you're not too claustrophobic) AU$171 (84, US$123) Tight squeeze much? At least they jammed a double bed in this California apartment, getting it out one day might be a problem though Domain's summary puts it bluntly - 'small room requires big imagination'. More to the point, they say it is 'perfect for an old soul seeking a minimalist lifestyle'. But at least they got a double bed in there, where your clothes go and whether you can roll over without hitting your head on the ceiling is problematic. SAN FRANCISCO, United States (Room is very airy) AU$240 (120, US$173) Tenants will cope with most things including calling paying $240 a week to stay in this tent in the backyard of a San Francisco property a home - but some set-ups like this one (at right) in the middle of a median strip are meant to make a satirical point about the high cost of renting LONDON, United Kingdom (You might need a ladder to get up there) AU$78 (39, US$56) Seeing is believing but getting up there is another thing: A converted storage alcove has been offered as a rental property at $78 a week in London - you might need a ladder to get up there but on the bright side the upkeep is minimal It's a former storage space turned into a hardly believable living space for one - obviously. Domain stated that the room in the suburb of Paddington 'would suit someone with no history of claustrophobia'. With the average weekly rent in London at $649, the $78 a week might seem like a bargain. LONDON, United Kingdom (Breakfast in bed) AU$363 (180, US$262) Tight spaces: This small apartment in London is going at about half the cost and less than half the size of many other units The Londoner is listed as the 'Breakfast in bed' studio'. At $363 it is advertised as a 'great room, central to everything'. Central to the sink, stove, the front door and closet. BROOKLYN, United States (Mind your head on the plumbing above the bed) AU$222 (110, US$160) Every time you flush: This bed in another Brooklyn basement is pitched 'as long as you are under 54 you are ok' with the main plumbing hovering right above your head The location is is Bushwick, Brooklyn and the cost is $222 but you might want to mind your head when you get up. The exposed pipes provide for an 'industrial feel'. In other words if you hit your head in the morning you will notice how well made they are. PARIS, France (Room with a view and not much else) AU$213 (105, US$154) Welcome to the city of love: The room for rent in Paris which is 'good for one' but at least there's a little balcony to escape on In the city of love, Paris, there is room just for one in this apartment. An Australian man has been jailed for two years after ripping off two Indonesian men in a Bali property deal worth more than half a million dollars. Chief Judge Ketut Suarta handed down the sentence at Denpasar District Court on Thursday and said 55-tear-old Eric Gillet was 'a foreigner who built his company by abusing the naivete of local people.' It comes months after the former president of the South Perth Chamber of Commerce was arrested for fraudulently inciting two men - Tommy Comerford and Ketut Semadi - to buy 10 villas in his Xanadu Lifestyle Resort complex at the popular beachside town of Seminyak. 55-year-old Eric Gillet took more than half a million dollars from a local couple for a luxury villa in Seminyak The couple bought their villa off a plan but the deal soured when Gillet failed to produce documentation The villas are located in the popular tourist destination of Seminyak in Bali The men said Gillet had swindled them out of 6.7 billion rupiah (almost $A690,000) - the down payment for nine villas off an online plan for his Xanadu resort complex. Gillet met the businessmen in 2013 when the deal was struck after showing them the plan of the proposed multi-million dollar Xanadu complex. The men became suspicious when construction started on the Seminyak villa and the building looked different to the plans they had seen. 'Ketut and Tommy met with the suspect to ask for copy of the land certificate and license for development,' Bali Provincial Police spokeswoman Sri Harmiti said. When they were not provided with the documents both men asked for their money back which Gillet refused to return, prompting the couple to report him in December 2014. Gillet was arrested for fraudulently inciting two men, Tommy Comerford and Ketut Semadi Judge Ketut Suarta said Gillet was a 'foreigner who built his company by abusing the naivete of local people' A police spokesperson said Mr Gillet had been on the run since December 18 last year but was arrested at his home in Seminyak on February 1. Gillet smiled painfully and remained silent after the sentence was handed down. The judge was also critical of the Indonesian men, saying they were 'too trusting'. Gillet is being held in Kerobokan prison in Bali. Vauxhall has ordered a humiliating second recall of thousands of its cars after a group of mothers campaigned on Facebook. The women set up a pressure group after their Vauxhall Zafira people-carriers caught light, and found hundreds more had experienced the same problem. Vauxhall now faces a 50million bill and questions from MPs over allegations of a cover-up. Scroll down for video Sue Freemantle (left) and Jo Hunt (right) who have campaigned with a Facebook page against Vauxhall after Sue's Vauxhall Zafira caught fire. Vauxhall have now had to issue two recalls of the vehicles Vauxhall now faces a 50million bill and questions from MPs over allegations of a cover-up The manufacturer recalled all 234,938 Zafira B cars in December after reports of 200 fires, which it insisted were caused by improper repairs. But it has now announced another recall after it was handed evidence by the mothers claiming the fires were actually triggered by a design fault with a motor in the heating system that makes it rust. The mothers had brought in electrical engineers to investigate because cars which had not had repairs, and ones which had been recalled, were still catching fire. Sue Freemantle, 37, a mother of five who started the group, said: Our lives have been put in danger. Vauxhall has been desperately trying to cover it up. Its disgusting. Jacqueline Young, of law firm Slater and Gordon which represents Zafira owners, said: At best, Vauxhall has been woefully incompetent. At worst, they have sought to conceal a potentially life-endangering technical fault. Mrs Freemantles car burst into flames outside her home in Ivybridge, Devon, with three of her children inside. Luckily nobody was hurt. The manufacturer recalled all 234,938 Zafira B cars in December after reports of 200 fires TUMBLE DRYER WARNING Millions of lives are being put in danger by a failed recall and repair regime relating to fire-risk tumble dryers, say consumer watchdogs. Owners have been told they must wait at least six months for their machine to be checked according to a survey by Which?. As many as 5.8million suspect machines were sold under the Indesit, Hotpoint and Creda brands now controlled by US-owned Whirlpool. The problem is caused by fluff that accumulates near the dryers heating element, where it can catch fire. But Which? said customers faced delays, confusion and a lack of information that could, potentially, put lives at risk. Whirlpool said safety was its priority and it was recruiting extra engineers for what it described as a considerable task. It was committed to carrying out the checks in a safe and timely manner. The healthcare assistant set up the group last year with Claire Wheatley, 36, and Jade Hellewell, 26. They were joined by Jo Hunt and her husband Dan, one of the electrical engineers. The group now has 14,500 members. Among the owners whose cars caught light after being cleared in the first recall were Craig Hemmings, 32, and wife Sallie Ann, 29, from Peterborough. Footage showed their car engulfed in flames. The mothers claim about the design flaw was backed up by an independent report by forensic engineers, commissioned by The Sun. The campaign group says there have been more than 300 fires, at least 15 of which were in cars that had been recalled. The London Fire Brigade has attended 120 Zafira fires since 2013, including 14 this year. Tory MP Huw Merriman said he will bring Vauxhall bosses before MPs to be quizzed about the alarming situation. An adorable wombat has shown some initiative and put in his fair share of household chores to help in the laundry - or look for a new home in a washing machine. Orphaned wombat Tonka, who was rescued by Sleepy Burrows Wombat Sanctuary, in Gundaroo, 30 kms north of Canberra, was seen pulling out clothes of the washing machine in the home of his carer Donna Stepan. He is seen 'burrowing' into the washing machine, pulling out clothes and inspecting the mysterious hole. Scroll down for video An adorable wombat has shown some initiative and put in his fair share of household chores to help in the laundry - or maybe looking for a new home in a washing machine Orphaned wombat Tonka was seen pulling out clothes of the washing machine in the home of his carer Donna Stepan He then proceeds to mess up a pile of clothes before returning to continue to examine the washing machine He then proceeds to mess up a pile of clothes before returning to continue to examine the washing machine. The woman filming the video is clearly impressed with Tonka's curiousity. 'What are you doing? You've taken all the washing out, smelling all the different wombats (on my clothes),' she says. 'Oh no now you're going to rearrange the laundry.' The video of the wombat posted on Thursday by the sanctuary has been viewed more than 30,000 times. 'Wombat Tonka doing quality control in the laundry,' a caption on the Facebook post read. Michelle Stevens wrote on the photo: 'Who would have ever known just how curious a wombat can be? I so love that you show us this side of them.' 'You've taken all the washing out, smelling all the different wombats' - The woman filming the video is clearly impressed with Tonka's curiousity Tonka burrows deep into the washing machine and is seen pulling out clothes to 'help' in the laundry The video of the wombat posted by the Sleepy Burrows Wombat Sanctuary has been viewed more than 30,000 times Amye-Louise Carroll-Scott suggested the wombat was looking for a new home: 'pre-dug borrow... score!!'. Dani Renes said Tonka was 'probably wondering about the crazy wombat who made the entrance to their burrow so high off the ground.' Tonka showed initiative around the house and helped to do laundry after he was rescued by Sleepy Burrows Wombat Sanctuary, near Canberra The number of women who work from home has soared over the last decade as they juggle a career with raising children. Research from trade union TUC revealed that over 1.5 million workers are based in their homes, with the biggest growth among women - up by 157,000 since 10 years ago. These include mothers who have chosen to continue working but cannot afford to pay for full-time child care, and older people who have to care for a partner or a relative. The number of women who work from home has soared over the last decade as they juggle a career with raising children (file photo) Overall the number of people working from home has increased by a fifth over the past decade, as employers have become more relaxed about staff not coming into the office every day. Men account for most home workers at 912,000 compared with 609,000 women, the TUC said. The figures do not include the self-employed but cover people working both part-time and full time from home. The South West has the highest proportion of home workers, followed by the East of England and the South East. IT, agriculture and construction are among the industries employing most home workers, according to the TUC. Overall the number of people working from home has increased by a fifth over the past decade, as employers have become more relaxed about staff not coming into the office every day The report said there were many benefits from home working, including making it easier to balance work with caring for children or relatives. TUC general secretary Frances OGrady urged firms to allow staff to work at home. He said: Modern home-working is good for the economy, as it helps businesses hold on to talented staff and boosts productivity. A pensioner with dementia died after suffering appalling neglect at a care home during a two-week stay while his devoted wife took a holiday break. Tony Dearnley, 72, was physically fit when he arrived, but on the day his wife Kay returned home from France he was rushed to hospital in a critical condition and died three hours later. Staff had failed to get medical help as Mr Dearnleys health deteriorated alarmingly following a series of falls. He was in pain and had virtually stopped eating and drinking. There were nine members of staff involved in his care, yet no one took responsibility to call a doctor a basic intervention that a coroner concluded may have saved his life. Neglect: Dementia sufferer Tony Dearnley, 72, was physically fit when he arrived for a two-week stay at Wyton Abbey Residential Home but on the day his wife Kay returned from a holiday in France he was rushed to hospital and died just three hours later Mrs Dearnley, a former manager in a packing company, sued the care home owners for damages because she was so shocked by the mistreatment he received in June 2012. She died from breast cancer two years later aged 70 without receiving the apology she sought. Now, almost four years after Mr Dearnleys death, Prime Life Ltd, which owned Wyton Abbey Residential Home near Hull, East Yorkshire, has admitted responsibility. Family members wanted to continue the legal action on a matter of principle and Prime Life Ltd has agreed to pay 5,000 damages. Their solicitor Hayley Collinson, of Hudgell Solicitors, said: This was an appalling case of neglect at every level, at a company which cares for hundreds of elderly people across the UK. This was an appalling case of neglect at every level, at a company which cares for hundreds of elderly people across the UK. Hayley Collinson, of Hudgell Solicitors The couple, who had no children, had been happily married for 49 years. Mrs Dearnley acted as his carer when he developed dementia in his final years. Mrs Dearnleys sister told the court how the retired joiner had been wrapped in cotton wool by his loving wife, but she arranged the holiday because she needed a break from her caring duties. Mr Dearnley had previously stayed at Wyton Abbey for one or two nights at a time and although his wife was worried she believed he was in good hands. Mrs Dearnley even phoned the home during her holiday, but was unaware of his failing health. In a serious case review carried out into Mr Dearnleys care, it was revealed that he was left with bruises on his arm, hip, forehead and nose from falls at the care home. His behaviour changed significantly, he barely ate or drank and was rubbing his knees as if in pain. The report also told how he received a transient examination by a district nurse on June 29 two days before his death and the next day had deep and shallow breathing and was taking very little food or drink. Still no doctor was called. Friends who visited had expressed concern to staff about his condition but were told he was fretting for his wife. Mourning: Family members wanted to continue the legal action on a matter of principle and Prime Life Ltd has agreed to pay 5,000 damages (file image) The home eventually called an ambulance on the day he was due to be collected by his wife, but only after checking with her first, and ambulance staff noted signs he had been neglected. The coroner recorded a narrative verdict at his inquest. The cause of death was given as aspiration pneumonitis, and the coroner ruled there probably would have been a different outcome had medical attention been sought earlier. Wyton Abbey was closed last year but owners Prime Life Ltd run more than 50 care and residential homes across the UK. The Labor candidate running against Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in the inner-city Sydney seat of Wentworth at the upcoming election is a former art dealer with a Cambridge education. Evan Hughes, the son of acclaimed art dealer Ray Hughes, has strategically based his campaign on the 'old Malcolm' - who supported same-sex marriage and action on climate change. However in the past Hughes has been known for slamming 'westies' on social media - referring to those who live in Western Sydney, Labor's traditional heartland in NSW. Labor candidate Evan Hughes is a former art dealer with a Cambridge education who has been accused of 'hating westies' after some of his old social media posts were revealed Hughes is running against Malcolm Turnbull in the inner-city Sydney seat of Wentworth 'Carbon tax is awesome Westies, grow up!' he posted to social media in 2011, according to The Daily Telegraph. The publication also claimed Hughes showed his support for Liberal candidate Adrian Bartels during the same year. In the past Hughes has also taken aim at former Labor NSW Premier Kristina Keneally as 'criminally stupid' and said if she won the 2011 state election then he would have a 'huge penis'. On Thursday the Labor candidate admitted he had been 'young and stupid' when he made the comments - which no longer appear online. Hughes is pictured here with Deputy Labor Leader Tanya Plibersek 'Most of those are throwaway lines. Theyre not very funny,' he said. Hughes' campaign in the affluent electorate of Wentworth is based on what he claims the prime minister stood for before taking out the top job. An Australian-British geologist has been identified as one of the people on-board EgyptAir Flight MS804 en route from Paris to Cairo. Richard Osman, 40, worked at Harmony Gold's Western Australian mine of Big Bell goldmine for five years. Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said she could 'regretfully' confirm that 'one of the passengers on EgyptAir flight, MS804... was an Australian-UK dual national'. Scroll down for video Australian-British geologistRichard Osman, 40, has been identified as one of the people on-board EgyptAir Flight MS804 en route from Paris to Cairo 'We are working closely with UK authorities, which are taking the lead in the provision of consular assistance to the man's family,' she said. 'Out of respect for the man's family, the government will not provide more details at this stage.' Mr Osman celebrated the birth of his second daughter just three weeks ago and his family were left stunned by his sudden death. He was the only Briton identified as being on-board the EgyptAir flight. Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has confirmed there was an Australian-British dual national was on-board EgyptAir Flight MS804 en route from Paris to Cairo Mr Osman (left) was employed in a senior management position at global mining company Centamin as a business development manager Mr Osman was employed in a senior management position at global mining company Centamin as a business development manager. Before taking on this role, he worked at the company's Sukari mine in Egypt for more than 12 years. He held a Master's degree in Mining Geology from the UK's Camborne School of Mines. The 40-year-old, who grew up in Wales, had more than 16 years' experience in the mining industry. His two daughters are being looked after by their French-born mother Aureilie, 36, in Paris, where the couple have a home. Mr Osman's brother, Alastair, revealed the father was 'deliriously happy' at the birth of his daughter Olympe on April 27. He held a Master's degree in Mining Geology from the UK's Camborne School of Mines. He is pictured here on his wedding day with his wife The EgyptAir jet carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean on Thursday 'I still can't take it in,' Alastair said, from his home in Swansea. The EgyptAir jet carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean on Thursday in what Egypt said could have been a terrorist attack. Egypt's civil aviation ministry initially said Greek authorities had found 'floating material' and life jackets likely to be from the plane, an Airbus A320. Greek defence sources told Reuters the material was discovered in the sea 230 miles (370 kilometres) south of the island of Crete. Ms Bishop also warned people against speculating the cause of the incident. 'The government is working with our partners and allies to understand the reasons behind the flights disappearance and presumed crash. It is too early to speculate on the cause of this incident,' she said. One of the two Canadians on board doomed EgyptAir flight MS804 has been identified. Mother-of-three Marwa Hamdy was one of the 66 people on the plane that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea after suddenly disappearing off radar 10 miles into Egyptian air space. According to the National Post the businesswoman had three sons between the ages of 11 and 16. She was brought up in Saskatoon but later relocated with her family to Cairo, where she worked for IBM as a project manager. Her friends said she was returning to Egypt after visiting family in Paris. Investigators are still trying to determine what happened to the plane, with conflicting reports coming from around the world. Earlier reports suggested the crash may have been a terrorist attack after some said there was an explosion on board. One of the two Canadians on board doomed EgyptAir flight MS804 has been identified as Marwa Hamdy (left and right) She was one of the 66 people on board the Airbus A320 (pictured) that vanished before it was set to land in Egypt early Thursday morning Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion (pictured) confirmed two citizens were on the flight. He said the government is ready to join the rescue effort if needed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his thoughts are with the victims of the crash, including the two Canadians on board. He also tweeted a link to Dion's statement But since then U.S. authorities have found no evidence to support that theory. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said in a statement: 'On behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians, I express deep sympathy to the families and loved ones of the victims on board EgyptAir flight MS804, travelling from Paris to Cairo. 'Based on the information currently available, Global Affairs Canada confirms that two Canadian citizens are among the passengers on this flight.' He added that the Canadian government is considering whether they will be helping with the rescue effort. BREAKDOWN OF PEOPLE ON BOARD 56 passengers (including two infants and a child) 3 security personnel 2 cockpit crew 5 cabin crew crew Passenger nationalities: 30 Egyptians 15 French 2 Canadians 1 British 1 Belgian 1 Iraqi 1 Kuwaiti 1 Saudi Arabian 1 Chadian 1 Portuguese 1 Algerian Haleh Banani, of Allen, Texas, who was friends with Hamdy, said she has been bombarded with memories of the two of them together. It was Hamdy's eldest son that informed her of the news. Speaking to the National Post, she said: 'Weve taken that flight so many times. I thought about friends who could be on there. It didnt occur to me there could be someone we knew. It was heartbreaking it was a dear friend.' 'She was very intelligent, very well-read, always engaged in intellectual discussions, and outspoken. 'She was always encouraging her kids, being involved with their activities. She was very kindhearted, a very loving person. 'Even though she was a working mom, she had a great relationship with her boys.' Banani added that Hamdy's family had moved to Cairo because her husband worked in the oil industry. Flight MS804 was travelling from Paris to Cairo when it vanished from radar 10 miles into Egyptian airspace at 00.30am GMT without making a distress call. Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos said the Airbus A320 made 'sudden swerves' in mid-air, lurching 90 degrees to the left then 360 degrees to the right. It then dropped from 37,000 feet to 15,000ft before the signal was lost at around 10,000 feet. Security experts, ministers and former air accident investigators said all the evidence pointed to the plane being targeted in a terrorist attack. But U.S. officials have cast doubt on these claims, stating that they have so far found no evidence of an explosion on board. U.S. authorities are reviewing intelligence collections in an attempt to cast light on what could have happened to the jet. But the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee said there are conflicting reports about the conduct of the EgyptAir plane during its last minutes of flight. Path: A radar map shows the plane's path travelling from Paris and then stopping in the Mediterranean Sea before reaching Cairo, where it lost contact with air traffic control Nor is there anything yet to confirm whether terrorism, structural failure or something else was the cause, he added. Were working with the French to try to figure out if there is any information we have that could shed light on any of the passengers, but theres nothing yet to confirm the cause of the plane crash, said California Rep. Adam Schiff. He said the plane did seem to have broken apart in mid-air, but the reason was unclear. Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi said the possibility of a terror attack was a 'stronger' possibility than technical failure. Meanwhile, EgyptAir has retracted its earlier statement that wreckage of the plane had been found off the Greek island of Karpathos. The Airbus A320 left the French capital's Charles De Gaulle Airport at 4.09pm ET last night before coming down off the Greek island of Karpathos ten miles into Egyptian airspace at around 7.30pm ET GMT. It was scheduled to arrive at Cairo Airport at 8.15pm ET. Relatives of missing EgyptAir passengers comfort each other in front of the airliner's office at Cairo International Airport. Relatives of the Canadian victim are not believed to be pictured FROM A JOVIAL CONVERSATION WITH AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TO RADIO SILENCE: HOW MS804 VANISHED IN MID-AIR 11.09pm local time (9.09pm GMT) Wednesday: EgyptAir flight MS804 departs Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport bound for Cairo with 56 passengers and 10 crew including three security guards. 2.24am Greek time (11.24 GMT) Thursday: Airbus A320 enters the Greek air traffic control area, also known as the flight information region (FIR). The plane was identified and approved on its flight course before passing into the next section of air traffic control where it was approved by the controller for the exit point of the Greek FIR. 00.05 GMT (19.05 ET): The last communication traffic controllers had with the pilot found him in good spirits. The captain 'was in a good mood and gave thanks in Greek' when authorised to exit the Athens FIR. 00.27 GMT (19.27 ET): Air traffic controllers try to contact the pilot again for the handover of the plane to Cairo's area of responsibility, but despite 'repeated calls, the aircraft did not respond'. Air traffic control called on the emergency frequency and again there was no response. 00.29am GMT (19.29 ET): The aircraft crosses over the exit point of the Athens air traffic control area. 00.29.40secs GMT: The jet vanishes from radar 170 miles from the Egyptian coast. The Greek authority said the military was asked for help in case the plane could be located on a military radar, but there was no sign of it. 00.45am GMT (19.45 ET) Search and rescue operation gets underway 4.26am local time (2.26 GMT and 9.26 ET) There is confusion over a new distress signal that was reportedly received by an Egyptian military tower, two hours after the last confirmed contact with the aircraft. It is believed to have come from the aircraft's emergency devices. EgyptAir first reported on the disappearance of the flight by tweeting: 'An informed source at EGYPTAIR stated that Flight no MS804, which departed Paris heading to Cairo, has disappeared from radar.' It was identified and approved on its flight course before passing into the next section of air traffic control where it was approved by the controller for the exit point of the Greek FIR. The CAA said the last communication traffic controllers had with the EgyptAir pilot at around 00.05am found him in good spirits. It said the pilot 'was in a good mood and gave thanks in Greek when authorised to exit the Athens flight information region'. Air traffic controllers tried to contact the pilot again at 00.27am for the handover of the plane to Cairo's area of responsibility, but 'despite repeated calls, the aircraft did not respond'. Air traffic control called on the emergency frequency and again there was no response. At 00.29am GMT, the aircraft was over the exit point of the Athens FIR, and at 00.29.40am GMT, it vanished from radar. The Greek authority said the military was asked for help in case the plane could be located on a military radar, but there was no sign of it. A man was bashed and his glasses were snapped in half after he asked a violent African tram rider to stop threatening other passengers. The assault happened on a Flemington Road tram in Melbourne about 9.30pm on Sunday. A tall African man was sprawled across two seats on the tram when he became aggressive towards passengers and started harassing them with violent threats. A man was attacked on a Melbourne tram on Sunday night after he asked a violent passenger to stop threatening others The victim was attacked after he stepped in to ask the man to be quiet. Other passengers tried to restrain the attacker who grabbed the victim's glasses and snapped them in half before getting off the tram. The victim was hospitalised following the attack. The attack occurred around 9.30pm on Sunday on a Flemington Road tram near the Melbourne CBD Victoria Police are on the hunt for the attacker, who they describe as an African man in his 20s around 183cm (6ft) tall. Police said the man was thin, had a shaven head and was wearing a light brown jacket and dark pants. They believe someone may have filmed the assault and are asking anyone with information to contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppersvic.com.au. Soldiers have complained about their new body armour which makes it harder for them to get up if they fall to the ground. Virtus, which has been rolled out by the Ministry of Defence, has been described by the department as one of the most advanced integrated body armour and load carrying systems in the world. But it has emerged that soldiers have struggled to get up in the kit after falling to the ground. Virtus, which has been rolled out by the Ministry of Defence, has been described by the department as one of the most advanced integrated body armour and load carrying systems in the world. Pictured: Stock image They have also complained that its webbing - where ammunition and kit is stored - has been snapping. To add to the issues, they have also said it gives limited space for extra equipment - such as radios and medical supplies. As a result, the MoD has said it is now working with its supplier to make improvements. The body armour is due to replace the Osprey armour, famously worn by British troops. It was first rolled out at the beginning of the year and is gradually replacing the Osprey in phases. Around 9,000 units of Virtus body armour, helmets, and load-carrying systems have been issued to a number of units - including members of the Parachute Regiment, the Rifles, Royal Marines, and Royal Artillery. Its main advantage is that it is lighter. One complaint on social media read: Daysack and Bergen should be used as fire fuel. Another said: Just about room for a Mars bar and biscuits and snapping. The father of one serving soldier issued with the equipment told the BBC he was appalled that soldiers were being issued with what he considered to be sub standard kit and hoped the British army had learned from the lessons of the past. But it has emerged that soldiers have struggled to get up in the kit after falling to the ground, also also complaining that its webbing - where ammunition and kit is stored - has been snapping. Pictured: Stock image He said his sons and comrades have found it all but impossible to get back on their feet when they went to ground wearing the new system - making it very difficult for an infantry soldier. He said they were also unable to squeeze all their equipment into the new Bergen rucksacks and had trouble putting the armour on in the dark. The Virtus system is 4.7kg lighter than the old Osprey body armour and will become even lighter when new armour plates are issued. An MOD Spokesperson said: Virtus is one of the most advanced integrated body armour and load carriage systems in the world and we have received broadly positive feedback from our personnel. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ZIKA WHAT IS ZIKA? The Zika (ZEE'-ka) virus was first discovered in a monkey in Uganda in 1947 - its name comes from the Zika forest where it was first discovered. It is native mainly to tropical Africa, with outbreaks in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. It appeared in Brazil last year and has since been seen in many Latin American countries and Caribbean islands. HOW IS IT SPREAD? It is transmitted through bites from the same kind of mosquitoes that can spread other tropical diseases, like dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever. It is not known to spread from person to person. Investigators, though, are exploring the possibility that the virus can be passed on through sex - it was found in one man's semen in Tahiti. There are also reports of a man in Texas contracting the virus after having sexual contact with an ill person who returned from a Zika-affected country. The World Health Organisation says Zika is rapidly spreading in the Americas - because it is new to the region, people aren't immune to it, and the Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries it is just about everywhere - including along the southern United States. Canada and Chile are the only places without this mosquito. Evidence links Zika in pregnant women to a birth defect called microcephaly, in which a newborn's head is smaller than normal and the brain may not have developed properly ARE THERE SYMPTOMS? Experts think most people infected with Zika virus don't get sick. And those that do usually develop mild symptoms - fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes - which usually last no more than a week. There is no specific medicine and there hasn't been a vaccine developed for it, which is the case for some other tropical illnesses that cause periodic outbreaks. WHY IS IT A CONCERN NOW? Evidence links the Zika infection in pregnant women to a rare birth defect called microcephaly, in which a newborn's head is smaller than normal and the brain may not have developed properly. Brazilian health officials last October noticed a spike in cases of microcephaly in tandem with the Zika outbreak. Nearly 4,000 cases have been recorded. Meanwhile, doctors have noted increased reports of a nerve condition called Guillain-Barre that can cause paralysis. Other infections can also spark the condition, including dengue fever. CAN THE SPREAD BE STOPPED? Individuals can protect themselves from mosquito bites by using insect repellents, and wearing long sleeves and long pants - especially during daylight, when the mosquitoes tend to be most active, health officials say. Eliminating breeding spots and controlling mosquito populations can help prevent the spread of the virus. HAVE THERE BEEN CASES IN THE US? Yes, but in tourists. Since 2007 there have been more than two dozen cases diagnosed in the US all travelers who are believed to have caught it overseas. (Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have cases that didn't involve a traveler.) It is transmitted through bites from the same kind of mosquitoes that can spread other tropical diseases, like dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever The kind of mosquito that spreads Zika is found along the southern states, so experts think it's likely the pests may end up spreading the virus there. But officials also have said Zika infections probably won't be a big problem in the US for a number of reasons, including the more common use of air conditioning and door and window screens. Recent U.S. outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya - carried by the same mosquito - suggest any Zika outbreaks may be relatively small, said Dr. Lyle Petersen of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WHAT ARE THE TRAVEL ADVISORIES? US health officials recommend that pregnant women should consider postponing trips to 22 destinations. Latin America: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname and Venezuela. In the Caribbean: Barbados, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, St. Martin and Puerto Rico. Also, Cape Verde, off the coast of western Africa; and Samoa in the South Pacific. In Brazil, most of the mothers who had babies with microcephaly were apparently infected during the first trimester, but the birth defect can occur later in the pregnancy, CDC officials say. A 20-year-old Arizona man has been arrested after he allegedly impregnated a 14-year-old girl. Bradley Cleveland Turner was taken into custody after the child was delivered and a DNA test proved he was the father. Turner met the victim through his 17-year-old girlfriend. Bradley Cleveland Turner, 20, (pictured left in most recent mug shot, pictured right in 2014) has been charged with eight counts of sexual conduct with a minor after he allegedly impregnated a 14-year-old girl The couple and the 14-year-old girl went to a water park together in May 2015, according to ABC 15. Turner allegedly had sex with the victim after the three of them returned to his home, court records state. The victim told police she had sex with Turner eight times. She reported the incidents in December, when she was reportedly pregnant with the man's child. When police questioned Turner, he denied the allegations and said: 'That's disgusting. She's 14.' Federal police say they were acting alone when they raided the offices and homes of Labor politicians as part of an investigation into National Broadband Network documents they allege were leaked. Labor has accused the Coalition government of pushing for a police investigation into the NBN documents in order to conceal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's 'mismanagement' of its rollout. But the Australian Federal Police said the raids at the Melbourne office of frontbencher Stephen Conroy and the home of two Labor staffers overnight had been undertaken 'independent of government'. Scroll down for video The Melbourne office of Labor frontbencher Stephen Conroy (office pictured) was targeted in raids by the Australian Federal Police on Thursday night over the alleged leaking of documents about the NBN AFP pictured raiding the home of a Labor staffer in Melbourne over the alleged leak of NBN documents In a statement released on Friday, AFP said decisions regarding the raids were made 'by the AFP alone'. It confirmed NBN Co had asked the AFP to investigate alleged leaking of confidential documents on December 9. Labor has refused to accept that the government had no involvement in the raids on Thursday night. Cabinet minister Christopher Pyne dismissed any suggestion the raids were timed to coincide with the election campaign as 'loopy'. '...It has been quite an extraordinary raid, over an extensive period of time, in extraordinary circumstances during an election campaign,' Labor's Anthony Albanese said of the raids Raids were also carried out against two Labor staffers in Melbourne on Thursday night. The AFP reportedly did not leave one of the homes until 5am Friday (AFP pictured) 'If you are suggesting the government has organised raids by the AFP against the Labor party, that is an extraordinary allegation,' he told the Nine Network's Today. He accused Labor of attacking the AFP and politicising its investigations. 'The truth is the government had nothing to do with it.' Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese said it was 'quite extraordinary' the AFP didn't leave the home of a former staffer until 5am on Friday. 'What that means is that it has been quite an extraordinary raid, over an extensive period of time, in extraordinary circumstances during an election campaign.' Mr Albanese pointed out there had not been similar raids into leaks of cabinet documents. 'Malcolm Turnbull has to state exactly what his involvement in this is, given particularly that it relates to, frankly, facts that the public have a right to know about the National Broadband Network and the fact he has turned it into 'fraud-band'.' Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said the timing of the raids during an election campaign undermined confidence in the AFP's independence. AFP raided the office of Labor senator Stephen Conroy (pictured) regarding leaks of NBN documents. Two Labor staff members were also been named in warrants relating to the matter 'Malcolm Turnbull has to state exactly what his involvement in this is, given particularly that it relates to, frankly, facts that the public have a right to know about the National Broadband Network and the fact he has turned it into 'fraud-band',' Labor's Anthony Albanese said (Malcolm Turnbull pictured) He said he had concerns that the government had pressured NBN Co - a company it owns - to hunt whistleblowers and conceal Mr Turnbull's 'mismanagement' of the project when he was communications minister. Mr Dreyfus said the documents in question were protected by parliamentary privilege because Senator Conroy, a former communications minister, is participating in a Senate inquiry into mismanagement of the NBN. 'We've got Mr Turnbull going after whistleblowers, Mr Turnbull not wanting there to be investigation of his mismanagement,' he told ABC radio. Mr Albanese said media was notified before the people targeted by the raids had been notified. Up to ten plain-clothed officers raided a Brunswick house, the home of a Labor staffer The Australian Federal Police has raided Labor Party offices in Melbourne over allegations of leaked National Broadband Network documents The AFP, however, said the government and opposition were 'appropriately notified and advised of operational activity regarding this matter after it commenced yesterday'. 'Search warrants conducted in East Melbourne and Brunswick are part of a phased approach that the AFP has undertaken regarding this investigation. The next phase of this investigation involves the examination and analysis of material collected during these search warrants,' AFP said. Police received assistance from NBN Co, including interviews with employees as part of the raids. Search warrants are also expected to be executed on a number of media outlets that published stories sourced to the leaked documents. The investigation is ongoing. Greens leader Richard Di Natale questioned why police chose to act in the middle of an election campaign. He said the matter would be pursued by a Senate committee, but not until after the election. 'The timing is very curious - it does have a whiff about it,' he told ABC radio. Shadow Attorney General Mark Dreyfus confirmed the Thursday evening raids in a statement David Cameron insisted last night he is a proud Eurosceptic and questioned Brexit campaigner Boris Johnsons motives. The Prime Minister, who is leading the battle to keep Britain in the EU, claimed the former London mayor had told friends he did not really believe in leaving, while his own stance on Europe had been very consistent. Asked about Mr Johnsons motives for joining the Vote Leave campaign, Mr Cameron said the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip was known to have been torn over which side to support, adding: Hes told a lot of people that hed never been a leaver. But look, its for him to say. The Prime Minister (left), who is leading the battle to keep Britain in the EU, claimed he is a Eurosceptic and leading Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson (right) had told friends he did not really believe in leaving The PM denied he had changed his stance, saying: I would describe myself as a Eurosceptic. Im very proud of the fact. In an interview with LBC radio, he said: Being a sceptic means that you are sceptical about grand schemes and utopian visions ... but being a sceptic doesnt mean you walk away from the whole thing. Mr Cameron added he was sad and disappointed that Mr Johnson and Justice Secretary Michael Gove had taken a different view on Europe. His comments came as No 10 was forced to deny orchestrating smears against Brexit campaigners after Tory MP Steve Baker said opponents of Brussels were being singled out for personal attacks. The co-chairman of the Conservatives for Britain group highlighted Lord Heseltines blistering criticism of Mr Johnson this week for comparing the EUs superstate ambitions to those of Hitler. Mr Baker suggested Downing Street was also behind Sir John Majors warning that Tories in the Leave campaign were morphing into Ukip, and George Osbornes claim that the anti-EU argument was economically illiterate. CORBYN ALLY MP PAT GLASS BRANDS VOTER A 'HORRIBLE RACIST' Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn with ally Pat Glass JACK DOYLE POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT FOR THE DAILY MAIL A close ally of Jeremy Corbyn apologised last night for calling a voter who raised concerns about immigration a horrible racist. Labours Europe spokesman Pat Glass made the remarks while campaigning for Britain to stay in the EU. At the end of a BBC radio interview in Sawley, Derbyshire, she was recorded saying: The first person I come to is a horrible racist. Im never coming back to wherever this is. Outraged opponents said it showed Labours contempt for ordinary workers concerns about migrant numbers. Mrs Glass apologised to the voter who had complained about a Polish family on benefits and the village of Sawley. It led to comparisons with Gordon Browns remark during the 2010 election campaign, describing Rochdale voter Gillian Duffy as a bigoted woman after she had raised concerns about migrants. Critics also likened it to the snobbery row over Labour frontbencher Emily Thornberrys sneering post about a house with a white van parked outside flying England flags. Mrs Glass was promoted to Europe spokesman in January, but until yesterday had maintained a low profile in the referendum campaign. The Labour MP for North West Durham said: The comments I made were inappropriate and I regret them. Concerns about immigration are entirely valid and its important that politicians engage with them. I apologise to the people living in Sawley for any offence I have caused. But Ukip migration spokesman Steven Woolfe MEP said the comments show the contempt Labour has for ordinary workers concerns. He said: You would think Labour would want to represent the concerns of working people, but it seems they instead view valid concerns about the levels of migration as being automatically racist. Lord Heseltine (pictured) this week unleashed a blistering criticism of Mr Johnson this week for comparing the EUs superstate ambitions to those of Hitler The MP said: They cant make an honest, positive case for the supremacy of EU law or EU citizenship, a common trade policy and all the rest because they know its a losing argument. We have been reduced to fear, uncertainty and doubt on the Remain side, and to lashing out at individuals. He said: There have been too many instances where a comment in the press from a campaigner has been followed by attacks on them personally. That must stop. Downing Street sources said yesterday Lord Heseltines attack on Mr Johnson, whom he accused of acting irresponsibly and recklessly, came after the BBC invited him on to be interviewed. But BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said the interview request had been made at the suggestion of No 10. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt insisted Mr Baker was wrong, telling the BBC: Inevitably, both sides make their case as strongly as they can. Arguments have been made forcefully on both sides. NOW 250 LUVVIES WRITE A LETTER TO BACK THE REMAIN CAMPAIGN Artists, actors and musicians including Benedict Cumberbatch and Helena Bonham Carter have signed a letter claiming leaving the EU would make Britain less imaginative. The warning, organised by Britain Stronger in Europe, is contained in a luvvies letter to The Guardian signed by 250 cultural stars. They say that if Britain were to leave the EU it would become an outsider. The letter says: From the smallest gallery to the biggest blockbuster, many of us have worked on projects that would never have happened without vital EU funding or by collaborating across borders. It adds: From the Bard to Bowie, British creativity inspires and influences the rest of the world. Other signatories include Bill Nighy, Sir Patrick Stewart, Keira Knightley and 50 Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Wood. Mr Johnson hit back angrily last night, defending his Eurosceptic credentials while savaging Mr Camerons renegotiation of Britains EU membership deal. He said the Prime Ministers attempt to draw up a Sovereignty Bill to prevent further power grabs by Brussels had descended into farce. Mr Johnson added: I have been a Eurosceptic for decades and was hoping the PM would achieve what he set out [to do] fundamental reform and full-on treaty change. We were told to expect reform of the European Court of Justice and of border controls, and agriculture and social and employment law, and many other things. Alas, we achieved none of that. No one could credibly claim this was a reformed EU. It is time to vote to leave and take back control of our democracy. I urge my friends in government to recognise that, in all logic and as self-declared Eurosceptics, they should really be campaigning with us on this side of the argument. Authorities have shut down makeshift constructions at a week-long camp protesting against depictions of homeless people in the media. Council workers and police arrived to carry out a council notice ordering a dismantling of a milk-crate construction and gazebo where about 10 people had gathered in Melbourne CBD's City Square. Protesters said they had been told to pack up but were refusing to move along from the site, reports Herald Sun. Council workers shut down makeshift constructions at a week-long camp in Melbourne's CBD The clean-up began at 7am on Friday when about 10 council workers wearing hi-vis vests arrived to dismantle the camp, with police arriving shortly afterwards. It is believed 25 homeless people slept at the shelter on Thursday night. Protester Lisa Peterson said the council and police had removed the construction but they planned to continue the protest. 'But we are allowed to keep our personal belongings and continue our protest.' The protesters were rallying about depictions of homeless people in the media, according to the ABC. Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said on Thursday he hoped the protest could be resolved peacefully. 'I don't want to be throwing people out of City Square. I want to help them.' Protesters said they had been told to pack up but were refusing to move along from the site Council workers and police arrived to carry out a council notice ordering a dismantling of a milk-crate construction and Gazebo Multiple award-winning novelist and staunch euthanasia advocate Gillian Mears has died aged 51 at her family's property near Grafton, 600km north of Sydney. Mears, who had suffered from multiple sclerosis (MS) for almost two decades, told the ABC last year she believed people should be able to die 'with grace and dignity'. The 2012 Prime Minister's Literary Awards fiction prize winner for her novel 'Foal's Bread' also said that she hadn't anticipated the 'wheelchair bed-bound' existence wrought by her illness. On March 6 this year, in what appears to be the last posting on Mears' Facebook page, the words 'we believe in mercy' were written above a photograph of a woman's hand holding the paw of a cat on a bed. Multiple award-winning novelist and euthanasia advocate Gillian Mears (pictured) has died aged 51 at her family's property near Grafton, 17 years after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) Mears, who said in an ABC interview about her wheelchair and bed bound existence with MS that 'I can't remain alive if my body gets much worse' and on March 6 this year posted this photo (above) with the words 'we believe in mercy' As a young literary talent, winning her first major prize at the age of 23, Gillian Mears (pictured) won the 2012 Prime Minister's fiction prize for 'Foal's Bread' but sometimes struggled to write because of her illness Last year, Mears published a book 'The Cat with the Coloured Tail', based on one of her beloved pet cats. She has spoken in the past about her grandfather, who also suffered from MS and died at the age of 50. As a young literary talent, winning her first major prize at the age of 23, Mears' inspiration was was drawn partly from her childhood horse riding and growing up on a farm. She won the 1989 Commonwealth Literary Prize for her novel 'Ride a Cock Horse', then the Vogel Literary Award the following year for the semi-autobiographical book 'The Mint Lawn'. Four years later Mears won the regional Commonwealth Prize for Best Book for 'The Grass Sister'. Gillian Mears, pictured accepting the 2012 Prime Minister's fiction award from Julia Gillard for her novel Foal's Breath, said MS had made her 'wheelchair and bed bound' and she still thought about her childhood growing up on afarm and riding horses Gilian Mears (front, centre), pictured with her fellow Prime Minister's Literary Award winners, from left, Luke Davies, Judy Watson, Robert Newton and Mark McKenna at the National Library in 2012, has died aged 51 In 1999, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and gradually the one-time opponent of euthanasia said the deterioration of her health had made her change her stance on the issue. She had been forced to stop horse riding, lost mobility and sometimes struggled to write. She told the ABC about euthanasia: 'I've seen doctors show me letters written by people who want to die. Gilian Mears, pictured with fellow award winners and then Prime Minister Julia Gillard, hoped her death would be 'quiet and proud' 'Why shouldn't they be given the right to say: "I want to die now with grace and dignity?" Why shouldn't we be listening to the humans who can indeed say what they wish?' In 2012, her first novel in 16 years Foal's Bread was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award and won the fiction prize in the Prime Minister's Literary Awards. Three years ago, following an interview with ABC Radio National's Phillip Adams, Mears penned a letter to Adams about her country childhood, her reduced life as an MS sufferer and dying. She had mentioned during the radio interview Dr Rodney Syme, the Vice President of Dying With Dignity Victoria. 'I meant to make mention of a Justice Brennan as quoted in Rodney's book, saying that "death is profound and personal" and that, true to that judge's thoughts, I wish for my own death to be "quiet and proud". 'I don't mean to upset anyone when I say that I can't remain alive if things in my body get much worse than they already are. 'A funny paradox though, is that without the last two years of virtual bed confinement, I might never have watched films again. 'One of the few joys of living on a bed occurs when film buff friends arrive with a new bag full of DVD riches. ''How tender your memory of Judy from [the Australian classic book] Seven Little Australians feeling with her foot the lapping of the waters as her life ebbed away. San Francisco's scandal-hit police chief has resigned hours after a city officer killed an unarmed black woman. Greg Suhr stepped down Thursday following a request from Mayor Ed Lee as a result of a series of controversies. Police shootings have created mounting racial tensions with minorities and have led to criticism against the department. A group of officers were also caught sending racist and homophobic text messages to colleagues. The 27-year-old black victim shot dead on Thursday was reportedly sitting behind the wheel of a stolen car. San Francisco's police chief Greg Suhr (pictured) has resigned hours after a city officer killed an unarmed black woman The 27-year-old black victim shot dead on Thursday was reportedly sitting behind the wheel of a stolen car. Her name and the identity of the officer involved has not been released (scene pictured) A demonstrator holds a sign in protest against former San Francisco police chief Greg Suhr Officers turned on the patrol car's lights and sounded its siren, and the woman to sped off in the stolen car. A few seconds later and about 100 feet away, the stolen car slammed into a parked utility truck. The officers jumped out of the patrol car and raced to the wreckage, where the woman was revving the car in an effort to disengage the auto from the truck. Suhr said a witness reported that the officers opened the driver's door and began grabbing the woman in attempt to arrest her. At that point, a sergeant fired one fatal round. The woman's name and the identity of the officer involved have not been released. It was the third fatal shooting of a suspect by San Francisco police within the past six months. Suhr stepped down Thursday following a request from Mayor Ed Lee as a result of mounting racial issues and criticism against the department The deadly incidents have prompted critics to say police in the city are too quick to use their guns, especially when confronting minorities. The shooting of Mario Woods, a black man suspected in a stabbing, in December promoted a backlash against the department. I have previously expressed confidence in Chief Suhr... But following this morning's officer-involved shooting and my meeting with Chief Suhr this afternoon, today I have arrived at a different question of how best to move forward Part of statement by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee Protesters demanding Suhr's resignation drowned out the mayor's second inaugural speech in January, and demonstrators forced the mayor to abandon a planned speech on Martin Luther King Jr. Day later that month. Nonetheless, the mayor stood behind the chief, and the two announced a series of reforms aimed at reducing police shootings. The two also called in the U.S. Department of Justice to review the department's policy and procedures. But Suhr lost Lee's backing Thursday and asked for his resignation. 'This is exactly the kind of thing with all the reforms we are trying to prevent,' Suhr said Thursday, less than two hours after the shooting and before he resigned. 'The progress we've made has been meaningful, but it hasn't been fast enough,' Lee said in a brief statement at City Hall. 'Not for me, not for Greg.' A scandal had also erupted after officers within the department were accused of sending racist texts to each other. Lee (left) named former deputy chief Toney Chaplin (right) as the new chief Investigators are seen at the site of the shooting on Thursday. It was the third fatal shooting of a suspect by San Francisco police within the past six months Video courtesy: KRON Investigators found the text messages on the personal phones of former officer Jason Lai and retired Lt. Curtis Liu during criminal probes. Transcripts of the messages denigrated minority suspects with racial slurs and insulted colleagues they perceived to be gay. They ridiculed blacks in Ferguson, Missouri, where police shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black man. One of them referred to a picture of a burnt turkey as a 'Ferguson turkey'. Lai resigned in April and Lui retired last year. The unidentified officer also resigned and a fourth officer also implicated in the texting scandal Suhr declined to identify is facing dismissal before the city's Police Commission. Suhr was criticized for moving too slowly to fire the offending officers, all of whom have retained their jobs because of the chief's failure to start disciplinary action when he first found out about the inappropriate. Suhr could not be reached for comment Thursday. Lee named former deputy chief Toney Chaplin, who is black, as the new chief. Demonstrators protested against the former police chief outside City Hall. One held a sign reading 'I can no longer cry alone, I must fight in unity' Suhr was demoted from deputy chief to captain in 2009 after failing to file a police report after a female friend told him she had been assaulted by her boyfriend. (Pictured are protesters) He said in a statement: 'I have previously expressed confidence in Chief Suhr because I know he agrees with and understands the need for reform. 'But following this morning's officer-involved shooting and my meeting with Chief Suhr this afternoon, today I have arrived at a different question of how best to move forward.' Chaplin had the confidence of at least one key supporter. 'Toney Chaplin has the charisma, chemistry and courage to lead this department,' said Rev. Brown 'Toney Chaplin has the charisma, chemistry and courage to lead this department,' said Rev. Amos Brown, the president of the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP. Rev. Brown had also supported Suhr through the department's difficulties, and said the police's problems 'are bigger than one man.' Lee appointed Suhr chief in 2011. He was a 34-year veteran of the department who rose through the ranks despite several professional missteps. He was demoted from deputy chief to captain in 2009 after failing to file a police report after a female friend told him she had been assaulted by her boyfriend. The city last year paid $725,000 to settle a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by a former department lawyer who recommended Suhr be fired for failing to report his friend's assault. When Suhr became chief, he fired the lawyer. Suhr was also re-assigned from head of patrol in 2005 to guarding the city's water supply, which was widely viewed as a demotion. Two years earlier, he was one of several officers indicted in the city's so-called 'Fajitagate' for allegedly trying to cover up an investigation of three off-duty officers who had beaten up a waiter and took his bag of Mexican food. The indictment was tossed out. Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown is seen being escorted by sheriff's deputy into City Hall for a private event as protestors rally against former San Francisco police chief Greg Suhr Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has apologized for the third time for elbowing a female opposition member of Parliament in the chest as he waded through a group of her colleagues. Trudeau, 44, stood up in the chamber to say he should not have made physical contact with the one lawmaker and said he accidentally bumped into Ruth Ellen Brosseau. 'I made a mistake. I regret it and I'm looking to make amends,' Trudeau said on Thursday. 'I expect better behavior of myself.' Shortly after the incident on Wednesday he stood up apologized to the chamber. Ten minutes later he stood up to issue another statement of apology. Brosseau has said the fracas forced her to miss a vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday as she had to leave the chamber. Opposition leaders have slammed the incident as 'violent' - branding Trudeau, an avid boxer, 'un-statesmanlike'. Reports claim Trudeau shouted 'get the f*** out the way' during the dispute. The kerfuffle spells a possible blow to Trudeau's image as a modern, feminist leader. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO 'I expect better behavior of myself': Justin Trudeau stands in parliament to issue his third apology on Thursday The 44-year-old leader said he will accept the verdict of the parliamentary review into the TV footage The moment: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is seen reaching for a man's arm in the House of Commons on Wednesday. In doing so he elbowed opposition lawmaker Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the chest It comes just days after the leader's wife was criticized for requesting help, as she said she could not juggle the job of being First Lady and being a mother-of-three. Footage from the House of Commons television feed shows Trudeau wading into a clutch of lawmakers and pulling one through the crowd in order to get the vote started. As Trudeau turns around to pull the lawmaker through, Brosseau can be seen grimacing in pain. 'I was elbowed in the chest by the prime minister and then I had to leave. It was very overwhelming,' Brosseau said. 'I missed the vote because of this.' Trudeau, a boxer and former bar bouncer, later stood up in Parliament and said it wasn't his intention to hurt anyone as he attempted to escort the lawmaker. Trudeau said he thought the man was being impeded as he walked up the aisle of the chamber and wanted to help him in attempt to speed up the vote. 'I admit that I came in physical contact with a number of members as I extended my arm, including someone behind me whom I did not see. I certainly did not intend to offend or impact on anyone,' Trudeau said. 'I apologize for that unreservedly and I look for opportunities to make amends.' Trudeau is seen having stern words with a lawmaker as he elbows Brosseau behind him The leader then storms off. He allegedly shouted 'get the f*** out the way' as he stormed over to them Trudeau has apologized 'unreservedly' after Brosseau (right) said the fracas caused her to miss her vote Opposition New Democrat lawmaker Peter Julian called it a 'pretty violent push' and said he had never seen such behavior in his 12 years in Parliament. 'Physical force in this House is never permitted,' he said. Opposition Conservative Andrew Scheer said he was sitting across from Trudeau and said it was clear he lost his temper. 'He was motivated by anger and lost his temper,' said Scheer, who added it was 'very unstatesmanlike.' Opposition New Democrat leader Thomas Mulcair later screamed at Trudeau 'What kind of man elbows a woman!?' in the chamber before Trudeau's cabinet bench cleared and intervened to make sure things didn't escalate. Tempers have been running high as the government pushes through a motion to limit debate on its euthanasia legislation. Interim opposition Conservative leader Rona Ambrose called the prime minister's behavior shocking and embarrassing and said Trudeau's clear intent was to intimidate lawmakers physically and his actions resulted in Brosseau being shoved into a desk. 'He should be ashamed,' Ambrose said in a statement. Opposition Conservative lawmaker Jason Kenney tweeted that if previous Prime Minister Stephen Harper had ever physically bullied members of Parliament like Trudeau, there would be immediate and widespread demands for his resignation. 'No sane person watching that video could come to any conclusion but that it was an accident. Stupid of him to be over there, but come on,' political commentator Andrew Coyne tweeted. Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer, left, and Peter Julian NDP House Leader, right, pictured telling reporters it was 'a pretty violent push' and branded the incident 'unstatesmanlike' Opposition hitting out: 'He was motivated by anger and lost his temper,' said Scheer (left) Green party Leader Elizabeth May, whose seat in the House of Commons, gave her a ringside seat for the encounter and subsequent arguments, called for calm at one point and suggested that the New Democrat lawmakers may have been milling about on the floor in order to delay the vote. 'It was most unwise of the prime minister to attempt to move along the vote,' May said. 'But the second contact with my friend (Brosseau), which is certainly the one that was the most emotional for the member involved, was clearly, from my perspective ... unintentional.' She added: 'He had not seen her behind him. That is the truth. Now you can like it or not like it.' The Speaker concluded that Brosseau's privileges as a Member Parliament had been breached, which means the encounter will be examined by an all-party committee. The money was wrongly deposited from 2006 to 2008 by the Saibai Council A priest who stole $16,000 in donations from his church has been sentenced to six months jail for spending more than $300,000 after it was accidentally deposited into his bank account. Ron Maxwell Enosa pleaded guilty to fraud at the Cairns District Court for spending $334,000 that was mistakenly transferred into his bank account from 2006 to 2008 on 'an extravagant lifestyle,' according to The Cairns Post. Crown prosecutor Rochelle Logan told the court that Enosa spent the money on living expenses, rent and loan repayments, as well as large sums on flights and purchased a 'tinnie' boat. Ron Enosa, (pictured) a priest and Torres Strait council member, was sentenced to six months in jail in Cairns this week for spending $334,000 that was accidentally transferred into his bank account He has also been found guilty of stealing $16,000 in donations from his church - Holy Trinity on Saibai Island (pictured) She did not provide details on exact items purchased by Enosa, who is also a Torres Strait Regional Councillor for Saibai Island and a former police officer. The money was accidentally placed in Enosa's account by a Saibai Council system error on three separate occasions, according to the Cairns Post. Enosa, a priest at Saibai Island's Holy Trinity Church, received $127,668 in December 2006, another $94,781 in August 2007, and a final payment of $111,937 in December 2008. He also received $105,556 in a tax return in April 2007. The Australian Taxation Office called Enosa in 2011 and ordered him to put the money back but it was discovered later than year that he had also taken $16,000 from his church. Cairns District Court prosecutors said Enosa, who is a former police officer, spent the money on an 'extravagant lifestyle' and purchased a 'tinnie' boat (stock image) He also spent large sums on numerous flights, prosecutors said (stock image) He pleaded guilty to taking the church's donations and was sentenced to community service in the Cairns Magistrates Court. In 2014, he filed for bankruptcy and hasn't made any repayments, the Cairns Post reported. Enosa's defence attorney argued that he should not serve jail time because he was recently re-elected to the Torres Strait Regional Council and an important member of the community. Judge Dean Morzone QC said Enosa's offence was so serious he would have to serve jail time. Advertisement If Duke Ellington was the king of jazz, Harlem was his kingdom. And on Wednesday, the neighborhood celebrated the music connoisseur with an auction of his most prized possessions - just a few blocks from the Cotton Bar where it all started in the 1920s. Hand-written music sheets, his white baby grand piano, and even his Pulitzer Prize went under the hammer at the National Jazz Museum in uptown New York City after years under wraps. Bidders even got the chance to snap up some of Ellington's own never-before-seen paintings - little-known masterpieces which he kept to himself while the world celebrated his musical genius. Historic: Duke Ellington's prized possessions went under the hammer on Wednesday. The items included two dozen of Ellington's hand-written music manuscripts, such as the first incarnations of Lush Life (left) and his most famous hit, Mood Indigo (right) Musical genius: Grammy Award-winning Ellington, who died in 1974, was one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time His favorite: This was his prized baby grand piano, which he played during an Edward R Murrow documentary in 1957 RUTH ELLINGTON: DUKE'S BELOVED SISTER WHO KEPT HIS BELONGINGS AS A SHRINE UNTIL SHE DIED Duke, something of a womanizer, was incredibly close to his only sister. Ruth, 16 years younger than Duke, accompanied her famous brother to many events, including a trip to the White House. Duke insisted it was to treat and honor his sister, who handled his business matters. According to an interview Ruth gave to Ebony magazine, it was to save him from having to pick a date. 'He took me to the White House because he didn't want his women to be upset. 'If he picked one, all the rest of them would have screamed. 'Imagine a song like Sophisticated Lady. 'I imagine he told every woman that he knew that she was the inspiration for that song.' It has all been hidden away for decades in his sister's Harlem apartment. Ruth, Duke's closest confidante, sold stacks of his music and belongings after he died of lung cancer in 1974. But the most precious she kept in her living room as a shrine to the brother she worshipped. When Ruth died in 2004, relatives decided the cherished - and incredibly lucrative - artifacts should be offered up to the Duke's fans at one of the first high-profile auctions in Harlem. The items, which did not have starting prices, included two dozen of Ellington's hand-written music manuscripts. The first ever scrawling for the orchestra arrangement of his hit croon Mood Indigo on a scrappy piece of paper sold for an eye-watering $14,000. Lush Life, another of his classics, also began as a penciled-out draft with crossed-out lines and messy additions. That fetched another $14,000. The Pulitzer Prize awarded posthumously to Ellington in 1999 for his 'indelible contribution to art and culture' also went under the hammer. Though Duke was nominated for the music prize in 1965, he did not win. The then-66-year-old told reporters: 'Fate is being kind to me. Fate doesn't want me to be famous too young.' In 1999, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, he was named the winner of the Special Prize 'in recognition of his musical genius, which evoked aesthetically the principles of democracy through the medium of jazz'. The glass statuette sold on Wednesday for $7,000. Though he made his name in music, Ellington also painted - and quite well. When he was a boy in Washington, D.C., Ellington painted signs for parties and local businesses. He was still unknown, riffing his own music at home or at local events, when he was offered a scholarship to study art at New York's Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He turned it down, but continued to paint vociferously as he believed music and art had a symbiotic relationship, informing one another. Indeed, one of his most striking portraits has the same name as one of his most famous melodies: Satin Doll. The painting, which was among the auction items on Wednesday, features the face of a woman turning mysteriously in red lipstick, a red dress, with dark tousled hair. It was inspired by two strong women in his life: Lena Horne, the sultry songstress whom he mentored at the Cotton Club, and his sister Ruth. He finished painting it in 1954, months after he wrote the song of the same title. The artwork was one of four, including a portrait of his collaborator Billy Strayhorn, propped up at the Guernsey's auction in the Jazz Museum - not far from the Cotton Club. Duke, born Edward Kennedy Ellington, reached Harlem's Cotton Club after offering his musical services at parties around D.C. and Virginia when he was a freelance sign painter and a messenger boy for the US Navy. He got a band together and made contacts through his two jobs, eventually making enough to be a full-time pianist. Artwork: Ellington painted vociferously as he believed music and art had a symbiotic relationship. This (center) was called Satin Doll, and was inspired by two strong women in his life - his sister Ruth Ellington (left) and the songstress Lena Horne (right) whom he mentored Personal items: A curator displays a copy of the book Famous Negro Music Makers written and signed by author Langston Hughes which was one of the items from Guernsey's Auction of Duke Ellington's Personal Treasures at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem Precious: Copies of original sheet music, contracts, photos, personal letters and clothing on display The Pulitzer Prize awarded posthumously to Ellington in 1999 for his 'indelible contribution to art and culture' also went under the hammer Bidders shelled out for Ellington's many incredibly flashy tuxedos, embroidered by a tailor he personally selected from Chicago The auction was held in Harlem's National Jazz Museum, affiliated with the Smithsonian, near the Cotton Club In the early 1920s, his drummer got a gig in New York. Duke decided to follow him. They built a profile playing in Atlantic City and around Harlem, starting to record, fueling the Harlem Renaissance. His big break came in 1927, when he was asked to step in for an act at Harlem's Cotton Club. His performance that night in front of a well-heeled white audience was broadcast nationally - and he became a star. Fast-forward 80 years, jazz fans and big-pocketed auction hounds were flocking back up to the area. It is not a popular spot for auctions. Arlan Ettinger, one of the world's most prominent auctioneers who pioneered Guernsey's Ellington event, said he felt the location added a sense of nostalgia to the event. 'To anyones knowledge this may be the first major auction held in Harlem,' Ettinger told DailyMail.com shortly before the event. 'The majority of the population is African American and when you think about it so many African American people are at the root of music. His big break came in 1927, when he was asked to step in for an act at Harlem's Cotton Club (pictured around the same time). His performance that night in front of a well-heeled white audience was broadcast nationally - and he became a star 'And yet never has there been a major auction in this area. 'This museum is within 30 blocks of the Cotton Club where Ellington got his start. We could have conducted it in midtown where Christie's, Sotheby's, and even we normally hold ours. But we thought this was appropriate.' One bidder paid $7,000 for the diamond-encrusted pocket watch Ellington bought for his father, then carried around with him every day after his father's death. And another shelled out $7,500 for one of Ellington's many cherished - and incredibly flashy - tuxedos, embroidered by a tailor he personally selected from Chicago. WorkSafe and Tasmania Police are both investigating the incident A firearm safety training course has been postponed after a student accidentally shot himself in the foot and taken to hospital. The man was treated for a serious wound to his foot following the incident, when he was participating in a firearms safety training course on April 12 at TasTAFE pistol club in Pontville, north of Hobart, according to ABC. Police and paramedics were reportedly called to the scene and he was later taken to hospital. A firearm safety training course has been postponed after a student accidentally shot himself in the foot and taken to hospital The man was treated for a serious wound to his foot following the incident, when he was participating in a firearms safety training course on April 12 at TasTAFE pistol club in Pontville, north of Hobart TasTAFE chief executive Stephen Conway said in a statement that all firearms training courses have been postponed following the incident and are being reviewed. 'TasTAFE has made the decision to postpone all scheduled firearms training courses in the short term while an investigation into the incident by WorkSafe Tasmania and Tasmania Police is completed,' the statement read. Citing privacy reasons, TasTAFE would not offer further details of the incident. TasTAFE chief executive Stephen Conway said in a statement that all firearms training courses have been postponed following the incident and are being reviewed WorkSafe and Tasmania Police are both investigating the incident 'TasTAFE will review the course structure and will offer the theory component of the training in the first instance the practical component will remain postponed until the appropriate investigations are completed. 'Given the investigations that are underway and for privacy reasons it is not appropriate for TasTAFE to comment on the specific nature of the incident.' WorkSafe and Tasmania Police are both investigating the incident. The man who runs multinational dairy co-operative Fonterra - under fire this week for cutting its milk price paid to farmers by up to 10 per cent - is the company's highest paid employee with his salary falling between NZ$4.93 million (AU$4.61 million) and $4.94 million (AU$4.62 million). His salary makes him one of the top paid executives in New Zealand. Fonterra's chief executive Theo Spierings ran into trouble again last year when his salary was revealed in annual reports after he had to lay off hundreds of staff, stuff.co.nz reported. Mr Spierings had also received a pay rise of up to 18 per cent, but froze his own base salary after outrage from farmers. Theo Spierings is Fonterra's highest paid employee with his salary falling between AU$4.61 million and AU$4.62 million But he may still receive short and long-term bonus payments. At the time, Federated Farmers dairy vice chairman Chris Lewis questioned the timing of Mr Spierings' salary freeze after he announced more than 700 job losses last year. 'You would have thought these conversations may have been had a few months ago, realising the sensitivity of the staff layoffs, low payout, and all of that,' Mr Lewis told stuff.co.nz. 'If he's worth every bit of that, farmers will not complain.' Earlier this month, Fonterra announced it would be reducing its price paid for milk from 55 cents per litres to 15 cents per litre. This means the price of milk solids dropped from $5.60 to $5 per kilogram. Mr Spierings said the move was to give its New Zealand shareholders the best return on their investment. Mr Spierings' frank explanation for why Australian farmers were copping a hit was met with criticism. 'What we are doing is drive [sic] every cent of money which we can out of Australia back to New Zealand shareholders in this extremely low milk price environment,' he said, according to The Weekly Times. 'That is what we are doing everyday. And Australian business this year will be at a plus.' Earlier this month, Fonterra announced it would be reducing its milk solids prices from $5 a kilogram to $5.60 a kilogram Mr Spierings had also received a pay rise of up to 18 per cent last financial year, but froze his own base salary after outrage from farmers Australia's Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce labelled the chief executive's comments as 'very foolish'. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Fonterra for further comment on Mr Spierings' salary. United Dairy Farmers of Victoria president Adam Jenkins said if the CEO's salary was in line with market rates then he did not have a complaint. 'It is a multi-billion dollar company. If you're looking at other companies around the world with other attributes, he would be in line with their salaries that pays for his skill set,' Mr Jenkins told Daily Mail Australia. 'It's a decision for their shareholders in New Zealand and if they're happy with it, that's the way it goes.' Not much is known about the private life of Mr Spierings, who was appointed to the position in 2011. He has more than 30 years' experience in the global dairy industry after serving as the acting chief executive of Dutch dairy co-operative Royal Friesland Foods. His frank explanation for why Australian farmers were coping a hit was also met with criticism. Pictured is Mr Spierings (right) with Fonterra chairman John Wilson (left) and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key (centre) Fonterra has come under fire this week for cutting its milk price paid to farmers by up to 10 per cent and leaving them on the brink of collapse The Dutch-born Glasgow University Master's graduate made the move to New Zealand with his wife and three children. He also started up his own company in the Netherlands that focussed on corporate strategies for consumer goods. Mr Spierings, who towers at 1.96 metres, started navigating the industry in his early 20s after a stint as a rugby player at university. Annab is now suing him and the psychologist who said he was fit for duty He had a history of anger problems, including two road rage incidents He then drove up and shot her, grazing her head and giving her seizures Lori Annab, then 20, said she honked at him after he cut her off in 2014 A former Texas deputy with a history of angry outbursts, including two road rage incidents, was found guilty Thursday of shooting a woman in the head after she honked at him. Kenneth Caplan, 35, was a reserve deputy in the Harris County Constable's Precinct 6 Office when he was honked at by Lori Annab, then 20, after cutting her off on a road in Houston on November 11, 2014. He caught up with the woman, wound down his window and shot her in her head - leaving her alive, but with a head wound that required eight staples to close. Convicted: Kenneth Caplan (pictured), 35, had a history of outbursts when he shot Lori Annab, then 20, in the head after she honked at him on November 11, 2014. He was convicted of aggravated assault Thursday History: Caplan had two road rage incidents on his record, including one against a mother and her three children and another against another police officer in full uniform, when he shot Annab (pictured) Grazed: Annab had to have eight staples in her head wound, which she says also left her suffering seizures. She's now suing Caplan and the psychologist who said he was fit for duty She also suffers from seizures as a result of the wound, her lawyer said. Caplan was convicted of aggravated assault Thursday. Precinct 6 spokeswoman Maria Corrales says that Caplan was an employee of the office's former administration, and that the current administration respects the verdict reached in the case. Caplan had a history of anger issues, raising questions about why he had been hired, ABC reported in February. He had held 21 jobs in five years, 12 of which he told the sheriff's office he had been fired from. And during his time at Precinct 6, which had lasted for more than two years, he had logged five anger-related incidents including two similar road rage ones. One of those incidents involved a mother and her three children - the other involved a Harris County police officer in full uniform. In fact, ABC said, he was kicked out of his first law enforcement academy in 2010, but got approval from psychologist Carole Busick four months later to get back in training. Annab is now suing both Caplan and Busick, Chron said. Incident: Annab managed to call emergency services after she was shot by Caplan, who was not in uniform and was driving a small blue car 'I'm glad to hear (about the conviction) - I'm waiting for the punishment phase,' Annab's attorney, Steve Couch, told the site. 'He's a bad apple.' Annab said Caplan was driving a small blue car when he cut her off on the 610 South Loop near Stella Link in Houston, Click2Houston reported. After she honked her horn at him, he caught up with her, rolled down his window, pointed a gun at her and pulled the trigger. A woman in Caplan's driver seat leaned back to allow him to point the weapon, Annab said. The pair then sped off. The 20-year-old, suffering a deep graze in her head, managed to pull over and call emergency services, who took her to a hospital for treatment. Caplan was off-duty and in civilian clothing when the incident occurred. He has not yet been sentenced. Yesterday in the French section of the Vaticans newspaper, LOsservatore Romano, an exclusive interview finally appeared with the outspoken Bishop Dominique Rey of Toulon-Frejus. Bishop Rey provided the interview when in Rome last month to speak about the current challenges to religious and economic freedom in Europe at the Acton Institutes conference Freedom with Justice: Rerum Novarum and the New Things of Our Time. The May 19 headline Sortir du pret-a-penser (Thinking Outside the Box) was based on the bishops appeal for a deeper study of Leos XIIIs landmark 1891 social encyclical Rerum Novarum and Catholic social doctrine in general, but also his discontent with the way secular Western culture superficially appraises human nature and commonly proposes solutions to social injustice, while leaving God, natural law and human dignity out of the larger picture. Quoting him from the April 20 conference, we read: Any analysis Rerum Novarum is based on the certainty that the answer to the evils of our time will come not so much as a particular technical solution, but more so out of respect for the natural law, that is, for man himself as God created him, and by recognizing Gods place in the society. Only opening up to such transcendence helps resist absolute [forms of] materialism and consumerism. Rey, who is traditional in terms of social doctrine yet has a reputation for creatively applying the Vaticans call for a New Evangelization in a hyper-secularized France, told the LOsservatore Romano journalist Solene Tadie that todays laity and religious alike must go beyond the ready-made thinking (pret-a-penser) of secular materialism when seeking solutions to social problems such as consumerism, exploitation, and large-scale economic failure. According to Rey, these socials ills require thinking beyond that which is normally accepted and set forth by todays culture and which goes to the very core of the Churchs teaching human dignity: that man, created by God, is both individual and social, creative, rational, free, and therefore capable of loving agency through acts of charity, solidarity and responsibility for the common good and in service to his Creator. In his opinion, contemporary secular proposals are nothing more than a repetition of the same old tried-and-failed collectivist and materialist Marxist philosophy which was just as misguided in the 19th century as it still is today: We find today the same difficulties [like] those that were observed in past centuries and especially at the end nineteenth century[and] the usual answer that the state proposes is socialism. Even with Pope Franciss vocal denunciation of a throw-away culture of waste and indifference, he says, the same words appear [again]. His frustration, therefore, has everything to do with Western culture not seeking the truth of the anthropological question (la question anthropologique) and remaining enclosed in common secular opinion, which only amounts to disastrous forms of social engineering and political experiments. Rey, in speaking to Tadie, added that often the media are complicit in being a multiplier effect (effet de multiplicateur) to further compound and ingrain the secular states agenda, so much so that there is a real risk of stifling individual freedom [and fear of expressing] differing views from the majority. You can read the original article published in LOsservatore Romano here. A Missouri woman went into surgery one morning with stones in her gallbladder, and woke up with a very different kind - this time on her left ring finger. A sparkling diamond engagement ring was on Sumiko Jennings' finger after her surgery at the Saint Luke's North hospital in Kansas City earlier this month. Jonathan Higgins, her boyfriend of two years, had asked Dr Matthew Sappington to put the ring on Sumiko's finger before she woke up - for a proposal that she would never forget. Sumiko Jennings, of Kansas City, Missouri, woke up from gallbladder surgery to a sparkling surprise - an engagement ring, to be exact, from her boyfriend Jonathan Higgins (pictured together) Higgins, her boyfriend of two years, had asked Dr Matthew Sappington to put the ring on Sumiko's finger before she woke up - for a proposal that she would never forget. But first, a sedated Sumiko had to realize she was being proposed to. 'She wouldn't look at her left hand for nothing,' Jonathan told WDAF. Sumiko noticed that her nurses kept coming in and out of her room, but she couldn't understand why. Jonathan's mother finally stepped in, telling Sumiko her boyfriend drew all over her hands while she was asleep. Sumiko finally looked down and saw the ring. 'And then I looked at it and I started crying,' she said. At first Sumiko, who was still sedated, didn't even realize she was being proposed to. Jonathan's mother had to trick her into looking at her hand, telling her he had drawn all over it Sumiko was undergoing surgery to have stones removed from her gallbladder (pictured), but woke up to a very different kind of stone on her left ring finger Sumiko later accused Jonathan of never really proposing to her, but he said she just didn't remember. 'I was on my knee for a whole minute trying to talk to you, and you just weren't paying attention,' he said he told his soon-to-be wife. It may not have been traditional, but Jonathan felt it was the best way to show Sumiko that he would 'always be here for her'. Sumiko is recovering from her surgery, and the newly engaged couple couldn't be happier. They have already set a date next year for the 'big' wedding, choosing April 20. The date is the birthday of Sumiko's mother, who passed away when she was just a child. GPS tracking bracelets worn by sex offenders can be removed using an ordinary pair of scissors, a court has been told. During a bail application at Melbourne Magistrates court for a convicted murderer and sex offender now accused of raping a woman, Corrections Victoria official Sharna Clump said the bracelets could be cut off, The Age reported. When asked by prosecutor Jo Piggott how Corrections staff removed them, Ms Clump told the court they can be cut with normal scissors. GPS tracking bracelets worn by sex offenders can be removed using an ordinary pair of scissors, Melbourne Magistrates court has been told This has raised concerns about the quality of the controversial technology since it was introduced three years ago. There have been multiple occasions where the device has malfunctioned including signal drop outs and offenders removing the bracelet, the publication reported. At the hearing on Thursday the accuseds lawyer, Erin Ramsay, suggested her client could be bailed to live at Corella Place- a facility in Ararat, Victoria designed to house sex offenders deemed too dangerous to live in the wider community. Corrections and police argued that the man should be kept in custody. Ms Clump, Corrections Victorias manager of detention and supervision order operations, was called to give evidence at the hearing about the security at Corella. All 53 of Corellas residents are required to wear two types of bracelets. During a bail application at Melbourne Magistrates court for a convicted murderer and sex offender now accused of raping a woman, Corrections Victoria official, Sharna Clump said the bracelets could be cut off This has raised concerns about the quality of the controversial technology since it was introduced three years ago One monitors their location within the facility and the other monitors them when they go out into the community accompanied by a Corrections worker Ms Clump said, the publication reported. Ms Ramsay said there was simply no possibility that her client would re-offend if bailed to Corella. The accused was convicted of murdering a Chinese exchange student while she was walking home from a train station. The court was told that he raped a teenage girl just five months after he was released from prison on parole. He now faces three charges- two of rape and another of attempted rape against the alleged victim in March this year. He was refused bail to Corella and will appear for a committal mention at a later date, the publication reported. A spokeswoman for Corrections Victoria told The Age that 'Victoria uses the best technology available, which is utilised in every Australian jurisdiction and internationally. Alerts are sent to relevant authorities as soon as the devices are tampered with.' Consumers are showing empathy for dairy farmers across the country by buying more expensive brand milk and leaving the cheap house brands on the shelf. The new trend comes after it was revealed earlier this week that dairy farmers were facing huge financial hardship. Consumers from regional areas and cities alike have been quick to do their bit to help out farmers, showing their support for more expensive brands. Scroll down for video Rosslyn Drake shared this picture from Melbourne, saying 'Come on Australia, look after our own!' Karen Ellul shared this photo supporting dairy farmers to the 'Love My Milk' facebook page Industry giants Fonterra and Murray Goulburn announced three weeks ago they would be slashing the raw milk price paid to farmers by up to 10 per cent. In many cases farmers will have to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars because their milk did not sell at the same high price it was bought by processors. Earlier this week The Project did a segment on the milk crisis, with Waleed Aly explaining 'this means farmers will be paid $0.37 per litre of milk when it actually costs them $0.38 to produce it.' Retail expert, Dr Gary Mortimer, from Queensland University of Technology says supermarket wars aren't helping the dairy farmers. 'Shoppers have consistently and routinely been grabbing the cheap milk since January 2011 when the supermarket 'milk wars' first began,' Dr Mortimer said. A facebook user shared this photo of a Woolworth's in Mudgee, in New South Wales, where cheap milk was left untouched on shelves Lovemymilk also shared this photo from a supermarket that shows branded milk shelves empty A Camperdown Woolworths has it's branded milk shelves cleared due to support from consumers But since consumers have been made aware of the exploitation of Australian dairy farmers, many have made a conscious effort to do the right thing and fork out an extra dollar for a more ethical company. Dr Mortimer says social media is helping. 'We feel good about using social media to let other know we "didn't buy the cheap milk and therefore supported dairy farmers"'. LoveMyMilk Facebook pageshared this photo with the caption 'Confused which products you should buy? Look out for these brands. Support dairy farmers when you buy your cheese, butter, cream, yogurt, milk Etc' 'This, in turn, encouraged our friends and family to emulate our behaviour and to tell everyone and so the movement grows,' he said. Coles was quick to react to the new phenomenon. The supermarket announced on Tuesday it would introduce a new, more expensive, product to stores in August, with an extra 20 cents per litre sold to go towards a 'fighting' fund for the struggling dairy industry. Paul Clark from Mornington in Victoria shared this selfie with a carton of milk to show his support David Owen shared this photo of a dairy-stocked fridge, showing his support for local dairy farmers It will continue to sell its two litre cartons for $2, leaving the choice up to customers whether or not to buy from the more expensive range. Many dairy farmers have come forward to share their stories of hardship brought about by low milk prices. 16-year-old Chloe Scott spoke of her admiration for her father earlier this week and pleaded for Agricultural Minister Barnaby Joyce to intervene. After 21 years the Scott dairy farm business in rural Victoria is on the brink of collapse under the weight of increasing debts from its milk payment contract with co-operative Fonterra. 16-year-old Chloe Scott has started a petition asking for Agricultural Minister Barnaby Joyce to intervene and save the family farm Chloe Scott and her mother Melissa have been forced to move out of the family's Boorcan home, leaving her father Brendan to work the property alone and deal with mounting costs. Earlier this month, in the wake of a global price crash, both Fonterra and industry giant Murray Goulburn announced they would be slashing the raw milk price paid to farmers by up to 10 per cent. In many cases farmers will have to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars because their milk did not sell at the same high price it was bought by processors. Facebook users have been taking photos of themselves with branded milk and boycotting cheap house brands Suzanne Chivers showed her support for local dairy farmers by posting this photo on Facbeook Moama, in the Riverina of New South Wales, also saw customers turning their backs on house brand milk The mother of a 12-year-old girl who came back from a school trip with a rope burn around her neck has claimed her daughter was racially attacked. Sandy Rougely's daughter was on an overnight camp-out with her sixth-grade classmates last month when a rope swing got caught around her neck. The student, from Live Oak Classical School, in Waco, Texas, thinks three white boys tied the rope around her neck on purpose. Ms Rougely told the Dallas Morning News that her daughter's severe bruising made it look like someone 'ripped her neck apart and stitched it back together'. Scroll down for video Mother Sandy Rougely claimed her daughter was the victim of racially-motivated attack on a school trip after returning with rope burns (pictured) around her neck Sandy Rougely's daughter was on an overnight camp-out with her sixth-grade classmates last month when a rope swing got caught around her neck The class were playing with the swing, which worked by a child sitting in the seat while the other children pulled a rope to create a pendulum-like motion. The 12-year-old had stopped to watch when she suddenly felt the rope going around her neck from behind, before it pulled against her and dragged across the ground. The girl - who is one of just four black children at the $7,000-a-year private school - said the boys had hold of the rope but it fell to the ground when they let go of it. 'That's why I think it was on purpose,' the girl said. 'I think someone tried to tie it around my neck.' She asked the boys whether they did it on purpose but they denied doing so. Ms Rougely believes the attack was racially-motivated and is now suing the school for $2.7million. The student, from Live Oak Classical School, in Waco, Texas, thinks three white boys tied the rope around her neck on purpose The girl - who is one of just four black children at the $7,000-a-year private school - said the boys had hold of the rope but it fell to the ground when they let go of it The mother said her daughter has been bullied by children at the school for months, with students pushing, kicking and making fun of her on a regular basis. She said the first thing she knew about her daughter being hurt was when she returned from the camp-out with the ligature mark around her neck. Ms Rougely added that none of the teachers or parents who were on the class trip saw the incident. A doctor who was on the trip because she is one of the children's mothers gave the girl ibuprofen and rubbed Vaseline on her neck. The school did not comment on why it did not call Ms Rougely. The school's dean Allison Buras emailed Ms Rougely the day after the trip ended to check on how the girl was doing. 'Did you take her to the doctor? How is she? We were glad to have a doctor on our trip who could check her out or we also might have felt a need to take her in. I remember getting rope burns as a child and they are not fun! I hope she is doing OK,' the email said. Ms Rougely said her daughter's injuries did not come from a rope burn. She took her to hospital the night she came home from the class trip, where doctors scanned the girl's spine because of pain she was experiencing in her neck and shoulders. The girl was prescribed more ibuprofen, antibiotics and an inhaler. Police officers took photos of the injuries but no one has been accused of breaking the law. 'I think there was prejudice at the root of all of this. I didn't want to say it at first. I didn't want to see it like this, in this way,' Ms Rougely said. 'But as I go back and think about the different things that were going on and occurring in the school year, that's all I can see. And nobody did anything about it.' The girl said she believed three white boys tied the rope around her neck on purpose during the class trip The 12-year-old girl is one of just four black children at Live Oak Classical School (pictured) in Waco, Texas Lawyer Levi McCathern, who also represents the Dallas Cowboys, blasted the school for its 'tone-deaf approach'. 'For Live Oak to bury their head in the sand and chalk this incident up to 'kids being kids' is irresponsible but, unfortunately, all too common,' he said. Fellow attorney T. J. Jones said: 'I don't know how you can look at her neck, at the pictures and think this was anything but intentional.' The school accused the attorneys of exploiting the 100th anniversary of the lynching of Jesse Washington in Waco and said the lawyers were only interested in making a fast buck. Washington was beaten, castrated, had his fingers chopped off and was strung up by a chain before being burned alive in 1916 after being convicted in a kangaroo court of murdering and raping the wife of his white employer. A school spokesman said: 'The lawyer claimed that the student's injuries were [from a] racially motivated, intentional attack. Live Oak takes this accusation seriously. 'The school interviewed all student witnesses and teachers who were present and each independently established that the accusation made by the attorney is absolutely false. The injuries were caused accidentally while the students were playing with the swing and attached pull rope. Two of Donald Trump's senior aides aired a campaign strategy disagreement on a New York City street Wednesday night, but sources in the billionaire's inner circle say it was just an ordinary moment of blowing off steam that happens in all pressure-cooker campaigns. The New York Post's gossip section, Page Six, reported that campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and press secretary Hope Hicks were seen in a shouting match that centered on how to announce that Paul Manafort, who was hired to manage Trump's convention delegate process, would be elevated to the loftier role of campaign chairman. One witness to the squabble told the Post: 'Hope was screaming at Corey, "I am done with you!" It was ugly, she was doubled over with her fists clenched. He was stood there looking shocked with his hands on his head.' Scroll down for video Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski (left) and press secretary Hope Hicks (right) were reportedly seen in a shouting match in a New York City street That description is ridiculous, one senior Trump campaign aide told DailyMail.com on Thursday evening, adding that Hicks has made it known that she never said the words attributed to her. A second aide characterized it as a typical campaign staffer dispute. The first source emphasized that Hicks and Lewandowski engaged in a disagreement about campaign strategy that had started earlier Wednesday about what the aide characterized only as an internal discussion. That aide said the incident definitely did not transpire the way it was described in the Post. The two sources declined to go on the record because the campaign considers internal discussions to be confidential. The Trump campaign clarified on Thursday that Lewandowski's role in the campaign wouldn't be diminished at all despite Manafort's promotion. They were supposedly arguing about how to announce that Paul Manafort (pictured), who was hired to manage Trump's convention delegate process, would be elevated to the loftier role of campaign chairman Lewandowksi was Trump's first senior political hire, after David Bossie of the conservative advocacy group Citizens United introduced the two a year ago, Bossie told DailyMail.com last week. And Hicks, a former Ralph Lauren model, has a reputation as a fiercely loyal footsoldier dedicated to keeping her boss the center of attention. Page Six's sources indicated that the disagreement was indeed about how to manage Manafort's elevation, and when to announce it. 'They were arguing how the announcement about Manafort taking more responsibility would be handled,' one told the Post. 'There is an internal struggle to define what Corey's role would be.' Another source told the paper: 'It was a continuation of a discussion about when the announcement would go out. Corey wanted to wait until Thursday to give him a chance to talk to certain people first. Hicks was under pressure by others to make the announcement sooner.' The billionaire's inner circle say it was just an ordinary moment of blowing off steam that happens in all pressure-cooker campaigns Conflicts between high-powered campaign staffers are nothing unusual in the rarefied air of presidential contests. A senior aide to one of Trump's former rivals, who declined to be identified, was sympathetic. 'This kind of stuff happens all the time,' the aide said Thursday. 'You can't be good at this job if you're not high-spirited and determined. 'Trump has always had high-energy people around him, to match his own energy levels as best he can. That's all this is.' A 62-year-old man accused of raping children and supplying alcohol and committing indecent acts against minors over a seven year period is an alleged serial paedophile who may have other victims who have not yet come forward. The man, from the Sunshine Coast suburb of Meridan Plains in Caloundra, 90km north of Brisbane, was due to face Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Friday on multiple child sex charges. Police charged the man on Thursday night with 38 offences, 24 counts of indecent treatment of a child and 11 counts of rape, as well as one count each of supplying liquor to a minor, possessing dangerous drugs and possessing a relevant thing. A 62-year-old 'serial paedohphile' accused of raping children over a seven year period was due to face Maroochydore Magistrates Court (pictured) on Friday on 38 charges of drug, child sex offences and supplying alcohol to a minor Child protection detectives raided the 62-year-old man's home on Thursday and seized hard drives, two mobile phones and several photographs for examination. Detective Senior Sergeant Phil Hurst of the Sunshine Coast Child Protection Investigation Unit said further investigations were under way to identify other potential victims. 'The charges we laid overnight relate to offences committed between 2004 and 2011, but we have reason to believe there may have been other victims as well,' he said. 'We'd also like anyone who may have any knowledge of these matters to come forward as well.' Their newborn son 'kept them going when they could have crumbled' Ashley said the couple were heartbroken and Heartbroken and devastated over the death of their 20-month-old son, a young Perth couple have revealed how the pieces of their heart were put back together when their youngest child was born just two months later. Ashley and Ben Wibberley's, son Levi died in June 2015 after battling Krabbe disease, a fatal degenerative disorder that affects the nervous system, since he was just six months old. Soon after the devastated Wibberleys buried their first-born son during a Mickey Mouse themed funeral, Ashley, 22, gave birth to their family's newest addition, Layton. Ashley and Ben Wibberley, (pictured) from Perth, welcomed their new son, Layton, just two months after their eldest child, Levi, (pictured) died at 20-months-old from Krabbe disease It would have been so easy to slip into depression, Ashley said, but Layton (pictured) 'makes it feel like everything is going to be OK' 'He saved us he is what kept us going to be honest. We could have crumbled,' Ashley said of Layton (pictured) 'We were so heartbroken and we'd fallen in love again,' Ashley told Daily Mail Australia. 'He saved us he is what kept us going to be honest. We could have crumbled.' 'A part of us had been taken and the birth of Layton kept us grounded.' It would have been so easy to slip into a depression, Ashley said, but Layton 'makes it feel like everything is going to be OK.' Levi (pictured) died in June 2015 after battling Krabbe disease since he was six months old The young family have been teaching Layton (pictured cuddling a pillow of Levi) about his older brother 'We were so heartbroken and we'd fallen in love again,' Ashley (pictured) said Levi behaved like a normal child and was growing at a typical rate until he hit six months. After he was diagnosed, the young parents went to a specialist in America, to learn how to care for their young son properly and to manage his pain. They wanted to have a 'raw conversation' about what to expect, they said. Most children who are diagnosed with early onset of Krabbe disease do not live past the age of two. Despite the fact that he was in pain every day, Ashley said that Levi was 'resilient and never really complained about it.' Layton, (pictured) who is now about 10 months old, doesn't show any symptoms of Krabbe disease which affects about one in every 100,000 children. After receiving Levi's (pictured) diagnosis, the young parents travelled to America to get specialist advice on how to care for their young son and manage his pain 'He went though some excruciating pain and no matter what, he would always finish off his day happy,' they said. The family made the most of their time together and went travelling - from day trips to a journey to Disneyland in Hong Kong to see Levi's hero Mickey Mouse. Layton, who is now about 10 months, doesn't show any symptoms of Krabbe disease which affects about one in every 100,000 children. He also has a bubbly personality, his proud parents say. Ashley said Layton (pictured) has a bubbly personality like Levi 'All the things that Layton does, he does double because he's making up for the fact that Levi couldn't' 'They're very similar but they're so different as well Layton is a little but cheekier than Levi was,' Ashley laughed. 'We say that all the things that Layton does, he does double because he's making up for what Levi couldn't do.' The young family are now looking to the future and have started to build their own home. 'We're taking time to appreciate our lives because, although we've been through so much heartbreak, we still have such a beautiful life.' A social media user posted an unfortunate picture of Immigration Minister Peter Dutton where a shadow makes him look he has a Hitler moustache on a campaign billboard. The minister claimed earlier this week 'illiterate' and 'innumerate' refugees would take Australian jobs and end up 'languishing in unemployment queues' if the country opened the door to more asylum seekers. Since then Mr Dutton has been mercilessly mocked on social media with some users pointing out his own spelling and grammar mistakes in his old posts. A social media user posted an unfortunate picture of Immigration Minister Peter Dutton (left) where a shadow makes him look he has a Hitler moustache on a campaign billboard Mr Dutton has been mercilessly mocked on social media for his spelling and grammar mistakes in old posts In one post from September 10, 2009, Mr Dutton wrote: 'Just done an interview at ABC's studio radio/TV on labor's ideological attacks on private health insurance.' Melbourne Greens MP Adam Bandt tweeted the corrections as: 'Gold' Social media users dug up Mr Dutton's old tweets from 2009-12, which were ironically riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes. In one post from September 10, 2009, Mr Dutton wrote: 'Just done an interview at ABC's studio radio/TV on labor's ideological attacks on private health insurance.' The inaccuracies were then corrected in red by Buzzfeed's political editor Mark Di Stefano. Melbourne Greens MP Adam Bandt tweeted the corrections as: 'Gold'. Kiera Gorden wrote: 'What was that about refugees & illiteracy? Mark Di Stefano has kindly corrected your tweet.' Users unearthed another nonsensical tweet where Mr Dutton wrote: 'I am doning my blog at dailytelegraph.com.au'. A Twitter user commented: 'Theres never been a better time to find every single typo in Peter #Dutton's timeline #AUSPOL #SoIlliterate #ENGLISH'. Kiera Gorden wrote: 'What was that about refugees & illiteracy? Mark Di Stefano has kindly corrected your tweet' The minister claimed earlier this week 'illiterate' and 'innumerate' refugees would take Australian jobs and end up 'languishing in unemployment queues' if the country opened the door to more asylum seekers Lismore refugee and disability support worker Adeyemi Johnson (pictured) and his family fled war-torn Sierra Leone and moved to Lismore, 734km north of Sydney, in 2008 under the Government's Humanitarian Settlement scheme It comes as a refugee challenged Mr Dutton to a game of scrabble in response to his remarks about asylum seekers. Lismore refugee and disability support worker Adeyemi Johnson and his family fled war-torn Sierra Leone and moved to Lismore, 734km north of Sydney, in 2008 under the Government's Humanitarian Settlement scheme, Northern Star reported. 'If he wants a Scrabble match I will definitely give him a run for his money,' Mr Johnson told the Northern Star. The former accountant and journalist became an Australia citizen in 2013. Mr Johnson fled Sierra Leone while working as a journalist, claiming he was targeted by the government for exposing corruption. He now lives in Lismore CBD with his wife and three children aged between 17 and 24. Mr Johnson is the president of the Lismore Scrabble Club and is competing in an international online Scrabble competition. Social media users dug up Mr Dutton's old tweets from 2009-12, which were ironically riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes 'If he wants a Scrabble match I will definitely give him a run for his money,' Mr Johnson Accommodation in the offshore processing facility on Nauru 'First of all I want to express my thanks to the government for allowing refugees to come to this country who are running from war. You opened your doors to us. I want to doff my hat to you guys for that,' Mr Johnson told Northern Star. But he said Mr Dutton's remarks were a slap in the face for all refugees coming to Australia. 'But it's unfortunate that a man like Peter Dutton is using a sentiment like that, that refugees are illiterate and take jobs. It's very unfortunate because I don't think he ever thought of the repercussions. It's really a slap to the face for all refugees coming here.' 'Coming into a new country to work, one of the things is that you have to integrate and you have to give back. You don't want to sit on the money you get from Centrelink. You have to use your skills. '90 per cent of people who are my family are all Aussies, because I am an Aussie. I belong here.' Earlier this week Mr Dutton said unemployment will rise dramatically if Australia opens its door to refugees. 'For many people they won't be numerate or literate in their own language let alone English... these people would be taking Australian jobs and there is no question about that,' Mr Dutton told Sky News. 'For many of them that would be unemployed, they would languish in unemployment queues and on Medicare and the rest of it so there would be huge cost and there's no sense in sugar-coating that,' the immigration minister added. Labor has pledged to ramp up the intake of refugees to 27,000 per year while the Greens want to bring that number to 50,000 - a move which Mr Dutton blasted on Sky. Minister for Immigration Peter Dutton arrives for a radio interview at Parliament House in Canberra But he was smooched by an Adelaide woman in a more fruitful encounter is hitting campaign trail with flurry of meet and greets Posing for photos with smiling babies is a timeworn tactic for politicians to boost popularity, but Bill Shorten was fighting an uphill battle getting cooperation from this bewildered bub. The opposition leader was snapped with 17-month-old toddler Levi Asiak and his three-year-old brother old Xavier Asiak during a meet and greet to the Mt Druitt Medical Centre in Western Sydney as he hits the election campaign trail. Mr Shorten appeared to be looking to seize the photo opportunity, hovering over the baby and giving him a playful tickle but Levi was not having a bar of it, ogling back at him with a mask of fear. Scroll down for video Mr Shorten appeared to be preparing to seize the moment, but Levi was not having a bar of it, ogling at the Labour leader with a mask of concern Bill Shorten meets 17-month-old toddler Levi Asiak and his three-year-old brother old Xavier Asiak during a meet and greet Mr Shorten has hit the campaign trail for the 2016 Federal Election Campaign, which means shopping centre visits, picture opportunities and where possible baby photos. Other images show him leaning awkwardly beside a mum and bub in Sydneys Cambelltown, perhaps tender from the former snubbing. In Another he show posed beside a bub on one knee on the Central Coasts Wyong but with a similarly uneimpressed reception. Thankfully its not all cold-shoulders for Mr Shorten: on Wednesday he received an outpouring of affection from a woman in a wheelchair, who smacked a kiss on his cheek on the streets of Adelaide. Margo Carey gave him a brief talking-to about tram access for people with a disability before demanding a firm smooch from the politician. Mr Shorten still has six weeks to secure the invaluable smiling baby snap, but only time will tell if he can seal the deal before its too late. Here Shorten meets a mother and her child on a street walk in Campbelltown Mr Shorten has hit the campaign trail for the 2016 Federal Election Campaign, which means shopping centre visits, picture opportunities and where possible baby-photos Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten visits a medical practice as part of the 2016 election campaign in Wyong Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten is kissed by local Margo as part of the 2016 election campaign in Adelaide Revelations: The Goddard inquiry was launched in the wake of the Jimmy Savile (pictured) scandal One hundred allegations of child sex abuse are being passed to police every month as part of an inquiry launched in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal, a senior officer has revealed. Simon Bailey, head of the police unit co-ordinating claims of historic child sex abuse in England and Wales, said he expected to be handed a total of 30,000 new reports by the Goddard inquiry. The Norfolk Chief Constable also estimated that officers would be looking into about 200,000 claims of child sex abuse by 2020, given the current trajectory. Mr Bailey told the Guardian: 'It is fair to say I am surprised by the extent of abuse being exposed, it is shocking. In trying to get a message across to the public about the scale of this, it is important to remember that behind each of these figures there is a victim. 'We are seeing a significant rise in the number of referrals each month from the Goddard inquiry, and these allegations relate to abuse in a range of institutions from the church, to schools, the scouts and hospitals.' The inquiry, chaired by Dame Lowell Goddard, a New Zealand Judge, will examine how public bodies handled their duty of care to protect children from abuse. It is holding 13 investigations into abuse at institutions including Westminster, the Catholic Church, Church of England and Lambeth borough. It is also investigating grooming and sexual exploitation in Rochdale, Devon, Cornwall, Oxford and Rotherham, and at the Medomsley detention centre in Durham. A further 12 investigations will be run as part of the inquiry, and most of the 25 total investigations will lead to public hearings. As part of its nationwide 'truth project', the inquiry opened new offices in Manchester on Thursday, inviting victims of abuse to come forward and speak about their experiences, many of which have remained silent for decades. Two thousand victims have already come forward to give details on their abuse, and a further 600 have said they would provide their full testimony to the truth project. Gabrielle Shaw, chief executive officer for the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, told the Guardian: 'We have lifted the lid on a hidden problem, now survivors are coming forward in large numbers. Investigation: The Goddard inquiry, chaired by Dame Lowell Goddard (pictured), a New Zealand Judge, will examine how public bodies handled their duty of care to protect children from abuse 'These people were failed by institutions in childhood. They deserve to be heard now.' Mr Bailey's comments about the scale of alleged abuse claims come after criticism of the police following the Operation Midland debacle. In March this year, the 2 million, 16-month police inquiry into historical child abuse was shut down without any charges being brought. Officers had earlier claimed the accusations against figures including former Conservative MP Harvey Proctor and head of the Army, D-Day hero Lord Bramall, were credible and true. Three brothers facing charges relating to pranks involving fake bombs and shootings were seen arriving at a Melbourne court as they continue to upload videos which feature more stunts including a mock public execution. Max Jalal, 20, his brother Arman, 18 and their co-accused, 16, were arrested in February following a series of 'prank' videos filmed in Melbourne which involved a one scene where they pretended to shoot a young girl and her father with a fake AK-47 machine gun in a drive-by shooting. The three young men, from South Morang, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday after facing charges of public nuisance. Scroll down for video Max Jalal, 20, (pictured left) his brother Arman, 18 (pictured right) and co-accused, 16, arrived at Melbourne Magistrates Court facing charges relating to pranks involving fake bombs and shootings They were arrested in February following 'prank' videos filmed in Melbourne which involved a one scene where they pretended to shoot a young girl and her father The three young men, from South Morang, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday after facing charges of public nuisance Just weeks after being arrested by counter-terrorism officers, the 'Jalal Brothers' began posting videos again to YouTube channel and Facebook page, which has been liked more than four million times. One video posted as recently as Friday morning featured a compilation of their videos, including a public beheading prank. One video featured a compilation of some of their favourite stunts with the message: 'DAMN JALALS, back at it again with the bomb pranks'. The compilation included footage of a man in flowing white robes chucking a 'bomb bag' into lifts, onto shopping centre escalators and at the doorstep of homes. One video featured a compilation of some of their favourite stunts with the message: 'DAMN JALALS, back at it again with the bomb pranks' The compilation included footage of a man in flowing white robes chucking a 'bomb bag' into lifts, onto shopping centre escalators and at the doorstep of homes The video was published after the trio fronted Melbourne Magistrates Court in March, where bail conditions which prevented them from uploading more videos were revised. After the arrests in February, the Jalals revealed the Facebook prank videos had been staged with family and friends. Their 'shooting' video of a father and daughter running scared from a drive-by shooting actually featured Max Jalal as the father and a relative as the daughter. The video was published after the trio fronted Melbourne Magistrates Court in March, where bail conditions which prevented them from uploading more videos were revised After the arrests in February, the Jalals revealed the Facebook prank videos had been staged with family and friends Another video posted after their arrest shows one of the brothers on a hoverboard with their head covered by a black wig and wearing all white. He approaches a group of young men waiting on a train station, who run off frightened by the costume and accompanying scream. It's believed police were called in after this stunt and spoke with them on the platform. The video then takes viewers to a gym where two men are caught out, one crashing off the back of a treadmill and another reeling from 'shock' as he leaves the premises. In the final scene at a shopping centre a young man talking on the phone reacts angrily, spinning around and knocking the Jalal brother off his hover-board with a punch to the head. He approaches a group of young men waiting on a train station, who run off frightened by the costume and accompanying scream In the final scene at a shopping centre a young man talking on the phone reacts angrily, spinning around and knocking the Jalal brother off his hover-board with a punch to the head A struggling mother-of-three with $8 in her bank account likely to have her electricity disconnected has generously turned down $5,000 to help a young mum attend her father's funeral. Kate, who works two jobs to support her family, was asked by chance on the street this week to join Kyle and Jackie O in their KIIS 106.5 Sydney studio to take part in their Give Or Take segment. The mother-of-three was relayed the story of Ashleigh, whose father had just died and is in debt after flying home to New Zealand to farewell him at the funeral. Tasked with the difficult job of deciding who should keep $5,000 of the station's money - herself or a complete stranger - Kate has been hailed a generous hero for passing on the thousands, only for Kyle and Jackie O to pass on the kindness to her with money from their own pockets. Scroll down for video Mother-of-three Kate (pictured) turned down $5,000 from Kyle and Jackie O for a complete stranger to keep, despite having just $8 in her bank account and the likelihood her electricity will be disconnected shortly The Sydney mother said she worked nights as a cleaner at her daughter's pre-school, as well as another job over weekends while her husband works equally hard. With just $8 in her bank account, her eldest son would likely be denied the braces he needed. $5,000 would have gone a long way for Kate, but 24 hours later when she returned to hand down her decision - she passed on the money to a stranger instead. 'I know we need it, but we'll manage. I didn't have this money yesterday, and I didn't have it the day before, and I will probably not have it tomorrow,' Kate told the radio hosts on KISS 106.5. $5,000 would have gone a long way for Kate, but 24 hours later when she returned to hand down her decision - she passed on the money to a stranger, Ashleigh (left), instead - Ashleigh is a mother-of-two struggling to pay off debt after flying to New Zealand for a funeral after her father died suddenly Kate had been plucked of the street at random by KIIS 106.5 Sydney radio for the Give Or Take segment Amazed at her generosity, Jackie O reminded the mother-of-three that Ashleigh was a stranger she'd never met. 'I know, but I just really think that there should be more people that help people in the world, I think it would be a nicer place,' Kate said. 'I just think I have to do this for my kids which sounds weird, because really I should take the money for my kids.' 'This is a life lesson you're teaching them, not just a quick win,' Kyle replied, while Jackie O insisted she likely needed the money more than Ashleigh. It was then that Ashleigh joined them in the studio, and Kate told them she would let her have the money. She added through tears: 'I'm so sorry to my family'. Luckily for Kate, Kyle and Jackie O stepped up and pulled together a further $5,000 of their own money. 'Kyle and I could not let you walk out of here without anything,' Jackie O said. 'I know we need it, but we'll manage. I didn't have this money yesterday, and I didn't have it the day before, and I will probably not have it tomorrow,' Kate told the radio hosts on KISS 106.5 Ashleigh and Kate hug when the mother-of-three allows the total stranger to keep the $5,000 'I cannot let you do what you did and walk out of her and still struggle,' her co-host added. 'I've got the money, I'm happy to pass it on to you. 'You needed it and you gave it to someone else. We should pass it on, pass on the kindness and generosity.' Kate said that's what she'd always told her children to do, too. Ashleigh's father had unexpectedly died on ANZAC Day of a heart attack, and was forced to put $2,500 on her credit card she's now struggling to pay off to attend the funeral in New Zealand. She said her partner suffered an injury at work a few years prior which had impacted the family's ability to earn. At the funeral, Ashleigh had promised her mother she would return soon and the $5,000 money from Give Or Take means she'll be able to do that and grieve without the financial stress. 'I just think I have to do this for my kids which sounds weird, because really I should take the money for my kids,' Kate said, giving away the money 'I cannot let you do what you did and walk out of her and still struggle,' Kyle said. 'I've got the money, I'm happy to pass it on to you' She said the added $5,000 wouldn't just make a difference to her, but also to her grieving mother. 'I've always thought: "I just wish there was more people like my dad in the world". 'And I found someone, this is what my dad would do as well,' Ashleigh said of Kate's generosity. Kate has been widely praised as a hero on social media after video of the touching scenes was shared online. The Kyle and Jackie O Facebook post has been viewed more than two million times, and been shared 30,000 times. 'I can't stop crying watching this,' one listener wrote on Facebook. 'My heart hurts how beautiful this woman Kate is. I wish there were more people like this on Earth.' 'I can't believe that this lady gave the money to a perfect stranger. She is one in a million,' another said. 'If no one offered to give Kate the money I was going to call in and pay her electricity bill. God bless you Kate. That is true selflessness right there. Good on you x.' 'Kyle and I could not let you walk out of here without anything,' Jackie O said. Each of the hosts gave Kate $2,500 of their own money A man has died at a dairy farm after apparently being 'sucked' into the power take off (PTO) of his feeder, police say. Paramedics rushed to a lot-feeding farm in Echuca West, in Victoria's north, about 9.20am on Friday morning to the scene of what is believed to have been an accident. The 61-year-old man is thought to have crawled beneath the feeder while the PTO was switched on. The 61-year-old dairy farmer is believed to have clambered beneath the feeder while the power take off machine was switched on (stock image of Victorian cows) Paramedics rushed to the farm but were unable to save the man (stock photo of crossbreed dairy cows) 'It appears he's got caught up in what's called a PTO, which is a power take off, under the feeder,' said Sergeant Liam Maher. Investigators believe he became caught on the PTO which then pulled the man up into the rotating machine. Sgt Maher said police were unsure why the man crawled underneath the feeder resulting in the fatal injuries. The incident occurred at a farm in Echuca West, in the Victoria's northern reaches 'We can assume he probably hasn't turned it off when he's gone to check it which may have prevented this,' he said, describing the incident as 'all very messy'. Worksafe will investigate what caused the incident. Tanya Martin lives in a tent with her autistic son because her insurance company refuses to fix the damage caused to her house in a freak storm last year. Her home in East Maitland, NSW, is infested with mould after it was flooded in a 'super storm' last April - yet insurer AAMI refuses to pay Ms Martin a cent. The mother of two has battled the insurer for six months to have her house fixed, only to be told the mould has nothing to do with the flooding and is her problem to deal with, Fairfax Media reports. Tanya Martin is living in a tent with her two children - including an autistic son - because her house is infested with toxic mould In a post petitioning AAMI on Change.org, Ms Martin said: We are living like refugees. We have all been sick and have been advised that we should not be living here because it is highly toxic but I cannot afford to pay rent plus the mortgage. I go without to pay my insurance premiums because I cannot afford it if something like this happens. I am now left with a house that I cannot live in, that I cannot fix or sell. I did not think that I would have to fight AAMI just to get what I have been paying them premiums for. Ms Martin said she could not live in the property because of the toxic mould - but she could not afford to pay rent somewhere else THE FREAK 100-YEAR STORM WHICH FLOODED TANYA MARTIN'S HOUSE Tanya Martin's house lies in the Hunter Valley region of NSW. In April 2015 the Hunter Valley was hit by the strongest storm it has seen in more than 100 years. The storm killed four people and caused $800million worth of damage. The torrential rain flooded huge tracts of land and properties were battered by cyclone-force winds. Although Ms Martin's property was only lightly flooded - the dampness from the storm has caused toxic mould to grow throughout the house. Ms Martins home was affected by minor flooding in last years storm the worst downfall in NSWs Hunter Valley for more than a century. In the months following the flood, mould slowly crept throughout her damp house eventually leaving it toxic and unliveable. AAMI told Ms Martin that the mould grew due to pre-existing conditions, and might have been caused by a leaky gutter. A subsequent building report disputed the insurer's claims. Ms Martin said: 'When I countered them with reports, they did not factor it in or even take it into consideration. 'They discounted them entirely.' Ms Martin has appealed to the Financial Ombudsman and is on a public housing waiting list to find somewhere to live in the meantime. A spokesman for AAMI said: 'We empathise with Ms Martins situation. 'While we cannot comment specifically on this case due to privacy considerations, its important for home owners to be aware that should they need to lodge a claim for damage caused by a storm or other event, AAMIs building policy does not cover pre-existing damage that may have been caused by maintenance issues. 'We understand Ms Martins frustration and would also like this matter to be resolved. 'The matter is currently with the Financial Service Ombudsman for review and we will abide by their decision.' An Australian man who was assaulted twice in as many weeks in Bali has died after suffering significant head injuries in a brutal late-night home invasion on May 11. John Bourke, 63, had been in a medically induced coma at a hospital in Denpasar since undergoing seven hours of emergency surgery more than a week ago. The retired engineer, from Darwin, was found in a critical condition at his Kerobokan villa after what's believed to have been a 'targeted attack' on the expat. Mr Bourke recently asked a friend to look after his dog in case anything happened to him. Retired engineer John Bourke, 63, was attacked twice in two weeks and made an eerie request for his friend to take care of his beloved dog in case anything happened to him. He died overnight in a Bali hospital Mr Bourke underwent seven hours of surgery and was placed in a coma after the May 11 attack Friends posted the notification of his death on Facebook , with the words: 'For all friends and peoples who love, care and pray for John. This morning, about 1:00 AM, Mr Neil John Bourke has passed away. Rest in Peace John. See you again in God's presence in eternity.' John Bourke, 63, suffered fatal injuries after being brutally assaulted inside his Bali villa A pastor friend has posted the notification of his death on Facebook, with the words: 'For all friends and peoples who love, care and pray for John. This morning, about 1:00 AM, Mr Neil John Bourke has passed away. Rest in Peace John. See you again in God's presence in eternity.' Dr Gipsy Ayu, a volunteer who spent hours by Mr Bourke's bedside, said doctors had worked to reduce the swelling around his brain. Mr Bourke's wife Bertha travelled to Bali to be with him, while several other Australians travelling or living in the area rallied at his bedside to offer emotional support. The retired engineer was found in a critical condition at his blood spattered Kerobokan villa (pictured) Mr Bourke's wife Bertha (right) flew to Bali after news came through of the attack on the 63-year-old A CAT scan of Mr Bourke's brain, with white patches showing bleeding on the brain Police continue to investigated the attack but were unable to get Mr Bourke's account. It's believed nothing was taken from Mr Bourke's home during the home invasion. It was suggested the attack was motivated by a property dispute, according to Nine News. Polce Fanggidae, who had been staying in Mr Bourke's villa at the time of the attack, said he found the expat lying in a pool of blood after hearing noises throughout the night. 'When I was asleep, around 1.30am, I heard noises, but I didn't think anything of it and went back to sleep. By 4.30am, I heard louder noises,' he told the Brisbane Times. Mr Bourke, 63, is believed to have relocated from Darwin to Bali around a decade ago 'When [John] didn't answer, I looked down from the second floor and saw him in the living room, covered in blood. There were trails of blood from his room to the living room,' he added. Mr Polce, who has been too afraid to return to the villa, said he felt Mr Bourke was expecting the vicious attack as he asked him to take care of his beloved dog in case the worst transpired. 'John said to me about three days ago, if anything happened to him, if he died, he wanted me to take care of the dog. He cares a lot about the dog,' he told the Brisbane Times. Another friend, Brandon Ingram, said Mr Bourke had been attacked with a machete-type weapon. Mr Bourke's neighbour, who did not want to be identified, said he thinks the attack was planned and that an assault which took placed inside his home almost two weeks earlier was a botched attempt on his life. Another friend, Brandon Ingram, said Mr Bourke had been attacked with a machete-type weapon 'John said to me about three days ago, if anything happened to him, if he died, he wanted me to take care of the dog. He cares a lot about the dog,' Mr Polce said He told ninemsn that Mr Bourke's dog alerted him when an intruder armed with a stick broke into the house 11 days earlier. 'A guy came into the villa and beat John but he managed to defend himself and the assailant fled,' he said. He said both times that valuable items inside Mr Bourke's attack remained untouched which led him to believe Mr Bourke was the target. 'I believe it was a targeted attack. Both times were a planned attack, the first one just didn't go to plan.' A 14-year-old boy has been arrested for using Snapchat to demand nude pictures from female classmates at school. The teenager, who is a student at Simon Baruch Middle School in Manhattan, New York, is accused of bullying multiple girls for months through the photo-sharing app and FaceTime. He also allegedly forced the victims to touch his penis during lunch breaks after exposing himself to them. According to police he threatened to 'expose' the girls if they didn't send him explicit pictures. A 14-year-old boy from Simon Baruch Middle School in Manhattan, New York, has been arrested for demanding nude pictures from female classmates at school The NYPD says he is facing multiple charges including promoting sexual performance of a child as well as forcible touching, PIX 11 reported. The bullying is said to began last October and then ended last Thursday when he was arrested. Stephanie Morrissey, a parent of a teacher at the school, told the TV station: 'They do have actual meetings that parents can go to about social media and they also have classes for the kids as well.' The exact number of victims was not revealed. Some of them were students at the school. The Department of Education says the school made the NYPD aware of the situation when they learned of it. The NYPD says the boy, who has not been identified, used Snapchat and FaceTime for months to bully the girls into sending explicit photos. He has also been accused of forcing them into sexual acts during lunch breaks Spokeswoman Toya Holness told DNAInfo: 'This is an alarming incident. School staff immediately notified authorities and its being investigated. 'Nothing is more important than the safety and security of all students and staff, and we are providing ongoing support to the school.' The suspect has not been named because he is being charged as a juvenile. Advertisement When imagining typical a Shakespeare performance, you might be tempted to think of an all-male cast performing in elaborate head-to-toe costumes complete with neck ruffs and capes. So you might be surprised to find that this troupe of nude women in New York's Central Park are performing The Bard's Tempest as part of the city's season of outdoor theater. The cast members, who are part of The Outdoor Co-ed Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society, decided to put on the show to highlight the restrictions that civilization puts on people's bodies. While Prospero and Miranda, who have been exiled on a Caribbean Island for 12 years, start the show fully nude the more civilized characters who are washed ashore start out wearing costumes before discarding them as the show goes on. Producer Charles Ardai told Metro US: 'Part of his appeal is that Shakespeare is unimpeachably artistic. Nobody who hears youre performing Shakespeare could possibly question that what youre doing is in the service of art.' While the Parks and Recreation department initially turned down the concept, they were eventually persuaded after the New York Civil Liberties Union weighed in, showing that such a performance would be legal. Toplessness, which the group typically indulge in while reading in the park, is legal everywhere in New York - and while full nudity is usually prohibited, it is allowed in the name of art. Members of New York's Outdoor Co-ed Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society put on the production in Central Park at Summit Rock The all-female show was designed to highlight the restrictions placed upon people's bodies by society, according to the group The characters of Prospero (left, played by Gina Marie Russell) and Miranda (right, played by Marisa Roper) start the show fully nude having been abandoned on a Caribbean Island for 12 years Meanwhile the characters washed ashore from civilized society start the production clothed, then shed their outfits as the play goes on In total the play involves 13 female performers who put on the show over two days in New York's Central Park While toplessness is legal everywhere in New York, full nudity is typically prohibited unless it is in the name of art Aside from Prospero and Miranda, Airel the fairy (pictured being played by Reanna Roane) and her nymphs are the only other characters who start the show nude The Tempest is not the only Shakespeare play to be performed in Central Park featuring fully nudity, a performance of Henry V back in 2003 featuring Liev Schreiber also featured nudity In contrast to traditional Shakespeare, where all of the parts were played by men, the group decided to have their cast be all-female Kara Lynn (left) playing Ferdinand meets his future bride Miranda while still fully clothed towards the start of the production However, as the play progresses Ferdinand eventually undresses just like Miranda, right, played by Marisa Roper The production runs for two days in Central Park on May 19 and 20 and, in keeping with New York's outdoor theater tradition, is free to see Advertisement A monster storm has brought abnormally high tide to the coast of Western Australia, with surfers riding waves of up to seven metres high before heavy rain, wind of up to 125km/h, thunderstorm and possible hail strikes. While a severe weather warning has been issued for the south of the state, the east coast of Australia will continue the stretch of mostly sunny skies and warm weather over the weekend. The strongest cold front of the year will hit the southern half of Western Australia about midnight, with possible flooding in areas expecting up to 50mm of rain. A monster storm has brought abnormally high tide to the coast of Western Australia, with surfers riding waves of up to seven metres high The surfers took advantage of the swell the storm has brought along the coast, ignoring warnings from authorities A weather map shows the strongest cold front of the year set to hit the southern half of Western Australia about midnight, with possible flooding in areas expecting up to 50mm of rain Surfers are taking advantage of the swell the storm has brought along the coast, ignoring warnings from authorities about the dangerous conditions. On Twitter on Friday, Surf Life Saving WA warned residents of the 'dangerous conditions on our coast this weekend'. 'Admire from afar do not risk your own safety,' they wrote on social media. Western Australian Police shared the sentiment, warning on Twitter: 'WE STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST COASTAL ACTIVITIES SUCH AS SURFING, BEACH AND ROCK FISHING & BOATING DURING THIS PERIOD.' On Twitter on Friday, Surf Life Saving WA warned residents of the 'dangerous conditions on our coast this weekend' Bureau of Meteorology warned on Friday of higher than normal tides which could cause flooding in low-lying coastal areas Bureau of Meteorology warned on Friday of higher than normal tides which could cause flooding in low-lying coastal areas, particularly along the west coast during Saturday morning around the time of high tide. 'Dangerous surf conditions which could cause some beach erosion are also likely.' BOM said they expected the storm to strike Perth about 6am on Saturday with strong winds, 20-33mm of rain and the chance of thunderstorm and possible hail. The severe weather warning released on Friday relates to people in the Central West, Lower West, South West, South Coastal, South East Coastal, Great Southern and Central Wheat Belt regions including Perth, Geraldton, Dalwallinu, Jurien Bay, York, Mandurah, Bunbury, Busselton, Margaret River, Bridgetown, Albany, Katanning, Narrogin, Southern Cross and Esperance. The severe weather warning released on Friday relates to people in Perth, Geraldton, Dalwallinu, Jurien Bay, York, and Mandurah But on the east coast the weather will be much better with Sydney 22 degrees on Saturday and mostly sunny 'The first significant cold front of the year is expected to affect southwest WA during Saturday,' BOM warned. 'The strong cold front is likely to cause widespread damaging winds to 100km/h that could result in damage to homes and property. 'In isolated areas dangerous gusts in excess of 125km/h could cause significant damage or destruction to homes and property. 'People in the southwest of WA experience a front as windy as this about five times per year.' Department of Fire and Emergency Services echoed the warning in a release on Friday. They urged residents to take precautionary measures to protect themselves and their property including tying down loose objects, outdoor furniture and boats and ensure pets and animals are safe. The east coast of the country will be lapping up the warm weather, with clear skies also forecast for Sunday Weekend weather in the major capital cities across the country Sydney Saturday: max 22, mostly sunny Sunday: max 24, sunny Melbourne Saturday: max 20, mostly cloudy Sunday: max 20, mostly sunny Perth Saturday: max 22, showers, possible storms Sunday: max 22, showers, possible storms Brisbane Saturday: max 28, sunny Sunday: max 27, mostly sunny Adelaide Saturday: max 23, mostly sunny Sunday: max 22, winy and rain Western Australia Saturday: max 23, showers, possible storms Sunday: max 23, showers, possible storms Source: Weatherzone Meanwhile, the east coast of the country will be lapping up warm weather, according to Weatherzone. Sydney will be 22 degrees on Saturday and mostly sunny, followed by 24 on Sunday with clear skies which comes after a 'poor' air quality rating after a smog covered the city due to regular back burning. Air quality in north west Sydney was 60 per cent worse than Beijing but has returned back to an acceptable 90 on the index, with the eastern suburbs registering 72. Melbourne will be a little milder at 20 degrees on Saturday and mostly cloudy. The maximum on Sunday is expected to remain at 20 degrees, but mostly sunny. Brisbane will be sunny with a maximum of 28 degrees on Saturday, followed by 27 and mostly sunny on Sunday. Adelaide will see a bit of rain over the weekend. The South Australian capital is expected to be mostly sunny on Saturday with a maximum of 23 degrees, followed by 22 on Sunday with wind and rain. Sydneysiders enjoying the warm weather took to social media with one user commenting: 'Sydney? Really? Stop it!' at the beautiful weather at Cremorne Point Walk (pictured) The air quality index measures the concentration of pollution particles - such as dust, smoke or dirt - hanging in the air and was 60 per cent worse in Sydney due to regular back burning to reduce the risk of bushfires near the New South Wales city Sydney woke up to a haze of thick smoke on Thursday morning, seen here surrounding Anzac Bridge. The air quality has since returned back to an acceptable 90 on the index, with the eastern suburbs registering 72 Melbourne will be a little milder at 20 degrees on Saturday and mostly cloudy. The maximum on Sunday is expected to remain at 20 degrees, but mostly sunny Orange sunsets in Adelaide (pictured) will turn to grey over the weekend with the city expecting a bit of rain over the weekend One Instagram user from Melbourne tried to enjoy the 20 degree weather in Melbourne's Brighton Beach (pictured) commenting on how 'beautiful' it was there People still made their way to St. Kilda's Beach in Melbourne although temperatures did not hit highs. One Instagram user commented on the crisp autumn air and cold water at the beach (pictured) Brisbane will be sunny with a maximum of 28 degrees on Saturday, followed by 27 and mostly sunny on Sunday with beautiful sunsets hitting the city on Friday afternoon (pictured) Oshin's chance at survival has already diminished with treatment delays In March, court ordered he be treated with chemo despite their opposition A six-year-old boy with cancer will not be forced to undergo radiotherapy after a court sided with his parents who opposed the treatment. Oshin Kiszko, from Perth, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour last year, but his parents opposed the treatment recommended by doctors due to the side effects. A court order in March forced Oshin to receive chemotherapy and he was given two cycles of the treatment. As he gave the order earlier this year, Judge Thackray admitted the chances of Oshin surviving more than five years even with treatment were slim. Family Court Chief Judge Stephen Thackray considered this week whether Oshin should also be given radiation and handed down his judgement on Friday, saying the parents had agreed to continue chemotherapy instead. Scroll down for video Perth boy Oshin Kiszko, six, (pictured) will not be forced to undergo radiotherapy for a malignant brain tumour, family court chief Judge Stephen Thackray decided on Friday Justice Thackray ruled in favour of Oshin's parents, Angela Kiszko (left) and Colin Strachan (right), who declined treatment for their son because they didn't want his brain 'fried with radiation' Justice Thackray said rather than dismissing the hospital application, he would adjourn it without fixing a further hearing date to allow the matter to return to court if the hospital considered intervention was required. 'I acknowledge Oshin's parents, who have done what they thought was right,' he said. 'Although it was they who chose to expose themselves to the glare of an, at times, unforgiving public, there is no reason to consider that they were ever motivated by anything other than genuinely held beliefs and love for their son. 'I wish them well in their journey with Oshin in the difficult days and months ahead.' The decision comes a week after it was reported that Oshin's chance at survival has already declined because of the delay to treating him with chemo and radiotherapy, WA Today reports. A court order in March forced Oshin (pictured) to receive chemotherapy and he was given two cycles of the treatment - which his parents have agreed to continue Oshin (pictured) was diagnosed with medulloblastoma in December last year He had originally been given a 50-60 per cent chance of surviving five years if he began both chemo and radiotherapies imminently He had originally been given a 50-60 per cent chance of surviving five years if he began both chemo and radiotherapies imminently. Because of the delay, a Princess Margaret Hospital doctor told the WA Family Court on Monday combining treatments will now give Oshin just a '40 per cent chance of survival'. The Perth boy could have died in a matter of months without chemotherapy. The doctor said he was not convinced that treatment alone could save the boy and recommended radiotherapy. The parents had expressed concern over the possible side-effects of chemo and radiotherapy, which can carry high long term risks of intellectual disability in medullablastoma patients, particularly young children. The parents have kept up their objections, despite Oshin's mother (left) admitting in a 60 Minutes interview last month she 'doesn't understand' chemotherapy Last month, Oshin's mother admitted in a 60 Minutes interview she doesn't understand chemotherapy. 'I don't understand it, and I've said that to the oncologist if I could understand your treatment I'd be for it but in my head I just cannot understand it', Ms Kiszko told 60 Minutes. 'They're treating cancer with a carcinogenic, or two carcinogenics, it doesn't make sense to me and I find it really difficult to see that that's called a treatment.' Ms Kiszko said she didn't want her son's brain 'fried with radiation'. Oshin's mother said that she would have preferred to treat him in an alternative clinic in Asia, despite the facility having no scientific backing. 'I don't want my son's brain fried with radiation, the effects are too harsh, too damaging, and I find it really difficult to even call it a treatment,' she told the program. 'As parents we know our child better than anyone.' Professor Brian Owler, a neurosurgeon from the Australian Medical Association, said the risks of the treatment were present, however, many children 'survive not only the tumour but get treatment and go on and live happy and fulfilled lives.' 'Children with medulloblastoma go through years of what I see as torture, medical treatments, relapses, just to get this maybe five years,' Ms Kisko told the Sydney Morning Herald. She told the newspaper: 'I would like to offer Oshin peace, love and some fun times while we still can.' Family Court chief justice Stephen Thackray admitted the chances of him surviving more than five years even with treatment were slim. 'I would like to offer Oshin peace, love and some fun times while we still can,' the mother said The decision comes a week after it was reported that Oshin's (pictured) chance at survival has already declined because of the delay to treating him with chemo and radiotherapy Ms Kiszko said she did not want to put her son through the treatment after seeing what it had done to her mother and step-mother - both of whom died of cancer. 'I have watched and learned what all these children and their families go through and it is nothing short of toxic hell,' she said. 'The children are not really alive, they are completely drugged and exhausted and on the verge of death. 'It almost feels like Nazi Germany and I am honestly sickened by the treatment of all these children.' The courts had been called in when the ethics committee of Princess Margaret's Hospital split on whether they could support palliative care. Ms Kiszko (pictured) said she did not want to put her son through the treatment after seeing what it had done to her mother and step-mother - both of whom died of cancer 'I have watched and learned what all these children and their families go through and it is nothing short of toxic hell,' Ms Kiszko (middle) said A grand jury report savaged Oklahoma's Department of Corrections after a man was executed using the wrong chemicals and another man almost went the same way. Charles Warner was given the wrong drugs by accident when he was executed by lethal injection last year, leaving him writhing in agony for 43 minutes before he died. Richard Glossip's execution had to be cancelled after it emerged the same chemicals were ordered for him. NBC reported that a top state official tried to have Glossip killed anyway and then tried to cover up the death. Scroll down for video Botched: The botched Jan 2015 execution of Charles Warner (left) led to him feeling like his body was 'on fire.' He was given the wrong drugs, and Richard Glossip (right) almost suffered the same fate in Sep of that year A grand jury report savaged Oklahoma's Department of Corrections after one man was executed using the wrong chemicals (pictured, the gurney in the the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary) The chain of events that led to the 106-page report began with Warner's execution, in which he told witnesses the injections 'felt like acid' and that his body 'was on fire' as he died. He was supposed to have been killed with a cocktail of three drugs, including potassium chloride, but the Oklahoma State Penitentiary had mistakenly been sent potassium acetate instead. But it wasn't just one mistake that led to Warner's painful death, the report said: it was a whole cavalcade of them. It turned out, according to the report, that department Director Robert Patton had orally modified the existing protocol without authorization, leading to the pharmacist ordering the wrong drugs, KFOR reported. The department's general counsel didn't inventory the drugs as required and the office of inspector general didn't check the drugs when they were transported to the state penitentiary. Once it was at the prison, warden Anita Trammell didn't notify anyone the wrong drug had been received, and neither the death row section chief nor the IV team spotted the mistake. Unauthorized: Former Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton made the unauthorized change to protocol that led to the wrong drugs being ordered, the grand jury said in its report Thursday Chain of disaster: Oklahoma State Penitentiary Warden Anita Trammell was one of several people who failed to notice the wrong drugs had been ordered, the report said. She and Patton have now resigned Steven Mullins, then general counsel to OK Gov. Mary Fallin, tried to push on with Glossip's execution - and after it was cancelled, didn't want to reveal that the wrong drug was used. He also resigned The leader of the IV team said he was so distracted trying to get the concentrations right he didn't check what the drugs were. 'I'm not very good at math in my head,' he said, blaming his 'pharmacy brain'. 'I just totally dropped the ball.' Critical: Attorney General Scott Pruitt led the grand jury, which said said staff were 'careless and cavalier,' and that the mistakes made 'must never happen again' The mistake was only noticed when the same drugs were ordered again for the planned September 2015 execution of Richard Glossip, who had been convicted of murder in 1997. But even after the mistake was discovered, Steve Mullins, then general counsel to Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, said they should move on with the execution anyway. He said the drugs were basically the same, and told a horrified prosecutor to 'Google it.' And even after Glossip's execution was called off, Mullins said he didn't want the press announcement to use the phrase 'wrong drug.' He said it would 'require having to inform people the wrong drug had been used in Warner's execution,' according to the report. Mullins resigned, as did Patton and Trammell. The report, led by Attorney General Scott Pruitt, concluded that 'a number of individuals... were careless, cavalier and in some circumstances dismissive of established procedures that were intended to guard against the very mistakes that occurred.' 'When the state fails to do its job in carrying out an execution, the ability to dispense justice is impaired for all,' it said. 'This must never happen again.' It also recommended the state look into the use of nitrogen hypoxia, a gas that starves the brain of oxygen, instead of the drug cocktail. Egyptian army claims to have found debris and personal belongings from jet 180 miles north of city of Alexandria Family of pilot sacrificed everything so he could learn to fly while cabin manager gave up successful acting career Air hostess Samar Ezz Eldin had posted an image on Facebook of a stewardess with a plane crashing into the sea details beginning to emerge about passengers and crew feared dead on board doomed Airbus A320 EgyptAir flight MS804 carrying 66 people vanished from radar over the Advertisement An air hostess on EgyptAir flight MS804 had posted a picture of a plane crashing into the sea on her Facebook page, it has emerged. Samar Ezz Eldin, 27, uploaded the image in September 2014 just four months after she started working at Egypt's national carrier. It shows an air hostess dressed smartly in wet clothes pulling a carry-on suitcase out of the water as a passenger jet plunges into the sea behind her. Miss Eldin, who studied modern languages at the Ain Shams University in Cairo, was among the first victims on the Airbus A320 to be named as investigators admitted the cause of the disaster was still a mystery. It came as crews searching for the doomed jet found a severed arm, luggage and a two-mile-long oil slick in the Mediterranean, slightly south of where the aircraft had vanished from radar. The Egyptian military discovered wreckage around 180 miles north of the coastal city of Alexandria and are now sweeping the area for the plane's black box recorders which could hold the key to the plane's mysterious disappearance. Scroll down for videos EgyptAir stewardess Samar Ezz Eldin (left) posted a picture of an air hostess in front of a passenger jet crashing into the sea behind her (right) on her Facebook page. The 27-year-old was among the first passengers and crew on board Flight MS804 to be named As the search continued, heartbreaking details are emerging of the promising young lives of those on board including the captain who celebrated a promotion just four days earlier, MailOnline can reveal. Other victims identified are the co-pilot whose family sacrificed everything so he could learn to fly and a cabin manager who gave up a successful TV acting career to become an air hostess. Captain Mohamed Said Ali Ali Shoukair, 37, from Giza, had invited his colleagues and former flying school classmates to a huge dinner to celebrate his promotion to the rank of senior pilot, MailOnline can reveal. Ahmed Adly, of the Egyptian Pilots Association, told MailOnline: 'I can confirm that Mohamed Said Ali Ali Shoukair was the captain of the Egyptair MS804 that has been lost.' Another friend Ahmed Mashaal said: 'God bless you Shoukair. I last saw him four days ago at a party. 'He invited his whole colleagues from EgyptAir and fellow students from the flying school to a huge dinner to celebrate his promotion four days ago [on Monday]. He was celebrating his promotion.' Captain Shoukair was a very experienced pilot with 6275 flying hours, 2101 of those hours flying an Airbus 806. He was not married and did not have any children. His co-pilot Mohammad Mamdouh Assem had dreamed of flying planes since he was five years old and his mother had put all her savings into helping him achieved his lifelong goal. According to friends, co-pilot Mohammad Mamdouh Assem's lifelong dream was to cruise the skies with his mother spending all her savings on sending him to aviation school. Celebration: Captain Mohamed Said Ali Ali Shoukair had been promoted just four days before the crash, MailOnline can reveal Captain Shoukair (right) with colleagues. Air traffic controllers said he was in 'a good mood and gave thanks in Greek' when he was in last contact around 25 minutes before the jet fell out of the sky in a suspected terror attack The family of co-pilot Mohammad Mamdouh Assem had sacrificed everything so could fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a pilot Cabin manager Mervat Zakaria (pictured, left, and with her daughter, right) gave up a successful acting career to become an air hostess Mervat Zakaria starred as a troubled teenager, Hala Awad, who had lost her mother in the hit Egyptian drama Abu El Ela El-Bashery Childhood friend Omar Nasef told The Daily Beast: 'He wanted to be a pilot since he was five. He was an unbelievable person, social.' His mother tragically died a few years ago from cancer and the family was still struggling to cope with her loss when news broke that he had perished on the doomed flight. 'His mom put all her savings towards his education,' Nasef said. 'The academy and all that, and it's very expensive in Egypt. That was a big sacrifice.' 'All that I know is that he loved flying. That was his dream job and that's it,' he said. Cabin manager Mervat Zakaria was also revealed to be a former TV actress who had been promoted to her position just one month before the crash. Ms Zakaria had joined the national airline carrier in 1986 after giving up a successful acting career. She had starred as a troubled teenager, Hala Awad, who had lost her mother in the hit Egyptian drama Abu El Ela El-Bashery. The show was named after the character of the widower who was bringing up his daughters on his own. However Ms Zakaria, who is believed to be married with a daughter, stopped acting before the second series to take up a career as an air hostess for EgyptAir. Yesterday, it emerged British passenger Richard Osman had recently celebrated becoming a father for the second time.In the wake of the crash, his family spoke out about their heartbreak. Mr Osman had celebrated the birth of his second daughter Olympe just three weeks ago, and was travelling to Egypt for work. 'I still can't take it in,' said his brother Alastair in Swansea. 'I got a call from our sister first thing this morning and I'm still in shock. 'Richard was so happy at the birth of his second daughter, and yet weeks later he is no longer with us - it's an absolute tragedy.' Mr Osman, a geologist, was also father to a 14-month-old girl called Victios. His two daughters are being looked after by their French-born mother Aureilie, 36, in Paris, where the couple have a home. Family man: Richard Osman was among the 66 victims on board the jet. His brother has described his 'delirious happiness' after the birth of his second daughter just three weeks ago. Mr Osman is pictured here with his French-born wife Aureilie and his first daughter Victios Happier times: Mr Osman's brother has spoken of his 'shock' at hearing the news of the plane crash this morning. Mr Osman, a geologist who was travelling to Egypt for work, leaves behind a wife (pictured here on their wedding day) and two infant daughters Future: Mr Osman's brother Alastair described the crash as an 'absolute tragedy', adding that Mr Osman had been looking forward to a 'lovely future' with his wife and two young daughters Passenger: A Canadian woman among those on board the plane has been named as Marwa Hamdy (pictured) Mr Osman's brother Alastair, 36, a biochemistry student at Swansea University, said: 'Of all the family I would've thought Richard would have been the last to go.' 'He was incredibly fit and a workaholic and since leaving university he has never stopped. 'He was really happy about having the baby and was looking forward to enjoying a lovely family life with his two girls.' He is believed to be a dual citizen of Australia, following a statement issued by the Australian government saying that one of those presumed dead is a UK-Australia dual national. Minister of Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop declined to give additional details, including details on the passenger's identity. The 56 passengers on board included one Briton, 30 Egyptians, 15 French, one Belgian, one Iraqi, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi Arabian, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Algerian and at least one Canadian. A Canadian woman among the passengers has also been named as Marwa Hamdy. Other crew members included air-hostess Yara Hany, stewards Atef Lotfy and Haietham Elazizi and EgyptAir security officers Mahmoud Ahmed, Ahmed Mohamed Magdy and Mohamed Abd El Menem. The search is continuing for missing EgyptAir flight 804, which disappeared from the radar while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. Authorities are scouring a wide area south of the Greek island of Crete on Friday to search for wreckage, over 24 hours after the Airbus 320 lost contact. The Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos says that the plane swerved wildly before plummeting into the sea. The Egyptian military says that no distress call was received from the pilot. The country's aviation minister Sherif Fathi says the likelihood the plane was brought down by a terror attack is 'higher than the possibility of a technical failure.' The distressed relatives of those on board have spent the night in a hotel in Cairo while they await news. Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived at Cairo International Airport early Friday morning to help investigate the fate of a missing jet, airport sources said. The French investigators are part of the French civil aviation ministry's office of investigations and analysis, the sources said. Yesterday, EgyptAir retracted its claims that the wreckage of the downed Flight MS804 had been discovered floating in the Mediterranean Sea as the mystery surrounding the missing passenger jet deepens. A video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry shows a ship during the search in the Mediterranean Sea for missing EgyptAir Flight MS804 plane which crashed after disappearing from the radar in the early hours of Thursday morning while carrying 66 people An Egyptian plane searches for debris and personal belongins from the missing EgyptAir plane which crashed in the Mediterranean Sea This Hellenic Air Force radar aircraft was also deployed to help with the search operation of the missing Egypt plane It comes as U.S. authorities say they have so far been unable to find any indication that an explosion took place on board the plane before it plunged 22,000ft into the water with 66 people on board. Flight MS804 was travelling from Paris to Cairo when it vanished from radar 10 miles into Egyptian airspace at 00.30am GMT without making a distress call. Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos said the Airbus A320 made 'sudden swerves' in mid-air, lurching 90 degrees to the left then 360 degrees to the right. It then dropped from 37,000 feet to 15,000ft before the signal was lost at around 10,000 feet. Security experts, ministers and former air accident investigators said all the evidence pointed to the plane being targeted in a terrorist attack. But U.S. officials have cast doubt on these claims, stating that they have so far found no evidence of an explosion on board. The ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee said there are conflicting reports about the EgyptAir plane during its last minutes of the flight. Nor is there anything yet to confirm whether terrorism, structural failure or something else was the cause, he added. 'We're working with the French to try to figure out if there is any information we have that could shed light on any of the passengers, but there's nothing yet to confirm the cause of the plane crash,' said California Rep. Adam Schiff. He said the plane did seem to have broken apart in mid-air, but the reason was unclear. Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi said the possibility of a terror attack was a 'stronger' possibility than technical failure. Meanwhile, EgyptAir has retracted its earlier statement that wreckage of the plane had been found off the Greek island of Karpathos. Egyptian officials are now taking a more cautious line, similar to that of Greek authorities, and are saying they 'stand corrected' and it 'is not our aircraft'. The head of the Greek air safety authority earlier insisted that wreckage found in the Mediterranean close to where the jet is thought to have crashed 'does not come from a plane'. 'Up to now the analysis of the debris indicates that it does not come from a plane, my Egyptian counterpart also confirmed to me that it was not yet proven that the debris came from the EgyptAir flight when we were last in contact around 1745 GMT,' said Athanasios Binis. Clues: This image released by the European Space Agency from its Sentinel-1A satellite reportedly shows a two-mile-long oil slick (circled) in the Mediterranean Sea around 20 miles from the last-known location of the EgyptAir plane which vanished near Greece on Thursday Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ordered the civil aviation ministry, the army's search and rescue centre, the navy, and the air force to take all necessary measures to locate debris from the EgyptAir plane. They will join French, Greek and U.S. forces in the search. In a statement issued by his office, Sisi also ordered an investigative committee formed by the civil aviation ministry to immediately start investigating the causes of the plane's disappearance. Photographs emerged earlier of what was claimed to be debris from the plane as search vessels reported seeing plastic objects including lifejackets and seats floating in the sea around 230 miles south of the Greek islands of Crete and Karpathos. The images of the debris were posted on Facebook by Tarek Wahba, who is understood to be the captain of Egyptian container vessel, Maersk Ahram. He wrote: 'Been finding life jackets and debris including chair to the plane.' The ship was among a number of vessels sent to the area to help with the search. A Greek frigate also reported spotting two large plastic objects floating in the sea 230 miles south of the island of Crete. They appeared to be pieces of plastic in white and red and were spotted close to an area where an emergency transponder signal had been emitted. Greek military officials say a Greek C-130 military transport plane is still participating in the search for debris from the EgyptAir jet, but a frigate initially sent to the area has been recalled. The same officials say all potential debris located so far in the sea has been spotted by Egyptian aircraft. Relatives of passengers on board the EgyptAir flight cry at Cairo Airport as they try to receive information on their loved ones Loss: Relatives of passengers on the missing EgyptAir flight break down as they console each other at Cairo International Airport in Egypt Devastated: A relative of one of the passengers on board EgyptAir flight MS804 weeps as she makes a phone call (left) and wipes away tears (right) as she waits for news at Charles de Gualle Airport near Paris where the doomed plane took off hours earlier Despair: An Egyptian woman whose brother was on board the jet reacts as she leaves the EgyptAir service building at Cairo Airport Sorrow: A woman holds her head as she waits for more news outside the Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport If confirmed to be a terror attack, the disaster would deal another hammer blow to Egypt's crippled tourism industry just months after a Russian Metrojet plane was brought down in the Sinai peninsula by a bomb planted at Sharm el-Sheikh airport. The 56 passengers on board included one Briton, 30 Egyptians, 15 French, one Belgian, one Iraqi, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi Arabian, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Algerian and at least one Canadian. There were 10 crew members including three security guards. A Canadian woman among the passengers has also been named as Marwa Hamdy. The nation's Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion issued a statement claiming two Canadians were on board the flight. Ms Dion said: 'Based on the information currently available, Global Affairs Canada confirms that two Canadian citizens are among the passengers on this flight.' The airline has said that Ms Hamdy was the sole Canadian on the flight. U.S. government officials were working on an initial theory the jet was downed by a bomb, two U.S. officials told CNN, although they cautioned that hypothesis could change. The U.S. State Department has not yet issued a travel warning to Egypt, according to spokesman John Kirby in Washington. He told reporters that it is too early to make any definite decisions and that he is 'not aware that we recorded, saw, photographed or have possession of any electronic indications about what happened'. The head of Russia's top domestic security agency, Alexander Bortnikov, also claimed it was 'in all likelihood it was a terror attack'. The Egyptian army claimed to have found wreckage and personal belongings from the missing jet around 180 miles north of the city of Alexandria after it was apparently blown out of the sky near Greece in a suspected terror attack Path: A radar map shows the plane's path travelling from Paris and then stopping in the Mediterranean Sea before reaching Cairo, where it lost contact with air traffic control Meanwhile, Jean-Paul Troadec, the former chief of the BEA national investigation unit, said the lack of a live emergency alert meant it was almost certainly destroyed in a terror attack. He told Europe 1 radio station in Paris: 'A technical problem, a fire or a failed motor do not cause an instant accident and the team has time to react. 'The team said nothing, they did not react, so it was very probably a brutal event and we can certainly think about an attack.' Their comments came after a merchant ship captain reported seeing a 'flame in the sky' over the Mediterranean. ISIS has been waging a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security forces and last October claimed the bombing of a Russian airliner flying home holidaymakers from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh which killed all 224 people on board. The flight was the aircraft's fifth of the day, having also flown to the Eritrean capital of Asmara, the Tunisian capital Tunis and Brussels in Belgium. French President Francois Hollande said nothing had been ruled out about the cause of the crash. Speaking at the Elysee Palace in Paris, he said: 'When we have the truth we need to draw all the conclusions. At this stage, we must give priority to solidarity toward the families (of the victims).' The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the accident. The prosecutor said in a statement that its collective accident department opened the investigation with the national gendarme service, adding that 'no hypothesis is favoured or ruled out at this stage'. In the minutes and hours after the crash, devastated relatives gathered at Charles De Gaulle and Cairo Airports, weeping and comforting each other as waited for news of their loved ones. The British Foreign Office said it was in contact with the family of the British national who was feared dead. Grief: Relatives of missing EgyptAir passengers comfort each other in front of the airliner's office at Cairo International Airport Wait: Relatives and friends of passengers on the EgyptAir react as they wait outside the Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo Airport Agony: A woman reacts as she waits outside the EgyptAir service building where relatives are being held at Cairo International Airport Prime Minister David Cameron told LBC Radio: 'I absolutely feel for them [the families]. This is obviously a dreadful event. We don't know very much right now about what's happened. 'We know that there was one British national on the plane. It looks as if it has gone down in the Mediterranean.' 'One of our ships RFA Royal Fleet Auxiliary Mounts Bay is nearby and so we've sent it to the area, but I think it's too early to speculate about what the cause was. 'We simply don't know but all the experts are talking to each other and trying to work out what has happened and when we know more, we'll be able to say more.' The Airbus A320 left the French capital's Charles De Gaulle Airport at 9.09pm GMT last night before coming down off the Greek island of Karpathos ten miles into Egyptian airspace at around 00.30am GMT. It was scheduled to arrive at Cairo Airport at 1.15am GMT. EgyptAir first reported on the disappearance of the flight, tweeting: 'An informed source at EGYPTAIR stated that Flight no MS804, which departed Paris at 9.09pm (GMT) heading to Cairo, has disappeared from radar.' Greece's Civil Aviation Authority CAA said the flight entered the Greek air traffic control area (FIR) at 2.24am Greek time (11.24am GMT). It was identified and approved on its flight course before passing into the next section of air traffic control where it was approved by the controller for the exit point of the Greek FIR. The CAA said the last communication traffic controllers had with the EgyptAir pilot at around 00.05am found him in good spirits. It said the pilot 'was in a good mood and gave thanks in Greek when authorised to exit the Athens flight information region'. EGYPTAIR JET HAD TRAVELLED TO TERROR HOTSPOTS IN BRUSSELS, TUNIS AND ERITREA HOURS BEFORE CRASH The EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean had flown to terror hotspots in Tunisia, Eritrea and Belgium in the days before the disaster, it has emerged. The travel log of the Airbus A320 will likely form a major part of the investigation into the crash which experts say was most likely caused by a terror attack. Internet site FlightRadar24 indicates the jet travelled to Tunis, Brussels and the Eritrean capital of Asmara in the two days before, leaving open the possibility that an explosive device could have been planted aboard prior to its arrival in France. All destinations have been targeted by terror attacks or plagued by jihadist uprisings in recent months. Tour of terror: Flight radar data showed how the EgyptAir plane that crashed in the Mediterranean had travelled to Tunis, Cairo, Eritrea and Brussels, all area targeted by Islamist militants Brussels Airport and the city's Metro station were targeted in March in ISIS suicide attacks that killed 32 people. Those attacks have been linked to the same cell that killed 130 people in a November massacre in Paris, where flight MS804 took off last night. More than 20 people were also killed in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, in March last year when two Islamist militants stormed the Bardo Museum. Meanwhile, Ethiopian authorities said last week that they had thwarted a terror attack by Eritrean jihadists who trained and armed in Asmara. If a bombing is established, the question for investigators will be how a device was possibly smuggled aboard a flight taking off from France's busiest airport, Paris Charles de Gaulle, where security has been on high alert since last year's jihadist attacks. Aeronautics expert Gerard Feldzer said: 'A bomb placed on board at (Paris) or in Cairo is always possible because it's difficult to make your airport 100 per cent watertight, even in an airport with such tight surveillance as Roissy (Charles de Gaulle).' Shock: A woman reacts as she waits outside the Egyptair in-flight service building where relatives and friends of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo are being held at Cairo International Airport Upset: Relatives and friends of passengers who were on the EgyptAir plane leave the EgyptAir in-flight service building at Cairo Airport Terror: Relatives gather at Cairo Airport. Among the 56 passengers on board the plane were 30 Egyptian nationals, 15 French, two Iraqis, one Briton, Belgian, Kuwaiti, Saudi, Sudanese, Chadian, Portuguese, Algerian and a Canadian Air traffic controllers tried to contact the pilot again at 00.27am for the handover of the plane to Cairo's area of responsibility, but 'despite repeated calls, the aircraft did not respond'. Air traffic control called on the emergency frequency and again there was no response. At 00.29am GMT, the aircraft was over the exit point of the Athens FIR, and at 00.29.40am GMT, it vanished from radar. The Greek authority said the military was asked for help in case the plane could be located on a military radar, but there was no sign of it. Search and rescue operations then kicked in 00.45am. Egypt's state-run newspaper Al-Ahram quoted an airport official as saying the pilot did not send a distress call and that last contact with the plane was made 10 minutes before it disappeared from radar. EgyptAir said the plane sent an emergency signal, possibly from an emergency beacon attached to the plane, at 2.26am GMT two hours after it vanished. In water crashes, an underwater beacon attached to the aircraft's flight recorders starts to emit a signal or ping which helps search and rescue teams to locate the crash and find the black boxes. Egyptian military aircraft and navy ships were taking part in a search operation off Egypt's Mediterranean coast to locate the debris of the plane, which was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two babies, and 10 crew members. Greece also joined the search and rescue operation, officials at the Hellenic National Defense General Staff said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault offered to send military planes and boats to join the Egyptian search for wreckage. 'We are at the disposition of the Egyptian authorities with our military capacities, with our planes, our boats to help in the search for this plane,' he said. 'We cannot rule anything out': Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport. He said it was too early to say whether a technical problem or a terror attack caused the plane to crash On high alert: A French officer of the Police aux Frontieres (Borders Police) stands guard at Charles de Gaulle airport Guard: Police take up position at Terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulle airport, after the EgyptAir flight vanished from radar Worry: The EgyptAir counter at Charles de Gaulle was empty first thing this morning after reports of the disappearance began to surface He spoke after French President Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting at the Elysee Palace. Later, the French military said a Falcon surveillance jet monitoring the Mediterranean for migrants had been diverted to help search for the EgyptAir plane. Military spokesman Colonel Gilles Jaron said the jet is joining the Egypt-led search effort and the French navy may send another plane and a ship to the zone. BREAKDOWN OF PASSENGERS 56 passengers (including two infants and a child) 3 security personnel 2 cockpit crew 5 cabin crew crew Passenger nationalities: 30 Egyptians 15 French 1 British 1 Belgian 1 Iraqi 1 Kuwaiti 1 Saudi Arabian 1 Chadian 1 Portuguese 1 Algerian 2 Canadians Mr Hollande has spoken with Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi by telephone and they agreed to 'closely cooperate to establish the circumstances' in which the EgyptAir flight disappeared. The government statement cited Hollande as saying he shares the anxiety of families. Speaking on RTL radio, he said the Paris airport authority has opened a crisis centre to support the families coming to Charles de Gaulle Airport. He said 'no theory can be ruled out'. Search and rescue teams have been sent to a specific location believed to be 40 miles from the Egyptian coast. Greece has also joined the search and rescue operation. Two aircraft, one C-130 and one early warning aircraft have been dispatched, officials at the Hellenic national defence general staff said. They said one frigate was also heading to the area, and helicopters are on standby on the southern island of Karpathos for potential rescue or recovery operations. Ahmed Abdel, the vice-chairman of EgyptAir holding company, said no distress signal had been sent, as far as he knew. He added that there had been no reported problems with the plane when it left Paris. The captain of the plane, Abdel said, had more than 6,000 flying hours. This includes 2,000 on an A320. He also said there was no special cargo on board and the airline was not informed about any dangerous objects on board. As the plane was in Egyptian airspace, their air traffic controllers should have been in contact with the flight team. However, it does not necessarily mean the plane was over land at the time, as Egyptian air space stretches over the Mediterranean Sea. According to flight schedules, it was the plane's fifth flight of the day. Shortly after news of the disappearance broke, the Egyptair website crashed. The Airbus A320 is a short-to-mid range aircraft and is one of the most commonly used in the world that first entered circulation in 1986. It has a capacity of 150 passengers and a range of more than 3,000 miles. FROM A JOVIAL CONVERSATION WITH AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TO RADIO SILENCE: HOW MS804 VANISHED IN MID-AIR 11.09pm local time (9.09pm GMT) Wednesday: EgyptAir flight MS804 departs Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport bound for Cairo with 56 passengers and 10 crew including three security guards. 2.24am Greek time (11.24 GMT) Thursday: Airbus A320 enters the Greek air traffic control area, also known as the flight information region (FIR). The plane was identified and approved on its flight course before passing into the next section of air traffic control where it was approved by the controller for the exit point of the Greek FIR. 00.05 GMT: The last communication traffic controllers had with the pilot found him in good spirits. The captain 'was in a good mood and gave thanks in Greek' when authorised to exit the Athens FIR. 00.27 GMT: Air traffic controllers try to contact the pilot again for the handover of the plane to Cairo's area of responsibility, but despite 'repeated calls, the aircraft did not respond'. Air traffic control called on the emergency frequency and again there was no response. 00.29am GMT: The aircraft crosses over the exit point of the Athens air traffic control area. 00.29.40secs GMT: The jet vanishes from radar 170 miles from the Egyptian coast. The Greek authority said the military was asked for help in case the plane could be located on a military radar, but there was no sign of it. 00.45am GMT Search and rescue operation gets underway 4.26am local time (2.26 GMT) There is confusion over a new distress signal that was reportedly received by an Egyptian military tower, two hours after the last confirmed contact with the aircraft. It is believed to have come from the aircraft's emergency devices. An EgyptAir plane was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus in March. A man who admitted to the hijacking and is described by Cypriot authorities as 'psychologically unstable' is in custody in Cyprus. The incident renewed security concerns months after a Russian passenger plane was blown out of the sky over the Sinai Peninsula. The Russian plane crashed in Sinai on October 31, killing all 224 people on board. Moscow said it was brought down by an explosive device, and a local branch of the extremist Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for planting it. With its archaeological sites and Red Sea resorts, Egypt is a traditional destination for Western tourists. In 1999, EgyptAir Flight 1990 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, killing all 217 people aboard. U.S. investigators filed a final report that concluded its co-pilot switched off the autopilot and pointed the Boeing 767 downward. But Egyptian officials rejected the notion of suicide altogether, insisting some mechanical reason caused the crash. EgyptAir has provided the following numbers for those wanting more information or who may have families on board: 080077770000 from any landline in Egypt + 202 25989320 outside Egypt or any mobile in Egypt FRENCH SPY CHIEF WARNED COUNTRY WAS 'CLEARLY BEING TARGETED BY ISIS' A WEEK BEFORE EGYPTAIR CRASH The head of France's internal intelligence agency had warned the country was being 'clearly targeted' by ISIS a week before the Paris to Cairo flight took off. It has now emerged that Patrick Calvar, the head of France's DGSI agency, told a parliamentary committee on national defence in Paris on May 10 that ISIS was planning 'a new form of attack'. France was targeted twice last year with the Charlie Hebdo attack in January and the Paris attacks in November and the French security forces are on a state of high alert. Concern: Patrick Calvar (pictured), head of French internal intelligence, warned last week that ISIS was planning new attacks on France Mr Calvar was quoted in The Local as saying: 'We risk being confronted with a new form of attack: a terrorist campaign characterised by leaving explosive devices in places where big crowds gather, multiplying this type of action to create a climate of panic.' He made no mention of attacks on aircraft. But he said he believed France was 'the country most threatened' by ISIS, which is often known as Daesh, and also warned that Al-Qaeda remained a threat and was champing at the bit to 'restore its image' as a major player, especially in the Maghreb and the Arabian peninsula. Missing: A closer locator map shows where the flight lost contact with radars around 170 miles from the the Egyptian coast Hunt for MS804: Several vessels are seen on radar joining the search for the doomed Airbus A320 in the Mediterranean The airline then tweeted that there were 56 passengers on board and 10 crew members The airline revealed that the flight had gone missing after posting this Tweet early on Thursday morning They then confirmed that the flight lost contact with air traffic controllers 10 miles inside Egyptian airspace A gunman is on the run after a father of one was fatally shot while taking the rubbish out at his house in Sydney. Adrian Buxton, who is in his 30s, was gunned down outside his house in the western Sydney suburb of Colyton on Thursday night. His wife and young son were inside at the time of the shooting. Scroll down for video Adrian Buxton, a father of one in his 30s, was gunned down outside his house in western Sydney Emergency services were called to Coral Pea Court just after 9pm, but could not save Mr Buxton It is understood that Mr Buxton was known to police and may have had links to Nomads Outlaw Motorcycle Club in the past. He is not an active member. Emergency services were called to Coral Pea Court just after 9pm following reports of gunshots. Officers attached to St Marys Local Area Command found Mr Buxton lying on a nature strip with gunshot wounds. He was treated by paramedics but died at the scene. He is believed to have been shot in the head, The Daily Telegraph reported. Mr Buxton was fatally shot while taking out his rubbish. His wife and child were inside their family home A NSW Police spokesperson said it was still too early to establish a motive for the shooting Police, including forensic and ballistic specialists, are combing the area for clues and have launched Strikeforce Thistleton to investigate the murder. A NSW Police spokesperson said it was still too early to establish a motive and police could not say if Mr Buxton was targetted. St Mary's Police Superintendent Greg Peters said a witness reported people running from the scene. 'He was taking out his rubbish, the garbage bin, because it was garbage night,' he told the ABC. Investigators would also examine CCTV footage recorded at the property, Superintendent Peters said. No one has been arrested in relation to the killing. Police are still searching for the gunman and no one has been arrested in relation to the murder yet Awaiting trial: Margaret Henderson, 29 A woman accused of murder claims she has fallen pregnant after having sex with another inmate. Margaret Henderson, 29, is being held on remand at Hydebank Wood College and Women's Prison, in Belfast, while she waits to stand trial for the murder of 67-year-old Eddie Girvan. Men and women are said to be allowed to spend 'unsupervised' time together at the institution, in what some have said is a 'holiday camp' set-up. A source told Belfast Live: 'Male and female prisoners have been allowed to spend time together unsupervised and this is the result in this case.' Henderson was charged with murder after police officers found retired plumber Mr Girvan dead at his home in County Antrim on January 18. She is being held at Hydebank Wood College while waiting trial. A date has not yet been set. The institution accommodates young offenders between 18 and 21, as well as female remand and sentenced prisoners. Henderson is understood to have told prison officers that she had sex with a male inmate she was friends with. However MailOnline understands that Henderson has since refused to submit to any medical checks to confirm her pregnancy. An insider told Belfast Live it appeared the prisoners are given 'plenty of recreation time' at Hydebank Wood, adding there was a 'great deal of freedom'. 'They refer to Hydebank as a college and the grounds as a campus,' the source added. 'It's meant to be a prison.' A source said it appeared the prisoners are having 'plenty of recreation time' at Hydebank Wood, pictured A Northern Ireland Prison Service Spokesperson said: 'While the Prison Service does not comment on individual prisoners, we are aware of this allegation. 'This is being investigated and until we are able to establish the full facts it would be inappropriate to comment further.' A spokesman told Belfast Live the institution operated 'as a campus with structured timetabling and free flow movement' in line with recommendations in the Prison Review Team's report. The owners had to fork out $2500 in vet fees to treat the poisoned dog It is the second time in a month the home has been targeted A dog that miraculously survived after eating sausages baited with rat poison that were thrown into the backyard of a home has been targeted for the second time this month. The owners of Molly, a Belgian shepherd, were forced to take the dog to a vet, in Malaga, a northern suburb of Perth, after she suffered bleeding earlier this month, according to 9 News. This week, the dog was again targeted when her owners found several sausages baited with rat poison in their backyard. Scroll down for video A Perth home has been targeted with poisoned sausages for the second time in a month (pictured) After the initial incident, Molly was reportedly treated and is currently on medication with the owners reportedly forking out $2500 in vet fees. Dog baiting occurs often in the region, with Ballajura Veterinary Hospital claiming they receive cases of poisoning once a fortnight. 'It is just hard to prove whether it is intentional baiting or an accident on the owner's part,' nurse Jess Law said. The owners of Molly, a Belgian shepherd (pictured) had to take her to the vet to get treated, after she suffered bleeding The sausages (pictured) were baited with rat poison and left in a backyard in Malaga, north of the city She said rat or snail poison are the most commonly used to target dogs, with rat bait inducing blood clotting and internal bleeding while snail poison causes seizures and foaming at the mouth, resulting in death, according to WA Today. The RSPCA said two homes had been targeted in Perth this month. 'Poison is to kill an animal so this is really, really concerning and very distressing for the animal,' she said. Penalties for poisoning dogs carries fines up to $50,000 or five years in jail. Ballajura Veterinary Hospital said dog baiting occurs often in the area, and said they receive cases of poisoning once a fortnight An American who joined ISIS has described the moment he decided to quit the terror group after seeing 'severed heads placed on spiked poles' like a scene from the Middle Ages. The 27-year-old New Yorker told NBC joining ISIS was 'the worst decision I've ever made in my life'. The man, identified only as Mo, said: 'The Islamic State is not bringing Islam to the world, and people need to know that. And I'll say that... till the day I die.' Scroll down for video Mo, pictured here giving an exclusive interview to NBC News, now realizes that ISIS had corrupted the true spirit of Islam Mo said he became indoctrinated by online videos and articles and flew to Turkey in June 2014 after being spooked by a doorstep visit by the FBI, who were probing his internet activities. He traveled overland to Syria but soon realized he had made a terrible mistake. Mo visited ISIS training camps where recruits were brainwashed into believing Daesh's version of sharia law and taught rudimentary military tactics. He saw Daesh fighters bullying people - one man arrested in the street just for smoking - and rapidly became disillusioned with the so-called caliphate. The final straw came when he saw the aftermath of a medieval-style mass execution. 'At one point towards the end as things were getting more and more serious, I did see severed heads placed on spiked poles. Like a lot of things, I just blocked it out,' he said. ISIS, or Daesh as they are sometimes known, have now spread their poisonous dogma to Libya. This image shows a man who has been crucified in Libya for allegedly spying against ISIS In the fall of 2014 he fled ISIS territory and made his way to a U.S. consulate in Turkey. He said: 'It was a tremendous relief. When I got to the door of the consulate, I literally just banged on the door and I'm like, "Let me in".' The Islamic State is not bringing Islam to the world, and people need to know that Mo But a U.S. consulate official contacted the FBI and Mo was detained and brought back to America. He was charged with providing material support to a terrorist organization and receiving military training from a terrorist organization and faced between 10 and 25 years in prison. Mo immediately agreed to cooperate with the federal authorities, was debriefed and his sentencing was put on hold while he gave intelligence about ISIS's strengths and weaknesses. He said: 'I'm helping in every sense that I can to help rid the world of the evil that I saw and it's an arrow in my quiver every time I help.' Mo said he realized now that ISIS had twisted and corrupted the true meaning of the Koran. An ISIS militant is pictured using a loud-hailer to tell people in a Syrian stronghold of its latest victories in the summer of 2014. Mo was one of hundreds of Americans who were lured to Syria and Iraq by jihadi propaganda 'The Islamic State is not bringing Islam to the world, and people need to know that. And I'll say thattill the day I die,' he said. The FBI told NBC News: 'Mo has provided reliable information about the identities and activities of other ISIS members.' NATO foreign ministers have been finalising the alliance's biggest military build-up since the end of the Cold War in the face of a more aggressive and unpredictable Russia. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the two-day meeting, which began yesterday, would address 'all the important issues' to prepare for a 'landmark' summit in Poland in July. NATO leaders will endorse plans to puts more troops into eastern European member states as part of a 'deter and dialogue' strategy. Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria have all been meant to reassure allies they will not be left in the lurch in any repeat of the Ukraine crisis. Scroll down for video NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the two-day meeting, which began yesterday, would address 'all the important issues' to prepare for a 'landmark' summit in Poland in July NATO is discussing plans to bolster troop numbers ahead of possible Russian aggression 'We will discuss how NATO can do more to project stability... and at the same time address how NATO can continue to adapt to a more assertive Russia to find the right balance between defence and dialogue,' Stoltenberg told reporters. US Secretary of State John Kerry, attending the Brussels talks, said NATO was building a 'robust' defensive posture on its eastern flank and urged member states to meet pledges to increase defence spending. The alliance needs to 'continue to strengthen our deterrence capabilities through a more robust forward presence,' he said. 'NATO is open to a political dialogue with Russia but we will refrain from business as usual until the Minsk commitments are fully implemented,' Kerry added. Under the Minsk process, Moscow agreed to a ceasefire in Ukraine and to halt support for separatist pro-Russian rebels that have carved out an enclave in the east of the country. Stoltenberg told a later press conference that the alliance's AWACS monitoring aircraft could be flown over 'NATO territory and international airspace' to help the fight against ISIS. Moscow says NATO's response is just a cover for encroaching on its borders, while Washington builds a European missile defence shield which undercuts Russia's nuclear deterrent Russia's intervention in Ukraine and its 2014 annexation of Crimea stung NATO into action after years of complacency and defence cuts following the fall of the Soviet Union Under the Minsk process, Moscow agreed to a ceasefire in Ukraine and to halt support for separatist pro-Russian rebels that have carved out an enclave in the east of the country In March, ISIS jihadists killed 32 people in Brussels - home to the headquarters of both NATO and the European Union as well as a host of diplomatic and corporate offices. The EU meanwhile is grappling with the worst migrant crisis since the end of World War II and the bloc wants increased cooperation with NATO to tackle the problem, notably in bolstering the UN-backed government in Libya where IS has recently gained ground. Russia's intervention in Ukraine and its 2014 annexation of Crimea stung NATO into action after years of complacency and defence cuts following the fall of the Soviet Union. Moscow says NATO's response is just a cover for encroaching on its borders, while Washington builds a European missile defence shield which undercuts Russia's nuclear deterrent. 'I think you have to remember where this started,' said a senior US official. 'NATO took these measures because Russia chose to invade and occupy Crimea and then move into eastern Ukraine. The concern... was to ensure that this was not the beginning of a broader move that might threaten NATO territory.' In another move likely to infuriate Moscow, NATO signed an accession accord with the tiny Balkan state of Montenegro on Thursday. Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said NATO membership was a major step forward for his country 'and will help bring about stability in the region and beyond.' Among other states of the former Yugoslavia, Croatia and Slovenia have joined NATO to Russia's anger over the future of the Balkans, a key strategic interest and home to historic Slav allies. In March, ISIS jihadists killed 32 people in Brussels - home to the headquarters of both NATO and the European Union as well as a host of diplomatic and corporate offices One flight attendant lies in shock just moments after a suicide bombing at Brussels Zaventem airport Georgia, which fought a brief 2008 war with Russia, is also seeking membership but when asked Thursday if Tbilisi could expect similar progress, Stoltenberg notably stopped short of commenting directly on its accession prospects. Instead, he stressed NATO would continue to boost cooperation, including military training, with the former Soviet republic. Stoltenberg had cautioned Wednesday against a new arms race, stressing the alliance upgrade was purely 'defensive, proportionate and in line with our international obligations.' NATO wants dialogue with Russia to ease tensions and avoid potentially dangerous incidents getting out of control, he said. NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Russia over Ukraine but left a channel of communication open through what is known as the NATO-Russia Council (NRC). Judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to refer the case to a grand jury Disturbing details of how Lovell's naked body was disposed of also shared Disturbing new details have emerged from the preliminary hearing of two former Virginia Tech students charged in the disappearance and death of a 13-year-old girl. David Eisenhauer, 18, is charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder in the January stabbing death of Blacksburg seventh-grader Nicole Lovell. Natalie Keepers, 19, is charged with being an accessory to kidnapping and murder and with helping hide the body. Graphic details - including how Keepers and Eisenhauer had disposed of Lovell's body - were revealed, causing the victim's father to break down in tears. Lovell's mother, Tammy Weeks, was also visibly upset and at one point ran out of the courtroom. Sociopaths: Eighteen-year-old David Eisenhauer (left) is charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder in the January stabbing death of Blacksburg seventh-grader Nicole Lovell. Right, Natalie Keepers, 19, is charged with being an accessory to kidnapping and murder and with helping hide the body Tammy Weeks, center, mother of slain Nicole Lovell, leaves Montgomery County Courthouse in Christiansburg, Friday. Weeks ran out of the courtroom at one point as details about her daughter's death were read out Victim Nicole Lovell, 13 (left and right) was found dead late February after Eisenhauer allegedly lured her out of her home with the promise of a date on January 27 Victim Nicole Lovell, 13 was found dead in Surry County, North Carolina late February after Eisenhauer allegedly lured her out of her home with the promise of a date on January 27. At a previous hearing, a prosecutor said the two college students from Maryland met at a fast-food restaurant on January 26 to plan Lovells's death, and the court heard on Friday that they pair considered drugging the girl, staging a suicide or knocking her unconscious and leaving her outside to die of exposure. In the end, they decided he should lure the teen from her home and then slit her throat. At the Friday hearing, Blacksburg police Det. Ryan Hite told the court that during Keepers' interview with police, she told investigators she was not present during the murder but took part in the planning. When police were investigating Lovell's disappearance, they were led to Eisenhauer through social media accounts, the court heard. The child had messaged a 'Dr_Tombstone' Kik account tied to Eisenhauer. And social media messages were a key part of Friday's hearing. In one message, Keepers told Eisenhauer that she smelled of cleaning supplies and wanted to take a shower. In another message, Keepers told Eisenhauer that she would help him clean up from the murder because she was used to taking care of her sick family. During the police interview, Keepers also said the pair had discussed possible ways to kill Lovell, which included drugging Lovell, Keepers hiding in the back of Eisenhauer's car and knocking her out or making her death appear as a suicide. And in a chilling confession, Keepers told police Eisenhauer was a 'sociopath' and she, a 'sociopath in training'. Keepers said Eisenhauer made her feel like she was in a secret club, and that he 'understood her' The prosecutors also gave evidence of text messages taken from Eisenhauer's cellphone. One message said that if the body isn't found for a week, 'it will never be traced.' Graphic details - including how Keepers and Eisenhauer had disposed of Lovell's body - were revealed, causing the victim's father (pictured) to break down in tears Another mentioned engaging in 'overkill,' and a third said the young teen had been 'blackmailing another guy too.' The day after the alleged killing, Keepers said Eisenhauer sent her a message saying 'it's done.' At the Friday hearing, Blacksburg police Det. Ryan Hite (pictured Friday) told the court details of Keepers' interview with police Keepers and Eisenhauer met up the next day, turning off their cell phones, and headed toward Craig Creek Road, the court heard. She said they dragged the girl's body down a hill and forced it into Eisenhauer's trunk, after which they traveled to the Walmart in Wytheville to get cleaning wipes and bleach, and started their journey toward Galax. When they pulled off, Keepers said she saw a lot of blood in the snow. She said she had never met Lovell before, and only saw pictures of her in the media while investigators searched for her, Hite told the court. In her interview, Keepers also described to police in graphic detail, how the pair had disposed of Lovell's body. She said that Eisenhauer had taken off Lovell's clothes, wiped down her body with cleaning solution and bleach and cleaned off the blood. He then placed her clothes in a Walmart bag and pushed her down the embankment. They disposed of her clothes at a McDonald's in Dublin and got rid of the bloody knife by throwing it into a woodland. He threw Lovells cellphone case out the car window while driving. When they returned to campus, Keepers took Lovell's Minions blanket, a pink cell phone, a charger, and the bag Lovell's body had been in to her dorm room. During Eisenhauer's interview with police, he said he talked to a girl online in December and that in January, they opened up to each other. He said Nicole Lovell confided in Eisenhauer that everyone hated her and she asked to meet him. He admitted going to meet her, but claims he left when he saw how young she appeared and that he did not kill her. Her naked body was found face down not far off a road. Left-wing journalist Paul Mason has delivered a no-holds-barred rant at Boris Johnson for 'debasing' the EU referendum debate. The former Channel 4 News correspondent lashed out at the Tory MP over his Eton education and 'ludicrous' claims about Brussels rules on selling bananas. The extraordinary attack came as he appeared on the BBC's Question Time programme last night. Paul Mason, pictured right with Energy Secretary Amber Rudd, delivered his no-holds-barred rant during an appearance on the BBC's Question Time last night Mason, who has condemned Brussels as too corporate and undemocratic, voiced fears that 'crazed right-wing Conservatives' would take over the country if we vote to leave on June 23. He insisted the prospect of having Mr Johnson in Downing Street alone made him inclined to back Remain. But an audience member accused him of 'appalling' slurs against Tories. 'I would just like to take issue with Paul Mason's comments about 'right wing' Conservatives,' the man said. 'It as clear in the manifesto that there was going to be a referendum. 'To brand Conservatives generally - I think it's about 10 million people - as crazed right-wingers .. it is just appalling.' But Mason refused to back down, and targeted a volley of abuse at Mr Johnson. FIREBRAND DISMISSED AS 'MICKEY MOUSE' BY GEORGE OSBORNE Dismissed as a 'revolutionary marxist' by George Osborne, Paul Mason's left-wing leanings were no secret during his decade long career at the BBC. After leaving for Channel 4 News in 2013 he had more scope to express them. Last year his book PostCapitalism: A Guide to Our Future predicted the end of the modern market-driven economy. But by this February Mason had decided broadcasting rules on impartiality were holding him back. He quit Channel 4 to go freelance, and signed up to appear on shadow chancellor John McDonnell's 'New Economics' lecture tour. Mr McDonnell has praised him as a 'serious thinker'. But the Chancellor mocked Mason in the Commons as a 'Mickey Mouse' economist. Referring to Labour's decision to bring in former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and Mason, Mr Osborne said: 'Presumably they chose those two because Chairman Mao was dead and Mickey Mouse was busy.' In response Mason stressed on his Facebook page that he was not formally advising the Labour Party. 'I am happy to state that Mao was a despot whose policies killed millions; I look forward to hearing Mr Osborne say that on his next trip to China,' the journalist went on. 'Mickey Mouse on the other hand is a universal 20th century icon representing the triumph of the little guy against the bully, the innocent against the corrupt, the weak against the strong. I am happy to be identified with those ideals.' 'Let me be clear about what I'm saying about the Conservatives. We now know what a 35,000 a year education at Eton buys you,' the journalist said. 'It is the ability to stand up, slag off your opponents - if you're not winning the argument start raising ludicrous points about the EU banning banana bunches more than three. 'And if that doesn't work you tussle your hair and you grin in a kind of inane manner.' He added: 'If I'd paid 35,000 a year and sent somebody to Eton and they came out doing that, I'd be disgusted.' Mr Johnson was embroiled in a bizarre row this week when he claimed during a stump speech that EU rules meant bananas could not be sold in bunches of more than three. After a wave of mockery - including numerous pictures being posted on Twitter of larger bunches of bananas - aides clarified that he had meant to say the fruits could not be sold in groups of two or three. Cabinet minister Amber Rudd, who supports EU membership and was also on the panel, broke in to Mason's diatribe to appeal for him to stop the 'personal insults'. 'Here you are, a brilliant man, and you are focusing on someone's education, rather than the arguments for or against the EU,' she complained. But wagging his finger at Ms Rudd, Mason went on: 'I'm talking about Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, who is debasing the rationality of this debate. 'You should be very, very worried that this guy could be leading your party if he wins the referendum.' Ms Rudd hit back: 'I am not worried about that. What I am worried about is these personal insults.' Mason was Economics Editor at Channel 4 News until February, when he quit saying he wanted to work 'outside the impartiality framework front-line public service TV reporting demands'. Prior to that he covered economics for the BBC's Newsnight programme, and worked for the corporation for a decade. He has been praised by shadow chancellor John McDonnell as a 'serious thinker' and is appearing on Labour's 'New Economics' lecture tour. Energy Secretary Amber Rudd told Mason he should focus on the arguments about the EU and resort to 'personal insults' Last year he published his latest book, Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future, which predicts the end of the market economy as we know it. Chancellor George Osborne has branded Mason a 'revolutionary Marxist' and also mocked him as a 'Mickey Mouse' economist. Referring to Labour's decision to bring in former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and Mason, Mr Osborne told the Commons: 'Presumably they chose those two because Chairman Mao was dead and Mickey Mouse was busy.' Author Toby Young was among those laying into Mason on Twitter One user described him as 'swivel-eyed' In response Mason stressed on his Facebook page that he was not formally advising the Labour Party. 'I am happy to state that Mao was a despot whose policies killed millions; I look forward to hearing Mr Osborne say that on his next trip to China,' the journalist went on. 'Mickey Mouse on the other hand is a universal 20th century icon representing the triumph of the little guy against the bully, the innocent against the corrupt, the weak against the strong. 'I am happy to be identified with those ideals.' Mason's rant was widely criticised on Twitter, with users describing him as a 'far left agitator' and 'swivel eyed'. Mason was challenged by an audience member over his 'appalling' comments about Conservatives being 'crazed right-wingers' LBC radio host Ian Dale ridiculed him as 'unhinged' for opposing EU membership but refusing to vote to leave because he does not like Tories. Author Toby Young said: 'Can anyone imagine a BBC journalist turning out to be as right wing as @paulmasonnews is left-wing?' Mason himself retweeted the assessments from Dale and Young. Another user, William Cameron, commented: 'Paul Mason as an 'impartial' journalist was always laughable, now he has 'come out' as a far left agitator he's swivel eyed crazy.' Former BBC Newsnight correspondent Mason mocked the way that Mr Johson 'tussled' his hair as he launched the diatribe A yoga instructor who claims her boss fired her for being 'too cute' and making his lesbian ex-Playboy Playmate mate wife jealous has had her discrimination lawsuit rejected. Dilek Edwards alleged that she was sacked from the Wall Street chiropractic clinic that self-confessed lesbian Stephanie Adams, 45, owns with her doctor husband, Charles Nicolai. However a Manhattan judge ruled on Thursday that Ms Edwards' suit didn't have any allegations that she was fired 'because of her status as a woman'. Dilek Edwards (left), who claimed her New York chiropractor boss Charles Nicolai fired her for being 'too cute', saying she might make his wife Stephanie Adams (right) jealous, had her discrimination lawsuit rejected Supreme Court Justice Shlomo Hagler said: 'To state a claim for employment discrimination a plaintiff must allege that she is a member of a protected class. He added: 'The defendants' behavior, no matter how abhorrent, fails to constitute gender discrimination.' Ms Edwards was hired by Charles Nicolai, the owner of Wall St. Chiropractic and Wellness to work as a yoga instructor and massage therapist in April 2012. Arguing that someone can't be fired for 'attractiveness', Nicolai's lawyer Douglas Wigdor dismissed the suit. Ms Edwards was hired by Charles Nicolai (left), who co-owns Wall St. Chiropractic and Wellness with Ms Adams (pictured right with her son) to work as a yoga instructor and massage therapist in April 2012 Ms Edwards (pictured) claims she got a 'frantic' text at 1.31am from Ms Adams in 2013 that said: 'You are NOT welcome any longer at Wall Street Chiropractic, DO NOT ever step foot in there again, and stay the f*** away from my husband and family' The judge agreed with this, but he did not dismiss Ms Edwards' claim that she was defamed by Ms Adams' allegations to the NYPD that Edwards had threatened her. 'We are obviously pleased with the decision,' Mr Wigdor said on Thursday according to the New York Daily News. He added that he believes the defamation claim will also be dismissed when the case is completed. Ms Edwards has maintained that her relationship with Mr Nicolai was strictly 'cordial and professional.' Ms Adams (right), who became the first openly lesbian Playmate after being featured as Miss November in 1992 dismissed Ms Edwards' claims (pictured left) as nonsense, saying, 'No disrespect to anyone - but I'm a centerfold' Ms Adams, who became the first openly lesbian Playmate after being featured as Miss November in 1992 dismissed Ms Edwards' claims as nonsense, saying, 'No disrespect to anyone - but I'm a centerfold.' In court papers filed in November 2013, Ms Edwards said that Mr Nicolai warned her in June that his wife 'might become jealous' after she gave him yoga-therapy sessions to help with chronic pain, telling her 'it had to be a secret.' Ms Edwards said her relationship with Mr Nicolai (pictured) was strictly 'cordial and professional' - but claimed he told her their yoga-therapy sessions to help with chronic pain 'had to be a secret' However, on October 30, Ms Edwards says that she got a 'frantic' text at 1.31 a.m. from Adams that said 'You are NOT welcome any longer at Wall Street Chiropractic. She alleged that the message continued: 'DO NOT ever step foot in there again, and stay the f*** away from my husband and family.' 'And remember I warned you,' Adams allegedly said according to the New York Post. Edwards told the Post that her relationship with Nicolai who owns the successful practice was 'purely professional'. The yoga teacher had sought unspecified damages, alleging sexual harassment, gender discrimination and unlawful termination. Former Playboy centerfold Adams still identifies with the LGBT community, despite having a son with Mr Nicolai. She has also in the past claimed to be a 'direct descendant' of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. 'I can only imagine theyre rolling over in their graves because of the outrageous behavior of their purported descendant,' said Edwards lawyer, Maimon Kirschenbaum. In 2012, Ms Adams won $1.2 million from New York City because she was arrested in 2006 for allegedly threatening to shoot a cab driver with a gun. It was proven that she couldn't have been carrying a gun because she was wearing skin tight clothing. A eleven-year-old boy has been put into an induced coma after he was hit by a car in Sydney's north. The boy was riding his scooter on the footpath along Warringah Road at Forestville about 5pm when he was hit by a 4WD. It is believed he was crossing the driveway of a service station when he was struck. Scroll down for video A eleven-year-old boy has been rushed to hospital after he was hit by a car on Warringah Road in Forestville just before 5pm on Friday At 5.30pm, the boy was still being treated by paramedics for an injury to the pelvis and paramedics were preparing to transport him to hospital, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The youngster was placed in an induced coma before being airlifted to The Childrens Hospital at Randwick with serious injuries. The female driver of the vehicle wasnt injured but has been taken to hospital to undergo mandatory blood and urine testing. Officers from Northern Beaches Local Area Command have established a crime scene and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. It was originally reported that the boy is seven years old but police have confirmed he is 11. A NSW Ambulance spokesman said the woman had also been treated by paramedics at the scene. All westbound lanes of Warringah Road were closed and major delays are expected. Essex Police were told Martin Goldberg, 46, was downloading perverted images of boys but missed the fact he was a teacher for eight months A paedophile deputy head was allowed to continue working at a 10,000-a-year private school for eight months after bungling police were told he had bought child pornography. Information was passed onto Essex police about Martin Goldberg, 46, in November 2013. Images of boys undressing at Thorpe Hall School, in Southend, and in a leisure centre were discovered on his computer. But it was only eight months later, in September 2014, that police first visited his 360,000 home. He was found hanged in the garage of his home in Shoeburyness, Essex, the following day - escaping justice altogether. Mr Goldberg's name was on a list of people who had purchased DVDs and videos online, some of which showed graphic images of children, passed onto UK authorities by Toronto police in 2012, known as Operation Spade. He had recorded boys over the course of 14 years in swimming pools and changing rooms with a camera hidden in a bag. The list was passed to Essex Police's Online Investigation Team (POLIT) in November 2013 but 'high workloads' and 'low staffing' led to delays in realising he worked at a school. A damning report from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) found Essex Police did not have proper procedures in place to check if individuals worked with children after receiving intelligence about them. The force did not carry out a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check when the information was first received, the report found. It also said Essex Police's Online Investigation Team was 'poorly resourced', lacked leaders and missed national policy, which led to action not being taken earlier. Thorpe Hall School, in Southend, where Mr Goldberg, 46, worked as a maths teacher and deputy head IPCC Commissioner Mary Cunneen said: 'My first thoughts are with Mr Goldberg's victims and their families. They have been let down by the failures of Essex Police. 'We have made strong recommendations to the force about improvements to their policies and procedures that must be made to ensure that mistakes of this nature are not made in the future. 'Essex Police have accepted these recommendations and have changed the way they conduct DBS checks and reviewed the POLIT.' The IPCC report read: 'There appeared to be an eight-month delay between receipt of the referral for Mr Goldberg and the eventual intelligence checks that showed he had access to children at work. 'There appeared to be little explanation for this delay.' It added: 'Had the DBS check for Mr Goldberg been done when the referral was received, POLIT would have known he was a deputy head teacher and set action plans much sooner.' Although the report said there was 'no case to answer for gross misconduct' it did say it had 'learning recommendations for the force'. Police did not act straightaway on the information they received due to 'high workloads' and 'low staffing' Assistant Chief Constable Maurice Mason said: 'I want to reiterate the apology I made to parents of children at Thorpe Hall School in 2014. 'We are sorry we didn't react sooner to the information provided by the National Crime Agency concerning Mr Goldberg. 'At the time this happened senior officers from Essex Police met with affected families and now that we have been told by the IPCC that the investigation has concluded we will be offering to meet with them again. 'But an apology without action is not enough. 'We have already acted on every recommendation in this report.' A naked man was rescued from a chimney after he whispered for help and claimed he was just playing hide and seek. Jordan Kajewski, 29, was stuck in the chimney of the Carroll Redemption Center in Iowa for nine hours before firefighters broke a hole a pulled him out covered in soot. Brad Sapp was working late sorting aluminium cans when he heard a voice whisper: 'Get out of here.' Jordan Kajewski (left), 29, was stuck in the chimney of the Carroll Redemption Center (right) in Iowa for nine hours before firefighters broke a hole a pulled him out covered in soot When he told his wife Carrie, she laughed and told him not to be scared of ghosts. But eight hours later, at 10.15am, she heard a man yell: 'I'm in your chimney, I was playing hide-and-seek with my cousin... Don't call the cops, I just need some help getting out,' reports the Daily Times Herald. A dozen firefighters initially planned to use a rope to pull Mr Kajewski from the chimney, but eventually opted to hammer a hole where he was stuck 20ft down the chimney. Though naked, Kajewski had his clothes with him. A dozen firefighters initially planned to use a rope to pull Mr Kajewski from the chimney, but eventually opted to hammer a hole and pulled him out 'This was definitely a first for the Carroll Fire Department,' fire chief Greg Schreck said. Brad Sapp said he knew Mr Kajewski because he'd asked three times in recent weeks for a job at the company in Carroll, which is about 75 miles northwest of Des Moines. Mr Kajewski was charged with trespassing but denied trying to steal cans saying he earns $800 per week. Court records didn't list an attorney for him. Brad Sapp said he knew Mr Kajewski because he'd asked three times in recent weeks for a job at the company in Carroll, which is about 75 miles northwest of Des Moines. Pictured are the inside and outside of the chimney The Canadian Prime Minister has joined the growing coalition of world leaders intervening in Britain's EU referendum to urge voters to reject Brexit. Justin Trudeau claimed Brexit would not be a 'productive path' for the UK and echoing Barack Obama's warning, the 44-year-old said there would be 'nothing easy or automatic' about negotiating new trade deals. But the youthful Liberal Party leader, who was only elected Canada's premier six months ago, said Britain is 'always going to have clout' regardless of the outcome in June's EU referendum. However the chorus of international leaders voicing their warnings about Brexit was undermined by a senior US diplomat last night, who claimed nations around the world were 'praying' Britain stays in the EU. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau (pictured) claimed Brexit would not be a 'productive path' for the UK and echoing Barack Obama's warning, the 44-year-old said there would be 'nothing easy or automatic' about negotiating new trade deals between the two countries Samantha Power, US ambassador to the United Nations, said: The membership of the UN will be gathering in prayer and support for the Yes vote. The former adviser to Mr Obama said Britain's decision would have 'ramifications' for the rest of the vote and said Britain's relationship with the EU could not be 'snipped in some tidy way'. Mr Trudeau is the latest international leader to intervene in Britain's EU referendum campaign, with just over a month to go. His comments will infuriate Brexit campaigners, who argue that international leaders should stay out of the campaign and not seek to sway the result - as is the case during general elections. The Canadian PM joins Mr Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Commonwealth leaders in New Zealand and Australia in backing Britain's continued membership of the EU. However, Mr Trudeau's intervention is particularly significant because leading Brexit campaigners, including Boris Johnson, has called for Britain to pursue a Canadian-style trade deal with the EU if we leave the Brussels club on June 23. Mr Trudeau told Reuters last night: 'Britain is always going to have clout, it's just obviously amplified by its strength as part of the EU,' said Trudeau. The chorus of international leaders voicing their warnings about Brexit was undermined by a senior US diplomat last night, Samantha Power (pictured alongside Barack Obama), who claimed nations around the world were 'praying' Britain stays in the EU Justin Trudeau (pictured in the Canadian Parliament yesterday), the youthful Liberal Party leader, who was only elected Canada's premier six months ago, said Britain is 'always going to have clout' regardless of the outcome in June's EU referendum 'I believe we're always better when we work as closely as possible together and separatism, or division, doesn't seem to be a productive path for countries.' And casting doubt on suggestions Britain could copy Canada's trade deal with the EU, Mr Trudeau added: 'There's nothing easy or automatic about that [negotiating a deal], so I think there's a bit of an oversimplification of the story happening there.' Mr Johnson said the Canadian model was a good example of a country that maintains controls over its borders but at the same time has good trade relations with the rest of the world. 'I think we can strike a deal as the Canadians have done based on trade and getting rid of tariffs. It's a very, very bright future I see,' he said in March. Last month Mr Obama made a strong intervention by telling British voters that the country would be at the 'back of the queue' in any trade negotiations if it quit the EU. Brexit campaigners pointed out that the EU still doesn't have a free trade deal with the US after years of negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Justin Trudeau made headlines around the world after elbowing a female opposition member of Parliament in the chest as he waded through a group of her colleagues this week (the moment he bumped into Ruth Ellen Brosseau is pictured above) Justin Trudeau (left) has apologized 'unreservedly' after Brosseau (right) said the fracas caused her to miss her vote Japanese premier Mr Abe also warned against leaving the EU, warning that the UK would become 'less attractive' to his country's investors if it left the EU. Other countries have been more cautious over the EU referendum campaign. Earlier this week Moscow reacted angrily to David Cameron's claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin 'would be happy' if voters backed Brexit. The Kremlin said it was not for Mr Putin to tell British voters what to do and accused Mr Cameron of trying to use the 'Russian factor' to score political points. Mr Trudeau made headlines around the world after elbowing a female opposition member of Parliament in the chest as he waded through a group of her colleagues this week. He apologised for the third time last night, saying he should not have made physical contact with the one lawmaker and said he accidentally bumped into Ruth Ellen Brosseau. 'I made a mistake. I regret it and I'm looking to make amends,' Trudeau said on Thursday. 'I expect better behavior of myself.' Opposition leaders have slammed the incident as 'violent' - branding Trudeau, an avid boxer, 'un-statesmanlike'. Reports claim Trudeau shouted 'get the f*** out the way' during the dispute. Los Angeles Airport has ratcheted up its security measures in the wake of the EgyptAir crash as passengers across the U.S. cope with ever-lengthening queues due to security checks. The airport police at LAX said: 'In light of EgyptAir flight MS804, which disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea, we have heightened our security posture and enhanced our counter-terrorism security measures.' The plane, flying from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board, disappeared from radar screens while ten miles into Egyptian airspace. The Egyptian military said it discovered wreckage around 180 miles north of the coastal city of Alexandria and was sweeping the area for the plane's black box recorders, which could solve the mystery of the crash. Scroll down for video Los Angeles International Airport (left) has stepped up security measures. Among the passengers using LAX on Thursday were Kanye West (pictured right) and wife Kim Kardashian With the early indications suggesting a bomb was responsible for the disaster, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will be unwilling to relax its security checks despite increasing frustration from passengers and airports. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has been briefed on the EgyptAir crash. Last week he told Fox News: 'We're in a new phase in the global terrorist threat. Public awareness can make a difference and has in the past.' Long queues have developed in many U.S. airports as security checks were stepped up. Congress has given TSA more money so it can hire more staff to help with the screening process (pictured) Long queues have developed since the TSA ramped up security in November following the Metrojet airliner bombing over Egypt and again earlier this year in the wake of the Brussels airport attack. The TSA has increased screenings of airport workers, checked luggage and cargo and is scrutinizing passengers and their carry-on luggage even more rigorously. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is in charge of JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports, recently sent a letter to the TSA urging them to fix the queues and threatening to switch to private security contractors. TSA chief Peter Neffenger (pictured), who has been called to the Homeland Security Committee to explain the delays facing passengers The head of the TSA, Peter Neffenger, has been called to appear before the House Homeland Security Committee in Washington next week to discuss the delays. Last month Mr Neffenger warned travelers they would encounter more random searches, more police officers and more bomb-sniffing dogs. Sarah King, a passenger waiting for a flight at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, told CBS News: 'It can be a bit tedious and bothersome, but I know that it's for our own safety and protection.' Dr Evan Lawrence, a terrorism expert and lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire in England, told Mail Online: 'What you are going to start seeing is more checks and security for the actual planes themselves, more checks on the people who handle the planes, the baggage handlers etcetera.' Dr Lawrence, who is originally from Illinois, said: 'If a plane has landed in the U.S. they check every inch of the plane before it takes off again and you might start to see similar checks being brought in around the world after this EgyptAir crash.' She said: 'The stats show that passengers with Islamic or Arabic names do get checked more often. The TSA and the government denies that is true. But part of that is human nature because the perceived threat at the moment is from Islamic terrorism.' TSA spokesman Mark Howell said they were monitoring the EgyptAir investigation and added: 'There's a reason we do what we do, okay? It's a difficult balance between efficiency and customer service and security.' 'Why you gotta take your shoes off? Because we've had instances of the shoe bomber. Liquids -- the liquid restriction is based in real-life incidents, so as things happen in the world and as threats evolve, the organization kind of has to evolve with it,' said Mr Howell. A TSA officer checks baggage at Miami International Airport in Florida. Airport security checks have been ramped up but it has resulted in long delays for passengers FBI Director James Comey said on Thursday: 'Air travel in the United States as against the terrorist threat is far, far safer than it was 15 years ago.' The shock and fear from 9/11 has faded in the memories of many passengers but the authorities remain aware that the U.S. remains a key target for ISIS and for lone wolves. Congress recently agreed to give the TSA $34m to pay staff overtime wages and hire 768 more screeners by June 15. This would bring the total number of screeners up to 42,525. Was snapped by family of beachgoers but sightings are very rare in the UK A monster of the deep found itself in unnatural surroundings after it was spotted in the shallows off a beach in Kent. The octopus, measuring around two feet across, was snapped floating in water about a foot deep - an extremely rare place to find the mollusc given its usual habitat of underwater rocky crags. Alex Sturridge was in the water near his home in Herne Bay with family when he spotted the creature from the depths. The octopus, measuring around two feet across, was snapped floating in about a foot deep of water - an extremely rare place to find the mollusc given its usual habitat of underwater rocky crags He said: 'We were walking along and the tide was just coming in. We were paddling out and my sister spotted the octopus. 'The water was about a foot deep, and the octopus was bobbing along on the top. 'I was surprised when it started swimming towards the shore. We stood in front of it to encourage it to go back out again, and it settled on the seabed.' The 34-year-old health and safety manager added: 'The tide was coming in quite quickly by then, and that was the last we saw of it. 'It was about two feet long - it was a good size, quite big. Never seen anything like this before.' Although Octopi are found in the southern United Kingdom, they are very rarely seen by beachgoers given that they live in crevices in much deeper water and are mostly captured in fishermen's nets. The sighting is even rarer given the location, as the species prefers rockier water and not the muddy environment of the north coast of Kent. Alix Harvey, head aquarist at the Marine Biological Association UK, said it was difficult to positively identify the species, but said it was 'unusual' for any octopi to be spotted so close. 'I think it is highly likely to be the Curled Octopus, Eledone cirrhosa, which is the more common species in the UK all the ones I have kept look exactly like this. 'Though if much larger than 50cm it may have been the Common Octopus, Octopus vulgaris, which is much less common in UK waters. 'Both species are mainly found on the rocky shore, so it is relatively unusual to see it on a sandy shore. 'Eledone cirrhosa is a well distributed species found throughout the UK as well as Iceland and the Meditteranian sea. It is a commercially fished species in the UK.' Party logo features two people arm in arm, shamed like the letter M Japan's main opposition party has come under fire after unveiling a new logo which critics claim looks like a sexual assault. The Democratic Party logo's 'vibrant' design, is intended to look like two people standing arm in arm in the shape of the letter M - the initial for the party's name in Japanese; Minshinto. However, their happiness has been shortlived, as the new logo was soon accused of 'obscenity' and plagiarism. Controversial: Critics have said that the new Democratic Party logo looks like a stick-man groping another Critics said the two stick figures in the logotype - one red and one blue - look like they are doing anything but standing arm in arm. Subscribing to gender norms of blue and red representing a male and a female, they claimed it looks like a man sexually assaulting a woman. Commentators on social media mocked the logo, saying it looks like the blue man is groping the bottom of the red woman. The President of the Democratic Party defended the logo, saying it 'exudes a feeling of vibrancy and embodies the idea of progressing toward the future,' JapanTimes reports. 'It's a good logo,' Katsuya Okada told a news conference in Tokyo.Thursday morning. Under fire: The Democratic Party President Katsuya Okada unveils the party's logo during a press conference at the party headquarters in Tokyo, Japan Others accused the party of copying the logo of a popular confectionery company, which also uses blue and red in the letter 'M'. The company, Imuraya, has since removed itself from the controversy, with a spokesperson telling the Japan Times that the company took no issue with the design and believes the logos to be 'fundamentally different'. Japan narrowly dodged a recession in the first quarter of 2016, but an initial rebound in the start of the second quarter has not dispelled analyst concerns about a contraction. Abraham Lincoln appeared in Bristol Crown Court charged with communicating false information about a bomb A postal worker called Abraham Lincoln who sparked a terror scare after posing as an undercover MI6 agent and sending threatening messages to his previous employer has been jailed. Abraham Lincoln, 36, texted a bomb threat to his employer after being laid off due to poor absence. One message is said to have read 'I work for MI6' while another stated: 'There is a bomb in the parcel'. The messages sparked an investigation by the South West Counter Terrorism unit, heard Bristol Crown Court. Lincoln was previously called Maulid Abdi before he converted to Christianity and changed his name to Abraham Israel Lincoln by deed poll. He used to be a parcel sorter for UK Mail at Western Approach Distribution Park at Severn Beach, near Bristol, and was employed through the agency Interaction Recruitment. The company's Natalia Krasulaka told the court that Lincoln was initially believed to be a good worker. But UK Mail complained that he had skipped between five and 10 shifts - before telling the agency they no longer wanted to keep him on. When Natalia informed Lincoln on the phone he became aggressive and later that day, November 24 last year, is alleged to have sent a series of threatening messages to her phone. Police interrogated his mobile phone and found a string of tests relating to Britain's intelligence service and a bomb. One read: 'My dear Princess Natalie. I work for MI6.' And another said: 'There is a bomb in the parcel, I am not there, I will hold you responsible of English kids die, Natalie'. The 36-year-old from Montpelier, Bristol, also wrote: 'I love this kingdom my dear. Nice to meet you. I will hold responsible you and the manager of Interaction if the blow up some Brits.' Lincoln was jailed for 18 months by Judge James Patrick at Bristol Crown Court. 'When dismissed, in anger and drunk, you made a false threat about a bomb,' he said. Lincoln was arrested on November 26 and charged with communicating false information about a bomb, which he denied. He was convicted of the charge after a trial, where he also admitted a charge of obtaining services by deception. He said that he was a drinker and used Khat - a herbal stimulant often used by Somali men - at a cafe in St Pauls, Bristol. Lincoln claimed he had good reason to send the warnings after overhearing a plot to plant a bomb at UK Mail during the busy Christmas period Lincoln used to work for private postal service company UK Mail at Western Approach Distribution Park at Severn Beach, near Bristol 'I WORK FOR MI6 THERE IS A BOMB IN THE PARCEL: BIZARRE STRING OF MESSAGES WERE FOUND BY POLICE OFFICERS 9.39pm: My dear Princess Natalie. I work for MI6. 9.47pm: If anything happened to my dear kids in the great United Kingdom I will tell de court of law you fired me and I couldnt defend the UK Natalie. See you in court. 9.56pm: Thank you Natalie, may God bless the United Kingdom 10.03pm: There is a bomb in the parcel, I am not there, I will hold you responsible of English kids die, Natalie 10.09pm: I love this kingdom my dear. Nice to meet you. I will hold responsible you and the manager of Interaction if the blow up some Brits. 10.15pm: Interaction had employ terrorist my dear. I have found out, I will tell English secret service. Advertisement However he claimed he had good reason to send the warnings after overhearing a plot to plant a bomb at UK Mail during the busy Christmas period. A senior judge is to take 'an exceptional step' and appeal for the public's help in tracing a mother and son who have been missing for a year. Mr Justice Keehan will make a public appeal for 14-year-old Moses John and his mother Pauline Watson, 46, at the Royal Courts of Justice, in London, on Monday. Ms Watson and her son have not been seen since they vanished from their Northampton home in May last year, despite extensive police searches in the city and parts of London. Missing: Pauline Watson, 46, and Moses John, 14, vanished from their home in Northampton in May last year Social services staff at Northamptonshire County Council, which is responsible for Moses' welfare, said the pair need to be found as a 'matter of urgency'. Public appeal: Mr Justice Keehan The judge has agreed to take the extraordinary measure of opening the doors of the family court because of the level of concern for Moses' well-being. The teenager is known to be at the centre of Family Court proceedings, the details of which have not been released. A police appeal released last November said the mother and son had a 'very close relationship' and were 'rarely seen apart'. Ms Watson has links to the Croydon, Islington, Merton, Sutton, Southwark and Lambeth areas of Greater London. However searches of the city have yet to yield any results. A spokesman for Northamptonshire County Council said: 'The police and Northamptonshire Children's Services have for some time been trying to trace Moses and his mother. 'As an exceptional step, and to demonstrate the level of concern for the well-being of Moses, Mr Justice Keehan proposes to make a public statement in open court on Monday.' 'We need assistance from the media and any other persons or organisations who may be able to help trace Moses as a matter of urgency.' At the time they went missing, Moses, was described as being around 5ft 9in. Ms Watson was described as being 5ft 7in and of medium build. ISIS has claimed responsibility for hacking to death a village doctor with a machete as he walked to work at a charity centre in western Bangladesh. Local police chiefMohammad Sahabuddin Chowdhury confirmed that Mir Sanaur Rahman, 55, was killedon the spot by the blows, as a wave of similar attacks hit the nation. The homeopathic doctor and his companion, identified as Saifuzzaman, 45, suffered serious wounds. Police found a bloody machete at the scene near Dhaka. Scroll down for video Bangladeshi protesters and former Rajshahi University students demonstrate against the killing of a university professor in Dhaka last month The attackers rode a motorcycle, which they used to block a motorcycle ridden by their victims in the western district of Kushtia, 150 miles from Dhaka. 'We suspect Islamist militants are behind the attack,'police chief Chowdhury said. He said police were also checking whether the victims hadany enemies or any other factors involved. Over the past year, the South Asian nation of 160 millionhas seen a surge in violent attacks that have targeted atheistbloggers, academics, religious minorities and foreign aidworkers. At least 26 people have been killed including five secular bloggers, a publisher and two gay right campaigners have been among those killed since February 2015. The attack, claimed by the regional arm of al Qaeda, was the first of its kind to target the community, although it followed similar killings in the last 16 months of university professors, bloggers and atheists who published views critical of Islam. Shariful Islam Shihab was arrested earlier this week in connection with the murder of two gay rights activists Xulhaz Mannan was the editor of a magazine for Bangladesh's gay and lesbian community Relatives and friends attend the funeral of murdered Bangladeshi gay rights activist Xulhaz Mannan in Dhaka A student was murdered in Bangladesh last month after posting comments against Islamic extremists on his Facebook page. Nazimuddin Samad, 26, was attacked on 6 April near his university in Dhaka by men carrying machetes. He had posted several comments on Facebook criticising radical Islam and mocking hardline Islamists and their attitude to women's rights. China has warned the United States not to 'stir up any conflict' in the South China Sea and said it was ready to replay the Korean War or Vietnam if provoked. Liu Zhenmin, a vice minister in China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: 'The Chinese people do not want to have war, so we will be opposed to U.S. if it stirs up any conflict. 'Of course, if the Korean War or Vietnam War are replayed, then we will have to defend ourselves.' Scroll down for video Last week the USS William P Lawrence (pictured) sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Chinese-occupied Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea China has adopted an increasingly aggressive posture in the South China Sea as it seeks to intimidate neighbors Vietnam and the Philippines over the Spratly Islands, which are believed to be at the center of an oilfield. A tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is expected to rule in the next couple months on Beijing's claims to 1.4 million square miles of ocean, though China has already rejected those proceedings. There has also been growing tension with the U.S. and its allies Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines. Earlier this week the Pentagon claimed two Chinese aircraft intercepted a U.S. EP-3 reconaissance plane near Hainan island in an 'unsafe' manner. Map showing China's potential aircraft and radar range in the South China Sea Adrian LEUNG (AFP) The Chinese denied this, saying their jets kept at 'a safe distance' and did not make any 'dangerous moves'. Mr Liu said: 'We rely heavily on the South China Sea for transportation of resources and energy and the South China Sea is an important trading group for us. 'We attach great importance to peace and stability in the South China Sea.' He warned the U.S. it 'cannot circle China by building military bases'. Mr Liu said: 'The Chinese people and the government feel like we haven't been treated fairly because the U.S. is blaming China for rising tensions in the South China Sea. American and Chinese soldiers have not fired directly on each other since the Korean War. In this picture U.S. Major General Blackshear Bryan, left, exchanges his credentials with North Korea's Lieutenant General Lee Sang Cho during armistice talks in 1953. General Lee is flanked by Chinese generals. 'What matters is that the U.S. government has recognized that times have changed, and the U.S. can gain much more through cooperation than going to war.' China has the largest standing army in the world - more than two million soldiers - and it has been building up its naval and air capability in recent years. It has also been building airstrips on disputed islands and atolls in the South China Sea to support its claim on the so-called 'nine-dash line' in the area. President Obama's administration argues that China's claim to a huge chunk of the South China Sea, containing major international shipping lanes, is 'inconsistent with international law'. Vietnam and the Philippines have rival claims and Washington fears Beijing is seeking to impose military controls over the entire area. Much to Beijing's annoyance, the US military has conducted several 'freedom of navigation' operations, in which planes or ships pass within a 12-nautical-mile buffer around the Chinese installations. Chinese and American soldiers last fired on each other in anger during the 1950-53 Korean War. The communist North invaded South Korea but was driven back by U.N. troops - mainly U.S. - at which point China came to Pyongyang's assistance. The war ended in stalemate but tens of thousands of troops died on both sides. A would-be jewellery thief left empty handed after he drove a car through the front door of a shopping centre in a brazen ram raid in Melbourne's east. Just before 3am on May 12, a Toyota Land Cruiser 4WD was driven through glass sliding doors at Glen Waverley shopping centre. The car continued through the shopping centre before the driver rammed it into the security shutter of a jewellery store. A would-be jewellery thief left empty handed after he drove a car through the front door of a shopping centre in a brazen ram raid in Glen Waverley in Melbourne's east The car continued through the shopping centre before the driver rammed it into the security shutter of a jewellery store One staff member pushing a shopping trolley narrowly avoided being hit by the car as he jumped out of the its path. He got out of the vehicle and was confronted by security staff and a number of other people working in the centre at the time. He got back into the vehicle and drove out through another set of glass sliding doors. The crook left empty handed but almost $50,000 worth of damage was done to the shopping centre. Detectives from Monash Criminal Investigation Unit are investigating the incident and have released CCTV and images of the vehicle. One staff member pushing a shopping trolley narrowly avoided being hit by the car as he jumped out of the its path The crook left empty handed but almost $50,000 worth of damage was done to the shopping centre The vehicle is believed to be a 2011-2012 200 series GXL Turbo Diesel model Land Cruiser As a result of the ram raid, the 4WD is now missing its passenger side mirror, has damage to the drivers side mirror and likely has other front and rear damage. The vehicle is believed to be a 2011-2012 200 series GXL Turbo Diesel model Land Cruiser. It also has extra after-market modifications including a black steel bull bar, set of aluminium side steps, a Rhino brand platform roof rack and a tow bar pack. The vehicle is believed to have been fitted with stolen number plates. Police are also investigating possible sightings of the vehicle in the Cranbourne and Lynbrook areas. The man driving the car is described as being aged in his teens, perceived to be of African appearance, about 165cm tall and with the beginnings of a moustache. At the time of the incident he was wearing a black hooded jumper and black pants. They have previously collaborated with French fashion house Givenchy and technology giant Apple. And it seems Nike is now venturing into coffee house partnerships thanks to the release of a Starbucks-inspired line of trainers. The footwear company debuted the brown-colored sneakers which feature muddy swirls and green accents that bear an uncanny likeness to a Starbucks cup of coffee. Scroll down for video Nike has released a new Starbucks-inspired line of trainers featuring the green and white colors of the international coffee chain's logo Though neither company has confirmed whether it is an official collaboration, the shoes feature the same green and white colors of the international coffee chain's logo. The limited edition sneakers, dubbed the Nike SB Dunk Low Premium Starbucks Edition, are available at select Nike retailers. They cost $100 - or roughly the price of 20 venti-sized lattes. This is not the first time Nike has cooked up an off-beat food-inspired collaboration. The footwear giant recently released the 'Waffle' edition of the Dunk High trainers that boast a beige waffle-patterned texture. The limited edition sneakers are dubbed the Nike SB Dunk Low Premium Starbucks Edition Costing $100, the muddy-hued shoes are available at select Nike retailers Complete with a Swoosh logo that appears to be dripping in syrup, the quirky sneakers hit stores on April 2. They also released a new 'Hemp' version of the Dunk Low shoes in time for '4/20' - referring to the cultural holiday where people consume cannabis at 4.20pm on April 20. Earlier this month, Starbucks rejected a $5million lawsuit by a customer who claimed she is being ripped off by the amount of ice inside their iced drinks. The coffee giant is accused of making customers overpay for the hand-blended iced coffee, teas and other drinks because up to half of the product contains ice. Neither company has confirmed whether it is an official collaboration but the likeness is uncanny Stacy Pincus from Chicago has filed papers in federal court claiming the company is engaged in false advertising and consumer fraud. However, Starbucks rejected the allegations claiming the case was 'frivolous and without merit'. A spokeswoman said: 'Our customers understand and expect that ice is an essential component of any "iced" beverage. 'If a customer is not satisfied with their beverage preparation, we will gladly remake it.' According to the court documents, the company is serving its customers 'much less than advertised - often nearly half as many fluid ounces'. The lawsuit claims: 'As a result of this practice, Starbucks's cold drinks contain significantly less product than advertised, by design and corporate practice and procedure.' Ronnie Corbett stood just 5ft 1ins tall but his grandson Dylan a strapping six footer always looked up to him. So much so he decided to follow in the comedians footsteps by choosing a career in entertainment. Just weeks after Ronnies death at 85, Dylan Corbett-Bader has proved he has inherited the family acting gene receiving rave reviews for his lead role in a play. The 18-year-olds performance in A Glass of Nothing at the Brighton Festival was watched by Ronnies widow, former West End musical star Anne, 83. Hello from him: Dylan Bader-Corbett with his grandad Ronnie, pictured together in 2008 Dylan (left) - grandson of Ronnie Corbett, has followed in his grandfather's footsteps. He is pictured with Ronnie's widow Anne Hart and his daughter Sophie, Dylan's mother this week Theatre-goers said Ronnie (pictured with Dylan), would have been proud of his 18-year-old grandson Dylan, who lives with his mother Sophie Corbett in Brighton, paid tribute to his grandfathers influence. He taught me so much, he was my idol. He is what I compared success to. I wanted to be just like him. The fact I am in this play so soon after [his passing] has pushed me more to keep the family name alive. Dylan said he would always have fond memories of playing golf with Ronnie, cooking crab linguine and visiting the tailors in Jermyn Street, London. He was always very well dressed and I too now have a love of fine clothes, he said. Im so lucky to have grown up with so many actors around me. Ive been given so many tips. My nana always told me to concentrate and work hard. 'When I was eight and I told her I wanted to be an actor she said I would need to be a grafter and Ive always done that. There are hints Dylan may follow his grandfather into comedy after playwright Peter Kenny described him as a splendid comedy actor. He said: Dylan may be only 18, but he has revealed a lovely depth and core to his performance. Some actors just have lovability, and Dylan is one of them. Rave reviews: Dylan in a glass of nothing. Playwright Peter Kenny hailed Dylan as a splendid comedy actor Dylan has now been given a place at the National Youth Theatre, which has developed many famous actors Dylan, who has a diploma in Acting for TV, Film and Radio from Brighton, Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College, has now been accepted by the National Youth Theatre. Anne Corbett said: Its wonderful news. Ronnie would be absolutely overjoyed and so proud of Dylan, as we all are. Ron was an entertainer for 64 years, which is as long as the Queen has reigned. I went on the boards as a young child in Where The Rainbow Ends on the London stage. Its lovely to know that the latest generation of the family has picked up the baton and is following us on to the stage to entertain the British public. Dylans mother, Sophie, said: Ive been to see Dylan twice in this play and he [Ronnie] is here with us thats the way I see it. Performing is in our blood. A rescue dog who had her eyes gouged out by thugs in Romania has found a loving home in the UK. Nym, who is believed to be seven years old, was blinded when she was brutally abused at a kennel in Bucharest. But she was rescued from her hell by an animal-loving local and was then flown to England by Blind Dog Rescue UK. A rescue dog who had her eyes gouged out by thugs in Romania has found a loving home in the UK The canine (left and right) was scared of any contact, could barely walk and was constantly shaking. She now lives with Sian Porter in Essex (right) Nym, who is believed to be seven years old, was blinded when she was brutally abused at a kennel in Bucharest The canine was scared of any contact, could barely walk and was constantly shaking. She is now said to be thriving and enjoying life thanks to Sian Porter, from Hastingwood in Essex. Ms Porter, a nurse at Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London, says: 'Nym was trembling with fear when she first arrived, but now she's a bundle of fun with so much love to give.' In February 2013 she fostered Nym from Blind Dog Rescue UK and she was immediately struck by how frail the dog was. The 38-yea-old said: 'Her fur was matted, she was shaking like a leaf and she would wet herself in fear if anyone tried to touch her. 'Every time that I attempted to walk her on a lead, she would fall to the ground and whimper. It was heart-breaking.' Nym (left and right) is now said to be thriving and enjoying life thanks to Sian Porter (left), from Hastingwood in Essex Nym has now formed a close bond with Sian Porter's dog Pedro since finding a new home in England Nym bonded with Ms Porter's other dogs - Pedro, a cross-breed who is also blind, and Morgan, a West Highland white terrier Six weeks later, Ms Porter saw no change in her new foster dog's mood, but decided that she could not wait any longer to take her for a thorough clean at a pet groomers. She said: 'I had no choice but to drop Nym off at the groomers before heading to work one morning. 'When my shift ended, I eagerly rushed back to pick to her up, worried about what kind of state she would be in. 'When I arrived, she was cowering in the corner of her crate after having had a bath. But then, something amazing happened. 'I called Nym's name, and she responded for the very first time. 'Slowly finding her feet, she wandered towards the direction of my voice before burying her head into my neck. 'And that's when I knew that I had to have her forever.' In time, Nym slowly settled into her new life with Ms Porter. Ms Porter added: 'My heart bursts with pride when I look at Nym and see how far she has come' Sian Porter, 38, has created such a close bond with her rescue dog, Nym, that she had a tattoo of the blind dog on her back (left) She was rescued from her hell by an animal-loving local and was then flown to England by Blind Dog Rescue UK She also bonded with Ms Porter's other dogs - Pedro, a cross-breed who is also blind, and Morgan, a West Highland white terrier. Ms Porter added: 'My heart bursts with pride when I look at Nym and see how far she has come. 'She attends doggy competitions across the country, as well as representing Blind Dog Rescue UK at Crufts. 'There are still moments when Nym needs to take herself away to a quiet room, but every day she is overcoming her fears. she boasted 40,000 followers before she was kicked off An 18-year-old woman, known as Evalion (pictured) was banned from Youtube for posting videos where she praised Hitler and condemned Jews A racist vlogger has been booted off YouTube after she sang happy birthday to Hitler and called black people ''n*****' in her videos The woman, known as Evalion, caused outrage by calling Hitler a 'brilliant' and 'compassionate man and condemning Jewish people. Her true identity isn't known but she is believed to be 18, living in Canada and well spoken. Evalion's channel was suspended after a profilic YouTuber, called Leafyishere uploaded a video about her entitled 'The Most Racist Girl On The Entire internet'. In Evalion's videos called Why Hitler Wasn't Evil and How Feminists Supported Rape by Causing the Migrant Crisis, she shared her support for Hitler. There was shock when she made swastika cupcakes with birthday candles and sang happy birthday to a picture of the Fuhrer - who was behind the execution of six million Jewish people during the Second World War. Evalion insists that the leader of the Nazis was a good man whilst also admitting to being a Holocaust denier. The baby-faced blogger is openly anti-Semitic by opening her videos with lines such as 'Do you despise the Jews as much as I do' and 'Do you want to know how to spot a Jew.' She also went on to use racist language by saying: 'Don't you hate those lazy n***** who are never satisfied even after they are given reparations.' Scroll down for video Evalion caused outrage after she made Swastika cup cakes with birthday candles and sang happy birthday to a picture of Hitler She also holds contempt for feminists blaming them for the migrant crisis and singling out criticism for Labour MP Jess Phillips. The banning of Evalion has sparked intense debate on social-media with some people outraged at YouTube's decision to censor her. Disturbingly Evalion had over 40,000 subscribers before she was exiled. One Twitter user called Spanky the Monkey said: 'If you love free speech, then you have to allow ALL people to speak!' And @Polite-Critical said: 'I don't support what Evalion says, but I defend her right to say it.' The blogger, believed to be Canadian, also used racist language by saying: 'Don't you hate those lazy n***** who are never satisfied even after they are given reparations' The baby-faced blogger is openly anti-Semitic by opening her videos with lines such as 'Do you despise the Jews as much as I do' and 'Do you want to know how to spot a Jew' However other people agreed with the Google owned video platform's decision. @HeroticTV said: 'YouTube has every reason to ban Evalion from YouTube.' And Craig Ewen added: 'I think Evalion deserved it. At the end of the day YouTube is a place kids 5+ can go to.' An official YouTube spokesperson said: 'That channel was terminated by us because it violated policies against hate speech.' In Evalion's videos called 'Why Hitler Wasn't Evil' and 'How Feminists Supported Rape by Causing the Migrant Crisis' she describes Adolf Hitler as a 'brilliant' and 'compassionate man' Friends of a boy with Down's Syndrome have petitioned for him to enter the same middle school as them rather than be funnelled to a separated school that 'segregates' disabled children. Elementary school classmates of 11-year-old Brady Green, from Fort Collins, Colorado, gave speeches to the district Board of Education saying how 'he lights up the room whenever he's around.' Normally, children such as Brady on a individualised education program attend a separate school where they have a different hall, but his friends want him to attend Blevins Middle School with them in September. Elementary school classmates of 11-year-old Brady Green (center), from Fort Collins, Colorado, gave speeches to the district Board of Education saying how 'he lights up the room whenever he's around' In the heart-warming speeches which were posted on YouTube, ten-year-old Storm said: 'I'm in the same class as Brady. He's changed the whole atmosphere of the school [since he arrived two years ago]. 'He makes it much better, much more fun to go to school. Why can't he choice into middle school? He has one extra chromosome and that doesn't really mean anything.' Fifth-grader Owen Armstrong said: I'm friends with Brady and he's one of the kindest kids in our grade.' Classmate Ella said: 'He helps people when they're down and he makes us laugh. 'To me, it seems unfair. If we are allowed to choose what middle school we go to, why isn't Brady allowed to? Just because he has a disability does not mean he is different than us.' Fifth-grader Dylan asked 'If we can choose to go to Blevins, why can't Brady?' Fifth-grader Owen Armstrong (right) said: I'm friends with Brady (left) and he's one of the kindest kids in our grade' It has now been confirmed that Brady will attend Blevins with his friends. 'They gave a very effective presentation,' Cathy Kipp, president of the Poudre School District Board of Education, told ABC News. 'Brady was awesome and his friends are amazing advocates for him.' Brady's mother told the outlet that he was delighted with the outcome. 'We were driving by the middle school and I told Brady that's where he was going to school next year,' she said. Ella (center) said: 'He helps people when they're down and he makes us laugh. To me, it seems unfair. If we are allowed to choose what middle school we go to, why isn't Brady allowed to?' 'Me?' he asked. 'My friends, too?' She said yes and Brady was thrilled. She added that the other parents have been very supportive of the petition and that his classmates love Brady 'because he accepts each one exactly as they are,' and they accept him in return. Brady's friends also nominated him for for the school's Spirit Outstanding Attitude Respect. A person with Down's Syndrome has 47 chromosomes instead of the typical 46. The board were convinced by the petition and Brady will attend same school as all of his friends Advertisement Smoke was detected in multiple places on EgyptAir flight 804 moments before it plummeted into the Mediterranean, according to the French air accident investigation agency. The cause of the crash that killed all 66 on board remains unclear but smoke alarms were sounding for almost three minutes before it began its rapid descent, according to the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) data. Agency spokesman Sebastien Barthe confirmed the new findings 'generally mean the start of a fire,' but insisted that everything is currently 'pure conjecture.' The new information suggests that a fire on board the EgyptAir plane is a more likely reason for the crash than a bomb, although experts have not ruled out the use of an 'incendiary device'. While Egyptian officials continue saying that they suspect terrorism, no group has yet come forward to claim credit as theories as to the cause of the crash continue to circulate. It comes as hundreds of mourners gathered to offer prayers for the 66 passengers and crew killed in the EgyptAir disaster. Scroll down for videos A video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry shows a ship during the search in the Mediterranean Sea for missing EgyptAir Flight MS804 plane which crashed after disappearing from the radar in the early hours of Thursday morning while carrying 66 people Gripped by grief: EgyptAir stewardesses console each other outside the Al Sedeq mosque where hundreds of mourners gathered to offer prayers for the crew of missing EgyptAir flight MS804 Ahmed Asem (centre), the father of co-pilot Mohamed Mamdouh Ahmed Asem, was overwhelmed by messages of support as he visited the Al Sedeq mosque close to Cairo International Airport to pray for his son and the other 65 people on flight MS804 Ahmed Asem is consoled by members of the Al Sedeq mosque where they held the hour-long Friday prayers for the missing Prior to the investigators confirmation, the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) had originally revealed that the smoke alarms may have been triggered before the plane went down. A screen grab of the ACARS data was published by air industry website The Aviation Herald shows time stamps that appear to match the time the aircraft lost contact with controllers. According to the leaked data, smoke alarms in the lavatory behind the cockpit first began sounding at 00.26GMT. Less than a minute later, smoke was also detected in the avionics [electronics]. The final two alerts from the plane indicate faults with the FCU - the flight control unit used by the pilot to input instructions into the flight computer - and the SEC 3 - the computer that controls the plane's spoilers and elevator computers. The Aviation Herald claimed to have received the data from three independent channels, which were unidentified, but there has as yet been no official confirmation. The ACARS screen grab provided information about smoke and heat on a window near the co-pilot and in the lavatory, which was behind the cockpit, according to CNN aviation analyst David Soucie. 'If there's fire on board the aircraft, in this area which the ACARS indicates, then something was close to the cockpit,' Mr Soucie said. It could have been either something mechanical that had failed, a short circuit, or it could have been an incendiary device of some kind as well. David Soucie, aviation analyst for CNN 'It could have been either something mechanical that had failed, a short circuit, or it could have been an incendiary device of some kind as well.' ACARS does not provide a cause of the crash, but Mr Soucie said it was significant that the data was sent over a period of one to two minutes. 'Now if it it was a bomb, the characteristic bomb... would have ruptured the skin of the aircraft,' he said. 'This is not the indication you would have had, because a bomb that would do that would be instantaneous, and these reports would not have gone over two minutes like they do.' The analyst added that a fire in the front section of the plane may well have affected the communications equipment. Meanwhile, family, friends and colleagues held back tears as the Imam led prays for their salvation at the Al Sedeq mosque close to Cairo International Airport where the doom jet had been due to land. The hour-long Friday prayers ended with pall bearers carrying a symbolic coffin for the missing bodies out of the sprawling complex. Outside, family members told of their shock at the sudden disappearance of passenger jet, while colleagues praised the professionalism of the crew. Ahmed Asem, the father of co-pilot Mohamed Mamdouh Ahmed Asem, was overwhelmed by messages of condolence. Mohamed's cousin, Hizam Asem told MailOnline: 'Mohamed was a very, very good pilot. He was the best in his class. He was very skillful. 'Ever since he was a little boy he had wanted to fly a plane. And finally he was realising his dream. He was just a young man of 27 but he was living the life he had always wanted.' Leak: Data has emerged indicating the EgyptAir Flight MS804 was on fire before it plummeted into the Mediterranean. An ACARS screen grab (above) shows smoke alarms in the lavatory behind the cockpit sounded at 00.26GMT, three minutes before the plane lost contact Hizam Asem (left), the uncle, and Hisam Asem, the cousin of the EgyptAir co-pilot attend the Friday prayers at the mosque Friends and relatives of the EgyptAir crew console each other outside Al Sedeq Mosque in Cairo The family of co-pilot Mohammad Mamdouh Assem had sacrificed everything so could fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a pilot The co-pilot's uncle Hisam Asem added: 'Mohamed loved his job. He loved being a pilot. He introduced me to Captain Mohamed Said Ali Ali Shoukair. He was a very nice man, a very good pilot. Grief-stricken air-hostesss Rasha Al Saandy and Shereen Fouad hugged each other in support outside the mosque. Rasha Al Saandy told MailOnline: 'I knew Captain Shoukair and some of the crew. They were the best colleagues anyone could hope for. 'I did not know the younger air hostesses Samar [Ezz Eldin] or Yara Hany because they had not been working on but [steward] Haietham Elzazizi was my best friend. He was so funny, he was always smiling and laughing. 'Since I heard what happened I cannot sleep, I cannot sleep.' Shereen Fouad added: 'This is so terrible. I cannot imagine how this has happened.' At another emotional service, the father of Captain Mohamed Said Ali Ali Shoukair collapsed in grief for his missing son. Distraught Bahgat Shoukair was unable to stand during the absent funeral service for his pilot son Mohamed following Friday prayers in his home city of Badrashin, south of Cairo. Frail Mr Shoukair could only sit in a chair throughout the service at the Yusef mosque, being too weak to stand and knee as is customary in Muslim prayers. Devastated: A mourner wipes away a tear during Friday prayers for the passengers and crew killed in the EgyptAir disaster Members of the Al Sedeq Mosque in Cairo pray for the crew members of the crashed EgyptAir plane as at emotional service near Cairo Family, friends and colleagues held back tears as the Imam led prays for their salvation at the Al Sedeq mosque near Cairo Airport Members of the Al Sedeq Mosque in Cairo console friends and relatives of the co-pilot of the EgyptAir plane which crashed yesterday However the father was able to shake hands with people who offered him their condolences for the loss of his son. 'Bahgat Shoukair was distraught,' one onlookers told Egyptian internet news service Video 7. 'He could not stand up. He had to sit on a chair. He could only shake hands with people. After the prayer service his relatives carried him to his home.' The captain's uncle, Shihab Shakir, told Youm7: 'The information we received is the same as what they said on TV. They remained tight lipped about what happened. 'If there was anything, he would have known because he's not an inexperienced pilot. He's very experienced and all his managers and bosses say that he is one of the best pilot's in Egypt. '[The last time I spoke with him] he called and asked if I needed anything, if I wanted him to bring me anything when he comes back, but then he said his flight would be late. BRITON WHO CHEATED DEATH BECAUSE HIS WORK TRIP TO EGYPT WAS CANCELLED AT THE LAST MINUTE SO HE DIDN'T BOARD DOOMED FLIGHT A British man is lucky to be alive after a work trip to Cairo was cancelled at the last minute. Father-of-two Ian Phillips, from Peterborough, was supposed to be on the doomed EgyptAir Flight MS804 that plunged into the Mediterranean Sea killing all 66 people on board. But in an astonishing turn of events the work trip was called off just hours before he was set to board the flight. 'It didn't really sink in how lucky I was until yesterday afternoon,' he told MailOnline today. Father-of-two Ian Phillips, from Peterborough, was supposed to be on the doomed EgyptAir Flight MS804 that plunged into the Mediterranean Sea killing all 66 people on board. Pictured with his daughter Zoe, who is pregnant, and son Bryn 'I'm very relieved and very grateful that I am still here. Luckily I didn't even get near the airport. 'It took me a few hours to realise the seriousness of it.' The 48-year-old, who is also about to become a grandfather, works at a courier firm that requires him to hand-deliver sensitive documents around the world. He gladly accepted the job which would have seen him fly from London City airport to Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris before getting the connecting flight on to Cairo International. I'm very relieved and very grateful that I am still here. It took me a few hours to realise the seriousness of it. Ian Phillips And he was only mildly relieved when the client cancelled, saving him a trip that would have involved several nights away from home. But it was only when he arrived at the London office of CMS Network and saw the news of the missing plane that he realised quite how lucky he had been. He added: 'On the one hand I feel quite lucky and grateful and on the other it all seems a bit surreal. 'I didn't know which flight they were going to put me on until I got into the office. Just before the client cancelled, they couldn't find any direct flights from the UK and that was looking like the best option. 'Just for once I'm quite pleased the client cancelled.' Although he often flies to Europe for work, Mr Phillips rarely travels further afield than Zurich or Switzerland as most of CMS Network's clients are in the banking sector. Still reeling from discovering his near-miss, Mr Phillips turned to social media to come to terms with the shock. 'I got to work yesterday morning to be asked if I would be happy to deliver a package to Cairo,' he posted on Facebook, following news of the flight's disappearance. 'Of course, said I, and by 9.45am I was on my way back to Peterborough to get my passport and pack a bag. 'Thankfully our client cancelled at the last minute so I didn't go but can you guess which flight I was due to travel on.' Friends have described his experience as 'sobering' and a 'close shave'. Others have recommended he 'do something you were putting off have a big holiday, down a pint, or something like that!' But he said his near-miss hasn't put him of flying to Cairo for work again if it was needed. Advertisement 'He was always inviting all his colleagues at the company and he would bring them together and take them for meals and fix their problems. He didn't have any problems with any one.' The services were held has search crews revealed they had found a severed arm, luggage and a two-mile-long oil slick in the Mediterranean. The news will deal a devastating blow to families who are holding out a glimmer of hope their loved ones may have survived the crash. The Egyptian military discovered wreckage around 180 miles north of the coastal city of Alexandria and are now sweeping the area for the plane's black box recorders which could hold the key to the plane's mysterious disappearance. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said a body part, two seats and suitcases were found in the search area, slightly to the south of where the aircraft had vanished from radar. Greek journalist Liana Spyropoulou later said Mr Kammenos revealed the body part was an arm. A two-mile oil slick has also been spotted 20 miles south-east of the plane's last location by the European Space Agency's Sentinel-1A radar satellite. Egyptian President Adbel Fattah al-Sisi, meanwhile, offered condolences to families of those on board, amounting to Cairo's official confirmation of their deaths. At another emotional service, Bahgat Shoukair, the father of Captain Mohamed Said Ali Ali Shoukair collapsed in grief for his missing son Celebration: Captain Mohamed Said Ali Ali Shoukair had been promoted just four days before the crash EXTREMISTS APPLIED FOR AIRPORT JOBS AT PARIS AIRPORT Islamic extremists tried to get jobs at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris this spring, it was revealed yesterday. It came despite France having been under a state of emergency since the Paris attacks in November and a sweep at Charles de Gaulle, Roissy and Orly Airports that saw 70 workers stripped of their accreditation five months ago. The security scare was discussed at an emergency meeting of officials from countries including Britain yesterday. An intelligence source said: 'These attempts have been made after officials stripped dozens of staff at French airports of their accreditation over suspected radicalisation.' It means it is possible a bomb was placed on the doomed EgyptAir flight in Paris or hijackers could have boarded there. Air security expert Xavier Tytelman said an employee smuggling a bomb on board was more likely than explosives being hidden inside baggage loaded on the plane. He said three checks were made on luggage before being placed in the hold and the systems at Charles de Gaulle worked 'very well'. Advertisement Although fingers pointed towards Islamist militants who blew up another airliner over Egypt just seven months ago, no group had claimed responsibility more than 24 hours after the disappearance of flight MS804, an Airbus A320 that was flying from Paris to Cairo. Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived in Cairo early on Friday to help investigate the fate of the missing plane, airport sources said. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said yesterday that it was too early to rule out any explanation for the disaster, but the country's aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure. Friday's announcement that debris had been found followed earlier confusion about whether wreckage had been located. Greek searchers found some material on Thursday, but the airline later said this was not from its plane. An intelligence source said: 'There was no mayday call from the cockpit which suggests that it was a terrorist attack. We are still trying to ascertain if the crew in the cockpit were overpowered by hijackers or if a bomb went off. We will only know when we examine the wreckage.' Agencies did not pick up any unusual 'chatter' in France or Egypt in the days before the attack, the source added. Mike Vivian, former head of operations at the Civil Aviation Authority, said the jet's sudden swerves before vanishing were more likely to be caused by a forced cockpit takeover than a bomb. 'One's inclined to go towards the theory that there had been some interference in the aircraft and on the flight deck, with the control of the aircraft,' he said. While there was no official explanation of the cause of the crash, suspicion immediately fell on Islamist militants who have been fighting against Egypt's government since Sisi toppled an elected Islamist leader in 2013. In October, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for blowing up a Russian jetliner that exploded after taking off from an Egyptian tourist resort. Russian investigators blamed a bomb smuggled on board. Last year's crash already devastated Egypt's tourist industry, one of the main sources of foreign exchange for a country of 80 million people, and another similar attack would crush hopes of it recovering. Clues: This image released by the European Space Agency from its Sentinel-1A satellite reportedly shows a two-mile-long oil slick (circled) in the Mediterranean Sea around 20 miles from the last-known location of the EgyptAir plane which vanished near Greece on Thursday An Egyptian plane and ship search the Mediterranean for missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed in mysterious circumstances An Egyptian plane searches for debris and personal belongins from the missing EgyptAir plane which crashed in the Mediterranean Sea An engineer stands in front of a C-130 HAUP of the Hellenic Air Force which took part and is on stand by in the search operation While most governments were cautious about jumping to conclusions, U.S. Republican candidate for president Donald Trump tweeted swiftly after the plane's disappearance: 'Looks like yet another terrorist attack. Airplane departed from Paris. When will we get tough, smart and vigilant?' Many hours later his likely Democratic rival Hillary Clinton also said it appeared to be an act of terrorism, although she said an investigation would have to determine the details. Officials from a number of U.S. agencies told Reuters that a U.S. review of satellite imagery so far had not produced any signs of an explosion. They said the United States had not ruled out any possible causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew. Amid uncertainty about what brought down the plane, Los Angeles International Airport became the first major U.S. air transportation hub to say it was stepping up security measures. In Britain, a spokesman for the David Cameron said Whitehall officials from different departments will be working throughout the day and into the weekend on the disaster and will update secretaries of state and the Prime Minister on all developments. However, the Government is refusing to discuss security procedures until the cause of the crash is known. The military has sent a vessel to follow the flight path of the plane and is heading south west towards where wreckage has reportedly been found. Hunt for clues: The Egyptian army today reported finding wreckage and personal belongings from the missing jet around 180 miles north of Alexandria. The discovery came a day after other debris found in another area near the African coast turned out not to come the plane The RAF sent a C130 plane which completed a surveillance flight last night and a second flight is ongoing. The Air Accident Investigation Branch has also offered its assistance to the investigation and is ready to offer support if required. Meanwhile, heartbreaking details are beginning to emerge of the lives cut short on board the doomed flight. Air hostess Samar Ezz Eldin, 27, who had recently married, uploaded a prophetic image of a plane crashing into the sea on her Facebook page in September 2014 just four months after she started working at Egypt's national carrier. It shows an air hostess dressed smartly in wet clothes pulling a carry-on suitcase out of the water as a passenger jet plunges into the sea behind her. A friend of Ms Eldin revealed: 'It was the job of her dreams, but she always felt a nagging feeling at the back of her mind that something bad would happen. 'She was often telling friends that she would die in an airline crash. This is very sad but also prophetic.' Other victims identified include the captain who celebrated a promotion just four days earlier, the co-pilot whose family sacrificed everything so he could learn to fly and a cabin manager who gave up a successful TV acting career to become an air hostess. Captain Mohamed Said Ali Ali Shoukair, 37, from Giza, had invited his colleagues and former flying school classmates to a huge dinner to celebrate his promotion to the rank of senior pilot, MailOnline can reveal. Ahmed Adly, of the Egyptian Pilots Association, told MailOnline: 'I can confirm that Mohamed Said Ali Ali Shoukair was the captain of the Egyptair MS804 that has been lost.' Another friend Ahmed Mashaal said: 'God bless you Shoukair. I last saw him four days ago at a party. 'He invited his whole colleagues from EgyptAir and fellow students from the flying school to a huge dinner to celebrate his promotion four days ago [on Monday]. He was celebrating his promotion.' Captain Shoukair was a very experienced pilot with 6275 flying hours, 2101 of those hours flying an Airbus 806. He was not married and did not have any children. EgyptAir stewardess Samar Ezz Eldin (left) posted a picture of an air hostess in front of a passenger jet crashing into the sea behind her (right) on her Facebook page. The 27-year-old was among the first passengers and crew on board Flight MS804 to be named Captain Shoukair (right) with colleagues. Air traffic controllers said he was in 'a good mood and gave thanks in Greek' when he was in last contact around 25 minutes before the jet fell out of the sky in a suspected terror attack His co-pilot Mohammad Mamdouh Assem had dreamed of flying planes since he was five years old and his mother had put all her savings into helping him achieved his lifelong goal. According to friends, co-pilot Mohammad Mamdouh Assem's lifelong dream was to cruise the skies with his mother spending all her savings on sending him to aviation school. EGYPTAIR FLIGHT HAD THREE AIR MARSHALLS ON BOARD PLANE EgyptAir Flight MS804 had three air marshals on board when it crashed in the Mediterranean on Thursday, authorities have said. France's transport chief Alain Vidalies told NBC News that the high number of security officers onboard was 'the usual practice'. Analysts say the higher number of air marshals onboard could be explained by a recent boost in security following a number of terrorist attacks involving passenger planes. Three air marshals also makes it less likely that the crash was called by a hijacker, as a terrorist would have to overpower not only the armed air marshals but also plane staff and passengers. Another argument against this is that no one managed to send a mayday, which suggests a hijacker would have had to break into the cockpit extremely quickly or had inside help. Advertisement Childhood friend Omar Nasef told The Daily Beast: 'He wanted to be a pilot since he was five. He was an unbelievable person, social.' His mother tragically died a few years ago from cancer and the family was still struggling to cope with her loss when news broke that he had perished on the doomed flight. 'His mom put all her savings towards his education,' Nasef said. 'The academy and all that, and it's very expensive in Egypt. That was a big sacrifice.' 'All that I know is that he loved flying. That was his dream job and that's it,' he said. Cabin manager Mervat Zakaria was also revealed to be a former TV actress who had been promoted to her position just one month before the crash. Ms Zakaria had joined the national airline carrier in 1986 after giving up a successful acting career. She had starred as a troubled teenager, Hala Awad, who had lost her mother in the hit Egyptian drama Abu El Ela El-Bashery. The show was named after the character of the widower who was bringing up his daughters on his own. But Ms Zakaria, who is believed to be married with a daughter, quit before the second series to take up a career as an air hostess for EgyptAir. Meanwhile, it emerged today that the wife of British passenger Richard Osman had warned him to be careful whenever he travelled abroad on his work, but he laughed off her fears, telling her: 'It is never going to happen to me.' The geologist had celebrated becoming a father for the second time with wife Aureilie, 36, just three weeks before the crash. He had been flying regularly to Egypt with his job with Australian gold mining firm Centamin Ltd- often taking the plane from Paris to Cairo. His brother Alastair said: 'Aureilie had warned him to be careful but he took the view that it's never going to happen to you. He just laughed it off. 'We kept in touch regularly and I would speak to him a couple times a month but he never mentioned the possible threat of terrorism on his flights across the Mediterranean to me. 'But the family was worried because ISIS and groups like them don't think that any of their victims have family members or a past or a history of hopes and dreams.' Cabin manager Mervat Zakaria (pictured, left, and with her daughter, right) gave up a successful acting career to become an air hostess Mervat Zakaria starred as a troubled teenager, Hala Awad, who had lost her mother in the hit Egyptian drama Abu El Ela El-Bashery Mr Osman had celebrated the birth of his second daughter Olympe just three weeks ago and was travelling to Egypt for work. Speaking yesterday, Alistair said: 'I still can't take it in I got a call from our sister first thing this morning and I'm still in shock. 'Richard was so happy at the birth of his second daughter, and yet weeks later he is no longer with us - it's an absolute tragedy.' Mr Osman was also father to a 14-month-old girl called Victios. His two daughters are being looked after by Aureilie in Paris, where the couple have a home. Alastair, 36, a biochemistry student at Swansea University, said: 'Of all the family I would've thought Richard would have been the last to go.' 'He was incredibly fit and a workaholic and since leaving university he has never stopped. 'He was really happy about having the baby and was looking forward to enjoying a lovely family life with his two girls.' He is believed to be a dual citizen of Australia, following a statement issued by the Australian government saying that one of those presumed dead is a UK-Australia dual national. Minister of Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop declined to give additional details, including details on the passenger's identity. Family man: Richard Osman was among the 66 victims on board the jet. His brother has described his 'delirious happiness' after the birth of his second daughter just three weeks ago. Mr Osman is pictured here with his French-born wife Aureilie and his first daughter Victios Happier times: Mr Osman's brother has spoken of his 'shock' at hearing the news of the plane crash this morning. Mr Osman, a geologist who was travelling to Egypt for work, leaves behind a wife (pictured here on their wedding day) and two infant daughters Future: Mr Osman's brother Alastair described the crash as an 'absolute tragedy', adding that Mr Osman had been looking forward to a 'lovely future' with his wife and two young daughters Passenger: A Canadian woman among those on board the plane has been named as Marwa Hamdy (pictured) The 56 passengers on board included one Briton, 30 Egyptians, 15 French, one Belgian, one Iraqi, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi Arabian, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Algerian and at least one Canadian. A Canadian woman among the passengers has also been named as Marwa Hamdy. Other crew members included air-hostess Yara Hany, stewards Atef Lotfy and Haietham Elazizi and EgyptAir security officers Mahmoud Ahmed, Ahmed Mohamed Magdy and Mohamed Abd El Menem. The search is continuing for missing EgyptAir flight 804, which disappeared from the radar while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. Authorities are scouring a wide area south of the Greek island of Crete on Friday to search for wreckage, over 24 hours after the Airbus 320 lost contact. The Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos says that the plane swerved wildly before plummeting into the sea. The Egyptian military says that no distress call was received from the pilot. The country's aviation minister Sherif Fathi says the likelihood the plane was brought down by a terror attack is 'higher than the possibility of a technical failure.' The distressed relatives of those on board have spent the night in a hotel in Cairo while they await news. Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived at Cairo International Airport early Friday morning to help investigate the fate of a missing jet, airport sources said. The French investigators are part of the French civil aviation ministry's office of investigations and analysis, the sources said. Yesterday, EgyptAir retracted its claims that the wreckage of the downed Flight MS804 had been discovered floating in the Mediterranean Sea as the mystery surrounding the missing passenger jet deepens. It comes as U.S. authorities say they have so far been unable to find any indication that an explosion took place on board the plane before it plunged 22,000ft into the water with 66 people on board. Flight MS804 was travelling from Paris to Cairo when it vanished from radar 10 miles into Egyptian airspace at 00.30am GMT without making a distress call. Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos said the Airbus A320 made 'sudden swerves' in mid-air, lurching 90 degrees to the left then 360 degrees to the right. It then dropped from 37,000 feet to 15,000ft before the signal was lost at around 10,000 feet. Security experts, ministers and former air accident investigators said all the evidence pointed to the plane being targeted in a terrorist attack. But U.S. officials have cast doubt on these claims, stating that they have so far found no evidence of an explosion on board. The ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee said there are conflicting reports about the EgyptAir plane during its last minutes of the flight. Nor is there anything yet to confirm whether terrorism, structural failure or something else was the cause, he added. 'We're working with the French to try to figure out if there is any information we have that could shed light on any of the passengers, but there's nothing yet to confirm the cause of the plane crash,' said California Rep. Adam Schiff. He said the plane did seem to have broken apart in mid-air, but the reason was unclear. Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi said the possibility of a terror attack was a 'stronger' possibility than technical failure. Relatives of passengers on board the EgyptAir flight cry at Cairo Airport as they try to receive information on their loved ones Loss: Relatives of passengers on the missing EgyptAir flight break down as they console each other at Cairo International Airport in Egypt Meanwhile, EgyptAir has retracted its earlier statement that wreckage of the plane had been found off the Greek island of Karpathos. Egyptian officials are now taking a more cautious line, similar to that of Greek authorities, and are saying they 'stand corrected' and it 'is not our aircraft'. The head of the Greek air safety authority earlier insisted that wreckage found in the Mediterranean close to where the jet is thought to have crashed 'does not come from a plane'. 'Up to now the analysis of the debris indicates that it does not come from a plane, my Egyptian counterpart also confirmed to me that it was not yet proven that the debris came from the EgyptAir flight when we were last in contact around 1745 GMT,' said Athanasios Binis. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ordered the civil aviation ministry, the army's search and rescue centre, the navy, and the air force to take all necessary measures to locate debris from the EgyptAir plane. They will join French, Greek and U.S. forces in the search. In a statement issued by his office, Sisi also ordered an investigative committee formed by the civil aviation ministry to immediately start investigating the causes of the plane's disappearance. Photographs emerged earlier of what was claimed to be debris from the plane as search vessels reported seeing plastic objects including lifejackets and seats floating in the sea around 230 miles south of the Greek islands of Crete and Karpathos. The images of the debris were posted on Facebook by Tarek Wahba, who is understood to be the captain of Egyptian container vessel, Maersk Ahram. He wrote: 'Been finding life jackets and debris including chair to the plane.' The ship was among a number of vessels sent to the area to help with the search. A Greek frigate also reported spotting two large plastic objects floating in the sea 230 miles south of the island of Crete. They appeared to be pieces of plastic in white and red and were spotted close to an area where an emergency transponder signal had been emitted. Greek military officials say a Greek C-130 military transport plane is still participating in the search for debris from the EgyptAir jet, but a frigate initially sent to the area has been recalled. The same officials say all potential debris located so far in the sea has been spotted by Egyptian aircraft. If confirmed to be a terror attack, the disaster would deal another hammer blow to Egypt's crippled tourism industry just months after a Russian Metrojet plane was brought down in the Sinai peninsula by a bomb planted at Sharm el-Sheikh airport. A Canadian woman among the passengers has also been named as Marwa Hamdy. The nation's Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion issued a statement claiming two Canadians were on board the flight. Ms Dion said: 'Based on the information currently available, Global Affairs Canada confirms that two Canadian citizens are among the passengers on this flight.' The airline has said that Ms Hamdy was the sole Canadian on the flight. U.S. government officials were working on an initial theory the jet was downed by a bomb, two U.S. officials told CNN, although they cautioned that hypothesis could change. The U.S. State Department has not yet issued a travel warning to Egypt, according to spokesman John Kirby in Washington. He told reporters that it is too early to make any definite decisions and that he is 'not aware that we recorded, saw, photographed or have possession of any electronic indications about what happened'. The head of Russia's top domestic security agency, Alexander Bortnikov, also claimed it was 'in all likelihood it was a terror attack'. Meanwhile, Jean-Paul Troadec, the former chief of the BEA national investigation unit, said the lack of a live emergency alert meant it was almost certainly destroyed in a terror attack. He told Europe 1 radio station in Paris: 'A technical problem, a fire or a failed motor do not cause an instant accident and the team has time to react. 'The team said nothing, they did not react, so it was very probably a brutal event and we can certainly think about an attack.' Their comments came after a merchant ship captain reported seeing a 'flame in the sky' over the Mediterranean. ISIS has been waging a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security forces and last October claimed the bombing of a Russian airliner flying home holidaymakers from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh which killed all 224 people on board. The flight was the aircraft's fifth of the day, having also flown to the Eritrean capital of Asmara, the Tunisian capital Tunis and Brussels in Belgium. French President Francois Hollande said nothing had been ruled out about the cause of the crash. Speaking at the Elysee Palace in Paris, he said: 'When we have the truth we need to draw all the conclusions. At this stage, we must give priority to solidarity toward the families (of the victims).' The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the accident. The prosecutor said in a statement that its collective accident department opened the investigation with the national gendarme service, adding that 'no hypothesis is favoured or ruled out at this stage'. In the minutes and hours after the crash, devastated relatives gathered at Charles De Gaulle and Cairo Airports, weeping and comforting each other as waited for news of their loved ones. The British Foreign Office said it was in contact with the family of the British national who was feared dead. Prime Minister David Cameron told LBC Radio: 'I absolutely feel for them [the families]. This is obviously a dreadful event. We don't know very much right now about what's happened. 'We know that there was one British national on the plane. It looks as if it has gone down in the Mediterranean.' 'One of our ships RFA Royal Fleet Auxiliary Mounts Bay is nearby and so we've sent it to the area, but I think it's too early to speculate about what the cause was. 'We simply don't know but all the experts are talking to each other and trying to work out what has happened and when we know more, we'll be able to say more.' The Airbus A320 left the French capital's Charles De Gaulle Airport at 9.09pm GMT last night before coming down off the Greek island of Karpathos ten miles into Egyptian airspace at around 00.30am GMT. It was scheduled to arrive at Cairo Airport at 1.15am GMT. EgyptAir first reported on the disappearance of the flight, tweeting: 'An informed source at EGYPTAIR stated that Flight no MS804, which departed Paris at 9.09pm (GMT) heading to Cairo, has disappeared from radar.' Greece's Civil Aviation Authority CAA said the flight entered the Greek air traffic control area (FIR) at 2.24am Greek time (11.24am GMT). It was identified and approved on its flight course before passing into the next section of air traffic control where it was approved by the controller for the exit point of the Greek FIR. The CAA said the last communication traffic controllers had with the EgyptAir pilot at around 00.05am found him in good spirits. It said the pilot 'was in a good mood and gave thanks in Greek when authorised to exit the Athens flight information region'. EGYPTAIR JET HAD TRAVELLED TO TERROR HOTSPOTS IN BRUSSELS, TUNIS AND ERITREA HOURS BEFORE CRASH The EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean had flown to terror hotspots in Tunisia, Eritrea and Belgium in the days before the disaster, it has emerged. The travel log of the Airbus A320 will likely form a major part of the investigation into the crash which experts say was most likely caused by a terror attack. Internet site FlightRadar24 indicates the jet travelled to Tunis, Brussels and the Eritrean capital of Asmara in the two days before, leaving open the possibility that an explosive device could have been planted aboard prior to its arrival in France. All destinations have been targeted by terror attacks or plagued by jihadist uprisings in recent months. Tour of terror: Flight radar data showed how the EgyptAir plane that crashed in the Mediterranean had travelled to Tunis, Cairo, Eritrea and Brussels, all area targeted by Islamist militants Brussels Airport and the city's Metro station were targeted in March in ISIS suicide attacks that killed 32 people. Those attacks have been linked to the same cell that killed 130 people in a November massacre in Paris, where flight MS804 took off last night. More than 20 people were also killed in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, in March last year when two Islamist militants stormed the Bardo Museum. Meanwhile, Ethiopian authorities said last week that they had thwarted a terror attack by Eritrean jihadists who trained and armed in Asmara. If a bombing is established, the question for investigators will be how a device was possibly smuggled aboard a flight taking off from France's busiest airport, Paris Charles de Gaulle, where security has been on high alert since last year's jihadist attacks. Aeronautics expert Gerard Feldzer said: 'A bomb placed on board at (Paris) or in Cairo is always possible because it's difficult to make your airport 100 per cent watertight, even in an airport with such tight surveillance as Roissy (Charles de Gaulle).' Advertisement Upset: Relatives and friends of passengers who were on the EgyptAir plane leave the EgyptAir in-flight service building at Cairo Airport Terror: Relatives gather at Cairo Airport. Among the 56 passengers on board the plane were 30 Egyptian nationals, 15 French, two Iraqis, one Briton, Belgian, Kuwaiti, Saudi, Sudanese, Chadian, Portuguese, Algerian and a Canadian Air traffic controllers tried to contact the pilot again at 00.27am for the handover of the plane to Cairo's area of responsibility, but 'despite repeated calls, the aircraft did not respond'. Air traffic control called on the emergency frequency and again there was no response. At 00.29am GMT, the aircraft was over the exit point of the Athens FIR, and at 00.29.40am GMT, it vanished from radar. The Greek authority said the military was asked for help in case the plane could be located on a military radar, but there was no sign of it. Search and rescue operations then kicked in 00.45am. Egypt's state-run newspaper Al-Ahram quoted an airport official as saying the pilot did not send a distress call and that last contact with the plane was made 10 minutes before it disappeared from radar. EgyptAir said the plane sent an emergency signal, possibly from an emergency beacon attached to the plane, at 2.26am GMT two hours after it vanished. In water crashes, an underwater beacon attached to the aircraft's flight recorders starts to emit a signal or ping which helps search and rescue teams to locate the crash and find the black boxes. Egyptian military aircraft and navy ships were taking part in a search operation off Egypt's Mediterranean coast to locate the debris of the plane, which was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two babies, and 10 crew members. Greece also joined the search and rescue operation, officials at the Hellenic National Defense General Staff said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault offered to send military planes and boats to join the Egyptian search for wreckage. 'We are at the disposition of the Egyptian authorities with our military capacities, with our planes, our boats to help in the search for this plane,' he said. 'We cannot rule anything out': Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport. He said it was too early to say whether a technical problem or a terror attack caused the plane to crash On high alert: A French officer of the Police aux Frontieres (Borders Police) stands guard at Charles de Gaulle airport Guard: Police take up position at Terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulle airport, after the EgyptAir flight vanished from radar Worry: The EgyptAir counter at Charles de Gaulle was empty first thing this morning after reports of the disappearance began to surface He spoke after French President Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting at the Elysee Palace. Later, the French military said a Falcon surveillance jet monitoring the Mediterranean for migrants had been diverted to help search for the EgyptAir plane. Military spokesman Colonel Gilles Jaron said the jet is joining the Egypt-led search effort and the French navy may send another plane and a ship to the zone. BREAKDOWN OF PASSENGERS 56 passengers (including two infants and a child) 3 security personnel 2 cockpit crew 5 cabin crew crew Passenger nationalities: 30 Egyptians 15 French 1 British 1 Belgian 1 Iraqi 1 Kuwaiti 1 Saudi Arabian 1 Chadian 1 Portuguese 1 Algerian 2 Canadians Advertisement Mr Hollande has spoken with Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi by telephone and they agreed to 'closely cooperate to establish the circumstances' in which the EgyptAir flight disappeared. The government statement cited Hollande as saying he shares the anxiety of families. Speaking on RTL radio, he said the Paris airport authority has opened a crisis centre to support the families coming to Charles de Gaulle Airport. He said 'no theory can be ruled out'. Search and rescue teams have been sent to a specific location believed to be 40 miles from the Egyptian coast. Greece has also joined the search and rescue operation. Two aircraft, one C-130 and one early warning aircraft have been dispatched, officials at the Hellenic national defence general staff said. They said one frigate was also heading to the area, and helicopters are on standby on the southern island of Karpathos for potential rescue or recovery operations. Ahmed Abdel, the vice-chairman of EgyptAir holding company, said no distress signal had been sent, as far as he knew. He added that there had been no reported problems with the plane when it left Paris. The captain of the plane, Abdel said, had more than 6,000 flying hours. This includes 2,000 on an A320. He also said there was no special cargo on board and the airline was not informed about any dangerous objects on board. As the plane was in Egyptian airspace, their air traffic controllers should have been in contact with the flight team. However, it does not necessarily mean the plane was over land at the time, as Egyptian air space stretches over the Mediterranean Sea. According to flight schedules, it was the plane's fifth flight of the day. Shortly after news of the disappearance broke, the Egyptair website crashed. The Airbus A320 is a short-to-mid range aircraft and is one of the most commonly used in the world that first entered circulation in 1986. It has a capacity of 150 passengers and a range of more than 3,000 miles. FROM A JOVIAL CONVERSATION WITH AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TO RADIO SILENCE: HOW MS804 VANISHED IN MID-AIR 11.09pm local time (9.09pm GMT) Wednesday: EgyptAir flight MS804 departs Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport bound for Cairo with 56 passengers and 10 crew including three security guards. 2.24am Greek time (11.24 GMT) Thursday: Airbus A320 enters the Greek air traffic control area, also known as the flight information region (FIR). The plane was identified and approved on its flight course before passing into the next section of air traffic control where it was approved by the controller for the exit point of the Greek FIR. 00.05 GMT: The last communication traffic controllers had with the pilot found him in good spirits. The captain 'was in a good mood and gave thanks in Greek' when authorised to exit the Athens FIR. 00.27 GMT: Air traffic controllers try to contact the pilot again for the handover of the plane to Cairo's area of responsibility, but despite 'repeated calls, the aircraft did not respond'. Air traffic control called on the emergency frequency and again there was no response. 00.29am GMT: The aircraft crosses over the exit point of the Athens air traffic control area. 00.29.40secs GMT: The jet vanishes from radar 170 miles from the Egyptian coast. The Greek authority said the military was asked for help in case the plane could be located on a military radar, but there was no sign of it. 00.45am GMT Search and rescue operation gets underway 4.26am local time (2.26 GMT) There is confusion over a new distress signal that was reportedly received by an Egyptian military tower, two hours after the last confirmed contact with the aircraft. It is believed to have come from the aircraft's emergency devices. Advertisement An EgyptAir plane was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus in March. A man who admitted to the hijacking and is described by Cypriot authorities as 'psychologically unstable' is in custody in Cyprus. The incident renewed security concerns months after a Russian passenger plane was blown out of the sky over the Sinai Peninsula. The Russian plane crashed in Sinai on October 31, killing all 224 people on board. Moscow said it was brought down by an explosive device, and a local branch of the extremist Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for planting it. With its archaeological sites and Red Sea resorts, Egypt is a traditional destination for Western tourists. In 1999, EgyptAir Flight 1990 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, killing all 217 people aboard. U.S. investigators filed a final report that concluded its co-pilot switched off the autopilot and pointed the Boeing 767 downward. But Egyptian officials rejected the notion of suicide altogether, insisting some mechanical reason caused the crash. EgyptAir has provided the following numbers for those wanting more information or who may have families on board: 080077770000 from any landline in Egypt + 202 25989320 outside Egypt or any mobile in Egypt FRENCH SPY CHIEF WARNED COUNTRY WAS 'CLEARLY BEING TARGETED BY ISIS' A WEEK BEFORE EGYPTAIR CRASH The head of France's internal intelligence agency had warned the country was being 'clearly targeted' by ISIS a week before the Paris to Cairo flight took off. It has now emerged that Patrick Calvar, the head of France's DGSI agency, told a parliamentary committee on national defence in Paris on May 10 that ISIS was planning 'a new form of attack'. France was targeted twice last year with the Charlie Hebdo attack in January and the Paris attacks in November and the French security forces are on a state of high alert. Concern: Patrick Calvar (pictured), head of French internal intelligence, warned last week that ISIS was planning new attacks on France Mr Calvar was quoted in The Local as saying: 'We risk being confronted with a new form of attack: a terrorist campaign characterised by leaving explosive devices in places where big crowds gather, multiplying this type of action to create a climate of panic.' He made no mention of attacks on aircraft. But he said he believed France was 'the country most threatened' by ISIS, which is often known as Daesh, and also warned that Al-Qaeda remained a threat and was champing at the bit to 'restore its image' as a major player, especially in the Maghreb and the Arabian peninsula. Advertisement Missing: A closer locator map shows where the flight lost contact with radars around 170 miles from the the Egyptian coast Hunt for MS804: Several vessels are seen on radar joining the search for the doomed Airbus A320 in the Mediterranean The airline then tweeted that there were 56 passengers on board and 10 crew members The airline revealed that the flight had gone missing after posting this Tweet early on Thursday morning They then confirmed that the flight lost contact with air traffic controllers 10 miles inside Egyptian airspace Donald Trump once proposed pitting black and white contestants against each other in a bid to boost the ratings of The Apprentice, it has emerged. The man who is on the brink of becoming the Republican nominee for the White House, suggested racially dividing contestants back in 2005. Trump floated the idea of segregated Apprentice teams during his syndicated radio show on July 11, 2005. Donald Trump is pictured with the contestants from the first season of The Apprentice. The eventual winner was Bill Rancic (far left). Later Trump suggested doing a 'white versus black' season of the show He told listeners he 'wasn't particularly happy' with the show's previous season and was considering 'an idea that is fairly controversial - creating a team of successful African-Americans versus a team of successful whites'. Trump added: 'Whether people like that idea or not, it is somewhat reflective of our very vicious world.' The idea, which he also mentioned on Howard Stern's show a couple months earlier - drew an avalanche of largely negative coverage and was quietly shelved. Scroll down for video Donald Trump, pictured here with Snoop Dogg, claimed earlier this year that if elected black Americans would like him better than President Obama The idea was greeted with derision and distaste. UPI asked at the time: 'Will next Apprentice play race card?' But Renee Graham, a black Boston Globe columnist, welcomed the idea and said it would be 'nothing short of revolutionary, must-see TV.' Tara Dowdell, a black communications consultant who appeared on the third season of The Apprentice, told Buzzfeed she was 'floored' when she heard the idea but she believes now it was a foretaste of the 'racial resentment and xenophobia' surrounding his presidential campaign strategy. Slide me Donald Trump has gone from being a celebrity tycoon and TV presenter (left) to being the Republican nominee for the White House in a decade She said: 'Best-case scenario, it was huge blind spot. Worst-case scenario, it showed his willingness to exploit race and be divisive - to do anything to promote himself. 'The presidency can't be one crazy, ill-advised publicity stunt after another,' she added. Trump said in January that black Americans were 'going to like me better than they like Obama' and he has sought to portray himself as a uniter of races. But Ms Dowdell said: 'He has the audacity to say he's a uniter when he proposed Apprentice: The Race War?' A Trump aide at the time sought to play down the race war Apprentice: 'It's just an idea.' Trump continued to host the series but ratings for The Apprentice diminished from 28million for the finale of the first season to 4.5million in 2011. PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Verbal fisticuffs were thrown at Monday's Jackson County Board of Supervisors between a company that has serviced Jackson County for 15 1/2 years, Acadian Ambulance services, and a potential suitor to replace Acadian, American Medical Response (AMR). The issue stems in part from a 13-page report disseminated by Gautier Mayor Gordon Gollott. Among other things, it contains a detailed letter from Deputy Fire Chief Derek McCoy of the Gautier Fire Department, citing issues with a lack of accountability for ambulance service performance. On Monday, Bennie French, community and governmental relations representative for Acadian, told the board that Gautier's issue with the monthly compliance reports has to do with time of arrival. French maintains that time of arrival is left out of the monthly reports due to concerns about patient privacy violations. But McCoy's letter refers to Article III Section 4 of their contract: "Acadian agrees to provide monthly reports of response times by area along with all backup documentation including the itemized summary of each call, which is included on the monthly report. In addition, upon request of the Board of Supervisors, Acadian will provide a report on any specific incident. The itemized summary of each call shall include all available information regarding the time, nature, resolution, arrival times, etc. of each call," McCoy wrote. So who is Acadian and why do some see a problem with compliance with the contract between Acadian and Jackson County? According to French, Acadian has complied with the best of its ability. "Acadian Ambulance Service has provided uninterrupted monthly compliance reports to the Jackson County Board of Supervisors from 2000 to the present. These reports are public record and can be obtained through the Jackson County Board of Supervisors," French said. "The confusion does not lie within the one-page compliance report, but rather in the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) information. This is the raw data used to generate the compliance report and is protected because it includes times, dates, addresses and other private information. While this information is utilized by many regulatory bodies throughout Acadian's service areas, it cannot be shared without a BAA, or nondisclosure statement." Chris Cirillo of AMR, however, disputed those statements made by French at Monday's meeting. He described his reasons for speaking critically of Acadian. "At the May 2 meeting, I attempted to make a statement regarding AMR's actions in Harrison and Hancock County, and our system here is routinely supporting the work that Acadian is contracted to do in Jackson County," Cirillo said. "We have been asked numerous times to respond to Jackson County when Acadian does not have an ambulance available for non-life-threatening instances." French responded to these notions saying, "Acadian will call for mutual aid only when we feel it is in the best interest of patient care. Every system in the United States experiences "system status overload," and resources can rapidly become depleted without warning. Since Acadian began operations in Jackson County on November 30, 2000, we have consistently met our contracted response times without relying on a large number of exceptions." AMR has served the state of Mississippi since 1974, according to Cirillo, and currently serves over 30 counties in the state. According to Cirillo, he was asked by the supervisors to come back and present information Monday on behalf of AMR and to discuss the way they have assisted residents of Jackson County. Members of the community might suspect, based upon the back and forth between AMR and Acadian, that AMR plans to submit a bid to the Board of Supervisors. Cirillo said that wasn't a sure thing. "We really haven't made that decision," Cirillo said. "We obviously are interested to learn more once the RFP [Request for Proposals] is issued and it does sound like the board and several of the cities have reached out to the board in support of them taking a look at the contract. I do believe there is some value in the board taking this opportunity to scrutinize the contract and make sure they are getting the best deal. If you take away any competitive advantage and simply look at the numbers and the comparison of the response times provided to the citizens of Jackson County, the service they are receiving is inferior, but those response times are inferior while they are paying six times more in annual subsidies than the other coastal counties." The Mississippi Press has learned that Acadian sent District 5 Supervisor Randy Bosarge a letter proposing an arrangement in which the county would no longer have to pay a subsidy to Acadian. The timing - coming as Jackson County officials considered whether to put the contract out for bids -- may be questionable to some, but Bosarge said he was not taken aback. "I called Acadian when I was first elected to this position," Bosarge said. "I told them, 'this county pays you $180,000 a year and you know that I know that I don't have to pay that, so I am telling you right now, I am not voting to pay you the subsidy anymore. You have had it 16 years, which is probably 12 years too long, but I am just being upfront with you, I am not going to pay the subsidy anymore and I want you to understand that. If it means I have to go out for an RFP, I'm going out for an RFP. That's when they took it upon themselves to write me that letter." French agreed and said that after elections, Bosarge and District 3 Supervisor Ken Taylor expressed concerns about the subsidy, so Bosarge asked French to gather letters from all of the mayors in the municipalities as well as a letter of subsidy abolishment. With an RFP moving forward, it's not yet clear who will compete for the contract, let alone who will win it. But one thing is clear: Because of the level of competition, it looks as if the city will no longer have to pay the subsidy. The RFP will officially go out to bid June 6 at the next Board of Supervisors meeting. According to French, Acadian is proud of the service that it has provided to Jackson County and has the support from city officials to back them up. Nicholas Dowse (pictured) pocketed almost 30,000, leaving employees to deal with unpaid gas and electric bills A greedy estate agent left tenants facing eviction and landlords unpaid after pocketing nearly 30,000 and splashing out on two luxury holidays, a court heard. Nicholas Dowse, 46, who ran Harmsworth Estate Agent with his wife in Portsmouth, Hampshire, kept thousands in rent, deposits, and service charges. He spent the money on lavish trips to Las Vegas and Egypt - and even told an employee to inform disgruntled tenants he was 'ill' rather than abroad. David Reid, prosecuting, said: 'He was clearly spending more than he earned. 'He knew his spending was requiring him to bolster his personal finances from injections from his business. 'He was continuing, knowing most of his landlords simply weren't getting paid.' Dowse, who was known as Nick Harmsworth at the time, told one employee at his firm he was sick and was set to be 'tested', but not to worry as 'life insurance' would cover everything. Mr Reid said: 'He and his wife not only went to Las Vegas in June 2013 but a couple of months later to Egypt in August 2013. 'While they were there the employees were left to deal with unpaid gas and electric bills, and an outstanding 4,000 water bill.' Portsmouth Crown Court heard how when employees contacted Dowse he 'simply lied' to them and said 'don't worry, everybody has been paid' - despite tenants turning up saying they had been threatened with eviction. The frauds, which ran between April 2012 and September 2013, totalled 1,430 in deposits, 15,251.84 in rent and 13,206.54 in service charges - just under 30,000 altogether. Dowse pleaded guilty to 10 counts of fraud and one failure to surrender to custody. Nicholas Dowse ran Harmsworth Estate Agent with his wife in Portsmouth when he pocketed the five-figure sum Dowse pleaded guilty to 10 counts of fraud at Portsmouth Crown Court after splashing pocketed cash on lavish holidays to destinations such as Egypt (pictured) The court heard how Dowse informed an employee to tell fed up tenants he was 'ill' rather than abroad The court heard Dowse, of Portsmouth, is a carer for his wife and he ran into difficulties when she could no longer work at the business. Kelly Brocklehurst, mitigating, said: 'These frauds lack any sophistication - they were deemed to fail. 'They were desperate measures by a man trying to prop up his business, of course doing so dishonestly.' The fraudster dodged jailed and was instead sentenced to 21 months in prison suspended for two years. He must pay 1,200 prosecution costs and complete 200 hours unpaid work, with a 100 victim surcharge. An estate agent keyed a recruitment boss's car outside court after losing a legal battle over an unpaid bill, it has been reported. Oliver McHugh, founder of Olivers Town estate agents, appeared in court after he refused to pay a fee to James Richmond, managing director of JR Recruitment, for a temp worker he hired last year. Mr McHugh, 52, said he was not prepared to pay the bill because he thought that the female temp worker had taken too much time off work and had been 'preoccupied' with her father's poor health. Legal battle: Estate agent Oliver McHugh, left, and recruitment boss James Richmond, right The judge at Edmonton County Court, in north London, found in favour of Mr Richmond, and ordered Mr McHugh to settle the 3,600 bill. Mr Richmond revealed he was 'relieved' following the court case and said he was happy he would finally be receiving the money. But as Mr McHugh left the hearing, he took out his key and scratched the side of Mr Richmond's Audi TT, causing more than 3,000 worth of damage. A top-of-the-range Audi TT can cost as much as 42,000. Mr Richmond said he chased the estate agent after catching him in the act. He added: 'I walked out the court and saw him leaving, so I waited because I did not want to annoy him. The next minute I just saw him bend down and key the whole of my car. 'I chased him and he tried to run up the road but it was a dead-end. 'I grabbed him and he escaped and ran down another road to in an attempt to get into a taxi. Scratched: Mr McHugh admitted to criminal damage after he keyed Mr Richmond's Audi TT. Pictured above, an image of an Audi TT believed to belong to Mr Richmond 'I managed to catch up with him and saw a police van so held him whilst calling them over. They arrested him at the scene on suspicion of criminal damage.' Mr McHugh was on bail for a month but later admitted causing criminal damage. He has been cautioned by police. Mr Richmond added: 'The damage will cost about 3,000 to repair because he scratched the whole of one side of my car. 'I'm glad that the situation is finally sorted, for the second time. I think Oliver has got off lightly on this occasion.' Kerry Targett (pictured) was shocked that the Year 11 students' celebrations got out of hand A headteacher was forced to call the police after pupils went on the rampage on 'muck up day' by throwing eggs and water bombs in the school. Kerry Targett was shocked that the Year 11 students' celebrations got out of hand at St Andrew's High School in Croydon, south London. The GCSE teenagers wrote derogatory messages to the headmistress on walls and tables including: 'F*** Kerry Targett' and 'Kerry Targett bang bang bang'. But despite a number of calls, the police never showed up. Mrs Targett, who has been running the Church of England school for a year, defended her decision to contact the force when pranks turned sour. She said: 'There was an incident in school as you might expect with children involved in a muck-up day, 'We did send them home early because they were getting a little bit silly with what they were doing. 'They were throwing eggs and water bombs around, yes, but they weren't necessarily directed at me. I wasn't hit by any of them. 'We had to call the police just to disperse the numbers so we could clear the streets and get them to go home and study. 'We were keen it didn't go beyond throwing eggs and water bombs. 'The police didn't come in the end. They obviously didn't see it as important and the students eventually dispersed and decided to go home and do whatever it is they needed to do.' Police said they received several calls to the area after pupils threw eggs and flour. Scroll down for video A source close to the school said that the new head's behavioural policy has left students frustrated and caused teachers to quit. They said: 'They are a nice bunch of students but they got so angry and frustrated with the head about what's been happening this year that they developed this vendetta against her. 'Never in the history of St Andrew's has there ever been any ill-feeling like that. 'The graffiti was in the corridors and also on the dining room tables.' The GCSE teenagers wrote derogatory messages to the headmistress on walls and tables at St Andrew's High School in Croydon, south London (pictured) Mrs Targett said she hoped that the graffiti wasn't personal. She said: 'I've seen some of the graffiti but I'd like to think the pupils don't have a personal problem with me. 'I'm a new teacher at the school. I've made some changes that were needed. A government 'efficiency' drive has so far cost the taxpayer 4 million and is plagued with problems, a spending watchdog has warned. Ministers launched the drive to privatise back-office functions in 2012, promising it would save at least 128 million a year. But the National Audit Office (NAO) found a series of issues have drastically slashed the benefits and the Cabinet Office has 'repeatedly failed' to learn lessons. Francis Maude launched the efficiency drive project in 2012 promising that it would save 128 million a year, but the National Audit Office has raised doubts about whether it is on track Over the first two-and-a-half years of the project savings have been 90 million - but costs have been 94 million. Delays mean costs will continue to soar as departments and contractors grapple with the fallout of slipping targets, according to the watchdog's report. Only two of 26 departments have moved to a single operating platform that was supposed to generate further savings above the 128 million a year. Confidence in the entire project 'is now low', the NAO found, with further costs also incurred in drawing up contingency measures and dealing with the fact delays have already rendered some elements of the new system out-of-date. It said the Cabinet Office 'did not act in a timely and effective manner' because it 'did not see this as its role' and had 'only recently taken a more active approach to dealing with the issues that have been raised'. While recent governance and leadership changes had been welcomed by departments and the two private suppliers involved, the NAO warned that 'previous efforts in this area have not produced results'. 'Government has repeatedly failed to learn the lessons from its experiences of shared services,' it said - though it acknowledged that blame lay also with contractors Steria and arvato UK. The scale of the problems was underlined when an arm of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) pulled out of its contract arguing it was 'no longer viable'. A Cabinet Office spokesman said: 'As the report states, the Independent Shared Service Centres have already saved 90 million, and are forecast to make a further 504 million in savings for the Government and police by 2023/24. 'The report recognises that the Cabinet Office is addressing the challenges involved in managing digital transformation, but we accept that we need to go further, and we will.' Public and Commercial Services union general secretary Mark Serwotka said: 'This is an all-too-familiar story of Tory ministers cutting and privatising, only to find they have wasted money and damaged services. 'We opposed the privatisation of shared services because we did not believe it would deliver the savings that were promised and we have been proved right.' Launching the project in 2012 then-Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, said: 'There is absolutely no need for departments and arm's-length bodies to have their own back-office functions, and duplicate efforts, when they can be delivered more efficiently by sharing services and expertise. 'Plus it will save the taxpayer half a billion pounds a year.' Boyd has been found guilty of two charges and will be sentenced on July 1 Partygoers did burnouts near families as police watched on Fearing for their safety police called in the riot squad A workshop Christmas barbecue at a mechanic almost ended in a riot A workshop barbecue was beyond control as police, the riot squad and fire brigade were called to attend the scene as partygoers began to do burnouts and the owner threatened to get 'Lebanese people and have a riot'. Police responded to calls from neighbours to attend Boydy's Mechanical Christmas party in Berkeley Vale, a suburb of the Central Coast region of NSW on December 19, 2014, reported A Current Affair. The barbecue began as a family friendly celebration, parents sat outside the workshop while children roamed around. But as partygoers began to cause chaos starting burnouts in the car park, police were called to attend the scene. Police were harassed with such hostility at a mechanic workshop barbecue they were forced to call in the riot squad Police stood behind wire fencing as partygoers did burnouts that left smoke billowing out at children Chief Inspector Rodney Peet said he faced an aggressive owner, Daniel Frederick Joseph Boyd, backed by boisterous revellers and feared for his safety if he tried to take action. Inspector Peet also told the court, the 43-year-old threatened to start a riot by getting Muslims and Lebanese people. Despite police standing outside the wire fence of the mechanic workshop, partygoers gathered around a garage as a driver revved the engine causing smoke to billow out towards the children. CCTV footage from inside the workshop showed the owner, Boyd, doing a burnout that saw the tyre catch fire before exploding and yet the burnout continued. The barbecue at Boydy'ss Mechanical in Berkeley Vale, a suburb of the Central Coast region of NSW, began as a family friendly party The owner, Daniel Frederick Joseph Boyd (pictured), threatened to start a riot when addressed by police Footage shows children standing nearby as the dangerous activities took place in the vicinity of the workshop After the back tyre eventually explodes a person is seen approaching the vehicle through thick plumes of smoke with a hose to douse the danger. Over 35 police officers were needed to attend the party costing tax payers a total of $12,800. Boyd pleaded not guilty to five charges, but a magistrate found him guilty of offensive behaviour and harassing police. He escaped convictions for the more serious charges of affray, threatening violence and intimidating police. Boyd will be sentenced on July 1. CCTV footage shows a burnouts occurring in the garage as a bystander nearby approached through the thick plumes of smoke with a hose Liberal party candidate Sherry Sufi (pictured), 33, has pulled out of the Federal election after a focus on several negative events from his past have emerged in the public eye Liberal party candidate Sherry Sufi, 33, has pulled out of the Federal election after a focus on several negative events from his past have emerged in the public eye. Most recently a video of the Fremantle's Liberal party candidate mocking his former boss by using sexually explicit language surfaced which spurred his resignation. The controversial MP has also made headlines for making derogatory comments towards indigenous Australians and comments about same sex marriage - which he linked to polygamy. Mr Sufi said he would be resigning because of 'continued focus on events from his [my] history'. He said: 'I apologise if my words and actions have caused offence to anyone. This was never my intent. 'I want to avoid further distraction from the good work being done by the Prime Minister and his Liberal team.' Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull snubbed Mr Sufi when he visited the Fremantle electorate this week when he spoke at Austal Ships to talk up a Navy contract. The controversial MP made headlines for making derogatory comments towards indigenous Australians and comments about same sex marriage - which he linked to polygamy Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) snubbed Mr Sufi when he visited the Fremantle electorate when he spoke at Austal Ships to talk up a Navy contract. He told journalists he did not agree with Mr Sufi's views The unusual sight of a local candidate absent during an election campaign visit from the PM forced Mr Turnbull to tell journalists he did not agree with Mr Sufi's views, which is why he was absent. Mr Sufi has been the subject of negative reports, including claims he embellished his work history and has publicly made comments linking same-sex marriage to polygamy and polyamory and opposing indigenous recognition. In February he said recognising indigenous Australians in the constitution was 'a move to divide the country'. But most recently a 2013 incident which surfaced of Mr Sufi mocking the South African accent of his former boss Michael Sutherland, the Western Australian parliament's Speaker, using explicitly sexual language has been reported as 'the last straw'. During a social function was said to have adopted Mr Sutherland's South African accent to describe a series of sexual adventures at the University of Johannesburg: 'When I was a freshman in college, you know, I f...ed, you know, every f...ing hot bitch in the University of Johannesburg,' Mr Sufi is alleged to have said. 'I shoved the old member up her flute.' The incident was apparently recorded - as was a subsequent prank call to office volunteers. Mr Sufi lost his job with Mr Sutherland at the time because of it. The departure means that both major parties in Western Australia have dumped their Fremantle candidates in a nine day period. An incident also surfaced from 2013 of Mr Sufi mocking the South African accent of his former boss Michael Sutherland (pictured), the Western Australian parliament's Speaker, using explicitly sexual language A possible replacement is Pierrette Kelly (pictured), an electorate officer to WA Senator Chris Back, who contested preselection for Fremantle and was present at the shipyards with her boss and the PM this week Maritime Union organiser Chris Brown was disendorsed by Labor last week for not disclosing a spent assault conviction from 30 years ago and was replaced by Fremantle deputy mayor Josh Wilson. Labor holds the seat by 5 per cent in the area and has held it since former PM John Curtin won it in 1934. Political analyst Peter Kennedy said that while the Liberals would have given themselves little chance of winning Fremantle, they did not want a candidate who was an embarrassment or a distraction. In February Mr Sufi said recognising indigenous Australians (stock) in the constitution was 'a move to divide the country' Mr Sufi has also made comments linking same-sex marriage (stock) to polygamy and polyamory He said: 'When Mr Turnbull was down at Austal Ships all he wanted to talk about was shipbuilding but he had to talk about Sufi and that made it a wasted day. 'Leaders and parties hate that and often want candidates to be seen and not heard so he had to go.' A possible replacement is Pierrette Kelly, an electorate officer to WA Senator Chris Back, who contested preselection for Fremantle and was present at the shipyards with her boss and the PM this week. and amount of 'cannabis and heroin found' Police have uncovered an alleged drug syndicate after investigating a string of Molotov cocktail attacks on Sydney's homeless. Police arrested nine people following an operation in the inner-city suburb of Woolloomooloo on Friday targeting those allegedly involved in the distribution of cocaine and heroin in Kings Cross. After executing six warrants, police allegedly uncovered an unspecified amount of cannabis and heroin. Scroll down for video Police arrested nine people following an operation in the inner-city suburb of Woolloomooloo on Friday targeting those allegedly involved in the distribution of cocaine and heroin in Kings Cross. Police said the operation commenced as a result of inquires into three Molotov cocktails being thrown at homeless people The homeless victims were staying at a refuge at Woolloomooloos Tom Uren Place when they were targeted in two separate incidents in February Five women and four men were arrested and taken to Kings Cross Police Station where charges are expected to be laid. Police said the operation commenced as a result of inquires into three Molotov cocktails being thrown in the vicinity of Cathedral Street and Bourke Street, Woolloomooloo earlier this year. The victims were staying at homeless refuge at Woolloomooloos Tom Uren Place when they were targeted in two separate incidents in February. After executing six warrants, police allegedly uncovered an unspecified amount of cannabis and heroin Police were called to the spot at 11pm on February 18 after reports that explosives were being thrown at the group. At 1.10pm the following day, another Molotov cocktail was thrown at the same spot by a person wearing a mask. No one was hurt during either of the attacks. Police released CCTV footage of the attacks which show one man running from the flames as they engulf his bedding at the refuge. No arrests have been made in connection to that inquiry but investigations are ongoing. An Oklahoma judge on Friday put off deciding whether to accept a man's request to plead guilty to first-degree murder in the beheading of a co-worker, as a death sentence would still be possible. Alton Nolen reiterated his desire to plead guilty and die by lethal injection after Cleveland County District Judge Lori Walkley asked a series of questions to assess whether he understood the charges against him stemming from the September 2014 attack at the Vaughn Foods plant in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore. 'I'm being (held) captive to the disbelievers of Allah, the one and only God,' Nolen, who converted to Islam shortly before the attack, told the judge, declining to take the stand when delivering his testimony. 'It's part of my religion that when death faces you, you do not back down.' Cleveland County District Judge Lori Walkley put off deciding whether to accept Nolen's request to plead guilty to first-degree murder in the beheading of a co-worker at a food processing plant in 2014 Alton Nolen (left) reiterated his desire to plead guilty and die by lethal injection. He's accused of beheading Colleen Hufford (right) Responding to a question from one of his attorneys, who argue that he's not mentally competent enough to enter a plea, Nolen said, 'I'll say it again. I'm here today to plead guilty.' Citing questions raised by a psychologist who evaluated Nolen at the request of his attorneys, Walkley said she wanted to be sure Nolen 'knowingly and voluntarily' entered a guilty plea before she'll agree to accept it. She said she would announce her decision on Aug. 12. If Nolen is allowed to plead guilty, there would be a separate hearing to determine his sentence. Nolen, 31, told Walkley on Friday that he wants to plead guilty to three of the six charges stemming from the attack at the Vaughn Foods plant in Moore, including the first-degree murder charge and two assault charges. At a February hearing in which he also asked to plead guilty, Nolen told Walkley that he would only accept a death sentence, not one of the lesser sentences the charge carries of life in prison with or without the possibility of parole. Walkley reminded Nolen repeatedly that if he pleaded guilty and waived his right to a jury trial, the decision to sentence him to death or life in prison would be up to the judge, not the defendant. Prosecutors, who are seeking the death penalty, say Nolen had just been suspended from his job at the plant when walked into an administrative office and attacked Colleen Hufford, severing her head Prosecutors, who are seeking the death penalty, say Nolen had just been suspended from his job at the plant when walked into an administrative office and attacked Colleen Hufford, severing her head. They say he also stabbed and wounded another co-worker before a company executive shot him. At a January hearing, Gary Hazelrigg, who was Vaughn's customer service manager at the time, testified that Hufford was in his office when Nolen came in and grabbed her from behind while holding a butcher knife. Authorities say Nolen ran down a hallway and attacked another employee, Traci Johnson, before the plant's chief operating officer, Mark Vaughan, shot him with a rifle 'In no more than a second or two, the man pulled her forehead toward him and made a vicious cut across her throat with the knife,' said Hazelrigg. He said Nolen then threw Hufford to the floor, sat on top of her and sawed at her throat. 'At some point he jumped up and turned on me with the knife in hand,' Hazelrigg said. He said he picked up a chair to keep the distance between them and escaped into a locked room. Liverpool John Lennon airport evacuated all passengers from its departure lounge because of a problem with one of its scanning machines. The fault meant those people had to be re-screened before being allowed to return airside. Passengers were also reportedly taken off planes on the runway after the security alert around midday. Passengers left the departure lounge after Liverpool John Lennon airport was evacuated In a statement the airport said: 'Due to a technical problem with one of the Airport's passenger scanning machines, all passengers were removed from the Departure Lounge and re-screened.' Robin Tudor, head of PR for the airport, added: 'We are working with the airlines. Obviously there will be delays to flights but we are working as hard as we can to catch back up again and minimise disruption.' One passenger at the airport, John Dawber, who lives in Chester, said: 'Chaos here at John Lennon Airport'. Passengers inside the departure lounge at the airport were evacuated and then had to be rescreened Another, Steph Hodson, told the Liverpool Echo: 'I was meant to be travelling to Paris with my boyfriend for his birthday. We'd just sat down in the lounge and there was an announcement. 'The staff all seemed quite flustered and we could see everyone outside. There's hundreds of people. 'We're going to have to go back through security and everything. It was quite scary and everyone was really quiet and looked worried. 'I've spoken to a police officer and they said it's an issue to do with the security scanners, and we were moved for our own safety.' Anyone travelling from Liverpool airport today has been advised to contact their airline and expect delays if their flights are due in the next few hours. Caleb Andrew Bailey, 30, (pictured) was indicted on multiple charges including using a minor to produce child pornography A Maryland Donald Trump delegate to the Republican National Convention has been indicted on child pornography and weapons charges. Caleb Andrew Bailey, 30, was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on multiple charges including using a minor to produce child pornography, illegal possession of a machine gun and illegal transport of explosives. Bailey, of Waldorf, won the delegate spot for the Maryland 5th congressional district during the state's primary in April and was due to represent Trump at the party convention in July. Authorities began investigating Bailey in May after postal police found a ruptured package containing weapons and explosive materials. Bailey called up postal customer service to inquire about the package and even provided a tracking number. The package was addressed to someone in Wisconsin and contained 400 rounds of 223 ammunition, 119 rounds of reloaded 50 caliber cartridges and 200 rounds of 14.5 M183A1 spotting projectiles, according to court documents. Neither Bailey nor the intended recipient had a federal explosives license. Authorities agreed to meet with Bailey on May 5 so he could provide information about the package, court documents say, but when he did show up, they executed a search warrant. Bailey, of Waldorf, won the delegate spot for the Maryland 5th congressional district during the state's primary in April and was due to represent Trump at the party convention in July Authorities began investigating Bailey in May postal police found a ruptured package containing weapons and explosive materials. Pictured: Capitol Heights post office in Maryland where the package was discovered Upon searching Bailey's house, police found a Spikes Tactical Model ST-15 machine gun and evidence that he had been using a minor to produce child pornography for a period of time from March 2015 to January 2016, as well as evidence of possessing child pornography. A spokesperson for Trump's campaign said, 'We strongly condemn these allegations and leave it in the capable hands of law enforcement. He will be replaced immediately.' Bailey remains in police custody as he is considered a flight risk. The 30-year-old could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the weapons charges and between 15-30 years for the production of child pornography. This is not the first time the Trump campaign has faced questions over their choice of delegate. Prominent white nationalist leader, William Johnson, was listed as among the California delegates chosen by the Trump campaign earlier this month. The California Secretary of State published a list of delegates chosen by the Trump campaign for the June 7 primary, which included William Johnson (pictured), a white nationalist leader The Trump campaign claimed he was 'erroneously selected' as the result of a 'database error' and had been removed from the list in February. However, correspondence between Johnson and Trump's California delegate coordinator, Katie Lagomarsino, had confirmed his selection earlier this month. GULFPORT, Mississippi -- Police have arrested a 23-year-old Gulfport man and charged him with breaking into a Gulfport home and sexually assaulting a 9-year-old boy. According to Gulfport Police Sgt. Damon McDaniel, the victim's father notified police around 10:30 p.m. Thursday that the suspect -- later identified as Dominique Montez Macon of Gulfport -- forcibly entered the 9-year-old's bedroom through a window and sexually assaulted the child before fleeing the scene on foot. Investigation led to Macon as the suspect and a warrant was issued for his arrest. On Friday, Gulfport police arrested Macon without incident at his Gulfport home. He was booked into the Harrison County Adult Detention Center under a $2 million bond set by Harrison County Justice Court Judge Brandon Ladner. At the time of his arrest, Macon was out of jail on bond for an October 2015 charge of cyberstalking a teenager. World champion surfer Mick Fanning is set to take part in the same competition where he was attacked by a shark just a year ago. The 34-year-old announced on The Project on Network Ten on Friday that he would return to compete at Jeffreys Bay in July. 'It is just a place that I have so many amazing memories there. I just feel it's a place where I want to right the wrongs,' he told the Logie winning panel. The three-time world surfing champion fought off a great white shark during the competition last year by punching it in the face after it attempted to bite him. Scroll down for video World champion surfer Mick Fanning, 34, told The Panel on Friday that he would return to compete at Jeffreys Bay in July where he survived a shark attack last year. 'It is just a place that I have so many amazing memories there. I just feel it's a place where I want to right the wrongs,' he told the Logie winning panel The last 12 months have been difficult for Fanning after his brother died on December 16 last year and his marriage to Karissa Dalton ended in January this year after eight years together. In an interview with 3AW earlier on Friday, Fanning said he was taking a break from surfing after competing at the Bells Beach classic at Easter and wasn't sure if he would compete again in 2016. 'At this stage in life, I can't answer that question, I've only had a month off'. Fanning was promoting his new beer brewery, Balter Brewing, a boutique brewery on the Gold Coast he owns with fellow surfing friends. 'We're sort of getting to the end of our careers now, we've got to look at different ventures' Despite these reports he has now confirmed he would return to the surfing world, competing in the Fiji Pro next month as well as at Jeffreys Bay from July 6, the same competition where he survived a great white shark attack. 'At the moment I have it pencilled in,' he told The Project adding that he wanted to right the wrongs from last year. 'I'm going to compete. I'm going to Fiji at the start of next month and then go on to J-Bay.' Fanning has been promoting his new beer brewery, Balter Brewing, a boutique brewery on the Gold Coast he owns with fellow surfing friends The last 12 months have been difficult for Fanning after his brother died on December 16 last year and his marriage to Karissa Dalton ended in January this year after eight years together Fanning had previously said he was taking a break from surfing after competing at the Bells Beach classic at Easter and wasn't sure if he would compete again in 2016 Footage of the attack hit headlines last year and shows a shark fin approach Fanning as he paddled out of the shallows Fanning can be seen being knocked off his board before he attempts to use it as a shield to stop the shark biting him. He was uninjured and had only lost a leg rope in the incident Footage of the attack hit headlines last year and shows a shark fin approach Fanning as he paddled out of the shallows. Fanning can be seen being knocked off his board before he attempts to use it as a shield to stop the shark biting him. He was taken into a rescue boat by officials and brought back to the shore. He was uninjured and had only lost a leg rope in the incident. Speaking after the attack, Fanning said: 'It came up and got stuck in my leg rope. 'I instantly just jumped away. It kept coming at my board and I was kicking and screaming. Defense lawyers in the upcoming Chandra Levy murder retrial plan to present evidence suggesting it was Gary Condit who murdered the 24-year-old college student. Attorneys for convicted killer Ingmar Guandique were granted a retrial in the case last year when it was revealed that a key witness had lied on the stand during the trial, and will be back in court this October. That witness was Condit, a former California Congressman who knew Chandra but refused to answer questions about the nature of their relationship while under oath during her murder trial, despite the fact that the married father of two had admitted to authorities that he had an affair with the intern. Guandiques attorney Eugene Ohm accused Condit of lying on the stand earlier this year, claiming that notes from a police interview his did after Chandra's disappearance conflicted with his 2010 testimony in the case. Ohm did not elaborate. Condit, 68, was considered a person of interest in Chandra's disappearance and murder prior to Guandique's conviction but never named as an official suspect by police. Scroll down for video Once again: A retrial in the Chandra Levy (above) murder case starts in October after lawyers for convicted killer Ingmar Guandique alleged a witness lied at trial Culrpit: The man the defense has accused of lying is Gary Condit (above in November 2010), the former congressman who was rumored to have had a relationship with Chandra Behind bars: Chandra's body was discovered in a park a year after she disappeared and in 2009 Guandique (above in April 2009) was charged with her death and sentenced to 60 years in prison In a motion filed Wednesday, Guandique's legal team writes that Condit had a 'powerful' and 'obvious' motivation for killing Chandra - his affair with the much younger college student. 'Mr. Condit was fully aware of the cost he could pay if his affair with Ms. Levy became public,' the defense motion states. 'He therefore had an obvious motive to kill Ms. Levy in order to keep the relationship secret, and an equally powerful motive to cover-up the circumstances of her death if she died while she was with him either through his intentional conduct or otherwise.' The defense also attempted to convince Judge Robert Morin to allow depositions to be taken from three women who claim to have had affairs with Condit as well as a friend who worked as his former driver and bodyguard. The judge agreed to allow one of these women to be deposed, given that she is ill, but said the other two must testify at the trial, despite the defense arguing they are too afraid to be in the presence of Condit. Guandique's attorneys said that these two women will speak about how Condit had a sexual interest in tying them up during their alleged relationship. The defense will also be suggesting that Levy was tied up during the murder, basing this on the fact that a pair of knotted tights were found near her body. Prosecutors meanwhile argued that the testimony of these three women and the former friend are 'not relevant' to the trial, and lashed out at the defense during a hearing on Wednesday. Prosecutor Deborah Sines accused the defense of trying to grab headlines with their trial strategy and dragging Condit back in as a possible suspect, adding that there was a 'very good chance of tainting a jury pool' given the media coverage. Bad news: The defense team also revealed in a court motion Wednesday that they are planning to reintroduce Condit as a suspect in the murder at the retrial (Chandra and Condit above in 2001) New life: Condit was never charged with any crime, and in 2003 moved to Arizona with his wife Carolyn (above with her huband in 2012) after losing his congressional seat Chandra was last heard from on May 1, 2001 when she emailed her parents Susan and Robert to inform them about her travel plans as she prepared to head home to California for her graduation. She had ended her apartment lease and cancelled her gym membership in the area around this time as well according to authorities. Her parents attempted to contact her for three days before reaching out to police on May 5 and filing a missing persons report. The next day, on May 6, they called Condit, who was their congressman in California, for help locating their daughter. Condit and Chandra had a friendship according to the congressman, though it was later reported that the two were far closer and that the married politician had been intimate with Chandra while the University of Southern California student was interning in the nation's capitol. In the months after Chandra's disappearance more and more details were revealed about her relationship with Condit, which led him to hire a criminal defense team while still denying he had anything to do with her disappearance. A search of the park where the young woman often jogged meanwhile turned up no evidence suggesting that Chandra had been in the area when she went missing. Authorities announced that July there was a good chance that Chandra's body might never be found, and though Condit was cleared as a suspect his political career never recovered and he was defeated in the California primary the following March. Two months after that, in May 2002, a man found human bones and a skull in Washington's Rock Creek Park, where police had previously searched for Chandra's body. The park's administrative office was also one of the last searches on Condit's computer the day that Chandra went missing. Her death was determined to be a homicide soon after, and a month after her skull and bones were found private investigators hired by her parents also found her shin bones less than 100 feet from where her remains had initially been discovered that May. Tragedy: Chandra was 24 and about to graduate college was she disappeared while in Washington DC where she worked as an intern Not happy: Her father Robert (above with wife Susan) said about the retrial in an interview with Today last month; 'As far as I can see, it's just some defense attorneys trying to make themselves a name and make more money. It was months before the discover of Chandra's body however that Guandique was introduced as a suspect, when a prison informant said he had spoke about murdering Chandra. Guandique had also been accused of assaulting two other female joggers in the park. He was behind bars at the time on drug charges but was never formally charged in the death of Chandra and her case went cold until 2006 when it was reopened by the city's new police chief. After a three-year investigation, Guandique was charged with Chandra's murder in 2009 and later indicted on six counts including kidnapping, first-degree murder committed during a kidnapping, attempted first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree murder committed during a sexual offense, attempted robbery, and first-degree murder committed during a robbery. He was convicted in November 2010 and sentenced to 60 years in prison the following February. His attorneys petitioned for a retrial soon after and prosecutors dropped their opposition last year saying that the 'passage of time and the unique circumstances of this case' made it difficult to oppose the retrial. They also stated at that time that they still agreed with the jury's verdict. Condit, who served in Congress from 1989 to 2003, moved to Arizona with his wife Carolyn after losing his seat and opened an ice cream franchise. He at one point also served as president of the Phoenix Institute of Desert Agriculture, a nonprofit group, but it is unclear if he still holds that job. Condit's son Chad ran for a seat in the California House of Representatives in 2012, and his daughter Cadee is married to Adam Gray, a former aide for Condit who now serves in the California State Assembly. And while the defense may think Condit is a possible suspect in the case, Chandra's parents think the right man is behind bars. Her father Robert said about the retrial in an interview with Today last month; 'As far as I can see, it's just some defense attorneys trying to make themselves a name and make more money. A woman who complained about her treatment at a boutique hotel was told the company gave 'zero f***s'. Rebecca Normand, from London, visited Hotel Bosco in Surbiton, Kingston-upon-Thames, with five other friends, who all had children in prams. The mother claims the four star establishment needed to keep the lounge area free for businessmen and that they couldn't accommodate them. Mrs Normand took to Facebook to complain about what happened on the hotel's official page - and she was left stunned by their reply Michael Tobiasiewicz (right), duty manager of the hotel, said he remembered Mrs Normand (left) coming in but could not say who had posted the response Mrs Normand took to Facebook to complain about what happened on the hotel's official page - and she was left stunned by their reply. She wrote: 'At 3pm today myself and three other mums (and six prams) were turned away from Bosco, Lounge despite it being empty, just in case business men/meetings may take place later...Won't be going there again and will be sharing on social media.' But rather than accept the review as constructive criticism, an admin from the 170-a-night hotel lashed out at the unhappy customer. Hotel Bosco's account commented: 'And Hotel Bosco gives zero f***s.' Michael Tobiasiewicz, duty manager of the hotel, said he remembered Mrs Normand coming in but could not say who had posted the response. He said: 'No one contacted us formally. Mrs Normand just wrote on Facebook, which we don't find good. 'I have to say I am really surprised about the comment underneath. I don't know who wrote it.' Rebecca Normand, from London, visited Hotel Bosco (pictured) in Surbiton, Kingston-upon-Thames, with five other friends, who all had children in prams The comment has since been deleted, as have the ones criticising the hotel's response. Mrs Normand is not the first mother to suggest the hotel takes a discriminatory policy against them. Alison Filkin, in February last year, wrote: 'Was astounded that myself and a group of other mothers were chucked out stating management's policy of no more than four children as it needs to be kept free for business lunches. 'Not only is this entirely discriminatory it was also only 10am and the place was entirely empty.' And a review on Trip Advisor from last year reads: 'A bunch of us mums used to visit here frequently with our babies. 'Today we were asked to leave as we had too many prams (three) and they needed the space for lunchtime business meetings. 'Despite the fact it was 10am and that there was not a single other customer in the entire place, they kicked us out.' Mrs Normand (left) is not the first mother to suggest the hotel takes a discriminatory policy against them. Pictured (right) is the hotel's manager Michael Tobiasiewicz A person identifying themselves as the hotel's customer relations manager has replied to some of the earlier social media complainants. She said: 'The hotel has been struggling with the volume of National Childbirth Trust groups frequenting the hotel lounge with in excess of 12 parents and babies in arms on regular occasions. 'Obviously this volume has the potential to impact on our business and ability to trade for lunch, coffees and meetings. 'We are a boutique hotel and have a duty of care to our resident guests to provide an environment that's suitable and in keeping with the hotel. Donald Trump is mocking Hillary Clinton's declaration that she wants to put her husband in charge of the U.S. economy if she's president, saying that she probably just wants to keep a watchful eye on her famously wayward husband. The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting said Friday on 'Fox & Friends' that the Democratic front-runner's surprise move may not be an admission that U.S. voters like Bill Clinton more than they like Hillary. 'Well, maybe she's saying that, or maybe she just wants him around the White House so she can keep her eye on him,' Trump quipped. Asked what Bill's second go-round in the West Wing might mean, Trump said: 'I don't know. Maybe he'll bring the Energizer with him.' Donald Trump mocked Bill and Hillary Clinton on Friday's 'Fox & Friends' broadcast The Republicans' presidential nominee-in-waiting has been hitting Hillary more and more, including Thursday night at a New Jersey fundraiser for Gov. Chris Christie, as the pair move closer to a head-to-head contest That was his second televised jab in a week at the former president's rumored long-running affair with Julie McMahon, a neighbor who reportedly visited the Clintons' home in Chappaqua, New York whenever Hillary wasn't around. Trump tweeted a similar sentiment on Tuesday. The notion of Bill Clinton at the helm of America's economy once again has drawn mixed reviews, with dial-tested focus groups 'flatlining' giving a digital thumbs-down as they watched Hillary making that announcement. 'First of all, the president should be in charge of the economy,' Fox co-host Brian Kilmeade said Friday. 'Right. He should run!' Trump mocked in reply. He also called Hillary 'so ill-equipped to be president,' talking about her response to questions about handling a burgeoning Islamic terror problem at home and abroad. Responding to Clinton's contention that temporarily closing America's borders to non-citizen Muslims would encourage more bloodshed, Trump exclaimed: 'Is that the dumbest thing you've ever heard? ... What she said is so dumb!' But most of his verbal ammunition was aimed at Bill, not Hillary, whom he blamed for the North American Free Trade Agreement's related job losses, and for the subprime mortgage crisis. 'He was the one that got that started, and that led to catastrophe,' Trump said. Clinton was a strong advocate for the 1997 Community Reinvestment Act, which required banks to relax their lending standards in inner-cities. One long-term result was a bursting financial bubble as banks felt the impact of millions of mortgage defaults from Americans who were never equipped to make the payments they signed up for. And NAFTA, Trump said, 'is one of the worst trade deals ever made by any country at any time. It has cleaned out our country of jobs.' 'Mexico is taking our jobs, they're taking our factories,' he said. 'Look at wha'ts happening with China, and Hillary likes TPP. You know, the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal is gonna be worse in my opinion, worse if that's possible, than NAFTA.' 'And Hillary Clinton wants it. And so does Obama want it. It'll be a total disaster for our country. She wanted it so badly, and now she sees that I'm against it, so she went and studied it and now she says, "Oh, maybe he's right." So maybe now she's going against it, but that's only because of me.' Hillary has drawn mixed reviews on the idea of a two-for-one presidency involving her husband Bill, and TV viewers in focus groups give the idea a thumbs-down Trump responded also to reports that his newly minted campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, told Republican congressional staffers on Thursday that the real estate tycoon's 'behavior can be changed' in the general election season. 'I don't think we want to change it too much. We're leading,' Trump countered. 'Perhaps, I mean, I can do what I have to do, but I don't want to really change. I am who I am.' He also joked that Newt Gingrich, a 1990s-era former Speaker of the House and university historian, might be another addition to his growing 'short list' of potential vice presidential nominees. 'Sure. Why not? He's a great guy. You might as well!' he joked, when asked if the Fox News hosts should tell Newt he's on the short list. 'Newt is such a great guy, he's been such a great supporter. ... Absolutely, I'll say yes because he's been such a supporter. I mean, anybody that supports me is on the short list as far as I'm concerned,' Trump chuckled. And looking back at the 2012 Republican National Convention, made famous by Clinton Eastwood's 'discussion' with an empty chair representing President Barack Obama, Trump suggested his short list could get longer and longer. Britain will be treated like a 'deserter' by the EU if it votes to leave, the president of the European Commission has said. Jean-Claude Juncker warned that Germany, France and other states would not 'bend over backwards' to help if the UK abandoned the union. It is the latest bloodcurdling threat about the consequences of cutting ties with Brussels. The French finance minister previously sparked fury by insisting the UK would be 'killed' by its former partners in negotiations over a post-Brexit trade deal. Mr Juncker's intervention comes as Leave campaigners revealed research suggesting that five million more migrants could come to the UK by 2030. European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said the rest of the EU would not 'bend over backwards' to help if Britain votes to leave Justice Secretary Michael Gove said there was a reasonable danger of the influx happening and it could put 'unsustainable' pressure on the NHS. The UK will not be 'welcomed with open arms' by the remaining European Union if it votes to 'desert' the 28-nation bloc in the June 23 referendum, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has warned. Mr Juncker insisted that he was not making a 'threat', but made clear that a Leave vote would damage co-operation between Brussels and London. Comparing the UK with a pet which does not enjoy its fur being rubbed up the wrong way, he said Britain would not 'have its hair stroked in the right direction' by the rest of Europe if it chose to leave. Asked by French newspaper Le Monde how Brussels would respond to a Leave vote, Mr Juncker said: 'Deserters will not be welcomed with open arms. 'If the British say no - which I hope they will not - community life will not carry on as before. 'The United Kingdom will have to accept being considered as a third party, which does not have its hair stroked in the right direction. 'If the British leave Europe, it will be necessary for both us and them to draw conclusions. That is not a threat, but our relations will not be the same as today.' Mr Juncker said that the reforms to Britain's membership secured by David Cameron in a renegotiation in February would be implemented if the UK voted to Remain. But he appeared to suggest that the reform package - including an emergency brake on migrant benefits, protections for non-eurozone states and an exemption from 'ever closer union' - was not playing a decisive role in the Brexit debate, noting that 'nobody is talking about (it) during the referendum campaign'. The implementation of the package 'will not be easy', he said. And he warned that, while he was ready to consider moves to recast 'the European idea', this would risk adding to divisions within the EU. Mr Juncker suggested that the referendum called by David Cameron provided an opportunity for Paris to take a more prominent role in setting Europe's future direction. France had 'a line to take, a message to deliver, a certain idea of Europe to defend', he said. Paris was 'well placed' to lead Europe on vital issues and would have the Commission's support if it chose to launch a 'big initiative', he said. A 'coherent message' from Paris could have a significant impact 'in the face of the British narrative', Mr Juncker told Le Monde. 'The United Kingdom will have to accept being considered a third party, who we won't be bending over backwards for.' Donald Trump has cut down Hillary Clinton's lead over him in a general election match-up to just six points in the last month. A CBS/NYT poll released today shows Trump closing in on Clinton, who previously had a 10-point edge on him. He now trails her 41 percent to 47 percent. Clinton is the likely Democratic nominee, but the latest national survey reinforces a selling point Bernie Sanders is using for his candidacy: He would do far better against Donald Trump than the former secretary of state. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Donald Trump has cut down Hillary Clinton's lead over him in a general election match-up to just six points in the last month A CBS/NYT poll released today shows Trump closing in on Clinton, who previously had a 10-point edge on him. He now trails her 41 percent to 47 percent Sanders' main case to Democrats supporting Clinton is that he can win in November for the reasons detailed in the CBS survey - he'd rob support from Trump in areas where the presumptive Republican nominee runs strongest Sanders maintains a double-digit advance over Trump. Down from 17 percent a month ago, the U.S. Senator would still win the general election, if it were held today, by 13 points, 51-38. The insurgent Democratic candidate's performance in the general election voters is linked to two key data points - white working class voters and disaffected Republicans. A democratic socialist whose platform includes proposals to provide free college tuition and Medicare-for-all, Sanders would starve Trump of a massive lead with white voters who would be otherwise inclined to vote for the Republican. The CBS poll shows Sanders losing by the category by three percent, 43-46. Clinton meanwhile faces a significant struggle when it comes to white voters, the survey revealed. Against her, Trump would hit the 50 percent mark. That she would lose the major voting block to Trump by 12 points with 38 percent is a drag on her general election chances. Trump faces his own problems, however, with women and Republicans who are unhappy with his candidacy. Women would back Sanders in a general, 56 percent to Trump's 32 percent. Clinton would also excel in the demographic group. She'd take 53 percent of the women's vote, shedding three points from Sanders' positioning, surprisingly, as Trump gained four percent for a 36 percent finish. Sanders would also beat Trump among men, 46-45. Clinton would lose men by five. When it comes to support from within their own party, both Clinton and Sanders are in a better place than Trump. Respectively, 88 percent and 86 percent of Democrats say they'd vote their party's nominee in the general, while five percent and six percent say they'd vote for Trump. Looking at Republicans, six percent say they'd vote for Clinton. A telling 10 percent say they'd cast their ballots for Sanders instead of Trump, however. The anti-Trump sentiment within the Republican Party would help hand Sanders a victory in a general. Clinton is the likely Democratic nominee, but the latest national survey reinforces a selling point Bernie Sanders is using for his candidacy: He would do far better against Donald Trump than the former secretary of state Clinton, seen here yesterday during a TV interview, meanwhile faces a significant struggle when it comes to white voters, the survey revealed. Against her, Trump would hit the 50 percent mark For Sanders, who is more than 250 pledged delegates behind Clinton, it may be too late based on the number of contests left, despite the fact that most voters are displeased with the idea of either her or Trump as president It's a number sure to make its way into the Democratic candidate's talking points as he tries to turn the primary on its head in the final week of voting. Sanders' main case to Democrats supporting Clinton is that he can win in November for the reasons detailed in the CBS survey - he'd rob support from Trump in areas where the presumptive Republican nominee runs strongest. For Sanders, who is more than 250 pledged delegates behind Clinton, it may be too late based on the number of contests left, despite the fact that most voters are displeased with the idea of either her or Trump as president. The CBS poll found that 46 percent of registered voters don't like those options. A majority, 52 percent, said they want additional choices. Most Republicans said they were fine with what was in front of them, 55 percent, but a majority of Democrats, 52 percent, said they were not. John Breen, 53, (pictured) suffered catastrophic head injuries and died in hospital a day after the assault on October 27 last year A Romanian teenager who killed a commuter with a 'knockout punch' at rush hour on the Tube has been jailed for two years and nine months. John Breen, 53, suffered catastrophic head injuries and died in hospital a day after the assault on October 27 last year. As the 17-year-old - who was granted anonymity - was taken down to the cells, friends of the victim shouted: 'Call that f****** justice?' The killer's 15-year-old brother, who joined in the vicious attack, was sentenced to a 12-month youth referral order after pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Mr Breen, a construction worker, was on his way home from work when he was attacked by the two brothers at Stratford Station. The siblings, who moved to Britain from Romania over six years ago, were said to be part of a part of a 'boisterous' teenage group who had spent the day hanging around in Westfield Shopping Centre in east London before entering Stratford station at rush hour. They had been jumping in front of people on a crowded escalator when they were confronted by Mr Breen, who was from Streatham, south-east London. The victim was knocked to the floor when he challenged them, before being repeatedly stamped on, punched and kicked. Then as he tried to stagger to his feet, the 17-year-old felled Mr Breen with a single punch before the yobs ran off, leaving the victim unconscious with blood pouring from his head. The punch to the middle of the victim's face was described as 'a very hard blow that knocked the man back on to the floor striking the back of his head on to the hard floor'. He died in hospital the following day. The four youths were arrested after they were discovered sitting in two separate Jubilee line carriages. Prosecutors dropped proceedings against two of the boys, who are aged 14 and 15, last December. The 17-year-old was originally charged with murder but the prosecution accepted his guilty plea to the lesser offence of manslaughter on the first day of his trial. Judge Mark Lucraft QC told the teenage killer: 'This was violence in public in an area packed with people. 'You used force that was unreasonable in all the circumstances.' The judge said he reduced the sentence because of the guilty plea and the fact the youth was 16 at the time of the killing. The 17-year-old and a 15-year-old boy, who cannot be name for legal reasons, attacked hod carrier John Francis Breen at Stratford Overground Station (pictured at the time) in the east of the capital city Stratford railway station regularly deals with around 160,000 passengers every day, and there was chaos in the aftermath of the alleged assault (pictured) Mr Breen was heading home on the afternoon of October 27 last year after a day's work on a building site in Stratford when the attack happened. The boys had been in Westfield Shopping Centre and entered the tube station around 20 seconds before Mr Breen. 'Mr Breen was proceeding rather more quickly then the young men', said prosecutor Mukul Chawla QC. 'The group of five went on to the escalator within the tube station, and stood on the left hand side, the side on which passengers generally walk down. 'Mr Breen was on the same side behind them, he had gone through the ticket barrier 20 seconds after them and there was some sort of verbal exchange between Mr Breen and one or more of the group. 'Two witnesses recall one of them apparently teasing or winding up Mr Breen. Whether he was frustrated by being unable to descend the escalator as he wanted, it is impossible to say.' He said the victim then passed the boys, but turned round and punched the 17-year-old after they got off the escalator. There was chaos in the aftermath of the alleged assault at Stratford station in East London last October The younger sibling shouted 'you can't hit my brother' and the gang then launched a vicious attack on Mr Breen, punching, kicked and stamping on him. The younger brother shouted "you can't hit my brother", and the group launched a vicious attack, kicking and punching Mr Breen to the ground. He was helped to his feet by members of the public but appeared to be 'shaking or dazed'. The 17-year-old then punched Mr Breen in the face 'with considerable force such that he fell immediately to the ground.' Mr Chawla added: 'His head struck the ground with such force that many witnesses recall hearing a distinctive crack or thud sound. 'It was immediately apparent that Mr Breen was seriously injured and was bleeding copiously from a head injury.' A postmortem found Mr Breen had suffered three fractures to the base of the skull from his head hitting the ground. In a victim impact statement read out in court, Mr Breen's sister Angela Adams said: 'John Breen was a wonderful son, brother and uncle. 'This senseless act has caused shockwaves of grief and loss throughout the family. It all seems so wrong. We just want our brother back.' Jeffrey Peacock, 25, has been arrested on murder and arson charges A shooter gunned down four men and one woman and tried to burn down a house to hide the evidence. Jeffrey Peacock, 25, told officers who arrived at the flaming building in Moultrie, Georgia that he had popped out to Hardees restaurant to buy breakfast for the others who were awake inside. But he has been arrested on murder and arson charges after autopsies showed the five people in their early twenties had all been shot before the blaze on Sunday morning. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement: 'The victims were shot inside of their residence by Peacock, who set fire to the house in an attempt to conceal the crimes.' Alicia Norman, 20, Jonathon Edwards, 21, Reid Williams, 21, Jones Pidcock, 21, and Jordan Croft, 22 all lost their lives. Peacock, who is in custody at Colquitt County jail, knew all of them but motive for the murder remains unclear. Darryl Taunton, the uncle of one of the victims, was bemused as to how all five could have died in the fire. 'When you look at something like this, and there's five people in that house and they're all young capable men and a capable young lady, I just have to question what happened where they couldn't get out?' he told WCTV. 'It's just a devastating blow to our community to lose five such wonderful kids.' GBI officials said: 'Investigators and agents met with family members concerning the status of the investigation and the families have requested privacy from inquiries at this time.' It wasn't immediately known Friday morning whether Peacock had a lawyer who could be reached for comment. The GBI plans a news conference later Friday to release more details in the case. Tom Cruise's aging mother Mary Lee Mapother has been seen in public for the first time in seven years, Daily Mail Online can exclusively reveal. The rare sighting of Mapother, 79, will put to rest speculation over her whereabouts since she disappeared from public sight due to deteriorating health. Mapother was pictured looking overjoyed to see family members while they departed from a public harbor in Clearwater, Florida, during a Mother's Day boating trip earlier this month. Her Hollywood star son was absent from the May 8 trip in Clearwater. The city hosts the headquarters for controversial religion Scientology. Scroll down for video Tom Cruise's mother, Mary Lee Mapother, departing from a public harbor in Clearwater, Florida, during a Mother's Day boating trip Cruise's son, Connor Cruise (left), was captain for the day out on the large fishing boat, as the others sat back and enjoyed the ride Mapother, pictured above greeting friends and family members, was joined by Cruise's adopted son with ex Nicole Kidman, Connor Cruise, as well as Cruise's sister Marian Henry (in white floral dress and leggings), her son Cal (in red shirt) and his wife Marjorie (in blue floral dress hugging Mapother), Mapother's two nurses and a family friend Cruise, 53, and Mapother's other two other daughters, Lee Ann and Cass Mapother, missed the boating excursion Mapother used a breathing tube attached to her nose and required a wheelchair from her car to the special assistance boat ramp, but neither appeared to be a hindrance to her family day out. The afternoon trip was organized by Connor Cruise, the actor's adopted son with ex-wife Nicole Kidman, on the 21-year-old's brand new $400,000 deep-sea fishing boat. They were joined by Cruise's sister Marian Henry, her son Cal and his wife Marjorie, Mapother's two nurses and a family friend. Cruise, 53, and Mapother's other two other daughters, Lee Ann and Cass Mapother, missed the boating excursion. The exclusive pictures show the first time Mapother has been seen in public since she was last photographed walking the red carpet as Cruise's date at the Golden Globe awards in 2009. An onlooker said: 'It seemed like a massive effort for Mary and she clearly wouldn't have missed it for the world. 'To spend Mother's Day with one of her children is clearly a blessing.' The group departed from a public harbor in Clearwater, best known for holding the headquarters for controversial religion Scientology Mapother used a breathing tube and required a wheelchair, but neither appeared to be a hindrance to her family day out The trip was organized by Connor Cruise (left), the actor's adopted son with ex-wife Nicole Kidman, on the 21-year-old's $400,000 deep-sea fishing boat The Mother's Day boating trip is the first time Mapother has been spotted in public since 2009, when she attended the Golden Globes with Cruise Mapother was Cruise's date the the 2009 Golden Globe awards, and the mother-son duo walked the red carpet together Mapother (second right) and Cruise's stepfather, John South (right) gave Cruise the funds to pursue his show business dreams after he performed in a high school production of Guys and Dolls. Pictured above the couple poses with Cruise and ex-wife Nicole Kidman at the 1996 Mission Impossible premier Mapother raised the Mission Impossible star as a single mom since he was 12, supporting him in his early career and and later living with him at his Beverly Hills mansion for years. She divorced Cruise's biological father Thomas Mapother III, an abusive alcoholic, in 1974. Four years later, Mapother married Cruise's stepfather John 'Jack' South and the family settled in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. It was there that Cruise asked his parents for permission to pursue his showbusiness dreams after starring in a high school production of Guys And Dolls. Mapother has said in the past: 'After the show, Tom came home and said he wanted to have a talk with my husband and me. 'He asked for ten years to give showbusiness a try. Meanwhile, my husband's thinking, "What's this gonna cost me? Ten years of what?" 'Tom said, "I really feel that this is what I want to do". 'And we both wholeheartedly agreed, because we both felt it was a God-given talent, and he should explore it because he was so enthused about it. 'So to make a long story short, we gave him our blessing and the rest is history.' The couple lent Cruise a few hundred dollars, which he eventually repaid from waiting tables in New York. The large deep-sea fishing boat was one of several on the water during the Mother's Day excursion A family friend sat next to Connor Cruise as he guided the boat through the water, while Mapother sat behind the men with one of her nurses A source said: 'Tom is extremely close with Mary, she's been the rock in his life for as long as he can remember.' The new photos come after concern among friends and family began to grow when Mapother vanished from public view. It's believed she was last spotted at a private Scientology banquet at the Celebrity Center in Hollywood, on April 5 of last year. At the Easter event, she was kept away from the main outdoor dining area where other members of the church were eating while being watched over by a guard, a witness said. Shortly afterwards, she abruptly left an assisted-living home in Los Angeles, California, where it's understood she resided before relocating to Clearwater, Florida. The town is the worldwide headquarters for Scientology but sources reveal Mapother lives privately away from the church's living quarters. An insider told Daily Mail Online: 'Mary decided to live in a quiet neighborhood 20 minutes drive away from the hub where most people walk the streets wearing Scientology colors. 'It can be intense at the church and nobody bothers her now. She's got herself a peaceful retreat with lake views where she is cared for by a nurse. 'It must remind her of time living in Marco Island [Florida] with [long-time husband] John [South], who passed away last year.' Following the day out on the water, a family friend pushed Mapother in a wheelchair to help her through the parking lot Despite three of her children being missing from the Mother's Day celebration, Mapother appeared happy to spend time with her family members Cruise's step-father South, 89, died in July, after suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Neither Cruise nor his mother attended the 89-year-old's funeral, which was held at St William Catholic Church in Naples, Florida, in last August. Mapother married South in 1978, when Cruise was just 16, but it is believed their marriage broke down in 2003 - around the time she became involved in Scientology. Mapother was Catholic and had brought Cruise up in the faith. He abandoned Catholicism first, and she later followed. While Mapother remains a follower of Scientology, it is not known whether she is receiving medical care for her ailments - which is said to oppose the beliefs of the Church. A former well-known Scientologist, speaking on agreement on anonymity, told Daily Mail Online: 'The Church allows for vaccinations but doesn't believe in medicine to treat pain, whether it's a fever or cancer. 'Whenever someone gets sick they're sent for auditing because Scientology leaders believe the mind is more powerful than medicine.' As a zealot, Scientology-speak for being a 'true believer', Cruise doesn't believe in drugs or therapy of any kind. Police were called in to carry out two controlled explosions after a suspicious vehicle triggered a bomb scare at ITV studios. The incident happened on Coin Street in London at around 11.20am today. The owner of the car, which was blown up, returned to his vehicle this afternoon and didn't look too happy as he inspected it by opening the bonnet. Patrol officers reported the 'suspicious' white Skoda in the area and the Metropolitan Police's bomb squad arrived. Police were called in to carry out two controlled explosions after a suspicious vehicle triggered a bomb scare at ITV studios Police used bomb disposal robot as well as police dogs to diffuse a suspect white Skoda All the buildings in the vicinity, including ITV's studios on South Bank, were evacuated and police cordoned off the area around the car The owner of the car, which was blown up, returned to his vehicle this afternoon and was seen inspecting his it by opening the bonnet All the buildings in the vicinity, including ITV's studios on South Bank, were evacuated and police cordoned off the area around the car. Detectives used a robot to carry out the controlled explosions and later determined the vehicle as 'not suspicious'. Pictures showed the car's windows smashed up and what looked like petrol canisters inside the vehicle. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: 'Officers on patrol on Coin Street came across a suspicious vehicle. 'We cordoned off the area around the vehicle and a controlled explosion was carried out. 'The vehicle has now been deemed as not suspicious'. Police shut off large parts of the South Bank as Bomb Disposal Officers used a robot to carry out a controlled explosion on a white Skoda parked in opposite the National Theatre and the ITV Studios Patrol officers reported a 'suspicious' white Skoda in the area and the Metropolitan Police's bomb squad arrived at the scene shortly The car, which had been deemed suspicious by police, at South Bank in London today Detectives used a robot to carry out the controlled explosions and later determined the vehicle as 'not suspicious' WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Attorney Carlos Moore plans to extend his battle to remove the Mississippi State flag bearing the Confederate battle emblem to the nation's capital. In February, the Moss Point native Moore filed suit describing the state flag as "state sanctioned hate speech" and told the Mississippi Press in March, "I want a better state for my daughter." Celebrities, civic leaders and Mississippi actress Aunjanue Ellis will stage a rally at the U.S. Capitol on Flag Day to bring attention to the Confederate Battle emblem included within Mississippi's state flag. Ellis supports Moore in his fight to bring Mississippi together under a flag he feels represents all Mississippians. Moore's suit against Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant is based on the 13th and 14th Amendments. Mississippi remains the only state whose flag shares iconography thought to be closely related with Klu Klux Klan. Moore argues that the Confederate battle emblem imagery violates the 14th Amendment protection of African-American residing in the state of Mississippi. "The governor thinks this is a frivolous lawsuit but it's time we make a change in Mississippi. All the other southern states have seen the light but our state just doesn't get it," Moore said. "That flag is a symbol of hate, white supremacy and division in our country." Moore is expecting a great turnout and hopes the rally will show the rest of the country this issue is bigger than Mississippi. "We are expecting about 500-1000 people," Moore said. "We are hoping to let America know that this is not only a Mississippi problem, this is an American problem. Congress could with one piece of legislation solve this problem across the country. We are advocating that Congress use their power under the 13th Amendment to ban vestiges of slavery on public property." Moore is also hoping a representative from Hilary Clinton or Bernie Sanders camp will attend the rally. "The day of the rally is also the day for the Democratic primaries," Moore said. "We are hoping either or shows up because whoever becomes President can push Congress to pass this legislation using their authority so we are hoping to speak with their campaign so one of them can support this endeavor." Ellis participated in a rally at the state Capitol in June of last year where she stated, "I refuse to act until the flag of Northern Virginia (Confederate flag), the flag of the KKK comes down." "The Ku Klux Klan attacked my grandfather under that flag," Ellis said. "Take the debate of the 'heritage not hate of the Confederacy' out of it, because this is about choices the state made after the dissolution of the Confederacy." Ellis made an even bigger statement when she attended the 47 NAACP Image Awards and took a red carpet stance wearing a dress adorned with a red hand print signifying blood on the state's hands with the message, "Take It Down Mississippi." The state flag issue was initially brought to a vote on April 17, 2001 where a referendum was presented stating the 1894 state flag had not been verified when the state constitution was rewritten in 1906. Mississippians voted overwhelmingly to keep the 1894 state flag by a total margin of 65% to 35%. The rally will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 14, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. It started with apple pies and ended with fisticuffs. A fight broke out between two female employees at a McDonald's in South Carolina at about 10pm on Wednesday night, reportedly after a row over making pies. The fight ensued after one of the women, 30, asked her 25-year-old female colleague to start frying a new batch of pies, Chester County investigators said. In dramatic footage captured by a customer, the women can be seen wrestling behind the counter as other employees try to pull them apart. Major beef over pies: A fight broke out at a McDonald's in Chester, South Carolina, on Wednesday between two female employees over apple pies Video captured by a customer shows the two women brawling while other employees try to separate them According to Chester County investigators, one of the women, 30, asked a 25-year-old worker to start frying a new batch of pies and an argument ensued 'I'm thinking, "oh man something's about to really happen right now",' the customer, Noah Smith, told 13 News Now. 'She runs back over there and does this like flying punch and hits the lady. And that's when it all went down.' The two women began arguing when one woman told the other to leave the store and that she would cover the rest of her shift, 13 News Now reported. But the younger woman - who was becoming increasingly angry - refused her colleague's offer to leave. Investigators added that the younger woman's brother - who works at the store - also told her to leave, but she again refused. The younger woman then apparently hit the staffer that asked her to make the apple pies. It's unclear whether any charges will be filed but one was seriously injured, police said. Officials with McDonald's corporate released a statement about the fight and video on Thursday. In the video the women can be seen wrestling behind the counter as other employees try to pull them apart. This is believed to be one of the women being lead away Scene: The incident occurred around 10pm Wednesday at this McDonald's in Chester, South Carolina 'We take the care and safety of our employees very seriously and have zero tolerance for violence. At this time, we are cooperating fully with the police during their investigation into this matter,' said Chris Sparks, McDonald's director of operations. The British man who was killed when an EgyptAir plane crashed into the Mediterranean had laughed off his wife's fears that something would happen on his travels. Geologist Richard Osman, 40, shrugged off the fears of wife Aureilie, 36, by saying: 'It is never going to happen to me.' Mr Osman died just three weeks after celebrating the birth of his second daughter and his family have been left stunned by his sudden death. Family man: Richard Osman was among the 66 victims on board the jet. His brother has described his 'delirious happiness' after the birth of his second daughter just three weeks ago. Mr Osman is pictured here with his French-born wife Aureilie and his first daughter Victios Happier times: Mr Osman's brother has spoken of his 'shock' at hearing the news of the plane crash this morning. Mr Osman, a geologist who was travelling to Egypt for work, leaves behind a wife (pictured here on their wedding day) and two infant daughters Richard had been flying regularly to Egypt with his job with Australian gold mining firm Centamin Ltd- often taking the plane from Paris to Cairo. His brother Alastair said 'Aureilie had warned him to be careful but he took the view that it's never going to happen to you. He just laughed it off. 'We kept in touch regularly and I would speak to him a couple times a month but he never mentioned the possible threat of terrorism on his flights across the Mediterranean to me. 'But the family was worried because Isis and groups like them don't think that any of their victims have family members or a past or a history of hopes and dreams.' He also revealed that Mr Osman had been 'deliriously happy' at the birth of his second daughter Olympe on April 27. Richard Osman, who celebrated the birth of his second daughter just three weeks ago and was on board the EgyptAir plane 'I still can't take it in,' Alastair, 36, said from his home in Swansea. 'I got a call from our sister first thing this morning and I'm still in shock. 'Richard was so happy at the birth of his second daughter, and yet weeks later he is no longer with us - it's an absolute tragedy.' Mr Osman, who was travelling to Egypt for work, was also a father to a 14-month-old girl called Victios. He went to Queen Elizabeth Cambria school in Carmarthen before going to Kingston University and then taking his masters degree at Camborn school of mining in Cornwall. It comes as the Egyptian military confirmed the wreckage of the plane, which had 66 people on board, had been foundaround 180 miles north of the coastal city of Alexandria. Mr Osman's name features on a list of passengers that has reportedly been circulating online. His two daughters are being looked after by their French-born mother Aureilie, 36, in Paris, where the couple have a home. Mr Osman's brother Alastair, a biochemistry student at Swansea University, said: 'Of all the family I would've thought Richard would have been the last to go.' 'He was incredibly fit and a workaholic and since leaving university he has never stopped. 'He was really happy about having the baby and was looking forward to enjoying a lovely family life with his two girls.' The plane disappeared from radar 10 miles into Egyptian airspace without making a distress call, at 00.30GMT on Thursday. Future: Mr Osman's brother Alastair described the crash as an 'absolute tragedy', adding that Mr Osman had been looking forward to a 'lovely future' with his wife and two young daughters Mourning: His two daughters are being looked after by their French-born mother Aureilie, 36, in Paris, where the couple have a home Devastated: Richard Osman's brother Alastair, who described his family's heartbreak at the news of the crash Pictures emerged on Thursday that were reported to show debris from Flight MS804, with search vessels reporting seeing plastic objects including lifejackets and seats floating in the sea around 230 miles south of the Greek islands of Crete and Karpathos. The flight was travelling from Paris to Cairo when it vanished, in what experts claim was almost certainly a terrorist attack. Mr Osman's father, Dr Mohamed Fekry Ali Osman, was an Egyptian who worked as an ear, nose and throat consultant at Singleton hospital, Swansea, before he died at the age of 70 in 2013. The family's main home is in Jersey, and Mr Osman had worked in the Australian goldmines before returning to Europe several years ago. Find: A Greek frigate found two large plastic objects floating in the sea about 230 miles south of the island of Crete, Greek defence sources said Crash: A radar map shows the plane's path travelling from Paris and then stopping in the Mediterranean Sea before reaching Cairo, where it lost contact with air traffic control The family have a younger brother, Philip, 34, who runs a string of bars in Thailand. Former neighbour Audrey Jones described Mr Osman as 'a lovely, lovely boy'. 'He was such a nice lad and always very good to his mother,' she said. Another neighbour Maria Bengeyfield, 64, said: 'Richard was a lovely young man and was always travelling around the world. 'The children all moved off when their father died. Richard went to Jersey where he has a young daughter. 'This is a terrible tragedy for his poor family.' Hunt: This image posted online purportedly shows a piece of debris from the doomed EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean with 66 people on board Wreckage: EgyptAir flight MS804 heading from Paris to Cairo crashed into the sea after disappearing from radar. There were 66 people on board the Airbus A320 (pictured) that vanished 40 minutes before it was set to land in Egypt early Thursday morning Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos said the Airbus A320 made 'sudden swerves' in mid-air, lurching 90 degrees to the left then 360 degrees to the right. It then dropped from 37,000 feet to 15,000ft before the signal was lost at around 10,000 feet. The revelation came as security experts, ministers and former air accident investigators said all the evidence pointed to the plane being targeted in a terrorist attack. If confirmed, the disaster would deal another hammer blow to Egypt's crippled tourism industry just months after a Russian Metrojet plane was brought down in the Sinai peninsula by a bomb planted at Sharm el-Sheikh airport. Ben Butler is accused of murdering his daughter Ellie. He branded his trial 'unfair' today after a row over expert evidence The father accused of battering to death six-year-old Ellie Butler complained he was not getting a 'fair trial' today after his medical expert was stopped during her evidence. Trial judge Mr Justice Wilkie told Ben Butler's legal team that a US doctor giving evidence for the defence was 'straying beyond her expertise'. The judge suggested the defence team had 'sprung' evidence on the trial and then interrupted the doctor saying he was 'uncomfortable' with her testimony. Butler responded angrily in the dock, saying it was 'unbelievable', adding: 'I'm not getting a fair trial, man.' Butler, who is accused of beating his daughter to death at this home in Sutton, South London, called Dr Julie Mack as an expert witness today and she gave evidence via video link from the US. Butler, 36, is said to have murdered Ellie while his partner Jennie Gray, 36, was at work in the City of London on October 28, 2013. He denies being responsible for her death and claimed Ellie suffered her fatal injury weeks before, when she fell on the stairs while playing with Jack Russell puppy Minnie. Neuroradiologist Dr Mack, from Penn State University of Medicine, told jurors that scans of Ellie's head showed recent and older injuries, including skull fracture, swelling and bleeding. She told jurors she could not date healing calcification of earlier injuries, but literature she had seen suggested it could be as little as two weeks old. She dismissed an earlier expert witness suggestion that Ellie suffered more than one impact, saying: 'I don't think it is a safe conclusion to make based in the radiology.' Little Ellie was left with catastrophic head injuries while at home with her father. He says she jumped and fell Prosecutor Ed Brown QC stood up to complain, saying it was 'convention that witnesses give notice'. He told the court the prosecution was unaware of Dr Mack's claim, or of the literature she cited about dating of earlier injuries. The judge said the fact that aspects of Dr Mack's evidence were not in her report was 'not only regrettable' but 'improper' and 'quite wrong'. Defence barrister Icah Peart QC said it was not his intention to 'hold anything back'. The judge ordered the defence to move on, but again halted the doctor's evidence when she talked about Ellie's broken shoulder. Mr Justice Wilkie said he was 'very uncomfortable' with allowing her to 'stray' beyond her expertise in this area. Butler, left in a court sketch, is on trial alongside Ellie's mother, Jennie Gray, who is accused of child cruelty Under cross-examination, Dr Mack said she usually dealt in breast scans and had not interpreted neuroradiology for 10 years. The jury has heard Butler was convicted of shaking Ellie as a baby, but was cleared on appeal. He and Gray won a long custody battle and Ellie was returned to their home in Sutton, south-west London, 11 months before her death. Butler denies murder and cruelty over Ellie's untreated broken shoulder. Gray, 36, denies child cruelty but has admitted perverting the course of justice. A 15-year-old Howard High School of Technology student has died after being shot in Wilmington, Delaware, the second student to die in recent weeks. The victim was identified locally as 9th grade student Brandon Wingo. Officers found the boy lying on the ground Thursday afternoon, a few blocks away from the school, with a gunshot wound to his head, Wilmington police said in a news release. He later died from his injuries. Scroll down for video 15-year-old Howard High School of Technology student Brandon Wingo has died after being shot in Wilmington, Delaware, the second student to die in recent weeks Officers found the boy lying on the ground Thursday afternoon, a few blocks away from the school, with a gunshot wound to his head, Wilmington police said Wingo later died from his injuries. He was in the 9th grade; officers are pictured searching the area Wilmington resident Lynette Kornagay told WPVI: "I heard pow, pow, pow, pow, and I was like "That sounds awful close to home."' 'I went to go look outside, and I seen the individual lying there on the ground and I heard everybody screaming.' Howard High School Principal Stanley Spoor posted a note on the school's website confirming the shooting death of a freshman student. It said: 'I am sorry to have to inform you that a 9th grade Howard student was shot at approximately 3:20 this afternoon in Wilmington at the 900 block of Clifford Brown Walkway. 'He was transported to Christiana hospital and died of his injuries.' Spoor said: 'All of the Howard community is pained by the loss of this young man and we all grieve his death. Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers.' He said counselors will be available at the school Friday. Wingo is the second Howard High School student to die in recent weeks. Howard High School Principal Stanley Spoor posted a note on the school's website confirming the shooting death of a freshman student. The school is seen here Spoor said: 'All of the Howard community is pained by the loss of this young man and we all grieve his death. Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers' Authorities say a fight in a school restroom left 16-year-old Amy Joyner-Francis dead last month. Three teenagers have been charged in that case Authorities say a fight in a school restroom resulted in the death of 16-year-old Amy Joyner-Francis. Three teenagers have been charged in that case. Zion Snow and Chakeira Wright, both 16, were charged with conspiracy in the high school restroom assault and have waived arraignment and are now scheduled for trial. The two girls, charged in an April 21 altercation that resulted in the death of 16-year-old Amy Joyner-Francis, had been scheduled to appear Thursday morning in Family Court in Wilmington. Their trials are scheduled for June 15. 16-year-old Trinity Carr, accused of repeatedly hitting Joyner-Francis in the head and torso, is charged with criminally negligent homicide. Authorities say Joyner-Francis, who had a pre-existing heart condition, died of sudden cardiac death, with a contributing factor of physical and emotional stress due to physical assault. Family spokeswoman Sherry Dorsey Walker told WDEL: 'That heart condition...that the ME [medical examiner] referenced, Amy had that since birth, and it really healed itself. 'And so now we're going to blame her death on a heart condition when it was a school fight that... led to her death. 'It was the physical assault that led to her death - not her heart condition.' Walker told WDEL the family is going to seek a second autopsy. Police returned fire and Santos-Banos died at the scene Man reported own son, Israel Santos-Banos was stealing guns from him Glasser, a married 12-year veteran on the force died on Thursday morning A 19-year-old accused of stealing guns from his father's home fatally shot an officer in Phoenix, Arizona before he died in crossfire with the police. Israel Santos-Banos opened fire and hit 35-year-old officer David Glasser when police approached him on the driveway of his father's home in the Laveen area. Glasser, a 12-year veteran on the police force who was married with two children, was taken to St Joseph's Medical Center where he died on Thursday morning. Santos-Banos died at the scene after police returned fire. Officer David Glasser, 35, (left) died in the hospital after a man called the police reporting his own son, Israel Santos-Banos, (right) was stealing guns from him A homeowner reported a burglary at the Laveen Village area around 2.30pm on Wednesday. Officers met the man at an intersection near his house, where he told police his son, Santos-Banos, was stealing guns from him, 12news reported. Glasser, along with five other officers, approached the man's house, where Santos-Banos was sitting inside a car in the driveway. Investigators said Santos-Banos opened fire when the officers got out of their car and hit Glasser. Police returned fire and killed Santos-Banos at the scene before attending to the officer. 'They did everything they could to place Officer Glasser in a position of safety and rendered aid,' Police Chief Joe Yahner said. 'The officers' actions at the scene were heroic and I'm very proud of them.' Glasser, along with five other officers, approached the man's house (pictured) in Laveen, Arizona, where Santos-Banos was sitting inside a car in the driveway Glasser was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The 35-year-old, who served on the Neighborhood Enforcement Team, died on Thursday morning. 'He did his job today serving the people of the city of Phoenix,' Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said outside the hospital before Glasser died. Trying to hold back tears, Yahner said the memory and service of Officer David Glasser 'will be honored from this day forward.' 'He embodied what a Phoenix police officer is,' Yahner said. 'Dave served his community and he continues to serve right now as he is donating his organs for the betterment of people he doesn't even know. Arizona Governor Doug Ducey ordered flags at all state government buildings lowered to half-staff to honor Glasser. A truck driver has been charged over the death of a 61-year-old woman who was hit by a truck and appears to have been dragged several hundred metres on Friday morning. Emergency services were called to Pittwater Road, Brookvale in Sydneys northern beaches, about 8.50am on Friday when a truck struck the woman, Jo-Ann Thwaites, 61, as she crossed the street at rush hour. A 36-year-old has been charged with negligent driving occasioning death and failing to stop and render aid after impact causing death. He was granted police bail and will appear in Manly Local Court on June 15 according to theDaily Telegraph. Scroll down for video Jo-Ann Thwaites, 61, was killed on Pittwater Road in Brookvale in Sydney's north-shore after she was struck by a truck (pictured) Investigations by NSW Police revealed Ms Thwaites was hit by two trucks in a row. It was originally believed only one truck had hit her. The first truck driver allegedly did not stop, while the second truck did. Ms Thwaites appeared to have been dragged several hundred metres,7 News reported. Traffic diversions were in place with northbound lanes of Pittwater Rd closed after the fatal crash and motorists diverted via Old Pittwater Rd. Buses were experiencing delays of up to one hour, according to livetraffic.com, with some services cancelled altogether due to the accident. A report will be prepared for the Coroner. Investigations by NSW Police revealed Ms Thwaites was hit by two Isuzu trucks in a row. It was originally believed only one truck had hit her The pedestrian died at the scene while the 57-year-old man driving the truck north was unharmed, NSW Police said in a statement A schoolgirl has been caught on camera beating up another girl, armed with a knuckleduster, while her friends egg her on. The brutal assault took place in the city of General Cepeda, in the Mexican state of Coahuila. The video, shared on social media by Marcos Martinez-Soriano, shows a teenage girl, apparently called Gaby, slip a knuckleduster out of her pocket and attack her enemy from behind. In this image from the video the girl identified as Gaby can be seen holding the metal knuckleduster, a weapon which is designed to maximise the injuries caused by a punch She drags the girl to the ground by her hair and showers her with punches to the head while wearing the metal knuckleduster. Gaby also bashes her head against the ground. One of her friends can be heard encouraging her: 'Show the b***h that she can't mess with you.' 'If she messes with me I mess with her,' replies Gaby after kicking her prone victim. In this clip she grabs her victim by the hair. It is not clear where the footage was shot but it looks suspiciously like a school playground And what had the girl done to deserve such a beating? She was accused of spreading gossip about Gaby. It is not known whether the attack took place in a school but nobody goes to the aid of the girl, who lies on the floor, holding her hands in front of her face and trying to deflect the hefty blows to her face and head. In this image the victim holds her hands in front of her as she tries to fend off the blows while the assailant aims a kick At one point she begs: 'Let me go.' But Gaby responds to her pleas by bashing her head on the ground. The beating only stops when an adult approaches and Gaby slopes off. Coahuila's Secretary of Public Education said their Department of Legal Matters was trying to locate those implicated in the incident. Coahuila is a stronghold of Los Zetas, one of the most violent cartels involved in the Mexican drugs war. They have been at war with their former employers, the Gulf Cartel, and violence is endemic in the state. George Coty Wayman (pictured), 18, has been accused of shooting Dominic Tra'Juan Castro, three, to allegedly get him to stop jumping on the bed in a trailer in Clay County, Texas A teenager allegedly fatally shot his three-year-old stepson in the head because he wouldn't stop jumping on the bed. George Coty Wayman,18, has been accused of shooting Dominic Tra'Juan Castro in his fifth wheel trailer in a remote area of Clay County, Texas, on Tuesday. Initial reports suggested the child accidentally shot himself, but investigators later determined that Wayman 'pointed and discharged the handgun'. The toddler was airlifted to United Regional Health Care System in Wichita Falls and died there on Wednesday morning. Authorities were alerted to the incident at the trailer in Buffalo Springs Road with a 999 call, an arrest-warrant affidavit stated. The area is near Wichita Falls and about 80 miles northwest of Fort Worth. Wayman claimed the boy accidentally set off a gun that had been placed on a bed as he jumped on it - and witnesses backed up his story. Clay County Sheriff Kenny Lemons said the evidence didn't back up the statements however, according to 48 Hours' Crimesider. Interviews with witnesses in the bedroom during the shooting revealed that Wayman allegedly pointed the gun at Dominic and told him he'd shoot if the boy didn't stop jumping on the bed, officials said. He then fired the gun, striking the toddler in the back of the head, according to the affidavit. Wayman was being held on Thursday at the Clay County Jail on charges of capital murder and criminal trespass. The boy's mother is believed to be staying in a nearby home. Matthew Biehl, who lives across the street from where the little boy was shot, told KFDX he couldn't believe something like this happened in a 'peaceful place' like their neighborhood. Wayman claimed Dominic (pictured) accidentally set off a gun that had been placed on a bed as he jumped on it, but investigators later claimed he 'pointed and discharged the handgun' 'I would've never thought in my life I would see something like that happen around here, especially in a peaceful little place like this.' Mr Biehl, who arrived home shortly after the shooting, said: 'It was just an unbelievable sight. 'They landed a helicopter in the intersection. I didn't know exactly what was going on. When I found out what was going on I couldn't believe it.' The boy's real father has been in prison since 2014 for convictions in Wichita and Young counties. He was denied parole in January. The aggressive customer was told to take his business elsewhere A Sydney cafe has experienced a boost in their business after they were forced to stand their ground against an aggressive customer that complained about a Catholic rosary pinned to the wall. Ramis Amanoel, who runs Barista Haus Gladesville in Sydney's north-west, said a male customer approached the counter shouting it was 'religious discrimination' to have the Holy rosary hanging on the wall on April 9. Mr Amanoel told Daily Mail Australia that since the incident the community support has been immense. Barista Haus Gladesville in Sydney's north-west received complaints from a male customer on Monday morning who claimed it was 'religious discrimination' to have the Holy rosary (pictured) hanging on the wall 'We've been so humbled by the support shown by the local community. We were blessed with an abundance of messages and our local MP Anthony Roberts even called to say he supported us,' Mr Amanoel said. 'People are coming from all parts of Sydney, we've definitely experienced an influx of customers since the incident. 'We've begun to open the shop until 10pm on Friday and Saturday.' Mr Amanoel said he and his co-owner Mark Moawad found themselves dealing with a regular customer that 'changed completely' upon seeing the rosary pinned on the wall. The cafe has since been experiencing an influx of customers following the incident as the community shows their support Ramis Amanoel said he and his co-owner Mark Moawad have been humbled by the support from the community 'He started losing his mind about the rosary. He was saying he was highly offended and shouldn't be subjected to this,' Mr Amanoel told Daily Mail Australia. 'He is a regular customer who has been coming in for ages. I have no idea why he did it. The anger he had towards it was unbelievable. 'It wasn't a one off random bloke. He comes to the shop every day, he is a normal person.' Mr Amanoel said he and his co-owner told the customer they would not be taking the rosary down and to take his business elsewhere if he was offended. 'We said "If you don't like it, you can leave". So he took his money back and went,' Mr Amanoel said. The cafe pinned the rosary to the wall on Sunday April 8 and said the customer noticed it right away when he came past at 6.30am the following Monday. Owners Mark Moawad and Ramis Amanoel told the regular customer if he was offended by the rosary that he could take his business elsewhere because they were not taking it down The owners put up a post on Facebook about the incident on Monday and is has since attracted more than 3,200 likes It is not known if the customer is religious. The owners put up a post on Facebook about the incident on Monday and it has since attracted more than 4.9 thousand likes. 'We would just like to send out a statement to anyone who is offended and/or believes we have caused religious discrimination by our action,' the post read. 'We at Barista Haus will NOT be removing the rosary from the wall and we urge you take your business elsewhere.' Three teenagers who are believed to have stolen a car were chased through the bushland near a busy highway with two arrested and one still on the run. The three underage drivers allegedly stole a white Audi from Caulfield in Melbourne before crashing the vehicle twice and dumping it in Lynbrook 36 kilometres from Melbourne's city centre. One teenager, who had been on the run for more than a month, was arrested on Friday morning and a second arrested late Friday afternoon. Scroll down for video Three Victorian teenagers are believed to have stolen a car from Caulfield in Melbourne and crashed it twice before escaping into the bushland. One caught (pictured) has been on the run for more than a month The first teenager has allegedly been involved in armed robberies and home invasions and police seized his belonging before taking him into custody after finding him hiding in the bushes of the Western Port Highway. Detective acting Senior Sergeant Ivan Bobetic told 9News: 'It was important that we were able to arrest those occupants and bring them before the court.' The trio had dumped the damaged Audi on Darcy Nilland Crescent in Lynbrook after they had hit a median strip moments earlier on Hallam road - no one was injured in the crash. Local resident Troy Duncan told 9News: 'It's a disgrace this is Australia it shouldn't be happening here.' The teens crashed the white Audi (pictured) twice in the Lynbrook residential area before attempting to make their escape across train tracks and bushland by the side of a busy highway Police searched the body of the first teen caught (pictured) before taking him into custody. Two of the teenagers have been caught while one remains on the run Another resident said: 'I pulled into my driveway and I heard this big bang. 'While on the phone to triple zero police come flying up the road and ask me where they'd gone and I said towards the train station.' After the boys fled a local primary school went into lockdown and staff called all children inside from the playground to make sure everybody was accounted for. A mother of one of the children from that school said: 'It's pretty scary that something like this has happened in our neighbourhood.' Police have searched the vehicle and are still in pursuit of the third accomplice. A local primary school where the damaged vehicle (pictured) was dumped went into lockdown during the incident and staff called all children inside from the playground making sure everybody was accounted for The three underage drivers crashed the Audi on a median strip on Hallam Road in Lynbrook and then dumped the battered vehicle on Darcy Niland Crescent down the road OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- Jenny Buras was 12 years old when her father, Pascagoula Police Maj. Nathaniel Smith was killed by a drunk driver on May 22, 1976. He was 39 years old. Nearly 40 years later to the day, members of the local law enforcement community joined with Buras and other members of Smith's family to remember him and the other seven Jackson County law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. "It's wonderful to us that they still take time to remember," Buras said following a Police Memorial Week service at her father's gravesite at Crestlawn Memorial Park in Ocean Springs. "He's been gone 40 years May 22. It's gratifying to know people still remember." Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell led Thursday afternoon's service, leading the family and others from the law enforcement community in a prayer and offering brief remarks. "This is a solemn day -- one we take very seriously," Ezell said. "Most of us have grown up in the law enforcement family. Today is a day we come together and comfort each other and remind ourselves of the importance of our calling. "I thank each one of you for coming," Ezell continued. "We care about each one of you. As law enforcement officers, we stick together, come together in good times and grow even closer in bad times. "Sometimes the recognition we get is not always the best, but we know in our hearts our motives are pure." The Jackson County Sheriff's Department Honor Guard presented the colors and Taps was played on a bugle as those present stood at attention. Joining Buras at the service was her brother, Nathaniel Smith's son Bobby Welch, his wife Wendy and their daughter -- Nathaniel Smith's granddaughter, Amber. Smith has two other daughters, Natalie Roberson and Kimberly Giessman, who were unable to attend the service. Nearby, a lone U.S. Park Ranger stood and bowed his head at the gravesite of Park Ranger Robert McGhee, who was killed by an escaped convict in Gulf Islands National Seashore in 1990. Wreaths were laid simultaneously Thursday at the graves of other slain Jackson County officers: Police have seized a light plane, almost 300kg of drugs and $3.6 million in cash from members of Australia's outlaw bikie gangs in an operation in one year. The task force has charged 1,588 bikies with 3,840 charges ranging from drug crimes, firearm offences and violent crimes, reported the Herald Sun. Officers have seized 332 guns, 13,800 rounds of ammunition and other weapons including crossbows and tasers during Operation Morpheus. Police during Operation Morpheus raids in Perth on February 21, 2015. Four men, including the alleged state president and Sergeant at Arms of the Lone Wolf Outlaw Motorcycle Gang were charged with drug offences Along with the light plane, 23 vehicles and 14 motorcycles were also seized. Operation Morpheus is a joint taskforce of officers from all states and territories, the Australian Crime Commission, the Australian Federal Police, Border Force, Australian Taxation Office, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and AUSTRAL, an organisation that tracks suspicious financial transactions. Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan said outlaw motorcycle gangs are well organised, well resourced and nationally coordinated, and the results proved the success of operation. 'The best way to combat them is with the combined efforts of all law enforcement and relevant Commonwealth regulatory agencies,' Mr Keenan said. Last year officers in the operation executed 799 search warrants at bikie homes, clubhouses and offices. As well as laying criminal charges, Mr Keenan said the taskforce targeted their assets, tax debts and issued bikies with 1,886 traffic infringement notices last year. Mr Keenan said another tactic the taskforce used was to revoke residency visas of bikies who had foreign citizenship. Victoria Police during an Operation Morpheus raid on the Finks clubhouse in Ringwood in Melbourne, on December 15, 2015. They surrounded the fortified Ringwood factory and removed various items Andrea Jones, of Gwynedd, has been jailed for 28 months for swindling her ex-partner out of 48,800 A 42-year-old gambling addict who lied to an ex-boyfriend that she had cancer has been jailed for 28 months for swindling him out of 48,800. Andrea Jones, of Caernarfon, Gwynedd, had deposited more than 240,000 between 2011 and 2014 with Jackpotjoy, amassing losses of 75,000. The conwoman had duped Richard Evans, 66, who had a brief relationship with her a decade ago and has Parkinson's Disease himself. He had taken out pay-day loans to help Jones after she claimed to be suffering from cervical cancer and 'begged' him for money for treatment, Caernarfon Crown Court heard. Prosecutor Richard Edwards said Mr Evans, whose sister died from cancer, had borrowed more than 50,000 which had grown to 80,000 due to interest, nearly losing his home and business. The prosecutor revealed how Mr Evans lived alone at Caernarfon and knew Jones for 20 years. They had a brief relationship. He said: 'Mr Evans described how he still had feelings for the defendant. They remained in touch and contact resumed around September 2013.' Counsel said the pair had kept in touch 'almost exclusively' by text message or the WhatsApp messaging service. 'He believed, based on what she told him, she was in hospital and she couldn't make phone calls from the hospital, hence the contact via texts.' Jones had pretended she was suffering from cervical cancer and paying privately for treatment which would cure her. There came a stage when Jones told him that the hospital wouldn't accept his credit card. Mr Edwards said she suggested that the victim bought items which she could sell, and he complied. 'The defendant continued with the lies, telling Mr Evans she wasn't getting any better and she had to pay for blood transfusions, scans, X-rays and operations. 'The largest single transaction was 4,000 for particular treatment the defendant said she required.' Mr Evans also gave her cash to assist with bailiffs. The fraud occurred between November 2013 and November the following year. The prosecutor said Jones told police she had been in debt due to her gambling addiction. She'd claimed to have been in hospital at Blackpool and Glan Clwyd Hospital, near Rhyl. In a statement Mr Evans said he couldn't retire because of his debts and had been living on 20-a-week to pay for Jones's 'treatment'. The pair had met at a Royal British Legion social club where she was a cleaner and became friends. Mr Edwards added: 'He can't believe anyone could do such a thing.' Mr Evans had stated: 'When my children told me what she had done, I still couldn't believe it until police finally confirmed it'.' Judge Philip Harris-Jenkins told Jones: 'You took advantage of a friend that you had for many years. What you did was to manipulate him into believing you were suffering from cancer. 'You deceived that man leading to him being put in a financial pickle himself. He now has loans, with interest, of up to 80,000. He's had to put a second charge on his home.' He added: 'This offence was highly manipulative and it's had devastating consequences for the victim. 'It was done out of your own greed to fund your habit. You were prepared to drag your friend down.' Defence barrister Dafydd Roberts said: 'She turned to gambling as a way of escaping the problems she had and then she became addicted.' A Milwaukee custard shop owner was forced to drop his English-only ordering policy amid possible boycotts and a federal investigation. The policy at Leon's Frozen Custard became public Tuesday after a Spanish-speaking customer was told by a Spanish-speaking employee that she was only allowed to take his order in English, according to Fox 6. Shop owner Ron Schneider said that the policy has been in place for more than a decade. Scroll down for video Ron Schneider (pictured), the owner of Leon's Frozen Custard, was forced to drop his English only ordering policy Schneider made the announcement on Thursday saying that his employees are allowed to speak other languages 'to assist customers'. Pictured is Leon's Frozen Custard shop He told WISN-TV that he doesn't want to encourage non-English orders because it's going to be 'a problem down the road', adding that 'we can't be the United Nations'. But on Thursday Schneider made it 'official' that his employees are allowed to speak other languages to assist customers. 'If you can help the customer, just help them any way you can,' Schneider told TMJ4. The controversy started on Tuesday, when Joey Sanchez overheard an employee interact with a Spanish-speaking customer. 'She whispered to him in Spanish 'I`m not allowed to speak Spanish to you,'' Sanchez told Fox 6. Sanchez, who was next in line, placed his order in Spanish and the employee gave him the same response. The Wisconsin chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens said the policy violated federal labor law and the organization is calling for a government investigation. And although Schneider dropped the policy on Thursday he will still meet with the LULAC, which is calling for a federal investigation by the EEOC into the policy, on Friday to discuss the controversial matter. The controversy started on Tuesday, when Joey Sanchez (pictured) overheard an employee interact with a Spanish-speaking customer and told him she was unable to take his order in Spanish. Sanchez, who was next in line, placed his order in Spanish and the employee gave him the same response Rep JoCasta Zamarripa (pictured) said she questions the legality of Schneider's policy, and said he owes the community an apology Primitivo Torres from the immigrants rights group, Voces de la Frontera, told the station that the policy is 'very shocking' and none of them would be 'going there anymore'. Earlier this week, Schneider defended his 'English-only' ordering policy saying that he tells his employees that he would prefer if they spoke English while taking orders. Voces de la Frontera was planning a protest at Leon's on Saturday, May 21, but since Schneider dropped the policy, it's unclear if the protest will take place. The LULAC released a statement calling the policy a 'clear violation of federal labor law'. But the controversy of the policy didn't stop some locals from getting buying from the shop. Some said they showed up to support the English-only policy. The Wisconsin chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens said the policy violated federal labor law and the organization is calling for a government investigation. And although Schneider dropped the policy he will still meet with the LULAC on Friday to discuss the controversial matter The LULAC released a statement calling the policy a 'clear violation of federal labor law', but the controversy of the policy didn't stop some locals from getting some of Leon's custard. Local residents said they showed up to support the English-only policy because the US 'does business in English' one customer said 'The United States of America does business in English,' a Leon's customer said. 'They're living here, working here for Lord knows how long and they haven't even bothered to learn the language?' Louise Bozek told Fox6. Rep JoCasta Zamarripa said she questions the legality of Schneider's policy, and said he owes the community an apology. 'We need to celebrate our diversity. We are the most diverse part of the state,' Zamarripa told Fox6. A nearby local business, Bounce Milwaukee, capitalized on Leon's controversy by offering free ice cream to anyone who ordered in a foreign language. 'We decided that we would go in the opposite direction and embrace all different languages,' Becky Cooper-Clancy said. Schneider told Fox6 that it is just easier for his business if everyone speaks the same language. Penn and Theron were dating when the movie was filmed, with many joking she broke things off after she saw a rough cut Penn has already responded, saying he 'stands by the film as it is' Audiences guffawed at the opening title screen and booed at the finish It's received several one-star ratings and called the nadir of Penn's career The Last Face, which Sean Penn directed, premiered at Cannes on Friday Sean Penn's new movie The Last Face might as well have been named last place after its premiere at Cannes on Friday drew boos, guffaws and wincingly bad reviews. His latest directorial effort, after his 2007 film Into the Wild, stars Charlize Theron as an international aid worker in Africa who falls in love with a doctor, played by Javier Bardem. Many have taken to social media hailing The Last Place as the lowest point of Penn's career, with some suggesting Theron broke up with the 55-year-old after she saw an early edit of the film. Penn has already responded to the overwhelming criticism, saying: 'I stand by the film as it is, and everyone is going to be entitled to their response.' Scroll down for video Sean Penn's latest directorial effort, The Last Face, debuted at Cannes on Friday morning. The film stars Javier Bardem (left) and Charlize Theron (right), who was dating Penn when the movie was filmed Many have taken to social media hailing The Last Place as the lowest point of Penn's career, with some suggesting Theron broke up with the 55-year-old after she saw an early edit of the film Penn (second to right) and Theron (third from left) seemed to keep their distance during the Cannes photocall, with actors Javier Bardem and Adele Exarchopoulos wedged between them The film, which has received several one-star ratings, was off to a bad start when it opened with a block of text comparing the civil war in South Sudan to 'the brutality of a love, between a man...and a woman.' Several audience members are reported to have burst out laughing, and things just got worse. Melissa Silverstein didn't mince her words when she tweeted: 'Sean Penn needs to stop directing. Hated pretty much every second of The Last Face.' Her criticism couldn't be constrained to 140 characters, and she added: 'I joined in the booing for my first time today for The Last Face. It was so bad that I laughed out loud at times.' Theres something inherently eye-rolling about being asked to care about the tragedy of African children through the POV of two lovelorn glamourpusses' Owen Gleiberman, Variety Charles Bramesco of Rolling Stone tweeted: 'THE LAST FACE: Liberian warlords are a slightly greater menace than Sean Penn, but it's close. 'Either way, this is a crime against humanity.' 'Without an ounce of irony, the movie tumbles in every direction, not only struggling to make its central romance hold water but to find a spark of intrigue in anything surrounding it,' Eric Kohn wrote in an Indiewire review. Many criticized the film's depiction of suffering in South Sudan, the Sierra Leone, and Liberia as a backdrop for the starry-eyed lovers to play out cringe-worthy scenes, which were likened to the work of famed romance author Nicholas Sparks. Owen Gleiberman, the chief film critic at Variety, wrote: 'Penn would do well not to mistake his own global caring for an artistic impulse... 'No matter how "well-meaning" a director may be, theres something inherently eye-rolling about being asked to care about the tragedy of African children through the POV of two lovelorn glamourpusses.' The Hollywood Reporter labelled the effort as 'stunningly self-important but numbingly empty cocktail of romance and insulting refugee porn'. The film, which has received several one-star ratings, was off to a bad start when it opened with a title screen with text comparing the civil war in South Sudan to 'the brutality of a love, between a man...and a woman' Others suggested Theron must have broken off her year-and-a-half relationship with Penn when she saw how bad the film would be. While Penn got the brunt of the film's criticism, Theron didn't manage to escape unscathed. The majority of her performance [is] dedicated to wistful looks, crying at dead black people and delivering lines such as 'saving lives is a serious mission' without laughing Benjamin Lee, The Guardian Benjamin Lee wrote in the Guardian: 'Even in her worst films, Therons skill as an actor ensures she rises above. 'But theres something smug and stultifying going on here, with the majority of her performance dedicated to wistful looks, crying at dead black people and delivering lines such as saving lives is a serious mission without laughing.' Sean Penn has already felt the need to defend his work, saying: 'I stand by the film as it is, and everyone is going to be entitled to their response. 'Ive finished the film so its not a discussion Id be of value to.' He added: 'I am surrounded at this table by performances that Id pay to see 100 times.' Penn and Theron, who were dating when The Last Face was filmed, seemed to keep their distance during the Cannes photocall, with actors Javier Bardem and Adele Exarchopoulos wedged between them. It's now almost a year to the day that they appeared as a couple on the red carpet outside Palais des Festivals to celebrate her leading role in Mad Max: Fury Road. While Penn (right) got the brunt of the film's criticism, Theron (left) didn't manage to escape unscathed, and one review called her performance 'smug and stultifying' It's now almost a year to the day that they appeared as a couple on the red carpet outside Palais des Festivals (pictured) to celebrate her leading role in Mad Max: Fury Road A Florida man is appealing charges that were laid against him after he walked into a gas station in the middle of a drug bust and taken down by police. Demarcus Brown was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he entered the Jacksonville gas station looking for his father, who had gone in to buy a drink as the place was surrounded by cops. CCTV footage taken inside the station shows Brown walking in and seeing his father at the counter, before a police officer comes in after him and restrains him. 'They get me on the ground and I'm in a choke hold,' Brown told CW39 News Fix. Wrong place, wrong time: This is the moment Demarcus Brown (back left) walks into the gas station just as police are making a drug arrest (front left) Brown is seen here being pushed onto the counter by a police officer. His father (gray shirt) can be seen telling the officer to stop The video shows brown being taken down by two officers as his father (right) tries to stop them Brown's father was inside the gas station buying a drink when the drug bust occurred. His son came to check on him when he noticed the police inside A second set of surveillance footage allegedly shows a cop taking Brown into another room and beating him Brown continued: 'I tell them, ''I can't breathe, I can't breathe,'' and they don't let up. Then another officer hit me in the ribs, then someone hit me in the head twice.' The video shows the police holding down Brown. He was also taken out the back of the shop, where a police officer appears to punch him at least twice. Brown was subsequently charged with resisting an officer with violence and trespass. However he intends to fight the charges and has hired an attorney, Rhonda Peoples-Water. 'We can certainly look at this video and we can see there was no resisting an officer with violence and no trespass,' Brown said. Police brutality: Attorney Rhonda Peoples-Water (left) says that her client, Demarcus Brown (right) was assaulted by police for no reason Officers on the scene say they told Brown not to go into the store. Another surveillance video shows an officer possibly saying something to Brown before he walks in. Jacksonville police say they're reviewing the recordings. This incident comes just weeks after a Jacksonville police officer was arrested and fired for punching a woman who was handcuffed. A former U.S. marine who spent 20 years in prison in Ohio for killing a child is now begging for help to fly back 'home' to Scotland because he needs free healthcare. But Kenny Richey, 51, is not endearing himself to people with foul-mouthed online rants. Richey was sentenced to death in 1987 for killing two-year-old Cynthia Collins, who died in a fire at her mother's apartment in Columbus Grove, Ohio. Kenny Richey's gofundme page has been up for four months but so far he has only raised a quarter of his target. Richey seems to have few friends in Scotland or the U.S. He claimed it was a miscarriage of justice but was freed in 2008 after accepting manslaughter, child endangering and breaking an entering in a plea bargain. Richey, who had a Scottish mother and an American father, immediately flew back to the U.K. and lived in Edinburgh for some time. He later moved back to the U.S. and has lived in Tupelo, Mississippi ever since. Richey does not endear himself to donors with his foul-mouthed tirade Now he is in failing health and has decided he wants to go back to Scotland, where he can be sure of free healthcare. Richey has set up a gofundme site and on it he writes: 'After 5 heart attacks and 1 stroke, I find myself almost 40,000 US dollars in debt, with no health or medical insurance and no income. 'I can't pay for my heart medication. I am now homeless and desperate.' Kenny Richey spent 21 years in prison for starting a fire in an apartment in Ohio which killed a child. The prosecution claimed he had a grudge against an ex-girlfriend Kenny Richey, pictured here leaving a court in Scotland after being cleared of assaulting a man in Edinburgh over a 200 ($290) debt He continues, with a measure of self-pity: 'I have had a hard time trying to adjust to the norms of society and do not know how to function properly. I need medical care and treatment but can't afford it. 'I am trying to return home to Scotland, where I would be better able to get that care.' The page has been online for four months but has only raised $520 (350) towards the $2,000 (1,400) he needs to return to Scotland. He says he is 'struggling to survive' and says: 'I need help as quick as possible. I need to raise the funds to get my heart medication, to get temporary housing until I can hopefully raise enough to get airfare back home again.' Richey, who first came to the U.S. in 1982, thanked those who have donated but goes on to write: 'Those of you on my Facebook whom have not donated or expressed any sentiment concerning the situation, get the hell of my Facebook, as I have no time or patience for fake friends. F*** off!' Richey told BBC Radio Scotland: 'I want to come back because it's my home. I wouldn't mind finding some place quiet, maybe out in the countryside somewhere, away from everybody, I'd be happy with that Kenny Richey 'It's my home, it's my country, I wouldn't mind finding some place quiet, maybe out in the countryside somewhere, away from everybody, I'd be happy with that.' But his bitterness came through when he said: 'Everybody in Scotland has made their bloody mind up about me, they always look at me like I'm a piece of trash or something, that I'm scum. They don't see the human side of me.' In 2012 Richey was jailed for three years after leaving a threatening phone message for the judge who prosecuted his original case. Richey's brother Tom is serving a 65-year jail term for murder after being convicted of shooting two people in Tacoma, Washington, while high on LSD in 1986, killing a shop assistant. Heavy vehicle can be seen tipping its load onto the motorway in Fujian It swerved almost hitting the motorcyclist who managed to speed up Truck was swerving to avoid hitting a car which had pulled out on him Shocking footage has emerged of the moment a motorcyclist narrowly escaped being hit by a truck which was out of control on a motorway in China. Surveillance footage showed the incident unfold on a motorway in southeast China's Fujian province on May 17. The truck was swerving to avoid hitting a white sedan that had pulled out in front of him at the time. Too close: The truck started swerving to avoid hitting the car which had pulled out in front of him Shocking: The motorbike can be seen speeding up as the truck starts careering towards him The truck spills its load of sand across the motorway in China's Fujian province Footage shows the man escaping from the path of the truck. The truck can be seen speeding towards along the road and doesn't appear to see the white sedan car trying to cross the road. The driver of the truck sees the white vehicle at the last minute and swerves to avoid hitting it. As it swerves, it tips over its load and jackknifes. The motorcyclist can be seen speeding up to avoid the truck hurtling towards him. Sand falls to the floor as the motorcyclist looks back to see how close the near hit was. A motorcyclist going in the other direction, seems unphased by what just happened, carrying on his journey. Road accidents are common in China including incidents involving motorbikes. On April 26, a motorcyclist in Nantong City, eastern China's Jiangsu province narrowly escaped being hit after two trucks lost control and came hurtling towards him. Big accident on the motorway: The truck lost control and jackknifed after it served on the highway Going at some speed: The white car pulled in front of the truck as it sped along the highway The motorcyclist had a narrow escape when the truck started hurtling towards him But magistrate says that he is A 16-year-old member of Melbourne's notorious Apex gang is likely to be spared jail despite his involvement in a spate of crimes. The young thug has been connected to series of car thefts,violent robberies and burglaries - and he took part in a brutal bashing of a man while he was on probation. But despite admitting to crashing an overcrowded stolen car in Hampton Park in May, and to stealing two cars from a home in Mt Eliza in March, the boy is unlikely to be jailed, The Herald Sun reported. Scroll down for video A 16-year-old member of Melbourne's notorious Apex gang is likely to be spared jail despite being involved in a series of car thefts, violent robberies and burglaries. He also took part in a brutal bashing of a man while he was on probation The notorious gang are known for brutal carjackings, home invasions and mass brawls. Chaos descended on Melbourne's CBD during Moomba celebrations in March when scores of Apex gang members arrived in the city taunting police and attacking onlookers The 16-year-old faced court via video link on Friday for car theft charges. The magistrate heard that in the early hours of March 24 he broke into a Mt Eliza home and stole car keys, a wallet, a handbag and jewellery, according to the newspaper. He was also involved in incident earlier this month when a stolen car slammed into a tree and seven suspected Apex members fled the scene. In February he and other suspected gang members bashed a stranger in front of his female companion. He is set to reappear in court on May 27. Apex is made up predominantly of boys and men of African background, mostly Sudanese and also Somali. The problem of containing the gang has come to a head in the past year, according to Victoria Police. Gang leaders are believed to specifically target young boys to give them a better chance of avoiding prosecution if apprehended. Victoria police established Task Force Tense late last year to deal specifically with their threat. Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Graham Ashton, said 'intensive work' began in November last year to deal with the gang and extra resources would be brought in. 'That group has been, in our view, responsible for what has been a range of motor vehicle theft, aggravated burglaries,' Mr Ashton said. 'We have been dealing with it for more than year, rising theft of cars and break ins. Charlene Phillips posted this picture on her Facebook page as a warning to would-be burglars A young mother posted a photo of herself on Facebook holding a shotgun and warned the burglars who entered her house of the consequences if they returned. Charlene Phillips, from Jonesboro, Arkansas, has got more than 2,000 shares for her status. She wrote: 'For the two men who tried to break into my home last night while me and my child were sleeping, you decide to come back tonight or any other night and this is what I will without a doubt meet you at my door with!' 'Yes, I can shoot a gun and very well,' she added. Ms Phillips said a suspicious man had come to her house a few hours earlier and tried to sell her cleaning products. But she said he asked increasingly personal questions and was clearly trying to find out if she lived alone. 'I wasn't going to be rude so I heard him out but afterwards, I realized in the short few minutes of my time given to him there were several things he quickly learned about me.' Later that night she said she woke up to the sound of someone trying to get into her home. She called 911 and wrote on Facebook: 'I cannot tell you the last time I felt fear like that. That was a whole different feeling of fear. 'I barricaded me and my child in my room, while calmly but quickly preparing myself for what may just happen.' The intruder ran off when her German shepherd dog started barking. Her Facebook posting was shared 2,400 times and came to the attention of several U.S. media and she posted a follow-up message. Charlene Phillips' Facebook status (pictured) makes her sound like a regular Annie Oakley She wrote: 'Lmao it cracks me up...y'all know my humor so it was supposed to be a funny picture like dont mess with this momma bear and now I have all these shares...who woulda thought haha.' Her story clearly hit a nerve among some of her followers. Sade DeBerry Jackson, who also lives in Jonesboro, wrote: 'I had a guy come to my house trying to get me to buy an alarm system...he insisted on coming in so he could go over what I would be getting free in the package. A fifth grader savagely attacked a first grader in a Georgia elementary school bathroom, authorities said, leaving the girl bloodied on the floor. Deputies said six-year-old Lanira Tackett was attacked by a girl nearly twice her age on Thursday around 10am while inside a bathroom at Oakland Elementary School in McDonough. During the attack, authorities said the older elementary school student choked Lanira, submerged her head in the toilet two to three times and banged her head on the toilet, according to FOX 5. Scroll down for video A fifth grader savagely attacked first grader Lanira Tackett (pictured) in a Georgia elementary school bathroom on Thursday, authorities said. The attack left the girl bloodied on the floor, according to her parents During the attack, authorities said the older elementary school student choked Lanira (pictured with her mother Cheryl Tackett), submerged her head in the toilet two to three times and banged her head on the toilet 'She was choking her, and banging her head viciously on the toilet and covering her mouth,' Lanira's outraged mother, Cheryl Tackett, told KTHV of the attack, which she said was premeditated. A teacher who heard the commotion was able to get into the bathroom and intervene, where Lanira was found bloodied on the floor, according to the station. Lanira was taken to the hospital with cuts covering her face as well as scratches and bruises. Tackett said that her daughter is still recovering from the attack but is 'traumatized' and is now afraid to even go in to bathrooms alone. Her mother also said she had warned the school last week that the older student was a danger after she said the fifth grader had threatened Lanira on the bus, saying she was going to beat her up. Then on Thursday, Tackett said the fifth grader told Lanira she wanted to talk to her. 'She pulled her into the bathroom and proceeded with the attack,' Tackett told KTHV. Deputies said the six-year-old was attacked by the girl nearly twice her age on Thursday around 10am while inside a bathroom at Oakland Elementary School in McDonough (pictured) Lanira was taken to the hospital with cuts covering her face as well as scratches and bruises Tackett said that her daughter is still recovering from the attack but is 'traumatized' and is now afraid to even go in to bathrooms alone Now Tackett and her husband, Jeremy, are sharing the story of their daughter's attack with the hope of keeping it from happening to someone else. 'You send your kids to school to get an education. You should not have to worry about them getting pulled into the bathroom and getting pummeled by somebody almost twice their age,' Lanira's father, Jeremy Tackett, told FOX 5. 'This is a problem that happens all the time in schools and we need to address it so that our younger ones are safe at school, and do not have to deal with this problem,' Cheryl added. The parents are now pulling all five of their children out of the school and Lanira will not be going back for the rest of the school year, FOX 5 reported. As for the older elementary school student, she was charged on Thursday in juvenile court with false imprisonment, aggravated assault and battery, according to the station. Lanira's parents (mother, Cheryl (left) and father Jeremy (right) are now sharing the story of their daughter's attack with the hope of keeping it from happening to someone else The Tacketts are now pulling all five of their children (pictured) out of the school. The older elementary school student was charged with false imprisonment, aggravated assault and battery, according to local reports The school district said they are aware of the incident and are investigating it, a Henry County Schools spokesman told Daily Mail Online. 'The safety and security of our students and staff is extremely important, and we do not tolerate any incidents that would jeopardize either of these,' JD Hardin said in an email on Friday. 'We are continuing to gather information on the matter and will respond accordingly with regards to disciplinary actions. 'We cannot share any details or further information due to federal protections for our students.' Ingalls shipyard 1977.jpg In 1977, Ingalls Shipbuilding's West Bank was in full production on ships longer and wider than those able to be built on the old East Bank. Known as the Shipyard of the Future, Ingalls became a major builder of ships for the U.S. Navy. (Ingalls Photo) Almost 50 years ago, political wheels were turning as Mississippi and two other states competed for the location of Litton Industries' Shipyard of the Future. For Pascagoula, it was do or die because Ingalls' East Bank was becoming outdated as the need for larger U.S. Navy and commercial ships grew. George Howell, former Ingalls general counsel and vice president George W. Howell of Gautier, who was an Ingalls vice president and general counsel in that era, will share the inside story on Tuesday, 6 p.m., at a Jackson County Historical and Genealogical Society program in the Pascagoula Public Library meeting room. Florida and New Jersey, as Litton's preferred sites, were also vigorously seeking the new shipyard for their own economic development. Howell, who was the chief negotiator for Litton/Ingalls, worked with the state and Jackson County to help create the innovative $130 million industrial development bond issue that financed the construction of Ingalls West Bank. At the time, the "Wall Street Journal" called the deal "one for the books." At stake for Pascagoula were thousands of jobs at Ingalls and throughout the region in related service industries and co-dependent businesses. Howell will tell the story of how the leaders of Mississippi, Jackson County and Ingalls, persuaded Litton to build the needed new facilities on the west bank of the Pascagoula River. In 1965, change was looming large on the horizon. The U.S. Navy, responding to the challenge of the Cold War, obtained funding from Congress to develop the Fast Deployment Logistic Ship. Howell explains that the Navy wanted the aging World War II shipbuilding facilities in this country to be modernized and that a contract for 20 FDL ships would be awarded to any contractor who built a new shipyard. An Ingalls study revealed that the new ships would be too wide or too long to be built on Ingalls East Bank. Tampa, Fla., and Camden, N.J., seemed more feasible because expanding the narrow East Bank would present significant technical problems. Howell tells how a series of events led to circumstances that favored Litton's position in Pascagoula. Gov. Paul Johnson pledged to use every resource at his disposal to develop a package of financial and other assistance in order to persuade Litton to locate the new shipyard in Pascagoula and asked that Litton await the Mississippi proposal before making a decision. New legislation was required and agreements needed hammering out. Howell was a firsthand witness and participant in seeing the Mississippi proposal take shape. Railroad, city, state and labor officials all worked together to make it happen. "Looking back now, I am again impressed by the degree of cooperation between all sectors of our community and state," Howell said. "I am even more impressed by the ingenuity, foresight and courage of the political leaders and businessmen involved." Howell will share details and behind-the- scene anecdotes of the West Bank story in his presentation. The program is open to the public. President Barack Obama is sticking around Washington, D.C. after his term ends but a senior adviser says he'll stay out of the next Oval occupant's way. 'President Obama will be the former president. And he'll be a citizen just like everybody else. And he'll behave accordingly. Of that I'm sure,' top Obama aide Valerie Jarrett tells CBS's 60 Minutes. Jarrett said that like his predecessor, George W. Bush, Obama 'will leave being the president to the new president' when he moves out of the White House in January. President Barack Obama is sticking around Washington, D.C. after his term ends but a senior adviser says he'll stay out of the next Oval occupant's way Barack and Michelle Obama say they are staying in Washington at least until their youngest daughter, Sasha, 14, finishes her secondary education. She just completed her freshman year at Sidwell Friends School. Their elder daughter Malia, 17, graduates from Sidwell this year and will attend Harvard in the fall of 2017 after taking a year off. It's unusual for a president to continue living in Washington after his time in office concludes. The Bushes' moved back to Texas. The Clintons purchased a home in New York so Hillary could run for the U.S. Senate. They also have a residence in Washington but the Chappaqua home is their formal address. Obama hasn't said what he'll do after his eight years in the White House come to an end. 'We havent figured that out yet,' he said in March at an event. At a minimum, he'll be raising money for the foundation that supports his presidential library, which will be constructed in Chicago, where the Obamas lived until 2009, when they moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. As the president's spokesman again noted this week in wake of a report that suggested Obama was offering access to the White House in exchange for library funds, 'The president has made a commitment that he will not be raising money for the foundation while hes still in office.' Barack and Michelle Obama, seen here last week at a State Dinner, say they are staying in Washington at least until their youngest daughter, Sasha, 14, finishes her secondary education. The outgoing president hasn't said what he'll do after his eight years in the White House come to an end Jarrett didn't shed additional light on Obama's post-White House plans in the clip that aired on CBS today ahead of the full broadcast on Sunday evening. She mentioned the 43rd President of the United States, though, and told CBS' Norah O'Donnell, 'One of the things that I would compliment President Bush for is and not just President Bush but several members of his team, as well, who have said to me, we had our eight years, and now we owe you our silence.' 'And I think that's just the way the president will behave in terms of Washington,' she said, according to Politico. She added, 'But does that mean that he has a platform on which he can do great good around our country and around the world? Sure. A woman has been reunited with her beloved wedding dress after losing it in a treacherous tornado five months ago. Jocelyn Womack was devastated when she lost the pink, lace gown she hand-sewed 25 years ago after a storm swept through Glenn Heights, Texas, back in December. However she was reconciled with the sentimental garment when a nearby resident discovered the dress in a tattered brown box in a neighbor's front yard and launched a viral appeal to return it to the owner. Jocelyn Womack (left) was reunited with the pink wedding dress that had been kept in a preservation box for 25 years when her neighbor Barbara Haynes (right) found it after it blew away in a tornado in Texas back in December Barbara Haynes, who lives just one block south of Ms Womack, cast a nationwide search after finding the dress stored in a preservation box strewn in someone's lawn. The 64-year-old, who lost 80 percent of her own home in the storm, kept the dress safely stored in the trunk of her car while she lived in a hotel for months as her home was rebuilt. Ms Womack revealed that it was her 10-year-old daughter, who saw the story of the search on the news, that instigated the surprising find. She told ABC News: 'I was in disbelief, then relief, then amazement that someone as kind as Ms. Haynes had worked so hard to get it back to its owner. Ms Haynes, 64, who lives just one block south of Ms Womack, cast a nationwide search after finding the dress (pictured) stored in a preservation box strewn in someone's lawn after the storm in December Ms Womack revealed that her 10-year-old daughter saw the story of Ms Haynes' search on the news (pictured), and told her mother 'It was so gratifying to see it. She had taken it out of its preservation box in an attempt to find me. When I met her, it was the first time I had seen it since my wedding almost 25 years ago.' Ms Womack, who lost most of her belongings and home in the tornado, revealed that it was a 'real blow' to her when she realized the dress was missing. The gown, which she painstakingly hand-stitched, was from a wedding in Elko, Nevada in 1992, although the marriage didn't last. Ms Womack said the gown, which she painstakingly hand-stitched, was from a wedding in Elko, Nevada in 1992 She admitted that it held emotional significance for her, being her first sewing project that she spent just $100 making. Ms Haynes said she was thrilled that she could finally return the gown that she recovered from the tornado. During her search efforts, Ms Haynes had even tried calling a phone number she found that was linked to the address on the return label of the brown box, to no avail. At first, Ms Haynes thought the smeared label read Dennis, Texas, but the ZIP code is actually for Denton, Texas - where Ms Womack had lived briefly before settling down in Glenn Heights. Speaking of the reunion on May 4, she said: 'She just embraced this gown when she picked it up,' Haynes said of their reunion on May 14. 'It's such a great ending to an almost five-month story that I can now pass this on to her. I've fulfilled my dream. I found the owner. 'It's amazing. I am so happy I was able to do this. 'I just want to thank everyone for helping me find this most gracious lady. She's amazing.' A taxi driver who planned to abandon his heavily pregnant wife and young son to marry a jihadi bride in Syria has been jailed for eight years and three months. Naseer Taj, 26, wanted to teach his wife 'a lesson' because she was 'very possessive' and 'p***ing me off'. But he was 'caught red-handed' in late December 2014 as he finalised his preparations to join ISIS and achieve martyrdom. Naseer Taj, 26, (pictured) who planned to travel to Syria to join ISIS and live with a 'jihadi bride' instead of his British wife and children was jailed for eight years and three months at the Old Bailey today Handing down the sentence at the Old Bailey, Judge Stephen Kramer told Taj the jury had not been 'fooled' into believing his story that he had simply been boasting to friends about going to Syria or that he had decided against going at the last minute. Following a trial in February, he was found guilty of preparation of terrorists acts and having copies of the al-Qaeda magazine Inspire. He was also convicted of possessing a false driving licence. On the morning of December 29, 2014, police swooped on Taj's one-bedroom flat in Bedford, while he and his wife Rabia Khalique were at home. He was due to leave the UK two days later, having booked a Eurostar ticket to Brussels and a flight on to Turkey. Officers discovered the former FedEx worker had a stash of extremist material on his phone, including al-Qaeda magazines which included an article about parcel bombs, UPS and FedEx. They also seized travel documents [including a valid Turkish visa] and kit for his trip, including factor 50 sun cream, eye-patch, manicure set, electric hair trimmer, 200 in cash, a mosquito net and combat clothes. Taj had previously made three trips to Turkey in the first half of 2014, but returned after just a few days. He claimed he had made the trips to punish his British wife after a series of blazing rows. Officers found a manicure set, electric hair trimmer and comb when they raided the extremist's flat In the locked letter box in his flat in Bedford were his passport, with a valid Turkish visa, 200 in cash and a head torch still in its packaging Describing his marriage, he said it was 'excellent' in the early days but after his son was born, the 'situation changed'. He said: 'She got insecure, she started to lay accusations on me that I was cheating on her. 'It hurt me because I wasn't doing that stuff she accused me of. I used to take it on the chin and ignore it but over the years, I got fed up. 'If I was going to the hairdressers or not answering the phone when I was driving or I needed a shower when I got home, I was meeting a woman.' He added: 'I wanted to divorce her but I couldn't bring myself to do it because of my son. In my mind, I was running away from the situation and giving my wife space to reflect on her actions. 'I wanted to use these trips to give me space because she was very possessive. 'I didn't have much money but I was fed up and reckless if she was going to p*** me off, then I'm going to do the same to her. If she's going to annoy me and p*** me off, I'll annoy her.' Police also discovered a pair of combat trousers when they swooped on Taj's one-bedroom flat Taj was caught 'red handed' with a rucksack packed for his departure for Syria when police raided his home Prosecutor Mark Weekes had told jurors he was also in communication with other jihadis. He was in daily contact with Mohammed Uddin, who went to Syria in November 2014 but was sent back after being detained by Turkish authorities. Uddin was jailed for seven years in February after pleading guilty to a charge of preparing acts of terrorism. He had complained of the 'cold water', 'bland food' and 'doing absolutely jack' to Taj while in Syria. Taj also exchanged texts with ISIS fixer Abu Qaqa - aka Raphael Hostey, from Manchester - and asked him if Iraq was the best place for a quick martyrdom. Meanwhile, he discussed marriage with a woman in Syria called Umm Jibreel to smooth their entry into the city of Raqqa. On December 13 he told her: 'I dnt wanna pressurise u into deciding 100% on marrying me...Keep me posted I'll be waiting (sic).' She replied: '...no!!! WALLAHI (by God) there's no pressure...I'v been making istikhara (prayer) about this for a long time (sic)'. The defendant sent thousands of tweets, using a profile picture of an al-Qaeda leader with a background image of Jihadi John wielding a knife. In the days before his arrest, he posted more than 1,000 tweets and retweets, with 27 per cent of them referring to ISIS. This was a Facebook post made by Taj shortly before he planned to leave for Syria Taj sent thousands of tweets, using a profile picture of an al-Qaeda leader with a background image of Jihadi John wielding a knife Detective Inspector Ryan Brammer from the Eastern Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Unit (ECTIU) said: 'It almost beggars belief that he was willing to leave his pregnant wife behind, but it shows how quickly people can become radicalised and the lengths that extremists are willing to go to in order to pledge their allegiance to their 'cause'. 'Such behaviour will not be tolerated in any of our communities and we would continue to urge people to report any concerning behaviour or signs that someone is at risk of being radicalised. 'It is also important to stress that the conditions in Syria are far removed from the propaganda illustrated by ISIS online - in reality it is a hostile environment and incredibly dangerous.' Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will survive the upcoming election but his popularity among voters has slid lower than Julia Gillards when she failed to secure majority against Tony Abbott. Results from the latest Fairfax-Ipsos poll is a blow to the Coalitions morale highlighting why the campaign has turned noticeably negative in week two. This comes after the recent resignation of the Fremantle candidate Sherry Surif on Friday, who left his position following past comments on same sex marriage and indigenous recognition. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) will survive the upcoming election but his popularity among voters has slid lower than Julia Gillard's when she failed to secure majority against Tony Abbott A video of Mr Surif mocking his former boss also came into the public eye. Mr Turnbulls net approval rating stands at 10 per cent, as 48 per cent of voters say they approve of his performance as Prime Minister versus 38 against, while Ms Gillard had been plus 12 at the same point in 2013. But 58 per cent of voters still believe the Coalition will be returned at the July 2 double dissolution election, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The current head of the Coalition retains a 17-point lead as preferred Prime Minister over Bill Shorten at 47 to 30 but was as high as 67 to 21 in October last year. Support for the Coalition is holding, but when 1,497 voters were asked who their second preference in the ballot would be, the Labor party were left neck and neck with the Liberals. Meanwhile Labors bold policy approach to put higher spending on schools and hospitals ahead of tax cuts has helped with voter opinion. Northumbria Police Chief Constable Steve Ashman A police chief constable allegedly kept a book of 'serious concerns' about the force's ex-legal boss before she was sacked but denies being a 'monster' and trying to force her out. Northumbria Police Chief Constable Steve Ashman is accused of bullying Denise Aubrey, the force's former head of legal services, leaving her feeling 'scared' of him. Ms Aubrey was dismissed for gross misconduct for allegedly revealing details of an affair involving high-ranking officers. She denies this and has claimed unfair dismissal, discrimination and harrassment. Details about the affairs have emerged during the tribunals as well as a string of accusations involving a fight, a cover up and police properties being used as 'love pads'. Ms Aubrey said after two decades of dedicated service, Northumbria Police ruined her life, her mental health and her career. Daphne Romney, representing Aubrey, asked Mr Ashman about the 'dossier' he had compiled on Ms Aubrey and asked if it was normal practice for him to do so about individual people. Mr Ashman told Ms Romney that it was and that he had done so a 'handful of times' throughout his career. Ms Romney said: 'If you have only complied dossiers on five people you must have had serious concerns about Ms Aubrey?' Mr Ashman replied: 'I had a number of concerns indeed. 'It was really worrying when she asked me to speak to her solicitor within days of me becoming her line manager. It set off warning sounds.' Ms Romney replied: 'She was asking you to speak to her solicitor about issues of sex discrimination and equal pay wasn't she?' Mr Ashman replied: 'Yes.' The tribunal heard that among some of the notes Chief Constable Ashman made in his book was an entry saying that he found her 'actions thus far to be extremely worrying'. He added: 'She has been cleared by the FMA but is making thinly veiled threats to the organisation.' When Ms Romney asked Mr Ashman if the concerns around sex discrimination and equal pay were what he found offensive, he replied: 'I didn't find them offensive. 'I found it extremely unusual and out of the ordinary that she was asking me to speak to her solicitor.' Ms Romney said: 'I suggest that the accusations that you made were to drive her out of the organisation one way or the other.' Mr Ashman replied: 'Absolute nonsense.' Ms Romney told the tribunal that in one instance during their working career together, Ms Aubrey felt like she was 'walking on eggshells' after Ashman berated her for calling the then Chief Constable Sue Sim personally. Mr Ashman told the tribunal that Sue Sim had given him instruction that she did not wish to be contacted personally by Ms Aubrey. Northumbria Police Chief Constable Steve Ashman (left) is accused of bullying Denise Aubrey (right), the force's former head of legal services, leaving her feeling 'scared' of him He denies claims that he 'berated' her and says he was just frustrated as he had told her not to contact Mrs Sim before. Ms Romney reminded Mr Ashman that he had claimed in his witness statement that he and Ms Aubrey had a 'pleasant working relationship' at this point. Ms Romney asked him if that made sense as Denise Aubrey told him she felt as though she was 'walking on eggshells' and Chief Constable Ashman replied: 'Yes. I would say that she was comfortable telling me how she felt.' Ms Romney pointed out that when giving her own evidence, former Chief Constable Sue Sim never said that she had asked Denise Aubrey not to contact her and asked Mr Ashman if Sue Sim was wrong he replied: 'She is. 'It is simply not imaginable that Mrs Sim did not know every detail involving Ms Aubrey.' Ms Aubrey claims, in her witness statement, that she suffered experience disorientation, dizziness, hot and cold sweats, fainting physical vomiting, palpitating heartbeats, lack of breath, seizures and pains in my chest after being 'bullied' by DCC Ashman. In his witness statement, Mr Ashman said he was confident he has managed Miss Aubrey in a professional and supportive manner. Britons have been warned to brace for a week of wet and windy weather as half-term travel plans were left in tatters after almost a month's worth of rain descended on parts of southern England yesterday. Powerful gusts of wind ripped down trees and foliage in north London (right), while videos shared across social media saw flash flooding completely submerge pavements and some roads in Peckham (left). Elsewhere, in the New Forest, there was reported damage after one resident captured the moment a 'mini-tornado' tore through their town - causing trees and unsecured structures to shake violently in the wind. Hundreds of homes across parts of the south east were also hit by power cuts on Monday morning, with dozens of outages reported by UK Power Networks. Fire on the Water, a popular arts festival in Great Yarmouth, was evacuated after one of the marquee tents collapsed following strong gusts and thundery conditions that lashed much of Britain's coast. The Met Office today warned that the blustery conditions are likely to continue throughout the week for parts of the country, with heavy showers expected in the south and southwest of the UK. Meteorologists have also warned of powerful gales striking the west by Friday. Nine men have been convicted of committing sexual offences against a teenage boy who was subjected to a 'horrifying' catalogue of abuse while in council care. A three-month trial was told the victim was raped and repeatedly sold for sex in Birmingham's red light district during 2009 and 2010. Jurors at Warwick Crown Court deliberated for more than 30 hours before convicting eight defendants from the West Midlands, London and Stoke-on-Trent of offences involving the boy. A ninth man was cleared by the jury of committing offences against the teenager but had previously admitted facilitating child prostitution in relation to the victim. Special Constable Ronald Potter (left) was charged with indecent assaults against a boy. Ian Prestleton (right) was one of the nine defendants A tenth defendant - former Special Constable Ronald Potter, aged 78 and from Pippers Lane, Fillongley, near Coventry - was convicted of two indecent assaults committed against another boy in 2001 and 2002 but cleared of rape and sexual activity with a child. The trial heard that the victim who was in local authority care was left 'traumatised' by the offences against him, which began in his early teens. Opening the case against the defendants in February, prosecutor Rosina Cottage QC said the complainant, now aged in his early 20s, was first spoken to by police in 2009. Ms Cottage said of the victim: 'Regrettably his contemporaneous complaints were not fully investigated by West Midlands Police in 2009 and 2010.' But during a subsequent inquiry in 2012, the teenager, who cannot be identified, was able to point police towards those involved in his alleged exploitation. Defendant Ashley Sherrington, 25, was convicted of two counts of rape The youngster - who was sold 'like goods' in Birmingham city centre - had a troubled family background and absconded from a care home in the Midlands for a number of days, the court heard. The nine defendants convicted at Warwick Crown Court of offences connected to the sexual abuse of a teenager who was in council care are: Robert Bailey, 27, of Watt Road, Erdington, Birmingham. He was found guilty of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, sexual activity with a child, and making indecent photographs. He was cleared of rape. Michael Godbold, 57, of Uxbridge Rd, Shepherd's Bush, London, was acquitted of two counts of rape but convicted of sexual activity with a child, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, arranging or facilitating child prostitution, and possession of controlled drugs. As he was led away to the cells, Godbold shouted: 'I am not guilty of half these charges.' Judge de Bertodano responded: 'That's something you can discuss with your barrister.' Tahir Hussain, 34, of St Josephs Road, Ward End, Birmingham, was cleared of 15 charges, including trafficking for sexual exploitation, but found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child. Peter Joynes, 58, of Canberra Way, Highgate, Birmingham, was convicted of arranging or facilitating child prostitution and sexual activity with a child. Stephen Kelly, of Elm Road, Bournville, Birmingham, was found guilty of two counts of arranging or facilitating child prostitution and one of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. The 39-year-old was cleared on three other charges. Kelly was told by the judge that a prison sentence in his case is inevitable. Ian Prestleton, of High Haden Road, Cradley Heath, West Midlands, was found guilty of sexual activity with a child but cleared of rape. The 54-year-old was told a custodial sentence is the 'almost inevitable outcome' when he answers bail in July. Alan Priest, 63, of Mucklow Hill, Halesowen, West Midlands, was convicted of two rapes and one count of sexual activity with a child. Michael Godbold (left) was acquitted of two counts of rape but convicted of sexual activity with a child. Alan Priest (right) was convicted of two rapes and one count of sexual activity with a child Ashley Sherrington, 25, of Dawlish Drive, Stoke-on-Trent, was convicted of two counts of rape. The trial judge remanded Sherrington in custody and warned him: 'You have been convicted of very serious offences, the result of which will be a lengthy term of imprisonment.' Kevin Tudor, 55, of no fixed address, was cleared by the jury on four charges, including three rapes, but had previously pleaded guilty two counts of sexual activity with a child and facilitating prostitution. Jurors also acquitted two other men - Darren Clegg, 28, and 68-year-old Peter Lowe - of all charges. Clegg, of Hillside Drive, Great Barr, Birmingham, was found not guilty of engaging in sexual activity with a child. Lowe, of Salisbury Close, Moseley, Birmingham, was cleared of six charges, including arranging prostitution. There are growing concerns for the welfare of a student who has gone missing from the prestigious Cambridge University. Matthew Campsie was last seen leaving Fitzwilliam College, one of the constituent colleges of the University, based in Storey's Way, at 7.30am yesterday. Both his family and police are urging anyone who may know where he is to come forward. Matthew Campsie was last seen on CCTV leaving Fitzwilliam College in Storey's Way yesterday afternoon DC Clare Havis, from the Missing Person Investigation Unit, said: 'Police and Matthew's family are growing increasingly concerned for Matthew's welfare. 'We would urge anyone who has seen him, or may know where he is, to contact us immediately.' The 21-year-old is currently studying at Fitzwilliam College, which is home to some 450 undergraduates as well as around 300 graduate students and 90 fellows. He is originally from Scotland, but it is currently unclear what he studies at the University. Anyone with information about Matthew's whereabouts should contact police on 101. Disturbing details have emerged at the trial of a lawyer who is accused of torturing and brutally stabbing his wife's ex-boss and his spouse in a horrifying three-hour ordeal, in which he left them for dead. Andrew G. Schmuhl appeared before Fairfax County Circuit Court Thursday for abduction, aggravated malicious wounding, using a firearm and burglary, two years on from the incident. Fairfax Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Casey Lingan said the alleged crimes were about 'greed, anger torture and total depravity', reported The Washington Post. Andrew G. Schmuhl (left) appeared before Fairfax County Circuit Court Thursday for abduction, aggravated malicious wounding, using a firearm and burglary, two years on from the incident. Right, Wife Alecia faces the same charges in a separate trial set for September During the trial Thursday, the Chief attorney described the sequence of events in grisly detail, which had culminated with the arrest of Andrew Schmuhl (right) and his wife, Alecia, (left) He also argued they were partly 'about revenge' for the firing of his wife, Alecia Schmuhl, from Leo Fisher's Arlington law firm, Bean, Kinney and Korman. Victims Susan Duncan and Leo Fisher - the ex-boss of Schmuhl's wife - were found at their $1 million McLean home with multiple stab wounds to their upper body, back in November 2014. On Thursday, Lingan described the sequence of events in grisly detail, which had culminated with the arrest of Andrew Schmuhl and his wife who were found by police in a car at a Springfield strip mall. Victims Susan Duncan and Leo Fisher (pictured) - the ex-boss of Schmuhl's wife - were found at their $1 million McLean home with multiple stab wounds Andrew was found wearing only a diaper, while his bloody clothes, a taser, and a shopping list of assault items were found stashed elsewhere in the vehicle. Susan Duncan was the first witness on the stand and described how Schmuhl had taken herself and her husband to the master bedroom and had them lie on the bed while he quizzed them about the law firm and Fisher's supposed ties to a Mexican cartel and a murder-for-hire plot. Later on in the ordeal, after Duncan, then 61, had been ordered to the bathroom, she said she came into find Schmuhl on top of her husband, cutting his throat. In between tears, Duncan told the court: 'I saw he had a gun in his hand. I felt the bullet. I fell down on the floor.' The man then left the bedroom, she said. Duncan had been grazed by the shot. But when she began crawling across the bed to reach a phone, Schmuhl jumped on her and began stabbing her repeatedly. He got off, then got back on top and began stabbing again. This repeated four times, said Duncan. Victims Susan Duncan and Leo Fisher - the ex-boss of Schmuhl's wife - were found at their $1 million McLean home (pictured)with multiple stab wounds to their upper body, back in November 2014 Finally she played dead and the man left the room. Duncan then pressed the home panic button and called 911, but said she saw Schmuhl was still in the house, on 900 block of Spencer Rd. Police did not expect the couple to survive, but Lingan said trauma surgeons at Inova Fairfax Hospital saved their lives. Defense attorney Andrew Elders listed the dozen medications Schmuhl had been taking for his mental health and said 'something was horribly wrong with Andy Schmuhl's mental state on that night.' Elders did not deny that Schmuhl entered the house, bound Fisher and Duncan, slit Fisher's throat, shot and grazed Duncan in the head, then repeatedly stabbed Duncan before leaving, but argued that the cause was because of 'problems with his medications'. Elders added that Scmuhl's actions during the three-hour attack were 'so absurd' that he was obviously unaware of what he was doing. The defense is hoping to prove that Schmuhl was 'involuntarily intoxicated' by the medications, a legal but rarely successful defense in Virginia. Elders also asserted that his wife Alecia was the 'mastermind of the attack' and had been outside the home directing her husband by cell phone. The biggest change for animals used in testing is likely to come next week if Congress approves the reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act, the federal statute that governs hazard assessment for more than 80,000 chemicals in commercial use in our society. Photo by iStockphoto 3.5K shares The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Santa Cruz Biotechnology have come to the largest settlement agreement in the history of the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act. SCBT, one of the worlds largest suppliers of antibodies for biomedical research, will lose its license to operate as a dealer, as well as its registration to operate as a research facility with the USDA, essentially shutting the business down. It will also pay a penalty of $3.5 million. Over the years USDA found serious violations of the law at this laboratory, including numerous severely sick and injured animals, inadequate veterinary care, failure to avoid and minimize pain and distress, and failure to consider alternatives to procedures involving animal pain and distress. USDA also discovered that SCBTs facility was housing more than 800 goats but had denied the sites existence to the USDA. The HSUS informed the public of the plight of thousands of animals in this companys hands and, along with other animal protection organizations, urged strong and meaningful agency action. We are grateful to the agency for doing just that. It seems that the government is stepping up its attention on animal testing issues, and these strong penalties in the Santa Cruz case are just the latest example. I wrote a blog last week about reforms at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for pesticide testing. EPA announced a plan last month to phase out at least some of these obsolete animal testing practices in favor of alternatives that can provide the same information, sometimes more effectively, without using animals. This offers the prospect of saving the lives of animals who are subjected to skin and eye irritation, force-feeding and inhalation of chemicals, and intentional lethal poisoning. The EPAs new plan is part of a larger move by the agency to embrace more modern technology that is humane, cost-effective, and better at predicting pesticide reactions. The six-pack tests are inhumane and possibly the most painful battery of animal tests ever conceived. The first three tests expose animals to a mega-dose of a pesticide via force-feeding, forced inhalation, and absorption through their skin to determine the dose that will kill 50 percent of the animals. It is common for the animals in these tests to endure convulsions, bleeding from the mouth or nose, seizures, or paralysis. The final three tests in the six-pack require placing these caustic chemicals in the eyes or on the skin of the animals to determine levels of irritation or allergic response. EPA estimates that as many as 500 pesticide formulations undergo six-pack animal testing every year. But the biggest change is likely to come next week if Congress gives final approval to reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the federal statute that governs hazard assessment for more than 80,000 chemicals in commercial use in our society. Since 1976, when TSCA was enacted, only five chemicals have been removed from the marketplace. The whole risk assessment program for chemicals is broken, and that includes the animal testing component, which is plainly unreliable and inefficient. The costs run into the millions for testing a single chemical with animals, and it takes years to complete the work, typically producing inconclusive results. High throughput tests and in vitro testing methods will enable us to test millions of chemicals, at different doses, in a rapid fashion and in a far less costly way. The broad-gauged TSCA reform bill, supported by The HSUS, EPA, the Environmental Defense Fund, and a broad range of other stakeholders, would require the use of alternatives to animals where available. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-NJ, said we all agree, animal testing should be a last resort. The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act makes it so. We are immensely grateful to Senator Cory Booker, D-NJ, for leading the fight on this provision, and for Senators David Vitter, R-La., Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., Tom Udall, D-NM, Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., for supporting this dramatic change in the law. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and 38 other House lawmakers wrote to Rep. Pallone last week and urged him to accept the Senate-approved language to reduce animal testing for chemicals. The government, previously both a financier and long a practitioner of animal testing, can now help lead us into the 21st century and away from animal testing in so many different domains. Please call your U.S. Representative and Senators and urge them to support the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. If that bill passes in current form, it offers the prospect of preventing miserable deaths for hundreds of thousands of animals. Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir, suffered a record-breaking decline as it reached the lowest level in history Wednesday night since it was filled 80 years ago. The lake slipped below a previous record set in June 2015. Federal water managers said Thursday the vast Colorado River reservoir is expected to continue to shrink amid ongoing drought. The closely controlled and measured lake shrunk to its lowest point since Hoover Dam was completed in 1936 - with a surface level of 1,074.68 feet above sea level compared to its high-water capacity at 1,225 feet above sea level. Lake Mead shrunk to its lowest point since Hoover Dam was completed in 1936, with a surface level of 1,074.68 feet above sea level compared to its high-water capacity at 1,225 feet above sea level, a 150-foot decrease. Lake Mead is pictured in 1965 at full capacity As the levels of Lake Mead continue to fall, the odds are increasing for the federal government to declare a shortage in 2018, a step that would trigger cutbacks in the amounts flowing from the reservoir to Arizona and Nevada. The lake is pictured in December 1995 The US Bureau of Reclamation plans to let it drop another few feet by the end of next month. Then, it will be refilled enough by the end of the year to pass a crucial water-level mark to avoid cuts in water deliveries to residents, farms, tribes and businesses in Arizona, Nevada and California. The decline of Lake Mead near Las Vegas reflects enormous strains on the over-allocated Colorado River, according to the Desert Sun. Its flows have decreased during 16 years of drought, and climate change has also played a role in the decline. As the levels of Lake Mead continue to fall, the odds are increasing for the federal government to declare a shortage in 2018, a step that would trigger cutbacks in the amounts flowing from the reservoir to Arizona and Nevada. California, Arizona and Nevada would all have to reach an agreement to share in the cutbacks in order to prevent an even more severe shortage, according to the Sun. 'We have passed the historic low of June 25, 2015,' said Rose Davis, a spokeswoman for the reclamation bureau, 'and we expect the lake to continue to drop to levels near 1,070 feet by the end of June. However, they are expected to be back by December 31 above the levels that would trigger a shortage declaration in 2017.' The lake is about 37 per cent full, Davis said. It's surrounded by a distinctive white mineral 'bathtub ring' showing the 130 feet in surface level it has lost since 2000. It was last at full capacity in 1983. Davis said if the new study set to be released in August indicates the lake's level is going to be below the threshold as of December 31, a shortage would be declared for 2017. The lake is about 37 per cent full. It's surrounded by a distinctive white mineral 'bathtub ring' (pictured) showing the 130 feet in surface level it has lost since 2000. Lake Mead is pictured in May 2015 It was last at full capacity in 1983. If the new study set to be released in August indicates the lake's level is going to be below the threshold as of December 31, a shortage would be declared for 2017. The lake is pictured in June 2015 The river serves about 40 million residents in seven Southwest states. Lake Mead's high-water capacity is 1,225 feet above sea level. It reaches so-called 'dead pool' at just under 900 feet, meaning nothing would flow downstream from Hoover Dam The shortage could lead to significant cutbacks for Arizona and Nevada. California, which holds the most privileged rights to water from the Colorado River, would not face reductions until the reservoir hits a lower trigger point, according to the Sun. Representatives of the states said last month that they hope to have a deal finalized by the end of the year for all three states to accept cutbacks earlier than otherwise required in order to head off a more serious crisis, according to the newspaper. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has said she is optimistic about the talks, calling the over-allocation of the river a shared problem that must be solved. She added that there have been 'extraordinary collaboration' between the states in working toward a deal. While representatives of the three states have discussed the outlines of proposals to temporarily take less water from Lake Mead, they say considerable hurdles remain, including negotiations between water districts within each state. The river serves about 40 million residents in seven Southwest states. Two key points are lakes Powell and Mead. 'My thoughts and prayers go out to Kim Tripp's friends and family! Rest in peace beautiful soul,' she wrote Kim Kardashian West tweeted her condolences to the 32-year-old Tripp performed as the reality star at Beacher's Madhouse at the MGM A Las Vegas performer with dwarfism known as 'mini Kim Kardashian' died from chronic alcohol abuse, a coroner revealed. Kim Tripp, 32, who impersonated the reality TV star in a cabaret show in Nevada was found dead by her boyfriend 'mini Kanye West' outside her home in late March. Kim Kardashian West paid her condolences to 'mini Kim' in a moving tweet after Tripp's death, writing: 'My thoughts and prayers go out to Kim Tripp's friends and family! Rest in peace beautiful soul.' Scroll down for video Tripp, 32, (center) was said to be in good health before she was found unresponsive on the porch of her apartment Kim Tripp, 32, (left) was found dead outside her Las Vegas apartment by her boyfriend 'mini Kanye West' (right) Kim Kardashian has paid her condolences to 'mini Kim' in a moving tweet after the impersonator, who had dwarfism, was found dead yesterday Today the real Kim (pictured), tweeted her condolences saying: 'My thoughts and prayers go out to Kim Tripp's friends and family!' Tripp, 32, was thought to be in good health before her partner, real name Ricky Sells Jr., found Tripp unresponsive on the porch of her apartment, according toTMZ. The celebrity impersonator, who was dubbed the 'mini Kim Kardashian' starred in Beacher's Madhouse at the MGM in Las Vegas and the Hollywood Roosevelt in Los Angeles. 'Today is a sad day, the Beacher's Madhouse family lost one of our founders and original members. She was our Shining Star. 'My prayers and love go out to our team and her family. 'She will be loved and missed by all,' Beacher's Madhouse told TMZ after her death. Tripp was well known in Las Vegas for her outrageous performances as Mini Kim, including pretending to give birth on stage after after Kardashian had North West, in 2013. She and 'mini Kanye' even had a fake wedding in May 2014 after the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star tied the knot. Little people are an integral part of the Beacher's Madhouse cabaret and are featured in a variety of roles including performers and servers. The celebrity impersonator starred as the little people's reality star at Beacher's Madhouse at the MGM in Las Vegas and the Hollywood Roosevelt in Los Angeles (pictured in a fake wedding to 'mini Kanye' in 2014) Kim Tripp, who was dubbed the 'mini Kim' would performed as the Kardashian at a cabaret show in Nevada Tripp was a performer at Beacher's Madhouse in Las Vegas and in Los Angeles. The cabaret show said she 'will be loved and missed by all' Investigation is ongoing, incendiary devices will be tested at a lab Fire was extinguished at 10.52pm, leaving singe marks on the ground and small portion of building's exterior Glass containers with accelerant appear to be Molotov Cocktails, Mountain View Fire Department spokesperson said Two incendiary devices thought to be Molotov cocktails started a fire at the Google headquarters in California, causing minor damage to a street view car and the exterior of one building, police said. Firefighters were called at around 10.52pm on Thursday to the 1500 block of Salado Drive in Mountain View, where they extinguished a small fire. A Google Earth car, which takes photographs for the website's map feature, was parked outside and damaged, although police said it was minor. Two incendiary devices, which appear to be Molotov cocktails, set off a fire at the Google headquarters in California, causing minor damage to a street view car and the exterior of one building, police said Firefighters were called at around 10.52pm on Thursday to the 1500 block of Salado Drive in Mountain View, where they extinguished a small fire Firefighters arrived at the scene and extinguished a small fire after the company's security guards led them to the Google Earth car parked outside Building 4 in the West Campus. Two incendiary devices were found at the scene and Lynn Brown, spokesperson for the Mountain View Fire Department told the LA Times the glass containers with accelerant looked like Molotov cocktails. Portions of the ground, some grass as well as a small section of a building was singed, police said. An investigation is pending, and the two devices have been sent to a lab for testing. Two incendiary devices were found at the scene and Lynn Brown, spokesperson for the Mountain View Fire Department told the LA Times the glass containers with accelerant looked like Molotov cocktails (file photo) That suit says Cosby assaulted a girl, 15, in the Playboy mansion in 1974 The defamation suit says Cosby falsely accused his alleged victims of lying The combative interview saw her frostily fighting off the opposing lawyer But she cited marriage privilege, refusing to answer dozens of questions Bill Cosby's wife refused to answer dozens of questions during a combative deposition for a defamation lawsuit filed against him by seven women, according to a transcript released Friday. Camille Cosby, 72, fended off questions about whether she believes her husband 'acted with a lack of integrity' during their 52-year marriage in a pair of depositions in February and April. The reveal came the same day that Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, 90, long regarded as Cosby's best friend, was announced to have given sworn testimony in a separate suit. Silent: Camille Cosby (right, with husband Bill in 2009) refused to answer dozens of questions in a deposition for a lawsuit against her husband, citing a legal privilege given to married couples, it was revealed Friday Testified: Playboy founder Hugh Hefner (pictured) testified in a separate suit against Cosby Friday, filed by Judy Huth who alleges that Cosby assaulted her in the Playboy mansion in 1974 Camille Cosby's deposition came as part of a defamation lawsuit filed by seven women against Bill Cosby, 78, who they say branded them liars after they accused him of sexually assaulting him decades ago. She was questioned by the women's lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, and counseled by her own, Monique Pressley. Pressley frequently advised her not to answer many questions based on marital privilege, which protects private communication between spouses. But Cammarata pushed on, asking her if her husband had 'a lack of integrity' and whether he had used his position and power 'to manipulate young women' - both questions Mrs. Cosby refused to answer, citing the privilege. The exchanges between Cammarata and Mrs. Cosby became testy at times, and she admonished him: 'Don't lecture me. Just keep going with the questions.' 'Were you aware of your husband setting up trusts for the benefit of women that he had a sexual relationship with?' Cammarata asked. She didn't answer that, either. Cammarata asked her about Shawn Thompson, a woman who said Bill Cosby fathered her daughter, Autumn Jackson, in the 1970s. Cosby had admitted to the affair later. Intense: During intense questioning, Mrs. Cosby was questioned about her husband's confirmed infidelity with one woman, and about whether she had heard of any stories about her husband date-raping women 'Was it a big deal when this came up in the 1970s that ... your husband had an extramarital affair and potentially had a daughter from that extramarital affair?' Cammarata asked. 'It was a big deal then, yes,' she replied. At one point Mrs. Cosby, who claimed to mostly get news from her husband and her PR team, said she hadn't heard of any stories about her husband using Quaaludes to date-rape women, The Boston Globe said. After that, Cammarata confirmed with her that the couple had renewed their vows for their 50th anniversary. 'You would agree with me that obtaining Quaaludes to have sex with young women is a breach or a violation of those vows that you just told us about?' Cammarata asked. 'I have no opinion about that,' Camille replied. 'Why not?' Cammarata asked. 'I just don't,' Camille said. Later, he asked her to define 'integrity. She said 'Honesty.' 'And what does honesty mean?' the lawyer asked. 'I'm not going to expound on this,' she replied. 'Well, you have to,' Cammarata said. 'I do not have to,' she said. 'I'm done.' Old pals: As well as Huth's lawsuit, which was directed only at Cosby, he and Hefner are both named as defendants in a suit by a model who says Cosby date-raped her in the Playboy mansion in 2008 Accuser: Huth (pictured) alleges that Bill Cosby forced her to give him oral sex when she was just 15 Pressley also attempted to use marital privilege to shut the deposition down, but a a judge ruled that Mrs. Cosby would have to give evidence, resulting in a second deposition on April 19 - the details of which have not been released. The transcript was released the same day that it emerged Hugh Hefner had provided sworn testimony in another, separate lawsuit against Cosby. In the sexual battery lawsuit filed in Los Angeles, Judy Huth says Cosby forced her to perform a sex act on him at the Playboy Mansion around 1974, when she was just 15 years old. Bill Cosby's former lawyers accused Huth of attempting to extort him before filing the case and unsuccessfully tried to have it dismissed. Huth's attorney, Gloria Allred, said Hefner's testimony will remain under seal for now. Hefner also was named as a defendant in a third case filed Monday by former model Chloe Goins, who accuses Bill Cosby of drugging and sexually abusing her at the Playboy Mansion in 2008. About 50 women have publicly accused Bill Cosby of forcing unwanted sexual contact on them decades ago. Cosby has denied the allegations. He faces a criminal case in Pennsylvania, where prosecutors have charged him with sexually violating a former Temple University employee, Andrea Constand. He has pleaded not guilty. Suspect is described as a black male around 18 years old with a neck tattoo and was last seen wearing a gray and blue jacket The thief stabbed the victim in the stomach, took his iPhone and fled The man, a native of Ecuador, was approached by the suspect around 11.40am A 33-year-old man was attacked on the N train platform of the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center station in Brooklyn on Friday, police said A man was stabbed on a train platform during a bloody iPhone robbery on Friday morning inside a New York subway station, authorities said. The 33-year-old man, who is not named, was approached by the thief around 11.40am while on an N train at the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center train station in Brooklyn, NYPD told Daily Mail Online. The unidentified suspect, who is at large, stabbed the victim in the stomach, took his iPhone and fled the scene, police said. Scroll down for video A man was stabbed on a train platform during a bloody iPhone robbery on Friday morning inside a New York subway station, authorities said. Officers are pictured above at the station following the attack The 33-year-old man, who is not named, was approached by the thief around 11.40am while on an N train at the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center train station in Brooklyn, NYPD told Daily Mail Online The victim was transported to Methodist Hospital with non-life threatening injuries where he is listed in a stable condition. The stabbing happened just after the doors opened on the Coney Island-bound N train that the victim and suspect were traveling on as it pulled into the transit hub, The New York Post reported. Sources also told the Post that the suspect had caused some standing passengers to grow suspicious and even put their phones away prior to the bloody encounter, after he was seen pacing back and forth on the train car. Sources said the suspect had caused some standing passengers to grow suspicious and even put their phones away prior to the bloody encounter after he was seen pacing back and forth on the train car The victim, who had boarded the train at Queensboro Plaza, was on it for about 20 stops before the attack. He is a native of Ecuador, according to Pix 11. Following the incident, subway service was temporarily affected but has since resumed, according to WABC. The suspect is described as a black male around 18 years old with a thin build and about 5'5''. He is said to have a tattoo on his neck and was last seen wearing a gray and blue jacket, police told Daily Mail Online. Police said no arrests have been made and that the investigation is ongoing. Mexico's Foreign Relations Department has approved the extradition of convicted drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman to the United States. The department said in a statement Friday that the US has provided 'adequate guarantees' that Guzman would not face the death penalty. Mexico has abolished capital punishment and does not extradite its citizens if they face possible execution. The process can still be appealed, meaning it could be weeks or months before the Sinaloa cartel leader may be sent to the US, where he is wanted in multiple jurisdictions on charges related to drug trafficking and organized crime. Mexico's Foreign Relations Department ruled Friday that the extradition of convicted drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman (pictured) to the United States can go forward The US has provided 'adequate guarantees' that Guzman would not face the death penalty. Mexico has abolished capital punishment and does not extradite its citizens if they face possible execution Guzman's lawyers now have 30 days to appeal the decision. Friday's ruling covered an extradition request from a Texas federal court related to charges of conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine and marijuana, money-laundering, arms possession and murder, and another extradition request from a federal court in California. In all, Guzman faces charges from seven US federal prosecutors including in Chicago, New York, Miami and San Diego. Earlier this week Jose Refugio Rodriguez, one of Guzman's lawyers, said that if the government approved extradition they would pursue an injunction. 'We are going to do it, but not right away, because it's a process you have to fight with arguments,' he said. 'We have 30 days.' Guzman was arrested in January after almost six months on the run following his escape from a maximum-security prison through a mile-long tunnel that opened to the floor of his shower. Earlier this month, authorities suddenly transferred Guzman to a prison (pictured) on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, near the US border, a move they said was due to work on improvements at Altiplano He had already escaped once before in 2001 and spent more than a decade as one of the world's most wanted fugitives until he was recaptured in 2014. After his latest capture, authorities returned him to the same Altiplano lockup where he had pulled off his brazen tunnel escape. They said they had reinforced the prison's security. But earlier this month, authorities suddenly transferred Guzman to a prison on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, near the US border, a move they said was due to work on improvements at Altiplano. Rodriguez, the lawyer, is trying to get Guzman returned to Altiplano, arguing that the transfer hurt his defense because it's hundreds of miles away from the court handling the case. He said a judge told them Guzman could be sent back to Altiplano if prison authorities determine the conditions are right. The remains of U.S. Air Force Tech Sergeant Leonard Unger were returned to his family in Missouri on Thursday An Airman is finally at peace, 63 years after his plane crashed into the side of an Alaskan mountain and was left to be buried under decades of winter snow. The remains of U.S. Air Force Tech Sergeant Leonard Unger were just recently identified through DNA by teams scouring Colony Glacier for remains from the 1952 Mount Gannett crash. On Thursday, his remains arrived back in his home of Franklin County, Missouri, where his surviving family members plan to bury him next to his wife. About two dozen Patriot Guard motorcycle riders met Unger's casket at the airport and accompanied a white hearse back to Franklin County. At the time of his death, Unger left behind a wife and a five-year-old son. His son Raymond, now a grown man, says he was surprised when military officials contacted him recently and said that they had found his father. 'Kind of shock and in awe, I couldn't believe it,' he said, according to KSDK. 'I think it was very beautiful, a lot of people did a wonderful job of it.' In an interview with reporters from KTVI, Unger's younger sister Theresa Boland remembered her brother - the oldest of eight children - fondly. Scroll down for video Above, a hearse carrying the Airman's remains drives towards Franklin County, Missouri on Thursday More than two dozen Patriot Guard riders escorted the white hearse back to Unger's home town on Thursday 'He would get in the car and take me for a ride and that was a big thrill for me,' she said. She says her family was devastated the day they learned he was on a military flight that crashed into the side of an Alaskan mountain. Two years ago, Boland says military officials asked her for DNA to possibly identify his remains. That was the last she heard from officials until last week, when she learned her brother's body was being sent home. 'I'm so glad they found (him) and hes coming home and hes going to be buried close to home,' Boland said. At the time of his death, Unger was married and with a five year old son. His wife has since died. His son Raymond plans to bury his father next to his mother The Unger family pictured above in an old family photo. One of Unger's sisters says her parents and six other siblings were devastated by his death Theresa Boland, pictured, is Unger's youngest surviving sister. She says she fondly remembers her older brother taking her for rides in his car to get ice cream Unger was one of 52 people on board a C-124 Globemaster plane on November 22, 1952, that went down in bad weather. The plane flew out of McChord Air Force Base in Washington State bound for Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska when they hit bad weather and disappeared not far from their destination. The weather was so bad that it's believed the pilot was flying with zero vision, using just altitude, a radio beacon and a stopwatch to guide him through the treacherous mountains. It appears his tracking was off though, because the plane crashed at full-speed into the side of Mount Gannett, where it proceeded to slide down into the glacier and explode. At the time, military officials said they don't believe anyone survived the crash. It was sometime before they could get to the scene of the wrecked plane, but by then it was nearly impossible to recover anything because the plane was covered in eight feet of snow. They left the plane, telling the families of the fallen that they would not be able to provide them with their loved one's bodies. U.S. Marines Capt David Gooch with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency is pictured in June 2015 walking past an aircraft wheel assembly resting on the ice surface of Colony Glacier in Alaska Above, workers walk on colony glacier in efforts to recover remains from the crashed plane SSG Alfonso Gacuson (L) and Dr. Greg Berg, members of a specialized recovery team with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command assess evidence at a historic aircraft crash site at Colony Glacier, Alaska in this June 26, 2013 handout photo released to Reuters on July 8, 2013 Members of a specialized investigative team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command wait as a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter comes in for a landing to transport them back to base after a day of assessing a historic aircraft crash site at Colony Glacier, Alaska, in this June 24, 2013 handout photo released to Reuters on July 8, 2013 The search for the passengers and crew resumed in 2012 though when a helicopter spotted the wreckage on Colony Glacier, about 14 miles from the site of the original crash. Over the years, the fast-moving glacier has dragged the wreckage with it as it moves into Inner Lake George. After the discovery of the crash scene, every summer workers have been combing through the glacier looking for more remains to identify. In March, the military said that they have been able to identify more than 30 of the 52 victims through DNA technology. The military has pledged to continue searching for remains as long as they can - or the area of the glacier with the plane's wreckage reaches Inner Lake George where the ice will be too unstable. 'There will be a search until this glacier disappears into the lake, until nothing is left there,' Air Force Capt. Anastasia Wasem said. 'We never give up on our fallen service members until we physically can't anymore.' As if there weren't enough ill feelings in the primary fight between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, now Sanders plans to pick a fight over U.S. policy toward Israel and the Palestinians at the Democratic Convention. The Vermont senator telegraphed the move as he struggles to gain ground on Clinton among pledged delegates and as he continues to clash with DNC officials over the makeup of key committees at the Democratic confab to occur in Philadelphia this summer. 'Sanders is seeking a more 'even-handed' U.S. approach to Israeli occupation of land Palestinians claim for a future state,' The Washington Post reported. The current platform is silent on the occupation, but contains more bland language calling for 'a just and lasting Israeli-Palestinian accord, producing two states for two peoples.' Sanders has been in talks with the DNC about placing delegates on key committees that will govern the convention as well as issues dealing with the platform, fixing for a fight that also will include the minimum wage and the role of Wall Street. A Sanders aide the hot-button Middle East issue 'absolutely, legitimately will be a point of conversation.' Asked whether the effort could succeed, Jim Manley, a longtime former aide to Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and Senator Ted Kennedy, told MailOnline: 'I have no real idea why he is proposing this. I guess he just wants to pick a fight, but there is no chance none, zero, zip of this passing. Sanders, who campaign this week in California, wants to address the Democratic platform on Israel The DNC is headed by Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, who is also a strong Israel supporter and close Clinton ally, a position that has put her in conflict with Sanders on several convention matters. The move to elevate a fight over the world's most intractable issue comes about a week after an angry clash over delegates erupted at a state Democratic convention in Nevada. A Sanders spokesman didn't respond to a request for comment about the effort. If elected Sanders would be the first Jewish president in U.S. history. But as he revealed at the Democratic debate in Brooklyn, he is more than willing to criticize Israel's Likud-led government. 'Of course Israel has a right to defend itself, but long-term, there will never be peace in that region unless the United States plays an even-handed role trying to bring people together and recognizing the serious problems that exist among the Palestinian people,' Sanders said at the debate. 'Even handed': President Clinton brought together PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israel's Prime Minister Yizahk Rabin in 1993 at the White House Molotov cocktail: The issue could be a flashpoint at the Democratic convention Palestinian men scramble to run after an Israeli strike in Gaza City in 2014 'There comes a time when, if we pursue justice and peace, we are going to have to say that [Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is not right all of the time,' Sanders aid. At her speech at the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC this spring in D.C., Clinton promised to take the U.S.-Israel relationship 'to the next level.' And while she acknowledged Israeli settlement construction an issue she pressed Israel on as a member of the Obama administration she bracketed her statement with a statement protecting Israel from outside interference. Hillary Clinton called the Democratic nomination fight 'already done' this week ''Everyone has to do their part by avoiding damaging actions, including with respect to settlements,' Clinton said. 'Now, America has an important role to play in supporting peace efforts. And as president, I would continue the pursuit of direct negotiations. And let me be clearI would vigorously oppose any attempt by outside parties to impose a solution, including by the U.N. Security Council,' she added. A Clinton backer told the Post: 'On one hand there is not an enormous amount of difference between them. They are both pro-Israel, they are both pro-peace. But in the context of the campaign terms like "even-handed" can come to mean that the United States is signaling a shift,' which Clinton would oppose. President Barack Obama spoke for free at Rutgers this year, as did Sheryl Sandberg when she appeared at the University of California, College tuition is not the only thing rising at universities across the country as schools are paying more and more to draw in big name graduation speakers. In the case of the University of Houston that meant shelling out $166,000 last year so that the Class of 2015 could feel 'alright, alright, alright' as they were sent out into the real world with an inspiring speech from Matthew McConaughey. The University of Oklahoma was also willing to cough up the cash to get Katie Couric to speak at their 2006 ceremony, spending $110,000 on the former Today anchor. The cost includes not just the monetary sum that is paid to the commencement speakers, but also the amount spent on their travel and accommodations while they are in town. Two other public universities got a much better deal this year however when President Obama and Sheryl Sandberg spoke at Rutgers and the University of California, Berkley respectively for no fee. Scroll down for video Alright: The University of Houston shelled out $166,000 last year so that the Class of 2015 could have Matthew McConaughey as their speaker (above) Not today: In 2006, the University of Oklahoma spent $110,000 on speaker Katie Couric (above) More money, more problems: President Barack Obama spoke for free at Rutgers this year (above) Kind soul: Sheryl Sandberg was not paid a fee when she appeared at the University of California, Berkeley last week (above) This year, the University of Houston paid $35,000 to book retired astronaut Scott Kelly while Rutgers ponied up the same amount to bring in journalist and former White House Press Secretary Bill Moyers. Scott's twin brother and fellow retired astronaut Mark Kelly got a slightly better offer over at Kean University in New Jersey, where her and Humans of New York creator Brandon Stanton were each paid $40,000 to speak. Stanton seems to be cleaning up at college graduations these days, having taken home $30,000 last year to speak at Westfield State University in Massachusetts. 'Our students worked very hard, and they deserve it,' said Margaret McCorry, a spokeswoman for Kean, while justifying the expense. 'It makes their commencement just that much more memorable.' Half of the fee paid to the Kean speakers also comes from the school's general fund, which is funded by taxpayers. Rutgers said they had never paid a speaker until 2011, when they agreed to handover $30,000 in order to get Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison to speak to their graduating class. Colleges seem to save money when they go with alumni, with Bill Cosby never getting a fee for all the years he spoke at Temple University's commencement and Ryan Seacrest travelling to University of Georgia to speak at last week's graduation for no cost. Another Georgia alum, Amy Robach, cost $22,000 when the school had to charter a jet to get her down to speak last year. Different approaches: Ryan Seacrest spoke for free at the University of Georgia this year (left) while last year the school paid $22,000 to charter a jet for speaker Amy Robach (right) Making bank: Humans of New York creator Brandon Stanton (above in March in NYC) made $40,000 to speak at Kean this year, and $30,000 to speak at Westfield State University in Massachusetts last year Worth it: Rutgers said they had never paid a speaker until 2011, when they agreed to handover $30,000 in order to get Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison (above) to speak to their graduating class Still not a deal: Bill Cosby never received a fee for all the years he spoke at Temple University's commencement (above in 2011) The schools that tend to get the biggest speakers every year also tend to not pay their speakers, with the eight Ivy League universities (Dartmouth, Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, Brown, Yale, Princeton, and University of Pennsylvania) usually relying on famous alum or the connections of said alum to lock in titans of industry. This year, Steven Spielberg will speak at Harvard will Matt Damon will also be returning home to Boston to deliver the commencement at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Like Harvard and MIT, 16 of the 20 public schools contacted said they also do not pay their commencement speaker beyond basic travel and accommodation costs. Prince Andrew acted as a fixer for a foreign consortium in corrupt Kazakhstan, leaked emails reveal. The Queen's son was allegedly in line for 4million in commission from a murky deal in the oil-rich country while also working as a special trade envoy for Britain. He used his status as a royal to help kickstart the 385million venture on behalf of Greek and Swiss clients. Anti-monarchy campaigners last night called for an inquiry. Prince Andrew was allegedly in line for 4million in commission from a murky deal in the oil-rich country while also working as a special trade envoy for Britain And former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker said: 'Prince Andrew's continuing close relationship with questionable figures in Kazakhstan brings the Royal Family into disrepute. There are also serious questions about a conflict of interest in his former role as trade envoy which on the face of it seems to be more about enriching himself than helping the UK.' The disclosures shine a light on how Prince Andrew may have maintained his jetset lifestyle with no obvious source of income apart from a small Navy pension and an allowance from the Queen. The emails show that in April 2011 he used his relationship with the Kazakh oligarch Kenges Rakishev to quietly help a Greek utility firm and a Swiss finance house bid for infrastructure contracts. The Duke of York called and then emailed Mr Rakishev asking for assistance for the two firms: Aras Capital, from Zurich, and EYDAP, Greece's largest water firm. The companies wanted to build water and sewage networks in two of Kazakhstan's largest cities and had turned to Prince Andrew for help. Mr Rakishev quickly arranged meetings in Kazakhstan for the boss of EYDAP and its Swiss financiers with the mayors of Astana and Almaty along with representatives of local water authorities. For his role, Prince Andrew was to be offered a commission fee of 1 per cent or around 3.83million, a source at the water firm has revealed. In the event, the deal fell apart when, in late 2011, Kazakh police opened fire on a group of striking oil workers in the city of Zhanaozen, killing 14. Fearing that they would be caught up in political turmoil EYDAP pulled out. Emails show that in April 2011 the Prince used his relationship with the Kazakh oligarch Kenges Rakishev (pictured) to quietly help a Greek utility firm and a Swiss finance house bid for infrastructure contracts The prince's spokesman David Pogson initially denied that he had done any work for the Swiss and Greek firms when first approached by the Mail. However, the Mail then provided the palace with a copy of an email which Andrew had personally sent to Mr Rakishev on behalf of both EDYAP and Aras on April 14, 2011. The palace suggested our email was a forgery but then tried to stop its publication on privacy grounds. In 2007 Mr Rakishev brokered the mysterious sale of Prince Andrew's former marital home in Berkshire. After languishing unsold for five years, the property was bought for 15million 3million over the asking price by an oligarch called Timur Kulibayev, the son-in-law of Kazakhstan's autocratic president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Prince Andrew became UK special representative for international trade and investment in October 2001. He was supposed to promote UK business interests abroad but was accused of cashing in on connections with oil-rich trading partners and of developing questionable friendships with disreputable figures. He announced he was stepping down from the position in July 2011 following criticism over his friendship with controversial figures, including convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Graham Smith of Republic, which campaigns for the end of the monarchy, called for an inquiry, adding: 'On the face of it this appears to represent a clear abuse of Andrew's position as trade envoy.' 'Air Miles' Andrew, a secret deal on behalf of his chums and a very disturbing conflict of interests: So is this how the jetsetting Prince could afford a 13million ski chalet? With its awe-inspiring views of the Swiss Alps, living rooms stuffed with antiques and a master bedroom that's draped in animal furs, Chalet Helora is rightly regarded as one of Verbier's most exceptional luxury properties. The seven-bedroom pile boasts a 650 sq ft indoor swimming pool, sauna, sun terrace, boot-room, bar and opulent entertaining area. Neighbouring homes are owned by Sir Richard Branson, the singer James Blunt and a host of ski-loving billionaires. Little wonder that visiting members of the jet-set have in recent years chosen to pay around 22,000 per week to rent the chocolate-box retreat, where visitors are looked after by six members of staff. Prince Andrew has no obvious source of income aside from a small Navy pension and an allowance from the Queen, which is supposed to fund his private office However, that was before Christmas 2014 when the chalet, which sits on a large area of Europe's priciest real estate, was quietly bought by the Duke and Duchess of York. The divorced couple splashed an estimated 13 million on the property to give their daughters Beatrice and Eugenie a permanent home in the exclusive resort. Details of their investment emerged last year at a time when the Duke was facing awkward questions about his pally relationship with the wealthy American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Yet behind the scenes and rather lost in the headlines surrounding that scandal was another, perhaps equally tricky, question being asked by royal watchers. Namely: how on earth could the Royal couple possibly afford to buy the spectacularly expensive Chalet Helora? The Duchess of York is, of course, perennially short of cash and has in recent times toiled to pay off millions of pounds in debts. And Prince Andrew has no obvious source of income aside from a small Navy pension and an allowance from the Queen, which is supposed to fund his private office. Indeed, like all Royals, whose wealth is generally tied up in estates, paintings, jewels and trusts, he is not, on paper, particularly cash rich. Yet he appeared to have a spare 13 million to acquire a holiday home. What is more, 'Air Miles' Andrew has, in recent years, lived like a free-spending billionaire, holidaying on yachts and travelling the world by helicopter and private jet. Some of his overseas trips involve official duties. Others are taken on personal business. Often, the Palace vaguely describes journeys as having been 'paid for privately', as they did when he flew to China on a mysterious 48-hour visit last month. In addition to his travel costs, the Prince must also financially support his globe-trotting daughters Beatrice and Eugenie. What is more, he has additionally spent 7.5 million refurbishing Royal Lodge, his home in Windsor Great Park. Quite how he's funded all of this has never been clear. Andrew did enjoy a mysterious windfall in 2007, when his marital home, Sunninghill Park, near Windsor (which had languished unsold for five years) was bought by oligarch Timur Kulibayev, son-in-law of Kazakhstan's autocratic president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Yet even the 15 million raised by that extremely odd deal, in which the home sold for 3 million more than the asking price, doesn't come close to matching his recent outgoings. He used his status to act as a 'fixer' in a corrupt dictatorship 'I would compare Andrew to a hot air balloon,' is how one acquaintance describes it. 'He seems to float serenely around, in very rarefied circles, without any visible means of support. No one has ever had a clue how he pays for it.' Until now, that is. For today, the Mail is able to shed light on the Prince's mysterious finances, revealing one possible explanation as to how he affords his turbo-charged lifestyle. We can show that he's leveraged his royal status and the wealthy contacts made during the course of official work on behalf of British taxpayers to act as a 'fixer' helping foreign companies pursue lucrative business opportunities in Kazakhstan, one of the world's most corrupt dictatorships. One such venture was carried out in 2011, under utmost secrecy. It saw the Prince use his relationship with a highly influential Kazakh oligarch called Kenges Rakishev to discreetly help a Greek sewerage company and a Swiss finance house to bid for infrastructure contracts worth an estimated 500 million euros (385 million). The firms were Aras Capital, from Zurich, and EYDAP, Greece's largest water company, which had formed a consortium hoping to build water and sewerage networks in the capital Astana, as well as Kazakhstan's largest city Almaty. Had the deal gone through, the Prince would have been offered a commission fee of 1 per cent of its overall value 3.85 million according to a senior figure involved. In an extraordinary conflict of interests, Andrew helped the Swiss and Greek companies at a time when he was supposedly employed full-time as this country's roving 'trade ambassador', promoting British firms abroad. Over the final decade in which he performed that official role, supporting Andrew cost taxpayers 4 million. His police protection officers racked up a bill of 10 million. The public money was spent so that the Prince could support UK Plc rather than any foreign firms. In a second conflict of interests, Mr Rakishev, the Kazakh oligarch at the centre of the deal, also happens to be the one who negotiated the (for Andrew absurdly lucrative) sale of Sunninghill Park which has been demolished within the past few weeks on behalf of the President's son-in-law Mr Kulibayev. On April 14, 2011, the Prince phoned Kenges Rakishev and then emailed asking for assistance All of which will doubtless come as a surprise to British politicians and public alike. After all, Buckingham Palace has never discussed the Duke of York's business career. The public has never been told he's acted as a 'fixer' or consultant who introduces business people to his personal contacts who can help enrich them. Buckingham Palace has also always insisted that the sale of Sunninghill Park was in no way connected to any 'side deals'. They have described claims that the Duke would pursue any other 'commercial arrangement' related to it as 'completely false'. In keeping with this long-standing policy of omerta, the Prince's spokesman David Pogson was not forthcoming about his dealings with the Swiss and Greek firms when first approached by the Mail this week. He began by issuing a written statement, formally denying that Andrew had ever helped the Swiss firm Aras Capital, the Greek company EYDAP, or any other private organisation pursue business in Kazakhstan. The statement also denied Andrew had introduced the firms to the oligarch Kenges Rakishev or contacted him on their behalf. 'His Royal Highness works to promote economic growth and skilled jobs creation in the United Kingdom and has not acted on behalf of any international company,' Pogson claimed. However, the Mail then provided the Palace with a copy of an email the Prince had sent to Mr Rakishev on behalf of EDYAP and Aras on April 14, 2011. Initially, the Palace suggested the email was a forgery. However, a few hours later, they changed their tune and instructed the law firm Harbottle & Lewis to attempt to block the publication of this story by claiming that, while the email was genuine, publishing it would breach the Prince's privacy. The Mail countered by arguing that the email laid bare a financial and political story that is clearly in the public interest. And so we can now detail the way the Queen's 56-year-old son used his status and contacts made on official duty at British taxpayers' expense to pursue the 385 million deal on behalf of his Greek and Swiss chums. The murky tale dates back to late 2010, when EYDAP, an Athens-based company, which is part state-owned, sought to expand into foreign markets under the leadership of its then boss, Nikos Bardis. A deal to build a water and sewerage network in Libya was promptly signed, but then fell apart in early 2011 during the political chaos of the Arab Spring. An 120 million euro (93 million) deal for EYDAP to supply water to Azerbaijan hit trouble after several months of negotiations. 'We realised that there comes a point when you are dealing with very corrupt countries in the developing world when you need to grease people's palms and get backing from senior politicians in order to get a contract signed off,' says a senior source at the Greek firm. 'But for EYDAP, that presented a big problem. We are publicly owned and so follow strict compliance rules. We can't just employ consultants or lobbyists, let alone pay bribes or make so-called commission payments.' Mr Rakishev negotiated the absurdly lucrative sale of Sunninghill Park, which has been demolished within the past few weeks As a result, when EYDAP heard of another potential business opportunity in Kazakhstan in April 2011, its chief executive Mr Bardis decided on a new tactic: bidding for the work as part of a consortium. To help finance the bid, he therefore teamed up with Andrea Bubb, a financier who worked at the Zurich-based Aras Capital. In order to gain the essential political clout required, he brought in Prince Andrew, an acquaintance he'd apparently met years earlier while working in London. Andrew was in a useful position with regard to Kazakhstan since he already had close relationships with a number of influential business leaders and politicians there. In addition to his friendships with the oligarch Kenges Rakishev and the President's son-in-law Timur Kulibayev, he'd been goose-hunting as you do with despotic President Nazarbayev years earlier. More recently, in April 2010, he'd visited the country on a British taxpayer-funded official tour, meeting the prime minister and a host of business leaders and political figures. In January 2011, he met the Kazakh prime minister at the economic summit in Davos, Switzerland. On April 14, 2011, the Prince duly set to work exploiting some of the contacts this official work had given him. That morning, he phoned Kenges Rakishev, whose father just happened to be the mayor of Astana, asking him to help the bid for work assisting its water authorities. At 2.59pm, Andrew sent a follow-up email with the subject line 'our call'. 'Dear Kenes [sic]. Below is the Water plan,' began Andrew's message. 'We would like to discuss the potential of supporting (by providing technical/environmental solutions applying immediate measures as well as capacity building initiatives) the Water Company and/or Water Authority in their efforts to improve the present level of services in water and sewerage.' The Prince went on to explain the 'lead consortium member' was EYDAP, whose boss, Mr Bardis, would soon be visiting Kazakhstan with the Swiss financiers to take meetings. Finally, Andrew said he'd instructed his Private Secretary, Amanda Thirsk, to introduce Aras Capital to other senior political figures in Kazakhstan. He went goose hunting with the despot president 'Amanda in my office has put Andrea Bubb [of Aras Capital], with whom I am connecting you, in touch with [the] Deputy Head of the PM's office. I will put Andrea in touch with you by email now that I have sent you this background email.' Intriguingly, Andrew's message (which, it should be observed, described the consortium as 'we') was sent not from an official UK government email account, but instead via a private one hosted by Unitech, a little-known computing firm based in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, which happens to boast a Royal Warrant. Entertainingly, Andrew's emails appear in recipients' inboxes with the title 'the Duke'. The effect of his message was immediate: the following day, Andrea Bubb emailed the oligarch Kenges Rakishev saying that she and Mr Bardis, along with a third investor, planned to visit Kazakhstan the following month. 'We plan to visit Kazakhstan in May. There will be three representatives from our side. Would it be possible for you to organise meetings with the relevant people from your side? 'I look forward to meeting you in person during our visit.' The oligarch Rakishev, for his part, appears to have been only too happy to help someone who was a contact of his great friend Prince Andrew. A fortnight later, just before the visit, Andrea Bubb again emailed Kenges Rakishev, asking if he could set up meetings with the mayors of Astana and Almaty, and representatives of local water authorities. 'If it is possible to cover both cities in one trip, we are happy to do that, even if it means staying longer than one/two days!' read her email, which contained detailed business pitches. She even got him involved in organising details of their travel arrangements, asking: 'Would you be organising the visas for us or would we have to take care of that ourselves?' The ease with which EYDAP and Aras Capital were able to gain access to influential Kazakhs perhaps speaks volumes for the value of Prince Andrew's contacts book. And what is good for the Duke also tends to be good for his wealthy friends. So, Kazakh financier Kenges Rakishev soon began discussing other lucrative business opportunities with representatives of EYDAP and Aras. On May 23, for example, Rakishev and Andrea Bubb began also discussing 'mining opportunities' in the resource-rich country, in an email that spoke of 'transactions on the table' involving a gold mine called Taldybulak and a zinc firm called Shalkiya Zinc. The seven-bedroom Chalet Helora is rightly regarded as one of Verbier's most exceptional luxury properties As for the Greek water company's Mr Bardis, he appears to have attempted to set up a side-deal that would have seen Rakishev who is the chairman of several major Kazakh banks invest in a Greek tobacco company. The communications manager of EYDAP, Margarita Gamaletsou, emailed a detailed 'company profile' of the firm to Rakishev on behalf of Bardis on July 28 'in case there is any interest'. The following month, she emailed to fix a meeting between the oligarch and Mr Bardis at an upcoming conference in Astana. When approached by the Mail this week, Ms Gamaletsou at first denied knowledge of the emails before admitting she had, indeed, typed them 'because of my good command of the English language', but was unaware of their 'scope or background'. For his part, Mr Bardis, now retired, said he 'knows' the Duke of York, but declined to comment further when shown the emails. And EYDAP's former chairman, Themistoklis Lekkas, told me this week that he was aware that Bardis was pursuing work in Kazakhstan at the time, but that 'it never got to the stage where the board was asked to sign something off'. Meanwhile, the water deal continued to gain momentum, and talk at EYDAP began to turn to Prince Andrew's potential fee. 'The Prince had put us in touch with people who mattered in Kazakhstan, which was completely invaluable,' recalls a senior company source. 'At moments when the deal looked like flagging, he was a huge help. For example, there was a time when we were trying to set up a meeting with a senior politician whose diary secretary wasn't being much help. 'She was sent a message saying that His Highness would be very pleased if the meeting took place. Within minutes it was booked. 'Our work in Azerbaijan would have pulled in 120 million euros over the same period, but that was to supply six million households with water and sewerage. The job in Kazakhstan was to supply 40 million homes. 'I estimated it to be worth 500 million euros over the first three years. But we'd have had an option to renew the deal for 20 years. These are big, big sums. 'Our feeling was that if it went ahead, a fair commission for the Prince would be 1 per cent, or around five million euros.' In other words, it seems the Prince was in line to receive nearly 4 million for sending a few emails. Was deal the tip of a lucrative iceberg? If that was the case, doesn't it seem entirely possible he has been doing the same kind of thing with other firms and in other countries? What was he doing, for example, flying into China for just 48 hours last month? And if similar sums have been involved in other ventures, isn't it likely he could have secretly built up a very considerable fortune indeed without really breaking sweat, on the strength of his lineage and his taxpayer-funded role as a trade ambassador? The Palace would surely claim not. But if that was the case, then 13 million for a Swiss chalet might seem like small change. Coincidentally, 1 per cent is exactly the same commission that the Duchess of York was recorded on tape in 2010 in a red-top tabloid newspaper sting demanding in return for access to Prince Andrew. The sum, in addition to a 500,000 down payment, would 'open any door you want', she told an undercover reporter from the News of the World, who had posed as a wealthy businessman seeking to meet the Prince. 'Look after me and he [Andrew] will look after you,' she claimed. 'You'll get it back tenfold.' In both cases, the commission was apparently to have been paid on a discretionary basis, as and when a deal came off. A Greek company source says: 'EYDAP didn't have a contract with Prince Andrew. We frankly couldn't sign that sort of a deal anyway, for reasons of compliance. So any payment would have been discretionary and would have been made via [the Swiss consortium partners] Aras Capital. Cash would have been offered after a deal was signed. 'By September 2011, we were getting quite close to that point.' Sadly for those concerned, the project came to naught. In December 2011, with negotiations still ongoing, Kazakh police opened fire on a group of striking oil workers in the city of Zhanaozen, killing 14 of them. In the ensuing fall-out, oligarch Kenges Rakishev's long-standing business partner Timur Kulibayev, the owner of Prince Andrew's former home Sunninghill Park, was sacked as head of Samruk-Kazyna, the state sovereign wealth fund. Fearing they would again be caught up in political turmoil, as had happened to costly effect in Libya, the Greek water company pulled out. Close: Prince Andrew pictured with Kazakhstan's autocratic president, Nursultan Nazarbayev This week, a spokesman for the firm refused to comment on the affair, saying that all those involved had since left. In Switzerland, Andrea Bubb said she had left Aras Capital in 2013 and was not prepared to discuss her business relationship with the Duke of York. Meanwhile, Peter Zurcher, current president of Aras Capital, said the firm had been under new ownership for two years and he had 'absolutely no knowledge' about its activities before then. As for the Duke of York, his lawyers last night attempted to block publication of the Prince's leaked 2011 message to Kenges Rakishev on the grounds that it amounts to 'unlawful processing of personal data'. They also declined to withdraw their original statement that Andrew played no role in trying to set up a deal for a Greek sewerage firm and a Swiss finance house to invest in Kazakhstan in 2011. The Palace is, of course, perfectly entitled to stand by its categorical denials. But they look, at best, questionable. For as we have seen, the emails the Prince actually wrote tell a very different story. The question now is whether this highly dubious piece of international business is the tip of an iceberg that has made Prince Andrew very rich indeed. Gun cabinets displaying rifles could soon be swapped out of homes as the new trend of discrete concealment furniture rises. From headboards to coffee tables, a wide range of appliances with space to hide a firearm have hit the market with success. Major gun sellers like Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops, as well as individual carpenters like NJ Concealment Furniture owner Dan Ingram, have created a wide array of pieces that can safely hide firearms while ensuring the weapon is within reach of its owner. Ingram's company, based in Hampton, N.J., has been building the concealment furniture for four years. Scroll down for video Concealment furniture is a growing trend among gun owners in the U.S. As gun sales increase, so does the demand for safer ways to store guns Among the furniture are beds that allow guns to be hidden in the headboard Bed frames, shelves, coat racks, desks and hutches have all been included in the market for concealment furniture The makers claim the furniture is a safe way to store weapons in the home 'There are a lot of people who dont want a big iron safe,' he told Fox News. 'There are a lot of people who dont even have room for one, but they still need someplace to safely store their guns. 'I was on a lot of online gun forums and there was a constant complaint. 'People wanted something with quick access when they needed their weapons to keep their homes safe which is why they bought the guns in the first place. A piece picking up a lot of stream now is the Dubbed The Gun Bed (pictured), which keeps a shotgun in its bed frame Ready for action: When pressed, the bed frame drops a a 12-gauge shotgun from behind a spring-loaded panel when it is pressed His collection now includes shelves, coat racks, desks and hutches, but the idea started with a simple nightstand that had a side compartment for a pistol. Before Ingram built concealment furniture he was a cabinet maker - but with the success of the rising idustry, he ended his cabinetry business and is now focusing on furniture that hides guns. He said as firearm sales go up, so do the sales of his furniture and says he always steals the 'gun show'. 'We often draw a crowd of 30-40 people looking at our products. 'They wind up calling their friends over to check it out,' he said. Furniture firms claim the items have gone mainstream with many now looking to conceal guns rather than keep them locked in safes The growing market is raising eyebrows among gun control advocates While lying the the Dubbed The Gun Bed, the owner only has push his hands back and press the spring-loaded panel The shotgun then drops down into the owners hand. Frank Marshall, who built the bed, said the gun has no where else to go but into the owner's hand In seconds the gun is safely in its owners grasp and they can defend themselves from a potential intruder Marshall said just under 100 Dubbed The Gun Beds, but as the increase for concealment grows, so will his future in the industry One of the most unique designs comes from Michigan inventor Frank Marshall, who built a headboard that drops a shotgun right into its owners hands. Dubbed The Gun Bed, it drops a 12-gauge shotgun from behind a spring-loaded panel when pressed. 'We sold just under 100, but we are getting more and more inquiries every day,' Marshall said. 'There seems to be a growing demand, and I think its tied to peoples concern about the economy and where things may be headed. Marshall's business might have just started but as the demand grows, his future in the concealment industry will likely shoot to the top. Three French nationals have been killed after their aircraft hit a vulture and crashed into a small Spanish village, authorities say. The victims, two men and a woman, died after their Robin DR-40 light aircraft crashed into the village of Arbizu, in northern Spain, at around 6pm on Thursday. The trio had been flying from Coimbra in central Portugal to Dax in southern France when witnesses said the aircraft was hit a large bird circling above a hermitage. Three French nationals - two men and a woman - died after their aircraft hit a vulture above the small Spanish town of Arbizu before crashing into the street below A witness reported seeing the plane hit the large bird and police found these remains near the crash site, but investigators have not officially revealed the cause of the accident According to Spanish media the plane the lost control and began heading for the village where it clipped the top of a house before plunging into an alleyway. The aircraft then hit a parked car, smashed into a wall and finally stopped after crashing into a tractor parked in a plot between two houses. Several people in the village, which only has around 1,400 inhabitants, had to be treated for shock but nobody else on the ground was injured. Kar Maranon, the city's mayor, warned that the crash could have been much worse. The plane hit the roof of a house before plunging into an alleyway where it collided with a parked car and a wall before coming to rest against the front of a tractor at the end of the alley (scene, pictured) Maranon explained that a group of young children were playing a short distance from where the plane came down, and that a woman in a car with her seven-year-old daughter had driven across the path of the plane just moments before it came down. He told El Diaria Vasco: 'Everything happened so fast. The feeling is almost optimism, thinking what might have been.' The bodies of the victims have now been taken to the Forensic Anatomical Institute in Pamplona where they are being identified and autopsies carried out, it is reported. Civil Aviation authorities have also launched an investigation into the crash and the remains of the plane are being taken away to be analyzed. The two were believed to be friends and 'share a beer on A man has been charged after a house fire which left an elderly man with critical burns to his body. The 45-year-old-man was arrested after the 79-year-old man was pulled from his burning home in Clifton Springs near Geelong in Victoria on Thursday night. The elderly victim was airlifted to Alfred Hospital in Melbourne in a critical condition and suffered burn wounds to his back and legs, reports The Age. Scroll down for video The 45-year-old-man was arrested after the 79-year-old man was pulled from his burning home(pictured) in Clifton Springs The 45-year-old man was charged with aggravated burglary, conduct endangering life, recklessly causing serious injury and assault with a weapon. He was remanded in custody to appear at Geelong Magistrates' Court on Monday. Neighbours told 9NEWS that the man arrested had been friends with the victim. One neighbour, Mick Van Beek said: 'They've had beers together on a few occasions. Their cars have been parked in one another's driveways and that sort of thing. 'Obviously to get to that point, to assault somebody and set their house alight is pretty terrifying. 'The police went into the next-door neighbour's house and came out with my neighbour's son and put him in handcuffs,' he added. Geelong emergency services (pictured) were called to the Bunganowee Drive Property following reports of a fire just after 11.30pm The 79-year-old was taken to Alfred Hospital (pictured) with severe burns to his back and legs and is believed to have been assaulted by the 45-year-old who was arrested on scene The 45-year-old man was not injured and has been remanded in custody. Geelong emergency services were called to the Bunganowee Drive Property following reports of a fire just after 11.30pm. Forensic police and an arson chemist continue to investigate the scene. Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report to www.crimestoppersvic.com.au The 45-year-old man was not injured and remains in police custody currently assisting with their enquiries. Forensic police and an arson chemist continue to investigate the scene (pictured) The mother of Chandra Levy is shocked to learn that her daughter allegedly had rough bondage sex with Gary Condit, but she is determined to find the truth about her murder. Susan Levy is fully supporting a new legal push from her daughter's convicted killer, Ingmar Guandique, who is seeking to depose at least two women who say they both had affairs with the former congressman over claims that 'he tied them up' during sex, the New York Daily News reported. 'It's very hard to hear about this,' Susan Levy told the Daily News. 'But I want the truth to come out, and I want them to follow every lead.' Guandique is now facing retrial for the widely publicized case, and his defense team is using resources to reevaluate claims made by the women during FBI interviews in 2001. His lawyers said Thursday in a shocking filing that the jogging tights tied in knots near the former Washington, DC intern's body could be linked to circumstantial evidence that the women could provide about Condit's 'desire to engage in aggressive sex and tie a woman up'. Scroll down for video Susaun Levy (left), the mother of Chandra Levy (right) is shocked to learn that her daughter allegedly had rough bondage sex with Gary Condit, but she is determined to find the truth about her murder A retrial in the Chandra Levy (above) murder case starts in October after lawyers for convicted killer Ingmar Guandique alleged a witness, Gary Condit, lied at trial. His defense team is using new resources for the upcoming trial The man the defense has accused of lying is Gary Condit (above in November 2010), the former congressman who was rumored to have had a relationship with Chandra Behind bars: Chandra's body was discovered in a park a year after she disappeared and in 2009. Guandique (above in April 2009) was charged with her death and sentenced to 60 years in prison Susan Levy said that she is not against Guandique's actions, but still misses her daughter. 'Talk about knots I have a knot in my stomach and in my throat,' the heartbroken mother said. 'Even if they do find the truth, I won't ever have my daughter back. 'Put yourself in my situation.Your child is supposed to come home for graduation and never does.' Attorneys for the convicted killer were granted a retrial in the case last year when it was alleged that a key witness had lied on the stand during the trial, and will be back in court this October. That witness was Condit, a former California Congressman who knew the 24-year-old Bureau of Prisons intern but refused to answer questions about the nature of their relationship while under oath during her murder trial, despite the fact that the married father of two had admitted to authorities that he had an affair with the intern. Guandique's attorney, Eugene Ohm, accused Condit of lying on the stand earlier this year, claiming that notes from a police interview his did after Chandra's disappearance conflicted with his 2010 testimony in the case. Ohm did not elaborate. Condit, 68, was considered a person of interest in Chandra's disappearance and murder prior to Guandique's conviction but never named as an official suspect by police. The defense team is using resources to reevaluate claims made by a few women during FBI interviews in 2001. They claim Condit (pictured with Chandra in 2001) enjoyed 'aggressive sex' Condit was never charged with any crime, and in 2003 moved to Arizona with his wife Carolyn (above with her husband in 2012) after losing his congressional seat In a motion filed Wednesday, Guandique's legal team writes that Condit had a 'powerful' and 'obvious' motivation for killing Chandra - his affair with the much younger college student. 'Mr. Condit was fully aware of the cost he could pay if his affair with Ms. Levy became public,' the defense motion states. 'He therefore had an obvious motive to kill Ms. Levy in order to keep the relationship secret, and an equally powerful motive to cover-up the circumstances of her death if she died while she was with him either through his intentional conduct or otherwise.' The defense also attempted to convince Judge Robert Morin to allow depositions to be taken from three women who claim to have had affairs with Condit as well as a friend who worked as his former driver and bodyguard. According to the Daily News, the motion filing stated that Condit's sperm was located on a pair of the Chandra's underwear, 'conclusively' proving that they indeed had an affair. In addition, the motion also stated that the first woman allegedly told authorities that she and the seven-term congressman engaged in 'aggressive sex' a few months prior to when Chandra disappeared on May 1, 2001. Guandique's (pictured) lawyers argue that the location Chandra's bones were found were less than three miles away from Condit's apartment The first woman allegedly said she was 'scared' by his aspiration to tie her up with his neck ties and fasten them to a bed. The motion revealed that the second woman admitted to being a romantic relationship with Condit that ended five years before his relationship with Chandra. She told the FBI that Condit 'expressed a preference for an iron bed with posts for bondage purposes,' according to the filing, the Daily News reported. 'Aggressive sex involving bondage is not an entirely safe activity, and Mr. Condit would have had a powerful motive to dispose of Ms. Levy's remains and her tights that had been tied in knots if she died during sexual activity with Mr. Condit,' the lawyers wrote in the filing, according to the Daily News. Chandra's remains were not found until a year after she disappeared. Guandique's lawyers argue that the location her bones were found in Rock Creek Park were less than three miles away from Condit's apartment. In steps to build their case ahead of the re-trial which will begin in October, Guandique's lawyers want to depose the women and others. The judge agreed to allow one of these women to be deposed, given that she is ill, but said the other two must testify at the trial, despite the defense arguing they are too afraid to be in the presence of Condit. Guandique's attorneys said that these two women will speak about how Condit had a sexual interest in tying them up during their alleged relationship. The defense will also be suggesting that Chandra was tied up during the murder, basing this on the fact that a pair of knotted tights were found near her body. Prosecutors meanwhile argued that the testimony of these three women and the former friend are 'not relevant' to the trial, and lashed out at the defense during a hearing on Wednesday. Prosecutor Deborah Sines accused the defense of trying to grab headlines with their trial strategy and dragging Condit back in as a possible suspect, adding that there was a 'very good chance of tainting a jury pool' given the media coverage. Chandra was last heard from on May 1, 2001 when she emailed her parents Susan and Robert to inform them about her travel plans as she prepared to head home to California for her graduation. She had ended her apartment lease and cancelled her gym membership in the area around this time as well according to authorities. Her parents attempted to contact her for three days before reaching out to police on May 5 and filing a missing persons report. Tragedy: Chandra was 24 and about to graduate college was she disappeared while in Washington DC where she worked as an intern The next day, on May 6, they called Condit, who was their congressman in California, for help locating their daughter. Condit and Chandra had a friendship according to the congressman, though it was later reported that the two were far closer and that the married politician had been intimate with Chandra while the University of Southern California student was interning in the nation's capitol. In the months after Chandra's disappearance more and more details were revealed about her relationship with Condit, which led him to hire a criminal defense team while still denying he had anything to do with her disappearance. A search of the park where the young woman often jogged meanwhile turned up no evidence suggesting that Chandra had been in the area when she went missing. Authorities announced that July there was a good chance that Chandra's body might never be found, and though Condit was cleared as a suspect his political career never recovered and he was defeated in the California primary the following March. Two months after that, in May 2002, a man found human bones and a skull in Washington's Rock Creek Park, where police had previously searched for Chandra's body. The park's administrative office was also one of the last searches on Condit's computer the day that Chandra went missing. Her death was determined to be a homicide soon after, and a month after her skull and bones were found private investigators hired by her parents also found her shin bones less than 100 feet from where her remains had initially been discovered that May. It was months before the discover of Chandra's body however that Guandique was introduced as a suspect, when a prison informant said he had spoke about murdering Chandra. Guandique had also been accused of assaulting two other female joggers in the park. He was behind bars at the time on drug charges but was never formally charged in the death of Chandra and her case went cold until 2006 when it was reopened by the city's new police chief. Not happy: Her father Robert (above with wife Susan) speak about the retrial in an interview with Today After a three-year investigation, Guandique was charged with Chandra's murder in 2009 and later indicted on six counts including kidnapping, first-degree murder committed during a kidnapping, attempted first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree murder committed during a sexual offense, attempted robbery, and first-degree murder committed during a robbery. He was convicted in November 2010 and sentenced to 60 years in prison the following February. His attorneys petitioned for a retrial soon after and prosecutors dropped their opposition last year saying that the 'passage of time and the unique circumstances of this case' made it difficult to oppose the retrial. They also stated at that time that they still agreed with the jury's verdict. Condit, who served in Congress from 1989 to 2003, moved to Arizona with his wife Carolyn after losing his seat and opened an ice cream franchise. He at one point also served as president of the Phoenix Institute of Desert Agriculture, a nonprofit group, but it is unclear if he still holds that job. Condit's son Chad ran for a seat in the California House of Representatives in 2012, and his daughter Cadee is married to Adam Gray, a former aide for Condit who now serves in the California State Assembly. And while the defense may think Condit is a possible suspect in the case, Chandra's parents think the right man is behind bars. Her father Robert said about the retrial in an interview with Today last month; 'As far as I can see, it's just some defense attorneys trying to make themselves a name and make more money. 'He's guilty.' Britain's overheated housing market could stall or even go into reverse if the UK votes to leave the EU, George Osborne claimed last night. In his latest dramatic warning about the cost of Brexit, the Chancellor said there would be a hit to the value of peoples homes of 10-18 per cent by 2018. The figure would equate to a loss of up to 52,500 on an average UK home costing 292,000. But the Treasury last night admitted that the forecast related to a fall in predicted growth of house prices, meaning any actual drop would be much lower, or even non-existent. Scroll down for video George Osborne (left) claimed Britain's housing market could stall or even go into reverse - but Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom (right) hit back A Vote Leave campaign source described Mr Osbornes claims as wilfully misleading. The Chancellors warning is part of a controversial document published next week on the economic shock that would be caused if Britain votes to leave the EU. The warning will come just days before the first postal ballots for the referendum are sent out next Friday, fuelling claims that the Chancellor and David Cameron are using Government resources to tilt the referendum campaign unfairly in their favour. VOTE REMAIN, BROWN TELLS MUMS Mothers should vote to stay in the EU for the sake of their childrens future, Gordon Brown will say today. The former prime minister will tell a Fabian Society event in London that EU membership is the best way of securing jobs for future generations. Mr Brown will also appeal to the 9.3million who voted Labour at the last election to turn out, urging them: Vote Remain, do not remain at home. Brexit campaigners have made capital out of the EUs dismal record on youth unemployment, which is running at nearly 25 per cent in France and almost twice that in Greece. But Mr Brown will insist that EU membership is good for the job prospects of British youngsters, saying: My message to young people is that Europe still is, and is more than ever, the future for jobs, environmental sustainability and fairness. My message to mothers, worried about their childrens future, is that the biggest job creator of the next decade will be Europes single market. Mr Browns intervention comes amid growing concerns in the Remain campaign that many Labour voters may stay at home rather than vote for a pro-Brussels campaign led by a Tory prime minister. It will also be the last opportunity for the Treasury to intervene in the campaign before purdah starts on Thursday, the period before a poll when Whitehall cannot make announcements that might influence voting. Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom hit back last night, saying: This is an extraordinary claim. The truth is the greatest threat to the economy is the perilous state of the Euro. Some Tory MPs are so incensed by the Governments aggressive campaign that they are now plotting a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister after the referendum. A number of MPs are already said to be contacting Graham Brady, chairman of the partys powerful 1922 Committee, to call for the vote. A Tory source told the Daily Mail that dozens more are planning a co-ordinated push against Mr Cameron after the June 23 vote. Under Tory Party rules, 50 MPs are needed for Mr Brady to trigger a formal confidence vote. One Tory MP said a vote was now inevitable. Letters are going in to Graham Brady already people are talking about it quite openly, he said. But most of us are holding letters back until after the referendum for maximum impact. But Government sources last night said Mr Cameron was getting on with the job of delivering the manifesto. In an interview at a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Japan, Mr Osborne told the BBC: If we leave the European Union...Treasury analysis shows that there would be a hit to the value of peoples homes by at least 10 per cent and up to 18 per cent. This is the British bombshell who is sweeping Tyga off his feet after being recruited by the 'black Hugh Hefner' as an 'escort'. Demi Rose Mawby, 21, has swapped Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham, where she grew up, for Cannes and seems to have replaced her lookalike Kylie Jenner on Tyga's arm. The Instagram favourite, 21, has become the talk of the globe after being pictured in a very revealing outfit on her way to a party with the American musician in Cannes. Born in 1995, she grew up in a 300,000 home and loved being in the limelight - which sparked her ambitions to do modelling. Scroll down for videos Tyga and Demi Rose were seen leaving their hotel and heading to Saint Laurent for some shopping yesterday Tyga (right) recently split with Jenner but wasted no time finding a new date in lookalike and lingerie model Demi Rose (left and right), originally from Sutton Coldfield near Birmingham Tyga and his English girlfriend Demi Rose Mawby were seen out shopping in Cannes at Saint Laurent British model Demi Rose has been spotted out and about in Cannes with rapper Tyga, left and right She was formerly a member of the controversial girl group Taz's Angels but left in November 2015, revealing via social media that she was returning to the UK to look after her parents. The Angels are a group of pretty young women who live together in a rented mansion in Miami, apparently mentored by a man known simply as 'Taz'. Instagram followers can watch the girls twerk in skimpy costumes, work out in skimpy clothing, or pose for semi-naked selfies. Taz, aka Michael Williams, is described as being the 'black Hugh Hefner', although he has previously been accused of being a pimp and running the girls as escorts. Tyga recently split with Jenner but wasted no time finding a new date in lookalike and lingerie model Demi Rose. She may not have quite the star power as Jenner, but her risque and provocative poses on Instagram have netted her more than 2.2million followers. The couple were in there for a couple of hours and Tyga was seen picking out outfits and shoes for Demi They were spotted together earlier this week attending a party at the Gotha nightclub in Cannes, pictured The model, pictured left and right during a calendar shoot, has won fans thanks to provocative poses Demi Rose, pictured, is a big hit on Instagram with more than 2.2million followers and counting Demi Rose, left, was previously a member of Taz's Angels. Taz, centre, has been described as the 'black Hugh Hefner' Tyga, 26, was pictured getting close to the beauty on Snapchat on Thursday and the pair were later spotted at Gotha nightclub in the French resort. She was once named the 'hottest new girl on the planet' by Zoo Magazine in 2014. According to her website, Demi Rose 'always dreamed of becoming a model' but feared she would be too short to break into the industry. In a statement on the site she said: 'Since I was a little girl I always dreamed of becoming a model. I loved being in front of the camera and striking a pose, now, my dream is reality. She said she 'loves being in front of the camera and striking a pose' and has 'made her dream a reality' The 21-year-old, pictured, said she feared she would never be a model because of her 5ft 2in height On her personal website she revealed it had been her dream to model 'ever since she was a little girl' Her looks have drawn comparisons with Tyga's ex Kylie Jenner, left, whom she is the spitting image of Tyga and Demi Rose, pictured, have since been pictured enjoying a day out in luxury shops in Cannes 'At 52 I never thought I would be able to break into modeling as I thought I was too short but I gave it a shot, applied to an agency and after 24 hours my modeling career began. 'I started modeling a year ago now and its been the best year of my life. I love what I do and feeling glamorous and I love creating beautiful images to be proud of whilst treating my fans!' She added: 'I really enjoy meeting and receiving all messages from my fans and appreciate all the support I am given, it means so much to me! I love that youre all so kind and complimentary you make what I do so much better!' The racy British model previously starred in a sleazy Chris Brown video and lived as a club girl in Miami. Last year the British beauty also briefly appeared in DJ Khaled's video for How Many Times, which featured twerking models covering one another in champagne. Tyga's new girl, left, starred in sleazy Chris Brown video and was a club girl in Miami ... before gathering 2.2m followers with her sexy Instagram posts The Birmingham-born brit, left, poses alongside DJ Khaled in the video for How Many Times featuring Chris Brown Demi Rose has replaced Kylie Jenner in Tyga's affections after he split with the American last week Demi Rose, full name Demi Rose Mawby, grew up in Sutton Coldfield near Birmingham and has modelled for Zoo UK and Nuts Magazine She said she started modelling a year ago and has described this as the 'best year of her life' She has also modelled for publications including WorldStar HipHop, FHM Magazine, Nuts Magazine and Zoo UK. She has no problem displaying all her curves and ample assets on Instagram, frequently posing in her underwear or only bedsheets to cover her modesty. Tyga is said to have split with Jenner around a week ago after dating on and off since 2014. According to E! News, their split was ' a long time coming' after the 'drama of their relationship took its toll'. She's a rapper's delight: Tyga's new girl Demi Rose starred in sleazy music video featuring Chris Brown By Lizzie Smith for DAILYMAIL.COM One ex-member of the Angels is Iesha Crespo, who has gone onto to star in Drake's music videos and the HBO show Ballers, according to the Miami New Times. Taz also has links to models such as Amber Rose, with whom he has previously been pictured. Rose is the best friend of Tyga's ex Blac Chyna. Demi herself left the group last November, telling Snapchat followers she had decided to return to the UK to take care of her elderly parents. The 21-year-old makes no mention of Taz's Angels in her biography on her personal website. Thanks Tyga! Demi shows off her new purchase after her new 'boyfriend' took her shopping Popular! Demi has gathered an incredible 2.2m followers with her sexy posts Instead she explains how she makes a living as a lingerie model, writing of how her career is a dream come true. 'Since I was a little girl, I always dreamed of becoming a model,' she wrote on her website. 'I loved being in front of the camera and stroking a pose. Now, my dream is reality.' A petite 5ft2, Demi says she had thought she was too short to become a model. But encouraged by her success online she contacted an agency. 'I love what I do and feeling glamorous and I love creating beautiful images to be proud of whilst treating my fans,' she writes. Inseparable: The pair have been cavorting around Cannes in recent days Bottom's up! Demi certainly dressed to impress as she joined Tyga on a night out on Thursday While the beauty has appeared in British men's magazines FHM, Nuts and Zoo, her romance with Tyga will only help raise her profile even further. If however, Demi finds herself in need of advice, she can always turn to her close pal, fellow Brit Jayde Pierce - a really good friend of Justin Beiber. Jayde is the British beauty blogger who was infamously on vacation with Justin Bieber when his full frontal nude photos were snapped. A video of an Indiana teen with Down syndrome opening her college acceptance letter is warming the hearts of thousands across the country after it went viral on Facebook. Mickey Deputy had no idea what to expect when she first opened the envelope from INSPIRE Franklin College. 'Dear Miss Michaela Deputy,' she begins to read. 'I am pleased to congratulate you on your...' And before she can even finish the sentence, a wide smile spreads across Mickey's face as she screams in excitement. Scroll down for video The video of Mickey Deputy, an Indiana teen with Down syndrome, opening her college acceptance letter has been viewed nearly 20,000 times on Facebook A wide smile spreads across her face and Mickey begins to scream in excitement when she realizes she's been accepted to a program at INSPIRE Franklin College On your what! her mom, Jennifer Deputy, asks happily from behind the camera. On your acceptance to our program, Mickey continues. For the 2016-2017 school year. It was the best birthday present for Mickey, who turned 19 just the day before. The teen plans to study music to further her goals to become a dance teacher for children with special needs. Inspire Franklin's college program is specifically designed for special education students, providing education in independent living, job training and social skills, according to its website. The acceptance is just one more incredible achievement for Mickey, who has survived both open-heart surgery and two years of treatment after being diagnosed with leukemia at the age of seven. 'When she was younger, there were points we weren't even sure she'd survive,' her mother Jenny told TODAY. 'Through heart surgery, cancer and everything, so college honestly wasn't even on our radar at the time.' Mickey completed a written application for Franklin's two-year program, and was also observed at her high school by committee members before giving an interview on campus. Franklin is only blocks away from Mickey's home, but her mother Jenny (pictured) hopes it will help her daughter feel more comfortable with the idea of living farther away from her family in a few years The acceptance is just one more incredible achievement for Mickey, who has survived both open-heart surgery and two years of treatment after being diagnosed with leukemia at the age of seven Franklin is only blocks away from Mickey's home, but her mother hopes it will help her daughter feel more comfortable with the idea of living farther away from her family in a few years. 'She's going to get a taste of college life,' Jenny said. 'The doors that this is going to open, I can't even begin to imagine.' Mickey has already been creating plenty of opportunity for herself, from singing and dancing in her school's competition choir to competing in local pageants on her quest to become the first Miss America with Down syndrome. She won Miss Amazing, a pageant for girls with special needs, twice and then competed locally in the Miss America circuit, according to WTHR. Mickey was awarded the Sagamore of the Wabash, one of the highest civilian honors in the state, by Gov Mike Pence last month. 'Mickey's mantra has always been, "I want to make a difference in the world,'" Jenny told the station. 'And that's not something we ever said to her. She came up with it on her own.' A girl in China has survived after a schoolmate threw a dagger at her head by accident. The 12-year-old nicknamed Lin was leaving a park in Dongguan, southern China, with her friends on May 16 when the 13-year-old boy threw the blade in the direction of the group which stuck in the back of her head, reports the People's Daily Online. Doctors removed the blade during an emergency procedure after they discovered it had pierced her skull but had not entered the brain. Shocking: Girl nicknamed Lin was leaving a park with her friends when the boy threw the dagger Horrifying: The dagger was six inches long and according to doctors, it had entered her skull The dagger measured six inches long. According to reports, Lin was in a neighborhood park in Shiwan, Boluo County, with some schoolmates and got into an argument with the 13-year-old. As she left with her other friends, the boy threw the sharp object in their direction, hitting the girl in the back of the head. Lin was immediately rushed to the Third People's Hospital of Dongguan. Pictures from the Chinese media show the dagger was stuck in her head at a vertical angle. Once there she had a CT scan which revealed that the dagger had penetrated her skull but had not entered her brain. Doctors said the object needed to be removed immediately in an emergency procedure. The object was successfully removed during surgery and Lin is now in a stable condition and awake. The boy was later found by Boluo County police and later released as he cannot be held criminally liable due to his age. According to Chinese media, the two families have come to an agreement outside of court. His family has paid most of the 8,000 yuan (839) for his treatment. With an impressive line of armoured plates running down their back and huge spikes on its tail, the Stegosaurus would have been a formidable foe for any predators willing to take it on. But it turns out the plant eating giant, which roamed the Earth around 150-155 million years ago, had a surprisingly weedy bite. Scientists studying the skull of the fearsome-looking dinosaur, which could weigh up to five tons and measured up to 29.5 feet in length, have found its bite was probably no more powerful than a sheep. Scroll down for video Scientists used computer modelling to examine the bite force of the huge plant-eating dinosaur, the Stegosaurus. They found it compared to the bite of modern cows and sheep. The image above shows how the Stegosaurus jaw deforms as it bites (exagerrated 500 times) with red marking high stress and blue low stress Palaeontologists at the Natural History Museum in London compared the skull of a Stegosaurus known as 'Sophie' with those of two other plant-eating dinosaurs - Plateosaurus and Erlikosaurus. All three had a large low snout and a scissor-like jaw action that moved up and down. Using computer modelling, the researchers found that, despite their similarities, the dinosaurs had quite different biting abilities. The animation above shows the forces on the Stegosaurus skull as it bites on something, with the deformation exaggerated 500 times. The red colours show where stress is high and blue is low stress (credit: Stephan Lautenschlager/University of Bristol) The Stegosaurus (artist's impression pictured) would have been a formidable foe for predators with the large spikes on its tail and armoured plates running down its back. But with a relatively small skull compared to its body, its bite would have been weak The researchers compared the skulls of three different plant eating dinosaurs. Digital models of the skulls are pictured above from left to right - Erlikosaurus andrewsi, Stegosaurus stenops, and Plateosaurus engelhardti The researchers found the Stegosaurus had a bite force of between 231 newtons and 410 newtons, depending which part of the jaw the food was in. By comparison the Tyrannosaurus rex had an estimated bite force of 35,000 to 57,000 newtons while modern saltwater crocodiles comp down with a force of 16,460 newtons. Humans have a bite that measures 890 newtons, meaning the Stegosaurus's biting down with full force would have felt weak compared to our own. But the findings still surprised the researchers as previous research has suggested Stegosaurs had bites that were even weaker. The researchers studied the skull of a Stegosaurus fossil at the Natural History Museum in London (pictured) The researchers found that the dinosaurs bite similar to that of modern herbivores like sheep (pictured) Professor Paul Barrett, a palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum, who helped lead the study, said: 'Far from being feeble, as usually thought, Stegosaurus actually had a bite force within the range of living herbivorous mammals, such as sheep and cows.' The finding suggest that scientists will need to reconsider how Stegosaurus fitted into its ecological niche. For example it may have had a role in spreading the seeds of woody evergreen cycads. Although the three dinosaurs were not closely related (evolutionary relationship pictured), scientists had expected to find their jaws worked in similar ways as their shapes due to their shape. However, they found the had quite different biting abilities Stegosaurus lived around 150 million years ago and needed to eat a lot of plants to sustain its large size. As grasses did not exist then, it would have fed on plants such as ferns and horsetails. Professor Barrett said: 'Our key finding really surprised us - we expected that many of these dinosaur herbivores would have skulls that worked in broadly similar ways. HOW THE BITE FORCES COMPARE Stegosaurus: 231-410 newtons Plateosaurus: 69-138 newtons Erlikosaurus: 50-121 newtons T. rex: 35,000 to 57,000 newtons Saltwater crocodile: 16,460 newtons Humans: 890 newton 'Instead we found that even though the skulls were fairly similar to each other in overall shape, the way they worked during biting was substantially different in each case.' The Plateosaurus was a two-legged herbivore that lived in what is now central and northern Europe around 204-214 million years ago. It had a relatively small skull and a long flexible neck. Erlikosaurus lived in the late Cretaceous period around 90 million years ago in what is now Mongolia. These strange dinosaurs were closely related to the theropod carnivores but ate plants. Its jaws were tipped by a round bony beaks which are thought to have been used for cropping off vegetation when eating. Plateosaurus (artist's impression pictured) was a two-legged herbivore that lived in what is now central and northern Europe around 204-214 million years ago Erlikosaurus (artist's impression pictured) lived in the late Cretaceous period around 90 million years ago in what is now Mongolia The researchers used three dimensional scans of the skulls and lower jaws of the three plant-eating dinosaurs. Dr Stephan Lautenschlager, lead author of the study, which is published in Nature, used digital models and computer simulations to analyse the dinosaurs' bites. He used engineering software to give the skulls the material properties that would match as closely as possible to the real thing, with the help of data on crocodile teeth. Dr Lautenschlager said: 'Using computer modelling techniques, we were able to reconstruct muscle and bite forces very accurately for the different dinosaurs in our study. These genes also make you more desirable for short and long-term relationships This includes genes for dominance in men, and It is an opportunity to meet new potential partners without the need to find an excuse to leave should you fail to hit it off. But is seems your success at speed-dating might be determined by more than some shared interests or some witty banter. New research from the University of California suggests that your genes might influence your likelihood of being asked on a second date. Scroll down for video You are more likely to be asked on a second date in speed dating (stock picture) if you have genes consistent with the stereotypical traits desired in a romantic partner. For men, this includes the genes for dominance and leadership, and for women the genes which affect your social sensitivity and submissiveness Participants of the study were more likely to be asked on a second date if they had genes consistent with the stereotypical traits that people often desire in a romantic partner. For men, this includes the genes which affect your dominance and leadership qualities, and for women the genes which affect your social sensitivity and submissiveness. The study involved 262 single Asian Americans, who attended three-minute speed dates. It seems that your success at speed-dating might be determined by your genes rather than shared interests and charm (image from Channel 4's First Dates pictured). Instead researchers found that genes for specific traits seemed to be linked to whether someone would be asked on a second date At the end of each date, participants were asked whether they wanted a second date, and how desirable they found their date. THE 'DESIRABLE' GENES DNA samples collected from participants, focused on polymorphisms - genetic variations - of two different genes. These polymorphisms have previously been linked to social dynamics. The -1438 A/G polymorphism is part of the genes which code for the serotonin system, which is involved in inhibition. This has been linked to social dominance and leadership. Male participants who had this polymorphism were more likely to get a second date. The A118G polymorphism contributes to people's capacity to experience social pleasure and pain, and their need to have social contact. Female participants with this polymorphism were more likely to get a second date. If both said they wanted a second date, it was deemed a 'match'. Looking at DNA samples from each participant, the researchers found that men and women with genes consistent with the stereotypical traits were more likely to receive an offer of a second date. Additionally, those people were also regarded as more desirable for both short, and long-term relationships. Conversely, women who had genes which made them more dominant, and men with genes that made them more submissive, were more likely to get the cold shoulder. Karen Wu, who led the study, said 'These results suggest that personal attributes corresponding to these genes can be detected in brief social interactions, and that having a specific genetic variant or not plays a role in dating success.' It's yet to be studied, but this genetic effect could extend beyond dating, and into other social situations, such as job interviews. Construction work on a new slip road in Wales has turned up more than just rubble. Archaeologists at the site in Anglesey have unearthed the graves of at least 48 people dating back 1,500 years, calling it a find of 'national importance.' The team digging at the grounds of an ancient cemetery, on the site of the new Llangefni link road being constructed in Anglesey, say the medieval 'time capsule' could offer clues to the rich history of the region. Archaeologists have uncovered at least 48 graves and artefacts at the site of a new slip road in Anglesey, Wales. The team says the medieval 'time capsule' is of national importance and could offer clues to the rich history of the region. Pictured is one of the 1,500-year-old remains which has been unearthed Excavators also recovered a small bronze brooch and clasp from one of the graves, which they believe dates back to the end of the Roman period. Alongside them they uncovered fragments of Samian pottery, which is thought to have been imported from Gaul in France, as well as a fragment of roofing tile, suggesting there were buildings near the burial site. Iwan Parry, of Archaeoleg Brython Archaeology, said: 'This is a fantastic find of national importance. 'A cemetery like this where there is such good preservation is like finding a time capsule left by a community almost 1,500 years ago. As well as the ancient remains from the graves, archaeologists have recovered a number of small artefacts, including a bronze brooch (pictured) and fragments of pottery imported from France. They also uncovered fragments of roofing tile, suggesting there were buildings nearby the burial site In one of the graves excavators recovered a small bronze brooch and clasp (pictured), which they believe date back to the end of the Roman period MEDIEVAL 'TIME CAPSULE' IS OF 'NATIONAL IMPORTANCE' Archaeologists have uncovered at least 48 graves have near Llangefni on the Welsh island of Anglesey. They say the find, which is on the site of a medieval burial ground, is a 'time capsule' offering a glimpse into the region's rich past. A bronze brooch and clip are believed to date back to post-Roman rule, with pottery fragments indicating they were imported from France. Researchers believe that further analysis of the bodies could even throw up genetic links to any descendants still living on the island. The dig team has said that the level of preservation is down to the soil in the area, which has kept the bones in tact. Mr Parry said: 'The manner of how the remains have been preserved is amazing. 'The soil in north-west Wales is generally very acidic, which means that bones rarely survive, and in a similar cemetery nearby, found during the installation of a water main in 2010, no bones were recorded. He added: 'Here, however, even the delicate bones of the hands and feet are still there on some of the skeletons. 'We believe this may be due to the limestone bedrock, into which some of the graves have been dug.' Scientific analysis of the bones, artefacts and surrounding site could help to shed more light on the region's rich history. Anglesey saw waves of Roman invasion, with the European rulers fleeing the region in the first century, only to return and conquer the area again. The graves and artefacts were uncovered near the town of Llangefni (labelled on map) on Anglesey on the proposed site of a new slip road The dig team (pictured) has said that the level of preservation at the site is down to the acidic soil in the area, which has kept the bones in tact, preserving them for 1,500 years But by the fifth century the occupation was waning, with the Roman occupiers leaving the isles in the early 400's AD, with officials being expelled by around 410 AD. Sites such as the one uncovered in Anglesey date back to the period after this, so could offer insight into any Roman legacy in the area and how the region transitioned. Mr Parry added: 'Through various scientific techniques we'll gain a better understanding about these people - their health, where they grew up, what they ate and how and when they died. 'Through DNA work, it may also be possible to find out whether they were a family group and whether those buried together were related. 'It may even be possible to find out whether they are the distant relatives of people still living in Llangefni today.' The rise of artificial intelligence could have a more anticlimactic outcome than most doomsday films would have you expect. Rather than being violently wiped out by robotic beings, humankind may become 'eternally useless' due to the increasing capabilities of AI. This is according to bestselling author Yuval Noah Harari, who explores bleak future of humanity and the rise of the useless class in his upcoming novel Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. The rise of artificial intelligence could have a more anticlimactic outcome than most doomsday films would have you expect. Rather than being violently wiped out by robotic beings, the increasing capabilities of AI may instead render humankind eternally useless. A scene from Terminator Genisys is pictured above FIVE JOBS AT RISK FROM ROBOTS According to recent studies, certain jobs are already at risk of being replaced by automated workers. Accountants are 99 per cent likely to lose their jobs to machines. Umpires and referees have a 98.3 per cent chance of being automated. Waiters and waitress are 93.7 per cent likely to be replaced by machines. Legal assistants and paralegals have a 94.5 per cent chance of being automated. Fashion models are 97.6 per cent likely to lose the lime light because of robots. The historian and lecturer at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem likens the fate of humans to that of the doomed protagonist in the fable of the boy who cried wolf, according to The Guardian. While humans have long predicted that machines will take over much of our society, many such forecasts have not yet come true. But in the end, like the wolf, Harari says AI will finally come to achieve what many have feared. The resulting shift could leave humans both jobless and aimless, The Guardian explains. As the self-made gods of planet earth, which projects should we undertake, and how will we protect this fragile planet and humankind itself from our own destructive powers? Homo Deus questions. These destructive powers have already begun to take hold, according to Harari. AI have begun to outperform humans in many areas, and theres no guarantee we will be able to keep up as this continues. Children alive today will face the consequences, Harari told The Guardian. Most of what people learn in school or in college will probably be irrelevant by the time they are 40 or 50. If they want to continue to have a job, and to understand the world, and be relevant to what is happening, people will have to reinvent themselves again and again and faster and faster. The book by Yuval Noah Harari, pictured, will be published by Harvill Secker in September. Homo Deus follows his 2014 international bestselling book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, which launched him into the spotlight As humans become functionally useless in comparison to AI, we may no longer have value in the eyes of political and economic systems. This could in turn result in humans losing their sense of purpose. In a post-work world, human emotions may be controlled by drugs and virtual reality rather than real-life experiences As humans become functionally useless in comparison, we may no longer have value in the eyes of political and economic systems. This could in turn result in humans losing their sense of purpose. In a post-work world, human emotions may be controlled by drugs and virtual reality rather than real-life experiences, The Guardian explains. To prevent this dreary outcome, the author suggests humans take the issue very seriously. Rather than leaving the fate of AI solely to the discussions of scientists, Harari tells The Guardian it should become a part of the political agenda as well, to broaden the vision of what could happen and help to decide the future course of humankind. The book will be published by Harvill Secker in September. Homo Deus follows his 2014 international bestselling book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, which launched him into the spotlight. It was first released in 2004, and eventually sold over 130 million units. Now, Motorola is set to bring back the Razr flip phone - as an android handset. The firm, now owned by Lenovo, has teased the new handset with an ad promising it will 'flip back to the Razr days of yesteryear and get ready for the future.' Scroll down for video The RAZR flip phone was first introduced in 2004. Now, new owner Lenovo is expected to unveil an updated, android powered version of the phone next month. A RECORD BREAKING PHONE Because of its striking appearance and thin profile, the Razr was initially marketed as an exclusive fashion phone, but it was not until a year later when the price was dropped it became a huge success, selling over 50 million units by July 2006. Over the Razr's four-year run, the V3 model sold more than 130 million units, becoming the best-selling flipphone in the world to date. Advertisement The phone is set to be unveiled at a Lenovo event on 9th June. Because of its striking appearance and thin profile, the Razr was initially marketed as an exclusive fashion phone, but it was not until a year later when the price was dropped it became a huge success, selling over 50 million units by July 2006. Over the Razr's four-year run, the V3 model sold more than 130 million units, becoming the best-selling flipphone in the world to date. In 2007, a second version, called the Razr2 was unveiled, which has an external touch screen. In October 2011, Motorola resurrected the Razr brand for a line of Android smartphones; the Droid Razr for Verizon Wireless, otherwise also known simply as 'Motorola RAZR' on other networks. Despite its age, the flip phone still has its fans. Anna Wintour may have been derided for using a $15 flip phone at the US Open earlier this year - but it appears she may have simply been ahead of the curve of Japanese fashion. New figures reveal Japanese shipments of traditional flip-phones rose in 2014 for the first time in seven years while smartphone shipments fell. Experts say the figures highlight Japanese consumers' tenacious attachment to the familiar and typically less expensive older models. Several versions of the handset, first launched in 2004, we introduced with features such as a second screen (left) Dubbed 'Galapagos' phones because they have evolved to meet unique Japanese standards and tastes, flip-phone shipments rose 5.7 percent to 10.58 million in 2014, data from market researcher MM Research Institute Ltd shows. Smartphone shipments fell 5.3 percent to 27.70 million, down for a second year. Users in Japan pay some of the highest smartphone fees among developed nations, the telecommunications ministry says, while flip-phone rates are among the lowest. Many Japanese accustomed to years of deflation are content with old-style flip-phones offering voice calling, email and in most cases basic Internet services. Japanese electronics companies Panasonic Corp and NEC Corp have pulled out of the consumer smartphone business, unable to compete with dominant brands Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. The handsets have been dubbed 'Galapagos' phones because they have evolved to meet unique Japanese standards and tastes They still make flip-phones, though, competing in a crowded market with Fujitsu Ltd and Sharp Corp, among others. But with a mobile penetration rate of 98.5 percent, or 125 million subscriptions, there is little scope for significant overall growth in Japan's mobile market, MM Research said. 'Smartphones are also peaking in terms of functionality and they tend to last a long time as well, so there are fewer renewals,' said MM Research Executive Analyst Hideaki Yokota. He said 2014 was a particularly strong year for renewals in the subscription cycle for flip-phones, suggesting that last year's growth may not be repeated this year. However, its not just in Japan the flip phone is back. In between cheering on players at the U.S. Open in New York earlier this year, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour was pictured glancing at her cell phone - a rather dated looking flip phone. The 64-year-old fashion maven was seen peering out from her signature dark sunglasses to look more closely at the tiny screen on the phone, which appears to be a $15 pay-as-you go phone from AT&T. Old-fashioned: In between cheering on players at the U.S. Open on Thursday, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour was pictured glancing at her cell phone - a rather dated looking flip phone The model, an AT&T Z222 GoPhone, has a small two-inch display screen and offers texting and calling but no apps. Her decision to use such a simple and inexpensive is something of a surprise considering Ms Wintour presumably has the most cutting-edge products at her fingertips. Perhaps the editor, who is known to be a creature of habit, simply likes to stick with what she knows best. Indeed, back in 2004 she was seen using a similar flip phone while watching a Michael Kors runway show, although that particular model looked even more retro with an antenna. By 2007, she graduated to a somewhat sleeker model - the Motorola Razr, which she brandished proudly at yet another fashion show. From 2009 to 2012, Ms Wintour was pictured multiple times using a Blackberry, and it seemed she had finally found a modern phone she liked. And just last year, she was seen carrying around both a Blackberry and an iPhone, a symbol of her busy business life. Some say study is too far removed from the actual job-hunting experience This goes against current advice that keeping quiet is the better strategy But study says employers prefer dealing with known over unknown risks Previous evidence suggests women with families are discriminated against 'Don't ask, don't tell' is the advice many women are given when it comes to returning to the job market after raising a family. This is largely down historic evidence of discrimination against mothers in the hiring process and the workplace. But now, a new study claims that being upfront with potential employers about gaps in a resume caused by family commitments is the better strategy. Scroll down for video 'Don't ask, don't tell' is the advice many women are given when it comes to returning to the job market after raising a family. But now, a new study claims that being upfront with potential employers about gaps in a resume caused by family commitments is the better strategy The study, 'Something to Talk About: Information Exchange under Employment Law, was undertaken by Joni Hersch, a professor of law and economics at Vanderbilt Law School. 'Our study provides the first-ever evidence that women who conceal personal information dramatically lower their hiring prospects,' said Hersch. 'Employers overwhelmingly preferred to hire candidates who provided information to explain a resume gap, regardless of content. 'Any information that could flesh out a woman's job history and qualifications improved employment prospects relative to no explanation for an otherwise identical job candidate,' added Vanderbilt co-author Jennifer Bennett Shinall. In their experiment, Hersch and Shinall had 3,022 subjects act as 'potential employers' and choose between two job candidates. The two candidates were similar except for their openness about a 10-year gap in their job histories. AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance in the US, which discourages employers from asking about family matters, is not a law. It's a suggested policy created with the goal of encouraging compliance with Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and improving workplace equity. But the study claims workplace information restrictions may now stifle workplace equity. The researchers propose that the EEOC shift from the existing blanket 'don't ask, don't tell' guidance to the reasonable accommodation model already used by the EEOC for disabled employees. 'The idea behind reasonable accommodation is that there's an interactive process where the employer and employee have an honest conversation about each side's needs and wants,' said Hersch. 'This would prevent women from being fearful about giving information or asking for work/life balance modifications such as telecommuting or alternate work schedules.' The gap was explained with information such as taking time off to raise children or a recent divorce as the reason for leaving and wanting to re-enter the workforce. No information was given in the other scenarios. Female candidates who gave personal information raised their chance of being hired by 30 to 40 percentage points, compared to a comparable female candidate who provided no personal information. 'I was shocked by the results,' said Hersch. 'The personal information gave no indication whether the woman would be a more or less productive employee. 'This was entirely neutral information. Yet the number of people who preferred the woman who explained her resume gap was staggering.' The results are consistent with the behavioural economics theory of ambiguity aversion. 'Individuals prefer known risks over unknown risks,' said Hersch. 'It boils down to any explanation for your exit and your re-entering the workforce is better than no explanation,' added Shinall. However, the New York Times reports that some experts were sceptical of the experiment. They said it was too far removed from the actual job-hunting process. Ofer Sharone, a sociologist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, told the publications that telling about family life will work against female candidates. Marriage and children tend to hurt women much more than men in the workplace, and the latest suggest 'would greatly exacerbate that discrimination.' Winds drive formation of Antarctica's sea ice cover and help sustain it These influence the strength and direction of winds and ocean currents geology and Southern Ocean are responsible for the difference While sea ice cover in the Arctic has been in melting, Antarctica has seen an increase. Now a new Nasa-led study says the geology of the region and the Southern Ocean are responsible for the difference. The research came to the conclusion after combining data on sea surface temperature, land form and ocean depth to study the physical processes on sea ice cover. Pictured is the location of the southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current front (white contour), with -1 degree Celsius sea surface temperature lines (black contours) on September 22 each year from 2002-2009, plotted against a chart of the depth of the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. The white cross is Bouvet Island They found that two persistent geological factors - the topography of Antarctica and the depth of the ocean surrounding it - are influencing winds and ocean currents. This drives the formation of Antarctica's sea ice cover and helps sustain it. 'Our study provides strong evidence that the behaviour of Antarctic sea ice is entirely consistent with the geophysical characteristics found in the southern polar region, which differ sharply from those present in the Arctic,' said Son Nghiem of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Antarctic sea ice cover is dominated by first-year sea ice. Each year, the sea ice reaches its maximum extent around the frozen continent in September and retreats to about 17 per cent of that extent in February. In the latest study, the research team looked at radar data from Nasa's QuikScat satellite from 1999 to 2009 to trace the paths of Antarctic sea ice movements. The study revealed that as sea ice forms and builds up early in the sea ice growth season, it gets pushed offshore and northward by winds. This forms a protective shield of older, thicker ice that circulates around the continent. Shown here is QuikScat data of Antarctic ice movement from June to September 2008. The data is overlaid on maps of sea ice type. White shows rough older ice, light blue is older ice, darker blue is younger ice, red is melt on ice, gray is permanent ice and land is represented by brown. Red/black dots track ice movement over time ANTARCTICA HAS BEEN GAINING MORE ICE THAN IT IS LOSING Antarctica is gaining more ice than it loses, research by Nasa last year found. It said Antarctica's ice sheet is thickening enough to outweigh increased losses caused by melting glaciers. The research challenges the conclusions of other studies, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's report which says that Antarctica is losing land ice overall. But it also warns that losses could offset the gains in years to come. The increase in Antarctic snow began 10,000 years ago and continues in East Antarctica and the interior of West Antarctica by an average of 0.7 inches (1.7cm) per year, according to the space agency. Researchers analysed satellite data to demonstrate the Antarctic ice sheet showed a net gain of 112 billion tons of ice a year from 1992 to 2001. That net gain slowed to 82 billion tons of ice per year between 2003 and 2008. The persistent winds, which flow downslope off the continent and are shaped by Antarctica's topography, pile ice up against the massive ice shield, enhancing its thickness. This band of ice, which varies in width from roughly 62 to 620 miles (100 to 1,000km), protects younger, thinner ice in the ice pack behind it from being reduced by winds and waves. As the sea ice cover expands and ice drifts away from the continent, areas of open water form behind it on the sea surface, creating 'ice factories'. Sea surface temperature data reveal that at the peak of ice growth season, the boundary of the ice shield remains behind a 30-degree Fahrenheit (-1 degree Celsius) temperature line surrounding Antarctica. This temperature line corresponds with the southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current front, a boundary that separates the circulation of cold and warm waters around Antarctica. The team theorized that the location of this front follows the underwater bathymetry. When they plotted the bathymetric data against the ocean temperatures, the pieces fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Pronounced seafloor features strongly guide the ocean current and correspond closely with observed regional Antarctic sea ice patterns. For example, the current stays near Bouvet Island, located 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from the nearest land, where three tectonic plates join to form seafloor ridges. Map of sea surface temperatures (in degrees Celsius) combined with sea surface temperature contour lines for -1 degree Celsius (black) and -1.4 degrees Celsius (green), plotted atop a National Ice Center map of the extent of Antarctic sea ice on Sept. 22, 2009 Off the coast of East Antarctica, the -1 degree Celsius sea surface temperature lines closely bundle together as they cross the Kerguelen Plateau (a submerged microcontinent that broke out of the ancient Gondwana supercontinent), through a deep channel called the Fawn Trough. But those lines spread apart over adjacent deep ocean basins, where seafloor features are not pronounced. Off the West Antarctica coast, the deep, smooth seafloor loses its grip over the current, allowing sea ice extent to decrease and resulting in large year-to-year variations. Choosing where to go is the hardest part but there are lots of other things you may need to sort out, particularly if you are jetting off abroad. To minimise costs and ensure all goes smoothly on your trip, advance planning is key. This checklist highlights what you need to do when. Weigh what you intend to check in to ensure that its below your airlines allowance charges for excess baggage can be very steep As soon as youve booked Arrange travel insurance Policies come with cancellation cover, so if you (or a close relative) fall ill and you cant make the trip, you may be able to get your money back. Saga (saga.co.uk), which offers cover to over 50s, and LV= (lv.com) are among the highest-rated travel insurers by consumer group Which? But do check other policies on comparison websites, which can flag up affordable policies for oldies and those with pre-existing medical conditions, as well as mainstream cover. But dont just select on price. Check the valuables limit is high enough for equipment (camera, phone, tablet) youll be travelling with, and that adventurous activities you or your family will be doing are covered. If you travel abroad more than twice a year, bear in mind that an annual, multi-trip policy is likely to work out cheaper than single-trip policies. Book car hire Its worth sorting out your car hire long before you travel if youre heading to prime holiday spots such as the Spanish costas or Balearics rental rates often rise steeply closer to the pick-up date at peak times in popular destinations. Turn to Economy Car Hire (economycarhire.com), a highly-rated agent. The excess on car rental insurance can be sky high, and car-hire companies charge ridiculous amounts to reduce it. Its far cheaper to take out a separate excess-waiver policy: see moneymaxim.co.uk/compare-car-hire-excess-insurance for options. With the paper counterpart licence no longer valid, some car-rental companies now ask to see your licence online to see if you have any endorsements. To enable this, obtain a check code (gov.uk/view-driving-licence) closer to the rental pick-up day the code is valid for 21 days from the date created. Two months ahead Get any necessary jabs To be fully effective, some vaccinations need to be administered six weeks before you travel, so ideally visit your GP or a travel health clinic two months before travel. More information: fitfortravel.nhs.uk. A single on the Heathrow Express bought at least 30 days ahead costs 8.80-14.30, compared with 22 from a ticket machine on the day of travel Book trains to the airport Booking well in advance may save you a packet. A single on the Heathrow Express (heathrowexpress.com) bought at least 30 days ahead costs 8.80-14.30, compared with 22 from a ticket machine on the day of travel. (Tickets bought at least 90 days ahead are cheaper still.) On the Stansted Express (stanstedexpress.com), a one-way ticket booked well ahead costs from 8, compared with the 19 standard fare. On cross-country routes, savings on advance bookings can be even greater. Research airport parking and hotels At many airports, the longer ahead you book parking, the cheaper it is. For a weeks parking at Lutons Long Term on-airport car park, the rate Ive been quoted is 32 less when arranged more than a month ahead instead of the day before. If your flight departs at the crack of dawn, stay the night before at an airport hotel. Many offer stay-and-park packages which can cost little more than just the parking. Use Holiday Extras (holidayextras.co.uk) to compare deals for on- and off-airport car parks, meet and greet services and airport hotels with and without parking; all-important transfer details are spelt out on the website. One month ahead Check passports, get visas Is your passport valid, and does it have enough months left to run on it? Some countries, such as Turkey and Thailand, require at least six months. To avoid paying extra for a fast-track service, make passport applications in good time using the standard service, allow up to three weeks for a renewal or a childs first passport; see gov.uk/browse/abroad/passports. Also check whether you need a visa for the country youre visiting the process can take several weeks. Check in online to avoid fees charged by some airlines for checking in at the airport (Jet2 17.50, Ryanair 45), and with other airlines such as British Airways youll save time and hassle on the day of travel Check your EHIC is up-to-date In EU and some other European countries, its worth travelling with the free European Health Insurance Card (ehic.org.uk). While no substitute for travel insurance, it entitles you to state medical treatment on the same basis as local residents often free or at reduced cost. If you already have an EHIC, check its expiry date: the card expires after five years. The week before Sign up to a mobile roaming package Roaming costs have plummeted in the EU, but are still cripplingly high elsewhere, especially for data roaming, so before you go abroad, check rates on your mobile operators website. If youre with Three, check if youre going to one of 18 countries where you can use your phone at no extra cost. Otherwise, the best way to reduce costs is to sign up to a roaming package. Shop for travel essentials Items such as sun cream, mosquito repellent and plug adaptors are cheaper on the high street than at the airport. Boots sells affordable and compact first-aid kits, costing from 6.24 on boots.com. Also, Enterosgel (enteromed.co.uk), can help you avoid, or reduce the effects of, tummy trouble. The day before Check in online Youll avoid fees charged by some airlines for checking in at the airport (Jet2 17.50, Ryanair 45), and with other airlines such as British Airways youll save time and hassle on the day of travel. Assess your luggage Weigh what you intend to check in to ensure that its below your airlines allowance charges for excess baggage can be very steep. Many airlines are sticklers for hand-luggage size and weight limits, so check and stick to those too. Do remember that some, but not all, airlines allow you to carry on a second smaller bag (yes with Ryanair, no with easyJet travelling on its cheapest fares). Dont fall foul of airport security restrictions. Any electronic item in hand luggage needs to be charged: if it wont switch on when requested, you risk not being allowed to take it on to the aircraft. Read gov.uk/hand-luggage-restrictions for rules on liquids, and take your own re-sealable transparent plastic bags to carry small quantities of liquids through security some airports charge extortionate amounts to buy them. Sir Richard Branson once said: 'If you want to be a Millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline.' He's far from the first business-savy person to have that experience though - Donald Trump lost more than $100million (68.6million) of his personal wealth on the failed Trump Shuttle venture. Now, a new video has broken down what it calls the true cost of a flight using the journey from John F Kennedy Airport in New York to Washington Dulles Airport in Virginia - and it shows just how small the profit margins can be for airlines. It turns out they barely make $10 (6.86) on an $80 (54.84) fare. A new video has broken down what it calls the true cost of a journey from John F Kennedy Airport in New York to Washington Dulles Airport in Viriginia on board an Airbus A320 The plane has capacity for 154 passengers and the calculations were based on estimates for a full plane The estimates were calculated by Wendover Productions using numbers provided by official sources such as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Airbus and Delta. According to the calculations, each passenger on board an Airbus A320, which has a capacity of 154, costs the airline $68.50 (47.06) for the 260-mile journey. MailOnline Travel has checked the prices for the journey using Skyscanner while in New York and the fare comes to an average of around $80. This means that on average, an airline makes just $11.50 (7.88) on a one-way journey. Of course, this profit goes up the closer you get to the departure date. The $68.50 cost to the airline factored almost every aspect of the journey, from obvious ones like fuel and crew salary to less frequently discussed costs like maintenance and insurance. The video begins by arguing that the cost of fuel actually made up for very little of the total cost of an air fare, despite the fact that so much fuel is used. A typical journey from New York to Washington DC on the Airbus A320 will use up 317 gallons of fuel. In comparison, a Toyota Camry can use the same amount of fuel to drive from New York to Los Angeles 49 times. Washington Dulles (pictured) hasn't released its landing fees so the video used those given for New York's JFK Airport THE TRUE COST OF FLYING Fuel cost: $2.50 (1.72) Crew cost: $1.50 (1.03) Landing fees at two airports: $13.50 (9.27) Taxes: $15.60 (10.72) Price of the aircraft: $11.50 (7.90) Maintenance: $14 (9.62) Non flying cost: $10 (6.87) Insurance: $0.25 (17p) Total $68.50 (47.06) Source: Wendover Productions However, thanks to the number of passengers that the aircraft can carry and the low fuel rates available to airlines, the average fuel cost per person for the New York to Washington DC is just $2.50 (1.72), or three per cent of the total cost. But this is a very rough estimate. As Dr John Downer, lecturer in risk and resilience at University of Bristol, points out, the calculations are based on a comparatively short flight. He told MailOnline Travel: 'The percentage of the fare that goes to fuel will increase as the length of the flight increases.' For example, fuel will make up a larger proportion of the fare from New York to Los Angeles than a flight on the same plane from New York to Washington DC. There may also be some differences in what an airline actually pays for their fuel compared to the list price. Derek Robbins, a senior lecturer at Bournemouth University, told MailOnline Travel: 'In mid 2000s the fuel cost on short haul flights was estimated at 20 per cent of total costs based on UK figures. 'Whilst the price of oil has fallen considerably, it should be noted that many airlines have hedged the cost of their fuel so have not received the full benefit of the falling oil price. ' The crew cost of the journey, calculated using average salaries on jobs website Glassdoor, comes to just $1.50 (1.03) per passenger, including both the pilots and stewards. This, the video's producers concede, might actually be an over-estimate of the real salaries. What made up the bulk of the cost of the journey, however, was the landing fees and taxes. Airports will charge take off and landing fees according to the weight of the aircraft, which in this case is estimated to be $13.50 (9.27). On top of that, there's a myriad of taxes. There's also an estimated $15.60 worth of taxes levied on the flight, including a $4 flat-rate domestic flight segment tax Domestic passenger ticket tax is charged at 7.5 per cent of the fare. Depending on the size and location of the airport, an additional 7.5 per cent can be applied on top of this, though it doesn't apply to the New York to Washington DC route. Then there's a $4 (2.75) flat rate for any flights within the USA - more if travelling to Hawaii or Alaska. Both of these taxes are paid to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Many people outside of the USA will probably be unaware that since the terror attacks on the twin towers in 2001, the TSA has levied a 9/11 security fee, currently $5.60 (3.85), on top of fares to cover the extra security costs that have been implemented. If it was an international flight, even more taxes would be levied on top of this. In this example, the taxes add up to $15.60 (10.72). Of course, before you even get the plane on the tarmac, the airline has had to pay for the plane and this cost is also factored into the airfare here. For maintenance, the estimates have been given as $2,121 per journey, which have been rounded up to $14 per person Using average numbers for the cost of the A320 and the number of journeys the plane is typically able to make before it's scrapped, the cost per person is an estimated $11.50 (7.90). But this figure will vary case-by-case. Dr Downer commented to MailOnline Travel: 'The number they cite for maximum number of "cycles" [journeys] seems a bit low (I think the lives of many airframes are extended once they reach the "max").' And then there's the maintenance fees contributing to the cost of every flight. A plane might needs parts replaced, inspections, component overhauls and engine restorations. There are parts and staff costs associated with this, which the video equates to approximately $14 (9.62) per person. The cost of the aircraft in this case has been estimated at $11.50 per person for the journey. In reality, this will differ from plane to plane Even with a ship-shape aircraft, you will still need insurance - estimated to be $0.25 (17p) for the one-hour journey based on the total cost of insuring the plane for a year. A surprisingly small proportion of the fare is the non-flying cost. This, according to the video's producers, includes administrative staff, marketing, office rents and other miscellaneous costs. As this is very hard to estimate and will vary substantially between different airlines, a conservative estimate of $10 (6.87) has been given. These assorted fees have added up to a total of $68.50, but as the video points out at the beginning, all of these numbers are just estimates and there are ways that airlines can reduce their costs further. There could also be en-route charges for things like navigation and air traffic control. Flying in the skies of North Korea in Soviet-era planes may sound like a scene from a blockbuster film. But for one hardy group of aviation enthusiasts, this became reality, as they strapped themselves in for a memorable holiday in one of the most secretive countries on earth. Organised by British-based company Juche Travel Services, 75 people travelled out to Asia for five days and chartered themselves onto a variety of classic planes, all owned by Air Koryo. Juche Travel Services takes dozens of tourists to North Korea every year (pictured: a tour group in 2015) Flight attendants wave at passengers following a flight in one of Air Koryo's Soviet-era aircraft The group flew on Antonov, Tupolev and Ilyushin aircraft that have been left behind by most airlines in the world. No other airline in the world has a fleet of Soviet aeroplanes as large as Air Koryo, in part due to the strict sanctions placed on the country. But for aviation enthusiasts around the world, it offers the perfect chance to tick something off their bucket list. David Thompson, founder of Juche Travel Services, told MailOnline Travel: 'We've been running these tours since 2012 to cater for the international aviation enthusiast market and they have proven very popular, with hundreds of people taking the tours over the past five years. 'I am also an aviation geek and the DPRK offers something unique for plane-spotters as it is the last place in the world where you can reliably photograph, film and fly on the classic Soviet-era civil aircraft.' No other airline in the world has a fleet of Soviet aeroplanes as large as Air Koryo (pictured: a tour in 2015) North Korea is the last place in the world where people can fly on classic Soviet-era civil aircraft WORLD'S 'WORST' AIRLINE Last year Air Koryo, North Koreas national airline was named the worst airline in the world for the fourth year running by airline and airport ratings organisation Skytrax. Kim Jong-uns airline of choice was deemed worse than Sudan Air and Syrianair. Skytrax, which says it is the global benchmark of airline standards, awarded Air Koryo an overall assessment score of one star out of five. The organisation did not offer specific reasons for the low rating. However, customers on Skytraxs website gave the airline an average overall score of six out of ten. Passengers score them highly for seat comfort, staff service and value for money. Much of the group, like Brian Crooks from the US, already work in the aviation industry. Crooks, who works in human resources for United Airlines, told the Washington Post: 'It was amazing to fly on all these Russian planes I'd seen but never had the opportunity to fly on. He described how the group would visit airports around North Korea, and be the 'only flights on the departure boards.' British pilot Ashley Walker, who flies Boeing 747s for Cathay Pacific, was handed the chance to fly on a Ilyushin Il-62, described how boarding the aircraft was like 'stepping back in time'. 'I used to fly into Beijing a lot and see the [Air Koryo] Il-62 in front of me and think, "There's no way you'd ever get me in that aircraft,"' he added. 'But the more I thought about it, the more I knew I had to do it.' Thompson said his customers come from all over the world. He added: 'Our last tour had over 25 nationalities, which we think is a record. Many of them work in the aviation industry including flight and cabin crew and they are always amazed at the superb condition of the Air Koryo aircraft. 'Others are simply enthusiasts, photographers and spotters looking to enjoy something a bit more exotic than boring Boeings and Airbuses.' North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un has always kept himself at the forefront of all-things aviation. In June 2015 he opened the new Terminal 2 at Pyongyang International Airport, where he and his wife took a tour of the new facilities. It was rebuilt at the request of Kim in 2012 as he believed that the existing terminal was considered too small and shabby compared with foreign rivals. In November the previous year, Kim stopped work on the terminal after inspecting the site. He reproached workers for failing to carry out an earlier order from July that the project should reflect North Korea's 'Juche' (self-reliance), philosophy and national identify. A mum whose family holiday to Tunisia was cancelled because of the terrorist attacks last year is now being taken to court because she had to reschedule the trip during school term-time. Mother-of-two Nikki Hotston booked a two-week holiday for her family to Tunisia in August last year during the school holidays. However. after the terrorist attack on the popular resort of Port El Kantaoui in June, where 38 were tragically killed by a gunman, the holiday was cancelled. Mother-of-two Nikki Hotston (second left) booked a two-week holiday for her family - husband Steve (left), seven-year-old Grace (right) and three-year-old Riley - to Tunisia in August last year during the school holidays Mrs Hotston was forced to have the rearranged family holiday during term-time and despite having verbal permission she has been fined and taken to court. It comes just a week after the High Court backed father Jon Platt who refused to pay a fine for taking his daughter to Disney World last year during term time. Mrs Hotston, 24, was given alternative dates during the school holidays to take a break with her family, but they were long-haul flights and were not suitable for her son Riley, three, who has special needs. She picked a cruise break starting on September 2 for two weeks, which meant her daughter Grace, seven, would miss two weeks of school. Mrs Hotston asked her daughter's school whether it was okay and says she was given verbal permission because of the exceptional circumstances. But while the family from Basingstoke, Hampshire, were away Grace's holiday form was refused and they were fined. Grace has 97.7 per cent attendance over three years - which is considered 'regular' by guidelines We felt that we needed a family holiday all together and we feel like we are being punished for that Nikki Hotston They received the fine in October and contacted Castle Hill Infant School in Basingstoke to try and appeal it, but were given no information. She and husband Steve, 26, paid the fine in January but on May 6 they discovered it was refunded because it was paid too late. Hampshire County Council sent them a letter summoning them to Basingstoke Magistrates' Court. It warned that they could be fined up to 2,500 for Grace's absence, which also includes two weeks she had off sick after having her tonsils removed. Grace has 97.7 per cent attendance over three years - which is considered 'regular' by guidelines. Mrs Hotston said: 'We have tried to speak to the office and headteacher but they said they don't know the process because we are the first parents this has happened to. 'I think it's really bad bearing in mind we were meant to go in August. We felt that we needed a family holiday all together and we feel like we are being punished for that. 'Me and my family needed a well-deserved break due to a very stressful period in all our lives.' Hampshire County Council sent a letter to the family summoning them to Basingstoke Magistrates' Court Mrs Hotston had to rush to find legal representation but says she hopes last week's High Court ruling will help her case. She said: 'We are hoping now that it will get quashed.' Alison Story-Scrivens, headteacher at Castle Hill Infant School, said: 'I am unable to comment on individual cases. Two UK tourists have captured breathtaking footage of themselves on top of what will eventually become the tallest residential tower in the world. Urban explorers Dan Andrews and Will Sanderson sneaked past security guards and climbed 101 floors to the roof of the unfinished Marina 101 skyscraper in Dubai. It took around 90 minutes for the daring free climbers to ascend the 1,400ft tower, where they watched a beautiful sunrise in sweltering 31C heat. Dan Andrews said he felt his knees wobble 'a little bit' as he and Will Sanderson ascended the skyscraper When they reached the top the adventurers, who call themselves the Urban Cowboys, watched the sun rise Andrews and Sanderson took in breathtaking views of Dubai's skyline and the Arabian Sea Marina 101 (pictured in the Urban Cowboys' YouTube video) will be the world's tallest residential skyscraper Andrews and Sanderson, both 19 and from Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, sneaked past security shortly after 5am and had to shimmy around the end of a fence that had a 50ft drop on the other side. The adventurers shared their exploits in a video on YouTube. Andrews told MailOnline Travel: It took us a good hour and a half of climbing. I counted 24 stairs to every floor and then all the ladders in between in 31-degree heat unconditioned. Thats the closest Ive been to passing out on a mission. It was the toughest thing either of us have done but it was so worth it at the top. As they admired views of Dubais skyline and the Arabian Sea with the sun on the horizon, the pair was left speechless. Andrews said: It's quite hard to describe the experience, literally nothing else matters when you are up there. Me and Will stayed on the edge of the rooftop, legs dangling and watching the sunrise, and just didn't talk for a good 15 minutes. It was absolutely breathtaking. The danger level for the most part was low, just stairs and boiling heat but when we got to the top the ladder system was incomplete so we had to climb a load of dodgy scaffold to get to the ladders. I did the cliche thing and looked down and my legs started to wobble a little bit, but then the adrenalin kicked in and I powered up to the top. It took around 90 minutes for Andrews and Sanderson to climb to the top of the building in 31C heat Andrews said he was speechless, adding: 'Literally nothing else matters when you are up there' Climbing the tower was the toughest thing Andrews and Sanderson have ever done, but 'so worth it' To reach the top of Marina 101, the adventurers climbed 24 stairs to every floor and a series of ladders The pair stayed on top of the building longer than planned and almost got caught as they exited the site. Andrews said: We emerged 45 minutes later at the bottom with five or six very confused looking workers staring at us. We had to wave and keep moving. It's a good job security wasn't there or it could of ended a lot worse. Marina 101, which is being built at an estimated cost of approximately 225million, is scheduled to welcome wealthy residents and hotel guests by the end of 2016 four years after it was first projected to open. It will be home to a Hard Rock Hotel on the first 33 floors and luxury apartments and penthouses on the upper floors. There will be a lounge on the 101st floor, plus restaurants, bars, swimming pools, squash courts, gyms and 24-hour concierge service. Advertisement Breaking Bad fans will be excited to discover that you can stay in actor Aaron Paul's swanky home in Idaho - and thankfully it is a far cry from the meth den his character squatted in during the hit TV series. The beautiful ranch is located in Boise not far from the border of Oregon and features a geothermal hot spring pool and stunning wood-panelled interiors. Situated on a gorgeous tree-lined street just minutes from downtown, followers of the show can get a taste of the star's lifestyle for $395 (271) per night on Airbnb. Scroll down for video Breaking Bad fans will be excited to discover that you can book out actor Aaron Paul's swanky home in Idaho - and thankfully it is a far cry from the meth den featured on the hit series. Pictured is the pad's geothermal hot spring pool The beautiful ranch is located in Boise not far from the border of Oregon and includes ample space for guests who check in After Paul (pictured left) has received rave reviews on the rental site, Airbnb have said 'Pauls home is the go-to Airbnb to rent while visiting Boise.' Pictured right is Paul in character as Jesse Pinkman on Breaking Bad, with co-star Bryan Cranston as Walter White Glowing reviews: It appears that guests are fans of the Airbnb lodging, with one saying it caters for all your needs Boasting two bedrooms, the home can sleep four guests - making the cost per night fairly affordable. If you have your heart set on throwing a large bash while staying at the A-lister pad you may be disappointed as the listing prohibits parties on the property. The 36-year-old star, who plays the wild child character of Jesse Pinkman, wrote on the Airbnb post: Just treat this home like its your own. Be respectful of our wonderful neighbors and just simply enjoy. We kindly ask that you have no parties inside of this home. Its a very special home and we would like you to treat it that way. Despite this, it appears that guests are fans of the lodging, with one Airbnb renter commenting that it caters for all your needs. With ample rave reviews on the host's profile, the rental company has gone as far as to say that 'Pauls home is the go-to Airbnb while visiting Boise.' If you have your heart set on throwing a large bash, you may be disappointed, as the listing prohibits parties but it does include a cosy lounge area (pictured) Boasting two bedrooms and an ample living room, the home can sleep four guests - making the cost per night an affordable stay Instead of cooking meth, like Aaron's character Jesse Pinkman, guests can create tasty dishes in the Airbnb's spacious kitchen Celebrity life: Situated on a gorgeous tree-lined street just minutes from downtown, fans from all over the world can experience the star's lifestyle for just $395 (271) per night Easy access: One of the two bedrooms opens directly onto the heated indoor pool - perfect for a late-night dip Clearly a fan of Airbnb, Aaron Paul recently took his brother to a $5,000 (3,433) a night Airbnb mansion in Park City, Utah for his bachelor party. However, the service kindly picked up the bill for the star, which included access to a host of amenities such as a large in-ground pool, a hot tub, and a pool table. An open layout likely gave the AMC actor plenty of space for stag festivities, and the mansion features a large deck from which to view the stunning surroundings. Spacious bedrooms boast queen-sized beds and gorgeous stone fireplaces with wall-mounted flat screen TVs. And Aaron took to Instagram following the celebratory weekend to gush about the luxurious getaway. In the lap of luxury: Aaron Paul celebrated his brother's bachelor party by renting out a $5,000 (3,433) a night Park City, Utah Airbnb mansion Wide open spaces: The rental property offered an open floor plan, which likely provided plenty of space for guests of the bachelor party Grateful: After the getaway Aaron took to Instagram to share his gratitude to Airbnb, gushing: 'Thank you so much @airbnb for picking up the tab on this beautiful property in Park City. Unreal! Thank you, thank you and thank you' Game room: The property boasted a game room which featured floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the pool, as well as a pool table What a view! The kitchen and living room areas looked out onto a large deck that gave a view to the home's stunning surroundings The stunning mansion featured a large, outdoor swimming pool with an array of outdoor seating, as well as a hot tub Most people dream of kissing a beautiful Hollywood star. But when his luck was in, Fiat heir, Lapo Elkann made that dream a reality on Thursday as he celebrated a $196k (175,000 EUR) auction prize by planting a kiss on auction host Uma Thurman. The film-star, 46, certainly got more than she bargained for when she went over to congratulate the winner at Thursday night's amfAR Gala and the opportunist landed a huge smacker on her lips - however, a representative for the star insists the kiss 'wasn't consensual'. Scroll down for video In for the kill: Fiat heir Lapo Elkann surprised film-star Uma Thurman with a passionate kiss at the amfAR gala on Thursday night, but she later claimed it was 'not consensual' Uma's representative told MailOnline: 'It is opportunism at its worst. She wasn't complicit in it. 'Somewhere in his head he must have thought it an appropriate way of behaving. It clearly wasn't. It looks like she was happy to have it happen, but it was not consensual.' MailOnline has contacted a representative for Lapo, who declined to comment. On fine fashion form: Uma Thurman wowed when she stepped out in Cannes on Thursday evening Generous fella: The businessman not only purchased the cheeky PDA to help raise money as part of the Against AIDS Gala, he also donated a prize - a one-off customised Ferrari 458 Just a peck? Uma put her face on Lapo's face after he surprised her with the kiss, but she later said she was 'not happy for it to happen' Lapo won the Victorias Secret Fashion Show experience, which includes two tickets to the 2016 show as well as two tickets to the exclusive after party. Looking radiant in a floor-length pink gown, Uma managed to keep her dignity throughout, despite the Italian lothario making sure he got his money's worth from the encounter. Uma, who is not officially dating right now, was spotted out with a mystery man when celebrating her 46th birthday in April. Despite her impromptu kissing duties, Uma made sure she ruled the red carpet, in an eye catching floor-sweeping gown. The Hollywood actress dazzled as she attended amfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala at the French Riviera town's Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. The acclaimed Pulp Fiction performer looked positively ageless in her choice of fuchsia attire, which featured a single strap embellished with a sequined heart. Can't blame me for trying! The cheeky chappy knows he pushed his luck, but Uma takes it all in good spirit Cheeky monkey: Afterwards, the stunner posed with her suitor Featuring a straight neckline, the column gown was made of a floaty material which gave her a stylish, seasonal feel. Sweeping her hair up into bun, she added a pair of colour co-ordinated earrings and some heavily-applied eyeliner. Posing up a storm as she made her entrance, Uma managed to walk a fine line between sophisticated and sexy in the notoriously tricky colour choice. But it worked perfectly with her skin tone and choice of footwear - some strappy, open-toe sandals. Together, her ensemble was a sartorial success. Rose tinted glasses: Uma was in high spirits, playing around and enjoying the gala evening, which was all in great cause - raising money for Cinema Against AIDS Stunning: The Hollywood actress, 46, dazzled as she attended amfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala a the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in the French Riviera town Sexy: Posing up a storm as she made her entrance, Uma managed to walk a fine line between sophisticated and sexy in the notoriously tricky colour choice The fundraiser, which raises money for AIDs research, will see the likes of Katy Perry perform for the A-list crowd, while Adriana Lima will co-chair the event. After posing up a storm on the red carpet, the celebrities make their way into a lavish dinner which is followed by a no expense spared auction, with last year's event raising a staggering $30 million. The event, which takes place just outside of Cannes, will also feature Kirsten Dunst, Vanessa Paradis and Donald Sutherland who are serving as chairs for the Cannes Film Festival Jury. Good choice: Featuring a straight neckline, the column gown was made of a floaty material which gave her a stylish, seasonal feel Cosied up: Uma looked stunning from within the event as she posed alongside German businesswoman Caroline Scheufele Hostess with the mostess: Uma looked exquisite as she took the stage to host the auction Chatty, chatty: The blonde addressed the crowd with a speech on an autocue Making a presentation: She was very animated with her hands and arms Acting up: In fuchsia, the blonde bombshell made quite an entrance to the event Belle of the ball: The Kill Bill actress was seen having a chat with a fellow party guest She is looking fantastic just three months after welcoming son Rocco into the world. And Rose Byrne happily showed off her post-baby body on Thursday as she headed to an appearance on The Late Show in New York City. The 36-year-old actress was clad in a black '70s inspired jumpsuit which clung to her svelte figure in all the right places. Scroll down for video Hot mama! Rose Byrne, 36, looked flawless as she stepped out wearing a black '70s inspired jumpsuit on Thursday in New York The backless one-piece was double breasted and featured gold buttons below her lapel and a deep V-neckline. Rose's outfit was nipped in at her trim waist and her lean legs were accentuated by the fit-and-flare design of the trousers. She teamed the chic look with a pair of platform heels that were nearly covered by the boot-cut bottoms. Stunner: The Bridesmaids star, who gave birth to her son only three months ago, displayed a trim waist while her lean legs were accentuated by the fit-and-flare design of the trousers Brunette beauty: Rose styled her highlighted tresses smoothly back into a wavy ponytail. She finished off her glamorous look with a dark smokey-eye and a light brown glossy lip The brunette beauty styled her highlighted tresses smoothly back into a wavy ponytail, finishing off her glamorous look with a dark smokey-eye and a light brown glossy lip. The Australian actress accessorized with gold accents, wearing dainty earrings and four big coordinating statement rings. Rose appeared to be in an upbeat mood as she made her way to another TV appearance for Neighbors 2; Sorority Rising. Flashing the flesh: The 36-year-old showed some skin as she arrived at The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Busy star: Rose has been on the promotional trail for Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising lately The mom-of-one has been stylishly taking to the promo trail this week ahead of the US release of the second instalment of the Neighbors franchise on May 20. Rose, who recently posed for Playboy magazine, will also appear on the big screen in X-Men: Apocalypse which hits theaters on May 27. The Bridesmaids star has been dating Vinyl actor Bobby Cannavale, 46, since 2012 and they welcomed their first child together, son Rocco, on February 1. Cindy Crawford proved she really did have 'it' way back when. The supermodel posted a Throwback Thursday photo on her Instagram showing herself at 17. 'Way back! 1983 @EliteNYC model look competition in Acapulco,' she explained in the caption. Natural beauty: Cindy Crawford shared this photo on Instagram on Thursday showing her, left, as a 17-year-old taking part in a modeling competition in Acapulco in 1983 The natural beauty is seen with two other girls smiling for the camera. Cindy, who was a junior in high school at the time, is wearing a low-cut and backless black swimsuit. Her brunette hair is shoulder-length and tousled. Cindy, who's from Illinois, went on to graduate from high school and then dropped out of college to pursue a modeling career. She was signed to Elite Models in New York in 1986 The Illinois native would go on to graduate high school and enroll in college, but she dropped out in order to pursue a modeling career. Three years after the snap was taken, she was signed to Elite Models in New York and the rest is history. The model went on to marry Hollywood star Richard Gere in 1991, and following their divorce, she wed fellow model Rande Gerber in 1998. Fame: One of the original supermodels, Cindy married Hollywood star Richard Gere in 1991. The couple, pictured at the Oscars in 1993, divorced in 1995 Keeper: In 1998, Cindy married fellow model and businessman Rande Gerber, pictured together in 2014 The couple share two children: daughter Kaia, 14, and son Presley, 16/ Both are following in their famous parents' footsteps by modeling. Cindy celebrated her 50th birthday in February this year. She is rarely seen looking anything less than preened and flawless. Yet Sharon Osbourne dropped her impeccable image in the name of charity as she threw herself into a messy cake fight with her daughter Kelly for a new photo shoot. The 63-year-old former X Factor judge and the Fashion Police host, 31, got messy to throw their support behind Cancer Research UKs Race for Life. Scroll down for video Oh no you didn't! Sharon Osbourne dropped her impeccable image in the name of charity as she threw herself into a messy cake fight with her daughter Kelly for a new photo shoot Sharon slipped into a sensational white gown for the shoot in which things started out very civil, with the mother-daughter duo baking a cake. The form-fitting gown clung to every inch of her age-defying shape, which was simply astonishing for her sexagenarian status, as it sat with a fishtail hem and fitted waist. Drawing attention to her bust was the only detail on the gown which was appliques at the breasts, while she accessorised with dazzling diamond earrings. Her usual shock of bright red hair was styled into her favoured funky preened crop, while she added a slick of vampish red nail varnish to afford the perfect manicure. Oh my! The 63-year-old former X Factor judge and the Fashion Police host, 31, got messy to throw their support behind Cancer Research UKs Race for Life Shocked: Sharon slipped into a sensational white gown for the shoot in which things started out very civil, with the mother-daughter duo baking a cake Kelly meanwhile went for her beloved retro vibes in a Bardot dress, cascading off her slender shoulders, while nipping in at the waist and meeting in a prom style hem. The dress was flood-length in its hemline, while she rocked chunky black platforms beneath the dress to add her own youthful brand of cool. The TV host's hair was styled into a dramatic shaved do while the lilac toned top was raised into a huge victory roll curling around the top of her head in an expertly crafted quiff. The fun-loving duo threw themselves behind Cancer Research Race For Life for a second year as they call upon women to take on Race for Lifes Pretty Muddy events. They mean war: Kelly meanwhile went for her beloved retro vibes in a Bardot dress, cascading off her slender shoulders, while nipping in at the waist and meeting in a prom style hem A vision in... Cake! The form-fitting gown clung to every inch of her age-defying shape, which was simply astonishing for her sexagenarian status, as it sat with a fishtail hem and fitted waist Working with the charity is particularly close to the Osbourne womens' hearts after Sharon, survived colon cancer in 2002 and then underwent a double mastectomy in 2012 - shortly before Kelly was then diagnosed with the BRCA1 gene in 2015. Speaking of her own battle, Sharon said: 'Kelly did everything, from getting me a clean nightie and a cup of tea, to just holding my hand I didnt have to ask for anything.' Kelly meanwhile recalled when he stubborn mum would not remove her beloved jewels on her way into surgery for her double mastectomy, saying: 'They gave her something to calm her down which sent her a bit loopy, and she said, "Im not taking my diamonds off!" Only my mum would try and sneak diamonds into an operation!' Lovely and lilac: The TV host's hair was styled into a dramatic shaved do while the lilac toned top was raised into a huge victory roll curling around the top of her head in an expertly crafted quiff Sharon urged women to take part in the Race for Lifes Pretty Muddy, saying: 'Im honoured to be supporting Cancer Research UKs Race for Life again this year. Cancer has stolen the lives of so many, but there is something we can do to help change the odds. 'Along with Kelly, I want to inspire women out there to unite to defy cancer and join the Pink Army that is Race for Life. As a cancer survivor myself, I know it takes all your strength and the support of your family and friends to overcome this disease.' Kelly adds: 'Watching mum fighting colon cancer inspired me to want to do something to beat the disease. Im supporting Cancer Research UKs Race for Life so that others wont have to see their loved ones battling cancer. 'By signing up to Race for Life you can make a difference. Whether you walk, jog or charge, lets unite against cancer. The gloves are off and were ready for a fight.' Women can take part in 5K, 10K and Pretty Muddy events, with over 300 events taking place nationwide this summer She already stunned on the red carpet at Cannes on Thursday evening. But model Jessica Hart went one better and swapped her floor-length gown for a shimmering party frock as she attended AmfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. The former Victoria's Secret model, 30, showed off her trim and toned pins in a stunning silver dress by Balmain, featuring long tassels falling from her neck to her upper thigh as she posed backstage at the high-profile event. Scroll down for video Stunner: Supermodel Jessica Hart, 30, flaunted her toned legs in a shimmering thigh-skimming frock at amfAR's Cinema Against AIDS Gala in Cannes on Thursday The long black sleeves added a touch of sophistication to the sexy outfit, and also featured silver detailing down the arms. Jessica wore her trademark blonde tresses down in loose waves, framing her face perfectly. And her make up complemented the metallic tones of her outfit, as she opted for a dramatic coat of black eyeliner and glittering gold eye shadow. Bombshell: The blonde beauty knew how to work her best angles in the long-sleeved dress backstage at the event Shimmer: The stunning silver dress by Balmain moved beautifully and shone in the dim lighting She kept the rest of her palette natural, showing off her always glowing complexion and adding a deep blush-coloured lip stick. She completed her sexy yet slightly edgy outfit with a pair of strappy silver stilettos. Earlier in the day, blonde beauty Jessica shared with her more than 232,000 Instagram followers behind-the-scenes snaps of her preparation for the star-studded event. She was seen getting fussed over by two hairstylists and in the days leading up to the event, indulged in a rejuvenating facial and eye mask. Model behaviour: Jessica posed with Brazilian model Isabeli Fontana, who was also donning a slinky silver dress Sea of silver: Models including Bella Hadid (left) Izabel Goulart (second left) and actress Uma Thurman (centre) were in attendance of the high-profile event in Cannes Outfit change! The model looked flawless on the red carpet earlier in the evening, wearing a plunging floor-length gown in metallic tones While getting her hair done, Jessica took a selfie where she winked at the camera and gave her best pout. A man and a woman were pictured fussing over her, curling her long locks with tongs. The star captioned part of the shot: 'Here goes... Back stage at @amfar Cannes fashion show.' This week Jessica also relaxed with a facial, saying her skin expert was 'working her magic on my tired skin.' Prep time: Jessica took a selfie while getting her hair done by a man and a woman who worked their magic on her blonde locks She will star in the second instalment of the Fifty Shades Of Grey trilogy, Fifty Shades Darker. And Bella Heathcote appeared to be embodying the title of her latest film at amFAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala at the Hotel de Cap-Eden-Roc near Cannes in Cap d'Antibes on Thursday evening. Although showing her darker side in the grungy gown, the 28-year-old actress added her own colourful twist to the storyline, with the frock featuring a striking purple ombre gradient. Scroll down for video Fifty Shades of purple! Bella Heathcote wore an edgy Armani gown to amFAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala at the Hotel de Cap-Eden-Roc near Cannes in Cap d'Antibes on Thursday evening The dip-dyed Armani gown swept the floor and boasted a strapless sequinned bodice in a dark hue which was sprinkled down to the hem in large, sporadic strips. The dress billowed out into a floaty skirt, and featured layers of tulle, adding a princess-vibe to proceedings. Bella's flawless alabaster complexion was highlighted against the garment's striking colour. Showing her darker side! The 28-year-old actress added her own colourful twist to the grungy look, with the frock featuring a striking purple ombre gradient The actress accessorised the elegant ensemble with a pair of glistening diamond drop earrings from Bulgari and carried with her a small black Jimmy Choo box clutch. The former Neighbours capped her red-carpet display off with a pair of Giuseppe Zanotti heels and wore her newly darkened locks slicked back off her face. Adding to the edgy look, the Pride And Prejudice And Zombies star decorated her eyes with dramatic black eyeshadow and wore a nude-slightly pink lipstick. Edgy: The dip-dyed gown swept the floor and boasted a strapless sequinned bodice in a dark hue which was sprinkled down to the hem in large, sporadic strips Elegant: The actress accessorised the elegant ensemble with a pair of glistening diamond drop earrings from Bulgari and wore her hair slicked back off her face Bella started filming on her next venture, Fifty Shades Darker, earlier this year in Vancouver. She will star alongside Jamie Dornan as his character Christian Grey's ex-lover Leila in the much-anticipated second instalment to Fifty Shades Of Grey trilogy. For the role, Bella had her bright blonde locks darkened to an ashy brunette to assume the role of the troubled character. While Christian and Ana are away on a romantic trip, Leila breaks into Christian's apartment is rushed to hospital after she self-harms in front of his housekeeper Mrs Jones. A former submissive of the businessman, she is also described as 'stalking' Anastasia Steele - played by Dakota Johnson - and slashes the tires of her car. New role: Bella started filming on her next venture, Fifty Shades Darker, earlier this year in Vancouver, in which she will play character Christian Grey's ex-lover Leila As the second instalment of the highly lucrative adaptations of E.L. James' erotic novel trilogy of the same name, Fifty Shades Darker picks up three days after the first novel finishes. Bella is most known in her home country in the recurring role of Amanda Fowler in the long-running Australian soap Neighbours. She shot to international stardom at rapid speed when she was selected by Tim Burton to play Victoria Winters and Josette du Pres in his gothic comedy Dark Shadows alongside Johnny Depp in 2012. Transformation: Bella recently dyed her hair from light blonde to deep chocolate for the role It may have been a day out dedicated to the children. But Kourtney Kardashian couldn't resist turning the camera on herself to capture her delight on Thursday as she enjoyed a carousel ride with her Mason, six, and Penelope, three. Snapping selfies, Kourtney, 37, appeared to be taking a welcome break from the non-stop action with a relaxing day at Disneyland. Scroll down for video Can't help it: Kourtney Kardashian snapped selfies as she rode a carousel at Disneyland in California with her kids Mason and Penelope on Thursday Tired out already, Little Mason slumped over on his plastic horse while Penelope looked to be enjoying the all-ages round about. But one member of the crew looked absolutely thrilled try out life as a cowgirl - their 37-year-old mother. Kourtney showed off a wide grin as she enjoyed the Carousel ride, situated on a horse right next to her daughter Penelope, with Mason next to her. Posing: The selfie-nd couldn't help herself as she turned the camera back on herself Ride 'em cowboy! The brunette was enjoying a day out with her two eldest children Nap time! Little Mason slumped over on his plastic horse while Penelope looked to be enjoying the all ages round about This cowgirl doesn't get the blues! But one member of the crew looked absolutely thrilled try out life as a cowgirl - their mother Kourtney, 37 Penelope sat upright during her Disneyland Carrousel ride, though her older brother seemed a bit tired or bored as he rested his head on the rail. The trio were joined by Kim Kardashian and North West, who turns three in June. The mother-of-two looked glued to her phone as she rode the Carrousel, frequently snapping pictures of her adorable daughter. Selfies: She tried to make precious memories with her cute daughter Time to check our phones! The trio were joined by Kim Kardashian and North West, who turns three in June Is it over yet? Penelope sat upright during her Disneyland Carrousel ride, though her older brother seemed a bit tired or bored as he rested his head on the rail Fashion savvy: Both sisters sported matching, black choker necklaces as they took on the park together on Thursday as she too snapped away Look over here babe! Kim appeared to attempt to document the sweet moment Aww: The wife of Kanye West hopped on the Dumbo ride with their daughter North Taking flight: Kim couldn't help but take some selfies on the ride with her daughter Both sisters sported matching, black choker necklaces as they took on the park together on Thursday. Kourtney's daughter Penelope showed off a monochromatic look, wearing a black tank top with coordinating leggings and sneakers. She's a kid again: Kourtney was later spotted on the Matterhorn Bobsleds Having a blast: The mother-of-three seemed like she was having even more fun than her children Her blonde locks were pulled back into a high ponytail, and she kept close to her mother as they navigated the park. The trio also enjoyed churros as they were spotted walking through the park, with Kourtney leading the way in a loose-fitting, white T-shirt and skintight dark wash jeans. She kept comfortable in black sneakers, wearing her long, raven tresses styled straight, as she also accessorized with an over-sized pair of black sunglasses. It IS the happiest place on earth: Kourtney grinned from ear to ear as she hand-combed through her hair which was wet on the ride Family fun: Her eldest Mason sat right behind her on the ride It was the moment Sunrise co-host Samantha Armytage would rather forget. Back in February, the 39-year-old was branded a 'bimbo' and dropped as host of a UN refugee fundraiser over a cringe-worthy segment with Sex and The City star Kristin Davis. But veteran journalist Ita Buttrose has defended Samantha in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, saying there is pressure on female TV personalities to never make mistakes. Scroll down for video Taking a stand: Veteran journalist Ita Buttrose (left) has defended Sunrise co-host Samantha Armytage (right) following her controversial Sunrise skit with Sex and the City star Kirstin Davis in February Earlier this year, US actress Kristin was booked to appear on Sunrise to promote her humanitarian work for the UN's Refugee Agency. But the 51-year-old was left visibly uncomfortable at being asked to take part in a 'role play' of a scene from the popular HBO show, and later criticised the Seven program on Twitter. In the fallout, Samantha was pulled from a scheduled UN event and was widely criticised on social media and in the press. Support: The Studio 10 co-host observed that there is pressure on female TV personalities to never make mistakes, saying: 'Women are always expected to deliver the goods and to be infallible' Solidarity: At the time, the 74-year-old tweeted: 'Don't let them get you down Sam. Breakfast TV is a tough gig.' During the controversy, Studio 10 co-host Ita showed her support for Sam by tweeting: 'Don't let them get you down Sam. Breakfast TV is a tough gig. Go girl!' And this week the 74-year-old told Sydney Morning Herald: 'I know what it's like to work in an industry where people hop on you. And I know what it's like to work in an industry predominantly run by men.' The former Cleo editor continued: 'Women are always expected to deliver the goods and to be infallible: we are not to make a mistake, we have to deliver instant ratings, perform better than guys.' Not happy: In February, US actress Kristin Davis (pictured) complained about being asked to take part in a Sex and the City-themed role play instead of focusing on her UN charity work during her Sunrise interview - which resulted in a major backlash for co-host Samantha and Seven Network Charity: Kristin was in Australia promoting her work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 'Sometimes you need to say to a younger woman, "It's OK. You might do a wrong thing sometimes, don't worry about it, just pick yourself up, get going again and howl them down."' This comes three months after the now-infamous segment with Kristin Davis which resulted in Samantha being dropped at the last minute as host of a UN charity lunch in Sydney. Kristin expected to mainly answer questions about her work with UNHCR, or United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She disapproves! Kristin re-tweeted a fan who was not happy with the Sunrise interview Official duties: During her trip Down Under, Kristin met with Senator Michaelia Cash - Minister for Employment, Minister for Women and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service And while she was given the opportunity to discuss the charity work, she wasn't impressed with the main focus of the interview being her famous TV role. Samantha Armytage, along with co-hosts Natalie Barr and Edwina Bartholomew, were dressed as characters from Sex and the City, before prompting Kristin to take part in a scene 're-enactment'. Kristin later expressed disappointment about her appearance on Twitter, replying to several viewers who were also left outraged by the segment. In character: Kristin was asked to read out lines from the famous scene in which her Sex And The City character Charlotte York announces her engagement One fan tweeted: 'oh dear! Poor @KristinDavis! What you had to put up with. You charity work is inspirational', to which Kristin replied, 'Thank you so much! Please keep watching I intend to talk about my work w/ @Refugees'. Another viewer wrote: 'So sorry you had to put up with that rubbish. Please don't think that the rest of us in Aus are all like that... X'. Kristin responded: 'I don't think that!' Channel Seven soon released a statement to Daily Mail Australia, in which Sunrise executive producer Michael Pell said: 'We are Sex and the City tragics at Sunrise. Not happy: The US actress was not very keen on participating in the re-enactment Understanding: The 51-year-old assured fans that her Surise experience didn't reflect her view of Australians 'Our obsession may have gotten the better of us. We apologise for the bad acting and terrible costumes and we thank Kristin for being such a good sport. She is one of the most gracious stars weve had at Brekky Central.' During the 'role play', Kristin was asked to perform a scene from Sex And The City where her character Charlotte York announces her engagement. 'Oh you guys. I don't know what is happening,' she said when asked to participate in the skit, adding: 'You guys really crack me up.' Embarrassing: Samantha Armytage sported a curly golden wig to resemble Sarah Jessica Parker's character Carrie Bradshaw Surprised: The television star was visibly surprised by the scenario The all-female panel took the liberty to get into costume, with Samantha wearing a curly golden wig to resemble Sarah Jessica Parker's character Carrie Bradshaw. Fellow presenters Edwina and Natalie were also in character, playing Samantha Jones and Miranda Hobbes respectively. Following the skit Kristin said, frankly: 'I just want you to know I have never done this. I don't know that this is a great idea frankly. No offence.' Role play: Fellow presenters Edwina Bartholomew and Natalie Barr were also in character as Samantha Jones and Miranda Hobbes respectively Originals: Kristin Davis (Charlotte York) starred on Sex And The City alongside Kim Cattrall (Samantha Jones), Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie Bradshaw) and Cynthia Nixon (Miranda Hobbes), from 1998 until 2004 Carrie and Samantha: Edwina Bartholomew didn't have to do too much, her straight blonde tresses effortlessly making her the Samantha Jones of the group Blonde ambition: Kristin may have been the guest, but it seems Samantha stole the spotlight with her curly wig When given the opportunity to briefly speak about her work with UNHCR, Kristin emphasised the importance of raising awareness of the refugee crisis. I think there's a big issue picture which is really important and that's there's 60 million displaced people in the world, she continued. And that kind of disruption and unrest within these countries is bad for everyone. The UNHCR is there for refugees.' Photo time: Samantha shared this snap of her and Kristin following the social media backlash Reaching out: Sunrise presenter Edwina Bartholomew reached out to Kristin with this Instagram post Humanitarian work: When given the opportunity to briefly speak about her work with UNHCR, Kristin stressed the importance of raising awareness of the refugee crisis Kristin, who recently visited Uganda as part of a project supporting refugee women and girls, met with Australian politicians on Wednesday. Michaelia Cash - Minister for Employment, Minister for Women and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service - shared a photo of her and Kristin on Wednesday when they met at Parliament House in Canberra. 'Delighted to meet with @KristinDavis today to discuss her work in UNHCR and raise awareness of the IWill campaign,' the Western Australian senator captioned the image. Meanwhile Kristin also shared a photo of herself outside Parliament House in the Australian capital city, captioning the image: 'Look where I am! Parliament House, Canberra, AU with @UNrefugees #UNHCR @Refugees'. Adventured for a good cause: Kristin shared a photo of herself outside Parliament House in the Australian capital city of Canberra on Wednesday In Canberra: The American television pictured in Parliament House with UNHCR representatives Kyle Sandilands is not one to shy away from talking about the intimate details of his love life with Imogen Anthony. The 44-year-old regularly provides insight into his relationship of four years with the model, twenty years his junior, including details of their sex life. And on Friday morning's Kyle & Jackie O Show, the shock jock took it right back to the beginning, revealing the pair waited two weeks to consummate their relationship after meeting at his 40th Birthday party in 2012. Scroll down for video 'Normally I don't wait at all!' Kyle Sandilands revealed on Friday morning's Kyle & Jackie O Show, he and Imogen Anthony waited two weeks to consummate their relationship after meeting at his 40th Birthday party 'Two weeks she made me wait,' Kyle revealed after quizzing a couple during a contest on the show about how long they had waited to have sex 'Lucky, cause normally I don't wait at all!' he added. Co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson also weighed in on the debate, admitting she and now husband of over ten years waited three weeks before getting in-between the sheets. The couple wed in 2003 and have a five-year-old daughter together, Kitty. Kyle has previously discussed threesomes and Imogen's feminine hygiene habits but the model told Daily Mail Australia at last Friday's Shine & Dine Gala Dinner, she is 'fine' with the details her beau shares. Weighing in: Jackie 'O' Henderson added that she and her husband of over ten years, Lee Henderson, also waited three weeks to take their relationship to the next level Beautiful family: The photogenic couple have a five-year-old daughter together, Kitty Young love: The couple got married in 2003 (Pictured in 2007) 'He blurts out everything,' the 25-year-old admitted, before adding: 'But it's fine'. The model did admit her beau does speak to her in advance if he plans to reveal an extremely private matter to fans on the show. 'He has kind of spoken to me beforehand,' she confessed. When asked about the tampon saga - when Kyle revealed he inserts his girlfriend's tampons on occasion when her nails are too long - the model admitted she gives Kyle special permission to talk about things like that. Nothing to hide: Imogen told Daily Mail Australia at the annual Shine & Dine Gala Dinner she's 'fine' for her shock-jock beau to talk about intimate details of their relationship on-air 'He needs a pass': Imogen explained Kyle needs a pass from her and often chats to her in advance to clear details he plans to share that are very intimate 'Anything vulgar like that, he needs a pass. There has been a few things where he has said "can I do this?" and I was like "you cannot",' Imogen explained. Imogen, who is almost 20-years younger than Kyle, admitted to the Daily Mail Australia that her man can't wait to tie the knot. 'He talks about it all the time. He is always discussing rings and things,' Imogen said. Set to wed? The model revealed her shock jock beau is keen to tie the knot but the couple are too busy 'We are just waiting for the right time. Weve always got so much to do,' the she added And on the matter of having children, the model confessed a baby was definitely on the cards for her but is still a while off, saying: 'Oh yeah in the future. But not now'. The actress Ruth Negga may have been cut out of 12 Years A Slave, but she appears in practically every frame of the film Loving. Ms Negga, who was born in Ireland, stars with Australian actor Joel Edgerton in Jeff Nichols's movie about a repugnant chapter in the fraught history of American Civil Rights. The actors portray Mildred and Richard Loving: Mildred was black, Richard was white. The actress Ruth Negga may have been cut out of 12 Years A Slave, but she appears in practically every frame of the film Loving Director Jeff Nichols, Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton, pictured together at the Loving premiere in Cannes In 1958, the couple travelled from their home in Caroline County, VirginIa, to Washington DC to marry because, due to old slavery laws, it was illegal for them to live as husband and wife just over the Potomac River in Virginia. 'People got incarcerated and punished for something that isn't a negative act,' said Edgerton when we chatted on the Majestic Hotel's beach in Cannes. Mildred was thrown in jail, and released only after a Virginia court judge decreed that the couple should leave the state and not return for 25 years. The case ended up at the Supreme Court, which later spoke with one voice in striking down the Draconian interracial marriage laws. Edgerton and Negga gave fine performances as two people bewildered by the events that have engulfed them When Richard Loving married his black girlfriend, Mildred Jeter, in 1958, a firestorm of publicity and a prominent footnote in the Constitution of the United States were the last things either of them expected Loving: Ruth Negga as Mildred Loving and Joel Edgerton as Richard Loving (right), an interracial couple sentenced to prison in Virginia in 1958 for getting married But Nichols's film concerns itself mainly with the Lovings, and the quiet, dignified way in which they held themselves. Their behaviour is embodied in the magnificent, understated performances given by Negga and Edgerton. As Nichols noted: 'The film's an accumulation of small moments that reflect how they lived their life.' What makes it work so brilliantly is the way Negga and Edgerton capture the teenage kind of frisson the Lovings had for each other. When a lawyer asked Loving what he should tell the Supreme Court on his behalf, Loving responded: 'Tell them I love my wife.' They were an ordinary couple. He was a bricklayer; she raised their kids. Director Jeff Nichols, actress Ruth Negga and actor Joel Edgerton attend the premiere of Loving at the Cannes Film Festival 'He put one brick layer on top of another, and his scope of awareness of the world was not great. Yet I believe there was an innate human decency to him, because his instinct was telling him that something in those laws was not right,' Edgerton told me. The film was shown at the Cannes Film Festival, where I watched it. Twice. I will see it again with my wife. And you can all catch it when it opens in the UK. No date has been fixed yet but we're probably looking at the end of the year or early in 2017 although I dearly hope it runs at the BFI London Film Festival in October. Last week, Andrew Lloyd Webber told me there was a 40 per cent chance of his new musical, School Of Rock, transferring from Broadway to the New London Theatre. Well, now its a 100 per cent certainty. The show will follow Show Boat into the New London from October 24, with its first night on November 14. The tickets will go on sale from next Wednesday. Watch out for... Ben Foster and Chris Pine, who do some of their best screen work opposite Jeff Bridges in David Mackenzie's contemporary, striking, socially aware Texan thriller Hell Or High Water. It's about two brothers who go on a bank robbing spree across the Lone Star State with a wily Texas ranger (Bridges) on their trail. Every single role, from walk-on to leads, is superbly cast; and that's the mark of a movie that really hits the bullseye. Ben Foster and Chris Pine attend the 'Hell or High Water' premiere during the 69th Annual Cannes Film Festival Adam Driver, who plays a poetic bus driver in Jim Jarmusch's visual poem, Paterson. Its a measure of how much I loved the film that I felt momentarily bereft when I learned that Nellie, an English bulldog who played one of the main characters Marvin in the film, died after the movie's completion. Shia LaBeouf, Sasha Lane (making her acting debut) and Riley Keough (Elvis Presley's grand-daughter), who star in American Honey, Andrea Arnold's sublime study of the flip side of the American Dream. The film was shot in the United States but backed by Film4 and the British Film Institute. Emma Suarez and Adriana Ugarte, who play the older and younger versions of the eponymous Julieta in Spanish film-maker Pedro Almodovar's new one. The movie, which tells the story of a widow whose daughter deliberately walks out of her life, is directed with a heart-shattering sensibility by Almodovar. Sonia Braga and Sandra Huller, who star in two disparate films shown in Cannes: Brazilian-born Braga as a woman fighting developers trying to force her out of a beachside Rio apartment in Aquarius; and Ms Huller providing a series of touchingly honest (but hilarious) moments in the German movie Toni Erdmann. Tanya Franks, Frances O'Connor, Alexander Hanson And Robert Portal, who play cheating couples in Christopher Hampton's version of Florian Zeller's hit play The Truth, which enjoyed full houses at the Menier Chocolate Factory and will now transfer to Wyndham's Theatre from June 22 for a limited run through to September 3. The joint Chocolate Factory-Theatre Royal, Bath production is the latest success from the Zeller and Hampton team. They collaborated on The Father and The Mother, which received critical acclaim in Bath and at the Tricycle Theatre. The Father also played at Wyndham's. Obioma Ugoala, who will portray Smokey Robinson in Motown The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre from July 4. The show has become a massive hit and is now booking till October 2017, with 380,000 more tickets just released for sale. Suffering for his art - it's George, the youthful Yogi A fantastic role: George MacKay, left, and young co-star Charlie Shotwell For his latest film, George MacKay had to be proficient at rock climbing, archery, butchery, various academic pursuits and Esperanto. No challenge there, then. The most daunting thing, though, was the yoga, he said, his eyes revealing the suffering that he endured. The British actor started learning yoga several weeks before he joined Viggo Mortensen and his screen siblings played by Annalise Basso, Samantha Isler, Nicholas Hamilton, Shree Crooks and Charlie Shotwell in director Matt Rosss film Captain Fantastic. Its the story of a father, played by Mortensen, who has raised his children, progressively, out in the woods and away from 21st-century comforts and trappings. I thought: How difficult will it be to learn yoga? MacKay recalled at a party following the films rapturous reception at a gala screening in Cannes. Im pretty fit. It wont be a problem. Instead, the 24-year-old told me, it was two-and-a-half months of sweat and torture. As Bo, the eldest of the films children, MacKay had to look as if hed been studying yoga all his life, and he does pull it off. Following his scorching performance at the Old Vic in Harold Pinters The Caretaker, hes enjoying a season thats showcasing his considerable acting chops. MacKay got his big break when he was just ten after an acting scout spotted him and he was asked to appear in P.J. Hogans 2003 film adaptation of Peter Pan. He played one of the Lost Boys. Since shooting Captain Fantastic a year ago in Americas Pacific Northwest, MacKays movie brothers and sisters have become close. In fact, they all went to see him in London at the Old Vic as he performed with Timothy Spall and Daniel Mays. That family closeness comes through in the movie. We spent two weeks in boot camp, and thats where the bonding began, George said. I was totally engrossed in this story of where counter culture meets conventionality. From bikinis to see-through dresses, former It Girl Lady Victoria Hervey became famous for wearing the skimpiest outfits at society parties. Now, decades later, she is still desperately pulling out all the stops to stay in the spotlight. The 39-year-old daughter of the late 6th Marquess of Bristol was in Cannes this week, where she sported a superhero-style outfit complete with 'butterfly' cape (above and right). Posing in the South of France, the 5 ft 11 in blonde wore the backless blue and white jumpsuit with a neckline plunging down to her navel to attend a party. 'I think clothes are a really great way to express yourself,' she told me before she flew off to Cannes. 'I hate wearing boring clothes, because I'm not a boring person.' Former It Girl Lady Victoria Hervey, the 39-year-old daughter of the late 6th Marquess of Bristol, was in Cannes this week, where she sported a superhero-style outfit complete with 'butterfly' cape (pictured above) Cameron insists: Make sure you get my good side! SamCams new special adviser, former model Rosie Lyburn, offers fashion tips as part of her 53,000-a-year role at the taxpayers expense so no wonder David feels the need to keep up appearances. The Queens photographer, Hugo Rittson-Thomas, in fact reveals the Prime Minister takes even greater precautions than Her Majesty when it comes to looking good in his official portraits. Theyre trusting you to do your job, and my job is to make sure theyre going to be happy with the result, Rittson-Thomas tells me at the launch of his book, The Queens People. The Queen never asked to see any of my photographs after they were taken, because she trusts me. The only person who Ive ever photographed whos asked to do that was the Prime Minister. Referring to the official portrait that he took of Cameron in 2014, he adds: It was because with everyone else Ive done, theyve had an understanding of what we were doing. Because [Cameron] was rushing off to something, I dont think he quite knew, so I thought it would be sensible to show him when he asked. An unusual sight in the Commons this week a female MP wearing a hat. Anne Milton, Tory MP for Guildford, stood at the end of the Chamber during Wednesday afternoons debate wearing a splendid, high-crowned boater with the most enormous ribbon. Milton is Deputy Chief Whip and, therefore, officially part of the Royal Household hence her dressing up for the monarchs visit for the State Opening of Parliament. But Milton may not have felt entirely comfortable. An hour later, she returned to the Commons having changed into a post-punk outfit of black trousers and red bovver-girl shoes. Dame Joan's bikini diet? Don't count calories Dame Joan Collins clearly felt a surge of nostalgia this week ahead of her 83rd birthday on Monday. The Dynasty actress shared this picture of her 45-year-old self on holiday in Acapulco, Mexico. Posing on a beach in a white string bikini and matching sun visor, her hands on her hips, Joan shows off her lithe body. Those were the days! she added. Nowadays, though, her figure is just as enviable. I watch my weight because Im quite bosomy so if I dont, I just look like a lump, she said recently. I dont count calories and I eat healthily, but I eat dairy. I dont believe in all this no-fat thing. She sent social media into a frenzy on Wednesday by sharing a fully nude snap of herself on Instagram. And ex-Neighbours star Caitlin Stasey once again had attention on her social media page, uploading two additional photos to the image-sharing website. In one picture, the 26-year-old is shown wearing what appears to be a gold collar choker around her neck, and in another she clutches at her thigh while drawing attention to the 'dimples'. Scroll down for video Accessoriser! Ex-Neighbours star Caitlin Stasey (pictured) displayed an interesting fashion accessory around her neck in an Instagram photo shared on Friday In the first photo, which appears to have since been deleted, Caitlin is shown relaxing in a pair of pink pajamas. The Reign actress is notably wearing a shiny gold choker and she rests her fingers around what seems to be a hoop-like padlock on the left side. Meanwhile, in the additional snap she holds tightly to what appears to be her own right thigh, seemingly deliberately drawing attention to cellulite. She added the amusing caption: 'Him: I love dimples on a girl'. In an additional snap, Caitlin holds tightly to what appears to be her right thigh, seemingly deliberately drawing attention to cellulite Joker: She added the amusing caption, 'Him: I love dimples on a girl' Earlier this week, Caitlin shared a nude photo on Instagram taken by her partner Lucas Neff, in which she displays her naked body while lying on a bed. Caitlin, who is known for her role as Rachel Kinski in Neighbours, seemed to have her hair wrapped in a towel as she reclined in the bedroom. Looking relaxed, she displayed her striking natural beauty while stretched out on a comfy unmade bed and stroking her cat. As sunlight poured through a curtain on the left side of the frame, the walls appeared to be decorated with several artistic erotic photos. Leaving little to the imagination: On Wednesday, 'Free The Nipple' campaign supporter Caitlin shared this original nude snap to Instagram, taken by her partner Lucas Neff Long-time love: Caitlin has been dating actor Lucas (left) for quite some time, and the couple were pictured here in Beverly Hills back in April 2014 Caitlin did not caption the image, but shortly after posted a screen-grab of a recent post by social media personality Dan Bilzerian. In the photo, the so-called 'Instagram King' promotes his new mobile phone game which features animated nudity and a controversial theme. She captioned the screen-grab, 'Yeah. And I'm the one violating community guidelines,' drawing attention to the perceived double-standard of Instagram's terms of use. Double standard? Caitlin did not caption the naked image, but shortly after posted a screen-grab of a recent post by 'Instagram King' Dan Bilzerian, highlighting the social media site's 'sexist' double-standards 'Yeah. And I'm the one violating community guidelines': After posting her nude photo, Caitlin shared a screen-grab of a recent post by Instagram personality Dan promoting his mobile game (pictured), which features animated nudity and a controversial theme Many of her followers seemed to concur with Caitlin's view, with one commenting: 'He demeans woman yet is allowed to post pics but we as woman can't post without us "violating terms".' Caitlin is a proud supporter of the 'Free The Nipple' campaign, an ongoing protest against Instagram's 'no nipple policy' when it comes to women's breasts. It has been claimed this is a sexist double-standard as photos of shirtless men are permitted under the social media website's community guidelines. And earlier this month she posted another image to her 146,000 followers, which showed Caitlin pulling up her pink top to expose her breasts. The photo was taken outdoors against a natural backdrop of an earthy, sun-kissed desert landscape, and featured the caption: 'God's Country'. Free the nipple! Last week, the 26-year-old posed topless on Instagram - protesting the social media platform's 'no nipple policy' when it comes to women's breasts Meanwhile, at the start of the year, the Melbourne-born actress strongly hinted that she had tied the knot with Raising Hope star Lucas, 30. In January, she posted several images which show the Chicago native carrying her over the threshold and the pair punching the pair with glee. Their close pal, actor Echo Kellum, took to Twitter to congratulate them, writing: 'Congrats to Lucas Neff and Caitlin Stasey on their marriage! They are the cutest!!! Proud to be y'all friend!' Caitlin and Lucas have yet to address their rumoured nuptials. Tyga and his new Kylie Jenner lookalike girlfriend are busy enjoying the celebrity scene in Cannes. The rapper, 26, has quickly become close to British model Demi Rose, 21, and there's no mystery as to why. Demi stepped out in an ensemble right out of the Kardashian style book on Thursday night baring almost all of her cleavage and flaunting her ample derriere. Scroll down for video She's a natural Kardashian! Tyga's new squeeze Demi Rose dons body suit slashed to the navel and flaunts her derriere in see-through skirt for night out in Cannes Back to the club! Tyga escorts his new lady friend into the nightspot Bottom's up! Demi stepped out in an ensemble right out of the Kardashian style book on Thursday night, flaunting her ample derriere Kylie who? Tyga and new flame Demi Rose are inseparable on the French Riviera Demi poured her curves into a black body suit slashed to the navel and with a see-through fish net skirt. The striking brunette donned a pair of black stilettos and wore a large black scarf tied around her waist. Tyga clearly wants to get the message across he has no intent of mourning the end of his long relationship with Kylie, 18, and has moved on from the teen reality star. Copycat? The 21-year-old model showcased her curves in a black body suit slashed to the navel and a sheer fish net skirt in an ensemble worthy of a Kardashian Loving the limelight: The newly minted couple were unfazed by all the attention they were getting and Demi appeared model cool as she followed her new beau through the throng Competition: The British beauty has all the right Kardashian traits including an ample derriere and a buxom bosom and isn't shy about daring to bare in public The new couple were photographed leaving their hotel and heading to a trendy night club as the French Riviera town continues to host its international film festival. Earlier in the day, the two had snuggled up for selfies that they posted on Snapchat. Demi showed off glossy, pouty lips, not unlike Kylie's, but it's not just her big lips that make the British 21-year-old a dead ringer for Tyga's ex-flame. Not pining: Tyga, 26, has wasted no time moving on after splitting with Kylie, 18, last week It's complicated: The rapper's former fiancee Blac Chyna, with whom he shares three-year-old son King Cairo, is engaged to Kylie's half-brother R0b Kardashian and is expecting their baby Night's just getting started: Tyga was set to showcase his music - and his bling - at a Cannes nightclub and Demi looked ready to have a good time The model has an active Instagram account - with 2.2 million followers - on which she has shared a series of poses that very closely resemble Kylie's own posts. The two have both showcased their curvy figures in revealing bathing suits, putting their pert derrieres and cascading curls on display in almost identical positions. They've also both highlighted their ample busts, striking seductive poses in skintight cocktail dresses. And Demi has promoted weight-loss supplements in Puma gear, while Kylie has struck similar poses for Instagram as she is a spokesmodel for Puma. Something in common: Like Tyga's ex, Demi has a devoted following on social media and regularly posts selfies and belfies showing off her stunning looks Rear view: The young Brit flaunted plenty of flesh in her almost backless ensemble Ready to party: The brunette beauty shared this snap from Cannes with her Instagram followers, flaunting her figure in a revealing red dress paired with gladiator-style heels New woman: Tyga and his new flame Demi Rose were seen leaving his Cannes hotel on Thursday morning, before a late night of partying together Deja vu: Pouty lips are not the only thing Kylie (L) and Demi (R) have in common, as the stars pose for similarly risque shots on their Instagram accounts Cheeky: The stars have both racked up quite the following for their revealing poses, though admittedly Kylie boasts a more impressive 61.3 million followers, while Demi has 2.2 million Brand loyalty: As a spokesmodel for Puma, Kylie has shared snaps in their clothing, while Demi modeled the Puma numbers while promoting a weight-loss supplement The fact that this baby has back and is proud of that should be celebrated not criticised says this hip hop legend. Six Mix-a-Lot has come out in defence of Blake Lively after she was slammed for using the line 'L.A face with an Oakland booty' from his 1992 hit Baby Got Back. The 52-year-old musician told Pret-a-Reporter that he felt the actress' reference showed the standards of beauty were changing rather than being yet another instance of white privilege and appropriation of black culture. Celebration not a criticism: Six Mix-a-Lot (pictured September) has come out in defence of Blake Lively after she was slammed for using the line 'L.A face with an Oakland booty' from his 1992 hit Baby Got Back Blake came under fire after she posted an image of herself showing off her curves at the Cafe Society premiere last week with the caption 'L.A face with an Oakland booty'. Many took to social media to accused the pregnant actress of racism and using black women and culture 'as a punchline'. However, Sir Mix-a-Lot said he was surprised by the controversy and said, like his song, it was not about race as much as it was about celebrating different body types. 'For her to look at her butt and that little waist and to say ''L.A. face with an Oakland booty,'' doesn't that mean that the norm has changed, that the beautiful people have accepted our idea of beautiful? That's the way I took it. Hot water: The 52-year-old musician said he felt the actress' reference showed the standards of beauty were changing rather than being yet another instance of white privilege and appropriation of black culture He continued: 'Now let me do this, as far as the critics are concerned: I don't want to come off like, ''Oh, he's an Uncle Tom,'' because I'm not. 'If what Blake Lively meant by that comment was, ''Oh my goodness, I've gained weight, I look horrible,'' if that's what she meant - and I doubt that she did - then I'm with the critics. 'But no one in the world is gonna tell me that a woman that wears that dress is thinking that she's fat. No, I'm sorry, it just doesn't happen. It sounds like to me like she was giving the line props. Showing progress: The rapper said, 'For her to look at her butt and that little waist and to say ''L.A. face with an Oakland booty,'' doesn't that mean that the norm has changed, that the beautiful people have accepted our idea of beautiful?' Blake is pictured in Cannes on May 11 'I think we have to be careful what we wish for as African-Americans, because if you say she doesn't have the right to say that, then how do you expect her at the same time to embrace your beauty? I mean, I don't get it. I think it's almost a nod of approval, and that was what I wanted. I wanted our idea of beautiful to be accepted. 'I think now not only is it accepted, but it's expected.' Sir Mix-a-lot originally wrote his song at a time when women's curves, black women's in particular, were frowned upon and popular culture promoted waif thin white bodies as the ideal. He likes big butts and he cannot lie: The rapper said he released the track at a time when women with curves particularly women of colour, were made to feel they were not beautiful and he wanted to change that No controversy: Khloe Kardashian shared an image with the same caption last year but did not spark similar outrage despite the fact she is white too 'That was kind of pushed at us, and we were told that it was beautiful, and what I started to see was some people of colour either being ashamed of who they were or trying their best to assimilate. 'So I wrote Baby Got Back, not to say which race is prettier - which is silly, because there were white women with the same curves that were told that they were fat, too... So I wrote this song not as a battle between the races. 'I wrote the song because I wanted Cosmopolitan, I wanted all these big magazines to kind of open up a little bit and say, "Wait a minute, this may not be the only beautiful."' Not impressed: When Blake posted the side-by-side image of herself on Wednesday many felt insulted and took to social media The rapper was also shocked that Blake had been targeted as both Khloe Kardashian and Katy Perry have both shared the same quote about themselves. When Blake posted the side-by-side image of herself on Wednesday many felt insulted and took to social media. 'Another day, another rich white woman using WOC's bodies as a punchline and commodity. As if Blake Lively wasn't the worst already,' read a post from @katbeee. 'Unbelievably problematic, using women of color's bodies as a joke. I guess you just want people to know you're racist and you don't give a s--t', another follower wrote. Roxy Jacenko has been by her husband Oliver Curtis's side throughout his recent trial. And the PR maven has turned the walk to the courtroom into her own catwalk, wearing a number of designer ensembles, perfectly styled and in sombre black - until Friday. The 34-year-old stuck to the basic black for the base of her ensemble, however the shift dress was half pink, adding a little colour to brighten up the end of the week. Scroll down for video Brightening up his day! Roxy Jacenko injected a splash of colour into her courtroom attire on Friday, as she stuck by her husband Oliver Curtis's side again as his trial continues The spliced dress featured long sleeves (one in each colour), a high round neck and fell just below the knee, with the mother-of-two's toned calves on display. The petite PR boss, who runs her own company, added pointed-toe block block heels featuring an thick strap around the ankle, along with buckle details on both the ankle and top of the shoe. Wearing her long blonde locks out in a centre part and slightly curled, the beauty kept her make-up minimal with her flawless complexion on display and just a nude lipstick base. Roxy completed her look with a pair of dark lens Ray-Ban Aviators, which she's sported right across the week. Meanwhile, Oliver looked sharp in a navy suit with geometric print tie and black leather loafers. Supporting her man: The 34-year-old held tight to her husband's hand as they made their way to the NSW Supreme Court Hands-on approach: Oliver was seen in a navy suit with geometric print tie and black leather loafers as he affectionately guided his wife at the small of her back The fashionista has donned a number of black outfits from her high-end wardrobe for the courtroom appearances, which coincided with Australian Fashion Week. The blonde beauty also took some time out to attend shows with her mini-mogul daughter Pixie Curtis. Roxy and her four-year-old were front row at the opening show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia on Sunday, Toni Maticevski. While on Tuesday, the author was spotted in a more casual look wearing cropped jeans, a navy blazer, white T-shirt and black ballet flats at the By Johnny show. Colourful start to fashion week: Roxy and her four-year-old daughter Pixie Curtis put on a colourful display as they attended the opening of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia at the Maticevski show on Sunday Cutting a casual figure: The PR maven cut a more casual figure at Tuesday's By Johnny Show, wearing cropped jeans, a navy blazer, white T-Shirt and black ballet flats As Roxy stands by her husband's side at the NSW Supreme Court she has ditched her signature fashion-forward looks for conservative black. The 34-year-old has opted for low-key ensembles for her court room attire, favouring the dark shade for each day she attends the trial. The mother-of-two cut a serious demeanour in all-black outfit once more on Thursday, as she arrived for court on the arm of her beau. Dark days: Roxy wore black for the fifth time in a row as she attended her husband Oliver's trial on Thursday The astute businesswoman wore a knee-length leather skirt teamed with a black knit and strappy stilettos. While on Wednesday, she also opted for a basic black ensemble featuring a wrap skirt tied at the waist paired with a matching fitted singlet. She did however manage to throw in a touch of her signature glam, capping her look off with a pair of flashy $1,800 Azzedine Alaia stilettos, an item favoured by the likes of Kim Kardashian. She later added to the streamlined look, throwing on a leather Balmain biker jacket which retails for around $5,500 AUD. Basic black: On Wednesday the 34-year-old also arrived in all-black attire, throwing a leather Balmain jacket over the top of a wrap skirt and matching tank Subtle statement: Roxy has been making a statement with her stilettos though, wearing a pair of Azzedine Alaia sandals on Wednesday, which retail for around $1800 On Monday, Roxy opted for yet another monochrome ensemble, wearing a loose-fitting LBD from Miu Miu. The long sleeve garment featured a conservative high neck and a leather belt around the hips before flaring out. The Sydney socialite teamed the chic dress with a pair of nude and black Gianvito Rossi shoes valued at over $1,000 AUD, and wore her glossy blonde mane in a perfect blow dry. LBD: On Monday, Roxy opted for another monochrome ensemble, wearing a loose-fitting LBD from Miu Miu Streamlined: On the first day of her husband's trial last Wednesday, Roxy wore a conservative chic all-black ensemble, consisting of a high-neck top and a flared A-line skirt On the first day of her husband's trial last Wednesday, Roxy wore a conservative chic all-black ensemble, consisting of a high-neck top and a flared A-line skirt. The Sweaty Betty PR owner dressed up her professional attire with a pair of strappy leather heels and a gold embellished Louis Vuitton belt. Day two, saw Roxy dress in a smart miniskirt suit with her gaze hidden behind dark Ray-Bans as the pair walked into court. She struck a slightly less conservative figure than a day earlier in a shorter ensemble and opted for her more daring heels that laced up to the ankle. Serious demeanour: Day two, saw Roxy dress in a smart miniskirt suit with her gaze hidden behind dark Ray-Bans as the pair arrived in court Prosecutors allege Roxy's husband Oliver Curtis conspired with his former best friend to commit insider trading offences between 1 May 2007 and 30 June 2008. The alleged offences netted the pair a reported $1.433 million, prosecutors told the New South Wales Supreme Court last Wednesday. Just prior to jury selection, the 30-year-old pleaded not guilty to the charge telling Justice Lucy McCallum and potential jurors: 'Not guilty, your honour.' John Berry, a founding member of the Beastie Boys, has died at the age of 52. The guitarist passed away on Thursday morning at a hospice in Danvers, Massachusetts at 7:30 am, according to a report from Rolling Stone. The music publication got confirmation of the musician's death via his father, John Berry III, who said his son had been suffering from frontal lobe dementia. Gone too soon: Jon Berry, a founding member of the original Beastie Boys line-up, has died at the age of 52 on Thursday morning His father also said that the condition, which is a form of dementia that occurs when the frontal lobes of the brain begin to shrink, had worsened in recent months. Not only was Berry one of the founding members of the group, but he is also credited for coming up with the Beastie Boys name. The band was originally formed as a four-piece hardcore punk band named The Young Aborigines in 1978. It was comprised of Michael Diamond (vocals), John Berry (guitar), Yauch (bass) and Kate Schellenbach (drums). Back in the day: The band originally consisted of - pictured from left to right: Kate Schellenbach, Adam Yauch, Berry and Mike Diamond - as they are shown on the back of their 1982 EP Polly Wog Stew Moving on: Shortly after the record release, Berry left the band The band's first shows took place at Berry's old loft on the corner of West 100th Street and Broadway in Manhattan's Upper West Side, according to Rolling Stone. Berry also played on their first seven-inch EP Polly Wog Stew which was released in 1982. He left the group shortly after the release and was followed by Schellenbach's exit in 1983 before Adam Horovitz was recruited to join the group. For the majority of the band's history, the members were Michael 'Mike D' Diamond, Adam 'MCA' Yauch and Adam 'Ad-Rock' Horovitz. Back in 2012, Yauch died at the age of 47 after being diagnosed with cancer in 2009. MCA: Back in 2012, Yauch - pictured in Ohio back in 2008 - died at the age of 47 after being diagnosed with cancer in 2009 During the Beastie Boys induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2012, Horowitz read a letter from Yauch, who was unable to attend. In it 'MCA' thanked Berry for his contributions and even mentioned John's father as it read: 'To Kate Schellenbach and John Berry. To John Berry's loft on 100th Street and Broadway where John's dad would come in during our first practises screaming "will you turn that f***ing s*** off already."' The Beastie Boys went on to release eight studio albums, win several awards including three Grammys and are considered widely as one of the most legendary hip-hop acts of all-time. She welcomed her first child with husband Adam Shulman in late March. And on Thursday Anne Hathaway showed off her svelte post-baby figure as she was spotted out with her family in Santa Monica, California. The 33-year-old donned a trendy jumpsuit as she walked beside husband Adam, 35, who carried two-month-old Jonathan Rosebanks Shulman in a dark blue baby wrap. Scroll down for video Family bonding: Anne Hathaway was spotted stepping out in Santa Monica, California on Thursday with husband Adam Shulman and their two-month-old son Jonathan Anne wore a long-sleeved, navy blue jumpsuit, which featured a button down front and cinched in at the waist with a knotted belt to highlight her slim figure. She wore the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and coupled the trendy look with a pair of strappy, black sandals. She accessorized with an eye-catching, bright red purse, hiding her eyes behind a pair of tortoiseshell sunglasses. Her shoulder-length, brunette tresses were worn in a center part, and styled straight as she walked around Santa Monica. Blue belle: The Devil Wears Prada star showed off her post-baby figure in a form-fitting, navy blue jumpsuit The new mom was joined by husband Adam - with whom she tied the knot in 2012 - who wore a long-sleeved, textured green sweater. Adam coupled the cozy-looking sweater with a pair of fitted, dark wash jeans and olive green sneakers. He accessorized with tinted sunglasses, and tenderly carried the couple's new baby in a navy blue wrap. In good spirits: Anne showed off a big smile as she watched husband Adam doting on their little bundle of joy Eye-catching: The brunette beauty added a standout accessory to her chic look, carrying a bright red, textured purse The pair looked to be in good spirits as they stepped out with their little bundle of joy, stopping to have lunch at Kreation Organic Juicery. The actress shared a comical Instagram from the family's lunch at Kreation, commenting on the delivery of a health shot she had ordered. The 'health shot,' which looked to be the Beautify - meant to 'improve your skin, hair & nails' - came in a large syringe. Protective: Doting dad Adam tenderly caressed son Jonathan's head as the family was seen walking through Santa Monica on Thursday 'God bless you L.A.' Anne shared a picture of her Beautify health shot from Kreation Organic Juicery, though made sure to clarify that it was 'a liquid shot that you drink. Not... anything else' Anne shared a snap of the syringe, writing: 'This is how my health shot arrived at lunch. God bless you L.A.' Of course, The Princess Diaries star was also sure to clarify that it was not in fact an actual shot, adding: 'PS- this is a liquid shot that you drink. Not... anything else.' Recently Anne has been promoting Alice Through the Looking Glass - in which she plays Mirana - which hits theaters May 27. She shot to fame on reality dating show The Bachelor last year. And it appears Emily Simms is taking style inspiration from another reality star - the one and only Kim Kardashian. The 33-year-old Australian beauty shared a sultry selfie with her fans on Instagram on Friday, which showed her bearing a striking resemblance to the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star. Scroll down for video Keeping up! Emily Simms shared a sultry selfie with her fans on Instagram on Friday, which showed her bearing a striking resemblance to Kim Kardashian Wearing a fitted black sheer top and figure hugging skirt, Emily's wardrobe choice looked very much Kardashian-inspired. But it wasn't just her clothing which bared a striking resemblance to Kim. With her long dark locks worn straight and parted in the middle Emily's heav makeup featured a dark smokey eye and a nude lipstick across her plump pout, drawing even more similarities to the wife of Kayne West. So similiar: It appears the 33-year-old Bachelor star is taking style inspiration from the Keeping Up With The Kardashian star In true Kim fashion, Emily held her phone up high to take a selfie in the mirror as she pouted her lips for the camera. Fans of the Melbourne-based starlet commented under the photo, likening Emily to Kim. 'Oh my gosh I thought you were Kim K! Compliment!' one fan pointed out. Emily recently appeared in a recent campaign shoot for French lingerie brand Simone Perele. Kopycat? A number of Emily's other social media snaps also show she closely resembles Kim During the shoot, the reality star showed off her flawless physique as she posed in an array of lace underwear sets. The model, who also runs her own beauty blog, Emily's Beauty Spot, was the epitome of femininity as she clad her long, lean figure in the sexy lingerie. Modelling the designs by the Parisian label, which retail in David Jones, Emily was the picture of sophistication as she showed off her enviable midriff and slender toned limbs. Showcasing a range of delicate intimates by the French designer, Emily struck a number of poses as she moved around the interior or Sofitel Melbourne's Opera Suite. Sheer delight! The reality star recently showed off her flawless physique as she posed in an array of lace underwear sets in a recent campaign shoot for French lingerie brand Simone Perele Showing Sam what he's missing! The model was the epitome of femininity as she clad her long, lean figure in the sexy lingerie Flawless: In one shot the Melbourne-based beauty looks relaxed as she reclines back on a chair, happily wearing nothing but a revealing lacy bra and underwear The former reality starlet recently took to social media to slam Instagram models for acting promoting products for pay, despite admitting to doing it herself. 'I would like to point out that just because you see a lot of people posting about products etc, doesn't mean they don't actually BELIEVE in the product,' she wrote on Instagram. The make-up artist conceded that she does in fact receive gifts from brands, but insisted that she only promotes products that she actually uses. 'I personally can't stand people that have the spine of a gummi bear [sic]. I believe integrity is paramount. Yeah I get things sent to me all the time...I'm not going to lie, and I would say close to half of it I've never posted about... Because I won't ever compromise my integrity', she explained. Meanwhile, Emily's Instagram feed contains product reviews and discount codes for the likes of watch brands Hartley and Daniel Wellington, skincare brands Clear Me, Mr Bean Coffee Scrub, Cosmedix, make-up brand Harlotte and hair-care brand Eleven Australia. Emily launched an online diatribe against The Bachelor last year, accusing the show's editors and producers of unfairly portraying her as a bully. Behind the scenes: Last month the model shared a selfie as she prepared for a busy day shooting at the Sofitel Hotel in Melbourne She had quite the day, enjoying churros as well as rides on the King Arthur Carrousel and Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride. And North West's day only got better as mother Kim Kardashian, 35, shared Snapchat posts of the two-year-old in a princess dress after a magical makeover at Disneyland on Thursday. The young daughter of Kim and Kanye West looked adorable as Queen Elsa while joined by three-year-old cousin Penelope Disick - dressed as Princess Jasmine - and their best friend Ryan Romulus - dressed as Cinderella. 'I've never seen anything sweeter': North West, Penelope Disick and their best friend Ryan got princess makeovers at Disneyland on Thursday The adorable Disneyland Resort boutique offers a 'royal head-to-toe transformation,' including hair styling, make-up, a dress, and accessories. And North certainly looked like she had received the royal treatment, as her hair was slicked back into a chic topknot, covered in sparkly glitter, embellished with a pink, Mickey-shaped hair clip, and topped with a silver tiara. She sported a shiny, long-sleeved, pale blue dress to emulate the Queen of Arendelle, which featured braided, silver embellishments and a flowing, ice blue skirt. Let It Go! North looked adorable dressed as beloved Disney princess Queen Elsa of Arendelle, following her makeover at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique Sharing the magic: Queen Elsa (North) and Princess Jasmine (Penelope) looked to be comparing magic wands as they stood in front of a beautiful, pink carriage that looked to be right out of the animated film Cinderella North also sported what looked to be glowing, blue shoes fit for the powerful queen, and she carried a coordinating wand. She was joined in the special occasion by Kourtney's daughter Penelope, who was dressed in a green and gold crop top. The three-year-old, who was dressed as Princess Jasmine from Disney's animated film Aladdin, also wore flowing green trousers with a lacy, green skirt embellishment. Bibbidi bobbidi boo: North, Ryan Romulus, and Penelope Disick had their magic wands at the ready as they showed off their shimmering princess looks in a Snapchat posted by Kim She accessorized with long, white gloves and carried a wand, also toting a gold purse in the shape of a lamp, meant to represent the magical Genie's lamp from the film. In one shot Penelope and North could be seen chatting as they compared their glittery wands while standing in front of a pretty, pink carriage, not unlike the magical carriage Cinderella rides - after it has been transformed from a pumpkin, of course. The girls' close friend Ryan - daughter of family friend Tracy Nguyen Romulus - also got the royal treatment, choosing to dress as beloved princess Cinderella from the Disney classic film of the same name. Blue belles: North (L) and close friend Ryan (R) both sported blue dresses to emulate their Disney heroines, though Ryan's was a bit of a darker blue, and North's featured shimmery, snowflake-like embellishments for Queen Elsa She sported a long gown, similar to North's, though hers was a darker blue, and featured short, white cap sleeves as well as tulle embellishments along her waist. She, too, wore long, white gloves, while also donning shimmery, silver shoes and carrying a light-up wand. Kim excitedly announced the trio on Snapchat, gushing: 'Princess makeovers in full effect - Princess Jasmine, Queen Elsa, and Cinderella!' Princess parade! North led the way as she, Ryan, and Penelope headed towards the carriage following their magical makeovers at Disneyland on Thursday The makeovers come after a full day of fun for the girls, with Kim also Snapchatting a ride on Disneyland's King Arthur Carrousel. They were also spotted munching on some churros as they walked through the park - along with Kourtney Kardashian and Penelope's older brother Mason Disick, six, and riding the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride. Kim had also shared a sweet video of her and North on the Dumbo ride, with the mom gushing: 'Look, Northie! Dumbo!' Distracted: Kim gushed over the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride, trying to get her young daughter to look at the camera as she cheered: 'Look, Northie! Dumbo!' Kids at heart: In another Snapchat video, Kim joked: 'I think we're having more fun than they are' Too cute: Elsa, Cinderella and Princess Jasmine met the grown up characters too She later joked as she rode the Carrousel alongside a friend: 'I think we're having more fun than they are.' The E! reality star later turned the camera to reveal the reasoning behind her thought was that Mason looked like he was falling asleep on the Carrousel. 'He wants action,' the mother-of-two joked about sister Kourtney's oldest, as he could be seen resting his head on the beam while riding on the classic attraction. Bored: She then panned the camera to six-year-old nephew Mason Disick, who looked to be falling asleep on the Carrousel, saying: 'He wants action' Mummy cuddles: Kim made sure to give North some special attention on the day out She's a big girl: Now a big sister, North still seems to steal some quality time with mum UPDATE The U.S. Department of Education is acting like a national school board in attempting to tell public schools how they should address transgender students , according to 25 Republican senators, including Senate education committee boss Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. The senators sent a letter Thursday to Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. and Attorney General Loretta Lynch stating that while every transgender person is someones child and should be treated with respect, President Barack Obamas administration has gone too far in attempting to help schools address the issue. Last Friday, the Education Department along with the U.S. Department of Justice issued guidance in the form of a Dear Colleague letter telling schools that they must allow transgender students to use the restrooms and locker rooms associated with their gender identity. The letter also said that schools denying transgender students those rights would run the risk of losing federal funds. The move drew both strong praise and harsh criticism . Many schools already accomodate transgender students . The Republican senators weighed in with some of the latter. They argued in their letter that its the job of Congress to decide the laws governing transgender rights, and that if those equal-protection rights under the U.S. Constitution are being violated in schools, its up to the courts to make such a finding. It is not appropriate for a federal executive agency to issue guidance for every school as if it were the law, the senators wrote. (National school board, you might recall, is a favorite phrase of Alexanders to describe the Education Department under the Obama administration.) Other GOP senators who serve with Alexander on the Senate education committee and who signed the letter include Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina; Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana; Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming; Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah; Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia; Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas; and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. UPDATE: Its worth noting that on May 2, before the Obama transgender guidance was released, 40 Democratic senators wrote to the administration urging it to better protect transgender students : Transgender and gender non-conforming students continue to face a disproportionate amount of discrimination compared to their peers. And so, amid attempts by legislatures in states like North Carolina to limit the rights of LGBT people and transgender students, the Senators are calling on Department of Education to release more comprehensive guidance on the full scope of protections Title IX affords transgender and gender non-conforming students. Read the full letter from the GOP senators below: Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 . There are few finer indulgences than a day at the seaside. And Paris Jackson no doubt made her rocker beau Michael Snoody's week when she treated him to a to a grand excursion to Venice Beach on Thursday. The dynamic duo looked like they could hardly wait to clamber into their swimsuits as they left a shop with some supplies in the trendy area of Los Angeles. Snoddy at the seaside: Michael looked like he was having a great day out with girlfriend Paris Jackson in Venice Beach on Thursday The 18-year-old daughter of legendary Prince Of Pop Michael Jackson looked the height of skater chic in her trendy black pullover, leggings, Converse trainers and woollen beanie hat. Her 26-year-old drummer other half meanwhile played up his hard rock credentials by wearing a Metallica Kill 'Em All T-shirt, grey jeans and sneakers. The pair stocked up on soda and protein bars at the shops before continuing on their way. Not Bad: She looked the height of skater chic thanks to her trendy woollen beanie hat You Are Not Alone: Michael Jackson's daughter had brought along her strapping rocker lover on her outing In a Instagram post she made after her visit the store she said: 'We be runnin on larabars n Redbull.' Paris also took the opportunity to once again show off her latest piercing, and this time was wearing a silver stud on her newly perforated tongue. Things are still hot and heavy between the teen and her much older boyfriend, and a few weeks ago they were spotted passionately kissing following his weekend-long gig at the National Orange Show in San Bernardino. The teen even acted as a roadie for his percussive band Street Drum Corps, loading and unloading equipment for each show. Itchy and scratchy: Michael could not resist rubbing his snout after it started tingling Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough: He did not make much of an effor to hide the fact he was rubbing his nose Not so Smooth Criminal: Paris did not look particularly impressed by his behaviour Paris' grandmother and former legal guardian Katherine Jackson is said to be unhappy at how much her son's only daughter has changed for her new man. Since turning 18 on April 3 - the blue-eyed bottle blonde has tattooed her inner-lip, her collarbone, both forearms, and several fingers. It is thought her sudden passion for body modification is influenced by the Virginia-born musician, whose Confederate flag tattoo reportedly worries her family. However Snoddy - who attended Full Sail University - has defended himself, saying: 'I wouldn't be dating a black girl if I were a racist.' To the Snoddy car: The pair looked eager to get in their vehicle and continue their adventure Fan of studs: She showed off her tongue piercing in an Instagram post she made later in the day Michelle Bridges appeared to be engaged it quite an intense phone conversation while taking baby Axel out for a morning walk on Friday. The 45-year-old put on an animated display while strolling around Sydney's Potts Point, and was seen stopping her morning exercise to concentrate on the discussion at hand. The mother-of-one was seen raising her arms questioningly while holding her phone to her ear during the verbal exchange. Scroll down for video Intense: Michelle Bridges engaged in an intense phone conversation while taking baby Axel out for a morning walk Makeup free, Michelle opted for comfort with her attire on the day, wearing navy exercise tights and a dark grey hoodie. She hid her clear complexion behind a pair of dark sunglasses and kept her brunette tresses off her face in a high ponytail. Meanwhile, her adorable tot was tucked up in his black stroller. Annoyed? The mother-of-one was seen raising her arms questioningly while holding her phone to her ear during the verbal exchange Deep in conversation: Michelle was seen raising her arms questioningly while holding her phone to her ear Having hung up the phone, Michelle returned to her usual cheery self and was see smiling and chatting to an elderly by-passer. Michelle and partner, Steve 'Commando' Willis welcomed Axel in December last year after meeting on The Biggest Losers Australia. Both fitness fanatics are trainers on the reality weight-loss show. Since giving birth, the personal trainer has taken her time to get back into shape and now includes her son in any exercise she can. Earlier in the week Michelle took to social media, showing how she does walking lunges while carrying her bub in a baby harness on her chest. Morning exercise: Makeup free, Michelle opted for comfort with her attire on the day, wearing navy exercise tights and a dark grey hoodie Cheerio: Having hung up the phone, Michelle returned to her usual cheery self and was then see smiling and chatting to an elderly by-passer Mother and son: Meanwhile her adorable tot was tucked up in a black stroller New parents: Michelle and partner, Steve 'Commando' Willis welcomed Axel in December last year Mother and son were pictured enjoying the Sydney sun in a park while Michelle posed in the lunging position. 'Early morning workout! Walking lunges with an extra 8kgs,' she captioned the snap while also adding the hashtags #MBActive #ergobaby. Michelle celebrated her first Mother's Day earlier this month and told Daily Mail Australia at the InStyle & Audi Women Of Style Awards that it was a 'pretty special' occasion and was serenaded by her partner. Getting back into shape! Since giving birth, the personal trainer has taken her time to get back into shape and now includes Axel She is currently dating US wakeboarder Chandler Powell. But Bindi Irwin has revealed she also has a crush on fellow Australian celebrity Ruby Rose. In an interview with E! News, the 17-year-old wildlife warrior made the random confession, saying: 'I'd say the Dalai Lama for someone I look up to and then Ruby Rose for celebrity crush.' Scroll down for video 'She's beautiful!' Bindi Irwin revealed in an interview with E! News that she has a crush on fellow Australian celebrity Ruby Rose The daughter of the late Steve Irwin then explained that she thinks highly of the 30-year-old actress, not only because of her incredible good looks, but also because to her amazing personality. 'She is just amazing. You look at Ruby Rose and you're like, "Wow, she's beautiful!" And one of the sweetest people on Planet Earth,' the US Dancing With The Stars winner gushed. It seems Bindi's crush on the Orange Is The New Black star may have began when the pair hung out together at the Irwin family's Australia Zoo in 2014. Ruby visited the iconic location on the Sunshine Coast with her then fiancee Phoebe Dahl, and took numerous photographs posing with the wildlife, and also with Bindi and her family. 'One of the sweetest people on Planet Earth': The 17-year-old explained that she thinks highly of the actress, not only because of her incredible good looks, but also because to her amazing personality At the time, Ruby shared the photo of the group, all bearing massive smiles, and on Twitter wrote: 'Spot the odd one out in this family photo lol.' In the image, the group are seen holding a selection of animals, including a big blue and yellow parrot on Rose's arm while Phoebe clutches a koala to her chest. Terri has a giant python wrapped around her neck, while Bindi, 15 at the time, holds an echidna and Bob, 10 at the time, is reminiscent of his father with a small crocodile in his hands. Flashback: It seems Bindi's crush on the Orange Is The New Black star may have began when the pair hung out together at the Irwin family's Australia Zoo in 2014 Following the visit, Bindi returned the love to Ruby and Phoebe (who have since split) via Twitter, with a post and image of the trio and accompanied by an animal friend. 'The forever gorgeous @rubyrose and Phoebe Dahl visited today. So much love for them x,' Bindi wrote, along with a picture of a giant snake wrapped around all three of the girls. Prior to this Bindi and Ruby had another Twitter exchange with Ruby writing to Bindi in 2013: 'I miss u chicky. My god you have GROWN??!!' To which Bindi replied, saying: 'I've been wonderful! Busy and having so much fun. I hope you are great. Sending lots of love xx.' 'So much love for them': Following the visit, Bindi returned the love to Ruby and Phoebe via Twitter, with a post and image of the trio and accompanied by an animal friend Catching up: Prior to this Bindi and Ruby had another Twitter exchange with Ruby writing to Bindi in 2013: 'I miss u chicky. My god you have GROWN??!!' Meanwhile, Bindi and Chandler confirmed their relationship on Bindi's 17th birthday last July. Since then, the pair have been in a long-distance relationship, with Bindi residing on the Sunshine Coast at Australia Zoo and Chandler in the southernmost US state of Florida. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at the AACTA Awards in Sydney in December, Bindi reflected on her relationship with Chandler. 'Long distance is challenging every now and then but it's wonderful to have someone so brilliant in your life,' she explained. When asked whether she would consider moving to the US to be with her teenage love, Bindi admitted that she couldn't see herself leaving her Down Under homeland. 'I think the States are wonderful because they are like a second home, I mean my mum's originally from Oregon, but home for me is Australia Zoo.' Splitsville; Ruby has since split with her former fiancee Phoebe She is in recovery after breast cancer surgery. But that hasn't stopped Janice Dickinson from pushing the cause. The 61-year-old model was in attendance at a Breast Cancer Awareness event in the West Hollywood neighbourhood of Los Angeles on Thursday. Pretty: Janice Dickinson was in attendance at a Breast Cancer Awareness event in the West Hollywood neighbourhood of Los Angeles on Thursday She was all smiles as she addressed those in attendance at the event held in the luxurious Galerie Montaigne. Janice looked in fantastic form as she sported a clinging LBD featuring an oval cutout around the chest. The former America's Top Model star finished off the look with a pair of black patent leather heels and a pair of silver hoop earrings. Looking good: The 61-year-old model looked good in a clinging LBD with a cutout at the chest Glamming it up: She wore her brunette tresses down flowing over her shoulder and natural, complimentary make-up on her face She wore her medium-length brunette tresses flowing down over her shoulder as she sported natural, complimentary make-up on her face. Earlier this week she looked much more relaxed as she wore an off the shoulder white sweater that read: 'I am a comfy sweater', and a pair of printed white and blue leggings while walking her dogs around Beverly Hills on Tuesday. Janice has been in recovery mode recently after having emergency surgery following a breast cancer diagnosis. Moving on: She is currently recovering from surgery after a breast cancer diagnosis A doctor found a lump in her right breast during a routine medical examination. After an urgent mammogram and biopsy she was found to have early stage ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) - a common form of breast cancer that starts in the milk ducts. Speaking about her condition, she previously told the Daily Mail Online 'I just got very scared and it hit me. 'But I am not gonna let that define me, the fear. I'm going to get through this, I'll be just fine kiddo. It's been labelled one of the 'wittest' shows on Australian television. But the jokes have dried out for the ABC's Dirty Laundry Live, with presenter Lawrence Mooney telling Hit105's Stav, Abby and Osher on Friday that the show will not be returning for a fourth season. 'Dirty Laundry Live has been officially axed,' Mooney told the Brisbane breakfast radio show. Scroll down for video No more: ABC's Dirty Laundry Live presenter Lawrence Mooney (R) has told Brisbane's Hit105 that the popular show will not returning for a fourth season. Pictured with co-host Brooke Satchwell 'This is the first time I've said it publicly. I'm OK, I'm fine ... It is not coming back on the ABC.' Dirty Laundry Live first aired in 2013 and has since gone onto gain a somewhat cult following. The live show is hosted by former Neighbours star Brooke Satchwell and features four guest panelists who are tested on their celebrity gossip and pop culture knowledge of the week. 'This is the first time I've said it publicly. I'm OK, I'm fine ... It is not coming back on the ABC' the stand-up comedian told the radio hosts Hit show: The live show is hosted by former Neighbours star Brooke Satchwell and features four guest panelists who are tested on their celebrity gossip and pop culture knowledge of the week Popular Offspring star Eddie Perfect made regular guest appearances on the program, along with Australian comedians Marty Sheargold, Josh Thomas and Matt Okine. Sophie Monk, Havana Brown and Joel Creasey also featured throughout the three seasons. Nothing was off-limits in Lawrence's critique of pop culture on the show, often coming up with amusing one-liners about everyone from the Prime Minster to the Kardashians. Regular: Popular Offspring star Eddie Perfect (R) made regular guest appearances on the program 'On Sunrise this morning, host Samantha Armytage had a bucket of live cockroaches poured on her.' 'The cockroaches were eventually cleared from the set, except for the bald one with glasses,' he once quipped about Sunrise host David Koch. Last year Brooke, who also starred in Channel 10's Wonderland, told Sydney Morning Herald being part of the show required her to be 'very shoot from the hip, seat of my pants' as she had little preparation time for her weekly stint. She's never afraid to take a risk in the fashion department. And Elle Fanning surpassed herself sartorially when she attended amfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d'Antibes, France on Thursday night. The 18-year-old actress ruled the red carpet in her gorgeous, earth toned gown with a peacock patterned skirt. Scroll down for video Ruling the roost: Elle Fanning looked incredible in a peacock patterned gown as she arrived at amfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d'Antibes, France on Thursday night Elle worked her magic as she made her grand entrance, showcasing the stunning dress to its best advantage by posing with the full skirt held aloft. The quirky number boasted a flesh-coloured bodice with a low-cut neckline and a flowing train with a sheer tulle hemline. The Maleficent actress' statement garment was set off with a beautiful gold necklace running down the centre of her dress and around the waist. Elegant attire: Elle worked her magic as she made her grand entrance, showcasing the stunning dress to its best advantage Striking: The Maleficent actress' statement garment was set off with a beautiful gold necklace running down the centre of her dress and around the waist Taking flight: Elle's backless dress ensured she looked every inch the silver screen siren Elle completed her fairytale look with a glamorous updo, with loose tendrils of blonde hair framing her face. She set off her features with nude coloured eye shadow and a matte, rust red lip. Elle is in Cannes to promote her new Nicolas Winding Refn-directed film, The Night Demon, which divided critics during the screening at the 69th annual Film Festival. Classic beauty: Elle completed her fairytale look with a glamorous updo, with loose tendrils of blonde hair framing her face Getting the giggles: Elle was in high spirits as she twisted and twirled in her gorgeous gown Friends in high places: Elle posed with film procuder Gary Michael Walters at the bash The beauty stars alongside Keanu Reeves and Christina Hendricks in the film. Elle plays Jesse, an aspiring model who moves to Los Angeles where her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will do whatever it takes to get what she has. It's the third consecutive film directed by the Danish 45-year-old to compete for the festival's Palme d'Or prize after Only God Forgives and Drive. Amazon Studios will release The Neon Demon in US theaters sometime in June and in UK theaters beginning July 8. Controversial film: Elle is in Cannes to promote her new Nicolas Winding Refn-directed film, The Night Demon, which divided critics during the screening at the 69th annual Film Festival In competition: The Night Demon's Liv Corfixen and director Nicolas Winding Refn posed with Elle New role: Elle plays Jesse, an aspiring model who moves to Los Angeles where her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will do whatever it takes to get what she has He's best known for his acting prowess in films such as Home Alone. But Macaulay Culkin put his singing skills to the test as he surprised gig-goers in Cambridge with an animated performance on Thursday night. The 35-year-old threw his some of his best moves for the performance and seemed almost dazed with joy as he took to the stage with best pal, Adam Green. Scroll down for video Rockstar: Macaulay Culkin put his singing skills to the test as he surprised gig goers in Cambridge with an animated performance on Thursday night The actor looked ready to show off his more artistic side for the event as he dressed head to toe in black, adding just a pop of colour to his look with a vibrant red pocket square, which came complete with coordinating black detailing. He also threw on a textured blazer over the top of his dark denim shirt, which he left nonchalantly buttoned down to his chest. Culkin - who appears in comedy rock band called The Pizza Underground - maintained his edgy style with a pair of thick-rimmed glasses and scraped his ever-growing mane back into a tight man bun. Crowd pleaser: The 35-year-old threw his some of his best moves for the performance and seemed almost dazed with joy as he took to the stage with best pal, Adam Green Man in black: Culkin dressed head to toe in black, adding just a pop of colour to his look with a vibrant red pocket square On the edge! He also threw on a textured blazer over the top of his dark denim shirt, which he left nonchalantly buttoned down to his chest And he went for androgynous chic as he sported a number of large bejewelled rings and left the remaining traces of both black and rouge nail varnish lingering on his nails. Culkin also decorated his paws with writing scrawled across his palms and fingers. Meanwhile Adam cut a surreal figure in a ruched shirt that he left completely undone to show off a smattering of chest hair. Hip(ster) hop: Culkin maintained his edgy style with a pair of thick-rimmed glasses and scraped his ever-growing mane back into a tight man bun High spirits: He went for androgynous chic as he sported a number of large bejewelled rings and left the remaining traces of both black and rouge nail varnish lingering on his nails Take note! Culkin also decorated his paws with writing scrawled across his palms and fingers He rounded off his look with a red velvet waistcoat and coordinating scarlet fez, that he used to cover his shoulder length, brunette curls. The pair appeared to have a great time together for the performance at The Portland Arms as they danced energetically and laughed between themselves. Green is best known for his role as one half of the band The Moldy Peaches. However he has since turned his hand to film writing and started writing the script for his new movie, Aladdin, two years ago. Culkin will be starring in the kick-starter funded project and it will be the child star's first role since Green's 2011 debut independently made film, The Wrong Ferrari. Eye-catching: Adam cut a surreal figure in a ruched shirt that he left completely undone to show off a smattering of chest hair Seeing red: Adam rounded off his look with a red velvet waistcoat and coordinating scarlet fez, that he used to cover his shoulder length, brunette curls Brothers in Arms: The pair appeared to have a great time together for the performance at The Portland Arms She stepped off a plane and into a pyjama party but on Friday Megan Blake Irwin was wide awake strutting around Australian Fashion Week. The Australian model was snapped out and about wearing a demure long-sleeved baby blue dress with a floral pattern, pulled together with a dark cord. Her simple outfit was complemented with a black 90s-inspired choker that fit perfectly around her slender neck, with a stone set into the middle, and matching high heel boots. Scroll down for video Daytime clothes: She stepped off a plane and into a pyjama party but on Friday Megan Blake Irwin was wide awake strutting around Australian Fashion Week But while the 21-year-old kept her clothing simple, she carried around a large black Givenchy handbag worth almost $4,000. The blonde beauty gave a smouldering expression as she posed inside Sydneys Carriageworks, letting her golden locks flutter in the gentle breeze. Megan jetted into Sydney on Tuesday from Los Angeles where she had been spending time with rumoured beau Scott Disick, the former partner of Kourtney Kardashian. Legs eleven: The Australian model was snapped out and about wearing a demure long-sleeved baby blue dress with a floral pattern, pulled together with a dark cord Expensive packing: While the 21-year-old kept her clothing simple, she carried around a large black Givenchy handbag worth almost $4,000 Retro acessory: Her simple outfit was complemented with a black 90s-inspired choker that fit perfectly around her slender neck, with a stone set into the middle, and matching high heel boots She is in Sydney to shoot a campaign for high street fashion label Seduce and Disney, who have collaborated on the creation of a capsule collection while Margaret Zhang took the photos. A capsule collection of Alice inspired pieces will be launched to coincide with the global theatrical release of the film, Alice Through The Looking Glass. In January this year, Megan was 'discovered' by the worlds most iconic photographer Mario Testino, who shot Megan for the April issue of Vogue Australia. Meanwhile, Megan and Scott had most recently been seen putting on an affectionate display when they went for a dinner date at Koi Japanese restaurant in LA. Neither have confirmed they are dating, and Megan on Wednesday refused to talk about their relationship saying only he was a lovely guy. Breezy day: The blonde beauty gave a smouldering expression as she posed inside Sydneys Carriageworks, letting her golden locks flutter in the gentle breeze Jetsetter: Megan jetted into Sydney on Tuesday from Los Angeles where she had been spending time with rumoured beau Scott Disick, the former partner of Kourtney Kardashian Hot demand: The blonde beauty is in Sydney to shoot a campaign for high street fashion label Seduce and Disney, who have collaborated on the creation of a capsule collection while Margaret Zhang took the photos Reality Scott star split with the famous girlfriend Kourtney, mother to his three children, last year after nearly a decade together. Since going separate ways in the summer, Scott and Kourtney, who have three children - Mason, six, Penelope, three, and Reign, 15 months, have remained on good terms. In recent months, Scott has been spotted out with several women in recent months including model Christine Burke, 20. The pair seen out and about in Cannes on Monday evening and were seen canoodling in a bar. Earlier that day, Scott was seen enjoying the company of a a bevy of scantily-clad bikini babes while relaxing poolside. New beau? Megan and Scott had most recently been seen putting on an affectionate display when they went for a dinner date at Koi Japanese restaurant in LA Denial: Neither have confirmed they are dating, and Megan on Wednesday refused to talk about their relationship saying only he was a lovely guy Striding: Megan wandered around Carriageworks on the last day of Fashion Week She famously went on a number of death-defying dates during her time on The Bachelorette, including sky diving and flying in a small stunt plane. And this week Sam Frost proved that she's still very much the adrenaline junkie as she tackled a high ropes course at Sydney's Taronga Zoo. The 27-year-old was filming a special segment with her 2DayFM co-host Rove McManus for their radio show, which saw the twosome spend a fun-filled day and night at the zoo. Scroll down for video Having a blast! Sam Frost and Rove McManus enjoyed a sky-high ropes course at Sydney's Taronga Zoo this week While Sam attacked the course with gusto, Rove didn't appear to enjoy himself quite as much as the vivacious reality TV star. 'I think he's genuinely terrified!' said a delighted Sam as she filmed Rove trying to keep his balance on the course. On Thursday, Sam had the chance to meet some of the Zoo's most fascinating residents during her wild overnight stay, even making friends with a giraffe who photobombed her selfie. 'I think he's genuinely terrified!' The 27-year-old seemed to take delight in Rove's fear as he tackled the course Loving it: While Rove seemed scared, Sam enjoyed the high ropes course without fear or terror The Bachelorette beauty posted a black and white photograph on Instagram of her grinning with a giraffe loitering in the background. Wearing a pair of sunglasses and with a smattering of freckles visible, she posted the selfie, saying: 'When a giraffe photobombs your selfie.' Sam stayed overnight in a luxury tent at the zoo along with her Rove and a number of other crew members as part of the 'Roar and Snore' experience. The experience promises a night-time safari around the zoo, up-close animal encounters and unrivaled views of Sydney after the parks doors have closed to the public. Photobomb: The reality TV star posted a selfie with a giraffe in the background during her trip to Taronga Zoo Close encounter: Sam and her 2DayFM co-star Rove were filmed speaking to a zoo keeper about the sea lions used in the shows at the zoo Making friend: Sam was seen quizzing the zoo keeper as she stood next to sea lion Mitchy Each huge tent boasts a large double bed and a single enough to accommodate four people with electric blankets to complete the glamping experience. Sam and her co-star were seen meeting snakes and lizards over drinks and nibbles at the main Roar and Snore meeting tent in the small camping site. The reality starlet was also filmed speaking to a zoo keeper about the sea lions used in the shows. 'If he like fell on someone he could easily kill them right,' Sam asked, while standing next to sea lion Mitchy. Crazy critters! Sam and crew members were seen meeting snakes and lizards over drinks and nibbles at the main Roar and Snore meeting tent in the small camping site What a view! The Roar and Snore experience at Taronga Zoo offers unparalleled views of Sydney harbour Rove then responded saying: 'Before you answer that, how is he falling on someone?' Sam replied: 'If a small child was standing here and he jumps off, splat.' The keeper then said: 'Mitchy does weight over 200kg', to which Sam replied 'see it's not a silly question'. Sam posted the video on her Instagram, saying: 'Learning some very important things at @tarongazoo. 'We are sleeping over at the zoo tonight!! Stay tuned for more videos and other shenanigans on alllll the socials, its going to be good times all round.' Shes revealed that she feels confident naked. So it comes as no surprise that Jesinta Campbell, 24, was willing to give a teasing glimpse of her model physique in a semi-sheer lace dress on Friday. The former beauty queen looked sensational in the off-the-shoulder number as she spent the day soaking up the balmy climes along Sydneys Palm Beach. Scroll down for video Jesinta Campbell gave a teasing glimpse of her model physique in a semi-sheer lace dress on Friday at Palm Beach in Sydney Crafted from graphic floral lace, the form-fitting design drew attention to her perky cleavage as she walked towards the picturesque beach. The David Jones ambassador wore her locks out and in waves, while opting for a natural palette of makeup to highlight her striking features. Jesinta appeared to be in good spirits after spending most of the week sitting front and centre at top catwalk shows during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia, presented by Etihad Airways. Pretty as a picture: The 24-year-old appeared to be in good spirits after spending most of the week sitting front and centre at top catwalk shows during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia Front and centre: At one show, the David Jones ambassador dressed her lean and slender frame in a black one-shoulder blouse and a matching slashed satin skirt, drawing heaps of attention to her lithe limbs All eyes were on the fiancee of AFL star Lance Buddy Franklin as she strutted into the fashionable Sydney event in daring ensembles. On Tuesday she dressed her lean and slender frame in a black one-shoulder blouse and a matching slashed satin skirt, drawing heaps of attention to her lithe limbs. The former Miss Universe Australia paraded her lengthy limbs in a sexy pair of suede thigh-high boots, while accessorising with a studded Valentino clutch and tortoiseshell sunglasses. The former Miss Universe Australia paraded her lengthy limbs in a sexy pair of suede thigh-high boots, while accessorising with a studded Valentino clutch and tortoiseshell sunglasses Again she turned in a knee-length beige trench by Tome on Wednesday. She paired the trench with a high-neck sheer black lace dress and simple black stilettos. More recently, the style star divided opinion wearing daring see-through netted dress at the 58th TV Week Logie Awards in Melbourne. Hitting back at her critics, Jesinta posted an empowering message to all women, saying 'fashion is freedom'. She said she was inspired after meeting Iranian designer Tala Raassi who was thrown in jail and endured 40 lashes just for wearing a skirt. Her post came after she called TV and radio personality Kate Langbroek 'nasty' after the 50-year-old shared an image of Jesinta's dress, saying: 'This cannot be for real. #desperate (for pants).' A study of news coverage of charter schools shows some evidence of a noticeable anti-charter tilt. The right-leaning American Enterprise Institute coded more than 200 news and opinion articles from 2015 and found that 49 percent were neutral or balanced, 36 percent were negative, and 15 percent were positive. The media plays a crucial role in informing the public, refereeing policy deliberations, and explaining what school reforms mean for students and families, says How the Press Covers Charter Schools , an eight-page report by Frederick M. Hess, AEIs director of education policy studies, and two research assistants, Kelsey Hamilton and Jenn Hatfield. The data suggest that claims of media favoritism toward charter schoolingor hostility against itare overstated, the report concludes."On balance, in 2015, charter coverage was broadly mixed, although it tended to be somewhat more negative than positive. The study looked at a random sampling of charter school stories (from 5 to 25 percent of each outlets coverage over the year) from six institutionsThe New York Times and The Washington Post, the online journals Salon and Slate, and two education-specific outlets, Education Week and Chalkbeat New York. The study also looked at a sampling of other newspaper coverage, chosen from the Lexis-Nexis database. Articles were coded on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1s being highly unfavorable toward charter schools, 2s a generally negative orientation, 3s being neutral, 4s generally positive, and 5s using language clearly and consistently positive toward charter schools. Some 73 percent of the articles were classified as news, and 27 percent opinion, such as editorials by the publication or op-ed essays by contributors. The opinion pieces were more likely to be very negative or somewhat negative instead of very positive or somewhat positive. Most news pieces (95 out of 159) were classified as neutral, with 3 classified as very negative, 37 as somewhat negative, 23 as somewhat positive, and 1 as very positive. The study found that 81 percent of the selected charter school stories in Salon and Slate were negative. These outlets had nothing good to say about charter schooling, the report says. David Daley, the editor in chief of Salon, said via email that AEI finding that we have nothing good to say about charter schools sounds about right to me! Slate didnt respond to a request for comment. Neither did Valerie Strauss, the author of The Answer Sheet blog in The Washington Post, which the study said was responsible for tilting the Posts output to the negative side. Education Week was the most positive toward charter schools among the outlets studied, at 3.19 on the 5-point scale. though its opinion pieces were more likely to be negative than its news articles. The New York Times and Chalkbeat New York both scored an even 3. Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, the managing editor of Education Week, said, Im not real clear on what coverage they looked at. Education Week covers charters and choice the way we cover other beatsvery aggressively and from a journalistic standpoint. Weve done a lot of enterprise on charters and [school] choice. I would hope that coverage doesnt come across as positive or negative, but very analytical and neutral. The Center for Education Reform, a Washington organization that promotes charter schools and used to grade media coverage of school reform issues, applauded the AEI report. It comes as no surprise that the media plays a huge role in how people perceive charter schools, the center said. The media can only report what they hear and see, and when opponents outnumber proponents and have a habit of spreading misinformation, its no wonder the media leans negative. The AEI study also found that race and racial achievement gaps are also a substantial part of todays education conversation. The study found that 20 to 25 percent of charter coverage delved into questions of race. For Chalkbeat New York, Education Week, and The Washington Post, stories that mentioned race tended to be more positive than those that did not, the study says. For Slate, Salon, and The New York Times, the opposite was true. In other words, there was no clear trend. The study called for more detailed research into media coverage of charter schools. She's a world famous model who was discovered in the Hammersmith branch of Primark. But Jourdan Dunn was rocking a higher class of fashion on Thursday, as she took centre stage on the amfAR catwalk to raise money for the 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala. Arriving in a ruffled off-the shoulder floor-length black gown, the 25-year-old upped her game later in the evening, donning a sparkling gold mini dress to strut her stuff on the runway. Scroll down for video Golden girl: Jourdan Dunn was rocking a higher class of fashion on Thursday, as she took centre stage on the amfAR catwalks to raise money for the 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala While her initial asymmetric ruffled black DSquared2 gown got full marks in the class stakes, and made the most of her enviably toned thighs with a cheeky split almost to her hip, it was her fashion show outfit that really stole the show. With a plunging neckline which revealed plenty of cleavage, the 70s-inspired tasselled dress shone and shimmered as Jourdan sashayed her way down the catwalk, with complementary silver heels to add alternative shine to her look. She was also able to show off her stunning slim pins and perky bust in the sexy little number, bringing some serious sass to proceedings. Some of the biggest names in modelling gathered together for the good cause, running the catwalk at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, at Cap d'Antibes in the South of France. Pure class: Arriving in a ruffled off-the shoulder floor-length black gown, the 25-year-old upped her game later in the evening, donning a sparkling gold mini dress to strut her stuff on the catwalk Priceless: While her initial asymmetric ruffled black gown got full marks in the class stakes it was her catwalk outfit that stole the show Backstage: With a plunging neckline which revealed plenty of cleavage, the 70s inspired dress shone and sashayed as Jourdan worked her way down the catwalk, with silver heels to add alternative shine to her look Wearing metallic tones the models showed plenty of skin as they modeled clothes as part of the event's fashion auction, which was inspired by all things disco. Stars of the night's catwalk included Barbara Palvin, Izabel Goulart and Lara Stone. Jessica Hart, Natasha Poly, Lily Donaldson, Soo-Joo Park, Toni Garrn and Isabeli Fontana - who had perhaps the most risque outfits of all the girls - were also among the supermodels in attendance. Dare to bare: Isabeli Fontana flashed more than a little flesh in a dress that consisted of merely strips of shimmering silver fabric were strategically placed to cover her modesty Beautiful backdrop: Some of the biggest names in modeling gathered together for the good cause, running the catwalk at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, at Cap d'Antibes in the South of France Legs eleven: Jourdan uses the classic hand-on-hip pose to display her long, lean limbs to perfection All eyes on me: Wearing metallic tones the models showed plenty of skin as they modeled clothes as part of the event's fashion auction, which was inspired by all things disco The event involved pairing an impressive selection of the worlds top models with glittering designer gowns that have been custom made, though with a few exceptions. Helmed by Carine Roitfeld, the editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, the 31 looks were dubbed the Disco Collection and were up for auction at the gala. The main inspiration behind the show was a silver disco ball, though icons and iconic locations from the 1970s era, like the legendary New York City club Studio 54, and some of its collaborators and patrons, from Jerry Hall to Diane von Furstenberg, also helped inspire the collection. Don't point the finger! Jourdan gets amimated as she chats with poses with Dean Caten and Dan Caten Best of friends: Jourdan Dunn and Lily Donaldson pose backstage at the amfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala Joel Creasey is a loud and proud fan of Arena's The Real Housewives Of Melbourne. So it was hardly a surprise to see the cute comedian stepping out for lunch with fan favourite Gamble Breaux at fancy Toorak restaurant France-Soir on Friday. 'Civilized Friday lunch with the utterly delightful Gamble Breaux,' wrote the 25-year-old funnyman on Instagram. Scroll down for video Ladies who lunch! Gamble Breaux and Joel Creasey stepped out for lunch at Toorak eatery France-Soir on Friday afternoon He added: 'If she isn't one of your favorite Real Housewives then you're doing it all wrong.' Gamble, 45, also took to social media to gush over the fun-filled lunch. 'Woke up feeling skinny today,' wrote the svelte star. Keeping it casual: Instead of her usually glamorous style, the 45-year-old went for a classy but casual look She continued: 'But I fixed that with some steak, fries and cheese. Nothing you can't burn off with a good gossip over lunch though!' The blonde bombshell was joined by her beloved stepson Luke Wolfe, who regularly appears on The Real Housewives of Melbourne in a supporting role. Gamble, who is generally known for her over-the-top style, opted to dress down for her lunch date with Joel. 'If she isn't one of your favorite Real Housewives then you're doing it all wrong,' wrote Joel on Instagram The quirky reality star sported a pair of blue skinny jeans and a loose-fitting grey T-shirt with silver embellishments. However, she still added a touch of glam to the ensemble with a pair of black platform stilettos and some sparkling silver jewellery. Meanwhile, Joel flaunted the results of his recent gym sessions in a tight, short-sleeved dress shirt that highlighted his muscular arms. The outspoken comedian paired the look with dark blue pants and brown dress shoes with no socks. She received a scolding on social media after she decided to continual her tumultuous relationship with Brad on the controversial relationship series, Seven Year Switch. But it appears the comments haven't affected Tallena Johnston in the slightest as she beamed on her return to work as a Virgin Australia Flight attendant on Friday. The 28-year-old looked svelte in a standard red uniform which flattered her figure, while adding a pop of colour with a purple scarf tied into a pretty bow around her neck. Scroll down for video Back to reality! Seven Year Switch star Tallena was seen heading back to work as a Virgin Australia Flight attendant on Friday Tallena neatly scrapped back her blonde tresses into a neat bun, while opting for a neutral pallet of makeup to let her natural beauty shine through. The air hostess completed her look with a layer of red lipstick, which complemented her eye-catching outfit perfectly. It appeared Tallena was in good spirits after she and her fiance Brad patched up their broken relationship on Wednesday night's final episode. Happy to be back: It appeared Tallena was in good spirits after she and her fiance Brad patched up their broken relationship on Wednesday night's final episode Back to the grind! Tallena neatly scrapped back her blonde tresses into a neat bun, while opting for a neutral pallet of makeup to let her natural beauty shine through Social media outrage: Fans took to Twitter to make a swipe at Seven Year Switch star Brad (left), calling him a 'psycho' and 'emotionally abusive' after he convinced fiancee Tallena (right) to marry him for a second time But viewers of the controversial reality series weren't happy with the decision and took to their respective social media accounts, calling Brad an emotional abuser and a psycho. Taking to Twitter, one fan of the show fired off: 'There is some gaslighting [form of mental abuse] realness happening on my TV right now. tallena, GET.OUT[sic].' Another added: He clearly hasn't grown up if he is still going to punish her. It was just like taking the ring back again. While one fan typed: Holy crap Brad, you are so emotionally abusive/controlling. Doubts? Therapists, Peter Charleston (right) and Jo Lamble (left), appeared unimpressed as Brad asked Tallena to marry him for a second time Social media outrage: Fans of Channel Seven's controversial reality series took to their respective Twitter accounts to make a swipe at Brad Outrage: A fan of the show wrote that she hoped the 'counsellors on #sevenyearswitch give Tallena contact numbers and support services available for abuse victims'on her social media account Not a good response: One Twitter use said Brad was 'emotionally abusive/controlling' Brad's selfish and controlling tendencies came to light after it was revealed the 28-year-old takes his fiancee's engagement ring off her every time they fight. He also admitted to refusing to spend more than $1,000 on their wedding ceremony, despite purchasing a second television for himself worth $3,000 and also owning a luxury car and jet ski. The pair revealed they hadn't been intimate in almost a year and explained that they felt more like friends than lovers. Wedding issues: Brad admitted to refusing to spend more than $1,000 on their wedding ceremony, despite purchasing a second television for himself worth $3,000 and also owning a luxury car and jet ski Change in the air? During the final episode Brad proposed to the blonde beauty for a second time as he gifted her with a $10,000 cheque to put towards their nuptials Despite getting got off to a rocky start during the series, switch therapy seemed to have helped Brad and Tallena get back on track with their romance. During the final episode, Brad proposed to the blonde beauty for a second time as he gifted her with a $10,000 cheque to put towards their nuptials. Meanwhile, Woman's Day previously reported that Tallena and Brad had tied the knot in a secret wedding following the experimental series. According to the publication, the pair who have been dating since 2014 after meeting on Tinder, made it official last month in Queensland while surrounded by 70 family members and friends. They've been happily dating for over three years. And on Friday, model Maddy King showed off one of the reasons why Kris Smith is so smitten with her as she flaunted her curves in a photo shoot for online discount retailer Brands Exclusive. The 26-year-old's bombshell body was on full display in some colourful one-piece swimsuits from label Miraclesuit, which are 'designed to shape, control and flatter your figure.' Scroll down for video Pretty in pink: Maddy King showed off her curves in Miraclesuit shapewear for online discount retailer Brands Exclusive this week In one image the brunette beauty is sporting a fuchsia swimsuit, and in another she's clad in bright blue. Maddy previously opened up about the secrets to her enviable figure in an interview with The Carousel. 'I try to eat really well most of the time and exercise daily,' she confessed. 'I try to eat really well most of the time and exercise daily,' the 26-year-old told The Carousel this year 'I usually do 3 KX Pilates session a week and walk or go for a run, followed by a swim at the beach in summer.' Myer ambassador Kris isn't shy when it comes to professing his adoration for Maddy, telling Daily Mail Australia earlier this year: 'She's beautiful, very beautiful.' When asked if an engagement is on the horizon, the 37-year-old said: 'She's a good chick, a great girl. I'm never going to say no.' 'She's beautiful, very beautiful:' Maddy's beau Kris Smith has gushed over the bombshell beauty before Maddy has been making the rounds of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia for days, attending shows both with and without Kris. On Thursday, the voluptuous stunner slipped into a bright yellow and burnt orange top tucked into a chunky black leather belt and coupled with a white and yellow checked skirt. She finished off the striking ensemble with black high heels and matching handbag and an oversized silver ring. Hes spent the week soaking up the sun at the Cannes Film Festival in a range of colourful summery suits. But on Thursday, Joel Edgerton smartened up for amfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala in a classic charcoal tuxedo. Sporting designer stubble and his trademark neutral expression, the Australian actor cut quite the dapper figure as he hit the red carpet for the glamorous evening. Scroll down for video Very dapper: Joel Edgerton smartened up for amfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala in a classic charcoal tuxedo on Thursday night With his auburn hair swept away from his face in a smart quiff, Joel completed his slick ensemble with a pair of brown-rimmed sunglasses. In keeping with the classic look befitting the black-tie event, the 41-year-old wore black Oxford lace-ups, while he kept his look breezy and uncluttered with minimal accessories. It was a star-studded crowd at the fundraising evening at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, just a short drive from Cannes, with plenty of stars out to support the cause. Hanging out: Completing his slick ensemble with a pair of brown-rimmed sunglasses, the Black Mass star was snapped hanging out with other A-listers including the similar stubbled Mads Mikkelsen (right) Smart look: Sporting designer stubble and his trademark neutral expression, the Australian actor cut quite the dapper figure as he hit the red carpet for the glamorous evening The Black Mass star was snapped hanging out with other A-listers including the similar stubbled Mads Mikkelsen and fashion designer Ozwald Boateng, who wore a daring purple suit. Other celebrities in attendance included, Australian models Ashley Hart and Denise Rich. Joel was at Cannes to promote his latest film Loving, which sees him play lead character Richard Loving. His character was sentenced to prison in Virginia in 1958 for entering into an interracial marriage with partner Mildred, played by Ruth Negga. Smartening up: Joel's classic tux look was a change from the range of colourful summery suits he wore throughout the week at the Cannes Film Festival Keep it simple: In keeping with the classic look befitting the black-tie event, the 41-year-old he kept his look breazy and uncluttered with minimal accessories The civil rights drama will be released in November, and comes not long after Joel's success with Midnight Special with both movies directed by Jeff Nichols. Joel made headlines earlier this week when he compared the old American state laws against mixed-race marriages featured in Loving to the continued block of gay marriage in Australia. One of the things that struck me while working on this film is, what happens between two individuals is nobody else's business, he said after Mondays screening. There was a definite resonance with my own country, particularly with the rights of gay marriage and the latency of under-the surface racism, which is something I think we really need to talk about. Midnight Special is currently out in cinemas and co-stars Kirsten Dunst After dressing down in a simple Alice in Wonderland-inspired dress by day, Megan Blake Irwin upped her style for the last show of Australian Fashion Week 2016. The model stepped out of the Sheraton Hotel in Sydney as she made her way to the Oscar de la Renta catwalk event on Friday, presented by Etihad Airways, wearing a very lacy black and white dress. The tightly-fitted number showed off her ample curves and slim physique even though it covered her from neck to knee - only accentuating her toned calves. Scroll down for video Dressing up: Megan Blake Irwin upped her style for the last show of Australian Fashion Week with a very lacy black and white dress It incorporated a complicated lace pattern across her chest and all the way down her arms while black right-angled slashes, also in lace, jazzed up the colour scheme. Clearly a fan of black chokers, the 21-year-old followed up her daytime 90s-inspired piece with a simple ribbon-like line around her slender neck. The outfit was finished off with a pair of $1,000 Alaia black high heels with a fishnet pattern extending above her ankles. Megan again opted for minimal makeup but had straightened her long blonde locks into a silky and tight-flowing do that was flicked back behind her ears. Out to play: The Australian model stepped out of the Sheraton Hotel in Sydney on her way to the Oscar De La Renta catwalk event on Friday night Very lacy: It incorporated a complicated lace pattern across her chest and all the way down her arms while black right-angled slashes, also in lace, jazzed up the colour scheme Quick change: The 21-year-old Australian model dressed up from her simple Alice in Wonderland-inspired dress of earlier in the day Instead of the $4,000 black Givenchy handbag she lugged around all day, Megan clutched a copy of Buro 24/7 Australia magazine under her arm. The glossy fashion magazine featured a cover shot of pink-haired Chinese-Australian model Fernanda Ly, 20, who shot to fame earlier this year by gracing the cover of Vogue. Megan is in Sydney to shoot a campaign for high street fashion label Seduce and Disney, who have collaborated on the creation of a capsule collection while Margaret Zhang took the photos. Tightly fitted: The tightly-fitted number showed off her ample curves and slim physique even though it covered her from neck to knee only accentuating her toned calves Light reading: Instead of the $4,000 black Givenchy handbag she lugged around all day, Megan clutched a copy of Buro 24/7 Australia magazine under her arm. A capsule collection of Alice inspired pieces will be launched to coincide with the global theatrical release of the film, Alice Through The Looking Glass. In January this year, Megan was 'discovered' by the worlds most iconic photographer Mario Testino, who shot Megan for the April issue of Vogue Australia. Meanwhile, Megan and Scott had most recently been seen putting on an affectionate display when they went for a dinner date at Koi Japanese restaurant in LA. Neither have confirmed they are dating, and Megan on Wednesday refused to talk about their relationship saying only he was a lovely guy. After a trip to Cannes, Scott was seen partying in London on Friday, after a dinner with Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West. Recurring item: Clearly a fan of black chokers, the 21-year-old followed up her daytime 90s-inspired piece with a simple ribbon-like line around her slender neck So very leggy: The pretty blonde exuded heaps of glamour as she watched models take to the runway They've been busy enjoying the films, culture and celebrity filled parties of Cannes for the last two weeks. But now Heidi Klum, 42, and beau Vito Schnabel, 29, are leading the way home, as the French festival comes to a close. Wearing a little black dress with a corset detail along the front of her chest displaying plenty of cleavage. Scroll down for video Jet-setter: Heidi Klum and beau Vito Schnabel were pictured as Nice airport on Friday as they led the stars leaving the Cannes Film Festival She's got the look: Heidi looked incredible in a black mini dress which had a plunging criss-cross neckline - completing her ensemble with oversized shades Black wedges and large sunglasses completed her look, with a large woven basket to fit all her hand-luggage in for the flight home on Friday. Vito opted for clay covered slacks, a navy jumper and black desert boots for his journey home. Their trip to the French Riviera has been packed with red carpet events and film premieres, as well as charity and gala events. Wow thing: She completed her look with a very stylish pair of wedge heels which had an ankle strap and studs around the soles Packed trip: Their trip to the French Riviera has been packed with red carpet events and film premieres, as well as charity and gala events Leading the exodus: Other celebrities heading home from Nice airport included a bright Helen Mirren and casual looking Karlie Kloss Other celebrities heading home from Nice airport included a bright Helen Mirren and casual looking Karlie Kloss. Helen looked bright and floral in a long sleeve calf length silk dress and strappy heels. While Karlie chose a dressed down look in faded jeans and her trusty leather jacket. Helen looked bright and floral in a long sleeve calf length silk dress and strappy heels Karlie chose a dressed down look in faded jeans and her trusty leather jacket Well connected: Actress Julie Gayet and partner of French President Francois Hollande arrives at Nice Airport France The festival has been packed with stars, and Thursday's amfAR event was the jewel in the crown of the fortnight of events. Heidi looked glowing and relaxed as she arrived at the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS Gala on Thursday night, before being joined later by boyfriend Vito. The stunning German supermodel showed off her braless chest and legs in a plunging yellow floor-length number with thigh-high split as she arrived at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes. Mellow yellow: Supermodel Heidi Klum arrived at the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS Gala in Antibes, France on Thursday night With its scooped neckline and fitted design on the waist, it was complete with a sexy thigh-high split, allowing her to show off her tanned, toned pins for all to see. The mother-of-two teamed her show-stopping dress with a pair of silver high-heels sandals, with her dark blonde hair swept into a tight bun. The America's Got Talent judge gave an added splash of colour with turquoise jewellery. Throughout the evening the stunning star made sure to flaunt her willowy figure in various situations, making the most of her beautiful attire. Beauty: The supermodel, 42, showed off her chest and legs in a plunging yellow floor-length number with thigh-high split Look of love: Once inside the event, Heidi and Vito - who didn't walk the red carpet - shared an intimate moment in the packed-out room Whispering sweet nothings? With her ample chest on full display, she leant up to speak into her younger beau's ear And, once inside the event, it was clear to see her 29-year-old boyfriend - who didn't walk the red carpet - couldn't wait to catch up with her. As she sat at her dinner table, the art curator couldn't resist leaning in closely for a chat, the two of them putting on an intimate display in the packed-out room. Their super-sweet display also saw Heidi wearing what appeared to be his suit jacket caped over her shoulders to protect her from feeling chilly. Earlier on Thursday, Heidi tweeted: 'Looking forward to joining @amfAR tonight! Proud to be supporting the fight to end #AIDS #amfARCannes.' Riviera life: The German-born star was sporting a glowing tan after spending a week relaxing on the French coast Heidi arrived on the French Riviera last Friday and has been treating it as an opportunity to relax with her boyfriend Vito. The pair have been spotted working on their tans at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, which boasts views over the Mediterranean sea. So Heidi certainly didn't have far to travel to Thursday's lavish do, generally regarded as the biggest event on the Cannes calendar. She didn't travel far! Heidi has been staying at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc all week Fashionable friends: Heidi joined fashion designer Kenneth Cole and her former Victoria's Secret colleague Alessandra Ambrosio Legs eleven: The pair had certainly gone for similar styles with plunging necklines and thigh-high splits Sensation: There was no let-up on Heidi's posing throughout the night, as she made sure to get the most out of her stunning gown The fundraiser, which raises money for AIDs research, saw the likes of Katy Perry perform for the A-list crowd, while Adriana Lima co-chaired the event. After posing up a storm on the red carpet, the celebrities make their way into a lavish dinner which is followed by a no expense spared auction, with last year's event raising a staggering $30million. The event, which takes place just outside of Cannes, will also feature Kirsten Dunst, Vanessa Paradis and Donald Sutherland who are serving as chairs for the Cannes Film Festival Jury. Glamour girls: Heidi cosies up with Alessandra and Ana Beatriz Barros Sparkling: Heidi complemented her yellow dress with turquoise make-up Doing her bit: Heidi took to the stage to present one of the auction lots Loving their getaway: Vito, 29, looked in great spirits as he chatted to his beautiful lady Looking good: Doutzen Kroes is seen at Nice Airport during the 69th Cannes Film Festival The lady in red: The blonde beauty certainly put on a bold display as she navigated the departures lounge He's the model, TV presenter, and Myer ambassador who shot to Australia's A-list after dating Dannii Minogue. But despite his star status, Kris Smith admitted to Daily Mail Australia that his model girlfriend Maddy King is the one who 'wears the trousers' in their three-year relationship. 'I made him come,' confessed Maddy, 26, at the Oscar de la Renta show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Sydney on Friday. Scroll down for video 'I made him come:' Maddy King admitted to Daily Mail Australia that she made beau Kris Smith come to the Oscar de la Renta show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Sydney on Friday Kris then chimed in: 'She makes me come.' The 37-year-old added: 'It's true. She wears the trousers.' The genetically-blessed pair were planted front row at the show, presented by Etihad Airways, where they mingled with TV personality Ksenija Lukich. 'It's true. She wears the trousers,' admitted the 37-year-old Myer ambassador Ladies man! Kris posed with E! correspondent Ksenija Lukich (left) and his model girlfriend Maddy Despite his indifference at attending, Kris still put on a stylish display in a black leather jacket, black dress shirt, and black pants. Maddy matched her famous beau in a skintight black dress which featured a hint of sideboob. The brunette wore black heels on her feet, and sported a silver choker around her neck. 'I've got to be truly honest, I pulled this out this afternoon:' Kris confessed that he didn't put much thought into his outfit for the show Careful! Maddy flashed some sideboob in her chic black dress 'I've got to be truly honest, I pulled this out this afternoon,' confessed Kris when Daily Mail Australia quizzed him about his outfit. He added: 'I had to iron it myself because she [Maddy] was busy prepping herself.' The former Rugby player added the couple are currently in the process of moving house, and planning to head to a health retreat in Bali soon. She's never been one to shy away from a figure-flaunting outfit. And Nikki Phillips took the term 'revealing' to new levels when she stepped out at the Oscar de la Renta show, presented by Etihad Airways, in Sydney's Carriageworks on Friday evening. The 31-year-old risked a wardrobe malfunction in a black boob tube leotard paired with a netted skirt, which boasted intricate beading to protect her modesty. Scroll down fro video Striking a pose: Nikki Phillips flashed her underwear in a daring mesh skirt as she attended the Oscar de la Renta preview show in Sydney's Carriageworks on Friday evening Nikki added a sophisticated edge to the daring ensemble with a cropped blazer, which was held in her right hand while she pouted and posed for the cameraman vying to capture her attention. She styled her shoulder length locks out and straight, while enhancing her blue eyes with a heavy application of eye make-up including eyeliner and lashings of mascara. The New Zealand born star completed her fashionable look with a layer of plum coloured gloss on her famous pout, while boosting her height with a pair of strappy heels Daring ensemble: The 31-year-old risked a wardrobe malfunction in a black boob tube leotard paired with a netted skirt with intricate beading to protect her modesty The fashionista has been a regular face at fashion week, sitting front and centre at some of the elite runways on the action packed schedule. On Thursday, the wife of musician Dane Rumble showed off her slender frame in flared white pants teamed with a khaki button-up shirt as she enjoyed the P.E Nation show. She accessorised her look with a black belt with gold detailing, YSL handbag and a pair of sleek Ray-Ban sunglasses. Monday saw the model exuded style and glamour in a striking black Misha Collection dress which drew attention to her lean and slender frame at the Swarovski show. Safari stunner: The wife of musician Dane Rumble showed off her slender frame in flared white pants teamed with a khaki button-up shirt as she enjoyed the P.E Nation show Style star! Nikki was a noticeable presence when she attended the star-studded Swarovski show held at Carriageworks on Monday Earlier on in the day, the Australian stunner made appearances at the Dion Lee and Misha show as well as heading to the Ginger and Smart viewing. At the latter, she dazzled in a flowing monochrome halter-neck gown, designed by Carla Zampatti, which featured a frilly neckline and fell loosely over her slender figure. During the days fancy proceedings, the presenter rubbed shoulders with guests including David Jones ambassador Jesinta Campbell and fashion designer Yeojin Bae. Nikki was also seen hobnobbing with Bachelor star Anna Heinrich, shoe designer Terry Biviano and fashion blogger Kate Waterhouse. On Sunday, she went bra-less in a chic two-piece ensemble - consisting of figure-hugging trousers and a gaping blouse - for the Toni Maticevski debut. Nikki has kept a busy schedule so far this year, as she's a regular on the social scene as well as keeping up with her runway commitments for Myer as an ambassador. She may have been kicked off MasterChef on Thursday night, but fan favourite Nidhi Mahajan is still chasing her cooking dream. While the bubbly Indian cook returned to her call centre job after the show, she said on Friday she would in a few weeks launch a home cooking business with her husband Sumit. 'If I have eight hours in the call centre, the other eight hours goes to food,' she told News Corp from her home in Adelaide. Scroll down for video Chasing the dream: While bubbly Indian cook Nidhi Mahajan returned to her call centre job after leaving MasterChef, she said on Friday she would in a few weeks launch a home cooking business The 30-year-old was eliminated after her stir-fried cauliflower dish with potato bhajis were not up to scratch, but earned high praise from judges earlier in the competition. Last month, Marco Pierre White said he wished she owned a restaurant near him so he could 'visit it every week' and also said her use of spices was 'genius'. Nidhi's plan for Nidz Kitchen is to cook for dinner parties in her customers' own kitchen, and serve a pre-selected menu to their guests. It will also provide takeaway banquets direct to the door of busy workers who don't feel like cooking when they get home. Touching moment: Call centre worker, Nidhi, who is originally from Chandigarh, Punjab, was asked to leave the competition Emotional moment: While she placed her hands together in a sign of prayer, George could be seen with tears in his eyes 'I will be making meals fresh every day because what I'll be selling to people is what I'll be eating at home,' she said. The menu will include curries, rice, chapati, some Thai food and salads, but Nidhi is happy to cook the favourite meals her customers have a craving for. Nidhi and Sumit wed in their hometown of Chandigarh, Punjab, five years ago after an arranged marriage organised by their parents and siblings. Delicious plan: Nidhi's plan for Nidz Kitchen is to cook for dinner parties in her customers' own kitchen, and serve a pre-selected menu to their guests. It will also provide takeaway banquets direct to the door Family venture: Nidhi is starting the business with her husband of five years Sumit (pictured with her) She says she 'owes everything' to her supportive husband and that the couple were focused on making her dream a reality. 'He's passionate about my passion now, that's the best thing you can ask for from a partner,' she told Popsugar Australia. Nidhi told the website the secret to good Indian cooking was about balancing different spices and that a good dish doesn't have to be hot to be tasty. Fairytale marriage: Nidhi and Sumit wed in their hometown of Chandigarh, Punjab, after an arranged marriage organised by their parents and siblings Dreaming together: She says she 'owes everything' to her supportive husband and that the couple were focused on making her dream a reality. 'There's no cookbook or anything a cookbook can give you an idea of how you can cook, but it's up to you how you learn it,' she said. 'You have to master the art of using the spices, and no cookbook can teach you that.' Nidhi made an emotional exit from the show on Thursday night with judges, viewers and even fellow contestants not wanting her to leave. 'This experience is something I'll be cherishing for the whole of my life,' she said as she left the show. 'I'll be giving inspiration to so many other people to show that a simple person like me can cook. In this country especially if you work hard, dreams do come true.' Balancing act: Nidhi said the secret to good Indian cooking was about balancing different spices and that a good dish doesn't have to be hot to be tasty Mark of respect: She was asked to leave the competition, but before she did, she asked whether she could touch the feet of judges Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris Before she walked out of the MasterChef kitchen she touched the feet of judges Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris as mark of respect for what they had taught her. Nidhi told Popsugar that if she could have her time on the show over she would have tried to absorb more of what the judges were saying. 'During the competition, my mind tended to go numb I couldn't understand what they were saying,' she said. She could pick a single winner from the talented field of remaining contestants but singled out Elena, Theresa, Brett, and Matt as top competitors. A North Carolina school district was having trouble getting parents to school. So, officials decided to drive to them instead. Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools runs its own Parent Involvement Mobile Unita renovated school bus with eight computers, a television, desks, and even a long seat in the back for child care. The district estimates that it has reached between 1,000 and 2,000 families in the year since the bus started rolling out to neighborhoods, parks, churches, and wherever it is welcome, said Javier Correa-Vega, a transportation supervisor for the district. Correa-Vega was a parent-involvement coordinator at a middle school when he realized that it was hard to get parents to the school for activities because they lacked transportation, gas, and time. So, he and his colleague at the sister elementary came up with the idea of using a bus. If they cannot come to us, we go to them, Correa-Vega said in an interview with Education Weeks K-12 Parents and the Public. The district secured a $5,000 grant from Lowes Home Improvement, as well as another $6,000 grant from the Winston-Salem Federal Credit Union, to start the project. The schools purchased a retired bus from the district fleet and got students from the districts career center to do a full remodel. While the bus at first was used by just two schools, now schools from the entire district can use it. The bus can be used for meetings, classes, and distributing information. Its still painted yellow and looks like a school bus so officials can teach bus safety, as well. Soon, organizers plan on using the bus for kindergarten registration. They love it, Correa-Vega said about the parents. They have a piece of school on wheels going to their neighborhoods. Because the kids and our own students built it, its something special. For us, its state of the art because the kids did it. See a Winston-Salem Journal story about the parent involvement bus. Do you know of other schools that use buses for parent outreach? Are there other creative ways that schools go out to neighborhoods? Let us know by sending an email or writing in the comment section. Read more about home-visiting programs in this Education Week article. Contact Sarah Tully at stully@epe.org . Follow @ParentAndPublic for the latest news on schools and parental involvement. Dont miss another K-12 Parents and the Public post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox. She's played some of Shakespeare's most famous leading ladies. But Helen Mirren was playing a more low-key role on Friday afternoon, as she chatted and signed autographs for fans as she headed through the departure lounge of Nice airport. The 70-year-old Oscar-winning actress looked summery, youthful and bright in an mid-length silk dress, patterned in a delicate floral print and with a gently frilled hem. Scroll down for video Flower power: Helen Mirren looked radiant in a floral ankle length dress on Friday afternoon, as she chatted and signed autographs for fans as she headed through the departure lounge of Nice airport With high marl-grey wedge sandals to add some height she headed into the airport looking relaxed and happy. Friendly and animated, she talked to fans who were waiting with printed head-shots of the star. The actress, who has never been afraid of a bold fashion choice, displayed the delicate inking on her left hand. The pattern of interlocking Vs denotes 'love thy neighbour' among tattoo artists, and Helen has previously said the tattoo reminds her to be tolerant of others. For the fans: The pattern of interlocking Vs denotes 'love thy neighbour' among tattoo artists, and Helen has previously said the tattoo reminds her to be tolerant of others Friendly: The 70-year-old Oscar winning actress looked summary and bright in an ankle length silk dress, patterned in a delicate floral print and with a gently frilled hem All smiles: It's been a busy festival for Helen, who was a VIP guest at amfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala at the French Riviera's town's Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on Thursday night It's been a busy festival for Helen, who was a VIP guest at amfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala at the French Riviera's town's Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on Thursday night. Dame Helen upped the veteran glamour of the event as she opted for a dazzling sheer gown with a flawless shape perfectly suited to her figure. Defying her septuagenarian status, she looked timelessly beautiful. The intricate dress featured a full skirt with a gold cage overlay, while the waist nipped in and the top was adorned with 3D flowers of a host of shapes and colours. Bold diaplsy: Helen put on another bold and beautiful display as she stepped out in Cannes on Thursday at the amfAR Gala Hello, I'm fabulous! Helen looked every inch the stunning superstar as she waved at onlookers on her arrival Glam: Dame Helen upped the veteran glamour of the event as she opted for a dazzling sheer gown with a flawless shape perfectly suited to her figure Sheer delight? The intricate dress featured a full skirt with a gold cage overlay, while the waist nipped in and the top was adorned with 3D flowers of a host of shapes and colours She flashed her nude slip beneath thanks to the mesh material. Her hair and make-up were flawlessly applied and rounded out the flawless finish of the look. She injected a touch of vampish colour to the muted pallet with red lipstick while smudging on black eyeliner. Meanwhile her blonde looks was styled into a bouncy, flicked blow dry. Classy: Her hair and make-up were flawlessly applied and rounded out the flawless finish of the look. She injected a touch of vampish colour to the muted pallet with red lipstick while smudging on black eyeliner Loving life: She was a VIP guest at amfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala at the French Riviera's town's Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc Although it wasn't her best look, it was still a decent look for the event, which is a high-point in the charity calendar. The fundraiser, which raises money for AIDs research, will see the likes of Katy Perry perform for the A-list crowd, while Adriana Lima will co-chair the event. After posing up a storm on the red carpet, the celebrities make their way into a lavish dinner which is followed by a no expense spared auction, with last year's event raising a staggering $30 million. The event, which takes place just outside of Cannes, will also feature Kirsten Dunst, Vanessa Paradis and Donald Sutherland who are serving as chairs for the Cannes Film Festival Jury. Divisive: It wasn't her best look, it was still a decent look for the event, which is a high-point in the charity calendar Glamorous: Helen dazzled as she spoke on stage at the event in her glimmering dress A vision: Helen's gown moved with her elegant moves as she swished across the stage looking stunning Jessica and Ashley Hart stunned their fans in glamorous gowns when they walked the red carpet at the amfAR gala on Thursday. But on Friday, the Australian supermodel and her younger sister temporarily ditched the glitz and glamour for a casual stroll at the Promenade de la Croisette in the French resort town. Jessica, 30, sported a simple black dress that clung to her figure while Ashley, 27, went for a kaftan-style mini-dress in an exotic print. Scroll down for video Stylish sisters! Jessica Hart and younger sister Ashley were spotted taking a casual stroll at the Promenade de la Croisette in Cannes on Friday Vogue model Jessica wore a pair of white sneakers on her feet, proving that she was happy to ditch high heels for more comfortable footwear. Perhaps in a bid to avoid being recognized by onlookers, she hid her eyes behind a pair of round sunglasses and wore a straw panama hat on her head. However, the Sydney-born beauty was instantly recognizable thanks to her signature gap-toothed smile. All smiles! The 30-year-old supermodel grinned as she wore a pair of sunglasses and a straw panama mat Black beauty: Jessica's simple black dress clung to her slender figure Standing out: While Jessica went for a more simple look, Ashley captured the eye in a loud print dress At one point, the Victoria's Secret stunner was carrying a beige garment bag, which most likely contained a stylish ensemble for one of the festival's many parties or premieres. Meanwhile her sister, clad in an eye-catching print, wore trendy ankle boots which she matched to her handbag. Like her famous sister, she also wore sunglasses, but avoided disguising herself under a hat. Family affair: The famous sisters showcased their close bond as they strolled around Cannes Comfortable: The former Victoria's Secret model wore white sneakers on her feet instead of heels On Thursday night, Jessica had jaws dropping when she wore a shimmering mini-dress as she attended a party for AmfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. The stunning silver dress was by Balmain, and featured long tassels falling from Jessica's neck to her upper thigh. Earlier that day. the blonde beauty walked the red carpet for the event in a plunging cream and gold gown that flaunted her cleavage. What's in the bag? The beauty carried a beige garment bag with her Fashion: While it's unknown what was in the bag, it's likely that it was a glamorous garment for one of the high profile events around Cannes She further drew attention to her decolletage by accessorising with a dazzling diamond necklace, while toting a small gold bag. The five foot nine glamazon further boosted her height in a pair of stilettos hidden beneath the hem of her dazzling metallic dress. She was joined by her younger sister Ashley, who sported a sheer red gown with strategically placed beading to cover her modesty. The 27-year-old Ashley, who has modelled for the likes of Mambo and Just Jeans, slicked her hair back into a half-up, half-down 'do, and wore simple accessories, including her gold wedding band from husband Buck Palmer. She's a blonde bombshell who also just happens to speak four languages. And 41-year-old Swede Victoria Silvstedt was making the most of her French skills as she arrived at Eden Rock in the South of France. Wearing a tiny crocheted dress that showed off her ample curves, the star opted for practical Valentino sandals which were a godsend when it came to stepping out of the boat. Tanned and toned: Wearing a tiny crocheted dress that showed off her ample curves, Victoria Silvstedt opted for practical Valentino sandals as she arrived at Eden Roc in Cannes on Friday With a giant laser cut leather bag on her arm, in which she had tucked her jacket in for later in the evening, getting out of the boat was certainly tricky. Luckily there were several willing gentleman, happy to help the presenter and model onto dry land. With her long platinum blonde hair worn long and loose around her shoulders, Victoria looked thrilled to be arriving at the popular celebrity destination in the South of France. Stepping out: With a giant laser cut leather bag on her arm, in which she had tucked her jacket in for later in the evening, getting out of the boat was certainly tricky All smiles: With her long platinum blonde hair worn long and loose around her shoulders, Victoria looked thrilled to be arriving at the popular celebrity destination in the South of France The former Playmate of the Year has recently appeared on a Swedish reality series alongside a host of famous personalities, which was broadcast on TV3. Victoria has previously opened up about her introduction to modelling and her discomfort with the catwalk. Speaking to Female First, she said: I started very young to model in Paris when I was 18, I remember like starving myself to fit into the clothes and it was an amazing experience but you know I did shows for Valentino, Chanel, so it was really prestigious. Reality star: The former Playmate of the Year has recently appeared on a Swedish reality series alongside a host of famous personalities, which was broadcast on TV3 Helping hands: Victoria has previously opened up about her introduction to modelling and her discomfort with the catwalk Pressure: I started very young to model in Paris when I was 18, I remember like starving myself to fit into the clothes and it was an amazing experience but I did shows for Valentino, Chanel, so it was really prestigious But it never felt like it was my thing, I'm not like a runway skinny model, I'm more curvy. It was torture, I put myself through starvation, you know torturing myself. Other celebrities who have arrived at sunny Eden Roc today include actor and director Kevin Spacey, 56, who has been spotted enjoying the local delicacies at Eden Roc Hotel. And French actor Vincent Cassel, 49, who starred in Ocean's Twelve also arrived on Friday with friends. American Beauty: Other celebrities who have arrived at sunny Eden Roc today include actor and director Kevin Spacey, 56, who has been spotted enjoying the local delicacies at Eden Roc Hotel Nice ride! The actor caught a ride on a boat as he soaked up his surroundings Looking dapper: The star teamed a blue shirt with a baseball cap for his trip She jetted in to Cannes only a few days ago and has since made quite an impression. And Kimberley Garner made sure to not let the glamour subside as she enjoyed a luxury shopping trip with her pal in a strapless white playsuit on Thursday afternoon in the sunny South of France. Looking the epitome of riviera chic, the 25-year-old former Made In Chelsea star flaunted her endless tanned legs as she hit high end stores such as Chanel, whilst sporting a handbag from the same French fashion house. Scroll down for video Sunning in France! Kimberley Garner, 25, enjoyed a luxury shopping trip with her pal in a strapless white play-suit on Thursday afternoon in the sunny South of France Standing in at 5 ft 7 in, the beauty accentuated her long legs as she paraded elegantly along in a pair of brown sandal-heels which were adorned with gold studs. The slight plunging neckline of the corset-style ensemble showed off her humble cleavage, while two dainty chains rested upon her decolletage, which was also spotlighted with a chic printed neck-tie. Making sure the accessories on her upper half were on full display, she tied her blonde tresses into a sophisticated low-lying ponytail. And Vogue: Taking inspiration from their A-list surroundings, on one occasion the duo struck some model poses where they put their hands on the hip and put on leg in front of the other Riviera chic: The former Made In Chelsea star flaunted her long tanned pins as she hit high end stores such as Chanel, whilst sporting a handbag from the same French fashion house Endless legs: Standing in at 5 ft 7 in, the beauty accentuated her long legs with a pair of brown sandal-heels which were adorned with gold studs Her face sported a healthy dose of blush and chiselled contour as she adorned a pair of tinted sunnies, which she forewent on numerous occasions. The sleeveless element of the jumpsuit showed off her stunning physique which she has further sculpted during her work stay in sunny California. Her blonde pal took inspiration from the swimwear designer's look and opted for a strikingly similar get-up. Beauty guru: Making sure the accessories on her upper half were on full display, she tied her blonde tresses in to a sophisticated low-lying ponytail Looking similar: She opted for sculpted bronzed look and pink lips as she shopped with her matching pal Instead of a play-suit, she went for a strapless white dress and white sandals, which she paired with a large black handbag and over-sized shades. The glam pal seemed to be striking up quite the conversation, as Kimberley looked excessively jovial as she smiled wide. Taking inspiration from their A-list surroundings, on one occasion the duo struck some model poses where they put their hands on the hip and put on leg in front of the other. Why hello: The sleeveless element of the jumpsuit showed of her stunning physique which she has further sculpted during her work stay in sunny California The British beauty has been having having the time of her life during her Cannes stay after arriving by helicopter on Tuesday. A mere few hours later she showed off her perky assets in a plunging white satin gown as she schmoozed on the French resort. However, on some occasions her thin spaghetti straps began to fall off her shoulder and the star nearly risked a wardrobe malfunction, which was luckily avoided. 'Up in the air': The British beauty arrived at Cannes by helicopter on Tuesday Oopsies! A mere few hours later she showed off her perky assets in a plunging white satin gown as she schmoozed on the French resort, nearly causing a wardrobe malfunction Breaking the white colour scheme, Kimberley went on to stun at the Cinemoi Awards Gala in a red gown which cinched in her waist with a dramatic gold belt. Meanwhile, Kimberley recently revealed that she rejected the chance to return to Made in Chelsea and claimed that she felt like a 'caged animal' while on the hit E4 reality series. 'I did get called in and they did speak to me about coming back. I sometimes joke with my boyfriend, and after a few minutes we're like, "Absolutely not,"' she told OK! Online. He shot to fame as James Bond's aide Q in Skyfall. But Ben Whishaw proved that he too can master the spy-like art of disguise as he looked virtually unrecognisable whilst out in New York on Thursday. Sporting a dark bushy beard, the 35-year-old actor looked worlds away from the clean shaven star who has dominated the silver screen recently. Scroll down for video Spy style: He shot to fame as James Bond's aide Q in Skyfall. But Ben Whishaw proved that he too can master the spy-like art of disguise as he looked unrecognisable whilst out in New York on Thursday As well as his newfound facial fuzz, the star also sported new shorter hairstyle in a drastic change from his typical mop of shaggy locks. Befitting with his new appearance, the London Spy star rocked an indie vibe on his journey as he strolled through the streets clad in a leather jacket and navy T-shirt. Donning a pair of chinos and black boots, the star seemed in good spirits as he soaked up the sunshine on his stroll. Neither here nor hair! Sporting a dark bushy beard, the 35-year-old actor looked worlds away from the clean shaven star who has dominated the silver screen recently (pictured now and in 2014) Crop it like it's hot! As well as his newfound facial fuzz, the star also sported new shorter hairstyle in a drastic change from his typical mop of shaggy locks as he strolled through the streets Ben cut a solo figure on the outing and was not joined by his husband Mark Bradshaw. The star - who entered into a civil partnership with the Australian composer in 2012 - recently spoke out about his sexuality after he was unknowingly outed. Speaking to The Telegraph, the star revealed that once the news was revealed he found it something of a relief. Master of disguise: Ben played Q - the head of Secret Service's Q Branch - in Skyfall and Spectre alongside leading man Daniel Craig - who recently announced he would no longer be playing James Bond Man about town: Befitting with his new appearance, the London Spy star rocked an indie vibe on his journey as he strolled through the streets clad in a leather jacket and navy T-shirt 'Now people arent that interested, because now theres nothing being concealed,' he explained. Tom - who voices Paddington Bear in the 2014 movie - also explained that he chose to open up more about his personal life to stop fans speculating. '[Not speaking] made it worse,' he said. 'Because then people assume youve got some really juicy, awful thing that youre keeping from them.' She always cuts a glamorous figure. But Milla Jovovich surpassed herself when she attended the latest A-list event at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday. The 40 year-old beauty, from Kiev, wowed as she arrived at the French Riviera's Palais Des Festivals for The Last Face premiere. Scroll down for video Looking good: Milla Jovovich surpassed herself when she attended the latest A-list event at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday Dressed to impress, the acclaimed star - who is known for her roles in Resident Evil and The Fifth Element - was on fine fashion form. Showcasing her impressive figure, she slipped into a sexy, floor-length dress which boasted a backless design. Also featuring a bold, cleavage-enhancing neckline, she smouldered as she navigated the red carpet. Sexy: Dressed to impress, the acclaimed star - who is known for her roles in Resident Evil and The Fifth Element - was on fine fashion form Showcasing her impressive figure, she slipped into a sexy, floor-length dress which boasted a backless design Wearing her cropped hair in an elfin style, she wore it in a sassy side-parting for added class. Choosing to keep her make-up simple for the occasion, movie star was on fine sartorial form at the star-studded event. Posing up a storm on the red carpet, she oozed class and style. Stylish: Wearing her cropped hair in an elfin style, she wore it in a sassy side-parting for added class Commanding attention: Choosing to keep her make-up simple for the occasion, movie star was on fine sartorial form at the star-studded event Dressed to impress: Milla looked fantastic as she paraded around in Cannes' Palais Des Festivals The Last Face is a 2016 American drama film directed by Sean Penn and written by Erin Dignam. Although it stars Charlize Theron, Javier Bardem, Adele Exarchopoulos and Jean Reno, it has largely been savaged by critics. Many have taken to social media hailing The Last Place as the lowest point of Penn's career, with some suggesting Theron broke up with the 55-year-old after she saw an early edit of the film. Penn has already responded to the overwhelming criticism, saying: 'I stand by the film as it is, and everyone is going to be entitled to their response.' The Last Face is a 2016 American drama film directed by Sean Penn and written by Erin Dignam Mariah Carey is filming a new reality show for E!, the same cable station that puts out Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Rich Kids Of Beverly Hills. But not everyone thinks Mariah's World is a good idea for the 46-year-old Grammy winner, who has been cranking out hit songs - Always Be My Baby, Butterfly - for 28 years. One of those people who worries is director Lee Daniels, who told SiriusXM Bevelations radio show on Friday that things could so easily go wrong. He has worked with the diva on the films Precious, Tennessee and The Butler. He's not sold: Director Lee Daniels told SiriusXM Bevelations radio show on Friday that things could so easily go wrong on Mariah's World for E! Here he is seen with Carey on May 14 He's hired the diva three times: Daniels has worked with the diva on the films Precious, Tennessee and The Butler 'Im terrified about it,' he said. 'I dont know if its a wise idea for her. I was at the gym, I saw [the announcement for Mariah's World] it, and I was like, "Oh, Lord. What is she doing?" 'I think its bigger than her. I think its not a good idea. I think that the true geniuses have to be saved from themselves sometimes. Now is this being a good friend?: 'Im terrified about it,' he said. 'I dont know if its a wise idea for her' But he does defend his Mimi: He also explained how she handles all the bad energy around her. 'Ive seen how people attack her,' he said. 'They are mean to her. People try to start stuff between her, and she plays into it, but its all a joke' 'But I have no problem telling her, "What are you doing?" and she listens, too.' He also explained how she handles all the bad energy around her. 'Ive seen how people attack her,' he said. 'They are mean to her. People try to start stuff between her, and she plays into it, but its all a joke.' He added: 'She is very fragile, and she has been through a lot. She has been used, she has been abused Some people dont have that Teflon sort of thing that I do, so she masks it with this coquettish thing that is hiding her nervousness and her pain and her own familys abuse to her. So he will be on the show? The first trailer for the show debuted on May 16. Mariah is seen getting ready for a trip to Europe for her Sweet Sweet Fantasy tour. She is also preparing for her wedding to Australian billionaire James Packer, who she is seen with here in 2015 'She is misunderstood, because she is really, really ride or die. She really, really, really will do anything for you.' The filmmaker also said that he tricked her into being on her E! show, 'That b****, he said. 'She says, "Come over!" I show up to this room at a Kosher steakhouse somewhere on Wall Street, and the cameras are in my face and recording our conversation! 'And she says, "Dahling, dahling, dahling, sign [the release form], sign it, sign it, were doing a little documentary." With her mini me: Mariah with her daughter Monroe and mother Patricia Hickey in 2015. Lee said: 'She is very fragile, and she has been through a lot. She has been used, she has been abused she masks it with this coquettish thing that is hiding her nervousness and her pain and her own familys abuse to her' 'The next day, Im reading that she has a f***ing reality show!' The first trailer for the show debuted on May 16. Mariah is seen getting ready for a trip to Europe for her Sweet Sweet Fantasy tour. She is also preparing for her wedding to Australian billionaire James Packer. 'I don't think everyone knows anything about me,' she said in the clip. She has stunned on the red carpet in a host of spectacular outfits. And Alessandra Ambrosio upped the fashion stakes yet again as she attended The Last Face premiere at the 69th Film Festival at Cannes on Friday evening. The 35-year-old model looked fabulous in a shimmering semi sheer silver dress embellished with sparkling sequins. Scroll down for video Shimmering: Alessandra Ambrosio certainly didn't disappoint in the fashion stakes as she attended The Last Face premiere at the 69th Film Festival at Cannes on Friday evening The diaphanous material displayed a hint of the Brazilian beauty's toned legs and trailed across the red carpet. She accessorised her look with a showstopping Cartier snake platinum necklace studded with dazzling diamonds and added some matching rings. Completing her outfit, Alessandra wore a pair of strappy silver stilettos to add height to her already impressive 5ft 9in frame. The model's long brunette locks were worn pulled back in a bun to highlight her flawless complexion and show off her weighty diamond earrings. She appeared in high spirits as she beamed in front of the bank of photographers at the star-studded event. Stunning: The 35-year-old model looked fabulous in a shimmering semi sheer silver dress embellished with sparkling sequins Spectacular: The diaphanous material displayed a hint of the Brazilian beauty's toned legs and trailed across the red carpet Sparkling: She accessorised her look with a showstopping Cartier snake platinum necklace studded with dazzling diamonds and added some matching rings Statuesque: Completing her outfit, Alessandra wore a pair of strappy silver stilettos to add height to her already impressive 5ft 9in frame This month, the Victoria's Secret angel dismissed rumours she was splitting from her long-term partner Jamie Mazur, after being spotted without her engagement ring. She revealed she had, in fact, lost the band with three-carat square cut emeralds and micro-pave diamonds given to her in 2008. She told Vogue: 'Jamie has given me some beautiful pieces of jewellery that I could never part with - like the first thing he gave me, I still have - although I few of them I have lost. I'm pretty bad for that. 'I actually lost my engagement ring a few years ago, so I do want to replace it. I don't know if he's going to make me replace it myself since I lost it!' Alessandra dismissed rumours that she was splitting from her fiance - who runs denim brand Re/Done - in October 2013 when she made an appearance at the Performing Arts Inaugural Gala presented by Salvatore Ferragamo in Beverly Hills. Luscious locks: The model's long brunette tresses were worn pulled back in a bun to highlight her flawless complexion and show off her weight diamond earrings A wave for the cameras: She looked in high spirits as she beamed for the bank of photographers at the premiere Glittering: Alessandra appeared to have fun as she posed and swished her dress train on the carpet Selfie: The model found time to pose for a selfie on the red carpet during the star-studded event It has been a big week for milestones in the McDermott-Spelling clan. After marking her 10th wedding anniversary with husband Dean McDermott in Paris, Tori Spelling celebrated her birthday with big bash at a Danish castle on Thursday night. The star marked turning 43 at NaesbyHolm Castle in Denmark and was joined by Dean and her children - Liam, Stella, Hattie and Finn - plus some new ticket-paying friends. Happy Birthday to me: Tori Spelling marked turning 43 at NaesbyHolm Castle in Denmark with her family and an assortment of fancy desserts Party time: The mother-of-four celebrated her special day in lavish style with husband Dean McDermott and their children (L-R) Liam, Hattie, Finn and Stella Advertised by the castle's owner as 'an exclusive chance to enjoy an extravagant evening with food and drinks celebrating with Tori'. Businessman and owner of the NaesbyHolm Castle, Morten Lund told local paper BT: 'There is only a few tickets we are selling to the birthday party, which will primarily consist of friends, family and business partners from home and abroad. 'But we thought it might be fun to also have a small exclusive group that may be allowed to join if they want to talk to Tori and have pictures taken with her.' Those wanting to join the star shelled out 1,995 kroner or around $USD300 to secure their sport at the event. Party time: The star marked turning 43 at NaesbyHolm Castle in Denmark which was built in the 1500s Nice to meet you: The event's attendees was a mix of her family, friends, business associates and paid guests While advertised as a party for up to a 150, it seems it became a much more exclusive night with a significantly smaller amount of people attending the party. Carmen Electra was also rumoured to attend but seems she also missed out on the bash. Despite this, Tori looked as if she was having blast no doubt because she had her family by her side. Paying to party: Advertised by the castle's owner as 'an exclusive chance to enjoy an extravagant evening with food and drinks celebrating with Tori' those attending paid around $USD300 Just the few of us: While advertised as a party for up to a 150, it seems it became a much more exclusive night with a significantly smaller amount of people attending the party With her wedding anniversary in mind perhaps, the star looked very much like a bride as she partied away in a white dress. The birthday girl - who turned 43 on Monday - wore a flowing white chiffon dress which featured layers of fabric creating an ethereal feel. Following the gown's Grecian goddess vibes, the Beverly Hills 90210 star wore her long blond hair out with multiple braids across the crown of her head. All she needs: Carmen Electra was also rumoured to attend but did not make it, despite this, Tori looked as if she was having blast no doubt because she had her family by her side White hot: The birthday girl - who turned 43 on Monday - wore a flowing white chiffon dress which featured layers of fabric creating an ethereal feel Golden girl: Tori added a little bling to her look thanks to body chain and a pair of gold peep toe pumps Crowning glory: Following the gown's Grecian goddess vibes, the Beverly Hills 90210 star wore her long blond hair out with multiple braids across the crown of her head Tori added a little bling to her look thanks to body chain and a pair of gold peep toe pumps, which would later be ditched so she could get her groove on. The star's celebration was kicked off with a presentation of gifts from her invited and paying guests. Many chose to give her presents from their companies, so one guest's unique job meant her even more unique gift left Tori not knowing what to do. Thanks! The star's celebration was kicked off with a presentation of gifts from her invited and paying guests Not what you asked for? Many chose to give her presents from their companies, so one guest's unique job meant her even more unique gift left Tori not knowing what to do Lady in red: Twerk Queen Louise dedicated a dance to the actress, who did not seem so amused The reality star seemed lost for words after guest, Twerk Queen Louise, dedicated a dance to the actress. Clad in a red jumpsuit, the Danish dancer promptly bent over and started shaking her derriere at the birthday girl. Posting a picture of her dance on Instagram the 'Twerk Queen' said: 'When you trynna take me to a castle and ALL I do is Twerk for @torispelling.' Let them eat cake: But a birthday party is not all about gifts - it is also about cake, and the star cleaned up in that department as she had four different cakes presented to her Make a wish: Tori 's family helped her to blow out the birthday candles Big breath: Everyone took a big inhale and then exhaled Cutting the first piece: The reality star showed she's handy with the chef's knife as she portioned out the cake Want a piece of this: Dean helped with the slicing as Tori placed the pieces on the plates Enough to share: The actress got all her family around her to blow out her candles But a birthday party is not all about gifts - it is also about cake, and the star cleaned up in that department as she had four different cakes presented to her. Getting all her family around her to blow out her candles, the star cut one cake and the knife clearly came out dirty as she had to kiss the nearest boy. Fortunately, that nearest one was her husband. Come here you: The star cut one cake and the knife clearly came out dirty as she had to kiss the nearest boy Too cute: The 43-year-old shared a sweet mother daughter moment with Stella The couple just got matching tattoos on their biceps to celebrate a decade of marriage with the romantic French saying, 'Tout mon coeur, Tout ma vie,' which means 'My whole heart, my whole life.' The star showed off her new ink as she twirled around the dance floor later on in the evening. The couple have had a notoriously rocky relationship with Tori and Dean coming close to divorce after it was revealed he had cheated on her. 'My whole heart': Dean and Tori just got matching tattoos on their biceps to celebrate a decade of marriage so the 90210 star showed hers off Ironically, the castle Tori chose to celebrate her birthday at also has a rocky history when it comes to love. According to the castle's website, it was built in 1585 but was bought by King Frederik IV in the early 1700s. The king moved in his mistress Charlotte Helene Von Schindel, but she later fell in love with a local worker and was banished to Germany. Party time: The birthday girl really seemed to enjoy herself once she hit the dancefllor Dance like no one's watching: Kicking her shoes off, the star twirled around the dance floor while guests looked on Her ghost allegedly returned however, and today she still searches for her king. Tori did not have to look far for hers with the star and her husband taking to the dance floor with their children. Kicking her shoes off, the star seemed to be having a blast twirling around the dance floor while guests looked on. All partied out: Little Finn crashed mid-dance sleeping on his father's shoulder To good health: The actress and her children decided to have a little time out from dancing, giving Tori time to re-hydrate with a glass of wine The night came to a grand end with Tori treated to her very own fireworks display. Watching on with her family, the actress seemed mesmerized as colours exploded over their heads. The star's European vacation has been a a one to remember as aside from her birthday and anniversary tattoo, Tori got engaged - again. Big bang theory: The night came to a grand end with Tori treated to her very own fireworks display The end: Watching on with her family, the actress seemed mesmerized as colours exploded over their heads Making memories: The star's European vacation has been a a one to remember as aside from her birthday and anniversary tattoo, Tori got engaged - again Dean surprised Tori in Paris by getting down on one knee at the Cafe de LHomme, the Eiffel Tower in the distance. This was actually Dean's THIRD proposal to Tori with his first proposal taking place on December 24, 2005. They said 'I do' the following May. Dean's second proposal happened the following year on December 25, 2006. Holly Madison is far along in her second pregnancy. And the 36-year-old former Playboy model is not having the best time. The blonde bombshell ex of Hugh Hefner told People on Friday she has been feeling 'tired and lazy.' But that may not just be hormones. It could also be all the trashing she has been getting from former Girls Next Door co-star Kendra Wilkinson who has accused the Las Vegas performer of some pretty lurid things. Scroll down for video Not easy: Holly Madison told People on Friday she has been feeling 'tired and lazy' with her second pregnancy; here she is seen on Monday in NYC Added stress: The star could also be feeling bad because of the trashing she has been getting from former Girls Next Door co-star Kendra Wilkinson who has accused the Las Vegas performer of some pretty lurid things 'Ive been more tired, lazy, not craving healthy food,' Holly said to the site. 'Its crazy how different each pregnancy is not just from person to person, but even myself.' Madison added, 'Other people ask me for pregnancy advice, and its hard to give advice because each is so different.' Madison released her second memoir, The Vegas Diaries, on Tuesday. The way they were: The frenemies were pictured in better times in September 2009 in Beverly Hills This interview comes after Kendra told People on Thursday that Madison - who she has been feuding with for years - would not want to be a part a Girls Next Door reunion (the show aired on E! from 2005 until 2010) because she has too many secrets. The third member of the show is Bridget Marquardt. The brash, acid-tongued former cocktail server believes Holly 'wouldn't do that,' citing that 'she has too much to hide.' The revelation follows harsh words Kendra had for her GND co-star. In previous interview with People, Holly, 36, said that there 'was a lot of fear' in the house. 'It was a constant struggle. I was trying to sell this image of "Oh everything is so great here," but I was miserable inside.' After learning about her interview, Kendra took to Twitter and shared her anger, revealing vulgar, alleged bedroom acts between the girls' former boyfriend Hugh and Holly. Prior to her public outburst with the pregnant mother-of-two, Kendra denounced her friendship with Bridget, causing a rift between the former mates. But the WE TV star admitted that the two are attempting to patch things up. 'Right now with Bridget, we're currently talking things out, because she's open to it. She has an open heart and we want to talk things out and clear the air because we both have nothing to hide.' Girl fight: Prior to her public outburst with the pregnant mother-of-two, Kendra denounced her friendship with Bridget Marquardt, 42, causing a rift between the former mates. They are pictured with Hugh Hefner, 90 in August 2008 in LA When it comes to Bridget, the 42-year-old is not taking sides. 'It's kind of sad. Like I feel like we have a bond, the three of us. It's kind of like, it's not like a sisterhood, it's not like friends, I mean it is friends, but it's something totally different than any other relationship you could possibly imagine,' she told Hollywood Today Live. Despite her neutrality, she did not defend Kendra's action, and let her know how she felt. 'She's [Holly] writing about her experience and this is how she's reflecting on it and she has a right to do that. 'And you [Kendra] have a right not to agree with her, but lashing out like this and saying such vile things and stuff isn't really the way to handle it either,' she told her former co-star. Repo Gone Wrong Ends in Manslaughter Charges Would you die to save your car from a repo agent? That is what happened this week when a woman in Pleasant Grove, Utah crashed her vehicle during a high speed chase -- she was trying to get away from a man who came to her door to repossess the vehicle. Now Ashleigh Best, 35, is dead, and Kenneth Drew, 49, is in jail on manslaughter charges. He denies driving Best to her death, reports the Daily Mail. Let's consider this tragic accident and the legal limits on repossession. Mother Under Pressure Ashleigh Best was under pressure. It seems life in Pleasant Grove was not all pleasant. The mother of three was living with her husband and family at her parents' house in order to get their finances together. When Kenneth Drew came knocking on the door to repossess the car, her husband begged Drew to wait and let him call the bank. The repo man reportedly said no and Ashleigh Best drove off in the car, hoping to save it from him. Drew gave chase, though the repo man denies he drove at high speeds, and Best crashed her car into a tree. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The company Drew works for, On Demand Repo, stated that its policy is not to chase people. As for their agent, they said Drew didn't have a mean bone in his body and asked that people wait until the investigation concludes before deciding what happened. Pleasant Grove Police Lieutenant Britt Smith, however, told reporters, "I've never, in my 15 years of law enforcement, I've never seen a repo agent be this aggressive. I've never seen anything like it. It doesn't justify chasing her down through the roads, city streets, at high rates of speeds, causing fatal traffic accidents. The end doesn't justify the means." Repossession Rules Smith's statement raises the question -- just how aggressive can a repo agent be? The rules for repossession depend on state statutes and these vary in the details. Some states require agents to notify police of any actions they will take. Others outline specific methods of approach. No state permits a breach of the peace. There are limitations on agents and that they cannot break the law in order to repossess property. Still, On Demand Repo also makes an important point, and one which is the cornerstone of criminal law. Kenneth Drew is accused of manslaughter, but he has not been proven guilty of causing the fatal accident. For now at least, he is innocent. Accused? If you are accused of a crime, don't delay in getting legal advice. Many criminal defense attorneys consult for free or a minimal fee and will be happy to talk about your case. Related Resources: When it comes to style, she often chooses timeless and form-flattering pieces. And Lupita Nyong'o did not disappoint when she attended the Drama League Awards in New York on Friday. The 33-year-old Oscar winner, who's been starring on Broadway, showed off her toned physique in a sleeveless striped dress. Stye star: Lupita Nyong'o, 33, showed off her toned arms in a striped, sleeveless dress in NYC on Friday The Eclipsed actress accessorized her ensemble with minimal additions, choosing a ring, headband and tiny stud earrings. The beauty completed her look with a pair of black pumps and bold, red lips. Also at the event, which honors those in Broadway and off-Boradway shows, was Michelle Williams. Contrasting colour: The beauty completed her look with a pair of black pumps and bold, red lips Lady in bright red: Michelle Williams, 35, was also at the event, which honors the stars of Broadway and off-Broadway shows The 35-year-old Wonderstruck actress was both edgy and demure in a leather, red dress. The front of the frock featured an exposed zipper and line detailing. Michelle wore her hair down and loosely curled, short fringe framing her face in the front. Meeting in the middle: The Wonderstruck actress was both edgy and demure in a leather dress Handsome guest: Former Dexter star Michael C. Hall, 45, was among the famous faces who supported the event and looked dapper in a casual suit Former Dexter star Michael C. Hall and British actor Ben Whishaw, 35, also attended the audience-voted award show. Up next for the UK star is a role alongside Tom Hanks in the film, A Hologram for the King. Geordie Shore star Marnie Simpson has spoken out on the reaction she's had since coming out as bisexual last month. The 24-year-old spoke to LGBT publication DIVA, explaining that being open about her sexuality has been 'the best thing I've ever done.' Marnie added though that some of her friends and Geordie Shore co-stars have been dismissive of her revelation. Scroll down for video Cover girl: Geordie Shore star Marnie Simpson has spoken out on the reaction she's had since coming out as bisexual last month, wowing in the new issue of DIVA magazine Marnie is seen showing off her curves on the cover of DIVA, wowing in an unzipped playsuit teamed with a 'Diva' choker. In the accompanying interview the reality star, who first appeared on MTV's Geordie Shore in 2013, talks about the reaction she received from friends and family after coming out in an interview with Heat magazine in April. 'I'm still really shocked at how nice everyone's been,' she admits, but adds that some of her co-stars, including pal Charlotte Crosby have been less accepting. Charlotte told Now Magazine last month that while she's supportive of her friend she isn't sure Marnie will end up having a serious relationship with a woman. Support: the reality star, who first appeared on MTV's Geordie Shore in 2013, talks about the reaction she received from friends and family after coming out in an interview with Heat magazine in April 'This is a very new stage in Marnie's life,' Charlotte explained. 'I don't think we should take it too seriously yet. She told us all in our WhatsApp group. I wasn't surprised by it [but] I can't imagine her finding love with a woman. I'm actually LOL-ing.' Marnie isn't letting the reaction of her co-stars bother her though, telling DIVA: 'Let them think what they want to think. It doesn't really bother us that no one is taking it that seriously. As long as I'm out in the open and true to myself, that's all I care about.' Marnie also opens up about her rumoured romance with pal Natalie Phillips, after she shared a number of flirty social media posts with the beauty in recent weeks. 'Now, if I'm seen with any girl at all, it's like, 'That's Marnie's new girlfriend!' she points out. Marnie hit headlines when she revealed her sexuality in Heat magazine, insisting the issue was constantly on her mind and making her feel anxious. Not taking it seriously: 'I'm still really shocked at how nice everyone's been,' she admits, but adds that some of her co-stars have been less accepting 'I'm constantly worrying, so why don't I just come out and say it? I think it's empowering,' she admitted, adding that 'I think it could help other girls as well. Me being honest about my sexuality might make others want to be as well.' 'I was constantly thinking about it. I already feel better to just say it. When I was 19 I realised I would look at some girls in a different way. I've always kissed girls but I don't think I took it seriously till I had an encounter with a girl last year.' 'To me, that was different because it was just me and her. It wasn't for any other reason than I wanted to, so it made me think differently. I'm still a bit hesitant to have a full-blown relationship with a girl, but I do think it would be a possibility.' Junes issue of DIVA is on sale from 20 May digitally at divadigital.co.uk, and in all good newsagents from 26 May. Islamist group Ansar Dine claims ambush on UN peacekeepers in Mali Islamist group Ansar Dine on Thursday claimed responsibility for an ambush in northeastern Mali that killed five Chadian UN peacekeepers. "Our mujahedeens attacked... soldiers working in the international alliance against us," a senior member of the jihadist group, Nourredine Ag Mohamed, told AFP. "Many enemies" were killed, he added, without giving a precise toll. So far, 59 peacekeepers have been killed while on active service in Mali, while another four have died in friendly fire incidents, UN figures show Romaric Hien (AFP/File) The peacekeepers were attacked Wednesday as they were escorting a convoy in Aguelhok in the Kidal region. They hit a landmine and then came under sustained gunfire, according to a statement on the UN Mali mission's social media accounts. Five Chadian peacekeepers were killed and three others wounded, according to the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Wednesday's attack was the worst since a February assault on the MINUSMA camp in Kidal by Malian Islamist group Ansar Dine in which seven Guineans were killed. The Mali mission is the most dangerous active deployment for UN peacekeepers and it has been hit by sharp internal tensions since its launch in July 2013. So far, 59 peacekeepers have been killed while on active service, while another four have died in friendly fire incidents, UN figures show. The bodies of the five Chadian soldiers will be repatriated to N'Djamena following a ceremony in the Malian capital Bamako, to be held in the coming days, a MINUSMA source told AFP. Ansar Dine was one of several Islamist factions that conquered vast swathes of the Mali's north in 2012 before being repulsed by French troops. US, Britain, France, Germany back business with Iran Foreign banks and businesses should not hold back from conducting legal business with Iran, Western powers said Friday. In a joint statement released after talks in Brussels, the United States, the European Union, France, Britain and Germany sought to reassure companies that, after the Iran nuclear deal, certain forms of trade are permitted. "We will not stand in the way of permitted business activity with Iran," the four powers plus the European Union said. Foreign banks and private businesses should not hold back from conducting legal business with Iran, said the United States, France, Britain and Germany Atta Kenare (AFP/File) "And we will not stand in the way of international firms or financial institutions engaging with Iran, as long as they follow all applicable laws," they added. Under the terms of the Iran nuclear deal signed last year and implemented in February, international sanctions aimed at Tehran's nuclear programme have been dropped. But the United States has maintained its sanctions targeting Tehran's alleged sponsorship of armed movements in the Middle East and its ballistic missile programme. European banks, which often have subsidiaries on US soil, have therefore been slow to resume business with Iran, fearing prosecution in the United States. But, a joint statement by the western parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- the implementation side of the Iran deal -- gave business the green light. "The interest of European and other global firms in Iran is high," the statement said. "And it is in our interest and the interest of the international community to ensure that the JCPOA works for all participants, including by delivering benefit to the Iranian people," it continued. "This includes the reengagement of European banks and businesses in Iran." US Secretary of State John Kerry -- a key architect of the Iran deal -- was in Brussels for a NATO ministers meeting, and held talks on the Iran deal while he was there. President Barack Obama's administration has been criticised at home for moving too quickly to allow Iran to return to the international fold after agreeing to nuclear controls. But Tehran's leaders have complained that the deal was oversold, arguing that they upheld their end of the bargain in surrendering most of their nuclear enrichment capacity in return for sanctions relief. Meanwhile, European banks have been reluctant to renew ties with the Islamic republic, fearing that -- despite the end of some sanctions -- they could fall foul of US law. "We understand that firms may continue to have specific sanctions-related questions or concerns about doing business in Iran," the statement said. "And we stand ready to provide expeditious clarifications," it added, encouraging banks and other enterprises to come forward and seek advice as to how to deal legally with Iran. Search for MH370 likely to end by August The massive search for Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 in the remote southern Indian Ocean is expected to be completed by early August, the man leading the hunt said Friday. Less than 15,000 square kilometres remain to be scoured out of a 120,000 sq km target zone off western Australia where the passenger jet is presumed to have crashed. Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) head Martin Dolan said there was no indication the zone would be extended. Havila Harmony, one of three ships scouring the southern Indian Ocean for the remains of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 FUGRO (Australian Transport Safety Bureau/AFP/File) "We have some way to go and our best bet is that we will complete that search late July, early August, depending on unforeseen circumstances," Dolan told The Australian newspaper, referring to rough weather. "The technical capability is there to continue the search but the resources to do it is a matter for government," he said. Hopes of finding the Boeing 777 which vanished on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, are receding. "At this point there is a diminishing level of confidence that we will find the aircraft," Dolan admitted. "There will be a lot of disappointment if we dont find it. "At worst we will know at the end of this process that the area we have searched does not contain the aircraft. At best we will find it." The search zone has so far yielded no clues as to what happened aboard MH370, a scheduled flight that disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in one of the most enduring mysteries in aviation history. Five pieces of debris which have been identified as either definitely or probably from the jet have been discovered thousands of kilometres from the search zone -- in South Africa, Mauritius, Mozambique, Mauritius and the island of Reunion -- likely swept there by currents. Australia, Malaysia and China have said the hunt they have jointly organised would likely be abandoned if nothing is found in the search zone. In a weekly operational update,the ATSB said three ships continue to seek the plane but winter weather has set in with giant waves and high winds hampering efforts. The Australian added that in the event the plane is not found, the ATSB is working on a report looking at other possibilities, including the "rogue pilot" theory that the captain deliberately crashed it into the sea. Taiwan's Tsai calls for 'positive dialogue' with Beijing Taiwan's new president Tsai Ing-wen called for "positive dialogue" with China in her much-anticipated inauguration speech Friday, striking a conciliatory tone in the face of an increasingly hostile Beijing. Tsai took office as the island's first female president after winning a landslide victory in January to defeat the ruling Kuomintang, ending an eight-year rapprochement with Beijing under outgoing president Ma Ying-jeou. Voters felt Ma had moved too close to China, which still sees self-ruling Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification. Taiwan's new President Tsai Ing-wen is sworn in at the Presidential Palace in Taipei POOL (Taipei Photojournalists Association/AFP) Beijing-sceptic Tsai swept in with a campaign to restore Taiwanese pride. But she sought to cast Taiwan as a force for peace in front of a jubilant crowd of more than 20,000 at the presidential palace in Taipei, where she was sworn in earlier Friday. "The two governing parties across the strait must set aside the baggage of history, and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides," she said. Relations with Beijing have already cooled since she won the presidency, with China putting pressure on Tsai to back its "one China" message -- the bedrock of the thaw under outgoing leader Ma Ying-jeou. Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party have never recognised the concept. While she showed no sign of backing down from that stance in her speech, Tsai emphasised the importance of communication. "Cross-strait relations have become an integral part of building regional peace and collective security," she said. "In this process, Taiwan will be a staunch guardian of peace that actively participates and is never absent." However, without mentioning China by name, Tsai said Taiwan needed to end its dependency on the mainland for trade, "to bid farewell to our past reliance on a single market". She also expressed the island's commitment to its democratic freedoms. Analysts said she had gone as far as she could to placate Beijing, without making any specific commitments, or alienating her China-wary supporters. "Tsai tried to strike a conciliatory tone given the lack of trust between the two sides," said Tang Shao-cheng, a political scientist at National Chengchi University in Taipei. "She is throwing the ball back into Beijing's court." Yet without the key "one China" compromise missing, Beijing is unlikely to be placated. "I think China will not easily accept Tsai's speech... it's difficult to be optimistic about cross-strait ties," said Yang Kai-huang, head of Ming Chuan University's Cross-Strait Research Centre in Taipei. - Chinese media blackout - Official mainland Chinese news outlets snubbed the inauguration, while searches for Tsai's name and "Taiwan" were blocked on social media. In an editorial, the Global Times, a newspaper owned by the People's Daily group that often takes a nationalistic tone, said Tsai's assumption of power heralded "a new era for a cross-straits region that is characterised by uncertainty". In celebrations likely to have irked Beijing, the "Pride of Taiwan" inauguration pageant revolved around Taiwan's unique culture and history, including dances and songs by indigenous groups. "Tsai Ing-wen is the first woman president in Taiwan's history so I want to witness this sacred moment," said teacher Chen Su-mei, 48, who joined the celebrations. Others praised her for the conciliatory speech. "I was touched by the part where she said both sides across the strait should work for the wellbeing of their people," said Mahdi Lin, 40. However, pro-China activists railed against Tsai outside the ceremony, calling for unification with the mainland. Tsai has consistently pledged to maintain the status quo with Beijing but critics have pushed her to explain how she can achieve that without compromise over the "one China" sticking point. The concept is enshrined in a tacit agreement with the KMT known as the "1992 consensus". In her speech Friday Tsai reiterated her previous stance of acknowledging 1992 meeting had happened, but without endorsing the "one China" principle. Taiwan split from the mainland in 1949 after a civil war but has never declared a breakaway. Beijing has warned Tsai against any move towards formal independence -- the DPP is traditionally a pro-independence party. A small group of pro-independence activists also demonstrated outside the presidential palace Friday, calling for Tsai not to compromise with Beijing. Profile of Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen AFP (AFP) Taiwan new President Tsai Ing-wen (R) waves as outgoing president Ma Ying-jeou (L) looks on during the presidential inauguration ceremony in Taipei on May 20, 2016 Sam Yeh (AFP) Supporters of the China Unification Promotion Party march near at the inauguration ceremony of new Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei on May 20, 2016. Isaac Lawrence (AFP) Some 1,000 artists perform in a showcase of the island's history and culture, entitled "Pride of Taiwan" during the inauguration ceremony for Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei on May 20, 2016 Sam Yeh (AFP) Japan 'outraged' over US arrest after Okinawa death Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday expressed "outrage" after the arrest of a US military base employee linked to the suspicious death of a woman on Okinawa, a week before a high-profile visit to Japan by President Barack Obama. The southern island was the site of a brutal World War II battle but is now considered a strategic linchpin by hosting numerous US military bases that support the two countries' decades-long security alliance. "I feel extremely strong outrage," Abe told reporters at his office, calling on the US to take action. Police officers remove protesters from a gate to the US Marine base at Nago on Japan's southern island of Okinawa Okinawan police arrested Kenneth Franklin Shinzato for allegedly disposing of the woman's body in a weed-covered area in southern Okinawa, a spokesman told AFP, without elaborating. Local media said the man, a US citizen and former US Marine, lives in southern Okinawa and works at the US Kadena Air Base. Police reportedly suspect that the victim, identified as 20-year-old Rina Shimabukuro and who had been missing since late April, was murdered. Obama is due in Japan next week for a two-day summit of Group of Seven countries which concludes on Friday, before venturing the same day Hiroshima -- becoming the only sitting US president to visit the world's first atomic bombed city. The Hiroshima visit by Obama, who has a record of calling for global denuclearisation, has been well received in Japan but the issue of the heavy US military presence on Okinawa has long been a periodic thorn in the side of relations. More than half of the 47,000 US military personnel in the country are stationed there, and rapes and other crimes by service personnel have sparked local protests in the past. In 1995 the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old girl by three US servicemen sparked massive protests, prompting Washington to pledge efforts to strengthen troop discipline to prevent such crimes and reduce the US footprint on the island. But continued crimes by American personnel remain a potent rallying point for Okinawans and others in Japan who oppose the presence of the bases on the crowded island, where pacifist sentiment runs high. Chief Cabinet Secretary and top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga described the recent murder as "abominable" but when asked if Abe would raise it with Obama he said only that the agenda for their talks was still being finalised. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida late Thursday summoned US ambassador Caroline Kennedy to lodge a protest, calling the case "very cruel and atrocious". Kennedy pledged to "cooperate fully with the Okinawa police and Japanese government and redouble our efforts to make sure that this never happens again". Okinawan Governor Takeshi Onaga, an outspoken critic of the US presence, told reporters Thursday the incident happened "because there are US bases" on the island. In Washington, officials also spoke out against the incident, with State Department spokesman John Kirby calling it "obviously an outrage." Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed "outrage" after the arrest of a US military base employee linked to the suspicious death of a woman on Okinawa San Francisco police chief resigns amid racial tensions San Francisco's police chief resigned at the request of the city's mayor, hours after a black woman was fatally shot by an officer. Mayor Ed Lee announced Greg Suhr's resignation at a news conference, saying he hoped to "heal the city" that has been rocked by racial tensions. "The progress we have made has been meaningful but it hasnt been fast enough, not for me and not for Greg, and thats why I have asked Chief Suhr for his resignation," Lee told a news conference. San Francisco's police chief Greg Suhr has been forced to resign hours after a black woman driving a stolen car was fatally shot by an officer Justin Sullivan (Getty/AFP/File) Hours earlier, Suhr had told reporters that a 27-year-old black woman driving a stolen car was shot and killed by police after she ignored orders to stop the vehicle. The shooting took place amid heightened tensions between San Francisco's police department and African Americans over a number of racially-charged incidents in the city. The police department has been under intense scrutiny following the fatal shooting of Mario Woods in December and Luis Gongora in April. It has also been embroiled in controversy over racist and homophobic text messages exchanged among officers. "The past several months have shaken and divided our city, and tensions between law enforcement and communities of color that have simmered for too many years have come into full view," Lee told reporters at the news conference. "These officer-involved shootings, justified or not, have forced our city to open its eyes to questions of when and how police use lethal force," he added. The mayor said he had appointed Toney Chaplin, a 26-year veteran of the force, as acting police chief, and vowed to continue with reforms. Activists for months had been calling for Suhr to step down and a group known as the "Frisco Five" had gone on hunger strike for nearly 17 days to press their demands. San Francisco is just the latest California community where law enforcement is under fire for race-related issues. Earlier this month, a senior official at the Los Angeles County sheriff's department resigned following criticism over emails he sent disparaging blacks, Muslims, Latinos and women. Hong Kong protest leader Wong released after bid to stop China official Hong Kong student pro-democracy leader Joshua Wong was released from custody just before midnight Thursday, after being detained for running onto a motorway to intercept the motorcade of a top Chinese official. The move came on the final day of a three-day trip by Zhang Dejiang, who chairs China's communist-controlled legislature, for which frustrated protesters have been kept out of sight behind barricades in a security lockdown. Zhang's visit was the first by such a senior official for four years and comes as concerns grow that freedoms are under threat in semi-autonomous Hong Kong as Beijing tightens its grip. Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and leader of political party Demosisto, Joshua Wong, is detained after he and others ran onto a road where the motorcade of top Chinese official Zhang Dejiang was expected to travel on May 19, 2016 Police chased a group of five protesters, including Wong, on Thursday as they ran along a major highway in eastern Hong Kong which had been cleared for Zhang. They were carrying a sign calling for "self-determination". The protesters were all members of Demosisto, a political party led by Wong, who became the face of major pro-democracy rallies in 2014. They were detained before Zhang's motorcade emerged from a tunnel. "The five arrested persons were released on bail and will need to report back to police in mid-June," a police spokeswoman told AFP, adding that charges had not been laid. They were arrested for "obstructing police officer in the execution of duty and disorderly conduct in a public place", she said. Demosisto said Wong, who already faces two imminent verdicts and a possible prison sentence for protests in 2014, was released on a HK$500 (US$65) bail. He has been in and out of court hearings for the past year after being charged with multiple offences linked to protests leading up to what became known as the "Umbrella Movement". Wong faces charges of taking part in an unlawful assembly and inciting others to do so, which carry a jail term of up to five years. The 19-year-old has always argued that the cases against him are political persecution. Hong Kong is semi-autonomous after being returned to China by Britain in 1997, with much greater freedoms than seen on the mainland. But there are fears those freedoms are being eroded by increasing interference from Beijing. Hong Kong countdown beacon illuminates fears over China A new art installation displayed on Hong Kong's tallest building is the latest expression of the city's growing fears that its freedoms are under threat as Beijing tightens it grip. The artwork, which runs down the sides of the harbourfront International Commerce Centre each night for around a minute, is a giant digital countdown to 2047. That year marks the end of an agreement guaranteeing Hong Kong's semi-autonomous status, made when Britain handed the city back to China in 1997. A light show on the facade of the International Commerce Center, Hong Kong's tallest building, features a countdown of seconds remaining until July 1, 2047, when the "one country, two systems" framework is due to expire Anthony Wallace (AFP) Increasingly frustrated pro-democracy groups are calling for residents to have a say on what happens when the 50-year agreement lapses, with many young campaigners calling for more autonomy, self-determination, or even outright independence. China has dismissed that notion. Activists turned to the idea of a breakaway after mass rallies in 2014 calling for fully free leadership elections -- known as the Umbrella Movement -- failed to win concessions from Beijing. "Since the Umbrella Movement ended in 2014, the frustration towards a halted democracy in the city has been transformed into concerns about, and anxiety towards the fate of Hong Kong in 2047," artists Sampson Wong and Jason Lam said in a statement. "We seek to further highlight the importance of the '2047 issue' and hope that more debates and actions will emerge," they added. "We hope to draw the world's attention to the city's ongoing struggle." The large, glowing white numbers of "Countdown Machine" run almost the entire length of the 484-metre tall ICC skyscraper, counting down the seconds to July 1, 2047 -- the exact date the agreement ends. The art installation kicked off Tuesday, coinciding with the start of a highly charged three-day trip by Zhang Dejiang, a top Chinese official who chairs China's communist-controlled legislature. Zhang stayed at a waterfront hotel diagonally opposite the ICC tower, on the other side of the city's famous Victoria Harbour. The artwork will run until June 22, meaning it overlaps with more key dates for the pro-democracy camp -- the verdicts in ongoing trials of leading activists linked to the 2014 protests and the city's massive June 4 vigil marking the Tiananmen massacre in Beijing. Hong Kong is the only location on Chinese soil to see a major commemoration of the military's brutal crushing of pro-democracy protests in 1989. The 50-year agreement between Britain and China means Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland. But perceived interference from Beijing in a range of areas, from politics to education and media, has led to growing concerns the city's way of life is already disappearing. A banner with the words "I need real universal suffrage" is displayed outside a residential flat near an aged care complex where Zhang Dejiang, the chairman of China's National People's Congress, visited in Hong Kong on May 19, 2016 Bobby Yip (POOL/AFP) LGBT Protection Amendment Fails in Dramatic House Vote Yesterday on the House floor in Washington DC, lawmakers took their cues from TV, after an amendment intended to protect LGBT rights was narrowly voted down. Shouting, "Shame! Shame!" Democrats blamed Republicans for extending the vote until it failed, pressuring representatives, and snatching "discrimination from the jaws of equality." Shouts of "shame" were in reference to a dramatic scene from Game of Thrones in which a queen is forced to walk naked in the streets. Never mind whether the reference really works here. What's clear is that our lawmakers appreciate drama. The scene was reportedly wild and an interesting illustration of civics at work. What Was At Stake The amendment would have prevented federal contractors from receiving government work if they discriminate against members of the LGBT community claiming religious liberty as the basis. It would have nullified a provision allowing discrimination for religious reasons that passed as part of a separate bill earlier in the week, reports the Chicago Tribune. Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, an openly gay New York Democrat who sponsored the amendment, expressed dismay at what he saw on the House floor. Maloney told reporters the scene was disgraceful. "I don't think I've ever seen anything that craven and that ugly in my time in Congress." Democrats say that Republican lawmakers extended the two-minute vote and pressured representatives to go against it until the last minute ... which was six minutes beyond how long the vote was meant to last. In other words, the vote time was extended until the amendment could be defeated. And it was, by one vote, the final tally being 213-212. Republican Response It should be noted that 29 Republicans voted for the amendment, not caving to the reported pressure from their party to block it. According to Maloney, "Kevin McCarthy was personally twisting arms on the floor." The House majority leader's office did not respond to requests for comment on these claims from reporters. If McCarthy was mum afterward, it might be because some Republican Party members were displeased by these shenanigans, and said as much. NBC News reports that Republican Representative Bob Dold of Illinois -- who supported the amendment -- approached Maloney after the vote to say what happened on the floor was "bullsh*t." A spokesman for Dold didn't refute the account. Related Resources: Duterte death fears rise as Philippine mayor offers bounties The incoming mayor of a major Philippine city said Friday he was offering police bounties to kill criminals, deepening fears of extra-judicial deaths under the rule of president-elect Rodrigo Duterte. Reports of another official forcing three children to walk through the streets with signs declaring they were drug traffickers added to the alarm of authorities being incited to act outside of the law. Tomas Osmena, the incoming mayor of central Cebu city, told AFP he would pay police 50,000 pesos ($1,060) for each criminal they killed and 5,000 pesos for wounding them. Philippines President-elect Rodrigo Duterte has pledged to wipe out crime within six months by unleashing security forces with shoot-to-kill orders Ted Aljibe (AFP/File) "If you kill a criminal in the line of duty, (you'll be rewarded), no questions asked. I'm there to assist the police, not to prosecute them," Osmena said by telephone. "That is my purpose: to instil fear in the criminals. If they want to commit crimes, they get into war with me. I will see to it that they will be casualties." Osmena's pledge comes after Duterte, the longtime mayor of southern Davao city, won the May 9 presidential election in a landslide largely due to an incendiary law-and-order platform. Duterte pledged to wipe out crime within six months by unleashing security forces with shoot-to-kill orders. He said 100,000 criminals would die in his crackdown, and that so many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish there would grow fat from feeding on them. He also vowed to forget human rights and boasted that criminals would be butchered. Since winning the election, Duterte announced he would bring back the death penalty, with hanging his preferred method of execution. Duterte's law-and-order platform hypnotised millions of Filipinos hoping for quick solutions to the deep-rooted problems of crime and corruption. However human rights groups and other critics voiced alarm that a Duterte presidency would lead to a breakdown in the rule of law, with other politicians to follow his lead. Asked for comment on Osmena's bounties, Duterte's spokesman denied the president-elect had ever encouraged bounties or any killings that broke the law. "Maybe mayor Osmena is just joking, attempting a new gimmick so that his administration will be popular. To each his own," spokesman Salvador Panelo told AFP. - Vigilante death squads - Duterte has also been accused of running vigilante death squads in Davao that killed at least 1,000 people. He has variously denied and acknowledged links to them. Osmena, a member of a powerful family who has previously served several terms as Cebu mayor, said he would similarly tolerate vigilante groups. "I'm not going to suppress vigilantes," said Osmena, who like Duterte will assume his post on June 30. "I'm focused on protecting the victims of criminals. You can protect the criminals if you want." Osmena said the bounties would not come from government funds, but would not disclose their source. Osmena already gave a reward this week of 20,000 pesos to a Cebu policeman who wounded two robbers in a gun battle, Superintendent Oscar Monteroyo of the Cebu police civil relations office told AFP. The head of the government's Commission on Human Rights, Chito Gascon, said fears Duterte would incite authorities to act outside the law appeared to be coming to fruition. "Mayor and now president-elect Duterte has emboldened other local officials to look at other extraordinary measures," Gascon told AFP. Aside from Osmena, he said another example was a mayor of town near Manila who had this week forced seven suspects, including three children, to walk through town with signs saying: "I am a drug pusher, do not follow my example". Human Rights Watch deputy director for Asia, Phelim Kline, expressed similar concerns about Duterte's campaign vows of bloodshed. "That rhetoric lends a dangerous credence to a widely held view in the Philippines that only tough-guy, 'Dirty Harry' approaches can remedy the countrys crime problem," Kline said. A young supporter of Rodrigo Duterte in Manila in February during the presidential election campaign in the Philippines that the longtime mayor of Davao city won in a landslide victory Noel Celis (AFP/File) How the world sees the Philippines Gal ROMA, Adrian LEUNG (AFP) 'Lance with love': Afghans revel in bountiful opium harvest Lashes swished and whirled through the air in a burst of celebration around a sea of opium poppies, as farmers in a southern Afghan village rejoiced over a bumper harvest with a traditional rope game. Hundreds of farm labourers from across the Pashtun heartland, many of them Taliban, congregated last month in Naqil in Uruzgan province for the most lucrative time of the year -- the poppy harvest. After labouring all day in the torpid heat, extracting milky opium resin from swollen green pods, they broke into revelry around the bountiful farms. Afghanistan, the world's top opium producer, recorded more poppy cultivation in 2014 -- at the end of which NATO troops officially ended their combat mission -- than in any year since 2002 Noorullah Shirzada (AFP) Hands tethered to long ropes, men lunged forward and back within a chalk circle, kicking up dust and knocking down opponents with heavy lash strokes. Hissing and hooting, a crowd of turbaned spectators gathered around to watch the bare-knuckle game known colloquially as "dora". A tricycle cart pulled up nearby, selling ice-cream drizzled with raspberry sauce, lending a carnival atmosphere to the harvest that is expected to bring record opium production this year. "This is the only time of the year to make money," said Afzal Mohammad, who came all the way from Kandahar, standing amid chest-high poppy stalks nearby. "People work here for about 15 days and then are jobless for the rest of the year." The revelry highlights how opium -- refined into heroin -- remains an economic linchpin amid rampant unemployment, and lays bare how the West lost a multi-billion dollar war on drugs in Afghanistan as it pursued a war on terror there. Afghanistan, the world's top opium producer, recorded more poppy cultivation in 2014 -- at the end of which NATO troops officially ended their combat mission -- than in any year since 2002. Last year saw a sharp decline in production, but the crop failure was more due to drought than any eradication campaign, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The drop, observers say, has only intensified efforts to spike production this year. - Make opium, not war - Fighting usually ebbs during the harvest season, illustrating how the Taliban are deeply entwined in the $3 billion opium trade, believed to be the mainstay of their insurgency against the government. "As the harvest concludes... we expect to see an uptick in Taliban efforts to attack (Afghan forces)," Charles Cleveland, senior spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan, told reporters this month. "There is a concern that the very good poppy crop this year... is going to result in the Taliban being able to turn that into money for their (insurgent) efforts." The ubiquity of opium farms in Uruzgan, a remote mountainous province straddling drug-smuggling routes, is staggering. Poppy grows within eyeshot of the provincial governor's office in the capital Tarin Kot, government buildings and police bases, spurring allegations that officials are also profiting from the opium boom. "We are in a state of war," Uruzgan's governor Mohammad Nazir Kharoti told AFP, voicing helplessness. "Forced eradication will increase economic hardship, fuelling sympathy for the Taliban and people will start sheltering them in their homes." Naqil, hemmed in between verdant hills on the outskirts of Tarin Kot, is a netherworld of opium farmers, drug lords, addicts and, increasingly, the Taliban. It is officially under government control, but authorities are openly wary about visiting the area. With rolling fields of white-and-pink flowers splashed between dull green opium pods visible as far as the eye can see, Naqil is a magnet for labourers during harvest time. - 'Cradle the bulb gently' - The bulbs are typically lanced during the afternoon and left for the night as a sticky resin oozes out and coagulates into a dark brown mass. The labourers collect the sap in the mornings with a flat blade and wipe it into a plastic can hanging around their necks. Many wax philosophical about the process, almost as though it were an act of veneration. "Cradle the poppy bulb gently," said Sher Mohammed, going from bulb to bulb in his farm, making shallow incisions with sharp blades on the tip of a curved wooden spatula. He added: "Lance the bulb with love." For many, the labour-intensive season, which lasts less than a month, is the only productive period; the rest of the year is a hopeless blur. "Afghanistan has too much war, very little employment," said tribal elder Abdul Bari Tokhi, whose extended family owns hundreds of acres of farmland in Naqil. "The world might say if there was no poppy there would be no war in Afghanistan, but for us if there was no poppy there would be no work and no food on the table." Many of the labourers in Naqil were Taliban fighters, residents said. "How did you get here from Dehrawud district, my brother? The Taliban have shut down the highway," one of them asked a thickset man with scraggly hair and a gap-toothed smile. "The highway is closed for the government, not the Taliban," the man smirked. "That's right, you were the ones who shut down the highway," the labourer cackled with laughter. "You are welcome here, my brother. Even the Taliban need to earn money." Afghan poppy farmers celebrate a bumper harvest with the traditional rope game of Dora in Naqil village in the Tarinkot district of Uruzgan province Rateb Noori (AFP) An Afghan farmer harvests opium sap from a poppy field in the Chaparhar district of Nangarhar province Noorullah Shirzada (AFP) Myanmar police charge dozens of labour activists over rally Some 50 Myanmar factory workers and activists involved in a protest march that ended in scuffles with security forces this week have been charged with rioting, police said Friday. The latest move by authorities to punish demonstrators from recent rallies comes despite efforts by Aung San Suu Kyi's new civilian-led government to amend draconian protest laws as the country tries to shake off the repressive legacy of the former junta. The labour protesters were on Wednesday blocked by a wall of police as they tried to complete an unauthorised march into the capital Naypyidaw. A demonstrator demanding labour rights is arrested by police in Tetkone township on May 18, 2016 during a workers protest march to central Naypyidaw Aung Htet (AFP) They had walked for three weeks in searing temperatures from northern Sagaing Region, where around 100 workers have recently been fired from a timber factory. Scuffles broke out as they were detained. Authorities said they had initially planned to charge just the rally leaders, but the remaining demonstrators had insisted on all being prosecuted together. "Now around 50 of them have been charged with... joining in or continuing an unlawful assembly and rioting," said Naypyidaw region police head Ko Ko Aung. He told AFP that authorities had banned the march into the capital on the grounds of national security. Some 20 other protesters were sent home soon after the police clampdown. Naypyidaw was built ten years ago in remote tropical scrubland by Myanmar's former military rulers . It is still considered a stronghold of the army, despite playing host to the country's parliament and its first elected civilian government in half a century. Suu Kyi's party is stacked with former dissidents who served prison time for their opposition to Myanmar's military governments. Since taking the helm following a landslide election victory in November, the administration has freed scores of activists and political prisoners and signalled its determination to repeal oppressive laws. But rights groups have expressed concern over efforts to amend the Peaceful Assembly Act, fearing it could continue to penalise non-violent demonstrations, albeit with shorter jail terms. MPs debated the amendment bill in parliament on Thursday calling for further changes, but have not yet voted on the issue. Earlier this week police announced plans to take action against five leaders of an interfaith rally in Yangon because the campaigners had deviated from the agreed protest route. Yangon police have also begun legal action against seven leaders of an unauthorised protest by Buddhist nationalists outside the US embassy last month. Clinton's lead over Trump narrows in latest US poll Hillary Clinton's lead over Donald Trump has narrowed since he became the apparent winner of the Republican presidential nomination, according to a national poll out on Friday. The CBS News/New York Times survey found that 47 percent of registered voters would support Clinton, while 41 percent back Trump. The same survey gave better odds to Bernie Sanders -- Clinton's rival for the Democratic presidential nod -- showing him leading Trump 51 percent to 38 percent. People protest against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Bowling Green, Kentucky Michael Mathes (AFP) Last month, the former US secretary of State, in a CBS News poll, led Trump by 10 points. The phone survey of 1,300 adults had a margin of error of plus-or-minus three percentage points, the Times said. Trump became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee earlier this month, when the last of his rivals dropped out of the race, after he amassed what appeared to be an insurmountable lead in delegate support. Republican Party leaders hold their convention to formally select their nominee in July. Israel defence minister quits, says Netanyahu fanning extremism Israel's defence minister resigned Friday, saying extremists had taken over the country, after he clashed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the army's handling of a wave of Palestinian violence. Moshe Yaalon said he no longer had any trust in Netanyahu after the hawkish premier offered his post to a hardliner loathed by the Palestinians, in a bid to expand the governing coalition's majority. "I told the prime minister this morning that due to his conduct in recent developments, and in light of my lack of trust in him, I am resigning from the government and Knesset (parliament) and taking a break from political life," Yaalon said on Twitter. Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon announces his resignation during a press conference in Tel Aviv, on May 20, 2016 Jack Guez (AFP) The surprise move by the respected former armed forces chief follows a series of disputes over the military's values and role in society between ministers in Netanyahu's government and top generals backed by Yaalon. In an address broadcast after his initial announcement, Yaalon warned of a rising tide of extremism in the ruling Likud party and the country as a whole. "Extremist and dangerous elements have taken over Israel and the Likud and are threatening (society)," he said in Hebrew. He urged the "sane majority" of Likud voters as well as the rest of the nation "to realise the severe implications of the extremist takeover of the centre, and fight this phenomenon." Former Labour prime minister and defence minister Ehud Barak went even further. "The government of Israel has been infected by the shoots of fascism," the website of Israel's private Channel Two television quoted him as saying. Yaalon's resignation came two days after former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said he could bring his far-right Yisrael Beitenu party into Netanyahu's governing coalition if a number of conditions were met, including his being named defence minister. Netanyahu's Likud party pressed talks with Yisrael Beitenu on Friday on the terms of a deal to boost the coalition's wafer-thin majority in parliament. Netanyahu said he had wanted Yaalon to remain in government and take the foreign affairs portfolio but he "insisted" on retaining the defence post. "I think that he should have continued to be a full partner in the governance of the state, in the post of foreign minister," Netanyahu tweeted. "The change in distribution of portfolios was not a result of a crisis of trust between us. It was a result of the need to broaden the government in order to bring stability to the state of Israel in the face of the great challenges ahead of us," he added. Yaalon had been an outspoken defender of the army's handling of an upsurge of Palestinian violence since last October in the face of criticism from hardline ministers and lawmakers. He had also insisted on senior officers' right to "speak their mind" after deputy armed forces chief Major General Yair Golan enraged Netanyahu by comparing contemporary Israeli society to Nazi Germany. - Sane and balanced voice - Centre-left opposition lawmaker Merav Michaeli said Yaalon's departure deprived the country of a voice of moderation. "We lost a sane and balanced voice in the dangerous and deranged right-wing government Netanyahu is leading," she said. President Reuven Rivlin, known for having a difficult relationship with Netanyahu, said he was "greatly saddened" by Yaalon's resignation, which he called "understandable, and even appropriate" under the circumstances. Ironically, Yaalon's resignation will move the Likud parliamentary party further to the right as his seat in parliament will be taken by religious hardliner Yehuda Glick, who is next on the party list. The 50-year-old US-born rabbi is an outspoken campaigner for a change to rules governing Jerusalem's most sensitive site, the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, to allow Jews to pray as well as visit. Palestinian fears that the government might be preparing such a change were one of the triggers for the wave of violence that erupted last year. The expected return of Lieberman, who served as foreign minister under Netanyahu twice, is likely to raise international concern about his government's direction -- especially on the conflict with the Palestinians. As defence minister, Lieberman, who lives in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, would oversee military operations in the Palestinian territories and have a major say in policy towards the settlements. The international community considers the settlements illegal and regards their persistent expansion by successive Netanyahu governments as one of the biggest obstacles to peace. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in his Jerusalem office on May 4, 2016 Abir Sultan (Pool/AFP/File) Over 500,000 flee homes as Sri Lanka flood misery worsens Desperate Sri Lankans clambered onto rubber dinghies and makeshift rafts Friday to escape monster floods in the capital Colombo as officials said half a million people had fled their homes across the island. The heaviest rains in a quarter of a century have pounded Sri Lanka since last weekend, triggering huge landslides that have buried some victims in up to 50 feet (15 metres) of mud. More than 60 people known to have died so far amid fears that number could spike with many more reported missing. Sri Lankans wade through floodwaters in the Kolonnawa suburb of Colombo on May 20, 2016, following the heaviest rains in a quarter of a century on the island that sparked huge and deadly landslides Ishara S.Kodikara (afp/AFP) President Maithripala Sirisena urged people to provide shelter and donate cash or food as offers of assistance came in from overseas. "We have already got some assistance from our friends in the international community," he said in a televised address. "Now I want to ask private individuals, companies and non-governmental organisations to help in anyway you can to help the victims." The national Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said 21 of Sri Lanka's 25 districts had been affected. Around 300,000 people had been moved to safe shelters while a further 200,000 were staying with friends or family. "Our information is that about half a million people have been driven out of their homes," Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake told reporters. - Air lift app - "The (state-owned) Insurance Corporation alone received claims against flooded cars and home appliances amounting to 1.1 billion rupees ($7.5 million). The actual loss is much, much more." Diluka Ishani, who was being looked after at a school where the military provided meals and bedding, described how her family managed to escape the floods but had lost virtually everytng. "We started moving to higher ground as the water level went up and then we found we had no other place to go to," the mother-of-two told AFP in Colombo's Kolonnawa suburb. Her family had first fled to higher ground near their home but became marooned and had to be plucked to safety on a small navy boat. "The navy saved our lives, but we lost all our belongings. The house is ruined as the water went above our roof." Private taxi hailing company PickMe added an "air lift" button to their app so that marooned users can give their coordinates to the airforce. It was not clear how many had used the free airforce lift. India said it was sending two naval ships and an aircraft loaded with emergency supplies, including medicine, tents and mobile toilets. Sri Lanka's cricket team, who are on tour in England, announced a donation of one million rupees (around $7,000) for victims and wore black armbands during the first Test at Headingley. The meteorological department says the rains have been caused by a depression in the Bay of Bengal, ahead of the arrival of the southwest monsoon. After escaping the worst of the flooding in the earlier part of the week, large swathes of Colombo had to be evacuated overnight in an operation led by the military, involving boats and helicopters. The DMC said around 200,000 people had been moved from the low-lying capital which has a population of about 650,000. The worst-hit areas were in Colombo's northeastern suburbs along the Kelani river, which began bursting its banks on Thursday evening. Residents in the Kolonnawa district built jury-rigged rafts using plastic barrels to ferry marooned residents to high ground while the navy used rubber dinghies to rescue others. Three people have been killed in flood-related incidents in Colombo but the national toll now stands at 64 dead and 29 injured. The district of Kegalle, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) northeast of Colombo, has been worst-hit, with the toll from two separate landslides rising to 34. A local police officer said 144 people, including 37 children, had been reported missing since Tuesday's landslides. "We can't definitely say if all these missing people were actually in their homes at the time of the disaster," said the officer, who asked not to be named. The officer said there was no realistic hope of finding any survivors in landslides that buried two villages in up to 50 feet (15 metres) of mud. "This is turning into a recovery operation." Sri Lanka landslides AFP (AFP) More than 60 people known to have died so far in Sri Lanka following the monster floods Lakruwan Wanniarachchi (AFP) Sri Lankan rescue workers evacuate residents following flooding in the Kolonnawa suburb of Colombo, on May 20, 2016 Ishara S. Kodikara (AFP) China official media blackout on Taiwan inauguration Official mainland Chinese news outlets largely snubbed the inauguration of Taiwan's Beijing-sceptic new president Tsai Ing-wen on Friday, while searches for her name and "Taiwan" were blocked on social media. Taiwan's first female president, who is head of the traditionally pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), took the oath of office Friday morning at the presidential palace in Taipei, signalling the end of an eight-year rapprochement with China. China and Taiwan split in 1949 after the Kuomintang nationalist forces lost a civil war to the Communists. But Beijing has always seen the island as a renegade province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. Taiwan's new President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at her inauguration ceremony in Taipei on May 20, 2016 Sam Yeh (AFP/File) China's state-run media were almost mute about the inauguration, with no coverage at all on national television or major newspapers such as the People's Daily, the Communist Party's mouthpiece. The official news agency Xinhua took nearly three hours from when she was sworn in to report the fact in a 22-word dispatch in English. For several hours searches for "Taiwan" or "Tsai Ing-wen" on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo both returned the message: "Sorry, no relevant result is found", although the new leader's name was later unblocked. In an editorial, the Global Times -- a newspaper owned by the People's Daily group that often takes a nationalistic tone -- said Tsai's assumption of power heralded "a new era for a cross-Straits region that is characterised by uncertainty". DPP rule will make Taiwan "take a larger step away from the mainland politically", it said. "Certain people are still holding on to the fantasy that 'soft independence' might be workable," it added. "Perhaps a new round of contention is inevitable to completely drive the topic of Taiwan independence away." Beijing has been sending assertive messages across the Taiwan Strait since Tsai was elected in January. It has warned against any attempt to formally declare independence and the Chinese military has mounted at least three landing exercises in the country's southeast this month -- widely seen as a threat to Tsai not to rock the boat. Stolen urn containing 'Buddha relics' returned to Cambodian shrine Thousands of Buddhist monks and devotees joined a lavish procession Friday to return a stolen golden urn said to contain relics of the Buddha to a mountain shrine where it was snatched from three years ago. The urn was placed on a decorated float shaped like a mythological bird and driven from the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh to a shrine at the top of nearby Udong mountain. The elaborate ceremony was timed to coincide with Visak Bochea, an annual religious holiday marking the anniversary of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death. In 2002, Cambodia's then King Norodom Sihanouk moved the urn containing the relics from the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh to Udong Chhoy Pisei (Cambodge Soir/AFP) "Ten of thousands of people greeted the Buddha's relics at the mountain," Seng Somony, a spokesman for the ministry of culture and religion, told AFP. The disappearance of the golden urn -- believed to contain hair, teeth and bones of the Buddha -- and several small statues came to light in late 2013, sparking a nationwide manhunt in the Buddhist-majority country. Authorities recovered the urn and relics during a raid in February 2014 at a house in the southern province of Takeo, around 130 kilometres (80 miles) away from the shrine in the former royal city of Udong. Last year, five men were sentenced to seven years in jail each for stealing the golden vessel. Seng Somony said authorities would ensure safety for the urn and relics. "It will be 24-hour security" at the shrine, he added. The relics are believed to have been brought from Sri Lanka to Cambodia in the 1950s to celebrate 2,500 years since Buddha's birth. In 2002, then King Norodom Sihanouk moved the relics from the capital Phnom Penh to Udong, around 45 kilometres (30 miles) away, in a ceremony attended by tens of thousands of people. During the colonial period and later the turmoil of the Khmer Rouge era, Cambodia lost a treasure trove of relics and statues to looters, unscrupulous dealers and greedy governments. Malaysian murder convict hanged in Singapore: police A Malaysian murder convict was hanged in Singapore Friday, police said, hours after the city-state's highest court rejected a final bid for him to escape the gallows. "A 32-year-old male Malaysian national, Jabing Kho had his death sentence carried out on 20 May 2016 at Changi Prison Complex," the Singapore Police Force said in a statement. Kho, who was sentenced to death in 2010 for the murder of a Chinese construction worker, had been due to hang in Changi Prison at dawn Friday, but was granted a brief last-minute reprieve after his lawyer filed a challenge. Defence lawyers Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss (front) and Alfred Dodwell (right) for Malaysia's Kho Jabing leave Singapore's Supreme Court on May 20, 2016 Roslan Rahman (AFP) The Court of Appeal heard the latest plea Friday morning but said it raised no new arguments about the 2008 robbery gone wrong, clearing the way for the execution. "This case has been about many things but today, it's about the abuse of the process of the court," said Court of Appeal Judge Chao Hick Tin. Allowing Kho to continue with legal challenges would throw the judicial system "into disrepute," he added. Executions in Singapore are normally carried out by hanging at dawn on Fridays. After Kho was sentenced to death in 2010, Singapore amended its mandatory death penalty for murder, giving judges the discretion to impose life imprisonment under certain circumstances. Kho's case was reviewed and he was re-sentenced to a life term in 2013. But state prosecutors appealed that ruling and his death sentence was reinstated in January 2015. He was scheduled for execution on November 6 last year but another last-minute appeal saved him. Kho's accomplice in the crime had his conviction for murder overturned and got more than 18 years in prison and 19 strokes of the cane. Singapore, which has rejected calls by rights groups to abolish the death penalty, executed four people in 2015, one for murder and three for drug offences, according to prison statistics. Questions on Chibok girl release after second rescue claim Nigeria has claimed the rescue of a second Chibok girl but a campaign group on Friday said she was captured separately from the 219 held by Boko Haram, as questions were raised about the first release. Serah Luka was among 97 women and children rescued in the Damboa area of Borno state in northeast Nigeria on Thursday morning during military operations against the Islamist insurgents. The BringBackOurGirls group said background checks had established she was a student at the same school but was in a different class to those seized on April 14, 2014. Serah Luka was among 97 women and children rescued by Nigerian soldiers in the Damboa district of Borno state "She was an SSS1 learner at (Government Girls Secondary School) Chibok, who was abducted by the insurgents in her home in Madagali (in neighbouring Adamawa state)," said spokesman Sesugh Akume. SSS1 is the first of the final three years at secondary school in Nigeria. The 219 schoolgirls were in SSS3. The announcement about Serah's rescue came just hours after the first girl to be found, Amina Ali, met President Muhammadu Buhari in the capital, Abuja. Buhari, who was criticised by human rights campaigners for making "political capital" so soon after she was found, said her return gave a "unique opportunity" to find the remaining hostages. The 19-year-old was discovered with her four-month-old baby girl, Safiya, and a man she described as her husband near Boko Haram's Sambisa Forest enclave on Tuesday. Nigerian troops have pushed out Boko Haram from captured territory in the last 15 months and have been conducting operations in the former game reserve in Borno state since late April. The mass kidnapping of the 219 Chibok schoolgirls provoked global outrage and brought unprecedented attention on the Boko Haram conflict, which has killed at least 20,000 since 2009. - Not on the list - The head of the Abducted Chibok Girls Parents group, Yakubu Nkeki, said that unlike the first announcement about Amina, the military had not contacted them beforehand to establish Serah's identity. Only two girls with the surname Luka were on the list of abducted girls and none was from Madagali, which has been repeatedly attacked by the rebels, he added. The military said the teenager was believed to be a Christian pastor's daughter but Nkeki said there were only four priests on the list of parents and none was called Luka. "I can say in my capacity as the head of the Chibok Abducted Girls Parents group that this girl is not among the abducted Chibok girls," he told AFP. In response, a senior military source stood by the army's statement, saying it was "beyond reasonable doubt" that she was among the girls snatched. The BringBackOurGirls group, which has campaigned for the release of all hostages, said: "Every citizen returned is victory for us all." Thousands of women and girls have been kidnapped in the conflict. Former hostages have said they were forced to marry Boko Haram fighters, cook, clean and become sex slaves. - Sign of talks? - This week's developments have raised hopes that the remaining students will be released and follows a so-called "proof of life" video sent to the government earlier this year. Until then, none of the kidnapped schoolgirls had been seen since May 2014, when they were shown in a Boko Haram video, apparently converted to Islam and reciting passages from the Koran. Nigeria's government was cautious about the "proof of life" video because of difficulties establishing whether those who sent it had the authority of the group's leadership to request talks. Security analysts tracking the conflict suggested Amina may have been released as a gesture of "good faith" by Boko Haram elements rather than by simply military action. Ryan Cummings, from Signal Risk, said escape was unlikely given that the Chibok girls were said to have been heavily guarded at militant camps in the Sambisa Forest, a vast semi-desert scrubland. "It seems very fortuitous that the hostage (Amina), child and BH husband just happened to run into a CJTF (civilian joint taskforce) patrol as described", he told AFP in an email. Nigeria's military have described the man found with Amina as a "suspected Boko Haram terrorist". Cummings also suggested reports of his "defection" with such a prized asset, straight into the hands of the Nigerian army and military intelligence, also seemed unlikely. Amina Ali with her young baby was rescued by Nigerian authorities on May 18, 2016 after being one of 219 girls abducted by Boko Haram gunmen in 2014 A total of 276 girls were abducted from Chibok in 2014, with 57 escaping in the immediate aftermath Nigeria 2014 kidnapping AFP (AFP) Cyprus begins extradition of EgyptAir hijacking accused Legal proceedings to extradite a man accused of hijacking an EgyptAir plane and diverting it to the Mediterranean island officially got under way on Friday. A Nicosia court received the official documentation requesting the extradition of Egyptian Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa, 58 to face trial in Cairo. Cypriot authorities had to wait six weeks to acquire all the necessary paperwork from Egypt so the justice minister could make the request before the Nicosia court. The court will now decide whether there is sufficient cause to send the accused back to Egypt. Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa is accused of using a fake suicide belt to seize an Alexandria-to-Cairo flight on March 29, 2016 and force it to land in Cyprus George Michael (AFP/File) Proceedings were adjourned until May 26 to give the defence time to study Mostafa's initial statement to police and a list of demands submitted during the March 29 hijacking. Unlike his previous two appearances before the court, Mostafa was not wearing a political slogan on his shirt. His defence lawyer Robertos Vrahimi complained to the court that his client had his top forcibly removed at the prison under protest and was thus denied his freedom of expression. Last week he entered the court wearing a polo-neck with the message: "RELEASE THE 63 EGYPTIAN GIRLS YOU LIARS". He misspelt Egyptian Egyption. During another appearance last month he wore a white T-shirt with the message "Cici killer" emblazoned on the front. It was unclear whether that was a reference to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Mostafa will fight his extradition on the grounds he will not receive a fair trial in Egypt, arguing he could be tortured or face the death penalty if sent back. Cypriot authorities have said they have written assurances from Cairo that Mostafa will not face the death penalty when he stands trial in Egypt. However, Mostafa's request for asylum has been refused as Cypriot authorities deem him a "perpetrator of serious crimes". Mostafa is accused of using a fake suicide belt to seize the Alexandria-to-Cairo flight on March 29 and force it to land in Cyprus. The Egyptian state prosecutor's office had asked for him to be handed over under a 1996 extradition treaty. Mostafa, described by authorities as psychologically unstable, has said he acted out of desperation to see his Cypriot ex-wife and children. According to police, Mostafa gave a voluntary statement admitting the hijacking. His ex-wife has been quoted by Cypriot media as describing their five years of marriage as a "hell". The hijacking ended peacefully with Mostafa's arrest. Obama to host Modi at White House President Barack Obama will host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on June 7, as the pair try to flesh out nascent trade and security ties. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Modi's visit would "highlight the deepening of the US-India relationship in key areas since the president's visit to New Delhi in January 2015." "The President looks forward to discussing progress made on our climate change and clean energy partnership, security and defense cooperation, and economic growth priorities." Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) and US President Barack Obama meet in New Delhi in January 2015 Saul Loeb (AFP/File) This will be Modi's second White House visit since his Hindu nationalist party won a sweeping victory in 2014 polls. Obama has assiduously courted the Indian premier, cultivating a strategic relationship seen as a counterweight to an increasingly assertive China. It has been a dramatic transformation for a man who in 2005 was denied a visa to the United States on human rights grounds. He had served as chief minister in his home state of Gujarat, when anti-Muslim riots killed hundreds. But turning Obama and Modi's warm words into concrete agreement has proven difficult. A proposed bilateral investment treaty has languished for years, as New Delhi has taken a tough negotiating line. Talks have been stalled over several issues, including the lack of protection for foreign firms in disputes with the Indian government. "I think there is a reasonable chance we will see the leaders re-commit to engaging in BIT negotiations," said Rick Rossow of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, predicting limited progress. India's economy is rapidly growing, but poverty remains pervasive and foreign investment has lagged behind China, Brazil and even advanced economies like Ireland. Modi, who faces reelection in 2019, has pegged his political future on a reform agenda and boosting the economy. Observers say there could be more progress on security and energy cooperation. A series of technical steps could allow the men to announce US nuclear companies entering the potentially lucrative Indian market. In 2005, then-president George W. Bush lifted a three decade long moratorium on nuclear cooperation with India, introduced after the country developed a nuclear bomb. The issue had been a major hurdle to relations between two of the world's largest democracies. Modi has made nuclear energy a priority, to offset horrendous levels of air pollution that is worsened by the dominance of coal-fired power plants and reduce dependence on foreign gas and oil. A series of military agreements linked to support and logistics could also be signed by the two leaders and could pave the way for deeper military cooperation. Many of the agreements have been stalled for years by India's concerns about weakening the ability to act alone militarily. Modi will also address a joint session of Congress on June 8. US rejects Russian proposal for joint air strikes on Syria Moscow on Friday proposed that Russia and United States, which have been flying separate bombing campaigns in Syria, launch joint air strikes against jihadists from next week, a proposal the Pentagon swiftly rejected. "We are proposing to the US, as the head of the International Syria Support Group, to take part as of May 25 in joint operations between the Russian air force and the air force of the coalition," Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said in televised comments. Shoigu said that the proposal included strikes against Jabhat al-Nusra and other illegal armed groups that do not support a frail truce brokered by Moscow and Washington in February. Russia launched its Syria bombing campaign on September 30 Paul Gypteau (AFP/File) He also proposed that joint strikes target "convoys containing weapons and ammunition (and) armed units that illegally cross the Syrian-Turkish border." "We believe that adopting these measures will ensure the transition to a peace settlement process over all of Syria's territory," Shoigu said. "Of course, the leadership of the Syrian Arab Republic has agreed to these measures." Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis rejected Moscow's proposal, saying the US military does "not collaborate or coordinate with the Russians on any operations in Syria." US State Department spokesman John Kirby said nothing had been agreed. "What we are discussing with our Russian counterparts... are proposals for a sustainable mechanism to better monitor and enforce the cessation of hostilities," Kirby said. He added that the "vast majority" of the violations of the truce had been carried out by the regime, which is backed by Moscow. - Russia 'enabling' Assad - "Russian operations are supporting and enabling the Assad regime and our focus is solely on degrading and defeating ISIL," Davis said, referring to the Islamic State jihadist group. Davis added that the Pentagon had received "nothing formal" from its Russian counterpart regarding the proposal. Russia and the United States pledged earlier this month to redouble efforts to find a solution to the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions since 2011, and extend a truce across the war-torn country. Despite diplomatic efforts to resolve the five-year conflict, Moscow and Washington have been critical of each other's bombing campaigns in Syria. The West has accused Moscow -- a staunch supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad -- of propping up the regime by targeting rebels fighting Assad in strikes Moscow said were aimed against "terrorist" organisations. Moscow has in turn repeatedly slammed the US coalition, saying its strikes in Syria have been ineffective. Shoigu said Friday that Russia would reserve its right to unilaterally strike "international terrorist and illegal armed groups that have not adhered to the cessation of hostilities" starting from May 25. - Russian withdrawal? - President Vladimir Putin surprised the West in March by announcing the partial withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria, saying Moscow's task in the war-torn country had been "on the whole" completed. The Pentagon said Wednesday that Russia's military strength in Syria had barely changed since the partial withdrawal was announced. Baghdad-based US military spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said that Russia had established some sort of forward operating base outside Palmyra, the ancient city Syrian forces recaptured in March from Islamic State jihadists with the help of Russian air strikes and special forces. The Russian defence ministry denied that it was building a base in Palmyra, saying its military installations in the area are a "temporary camp" used for demining operations. Meanwhile Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday said his Lebanese Shiite movement would boost its support for Syria's regime after one of its top commanders was killed there last week. According to Hezbollah expert Waddah Charara, the Shiite militant group has sent between 5,000 and 6,000 combatants to Syria since 2013. Hezbollah has accused Islamist extremists of killing its commander Mustafa Badreddine in an artillery attack near Damascus. last week. Pictures of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Syria's Palmyra on May 6, 2016 Louai Beshara (AFP/File) European stocks rebound before G7 meeting European stocks rebounded on Friday following sharp losses the previous session, as markets tracked a meeting of the world's biggest economies in Japan. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index and the Paris CAC 40 both rallied 1.7 percent by the close while Frankfurt's DAX 30 index won 1.2 percent. Europe's main stock markets had slumped on Thursday, with London shedding 1.8 percent in value, as traders reacted to concerns about a possible US rate hike next month. Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda delivers a speech in Sendai on May 19, 2016 Kazuhiro Nogi (AFP) In foreign exchange Friday, the euro rose to $1.1208 from $1.1203 late in New York on Thursday. "Risk appetite has returned to equity markets," said Mike van Dulken, head of research at traders Accendo Markets. "An easing in dollar strength helping commodity prices hold up and oil pointing back towards $50 is helping reinstill confidence." Wall Street also pushed higher, with the Dow up 0.8 percent approaching midday. "US stocks are rebounding from yesterday's decline in early action, with the global markets showing some resiliency in the face of heightened Fed rate hike expectations," said analysts at brokerage Charles Schwab. Markets meanwhile were following a meeting in Japan of finance ministers and central bankers from the G7 economies. Divisions over reigniting global growth were set to surface in Japan Friday, with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew expected to stand firm over any action threatening a currency war. Two days of talks will see the host nation keen to win an endorsement for its position that fiscal stimulus is the way to kickstart the world economy, after a rally in the yen hit exporters and worsened a slowdown at home. But Tokyo's recent threat of a market intervention to reverse the rally could put it on a collision course with its G7 counterparts, including the United States and Germany which have ruled out such moves. "Investors were keeping half an eye on the G7 meeting in Japan in the unlikely event that finance ministers put differences aside for a coordinated effort to revive global growth," said Jasper Lawler, analyst at CMC Markets. "Global markets meandered higher on Friday as anxiety about a summer rate hike in the US eased," he added. Minutes from the Federal Reserve's April policy meeting published this week implied that the US central bank viewed a June rate hike as a much more serious possibility than the market believed. "I expect markets to remain incredibly unsettled" ahead of next month's policy meeting, said Oanda senior trader Stephen Innes. Shares in the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse shrugged off comments by French Finance Minister Michel Sapin told AFP their planned merger poses competition problems. LSE shares added 1.0 percent and Deutsche Boerse shed 0.9 percent. - Key figures around 1530 GMT - London - FTSE 100: UP 1.7 percent at 6,156.32 (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.2 percent at 9,916.02 (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.7 percent at 4,353.90 (close) EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.4 percent at 2,960.76 New York - Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 17,567.54 New York - S&P 500: UP 0.8 percent at 2,056.13 New York - Nasdaq: UP 1.5 percent at 4,780.72 Tokyo: Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 16,736.35 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 2,825.48 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.8 percent at 19,852.20 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1208 from $1.1203 on Thursday Serena relaxed about French Open title defence Serena Williams said she is feeling relaxed about her hopes of defending her French Open crown on Friday and drawing level with Steffi Graf's Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles. The 34-year-old, whose two previous attempts to retain the title at Roland Garros ended prematurely, will begin her defence against Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova, the world number 76, who has yet to make it beyond the second round in Paris. "I think in the past there was," said Williams, who beat Lucie Safarova in last year's final, when asked whether she approached tournaments where she was the defending champion with a different mindset. Serena Williams celebrates after winning the 2015 French Open title Patrick Kovarik (AFP/File) "I think now it's different because I want to win more than I think most people ever, but also I think it's different now because I don't have anything to prove and I don't have anything -- it's just a different feeling. "Whereas five, ten years ago, oh, I'm defending and I feel that pressure. Now it's like I'm defending, I'm in Paris, it's cool, and I'm having, you know, the time of my life. I'm just happy to be here." The top-ranked American is launching a third bid to match Steffi Graf's major record, although just three of Williams' 21 Grand Slam titles have come in France -- the first in 2002 and then a long gap until 2013 and 2015. Williams could come up against former world number one and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, who defeated the American at Indian Wells in March, in the quarter-finals. However, a pair of former champions lie in wait beforehand with 2010 winner Francesca Schiavone a potential third-round opponent and Ana Ivanovic, who claimed her lone Grand Slam on Court Philippe Chatrier in 2008, a prospective last-16 foe. Williams arrives in the French capital full of confidence and on the back of a first title in nine months after knocking off compatriot Madison Keys in last weekend's Rome final. "It felt good to win in Rome, obviously. I was feeling pretty confident, I think, just going into some of those matches. Especially the last few I felt a lot better. Even if I'd have lost, I feel like some of those matches really gave me the match play that I needed." Williams has played sparingly since losing out on a chance at the calendar Grand Slam at last year's US Open, featuring in just four tournaments this season but reaching the final in three of those. "I guess when you win all the time, if you go a couple of tournaments and don't win them it's like you're in a drought," she said, with her victory in Italy the 70th of her career and first since triumphing in Cincinnati last August. Two players Williams won't have to worry about in Paris are two-time champion Maria Sharapova, who is serving a doping suspension, and the injured Caroline Wozniacki. Plane crash prolongs Egypt's economic misery Egypt's latest air disaster is another crushing blow to a country whose tourism-dependent economy is struggling to recover from years of jihadist attacks and political turmoil, analysts said. The crash is the third airline incident in less than a year involving the Arab world's most populous nation, undermining efforts to attract tourists and their much-needed revenues. Officials said it was too early to know whether technical failure or terrorism caused the EgyptAir plane to plunge into the Mediterranean on Thursday with 66 people on board during a flight from Paris to Cairo. Egypt's latest air disaster is a major blow to the tourism-dependent economy Andy Buchanan (AFP/File) But it follows the bombing of a Russian passenger plane minutes after it departed from an Egyptian Red Sea resort in October, an attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group. Whatever the cause of the latest crash, it is certain to have an impact on Egypt's economic recovery, analysts said. "Egypt's return to international news headlines in the context of a plane crash at its national carrier, no doubt this is very harmful," said Amr Adly, an economist with the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Cairo. "This will prolong the stumbling of the tourism sector," he said. The key industry has been hit by a series of disasters. A 2011 uprising that unseated strongman Hosni Mubarak triggered years of political turmoil that kept many foreign visitors away. The military overthrew his successor Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and launched a bloody crackdown on the Islamist's supporters. Since then Islamist insurgents have killed hundreds in attacks, mostly members of the security forces but also tourists including those aboard the Russian airliner which IS said it had downed with a bomb hidden in a soda can smuggled into the hold. The security forces themselves have also killed tourists by mistake. Eight Mexican tourists died in an air strike in September 2015 after they were mistaken for militants while picnicking in the desert. And in March, an Egyptian man who wanted to see his ex-wife hijacked an EgyptAir flight and forced it to divert to Cyprus. No one was harmed and the man surrendered to police -- after allowing hostages to take selfies with him. - 'Recovery postponed' - "All this is adding to the negative sentiment towards Egypt's tourism sector," said Hany Farahat, senior economist at CI Capital in Cairo. "And definitely, it postpones any potential for recovery in 2016 as far as tourism revenues are concerned," he said. Tourism revenues slumped 15 percent in 2015 and Egypt's foreign currency reserves are under intense pressure, falling to $17 billion in April from more than $36 billion in 2010. The recent incidents have dashed hopes of a recovery in the sector, which had seen signs of improvement. "Arrivals from key markets plummeted in 2011 and started gradually to recover until 2015. But those never achieved the performance from prior to the events," said Kinda Chebib, senior analyst at Euromonitor International. "We believe that the recent events will slow down the ambitions of the local government to achieve the target of 20 million foreign tourist arrivals by 2020," she said in an emailed statement. The repercussions will be felt by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former army chief who toppled Morsi then won presidential elections. Sisi enjoyed widespread popularity after toppling Morsi, despite the crackdown on Islamists that left hundreds of protesters dead and thousands in jail. But dissent has been growing as the crackdown extends to secular and liberal activists, while the much-vaunted economic recovery stalls. "This incident might contribute to discrediting the legitimacy of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's rule, because he had promised to fight terrorism and restore security, and terrorism is still affecting the Egyptian economy and threatening Egyptian people's income," said Mustapha Kamel, a political science professor at Cairo University. Khan al-Khalili market in Cairo, pictured on May 20, 2016 The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for bombing an A321 plane belonging to Russian charter company Metrojet that crashed in the Sinai desert in on October 31, 2015 Maxim Grigoryev (Russia's Emergency Ministry/AFP/File) Passengers leave an EgyptAir jet at Larnaca airport after it was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus on March 29, 2016 George Michael (AFP/File) Zika strain from Americas outbreak spreads in Africa for first time: WHO The Zika virus strain linked to surging cases of neurological disorders and birth defects in Latin America has now been found in Africa, health officials said Friday, as the first fatality on French territory was reported on the Caribbean island of Martinique. The World Health Organization announced that the strain of Zika circulating in Cape Verde had been shown to be the same as the one behind an explosion of cases in the Americas. "This is the first time that strain of Zika which has been showed to cause neurological disorders and microcephaly... has been detected in Africa," Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's Africa regional chief, told reporters in Geneva. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carry the Zika virus, that can cause birth defects if contracted by a woman during pregnancy Luis Robayo (AFP/File) The so-called Asian strain of the virus, which has infected some 1.5 million people in Brazil, the worst-affected country, was detected in Cape Verde through the sequencing of Zika cases in the island nation. "It is the same genetic material as the virus in Brazil," WHO spokeswoman Marsha Vanderford told AFP. "The findings are of concern because it is further proof that the outbreak is spreading beyond South America and is on the doorstep of Africa." "This information will help African countries to re-evaluate their level of risk and adapt and increase their levels of preparedness," she added. Experts agree that Zika is behind a surge in cases of the birth defect microcephaly -- babies born with abnormally small heads and brains -- after their mothers were infected with the virus. The virus, which also causes the rare but serious neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome, is mainly spread by two species of Aedes mosquito but has also been shown to transmit through sexual contact. Friday saw the French Caribbean island of Martinique suffer its first Zika virus-related death, the regional health agency said. "The patient, aged 84, had been hospitalised for 10 days in intensive care with Guillain-Barre Syndrome," the agency said, before tests late last week showed up the Zika link. Some experts believe there is a link between Zika and Guillan-Barre -- in which the immune system attacks the nervous system. WHO believes the Asian Zika strain was imported to Cape Verde by a traveller coming from Brazil, before it began spreading locally last October. As of May 8, 7,557 suspected Zika cases had been registered in Cape Verde, as well as three microcephaly cases, WHO said. No cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome have been registered in the country so far. The African strain of the Zika virus, which takes its name from Uganda's tropical Zika forest where it was first discovered in 1947, has been widespread on the continent since then. But until recently, Zika caused little concern, as it usually leads only to mild, flu-like symptoms, and it appeared many Africans had built up immunity against the virus. - Worst-case scenario - But it remains unclear what impact the arrival of the new strain to the continent will have, said Bruce Aylward, WHO chief on outbreaks and health emergencies. "We know that the African strain has circulated in part of Africa for decades now," he told reporters. "What we don't know is the population immunity that may have been left behind on the way, and also whether or not that will mitigate some of the impact of this new... strain," he said. Aylward said WHO hoped blood tests would help rapidly establish "whether or not there is some degree of population immunity that will help reduce some of that vulnerability." But he stressed that for now it was important to move forward "against a worst-case scenario" and assume Africans would be as vulnerable as people in Latin America to the impact of the strain. Cape Verde and other African countries at risk should inform pregnant women especially about the risks associated with the Asian strain of the Zika virus, as well as about the best ways of protecting against infection, including avoiding mosquito bites, WHO said. The UN agency also urged countries to step up efforts to detect microcephaly, Guillain-Barre and other neurological disorders linked to Zika and their preparedness to deal with increases in cases. The Zika virus Adrian Leung, John Saeki (AFP) A pregnant woman holds a mosquito net in Cali, Colombia on February 10, 2016 Luis Robayo (AFP/File) Obama wrestles history on symbolic Vietnam, Japan trip US President Barack Obama will try to turn the page on a war-strewn history with Vietnam and Japan when he begins a two-nation Asia visit Monday, including a somber pilgrimage to Hiroshima, site of the world's first nuclear attack. This will be the tenth trip to Asia by America's self-declared "Pacific President," who unapologetically sees America's future tethered to the region. But even with regional allies Japan and Vietnam, the blood and pain of the 20th century still echo. US President Barack Obama is making a historic visit to Vietnam and Japan Ronny Hartmann (AFP/File) In Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Obama will stress improving relations with a dynamic and rapidly emerging country, but one which, for most Americans, remains a by-word for slaughter and folly. A major talking point will be the lifting of a US arms embargo, a last vestige of a war that ended in 1975. In Japan, Obama will attend a G7 summit and make history by becoming the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima, where his predecessor Harry Truman dropped the world's first atomic bomb in 1945. - Nod to history - The trip to Hiroshima has inevitably stirred debate about whether Truman's epoch-making decision was just. Many Americans believe that while it killed about 140,000 Japanese, bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki avoided an even bloodier ground invasion of Japan. Victims of the bombings have called for an apology, which the White House says it is not willing to give. Obama "believes it's important to acknowledge history, it's important to look squarely at history, it's important to have a dialogue about history," said close Obama foreign policy aide Ben Rhodes. Obama will begin his visit on Monday in Hanoi, the seat of Vietnam's Communist-ruled government. He will meet the president, prime minister, leader of the national assembly and the country's de facto leader Nguyen Phu Trong, the general secretary of the Communist Party. Trong and Obama met back in July, when the Vietnamese leader was given a prestigious Oval Office meeting. - US arms to Vietnam? - Tense maritime disputes between Vietnam and its larger neighbor China are also likely to feature prominently in discussions. Advocates of lifting the arms embargo argue it is vital to help Vietnam improve coastal defenses and bolster it militarily vis-a-vis Beijing. "Vietnam wants and needs to steadily pursue military modernization, and it values US military technology as a potential source of strategic leverage," said Murray Hiebert of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Not only does Vietnam need to build an effective deterrent force in the face of China's aggressiveness ... it also prefers to gradually reduce its overreliance on Russian-made systems." But there are concerns about Vietnam's ongoing political repression. While Vietnam is changing, political reforms have not kept pace with economic reforms. Any challenge to the Communist Party's primacy, or its leaders' economic interests, is met with an iron fist. "Critics, including some who support the upward trajectory of US-Vietnam relations in general, have honed in on the need for more progress on human rights prior to any decision," said Hiebert. US diplomats have pressed for the release of political prisoners as a sign that Hanoi can be trusted with advanced weaponry. Obama is likely to address the issue of political freedoms when he delivers a speech in Hanoi, but he will also make the case for a trans-Pacific trade deal that faces an uncertain future. Obama will also travel to Vietnam's economic hub Ho Chi Minh City, the former capital of South Vietnam, to highlight the country's growing commercial clout. From there, he will travel to Ise-Shima for a G7 summit before going on to Hiroshima, a stop that until recently would have been too controversial to make. "He is going because it's possible now," said Hugh Gusterson of George Washington University, "Twenty or 30 years (ago), you could not even go there." "Just the symbolism of going there as an American president was more than many Americans could bear." Obama is expected to visit the city's Peace Memorial Park and make brief remarks that focus on denuclearization. Obama came to office wanting to significantly reduce America's strategic stockpile of nuclear weapons, but hesitated when Russia would not take reciprocal steps. "We have a unique and moral responsibility as the only country thats used a nuclear weapon to prevent the future use of nuclear weapons," said Rhodes. The Atomic Bomb Dome was the only structure not obliterated in the Hiroshima bombing and serves as a memorial to the 140,000 victims of the 1945 attack at the end of WWII Kazuhiro Nogi (AFP/File) US Secretary of State John Kerry (centre) laid a wreath to the victims of the 1945 atomic bombing on a visit to Hiroshima on April 11, 2016 Toshifumi Kitamura (AFP/File) Barack Obama will become the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima Jewel Samad (AFP/File) S.African police fire warning shots at Uber clashes South African police fired warning shots during clashes between metered-taxi drivers and their Uber rivals in Johannesburg's financial district on Friday, officials said. Uber cars and police vehicles were damaged by stones thrown during the fighting, which left three police officers injured and led to the nearby United States' consulate issuing an emergency message to its citizens. Metered-taxi drivers have regularly targeted Uber drivers in Johannesburg over the last year, with violence erupting outside train stations, bars and restaurants where they compete for passengers. Uber can assess drivers with help of rider reviews and GPS tracking of each trip Thomas Oliva (AFP/File) The Uber car-hailing app service has become hugely popular in the city where public transport is poor and metered-taxi drivers previously had a monopoly. "Metered-taxi drivers attacked Uber drivers in Sandton and damaged their cars," said Metro police spokeswoman Edna Mamonyane, adding police who arrived at the scene were also attacked. "Police had to fire warning shots to free themselves. Three officers got injured." One person was arrested for the violence. Sandton is the wealthy financial district of Johannesburg, and is home to dozens of international companies. "Shots were fired... during a violent confrontation between the metered taxi associations in Johannesburg and the online transportation network company Uber," the US consulate said on its website. "Further incidents are likely near traditional taxi stands around the city, particularly... outside Gautrain stations or at the airports." Uber drivers in South Africa, and in many other countries, have faced threats from metered-taxi drivers who accuse them of stealing business and posing unfair competition due to low fares. Protesters break into Green Zone, enter Iraq PM's office Supporters of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stormed the premier's office Friday after breaking into the Green Zone for the second time in three weeks, further escalating a long-running political crisis. They faced tough resistance from forces guarding Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office but some were able to muscle past and temporarily enter the premises, though demonstrators were later pushed back by tear gas, water cannons, sound bombs and a barrage of live fire directed into the air. Abadi reacted by saying that "storming state institutions... cannot be accepted," but added that he supports the "demands of the peaceful protesters." Supporters of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr chant slogans after breaking into Baghdad's fortified "Green Zone" on May 20, 2016 Ahmad al-Rubaye (AFP) A curfew was announced due to the unrest -- which security and medical officials said wounded at least 58 people, including security personnel -- but was soon lifted. Sadr followers have been protesting for weeks demanding reforms and a new government, and had warned they would again break into the Green Zone if progress was not made. The cleric vowed Friday that "peaceful protests" would continue, warning that "the revolution will take another form" if there are attempts to block them. Demonstrators were enraged by security measures to keep them out of the Green Zone, which were much tougher than they faced when they broke into the restricted area three weeks earlier. "We came in a peaceful protest but the cowards began shooting at us," said one protester, displaying handfuls of bullet casings, a white cloth shielding his face from tear gas. "This is the biggest evidence of their cowardice and corruption," said another protester who held up a canister fired by security forces, a black cloth tied around his face. - Major security breach - Some demonstrators even equated Iraqi politicians with the hated Islamic State (IS) group, which frequently kills civilians in bomb attacks. The protesters gathered at Tahrir Square in central Baghdad before crossing Jumhuriyah Bridge over the Tigris River and converging on the Green Zone. Some were able to force one of the area's gates and then headed to the prime minister's office. They confronted security forces guarding the compound, and some protesters eventually forced their way in. Sadr supporters posted pictures of the premier's office on social media, including from the cabinet meeting room, but the protesters later withdrew. It was unclear where Abadi was at the time of the breach. While some demonstrators broke through a Green Zone gate located near Iraq's parliament on Friday, a much larger crowd of protesters, some of whom threw rocks and other debris over the wall, remained outside. Security forces sporadically fired tear gas into the crowd, and also shot sound bombs and live rounds overhead and sprayed demonstrators with water cannons. Security and medical sources said some people were wounded by bullets, but most of the fire was directed into the air, and tear gas accounted for the majority of the injuries. Protesters managed to hold the gate for some time despite repeatedly being tear gassed, but security forces eventually sallied out, firing automatic weapons into the air and unleashing more tear gas. - Political deadlock - They forced the demonstrators back down a street alongside the Green Zone, harrying them with tear gas canisters that hissed into the crowd. Ambulances became caught in the mass of people packing the street, which was divided by coils of barbed wire running down the median that also impeded movement. Security forces eventually pushed the demonstrators back across Jumhuriyah Bridge. Sadr supporters had encountered relatively little resistance when they pulled down slabs of concrete blast walls to break into the Green Zone last month. But Abadi subsequently sacked the security chief for the Green Zone and beefed up measures around the restricted area. The latest breach of the area -- which is also home to several embassies, including that of the United States -- could put angry demonstrators on a potentially violent collision course with security forces, and also ups pressure on the premier. Abadi has proposed replacing the current government of party-affiliated ministers with technocrats, a move resisted by parties that rely on control of ministries for patronage and funds. Sadr, a Najaf-based cleric who once fought the US-led occupation, has recently cast himself as a champion of the drive against corruption and has also demanded a technocratic government. Sadr supporters pulled out of the Green Zone on May 1, a day after storming parliament, warning they would return if no political change took place. But parliament has failed to even reconvene since the incident. Sadr supporters have also been angered by a deadly series of bombings in Baghdad, with protesters at the site of one attack blaming the government for carrying it out despite it having been claimed by IS. Supporters of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr flee the tear gas fired by security forces during clashes after demonstrators broke into Baghdad's fortified "Green Zone" on May 20, 2016 Ahmad al-Rubaye (AFP) A supporter of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr carries bullet casings following clashes with security forces after they broke into Baghdad's fortified "Green Zone" on May 20, 2016 Ahmad al-Rubaye (AFP) IMF approves $2.9 bn loan for Tunisia The International Monetary Fund approved a $2.9 billion loan to Tunisia on Friday to help the country implement economic and financial reforms. The 48-month loan program aims at supporting the government's five-year plan to further stabilize the economy, reform the civil service and other public institutions, and improve the climate for business, the IMF said in a statement. The money is expected to be released to the Tunisian government in nine stages, including about $320 million released immediately with the announcement. Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi attends a May Day celebration on May 1, 2016 in the capital Tunis Fethi Belaid (AFP/File) Tunisia's economy has not strongly rebounded in the wake of the 2011 revolt that ousted the corrupt government of strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Spring uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East. Its economic growth slowed to 0.8 percent last year from 2.3 percent in 2014, and unemployment nationwide stood at 15 percent at the end of last year. Meanwhile, the country is struggling to fend off the rise in attacks by Islamic extremists including fighters from the Islamic State group that have hurt the country's lucrative tourism industry. In Doha on Thursday, President Beji Caid Essebsi said the government has been forced to divert some $4 billion away from the economy to fight terrorism. Hezbollah to bolster military presence in Syria: Nasrallah Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday said his Lebanese Shiite movement would boost its support for Syria's regime after one of its top commanders was killed there last week. "We will increase and bolster our presence in Syria," Nasrallah said in a speech during a ceremony to mark a week since Mustafa Badreddine was killed in an artillery attack near Damascus. "More commanders than before will go to Syria. We will be present in different ways and we will continue the fight," he said. Syrians gather in the lobby of a damaged apartment block, bearing a poster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) and Hassan Nasrallah, south of the Syrian capital Damascus on April 25, 2016 Louai Beshara (AFP/File) According to Hezbollah expert Waddah Charara, the Shiite militant group has sent between 5,000 and 6,000 combatants to Syria since 2013. Between 1,000 and 2,000 Hezbollah fighters have been killed in fighting there, other experts say. "Our revenge will be great and final defeat on these terrorist, takfiri (Sunni extremist) and criminal groups," said Nasrallah. Hezbollah has accused Islamist extremists of killing Badreddine, but did not name any single group. Badreddine was on a US terror sanctions blacklist, was a key suspect in the 2005 assassination in Beirut of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri and was one of the "most wanted" by Israel. But Nasrallah said no evidence pointed to Israel -- the Shiite movement's sworn enemy -- being involved in the killing. "We reviewed Israeli flight patterns and movements and of course what we found on the site of the explosion," he said. "We have no sign or proof leading us to the Israelis." Nasrallah paid tribute to Badreddine, who he said "was one of the first to join the resistance in its beginnings" after it was founded in 1982 with help from Iran's Revolutionary Guard. After climbing up the ranks, Badreddine took on "main military responsibilities" at Hezbollah between 1995 and 1999, he said. "When Hezbollah decided to enter Syria, the commander was given the responsibility to lead Hezbollah's military and security units in Syria," he said. Badreddine was killed in an area technically under the control of the Syrian army while Hezbollah and Iranian fighters are also present there. The closest rebel positions were seven kilometres (four miles) away in the Eastern Ghouta area. Six American independence war maps up for auction Six maps from the American War of Independence, which helped convince George Washington to make a crucial change in strategy, go up for auction in a French chateau next month. Descendants of the Count of Rochambeau, who led the French expeditionary force to support the Americans in the war against the English, discovered the meticulously drawn maps in an attic. They include detailed renderings of New York, Boston Harbour, Chesapeake Bay and Portsmouth. The maps will go up for auction on June 13 in the spectacular surroundings of the Chateau d'Artigny at Montbazon, near the central town of Tours. Auctioneer Aymeric Rouillac shows a Hudson River map from 1781 on May 16, 2016 in Montbazon, France Guillaume Souvant (AFP/File) "With these maps you can smell the gunpowder," said auctioneer Aymeric Rouillac. "These are the maps that allowed Rochambeau to convince George Washington of the superiority of the English positions...," he explained. The maps showed the fortifications and the positions of the English forces. Washington abandoned plans to attack New York and instead moved on Virginia, where the French fleet gave the independence forces a strategic advantage, Rouillac added. In 1781, Washington's soldiers, with the support of the French force, won a series of key battles, including the ones at Chesapeake and Yorktown. The maps come with a certificate from the French authorities clearing them to be taken abroad. The starting price for each of them is 10,000 euros ($11,200). Give us light! Art show with a difference kicks off Africa tour With works by artists from each of Africa's 54 countries, a show with a political twist titled "The Illuminated Africa" kicked off a tour of the continent highlighting the right to energy. Half of Africa's estimated 1.1 billion people have no access to electricity while many of its biggest cities suffer daily power-cuts as dilapidated plants struggle to cope with growing demand. The show whose first stop in the Ivorian city ends in June was staged "to mobilise the world to give Africa access to energy", said the head of African Artists for Development (AAD), Mathias Leridon. A visitor looks at an artwork during the opening of the exhibition Lumieres dAfrique (Lights of Africa) at the Charles Donwahi Foundation in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on April 26, 2016 Issouf Sanogo (AFP/File) "There is no future, no growth and no progress without electricity," said the group. Many of the photographs, paintings, sculptures and videos in the show, which next heads to Senegal, were inspired by Africa's energy problems. Chadian photographer Abdoulaye Barry for example portrays people in the darkness in a district of the capital, N'Djamena, "to show how difficult it is for them to walk at night." "I walked around with my camera but it was totally dark there. The only lights I ever saw were car or motorbike headlights," he said. Inspired by his country's quintessential coffins, Ghana artist Paa Joe produced one in the shape of an electric bulb, while Mauritian artist Amy Sow showed women's faces "because woman for me is light." Trump says Cameron has invited him to 10 Downing St White House hopeful Donald Trump said Friday he has been invited to London by British Prime Minister David Cameron, days after the presumptive Republican nominee warned of bad blood between the pair. "He would like me now to visit 10 Downing Street. They put out that invitation about two days ago," Trump told MSNBC. "And I might do it." Trump also insisted that if he is elected president in November, "we're going to have good relationships." Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a fundraising event in Lawrenceville, New Jersey on May 19, 2016 Eduardo Munoz Alvarez (AFP/File) Cameron's office said it was "long-standing practice" for Britain's prime minister to meet with Republican and Democratic presidential nominees if they visit the country, but stressed there is no firm meeting lined up. "Given the parties have yet to choose their nominees, there are no confirmed dates for this," a Downing Street spokesman said. Trump's tone marked a clear shift from four days earlier, when the New York real estate mogul railed against British officials including Cameron, who had branded Trump's suggested ban on Muslims entering the United States as "divisive, stupid and wrong." Trump had caused some consternation in London when he weighed in on the debate over whether Britain should stay in the European Union or pull out. But on Friday he defended himself against accusations -- including by his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton -- that he was criticizing a longstanding US ally. "Where am I attacking Great Britain? I'm not attacking them at all," he said before again injecting himself into the debate. "Frankly if I were Great Britain I would get out of the EU. I see what happened with the great migration destroying Europe, and the EU had a lot to do with that," he said. "Personally I'd get out, but I said I don't want that to influence the people of Great Britain." On Monday, a Cameron spokesman said the prime minister still "disagrees" with Trump on his Muslims policy, but said Cameron has "been clear that he will work with whoever is president of the United States." Earlier this week, the provocative billionaire had choice words for London's new Mayor Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim elected to run a Western capital city, who said Trump was "ignorant" about Islam and was making the world more dangerous with his rhetoric. Govt 'making political capital' out of Chibok release: HRW Nigeria's government was on Friday accused of exploiting the release of a Chibok schoolgirl who was found this week, more than two years after she was seized by Boko Haram. Amina Ali was found by troops and civilian vigilantes with a four-month-old baby and a man she said was her husband near the Islamists' Sambisa Forest enclave in northeast Nigeria on Tuesday. The 19-year-old and her mother were brought to the capital, Abuja, on Thursday to meet President Muhammadu Buhari, who said she had received five hours of medical tests and seen trauma counsellors. Amina Ali seen alighting from a Nigerian Army helicopter after her release on May 18, 2016 in Damboa, Nigeria Stringer (Nigerian Army/AFP/File) Buhari took office on May 29 last year vowing a swift end to the insurgency, which has killed at least 20,000 people since 2009. But Mausi Segun, Nigeria researcher for Human Rights Watch, said Amina's first days of freedom should have concentrated on her mental and physical health, as well as that of her daughter. The government should have protected and respected her dignity "before you roll the cameras and make political capital out of her recovery", she told AFP. Tsambido Hosea Abana, leader of the Chibok community in Abuja, on Thursday accused the federal and Borno state government of "treating Amina like an item". "She is a traumatised young woman who needs immediate care and not any further media circus," he said in a statement. Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from their school in the remote Borno town of Chibok on April 14, 2014. Fifty-seven escaped in the hours that followed but 219 remained in captivity until this week. Thousands of women and young girls have been abducted since the conflict began in 2009, Former hostages have said they were forced into sex and menial work and even made to fight on the front line. Buhari promised Amina "the best care the Nigerian government can afford". But Nigeria has been urged to do more to provide appropriate facilities and services for all former hostages, particularly for victims of sexual violence. China's Ai Weiwei turns Macedonia tear gas into art Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has opened a new show in one of Athens' top archaeological museums, with Macedonian police tear gas canisters as one of the main exhibits. The "Ai Weiwei at Cycladic" exhibition, which opened at the Museum of Cycladic Art on Friday, features a number of works inspired by Europe's migrant crisis. One of them, "Tear bottle/tear gas canister" -- a display of canisters alongside antique bottles used to collect the tears of mourners -- refers to an incident last month when Macedonian police used tear gas and rubber bullets against refugees trying to enter Macedonia from the Greek border camp of Idomeni. A collection of tear gas canisters thrown by Macedonian police at refugees, at a show by Ai Weiwei at the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens on May 20, 2016 Louisa Gouliamaki (AFP) Outside the museum, there are flags in silver and gold -- the colour of emergency blankets given to refugees and migrants by aid groups as they emerge from the cold waters of the Aegean Sea. One of the flags evokes the image of Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian toddler whose tiny body was found lying face down on a Turkish beach in September, drawing global attention to the crisis for the first time. Ai himself caused a stir earlier this year by re-creating Aylan's death pose on beach on the island of Lesbos, a key hotspot for new arrivals, in a photo shoot for India Today magazine. Other exhibits titled "Tyre" and "Zodiac Boat" recall the perilous crossing made by hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants in flimsy rubber vessels, wearing makeshift lifejackets often more likely to kill than to help. The exhibition runs to October 10. Ai has taken a personal interest in the thousands of refugees and migrants who have risked their lives to get to Europe, only to find their path barred by a barrage of border closures. Now a regular visitor to Lesbos, Ai has set up a studio and plans to create a refugee memorial on the island. In February, he draped thousands of lifejackets discarded by migrants arriving in Greece around the columns of Berlin's Konzerthaus concert hall. And earlier in May, he visited Gaza for a documentary he is filming on the refugee crisis, as hundreds of Palestinians have also made the treacherous journey. China's most prominent contemporary artist, Ai helped design the Bird's Nest stadium for the Beijing Olympics and has been exhibited around the globe, but his works have often fallen foul of China's authorities. He was detained in 2011 for 81 days over his advocacy of democracy and human rights as well as other criticisms of the government in Beijing. A video installation and a marble statue by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, inspired by the migrant crisis, are presented during his exhibition at Athens Cycladic Museum on May 20, 2016 Louisa Gouliamaki (AFP) DR Congo president's rival can seek medical care abroad pending trial Powerful DR Congo opposition figure Moise Katumbi, who has said he will run for the presidency, was given the go-ahead Friday to seek medical care abroad pending his trial for threatening state security. Congolese Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba told AFP that Katumbi "asked for conditional release covered by a medical certificate saying he needed appropriate care abroad. The prosecutor agreed to the request and authorised his departure." "Katumbi can leave whenever he wants," Mwamba said. Opposition figure Moise Katumbi (C) arrives at the courthouse in Lubumbashi on May 13, 2016 Fiston Mahamba (AFP/File) On Thursday, officials announced that Katumbi will be put on trial for threatening state security. The 51-year-old is President Joseph Kabila's leading rival for the country's top job after recently announcing plans to stand against the long-serving head of state. Immediately after that, judicial authorities opened an inquiry on May 4 alleging that Katumbi had hired foreign mercenaries. Protests mar centenary of famed S.African 'black' university A South African university renowned as the launchpad for leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe celebrated its centenary on Friday against a backdrop of violent student protests. Police at the Fort Hare campus used water cannon to force back students who tried to march on the venue where dignitaries including President Jacob Zuma and Mugabe were gathered. The students later staged a protest vigil after their bid to block the main entrance was thwarted by police. Students protest ahead of the start of the celebrations of the Centenary anniversary of Fort Hare university on May 20, 2016 in Alice STRINGER (AFP) "Students tried to barricade the roads leading to the university," police spokesman Khaya Tonjeni told AFP. "We have reinforced the security because there was a high level of intimidation two days ago when marquees were burnt down," he said. Overnight, police fired stun grenades and teargas at students who hurled rocks at them at the university in the Eastern Cape province. The violence at Fort Hare follows protests at campuses across South Africa over the past year by students over issues such as racism, fees and accommodation. Several universities were closed briefly in February after a wave of protests in which buildings were torched, while an auditorium was firebombed at the University of Johannesburg earlier this week. "Burning schools, libraries and university buildings means burning the future," Zuma said in his address at Fort Hare. "There can be no justification of violence and anarchy, especially in a country where people have freedom of speech and expression." Fort Hare was regarded as a beacon of light for black African scholars barred from universities reserved for whites during apartheid, and it trained several leaders and influential nationalists across sub-Saharan Africa. Mandela said in his autobiography that Fort Hare was like "Oxford and Cambridge, Harvard and Yale, all rolled into one." Mugabe on Friday lauded the university where "I was transformed and... truly discovered my African identity and African personality." Mugabe, 92, repeated his vow that he would not step down despite ruling since 1980. "In Zimbabwe they have said we will have regime change, I have said never ever, and that's one of the reasons I have stuck on," he said. Hardline US-born rabbi to enter Israel's parliament The resignation of Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon on Friday has opened the way for a hardliner who advocates Jewish prayer at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound to enter parliament. American-born Yehuda Glick is the next in line on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party list, meaning he is entitled to take the seat of any party MP who dies or steps down. The 50-year-old New Yorker may not have thought he would get this chance, after being shot four times by a Palestinian from Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem in late 2014. The attacker was shot dead by security forces a day later. Rabbi Yehuda Glick, pictured on July 14, 2015, is next in line for the seat of Moshe Yaalon after the Israeli Defense Minister resigned from his position Ahmad Gharabli (AFP/File) The nationalist rabbi, who immigrated with his family to Israel as a child, is loathed by Palestinians, who see as a provocation any Jewish presence at the flashpoint mosque complex in Jerusalem's Old City which houses Islam's third-holiest shrine, Jews believe the site was home to the first and second Jewish temples before being destroyed by the Babylonians and Romans, and thus revere it as the holiest site in Judaism. Current rules governing the site allow Jews to visit during set hours but not to pray there, for fear of stoking tensions. Glick has been an outspoken advocate of Jewish rights to the holy site and has also guided visits there. In March he returned to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound for the first time since the assassination attempt. Speaking to AFP at the time, he said it was like "returning home". However he will not be able to visit the Al-Aqsa compound once he becomes a member of parliament, as Netanyahu issued a directive in October banning all lawmakers from going there, in a bid to ease tensions. He told Israeli media Friday he would abide by the ruling: "With my entrance to politics, I am a team player and not an individual one." Ewan writes, "In Septempber of last year, American YouTube musician Kina Grannis embarked on a tour of Asia. As usual, her social media presences detailed the process beautifully (I've interviewed Kina myself and have called her the gold standard among YouTube musicians on more than one occasion). "Then, suddenly, it stops. The tour gets cancelled. And Kina and her band mates seem to have dropped off the face of the earth. 100 days later, afer few (and very vague) updates, they are able to return to the US. "Today, Kina opened up for the first time, in a lenghty post on her website, about why they were held in Jakarta for 100 days despite not having done anything wrong." After a few excruciating days of waiting, we're brought in to the Immigration Office for one-on-one questioning. During my interrogation, I learn that our tour promoters failed to get us work visas, and that as a result of playing our concert we have committed visa fraud a crime, they inform me, that is punishable by a $35,000 fine per person and 5 years in prison. These are shocking words to hear, but since this alleged crime had been committed with neither intent nor any knowledge of it on our part, it seems too outlandish to be an actual threat, and I am convinced once I've cleared up this misunderstanding everything will be okay. I explain that our tour promoters had ensured us we did have the correct visas, and in the event that was not true, our contract with them clearly states it was their responsibility to secure the visasnot ours. The officials don't seem to care. Our names are on the documents, so they are holding us accountable. They lock away our passports and open a criminal investigation. We leave the Immigration Office and the tour promoters again reassure us that everything will be fine. "Things are being resolved. We'll be flying out soon." Day after day we are told to pack our bags, and day after day our freshly inflated hopes are crushed beneath the weight of another sunset. One day we're told we'll be flying out between 4 and 7am, they'll call our room when our passports are delivered, get sleep while we can. When I wake up at 9am to no news I am shattered. Another day we wait with our luggage in the hotel lobby for our passports to arrive, but they never come. The heartbreaking realization that I need to start canceling tour dates sets in. As the days pass, I announce the cancellation of my shows one by one, each time hoping it will be the last. Eventually the entire tour is scrapped. I am completely devastated. Not only because the tour has ended before it's begun, robbing me of the joy of sharing my music with the people who have made my career possible, but also because I am letting people down. I hear about fans who have bought flights from Australia and Japan to come see the shows and are frustrated and confused by the sudden and unexplained cancellation. I feel sick and scared and powerless. 100 Days in Jakarta [Kina Grannis] Divided US Supreme Court getting the job done, says Justice Breyer Split by an unfilled vacancy and caught in an election year tug-of-war, the US Supreme Court is "functioning" all the same, says Justice Stephen Breyer, one of its liberal-leaning justices. "We do our job," Breyer said in an interview with AFP, dismissing the press's characterization of the highest court in the land as hamstrung and diminished since the death in February of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. "I think we're functioning. We do our job and that's what I do. Everyone is entitled to an opinion about what we do," he said. US Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, on May 19, 2016 in Washington, DC Brendan Smialowski (AFP) "What we do is we decide cases, we make up our minds, we write opinions explaining the reason and we release those opinions. When they are released, they are often criticized," he said. Simply by virtue of its having the crucial last word on society's most pressing issues, the Supreme Court has an exalted place in US democracy. But since Scalia's sudden death, the court has found itself in the unusual position of being ideologically in balance, with four conservative justices and four liberals. The absence of a natural tie-breaker has raised the threat of repeated deadlocks, leaving in place lower court decisions on important, politically charged cases. But no relief is expected this year because a Republican-controlled Congress is determined to deny President Barack Obama the opportunity to reset the court's balance for years to come by filling the vacancy. Consequently, Republican leaders have refused to give Merrick Garland, Obama's pick to replace Scalia, so much as a Senate hearing, much less a confirmation vote. - Chicken a la king - Breyer has a good idea of the type of person he would name to the ninth seat, but keeps his opinion to himself. "I can't suggest who the president should appoint. It's not my job. I was not the person who appointed anyone, I was the appointed person. I was not the person who confirmed anyone, I was the person who the Senate confirmed. "So asking me a question about who should be appointed or how that process works is like asking for the recipe for chicken a la king from the point of view of the chicken," he said. Should there be a fourth woman on the court? "A diverse court is a better court and getting people with different points of view, different experience, different backgrounds," he said. "There's nothing wrong with my saying that. I think that." Breyer himself was picked 22 years ago by president Bill Clinton. In the years since, he has become a pillar of the court's liberal wing, along with the 83-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsburg, known for his arguments against the death penalty. One reason the choice of a new justice is so consequential is that they serve for life. Breyer, who is 77, is not opposed in theory to a limited term. "I think they should be long, terms of 15, 18 years. Because it's not a good idea to have a judge on our court thinking about what his or her next job will be," he said. "So you want a long term, but a long definite term would serve the same purpose as the constitutional provision that in effect says life." But, he added, such a change would probably require a constitutional amendment -- "and I don't think that's a very good idea, because when you start amending constitutions, you don't know where you will stop." "We have very few amendments, 27, and probably it's good to have that few because it produces a kind of stability," he said. Breyer keeps a tiny copy of the constitution in his vest pocket at all times. Certain amendments, notably the first guaranteeing freedom of expression and religion, the second on the right of the people to keep and bear arms, and the eighth banning cruel and unusual punishment, have been the subject of epic Supreme Court battles. In a presidential election year marked by the surprise rise of Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump, many perennial issues have become even more explosive. - Hot docket - The weeks ahead promise to get hotter, with the Supreme Court in session until the end of June. "We have several cases on the death penalty, we have a case on abortion, we don't have a case on gay marriage but I can't go into that," he said. A native of San Francisco, a connoisseur of Proust and Stendhal, Breyer also likes to quote Cicero -- "In times of war, the law falls silent" -- in recalling that during World War II, some 70,000 Americans of Japanese descent were unjustifiably interned in camps. He believes it is unlikely that would occur today, but when asked about the possibility of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants -- as Trump has promised to do if elected -- he deflected the question. "You are getting into a political issue here which I have to stay out of," he said with a smile. "It's a subject of the political campaign and I can't get into it." "We do our job," said Justice Stephen Breyer in an interview with AFP, dismissing the press's characterization of the Supreme Court as hamstrung since the death of Antonin Scalia Brendan Smialowski (AFP/File) Latest illegal aliens in Florida: Nile crocodiles Nile crocodiles have been discovered living in Florida swamps, the latest in a line of exotic and often dangerous foreign species living in the southeastern US state. Florida's hot, humid climate is an ideal home for all kinds of illegal reptiles, including giant Burmese pythons, Nile monitor lizards and Madagascar geckos. Most were likely released by private exotic animal collectors. University of Florida experts have now confirmed the discovery of two and possibly three Nile crocodiles, animals that -- unlike the local alligators -- can prey on humans. Nile crocodiles are known to prey upon creatures such as shrimp, fish, insects, birds, and mammals including humans Federico Scoppa (AFP/File) Over the last decade several large groups of Nile crocs "have been imported from South Africa and Madagascar for both zoological display ... and the pet trade," read an article in the academic journal Herpetological Conservation and Biology. Nile crocodiles, which can grow up to six meters (20 feet) long, are known to prey upon creatures such as shrimp, fish, insects, birds, and mammals including humans, the herpetologists wrote. For comparison, American alligators -- common in south Florida and Louisiana -- grow to about four meters long. As for the less common American crocodile, a threatened species that is "shy and reclusive," there are only extremely rare reports of conflicts with people, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife brochure. DR Congo opposition figure Katumbi leaves for S. Africa Powerful Democratic Republic of Congo opposition figure Moise Katumbi, who has said he will run for the presidency, left the country for South Africa on Friday. Katumbi, who is seeking medical care and faces a trial at home for threatening state security, left aboard a plane which took off from Lubumbashi at 8:03 pm (1803 GMT), an AFP correspondent said, just hours after the DR Congo authorities said he was free to travel abroad. Congolese Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba told AFP earlier that Katumbi "asked for conditional release covered by a medical certificate saying he needed appropriate care abroad. The prosecutor agreed to the request and authorised his departure." Moise Katumbi Chapwe, Governor of Democratic Republic of Congo's Katanga province, during an interview, in Lubumbashi on June 2, 2015 Federico Scoppa (AFP/File) Katumbi arrived at the airport by ambulance which drove straight up to a waiting plane. According to airport sources he was accompanied by his wife and a doctor on his way to Johannesburg. His entourage say he was injured during clashes between police and thousands of his supporters in Lubumbashi on May 13. His detractors accuse him of feigning medical problems. The 51-year-old businessman is President Joseph Kabila's leading rival for the country's top job after recently announcing plans to stand against the long-serving head of state. Immediately after that, judicial authorities opened an inquiry on May 4 alleging that Katumbi had hired foreign mercenaries. Katumbi has denied the allegations as "grotesque lies" and said the case, which followed the arrest of four of his bodyguards, including an American, was politically motivated. - 'Targeted actions - No date has been set for the trial of Katumbi, millionaire owner of a prestigious football club and former governor of mineral-rich Katanga province. The charges carry the death penalty, which has been systematically commuted to life since Democratic Republic of Congo suspended capital punishment, Kinshasa University law professor Sam Bokolombe told AFP. The news comes amid mounting domestic and international concern that Kabila will delay elections due to be held late this year when his second five-year mandate ends. The opposition claims Kabila, in power since 2001, plans to extend his rule, and last week the Constitutional Court ruled he could stay in office beyond 2016 without being re-elected. Human Rights Watch has slammed the case as "targeted actions against a presidential aspirant and close supporters". Katumbi was an ally of Kabila's but broke with him in September after the president announced he would carve up DR Congo's provinces, including Katanga, into smaller entities. Kabila's supporters want the presidential elections delayed for two to four years on the grounds of alleged logistical and financial difficulties. Sam Bokolombe, from Kinshasa University's international criminal law department, said Katumbi had "no interest" in remaining abroad and that he expected him to return to have his day in court. But his supporters claim the authorities are seeking to remove Katumbi from the political scene. Gabriel Kyungu wa Kumwanza (C), a former governer of Katanga province and political figure speaks during a press conference under an opposition Presidential candidate Moise Katumbi's poster on May 20, 2016 in Lubumbashi, DR Congo Guilaume Kazadi (AFP) The National Rifle Association endorsed Donald Trump for US president on Friday, saying it was time to unite behind the Republican - and blasted Hillary Clinton's plans to reduce gun violence. 'We have to unite and we have to unite right now,' Chris Cox, the head of the NRA's lobbying arm, said at the gun rights group's annual convention in Louisville, Kentucky. 'So on behalf of the thousands of patriots in this room, the five million NRA members across this country, and the tens of millions who support us, I'm officially announcing the NRA's endorsement of Donald Trump for president.' Trump called the endorsement a 'fantastic honor', describing himself as a staunch supporter of gun rights and painting Hillary Clinton as an anti-gun radical. Scroll down for video Chris Cox (pictured at the NRA convention on Friday in Louisville, Kentucky) announced that the gun-rights advocacy group would officially endorse Donald Trump for president The NRA's endorsement comes months earlier than in the previous two election cycles, which suggests that the nation's largest gun-rights advocacy group wants to help the Republican Party unite conservatives over Trump. The group's chief executive Wayne LaPierre declared it was time to prevent Clinton from gaining the White House and appointing a new justice to fill a Supreme Court vacancy. 'If she gets just one Supreme Court nomination, Hillary's court will hold that the Second Amendment is a government right, not an individual right, and you can kiss your guns goodbye,' LaPierre said. Trump was welcomed warmly as he received the endorsement, promising: 'I will not let you down.' 'We're getting rid of gun-free zones, OK? I can tell you,' he said to loud applause. Trump sought to describe former secretary of state Clinton as a 'dictator' who would take away Americans' constitutional right to bear arms. 'The Second Amendment is under a threat like never before,' Trump declared. 'Crooked Hillary Clinton is the most anti-gun, anti-Second-Amendment candidate ever to run for office.' Clinton has made reducing gun violence a key plan of her campaign platform. She pledged to build on Obama's efforts to keep firearms out of the wrong hands last week at the majority black Canaan Christian Church, also in Louisville. She told the crowd Americans had to 'combat the culture of gun violence', adding: 'For too many people, particularly young people in our country today, they seem to think that guns can solve their problem.' Trump (pictured at the convention on Friday) called the endorsement a 'fantastic honor' before blasting Hillary Clinton's plans to reduce gun violence, describing her as an anti-gun radical The likely GOP nominee told the crowd (pictured listening to NRA vice president Wayne LaPierre on Friday) he would repeal Barack Obama's executive orders on gun control during his 'first hour' in office Clinton's campaign says she supports 'sensible action' to address the issue, including expanding comprehensive background checks, cracking down on illegal gun traffickers and keeping weapons out of the hands of domestic abusers. She also wants to repeal a law that shields gun manufacturers and sellers from lawsuits. But the NRA, which has backed the law, is gearing for battle over the gun control issue. 'You want to turn this election into a do-or-die fight over the Second Amendment? Bring it on,' Cox challenged. Trump also took aim at President Barack Obama's executive orders on reducing gun violence, issued after December's San Bernardino shootings during which 14 people were gunned down. These measures include plans to crack down on unregulated Internet gun sales. 'They'll be un-signed the first hour that I'm in office,' Trump pledged. The billionaire called himself a 'long-term' NRA member and one of 13 million Americans with permits to carry firearms. 'I happen to be one of them,' he said. 'Nobody knows that. Boy, would I surprise somebody if they hit Trump.' He also quipped that his sons are avid shooters with so many guns that 'sometimes even I get a little bit concerned.' Meanwhile Trump repeated his assertion that last year's terror strikes in France could have been minimized or even avoided if citizens had been armed. 'Paris is, probably in the world, the toughest place to have a gun,' he said. Jean Ping says he's a target of Gabon regime Former African Union commission chief Jean Ping, a candidate for Gabon president in this year's election, said Friday the regime of incumbent Ali Bongo Ondimba was trying force him out of the race through "Machiavellian" judicial means. "For some time now, I have became the target to absolutely beat down," the opposition figure told a press conference in Libreville. He accused the authorities of seeking to "exploit" the judicial system in an attempt to have him declared ineligible to run for election. Former African Union Peace and Security Council Commissioner and potential Gabonese candidate for the 2016 presidential election Jean Ping poses on October 8, 2015 in Paris Kenzo Tribouilard (AFP/File) To do this, he said, Ondimba's team "with Machiavellian skill" were seeking to attribute inflammatory remarks to opponents. Last week a government spokesman threatened Ping with legal action over statements in which the former AU chief was said to have likened the regime to "cockroaches", accusing him of seeking to provoke civil war. A video from March disseminated on social media showed Ping calling on his supporters to battle "to the death" and talking about a war "to get rid of the cockroaches". On Friday Ping dismissed the video as a montage and said he had instructed his lawyers to take action against the "unscrupulous people who will stop at nothing and will do anything to stay in power." Alerts indicate smoke on doomed EgyptAir flight: reports Egyptian authorities were investigating reports late Friday that there was smoke on the doomed EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo shortly before it crashed into the Mediterranean. "We are looking into this report," an Egyptian civil aviation ministry official told AFP. "At this point I can't deny or confirm it." The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said automated warning messages indicated smoke in the nose of the aircraft and an apparent problem with the flight control system. An Egyptair Airbus A330 from Cairo taxiing at the Roissy-Charles De Gaulle airport near Paris on May 19, 2016 Thomas Samson (AFP/File) The warnings, which were automatically sent by the Airbus A320's computer systems, came about 2:26 a.m. Thursday local time, just before air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane carrying 66 people, the Journal said. The messages indicated intense smoke in the front portion of the plane, specifically the lavatory and the equipment compartment beneath the cockpit. The error warnings also indicated that the flight control computer malfunctioned, the report said. CNN also reported smoke alerts on the flight minutes before it crashed, citing information it obtained from an Egyptian source that was filed through the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, which sends messages between planes and ground facilities. Egypt's aviation minister has said a terrorist attack was a more likely cause than technical failure for the crash. On Friday, search teams found wreckage including seats and luggage about 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria, Egypt's military said. The plane disappeared without any distress signal between the Greek island of Karpathos and the Egyptian coast. Donald Trump to make stop in nation's most Hispanic state ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has scheduled his first campaign appearance in New Mexico the state with the highest percentage of Hispanics in the nation and where its GOP Latina governor has previously denounced him. His campaign website announced Thursday that Trump will hold a rally Tuesday evening at the Albuquerque Convention Center as New Mexico prepares for its primary two weeks later on June 7. Trump's scheduled visit to the state comes after New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, the nation's first Latina governor and a rising star within the GOP, has harshly criticized his past statements about Mexican immigrants and Mexico. In this photo taken May 7, 2016, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Spokane, Wash. Trump kept himself planted firmly in the political spotlight this week with one headline-grabbing move after another, launching a social media defense of his treatment of women, listing possible Supreme Court nominees, rapidly declaring an Egyptian plane crash an act of terrorism. His likely general election opponent, Hillary Clinton, seemed content to hang in the background. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Trump has vowed to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and last year he compared Mexican immigrants to rapists and drug dealers. Martinez has urged comprehensive immigration reform and asked candidates to tone down their rhetoric amid strong anti-immigration sentiment from some fellow Republicans. Martinez has said she wasn't ready to support Trump but wanted to hear about his plans to protect the state's military bases. Martinez is a prominent Republican fundraiser in New Mexico and nationwide as chairwoman of the Republican Governors Association, a fundraising arm of the GOP. A spokesman for Martinez said he didn't know if the governor would attend Trump's Albuquerque rally. Richard Berry, Albuquerque's Republican mayor who was twice elected with sizable Hispanic support, has not been contacted about attending the Trump rally, according to spokeswoman Rhiannon Samuel. Latino and immigrant rights groups have hinted that Trump and his supporters might see demonstrations when he makes his way to New Mexico. "Let's put it this way...we're definitely not going to roll out the red carpet for him," said Ralph Arellanes, chair of the Hispano Round Table of New Mexico. "You can expect to see something." Trump has drawn scrutiny from immigration advocates for saying he would push for the mass deportation of an estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally. He also has said he would support requiring Muslims to register in a database. Trump already has generated enthusiasm from Latinos to vote against him in November should he officially win the GOP nomination, said Isaac De Luna Navarro, a communications organizer for the Albuquerque-based immigrant rights group EL CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos. "Donald Trump will realize during his visit to New Mexico that he doesn't represent the values shared by New Mexicans and that his use of anti-immigrant rhetoric isn't welcome by New Mexican families," Navarro said. Other activists said they planned on attending the rally inside the convention center but would not say if they would interrupt the gathering as seen at other Trump rallies. Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders is scheduled to visit New Mexico on Friday and Saturday. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has not scheduled a visit to the state before the primary. Victor Reyes, a spokesman for Hillary for New Mexico, said Trump's view counter the beliefs of many New Mexico residents. "Donald Trump can't fool New Mexicans into thinking that he will have our best interests in mind when he compares Mexicans to "rapists" and "criminals," has doubled down on his pledge to deport millions of immigrant families...and would continue to divide our country in the worst ways," Reyes said. ___ Follow Russell Contreras on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/russell-contreras. The Latest: 2 charged in slaying of 6 Chicago family members CHICAGO (AP) The Latest on the arrests in the Chicago deaths of six family members (all times local): 5:30 p.m. Authorities say one of two suspects in the slayings of six family members whose bodies were found in a Chicago house in February was related to the family and the motive was robbery. FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2016 file photo, mourners pay their respect outside a home in Chicago where six family members were found dead. On Thursday, May 19, 2016, Chicago police say they have arrested two suspects, a man and woman, in the Feb. 4 slayings. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File) Police announced charges Thursday against 22-year-old Diego Uribe and his girlfriend, 19-year-old Jafeth Ramos. Uribe was a cousin of one of the family members. Both Uribe and Ramos are charged with six counts of first-degree murder. Police say DNA evidence and cellphone records link Uribe to the crime. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson says Ramos was an "accomplice to this unspeakable act" and the motive was to rob the family for money. Authorities found the bodies Feb. 4 in the Gage Park neighborhood. Five of the victims were stabbed to death. The sixth died of multiple gunshot wounds. ___ 3:10 p.m. Chicago police say they've arrested two suspects in the slayings of six family members whose bodies were found in a house in February. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi (goo-lee-EHL'-mee) says the man and woman were arrested without incident Thursday in Chicago. Guglielmi says the man has a family connection with the victims, and that authorities are planning to charge both with first-degree murder. Airlines say Congress is contributing to long airport lines DALLAS (AP) As airport security lines get longer, the finger-pointing over blame is growing too. The nation's leading airlines, already feuding with the Transportation Security Administration, are now taking on Congress. The trade group Airlines for America on Thursday said Congress should reverse a 2013 decision that diverted $12.6 billion in passenger-security fees to reducing the federal budget deficit. The airlines want that money to pay for airport security screening. File-This May 16, 2016, file photo shows a long line of travelers waiting for the TSA security check point at O'Hare International airport, in Chicago. As airport security lines get longer, the finger-pointing over blame is growing too. The nation's leading airlines, already feuding with the Transportation Security Administration, are now taking on Congress. The trade group Airlines for America on Thursday, May 19, 2016, says Congress should reverse a 2013 decision that diverted $12.6 billion in passenger-security fees to reducing the federal budget deficit. The airlines want that money to pay for airport security screening. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford) Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has joined a handful of senators in asking airlines to waive fees on checked bags. They say that would lead to fewer carry-on bags for TSA to screen. Neither side is giving ground, and passengers are stuck in the middle. Airlines say lines are long because TSA is understaffed while travel is expected to hit a record high this summer. Congress has advanced TSA money to hire 768 more screeners and pay overtime this summer, but airlines say that won't be good enough. They have zeroed in on a 2013 budget bill in which Congress raised security fees on airline tickets and ordered the Homeland Security Department to set aside $12.6 billion over 10 years to reduce the deficit, including $1.25 billion this year. "That decision has come home to roost," said Nick Calio, president of the airline trade group. He said in a letter to senators that Congress should immediately put that money into screening passengers, "where it belongs." Earlier, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson asked the airlines to suspend fees on checked bags, which encourage passengers to take more carry-on luggage through TSA checkpoints. "Inspecting carry-on luggage has a lot to do with the wait time," Johnson told reporters in Washington on Tuesday night. "We have asked the airlines to consider possibly eliminating the checked-baggage fee to encourage people to check their luggage rather than putting it in the carry on." Airlines are resisting. They say that bag fees have been common since 2008 and that long lines were not a big problem until this year. They also note that some of the longest lines have been at Chicago's Midway Airport, where the dominant carrier, Southwest Airlines, charges only for three or more bags. U.S. airlines raised $3.8 billion from bag fees last year, according to the government. Airlines and TSA agree that lines would be shorter if more passengers paid for expedited screening. The airline trade group says TSA should make that happen by waiving the $85 fee for "PreCheck," which speeds things up because passengers don't have to remove shoes, belts and light jackets and can leave laptops in their bags. The TSA says that about $35 of the fee which is good for five years goes to the cost of vetting passengers and the rest is paid to the vendor who signs up passengers, MorphoTrust USA, so there is nothing to waive. ___ Follow David Koenig at http://twitter.com/airlinewriter In this image made with a slow shutter speed, violinist Jennifer Warrilow plays for travelers moving through a security checkpoint line at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Thursday, May 19, 2016, in Atlanta. The airlines have a message for fliers: Get to the airport early. Long lines at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints have plagued thousands of travelers this spring, causing many of them to miss flights. The situation is expected to get worse in the summer with an average of 2.5 million passengers a day flying. (AP Photo/David Goldman) European security group mulls police mission to Ukraine WASHINGTON (AP) The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is considering sending an armed police mission to help conduct elections in conflict-torn eastern Ukraine, if there is agreement on all sides. OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier told the Associated Press in an interview Thursday that his group was ready to send hundreds of policemen, potentially armed, to ensure the vote takes place in a secure and safe atmosphere. "It would be a police operation to help maintain law and order in this area and ... to help provide a safe environment for the elections to take place," Zannier told the AP. As part of an internationally brokered peace agreement, Ukraine must hold local elections in two eastern regions controlled by Russian-backed rebels, but progress on ending the two-year conflict that has already killed more than 9,300 people has been slow. Moscow says Ukraine must pass the necessary legislation to conduct the vote. Kiev insists the separatists must first cease all hostilities and pull back weapons and Ukraine must restore control over its border with Russia. The sides are also at odds over the degree of autonomy that will be granted to the separatist regions and the details of a prisoner exchange and amnesty for the rebels. Zannier said the mission, which has been requested by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, could work alongside the local police force in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions to prevent criminal activity and help international observers monitor the vote. The mission would only be able to deploy after both sides fully commit to a ceasefire. "It is a complicated scenario, but it's certainly something that we can do if, as I say, everybody agrees," Zannier said. Russia, however, has spoken against such a mission, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov calling the issue "an artificial problem" and saying unarmed monitors of OSCE would be enough for the vote. Ukranian Ambassador Valeriy Chaly told the AP, "As of today, it is impossible to conduct normal elections." Hawaii shark study aims to understand why they bite HONOLULU (AP) New research released Thursday shows tiger sharks naturally favor waters near Maui that are close to some of Hawaii's most popular beaches for humans. This can reasonably explain why there are a higher number of shark bites in waters surrounding Maui than other Hawaii islands, said Carl Meyer, assistant researcher at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology and the principal investigator on the report. Yet Meyer stressed it's rare for sharks to bite people. He said shark attacks have increased over time but that is because the human population has grown and more people are in the ocean. In this July 2007 image provided by the University of Hawaiis Institute of Marine Biology, a team of researchers from the university tags a large tiger shark near Lisianski Island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The researchers released a 2-year study Thursday, May 19, 2016 looking at tiger shark activity around Maui after a number of shark bites in 2012 and 2013 prompted the state to commisson further research. This shark, while not part of this specific study, is an example of some of the sharks the team has handled during their research. (Luis Roch, University of Hawaiis Institute of Marine Biology via AP) The state of Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resources commissioned the two-year study after a spike in shark attacks off Maui in 2012 and 2013 raised community concerns. The researchers tagged tiger sharks off Maui and Oahu and tracked them as they swam around the island chain and open ocean. Meyer plans to submit the research to a peer-review journal. State officials said the study shows people need to be careful when entering the ocean. "Swimming in the ocean is swimming in what amounts to a wilderness environment. Sharks are part of this environment," said Bruce Anderson, administrator of the state Division of Aquatic Resources. "We have to accept that they're there and take precautions to avoid encounters, which are going to occur from time to time." Anderson said the state would increase its educational outreach in response to the study. He urged people to stay out of the ocean if the water is murky. He recommended avoiding areas near streams where dead animals may wash out, attracting sharks. He suggested swimming in groups, as a buddy can help if a shark does bite. Anderson said shark behavior hasn't changed, but people's behavior has, as more people are kayaking, swimming, spearfishing and taking up ocean sports such as stand-up paddleboarding. The research showed the sharks favor waters between Maui, Lanai, Molokai and Kahoolawe islands. The area is rich with coral reefs that offer habitat for fish and other marine life that sharks like to eat. Together, Maui and nearby islands have more preferred shark habitat than all the other main Hawaiian Islands combined, Meyer said. Maui sharks tend to stay in these waters. But the area also draws sharks that normally live in Oahu waters, particularly during mating season. There were six shark attacks around Maui in 2012 and eight in 2013. The numbers dropped to five in 2014 and one in 2015. Meyer said shark attacks would likely continue to increase gradually over time as the human population grows. "The ingredients that have gone into a general upward trend in the number of shark bites in Hawaii, and other places around the world, are mainly more people in coastal areas going into the ocean and doing a wider array of ocean recreational activities," Meyer said. In this October, 2013 photo provided by the University of Hawaiis Institute of Marine Biology, Carl Meyer tags a tiger shork off Kihei, Maui in Hawaii. Meyer was the principle investigator for a 2-year study released Thursday, May 19, 2016 that looked at tiger shark activity around Maui after a number of shark bites in 2012 and 2013 prompted the state to commisson further research.(Mark Royer, University of Hawaiis Institute of Marine Biology via AP) CORRECTS FROM PROMOTED TO PROMPTED- In this Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016 photo, Carl Meyer, a shark researcher at the University of Hawaiis Institute of Marine Biology, shows a tracking device used to monitor tiger shark around Hawaii at his lab on Oahus Coconut Island. Meyer was the principle investigator for a 2-year study released Thursday, May 19, 2016 that looked at tiger shark activity around Maui after a number of shark bites in 2012 and 2013 prompted the state to commission further research. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) CORRECTS FROM PROMOTED TO PROMPTED- In this Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016 photo, Carl Meyer, a shark researcher at the University of Hawaiis Institute of Marine Biology, shows a tag used to monitor tiger shark around Hawaii at his lab on Oahus Coconut Island. Meyer was the principle investigator for a 2-year study released Thursday, May 19, 2016 that looked at tiger shark activity around Maui after a number of shark bites in 2012 and 2013 prompted the state to commission further research. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) Mirrors blamed for fire at world's largest solar plant PRIMM, Nev. (AP) A small fire shut down a generating tower Thursday at the world's largest solar power plant, leaving the sprawling facility on the California-Nevada border operating at only a third of its capacity, authorities said. Firefighters had to climb some 300 feet up a boiler tower at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California after fire was reported on an upper level around 9:30 a.m., fire officials said. The plant works by using mirrors to focus sunlight on boilers at the top of three 459-foot towers, creating steam that drive turbines to produce electricity. This photo provided by the San Bernardino County, Calif., Fire Department shows damage to the interior of a solar generating tower, which authorities say was caused by misaligned mirrors causing a small fire that shut down a generating tower at the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility, the world's largest solar power plant, in Nipton, Calif., near Primm, Nev., on the California-Nevada border Thursday, May 19, 2016.(San Bernardino County Fire Department via AP) But some misaligned mirrors instead focused sunbeams on a different level of Unit 3, causing electrical cables to catch fire, San Bernardino County, California fire Capt. Mike McClintock said. David Knox, spokesman for plant operator NRG Energy, said it was too early to comment on the cause, which was under investigation. The fire was located about two-thirds of the way up the tower, said Jeff Buchanan of Nevada's Clark County Fire Department, which also responded to the blaze. Plant personnel had the fire out by the time firefighters reached the spot, and it was officially declared out in about 20 minutes. Photos showed melted and scorched steam ducts and water pipes. Knox said the tower was offline while crews assess the damage. He could not immediately say when it would restart. The plant can produce enough power for 140,000 California homes, but a second tower is shut down for maintenance, leaving only one running. It was not immediately clear what impact that would have on California's electricity supply. It was the first fire at the plant, which opened two years ago on federal land in the Mojave Desert about 45 miles southwest of Las Vegas. The $2.2 billion complex has nearly 350,000 computer controlled mirrors each roughly the size of a garage door that sprawl over roughly five square miles of desert. This photo provided by the San Bernardino County, Calif., Fire Department shows the exterior of a solar generating tower after a fire contained to the interior, which authorities say was caused by misaligned mirrors causing a small fire that shut down a generating tower at the This photo provided by the San Bernardino County, Calif., Fire Department shows damage to the interior of a solar generating tower, which authorities say was caused by misaligned mirrors causing a small fire that shut down a generating tower at the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility, the world's largest solar power plant, in Nipton, Calif., near Primm, Nev., on the California-Nevada border Thursday, May 19, 2016.(San Bernardino County Fire Department via AP) New Taiwan president omits one-China principle in speech TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) Taiwan's new independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen tread carefully around the thorny issue of relations with China in her inaugural address Friday, emphasizing the importance of two decades of growing exchanges without mentioning the one-China principle fundamental to Beijing. Tsai said in her speech that she respected the "joint acknowledgements and understandings" reached between the sides at a landmark 1992 meeting seen by China as underpinning all subsequent contacts and agreements. However, Tsai made no explicit mention of the concept that Taiwan is a part of China. Beijing claims the self-governing island as its own territory and says failing to endorse the one-China principle would destabilize relations. New Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, left, and Vice President Chen Chien-jen wave during their inauguration ceremonies in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, May 20, 2016. Taiwan inaugurated Tsai as its first female president on Friday, returning the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party to power amid new concerns over increasingly fractious relations with Beijing and a flagging economy. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) In Beijing, the Cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement noting Tsai's reference to the 1992 meeting, but saying she had taken an "ambiguous stance" over the nature of the relationship between the sides. Her failure to explicitly endorse what China calls the "'92 consensus" embodying the principle of one-China, or to offer a "specific proposal to ensure the peaceful and stable development of relations between the sides" had left the question unanswered, the office said. The statement, issued about five hours after Tsai's speech, also reaffirmed China's rigid opposition to Taiwan's formal independence, stating that: "Today, our determination to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity is unshaken, our capability is strengthened and we will resolutely contain any 'Taiwan independence' separatist acts or plots in whatever form they take." In her address, Tsai called for Taipei and Beijing to "set aside the baggage of history, and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides." She said her administration would "work to maintain peace and stability" in relations between the sides. However, she added that Taiwan's democratic system and the will of its 23 million people must be respected in the course of cross-strait dialogue. The Nationalist Party government of Tsai's predecessor Ma Ying-jeou had repeatedly endorsed the one-China principle and the "'92 consensus" and reached a series of economic and civil agreements between the sides. China maintains that Taiwan must unify with the mainland eventually, by force if necessary. However, Taiwanese public opinion is strongly against any sort of political union, instead favoring the status of de facto independence and robust social and economic interactions. While the Nationalists favor unification, Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party advocates formally establishing Taiwan as an independent nation. Chinese President Xi Jinping has said the issue of unification cannot be put off indefinitely and China's military has conducted saber-rattling war games in recent days along the coastline facing Taiwan. The U.S. Department of State congratulated Tsai on her inauguration, and said it looks forward to working with her administration, as well as with all Taiwanese political parties and civic groups, to further strengthen ties. Tsai is Taiwan's first female president and the first woman elected as head of state in Asia not related to a prominent male politician. Much of her speech focused on reviving Taiwan's high-tech, export-oriented economy, which is now in recession, and increasing opportunities for young people who largely blame Chinese competition for shrinking the pool of well-paying jobs. The inauguration was festive, with bands and cheerleaders, and included presentations on Taiwan's history. One segment took on a politically charged event, the 1947 massacre of Taiwanese intellectuals by Nationalist troops from mainland China. Actors portraying executed political prisoners fell to the ground in the plaza in front of the Presidential Office Building. While Tsai faces challenges on several fronts, she will be aided by the DPP's commanding majority in Taiwan's parliament. The party's landslide victory in the January polls was seen as a keen expression of concern that the island's economy is under threat from the mainland's economic juggernaut. While leaving Beijing unsatisfied, Tsai avoided provoking Beijing by referring to Taiwan as an independent sovereign nation, said Li Fei, deputy director of the Taiwan Research Institute at China's Xiamen University. "This is a speech that can be accepted by the international community and endured by the mainland," Li said, adding that Beijing will be watching what Tsai does in coming days as she forms her administration. China has multiple ways of registering its dissatisfaction, including cutting exchanges and regular contacts, tightening the island's diplomat isolation and barring Chinese tourists from visiting the island. China may also block Taiwanese observers from attending the U.N. World Health Organization's annual World Health Assembly in Geneva next week. Asked about Taiwan's future participation in international organizations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying offered few clues, saying only that the matter could be discussed between the two sides "on the premise that it will not result in "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" Taiwanese political scientist Shane Lee said he expected China to react, although not too strongly. China will continue to "have a bit of this and that around the world to make sure the new government gets the message China is not that happy," said Lee, who teaches at Chang Jung Christian University in the southern city of Tainan. Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., said Beijing will see Tsai's remarks as "continuing to be ambiguous." "You could read into it whatever you want to read into it," Glaser said. "My guess is that the Chinese will choose to see this as insufficient." ___ Associated Press writers Gillian Wong and Christopher Bodeen and researcher Yu Bing in Beijing, and Matthew Pennington in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report. Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen waves to Taiwanese people as she delivers an acceptance speech during her inauguration ceremony in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, May 20, 2016. Taiwan inaugurated Tsai as its first female president on Friday, returning the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party to power amid new concerns over increasingly fractious relations with Beijing and a flagging economy. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, center, and Vice President Chen Chien-jen sing national song with children during their inauguration ceremonies in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, May 20, 2016. Taiwan inaugurated Tsai as its first female president on Friday, returning the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party to power amid new concerns over increasingly fractious relations with Beijing and a flagging economy. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen recites the oath of office during the swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Taiwan May 20, 2016. Taiwan inaugurated Tsai as its first female president on Friday, returning the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party to power amid new concerns over increasingly fractious relations with Beijing and a flagging economy. (Taipei Photojournalists Association/Pool Photo via AP) Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, left, shakes hands with her cabinet after the swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Taiwan May 20, 2016. Taiwan inaugurated Tsai as its first female president on Friday, returning the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party to power amid new concerns over increasingly fractious relations with Beijing and a flagging economy. (Taipei Photojournalists Association/Pool Photo via AP) Taiwan's Tsai Ing-wen waves at the venue of her inauguration at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, May 20, 2016. Taiwan inaugurated Tsai as its first female president on Friday, returning the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party to power amid new concerns over increasingly fractious relations with Beijing and a flagging economy. (Minoru Iwasaki/Kyodo News via AP) JAPAN OUT, CREDIT MANDATORY Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen sings national song with children during the inauguration ceremonies in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, May 20, 2016. Taiwan inaugurated Tsai as its first female president on Friday, returning the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party to power amid new concerns over increasingly fractious relations with Beijing and a flagging economy. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) Dancers perform during an inauguration ceremony of Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, May 20, 2016. Taiwan inaugurated Tsai as its first female president on Friday, returning the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party to power amid new concerns over increasingly fractious relations with Beijing and a flagging economy. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) Performers re-enact the 1947 massacre of Taiwanese intellectuals by mainland China's Nationalists troops during the inauguration ceremony of Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, May 20, 2016. Taiwan inaugurated Tsai as its first female president on Friday, returning the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party to power amid new concerns over increasingly fractious relations with Beijing and a flagging economy. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) Relief and anger in Puerto Rico as Congress acts on debt SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) After months of pleading from Puerto Rico's government, the U.S. Congress has agreed to help the territory restructure its massive public debt. But it comes at a steep cost: a degree of lost sovereignty with the imposition of a fiscal control board as well as a potential lower minimum wage for young workers on the island. Those provisions in the bipartisan measure are aimed at staving off a chaotic wave of defaults on the island's $70 billion public debt. But they stoked some anger Thursday in Puerto Rico, where people have endured a decade of a steadily worsening economy and many resent the uneven relationship with the U.S. mainland. Yet the deal brought relief to others, who feel it could help Puerto Ricans rebuild the economy while providing sorely needed control over their government. FILE - In this Wednesday, July 29, 2015, file photo, a bronze statue of San Juan Bautista stands in front of Puerto Ricos Capitol as U.S. and Puerto Rican flags fly in San Juan, Puerto Rico. After months of pleading from the government of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Congress agreed on Wednesday, May 18, 2016, to help the territory restructure its massive public debt. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo, File) "This should have been done a long time ago," said Jose Jeaudoin, a restaurant manager. "It's been proven for many years that Puerto Rico does not know how to run itself. Any time the government takes control over something, it doesn't work or it goes broke." The bill calls for the creation of a seven-member control board appointed by Congress and the president that would oversee some court-ordered debt restructurings. It would also require Puerto Rico's government to submit budgets and create a plan to achieve fiscal responsibility and eventual access to financial markets. The board also would be responsible for maintaining the legal rights of creditors and shoring up pension shortfalls for an island whose public pension obligations are underfunded by more than $40 billion. U.S. law blocks Puerto Rico's public agencies and municipalities from declaring bankruptcy and restructuring debt under a judge's supervision. "The situation is desperate," said Valerie Franklin, a souvenir store owner. "Right now, we're just working to pay taxes. We're just surviving." Supporters say the bill would help strengthen Puerto Rico's sputtering economy, which has stagnated in part since the end of U.S. tax breaks for manufacturers that set off a vicious downward economic spiral that in turn prompted hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans to move to the mainland. The House Natural Resources Committee could vote on the bill as early as next week. If approved, it would go to the full House and then move to the Senate. Some of the House's most conservative Republicans appear willing to support the deal, but senators have not said yet whether they will pass the House bill or write their own version. The goal is to pass the bill before Puerto Rico defaults on a $2 billion debt payment due July 1, the largest yet. The island already has missed three previous payments, including a $367 million one due earlier this month. Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said that if the bill is approved without any changes, it will protect Puerto Rico from any lawsuits following the anticipated July 1 default. But he intends to fight some of the bill's provisions, including the one that would set up a fiscal control board whose members, he noted, would not be elected by the public. "The board's powers are excessive," he said. "We have to keep fighting." Garcia envisions a board with a supervisory role that would allow Puerto Rico's government to have final say over its finances. He said the measure's current provisions "are not consistent with our country's basic democratic principles." Other government officials echoed Garcia's concerns, including Eduardo Bhatia, president of Puerto Rico's Senate. He asked Puerto Ricans to rise up and reject the bill, calling it disproportionate and anti-democratic. "To those who think they can sacrifice democracy to obtain economic stability, know that in the end you'll have neither," he said. Another big concern for some government officials and young adults in Puerto Rico is a provision that would allow the local government to temporarily lower the minimum wage, authorizing businesses to pay $4.25 an hour to first-time employees under age 20. The bill states that the age can be automatically extended to 25 and that the lower wage can be paid for up to four years if requested. The island's current minimum wage varies from $5.08 to $7.25 an hour. Critics say workers can barely survive on the current minimum wage, given the rising cost of living in Puerto Rico. "I think it's terrible," said Jaileen Trinidad, a 23-year-old restaurant hostess. "We're educated. I have my bachelor's degree. ... It would affect me greatly because my baby depends on me." Puerto Ricans fear that lowering the minimum wage would further fuel an exodus to the U.S. mainland instead of helping create more jobs locally. Gabriel Hernandez, a 19-year-old food delivery worker, said the measure would prevent young people from building a secure future. "They wouldn't be able to get ahead, to make money to buy a car, to buy school supplies, to buy a house," he said. But it's unlikely the minimum wage provision will change. The bill was revised during weeks of negotiations and it now has the support of U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew. Disagreements over how the board would be appointed had held up negotiations. The bill would allow the president to select all but one of the board's seven members from lists provided by congressional leaders. Anyone that the president picked from outside the list would have to be confirmed by the Senate. As U.S. legislators prepare for another round of debates, Puerto Ricans like artist Richard Daal are eager to see the bill approved. "The government here has demonstrated that it doesn't have the capability or the dexterity to manage the island," he said. "It's like a business. If you don't manage it well, someone else should take over." ___ Associated Press writer Danica Coto reported this story in San Juan and AP writer Mary Clare Jalonick reported from Washington. FILE - In this April 30, 2015, file photo, Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla delivers his budget address for the next fiscal year at the Capitol building in San Juan. After months of pleading from the government of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Congress agreed on Wednesday, May 18, 2016, to help the territory restructure its massive public debt. Gov. Garcia Padilla said that if the bill is approved without any changes, it will protect Puerto Rico from any lawsuits following the anticipated July 1 default. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo, File) House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. speaks during his weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 19, 2016. In a breakthrough, House Republicans and Democrats have struck a deal with the White House on a deal to help rescue Puerto Rico from $70 billion in debt. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. speaks during her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 19, 2016. In a breakthrough, House Republicans and Democrats have agreed to a deal to help rescue Puerto Rico from $70 billion in debt. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Jury selection begins in Peterson murder-for-hire trial ST. LOUIS (AP) Jury selection started Friday in the murder-for-hire trial of Drew Peterson, the former suburban Chicago police officer accused of plotting to kill the prosecutor who put him behind bars in his third wife's death. Peterson, 62, is serving a 38-year-sentence at the maximum-security Menard Correctional Center in southern Illinois. Opening statements are scheduled to start Monday, with the trial anticipated to last at least one week. The Illinois Attorney General's Office and the Randolph County state's attorney are prosecuting the case against Peterson, who faces a sentence of up to 60 years if convicted of both solicitation of murder for hire along with solicitation of murder. FILE - In this May 8, 2009 file photo, former Bolingbrook, Ill., police officer Drew Peterson arrives for court in Joliet, Ill. Jury selection is set to begin Friday, May 20, 2016, in Chester, Ill., in the murder-for-hire trial of Peterson, who is accused of plotting to kill the prosecutor who put him behind bars in his third wife's death. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File) Peterson has pleaded not guilty to allegations that he enlisted another inmate between September 2013 and December 2014 to help plan the death of Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow, who is among the state's likely witnesses. Glasgow has previously declined to discuss the alleged threats. The crux of the state's case is expected to consist of wiretapped conversations between Peterson and a confidential informant. Prosecutors have not identified a prospective hit man. A public defender representing Peterson unsuccessfully sought to bar the secretly recorded conversations, arguing that the Will County judge who authorized the wiretap improperly met with the jailed informant, whose name was inadvertently disclosed during pretrial proceedings. Even as he faces additional time in prison, Peterson is appealing his 2012 murder conviction to the Illinois Supreme Court. A state appeals court ruled in November that evidence against Peterson was sufficient to show he killed Kathleen Savio, whose body was found in the bathtub of her suburban Chicago home in 2004. No date has been given for arguments. Glasgow reopened the investigation into Savio's death after the 2007 disappearance of Stacy Peterson, the ex-Bolingbrook sergeant's 23-year-old fourth wife. Peterson, who remains a suspect in that case, has maintained his innocence. His defense attorneys previously contended that Stacy Peterson had left for another man and was alive. Peterson divorced Savio a year before her death. It's not clear whether Peterson, who opted to not take the stand in his murder trial, will testify this time. Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker said the witness list has been placed under seal. Should he testify, prosecutors will be able to question Peterson about his murder conviction, Circuit Judge Richard Brown has ruled. But they won't be able to discuss a 2003 attempt by Peterson to pay $25,000 to someone whom he asked to "take care of" Savio. The judge has also granted a defense request to allow discussion at trial about the details of the confidential informant's own criminal history. ___ Follow Alan Scher Zagier on Twitter at http://twitter.com/azagier FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2013, file photo, Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow talks to reporters in Joliet, Ill. On Friday, May 20, 2016, jury selection is set to begin in Chester, Ill., in the murder-for-hire trial of Drew Peterson, a former suburban Chicago police officer accused of plotting to kill Glasgow, who put him behind bars in his third wife's death. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File) Pakistani police kill 14 alleged al-Qaida militants ISLAMABAD (AP) Pakistani police acting on intelligence killed 14 al-Qaida members and other militants in two separate shootouts in central Pakistan, authorities said Friday. Eight al-Qaida operatives and other militants were killed near the city of Multan, in Punjab province, on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by the province's counter terrorism department. It said several of the accomplices managed to flee but were traced to the district of Dera Ghazi Khan, where six were killed in a firefight with security forces the following day. Among those killed was a man linked to a 2010 militant attack on two mosques of the Ahmadi minority sect in the eastern city of Lahore that killed 97 people. Other were involved in attacks against the security forces, the counter terrorism department said. Also Friday, three suspected suicide bombers were killed when one of the insurgents accidentally detonated his suicide jacket while approaching the northwestern city of Peshawar on a motorcycle from the Khyber tribal region bordering Afghanistan, police official Shakir Ullah said. He said officers were still trying to identify bodies of the men. ___ The Latest: French investigators question Paris airport crew CAIRO (AP) The Latest on the crash of EgyptAir flight 804 (all times local): 6:20 p.m. A French judicial official says French aviation investigators have begun to check and question all ground staff at the Charles-de-Gaulle airport who had either a direct or an indirect link to EgyptAir Flight 804, which took off Wednesday night from Paris and crashed into the Mediterranean. In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane flies over an Egyptian ship during the search in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from the radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) The French official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak at this stage of the investigation, wouldn't comment Friday on any initial results from the questioning. Airport ground staff who worked on the plane or dealt with any goods going into its hold include baggage handlers, maintenance workers, gate agents, security guards, airline boarding employees and others. All of them carry "red badges" that provide access to restricted areas of the airport. These badges are given for three years by local authorities, not by the airport, after several police investigations. Last year, dozens of red badges were withdrawn "for the phenomenon of radicalization." The judicial official says investigators are also poring over the list of the plane's passengers and crew to look for criminal records or ties to terror watch lists. By Philippe Sotto. ___ 6 p.m. A French Navy patrol boat is leaving its Mediterranean home port of Toulon to take part in the searches for traces of EgyptAir Flight 804 and it is especially keen on helping to find the plane's black boxes. The 80-meter (262-foot) ship is equipped with sonar that can identify the sound of the underwater location beacons fitted to the crashed plane's cockpit voice and flight data recorders. The Navy says it will take two to three days for the vessel and its crew of 90 to arrive in the search area, which is roughly halfway between Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria and the Greek island of Crete. It may take some time to find the recorders the water is 8,000 to 10,000 feet (2,440 to 3,050 meters) deep in the area where the jet is thought to have gone down early Thursday as it carried 66 people from Paris to Cairo. ___ 5:45 p.m. The U.S. is supporting the effort to find the missing EgyptAir Flight 804, which crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, with U.S. Navy P-3 Orion aircraft based at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily, Italy. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a spokesman at the Pentagon, said Friday that it's a three-hour flight to the search site and the U.S. military is rotating airplanes in. One sortie was flown on Thursday and so far, two have been flown Friday. Davis says "thus far, none of our aircraft have reported sighting any debris." The Egyptian army says some wreckage has been found 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of the port city of Alexandria. Davis would not comment on whether the U.S. military has been able to provide satellite imagery regarding the missing plane to Egyptian officials. ___ 5:35 p.m. The Vatican says the pope has conveyed his solidarity with Egypt's president and the families of plane crash victims following the deadly EgyptAir crash. The Vatican's secretary of state said in a message to President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi that Pope Francis "wishes to assure you of his prayers and solidarity at this difficult time." The pope also offered "divine blessings of strength and peace" to the relatives of the passengers and those involved in the search-and-rescue operations to find the plane that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea early Thursday. The Airbus A320 was carrying 66 passengers and crew. ___ 4:50 p.m. An EgyptAir official says more wreckage of the missing plane has been found, including body parts, luggage and passengers' seats. A statement by the Civil Aviation Ministry quotes the unnamed official from EgyptAir as saying that the Egyptian armed forces on Friday retrieved more plane wreckage, including some of the passengers' belongings, body parts, luggage, and plane seats. The official says the search continues. Earlier in the day, the Egyptian army said that wreckage was found 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of the port city Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast. ___ 4:15 p.m. A terror analyst who is in contact with members of the Islamic State group and other jihadist groups says there have been "no credible or even semi-credible" claims of responsibility for the crash of EgyptAir Flight 804. Shiraz Maher at the International Center for the Study of Radicalisation in London says IS on Thursday released a 20-minute video about how they planned to conquer India. He says "if they had been involved in the crash, it would be very odd for them to have sent that video rather than boasting of the crash." The Airbus A320 was carrying 66 people from Paris to Cairo when is disappeared early Thursday over the southern Mediterranean. Maher said both the Islamic State and al-Qaida affiliates have been quick to claim responsibility in the past for other plane crashes, though he said the wreckage is a better indicator of whether the crash was terror-related. Maher also said it would be highly unusual to target a plane with mostly Muslim passengers, as EgyptAir's leaked passenger manifest has suggested. ___ 3:55 p.m. Three European security officials say the passenger manifest for EgyptAir Flight 804 contained no known names on current terror watch lists. The lists are often used by both European and American security and law enforcement agencies, said the officials who spoke Friday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the ongoing investigation. The passenger manifest was leaked online and has not been officially verified by EgyptAir. Flight 804 was carrying 66 people from Paris to Cairo when it disappeared early Thursday over the Mediterranean Sea. Officials say some apparent plane debris and an oil slick have been sighted in the region. by Paisley Dodds in London ___ 3:40 p.m. An Egyptian paper is quoting the country's civil aviation minister as telling the relatives of the victims of the EgyptAir crash that there are "no survivors." The daily Al-Masry Al-Youm says Sherif Fathi told the families on Friday that the Egyptian armed forces are doing their best to locate the wreckage and personal belongings of the victims. ___ 2:55 p.m. The European Space Agency says one of its satellites has spotted a possible oil slick in the same area of the Mediterranean Sea where EgyptAir Flight 804 disappeared. The agency says its Sentinel-1A radar satellite detected the 2 kilometer- (1.2 mile-) long slick about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the plane's last known location. It gave the coordinates as 33 32' N / 29 13' E. ESA says the information was passed to relevant authorities late Thursday to aid their search-and-rescue operations. The agency cautioned that there was no guarantee the slick was from the missing aircraft. It said the sister satellite Sentinel-2A will pass above the same area on Sunday and images will be studied for further clues as to the plane's fate. ___ 2:15 p.m. Family members of four of the 66 victims who are believed to have died in the EgyptAir plane crash have held prayers for the dead in Cairo's Sultan Hussein mosque. Some of the relatives broke into tears as they prayed on Friday. Among the victims of the crash of the EgyptAir flight 804 on Thursday were Salah Abu Laban, his wife Sahar Qouidar, their son Ghassan Abu Laban and daughter-in-law Reem al-Sebaei. Their relative, Abdel-Rahman al-Nasry, told The Associated Press that "this is very hard for the family." A friend of the family, Magdi Badr, says: "We pray for the victims." ___ 1:15 p.m. Greece's defense minister says Greek authorities have received notification that Egyptian authorities had spotted a body part, two seats and suitcases during their search in the Mediterranean Sea for the crashed EgyptAir Flight 804. Minister Panos Kammenos says Friday that the items were found in the search area slightly to the south of where the aircraft had vanished from radar signals early Thursday. He said the location was slightly north of where some debris had been found on Thursday afternoon but authorities had been unable to identify that as having come from the missing aircraft. The Airbus A320 was carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo when it disappeared. 11:35 p.m. The Egyptian presidency has expressed its "deep sadness and extreme regret" over the deaths of the 66 passengers and crew members aboard EgyptAir Flight 804. The Friday statement is the first official recognition of the tragic crash of the missing plane. It came minutes after the Egyptian army announced for the first time that it located plane debris and passengers' personal belongings some 190 miles (306 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria in the Mediterranean Sea. The Airbus A320 plane was flying from Paris to Cairo when it disappeared early Thursday over the sea. ___ 11:15 a.m. Egyptian airport officials say that investigators will inspect the plane debris and personal belongings that the Egyptian army says it found 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria. The officials said Friday that the chief Egyptian investigator Ayman el-Mokadam will be joined by French and British investigators as well as an expert from Airbus. The Airbus 320 plane operated by EgyptAir was carrying 66 people from Paris to Cairo when it disappeared off radar at around 2.45 a.m. local time in Egypt. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press. ___ 11:00 a.m. The Egyptian army says it has found wreckage of the missing EgyptAir flight 804, which crashed after disappearing from the radar while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Samir, says in a statement posted on his Facebook page Friday that Egyptian jets and naval vessels participating in the search for the missing plane have found "personal belongings of the passengers and parts of the plane debris," 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria. The Airbus 320 lost contact at 2.45 a.m. local time Thursday morning. ___ 10:15 a.m. Egyptian airport officials say that three French and three British investigators and an Airbus technical expert have arrived in Cairo to join the investigation into what caused EgyptAir flight 804 to crash while carrying 66 people bound for Cairo from Paris. Authorities are continuing to search a wide area to the south of the Greek island of Crete Friday. The plane dropped off the radar while crossing the Mediterranean at around 2.45 a.m. local time Thursday morning. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press. ___ 8:45 a.m. France's foreign minister and a top transport official say there is still no sign of what brought down a Paris-Cairo EgyptAir flight in the Mediterranean. Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Friday on France-2 television there is "absolutely no indication" of the cause. The junior minister for transport, Alain Vidalies, said on France-Info radio that "no theory is favored" at this stage and urged "the greatest caution." A French military Falcon jet is helping in the search for debris. Vidalies said France could offer undersea search equipment and experts. Amid fears it was an extremist attack, Vidalies defended security at Charles de Gaulle Airport, saying staff badges are revoked if there is the slightest security doubt. ___ 8:15 a.m. The search is continuing for missing EgyptAir flight 804, which disappeared from the radar while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. Authorities are scouring a wide area south of the Greek island of Crete on Friday to search for wreckage, over 24 hours after the Airbus 320 lost contact. The Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos says that the plane swerved wildly before plummeting into the sea. The Egyptian military says that no distress call was received from the pilot. The country's aviation minister Sherif Fathi says the likelihood the plane was brought down by a terror attack is "higher than the possibility of a technical failure." The distressed relatives of those on board have spent the night in a hotel in Cairo while they await news. The May 19, 2016 photo taken by the Sentinel-1A radar satellite and released by European Space Agency ESA on May 20, 2016 shows a slick in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in the same area that EgyptAir flight MS804 disappeared early morning of May 19, 2016 on its way from Paris to Cairo. Sentinel-1A acquired this image later in the day at 16:00 GMT (18:00 CEST). The 2 km-long slick is located about 40 km southeast of the last known location of the aircraft. (ESA via AP) In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane searches in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from the radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. Arabic at right reads, "The missing plane." (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane searches in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from the radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. Arabic at right reads, "From the search of the missing plane." (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane searches in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from the radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. Arabic at right reads, "From the search of the missing plane." (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian ship searches in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane and ship search in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane flies over a ship during the search in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from the radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. Arabic at right reads, "The search of the missing plane." (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane and ship search in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. Arabic in lower right reads, "from the search for the missing plane." (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) An Egyptian performs prayers for the dead for victims of EgyptAir flight 804 at al Thawrah Mosque in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. The Airbus A320 plane was flying from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew when it disappeared early Thursday over the Mediterranean Sea. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Relatives and friends of Salah Abu Laban, Sahar Qouidar, Ghassan Abu Laban and Reem al-Sebaei, all victims of EgyptAir flight 804, grieves following prayers for the dead, at al Thawrah Mosque in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. The plane crashed after disappearing from radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) The Imam of al Thawrah Mosque, Samir Abdel Bary, gives condolences to film director Osman Abu Laban, center, who lost four relatives, all victims of Thursday's EgyptAir plane crash, following prayers for the dead, at al Thawrah Mosque, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. The Airbus A320 plane was flying from Paris to Cairo when it disappeared early Thursday over the sea. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Egyptian film director Osman Abu Laban, center, who lost four relatives, all victims of Thursday's EgyptAir plane crash, attends prayers for the dead, at al Thawrah Mosque, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. The Airbus A320 plane was flying from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew when it disappeared early Thursday over the Mediterranean Sea. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Egyptians perform prayers for the dead for victims of EgyptAir flight 804 at al Thawrah Mosque in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. The Airbus A320 plane was flying from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew when it disappeared early Thursday over the Mediterranean Sea. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) A relative of Salah Abu Laban, Sahar Qouidar, Ghassan Abu Laban and Reem al-Sebaei, all victims of EgyptAir flight 804, grieves following prayers for the dead, at al Thawrah Mosque in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. The plane crashed after disappearing from radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Australian judge refuses to order radiotherapy for ill child SYDNEY (AP) An Australian judge on Friday ruled in favor of a couple who refused to allow their 6-year-old son to undergo radiotherapy for a malignant brain tumor. Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth had applied for a Family Court order forcing Oshin Kiszko to undergo radiotherapy for a rare cancer known as medulloblastoma. His parents did not want him to undergo the treatment due to the risk of severe side effects. Family Court Chief Judge Stephen Thackray had previously ordered Oshin to submit to two rounds of chemotherapy, which his parents were also against. But he sided with the parents when it came to radiation therapy, noting that the parents had agreed to continue chemotherapy instead. Angela Kiszko, left, walks with an unidentified woman after leaving a court house in Perth, Australia, on Friday, May 20, 2016, after a judge ruled in favor of a couple who refused to allow their 6-year-old son to undergo radiotherapy for a malignant brain tumor. Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth had applied for a Family Court order forcing Kiszko's son, Oshin, to undergo radiotherapy for a rare cancer known as medulloblastoma that was diagnosed in December. (Angie Raphael/AAP Image via AP) NO ARCHIVING, AUSTRALIA OUT, NEW ZEALAND OUT, PAPUA NEW GUINEA OUT, SOUTH PACIFIC OUT "I acknowledge Oshin's parents, who have done what they thought was right," Thackray said. The judge noted that the hospital's ethics committee was divided on whether the child should undergo treatment for his cancer. When the cancer was diagnosed in December, Oshin was given a 50 to 60 percent chance of surviving for five years if he underwent both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. His parents, Angela Kiszko and Colin Strachan, decided that chemotherapy and radiotherapy were not worth the suffering and risks, which include permanent intellectual impairment. They asked for palliative care instead, so they could focus on improving his quality of life. Generally in Australia, parents have the right to refuse a doctor's recommended treatment for their child. But a court can intervene if the parent's decision appears to go against the child's best interests. Golden urn holding Buddha relics returned to Cambodia shrine PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) Thousands of Cambodians joined a colorful procession on Friday to return what they believe are Buddha's relics to a mountaintop shrine from where they were stolen three years ago. The relics contained in a golden urn were placed in a float built around a car, resembling a giant golden swan complete with little temples on it. Four Buddhist monks sat on each corner of the float and prayed throughout the journey. The float was driven some 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh to the Oudong shrine. Buddhist monks, government officials, students and laypeople joined the procession on motorcycles and other vehicles. A chariot carrying a golden urn makes its way during a procession in Oudong, Kandal province, northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, May 20, 2016. Thousands of Cambodians joined a procession to return what they believe are Buddhas relics to a mountain-top shrine from where they were stolen three years ago. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) The urn was stolen in 2013, and recovered a year later but was temporarily placed at the Royal Palace. Four guards at the shrine and one more person were arrested. The reinstallation took place on a national holiday to celebrate what is locally known as Visak Bochea, said to be the holiest day in the Buddhist calendar marking the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha. It is known by similar names in other Buddhist countries. Once the relics arrived at its destination, the procession went around the mountain. The chief monks then walked up to the shrine and received the urn from the culture minister. Several countries in Asia possess relics believed to have come from the body of Buddha, and the stolen urn holds enormous religious and cultural significance for Cambodia, a predominantly Buddhist nation. The relics were given to late King Norodom Sihanouk in 1957 by Sri Lanka to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of Buddha's birth. Chhreung, Len who traveled some 300 kilometers (200 miles) from northwestern Battambang province to join the parade, said she has no regret spending time, money and energy to be here because the remnants of Buddha's body were sacred for Cambodia and for her. "Once I learned the news from my relatives in Phnom Penh that the remnants would be reinstalled today, I gave up all my farming work and took a bus straightaway," Chreung Len, 68, said. She added that she hopes authorities will take more care to safeguard the urn and the relics. Cambodian Cult and Religion Minister Him Chhem, right, holds a golden urn during a procession in Oudong, Kandal province, northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, May 20, 2016. Thousands of Cambodians joined the procession to return what they believe are Buddhas relics to a mountain-top shrine from where they were stolen three years ago. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) Buddhist devotees pray during a march returning the golden urn believed to be holding Buddha's relics at Oudong, in Kandal province, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, May 20, 2016. Thousands of Cambodians joined a procession to return what they believe are Buddha's relics to a mountain-top shrine from where they were stolen three years ago. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) Cambodian Buddhist monks climb the temple steps during a march returning the golden urn said to be holding Buddha's relics to Oudong, in Kandal province, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, May 20, 2016. Thousands of Cambodians joined a procession to return what they believe are Buddha's relics to a mountain-top shrine from where they were stolen three years ago. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) Cambodian Supreme Patriarchs, Bour Kry, center, and Tep Vong, right, lead a march during the returning the golden urn believed to be holding Buddha's relics to Oudong, in Kandal province, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, May 20, 2016. Thousands of Cambodians joined a procession to return what they believe are Buddha's relics to a mountain-top shrine from where they were stolen three years ago. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) A ceremonial float carries the golden urn believed to hold the relics of Buddha makes its way during a march to Oudong, in Kandal province, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, May 20, 2016. Thousands of Cambodians joined a procession to return what they believe are Buddha's relics to a mountain-top shrine from where they were stolen three years ago. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) Cambodian Buddhist devotees offer food to Buddhist monks during a march returning the golden urn believed to be holding Buddha's relics to Oudong, in Kandal province, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, May 20, 2016. Thousands of Cambodians joined a procession to return what they believe are Buddha's relics to a mountain-top shrine from where they were stolen three years ago. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) Boats deliver aid, pick up sick in flooded Sri Lanka capital COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) Hundreds of small boats navigated deep floodwaters that have inundated thousands of homes in the Sri Lankan capital to deliver aid and rescue the elderly and sick from rooftops, as forecasters warned Friday of more heavy rain. Some stranded residents wading through shoulder-deep water in Colombo waved frantically at a passing army boat for help, pleading to be taken to dry ground. "We have only the clothing that we are wearing," said Eranda Dias, a 27-year-old mechanic who escaped with his mother and wife as brackish water filled their home in the city's outskirts. A Sri Lankan man crosses a submerged road in Wellampitiya, outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, May 20, 2016. The weeklong rains have caused chaos across Sri Lanka, unleashing deadly landslides and driving tens of thousands from their homes. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) "We did not know what to do," he said as soldiers pulled him up into the boat, explaining that the water had been a half-meter (1 1/2 feet) high most of the week and then suddenly rose. His mother, a retired teacher, worried about how she would receive her monthly pension now that her documents were lost. The weeklong rains have caused chaos across Sri Lanka, unleashing deadly landslides and driving tens of thousands from their homes. Since Monday, at least 68 people have died from lightning strikes, drowning, falling trees and landslides triggered by the rains, according to official updates. That includes at least 35 confirmed victims of mudslides that swallowed up three hillside villages in the central district of Kegalle, where hundreds were still missing. Soldiers resumed searching for the missing Friday, but held little hope of finding survivors. They recovered four bodies and parts of another during the day, said Maj. Gen. Sudantha Ranasinghe, who is coordinating relief efforts. The island was unlikely to get a reprieve soon, with the meteorological department warning Friday that rains and stormy seas were expected to continue through the day, especially in the southwest. Schools were closed across the country. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from homes across the island to some 594 shelters. In the capital, more than 185,000 have been displaced, including tens of thousands taken to temporary shelters. Others were camping on rooftops and the top floors of buildings. Electricity has been cut in flooded areas to prevent electrocutions. Some people fashioned floating devices from old car tires or plastic tubes, which they used to move food, water and other supplies. In some places, people wading in the water fought strong currents to stay upright. "We fear the situation might get worse," said 28-year-old housewife Chanuka Perera, who was rescued along with her feverish infant son by an army boat. She was eager to "get to a safe place and get medical treatment for the child." The navy said it was sending two ships with aid to Colombo. On Thursday, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said there was an urgent need for water purification tablets, water pumps and drinking water. Heart patient S. Wimalasiri wondered how he would get his medicine after losing his written prescription. "What is there to do? That is life," he said. A Sri Lankan man tries to cross a flooded street in Wellampitiya outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, May 20, 2016. The weeklong rains have caused chaos across Sri Lanka, unleashing deadly landslides and driving tens of thousands from their homes. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) Flood affected Sri Lankans wait for aid in Wellampitiya outskirts of Colombo, Friday, May 20, 2016. Hundreds of boats plied deep floodwaters that have inundated thousands of homes in the Sri Lankan capital, delivering aid and rescuing the elderly and sick from rooftops as forecasters warned of more heavy rain. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) Sri Lankans army members and civil volunteers distribute aid to flood affected victims in Wellampitiya, outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, May 20, 2016. The weeklong rains have caused chaos across Sri Lanka, unleashing deadly landslides and driving tens of thousands from their homes. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) A Sri Lankan man uses an inflatable tube to move through a flood-affected area in Wellampitiya, outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, May 20, 2016. Hundreds of boats plied deep floodwaters that have inundated thousands of homes in the Sri Lankan capital, delivering aid and rescuing the elderly and sick from rooftops as forecasters warned of more heavy rain. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) Charge against ex-Arizona lawmaker caps downward spiral ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Nearly a decade before he would be charged with murder in Alaska, Mark Desimone was a well-liked state lawmaker in Arizona for a brief time, a moderate one-term Democrat in a minority caucus filled with left-leaning members, according to lawmakers who worked with him. But then the Phoenix bar owner was arrested on the last day of the 2008 legislative session on a spousal abuse charge and resigned shortly thereafter. The case was dropped after he agreed to counseling. His life never got quite back on track before he moved back to Alaska a month ago. FILE - This May 17, 2016 file photo shows Mark Anthony Desimone, 53, in Juneau District Court for his arraignment on murder charges in Juneau, Alaska. Shortly before his arrest for murder in Alaska, the former Arizona state lawmaker raised concerns among Facebook friends with a string of messages noting he was looking for work, even odd jobs, followed by cryptic apologies to "everyone for anything" he may have done in office. Just weeks later, he was charged with first-degree murder in the death of a man in a hunting party near Juneau, Alaska's capital city, after a day of drinking. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire via AP, File) MANDATORY CREDIT Now, Desimone is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a man in a hunting party near Juneau, Alaska, after a day of drinking. He's being held on $500,000 bail, charged with shooting 34-year-old Duilio Antonio "Tony" Rosales twice in the back of the head on Sunday. Authorities have not disclosed a motive. Desimone, who had lived in Juneau in the 1980s, found work as a day laborer there. He was essentially homeless this time around, couch-surfing at the home of the owner of a local jewelry store, The Jewel Box, where Desimone worked as a salesman in the summer of 1989. Rosales worked at the store as a jeweler and designer. It's rock bottom for the former state representative, who worried Facebook friends with messages noting he was looking for work, even odd jobs, followed by cryptic apologies to "everyone for anything" he may have done in office. "What a tragedy," said Dave Delos, president of the Arizona Licensed Beverage Association, where Desimone once served as a board member. "I knew Mark at a different time and a different place in his life. And this was very surprising." Before his downfall began, Desimone came across as well spoken, clean-cut and driven or that's how Delos remembers him until he "dropped off the grid," Delos said. Arizona Republican Sen. Adam Driggs remembers that Desimone's 2006 election was a stunner because he was the first Democrat elected in his Phoenix district in decades. His entry into politics came after he led opposition to a ballot measure that would ban smoking in businesses. As a bar owner, he felt that would hurt his business. A couple years after Desimone resigned from office, Driggs talked to him. Desimone expressed an interest in returning to politics, he said. "I kind of talked to him about how that was an uphill battle, because of the spousal abuse arrest," Driggs said. "Whether it's true or not, I told him I don't see how you make a political comeback." Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo, a Democrat who served with Desimone in the Arizona House, said he was an asset to the minority delegation because of his take on how government affects business. "He was able to bring a different perspective to the Democratic caucus," Gallardo said. "Unfortunately I think his life outside the state Capitol is what ended his political career - it really did. "He definitely could have had a very prominent career in politics," Gallardo said. "It's unfortunate it's a sad story." Desimone and his wife, who have two children, would divorce soon after. His bar, the Hidden House Cocktail Lounge, also fell by the wayside, the subject of tax delinquency violations. It has since closed, and the Phoenix strip mall location is now a Mexican restaurant. The file in Desimone's 2008 divorce case shows he struggled for years with alcohol abuse. His ex-wife complained repeatedly to a court that Desimone had been drinking heavily during his parenting time. Desimone performed handyman tasks at the Jewel Box, and only met the victim once or twice, according to Rosales' family friend, Morgan Cruz. Several messages left at the store by The Associated Press have not been returned. Desimone's lawyer, assistant Public Defender Timothy Ayer, said Thursday it's still very early in the case and he had no comment at this time. Rosales' survivors include his wife, Maria, and a young daughter in Juneau and another daughter in his native Nicaragua. Maria Rosales is devastated by her husband's murder. "She's a wreck. She collapsed when she picked out a casket," Cruz said. ___ Billeaud and Christie reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen in Anchorage and AP researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report. ___ Follow Rachel D'Oro at https://twitter.com/rdoro Congo's political crisis stokes fears of widespread violence WASHINGTON (AP) A simmering political crisis in Congo that the U.S. and its allies have been unable to defuse is stoking fears in Congress that one of Africa's largest countries is on the verge of slipping into widespread violence. Tension is building in Congo over President Joseph Kabila's maneuvering to avoid national elections and remain in office beyond his constitutionally permitted term, according to U.S. officials and members of a coalition opposing Kabila. The Obama administration has threatened to sanction anyone who undermines security and democracy in Congo. Yet that warning has so far failed to sway Kabila and members of his government, who've been accused of cracking down on political foes and activists in a bid to remain in power. "It's a really dicey situation," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., one of several lawmakers who've used their oversight role to draw greater attention to conditions in Congo. McCain last month wrote to the Congolese ambassador in Washington, telling him that the advocacy group Human Rights Watch has documented dozens of cases of arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention. Olivier Kamitatu, Congo's former planning minister and an opponent of Congo's current president, speaks to the Associated Press in Washington, on Monday, May 16, 2016. A simmering political crisis in Congo that the U.S. and its allies have been unable to defuse is stoking fears in Congress that one of Africas largest countries is on the verge of slipping into widespread violence. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) A delegation of Kabila's political opponents traveled to Washington earlier this week to urge the administration to act quickly against Kabila and his top aides. Sanctions could include freezing the overseas assets of key figures and a ban on travel visas. "President Kabila has deliberately sabotaged the electoral process," said Olivier Kamitatu, a member of Congo's national assembly and Kabila's former minister of planning. Kabila, he said, has instituted a "policy of chaos and fear." Congo's ambassador, Francois Balumuene, denied any misconduct. Kabila is committed to holding fair and peaceful elections, but a host of logistical and financial problems have to be resolved first, Balumuene said. Among them is securing nearly $600 million in foreign aid that Congo needs to set up polling stations, acquire voting kits, and more. The U.S. is planning to provide $313 million in financial assistance to Congo in 2017. "Kabila can't change the constitution to stay in power," Balumuene said. "It's impossible." Congo, which has vast mineral deposits, is nearly one-fourth the size of the United States and has a population of more than 79 million. Since Congo won independence from Belgium in 1960, there has never been a peaceful, democratic transition of power in the country and the window for Kabila to ensure the first orderly changeover is closing rapidly. More than a decade after Congo's back-to-back civil wars ended, the country's east remains perpetually in discord. Scores of militias and armed groups are blamed for violence against civilians, and nearly 2.7 million Congolese are internally displaced as a result, according to figures compiled by the United Nations. But a bad situation could soon become worse. Congo's sprawling borders reach nine other African countries, and an implosion in the vast nation could spark instability in its neighbors. Leaders of African nations often have entrenched themselves in office, a practice that fuels corruption and leads to autocracies. Mobutu Sese Seko ruled Congo from 1965 to 1997. In neighboring Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni was sworn in last week for a fifth term. Kabila, 44, has represented an opportunity to break that mold to be a "model for his peers," Thomas Perriello, the U.S. special envoy for Africa's Great Lakes region, told the Senate earlier this year. But without a clear political path forward, Perriello said, Congo could fall into a violent, destabilizing crisis. Kabila has been in office since 2001, taking over less than two weeks after his father, President Laurent Kabila, was shot by a bodyguard in the presidential palace. He was elected president in 2006 and again in 2011. Kabila is barred by Congo's constitution from a third term. He is supposed to leave office in December. Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations subcommittee on Africa, said in a February letter to Secretary of State John Kerry that "public perceptions that President Kabila is clinging to power have created a very real risk of violent upheaval or even renewed warfare." Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said at a May 10 congressional hearing that the administration is "looking very, very actively at sanctions as they relate to those who are involved in violence." Kabila's opponents are urging swift action while there is still time to organize elections. "If we allow Joseph Kabila to remain in power, he's going to become a president for life," said Francis Kalombo, a member of Kabila's ruling party. "He's going to keep pushing and pushing and pushing and that will lead to chaos." Kalombo said he left Congo last year for his own safety after publicly opposing Kabila's attempts to remain in office. ___ Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report. ___ Follow Richard Lardner on Twitter at http://twitter.com/rplardner NATO chief: 'Broad agreement' to seek meeting with Russia BRUSSELS (AP) NATO has reached "broad agreement" to seek another meeting with Russia before NATO leaders meet in Warsaw this July, the alliance's chief said Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman swiftly welcomed the announcement, but said all dialogue must include respect for Russia's interests. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said alliance foreign ministers agreed at a dinner Thursday on a "dual track approach" toward Moscow: to keep reinforcing NATO defenses against what they see as a mounting Russian threat, but also to maintain channels of communication open to the Kremlin. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg waits for the start of a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, May 19, 2016. NATO foreign ministers this week will discuss how the alliance can deal more effectively with security threats outside Europe, including by training the Iraqi military and cooperating with the European Union to choke off people-smuggling operations in the central Mediterranean. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) Stoltenberg said the ministers "all agreed in the current situation that we need a platform (like) the NATO-Russia Council to pursue transparency, predictability and to work for enhancing mechanisms for risk reduction to avoid dangerous situations, situations which can spiral out of control." British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond noted NATO this month opened a ballistic missile defense facility in Romania that the Russians contend could be used against them. He also said member countries are now discussing whether to deploy between 2,500 and 3,500 alliance troops in the Baltic republics and other front-line allies that feel especially threatened by Moscow. "We are doing a few things which are capable of misrepresentation," Hammond told reporters. He said the council meeting would be NATO's opportunity to " set out to the Russians explicitly what we are doing, why we are doing it and what we are seeking to achieve," and ensure the Kremlin couldn't claim it hadn't been fully informed about NATO's actions or the reasons behind them. The NATO-Russia Council, created in 2002 when relations between the former Cold War foes were much better, met for the first time in nearly two years last month. That meeting, however, failed to bridge differences between Russia and the U.S.-led alliance that have led to a sharp downturn in relations since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. The Crimea takeover led NATO to suspend practical cooperation with Russia, but "we decided to keep channels for political dialogue open," Stoltenberg said. He said NATO officials will now "start to look into the modalities and practical arrangements" for reconvening the council. Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, welcomed NATO's intentions. "The Russian side has never avoided dialogue, we always have supported dialogue," he told reporters. "We believe it's the only way to tackle the problems we face. At the same time, a dialogue must be trusting and constructive and be based on respect of mutual interests, otherwise it hardly can be productive." On Thursday, NATO invited the Balkan nation of Montenegro to become its 29th member pending formal ratification by the U.S. Senate and the parliaments of other alliance members and Montenegro. Peskov, however, said NATO's growth will only exacerbate the security situation in Europe. "From our point of view, further expansion of NATO is a negative process," the Russian spokesman said. "This process doesn't contribute to strengthening European security, just the opposite it's fraught with heightening tensions on the continent." The April 20 NATO-Russian Council meeting was attended by the Russian ambassador to NATO, Alexander Grushko, and his counterparts from the alliance's member countries. The Russian Permanent Mission to NATO had no immediate reaction to Friday's developments. Stoltenberg spoke to reporters before a meeting Friday on how NATO and the European Union can cooperate more in facing today's security challenges, from a resurgent Russia to Islamic extremism in the Middle East and North Africa. Twenty-two NATO nations also belong to the EU. Friday's meeting was also attended by the EU's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and the foreign ministers of Finland and Sweden, two neutral EU members that participate in many NATO operations. ___ Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed. Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, right, speaks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, left, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, center, during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Friday, May 20, 2016. NATOs chief says the alliance has reached a broad agreement to seek another meeting with Russia before NATO heads of state and government meet in Warsaw this July. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, right, speaks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Friday, May 20, 2016. NATOs chief says the alliance has reached a broad agreement to seek another meeting with Russia before NATO heads of state and government meet in Warsaw this July. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center left, puts his arm around the shoulder of Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Friday, May 20, 2016. NATOs chief says the alliance has reached a broad agreement to seek another meeting with Russia before NATO heads of state and government meet in Warsaw this July. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, May 19, 2016. NATO foreign ministers this week will discuss how the alliance can deal more effectively with security threats outside Europe, including by training the Iraqi military and cooperating with the European Union to choke off people-smuggling operations in the central Mediterranean. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) US says Iraqi forces have retaken western town of Rutba TAJI, Iraq (AP) The top American general for the Middle East said Friday he is confident that Iraq is on course to defeating the Islamic State, but his words were spare and cautious, his tone notably muted. Gen. Joseph Votel, the new head of U.S. Central Command, spent the day consulting with U.S. and Iraqi military officials and visiting a base north of Baghdad that is training Iraqi army combat units. "They are getting better," he told reporters later, referring to his broad assessment of Iraq's progress after the stunning collapses in 2014-15 that ceded large swaths of territory to the Islamic State in the north and west. "That said, there is still a lot left to do." Army Gen. Joseph Votel speaks to reporters at a base in Taji, Iraq, Friday, May 20, 2016, where Iraqi soldiers are being trained by Australian and New Zealand military forces. Bolstered by U.S. airstrikes, Iraqi ground forces have recaptured the western town of Rutba after Islamic State fighters who had occupied the town for nearly two years fled or put up only light resistance, U.S. military officers said Friday, May 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Robert Burns) Noting the Iraqis' recent battlefield successes, including the recapture of Ramadi late last year and their retaking this week of Rutba, a strategic crossroads in western Iraq, Votel said he sees momentum developing and Iraqi confidence rising. "I think their readiness is improving," he said, adding, "I think they're getting a better handle on the challenges that they face." The backdrop to this assessment is a persistent question not voiced explicitly by Votel but suggested by his careful description of progress in rebuilding the Iraqi army. The question is: If, as U.S. commanders expect, Iraq eventually pushes IS off its territory, will a divided government in Baghdad be capable of sustaining that success and warding off yet another collapse? The question recalls what happened after President Barack Obama pulled all U.S. forces out of Iraq in December 2011. In the view of many U.S. officials, the Iraqi forces who the US had trained for several years were allowed to atrophy amid sectarian mismanagement in Baghdad. When Islamic State fighters swept into Mosul in June 2014, the Iraqi forces collapsed. Votel, who has headed Central Command for about seven weeks, came to Iraq to get an up-close look at the U.S.-led international campaign against the Islamic State. At its core, that campaign depends on the Iraqi security forces generating enough skill, firepower and gumption to recapture and hold the vast stretches of territory that the Islamic State still controls. That includes Mosul, the northern stronghold that is considered key to collapsing IS in Iraq. Votel said the Iraqis need to do what it takes to continue the momentum they have gained lately. "In general, we're moving forward," he said. The next big move is supposed to be in Mosul, although U.S. officials don't believe the Iraqi security forces are ready for an all-out assault there yet. Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, the Baghdad-based commander of the U.S.-led campaign in Iraq and Syria, said in an interview that the U.S. does not want to move to push the Iraqis too fast. "We don't want to rush them out there and achieve fragile victories," MacFarland said. "We want to make sure that their victories are irreversible." Weighing on the Iraqi campaign is the political paralysis that has gripped the government in Baghdad. The Islamic State has also launched a series of deadly attacks in the capital, including suicide car bombings, apparently with the aim of sowing further discord within the government and causing the government to pull some of its forces away from Mosul to help defend Baghdad. "It's important to make sure that we help keep Baghdad secure," MacFarland said. "It's the center of gravity here. One of the ways we're trying to help the Iraqi security forces is to do that in the most efficient way possible so that it (Baghdad) doesn't become kind of a sinkhole for all of the Iraqi security forces." He said that "for the most part," Iraqi's political leaders are resisting what he called the temptation to bring significant numbers of Iraqi forces back into the Baghdad area. Already, about half of the Iraqi army is deployed in or near Baghdad. At Taji, Lt. Col. Jim Hammett, the Australian officer commanding the training effort there, said in an interview that an infantry school for 250 Iraqi enlisted soldiers had to suspend operations because the trainees were suddenly sent to Baghdad to perform security duties. They returned to the training school after two weeks, he said. The Iraqi staff of another school at Taji was likewise dispatched to a western suburb of Baghdad to perform security, he said. MacFarland described an Iraqi military leadership of vastly different levels of competence. "I've seen some pretty dang good leaders actually, surprisingly good, out there in some of the units that I've talked to," he said. Some seem almost as good as the officers in his own forces, he said. He added: "Other times you look at them and say, 'Eh, this guy may not be cutting it.'" New poll shows strong support for paid family leave programs CHICAGO (AP) Time off from work to care for a child or relative is codified in federal law. Now, an overwhelming majority of Americans 40 and older want that time away from the job to be paid. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released Friday said 72 percent support paid family leave. Democrats were more likely to back it, but Republicans also expressed strong support. Overall, support was stronger among people age 40-64 and among women. At least 19 states are considering paid family leave laws, but only three have active programs. New York, the latest to approve it, will launch its program in 2018. "There is a lot of interest and a lot of momentum," said Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values @ Work, an advocacy group. "We hope that over the next five years a critical mass of states will win these policies." Bravo said the state wins are paving the way for a federal law. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act provides for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for most workers to care for a newborn or adopted child or a spouse, child or parent who is seriously ill. A bill to make that leave paid was introduced in the Senate last year but has gone nowhere in Congress. Among the presidential candidates, both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have voiced support for paid family leave. Donald Trump hasn't offered a clear opinion. "I support (paid family leave) because I feel that in the U.S., we need to realize that employees, or the workers, can't really do the best job possible if you are worrying about a family member," said Mary Jo Morelli, of the Detroit area. Morelli, 52, said she expects that someday she'll need time off to care for her aging mother and in-laws who are now in their 80s. Paid family leave works like insurance and is funded via mandatory contributions from workers' paychecks. In New York, about $1 a week will be deducted. Workers could receive a portion of their pay for up to eight weeks in the program's first year. That will increase to 12 weeks, double what other states offer. Most workers use the benefit to care for a newborn or adopted child, according to data from the California, New Jersey and Rhode Island programs. Workers also can use it to care for an aging parent, spouse or other relative. About a quarter of older workers who support paid family leave said they would be hesitant to ask for time off. Of those, nearly half worried it would negatively affect their future salary or promotion opportunities. About 4 in 10 said they felt pressured by employers not to take time off. "Workers are, and for good reason, nervous about retaliation from their employer," said Ruth Milkman a sociology professor at the CUNY Graduate Center who has studied paid family leave. Some people also cited the need for their full salary. Farmworker Adan Lopez said he supports the law but it would be impossible to live on just 55 percent of his wages, the benefit in California. He makes about $500 per week and the rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Salinas, California, is about $1,800 a month. During lean times, he said, his family is forced to share an apartment with others. California will raise its weekly benefit in 2018 to 60 percent or 70 percent of wages, depending on earnings. The state also is pushing to increase awareness of the decade-old program. The AP-NORC poll found that about 44 percent in California had not heard of the law. In New York, advocates are working with state officials to educate people, especially low-income residents and minorities, about paid family leave. "Passing the law was step one," said Dina Bakst, co-founder of A Better Balance: The Work and Family Legal Center. The poll also found overwhelming support for policies to help caregivers with long-term care costs. Eighty-three percent support tax breaks for caregivers and 73 percent favor a credit toward Social Security benefits for caregivers who take time off work. As the only unmarried sibling in his family, Tim Mitchell, 51, of Portales, New Mexico, cared on-and-off for his grandmother and, later, his mother. He said he'd support any help for caregivers, who, like him, struggle financially later in life. "What I did was a heck of a sacrifice," he said. The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey was conducted Feb. 18 through April 9, with funding from the SCAN Foundation. The nationally representative poll involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,698 Americans age 40 or older. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE Alejandra Cancino is studying health care and long-term care issues as part of a fellowship at the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which joins NORC's independent research and AP journalism. The fellowship is funded by The SCAN Foundation, an independent nonprofit that supports research and other initiatives on aging and health care. ___ Online: 4 injured after gas explosion near Copenhagen COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) Police say four people were injured when a gas explosion shattered windows and wrecked several apartments in a housing complex north of Copenhagen. Firefighters had rushed to the scene in Lyngby, just north of Copenhagen, after reports of a strong gas smell. They evacuated the place shortly before the blast in the basement of the building. Shooting during Phoenix theft leaves officer, suspect dead PHOENIX (AP) A 12-year veteran of the Phoenix police force has died following an exchange of gunfire that also left the 19-year-old suspect dead, authorities said. Officer David Glasser died Thursday, a day after he was shot while responding to a call about a son stealing guns from his father. Trying to hold back tears, Police Chief Joe Yahner said the memory and service of Officer David Glasser "will be honored from this day forward." The image of Phoenix police officer David Glasser is displayed during a news conference as Phoenix Police PIO Vince Lewis, left, holds his head down on Thursday May 19, 2016 in Phoenix. Glasser died Thursday, a day after being wounded during a shooting that left a burglary suspect dead. (Nick Oza/The Arizona Republic via AP) MARICOPA COUNTY OUT; MAGS OUT; NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT "He embodied what a Phoenix police officer is," Yahner said. "Dave served his community and he continues to serve right now as he is donating his organs for the betterment of people he doesn't even know." Mayor Greg Stanton called it a dark day. "Our entire city is hurting," he said. Glasser had been in critical condition since Wednesday's shooting in suburban Laveen. Investigators say Glasser and his partner responded after a homeowner called 911 and reported his son was stealing guns. The officers parked behind a car in the driveway without knowing an armed man was inside, police say. The man opened fire when the officers got out of their car. Police returned fire, killing 19-year-old Israel Santos-Banos, then turned their attention to Glasser. "They did everything they could to place Officer Glasser in a position of safety and rendered aid," Yahner said. "The officers' actions at the scene were heroic and I'm very proud of them." Glasser was married with a young son and daughter. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey ordered flags at all state government buildings lowered to half-staff to honor Glasser. In highlights of Cannes, a hush falls over the festival CANNES, France (AP) Full of booing critics, shouting photographers and interminable standing ovations, the Cannes Film Festival is a non-stop cacophony broken only by the two (or three) -hour reprieve between a movie's opening and closing credits. And at this year's 69th Cannes, many of the most memorable films have made silence a virtue. Quietude isn't just omnipresent on-screen, it is, itself, a treasured, sought-after escape. Stillness is the rage. Jim Jarmusch, long a purveyor of patience, called his "Paterson" in which Adam Driver plays a bus-driving New Jersey poet "an antidote to drama, action, excitement." The film is full of listening and contemplation amid the day-to-day of an average, but still wondrous week. Actors Riley Keough, Sasha Lane, director Andrea Arnold, and Shia Labeouf, from left, pose for photographers during a photo call for the film American Honey at the 69th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau) Jeff Nichols, whose "Loving" (due out in November) tells of unassuming civil rights heroes, said he hopes it's "the quiet film of the year." His tale of Richard and Mildred Loving, a Virginia couple arrested in 1957 and ordered out of the state, avoids familiar emotional swells to instead accumulate its understated power through time. Michael Dudok de Wit's "Red Turtle," from Japan's anime leader, Studio Ghibli, is hypnotic is its near-wordlessness meditation. It's a magical fable in which a shipwrecked man ruminates on life from a tropical island. Andrea Arnold's burning road trip adventure "American Honey," featuring breakout star Sasha Lane and a career-best Shia LaBeouf, is stuffed with a blaring soundtrack and the abandon of youth. But the most telling moment in the film in which a van of poor teenagers blaze across the Midwest is a dream of peacefulness while bathing in a lake. Like "American Honey," Matt Ross' "Captain Fantastic" (out July 8), with Viggo Mortensen as a father raising six children in the Pacific Northwest wilderness, has much to say about contemporary American culture. Its final, silent moment, too, is pregnant with a question: Can our much-distracted lives be calmer? These five films have been among the best of Cannes, and surely tap into a deep and pervasive anxiety. (It's a subject also considered explicitly in a film not at Cannes. The documentary "In Pursuit of Silence" details how silence has become a precious, evaporating resource.) There were, of course, other, louder films that stood out in the din of Cannes, too. Pablo Larrain's "Neruda" sounds like a traditional historical biopic. It's about the great Chilean poet-senator Pablo Neruda (Luis Gnecco) in the late '40s, when he was sent into hiding by a government he derided. This backdrop is part of the film, but it more properly takes place in the romantic world of film noir and the elevated realm of myth. A detective (Gael Garcia Bernal) hunts Neruda, but their dance may only be a figment of Neruda's own creation. In "Hell or High Water," Scottish director David Mackenzie's follow-up to his furious prison drama "Starred Up," two brothers (Chris Pine, Ben Foster) rampage through rural Texas banks on a well-meaning mission. A retiring policeman (Jeff Bridges) tracks them. The set-up is familiar but the execution is dead-on and the cast is stellar. It's a comic, modern-day Western where the banks are the bad guys. Nothing has captured the romance of the movies quite like "Cinema Travelers," a documentary about India's traveling cinemas that bring films to remote villages in teeming seasonal carnivals. It's a grubby business made possible by ancient, perpetually repaired projectors and reels shipped at the last minute. Yet even here, as directors Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya show, digital projectors are changing decades-old traditions. Something beautiful is lost, but the cinema carries on. ___ Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP Director director Jeff Nichols, actress Ruth Negga, and Joel Edgerton, from left, pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film Loving at the 69th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Actors Annalise Basso, Shree Crooks, Viggo Mortensen, Charlie Shotwell, Samantha Isler and Nicholas Hamilton, from left, pose for photographers during a photo call for the film "Captain Fantastic" at the 69th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau) Director Jim Jarmusch poses for photographers during a photo call for the film Paterson at the 69th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Actors Sigrid Bouaziz, from right, Nora Von Waldstatten, Kristen Stewart, director Olivier Assayas and actor Lars Eidinger pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film Personal Shopper at the 69th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan) Actors Ben Foster and Chris Pine pose for photographers during a photo call for Hell or High Water at the 69th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan) Actresses Emma Suarez, left, and Adriana Ugarte, right, kiss director Pedro Almodovar, centre, as they pose for photographers during a photo call for the film Julieta at the 69th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Refugees tell of being pushed back into Greece from Balkans IDOMENI, Greece (AP) Anwar Ismail Murad passed almost effortlessly along what has become known as the Balkan route, heading north from Greece to Macedonia, through Serbia, Croatia and on to Slovenia. He reached there on Feb. 14, when the border was still open, but that's where his dream abruptly died. Slovenia denied the 19-year-old Yazidi from Sinjar in Iraq entry, citing a lack of documents even though four countries before had allowed him passage. Murad says authorities took him and others to a hotel near the border where they spent two days, before putting them onto a bus and sending them back to Croatia. From then on, against all expectations and against official policy Murad found himself kicked back across nearly all the borders he had passed through. In this photo taken on Saturday, April 16, 2016 at the Greek-Macedonian border near the northern Greek village of Idomeni, Iraqi migrant Anwar Ismail Murad, shows papers from Slovenian authorities from where he was expelled. Stranded refugees tell of being pushed back into Greece despite having made it further north through the Balkans when the borders were still open. (AP Photo/Amel Emric) "Just think that my friends passed a few hours earlier than me and now they're in Germany," he says wistfully, sitting in the sprawling refugee camp of Idomeni, on the Greek-Macedonian border, where thousands of refugees and other migrants have been stranded for at least two months since the borders definitively closed in early March. As Balkan countries stopped accepting migrants crossing through their land borders, those who were on the route say they were the victims of countries desperate to get rid of those trapped by the new rules. Balkan countries along the route say they do not force potential asylum-seekers back across the border they just came from. But Murad's case is by no means the only one. About 54,000 people are currently stranded in Greece, after the European Union and Turkey reached a deal designed to stem the flow of refugees into Europe's prosperous heartland. Under the deal, new arrivals on Greek islands after March 20 face being returned to Turkey unless they successfully apply for asylum in Greece. The vast majority of those in Idomeni and elsewhere in Greece never made it any further. But some say they were forced back, mainly through holes in the border fence with Macedonia but also from further north and show documents to back up their stories. Others even say they were sent to Greece despite bypassing it originally, having passed from Turkey through Bulgaria to Serbia. Mohamad al-Baghdady, 33, from Syria's contested town of Deir el-Zour, said he crossed the Greek-Macedonian border with his wife and daughters, 3-year-old Line and 10-month old Bailsane, on March 3, just before the borders shut. They stayed in a Macedonian refugee camp for just over a month, he said, before Macedonian authorities destroyed their registration documents and pushed them back into Greece, through the fence Macedonia erected along parts of its southern border. "We didn't want to go back, but the police put us on a truck and drove us to the border with Greece. They opened a hole in the fence and pushed us through. It was 2:30 in the morning," al-Baghdady said. To prove they were there, his wife, Kamar Darwish, 29, pulls out a handful of food coupons from the Macedonian camp, notes with the names and telephone numbers of doctors there for their children, and Macedonian currency. "If there was just one square meter that was safe in Syria, just one square meter, we would have stayed there, we wouldn't have come here and gone through this hardship," al-Baghdady said. About another 30 Syrians who had been with the family that night were also in Idomeni, pitching their tents nearby. Darwish said the family told Macedonian authorities they wanted to apply for asylum. "But they told us 'there is no asylum in Macedonia. This is not Europe." She still doesn't understand why they were returned to Greece. "Everything was OK, our papers and everything." Macedonian authorities denied claims that migrants have been forced back into Greece. "We categorically reject allegations that migrants have been pushed through the fence back to Greece," Macedonian police spokesman Toni Angelovski told the AP. "We also reject claims that migrants have not been allowed to apply for asylum." Further south, in the Petra refugee camp at the foot of Mount Olympus, a group of about 30 Yazidis say they had chosen an alternative route, using smugglers to get to Serbia through Bulgaria. They reached the Serbo-Croatian border in February, they say, but were denied entry. Then, inexplicably to them, Serb authorities sent them south to Macedonia, from where they were pushed into Greece. Serbia denies any organized attempts to send people back to Macedonia. But officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record, said some individual cases could have happened. Dakhwas Al Hasan, 25, and Sarrad Shakir, 19, both from Mosul in Iraq, undertook the journey along with 14 others. Al Hasan said they crossed the Iraqi-Turkish border on January 23, staying in Turkey for about 25 days before crossing into Bulgaria. They walked for three days before reaching the capital, Sofia, and then heading into Serbia. Once in Serbia, they received registration documents and were put on a train to the Croatian border. But Al Hasan said Croatian authorities wouldn't let them through without registration documents from Greece. They spent five days in a camp near the border, where they were beaten by Afghans and Iranians because they were Yazidi. "Then the Serb police put us onto buses and drove us to the Serbian-Macedonian border," he said. After two days stuck in no-man's land between Serbia and Macedonia, Macedonian authorities put them into a camp and a few days later "they led us to the fence near Idomeni, and pushed us through a hole into Greece." Dilshad Omer, an 18-year-old from Dohuk, Iraq, now lives in the Petra camp with his mother, three sisters and four brothers. They also went through Bulgaria, he said, although his group of 23 people spent 11 days in jail there before reaching Serbia. He displays a photograph on his mobile phone of his Serbian registration document, which he says Serb authorities took off him and ripped up while sending the family back to Macedonian border, putting them on buses at 3 a.m. Eventually they too were taken to the border fence with Greece, Omer said. Al-Hasan still dreams of reaching Germany, where his sister and her family now live. While others have given up on the legal process and are seeking out smugglers to complete their journey, he still has hope. "We want to go to Germany legally," he says. "And so, we wait." ____ Konstantin Testorides in Skopje, Macedonia, and Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed. ____ Follow Costas Kantouris on Twitter at @CostasKantouris In this photo taken on Wednesday, April 27, 2016 Dishad Omer, from Dohuk, Iraq, center, shows to other migrants and refugees the picture that he took with his cell phone when he was blocked by the Macedonian police along with other migrants at the border with Bulgaria, as he sits inside a building of a refugees and migrants center, in Petra village, northern Greece. Stranded refugees tell of being pushed back into Greece despite having made it further north through the Balkans when the borders were still open. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) In this photo taken on Wednesday, April 27, 2016 Dishad Omer, from Dohuk, Iraq, shows to journalists the picture that he took with his cell phone when he was blocked by the Macedonian police along with other migrants at the border with Bulgaria, as he sits inside a building of refugees and migrants center, in Petra village, northern Greece. Stranded refugees tell of being pushed back into Greece despite having made it further north through the Balkans when the borders were still open. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) In this photo taken on Wednesday, April 27, 2016 Dishad Omer, from Dohuk, Iraq, left, and Dakhwas Al Hasan, centre, from Mosul, Iraq, sit inside a building of refugees and migrants center, in Petra village, northern Greece. Stranded refugees tell of being pushed back into Greece despite having made it further north through the Balkans when the borders were still open. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) In this photo taken on Saturday, April 16, 2016 A Syrian family, the father Mohamad al-Baghdady, 33, his wife Kamar Darwish, 29, and their children Line, 3 and Bailsane ten-months old, sit inside their tent, at the Greek-Macedonian border near the northern Greek village of Idomeni. Stranded refugees tell of being pushed back into Greece despite having made it further north through the Balkans when the borders were still open. (AP Photo/Amel Emric) In this photo taken on Saturday, April 16, 2016, at the Greek-Macedonian border near the northern Greek village of Idomeni, Syrian Mohamad al-Baghdady, 33, shows papers from Macedonian authorities from where there were expelled. Stranded refugees tell of being pushed back into Greece despite having made it further north through the Balkans when the borders were still open. (AP Photo/Amel Emric) Searchers find body parts, seats, luggage from Egyptian jet CAIRO (AP) Search crews found floating human remains, luggage and seats from the doomed EgyptAir jetliner Friday but face a potentially more complex task in locating bigger pieces of wreckage and the black boxes vital to determining why the plane plunged into the Mediterranean. An aviation industry publication, meanwhile, reported that sensors detected smoke in a lavatory, suggesting a fire onboard before the aircraft went down. Looking for clues to whether terrorists brought down EgyptAir Flight 804 and its 66 people aboard, investigators pored over the passenger list and questioned ground crew members at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, where the plane took off. The Imam of al Thawrah Mosque, Samir Abdel Bary, gives condolences to film director Osman Abu Laban, center, who lost four relatives, all victims of Thursday's EgyptAir plane crash, following prayers for the dead, at al Thawrah Mosque, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. The Airbus A320 plane was flying from Paris to Cairo when it disappeared early Thursday over the sea. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) The Airbus A320 had been cruising normally in clear skies on a nighttime flight to Cairo early Thursday when it suddenly lurched left, then right, spun all the way around and plummeted 38,000 feet (11,582.4 meters) into the sea, never issuing a distress signal. In Egypt, home to 30 of the victims, grieving families and friends wondered if their loved ones would ever be recovered. Many gathered in mosques for Salat al-Ghaib, or "prayers for the absent," held for the dead whose bodies have not been found. "This is what is ripping our hearts apart, when we think about it. When someone you love so much dies, at least you have a body to bury. But we have no body until now," said Sherif al-Metanawi, a childhood friend of the pilot, Mohammed Shoukair. Egyptian authorities said they believe terrorism is a more likely explanation than equipment failure, and some aviation experts have said the erratic flight suggests a bomb blast or a struggle in the cockpit. But so far no hard evidence has emerged. No militant group has claimed to have brought down the aircraft. That is a contrast to the downing of a Russian jet in October over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula that killed 224 people. In that case, the Islamic State group's branch in Sinai issued a claim of responsibility within hours. On Friday, IS issued a statement on clashes with the Egyptian military in Sinai, but nothing about the plane. Three European security officials said the passenger manifest for Flight 804 contained no names on terrorism watch lists. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation. The manifest was leaked online and has not been verified by the airline. Further checks are being conducted on relatives of the passengers. French aviation investigators have begun to check and question all baggage handlers, maintenance workers, gate agents and other ground crew members at De Gaulle Airport who had a direct or indirect link to the plane before it took off, according to a French judicial official. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity. Experts said answers will come only with an examination of the wreckage and the plane's cockpit voice and flight data recorders, commonly known as black boxes. A possible cause could have been a fire, The Aviation Herald, a website that covers the civil aviation industry, reported Friday. The publication cited information transmitted through the plane's Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, which transmits data from the plane to the ground in the form of a series of messages. Those messages showed that smoke was detected in the plane's lavatory near the cockpit, according to the report. A French Navy patrol boat left the port of Toulon on Friday with sonar that can pick up the underwater "pings" emitted by the recorders. But it will take the vessel two or three days to reach the search zone. Ships and planes from Egypt, Greece, Britain, France, the United States and Cyprus have taken part in the search for what's left of Flight 804, scouring the waters roughly halfway between the Greek island of Crete and the Egyptian coast. The waters in the area are 8,000 to 10,000 feet deep (2,440 to 3,050 meters), and the pings can be detected up to a depth of 20,000 feet (6 kilometers). "Its batteries allow it to transmit for 30 days," Athanassios Binis, head of Greece's aviation accident investigation agency, said on state TV. Once a vessel detects the recorders, "the next step would be to pinpoint it and go down with special equipment to recover it." Egyptian searchers found the first debris from the crash around 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria. Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi informed relatives there were no survivors, the Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper said. The crash has struck a demoralizing blow to Egypt. The economy has been gutted by years of turmoil since the 2011 overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, and the Russian plane crash caused a new plunge in tourism, one of the country's main money makers. Amid fears that a security lapse in Paris may have led to the tragedy, France's junior minister for transport, Alain Vidalies, defended security at De Gaulle Airport, saying staff badges are revoked if there is the slightest doubt. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault asserted on French television that there is "absolutely no indication" of what caused the crash. The pilot, Shoukair, was experienced, with 6,275 flying hours, and co-pilot Ahmed Assem had clocked 2,101, officials said. A terror analyst who is in contact with members of the Islamic State group and other jihadist groups said there have been "no credible or even semi-credible" claims of responsibility for the tragedy. Shiraz Maher at the International Center for the Study of Radicalisation in London said the Islamic State issued a 20-minute video Thursday about its plans to conquer India. "If they had been involved in the crash," he said, "it would be very odd for them to have sent that video rather than boasting of the crash." ___ Dodds reported from London. AP correspondents Nicholas Paphitis in Athens and Sam Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report. In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian ship searches in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) A team of French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrive to the Egyptian Civil Aviation ministry to help investigate the fate of the of EgyptAir flight 804 from Paris to Cairo, which crashed after disappearing Thursday from the radar while carrying 66 passengers and crew, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Mohamed Meteab) Egyptians perform prayers for the dead for victims of EgyptAir flight 804 at al Thawrah Mosque in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. The Airbus A320 plane was flying from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew when it disappeared early Thursday over the Mediterranean Sea. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Relatives and friends of Salah Abu Laban, Sahar Qouidar, Ghassan Abu Laban and Reem al-Sebaei, all victims of EgyptAir flight 804, which crashed while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo, grieve following prayers for the dead, at al Thawrah Mosque in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. The plane disappeared off radar at 2.45 a.m. local time on Thursday morning, the cause of the crash is unknown. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) This August 21, 2015 photo shows an EgyptAir Airbus A320 with the registration SU-GCC taking off from Vienna International Airport, Austria. Egyptian aviation officials said on Thursday May 19, 2016 that an EgyptAir plane with the registration SU-GCC, traveling from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed off the Greek island of Karpathos. Meanwhile, Egypt's chief prosecutor Nabil Sadek says he has ordered an "urgent investigation" into crash. Sadek instructed the National Security Prosecutor to open an "extensive investigation" in the incident. (AP Photo/Thomas Ranner) In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane searches in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from the radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. Arabic at right reads, "The missing plane." (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane searches in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from the radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. Arabic at right reads, "From the search of the missing plane." (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane searches in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from the radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. Arabic at right reads, "From the search of the missing plane." (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) Europe's top human rights body criticizes Belgian prisons BRUSSELS (AP) Europe's top human rights institution is criticizing Belgian jail conditions and says it's worried about conditions for detainees amid a three-week strike by prison workers. The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks, says Friday that some detainees have not left their cells for weeks and have had no access to lawyers, family or friends. He said there was no regular shower or bathroom times for detainees, adding that "sanitary conditions in many cells raise serious concerns." Cyprus court gets request to extradite Egyptian hijacker NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) Cypriot prosecutors on Friday submitted to court the justice minister's formal request to extradite to Egypt a man who admitted to hijacking an EgyptAir passenger jet with a fake suicide belt in March and diverting it to Cyprus. The court adjourned proceedings in the case of Seif Eddin Mustafa, 59, until May 26 after defense lawyer Robertos Brahimis asked to see a declaration his client handed authorities during the hijacking, which ended peacefully after all 72 passengers and crew aboard the A320 jet were released. Cypriot authorities said Mustafa had insisted during the six-hour hijacking that a letter be delivered to his Cypriot ex-wife in which he demanded the release of 63 dissident women imprisoned in Egypt. Brahimis said that he intends to use the declaration as well as Mustafa's initial statement to police after his arrest to show that his client's political beliefs may put him at risk of not receiving a fair trial or possibly facing torture or death at the hands of Egyptian authorities if he's extradited. Brahimis also said Mustafa felt his rights of freedom of expression were breached when police manhandled him before Friday's court appearance and forced him to remove a T-shirt that read, 'Victory for January 25, 2011, No to the army 30 July 2013." The statement refers to the popular uprising against Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak and the army's overthrow of Mubarak's successor, Mohammed Morsi. Judge Dona Constantinou said the courtroom is no place to express political opinions and defendants must be "appropriately attired." Meanwhile, the head of migrant support group Kisa said it has filed an appeal against a Cyprus Asylum Service decision to dismiss Mustafa's asylum claim because he had committed the hijacking. Supporters: Iran human rights activist gets 10-year sentence DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) An already-imprisoned prominent human rights activist in Iran has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in a new trial, a ruling denounced Friday by the United Nations as it called for her immediate release. Iranian media and officials have not commented on the sentence for Narges Mohammadi, who has campaigned against the death penalty and serves as the vice president of the now-banned Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. A statement from the center said Mohammadi was sentenced in Tehran's Revolutionary Court on charges including planning crimes to harm the security of Iran, spreading propaganda against the government and forming and managing an illegal group. Mohammadi already is serving a six-year sentence, which means the new court ruling will extend her time in prison by four years, supporters say. Mohammadi is close to Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, who founded the Defenders of Human Rights Center. Ebadi left Iran after the disputed re-election of then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009, which touched off unprecedented protests and harsh crackdowns by authorities. In a statement, the office of the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was "appalled" by Mohammadi's sentence and said she was denied the specialized medical care she needs. "Her sentencing is illustrative of an increasingly low tolerance for human rights advocacy in Iran," the U.N. office said. "We urge the Iranian authorities to ensure the immediate release of Ms. Mohammadi and all those detained for merely exercising their human rights." Innovative tools offer way forward at time of aid crisis GAZIANTEP, Turkey (AP) It's only a small piece of plastic but for Syrian refugee Huda al-Ali it is nothing short of a life-saver: the difference between putting food on the table or having her children go hungry. She is one of thousands of refugees living in Turkey using a debit card provided by the World Food Program to take care of her groceries. "The card gave us everything," says al-Ali, holding her youngest daughter against her hip. "We benefited from it 100 percent, more than you can imagine." The card isn't worth a fortune, just a little more than $100 per month for a family of five. But it has given al-Ali a measure of financial independence and the freedom to pick and choose how she feeds her three children rather than relying on handouts. She and her husband struggle to pay rent for the small commercial space where they live in the southern town of Gaziantep. In this Monday, May 16, 2016 photo, two-year old Maria al-Ali, a Syrian refugee child, holding a debit card provided by the World Food Program, to take care partially of the family's groceries, sits in a trolley at a supermarket in the city of Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey. Known as e-food, this voucher system has emerged as an innovative and easily scalable tool of humanitarian aid at a time the international community is struggling to achieve more with less. Turkey, host to the largest refugee population in the world, including 2.7 million Syrians, is on the front line of the crisis. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) Known as e-food, this voucher system has emerged as an innovative and easily expandable tool of humanitarian aid at a time when the international community is struggling to achieve more with less. Closing the funding gap will be a key topic when world leaders and representatives of humanitarian organizations from across the globe converge in Istanbul on Monday and Tuesday for the first World Humanitarian Summit, focused on how to reform a system many judge broken. The summit is expected to draw the participation of some 50 world leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as thousands of government officials and civil society delegates. It was called by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in a bid to overhaul how the world responds to conflict and delivers aid to those caught up in crisis. At a time when more than 60 million people the equivalent of New York, London and Paris combined are displaced worldwide, the stakes are high but the funds are short. Humanitarian aid organizations are seeking out new solutions that are high-impact, cost-effective and suitable to the challenges of the time. The summit offers an opportunity to share best practices whether responding to conflict, disasters or climate change. The United Nations describes 2015 as the lowest funding year with the largest needs. Improving the efficiency of aid, mobilizing more funds and shrinking the pool of people in need of help by preventing and resolving conflicts will be dominant themes at the summit. Technology, many feel, offers the best way forward. Mathias Eick of the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) points out that many of those needing aid today live in areas with relatively decent infrastructure which eliminates the need for big convoys to deliver food and other essential goods. That's what makes the debit card that al-Ali uses so promising. It has the triple advantage of being easy to roll out, empowering recipients to make their own choices and boosting local communities where the card is spent. Turkey, in exchange for helping address the migrant crisis, is set to receive 3 billion euros from the European Union to alleviate the plight of Syrian refugees in the country. One of the goals, Eick told the AP, is to use these funds to expand the e-voucher delivery system to include non-food items, which would make it the biggest cash-transfer system in the history of humanitarian aid. "This is the largest project we have ever undertaken," Eick said. ECHO provides funding to WFP for the e-voucher program in Turkey and has begun to provide humanitarian aid for the first time in Europe as a result of the migrant crisis. "We can now use modern technology to reach beneficiaries much quicker and more effectively." Turkey, host to the largest refugee population in the world, including 2.7 million Syrians, is on the front line of the crisis. The majority of Turkey's refugees live in urban centers rather than in government-provided camps, a reality that complicates the process of identifying and addressing the needs of the most vulnerable. Run in conjunction with the Turkish Red Crescent, the WFP's e-food program already benefits 150,000 people living in camps and 100,000 outside them. The goal is to massively scale up aid outside the camps to help 730,000 people by the end 2016 as funding streams into the country as part of a complex deal between Turkey and the European Union to curb the illegal flow of migrants. Europe, which received more than 1 million migrants in 2015, has also been forced to rethink how it approaches aid delivery when the recipients are on its doorstep rather than in far-flung conflict zones. "In many situations, like the situation here in Turkey, our research shows that it is the best system to use it's the most effective, it's the cheapest and it's the way to give people their dignity," said Jonny Hogg of WFP. "We believe this technology has a massive part to play in ongoing humanitarian relief efforts." Technology is also raising hopes when it comes to improving access to education for children and young people, who make up half of those displaced by conflict, said Rob O'Daly of the charity War Child. One of his organization's programs in Sudan uses tablet computer games to help children learn basic skills like mathematics and reading. It allows education to keep up with moving populations. But much remains to be done in the face of a system largely designed with the needs of adults in mind and that prioritizes food and shelter, he said. As of today, less than 3 percent of humanitarian funding is spent on protecting children at risk of recruitment by militias or sexual violence at insecure refugee camps as a result of conflict, he says. Similarly, education aid receives less than 2 percent of emergency funding, according to U.N. figures. But one source of hope at the upcoming summit is the launch of a new global fund to educate children in emergencies, which will build upon existing programs to school Syrian children living in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. While many organizations will use the summit as a platform to raise awareness of their cause, the consensus across sectors is that the way conflicts are managed needs a systemic overhaul. Many hope the summit will pave the way for an "aha" moment akin to the breakthrough Paris agreement on climate change that rectifies the course of humanitarian aid before it is too late. The outcome will be a series of commitments providing a framework on how to move forward. "What we are seeing in the last 10 years is that the world seems to tolerate the fact that the rules of war are no longer followed in major conflicts like Syria, where you see hospitals being bombed and schools being targeted," O'Daly said. "I am not seeing any concerted action by the international community to assert the rules of conflict and to actually bring the combatants to order. I think the system is unraveling." _____ Soguel reported from Istanbul In this Monday, May 16, 2016 photo, Syrian refugee Huda al-Ali, left, holding her daughter Maria, 2 and having her son Mohammed, 9, by her side talks to The Associated Press, in the commercial space that the family has rented to live in the city of Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey. Al-Ali is one of thousands of refugees living in Turkey using a debit card, provided by the World Food Program, to partially take care of her groceries. The debit card isnt worth a fortune, just a little more than $100 per month split between a family of five, but for al-Ali thats enough. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) In this Monday, May 16, 2016 photo, two-year old Maria al-Ali, a Syrian refugee child, sits in a trolley at a supermarket in the city of Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey. Maria's mother Huda is using a debit card provided by the World Food Program, to take care partially of the family's groceries. Known as e-food, this voucher system has emerged as an innovative and easily scalable tool of humanitarian aid at a time the international community is struggling to achieve more with less. Turkey, host to the largest refugee population in the world, including 2.7 million Syrians, is on the front line of the crisis. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) In this Monday, May 16, 2016 photo, Syrian refugee child Omar al-Ali, 6, watches television with his siblings as they sit in the commercial space that the family has rented to live in the city of Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey. Al-Ali is one of thousands of refugees living in Turkey where his family is using a debit card, provided by the World Food Program, to partially take care of their groceries. The debit card isnt worth a fortune, just a little more than $100 per month split between a family of five. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) In this Monday, May 16, 2016 photo, Syrian refugee Huda al-Ali stands with her three children, holding Maria, 2, Omar, left, 6, and Mohammed, 9, in the commercial space that the family has rented to live in the city of Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey. Al-Ali is one of thousands of refugees living in Turkey using a debit card, provided by the World Food Program, to partially take care of her groceries. The debit card isnt worth a fortune, just a little more than $100 per month split between a family of five, but for al-Ali thats enough. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) In this Monday, May 16, 2016 photo, Syrian refugee child Mohammed al-Ali, 9, stands in the commercial space that the family has rented to live in the city of Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey. Al-Ali is one of thousands of refugees living in Turkey where his family is using a debit card, provided by the World Food Program, to partially take care of their groceries. The debit card isnt worth a fortune, just a little more than $100 per month split between a family of five. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) In this Monday, May 16, 2016 photo, Syrian refugee child, Omar al-Ali, 6, watches television with his siblings as they sit in the commercial space that the family has rented to live in the city of Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey. Al-Ali is one of thousands of refugees living in Turkey where his family is using a debit card, provided by the World Food Program, to partially take care of their groceries. The debit card isnt worth a fortune, just a little more than $100 per month split between a family of five. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) In this Monday, May 16, 2016 photo, a doll of two-year old Maria al-Ali, a Syrian refugee child, is pictured on a sofa in the commercial space that the family has rented to live in the city of Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey. The Al-Ali family members are part of thousands of refugees living in Turkey using a debit card, provided by the World Food Program, to partially take care of their groceries. The debit card isnt worth a fortune, just a little more than $100 per month split between a family of five. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) In this Monday, May 16, 2016 photo, Syrian refugee Huda al-Ali, left, holding her daughter Maria, 2, talks to The Associated Press, in the commercial space that the family has rented to live in the city of Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey. Al-Ali is one of thousands of refugees living in Turkey using a debit card, provided by the World Food Program, to partially take care of her groceries. The debit card isnt worth a fortune, just a little more than $100 per month split between a family of five, but for al-Ali thats enough. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) In this Monday, May 16, 2016 photo, A Syrian refugee child leaves a commercial space that a family has rented to live in, in the city of Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey. The family is one of thousands of refugees living in Turkey using a debit card, provided by the World Food Program, to partially take care of their groceries. Turkey, host to the largest refugee population in the world, including 2.7 million Syrians, is on the front line of the crisis. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) In this Monday, May 16, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee child stands outside a commercial space that her family has rented to live in, in the city of Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey. The family is one of thousands of refugees living in Turkey using a debit card, provided by the World Food Program, to partially take care of their groceries. Turkey, host to the largest refugee population in the world, including 2.7 million Syrians, is on the front line of the crisis. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) G-7 sidesteps gap on policy, turns to financial housekeeping AKIU, Japan (AP) Having agreed to only tacit coordination of their varying strategies for boosting growth, financial leaders of the Group of Seven major economies turned Saturday to housekeeping issues such as terrorist financing, tax evasion and support for fighting pandemics. The meeting of finance ministers, central bank governors and other top economic leaders is not expected to produce a formal statement but will be wrapped into a communique to be released at a summit meeting a week later in Ise, central Japan. The officials spent Friday discussing ways to use monetary policy, government spending and longer-term reforms to help support growth. U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and other participants played down differences over the leeway for more government spending by countries struggling to keep deficits under control, saying each country must adapt policies to suit their own troubles and finances. U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew talks to reporters during a press briefing in Sendai, northern Japan, Friday, May 20, 2016. Top finance officials of the Group of Seven industrialized economies kicked off their two-day meeting over discussions on revitalizing the global economy on Friday. (AP Photo/Elaine Kurtenbach) Most of the governments of the G-7 favor more pro-active government spending to help support flagging growth, while Germany has remained more conservative on fiscal matters, regarding structural reforms as crucial. Lew said governments and businesses needed to use all possible "policy levers" to spur growth. The consensus was that while there is no one-size-fits-all approach, all economies are facing a stifling lack of demand, as factories churn out more cars, clothing and computers than consumers are willing to buy. "We as G-7 believe the biggest economic problem is demand. Demand, there is no demand, and that is the biggest problem around the world," Aso said. Japan's government has struggled to convince businesses to invest, and to raise wages, at a time when the population is shrinking and rapidly aging. Companies that recently have enjoyed record profits thanks to lavish monetary easing by Japan's central bank have preferred to hold onto their cash piles or to invest overseas. That has constrained demand, as consumers with limited purchasing power and savings opt not to spend more than they absolutely must. One looming problem for Japan is whether or not to raise its national sales tax next year from 8 percent to 10 percent. Aso has said the tax hike will go ahead barring any major crises or disasters. But a senior U.S. Treasury official said it would be unfortunate if the sales tax hike ends up being a drag on the economy. The official, who spoke on condition he not be further identified, said "offsets," such as other tax breaks, might be needed to compensate for the tax hike, to prevent a serious downturn. Japanese officials have also said they fear raising the tax will hurt demand to the extent it could reduce rather than increase government revenues. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged bold moves to restructure Japan's economy and revive its competitiveness after taking office in late 2012. But after more than three years it's become clear such changes are politically difficult and will take time. The talks at Akiu, a hot springs resort in northeastern Japan, also touched on nonfinancial risks to growth, such as the refugee crisis, terrorism and a looming referendum in Britain over whether or not to leave the European Union. Such a move is viewed as likely to cause major disruptions both in Europe and in global financial markets. The World Bank, whose president Jim Yong Kim, is attending the talks, launched Saturday a financing mechanism that creates an insurance market for risk from pandemics. It said Japan would provide $50 million to fund it. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, said in a statement that the plan would provide a "crucial line of defense" against a rise of new and re-emerging infectious diseases. The issues of tax evasion and financial transparency were also on the agenda, following the release of the so-called "Panama papers," which disclosed details of offshore companies set up for companies and wealthy individuals by the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. Companies registered in tax havens are often used for legitimate business purposes, but also can facilitate tax evasion and money laundering. Currencies are another hot-button issue for the financial czars. Lew said he hoped the talks would keep on track commitments made during recent discussions in China by the wider Group of 20 major economies, where members pledged to not manipulate exchange rates to their own advantage. A recent rise in the value of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar is adding to pressures on Japanese companies who had reaped record profits as the yen weakened in recent years, fattening earnings brought back to Japan in yen terms. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso reiterated Tokyo's commitment not to engage in "competitive devaluation of currencies." But he has hinted at the possibility of intervention in the market if Japan deems fluctuations in the yen's value to be too "disorderly." ___ Associated Press writer Emily Wang contributed to this report. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso, center back, presides over a meeting of finance ministers and heads of central banks of the Group of Seven in in Sendai, northern Japan, Friday, May 20, 2016. Top finance officials of the G7 industrialized economies kicked off their two-day meeting over discussions on revitalizing the global economy on Friday. (Yohei Kanezashi/Kyodo News via AP) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso, rightr, and Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda talk each other during a meeting of finance ministers and heads of central banks of the Group of Seven in in Sendai, northern Japan, Friday, May 20, 2016. Top finance officials of the G7 industrialized economies kicked off their two-day meeting over discussions on revitalizing the global economy on Friday. At right is International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde. (Yohei Kanezashi/Kyodo News via AP) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso, center, speaks during a meeting of finance ministers and heads of central banks of the Group of Seven in in Sendai, northern Japan, Friday, May 20, 2016. Top finance officials of the G7 industrialized economies kicked off their two-day meeting over discussions on revitalizing the global economy on Friday. At right is International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde. (Yohei Kanezashi/Kyodo News via AP) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda, right, speaks with President of European Central Bank Mario Draghi prior to a symposium in Sendai, northern Japan Friday, May 20, 2016. Finance ministers and central bankers of the Group of Seven major economies will hold the annual summit later Friday. (Yohei Kanezashi/Kyodo News via AP) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT German history museum explores 6 decades of immigration BERLIN (AP) Germany's main national history museum is exploring six decades of migration to the country a story of often-ambivalent but evolving attitudes that goes from the arrival of the first southern European "guest workers" to today's migrant influx from the Arab world and elsewhere. The exhibition at Berlin's German Historical Museum, titled "Multicultural: Germany, a country of immigration," also looks at communist East Germany's use of workers from Vietnam and elsewhere, and at attitudes that swung toward fear and hostility when migrant arrivals last spiked in the 1990s, after reunification. The exhibition shows that "Germany is a country of immigration, even if political leaders for a long time didn't say that or perhaps didn't want to know it," Hans Huetter, head of the Bonn-based museum of postwar German history that produced the exhibition, said Friday. The motorbike, a present for the one-millionth guest worker is displayed at the exhibition 'Multicultural Germany, A Country Of Immigration' in Berlin, Germany, Friday, May 20, 2016. Germanys main national history museum is exploring six decades of migration to the country - a story of often-ambivalent but changing attitudes that goes from the arrival of the first southern European guest workers to todays migrant influx from the Arab world and beyond. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) That certainly wasn't the attitude in 1955, when West Germany started recruiting "guest workers" to help boost economic reconstruction. By 1973, when recruitment stopped amid the oil crisis, some 2.6 million immigrants were working in the country. The exhibition shows men being subjected to health tests in Turkey and some of the rudimentary aptitude tests that were used to recruit manual workers, and depicts the welcome the newcomers received after long journeys on uncomfortable trains. Among the exhibits is a moped that the millionth "guest worker," Armando Rodrigues de Sa of Portugal, was presented with on arriving in 1964. But while many stayed, little effort was made to integrate the immigrants into German society: some states didn't even put the workers' children into classes with their German counterparts. In East Germany, despite official talk of "solidarity" with fellow communist nations, foreign workers were largely kept apart from Germans. Attitudes in the reunited country hardened in the early 1990s as Germany saw more ethnic Germans arrive from the former Soviet Union and large numbers of asylum-seekers from the disintegrating Yugoslavia. The exhibition documents anti-foreigner attacks, alarming headlines and far-right posters from those years. They help show "the difference with Germany today," despite a backlash over recent months against the current migrant influx, exhibition curator Ulrich Op de Hipt said. "People's perception of being a country of immigration is very pronounced, and public opinion very different from 20 years ago." Differences over how far to encourage immigration and whether to allow dual citizenship persisted into the 2000s, but immigrants and their culture increasingly have become part of daily life. "For some, this development is an enrichment of everyday life; it shows our country opening up," Huetter said. "For others, the fear of being overwhelmed by foreigners prevails, and perhaps concern justified or not about increasing crime because of migrants." "If all these concerns, these problems turn into hatred and violence, then it will become highly problematic for our society," he said. Illustrating that concern is a crude suitcase bomb, one of two planted by a pair of Lebanese men on German trains in 2006. The bombs, apparently intended as an act of revenge after some German newspapers reprinted cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, failed to explode. The exhibition concludes with interviews with three Syrian and Iraqi migrants from last year's influx. Visitors can also try their hand at answering questions about Germany posed to people seeking citizenship. The show opens to the public Saturday and runs through Oct. 16. ___ Exhibition site: http://www.dhm.de/en/ausstellungen/multicultural.html A general view inside a room displaying the story of foreign people from Vietnam in former East Germany, at the exhibition 'Multicultural Germany, A Country Of Immigration' in Berlin, Friday, May 20, 2016. Germanys main national history museum is exploring six decades of migration to the country - a story of often-ambivalent but changing attitudes that goes from the arrival of the first southern European guest workers to todays migrant influx from the Arab world and beyond. The exhibition at Berlins German Historical Museumopens to the public Saturday and runs through Oct. 16. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) Exhibits are displayed in a cabinet at the exhibition 'Multicultural Germany, A Country Of Immigration' in Berlin, Germany, Friday, May 20, 2016. The exhibition of immigration to Germany and the two separate German states in the post World War II period will run at the German Historic Museum until Oct. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) Genoa maritime museum seeks possession of Columbus letter MILAN (AP) A state maritime museum in Christopher Columbus' birthplace of Genoa has asked Italy's culture minister to let it become the custodian of the recently recovered 1493 letter in which the explorer described his discoveries. The director of the Galata Sea Museum told The Associated Press on Friday she wants to put the letter on display in a room dedicated to Columbus' achievements where it can be both well-preserved and shared with the public, not put away in an archive. Maria Paola Profumo made her request Thursday in a letter to Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini. A reprinted copy of Christopher Columbus original letter written in 1493 about the discovery of the New World is displayed during a press conference in Rome, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. The United States has returned to Italy a letter written by Christopher Columbus in 1493 about his discovery of the New World that was stolen from a Florence library and unwittingly acquired by the Library of Congress. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis) Franceschini said at a ceremony announcing the letter's return to Italy this week that the document would be returned to the Riccardiana library in Florence, its home when it was replaced with a forgery. Italian Carabinieri officers remove a book, bottom, reproducing a reprinted copy of Christopher Columbus original letter written in 1493 about the discovery of the New World, and another book, top, reproducing a fake of the reprinted copy, at the end of a press conference in Rome, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. The United States has returned to Italy a letter written by Christopher Columbus that was stolen from a Florence library, unwittingly acquired by the Library of Congress, and replaced with a forgery that no one noticed until a few years ago. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis) A Carabinieri policeman stands, Wednesday, May 18, 2016, next to a book, bottom, reproducing a letter written by Christopher Columbus in 1493 about his discovery of the New World that had been replaced at Florence's Riccardiana library with a forgery, at top, that no one noticed until a few years ago, during a press conference in Rome. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis) Italian Carabinieri officers stand by a reprinted copy of Christopher Columbus original letter written in 1493 about the discovery of the New World, on the stand below, and a fake of the reprinted copy, above, during a press conference in Rome, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. The United States has returned to Italy a letter written by Christopher Columbus that was stolen from a Florence library, unwittingly acquired by the Library of Congress, and replaced with a forgery that no one noticed until a few years ago. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis) Diego Rivera painting sells privately for $15.7 million NEW YORK (AP) A Diego Rivera painting has sold privately for $15.7 million, setting a world record price for any Latin American work of art, Phillips auction house said Friday. The price for "Dance in Tehuantepec" nearly doubles the figure paid at auction last month for a painting by Frida Kahlo, Rivera's wife. Her "Two Nudes in the Forest (The Land Itself)" set a new auction record for Latin American art The private sale was facilitated by Phillips. This undated photo provided by the Phillips Auction House shows Diego Rivera's "Baile en Tehuantepec." Phillips Auction House says that the painting that has sold privately for $15,7 million dollars sets a world record price for any work of Latin American art. The figure nearly duplicates the previous record of Latin American art set for Frida Kahlo's "Dos desnudos en el bosque," which sold for more than $8 million dollars at a Sotheby's public auction on May 12, 2016.. (2016 Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Phillips Auction House via AP) The buyer, Argentinian collector Eduardo Costantini, told The Associated Press that he has waited 20 years to acquire "Dance in Tehuantepec," which he unsuccessfully tried to purchase in 1995 when it came up at auction at Sotheby's. It has been out of public view since then. "I always wondered who had bought the painting and where it was,"Costantini, founder and president of the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (MALBA), said in a phone interview from Buenos Aires. "Dance in Tehuantepec," created in 1928, depicts a group of dancers performing the folk dance "zandunga" under a banana tree. It is one of the largest canvases the acclaimed Mexican muralist painted during his lifetime. It measures 79 inches by 64 inches. Costantini said he plans to exhibit the painting at his museum next March. Prior to that it will be shown at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the fall and at the ARCO Madrid next February. The painting is the most important Rivera work in private hands outside of Mexico, said August Uribe, deputy chairman of the Americas at Phillips. It first appeared in 1930 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and was included in a major Diego Rivera retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York a year later. Uribe said the painting shows Rivera's efforts "to establish a national identity by breaking from European modernism and embracing Mexicanism." ___ NATO foreign ministers agree to extend Afghan mission BRUSSELS (AP) NATO foreign ministers and alliance partners have agreed to extend the Resolute Support mission that trains, advises and assists Afghanistan's security forces and institutions beyond 2016. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference Friday that military planners now will work out details of the prolonged mission, including the regions of Afghanistan affected. Stoltenberg said ministers also reviewed international financial support for the Afghan army and police. NATO officials hope that by July, they will have sufficient financial commitments locked in through the year 2020. The previous round of pledges expires in 2017. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, shakes hands with Commander of Resolute Support Gen. John Nicholson during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council with Resolute Support Operational Partner Nations at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Friday, May 20, 2016. NATO has reached a broad agreement to seek another meeting with Russia before NATO leaders meet in Warsaw for a summit this July. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said his country has decided to keep contributing 70 million pounds ($102 million) yearly through 2020. He said Britain hopes its example will inspire others to keep donating. Kim Kardashian 'proud' of hubby Kanye West's 'Ellen' rant LOS ANGELES (AP) Kim Kardashian is praising husband Kanye West's bizarre appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." The rapper covered a variety of topics as he rambled nearly uninterrupted for seven and a half minutes during a segment on Thursday's "Ellen." At one point he danced around on stage before later chiding those who would refer to him as "whacko Kanye." West wrapped things up by telling the audience, "I'm sorry for the realness." Kardashian posted "Proud of my baby" on Twitter along with a clip of West's appearance. She also acknowledges the buzz around the segment by saying "LOL" to another Twitter user who described it as "twitter kanye in real life." Russia urges joint action with US against Syria's al-Qaida MOSCOW (AP) The Russian defense minister proposed on Friday that Russia and the U.S.-led coalition launch joint action against al-Qaida's branch in Syria, known as the Nusra Front. A spokesman for the U.S. State Department said no agreement on such action has been made with Russia. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Moscow had proposed to Washington that the coalition call on all factions eager to abide by a cease-fire in Syria to leave the areas where the al-Qaida branch is active by May 25. Then Russia and the U.S.-led coalition could conduct joint strikes against the Nusra Front and any other groups refusing to honor the truce, Shoigu suggested. State Department spokesman John Kirby said "there is no agreement to conduct joint airstrikes with the Russians in Syria" but added Washington and Moscow are discussing "proposals for a sustainable mechanism to better monitor and enforce the cessation of hostilities." Earlier, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis would not comment directly on the proposal, which he said has not been formally presented to the United States. But he said the U.S. military is not cooperating or collaborating on operations with Russia in Syria except to maintain airspace safety. "Russian operations are supporting the Assad regime and our focus is solely on degrading and defeating ISIL," he said, using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State. Shoigu warned that Moscow reserves the right to unilaterally strike militants refusing to respect the cease-fire, as well as weapons and militants crossing into Syria from Turkey, starting from May 25. Russia long has accused Turkey of serving as a conduit for weapons and supplies flowing to the Islamic State and the Nusra Front claims which Ankara has denied. The U.S.-Russia-brokered cease-fire, which went into effect in late February, has helped reduce violence in Syria, but it has been steadily eroding. The Nusra Front and its much more powerful rival, the Islamic State group, have been excluded from the cease-fire, and Russia long has pushed for excluding other militant groups in Syria that have cooperated with the al-Qaida affiliate. Shoigu said the Russian proposal should help secure the cease-fire, adding that Moscow has coordinated it with Damascus. He claimed that the Russian military has started discussing the idea with the U.S. representatives. Meanwhile in Syria, rebels and pro-government forces fought on several fronts on Friday after the Syrian army, backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group, managed to seize valuable territory around the capital, Damascus. Activists reported continued fighting in the Ghouta suburbs of Damascus with warplanes belonging to either Russia or the Syrian military intensifying airstrikes on the besieged, rebel-held area of Daraya. Airstrikes on a rebel-held village in the northwest Idlib province killed at least eight civilians, according to the Local Coordination Committees group. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, another group that tracks the Syrian war, said nine had died, including two children and three women. The Observatory also raised its death toll from airstrikes Thursday on rebel-held villages in the central Homs province to 22 civilians. Since the Russian military campaign began last September in an effort to shore up Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces in their battle against Islamic militants, Moscow has staunchly denied that its warplanes have hit any civilian areas in Syria. Also Friday, ultraconservative rebel factions and government forces clashed in the central Hama province around the predominantly Alawite town of Zaara, which al-Qaida-linked militants seized from government control last week. The Observatory said both sides suffered casualties in the fighting. __ District: Teacher violated protocol in fiery lab experiment FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) A northern Virginia school district says a high school teacher violated safety protocols during an open-flame chemistry lab demonstration that injured the teacher and five students last year. The Washington Post (http://wapo.st/1XD9Sy4 ) reports Fairfax County Public Schools confirmed this week that the October experiment at W.T. Woodson High School was performed without a ventilation hood, safety goggles and guidelines from the school system on how to conduct it. Officials say two students were seriously injured after fire flew up from a table as the teacher was demonstrating different-colored flames. Fairfax Schools spokesman John Torre says the teacher remains on paid administrative leave six months after the incident. Torre says the district has concluded an internal investigation into the accident, but does not plan to release its findings. ___ What weighs 77 pounds, goes 50 mph (80 kph) and looks like a Swiss cheese on wheels? An electric motorcycle made from tiny aluminium alloy particles using a 3D printer. European aeronautics giant Airbus unveiled the 'Light Rider ' in Germany on Friday. Scroll down for video The CEO of Airbus, Tom Enders, left, and the head of APWorks, Joachim Zettler, present the first 3D printed electric motorcycle in Ottobrunn, Germany, Friday May 20, 2016. The motorcycle was made of metal powder by using lasermelting technology. The bike only weighs 35 kilos. Manufactured by its subsidiary APWorks, a specialist in additive layer manufacturing, the motorcycle uses hollow frame parts that contain the cables and pipes. The frame weighs just 13 pounds, about 30 percent less than conventional e-motorbikes. APWorks chief executive Joachim Zettler said the complex, branched hollow structure wouldn't have been possible with conventional production technologies such as milling or welding. The company is taking orders for a limited run of 50 motorbikes, costing 50,000 euros ($56,095), plus tax, each. They'll have a range of 37 miles (60 kilometers). The frame weighs just 13 pounds, about 30 percent less than conventional e-motorbikes. The Light Rider's design echoes the form of a conventional motorcycle but looks like a distant relative of today's motorbikes. APWorks used an algorithm to develop the Light Rider's optimized structure to keep weight at a minimum while ensuring the motorcycle's frame was strong enough to handle the weight loads and stresses of everyday driving scenarios. It programmed the algorithm to use bionic structures and natural growth processes and patterns as the basis for developing a strong but lightweight structure. The Light Rider's design echoes the form of a conventional motorcycle but looks like a distant relative of today's motorbikes. APWorks used an algorithm to develop the Light Rider's optimized structure to keep weight at a minimum while ensuring the motorcycle's frame was strong enough to handle the weight loads and stresses of everyday driving scenarios. 'The complex and branched hollow structure couldn't have been produced using conventional production technologies such as milling or welding,' said Zettle. 'Advances in additive layer manufacturing have allowed us to realize the bionic design we envisioned for the motorcycle without having to make any major changes. 'With these technologies, the limitations facing conventional manufacturing disappear,' he added. Each 3D-printed part of the Light Rider's frame produced using a selective 3D laser printing system that melts millions of aluminum alloy particles together consists of thousands of thin The CEO of Airbus, Tom Enders, presents the first 3D printed electric motorcycle in Ottobrunn, Germany, Friday May 20,2016. The motorcycle was made of metal powder by using lasermelting technology Gas stations closed in north-western France amid strike PARIS (AP) A French official says 20 percent of gas stations in north-western France are closed Friday due to protests against a labor law that has disrupted the country's fuel supplies. Alain Vidalies, the junior minister for transportation, said on France Info radio "there's no risk of shortage in the short term" since the country does not need to draw on its strategic reserves of fuel yet. Protesters have since Tuesday blocked trucks around some fuel depots and refineries near Marseille and other cities in the north and west of France. A CGT union member burns tyros at the blockade of a fuel depot in Douchy-les-Mines, northern France, Friday, May 20, 2016. Junior minister for Transports said 20 percent of gas stations in north-western France are closed Friday due to protests against a labor law that have disrupted the countrys fuel supplies. CGT stands for General Confederation for Work. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler) Truckers fear lower payment for extra hours due to the labor reform. France is facing a tense week of strikes and other union action against the law, which has met fierce resistance in Parliament and in the streets. CGT union members discuss as they block the entrance of a fuel depot in Douchy-les-Mines, northern France, Friday, May 20, 2016. Junior minister for Transports said 20 percent of gas stations in north-western France are closed Friday due to protests against a labor law that have disrupted the countrys fuel supplies. CGT stands for General Confederation for Work. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler) Chef Eric Ripert recalls uphill climb to culinary greatness NEW YORK (AP) When Eric Ripert turned 18, he had a crisis of confidence. He was working in Paris at the famed La Tour D'Argent, a grueling first step on the journey from his childhood in the mountains of Andorra to where he is now one of the most admired chefs in the world, leading Manhattan's elegant Le Bernardin for more than 20 years. But one day, it occurred to him that perhaps he should be a fashion model instead. "I had finally started dating," he explains with a grin. "And a girlfriend said, 'Wow, you're good-looking, you should be a model!" Chef Eric Ripert, sniffs the truffles in the kitchen of his restaurant, Le Bernadin, before the lunch service, in New York, Tuesday, May 17, 2016. Ripert recalls an uphill climb to culinary greatness in an engrossing new memoir, 32 Yolks. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Ripert's mother back in Andorra, a tiny principality between Spain and France, was dismayed. But she had fashion-world connections, and arranged a meeting for her son at the Courreges label. And that's where they put him straight. "Listen," a man at the fashion house told Ripert. "You may THINK you're good-looking, and probably in your home village, you are. But this is Paris!" It was, Ripert says now, "the shortest meeting I ever had in my life." Somehow, that anecdote never made it into Ripert's engrossing new memoir, "32 Yolks," which came out this week. But the 51-year-old chef recalled it as he sat down with The Associated Press recently at Le Bernardin and reflected on his arduous climb to the pinnacle of the culinary world. Being a top chef was a dream he'd had since he was a young boy hanging out after school in a local chef's kitchen, polishing off bowls of chocolate mousse. "I always had a passion for eating and for good ingredients," Ripert says. That passion for ingredients had been on display just minutes before the interview, as Ripert prepared for the restaurant's lunchtime opening. His first task was to sample the sauces, as he does each day in his bustling but airy kitchen, staffed by more than 50 cooks. "Too spicy," he had quietly pronounced of the sauce intended for octopus. "Spicy is good," he explained later, "but what we don't want is to be burned here" he touched the sides of his throat. The cook in charge of the sauce station was already correcting the situation by discarding half, then adding more and calibrating the ingredients. It's hardly a simple task; the sauce station is the toughest in the kitchen. "You start with salads and move up in the hierarchy and end in the sauce station," Ripert says, echoing his own training. "In every kitchen it's the most difficult. Because you're basically capturing flavors in a liquid, and that's complicated." And it's not just about capturing flavors, but by keeping them calibrated all night long. "The last client should have the same taste as the first client. But some ingredients expand, and some die," he explains. "And some are killers, they destroy everything." A drop of lemon juice, for example: "An hour later any other flavor that was with it is dead." Ripert knows well what it's like to be that guy at the kitchen station any station. "32 Yolks" refers to his disastrous first day at La Tour d'Argent, his first job out of culinary school. He was asked to mince some shallots; he sliced his finger open on the first one. Then he was asked to take 32 yolks and make a hollandaise sauce. He bombed. Then he was asked to fetch some chervil. He had no idea what it looked like. Two weeks later, he hoisted a three-foot tall pot of boiling water and lost control. When he removed his socks, his scalded skin peeled off with them. He was sent home for a three-week recovery, but hobbled back a week later with swollen feet to show his dedication. And worse was to come. Ripert's next boss, culinary wizard Joel Robuchon, was obsessed with earning a third Michelin star, and worked his staff to extremes; once, he asked them to peel every single pea individually, to remove a tiny sprout inside. "I saw a few guys punch the walls," Ripert writes of his time there. "Some guys suffered crippling anxiety attacks." Still, he greatly admires Robuchon's talent and calls him "my hero." Ripert also writes with frankness of his childhood of happy years with his father before his parents divorced, and unhappy times afterward with his stepfather, who bullied him, made his home life hell, and sent him to boarding school, where, he writes, a priest made advances on him. Throughout, food saved him: He ended up at culinary school, which launched his career. Ripert was in his 20s when he got the offer to go to Washington and work for French chef Jean-Louis Palladin at the Watergate Hotel (the book ends here). We have to ask, was it finally smooth sailing? Hardly, Ripert laughs. "I didn't speak English," he says. "And I guess I had an ego, and the naive idea that America was the continent of the burgers, and I was coming to save the world. I expected a red carpet. That was a rude awakening." Things got so tough, he thought of going home. But he stayed, and in 1991, he was summoned to New York by Gilbert LeCoze at Le Bernardin. Three years later, LeCoze died, and Ripert took over as head chef. The rest is culinary history, and Ripert sees no end coming soon. "Passion never goes away," he says. "I'll be here for a long time." Chef Eric Ripert, is interviewed in the conference room of his restaurant, Le Bernadin, in New York, Tuesday, May 17, 2016. Ripert recalls an uphill climb to culinary greatness in an engrossing new memoir, 32 Yolks. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Chef Eric Ripert, checks ingredients in the kitchen of his restaurant, Le Bernadin, before the lunch service, in New York, Tuesday, May 17, 2016. Ripert recalls an uphill climb to culinary greatness in an engrossing new memoir, 32 Yolks. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Chef Eric Ripert, tastes sauces in the kitchen of his restaurant, Le Bernadin, before the lunch service, in New York, Tuesday, May 17, 2016. Ripert recalls an uphill climb to culinary greatness in an engrossing new memoir, 32 Yolks. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Chef Eric Ripert, is interviewed in the conference room of his restaurant, Le Bernadin, in New York, Tuesday, May 17, 2016. Ripert recalls an uphill climb to culinary greatness in an engrossing new memoir, 32 Yolks. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Chef Eric Ripert, is interviewed in the conference room of his restaurant, Le Bernadin, in New York, Tuesday, May 17, 2016. Ripert recalls an uphill climb to culinary greatness in an engrossing new memoir, 32 Yolks. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Chef Eric Ripert, tastes sauces in the kitchen of his restaurant, Le Bernadin, before the lunch service, in New York, Tuesday, May 17, 2016. Ripert recalls an uphill climb to culinary greatness in an engrossing new memoir, 32 Yolks. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Chef Eric Ripert, poses for photos in the dining room of his restaurant, Le Bernadin. in New York, Tuesday, May 17, 2016. Ripert recalls an uphill climb to culinary greatness in an engrossing new memoir, 32 Yolks. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Chef Eric Ripert, poses for photos in the dining room of his restaurant, Le Bernadin. in New York, Tuesday, May 17, 2016. Ripert of Manhattans Le Bernardin recalls an uphill climb to culinary greatness in an engrossing new memoir, 32 Yolks. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Chef Eric Ripert, sniffs the truffles in the kitchen of his restaurant, Le Bernadin, before the lunch service, in New York, Tuesday, May 17, 2016. Ripert recalls an uphill climb to culinary greatness in an engrossing new memoir, 32 Yolks. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) States ban kratom supplement over abuse worries MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) A little-known plant-based substance often sold as an herbal supplement to address chronic pain is raising alarm bells in states concerned that it could be as addictive as heroin. The controversy around kratom a plant originating in Southeast Asia has led Alabama to become the sixth U.S. state to ban it. Kratom is now a Schedule 1 drug in Alabama, the same classification as heroin and ecstasy. Wisconsin, Vermont, Tennessee, Indiana and Arkansas have also banned the botanical supplement, and more states are considering the same course. The federal government, too, has worries about kratom. The Drug Enforcement Administration designates kratom as a "drug of concern" meaning that, although it is still technically legal, it poses risks if abused. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists kratom as an herbal supplement, which means it is not regulated as vigorously as pharmaceuticals before it reaches consumers. The FDA warns of a range of side effects from vomiting to aggression and hallucinations. Yet the drug's popularity is indisputable, and its advocates staunchly insist kratom is nothing more than a natural analgesic that can be safely used to alleviate pain, combat fatigue and reduce depression and anxiety. "Naturally occurring Kratom is a safe herbal supplement that's more akin to tea and coffee than any other substances," the American Kratom Association says on its website. Kelly Devine, an Alabama native who founded the group Kratom United, says some of the kratom products sold may be mixed with unhealthy additives but the plant itself is a natural pain reliever. "We're not seeking drugs, we're seeking relief," Devine said. Kratom grows naturally in Thailand, Malaysia, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia and was traditionally chewed or boiled into tea by workers in that region of the world to boost productivity because kratom at low doses can act like a stimulant. At higher doses, kratom yields a sedative and pain relief effect. Experts say two properties in the plant mitragynine and hydromitragynine bind to the same brain receptors as classic opioids like hydrocodone, though kratom is less potent. Oliver Grundmann, clinical associate professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Florida School of Pharmacy, said opioid addicts could get relief from kratom, since the same brain receptors are affected. In a 2013 University of Mississippi study, researchers found that mitragynine "blocked all withdrawal symptoms" in methadone-addicted mice who were fed kratom leaves. Researchers have seen heroin users cycle to kratom, but Grundmann says addicts are known to begin reusing heroin as the body develops a tolerance to kratom. Shortly after the law making kratom sales and possession illegal in Alabama took effect May 10, products like brightly colored "Krazy Kratom" bottles were being pulled from the shelves of retailers gas stations and head shops in particular. Barry Matson, chairman of the Alabama Drug Abuse Task Force, doesn't want to stand in the way of anybody getting medication that helps them but doesn't think solutions can be found in a gas station product. "We don't need this on shelves if it's powerful enough to replace (heroin) for some people." Though Matson said there are cases in Alabama of deaths and injuries involving kratom, Grundmann says he's seen no evidence to indicate kratom was the "sole contributing drug" to an overdose death in the U.S. However, research is so limited that experts aren't sure how other compounds in the plant interact with other substances. What caused EgyptAir plane crash? A look at likely scenarios STOCKHOLM (AP) While nothing can be ruled out yet, what's known about the erratic behavior of EgyptAir flight 804 before it crashed suggests the cause was human rather than technical, or potentially a combination of both, aviation experts told The Associated Press. Greek authorities say the plane swerved 90 degrees left and then 360 degrees right before it plummeted into the Mediterranean Sea. Here are the main scenarios presented by experts based on that erratic flight path: This August 21, 2015 photo shows an EgyptAir Airbus A320 with the registration SU-GCC taking off from Vienna International Airport, Austria. Egyptian aviation officials said on Thursday May 19, 2016 that an EgyptAir plane with the registration SU-GCC, traveling from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed off the Greek island of Karpathos. Meanwhile, Egypt's chief prosecutor Nabil Sadek says he has ordered an "urgent investigation" into crash. Sadek instructed the National Security Prosecutor to open an "extensive investigation" in the incident. (AP Photo/Thomas Ranner) COCKPIT STRUGGLE The swerving of the aircraft suggests some kind of struggle inside the cockpit, said Philip Baum, editor of Aviation Security International. He said the pilots could have been trying to control an aircraft disabled by an explosion, like in 1976 when two bombs exploded on a Cuban passenger plane after takeoff from Barbados and the pilot tried to steer the aircraft away from a beach. Or they could have been struggling with someone trying to take control of the plane. "It could have been a fight in the flight deck between crew members, one suicidal and one not. Or a hijacker trying to gain access," Baum said. In 2000, British Airways Flight 2069 from London to Nairobi nosedived and dropped 10,000 feet after a deranged passenger burst into the cockpit and grabbed the flight controls. He was overpowered and the flight crew stabilized the plane. The Egyptian military said no distress call was received from the pilot in the crash early Wednesday. If there was a struggle over the flight controls, that would be understandable, Baum said. "The last thing you are thinking about when you are struggling is to send out a distress signal," Baum said. "The first thing you think about is trying to regain control of the aircraft." ___ SUDDEN IMPACT Another possibility is that the plane was hit by an external object that knocked it out of the sky, said Philip Butterworth-Hayes, an aviation systems expert. "It could have been hit by a missile or a drone. Something hits it and changes the course," he said. Hans Kjall, of the Nordic Safety Analysis Group in Sweden, called that scenario "relatively unlikely." He said given the plane's position over the Mediterranean Sea a missile strike would have required sophisticated military weapons systems. "You would need a seaborne missile," Kjall said. He said that if there was an attack on the plane, it was more likely that it happened inside the aircraft, such as an "act of terrorism." ___ TECHNICAL FAILURE All experts said it's too early to rule anything out. But Butterworth-Hayes said it was difficult to imagine that a technical mishap caused the crash. "I can't think of a technical fault. Because you have three flight control systems," he said. "And even if they all fail a pilot can still fly the aircraft, they can keep it straight and level." Kjall said that if the plane went down due to some kind of systems failure it was probably in combination with the human factor. That scenario can happen if the navigation systems feed "erroneous information to the cockpit, fooling the pilots into making wrongful maneuvers," he said. The most prominent example of a mid-flight crash linked to systems failures was Air France Flight 447, which disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean during a flight from Brazil to France in 2009. A storm, faulty data and human error all played a part. David Learmount, consulting editor at Flight Global, said one similarity with the Air France crash which may or may not be relevant is "they both happened in the middle of the night." "It is when human beings are at their lowest-possible performance level," he said. "Whatever happens, the pilots would not be as bright as they would have been had it been in the middle of the day." ___ Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian ship searches in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane and ship search in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane flies over an Egyptian ship during the search in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from the radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) Poland's PM defies EU pressure over constitutional crisis WARSAW, Poland (AP) Poland's prime minister has defied pressure from European Union leaders who are urging an end to a dragging political conflict, saying her conservative government will never bow to any ultimatum. Prime Minister Beata Szydlo was responding Friday to a warning from the EU, which said it will take action next week unless Warsaw takes steps toward ending a stalemate that is paralyzing Poland's Constitutional Tribunal. The EU could recommend ways of fixing the issue and could even impose sanctions in the name of protecting EU values. Police: 5 people believed killed in fire were actually shot ATLANTA (AP) Five people found dead in a south Georgia house fire were actually shot, and the blaze was set intentionally as a cover-up, state law officers said Friday. A man initially described as the fire's sole survivor, Jeffrey Alan Peacock, now faces charges of arson and murder in all five deaths. Peacock, 25, was at the scene when fire crews arrived Sunday and was interviewed there, but investigators were suspicious from the start, according to Jamy Steinberg, a special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. "The first question in our mind is, 'how did five adults not get out of a burning house? So that's one of the things that piqued our curiosity from the onset," he said at a news conference. Investigators hand-sifted the charred remains of the home near Moultrie in Colquitt County in search of evidence. An autopsy revealed gunshot wounds on all five bodies. Authorities then asked Peacock to come to the local sheriff's office, where he was taken into custody. The GBI identified those killed as Jonathon Edwards, 21; Alicia Norman, 20; Reid Williams, 21; Jones Pidcock, 21; and Jordan Croft, 22. Peacock knew the victims, but the motive for the killings is unknown, the GBI said. With austerity light on taxes, Cyprus sees economy rebound NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) Less than two years ago, amid Cyprus' worst economic crisis in decades, a charity shop run by the Orthodox Church in the heart of medieval Nicosia was awash with jobless people looking for free food. Now, demand has dropped off to the point where Church authorities are considering shutting it down. At last check, some 120 families were using the shop, a far cry from 2,500 in July, 2014, said its manager Panayiotis Panayiotou. "The shop has run its course," he said. "The need for it is no longer that great." A man, right, speaks on his mobile phone as people use ATM machines outside a bank of Cyprus' branch in central capital Nicosia, eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, on Friday, May, 20, 2016. Knuckling down and doing away with wasteful spending while avoiding burdening working folks with more taxes helped Cyprus wrap up a three-year, multibillion euro rescue plan and emerge with solid growth and a dropping, but still high unemployment rate. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) After emerging from a three-year, multi-billion euro rescue program, Cyprus boasts one of the highest economic growth rates among the 19 eurozone countries an annual rate of 2.7 percent in the first quarter. Finance Minister Harris Georgiades says Cyprus turned its economy around by aggressively slashing costs but also by avoiding piling on new taxes that would weigh ordinary folks down and put a serious damper on growth. "We didn't raise taxes that would burden an already strained economy," he told The Associated Press in an interview. "We found spending cuts that weren't detrimental to economic activity." Cyprus was on the brink of bankruptcy in March, 2013, after a banking crisis overwhelmed state coffers, which were already strained by years of huge budget deficits and government overspending on the massive public sector. Cyprus' 10 billion euro (now $11.2 billion) rescue deal from its European Union partners and the International Monetary Fund came with the kinds of strings attached that sent shockwaves across the 28-member bloc and beyond. Unsecured deposits in the country's largest lender were seized to buttress a teetering banking sector, while the second largest lender was forced to shut its doors with savers seeing their money evaporating except for a protected 100,000 euros. The shock was immense: to prevent a run on banks, Cypriot authorities immediately imposed controls on money transfers that were only fully lifted a couple of years later, after the banking sector was thoroughly restructured. "This has enabled the banking sector to heal to a large extent, to regain the trust and confidence of depositors and investors," said Georgiades. That's not to say that all's well. Nearly half of all loans in Cyprus are still classified as soured and authorities are still struggling with high unemployment of around 12 percent. That's down from its peak of around 16 percent a year ago but a long way off the 4 percent it enjoyed a few years ago. "Exiting the crisis program, this second chance which we have essentially gained, does not signal a termination of the efforts," said Georgiades. "On the contrary, we shall maintain and enhance the reform momentum and strictly maintain fiscal discipline." Critics have accused the government of working its fiscal gymnastics on the backs of the poor essentially chopping salaries for public sector workers. Pambis Kyritsis, head of the left-wing PEO trade union, said the government's "neo-liberal" policies coupled with the creditors' harsh terms have widened the chasm between the have and have-nots to huge proportions. "What we see now is this bill is being paid by the workers and the poor people," Kyritsis said in an interview with the AP. "(Under) this philosophy, it's reasonable for workers to lose their income and their rights, but profits should stay stable or getting better." Georgiades turned Kyritsis argument around to reinforce his point that there shouldn't be any let-up in the government's reform program and fiscal discipline. "We have been in a recession since 2009 and a year of growth is not enough to do away with all the consequences that a long, protracted crisis has left behind," he said. A man exits from the Financial Ministry building in Nicosia, Cyprus on Friday, May, 20, 2016. Knuckling down and doing away with wasteful spending while avoiding burdening working folks with more taxes helped Cyprus wrap up a three-year, multibillion euro rescue plan and emerge with solid growth and a dropping, but still high unemployment rate. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) An elderly man is reflected on a mirror as he walks past a shop in a main pedestrian street in central capital Nicosia, eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, on Friday, May, 20, 2016. Knuckling down and doing away with wasteful spending while avoiding burdening working folks with more taxes helped Cyprus wrap up a three-year, multibillion euro rescue plan and emerge with solid growth and a dropping, but still high unemployment rate. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) The Latest: Text messages cited in Virginia teen-slaying CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (AP) The Latest on two former Virginia Tech students charged with kidnapping and killing a 13-year-old girl (all times local): 1:10 p.m. Prosecutors cited text messages found on a defendant's cellphone in the case against two former Virginia Tech students charged with kidnapping and killing a 13-year-old girl. FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Blacksburg Police Department shows Virginia Tech student David Eisenhauer, who was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Nicole Lovell. Prosecutors may reveal more details Friday, May 20, 2016, during a hearing in the case against Natalie Keepers and Eisenhauer accused of plotting to kidnap and murder Lovell, who authorities say climbed out a window to rendezvous with them last January. (Blacksburg Police Department via AP, File) At a Friday hearing, prosecutors entered into evidence text messages taken from David Eisenhauer's cellphone. One message said that if the body isn't found for a week, "it will never be traced." Another mentioned engaging in "overkill," and a third said the young teen had been "blackmailing another guy too." Judge Robert Viar Jr. ruled there was sufficient evidence to refer the case to a grand jury. Eighteen-year-old Eisenhauer is charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder in the January stabbing death of Blacksburg seventh-grader Nicole Lovell. Nineteen-year-old Natalie Keepers is charged with being an accessory to kidnapping and murder and with helping hide the body. __ 3 a.m. Two former Virginia Tech students charged in the disappearance and death of a 13-year-old girl are due in court for a preliminary hearing. Eighteen-year-old David Eisenhauer is charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder in the January stabbing death of Blacksburg seventh-grader Nicole Lovell. Nineteen-year-old Natalie Keepers is charged with being an accessory to kidnapping and murder and with helping hide the body. A judge will decide after Friday's preliminary hearing whether there's probable cause to send the case to a grand jury. At a previous hearing, a prosecutor said the two college students from Maryland met at a fast-food restaurant on Jan. 26 to plan Nicole's death. Authorities have not given a possible motive. With loss to Cinemark, theater victims have few options CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) Victims' loss in a civil trial over whether a Colorado movie theater should have done more to prevent a mass shooting leaves them with dwindling options as they seek damages for their suffering. Experts say the loss Thursday to Cinemark may also have hurt the chances of other survivors in the few remaining lawsuits stemming from the 2012 rampage. It will be hard to find jurors for an upcoming federal case who haven't heard about the outcome of the Cinemark verdict, said attorney Brett Godfrey, who was not involved in the lawsuit. Marc Bern, attorney for the shooting victims, speaks to the media at Arapahoe County Justice Center in Centennial, Thursday, May 19, 2016. The owner of a Colorado movie theater could not have predicted the 2012 shooting that left 12 people dead, a jury decided Thursday, (RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via AP) "In a case where you have multiple claims arising out of a single event, the first one that goes to trial has the potential of casting a long shadow on the other cases," Godfrey said. "It's a real issue for the remaining plaintiffs who have yet to have their day in court." Shooter James Holmes is serving a life prison sentence for the attack that killed 12 people and injured more than 70 others. Jurors on Thursday quickly sided with the nation's third-largest movie theater chain, finding there was no way the company could have safeguarded against the attack and is not responsible for victims' life-altering injuries that require psychiatric care, medical equipment, prosthetic limbs, occupational and speech therapy, and other treatment. Attorney Marc Bern, who represents the 27 plaintiffs survivors and families of people killed vowed to appeal the verdict, saying a judge had kept jurors from seeing key evidence that would have changed their minds. Melisa Botdorf, whose ex-husband Gordon Cowden was killed in the attack, said the lack of accountability from the theater chain is dangerous. "Until it hits them financially then change does not occur." she said, lamenting the Cinemark verdict. But It could be years before a court decides whether to rehear the case. If an appeal is granted and victims' settle, they could see a much smaller payout than they would have if they did so before the first case went to court, said Godfrey, whose specialties include liability cases. At least 40 victims have signed onto a federal lawsuit against Cinemark, slated to open in July. A judge could decide Thursday's verdict in favor of Cinemark makes trying the second case unnecessary. If not, Godfrey said, it will be much harder to find jurors who haven't heard about the first verdict in the theater company's favor. "There's a certainty there will be some impact," he said. Christina Habas, an attorney on the upcoming case against Cinemark, declined to comment except to say the case will go on as planned. Other victims have filed a lawsuit alleging Holmes' psychiatrist at the University of Colorado should have done more to stop the attack, such as detaining Holmes after he disclosed his homicidal thoughts. But such cases are exceedingly hard to prove, as mass violence is difficult to predict, even for mental health professionals, said John Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center. His research found that 60 percent of the 25 mass public shootings since 2009 involved gunmen who were under mental health care. "I know of no successful suit that's been done on this," Lott said. "They're going to have a very difficult time proving the psychiatrist didn't meet proper stand of care." Other suits have proved fruitless and risky. Sandy and Lonnie Phillips, whose daughter Jessica Ghawi was killed, had their lawsuit against the companies that sold ammunition used in the shooting tossed out by a judge who then ordered them to pay more than $200,000 in legal fees to the companies. Without the lawsuits, victims have few other options to gain money for their recovery, said Jeff Dion, director of the National Crime Victim Bar Association. Private donations and money from the state's crime victim compensation fund probably won't be enough to cover all of their needs, Dion said. And, he added, they won't likely see any of the $955,000 in restitution Holmes was ordered to pay after he was sentenced last year to life in prison. "If he's in prison and making 26 cents an hour, that's not going to go a long way toward compensating all the people whose lives he's destroyed," Dion said. "These people have such catastrophic and ongoing needs, there aren't really resources in the civil justice system or crime victim compensation to pay for that." The Latest: Residents worried boy's killer not caught HOUSTON (AP) The Latest on the investigation of an 11-year-old Houston boy's murder (all times local): 3 p.m. Residents of the Houston neighborhood where an 11-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in an unprovoked attack earlier this week say they're upset and scared to learn that a murder charge has been dropped. Police say Che Calhoun's alibi for Tuesday afternoon when Josue Flores was fatally stabbed has checked out. Eyewitnesses described him as the attacker and one man picked his picture out of photo lineup. That man, 18-year-old Omar Garza, says he still believes he was correct in his identification. His mother, 39-year-old Patricia Garza, says she's now worried about possible retaliation against him. She says Josue's killing is an example of growing crime in the neighborhood immediately north of downtown Houston where she's lived all her life. The spot where Josue collapsed Tuesday is now the site of a growing memorial of balloons and candles and stuffed toys. ___ 12:30 p.m. Houston police say the murder charge against a 31-year-old man has been dismissed after investigators found evidence that he was in a south Houston suburb Tuesday afternoon when 11-year-old Josue Flores was attacked while walking home from school. Che Calhoun was arrested the following day after he fit a description of the attacker as provided by witnesses. Calhoun also had been wanted for an assault and evading arrest for an incident Monday not far from the boy's neighborhood just north of downtown Houston. Houston Homicide Lt. Robert Blain said Friday that one witness identified Calhoun from a photo lineup as the boy's attacker. Calhoun was arrested Wednesday and denied any involvement. Blain says police found evidence to support that alibi and the boy's killer remains at large. Calhoun remains jailed on the assault and evading arrest charges. ___ 11:30 a.m. A murder charge has been dropped against a man who had been accused of fatally stabbing an 11-year-old Houston boy as the child walked home from school this week. Harris County District Attorney's Office spokesman Jeff McShan says police have determined 31-year-old Che Lajuan Calhoun is not responsible for Josue (hoh-SWAY') Flores' slaying. McShan said Friday police had the "wrong guy." He says police would provide additional information at a news conference later Friday. Police have said Josue was stabbed Tuesday in an unprovoked attack. Calhoun was arrested the next day. He also was charged with evading arrest and assault after authorities said Calhoun was in a fight earlier this week and fled from police. It wasn't immediately clear whether those have been dropped. A funeral mass for Josue is scheduled for next week. ___ This story has been corrected to show that the murder count was dropped, not murder charges. Residents of the neighborhood where an 11-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in an unprovoked attack earlier this week say they're upset and scared to learn that a murder against a man for the slaying has been dropped. Police say Che Calhoun's alibi for Tuesday afternoon when Josue Flores was fatally stabbed has check out. Eyewitnesses described him as the attacker and one man picked his picture out of photo lineup. That man, 18-year-old Omar Garza, says he still believes he wasn't mistaken and was correct in his identification. His mother, 39-year-old Patricia Garza, says she's now worried about possible retaliation against him. She says Josue's killing is an example of growing crime in the neighborhood immediately north of downtown Houston where she's lived all her life. Passengers on EgyptAir flight included businessmen, parents PARIS (AP) The 66 people lost aboard EgyptAir Flight 804 included a businessman adored by his colleagues, a language and history scholar and a mother caring for a daughter with cancer. A look at the lives of the dead: ___ Ahmed Helal was a business executive who directed Procter and Gamble's Amiens manufacturing site. His death sent shock waves through the northern French town. A relative of Salah Abu Laban, Sahar Qouidar, Ghassan Abu Laban and Reem al-Sebaei, all victims of EgyptAir flight 804, grieves following prayers for the dead, at al Thawrah Mosque in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. The plane crashed after disappearing from radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) The 41-year-old French-Egyptian husband and father with the bright smile was a beloved figure at the consumer-goods company, which described his disappearance as a "huge loss." Helal was taking a vacation when the Cairo-bound plane went down Thursday south of the Greek island of Crete. P&G spokeswoman Segolene Moreau told The Associated Press that Helal was "extremely valued by his employees. He really was exemplary." Footage of Helal alongside Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron during his recent visit to Amiens dominated French news coverage of the crash. A regional lawmaker, Deputy Alain Gest, described Helal as "endearing." He held a variety of manager positions after joining P&G in his native Egypt in 2000. He earned a mechanical engineering degree from the American University in Cairo in 1999, according to his LinkedIn profile. ___ Mohammed Saleh Zayada was a 62-year-old UNESCO scholar who specialized in translation and history and was one of five brothers. Zayada's brother Malek said his older sibling was heading to Sudan through Egypt to visit relatives and to mourn his mother, who died just four days before the crash. He was supposed to head to Sudan 10 days before the crash but had to postpone because of work. "He wanted to see my mother before she died. He wanted to see her. He felt so bad for missing her," the brother said. Malek Zayada said that that his Sudanese-French brother spoke to him while boarding the plane and that he was waiting for him Thursday at the Khartoum airport when he heard that the plane was missing. "It was a big shock and lots of confusion," he said, but families still had hope. "Then we were told it crashed when hope vanished," he said. Zayada said his brother had a wife and four children in France, with the youngest 10 years old. ___ Frenchman Pierre Heslouin was a 74-year-old management consultant from the Paris suburb of Val-de-Marne. Heslouin was using the trip to spend time with his son, 41-year-old Quentin Heslouin, who lived in London. The family was still mourning the death of Pierre's wife, Edith, who died in 2015 after a long illness. The elder Heslouin leaves behind four other children and nine grandchildren. National and local media said he was widely loved for helping to get the jobless back to work and for serving as a local councilor. ___ Sahar Khoga was a Saudi woman who had worked at her country's embassy in Cairo for 13 years. She was in Paris to follow up on her daughter's medical treatment there. According to the Saudi daily newspaper Okaz, the 52-year-old was visiting her daughter Sally, 22, who was battling cancer. A cousin told the newspaper that Khoga had been accompanied on the trip by relatives, including her sister and their sons. The sister and her sons returned two days before the crash. Only Sahar and her daughter were left in Paris. ___ Pascal Hess was a freelance music photographer from Evreux in the French region of Normandy who was travelling to Egypt on vacation to see a friend and visit the Red Sea. Local media reported that the 50-year-old nearly missed out on the trip after he misplaced his passport. He found it after several days of searching. Friend Didier Roubinoff confirmed that Hess was among those on Flight 804 via Facebook and posted a photo of him with the caption "Adieu, my friend." A 2010 video on YouTube shows Hess in a black shirt and trademark shades talking about capturing the energy and excitement of local rock concerts with his lens. ___ Mohammed Shoukair, 36, was remembered as a hardworking aviator who sought all his life to be a pilot. A childhood friend, Sherif al-Metanawi, said that family and friends are "traumatized especially about the body, whether it will be found or remain to be missing." "This is what is ripping our hearts apart, when we think about it. When someone you love so much dies, at least you have a body to bury." Al-Metanawi had known Shoukair since they were children in the Giza district of Badrasheen. The last time the two met was on Saturday, when Shoukair came to attend a funeral. A week earlier, the pair had a large gathering with friends, and al-Metanawi teased his friend about being single, asking whether he was going to get married. He said that Shoukair's father started to realize that hope was dwindling Friday during prayers for the dead. "I told him if we found him, this will be from God. And if we don't find him, then it is still from God, because then he will be a martyr." Shoukair was the youngest of three children. ___ Also aboard the flight was a student training at a French military school who was heading to his family home in Chad to mourn his mother. The protocol officer for Chad's embassy in Paris, Muhammed Allamine, said the man "was going to give condolences to his family." Allamine said the man, who was not identified, was a student at France's prestigious Saint-Cyr army academy. Another passenger was an Egyptian man returning home after medical treatment in France, according to two friends who turned up at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport. "It breaks my heart," said one friend, Madji Samaan. Relatives and friends of Salah Abu Laban, Sahar Qouidar, Ghassan Abu Laban and Reem al-Sebaei, all victims of EgyptAir flight 804, grieves following prayers for the dead, at al Thawrah Mosque in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. The plane crashed after disappearing from radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Recalls this week: Infant bicycle helmets, climbing gear A line of infant bicycle helmets with a magnetic piece that poses a choking hazard are among this week's recalled consumer products. Others include faulty pieces of climbing gear and strollers. Here's a more detailed look: INFANT BICYCLE HELMETS DETAILS: Infant bicycle helmets with magnetic no-pinch buckle chin straps and "SCHWINN" printed on the front. They were sold at Target stores and online at www.target.com from January through April. The helmets are made for infants ranging from 1 to 3 years old. The helmet and its straps come in various colors and design patterns. The buckles have small plastic covers and enclosed magnets. WHY: The magnetic buckle on the helmet's chin strap contains small plastic covers and magnets that can come loose, posing a risk of choking and magnet-ingestion to young children. INCIDENTS: Three reports of the plastic cover coming loose. No injuries have been reported. HOW MANY: About 129,000. FOR MORE: Call Pacific Cycle at 877-564-2261 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST Monday through Friday, send email to customerservice@pacific-cycle.com or visit www.schwinnbikes.com and click on "Important Recall Information" at the top of the page, or www.target.com and click on "help" at the bottom of the page, then "see all help," then "product safety & recalls," then "Sport/Fitness/Outdoors," or click on the Product Recalls tab on Target's Facebook page for more information. MENORAHS DETAILS: Clear acrylic Hanukkah menorahs in a pyramid design that are 10.5 inches long, 1.2 inches wide and 2.3 inches high. Model number 240-14-0169 and a bar code can be found on a round white label on the side of the menorah. They were sold at Target stores nationwide from October through December. WHY: The menorahs can melt when the candles are burning, posing a fire hazard. INCIDENTS: Eight reports of the product melting, including three reports of fire. No property damage or injuries have been reported. HOW MANY: About 2,600. FOR MORE: Call Target at 800-440-0680 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or visit www.target.com, click on "help" at the bottom of the page, then "see all help," then "product safety & recalls," then "School/Stationery/Seasonal," or click on the Product Recalls tab on Target's Facebook page for more information. STROLLERS DETAILS: phil&teds dash v5 buggy-style strollers with serial numbers ranging between PTRV 0715/0746 and PTRV 0815/2525. The serial number is printed on the lower left rear cradle, next to the identification label. They were sold at Baby Street, Dainty Baby, Mega Babies and other baby-product and specialty stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com, diapers.com and philandteds.com from August through April. Colors and models included in the recall are: black with EAN/UPC code 9 420015754 155 and model DASH_V5_5; grey marl with EAN/UPC code 9 420015754 179 and model DASH_V5_7; blue marl with EAN/UPC code 9 420015754 186 and model DASH_V5_3; red with EAN/UPC code 9 420015754 162 and model DASH_V5_11. WHY: The hinge used to fold the dash v5 stroller can become damaged while opening and closing the stroller, posing a pinch hazard to the consumer. INCIDENTS: One report of the stroller hinge joint separating. No injuries have been reported. HOW MANY: About 630 in the U.S. and 240 were in Canada. FOR MORE: Call phil&teds at 855-652-9019 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday or visit www.philandteds.com and click on "Support," then "help & support," then "Upgrades & Recalls" for more information. BICYCLES DETAILS: Scott bicycles with Syncros seat posts. This recall involves model year 2016 Scott men's and women's road bicycles with Syncros FL 0.1 seat posts. Bicycle models included in the recall are: Addict CX 10 disc, Addict SL, Addict Team Issue, Addict 10, Addict 15, Addict 20, Addict Gravel disc, Solace Premium disc, Solace 10 disc, Frame set Addict 10 (HMF), Frame set Addict CX 10 disc (HMX) mech / Di2 and Seatpost Syncros FL1.0 Carbon Offset 27.2mm. "Scott" is printed on the bicycle down tube and "Syncros" is printed on the seat post. A complete list of serial numbers included in the recall can be found at http://www.scott-sports.com/global/en/company/safety-and-recalls. The serial number is printed on a white sticker and embossed on the underside of the bicycle frame near the pedals. They were sold at authorized Scott dealers nationwide and online from June 2015 through March 2016. WHY: The seat post can break, posing a fall hazard to the rider. INCIDENTS: 11 reports of broken seat posts outside of the U.S. No injuries have been reported. HOW MANY: About 1,400 in the U.S. and about 170 in Canada. FOR MORE: Call Scott USA at 888-607-8365 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, send email to recall@scott-sports.com or visit at www.Scott-Sports.com and click on "Safety and Recalls" at the bottom of the page. BICYCLES DETAILS: All 2003 through 2016 models of Rocky Mountain bicycles equipped with front disc brakes and a black or silver quick-release (QR) lever on the front wheel hub. Bicycles that do not have disc brakes are not included in this recall. When the front QR is fully opened, if there is less than 6 mm or the width of a #2 pencil between the QR and disk brake rotor on the wheel, the bicycle is included in this recall. They were sold at Rocky Mountain bicycle dealers nationwide and online at www.Bikes.com (Rocky Mountain Bicycles), www.Ems.com (Eastern Mountain Sports), www.JensonUsa.com, www.MikesBikes.com and www.PerformanceBike.com from May 2002 through April 2016. WHY: An open quick release lever on the bicycle's front wheel hub can come into contact with the front disc brake assembly, causing the front wheel to come to a sudden stop or separate from the bicycle, posing a risk of injury to the rider. INCIDENTS: None reported. HOW MANY: About 17,300 in the U.S. and about 61,000 in Canada. FOR MORE: Call Rocky Mountain at 800-663-2512 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, send email to info@bikes.com or visit www.bikes.com and click on Safety/Recall at the bottom of the page. ELECTRICAL METERS DETAILS: Klein Tools digital clamp meters used to detect electrical current in wiring. Model numbers CL110, CL210, CL310 and CL110KIT with date codes 0815U-A1, 1015U-A1, 1115U-A1, 1215U-A1, 0116U-A1, 0216U-A1 and 0316U-A1 are included in this recall. "Klein Tools" and the model number are printed on the front of the clamp meters. The date code is printed on the back. The meters are black with a backlit LCD display and an orange trigger and clamp mechanism. The meters are rated CAT III 600 volts and measure voltage up to 600 volts and alternating current up to 400 amps. Only the meter in the CL110KIT is included in the recall. They were sold at Home Depot and other hardware stores, industrial distributors and electrical wholesalers nationwide from November through April. WHY: The meters can fail to give an accurate voltage reading, resulting in the operator falsely believing the electrical power is off, posing shock, electrocution and burn hazards. INCIDENTS: None reported. HOW MANY: About 114,000 in the U.S., 3,300 in Canada and 3,750 in Mexico. FOR MORE: Call Klein Tools at 800-527-3099 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, visit www.kleintools.com and click on "Safety Recall Information" at the bottom of the page for more information or send email to ClampMeterRecall@kleintools.com. CAMMING CLIMBING DEVICES DETAILS: Black Diamond Camalot and Camalot Ultralight camming devices. The climbing devices are used to secure ropes while rock climbing. The Camalots were sold in sizes 0.3 to 6 and have manufacturing codes from 5133 to 6067. The Camalot Ultralights were sold in sizes 0.4 to 4 and have manufacturing codes from 5309 to 6061. Manufacturing codes are printed on the underside of the cams. They were sold at Eastern Mountain Sports, Gear Express, Mountain Gear, REI and other specialty outdoor recreation stores nationwide and online at BackCountry.com and BlackDiamond.com. WHY: The camming devices can come apart during use and fail, posing a fall hazard to the consumer. INCIDENTS: None reported. HOW MANY: About 45,500 in the U.S. and about 5,700 units were sold in Canada. FOR MORE: Call Black Diamond at 877-775-5552 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday or visit http://blackdiamondequipment.com and click below "Safety Notices: Recall for Inspection" for more information. Consumers can also email the firm at recall@bdell.com. CLIMBING ASCENDERS DETAILS: Black Diamond brand Index Ascenders (left and right versions) used as rope clamps for rock climbing and mountaineering. The metal ascenders are orange, with a black and gray grip or silver with a black and gray grip. Index Ascenders with a manufacturing code from 4356 to 6015 are included in the recall. The manufacturing code is located on the frame of the ascenders. "Black Diamond" is imprinted on both sides of the handle. They were sold at Eastern Mountain Sports, Moosejaw Mountaineering, Outdoors Inc., REI, Sport Chalet, and other specialty outdoor stores nationwide and online at Backcountry.com and BlackDiamond.com. WHY: The Index Ascenders' rivet holding the toothed cam can release, allowing the Ascender to slide on the rope or become detached from the rope, posing a risk of injury or death to climbers from a fall. INCIDENTS: None reported. HOW MANY: About 2,800 in the U.S. and about 300 were sold in Canada. FOR MORE: Call Black Diamond at 800-775-5552 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday, send email to recall@bdel.com or visit http://blackdiamondequipment.com and click below "Safety Notices: Recall for Inspection" for more information. CLIMBING SETS DETAILS: Black Diamond Easy Rider and Iron Cruiser via ferrata climbing sets with manufacturing codes between 5293 and 5350. The manufacturing code is located on a sewn-in fabric label located inside the zippered cover. "Easy Rider" or "Iron Cruiser" and "Black Diamond" are printed on the black nylon cover. They were sold at Camp Saver, Gear Saver Inc., The Gear Coop and other specialty outdoor stores nationwide and online at BlackDiamond.com. WHY: Climbing sets sold without the orange safety stitching on the lanyards can allow the ends to unexpectedly detach, posing a risk of injury or death to climbers from a fall. INCIDENTS: None reported. HOW MANY: About 100. FOR MORE: Call Black Diamond at 800-775-5552 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday or visit http://blackdiamondequipment.com and click below "Safety Notices: Recall for Inspection" for more information. Consumers can also email the firm at recall@bdel.com. DRESSERS DETAILS: Bestar Dream Dressers sold at Online at appliancesconnection.com, Cymax.com and Wayfair.com from June 2014 through October 2015. The dressers are juvenile five-drawer dressers sold as part of the juvenile four-piece children's bedroom set. The dressers were sold in the colors brown and white. The dressers are 48 inches high, 30 inches wide and 16 inches deep, and weigh about 108 lbs. They have a melamine resin surface and the drawer handles have a matte chrome finish. The brown dresser is model number 49250-1152 and the white dresser is model number 49250-1117. The model number is on the box and the brochure. Both dressers have UPC number 63753045292 on the box and the brochure. WHY: The recalled dressers are unstable, posing a serious tip-over and entrapment hazard that can result in death or serious injuries to children. INCIDENTS: None reported in the U.S. Health Canada has received one report of a child in Canada receiving cuts and bruises from a dresser that tipped over without a restraint strap attached. HOW MANY: About 26 in the U.S. and about 250 in Canada. Gannett fight for Tribune grows more acrimonious WASHINGTON (AP) Five days after boosting its unsolicited takeover bid for Tribune Publishing Co., USA Today owner Gannett is urging Tribune shareholders to reject the company's slate of board nominees. In a letter Friday that disparaged Michael W. Ferro Jr., the publisher's non-executive chairman, Gannett criticized the Tribune's decision to adopt a "poison pill" to avert a buyout. "Gannett believes the Tribune board operates with significant corporate governance deficiencies," it wrote. FILE - In this Monday, April 25, 2016, file photo, USA Today, Chicago Tribune and other newspapers are displayed at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Five days after boosting its unsolicited takeover bid for Tribune Publishing Co. by 22 percent, USA Today owner Gannett, in a letter Friday, May 20, urged Tribune shareholders to reject the companys slate of nominees to sit on its board. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File) In February, Ferro gave Tribune a $44.4 million cash infusion through his company Merrick Media. Tribune's board sold control of the company to Ferro at a discount, the letter said, and Ferro then led the board to take actions that gave him excessive control, compromising its independence, Gannett charged. At least four of the eight director nominees have significant ties to Ferro, who has "an unproven track record" in the publishing industry," Gannett said. It also said that in a May 12 meeting, Ferro told Gannett that an acquisition would make sense, "as long as Mr. Ferro would have a 'significant role' at the company post-closing and was its "largest shareholder." The Tribune didn't immediately return a request for comment Friday. Gannett said that Tribune's board "is disregarding your interests by preventing you from realizing superior and certain cash value for your shares." It asked investors to withhold their votes for Tribune's eight director nominees on proxy cards mailed in advance of Tribune's annual meeting on June 2. Gannett on Monday raised its bid to $15 per Tribune share from $12.25 offered earlier for the owner of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and other newspapers, after Tribune adopted a "poison pill" plan. Chicago's Tribune rejected the original offer as too low, and said that it is reviewing the revised proposal. Gannett, based in McLean, Virginia, puts the total value of the revised offer at around $864 million, which includes assuming certain Tribune liabilities, such as some $385 million in outstanding debt. On Thursday, Gannett's President and CEO Robert Dickey downplayed as rumors recent reports that Ferro is preparing a counter bid to acquire Gannett. In a letter to Gannett employees, Dickey said the board, management and advisers "continue to focus on taking the right steps for Gannett" and are committed to the $15-a-share offer for Tribune despite its unwillingness to negotiate. Mexico OKs extradition of drug lord 'El Chapo' Guzman to US MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexico's Foreign Relations Department ruled Friday that the extradition of convicted drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to the United States can go forward. The process can still be appealed, meaning it could be weeks, months or even longer before the Sinaloa cartel leader may be sent to the U.S., where he is wanted in multiple jurisdictions on charges related to drug trafficking and organized crime. Guzman's lawyers now have 30 days to appeal the decision, and they have said they will. FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2016 file photo, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is made to face the press as he is escorted to a helicopter in handcuffs by Mexican soldiers and marines at a federal hangar in Mexico City, Mexico. Mexicos Foreign Relations department has ruled that the extradition of Guzman to the United States can go forward. The department said Friday, May 20, 2016 that the U.S. had guaranteed that Guzman would not face the death penalty, which is not applied in Mexico. The process can be appealed. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File) The department said Friday in a statement that the United States has provided "adequate guarantees" that Guzman would not face the death penalty. Mexico has abolished capital punishment and does not extradite its citizens if they face possible execution. A U.S. official who was not authorized to be quoted by name said "we have agreed not to seek the death penalty, which is consistent with our extradition assurance policies with Mexico." Friday's ruling covered an extradition request from a Texas federal court related to charges of conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine and marijuana, money-laundering, arms possession and murder, and another extradition request from a federal court in California. In all, Guzman faces charges from seven U.S. federal prosecutors including in Chicago, New York, Miami and San Diego. Jose Refugio Rodriguez, one of Guzman's lawyers, said Friday the legal team planned to appeal the decision all the way to Mexico's Supreme Court, and possibly to international tribunals. Rodriguez told the Milenio television station that any extradition would take "at least one to three years." "We expected it," Rodriguez said of the foreign relations department decision. "It is no surprise." Rodriguez said Guzman knew about the ruling and said he was "calm." "He knows and is conscious that the real battle against extradition is going to be waged through the constitutional appeals process," Rodriguez said. Guzman was arrested in January after almost six months on the run following his escape from a maximum-security prison through a mile-long tunnel that opened to the floor of his shower. He had already escaped once before in 2001 and spent more than a decade as one of the world's most wanted fugitives until he was recaptured in 2014. Guzman's lawyers have so far waged a public-relations offensive, speaking to the press and even organizing protests; but as extradition draws nearer, the battle could turn violent, like the one Colombian drug lords waged extradition in the 1980s, said Mike Vigil, a former head of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Vigil said there is still the appeals process and he expects Guzman's attorneys to "try to move heaven and earth" to prevent him from being extradited, noting that drug lords fear extradition because it removes them from their criminal infrastructure. "As long as they have access to their criminal infrastructure, they can intimidate or they can bribe, " Vigil said, "and I'm sure that right now, Chapo Guzman is going to be scrambling, trying to intimidate government officials, because he will fight it to the bitter end." "That could lead to violence against the government, to intimidate violence against the judicial system, against individuals that will have something to do with his extradition, and if he can't get to them, he'll go after their families," Vigil said. "That's a very strong possibility that he will launch a frontal assault on the Mexican government, to try to intimidate the government to stop his extradition." Prior to his latest capture, the drug lord met with Mexican actress Kate del Castillo and U.S. actor Sean Penn, who published an interview with the Guzman in Rolling Stone. Mexican authorities say the meeting in a remote area of Mexico helped them track down Guzman. After the capture, authorities returned Guzman to the same Altiplano lockup where he had pulled off his brazen tunnel escape. They said they had reinforced the prison's security. But earlier this month, authorities suddenly transferred Guzman to a prison on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, near the U.S. border, a move they said was due to work on improvements at Altiplano. Rodriguez, the lawyer, is trying to get Guzman returned to Altiplano, arguing that the transfer hurt his defense because it's hundreds of miles away from the court handling the case. He said a judge told them Guzman could be sent back to Altiplano if prison authorities determine the conditions are right. Sanders delegates brace for Philadelphia convention fight DENVER (AP) Gabriel McArthur is heading to the Democratic National Convention in July to serve as a delegate for Bernie Sanders. Screaming and shouting are a distinct possibility from the Sanders camp at the event, he says. McArthur and other Sanders supporters are approaching the gathering with the enthusiasm that has powered the effort from the start holding garage sales, delivering pizza and raising money online to pay for their travel to Philadelphia. But their nerves are raw now over the Democratic Party's perceived slights against the insurgent candidate and they are clinging to a bygone hope that Sanders can wrest the nomination from Hillary Clinton despite her overpowering lead in delegates. Gabriel McArthur, 24, a delegate for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., holds a campaign sign in his living room, in Northglenn, Colo., Friday May 20, 2016. McArthur is heading to the Democratic National Convention in July to serve as a delegate for Bernie Sanders. Screaming and shouting are a distinct possibility from the Sanders camp at the event, he says. McArthur and other Sanders supporters are approaching the gathering with the enthusiasm that has powered the effort from the start. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) As these super-fans chant "Bernie or bust," Democratic officials are growing increasingly worried about dissent, especially after a recent state convention in Nevada turned raucous. Some of the Sanders backers who are going to the convention as delegates for him and there are more than 1,400 give party officials little reason for comfort. "I don't think we're going to see a lot of violence, but we are going to see some screaming and shouting if the DNC doesn't humanize itself," McArthur, a 24-year-old administrative assistant in suburban Denver, said of the Democratic National Committee. "A little civil disobedience is OK. It's part of being an American." Sanders delegates, in more than a half-dozen interviews, say that while violence is not their goal for Philadelphia, party unity isn't their priority, either. They don't believe he has been treated fairly by the party establishment. "Anything can happen," said Jesica Marie Butler, 25, a Sanders delegate from Hawarden, Iowa, who volunteers for the campaign and is raising money on gofundme.com for her trip to Philadelphia. "This is a movement. This is a political revolution. It's getting people involved in the process. We're going to stick to it." Clinton only needs 90 more delegates to lock up the presidential nomination, a number she's likely to reach June 7, the final major day of primary voting. She now leads Sanders by nearly 300 delegates won in primaries and caucuses, an advantage that grows when including superdelegates, or party officials who can back any candidate. Most of them, by far, say they will support Clinton. Still, Sanders has shown no interest in letting up, despite concerns of many Clinton supporters that he is undermining her as Republicans coalesce around Donald Trump. Many Sanders delegates don't want him to give up, either. JoAnn Fujioka, a Sanders delegate from Denver, said she didn't approve of the chaos in Nevada, where Sanders supporters shouted down speakers. The state party chairwoman later received death threats and thousands of angry phone calls. Fujioka says Sanders supporters are determined, but idealistic and optimistic. "We should do whatever we can to get him nominated," she said. "We are in it to win it as Bernie is." Without acknowledging the reality that the nomination is essentially out of reach, the Sanders campaign has signaled it will agitate for changes in the party's platform and procedures, which could also disrupt the convention. The DNC began discussing composition of the committee that would draft the initial platform this week, assuring both the Clinton and Sanders campaigns they'd be fairly represented. Sanders supporters want the Vermont senator's priorities, like a $15 minimum wage and stricter banking regulations, included in the platform, an agenda that is not binding on the nominee. They also want changes in how elections are run, criticizing superdelegates and restrictions on primary voting. Ingrid Olson, 38, a Sanders delegate from Council Bluffs, Iowa, said: "I think open primaries should be available everywhere. I also believe in restorative rights for felons. I don't agree with superdelegates unless superdelegates are going to follow the will of the people." The acrimony has reached such a pitch that several Sanders delegates say they don't know if they can ever back Clinton. "I don't see any scenario where I would support her at the convention," said David Johnson, 50, a delegate from West Branch, Iowa. But in the general election? "It's a hard call for me. Nobody wants to see that insane Trump guy win." He said it's a "ridiculous argument" to say Sanders delegates should stand down to avoid weakening Clinton in the fall. "This is a competition," he said. "Bernie Sanders isn't running to prop up Hillary Clinton. He's running to win." Some Sanders delegates don't want to go too far. "No matter who the nominee is, we have to unite," said Euell Santistevan Jr., 20, of suburban Denver. But Cleo Dioletis, from Denver, said the Nevada blow-up showed how far the party establishment would go to silence Sanders' supporters. "I am very concerned that credentials could be pulled for unjust causes," he said. Ashley Wolthuis, a realtor in Ogden, Utah, said worries have increased sharply among her fellow Sanders delegates after Nevada. And she said Sanders supporters feel shortchanged by the few slots the Democratic National Committee gave them on the standing committees that will govern how the convention operates. Wolthuis said she was appalled at the chaos in Nevada. But, as a former Libertarian Party member who became a Democrat because of Sanders' focus on overhauling money in politics, she's not worried about a Sanders-led push causing Democrats heartburn. "Hillary didn't inspire me to join the Democratic Party, Bernie did, so it's hard for me to not imagine following Bernie wherever he goes," Wolthuis said. Rio Olympics to top London in supply of condoms RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) About 450,000 condoms will be distributed during the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, three times more than for the London Games four years ago, the International Olympic Committee says. Part of the reason was because 100,000 female condoms will be available for the first time, along with 350,000 condoms for men. About 175,000 packets of lubricant are also being supplied. The IOC says the condoms would encourage 10,500 athletes and staff to practice safe sex. FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2007 file photo, a worker checks rubber condoms at the government-run Natex factory in Xapuri, in Brazil's Amazon. The International Olympic Committee confirmed on May 19, 2016 that three times more condoms will be distributed during the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 than at the London games four years prior. Part of the large increase is because female condoms will be available for the first time. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo, File) It's not clear if the increase is related to Brazil's outbreak of the Zika virus. The Associated Press asked the question of the IOC in an email on Friday but did not receive an immediate response. The Zika virus is carried by mosquitoes, but can also be transmitted sexually. The virus is linked to microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with undersized brains and skulls. The condoms will be distributed free from a clinic in the Athletes' Village, or from vending machines. The village opens on July 24 with the Olympics opening on Aug. 5. Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo said between 100,000 to 150,000 condoms had been supplied at Olympics since 2000 in Sydney. The Sao Paulo paper, citing the IOC and local organizers, said the increase was not related to the Zika virus. ___ Lawyer: Hugh Hefner gives testimony in Bill Cosby sex case LOS ANGELES (AP) An attorney for a woman suing Bill Cosby for sexual battery says Playboy founder Hugh Hefner has given sworn testimony in the case. Gloria Allred says Hefner provided a deposition on Wednesday at the Playboy Mansion but the contents of the testimony are under seal. Hefner gave the testimony in a case filed by Judy Huth, who alleges Cosby forced her to perform a sex act on him around 1974 at Hefner's mansion. Hefner was sued along with Cosby on Monday by another woman who claims the comedian sexually abused her at the mansion in 2008. FILE - In this Oct. 28, 2011 file photo, Hugh Hefner arrives at the premiere of "The Rum Diary" in Los Angeles. Attorney Gloria Allred said Friday, May 20, 2016, that Hefner gave sworn testimony at the Playboy Mansion on Wednesday in a case filed by Judy Huth claiming Bill Cosby sexually abused her at the Playboy Mansion around 1974 when she was 15 years old. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File) Cosby has denied both women's allegations and his former lawyers have accused Huth of attempting to extort him before suing. An email message sent to a Playboy spokeswoman seeking comment was not immediately returned. Children's minister among 32 arrested in trafficking sting KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Tennessee authorities say a children's minister is among 32 people facing charges after a prostitution and human-trafficking sting in Knoxville. News media outlets on Friday quoted Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officials as saying the suspects were arrested as part of the three-day Operation Someone Like Me, during which agents posted ads on Backpage.com. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports charges against those arrested include seven felonies and 30 misdemeanors. The children's minister, 46-year-old Jason Kennedy, was charged with human trafficking and patronizing prostitution. Jail records don't say whether he has an attorney. The bureau said he works at Grace Baptist Church in Knoxville. Names of deputy, suspect released in South Carolina shooting COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Authorities have released the names of two South Carolina deputies and a man involved in a police shooting earlier this month. The Saluda County Sheriff's Office said Friday that Lt. Russ Padget and Deputy Dale Hallman, along with three Lexington County deputies were trying to serve an arrest warrant on Samuel Huguenin Jr. on May 13. Authorities say Huguenin drove his car into the deputies' vehicle and was shot in an exchange of gunfire. Deputies say Padget was treated and released for minor injuries from the crash. Huguenin is still hospitalized and under around-the-clock guard. Group that helped sell Iran nuke deal also funded media WASHINGTON (AP) A group the White House recently identified as a key surrogate in selling the Iran nuclear deal gave National Public Radio $100,000 last year to help it report on the pact and related issues, according to the group's annual report. It also funded reporters and partnerships with other news outlets. The Ploughshares Fund's mission is to "build a safe, secure world by developing and investing in initiatives to reduce and ultimately eliminate the world's nuclear stockpiles," one that dovetails with President Barack Obama's arms control efforts. But its behind-the-scenes role advocating for the Iran agreement got more attention this month after a candid profile of Ben Rhodes, one of the president's top foreign policy aides. In The New York Times Magazine article, Rhodes explained how the administration worked with nongovernmental organizations, proliferation experts and even friendly reporters to build support for the seven-nation accord that curtailed Iran's nuclear activity and softened international financial penalties on Tehran. FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2016 file photo Deputy National Security Adviser For Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes speaks in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. An advocacy group recently identified by the White House as part of its echo chamber gave National Public Radio $100,000 to help it report on the Iran nuclear program and related issues. It also funded reporters at The Nation and fellow liberal media outlet Mother Jones, and partnered with the Center for Public Integrity. The groups quiet, behind-the-scenes effort to help the Obama administration sell the Iran nuclear deal received attention this month after a candid profile of Ben Rhodes, one of the presidents closest aides. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) "We created an echo chamber," said Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser, adding that "outside groups like Ploughshares" helped carry out the administration's message effectively. The magazine piece revived Republican criticism of the Iran agreement as they suggested it was evidence of a White House spin machine misleading the American people. The administration accused opponents of trying to re-litigate the deal after failing to defeat it in congressional votes last year. Outside groups of all stripes are increasingly giving money to news organizations for special projects or general news coverage. Most news organizations, including The Associated Press, have strict rules governing whom they can accept money from and how to protect journalistic independence. Ploughshares' backing is more unusual, given its prominent role in the rancorous, partisan debate over the Iran deal. The Ploughshares grant to NPR supported "national security reporting that emphasizes the themes of U.S. nuclear weapons policy and budgets, Iran's nuclear program, international nuclear security topics and U.S. policy toward nuclear security," according to Ploughshares' 2015 annual report, recently published online. "It is common practice for foundations to fund media coverage of underreported stories," Ploughshares spokeswoman Jennifer Abrahamson said. Funding "does not influence the editorial content of their coverage in any way, nor would we want it to." Ploughshares has funded NPR's coverage of national security since 2005, the radio network said. Ploughshares reports show at least $700,000 in funding over that time. All grant descriptions since 2010 specifically mention Iran. "It's a valued partnership, without any conditions from Ploughshares on our specific reporting, beyond the broad issues of national and nuclear security, nuclear policy, and nonproliferation," NPR said in an emailed statement. "As with all support received, we have a rigorous editorial firewall process in place to ensure our coverage is independent and is not influenced by funders or special interests." Republican lawmakers will have concerns nonetheless, especially as Congress supplies NPR with a small portion of its funding. Just this week, the GOP-controlled House Oversight Committee tried to summon Rhodes to a hearing entitled "White House Narratives on the Iran Nuclear Deal," but he refused. Ploughshares' links to media are "tremendously troubling," said Rep. Mike Pompeo of Kansas, an Iran-deal critic. Pompeo told the AP he repeatedly asked NPR to be interviewed last year as a counterweight to a Democratic supporter of the agreement, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, who he said regularly appeared on the station. But NPR refused to put Pompeo on the air, he said. The station said it had no record of Pompeo's requests, and listed several prominent Republicans who were featured speaking about the deal or economic sanctions on Iran. Another who appeared on NPR is Joseph Cirincione, Ploughshares' president. He spoke about the negotiations on air at least twice last year. The station identified Ploughshares as an NPR funder one of those times; the other time, it didn't. Ploughshares boasts of helping to secure the deal. While success was "driven by the fearless leadership of the Obama administration and supporters in Congress," board chairwoman Mary Lloyd Estrin wrote in the annual report, "less known is the absolutely critical role that civil society played in tipping the scales towards this extraordinary policy victory." The 33-page document lists the groups that Ploughshares funded last year to advance its nonproliferation agenda. The Arms Control Association got $282,500; the Brookings Institution, $225,000; and the Atlantic Council, $182,500. They received money for Iran-related analysis, briefings and media outreach, and non-Iran nuclear work. Other groups, less directly defined by their independent nuclear expertise, also secured grants. J-Street, the liberal Jewish political action group, received $576,500 to advocate for the deal. More than $281,000 went to the National Iranian American Council. Princeton University got $70,000 to support former Iranian ambassador and nuclear spokesman Seyed Hossein Mousavian's "analysis, publications and policymaker engagement on the range of elements involved with the negotiated settlement of Iran's nuclear program." Ploughshares has set its sights on other media organizations, too. In a "Cultural Strategy Report" on its website, the group outlined a broader objective of "ensuring regular and accurate coverage of nuclear issues in reputable and strategic media outlets" such as The Guardian, Salon, the Huffington Post or Pro Publica. Previous efforts failed to generate enough coverage, it noted. These included "funding of reporters at The Nation and Mother Jones and a partnership with The Center for Public Integrity to create a national security desk." It suggested using "web videos, podcasts, photo-based stories" and other "attention-grabbing formats" for "creatively reframing the issue." The Center for Public Integrity's CEO, Peter Bale, confirmed the grant. "None of the funding received by Ploughshares was for coverage of the Iran deal," said Bale, whose company received $70,000. "In general, we avoided that subject because the topic did not lend itself to the type of investigative reporting the Center does." Caitlin Graf, a spokeswoman at The Nation, said her outlet had no partnership with Ploughshares. She referred queries to The Nation Institute, a nonprofit associated with the magazine that seeks to strengthen the independent press and advance social justice. Taya Kitman, the institute's director, said Ploughshares' one-year grant supported reporting on U.S.-Iran policy, but strict editorial control was maintained. Mother Jones' media department didn't respond to several messages seeking comment. The AP has taken grants from nonpolitical groups and journalism foundations such as the Knight Foundation. As with all grants, "AP retains complete editorial control of the final news product, which must fully meet AP standards for independence and integrity," Standards Editor Thomas Kent said. USOC leader: Flawed anti-doping system needs attention The leader of the U.S. Olympic Committee says the latest anti-doping headlines make it "increasingly difficult to defend the current system." In a wide-ranging interview Friday with The Associated Press, USOC CEO Scott Blackmun spoke about America's preparation for the Rio de Janeiro Games plans being jarred by ongoing concerns about the Zika virus, along with a growing feeling among U.S. athletes that not everybody will be on a level playing field when the Olympics start in August. In his first comments on the anti-doping crisis, Blackmun said "it is increasingly difficult to defend the current system following a breakdown of this magnitude." FILE - In this May 24, 2012, file photo, United States Olympic Committee Secretary General Scott Blackmun discusses with the media an agreement between the IOC and the USOC at the SportAccord conference in Quebec City. In an interview Friday, May 20, 2106, with The Associated Press, Blackmun said if stories of the Russian lab director's elaborate plans to keep the country's athletes from testing positive at the Sochi Games turn out to be true, then, in his words, "we need to admit the system is flawed." (Francis Vachon/The Canadian Press via AP, File) MANDATORY CREDIT "If the recently reported allegations prove to be true, we need to admit that the system is flawed," he said. "We need to fix it, and we need to find a way to assure the athletes in Rio that they are competing on a fair and level playing field." Last week, The New York Times published a story detailing former Moscow lab director Grigory Rodchenkov's elaborate plans to ensure drug-using Russian athletes would not test positive at the Sochi Olympics by replacing their dirty urine samples with clean ones previously collected. The World Anti-Doping Agency has appointed a commission to look into the allegations. A different commission released a report last year detailing a state-sponsored doping system inside Russia used to benefit its track team. That report led to the suspension of the team along with the country's anti-doping agency and the Moscow anti-doping lab that Rodchenkov headed. The track team's fate for Rio will be decided next month by the sport's governing body, the IAAF. At a WADA meeting last week, officials reported that because the Russian anti-doping agency was taken over by independent managers, testing in the country has decreased by more than two-thirds, with doping-control agents being harassed in some cities and the Russian government often balking at paying bills to run the revamped agency. The cascade of reports has led athletes and other anti-doping authorities to call on WADA and the International Olympic Committee to act more decisively to clean up an Olympic movement that, in many ways, looks as drug-addled as ever. With the Olympics less than three months away, and already swamped by a steady flow of emails from athletes and others, Blackmun decided to speak out, as well. "As a global sporting community, we need to embrace the opportunity to shine a light on the bad actors who are responsible for the wrongdoing and corruption," he said. "We are at a defining moment for international sport. It is time for strong leadership and decisive action. Doping is a problem all around the world, not just in Russia." Among those weighing in after reading Blackmun's comments was Sarah Konrad, an Olympic biathlete and cross-country skier who is chair of the USOC athletes' advisory council. "Well done, Scott Blackmun!" Konrad said in an email to AP. "It is great to know that we, as U.S. athletes, have the support of our leadership." Blackmun also addressed several other Olympic issues affecting the U.S.: ZIKA FEARS The USOC is supporting moves by individual sports to adjust plans because of Zika-related concerns. On Thursday, the AP reported the U.S. swim team has moved a pre-Olympic training camp out of Puerto Rico because of Zika. But Blackmun said scientists' calls to cancel the Olympics "is an overreaction to a problem that is, admittedly, serious. Based on information we currently have, none of the health authorities are calling for Games to be canceled." LOS ANGELES BID The Los Angeles bid for the 2024 Olympics is on track, he said. Along with Paris, Los Angeles looks like a front-runner in a four-city contest that also includes Rome and Budapest. While encouraged about the overall plan, Blackmun conceded "the challenge with any competition like this is, it's a campaign, and you never really know what people are thinking." THE MEDAL RACE As for the upcoming Olympics, he said the USOC's goal is "to make sure we improve on our performance from Games to Games." The U.S. won 103 medals in London, which led the world but was still a decrease from the 110 it took at the Beijing Games. Tennessee law strips university diversity office funding NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) A bill to strip funding from the diversity office at Tennessee's flagship public university has become law without Gov. Bill Haslam's signature. Lawmakers had been angered by the University of Tennessee's diversity office recommendations to use gender-neutral pronouns for transgender students and to avoid religious-themed holiday parties. So they voted to remove about $437,000 in state funds for the office and instead use the money to pay for minority scholarships. Haslam said Friday that he doesn't like the precedent set by lawmakers redirecting funds within the budget of a higher education institution. But he stopped short of vetoing the bill. Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam speaks to reporters in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the state Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Wednesday, May 18, 2016. The Republican governor questioned the need for a special legislative session to respond to a directive by President Barack Obama's administration on bathroom access for transgender students. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig) Things to know about California oil spill a year ago LOS ANGELES (AP) The one-year anniversary of an oil spill on the California coast was no celebration for the company responsible for the corroded pipe that sprung a leak and dumped more than 120,000 gallons of crude. The occasion was marked by action from state prosecutors and federal regulators, who concluded investigations of Plains All American Pipeline and the spill blamed for killing scores of birds and sea lions and soiling pristine Santa Barbara County beaches. Here are some things to know about the spill and action taken in the past week. PIPELINE TO THE SEA FILE - In this May 20, 2015, file photo, cleanup workers monitor the site of an underground oil pipeline break near Refugio State Beach, north of Goleta, Calif. In their final report released Thursday, May 19, 2016, federal regulators say the company responsible for the massive oil spill on the California coast, Plains All American Pipeline, didn't do enough to prevent pipeline corrosion and its operators didn't detect the spill quickly enough. (AP Photo/Michael A. Mariant, File) The May 19, 2015 spill was discovered just after noon by Santa Barbara County firefighters investigating reports of a strong petroleum stench near Refugio State Beach. Once the source was located more than an hour later and about 2 hours after the rupture firefighters tried in vain with shovels to stop oil from flowing through a culvert under a highway toward the ocean. The culvert was dammed around 3 p.m. after additional equipment and more people were brought in. Initial estimates put the spill at just over 100,000 gallons with about a fifth of that volume reaching the ocean. Plains later upped the estimate to about 142,000 gallons, though federal regulators said 123,000 gallons were released. Tar balls washed ashore 100 miles away in Los Angeles County and more than 220 birds and about 140 marine mammals, mostly sea lions, died. ACCIDENT OR A CRIME? A Santa Barbara County Superior Court grand jury indicted the company Monday on 46 criminal charges. State and county prosecutors said Plains faces up to $2.8 million in fines if convicted of all charges, which include four felonies for spilling oil in state waters and three dozen misdemeanor counts of harming wildlife. The company and an employee were charged with misdemeanor counts of failing to quickly notify state emergency officials. Texas-based Plains said the spill was an accident not a crime and it would vigorously fight the charges. SERIES OF FAILURES The federal agency overseeing the safety of interstate pipelines said Thursday that the company failed on "multiple levels" to prevent, detect and respond to the incident. "The investigation found that numerous factors contributed to the release, including the company's failure to protect the pipeline from corrosion, as well as the failure to detect and respond to the pipeline rupture once it occurred," said Marie Therese Dominguez, administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. A lengthy report detailed events leading to the spill as operators in a remote control room in Midland, Texas, failed recognize a spill occurred and didn't quickly shut down the pipeline. A controller even restarted the pipeline after it had shut down during the spill. A Plains employee initially doubted the oil came from its pipeline because it was isolated from the ocean by U.S. Highway 101. But the company had failed to note in emergency plans that the culvert could provide a path to the sea, the report said. The company declined to comment on the report because of ongoing investigations and litigation. PIPELINE SHUTDOWN The pipeline remains shut down under federal orders and won't restart until the agency is confident it is safe, Dominguez said. Plains said there's no timeline for restarting it. The company has begun repairing two sections, but other work has been put on hold because of litigation, said Peter Cantle of the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department. A lawsuit by landowners claims an easement for the pipeline isn't big enough to allow the repair work. Cantle said he is not sure if Plains will repair the pipeline or replace it with a higher grade pipeline, which he said the company has discussed. "Do you try to put lipstick on the pig?" Cantle said. "Can they bring it back to operational capacity with sufficient integrity to make it a go? That's what they're looking at." Meanwhile, seven offshore platforms are idle because the pipeline transported crude from them to refineries. NEW LAWS The spill inspired legislation aimed at preventing oil spills, minimizing damage and speeding cleanups. Three bills signed into law last year by Gov. Jerry Brown would require annual pipeline inspections by the state fire marshal and installation of best spill-control technology, such as automatic shut-off valves. The pipeline, once regulated by the state marshal and Santa Barbara County, came under federal jurisdiction in 2013 because it's part of a larger interstate network of pipes. Because of litigation against the county by the original owner, it was also the only pipeline in the county that didn't have automatic shut-off valves. Federal legislation related to pipeline safety is also pending. FILE - This May 22, 2015 file photo from the U.S. Coast Guard shows excavation equipment and contaminated soil at the site of the pipeline break in the hills above Refugio Beach north of Goleta, Calif. In their final report released Thursday, May 19, 2016, federal regulators say the company responsible for the massive oil spill on the California coast, Plains All American Pipeline, didn't do enough to prevent pipeline corrosion and its operators didn't detect the spill quickly enough. (Chief Petty Officer David Mosley/U.S. Coast Guard via AP, File) Bahamas detains Dominican fishing boat, crew for poaching NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) Authorities in the Bahamas have detained 11 fishermen from the Dominican Republic and seized their vessel on suspicion of fishing illegally in the island chain. The Royal Bahamas Defense Force said the 60-foot boat was intercepted and captured near Cay Lobos in the Southern Bahamas after having been spotted by surveillance aircraft. The Dominican vessel was carrying what the defense force described in a news release as a large quantity of fish and lobsters. Anheuser-Busch faces fine in Seattle 'pay-to-play' probe SEATTLE (AP) The company that produces Budweiser is facing a $150,000 fine and a three-day suspension after an investigation showed it violated Washington State's "pay-to-play" rules. KIRO-TV reports (http://kiro.tv/1U42Hcy ) the Anheuser-Busch is accused of entering into an illegal agreement with two Seattle concert venues. Investigators say the company paid The Showbox and Showbox Sodo an exclusive promotional fee to secure a place for its products at the events and block out competitors. A spokeswoman for the company, Lisa Derus, said they do not agree with the allegations and have been meeting with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board to discuss them. Anheuser-Busch operates 12 brewing companies throughout the U.S. ___ Rebekah Bletsch, 36, was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head after she went jogging in Dalton Township Jessica Heeringa, then 25, went missing at an Exxon gas station in Norton Shores in 2013 Willis, a married factory worker of Muskegon Township, Michigan, is under investigation in two other cases Investigators found chains, child pornography and a bar with wrist restraints when they searched his home and van Authorities say Jeffrey Willis, 46, got a 16-year-old girl to get into his minivan and pointed a gun at her Jeffrey Willis (pictured), 46 of Muskegon Township, Michigan, has been charged with kidnapping a 16-year-old Investigators have found a ball gag, chains, a pistol with ammunition, child pornography and syringes filled with liquid as they searched the home and the van of a man suspected of kidnapping a 16-year-old girl. Jeffrey Willis, of Muskegon Township, Michigan, has been charged with kidnapping after a 16-year-old told officers he got her to get in his minivan and pointed a gun at her. Police searched his home and vehicle and seized the items according to a probable cause statement released Friday. Willis, a married factory worker, is also being investigated in the 2013 disappearance of then-25-year-old Jessica Heeringa and the 2014 death of 36-year-old Rebekah Bletsch. His van contained a bar with wrist restraints, a mask, a pistol, ammunition and syringes filled with liquid along with the ball gag and chains, the document said. Investigators found child pornography and videos of bound women in his home. A message was left for the public defender's office seeking comment on Willis's behalf. Willis has been charged with kidnapping and was arraigned Wednesday in the attempted abduction of a 16-year-old girl last month in North Muskegon. Authorities say the girl was lost on a rural road last month and went inside his minivan to use his cellphone. Willis later pointed a gun at her, the Detroit Free Press reported, but the girl escaped and described his vehicle, a silver minivan, to the police. She then identified him in a lineup. 'We feel that we for sure have our person who committed the attempted abduction on April 16,' Muskegon County Undersheriff Daniel Stout said according to the newspaper. Police seized hundreds of items from Willis's home after the search on Wednesday. They searched his home in Muskegon Township on Tuesday and a second property, his late grandfather's abandoned home, according to the Muskegon Chronicle, the following day in Norton Shores. Police searched Willis's home and his van on Wendesday (pictured) and seized hundreds of items according to a probable cause statement released Friday Officials found a bar with wrist restraints, a mask, a pistol, ammunition and syringes filled with liquid along with a ball gag and chains in Willis's van during the search on Wednesday (pictured) Investigators also found found child pornography and videos of bound women in Willis's home according to the documents released on Friday. Pictured, an official logs evidence during the search on Wednesday Police say Willis, a married factory worker, got a 16-year-old girl to get into his van last month and later pointed a gun at her. Pictured, law enforcement officials execute a search warrant on Wednesday The 16-year-old girl escaped and described Willis's vehicle to the police, identifying it as a silver minivan. Pictured, officials search his late grandfather's abandoned home on Wednesday Willis, who remains held on a $1 million at Muskegon County Jail, is under investigation in two other cases. Pictured, a law enforcement official removes evidence during the search on Wednesday Meanwhile Willis, who is currently held on a $1 million bail at Muskegon County Jail, is also under investigation in the disappearance of a 25-year-old mother and the death of a 36-year-old jogger, both in Muskegon County. Jessica Heeringa, a mother of one, went missing in April 2013 from the Exxon Mobil gas station where she worked in Norton Shores. She was about to close the station when she vanished. Police later found a small amount of her blood at the scene. The case has remained unsolved even though police released a sketch of what the suspect could look like at the time, based on the account of a witness who saw a male drive away from the gas station. Authorities also published footage showing a silver minivan passing around 11pm at a business about a mile away from the gas station, which didn't have its own surveillance cameras. A witness reported seeing a silver minivan pull up to the gas station not long before closing time. Rebekah Bletsch, a 36-year-old mother of one, was found dead in June 2014 after going on a jog in Dalton Township. Investigators first thought she had been killed in a hit-and-run but later discovered she had a gunshot wound to the head. Willis was fired from a previous job at an elementary school in 1999 for accessing a website with adult content from one of the school's computers, the Muskegon Chronicle reported. This caused a student to be exposed to the contents of the website, according to his termination letter, obtained by the newspaper through a Freedom of Information Act request. Willis, who worked as a probationary custodian that school year, didn't try to explain or defend himself, the letter states, and didn't seem surprised or upset. Jessica Heeringa (left), then 25, went missing in April 2013 from the Exxon Mobil gas station where she worked in Norton Shores. Authorities released a sketch of what the suspect could look like at the time (right) Space shuttle tank to be hauled to Los Angeles museum LOS ANGELES (AP) A massive space shuttle external propellant tank will be squeezed through the streets of Los Angeles to join a display of the retired orbiter Endeavour at the California Science Center. The big move was scheduled to begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and take 13 to 18 hours to squeeze down 16 miles of streets, avenues and boulevards from Marina del Rey on the coast to the center in Exposition Park near downtown. The tank's trek was expected to be not quite as difficult as when the 122-foot-long Endeavour, with a wingspan of 78 feet, was similarly hauled 12 miles to the center from Los Angeles International Airport. Extensive preparations included removal of trees, street posts and other obstacles but that journey took about 17 hours longer than planned. It nonetheless became a spectacle enjoyed by big crowds along the way. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, welcomes the external propellant tank ET- 94 after being unloaded from a barge at the Marina del Rey, Calif., on Wednesday, May 18, 2016. NASA's only remaining version of the tank will be placed on dollies and pulled by a truck to its final destination near the California Science Center's Samuel Oschin Pavilion in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Although longer 154 feet the 65,000-pound external tank is much narrower than the shuttle with a diameter of 27.5 feet. The giant orange tank was shipped to California by barge from a NASA facility in Louisiana. The tank traveled through the Panama Canal to the Pacific and arrived Wednesday at Marina del Rey, a yacht harbor on the Los Angeles County coast where it was offloaded to await the weekend move. Known as ET-94, it was NASA's last flight-qualified external tank but was never used before the shuttle program came to an end. External tanks not only carried propellant for space shuttles' main engines but were the backbone of the launch system. An orbiter and two solid rocket boosters would be attached to the tank for the fiery ascent into space. Inside ET-94 are two internal tanks for millions of pounds of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as well as other equipment. The tank's surface is covered with a layer of foam to keep the propellants at the proper temperature, reduce the formation of ice and to provide protection from heat as it sped through the atmosphere. External tanks used on shuttle missions would be destroyed, burning up as they fell back through the atmosphere after being discarded by the orbiter. ET-94 was built for use by the shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated over Texas as it was returning from a mission. The investigation found that foam fell off that mission's external tank during launch and punched a hole into a wing, allowing hot gases of the fiery re-entry inside the structure. Investigators used many pieces of foam from ET-94 in tests to come to the conclusion. The external Tank, ET- 94, NASA's only remaining space shuttle external tank is unloaded from a barge at the Marina del Rey, Calif., on Wednesday, May 18, 2016. The ET-94 will be placed on dollies and pulled by a truck to its final destination near the California Science Center's Samuel Oschin Pavilion in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Chile says it has struck deal with fishermen to end protests SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) The Chilean government says it has reached a deal with small-scale fishermen who had blocked access to the Chiloe archipelago after a toxic algal bloom put their livelihoods at risk. The government said Friday that an agreement had been struck with the last remaining group of protesting fishermen. They will get $1,000 in compensation. The government aid also extends to other non-fishing families who depend on the sea, including algae gatherers and divers. Fishermen had been blocking the island from the mainland for days to demand more compensation from the government. In this May 10, 2016, Marco, the 19-year-old son of fisherwoman Marisol Millaquien prepares to take out a boat on an expedition, in hopes of providing food for the dinner table, in Quetalmahue, on Chile's Chiloe Island, during the country's worst ever "red tide" environmental disaster. The view from Millaquien's stilt home is desolate: dozens of abandoned ghostly boats, dead birds and shellfish. "I'm 46. I've seen red tide before, but never like this," she said. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) High-flying drone makes 1st flight to test farmland photos HILLSBORO, N.D. (AP) A high-flying drone that will be used to test precision agriculture methods made its inaugural flight Friday in North Dakota amid handshakes and smiles from aircraft operators and farm officials. The Israeli-manufactured Elbit Systems Hermes 450 aircraft took off from the Hillsboro airport to start a summer-long project that will take pictures of farmland in the fertile Red River Valley. The test is meant to show whether the larger drone is more efficient to capture imagery of agricultural land than satellites or smaller unmanned aircraft. "Absolutely, this is really exciting," said drone pilot Matthew Mason, a New Hampshire resident who is spending the summer in a Fargo hotel. "With this camera we can count seeds and all sorts of stuff. The capabilities are like, wow, this is crazy." North Dakota State University agricultural researcher John Nowatzki points to a mechanical panel of a Hermes 450 drone before the aircraft took off from the Hillsboro, N.D. airport on Friday, May 20, 2016, to collect agriculture data. The drone can fly higher and longer than other aircraft currently being used for commercial purposes in the United States. The 20-foot long drone can fly for 20 hours. (AP Photo/Dave Kolpack) North Dakota is believed to be the only state qualified to fly the aircraft because it has clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly drones at higher altitudes. The FAA in 2013 selected North Dakota as one of six drone test sites in the U.S. and has since approved the site to fly above the current 200-foot blanket for most of the country. The Hermes 450, which is 20 feet long with a 35-foot wing span, is expected to take pictures as high as 8,000 feet. It will cover an area about 4 miles wide by 40 miles long. "You look around and you see grins on everybody's faces," said Eric Stoltz, mission manager for the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, which is partnering with North Dakota State University on the project. "As far as we know, this is the first time that a UAS of this size has flown out of a civilian airport with no special airspace or anything like that." The project is the brainchild of North Dakota State University researcher John Nowatzki, who has spent the last 18 months waiting for Friday's debut. He believes the larger drone will be more cost-effective by collecting more data over a larger area more quickly. "I feel pretty good about it," Nowatzki said on the tarmac while handlers prepared the drone for takeoff. "There have been a lot of efforts with small ones. This is the first time with one this large." Half of the more than $700,000 project is being funded by a North Dakota Department of Commerce grant and the other half by Elbit Systems, which is hoping to eventually sell the imagery to producers and other farm groups. The drone, ground control station and other equipment were shipped from Tel Aviv, Israel, and assembled by a crew from the Israeli company. North Dakota leads the nation in the production of 10 farm commodity classes. Alyssa Scheve, the Traill County extension agent who meets with area farmers on a daily basis, said after Friday's flight most of the producers are eager to see the results from the drone. "This is new technology. As we know, farmers are innovators, so this is right up their alley," Scheve said. "This will give them a real-time aerial view how their fields are progressing and will give them an opportunity to make those management calls in a timelier manner." An Israeli-built Elbit Systems Hermes 450 unmanned aircraft is towed out of a hangar at the Hillsboro, N.D. airport on Friday, May 20, 2016, before its first flight to collect agriculture data. It is believed to be the first drone of its type to be tested in the United States, as part of a joint project between North Dakota State University and the Northern Plains UAS Test Site. (AP Photo/Dave Kolpack) An Israeli-built Hermes 450 drone takes off from the Hillsboro, N.D., airport on Friday, May 20, 2016, in its first flight to collect agriculture data in the Red River Valley. The 20-foot drone is being used for a project to compare imagery of farmland captured by the drone to similar pictures taken by satellites and smaller unmanned aircraft. (AP Photo/Dave Kolpack) The ground control station for pilots flying a Hermes 450 unmanned aircraft is stationed near the runway at the Hillsboro, N.D. airport, where the drone flew its first agriculture test flight on Friday, May 20, 2016. The summer-long project will test whether the larger drone will be more efficient to capture imagery of farmland than satellites for smaller drones. (AP Photo/Dave Kolpack) Agency tells Ohio Air Force base to stop drinking water use FAIRBORN, Ohio (AP) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has told officials at an Ohio U.S. Air Force base to take a drinking water well offline after tests found high levels of a chemical used to fight fires. The Dayton Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/1OQK4g1 ) the EPA issued the order Friday for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, just outside Dayton. The EPA says infants and women who are pregnant or are nursing should not drink the water. It says the water is safe for other adults to drink. The problem was discovered after water was drawn from the wells last month. One well was previously taken offline. The base plans to distribute bottled water Saturday. A base spokeswoman says Wright-Patterson Medical Center has been using bottled water for patients and for food preparation. ___ 'Move-on' period leaving 'forgotten' refugees homeless, report claims "Forgotten" refugees are being left hungry and homeless in England, a new report claims. They are being virtually abandoned by the government which has committed to protect them, according to campaigners. The Refugee Council explored the experience of newly recognised refugees within the first year of being granted asylum. Newly recognised refugees were being virtually abandoned by the government, campaigners said When their asylum claim is granted, those who are receiving accommodation and subsistence payments from the Home Office are informed that it will cease in 28 days, the report said. It added: "This is known as the 'grace' or 'move-on' period and it is expected in this time that the newly recognised refugee will be able to secure housing and income in this time frame." Newly granted refugees can apply for a one-off loan to help with integration which can be used for rent or a deposit, with a minimum amount of 100. But the Government "aspires" to process the payments within six weeks - two weeks longer than refugees have before facing eviction, according to the charity. It said this results in many becoming homeless and destitute, with a survey of 100 users showing 81 were homeless or about to be at the point they accessed its services. Newly recognised refugees were being forced to rely on food banks, charities or friends for access to food, money and accommodation, the Refugee Council said. Its paper highlighted contrasts with the arrangements for those coming to the UK on resettlement programmes such as the scheme for Syrian refugees announced last year. It said: "The Government's flagship resettlement programme for Syrian refugees demonstrates that ministers clearly understand that refugees need specialist support to integrate into British society if they are to successfully begin rebuilding their lives. "All refugees arriving via this programme receive personalised, tailored and government-funded integration support. "In stark contrast - there is no government-funded specialist integration support for refugees who have not been resettled here, and have instead been granted asylum." Report co-author and Refugee Council head of advocacy Dr Lisa Doyle called on the Government to "acknowledge this hidden crisis" and "make sure no-one who's granted protection in Britain is left with nowhere safe to sleep". A Government spokeswoman said: "The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need our protection and we consider every claim for asylum on its individual merits. "Asylum seekers who are granted refugee or other status in the UK are entitled to unrestricted access to the labour market and have broadly the same benefits as British citizens and other lawful residents, including access to accommodation, free access to NHS healthcare and free primary and secondary education for their children. "Newly granted refugees also have access to a dedicated helpline and can apply for integration loans to help them with transition costs such as rent deposits. "However, we do recognise that there are complex reasons why some newly recognised refugees do not secure access to DWP benefits before their Home Office support ends 28 days after they are granted status. Gove warns of 'unsustainable' migrant pressure on NHS if no Brexit A migrant influx equivalent to the population of Scotland will put "unsustainable" pressure on the NHS by 2030 unless Britain quits the EU, Justice Secretary Michael Gove has warned. The Cabinet heavyweight insisted the worst case scenario figure of 5,229,000 more net migrants over the next 15 years was realistic, even though it assumes Turkey, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, will join the EU in 2020, and the UK will not impose transitional immigration controls on them. Attempting to push immigration to the heart of the referendum campaign, Mr Gove insisted the national living wage would act as a pull factor resulting in "huge additional pressure" on the NHS. Michael Gove warned a migrant influx equivalent to the population of Scotland will put 'unsustainable' pressure on the NHS by 2030 unless Britain quits the EU The Cabinet Minister said that between 172,000 - 428,000 migrants a year would be arriving in the UK until 2030, meaning A&E attendances would spiral by between 6.3 million - 12.8 million annually, increasing emergency NHS demand by between 28% - 57%. With the Office for National Statistics predicting a three million increase in migration by 2030, Mr Gove said that even if no other countries join the EU, the current level of 172,000 people arriving annually over the next 15 years will continue at a time when the NHS needed an extra 4.6 billion a year just to stand still. Denying he was scaremongering, the Justice Secretary said the British Government was in favour of Turkey joining the EU, and Brussels was speeding-up the process. "Citizens from these countries will inevitably be attracted to the UK, not just because of our free health care, but also because of the additional pull factor that will result from the welcome introduction of the national living wage. "The European Commission is in the process of speeding-up the accession process. It is already setting up the visa free travel programme with Turkey. That will create a zone of free movement from our borders to the borders of Syria and Iraq," Mr Gove said. Depending on various factors, the Leave campaign figures project a "low" forecast of an extra 3,193,000 net migrants over the next 15 years, a "medium" forecast of 4,252,000, and a "high" one of 5,229,000. Mr Gove insisted the referendum decision "should be respected" even if it was a narrow win for Remain. The move came as European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker warned the UK will not be "welcomed with open arms" by the remaining EU if it votes to "desert" the 28-nation bloc in the June 23 referendum. Mr Juncker insisted that he was not making a "threat", but being realistic about the damage caused by Brexit. Comparing the UK to a pet which does not enjoy its fur being rubbed up the wrong way, the European Commission president said Britain would not "have its hair stroked in the right direction" by the rest of Europe if it chose to leave. Asked by French newspaper Le Monde how Brussels would respond to a Leave vote, Mr Juncker said: "'Deserters will not be welcomed with open arms. "If the British say no - which I hope they will not - community life will not carry on as before. The United Kingdom will have to accept being considered as a third party, which does not have its hair stroked in the right direction." The intervention came as Prime Minister David Cameron mingled with stars including The Wire actor Dominic West as leading showbiz figures gave their backing to the UK remaining in the European Union. Hollywood actors including Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Keira Knightley are among the big names who have backed the Remain cause. In a further boost to the Remain camp, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau gave his backing to the UK staying in the EU and warned that a post-Brexit trade deal would not be easy. Mr Cameron visited London's Abbey Road Studios - and walked across the zebra crossing made famous by The Beatles - after 282 figures from the entertainment industry including authors Dame Hilary Mantel and John le Carre signed a letter supporting a Remain vote. Responding to Vote Leave's estimates of the impact of future migration, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told BBC Radio 4's World At One: "These figures are very often just plucked from thin air and they are not designed to inform, they are designed to confuse. "We've made absolutely clear that we won't contemplate further member states joining the EU until their economies have developed to such a level that they are at least at the European Union average." Dave Prentis, general secretary of the public sector union Unison, said: "No-one should be taken in by this latest bout of NHS scaremongering from the Brexit brigade. "Nurses, health visitors, midwives and other health workers who have come to work in the NHS from across the EU have thrown a lifeline to our health service, which quite simply would have gone under without them. "There is already a 2.45 billion black hole in the NHS's bank balance. The health service is in desperate need of cash and a period of stability. "A vote to leave next month would mean neither of those. Instead, unprecedented economic instability would result and place untold pressure on the NHS's already perilous finances." Remain campaigners highlighted comments by Brexit standard-bearer Boris Johnson, who said in March that Turkey would not join the EU "in the foreseeable future" and the idea of 75 million Turks having visa-free travel was "simply not on the cards". Labour MP Chuka Umunna said: " The opportunistic hypocrisy of the Leave campaign has reached new depths. Boris Johnson's own comments expose their central claims as being a lie. "Vote Leave know there will be no new EU countries in the foreseeable future but are lying because they have lost the economic argument. "The truth is, you do not control immigration by damaging the economy and sending Britain back to recession, which experts say would happen if we vote to leave." Vote Leave also produced a video challenging Mr Cameron's insistence that Turkey should not be an issue in the referendum. The video showed footage of the PM speaking during a 2010 visit to the country, when he said he backed EU membership for Turkey and wanted to "pave the road from Ankara to Brussels", alongside a film of MPs fighting in the Turkish Parliament earlier this year. Vote Leave said the UK was currently paying more than 1 billion to help Turkey join the EU. Liberal Democrat equalities spokeswoman Baroness Hussein-Ece branded the video "a xenophobic attack from a Leave campaign that knows it is losing the debate". "Stigmatising Turkey and the people who live there is a dangerous move which comes from the propaganda playbooks of 100 years ago," said Lady Hussein-Ece. "Boris Johnson knows that Turkey won't be joining the EU any time soon; they have been a candidate since 1987 and have only met one target of the 36 stipulated by the EU. "Yet again Boris has recklessly made up new 'facts' on the spot." Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour's former culture secretary Tessa Jowell try to recreate the famous Beatles album cover David Cameron and Tessa Jowell visit Abbey Road studios in north London Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour's former culture secretary Tessa Jowell take part in a round table discussion during a visit to Abbey Road studios David Cameron and Tessa Jowell met representatives of the creative industries The Creative Industries Federation revealed that more than 96 per cent of its members support a Remain vote One out of every six albums sold globally by British musicians The huge international success of British musicians including Adele, Sam Smith and One Direction means one in six albums sold worldwide are by UK artists, new figures show. Adele's latest album 25 broke first week sales records in the UK and US and helped acts from the UK secure a 17.1% share of international album sales. It remains the world's best-selling album with 17.4 million copies sold in 2015, 2.5 million bought in Britain. Her success marks the eighth time in the last 11 years the global best-seller has come from the UK. One in six albums sold worldwide are by UK artists, according to new figures On home turf, British artists scored an 18-year-high, making up 55% of domestic album sales and seven of the top ten annual best sellers in the Official Charts. Globally they account for half of the top ten biggest sellers, according to the British Phonographic Industry's (BPI) music market 2016 yearbook. However, the figures came amid warnings that artists are not financially benefiting from the growing demand for their work. Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI and the BRIT Awards, warned that the popularity of ad-supported platforms such as YouTube means a surge in popularity does not translate into increased revenues for the musician. He said: "It is hugely encouraging that demand for British music is so strong at home and abroad thanks to our brilliant artists and the continual innovation and investment of our record labels. "Yet the fact that sales revenues dipped in a record year for British music shows clearly that something is fundamentally broken in the music market, so that artists and the labels that invest in them no longer benefit fairly from growing demand. "Instead, dominant tech platforms like YouTube are able to abuse liability protections as royalty havens, dictating terms so they can grab the value from music for themselves, at the expense of artists. "The long-term consequences of this will be serious, reducing investment in new music, making it difficult for most artists to earn a living, and undermining the growth of more innovative services like Spotify and Apple Music that pay more fairly for the music they use." Figures show that while music consumption in the UK rose by 3.7%, jumping to 12.9% when streaming of music videos is included, the total revenue including performance rights grew by just 0.6% in 2015, with income from sales and streaming dipping 0.9% to 688 million. Revenue from ad-supported streaming platforms only contributed 4% of that total despite making up nearly a fifth of total music consumption. Some 146.1 million came from audio streaming services such as Spotify and Deezer. Mr Taylor added: "In 2015, UK fans streamed almost twice as many music videos as the year before; tens of billions more views. Yet artists and labels did not benefit from the increased demand for what they created. This is wrong. Music is precious - it's not a commodity to be strip-mined for big data. "And as we've seen time and again in the digital market, where music goes first, the rest of the content sector will follow. This problem requires urgent action by the EU, and our Government needs to take the lead in making sure it is tackled." 'Body part, seats and suitcases found' in search for missing EgyptAir plane A body part, seats and suitcases have been found floating in the sea in the search for the missing EgyptAir plane, according to Greek officials. Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos said the items were found in the Mediterranean, slightly to the south of where the aircraft vanished from radar signals early on Thursday. Flight MS804 - an Airbus A320 with 56 passengers and 10 crew members flying from Paris to Cairo - went down about halfway between the Greek island of Crete and Egypt's coastline, or around 175 miles offshore, after take-off from Charles de Gaulle Airport. An EgyptAir Airbus takes off for Cairo from Charles de Gaulle Airport (AP) Egypt's army spokesman said debris and passenger belongings have been located 180 miles off the coast of Alexandria in Egypt. Airport officials in Egypt said investigators will inspect the debris and personal belongings that have been recovered. The Briton on board, Richard Osman, a father-of-two, was described by his younger brother Alastair as a workaholic and a very admirable person who "never deviated from the straight path". A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said the Royal Fleet Auxiliary landing ship Lyme Bay and an RAF C130 Hercules aircraft had joined the search efforts. Before it disappeared from radar screens around 2.45am Cairo time (12.45am GMT), the plane spun all the way around and suddenly lost altitude. Egyptian and Russian officials said it may have been brought down by terrorists, and there are no signs of survivors. Mr Osman, a geologist, had a master's degree in Mining Geology from the Camborne School of Mines in Penryn. The 40-year-old, originally from Carmarthen in Wales, worked in the mining industry for more than 16 years and was employed by Centamin - a mineral exploration and mining company - as a business development manager. Mr Osman had spent 12 years at the company's Sukari mine in Egypt. Prior to that, he worked in Western Australia. Alastair Osman told ITV News: "Richard has two kids. Richard was a very kind person, loving person, very focused. He was a workaholic and never deviated from the straight path. "A very admirable person and a lot of people admired him for his strength and values. He's a new dad. A dad for the second time now and I know that would have filled him with love and joy. It's funny how quickly things change." Asked about why Mr Osman was on the flight, his brother told the news programme: "He would have been going to work I assume. I know he works in both Egypt and another country in Africa. "I guess it was work related. He's been doing this for years in the gold mining industry. This was a regular trip. He used to do it at least once a month, year after year." Alastair Osman added: "This is the reality of Isis and groups like that. It's indiscriminate. They don't think any of these people have family members, or a past, or a history of hopes and dreams. It's indiscriminate." According to the Carmarthen Journal, Mr Osman is a former pupil at QE Cambria with family in the Swansea area. The newspaper said he was the son of the late Fekri Osman, a founder of the Werndale private hospital in Bancyfelin. His father moved to Wales from his native Egypt to work as a consultant in ear, nose and throat surgery in Singleton Hospital, Swansea, it said. Egyptian and Greek authorities in ships and planes searched the suspected crash area throughout the day for traces of the airliner or its victims, with more help on the way from the US, Britain and France. Civil aviation minister Sherif Fathi said the disaster was still being investigated but the possibility it was a terror attack "is higher than the possibility of having a technical failure". Alexander Bortnikov, chief of Russia's top domestic security agency, said: "In all likelihood it was a terror attack." Among those on board were a child and two babies, EgyptAir said. The airline said the 56 passengers included 30 Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis and one each from Britain, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria, Canada, Belgium, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The Airbus A320 was built in 2003 and was flying at 37,000ft, the airline said on Twitter. It tweeted that the pilot had logged 6,275 flying hours, including 2,101 hours on the A320, and the co-pilot had logged 2,766 hours. There was confusion over whether a distress signal had been sent by the Airbus A320. Egypt's civil aviation authority said one was received at 4.26am local time, believed to be an automated message rather than one sent by the pilot. But in a statement on its website, the Egyptian military said later it had received no distress message from the aircraft. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the Foreign Office was in close contact with Egyptian and French authorities and said that staff were supporting the family of a British passport holder who boarded the flight in Paris. Meanwhile, French president Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting at the Elysee Palace. He also spoke to Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi by telephone and agreed to "closely co-operate to establish as soon as possible the circumstances" surrounding the disaster. Jonathan Edwards, who is the MP for Mr Osman's home town in west Wales, said everyone in Carmarthen had been shocked by the news that one of their own had been killed in a terrorist attack. Mr Osman had attended the town's Queen Elizabeth school before going to Kingston University and then later doing his master's degree at Camborne School of Mines in Cornwall. Plaid Cymru MP Mr Edwards said: "The community is stunned that someone from Carmarthenshire has been killed in this terrorist atrocity. "Our thoughts and sympathies are with his family - especially considering that Mr Osman was a new father. "I'm sure the authorities will be urgently investigating how an explosive device has been delivered onto a plane from one of Europe's busiest airports." The Lyme Bay was following the route of MS804's flightpath south east of Crete, but by mid-morning on Friday had not found any traces of the plane, said Downing Street. The RAF C130 conducted one surveillance flight from the UK airbase at Akrotiri, Cyprus, on Thursday evening, and was carrying out a second on Friday morning. The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch has offered its assistance and is ready to provide support if required, said Number 10. Gael Monfils pulls out of French Open due to virus The French Open has suffered another blow with Gael Monfils joining Roger Federer in pulling out of the tournament. Federer withdrew because of a back injury on Thursday, and on Friday morning tournament organisers announced Monfils will not be able to play due to a virus. The 29-year-old, who was born in Paris, would have been a dark horse at Roland Garros after the most consistent start to a season in his career. Gael Monfils has pulled out of the French Open due to illness Monfils is famously up and down but reached at least the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo. At the latter he went all the way to the final before losing to Rafael Nadal in three sets. But Monfils began to struggle with illness at the Rome Masters, where he lost in the first round to Thomaz Bellucci, and has not recovered in time. Monfils, who made the semi-finals in Paris in 2008 and is a three-time quarter-finalist, would have been seeded 13th. Judge to use family court to help trace missing teenager and mother A senior judge is set to open the doors to a private family court in order enlist the public's help finding a missing teenager, social services bosses say. Mr Justice Keehan, who is based in the Family Division of the High Court, is scheduled to make a public appeal in the hope of tracing 14-year-old Moses John - and his mother Pauline Watson, 46 - in Court 41 at the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday. Social services staff at Northamptonshire County Council - which has responsibility for Moses' welfare - say the judge has agreed to take "the exceptional step" because of the level of concern for the teenager's well-being. Pauline Watson, 46, and her son Moses John, 14, who are both missing (Northamptonshire County Council/PA) They say Moses and his mother have vanished from their home in Northamptonshire and are thought to be in London. They say that Moses and his mother need to be found as a "matter of urgency". They say police attempts to trace the pair have failed. And they say Mr Justice Keehan wants journalists to attend court on Monday to publicise his appeal. Social services staff say Moses is at the centre of private family court proceedings, although they have released no detail about the litigation. "The police and Northamptonshire Children's Services have for some time been trying to trace Moses and his mother," said a spokesman for Northamptonshire County Council on Friday. "As an exceptional step, and to demonstrate the level of concern for the well-being of Moses, Mr Justice Keehan proposes to make a public statement in open court on Monday." The spokesman added: "We need assistance from the media and any other persons or organisations who may be able to help trace Moses as a matter of urgency." Social workers say Moses and his mother went missing about a year ago. Police say appeals and searches have revealed no trace. But the council spokesman said an appeal was being renewed as a "matter of urgency". He said Moses was black and about 5 ft 9 in tall. Moses' mother is black and around 5 ft 7 in tall. The spokesman said Moses' mother was thought to have links to areas of London including Croydon, Islington, Merton, Sutton, Southwark and Lambeth. Harry and Pippa 'secret romance' story misleading - press watchdog An article that said Prince Harry and Pippa Middleton were rumoured to be enjoying a "secret romance" was misleading, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) has ruled. The Daily Star printed the story in December 2015 but Harry complained, saying the claims were "completely untrue". In Friday's edition of the paper, an article outlining the Ipso ruling said that the "manner in which the claims were presented was significantly misleading". Pippa Middleton and Prince Harry on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, following the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton The original article reported that a US magazine had published claims about the young royal and his sister-in-law's relationship and said Clarence House had declined to comment. The ruling printed on Friday said: "The article had clearly attributed the claims about the complainant and Ms Middleton to the US magazine. While it had not contained a positive assertion of their truth, there was no suggestion that there was reason to doubt their veracity. "Furthermore, the article had stated that "Clarence House had declined to comment" but the newspaper had not argued - in response to the complaint - that such an approach had been made. "The only conclusion which the committee could draw was that the newspaper had not sought to verify the claims, as reported." The complaint that the article breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors' Code of Practice was upheld. This is the second complaint about a story on the Royal Family that has been upheld in a week. On Wednesday, The Sun printed an Ipso ruling that said its headline "Queen backs Brexit" was misleading. The complaint was the first by a reigning monarch to the official press watchdog in the UK. Man arrested after stabbing frenzy had been charged with knife possession A man arrested after a stabbing frenzy at a London supermarket had been released on bail earlier that morning having been charged with possessing a knife. Four women suffered knife wounds during a bloody attack at around 10.35am on Friday outside a Sainsbury's supermarket in Hampton, west London. A 66-year-old man has been arrested. Police at the scene of the stabbings in Hampton, west London Police said the man had been arrested in connection with a separate incident on Thursday at Kensington High Street. He was charged with possessing a knife and assaulting a police officer and released on bail on Friday morning ahead of a court date next month. Following the attack in Hampton a 62-year-old woman is fighting for her life while a 53-year-old victim who was transferred to hospital by air ambulance is now stable. The other two women, aged 67 and 71 are in hospital having suffered non-life threatening injuries in the attack, which police do not believe to be terror-related. Witnesses described seeing a man with a knife and images from the scene showed bloodstained clothes lying on the ground. Ben Brady, 30, who owns Jen's Salon next door to where one of the victims was treated, said the man was "waving a knife" and then attacking women as they got out of their cars. The first victim was stabbed near the pub before the attacker moved on to another area of the car park, he said. "She had no idea what was going on," he added. A member of staff at the nearby Hampton pub said the man "appeared to be out of it" and was only targeting women. "The man ran through and started attacking them. It didn't seem like they knew him. It was completely unprovoked," the woman, who did not want to be named, said. "He appeared to be out of it, on drugs or crazy. "The woman who was badly stabbed in the back made it up to the police station and raised the alarm. "She is well-known locally and always goes shopping there all the time." Police praised those who helped the victims, saying they had shown "outstanding courage", and reassured locals officers are on patrol in the area. Borough Commander for Richmond-Upon-Thames, Chief Superintendent Glenn Tunstall, said: "I would like to praise members of the public who rushed to the aid of the injured women and provided them with first-aid. "Their bravery and the outstanding courage of the officers who were first on the scene and confronted the armed man is worthy of praise. "An incident like this will cause considerable concern to the local community, and I would like to reassure them that uniform officers will be patrolling the area and can speak to anyone who has concerns." One of the victims went to a police office, less than 100 yards from the car park, where she was treated. A blood-soaked jacket and first aid kit were seen lying on the ground surrounded by police tape outside the Hampton and Hampton North Wards police office. England striker Harry Kane eager to get to France for Euro 2016 Harry Kane is itching to get to Euro 2016 and show just what this fresh, young and fearless England side are capable of. It is now 50 years since Bobby Moore lifted the World Cup, with that period punctuated by an overriding feeling of frustration as the Three Lions repeatedly tried and failed to add another major trophy. Euro 2016 provides the latest opportunity for a group of English players to become immortal and is a tournament Roy Hodgson's men approach with hope, having recently beaten favourites and hosts France as well as world champions Germany. England's Harry Kane is looking forward to his first senior international tournament Tottenham striker Kane watched the last major tournament on a Dubai beach with his girlfriend and in the two years since the early World Cup exit has become one of his country's star men. The 22-year-old's goal sparked March's memorable 3-2 comeback win in Berlin and he is now eyeing more special memories in France, where the 10-cap striker believes the squad's inexperience will help rather than hinder. "It's strange, it probably won't sink in until we get out there and it all starts, but it's a great feeling to be part of it," Kane said ahead of Sunday's preparation match against Turkey. "The whole team are the same, very excited. Now the season is over, we're itching to get out there, see what it's like and get going. "A lot of us it's our first major tournament. There's no real fear, we are not scared to play our football. "Throughout the whole international year we've been playing well, we've been going out and trying to play good football. "We've been scoring goals, pressing high. That's what the manager wants us to do and that's what we'll try to do. "There's been some disappointments over the years but now we've got a great young side, we're very excited about the tournament and we've got no fear. "We'll go out, play our football and express ourselves and see where that takes us." England's 100 per cent record in qualification and some impressive friendly displays have highlighted the potential of this group, many of whom have shone at club level this season. Kane endured a slow start to the campaign but ended up making a mockery of those suggesting he would prove a one-season wonder, firing 25 league goals on the way to collecting the Golden Boot. It capped what was an impressive season at White Hart Lane, even if the way it tapered off leaves a bitter taste. Spurs failed to catch eventual champions Leicester and were agonisingly pipped to second by arch rivals Arsenal, having lost at home to Southampton and been humbled 5-1 at already relegated Newcastle. "The aim at the start of the season was the Champions League," Kane said. "If you asked any fan or any player, they'd have said the same. "Being in the title race so long makes it a bit difficult but, look, we gave it a go. We gave it everything. "We fell over the last few weeks but I'd rather give it a go and fall than not have had that chance. "Yeah, it's disappointing that we didn't finish off strong, but it's a learning curve and we'll be there next season to go again." Kane rejects any suggestion that Mauricio Pochettino's intensive workload schedule was part of the reason for their collapse, insisting England's five-strong Spurs contingent have plenty left in the tank. Instead, the striker echoes his manager's opinion that they need to be stronger mentally - an attribute shown in spades by champions Leicester. Claudio Ranieri's men confounded the doubters by powering to the title, superbly coping with the pressure exerted by Spurs that at its peak saw Kane tweet a picture of four lions apparently ready pounce. The image clearly rankled with England team-mate Jamie Vardy given his first social media post after the Foxes wrapped up the title was an image of a leading character from Disney's The Lion King falling to his doom. "I congratulated him and Danny (Drinkwater) on winning the Premier League but nothing was said about the lions yet, so we will see what happens," Kane said with a laugh. "We're concentrating on England now. It was all banter. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo struggling to accept not winning Spanish Grand Prix Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he is still struggling to accept not winning Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. The Australian, who started third, appeared on course to capitalise from Lewis Hamilton's first-lap crash with his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, by leading the opening phase of the Barcelona race. But a three-stop strategy cost Ricciardo dearly, with Max Verstappen, his new Red Bull team-mate, pitting for tyres on just two occasions, to become Formula One's youngest-ever winner. Daniel Ricciardo is still struggling to accept he did not win in Barcelona Riccardo was also in line to challenge Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel for the final step on the podium before he sustained a left-rear puncture on the penultimate lap. "The outcome of the race was frustrating," Ricciardo, who - despite his late puncture - crossed the line in fourth, said. "Is it easy to move on? I wouldn't say easy, but can you move on? Absolutely. "It has been a few days since the race, but I still wake up with it on my mind. I'm going to bed with it off my mind, but I am waking up with it on my mind. It will take a bit of time. "Part of me is happy that the team is wining again, and I think part of me is happy that everyone is super motivated and confidence is high. "But from a personal side it was massively frustrating. Sure, it's a team sport but you are doing it for yourself as well. It is still a hard one to take." Verstappen, promoted from Toro Rosso to Red Bull earlier this month, turned in a masterful display to hold off the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen - twice the 18-year-old Dutchman's age - to win Red Bull's first race in nearly two years. Ricciardo comfortably outscored Vettel in his first season at Red Bull, but the Australian, a three-time race winner, is not concerned Verstappen, despite his incredible Red Bull debut. will dish out the same treatment. "Max is a serious F1 driver and that's really good for me," Ricciardo added. "It is definitely a good motivation. "When I joined Red Bull I was up against Seb and I wanted to challenge myself and now Max is the newest challenge for me and it is a big one. Donald Trump 'invited to Downing Street for talks' Donald Trump has said he has been invited to Downing Street for talks with David Cameron. The Republican presidential hopeful described the Prime Minister as a "nice guy" and said they will "do just fine". No 10 insisted there were "no confirmed dates" for a meeting but said it was "long-standing practice" for premiers to meet nominees in White House races. Donald Trump said he has been invited to Downing Street Mr Trump has seen off the competition in the Republican race but has yet to be formally crowned the official candidate. The entrepreneur told US news channel MSNBC: "I will do just fine with David Cameron. I think he's a nice guy. I will do just fine." "But they have asked me to visit 10 Downing Street, and I might do it," he added. Mr Cameron has faced calls from the Trump camp to apologise after he branded the Republican's call for foreign Muslims to be temporarily banned form entering the US as ''stupid, divisive, and wrong'' in the Commons last December. The premier has refused to row back from the criticism but has insisted he " will respect the outcome of whoever wins" the presidential election. A Downing Street spokesman said: " It's long-standing practice for the PM to meet with the Republican and Democrat presidential nominees if they visit the UK. "Given the parties have yet to choose their nominees, there are no confirmed dates for this." Tom Kohler-Cadmore's impressive 127 inspires Rapids victory over Jets Tom Kohler-Cadmore smashed a blistering 127, hours after team-mate Tom Fell was given the all-clear to resume his career, as Worcestershire Rapids opened their NatWest T20 Blast campaign with a 38-run victory over Durham Jets in the North Group. The 21-year-old, who shaved his head to raise money for Cancer Research after Fell suffered a cancer scare, hit 14 fours and eight sixes as the Rapids posted a monstrous 225 for six - their highest ever T20 score at New Road. Phil Mustard's 64 provided hope for the visitors but Worcestershire seamer Joe Leach claimed 5 for 22, including the wicket of Mustard in a spell which saw him grab two wickets in successive balls, as Durham could only muster 187 for eight in defeat. Tom Kohler-Cadmore hit an impressive 127 to inspire Worcestershire Rapids to victory over Durham Jets Sam Hain's impressive 92 powered Birmingham Bears to a six-wicket win over Nottinghamshire Outlaws. Dan Christian was at his swashbuckling best as he hit three sixes in his 19-ball 34 but Jeetan Patel took three wickets to restrict Notts to 179 for seven. Ian Bell returned to action after missing Warwickshire's win midweek with a hamstring problem but was dismissed by Brett Hutton for 11, b ut fellow opener Hain - who hit 12 boundaries in his knock - guided the Bears to victory. Meanwhile, Richard Levi's 61 from 29 balls steered last year's runners-up Northants Steelbacks to a five-wicket Duckworth Lewis victory over Leicestershire Foxes. Elsewhere in the South Group, Azhar Mahmood starred with the bat and ball to steer Surrey to a nail-biting eight-run victory over Essex Eagles. With Surrey struggling at 80 for six, the ageless 41-year-old and Tom Curran put on a 65-run partnership to help the visitors recover and post 170 for eight. Despite Tom Westley's 46 and Graham Napier's rapid 19 from eight balls, Mahmood would collect four wickets to clinch victory at Chelmsford. Daniel Bell-Drummond and Joe Denly hit a record-opening T20 partnership to inspire Kent Spitfires to an impressive eight-wicket victory over Somerset at Canterbury. A 134 second-wicket partnership from Jim Allenby and Peter Trego helped Somerset set Kent 198 to win. Denly would score a rapid 75 from 38 balls while Bell-Drummond, who was also part of the previous record of 119, hit an unbeaten 83 not out in their 150-run partnership as the Spitfires cruised to victory with 16 balls remaining. Ross Taylor helped Sussex Sharks beat Gloucestershire by one run on the Duckworth Lewis method at Bristol. The former New Zealand captain smacked an unbeaten 93 from 48 balls as Sussex posted 242 for five. In response, Gloucestershire skipper Michael Klinger and Ian Cockbain recorded an unbeaten 62-run partnership before rain intervened with the hosts on 83 for one. Corbyn: Labour election win 'could be sooner than 2020' Labour electoral victory might come sooner than 2020, Jeremy Corbyn claimed, as he raised the prospect of an early general election. The Opposition leader set out plans to revolutionise the way the economy is run and suggested the party may be able to implement them earlier than expected. Under rules introduced by David Cameron the next national poll will not be held for four years, but Mr Corbyn suggested the Government - currently riven by deep divisions over Europe - could collapse before then. Jeremy Corbybn warned that Labour will 'always seek to distribute the rewards of growth more fairly' He said: "It's how we make policy in this party that will lead us through to an electoral victory at some point in the future. "You never know, it might be sooner than 2020, who knows?" At a Labour State of the Economy conference in central London, Mr Corbyn said wealth creation is a "good thing" but insisted there must be a "serious debate" about how it is "shared". He said: "Labour will always seek to distribute the rewards of growth more fairly but, to deliver that growth demands real change in the way the economy is run, change that puts the interests of the public, the workforce and the wider economy ahead of short-term shareholder interest. "Wealth creation is a good thing: we all want greater prosperity. "But let us have a serious debate about how wealth is created and how that wealth should be shared." John McDonnell told the conference that Labour helped to create an "unfair tax system" when it was in power. The Shadow Chancellor said too many institutions at the heart of the British economy were "not fit for purpose". Labour will revive plans for rent controls and urge councils to follow the lead of areas like Manchester to offer cheap, local authority-backed mortgages, the conference was told. "Labour would make it a mission to ensure families and young people on ordinary incomes aren't locked out of home-ownership as they are under the Tories, he said. Labour under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown did not do enough to tackle tax-dodging, he added. "The old rules meant the last Labour government relied too heavily on tax revenues from financial services, and too heavily on off-balance sheet spending through the Private Finance Initiative," he said. "It didn't do enough to clamp down on tax evasion and avoidance. It helped create an unfair tax system." Mr McDonnell said there was a "fixation" in big business with shareholder value and criticised corporations for "hoarding" cash and paying chief executives "obscene" amounts. Iran's IRGC says many Iranians have volunteered to fight in Syria By Parisa Hafezi ANKARA, May 18 (Reuters) - Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Wednesday many Iranians have volunteered to fight in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad's war against "terrorism", the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Shi'ite-dominated Iran is Assad's main regional ally and has provided military and economic support for his conflict with range of Sunni Muslim rebel and militant groups including Islamic State and the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front. "Many young Iranians from different parts of the country and of different ethnicities have volunteered to go to Syria ... to help the Syrian government and the Syrian people in their fight against terrorism...," Tasnim quoted the head of the IRGC's public relations office, General Ramezan Sharif, as saying. Sharif gave no figures for the number of volunteers. Assad's government has branded all those seeking his removal - whether Islamist or relatively secular insurgents, as well as the pro-democracy demonstrators whose peaceful uprising launched Syria's conflict in 2011 - as "terrorists". The Islamic Republic denies having any conventional armed forces in Syria, but has acknowledged having military advisers and volunteers from the IRGC there to help Assad's forces. Last month, however, Tehran said military commandos had also been dispatched to Syria as advisers, suggesting it was using its regular army as well as forces from the IRGC. However, Iran's army chief later said those personnel were volunteers working under IRGC supervision, and that the regular army was not directly involved. Iran has two distinct armed forces - a regular army serving as a national defence force, and the IRGC that was created after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Islamic Republic against both internal and external adversaries. In the past few months Iran has sustained serious losses in Syria, including several high-ranking members of the IRGC. Iranian media have reported the death of over 100 members of the IRGC and its affiliated volunteer, the Basij militia, in Syria. The United States, Saudi Arabia and some other Western and Gulf states plus Turkey back rebels fighting to remove Assad, who has military support from Russia and Iran. "Syria is the golden ring of resistance front," Ali Akbar Velayati, top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told Iran's Student News Agency ISNA. Fight for equality risks exacerbating violence against women - campaigners By Emma Batha and Belinda Goldsmith COPENHAGEN, May 19 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Women's battle for equality is bringing benefits in health, finance and political participation but there could be an ugly side-effect - rising levels of violence against them. Campaigners at Women Deliver, the world's largest conference on women's health and rights in a decade, said many men saw women's increasing empowerment as a threat to their masculinity. "It's something we observe in many parts of the world," said Babatunde Osotimehin, head of the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA). "We need to work with men to make them feel less threatened about their wives." He cited Bangladesh as an example of a country where there were signs of increased gender based violence as women improved their status, became more educated and entered paid work. Osotimehin also described visiting a project in Mexico which was helping women expand their coffee businesses. The increased profits had helped them send their children to school, but their success was fuelling resentment among their husbands. "They said we were trying to turn their women against them," Osotimehin said. "The husbands felt that we were taking away their power and authority. I expect that if we don't manage that situation very well there might be a spike in gender based violence." Osotimehin, who comes from Nigeria, also cited three separate cases where Nigerians living in the United States had killed their wives. The men had married very young, unskilled women from Nigeria. But when the women had arrived in the United States they gained degrees, got jobs and started earning a living. EDUCATE BOYS The statistics on gender-based violence are shocking. One in three women will be subjected to violence during her lifetime, according to U.N. data, and one in four women is physically or sexually abused during pregnancy. Plan International CEO Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen said it was disappointing to see the statistics had moved little in 20 years and were, if anything, getting worse. "We are going through a period where the empowered woman is ... scaring a lot of men," Albrectsen told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "The notion of masculinity and role of men in society is changing as rapidly as the role of women. That is creating a tension which unfortunately often ends in violence." Osotimehin agreed that many men could not cope with the changes. "One of the things we haven't done well ... because we have been so seized by trying to make sure that women get all their rights ... is that we haven't worked enough with men and boys," he said. "We need to get them to understand that it doesn't take anything away from you if you have parity with your girlfriend, your wife, your friend." He called for sexuality and relationship education to be included in every school curriculum and integrated into wider development initiatives. This is also crucial for girls, many of whom grow up believing that men are justified in using violence against women, experts said. But some speakers said it was simplistic to say increasing empowerment would lead to more gender-based violence. They said empowering girls and women in conjunction with wider education campaigns was a way of reducing violence. Experts also pointed out that as women became more empowered they were more likely to report abuse, as seen in some Nordic countries. Some 5,500 delegates from over 160 countries are attending the four-day Women Deliver conference in Copenhagen. Vivian Onana, a Women Deliver youth activist from Kenya, told a session on gender-based violence that many women kept quiet about domestic abuse because of stigma. Parents would often send daughters in violent marriages back to their husbands because it was shameful for them to return to the parental home. "It's very sad ... do you want to die in your marriage because you have to keep a face for your family?" she said. Onana told men in the audience they should get involved. Daimler cuts trucks outlook, to take airbag recall charge FRANKFURT, May 20 (Reuters) - Daimler cut its profit forecast for its trucks division due to slumping sales in the United States and Brazil, sparking analyst concerns over its ability to read the market. Daimler Trucks said late on Thursday it expected earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) from continued operations and unit sales to fall significantly in 2016. It had previously expected EBIT from ongoing operations to remain steady at 2015 levels and unit sales to fall slightly. "Daimler has finally decided to change its unrealistic guidance for trucks, which has not done any good to improve credibility over the last few months," Citi analyst Michael Tyndall said in a note on Friday. Daimler Trucks accounted for about a fifth of group EBIT and about a quarter of total sales last year. The North American heavy-duty trucks segment has cooled after a plunge in oil prices and metals-related business put a damper on industrial activity and haulage volumes prompting rival like Volvo to warn investors about a downturn. "Daimler's warning will no doubt also revive unwelcome memories of past mistakes and credibility concerns," Exane BNP analyst Stuart Pearson said. "Unfortunately it is hard to deny that Daimler now has something of a track record of failing to read the cycle." Daimler also said it would step up job cuts at its trucks division in Brazil, which is expected to result in 100 million euros ($112 million) of extra costs for voluntary severance packages. Goldman Sachs analysts said Daimler's revised guidance "leaves room for a positive surprise should end markets improve". Shares in Daimler were flat at 57.41 euros by 0734 GMT, underperforming the blue-chip DAX index's 1.1 percent rise by and a 0.7 percent firmer autos sector index. Separately, Daimler said it was setting aside about 500 million euros in provisions this year for a precautionary recall of vehicles in the United States and Canada, which contain airbags made by Takata Corp. A Daimler spokeswoman said the recall would involve 200,000 cars over the period May 2016 until December 2019. Daimler said neither the lower outlook for its trucks division nor the recall would affect its forecast for a slight rise in 2016 group EBIT from last year. EXCLUSVE-EU aims to rule on Amazon's Luxembourg tax deal by July -sources BRUSSELS, May 19 - EU state aid regulators aim to rule on Amazon's tax deal with Luxembourg by July, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday, and it may order the country's tax authorities to recover about 400 million euros ($448 million) in back taxes. The European Commmission's decision will come after a near-two year investigation into whether a Luxembourg 2003 tax ruling for an Amazon subsidiary allows the company to pay less tax there than other companies, giving it an unfair advantage. The 400-million-euro figure is a preliminary assessment and may be revised after discussions with other units in the Commission, one of the sources said. An EU official questioned whether the commission's final decision on the legality of the tax deal would be in line with the current thinking of officials working on the case. The European Commission declined comment. Luxembourg and Amazon had no immediate comment. This would be the fourth ruling by the EU competition enforcer following an order in October last year to Luxembourg to claw back up to 30 million euros from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and a similar order to the Dutch tax authorities related to Starbucks Corp. The Commission in January told Belgium to recover around 700 million euros from 35 companies including Anheuser-Busch InBev , BP and BASF because of their participation in an illegal tax scheme. Other outstanding similar cases are Commission probes of whether Apple paid too little tax in Ireland and burger chain McDonald's too little in Luxembourg. Brazil eyes fiscal gap of 150 bln reais without Eletrobras -sources By Alonso Soto BRASILIA, May 19 (Reuters) - The Brazilian government will likely announce a budget deficit of just over 150 billion reais ($42.13 billion)in 2016 after it decided to remove from its accounts a possible capitalization of state power holding Eletrobras, two officials told Reuters on Thursday. Planning Minister Romero Juca said earlier on Thursday that the government will remove a possible capitalization of up to 40 billion reais from its primary budget deficit target. He said a fresh injection of cash into the indebted company will hinge on the result of an ongoing investigation. Trading in American depositary receipts of Eletrobras was suspended on Wednesday after the company told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission it would not file financial statements due to accounting problems. The government is concerned that Eletrobras' debt ratings could be cut as a result, triggering early debt repayment clauses. Without a capitalization the primary deficit will likely be just over 150 billion reais, said the two officials who are directly involved in the budget discussions. The government of Interim President Michel Temer has accused the previous administration of hiding a series of fiscal liabilities that inflated the primary deficit to a record high. Suspended President Dilma Rousseff had estimated a deficit of 97 billion reais for this year. The primary deficit, which represents revenues minus expenditures before debt interest payments, is a closely watched gauge of creditworthiness. Government officials have publicly released a series of figures that go from a deficit of 120 billion reais to a shortfall of more than 200 billion reais. Temer has until the end of this month for Congress to approve a new primary deficit target to avoid a government shutdown. NEWSMAKER-Shrewd Taiwan negotiator Tsai bides time as China fumes By J.R. Wu TAIPEI, May 20 (Reuters) - Taiwan's new president, Tsai Ing-wen, has a reputation as a patient, canny negotiator and she'll need those skills as she takes responsibility for what is potentially one of Asia's most dangerous flashpoints. Tsai, 59, leader of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is being sworn in on Friday as the first woman president of Taiwan, a beacon of democracy off the coast of Communist Party-ruled China. Beijing has been watching warily since she won a January election and has warned her it will brook no hint of a move towards independence of an island it has regarded as a wayward province since China's nationalists fled there after Mao Zedong's Communists' civil war victory in 1949. Tsai has said she will maintain the status quo with the mainland but has stopped short of endorsing its cherished "one China" principle, which allows the Communists to say they rule all of China, including Taiwan. Those in Tsai's inner circle speak of a steely-minded, cautious individual with a firm grasp of detail and a pragmatic long-term view. When Tsai was vice premier in 2007, she took part in a mock drill about an economic crisis with China, said York Chen, who designed the exercise to test Taiwan's leadership in crisis. It took Tsai 40 minutes to broker a consensus among cabinet officials, including those for economics, the central bank and China policy. She quietly jotted notes for 20 more minutes before explaining her plan to the president. "She was extraordinarily capable," said Chen, who last week was named an incoming deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council, which reports directly to the president. In biographies, two written by her and one semi-authorised, a picture emerges of Tsai as a negotiator unwilling to score quick points, or concede too much. A polished English-speaker, hers has been a political life of firsts. She was the first woman to become chief of the DPP in 2008. She was the first woman named as Taiwan's main China affairs minister in 2000. Tsai studied law and economics at the most prestigious universities in Taiwan, the United States and Britain, and hails from Pingtung, deep in Taiwan's heavily pro-independence south. She returned to Taiwan in the mid-1980s to spend the next decade and a half negotiating for the island's entry into the World Trade Organisation - a role that pitted her brains against international experts as Taiwan, recognised as a country by only a handful of others, fought for its diplomatic life. Chinese state media and its agency handling Taiwan affairs have bemoaned "turbulent" ties and accused the DPP of "destroying bridges" after eight years of warming relations under out-going President Ma Ying-jeou of the Nationalists. Obama grapples with Vietnam arms ban, human rights on eve of trip By Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is still grappling with a historic decision on whether to lift the U.S. arms embargo on Vietnam just days before he travels there, the White House said on Thursday, signaling that human rights concerns could be a sticking point. Support has grown within the U.S. administration and on Capitol Hill to fully remove or at least further ease the ban on weapons sales, bolstering ties between former wartime enemies Washington and Hanoi to counter a rising China. But Obama also faces stiff opposition in some quarters. Ending the embargo - something Vietnam has long sought - would sweep away one of the last major vestiges of the Vietnam War era as Obama makes his first trip there beginning on Monday. It would also anger Beijing, which condemned Obama's partial lifting of the ban in 2014 as interference in the region. The U.S. deliberations come amid increased tensions in the disputed South China Sea. Beijing demanded an end to U.S. surveillance in the area on Thursday after two of its fighter jets carried out what the Pentagon said was an "unsafe" intercept of a U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft. Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, said the administration has not yet finalized a decision on lifting the three-decade-old embargo but dodged a question on when - or even whether - an announcement might be made soon. "It will be a subject of discussion with the Vietnamese," he told reporters in a preview of Obama's trip, saying the president would explain his thinking to the country's communist leadership. "It's something that we obviously have been looking at in the context of our broader relationship." White House officials made clear that the final decision would be linked in part to Vietnam's human rights situation. Concerns remain, especially among rights advocates and some U.S. lawmakers, over the government's heavy-handedness toward political opponents and treatment of workers. There is also worry that Washington will lose some leverage if it gives up the arms embargo without securing concessions for reforms. 'UPGRADE' IN RELATIONSHIP Still, some of Obama's aides are mindful that a failure to satisfy Vietnam's calls for rescinding the ban could inject a sour note into a visit meant to open a new chapter in security and economic relations. Some Vietnamese officials are suspicious that the United States seeks to undermine their one-party rule. "What we want to demonstrate with this visit is a significant upgrade in the relationship between the United States and Vietnam as partners on many issues even as we have significant areas of difference," Rhodes said. Obama, who will make stops in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, will meet Vietnam's new president, Tran Dai Quang, as well as its new prime minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. He will also meet dissidents and will deliver a speech to the Vietnamese people, Rhodes said 'Yes, I'm mad as a goat!' Maduro responds to Uruguay's Mujica CARACAS, May 19 (Reuters) - Called "mad as a goat" by Uruguay's Jose Mujica this week, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro retorted laughingly on Thursday that the former president was right - but he was only crazy with love for his country. "Yes, I'm mad as a goat, it's true," Maduro told a rally of the ruling Socialist Party. "I'm mad with love for Venezuela, for the Bolivarian Revolution, for Chavez and his example," he added, smiling as the crowd cheered, in a reference to former President Hugo Chavez. Mujica, a fellow leftist who ruled Uruguay between 2010 and 2015, said on Wednesday he respected Maduro, but still thought he and others in Venezuela were "crazy" for attacking each other rather than sitting down to resolve problems. Amid a deep economic crisis, Venezuela's opposition is pushing for a recall referendum to oust Maduro. Government officials say that will not happen this year, and security forces have been blocking protest marches demanding the vote. Canadian PM Trudeau says C$30 bln budget gap figure not hard limit By Andrea Hopkins and David Ljunggren OTTAWA, May 19 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested on Thursday that a C$30 billion ($21 billion) budget deficit was not a hard limit as the government's focus should be on spurring economic growth. In a wide-ranging interview, Trudeau, 44, also said he wanted Britain to stay in the European Union and attributed his role a day earlier in an unusual physical fracas in Parliament partly to being in a high stress job. On the budget deficit, Trudeau said he was not obsessed with a "perfect number" and instead vowed to increase economic growth. "Yes, we need to be fiscally disciplined, we need to be responsible, but we need to be investing in the right kinds of things at the same time, so the arbitrary picking a number and trying to stick with it is exactly what I campaigned against in the last campaign," Trudeau said. "It's not an obsession with the perfect number, it's an obsession with the perfect, or the right, path to grow the economy in ways that help in the short term but lead us on the path towards prosperity in the medium and long term." Canadian economic growth is tepid and massive wildfires spreading across the energy heartland will cut federal tax revenues and cost Ottawa billions to cover much of the damages. Trudeau campaigned on a proposed C$10 billion annual deficit but the ruling Liberals later said the economy needed a bigger jump start given the downturn. In March, the government unveiled a budget with a shortfall of just under C$30 billion. "What Trudeau learned from ballooning out the deficit the first time was that voters don't care. Canadian voters are prioritizing growth and Trudeau plans to deliver that at any cost," said Adam Button, currency analyst at ForexLive in Montreal. "Like voters, the market is much more concerned with growth at this point. Central bankers have failed to deliver growth and markets are willing to tolerate larger government deficits for a chance to return to the old normal." Speaking in his corner office on Parliament Hill, where a sheathed Sikh sword sits on the desk, Trudeau said he did not see a point at which the government would walk away from talks with Bombardier Inc because aerospace jobs were exactly the kind of future Canada wants. Ottawa is under pressure to provide aid to the plane maker, which is based in the mostly French-speaking province of Quebec, Trudeau's home, but federal negotiators want concessions around control of the company. NO ABORIGINAL VETO ON PIPELINES The prime minister also said that while community consultation was vital, Aboriginal groups did not have a veto over pipeline development. Building new oil pipelines in Canada has proven difficult in recent years amid fierce legal and social opposition, frustrating producers who want greater market access. Trudeau said there would be no unanimous agreement over the future of pipelines needed to carry oil from landlocked Alberta, but the government's long approval processes ensured any decisions would balance concerns from both the environment and the energy sector. He also expressed hope Britons would vote on June 23 to stay in the European Union, noting there would be "nothing easy or automatic" about Britain negotiating a bilateral trade deal with Canada. Trudeau, under fire for initiating the confrontation in Parliament on Wednesday - a rare public loss of control that dented his image - characterized his actions as "a poor judgment call." He declined to comment on whether Canada or the world would struggle if Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump were to win the White House in November. "I know that the relationship between Canada and the U.S., specifically, but (also) between the U.S. and the rest of the G7 countries is greater than the personality of any one leader and I look forward to working with whomever the Americans elect this fall," Trudeau said, adding that he has never spoken to Trump. ($1=$1.31 Canadian) New Taiwan president pledges peace, urges China to drop historical baggage By J.R. Wu and Faith Hung TAIPEI, May 20 (Reuters) - Taiwan's new president urged China on Friday to "drop the baggage of history" in an otherwise conciliatory inauguration speech that Beijing's Communist Party rulers had been watching for any move towards independence. President Tsai Ing-wen was sworn in with Taiwan's export-driven economy on the ropes and China, which views the self-ruled island as its own, looking across the Taiwan Strait for anti-Beijing sentiment that could further sour economic ties. Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has traditionally favoured independence, won parliamentary and presidential elections by a landslide in January on a voter backlash against creeping dependence on China. It takes over after eight years under China-friendly Nationalist Ma Ying-jeou. Tsai, Taiwan's first woman president, said Taiwan would play a responsible role and be a "staunch guardian of peace" with China. "Cross-Strait relations have become an integral part of building regional peace and collective security," she told thousands outside the presidential office. "The two governing parties across the Strait must set aside the baggage of history and engage in positive dialogue for the benefit of the people on both sides." China, which has never renounced force to take control of what it considers a renegade province, said this month the new Taiwan government would be to blame for any crisis that might erupt. Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the Communists in China in 1949. China has pressured the new government to stick to the "one China" principle agreed with the Nationalists. That allows each side to interpret what "one China" means. China's Taiwan Affairs Office said Tsai's remarks were an "incomplete answer", warning that China saw any push for Taiwan independence as "the biggest menace to peace across the Taiwan Strait", according to the official Xinhua news agency. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, asked about the inauguration, merely praised the record of the "one China" policy. "Regardless of what internal changes take place within Taiwan, China will uphold the one China principle and oppose Taiwanese independence," she told a briefing. "LET'S SET ASIDE DISPUTES" In a sign of a deteriorating economy, Taiwan's export orders fell more than expected in April, their 13th straight month of decline, according to data released on Friday, as demand in China and other global markets remained weak. Taiwan markets reacted calmly to Tsai's speech. The main stock index reached an intraday high as she spoke, before closing 0.4 percent higher. Tsai pledged to abide by the constitution of the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name, and promised to safeguard the island's sovereignty and territory. She also mentioned the East China and South China Seas, where an increasingly muscular China has been at odds over territorial claims with its neighbours. "Regarding problems arising in the East China Sea and South China Sea, we propose setting aside disputes so as to enable joint development," she said. The American Institute in Taiwan, which represents U.S. interests in the island in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, said it looked forward to working with the new government. The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979 but is also Taiwan's biggest ally and arms supplier. China is deeply distrustful of Tsai's DPP, whose charter includes a clause promoting "a sovereign and independent Republic of Taiwan". Japan lawmakers group urge PM to stick with sales tax hike By Yoshifumi Takemoto TOKYO, May 20 (Reuters) - A group of Japan's ruling lawmakers has urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to proceed with a planned sales tax hike next April and compile a supplementary budget to mitigate the impact of the tax on the sluggish economy. The proposal marks a reversal in thinking for the policy study group, which is led by a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker Kozo Yamamoto, one of the architects of Abe's economic policy strategy who previously proposed the tax hike be delayed. The lawmakers also proposed that the government should declare it won't raise the tax beyond 10 percent for the moment. They also said the government should compile 10 trillion yen ($90.72 billion) of stimulus measures to improve output gap for this fiscal year and set up a 5-10 trillion yen fund in response to damage caused by earthquakes in the southern island. This would be in addition to this year's 778 billion yen ($7 billion) supplementary budget, aimed solely at reconstruction in the earthquake-hit south. The government needs to allocate 10 trillion yen in the regular budget for next fiscal year and 7 trillion yen in fiscal 2018 to help consumer spending and for public work projects, the statement said. Taking an advantage of the Bank of Japan's negative interest rates, the government should issue government bonds to fund the stimulus measures, it said. "We propose financial authorities take responsibility to make the economy uptrend by fiscal spending equivalent with delaying the tax hike," said the statement. The government plans to raise the levy to 10 percent from 8 percent next spring unless there is a financial crisis on the scale of the Lehman Brothers collapse or a major natural disaster. Abe has said he will make an appropriate decision on the sales tax increase, taking into account opinions from experts on the economy. But there is growing speculation that Abe will postpone it again. He has already delayed it once after an increase to 8 percent from 5 percent in April 2014 hurt consumption and knocked the economy into recession. U.S. Nobel laureate and economist Joseph Stiglitz and economist Paul Krugman have both advised Abe to delay the tax increase and focus on fiscal efforts to boost a recovery. But OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria has said Japan should stick with its the tax plan and raise it further to pare public debt. VW, IG Metall union reach deal in pay talks for German plants HAMBURG, May 20 (Reuters) - Volkswagen and Germany's powerful IG Metall labour union have agreed a pay increase for around 120,000 workers at the carmaker's western German plants, the union said on Friday, without providing further details. VW head negotiator Martin Rosik and IG Metall labour boss Hartmut Meine are to present details of the deal at a news conference in Hanover, Germany, at 10.00 a.m. local time (0800 GMT). IG Metall had sought a 5 percent pay rise over 12 months for the workers at VW, which last month reported a 4.1 billion euro ($4.6 billion) operating loss for 2015 due to huge provisions to cover the cost of an emissions test-rigging scandal. The union, Germany's biggest, is a trend-setter in national wage bargaining and represents employees at all of Germany's major carmakers as well as in manufacturing, industrial production and steelmaking. This month it won a 4.8 percent raise over 21 months for 3.8 million German workers. Vietnam rights record puts Obama in a fix as US seeks new Asian alliance By Martin Petty and Matt Spetalnick HANOI/WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - With police watching his home around the clock, Vietnamese blogger Huynh Ngoc Chenh sneaked out through a back door and reappeared the next day in a public square to hold a one-man, anti-government protest. But having been given the slip once, police wasted no time in nabbing him after only five minutes. It was one of many free-speech experiments squashed by Vietnam's communist government, underscoring the dilemma U.S. President Barack Obama has ahead of a visit on Monday in which human rights will be central to decisions about how far Washington is willing to engage its former enemy. Chenh got lucky. Unlike many dissidents, he was not arrested for Sunday's demonstration in Ho Chi Minh City, which got him 12,000 Facebook "likes" for making a stand against what he calls an endemic problem of abusive police. "There are six men watching my house right now," said Chenh, 64, who was escorted home and told to stay there. "Sometimes, they stop me from leaving, other times they let me go out but they follow me everywhere." His sit-in came as rights groups and activists accuse police of using heavy-handed measures to stop protests held in cities the past two Sundays to demand government answers over an unexplained environmental disaster that caused mass fish deaths last month. The timing of protests could not be worse for Vietnam. The White House on Thursday said Obama was still grappling with a decision on whether to lift a lethal arms embargo on Hanoi, one of the last vestiges of the Vietnam War. The United States has been clear that its removal hinges on progress on rights. Vietnam wants closer military ties and access to U.S. defence technology as a deterrent against Beijing's assertiveness in the South China Sea, over which the neighbours are bitterly at odds. Though that fits in with the U.S. strategy of containing China, Vietnam's jailing and intimidation of dissidents remains an obstacle to Washington's push to turn its former enemy into its newest Asian ally. Obama's top Asia adviser Daniel Kritenbrink on Wednesday told reporters human rights would be a key factor in "whatever arms sales decisions we may or may not make". Obama will not try to duck the issue. He is expected to meet dissidents and will address human rights in Vietnam "both publicly and in private", Kritenbrink said. THORNY ISSUE The issue is taboo for Vietnam's government, which did not respond to Reuters questions about the extent to which rights improvements had been made. The United States has been watching closely and is familiar with the Communist Party's boldest opponents, including Nguyen Quang A, an intellectual who met U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski last week. Quang A was among several dissidents named in a scathing, documentary-like news report broadcast on state television on Sunday that accused them of masterminding recent protests intended to violently overthrow the government. The arms embargo is contentious, with support in Washington for countries threatened by China's rise, but misgivings about losing leverage with Vietnam if too many concessions are given to a government that New-York-based Human Rights Watch described in a letter to Obama as "among the most repressive in the world". Loretta Sanchez, a Democrat on the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam, said the United States should be wary of "giving a free pass to a government that continually harasses, detains and imprisons its citizens". Republican Senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Hanoi who backed the easing of the embargo in 2014, said sales of technology for Vietnam's maritime security should be unrestricted, but the transfer of other arms should be case-by-case and linked to human rights progress. "There's still repression," McCain told Reuters. "Yes, there's been improvement but there's still quite a way to go." Obama will meet Vietnam's new president, Tran Dai Quang, who until recently ran the Ministry of Public Security, a powerful police-run agency that U.S. rights envoy Malinowski last year said "holds the key" to how far U.S-Vietnam ties could advance. But political analyst Le Hong Hiep said it was unlikely rights would constrain ties that are strengthening rapidly, as the United States had "other more vital interests" at stake. "It remains an issue of low politics at a time when issues of high politics such as strategic cooperation, and joint efforts to check China's ambitions in the South China Sea, have been placed much higher in bilateral agenda," he said. Slovenia's Petrol lifts profit despite lower sales LJUBLJANA, May 20 (Reuters) - Slovenia's largest fuel retailer Petrol achieved a 5 percent rise in first-quarter net profit to 14 million euros ($15.7 million) despite of a drop in sales, the company said on Friday. Petrol, which operates 484 fuel stations in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo, cited improved efficiency and an 8 percent reduction in material costs, including energy costs. "Profit was higher because of cost-effectiveness and the rise in sales volumes," Petrol spokesman Sandi Salkic said. Sales income fell 6 percent to 827 million euros, mainly because of lower global oil prices, which were down by about 35 percent from the same period last year. In volume terms, Petrol's sales of oil products rose by 16 percent. Richemont sees tough trading after Hong Kong downturn, attacks curb sales growth By Silke Koltrowitz ZURICH, May 20 (Reuters) - Cartier owner Richemont expects business to remain tough after Islamist attacks in Europe and a downturn in Hong Kong curbed sales growth in the first four months of 2016. High-end watch makers are grappling with poor demand in Europe, where attacks in Paris and Brussels have deterred tourists, and a downturn in Hong Kong and the United States, two of the world's biggest luxury markets. "Headwinds are very strong, especially for watches," Chief Executive Richard Lepeu told a conference call on Friday. "The situation has really deteriorated since last November. Before that, the growth engine was definitely Europe, which turned negative (after the attacks in Paris)." Islamist militants killed 130 people in a spate of shootings and suicide bombings in Paris on Nov. 13 last year, and in March, suicide bombers killed 32 people in Brussels. Full-year sales fell 1 percent at constant currencies to 11.08 billion euros, just below a forecast for 11.15 billion in a Reuters poll. This implied a slowdown in the final quarter. April sales were down 15 percent. The maker of IWC watches and Van Cleef & Arpels jewellery said Hong Kong and Macau showed no signs of recovery in April. European sales, which had been boosted by tourist shoppers in the first half, turned negative after the Paris attacks, and were still down in April. Lepeu said the "feel-bad factor" had started to impact the jewellery business, but not to the same extent as in watches. Many of Richemont's watches cost tens of thousands of dollars. "It was expected to be bad but this is probably even worse with basically a more or less perfect storm of nearly all regions struggling and in the watch product particularly," Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Jon Cox said. Difficulties in Richemont's watches business were exacerbated by inventories at retailers, which forced the company to buy back stock. No further job cuts were planned on top of the 500 cut last year, but more stores could close in China, Lepeu said. Richemont shares were down 2.5 percent by 0916 GMT. They have fallen 15 percent so far this year, and trade at a small discount to rival LVMH and at a premium to Swatch Group. An initially favourable currency situation, with a weak euro and yen, also turned negative in Richemont's fiscal year to the end of March. Net profit jumped by two thirds, to 2.23 billion euros ($2.50 billion), due to non-recurring items. PRESS DIGEST - Bulgaria - May 20 SOFIA, May 20 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. -- The ruling centre-right GERB party appealed to the president to delay his plans to approach the constitutional court over the election code, pledging that the party plans to change the articles linked with the voting rights of Bulgarians abroad. (Capital Daily, 24 Chasa, Standart) -- The anti-monopoly regulator launched sudden checks at supermarkets Billa and Kaufland on suspicions for cartel agreements. (Duma, Trud) CAPITAL DAILY - A Saudi Arabia's investment fund plans to build a farm and milk processing facility in Bulgaria an investment worth 30 million euros. Mauritius raises its 2016 tourism earnings forecast by 2 pct PORT LOUIS, May 20 (Reuters) - Mauritius said on Friday that tourism revenue in 2016 will be 1.9 percent higher than it had previously forecast, after a surge in visitors during the first quarter. Tourism is a valuable source of foreign exchange for Mauritius, an Indian Ocean country known for its luxury spas and beaches. Tourism earnings are now expected to reach 55 billion rupees ($1.56 billion) this year, up from earlier forecast of 54 billion rupees, according to Statistics Mauritius, the government's statistics office. Last year, tourism earnings totalled 50.2 billion rupees. The statistics agency also raised its forecast for 2016 arrivals to 1,240,000 from 1,230,000 tourists. Visitors in 2015 numbered 1,151,723. Israel defence chief quits, warns of "extremist" rise under Netanyahu By Dan Williams JERUSALEM, May 20 (Reuters) - Israel's defence minister resigned on Friday, saying the nation was being taken over by "extremist and dangerous elements" after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved to replace him with a far-right politician in an effort to strengthen his coalition. Political sources say Netanyahu has offered long-time rival Avigdor Lieberman the defence portfolio, a post crucial for a country on a perennial war footing. The Defence Ministry also runs civil affairs in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians struggling for statehood live in friction with Jewish settlers. "To my great regret, I have recently found myself in difficult disputes over matters of principle and professionalism with the prime minister, a number of cabinet members and some lawmakers," outgoing Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said, reading, grim-faced, from a statement at his Tel Aviv office. "The State of Israel is patient and tolerant toward the weak among it and minorities ... But to my great regret extremist and dangerous elements have overrun Israel as well as the Likud party, shaking up our home and threatening harm to those in it," he said, hinting he might quit the ruling party. "In the future I will return to contend for Israel's national leadership," he said. Netanyahu rebuffed Yaalon's criticism. "The reshuffle in portfolios did not result from a crisis in faith between us. It resulted from the need to expand the government so as to bring stability to the State of Israel given the great challenges it faces," he said in a video statement. Netanyahu, who doubles as foreign minister, added that he had offered the top diplomatic post to Yaalon but was refused. "I reckon that had (he) not been asked to leave the Defence Ministry, he would not have quit," Netanyahu said, defending the Likud as a "liberal nationalist party" and arguing that a broader government could better pursue a peace strategy. However, Yaalon's departure could put a new dent in domestic and Western confidence in the Netanyahu government. U.S. COMMITMENT "ABSOLUTE" A former chief of Israel's armed forces, Yaalon had shored up relations with the Pentagon that provided a counter-weight to Netanyahu's policy feuds with U.S. President Barack Obama over peace talks with the Palestinians and Iran's nuclear programme. By contrast, Lieberman - whose appointment has not yet been confirmed - is inexperienced militarily and famed for his past hawkish talk against Palestinians, Israel's Arab minority and Egypt - an important regional security partner for Israel. An Egyptian official told Reuters on Thursday that Cairo was "shocked" at the prospect of Lieberman as Israeli defence minister. Washington struck a more optimistic note on Friday. While praising Yaalon, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Washington looked forward to working with his successor. "Our bonds of friendship are unbreakable and our commitment to the security of Israel remains absolute," he added. Netanyahu's offer of Yaalon's cabinet post to Lieberman emerged this week after talks failed on bringing centre-left opposition leader Isaac Herzog into the government. German construction boom extends into 2016, supports growth By Michael Nienaber BERLIN, May 20 (Reuters) - The number of residential building permits granted in Germany jumped by nearly a third to over 84,000 in the first three months of 2016, data showed on Friday, boosting expectations that construction will continue to support growth in Europe's largest economy. The Federal Statistics Office said authorities issued permits for 72,335 new residential buildings and approved construction work at 12,454 existing buildings. Approvals for the 'hostel residences' sub-category of homes, which also includes shelters for refugees and asylum seekers, more than doubled to 5,149. The total of 84,789 marked an increase of 31 percent on the year. It was the highest number of approvals granted in a first quarter since 2004, showing that last year's positive trend in the construction sector is extending into 2016. In 2015, the number of residential building approvals rose to nearly 310,000, the highest in 15 years. Still experts say that at least 350,000 new homes are needed every year until 2020 to tackle a drastic shortage of affordable housing, aggravated by a record influx of refugees. Even before the refugee numbers started to increase last summer, there was an estimated lack of 800,000 affordable flats in urban areas. With demand outstripping supply, property prices and rents have soared in cities like Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. In addition, record-low borrowing costs are encouraging many Germans to overcome their traditional aversion to buying their own flats and houses, with some also regarding property as an attractive investment. Higher spending on social housing and special tax incentives for investors who build flats in urban areas are expected to give the construction sector an additional push this year. Construction accounts for 4 percent of German gross domestic product (GDP) and, with 2.5 million people working in more than 300,000 companies, it is a major employer. Bangladesh village doctor hacked to death in suspected Islamist attack DHAKA, May 20 (Reuters) - Machete-wielding assailants hacked to death a village doctor and wounded a university teacher in western Bangladesh on Friday, in what police suspected was the latest in a series attacks by Islamists in the majority-Muslim nation. The attackers rode a motorcycle, which they used to block a motorcycle ridden by their victims in the western district of Kushtia, 150 miles (245 km) from Dhaka, local police chief Mohammad Sahabuddin Chowdhury said. The homeopathic doctor, Mir Sanaur Rahman, 55, was killed on the spot, and his companion, identified as Saifuzzaman, 45, suffered serious wounds. Police found a bloody machete at the scene. "We suspect Islamist militants are behind the attack," police chief Chowdhury said. He said police were also checking whether the victims had any enemies or any other factors involved. Over the past year, the South Asian nation of 160 million has seen a surge in violent attacks that have targeted atheist bloggers, academics, religious minorities and foreign aid workers. Man charged with trespassing into grounds of UK's Buckingham Palace LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - A man was due in court on Friday charged with scaling a perimeter wall to get into the grounds of Buckingham Palace, the home of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, London police said. Dennis Hennessy, 41, was due to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court after being charged with trespass on a protected site and criminal damage. Police said he had been arrested in the grounds of the palace on Wednesday night seven minutes after an alarm was activated. "I am content that our security measures worked effectively on this occasion and at no time was any individual at risk," Commander Adrian Usher, head of London police's Royalty and Specialist Protection unit, said. Neither the police nor Buckingham Palace would confirm whether members of the royal family were at the palace but it is believed the queen was at the residence at the time having carried out the State Opening of Parliament hours earlier. A spokesman for the queen said they did not comment on security issues. Afghan army must block Taliban gains to spur talks - Pakistan By Mehreen Zahra-Malik and Drazen Jorgic ISLAMABAD, May 20 (Reuters) - Afghanistan must limit military gains by the Taliban and offer incentives to the insurgents to revive a faltering peace effort, Pakistani's top foreign ministry official said, after the latest round of talks yielded little progress. The Afghan Taliban control or contest more territory than at any time since they was ousted by a U.S.-led intervention in 2001. The militants did not show up at talks on Wednesday in Islamabad, which also involved China and the United States. Afghanistan declined to send a full delegation to Islamabad in protest against what it says is Pakistan's unwillingness to do more to pressure Taliban leadership, including those on Pakistani soil, to join talks. Pakistani Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, the ministry's top bureaucrat, said efforts to persuade the Taliban to talk directly to the Kabul government could only bear fruit if the Afghan army stopped the Taliban from gaining the upper hand. "We believe that there should be effective action by Afghan national security forces to ensure that there are no military gains by the Taliban," Chaudhry told Reuters in an interview late on Thursday. The Taliban "need to realize they would have more to gain on the table than they can do on the battlefield", he said. Afghan security forces have struggled to contain the Taliban since NATO-led forces pulled out of combat operations in 2014. Fighting has been fierce and more than 6,600 Afghan soldiers and police were killed last year, according to the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. However, despite the brief capture by the militants of the northern city of Kunduz last year, they have not been able to capture and hold on to any provincial capital. Chaudhry said officials at the Islamabad talks had told him Taliban gains in an offensive this year were not as big as the insurgents had hoped. The first formal talks with the Taliban since their 2001 ouster collapsed in 2015 after it was announced that their founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar, had been dead for two years, throwing the militant group into disarray. The movement has since split on whether to participate in talks. "OPTIMISTIC" Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of harbouring militants seeking to topple the Afghan government, including the notorious Haqqani network, blamed for high-profile attacks in Kabul. Pakistan denies that but nevertheless, the United States has also urged Pakistani to do more against militants on its soil. The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a defense policy bill increasing restrictions on military aid for Pakistan over frustrations it has failed to crack down on the Haqqani network. Chaudhry said the bulk of the Afghan Taliban leadership was in Afghanistan and Pakistan was using all "leverage and influence" at its disposal to get them to the table. "We are doing whatever we can to persuade the Taliban and the Haqqani leadership, whoever we can contact," he said. "We believe the Afghan government should also make ... a similar kind of effort." The Pakistani foreign secretary also urged Kabul to create "incentives" and confidence-building measures to persuade the Taliban that it was serious about giving peace a chance. But last month, following a bomb attack in Kabul that killed 64 people, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani declared that, while the door to peace was not fully closed, military operations would have priority. Ghani said he no longer expected Pakistan to bring the Taliban to the table but it must act against militants sheltering in its territory who rejected peace. Chaudhry said the talks were not dead. Germany saw record foreign investment in 2015, study shows BERLIN, May 20 (Reuters) - Germany attracted a record 6.2 billion euros ($6.96 billion) in foreign investment in 2015 as the number of new investors reached an all-time high, largely because of growing interest from China, the trade and investment agency said on Friday. Foreign investors began 1,912 new projects last year, up some 60 percent from a year earlier, according to a report by Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), a government agency. The value of projects nearly doubled, from 3.2 billion euros in 2014, and foreign investment created at least 30,000 new jobs in Europe's biggest economy last year, GTAI said. "Germany is scoring with its large market, stable general framework and its good domestic economic activity," GTAI director Achim Hartig told Reuters. China was the largest single investor for a second straight year with 260 new projects, followed by the United States with 252 and Switzerland with 203. The figures, which exclude mergers and acquisitions, account for projects currently on the ground. The GTAI counted 413 foreign-led M&A deals in 2015. Those were dominated by American companies, with British companies in second place. Despite fears of a surge of Chinese takeovers, they only accounted for eight of the foreign-led M&A deals. An honest essay has numerous characteristics: original thinking, a good structure, balanced arguments, and plenty more. But one aspect often overlooked is that an honest essay should be interesting. It should spark the readers curiosity, keep them absorbed, make them want to stay reading and learn more. An uneventful article risks losing the readers attention; whether or not the points you create are excellent, a flat style, or poor handling of a dry subject material can undermine the positive aspects of the essay. The matter is that a lot of students think that essays should be like this: they believe that a flat, dry style is suited to the needs of educational writing and dont even consider that the teacher reading their essay wants to search out the essay interesting. You might want to have online essay editor service to boost your confidence in writing with an error-free output. Academic writing doesnt need to be and shouldnt be bland. The excellent news is that there is much stuff you can do to create your essay more attractive, while youll be able only to do such a lot while remaining within the formal confines of educational writing. Lets study what theyre. Have an interest in what youre writing about Dont go overboard, but youll be able to let your passion for your subject show. If theres one thing bound to inject interest into your writing, its being fascinated by what youre writing about. Passion for a subject matter comes across naturally in your essay, typically making it more lively and fascinating and infusing an infectious enthusiasm into your words within the same way that its easy to talk knowledgeably to someone about something you discover fascinating. Include fascinating details Another factor that may make an essay boring maybe a dry material. Some topic areas are naturally dry, and it falls to you to form the article more interesting through your written style and by trying to seek out fascinating snippets of knowledge to incorporate, which will liven it up a small amount and make the data easier to relate to. A way of doing this with a dry subject is to create what youre talking about that seems relevant to the critical world, as this is often easier for the reader to relate to. Emulate the fashion of writers you discover interesting When you read lots, you subconsciously start emulating the fashion of the writers you have read. Reading benefits you a lot, as this exposes you to a spread of designs, and youll start to require the characteristics of these you discover interesting to read. Borrow some creative writing techniques Theres a limit to the quantity of actual story-telling youll do when youre writing an essay; in the end, essays should be objective, factual and balanced, which doesnt, initially glance, feel considerably like story-telling. However, youll apply a number of the principles of story-telling to create your writing more interesting. consider your own opinion Take the time to figure out what its that you think instead of regurgitating the opinions of others. Cut the waffle Rambling on and on is dull and almost bound to lose the interest of your reader. Youre in danger of waffling if youre not completely clear about what you wish to mention or havent thought carefully about how youre visiting structure your argument. Doing all your research correctly and writing an essay plan before you begin will help prevent this problem. Editing is a vital part of the essay-writing process, so edit the waffle once youve done a primary draft. Read through your essay objectively and eliminate the bits that arent relevant to the argument or labor the purpose. employing a thesaurus isnt always a decent thing Avoid using unfamiliar words in an essay; theres too great a likelihood that youre misusing them. You may think that employing a thesaurus to seek out more complicated words will make your writing more exciting or sound more academic, but using overly high-brow language can have the incorrect effect. Avoid repetitive phrasing Please avoid using the identical phrase structure again and again: its a recipe for dullness! Instead, use a variety of syntax that demonstrates your writing capabilities and makes your writing more interesting. Mix simple, compound, and complicated sentences to avoid your paper becoming predictable. Use some figurative language Using analogies with nature can often make concepts more accessible for readers to know. As weve already seen, its easy to finish up rambling when youre explaining complex concepts mainly after you dont know it yourself. One way of forcing yourself to think about a couple of pictures, present it more simply and engagingly is to form figurative language. This implies explaining something by comparing it with something else, as in an analogy. Employ rhetorical questions Anticipate the questions your reader might ask. One of the ways ancient orators held the eye of their audiences and increased the dramatic effect of their speeches was by using the statement. A decent place to use a statement is at the top of a paragraph, to steer into the following one, or at the start of a replacement section to introduce a brand new area for exploration. Proofread Finally, you may write the top interesting essay an instructor has ever read. Still, youll undermine your good work if its plagued by errors, which distract the reader from the particular content and can probably annoy them. NATO and EU to seek new pact to deter Russia, tackle smugglers By Robin Emmott BRUSSELS, May 20 (Reuters) - NATO and the European Union will formally declare a cooperation pact at the alliance's Warsaw summit in July, officials say, overcoming decades of confusion and mistrust over how to provide security beyond Europe's borders. Forced together by fears of a Russian cyber attack, a migration crisis and failing states in Europe's neighbourhood, officials say the challenges requires both a military response and a softer security approach, combating propaganda and providing training to stabilise governments. "If there was a Russian cyber attack, we would not want to spend two weeks in meetings discussing what each of us should do," said an EU defence official cooperating closely with NATO. While joint plans are still being agreed before the Warsaw meeting, the tie-up could eventually mean that taxpayers, currently footing the double bill of separate military planning in both EU and NATO, finance less duplication towards common goals. To underscore the cooperation, non-NATO nations Finland and Sweden joined a session of alliance foreign ministers on Friday at NATO headquarters with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. But while 22 of NATO's 28 members are also members of the European Union, both institutions face limits on what they can do together because of territorial tensions between Turkey and Greece that limit information sharing. Turkey, which is a member of NATO but not of the EU, blocks the sharing of alliance intelligence with the European Union, while EU- and NATO-member Greece does not want Brussels sharing any sensitive information with the alliance because of Turkey. There is also a reluctance to undertake missions without United Nations' support, which Russia, a U.N. Security Council member, is wary of granting with East-West ties at their lowest point since the Cold War over the crisis in Ukraine. "We are facing challenges that are difficult to define," said Knut Hauge, Norway's envoy to NATO. "We are struggling to find quick fixes," he said. STRATEGIC MOMENT Still, diplomats talk of a "strategic moment" in EU-NATO ties. NATO and the European Union say their operation in the Aegean Sea, launched in February, shows what they can do. NATO patrol ships with powerful radars and the EU's border protection agency Frontex have brought together rivals Turkey and Greece to stop migrants risking their lives to reach Greek islands in flimsy boats off the Turkish coast. But the mission has been fraught with difficulties as Greece and Turkey do not agree on the names for the islands in Aegean, meaning NATO ships only use coordinates to identify them. Over ship radios, crews of Turkish and Greek boats can be heard bickering about who entered what territory illegally. Still, NATO nations including the United States hope NATO's so-called Active Endeavour mission, which was set up after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, could link up with the EU's "Sophia" naval mission that is operating in international waters near Libya to stop traffickers there. Bangladesh village doctor hacked to death in attack claimed by Islamic State By Ruma Paul DHAKA, May 20 (Reuters) - Machete-wielding assailants hacked to death a village doctor and wounded a university teacher in Bangladesh on Friday, in what police suspected was the latest in a series attacks by Islamists in the majority-Muslim nation. The attackers rode a motorcycle, which they used to block the victims' motorcycle in the western district of Kushtia, 150 miles (245 km) from Dhaka, said district police chief Mohammad Sahabuddin Chowdhury. The homeopathic doctor, Mir Sanaur Rahman, 55, was killed on the spot, and his companion, identified as Saifuzzaman, 45, suffered serious wounds. Police found a bloody machete at the scene. "We suspect Islamist militants are behind the attack," Chowdhury said. Over the past year, the South Asian nation of 160 million has seen a surge of attacks on atheist bloggers, academics, members of religious minorities and foreign aid workers. The doctor was on his way to a weekly free clinic he operated when he was attacked. Chowdhury said police were checking whether the victims had any particular enemies or if other factors could have been a motive but media reported associates of the doctor saying he had a reputation for progressive views. Friends of the wounded university teacher said he too was known for being progressive-minded. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the killing, the U.S.-based monitoring service SITE said, quoting the militant group's Amaq news agency. Members of Islamic State have claimed responsibility for some attacks, including the killings of two foreigners last year, and a university professor and a Hindu last month. Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent has claimed some of he attacks. Floating voters may hold key to Britain's EU future By Sarah Young, Costas Pitas and Elizabeth Piper HASTINGS, England, May 20 (Reuters) - Graeme Williams is sure of only one thing as Britain heads for a momentous referendum on whether to stay in the European Union: He hasn't a clue which way to vote. "I'm sitting completely on the fence," said Williams, a 62-year-old freelance commercial photographer. "Decision-wise, I am definitely completely undecided about which is the right way to go." To make up his mind, Williams said that he needs "the right information" - but that neither side in the debate is providing it. Many people in his home town of Hastings, a historic spot on the UK's south coast where invaders from France arrived in 1066, feel the same way, he said. He may well be right. According to recent opinion polls, up to a fifth of British voters remain undecided on how to cast their ballot in the referendum on June 23. On that day they will face the question: "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" It's a binary choice, but not a simple one. Instead it's shot through with feelings about nationhood, identity and culture, as well as economics. How voters answer the referendum question will help shape the future of the UK and the EU. A British exit - Brexit - could rock financial markets, sink EU hopes of closer integration and roil relations between the United States and Britain. Yet a vote to remain is no guarantee of calm: It could trigger a new phase for Europe, with some countries pressing for more integration and others seeking the flexibility sought by Britain. Polls show the referendum battle is volatile but close, with most finding voters fairly evenly split. One YouGov poll this month had 44 percent in favour of remaining and 40 percent in favour of leaving, while an ICM poll had 43 percent for remaining and 47 percent for leaving. The Undecideds will likely determine the outcome. Andrew Hawkins, chairman and founder of polling firm ComRes, said the referendum was unusually unpredictable. "I think there are two angles to this," he said. "One is the straight proportion of people who say they don't know (how to vote), and the other is the proportion of people who say they may change their mind. And when you add both of those together you realise that the race is still definitely wide open." WHAT MATTERS TO THE UNDECIDEDS? A town of 90,000 overlooking the English Channel, Hastings illustrates Britain's confusion over Europe in several ways. It encapsulates national sovereignty: This is the place that gave its name to the battle where William the Conqueror of Normandy defeated England's King Harold 950 years ago. Yet it's closer to France than London, and has benefited from EU funds. Since the late 1970s, Hastings has been a political bellwether. At general elections, whichever party won in Hastings went on to form the national government, and now the town broadly reflects the EU debate. A study by the polling company YouGov rated opinions on the EU in East Sussex, the county where Hastings lies, as "mixed, leaning eurosceptic." Some of its residents are taking a keen interest in the referendum: One recent debate passionately discussed everything from whether vacuum cleaners had been made less powerful because of EU rules to whether Britain would regain more control over fishing - a key local industry - if it voted for Brexit. Among those making up their minds is small business owner Howard Martin, 53, who said he had voted for all Britain's main political parties over the years. In Martin's view, much of the debate over Brexit has focused, wrongly, on the vexed issue of migration. Proponents of leaving the EU see Brexit as a way of limiting the high levels of immigration that Britain has faced over the past 15 years. For Martin, migrant numbers are more a matter of policing borders properly. Instead, he's more worried about the economic impact of Brexit, but unclear of what it might be. "They (the Leave campaign) don't have a picture of what it'll be like when we leave, if we leave," he said when first interviewed in April. Equally, he found claims by the Conservative government that leaving the EU would wreak economic damage to be too simplistic. And like many others Reuters spoke to, he was unconvinced by an official leaflet, despatched to all households, making the case for Britain to stay in the EU. "It just seemed like a marketing leaflet, which swayed me heavily against it," said Vicki Duffey, owner of a coffee shop and a Labour voter. "It felt very manipulative." Suspicion of politicians runs deep, including of Boris Johnson, a popular Conservative who initially sat on the fence before belatedly backing Brexit. Lucy McCarthy, a 40-year-old project manager for a charity, said: "Take Boris, he's not to be trusted. And George (Osborne, the UK Chancellor and supporter of Britain staying in the EU), he just wants to be Prime Minister eventually. It's farcical. So I don't think you can really trust them. I don't think that they have our best interests at heart whatever they're arguing." Even the intervention of U.S. President Barack Obama, who last month urged Britain to stay in the EU, seemed to have little effect. While Martin, the small businessman, said Obama's words inclined him towards the "Remain" camp, McCarthy was sceptical. "I think (Obama's stance) was to be expected because it's in all the powerful nations' best interests that we stay in Europe." In the days after Obama spoke in favour of Britain remaining in the EU, opinion polls showed support for Brexit held relatively steady. According to an ICM poll on April 26, Brexiteers led with 46 percent support against 44 percent of voters wanting to stay in the EU. Some later polls, however, showed the "Remain" camp ahead, and Betfair, a betting company, put the odds of Britain remaining in the EU at higher than 70 percent. Behind the confusion and uncertainty lie deeply conflicting feelings about the EU, judging by a study published in February by NatCen Social Research, a long-established independent agency. The findings differ from opinion polls because the study is not a snapshot but draws on the large-scale 2015 British Social Attitudes survey, which was conducted over months. An analysis written by John Curtice, a professor of politics and Senior Research Fellow at NatCen Social Research, found that the majority of Britons (65 percent) are sceptical of the EU and want it to have less power; yet only 30 percent want to leave. What explains this dichotomy? Curtice highlighted two factors: cultural and economic concerns. Many Britons dislike the EU on cultural grounds, according to the study. Nearly half (47 percent) thought being a member of the EU undermined Britain's identity and nearly two-thirds (65 percent) said they would like Britain's relationship with the EU to be "looser." At the same time, however, 40 percent of Britons also believed that leaving the EU would harm the country's economy and only 24 percent thought leaving would make Britain better off economically. Curtice concluded that economic fears over leaving trump the widespread cultural antipathy to the EU. While voters concerned about the cultural consequences of EU membership are very likely to be sceptical about the EU, he says, such voters are only likely to want to leave if they are convinced that leaving would make Britain economically better off. In Hastings, where a newly reconstructed pleasure pier gives fine views of the town's brightly-coloured fishing fleet, shingle beach and towering cliffs, coffee-shop owner Duffey said that the economic factor might be the decider. In an interview in late April, she said: "My gut feeling is to stay in, and that's basically because I don't know what the alternative is and that scares me." THE NEGATIVE SIDE The referendum campaigns kicked off after Prime Minister David Cameron struck a deal on Feb. 19 with other EU nations that he said gave Britain "special status" in the union. Britain would be permanently exempt from the EU's central aim of "ever closer union," he said, and "never part of a European superstate." Armed with that and other concessions, Cameron, whose party has long had a strong eurosceptic streak, set about arguing for Britain to stay in the EU. His team in Downing Street coordinates with the leading "Remain" group, Britain Stronger In Europe. While the campaign has extolled positive aspects of EU membership, it has also focused on what it says would be the hefty economic cost of leaving. At the same time, the "Leave" campaign has found it easier to point to the drawbacks of EU membership than define the advantages of quitting. The critical tone has not gone down well in Hastings. Williams, the deeply undecided voter who is also chairman of the local Hastings Conservative association, said simply: "It's always the negative side of things." Martin, the small business owner, said: "The 'stay' campaign don't seem to be selling me the idea of why we should stay." Equally, when Michael Gove, a leading Conservative and supporter of Brexit, said that Britain could leave the EU and still be part of a large free trade zone, Martin was unconvinced, describing the Brexit campaign as "fantasists." Such disillusion makes sentiment volatile and may affect the number of voters who turn out on June 23 - which could be crucial to the outcome. The sceptics tend to be older people, who are more likely to vote. Europhiles include many young people wary of Cameron and the Conservative government, and less likely to vote. According to an Opinium poll for The Observer newspaper in March, just 12 percent of those aged 25 to 34 thought EU membership an important issue, compared with 53 percent of those aged over 65. Such factors make the role of the opposition Labour party important because many young voters may follow its lead. Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, has declared his support for Britain remaining in Europe, but is seen by critics as half-hearted. Corbyn has long harboured doubts about the EU and voted against EU membership when Britain last had a referendum on the subject in 1975. "Corbyn is critical in this - he appeals to a large group of people," said a source on the "Remain" campaign. So the Britain Stronger In Europe group is working closely with "Labour In for Britain," the Labour party campaign in support of membership. However, there is little sign of Cameron and Corbyn working closely together - even though they are both aiming at the same goal. They do not engage in direct contact over the referendum, according to sources in the "Remain" campaign. A Downing Street spokesman declined to comment. For Beth O'Brien, a 24-year-old who works at a BMX bike park in Hastings, the lack of dynamism leaves her unsure how to vote. "It feels like they (politicians) don't believe what they're selling," she said. "So why should I buy it?" BIG SWING The closeness of the polls suggests the race will go to the wire. Anand Menon, professor of European politics and foreign affairs at King's College, London, believes many voters will change their minds as the referendum nears. He argues that, unlike general elections, the usual stabilising factors of loyalty to a particular party or social group are absent. Anand, who is also director of UK In A Changing Europe, an initiative promoting independent research on UK-EU relations, pointed out that the last time Britain voted on its relationship with the EU, public opinion went through a large and unexpected swing. When the campaigns started, he said, two-thirds were against Britain staying in the EU; but by the time of the vote that had swung to the opposite and two-thirds voted to stay in. Among the undecided voters of Hastings, there were hints that in the end a fear of leaving the EU for the unknown will sway people. When first interviewed in mid April, Duffey, the coffee shop owner, said she would probably make up her mind only when "standing in the polling booth." And O'Brien, the 24-year-old, said: "I'll probably just close my eyes and put an X in the box." Later both said they were leaning towards voting to stay in the EU. "I am probably going to vote to stay in to be fair," said O'Brien. "I don't see many pros to changing; I just see a lot of cons that could happen. There are potential pros, but there's no guarantee for those pros. "So why take the risk?" Bank of China, China Merchants Bank to issue first bad loan ABS since '08 By Nathaniel Taplin SHANGHAI, May 20 (Reuters) - Bank of China Ltd and China Merchants Bank Co Ltd are poised to issue China's first bad debt backed securities since 2008, according to statements posted on the website of China's main bond clearinghouse. Bank of China will lead the asset-backed security (ABS) launch next week with a 301 million yuan ($45.99 million) deal, while China Merchants Bank will follow up with a 233 million yuan ($35.60 million) product. The amounts are miniscule compared with an outstanding 1.39 trillion yuan ($212.37 billion) of non-performing loans at Chinese commercial banks by the end of the first quarter. However, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters in February that six large banks had been given bad loan securitization quotas totaling 50 billion yuan, without providing further details. Many analysts believe the real bad debt burden at China's banks is much higher, but even the official figures show a sharp rise in troubled loans. Bad loans were up 9.4 percent quarter on quarter at the end of March, data from the China Banking Regulatory Commission showed this month. Policymaker concern over the massive debt overhang has become more obvious in recent weeks with a widely read editorial this month in the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, warning of the dangers of depending on debt for further growth. Bank lending also fell back sharply in April following a record surge in the first quarter, in what some analysts have interpreted as a sign that the current easing cycle is nearing its end. Banks made 555.6 billion yuan ($85.21 billion) in net new yuan loans in April, much lower than expected and less than half the 1.37 trillion yuan seen in March. "Since GDP growth in 1Q16 remained above the 6.5 percent target, it seems likely that policymakers will now focus more on averting a major bubble and dialing back leverage," wrote Chen Long of the research house Gavekal Dragonomics in a note on Monday following the April data release. Snubbed by West, Russia rolls out red carpet for Asian leaders By Katya Golubkova and Denis Dyomkin SOCHI, Russia, May 20 (Reuters) - The Kremlin has seized on the visit by southeast Asian leaders for a summit as an opportunity to show Russia still has friends on the international stage, despite being cold-shouldered by the West over the conflict in Ukraine. Russia has had few chances to host major international gatherings since Western sanctions were imposed, so there has been considerable fanfare around this week's summit with members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). A special commemorative coin was minted for the occasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin flew most of his government to the Black Sea resort of Sochi to take part, and state television broadcast a prime-time report showing how cleaners were vacuuming the carpet at the summit venue in preparation. While the formal agenda of the two-day summit that ends on Friday has focussed on building Russia's ties with ASEAN member countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar, it has also been conducted with an eye on the United States and Europe. "These are difficult times. Europe and America, by declaring sanctions against us, have basically turned away from us, or turned their backs on us," said Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region, part of the Russian delegation at the summit. "But countries in the Asian and Pacific regions are working very actively with us, and that is very important, very nice," he told a session on the sidelines of the summit. ASEAN members range from emerging market powerhouse Indonesia to wealthy city state Singapore, but the grouping excludes Asia's economic giants China, Japan and India. Channel One television station, which echoes the Kremlin line, alleged that the U.S. government had tried to dissuade some ASEAN head of government, in particular those from the Philippines and Malaysia, from travelling to Sochi, but that they snubbed Washington and came anyway. AMERICAN "PRESSURE" Asked by Reuters about the television report, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: "It's true. I cannot talk about particular cases with Malaysia and the Philippines, but in general the United States always applies this kind of pressure." Russia had been due to host a summit of the Group of Eight industrialised nations, also in Sochi, in June 2014, but this was cancelled because Western nations objected to Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. Since then, most heads of government from major Western states have stayed away. The biggest multilateral event since then has been a gathering of BRIC nations - Brazil, Russia, India and China - in the Russian city of Ufa in July 2015. There have been tentative signs, however, that foreign leaders are thawing towards Russia. Bulgaria's reformist president says won't stand in October election SOFIA, May 20 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's president will not run for a second term in October's election, he said on Friday, just days after he decided to challenge parliament's rejection of his veto on a change to voting rules. Reformist Rosen Plevneliev has tried to counter growing populist and nationalist movements in Bulgaria, that called for closer links with Russia, by pushing ahead as quickly as possible with its integration into NATO and the European Union. "I do not agree with meaningful reforms in the country like the judicial reform and the anti-corruption law giving way to political machinations over the forthcoming elections," he said. "I cannot accept anti-democratic actions seeking political legitimisation through the convenient explanation the presidential election campaign has already started." On Thursday, his ruling centre-right GERB party asked him to delay his plans to challenge parliament in the Constitutional Court, promising that it would change articles in the election code relating to Bulgarians voting rights abroad. GERB, however, also rejected Plevneliev's veto in an attempt to maintain the minority government's stability after a centre-left party withdrew its support last week over disagreements on policy and the changes to the election code. Plevneliev, elected president in 2011 after winning a run-off against a Socialist opponent, had won popular acclaim as construction minister for a highway building project. Poland's ruling party defiant as Brussels steps up pressure By Wiktor Szary WARSAW, May 20 (Reuters) - Poland's prime minister appeared to escalate a conflict with the European Commission on Friday, declaring Poland is a sovereign state and will not bow to external pressure. The European Union's executive arm is investigating whether Poland is violating the rule of law, and it said on Wednesday it would send its criticisms to Warsaw by Monday unless it saw significant progress on problems it had already identified. That drew a heated response from Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, who said in a speech to parliament that Poland will "never yield to any ultimatum." "The Polish government will never allow for anyone to impose their will on Poles," Szydlo said. "I am the prime minister of the Polish government, and my compatriots' opinion is and always will be supreme. I am a European, but above all I am a Pole." The row stems from changes that Poland's newly elected government imposed on the country's constitutional court late last year, which increased the size of majorities required for rulings and changed the order in which cases are heard . The EU said those changes undermined the court's independence, and it responded in January with an unprecedented inquiry into whether the government, formed by the eurosceptic Law and Justice party (PiS), has breached democratic standards. It was the first use ever of the commission's Rule of Law framework. In theory, an EU decision that Poland had breached the standards could eventually lead to sanctions such as the suspension of Poland's voting rights in the EU. The government has signalled that the differences between two sides had narrowed, although it said it would need more time to resolve the issue. It has agreed to reverse some but not all of the changes affecting the court. But PiS also argues it has an electoral mandate to carry out changes it deems necessary. And it says the top court had been too closely allied with the former centrist, pro-EU government. Szydlo's speech suggests its position may be hardening. It also has friends within the EU. Speaking earlier on Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whom PiS considers an ideological and political ally, said that Poles were being treated unfairly and Brussels will never win its battle against Warsaw. But a response to Szydlo's comments by one commissioner seemed to indicate the EU wouldn't back down, either. "Just like the Polish government has its prerogatives and duties, so do we," said Gunther Oettinger, the commissioner for digital economy and society, told reporters during his visit to Katowice, in southern Poland. Egyptians found body part, seat in EgyptAir jet search-Greece ATHENS, May 20 (Reuters) - Egyptian authorities found luggage, a seat and a body part during the search for an EgyptAir jet which plunged into the Mediterranean, Greece's defence minister said on Friday. "A short while ago we were briefed by the Egyptian authorities ... on the discovery of a body part, a seat and baggage just south of where the aircraft signal was lost," Defence Minister Panos Kammenos told reporters in Athens. The flight with 66 people on board vanished minutes after leaving Greek for Egyptian airspace on Thursday morning. Hollywood star Ashley Judd becomes anti-slavery group ambassador By Sebastien Malo NEW YORK, May 20 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Hollywood actress Ashley Judd has been appointed as an ambassador for the Washington-based anti-trafficking group Polaris. In a statement, the "Divergent" and "Double Jeopardy" actress said she hoped her involvement would focus the public's attention on eradicating human trafficking. "My travels to 15 countries has seared into me that, in the slums of Mumbai, on the streets of Nashville, amongst Syrian refugees, human trafficking is literally everywhere," she said. "Join me ... in making all people everywhere, once and for all, free." Earlier this year, Judd, known for her humanitarian activism was named a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA). Globally, nearly 21 million people are victims of human trafficking, according to the U.N.'s International Labour Organization (ILO). An estimated 4.5 million of them are forced into sex work. Anti-slavery group Polaris is best known for running the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, a hotline for victims of human trafficking. Pakistan says senior al Qaeda commander among 14 killed in raids By Mubasher Bukhari LAHORE, Pakistan, May 20 (Reuters) - Pakistani security forces have killed a senior al Qaeda commander and 13 other militants this week in raids aimed at weeding violent Islamists out of the heartland province of Punjab, security officials said on Friday. The two raids in the south of Punjab were part of a sweeping operation that authorities launched after a suicide bomber killed 72 people and wounded hundreds in Punjab's provincial capital of Lahore on Easter Sunday. For years militants have held sway in remote northwestern regions on the Afghan border but some have also established networks in Punjab, Pakistan's richest and most populous province and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's power base. The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), which carried out the sweeps with intelligence agencies, identified the al Qaeda commander as Tayyab Nawaz, and said he was killed on Thursday with seven other al Qaeda militants in the city of Multan. Six al Qaeda operatives were killed a day earlier in the Muzaffargarh district of Punjab, the department said. One department official said the eight men killed in Multan had been planning an attack on a university, similar to one in January in which 20 people were killed. The army launched a sustained offensive against militants along the Afghan border in 2014, and the new sweep in Punjab has raised hopes that authorities are at last serious in tackling all militants, even the ones security agencies have in the past seen as useful assets to be used against old rival India. Police in Punjab have rounded up thousands of militant suspects since the Easter bombing in Lahore. Before that attack, Sharif's ruling party had opposed militarised operations against militants in Punjab. Brazil-type Zika confirmed in Africa for first time - WHO GENEVA, May 20 (Reuters) - The Zika virus blamed for neurological disorders and birth abnormalities in Brazil has been confirmed to be circulating in Africa for the first time after being sequenced from a sample from Cape Verde, the World Health Organization said on Friday. "The findings are of concern because it is further proof that the outbreak is spreading beyond South America and is on the doorstep of Africa," said WHO's Africa director Matshidiso Moeti. Brazil police widen Odebrecht probe with Angola contracts BRASILIA, May 20 (Reuters) - Brazil's federal police on Friday said they widened a probe of construction conglomerate Odebrecht SA to investigate possible money laundering and influence peddling in contracts awarded for projects in Angola. At least one relative to former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was targeted by the operation that included four search and seizure warrants and two warrants for questioning, according to a police source. Police are investigating why Odebrecht hired a small builder in the port city of Santos between 2012 and 2015 for complex projects in Angola that received $464 million in funding from state-run development bank BNDES, a police statement said. An Odebrecht spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lula is already under investigation for allegedly benefiting, in the form of payments and a luxury seaside penthouse, from a massive graft scheme uncovered at state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA. Russia proposes to U.S., coalition forces joint strikes in Syria from May 25 MOSCOW, May 20 (Reuters) - Russia has proposed to the Unites States and the U.S.-led coalition that they begin on May 25 joint air strikes in Syria, targeting the Nusra Front and other rebels who are not observing the ceasefire, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday. Russia proposes that these strikes should also target convoys with weapons, including those crossing into Syria from Turkey. He said the proposal had been coordinated with Syria's government and discussed with U.S. military experts in Amman, Jordan. Russia reserves the right to hit unilaterally those rebels in Syria who do not observe the ceasefire, state television showed Shoigu addressing a Defence Ministry meeting. India's Modi to meet Obama, address U.S. Congress next month WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington next month to discuss security and other issues and the Indian leader will be granted the rare honor of addressing both houses of Congress. The White House said Obama and Modi will discuss economic growth, climate change, clean energy, and security and defense cooperation during their June 7 meeting. It will be Modi's fourth trip to the United States since he became prime minister in 2014. "The visit will highlight the deepening of the U.S.-India relationship in key areas," the White House said in a statement on Friday. The two countries' partnership is seen as critical in Washington, which is seeking to counterbalance China's increasing power. Modi will address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, an opportunity extended to few foreign leaders, the day after the White House meeting, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a tweet. The invitation is a sharp turnaround for Modi, who was once barred from the United States over massacres of Muslims. Last year there were only two joint addresses to Congress - by Pope Francis and by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, another important U.S. ally in Asia. In 2005, then-U.S. President George W. Bush's administration denied Modi a visa, citing a 1998 U.S. law barring entry to foreigners who have committed "particularly severe violations of religious freedom." More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in sectarian riots in Gujarat in 2002 when Modi had just become the state's chief minister. Modi has denied any wrongdoing, and India's Supreme Court in 2010 ruled there was no case. Obama, who has adopted a "pivot to Asia" strategy and is keen to encourage a greater Indian military role in East Asia, quickly dismissed the issue by inviting Modi to the White House as soon as he called to congratulate him on winning the 2014 election. The United States is also keen to encourage greater business and trade with India. Progress has been only gradual, but in late March, the chief executive of U.S. nuclear reactor maker Westinghouse Electric said he expected to sign a deal in June to build six reactors in India after marathon negotiations that began more than a decade ago. Milder weather welcomed in Canada's fire-stricken energy heartland By Eric M. Johnson and Nia Williams CALGARY, May 20 (Reuters) - Firefighters battling a massive blaze in Canada's energy heartland could see a second day of rainfall and winds on Friday, expected to beat flames back from key oil sands facilities, as a producer announced a restart in operations. The wildfire in northern Alberta has charred some 505,000 hectares (1,950 square miles) of land, more than six times the size of New York City, since it hit Fort McMurray in early May. It has forced widespread evacuations and triggered a prolonged energy shutdown that has cut Canadian oil output by a million barrels a day. The fire's footprint now exceeds the total area burned during Alberta's entire 2015 fire season, and flames spread by Thursday into the neighboring province of Saskatchewan. Even so, cooler weather and rain across the province have worked in firefighters' favor, and a shift in winds over the previous two days has pushed flames away from communities and oil sands facilities in the Fort McMurray area. Mother Nature was expected to bring similar conditions again on Friday, said wildfire information officer Travis Fairweather. "We've been seeing a lot of rain across the province, but Fort McMurray and Lac La Biche are remaining a little bit drier than all the other zones," Fairweather said on Thursday. Alberta's GDP is expected to take a hit as a result of the fire, the government said this week. It comes on the back of a two-year slump in global crude prices. On Thursday, credit agency S&P cut the province's debt rating to AA from AA+, citing a weak budgetary performance and high debt. Canadian crude prices rose on Thursday after trading sources said Syncrude told customers to expect no further crude shipments for May. In a more encouraging sign, Imperial Oil said it had restarted limited operations at its Kearl site, which had been unaffected by the fires. Some of the 90,000 evacuees who fled as the massive blaze breached Fort McMurray may be allowed to return as soon as June 1, if air quality improves and other safety conditions are met. The fire destroyed a 665-room lodge for oil sands workers on Tuesday, but officials said there was no further threat to facilities. Even so, a mandatory evacuation order remains in place at 19 work camps north of Fort McMurray. Among those eager to return was Abdurrahmann Murad, a 38-year-old religious leader, who said the rain had brought some relief to the community. Germany testing suspiciously high CO2 levels for 30 vehicles BERLIN, May 20 (Reuters) - A German investigating committee has shortlisted 30 car models which showed suspiciously high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for further testing, the transport ministry said on Friday. Germany subjected diesel models to tests after Volkswagen admitted it cheated U.S. emissions tests by installing software capable of deceiving regulators in up to 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide. During these tests it recorded suspiciously high CO2 levels for 30 out of 53 models, it said. Further tests are ongoing and the ministry will publish a report once they are complete. Among the carmakers under scrutiny is Fiat Chrysler , which was due to attend a meeting in Germany about the possible emissions irregularities on Thursday, but cancelled the appointment prompting a rebuke from the transport ministry. Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Wednesday General Motors' Opel division had admitted that its Zafira model includes engine software that switches off exhaust treatment systems under certain circumstances, but the company said this is legal. A German investigating committee that met Opel officials asked them to provide it with more information to help with their investigations into carbon dioxide emissions (CO2). The case is distinct from the emissions case involving Volkswagen, which concerned the rigging of exhaust emissions tests as opposed to exhaust treatment systems being shut down under certain conditions. Tears, catharsis and a standing ovation in Cannes for Anspach's last film By Julien Pretot CANNES, France, May 20 (Reuters) - Solveig Anspach's "The Together Project" (L'Effet Aquatique) got a long standing ovation at a Cannes Film Festival "Directors Fortnight" showing, described by her co-writer as cathartic after the director's death last year. The cast and crew - most of them also involved in Anspach's two previous films: "Lulu Femme Nue" and "Queen of Montreuil" - burst into tears after the screening. Jean-Luc Gaget, a long-time collaborator of the American-Icelandic director, took over the editing process after Anspach died of cancer aged 54 before she could finish the film. "It was solace to see that the film was here (in Cannes), that she was here with us. It was a cathartic moment that we'd been waiting for a long time because it was tough to finish this movie without her," Gaget told Reuters. "We were all very proud that this movie was here." "The Together Project", set in the Paris suburb of Montreuil, tells the story of Samir, who pretends he cannot swim to take up lessons with local life guard Agathe after falling in love with her in a bar. The indie romantic comedy sees Samir following Agathe to a life guard congress in Iceland, posing as the Israel delegate. "The work and the projects helped her live longer," Gaget said. "We worked as if it did not exist, as if there would always be a tomorrow." "I think it gave us more strength. Obviously Solveig felt time was pressing, but it gave her more focus on the present and in cinema present is what matters," he said. First U.N. global aid summit seen falling short as crises mount By Dasha Afanasieva ISTANBUL, May 20 (Reuters) - A global summit called by the UN secretary general next week to address failings in humanitarian aid provision risks falling short of its ambitions, boycotted by a big aid agency and snubbed by Russia's president. Government and business leaders, aid groups and donors gather in Istanbul for the two-day summit on Monday to try to develop a more coherent response to what UN chief Ban Ki-moon has called the worst global humanitarian situation since World War Two. The United Nations estimates that more than 130 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and that less than 20 percent of the $20 billion needed to fund that is covered. The summit - billed as the first of its kind bringing together governments, civil society and the private sector - aims to mobilise funds and get world leaders to agree on issues ranging from how to manage displaced civilians to renewing commitments to international humanitarian law. But branding it a "fig-leaf of good intentions", Medecins sans Frontieres - involved in the planning over the past 18 months - pulled out in early May, saying it had lost hope that the meetings could address weaknesses in emergency response. It said it could not see how the summit could help address the needs of patients and medical staff facing violence in Syria, Yemen and South Sudan, displaced civilians blocked at borders in Jordan, Turkey and Macedonia, or refugees and migrants trying to settle in Greece and Australia. Seventy-five hospitals managed or supported by MSF were bombed around the world last year, in what the agency said were violations of the most fundamental rules of war. Some 6,000 participants from 150 UN member states are expected to take part in the Istanbul talks, according to summit spokesman Herve Verhoosel, including 57 heads of state or government. "In the context of this very broad and wide coalition, it is very unlikely that you could come down to very precise commitments," said Ivan Zerzhanovski, a co-ordinator at the United Nations Development Programme in Istanbul. But he said the purpose of the summit was to "set the stage for change" and provide a framework for concrete measures. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the only G7 leader so far publicly confirmed as planning to attend. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be there. Moscow will instead send its deputy minister for emergencies, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday, adding Russia had serious concerns about the summit and had told U.N. member states it would not be bound by its commitments. "Russia has on numerous occasions presented its proposals and remarks to the organizers of the summit. However they were simply ignored," she told a weekly briefing. Among other issues, Moscow was concerned about a plan to limit the veto powers of Security Council members in certain situations, Zakharova said. Zimbabwe's platinum industry calls for $2.8 bln in new investment HARARE, May 20, (Reuters) - Zimbabwe could double annual platinum production to more than 900,000 ounces in the next decade and become the nation's top export earner but current producers need $2.8 billion in new investment to do so, the industry associaton said on Friday. The southern African nation holds the second largest known reserves of platinum after South Africa but mines have struggled with low prices, a black empowerment law forcing mines to sell more than 50 percent of the business to locals, and power shortages. Zimbabwe Platinum Producers Association Chairman Winston Chitando told the annual meeting of the Chamber of Mines in the resort town of Victoria Falls that the industry needed new investments to raise annual production by existing producers from current levels of 458,000 ounces a year. "With vast platinum reserves, the sector has potential to increase production by the current producers from about 13 tonnes (458,562 ounces) to 20 tonnes (705,479 ounces) by 2020 and to 26 tonnes (917,123 ounces) by 2025," Chitando said. Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Aquarius Platinum are the three companies currently operating platinum mines in Zimbabwe. He did not comment on the separate Russian-backed project which was announced by the two governments 20 months ago for the joint development of the Darwendale mine which was projected to be producing up to 800,000 ounces a year by 2024. http://reut.rs/1Tojx6y Work on this project was still at the exploration stage, Zimbabwe's mining minister told Reuters in March. Chitando said on Friday revenue from platinum, which is the third largest export earner after tobacco and gold, could become the biggest at $1.2 billion in the next four years if more money was invested. "The industry requires around $2.8 billion over the next five years to ramp up and sustain operations. Bottlenecks that undermine capital inflows include clarity on indigenisation," Chitando said. Under the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, which was passed in 2008, foreign-owned businesses are required to sell at least 51 percent of their local operations to Zimbabwean investors. Brazil-type Zika confirmed in Africa for first time - WHO By Tom Miles GENEVA, May 20 (Reuters) - Tests show an outbreak of Zika virus on the African island chain of Cape Verde is of the same strain as the one blamed for birth abnormalities in Brazil, the World Health Organization said on Friday. "The findings are of concern because it is further proof that the outbreak is spreading beyond South America and is on the doorstep of Africa," said WHO's Africa director Matshidiso Moeti. "This information will help African countries to re-evaluate their level of risk and adapt and increase their levels of preparedness," she said. Zika was first discovered in Africa in 1947 and until the past year it was thought to cause only mild symptoms with no known link with brain or birth disorders. Researchers identified two distinct lineages in 2012, African and Asian. As of May 8, there had been 7,557 suspected cases in Cape Verde, an Atlantic archipelago around 570 km (350 miles) west of Senegal, which has historic ties to Brazil. Until the virus was sequenced by the Institut Pasteur in Senegal, it was not certain if the outbreak was caused by the African or Asian type, which has hit Brazil and other Latin American countries. Moeti said she would not recommend strict travel restrictions to try to stop the spread of the disease further into Africa, but advocated efforts to control mosquito numbers and stop people being bitten. Bruce Aylward, head of outbreaks and health emergencies at WHO, said it remained to be seen if African populations would have some immunity to the virus which could mitigate the impact of a Zika outbreak on the continent. U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies. The WHO has said there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can also cause Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults. The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last year in Brazil, which has now confirmed more than 1,300 cases of microcephaly that it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Campaigners question Nigerian army report of second Chibok rescue By Lanre Ola MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, May 20 (Reuters) - Campaigners for more than 200 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram from their school in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria two years ago raised doubts on Friday about army reports that a second girl from the group of abductees had been rescued. The army said late on Thursday a girl among 97 women and children freed this week by soldiers from Boko Haram captivity was one of the missing Chibok girls. Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki, the first Chibok girl to be rescued, was found by soldiers and vigilantes on Tuesday south of Maiduguri, capital of Borno state and the epicentre of Boko Haram's seven-year insurgency to set up an Islamic caliphate. Amina and her four-month-old baby were greeted on Thursday in a highly publicised event by President Muhammadu Buhari, the former military ruler who made crushing Boko Haram a central pillar of his 2015 election campaign. Hours later, the army said a girl from a second rescued group - Serah Luka from Madagali, a town in Adamawa, the state next to Borno - had also come from the Chibok school and had been among those seized in April 2014. But campaigners cast doubt on the assertion. "We've cross-checked the list of those missing but the second girl isn't on the list," said Auwa Biu, an activist from the #BringBackOurGirls campaign who nevertheless admitted the possibility of mistaken identity. "Maybe she has other names." Other campaigners have also said that the number for the missing girl given by the army - 157 - did not tally with the name of the abductee listed in the register. Hosea Tsambido, who chairs the Chibok Community in Abuja, said Serah did attend the Chibok school but was abducted in a separate incident, not the night-time mass kidnapping that sent waves of revulsion around the world. Instead, she had been kidnapped from Madagali, he said. "Madagali was attacked severally, so I don't know the particular time that she was abducted there, but she was not abducted that night at Government Secondary School, Chibok," he told Reuters. Army spokesman Sani Usman stood by his statement. "It is an incontrovertible fact that that girl was among those girls that were abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok, on 14 April 2014". He said Serah's father and the Chibok headteacher had confirmed the timing of her abduction. Reuters was unable to reach either the father or headteacher. On Thursday the Borno state governor said the army planned to move into the Sambisa forest, a Boko Haram stronghold, in a bid to rescue the remaining girls. Previous military attempts to storm the vast forest have met with mixed success, with soldiers making significant in-roads but failing to finish off the Islamist militants after running into bands of well-armed guerrillas, mines and booby traps. Under Buhari's command, and aided by Nigeria's neighbours, the army has recaptured most territory lost to Boko Haram. But the jihadist group, which last year pledged loyalty to Islamic State, still regularly stages suicide bombings. UN rights office urges Mexico to act over extrajudicial killings By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA, May 20 (Reuters) - The United Nations human rights office called on Mexico on Friday to properly investigate large-scale extrajudicial killings and bring those responsible to justice, including higher-ranking military officers. Mexico's military has been accused on multiple occasions of extrajudicial killings and torture during a decade-long war against the country's brutal drug cartels. Last week a Mexican judge acquitted three military personnel of the extrajudicial killing of 15 suspected gang members during a confrontation in June 2014 in Tlatlaya. "We are deeply concerned that almost two years after the commission of serious human rights violations in Tlatlaya in Mexico State, including the alleged summary execution of at least 12 people, the case remains mired in impunity and victims continue to be denied their rights to justice and the truth," U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a briefing. "We call on the Mexican authorities to ensure a thorough, effective, impartial, independent and prompt investigation into this emblematic case," she said. Investigations should be extended to all those who may be responsible, "including higher-level military officers who may hold command responsibility", as well as anyone who may have tampered with the crime scene, she added. Authorities said at the time that the dead were suspected drug gang members and that the military had acted in self-defense. A total of 22 people died in the incident. But months later, foreign media reported that there was evidence of extrajudicial executions, a version later upheld by Mexico's CNDH national human rights body. Shamdasani also expressed disappointment with a lack of progress in solving another high-profile case, that of the apparent massacre of 43 trainee teachers in the southwestern city of Iguala in 2014. Pakistan applies to join Nuclear Suppliers Group club ISLAMABAD, May 20 (Reuters) - Pakistan has made a formal application to join a club of nuclear trading nations, the foreign ministry said on Friday, a move likely to lead to a showdown in the group which has also been facing calls to induct India as a member. The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a 48-nation club dedicated to curbing nuclear arms proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that could foster nuclear weapons development. Pakistan's application will add to long-running tensions with India. The two nuclear-armed neighbours have fought three wars since being split amid violence at the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Diplomats quietly launched a new push last year to induct India into the club last year. "Pakistan has the expertise, manpower, infrastructure, as well as the ability to supply NSG controlled items, goods and services for a full range of nuclear applications for peaceful uses," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement announcing its formal application. The campaign for India's membership is viewed as carrying the risk of antagonising Pakistan as well as its ally China, which could veto any application by India. China could also insist, as a condition of India's membership, that Pakistan also be allowed to join, a potential hard sell due to Islamabad's development of new tactical nuclear weapons. "Pakistan has stressed the need for NSG to adopt a non-discriminatory criteria-based approach for NSG membership of the countries that have never been party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)," Pakistan's foreign ministry added. Neither India nor Pakistan has signed the NPT, generally seen as a prerequisite to NSG membership. U.S. President Barack Obama urged Pakistan last October to avoid developments in its nuclear weapons programme that could increase risks and instability. Washington has been concerned about Pakistan's development of new nuclear weapons systems, including small tactical nuclear weapons, and has been trying to persuade Islamabad to make a unilateral declaration of "restraint". Pakistan said on Thursday it was "seriously concerned" about recent missile tests by India and said it could respond by upgrading its defences. The NSG, which was created in response to India's first nuclear test in 1974, is expected to hold its next meeting in June. Nigeria's Buhari says ordered a heightened military presence in restive Niger Delta By Felix Onuah ABUJA, May 20 (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said he had ordered a heightened military presence in the restive Niger Delta region to deal with a resurgence of militant attacks on oil and gas facilities. The rise in attacks in the oil-rich southern region in the last few weeks have driven Nigerian oil output to a more than 20-year low. A group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers has claimed responsibility for most of them. Speaking at a meeting with a Shell executive who oversees the energy giant's global upstream operations, Buhari said he had instructed the chief of naval staff to reorganise and strengthen the military Joint Task Force to deal with the militancy. "We have to be very serious with the situation in the Niger Delta because it threatens the national economy," Buhari said. "I assure you that everything possible will be done to protect personnel and oil assets in the region," he added. On Thursday, intruders blocked access to Exxon Mobil's terminal exporting Qua Iboe, Nigeria's largest crude stream. And, earlier this month, Shell workers at Nigeria's Bonga facilities were evacuated following a militant threat. In February, the Niger Delta Avengers claimed an attack on an undersea pipeline, forcing Shell to shut a 250,000 barrel-a-day Forcados terminal. The group also claimed responsibility for blasting a Chevron platform in early May, shutting the Warri and Kaduna refineries. Power outages across Nigeria worsened as gas supplies were also affected. On Friday a locals said a gas pipeline operated by the state energy company had been attacked late on Thursday. The pipeline, which connects the Escravos oil terminal to Warri, supplies gas to different parts of the country. Eric Omare, a spokesman for the Ijaw Youth Council, said the attack occurred on Thursday around the village of Ogbe Ijoh, near Warri, "on the pipeline belonging to NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation). Bayer's Monsanto approach sparks shareholder uproar By Simon Jessop and Ludwig Burger LONDON/FRANKFURT, May 20 (Reuters) - Bayer's takeover approach for U.S. rival Monsanto triggered an investor backlash on Friday, with one of the German pesticides and drugs company's major shareholders calling it "arrogant empire-building". Investors are nursing losses after an 8.2 percent fall in Bayer's share price following news of its bid, which John Bennett of Henderson Global Investors, described as an "immediate destruction" of shareholder value. U.S. seeds group Monsanto on Thursday said Bayer, led by recently appointed Chief Executive Werner Baumann, had made an unsolicited takeover proposal to create the world's biggest agricultural supplier. Bennett, in emailed comments to Reuters, said he was furious that Bayer had not engaged with him over the approach. He said that the "fine work" of Baumann's predecessor Marijn Dekkers had been "ripped up". A Bayer spokesman declined to comment, pointing only to the company's statement on Thursday that it would make further statements as appropriate. As CEO, Dekkers had initiated a separation of Bayer's foam chemicals and transparent plastics business, Covestro, focusing Bayer on human, animal and plant health. "I had hoped that the days of such arrogant empire-building and ignorance of the actual owners of the business were at an end," Bennett said. Bennett's comments mark the most scathing attack yet on Bayer in a chorus of investor discontent mainly over the sheer size of the proposed deal. Frankfurt-based Union Investment fund manager Markus Manns said he was sceptical of the merits of the takeover, in a telephone interview with Reuters on Friday. While he saw strategic value in adding a large seeds business to Bayer's crop chemicals unit, the size of the deal would stretch Bayer's finances too much, he said. "With a presumptive premium of 30 to 40 percent it would be quite a chunk," Manns said, when based on Monsanto's share price of about $90 before there was speculation about a bid. His comments echo those of UBS GAM fund manager Maximillian Anderl on Thursday, who said he would prefer to see a joint venture or nil-premium merger. Berenberg analyst Alistair Campbell said Bayer's share price slump could hit the profit per share of the combined group as more Bayer shares would be needed to satisfy Monsanto investors in a share and cash deal. The dilutive effect could be up to 10 percent by 2020, depending on deal terms, he said. "We have struggled to find investors who favour this transaction," Campbell said. Bayer shares rebounded somewhat on Friday and closed 1.2 percent higher. Sources have said Bayer proposed to pay Monsanto shareholders with cash and stock, though the exact terms of any bid remained unclear. Bayer would also risk neglecting its successful core business of pharmaceuticals, driven by sales of stroke prevention pill Xarelto and anti-blindness drug Eylea, and alienate its healthcare-focused investors and analysts. "Bayer's pharma business is in excellent health today, but the clock is ticking regarding rebuilding its pipeline and recent newsflow has been disappointing," Campbell said. In April, Bayer stopped targeting chronic heart failure as a possible market opportunity for finerenone, an experimental diabetic kidney disease treatment, considered as one of the most promising drugs in its development pipeline. Zimbabwe's platinum industry calls for $2.8 bln in new investment By MacDonald Dzirutwe HARARE, May 20, (Reuters) - Zimbabwe could double annual platinum production to more than 900,000 ounces in the next decade, making the metal the nation's top export earner but current producers need $2.8 billion in new investment to do so, an industry association said on Friday. The southern African nation holds the second largest known reserves of platinum after South Africa but mines have struggled with low prices, a black empowerment law forcing mines to sell more than 50 percent of the business to locals, and power shortages. Zimbabwe Platinum Producers Association Chairman Winston Chitando told the annual meeting of the Chamber of Mines in the resort town of Victoria Falls that the industry needed new investment to raise annual production by existing producers from current levels of 458,000 ounces a year. "With vast platinum reserves, the sector has potential to increase production by the current producers from about 13 tonnes (458,562 ounces) to 20 tonnes (705,479 ounces) by 2020 and to 26 tonnes (917,123 ounces) by 2025," Chitando said. Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Aquarius Platinum are the three companies currently operating platinum mines in Zimbabwe. He did not comment on the separate Russian-backed project which was announced by the two governments 20 months ago for the joint development of the Darwendale mine which was projected to be producing up to 800,000 ounces a year by 2024. http://reut.rs/1Tojx6y Work on this project was still at the exploration stage, Zimbabwe's mining minister told Reuters in March. Chitando said on Friday revenue from platinum, which is the third largest export earner after tobacco and gold, could become the biggest at $1.2 billion in the next four years if more money was invested. "The industry requires around $2.8 billion over the next five years to ramp up and sustain operations. Bottlenecks that undermine capital inflows include clarity on indigenisation," Chitando said. Under the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, which was passed in 2008, foreign-owned businesses are required to sell at least 51 percent of their local operations to Zimbabwean investors. But on April 12 President Robert Mugabe said the empowerment policy was confusing potential investors and made it hard to compete for foreign investment. Noah Matimba, chairman of Zimbabwe Gold Producers Association said at the Chamber of Mines meeting that an investment of $600 million into existing gold mines would raise production to 50 tonnes. The mining chamber projects gold output at 24 tonnes this year, up from 18.7 tonnes in 2015. Gold producers say weak prices and electricity shortages and high tariffs are the biggest threat to producers. Partson Mbiriri, the permanent secretary in the ministry of power and energy development, said the country would be self-sufficient in electricity generation by 2019 at the latest. Vietnam frees long-serving political prisoner ahead of Obama visit HANOI, May 20 (Reuters) - Vietnam freed a catholic priest on Friday, one of its longest-serving political prisoners, just a few days before a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama in which human rights is expected to be a key talking point. Nguyen Van Ly, who has spent most of the past two decades in detention due to his relentless pursuit of democracy and religious freedom, was released from a prison in central Hue province after his fourth stint behind bars. "They released him in a special amnesty by Vietnam's president before the Obama trip," catholic priest Phan Van Loi told Reuters by phone. The communist country's state-controlled media has made no mention of Ly's release, which comes as Obama weighs whether to lift an arms embargo on Vietnam, a decision Washington has long said would hinge on human rights progress. Loi said that he met Ly after his release and that although he appeared weak, he was in high spirits. The U.S. embassy in Hanoi welcomed the release of Ly but said other dissidents should be freed too. "We call on the government to release unconditionally all prisoners of conscience and allow all Vietnamese to express their political views peacefully without fear of retribution," an embassy spokesman said. During Ly's long periods of incarceration, sometimes in solitary confinement, he suffered numerous health problems, including strokes and partial paralysis. Ly's release on Friday was three months before the end of an eight-year prison sentence for "anti-state propaganda", which comes under a section of the criminal code that rights groups say is vaguely worded and used to punish outspoken critics. The priest has been on the receiving end of some of the country's harshest verdicts, stemming from his opposition to the political monopoly of the Communist Party. He set up a pro-democracy movement and was behind several banned publications. Human rights is a thorny issue for Vietnam that has created dilemmas for western governments keen to engage with one of Asia's fastest-growing economies but alarmed by the arrests, harassment and jailing of its detractors. Iraq says control restored after Green Zone breach BAGHDAD, May 20 (Reuters) - Iraq's military said on Friday authorities had regained "complete control over the riots" after security forces opened fire on protesters who stormed the heavily-fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad, according to a flash on state television. "Infiltrators exploited our forces' preoccupation with preparations for the Falluja battle to infiltrate state institutions and cause chaos," a statement from the Joint Operations Command said. Cannes favourites Dardenne brothers to stick to social genre By Julien Pretot CANNES, France, May 20 (Reuters) - The Belgian Dardenne brothers, whose latest film "The Unknown Girl" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this week, say they plan to stick with their trademark social genre, digging for material "Like in a coal mine". In the directors' 10th feature film, a doctor, Jenny Davin, tries to identify a teenage girl who was killed just outside her practice. She starts out feeling driven by guilt and an intense sense of responsibility, having ignored the doorbell that night because it had rung an hour after she had closed the office. As she investigates the case, it becomes clear she is the only one interested in finding out the truth. The Dardennes, Jean-Pierre and Luc, have already won the Palme d'Or in Cannes twice playing the social cord, in 1999 with "Rosetta", the story of a teenager who lives in a trailer park with her alcoholic lover, and in 2005 with "Two Days, One Night", following a young mother who fights for her job in a solar-panel factory. In 2011, "The Kid with a Bike" also won the Jury Prize in Cannes. While their northern France neighbour Bruno Dumont, who also started by focusing on social issues, turned to comedy with "Ma Loute" in Cannes, the Dardennes won't flinch. "He's a creator who goes from a genre to another, at some point he went elsewhere. It's not our case," Luc told Reuters in an interview on Friday. "We're the kind of directors who dig, we're like in a coal mine, said Jean-Pierre. "We don't have the feeling that we are reaching the end (of this genre)," Luc added. MORAL RESPONSIBILITY The Dardennes usually focus on a central character and after Emilie Dequesne played Rosetta and Marion Cotillard played Sandra in "Two Days One Night", double Cesar winner Adele Haenel, 27, was an impressive Jenny in "The Unknown Girl". "We're interested in individuals, in details, in ordinary things to, hopefully, make something extra-ordinary of them, at least to widen the scope," said Luc Dardenne. "But we're really staying with this suburban doctor who refuses to become richer by changing practice because she wants to stay where she is to find out the identity of this unknown girl. That's what we're interested in, the moral responsibility that Jenny feels." "It's not the kind of role what I used to play. I usually play angry characters, there's often a lot of yelling," Haenel told Reuters. Just like Jenny understands she should have let the unknown girl in, Haenel believes there is a lesson to be learnt. If you don't care for others, then you can blight your own life. Bangladesh relocates millions as cyclone Roanu approaches DHAKA, May 20 (Reuters) - Bangladesh is relocating around 2 million people from its coastal areas ahead of cyclone Roanu's likely landfall on Saturday evening, officials said on Friday, an event that has also kept authorities in neighbouring India and Myanmar on edge. The cyclonic storm brought about heavy rains this week in Sri Lanka, triggering two landslides that were feared to have killed around 150 people and forced more than 223,000 persons from their homes. "Low-lying areas of (Bangladesh's) coastal districts ... are likely to be inundated by storm surge of 4-5 feet height above normal astronomical tide," its weather office said on its website. (http://bit.ly/1TrZhmy) India Meteorological Department said on Friday evening the storm was likely to move along the country's east coast and intensify into a "severe" cyclone in the next 24 hours, before crossing the south Bangladesh coast on May 21 as a cyclonic storm with lesser intensity. (http://bit.ly/25dJFvQ) Bangladesh's disaster ministry secretary Mohammad Shah Kamal told reporters the country had already taken "all sorts of steps" to minimise any losses, including moving people away from the eye of the storm. India's Andhra Pradesh state has also moved some people from low-lying areas. How do bank payments work in the euro zone? FRANKFURT, May 20 (Reuters) - Cyber attacks on banks from Bangladesh to Ecuador are raising questions about the security of the global payment system and one of its key components, the SWIFT messaging network. Following is a basic explanation of how bank payments work in the euro zone: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I MAKE A PAYMENT? Most bank payments in the euro zone are settled via the Target 2 payment system, owned and managed by the European Central bank and the national central banks (NCBs) of euro zone countries. Target 2 is used by around 1,800 banks in 25 European countries to make payments on their own account or on behalf of their customers, according to ECB data. When a bank makes a payment to another bank via Target 2, the account of the paying bank at its NCB is debited and the account of the recipient bank at its own NCB is credited. Each payment corresponds to an electronic message between the payer and the recipient. Target 2 relies on SWIFT, a cooperative owned and governed by the banks it serves, for the exchange of these payment messages. A key part of SWIFT's job is to authenticate these messages, encrypt them and ensure they remain confidential and safe until they are delivered. Target 2 participants must install their own SWIFT infrastructure to be able to send and receive payment messages. HOW DOES SWIFT WORK? To generate a payment message, the payer uses its SWIFT credentials to sign and encrypt the message, which is then sent to the SWIFT network. After performing security and format checks, SWIFT forwards the message to the Target 2 platform. The payment has to pass through several other controls (including of the message's syntax, the participant's status and the availability of funds) before it is debited on the account of the sender and credited on that of the recipient. If the message passes these checks, a settlement confirmation is generated in Target 2 and sent to SWIFT, which forwards it to the recipient. WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE RECENT CYBER ATTACKS? As part of its messaging system, SWIFT provides software such as Alliance Access that links banks' internal IT systems to the SWIFT network. Researchers at British defence contractor BAE Systems said Alliance Access was probably manipulated by hackers who stole $81 million dollars from a U.S. account of Bangladesh's central bank earlier this year, in a bid to help hide their traces. SWIFT, whose network is used by about 11,000 banks around the world and helps move billion of dollars every day, released a mandatory security update to the software earlier this month. Hackers also managed to transfer $12 million from the Wells Fargo account of an Ecuadorian lender to bank accounts in Hong Kong over the SWIFT network. SWIFT spokeswoman Natasha Deteran told Reuters that the common point in these cases was that internal or external attackers compromised the banks' own environments to obtain valid operator credentials. Cyber-criminals also unsuccessfully tried to send money using the SWIFT network from a Vietnamese bank to a Slovenian one in December. A top Vietnamese central bank official said TPBank was hit because a third-party vendor it had used to connect to the SWIFT money transfer system was likely infected with malware. WHOSE JOB IS IT TO OVERSEE TARGET 2? The Eurosystem, which includes the ECB and the euro zone's national central banks, is responsible for the smooth functioning of the area's payment systems. Their oversight duties include not only collecting and assessing information but also introducing change when it is necessary. The ECB has yet to comment on its response to growing concerns about cyber attacks on banks. ECB Governing Council member and Lithuanian central bank governor Vitas Vasiliauskas told Reuters his bank was working daily to improve its own and banks' ability to prevent cyber attacks, but he saw no need to make changes. WHO USES TARGET 2? Taking into account branches and subsidiaries, more than 55,000 banks across the world can be reached via Target 2. Foreign payment systems and firms which settle financial transactions also have access to Target 2. On the average day in 2015, Target 2 handled 343,729 payments, worth some 1.8 trillion euros ($2.02 trillion). Around 55 percent of payments were between bank customers, 30 percent between banks themselves and the remainder were so-called 'ancillary system payments', such as transactions relating to financial securities. While the average transaction was worth 5.3 million euros, more than two-thirds of all Target 2 payments had a value of less than 50,000 euros. Businessman told to disclose more records in Libya-SocGen case By Claire Milhench LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - A Libyan businessman at the centre of a dispute between Libya's $67 billion sovereign wealth fund and French bank Societe Generale must disclose additional phone and banking records, a High Court judge in London ruled on Friday. The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) is pursuing SocGen for some $2.1 billion in relation to a series of disputed trades, including derivatives, entered into between 2007 and 2009, before Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was ousted as Libyan leader. The LIA says SocGen paid at least $58.5 million to a Panamanian-registered company called Lenaida, controlled at the time by Libyan businessman Walid Giahmi. The LIA alleges that the payments were made as part of a "fraudulent and corrupt scheme", involving "the bribery and/or intimidation ... of senior LIA employees" and aimed at influencing the LIA's decision to enter the disputed transactions. A spokesman for Societe Generale said the company had no immediate comment. Giahmi's representatives have not responded to repeated requests for comment on the case. Lenaida has no representation and could not be contacted. The court is examining connections between Giahmi and Gaddafi's son Saif, and whether these had any bearing on the LIA's decision to make the trades. Giahmi's lawyers do not dispute that the two were acquainted. At a two-day pre-trial hearing that ended on Friday, Justice Stephen Phillips ruled in favour of the LIA's requests for further disclosure by Giahmi to shed light on the nature of the alleged relationship. In court filings seen by Reuters, lawyers for Giahmi said he had not disclosed records of phone calls with Saif where they were unrelated to business dealings, because his acquaintance with Saif was not in issue. But Justice Phillips said a full disclosure of phone calls and texts was necessary: the more personal the content, the closer the connection that might be established as a result. The LIA had also requested further disclosure of Giahmi's bank and credit card statements, arguing the information would shed more light on where the Lenaida payments went. Judge Phillips granted this, saying that full disclosure of Giahmi's financial records was "plainly relevant and proportionate", given the scope of the allegations against him and his defence. Hezbollah vows stronger presence in Syria after commander's death By John Davison and Laila Bassam BEIRUT, May 20 (Reuters) - Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah on Friday vowed to strengthen its presence in wartorn Syria and send more leaders to the conflict, a week after its top military commander there was killed. The death of Mustafa Badreddine, who Hezbollah said was killed near Damascus by shellfire from Sunni Islamist rebels, was one of the biggest blows yet to the Iranian-backed group's leadership. Hezbollah, Lebanon's most powerful political and military group, has provided crucial support to the Syrian army, along with Iranian forces and the Russian air force. The group is estimated to have lost around 1,200 fighters in Syria's five-year-old conflict. "No death of any of our leaders has driven us from the battle. This precious blood will push us to a larger, stronger and more sophisticated presence," leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech broadcast live on the group's Al Manar television. "We are staying in Syria. More leaders will go to Syria than the number that were there before. We will be present in different forms as well," he said without elaborating. "We will complete this battle." Nasrallah spoke on a big screen, projected live in a hall in southern Beirut as part of a ceremony honouring Badreddine a week after his death. A military band dressed in white marched past the screen shortly before Nasrallah spoke, and men in fatigues paraded with yellow Hezbollah flags. IRANIAN COMMANDERS KILLED Nasrallah said Badreddine had been involved in recent weeks in the planning of an offensive to capture territory from rebels southeast of Damascus. Syrian government forces and Hezbollah fighters seized that area on Thursday, taking a substantial amount of territory from insurgents. Badreddine directed Hezbollah's military operations in Syria, insisting on basing himself in the country, and had been a top commander since the 1990s, responsible for breaking up Israeli spy networks and helping develop the group's media apparatus, Nasrallah said. He reiterated a Hezbollah statement that Badreddine was killed by insurgent shellfire, and not by an Israeli attack, following speculation after one Hezbollah figure initially blamed Israel. But he warned that Hezbollah would retaliate if Israel targeted "any of our fighters". At least four prominent figures in Hezbollah have been killed in Syria since January 2015. A number of high-ranking Iranian officers have also been killed, either fighting Syrian insurgents or in Israeli attacks. Hezbollah has said it sees the Syrian war as an existential battle against Sunni extremists. Nasrallah said the loss of commanders was not weakening the group. Badreddine "is not the first martyr to die in this way nor will he be the last," he said. Indicted opposition leader leaves Congo for treatment in S.Africa By Aaron Ross KINSHASA, May 20 (Reuters) - An opposition presidential candidate in Democratic Republic of Congo, accused of hiring mercenaries in an alleged plot against the state, left the country on Friday night to receive medical treatment in South Africa, his lawyer said. The prosecutor general's office issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for former provincial governor Moise Katumbi but said in a statement on Friday that he could go to South Africa to be treated. Katumbi's lawyer, Georges Kapiamba, told Reuters that his client had been hospitalised since last Friday, when police fired tear gas at him and his supporters outside the prosecutor's office in Congo's second city of Lubumbashi, where he was appearing to be questioned. Katumbi denies the charges against him, which he says are aimed at derailing his bid to replace President Joseph Kabila in a November presidential election. Kabila, in power since 2001, is barred by constitutional term limits from standing again but opponents accuse him of trying to delay the vote in order to cling to power. The government says it is unlikely to be able to hold the election on time due to budgetary and logistical constraints, and denies that the charges against Katumbi are politically motivated. Some of Katumbi's supporters fear that authorities will block the multi-millionaire former mining mogul from returning to the country, but Kapiamba rejected that possibility. "They can't force him into exile," Kapiamba said, adding that Katumbi was headed to Johannesburg. "He is going to return." Political tensions are running high in Congo ahead of the scheduled election. The country's highest court ruled last week that Kabila could stay in power if it did not take place before the end of his mandate. Opposition parties labelled that a "constitutional coup d'etat" and called for marches across the country on May 26 to demand that Kabila step down this year. On Friday, a court also sentenced three activists, arrested hours before a general strike in February to demand that Kabila leave power when his mandate expires this year, to one year in prison, the United Nations said. Libya's Haftar says won't work with unity govt until militias disbanded PARIS, May 20 (Reuters) - It would be "unthinkable" for eastern Libyan forces to join a U.N.-backed unity government until militias aligned to it have been disbanded, General Khalifa Haftar, who heads up troops in the east, said in an interview broadcast on Friday. A December unity deal was meant to end the divide between rival governments in the capital Tripoli and the east who have vied for control over the country and its oil resources since 2014, backed by competing factions, who helped oust Muammar Gaddafi five years ago. But in an ominous early sign of a possible new showdown, eastern and western factions have sent separate armoured columns towards Gaddafi's home town Sirte, now in the hands of fighters from Islamic State. Western powers see Fayaz Seraj, the head of the Government of National Accord (GNA), as the best hope of unifying political and armed factions to take on Islamic State. The government arrived in Tripoli in late March and is still trying to establish its authority. He urged the east last week to join a unified military command centre to coordinate efforts against Islamic State and asked major powers to ease a United Nations Security Council arms embargo for his administration. "Firstly, We have no links with Mr Seraj and the Presidential Council which he leads is not recognised by the parliament (in the east)," Haftar told i-Tele news channel in an interview in Libya. "Secondly, on this unified command centre, I would like to stress that Mr Seraj relies on militia and we refuse them. An army cannot unify with militias so they must be dismantled. It's unthinkable to work with these armed factions." Haftar leads the Libyan National Army (LNA), but his role in any national military force as a possible defence minister or army chief has become one of the most divisive problems in unifying the two sides. For two years Haftar has been waging a campaign, primarily in Benghazi, the biggest city of the east, against Islamist militants and other former rebels who view him as an Egyptian-backed relic of the old regime with presidential ambitions. "Daesh does not have the capacity to face the Libyan armed forces, but the battle could take time," Haftar said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. "If the international community supports us, and I ask it to do so by lifting the embargo on weapons, then we could eliminate Daesh in Libya definitively and quickly," he said. Magnitude 5.9 earthquake recorded in central Australia - USGS SYDNEY, May 21 (Reuters) - A earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9, unusually powerful for Australia, struck the country's desert centre early on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the 10-km-deep quake, which was centred some 460 km (285 miles) west-southwest of the outback town of Alice Springs. The earthquake, which happened just before 4 a.m. local time in the sparsely populated area of the Northern Territory, was initially recorded at a magnitude of 6.2 before being revised down by USGS. Geoscience Australia said it could have been felt as far as 507 km from its epicentre, although any damage would be limited to a 40 km radius. "It occurred in the middle of the desert and as far as we can tell it was far from any community and there have been no reports of injuries or damage," Northern Territory Police duty superintendent Angela Stringer told Reuters. "From a geological perspective, it's pretty spectacular but we don't see it as anything more than that at this time." The desert area southwest of Alice Springs and world-famous Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is sparsely populated. The nearest indigenous community settlements were well over 100 km away from the earthquake's epicentre. Cooler weather welcomed in Canada's fire-stricken energy heartland By Eric M. Johnson and Nia Williams CALGARY, May 20 (Reuters) - Firefighters battling a massive blaze in Canada's energy heartland were aided on Friday by a second day of light rain and winds that held flames back from oil sands facilities, as producers signaled a gradual increase in operations. The wildfire in northern Alberta has blackened more than 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of land, six times the size of New York City, since it erupted earlier this month. It also triggered a prolonged shutdown that has cut Canadian oil output by a million barrels a day. The footprint had already exceeded the total area burned during Alberta's entire 2015 fire season, and it jumped Thursday into the neighboring province of Saskatchewan. The fire's growth slowed on Friday as firefighters were helped by colder, damper weather that began a day earlier and vastly improved air quality, provincial authorities said. "We expect to hold this fire in place over the weekend," Alberta Wildfire Manager Chad Morrison told a news conference. Morrison said that fire crews hope to use the improved conditions to advance further against the blaze. Authorities plan to roughly double the number of firefighters over the next two weeks to about 2,100 personnel backed by bulldozers and aircraft dumping flame retardant. CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC The weather, which included winds pushing flames away from key oil sands assets, offered hope for crude operations with Statoil saying on Friday its Leismer project was producing 13,000 bpd, up from 9,000 bpd two days prior. Imperial Oil has said it had restarted limited operations at its Kearl site, with a capacity of 194,000 bpd. ConocoPhillips Canada said it was "cautiously optimistic" but gave no time frame on restarting operations. Many operations remained shut due to the blaze, which comes on the back of a two-year slump in global crude prices. Syncrude told customers to expect no further crude shipments for May, trading sources said on Thursday. On Friday, officials said the Suncor and Syncrude oil sands sites remained under mandatory evacuation orders along with 19 work camps north of Fort McMurray. COULD BE COSTLIEST DISASTER IN CANADIAN HISTORY Insurers say the fire could be the most expensive natural disaster in Canadian history, costing up to C$9 billion. The federal government in Ottawa is responsible for covering 90 percent of all eligible costs. Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau, though, played down the damage the blaze would have on overall growth prospects. "We expect the economic impact to be largely contained to this quarter (and) to be relatively modest," he told reporters on a conference call from Japan. "Importantly, the kinds of investments we'll be making in the next couple of quarters will help us to rebound from that economically," he said. Some of the 90,000 evacuees who fled as the massive blaze breached Fort McMurray earlier this month may be allowed to return as soon as June 1, if air quality improves and other safety conditions are met. Trump rallies gun owners with fiery anti-Clinton speech By Emily Flitter LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 20 (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump assured gun owners on Friday he would protect their constitutional right to bear arms and eliminate gun-free zones if elected, accusing Democrat Hillary Clinton of wanting to weaken gun rights. Trump, who will almost certainly be the Republican presidential nominee, picked up the endorsement of the National Rifle Association, a politically powerful lobbying group which claims more than 4 million members. Trump's remarks at the NRA's national convention in Louisville, Kentucky, were not a surprise, but they could solidify his status among conservatives who see protecting the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment as a top priority. Trump also planned to meet on Monday with U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, a source close to the Trump campaign said. The two are expected to consult on foreign policy. The source said Corker remains on Trump's list of potential vice presidential running mates. Clinton, who is close to clinching the Democratic Party's nomination for the Nov. 8 election, has vowed to take on the gun lobby and expand gun control measures to include comprehensive background checks for gun buyers, including at open-air gun shows and online. Trump, who is trying to unite the Republican Party behind him after a brutal primary battle, accused Clinton, a former secretary of state to President Barack Obama, of wanting to end the 2nd Amendment, which says in part that the people's right to keep and bear arms "shall not be infringed." "Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment, not change it; she wants to abolish it," Trump said. Clinton campaign senior policy adviser Maya Harris said Trump is peddling falsehoods and denounced "Donald Trump's conspiracy theories." She said Clinton believes there are "common-sense steps we can take at the federal level to keep guns out of the hands of criminals" while protecting the Second Amendment. Trump told the NRA he would eliminate gun-free zones imposed in some areas, noting that the 2015 shooting deaths of four U.S. Marines at an armed forces recruiting center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, took place in a gun-free zone. "The Second Amendment is on the ballot in November," he said. "The only way to save our Second Amendment is to vote for a person you know: Donald Trump." The NRA's convention took place on the same day that a man brandished a gun at a checkpoint near the White House in Washington and was shot and wounded by a law enforcement officer. The New York billionaire's NRA speech was another step in his drive to make more conservatives comfortable with his candidacy. Earlier this week, he released a list of 11 potential Supreme Court nominees who are conservative jurists, a step well-received on the right. Many conservatives, who had backed other Republican candidates in the 2016 race, worry that Trump is a closet liberal on many issues. But Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, said it was time for them to get over their qualms about the 69-year-old candidate. "If your preferred candidate is out of the race, it's time to get over it," Cox told the NRA audience. "Are there valid arguments in favor of some over others? Sure. Will any of it matter if Hillary wins in November? Not one bit." Canada's aboriginals tell Trudeau they can block pipelines By Julie Gordon VANCOUVER, May 20 (Reuters) - Canadian aboriginal groups and their allies said on Friday they have the power to block proposed oil pipelines on land where they have proven title, dismissing comments by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who said no community has a veto. Trudeau told Reuters on Thursday that unanimous consent is not needed for the government to approve pipeline projects to bring Canadian oil to market, even as he pledged consultation with aboriginals and environmentalists who oppose projects. At the heart of the conflict are the rights of aboriginal people, particularly in British Columbia, where many groups never signed treaties and a 2014 Supreme court decision made clear that in cases where aboriginal title is proven, "consent" is required before major projects can go ahead. "The record of the federal government where consultation is concerned is abysmal at best," said Ernie Crey, chief of Cheam First Nation east of Vancouver, adding that it is up to the courts to decide on vetoes. Crey told Reuters his community is not opposed to development, but they want their rights and needs to be treated with the same gravitas as those of other Canadians. That concern was echoed by Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, who said Trudeau should keep in mind that the economic considerations of the oil industry do not outweigh aboriginal rights. "Well clearly nothing has changed on our side of the equation. The answer is still 'no'," he told Reuters when asked about Trudeau's comments. The dispute sets the stage for a battle over key energy infrastructure projects aimed at bringing oil products from the landlocked province of Alberta to tidewater, principally through British Columbia to the Pacific Coast, though other routes have been proposed. "Well, communities grant permission. Does that mean you have to have unanimous support from every community? Absolutely not," Trudeau told Reuters on Thursday, saying the decision would be made in the best interest of the country "writ large." Trudeau faces intense pressure from Canada's oil sands producers, already hard hit by the plunge in crude prices, and increasingly desperate for new pipelines to get product to international markets, where it can fetch a higher price. Building those pipelines has proven difficult. Enbridge Inc's Northern Gateway pipeline was approved in 2014, but has not yet been built, delayed by legal and social actions. Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain expansion, conditionally approved by Canada's energy regulator on Thursday, appears set for a similar fate. Some have interpreted "consent" as a de facto veto. But legal experts, while differing on the exact applications of the rule, agree it is not a guaranteed ban. Robin Junger, a Vancouver lawyer who specializes in aboriginal law, said that even in cases where aboriginal title has been proven, the federal government still has final say on whether a project goes ahead. "The law is absolutely clear on this, the Supreme Court of Canada has said so many times: Consultation is important, it has to be done in earnest and meaningfully, but it doesn't provide a veto," he said. But other lawyers point to wording that says while government is allowed "justifiable infringement" on aboriginal title lands, development must not deprive future generations from exercising their rights to that land. The Paris agreement on climate change, open for ratification since April 22, 2016, is really the most significant step forward since international climate negotiations began more than two decades back, in which now the responsibility for emissions will no more be based on "historical" emissions as was enshrined in the Kyoto Protocol, but shall be shared by every country of the world. Legal status and ratification For the most part, the agreement document is non-operative, where many key issues have been addressed in a generic manner and been termed as COP decisions. The agreement dilutes the claims of developing countries on 'burden sharing'. It is neither creating any legally binding obligation with any enforceable mechanism, nor ensures any penalty mechanism against the non-compliance. However, the agreement has been orchestrated in such a way that it allows parties with significant flexibilities to achieve their emission targets, along with a strong reporting and review mechanism that relies on a "naming and shaming" method for ensuring the accountability. To save the agreement from the legislative requirement of two-third majority vote by the senate of USA, it has intentionally been kept with non-binding obligations, so that the president of USA himself can enter into the agreement without approaching the senate, where the Obama administration does not hold even a simple majority. Temperature targets All parties have agreed to set and achieve the objective of holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 C above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue further efforts of limiting it to 1.5 degrees celsius. However, any mechanism to achieve this objective and fixing of meaningful targets to reduce the emissions as well as other such efforts are missing from the agreement, which relies on the bottom-up voluntary approach - far from the set objective. Differentiation For the purpose of burden-sharing, the agreement has departed from the principle of "historic responsibility" and differentiating developed countries from developing counterparts. Diluting the claims of developing countries and departing from the once accepted principle of "historic responsibility", which found mention in Kyoto Protocol, the agreement has relied on "respective capabilities" of parties for burden sharing. Specific mention of "Equity" and "common but differentiated responsibility" (CDR)" principles along with "Climate justice" and "sustainable lifestyle" in COP decisions which form the non-operating part, are few consolation prizes for developing countries - especially India, which had stressed for such specific deliberations. Further, unlike Kyoto, the differentiation has been lifted in the case of obligations regarding reporting, inventory of greenhouse gases and the progress made in the implementation of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), making it mandatory for all parties. Financial aid The agreement, which is coated in a vague language and has no lead on the arrangement for financial burden-sharing among parties, has resolved to setting up a new collective quantified goal of a creating a fund from a floor of USD 100 billion per year, prior to 2025. The gravity of commitment towards such financial aid (which is part of the historic responsibility) can be well understood from the fact that it could not get any place in the operative part of the agreement, only a mention in the non-operative part of the document. Transparency, review and effectiveness Departing from the "historic responsibility" principle and relaxation given to developing countries in previous negotiations, all parties now have the mandatory obligation to account for their INDCs with accuracy and transparency. The current framework requires biennial reporting with updates regarding their mitigation efforts and, in case of developed countries, financial support and technology transfer to developing nations. Withdrawal of parties The agreement has failied to take lessons from the Kyoto Protocol, from which USA had withdrawn itself, and yet again allowed all parties withdrawal from the agreement. Paradise for market players There may be combinations of positives and negatives for different groups of countries, but the real winner of the Paris agreement are multi-national corporate players and international financial institutions for whom more business in terms of the use of technologies and huge investment in innovation have been ensured while achieving the objectives set in the agreement. Way forward In the agreement, developing countries have only got a few new consolation phrases and some promises backed by nothing, while developed countries have finally got rid of their historical responsibility. However, the biggest achievement is mankind's, because for the first time, almost all the countries of the world have agreed to make a public commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emission in order to mitigate climate change. After his successful visits to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is finally turning his attention to Iran, widely regarded as the decisive power in an increasingly fractious west Asia. There has been a widespread concern that despite the historic nature of Indian-Iranian ties, the relationship has been struggling in the last few years. It needs to revive and revise fast. Modi's visit is the most important signal that Delhi is ready to put its money where its mouth is. The Modi government has moved ahead on a number of initiatives with Iran in recent months. Not only has India finalised the draft Chabahar Agreement - also known as the International Transport and Transit Corridor Agreement - with Afghanistan and Iran but a preliminary agreement on developing Farzad B gas field has also been accomplished during the visit by the minister for state for petroleum and natural gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, to Iran last month. Chabahar Port. (Reuters) These projects have been languishing for quite some time, much to Tehran's consternation. India and Iran have been talking about Chabahar since 2002, while the initial agreement for exploration and development of Farzad B gas field was signed with a consortium of three Indian state companies in 2000. Invest During his recent visit to Iran, Pradhan offered to invest up to $20 billion in oil, petrochemicals and fertiliser projects in joint ventures with Iran if Tehran provides land and gas at concessional rates. He also expressed an interest in setting up an LNG plant and a gas cracker unit at Chabahar. The official lifting of Western sanctions against Iran in January 2016 has expanded the scope of Indian-Iranian engagement significantly and Delhi is trying to recalibrate its Tehran policy. Iran's crude oil exports to India are now three times higher compared to last year. Delhi has signed an air services agreement with Tehran, enhancing the number of flights between the two nations and allowing each other's airlines to operate to additional destinations. The two sides have also inked a memorandum of understanding that is aimed at increasing bilateral trade to $30 billion from $15 billion. Plans are afoot for greater maritime cooperation, and Iran has already joined the Indian Navy's annual initiative, the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, which provides a forum for the navies of the Indian Ocean littoral states to engage with each other. After years of dilly-dallying by the UPA government, the Modi government decided last year to invest $85.21 million in developing the strategically important Chabahar Port in Iran, allowing India to circumvent Pakistan and open up a route to landlocked Afghanistan. The port, located 72km west of Pakistan's Gwadar Port, holds strategic and economic significance for India. It is already connected to the city of Zaranj in Afghanistan's south-western province of Nimruz and can serve as India's entry point to Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond. New Delhi and Tehran both view Chabahar as critical to developing connectivity with Kabul and as a geopolitical lever vis-a-vis Pakistan. This is a high-priority issue for the Modi government. Powers The geopolitics of west Asia is always a difficult one to traverse, even for great powers, as the US has found to its considerable cost. Today, the Obama administration is desperately trying to reduce its equities in a region that has been in perpetual turmoil, partly due to external interference and partly due to internal contradictions. This has led to an even greater regional turmoil in the process. Enter China in an attempt to gingerly probe its ability shape a new regional order. Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia earlier this year was aimed at gaining greater political and economic salience in a region where it has been reluctant to get involved so far. But as the balance of power in the region unravels, new equations are emerging and older paradigms are no longer sufficient to engage the region. The most significant disruption to the Indian-Iranian relationship has come in the form of China, which is now Tehran's largest trading partner. Beijing has invested massively in Tehran, with more than 100 Chinese companies on the ground seeking to occupy the space vacated by Western firms that had grown skittish about international pressure on the country. The partnership with China benefits both sides: Iran evades global isolation by courting China, which in turn gains access without any real competition to Iran's energy resources. Pressure India has always enforced dutifully any United Nations measures against Iran, often to the detriment of its energy investments in the country. Yet China, which as a member of the Security Council helps shape UN policy towards Iran, has been able to sustain its own energy business in the country without much trouble. Modi's high-profile visits to the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been aimed at isolating Pakistan and enhancing Delhi's strategic space in the region. It's time now to push for a substantive reorientation in Indian-Iranian ties. A thaw in US-Iran relations, heralded by the new nuclear understanding between the two, should allow India to push forth with a more purposeful regional engagement with Iran. Modi's visit should be the beginning of this reorientation. "You are a journalist and work in Pakistan. Do you feel safe there?" a colleague asked me, considering journalism, in itself, is in grave danger in our country. How do female journalists work? At the moment, I was silent and wanted to collect my thoughts, how would I describe our troubles? When women in Pakistan are killed in the name of honour, or abducted to be converted to another religion. No doubt, our society has multi-layered problems and one layer supercedes all the others - male domination. In a country that has suffered dictatorship followed by a fragile democracy and a corrupt system, religious extremists choose to as act as they want. Can we imagine the life of a woman whose rights have no value? Lahore-based Zeenat Shehzadi was allegedly abducted in August 2015 while pursuing the case of an Indian engineer. So, I managed to answer: Yes, we have many problems and it's not easy to enter the world of journalism, we must take risks and need to keep going despite the difficulties and results. We face adversity at every stage on a daily basis. A recent report, "Women journalists call for safer working environment", revealed our sorrows and after reading it, I told myself that finally someone had spoken for female journalists. In Pakistan, being a woman is a constant challenge - you have to pay the price for your existence. No one will accept you; even those who claim to be Marxists or secularists, at the end of the day, inherently have a narrow-minded approach and never honour women's work. As a female journalist in Pakistan, you are reminded each time that you are a woman. You ought to stick to a "women's" beat. Why are you putting yourself in the political beat? Don't take the risk, madam! When I wrote an article on the "Hudood ordinance", someone shared with me that a person tried to stop publishing my columns because I wrote an article on the controversial subject, as a woman. I was astonished to hear this - now we cannot even speak about the very issues which harm us. What if a woman speaks or writes about political issues? Do men possess a special mind that sees things that women cannot? This question I would prefer to leave for those who think we should remain in the box and report on women's issues alone. Women's work is unacceptable - how can they even spot stories? It is a bitter truth for some that women are crossing the narrow gate of problems at each step of the society today. If you want to attack a woman, start by maligning her character. As a journalist, when I interview prominent political figures, at times, I hear that I am entitled: "She is getting time because she is a female." When women journalists get on to the field, instead of encouragement, we are used being told, "they get stories because of they are women." If a male journalist does an exemplary story, he is lauded for his remarkable work. Contrast this with a female journalist breaking a story: people would say, "Ladki he nato story bas kar li (She just managed to do the story because she is a girl)." Women, as journalists, are hardly accustomed to positive gestures. It does not mean that every man has the same approach or harasses female professionals. We have supportive male journalists, but they are barely a handful of the majority; sometimes, professional jealousy prevents them from reaching out. However, a couple of colleagues cannot change the attitude of the majority. Sexual harassment at workplace poses as a frequent hurdle to our survival and progress. Women journalists also get paid less - this inevitably creates more problems for them in the society, add to that the possibility of a horrible contract that could cost her the job. Many women would want to work as journalists, but such vulnerable conditions don't leave them a choice! "We do not find a cooperative environment at home or at work. My husband is a journalist too - he can do what he wants, if he wants to come home late, he can afford to. He knows I am a journalist too, but I must manage the home on my own. Your own partner does not like your success. Such an attitude is torturous, says Asha, a fellow journalist. Another colleague, Kiran, recalled her travails on the field. "I had covered a story on a protest against a hospital. At that moment I realised, if I were a man, I could have been just another journalist among them, not marked out as a woman. Another time, a politician was killed and a group of women journalists was at the press club. A riot soon broke out in front of the building, and all the male journalists manage to escape; some of them got into a police car, but we were not informed. No one was there to help us." She shares that a female journalist's workplace ordeals don't end at sexual harassment. "Our organisations do not give us opportunities to brush up on our skills, no transport facility to report from the field; no security cover either." Who talks about our status in the media? Lahore-based woman journalist Zeenat Shehzadi went missing in August 2015, allegedly abducted while pursuing the case of an Indian engineer, but hardly few voices have spoken about her case on social media. Dr Salman Asif, a gender expert, says that senior journalist Beena Sarwar was the first to speak for Zeenat Shehzadi. Many do not voice their concerns because again we have vulnerable multi-layered system. People are too afraid of speaking out. If we protest, we may have to face consequences and Zeenat did not work for a big news channel, who would care about her? Can anyone say that Zeenat was abducted because she was a female journalist? What is the percentage of female journalism professionals in Pakistan? Journalist bodies scarcely talk about the issue. In 2012, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) stated, number of working women in the profession was about five percent. It is sad that such a miniscule percentage of female journalists is facing trouble and government - despite passing bills on sexual harassment - is unable to protect them. But we choose to prove ourselves despite the life-threatening odds. As a journalist, I would not like to segregate professionals based on gender, but when women's voices go unheard, we must ask if there's a voice that can raise our concerns. Today, I call out to working across the media world: "Female journalists of world - Unite!" At least let's support one another and change shatter the stereotype. Cannot we? It was being billed as the battle after the battle for Kerala. But a day after the election results, no one saw red and in a matter of a few minutes, Pinarayi Vijayan was announced as the chief minister designate of Kerala in the presence of CPMs national leadership of Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat. Through the campaign, former chief minister VS Achuthanandan was seen as the other aspirant for the top job. After all, his CV was impressive. He was immensely popular and has this amazing ability to connect with the masses with his brilliant oratory. Yes, the age factor went against him but almost as if to negate that, he took to social media with a vengeance, even shooting selfies using a selfie stick. Kerala's new CM Pinarayi Vijayan (left) with party veteran VS Achuthanandan (right). The VS versus Pinarayi rivalry has defined CPMs internal politics for over a decade now. As Vijayan gets set to take over, it is as if while the people of Kerala chose VS, the LDF MLAs chose Vijayan. What is also significant is that the Karat line seems to have worked. Karat has always backed Vijayan over Achuthanandan and this time was no different. In past battles, it is VS who has been handed out more stiff punishment than his younger comrade. Vijayan last contested an Assembly election in 1996, when he went on to become the Power minister of Kerala. The stint between 1996-98 saw him getting embroiled in the SNC Lavalin case, with Vijayan accused of corruption. That case has been a millstone around his neck, not allowing him to upstage Achuthanandan of the squeaky clean reputation in the past. Now no more. Given Achuthanandans age, it was easier this time for Vijayan to throw his hat into the ring more emphatically. He had also prepared well for the move from being a former power minister to occupying the real seat of power in Kerala, packing the CPMs list of candidates with his own men and women. Achuthanandan could not get tickets for most of his supporters, thereby losing the leadership battle even before the first ballot was cast. Unlike in the past, when the CPM leadership played dirty, not giving VS a ticket to contest till protests from the cadre forced its hand, this time Yechury who is known to have a soft corner for the nonagenarian, allowed both VS and Vijayan to contest. It ensured that the entire CPM cadre fought like one unit, refusing to be drawn into the media debate of who will be the CM in the event of a LDF victory. Yechury today described VS as Fidel Castro, saying his role in Kerala and CPM will be decided by the party. Knowing VS, he will not walk into his political sunset. He is more likely to be the watchdog of the Vijayan government an opposition within the LDF. But Vijayan is an apt choice, known for his administrative skills. Making Achuthanandan would have been disastrous given the Vijayan majority in the CPM and would have led to constant squabbles. One will have to wait and see how long the peace will last in the Red ranks. On many occasions in the past, VS has taken a line against his party. Like when he visited Rema, the widow of former Marxist TP Chandrasekharan, who was hacked to death allegedly by CPM activists for being a renegade. Many in the party at that time, including Vijayan, were not amused by Achuthanandans move. Vijayans ascendence also means Kannur will now rule Kerala. Given the violent history of the district in Malabar, where frequent clashes between CPM and RSS workers result in killings, Kerala will watch how Vijayan as CM acts on cases of political murders. Will he act like a statesman and try to reach out to the RSS to arrive at a truce or whether the police will look the other way while CPM activists, boosted by their power in Thiruvananthapuram, target RSS cadre. Democracy has its limitations. Democracy in a nation with a large band of illiterate, famished have-nots may not always be in tune what is expected to be morally right. West Bengal's election results; with the TMC's landslide victory under Mamata Banerjee, is a notable example of this paucity. Even without a bit of bias it would be appropriate to say that the law and order scenario in Bengal has been dismal since Mamata "Didi" Banerjee took over. This state continues to be amongst the least safe places in India for everybody. Bribery was rampant in every echelon of government, as evidenced by recent sting operations. The failure of the government in curbing this increasing tide of crime is apparent. While the TMC's claim of Mamata Banerjee's personal integrity is yet to be ascertained but Didi as an "honest" queen of a band of thugs is not a pretty picture either. The complete disintegration of the rule of law as evidenced in Bengal on May 19 is a phenomenon propagated by a lack of development including lack of job creation, burgeoning of have-nots and crumbling of infrastructure required to sustain a geographical area which is one of the most densely populated in the country. Mamata Banerjee with Jyoti Basu (L). (AP) It is thus interesting to note that despite all this the TMC manages to come back, beating all its opponents in the hustings with the massive mandate. Though trying to find logic for the voter's choice is like counting drops of water in an ocean but let's try a hand at it. The communists of Bengal who rule the state for over three decades gets the credit of Bengal's downslide to become poverty stricken and deindustrialised. These three decades of communist rule under the CPM strongman Jyoti Basu was a dark era marked with lack of human rights that may even put the present North Korean dictator to shame. His totalitarian government got consolidated after adequately bypassing a bunch of ideologically unalloyed communists in his party who were but honest to the core. Despite having minuscule islands of ethical individuals, the three decades of communist rule in Bengal was riddled with corruption. Indira Gandhi, the queen mother ruling India at that time was happy to look to the other side while Jyoti Basu was guileful enough not to disrupt her roost. In Bengal, though knavishly, Basu blamed the central government for all ills plaguing the poor people. As a child, I still remember the mammoth meetings were held at the Brigade Ground in Kolkata at regular intervals where he pontificated that "Centre" was responsible for all ills that his people faced. His non-performing rule on the developmental front, especially in the last half of his stint, rendered West Bengal to lose its status from its past standing. It may be recalled that in the initial years of independent India, West Bengal fared exceptionally well and was recognised as one of the most industrialised states in the country. The communists who dominated the Bengali social and political space for a very long time were successful in holding on to power, despite their abject lack of performance. They ensured that an army of thugs manning CPM at the ground level decided at every point where the money would be flowing and accordingly could demand cuts on every investment. In the meanwhile, detractors were maimed or annihilated into submission. The vicious era of communist rule is unfortunately left deep scars on the people of Bengal and their psyche. Even the present chief minister had to face physical abuse for her political standing during the draconian Jyoti Basu regime. Virginia schools push students out of school through widespread, discriminatory overuse of suspension and expulsion, according to a new report from the Virginia Legal Aid Justice Centers JustChildren program. The Charlottesville-based nonprofit analyzed data that schools reported to the Virginia Department of Education for the 2014-15 school year. Schools must report the number students who receive either short-term or long-term suspensions and the number of students who are expelled. Among the findings in the Legal Aid Justice Centers report, Suspended Progress: One-fifth of all suspensions in the state went to students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade; Nonviolent offenses like disruption, defiance and disrespect accounted for the majority of suspensions; Black students and those with disabilities were suspended disproportionately to their peers. In the Roanoke and New River Valleys, two school districts were identified as having either large disparities or high rates of suspensions. Roanoke schools were among the top 18 school districts in the state with the highest rates of short-term suspensions in each of the last five school years, according to the report. The report showed Roanoke cut the percentage of students who receive short-term suspensions (those that range from one to 10 days) from a high of 14 percent in 2011-12 to 11 percent in 2014-15. Pulaski County schools were identified in the report as having an especially large disparity between the rate at which students with disabilities and students without disabilities received short-term suspensions. The high numbers of suspensions and expulsions statewide are a concern because they contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline, the reports authors said in a statement. Suspension hurts everyone. Suspended students are at a significantly greater risk of academic failure, dropping out, and becoming involved in the justice system, said Angela Ciolfi, JustChildrens legal director and co-author of the report. Worse yet, suspension damages school climate, public safety, and the economy. A Sunday Roanoke Times article detailed the efforts Roanoke schools have made toward reducing suspensions. The district says it is trying to reduce both the number of suspensions, and says the average suspension length has been cut in half from the end of last year to the present. Yolanda Conaway-Wood, the districts executive director for student support services, said shes asked administrators to consider alternatives to suspensions. If suspension wasnt available, if I had no suspension option, what would I do instead? Conaway-Wood said. And then I would encourage them to use that instead of than that almost traditional go-to in order to address behaviors. Next year, the district also plans to introduce a program with components of restorative justice, a concept that considers the harm done by a student and how to make amends. The hope is that also will help reduce the number of suspensions in the district. BRUSSELS - Belgium - In an extraordinary intervention, the EU president, Jean Claude Juncker has threatened Britain with 'consequences' if they do not vote to remain in the authoritarian EU regime. Jean Claude Juncker has threatened Britain once again with another comment about Brexit: If the British should say No, which I hope they dont, then life in the EU will not go on as before, he said. The United Kingdom will have to accept being regarded as a third country, which wont be handled with kid gloves. If the British leave Europe, people will have to FACE THE CONSEQUENCES we will have to, just as they will. Its not a threat but our relations will no longer be what they are today. Jean Claude Junckers father was a member of Hitlers Nazi army and fought the Russians during the invasion of Russia in World War II. His wifes father, Louis Mathias Frising, was one of Hitlers Propaganda Commissars, and was among those responsible for the Germanification of Junckers home country of Luxembourg. He also helped enforce the Nuremburg Laws that stripped Jews of their rights, and were a precursor to the Holocaust. It is therefore, quite normal behaviour for someone like Juncker to act in an authoritarian fascistic manner as he is doing now by threatening Britons. The EU has been orchestrating an organised terror campaign through the media called Project Fear and it does not seem to be working very well. New Delhi: Pitching for more competition, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday cautioned that pro-business environment without "pro-competition" policies can result in dangerous consequences, including crony capitalism. "Being pro-business alone is not enough. Being pro-competition is essential to be with pro-business. If you are pro-business without being pro-competition, the consequences could be very dangerous," he said in his annual day lecture of Competition Commission of India. Citing example of Russia, he said, the country went in for a lot of privatisation without emphasis on pro-competition resulting in creation of oligarchs. "Oligarchs again meant monopolies. So any pro-business policy per se also has to be pro-competition because without pro-competition, being pro-business itself can encourage oligarchs. It can encourage crony capitalism which itself is dangerous," Jaitley, who is also the Corporate Affairs Minister, said. With India's transformation from a regulated to a market economy, Jaitley said the government had dual capacity in the context of running enterprises such as BSNL, general insurance companies and LIC. Then there was the need to have "regulators at arms length from the government... The more we professionalise them better it is for our economy," he said. Highlighting the importance of competition and its impact on growth, the Finance Minister said, "today world over people have investment and when they choose they never invest in sluggish economy. They want to invest in more competitive economy, they want to invest in a fair economy, and they want to invest in an economy where entry and exit is easy, where the rule of business is fair." With the passage of Bankruptcy and Insolvency Code, easy exit will be facilitated. "An investor does not want to invest in a jurisdiction where exit is difficult. Therefore, with now proper regime create there would be significant improvement in that area," he noted. He pointed out that when investment comes in; it becomes the starting point for all economic activities, adding that an economy without investment can never add to its growth. Citing example of competition providing plethora of choice to customers, Jaitley said advent of e-commerce has provided widest possible choices of goods to the consumers at most competitive prices at the click of a button. "Competition promotes technology at most reasonable prices; competition will provide quality of services/products to the consumers at competitive prices. It promotes innovation, efficiency and quality," he said. Mumbai: Ever since Salman Khan made his first public appearance with his Romanian long time rumoured girlfriend Iulia Vantur at Preity Zinta's wedding reception, a lot of speculations regarding the actors marriage started making rounds. Soon enough, another report stated that the actor was prepping for a December wedding with Iulia. Salmans family members have locked the actors 51st birthday (December 27) as his wedding date. Double celebration? Salman Khan and Iulia Vantur arrive together at Preity Zinta's star studded wedding reception in Mumbai. Apart from Salmans close friends, his family members were also quizzed about the actors marriage plans. Recently, Sohail Khan became a topic of controversy after he misbehaved with a reporter at a Bandra club on May 19. The actor was dining with his parents, Salim Khan and Helen when a reporter quizzed him about Salmans marriage plans with Iulia. According to reports, the actor yelled at the reporter and asked him to switch off his camera. On Friday, 20 May, Salman Khan finally broke his silence on the issue and addressed the topic. At an event, when we asked Salman about the incident, the actor said, "I don't think so he misbehaved. The other day, I was coming out from the airport, one journalist kept her mike in my friends face, he just moved the mike and said are you an idiot? You tell me, my father is 80 years old, you media people are young people, and you cant come and stick mikes infront of him. What if he falls? Why you provoking? He is not abusing you all, you all have to maintain the decorum. Was it a place to ask him about my wedding at 12 am in night? You cant do this especially to my father, mother, Helen aunty, my family and friends. Right now you all are standing properly, it is cool but just because you are competing with each other, and you can't just put bunch of mikes on my father's face." When further questioned when he is tying the knot with Iulia, the actor said, "It is my thing (wedding), why I should tell you? I dont even know you. I will get married or not, it is my personal thing. This is something I would like to keep it to me and my fans. I will put it up on Facebook and Twitter." Watch the video here. Iulia Vantur has already become a part of the Khan'daan. On May 12, the Romanian beauty was snapped stepping out of the airport hand in hand with Salman Khan's mother Salma Khan, while Salman Khan followed the two. Salman Khan's long time beau Iulia Vantur snapped with actor's mother Salma Khan at the airport. Ranbir and Katrina are currently shooting for their upcoming film 'Jagga Jasoos' in Morocco. Anurag Basu's 'Jagga Jasoos' has experienced several delayed ever since the lead couple Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif parted ways, and their current equation isn't helping much either. But the two are trying their best to put up a united professional front in order to wrap up the long pending shoot. We got our hands on another video where Ranbir and Katrina are shooting for a stunt sequence. Ranbir is seen performing a stunt with Katrina in tow. Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif shooting for an action sequence in Morocco. #JaggaJasoos pic.twitter.com/Wyf1XSBxqV RanbirKapoor.Net (@RanbirKapoorFC) May 19, 2016 Over the weeks several videos have surfaced on the internet where the two are very awkward around each other. However, things are getting better as the two have been spotted discussing a sequence and shooting for some songs. #ranbirkapoor on the set of #jaggajasoos A photo posted by Jagga Jasoos FanClub (@jagga_jasoos_rankat) on May 19, 2016 at 1:18am PDT Earlier there were reports that Ranbir refused to kiss Katrina in one of the songs being shot in this schedule. He expressed his discomfort to the makers and made sure that no awkward situations arise while filming the sequence. #Katrinakaif on the set of #jaggajasoos A photo posted by Jagga Jasoos FanClub (@jagga_jasoos_rankat) on May 19, 2016 at 1:15am PDT The two had even blatantly refused to fly overseas, so much so that Anurag Basu had to suspend the Morocco schedule and design sets in the city itself. However, after several discussions, things did fall into place and the former lovers agreed to go the distance and complete the shoot. Mumbai: Ever since Salman Khan made his first public appearance with long time rumoured girlfriend Iulia Vantur at Preity Zintas wedding reception few days ago, B-towns abuzz with the actors marriage speculations. Read: Salman Khan and Iulia make their first public appearance at Preitys reception Recently when Salman's brother Arbaaz Khan was asked about the same, he declined to confirm or deny the news. Arbaaz said, "Well, listen, this (event) is not for that. You think I'm going to answer that?" Read: Fans dig up Iulia's past as rumours of her wedding to Salman Khan do the rounds According to recent reports, Salman is all set to say goodbye to single life and tie the knot with Iulia by the end of this year. Apparently, Salman will be taking his vows on his 51st birthday, December 27. Reportedly, the couple first met when Salman travelled to Bucharest to recce for Jai Ho in 2013. And she's has become an integral part of the Khan household since. Iulia, who started modelling very young, is a law graduate from one of Romania's well-known universities. She was married to Romanian superstar Marius Moga and the two were in a steady relationship for four-long years. Tollywood actress/producer Lakshmi Manchu who has worked in TV series like Las Vegas, Boston Legal etc seems to be excited about her role in her upcoming Hollywood film Basmati Blues, which is directed by Dan Baron. In fact, Lakshmi started working for the independent Hollywood film Basmati Blues in 2014 itself. She tells us, It is a cross-cultural musical romantic comedy, which has both Indian and Hollywood actors. I play the principle role of Sita, and my portions were shot in Kerala. The dusky actress is one who is always choosy about her roles and BB is no different. Yes, I play a farmer in Basmati Blues, which is something new in my career. And reportedly, she plays the heros sister in the film. She adds, Recently, I was in the US and completed my dubbing as well. I am really looking forward to its release announcement as the distribution for the movie is all set. Lakshmi shares the screen with international actors like Brie Larson, Donald Sutherland and Scott Bakula. The plot revolves around a scientist who creates a genetically modified strain of rice with her father and what happens when their boss sends them to India to sell it to farmers. The film was largely shot in Kerala and has a huge Indian connect. Rating: Director: Omung Kumar Cast: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Randeep Hooda, Richa Chadha, Darshan Kumar A lot has been written about the real life story of Sarabjit Singh, a farmer from Bhikhiwind, Punjab, who was tortured to death in a jail in Pakistan. While there was a theory that he was spy working for the Indian government, one cannot ignore the pain and trauma of what his family went through. Sarbjit's sister, Dalbir Kaur, tirelessly ran from pillar to post for many years to free her brother and was often a topic of debate at the Parliament. What Dalbir went through, how Sarbjit's life was made a living hell because of a mistaken identity, the movie explores everything in the run time of approximately 2 hour and 11 minutes. Omung Kumars Sarbjit which narrates the struggle of Dalbir Kaur (Sarabjits sister) to free his brother from the Pakistan prison has been extensively researched. The director has captured every little essence of the family's life and has paid attention to minute details like their cultural background, village life in Punjab and wardrobe. This is one subject which has got a fair window to display the sufferings of a family post the arrest of Sarabjit at the border. And Omung Kumar manage to handle this sensitive subject with a clear intention of also keeping the audience entertained. Omung Kumar doesnt waste any time exploring the unnecessary. He sticks to the brief and within the first 5 minutes, prepares a strong foundation for the film. He does go back and forth about what Sarabjit went through in the various stages of his life but that is only part of an intriguing screenplay by Utkarshini Vashishtha and Rajesh Beri. Sarabjit, played by Randeep Hooda, strays into Pakistan in a drunken stupor and is convicted for the Lahore and Faislabad bomb attacks of 1990. Having that established, the director starts turning the pages of each member of the family and dwells into their past. Production designer Vanita Kumar has done a commendable job by recreating Sarabjit's quaint little cottage in Punjab. The dirty walls of a house are a reflection of all the sorrows and grief in someones life which has been very subtly injected in the screenplay. So why did the film start losing its steam? The whole melodramatic approach to the film doesnt really make you sympathize with the characters for too long. The background music is too patchy and loud and inconsistent screenplay is a let down for all the actors who have given top notch performances in every scene. Despite the attempt to keep the pace of the film fast, at many times, the scenes look like quick fixes and hurried up. The poor editing of the film also didnt really help either. Neerja or Omungs first biopic Mary Kom set the bar high for biopic genre by demonstrating that when all departments of filmmaking excel, the end product is always flawless. Coming to performances, lets begin with Randeep who plays the title role. He pulls off two life spans of Sarabjit with so much ease. A happy family man to an alleged spy who was tortured in a prison in Pakistan for so many years, Randeep ensures you have your eyes on him. This stellar performance may earn him loads of accolades and respect as an actor. It is difficult to fathom the torture Sarabjit had to go through in Pakistan prison and Randeep's take on it is spot on. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan displays her emotions with lot of intensity. She convincingly portrays Dalbir's ordeal through her role. As her character grows older, it is remarkable to observe how she has changed her body language and her mannerisms. Scenes between Aishwarya and Randeep in the Pakistan prison will leave you teary eyed. Richa Chaddha (Sarabjits wife), has a grief struck face which works well for the roll. The way she underplays her character with the right moderation indicates she has excelled in her craft. Darshan Kumar (Sarabjits lawyer) makes an appearance towards the end of the film but manages to get all the attention towards himself with his Urdu dialect and the on-screen energy. Overall, the film takes you on an emotional ride and makes you question a lot about the political crisis between two countries. It is up to the audience to judge whether Sarabjit was an Indian spy or an innocent farmer. However, his journey is something that must be experienced in the theaters. Watch: The trailer of Sarbjit More time spent multitasking between different types of media is also associated with greater impulsivity and a poorer working memory in adolescents. (Photo: Pixabay) Washington D.C.: In this digitally-ruled world, checking social media while watching TV or online shopping while on the phone has become a norm. According to a recent study, this type of media multitasking can be hindering your kid's performance at school. The study found that the more time teenagers spend splitting their attention between various devices such as their phones, video games or TV, the lower their test scores in math and English tend to be. More time spent multitasking between different types of media is also associated with greater impulsivity and a poorer working memory in adolescents, said Amy S. Finn of the University of Toronto. According to Finn, the term "media multitasking" describes the act of using multiple media simultaneously, such as having the television on in the background while texting on a smartphone. While it has been on the rise over the past two decades, especially among adolescents, its influence on cognition, performance at school and personality has not been assessed before. To do so, a Media Use Questionnaire was administered to 73 eighth grade students living in the greater Boston area. Finn summarized that they found a link between greater media multitasking and worse academic outcomes in adolescents. This relationship may be due to decreased executive functions and increased impulsiveness, both previously associated with both greater media multitasking and worse academic outcomes. Improving scholastic performance isn't just a simple matter of regulating the amount of time that teenagers spend watching television, playing video games or using their phones. "The direction of causality is difficult to establish. For example, media multitasking may be a consequence of underlying cognitive differences and not vice versa," noted Finn. The study appears in Springer's journal Psychonomic Bulletin and Review. The three accused, Bukhtiar, Khadim and Babu, were arrested from Whitefield by the Electronics City police on Monday noon after the survivor had approached the police and registered a case. (Representational image) BENGALURU: The South-east division police on Wednesday late evening produced the three accused involved in the gang-rape of a 25-year-old Bhutan national before a magistrate, who remanded them to judicial custody. The three accused, Bukhtiar, Khadim and Babu, were arrested from Whitefield by the Electronics City police on Monday noon after the survivor had approached the police and registered a case. DCP South-east Dr Boralingaiah said, Police have legalized the arrest and on Wednesday evening, the three accused were produced before the judge. During the interrogation the accused had confessed to the crime. One of the accused Bhuktiar told police that they had sexually assaulted her on Monday early morning. The victim did try to resist, but failed to overpower them. During investigation the police found injury marks on the survivor as well as the accused, said a police officer. The 25-year-old survivor, who is currently undergoing treatment, is said to be coping well. As the police have completed the probe into the gang-rape case, a chargesheet will be filed soon. Electronics City police have registered a case under Section 376 D of IPC. Five persons have been killed since Tuesday after violence broke out following allegations that the girl was harassed by a soldier. (Photo: Habib Naqash) Srinagar: The family of the girl, whose alleged harassment led to a spate of violence in Kashmir, on Saturday claimed that she was pressured into giving a video statement denying she was molested and has approached court seeking an independent probe into the incident. Read: J&K firing: Mehbooba Mufti visits victims' families as tension prevails in Valley "My girl is just 16 years old and was alone in the police station when her statement was recorded. She was pressured by police to give that statement," her mother claimed. Read: Handwara firing: J&K police detains 16-year-old molestation victim, father A civil society group scheduled a press conference here for the family but it was not allowed by police. Talking to reporters, the girl's mother alleged that police detained her daughter without informing the family and revealed her identity by recording the video statement without covering her face. Read: Handwara firing: Centre sends more forces, asks J-K to ensure no loss of lives She said, "When the girl was returning home after school on Tuesday, she went to a bathroom and was followed by an army man. When she saw the army man in the bathroom, she raised an alarm, attracting attention of the nearby shopkeepers. The policemen also came to the scene but the army man fled." "She was then taken to a police station without our knowledge," the mother said. Read: Handwara firing: Curfew-like restrictions continue in Kashmir "We have approached court and demanded an independent inquiry into the incident. We do not want police or Army, those who have done this, to inquire it," she said. Five persons have been killed since Tuesday after violence broke out following allegations that the girl was harassed by a soldier. Read: HC queries J&K police on 'detention' of girl, kin in Handwara "We are not allowed to meet our girl. Her father and aunt were also detained. We do not have any information of our arrested daughter for the last five days," she alleged and accused the police of "defaming" her daughter by revealing her identity to the media. INS Sunayna&INS Sutlej rushed to Colombo with relief material for areas affected by flooding in Sri Lanka. (Photo: Twitter) Kochi: India on Friday rushed two Naval ships with relief material to Sri Lanka which has been severely hit by tropical cyclone Roanu. Navy said two Naval ships, one Naval Off Shore Patrol (NOPV) INS Sunayna and one survey vessel INS Sutlej, are being sent to Colombo coast from Southern Naval Command in Kochi. "INS Sutlej with relief material has already embarked its journey to Colombo harbour from Southern Naval Command in Kochi. INS Sunayana will leave for Sri Lanka from the Kochi coast shortly," a Navy spokesman said. The cyclone has wreaked havoc along Sri Lankan coast. 43 people have been killed and 133 were missing following massive landslides and floods in the Kegalle region. Schools throughout the country have been closed as a precaution. Heavy rainfall is expected in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha as the storm will move away from Lanka tracking northeastward into Bangladesh and Myanmar. Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Friday thanked BJP chief Amit Shah for congratulating her on the "resounding victory" in the May 16 Assembly polls, stating she valued his good wishes. "I thank you for congratulating me on the resounding victory in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, 2016," she said. "I value your good wishes and greetings," the 68-year-old AIADMK General Secretary told Shah in a letter. Shah, during his election campaign in the state, had attacked the AIADMK government, describing it as the "most corrupt." Senior BJP leader LK Advani also greeted Jayalalithaa. Advani congratulated her over phone and the Chief Minister thanked the veteran leader, a release said. Governor K Rosaiah spoke to Jayalalithaa over the phone and sent her a bouquet of flowers. He congratulated her on the "historic" victory achieved by her party, it said. "Under your dynamic leadership and determination to serve the people above self, Tamil Nadu is set to lead the nation in all spheres once again," Rosaiah said. In her reply to the Governor, Jayalalithaa said she valued his good wishes and greetings "which will further enthuse me in my mission to make Tamil Nadu the numero uno state in the country in all spheres of development and to strive unceasingly for the welfare of my people," she said. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a two-day visit to the US from June 7 during which he will address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress and hold talks with President Barack Obama to review the progress made in key areas of defence, security and energy. Modi, who is leaving for Iran on Sunday, will also pay a two-day visit to Qatar from June 4. At the invitation of the US President Barack Obama, the Prime Minister will visit Washington DC on June 7-8, 2016, the External Affairs Ministry announced today. "The main objective of the forthcoming visit of the Prime Minister would be to consolidate the progress made in diverse areas such as economy, energy, environment, defence and security, and to intensify cooperation for the future," it said. The Prime Minister has also been invited by the Speaker of the US House of Representative, Paul Ryan, to address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress which he has accepted, it added. Modi, who was invited by Obama for a bilateral visit when Modi travelled to the US for the nuclear summit in March, will be the fifth prime minister of India to address a joint meeting of Congress. Earlier, Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh (July 19, 2005), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (September 14, 2000), P V Narasimha Rao (May 18, 1994) and Rajiv Gandhi (July 13, 1985) addressed the joint meeting of the US Congress. The US Congress has been a source of strength for the India-US strategic partnership and the India Congressional Caucus is the largest such group in the US Congress, the MEA said. During the visit, Modi will have interaction with CEOs of major US companies. Realization of the full potential of Indo-US economic partnership has been a key priority for both the countries and the progress achieved in this regard is reflected in the increased investment flows, the ministry said. New Delhi: Pakistan is an epicentre of global terrorism and India does not need any lecture from it on its internal matters, India asserted on Friday, reacting angrily to reported comments by Islamabad about the Handwara incident in Kashmir. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup also said comments by a senior minister in Pakistan's Punjab province that action cannot be taken against terror outfits JuD and JeM as the state itself was involved with them corroborated India's position. He said the remarks of Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah elucidated the reason for lack of effective action even against those entities and individuals against whom Pakistan has international obligation to act, adding Islamabad must address the "unfortunate reality". "If the Minister indeed said so, it sadly corroborates the view that we have always held about the support and freedom available to anti-India terrorist groups in Pakistan, including internationally sanctioned terrorist groups and individuals," he said. The Pakistani minister had also ruled out the possibility of any legal action against the terror groups saying, "How can you prosecute a group with whom the state itself has been involved with?" "It is upto authorities in Pakistan to address this unfortunate reality in the interest of a normal relationship between our two countries and in broader interest of Pakistan itself," he said. Asked to respond to Pakistan Foreign Office's reported comments about protests following the Handwara incident Swarup, in a strong reaction, called Pakistan an epicentre of global terrorism and that Islamabad has no locus standi to comment on such internal issues. "We do not need lectures from third parties, least of all from Pakistan, which would do well to reflect upon the state it finds itself in, as an epicentre of global terrorism and a country where religious minorities are routinely persecuted," said Swarup. He said India's robust and vibrant democracy has enough redressal mechanisms to handle such cases. "The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. Pakistan has no locus standi in commenting on matters that are entirely internal to the state of J&K and India. Protests had erupted in Handwara town and adjoining areas of Kupwara district of Kashmir last month after allegations that a 16-year-old girl had been molested by an army man. The Pakistan Foreign Ministry reportedly criticised handling of the Handwara incident. Asked whether Pakistan was reluctant to allow a visit by an NIA team to that country to probe the Pathankot attack, Swarup said before allowing the Pakistani Joint Investigation Team to visit India, a note verbal was sent to them saying that it will be on the basis of reciprocity. "The JIT visit was allowed based on reciprocity. And Pakistan even did not refute it. We made a request to them (for NIA visit). Let's see what response they give," said Swarup. He said pressure is on Pakistan on the Pathankot issue and that Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar had told his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Chaudhry during talks here last month that terrorism is a major issue and Pakistan has to take steps to contain it. Asked about China investing billions of dollars in building an economic corridor in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Swarup said that area is integral part of India and China has been told to cease all activities there. "Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. Chinese activities in Pakistan Occupied J&K have been taken up with the Chinese side including at the highest level. We had asked them to cease all activities there," he said. On whether Afghanistan has conveyed that it would not be part of the satellite being built by India for the region, he said the country was very much part of it. Asked about Vijay Mallya's extradition from the UK, Swarup said the Ministry was awaiting Enforcement Directorate's advice on the next steps. The UK has refused to deport the liquor baron charged with money laundering. On Prime Minister Narendra Modi's talks with his counterpart from Fiji Rear Admiral (retd) Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama yesterday, Swarup said both sides discussed a range of issues including strengthening cooperation in solar energy sector. Members of the Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team probing the Pathankot attack had visited Indian in March . (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: Indian Army on Thursday rejected Pakistans allegation of insiders role in the terrorist attack on Pathankot airbase and said it was planned and sponsored from across the border. National Investigation Agency (NIA) that probed the terrorist attack has ruled out the role of an insider, the General officer Commanding in Chief (GoC-in-C) of the western command of Army, Lt Gen K J Singh told reporters. Read: Pathankot probe: India awaiting response from Pakistan on NIA visit NIA has carried out a thorough probe an investigation and said that there was no insider hand. The statement of the Pakisatni team is incorrect, he said. Singh said the attack on the airbase was planned and sponsored from across the border. It (the attack) was all sponsored, controlled, planned and logistics provided from across the border, especially by Jaish-e-Mohammed. People have been named, we have asked for Red Corner notice against them, he said. Read: Pathankot attack: Interpol issues RCN against JeM handler Shahid Latif Our investigation agency has carried a very thorough probe. They have screened the concerned people and a conclusive judgment has been arrived at that there was no insider hand, Lt Gen Singh said. Pakistans Joint Investigation Team (JIT) had visited India in March in connection with the probe in the Pathankot terror attack perpetrated by the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). New Delhi: In a bid to make electricity available to all, the government plans to launch a scheme under which consumers can pay for the new connection in monthly installments over a period of 5 years and will be able to avail the service on demand. "We are thinking of launching a campaign to make it compulsory to provide electricity connection to all. We want to provide this facility to everyone that if he or she asks for electricity connection then it must be provided," Power Minister Piyush Goyal said at a conference organised to mark the completion of two years of the NDA regime. The minister further said, "Poor people get electricity connection free of cost. But for those who are above poverty line, the amount paid for new connection will be charged through equated monthly installments in five years. We are working on such scheme and soon launch it." On Wednesday, the minister had said, "We want to keep it (application for power connection) simple. Then we would ask our people to get the power connection. We won't wait for them to apply." He had also said, "I am actually telling my officers that they have to go to peoples' homes, make a simple half-page format, (ask them to) just give Aadhaar number, e-mail, address and mobile number, and sign it, saying I am desirous of a power connection and follow all rules and terms. That is it." On the occasion, Goyal also advocated cross-subsidisation of power tariff and said, "Indian farmer deserves to get low cost power. We support cross subsidisation by larger commercial or industrial establishment for other consumers." The minister also said the government is working on a policy for reverse auction for wind power projects on the lines of solar power projects, which witness lowering of tariff to below Rs 5 per unit. At present, wind power projects are awarded on the basis of feed in tariff which is provided by the regulator on the basis of costs of land, equipment and other services. About the village electrification, the minister expressed confidence the that the target of electrifying 18,452 villages will be achieved a year ahead of the set deadline of May 1, 2018. "We will electrify all 18,452 villages by May 1, 2017, a year ahead of targetted deadline of May 1, 2018," the minister said. However, he said that "there may be a few aberrations (consumers) that may be from very dense forest, left wind extremism affected area or possibly a consumer who does not want power or one does not apply for power." "I am very confident with the achievement of the two years gone by and with the road map being prepared for next three years(the government will achieve) transformational results," he added. While Goyal was talking here about the government's initiatives to boost electricity supply in the country, there was a power outage for a few minutes at the conference venue. Replying to a question Goyal said that power purchase agreements (PPAs) are sacrosanct legal agreement entered into by different power distribution companies and the Centre has no role in cancelling or allowing anybody to surrender power. The Delhi government has written to the Centre several times over "surrendering" over 2265 mw of expensive power. "The Central government has no role in cancelling or allowing anybody to surrender power. At best they can offer it to any other state which is a willing purchaser and where there is transmission ability," the minister said. "While Telagnana did offer to buy power for a few months but for lack of transmission ability they could not possibly purchase that power from Delhi but it is beyond our control to do anything about it," he said. "But instead of only harping about surrendering power, I think we should all focus on reducing AT&C losses and improving the working of these states and ensuring for efficient utililsation of available capacities which each state has," the minister said. In a significant transformation, India has become power surplus from chronic power shortage. Record capacity addition of around one-fifth of current conventional power capacity and solar power capacity addition of 157 per cent in the last two years led to a boost in power generation, the minister said. The highest-ever increase in transmission lines and sub-stations improved the transmission scenario resulting in energy deficit falling to lowest ever of 2.1 per cent in the last fiscal, he said. He further said that on Friday, not a single power plant faces shortage of coal as opposed to the impending power crisis in 2014 when two-thirds of major power plants had critical coal stocks of less than seven days. "Working on war footing, our government completely eliminated coal shortage in the country. In line with achieving the target of doubling coal production to 100 crore tonnes by 2020, the last two years witnessed the highest ever growth in coal production of 7.4 crore tonnes," Goyal said. Stressing that its government was focused on addressing the root problems of the power sector, the minister said that every discom is expected to eliminate losses by 2019-20 with potential savings of over Rs 1,80,000 crore every year from 2019. "UDAY was designed through extensive stakeholder consultations and has been a game changer for States," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise on Independence Day in 2015 of connecting the unconnected 18,452 un-electrified villages in 1,000 days is ahead of schedule with over 40 per cent - 7,779 remote villages already electrified, Goyal said. India is headed for the top slot in the global LED market through UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All) Yojana, which will replace 77 crore bulbs with energy efficient LED bulbs by 2019. Over 9 crore LED bulbs were distributed in 2015-16, about 150 times higher than 6 lakh in 2013-14. By supplying gas through transparent e-auctions in 2015, nearly half of gas power plants were revived, he said. GARV (Grameen Vidyutikaran) app to help people track rural electrification and UJALA app to monitor LED distribution has brought accountability and transparency in these two programmes. Moreover, Vidyut Pravah app provides real time information of electricity price and availability. By filling the information gap, State governments have been made accountable. India is running the world's largest renewable energy expansion programme with a target to increase overall renewable capacity by more than 5 times from 32,000 MW in 2014 to 1,75,000 MW in 2022. "By taking a leadership role in the International Solar Alliance of 121 countries and organising RE-Invest 2015, the world's largest renewable financing meet, our government has laid the foundations for massive growth in this sector," he said. The farmer has been additionally benefitted through the highest-ever distribution of solar pumps in 2015-16, greater than total solar pumps installed since launch of the scheme in 1991. The power constrained southern states have been provided relief by increasing the transmission capacity by 71 per cent and revived gas plants, which has expanded availability of electricity and reduced procurement prices of electricity by over 50 per cent. By resolving problems in hydroelectric projects the government is ensuring clean power to the North East, the minister said. "The last two years have seen many records broken and many firsts. There is now a clear roadmap to achieve the vision of Ujwal Bharat delivering 24x7 affordable power to every household and adequate power to farmers, in an environment friendly manner," Goyal added. According to the new conditions, dance bars must be at least a kilometers from any education or religious institution. (Photo: Representational Image) Mumbai: Four dance bars allegedly being run without permission were raided by Mumbai police and 62 women rescued from there, while 80 people were arrested, police said on Friday. The Social Service Branch (SSB) of police conducted the raids at two bars in South Mumbai, one at Andheri in western suburb and Ghatkopar in eastern suburb, they said. The raids, which started last evening, continued till the early hours on Friday. As many as 80 people, including some customers and staff of the bar, were arrested following the raids. They would be produced in a court on Friday where police would seek their remand. The women rescued from the four bars were later let off. The police arrested 14 people from a bar at DB Marg in South Mumbai and rescued 12 women from there, as many as 22 people were arrested from another bar in Andheri and 17 women rescued, police said. During the raid at bar in Ghatkopar, the SSB sleuths arrested 19 people and rescued 27 women. Besides, in a joint action by the Nagpada police and SSB, 25 people were arrested from a bar in South Mumbai and six women rescued from there late last night, police said. All the accused were arrested under the provisions of the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women Act 2016, police said. As per the new law, the accused can be sentenced to five years imprisonment and fined up to Rs 25 lakh, police said. Notably, the Mumbai Police had recently issued license to two dance bars, as the per the new guidelines laid down by the Maharashtra government. Prior to that, the Supreme Court had directed the state government to grant licenses to eight dance bars within two days. Court asked the owners to give an undertaking that they would not engage employees with criminal antecedents near the dance area. According to the new conditions, dance bars must be at least a kilometers from any education or religious institution, their timings restricted between 6 PM and 11.30 PM, and liquor is not to be served in the performance area. China had said all the multilateral non-proliferation export control regime including the NSG have regarded NPT as an important standard for the expansion of the NSG. New Delhi: Chinas contention that India must sign the NPT to get membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group was rejected by the External Affairs Ministry stating that France was included in the elite group without signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty. I think there is some confusion here. Even the NPT allows civil nuclear cooperation with non-NPT countries. If there is a connection, it is between the NSG and IAEA safeguards and with export controls, MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. He was responding about a Chinese official linking Chinas support to India's bid for NSG to the country signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). NSG members have to respect safeguards and export controls, nuclear supplies have to be in accordance with the NSG Guidelines. The NSG is an ad hoc export control regime and France, which was not an NPT member for some time, was a member of the NSG since it respected NSGs objectives, said Swarup. China has opposed Indias bid to get NSG membership on the ground that it was yet to sign the NPT. China had said all the multilateral non-proliferation export control regime including the NSG have regarded NPT as an important standard for the expansion of the NSG. Liu Zhenmin, Chinas Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, later denied that his country was blocking India's bid for a membership in elite NSG and said it will work with the members of the 48-nation grouping as well as India to find a solution. President Pranab Mukherjee is likely to raise the issue during his visit to Beijing next week. Meanwhile, Pakistan on Friday said that it has formally applied for the membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, after China blocked Indias entry into the 48-member elite group. The Foreign Office (FO) said that Pakistans Ambassador in Vienna on Thursday applied for the membership through a letter addressed to the NSG Chairman. Pakistan said the decision to seek participation in the export-control regime reflects Pakistan's strong support for international efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. Bengaluru: Abdul Wahid Sidibapa an alleged key operative of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), the banned terrorist organisation and a relative of Indias most wanted terror fugitives Riyaz and Iqbal Shahbandari alias the notorious Bhatkal brothers was on Friday arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. Wahid was reportedly detained in Abu Dhabi in 2014 on the request of Indian authorities for allegedly routing the money sent by Riyaz and Iqbal using banking channels and the Western Union Money Transfer ahead of bomb blasts in India during and after 2006. Wahid was wanted in cases pertaining to conspiracy by the IM to attack various places in India. He was based in Dubai for more than a decade and was involved in the recruitment of IM cadres. Under the code name of Khan, Wahid was also providing them with monetary and other logistic help in the UAE and facilitating their transit to Pakistan for militant training. A warrant of arrest and a Red Corner Notice (RCN) had been issued against him on the basis of which he was arrested today, said an NIA spokesperson. Wahid has played a very important role for sustaining the IM in the Middle East after the arrest of his cousin Mohammed Ahmed Zarar Sidibapa alias Yasin Bhatkal in August 2013. His arrest is a big blow to the terror organisation, which is almost on its last legs with the key members barring Riyaz and Iqbal under arrest in India, said an official source. Wahid was arrested after a long and painstaking effort by the Indian enforcement agencies and the mutual cooperation between India and the UAE, which along with its neighbour Saudi Arabia has been flushing out Indian fugitive terrorists from its soil. Wahid is originally a resident of Maqdoom Colony in Bhatkal and is fluent in Urdu, English, Hindi and Kannada. He is innocent: wahids father Relatives of alleged Indian Mujahideen operative, Abdul Wahid Siddibapa have claimed that he is innocent. He was in Bhatkal till 2003 working as Imam in a mosque, but left following some quarrel. Mansoor Kola, father-in-law of Wahid, has ruled out the charges of him being an IM operative. "Abdul is not a person who would get into all these. He was arrested earlier at Dubai after which he lost his job and was facing problems. His wife and children too are with him at Dubai. The family is finding it difficult to pay for food and rent. These allegations are false," he said. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress and hold talks with President Barack Obama during his two-day visit to the US from June 7. The two leaders will also review the progress made in key areas of defence, security and energy during their meet. At the invitation of the US President Barack Obama, Modi will visit Washington DC on June 7-8, the External Affairs Ministry said on Friday. Modi who is leaving for Iran on Sunday, will also pay a two-day visit to Qatar from June 4. Modi will be the fifth Indian PM to address a joint meeting of Congress. Earlier, prime ministers included Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The AP government will release the medical stream results of the Eamcet conducted on April 29, at 11 am on Saturday. (Representational Image) Hyderabad/New Delhi: The Telangana state government announced on Friday that it would conduct a fresh Eamcet for filling medical and dental seats hours after the Centre, under pressure from several states, agreed to promulgate an ordinance to keep state boards out of the ambit of the Neet for this year. The AP government will release the medical stream results of the Eamcet conducted on April 29, at 11 am on Saturday. Results for other streams had been released on May 13. The ordinance, cleared by the Union Cabinet on Friday morning, is aimed at partially overturning a Supreme Court verdict which said all government colleges, deemed universities and private medical colleges would be covered under Neet. This was the only agenda for the Cabinet meeting, sources said. The next phase of the exam is scheduled for July 24. The engineering test will be held from 10 am to 1 pm and the afternoon test from 2.30 to 5.30 pm. (Representational Image) Hyderabad: All arrangements are in place for the TS Eamcet on Sunday. Nearly 2.46 lakh students take the test this year. The engineering test will be held from 10 am to 1 pm and the afternoon test from 2.30 to 5.30 pm will be for admission into agriculture, veterinary, horticulture, pharma, ayurveda and homeopathy streams. Medical admissions are out of the purview of Eamcet. Candidates have been asked to reach their centres in advance. Centres will open one hour before the exam. Students will not be allowed even one minute after the exam begins. Students have been told not to carry wrist watches, cell phones and other electronic devices to the halls. Biometric data of each candidate will be collected this year. New Delhi: After returning from honeymoon, a Lucknow-based man got the shock of his life as his wife abandoned him at Delhi airport and eloped with her lover. The newly-wed halted at the airport to board a flight heading to Lucknow and the wife asked her husband to wait outside the washroom. Things seemed eerie when she didnt come out of the washroom for a long time. Being vexed by the delay, the husband showed her photograph to another woman coming out of the washroom and requested her to check on his wife, who was wearing a blue saree. The husband was left baffled when the woman couldnt find his wife in the washroom. Being alarmed by the untoward situation, the husband sought help from security officials at the airport. According to a CCTV footage of the airport, a burqa clad woman was seen coming out of the washroom, whose gait and height was similar to that of the woman under question, conceded the man when the footage was shown to him. However, he refused to file a police complaint. After coming out of the washroom, the woman headed to the VIP parking area where she met another man, said an airport official. Both of them were seen halting a taxi. The duo was later on joined by a third person, who according to the police was an accomplice and was party to the plan. New Delhi: Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal got a reality check while apprising the august assembly of his governments achievement during a book launch on Friday. The moment the minister started off with his speech, the event testified a power cut. The minister was explaining as to how his government has strived hard to electrify rural India in a span of two years since the BJP-led NDA government came to power. Goyal was in a flow when a sudden power cut impeded the event. However, instead of being put down by the crisis, Goyal smartly braced the situation. Keeping his calm, he said, My wife tells me that there should be a power cut at every program so I know I have miles to go before I sleep. Looks like they have taken this quite seriously. Without taking a pause, the minister talked about the booklet named Ujwal Bharat two years , and how the government is planning to arrange a power supply system for Delhi, which would ensure 24 hours power supply like in Mumbai. Immediately after the glitch, PIB (Press information bureau) ordered an enquiry into the event. "Director General, Press Information Bureau had earlier in the afternoon ordered an enquiry into the power incident and sought a report from the officials of PIB soon after the event," a PIB statement said. According to a preliminary report submitted to DG, PIB, it was found that the power supply of New Delhi Municipal Corporation was restored after 45 minutes at 12.10 pm but in order to avoid further tripping, the supply was maintained on DG sets. It further stated there was a power failure at 11.25 am from the NDMC side. The National Media Centre has a back-up of 4 Gensets, 2 Gensets of 500 KVA and 2 Gensets of 750 KVA, which are in a auto mode. Soon after the power failure, the sets started on automode but due to surge in requirement of power the air circuit braker of the supply tripped and load automatically transferred to 500 KVA Gensets, it said. Since the power supply was not stable in automatic mode, PIB officials took the decision to put the gensets into manual mode and maintain the supply without any further tripping till the end of the press conference, it added. Mumbai: Maharashtra unit of Janata Dal (United) has sought that the state should emulate Bihar government in enforcing a total ban on sale and consumption of liquor. "If states like Gujarat, Mizoram, Kerala and Bihar can ban alcohol consumption in their respective states then why not Maharashtra," Shyam Bhusevar, President of Janata Dal (U), Maharashtra, said. "Bihar government has banned sale and consumption of liquor in the state and set an example before the country," Bhusevar told reporters here. "If an economically backward state like Bihar can declare state-wide ban on liquor and forgo the revenue generated from its sale and consumption then why is it becoming difficult for a financially strong state like Maharashtra to ban liquor," he said. Bhusevar has written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to ban liquor consumption and sale in Maharashtra. New Delhi: Supreme Court has issued a rare warrant against the chief of the country's pollution control board in the decade-old case of stone workers in Gujarat who died of silicosis. The Supreme Court issued the warrant this week after the head of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) failed to notify the court of steps taken to prevent the deaths of workers from the respiratory disease, according to Radha Kant Tripathy, a lawyer with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Activists welcomed the move for greater accountability. "It is very significant and very unusual that the court issued the warrant," said Colin Gonsalves, founder of the Human Rights Law Network which represented the petitioner, the charity Peoples' Rights and Social Research Centre (PRASAR). The CPCB takes the matter very seriously, and will address the court's concerns, A. Sudhakar, a senior official, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. India is one of the largest producers of raw stone, accounting for more than a quarter of stones mined worldwide. Millions of workers in India's quartz mines, quarries and stone-crushing factories have contracted silicosis from long-term exposure to silica dust, say activists. About a fifth of mine workers in India are children. Many of the workers are poor tribals or bonded labourers who work for little or no money. They rarely receive medical care or compensation for loss of pay because of the disease. "These workers are abandoned by their employer, by the state. They have no rights, no protection," Gonsalves said. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ordered the Gujarat government to pay 300,000 rupees ($4,445) to the families of each of the 238 migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh who died of the incurable lung disease, which they had contracted working in quarries and stone-crushing factories in Godhra, in Gujarat. That order came a decade after PRASAR had filed a petition, in 2006, asking for compensation and rehabilitation of the workers, as well as measures to protect other workers in eight states. On the Supreme Court's direction, the NHRC submitted a report in 2010, in which it said that Gujarat had failed to protect the workers from Madhya Pradesh. In ordering compensation to be paid, the Supreme Court said: "In the interest of the kith and kin of those people who died on account of the disease, and in the interest particularly of those orphan children of those deceased, we are of the view that the state of Gujarat should forthwith comply with the direction of the National Human Rights Commission." The state must submit proof it has paid compensation within eight weeks, the court said. It said Madhya Pradesh will rehabilitate a further 304 workers from that state who contracted the disease. "We hope that the compensations will be paid immediately," said Gonsalves. "More importantly, we hope that measures to identify and treat all workers suffering from silicosis will be taken," he said. The next hearing at the Supreme Court is on June 30. Fortunately Ramya did not end up becoming yet another statistic like two other children, Sridevi and Manjunath, who were mauled to death by stray dogs in the city in 2007. Bengaluru: It was Thursday noon and six- year- old Ramya was playing in a field in Sunkadakatte near Bidarahalli when horror unfolded. Before the little girl could move, a pack of around 15 stray dogs pounced on her, mauling her. But she was luckier than other children her age, who have been killed by strays in the past. Local villagers rushed to her rescue and shooed the dogs away, saving her life. "I thought I had lost her, said her badly shaken father, Ramegowda, 34, holding his daughter's hand and trying to comfort her. Informed by other villagers about the attack, he rushed to her side and found her badly injured, bleeding and with bites all over her body. "My daughter was playing in the field when the dogs attacked her. Had it not been for the labourers who shooed away the dogs I might have lost her," he added. But the childs plight was far from over as nearby hospitals refused to treat her.. "I went to two hospitals nearby who gave her first-aid but refused to admit her, saying her condition was very serious," added Ramegowda, who was finally able to admit her to the Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences(KIMS), where doctors say had she arrived later it may have been too late to save her. "They were all category 3 bites and were all over her body. Shockingly, she had some 50 wounds including teeth marks, bites and scratches. We gave her an anti- rabies vaccination and immunoglobulin infiltration," said Dr Giriyanna Gowda, the assistant professor who treated her at the Anti Rabies Clinic of KIMS. Ramya is now stable and the blood loss has been contained. She was treated at the Anti Rabies Clinic of KIMS. (Photo: DC) Ramya is now stable and the infection and blood loss has been contained, he adds. Had she come in later there would have been huge blood loss and high chances of the infection spreading," he said. She will remain under observation for another three days, according to Dr Shrinivasa, HoD of the paediatric unit of KIMS . Fortunately Ramya did not end up becoming yet another statistic like two other children, Sridevi and Manjunath, who were mauled to death by stray dogs in the city in 2007. The girls father complains that the BBMP has done nothing to curb the stray dog menace in his locality, which has some 200 of them. We have complained to the village heads but no one has set foot in this area to deal with the hundreds of stray dogs, added Ramyas uncle, Shivalingegowda. Meanwhile, Dr Maheshwar, Joint Director, Animal Husbandry Department, BBMP who visited the spot of the attack, says they have now begun combing the area intensively for the stray dogs. "We have already sent a team of dog catchers to the area and caught many strays. The intensive combing will continue for the next two days," he assured. Guwahati: BJP's Atul Bora has won by the highest margin of 1,30,197 votes from Dispur assembly constituency while his party colleague Kishore Nath won by the lowest margin of 42 votes from Barak Valley's Borkhola seat in the Assam assembly polls. Bora, who polled 1,98,378 votes, defeated sitting Congress MLA and former minister Akon Bora by the highest margin of votes in the state. Akon Bora had defeated him in the last polls by 9247 votes. BJP's Kishore Nath defeated Independent candidate Misbahul Islam Laskar by the lowest margin of only 42 seats in Borkhola which was represented by controversial Congress MLA Rumi Nath in the outgoing assembly and she was relegated to the third position. While only one candidate won by a margin of more than one lakh, seven won by more than fifty thousand margin. Former BJP state unit President Siddhartha Bhattacharya won by the second highest margin of 96,637 votes followed by the saffron party's alliance partner AGP's Ramendra Narayan Kalita from Gauhati (West) who won by a margin of 89,910 votes. Bhattacharya was defeated in the 2011 assembly polls by 77,403 votes by sitting Congress MLA Capt Robin Bordoloi while Kalita had finished third behind sitting Congress MLA Hemanta Talukdar and the BJP candidate. BJP state election convener Himanta Biswa Sarma, who had held the record of winning by the highest margin of votes in the last assembly polls, won by 85,935 votes from Jalukbari assembly constituency bettering his last record of 77,403 votes. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who retained his Titabor assembly constituency, won by a much reduced margin of 17,495 votes than his last assembly polls winning margin of 54,199. BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal also won by a comfortable margin of 18,923 votes in Majuli (ST) over sitting Congress MLA and former minister Rajib Lochan Pegu. The saffron party's performance in the world's largest river island is indeed remarkable as it finished last in the last assembly polls with a mere 2500 votes. Former two-time AGP Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta also managed to retain his Baharampur constituency by a reduced margin of 5169 votes over Congress candidate Suresh Bora whom he had defeated in 2011 by 15902 votes. Among others who managed to win by a very narrow margin are AIUDF's Ananta Kumar Malo over Congress minister Chandan Sarkar in Abhayapuri South by only 191 votes followed by sitting Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purukayastha who retained the Karimgnaj (North) seat by defeating former BJP MLA Mission Ranjan Das by mere 468 votes. Speaker of the outgoing assembly Pranab Gogoi managed to retain the Sibasagar seat for Congress by winning by a low margin of 542 votes while his first time party contestant Gautam Dhanowar managed to win by only 782 votes to retain Doomdooma which was represented by his father Rameswar Dhanowar for the last eight consecutive terms. Five candidates won by less than thousand votes, 41 candidates won by margin of votes ranging from one to ten thousand votes, 28 won by vote margin between ten to twenty thousand, 25 candidates with margin ranging from twenty to thirty thousand votes, 13 in the range of thirty to forty thousand votes and five with margins between forty to fifty thousands. BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal also won by a comfortable margin of 18,923 votes in Majuli (ST) over sitting Congress MLA and former minister Rajib Lochan Pegu. The saffron party's performance in the world's largest river island is indeed remarkable as it finished last in the last assembly polls with a mere 2500 votes. Former two-time AGP Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta also managed to retain his Baharampur constituency by a reduced margin of 5169 votes over Congress candidate Suresh Bora whom he had defeated in 2011 by 15902 votes. Among others who managed to win by a very narrow margin are AIUDF's Ananta Kumar Malo over Congress minister Chandan Sarkar in Abhayapuri South by only 191 votes followed by sitting Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purukayastha who retained the Karimgnaj (North) seat by defeating former BJP MLA Mission Ranjan Das by mere 468 votes. Speaker of the outgoing assembly Pranab Gogoi managed to retain the Sibasagar seat for Congress by winning by a low margin of 542 votes while his first time party contestant Gautam Dhanowar managed to win by only 782 votes to retain Doomdooma which was represented by his father Rameswar Dhanowar for the last eight consecutive terms. Five candidates won by less than thousand votes, 41 candidates won by margin of votes ranging from one to ten thousand votes, 28 won by vote margin between ten to twenty thousand, 25 candidates with margin ranging from twenty to thirty thousand votes, 13 in the range of thirty to forty thousand votes and five with margins between forty to fifty thousands. New Delhi: At least 428 MLAs or nearly half of all the winners in recently concluded assembly elections -- in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry -- are crorepatis, a survey by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said on Friday. The survey included analysis of poll affidavits filed by as many as 812 elected MLAs, ADR said, while adding that the affidavits for some others could not be taken into account as they were 'badly scanned'. Puducherry has the maximum 83 per cent of crorepati MLAs, followed by Tamil Nadu (76 per cent) and Assam (57 per cent). However, only 34 per cent of elected MLAs in West Bengal are crorepatis, while this percentage for Kerala is 44 per cent. Read: West Bengal Assembly to have only 40 women MLAs In 2011, Assam had 39 per cent of crorepati MLAs, while Kerala had 25 per cent, Puducherry (63 per cent), Tamil Nadu (51 per cent) and West Bengal (15 per cent). In Puducherry, 30 MLAs were analysed of which 25 are crorepatis, while in Tamil Nadu 223 MLAs were analysed, with 170 emerging as crorepatis this year. Assam has 72 crorepatis out of 126 MLAs analysed, Kerala 61 crorepatis of 140 MLAs analysed and West Bengal has 100 crorepatis of 293 analysed, the survey by ADR added. In Assam, Naren Sonowal of Asom Gana Parishad has total assets of over Rs 33.94 crore, while in Kerala Thomas Chandy of NCP has total assets of more than Rs 92.37 crore. Read: Kerala Assembly to have 8 women MLAs; no woman member in Opposition In Puducherry, Ashok Anand of All India N.R. Congress has total assets of over Rs 124 crore and West Bengal Samir Chakraborty of AITC has Rs 40.59 crore of total assets. Tamil Nadu, Vasanthakumar. H of INC has Rs 337 crore of total assets and Jayalalithaa has Rs 113 crore in total assets, the survey added. A total of 186 MLAs have declared that they have never filed income tax returns (ITR). Kerala has the maximum percentage (60 per cent) of MLAs who have not filed income tax returns, followed by West Bengal (20 per cent). The survey further added that 49 MLAs have not even given their PAN details. Puducherry has the highest average assets (Rs 13.45 crore) of MLAs followed by Tamil Nadu with average assets of Rs 8.21 crore and Kerala with average assets of Rs 2.82 crore. Read: 62 percent MLAs face criminal cases in Kerala: report The number of women MLAs is only 77 out of 812 analysed in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry 2016 assembly elections. On analysis based on age, the survey said that five MLAs are above 80 years of age, while 38 are aged 71 to 80 years, 187 (61 to 70 years), 278 (51 to 60 years), 212 (41 to 50 years), 87 (31 to 40 years) and 5 (25 to 30 years). Analysis based on education showed that there are 19 MLAs with PhD degree. The maximum number of MLAs (10) with PhD are from West Bengal followed by Tamil Nadu with 5 MLAs. Apart from PhD, there are 480 or 59 per cent MLAs with graduate or above degrees, it said. National Election Watch (NEW) groups in the five states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry have analysed the affidavits of 812 MLAs elected in 2016 elections. One out of every three newly-elected MLAs in West Bengal has a criminal case pending against him/her. An analysis of their affidavits by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) shows out of the 294 seats in the House, 107 winning candidates have criminal cases. In their poll affidavits, 93 of the elected politicians had admitted that there were serious charges against them. A study of their assets profile shows that 100 (34 per cent) newly-elected MLAs are crorepatis. Samir Chakraborty of Trinamool, elected from Taldangra, is the richest of them all having declared assets worth over Rs 40.5 crore. Jangipur's newly-elected MLA Jakir Hossain's net worth is about Rs 22 crore while minister of the outgoing Assembly Javed Ahmed Khan, who has been reelected from Kasba, has assets worth Rs 17 crore. All three richest candidates are from Trinamool Congress which has won a second consecutive mandate. However, 20 cent newly-elected MLAs have, have not filed their income tax returns. A look at their educational qualification shows that 49 of them never studied beyond secondary school while one of them is bare literate. The number of MLAs having PhD degree are 10. Prominent among them is Trinamool secretary-general Partha Chatterjee, who was the education minister in the last government. In 2015, he had completed doctorate in economics from North Bengal University. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The LDFs newspaper ad blitz on polling day, urging voters to press the right key on the EVM to weed out the corrupt, was spot on, as the popular perception of governance corruption, along with a growing fear of the emergence of rightwing forces, has led to the rout of the Chandy Government. But an overriding fear of the BJP-BDJS capturing the Opposition space, possibly relegating the Left, helped the latter garner the minority vote. In pockets of Malappuram, Muslims stuck with the League, giving it 18 seats as against 20 last time. Elsewhere, Muslims preferred the Left, in a trend that had started with the civic polls, as a better alternative to the Congress to protect their interests. In Ernakulam and Kottayam, Christians also behaved like a bloc, as proved by the re-election of the bargate-tainted Mr K M Mani. The BJP-BDJS factor which ensured the victory of Mr O Rajagopal in Nemom and second place for the combine in seven other constituencies, triggered a counter accretion on the part of the forward communities especially Nairs. The Ezhava factor was perceived to be turning hegemonic. Even the Congress which adopted a soft approach to the combine might rethink lest the divisive politics undermine its own survival. The future of BJP-BDJS, for now, looks bleak because the combine has not been able to make major gains despite the unprecedented campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A perception had gained ground that Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has been soft towards the saffron party and his reference to BJP being the principal opponent in some places during electioneering in Kuttanad was seen to be a follow-up of his Aruvikkara by-election warning that BJP will emerge as the runner-up. This plus the talk of tacit alliance with BDJS in select constituencies have proved to be Mr Chandy's undoing. He had expected the kickoff of mega projects, the distribution of goodies such as Rs 1,200 crore to 1.4 lakh people as medical assistance, expansion of the welfare dole-out coverage from 9 lakh to 34 lakh beneficiaries and his mass contact programme to translate into goodwill votes. It would have worked in centralised, personality cult-based politics, where the entire credit for any success belongs to the leader. But in Keralas decentralized setup, the credit for governance scatters to legislators and local body leaders. Voters here believe politicians have been voted to power to ensure peoples welfare. This is why they vote out the incumbent at the end of the term, for not rising up to their expectations. The Chandy dispensation had scored on the welfare front but all the good was drowned in perceived corruption. This has been endorsed in a yet-to-be released Centre for the Study of Development Societies survey in Kerala. 75 percent respondents said they detested governance corruption the most. An extra 2 percent said the previous VS government was less corrupt, associate professor Sajad Ibrahim of the Kerala University Department of Political Science, who was part of the study, told DC. The people also believe that the tradition of alternating governance is beneficial for the States development. The comatose PDS and the majority perception of the Government being oversensitive to minority interests, especially Mr Chandys failure to keep minority parties in check, contributed to the slide. Acute water shortage at the height of summer as the polls drew near and the police failure to nab killer/s of Dalit victim Jisha in Perumbavur, raising fresh questions on the safety of women, were the last straw on the camels back. Voters also made light of Oommen Chandy's phased prohibition lollipop. Kolkata: Mamata Banerjee has been unanimously elected as the leader of Trinamool Congress legislature party at its meeting here on Friday. TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee, who was re-elected from Behala Paschim seat, proposed her name which was seconded by all the newly-elected MLAs of the party. Banerjee after which left for Raj Bhavan to meet the governor apparently to stake claim to form a new government. While coming out of the Raj Bhavan after meeting Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, Banerjee said, "May 20 is an auspicious day because it was on this day in 2011 our government took oath after the 'poribortan'... So we have come today to meet the Governor and give him a letter on behalf of our party." Banerjee, who arrived at the Raj Bhavan along with party leaders Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Subrata Bakshi, Saugata Roy and Mukul Roy at around 1.43 PM, spoke to the governor for about 30 minutes. PINARAYI (KANNUR): Pinarayi is not a just a village in Kannur for the CPM. Its most famous resident is considered as the party's last word in the state. After two decades, when politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan contested from Dharmadam constituency which includes Pinarayi panchayat, the challenge before the party workers was not just to make him victorious but to give their supreme leader a fitting margin. And, they did it with a whopping 36,905 votes margin, bettering K.K Narayanan's 15,162 lead in 2011. On the morning of counting day, Pinarayi Vijayan was at Payyambalam to pay tribute to former chief minister E.K. Nayanar on his 12th death anniversary . However, Pinarayi town started its preparations to celebrate its leader's victory as early at 7 a.m. The party workers set up a big screen near the LDF election committee office to watch the live TV coverage, and nearby, another team of party men was busy preparing chicken biriyani for the public. We are only worried about his margin. According to our calculation he will get between 25,000 and 30,000, said Pinarayi town ward member K.P. Aslam. Another panchayat member Rajan soon came with the news that Pinarayi Vijyan would come at 3 p.m. to the town junction to address the people. By 9.20 a.m., the party workers started bursting crackers as Pinarayi Vijayan's lead crossed 15,000. Local committee secretary and close confidant of Mr Vijayan , Kakkoth Rajan was also seen visiting the spot , giving directions to the party workers. He is one among us and his victory with a record margin is what we are looking for. The entire town is waiting for it, said DYFI Mambaram village secretary Shailesh. Tonight is to celebrate and not to sleep, added a young party worker Nipin, who spoke while dancing with a group of youngsters. The gathering in the town started bursting more crackers as they heard the defeat of the party's staunch enemy and Congress leader K Sudhakaran in Uduma. The crowd also celebrated Minister K. Babu's defeat in Thrippunithura and K.P. Mohanans in Kuthuparamba. As the LDF regained power with 91 seats, party workers from other areas came to the spot in large numbers in vehicles , turning the roads to red. At 3 p.m, Pinarayi Vijayan along with Rajya Sabha MP K.K. Ragesh came to the town in an open jeep to address the crowd. His wife Kamala Vijayan was on the front row of the party workers gathered to welcome the vehicle procession. In an emotional speech, Pinarayi Vijayan thanked his party workers for giving him a thumping victory. When I faced opposition and attacks from many from all corners, it was the support from my comrades which helped me to overcome those challenges successfully. Your love and affection for me have been reflected in the election results too. I will do my level best not to disappoint you as your representative, he summed up, while hundreds of party workers raised slogans expressing their love and support to the man who made their village famous. Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday resigned from the post following the defeat of Congress-led UDF in the Assembly election. Chandy drove to the Raj Bhavan Friday morning around 10.30 am and submitted his resignation letter to Governor P Sathasivam. He told reporters that UDF and Congress would be meeting next week to discuss the poll debacle and take stock of the situation. Read: Corruption, need for change defeated Congress in Kerala UDF, which was trounced by CPI(M) headed LDF in the May 16 polls, bagged only 47 seats against the rival front's 91. "This is only a temporary phenomena and Congress will come back with strength," 72-year-old Chandy said, adding, "the party and Front have the responsibility for the setback, but as chairman of UDF, I have more responsibility". On reports that he was not willing to take up the post of Leader of Opposition, he said, "It is a matter to be discussed at the party level. I have nothing more to say." Chandy said that he would be going to the state Secretariat to meet his office staff and other employees. Chandy has the distinction of being the only Congress chief minister to have completed the five-year term in office. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK Supremo J Jayalalithaa is greeted by a supporter after her party's win in the state Assembly polls. (Photo: PTI) Chennai: Issues like prohibition and allegations of corruption directed against AIADMK by the opposition failed to cut any ice with the voters as the ruling dispensation not only retained power but also bettered its vote share in the May 16 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls. In a wide open electoral battle that saw a six-cornered fight, the split in vote share among parties like DMDK, PMK and BJP seemed to have dented the chances of the main opposition DMK, which pulled out all stops to come back to power after a five year hiatus. This even included party Treasurer M K Stalin's much hyped pre-poll initiative 'Namakku Name' where he covered all 234 Assembly seats in the state. AIADMK, which fielded its candidates in 227 seats, made sure its small-time allies also contested on the party's Two Leaves symbol, virtually making its presence felt in all 234 seats. However, elections were held only for 232 segments as the Election Commission had deferred polling in Aravakurichi and Thanjavur to May 23 following allegations of money power. AIADMK may have seen a dip in the number of seats it scored this time at 134 as against 150 last time, but the party managed to increase its vote share. The party had registered a vote share of 39.80 per cent in 2011 with 150 seats but made gains this time by registering 40.8 per cent. The party bucked the trend of parties alternatively forming government in the state, belying most exit polls that did not give it a favourable verdict. Amid a strong perceived anti-liquor mood where all parties, including DMK promised dry law with a single order, AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa took a gamble when she promised the same law, albeit in a phased manner. At the meetings attended by women in large numbers, the 68-year-old leader repeatedly insisted that prohibition at one go was not possible as it required rehabilitation of affected persons. She also stuck to doling out freebies, saying they were meant for people's welfare, and ridiculed the criticism by others including DMK, saying she was with the poor when it came to providing such sops. Delivering a virtual masterstroke by delaying her party manifesto and releasing it on a day when Congress President Sonia Gandhi and DMK chief M Karunanidhi were slated to address a public meeting, Jayalalithaa ensured the limelight stayed on her. Free 100 units of power, sops in education sector, free mobile phones and employment to one member in the family were the highlights of her party manifesto. DMK, which went all guns blazing, including making catchy ads even featuring the December 2015 deluge, failed to cross the finish line. However, the party stormed Chennai, its bastion wrested by AIADMK in 2011, even as it polled 31.6 per cent of the total votes. DMK won ten out of the 16 segments in Chennai district. Having managed to stitch a rainbow alliance despite failing to rope in DMDK after much wooing, DMK settled for 89 seats, increasing both its number of seats (23) and vote share (22.38) from 2011. DMK's ally Congress won eight seats and polled 6.4 per cent of the total votes. DMK, which had continued with the liquor policy introduced by AIADMK in 2003 through its 2006-11 regime, seemed to have bet on prohibition and deployed Stalin for the campaign in favour of dry law. DMK even promised to shut down distilleries run by its leaders but the issue failed to make any impact on voters as South and West Tamil Nadu stood behind Jayalalithaa and voted en masse for AIADMK. The DMK's manifesto paled before AIADMK when it came to offering freebies. The party seemed to have taken at face value the many exit polls which gave it the numbers to form government. The real flop, however, turned out to be the DMDK-PWF-TMC combine. The combined vote share of the coalition stood at around 6.1 per cent, much less than what DMDK (7.88 per cent) scored on its own in the 2011 polls. PWF constituents- MDMK, CPI(M), CPI and VCK besides TMC, could not even register one per cent votes. Political observers felt PWF coordinator Vaiko's decision to pull out of the race in Kovilpatti in the last minute had given confusing signals to voters. The voters also dashed the hopes of PMK and BJP to make a mark in the state polls. Guwahati: The key architect of BJPs campaign Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said it was a historic win for the BJP in Assam, full of hopes and aspirations of the people. Talking to this newspaper here, Mr Sarma said, This victory of BJP has been historic. It is more significant and sweet to me as it has come just after I was insulted and humiliated in the Congress party by its vice-president Rahul Gandhi and chief minister Tarun Gogoi. He said the people of Assam has also rejected the vision of Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi in its verdict. Mr Sarma, however, clarified that this election result has bigger message that Assam wanted to grow with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I sincerely thank the people of Assam for expressing their faith in the leadership of BJP. I would also like to reiterate that each and every promise that BJP has given in its vision document will be implemented, said Mr Sarma adding that this victory may have not been possible without the alliance of BJP with BPF, AGP and other like minded forces. Meanwhile, Sarma told a TV channel that when a fight broke out in a meeting of Assam Congress leaders that he had called, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi seemed oblivious and more interested in his dog. Kolkata: The failure of the Left-Congress alliance to make an impact and Mamata Banerjee's emphasis on development helped the Trinamool Congress script a stunning victory in Assembly polls in West Bengal, winning 211 of the 294 seats, an improvement over its 2011 tally of 184 seats. TMC's performance was all the more creditable as it contested the election on its own, unlike in 2011 when it had allied with the Congress. An analysis of the results indicate that TMC vote percentage also increased compared to the 2011 Assembly polls and the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. TMC secured 44.9 per cent of the total votes polled, compared to 39 per cent in 2011 and 39.03 per cent in 2014. Read: 'Indebted to people,' says Mamata after victory; to take oath on May 27 Political observers noted that the TMC supremo achieved the stunning victory despite several odds stacked against her - Saradha scam, the Narada sting expose and the Vivekananda flyover collapse. Her slogan for development and various schemes for the common people caught the imagination of the voters. Referring to the charges of corruption against her party, Banerjee had yesterday dubbed it as "propaganda by a section of media." "There is no corruption in Bengal. Bengal is a corruption-free state. The people have rejected the allegation," she had asserted. On the other hand, the CPI(M)-led Left Front and Congress which had formed an alliance to fight the TMC have failed to put up a creditable show. CPI-M's vote percentage fell to 19.7 per cent this time from 29.58 per cent in 2011 Assembly election. In 2014 Lok Sabha poll, the party had captured nearly 23 per cent vote. Read: West Bengal: Mamata shows Left-Congress whos the boss The CPI-M this time won only 26 seats while its other Left Front constituents RSP won 3 seats, Forward Bloc-2 and CPI-1. The combined vote share of the Left Front was also reduced to nearly 24 per cent from 41 per cent in 2011. The Left Front had won 62 seats in 2011 Assembly polls, of which CPI(M) had won 40. Mamata Banerjee had dubbed the coming together of CPI-M and Congress as the "greatest blunder" and said the people had rejected it. The Congress, however, benefited from the alliance and bettered its vote percentage this time to 12.3, compared to 9.09 per cent in 2011, when it had contested in alliance with TMC. In 2014 Lok Sabha poll, Congress's vote share in the state was around 9.6 per cent. Poll analysts said it appeared that the people rejected the alliance between the former rivals because "it had come together with a single agenda of defeating the TMC". The leadership of the Congress and the the CPI-M dubbed it as a "people's alliance", but the results indicated that although there was transfer of votes from the Left to the Congress, the same was not true in case of Congress voters, they said. The analysts said it was clear from the results in north Bengal where the Congress had a substantial vote bank. The TMC bagged eight of the nine seats in Cooch Behar, four of five seats in Alipurduar and six of the seven seats in Jalpaiguri in north Bengal. On whether the much-touted Left-Congress alliance has failed, CPI-M state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra said, "I do not think so. To understand the reason, we need to do a deep assessment of the results". RSP, a Left Front partner, was forthcoming in admitting that the people rejected the alliance. "The CPI-M had gone overboard on the alliance with the Congress, even at the cost of Left partners. They had forgotten their old friends. The result shows that people have not accepted this alliance," RSP state secretary Kshiti Goswami said. Reacting to the alliance's poor performance, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "A defeat is a defeat. I don't want to give any excuse for it. I don't want to go into any blame game. The people believed it is better to vote for Mamata Banerjee." Although many poll experts had opined that any erosion of BJP's vote share which had gone upto nearly 17 per cent in 2014 Lok Sabha election, would benefit the Left-Congress alliance, the results indicated otherwise. The BJP's vote percentage had come down from nearly 17 per cent in 2014 to 10.2 per cent this time but it did not benefit the alliance in a significant way. On the other hand, TMC's vote percentage had gone up by nearly six per cent. Notwithstanding the erosion in its vote share compared to 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP's performance was encouraging as the party managed to win three seats for the first time in the state assembly. Earlier, the BJP had won twice in by-poll. Compared to 2011 Assembly election when the BJP had secured 4.06 per cent votes, the party this time polled 10.2 per cent voted barely two per cent less than Congress. The Palair result has cheered up the the party leadership, minister for IT K.T. Rama Rao and R&B minister Tummala Nageswara Rao four various reasons. Khammam: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which bagged a mere 4,041 votes in 2014 elections in Palair, seems to have strengthened its base in Khammam district, which is known as having poor Telangana sentiment. The Palair result has cheered up the the party leadership, minister for IT K.T. Rama Rao and R&B minister Tummala Nageswara Rao four various reasons. It has increased the strength of the party to seven, in a total of 10 MLAs, in Khammam district. The party got a majority of 45,682 votes, a record in Palair. Never in the history of Palair has a candidate won with such a huge margin. Earlier, Kalthula Santaiah, Congress, won from Palair with 25,452 votes and it is the highest margin recorded so far. Mr Tummala Nageswara Rao created a new record by winning the seat with such a huge margin. In 2014 elections, the TRS won only one seat (Jalagam Venkat Rao) in Khammam district but now, it has seven MLA seats in its kitty. Three YSR Congress MLAs Thati Venkateswarlu, Payam Venkateswarlu and Madanlal and two Congress MLAs Koram Kanakaiah and Puvvada Ajay Kumar, joined the TRS at different times since 2014. Palair is the second seat the TRS wrested from the Congress in the bypoll. TRS district president Budan Baig said, "Our party secured 94,940 votes in the by-election. In 2014, the TRS won only 4,041 votes, which means the party has its hold in every mandal in Palair." The 2014 election had disturbed Mr Tummala Nageswara Rao as he was defeated in Khammam Assembly segment and he could not get a berth in the Cabinet. Mr Rao wanted to prove his abilities by winning directly from an Assembly segment and Palair helped him in fulfilling this aspiration. For industries minister K.T. Rama Rao, who was the in-charge of Palair bypolls, the victory has helped him in growing more confident of his strategies in handling the party affairs. During the election campaign, he said, "The TRS will win in the election with a respectable majority." Accordingly, the TRS secured 55.60 per cent of votes against 28.86 per cent polled by the Congress candidate followed by 9.01 polled by the CPM candidate. During the polls, Mr Rama Rao camped for more than 10 days in the segment and interacted with the farmers and cleared their doubts on various irrigation projects. He also spoke to the youth in the segment. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee meets with the supporters after her party's thumping win in West Bengal Assembly elections. (Photo: PTI) Kolkata: West Bengal will have a woman chief minister for the second consecutive term but the new 294-member state assembly will have only 40 women MLAs. Of them 29 are from Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, four from Congress, six from its ally CPI-M and one from Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. Besides Banerjee, who was the chief minister also held a number of other portfolios like home and health in the last government, there is only one more woman minister who has been re-elected this time. Shashi Panja, who was the Minister of State for Women and Child Welfare and Social Welfare, has managed to retain her Shyampukur seat in north Kolkata by a margin of over 13,000 votes. Two women ministers who were in the fray this time - Chandrima Bhattacharya and Sabitri Mitra lost out. Baishali Dalmiya and Mahua Moitra are two new entrants in the corridors of power. Baishali, daughter of former BCCI president late Jagmohan Dalmiya, debuted in the world of politics with a victory from Bally constituency in Howrah district on a TMC ticket. Moitra, on the other hand, is a former investment banker who quit her lucrative job as vice-president of J P Morgan in London to join politics in 2008. She contested on a TMC ticket this time and won the Karimpur seat in Nadia district by 15,989 votes. Bengali film actress and TMC leader Debasree Roy, who is also known as an animal rights activist retained her Raidighi seat. Other prominent women TMC leaders who made it to the house this time also are Nayna Bandopadhyay (Chowringhee), Smita Bakshi (Jorasanko) and Sonali Guha (Satgachia). New Delhi: The Congress is not ready to give up on the Gandhis. After Thursdays humiliating electoral defeats in Assam and Kerala, there was a chorus in the party on Friday to promote party vice-president Rahul Gandhi to the helm of affairs and cleanse the organisation of leaders above the age of 60 years. The Congress may go in for an AICC reshuffle in a couple of months and most of the AICC general secretaries are over 60 years. AICC treasurer Motilal Vohra is 88 years old. Mr Digvijay Singh, who generated a controversy by saying the party did not need introspection but a surgery, later indicated that surgery stood for drastic changes in the organisation, including a generational shift. Modi has got gift of the gab, says Digvijay Singh Amidst speculation that Mr Rahul Gandhi is set to replace his mother Sonia Gandhi as party president, Mr Digvijay Singh said it was time for the younger generation to take over. He rooted for fresh ideas and a fresh functioning style to revive the party, adding, We have to look at the present scenario, and also at what should be our organisational structure, our campaign strategy, and on building leadership, he said. The wish of the Congress workers and leaders is that Rahulji should take over. The process of his elevation cannot be stopped, P.C. Chacko said. Speaking to a TV channel, he compared PM Narendra Modi and Mr Gandhi. The difference between Modi and Rahul is that Mr Narendra Modi has got the gift of the gab, Mr Singh said. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rarely does the stern-faced Pinarayi Vijayan smile, making him look prickly and inaccessible. A makeover bid was on as he tried to mix with children and assorted groups. But while doing so he seemed to grope for his normal face. Now, back in form, he does not labour to smile. Being cool and business-like, he braces for a five-year term as the Kerala CEO. People close to him see him as the CEO, swift and stern in administration, just like he was as the Power Minister in 1996-97 and as the party State secretary for 17 years from 1998 to 2015. A member of the party politburo, Mr Vijayan has been a pragmatic Leftist. Be it in the campaign against factionalism or on the governance front, he has been a toughie. As the party secretary, he led a protracted campaign against factionalism, culminating in the prominent dissident, Mr V S Achuthanandan, making room for him as the next Chief Minister. But there used to be an uncertain phase, whether he would ever be back in electoral politics. The Lavalin power contract case, in which he was an accused, prevented him from contesting in elections. He stepped down as Power Minister and took over as the State party secretary in 1998 after the death of Chadayan Govindan. On Thursday, he won Dharmadom with a majority of 36,905 votes in a Left landslide, similar to that in 2006, when Mr Achuthanandan rode a popularity wave, winning 98 seats for the LDF. Mr Achuthanandan was then 82, but today Mr Vijayan is much younger at 72. Mr Vijayan was elected to the State Assembly from Koothuparamba by a slender majority of 743 votes when he was 26. He won all subsequent election contests till 1977. For a decade since, he concentrated on organizational work. He was district secretary in the party citadel of Kannur and was later the State secretariat member. He broke that spell when he contested and took over as the Power Minister. Born the son of toddy-tapper Mundayil Koran and Kalyani at Pinarayi in Parappuram, where the Community party in Kerala held its first meeting, his childhood was a struggle against poverty. For a year, he did handloom weaving to raise funds for college. He graduated from the Government Brennen College in Thalassery and debuted in student politics by becoming the State secretary of Kerala Students Federation and graduated as the state secretary of the Kerala State Youth Federation. The most impressive story of his youth was his marshalling of the secular-spirited people to douse passions during Hindu-Muslim riots in Thalassery in 1970-71. Muslims in Thalassery have forever been grateful to the party for this intervention. Mr A N Shamseer (CPM) won the seat by a margin of 34,117 votes this election. Mr Vijayan was in jail for one and a half year during the Emergency and that steeled his resolve to fight authoritarianism through the ballot. He won Koothup-aramba Assembly seat after the Emergency in 1977. His short stint as Power Minister 1996-98 earned his kudos from modernising power production and distribution. Mr Vijayans success as minister was in taking the party and trade unions along in the power sector, which used to be marred by labour unrest. But this tenure also caught him off guard, when he initiated the process of a power contract with the Canadian company, SNC Lavalin, which burdened the exchequer and was criticized by the CAG. Mr Vijayan and co-accused were discharged by the trial court but a fresh case is pending in the High Court. Mr Vijayan is among the few politicians who answer the phone and call back if he had missed it. In office, he may not be like his predecessor, Mr Chandy, keeping the office open to all and sundry. But he will also not be like CPM chief ministers E K Nayanar and Achuthanandan, who relied on aides to take decisions. Though known to care for the cadre and in building them up, Mr Vijayan has friends across social sections. If not at party meetings, he takes time for meeting friends and for movies. But in public, he is the tough-looking party apparatchik. The cadre adore Mr Vijayan because the he breathes and lives the CPM. Crowds like his no-nonsense approach to issues. He may not be a crowd-puller like Mr Achuthanandan, but his direct and blunt deliveries in earthy Kannur dialect have created a cult following. His long innings as the State party secretary and his induction into the politburo, barely at 55 years, have made him popular beyond the Vindhyas. Mr Achuthanandan has been perceived to take contrarian positions vis a vis the party but Mr Vijayan has always been with the party. One is the perpetual dissident, the other is the loyalist. Mr Vijayan never plays to the gallery. The party trusts him because he will not digress from the partys basic tenets. He understands the needs of a progressive and secular State like Kerala, says CPM State committee member M V Jayarajan. The bed or roses was full of thorns Though the fragrance of blossoms was alluring and sweet I rose from that bed in a hundred dawns Tears in my eyes and blood on my feet. From The Son-In-Law Also Rises by Bachchoo Boris Johnson, the ex-mayor of London, quit his post and immediately devoted himself to the Brexit campaign, the faction that wants Britain to leave the European Union. On the trail for votes in the June 23 national referendum, he boarded a Leave campaign bus to tour the country and in his first speech said that the European Union was attempting to unify the countries of Europe into one whole just as Napoleon and Hitler had tried to do by military means. He alluded to the Romans having done it before. Of course, he added, by other means to his assertion, implying that whereas Hitler had made the attempt in a straightforward way, marching armies into Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Netherlands, France and Russia, the European Union was aiming at the self-same unification by stealthy means. People pointed out that his campaign bus was of German manufacture. The opposite camp, those wanting to remain in the European Union, which includes the Prime Minister, chancellor, governor of the Bank of England, ex-heads of Britains top security services, US President Barack Obama, the head of the International Monetary Fund and the leaders of other European countries, were delighted with Boris speech. It was widely seen as irresponsible, scare-mongering, opportunist bunkum. It may have the effect of impressing those who are determined to vote to leave the EU in the referendum, but it may seriously damage Boris reputation as a potential level-headed successor to David Cameron as Prime Minister. Hitler is Europes biggest bogeyman. Earlier, before the London mayoral and regional local elections took place, Ken Livingstone, the previous ex-mayor of London, went on radio and TV to say that Hitler had supported the Zionist project by examining ways in which the Jews of Europe could be relocated in West Asia. The statement got Livingstone suspended from the Labour Party pending a party investigation into anti-Semitism. In other parts of the world Hitler is not the scion of evil. On the street-crossings of Dhaka, the men and women who sell pirated books to the cars pausing in queues at the traffic lights are carrying, among the Harry Potters and Jeffrey Archer novels, Hitlers Mein Kampf. A Bangladeshi professor told me, when I enquired as to why this poison was popular, at least among the English-reading public (I dont know if translations into Bengali exist), he said it was because the public is aware that the US, India and Israel have designs on Bangladesh. I asked him whether these were territorial designs but he wouldnt say and instead asserted Jews and Jewish interests were behind the schemes. He was aware that I was Indian and didnt go into any diatribe about Hindu plots, though I did get the impression that he was not averse to a bit of ethnic or religious bigotry. The invocation of Hitler and his theories of ethnic cleansing are not new to the subcontinent. Writing in the 1930s, at the time Hitler was making his bid for power, M.S. Golwalkar included in his patriotic book, We Our Nationhood Defined, these thoughts: From this standpoint, sanctioned by the experience of shrewd old nations, the foreign races in Hindustan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of the glorification of the Hindu race and culture, i.e. of the Hindu nation, and must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race; or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment not even citizens rights. Severe stuff! And then also: To keep up the purity of the race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the Semitic races the Jews Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindustan to learn and profit by. It later emerged that the quotes were translations and inclusions from earlier works and not his own formulations, but obviously if he quoted them he was in broad agreement with the Hitlerian agenda. Golwalkar didnt have the Jews in mind. His journey into a quest for the meaning of Indian nationalism began with a reaction against Christian evangelism in India which denigrated Hindu texts, traditions and practices. It then evolved into a reaction against the earlier Muslim conquests of India and the conversion of masses of the population to Islam. The current British allusions to Hitler, from Boris and Livingstone are by comparison frivolous. They are pushing arguments for small political gain, even though Boris, by advocating leaving the European Union, probably thinks he is leading the fight for Britains nationhood. For a party that everyone insists is dying and will soon pass on into history, the Congress still continues to attract a lot of attention across the country. Even in their triumphalism, the BJPs leaders and spokespersons never fail to draw attention to some crime, real or imagined, of the Congress Party. The vast army of trolls on the social media is always lurking around looking for evidence of support for the Congress, particularly among journalists. If indeed the Congress is breathing its last and the nation will be free of its loathsome legacy, why bother with it? The litany of complaints are many, but most of its detractors tend to focus on two. One is its dynastic traditions. The BJPs spokespersons are quick on the draw when asked about almost any issue, but before they address that point, they first must talk about the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. That is the partys original sin and everything flows from there. This, of course, is ridiculous. Dynasty is a bane of Indian politics, but even a casual glance around the country will show that the Congress is hardly the only party where sons and daughters are groomed for succession. Two of the BJPs allies Akali Dal and Shiv Sena are good examples of dynastic politics, not to forget the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Now even the BJP has been afflicted by this virus Poonam Mahajan, Pankaja Munde and Anurag Thakur are just a few of the many examples within the partys emerging generation. There is no evidence to suggest that voters care deeply about dynastic succession; sometimes it might even work in the candidates favour. Another long-standing complaint about the Congress is its high command culture. To which, one can only ask: has anyone seen the kind of control Jayalalithaa, Mayawati or Mamata Banerjee have over their party members? If anything, the old high command system of the Congress has almost totally dissipated; Sonia Gandhi is not like her imperious mother-in-law who could make a regional satrap quake with the quiver of her eyebrows. These are the characteristics that define Indian politics in general, and are not exclusive to the Congress. Pointing fingers at the party over these failings is, therefore, the lazy way out. Not just other politicians, who at least have a motive, but even journalists and pundits have internalised these bullet points, glibly voicing them whenever the Congress is mentioned. Yes, the Congress has serious problems, but neither the dynasty nor the so-called high command culture are among them. As a party, specially in its post-Indira Gandhi era, the Congress had little time for the urban elite and the burgeoning middle class, which, ironically, benefited from her socialistic policies like bank nationalisation. Even before the reforms of 1991, Rajiv Gandhi had brought about economic liberalisation, which benefited urban India, but the partys heart remained firmly on the left. The many rural upliftment programmes initiated by the Manmohan Singh government were due to Mrs Sonia Gandhis pressure; while the middle class, which by now had significantly risen in numbers to count as a voting bloc, loved his economic policies but was restless with schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, and the like. Public memory now extends to just a year or two in the past, but it is worth remembering that when the Congress won in 2009, the stock markets had zoomed. The party posted better results than in 2004, which was really a freak victory, and by 2009 the aspiration classes too backed the party and believed in the India story. It was during the second term that corruption, that accompanied the economic boom of the earlier tenure, came to the fore; and the Congress had no answer to the campaign by Anna Hazare and to the BJPs obstructionist tactics in Parliament. The result was policy paralysis, for which the government deservedly got the blame. The fickle voter, specially in cities and small towns, began to look for alternatives and Narendra Modi, with his development agenda, seemed the right fit. The Congress had nothing new to offer. The partys internal structural weaknesses lack of internal elections, poor coordination structures, durbar culture and the emergence of Rahul Gandhi without a clearly defined leadership role had not mattered in the good times; but now they were starkly apparent. Perhaps the partys biggest failing has been its inability or unwillingness to stand by its core values of liberalism and secularism. At a time when nasty divisiveness and growing communalisation is all around us, it was vital for the Congress to emphasise its convictions; instead, it seems to be responding in a wishy-washy way on a case-by-case basis. It has been noted that the Congress won far more seats in the just-concluded polls than the BJP. But the BJP has won a state, that too for the first time, and taken it away from the Congress. Should the Congress be happy being number two everywhere? There is a Congress presence in every Assembly, and it is still a national party, but how soon before the regional parties treat it as one more among many contenders? Reports of its demise are surely exaggerated, but if it doesnt want to head in that direction, it must undertake a long-term overhaul that completely transforms the structure without altering the ideological foundation. Greater inner-party consultations and empowering a new generation of leaders would be a good way to begin. If it also means getting rid of deadwood, so be it. The country has not yet fully voted out the Congress, whatever its opponents may claim, but if things dont change soon, that day is not too far off. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has confounded many observers with the regularity and intensity of his interaction with Gulf countries. After substantial engagements with the UAE, Mr Modi went to Riyadh in April this year: both visits led to a palpable enhancement of political and economic links with these major Arab nations, and the promise that these ties will be imbued with a substantial strategic dimension on the basis of increased security and defence cooperation. The visit to Iran early next week significantly broadens Indias strategic outreach to this region, which is of utmost importance for our long-term interests. With Iran having the worlds fourth-largest oil reserves and second largest gas reserves, after the easing of sanctions, India and Iran are well placed to expand energy ties. Before the sanctions, Iran was the number two oil supplier to India, meeting nearly 11 per cent of Indias imports; and it is poised now to regain its earlier status. In return, it is expected to provide India with major projects in the hydrocarbon sector, particularly the development of the Farzad-B gas field, show some progress on the Iran-Oman-India sub-sea gas pipeline proposal, and possibly agree to Indian participation in refinery and petrochemical projects in Iran. However, the importance of the visit goes well beyond energy interests: Irans crucial importance for India lies in its location as the gateway to Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond to Russia and Europe through trade and transit corridors. The port of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman, 300 km from the Strait of Hormuz, 150 km from the Pakistani port of Gwadar, and the nearest Iranian port to India, occupies a central place in these regional connectivities. Already developed as a deep-water port and industrial zone by Iran, India is committed to further development of this port in two phases: first, with an investment of $85 million, a container terminal and a multi-purpose cargo terminal will be developed. In the next phase, with a further investment of $110 million, a 900-km railway line will be built to go from Chabahar to the iron ore mines of Hajigak in Afghanistan, moving in parallel with the Zaranj-Delaram highway that India has already built. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said Chabahar has the potential of connecting the entire region. This will be achieved through a road network that will go from Chabahar through northern Afghanistan, from Herat to Mazar-e-Sharif, and thence across all the Central Asian republics, ending at Almaty in Kazhakstan. When this is completed, it will be the shortest and safest route to Central Asia. Complementing this route is the North-South Transit Corridor that goes from the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas westwards to Astana, Baku and, across the Caspian Sea, to Astrakhan to link up with Russian road networks. Agreements to realise the plans for Chabahar and the regional links will be the high point of Mr Modis visit. Thus, unlike the Arab Gulf states, which are crucial for Indias energy and economic interests, the importance of Iran lies in the capacity to dramatically extend Indias energy, economic and strategic space into areas that are otherwise just not accessible through land routes. In realising these potentialities, India faces two challenges: first, in developing its ties with Iran, India may find that China is a major competitor for Irans attention. Second, India is building up its strategic ties with Iran in an environment when its important Arab partners are actively hostile to the Islamic Republic. Some Iranian commentators have warned our think tanks that in shaping its ties with Iran, India should take into account the long term scenario in which Iran would partner China and Russia against a US-led Western alliance, and decide which partnership would best suit its interests. This perspective is simplistic in that it envisages a repeat of the Cold War scenario, with China now firmly in the Russian camp. The global situation is likely to be much more complex, with countries pursuing a variety of affiliations in response to specific concerns and challenges. Affirming this is the fact that Japan is expected to partner India in developing Chabahar port through loans and investments. Some Indian observers have raised the possibility of Indias connectivity projects competing with or somehow challenging Chinas One Belt-One Road (OBOR) project, that is meant to link China with Eurasia through land and sea connectivities, particularly since Iran has expressed support for it. This concern is also misplaced. First, OBOR is not just a Chinese project: it cannot be realised without the active political, technological and financial support of all the countries involved; hence, it is truly an Asian project. Second, the connectivities envisaged by us in association with Iran, in fact, complement OBOR, and by linking our projects with OBOR we will obtain the connectivities on the ground that we so urgently seek. In fact, the real challenge for India lies in its ability to realise its projects with the same alacrity with which China completed its Silk Road Train from Yiwu to Tehran, covering a distance of about 10,500 km. The contentions between Iran and the Arab sheikhdoms pose a far greater challenge, because the continued conflict and proxy war between the Islamic giants could easily deteriorate into an all-out conflict, with horrific consequences for India, the region and the rest of Asia. India should give up its traditional posture of non-involvement in contentions issues outside South Asia and lead a diplomatic effort to address the mutual grievances and loss of trust between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic. In Iran, Mr Modi should build on the extraordinary goodwill and respect that India and its leaders enjoy in the region, and discuss how confidence and trust can be brought back in the dealings of the Gulf nations with each other. He will find that he has a receptive audience. The latest round of electoral defeats leaves the Congress gasping for breath in an existential crisis of the gravest proportions. Facing the threat of decimation after being the party which ruled India for several decades, the Congress has been crying out for introspection ever since it was dislodged two years ago after two terms in office in the new millennium. Since May 2014, the party has won only the Union Territory of Puducherry while losing power in large states like Maharashtra and Haryana. Its claim to being a party to the coalition victory in Bihar is hollow as it came by hanging on to the coattails of Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar. The prospects of Congress continuing to be the anchor of a national alliance for the 2019 polls is under a cloud now. The Congress, run by the Nehru-Gandhis as a dynastic behemoth, is facing a leadership crisis like never before. The first voices of dissent against the imminent Rahul Gandhi succession seem to have arisen from within the ranks itself. Curiously, the alternative suggested is Priyanka Gandhi, but there are senior leaders who are questioning whether the party will ever move beyond the dynasty. The fears that the party may fragment without a dynastic head cannot also be discounted. However, the electoral performance under the existing structure in the last three years has been abysmal, indicating it is time for positive action towards finding a leader who can attract the voter, which is happening increasingly only in presidential-type campaigns by strong leaders, as Mr Narendra Modi demonstrated with the BJP in 2014 and Ms Mamata Banerjee and Ms J. Jayalalithaa did with in their states most recently. It is not only in picking someone to head the party that the Congress has a problem. It is chary of allowing its regional leaders to grow into national prominence. The question of ideological positioning in a changing India in which pro-poor champions like Mr Kumar, Ms Banerjee and Ms Jayalalithaa are the best performers, is also important for the Congress, eternally pegged to its principal plank of being pro-minorities. It is clear India has outgrown the majority-minority wedge in opportunistic vote-bank politics. Congress has struggled to position itself in the new environment. Any regional satrap on his/ her own may not effectively lead a strong opposition, which is why the revival of the Congress may be a national necessity. Entrepreneurs and developers have welcomes Apple's decision to open a development centre in Bengaluru and a digital maps development centre in Hyderabad. (Photo: Pixabay) Mumbai: A day after Apple CEO Tim Cookduring his on-going India tourannounced two development centres in India, entrepreneurs and developers have lauded the companys efforts to improve engagement in India. Blaise Crowly, founder of Xincoz Lab and a prominent internet activist, pointed out that the new announcement by the company will provide the iOS developer community in India with a great platform. As the iOS development space is a lot about the quality of the apps, I feel that this move can help a lot of developers improve the quality of their applications making use of the guidance in terms of best practices and design standards, said Crowly. He said that India has always offered better opportunities for Android developers in contrast to the ones working on iOS apps. This is partly due to the high price of many Apple products compared with the availability and access to Android platform for development. If apple can close this gap by providing labs where developers have access to the platform or by providing cheaper developer devices they will be able to largely boost the ecosystem. Another angle they can work on is by building groups such as what Google is doing with GDG, he added. Another Bengaluru-based serial entrepreneur, tech-evangelist, and founder of Webfosys Group, Om Thoke, said that the announcement will be a great boost to all aspiring iOS developers in the country. When you've an iOS app dev center officially from Apple, in your own city, you can always walk in. Physical presence always brings greater interaction, and better understanding, Thoke said. When asked about other steps Apple should take to engrave its footprint in the country, he was positive about the outcome of the development centres but feels that a lot will depend upon the way they build the community. We've seen Google doing all kinds of workshops, and Apple will need to do a lot of interaction with the community, organise weekly events, otherwise just launching the center wouldn't help. He also explained that iOS app-based ventures do not get too much attention from venture-capitalists as Indian market is still perceived to be dominated by Android users. The inception of the iOS app development centre, could also bring a radical change in the mindset of app developers, and compel them to take iOS platform more seriously, he added. Accelerator for start-ups Indian start-ups also face difficulty when it comes to leveraging the iOS platform adeptly and many of them depend on freelance developers who lack the tools to meet quality standards. The accelerator facility for smart iOS app designing will help startups and entrepreneurs brush aside these problems, Crowly said. Even though Microsoft and Google have a considerable advantage over Apple due to their prolonged existence in India, Crowly feels that there is never a too-late situation when it comes to innovation platforms. If the platform serves the needs of the community and is accessable the time of entry will have little effect on its success, he added. Adding to the aforementioned point, Thoke said, This is certainly a great time to enter the market, because there are still lots of developments happening, and by 2020 we'll see many more kick-ass app-based companies emerging out of Bangalore. Nakul Kapur, a new-age entrepreneur across mobile products, also testified to the fact that it is great for the app-based start-up ecosystem and the iOS developer community in India. With the iOS community getting stronger they will now have a platform to voice their opinions around apple policies and strategies. This in the highly competitive world of tech business can mean the difference between success and failure, said Kapur. Should refurbished phones be sold? According to earlier reports, Tim Cooks main motive to visit India was chiefly related to manufacturing smartphones and pushing their plan to sell refurbished ones; a move that will help them capture the price-conscious India market. However, the move was not only rejected by the government but there was a large public outcry as well. However for users who donot know, there are websites such as greendust.com where people willfully buy revamped items. Not only that, large e-portals like Amazon, and even Flipkart have sections for selling refurbished items. And, there is nothing worng in buying refurbished products; a lifehacker forum explained exactly why. On asked if it was a good strategy for Apple to sell refurbished pieces in India, Thoke said, Why not? Belkin has done this in past quite successfully for routers, and other devices, and in a price-conscious country like India, refurbished items always work like a charm. Crowly, on the other hand was a bit skeptical regarding the sale of refurbished phones. He said, The company could instead try creating devices that meet the ecosystems needs in terms of specifications and price. The government had earlier denied Apples request to sell refurbished phones in India, citing increased e-waste generation and also on grounds of the company dumping old handsets in India. However, mobile products expert Nakul Kapur said that the issue is a complicated one and both entities have valid points. He feels that the government is right to protect the interests of the country people and to drive manufacturing in India. However, he is not totally against the concept of selling recycled products. Refurbished phones with their price difference will really bring iOS phones to the masses. So you cant really bring this down to a simple yes-no issue, he concluded. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Mumbai: Indian Fashion app Myntra faced a major glitch yesterday, where numerous users were bombarded with incessant notifications. On Friday, the companys CEO Shamik Sharma apologised for the error and said that it was due to a notification glitch. Yesterday we unintentionally inundated many of your phones with notifications. We messed up and owe you an explanation of what happened and what we are doing to ensure it doesnt happen again, Sharma said in a blog post. He further pointed out that the glitch, which occurred around 2 pm in the afternoon, occurred when its notifications team updated the fleet of notification servers with a code change. It took about 3 minutes for the deployment systems to update all our notification servers with the change, he said, pointing out that within three minutes of the code-push, users including several employees started getting a incessant flow of notifications, with any reason. Even though the team immediately stopped our notification systems, within that little period of time, countless notifications had already been dispatched. We did cancel a lot of the notifications that were en-route, but unfortunately by then a lot of our customers had already received them, he added. After the incident took place, confused and angry Myntra app users reacted angrily on Twitter. Some of them even posted images of them deleting the app as they received more than 5,000 notifications. This technical glitch is gonna hurt #Myntra really bad! Almost everyone who faced this issue, ended up uninstalling the app! Vicky (@vkeyhere) May 19, 2016 Myntra also sent out a tweet, apologising to the vast number of customers affected. This can worsen the scenario for the Flipkart-owned app, which has not been performing well, after it shut down its website and went for a mobile-only strategy. If Myntra app is spamming you with random notifications. pic.twitter.com/JjXdfUQ65W Bunny (@Bunny_I_) May 19, 2016 Deleted @myntra App, got at least 5000 notifications of order delivery and confirmation. (@indiantweeter) May 19, 2016 As per an ET report, the company is planning to re-instate desktop version of its app to recover from this rough phase. However, the company should really try to minimise glitches as one major error can divert its customer base to countless other online shopping portals available in the country. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. In a Twitter post Thursday, Trump pointed to the incident, asking "when will we get tough, smart and vigilant? Great hate and sickness!" (Photo: AFP) Washington: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is weighing in on the crash of an EgyptAir flight that had been traveling from Paris to Cairo, calling it "yet another terrorist attack." In a Twitter post Thursday, Trump pointed to the incident, asking "when will we get tough, smart and vigilant? Great hate and sickness!" Looks like yet another terrorist attack. Airplane departed from Paris. When will we get tough, smart and vigilant? Great hate and sickness! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2016 The flight, with 66 passengers and crew on board, crashed in the Mediterranean Sea off the Greek island of Crete early Thursday morning. Egyptian, French and Greek officials have launched investigations into the crash but say it is too early to determine whether it was due to a technical error or an act of terrorism. Post her examination, she will be charged with two counts of third-degree assault. (Photo: Facebook/ Newark police department) Newark, New York: A 'cannibalistic' woman accused of trying to eat her friend's face and biting her boyfriend has been arrested by police in New York's Newark village. According to a report in the Daily Mail, the woman, identified as Lindie Stewart, 37, attacked her boyfriend as well as a police officer when he tried to handcuff her during a drug-fueled rampage. She was arrested after the police received a complaint that Stewart had tried to eat her friend's face. When the officer reached the crime scene to arrest her, she attacked him too, but he managed to handcuff her. Police said that when they reached the crime spot, Stewart was pinned down on the floor by her friend Michael Maricle whom she attacked. The said that his face was bleeding profusely as he tried to save himself from Stewart. By the time police tried to get hold of the woman, her boyfriend, Rocky Rouse, also reached the spot. When he tried to intervene and calm down Stewart, she bit him on the chest and armpit too. "I asked Michael what was happening and he said Stewart began biting his neck and was trying to eat his face and chin," Rocky was quoted as saying. Her boyfriend also said that the accused continuously kept yelling that she loved him and would sometimes look in the air and scream 'LOL'. During investigation, police also found white-coloured powder, which they believe to be crystal meth or bath salt. Investigators tried to establish connection between the suspected drugs and the accused woman's behavior. Steward has been admitted to Newark Wayne hospital and will undergo psychiatric tests. Post her examination, she will be charged with two counts of third-degree assault. She is currently being held on a bond of $ 2,000. The US Senate, however, prevented the administration from subsidising the deal, although it endorsed the sale. (Representational Image) Washington: Defence experts in Washington anticipate Pakistan getting the disputed F-16 fighter aircrafts by the end of July despite strong opposition from American lawmakers. Experts said that the Obama administration would ultimately succeed in convincing the US Congress that it was in America's interest to enable Pakistan to buy the aircraft, reports the Dawn. Earlier in 2016, the Obama administration informed Islamabad that it was ready to sell eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan. The US Senate, however, prevented the administration from subsidising the deal, although it endorsed the sale. The White House has warned Congress that its effort to restrict US military assistance to Pakistan would hurt US interests in the region and would "unnecessarily complicate progress" in ties with Pakistan. The defence experts said such statements indicate improvement in relations between the defence establishments of the two countries. They argue that the Obama administration fears that "bringing too much pressure" on Pakistan may have negative consequences and may also increase anti-American sentiments in the country. Diplomatic observers in Washington pointed out that both sides were being "pragmatic" in seeking to revive their ties. State Department's spokesman John Kirby noted that "the Pakistani people have suffered at the hands of terrorists for far too long", while underlining Washington's desire to stay engaged with Pakistan. The Americans envisage a greater role for India in the region and Pakistanis are willing to work with that, provided it's not at the cost of their national interest, he added. London: Indian-origin Islamic State terrorist from Britain Siddhartha Dhar, dubbed as the "New Jihadi John", is a senior commander of the dreaded outfit, according to a media report. Nihad Barakat, a Yazidi teenager held as a sex slave by the group, was quoted as saying by the Independent that she was kidnapped and trafficked by Siddhartha, who is now based in Mosul, the group's Iraqi stronghold. Siddhartha, a British Hindu who converted to Islam and now goes by the name Abu Rumaysah, had skipped police bail in the UK to travel to Syria with his wife and young children in 2014. Read: Indian-origin 'Jihadi Sid' praises Hitler in video monologue In an interview for a new documentary series for UK-based British Muslim TV about life on the frontline in Iraq, Barakat said Siddhartha was among the foreign fighters who enslaved her. "When I was captured near Kirkuk, they took me to another leader from Mosul. His name was Abu Dhar. He also took Yazidi girls for himself. Every day he would tell me that I had to marry another man," she said. The newspaper admits that while it is difficult to verify whether "Abu Dhar" is the same man as the most-wanted British terror suspect, the documentary's presenter said he was "very confident" Barakat was referring to Siddhartha. "From the information I have, Siddhartha is deemed a leader in Mosul now, and she was very insistent on that name. When we showed her pictures of Siddhartha she recognised them but went very cold. She didn't want to go further and got very agitated," said presenter Joseph Hayat. Read: Did my taunt push Abu to join ISIS? Londoner Siddhartha is believed to have replaced Mohammed Emwazi, known as 'Jihadi John' before he was killed in a drone strike, as the masked apparent executioner of western hostages in ISIS propaganda videos. His sister, Konika Dhar, had appeared before a House of Commons Home Affairs Committee hearing earlier this year which was trying to establish the possibility of Siddhartha being the masked man who appeared in an ISIS propaganda video showing "British spies" being executed. "I'm still holding to the firm belief that what I'm seeing is not him and I haven't had verification otherwise. It's sort of the realisation that 'is he really my brother that has done this and I can't accept that he would ever do that. I can't accept it," the London-based law student had said. Siddhartha had six previous arrests while in the UK and was free on bail when he was able to escape from the UK via Paris. British police reportedly wrote to Siddhartha UK address to remind him of the need to surrender his passport, by which point he was already in Syria. "What a shoddy security system Britain must have to allow me to breeze through Europe to (ISIS)," he tweeted on his arrival in ISIS territories. Murder of a minor is normally punishable by a life sentence, but De Meys term was reduced because she was deemed to have had a temporary loss of judgement. Carcassonne, France: A French court on Thursday sentenced a Belgian woman to seven years in jail for killing her baby by putting him in the freezer. Nathalie De Mey, 32, was convicted by an all-female jury in the southwestern French city of Carcassonne for the February 2, 2011, murder. Murder of a minor is normally punishable by a life sentence, but De Meys term was reduced because she was deemed to have had a temporary loss of judgement. On Wednesday when De Mey was asked why she did not choose a more violent method to kill the infant, she replied: I didnt want to hurt him. Her lawyer Pierre Calvets argument of temporary loss of judgement was confirmed by a psychiatric assessment. De Mey, who has two living daughters, said she had gone on several alcoholic binges during her pregnancy. When I realised I was pregnant, I tried to get help... but it was too late, she testified. She recounted how she gave birth to the child over a toilet. When the baby came out, I caught him by the head so he wouldnt fall in the water, then I cut the cord with scissors. Hours later, she said, she placed the baby, swaddled in a blanket, in the freezer. The dead baby was discovered by the father of De Meys two daughters three months later. Her lawyer said before the trial that De Mey had been afraid of admitting to her estranged companion that the third child was not his. Cairo: An EgyptAir jet carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean on Thursday in a crash that Egypt said may have been caused by a terrorist attack. The aircraft was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew, EgyptAir said. They included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals, along with citizens of 10 other countries. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to rule out any explanation for the crash, including an attack like the one blamed for bringing down a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula last year. The country's aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure. Read: Absolutely no indication' what caused EgyptAir crash: French minister The Egyptian civil aviation ministry initially said Greek authorities had found "floating material" and life jackets likely to be from the plane, an Airbus A320. However, late on Thursday EgyptAir Vice President Ahmed Adel told CNN that the wreckage had not been found. "We stand corrected on finding the wreckage because what we identified is not a part of our plane. So the search and rescue is still going on," Adel said. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the civil aviation ministry, the army's search and rescue centre, the navy, and the air force to take all necessary measures to locate debris from the aircraft. In a statement issued by his office, Sisi also ordered an investigative committee formed by the civil aviation ministry to immediately start investigating the causes of the plane's disappearance. Greece had deployed aircraft and a frigate to search for the missing plane. Egypt said it would lead the investigation and France would participate. Paris said three investigators would arrive in Egypt on Thursday evening. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the Airbus swerved 90 degrees to the left, spun through 360 degrees to the right and plunged from 37,000 feet to 15,000 before vanishing from Greek radar screens. According to Greece's civil aviation chief, calls from Greek air traffic controllers to flight MS804 went unanswered just before it left Greek airspace, and it disappeared from radar screens soon afterwards. In Washington, President Barack Obama received a briefing on the disappearance from his adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism, the White House said. A White House spokesman said it was too early to know the cause of the crash and offered condolences. Brussels: EU interior ministers on Friday adopted a so-called emergency brake that would allow European nations to swiftly halt visa-free access to Europe for Turks and other nationalities if key conditions were violated. The brake -- or "snap back mechanism" -- will permit bloc countries to halt visa-free travel if large numbers of Turks stay in the EU illegally or if there are a large number of asylum applications by Turks. Visa-free travel to the EU is a key demand by Ankara in exchange for taking back migrants who land in Greece under a controversial deal signed in March seeking to curb the influx as Europe grapples with a record flow of migrants. "I'm pleased that we agreed today on a mechanism that makes it easier to act against abuse," said Klaas Dijkhoff, Migration Minister from the Netherlands, which holds the EU's six-month rotating presidency. If passed by the European parliament, the new mechanism will suspend visa-free travel for "third country nationals" -- such as Turkey but also other nations benefiting from similar deals with the EU. Turkey has to meet a list of 72 criteria -- ranging from biometric passports to respect for human rights -- that were set when Brussels and Ankara first talked about 90-day visa-free travel to the Schengen area. Key sticking points are counter-terror laws that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refuses to amend as demanded by Brussels. Erdogan has accused the European Union of "hypocrisy" for telling Ankara to adapt its counter-terror laws in return for visa-free travel while it was in the throes of fighting PKK rebels. Relatives of the 43 missing students attend the reading of the final report from the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts in Mexico City. (Photo: AFP) Iguala De La Independencia, Mexico: Mexico will analyze skeletal remains from an undetermined number of individuals that were found not far from where 43 Mexican students went missing nearly two years ago, officials said on Thursday. Investigators found bone fragments including skulls, shin bones, jawbones and teeth of various people, as well as sandals and pieces of clothing, according to a statement from the prosecutor's office in the impoverished southern state of Guerrero. The remains were found late Tuesday in the small town of El Mirador alongside a road linking the towns of Coacoyula and Apipilulco, they said. News reports said the bone fragments appeared to be from at least four people, and may have been burned. They were reportedly found after an anonymous tip-off. The Mexican prosecutor's office said Thursday evening the remains will be examined to determine if they came from the missing students. There was no immediate confirmation of any link with the missing male students who were enrolled at a rural teachers' college in Guerrero. In September 2014, police in the southern city of Iguala attacked a group of buses which had been hijacked by the students for use in a protest. The students vanished without a trace in a mystery that has roiled this troubled region for the better part of two years. Prosecutors believe that Iguala police abducted the students and delivered them to a drug gang, which killed them, incinerated their bodies at a garbage dump in the nearby town of Cocula, and tossed their remains into a river. Independent experts last month released a scathing report however alleging "severe irregularities" in how the government has conducted the investigation, including its handling of evidence. A first move was to set up a mission in the Aegean Sea, a major route for refugees crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands, with NATO ships patrolling there with the EU's border agency Frontex and local coastguards. (Representational Image) Brussels: NATO agreed on Thursday to broaden its operations in the Mediterranean to help the European Union (EU) stop criminals trafficking refugees from North Africa but will not act until the fate of rescued refugees is cleared up. US Secretary of State John Kerry said a meeting of NATO foreign ministers supported the wider role as Europe struggles with failing states on its fringes and said NATO should link up with the EU's "Sophia" naval mission in the area. This could be a step towards NATO helping stabilise Libya by patrolling coastal waters to uphold a UN arms embargo and counter the growing presence of Islamic State (ISIS), a step that would likely need UN Security Council support, diplomats said. "NATO can play a maritime role in terms of assisting operation Sophia in order to prevent illegal migration, illegal human trafficking from taking place," Kerry told reporters. "There was a unanimous sense in the discussions we had today that NATO could help," he said, stressing NATO would have no combat role in the region. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg echoed that, saying: "We agreed that the alliance can do more in the Mediterranean," setting out a range of areas where NATO ships could act, including gathering intelligence and interdiction. The European Union, fearing a repeat of 2015's uncontrolled refugee flows across the central Mediterranean as the weather improves, has sought to enlist NATO's help to tackle the worst migration crisis since World War Two. A first move was to set up a mission in the Aegean Sea, a major route for refugees crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands, with NATO ships patrolling there with the EU's border agency Frontex and local coastguards. That has dramatically cut the number of refugees risking their lives to reach Europe in flimsy boats, part of a wider deal between the European Union and Turkey in which Ankara takes in refugees fleeing civil war in Syria in return for EU aid. Stoltenberg said the United States will assign a ship to that mission, which includes German and Canadian vessels and has turned back over 100 migrant boats since starting in February. But EU officials worry new refugees will attempt the dangerous sea crossing from Libya to Italy, which in April 2015 saw 800 refugees lose their lives in a single tragedy when the boat they were travelling in capsized. The EU's "Sophia" mission operates in international waters near Libya, but too far out to destroy boats used by people smugglers, catch traffickers or head off refugees trying to reach Europe by sea from Libya. NATO is now looking to its so-called Active Endeavour counter-terrorism mission in the Mediterranean, set up after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, to switch roles and link up with Sophia. Both the EU and NATO say that if requested by the new UN-backed government in Libya, they could operate closer to Libyan shores to help deter smugglers. One of the biggest obstacles is what to do with refugees rescued close to North African shores, who cannot be safely returned to Libya because of the chaos in the country. "This is one of the important issues we have to look into," Stoltenberg told reporters. Abdeslam has said however he is prepared "to speak at a later date", Frank Berton said, after a brief hearing. Paris: The last known survivor of the team that carried out last November's Paris attacks refused to talk during questioning on Friday by anti-terror judges, and the session ended abruptly. Salah Abdeslam's lawyer, Frank Berton said his client invoked his right to silence. Abdeslam, 26, had said last month he wanted to explain all. Berton told reporters that Abdeslam was disturbed by the 24-hour video surveillance in his maximum-security cell, and called the practice illegal. "He can't tolerate being watched on video 24 hours a day," Berton said. "Psychologically that makes things difficult." Friday was the first time Abdeslam was questioned since his extradition from Belgium last month. At that point, Berton said his client wanted to talk to investigators and explain his path to radicalization. It was unclear why the suspect changed his mind. Abdeslam, a French citizen of Moroccan origin, was handed a half-dozen preliminary terrorism charges after his transfer on April 27 from Belgium, where he was arrested after four months on the run. He is the only suspect still alive believed to have played a direct role in the Nov. 13 bloodshed at a concert hall, stadium and Parisian cafes, which killed 130 people. The other attackers died in suicide bombings or under police fire. Authorities and families of attack victims had hoped Abdeslam's testimony will shed light on how IS plotted the attacks, solve mysteries that remain about what exactly happened Nov. 13, and identify others who might have been involved, or support networks still hiding in the shadows. Abdeslam's precise role in the attacks has never been clear. The Paris prosecutor has said he was equipped as a suicide bomber, but abandoned his plans and fled to Belgium, where he had grown up. Abdeslam's older brother blew himself up at a cafe during the Paris attacks. Abdeslam was captured March 18 at a hideout near his childhood home in Brussels' Molenbeek neighborhood. Four days later, suicide bombers detonated their explosives in the Brussels airport and metro, killing 32 people. Paris: Salah Abdeslam, a surviving member of the group that carried out the Paris attacks in November that killed 130 people, will be questioned by French investigators for the first time on Friday. For months, Abdeslam was the most wanted fugitive in Europe until he was tracked down and arrested on March 18 in the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek where he grew up. Transferred to France under high security on April 27, he has been held at Fleury-Merogis prison, southeast of Paris. A childhood friend of suspected ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud, Abdeslam is thought to have played a key role both on the night of the attacks on November 13, and in their preparation. Two others have been arrested in France in connection with the attacks carried out by the Islamic State group but they are considered secondary participants. Abdeslam, 26, is known to have dropped off the three suicide bombers who blew themselves up outside the Stade de France national stadium in northern Paris. He is said to have backed out of the suicide bombing himself. An abandoned explosives vest was found in a southern Paris district close to where Abdeslam was placed by mobile phone data on the night of the attacks. CCTV pictures from filling stations showed him fleeing back to Belgium after two friends came to pick him up. In the build-up to the attacks, he is known to have rented the cars and hideouts used by the gang. He also transported several other jihadists around Europe in the preceding months, including Najim Laachraoui, the suspected bombmaker for the November attacks who was himself killed in a suicide bombing in Brussels on March 22. The coordinated attacks in Brussels that day also struck a metro station, killing 32 people overall. Limited expectations Abdeslam could, in theory, shine a light on the planning and execution of the Paris attacks, the command structure and other accomplices who are still at large. He could also clear up the links between the attacks in Paris and Belgium, both carried out by a network linked to the Islamic State group. His French lawyer Frank Berton told AFP that Abdeslam "wants to explain himself". But few are expecting any major revelations. "The investigators have only him in custody. He could help if he collaborates, either to confirm elements of the investigation, or to give fresh leads," said Gerard Chemla, a lawyer representing some 50 of the victims and their families from the Paris attacks. "However, we should not hang on his every word and wait for any sensational revelations," added Chemla, pointing out that the police have already done much of the vital work in dismantling the network. "The first interviews are often about denials. We should maybe leave the process to unfold for a while," added Jean Reinhart, another lawyer representing some of the victims. Reinhart said he was not expecting repentance or any "great sincerity" from the suspect. Abdeslam's lawyer before his extradition from Brussels, Sven Mary, has described him as a "little idiot" with the "intelligence of an empty ashtray". Mary also said Abdeslam was "more of a follower than a leader", though some have argued he may have adopted this attitude to lessen his responsibility. In his two interrogations in Belgium, Abdeslam gave the impression he was merely a pawn of Abaaoud and his own brother Brahim, who blew himself up outside a Paris cafe during the November attacks. But he has already been caught in a lie, saying that he only met Abaaoud once before, when in fact they had a record of teenage delinquency together in Molenbeek. Hundreds of friends and families of victims are still waiting for answers on questions such as how and why the targets were chosen, how the attacks were financed, and the intelligence failures. French magistrates are holding their first meetings with them between May 24 and 26 in Paris. Video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane flies over an Egyptian ship during the search in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane. (Photo: AP) Cairo: Body parts, seats and one or more items of luggage were found Friday by crews searching for the wreckage of an EgyptAir passenger jet that crashed in the Mediterranean on Thursday, Greece's defence minister said. "A few hours earlier we were informed (by Egyptian authorities) that a body part, two seats and one or more items of luggage where found in the search area" off the coast of Alexandria, Panos Kammenos told a news conference. Egypt's military found wreckage from the EgyptAir plane that crashed in the Mediterranean as investigators tried to unravel the mystery of why it swerved suddenly and plummeted into the sea. Search teams spotted personal belongings of passengers and parts of the Airbus A320 about 290 kilometres (180 miles) north of Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria, the military spokesman said. Egypt's aviation minister said on Thursday that a "terrorist attack" was a more likely cause than technical failure for the plane's disappearance from radar screens on a flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board. Read: EgyptAir plane crashes in Mediterranean; terror motive suspected But French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said there was "absolutely no indication" of why the flight came down. "We're looking at all possibilities, but none is being favoured over the others because we have absolutely no indication on the causes," he told French television. The tragedy raised fears of a repeat of the bombing of a Russian passenger jet by the Islamic State jihadist group over Egypt last October that killed all 224 people on board. Read: EgyptAir plane fell 22,000 feet, swerved sharply: Greek minister In Cairo, French and Airbus investigators prepared to meet their Egyptian counterparts on Friday to lay the groundwork for their investigation. The plane disappeared between Karpathos and the Egyptian coast in the early hours of Thursday morning, without its crew sending a distress signal. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the aircraft had swerved sharply twice in Egyptian airspace before plunging 22,000 feet (6,700 metres) and disappearing from radar screens. Read: Missing EgyptAir flight: Timeline of how events unfolded 'Intensified search' Both Egypt and Greece dispatched aircraft and naval vessels on a search mission. They were expected to be joined by French teams, while the US sent a surveillance plane to help with the operation. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had demanded an "intensified search" for the aircraft after earlier reports by the airline that wreckage from the plane had been found were retracted. French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that it was clear the plane had crashed, and authorities in both Paris and Cairo opened investigations. Read: French PM says 'no theory can be ruled out' on missing EgyptAir flight EgyptAir said 15 French citizens were among the 26 foreign passengers on the plane, who also included a Briton and at least one Canadian. Both France and Egypt have come under attack by IS jihadists in the past year, and Hollande promised a comprehensive probe into the cause of the crash. IS has been waging a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security forces and last October claimed the bombing of the Russian airliner flying home holidaymakers from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. Read: No weather issues at time of EgyptAir flight MS804 disappearance: Eurocontrol In the United States, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it was "too early to definitively say what may have caused this disaster". The catastrophe also entered the US presidential election campaign, where national security is a prominent issue. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said it appeared to be "yet another terrorist attack," adding "When will we get tough, smart and vigilant?" His likely Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton agreed that it "does appear that it was an act of terrorism" and "once again shines a very bright light on the threats that we face from organised terror groups". Pilot reported no problem Greek civil aviation chief Constantinos Litzerakos said the pilot had mentioned no problem in his last communication before the plane disappeared, and the flight had not deviated from its course. "The flight controllers contacted the pilot at a height of 37,000 feet (near Athens)... he did not mention a problem," Litzerakos told Greece's Antenna TV. Neither the Greek coastguard nor the navy could confirm reports that a passing ship had seen "a ball of fire in the sky". The civil aviation chief said that if there had been an explosion, any debris would have been scattered across a wide area. The passengers also included two Iraqis and one citizen from each of Algeria, Belgium, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, as well as 30 Egyptians, the airline said. They included a boy and two babies. Seven crew members and three security personnel were also on board. EgyptAir said the plane had been manufactured in 2003. Airbus said it had clocked up 48,000 flight hours. EgyptAir hit the headlines in March when a flight from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to divert to Cyprus, where the hijacker, who was described as "unstable", demanded to see his ex-wife. Last October, foreign governments issued travel warnings for Egypt and demanded a review of security at its airports after IS downed the Russian airliner with what it said was a bomb concealed in a soda can that had been smuggled into the hold. Nitric acid is considered to be a strong acid and oxidant. It has a catastrophic effect on human flesh. (Photo: Twitter) Mosul, Iraq: In a barbaric act, the dreaded Islamic State group executed 25 Iraqi prisoners in Northern Iraq's Mosul by lowering them in a vat filled with nitric acid. According to a report in the Daily Mail, ISIS had accused the victims of spying for the Iraqi security and government forces. Witness accounts revealed that 25 prisoners were tied together with a rope and then thrown into a large basin containing nitric acid until all their organs and bones dissolved completely. Nitric acid is considered to be a strong acid and oxidant. It has a catastrophic effect on human flesh. It causes the skin tissue to melt, often exposing the bones below the flesh and even dissolving the bones. Recently, the Islamic State group had revealed a new form of punishment for their prisoners - stabbing directly in the heart in order to kill them. ISIS terrorists had stabbed an unidentified man right in his heart, before shooting him dead. Last month, the Islamic State group released a series of photographs of two spies being crucified and shot in the head. The entire incident was captured on camera by ISIS militants and was broadcasted on the terror group's propaganda channel 'Wilayat ar-Raqqah' meaning 'The province of Raqqah.' "We believe that there is a need for a more unified and coherent messaging from Kabul in favour of peace and reconciliation with Taliban," Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said. (Photo: AFP) Islamabad: Pakistan on Friday said Afghanistan should give a unified and coherent message for peace and reconciliation with the Taliban as it dismissed the perception that Islamabad actually controls the militant outfit. "We believe that there is a need for a more unified and coherent messaging from Kabul in favour of peace and reconciliation with Taliban," Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said while addressing the 5th round of Pak-Afghan Dialogue organised by the Regional Peace Institute think-tank. Highlighting the challenges for peace in Afghanistan, he said that prolonged political instability in Afghanistan had created a fertile ground for foreign meddling after 9/11, while different militant groups have become dominant in different parts of Afghanistan. He said the announcement of the death of Mullah Omar in July 2015 not only scuttled the Afghan peace process, it also led to the splintering of the Taliban. "Negative statements about Pakistan emanating from Afghanistan tend to impede the constructive bilateral engagement. Pakistan as a policy has continued to show restraint in responding to such negative remarks," he said. He said vested interests have often tried to create a perception that Pakistan actually controls the Taliban. "Such an impression breeds unrealistic expectations from Pakistan. The mistrust between the two countries has also affected the efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan," he said. He also mentioned the presence of 3 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan and the porous border as major challenges in Pak-Afghan relations. He said that without reconciliation, peace cannot return to Afghanistan for which the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) can play an important role. "The immediate goal is cessation of violence. The QCG can play a key role in achieving this goal. However, the process leading to that goal needs patience and time," he said. He also suggested that there is a need for wide ranging discussion between Pakistan and Afghanistan at all levels, government, intelligentsia, civil society and media to restore trust and strengthen bilateral relations. Aziz demanded robust institutional interaction at political, military-to-military and intelligence level to put relations on an even keel and restore trust and confidence. He said Pakistan has a vital stake in peace and stability in Afghanistan and it goes without saying that without a stable Afghanistan, the security challenges facing Pakistan cannot be effectively addressed. "For Pakistan, the security situation in Afghanistan is a matter of serious concern. We have strongly condemned recent terrorist incidents in Afghanistan, particularly the April 19 terrorist attack in Kabul," he said. He said Pakistan would continue to make sincere efforts for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. Lahore: Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and six others accused in the 2008 Mumbai attack case will be individually charged for the abetment to murder of each of the 166 people who died in the carnage, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court ruled on Friday. "The seven suspects will be charged individually for the abetment to murder of each victim of Mumbai attack case," a senior court official said, quoting the verdict of the trial court. The official said that the court, however, did not allow cross examination of the suspects in this regard. The prosecution had filed an application in the ATC Islamabad some two months ago requesting it to make amendment in the charges against the suspects in abetment to murder of each individual in the carnage. The trial court in March last had reserved the verdict after the prosecution and defence lawyers completed their arguments on the plea that amendment in the charges against all seven suspects in abetment to murder of each individual in Mumbai attack should be made. 166 people, including six Americans, were killed and more than 300 injured in the attack in November 2008 by 10 Pakistani terrorists. The prosecution was of the view that it was seeking amendment to the changes "for further strengthening the case against the suspects". It had also pleaded for including the post-mortem reports of those killed in the attack. The prosecution said India should be asked to send the post-mortem reports of each victim of Mumbai attack while the defence lawyers opposed it. Meanwhile, the Mumbai attack case has faced inordinate delay as no proceedings were held for the previous seven consecutive hearings. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for May 25. The Pakistani authorities are blaming India for the delay in the case, saying it cannot move further till the Indian government sends witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case. "The seven consecutive hearings of the case were adjourned without any proceedings because the Pakistani government is still awaiting its counterpart's response about sending (Indian) witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case," the court official said. The foreign ministry of Pakistan had written to the Indian government about three months ago asking it to send all 24 Indian witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the trial court in Mumbai attacks case. According to prosecution lawyers, the trial court had already completed recording the statements of all (Pakistani) witnesses in the case which has been underway in the country for more than six years. "Now the ball is in India's court. The Indian government should send all Indian witnesses of the Mumbai case to Pakistan to record their statements so that the trial could further move ahead," a prosecution lawyer said. Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum are accused of abetment to murder, attempted murder, planning and executing the Mumbai attacks. Lakhvi is living in undisclosed location after he got released from jail on bail a year ago. The other six suspects are in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi. Pakistan's army has cleared the last militant stronghold in the country's northwestern tribal area. Shawal: Pakistan's army said on Friday it had cleared the last militant stronghold in the country's northwestern tribal area after a three-month long operation. In February, troops began the final phase of the Zarb-e-Arb mission in North Waziristan, on the border with Afghanistan, where militants had previously operated with impunity. "We have cleared the Shawal valley completely of militants," Brigadier Shabbir Narejo said. Troops, helicopter gunships, tanks and jets were deployed in the operation, during which Taliban militants put up "stiff resistance", Narejo said. "There were up to 2,000 trained militants in the valley, but we surprised them by launching the operation in the peak of winter in minus 12 degrees Celsius (10.4 Fahrenheit)," he said. He said that six soldiers and up to 120 militants died in the fighting. Narejo said some militants had fled to Afghanistan, but that troops had set up around 15 posts on the border to intercept any movement. "We have eliminated the threat and it would pave the way of the return of some 150,000 people of North Waziristan to their homes soon," he added. The army launched the operation under US pressure in mid-2014 in a bid to wipe out militant bases in the area and end the near decade-long Islamist insurgency that has cost Pakistan thousands of lives. The operation was intensified after the Taliban massacred more than 150 people, the majority of them children, at a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar in December 2014. Islamabad: Pakistan has lost a staggering USD57 billion due to terrorism in the past five years, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday said. In a written reply to the Senate, the Upper House of the parliament, Dar said the Pakistani economy bore losses of USD 57 billion in the last five years due to terrorism. Pakistan has been battling home-grown terrorism for many years. In June 2014, Pakistan launched a major crackdown on militants with a military operation named Zarb-i-Azb. According to Pakistani military, more than 3,000 militants were killed during the offensive. Last weekend a Buddhist monk was hacked to death, presumably with a machete, in southeastern Bangladesh. The week before, it was a Sufi Muslim leader, up north. Less than 2 weeks earlier, it was an LGBT activist. Just days before that, an English professor. Some of these attacks have not yet been claimed, but they follow a gruesome pattern: There have been at least 25 violent, sometimes public, killings of religious minorities, secularists and free-speech advocates in Bangladesh since February 2015. A dozen more people have been assaulted in similar ways and survived. Of these attacks, more than 20 have been claimed by the IS, about half a dozen by al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent and one each by the indigenous Bangladeshi extremist groups Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangla-desh and Ansar al-Islam. The surge is worrying Western governments, which fear that local Islamist terrorists may now be competing for the attention of international jihadist networks or cooperating with them. Several Western countries have responded with antiterrorism measures: Japan is providing aviation security; the United States has called for strengthening cooperation with the Bangla-deshi authorities to counter terrorism and violent extremism. This is a predictable reaction, but it is misguided, and dangerous, because it proceeds from the wrong diagnosis. The recent string of vicious killings in Bangladesh is less a terrorism issue than a governance issue: It is the ruling Awami Leagues onslaught against its political opponents, which began in earnest after the last election in January 2014, that has unleashed extremists in Bangladesh. A zero-sum mentality has been the rule of Bangladeshi politics since the end of the military dictatorship in 1991. Between then and 2007, the countrys two main parties, the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, traded power every term. Whichever one was leading the government focused on enriching itself and weakening the other. That left the private sector largely alone to invest in economic expansion and NGOs to provide education, healthcare and other social services the government wasnt delivering. In some respects, the governments failure to do its job served the country well: The economy has grown by an average of 5% to 6% annually over the last two decades; Bangla-desh has outdone India and Pakistan on various social development indicators, such as healthcare and edu- cation. But the countrys political culture steadily deteriorated. Major protests broke out in late 2006, after the then-ruling BNP tried to rig elections scheduled for 2007. The army took over for a time. The Awami Lea-gue was voted back into office in 2009 and in 2011 used its vast majority in Parliament to rem-ove from the Constitution a cla-use providing that general elections be overseen by nonpart- isan caretaker governments. Towards one-party state The BNP boycotted the 2014 election, largely in response to that amendment, and since winning that one-party election the Awami League has been hellbent on turning Bangladesh into a one-party state. The BNP has become the primary target of the governments so-called law enforcement efforts. The Awami League routinely deploys the judiciary and the police against its political opponents and any dissenting voices in civil society. High-ranking BNP members have been framed on spurious corruption charges, among other things. According to the International Crisis Group and Human Rights Watch, the government has silenced critics by resorting to enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings. Journalists who dare cover any of this are being cha-rged with sedition and treason. The Awami Leagues relentless campaign against the political opposition and civil society has allowed violent radicals of all stripes to let loose. Concentrating the states limited judicial and police powers on the BNP and its supporters reduces the resources that can be devoted to preventing terrorism and crime. Using illegal means to quiet perceived opponents undermines the rule of law, creating an atmosphere of impunity that emboldens extremists. The first machete killing of a secularist blogger occurred in February 2013, before the last general election. The Awami League reacted as you would expect from an incumbent party: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left her office to offer condolences to the family and vowed to catch the culprits. But since the party was re-elected, its response to similar attacks has become constructively evasive. At the same time that the leaders deny the presence in Bangladesh of al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent or the IS, they accuse the BNP of conspiring with the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami to destabilise the government. Its difficult to gauge the current terrorist threat in Bangla-desh, especially any links between local and international groups. Whatever its exact nature, however, it is largely the result of the governments repression against mainstream dissent. Responding to this wave of attacks as though it were principally a security issue, rather than a governance problem, would only make matters worse. The bandh in Dakshina Kannada district, in response to the call given by the Nethravathi Rakshana Samyukta Samithi to oppose the Yettinahole project, was total and peaceful on Thursday. Police were seen patrolling the city, but they did not have much work as the bandh was voluntary and peaceful in almost all parts of the district. Barring two or three spots in Ullal, where tyres were burnt, no untoward incident was reported from any part of the district. Not a single private or KSRTC bus plied throughout the day. In addition, almost all the autorickshaws stayed off the road, contributing towards the success of the bandh. Barring essential services such as medical shops and milk booths, every commercial shop, petrol bunk, vehicle service centre, film theatre, shopping mall, hotel and restaurant, central market, and fish and meat stall remained closed. There were, however, a few medical shops too that did not open their doors. Hence, the ever-busy port city wore a deserted look on Thursday. IT giant Infosys too had declared a holiday in support of the bandh. Also, although banks remained open, there were hardly a few customers. Similarly, hospitals were open too, but the number of patients visiting the outpatient departments were reduced to half, which is primarily attributed to non-availability of the public transport system. A number of private medical clinics, however, remained closed in the city. The bandh evoked good response in Bantwal, Belthangady and Puttur taluks too, while there was a mixed response in Sullia taluk. The bandh call in Dakshina Kannada did not affect the neighbouring Udupi district. However, long-route government buses from other districts to Dakshina Kannada which pass through Udupi district, had to cancel or postpone the trips till evening. The private buses plied as usual, but the buses plying towards Mangaluru had to cut short their journey at Mulki (DK-Udupi border). The government buses were seen plying during late evening hours. The big takeaways of the 2016 verdict are not just decisive mandates in all states; but also that the BJP remains a powerful force. Sometimes, it is easier to understand the implications of an epoch-making verdict by asking what if the converse had happened. What if Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP had lost in Assam, the DMK-Congress alliance had won in Tamil Nadu, Mamata Banerjees TMC had been seriously dented in West Bengal and the Left had not returned to power in Kerala? Any analyst would have answered in just one line: a slowly approaching doom for the ruling party at the Centre and a phenomenal rise of the opposition index against Modi, especially now after the drubbing in Delhi and Bihar. There would have also been an inescapable conclusion about the final arrival of Rahul Gandhi as the deliverer of the Congress. The end of Jayalalithaas political career, a smooth transition of baton from DMK chief M Karunanidhi to his son Stalin, a marked deflation of Mamatas West Bengal and a worrying growth of the BJP at the cost of the Left in Kerala, would have added to the picture. In sharp contrast to the scene above, what has actually happened only goes to show that the big takeaways of the 2016 verdict are not just decisive mandates in all states; but also that the BJP remains a powerful influence and the next round of battle to dislodge Modi or the BJP in 2019 is anything but easy. This is especially so for those who have been in a quandary since the 2014 mandate. The BJP has taken a big leap towards the aim of growing its base across the country with its footprint in Assam, that sends 14 MPs to Parliament. Secondly, the Congress under its present dispensation and style of functioning is a liability for other partners like the DMK in TN; and the expediency of an alliance between the Congress and the Left at the cost of an old friendship between Sonia Gandhi and Mamata is no answer to the ills in WB. These are too costly a political blunder even if a few seats have been added to the kitty. At the same, the verdict also means that the BJPs immediate challenge will not come from the Congress, but from the Left and regional parties. If the 2014 verdict forced the opposition to unite to defeat the BJP in Bihar, the Assam and WB defeats may force the Congress and regional parties to rework a truly common strategy for Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat, which go to polls in 2017. It may not be anymore about an ambitious Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who wants to the next PM. Even a lone wolf like AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal will realise that Modi cannot be wished away with just a verbal volley of attacks. Coming to the BJP itself, the verdict of 2016 is a great breather for its leaders just as it is a big blow to Rahul Gandhis leadership and politics. Even as they savour the sweet success of Assam, they should be able to fully utilise the opportunity of the moment to usher in some real changes that the country craves for. A negative verdict would have tarnished the standing of the party beyond repair while raising questions on Modis USP as a vote catcher. Modi magic intact On the plus side, the prime minister still enjoys a lot of hope and trust as the leader of the BJP, and his governments best bet is still his stewardship. If the BJP sees growth beyond the Vindhyas, Modi takes the credit. Amit Shah, too, stands to benefit from the partys renewed confidence in him, for the BJP presidents role as a strategist had taken a hit after the poll debacles in Delhi and Bihar and the Uttarakhand political farce. In Assam, Modi was not overused as in Bihar. State-level leaders such as Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma bore the brunt of the campaign. More importantly, the ideological hot-heads were contained and prevented from making open appeals for religious polarisation in Assam. Therefore, they may have to be permanently reined in elsewhere too for maximising the fruits of labour of the Central government. As it completes two years in office, the BJP may see the need to be more effective in correcting certain distortions that sap its energy. The party could let the government be available for greater purpose of the nations governance. Moderation holds the answer. So does the BJPs mantra of development for all that worked wonders during the 2014 elections. Assams BJP chief ministerial candidate Sonowal indicated as much when he said the new governments priority will be to protect the interests of the greater Assamese society. Despite a strong anti-incumbency wave, but thanks to a fragmented nature of vote, Jayalalithaa has won the support from the electorate. TN is still not willing to trust the DMK, even if Stalins campaign sought to rebuild the partys image. Even the alternative, promised by the Captain Vijayakanth-led Third Front PWF, has vanished into thin air. However, Jayalalithaa needs to do more. For the first time in 32 years, TN has chosen to give a consecutive term to a party. Perhaps, she will try to go beyond the politics of freebies and make a mark with the quality of governance. The verdict is an opportunity for Mamata as well. She is the only incumbent who has increased her partys tally compared to the previous poll. She owes it to herself to end the cycle of unprecedented political violence unleashed on all opponents, which she may consider as a legacy of the Lefts rule (1977-2012). Even if the working relationship with the Shiv Sena remains a pain because of high stakes in the Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections next year, a lot is going to depend on how Modi re-engages with new potential allies Jayalalithaa and Mamata to push through important legislations, like the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which are on the governments economic agenda. The remaining three years of the government before the next Lok Sabha polls cannot be squandered in street politics. That is the bigger message of the verdict of 2016. Indian-American neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta has emerged as the second most popular doctor in the US on Twitter, with over two million followers on the micro-blogging website, a new study has found. The #DocsOnTwitter study by researchers at Augustana University in the US analysed tweeting habits of medical professionals in the country from 2006 to 2015. Gupta, with 2,031,428 followers on Twitter, serves as associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia and as assistant professor of neurosurgery at the Emory University School of Medicine. Gupta, 46, is best known as the chief medical correspondent for CNN and has won multiple Emmy awards. He also uses his Twitter account primarily for professional use, giving his opinions and medical advice. "We just wanted to see how doctors are engaging with other people on Twitter," Paige Schwitters, an Augustana student who contributed to the report, was quoted as saying by 'argusleader.com'. The group worked with internet research firm BrightPlanet to evaluate Tweets and break the accounts down by age and gender. The researchers sorted through 4,500 users. The most followed Twitter accounts belonged to celebrities, public figures or TV personalities. The top three followed doctors on Twitter are: Dr Drew Pinsky (@drdrew) with 3.18 million followers, Dr Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) who has 2.03 million followers, followed by Dr Asa Andrew (@drasa) with 1.03 million followers. Drew with 3,183,017 followers, is an American board-certified internist, addiction medicine specialist and a media personality. Researchers analysed about 3.4 million tweets to determine when and how physicians were most likely to use Twitter. The study also shows doctors are using Twitter on the go and are less likely to use the micro blogging site for legal reasons. Many avoid announcing their personal business on social media because of rules for patient privacy and insurance, according to the report. The formation of a panel to look into the long working hours of police personnel has created a buzz across police stations. Policemen hope that finally things will get better for them. We do a 12-hour shift every day for 15 days continuously. Even after 12 hours of work, we are not relieved till our replacement arrives, said a Delhi Police constable on condition of anonymity. Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Verma had last Friday formed a 6-member committee of senior police officers to look into the issue of long hours worked by police personnel. The committee will also look into the possibility of creating 8- or 12-hour shifts for Delhi Police cops, said Taj Hassan, senior police official. Recently, a constable had written a letter to the top cop touching upon various issues ranging from long working hours to a revision of promotion policy for constables and head constables. Delhi police personnel told Deccan Herald that only 40% of the overall strength of a police station is generally assigned to law and order duties. The rest goes into work like maintaining records, handling court summons, malkhana duty, working as personal security officers, and as the office and home staff of senior police officers. An ACP (assistant commissioner of police) is assigned one driver and one operator but he has taken two each. Police personnel are being used to take and bring children from their schools, said a sub-inspector posted at a police station. In some cases, private individuals have taken PSOs on flimsy ground, citing personal threat. However, the reality is that they become used to the prestige that comes along with it and dont want to let it go, he added. The police personnel which could have been used for law and order are being used for non-regular and non-important work. This affects law and order functions of a police station and puts extra pressure on the cops deployed there, the officer said. Hailing the decision of the police commissioner to provide one-day leave to police personnel on their childrens birthdays and their marriage anniversaries, cops have also urged him to set right an issue about earned leave. Police personnel complain they rarely get their leave sanctioned even when a months earned leave is due to them. We get only 15 days of privilege leave (PL) and one month of earned leave (EL). We somehow manage to get 15 days PL, but rarely get EL. It keeps on getting accumulated until it reaches 300, said a head constable. EL can be cashed. Newly-elected BJP legislators in Assam will meet here on May 22 to elect Sarbananda Sonowal as the leader of the legislature party formalising the choice as new chief minister of the state. The new BJP members of the Assam Assembly today informally met under the leadership of 53-year-old Sonowal, who is now Union Minister of Sports, at the party headquarters here, spokesperson Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Sonowal, who came into politics as a student leader belonging to AASU in the 1980s during the agitation against influx from Bangladesh, had joined BJP five years ago, and was made its chief ministerial candidate in the election. The BJP and its allies AGP and Bodo People's Front scored a landslide victory, cornering 87 seats in the 126-member Assembly. The victorious BJP legislators decided to have the first official meeting of the legislature party on May 22 where Sonowal will be elected as their leader, Sarma said. BJP's alliance partners, AGP and BPF, will meet the next day to elect Sonowal as the leader of the alliance, he said. The new government will be sworn in on May 24 here in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, all the chief ministers of NDA, including those in the northeast, besides senior central BJP ministers, Sarma said. Sonowal will meet Modi and Shah on the election outcome and government formation, he added. The BJP won 60 seats on its own, up from 5 last time. The AGP bagged 14 seats while the BPF secured 13 seats. Last time, the AGP had 10 and BPF 12. The Congress, which had 78 seats in the outgoing Assembly, could bag only 26 this time. The AIUDF, the largest opposition party in the outgoing Assembly, won 13 seats, against 18. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a two-day visit to the US from June 7 during which he will address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress and hold talks with President Barack Obama to review the progress made in key areas of defence, security and energy. Modi, who is leaving for Iran on Sunday, will also pay a two-day visit to Qatar from June 4. At the invitation of the US President Barack Obama, the Prime Minister will visit Washington DC on June 7-8, 2016, the External Affairs Ministry announced today. "The main objective of the forthcoming visit of the Prime Minister would be to consolidate the progress made in diverse areas such as economy, energy, environment, defence and security, and to intensify cooperation for the future," it said. The Prime Minister has also been invited by the Speaker of the US House of Representative, Paul Ryan, to address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress which he has accepted, it added. Modi, who was invited by Obama for a bilateral visit when Modi travelled to the US for the nuclear summit in March, will be the fifth prime minister of India to address a joint meeting of Congress. Earlier, Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh (July 19, 2005), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (September 14, 2000), P V Narasimha Rao (May 18, 1994) and Rajiv Gandhi (July 13, 1985) addressed the joint meeting of the US Congress. The US Congress has been a source of strength for the India-US strategic partnership and the India Congressional Caucus is the largest such group in the US Congress, the MEA said. During the visit, Modi will have interaction with CEOs of major US companies. Realization of the full potential of Indo-US economic partnership has been a key priority for both the countries and the progress achieved in this regard is reflected in the increased investment flows, the ministry said. Former Congress MP Nilesh Rane was today arrested by the Chiplun police in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra in a case where he is accused of assaulting and kidnapping a local party worker. Nilesh, son of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane, was later produced before the magistrate's court in Chiplun which rejected his bail application after remanding him in 14-day judicial custody. He was placed under arrest after he surrendered before Chiplun police at around 8 AM. The Bombay High Court, on Tuesday, had refused him pre-arrest bail and asked him to surrender before the police on or before May 23. The police had told the High Court that there were serious allegations against Rane and his custodial interrogation was needed as investigation was on. A case was registered by Thane police against Nilesh Rane, his personal assistant Tushar Panchal and bodyguard Manish Singh last month for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting Congress's Chiplun unit chief Sandeep Sawant. According to the FIR, Rane and others allegedly kidnapped Sawant from Chiplun and assaulted him on way to Mumbai for not attending a rally organised by Rane to demand reservation for the Maratha community. According to Sawant, he did not attend the Chiplun rally because his mother was ill. Sawant was allegedly confined to a house in Andheri in Mumbai and later let off. He then reached Thane and got admitted to a hospital. Thane police registered a case. Narayan Rane had visited Sawant in the hospital, reportedly to request him to withdraw the complaint against Nilesh Rane, but Sawant did not budge. The members of the Codava National Council staged a protest at General K S Thimmaiah Circle on here Friday, condemning vandalising of stone slab inscription at Devati Parambu . The protesters urged the administration to arrest the culprits soon and confiscate earthmovers used for the act. They said the police could lay their hands on the men behind the dastardly act if they arrest the drivers of earthmovers used for the vandal act. They said that a comprehensive survey of Devati Parambu should be conducted and steps should be taken to protect the place after clearing encroachments. They warned of staging a protest in front of the forest office if the survey was not conducted in three months. The protesters wanted Devati Parambu to be declared a heritage site. Tipu Sultan had invited Kodava people and killed them at this very place in 1785, they said. A stone slab was erected at the site in memory of the martyrs and the place was being worshipped all these years. But, some people are conspiring to put an end to this custom the CNC activists said, demanding that a monument be constructed at the place. CNC president N U Nachappa said that the act had deeply hurt the feelings of Kodava people. Large-scale deforestation, smuggling of precious stones and illegal hunting of animals are rampant here. The place had become a hideout for thieves and poachers. The entry of CNC has now become a hurdle these people, Nachappa said. The protesters later submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner Meer Anees Ahmmed and Kodagu Circle Conservator of Forests Manoj Kumar. Kodava Samaja Vice President Mandepanda Ratan Kuttaiah, Cheyyandane Kodava Samaja president Chenanda Suresh Nanaiah, theatre artiste Addanda Cariappa and writer Balyamiderira Subramani were present. Indias experience of strong economic growth, comfortable price situation, low current account deficit, and adherence to fiscal recovery path have projected the country as an outpost of opportunity for global investors, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Speaking at a meeting with a group of Executive Directors (EDs) of the World Bank Group here on Thursday, the minister said that the Indian economy is estimated to register 7.6% growth in 2015-16, notwithstanding contraction of global exports and two consecutive years of shortfall in monsoon. The finance minister further said that the focus of the present government is on areas like non-conventional power generation, the nation-wide sanitation campaign, electrification of villages in India, major and minor irrigation projects and rural housing for all, among others. Highlighting the various macroeconomic variables favourable to India, he pointed out that good monsoon forecast, political reform process and low current oil prices as the key drivers of economic growth. He emphasised on the macro-economic benefit that India is experiencing due to the fall in oil prices. He stated that the fall in global oil prices during the time when India was recovering from the impact of global financial crisis, has greatly benefitted India in the recovery process. Talking about the role of World Bank Group in world development, the minister stressed on the need for the World Bank to have a larger capital base, more activity and more projects. He also stated that the role of World Bank Group could be expanded in areas like social sector, education and health, agricultural development, small-scale industry and handlooms. A group of nine World Bank Executive Directors is currently on a six-day official visit to India as a part of their South Asian Region visit. They will also be visiting Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In India, their visit covers meeting the senior Government of India officials and getting a firs thand experience of the implementation of the World Bank projects in Agra, Bhubaneswar and Jaipur. The State governments recommendation of Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) Commissioner Sham Bhats name for Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) chairmans post has drawn flack from Association of Concerned and Informed Citizens of Mysore (ACICM). ACICM convener and Congress leader Lakshmana, speaking to reporters on Friday, clarified that he was commenting on the subject under the banner of ACICM. He pooh-poohed the decision of the government in the light of seven guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court for nominating a person or official to the KPSC top post. He urged the government to pick a suitable and unblemished candidate for the post to prevent legal hurdles. Citing the example of former MLA of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) Harish Rai Dhanda, who was nominated to the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) in 2011, Lakshmana said it was challenged in Punjab High Court through PIL. The court ruled in favour of the petitioner quashing the appointment of Dhanda. Though Dhanda moved the Supreme Court, the apex court (in 2013), upheld the decision of lower court and laid down seven guidelines for nominating heads of public service commissions (PSCs). Lakshmana said the government may face embarrassment if it has not taken the SC guidelines into consideration in Dhandas case, before recommending the name of Sham Bhat. Lakshmana said,the guidelines assume significance as Bhat is also riddled in controversy as he is facing allegations of favouring realtors in the denotification of lands for Arkavathy Layout in Bengaluru. Apart from Justice H Kempanna Commission, that was formed to look into Arkavathy irregularities, Bhat is facing Lokayukta probe in the same issue. He has also written an open letter to the chief minister. DH News Service The Karnataka Jain Association on Friday reiterated its demand for the setting up of a Prakrit university in the state. The association members, including writer Hampa Nagarajaiah, met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday and appealed to him to consider this demand. Association president Jitendra Kumar said Siddaramaiah had announced the setting up of a Prakrit university during the Mahavir Jayanti programme recently. This would be the first Prakrit university in the world, if the government pursues it seriously, he said, adding that the language has a history of 2,600 years. The association has also appealed to the CM to consider members of the Jain community for an MLC seat. The HSR Layout police have arrested a man on charge of molesting a one-and-a-half years old girl on the premises of an apartment at Doddakallahalli on Wednesday. The police said that the suspect Deepesh Pradhan, 26, a native of Darjeeling, was working as a sweeper at the apartment. While the victim's father is a security guard and her mother a helper at the same apartment. They were residing on the premises of the apartment. The couple, who hail from Nepal, had come down to the city a couple of years ago. On Wednesday around 1 pm, the victim's father went to the second floor of the apartment to attend some work while her mother was busy in household chores. The suspect took the girl, who was playing on the premises of the apartment, to a corner and molested her. Hearing her screams, the victim's father rushed to her rescue. He found injury marks on her private parts. He nabbed Pradhan and started beating him. Pradhan confessed to have molested and hit the child, added the police. The HSR Layout police were informed and a complaint was filed based on which Pradhan was arrested and remanded to judicial custody. The election to the Rajya Sabha from the state assembly has caught up on the social media. Since May 17, there has been opposition to the renomination of Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu to the Upper House from the state quota. Four members of the Upper House from Karnataka, including Naidu, are retiring in June. Polls to elect the new members are scheduled to be held on June 11. Members of the Legislative Assembly form the electoral college. #VenkayyaSakayya (meaning enough of Venkaiah) has been trending on Twitter. Many posts state that Naidus contribution to Karnataka has been poor despite being sent to the Upper House thrice - 1998, 2004 and 2010. @MVenkaiahNaidu your contribution to Karnataka and Kannada is big Zero. sad but true, twetted Pradeep G L. Being selected from Karnataka from past 18 yrs but did not learn Kannada yet..how did @bjpkarnataka allow him to contest, twetted Srikant H R. Scores of tweets against Naidu have been posted. The BJP so far has not reacted to the tweets. DH News Service BJP leader Jagadish Shettar on Friday said Minor Irrigation Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi was directly involved in the illegal awarding of tenders for piece works worth about Rs 34 crore for taking up development of tanks in the state. Shettar, who is the leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, told reporters in Bengaluru that the governments move to hand over the probe to the CID to investigate into the illegalities (which happened in the Kushtagi division of the minor irrigation department) and suspension of 26 engineers was only an eyewash. It was found that fake bills were created without completing the works. Why is no action being taken against the contractors who produced the fake bills. There is proof that most of the contractors are close aides of Tangadagi, Shettar said. He said criminal cases should be filed against the contractors and the ministers involvement investigated. He demanded that Tangadagi immediately submit his resignation. However, Shettar did not produce any documents to prove his charges. The BJP leader also accused the government of trying to delay the appointment of the Lokayukta and keep the Anti-Corruption Bureau defunct so that there is little room for filing anti-corruption cases. He said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should understand that Governor Vajubhai Vala was not in favour of appointing Law Commission Chairman S R Nayak as the Lokayukta. He said it was illogical to recommend Justice Nayaks name once again to the Governor. Shettar also sought the resignation of Social Welfare Minister H Anjaneya for his controversial brothel comments. Anjaneya, at a programme earlier this week, had said some private school managements ran their institutes like brothels. DH News Service How do you reduce the number of fatalities on road by half in the next five years? A committee of Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted to examine best practices in road safety and suggest actionable points for implementation on Friday recommended to the Centre to increase the minimum penalty from the Rs 100 to Rs 1,000. The enhanced penalties were recommended to improve traffic rules compliance, during the second meeting of the committee of transport ministers of various states which was held here on Friday. The meeting was attended by seven ministers, principal secretaries and commissioners of different states. Yoonus Khan, minister for public works department and transport, Rajasthan, who heads the GoM told reporters that enhanced penalties would act as a deterrent. Only a certain category of officers would be empowered to impose penalties as there is a strong likelihood of increased corruption amongst enforcement agencies, he said. Khan stated that committee also felt the need to simplify the process of public service delivery in respect of driving licenses, transfer of vehicle ownership, NOC for driving licenses among others. Each state follows its own method. Hence, a sub-committee would be formed to bring about uniformity in the system, he said. The committee, he said, would recommend the Centre to set aside 10% of the Central Road Fund (CRF) to improve road safety in all the states, which at present, is being used for construction of roads. It was also proposed to create a traffic fund in order to build traffic infrastructure, he noted. The committee held its first meeting in New Delhi in March. A report will be submitted to the Centre after holding another round of meeting in Himachal Pradesh on June 26. Later, a set of recommendation to amend the Section 177 in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 will be discussed during the monsoon session of the Parliament. DH News Service It is said that the RSS was the lifeline of BJPs electoral strategy in Assam. In the 2011 Assembly elections in Assam, the BJP bagged five seats. Riding on the Narendra Modi wave, the saffron party drew first blood from the ruling Congress in the 2014 Lok Sabha elelctions when it won seven of the 14 seats in the state. But to dislodge the Congress in Assam in the 2016 Assembly elections, the BJP needed a very strong organisational base, which it lacked in Assam. So, the RSS used its cadre to create a mass support base and this resulted in a historic victory. According to RSS sources, the state was divided in to five zones. RSS karyakartas visited every constituency to cement a support base for the BJP. Around 30,000 RSS karyakartas were involved in the 2016 elections, and they worked in tandem with BJP functionaries, a source said. In keeping with the strategy, the number of rallies to be addressed by Prime Minister Modi was also increased. In all, he participated in 14 rallies. RSS was also tasked with breaking into the Congress strongholds of Upper Assam and Barak Valley region, and its efforts proved fruitful, a senior BJP leader from Assam said. Sources said RSS had directed its central headquarters at Nagpur to ask the BJP national leadership to name Sarbananda Sonowal as the chief ministerial candidate since ground assessment indicated that a tribal with a nationalist ideology would be a sure shot to victory. And true enough, Sonowal led the party to a landslide win. In order to sync with BJP leaders in the state, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, who is an old RSS hand, was made incharge of Assam. India on Friday despatched 2 naval ships and a C-17 aircraft with relief materials to Sri Lanka, which was severely battered by the tropical cyclone Roanu, leading to severe damage. Navys offshore patrol vessels INS Sunayana and survey vessel INS Sutlej are on their way to Colombo from the Southern Command in Kochi. Indian Air Forces C-17 carried additional relief materials and tents to help the island nation cope with the natural disaster. A high-level meeting was held at the Home Ministry to assess the requirement of relief material and how to quickly airlift them to Sri Lanka. The naval ships are likely to reach either Friday night or early morning on Saturday depending on the sea conditions whereas the C-17 is expected to reach on Friday. India has promised to extend all necessary help to the neighbour. India is extending help and relief to Sri Lanka which is battling torrential rains and landslides which have caused significant devastation and loss of life. The Indian Navy is sending two ships today, INS Sutlej and INS Sunanyna with Gemini's (inflatable boats), OBMs (outboard motors), additional divers, tarpaulins, consumable stores, rations, said Vikas Swarup, spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs. Abdul Wahid Siddibappa, a suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative accused of routing funds for terror strikes in India, was arrested here on Friday when he arrived from Dubai. Siddibappa (32), who uses Khan as his code name, hails from Bhatkal. He is a distant relative of jailed IM chief Yasin Bhatkal. An Interpol Red Notice was issued against Siddibappa earlier. Indian investigators have linked him to July 2006 Mumbai serial blasts, the 2008 Delhi blasts and the 2010 Chinnaswamy Stadium blasts in Bengaluru. The arrest of Siddibappa shows the growing cooperation from UAE in dealing with Indian terror operatives holed up in the Gulf country. Siddibappa was apprehended in Abu Dhabi in early 2014 and after India convinced UAE of his involvement in terror activities, local authorities facilitated his arrest. He was produced before a special court, which remanded him in NIA custody for seven days. The agency told the court that investigators wanted to question him in connection with fund transfer to the terror outfit. Siddibappas lawyer M S Khan said his clients name never appeared anywhere in the chargesheet filed by the NIA or in the list of proclaimed offenders or wanted persons. Sources said he was in Dubai and had assumed the name of Khan. He was an important cadre of the IM and he regularly transferred funds from Pakistan to UAE and then to India for terror activities. According to NIA, Siddibappa had played an active role and was the main conduit in the chain of fund supply from Pakistan via Dubai to other IM operatives based in India. Siddibappas name emerged in the terror circuit after Indian investigators found his mention in the chats between IM top leaders Yasin and Riyaz Bhatkal. On the arrest, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said investigating agencies keep doing their work. We should not comment on that. I will not talk in specific context of any case, he said. DH News Service India and the United States on Friday announced the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington from June 7 to 8. The main objective of the forthcoming visit of the prime minister would be to consolidate the progress made in diverse areas such as economy, energy, environment, defence and security, and to intensify cooperation for the future, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement here. It noted that India-US bilateral strategic partnership had developed strongly, particularly during the last two years under the leadership of Modi and American President Barack Obama. The White House too issued a statement in Washington on Friday. The visit will highlight the deepening of the US-India relationship in key areas since the Presidents visit to New Delhi in January 2015. The President looks forward to discussing progress made on our climate change and clean energy partnership, security and defense cooperation, and economic growth priorities, said Josh Earnest, Press Secretary, White House. Apart from meeting Obama, the prime minister will also address a joint meeting of the US Congress during his visit to Washington. He (Prime Minister) will be the first foreign leader to be given this honour in 2016. The US Congress has been a source of strength for the India-US strategic partnership and the India Congressional Caucus is the largest such group in the US Congress, said Vikas Swarup, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs. The prime minister will have an interaction with CEOs of major US companies during the visit. Realisation of the full potential of our economic partnership has been a key priority for both countries and the progress achieved in this regard is reflected in the increased investment flows, the MEA stated. The Centre on Friday said Phase II of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to undergraduate medical and dental courses would be held on July 24 as scheduled. The Government of India is fully committed to NEET. First phase has taken place, second phase will also take place, Health Minister J P Nadda tweeted late on Friday evening. In an interview with a news agency, Nadda clarified that media reports of an ordinance to avoid NEET are baseless. Let me make it clear, NEET has been implemented and is in existence. First phase is over and the second phase will take place on July 24, he said. Nadda, however, did not clarify which colleges would be covered under NEET-II. The ministers response came in the wake of intense speculation about the Cabinet approving an ordinance to postpone NEET-II by a year to bypass a Supreme Court ruling which mandated a common entrance test for medical and dental courses across the country. Earlier in the week, state health ministers met Nadda asking him to defer NEET. The state health ministers cited issues like parity in syllabus and use of local language to claim that holding NEET at such a short notice would not be in students interest. The Centre also convened an all-party meet and held two Cabinet meetings to discuss how the issue can be addressed in the backdrop of the apex court order and opposition from the states. A little over 13 % of Indias 24.88 crore households are headed by women of the Christian community, which is the highest percentage of females heading the families. Census 2011 on Households by religion, sex of head of household and household size showed that 21.60 crore families are headed by men, while 3.27 crore have women heads. The data, released on Friday evening, showed that of the 20.24 crore Hindu households, 7.62 crore crore were headed by men, while only 2.62 crore were headed by women. The highest percentage of female-headed households is in Christian community at 17.4% followed by Buddhists (15.9%). The lowest percentage of female-headed households is in Jain community (11.5%), according to the data. Kerala and Tamil Nadu have contributed to the higher percentage of female-headed Christian households. Both the states together have 3.59 lakh such households while men lead 22.25 lakh families. Women head Keralas 2.66 lakh Christian families while the figure for Tamil Nadu is 1.92 lakh. Other big contributors in this regard are Meghalaya (88,440), Karnataka (58,463) and Maharashtra 57,982). According to Census 2011, 81.3% of the households in the country belong to the Hindu community, while Muslims have 12.5% households. Christian households account for 2.5%, Sikh 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7% and Jains 0.4%. The results of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class XII examination of all regions will be announced on Saturday. In 2014, the board had declared Class XII results on different dates for different regions. The results will be declared at 12 noon. Each of the schools will get the results of students via their registered email IDs, CBSEs public relations officer Rama Sharma said here on Friday. The marks sheets will also be sent for safe storage in the DigiLocker, a facility created by the Narendra Modi government under Digital India programme. The DigiLocker account credentials will be sent to students via SMS on their mobile numbers, registered with the CBSE. Starting this year, we will also provide Class XII digital mark sheets in DigiLocker, Sharma said, adding the students can access their DigiLocker account logging on to the web page, https://digilocker.gov.in. Results will also be available at DigiResults, an Android-based mobile application, with the board going both digital and mobile from this year. Results through IVRS would continue this year too. Students can visit the CBSEs website to get the phone numbers required to be dialled for getting results through this system. LeT commander Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi and six others accused in the 2008 Mumbai attack case will be individually charged for the abetment to murder of each of the 166 people killed in the carnage, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court ruled on Friday. The seven suspects will be charged individually for the abetment to murder of each victim of Mumbai attack case, a senior court official said. The official told PTI that the court, however, did not allow cross examination of the suspects. The prosecution had filed an application in the ATC, Islamabad, some two months ago, requesting it to make amendment in the charges against the suspects in abetment to murder of all the victims. The trial court in March last had reserved the verdict after the prosecution and defence lawyers completed their arguments on the plea that amendment in the charges against all seven suspects should be made. The prosecution was of the view that it was seeking amendment to the changes for further strengthening the case against the suspects. It had also pleaded for including the post-mortem reports of those killed in the attack. The prosecution said India should be asked to send the post-mortem reports of the victims but the defence lawyers opposed it. Meanwhile, the attack case has faced inordinate delay as no proceedings were held for the previous seven consecutive hearings. The Pakistani authorities are blaming India for the delay, saying it cannot move ahead till India sends witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements. The seven consecutive hearings of the case were adjourned without any proceedings because the Pakistani government is still awaiting its counterparts response about sending (Indian) witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case, the court official said. India on Friday dismissed Chinas argument that a nation must sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to be eligible for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). New Delhi cited the precedent set by France, which was a member of the NSG even when it was not a signatory of the NPT. China has since long opposed Indias entry into the NSG, which controls the global nuclear commerce. A spokesperson of the Chinese government last week reiterated in Beijing that being a signatory of the NPT was an important requirement for a new member seeking admission to the bloc. The 48-nation cartel is expected to consider Indias plea for membership in its plenary early June. I think there is some confusion here. Even the NPT allows civil nuclear cooperation with non-NPT countries (countries that did not sign the NPT), Vikas Swarup, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, said. New guidelines If there is a connection, it is between the NSG and IAEA (International Atomic Energy Association) safeguards and with export controls. (The) NSG members have to respect safeguards and export controls; nuclear supplies have to be in accordance with the NSG guidelines, added Swarup, explaining New Delhis perspective of requirements for NSG membership for any nation. India has been modifying its export control mechanism over the past few years to make it in sync with the NSG guidelines. During American President Barack Obamas visit to India in January 2015, the US noted that India was ready to join the NSG. The US reiterated its position after the remark by the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week. The NSG guidelines prohibit its members to enter nuke ties with the countries that did not sign the NPT. Neither India, nor Pakistan has signed the NPT. Washington, however, helped New Delhi secure a waiver from the NSG in 2008. The waiver, given in form of a statement from the NSG, cleared the hurdle for the US-India nuclear cooperation. It also ended isolation from global nuclear commerce that international community had forced India into after it conducted the first nuke test in Pokhran in 1974. China has been hinting that it would support its all-weather friend Pakistans bid to get the NSG membership if the NPT signatory criterion was diluted to admit India. The NSG is an ad hoc export control regime and France, which was not an NPT member for some time, was a member of the NSG since it respected NSGs objectives, said Swarup. Facilitate visa for our businessmen A Chinese delegation on Friday urged India to facilitate visas for its businessmen as they evinced keen interest in the countrys pharmaceuticals and biotech sector. The request came at a meeting of a 14-member delegation led by Wang Pu, vice-chairman of Shenzen Committee of Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, which met Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju here. The delegation arrived in India to participate in the China (Shenzhen)-India Economic and Trade Cooperation seminar. During the meeting, the Chinese delegation invited investments by Indian pharmaceuticals companies in China. The delegation also inquired about sectors of the economy, which are attracting foreign investment. The delegation members also inquired about the incentives for the investors in India and requested the minister for favourable policies for the Chinese investors. They also raised the issue of facilitating the visas for the businessmen and for tourism even as more and more Chinese tourists and businessmen are visiting India every year, an official statement said. Rijiju said India is eager to enhance trade and cultural ties with China. India on Friday strongly rebuffed Pakistans comment on the molestation of a girl at Handwara in Jammu and Kashmir and the death of civilians in firing by security forces over the incident. Calling Pakistan an epicentre of global terrorism and referring to regular persecution of religious minorities in the neighbouring country, New Delhi said that Islamabad had no locus standi in commenting on incidents in Jammu and Kashmir. Indias robust and vibrant democracy has enough redress mechanisms to handle such cases. The entire state of J&K is an integral part of India. Pakistan has no locus standi in commenting on matters that are entirely internal to the state of J&K and India, said Vikas Swarup, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs. A spokesman of the Pakistan governments Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently conveyed concerns over the incident at Handwara. We do not need lectures from third parties, least of all from Pakistan, which would do well to reflect upon the state it finds itself in, as an epicentre of global terrorism and a country where religious minorities are routinely persecuted, Swarup said on Friday, responding to the remarks by his counterpart in Pakistan. New Delhi also cited the reports about purported remarks by Rana Sanaullah, a minister in the provincial government of Punjab in Pakistan. Sanaullah told a TV channel that Pakistan could not act against terrorists as they were linked to the government agencies. How can you prosecute a group which is involved with the state? said Sanaullah. New Delhi said Sanaullahs remarks sadly corroborated the view that India always held about the support and freedom available to anti-India terrorist groups in Pakistan, including internationally sanctioned terrorist groups and individuals. His (Sanaullah) remarks also elucidate the reason for lack of effective action even against those entities and individuals against whom Pakistan has international obligation to act, the spokesperson said. It is up to authorities in Pakistan to address this unfortunate reality in the interest of a normal relationship between our two countries and in broader interest of Pakistan, he said. The Centre is planning to launch a scheme under which consumers can pay for the new connection in monthly installments over five years. The consumers will also be able to avail the service on demand. We want to provide this facility to everyone. If he or she asks for electricity connection then it must be provided, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday at a conference organised to mark the completion of two years of the NDA regime. The minister said, Poor people get electricity connection free of cost. But for those who are above poverty line, the amount paid for a new connection will be charged through equated monthly installments in five years. We are working on such a scheme and will soon launch it. The minister also said that the government will come out with a simple application for those seeking power connection. On the occasion, Goyal also advocated cross-subsidisation of power tariff and said, The Indian farmer deserves low cost power. We support cross-subsidisation by larger commercial or industrial establishments for other consumers. The minister also said the government is working on a policy for reverse auction for wind power projects on the lines of solar power projects, which will witness lowering of tariff to below Rs 5 per unit. At present, wind power projects are awarded on the basis of feed in tariff, which is provided by the regulator on the basis of costs of land, equipment and other services. On village electrification, the minister expressed confidence that the target of electrifying 18,452 villages will be achieved ahead of the set deadline of May 1, 2018. Buoyed by the success of Uday Scheme for revival of debt-ridden discoms, the minister said bonds worth Rs 1.5-1.75 lakh crore are expected to be issued in the ongoing fiscal. Lights go off at ministers briefing Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday had an embarrassing situation when lights went off at a press briefing on achievements of his ministry, DHNS reports from New Delhi. Goyal was holding the conference to talk about the achievements of his ministries during the first two years of the Modi government when the lights suddenly went off and remained so for some time. Talking in lighter vein, Goyal said, My wife tells me that power should go off once in every programme that I hold so that I can be sure that I have miles to go before I rest and sleep. I don't know whether they have made it a practice or guidance or it is actually gone. Colorados top elections chief acknowledged Thursday that state officials made mistakes in reviewing possibly fraudulent signatures on petitions for U.S. Senate candidate Jon Keyser and pledged to overhaul the process. The new policies will feature better public notice and escalate questions about signatures more quickly to top-level management, including Secretary of State Wayne Williams, who can refer the issue to investigators for review. The secretary of states office disclosed Tuesday that petition supervisors in his office knew about questionable voter signatures on Keysers petitions for the Republican primary including one from a dead person a month before the controversy erupted. But Williams did not learn about the issue until Tuesday, when he asked his staff to refer the forged signature of the dead voter to the local prosecutor. Other potentially fake voter signatures already are under review by the Denver district attorney. In retrospect, we could have done a better job on the review of the individual lines, and I think we all admit that, said Judd Choate, the elections director in the secretary of states office. And thats why we are trying to develop better policies. At the same time, state election officials acknowledged that the scope of the controversy involving forged signatures is still unknown. The secretary of states office has not yet conducted a review of other petitions submitted by the same collector who submitted the questionable signatures for Keyser. We havent looked at it, Choate said. Maureen Moss, a former employee at Black Diamond Outreach, a Denver-based political canvassing firm, submitted more than 10 signatures from voters who later said they didnt sign Keysers petition. She earned an hourly salary and incentive payments based on the number of signatures collected, company officials said. Black Diamond voided other signatures the Aurora woman collected for the Your Choice Colorado campaign to overhaul state alcohol laws before submitting them because company officials identified potential forgeries. But Moss also collected signatures for a state Senate candidate in Parker, according to local media reports. The signatures Moss collected for the Keyser campaign caught the attention of Integrated Document Solutions, the state division that first raised a red flag about the dead voter and notified the secretary of states office April 12. The signature of Judy De Santis appeared on a Keyser petition Feb. 28, but she died Jan. 25. The secretary of states office, however, never looked up her date of death to determine whether it was fraudulent. Choate said the new policies will require the offices petition team to review the date of death in the future. Under state law, the secretary of states office said it is not permitted to compare signatures on petition forms to those in the voter file, but can refer questions to authorities for investigation. In this case, two state officials looked at the other questionable signatures on Keysers petitions, but determined potential fraud didnt exist. Any similar questions in the future will go to supervisors and the office also is considering whether to request changes to the law to allow broader review powers. Choate called the staffers in question fantastic employees who did nothing wrong. Weld Countys coroner on Thursday confirmed that a body found last month in Wyoming belonged to a Colorado woman who had been missing since October after her presumed slaying. Tera Lewandowskis disappearance was initially called suspicious by police in the town of Ault before the county sheriffs office said the 34-year-old woman had been killed. Joey Weiner, chief deputy coroner, declined to release further details on the case, including the cause and manner of death. Were not releasing any of that information, she said. Police arrested six people in connection with Lewandowskis disappearance and death seven months ago, charging five of them first-degree murder and the sixth with an accessory charge. Investigators believe several of the suspects were tied to a biker gang. Among those accused was 36-year-old Daniel Meyer, a Pierce town board member who told police during an interrogation that he forced a hunting knife into Lewandowskis chest after she was hit in the head. Lewandowski had been staying at Meyers house for about a week before she was killed after discovering Meyer was stealing her prescription medicines, officials said. Anyone with further information about the case is asked to call the Weld County Sheriffs Office at 970-356-4015 or Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Colorado Education Commissioner Rich Crandall announced his resignation on Thursday, just four-and-a-half months into the job. The former Arizona Republican lawmaker who also served a brief stint as Wyomings top school officer said in a statement he was resigning for personal reasons. The realities of my large family being out of state, including school age children, as well as the demands of the position and the time required to fully serve a state as diverse and expansive as Colorado, lead me to this decision, Crandall said in the statement. I have enjoyed getting to know and work with so many supporters of public education, especially the staff at the Department of Education. I wish the state board and staff well as they work on implementation of ESSA and the many key policy issues facing the board. The State Board of Education will meet Friday to discuss appointing Crandalls replacement. Crandall won unanimous support from the Republican-controlled board after being selected as sole finalist. On behalf of my state board colleagues, I want to thank Commissioner Crandall for his strong and effective advocacy for quality public education for all Colorado children, state board Chairman Steve Durham said in a statement. I appreciate the importance Mr. Crandall places on family and his recognition of his professional and personal limitations in this demanding position. For more on this story, go to Chalkbeat Colorado. Chalkbeat Colorado is a nonprofit news organization covering education issues. For more, visit chalkbeat.org/co. Wine may be more helpful for protecting against type 2 diabetes than beer or spirits, according to a new study. A team of researchers from China examined the relationship between specific types of alcoholic drinks and type 2 diabetes. The data was collected by searching for studies from the PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases. Just under 400,000 people and 20,641 cases of type 2 diabetes were included in the analysis. The study showed a correlation between wine consumption and a reduction in the risk for type 2 diabetes when compared with no or rare alcohol drinking, while beer or spirit consumption led to a slight trend of decreasing risk of type 2 diabetes with the relative risk of 0.96 and 0.95 respectively. Researchers said there was a U-shaped correlation between all three alcohol types and type 2 diabetes. The peak risk reduction was seen for 20g to 30g per day for wine and beer and for 7g to 15g per day of spirits, with decreases of 20 per cent, nine per cent and five per cent respectively. Researchers concluded: This study indicated that wine may be more helpful for protection against type 2 diabetes than beer or spirits. The research, which was led by Dr Jin Huang from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China, has been published in the Journal of Diabetes Investigation. These findings were statistical insights into alcohol consumption across populations. The UK alcohol recommendation is to not regularly have more than 14 units of alcohol per week. 14 units of alcohol is equivalent to seven small glasses of wine, six pints of beer or lager, five glasses of cider or 14 single shots of spirits. Lenovo's newest ad for the next Motorola smartphone, is full of the erstwhile Moto Razr. Lenovo seems to be finally getting it. The companys newest advertisement, teasing the next product from Motorola, is full of the iconic Moto Razr. While the ad makes no indication of what the product is, it confirms more details on June 9, which is also the date for Lenovos Tech World conference. In fact, rumours suggest that the next version of the Moto X smartphone will be launched at this event. While you can get precious little information from the ad, Lenovo seems to be going for something else. The company is presumably looking to cash in on Motorolas legacy, and the Moto Razr is possible the best phone to do that. The uber successful device sold in the 2000s and is, to this day, one of the most loved phones ever. Further, Lenovo is reportedly dropping the Moto X monicker from Motorolas flagship series as well. The phones may now be called Moto Z, and the leaked images look nothing like the Razr. That said, could Lenovo be planning to make a new Moto Razr, based on Android? One can only hope, right? Mineral exploration and development company Kodal Minerals announced on Friday it has completed its acquisition of International Goldfields (Bermuda) , as well as a 0.68m fundraising. The AIM-traded company said International Goldfields controls a portfolio of highly prospective gold properties in Cote d'Ivoire and Mali. Its portfolio includes eight mineral licences and two licence applications covering a collection of targets on the West African Birimian Greenstone Belt. International Goldfields also has existing joint venture and farm-in agreements on four licence areas with Newcrest Mining and Resolute Mining, with an aggregate exploration spend of up to $4.7m. As part of the acquisition, Kodal said experience geologist Bernard Aylward has been appointed as chief executive officer. The gold portfolio provides us with exposure to a proven gold district in West Africa that contains a number of multimillion ounce mining operations, said Kodal chairman David Jones. The joint ventures already achieved with Resolute and Newcrest are a validation of the quality of the ground selection and of our strategy. We are looking forward to working with someone of Bernard's proven ability and furthering our business model of identifying projects with potential and sourcing experienced and well-resourced mining operators as joint venture partners to drive their development, he added. Newly-appointed CEO Aylward said he is looking forward to assisting in the companys diversification strategy, and continuing the strategy of acquisition with early low-cost exploration. The projects generated to date are of a quality to have attracted partners with proven gold pedigrees who have agreed to invest up to $4.7m exploration and development finance, allowing us to free carry on the potential upside. We look forward to advancing our activities across our jurisdictions and building significant value for shareholders, he explained. The company also confirmed it has raised 0.68m before expenses through the issue of 1.7 billion new ordinary shares in a placing and subscription with new and ordinary shareholders, at a placing price of 0.04p per share. Kodals board said the net placing proceeds will be applied to the progression of its assets in West Africa and Norway, and its working capital requirements. Markets approved of the moves, with Kodal shares up 2.74% at 0.05p at 1200 BST. The FTSE 250 was solidly in the green in afternoon trading on Friday, taking its lead from a mining boost at its big brother the FTSE 100 . Bookmaker Ladbrokes was rallying in afternoon trading, as investors breathed a sigh of relief over competition concerns. It had long been known that its merger with fellow bookie Gala Coral would result in the forced sale of some outlets, but in its provisional findings released before markets opened, the Competition and Markets Authority said 350 to 400 stores would likely need to be sold. Analysts said this was a significantly lower figure than previously thought, and laid out the path forward for the merger of the UKs second and third largest betting shop chains by location numbers. Ladbrokes [and] Coral will only need to sell around 350 to 400 betting shops - much less than feared - if the merger is to be conditionally cleared, said independent retail analyst Nick Bubb. Financial services group Close Brothers was also on the up, after it delivered an improved third quarter performance with positive loan book growth, tighter cost control and better market conditions for its market making unit Winterflood. Its board said it was confident of delivering a satisfactory outcome for the full year. Close Brothers banking divisions loan book was up 4.0% during the quarter, and was up 8.2% in the year-to-date to 6.2bn. The rate of growth in expenses was lower than the first half as we continue to tighten cost control whilst maintaining investment in the business and in new growth initiatives, Close said. Centamin received a boost as well, as Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of the stock at overweight with a 130p price target, adding it was its top pick in the Europe gold sector. Sukari provides a solid foundation from which to grow the business with a 7% free cash flow yield in 2017, the report said. This can be invested either at Sukari, or outside of Egypt, or alternatively returned to shareholders if no viable project is identified. Valuation does not reflect this optionality in our view. The bank was careful to point out that absolute upside remained largely dependent on the outlook for gold prices - though such a caveat wasnt deterring investors on Friday afternoon. Among the bottom of the pile was precision instruments maker Spectris, which was under pressure after it reported a drop in like-for-like sales in a trading update for the year to 30 April - even though overall sales grew thanks to acquisitions. Reported sales increased by 2%, while like-for-like sales were down 4%. Trading conditions in the period continued to be challenging. Within this environment we remain focused on implementing our targeted restructuring programmes, said chief executive John OHiggins. He added that the outlook for the year remained unchanged, and said Spectris was well-positioned for the future. Investment company Riverstone Energy was also among the biggest fallers, after reporting a fall in net asset value in the first quarter to $1.33bn from $1.34bn, though it tried to offset the numbers by claiming a fertile investment environment amid the oil price slump. The energy-focused firm booked an $8.2m pre-tax loss for the period, and a loss per share of 9.65 US cents. FTSE 250 - Risers Ladbrokes (LAD) 127.50p 6.69% Centamin (DI) (CEY) 113.90p 5.56% Henderson Group (HGG) 258.90p 5.29% Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,282.00p 4.65% NCC Group (NCC) 295.50p 4.49% Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 583.00p 4.48% McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 231.90p 4.37% Restaurant Group (RTN) 349.70p 4.26% Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 989.50p 4.05% Aggreko (AGK) 1,150.00p 3.70% FTSE 250 - Fallers Spectris (SXS) 1,699.00p -4.01% Allied Minds (ALM) 340.90p -2.91% Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 115.50p -2.86% Clarkson (CKN) 2,265.00p -2.16% Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 855.00p -1.95% Homeserve (HSV) 415.70p -1.86% Debenhams (DEB) 74.00p -1.33% John Laing Infrastructure Fund Ltd (JLIF) 121.40p -1.30% AO World (AO.) 170.50p -1.22% Marshalls (MSLH) 317.00p -1.18% Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. Franklin County officials slam Ohio election security mandate Franklin County commissioners, all Democrats, criticized GOP Secretary of State Frank LaRose's election security mandates and their $375,000 cost. Subscriber content preview BOISE, Idaho (AP) Hopes of Idaho officials to increase the height of a Boise River dam to double water storage and also create enough space to handle a 500-year flood ran aground after the project failed a federal feasibility study. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told the Idaho Water Resource Board on Wednesday that the $1.26 billion cost of raising century-old Arrowrock Dam 70 feet outweighed the benefits. . . . Subscriber content preview LOS ANGELES (AP) NASA has shipped its last space shuttle external propellant tank to California to join the retired orbiter Endeavour on display in Los Angeles. The plan is to mount the winged spaceship vertically on the massive tank as if ready for launch, complete with a real pair of solid rocket boosters. . . . AES prepares for disaster Members of the 315th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron participated in a National Disaster Medical System exercise May 18 at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. The training exercise, which has taken place annually for more than five years, is conducted in order to efficiently receive, triage, transport and manage patients during time of emergency or disaster. Understanding and knowing that there is a system in place that can help and treat victims is comforting, said Capt. Lee Knoell, 315th AES medical service corps air reserve technician. This cooperative effort can help save American lives during any type of disaster. The AES crew was responsible for transferring victims from the injury site to the staging location to be evaluated by way of a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. We were acting as the subject matter experts to the other participants, said Master Sgt. Gregory Gaines, 315th AES aeromedical technician. AES members are well trained in the medical field and are mostly comprised of Airmen who are employed as medical professionals in their civilian careers, Gaines said. Our AES team members are experts with in-flight care and are able to provide follow-on care once on the ground, said Knoell. The NDMS event included numerous agencies from around the state to include the Department of Veteran Affairs Emergency Management, U.S. Army, Red Cross, South Carolina State Guard, hospital system personnel, Civil Air Patrol, law enforcement as well as several emergency medical service members. The 300th Airlift Squadron supported the AES with the flying portion of the exercise and even accomplished a real-world Denton cargo pickup of supplies bound for Haiti from Louisville Air National Guard Base, Kentucky. Halloween creatures owls, crows and bats all live at Crossroads, and that makes us very happy, for these scary animals make a positive contribution to the habitats of the preserve. We don't even mind black cats, IF they are kept indoors. Feral and outdoor cats are exceedingly harmful to wildlife ... and that's not a superstition! But to tamp down superstitions, we at Crossroads will spend the week demystifying Halloween creatures. On October 28, 2022, at 6 p.m. will be our Evening with Owls. The Open Door Bird Sanctuary will be at Crossroads, offering a one-hour presentation followed by the opportunity to meet and greet live birds. Learn all about owls and the other incredible birds in the care of the Sanctuary! Down through the centuries, in many cultures throughout the world, owls have been associated with evil and death. Truth is, owls probably are not smart enough to be evil. But researchers agree that owls are about as dim as the nighttime forests in which they hunt. Owls don't need to be smart. They have everything else going for them. They are muscular. They fly silently. Their huge eyes enable them to see in the dark. Their beaks and talons are strong and wickedly sharp. But their sensitive ears are what make owls extraordinary hunters. Most people assume that the plumicorns (a.k.a. "horns) of an owl are its ears. Not so. The actual ears lie under feathers on the sides of the head, and they aren't symmetrical. Because one ear is higher than the other and the ears are unequal in size, sound is different from different directions, helping owls locate prey, which they do almost unfailingly, even in total darkness. Owls do not smell their prey. As with most birds, the sense of smell is insignificant, if it exists are all. Great Horned Owls frequently prey on skunks. Enough said. But well-developed intelligence? Researchers have observed owls beating their wings on bushes to try to flush out little birds. Is this learned behavior? Is it problem-solving? Maybe. For the most part, owls do not have a lot of problems to solve. They appropriate abandoned nests of other birds, so they don't need building skills. They are stealthy by nature, and they pounce on and usually catch anything they hear, so they don't need hunting techniques. In spite of ghost stories, legends of American First People, and superstitions from Europe and India, hooting owls do not foretell impending death, although their nocturnal calls are spooky. We hear them now and then this time of year, but we will regularly hear those eerie calls at Crossroads in January or February. In contrast to owls, crows are noisy all year round and they are amazingly intelligent. They can learn. They can remember. They can solve problems. They can even identify individual humans. And they detest owls, though whether this is innate or learned behavior is not clear. Those curious about crows will want to attend the Crossroads Book Club on Wednesday, October 26, at 10:00 a.m. This month, the book Crow Planet, Essential Wisdom for the Urban Wilderness by Lyanda Lynn Haupt will explore the fascinating world of these remarkable birds. The program is free and open to all, whether or not they have read the book. So bring the family to our program on owls, learn about crows at the Crossroads Book Club, or learn about bats at our pre-school Junior Nature Club on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. or our Family Science Saturday program at 2:00 p.m. Costumes are encouraged but not required at Junior Nature Club and Science Saturday, and adult visitors are welcome. dpa ElectionsData With dpa ElectionsData you get access to a unique collection of data. Via a programming interface (Rest-API), your developers can access detailed information, candidate profiles and live results for all national elections in the European Union and important international elections, like the US Midterm elections etc. The data pool also includes all heads of state and government as well as about 20,000 elected members of parliament throughout the EU. In addition to their data (name, party, constituency or list position), we collect social media profiles and official websites of individuals and parties. Alfa Romeo is confident is has banished its poor reputation for quality and reliability as it forges into a new era to take on its German rivals as a genuine luxury car competitor. The Italian brand has long been riddled by a perception of lacklustre long-term ownership credentials, but says it has invested heavily in new technologies and processes to improve its position in the industry, starting with the all-new Giulia sedan that is set to go toe-to-toe with the best compact sedans in the business. "I think the best way is to forget what Alfa was in the past, not from the product point of view but from the way we produce the car point of view," Alfa Romeo's chief technical officer, Roberto Fedeli, told Drive at the international launch of the Giulia in Italy this week. "I am not an expert in the history of Alfa Romeo but I have followed the brand and what they did a few years was some very good products but without the tooling to produce the product. And then there was the age when the brand was bought by Fiat and the kind of products and the quality was according to the market. "Then there was a pause in the very high-end kind of segment in the product and now we are re-launching in everything with a very big investment in the product and the quality. It is important for us to be the best." Fedeli, who previously worked for Ferrari and was poached to return to Italy after leading the development of BMW's i3 and i8 electric car projects, was convinced the company was on the right track after seeing the overhauled Cassino factory where the Giulia is assembled. Following a billion-dollar investment in new automation machinery, he said it is among the best in the world. "In Cassino, there is more technology than there is in [BMW's] Leipzig [plant] or [Mercedes'] Sindelfingen [factory]," he said. When asked why customers who don't have the knowledge, or access, to see such investment should be convinced of Alfa's new-found quality, Fedeli said the proof is in the product. "I think the customer must be convinced by the product and test the car at the dealerships and then they can see the style, the quality, the performance... all the aspects we have improved. And it is then their choice and whether we meet the requirements. I think the car can do this." Click here to read all the latest Alfa Romeo news and reviews Suzuki has revealed details of its new Baleno small car. The Baleno, which is larger than the Swift, will compete directly with Australia's best-selling cars of the Mazda3, Hyundai i30 and Toyota Corolla. Suzuki Australia earlier this year announced that they had plans to re-introduce the Baleno locally, after it had previously been sold between 1996 and 2001. In Europen, the new Baleno is highlighted by a new turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder 'Boosterjet' engine which produces 81kW and 170Nm in manual guise, and 160Nm with an automatic transmission. Suzuki also uses what it calls a 'mild hybrid system' in its larger naturally-aspirated 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine. It helps generate electricity through regenerative braking and assists during acceleration and and take off. It is yet to be determined whether Australian models will feature either of the new-generation engines, with the likelihood local models will be powered by the 1.4-litre turbo that was recently released in the Vitara S SUV. Standard kit for the base Baleno in Europe includes 16-inch alloy wheels, satellite navigation, HID headlight, cruise control, rear privacy glass and Bluetooth connectivity. Stepping up to the range-topping grade adds auto climate control, rear electric windows, 4.2-inch central colour trip display, LED rear lights, adaptive cruise control. All Baleno variants - except the base model - will feature a front collision warning system along with an auto brake function. Apple CarPlay will be available in the new model, and will be accessible through a seven-inch touchscreen. The Baleno also benefits from a range of weight saving thanks to the use of high-strength steel, that will help increase fuel efficiency. Full Australian pricing and specifications will be available closer to the car's local launch. View the latest Suzuki news and reviews Home Four wheelers Renault Kwid Brazil Model Gets 4 Airbags & ESP, Is India Neglected oi-Ajinkya The Renault Kwid sold in the Indian market was recently crash tested by the Global NCAP. Unfortunately, the Kwid received zero safety rating in a frontal crash test. Now Brazil will be next to receive the Renault Kwid, which will be exported out of their facility in India. Brazil is stringent on safety norms in their vehicles. All models sold in Brazil need to be equipped with airbags as a standard safety feature. Now it is confirmed that the Kwid sold in Brazil will be offered with four airbags and Electronic Stability Program (ESP) as standard. Renault India issued an official statement which says, that the Kwid sold in India passes all safety standards set by Indian Regulatory Authorities. In India, crash testing for existing models will be effective from 2019 while new vehicles being launched will have to undergo crash testing by 2017 under the Bharat NCAP. Surprisingly, Renault will be providing the Kwid for Brazil with more features and creature comforts compared to the Indian model. The Brazilian Renault Kwid will get front as well as side airbags, which could increase pricing. We wonder if manufacturer's in India are neglecting the Indian customers? If they can deliver vehicles with more safety equipment in the international market, why not offer the same product in the fastest growing market. Take a look at Renault Kwid being crash tested by Global NCAP. An Irish Water funding tranche will see 3.4 million invested in public water infrastructure in Louth. That money will see some 18 watermains replaced around Dundalk. The investment includes the replacement and rehabilitation of 9.4 km of aging water mains in Dundalk Town and the surrounding environs. The contract for the works was signed on Friday, 6 May 2016 with GMC Utilities Group Limited listed as the contractors. The works are scheduled to commence in June and will take approximately 18 months to complete. Irish Water, working in partnership with Louth County Council say this investment will improve the water supply for customers, by reducing leakage by approximately 215m3 of water per day. This project will involve the replacement of old water mains that are prone to leakage and regular bursts which can cause interruptions to supply. Every effort will be made to minimise impact on residents, businesses and road users. However, short-term water shut offs for a number of hours over a day or two in each area will be required where pipes are being connected to the system. The project team will ensure that householders and businesses are advised of any works in their area in advance and will be given a minimum of 48 hours prior notice of any planned water shut offs. Commenting on the improvements TD Declan Breathnach said he welcomed the move and hoped that inconvenience will be kept to a minimum. The investment of 3.4 million will become self financing if the proposed water saving from leaks is of the magnitude suggested . The investment should see a saving of 17 million gallons of water annually. The cost of treating and supplying water is hugely expensive and losing such large quantities of water through old pipe network has been allowed to happen for too long . The installation of bulk water meters has clearly helped in the identification og the major black spots for leaks throughout the town . I hope that the residents and communities affected will be consulted prior to any works and that inconvenience will be kept to a minimum . China is investigating the encryption and data storage features of technology products sold there by large foreign companies such as Apple, The New York Times reported this week. Authorities apparently are focusing on whether the products pose a security threat. A committee associated with the Cyberspace Administration of China reportedly is conducting reviews that include interviews of company executives and other employees. Other countries, including the U.S. and the UK, do review some tech products, but they tend to focus on those to be used by the military or government departments involved with security. Beijing apparently is looking at consumer software and gadgets as well. In addition to ensuring that the products arent being used in espionage, the reviews could be used to siphon off technological knowledge, according to the Times. They might be used to block the import of products or to extract trade secrets in exchange for access to Chinas market. Tech knowledge so obtained might be passed on to Chinese companies competing with foreign ones, or expose vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers in China. Pingpong Antidiplomacy In March, China was the second biggest U.S. trading partner behind Canada, accounting for nearly 15 percent of Americas foreign trade, while Canada chalked up just over 15 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. U.S. exports to China totaled just over US$25 billion of the $128 billion bilateral trade between the two countries, according to the Census Bureau. Yet both countries have been cracking down on this trade for years. In 2010, Google threatened to pull out from China over hacking and censorship concerns and got the U.S. government involved. Last year, U.S. business groups asked China to postpone new rules for American businesses selling technology to banks there. Meanwhile, Microsoft is facing antitrust scrutiny in China. Apples iBooks and iTunes Movies servicesshut down in China in April but Apple has just invested $1 billion in Chinas answer to Uber,Didi Chuxing. The U.S. has imposed restrictions on Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE, and in May the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed a ban on ZTE for exporting U.S. tech to Iran. The ban was lifted after two weeks in exchange for ZTEs pledge of cooperation with the departments investigation. China Pushes Back The U.S. has created various roadblocks for Chinese infrastructure companies such as Huawei and ZTE to compete effectively, citing national security concerns, said Brent Iadarola, VP of mobile and wireless communications at Frost & Sullivan. The Chinese are attempting to level the playing field or at least plant the seed that, if the U.S. continues to subject Chinese commercial products to harsh review and regulatory requirements under the pretense of national security, they will retaliate, he told the E-Commerce Times. Since NSA whistleblower Edward Snowdens revelations about the agencys spying activities, U.S. products are assumed to be compromised much like Chinese products were before that, noted Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. The NSAs and FBIs insistence on including encryption backdoors in high-tech products may have provided grounds for concern over espionage activities. These efforts by the three-letter agencies are foolish and damaging and are badly damaging U.S. technology exports across a broad number of firms, Enderle told the E-Commerce Times. On the other hand, China has a pattern of abusing the intellectual property rights of foreign companies, said Daniel Castro, vice president at theInformation Technology and Innovation Foundation. Any actions by the Chinese government that force companies to unnecessarily disclose proprietary business information are cause for concern, he told the E-Commerce Times. The goal of Chinas increased scrutiny, at least initially, Enderle maintained, is to reduce U.S. tech imports. Opera on Thursday announced a dedicated power-saving mode in the developer version of its Web browser. Tests showed it extended laptop battery life by up to 50 percent against Google Chrome, the company said. The browser will suggest that users enable the power-saving mode when their laptop battery has 20 percent of capacity left. Clicking on the battery icon in the browser after a laptop is disconnected from its power cable activates it. To some degree, this is about allowing savvy browser power users to kick the tires around the new features, said Al Hilwa, a research director at IDC Seattle. Developer audiences are both demanding of their browsers and also tolerant of buggy code to a degree if positioned properly to them. Opera released the feature through itsdeveloper channel so it could test out websites and Web apps to ensure content renders correctly in the new browser release, he told TechNewsWorld. Testing the Limits Opera tested the power-saving mode on two laptops a Lenovo X250 powered by an Intel Core i7-5600U processor and a Dell XPS 13, both with 16 GB of RAM running on Windows 10 with 64-bit high-performance power mode. It used Selenium WebDriver to load 11 popular websites, including YouTube, onto the devices. Each page was opened in a separate tab, without previous ones being closed, and was scrolled five times, then left alone for a minute. The test was conducted repeatedly until the laptop batteries were drained. Apples-to-Apples Comparison? Opera made the following tweaks to its browser before the test: Reduced activity in background tabs; Minimized the number of times the CPU woke up by optimizing JavaScript timers; Automatically paused unused plug-ins; Reduced frame rate to 30 frames per second; Tuned video-playback parameters and forced usage of hardware-accelerated video codecs; and Paused animations of browser themes. It also turned on the ad blocker. Opera didnt say whether Chrome was similarly tweaked, whether an ad blocker was turned on in Chrome, or which version of Chrome was used. Opera tested Chrome on a laptop running 64-bit Windows 10, it said, but did not indicate whether it different from the ones its own browser was tested on. That raises questions as to whether the comparison was fair, according to Hilwa. This is a long-standing caveat in all such vendor comparisons, he noted. Rarely is there a level playing field unless you look at independently conducted comparisons. Why Pick on Chrome? Microsofts Edge browser might seem to be the appropriate target since its integrated into Windows 10, but Chrome, as a non-OS-supplied browser, like Opera, is the natural target, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. Chrome is far easier to displace, likely because users are less wedded to their browser, he told TechNewsWorld. Given Chrome hasnt been successful displacing IE users with more resources, Opera likely felt they shouldnt either. Market Impact The power-saving feature might prove attractive to users, but, given Operas minuscule market share less than 2 percent of the global desktop browser market in April, according to Netmarketshare its doubtful whether it will make much of an impact on the competition. This actually got me to think about using it on my laptop, Enderle said. But I doubt if many folks know its out there, and if that doesnt change, their [market] share wont improve. Whats in it for Opera, which in recent months built an ad blocker and a VPN into its browser? A Chinese consortium bid US$1.2 billion for the company in February. Being seen as innovative firm might improve its valuation, but I think Operas core motivation is to have more browser customers, Enderle suggested. The rest is just gravy. Nokia on Wednesday announced its return to the mobile phone and tablet business in connection with a larger agreement by Microsoft to sell its entry-level phone business toHMD Global andFIH Mobile for US$350 million. Under the deal, Microsoft will sell its Hanoi, Vietnam, manufacturing facility to FIH Mobile, a unit of Hon Hai/Foxconn Technology Group. Workers will be given the opportunity to work for FIH Mobile or HMD Global, according to Microsoft. Nokia will grant HMD, a newly formed company, the exclusive global license to create Nokia-branded phones and tablets for the next 10 years and will receive royalty payments from HMD for sales of those devices, covering both brand and intellectual property rights. HMD plans to invest more than $500 million over the next three years to support the global marketing of the Nokia devices, which will be paid for by investors and profits from the new business. Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the Nokia brand in an industry where Nokia remains a truly iconic name, said Ramzi Haidamus, president of Nokia Technologies. Instead of Nokia returning to manufacturing mobile phones itself, HMD plans to produce mobile phones and tablets that can leverage and grow the value of the Nokia brand in global markets. HMD will be led by CEO Arto Nummela, a former senior executive at Nokia and the head of Microsofts mobile device business in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Florian Seiche, senior vice president for Europe, sales and marketing at Microsoft Mobile, and also a former Nokia executive, will become president. Nokias Long Game Nokia found a strategy to get its name back into the mobile device business when faced with competition from brands such as Apple, Samsung and Google, which have dominated the mobile landscape in recent years, analyst Jeff Kagan said. After selling their failing handset business to Microsoft several years ago, Nokia has been trying to re-enter the marketplace, he told the E-Commerce Times. Unfortunately, to date, they havent really created any growth waves yet. Nokia has been stuck in a noncompete situation since the sale of its phone business to Microsoft in 2013, according to a report by IHS Technology. The companys goal was to re-enter the business in a way that required much less capital investment and reduced risk. Feature phones represent a declining market, with only 400 million units shipped worldwide in 2015, the report said. However, Nokia still has a great deal of brand recognition, and HMD likely will target emerging markets under the new relationship. Nokia is looking to get a fresh start back in the mobile device space by switching to Android, the most popular mobile OS on the market, said Todd Day, mobile and wireless communications senior industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan. The company likely will pursue smartphones and wearables, he told the E-Commerce Times. Uphill Battle The devices will have the most appeal in countries where the Nokia brand is strong, said Ian Fogg, head of mobile analysis at IHS Technology and coauthor of the firms report. The company struggled in the U.S. market even when it was far ahead in the mobile phone space, he told the E-Commerce Times. It is very unlikely that Nokia will be able to revive its business in the U.S. market. In fact, the U.S. is probably the last market where they would be successful, said Annette Zimmermann, research director for personal technologies at Gartner. The brand has never been strong in consumer minds in the U.S., and it would take very good carrier relationships for them to get back into the market. I am not sure that carriers would bet high on the Nokia phones, she told the E-Commerce Times. There are other markets where Nokia may have a chance for example, in some emerging markets where the brand is still well-known due to the feature phones they are still selling there, Zimmermann said. My overall opinion of this strategy is that it is a total uphill battle for them as there are so many other brands, and the Nokia brand has lost appeal over the last years, she added. Microsoft Hangs On Microsoft will continue to develop Windows 10 mobile and support Lumia phones, including the Lumia 650, Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL, as well as phones from original equipment manufacturing partners including Acer, Alcatel, HP, Trinity and Vaio, the company said. For Microsoft, it doesnt make much sense to continue with a feature phone business. Their focus is Lumia for enterprise, so feature phones with a Nokia brand name are not really complementary, said Zimmermann. The move represents another failure by Microsoft to make a mark in the mobile device market and basically leaves the company as a marginal player going forward, the IHS report said. Feature phones made up 87 percent of mobile phone shipments during the first quarter 2016. However, Microsoft shipped only 2.3 million smartphones, a 70 percent drop from the year-ago quarter, according to IHS. Microsoft is still pursuing a dual mobile Windows strategy [to] have its own brand of phones and license the OS to others, Fogg said. The deal means Microsoft will rely on other manufacturers to produce its smartphones going forward, he said. Microsoft lost the battle in the consumer market worldwide, Zimmermann said. I dont see a partnership down the road either as none of the OEMs are interested in licensing Windows 10 for phones. They are all happy with Android, so why would they use Windows Phone at some point? The Microsoft deal is expected to close during the second half of 2016. 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ANS Agenzia Info Salesiana)Father Tom Uzhunnalil. An Indian Salesian Catholic priest kidnapped by extremists in March Yemen is alive and well say government sources in Delhi after the anguish and uncertainty around his capture, but his situation is still uncertain. Father Tom Uzhunnalil, who was snatched by extremists in early March in Yemen, is alive and "safe" and right now "last efforts" are being made to "ensure his release," reported Asianews. The news agency reported May 18 that the priest is not in the hands of the group calling itself Islamic State or Daesh as originally thought but rather being held by other "anti-government forces" in Yemen territory. Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has said that Father Tom is "safe", Catholic News Agency reported. They are possibly Shiite Houthi rebels, who have been fighting the Yemen government army for more than a year, though there has been no confirmation of the group's involvement in the incident said the news agency. The report said that mediation in place to secure the priest's release has reached "its final phase. However Monsignor Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia (United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen), told Asianews that "there are no new elements" and the priest's fate is still uncertain. He therefore urged "prudence" so as not to prejudice the outcome of ongoing negotiations for Father Tom's release. A Jihadi group, then linked to IS, seized Uzhunnalil on March 4 after storming a home for the sick and elderly run by the Missionaries of Charity in the Yemini port city of Aden. Four Sisters of Mercy from the same order as Mother Teresa and 12 lay people present in the facility were killed in the attack. During Holy Week, unsubstantiated stories began circulating in India claiming that the kidnappers planned to torture, kill and crucify the priest on Good Friday. On March 28, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India wrote to foreign minister Swaraj, urging the Indian government to take greater efforts to locate the priest and for further information to clarify his whereabouts in order to quell the rumors of his crucifixion. Todo lo que necesitas saber para comenzar tu dia Suscribirse implica aceptar los terminos y condiciones Ely, Cambridgeshire is best known for its majestic cathedral dubbed the 'Ship of the Fens' because it dominates the flat landscape. The city, which is the second smallest in England, is about 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about 80 miles by road from London. 05:00, 25 OCT 2022 Support offered to people interested in being foster carers People on the Isle of Man are being urged to think about giving a child a home. Fostering First is supporting 'Foster Care Fortnight' with a range of events to give those interested more information. There are currently just over 50 carers on the Island - by the end of the year they hope to have another 10-15 placements of children into homes. The team will be in The Strand, Shoprite, Tesco and the Sea Terminal and is encouraging anyone with questions to discuss them in 'a relaxed environment'. June Thomas has been fostering for 12 years after two brothers she knew of needed help - she tells us why she does it: Media June Thomas Cold calling made illegal on the Isle of Man Traders on the Isle of Man are being banned from cold calling potential customers. From June 1st it will become illegal for people to use the method as a sales technique - either face to face or on the telephone. The Office of Fair Trading says the move will protect consumers as it will disrupt the activities of those who pressurise people to buy goods or services. Director Mike Ball says enforcement action will be taken against those traders who don't comply: Media Mike Ball People urged to make room for nature with a daily 'random act of wildness' People on the Island are being urged to try and do a 'Random Act of Wildness' every day for 30 days. The Manx Wildlife Trust is trying to encourage people to 'make room for nature' in their lives for 15 minutes a day in a bid to re-connect and appreciate the environment around us. Some suggestions offered are smelling wild flowers, making a work of art from outside materials and hosting a meeting outside. Chief executive Tim Graham says it's not only about gaining an appreciation for nature but it could also be good for your health: Media Tim Graham Retraction Watch: A court in the Netherlands has fined Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) 7,500 euros to compensate for immaterial damage to an economist accused of plagiarism. Karima Kourtit, a researcher at VU, has been at the receiving end of anonymous complaints to her institution accusing her of plagiarism and her professor, high-profile economist Peter Nijkamp, of duplication (i.e. self-plagiarism). Kourtit is now seeking to prosecute the unnamed source of the complaint for defamation; the VU told us it will no longer accept fully anonymous complaints. The case began when VU cancelled Kourtits thesis defense for plagiarism, and a report published on the VSNU, the Association of Universities, accused Nijkamp of self-plagiarism. Two of Nijkamps papers have been retracted as a result of the investigation; Kourtit is an author on one of the retracted papers. A VU spokesperson told us: The court concluded that Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam has to pay Dr Kourtit E7500 [around $8,400 USD]to compensate immaterial damage, because of the publications in the time of her PhD-defense that was cancelled. Nijkamp was not a part of this procedure. According to the VU spokesperson, the court found that the VU handled the scientific integrity procedures of the case correctly, including the anonymous complaints. Kourtits lawyer told us the court has also ordered the VU to pay material damages, to be estimated in a separate procedure; he said the amount will be a multiple of the 7,500 euro figure. Not everyone at VU has the same views regarding the case. As we reported previously, a commission led by Jaap Zwemmer, then professor emeritus at the University of Amsterdam, found Nijkamp to be guilty of questionable research practices after deciding that 61 out of his 260 writings had problems associated with frequent use. ... Appeal for Donations to the Corpus of Sameeksha Trust This is an appeal to the subscribers, contributors, advertisers and well-wishers of Economic and Political Weekly (EPW), published by Sameeksha Trust, a public charitable trust registered with the office of the Charity Commissioner, Mumbai, India. The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics by Ayesha Jalal; Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2014; pp xii + 435, $35. The endorsement on the back cover of this book by a highly respected scholar of South Asia states that the book is written by the worlds most respected, prolific, and authoritative historian of Pakistan. He is right on all counts. Ayesha Jalal, with this, her 11th book in three decades, is all that. Moreover, having been so prolific, Jalal in her Preface states that this narrative history of Pakistan represents decades of research and thinking about this country, and she felt that the time had come [for her] to write a definitive, contemporary history of Pakistan in a challenging global context (p x). The worlds most respected, prolific, and authoritative historian of Pakistan, writing Pakistans definitive history, disappoints hugely by repeating well-worn narratives about Pakistans history. Jalal really has nothing new to say. Had this book been written by a young graduate writing his or her first book, perhaps they could have been forgiven, but not an accomplished historian who has written on numerous diverse themes related to South Asian history; surprisingly, she has not written a complete history of her own country. It is not just on the basis of high expectations one has from Jalals books that this book disappoints hugely, but for anyone having read any of the now numerous histories written on Pakistan in recent years, the book offers little in the way of new insight or evidence to make one rethink Pakistans history. One must emphasise that there is nothing really wrong with the manner Jalal has attempted to write her countrys history (although there are numerous problems and concerns with the way she does this), a task for which she is more than well qualified. This book, however, is clearly a missed opportunity by someone of her stature to say something particularly new or thought-provoking. In the last week of April, the late historian Bipan Chandra was attacked for denigrating Bhagat Singh. Why exactly does the Sangh Parivar dislike Chandra and other left-wing historians? In the last week of April 2016, team Arnab staged another show, attacking academicians and historians at large at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). This time it was Bipan Chandra, and his book Indias Struggle for Independence (1987). The crime: calling Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries revolutionary terrorists and intentionally maligning the patriots of the Indian freedom struggle. Chandra and his co-authors were accused of being court-historians of the Congress and being pro-Nehru and Gandhi to intentionally call Bhagat Singh a terrorist. Next day, Anurag Thakur, the Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament raised the issue in Parliament and another row was manufactured, with JNU once again at the centre of it. This is not the first time Chandra has been under attack by the right-wing regime. This has been happening to him and various other left-leaning historians from the late 1970s, 1977 to be specific, when the right-wing shared power for the first time at the centre. This article brings back those moments, taking help from the articles from the Times of India (henceforth ToI) archives,1 from late 1970s to 2006. It presents a chronology of all such attacks and debates on Chandra, along with Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, R S Sharma, and various such historians who have used Marxist interpretation as their tool of analysing past and the Indian history. It briefly expresses concern over the rising trend of attacking a section of historians and scholars by calling them anti-nationals, and dangers of (mis)appropriating the national icons as the icons of the Hindu right. The election of London's first ethnic minority mayor, Sadiq Khan, has tilted the political compass of the city in favour of the Labour Party. Does his election to offi ce herald a progressive future for British politics? In a pamphlet published by Sadiq Khan in 2008 for the Fabian Society (Khan, Jameson and Katwala 2008) he says, I did not come into Parliament to be a Muslim MP I am Labour first and foremost. I am also a Fabian, a father, a husband, a Londoner. He repeated the same statement in 2016 when he first declared that he was standing for London mayor with a campaign slogan A Mayor for All Londoners. Khans ascendancy to British politics and his subsequent election in a voting system, which gives him a personal mandate unmatched even by the Prime Minister of Great Britain (David Cameron got 35,201 votes from his Witney constituency in 2015 general election), is a political fairytale surpassing the legendary tale of Dick Whittington and his cat. By proposing a maximalist approach towards intellectual property rights, the new IPR policy announced by the government is not tailored for India's socio-economic requirements. The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy, announced by the Government of Indias Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) on 13 May, has been formulated at a time when India has been facing tremendous political pressure from the United States (US) to change its intellectual property (IP) regime primarily to serve the interests of pharmaceutical transnational corporations (TNCs). The process of putting together the policy had attracted the attention of both the IP maximalist as well as the IP sceptic ever since the government announced its decision to formulate such a policy on 8 September 2014. The main concern that had been expressed during the policy formation period was that the policy might tilt the countrys approach to IP towards a maximalist position, undermining its social and economic development needs, notably the goal of providing access to affordable medicines. The pharmaceutical TNCs used the opportunity to influence the policy in their favour to undermine public interest safeguards in the Patents Act. This article seeks to place the new IP policy in a development and public interest perspective and explains its context. While the policy is supposed to deal with IP in general, most of the policy measures target patents. Hence, it is important to look at its policy implications, specifically in the area of patent rights. Context of the New IPR Policy The Maharashtra law prohibiting social boycotts is a progressive one, protecting people from social hierarchies that are trying to punish them for transgressing regressive social mores. Since an earlier law outlawing excommunication was struck down by the Supreme Court for infringing the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs, the constitutional validity of the social boycott law raises questions which this article tries to answer. Social boycott is a weapon used in rural and some urban communities to reinforce hierarchies and power structures. The more apt term for it may be ostracism, where an individual is banished from a society (if not physically, then from all public places and socially) on the judgment of the powers that be for a perceived breach of that societys rules. In India, it is deployed against the deprived sections of societyincluding women and lower castesbut sometimes also the members of the same community to get them to toe the line (Johari 2015). It has been used against women who stepped out of their homes to get jobs, men and women who have refused the diktats of the caste panchayats, and sometimes, out of sheer jealousy and spite. It is aimed at making the lives of the boycotted as difficult as possible, cutting them from all the facilities, social interactions and public places that make life meaningful. It is often used to punish Dalit and oppressed communities who try to gain some level of social mobility or economic opportunity. This is with reference to the editorial, From Bhopal to Kodaikanal (EPW, 19 March 2016). It has several inaccuracies. Hindustan Unilever (HUL) signed the settlement with the former workers of its Kodaikanal factory on humanitarian grounds to put an end to the matter pending in the Madras High Court for several years. The settlement was in keeping with the courts suggestion to seek an out-of-court resolution. We would like to categorically state that there was no adverse impact on the health of our former workers. The factory took several measures to ensure they were protectedsuch as providing safety and protective equipment, carrying out regular air quality monitoring, and ensuring employees underwent frequent health checks. There were also separate sections in the factory for mercury-handling. Four independent expert studies, including that by a committee of experts appointed by the Madras High Court, have also not found evidence of adverse health impact. Studying Women and the Womens Movement in India by Joan Mencher (EPW, 30 April 2016) throws light on the life and times of women in India during the second half of the 20th century. Mencher had visited Kottakkal when I was a child. My memories start with this lady from the US visiting our home to collect data from my parents. Initially she used to bring an interpreter though my parents were quite conversant in English. And she always brought some toys for us. Later she used to visit us every five years to continue with her research on matriarchy (marumakkathayam), a system which was slowly dying. Who can decide where and in what circumstances should Kashmiri Pandits return to the valleywhether in exclusive colonies or in mixed neighbourhoods? Michael Thomas in conversation with Vinayak Razdan. Avenue of Poplars, Srinagar in British India. Courtesy: Hansmuller, from Wikimedia Commons. There are areas in Kashmir where Shias live. There are areas in Kashmir where Sunnis live. There are areas in Kashmir where Sikhs live. There are areas in Kashmir where Armies live. There are areas in Kashmir where Terrorists live. Areas marked and divided like compost bin. Some houses there are even for Tibetan, Uzbek, Afghan and Iranian refugees. They all have houses in Kashmir from which we often hear talk of war and peace. Now, if you ask, "But, where do Pandits live in Kashmir?" "I have heard three live about a mile from here, two a mile after that, seen them with my own eyes and the remainingthey all live in our heart." So lease me your big heart for a minute or two, I need to use the loo. I recently had a long question and answer session with Michael Thomas on the Pandit question. He is working on a small docu-book based on his experiences of Kashmir. He has brought out similar books on his travels in Kutch and Chhattisgarh. I met him in Kashmir and we did some travelling together. We have been discussing Kashmir a lot and given the current direction in which the ruling party is approaching the question of rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits (KPs), the usual Pandit questions came up. Michael: Is the Migrant Immovable Property Act of 1997 still in force? On my last visit I saw a number of large empty Hindu houses and the wrecks. I wonder if others have been sold by agreement to Kashmiri Muslims and perhaps squatters occupy others. Vinayak: The act is still in place. But people have found a legal loophole. Most of the sales that are happening now are essentially not sale, but transfer of ownership using guardianship of the property. KPs are transferring the "power of attorney." Payment is usually done in cash. Which means it is mostly black money. Also, a lot of property has been illegally occupied, with the Pandits getting almost no redressal and support from government, local police and lawyers. Most cases are tied up in lengthy paper work. All that one has to do in court is prove that the person is not a migrant and the sale is considered legal. Given that a lot of offices in the 90s were burnt down by terrorists, papers about ownership are often reported "lost" by various departments. I have relatives who are facing this issue. Michael: It seems that Narendra Modi wants Pandit Hindu families to return to Kashmir as they are Kashmiri by birth. There has been talk of resettling in their old homes and the formation of three colonies (ghettoes in my view). It has been suggested to me that this is the propaganda of Bharatiya Janata Party/Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in the background) but on the other hand, that Pandit Hindus really wish to return to their homeland provided the terms are right. It strikes me that a lot of time has passed since the diaspora and things are different as families have settled in Delhi, the Middle East and in the United States. What is your opinion? Vinayak: Yes, definitely the push is coming from the RSS. A lot of Pandits would like colonies. I would like the colonies to be there. But, what is a colony? If a Bengali moves to Delhi, he would know Bengalis stay around Chittaranjan Park, and in the beginning would prefer living there. If a Gujarati goes to the United Kingdom he would know the areas where he would be comfortable...he would seek Wembley. Sikhs will be in Southhall. Pakistanis would be in Bradford. But, no one would say British are doing it deliberately. Or, that these are ghettos. It is the way societies work. Why else would there be a Jew town in Kochi, which incidentally now has a lot of Kashmiri Muslims. And yes, eventually, people move out. But somehow when Pandits talk about living together in certain areas, the cause is seen as insult by Kashmiri Muslims because it would means Pandits are distinct and not comfortable living with Muslims. It is kind of ironic that those opposing colonies think Pandits to be Jews who displaced Palestinians. I am not some third generation Kashmiri who wants land to live in Kashmir, I was born there. Yes, with time not many would be able to make this claim. Those in Kashmir who oppose the move know this. They do not care if the colonies are composite or exclusive, the word colony rattles them, as if confusing it with colonisation. And these Kashmiris are the same people who on moving to Delhi would prefer living in a Muslim majority area and not in an area where someone like Praveen Togadia is worshipped. And they want Pandits to move back to their old houses and keep the head down when a hate speech is made from the local mosque. Given the recent history of the two communities, one cannot blame Pandits for not wanting to immediately live among them. I am okay with separate colonies, even as I would personally prefer to live in a mixed society. No one has the right to dictate to Pandits where they should live in Kashmir. Michael: Recently I saw an article, which described Kashmir as a junction of conflicts. This fits with my emerging view and I can see no way out. It is as if Kashmir has a hand on the self-destruct button and would not compromise so that it can let go. It follows that India will continue to control Kashmir. Any comments? Vinayak: I agree. Every party to this conflict has convinced themselves they have already invested too much and now are unable to step back. Conflict is now an industry in Kashmir. Too many people are profiting, from power hungry politicians, greedy bureaucrats, crazy Mulla religious heads, theorising academicians and 4th Estate. India is not going out of Kashmir. Indian security apparatus can be moved out. Army can be moved back to borders, a truth and reconciliation process can be started but both sides have to accept they have been unable to change the stance of the other party. Kashmiri people need to stop confusing freedom with Sharia. Pakistan needs to stop its Jihad factories. India needs to reign in on its band of justice. If the history of the subcontinent tells us anything, it is thisthere is only one idea really worth striving for in these lands and that is the idea on which India was founded. Michael: If Modi is proposing three new colonies it sounds as though they are exclusively for Pandits, which would be a ghetto in my view because of its exclusivity. Do you think that is what he is proposing and if so do you think it is a good solution? Vinayak: I think what they are proposing are "exclusive" townships. It will include Hindus and Muslims who were forced to migrate. Anyway, the concept of exclusivity is not new to Kashmir. Article 370 ensures that only Kashmiris can buy land in Kashmir. Hasn't that exclusivity already made Kashmir a ghetto inside India? I think what Geelani and his ilk are preaching to fellow Kashmiris is that if Pandits are settling in an exclusive area, even if it is very small, in the long run there will be more Pandits living in Kashmir, living in a certain area. Given that they are ready to keep the conflict going for a very long time. In the eventual solution of Kashmir, the Pandit area would mean division of Kashmir along religious lines...something akin to the two-nation theory that led to Pakistan. It is this fear that makes them oppose it. This parallel with the two-nation theory is what is also stopping RSS to fully back Pandits on this. This would in a way be their approval of Jinnah's theory. So, they are just using Pandits as a stick for beating Kashmiri Muslims. I do not support exclusive townships but I do believe it is not for the majority community to dictate the terms on which we would return. Michael: Finally, can you define goondaism for me please? I have a rough idea which is probably wrong! Vinayak: By goonda, we mean in India essentially a person who will have his way purely based on his power to create violence. Goondaism is the way the majority community would like to have its wishes fulfilled by issuing threats of violence. They should not dictate to Pandits which kind of pandit is allowed back in Kashmir and which is not allowed. In 1990, the Pandits that moved out were all kind of people, there were RSS supporters, there were communists, there were secularists, there were Kashmiriyatists, there were farmers, there were civil servants, there were religious conservatives and there were even atheists. Now, Geelani and his tribe are saying only good Pandits, the Pandits who would essentially keep quiet about political matters is the only kind that can survive in Kashmir. Why? When Pandits return, the people who return would be the same mixed set. Even though I have no love for RSS or BJP, but even their supporters have the right to return. Goondaism will only beget goondaism and it should in no way be encouraged. Michael: One final question. If your family wanted to repossess the family home can they? That is to say, is the power of attorney reversible? Vinayak: Legally, they do not have a purchase deed, so I guess it is reversible. There is even an extra piece of land which we just left with another good old neighbour without any paperwork...and that was a decade before 1990. I cannot think of moving any of them out and repossess the land. It would be another forceful displacement, this time for another set of Kashmiris. If exclusive colonies are a bad idea, moving existing owners out and putting Pandits in their old house for the sake of creating mixed colonies is a worse idea. There would be a lot more bad blood among communities. But, returning of property that is forcefully occupied is another matter. NATO summits generally serve as an occasion to announce momentous decisions, after long talks between Allies and internal preparations. This was the case in Wales in 2014 when it was decided to again place collective defense at the top of the agenda following Russias annexation of Crimea and interference in Eastern Ukraine. A few months before the US presidential election, no such far-reaching decisions can be expected in Warsaw, but there can be a general course of action agreed. In short, it can consist of the following formula: the implementation in full of the Readiness Action Plan and maintaining dialogue with Russia. In the face of the present Russian behavior, we cannot do without an adequate adaptation of our defense posture. At the same time, there is an important reason why dialogue with Russia remains of crucial importance: security cannot be guaranteed solely through deterrence. Without and exchange of views between potential adversaries, any military arrangement, however robust, would risk sending wrong signals and fueling escalation, instability, and, as a result, greater insecurity especially in a context where nuclear weapons are present. In addition, global issues such as the Iran nuclear program or the Syrian civil war are currently being addressed between Russia, the US and some other Allies, acting outside NATO channels. Although almost all Allies are participating in one form or another in the coalition countering the so-called Islamic State, NATO should maintain its present low profile in matters relating to the Middle East and North Africa, not least because of its negative public perception in those regions. However, it would be useful to have a debate inside NATO on these issues so that all the Allies could be persuaded of the necessity of a dialogue with Russia, whenever shared security interests have been properly ascertained. This would be a valuable contribution to the strengthening of Alliance unity as it would promote greater mutual understanding between member states. A new balance should therefore be struck between deterrence and dialogue, according to a long-established NATO policy defined in the Harmel report in 1967. It would be highly advisable in this regard to strictly observe the commitments undertaken in the Founding Act on Russia-NATO relations. NATO should continue to refrain from permanently deploying substantial combat forces in Central and Eastern Europe, which does not preclude temporary arrangements for the stationing of such forces on a rotating basis as long as Russian behavior demands it. NATO members should also stick to their commitments regarding tactical nuclear weapons and reaffirm that they have no intention, plan or reason to deploy systems in Central and Eastern Europe. An offer of negotiation should also be unequivocally extended to Russia as regards nuclear disarmament in the area of tactical nuclear weapons. This should of course be coupled with a renewed dialogue on ballistic missile defense with a view to achieving greater mutual transparency. Contacts on defense issues must also be resumed with Russia for practical reasons. De-confliction arrangements between Russian and coalition planes are in place in Syria. Why should similar arrangements not be made in Europe to avoid unintentional military escalation? Ideally the NATO-Russia Council would be the proper venue for such arrangements and it could be reactivated at least for that purpose. NATO should also stress the contribution to common security that transparency measures such as those provided for in the OSCE Vienna Document, and support their strengthening. Lower thresholds should be introduced for exercise notifications, there should be expanded quotas for inspections and an improved inspection mechanism for short-notice exercises. Beyond those practical arrangements, mutually agreed force ceilings properly verified through detailed data exchanges and inspections would be highly conducive to promoting security and stability. For obvious reasons, Crimea should be kept out of the agreement. As far as the situation of Eastern Ukraine is concerned, sanctions and military adaptation cannot suffice. More political support for the Minsk agreements is required. While taking into account the vast Russian responsibilities in triggering and fueling violence, we cannot turn a blind eye to the failure of the Ukrainian government and Parliament to live up to the commitments they have undertaken, in particular with regard to the status of the Donbass region. Polish President Andrzej Duda has invited Ukraine to attend the NATO Summit in Warsaw. NATO countries will on this occasion have the opportunity to express fully their support for the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, but they will also have to follow closely the advances made by Ukraine in the implementation of the Minsk agreements and, more generally, in domestic reforms regarding in particular the fight against corruption and the overdue restructuring of the economy. On a more general note, Europeans must wake up to an obvious fact: whoever the new US President may be, US military presence in Europe will never reach the same levels as during the Cold War, in spite of the current plans for a moderate increase. As a consequence, European Union leaders must be prepared to do more for Europes common security in terms of military capacity but, above all, in terms of political dialogue with all neighboring countries. The opinions articulated above represent the views of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Leadership Network or any of its members. The ELNs aim is to encourage debates that will help develop Europes capacity to address the pressing foreign, defence, and security policy challenges of our time. Expat from Australia and New Zealand in the UK are now subject to the countrys health surcharge under changes announced to make the NHS cost burden fairer.Nationals from these two countries had been exempt from the 200 per person charge which was introduced for non-European Union citizens a year ago, but from 06 April they too must pay the fee.The health surcharge is currently set at 200 a year for temporary migrants and 150 a year for students and dependants will generally be charged the same amount as their main visa applicant and it is payable upfront.It has been introduced to ensure that temporary, non-EEA migrants coming to the UK for more than six months contribute to the NHS in a manner in line with their immigration status.It is not a visa fee and although it is collected by the Home Office, it is sent directly into the National Health Service (NHS) and will give migrants access to the NHS on the same terms as a permanent UK resident.A spokesman for the Home Office pointed out that the surcharge has been set at a competitive rate and is lower over the period of stay than the cost of even basic private medical insurance.Private medical insurance for students and working migrants is a common requirement in many of our competitor nations, such as Australia and the USA and the costs there are higher. Private medical insurance in the UK, which is comparable with healthcare provided by the NHS, is likely to be significantly higher than the proposed surcharge, the spokesman explained.He added that basic medical insurance will generally not cover the full range of treatment offered by the NHS, including pre-existing and chronic conditions and treatment for pregnancy. Furthermore, in the case of a medical emergency, it is still the NHS which will be providing treatment.Health surcharge payers access the National Health Service in the same way as a permanent resident and they will receive NHS care generally free of charge but may be charged for services a permanent resident would also pay for, such as dental treatment and prescription charges in England.The health surcharge is payable in full at the time of the immigration application. The amount of the charge will be calculated based on the amount of time a migrant would be permitted to stay in the UK under the relevant category in the Immigration Rules.If someone pays the surcharge and is granted a visa but then decide not to travel to the UK they will not be refunded and likewise if a visa holder leaves earlier than planned there will be no refund available.Your visa or immigration application won't be granted if you dont pay the healthcare surcharge or your application will be delayed if you dont pay the right amount, the Home Office spokesman added. brownindian said: Dear SP How did you resolve the CSI bit? I may have to do the same so asking.DO u register with the NHS directly or? Thanks in advance. Click to expand... medical treatment in the majority of circumstances you can accept it. Hey brownindian!I am learning as I go along - so I got in touch with a member on these boards and a member on another set of boards to ask about CSI.I was given the email address of an insurance agent in England and have been emailing back and forth with him about it. Rather than me try to explain it in my own words, I will copy and paste the conversation that we had if that is OK. It starts with my question and then his answers after.The difference is with full medical underwriting you will need to fill in an application form declaring any problems you may have had in the past, the insurers will then decide what condition they will cover in the future (If any). Pros: At least you know where you stand if and when you make a claim. Cons: Declaring a condition you may have had say 15 years ago( for an example well use a knee injury), they wont cover it if it comes back. Youve had the injury 15 years ago, never had any problems with it and then you make a claim for the knee the insurers most likely wont cover it. Moratorium Underwriting is more straight forward, if you have no knowledge signs or symptoms of any problems in the last 5 years the insurers will cover any new problems that may arise. Pros: The knee injury you had 15 years ago (that you have had no problems since the injury was repaired) has come back.. If you had no knowledge signs or symptoms of the problem in the last 5 years you can claim. Cons: None really, some insurers (very rare) offer a 5% discount if you choose full medical underwriting.100 7% discount200 10% discountYou will only pay an excess when you make a claim for the first time. Claiming means (using knee as an example again) if you need your knee checked by a specialist consultant at a private medical insurance hospital you would pay your excess and then what every the cost after this the insurers will pay. You only every pay the excess once per person per policy year, if you make another claim within the year you wont pay an excess.Inpatient treatment is anything that requires you to take a hospital bed wither that be for day treatments or overnight stays. Inpatient cover is always covered in full and this is for every insurance provider. Outpatients on the other hand is for anything that doesnt require you to take a bed (using the knee again), day visit constancy check-ups for your knee, blood test , X-rays. Fees for outpatient treatment can range from 150-250 per visit. Outpatient treatment isnt always covered in full and this is where you can tailor your policy to the cover what best suits you. But as you are getting private medical insurance for Home office/Visa purposes the minimum you can have is 1000 outpatient coverPrivate medical insurance is only for planed treatments, if you broke your arm chances are you would be rushed to an NHS accident and emergency. This is across the board, all emergencies NHS A&E as standard. But once again lets use the knee injury scenario.. You have been having problems with your knee, you visit your NHS GP and they say you need to go and see a knee specialist. They will write a note explaining what the problem may be and give this to you. You will then call your private medical insurance company, tell them what the GP has wrote (they may ask you to send this via post or email) and they will then book an appointment with your local private medical hospital. The process is pretty quick, in some cases you can be seen within 48hrs Vs the NHS where it could take weeks if not months to be seen.So after speaking to people on here - it looks like Full Outpatient and Full inpatient cover is a good way to go. To quote someone else - if you are covered in full for both, what is more Comprehensive than that?There are other things that you can include in your policy. The others that I can see listed are: Alternative Therapies, Dental, Optical and Psychiatric and these are all optional...but the Home Office guidance for deciding if insurance is Comprehensive is:You must take a proportionate approach when you consider if an insurance policy is comprehensive. For example, a policy may contain certain exemptions but if the policy covers the applicant forThe definition of comprehensive sickness insurance does not include:-cash back health schemes, such as:-dental-optical, or-prescription charges-travel insurance policies-access to the UKs National Health Service (NHS).The quotes that he gave me were all around 60-80 per month (I think the Aviva one he recommended was 72). Once I get back to the UK I am going to speak with a solicitor regarding it all / review my Residence Card Application.I have also done a very detailed cover letter, outlining why I am self-sufficient and also an estimated breakdown of monthly costs. I am pretty sure that I meet the requirements for this part of it. The CSI element is the only part that I am not as confident about. Eric, Seeing how my Chinese language skills are zero, might have to get some phrases from you and your wife. I had an idea like say half about a dozen or so blank business size card with one word (or perhaps two words) that could fit on it. English word, than Mandarin word. So it you were in a taxi and you wanted to go to train station just pull out the card that said Train in English and point to Chinese word Would that work? Ok Back to first post as it seems only us two. I have found out that there are 2 German food Restaurants in Changzhou (German really) , but even better an Australian ran cafe called the Koala (it even has Vegemite) WOW Hi all. I need some honest advice please. I have been offered a senior exec role for a world agency and although I have been to Kenya many times it has been for business strictly and I never paid attention to the lifestyle. I have a 3 year contract and I want to hear from others what has been the hardest adjustment when moving to Nairobi? Any regrets? Any highlights? I will be relocating with my husband and 2 children (3 and 4 years old). Looking forward to some advice. ThanksTrisha This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LONDON Two large oil services companies, FMC Technologies and Technip, said Thursday that they planned to merge in a $13 billion transaction. The deal is a sign of pressures on the oil services industry, which performs much of the oil field work for major energy companies around the world, to reduce costs at a time of lower oil and gas prices. The companies said in a joint statement that they expected at least $400 million in annual cost savings from the all-stock deal by 2019. The deal, if completed, would combine Technip, which is based in Paris and is a major player in the demanding and costly work of developing offshore oil and gas fields, with FMC, a maker of energy equipment based in Houston. FMC has a 57,000-square-foot facility at 3844 S. Loop 1604 East to serve the Eagle Ford Shale region in South Texas. FMC and Technip had combined revenue of $20 billion in 2015 and would have more than 49,000 employees in 45 countries, they said in a joint statement. Douglas J. Pferdehirt, president and chief operating officer of FMC, would become chief executive of the new company, which would be called TechnipFMC and would be based in London, where the two companies already have a joint venture. It would have operating offices in Houston and Paris and would be listed on the New York and Paris stock exchanges. Thierry Pilenko, chairman and chief executive of Technip, would serve as executive chairman of the combined company. In an interview Thursday, Pferdehirt said that companies like FMC provided equipment for oil projects while outfits like Technip installed it. By joining forces, we can reduce that complexity, he said. We can remove unnecessary hardware. The deal would build on the existing joint venture between the two companies, which involves underwater operations. We want to take this strategy further and across the full footprint of the two companies, Pilenko said in a statement. Analysts said the move shows how tough things have become for the oil services industry as a result of the plunge in petroleum prices, to just below $50 a barrel from more than $100 a barrel in 2014. The service companies, which do much of the construction and technical work for the industry, have been hit hard as their clients have canceled or postponed projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars, while demanding lower prices from their vendors. Costly, specialized ships for laying undersea pipes and placing equipment on the ocean bottom have been idled, and the prices contractors can charge for products have been cut sharply. Both companies recent financial results reflected the industrys difficulties. Technips net income for 2015 fell by about 90 percent compared to a year earlier, to 45 million euros, or about $50.7 million, on 12.2 billion euros in revenue. Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot. FMCs 2015 income before tax fell more than 50 percent, to about $500 million on $6.4 billion in sales. Both companies are already engaged in cost-reduction programs. Technip said, for example, that it reduced its work force by 4,000 last year, to 34,400 employees. The sector slowdown is so bad companies must act to achieve further cost-cutting, with mergers perhaps the only option, Nicholas Green, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in London, wrote in a note to clients Wednesday. Green said the FMC-Technip merger raises the bar for all others. Green estimated that the merger could help the companies reduce their costs of developing offshore oil and gas fields by 30 percent. But there may be limits to the merger activity. Regulators recently forced two other major oil services companies, Halliburton and Baker Hughes, to drop a merger plan, over fears of reduced competition. FMC and Technip, though, say that their merger is unlikely to encounter regulatory resistance because their businesses are more complementary than competitive. A San Antonio-based association of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans whose businesses employ U.S. citizens is fighting back against Donald Trumps claims that trade with Mexico is gutting the U.S. middle class. The Association of Mexican Entrepreneurs (AEM), is modeling its American Mexico Public Affairs Committee (AMxPAC) after the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israel lobbying group founded in 1963. The Mexican government is spearheading its own defensive campaign. According to an issue brief by Isidro Morales of Rice Universitys Baker Institute for Public Policy, the Mexican government for the first time has openly recognized a hostile climate in the U.S. and directed its diplomats to deal with the situation before it gets worse. The AMxPAC will launch a public awareness campaign about the positives of U.S.-Mexico trade, using Facebook, Twitter, website postings, media interviews and speaking engagements to get its message out. I think we have the obligation, said Eduardo Bravo, a Mexican national whose San Antonio publishing operation employs 13 U.S. citizens. Hes in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen so he can vote in November. Let me tell you, many Mexican-Americans, the business people, they are Republicans, because they like the principles of the Republicans, like creating less taxes and less regulations, Bravo said. But the rhetoric is something that really worries us. Trump has struck a chord with Rust Belt voters by promising to force companies to bring back the jobs that once provided high school graduates middle-class wages and economic security. To do so, hes suggested pulling out of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement and slapping tariffs of up to 35 percent tax on goods from Mexico. Hes floated even larger tariffs on goods from China. Economists were quick to weigh in on the potential backlash of such policies, but to many in cities including San Antonio and along the U.S.-Mexico border that would buckle with any loss of post-NAFTA trade, the dialogue is downright dangerous. The Trump campaign did not respond to an email requesting comment on the newly created group. AEM San Diego chapter President Antonio Maldonado, an attorney who specializes in trade issues and has offices on both sides of the border, is president of the AMxPAC. The fact that there have been a lot of jobs that have been lost during the past 15, 20 years, especially in the Rust Belt of America, its due to a lot of other factors. Changes in technology. China, the fact that so many jobs are now being lost to manufacturers that are moving operations to China, Maldonado said. Theres a ton of reasons why those jobs have been lost, and I dont think Mexico is the villain or U.S. trade with Mexico is the culprit. I think if anything, trade between the U.S. and Mexico helps the U.S. economy to become that much stronger. There are some fact-checking numbers out there that talk about how most of the stuff that he says is not true, he added. I think (Trump) plays the populism card a lot, and so whether he knows what hes saying is not true or hes actually saying things to make a bigger punch, or making things up, I dont know. Among AMxPAC tweets, a map based on sources including the office of the U.S. trade representative, the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Chamber of Commerce breaks down $1.35 billion in daily bilateral trade. Of that, $272 million each occurs in the North Central and Mid-Atlantic states that lost many of the manufacturing jobs. Another tweet, from AEMs Austin branch, shares findings that 6 million U.S. jobs depend directly on trade with Mexico. Bravo keeps some of the maps and statistics on a wall in his office. Among the numbers: 12 percent of immigrant small-business owners in the United States are Mexicans with businesses that generate $17 billion annually in revenue. Forty percent of the content of Mexican imports to the United States was originally manufactured in the United States. Mexico ranks among the top three export markets for 33 U.S. states. Mexico is Texas top export destination. Bravo also pointed out that the companies, they are not going to bring the factories back, but the (Trump supporters) want to listen to that. AEM, which was founded in 1996, has grown to 26 chapters throughout the United States and Mexico. For its part, the Mexican government is working through its foreign ministry to protect its image and respond more vigorously to anti-Mexican rhetoric, according to the issue brief from Morales. What is new in the latest wave of anti-Mexican rhetoric is that Mexican migrants have been criminalized and called drug traffickers and rapists, and Mexicos positive economic performance has been attributed to the theft of U.S. jobs, Morales wrote. That attitude toward Mexican migrants prompted the Mexican government to make its hostile climate declaration. Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot. Bravo said he was particularly stunned to hear Trump use the term Mexican as a pejorative, not only in comments about illegal immigrants being rapists and drug traffickers but also as a national foe that is beating us economically. Its like returning to 50 years or 60 years ago, the way Mexican used to be used, he said. To him, the upshot of the public relations campaigns may be getting heartland Americans to understand that the trade benefits go both ways and that Mexicans like him have been investing heavily in the United States. Whats the positive of all this? That Mexico, its in the spotlight, he said. When you are in the spotlight, its always a good opportunity to build a better relationship. Maybe you have to negotiate some things, but at the end its the best for the two economies. Maldonado admitted it will be a challenge to get the pro-Mexico message to a voting base that is disgruntled about the state of the economy and wants to believe Trump can fix things. The good thing is that we got this group started, Maldonado said. If Donald Trump does become the president, I think we need to have the pro-U.S.-Mexico trade voice heard because theres too much anti-U.S.-Mexico trade and anti-Mexico in general thats in the current rhetoric. And you can find it on both sides of the aisle. lbrezosky@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 courtesy / Show More Show Less 2 of 2 courtesy / Show More Show Less BROWNSVILLE Authorities in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas have arrested two Rio Grande Valley men accused of kidnapping a third U.S. citizen and holding him for ransom in Mexico. The alleged kidnappers have been identified as 25-year-old Jordi Alejandro Gonzalez of Hidalgo and 18-year-old Jose Castillo Jr. of Brownsville. Mexican federal police stopped the two at a checkpoint in Matamoros, across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, on Wednesday, and in the vehicle was their alleged victim, a 28-year-old man from Texas. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate McALLEN U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen ordered the government Thursday to provide him with a list of people who were provided benefits under President Barack Obamas 2014 plan to give millions of immigrants extended deportation reprieves and work permits. In his 28-page opinion, peppered with dialogue from Hollywood movies, the Brownsville judge claims that Justice Department attorneys hid the issuance of three-year, deferred-action permits despite an injunction blocking the government initiative. Twenty-six states are suing the Obama administration over its sweeping initiative on immigration. In his order, Hanen wrote that the suing states should be provided an opportunity to seek relief from possible damage resulting from the misconduct of the defendants lawyers and to prevent future harm to the states due to the governments misrepresentations. In addition to demanding the list, Hanen ordered that Justice Department attorneys who appear in courtrooms in any of the 26 plaintiff states attend a legal ethics course every year. Having studied the governments filings in this case, its admissions make one conclusion indisputably clear: the Justice Department lawyers knew the true facts and misrepresented those facts to the citizens of the 26 plaintiff states, their lawyers and this court on multiple occasions, Hanen wrote. The Justice Department has acknowledged that more than 108,000 people received the three-year reprieves outlined in the new program guidelines before Hanen issued his initial injunction putting a stop to the three-year permits. The government pledged to replace the roughly 2,000 three-year permits issued after the injunction with two-year permits, as provided under the 2012 deferred action program. Hanen ordered that immigrants who received the three-year permits between Nov. 20, when Obama announced the expanded deferred action initiative, and March 3 be provided to him. Immigrant advocates were incensed. Texas and the 25 states who sued to block the executive actions could get the list upon showing of good cause for what purpose? To go out and harass people, said David Leopold, a Cleveland-based attorney and former head of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Those immigrants had to give back their three-year permits months ago, so practically, Hanens order may not have much effect but will go a long way toward instilling fear in immigrants across the country. Hanen has given the Justice Department until June 10 to present him with a list that includes all personal information including names and addresses, along with the date the three-year renewal or approval was granted. The list will be sealed, but the court may release the information to law enforcement authorities in particular states if a compelling argument is made to do so, Hanen wrote. The Texas attorney generals office declined to comment on whether it would request the list. Throughout this case, the administration has struggled to provide accurate, reliable information regarding the scope of the presidents plan or even when it would be implemented, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. The Brownsville-based judge declined to impose monetary sanctions, which he argued ultimately would be paid by taxpayers. Hanens order comes after the U.S. Supreme Court in April heard arguments over Obamas initiative to shield about 5 million immigrants from deportation. A ruling is expected in June. The Brownsville judges 28-page order begins with a few lines of dialogue from the Hollywood blockbuster Bridge of Spies on adherence to the rules of the Constitution, which Hanen argues is the essence of the lawsuit. Regarding candor, Hanen referenced the film Miracle on 34th Street. The need to tell the truth, especially in court, was obvious to a fictional young Tommy Mara Jr. in 1947, Hanen wrote. Yet there are certain attorneys in the Justice Department who apparently have not received that message, or more likely have just decided they are above such trivial concepts. anelsen@express-news.net Twitter: @amnelsen Former San Antonio lawyer Paul Andrews was sentenced to 10 years in state prison Thursday after pleading no contest to soliciting someone to kill his former office manager. The 2014 plot to have Maryann Uribe killed backfired when the would-be hit man, one of Andrews clients, had second thoughts after several meetings with the lawyer and took his account to authorities. When the client, wearing a recording device, then met with Andrews at his office on Goliad Road, the lawyer reaffirmed his wish for something to happen to Uribe, according to an arrest warrant. In the hearing Thursday, Assistant District Attorney Christopher Demartino said Andrews had earlier told the would-be hit man I want that rat dead. The state had asked Judge Jefferson Monroe to sentence Andrews to 15 years. In asking for a sentence of 10 years of deferred adjudication, Andrews lawyer Demetrio Duarte argued that his client was no threat to society and had accepted his guilt. Hes been punished. He is contrite. He is not a dangerous man right now, Duarte said. Andrews spoke to the court briefly before the sentence was imposed. Ive learned something, that when you lose everything that is important, somehow God opens your eyes to what is really important, he said. Andrews was arrested on the solicitation charge in August 2014. He later surrendered his license to practice law in lieu of disciplinary action, according to the State Bar of Texas. Earlier that year, both he and partner Keith Gould had been charged with felony barratry, based on Uribes claim that they ordered her to improperly solicit personal injury case clients and then fired her when she refused. The barratry case against Gould was recently dismissed because of insufficient evidence, according to court records. The charge against Andrews was dropped Thursday with his plea to the more serious offense. A civil lawsuit filed by Uribe against the two is pending in Nueces County. Uribe, who said the experience has left her traumatized, spoke in court Thursday during a two-hour hearing before Andrews was sentenced. In a recent interview, she said that even seeing Andrews put behind bars would not give her peace. Im paranoid. I know they still want me dead. I know too much at this point, she said. She remains convinced that Andrews did not act alone in seeking her slaying, and she believes that prosecutors failed to fully explore the crime. The only thing that will bring me peace is if he contacts the DAs office and says, Im ready to talk about the others who were involved, she added. jmaccormack@express-news.net Harley Belews distant brush with national fame for confronting Bill Clinton with an aborted fetus has resurfaced in the 11th hour of his Republican primary runoff in Kerr County against Dr. William Rector. Neither contender had publicly spoken of it while campaigning to succeed retiring Kerr County Commissioner H.A. Buster Baldwin, but a courthouse source this week mentioned it as early voting began for the May 24 runoff election. That was a long time ago, Belew, 60, said Thursday. I didnt think anybody remembered. Clinton, then governor of Arkansas, was in New York for the 1992 Democratic Party convention where he was about to become its presidential nominee. Belew thrust a fetus in a plastic container at him and asked What about the babies, governor? after approaching him outside his hotel, according to a New York Times atory. A surprised Clinton rejected the fetus, the story said, and Belew and two other men were charged with transporting a fetus into New York, removal of human remains from the place of death and improper disposal of a fetus. The charges against him were dropped, said Belew, now general manager of radio stations associated with Revolution Broadcasting and a local show host. A Chicago hospital worker had reportedly offered the fetus, slated for disposal, to Operation Rescue for use in its fight against abortion, Belew recalled. I dont brag about it and Im not ashamed of it, but I would do it again if I thought it would save one life, he said of the episode. Both Baldwin, who defeated Belew to win re-election four years ago, and Rector who Baldwin is endorsing this year said they knew of the fetus incident but didnt mention it during their campaigns. Its not something that I would like to see brought up because its not a pertinent issue and Ive tried to stick to the issues, said Rector, 74, a radiologist who has served on the Kerrville City Council and Kerrville Independent School District board. I have the ability to build bridges and bring the community together. Belew, a board member of the Headwaters Groundwater Conservation District, pledged to oppose wasteful county spending, if elected, adding, I just tell people Im going to treat them the way I like to be treated. Hes unsure how voters would react to learning of his arrest 24 years ago in the fetus incident. I think whoever mentioned it thought that it would hurt my campaign, Belew said. I dont think its relevant. Baldwin agreed, saying, Ive had that for years and years. When he ran against me I never used that because I dont care what he did 20 years ago. No Democrat is seeking the county commission post in November. zeke@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate San Antonio will get a break from torrential rains that made for hazardous driving conditions Thursday, though spotty flooding could return this weekend, forecasters said. An upper-level trough over the western United States fed a persistent downpour early Thursday, causing swollen creeks and widespread street flooding. A flash flood watch was in effect for South-Central Texas through Thursday night. In San Antonio, floodgates on Toutant Beauregard Road were closed near McAndrew Elementary in the Northside Independent School District, shutting off access to and from the campus, after students and faculty arrived Thursday morning. NISD police are working closely with Bexar County Sheriff's Office and are monitoring the weather, district spokesman Pascual Gonzalez said during the storm. All 300 students were accounted for, and the principal was in direct communication with parents before the flooding subsided, he said. High pressure was expected to provide drier conditions today, with any precipitation likely to be limited mainly to areas on the Rio Grande, the National Weather Service said. But a cluster of storms could push their way into the area Sunday from the northwest, forecasters said. Isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms are in the extended forecast through Wednesday as several short wave disturbances move through the region. There wont be as many storm systems going through in the next few days, said Paul Yura, warning coordination meteorologist with the weather service forecast office in New Braunfels. The San Antonio forecast includes a partly cloudy sky and highs in the low 80s today, with a 20 percent chance of rain Saturday and 30 percent on Sunday. Thursdays storms dumped up to 2 inches of rain in Bexar County not an extraordinary amount, but enough to cause flash flooding on rain-soaked landscape, Yura said. Pingpong-ball-size hail was reported about 100 miles southwest of San Antonio, near Carrizo Springs, he said. Comal and Medina ISD canceled classes, and other San Antonio-area schools delayed start due to weather conditions. Later in the day, New Braunfels ISD canceled after-school activities and suspended afternoon bus service to Hueco Springs Drive, River Road, Elm Creek and the Preiss Heights subdivision, citing road closures. Parents were asked to arrange for their children to be picked up at school. The rain put Comal County officials on heightened alert. Obviously, a flood can happen very quickly, so being able to respond quickly is critical, said Mayor Barron Casteel of New Braunfels, where an emergency operations center was activated. The Comal River, closed Wednesday to recreational use due to downpours late Tuesday, remained closed early Thursday, running at 1,050 cubic feet per second about triple its normal flow, according to the U.S. Geologic Survey website. The Guadalupe River was flowing at 1,220 cfs, and also was closed to tubing in the city limits, with only rafts and kayaks allowed. The storms dumped about 1 inch of rain Thursday, well below the 4 inches-plus reported late Tuesday, but enough to cause concern, said Jeff Kelley, Comal County's emergency operations coordinator. Most of the low water crossings in the county were closed at some point on Wednesday, Kelley said. Four or five were still closed this morning. In San Antonio, the lower westbound level of Interstate 10 near Colorado Street was closed because of flooding. Lower levels of I-35 at South Frio Street were shut down after an unidentified woman jumped nearly 20 feet from a bridge onto the highway during the morning deluge. She was taken to University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after passers-by waved pieces of cloth and towels to divert traffic, protecting her from being hit. Officials did not say what led to the incident. The NWS said 1.87 inches of rain had been recorded at International Airport as of 3 p.m. Thursday. At the height of the storm, nearly 30 roads, including some near Cibolo Creek, were closed in the San Antonio area for flooding. NWS meteorologist Jared Allen said more than 20 low water crossings were closed in Hays County, where emergency crews performed two water rescues. Numerous road closures have been reported in Boerne and across Kendall County as well, he said. San Antonio Fire Department officials reminded motorists to turn around, dont drown, when in doubt about crossing a bridge or section of road under water. Driving around a barricade carries a maximum penalty of $2,000 and 180 days in jail. If a rescue is needed, everyone in a vehicle may be charged a fee of $640. shuddleston@express-news.net Twitter: @shuddlestonSA Staff Writers Sal Guerrero, Mark D. Wilson, Zeke MacCormack and Tyler White contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate CAIRO Epypt and Greece mounted an intense search-and-rescue operation in the southern Aegean Sea on Thursday after a jetliner en route from Paris carrying 66 people abruptly swerved, vanished from radar and plunged into the Mediterranean shortly before it was scheduled to land here. Egyptian officials issued conflicting information about whether wreckage had been found and suggested terrorism was a more likely cause than technical failure. The loss of the flight, EgyptAir 804, was the second civilian aviation disaster for this nation in the past year. It immediately resurrected fears and speculation about the safety and security of Egyptian air travel and broader questions about terrorism against civilian air travel. Thursday afternoon, Greek authorities said debris believed to be from the wreckage had been found at a site around 205 nautical miles southeast of Crete and 190 nautical miles south of the Greek island of Karpathos. EgyptAir reported the finding of wreckage of the missing aircraft in a Twitter posting. But hours later EgyptAirs vice chairman, Ahmed Adel, was quoted by CNN as saying no wreckage had been found yet. We stand corrected on finding the wreckage because what we identified is not a part of our plane, he was quoted as saying. So the search and rescue is still going on. Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi told a news conference in Cairo that it was premature to draw conclusions about the cause of the crash. But he quickly acknowledged it might be terrorism. I dont want to go to speculations and I dont want to go to assumptions, Fathi said. Still, he said, if you analyze the situation properly, the possibility of having a terror attack is higher than the possibility of technical failure. The jetliner, an Airbus A320, departed Paris at 11:09 p.m. local time Wednesday. The pilot spoke to Greek air traffic controllers at 2:26 a.m. and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, officials said. Three or four minutes later, the plane made its last normal radar contact. At 2:37 a.m., shortly after entering Egyptian airspace, the plane made a 90-degree turn to the left and then a full 360-degree circle to the right, first plunging to 15,000 feet from 37,000 feet and then to 9,000 feet. At that point, it disappeared from radar, Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said at a news conference. Flight 804 was carrying 56 passengers, including three children; seven crew members; and three members of airline security. A list of the passengers nationalities, released by the airline, said 30 were from Egypt, 15 from France, two from Iraq and one each from Algeria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Chad, Kuwait, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. The twin-engine aircraft, which can accommodate up to 220 passengers, was delivered to EgyptAir in November 2003 and had accumulated 48,000 hours of flying time, according to data compiled by Flightradar24, an aviation website. Such aircraft typically are built to last 30 or 40 years, and there was no indication anything was mechanically amiss. But the aircrafts North Africa itinerary in the past two days possibly was more worrisome. Flightradar24 data showed it had flown round trips between Cairo and Asmara, Eritrea, and between Cairo and Tunis before flying to Paris. U.S. and European officials have expressed concerns about security gaps in North African airports. Intelligence analysts who monitor jihadi websites and social media said there had been no claims of responsibility by terror groups. Officials in Egypt, whove been under intense scrutiny since a bomb brought down a Russian airliner over the Sinai Peninsula in October, killing all 224 people on board, declined to describe the events as a crash. The aviation ministers quick acknowledgment that terrorism might be a cause this time was in stark contrast to the governments handling of the loss of the Russian airliner. French President Francois Hollande after speaking by phone with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, also raised the possibility of terrorism. The information that we have been able to gather the prime minister, the members of the government, and, of course, the Egyptian authorities unfortunately confirm for us that this plane crashed at sea and has been lost, Hollande said at the Elysee Palace. Hollande said no hypothesis was being ruled out, and that the three countries were hoping to recover debris that would enable us to know the truth. France has tightened airport security after a series of terror attacks last year. He added, When we have the truth, we must draw all the conclusions, whether it is an accident or another hypothesis, which everybody has in mind: the terrorist hypothesis. President Barack Obama was briefed on the situation by Lisa Monaco, his adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism. U.S. officials said they were sharing information from a terrorist watch list as well as other data with Egyptian, French and other investigators, but that there was no evidence so far of what had caused the plane to vanish. At the airport in Cairo, relatives and friends waiting for the passengers were shepherded into a separate area, many of them red-faced and crying. Aviation security officials barred journalists from filming and interviewing people, saying they were acting on orders from the Interior Ministry, which controls the police. In a flurry of posts on Twitter, EgyptAir emphasized the experience of the crew of the missing airliner. The pilot had more than 6,000 flying hours, and the co-pilot had 2,700 hours, the airline said. Speaking on the French radio station RTL, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said French authorities still were gathering information about the disappearance and that, at this stage, no hypotheses on the causes of this disappearance can be ruled out. In the October crash of the Russian jetliner, the plane broke up in midair 23 minutes after takeoff from the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. Islamic State, whose local affiliate is fighting the Egyptian military in the Sinai Peninsula, claimed it had brought down the plane, an Airbus A321-200. Egypt initially denied that the crash was connected to terrorism. But in February, el-Sissi said the flight had been brought down by terrorists, although he didnt specify which group. Since the Paris attacks in November, French authorities have used the threat of terrorism to justify raids of employee lockers at Charles de Gaulle, as well as a systematic review of the roughly 87,000 airport employees who have badges giving access to secure areas. Those reviews have led authorities to revoke dozens of badges for security reasons, airport police said. Rules that bar passengers from carrying liquids, gels and aerosols in hand luggage were extended to airline and airport personnel, as well as anyone with access to secure areas of the airport. Egypt has come under criticism in the past for its lack of transparency in aviation accidents. In 1999, an EgyptAir flight crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from JFK International Airport in New York, killing all 217 on board. Although U.S. investigators concluded co-pilot had steered the airplane into the sea, Egypt rejected the idea of suicide and still insists the crash was caused by an unspecified mechanical failure. Ulster Farmers' Union beef and lamb chairman, Crosby Cleland, has said the big drop in the number of slaughter ready cattle this month must lead to better prices for farmers. This comes after a sustained period of strong supplies and poor returns, which brought mounting losses for all cattle sold off local farms. "We saw supplies peak at 8,600 cattle a week in mid-April. This was followed by a considerable reduction in numbers in the first couple of weeks in May. "This has been right across the board, with both clean cattle and cull cows slowing down in numbers," said Mr Cleland. Despite a modest increase in quotes this week, Mr Cleland said these still did not reflect the real prices being paid by processors. "Statistics from the LMC for the first half of May have shown that while quotes for R grade cattle have been around 300p/kg, what was actually paid has been at least 10p/kg more. "This confirms that there is extra money available from the market, but it is important that farmers manage this carefully be ensuring that cattle presented are in-spec for the best paying markets," added Mr Cleland. Tighter numbers and increasing demand should be delivering better prices for farmers. But Mr Cleland says it is clear processors are trying to limit this, by only increasing their quotes by modest amounts. "An upward trend has developed over the last couple of weeks. It is crucial processors up their game and pay prices that will deliver better returns to farmers," he said. The UFU has been told by major retailers that beef sales have increased in recent weeks. "One showed us how sales had increased dramatically following the launch of a new brand. "Innovative thinking by some, along with the excellent weather over the past couple of weeks, should see beef sales increase. "In turn we would expect the market to deliver better returns for farmers, said Mr Cleland. South West rural insurance company Cornish Mutual has donated 25,000 to the Devon Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (YFC) to support their fundraising efforts for a brand new headquarters. Devons young farmers are fundraising to help pay for the redevelopment of a former pub at Cheriton Bishop, which has currently started the transformation into a new base for young farmers across the county. The group have so far raised over 230,000 of the 400,000 target. The new Amory Building keeps the name of the current headquarters, named after the former Devon County Councillor and former deputy Lord Lieutenant of Devon, Sir Ian Amory. The aim of the new premises and rural hub is to have a central point for the main YFC office for meetings, competitions and training events. Alan Goddard, Managing Director for Cornish Mutual, handed over the cheque to Jake Henson, Devon County Young Farmers County Chairman, at the Devon County Show on Friday 20 May. Nick Creasey, County Organiser for the Devon Federation of Young Farmers Clubs, said: "On behalf of The Devon Federation of Young Farmers Clubs I would like to thank Cornish Mutual for this very generous donation towards the new Amory Building. "This support continues the companys long association with, and backing of, the young farmers clubs across the South West. "This money makes a huge impact on our fundraising and our efforts towards making the new building a reality. "It will not only be a hub for young farmers, it will also provide a base for the Farm Community Network and The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution." Alan Goddard, Managing Director for Cornish Mutual, said: "I am very proud to make this donation on behalf of Cornish Mutual. "The company was created by farmers for farmers and I have no doubt that our founding Members would be delighted to see the company support the next generation in this way. "The Young Farmers is an extremely important institution within the South West community; they represent the future of our industry. "I look forward to seeing the new headquarters take shape over the coming months and I urge people to support YFC in any way they can. Nick Creasey highlighted the fact that the organisation is still fundraising to reach its target and welcomes support and donations. European Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Phil Hogan was urged to drive forward his simplification agenda as he visited a West Lothian farm this morning (20 May). At the request of NFU Scotland, the Commissioner visited the Dandie family at Learielaw, Broxburn on Friday, 20 May, where they run a large arable farm with a beef suckler cow herd and beef finishing enterprises. The visit followed Commissioner Hogans participation in NFU Scotlands debate on European membership 'In or Out The implications for Scottish food and farming' which was held at Ingliston the previous evening (Thursday 19 May). Commissioner Hogan spoke in some detail about his commitment to cutting regulatory burden during the debate and NFU Scotland used the farm visit to push the case that his simplification agenda must deliver meaningful change for those actively farming and crofting in Scotland today. Burden 'weighs heavily' on almost every farm business Speaking after the visit, NFU Scotland President Allan Bowie said: "The regulatory framework built around CAP, and the fear that has built up around accidental breaches of those rules, weighs heavily on almost every farm business in Scotland. "Commissioner Hogan has spoken passionately about his simplification agenda, changes are being introduced and we understand more positive developments are yet to be announced. "That is refreshing to hear and we urge the Commissioner to press on with that work so that we can make a genuine difference to the regulatory burden on Scottish farm businesses. "One key development already on track is the notion of a yellow card system on penalties, where an unintentional breach of the rules offers the opportunity to rectify matters rather than the current heavy handed penalty system approach. "This is a significant step forward on proportionality and a lobbying priority of NFU Scotlands for many, many years. We look forward to more detail on how this approach can be taken forward. 'Huge environmental contribution that farming delivers' "On regulation, the rules around the greening element of the new CAP are part of Commissioner Hogans review. "We not only need simplification in this area, but we also want the Commissioner to better recognise the huge environmental contribution that farming currently delivers. "While we urge Commissioner Hogan to put the tools in place across Europe, it will then be NFU Scotlands job to ensure that Scottish Government adopts them. "But as we have seen, to our cost, Scottish Government has at times chosen to gold-plate rather than simplify and as a result our farmers and growers are now operating to more restrictive greening rules when compared to other parts of the UK and Europe. "With CAP budgets under pressure, we want the Commissioners review to keep a focus on activity, preserving precious funds for those actively farming and so delivering the economic, environmental and social goods which the CAP was designed for. "With the meeting having taken place on an excellently managed West Lothian farm, producing quality Scottish cereals and beef, the extreme market volatility affecting every farm and every sector in Europe means Commissioner Hogan must press on with measures to help reduce the impact of such extreme volatility on family farms. "We know market management tools and support from the European Investment Bank are under discussions but the farm price crisis is deepening. "NFU Scotland believes changes are required in the wider supply chain. As things stand, an unfair share of the risk sits with primary producers while they are failing to share in the rewards. "While the Grocery Code Adjudicator is an important starting point for fairness in the UK, we urge the Commissioner to press on with similar considerations at a European level and extend these from the retailer right down the supply chain to farms." A brand new digital service for registering waste exemptions online has been rolled out by the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency is encouraging farmers and other businesses owners to go online to register as an estimated 70,000 farmers get ready to submit up to 500,000 agricultural waste exemptions this summer. The new digital service, launched in March 2016, has been designed to make online registration quicker, easier and more efficient than ever before. Nearly 10,000 exemptions have been registered since the new services launch. Farms and other businesses which handle small quantities of waste or low-risk wastes may be able to save money by registering for a free exemption if they meet the limits and conditions rather than paying an annual fee for an environmental permit. High volume of exemption registrations expected this summer As most farmers registered for a 3-year exemption after new rules came into effect in 2013, the Environment Agency is expecting up to half a million agricultural waste exemptions to be submitted before October as the current ones expire and need to be re-registered. Since 2013 there have been radical changes to make registering online easier following feedback from those submitting exemptions. The new service went through comprehensive user testing before its launch, resulting in improvements which include: New design to make the service simpler and more intuitive to use Ability to access the service from more browsers and devices, including smartphones and tablets Increased accessibility to those with special user needs, including voice-activated software Digital by default The new waste exemption service has replaced the paper and e-form options as waste exemptions moved to being digital by default to make the process easier for farmers and other businesses. John Hewitt, a farmer of 40 years who runs a 200 hectare farm in Lincolnshire, has registered online using the new system. He advises other farmers: "Its an easy service to use, just spend a few minutes reading the instructions and follow it [online service] through." Feedback will be collected from those using the live online waste registration service to ensure it continues to be developed in a way that meets the needs of farmers, landowners and other users. Nicky Cunningham, Deputy Director of Site-based Regulation at the Environment Agency, said: "As we get ready to receive thousands of waste exemption registrations this summer, we are recommending farmers, landowners and businesses submit online using our improved easy-to-use service. "Weve gathered feedback from those registering exemptions to ensure the process is now simpler and more intuitive than ever before." NFU Scotland has met with First Milk to discuss the farmer-owned businesses turnaround plan and what that means for its Scottish members. The companys strategy has seen welcome progress with First Milk recording an operating profit and establishing a stronger financial footing. However, First Milk continues to operate in a highly volatile dairy market and, like most other milk buyers, returns to its dairy farming members remain unsustainably low. The company operates creameries in Campbeltown and on Arran, with those supplying those sites receiving a price based on returns from the cheese market. The majority of Scottish First Milk members are on a balancing contract, where milk is sold on a brokerage basis rather than supplying a specific processing site. Regardless of who a producer is selling their milk to, the Union believes virtually all Scottish dairy farmers are vulnerable at current price levels. With a new board structure recently put in in place, NFU Scotland welcomed First Milks commitment to raising the milk price and closing the gap on competitors as soon as returns from the market allow. And as part of the governance process, the Union heard that the recruitment process to appointment a chair to First Milks new farmer-based council is underway, an important position given the councils role in representing members. 'Desperate' to see that strategy of improved business performance Speaking after the meeting, NFU Scotland President Allan Bowie said: "NFUS is acutely aware of the pressures on all in the dairy sector and the price currently being paid to First Milks Scottish members puts them at the sharp end of that. "The improved financial performance and the return to an operating profit at First Milk is to be welcomed. "Given the current turmoil in the sector, our dairy farming members supplying First Milk are desperate to see that strategy of improved business performance deliver substantially better returns back to the farm gate. "Whether those members are in Kintyre, on the islands or in First Milks main Scottish milk field, they are vulnerable and exposed at current price levels. "There is to be investment in Campbeltown creamery that will underpin the production of quality Mull of Kintyre cheese and we want First Milk to continue to engage with all local stakeholders on a strategy that adds certainty to that creamerys future. "For those in the main Scottish milk field, as part of a farmer-owned business, they see investment in processing taking place elsewhere in country while they will receive a price based on returns from balancing, brokering and the spot market. "If balancing is a critical cog in the First Milk business plan, then those supplying that market must not be disadvantaged by the lack of a designated processing outlet for their milk. "Now that First Milk are in calmer financial waters, the balance between sustaining the business and farmers being able to continue dairying is important. "Whether at Campbeltown, the islands or central Scotland, First Milk must continue do all within its power to deliver for its Scottish members. "NFUS will continue to work with First Milk in any way we can, as its future success is integral to the Scottish dairy sector moving forward. "If any of our dairy farming members supplying First Milk would like further details on the meeting, we would welcome their call." AHDB agrees to transfer surplus levy funds to new horticultural body Other Midwestern states also facing falling land prices By Diego Flammini Assistant Editor, North American Content Farms.com According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, farmland values in Iowa and other Midwestern states are down. Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan saw year-over-year declines of five per cent, two per cent, five per cent and seven per cent, respectively, the bank said in its latest newsletter. David Oppedahl, senior business economist with the Chicago Fed, said that of nearly 200 agricultural bankers surveyed, most think land values to drop in the second quarter. These patterns reflected the challenging circumstances facing farmers, as they attempt to weather a downturn in agricultural priced by shoring up their cash flows and holding back on capital spending, he wrote in the newsletter. Justin Dammann, a corn and soybean farmer from Essex, Iowa, told the Des Moines Register that land prices havent dropped as much as corn prices. There is still a lot of money that is drifting into agriculture and so a lot of that money has kept this land pretty high, he told the Iowa newspaper. He said land prices are softer, but theres still demand for land investment. In March 2014, farmland in Iowa was selling for $8,286 per acre, compared to $7,372 per acre in March 2015. By Beck Barnes On first glance, it would be very easy to overlook Kansass planted cotton totals in the annual USDA acreage reports. In 2015, producers there planted only 16,000 acres of cotton. That number represented the smallest total of any of the 17 states which make up the Cotton Belt. New Mexico, the next closest state in terms of cotton acreage, planted over twice that amount. Thats why its so jarring to hear members of Kansass tiny community of cotton professionals make bold predictions about the coming years. Were looking into development of what we need to go from 50,000 bales a year to a million bales a year in Kansas, said Tom Lahey, a producer from Moscow, KS. We want to get up to be near the third or fourth largest cotton producing state of all the cotton producing states. Lahey made that ambitious statement while en route to a meeting with the office of the states Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Jackie McClaskey. The topic that day? Discussing ways the state government can assist Kansas producers in their efforts to switch out of traditional crops like wheat and corn and into cotton. According to Lahey, the Plains Cotton Cooperative Association has been instrumental in helping him and his fellow Kansas cotton producers get the ball rolling. Producers in the state have been warming to cotton production for almost two decades. Due to a confluence of agronomic reasons, the Department of Agriculture has been eager to explore the possibilities with cotton in recent years. Now, thanks to a technological advancement from Dow AgroSciences, cottons moment may have finally arrived in Kansas. Years in the Making Lahey says he first planted small test plots of cotton back in 1998-99, and harvested his first crop 40 acres worth in 2000. From there, hes increased acreage incrementally along the way, discovering the crop was economically sustainable. Weve had it every year since, Lahey says. Weve had some awfully good years. But in 2013 and 2014, we experienced a very bad drought. Its in discussing his states water woes that Lahey sounds like a proper Southwest cotton producer. Located in the southwest corner of the state, his operation is in many ways similar to those of growers in much of Oklahoma and Texas. He even draws his water from the Ogallala Aquifer, which West Texas cotton producers know has been shrinking in recent years. Just as it did in the Texas panhandle and in Oklahoma, the dwindling water supply has caused growers to seek less water-intensive crops with full support in that endeavor from their state governments. Cotton has increased acreage in these regions as a result. For his part, Lahey has been well-positioned to ride the wave of expanding cotton acreage. My son and I, we would like to be planting 4,500 to 5,500 acres each year, Lahey says. We have about 2,000 of that in dryland. The drought since 2011 has slowed our dryland planting, but if we get normal rainfall, we can yield really well on both dryland and irrigated. But like other cotton producers in Kansas, Lahey struggles with a different limiting factor that is fairly unique to the state. Because growers in his corner of Kansas have fallow wheat fields, 2,4-D drift has been a major concern. People who have tried cotton or would like to try cotton have been damaged with the 2,4-D to the point where theyre frustrated, and they say Well I cant afford that damage, says Lahey. 2,4-D in our dry climate, where drift can occur for two miles or more its coming from farther away. Part of the problem in Kansas is timing. Because of the inherently short growing season, a cotton crop doesnt have the extra time needed to recover from 2,4-D drift, which has been known to cause a delay in cotton maturity. So in 2013 and 2014, we had really nice crops, but it just got covered up with 2,4-D drift. We shouldve been looking at 1,500 pound averages, but we wound up with closer to 750 pounds an acre. We expected to make a good crop, but the drift from the fallow wheat areas got us. But, as fate would have it, the development of the Enlist Weed Control System by Dow AgroSciences is poised to shield Kansas cotton producers from yield-robbing drift at a time when growers in the state are increasingly turning to cotton. In addition, the Dow 2,4-D herbicide product, Enlist Duo, features Colex-D technology which promises to reduce drift and keep applications on target. Were almost there, Lahey says. We think PhytoGen is going to fix our problem. Enlisting Help As you might imagine, Dow AgroSciences representatives are well aware of the situation in Kansas. From a more immediate standpoint, those folks in Kansas are interested in drift protection, says Ken Lege, PhytoGen cotton development specialist. But in terms of weed control, the Enlist system will bring a lot to the table. Those farmers are already accustomed to spraying 2,4-D, so theyre already aware of what it can do for them, which is a lot. Incorporating that knowledge into cotton should be a natural fit for those guys. Dow is still awaiting federal approval to be able to spray Enlist Duo over the top in cotton. For the time being, the company can only offer drift protection through the 2,4-D tolerant Enlist technology. Kansas farmers, it seems, are highly interested. The demand for Enlist cotton in that area has been tremendous, says Lege. I only wish we would have had enough Enlist variety seed to supply them fully this year. But we all know how seed production is a process. Click here to see more... More than half of employees who work for CCS make $43K or more a year Douglas Flint Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings plc (Image courtesy of HSBC)At the annual general meeting of HSBC Holdings plc in London, Group Chairman Douglas Flint said the world is moving toward greater transparency and fuller disclosure, which we welcome. Europe is leading the world toward more transparency, Flint said, and the effort has to be taken seriously. His remarks were reported by the bank in its Form 6-K (Report of Foreign Private Issuer) filed with the SEC on April 22. Flint said the circumstances alleged in the Panama Papers with regard to HSBC are largely historical, in some cases dating back 20 years, and so predate the tough financial crime, regulatory compliance and tax transparency standards which HSBC has put in place in recent years. Issues in its Swiss Private Bank had already caused HSBC to enforce more transparency and fuller disclosure, Flint said. As we reported last year, portfolio disposals together with our insistence on transparency and a lower risk appetite have driven a significant reduction in our client base, he said. In early April, the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists started publishing the Panama Papers more than 10 million records from the Mossack Fonseca law firm, naming more than 200,000 anonymous offshore companies the firm formed for clients around the globe. In late April, Tracey McDermott, the acting chief executive of the FCA, told parliament her agency had written to 64 firms in connection with the Panama Papers. London-based National Westminster Bank and its corporate parent, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group based in Edinburgh, said in separate U.S. securities filings the FCA asked for information about any relationship the banks had with Mossack Fonseca or with any individuals named in media coverage about the Panama Papers. Last week the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) launched a searchable database that used the Panama Papers to index 320,000 offshore companies and the people behind them. The U.S. and UK have announced steps to restrict the use of anonymous companies. HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. It has assets of $2.4 trillion, making it one of the worlds biggest banks. It serves customers through about 6,000 offices in 71 countries in Asia, Europe, North and Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. * * * HSBC Group Chairman Douglas Flint said: The so-called Panama Papers have highlighted once again how perfectly legal corporate structures can be abused to facilitate money laundering and tax evasion or to obscure ill-gotten gains. Let me tackle upfront how we are addressing the issues and concerns that have been highlighted. We have already made great strides to enforce transparency and full disclosure as a consequence of the issues we have been dealing with in our Swiss Private Bank. As we reported last year, portfolio disposals together with our insistence on transparency and a lower risk appetite have driven a significant reduction in our client base. While there are lessons to be learned from the revelations, the circumstances alleged in the Panama Papers with regard to HSBC are largely historical, in some cases dating back 20 years, and so predate the tough financial crime, regulatory compliance and tax transparency standards which HSBC has put in place in recent years. We are moving steadily into a world of greater transparency and fuller disclosure, which we welcome. We fully anticipate that we will continuously work to improve how we are handling financial crime compliance this is the only way to counter the ever-evolving methods of those who seek to exploit our systems and circumvent our controls. We are taking steps to align our customer base with these higher standards relinquishing clients unable or unwilling to furnish full transparency of their affairs. We are committed to working with the relevant public authorities to fight financial crime and keep criminals out of the financial system. As you will have seen Europe is taking a lead in this area, leveraging the attractiveness of its markets to enforce transparency elsewhere as such it has to be taken seriously. ____ Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. Hell be the keynote speaker at the FCPA Blog NYC Conference 2016. Andrew Steggall is set to make his feature film directorial debut this week as he makes the leap from shorts to bring us Departure. Andrew Steggall As well as being in the director's chair for Departure, he has also penned the screenplay, which follows a family going through major changes. The film sees the director team up with actors Juliet Stevenson and Alex Lawther as they play mother and son. We caught up with Andrew to chat about the film, the inspiration behind the story and making his feature film debut. - Departure is about to hit the big screen, so can you tell me a bit about the film? Departure is a coming of age narrative, which differs from other as it charts a coming of age of a teenage boy but also a coming of age for his mother; who is about to go through her own transformation from one life to another. It is called Departure not arrival and it is set in the autumn. It is about the end of Elliot's childhood, the end of Beatrice's marriage, and the end of a nuclear family at the end of the year. There is a feeling of transition and evolution for all of the characters. At its heart, for me, it is a love story between a mother and a son, in which two people, who are not very well equipped to express kindness and warmth towards each other, learn to do so through the events of the week. - The film sees you in the director's chair and you've penned the screenplay, so where did this project start for you and what inspired the idea for the story? A whole number of things actually. I was very lucky to have gone to a friend's house in France for a holiday and, while I was there, the idea for the story came, in response to the landscape there, this lonely house by a river and a forest. At that moment, I recalled an incident in my own adolescence when I had an epiphany that my parents were perhaps as complex and unhappy as I was capable of being (laughs). I had previously been too narcissistic to realise. I wanted to explore that moment of change as I thought it was an interesting take of coming-of-age and growing up; it wasn't so much about sexual awakening but more about maturing through developing empathy. I wanted to explore that moment and the sense that all the characters knew something that they needed to know already; Beatrice knew something about her son's sexuality that she had not yet articulated to herself. Elliot understands something about his parents' marriage and his own sexuality that he has not yet confronted. Over the course of this week, they become self-aware in a way that they had not previously been. There is also an opera by Dvorak called Rusalka, which is the story of the water nymph who yearns to be human so she can be embraced by the prince who was hunting the deer in the forest. I saw that in Ireland when I was directing an opera a few years ago and that theme - and the musical theme of The Song of the Moon - was very evocative of what I thought Beatrice and Elliot were experiencing. That opera ends up in the film. - The movie explores themes such as the relationship/bond between a mother and son, as well as sexuality and transformations - both internal and external - and I wondered what it was about those themes that drew you to them? I think all drama is about change and transformation. It is my first film and I wanted to explore and express part of my life, in which I had wrestled with and come to terms with my sexuality. In that sense, it comes from a very personal place and a desire to share that story. The central story is a love story between a mother and a son, in which they give each other permission - finally - to be complicated, human and fallible; that is the simple and quiet act of love at the end of the film. Although it seems that the film is preoccupied with Elliot's relationship with Clement, the handsome French boy in the village, or that Beatrice is preoccupied with her relationship with her husbands, for me, those parallel narratives are about moving mother and son towards an understanding of each other. - Can you talk a bit about your writing process - do you start with characters first and them plot? Or do you develop the story and then work on the characters? How does it work for you? I think it is all very simultaneous. I have pretty strong ideas about events and an arc where I want the characters to start and finish - in a way, their personalities and the character of those roles are as much defined by what they do as some idea you may have about their personality. As you give them dialogue, you are, in a way, both filling in the character that must perform the actions that you feel are inevitable for the story and they also begin to manipulate the story without your control as a character and a personality starts to emerge. Events that you imagined become no longer relevant and no longer realistic and they should go because that's when I think people notice there's a lack of integrity in the story, when characters behave in one way but seem to act in another. We are also contradictory individuals and we often act our better judgment or behave in a way that is counterproductive and it is useful to explore that. - Alex Lawther takes on the role of Elliot, so what were you looking for when you were casting this role? And what did you see in Alex that you thought would be perfect? I read that you auditioned him while sitting on a park bench. That's right, we did. He was heading off to shoot X+Y at the time. I had first seen him when he was seventeen at the Harold Pinter Theatre where he was playing the lead role in a play called South Downs by David Hare. I was very struck by his particularness, his intelligence, and his translucence; the ability to read through is skin a story. For me, he brings a poetry and a sensitivity and the ability to be both likeable and unlikeable at the same time. While Alex is entirely likeable, I felt that he would compensate for some of Elliot's less likable qualities through his personality. Alex was attached for over a year and there was definitely a process in which the role of Elliot that I had written, me and Alex all converged into the character. I thought he was great. I also wanted to find someone who I could connect with emotionally, in terms of how important it is to have a good relationship not only with your lead actor, but the person who is channelling the autobiographical aspect of the story. - Juliet Stevenson is also terrific as Beatrice, so how did you get her on board? She read the script really late actually. I didn't get to meet her until Sunday night, at quarter to midnight, at her house in North London just a few days before I went to France to start work on the design for the film. She had read it and said that she didn't want anyone else to play the part and she had to do it. She responded to the writing and felt that Beatrice was not a mother at an ironing board in someone else's story but was an equal and central role. - Departure has been playing on the festival circuit - playing at London Film Festival last year - so how have you been finding the response to the film so far? It does seem overwhelmingly positive. I think so. The people who like the film do tend to come up and tell you and those who don't like the film don't (laughs). I think it is important that the film has and audience and part of that audience who won't respond as well because you are trying to provoke recognition. When the film works and when it gets its best response is when there is an audience who recognise the good and the bad in the characters and in that recognition, find humour and find they can be moved. You don't expect everyone to recognise themselves in the particular and peculiar characters of Elliot and Beatrice. - Departure marks your feature film directorial debut, so how have you found the whole experience and the leap into features for the first time? I have just loved it. It is a bloody slog as it has taken six years from first conceiving the film to releasing it in the festival. There are so many points that have been demoralising and there are so many moments that have given me such pleasure. The edit was a pleasure. And the shoot and working with Juliet and Alex and Niamh Cusack, Finbar Lynch, and Phenix Brossard was just a dream in terms of their warmth and their talent. I was lucky that I got to shoot the film that belonged to those friends; so we shot it in the house I conceived it in and wrote it in and there was a wonderful integrity and coherence to that. People who were in the village got to be in the movie and that was a hoot. At every screening, there is always someone - maybe more than one - who come up to you and be visibly moved and engaged by what they have seen. One feels that they have recognised something in the film of themselves and that is an honour and makes it all worthwhile. - You have brought us short films such as The Door and The Red Bike in recent years but how do you feel your work in shorts prepared you for your first feature film? Writing and directing shorts was my film school; I trained as an actor and then worked as a theatre and opera director. I felt that the experience of making the four shorts - all of which I made subsequent to the first conceiving of Departure - were a way in which I got an understanding of how a set worked and began the long journey of refining my voice as a filmmaker. Nothing really prepares you for your first feature and it was pretty much on the last day of shooting did I feel that I was ready to start shooting; unfortunately, you have shot it by that point. Ironically really, the more experience you have and therefore the more efficient and brilliant you ought to be, the more money and time they give you. They should give all the time and money to people who don't know what they are doing because they are the one who need to reshoot (laughs). - Finally, what's next for you? I have been really fortunate to get some support from the Wellcome Trust, who are helping me develop a screenplay. That is really a story about family and music but has a medical aspect to it as well. That is what I am writing at the moment. Departure is out now. by Helen Earnshaw for www.femalefirst.co.uk find me on and follow me on Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley are two of the most exciting acting talents around and they have joined forces for new film Learning To Drive. Learning To Drive The two actors come together to take on the central role of author Wendy Shields and Darwan Singh Tur, the man who is teaching her to drive, and they feature in this exclusive new poster. Learning To Drive is based on an article written by Katha Pollitt, which appeared in the New Yorker and sees Isabel Coixet in the director's chair. Coixet is no stranger to the director's chair, with the likes of Yesterday Never Ends and Elegy under her belt, but this is her first feature since Endless Night last year. Sarah Kernochan is also on board having adapted Pollitt's article into a screenplay. Learning To Drive mixes elements of comedy, drama, and romance and sees Clarkson and Kingsley joined on the cast list by Jake Weber, Sarita Choudhury, Grace Grummer, and Avi Nash. Wendy is a fiery Manhattan book critic whose husband has just left her for another woman; Darwan is a softly-spoken taxi driver from India on the verge of an arranged marriage. When Wendy hires Darwan to teach her to drive in a bid to reclaim her independence, her unravelling life, and his calm restraint seem like an awkward fit but as he teaches her to take control of the wheel, their unlikely friendship awakens them to the possibility of starting life anew. Learning To Drive is released 10th June. by Helen Earnshaw for www.femalefirst.co.uk find me on and follow me on Hello readers, Bronagh I hope you are all well. In the last two weeks I have been away doing one to one readings in Ireland. One reading that really touched my heart was a lady in Derry Northern Ireland. A close family member to her had passed away recently. It was a young girl called Bronagh, she lost her battle with cystic fibrosis recently. I was given a blog she had written whilst she was still here on this earth. It amazed me and I wanted to share it all with you this month. This young lady along with many other people are the real hero's of this world, her life in her words. Wee story about me Cystic fibrosis stops me from going out with friends and from doing practically anything really as it makes me cough a lot. I also have to go to doctors' appointments and to hospital when I'd rather be with my friends doing social things or going to my work. It can get a bit annoying at times. My personal symptoms include coughing, wheezing, can't walk, coughing blood, temperatures, high heart rate, like and being unable to do things that I normally could do if I wasn't ill. For example, if I was coughing a lot, then I couldn't do walking or dancing because it would make me more productive, which means bringing up lots of phlegm and isn't very nice. Sometimes it makes me sick in front of my friends, which can be embarrassing. My treatments on a daily basis include medication, or I have antibiotics through a needle in my hand or Port-A-Cath, which is a piece of metal under the skin. Which has recently been removed as there was a blood clot on the line and had to get rid of the infection. I also have inhalers and physiotherapy twice a day, which helps stop me getting bugs and brings up all the nasty stuff that can do my body harm. Have had about 15 blood transfusions in the past month as I was really unwell but the saying is (you can't put a fighter down). I was about 14 years old when I was taught how to do my physio by myself properly. I also learned how to use my inhalers and the PEP mask. My mum and dad loved learning new things and teaching me as I was growing up well as the physiotherapists. I think it was easier for my parents to teach me things rather than doctors and I live with my parents and there always gonna be there no matter what. There isn't a proper age for people with cystic fibrosis to start learning their own treatments, just when they feel confident. It's important that people learn to manage their own treatment. It makes you feel more independent and happy that you're not relying on somebody else. Having cystic fibrosis doesn't stop me from doing everything I want to do, but when I'm unwell, it can stop me from going to work, stop me walking and stop me doing pretty much everything, but when I'm well, I can do anything that someone who doesn't have cystic fibrosis can do. I love to dance and sing, and act stupid with my friends and I like to make them laugh. When I'm unwell, I always try to have something to aim for when I'm in hospital. Getting weight on my skinny little body and keeping my lung functions at my base line or slightly over, the better the weight and the lung function, the better I be. When I'm in hospital and can't go out for a few days, I always plan something nice so that I have something to look forward to when I come out. You can fight anything bad that comes along when there's something positive at the end. It has got to a part in my life where I just feel like giving up and not wanting to be on this earth nomore, but I was not given this illness if I could not handle it, I'll be a wee groovy granny in 50 years HAHA #JustBreathe #BreatheEasy RIP BRONAGH A man has been arrested after he was caught trying to break into the grounds of Buckingham Palace in London. Queen Elizabeth Police rushed to the scene to detain the unidentified trespasser aged 41 after he was caught on CCTV trying to scale the perimeter wall of the official residence of the reigning monarch on Wednesday evening (18.05.16). The gentleman - who wasn't armed - set off the alarms at 8:37pm and wasn't found for another seven minutes. He's now in custody after being arrested on suspicion of trespassing on a protected site and Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip - who were in the residence at the time - were informed of the incident the following morning. Commander Adrian Usher, head of the Met Police's royalty and specialist protection, told HELLO! magazine: "I am content that our security measures worked effectively on this occasion and at no time was any individual at risk." Scotland Yard are responsible for the security of the palace, and armed officers are always present, regardless of whether members of the royal family are in the building. Meanwhile, this isn't the first time an incident like this has happened as three years ago, a trespasser was caught in one of the State Rooms after he had scaled the wall. And, back in 1982, security went into overdrive after Michael Fagan broke into the Queen's bedroom as she slept. The 90-year-old monarch left the room immediately to get security and he was arrested shortly afterwards. Netflix have today (May 19) revealed a collection of first look images from their upcoming original series Stranger Things, starring Winona Ryder. Credit: Netflix The show is set in Hawkins, Indiana in the 1980s, with the story exploring the search for a young boy who vanishes into thin air under highly suspicious circumstances. Credit: Netflix Credit: Netflix His mother - played by Ryder - opens an investigation into his disappearance with local authorities before a series of mysteries involving 'top secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one very strange little girl'. Matthew Modine, David Harbour, Charlie Heaton, Natalia Dyer and Millie Brown all also star. Credit: Netflix The Duffer Brothers, Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen are executive producers on the series. Stranger Things will debut globally on Netflix on July 15 in all territories where the streaming service is available. by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk find me on and follow me on While we can't stop gushing about or criticising what Bollywood actresses, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor wore at the 69th Cannes Film Festival, we almost missed yet another stylish actress' debut at the international red carpet, a debut that turned out to be quite a head turner. Well, we are talking about none other than South Indian/Bollywood sensation Amy Jackson, who attended the world's biggest cinematic extravaganza this time around. Primarily in the French Riviera to attend a luncheon by the British Film Institute, the actress proved to be quite a spectacle, thanks to her elegant ensembles and a crisp styling by Celebrity Stylist Anisha Jain. The actress donned a variety of lovely outfits at the festival. Here's a look at some of them: Amy donned a blue strapless gown with a thigh high slit by Falguni and Shane Peacock, as she posed next to the serene blue waters of the Riviera, on her way to the yacht party of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The actress looked nothing less than a diva in the gown in question! At the luncheon hosted by the British Film Institute, Amy wore a printed pantsuit with a plunging neckline by Plakinger. She pulled her hair back and wore nude heels to complete the look. For the deGRISOGONO party, the actress wore a black high low gown by Lebanese label Ashi Studio. She let her hair down literally and flaunted a pair of Louboutins and deGRISOGONO diamonds, classic isn't it? For another evening at Cannes, the diva wore a lovely deep red ruffled Azzi and Osta gown. Image Courtesy: Getty images/Instagram/Twitter Next Story : Not Your Average Gift: Our Handpicked Thoughtful Diwali Gifts Alibaba Group President Michael Evans told members of the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition in Orlando on Thursday that Alibaba aims to be a leader in the fight against counterfeit products, renewing his call for companies and industries to work together with the China-based e-commerce giant.Because of Alibaba's sizeits shopping sites have more than 400 million consumers, host tens of millions of sellers, and contain a billion individual product listingsAlibaba is uniquely positioned to help take on the global trade in fakes, a market estimated to be worth nearly $500 billion and growing, Evans said in a speech at the IACC's annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. Alibaba Group President Michael Evans told members of the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition in Orlando on Thursday that Alibaba aims to be a leader in the fight against counterfeit products, renewing his call for companies and industries to work together with the China-based e-commerce giant. Because of Alibaba's size# As the global leader in e-commerce, we have the responsibility to be the global leader in anti-counterfeiting, Evans said. We are 100 per cent committed to fighting this battle We have the scale, we have the data and we have the commitment.The Chinese online shopping platform was kicked out of the coalition due to long-standing accusations that it has turned a blind eye to counterfeits.Alibaba has been dogged for years by critics who called its online shopping platforms conduits for counterfeiters. Critics say it has not done nearly enough to stop the problem. At least three members of the Washington-based IACC, including board member Tiffany & Co, quit the group in protest and others threatened to leave after Alibaba was admitted as a member in April. Last week the group suspended Alibaba's membership.But Evans said Alibaba can't wage the battle alone, said, despite the company's extensive internal programs to find and remove online listings for fakes. We see no other path than working closely with you, the brands, Evans said.As the world has become more connected through the digital economy, counterfeiting operations have become larger, more sophisticated, globally connected, well hidden and aided by technology, he explained, requiring stakeholders to develop collaborative and comprehensive strategies to beat them.Together, using data and technology, we can make real progress, he said.US Ambassador to China Max Baucus, also speaking at the IACC annual meeting, urged greater coordination between governments, industries, e-commerce companies and brands. When brand owners share information on how bad actors are trying to cheat the system, (e-commerce) platforms receive the crucial data they need enhance their internal systems, Baucus wrote in an op-ed posted on the US Embassy in Beijing's website. This is collaboration, and it will work, he wrote.In his speech, Evans explained in detail how Alibaba polices its marketplaces, how it plans to expand a key programme that enables companies large and small to get listings for infringing products taken down quickly from Alibaba websitesand how those websites can't succeed without the trust of consumers and merchants. (SH) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India The government-owned Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) has reduced premium rates on an average by 17 per cent for exporters, but it is unlikely to cut rates on providing covers to banks as losses from bank portfolios have been rising.We are giving on an average 17 per cent discount from April 1 onwards. The discounts vary between 5 per cent and 45 per cent depending on the country , risk and terms of payment, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of ECGC Geeta Muralidhar told reporters.However, the premium rates on bank covers will remain flat and will be reviewed once they come up for renewal, added Muralidhar.The loss ratio of each bank differs and the premium rates for a bank would depend on its loss experience. While the exporters portfolio is profitable for ECGC, the banks portfolio has been loss making.ECGC paid total claims of Rs 1,122.84 crore to both Indian exporters and financing banks during 2015-16. Of these, 439 claims worth Rs 127.32 crore were paid to exporters under direct policies and 172 claims worth Rs 995.52 crore were paid to financing banks under the export credit insurance covers issued to banks. Major sectors under which the claims arose include readymade garments, synthetic yarn and leather. ECGC offers export credit insurance for banks short term where it covers pre-shipment, post shipment and covers against bank guarantee. (SH) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Canadian high commissioner to Bangladesh Benoit-Pierre Laramee has said that the garment sector is one of the key pillars of the relations between the two countries with many of the largest Canadian apparel retailers sourcing products from Bangladesh.He was speaking at an event entitled 'Celebration of $2 billion worth of trade between Bangladesh and Canada in 2015' jointly hosted by CanCham Bangladesh and Canada in Dhaka on Thursday. Canadian high commissioner to Bangladesh Benoit-Pierre Laramee has said that the garment sector is one of the key pillars of the relations between the two countries with many of the largest Canadian apparel retailers sourcing products from Bangladesh. He was speaking at an event entitled 'Celebration of $2 billion worth of trade between Bangladesh and # Businesses at the discussion stressed that diversifying products and export destinations are vital for Bangladesh to attain the target of $50 billion exports within 2021.Laramme underscored the need for enhancing business to business linkage between the business communities of the small and medium enterprise of Canada and Bangladesh to make a breakthrough in their trade relation.The Canadian envoy was optimistic that the trade volume would rise soon from $2 billion to $3 billion. As Bangladesh develops, our bilateral relationship is shifting from aid to trade. Canada remains a significant provider of development assistance to Bangladesh, but increasingly this assistance is focused on strengthening Bangladesh's ability to compete in the global economy. The remarkable rise in our bilateral trade over the past 15 years shows that this shift is happening quickly.He said Canada wants to see more prosperity and development of Bangladesh's RMG sector and that his country would continue its assistance to Bangladesh's RMG sector to ensure workers' safety.Canada contributes eight million Canadian dollars to the International Labour Organisation to help the Bangladesh government build its capacity to ensure that workplaces are safe.Earlier this year, Canada joined the Sustainability Compact, which Bangladesh had signed with the EU after the Rana Plaza building collapse, committing to responsible business behaviour.In his welcome address Hossain Khaled, President, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) said Canada is the 7th largest single market export destination of Bangladesh which has become possible due to continuous GSP facility extended to enhance our access to Canadian market during the last decade. He also pitched for more Canadian investment in Bangladesh.The export of Bangladesh to Canada is worth of $1.4 billion against the import of $0.6 billion. Despite Bangladesh and Canada enjoying healthy trade growth, Canadian investment in Bangladesh is still very insignificant, he said. He also invited Canadian investors to invest in agriculture, jute, pharmaceuticals, ship-building, ICT and automotive sector of Bangladesh. The US is still the main market for Cambodia's garment and textile industry, the country 's Labour Minister Sam Heng said this week after a meeting with the US ambassador William Heidt, the Khmer Times has reported.After the meeting with the US ambassador in the Labour Ministry, Sam Heng told reporters on Wednesday that despite the increasing number of countries competing in the garment export business, the US was still the key buyer of Cambodian products.The United States' market is still very important for us. Although it is now the second biggest importing market after the European market, it is still big and worth billions of dollars. So we are still trying to work well with buyers from the United States and get them to place more orders to us, Sam Heng said.According to data from the US Trade Office, total exports to the US dipped about 3 per cent in the first quarter of the year to more than $706 million compared with $725 million in the same period last year.Cambodia's Commerce Ministry spokeswoman Seung Sophari had told the Khmer Times last week that the slight drop in exports to the US in the first quarter was mainly due to the current electoral campaigns in the US and the rise of new exporting countries like Myanmar. However, she said she was optimistic that the figures will improve soon.We don't think that the decline will fall too far because their economic situation will improve at some point soon, Ms. Sophari had said. Cambodia is now the US's 70th largest goods trading partner with $3.0 billion in total between the two countries in 2013. Cambodia was the US's 129th largest goods export market in 2013, while Cambodia was the US's 60th largest supplier of imported goods in 2013, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative. Sam Heng said the ambassador raised the issue of imports during a discussion about the union law, saying the law should be implemented fairly among concerned parties in the interests of the industry. What was of concern was just a few issues about the implementation of the union law and we are required to carry it out fairly with all trade unions and no discrimination. This is our stance to do that, he said. We think that the law is in line with the interests of employees and employers as well as the investment climate of our country. And we will try our best to implement it. Cambodia's garment and footwear industry plays a critical role in the economy, representing 70 per cent of total exports and employing more than 700,000 workers. The total exports from the sector were worth $6.3 billion last year, a slight increase of 7.6 per cent from the previous year, according to figures from the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia. (SH) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Retailing giant Walmart reported a rise of 4 per cent in revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2017, ended April 30, 2016, to $119.42 billion on a constant currency basis as compared to $114.82 billion in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Excluding membership and other income, net sales was reported to be $114.98 billion as compared to $114.002 billion in the previous quarter, a rise of 0.9 per cent. Comp sales increased for the seventh consecutive quarter, up 1 per cent, driven by the sixth consecutive quarter of positive traffic, up 1.5 per cent. Walmart reported a rise of 4 per cent in revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 to $119.42 billion on a constant currency basis as compared to $114.82 billion in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Excluding membership and other income, net sales was reported to be $114.98 billion as compared to $114.002 billion in the previous quarter.# Globally, e-commerce sales increased 7 per cent during the quarter, while gross merchandise volume increased 7.5 per cent. Commenting on the results, Brett Biggs, executive vice president and CFO of Walmart Stores said, We are proud of the overall results in the first quarter, and there is momentum in many parts of the business. Based on our views of the global operating environment, and assuming currency exchange rates remain at current levels, we expect second quarter fiscal 2017 earnings per share to range between $0.95 and $1.08, he added. (MCJ) Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India Global e-commerce major Amazon's Indian arm has entered into a partnership with Development Commissioner Handloom of the Union Textiles Ministry to educate, train and enable cooperatives and weavers to directly sell their products on the portal.The partnership allows the e-commerce player to engage with weavers in Kota in Rajasthan, Nadia in West Bengal, Bargarh in Odisha and Bijoynagar in Assam, Amazon India said in a press release. Global e-commerce major Amazon's Indian arm has entered into a partnership with Development Commissioner Handloom of the Union Textiles Ministry to educate, train and enable cooperatives and weavers to directly sell their products on the portal. The partnership allows the e-commerce player to engage with weavers in Kota in Rajasthan, Nadia # The products will carry government certifications 'India Handloom Brand' and 'Handloom Mark', ensuring availability of quality products to shoppers across the globe.The company has already deployed teams in the four states and conducted workshops in Kota and Bargarh, introducing weavers to online selling and Amazon.in's seller services that will help them kickstart their online business, the release said."Our partnership with Amazon India will allow weavers to satiate this demand by making their products available in all corners of India. Weavers will also get the right value for their offerings through this direct sales channel," said Alok Kumar, Development Commissioner (Handlooms).Gopal Pillai, Director & GM, Seller Services, Amazon India, said all products listed by weavers would be available through the 'Crafted in India' store on Amazon.in that was launched recently, which aims to bring the rich Indian heritage of handicraft and handlooms to Indian consumers' doorsteps. (SH) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Mauritian investment company CIELs textile cluster posted a rise of 6.75 per cent in revenue in the first nine months of fiscal 2015-16, ended March 31, to $224.11 million as compared to $209.93 million in the corresponding period last fiscal attributed to improvements in woven and knit business. The companys woven and knit business showed improved results during the nine months period, as compared to its knitwear business which showed a slight drop in profitability because of lower sales margins and start-up costs at Antsirabe, Madagascar. The cluster posted profit before non-recurring items and taxes of $15.63 million, a growth of 2 per cent as compared to the same period in fiscal 2014-15. CIEL's textile cluster posted a rise of 6.75 per cent in revenue in the first nine months of fiscal 2015-16, ended March 31, to $224.11 million as compared to $209.93 million in the corresponding period last fiscal attributed to improvements in woven and knit business. CIEL's consolidated profit before non-recurring items and taxes was down 10 per cent.# CIELs consolidated profit before non-recurring items and taxes was down 10 per cent as compared to last year to $36.79 million. However, consolidated revenue rose to $400 million, a rise of 15 per cent as compared to prior year. CIELs fundamentals remain strong and our strategy to consolidate our operations while expanding our international footprint will progressively bear fruit as demonstrated by the performance of our textile, finance and healthcare clusters in particular, Jerome De Chasteauneu, Executive Director of the company commented on the results. We are making good progress in raising the level of efficiency and profitability, monitoring closely our cost structure, all of which should translate into improved results over time, he added. (MCJ) Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India DuPont Advanced Printing has launched new and improved DuPont Artistri inks that will deliver brighter colours, shorter production cycles and higher production throughput for direct-to-garment (DTG) and roll-to-roll (RTR) printing. DuPont will showcase the new inks at the upcoming Drupa 2016 trade fair, to be held May 31 June 10 in Dusseldorf, Germany. Artistri Brite inks are designed for faster, more reliable digital printing process that provides high quality, repeatability and higher production throughput. Improved RTR Artistri Pigment inks that deliver brighter colours and allow for higher production throughput. Artistri Pigment inks are designed to work in printers with medium and low viscosity piezo-electric print heads and are specially developed for DTG or RTR digital printing on cotton or cotton-rich blends. DuPont Advanced Printing has launched new and improved DuPont Artistri inks that will deliver brighter colours, shorter production cycles and higher production throughput for direct-to-garment (DTG) and roll-to-roll (RTR) printing. DuPont will showcase the new inks at the upcoming Drupa 2016 trade fair, to be held May 31 June 10 in Dusseldorf, Germany.# Artistri inks have long been considered best-in-class, and these innovations move the bar even higher. These inks deliver both brighter colours and faster printing capability, which provide a competitive advantage for our customers, said Eric Beyeler, global marketing manager, DuPont Advanced Printing. (NA) Fibre2fashion News Desk - India Congratulating Dr J Jayalalithaa on her party winning consecutively second time in Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, The Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA) has asked her to help the state textile industry reach new heights. In a statement, SIMA chairman M Senthilkumar appealed to the chief minister to help taking the textile industry to reach new heights giving focus for value addition and make Tamil Nadu as the hub for textile manufacturing and trade in the world map. In his congratulatory message, Tirupur Exporters' Association (TEA) president A Sakthivel said, We are confident that with your pro-active measures and policies coupled with facilities and encouragement for implementation will help for overall growth of economy, particularly industry including exports. Congratulating Dr J Jayalalithaa on her party winning consecutively second time in Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, The Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA) has asked her to help the state textile industry reach new heights. In a statement, SIMA chairman M Senthilkumar appealed to the chief minister to help taking the textile industry to reach # The landmark victory strongly demonstrated the popular support for Jayalalithaa's pro-active and inclusive governance in the last five years, said Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Southern Region chairman Ramesh Datla. He said CII looks forward to working closely with the Tamil Nadu government in realising the vision set out by the chief minister to be the numero uno state in the country. (RKS) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Cooperation between India and Fiji on a broad range of issues has been discussed during talks in New Delhi between the Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama, and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi. The two leaders met during the PMs stopover in the Indian capital on his way to the United Nations World Humanitarian Summit in Turkey next week. Prime Minister Bainimarama - who described the talks as warm and cordial - stressed the importance of Fiji being able to access funds to strengthen its ability to withstand future events like Tropical Cyclone Winston. We ask for Indias support to gain access to the finance we need to build our resilience to the extreme weather events and rising sea levels caused by climate change. We urgently need funding to rebuild or reinforce our homes and infrastructure to prepare for the more frequent and intense cyclones that the scientists say are coming. The Prime Minister warmly thanked Mr Modi for Indias immediate support to Fiji in the wake of Cyclone Winston. We are deeply grateful for Indias generous response - the 45 tonnes of relief supplies that were flown to Fiji so quickly and the one million US dollars in cash for the relief effort. We especially appreciate India entrusting us to direct the cash where we saw fit to meet our own priorities. Because of your generosity and the speed of your response, the goodwill towards India among ordinary Fijians has never been greater, the PM said. For his part, the Indian leader expressed his condolences for the loss of life in Fiji and said India stood ready to provide all possible assistance in the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. He also reaffirmed his commitment to strengthen cooperation in disaster management with all Pacific Island countries, including through the establishment of a Space Technology Applications Centre for the region. Prime Minister Bainimarama also asked India for assistance to boost Fijis solar energy program to enable it to meet its international commitment to reduce its carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. India is an acknowledged leader in solar technology. The Prime Minister is holding a series of high level meetings in India before he moves on to Turkey at the weekend to lead Fijis delegation to the World Humanitarian Summit. The subjects include new avenues of cooperation between India and Fiji in the energy and medical sectors. (Photo source: India Ministry of External Affairs) Rating: 2.0 /5 With his directorial debut, Mary Kom, Omung Kumar has proved himself as one of the most talented directors of Bollywood. His debut movie was the biopic of the inspiring sportsperson and now, he has brought an untold story of a Punjabi farmer named Sarabjit Singh, who was convicted of terrorism and spying and was sentenced to death in Pakistan. Before reviewing the film, let's praise the effort of the team of Sarbjit, who tried their level best to bring out such a unique biopic. Now, let's see what this movie has in store for all of us... Below Are The 15 Stills From Sarbjit: Cast: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Randeep Hooda, Richa Chadha, Darshan Kumar Director: Omung Kumar Sarbjit Plot: The basic plot of the story is known to all that it revolves around the life of two persons namely Sarabjit Singh (Randeep Hooda) and his sister Dalbir Kaur (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan). Sarabjit has a sweet family, and his family includes his wife Sukhpreet (Richa Chadha), two daughters Poonam & Swapandeep Kaur, sister Dalbir and his father. Like every other farmer, Sarabjit also works in other people's farm for his livelihood. He spends his life in peace until one tragic incident changes his entire life! Also Read: Shocking Transformation Of Saif's Daughter Sara Ali Khan From Flab To Fab! In an inebriated state, Sarabjit crosses the Indo-Pak border and unluckily gets caught by the Pakistani army who mistakes him to be an Indian spy, Ranjit Singh. On the other side, Lahore has faced four bomb blasts and the Pakistani police doubt that it's Sarabjit (mistaken to be Ranjit) is the main culprit behind the blasts. Later, Sarabjit gets sentenced to capital punishment and ends up being brutally tortured by the jail inmates of Pakistan. But this story is of Dalbir Kaur, the sister, who leaves no stone unturned to get her brother out from the Pakistan prison. The struggle that Dalbir & her family have to go through to get Sarabjit back and how they prove that Sarabjit innocent at the Pakistan court form the crux of the story! To know the inside details about Sarabjit's painful prison life and Dalbir's impossible journey (as narrated by her to Omung Kumar), you should watch the movie. Performance: Coming to the performances of Sarbjit's star cast, Randeep is the ultimate winner amongst all. From delivering Punjabi accent fluently to his impeccable acting (especially during the jail sequences), he truly won our heart. Considering the hype created around Aishwarya's character, our expectations from the gorgeous beauty was quite high. There were a few scenes, which needed the fluent Punjabi accent, but she fell flat. However, you can feel the immense pain of a sister in Aishwarya's eyes and her expressions throughout the film. There, Aishwarya shines! Most of Sarbjit's sequences showcase painful incidents, but there are a few happy moments in Dalbir & Sarabjit's life and their sweet sibling fight will warm the cockles of your heart. Richa Chadha & Darshan Kumar are mere side actors in the film and they don't have much to do in the film. Technicalities: Coming to the direction of the film, as we mentioned above, we praise the effort and thought of Omung Kumar for bringing out such unique kind of biopics. But the overuse of melodrama and lectures ended up making the film look draggy and inspite of having a touching storyline, many shots of the film went untouched. There is a scene, wherein Sarbjit meets his family in jail for the first time after years and it's natural that the audience expect a really heart-rending conversation among them, which again just didn't come out effectively on the screen! Verdict: Sarbjit could have been better, but it turns out to be a flawed story-telling which fails to connect with the audiences. But you can give it a shot for Randeep Hooda's outstanding performance! Priyadarshan Well, we have to start with this man, who is equally popular in Bollywood. With back-to-back hits he became hugely successful in Bollywood. Interestingly, he is next only to David Dhawan, in the list of directors who have made the maximum number of Hindi films. I.V. Sasi I.V. Sasi ventured to Bollywood during the peak time of his career. He debuted in Bollywood through the film Mann Ka Angan which released in the year 1979. He went on to make 4 Bollywood films of which Karishma starring Kamal Hassan is the most prominent one. Joshiy The master director Joshiy too, has had a stint in Bollywood. He went on to direct the Hindi version of his own Malayalam film New Delhi. The Hindi version had Jeetendra in the lead role. Sangeeth Sivan The man who gave us films like Yodha and Nirnayam, has had a successful outing in Bollywood. Kyaa Kool Hai Hum directed by Sangeeth Sivan went on to be a huge hit and the film has had two sequels so far. T.K. Rajeev Kumar He debuted in Bollywood through a film named Raja Ko Rani Se Pyaar Ho Gaya starring Aravind Swamy in the lead role. Later, he went on to remake Malayalam films like Varavelppu and Mutharamkunnu P.O. in Bollywood. Siddique Siddique got a dream entry to Bollywood, through the film Bodyguard starring Salman Khan, which incidentally was the remake of Malayalam film Bodyguard. The film went on to become a big success. Rajesh Pillai The director who gave us the trendsetter Traffic, made a successful debut in Bollywood through the remake of the same film. The Hindi version of Traffic did release recently and it won glorious reviews. Vishal had recently questioned Producers Council President 'Kalaipuli' S Thanu, why he has been constantly ignoring the ongoing piracy issue in the state of Tamil Nadu. "Baffled n puzzled y #dhanu sir pres of prod council doesn't wanna take action on concernd theatres caught regd piracy. but Wil nt stop dis fite against piracy. Wil continue til v get justice. hope the prod council comes wit an explanation regd this. pathetic state (sic)," Vishal had posted on his Twitter page. Speaking to Times of India, Thanu has said, "Vishal is new to his responsibilities in the Nadigar Sangam. He has to gain experience and patience to understand the system. First, we need a written complaint and then we have to meet the committee members, discuss with them and then meet the government officials. Then we need to file a complaint with the police. Everything cannot be done overnight, it will take its own course of time. Tamil film industry has been facing this pirated DVDs problem for the last 25 years and the problem still awaits a solution. So, Vishal by this time, should know the hardships involved in this and how many people have to cooperate for it all to come together and action to be taken. I am surprised that knowing all this, Vishal is still blaming me alone. I will consider Vishal's idea of taking immediate action and I will work towards it. But for it all, Vishal will have to wait." The Sandakozhi actor in his counter-response to the leading daily has said, "We found out from which theatre the pirated copies are being sent out. Having known this, why is the Producers Council not taking action against the theatre immediately? Tell me why not? Why are we waiting is what I am asking. If we wait, then more films will be copied and the producers will be affected. Immediate action is what we need at the moment." Recently, a theatre in Bengaluru was found guilty of allowing few miscreants to illegally record Suriya's sci-fi thriller 24. Also Read: Suriya's '24' Second Weekend Box Office Collections: Hits The 1.5 Million Mark! It's wedding season in the Television industry. After Yeh Hai Mohabbtein actors Divyanka Tripathi & Vivek Dahiya and Bigg Boss Ex-contestant Sambhavna Seth & Avinash Dwivedi, it looks like another television couple - Mohit Abrol & Mansi Srivastava, is all set to get married, soon! In an interview to a leading daily, Mansi, who is currently seen in Sasural Simar Ka explains how she and Mohit Abrol (who was seen in Swaragini) met and fell in love before entering the showbiz. She was quoted by the leading daily as saying, "We are from Delhi and were flying with the same airways. We first met on a flight for Milan. It was love at first sight and we have been dating for five years now." Check Out Mohit & Mansi's Instapictures Mansi further said, "Mohit is a passionate person. He is caring and I feel protected around him. His presence is empowering." She added, "I quit my job first and pursued theatre. I encouraged him to take up acting as he is really good looking. I made him realise that he could do it." Apparently, Mansi was linked to former co-actor Arhaan Behll. The actress denied the rumours, and said they shared a professional relationship only. She was quoted by the leading daily as saying, "That's unavoidable. Every actor gets linked with his heroine. There was nothing between Arhaan and I; we shared a professional relationship." The actress even said that they wanted to marry during the initial year of their courtship, but their families opposed the decision as they wanted them to settle down in their respective careers first. And now that they have made it, their parents want them to tie the knot. We are waiting for Mansi and Mohit to announce the marriage date soon... {gallery-feature_1} Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi actor Shakti Arora was seen holidaying with his girlfriend Neha Saxena in Singapore. The actor recently (May 16) celebrated his birthday. And looks like the actor took some time out of his hectic schedule to spend some quality time with his girlfriend on his special day. The actors visited Universal Studios in Singapore. Shakti was even seen posing with Jackie Chan's wax statue. Posting the picture (Slide 3), Shakti wrote, "Kung fu with Jackie Chan at Madame tussauds #madametussauds #funtime #fulltoenjoy #masti #life #kingsize #swag #jackiechan." Check Out Shakti & Neha Holidaying In Singapore - Instapictures Well, with the pictures on the social media, it looks like both of them had a good time in Singapore. The actor had also thanked for the pre-birthday gifts. Posting the picture (Slide 2) of the gifts, the actor wrote, "Thnku for showering me with so many pre-birthday gifts..feels blessed #thankyou #gratitude #fans #nothingwithoutfans #iloveyou #blessed #birthday #gifts #16may." Shakti is currently seen hosting the new season of Man Mein Hai Visshwas, which is based on real-life incidents of people and their beliefs. Recently, the actor was also seen hosting Zee TV's special event, Shukhriya Maa with Ragini Khanna. According to the reports, the actor has also been approached for the upcoming dance reality show, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9. Although Shakti wishes to participate in the dance reality show, the deal hasn't been finalised yet. Ever since his famous show, MATSH went off air, his fans have been missing him a lot on-screen (especially his pairing with Radhika Madan). We wish Shakti, more success in the coming years; and hope to see him in lot of shows. Here is the big day for all the Telugu movie lovers out there as Superstar Mahesh Babu's Brahmotsavam is ready to enthral you in theatres near to you. The movie, which premiered in the overseas has been receiving a positive report. While the first half of the movie received unanimous appreciation, second half is said to have gone aimlessly, ignoring its original plot for most of the time. Go through the slides below to Read Brahmotsavam review by audience. No major spoilers included. Going by the audience' live updates from the premieres, we understand that Rao Ramesh has got yet another great role in Srikanth Addala's film. Apparently, the director has given an contemporary touch to his classic story, which is why many are calling him Addala version 2.0. Interval portion and Mahesh and Kajal scenes as well as Mahesh and Samantha's chemistry is being praised much, while a few were disappointed to see five songs in the first half. Stay tuned to this space for more updates and final verdict, as we will update you with our critics review, shortly. Mega Prince Varun Tej, who recently launched his fourth outing in the director of Srinu Vytla, is now teaming up with producer Dil Raju and director Sekhar Kammula. The actor will be simultaneously working with Vytla and Kammula. According to the team, the film is designed to be a love story laced in the backdrop of USA and Telangana. Though the initial reports informed that the film would be a sequel of the director's much appreciated film, Leader, the film unit trashed them as speculations. It is learnt that the script is in its last stages and the project would soon move on to the sets. The female lead and other details of the movie are yet to be finalized. After delivering a hit each with all the young crop of mega heroes, Dil Raju is teaming up with Varun Tej for the first time. The rumour mill informed that the script was originally penned for Ram Charan, though the reasons for the project to reach Varun, are unknown. He will apparently be seen in an ultra stylish look in the movie. Stay to this space for more updates. China faces surging labour costs and an ageing population one answer is to bring in the machines. China's biggest home-appliance maker said on Wednesday that it intended to launch a takeover bid for Germany's Kuka at 115 per share in cash. The proposed offer by Shenzhen-listed Midea, which already owns a 13.5% stake in Kuka, values the German robotics firm at about 4.6 billion ($5.2 billion). Augsburg-headquartered Kuka, which counts car makers BMW and Audi among its clients, is already plugged into the fast-growing Chinese robotics market, having opened a plant in Shanghai in 2014. Its stated aim is to grow its sales in China to 1 billion by 2020 from 425 million in the last fiscal year, underlining the market's lucrative potential. China has just 305 robots per 10,000 automotive workers compared with 1,141 in the US and 1,414 in Japan, according to research by investment bank Morgan Stanley. At the same time, the average annual salary of a manufacturing worker in China has more than tripled from Rmb17,966 a year in 2006 to Rmb55,324 in 2015, according to data provider Trading Economics. (Based on current and historical exchange rates, that's a jump from roughly $2,250 to $8,650). In addition, there are an array of potential healthcare applications for Chinas fast ageing population, including rehabilitation robots and mobility platforms. Together, these two trends are driving a compound annual growth rate in robotics sales in China of 14%, according to Morgan Stanley. Knock-out offer Midea's offer represents a 59.6% premium over Kuka's unaffected closing price of 72.05 on February 3, the day before Midea said it had upped its stake holding to 10.2%. It subsequently raised its stake to 13.5%. As in other jurisdictions, an offer for all of a company's shares is mandatory in Germany whenever an investor's shareholding rises above 30%. The takeover offer values Kuka at a lofty valuation. Midea's offer values the firm at 17.9 times the consensus earnings forecast for 2016 Ebitda. Hauck & Aufhauser Privatbankiers said the enterprise value, fully diluted, implies 26 times its estimate of Ebit. Warburg Research said the offer valued Kuka at about 21 times its Ebit estimate and an estimated 2017 price-earnings ratio of about 35 times, substantially ahead of its Japanese rivals Yaskawa and Fanuc as well as other German Engineering midcaps. Warburg Research estimated Kuka's discounted cash flow-based fair value at 64. "We expect Midea to reach the minimum acceptance rate of 30%, especially considering that the company already owns more 13.5% of the outstanding shares," Henning Breiter, an analyst at Hauck & Aufhauser Privatbankiers, said. Midea seems willing to pay such a high price because there are so few large and independent robotics makers it could potentially buy. ABB, Fanuc, and Yaskawa Electric have leading robotics divisions but are unlikely sellers, according to one industry source. Comparable deals in the broader industry automation market include Schneider Electric's acquisition of the UK's Invensys for $5.2 billion in 2013. Midea's offer is also designed to deter interlopers into the deal and persuade Kukas other large shareholders to sell. China's population may need a robotic hand Voith AG owns 25% in Kuka and Friedhelm Loh another 10% and it is unclear whether they would be willing to sell. Voith, especially, emphasised its long-term strategic interest in Kuka when purchasing its stake in 2014. Some analysts were not sure the offer would be enough to entice the two largest shareholders to sell. "The low acceptance rate and Midea's statements suggest in our view that Voith and Mr. Loh have not agreed beforehand to sell their stakes to Midea," said Stefan Augustin at Oddo Seydler. The rare bid by a Chinese firm for a publicly listed company follows a courtship of several years by Midea, accelerated by meetings between their chief executives. Founded in 1968 in Guangdong, Midea's goal is to raise its overall sales over the coming years to more than 25 billion, of which smart devices and service robotics will form a significant portion. Know-how Midea has been looking for technology know-how oversees. It said on March 30 that it would buy 80.1% of shares in Toshiba Lifestyle Products & Services from Toshiba for about 53.7 billion ($447 million). Midea is not alone among Chinese electronic goods companies looking overseas. Witness Haier Groups bid $5.4 billion for the home appliances division of General Electric in January. Haier has an 8% share of the Chinese home appliance market, which includes refrigerators and washing machines, versus market leader Midea's 17% share, according to research company Euromonitor International. Midea also wanted to acquire GE Appliances, which is the second-biggest home appliances manufacturer in the US after Whirlpool with a 10% market share, according to a person familiar with the matter. Midea has already agreed a financing package with an unnamed bank for the Kuka bid. The deal will not affect Midea's credit ratings, as the company has sufficient internal financial resources to fund the acquisition, said ratings agency Fitch Ratings said. At end-2015, Midea's cash and liquid assets totalled Rmb38.5 billion after deducting debts; sufficient to pay for maximum proceeds of not more than 4 billion (Rmb29.2 billion). Fitch expects Midea can generate over Rmb13 billion of free cash flow in 2016. As Midea's management stated they would like to keep Kuka as an independently listed company, the final acquisition proceeds are likely to be lower than Rmb29.2 billion. Fitch expects Midea to continue generating positive free cash flow and to maintain a net-cash position after the acquisition. Fitch believes Midea will not invest further in Kuka after the acquisition, as Kuka can generate sufficient cash-flow for its own capex. Morgan Stanley is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is acting as legal advisor to Midea on the transaction. The completion of the takeover offer will be subject to achieving a minimum acceptance threshold of 30% and other regulatory clearances. This article has been updated to add reaction from Fitch Leading female tech entrepreneurs travel to Bay area for trade mission Women-led tech companies are driving force of UK SME growth Leading female entrepreneurs from the UK's tech sector will travel to Silicon Valley as part of the latest international trade visit for the Mayor's International Business Programme, SVC2UK and led by London Partners, the Mayor of London's promotional company. Fifteen female founders from some of the UK's fastest growing technology companies visit the Bay area, as they look for opportunities to expand their business and secure extra funding from the US market. Female founders are an important driver of growth for the UK economy. According to research recently released by Founders4Schools, women-led businesses make up 11 per cent of UK SMEs. The research also found that there are 762 companies in the UK, with a turnover up to 250m ($360m), which are also led by women and growing at a median rate of 30 per cent a year. The four-day trade mission offers opportunities for founders to meet with senior representatives from Silicon Valley giants including Facebook, LinkedIn and Silicon Valley Bank, as well as Brits from the tech and business community who have successfully scaled their companies on the West Coast. High-profile entrepreneurs travelling on the trade mission include Caroline Plumb, co-Founder, CEO of Freshminds and Jessica Butcher, co-Founder and Director of Blippar. Melissa Morris, CEO and co-Founder of Network Locum, said: "The trip is going to give this group of strong women a fantastic insight into how things are done in Silicon Valley. I'm looking forward to building more transatlantic connections which will help my business grow. It's also an important opportunity for women in London's tech scene to cement a strong supportive bond." The trade mission is being led by London Partners, the Mayor's official promotional company in partnership with Silicon Valley Comes to the UK (SVC2UK), the Mayor's International Business Programme and the British Consulate General in San Francisco. Priya Guha, British Consul General in San Francisco, said: "This unique experience will provide opportunities to foster collaborations in one of the most innovative, high-tech regions of the world. It will also be a place where we hope they will find some of the partnerships and tools to scale their businesses. I look forward to hosting them in the Bay area." Launched in 2006 by Sherry Coutu, Ellen Levy and Reid Hoffman, SVC2UK is a not-for-profit programme run by London Partners to promote stronger networks and entrepreneurship between Silicon Valley and the UK. Janet Coyle, Principal Adviser on the Mayor's International Business Programme and MD SVC2UK at London Partners, said: "Silicon Roundabout and Silicon Valley both offer investors access to world-class tech talent and unrivalled opportunities to internationalise and scale up. We have a wonderfully inspiring group of women on the delegation this year who are leading some of the fastest growing tech companies in the UK. On average, the annual growth rate of these companies' turnover is more than 230 per cent. I look forward to watching these companies achieve the successes that they deserve in the coming years and hope that this international visit will help them get there." View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160519006033/en/ Contacts: London Partners Ben Pattie press@londonandpartners.com 020 7234 5710. CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/19/16 -- Crew Energy Inc. (TSX: CR) ("Crew" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the voting results for the election of directors at its annual meeting of shareholders held on May 19, 2016 (the "Meeting"). Each of the five nominees proposed by Crew and as set forth in the Information Circular - Proxy Statement provided to shareholders in connection with the Meeting were re-elected as directors, with common shares represented at the Meeting voting in favour of individual nominees as follows: Director Percentage Approval Percentage Withheld -------------------- --------------------------- --------------------------- John A. Brussa 76.81% 23.19% Jeffery E. Errico 95.45% 4.55% Dennis L. Nerland 79.74% 20.26% Dale O. Shwed 97.85% 2.15% David G. Smith 96.28% 3.72% For complete voting results, please see our Report of Voting Results which will be available shortly through SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Crew Energy Inc. is a dynamic, growth-oriented exploration and production company, focused on increasing long-term production, reserves and cash flow per share through the development of our world-class Montney resource. Crew is based in Calgary, Alberta and our shares are traded on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "CR". For further information about the Company, please visit our website at www.crewenergy.com. Contacts: Crew Energy Inc. Dale Shwed President and C.E.O Crew Energy Inc.John LeachSenior Vice President and C.F.O.Crew Energy Inc.Rob MorganSenior Vice President and C.O.O.Crew Energy Inc.(403) 266-2088investor@crewenergy.com VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/19/16 -- Parkit Enterprise Inc. ("Parkit" or "the Company") (TSX VENTURE: PKT)(OTCQX: PKTEF) is aware of a press release issued and dissident proxy circular filed on May 18, 2016 by a group of dissidents led by Richard Baxter, President and Chief Executive Officer of Parkit, Patrick Bonney, the Chief Investment Officer of Parkit and Simon Buckett, the Chief Financial Officer of Parkit. The dissidents are attempting to take control of the board of directors of the Company at the currently scheduled June 21, 2016 shareholder meeting by proposing a new slate of directors. The board is disappointed by the dissidents' action to take control of Parkit. The board intends to take all reasonable actions to ensure the interests of the Company and all shareholders are considered and protected, and that the shareholders are informed of the complete record of all relevant facts so that the shareholders can make an informed decision. As part of this process the independent members of the board unanimously determined that it is in the best interest of the Company to remove Richard Baxter as a director effective immediately. The board urges you to TAKE NO ACTION at this time with respect to any YELLOW PROXY FORM you may have received. The board will provide a detailed response that will best position the Company for the future. About PARKIT Parkit Enterprise Inc. is engaged in the acquisition, optimization and asset managementof income producing parking facilities across the United States.The Company's shares are listed on TSX-V (Symbol: RXE) and on the OTCQX (Symbol: RXEXF). Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. Contacts: Joel Dumaresq Chairman of the Board 604-336-3193 joel@pashleth.com LA DEFENSE (dpa-AFX) - Oil Search Limited and Total SA (TTA.L, TOT) said that they have entered into an exclusive Memorandum of Understanding. This follows Oil Search's agreement to acquire InterOil Corp., announced earlier today. The MoU sets out the principles on which Oil Search will sell down 60% of InterOil's interests in PRL 15 and 62% of InterOil's interests in its other exploration assets to Total following the successful completion of Oil Search's acquisition of InterOil. The terms of the sell down will be consistent with the value implied under the InterOil transaction. Oil Search and Total will seek to maximise the value for all stakeholders by pursuing cooperation and/or integration opportunities with the PNG LNG Project. The MoU is expected to deliver significant value to Oil Search, InterOil and Total shareholders: Immediately de-risks Oil Search's acquisition of InterOil through the PRL 15 sell-down process, delivering certainty and incremental liquidity for Oil Search and InterOil shareholders; Establishes an aligned partnership between Total and Oil Search, with material interests in the Papua LNG Project, while also providing the possibility of bringing in new partners including LNG buyers. In a standalone project case, aligns Total and Oil Search to deliver a robust LNG project with equity available for buyers and potential new participants. Oil Search and Total have agreed that Total's acquisition of equity in PRL 15 and InterOil's exploration assets will be on the same terms as Oil Search's proposed acquisition of InterOil announced earlier today. The transaction is anticipated to occur shortly after completion of the proposed acquisition of InterOil. Following completion of the sell-down process, Oil Search and Total will share, on a pro rata basis, all costs and liabilities in respect of acquiring InterOil, as well as any future Contingent Value Rights payable to InterOil shareholders, at or above a 2C resource of 6.5 tcfe for Elk/Antelope. Following the sell-down to Total, Oil Search expects to have an equity interest in PRL 15 of up to 37.4%, or 29.0% post government back-in, with Total holding an equity interest in PRL 15 of up to 62.1%, or 48.1% post government back-in. This equates to Oil Search selling down 60% of InterOil's 36.5% (28.3% post government back-in) PRL15 interest to Total. After paying for the additional equity in PRL 15 and equity in InterOil's exploration assets, Total will also pay Oil Search a further cash amount of US$141.6million on 1 July 2017 and US$230 million at FID for the Papua LNG Project. No further contingent resource payments or exploration carries will be due by Total. Under the MOU, both Oil Search and Total have committed to ensuring an accurate resource certification under the Total-InterOil SPA. Oil Search and Total are committed to ensuring the interim resource certification process is transparent and focused on accurately assessing the potential resource in the Elk-Antelope gas fields for the purposes of the CVR calculation and for guiding development plans for the Papua LNG Project. This process will follow the yet-to-be formally approved Antelope-7 appraisal well program. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Mitsubishi Corporation Telephone: +81 3 3210 2171 Facsimile: +81 3 5252 7705 TOKYO, May 20, 2016 - (JCN Newswire) - Venti-Japan Inc. (President: Hiroyuki Sato, "Venti"), Mitsubishi Corporation (President: Takehiko Kakiuchi, "MC") and C-TECH CORPORATION (President: Akira Matsuyama, "C-TECH"), have reached an agreement to launch a wind power generation project along the Akita City - Katagami City corridor of Akita Prefecture in Northern Japan. The new windfarm ranks among the the largest in wind power generating capacity in the country.The project will be executed by Akita Katagami Windfarm, LLC, a three-way joint venture established between Venti and Mitsubishi Corporation Power Ltd. (MCP), a 100% subsidiary of MC, and C-TECH. Construction is slated to commence in September 2016, with supply of power to Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. scheduled to come on stream in early 2019. In terms of shareholder participation Venti will hold 51.0%, MC 43.9% and C-TECH 5.1% of shares. The project is estimated to cost around 20 billion yen.Coastal areas of Akita Prefecture are among the best locations in Japan for wind power development and the prefecture has welcomed a number of windfarm projects over the past several years. This particular project is being developed under a public auction scheme set up by Akita to make use of the wealth of wind resources present in its forest reserves. The three companies are therefore seeking to take maximum advantage of these resources to develop and supply clean energy.In a move to help stimulate local industry by drawing on wind resources, Venti is proactively developing wind power generation projects along Japan's western seaboard, starting in Akita. Operations have already started at two of Venti's windfarms in Akita, while six windfarms with 36 wind turbines, including the Katagami windfarm, are now under development.Working in cooperation with local governments and business partners, MC is aiming to contribute to the improvement of energy self-sufficiency, the implementation of measures against global warming and the creation of new industries in Japan through its domestic power generation business.. MC already holds a total of 73MW (equity ratio basis) in renewable energy through its mega-solar power plants in operation or under construction across the country, and is seeking greater presence in the development of clean energy, particularly in the wind, geothermal and biomass sectors.C-TECH, a core company of the Chubu Electric Power Group, has been operating a wide range of renewable power projects that include photovoltaic, wind and hydroelectric power generation. C-TECH will be drawing on the experience and expertise it has accumulated through the construction and maintenance of power generation and distribution facilities in the implementation of this project, which brings its total wind power development and operating capacity to 150MW (equity ratio basis).Reference Information1. Project Outline(1) Operating Entity: Akita Katagami Windfarm, LLC(2) Location: Akita City and Katagami City(3) Capacity: Approx. 66MW (3MW wind turbine x 22 units)(4) Estimated amount of power generation: Approx. 142,000MWh (capacity to power approx. 40,000 households)(5) Shareholder Participation: Venti 51.0%, MCP 43.9%, C-TECH 5.1%2. Outline of Venti-Japan, Inc.(1) Headquarters: 1-51, Nakadori 5-Chome, Akita City, Akita(2) Established / Representative: Sep 2012 / Hiroyuki Sato, President(3) Capital: 30 million Yen(4) Major Shareholders: Ugosetsubi, Community Wind Power, Fidea Research Institute Corporation(5) Business Activities: Wind power generation business in the Tohoku District, including Akita Prefecture.3. Outline of Mitsubishi Corporation(1) Headquarters: 3-1, Marunouchi 2-Chome, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo(2) Established / Representative: Apr 1954 / Takehiko Kakiuchi, President and CEO(3) Capital: 204,447 million Yen(4) Business Activities: Mitsubishi Corporation has seven Business Groups which develop operations in the diverse fields of Global Environmental & Infrastructure; Industrial Finance, Logistics & Development; Energy; Metals; Machinery; Chemicals; and Living Essentials. In addition to these Business Groups, MC has also recently established its Business Service Group. Through these business groups, Mitsubishi Corporation serves customers around the world in virtually every industry.4. Outline of Mitsubishi Corporation Power Ltd(1) Headquarters: 6-1, Marunouchi 2-Chome, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo(2) Established / Representative: Oct 2015 / Go Ishikawa, President(3) Capital: 500 million Yen(4) Major Shareholder: Mitsubishi Corporation(5) Business Activities: Domestic power generation business including thermal power and renewable power5. Outline of C-TECH(1) Headquarters: 4-45,Sugumo-cho,Mizuho-ku,Nagoya City,Aichi(2) Established/Representative: March 1962 / Akira Matsuyama, President and Chief Executive Officer(3) Capital: 720 million Yen(4) Major Shareholder: Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.(5) Business Activities: Construction and Maintenance of hydraulic power plants, transmission line, substation and communication, as well as renewable energy business including windfarm, photovoltaic and hydraulic generation.About Mitsubishi CorporationMitsubishi Corporation (MC; TSE: 8058) is a global integrated business enterprise that develops and operates businesses across virtually every industry including industrial finance, energy, metals, machinery, chemicals, foods, and environmental business. MC's current activities are expanding far beyond its traditional trading operations as its diverse business ranges from natural resources development to investment in retail business, infrastructure, financial products and manufacturing of industrial goods. With over 200 bases of operations in approximately 80 countries worldwide and a network of over 500 group companies, MC employs a multinational workforce of nearly 60,000 people. For more information, please visit www.mitsubishicorp.com.Source: Mitsubishi CorporationContact:Copyright 2016 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. ALISO VIEJO, CA--(Marketwired - May 19, 2016) - What is the connection between faith and a child's future? Financial expert and visionary philanthropist, Tony Amaradio reveals how children of faith with active participation in their church community are already honing the tools necessary to be successful. In the past, Amaradio has shared his expertise to educate kids about money, while stressing the importance of lifelong giving. In much the same way, his keen insights gleaned from a career of impressive accomplishments and bolstered by his own strong spiritual beliefs, clearly illustrate how youngsters benefit from being devout, while preparing them to be steadfast, disciplined and compassionate adults. Many studies support Amaradio's belief that kids holding deep spiritual convictions are better equipped to confront life's most trying challenges. A Mississippi State University study of more than 16,000 elementary school children found that those who discussed religion and accompanied their parents to church regularly were calmer, more eager to learn and exhibited better social skills than their peers. Other studies published by the journals Social Behavior and Personality, Developmental Psychology, and Family Relations concluded that young people with a faith-centered upbringing also felt closer to their families, due to the sense of community and emotional stability that shared worship brings. When studying the Bible's teachings becomes a joint act among family members -- and is reinforced in the home -- the word of God becomes an integral part of kids' lives. Though the simple act of waking on Sundays to regularly visit church gives children a sense of responsibility and self-control, the lessons and accounts discussed can create a pathway to success that is supported by wholehearted involvement in church activities. Through worship services and the endeavors of youth groups, kids learn how to work together in groups, how to comfort those in need and even how to speak in public. Tony Amaradio also reminds parents that a great benefit of a churchgoing childhood originates right from the scriptures themselves: following the trials and tribulations of religious figures, kids are given a blueprint of how to face character-defining issues of temptation, perseverance and forgiveness. Faith also helps children succeed by giving them peace of mind. With church services kids are provided with a moral compass to guide them through our often-perplexing world, while private prayer gives them the time they require for spiritual reflection. Removed from the distracting complexities of daily life, quiet moments help instill a serenity that allows them to open their hearts to God. In turn, kids cultivate a personal and spiritual connection that also gives them the clarity to see the bigger picture -- and to make considered, wise decisions throughout their lives. Tony Amaradio is a leading financial strategist and proud founder of two highly regarded wealth management companies, a sought-after speaker, and former host of the popular financial radio show "Market Talk," which he aired for more than twenty years. He currently dedicates a good portion of his time to philanthropy, giving talks about charitable investments and meaningful causes. He also co-authored a book with his wife Carin: 2009's Faithful with Much: Breaking Down the Barriers to Generous Giving, which is recognized as a comprehensive and inspiring guide to achieving effective financial management. Tony Amaradio -- Visionary & Strategic Philanthropist: http://anthonyamaradionews.com Tony Amaradio -- Offers Insights Into Money and Marriage: http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/topstories/tony-amaradio-offers-insights-into-money-and-marriage/ar-AAeUsHS Tony Amaradio -- Shares Valuable Insights on the Principles of Stewardship: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tony-amaradio-shares-valuable-insights-032247130.html Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/5/20/11G099293/Images/Tony_Amaradio_-_Expertise_on_How_Faith_Makes_Our_C-93e32a5ccd1cbebc9edcf5961e2e8953.jpg Embedded Video Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dEFi7l-Zfw Contact Information PR Agency Contact: ICMediaDirect.com TEL: 1.800.595.0821 www.ICMediaDirect.com NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 19, 2016) - ICMediaDirect, one of the world's most renowned leaders in online reputation and a public relations powerhouse, will join Affiliate Summit East 2016 along with other companies, industry leaders and influencers to share invaluable market insights with participants and hear their views on most trending issues nationwide and internationally. Scheduled to take place July 31 through August 2 at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York, the annual conference and tradeshow is expected to bring together over 5,000 marketers, vendors, networks and media outlets. Team at ICMediaDirect will speak on the importance of building an unparalleled online brand for businesses and individuals and will tackle some of the forward-thinking strategies ICMD utilizes for successful content marketing. To access your personal or your company's Online Reputation Report, visit ICMediaDirect homepage at http://www.icmediadirect.com Established in 2003, Affiliate Summit Inc. has a proven track record in managing highly successful marketing projects and delivering numerous insightful events, educational sessions, and tradeshows. With combined experience of more than 30 years in affiliate marketing, founders of the company Shawn Collins and Missy Ward believe in the power of interpersonal networking and information exchange in today's fast-paced digital world. Their landmark events create an invaluable learning and sharing environment for thought leaders, start-ups, merchants, and vendors to discuss new opportunities for effective business development and digital innovations. With an established expertise in providing state-of-the art solutions to customers who aim to showcase their brand online in the best light, ICMediaDirect is delighted to bring first-class advice and tips on effective reputation management to affiliates and merchants at the forthcoming conference. Experts at ICMediaDirect reinforce confidence in search engine optimization (SEO) techniques and emphasize the need for every brand to regularly put out content and use technological advancement to develop and maintain captivating online presence. This year's edition of Affiliate Summit will feature a collection of keynotes from most influential and thought-provoking public figures in the field of digital platforms and marketing. Speaker Scott Stratten, a social media and relationship marketing expert, President of Un-Marketing and the author of four best-selling business books, is one of "America's 10 Marketing Gurus", according to Business Review USA. The final and concluding day of Affiliate Summit East 2016 will see an SEO keynote panel, featuring Bruce Clay (President of Bruce Clay, Inc.), Duane Forrester (VP at Bruce Clay, Inc.), and Stephan Spencer (Co-Author of The Art of SEO). Founded in 1996, ICMediaDirect is an award-winning PR and online reputation management company, dedicated to brand repair for customers across the globe. Its cutting-edge technological solutions and highly competitive and unmatched online reputation packages have vastly improved the Internet presence of numerous businesses, professional athletes, politicians, fortune top 500 CEOs, celebrities, among many others. Major marketing conferences and events frequently benefit from ICMediaDirect's participation and sponsorships, including Affiliate Summit, Leadscon, SES, and ad:tech conferences. To see your Online Reputation Report, visit http://www.icmediadirect.com ICMediaDirect -- PR and Marketing News: http://icmediadirectnews.com Reputation-Control.com -- 100% Reputation Control: http://www.reputation-control.com ICMediaDirect -- Reputation Management -- IC Media Direct Named Leader in Online Reputation and Brand Repair: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/icmediadirect-reputation-management-ic-media-130000741.html Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/5/20/11G099297/Images/ICMediaDirect_-_Reputation_Management_-_IC_Media_D-f355e3180e7aadea97f82d2f418e27b4.jpg Embedded Video Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3QHOeY8qAM Contact Information ICMediaDirect.com TEL: 1.800.595.0821 www.ICMediaDirect.com pr@icmediadirect.com Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS -- (Marketwired) -- 05/20/16 -- Tethys Petroleum Limited (TSX: TPL)(LSE: TPL) today reminded shareholders of the upcoming AGM. An annual and special shareholders' meeting (the "AGM") has been called for May 31, 2016 for shareholders to approve a number of resolutions related to the Olisol transaction and the annual election of directors and appointment of auditors. The Notice of Meeting and Management Information Circular for the AGM (the "meeting materials") together with forms of proxy, voting instructions and directions (as applicable) have been mailed to shareholders and are available on sedar.com as well as on tethyspetroleum.com. Shareholders are encouraged to carefully review the meeting materials and vote in favour of the resolutions set out in the meeting materials, including those related to the Olisol transaction. The Olisol transaction was unanimously supported by the Tethys Board of Directors. Voting instructions for registered and non-registered shareholders are set out in the meeting materials. It is desirable that as many Ordinary Shares as possible be represented at the Meeting. If you do not expect to attend and would like your Ordinary Shares represented, please complete a proxy voting form(if you are a registered shareholder), voting instruction form (if you are a non-registered shareholder) or form of direction (if you own depositary interests) and return it as soon as possible in the envelope provided for that purpose. The meeting will be held at the Intercontinental Paris, Le Grand, 2 Rue Scribe, Paris, 75009 on May 31, 2016 at 11:30 a.m. (Central European Summer Time - local time in Paris, France). Shareholder questions or requests for assistance with voting at the AGM should be directed to info@tethyspetroleum.com. Cautionary Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to our operations and completion of the Olisol transaction. Such forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and assume the completion of the Olisol transaction. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including the risk that the Olisol transaction will not receive required shareholder, court and regulatory approvals, that closing conditions will not be satisfied or that one or more aspects of the Olisol transaction will be otherwise delayed and accordingly that the Olisol transaction will not be completed. See our Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2015 for a description of risks and uncertainties relevant to our business, including our exploration activities. About Tethys Petroleum Tethys Petroleum's aim is to become the leading independent E&P Company in Central Asia, by exercising capital discipline, by generating cash flow from existing discoveries and by maturing large exploration prospects within our highly attractive frontier acreage. Contacts: Tethys Petroleum info@tethyspetroleum.com www.tethyspetroleum.com HONG KONG, CHINA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/20/16 -- Zurich is the first global insurance company to receive the EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality) certification Zurich offers medical coverage for the unmarried partners of their employees in Hong Kong, regardless of their gender Zurich launches global flexible working initiative -- FlexWork@Zurich Zurich Insurance has used its first Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) conference in Hong Kong as a platform to raise the awareness of and promote D&I in the workplace. Zurich has put a number of initiatives into place as part of our commitment to encouraging D&I. These include launching a global initiative to improve the ability for our employees to access more flexible working options -- FlexWork@Zurich. Zurich also recently launched a new Group Medical Insurance Program in Hong Kong which covers the unmarried partners of its employees, regardless of their gender. Mr. Eric Hui, Chief Executive Officer of Zurich's General Insurance business in Hong Kong, commented, "At Zurich we see Diversity & Inclusion as a business imperative. A diverse and inclusive environment encourages people to respect and embrace different individuals, which can boost morale and enable employees to reach their full potential." D&I at Zurich For Zurich, diversity is about having the right mix of people regardless of their gender, race, or sexual orientation; while inclusion means creating an environment where everyone is valued and heard. Recognizing D&I enables Zurich to leverage the diverse skills and experience of its employees, which ultimately leads to more innovations and solutions. Zurich is the first global insurance company to receive an EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality) certification, reflecting its commitment to improving workplace gender equality, particularly in areas of pay equality, flexible working arrangements and fair hiring and succession processes. Guest speakers at Zurich's first D&I Conference in Hong Kong on 13-15 April, 2016 included Professor Boris Groysberg from Harvard Business School; Su-Mei Thompson, CEO, The Women's Foundation; Amy Lo, Head of Wealth Management Greater China & Country Head of Hong Kong, UBS; and Anne O'Riordan, Senior Managing Director, Global Life Sciences, Accenture. Ms Paula Choi, Chief Executive Officer Hong Kong and Chief Market Management Officer Asia-Pacific of Zurich's Global Life business said, "Through this conference, we shared leadership and management practices that enhance individual career success as well as organizational effectiveness. Participants told us it had been an excellent use of their time and were impressed with how Zurich is leading the way in D&I!" Company Logo http://release.media-outreach.com/i/Download/4715 About Zurich Insurance Group Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets. With about 55,000 employees, it provides a wide range of general insurance and life insurance products and services. Zurich's customers include individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, including multinational corporations, in more than 170 countries. The Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1872. The holding company, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information about Zurich is available at www.zurich.com. Zurich's presence in Hong Kong dates back to 1961. In Hong Kong, Zurich offers a full range of flexible general insurance and life insurance products and solutions for individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized companies, as well as large corporate customers, catering to their insurance, protection and investment needs. Zurich was also awarded the 10 Year Plus Caring Company Logo for 2015/2016 by the Hong Kong Council of Social to acknowledge its commitment in "Caring for our Community," "Caring for our Employees" and "Caring for our Environment" over the past years. For media enquiries, please contact: Zurich Insurance (Hong Kong) Winnie Lam +852-2977 0875 (direct) Email Contact LONDON, May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading Nordic OTA partners with Worldpay to deliver localised service in new markets Uvet Nordic, one of the fastest growing Nordic online travel agencies (OTA), has selected Worldpay as its exclusive online payments provider to ensure the success of its international growth. Based in Sweden and part of the Uvet Global Business Travel Group, the company currently operates in 12 European countries, with brands Flightfinder, Airfinder, Farefinder, FlyUvet, Doodle, Travelstore, and Flygpoolen. Uvet Nordic selected Worldpay as it was best positioned to deliver the global coverage it needed to help it rapidly expand into new countries, whilst also allowing the OTA to deliver a consistent and personalised experience in each of the local markets it serves. Worldpay's insight into customer data and local spending habits will help inform Uvet Nordic's global strategy, enabling the company to tailor its service to the preferences of travellers in each country. Working with one provider also means Uvet Nordic will avoid the complications of dealing with multiple payment processors in multiple markets as it continues to grow. Uvet Nordic plans to expand its service to 18 new markets across the world, and needed a partner who could help them do so. Worldpay has begun processing the company's online transactions in the Nordics and will take on all of its international activity as the company begins serving travellers abroad - starting with Italy, France, Germany, the UK, and Russia. Worldpay is also enabling Uvet Nordic to accept the growing range alternative payment methods (APMs) favoured by consumers across Europe, such as Carte Bancaire in France, PostePay in Italy, Sofort in Germany, or Qiwi in Russia, in addition to ensuring the company can support online payments in multiple currencies. Patric Wagenknecht, CEO of Uvet Nordic, said: "Our ambition isn't just to grow as a company; it is to deliver the best online shopping experience for our customers globally by offering local payment solutions and customer services in each market we operate in. Worldpay is the perfect partner. They have the global expertise and full range of services we need to continue expanding internationally while delivering the personalised experience our customers' value." Thomas Helldorff, VP Travel and Airlines, Global eCommerce at Worldpay said: "Today's consumers want to use their preferred payment options when booking flights and hotels. The challenge for online travel agencies is to deliver this localised service in each market while keeping complexity to a minimum as they continuing to grow. Our years of international experience and granular view of local payment behaviours help companies like Flightfinder understand their customers in more detail, which allows them to deliver a more personal and convenient online experience to travellers in every country they serve." About Worldpay Worldpay is a leading payments company with global reach. We provide an extensive range of technology-led payment products and services to over 400,000 customers, enabling their businesses to grow and prosper. We manage the increasing complexity of the payments landscape for our customers, allowing them to accept the widest range of payment types around the world. Using our network and technology, we are able to process payments from geographies covering 99% of global GDP, across 146 countries and 126 currencies. We help our customers to accept more than 300 different payment types, by providing an end-to-end service including acquiring, treasury, gateway, alternative payments and risk management, all via a single integration to Worldpay. Worldpay makes global payments simple for many of the world's leading organisations. http://www.worldpay.com/global @Worldpay About Uvet Nordic UVET Nordic is a global multi brand and multi GDS international online travel agency (OTA). The company was founded in 1998 as one of the first OTAs in Sweden, and has since 2013 been part of the Italian global travel and tourism group UVET. The business model is to offer private customers flight tickets and related services such as hotels, car rental, events and travel insurance etc. During 2015 the company changed name in connection with the new ownership and operates the brands: Flygpoolen, Doodle, Travelstore, Flightfinder, Airfinder, Farefinder and FlyUvet, and all their related OTAs in currently twelve different markets. http://www.flightfinder.se , http://www.flygpoolen.se , http://www.airfinder.it , http://www.farefinder.ru , http://www.flyuvet.com,http://www.flightfinder.no ,http://www.travelstore.se ,http://www.airfinder.de ,http://www.flyuvet.co.uk,http://www.flightfinder.dk , http://www.doodle.se , http://www.airfinder.at,http://www.flightfinder.fi ,http://www.airfinder.pl,http://www.flightfinder.es,http://www.flightfinder.fr RAMALLAH, Palestine, May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC) held its annual general assembly meeting on May 18, 2016 in Ramallah. The meeting, which was chaired by APIC's Chairman and CEO Tarek Aggad, was attended by APIC's board of directors, the companies' controller, representatives from Palestine Capital Market Authority and Palestine Exchange, the external auditor of the company, its legal counselor, many of its shareholders as well as media representatives. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160519/370006LOGO ) (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160519/370007 ) The General Assembly ratified the distribution of USD9 million in dividends, representing 15% of APIC's paid-up capital: 5% as cash dividends amounting to USD3 million and 10% as six million in bonus shares for registered shareholders as of May 17, 2016. Aggad stated that APIC's group achieved total revenues of USD523.6 million in 2015. Net profit after tax reached USD12.41 million, an increase of 9.4% over 2014, of which net profit attributed to APIC's shareholders amounted to USD7.14 million. He added, "The net profit attributed to APIC's shareholders is lower than that of 2014 due to the company's direct losses resulting from the liquidation of its subsidiary, UNIPAL Central and West Africa (UNIPAL-CWA), in 2015 due to the company's continuous losses since its establishment in 2010, which reflected negatively on APIC's past consolidated results. As a result of this liquidation, APIC has endured a nonrecurring loss of USD2.2 million; however, this will reflect positively on APIC's operations and consolidated results and clearly appeared in APIC's consolidated results by the end of first quarter of 2016. Net profits grew by 15% and net profit attributed to APIC's shareholders grew by 20% compared to the first quarter of 2015. APIC's share value on Palestine Exchange shadowed this positive performance, where it is currently trading at USD1.30, a growth of 16% over 2015 closing." Aggad listed APIC's numerous achievements in 2015, which included the Palestine Exchange (PEX) upgrading the company's listing from the second to the first market, a move that recognizes its financial and stock performance, although APIC's share continues to trade at below book value. Siniora Food Industries completed a state-of-the-art factory for its new line of frozen meat products in Jordan and also significantly increased the production capacity of its cold cuts products. Additionally, the company has activated its new commercial branch in Dubai to market its products in the UAE and other Gulf markets. Aggad also mentioned that during the first quarter of 2016, Siniora acquired 70% of Diamond Meat Processing Company in UAE in Dubai at a total investment of USD12 million. Arab Palestinian Shopping Centers recently launched its new Bravo supermarket in Nablus, the largest in Palestine, at a total investment of USD8 million. Total retail area is 3800 square meters and employs more than 100 people. In a bid to capture regional opportunities, National Aluminum and Profiles Company (NAPCO) established a fully-owned subsidiary in Jordan. Aggad stressed that APIC's corporate social responsibilities (CSR) strategy in 2015 remained focused on medium- to long-term partnerships with various institutions working in the fields of education, culture, entrepreneurship, and youth development and children, as well as general humanitarian support. Total CSR investment in 2015 amounted to USD500,000. For more information, please contact: Fida Musleh/Azar Investor Relations and Corporate Communications Manager Phone: +970-(or 972)-2-297-7040 Email: fida@apic.com.jo Website: http://www.apic.ps GENEVA (dpa-AFX) - Swiss luxury goods group Compagnie Financiere Richemont AG (CFRUY.PK) reported Friday higher profit in its fiscal 2016, benefited by one time gain, the absence of prior year's losses, as well as sales growth. Chairman Johann Rupert said that Richemont is doubtful that any meaningful improvement in the trading environment is to be expected in the near term. In Zurich, Richemont shares were losing 5.52 percent. Meanwhile, April sales declined 18 percent on a reported basis and 15 percent at constant rates with weakness in all regions. At constant exchange rates, only the Middle East & Africa posted growth. The company said the challenging comparatives will persist through September. For the year, profit climbed 67 percent to 2.227 billion euros from last year's 1.334 billion euros. Earnings per share were 3.935 euros, higher than 2.356 euros a year ago. The latest results reflected a non-cash post-tax gain of 639 million euros relating to the merger of the NET-A-PORTER and YOOX Groups, and the non-recurrence of losses largely due to the revaluation of the Swiss franc in the prior year of 686 million euros. Operating profit decreased by 23 percent to 2.06 billion euros due to a non-recurring property disposal gain in the prior year and current year restructuring and write-down charges. The weak results also reflected a 14 percent increase in operating expenses amid adverse exchange rate effects. Sales in the year grew 6 percent to 11.076 billion euros from 10.41 billion euros last year, helped by favorable exchange rate effects. At constant exchange rates, sales decreased 1 percent. Richemont recorded strong double-digit sales growth in Europe, the Middle East, Americas and Japan, partly offset by weaker trading in the Asia Pacific region. Hong Kong and Macau saw significantly lower sales with weakness in watch category and the wholesale channel. However, these were partly offset by growth in other important markets, including mainland China. The company recorded growth in sales of jewellery, leather goods and clothing. The retail channel performed better than the wholesale channel, although sales through both channels remained volatile, the company noted. Further, the company proposed dividend of 1.70 Swiss francs per share, an increase of 6 percent. In Zurich, Richemont shares were losing 5.52 percent to trade at 58.20 francs. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de More than 1,000 attendees and 150 speakers expected at third annual event LendIt, the world's largest online lending conference, today announced the launch of LendIt Europe 2016, its third annual European conference, to be held October 10-11, 2016 in London. LendIt is partnering with the UK P2P Finance Association, Europe's premier lending association, for the second year to deliver what is expected to be its largest conference to date, with more than 1,000 attendees expected. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160520005120/en/ "LendIt is delighted to be back in London for the third annual LendIt Europe event and partnering with the P2P Finance Association again," said Peter Renton, co-founder of LendIt. "As the lending industry changes rapidly, LendIt is committed to remaining the leading community where all lending platforms, investors and service providers can gather to network, learn and grow the industry together." LendIt Europe 2016 will be the most in-depth conference in the industry, with 150 speakers across six tracks covering all the hot topics in the industry, including innovations in credit and underwriting, regulatory issues, international developments, small business lending, consumer lending, property lending and institutional investment. "We are delighted to be partnering with LendIt for the second year," said Christine Farnish, chair of the P2P Finance Association. "Our event last year raised the profile of the industry in the UK and across Europe and we expect this year's event to be even better. Industry leaders and regulators look to the P2PFA for leadership and our partnership with LendIt provides a forum for us to provide that leadership." Numerous prominent industry CEOs will be speaking at the conference, including Samir Desai, co-founder and CEO, Funding Circle; Christian Faes, co-founder and CEO, LendInvest; Christine Farnish, chair, P2P Finance Association; Rhydian Lewis, founder and CEO, Ratesetter; and Jaidev Janardana, CEO, Zopa. With more than 25,000 square feet of expo space, 1,000 expected attendees and approximately 100 sponsors and exhibitors, the conference is the largest in Europe for the online lending industry. For the first time in LendIt Europe there will be the popular PitchIt LendIt, the conference's proprietary competition for online lending startups. About LendIt Co-founded by Jason Jones, Bo Brustkern, and Peter Renton in New York in 2013, LendIt is the largest conference series dedicated to connecting the global online lending community. LendIt conferences bring together the leading lending platforms, investors, and service providers in the lending industry for unparalleled educational, networking, and business development opportunities. LendIt hosts three conferences annually: the flagship conference in the United States-LendIt USA, LendIt Europe in London, and LendIt China in Shanghai. For more information, please visit www.lendit.com. About the P2PFA The UK Peer-to-Peer Finance Association (P2PFA) was founded in London in 2011 by Zopa, FundingCircle and RateSetter as a self-regulatory body for the sector to promote high standards of conduct and consumer protection. Members of the P2PFA are required to meet our robust rules and operating principles for the transparent, fair and orderly operation of P2P finance. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160520005120/en/ Contacts: Vested for LendIt Binna Kim Jacqueline Gogel, 917-765-8720 lendit@fullyvested.com AECI LIMITED (Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa) (Registration Number 1924/002590/06) Tax reference number: 9000008608 Share code: AFEP ISIN: ZAE000000238 ("AECI" or "the Company") DECLARATION OF INTERIM PREFERENCE SHARE DIVIDEND NO. 156 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, on Friday, 20 May 2016, the Directors of AECI declared a gross cash dividend, at the rate of 5,5 per cent per annum (equivalent to 2,75 pence sterling), for the six months ending Wednesday, 15 June 2016. The dividend is payable on Wednesday, 15 June 2016 to holders of preference shares recorded in the register of the Company at the close of business on the record date, being Friday, 10 June 2016. The last day to trade "cum" dividend will be Friday, 3 June 2016 and shares will commence trading "ex" dividend as from the commencement of business on Monday, 6 June 2016. The dividend is declared in pound sterling and payment will be made from the offices of the Transfer Secretaries in South Africa and the United Kingdom on Wednesday, 15 June 2016. Dividends payable from South Africa will be paid in South African currency at the rate of 61,38750 cents per share (gross dividend) in accordance with the exchange rate ruling on Monday, 16 May 2016 (1 pound sterling = ZAR22,32273). A South African dividend withholding tax of 15% will be applicable to all shareholders who are not either exempt or entitled to a reduction of the withholding tax rate in terms of a relevant Double Taxation Agreement, resulting in a net dividend of 52,17938 cents per share payable to those shareholders who are not eligible for exemption or reduction. Application forms for exemption or reduction may be obtained from the Transfer Secretaries and must be returned to them on or before Friday, 3 June 2016. Dividends payable from the United Kingdom office will be subject to such tax deductions as are prescribed by United Kingdom legislation unless a certificate exempting the shareholder concerned from such tax deduction is received before Friday, 3 June 2016. The issued share capital of the Company at the declaration date is 122271 295 listed ordinary shares, 10117 951 unlisted redeemable convertible B ordinary shares and 3000 000 listed cumulative preference shares. The dividend has been declared from the income reserves of the Company. Any change of address or dividend instruction must be received on or before Friday, 3 June 2016. Share certificates may not be dematerialised or rematerialised between Monday, 6 June 2016 and Friday, 10 June 2016, both days inclusive. By order of the Board E N Rapoo Group Company Secretary Woodmead, Sandton 20 May 2016 Transfer Secretaries Computershare Investor Services (Pty) Ltd 70 Marshall Street, Johannesburg 2001 and Computershare Investor Services PLC P O Box 82 The Pavilions Bridgwater Road Bristol BS99 7NH England Registered office 1st Floor, AECI Place 24 The Woodlands Woodlands Drive Woodmead Sandton Sponsor Rand Merchant Bank (A division of FirstRand Bank Limited) Date: 20 May 2016 Not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful. Issuer: Swiss Re Admin Re Limited Pre Stabilisation Notice BNP Paribas (co-ordinator) Contact: Damian Saunders synd mgr, Telephone number 00 44 207 595 8222, hereby gives notice that the Stabilising Managers named below may stabilise the offer of the following securities in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2273/2003 implementing the Market Abuse Directive (2003/6/EC). +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |The securities: | +-------------------------------------------+----------------------------------+ |Issuer: |Swiss Re Admin Re Limited | +-------------------------------------------+----------------------------------+ |Guarantor (if any): | | +-------------------------------------------+----------------------------------+ |Aggregate nominal amount: |EUR benchmark | +-------------------------------------------+----------------------------------+ |Description: |xx per cent due 27 May 2023 | +-------------------------------------------+----------------------------------+ |Offer price: |tba | +-------------------------------------------+----------------------------------+ |Stabilisation: | +-------------------------------------------+----------------------------------+ |Stabilising Manager(s): |Barc/BNPP/HSBC/Lloyds/RBC | +-------------------------------------------+----------------------------------+ |Stabilisation period expected to start on: | 20 May 2016 | +-------------------------------------------+----------------------------------+ |Stabilisation period expected to end no | 7th July 2016 | |later than: | | +-------------------------------------------+----------------------------------+ |Maximum size of over-allotment facility: |5% of the aggregate nominal amount| +-------------------------------------------+----------------------------------+ In connection with the offer of the above securities, the Stabilising Manager(s) may over-allot the securities or effect transactions with a view to supporting the market price of the securities at a level higher than that which might otherwise prevail. However, there is no assurance that the Stabilising Manager(s) will take any stabilisation action and any stabilisation action, if begun, may be ended at any time. This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an invitation or offer to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any securities of the Issuer in any jurisdiction. This announcement and the offer of the securities to which it relates are only addressed to and directed at persons outside the United Kingdom and persons in the United Kingdom who have professional experience in matters related to investments or who are high net worth persons within article 12(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 and must not be acted on or relied on by other persons in the United Kingdom. In addition, if and to the extent that this announcement is communicated in, or the offer of the securities to which it relates is made in, any EEA Member State that has implemented Directive 2003/71/EC (together with any applicable implementing measures in any Member State, the 'Prospectus Directive') before the publication of a prospectus in relation to the securities which has been approved by the competent authority in that Member State in accordance with the Prospectus Directive (or which has been approved by a competent authority in another Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Member State in accordance with the Prospectus Directive), this announcement and the offer are only addressed to and directed at persons in that Member State who are qualified investors within the meaning of the Prospectus Directive (or who are other persons to whom the offer may lawfully be addressed) and must not be acted on or relied on by other persons in that Member State. This announcement is not an offer of securities for sale into the United States. The securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. There will be no public offer of securities in the United States. END This announcement is distributed by GlobeNewswire on behalf of GlobeNewswire clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: BNP Paribas Primary New Issues via GlobeNewswire [HUG#2014172] R4 Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de AMSTERDAM, May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Oceanco is highly supportive of new talent in the yachting industry and proud to be the sponsor of the annual "Young Designer of the Year" Award, a ShowBoats Design Awards competition, presented by Boat International Media. In order to be eligible, student designers under the age of 25 must submit a design that relates to a realistic client request. They are encouraged to exhibit their detailed technical and design skills. The entries are judged by a group of international superyacht designers, including the Oceanco Director of Design & Innovation, Dirk de Jong. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160520/370196 ) This year's international group of young designers - Baoqi Xiao, Lujac Desautel, Leah Gowoon Park, Ben Hills and Marlene Ratajska - arrived in Amsterdam on the 17th May and were warmly welcomed by Oceanco's Marketing team for dinner at Lotti's, a bistro on Amsterdam's historic Herengracht canal. The next morning, the group went to Oceanco where they were introduced to Patrick Casanova, the Head of Design, as well as to Dirk de Jong, Director of Design & Innovation. The young designers had the opportunity to discuss their projects in detail with Patrick and Dirk and, in turn, they received useful feedback, based on real life examples. Afterwards, the finalists toured the Oceanco facilities including the new state-of-the-art building and dry dock, which is expressly designed to accommodate yachts up to 140 meters in length. They got a feel for the unique projects that are currently under construction at Oceanco. During and after lunch, Martin Selles, Oceanco's Head of Fleet Support discussed how yachts are used, and gave the group more insider background on the operational side of yachts as well as examples of functional design elements. Last on the agenda was a meeting with Bolidt, experts in synthetic and ecological materials. The group discovered and experienced innovative applications through a workshop where they had to create some new deck designs. It is in Oceanco's DNA to be open to innovative ideas and to embrace forward thinking technology. By sponsoring the "Young Designer of the Year Award," Oceanco hopes to encourage young designers to express a fresh and original approach to yacht design and get a step closer to joining the yachting industry. http://www.oceancoyacht.com OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - The euro strengthened against the other major currencies in the early European session on Friday. The euro rose to more than a 3-month high of 1.1121 against the Swiss franc and a 2-day high of 0.7712 against the pound, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.1091 and 0.7663, respectively. Against the Canadian dollar, the U.S. dollar and the yen, the euro edged up to 1.4702, 1.1228 and 123.76 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.4646, 1.1196 and 123.05, respectively. If the euro extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.12 against the franc, 0.80 against the pound, 1.51 against the loonie, 1.14 against the greenback and 128.00 against the yen. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. NEW YORK, NY, May 20, 2016 - (ACN Newswire) - Loyyal Corporation today announced that Ann Camarillo, President and CEO of Boloro Global Ltd. and former CEO of Maestro and Cirrus (MasterCard), has been elected to Loyyal's Board of Directors.Over the course of a 20-year career at MasterCard Worldwide, Ann held various leadership positions in the United States and globally, responsible for the financial contribution of all products and services and for creating and implementing next generation revenue streams.Ann also served as Global CEO of Maestro International and Cirrus, the largest global debit card POS and ATM networks. She created the Debit Centre of Excellence and managed the Global Debit Advisory Board with responsibility for all debit and prepaid strategy, policies, financial performance and investments.Ann is now CEO and President of Boloro, a mobile payments processing network, facilitating fast, secure and consumer-friendly payment acceptance for online/eCommerce, in-store retail, mass-transportation, government bill payments and remittances."Ann is a pioneer in the financial industry, with a formidable track record, and we are excited to welcome her to Loyyal's Board of Directors," said Greg Simon, CEO & Co-Founder Loyyal. "We believe her strong payment network experience at global leader MasterCard will be extremely valuable as Loyyal expands around the world.""I am delighted to join Loyyal's Board of Directors. Loyyal has hit the ground running. Already post-revenue, Loyyal has signed coveted brand names and is launching enhanced loyalty and reward programs with compelling features such as instant redemption and interoperability," said Ann Camarillo. "Blockchain has powerful utility as next generation technology, and Loyyal is laser-sharp in its focus to differentiate and deliver new value in the rewards industry. They have the potential to be the underlying interoperable rewards industry network, and I look forward to helping get them there."Sean Dennis, COO & Co-Founder Loyyal, adds "Ann has been a close friend and supporter of Loyyal since we met, and has already been an incredible help with strategy and introductions to date. Her appointment to Loyyal's Board of Directors only further strengthens our relationship going forward, and we are honoured to have such an outstanding individual on the Board."About BoloroBoloro Global Limited is a US mobile payments processing branded network that facilitates fast, secure and consumer-friendly payment acceptance for online/eCommerce, in-store retail, mass-transportation, government bill payments and remittances. Consumers are able to authorize payments using their basic or smartphone without any application to download and can debit any account offered by issuers connected to the Boloro network. Boloro is presently operating across markets in South Asia, Middle East and Africa with additional markets preparing to launch in these regions as well as in Latin American & Caribbean and East Asia. Please visit www.boloro.com.About LoyyalLoyyal is reinventing how loyalty is created and rewarded. Loyyal is the universal loyalty and rewards platform, built with blockchain and smart contract technology. It introduces interoperability to the currently fragmented industry, multi-branded coalitions, superior program liability management and dynamic issuance/redemption options customized for each unique relationship. The "Internet of Loyalty". Please visit www.loyyal.com.For media inquiries, please contact:Loyyal: Sean Dennis (Co-founder & COO): sean@loyyal.comSource: LoyyalCopyright 2016 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. OKEMOS, MI--(Marketwired - May 20, 2016) - The Michigan Association of Recreation Vehicles and Campgrounds (MARVAC) announces its website -- www.michiganrvandcampgrounds.org -- just in time for Memorial Day planning and travel. With articles pertaining to the RV lifestyle, traveling and popular Michigan destinations, the website also offers the Michigan RV & Campgrounds magazine in digital format. "The website is a great motivator for people who have been considering purchasing an RV or returning to the RV lifestyle," said Bill Sheffer, director of MARVAC. "There is a lot of interesting information on the site showcasing the delights RVing brings families." In addition to the articles, the website features a calendar listing festivals, art shows and other events including the MARVAC Camper & RV Shows. A Michigan map, divided into five regions, highlights MARVAC RV dealers, campgrounds, RV service centers, as well as additional points of interest. For RV and camping enthusiasts, the website gives detailed information on MARVAC member campgrounds and RV parks to help travelers make educated decisions on places to stay that have the amenities and activities they are looking for. "Our goal is to have RV travelers and campers use the website as a planning tool when deciding on their Pure Michigan vacations," said Sheffer. "We hope people bookmark the site and use it again and again." The site also contains information on becoming a MARVAC member and a special area for MARVAC members to stay up to date on current industry matters. The Michigan Association of Recreation Vehicles and Campgrounds (MARVAC) is a statewide, non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging growth in the recreation vehicle and private campground industries while contributing to the quality of Michigan tourism. For more information, visit MARVAC's website, www.michiganrvandcampgrounds.org. MARVAC, 2222 Association Drive, Okemos, Mich. 48864-5978; 517.349.8881. Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/5/19/11G099256/Images/TT_by_lake_with_kids_diving-71a149d924498e87bc7782a46b926fc1.jpg Contact: Gretchen A. Monette Agency: All Seasons Communications Email: gmonette@allseasonscommunications.com Phone: 586.752.6381 The award-winning agency Absolute Digital Media is pleased to announce that it has been shortlisted for three categories at the upcoming RAR Digital Awards 2016. The three categories that Absolute Digital Media was shortlisted for were Analytics, Content Strategy, and Search, all for the Under 40 Staff tier. The Recommended Agencies Register (RAR) is a register which was set up in 2007 to help businesses find the right digital marketing agencies for them, based on each agency's previous work and client testimonials. The annual awards ceremony, which seeks to promote "excellence in digital", celebrates companies at the forefront of digital marketing across all industry sectors and disciplines. Held June 16th at The Lancaster, London, the awards ceremony will highlight the achievements of the nominated companies, giving "a stamp of approval from the people that matter most to your business, your clients". This is due to the fact that nominations and the shortlist for the RAR Digital Awards are based entirely on anonymous "ratings collected across criteria like effectiveness, strategic thinking, value for money, client service etc." The night promises to bring together the UK's most efficient and well-known digital marketing agencies, both large and small. Having received nominations for the RAR Digital Awards in the past, Absolute Digital Media understands the fierce competition that they are up against. Offering a full complement of digital marketing solutions, Absolute Digital Media's nominations detail their particular success in the fields of analytics, content strategy and search. These nominations come at a particularly successful time for the Essex-based digital marketing agency, having received nominations for two Drum Search Awards earlier this month. CEO, Ben Austin, is delighted at the recent nominations, and has commented on what it means for the business. "It's an incredible honour to be nominated for no less than three awards at the upcoming RARs. The fact that our nominations come on the back of anonymous testimonials from our clients is sheer testament to the hard work we do here at Absolute Digital Media. "We're incredibly proud of our recent achievements here at Absolute Digital Media, having recently been nominated for two more awards at The Drum Search Awards. This all highlights the fact that it's not just one person that stands out here everything we do across the world of digital marketing, we do as a team. We work as a team, we play as a team, and these nominations will be celebrated as a team, no matter what happens on the night." Absolute Digital Media is a full service fully integrated digital marketing agency, specialising in a range of services including SEO, PPC, social media engagement and content marketing. Fusing market intelligence with creativity, their aim is to deliver digital campaigns that encourage engagement, focusing on clients unique selling points, seeking out which channels are most effective to communicate them, and making sure that they reach the right people at the right time. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160520005267/en/ Contacts: Absolute Digital Media Dave Roscoe T: 01245287864 d.roscoe@absolutedigitalmedia.com. VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - French shares rose on Friday as investors shrugged off the Fed's rate hike signals and turned their attention to the G7 meeting of central bankers and finance ministers that could provide some clarity over the conduct of global monetary and fiscal policies. Higher oil and metal prices also offered some support. On a relatively light economic calendar day, a report from the European Central Bank revealed that the euro zone's current account surplus widened to hit a four-month high in March, thanks to higher exports of goods. The current account surplus increased to 27.3 billion euros from 19.2 billion euros in February. The benchmark CAC 40 was up 37 points or 0.88 percent at 4,320 in late opening deals after declining 0.9 percent on Thursday. Banks Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale Group rose over 1 percent each. Oil & gas company Total SA gained nearly 2 percent, retail chain Carrefour advanced 1.5 percent and cosmetics company L'Oreal rose a little over 1 percent. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Fraport AG (FRA.DE, 0O1R.L, FPRUF.PK), the owner and operator of Germany's Frankfurt Airport or FRA, Friday said that its fiscal 2016 Group result is expected to equal or exceed the 2015 level. This will enable the dividend recommendation for the 2016 fiscal year to remain stable, the firm said. Fraport now said it expects the EBITDA to range slightly above the previous year's level, up to 30-plus million euros. The last year's EBITDA was 848.8 million euros. The company previously said it expects fiscal 2016 group EBITDA between 850 million euros and 880 million euros, and slight revenue growth. At the Annual General Meeting held today at Frankfurt, Executive board chairman Stefan Schulte reported that the outlook for passenger growth has been affected by a noticeable slowdown in travel bookings, above all for vacation travel, which can be attributed partly to concerns about terror attacks around the world. Fraport expects Frankfurt Airport's passenger traffic to rise by one to three percent in 2016 - FRA's 80th anniversary year. Since the beginning of the year, the retail business has been dampened by the revaluation of the euro and a decline in passenger traffic to China, Russia and Vietnam. Passengers traveling to these destinations contribute significantly to Fraport's retail result. Further, Fraport said its new corporate slogan - 'Gute Reise! We make it happen' - redefines Fraport's role as an airport manager. The advanced development of Frankfurt Airport's infrastructure still remains one of the most important tasks. Schulte stressed that construction of Terminal 3 is currently the most significant. By the end of 2016, Fraport expects to take over operations of 14 regional airports in Greece. The Closing for the Greek regional airports is expected by the end of the year. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - U.K. shares rose on Friday, with mining and energy stocks among the major gainers, supported by stronger commodity prices. Amid little trading cues, investors are pinning hopes that a G7 finance meeting that kicked off in northern Japan would provide some clarity over the conduct of global monetary and fiscal policies. On a relatively light economic calendar day, a report from the European Central Bank revealed that the euro zone's current account surplus widened to hit a four-month high in March, thanks to higher exports of goods. The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 82 points or 1.36 percent at 6,135 in midday trading after tumbling 1.8 percent in the previous session amid weaker metal and oil prices, concerns about another U.S. rate hike in the near term and worries about the disappearance of an EgyptAir flight. Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Glencore and Rio Tinto advanced 2-5 percent, while energy giants BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell rose 1-2 percent. Banks Barclays, The Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered climbed 1-3 percent. Bottling company Coca-Cola HBC rallied 5 percent after Citigroup raised its rating on the stock. Precision instruments maker Spectris slumped 7 percent after reporting a 4 percent decline in like-for-like sales in the period from January 1 to April 30. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR -- (Marketwired) -- 05/20/16 -- The Ministerial Advisory Panel is holding a public consultation meeting in St. John's to gather public opinion on the Last In, First Out policy (LIFO) for the Northern shrimp fishery. Dates and Times: May 24: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm May 25: 9:00 am - 12:30 pm Location: Delta St. John's Hotel & Conference, Bannerman 1-2, 120 New Gower St. Anyone interested in making a presentation at the meetings must register in advance by sending an email to: RSVPlifo2016.lifoRSVP2016@dfo-mpo.gc.ca. In the subject line of the email please include: St. John's. Paul Sprout, Chair of the Panel, will be available to media onsite following the conclusion of the meeting on May 24. External Review of the Last In, First Out Policy on Northern Shrimp Contacts: Paul Sprout Chair, Ministerial Advisory Panel 250-618-9035 TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/20/16 -- Khan Resources Inc. (CSE: KRI) ("Khan" or "the Company") announced today that it has filed its financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the six months ended March 31, 2016 on SEDAR and has posted these documents to its website www.khanresources.com. Highlights International Arbitration Settlement - On March 2, 2015 the international arbitration tribunal rendered an award to Khan as compensation for the Government of Mongolia's illegal actions in relation to the cancellation of Khan's uranium licenses in 2009. On March 6, 2016, the Company signed a settlement agreement with the Government of Mongolia under which, Mongolia would pay the Company US$70 million on or before May 16, 2016 and all outstanding matters pursuant to the international arbitration award would be resolved and terminated. On May 18, 2016, the Company announced that Khan and the Government of Mongolia had signed all of the documentation required for the release of the US$70 million from an escrow account to Khan. The funds have now been received. In addition, Khan's petition for certification of the international arbitration award has now been dismissed. The Company is currently in the process of investigating options to distribute the majority of the funds remaining, after discharge of liabilities and obligations, to shareholders in a tax-efficient and timely manner. The process may entail multiple tranches. With the receipt of the US$70 million, the Company's primary objectives have now been met, and Martin Quick and Raffi Babikian announced their retirement from the Board. The Company wishes to thank Messers. Quick and Babikian for their valued input and years of service through very trying times. Cash - During the six months ended March 31, 2016, directors, officers and employees of the Company exercised 3,205,000 stock options resulting in cash inflow of $1,195,675. The proceeds are being used for legal and tax consulting services to develop procedures of delivering and allocation of US$70 million settlement funds from Mongolia and for general corporate matters. Cash and cash equivalents stand at $1,852,000 as at March 31, 2016. The following table summarizes financial results of the Company for the six months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015. In thousands of dollars ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Change 2015 2014 % ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net loss from continuing operations Three months ended March 31 (489) (1,213) 59.7% Six months ended March 31 (819) (1,432) 42.8% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net loss from discontinued operations Three months ended March 31 - - 0.0% Six months ended March 31 - (8) 100.0% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basic and diluted earnings per share ($) Three months ended March 31 (0.01) (0.02) 50.0% Six months ended March 31 (0.01) (0.02) 50.0% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash flow Six months ended March 31 281 117 -140.2% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash and cash equivalents As at March 31 1,852 469 294.9% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Working Capital As at March 31 2,128 692 207.5% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forward-Looking Statements and Information This press release may contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information, which are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Forward-looking statements and information are characterized by words such as "will", "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "forecast", "schedule", "estimate" and similar expressions, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements and information are not historical facts and are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions and are inherently subject to significant business, social, economic, political, regulatory, competitive and other risks and uncertainties, contingencies and other factors, including the impact of international, Mongolian and Canadian laws, trade agreements and regulatory requirements on Khan's business, properties, licenses, operations and capital structure, Khan's ability to re-instate or re-register the Dornod uranium project licenses, regulatory uncertainty and obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals, legislative, political, social, regulatory and economic developments or changes in jurisdictions in which Khan carries on business, the nature and outcome of pending and future litigation, arbitration and other legal proceedings, the speculative nature of exploration and development, risks involved in the exploration, development and mining business, changes in market conditions, changes or disruptions in the securities markets and market fluctuations in prices for Khan securities, the existence of third parties interested in purchasing some or all of the common shares or Khan's assets, the method of funding and availability of any potential alternative strategic transactions involving Khan or its assets, including those transactions that may produce strategic value to shareholders, the need to obtain, maintain and/or re-register licenses and permits and comply with national and international laws, regulations, treaties or other similar requirements, and uncertainty in the estimation of mineral reserves and resources. In addition, a number of other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in such statements and information, and there is no assurance that actual results will be consistent with them. For further details, reference is made to the risk factors discussed or referred to in Khan's annual and interim management's discussion and analyses and Annual Information Form on file with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Such forward-looking statements and information are made or given as at the date of this news release, and Khan assumes no obligation to update or revise them, either publicly or otherwise, to reflect new events, information or circumstances, except as may be required under applicable securities law. Contacts: Investor Relations Contacts: Khan Resources Inc. Grant Edey President & CEO Office: 416.360.3405 gedey@rogers.com Khan Resources Inc. Bruce Gooding Chief Financial Officer Office: 416.360.3405 bgooding@khanresources.com www.khanresources.com DUBLIN, May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis Market 2016-2020" report to their offering. The global NASH market is set to grow at a CAGR of 24.58% during the period 2016-2020. NAFL disease, also known as fatty infiltration, is characterized by the accumulation of fat in the liver. It is of two types: NAFL and NASH. Fatty inflammation characterized by higher fat deposition than the normal level, 5%-10%, causes the disease. NASH causes severe inflammation of the liver, leading to damage of the organ. It is a benign condition of unknown etiology and is asymptomatic in nature during its initial stages, resulting in late diagnosis. One noteworthy trend in the market is the availability of patient assistance programs. Patient assistance programs offered by vendors, designed to fit individual needs regarding liver diseases, help them attain access to medications. AstraZeneca, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, GlaxoSmithKline, and Novo Nordisk are among the companies that offer patient assistance programs, offering solutions such as co-pay assistance and coupons. According to the report, a key driver of market growth is an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. An unhealthy or sedentary lifestyle and the intake of high calorie food results in the accumulation of excess body fat, causing problems such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, and liver disease, which are the associated conditions for NASH. This provides drug manufacturers with opportunities to manufacture new and effective drugs, thereby boosting the growth of the global NASH drugs market. Further, the report states that one challenge that could severely impact market growth is the limited understanding of the disease's pathophysiology. Key vendors: Arena Pharmaceuticals AstraZeneca F Hoffmann-La Roche GSK Novo Nordisk Vivus Key Topics Covered: PART 01: Executive summary PART 02: Scope of the report PART 03: Market research methodology PART 04: Introduction PART 05: Disease overview PART 06: Pipeline analysis PART 07: Market landscape PART 08: Market segmentation by dosage form PART 09: Market segmentation by route of administration PART 10: Geographical segmentation PART 11: Market drivers PART 12: Impact of drivers PART 13: Market challenges PART 14: Impact of drivers and challenges PART 15: Market trends PART 16: Vendor landscape For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/mnsws6/global Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Advances Flexjet's growing presence in Europe and international markets Allows for nonstop midsized private jet travel from eastern U.S. into London City Airport and to points throughout EMEA Legacy 500 flights to London City Airport land travelers next door to Canary Wharf and City of London financial districts Flexjet's Legacy 500 is the 1,000th business aircraft built by Embraer Executive Jets Flexjet LLC, offering travelers access to the world's most luxurious fleet of private jets, today announced a significant milestone as its Embraer Legacy 500, the fastest midsized private jet in the world, landed at London City Airport, further bolstering its international offering. Certification to fly into London City Airport, one of the world's most technically difficult, is the latest development at Flexjet. The jet appointed to mark this milestone is the 1,000th business aircraft ever built by Embraer Executive Jets, and was delivered to Flexjet last month. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160520005453/en/ London A Flexjet Embraer Legacy 500, the fastest midsized private jet in the world, landed today at London City Airport after flying from the United States. It is the first plane of its type certified to fly into London City Airport, one of the world's most technically difficult airports. The jet marking this milestone is the 1,000th business aircraft ever built by Embraer Executive Jets, and was delivered to Flexjet last month. (AP Photograph) Raymond Jones, Flexjet Managing Director of International based in London, was on board the maiden flight into London City Airport today. "Access to London City Airport is a critical milestone as we evolve our presence in Europe while offering our North American Owners the perfect solution for reaching central London directly from the business centers of the U.S. east coast. Bypassing the long trek in from the airports on London's periphery allows our Owners to transport to their final destinations more quickly," said Jones. Not only is London City Airport closer to the heart of the city than the other airports serving London, but it offers a 90-second promise to customers from car to aircraft departure. Noise restrictions, a short runway and London City Airport's proximity to central London limit the types of aircraft that can fly in. In addition, the percentage landing and take-off grade of 5.5 is higher than typical airports, which require 3. This occasion is the first time the Legacy 500 has flown into this airport and is the final step in the completion of the aircraft's certification. The pilots made two approaches before a final approach and landing as part of the certification process. The Legacy 500 is among a select group of midsized business jets that are capable of a nonstop transatlantic crossing and also are approved to land at London City Airport. "The Legacy 500 already has proven its remarkable field performance and now is able to fly in and out of London City Airport, reaching destinations as far as Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Gander, Canada. This new operational capability for London's financial district, one of Europe's major business aviation hubs, will offer our customers additional flexibility in the best-in-class midsize jet," said Marco Tulio Pellegrini, President and CEO, Embraer Executive Jets. "We are proud to be Flexjet's partner in introducing the Legacy 500 to the transatlantic marketplace. Flexjet continues to expand its international presence, and we are pleased they called upon us to deliver an innovative aircraft that can meet the needs and expectations of their sophisticated clientele." The Legacy 500 is the first midsized business jet with digital flight controls, based on Fly-By-Wire technology. It can fly at 45,000 feet and is powered by a pair of Honeywell HTF7500E engines, the most environmentally friendly in their class. With the ability to take off from airfields as short as 4,084 feet, the Legacy 500 has a range of 3,452 miles (5,555 kilometers) with four passengers, including NBAA IFR fuel reserves, which enables it to fly nonstop on trips such as Teterboro (New Jersey) Airport-London City Airport. Red Label by Flexjet Also Arrives at London City Airport The Legacy 500 aircraft offers Red Label by Flexjet, which features flight crews dedicated to a single aircraft, artisan cabin interiors and access to the world's newest shared jet fleet. Red Label provides premium comfort and customization that simulates a private flying experience as rewarding and empowering as owning one's own aircraft, bridging the gap between traditional shared ownership programs and whole-aircraft ownership. As part of Red Label, the Flexjet Legacy 500 includes features never before seen in other midsized aircraft, including granite veneer floor entryways and a wet galley (an unprecedented feature for a midsized aircraft). Among the aircraft's seven sound-reducing design elements are extra sound wall layers that help make the cabin extremely quiet, thereby decreasing passenger fatigue. At six feet tall and six feet 10 inches wide, the Legacy 500's cabin is the largest in its class. It also has the largest baggage capacity in its category 150 cubic feet. The Legacy 500 can carry eight passengers in the Flexjet LXi configuration. In addition, four fully reclining club seats may be converted into two beds for complete rest during long journeys. "Embraer, Flexjet and the Directional Aviation family have had a long and distinguished partnership, and it is appropriate that the first Flexjet aircraft to fly into London City Airport not only is an Embraer jet but also the landmark 1,000th aircraft to which it was my great honor to accept just last month," said Flexjet Chief Executive Officer Michael Silvestro. "I am thrilled that my friend and colleague, Ray Jones, was able to commemorate this milestone on behalf of Flexjet today." As part of the Red Label by Flexjet fleet, the Legacy 500 and it sister plane, the Legacy 450, will provide the service quality that Flexjet transatlantic travelers expect. The Legacy 500 aircraft that flew into London City Airport also will be on static display at the European Business Aviation Convention Exhibition (EBACE), to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 24-26, 2016. About Flexjet Flexjet first entered the shared jet ownership market in 1995, and celebrated its 20th anniversary in May 2015. Flexjet offers shared jet ownership and leasing. Flexjet's shared aircraft program is the first in the world to be recognized as achieving the Air Charter Safety Foundation's Industry Audit Standard, and Flexjet is the first and only company to be honored with its 17th FAA Diamond Award for Excellence. Flexjet's shared jet ownership program fields an exclusive array of business aircraft-some of the youngest in the shared jet industry, with an average age of approximately six years-including their LXi Cabin Collection consisting of the Learjet 75LXi, Challenger 350, the Embraer Legacy 450, Global Express and the Gulfstream G450, G500 and G650, and the Aerion AS2 supersonic business jets. In addition, the overall jet collection includes the Embraer Phenom 300, Challenger 300 and Challenger 605. Flexjet is a member of the Directional Aviation family of companies. For more details on Flexjet's innovative and flexible programs, visit www.flexjet.com or follow us on Twitter @Flexjet and on Instagram @FlexjetLLC. About Embraer Executive Jets Embraer is one of the world's leading executive jet manufacturers, having entered the business aviation market in 2000 with the Legacy jet, which led to the launch of Embraer Executive Jets in 2005. Its portfolio, the broadest in the market, consists of the entry-level Phenom 100E and the Phenom 300 light jet, the Legacy 500 midsize and Legacy 450 mid-light, the super-midsize Legacy 600 and large Legacy 650 and the ultra-large Lineage 1000E. Completing 10 years in the market, Embraer Executive Jets' global fleet exceeds 930 aircraft, which are in operation in more than 60 countries and are supported by the Company's global Customer Support and Services network of about 75 owned and authorized service centers, complemented by a 24/7 Contact Center, at its headquarters, in Brazil. For more information, please visit www.embraerexecutivejets.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Embraer View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160520005453/en/ Contacts: The Hubbell Group, Inc. Nicholas Parmelee, 001+781-878-8882 (office) 001+216-406-5602 (cell) nparmelee@hubbellgroup.com EATONTOWN, NJ -- (Marketwired) -- 05/20/16 -- Yorktel, the worldwide leader in cloud, UC&C and video managed services, today congratulated Vice President of Marketing, Samantha Osowski, for being named a Power 30 Solution Provider, within the 2016 Women of the Channel by CRN Magazine, a brand of The Channel Company. This elite distinction is bestowed on a very select group of female executives at solution provider organizations nationwide whose insight and influence in their respective companies help drive channel success. "Samantha has revolutionized Yorktel marketing and communication, and has helped raise brand awareness to incredible heights," said Yorktel CEO, Ron Gaboury. "Under Samantha's watch, Yorktel has embraced both traditional next-generation digital campaigns that ensure our company's messages and key differentiators resonate across multiple channels." "Being part of the Yorktel team is an honor, and knowing that my efforts contribute to its continuing success is incredibly rewarding," said Samantha Osowski. "Yorktel's combination of 30 years in business and an entrepreneurial thirst for innovation creates an atmosphere that keeps our team energized. It's an environment that makes it easy for me to present Yorktel as an industry leader." The 2016 Women of the Channel "Power 30 Solution Providers" list will be featured in the June issue of CRN Magazine and can be currently viewed online here. Yorktel, the third largest provider of managed video conferencing solutions in North America, has served as the trust partner for Fortune 1,000 and federal government agencies for over 30 years. ABOUT YORKTEL Yorktel is a leading global provider of UC&C, cloud, and video managed services for large enterprise and federal government customers. Founded in 1985 and headquartered in New Jersey, with offices across the US, UK, and France, Yorktel enables customers to successfully integrate video into their operations -- from video conferencing to video event production; on premise or in the cloud. Yorktel designs, integrates, and manages enterprise-wide unified communications solutions. Commercial Integrator magazine named Yorktel its 2015 Integrator of the Year. For more information, visit Yorktel online at http://www.yorktel.com or email knowmore@yorktel.com. Follow Yorktel on Twitter: @yorktelcorp ABOUT THE CHANNEL COMPANY The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. http://www.thechannelco.com/ CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. The Channel Company logo is a trademark of The Channel Company, LLC (registration pending). All rights reserved. Contact Mostafa Razzak JMRConnect (for Yorktel) 202.904.2048 m.razzak@connect.net COLUMBUS, OH -- (Marketwired) -- 05/20/16 -- Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WOR) today announced that Geoff Gilmore has been named president of Pressure Cylinders and John Lamprinakos will become president of Steel Processing effective June 1. "I am very pleased to be announcing these leadership moves as I have every confidence in Geoff and John," said John McConnell, Chairman and CEO. "The record results in Steel Processing speak for themselves and I know Geoff's leadership will have a positive impact on our Cylinders business. He is excited to take on this next assignment." McConnell added, "After leading our WAVE joint venture for a number of years, John took over a struggling Engineered Cabs business and has guided that organization through challenging markets and has put it on a solid improvement track. His experience in various leadership roles throughout our Company has prepared him well for this role." Gilmore was named president of Worthington Steel in August 2012. He has been with Worthington Industries since 1998 in Steel sales, as a general manager at the Delta, Ohio steel facility, and as head of purchasing for Worthington Industries just prior to becoming Steel's president. Lamprinakos became president of Engineered Cabs in July 2013. Prior to that, he led the WAVE joint venture with Armstrong for nine years. He has been with Worthington since 1979 with a long track record in Pressure Cylinders, including two years as president. The Company said a leader for Engineered Cabs will be named in the near future. Worthington announced a leadership change at Pressure Cylinders in January 2016 and President and COO Mark Russell has served as interim president since then. About Worthington Industries Worthington Industries is a leading global diversified metals manufacturing company with 2015 fiscal year sales of $3.4 billion. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Worthington is North America's premier value-added steel processor providing customers with wide ranging capabilities, products and services for a variety of markets including automotive, construction and agriculture; a global leader in manufacturing pressure cylinders for industrial gas and cryogenic applications, CNG and LNG storage, transportation and alternative fuel tanks, oil and gas equipment, and brand consumer products for camping, grilling, hand torch solutions and helium balloon kits; and a manufacturer of operator cabs for heavy mobile industrial equipment; laser welded blanks for light weighting applications; automotive racking solutions; and through joint ventures, complete ceiling grid solutions; automotive tooling and stampings; and steel framing for commercial construction. Worthington employs approximately 10,000 people and operates 83 facilities in 11 countries. Founded in 1955, the Company operates under a long-standing corporate philosophy rooted in the golden rule. Earning money for its shareholders is the first corporate goal. This philosophy serves as the basis for an unwavering commitment to the customer, supplier, and shareholder, and as the Company's foundation for one of the strongest employee-employer partnerships in American industry. Safe Harbor Statement The company wishes to take advantage of the Safe Harbor provisions included in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("the Act"). Statements by the company which are not historical information constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the Act. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from those projected. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks described from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. CONTACTS: Cathy M. Lyttle VP, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Phone: (614) 438-3077 E-mail: Email Contact Sonya L. Higginbotham Director, Corporate Communications Phone: (614) 438-7391 E-mail: Email Contact 200 Old Wilson Bridge Rd. Columbus, Ohio 43085 WorthingtonIndustries.com SOUTHFIELD, MI -- (Marketwired) -- 05/20/16 -- HelloWorld, the leading digital marketing solutions provider for the world's largest marketers, today unveiled a new brand, Human Loyalty, born from integrating its proprietary technology with traditional loyalty strategies, promotional experiences, and gamification solutions that trigger an emotional consumer connection and build long-term brand affinity. With the company's 17 years of expertise in motivating consumer behavior on behalf of brands like Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, and Microsoft, HelloWorld's solutions spark consumer interest and extend relationships through consumer touchpoints across channels. According to industry rankings, HelloWorld has run four times more promotions than any other company for more than five years. HelloWorld is actively sought out by brands to immediately motivate behavior and reengage consumers in their loyalty programs. HelloWorld's Human Loyalty platform combines many of the company's multiple loyalty solutions into a comprehensive brand offering. Types of programs include: points-based programs, rebates, continuity, advocacy, surprise & delight, B2B, B2E, engagement hubs, and custom global enterprise solutions currently in market in 20 countries. Today, HelloWorld is launching two packaged purchase-based loyalty solutions: Human Loyalty Core and Human Loyalty Advanced, which offer businesses of all sizes simplified ways to craft a proven loyalty solution. Designed particularly for the Consumer Packaged Goods, Retail, Restaurant and Media industries, these solutions drive results such as growth of member base and product purchase and illustrate consumer frequency and type of digital engagement. The Human Loyalty Core Solution is designed for clients just starting out in loyalty or those with sensitive budgets. The Human Loyalty Advanced solution is designed for mature clients with existing communities who want to grow their member base and innovate with enhanced engagement actions. Clients benefit from a single destination for loyalty solutions. Specifically, we offer in-house technology and end-to-end services, including legal execution for regional and international campaigns across 20 countries, reward and prize management, UX and creative design, program strategy, and data analytics. "We know that better engaging consumers is one of the most effective ways that brands can guarantee a better share of wallet," said Peter DeNunzio, Chief Executive Officer, HelloWorld. "With this in mind, it is mission critical to bring more robust tools to market that allow brands to better connect with their consumers and drive engagement at every point in the shopper journey. Human Loyalty allows brands to connect disparate touchpoints and build a more holistic brand-consumer relationship over time." About HelloWorld, Inc. HelloWorld is a digital marketing solutions company working with the world's leading brands across all industry verticals. The company offers a powerful combination of native platform technology and marketing strategy to marketers looking to accelerate growth and deepen consumer impact. HelloWorld creates brand-consumer interactions through promotional campaigns to spark interest, loyalty programs to retain and reward, and mobile messaging. Founded in 1999 as ePrize, HelloWorld is one of the largest independent digital marketing companies, with offices in Detroit, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle. The company is behind highly effective regional and global campaigns for clients such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft, the Gap and Procter & Gamble. For more information, please visit helloworld.com. Previously JSC Valmieras stikla skiedrareported that, on 11 May, the operation of one of the three glass melting furnaces was stopped. Today, on 20 May, the operation of this glass melting furnace was renewed with a 60-70 % capacity of the total capacity of the furnace, and it is planned that it will operate in partial mode for the next 2 months, i.e. until August 2016. In August, however, the furnace will be fully reconstructed so that in September it can start operating with an additional capacity of 30 %. Considering the rapid development of the global glass fibre market and increased demand for various glass fibre products evidenced by the record volumes of product orders, and in accordance with the Company's investment plan for 2016, it is planned to increase the production capacity by building the fourth glass melting furnace in Valmiera. The furnace building works are planned to be completed by the end of June this year, and this furnace will envisaged for a patented type of glass which is unique in the world and will have thermal resistance of 800 C. Thanks to the production of this type of glass, the Valmiera Glass Group will be the only company in the world which will be able to offer such wide variety of glass fibre product to the thermal insulation market. About the Valmiera Glass Group: JSC "Valmieras stikla skiedra" and its subsidiaries (hereinafter "the Valmiera Glass Group" or "the Group") are among the leading glass fiber manufacturers in Europe. The Valmiera Glass Group companies operate in two continents and in three countries: Latvia, the United Kingdom and the United States. JSC "Valmieras stikla skiedra" production facilities have more than eighty years of experience in textile processing, and their products are aimed at various industrial markets. The Group is composed of four companies: the parent company JSC "Valmieras stikla skiedra" and its three subsidiaries - Valmiera Glass UK Ltd. in the United Kingdom, Valmiera Glass USA Corp. and Valmiera Glass USA Trading Corp. in the United States of America. Contacts: Marika Nimante JSC "Valmieras stikla skiedra" marketing project manager Phone: +371 64202276, +371 26635509 Fax: +371 64281216 E-mail: Marika.Nimante@valmiera-glass.com More information about company: www.valmiera-glass.com Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2016) - VIRTUS MINERALS CORPORATION ("Virtus" or the "Company"), a private mineral exploration company, is pleased to announce appointments to the executive team and the Board of Directors to drive growth of the Company and development of the recently acquired Nemiscau Project, which lies in close proximity and along strike from Nemaska Lithium Inc.'s (TSXV: NMX) Whabouchi Project (see Press Release dated 12 May 2016). All appointments are made with immediate effect. Mr. Martin Nicoletti joins the Company as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Nicoletti is a certified general accountant with twenty-seven years of experience. He graduated from Quebec University in Trois-Rivieres in 1987 with a bachelor degree in business administration. He joined Price Waterhouse where he spent the next four years serving several clients in the mining industry. Mr. Nicoletti then spent the following eleven years with companies as a controller and chief accountant. Since 2004, he has been involved with public junior mining companies carrying out exploration activities worldwide, with responsibilities in financial controls and financial reporting. He currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer of a number of public companies. Mr. Toby Mayo is joining the Company as President and Chief Operating Officer. He will also join the Virtus board. Mr. Mayo brings twenty years of comprehensive, varied and global experience to Virtus. He holds a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Geology from the University of Edinburgh and an LL.B. (Hons) in Law from the University of London. Mr. Mayo has most recently held senior management positions at two TSX Venture Exchange listed mineral exploration companies as President and CEO and also brings extensive consulting and corporate development experience. He began his career as an exploration geologist for Rio Tinto in South America, northern and eastern Europe. Subsequently Mr. Mayo worked in a number of senior consulting roles including within the Investment and Business Planning group at Hatch in London and as Senior Technical Advisor for Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. on the development of the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia. Mr. Mayo possesses financial, commercial, technical, project management and legal skills, with experience completing techno-economic and transaction-related studies of mining and metals projects across the globe. Mr. Stanley Robinson joins the Company as VP, Exploration, having served previously in an advisory capacity. Mr. Robinson is a Professional Geoscientist with 40 years' exploration and corporate experience in management of base metal and gold exploration projects from grassroots to feasibility in Africa and Canada, as well as project due diligence and report writing in South America. Mr. Robinson is responsible for delineating (1) 1.67 million ounce NI 43-101 compliant gold and inferred gold resource, part of a nearly 3 million ounce global resource, in the Democratic Republic of Congo; (2) 1.3 million ounce, non-NI 43-101 compliant, gold resource in Burkina Faso; currently in commercial production; and (3) 0.25 million ounce, non-NI 43-101 compliant, gold resource in Nunavut, Canada. Mr. Robinson serves as a Qualified Person, as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Robinson also joins the Company's board. Mr. Derrick Weyrauch joins the Company's Board of Directors. Mr. Weyrauch is a Chartered Professional Accountant ("CPA", "CA") with over 25 years of experience that includes corporate financial management, financings, corporate restructuring, strategic planning and M&A. He serves currently as the Audit Committee Chair for Banro Corporation (a gold producer). Previously, for Jaguar Mining Inc., he served as the Chief Financial Officer, Chairman - Special Committee Restructuring and Recapitalization and as a member of the Audit Committee. Additionally, prior to its sale in 2013, Mr. Weyrauch served as the Chief Financial Officer of Andina Minerals Inc. Mr. Weyrauch earned his CA designation in 1990 while working at KMPG and he is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, the Institute of Corporate Directors and he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. Lastly, the Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Dan Hrushewsky to the Board. Mr Hrushewsky is an Engineer, MBA and CFA. Since his recent role as a gold mining analyst for Jennings Capital in Toronto, he has consulted for numerous mining companies on strategic issues, M&A, capital markets financing and mine plan optimization. Prior to his work as an analyst, he was employed in Corporate Development/M&A for gold and base metal producers, and in project finance for a Canadian Bank. Daniel Barrette, Virtus's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are pleased to be strengthening our executive team and board so significantly at this time, as the Company refocusses its strategy. The new management team brings a number of decades of exploration, corporate and consulting experience gained within the resource industry. We look forward to leveraging this experience during this exciting period of change and growth." Mr. Daniel Barrette has stepped down as President of the Company, while retaining his role as CEO and Executive Chairman. About Virtus Virtus is a privately-held Canadian mineral exploration company that was formed in December 2014 under the laws of the Province of Quebec. Virtus holds 100% interest in the Nemiscau Project, which is highly prospective for lithium and rare earth elements (REEs), as well as VMS mineralisation. The project area comprises 50 claims covering 2,666 ha in the James Bay region of northern Quebec. The licence is in close proximity to and on strike from the world-class Whabouchi Lithium Mine, currently being developed by Nemaska Lithium Inc. (NMX.V). Virtus's long-term growth strategy is to explore and develop high-quality projects that have the potential to produce and deliver strategic minerals to the global high-tech industrial sector. More information on Virtus is available at www.virtusminerals.com. VIRTUS CONTACT INFORMATION Daniel Barette Chief Executive Officer +1.514.448.2172 daniel@virtusminerals.com Toby Mayo President and Chief Operating Officer +1.778.668.0107 toby@virtusminerals.com FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Statements in this release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in the company's periodic filings. When used in this document, the words such as "will, could, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, should," and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Information provided in this document is necessarily summarized and may not contain all available material information. Forward-looking information and statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the acquisition of the Nemiscau Project and the issuance of securities, opportunities for discovery in the James Bay region of northern Quebec, the future growth of Virtus, the identification, exploration, and development of high-quality mineral projects and the delivery of minerals to the global industrial sector. All such forward-looking information and statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by members of Virtus's management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that they believe are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements, however, are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information or statements and Virtus undertakes no obligation to update such statements, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/20/16 -- Ellipsiz Communications Ltd. (formerly NXA Inc.) (TSX VENTURE: ECT) (the "Company") announces the appointment of Mr. Mark Korol as a director of the Company, for a term expiring at the closing of the next annual meeting of the shareholders or until his successor is elected or appointed. Mr. Korol has also been appointed as a member of the audit committee of the Corporation. Mr. Korol's appointment is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. About Ellipsiz Communications Ltd. The Company, through its indirect operating subsidiary, ECTW, focuses on setting up operations support systems ("OSS"), being systems which control and monitor network activities, for many communication service providers, including mobile network providers, fixed line telephone operators, cable operators and internet service providers (ISPs) in Taiwan. ECTW tailors a unique solution for each client depending on its particular needs, which involves setting up, customizing and integrating a combination of third party hardware and OSS software. Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: Mehdi Azodi Macher Inc. 416 977-3223 CADOGAN PETROLEUM PLC Operational update 20 May 2016 Cadogan Petroleum plc ("Cadogan" or the "Company"), an independent oil and gas exploration, development and production company with onshore gas, condensate and oil assets in Ukraine, announces its decision not to apply for the award of a new exploration licence for the Sloboda-Rungurska licence ("Sloboda") in Ukraine. The Sloboda licence had been suspended last year for alleged breaches; the suspension had subsequently been revoked and the licence reached its natural expiry date last month. The current energy price environment combined with a subsoil use tax (a tax on production at the well head) set at 45% for oil, has resulted in the remaining exploration potential becoming economically unviable. The decision not to apply for a new licence has no impact on the Company's balance sheet, as all assets had already been impaired at 31 December 2015. In conjunction with this decision, Cadogan has commenced a revision of its current logistic, organization and staffing level in the west of Ukraine in order to align them to the new scope of activity and maintain the highest possible level of efficiency. Guido Michelotti, CEO, commented: "We regret the decision to reduce the size of our Ukrainian portfolio, but we have to acknowledge that the current administrative and fiscal framework in Ukraine hinders the exploitation of marginal reserves such as those which might have been discovered in Sloboda." Enquiries: Cadogan Petroleum plc +380 (44) 594 5870 Guido Michelotti, Chief Executive Officer Marta Halabala, Company Secretary Cantor Fitzgerald Europe +44 (0) 20 7894 7000 David Porter Sarah Wharry About Cadogan is an independent oil and gas company. Cadogan operates exploration and production licenses in Ukraine, conducts gas trading operations, and provides services to E&P companies. MUMBAI, May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The following release was issued today by Vedanta Ltd subsidiary Cairn India Limited. Cairn India Ltd. announces that Mr. Mayank Ashar, Managing Director & CEO has decided to step down for personal reasons effective 5th June, 2016. Mr. Sudhir Mathur, CFO, will lead the organization as the acting CEO and will continue to work closely with the leadership team in managing the business under the guidance of the Board.Mr. Ashar will provide transition support to Mr. Mathur through 30th June, 2016. The Board expresses its appreciation for Mayank's contribution during his association with the Company. Under Mayank's leadership, Cairn India has delivered a resilient performance in a challenging business environment. Cairn India remains committed to maintain one of the lowest cost operations in the world, to pursue innovations and technology in its asset portfolio and create substantial value for its stakeholders. Mr. Navin Agarwal, Chairman, Cairn India Ltd., said: "Mayank has had a positive stint at Cairn. He leaves Cairn India in the hands of a strong leadership team. Cairn India shares the country's vision for energy security and I am sure that Sudhir and the team will continue to strongly pursue the organization's goal." Cairn India Limited Fact Sheet On 9 January, 2007, Cairn India Limited was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India. Cairn India is now a subsidiary of Vedanta Limited; part of the Vedanta Group, a globally diversified natural resources group. Cairn India is headquartered in Gurgaon in the National Capital Region. The Company has operational offices in India including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and International offices in Colombo and Houston. Cairn India is one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in India. Together with its JV partners, Cairn India accounted for ~27.2% of India's domestic crude oil production in FY15. Average gross operated production was 211,671 boepd for FY15. The Company sells its oil and gas to major PSU and private buyers in India. The Company has a world-class resource base, with interest in seven blocks in India, one in Sri Lanka and one in South Africa. Cairn India's resource base is located in four strategically focused areas namely one block in Rajasthan, two on the west coast of India, five on the east coast of India (including one in Sri Lanka) and one in South Africa. The blocks are located in the Barmer Basin, Krishna-Godavari Basin, the Palar-Pennar Basin, the Cambay Basin, the Mumbai Offshore Basin, the Mannar Basin and Orange Basin. Cairn India's focus on India has resulted in a significant number of oil and gas discoveries. Cairn India made a major oil discovery (Mangala) in Rajasthan in the north west of India at the beginning of 2004. To date, thirty eight discoveries have been made in the Rajasthan block RJ-ON-90/1 In Rajasthan, Cairn India operates Block RJ-ON-90/1 under a PSC signed on 15 May, 1995 comprising of three development areas. The main Development Area (DA-1; 1,859 km2), which includes discoveries namely Mangala, Aishwariya, Raageshwari and Saraswati is shared between Cairn India and ONGC. Further Development Areas (DA-2; 430 km2), including the Bhagyam, NI and NE fields and (DA-3; 822 km2) comprising of the Kaameshwari West Development Area, is shared between Cairn India and ONGC, with Cairn India holding 70% and ONGC having exercised their back in right for 30%. In Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, Cairn India on behalf of its JV partners operates two processing plants, with a production of over 36,000 boepd for FY15. Block SL-2007-01-001 was awarded to Cairn Lanka in the bid round held in 2008. This offshore block is located in the Gulf of Mannar. The water depths range from 400 to 1,900 meter. The signing of the Petroleum Resources Agreement (PRA) to explore oil and natural gas in the Mannar Basin was undertaken in July 2008 in Colombo. The farm-in agreement was signed with PetroSA on 16 August, 2012in the 'Block-I' located in Orange basin, South Africa. The block covers an area of 19,898 sq km. The assignment of 60% interest and operatorship has been granted by the South African regulatory authorities. For further information on Cairn India Limited, kindly visit www.cairnindia.com Corporate Glossary Cairn India Cairn India Limited and/or its subsidiaries as appropriate Company Cairn India Limited Cairn Lanka Refers to Cairn Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cairn India Cash EPS PAT adjusted for DD&A, impact of forex fluctuation, MAT credit and deferred tax CFFO Cash Flow from Operations includes PAT (excluding other income and exceptional item) prior to non-cash expenses and exploration costs. CPT Central Processing Terminal CY Calendar Year DoC Declaration of Commerciality E&P Exploration and Production EBITDA Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation includes forex gain/loss earned as part of operations EPS Earnings Per Share FY Financial Year GBA Gas Balancing Agreement GoI Government of India GoR Government of Rajasthan Group The Company and its subsidiaries JV Joint Venture MC Management Committee MoPNG Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas NELP New Exploration Licensing Policy ONGC Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited OC Operating Committee PPAC Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell PRA Petroleum Resources Agreement qoq Quarter on Quarter SL Sri Lanka Vedanta Group Vedanta Resources plc and/or its subsidiaries from time to time yoy Year on Year Technical Glossary 2P Proven plus probable 3P Proven plus probable and possible 2D/3D/4D Two dimensional/three dimensional/ time lapse Blpd Barrel(s) of (polymerized) liquid per day Boe Barrel(s) of oil equivalent Boepd Barrels of oil equivalent per day Bopd Barrels of oil per day Bscf Billion standard cubic feet of gas Tcf Trillion standard cubic feet of gas EOR Enhanced Oil Recovery FDP Field Development Plan MDT Modular Dynamic Tester Mmboe million barrels of oil equivalent Mmscfd million standard cubic feet of gas per day Mmt million metric tonne PRDS Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat PSU Public Sector Utilities SPM Single Point Mooring PSC Production Sharing Contract Field Glossary Barmer Hill Formation Lower permeability reservoir which overlies the Fatehgarh Dharvi Dungar Secondary reservoirs in the Guda field and is the reservoir rock encountered in the recent Kaameshwari West discoveries Fatehgarh Name given to the primary reservoir rock of the Northern Rajasthan fields of Mangala, Aishwariya and Bhagyam Mannar Basin Located in the Gulf of Mannar, situated on the NE shallow continental shelf of Sri Lanka MBARS Mangala, Bhagyam, Aishwariya, Raageshwari, Saraswati Thumbli Youngest reservoirs encountered in the basin. The Thumbli is the primary reservoir for the Raageshwari field Disclaimer This material contains forward-looking statements regarding Cairn India and its affiliates, our corporate plans, future financial condition, future results of operations, future business plans and strategies. All such forward- looking statements are based on our management's assumptions and beliefs in the light of information available to them at this time. These forward-looking statements are by their nature subject to significant risks and uncertainties; and actual results, performance and achievements may be materially different from those expressed in such statements. Factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ from expectations include, but are not limited to, regulatory changes, future levels of industry product supply, demand and pricing, weather and weather related impacts, wars and acts of terrorism, development and use of technology, acts of competitors and other changes to business conditions. Cairn India undertakes no obligation to revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect any changes in Cairn India's expectations with regard thereto or any change in circumstances or events after the date hereof. Unless otherwise stated the reserves and resource numbers within this document represent the views of Cairn India and do not represent the views of any other party, including the Government of India, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons or any of Cairn For further information, please contact: Communications Roma Balwani President - Group Communications, Sustainability & CSR Tel: +91-22-6646-1000 gc@vedanta.co.in Investor Relations Ashwin Bajaj Director - Investor Relations Sunila Martis Manager - Investor Relations Vishesh Pachnanda Manager - Investor Relations Tel: +91-22-6646-1531 vedantaltd.ir@vedanta.co.in About Vedanta Limited (Formerly Sesa Sterlite Ltd.) Vedanta Limited (Vedanta Ltd) is a diversified natural resources company, whose business primarily involves exploring and processing minerals and oil & gas. The Company produces oil & gas, zinc, lead, silver, copper, iron ore, aluminium and commercial power and has a presence across India, South Africa, Namibia, Ireland, Australia, Liberia and Sri Lanka. Vedanta Ltd, formerly Sesa Sterlite Ltd. is the Indian subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Plc, a London-listed company. Governance and Sustainable Development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety and environment and on enhancing the lives of local communities. Vedanta Ltd is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange in India and has ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange. For more information please log on to www.vedantalimited.com Vedanta Limited (Formerly known as Sesa Sterlite Limited) Vedanta, 75, Nehru Road, Vile Parle (East), Mumbai - 400 099 www.vedantalimited.com Registered Office: Sesa Ghor, 20 EDC Complex, Patto, Panaji (Goa) - 403 001 CIN: L13209GA1965PLC000044 Disclaimer This press release contains "forward-looking statements" - that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "should" or "will." Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets including the London Metal Exchange, fluctuations in interest and or exchange rates and metal prices; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different that those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements. Contact Media Relations Arun Arora, Chief Communication Officer +91-124-4593039; +91-8826999270; cilmedia@cairnindia.com; spokesperson@cairnindia.com Investor Relations Dheeraj Agarwal +91-124-4593409; +91-9769732150; cilir@cairnindia.com Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150422/740375 PASADENA, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/20/16 -- NovaWurks Inc., a provider of high technology space products and services, announced today that Talbot Jaeger, founder and chief technology officer at NovaWurks, will speak at the upcoming Space Tech Conference within a panel discussion entitled 'Transitioning from "Space-to-Data" to "Space-to-Space" on Wednesday, May 25 at 3:50 p.m. Jaeger, accompanied by other industry experts, will examine how the creation of a true service-based infrastructure will allow for space-to-space commerce. Held in Pasadena, Calif., Space Tech Expo is the leading conference for the space industry on the West Coast. With many companies aiming towards the "new" space race that includes rapid acceleration of innovation and new space capabilities, NovaWurks is leading the industry with the company's flagship technology platform, the Hyper-Integrated Satlet (HISat). Jaeger's participation in the panel session will provide Expo participants with information on aggregatable modules and how adding new models and performance capabilities to existing satellites will pave the way for space services in orbit. "With the forthcoming industry shift of space applications offering services and beyond, NovaWurks is proud that the company's HISat technology can provide practical solutions for the next generation of space capabilities," said Jaeger. "I look forward to convening with like-minded industry innovators at Space Tech Expo to discuss the infinite amount of possibilities available for new markets." NovaWurks' HISats, a space-proven technology, provides a foundation for building safe, rapid and cost-effective solutions. With each HISat containing all of the functional capabilities of an autonomous satellite, and the flexibility to conform to the shape or capability requirements of any payload, the HISat-based cellular architecture is flexible for a variety of mission purposes. The company is currently working on DARPA's Phoenix Program to build satlet solutions in which HISats will be in use. The 'Transitioning from "Space-to-Data" to "Space-to-Space" Commerce panel discussion takes place on Wednesday, May 25 at 3:50 - 5:50 p.m. PDT. To learn more about the conference, visit: http://www.spacetechexpo.com/. About NovaWurks: NovaWurks, Inc., located in Los Alamitos, California, invents, designs and creates high technology products and services for a broad range of applications for space. The NovaWurks team of designers, scientists and engineers offers a diverse background in spaceflight, consulting and research work with decades of experience in managing complex, visionary projects for government, military and corporate clients. For more information, visit www.novawurks.com. MEDIA CONTACT: Vivian Slater 714-573-0899 ext. 235 vivian@echomediapr.com ALBANY, NY --(Marketwired - May 20, 2016) - The New York State home sales growth trend continued into April with the market posting a nearly 9 percent increase in sales compared to April 2015, according to the housing market report released today by the New York State Association of REALTORS . The statewide median sales price grew by nearly 2 percent compared to a year ago. "The New York State housing market has been on an upward sales trajectory since February 2015 and we anticipate this trend to continue into the busy summer season," said Duncan R. MacKenzie, CEO of the New York State Association of REALTORS , noting that the gains are compared to the same month in the prior year. "New York's REALTORS are reporting strong buyer activity across the state, which is reflected in the nearly 16-percent growth in pending sales compared to a year ago. With the number of homes for sale currently low in many areas, sellers have a great opportunity under the current market conditions." "While mortgage rates, jobs growth and the economic conditions are favorable for many homebuyers, those looking to enter the market for the first time continue to struggle in many cases," said MacKenzie. "New York State's closing costs are among the highest in the nation. This presents a significant barrier for first-time buyers, who find it difficult to save enough money to cover closing costs and down payments. New York's REALTORS are asking their legislators to support the NY First Home proposal that would create a savings account program for the purchase of a home. The funds would be deductible on state income taxes to provide an incentive to save." The April 2016 sales total of 8,403, represents an increase of 8.9 percent from the April 2015 total of 7,714. The April 2016 statewide median sales price was $220,000, up 1.9 percent from a year ago. April 2016 pending sales increased by 15.9 percent from a year ago to reach 13,354. The months supply of homes for sale dropped 23.1 percent at the end of April to 7 months supply. It was at 9.1 months at the end of April 2015. A 6 month to 6.5 month supply is considered to be a balanced market. Inventory stood at 76,598, a decrease of 10.8 percent compared to April 2015. Additional data is available at http://www.nysar.com/industry-resources/market-data Editor's Note: All data is compiled from multiple listing services in the state of New York and the data include townhomes, condominiums and existing single-family homes. Information about the NY First Home proposal may be found at nyfirsthome.com. The New York State Association of REALTORS is a not-for-profit trade organization representing more than 50,000 of New York State's real estate professionals. The term REALTOR is a registered trademark, which identifies real estate professionals who subscribe to a strict code of ethics as members of the National Association of REALTORS . These REALTORS are also members of the New York State Association of REALTORS as well as their local board or association of REALTORS . Salvatore I. Prividera Jr. Director of Communications 518-463-0300x208 office sprividera@nysar.com TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - May 20, 2016) - Scotiabank has been recognized by Retail Banker International as the Global Bank with the Best Digital Strategy for 2016. This is the first time Scotiabank has received this recognition. "We are very proud to be recognized by Retail Banker International for our strategy to digitize and simplify banking for our customers across Latin America, Central America and the Caribbean," said Stacey Madge, Senior Vice President, International Banking, Retail and Small Business. "At Scotiabank, one of our top priorities is to make it easier for customers to do business with us." Scotiabank is in the process of launching a new online and mobile banking platform in Mexico, Panama and 21 Caribbean countries to make it easier for customers to do business with the Bank. Later this year, and into the next, Scotiabank will offer enhanced and more personalized services to customers such as online advice, tools and pre-approved solutions. These investments are part of a multi-country program to increase primary customer relationships through online and mobile channels. In addition, in January 2016, the Bank launched digital branches in Mexico City with tablets and mobile phones that enable customers to conduct their online and mobile banking, utilize tools to plan for their financial goals and provide feedback on their banking experience. Scotiabank has also introduced tablets for mobile sales officers in Colombia and Chile with select countries in the Caribbean and Central America to follow later this year. These tablets will provide customers with a full digital experience, simplifying the application process while reducing the time to acquire products. Officer productivity is expected to improve by twenty percent. Winners were honoured at an Award Ceremony on May 19 in London, England, during the 2016 Retail Banker International Financial Innovation Conference. Scotiabank was also acknowledged as a finalist for two other categories: Best Use of Online Banking and Best Mobile Banking Strategy. About Scotiabank Scotiabank is Canada's international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, and Asia-Pacific. We are dedicated to helping our 23 million customers become better off through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of more than 89,000 employees and assets of $920 billion (as at January 31, 2016), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). Scotiabank distributes the Bank's media releases using Marketwired. For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews. For media enquiries only: Marcelo Gomez-Wiuckstern Public, Corporate and Government Affairs Scotiabank (416) 933-1344 marcelo.gomez-wiuckstern@scotiabank.com WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/20/16 -- As part of his visit to the U.S. capital, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, will deliver the keynote address at a breakfast event on innovation, security and the sharing economy in North America. The event, hosted by The Hill and the Canadian American Business Council, will bring together Canadian and American representatives from government and industry to discuss the state of the global sharing economy and its effect on U.S.-Canada economic relations. Date: Tuesday, May 24 Time: Event begins at 8:00 a.m. Minister's remarks at 9:30 a.m. Location: The Newseum Knight Conference Center, 8th Floor 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C. Follow Minister Bains on social media. Twitter: @MinisterISED Contacts: Philip Proulx Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development 343-291-2500 Media Relations Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada 343-291-1777 ic.mediarelations-mediasrelations.ic@canada.ca MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- (Marketwired) -- 05/20/16 -- Outsell, which drives more revenue for auto dealers by transforming how they engage customers and prospects throughout their lifecycle, is showcasing its solutions at the upcoming 6th annual 2016 Dealer Marketing Strategies Conference (DMSC), taking place in Napa Valley, California from May 22 - May 24, 2016. At booth #106, Outsell will feature: Outsell Fuel, a multi-channel customer engagement platform that enables automotive dealers to engage with customers wherever they are in their lifecycle, track behaviors to identify in-market buyers, and understand shopper intensity. BuyerScout, the only buyer detection product that predicts who's going to buy and provides dealers with a scored list and information into what consumers are doing, identifying hot prospects before your competition. New Service Campaigns, that boost traffic to dealer service bays. A new integration with Google Analytics that gives auto dealers enhanced web analytics tracking. The Digital Marketing Strategies Conference, a PCG event, is a high-level executive planning event designed to assist automotive dealers with creating a highly effective digital marketing strategy for the year ahead. The workshops are hands-on, intimate, highly engaging, and rich in content designed for dealers, managers, and Internet sales professionals who want to stay ahead of their local competition. "We're looking forward to this event and sharing our solutions and ideas with the dealer community. Auto dealers know they need to create more advanced digital marketing strategies and move from sporadic, generic email blasts to a more structured, automated, and individualized communications process -- but they struggle with how to do it," said Bryan Harwood, Chief Technology Officer of Outsell. "Outsell's platform outperforms other solutions because it adapts to individual consumers' lifecycles and engages with them in a way that is individually effective. The feedback we receive from our dealer customers is extremely positive -- they're experiencing returns that range from 9-30x on their Outsell investment." Outsell's multi-channel customer engagement platform manages millions of interactions every month for dealers all major automotive brands. To learn more about Outsell, visit the company at booth #106 at the DMSC, or visit www.outsell.com. DMSC will be located at the Napa Valley Marriott Resort & Spa. To register at this event, please visit http://digitalmarketingstrategies.org/register/ About Outsell Outsell drives more revenue for auto dealers by transforming how they engage customers and prospects throughout their lifecycle. Dealers using Outsell's proprietary technology are tipped off when customers are most ready to engage, buy or service. Outsell makes dealers' lives easier by keeping them in front of customers on a consistent, individualized basis and automating follow up. The Outsell multi-channel customer engagement platform manages millions of interactions every month for dealers representing all major automotive brands. Media Contact Gina Rezendes Big Swing Communications Email Contact +1 (617) 640-9278 Date: 20 May 2016 Not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful. Issuer: Telecom Italia S.p.A Post Stabilisation Notice BNP Paribas (co-ordinator) Contact: Stanford Hartman, Telephone number 00 44 207 595 8222, hereby gives notice that no stabilisation was undertaken by the Stabilising Manager(s) named below in relation to the offer of the following securities. +------------------------------+-------------------------------------------+ | Issuer: | Telecom Italia S.p.A. | +------------------------------+-------------------------------------------+ | Guarantor (if any): | | +------------------------------+-------------------------------------------+ | Aggregate nominal amount: | EUR 1 billion | +------------------------------+-------------------------------------------+ | Description: | 3.625% Notes due 25 May 2026 | +------------------------------+-------------------------------------------+ | Stabilising Manager(s) | Barclays, BNP Paribas, CS, and HSBC (B&D) | | | BBVA, BIMI, CACIB, MEDIO, MUFJ, NATIXIS | | | | +------------------------------+-------------------------------------------+ | Stabilisation started: | | +------------------------------+-------------------------------------------+ | Stabilisation last occurred: | N/A (no stabilisation occurred) | +------------------------------+-------------------------------------------+ This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an invitation or offer to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any securities of the Issuer in any jurisdiction. This announcement is not an offer of securities for sale into the United States. The securities referred to above have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. There has not been and will not be a public offer of the securities in the United States. This announcement is distributed by GlobeNewswire on behalf of GlobeNewswire clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: BNP Paribas Primary New Issues via GlobeNewswire [HUG#2014289] R14 Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de COBB COUNTY (dpa-AFX) - A Home Depot worker who went to work wearing a hat that read 'America Was Never Great' has received death threats and racist remarks after her photo with the hat went viral on social media. Krystal Lake, 22, of Staten Island, New York wore the controversial hat during her Sunday morning shift at a Home Depot store in Staten Island. The message on her hat is a play on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign slogan 'Make America Great Again.' Lake said she had the hat made to send the message that America was never great, and that the country needs 'changing and improvement'. Supporters of Trump are reportedly threatening to boycott Home Depot stores in response. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Home Depot said that Lake's message does not reflect the opinions of the retailer and that store associates are not permitted to wear items reflecting political statements. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. On Thursday the government of Ontario released final cap-and-trade greenhouse gas regulations, as the fourth Canadian province to regulate CO2 emissions. Ontario's first carbon auction will take place on March 2017, and the province expects the program to generate CA$1.8-1.9 billion annually which it will invest in programs to further reduce emissions. The auction will have a floor price based on the clearing prices in California and Quebec's CO2 auctions, and will be linked with those two programs. And while these regulations were celebrated by environmentalists, putting a price on CO2 may not have a big short-term impact on renewable energy uptake. "There are a lot of things in there that are positive, but maybe not immediately positive," Canadian Solar Industry Association (CanSIA) Director of Policy & Regulatory Affairs Ben Weir told pv magazine. "Cap and trade itself, in terms of direct and very near-term ... Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. DUBLIN, May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Plant Growth Regulators Market Research Report - Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2014-2021" report to their offering. The promotion of modern agriculture to sustain the increasing population combined with the government policies in various countries turning in favour of this market, have together supported the growth and expansion of this market. To the contrary, this market faces a tough competition from the well-established fertilizer market. However, the overuse of fertilizers in the past has proven to be detrimental to soil and hence plant growth. Thus more policies are which are favouring bio-based alternatives such as plant growth regulators are coming up. In addition, high demand of organic food is fuelling the growth of this market. Europe leads the global plant growth regulators market followed by Asia-Pacific and North America. The production of plant growth regulators is presently limited to a few companies. Amongst them, the ones leading the global plant growth regulators market include BASF, Bayer CropScience, Crop Care Limited, DuPont, NuFarm Limited, Redox Industries Ltd and Sichuan Guoguang Agrochemical Co Ltd. Decision Databases is involved in providing research reports and company profiles in the global plant growth regulators market in terms of revenue and output/volume. Market drivers, opportunities and restraints are thoroughly studied which influences the market. This study is further utilized for the overall analysis of the market. The plant growth regulators market is segmented based on the global applications, geographic presence, by products and ingredients. Companies Mentioned: BASF Bayer CropScience Crop Care Limited DuPont, NuFarm Limited Redox Industries Ltd Sichuan Guoguang Agrochemical Co Ltd Report Structure: 1. Introduction to the Plant Growth Regulators Market 2. Executive Summary 3. Market Analysis of Plant Growth Regulators 4. Plant Growth Regulators Market Analysis by Plant Hormones Groups 5. Plant Growth Regulators Market Analysis by Geography 6. Competitive Landscape of Plant Growth Regulators Companies 7. Company Profiles of Plant Growth Regulators Industry For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/zn6lbz/global_plant Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Invesco Perpetual Select Trust plc AMENDMENT TO INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT Invesco Perpetual Select Trust plc announces that the Directors have agreed with the company's Manager, Invesco Fund Managers Limited, an amendment to the fees payable under the Investment Management Agreement. The amendment is to the fee payable on the Managed Liquidity portfolio, which will reduce from an annual rate of 0.25% to 0.12% of net assets. The change will take effect from 1 June 2016. No changes are being made to the fees payable in respect of the Company's other portfolios. 20 May 2016 For enquiries please contact: Angus Pottinger Invesco Perpetual 020 3753 1000 LONDON, May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Brand Licensing Europe (BLE), the largest and most prestigious licensing event in Europe, has announced that over 50 buying professionals will take part in its Retail Mentoring Programme this year, as Marks & Spencer, Halfords and The Entertainer all confirm their participation in the scheme. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130723/629764-a ) Delegate numbers for the six-month programme have almost doubled in a year and it is still the only scheme of its kind in the UK. Run as part of BLE, which is organised by UBM and sponsored by the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association (LIMA), the programme is designed to give buying and merchandising professionals a deeper understanding of the licensing industry. It has also already confirmed delegates from Sainsbury's, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Claire's Accessories and Matalan. Pippa Smith, Childrenswear Licensed Character Coordinator at Marks & Spencer said: "At M&S we are understanding more and more the importance of all aspects of licensing and think it is vital for each of our buyers, merchandisers and designers within licensing roles to have a thorough understanding of the ins and outs of the industry. It is imperative that our colleagues are equipped with the tools to understand licensing and that we move forward with one key strategy. The Retail Mentoring Programme gives us the introduction to licensing needed for us to build further skills." Delegates will attend workshops, seminars and the LIMA Licensing Essentials Course and Spring Fling event as well as shadowing licensors in their workplace. The programme culminates in a visit to BLE where the theory is put into practice. A highlight for delegates is the opportunity to formally judge products for the Licensing Industry Awards. "Since its launch in 2010, the programme has received a phenomenal response from retailers and we are delighted with the record delegate numbers for this year" said Anna Knight, BLE Brand Director. "We have actively expanded the categories for the 2016 programme and now have delegates on board who are looking for opportunities in homeware, travel, footwear, books, beauty and toys. We have also seen growth in the number of retail designers and merchandisers joining the programme. We would urge any retailers who are looking to learn more about licensing to join the programme before it officially launches at the end of the month." Now in its 18th year, BLE 2016 will feature over 300 exhibitors showcasing over 2,500 brands, characters and images. A free educational programme runs alongside the show featuring advice and sector-specific sessions, workshops and panel discussions along with keynotes from industry trailblazers. Brand Licensing Europe takes place from 11 - 13 October 2016 at London's Olympia. For more information, please visit: http://www.brandlicensing.eu About Brand Licensing Europe, part of UBM's Licensing group Brand Licensing Europe 2016 (http://www.brandlicensing.eu) takes place from 11 - 13th October 2016 at Olympia, London. It is the only pan-European event dedicated to licensing and brand extension. Now in its 18th successful year, Brand Licensing Europe 2015 was the biggest event to date; hosting 300 exhibitors and 7,203 visitors from 63 countries. Brand Licensing Europe is owned by UBM which also organises Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, USA. Both shows are produced in partnership with the international Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association (LIMA). License! Global is the official publication for both shows. About UBM EMEA UBM EMEA (http://ubmemea.com/) connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote brands and expand markets. Operating in more than 23 countries, UBM EMEA organises many of the world's largest, most important live events, awards and community sites in a wide variety of industries. Its events include Brand Licensing Europe, Technology for Marketing, eCommerce Expo, Customer Contact Expo and Decorex. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - In a rare scene in the typically subdued U.S. capitol, the House floor erupted in chaos on Thursday after Republicans narrowly blocked an amendment to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination. The amendment from openly gay Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., failed by a vote of 212 to 213 after several Republicans changed their votes. The measure initially appeared to pass, with monitors showing 217 votes in favor of the amendment as the time to vote expired. However, Republican leaders held the vote open as they pressured their colleagues to change sides and vote against the amendment. The number of votes in favor of the measure subsequently ticked lower, leading to chants of 'Shame! Shame! Shame!' from the Democratic side of the aisle. The office of House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., tweeted a list of Republicans that allegedly changed their vote, including some members that are seen as vulnerable in this year's elections. The list included Reps. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., Darrell Issa, R-Calif., David Valadao, R-Calif., Mimi Walters, R-Calif., Greg Walden, R-Ore., Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine, and David Young, R-Iowa. Maloney's amendment would have effectively barred federal contractors from receiving government work if they discriminate against the LGBT community. The measure was introduced in response to language included in a defense authorization bill that Democrats claim would allow discrimination against LGBT people in the name of religious freedom. Republicans argued that approval of the amendment would have killed a bill making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs and related agencies. House Speaker Paul Ryan's, R-Wis., spokeswoman AshLee Strong claimed the GOP was prioritizing veterans and troops over a political messaging amendment. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Technavio research analysts are forecasting positive growth for many segments of the global packaging market over the next four years as several markets including cosmetic packaging, insulated packaging, and vacuum packaging will witness an increase in revenues. Technavio research analysts predict the global cosmetic packaging market to grow at a CAGR of around 5% between 2016 and 2020. Due to the high demand for packaging solutions, the cost of raw material is predicted to increase substantially during this period to directly impact packaging cost and profit margins of vendors. In terms of material types, the plastic packaging segment has dominated the cosmetic packaging market with a significant share and this trend will continue over the next four years. It is estimated that the global insulated packaging market will grow steadily at a CAGR of around 6% by 2020. A comprehensive analysis calculated by the analysts at Technavio shows the boxes and containers segment held the highest market share during 2015. An increase in the demand for pharmaceutical products and vaccines that require a stable temperature condition, will further increase the demand for insulated packaging during the forecast period. The global vacuum packaging market will likely grow at a CAGR of around 4% until 2019. Since vacuum packaging restricts the growth of bacteria, its augmented demand from the food industry will result in significant growth. Moreover, its ability to enhance the shelf life of food products without adding additives and preservatives will encourage its further adoption during this period. "This market will grow fastest in APAC. Increasing demand for vacuum packaging solutions in Japan and Australia is the primary growth driver of this market. The major applications of such packaging products in these countries include fresh meat, poultry, fish, processed foods, ready-to-eat meals, fruits, and vegetables. China, New Zealand, and India represent key emerging markets for vacuum packaging solutions," said Soumya Mutsuddi, one of Technavio's lead analysts for transportation and logistics research View Technavio's entire packaging report library The global packaging market is highly competitive because of the high growth potential in the market and the presence of many small and large vendors. The high level of vendor competition in this market is anticipated to result in product innovation, attractive packaging, better services, and pricing. Apart from packaging, the key advantage for vendors is anticipated to arise out of value-added services and customer support. Some of the key vendors for the packaging market include Albea Group, Silgan Holding, and Gerresheimer for cosmetic packaging; Amcor, Deutsche Post DHL, and Huhtamaki for insulated packaging; and Amcor, Bemis, and Berry Plastics for vacuum packaging. Browse related reports: Global Stand-up Pouch market 2015-2019 Global High-Barrier Pouches Market 2015-2019 Global Green Packaging Market 2016-2020 Global Pharmaceutical Packaging Market 2016-2020 Purchase any three reports for the price of one by becoming a Technavio subscriber. Subscribing to Technavio's reports allows you to download any three reports per month for the price of one. Contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and a link to our subscription platform. About Technavio Technaviois a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160520005009/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 630 333 9501 UK: +44 208 123 1770 www.technavio.com HOWELL, MI -- (Marketwired) -- 05/20/16 -- With its campus dotted with vintage, classic, custom and modern cars, Cleary University hosted over 300 supporters for its Vehicle to a Better Future fundraising event on Thursday, May 19, 2016. The signature event featured keynote addresses by Ken Holland, executive vice president and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, and Adam Genei, owner of Mobsteel and Detroit Steel Wheel Company. Cleary raised nearly $100,000 that will be used to purchase new teaching and learning tools and to fund student scholarships. The event kicked off the celebration of Cleary's commencement weekend, which will conclude with the graduation ceremony at the Johnson Center on Saturday, May 21, 2016 from 10 a.m. to Noon. Jayson Boyers, president of Cleary University, stated, "What a great evening for the staff, faculty, students and friends of Cleary University. We couldn't have asked for better weather, speakers or support for our first Vehicle to a Better Future event. At Cleary, we are using education as a vehicle to help people achieve a better future, and tonight, hundreds of friends and partners came out to demonstrate their belief in our mission and vision. We want to thank University Housing Solutions who was gracious enough to serve as a presenting sponsor for our inaugural event, as well all other corporate and individual supporters who made our event a tremendous success." Boyers added, "We especially want to thank Adam Genei and his crew from Mobsteel and Ken Holland of the Detroit Red Wings, for speaking to our students and supporters. A look across campus or within the Johnson Center, and it was clear that they were fully invested in this event. Their messages about working hard and pursuing your passion were timely and beneficial for everyone to hear." Kevin Clark, founder and CEO of Critter Control, along with Genei, will serve as keynote speakers at the institution's commencement ceremony on Saturday at the Johnson Center. During the ceremony, Cleary will recognize Clark and Genei with honorary doctorate degrees, the highest honor of distinction awarded by the university. The degrees are given to accomplished leaders who support and embrace the university's mission to enrich students' lives through the knowledge, skills, and credentials that advance careers. Participants in the graduation ceremony are invited to use CUBuildingGreat and ClearyClass16 when sharing posts and pictures on social media. About Cleary University Founded in 1883, the foundation of Cleary University is business. Cleary University is committed to its mission to enrich students' lives through the knowledge, skills, and credentials that advance careers. Private, nonprofit, and accredited, Cleary University is a specialized business university, providing practical, project-based education enabling an immediate alumni contribution to employers, families, and communities. Cleary offers a full service campus in Livingston County and satellite campuses throughout Michigan, as well as online degree options. For more information visit cleary.edu. Contact: Kevin Wilson Email Contact 513-898-1008 NEW YORK, May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- For small businesses that are looking to differentiate themselves from large companies, one powerful mobile marketing tool to consider is text messaging. This easy-to-use and affordable tactic is an excellent way to quickly reach existing customers and develop closer relationships with those clients. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110831/NY59180LOGO If you are wondering how SMS marketing can work for your business, here are four easy ways to get started: Provide coupons and discounts. Mobile coupons are convenient and travel with consumers everywhere they go, which leads to higher redemption rates and increased sales. Mobile coupons are convenient and travel with consumers everywhere they go, which leads to higher redemption rates and increased sales. Timing. Knowing when to send your messages and understanding consumer behavior both play an important role with text message marketing. Avoid rush hours, Mondays, and if you are looking to increase in-store foot traffic, don't send promotional texts on weekends only. Knowing when to send your messages and understanding consumer behavior both play an important role with text message marketing. Avoid rush hours, Mondays, and if you are looking to increase in-store foot traffic, don't send promotional texts on weekends only. Build a strong list. Your text message campaign can only be successful if you have a strong list to message. Use short codes to encourage simple sign-ups and consider segmenting this audience further, which can allow you to target and nurture these leads. For further discussion on the text message marketing, read the latest article posted to PR Newswire's Small Business PR Toolkit here. PR Newswire's Small Business PR Toolkit is a comprehensive resource that provides small businesses and entrepreneurs the tools to develop an affordable public relations and marketing plan that helps generate interest from potential customers, engage with key audiences and grow their businesses. The toolkit features relevant content such as informative white papers, interactive webinars and how-to articles and premium access to educational resources, as well as the opportunity to take advantage of special offers designed specifically for small businesses. To request information on how PR Newswire can help your small business, click here. You can receive updates on new Small Business PR Toolkit content by following @prnsmallbiz on Twitter. About PR Newswire PR Newswire (www.prnewswire.com) is the premier global provider of multimedia platforms that enable marketers, corporate communicators, sustainability officers, public affairs and investor relations officers to leverage content to engage with all their key audiences. Having pioneered the commercial news distribution industry over 60 years ago, PR Newswire today provides end-to-end solutions to produce, optimize and target content -- from rich media to online video to multimedia -- and then distribute content and measure results across traditional, digital, mobile and social channels. Combining the world's largest multi-channel, multi-cultural content distribution and optimization network with comprehensive workflow tools and platforms, PR Newswire enables the world's enterprises to engage opportunity everywhere it exists. PR Newswire serves tens of thousands of clients from offices in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, and is a UBM plc company. Contact: Amanda Eldridge Director, Strategic Channels 201-360-6906 Amanda.eldridge@prnewswire.com Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2016) - Indigo Exploration Inc. (TSXV: IXI) (FSE: INE) has closed a non-brokered private placement of 13,750,000 units priced at $0.02 per unit for total gross proceeds of $275,000. Further to the Company's news release dated April 25, 2016, announcing the original private placement of up 11,750,000 units for gross proceeds of up to $235,000, the number of units offered was subsequently increased to 13,750,000. Each unit is comprised of one common share and one share purchase warrant, with each warrant being exercisable for up to May 20, 2019, at an exercise price of $0.05 per share. All securities issued pursuant to the private placement will be subject to a four month hold until September 21, 2016. Finder's fees of $9,000 and $7,500, respectively, have been paid to Haywood Securities Inc. and Leede Jones Gable Inc., equal to 6% of subscriptions to the private placement. Proceeds of the private placement will be used for annual budget requirements to maintain the Company's projects in Burkina Faso, including: office/part-time salaries, land taxes, and legal costs; for additional costs for Burkina Faso, related to: travel, legal, Chamber of Mines membership fee, and advisors or consultants related to the securing the Company's permit extension on the Kodyel property; and for general working capital, including: accounting, legal, audit, filing fees, transfer agent and AGM costs. The additional $40,000 raised will be added to efforts related to securing the Kodyel property. On Behalf of the Board of Directors, "Paul Cowley" President and CEO For further information, please contact: Paul Cowley: (604) 340-7711 Website: www.indigoexploration.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/20/16 -- BACANORA MINERALS LTD. ("Bacanora" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: BCN) (AIM: BCN), the London and Canadian listed lithium company which is developing the Sonora Lithium Project in northern Mexico(1), is pleased to announce that it has raised GBP 7,702,500 (approximately US$11.2 million / approximately CAD $14.7 million) via the placing of 9,750,000 units (the "Placing Units") at a price of 79 pence (approximately CAD $1.48) per Placing Unit (the "Placing") with certain funds and accounts managed by BlackRock ("BlackRock"). Each Placing Unit is comprised of one new common share of the Company (a "Placing Share") and 0.3 of one common share purchase warrant, with each whole warrant (a "Placing Warrant") being exercisable into one common share at a price of 79 pence at any time subsequent to July 25, 2016, but on or before September 30, 2016. Accordingly, an aggregate of 9,750,000 Placing Shares and 2,925,000 Placing Warrants are issuable under this Placing. In the event that the Placing Warrants are fully exercised, the total proceeds received by the Company from the Placing will be approximately GBP 10,000,000 (approximately US$14.6 million / approximately CAD $19.1 million). The Placing is in line with the Company's strategy to increase the institutional representation of its shareholder register and follows the securing of Bacanora's first major institutional investor in November 2015. The funds raised will be invested in the Company's Sonora Lithium Project in Mexico, one of the larger lithium resources in the world, which contains estimated Indicated Mineral Resources of 259 million tonnes ("Mt") averaging 3,200 ppm Li for 4.5 Mt of lithium carbonate equivalent ("LCE")(2) and Inferred Mineral Resources of 160 Mt averaging 3,200 ppm Li for 2.7 Mt of LCE. A fully funded Feasibility Study ('FS'), which is due for completion in Q1 2017, is underway at Sonora in line with the Company's strategy to deliver a two phase open-pit mine and lithium carbonate processing facility with a life of over 20 years as quickly as practicable. A Pre-Feasibility Study ('PFS') announced on 3 March 2016 highlighted the attractive economics associated with delivering on this strategy (Pre-tax NPV8% of US$776 million and Pre-tax IRR of 29%). In tandem with the FS, discussions are continuing with various Asian offtake partners, banks, debt providers and strategic investors. Peter Secker, CEO of Bacanora, commented, "We are very pleased to welcome Blackrock, our second major institutional investor, to our shareholder register. In our view, raising GBP 7.7 million (with the potential to increase this to an aggregate of GBP 10 million) at the prevailing share price in current market conditions is testament to the potential of the Sonora Lithium Project to be a major supplier to the lithium market, as highlighted by the recent PFS. BlackRock is not only gaining exposure to Bacanora at an exciting time in its development, but also to the attractive demand / supply dynamics of the global lithium market. Thanks to lithium's key role in highly innovative industries such as smartphones, electric vehicles and energy storage, supply is expected to struggle to match continued rapid growth in demand for many years to come. We believe Bacanora is well placed to play its part in closing this expected shortfall in supply and I look forward to providing further updates on our progress." The Placing was completed in reliance upon exemptions from applicable prospectus and registration requirements. Accordingly, any trades of securities issued under the Placing that occur in Alberta or to a purchaser in Alberta would be subject to a hold period equal to four months and one day from the date of issuance (being September 21, 2016). Trades of securities occurring through the CREST system among non-Alberta residents will not be subject to this restriction. There were no Alberta subscribers under the offering and all of the aforementioned shares will be deposited under the CREST system. ABOUT BACANORA: Bacanora is a Canadian and London listed minerals explorer (AIM and TSX-V: BCN). The Company explores and is developing industrial mineral projects, with a primary focus on its lithium project. The Company's operations are based in Hermosillo in northern Mexico. The main assets of Bacanora are: -- The Sonora Lithium Project, which consists of ten mining concession areas covering approximately 100 thousand hectares in the northeast of Sonora State. The Company, through drilling and exploration work to date, has established an Indicated Mineral Resource (in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101")) of 4.46 Mt LCE contained in 259 Mt of clay at a Li grade of 3,200 ppm and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 2.74 Mt LCE contained in 160 Mt of clay at a Li grade of 3,200 ppm. -- The Magdalena Borate Project, covering 16,503 hectares in Sonora state, Mexico, where the Company's main borate zone, El Cajon, has an Indicated Resource (in accordance with NI 43-101) of 1.17 mt of B2O3, at an eight per cent. cut-off grade. The Company has completed a number of measures to determine the geological and commercial potential of the project and is undertaking a pre-feasibility exercise to determine the economic benefit of developing the mine and constructing a processing plant on site in order to become a supplier of boric acid. Reader Advisory Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. In particular, forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to the use of proceeds of the Placing, completion of a Feasibility Study and ongoing discussions with potential off-take partners, banks, debt providers and strategic investors. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: commodity price volatility; general economic conditions in Canada, the United States, Mexico and globally; industry conditions, governmental regulation, including environmental regulation; unanticipated operating events or performance; failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, if and when required; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; competition for, among other things, capital, skilled personnel and supplies; changes in tax laws; and the other risk factors disclosed under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. (1) The Sonora Lithium Project is comprised of the following lithium properties: La Ventana lithium concession, which is 100 per cent. owned by Bacanora; El Sauz and Fleur concessions, which are held by Mexilit S.A. de C.V. ("Mexilit"); and the Megalit concession, which is held by Megalit S.A de C.V ("Megalit"). Mexilit and Megalit are owned 70 per cent. by Bacanora and 30 per cent. by REM. (2) LCE is the industry standard terminology for, and is equivalent to, Li2CO3. 1 ppm Li metal is equivalent to 5.32 ppm LCE / Li2CO3.. Use of LCE is to provide data comparable with industry reports and assumes complete conversion of lithium in clays with no recovery or process losses. Contacts: Peter Secker Chief Executive Officer info@bacanoraminerals.com Martin Vidal President (+52 662) 210-0767 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2016) - Verisante Technology, Inc. (TSXV: VRS) (OTC Pink: VRSEF) (the "Company" or "Verisante"), a leader in skin cancer detection technology, provides an operational update after releasing its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015. The Company has begun a program in British Columbia of placing Aura, a device for the detection of skin cancer, with local partner clinics. Currently, members of the public can visit the following clinics in British Columbia for an AuraScan and skin cancer screening services: MD Wellness Solutions #313-2626 Croydon Drive Surrey, BC Tel. (604) 385-3838 Mainland Medical Clinic 1061 Hamilton Street Vancouver, BC Tel. (604) 683-3973 Lakeshore Vein & Aesthetics Clinic 3293 Lakeshore Road Kelowna, BC Tel. (250) 860-9919 Verisante plans to continue to partner with suitable clinics in British Columbia to increase the number of Aura devices available to the public. Doctors or clinics who may be interested in becoming a partner with the Company are encouraged to contact Verisante directly for more information. In addition to the Aura devices recently placed in British Columbia, the Company continues to support the devices previously placed across the country including the Medcan Clinic in Toronto, Medpoint Health Care Centre in London, Ontario, and at Dr. Barry Lycka's Dermasurgery clinic in Edmonton. Verisante has further streamlined its production and manufacturing facilities and personnel to ensure the Company moves forward with the most cost-effective and efficient operations. The Company has reduced General and Administrative expenses by 47% during the year ended December 31, 2015 as compared to the same period the previous year. Verisante is also continuing to work on obtaining US FDA approval for the Aura which is already approved in Canada and has a CE Mark. The Company has held two teleconference calls with the FDA and received guidance in regards to what steps need to be taken to obtain market clearance for the United States. The Company is also in negotiations with a private lender for a long term debt financing of $3 million with additional equity financing that will assist Verisante in meeting our business and operational goals. About Verisante Technology, Inc. Verisante is a medical device company committed to commercializing innovative systems for the early detection of cancer. The Verisante Aura for skin cancer detection and the Verisante Core series for lung, colon and cervical cancer detection utilize a proprietary cancer detection platform while the operating software and probe technology are unique to each device. The cancer detection platform was developed by the BC Cancer Agency and tested and refined at the Skin Care Centre at Vancouver General Hospital. This exclusive platform technology allows Verisante to develop and offer a range of compact, non-invasive cancer detection devices that offer physicians immediate results for many of the most common cancers. Aura has been approved for sale in Canada, Europe and Australia. The Core has not yet been approved for sale. Verisante Aura was awarded the 2014 North American Technology Innovation of the Year Award for In Vivo Cancer Detection by Frost & Sullivan,Popular Science Magazine's "Best of What's New Award" for 2011, awarded a 2013 Prism Award for Innovation in Photonics and an Edison Award for Excellence in Innovation in 2013. Verisante Core was named one of the top 10 cancer breakthroughs of 2011 by the Canadian Cancer Society. The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Company Contact: Thomas Braun, President & CEO Verisante Technology, Inc. Telephone: (604) 605-0507 Email: info@verisante.com Website: www.verisante.com Youtube: www.youtube.com/verisante Twitter: www.twitter.com/verisante Facebook: www.facebook.com/verisante Forward Looking Statements This release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the future commercialization of medical devices, the market demand for these products and the proprietary protections the Company will obtain with regard to the technology, all of which statements are subject to market risks, and the possibility that the Company will not be able to obtain patent protection or obtain sufficient customer demand. These statements are made based upon current expectations and actual results may differ from those projected due to a number of risks and uncertainties. (ASX:SXL) Southern Cross Mediaand Ten Network Holdings have signed a new affiliation agreement for the supply of TEN programming across Southern Crosss Northern NSW television licensing area. The 5 year agreement will begin this July and represents an increase in licensing fees compared to the current agreement in place, due to expire June 30 2016. Southern Cross will broadcast popular TEN programs, including MasterChef Australia, The Bachelor Australia and the KFC Big Bash League to the highly populated region. Southern Crosss CEO Grant Blackley has indicated the new agreement will see the company continuing to deliver high value to its advertising clients. Southern Cross Media reported a net profit of $43.4 million at 31 December 2015. Ping An Good Doctor, an Online-to-offline (O2O) healthcare servicing platform, completed a USD$500m Series A round of financing. The round valued the company at USD$3 billion. Backers included both international and Chinese investors, including international private equity funds, Chinese state-owned enterprises on the Fortune 500 list, finance corporations as well as internet companies. Led by founder Mr. Wang Tao, Ping An Good Doctor is a healthcare and medical service app offering text, photo, voice and video consultation for preventive nursery care, guidance for doctors visits, post-diagnosis services, chronic disease management, medication alerts, etc. Medical experts are available 24/7, communicating with users and providing suggestions based on users health conditions. Users can purchase medication online in accordance with the advice and have it delivered to their home. In addition, it provides online and offline medical services (including appointment booking, chronic disease management, health check-ups and DNA testing), health-by-mall (sale of over-the-counter medication, medical devices and other healthcare products), and assistance with medical insurance (including payment and cost control). Up to now, the platform has accumulated 77 million registered users, and the number of daily consultations has been as high as 250,000. FinSMEs 20/05/2016 Health QR, a Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada-based digital medication management startup, raised $250k in funding. Early stage venture capital firm Innovacorp made the investment. The company will use the funds to bring its product to market. Led by Patricia Ryan, president and CEO, Health QR is developing a technology platform that gives prescription customers secure access to their pharmacy information, letting them manage their medications. The solution provides an interactive mobile app that allows users to view active prescriptions, order refills online, receive reminders when refills are due and be alerted when a prescription is about to expire. The company is also developing new features that will allow prescription customers to be reminded when to take their medication and track their medication adherence on a dashboard. While the system currently interfaces with Kroll Computer Systems pharmacy software platform, which supports about half of Canadian pharmacies and houses all of the sensitive customer prescription information, Health QR is developing the agnostic solution to integrate with other pharmacy software programs including McKessons PharmaClik Rx. The company also has operations in Hamilton, Ontario. FinSMEs 20/05/2016 Springbuk, an Indianapolis-based employer health analytics platform, secured $3.75m in Series A venture capital funding. The round was led by Lewis & Clark Ventures, a vc firm providing capital to fast-growing Midwest companies. In conjunction with the funding, Brian Hopcraft, Managing Director at Lewis & Clark Ventures, will be joining the Springbuk Board of Directors. The company intends to use the funds for hiring and product innovation. Led by Rod Reasen, CEO and Co-Founder, Springbuk provides cloud-based software that combines medical claims, pharmacy, biometric, payroll and activity data for HR, benefits and wellness professionals to get access to accurate insights to measure health programs, identify at-risk members and engage and improve outcomes in their population. The Springbuk platform is currently used by nearly 500 employers representing 500,000 individuals. FinSMEs 20/05/2016 Tink, a Stockholm, Sweden-based fintech startup, raised $10m in Series B venture capital funding. Backers included Creades and SEB Venture Capital, the venture capital arm of Nordic financial services group SEB. The company will use the funds to continue to expand operations. Founded in 2012 by Daniel Kjellen and Fredrik Hedberg, Tink provides an app that allows people to gather, analyze and manage their finances. Tinks technology is included in SEBs mobile app for private individuals in Sweden, which makes it possible for customers to collect and categorize detailed information about purchases and savings. Within the framework of this new partnership, more functions will be now developed and launched in Autumn 2016. The company, which currently has 10 employees, is continuing to hire people. FinSMEs 20/05/2016 Once upon a time there was Sunny Deols dhai kilo ka haath, which uprooted a hand pump to scare off the entire Pakistan Army. Today there is Aishwarya Rai Bachchans index finger. To be fair, Sarbjit is not the unrelenting screamfest that Gadar was, but Deols film came to mind as the former Miss World held up her famous slender digit to intimidate an armed Pakistani security official. She did this right after delivering a loud speech to a Pakistani mob about how Pakistanis stab us Indians in the back while we bravely fight them face to face. As expected, the gun-bearing Pakistani meekly moves aside, and she proceeds to grandly walk past him as only Indian movie stars can when up against the dreaded dushman from across the border. This embarrassingly tacky, populist scene of high-decibel, chest-thumping patriotism is the low point in a film that never quite takes off anyway. August 25, 1990: a farmer from Bhikhiwind village in Punjab crosses the India-Pak border in an inebriated state, is mistaken for a terrorist and jailed in Pakistan, returning 23 years later in a coffin after he is allegedly murdered by fellow prisoners. The true story of Sarabjit Singh Atwal is a tragedy of gargantuan proportions that is enough to move a rock to tears. Yet director Omung Kumar somehow manages to make a curiously unmoving film out of this inherently heartbreaking story. A large part of the reason for this is the writing by Utkarshini Vashishtha and Rajesh Beri, which places Sarabjits sister Dalbir Kaur rather than Sarabjit at the centre of the plot. This might have been an acceptable writing choice if they had focused on the nitty-gritty of this brave womans battle to free her brother. Instead we get broad brush strokes which induce a sense of detachment rather than involvement with this real-life crusader and her unfortunate sibling. The writing is not the films primary problem though. The primary problem is the casting of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Dalbir. Try as she might, the actress cannot get under the skin of her character. She does not have the look or the body language of a Sardarni from rural Punjab, but her effort to get there shows in every studied gesture, every laboured expression, every step, every word spoken, until that effort becomes so distracting that it eclipses all else in the film. This is particularly unfortunate because the rest of the cast is formidably gifted, but the entire project seems designed to ensure that they do not overshadow the central star. Rarely has Bollywood witnessed such a self-defeating approach to filmmaking. Despite this, Randeep Hooda one of the industrys most under-rated talents shines as Sarabjit to the extent that it is possible given the limited writing. His physical transformation from a healthy, happy-go-lucky young farmer and wrestling enthusiast to a scrawny, ragged, filthy prisoner is remarkable, a combination of his own scary dedication (he reportedly lost 18kg for the role), SFX and his makeup artist Renuka Pillais ability to understand the requirements of a character. In his skinny body and decrepit face here, it is hard to spot the actors naturally sexy persona or the hot physique he has happily displayed in earlier films. Commendably though, Hooda does not use the bodily makeover as a crutch. His performance is greatly handicapped by the fact that the camera rarely dwells on his face when it is in the light in India, and in the shadows in his Pakistani prison we see his countenance with clarity pretty late into Sarbjits running time. Further diverting attention from him, quite senselessly, are pictures of the real Sarabjit on posters and placards being held up by campaigners in the film serving to repeatedly remind the audience that the guy we see on screen is someone else. Hampered in so many ways from so many directions, Hooda still immerses himself in the role, making it possible to sometimes forget that he is but an actor playing a part. Richa Chadha as Sarabjits wife Sukhpreet is mostly on the margins, but in the one scene where the spotlight is firmly on her, she sparkles. The situation is a confrontation between Sukhpreet and Dalbir. Without raising her voice even a single notch, without seeming to try at all, Chadha delivers the only scene in the entire film in which I found myself crying. Darshan Kumaar is the new chameleon of Bollywood. As the zealous Pakistani lawyer Avais Sheikh who takes up Sarbjits case he is a far cry from the heroines soft-spoken, supportive husband he played in Mary Kom (2014) or the frightfully evil fellow he was in last years NH10. Omung Kumar debuted with Mary Kom in which, despite the grievous offence of casting Priyanka Chopra as a Manipuri woman, he pulled through on the strength of Saiwyn Quadras solid script, Chopras acting talent and his own firm directorial hand. Here though, he seems scattered and star-struck. It is as if he zeroed in on a star and built a film around her. Big mistake. When you watch Sarbjit, you must accept it as a given that the makers believe Sarabjit Singh Atwal and his familys version of events, not the Pakistani authorities. The reason why that is okay is because the film is not pretending to be a journalistic exercise telling all sides of the story; it is open about its stance that it is a feature recounting one side of the story. Besides, unlike the Akshay Kumar-starrer Airlift released earlier this year, the fictionalisation here does not amount to outright, blatant lies revolving around a protagonist who never existed in reality. The news occurrences in Sarbjit are more or less faithful to Indian media reports, with certain self-serving omissions such as the real Sarabjits reported admission to a Pakistani judge that he was involved in cross-border liquor smuggling (not spying and terrorism) or the controversies surrounding the real Dalbir. Even if these exclusions were to be excused as cinematic licence, the problem remains that this film fails to flesh out the people at the heart of this true story. Statistics flashed on screen right before the end credits inform us that there were 403 Indians languishing in Pakistani jails and 278 Pakistanis in Indian jails as on July 1, 2015. Like Sarabjit, they are not mere numbers, they are living breathing human beings, many of whom (though not all) are innocent victims of the long-running political enmity between India and Pakistan. Sarbjit is a lesson in how not to tell their story. New Delhi: Falling in line with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's stern warning against surge-pricing, taxi aggregator Uber has informed Delhi government that it is ready to cap its fares at rates fixed by the government in the national capital. In a letter to Transport Commissioner, Uber said that per kilometre fare charged on its platform within Delhi will not exceed the government prescribed fare in the capital. "With prejudice to all our rights and contentions, we would like to humbly submit that the per kilometre fare charged on the Uber platform within Delhi will not exceed the government prescribed fare applicable in Delhi," Gagan Bhatia, company's General Manager (North-Uber India), said. Last month, app-based taxi operators including the US-based taxi aggregators came under attack from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over surge-pricing during the second phase of odd-even scheme implemented from April 15-30. After Kejriwal's stern warning against surge-pricing, Uber had temporarily suspended it, but after wrapping up of the road-rationing scheme, it had brought back surge-pricing in the capital. "....we remain committed towards providing a reliable and affordable transportation service to the people of Delhi and thank you (Transport commissioner)for your all efforts in this direction," Bhatia also said in the letter. During the second phase of odd-even scheme, Kejriwal had received complaints of surge-pricing by app-based taxi operators. The Delhi CM had then promised strict action against taxi companies that are charging passengers at more than government-prescribed rates. According to prescribed rates, fares for all types of taxi services are Rs 12.50 per km for Economy Radio Taxis, Rs 14 per km and Rs 16 per km for non-AC & AC Black & Yellow Top taxis respectively will be charged. The notified fare of Radio Taxi cabs (distinguished by an LCD board on roof top displaying "Radio Taxi") is Rs 23 per km. Additional night charges (25% of the fare) are applicable between 11 PM and 5 AM. New Delhi: Doctors working in government hospitals in Delhi on Friday threatened to go on strike from 26 May if the government does not meet their demands regarding salaries and allowances. The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), which is an umbrella organisation of 15,000 resident doctors across 41 government hospitals in the capital, have now written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to revise the recommendations which they termed were "particularly discriminating to doctors". FORDA which has strongly been opposing the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission since November 2015, in its letter to Modi said, "When the 7th CPC was constituted we doctors were very hopeful that our demands will be looked after, which is increasing Non-Practising Allowance (NPA) to 40 percent from existent 25 percent, instead it has been reduced to 20 percent." "The basic pay and NPA were merged together while calculating House Rental Allowance (HRA) earlier, but this has now been omitted and HRA will be calculated only with basic pay resulting in less than the desired salary." The letter further said that, "The CPC has observed that availability of skilled healthcare professionals also poses a key constraint in expanding the health service delivery. Against the desirable density of 85 physicians per lakh of population, the availability is 57 physicians. But the CPC has only observed this scarcity and has done very little to boost the morale of the doctors." FORDA in its letter also demanded uniform pay scales, night shift allowances which currently exist for nursing staff in government hospitals and the formulation of a uniform central residency scheme for the resident doctors of India. Dr Pankaj Solanki, President of FORDA, said the recommendations are strongly discriminatory and are against the interest of the medical profession and that retention of doctors in government hospitals will become difficult if they get implemented. "Government is not even bothered to listen to our demands. We do not want to go on strike but if our demands are not met we would be forced to go on strike from 26 May," he said. New Delhi: A major fire broke out in a plastic factory in New Delhi on Friday, fire officials said. However, no casualties were reported, the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) said. The incident was reported from Narela in west Delhi around 4.40 am and the blazes were doused by 9.20 am. "It was a three-storey building which was gutted in the fire possibly spread due to short circuit. We pressed 32 fire tenders at the spot," a DFS official said. Life expectancy in India has increased by more than 10 years in the past two decades, while globally children born in 2015 were expected on an average to live till 71.4 years, a new UN report revealed. In 2015, life expectancy at birth was 68.3 years in India which breaks down to 66.9 years for men and 69.9 for women, the WHOs World Statistics Report 2016 found. In 1990, Indians were expected to live on an average till 58 years. This rose to 66 years in 2013. Globally, life expectancy increased by five years between 2000 and 2015, which is the fastest increase since the 1960s. This has reversed the declines of the 90s owing to the AIDS epidemic in Africa and other challenges after the fall of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe. India must have had a lot of progress because it is such a driver of global progress (in pushing up life expectancy) because it is so big (in size), Ties Boerma, Director of the Department of Health Statistics and Informatics at the WHO, told Firstpost. This could be attributed to the massive progress made around countering child mortality in the country. The WHOs World Health Statistics is an annual publication since 2005 containing data from 194 countries reporting on the status of health of the worlds people. One of the more worrying finding is that Indias share in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) has increased there is a 26.2 percent probability of dying from any of the four main NCDs between the ages of 30 and 70. This is one of the highest in South East Asia Region (SEAR) higher than many African countries as well as most countries in the Americas, including the US. India has now moved considerably in the epidemiological transition or health transition where non-communicable diseases now have also become a very important cause of death, Boerma told the reporter. India is presented as country with particular challenges with maternal mortality and infectious diseases, but now it is grappling with newer challenges of heart strokes, obesity, cancer and diabetes. In 2012, 68 percent of the deaths globally 38 million deaths were due to NCDs of which 52 percent were premature deaths that are deaths of less than 70-year-olds. Over three quarters of these premature deaths were due to cardio vascular diseases, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory diseases. Last year, Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), defined as the number of maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births, was estimated at 215 globally which translates to a whooping 813 women dying every single day due to childbirth. Indias MMR in 2015 was 174. Nepal was the highest in the SEAR group with a high of 258 deaths, while Sierra Leone topped the global list with an extremely high ratio of 1,360 mothers dying per 1,00,000 live children born. A related statistic shows that between 2006 and 2014, 74 percent of the Indian children were born through skilled personnel while the same percentage for Thailand is 100, while it is as high as 99 percent for Sri Lanka. India has about 24 skilled health personnel to serve 10,000 people. This rate is globally comparable only with Latin American countries like Peru and Nicaragua. An estimated 5.9 million children died under the age of five in India in 2015 with 45 percent of them being newborns. Indias mortality rate under five was 47.7 per 1,000 live births in 2015. Only 40 percent of the Indian population used improved sanitation in 2015, compared to 61 percent in Bangladesh and Indonesia, 46 percent in Nepal, 95 percent in Sri Lanka and 98 percent in Maldives. Improved sanitation implies that a facility is not shared with other households and where the output is safely disposed off in situ or treated offsite. Lack of access to proper sanitation facilities continues to affect development goals in India with the country having the largest population without improved sanitation facilities among the SEAR countries. Globally, 946 million people defecate in the open. Twenty three percent of the worlds children 156 million of them are affected by stunting. India had a prevalence of 38.7 for children under 5 years of age between 2005 and 2015. In 2015, the proportion of Indias population using improved drinking water sources was 94 percent. Although only three countries in the world have a less than 50 percent of the population accessing improvised drinking water sources, it is important to note that globally about one-quarter of the improved water sources are faecally contaminated and approximately 1.8 billion people drink such contaminated water. The access to such sources is further complicated in developing countries because of the distances of their location from home. Only 34 percent of the Indian population in 2014 relied on clean fuels compared to more than 95 percent in Maldives and 68 percent among the Bhutanese population. Reliance on polluting fuels and technologies in the home is closely linked to poverty and social inequity, states the WHO report. Part of the consequence of use of unclean fuels was that the country had a high of 73.6 g/m3 mean concentration of PM2.5 in urban areas one of the highest among the SEAR countries and higher than many African countries. As many as 4.3 million people in the world die due to air pollution caused by cooking fuels and another three million die from outdoor pollution. The mortality rate due to intentional homicide in India is 4.3 per 1,00,000 population. The highest such rate is in Honduras of almost 104 deaths per 1,00,000 people. Health care in India is very unequal, the WHO official said, adding that there is a long way to go before there is quality service for everyone. India scored 70 on relative inequality for accessing reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health interventions, according to data from 2005. The debate in India is around the challenge of providing quality health care without financial hardships, and social insurance that allow the poor to use private services and not just public services. It is a big challenge for the private sector being so big. And the Indian government is putting relatively little money in healththe debate (in India) was very lively but the answers were still few, Boerma said. There have been great successes in Mexicos Seguro Popular scheme a public health insurance that covers a wide range of services without co-pays for its affiliates and some Chilean initiatives that could provide models for tailoring to Indias settings. The Chinese experience has a very high insurance coverage for its population but has not been so successful in addressing the supply side of health care, the UN health agency said. Some states in India like Kerala could be an example for other states in terms of their health initiatives, Boerma said. Overall, India has scored 94 on 13 core capacities that the WHOs International Health Regulations (IHR) stipulate for member states for instance, on preparedness, response and critical capacities and surveillance. Some countries like Japan, Cuba, Australia, Republic of Korea, South Africa score 100 while countries like China, Vietnam and Germany have a score of 99. The US scores 91. However, most of this data is self-reported annually by countries as required by IHR. WHO is moving into more external assessments of core capacities of countries something that is evolving at the moment. We also feel that we need more objective assessments of where countries stand, Boerma said. Some global findings - Life expectancy for children born in 2015 was 71.4 years. However, this remains uneven. For 29 high-income countries, the average life expectancy was 80 years, for 22 other low-income African countries, the life expectancy was less than 60 years. People in Sierra Leone have the lowest life expectancy globally for both sexes. - Healthy life expectancy stands at 63.1 years globally. - Japanese women are expected to live the longest with an average life span of 86.8 years while Swiss men have the longest average survival at 81.3 years. - The latest figures show that countries that traditionally perform well on the life expectancy scale like Japan, Switzerland, and Australia continue to make progress. - Research has shown that life expectancy grew by 2-2.5 years per decade in high-income countries during the 20th century whether such gains could be sustained over time is a huge debate among demographers. - There are 2 million people newly affected by HIV, 9.6 million with tuberculosis, 214 new malaria cases and 1.4 billion people in need of treatment for neglected tropical diseases in the world. More than 10 million people die premature deaths before 70 years by cardiovascular diseases and cancer. As many as 8,00,000 people committed suicide across the world last year, while 80 percent of the 4,75,000 people intentionally killed in 2015 were men. Despite measures to curb tobacco consumption in many parts of the world, more than a billion people smoke tobacco. Several parts of north and west India continued to reel under severe heat wave conditions. On Thursday, the mercury soared to 48 C in Ahmedabad, making it the "hottest day in the city in the last 100 years." "The maximum temperature in Ahmedabad city was recorded at 48 C. It has broken a 100-year record. As per the data, the city had recorded 47.8 C on 27 May, 1916," said Jayanta Sarkar, director, India Meteorological Department (IMD). Civic officials confirmed one death due to heat stroke in Ahmedabad taking the death toll to heat wave to four this summer and 32 heat-related patients were admitted to government hospitals. Severe heatwave condition continues to prevail across north Gujarat and Saurashtra-Kutch region. "The severe heatwave condition will prevail till Friday before receding. Westerly wind is likely to bring some moisture which will reduce temperature and offer some respite," Sarkar added. Apart from Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Deesa in Banaskantha district also recorded the maximum temperature of 48 C. Several other cities in Gujarat recorded over 45 C temperature, including Kandla (47.7), Surendranagar (47.5), Idar (47.2), Amreli (46.8), and Rajkot 46 C. The heat wave condition in Haryana and Punjab was not too different. The maximum temperature was recorded at 46 C in Hisar. Ambala registered a maximum temperature of 41.1 C, two degrees above normal, an IMD official said. Chandigarh, where the maximum temperature on Wednesday was 43.1 C, recorded a high of 41.9 C on Thursday, three notches above normal. In Punjab, Amritsar's maximum temperature dropped to 43.8 C, four degrees above normal. Ludhiana and Patiala also sizzled recording maximum temperatures of 43.5 C and 42.5 C respectively. Haryana Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said that government schools in the state would remain closed from 23 May to 25 June. He also urged private schools to take similar steps. There was no respite from the scorching heat in lower hilly regions of Himachal Pradesh as dry weather prevailed in the state with Una being the hottest place in the state at 43.4 C. Sunder Nagar and Bhuntar recorded a the maximum temperatures at 38 and 36.6 C respectively, followed by 35.6 C in Nahan, 33.6 C in Dharamshala and 33 C in Solan, Kalpa recorded 25.4 C, the Met Department said. Maximum temperature in Shimla settled at 29 C with the state capital and its surrounding areas experiencing with partly cloudy skies and cool breeze during the day. Keylong in the tribal Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest at 8.8 C. According to the IMD forecast, dry weather conditions will prevail for the next six days with a marginal fluctuation in the mercury. Meanwhile, Banda in Uttar Pradesh recorded a maximum temperature of 47.2 C, highest in the state, followed by Allahabad at 46.7 C, the IMD said here. Lucknow recorded a maximum temperature of 44.4 C. Maximum temperatures in Jhansi was recorded at 46.4 C, 46 C in Orai. Above normal temperature were also recorded in Allahabad and Faizabad divisions. According to the IMD forecast, rain or thundershowers are very likely at isolated places over east UP, while weather is likely to remain dry over western part of the state. "Taking soaring temperatures into account, the district administration has decided to close all the schools from 23 May," said District Magistrate Raj Shekhar. With inputs from PTI New Delhi: A special court on Friday sent the alleged Indian Mujahideen's (IM) key operative Abdul Wahid Siddibapa to NIA custody for seven days after the agency said he was required to be interrogated in connection with fund transfer to the terror outfit. Siddibapa, 32, a resident of Bhatkal in Karnataka, was produced before Special NIA Judge Rakesh Pandit, who said, "It is appropriate to say that custodial interrogation is required. I grant his custody to NIA for seven days." In the application, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) sought 15 days custody of Siddibapa, submitting that he was in Dubai, had assumed the name of Khan and that he was an important cadre of the IM for regularly transferring funds from Pakistan to UAE and then to India for terror activities here. The agency also told the court that the accused was in touch with several IM members through electronic devices. Advocate MS Khan, who appeared for Siddibapa, opposed the plea for NIA custody saying that the NIA has already concluded arguments on charge in the case, in which the accused has been arrested. He also argued that his client's name never appeared anywhere in the chargesheet filed by NIA or in the list of proclaimed offenders or wanted persons. Siddibapa, cousin of Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, was held at Indira Gandhi International Airport today after his arrival from Dubai. According to NIA's FIR lodged in September 2012, members of IM, in association with other IM sleeper cells based in the country and others, were conspiring to commit terror acts, by making preparations for targeting various important and prominent places in India especially in Delhi by causing bomb blasts with the active aid and support from their Pakistan-based operatives and associates, thus, waging war against the government of India. NIA had alleged that Siddibapa played an active role as the main conduit in the chain of fund supply from Pakistan via Dubai to other IM operatives based in India for the commission of terrorist acts. The court had on 6 November 2013 issued a non-bailable warrant against Siddibapa that was extended from time to time and thereafter, a Red Corner Notice was issued against him on 3 December 2013. After the drubbing which Congress got in the Assembly elections in the four states of West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, party president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday said that the party will "introspect" yet again. "We will introspect into reasons for our loss and will rededicate ourselves to the service of people with greater vigour," ANI quoted the Congress president as saying. "We accept the verdict of the people of Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala with utmost humility," she further said. Party vice-president Rahul Gandhi tweeted out more cliches. We accept the verdict of people with humility. My best wishes to the parties that have won the elections Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) May 19, 2016 I take this opportunity to thank every Congress worker and leader and our allies for their effort during these elections Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) May 19, 2016 We will work harder till we win the confidence &a trust of people Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) May 19, 2016 However, not all party leaders are happy with mere claims of "introspection" and tweets about working harder now. "The time for introspection is now past. Time for action has comeIt is time to move and it is time to make some visible changes that the world and the country can see because for a couple of years after 2014, the process for consideration, reflection, introspection and so on has been taking place. It is now time for the leadership to draw on the conclusion from their introspection and take necessary action," The Indian Express quoted Congress MP Shashi Tharoor as saying. Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh also tweeted out, saying that the election results were "disappointing but not unexpected", adding that it was time for the party to go for a "major surgery". Today's results disappointing but not unexpected. We have done enough Introspection shouldn't we go for a Major Surgery ? digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) May 19, 2016 The Indian Express report also said that Digvijaya had complained about how action on reports submitted by Congress leaders to the party leadership after the Lok Sabha 2014 defeat had not been taken till now. A Congress leader, who spoke to IANS on the condition of anonymity, said that the morale of workers was down after the series of defeats. "The party morale is at its lowest ebb," he said. "Today you need fighters who put in their heart and soul in the work given to them. People have got tired to seeing the same faces in states. There should be generational change. The young leadership should be in the forefront," he said. The leader said parties such as BJP were far quicker in bringing about correctives compared to Congress. "Whatever is the party's strategy for revival, it should be unveiled fully," he said. The fact that Congress leaders need to speak honestly about their own party on condition of anonymity should worry the party. There was also a section of Congress leaders which wanted Priyanka Gandhi to join active politics. "Priyanka should decide now and come into active politics," Digvijaya had said a day before the election results, according to India Today. Another Congress leader RPN Singh also backed Digvijaya's remark and said that she was already active in Rae Bareli and Amethi. "Many Congressmen want her to join active politics but the decision is her's," the report quoted Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmad as saying. However, as usual, there was also a section of Congress leaders which was not at all critical of the top leadership. Rahul Gandhi could be elevated as Congress president, independent of the party suffering a debacle in the current round of Assembly elections. An indication to this effect was given by party's chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala on Thursday. When a reporter sought to know whether plans to elevate the 45-year-old Congress vice-president would be put on hold in the backdrop of the poll reverses, Surjewala dismissed it saying, "Your suggestion is spectacular, we reject it outright." A party leader, who is known to be close to Rahul, said he would be elevated "sooner than you think". "We had expected these results. We will analyse the reasons for our defeat under the leadership of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi," party leader Mukul Wasnik said. Senior leader AK Antony said the Congress defeat in the Kerala Assembly polls was certainly a "setback" for the party, but it would bounce back. Antony, a former Kerala chief minister told reporters that "the defeat was certainly a setback for the party. We are disappointed but not disillusioned or disheartened." Suggesting that the party has witnessed worst days in 1967, Antony said that time, the party could secure just nine out of 133 seats and it was a "total blackout" in some of the regions and "we came back like a phoenix". He further said that victory and defeat are part of the democratic process and that the part would introspect on the causes for the defeat to make a comeback. With inputs from agencies New Delhi: "It's an all time high for us" and the "highest point" for BJP, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday as the party stormed to power in Assam and saw a major jump in its vote share in Kerala and West Bengal. "Today this is the highest point in the history of BJP. We have a majority in the Lok Sabha on our own. Along with our partners, we have 15 state governments, which covers over 45 percent of India's population," he said. Jaitley said the geographical expansion of BJP in Kerala, after Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in the South, and the 11 per cent vote share in West Bengal were "important milestones". "To be able to form a government in Assam with an overwhelming majority and to have governments in Arunachal and Meghalaya is a very important milestone," he said. The Finance Minister also hit out at the Congress, saying the national party which hogged centrestage in the national polity until two years ago "today has state governments which cover about 7 to 8 per cent of India's population." "So the stark difference in the size of the two parties is - it's an all-time high for us and an all-time low for them," he said. With Thursday's poll results, he expressed the hope for early passage of GST Bill about which he was "reasonably optimistic". "Today's verdict is advantage GST. I think a setback to the obstructionists is certainly advantage GST," he said when asked if this could see an early passage of the key tax reform legislation. Jaitley criticised Congress leaders for trying to "protect" and coming to the defence of Rahul Gandhi rather than giving local and rational reasons for the party's debacle in these assembly polls. Coming down heavily on the family-led politics of Congress, he attacked it for not having a leadership and said this was not a situation created by the BJP. "We don't have a choice in creating their leader. That is a trap that the Congress party has really set for itself. When a party transforms itself from a structured political party to a crowd around the family, then the inevitable consequences of that is that the family, because its strength and appeal is lacking, can become a liability for the party. "Without the family, the crowd itself would disintegrate and therefore it is for Congress party to decide whether they want to transform themselves into a structured political party or merely into a dynastic association," he said. He added the Congress, after losing the 2014 elections, had to decide whether to behave like a national party of governance and mature itself or take the path of obstruction or fringe positions. Jaitley also hit out at the Left, saying it is a model which has been rejected globally and has presence in India in certain pockets including states like Tripura, Kerala and West Bengal and "faculties of Jadhavpur and Jawaharlal Nehru Universities". When asked if Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar can emerge as the leader of an anti-BJP front in the future, Jaitley rejected the idea of a regional player anchoring a national-level alliance. "To have a coalition government at the Centre in federal polity, you need an anchor of an alliance who has a sufficiently large size and a national presence. "If anchor itself has 20 to 30 seats in Parliament, as has happened in the past, then such a coordination collapses sooner than later. A coalition without a reasonably large anchor is never possible in such a large democracy," he said. The Left might have won in Kerala, but losing West Bengal despite going for an alliance with the Congress has come as a big blow for the party that had ruled the state for more than three decades at a stretch. The Left leaders might not agree that they have been decimated and take pride of having its governments in tanalywo states Tripura and now Kerala, the fact remains that Communist Party of India (Marxist) the leader of the coalition the Left Front is yet to get over from the massive defeat in 2011, when Mamata Banerjee routed 34-year Left rule in Bengal. In spite of forming an alliance (Joth) with Congress for 2016 Assembly poll, this time the Left has performed worse (75 seats jointly) than in 2011 Assembly election, when the Left Front alone had won 61 seats. It was a time in 1990s when the Left had its government in three states West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura. Even, during the regime of UPA-1, the Left had supported the government at Centre from outside, but since 2011, it had witnessed a steady decline. It lost West Bengal and Kerala and performed disastrously in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. What has gone wrong in West Bengal? According to the Left party leaders and the review report of the 21st Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) held in Vishakhapatnam in 2015: - Shift in voters' base from CPI (M) to Trinamool Congress (TMC). - Disconnect with grass root level voters. - Over powering Neo-liberal policies and manifestations of the neo-liberal attack on the working class. - Rise of Right-wing politics (effect of BJP-RSS combine). - Communalism. - Inability of the Left parties to regain its lost mass base since 2011. - Left's failure to project its issues effectively among the masses. - Use of money and freebies by the ruling government in the state (TMC). - Violent attack on Left party offices and workers allegedly by the TMC. - Compulsions of the alliance (Joth). "The CPM respects the verdict of the West Bengal electorate which re-elected the TMC government in this election. The CPM and the Left Front had campaigned for the restoration of democracy, peace and tranquility in the state facing terror and intimidation. During the election process, many Left cadres lost their lives. Even in the post-poll period and during the counting today, reports of violence and attacks have come in," CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said. The party has decided to analyse the cause of defeat and chalk out strategy on how it could revive its old glory that it had enjoyed under legendary Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and later under Buddhadev Bhattacharya. "The CPM Central Committee and the West Bengal State Committee will examine the reasons for the poor performance of the Left Front and the electoral tactics adopted to draw proper lessons. The party and the Left Front will continue with their struggle for protecting the democratic rights and civil liberties of the people and against the politics of terror," Yechury added. CPM Central Committee member, Badal Saroj said, "The Left's ideology and agenda couldn't be projected amongst the masses as it was need. Even, the revival process by taking us issues through mass struggles and movements was late. Moreover, there's always a compulsion in the case of alliance, as a common path needs to be taken and you can't push your issues aggressively. As a result, we couldn't win over our lost mass-base." Allegation "There are several other issues that led to Left's defeat in West Bengal. In the last five years there had been a systematic attack on our party offices and workers by the TMC goons and more than 180 members have got killed. There's a virtual reign of terror and suppression, which we couldn't counter. The ruling party resorted to bribing and giving freebies. There has been no industrial development or employment generation in the state in a big way in the last five years. The TMC offered money to poor voters and Rs 2 lakh each to clubs to buy votes unusual in Bengal politics," alleged Saroj. Left's tentative revival plan The Left, especially the CPM has decided to go back to basics. - Establish dialogue with the masses, especially at the grass root level its original voters' base. - Need to review afresh the party's action plan. - Focus on working class by taking up their issues aggressively. - Sustained effort. - Reorientation and intensify struggle. - Aggressively counter 'Hindutva ideology' of the BJP and RSS. In its political resolution adopted during the 21st Congress of the CPM, it has noted that communal politics continued to pose a danger as the RSS and its political wing the BJP sought an opportunity to push forward the communal agenda. 1. The Hindutva agenda of the BJP-RSS combine must be fought politically and on the ground by the Party and the mass organisations in the social, cultural, ideological and educational spheres. The broadest mobilisation of the secular and democratic forces against the communal danger and in defence of secular values should be undertaken. To fight against the authoritarian danger posed by the rightward shift by a broad mobilisation in defence of democratic rights, artistic freedom and opposing curbs on parliamentary democracy. 2. Develop the organisational work in the adivasi areas and among the dalits to counter the multifarious activities of the RSS outfits. The defence of minority (Muslim minority community) rights and the demand that special measures be undertaken for the educational and economic advancement of the minorities assume crucial importance. "It's wrong to think that the Left has got decimated. Now, we're in two states. After a review, if needed we have to change our style of functioning. We have to make our agenda clearer to our target voters the working class by aggressively taking up their issues. There is a need to hammer class issues and for this big preparation and sustained effort is required, besides strongly countering communal forces in the state," added Saroj. In the old days, when hunting was allowed, we used to go for ducks. When they flew overhead and were shot they would keep flying, then suddenly stop midflight, realise they had been shot and fall plop into the water. The Congress party reminds one of that sudden fall. Dead in the water. These elections last week prove that the tactic of being anti-BJP has failed dramatically. As has the general conduct of this party. It is seen by the public as destructive, immature, in disarray and without much purpose. More a hindrance than a help. It is seen as a bully, a spoilsport and a party not worthy of attention, despite Rahul Gandhi's frenzied tours of poverty-stricken areas, in what was becoming a travesty of concern. Like enough already. So, a moribund Congress should have seen a resurgence in the BJP. Besides Assam, where the influx of Bangladeshis swung the vote to a fair extent and swept the Congress away, there isnt much to cheer about. On the contrary, the writing on the wall is a grim indicator that the honeymoon is long over. The Modi magic isnt putting the rabbit back in the hat and no amount of abracadabra will change that fact. The disenchantment dripping from the high hopes of 2014 is reflected even in the statistical game one can play of showing that out of 822 seats contested, the comatose Congress took 115 as compared to the BJP which took 64. Amit Shah said the BJP did extremely well in Kerala. One seat. Repeated its performance in Tamil Nadu. No seat. Puducherry. Zero. West Bengal. Three. So on what fact is this excitement predicated? The positive spin from all this could be that the states need not replicate the Centre and can carry on with their provincial love affairs. So, come the next general election, the BJP will have its ducks in order and romp home against a Congress that isnt likely to script an act of any great worthiness. And there is no real third party opposition that has the presence or the dimension to go nationwide. Which perhaps could be the priority for the BJPs think tank if they want to retain power. Stick to strengthening yourself at the Centre, keep a national approach and do not fritter away your energies in state elections, where your defeats sting you like wasps and compromise your status as the party in power in the union government. The more the Modi-led government concentrates on matters which impact on all the people and legislates towards it, the better it is for the country and the party credibility. Not that they will listen. The desire to spread the power base is overwhelming and a victory like the one in Assam will provide a misconceived arrogance, without much thought going into it. In fact it could be a curse because not a day later, the BJP is already talking about next years civic polls in Mumbai. Now, isn't that a giveaway of the mindset? The more the BJP ignores the national mandates and 'faffs' around the states and cities, the better the chances of the Congress dead duck reviving itself and swimming back to shore. Several times during her election campaign, Mamata Banerjee had made it quite clear that a thumping win in 2016 Assembly election would be a stepping stone to her ambitious project: Mission Delhi 2019. So it came as no surprise when Mamata, flush with success after decimating the Left-Congress alliance, leading Trinamool Congress to 211 seats (better than even her 2011 tally of 184) and securing a second successive stint as West Bengal's chief minister, announced that she is now ready to "work with friends" to fulfil that ambition. Typical of Didi, however, to mask that aspiration with a rather exaggerated show of humility. "I'm a Less Important Person, LIP," she said, emphasising on the acronym during an interview with News18 on Thursday. "I consider myself a commoner. I don't want to play any big role. But small persons can also play small roles. If the country requires me to play a small role, I'm ready for it." The 2016 Assembly elections across five states have thrown up some home truths and interesting possibilities. The BJP appears well poised to replace the Congress as the new national party with a pan-Indian presence. It's not just the victory in Assam, where it ended Tarun Gogoi's hegemony, the BJP has made inroads into the Left-Congress bipolar citadel of Kerala and has increased its number of seats in West Bengal. It is the clearest signal yet that at least in the short term, saffron is set to be the dominant colour in national politics beyond even the traditional strongholds of the Hindi heartland. And as is the wont in a multi-party democracy, BJP's rise as a new behemoth has triggered an urge among the regional forces to come together and offer an alternative. The situation has been exacerbated by Congress' rapid decline which otherwise could have served as a counter-balance, an issue that has been discussed in an earlier piece here. For the third front or 'federal front' to materialise, however, a lot of political alignments and ideological adjustments have to be made. Mindful of the rocky road ahead, Mamata was careful not to pitch herself as the prime ministerial candidate, claiming instead that she's like to remain in the shadows. "The federal front can play an important role in the country's development. There are so many regional political parties. They can come together. I have no problems in working with them. I can do it from behind also," the West Bengal chief minister told News18. And later in another interview to NDTV, she hinted at playing the role of a mediator among "many friends" in several states should such a situation arise. "There are so many friends (that I have). We can sit together and chalk it out. Chandrababu Naidu is my friend. Telangana is our friend. Arvind Kejriwal of course is my friend. I can talk to Naveen Patnaik, Jayalalitha, Mayawatiji, Mulayamji, Laluji, Nitish Kumarji no problem." But even if Mamata appeared reluctant to pitch herself to the forefront, her generals made it clear that Didi should be the prime ministerial candidate for 2019. "The result in Bengal has given Mamatadi political immortality," TMC MP and spokesperson Derek O'Brien said. "She doesn't hanker for any chair but whether she will be the prime minister in 2019, I can only say please don't rule out anything," he told NDTV. "Delhi is two hours and 10 minutes away from Kolkata, but it's even closer if the headwinds are in favour". The state's industry and finance minister Amit Mitra, fresh from his victory over Left Front candidate Asim Dasgupta, said in an interview to News18 that in the "new paradigm of regional politics, new metrics will be on offer and its contours will be defined by winners, not losers. Regional entities who have gained popular mandate will be ready to move to Delhi. Mamata is bound to play a big role in 2019 because she is the only leader to have beaten the BJP, Congress and the Left." And later to Times Now, JDU leader Pavan Verma said: "All forces opposed to the BJP need to come together on a platform to work towards 2019." So the broad outlines of the "federal front" are set. But will this loose conglomerate, even if it manages to put aside differences for a common cause of unseating Narendra Modi, be able to deliver? The idea of a third front is anything but new. It has been tried so many times that it reminds one of the Mark Twain quote on smoking: Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times. It has been alternatively called 'third rate front' or the 'most enduring mirage of Indian politics.' The trouble with such an opportunistic front driven largely by negative motivation is not that there is lack of ambition among its proponents, rather the surfeit of it. And according to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, India can ill afford such a hotchpotch coalition whose emergence is still a matter of conjecture. "Regional amalgamations are theoretical propositions," he told Times Now. "In the world's largest democracy, a national government has to have an anchor with a sizeable presence. It could be 116 seats or 180 seats in Parliament, not a party with barely two digits. The confederation of regional parties is an experiment that has been attempted several times and each time, the idea has come a cropper. "India's experience with such alliances has been disastrous. Therefore, from the point of view of governance, the major national force should be an anchor and keeping federal polity in mind, it will have regional parties around this." Handicaps of history can never come in the way of personal ambition though. Fresh from her massive mandate, Mamata has already sounded the bugle for 2019. It remains to be seen how the 'alternative force' takes shape around her. This has been an upset. Upsetting for the pollsters, journalists and all those who predicted that the Left and the Congress experiment were up to take head on Mamata Banerjee! Majorly upsetting was for the Left parties who thought that pure arithmetic could win them, seats. The Left was reduced to half of their total seats held in the last Assembly elections that itself was termed historical when their thirty five year old fort was captured by the Trinamool Congress. The Congress party instead got a slight edge this time due to the support and the Jhot (coalition), making this polls to be the most unpredictable elections results of West Bengal. Not that there were doubts about Mamata Banerjees ability to win elections on her own but because the opposing forces usually tend to hit harder unitedly. This had been the logic in the minds of the opposing parties i.e the Left and the Congress when they were forging the alliance. Former enemies became allies! The leaders went on asking their workers, Let the hand (symbol of the congress party) carry the hammer and the sickle (symbol of CPM) together to fight against the autocracy of the Trinamool Congress. The idea that had influenced their minds was simple. Poll arithmetic works; the two opposing parties with their respective share of votes would add up to a large vote bank that can challenge the dominance of the Trinamool Congress. It had worked perfect in 2011, when the joint forces of the Trinamool and the Congress had dismantled the Left citadel. Remember, even then when Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress was almost won close to a two third majority on its own, the victory was attributed to a combined vote share of the Trinamool and Congress coalition. They had then applied the same logic that dedicated vote banks will sail the partners through. But times are different now. Not necessarily that the age old vote banks still exist intact particularly amongst the youngsters, women, minorities, tribal and the underserved. There is no retention value anymore. Each time each political party will have to strategize afresh to reach out to each and every voter. The Left lost almost half of their seats of 2011 making it clear that in politics not all decisions work arithmetically and unilaterally every time. And why should it be? Mamata Banerjee has been the undisputed leader of her party that came to power five years back in West Bengal. She was single handedly managing her campaigns this time despite severe anti-incumbency factor gripping her governance. Her main leaders were surrounded by allegations of major corruption due to Saradha chit fund scam earlier and the Narada sting few days before the elections. One of her true comrade and amongst the most powerful leaders of her party Madan Mitra is lodged in jail on charges of corruption and it was the Trinamool Chief who still aggressively campaigned even for him. Then there was the after-shocks of the Vivekananda flyover collapse, the syndicate controversy etc. And there was no other face besides the leader herself to handle flowers and brickbats both at the same time. Her party-men totally depended on her magic. It did work and worked magically. She not just increased her previous tally but managed to do so with ease and comfort crushing all opposing forces. And that too without any Gatbandhan (alliance)! On the other hand, the Left and the Congress until recently were enemies accused of killings and loot in their respective strongholds and an alliance with each other might not be as rosy as was being projected. Mamata Banerjee is a product of the Congress tree and hence her alliance with the Congress in 2011 was more acceptable to the people than as of today when the real time enemies became allies. With very little commonality in party ideology the reasons to unite in West Bengal was loud and clear. Opposition forces Unite to Oust the present Government! Ask any leader where the Left and the Congress harmonized and the answer was to just to oust the present government. The reasons did not go down well with the people. The results say so. The biggest loser of the coalition has been the Left parties. The congress too upped its tally by a few numbers, but Left lost miserably. This proves beyond doubt that the dedicated Left voters had voted for the Congress but that did not replicate amongst Congress voters. They instead chose the Trinamool Congress. Look at the seats in even the Left bastions in pockets of North Bengal and Central Bengal, the loss of the Left explains clearly that the dedicated congress voters went back to Trinamool Congress instead, explains Ajitha Menon, journalist and political observer. Opposition unity has been tested in several elections in India before. The Mahagatbandhan (Grand Alliance) in Bihar worked perfect, the formation of the UPA government in 2004 and the NDA in 1998 depended on the unity of the opposition. But in West Bengal the formula failed miserably. The reasons could be many for the failed attempt. The Left chief ministerial candidate Suryakanta Mishra in no way matched the energy and the efficacy of Mamata Banerjee. Many of the Left workers now in the Trinamool camp are using the same arm twisting tactics of poll management and booth Management as the former Left. The minorities have a sizeable population in the state and no one but Mamata Banerjee has provided them the idea of social inclusion in all sectors, even in her 'election Management'. People vote for the winning team. Greater national issues also played a major role in the consolidation of votes, explains Anwar Hussain local journalist of Dainik Jagran newspaper. On the flip side the BJP made a mark in the state with more than their own estimated number of seats. West Bengal voted phenomenally differently this time again sending pollsters back to their research books looking for answers as to what was the real reason for such a landslide victory for the Trinamool Congress when even her own party men were not sure about. Like Bollywood, the political theatre of India is now showing signs of grand acceptance of the anti-hero. As a leader, you now have to be feisty, enigmatic and largely distasteful towards the traditional middle class cultural mores and sensibilities; but at the same time, be a saviour to the social underdogs in order to win the elections. Though this assessment may not prove to be correct in every situation in a diverse nation like India, the election results since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections do indicate the emergence of leaders with pronounced characteristics of an unforgiving, often vengeful, but immaculately focused leader. The recently victorious West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalaithaa fit aptly into this description. They are known to be street fighters in their own way and have carried out their political battles often on a personal level. Yet, both of them are entirely focused in their political objectives and have consolidated their support bases by all means necessary, without caring for their ethical implications. For instance, Mamata Banerjees party the Trinamool Congress (TMC), did not hesitate to resort to violence in the West Bengal elections if it helped further her political ambition. She seemed well aware of the Communist Party of India's (Marxist) (CPM's) tactics of intimidation and of using the fear of violence to scare away its rivals across West Bengal. That the elections require big money, however, prompted her to ignore the indulgence of her trusted aides in corruption. All this did not, however, dilute her image of a leader having certain ascetic traits. She still retains her image of being an incorruptible leader whose recourse to immoral practices stands justified as a counter to devious rivals. In sharp contrast to Mamata, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa gives the impression of being a queen to all she surveys. Her regal demeanour deceptively disguises her feisty nature, which comes up occasionally to show that she is no pushover. Recall the manner in which she got her rivals M Karunanidhi and Murasoli Maran arrested in the middle of the night. In peoples perception, Ammas unforgiving nature is counted as her strength. It bears testimony to her focused approach that she was able to consolidate her support base after five years of incumbency, and subsequently won the elections for the second time. The obvious implication of this victory is that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) could not measure up to Jayalalithas shrewd manoeuvres. If one looks at other state elections like in Delhi and Bihar it appears to be an era of feisty leaders. Arvind Kejriwal often takes his image of being a street fighter to extremes that degenerate the political discourse. Yet, his popularity is indicative of peoples acceptance of his conduct which Delhis middle class may find repulsive at times. Kejriwals problem lies in the fact that he takes the political battle to a personal level and fires on all cylinders to shock and awe his enemies. Nitish Kumar, on the other hand, proved to be shrewder as he outsourced his feistiness to Lalu Prasad Yadav, while managing to retain his sober and sagacious image. Though Kumar is no less feisty when it comes to saving his turf, he is normally smart enough to avoid a direct slanging match. In the Bihar elections, however, he was equally acerbic against his rivals and had successfully prompted his partner Lalu Prasad Yadav to take on the BJP in the low level discourse, in order to provoke a reaction. At the same time, he was very much focused on his goal of consolidating his support base among the OBCs by all means be it fair or foul. His victory could also be seen as a revenge of the plebeian against the scheming upper caste-middle class-urban elites represented by the BJP. In fact, it would be wrong to ignore that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has eminently contributed to the emergence of the anti-hero in the Indian political theatre. Since the 2002 Gujarat riots, he is ranged against a powerful traditional media and elites catering to a particular set of sensibilities which often appear to be bordering on hypocrisy and opportunism. Now the chickens seem to have come home to roost. New Delhi: US Ambassador Richard Verma on Friday, called on Home Minister Rajnath Singh to discuss various issues concerning both the countries. Singh and Verma are said to have discussed about the India-US Homeland Security Dialogue likely to be held next month, sources said. The Home Minister and the US counterpart meet every year for India-US Homeland Security dialogue alternatively in New Delhi and Washington. New Delhi and Washington have close cooperation and share intelligence on terrorists and terror outfits operating in Indian sub-continent. BJP's rise as the new national force with a pan-Indian presence owes in no small measure to its long-term strategy of building the party from scratch in places where it never had even the slightest of presence. The ever-expanding saffron footprints point to the quiet yet fervent fixing of nuts and bolts in hitherto uncharted territories and targeted, grassroot-level effort from workers and volunteers. For a party that lacks the rich legacy of Congress or the doctrinal moorings of the Left, it is imperative that organization framework is in place way, way before its gains are evident in electoral politics. Towards that end, BJP's performance in Kerala and West Bengal during the 2016 Assembly elections is perhaps more important than even its rising to power in Assam. In West Bengal, a curious fact has gone largely unnoticed. When you count the number of seats, the BJP has won just three. A seemingly negligible figure in an election where Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress won 211 seats. But let us take a look at the vote share. The BJP polled 10.2 percent of the votes, just about two percentage points less than Congress's 12.3 percent. Yet, Congress finished as the second-largest party in the state with 44 seats. (Source: EC) How is this possible? And what does this signify? This happens due to India's first-past-the-post voting system which we have copied from the British. Simply, it means that the candidate with the most votes in each constituency wins that seat. All other votes become irrelevant. This is the second-most popular voting mechanism in the world. It is less ambiguous, votes can be counted quickly and winner decided as soon as it is done. The problem with this system, however, lies in the fact that it sometimes gives us a skewed reality. For instance, it is quite clear that Congress polled slightly more votes than BJP but got way more seats because its votes were "concentrated on a few seats." Whereas the same scenario became seemingly disadvantageous for the BJP because its votes "were spread over large parts of the state" and naturally fell short of the numbers required to win. Readers will notice that I used the word "seemingly disadvantageous" because even though it appears that BJP has lost out on a number of seats, it actually points to the success of its long-term target, that of becoming the state's chief electoral force. And spreading out of the vote share means that it is succeeding in fanning out to different parts of the state instead of staying put in a fiefdom, as Congress has done for decades in north Bengal (now increasingly under threat from TMC). In 262 constituencies, BJP got more than 10000 votes and in 60 seats including that of the Chief Minister, the saffron party polled more than 20000 votes. In fact, BJP rookie Chandra Kumar Bose at one stage ran Mamata Banerjee close in Kolkata's Bhawanipore though he later finished third. Why Modi, not Mamata, broke alliance's back But there are other metrics to gauge BJP's rise in Bengal and the most glaring of those is Mamata Banerjee's stunning performance. Sounds conflicting? It is actually quite simple. Trinamool Congress would not have got won so many seats had it been a straight fight between it and the Left Front-Congress alliance. It is the BJP which put a spanner in opposition's ambition by eating away a large segment of the votes in a triangular contest and making it easier for Didi to ease through. One of the key calculation that the alliance was banking on was a slide in BJP's vote share compared to what it was in 2014, when the saffron party polled an unprecedented 17 percent votes during Lok Sabha elections riding on a Modi wave. It was largely believed (and even indicated by some exit polls) that the figure may come down by as much as 10 percentage points and the extra votes will go in opposition kitty. What we saw instead was that the BJP arrested a massive erosion in its vote share (in fact, compared to four percent in 2011 Assembly polls, it actually registered a six percent rise) and in at least 50 of the 294-seat Assembly it aided the ruling party by cutting into anti-incumbency votes. It won't be an exaggeration, therefore, to claim that Mamata Banerjee should send a 'thank you' note to Narendra Modi. Equally interesting is BJP's performance in north Bengal, a traditional Congress stronghold. It won two of its three seats in Alipurduar and Malda (the other being West Midnapore where party president Dilip Ghosh emerged victorious). And as a Times of India report points out, the saffron vote share in vast stretches of north Bengal is way ahead of its overall state average. A host of constituencies in Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Jhargram and Malda saw BJP polling 20 percent to 28 percent votes. The result of tenuous, intense, mass-oriented projects in tribal areas of Dooars and social activism through the RSS network is evident. The Sangh has seen a recent spurt in the number of shakhas in the state. While that alone cannot ensure electoral dividend, the party has also undertaken massive booth-level functions. The base for BJP's rise in Bengal is now complete. The party's national secretary and chief election campaigner Sidharth Nath Singh sees the results as such. "We have now got a foothold to expand the party's presence in the state. The groundwork is done. 2019 and 2021 is ours," he told Firstpost on Friday. While the target is certainly ambitious, few would put it past the BJP. The party is clearly on an upswing. New Delhi: Coming down heavily on officials taking too much time for highway project clearances, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday warned them against "sitting on files" and causing "unnecessary delays" and said the files should be cleared in three days. "Why are you in love with files. Don't sit on files for so much time. There should be three days limit to dispose of a file," the Road Transport and Highways Minister said at an event. "Delays impact projects which is not acceptable and records are being prepared to check unnecessary delays by officials," he said at the MoU signing ceremony between Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE) and Project Management Institute (PMI). At the same time, concerned over an alarmingly high number of road accidents which India witnesses, the Minister said the persons behind preparation of faulty project reports would be made responsible for those stretches which account for the highest number of road accidents. The Minister said it is wrong to accuse drivers alone for every accident, the highest number of accidents take place due to faulty road engineering. He asked official to ensure that best international practices are adopted while preparing detailed project report (DPRs) and stressed that to ensure quality construction, auditing will be a regular practice. He said that the Centre has decided to use 10 per cent of the about Rs 9,000 crore central road fund to fix accident spots identified by the government. Lamenting that there was lack of motivation and enthusiasm among government officials in accepting innovation he cited how at Haldia port use of a hidden channel had resulted in savings to the tune of Rs 250 crore per annum on dredging charges. The minister said that the port was making loss earlier and required Rs 450 crore per annum on dredging charges only. He said that the channel is being used by more than 100 ships and IIT Madras has been asked to work in the sector of port related issues. "Knowledge is power," he said and urged officials to turn use innovation, research and technology to enhance output. The Minister said that works worth Rs 25 lakh crore were lined up in the highways sector. A pact was signed between IAHE and PMI to foster globally recognised project management practices in road sector and to augment the abilities and skills of personnel from the Ministry, NHAI, NHIDCL, state PWDs and stakeholders. India accounts for 5 lakh road accidents per annum in which 1.5 lakh people die and 3 lakh are crippled and the cost of these accidents is equivalent to about 3 per cnet of GDP. Chennai: Miffed at the Election Commission deferring the polls to Aravakurichi and Thanjavur Assembly segments in Tamil Nadu, DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Friday alleged it was a "conspiracy" against his party and warned of launching an agitation if polling was not held as per schedule on 23 May. Referring to BJP and PMK moving the court seeking postponement of polls, he asked how many seats the two had won in the other 232 seats, results for which were declared on Thursday. The two parties had drawn a blank. "This is a deliberate conspiracy being hatched against DMK. How many seats have BJP and PMK won? Should not the opinion of DMK, which is contesting there, be sought," he told reporters here. He alleged that the EC's decision to further defer the polls on the pleas of BJP and PMK "is a planned conspiracy." "If elections are not held as per schedule (on 23 May), I myself will launch an agitation saying that this was a deliberate move," he said. Karunanidhi charged that EC was working at the behest of AIADMK in this matter. The Election Commission had earlier made a submission in the Madras High Court that it has decided to further postpone elections to Aravakurichi and Thanjavur assembly seats by three more weeks. EC had originally postponed the elections from the scheduled 16 May to 23 May following allegations of bribing of voters. Challenging the decision to hold it on 23 May, BJP and PMK had moved the High Court, seeking further postponement of polling. Meanwhile, DMK petitioned the Election Commission to hold the polls as per the earlier postponed schedule of 23 May. Organisation Secretary RS Bharathi said the DMK was "shocked" to know about the Election Commission's decision to further defer the poll. "There are allegations made in the press by some political parties against DMK as a reason for postponing the elections. When such allegations are made against the DMK, it is just and fair to put us on notice before postponing the elections," Bharathi said. He said the Election Commission should "recall this decision to uphold democracy". Cairo/Athens: An EgyptAir jet carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean on Thursday in what Egypt said could have been a terrorist attack. The Egyptian civil aviation ministry initially said Greek authorities had found "floating material" and life jackets likely to be from the plane, an Airbus A320. Greek defense sources told Reuters the material was discovered in the sea 370 kilometres south of the island of Crete. However, late on Thursday EgyptAir Vice President Ahmed Adel told CNN that the wreckage had not been found. "We stand corrected on finding the wreckage because what we identified is not a part of our plane. So the search and rescue is still going on," Adel said. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the civil aviation ministry, the army's search and rescue center, the navy, and the air force to take all necessary measures to locate debris from the aircraft. In a statement issued by his office, Sisi also ordered an investigative committee formed by the civil aviation ministry to immediately start investigating the causes of the plane's disappearance. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to rule out any explanation for the crash, including an attack like the one blamed for bringing down a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula last year. The country's aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure. Officials from multiple U.S. agencies told Reuters that a US review of satellite imagery so far had not produced any signs of an explosion aboard the EgyptAir flight. The US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the conclusion was the result of a preliminary examination of imagery and cautioned against media reports suggesting the United States believed a bomb was responsible for the crash. They said the United States has not ruled out any possible causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew. Greece had deployed aircraft and a frigate to search for the missing plane. Egypt said it would lead the investigation and France would participate. Paris said three investigators would arrive in Egypt on Thursday evening. In Washington, President Barack Obama received a briefing on the disappearance from his adviser for homeland security and counter-terrorism, the White House said. A White House spokesman said it was too early to know the cause of the crash and offered condolences. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the Airbus swerved 90 degrees to the left, spun through 360 degrees to the right and plunged from 37,000 feet to 15,000 before vanishing from Greek radar screens. According to Greece's civil aviation chief, calls from Greek air traffic controllers to flight MS804 went unanswered just before it left Greek airspace, and it disappeared from radar screens soon afterwards. There was no official indication of a possible cause, whether technical failure, human error or sabotage. Ultra-hardline Islamists have targeted airports, airliners and tourist sites in Europe, Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries over the past few years. Asked if he could rule out terrorist involvement, the Egyptian premier told reporters: "We cannot exclude anything at this time or confirm anything. All the search operations must be concluded so we can know the cause." French President Francois Hollande also said the cause was unknown. "No hypothesis can be ruled out, nor can any be favored over another." The aircraft was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew, EgyptAir said. They included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals, along with citizens of 10 other countries. The Canadian government said on Thursday two Canadian citizens were aboard and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said Canadian officials were working with authorities to confirm if any other Canadians were on the flight. The U.S. State Department said there was no indication that American citizens were on board. 'Lives are so cheap' At Cairo airport, a man sat on a brown leather couch crying with his hands covering his face. "How long will Egypt live if human lives are so cheap? he said. The mother of a flight attendant rushed out of the VIP hall where families waited in tears. She said the last time her daughter called her was Wednesday night. "They havent told us anything," she said. Some relatives tried to beat up a photographer working for EgyptAir who took several pictures of the families waiting in the hall. Security officials intervened and escorted him out. With its archaeological sites and Red Sea resorts, Egypt is a traditional destination for Western tourists. But the industry has been badly hit by the downing of a Russian Metrojet flight last October, in which all 224 people on board were killed, as well as by an Islamist insurgency and a string of bomb attacks. A320s normally seat 150, which means the EgyptAir plane was barely a third full. Greek air traffic controllers spoke to the pilot as the jet flew over the island of Kea, in what was thought to be the last broadcast from the aircraft, and no problems were reported. But just ahead of the handover to Egyptian controllers, calls to the plane went unanswered. "About seven miles before the aircraft entered the Cairo airspace, Greek controllers tried to contact the pilot but he was not responding," said Kostas Litzerakis, head of Greece's civil aviation department. Shortly after exiting Greek airspace, it disappeared from radars, he said. In Paris, a police source said investigators were interviewing officers who were on duty at Roissy airport on Wednesday evening to find out whether they heard or saw anything suspicious. "We are in the early stage here," the source said. Airbus said the missing A320 was delivered to EgyptAir in November 2003 and had operated about 48,000 flight hours. The missing flight's pilot had clocked up 6,275 hours of flying experience, including 2,101 hours on the A320, while the first officer had 2,766 hours, EgyptAir said. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, said no conclusions could be drawn yet but terrorism was a very possible cause. "If terrorism was indeed the cause, it would reveal a whole new level of vulnerability to aircraft not only from those flights originating in the Middle East, but to those departing from the heart of Europe and with, at least in theory, far better airport defenses," he said. Other countries offered to help in the investigation, including the United States, where engine maker Pratt & Whitney is based. Russia and Western governments have said the Metrojet plane that crashed on Oct. 31 was probably brought down by a bomb, and the Islamic State militant group said it had smuggled an explosive device on board. That crash called into question Egypt's campaign to contain Islamist violence. Militants have stepped up attacks on Egyptian soldiers and police since Sisi, then serving as army chief, toppled elected president Mohamed Mursi, an Islamist, in 2013 after mass protests against his rule. In March, an EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus by a man with what authorities said was a fake suicide belt. He was arrested after giving himself up. EgyptAir has a fleet of 57 Airbus and Boeing jets, including 15 of the Airbus A320 family of aircraft, according to airfleets.com. Washington: Donald Trump kept himself planted firmly in the political spotlight this week with one headline-grabbing move after another launching a social media defense of his treatment of women, listing possible Supreme Court nominees, and rapidly declaring an Egyptian plane crash an act of terrorism. His likely general election opponent, Hillary Clinton, seemed content to hang in the background. But Clinton's stay-above-the-fray attitude masks unresolved questions that have gnawed at her campaign since Trump virtually locked up the Republican nomination. How can the wonkish Clinton counteract Trump's finely tuned ability to command attention? Can she win the White House by letting Trump run on his terms, hoping his unorthodox candidacy wears thin with voters by November? Or does she need to make a positive case for her own candidacy, something she has struggled to articulate during the Democratic primary? "She's going to have to do things to keep her side motivated, to keep people excited, keep it aspirational," said Steve Schale, a Florida Democratic strategist who advised President Barack Obama's White House campaigns. Hillary Clinton's unexpectedly tough battle with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders highlights her struggle to make that case thus far. Sanders' supporters can repeat whole sections of his campaign speech verbatim. Trump's backers chime in on cue when he asks who will pay for his proposed border wall with Mexico. The former secretary of state, by contrast, throws a policy-filled kitchen sink at voters. She pledges to break down barriers to progress, build on Obama's priorities and implement lessons learned from her husband's economic stewardship in the 1990s. And her ability to define the race on her own terms could only get harder in a face-off with Trump, the dominant force in this presidential contest and a master of defining his opponents before they can define themselves. "He's good at dominating the news cycle and changing the news cycle to fit his purposes," said Rick Tyler, former communications director for Texas Sen. "He has this ability to just change the trajectory of where the news is going by using amazing distractions that are just too delicious to pass up." To be sure, Clinton has overcome her messaging struggles in the primary and is close to clinching the Democratic nomination. But facing Trump will be another matter, with his capacity to set the tone for the day in the morning through frequent tweets and calls into news shows, catching his rivals off guard and leaving them scrambling to catch up. The last days underscored Trump's grip on the spotlight, and his willingness to stay there even when attention turns negative. After a newspaper article detailing his behavior with women, Trump kept the story alive by repeatedly bashing the reporters and defending his actions. He shifted the conservation to his possible presidency by announcing a list of judges he might nominate to the high court. He then said on Twitter the roll out went so well that he might add more names. In between, Trump said he could negotiate with North Korea's leader. He called Ferguson, Missouri, and Oakland, California, more dangerous than Iraq. And he used the word "rape" in speaking about Bill Clinton's past indiscretions. While Hillary Clinton's campaign released paper statements responding to some of Trump's statements, the candidate herself stayed largely quiet. In an interview with CNN Thursday, she said Trump is "not qualified" to be president. Clinton's advisers and outside backers say they're not making the same mistake as Trump's Republican primary rivals. The GOP contenders spent months predicting the businessman's collapse under the weight of a controversial comment or collection of them and tried to avoid alienating his supporters while they waited. Clinton has made clear she won't respond to Trump's every move. "I'm going to let him run his campaign however he chooses," she told reporters recently. Still, Priorities USA Action, a pro-Clinton super PAC is already running its first anti-Trump ads in battleground states as part of a $130 million general election advertising buy. "Republican anti-Trump efforts were too little, too late," said Justin Barasky, the group's spokesman. Clinton has another significant advantage compared to Trump's previous opponents, many of whom were unknown to most Americans. Clinton can match Trump's high profile, having spent nearly three decades in national politics, and is unlikely to be totally drowned out by the real estate mogul. "She's the only other candidate in this race who has the ability to break through," said Mo Elleithee, director of the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service and a Clinton campaign adviser in 2008. That will require more than just responding to perceived offenses, however. "The road to the White House in 2016 is littered with the carcasses of candidacies that were equally as offended," Elleithee added. "Being upset about him, being angry about him isn't enough." Washington: US President Barack Obama confirmed considering either partially or fully lifting an embargo on arms sales to Vietnam that has been in place for the last three decades. Obama said on Thursday that he will discuss the issue with Vietnamese authorities when he visits the country next week, EFE news reported. "We'll discuss this at meetings of the president (in Vietnam), it's something we've been evaluating as we prepare for the visit," said Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Adviser for Obama, in a press conference. The US arms embargo on Vietnam has been in force since 1984 and although it was slightly relaxed in 2014, Obama is now considering lifting it completely or significantly expanding the range of armaments that can be sold to the country, amid rapprochement with Hanoi and concern over China's military strength. "We have not made a final decision on the matter," said Rhodes, although he acknowledged that the White House has talked about the issue with several Congress members "in the past weeks". Obama will discuss the issue on 23 May during his meeting with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, who has been in office for less than two months; with the new Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong. Rhodes said that in making the decision, the US will consider "how it is developing the relationship", not only in terms of "security cooperation" but also in relation to the "(US) commitment to supporting human rights in Vietnam". The US has not sold weapons to Vietnam since the end of the long war in that country (1955-1975), although the formal ban was issued in 1984 by late US president Ronald Reagan. The two countries restored diplomatic relations in 1995, and Obama has tried to apply the same philosophy that he has adopted with Cuba and Myanmar to Vietnam: to boost bilateral dialogue despite the concern about the human rights situation. Lahore: LeT operations commander Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi and six others accused in the 2008 Mumbai attack case will be individually charged for the abetment to murder of each of the 166 people who died in the carnage, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court ruled on Friday. "The seven suspects will be charged individually for the abetment to murder of each victim of Mumbai attack case," a senior court official said, quoting the verdict of the trial court. The official told PTI that the court, however, did not allow cross examination of the suspects in this regard. The prosecution had filed an application in the ATC Islamabad some two months ago requesting it to make amendment in the charges against the suspects in abetment to murder of each individual in the carnage. The trial court in March last had reserved the verdict after the prosecution and defence lawyers completed their arguments on the plea that amendment in the charges against all seven suspects in abetment to murder of each individual in Mumbai attack should be made. The attack in November 2008 by ten Pakistani terrorists lead to the death of 166 people, including six Americans and injured more than 300. The prosecution was of the view that it was seeking amendment to the changes "for further strengthening the case against the suspects." It had also pleaded to include the post-mortem reports of those killed in the attack. The prosecution said India should be asked o send the post-mortem reports of each victim of Mumbai attack while the defence lawyers opposed it. Meanwhile, the Mumbai attack case has faced inordinate delay as no proceedings were held for the previous seven consecutive hearings. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for 25 May. The Pakistani authorities are blaming India for the delay in the case, saying it cannot move further till the Indian government sends witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case. "The seven consecutive hearings of the case were adjourned without any proceedings because the Pakistani government is still awaiting its counterpart's response about sending [Indian] witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case," the court official said. The Foreign Ministry of Pakistan had written to the Indian government about three months ago asking it to send all 24 Indian witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the trial court in Mumbai attacks case. Colombo: The toll in the torrential rains and landslides in Sri Lanka on Friday rose to 63, the Disaster Management Centre said. The island nation's central Kegalle district has so far reported the highest number of deaths with 34 people killed after two massive landslides on Tuesday and Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported. Rescue teams have recovered 16 bodies in Aranayake while 144 are still buried under the debris. The landslide which struck on Tuesday evening, buried three villages and has been recorded as the worst in Sri Lanka's history. Teams have also recovered 14 bodies from Bulathkohupitiya and are searching for 15 other people trapped under the debris when a landslide struck on Wednesday morning destroying six rows of houses. The army said that additional troops had been deployed in Aranayake and Bulathkohupitiya. More than 450,000 people have been affected by floods and landslides across the island country. The DMC on Thursday warned that water levels of the Kelani river was also rising and people residing along the river banks were evacuated. People in the hilly areas have also been warned to self evacuate if they observe any signs of landslides. In the latest weather update, the Meteorology Department said that a cyclonic storm which had formed in the Bay of Bengal was now moving away from the island but heavy winds and rains would continue in many districts for the next few days. Taipei: Taiwan's new President Tsai Ing-wen called for "positive dialogue" with China in her much-anticipated inauguration speech on Friday, striking a conciliatory tone in the face of an increasingly hostile Beijing. Tsai took office as the island's first female President after winning a landslide victory in January to defeat the ruling Kuomintang, ending an eight-year rapprochement with Beijing under outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou. Voters felt Ma had moved too close to China, which still sees self-ruling Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification. Beijing-sceptic Tsai swept in with a campaign to restore Taiwanese pride, a message that resonated with a public tired of living in China's shadow. However she sought to cast Taiwan as a force for peace in front of a cheering crowd of 20,000 at the presidential palace in Taipei, where she was sworn in earlier on Friday. "The two governing parties across the strait must set aside the baggage of history, and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides," she said. Relations with Beijing have already cooled since she won the presidency with China putting growing pressure on Tsai to back its "one China" message - the bedrock of the thaw under outgoing leader Ma Ying-jeou. Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party have never recognised the concept. While she showed no sign of backing down from that stance in her speech, Tsai emphasised the importance of cross-strait communication. "Cross-strait relations have become an integral part of building regional peace and collective security," she said. "In this process, Taiwan will be a 'staunch guardian of peace' that actively participates and is never absent." However, she still emphasised the need for Taiwan to diversify the economy and end its over-reliance on the mainland for trade. She also expressed the island's commitment to its vibrant democratic culture. "We, as a free and democratic people, are committed to the defence of our freedom and democracy as a way of life...My dear fellow Taiwanese, we did it," she said. Official mainland Chinese news outlets snubbed the inauguration, while searches for Tsai's name and "Taiwan" were blocked on social media. In an editorial, the Global Times - a newspaper owned by the People's Daily group that often takes a nationalistic tone - said Tsai's assumption of power heralded "a new era for a cross-Straits region that is characterised by uncertainty." Washington: Ignoring objections of the White House, the Republican majority House of Representatives has approved the National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA) which blocks $450 million aid to Pakistan for failing to take action against the dreaded Haqqani network. The NDAA 2017 (HR 4909) was passed by the US House of Representative (277-147) Wednesday night, which among others included approval of three major amendments reflecting the strong anti-Pak sentiment prevailing among the US lawmakers. As a result, as per the House version of the Bill, the Obama Administration must certify that Pakistan has met before releasing $450 million in aid. "Pakistan has shown progress in arresting and prosecuting Haqqani network senior leaders and mid-level operatives". Congressman Dana Rohrabacher's amendment adds an additional requirement that the Secretary of Defense certify to Congress that Pakistan is not using its military or any funds or equipment provided by the US to persecute minority groups seeking political or religious freedom. The NDAA-2017 also includes the sense of the Congress that Shakil Afridi is an international hero and that the Government of Pakistan should release him immediately from prison. NDAA-2017 now needs to be passed by the Senate, before it can be sent to the White House for the US President Barack Obama to sign it into law. Early this week, the White House had expressed strong objections to several provisions of the bill, including the one related to $450 million in aid to Pakistan. "The Administration objects to section 1212 (of HR 4919), which would make $450 million of CSF (Coalition Support Fund) to Pakistan ineligible for the Secretary of Defense's waiver authority unless the Secretary provides a certification to the Congressional defense committees," the White House said in its statement. "We share the Committee's concerns regarding the threat posed to our forces and interests in Afghanistan by the Haqqani Network, and we continue to engage with Pakistan at the highest levels regarding the need for concerted action specifically against the group," the White House said. However, Congressman Mark Thornberry, Chairman of the House of Foreign Affairs Committee late Wednesday night decided to ignore the White House's objection to this and asked the members of the House to approve these amendments in block, for which no voting took place. digital and print publisher. digital and print publisher. We are Americas largest We are Americas largest The brands you love. The experiences you want. Consumers are becoming more aware of animal cruelty and adopting ethical lifestyles and diets that seek animal-free products while reducing some of the adverse... Read More Energy-efficiency and infrastructure expert Ameresco Inc. (AMRC 2.09%) reported first-quarter earnings on May 5. It was a bit of a bounce-back quarter, as the company looks to have recovered from missteps in its Canadian operations in 2015 that took a big bite out of profits. Furthermore, the company ended the quarter with a strong backlog of both signed and contracted business, and awarded deals that aren't yet signed, putting it in a position to continue driving earnings growth for the remainder of 2016. The numbers Metric Q1 2016 Q1 2015 Change Revenue $133.8 $115.4 16% Net income $1.1 $(4.40) 520% Earnings per share $0.02 $(0.09) 550% Adjusted EPS $0.03 $(0.02) 167% What happened in the quarter Ameresco reported improvements in two key segments of its operations -- Federal and Canadian operations -- driving higher revenue, stronger orders and awarded contracts, and generally better profitability: Project revenue of $85 million, up 24% Federal group project revenue was up 75%. Canadian project revenue up 43%, to $12 million. More importantly, Canadian segment generated positive EBITDA after last year's big losses. $133 million in new projects awarded in the quarter, 59% higher than year-ago quarter. Awarded backlog of $1 billion, up 19% from last year, and up 8% sequentially. Larger projects (more than $5 million) are a key driver to backlog growth. Operations and maintenance revenue was up 23%, and tends to be recurring, stable revenue. Federal segment O&M revenue was up 31% year over year. Board approved $10 million share-buyback program based on recent operating cash flows improvement, and what management views as the intrinsic value of the business. What management said Here's what Ameresco founder and CEO George Sakellaris said regarding the strong growth in both revenue and the company's backlog: We continued to improve our visibility, with strong new awards. The awarded backlog grew by 19%, and total backlog grew by over 11%. Our core line of business, projects, continues to perform exceptionally well, with revenue up 24%. Our key recurring revenue streams of operation and maintenance and energy sales from our assets grew 23% and 18%, respectively. Overall, we are pleased with our performance this quarter... ... As we look ahead in our project business, we are enthusiastic about our new award wins. We were awarded over $133 million in new projects, an amount 59% greater than the new awards we captured a year ago. Our awarded backlog is now over $1 billion, 19% higher than a year ago, and 8% higher than where we started the year. The CEO commented on one area where they are seeing some cyclical softness related to a weak oil and gas industry: We continue, however, to see a lag in our integrated PV sales, which were down 32%. That business had been selling mainly into oilfield microgrid applications, a market that is still under real pressure. So let's review the operating highlights by line of business, starting with our core business of projects. Sakellaris also spoke about the importance of continuing to grow Ameresco's recurring revenue streams, reducing the company's reliance on its project backlog, and also providing more stable cash flows: While we drove high growth in our core project business, we did not lose focus on continuing to build recurring revenue. In fact, these lines of business performed exceptionally well in the quarter. Operations and maintenance grew 23%, an impressive amount considering the inherent stability of this revenue source. The incremental O&M revenue was contributed by the federal segment, where O&M grew 31% year over year, and 14% sequentially. Meanwhile, energy sales grew 18% year over year and 10% sequentially, as the Fort Detrick solar-installation plant was in operation for the full quarter. We are optimistic about the outlook of these two lines of business. CFO John Granara also mentioned that the company invested $8.6 million in capital expenditures in the first quarter in renewable-energy projects that the company plans to own and operate. These are exactly the sorts of investments that will provide recurring revenue for Ameresco going forward. Looking ahead The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance in the earnings release, with expectations of revenue between $645 million and $680 million, and earnings per share of $0.25-$0.30. This would be a nice improvement from the $631 million in revenue and $0.06 in earnings per share in 2015. The company pointed out that there could be some impact from SunEdison's recent bankruptcy. The company took a $1 million writedown of amounts due from the company in the quarter, and Granara said that they have another $3 million in exposure to the company. They are still assessing the company's ability to collect, so it's possible there may be further writedowns in coming quarters, as SunEdison's bankruptcy progresses through the courts. Even with that impact, it looks like Ameresco's business is starting to perform relatively well. Operating costs were up slightly, but declined as a percent of revenue, while gross margin percent also improved. The company is likely to benefit from tax credits for renewable-energy projects. Those credits, which were set to expire at year-end, were extended for several more years. Last summer, Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) announced a proposed merger with Coca-Cola Iberian Partners (based in Portugal and Spain) and Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetranke (based in Germany) to create a new company, Coca-Cola European Partners. With shareholders set to vote on the merger on May 24, here's what investors need to know about the proposed deal. What the new company will look like The new company, Coca-Cola European Partners, would have a territory covering virtually all of Western Europe, and it would become the world's largest bottler of all things Coca-Cola as measured by sales volume. Based on of the individual 2015 numbers from Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coca-Cola Iberian Partners, and Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetranke (yes, that is the correct spelling!), three-quarters of sales for the new company will come from Great Britain, Germany, France, and Spain, with the remaining sales coming from nine other European countries. Combined 2015 sales of the individual companies were just over $12 billion in U.S. dollars, and profit was just over $700 million for the year. The combined territory of the bottlers serves more than 300 million people. Much of Coca-Cola Enterprises leadership team will remain intact at the new company. Current CEO and chairman John Brock will become the new CEO and director, while chief operating officer Damian Gammell and chief financial officer Nik Jhangiani will both remain in their current roles. Victor Rufart, managing director of Iberian Partners, will become the new company's chief integration officer to oversee the merger. Why combine these three businesses? The companies see two benefits to a unification of efforts: cost savings and a boost in sales growth. Over the next three years, total operating expenses are to be reduced by $350 million to $375 million, which would equate to about 3% of 2015 net sales. With 2015 net profits at $700 million, this development could increase profits by over 50%. The companies also believe that combining operations will help them be more competitive in developed Western Europe, stave off competition from other beverage providers, and drive Coca-Cola sales growth and distribution. Coca-Cola Enterprises has seen sales fall in recent years, with 2015 totals coming in 1.5% lower than 2014. The hope is that the new company will be more competitive in its respective markets than the three companies can be individually. That is the extent of the new outlined business plan. Details on how the deal decreases costs and increases the competitiveness of the business haven't been released, so look for some more color on that if investors give the nod of approval. What it means for investors The merger of the three companies into Coca-Cola European Partners is expected to close by the end of June, with the new shares trading on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Euronext Exchange. Owners of Coca-Cola Enterprises will receive one share of the new company for each share of CCE owned, plus a $14.50 cash distribution. It is important to keep in mind, though, that this cash distribution is not a reason to buy CCE before the merger, as the new share price will be adjusted down accordingly to reflect the cash payment. Owners of Coca-Cola Enterprises may also be concerned with the fact that the headquarters of the new company will be in Great Britain instead of the U.S. Based on current tax codes, no foreign tax will be assessed on potential future dividend payments or capital gains. It is possible, however, that a taxable event could be realized at the time of the merger if the value of the new shares plus the $14.50 cash distribution is greater than an investor's original purchase price of CCE. Coca-Cola Enterprises currently pays a dividend yielding about 2.3%. It is unknown if the new company will resume a dividend right away, although those involved with the merger have stated the new board of directors' intention to pay out 30% to 40% of net profits over the long-term. Start looking for some more detail on this topic from management after the shareholder meeting on May 24. Owners of the Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) will also be affected by the transaction, though in a more indirect way. The German bottling business is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Coca-Cola Company, and should the merger happen, Coca-Cola will own an 18% stake in Coca-Cola European Partners. This transaction helps the parent Coca-Cola business execute on its stated strategy of divesting itself of bottling and distribution and focusing instead on the development of new drink offerings. As a result, the Coca-Cola Company could end up being the biggest beneficiary of the whole deal if the transaction goes through. Ultimately, current owners of the Coca-Cola Enterprises bottling company have a few things to consider. The first is whether taxes might be an issue during the exchange of the old shares for the new ones. The second is the long-term growth prospects of the new company and the sustainability of the dividend payments. It appears the board will attempt to keep the cash flowing to shareholders and that expense savings will be realized over time to strengthen profits, so I would expect no surprises with the dividend over the long-term. The merger documents do mention some risk regarding short-term cash flows right after the transaction takes place that could potentially interrupt cash payments to shareholders. For new investors who may have gotten interested in the business because of the merger, I don't think there is enough clarity on a future business strategy in the merger documents to warrant a purchase just yet. At this point, the transaction appears to be a plan to consolidate business in the hopes of reducing costs. The tobacco industry has a long history of fighting litigation battles connected to cigarettes and other products, and part of the reason why Altria Group (MO 2.09%) and its peers have produced such strong returns for investors is that they've largely been successful in fending off major damages awards. However, some investors are growing more concerned that the lawsuit tide might be turning against Altria, and recent decisions have some troubling implications for the industry. In particular, one decision earlier this month from the Supreme Court is just the latest challenge to Altria's business, and some fear it could open the floodgates to further losses ahead. The details on Altria's loss On May 16, the Supreme Court said that it would choose not to hear an appeal from Altria's Philip Morris USA subsidiary to challenge a jury verdict in an Oregon court. The underlying case involved Michelle Schwarz, who according to filings with the court died at age 53 in 1999 of a lung-cancer induced brain tumor. According to the plaintiff in the case, surviving spouse and estate personal representative Richard Schwarz, Michelle had started smoking when she was 18 and decided to start smoking low-tar cigarettes at the age of 30. The complaint alleged a defective product claim, negligence, and fraud, arguing that the Altria unit misrepresented health claims concerning its Merit brand. In particular, one filing argued that Altria had a "reckless and outrageous indifference to a highly unreasonable risk of harm ... by selling light cigarettes as safer and as an alternative to quitting smoking." A long litigation battle ensued, including a first trial, an appeal that ordered the lower court to retry the case on certain issues, and the subsequent second trial. Eventually, an Oregon jury decided in favor of the plaintiff and awarded a $25 million verdict, including punitive damages. In upholding that verdict after an Altria appeal, an Oregon appeals court made comparisons of Altria's behavior to criminal manslaughter. Procedurally, Altria sought Supreme Court review of the Oregon case on the basis of certain jury instructions. By choosing not to hear the case, the Supreme Court left the verdict intact, and Altria's ability to seek further judicial review on that particular issue is limited. Is Altria at risk? The Schwarz case is just one of several problems that Altria has faced recently. At the company's annual shareholder meeting Thursday, Massachusetts shareholder Edward Sweda talked to Altria CEO Marty Barrington about several other adverse decisions against the tobacco giant. For instance, in March, the Florida Supreme Court made two decisions against Altria. One involved the widow of a smoker who had died of lung cancer and allowed a punitive damages claim based on strict liability and negligence claims. The second decision allowed a smoker who had received an official diagnosis after a cut-off date specified in a previous class action nevertheless to make a valid claim as a member of the class. Later, in April, Connecticut's Supreme Court interpreted a long-standing statement in tort law against the company, arguing that long-held legal principles don't prevent product liability claims against tobacco companies. The result was similar to one that a Massachusetts court had reached recently. Barrington responded to Sweda's comments by acknowledging the risk but defending Altria's track record. "The company has done quite a good job of managing those risks," the CEO said, and "we could go down the other side of the ledger and talk about all the litigation successes we've had." In particular, one case involved a jury finding in favor of the Philip Morris USA unit in less than an hour. In the end, investors have to decide for themselves whether they're comfortable with the legal risks that major players in the tobacco industry face every day. In Barrington's view, those risks have come down significantly compared to the heightened state of alert that Altria and its peers had to deal with throughout much of the 1990s and early 2000s. As attitudes change among potential jurors, however, Altria will have to remain diligent in order to stay ahead of the lawsuit curve and manage its litigation risk in a prudent way going forward. If it fails, then the cost of decisions like the one in the Schwarz case could dramatically exceed the $25 million verdict. As millions of young adults head to college this fall, safety and security will be one of their top concerns. According to new research from GetSafe provided exclusively to FOXBusiness.com, over 14,000 burglaries happen on college campuses every year. According to GetSafe, the state with the highest number of crimes on campus is Vermont, with the fewest campus crimes happening in Idaho. The majority of crimes that happen on campus are burglaries. And within burglaries, almost half of those incidents occurred in on campus housing with the other half happening off campus. The college with the highest crime numbers is Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. Brooke Zimet knows firsthand what it's like to mess up filling out workplace safety forms. Today, Zimet is a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)-certified senior professional human resources (HR) consultant and proprietor of TalentShip LLC in Portland, Ore. But in her first job as an HR assistant, her employer was fined because Zimet hadn't been taught how to properly complete Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) records when workers got sick or hurt on the job. A surprise audit by OSHA inspectors uncovered her mistakes. "If it's never happened before, there's so much you don't realize you need to know," said Zimet. Starting in 2017, it will be even more important for companies to get workplace safety documentation right. That's when a new OSHA regulation kicks in, requiring approximately 750,000 employers to electronically submit annual worker illness and injury reports to the agency, which will publish the data on its website. It shouldn't be too tough for employers to comply. But, as I've learned from tech vendors and industry insiders, companies can't solely rely on HR software to do the job. And making mistakesor even being too thoroughcould come back to bite you. HR Tech Vendors Mulling Software UpdatesThe new OSHA regulation, finalized earlier in May, affects US companies with more than 250 employees, as well as companies with 20 or more workers in several dozen high-risk industries, including construction, grocery stores, manufacturing, and nursing homes. Under the new requirement, OSHA will post worker safety data to its website, with the expectation that "public disclosure of work injury data will encourage employers to increase their efforts to prevent work-related injuries and illnesses," according to an agency statement. The new rule directs employers to inform workers about how they can report injuries and prevents them from retaliating against employees for doing so. After OSHA released the updated regulations, I checked in with more than half a dozen tech vendors, including suppliers of on-premises and cloud-based HR management and time and attendance software. I wanted to know whether or not they're planning updates to help customers comply. I received a variety of answers. ADP is working on adding the capability, according to a spokesman for the payroll processing giant. An SAP SuccessFactors Perform and Reward spokesperson says the company's "Employee Central Time & Attendance" module can be configured to track and compile absences by type, including work-related illness and injury. However, users will have to download the data into an OSHA-acceptable electronic format in order to transmit it to the agency. Other HR tech vendors are still figuring out what they're going to do. Jonathan Rejholec, Senior Product Manager at BambooHR, wants to see if customers think it's an important feature before taking any kind of action. Ultimate Software is also taking a wait-and-see approach before deciding whether or not to upgrade its UltiPro HR management service. Kronos is looking into it for their Kronos SaaShr product. PlanSource, which primarily offers benefits administration software, is talking to the tech vendors with which it partners on other HR functions in order to determine how best to address the situation. Nir Leibovich, CEO at GoCo, a start-up with a freemium-based HR platform rivaling Zenefits, is trying to estimate how many of his customers the regulation would impact. GoCo clients typically have five to 300 employees, and Leibovich says he hasn't been able to find data on how many businesses of that size fall into OSHA's high-risk industry designation. Business and tech author and speaker Phil Simon says HR software makers will add the function if they want to be seen as legitimate competitors to the likes of ADP, Oracle, Workday, and other big industry names. On the other hand, "I'm sure there will be plenty of companies that keep this in a spreadsheet or that don't know their HR tech could do this," said Simon, who previously worked for HR tech vendor Lawson Software (now part of Infor). Clean Up Data, Get Training, and Other Ways to PrepareEmployers aren't totally sunk if the HR tech vendor from which they buy doesn't update its software to accommodate the new electronic reporting rule. Similar to SAP SuccessFactors Perform and Reward, a lot of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and HR software and management systems already generate absence reports. From there, companies will have to take the extra step of extracting the relevant data out of the system and into a form that OSHA accepts. Before companies can submit data, they have to make sure it's clean. Getting to that point could be harder than it sounds. At some organizations, when a worker is injured, a supervisor or manager on the factory floor fills out an incident report or waits for HR to tell them what to do. As a result, sometimes forms are not correctly filled out or are incomplete. "Ninety-five percent of the time in my experience, the system doesn't work properly because someone didn't pay attention to data quality," said Simon. To make sure that doesn't happen in the future, companies can put personnel who routinely fill out workplace safety forms through relevant training. State worker safety agencies such as Oregon OSHA offer online classes. So does OSHA, through OSHA Training Institute Education Centers, a national network of nonprofits that offer agency-authorized classes. Zimet says that organizations also need to be careful about the amount of information they share. Before the change, employers erred on the side of caution and over-reported. "But if you do that now," she warned, "you could be penalized. You don't want to have a lot of incidents and accidents because it will trigger an inspection." If small businesses have larger competitors that have to comply with the new regulations, Zimet says it could set off more OSHA investigations in their industry. "So the small guys need to stay compliant, too," she said. Zimet worked on staff (or on contract) for several companies in healthcare and early childhood education, two industries OSHA considers high-risk for workplace illness and injury and, therefore, inspects more often. She reckons she's been through at least eight inspections over the years. If the new online reporting rule triggers an OSHA audit, she suggests companies create a checklist to which recordkeepers can refer. The checklist should include directions to where data is stored and questions OSHA commonly asks in audits. "This could be as simple as having a safety section on a company intranet or creating a wiki," she said. "So many companies have these things outdated in binders. This article originally appeared on PCMag.com. Google really doesn't want to expand its Right to be Forgotten program beyond Europe. The company on Thursday appealed an order from French data protection authority CNIL to remove certain search results globally. "As a matter of both law and principle, we disagree with this demand," Kent Walker, Google senior vice president and general counsel, wrote in an op-ed published on the company blog and in France's Le Monde newspaper. The right to be forgottenor, as Walker calls it, "a right to be delisted from search results"was created in a 2014 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). It requires that, if requested, search engines like Google and Microsoft Bing must consider removing links to specific information in its results"even when those links point to truthful and lawfully published information like newspaper articles or official government websites," Walker said. Google complied, scrubbing results only on European sitesGoogle.de in Germany or Google.fr in France, for example. So anyone in those countries could go to Google.com to find the delisted results. In February, the company reluctantly changed that, and delisted links on all domains, including Google.com, when viewed in the country from which the request came. Anyone outside the EU, meanwhile, can still see the link on non-European domains. The CNIL's latest order, filed in March, pushes Google even further by demanding it apply French law to global sites. That is, removing links to content that may be legal locally from Australia to Zambia, and everywhere in between. "This order could lead to a global race to the bottom, harming access to information that is perfectly lawful to view in one's own country," Walker said. "We have received demands from governments to remove content globally on various groundsand we have resisted, even if that has sometimes led to the blocking of our services." Across Europe, Google has reviewed nearly 1.5 million webpages, delisting about 40 percent; France alone accounts for 300,000-plus sites, half of which have been expunged. This article originally appeared on PCMag.com. Accounting and tax software leader Intuit Inc reports quarterly earnings after the markets close on Tuesday, May 24. Will fiscal Q3 2016 turn out to have been a taxing quarter? If shareholders' desires are fulfilled, the answer will unequivocally be yes, as the third quarter encompasses the bulk of tax season -- traditionally Intuit's biggest revenue generator each year. A refresher on company guidance Intuit issued third-quarter guidance in its last earnings release in February, and also updated full-year 2016 forecasts. Below is a brief overview of what the company suggests investors should expect: Metric Q3 2016 Full Year 2016 Revenue $2.21-$2.26 billion $4.525-$4.600 billion Operating income range $1.20-$1.22 billion $1.115-$1.145 Diluted earnings per share $2.95-$3.00 $2.55-$2.60 QBO subscribers 1.38 million 1.475-1.500 million Source: Intuit Inc. "8-K" SEC Q2 2016 quarterly filing. "QBO" is an abbreviation for the company's flagship small-business software product, "QuickBooks Online." Let's make a few general observations on the above. First, the Q3 targets imply a quarterly revenue growth rate of 4%-6%, and operating income growth of 13%-14%. Earnings per share, or EPS, will benefit from comparisons to the prior year, in which the company undertook accounting changes and booked a goodwill impairment charge. Should Intuit hit its targets, EPS will rise between 66%-68% versus last year. Finally, notice that the third quarter and full-year targets for operating income and EPS aren't very different from each other. In other words, most of the company's profits for fiscal 2016 will be earned this quarter. Through the first six months of the year, Intuit booked a loss of $7 million. Raised expectations for tax season Intuit certainly appears to be on track to make its projected numbers. On April 26, the organization upped its guidance for fiscal 2016 consumer tax revenue growth -- a subset of total revenue -- from a range of 5%-7% to 8%-9%. However, the company didn't revise any of the overall numbers found in the chart above. In the same press release, Intuit noted that TurboTax Online units grew 15%. Overall TurboTax unit growth of 12% indicates that customers who have dropped the desktop version of TurboTax are migrating to the cloud-based product. Desktop sales have declined slightly, while the online software shows relative health: Chart: Intuit.com. During April, Intuit also announced that it's combining all professional products and services aimed at tax practitioners under a new banner, "Intuit ProConnect." A new banner, literally. Source: Intuit.com. This rebranding may make it easier for Intuit to cross-sell different cloud-based services among its tax-professional clients, similar to a strategy the company has successfully implemented within its QuickBooks Online (QBO) suite of products. As always, zero in on QBO U.S. and non-U.S. subscriptions As the core of Intuit's "Small Business Ecosystem," QBO is central to the company's future. Executives believe that expanding QBO's total addressable market, or TAM, will enable QBO to continue to scale up for several years. QBO subscriber growth is so critical that the company now consistently issues guidance on it, as per the first chart in this article. As well as watching for the 1.38 million total subscribers predicted by quarter three, keep your eye on these two important subsets: non-U.S. QBO subscribers, and growth in QuickBooks Self-Employed, or QBSE, the newest iteration of the company's cloud-based accounting software. Both of these products will help the company widen its TAM. Global QBO subscriber growth has cooled, yet still advanced by 80% during the last-reported quarter. QBSE boasts 50,000 current subscribers, and is growing at a sequential quarterly rate in excess of 40%. Impressively, in a recent investor presentation, management asserted that QBSE has an incremental subscriber opportunity of 4 million subscribers in the United Kingdom alone. Will Intuit top up its cash balances? In the last two business quarters, Intuit has been on an acquisition binge -- not of other companies, but of its own shares. Management has clicked buy on $1.8 billion of INTU stock during this six-month period, and there's yet another $900 million left on the current repurchase authorization. As a result, Intuit's liability balances have expanded rapidly as it borrows to reduce its outstanding shares. As I discussed in my review of last quarter's earnings, total debt -- including current portion -- has increased 2.5 times since November of last year. The third quarter is one in which Intuit typically generates vigorous cash flow. So it will be interesting to see to what extent the company takes a breather from share repurchases and replenishes bank balances, which ended last quarter at their lowest point in nearly three years, at $334 million. It's reasonable to assume that the company held on to more cash this quarter, and possibly used some excess dollars to decrease borrowings a bit. After all, following a rare plunge last fall, Intuit stock has recovered, along with investors' confidence. Management went "all in" when the shares became a relative bargain; but it must recognize that they're cheap no longer. The article Intuit Earnings Preview: A Taxing Third Quarter? originally appeared on Fool.com. Asit Sharma has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Intuit. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Although the company still sells phones on its website, Microsoft appears to be exiting the smartphone business. Image source: Microsoft. In 2014,Nokiaeffectively exited the device market when its devices and services business sale toMicrosoftclosed for $7.2 billion. Nokia's high-end Lumia line and low-end, developing-market Asha line, along with Nokia president and CEO Stephen Elopand Nokia's manufacturing plants, supply chains, and employees, were included in the deal. After dominating the handset market with nearly 50% market share in 2007, Nokia found itself unable to match the ascendance ofAppleandSamsung, and saw its market share drop to less than 5% in late 2012 as the close relationship with Microsoft and its Windows Phone operating system was unable to reverse Nokia's fortunes. "Microkia's" fortunes fared no better post-acquisition; new CEO Satya Nadella took a $7.6 billion writedown on the phone line and let go of 7,800 workers, most in the phone business. Still, many felt Microsoft would continue to develop new phones to bolster its Windows Phone operating system. Today's announcement essentially slams the door on Windows becoming a viable third smartphone ecosystem. Microsoft sells its remaining smartphone business According to a report from The Verge, Microsoft is selling its feature-phone business to a division of Chinese manufacturer Foxconnfor $350 million. Foxconn has been aggressive about moving up the value chain in smartphones in order to profit from more than just assembly. Most notable was the deal with Canadian smartphone companyBlackBerryto design and distribute new BlackBerry models, with the newest models sporting Alphabet's Android operating system. With this deal, however, Foxconn will control the software in addition to the aforementioned design, assembly, and distribution. After years of the Nokia brand being downplayed, it appears the name will be returning to devices. In the wake of Microsoft's announcement, Nokia revealed it would license its brand and IP to a Finnish company, AMD Global. Nokia, AMD Global, and Foxconn worked together to bring a tablet, the Nokia N1, to market in 2014. As a condition of the sale to Microsoft, though, Nokia was unable to enter the smartphone market until 2016. Windows Phone isn't technically dead, but... Microsoft hasn't officially thrown in the towel on its Windows Phone OS. The company specifically mentioned it would continue to develop the operating system, and to support phones currently using the operating system which are manufactured by Microsoft and its hardware partners. However, the company continues to move away from former CEO Steve Ballmer's strategy of being a hardware and software firm like Apple. New CEO Satya Nadella has redefined the idea of "mobile-first" by working to profit from all mobile devices, not just the units his company manufactured. These comments, combined with the writedown and the lack of new features or updates in nearly two years, point to a company expecting to wind down its smartphone operations. To be fair, Microsoft still has the ability to manufacture high-end phones, and rumors of the Surface Phone continue to be bandied about. But even if Microsoft is able to make a high-quality Surface Phone, it's unlikely to change WP's trajectory. Without a huge change of strategy from its hardware partners, this is most likely the beginning of the end for the Windows Phone OS. But Microsoft should not expect these new Nokia phones to be hardware partners; the prior N1 tablet ran on Alphabet's Android operating system instead of Windows. It appears there's only room for two smartphone operating systems. The article Microsoft Finally Waves the White Flag on Smartphones originally appeared on Fool.com. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Jamal Carnette owns shares of Apple and BlackBerry. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft and has the following options: long January 2018 $90 calls on Apple and short January 2018 $95 calls on Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. When trading stocks, settlement refers to the official transfer of securities from the buyer's account to the seller's account. And, while many investors, especially those who trade through an online brokerage, assume this happens instantaneously, the reality is that it takes a few days for the settlement process to occur. The three-day settlement rule The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires trades to be settled within a three-business day time period, also known as T+3. When you buy stocks, the brokerage firm must receive your payment no later than three business days after the trade is executed. Conversely, when you sell a stock, the shares must be delivered to your brokerage within three days after the sale. In other words, if you make a purchase trade on Monday, the shares would actually have to arrive in your account, and your money would have to arrive in the seller's account, on Thursday. In addition to stocks, the T+3 rule also covers bonds, municipal securities, mutual funds (if traded through a broker), and several other securities transactions. In practice, the three-day settlement rule is most important to investors who hold stocks in certificate form, and would have to physically produce their shares in the event of a sale. While the rule technically applies to stocks held in electronic form in a brokerage account, you'll rarely if ever run into a settlement issue with a completely electronic trade. However, in cash accounts, the fact that it takes three days for trades to settle can affect your ability to sell a stock, buy another stock, and then sell that stock in a period of less than three days. In other words, it may create a problem if you attempt a selling transaction on a stock you own, but whose purchase hasn't settled yet. Why it's important There are a couple of reasons the three-day settlement rule is important. First and foremost, the rule helps maintain an orderly and efficient market by limiting the possibility of defaults. In other words, if a trade has an unlimited amount of time to settle, or for the shares to be delivered to the buyer's account, there's no telling how much money the buyer or seller could gain or lose before the trade is formally settled. In a plunging market, long settlement times could result in investors unable to pay for their trades. By limiting the amount of time to settle, the risk of financial complications is minimized. The three-day rule also has important implications for dividend investors. If you look at a stock quote through your brokerage, you may see that a certain company has declared a dividend payable to "shareholders of record" as of a certain date. However, in order to be a shareholder of record, your purchase of that stock must be settled. In order to ensure that you are an official shareholder by this dividend date, known as the record date, you'll need to actually buy the shares at least three business days prior, before a date known as the "ex-dividend" date. For example, a quick look shows that Microsoft declared a $0.36 dividend payable to shareholders of record as of May 19, 2016. However, in order to be entitled to the dividend, you would need to buy shares on or before May 16, 2016 -- three business days prior. The following day, May 17, is known as the ex-dividend date, because it's the first day shares will trade without that dividend attached. This article is part of The Motley Fool's Knowledge Center, which was created based on the collected wisdom of a fantastic community of investors. We'd love to hear your questions, thoughts, and opinions on the Knowledge Center in general or this page in particular. Your input will help us help the world invest, better! Email us atknowledgecenter@fool.com. Thanks -- and Fool on! The article What Is the 3-Day Rule When Trading Stocks? originally appeared on Fool.com. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Peter Lynch. Image Source: Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. From 1977 through 1990, Peter Lynch averaged a 29.2% annual return running the Magellan Fund at Fidelity Investments. The legendary investor's philosophy is to "invest in what you know," using local knowledge to find attractive investment ideas that would otherwise be missed. What kinds of stocks would Lynch buy today if he were still managing billions of dollars? Three of our Foolish contributors have some ideas. Tim Green: With a strong brand and a long runway for growth, burger chain Shake Shack might just fit the bill as a Peter Lynch stock. The company is expanding quickly, with total revenue growing by over 60% in 2015. With just 44 restaurants operated by the company domestically at the end of 2015, and another 40 licensed, Shake Shack can grow its restaurant count rapidly for years to come. Like any investment, there are risks involved. Shake Shack generated nearly $5 million of sales per company-owned restaurant in 2015, but with many of the company's restaurants in New York City, matching this sales volume in other cities may not be possible. Another problem -- Shake Shack's food is expensive, which puts a ceiling on how large the company can become. But if Shake Shack can continue to expand in the coming years and decades, eventually reaching hundreds of locations worldwide, the stock would probably be worth far more than it is today. Shake Shack managed to engender intense customer loyalty before it went public, and while there's no guarantee that success in New York City will translate to other cities, it does give the company an important advantage. : I think the clinical-stage biopharma Trevena fits the Peter Lynch model of investing quite nicely. Although this stock is chock-full of risk because of its lack of an approved product and utter dependence on clinical catalysts to create shareholder value, it does offer investors anultra high-growth opportunity, and perhaps most importantly, that opportunity is now close at hand. Cutting to the chase, Trevena is set to launch two phase 3 trials for its experimental pain medicine, oliceridine (TRV130), in the second quarter of 2016. The first study, dubbed "APOLLO-1," will assess the drug's ability to reduce pain for 48 hours followingbunion surgery, and the second study,APOLLO-2, will explore oliceridine'seffectiveness at controlling pain for 24 hours after tummy-tuck surgery. If things go as planned, Trevena should report top-line data from these two pivotal-stage trials in early 2017, potentially leading to a regulatory filing by mid-year. The really exciting part about Trevena's story is thatoliceridine is targeting a market that is already valued at over $11 billion per year, and is still growing. That's a monstrous opportunity for a company with a market cap of approximately $365 million at present. Normally, I tend to shy away from clinical-stage biopharmas like Trevena because their risk profiles are generally simply too steep. However, I'm willing to make an exception in this case in light of oliceridine's compelling mid-stage results that bode well for a successful late-stage readout. All told, I believe that Trevena's upside potential vastly outweighs its downside risk right now. : In his wonderful bookOne Up on Wall Street, Lynch described six different categories of investments, and I think he would viewBofI Holding, Inc. as fitting in two: "Fast growers" and "asset plays." For a number of years, BofI has been one of the fastest-growing banks out there, increasing its assets -- and its earnings from those assets -- at an enormous rate: BOFI EPS Diluted (TTM) data by YCharts But for much of the past year, an aggressive series of short attacks aimed at everything from the quality of the bank's loan portfolio to management's credibility to unscrupulous deals with appraisers to hiding shortcomings from regulators (and every conceivable thing in between) has raised havoc with its share price: BOFI data by YCharts At the same time, BofI management has addressed essentially all of the material accusations that short sellers have made, while simply ignoring the smokescreen and noise of the allegations with no material relevance. Maybe more importantly, BofI has undergone serious regulator review over the past year to receive approval for several big acquisitions it has made, and regulators have found nothing to support any of the claims made against the company, while approving the deals. Bottom line: There's always risk with any financial entity, and that's no different with BofI. But at the same time, a fearful market has let this incredible growth stock become very cheap. I think it's exactly the kind of overlooked, beaten-down stock that Peter Lynch would buy. The article 3 Stocks Peter Lynch Would Buy Today originally appeared on Fool.com. George Budwell has no position in any stocks mentioned. Jason Hall owns shares of BofI Holding. Timothy Green has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends BofI Holding. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. One of the most highly debated tax topics in recent years has been the estate tax, and that debate is only going to get more intense as President Donald Trump has made it clear he hopes to eliminate the federal version of what is widely known as the "death tax." Republicans have long argued that estate taxes are unfair because they tax money which has already been taxed. That's a strong argument against the tax, which has survived previous efforts to eliminate it, but even if the federal version goes away, some Americans will still have to face an estate or inheritance tax. Currently, 14 states and the District of Columbia have an estate tax, while six states have an inheritance tax, and Maryland and New Jersey have both, according to Tax Foundation. The nonprofit tax policy institute also points out that rates vary widely across the states, as do the amounts that can be exempted. In addition, rules vary as to who is exempt from the death tax, with some states only exempting spouses while others include children. Dying will not get you out of taxes in some situations. Image source: Getty Images. What is the federal estate tax? Before you examine whether your state assesses an estate or inheritance tax, it's important to understand where the federal versions stand now. Under the current rules, estates are taxable when their total value exceeds $5.49 million. To calculate that value, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), you have to use fair market value for any non-cash or cash equivalent assets, not what you paid for them. In addition, any taxable gifts made after 1976, must be computed and subtracted from the available credit. If your estate exceeds the threshold, whoever inherits it pays a 40% tax on the dollar value over the $5.49 million limit. In most cases all federal estate taxes must be paid within nine months after the death occurs, which can be challenging when the estate consists mostly of non-cash assets like business or property. Image source: Tax Foundation. There are state taxes, too While the federal tax, onerous as it may be for some, is pretty straightforward, there is wide variance among the 14 states, plus Washington, D.C., that have estate or inheritance taxes. It's also worth noting that an estate tax is not the same thing as an inheritance tax, though the difference is subtle. Estate taxes must be paid by the estate before it can be distributed to beneficiaries. Inheritance taxes are paid by the persons who inherit the money. "The state with the highest maximum estate tax rate is Washington (20 percent), followed by ten states and the District of Columbia with a top rate of 16 percent. Delaware and Hawaii have the highest exemption thresholds, which at $5,450,000 match the federal exemption. At $675,000, New Jersey's exemption is the lowest," explains the Tax Foundation. "Of the six states with inheritance taxes, Kentucky and New Jersey have the highest top rates at 16%. Maryland offers the lowest top rate, at 10 percent." The states with estate taxes as of 2016 were Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. New Jersey and Maryland have both an estate and an inheritance tax, while Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania have only inheritance taxes. How can you avoid estate taxes? Since not dying remains an elusive option for most people, the best way to avoid estate taxes, whether it be the federal one or a state one, is to work with an estate planner to minimize your exposure. A charitable trust, for example, can be used to keep an estate below the threshold, or at least allow the person whose money it was in the first place to have more say over how the assets are disposed of after his or her death. It's also worth noting that the federal law may change or be eliminated, and states regularly make changes to their laws. To be prepared for that, and to avoid leaving your heirs a potentially nasty surprise, it's important to work with a professional to make sure you have taken the correct steps to guarantee that what you want to happen after you die is what actually does happen. The $16,122 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $16,122 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after.Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Image source: Philip Morris International. For a long time, investors in Philip Morris International believed that they would have a huge competitive advantage against U.S.-focused companies. The reason had to do with the perception that international regulation of tobacco products would remain much more lax than those that Reynolds American and other domestic companies faced. Yet the English High Court dealt a severe blow to that notion on Thursday when it rejected a legal challenge from Philip Morris International and some of its global peers against the U.K.'s plans to implement plain-packaging regulations. The move continues a worldwide trend that Philip Morris has seen recently, and the impact could be substantial over the long haul. What the English High Court decided The legal dispute started last year, when Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, and other major tobacco players in the U.K. market fought against new rules on plain packaging for cigarettes that were due to take effect today. The tobacco companies argued that the rules would amount to a taking of their intellectual property and brand value without appropriate compensation. The reduction in consumer loyalty to brands represented an impermissible takeaway of value for the companies in their eyes. They also believed that the regulations wouldn't actually be effective in reducing smoking rates, which was one of their intended purposes. In particular, Philip Morris pointed to its experience in Australia, which has also adopted similar plain packaging regulations. There, the company argued that smoking levels have not been reduced following passage of the law. The court, however, said that Philip Morris International and its peers didn't have a right to compensation because the regulations were suitable and appropriate in meeting the regulatory purpose of helping to keep children from becoming smokers. It cited the financial burden in bearing medical costs that it said result from smoking, and the fact that tobacco companies work in a business that creates those additional costs played an apparent role in the court's thought process in coming to the decision. The setback continues the trend against global tobacco that Australia had started, and it came as a disappointment. One reason was that tobacco companies didn't have as high of a burden in fighting against the regulation in the U.K. compared to Australia, because the legal systems didn't require Philip Morris and its peers to prove that the government benefits at their expense. How Philip Morris responded Philip Morris International quickly commented on the court ruling, expressing its surprise at how the court conducted proceedings. As the company's general counsel said: The attorney went on to note that that reliance on a U.S. court decision was in conflict with court procedural rules and that parties weren't asked to address the decision in their hearing. Nevertheless, even though he concluded that the move would open grounds for appeal, Philip Morris International has decided not to do so, arguing that it "makes the most sense for the 7 million adult smokers in the U.K." Instead, Philip Morris intends to push forward with its broader strategy for growing its business. The tobacco company continues to believe that its emphasis on reduced-risk products will eventually carry the day, giving consumers an alternative to traditional cigarettes that will meet customer needs while also avoiding some of the contentious issues that have plagued the industry for years. By creating and marketing products that have scientific evidence backing claims of improved impact on public health, Philip Morris thinks it can move beyond the debate that prompted plain packaging in the first place. Going forward, Philip Morris investors will want to keep a close eye on plain packaging regulations around the world. As the movement picks up momentum, Philip Morris will feel even more pressure to seek ways to engage more positively with current and prospective customers in order to sustain the value of its brand. If it can't, then shareholders will eventually feel the pinch. The article England's High Court Deals Philip Morris International a Setback originally appeared on Fool.com. Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Oil prices slipped on Friday as investors cashed in on recent gains and focus shifted again to swelling global inventories that have cushioned impact from a series on unplanned supply outages. Global benchmark Brent crude prices traded down 23 cents at $48.58 a barrel at 1143 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded at $48.02 a barrel, down 14 cents day on day. "Despite supply disruptions, there is still oversupply and large inventories. Investors have probably shifted focus," said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN AMRO in Amsterdam. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said he saw supply in excess of demand of around 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd). Oil prices had been supported in recent days by growing supply disruptions in oil producing countried like Nigeria, Canada and Libya. In Nigeria, militant activity has cut oil exports to a more than 22-year low of under 1.4 million bpd. In Canada, production has also been cut as wildfires forced closures of around 1 million barrels in daily production, although output is gradually returning. Libyan output has also been hit by internal conflict. Some analysts said they expected oil prices to come further off recent highs, correcting their recent upwards trend. "We feel that markets have moved too high, too far, too soon," Harry Tchilinguirian, lead oil and commodities strategist at French bank BNP Paribas in London, told Reuters' Global Oil Forum. "The combination of a stronger dollar, still excess supply over demand and ongoing overhang of inventories can be expected to put strong downward pressure on prices." He said oil prices could fall to the mid to high $30-a-barrel range. (Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore, editing by William Hardy) Verizon has recently been dealing with a strike involving two unions, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), which represent around 40,000 wireline workers in the Northeastern United States. Image source: Pixabay. The strike started on April 13 after Verizon and the unions failed to reach an agreement regarding a new contract to replace the old one, which expired last August. After ten months of negotiations, the two sides still haven't agreed on various issues, including healthcare, pension plans, and job security. One major concern was Verizon's plan tomove about 5,000 jobs to other countries, outsource labor to lower-wage contractors, and transfer existing workers to other states. The unions also claim that Verizon intentionally delayed its rollout of its FiOS bundled Internet, telephone, and TV service, and reduced the size of the wireline staff that would install the service in new markets. What's Verizon's position? Verizon denied those claims, stating that it had already surpassed its initial goal of installing FiOS in 18 million homes, and that healthcare issues should be reconsidered as medical costs for workers and retirees have risen over the past few years. For its part, Verizon has offered employees a 7.5% wage increase over the term ofthe contract, job protection for eligible employees, and "excellent" retirement benefits. Verizon has prepared itself for a prolonged battle against the unions. The company trained "thousands" of non-union employees to ensure that wireline service and repairs were not disrupted, as well as business partners to handle certain network and customer service functions. During last quarter's conference call (as transcribed by Thomson Reuters), Verizon CFO Fran Shammo stated that the company "had planned" for the strike, and that if it could "come back in mid-year" if the negotiations fell through. Shammo stated that it was "too early" to gauge the financial impact of the strike, but expressed confidence that second quarter earnings wouldn't be affected and that Verizon could still hit its EPS target of $3.99 for the full year -- which would represent flat growth from 2015 (but 3% growth after excluding the impact of assets held for sale). Downsizing the wireline business Verizon's clash with the unions is related to its ongoing efforts to downsize its slow-growth wireline business in favor of its high-growth wireless business and the expansion of its digital video and advertising ecosystem. Last December, Verizon sold a large portion of its landline phone, Internet, and TV services to Frontier Communications for $10.6 billion. Verizon has reportedly been trying to sell its data centers for $2.5 billion, and it shuttered two of its two public cloud services in April. Last quarter, Verizon's wireline revenues fell 1.9% annually to $9.3 billion. However, the unit's operating margin rose 200 basis points thanks to a 4% decline in operating expenses, which boosted operating income 45% to $589 million. Prematurely signing an unbalanced contract with the unions could reverse that bottom line growth, which explains Verizon's willingness to fight a prolonged battle. Verizon has survived big strikes before. Back in Aug. 2011, 45,000 of its wireline workers went on strike, but the strike ended two weeks later after Verizon showed a willingness to "bargain seriously." The new contract was inked the following year. How AT&T handled the unions AT&T also recently renegotiated new contracts with the CWA to replace the ones which expired in April, but those negotiations have gone more smoothly. Last year, AT&T and the CWA negotiated new contracts for 17,000 wireline employees in the Midwest and 24,000 employees in the Southeast. It also started negotiations for 16,000 employees in the East and West regions in March, then finalized a deal with 9,400 employees in the Southwest region in April. However, the negotiations with AT&T didn't cover controversial issues like outsourcing jobs, relocating employees, or replacing employees with contractors. Instead, the AT&T negotiations mainly centered around wages, benefits, pensions, and workplace rules. Should investors worry about Verizon? Verizon seems to have more trouble with unions than AT&T, but the company has weathered similar storms before with minimal damage. Shammo stated during the conference call that there wouldn't be a financial impact "unless (the strike) drags on for a much longer period of time." Since Verizon recently returned to the negotiating table, there's a chance that the strike won't "drag on" for that much longer. Therefore, longtime Verizon investors shouldn't consider the wireline strike to be a huge headwind for the company. Instead, they should focus more on Verizon's wireless growth and the expansion of its digital ecosystem. The article Should Investors Worry About Verizon Communications Inc's Strike Issues? originally appeared on Fool.com. Leo Sun owns shares of AT&T and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Verizon Communications. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. A top investor in German chemicals company Bayer has said on Friday he was "furious" at the company's refusal to engage with him over its recent bid for U.S. rival Monsanto. John Bennett, fund manager at Henderson Global Investors, the firm's 15th biggest investor by company according to Eikon data, said Bayer's chief executive had only been in the job for weeks and had presided over an "immediate destruction" of shareholder value after the firm's stock fell on news of the bid. "The fine work of his predecessor has been ripped up. I had hoped that the days of such arrogant empire-building and ignorance of the actual owners of the business were at an end," Bennett said in emailed comments to Reuters. "The Board of Bayer should be considering the CEO's position." On Thursday, Bayer made an unsolicited bid for Monsanto, aiming to create the world's biggest agricultural supplier. (Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Carolyn Cohn) Microsoft recently decided to shut down its MSN website in China on June 7. The portal currently hosts news, lifestyle content, and the company's Bing search engine for Chinese users, and its shutdown could represent a setback for the tech giant's efforts in China, home to over 720 million Internet users and a population over 1 billion. Let's discuss why Microsoft closed the site, and how it could impact the company's overall business. MSN China. Image source: Author's screenshot. Why MSN flopped in China Microsoft initially gained an advantage in China in 2010 when Alphabet's Google exitedthe mainland search market after clashing with the government over censorship rules and allegations of state-sponsored cyberattacks. Microsoft agreed to play by the government's rules, and was allowed to continue running Bing in China. Unfortunately, Bing never caught on. Baidu was already the established market leader when Google left China, and it controls over 70% of the search engine market today. Bing only claimed less than 2% of that market last year. Baidu, like Google, leveraged its search dominance to create an expansive ecosystem of maps, cloud storage, portal sites, and online-to-offline (O2O) solutions for mobile users. The fact that "Bing" sounded like the word for "sickness" in Chinese also turned Microsoft's search engine into an unfortunate online joke. Microsoft's MSN also failed to gain a competitive edge against the top portals in China. Tencent's QQ.com is the country's largest Internet portal, and hosts a massive ecosystem of gaming, media, and social networking sites. Its messaging app, QQ, had a whopping 853 million monthly active users at the end of 2015. Smaller portal and search rivals like Sina andSohu also rank among the top 10 most popular sites in China,according to site tracker Alexa, but MSN China doesn't even crack the top 100. QQ.com. Image source: Author's screenshot. Why the death of MSN wasn't surprising Microsoft initially hoped that Windows Phone and Cortana (rebranded as Xiao Na in China) could help it gain ground against entrenched companies like Baidu and Tencent, but those efforts flopped in the Android- and iOS-dominated market. Microsoft then made Bing the default search engine for Windows 10, hoping that it could leverage the dominance of its OS to gain market share against Baidu. That effortalso failed, and Microsoft agreed to replace Bing with Baidu as the default search engine last September. After those big setbacks, it became clear that Microsoft couldn't use its mobile or desktop OS to expand its ecosystem against companies like Baidu and Tencent. Therefore, Microsoft's decision to kill off MSN wasn't surprising, since the site barely registered as a blip in the crowded Chinese Internet market. MSN is also faring poorly in the U.S., where it ranks 24th in terms of overall popularity, far below Google at No. 1. Another headache for Microsoft in China Microsoft doesn't disclose exact revenue figures from China, but previous statements from the company indicate that it's not impressive. Five years ago, then-CEO Steve Ballmer declared thatsoftware piracy swallowed up 95% of Microsoft's revenue from China, and that total Chinese sales were only equivalent to around 5% of U.S. sales -- although both countries had nearly the same number of PC users at the time. Meanwhile, Chinese regulators have repeatedly cracked down on Microsoft with various probes. Regulators banned the installation of Windows 8 on government computers in 2014 due to security concerns, then hit the company with an antitrust probe that same year. But despite all those setbacks, Microsoft hasn't given up on China. It recently set up a joint venture with the state-backed China Electronics Technology Group to deploy Windows 10 to government agencies. That move, Microsoft hopes, can reduce piracy rates and help the company avoid another widespread ban on its operating systems. An uphill battle ahead Microsoft's decision to kill MSN China was disappointing, but it was already destined to die a slow death. Microsoft likely realized that it was futile to fight an ecosystem war against companies like Baidu and Tencent, but that it could still grow its biggest asset -- Windows 10 -- across the country.Moreover, letting Baidu control the search ecosystem in Windows 10 might allay government concerns about NSA snooping. Therefore, the shutdown of MSN China is a loss for Microsoft, but it's a calculated one that will help it allocate its resources to more important initiatives in the country. The article Why Microsoft Corporation Killed Its Chinese Web Portal originally appeared on Fool.com. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Leo Sun has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Baidu. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends Sina and Sohu.com. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Image source: Costco Wholesale. The business model that Costco Wholesale has put together has resisted the onslaught of e-commerce specialists better than many other big-box retailers. Part of the reason is that the Costco experience encourages repeat shopping for bulk needs, and the up-front membership fee makes visiting the store something that its members value inherently. Yet the retail industry continues to evolve, and as Costco investors prepare for Wednesday's fiscal third-quarter financial report, they'll want to see if the warehouse giant can manage to buck the negative trends that many other retail companies have faced during the beginning of 2016. Let's take an early look at what people are expecting from Costco Wholesale and whether the company can reverse some negative sentiment recently. Stats on Costco Expected EPS Growth 5.1% Expected Revenue Growth 3.9% Forward Earnings Multiple 23.7 Expected 5-Year Annualized Growth Rate 10.2% Data source: Yahoo! Finance. Can Costco earnings climb back upward? In recent months, investors have cut their views on Costco earnings, reducing their fiscal third-quarter estimates by a nickel per share and reducing full-year fiscal 2016 projections by three times that amount. The stock price has also fallen, declining 5% since mid-February. Costco's fiscal second-quarter results created concerns for investors who had expected more from the retail giant. Total revenue was up 2.6%, but net income accelerated its pace of decline, falling 9%. Even after accounting for one-time items, adjusted earnings were down from year-ago levels and missed the consensus forecast among those following the stock. Membership fee income growth accelerated to nearly 4%, but an outsized rise in overhead expenses weighed on operating margin. Still, a decent amount of the downward pressure on Costco's results remains the huge deflation in gasoline prices on domestic results and the impact of the strong dollar on international performance. As those subside, Costco's fundamental strength should show through more. Yet Costco has already reported monthly results for two of the months in the quarter, and although they continued to indicate a slowdown, the same one-time factors were a big part of the sluggishness. Still, concerns from other retailers have heightened the pressure on Costco. Several major department stores, for instance, have reported slowdowns in consumer spending in explaining shortfalls in revenue and earnings compared to what investors had expected them to report. Particularly vulnerable have been companies that sell products that are easily obtainable on the Internet through online retailers, and the increasing availability of free shipping and other incentives to use e-commerce rather than brick-and-mortar department stores could signal trouble for Costco as well. Costco has admittedly been less exposed to the e-commerce trend, in part because part of the warehouse shopping experience involves the visceral appeal of seeing large amounts of a wide variety of different goods. Nevertheless, e-commerce specialists have done a good job of going beyond their initial focus areas to start delivering goods that were once seen as unlikely to support a move to an online format. Costco will need to keep building out its own e-commerce capabilities in order to fend off further competition. One key aspect of Costco's performance that people will look forward to in the near future is the switchover in the Costco branded credit card from American Express to Visa. Cardholders are already getting their new cards during the quarter, and the website for the new Visa card says that customers can start using it on June 20, at which point the old AmEx card will no longer be valid. If customers are uncomfortable with the switch, then the transition might cause some further bumps in Costco's growth in the coming quarter. In the Costco earnings report, watch for commentary on whether the warehouse retailer can avoid the same fate that some of its big-box counterparts in the retail industry have suffered over the past quarter. If Costco's competitive moat shows signs of breaching, then it could spell even more trouble for a stock that already hasn't given shareholders the kind of short-term returns that are consistent with its longer-term track record. The article Will Costco Wholesale Defy the Weak Retail Environment? originally appeared on Fool.com. Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Costco Wholesale. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. U.S. Supreme Court. Image source: Kjetil Ree via Wikimedia Commons. The tobacco industry has a long history of fighting litigation battles connected to cigarettes and other products, and part of the reason why Altria Group and its peers have produced such strong returns for investors is that they've largely been successful in fending off major damages awards. However, some investors are growing more concerned that the lawsuit tide might be turning against Altria, and recent decisions have some troubling implications for the industry. In particular, one decision earlier this month from the Supreme Court is just the latest challenge to Altria's business, and some fear it could open the floodgates to further losses ahead. The details on Altria's loss On May 16, the Supreme Court said that it would choose not to hear an appeal from Altria's Philip Morris USA subsidiary to challenge a jury verdict in an Oregon court. The underlying case involved Michelle Schwarz, who according to filings with the court died at age 53 in 1999 of a lung-cancer induced brain tumor. According to the plaintiff in the case, surviving spouse and estate personal representative Richard Schwarz, Michelle had started smoking when she was 18 and decided to start smoking low-tar cigarettes at the age of 30. The complaint alleged a defective product claim, negligence, and fraud, arguing that the Altria unit misrepresented health claims concerning its Merit brand. In particular, one filing argued that Altria had a "reckless and outrageous indifference to a highly unreasonable risk of harm ... by selling light cigarettes as safer and as an alternative to quitting smoking." A long litigation battle ensued, including a first trial, an appeal that ordered the lower court to retry the case on certain issues, and the subsequent second trial. Eventually, an Oregon jury decided in favor of the plaintiff and awarded a $25 million verdict, including punitive damages. In upholding that verdict after an Altria appeal, an Oregon appeals court made comparisons of Altria's behavior to criminal manslaughter. Procedurally, Altria sought Supreme Court review of the Oregon case on the basis of certain jury instructions. By choosing not to hear the case, the Supreme Court left the verdict intact, and Altria's ability to seek further judicial review on that particular issue is limited. Is Altria at risk? The Schwarz case is just one of several problems that Altria has faced recently. At the company's annual shareholder meeting Thursday, Massachusetts shareholder Edward Sweda talked to Altria CEO Marty Barrington about several other adverse decisions against the tobacco giant. For instance, in March, the Florida Supreme Court made two decisions against Altria. One involved the widow of a smoker who had died of lung cancer and allowed a punitive damages claim based on strict liability and negligence claims. The second decision allowed a smoker who had received an official diagnosis after a cut-off date specified in a previous class action nevertheless to make a valid claim as a member of the class. Later, in April, Connecticut's Supreme Court interpreted a long-standing statement in tort law against the company, arguing that long-held legal principles don't prevent product liability claims against tobacco companies. The result was similar to one that a Massachusetts court had reached recently. Barrington responded to Sweda's comments by acknowledging the risk but defending Altria's track record. "The company has done quite a good job of managing those risks," the CEO said, and "we could go down the other side of the ledger and talk about all the litigation successes we've had." In particular, one case involved a jury finding in favor of the Philip Morris USA unit in less than an hour. In the end, investors have to decide for themselves whether they're comfortable with the legal risks that major players in the tobacco industry face every day. In Barrington's view, those risks have come down significantly compared to the heightened state of alert that Altria and its peers had to deal with throughout much of the 1990s and early 2000s. As attitudes change among potential jurors, however, Altria will have to remain diligent in order to stay ahead of the lawsuit curve and manage its litigation risk in a prudent way going forward. If it fails, then the cost of decisions like the one in the Schwarz case could dramatically exceed the $25 million verdict. The article Will This Supreme Court Decision Cost Altria Group Much More Than $25 Million? originally appeared on Fool.com. Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. When a police officer kicked Amber Marcheses husband Jim awake and escorted the couple off of their Virgin Airlines flight, the former Real Housewives of New Jersey star suspected the worse. Two police officers were standing there and said, Please come with me, and I think my name is of the terrorist list by accident or something, God forbid, happened to my children and theyre going to tell me the worst news I have ever heard in my life, Amber Marchese recalled of her and Jims April 20 flight from LAX back home to New Jersey. Little did either suspect that Jim would end up being booked on domestic assault charges and put in jail with on $50,000 bail. The couple of 10 years told FOX411 that they believe a stewardess mistook their PDA for Jim choking Amber, which they both insist did not happen. The parents of four children are now suing the airline for $100 million. Its been humiliating, Jim, who had all charges dropped against him, shared. I make part of my living as a whistleblower in mortgage back security cases and now everyone thinks Im a wife beater and it affects my work. Amber added, People still call him a wife beater and that he deserves everything that he gets. They say that Im stupid for putting up with a wife beater and my children should be ashamed because Im with him. The truth doesnt matter. Its been horrible for us. Aside from the toll the arrest is taking on their personal and professional lives, the Marcheses are furious with how they were treated by airport security. They handcuffed me and gave me an ultimatum to tell them that Jim had beaten me, Amber said. I didnt like how they used an emotional circumstance of me wanting to see my children at home as a way of getting me to say what they wanted me to say. If they were there to help me, they wouldn't be handcuffing me and treating me like that. A rep for Virgin Airlines did not return FOX411s request for comment. Follow FOX411's Sasha Bogursky on Twitter @SashaFB. Soap opera star Jensen Buchanan was arrested for driving under the influence after causing a car crash in Buellton, California, on Wednesday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol. According to the collision report, the 53-year-old actress, best known for her roles in "One Life to Live and Another World," also caused major injuries to another driver in the wrong-way crash. WATCH: Disney Star Debby Ryan Charged With Drunk Driving After Two Vehicle Accident "The immediate cause is under investigation -- our understanding is she allowed [her] vehicle to cross the double yellow lines," John Ortega, public information officer for the Buellton office of the CHP told ET. "There were two parties involved -- a driver in each vehicle." According to the police report obtained by ET, at approximately 6:19 a.m., Buchanan's vehicle, a black Mercedes S550, drifted across the solid double yellow lines of the road as she was driving eastbound on State Route 154. The documents claim that she drove directly into the path of a driver of a white Ford C-Max, causing a head-on traffic collision. Police say Buchanan and the other driver, Bradley Asolas, a 56-year-old man from Camarillo, California, were transported to the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. Buchanan was treated for minor injuries and arrested for DUI. Asolas was treated for major injuries. PHOTOS: Busted! Hollywood's Most Memorable Mugshots "It is confirmed Jensen Buchanan as the driver of a black Mercedes," Ortega also told ET. "Jensen Buchanan was arrested for DUI -- she had minor injuries and went to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. As far as law enforcement is aware, she is still there. The other party had major injuries and was also taken to Cottage Hospital -- there is no update on his condition." The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department confirmed to ET that Buchanan was booked charges of driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs with injury or death and driving under the influence of .08 alcohol causing bodily injury, She is being held on $100,000 bail. ET has reached out to Buchanan's rep for comment. For the past two years, John Shaw and his wife, Natasha, had been planning their first visit to the United States, with Las Vegas as their last stop. The Australian couple, parents of three children back home and a fourth on the way, received clearance for the three-week trip from Natashas doctor, News 3 LV reported. But during the couples long-awaited vacation, a relatively common, undetected pregnancy complication suddenly struck Natasha, taking her life and her 26-week-old childs. As John grieves the loss of his wife and baby, hes speaking out to warn other moms about the condition that was detected too late: HELLP syndrome. "Every organ was fine in her body. She never had a problem with any other pregnancy, John told News3LV.com. We never thought this would happen. The acronym HELLP stands for hemolysis the breakdown of red blood cells elevated liver enzymes, and a low platelet count. HELLP syndrome is a type of preeclampsia, a condition marked by protein in the urine and high blood pressure, and it most often occurs during the third trimester, according to the National Institutes of Health. The syndrome may also develop the week after the baby is born. Five percent of women get preeclampsia, and of those, about 20 percent get HELLP syndrome, Dr. David E. Kartzinel, vice chairman of the OBGYN Department at Sunrise Hospital, in Las Vegas, told the news station. Usually, women with the condition will report vision problems or unbearable headaches or a migraine, in addition to swelling and sudden weight gain. People may mistake their HELLP symptoms for those of the flu, gastritis or acute hepatitis, Kartzinel said. Usually, when those symptoms are showing and you get treatment, the patient always get better, but the important thing is to recognize and treat it, Kartzinel told News3LV.com. [Among] people who don't get treated, 1 in 4 of them develop a serious case of HELLP syndrome. In some cases, like Natashas, symptoms can progress rapidly. I've seen patients get worse in a few hours, and sometimes patients get worse over a few days," Kartzinel told the news station. For three days, a migraine and abdominal cramps plagued Natasha, but she and John didnt think much of it. They believed she was suffering from a typical migraine and that resting would ward off the discomfort. But Saturday, John called 911 after his wife exhibited stroke-like symptoms and became unresponsive. At the hospital, doctors diagnosed her with HELLP through blood and urine tests. Another risk factor for HELLP is having preeclampsia during a previous pregnancy, but Natashas three previous pregnancies were all normal, John said. Although doctors tried to salvage the babys life, he was born deceased. John broke the news to his other three children about their sibling and mother during a video chat, News3LV.com reported. "My little baby is only 3. He didn't know what was going on," John told the news station. "Natasha always wanted the best for our children. She wanted to give them things she didn't have growing up, and I want to be able to do that for them, for her." "If you're pregnant and you feel those symptoms, go to the doctor because it happens all too quick," he added. "I'm bringing them back home in a box, which I never thought would happen." A family member has set up a GoFundMe page to help John raise the money necessary to transport his wife and childs remains from the U.S. to Australia. Utah recently passed a law that requires doctors to give anesthesia to a fetus prior to performing an abortion that occurs at 20 weeks of gestation or later. The law assumes that a fetus may be able to feel pain at that stage in development; however, doctors groups and other critics of the law argue that a fetus cannot feel pain at 20 weeks gestational age. Indeed, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) said it considers the case to be closed as to whether a fetus can feel pain at that stage in development. [6 Myths About Miscarriage] "The science shows that based on gestational age, the fetus is not capable of feeling pain until the third trimester," said Kate Connors, a spokesperson for ACOG. The third trimester begins at about 27 weeks of pregnancy. To find out more, Live Science dug into the research and spoke with a leading expert on fetal pain. Here's a look at what we found. The problem with pain One reason the question of fetal pain is so controversial is because pain is always a subjective experience, said Dr. Anne Davis, an OB/GYN and the consulting medical director for Physicians for Reproductive Health. Davis is an abortion provider. Unlike with blood pressure or body temperature, for example, there's no definitive way to measure pain, Davis said. People do have ways of communicating how much pain they're feeling; for example, doctors often ask people to rate their pain on a scale of 1 to 10. But the experience of pain is fundamentally subjective, Davis said. In other words, what might be very painful to one person may cause very little pain to someone else. Still, even though doctors can't objectively measure pain, research has revealed much about how pain is experienced in the body and, more importantly, in the brain. "Pain occurs in [the] brain," Davis said. When a person is injured say, you stub your toe, for example a signal travels from the foot up through the nerves in the leg to the spinal cord, and then from spinal cord up to the brain, Davis said. Once that signal gets into the brain, the information is transmitted through a complex web of neurons to an area of the brain called the cortex, she said. It's in this sophisticated part of the brain that a person actually perceives the feeling of pain, Davis said. "We know that there are a lot of steps in between the thing that could cause pain and the actual experience of pain," Davis said. For the system to work whether in an adult or a fetus all of the pathways of the nerves need to be connected and functioning, she said. Fetal development "What we can say about the fetal nervous system is that based on the best science we have" on the neurons that carry pain signals is that the "system isn't developed until the third trimester of pregnancy," Davis told Live Science. Scientists' knowledge of the fetal nervous system was summed up in a 2005 review in the journal JAMA. The authors of that review outlined in detail the evidence on how this system develops, based on a number of previous studies on the anatomy of the fetus at various stages of development. Davis, who was not involved with that review, noted that though it was published in 2005, the research is still valid, because the scientific community's understanding of fetal development is "pretty much stable." Indeed, since the publication of the review, "no research has contradicted its findings," said a recent statement from ACOG. In the review, the researchers highlighted several key points in fetal development that are required in order for a fetus to perceive pain. One is that the receptors in the skin that sense an injury must be developed. Research has shown that this happens between 7.5 and 15 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the location of the receptors on the body, according to the review. For example, receptors in the skin around the mouth develop at around 7.5 weeks, whereas receptors in the skin on the abdomen develop at around 15 weeks, according to the review. Second, the neurons in the spinal cord that transmit that signal up to the brain must be developed. Researchers who looked at fetal tissues reported that this happens at around 19 weeks, the review said. Third, the neurons that extend from the spinal cord into the brain need to reach all the way to the area of the brain where pain is perceived. This does not occur until between 23 and 24 weeks, according to the review. Moreover, the nerves' existence isn't enough to produce the experience of pain, the authors wrote in their review. Rather, "These anatomical structures must also be functional," the authors wrote. It's not until around 30 weeks that there is evidence of brain activity that suggests the fetus is "awake." Davis noted that while these time frames aren't exact some fetuses may develop a little earlier, and some fetuses may develop a little later "there isn't any science to suggest that those pathways [for pain] are complete around the 20th week" of pregnancy. "It's a complicated development process, and it goes in stages," Davis said. According to a statement from ACOG, a fetus's brain and nervous system "do not have the capacity to process, recognize or feel pain during the second trimester." Indeed, it's important to remember that early on in pregnancy, the fetus isn't just a very small version of what it looks like later in pregnancy, Davis said. Rather, things are changing and organs are forming, she said. There are number of fetal conditions that can't be diagnosed until later in pregnancy, because the development simply hasn't happened yet, she said. Reflexes and stress responses One argument that is sometimes used to suggest a fetus can experience pain before the third trimester is that a fetus can have a withdrawal reflex, or the ability to move away from something when touched. But performing a reflex action and perceiving pain are two different things, Davis said. Consider, for example, when a doctor tests your reflexes by hitting your knee with a rubber hammer. Your foot will kick out, regardless of whether you experience pain or not. "Many reflexes occur at the level of the spinal cord," and don't involve the brain at all, Davis said. But the brain is essential for perceiving pain, she said. [5 Painful Facts you Need to Know] Another argument is that a fetus in the second trimester can display certain stress responses, such as increased levels of stress hormones, including cortisol and endorphins. However, the authors of the JAMA review noted that these hormones aren't specific to pain (for example, other stressful conditions may affect their levels). In addition, the hormones are not regulated by the part of the brain associated with consciousness, the authors wrote. Doctors react Utah's law requiring anesthetizing a fetus prior to an abortion also brings up important technical questions: How should doctors perform such a procedure? Is there an added risk to the woman? For example, although it's been shown that painkilling drugs cross the placenta and reach the fetal bloodstream, doctors don't know how much of the drug they would have to give the woman in order to achieve the desired level in the fetus, and if this amount is safe for the woman, the JAMA authors wrote. There's no protocol for how to do this, Davis said, and experts in the field of maternal medicine aren't sure how to follow this law. Doctors are able to immobilize a fetus to perform certain in-utero surgeries, but this is different than blocking pain in the fetus, according to the JAMA review. Dr. Leah Torres, an OB/GYN in Salt Lake City, also said that it's not medically possible for doctors to follow this law. "There is no medical practice that involves administering [pain relief] to a fetus," she told The Salt Lake City Tribune earlier this month. Yet another issue is that pain is a part of many medical procedures. And so, fundamentally, the law begs another important question: Why does the potential existence of pain mean that a procedure should be avoided? Davis said. Editor's Recommendations Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. People who fear they have skin cancer, or know it, and decide to try an unapproved product called "black salve" may face infection, scarring and worse cancer outcomes, doctors warn. Utah researchers surveyed black salve users and found that most did not talk to a doctor before trying the product - which is on a U.S. Food and Drug Administration list of "fake 'cancer cures' consumers should avoid" - nor were they aware of its harmful effects. Black salve refers to products containing zinc chloride and sanguinarine, both corrosive ingredients that can severely damage skin, the study team writes in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. The salve is widely available online, touted as a way to eliminate skin cancers. It does scour off top layers of skin, giving the appearance that a lesion is gone. But, the authors explain, cancer remaining deeper in the skin may go unseen, and undiagnosed, until it becomes more advanced and potentially even life threatening. "People who use black salve are largely unaware of how serious the side effects of black salve can be, and over-estimate how precise or effective it can be in treating their problem," said senior author Dr. Mark Eliason of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, by email. His team surveyed 340 adults attending primary care and dermatology clinics in Utah to gauge perceptions of black salve. Twenty-three people said they'd used black salve to treat potential skin cancer, and the researchers later did follow-up interviews with most of them. Seventeen of the 23 said they hadn't talked to a dermatologist before trying the product and relied instead on the experiences of friends or family. Seven patients said they used black salve on a cancerous lesion, four used it on a "precancer" and seven used it on benign growths like warts and skin tags. More than half said their lesion had not been evaluated by a doctor. Thirteen people had a personal history of skin cancer, and 11 said the result of using black salve was that the lesion was still present or a scar was present. Nonetheless, more than half of users said they were likely to recommend black salve to others. Seventeen users said they were not aware of the possible side effects, including infection, scarring and disfigurement, before using black salve. The most common reason patients gave for using black salve was to avoid surgery, and specifically the pain, scarring and costs of surgery that might not work. Half of the interviewees brought up issues with talking to their doctors about black salve, including fear of being judged and the doctors not wanting to answer questions about the product. "Instead of using black salve, we hope that people will talk with their doctors about their concerns," Eliason said. "If a patient feels like a doctor is not approachable or unable to explain the rationale for a treatment, getting a second opinion from another licensed medical professional is the best next course of action." Lynne McFarland, a researcher at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, noted that patients often turn to friends or internet sources for information and may not get valid medical advice. McFarland, who was not involved in the study, recommended using the websites of the National Cancer Institute (1.usa.gov/27AFBV7) and National Library of Medicine (1.usa.gov/1TkhYGt) to find information about medical topics. She also points out that many patients are afraid of the scarring that can result from surgery, but black salve is not a solution. "The scarring by these uncontrolled skin products can be severe and disfiguring. This is not a minor issue," McFarland said by email. "Nobody likes surgery, but you can die if you allow skin cancer to spread," McFarland added. "Patients need to voice their concerns clearly, and doctors and other health providers must do a better job listening supportively and explaining clearly their reasoning for treatment. Doing so can lead to an abandonment of this harmful, unproven therapy," Eliason said. Its been vile, said Nevada Democratic Party Chairwoman Roberta Lange. Its been threatening messages, threatening my family, threatening my life, threatening my grandchild. Coupled with throwing chairs, screaming obscenities and even booing Senator Barbara Boxer as she spoke, Bernie Sanderss supporters turned last weekends Nevada Democratic convention into a total free-for-all. From the descriptions and video evidence, this was what wed expect from a Trump rally. Indeed, for all the criticism Sanders piled on Trump when he was seemingly unable to control his supporters or lacking any interest in controlling them Sanders has not lived up to the standard he has demanded of others. His statement on the weekends events showed no concern. He wrote, "Within the last few days there have been a number of criticisms made against my campaign organization. Party leaders in Nevada, for example, claim that the Sanders campaign has a 'penchant for violence.' That is nonsense. Our campaign has held giant rallies all across this country, including in high crime areas, and there have been zero reports of violence." He went on to blame Democratic leadership for using "its power to prevent a fair and transparent process from taking place." And while Sanders is correct that his supporters are not regularly unhinged, its also critical to note that the numbers are clear and theyre on Hillary Clintons side. She won the Nevada caucus in February. Why she shouldnt then be entitled to a greater share of the pledged delegates is beyond me. But it was clearly not beyond Sanders backers and potentially Sanders staff to tell those at the convention that the process was rigged in favor of Clinton. Doing this is not only dishonest, but totally irresponsible both in the moment and for the future of the Democratic Party. In pitting Sanders and Clinton supporters against each other in this way, Sanders and his team are threatening Clintons chances of beating Trump in November. You know how serious this threat to general election prospects is by how many liberals and liberal outlets have turned on Sanders over this. CNN contributor Sally Kohn, who endorsed Sanders, wrote an article in Time called I felt the Bern but the Bros are extinguishing the flames. Kevin Drum writes in Mother Jones, The one thing I do keep wondering about is what happened to Bernie Sanders. Before this campaign, he was a gadfly, he was a critic of the system, and he was a man of strong principles. He still is, but hes also obviously very, very bitter. I wonder if all this was worth it for him? And Sanders supporter Charles Pierce of Esquire offered, I voted for Bernie SandersBut if anybody thinks that, somehow, he is having the nomination stolen from him, they are idiots. To borrow Pierces language, any Democrat who thinks that the division Bernie Sanders is fueling isnt hurting Hillary Clinton is also an idiot. Just look at the new Fox News poll which has Trump up 45-42 percent nationally and leading substantially with independents (16 points) and men (22 points). Trump is even ahead of Clinton with white women. Yes, shes still winning women overall and has big leads with African-Americans and Latinos, but her vulnerability is clear. Senate Democrats met this week to discuss how to handle Bernie Sanders. This is certainly necessary, but apt to further anger his supporters whom they desperately need going forward. Perhaps a personal appeal from Clinton would help. But I remain unconvinced that Sanders is going to tone down his rhetoric. Even if he acknowledges that the math isnt on his side, hes now going gunning for reforming the process. And when someone has been so resoundingly behind the idea of bringing revolution to American politics, its hard to see him making any substantive changes. Sanders will lose. But Democratic unity will, too, and thats the real shame here. Jerry Boykin is the kind of man youd want teaching your sons a good and decent man, an honorable man a Christian man. For the past nine years the retired lieutenant general has taught leadership and ethics at Hampden-Sydney College, a highly regarded, all-male school based in Virginia. By many accounts he is beloved and deeply respected by students. Click here to join Todds American Dispatch: A must-read for conservatives! But Gen. Boykin will not be returning to the classroom this fall. Thats because he tells me he's been fired. The man who was one of the original members of Delta Force and once commanded all of the U.S. Armys Green Berets the man who served his nation with honor and distinction for more than 36 years was ousted because of political correctness. Click here to subscribe to Todds weekly podcast! In March, Gen. Boykin delivered a speech to conservatives and he referenced the national uproar over transgendered people using the ladies room. He cracked a joke: The first man who goes into the restroom with my daughter will not have to worry about surgery. Laughter ensued. But militant LGBT activists were not laughing. I never said homosexuals. I never said transgenders, he told me. I was really talking about these perverts who would use this as a way to get into the bathrooms with our wives and daughters. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO TODD'S WEEKLY PODCAST! Boykin, who also serves as an executive vice president of the Family Research Council, tells me as many as 150 activists signed a letter written to the college demanding that he be fired. They claimed I was calling for violence against transgenders, he told me. Obviously it is not true. It was a figure of speech. It was meant to be humorous and it was humorous to the audience. Youd think that militant LGBT activists would enjoy a good rib-tickler. Apparently, they do not. Political correctness is absolutely out of control, he said. Boykin learned just recently that he would not be returning to the college without warning. I was not given a chance to defend myself, he said. I was not given an opportunity to explain myself. Thats the sad part of it. The school is better than that. Apparently, they are not. Unlike the cowardly actions of the schools leadership, I decided to allow the schools administration a chance to do what they denied to Gen. Boykin a chance to explain what happened. His contract was simply not renewed, said Thomas Shomo, the colleges director of communications. We felt it was time academically for a change. Shomo said Boykin worked part time teaching two classes a semester -- serving in a position that had been set up years ago for short-term residencies for professionals in the Wilson Center for Leadership. So did the college have concerns about Gen. Boykins speech? Yes. They were of concern, Shomo told me. They appeared to advocate or approve of violence. But he denied the speech had anything to do with giving the boot to an American hero. The concerns about Jerry Boykins comments were not the determining factor in this decision, Shomo said noting that the timing of their decision was entirely coincidental. I dont know about you folks, but I feel like were knee-deep in Grade-A fertilizer. You know he [Boykin] is an outspoken person who has many controversial views, Shomo said. He has expressed those controversial views in various forms over the last nine years and the college has not reacted to those. Does the administration of Hampden-Sydney College truly believe that protecting women from would-be predators is a controversial view? The general has many defenders including former Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz. At a time where young people are desperately seeking hope and inspiration, you would think General Boykin would be one of their most valued faculty, Sen. Cruz wrote on Facebook. But instead, he fell victim to the PC police. FRC President Tony Perkins blasted the colleges leadership. What a contrast between the easily intimidated leadership of Hampden-Sydney College and men, like Gen. Boykin, who have spent their lives facing real danger so that LGBT agitators could enjoy the freedoms and rights they want to deny others, Perkins told me. Fred Larmore, a 1974 graduate of the college and a former board member, told me that students and alumni are furious over the decision to oust Boykin. General Boykin got an extremely raw deal, he told me. Hampden-Sydney was founded in 1776. They take great pride in their motto: Come here as boys so you may leave as men. General Boykin is the perfect example of how that happens, Larmore told me. He is a role model for the students. Theres no question that hes the real deal. What happened to Gen. Boykin should serve as a wake-up call to every freedom-loving patriot across the fruited plain. There is a concerted effort afoot to silence any American who cherishes traditional American values. They [LGBT activists] are shrewd, they are very well organized and they are unified which is something the Church is not, Boykin told me. The Church is not unified. Therefore, the church fights piecemeal battles rather than doing what the LGBT community did in my case. They came together and launched a major attack and they succeeded. So the question at hand my fellow Americans is what are we going to do about it? General Boykin plans on fighting back. It makes me even more determined that Im going to do everything I can to stop men from going into bathrooms with my daughters, my wife and my granddaughters, he said. I am going to be a very outspoken antagonist on this issue. Spoken like a true American patriot. As for Hampden-Sydney College it seems as if their leadership places a higher value on political correctness than duty and honor. When given the choice of standing alongside a decorated military hero or a bunch of militant LGBT activists choose wisely. The leadership of Hampden-Sydney College learned that lesson the hard way. On May 19 I reported to you that the Virginia all-male college had chosen not to renew retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykins contract ending his stellar, nine-year career teaching leadership and ethics. Click here to join Todds American Dispatch: A must-read for conservatives! Less than six hours later, the college reversed its decision and offered the retired general a one-year contract. Hampden-Sydney College is a fine school with a proud history of young men who have led our country, and I am honored to be a part of shaping the next generation of leaders, Boykin told me. I would like to thank the leadership of Hampden-Sydney College for the courage they have demonstrated in reversing their decision and allowing me to remain a part of the Hampden-Sydney community. The LGBT activists had wanted Hampden-Sydney to fire Boykin over a joke he made to a gathering of conservatives. They accused him of advocating for violence against gays and transgender people. The first man who goes into the restroom with my daughter will not have to worry about surgery, Boykin told the crowd. Click here to subscribe to Todds weekly podcast! The college acknowledged that LGBT activists had contacted the school but denied their concerns were the determining factor in not renewing Boykins contract. Yes. They were of concern, college spokesman Thomas Shomo told me. They appeared to advocate or approve of violence. Shomo also told me Boykin is an outspoken person who has many controversial views. For the record, forcing people to use the bathroom according to their God-given plumbing is not controversial. Its common sense. This situation has been a great reminder of how our First Amendment principles are worth standing up for and defending, Boykin told me. I strongly suspect Hampden-Sydney had a bit of help with its decision to do the right thing. The readers of this column were among the hundreds (if not thousands) of people who publicly defended Gen. Boykins good name. And that brings me to a very important point as we wage a battle for the soul of our nation when patriots stand together we can facilitate change. There is strength in unified numbers, Boykin told me. The radical left and LGBT activists completely underestimate the impact of freedom-loving Americans banding together to protect our First Amendment freedoms. And the general said those unified voices allowed him to return to the college. I wrote extensively about this issue in my book, God Less America. Consider whats happened as a result of our silence: Atheists are rampaging across the fruited plain waging war on religion, seeking to eradicate God from the public marketplace. The Obama administration has turned our bathrooms into cultural cesspools. And our public schools have been transformed into radical leftwing indoctrination centers. The foundations of our nation have been ravaged and many good people stood by and did nothing. Many churches were silent. We chose not to fight. Never cave in when you know that you are standing for what is right and true, for these are the principles that made this nation great, Boykin said. Stand, even if it means you lose your job. Stand, even if it means you lose your life. The founding principles of this nation are worth defending, even if it costs you. Those are powerful and sobering words steeped in truth. We must stand and we must stand together with one, unified voice. When you stand, freedom prevails, Boykin said. Ive predicted publicly for a year now that Hillary Clinton, although a prohibitive favorite, still may never become the Democratic Partys nominee. Dont look now, but at this moment Hillary is still far from a sure thing to become the Democratic standard-bearer. This week, she lost Oregon and barely squeaked by in Kentucky. Bernie has now won 11 of the last 14 primaries and caucuses. I ask Democrats, is this your nominee? The winner of your presidential nomination has lost just shy of 80 percent of her races coming down the homestretch. If Hillary were a racehorse with that record, shed be sent home. Call me crazy but don't presumptive nominees usually win about 80 percent of their races? This has to be the first time in history the leader of her party has lost 80 percent of them. I'm not sure you call someone like that a "leader" or "nominee." Usually you call someone like that..."loser!" Hillary is certainly still the favorite -- if only because of the scam of superdelegates. The Democratic nomination is basically rigged. Because of those superdelegates Hillary already has the nomination locked up. But she appears to be crawling on her knees, over razor blades, towards the finish line. First, while shes the clear-cut delegate winner and we all know that everyone loves a winner, its gotta be downright frightening for Democrats that she still cant put away a wild-eyed radical socialist from Vermont who wants tax rates as high as 90 percent and would add an estimated $18 trillion to the national debt. Then, theres the FBI. They are closing in. No matter how many times Hillary or her delusional aides claim the investigation is only a security inquiry it doesn't change reality. FBI Director Comey recently set them straight. Turns out the FBI doesnt do security inquiries. Hillary is the subject of a criminal investigation. Then theres that millstone hanging around Hillarys neck -- Bill Clinton. Can you become president when your husbands past behavior with women raises more questions every day? Were about to find out. The stories about Bills reckless and possibly criminal behavior keep popping out of the closet. First theres the beautiful blonde friend who got $2 million from the Clinton Global Initiative and another $800,000 in government contracts with Bill's help. Dont we all wish we had friends like that? Worse, theres the new disclosure that Bill took 26 flights on a sex offenders plane, an aircraft actually called The Lolita Express. It flew nonstop to Orgy Island where old men cavorted with young (13 to 15-year old) girls. Bill flew five times on this aircraft without his Secret Service detail. This isnt a scandal, its a disaster for Hillary. Its already May and now the question is: Can Hillary crawl past the primary finish line? And if she does, will she be so crippled for the general election that she becomes a sitting duck for Donald Trump? Have you seen the latest polls? Last week the experts were shocked to see Hillary tied with Trump. This week it got even worse. In the latest Fox News poll Trump leads Hillary. I have close friends in high Democratic Party circles. Trust me, they are beginning to panic. They are starting to think about Plan B and that doesnt include either Hillary or Bernie being their nominee. So let me lay out a very plausible scenario. What if Hillarys approval ratings slide continues? What if over the next 60 to 90 days she finds herself down by 5 to 7 points to Trump? What if she goes down by double digits? Would the panic become hysteria? What if the FBI recommends indicting Hillary over the email scandal -- my law enforcement sources tell me this is a very real possibility. But it gets worse. Have you heard that Russia claims to have 10,000 of Hillary's hacked emails? They say they will release them. If this is the case, Hillary better stop worrying about the White House and start worrying about the Big House. Would President Obama allow the Justice Department to indict his former secretary of state? I used to think no. But I now believe the answer to that question depends on only one factor -- is Hillary beating Trump? Every Washington insider knows that Obama has no love or loyalty for Hillary. Im betting if Obama senses Hillary is a sinking Titanic -- and he still has time before the convention -- he will throw her under the bus. At this point, I would guess the president gives Hillary a choice that is no choice at all. Be indicted, lose the presidential race, and risk a long jail term, or announce to the world that your cough has become a real medical issue and you will have to decline the nomination, then receive a presidential pardon. That means all her delegates become free agents and a new nominee can be substituted at the Democratic convention in July. Ive always predicted Obama would prefer Joe Biden or Elizabeth Warren as the nominee, or the combination of Biden/Warren. He may yet get his wish. But this much I know: Hillary is sinking faster than the Titanic. President Obama is considering lifting an embargo that bans the sale of arms to Vietnam, according to a Wall Street Journal report published late Thursday. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said the White House is in talks with members of Congress about ending the ban. The president will visit Vietnam next week and is expected to outline "how we intend to approach [the embargo] going forward," according to Rhodes. The move would strengthen relations between the U.S. and Vietnam, after the countries normalized diplomatic relations in 1995. The Vietnamese have repeatedly lobbied for the rollback of U.S. sanctions against its importing of weapons. Read more on WashingtonExaminer.com Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said Thursday morning that the Defense Department has yet to provide Congress with a list of drone pilots who were active at the time of the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. Gowdy said his Select Committee on Benghazi requested interviews with relevant drone pilots, but said the Defense Department ignored that request for five weeks. On March 31, the department agreed to provide a list of names of pilots and drone operators near Benghazi and Tripoli at the time of the attack. But he said the list provided in April was incomplete, and said his committee still doesn't have a list of names. "The committee needs all of the names so the relevant witnesses can be interviewed and the investigation completed," Gowdy said. "Surely DOD can complete the simple task of finding the people within the chain of command in less than three months. Read more on WashingtonExaminer.com No additional security enhancements have been made to U.S. aviation after the disappearance of EgyptAir flight 804 from Paris to Cairo Thursday, Fox News has learned, despite concerns about Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport serving as a last point of departure for flights to the United States. The Cairo-bound Flight 804 dropped from the sky hours after departing from Paris Thursday with 66 people on board. Authorities have said the possibility of a terror attack as the cause of the crash is "stronger" than technical failure. The plane took off from Charles de Gaulle airport, which also serves as a last point of departure for a number of flights to the U.S. The incident has raised questions about the security of the airport at a time when Western Europe has been on high alert over the deadly Islamist attacks in Paris and at the Brussels airport and subway over the past six months. A Department of Homeland Security official told Fox News that while there have been no additional security enhancements, the department's aviation security posture remain at a heightened alert since the bombing of a Metrojet Flight 928 over the Sinai Penninsula last October. A law enforcement official said there is currently no specific, credible threat targeting U.S. aviation. A DHS official told Fox News it has made a number of security enhancements at foreign locations in recent years, including expanded screening of items at airports, as well as offering assistance to foreign airports in terms of security. Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told reporters she has not been briefed on the incident, but noted that it did indeed appear to be an act of terror from the information shed seen. There is a strong probability that the plane went down with an act of terror, Feinstein said. The investigation has to take place and the facts need to be examined. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said U.S. national security and aviation experts have been in touch with their counterparts in France and Egypt, and President Obama has received multiple updates as the day has progressed. Earnest would not speculate on the cause of the airliners disappearance. Its too early to say definitively what caused this disaster. The investigation is underway and will consider all the factors that could have contributed, Earnest told reporters. If there is an opportunity for the U.S. government to help, we will do that. The FBI issued a statement late Thursday saying it has offered assistance to our partners in Egypt and France and stands ready to help as needed. Fox News Matthew Dean and Kara Rowland contributed to this report. Hillary Clinton, despite a nagging rival nipping at her heels, tried to turn the campaign to the general election in the wake of another primary loss firing at presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and labeling him not qualified to lead. Clinton, as she tried to put her Bernie Sanders problem behind her, if only temporarily, also repeated a claim that Trump is being used as a recruiter for terrorists with his call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S. The remarks touched off a morning broadside from Trump, who hit back repeatedly Friday. Is that the dumbest thing youve ever heard? ... Its one of the dumbest statements Ive ever heard, Trump said on Fox News, responding to the terrorism comments. Trump, who was buoyed this week by a Fox News poll showing him edging Clinton, also called Clinton unfit to serve in an overnight statement. And he took to Twitter early Friday morning with a blizzard of put-downs on the heels of her critical interview. Trump, on Fox News, also knocked Clintons vow to have her husband, former President Bill Clinton, handle job creation if she's elected. He said NAFTA, negotiated under his presidency, has cleaned out our country of jobs. And he quipped: Maybe she just wants him around so she can keep her eye on him. Trump has escalated his criticism of Bill Clintons past infidelity in recent days. Clinton, speaking Thursday with CNN, said she would not engage with Trump on that front. "No, I know that that's exactly what he's fishing for. I'm not going to be responding," Clinton said. It was in that interview that Clinton went after Trumps qualifications. Clinton cited recent comments from Trump criticizing Great Britain, praising the leader of North Korea and questioning America's membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. She said she knows "how hard this job is" and added that she had "concluded he is not qualified to be president of the United States." Looking ahead to the general election, Clinton also asserted that she "will be the nominee" for the Democratic Party, noting her lead in delegates and votes over Democratic opponent Sanders. "That is already done in effect. There is no way that I won't be," said Clinton, who is 90 delegates short of clinching the nomination, though Sanders continues to win contests -- most recently, in Oregon -- and has vowed to march on to the Democratic convention in July. She declined to say whether she'd consider Sanders for her running mate if she wins the nomination. Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs disputed the suggestion that the primary race was over. "In the past three weeks voters in Indiana, West Virginia and Oregon respectfully disagreed with Secretary Clinton," he said in a statement. "We expect voters in the remaining nine contests also will disagree. And with almost every national and state poll showing Sen. Sanders doing much, much better than Secretary Clinton against Donald Trump, it is clear that millions of Americans have growing doubts about the Clinton campaign." Trump, meanwhile, reiterated Friday that he plans to make his running mate announcement during the convention. Asked if former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is on the short-list, he said, Absolutely, and then added: Anybody who supports me is on the short-list. The Associated Press contributed to this report. While Republicans work through their issues with Donald Trump as their standard bearer, the presumptive presidential nominee and conservatives could be headed for a convention showdown over what the party stands for -- and the possibility Trump may try to tweak the party platform in his own image. And while Trump has made no public moves to do so at this point, that doesn't mean conservative warriors won't be ready in case he does. I have one goal now, and it is simple -- to get as many solid, constitutional conservatives to Cleveland and onto the platform and rules committees, Iowa GOP Rep. Steve King told FoxNews.com. The platform, in the GOP's own words, is a document outlining "who we are and what we believe." The language can be fiercely contested, and the possibility of such a debate may be driving ex-candidate Ted Cruz's push to ensure his delegate allies go to the convention. King is one of those Cruz delegates who plans to be on the floor, fighting for a conservative platform. I have not yet seen a real effort to change the platform. But my point from the beginning is that we have to be prepared, he said. Another Cruz supporter, former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, reportedly sent an email asserting it was imperative that we fill the Rules and Platform Committees with strong conservative voices like yours. The concerns reflect the broader tension in the party between Trump and stalwart conservatives not quite convinced he's one of them. Recognizing the need to assuage such concerns, Trump dispatched campaign chairman Paul Manafort to Capitol Hill on Thursday for a series of meetings with Republican Party leaders. He suggested that there werent going to be any changes to the party platform, Rep. Scott DesJarlais told BuzzFeed News. The Tennessee Republican, a Trump endorser, added there was good two-way dialogue on issues. Manafort also met with Cruz supporter Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Senate aides. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who has tried to smooth over tensions in the party over Trump's primary victory, has offered similar assurances the platform will not be substantially changed in July. "I don't think Donald Trump is interested in rewriting the platform of the Republican Party," he told The Associated Press last week. The Trump campaign did not respond to questions from FoxNews.com on whether it planned to seek any changes. But Trump's rhetoric and the party platform adopted in 2012 would appear sharply at odds in some areas. On trade, for example, the 2012 platform states, Free Trade Agreements negotiated with friendly democracies since President Reagans trailblazing pact with Israel in 1985 facilitated the creation of nearly ten million jobs supported by our exports. Trump has blasted trade deals like NAFTA, and just hours after Manafort worked Capitol Hill, Trump said at a fundraiser for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: " Were losing $500 billion in trade with China. Who the hell cares if theres a trade war?" He rebuffed criticism from very conservative ideologues, stressing that he is a free trader, but Im only a free trader if we make good deals. On entitlements like Medicare, meanwhile, the platform says: We must restructure the twentieth century entitlement state so the missions of important programs can succeed in the twenty-first century. Yet even before he officially jumped in the race, Trump tweeted last May that he was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. The question is whether Trump tries to make these positions part of the official party mission statement. How Donald Trump approaches the debate over the platform will send a very clear message to the grassroots about just how conservative he really is and how serious he is about uniting the party, said the Heritage Foundation's Lee Edwards, who has attended more than a dozen party conventions. Edwards said conservatives also will want to have strongest pro-life plank possible. How [Trump] responds will be a key test about how accommodating he can be on other issues. Trump indeed has expressed a willingness to change the platform to include abortion exceptions in the case of rape, incest and the life of the mother. Yes, I would. Absolutely, for the three exceptions, I would. I would leave it for the life of the mother, but I would absolutely have the three exceptions, Trump said during an April appearance on NBC News Today" show. Like Trump, Republican nominees John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012 also stated support for those three exceptions, but neither sought to change the language of the platform. While delegates will not arrive in Cleveland until July, the process of selecting members of the platform committee and drafting the platform itself is well underway. According to the party rules, each state nominates two people to serve as members of that committee. As the convention draws closer, a website and online surveys will be used to gather feedback on the platform, according to convention spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski. The committee members will meet the week of July 11 to complete the drafting, and release the document at the beginning of the convention. It will eventually be voted on and adopted, in some form. Michael Barone, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and principal co-author of the annual Almanac of American Politics, suggested most of the document will not be contentious. While there are real differences and fissures on policy like trade and the direction of American foreign policy, I dont see all of those becoming matters of debate in the platform. It is a non-binding document, he said. The platform may be purely symbolic, but Iowa's King said it represents the belief system of the Republican Party. "These are principles important to the millions of conservatives who stayed home last election," he said. "[Trump] needs to speak to them." The House of Representatives passed a defense budget that would make $450 million in aid to Pakistan contingent on the nation doing more to stop a militant terror network and calls for the freeing of an imprisoned doctor who helped the CIA find Usama bin Laden. The $602 billion National Defense Authorization Act passed by the House late Wednesday calls on the Muslim-majority nation to crack down on the infamous Haqqani Network or lose aid. It also included a sense of Congress that Dr. Shakil Afridi is an international hero and calls for his immediate release from prison. Afridi is a Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA pinpoint bin Laden's presence in an Abbottabad compound through a vaccination ruse. Afridi was nabbed trying to leave the country and has been held in prison since 2011. "He helped take out the man who killed thousands of Americans on American soil. Pakistan should have thanked Dr. Afridi, not put him in jail," said Adnan Khan, former President of Council of Pakistan American Affairs. "We support what he did and it's a shame that Pakistan couldn't do this on its own. We would welcome to our U.S states." Pakistan sentenced Afridi in 2012 to 33 years in jail on charges of belonging to a militant group, which he denies. That sentence was overturned and Afridi is now awaiting trial on another charge. The Haqqani Network, which is regarded as a criminal gang that dabbles in terrorism, operates around the lawless border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Pakistan-related amendments all passed by unanimous voice vote. The House version of the defense bill must be reconciled with a Senate bill before being sent to President Obama. Hollie McKay contributed to this report **Want FOX News First in your inbox every day? Sign up here.** Buzz Cut: No, Sanders wouldnt be a better match for Trump Power Play: Senate flipping out? Reid tries to diffuse Dem tensions Fox News Latino poll: Hillary tops Trump by 39 points with Hispanics Look out below NO, SANDERS WOULDNT BE A BETTER MATCH FOR TRUMP Bernie Sanders is looking a lot like John Kasich these days. And, no, not because of their hand gestures. In the final round of Super Sloppy Double Dare that was the GOP nominating process, Kasich argued that he should be the nominee because he handily beat Hillary Clinton in hypothetical head-to-head matchups while now-presumptive nominee Donald Trump consistently lagged. Now, Sanders who is, as Kasich was, out of the running for the nomination is asking his party to throw over the frontrunner for the sake of general election viability. And theres data to back him up. In this weeks Fox News poll and the most recent NYT/CBS News poll, Sanders outperforms Clinton against Trump. And it had been true for Kasich, too. But it doesnt really matter. First, any Democrat without her enormous negative ratings would match up better with Trump than Clinton does. Throw Martin OMalley or even an imaginary candidate (insofar as those are different concepts) in a poll, and you might see a similar result. And thats because those candidates havent been the target of millions of dollars in attack ads or even garnered much in the way of media scrutiny. These are not just hypothetical matchups, they are, in many ways, hypothetical candidates. Head-to-head matchup polls in primaries can be useful if youre talking about frontrunners and/or candidates who have been substantially defined in the minds of voters. Then theres the question of how the process shapes the product. Competing for your partys nomination definitely can damage your reputation. Lordy day, it can. But, there is also a payoff at the end of the line, as the party swings in behind its man or woman. So its not just that Sanders head-to-head matchups with Trump arent reflective of the general-election reality, neither are Clintons. The current Trump bump is real. The NYT/CBS News poll tells the tale: Eight in 10 Republicans said that the party should unite behind him, despite their disagreements. And in his battle with Clinton, Trump is getting the same post-victory boost his predecessor, Mitt Romney, got four years ago. After a primary season of unrivaled acrimony, the realities of the binary choice of the general election are setting in. The big question now is what Clintons bounce will look like. It will certainly be there. Eighty percent of Democrats in the poll said that party unity was essential to victory and 83 percent said Clinton could do that. For Republicans, just 63 percent said unity was essential to victory and just 64 percent believed Trump could deliver on that task. That discrepancy helps explain Trumps deficit in this survey. What we must wait to see is how big a boost Clinton will get perhaps less than Trump considering that her party is already more united. We also cant know whether the surge in partisan loyalty we see for Trump today will last, or if the partys underlying fracture will reassert itself. The answers to both sets of questions will depend on how well Clinton and Trump traverse the eight weeks until convention time. WITH YOUR SECOND CUP OF COFFEE The Scientist: They dont snore, but might creak during their slumbers. For the first time, trees have been shown to undergo physical changes at night that can be likened to sleep, or at least to day-night cycles that have been observed experimentally in smaller plants. Branches of birch trees have now been seen drooping by as much as 10 centimetres at the tips towards the end of the night. It was a very clear effect, and applied to the whole tree, says Andras Zlinszky of the Centre for Ecological Research in Tihany, Hungary. No one has observed this effect before at the scale of whole trees, and I was surprised by the extent of the changes. Got a TIP from the RIGHT or the LEFT? Email FoxNewsFirst@FOXNEWS.COM POLL CHECK Real Clear Politics Averages General Election: Clinton vs. Trump: Clinton +3.1 points Generic congressional vote: Democrats +2.3 POWER PLAY: SENATE FLIPPING OUT? With the presidential picks in both parties essentially decided, party operatives are turning to the Senate as the next battle heading into the November election, and Republicans are on the defending side. Can they keep their majority, or will Democrats flip it back in their favor? National Republican Senatorial Committee National Spokeswoman, Alleigh Marre, gives her picks for seats she believes the GOP can maintain while Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Communications Director, Sadie Weiner, gives her take on seats she thinks Democrats can easily steal. Reid tries to diffuse Dem tensions - WSJ: Divisions within the Democratic Party, including the eruption of violence on the part of Bernie Sanderss supporters at a state party convention in Nevada, have thrust Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid into the center of an intraparty brawl in his final months in office. [Matthew Continetti says Obamas policy of non-intervention extends to his partys own civil war.] Fox News Latino poll: Hillary tops Trump by 39 points with Hispanics - Fox News Latino: With less than six months to go before the presidential elections, Latinos overwhelmingly support Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton over presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, according to a Fox News Latino poll released on Friday. The poll found that 62 percent of registered Latino voters would head to the ballot box for Clinton in November, while only 23 percent would support Trump on Election Day a finding that many experts say is not surprising given the two candidates differing stances on issues important to Latinos. [A new Fox News poll says that when it comes to most issues, Clinton comes out ahead of Trump, but trails badly on two of the most important: economy and terrorism.] Fox News Sunday - Trump policy adviser Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, join guest host John Roberts on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. Check local listings for broadcast times in your area. #mediabuzz - Host Howard Kurtz wraps the weeks media news. Watch Sunday at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Guests include Bob Woodward, Brit Hume and Tucker Carlson. RACE NOTES Thirty-five years ago, Trump released his taxes and showed he paid not one cent - WaPo Trump helps pay off Chris Christies campaign debt, but mocks gubernatorial girth - NYDN Trump staffers Corey Lewandowski, Hope Hicks spotted in screaming match - NY Post Super PAC backing Trump boasts big business backers - NYT Dems testing different Trump attack lines - Atlantic Minnesota State GOP trying to prevent funding for Trump - [St. Paul] Pioneer Press WITHIN EARSHOT Im 3 million votes ahead of [Bernie Sanders] and I have an insurmountable lead in pledge delegates and Im confident that just as I did with Senator Obama, where I said, you know what? It was really close. Much closer. Much closer than it is between me and Senator Sanders right now. -- Hillary Clinton talking on CNN about the state of the Democratic primary race between her and Bernie Sanders. LOOK OUT BELOW AP: The San Diego County Department of Animal Services says a baby opossum is doing well after being rescued from a toilet. The soaking wet little creature is seen in photos posted on the departments Facebook page. The agency says a Pacific Beach woman found the critter in her toilet on May 1 and Animal Control Officer Carlos Wallis responded and took it to the San Diego Humane Societys Project Wildlife. It will be released when it is old enough to survive on its own. A second opossum was found in the home later, along with a broken window which likely allowed the animals to enter. Animal Services Deputy Director Dan DeSousa says both opossums are doing OK. Chris Stirewalt is digital politics editor for Fox News. Sally Persons contributed to this report. Want FOX News First in your inbox every day? Sign up here. The National Rifle Association threw its weight Friday behind Donald Trump, as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee personally assured the groups members he would protect Second Amendment rights if elected and claimed that likely Democratic rival Hillary Clinton would threaten them. The billionaire businessman and leaders of the nations powerful gun lobby joined forces as they amplified warnings that the Supreme Court vacancy only raises the stakes for gun owners in this election. Trump, speaking to the NRA-ILA (Institute for Legislative Action) forum in Louisville, Ky., even challenged Clinton on Friday to release a list of her potential Supreme Court nominees, after he did so earlier this week. I would like for Hillary Clinton to put a list together also, and I want to see what the list consists of, he said. It will be day and night, it wont be good for the people in this room and the country. He charged, Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment. He addressed the NRA-ILA forum moments after Executive Director Chris Cox announced the groups Trump endorsement. In a written statement, Cox also said: "The stakes in this year's presidential election could not be higher for gun owners. If Hillary Clinton gets the opportunity to replace Antonin Scalia with an anti-gun Supreme Court justice, we will lose the individual right to keep a gun in the home for self-defense. So the choice for gun owners in this election is clear. And that choice is Donald Trump. The NRA's endorsement comes significantly earlier in the election cycle than previous endorsements by the group. The group did not endorse 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney until October 2012. However, officials told Fox News ahead of the announcement there is an excitement for Trump among their members that they did not see for Romney or 2008 nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Trump, who noted he has a concealed-carry permit (Boy would I surprise someone if they hit Trump), on Friday called for making it easier for law-abiding citizens to carry guns for self-protection, saying they could help prevent terrorist attacks and mass shootings. On the San Bernardino terrorist attack, he said, if we had guns on the other side [of the attack], it wouldnt have been that way boom, before pledging to abolish gun-free zones. He joined the NRA in warning of dire consequences for the Second Amendment if Clinton is elected president. Crooked Hillary is the most anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment candidate, he said. She wants to take your guns away from you, just remember that. Clinton will appear Saturday in Florida with the mother of Trayvon Martin and other parents who have lost children to gun violence. She's become a forceful advocate for restrictions meant to reduce the nation's 33,000 annual gun deaths. Trump said that the only way to prevent scrapping gun rights was to vote for him in November. The only way to save our Second Amendment is to vote for a person you all know named Donald Trump, Trump said. I will never let you down, I will protect the Second Amendment, I will protect our country. Trump also blasted the Clintons as heartless hypocrites for having armed bodyguards while calling for gun restrictions. Clinton fire back against Trump's speech late Friday, tweeting that it is possible to prevent gun deaths while respecting the Second Amendment. You're wrong, @realDonaldTrump. We can uphold Second Amendment rights while preventing senseless gun violence. pic.twitter.com/G7g1AdZWCA Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 20, 2016 Trumps pro-gun stance marks a change from 2000, when Trump wrote in a book that he supported the ban on assault weapons as well as a slightly longer waiting period for gun purchases. After the 2012 shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, Trump tweeted that President Obama spoke for me and every American in his remarks. Fox News John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Oklahoma lawmakers approved a sweeping and unprecedented measure on Thursday that would make performing an abortion a felony punishable by prison time -- part of an overt strategy to challenge the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling. The bill, which passed the Oklahoma Senate 32-12 without debate, now awaits either the governors signature or veto. Abortion-rights supporters say the measure is clearly unconstitutional, but the bill's author has said he hopes it will be a first step toward overturning the 1973 Roe ruling that legalized abortion. Since I believe life begins at conception, it should be protected, and I believe it's a core function of state government to defend that life from the beginning of conception, Republican Sen. Nathan Dahm, the bills author, said. Under the bill, doctors who perform abortions could face three years behind bars and lose their medical licenses. There are no exceptions in the case of rape or incest but consideration will be given if a mothers life is in jeopardy. The measure is already sparking outrage in the state. Abortion rights supporters -- including the states medical association argue the bill is unconstitutional and have vowed to fight it. State Sen. Ervin Yen, the only doctor in the Senate and a Republican, described the legislation as insane and voted against it. The Center for Reproductive Rights also slammed the bill, describing it as cruel and unconstitutional. "Oklahoma politicians have made it their mission year after year to restrict women's access to vital health care services, yet this total ban on abortion is a new low," Amanda Allen, an attorney for the New York based center said in a statement. "The Center for Reproductive Rights is closely watching this bill and we strongly urge Governor Fallin to reject this cruel and unconstitutional ban." Thursday's vote in the Senate comes as the Oklahoma Legislature nears a May 27 deadline for adjournment and is still grappling with a $1.3 billion budget hole that could lead to deep cuts to public schools, health care and the state's overcrowded prison system. "Republicans don't have an answer for their failed education policies, failing health care policies and failing fiscal policies, so what do you do in that situation?" said Senate Democratic leader John Sparks. "You come up with an emotional distraction. That's what this bill is." Nearly every year, Oklahoma lawmakers have passed bills imposing new restrictions on abortions, but many of those laws have never taken effect. In all, eight of the state's separate anti-abortion measures have been challenged in court as unconstitutional in the last five years. While some in the state hope the issue returns to the Supreme Court, there is still a vacancy on the bench, with the court largely split 4-4 along ideological lines. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case over an overturned Oklahoma law that would have required women to view an ultrasound of her fetus before an abortion is performed. That same year, the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down a law that would have effectively banned all drug-induced abortions in the state. In 2014, the state Legislature approved a law requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, but a challenge is pending before the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Trust Women, a Wichita, Kansas-based abortion rights foundation that's building an abortion clinic in Oklahoma City, says it's "dismayed" by the passage of the procedure-performing bill, but is undeterred in its plans to open the center. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin vetoed a sweeping and unprecedented measure Friday that would have made performing an abortion a felony punishable by prison time, saying the bill was vague and would not be able to withstand a criminal constitutional challenge. The bill, part of an overt strategy to challenge the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling, had passed the state senate 32-12 without debate and had gone to the governor's desk. The bill is so ambiguous and so vague that doctors cannot be certain what medical circumstances would be considered necessary to preserve the life of the mother, Fallin, a Republican, said in a statement. The absence of any definition, analysis or medical standard renders this exception vague, indefinite and vulnerable to subjective interpretation and application, she said. Fallin is staunchly pro-life and has signed 18 bills supporting pro-life causes. Lawmakers can still attempt a veto override, which requires a two-thirds majority in each chamber. Abortion-rights supporters said the measure was clearly unconstitutional, but the bill's author said he hoped it would be a first step toward overturning the 1973 Roe ruling that legalized abortion. Since I believe life begins at conception, it should be protected, and I believe it's a core function of state government to defend that life from the beginning of conception, Republican Sen. Nathan Dahm, the bills author, said. Under the bill, doctors who perform abortions would have faced three years behind bars and lose their medical licenses. There were no exceptions in the case of rape or incest but consideration would have been given if a mothers life is in jeopardy. Abortion rights supporters -- including the states medical association argued the bill was unconstitutional and vowed to fight it. State Sen. Ervin Yen, the only doctor in the Senate and a Republican, described the legislation as insane and voted against it. The Center for Reproductive Rights also slammed the bill, describing it as cruel and unconstitutional. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump praised rival-turned-ally Chris Christie during a Thursday night fundraiser that the real estate mogul claimed had paid off the New Jersey governor's 2016 campaign debt. Trump praised Christie's stewardship of New Jersey's economy during his speech. He also recounted a debate in New Hampshire during which Christie repeatedly attacked Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, dealing Rubio's campaign a blow from which it never fully recovered. "He looked like Perry Mason that evening," Trump recalled. Trump also referenced the crash of EgyptAir Flight 804, which went down over the Mediterranean Sea earlier Thursday. He said the plane "got blown out of the sky. And if anybody thinks it wasn't blown out of the sky, you're 100 percent wrong." Christie, flanked by his wife and three of his four children, said he hoped New Jersey's June 7 primary would provide the votes and delegates to put Trump "officially over the top as the Republican nominee for president of the United States." Christie noted the two had once been rivals, but said he'd decided to endorse Trump because of their personal friendship. He said he told his wife: "We never ever make a mistake by standing with your friend. And Donald Trump is my friend." Christie ended his presidential bid after a disappointing showing in New Hampshire and became one of Trump's highest-profile backers with a surprise endorsement in February. Trump has appointed Christie to chair his White House transition efforts and his name is often raised as a potential vice presidential pick. Trump took the stage after Christie and announced that the event -- a $200-per-head fundraiser that attracted about 1,000 people -- had retired the bulk of Christie's roughly $250,000 presidential campaign debt. Trump made a joke that appeared to be at Christie's expense when he noted that he is boycotting Nabisco for offshoring jobs. "I'm not eating Oreos anymore. Neither is Chris. You're not eating Oreos, are you? It's for either of us," he said, drawing loud laughs from the crowd. The event also included a $25,000-per-person fundraiser for the state GOP to help it pay off about $500,000 incurred in legal fees responding to legislative subpoenas in the 2013 George Washington Bridge scandal. State party officials said they didn't immediately have a tally of how much either event had raised. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Divers frightened away by the many deaths at the wreck site of the SS Andrea Doria16 people have lost their lives trying to explore itcan soon see what slumbers off Massachusetts another, safer way. Beginning June 2, ocean exploration company OceanGate plans to send a manned submersible to explore the spot, 60 nautical miles southeast of Nantucket. The Italian luxury liner sank there after colliding with the MS Stockholm on July 25, 1956. For six hours a day during the week-long mission, the Cyclops I will survey "the premier shipwreck in American waters," take high-definition video, and use sonar imaging "to create a very accurate digital map," OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush tells the AP and Boston Globe. The Globe explains "no diver has been able to piece together a comprehensive picture" of what remains, in part due to poor visibility. That length of time is a real advantage, note the AP. The ship rests 240 feet below the surface, a depth that prevents divers from spending more than 20 minutes there, and raises the risk of nitrogen narcosis, in which nitrogen levels in the blood get too high and one's judgment is impaired. The wreck still houses money and items like china, things sometimes nabbed by divers attempting what is known as the "Mount Everest of Diving," per the Washington Post. But this mission won't bring anything to the surface. "The Andrea Doria is rapidly decaying," and scientists can use the 3D map his company will create of the site "to compare with future decay," Rush says. "There's a great scientific need for data on thousands of wrecks all over the world." (The wreck claimed one victim last year.) This article originally appeared on Newser: 16 Divers Died at This Wreck. Now, a Different Approach An albatross chick in New Zealand needs a name. On the Otago Peninsula in Dunedin, a baby albatross that hatched on Jan. 21 became a minor celebrity after officials set up a webcam in front of its ground-level nest, and now theyre holding a competition to name it. Theres just one catch they dont know if its male or female. The webcam broadcasts a livestream of the fluffy white bird in front of a picturesque shot of water and hills, and highlight videos show the birds mom and dad feeding it. In one video, the chick ventures towards the camera. People love this thing, Nicola Toki, a threatened species ambassador for the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC), said during a television appearance to talk about the bird and the naming competition. One name thats been suggested for the creature? Jessica Albatross, Toki said. Related: Tiger population estimate sparks controversy Andrea Crawford, a spokesperson for the DOC, explained in an email to FoxNews.com that the baby albatross is part of a colony of the birds first started in the 1920s with one pair. Today, the colony boasts more than 200 birds, including 26 chicks. She said that they had set up the webcam to let people see a baby albatross up close, and that so far its garnered 290,000 views and theyve gotten more than 1400 entries in the naming competition. As the chick has become an [Internet] sensation, we thought he/she deserved to be called something other than the chick or hashtag royal cam. The gender of the chick is not yet known, she wrote. Because viewers have taken such ownership of this chick, we thought it only right they should have the opportunity to name it. Related: Meet Boaty McBoatface - the drone submarine Albatross are large seabirds that can have wingspans of over nine feet. They are a vulnerable species that need all the help they can get, Crawford said. Its unlikely the Otago Peninsula colony would exist at all without ongoing human intervention, including the control of introduced predators such as stoats and cats. The naming competition closes on May 27, and the albatross chick will fledge in September. (Read the contest rules here-- it's open to people outside of New Zealand but they need to be willing to travel to the country at their own expense if they win.) This chick is far too royal for Birdy McBirdface! the Department of Conservation cautions, in a reference to the moniker that won a contest for a new British research ship. Authorities there ultimately named the ship the RSS Sir David Attenborough, dubbing a drone submarine Boaty McBoatface. Follow Rob Verger on Twitter: @robverger A new image taken by the Hubble space telescope shows Mars in incredible detail as astronomers prepare for a close-up with the red planet. Operated by NASA and the European Space Agency, Hubble took the Mars image on May 12. During May 2016 the Earth and Mars get closer to each other than at any time in the last ten years, explained the ESA, in a statement. On Sunday, Mars will come into opposition, which refers to the point at which the planet is located directly opposite the Sun in the sky. This means that the Sun, Earth and Mars line up, with Earth sitting in between the Sun and the Red Planet, explained the ESA. Related: The best of Hubble in pictures The event also heralds the planet's closest approach to Earth, with Mars appearing bigger and brighter in the sky than usual, according to the space agency. This event allows astronomers using telescopes in space and on the ground to see more details on the Martian surface, it explained. For observers using ground-based instruments the opposing planet is visible throughout the night and is also fully illuminated, making it a great opportunity for detailed studies. Opposition will occur at 7:10 a.m. ET Sunday, with Mars closest approach taking place on May 30 at 5:36 p.m. ET. At that time, Mars will be 46.78 million miles from Earth. The closest ever recorded oppositional approach was in 2003 when the red planet was 34.65 million away its closest approach in 60,000 years. Hubbles latest Mars image, which was taken with the telescopes Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) will help astronomers study large-scale changes on the red planets surface, scientists say. The final image shows a sharp, natural-colour view of Mars and reveals several prominent geological features, from smaller mountains and erosion channels to immense canyons and volcanoes, explained the ESA. Related: Hubble telescope looks deep into the Milky Way For example, the large, dark region on the far right of Mars' surface is Syrtis Major Planitia, one of the planet's first features identified by astronomers in the seventeenth century. The Hubble space telescope, which was launched by NASA in 1990, celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. The telescope recently helped astronomers find one of the largest-ever black holes in giant galaxy NGC 4889, some 300 million light years away. In February NASA unveiled plans for a powerful new telescope with a view more than 100 times wider than Hubble. Related: NASA wants to unlock the universe's secrets with telescope more powerful than Hubble The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is designed to help researchers unravel the secrets of dark energy and dark matter, and explore the evolution of the universe, according to NASA. Step aside, Burmese python you may no longer be Florida's scariest invasive species. Researchers have confirmed that three Nile crocodiles were captured near Miami, and they say it's possible more of the man-eating reptiles are still out there, although no one can say for sure. The big question now: How did they get to Florida? "They didn't swim from Africa," University of Florida herpetologist Kenneth Krysko said. "But we really don't know how they got into the wild." Krysko and his co-authors just published a paper showing that DNA testing proved the three animals captured in 2009, 2011 and 2014 are Nile crocs, a species whose males grow to over 16 feet long and weigh upward of 1,600 pounds. Nile crocs are believed to be responsible for up to 200 fatalities annually in their native sub-Saharan Africa. Compare that with an annual average of six reported shark attack deaths globally. Krysko, who works at UF's Florida Museum of Natural History, said the captured crocodiles matched genetically, meaning they are related to one another, but didn't match Nile crocs kept at Disney's Animal Kingdom and other licensed Florida attractions. That means the crocs probably were brought to Florida illegally by an unlicensed reptile collector who either didn't contain them properly, allowing them to escape, or, more sinisterly, planted them in the Everglades in hopes they would multiply. The Nile croc, if it became established in the Everglades, would pose another invasive threat to its teetering ecosystem. Through crossbreeding, they could endanger the smaller, less aggressive American crocodiles, which have never been responsible for a confirmed human death in the U.S. About 1,000 American crocodiles live in South Florida, mostly in mangroves and estuaries. Any hybrids would degrade the genetic integrity of the endangered American variety. Nile crocs also are known to attack livestock, which would be bad news for cattle farms that border the Everglades. Krysko and two co-authors, independent wildlife biologist Joe Wasilewski and UF wildlife ecology professor Frank Mazzotti, think more Nile crocs lurk unfound in the Everglades, but they aren't certain. Allyson Gantt, a spokeswoman for Everglades National Park, where one of the reptiles was found, disagrees, saying no Nile crocs still roam the park. Some Everglades visitors might not be aware of the differences between crocodiles and alligators, complicating efforts to confirm any remaining crocs. Crocodiles have angular snouts, and their lower teeth are exposed when their mouths are closed. Alligator snouts are rounded, with few exposed lower teeth. Nile crocs are usually bronze or brownish yellow; alligators are blackish green. Wasilewsi said people are likely to notice the difference, or at least take photos that researchers can check later. And no, crocs and alligators can't interbreed. Florida already has more non-native amphibians and reptiles than any region worldwide, according to the UF paper, published April 30 in Herpetological Conservation and Biology. They include Burmese pythons, a menace that quickly reproduced into the thousands and is decimating the Everglades' small mammal population. Giant toads, iguanas and another species of crocodilian, the spectacled caiman, also live in the state. But that species grows to only about 80 pounds and feeds on fish, crustaceans and the occasional small mammals. All three Nile crocodiles were captured in extreme South Florida. The first, a hatchling, was found on a front porch and sent to a Louisiana reptile exhibit. The second, a female measuring 4 feet, was captured at a park. Wasilewski kept it, but later gave it to another licensed researcher. The third was captured twice. The first trapper didn't have the proper permit, so he released the female. The croc was recaptured two years later 18 miles away by water in Everglades National Park. It was euthanized. The UF paper said all Florida wetlands and coastal areas of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas would be hospitable to Nile crocodiles. They require fresh water, abundant prey and year-round warm weather. "Doesn't that sound like Florida?" Krysko said. Fortunately, Nile crocodiles don't reproduce rapidly. Still, the researchers said, it might only take one adult male and female finding each other for an Everglades population to become established. "I have two words: Burmese python," Wasilewski said. "If you would have told me 15 years ago we would have an established population in the Everglades, I wouldn't have believed you." Two US senators this week introduced a bipartisan bill meant to protect Americans from government hacking. The Stopping Mass Hacking (SMH) Act from Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) would prevent the implementation of a federal court procedure known as Rule 41. Approved in May, Rule 41 makes it easier for the Justice Department to obtain warrants for remote electronic searches. It also allows judges to issue a single warrant authorizing government hacking of numerous devices around the world. "This is a dramatic expansion of the government's hacking and surveillance authority," Wyden said in a statement. "Such a substantive change with an enormous impact on Americans' constitutional rights should be debated by Congress, not maneuvered through an obscure bureaucratic process." The Fourth Amendment provides the right to be "secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures." The clause, Paul said, "wisely rejected general warrants and requires individualized suspicion before the government can forcibly search private information." But, the former 2016 presidential hopeful fears the rule change "will make it easier for the government to search innocent Americans' computers and undermine the requirement for individual suspicion." Bill co-sponsors Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) agree, suggesting Congress should ensure a rule change of this magnitude "has the proper oversight," Baldwin said. "Our right to privacy doesn't end when we turn on a computer, send an email, or search the Internet," Tester added. "We must ensure that law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to keep us safe while also protecting our civil liberties." Rule 41, recommended by the Justice Department, comes from a government advisory committee and updates the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. It was adopted by the US Supreme Court and submitted to Congress, which can approve or reject it. If Congress does nothing, it goes into effect on Dec. 1. As the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) notes, updates to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure are usually procedural and rather dull"everything from correcting clerical errors in a judgment to which holidays a court will be closed on." Rarely do they wade into such hot-button items as government surveillance, EFF says. "The amendment to Rule 41 isn't procedural at all. It creates new avenues for government hacking that were never approved by Congress," the EFF argues. The risks with Rule 41 are two-fold, the EFF says. "The first part of this change would grant authority to practically any judge to issue a search warrant to remotely access, seize, or copy data relevant to a crime when a computer was using privacy-protective tools to safeguard one's location," the organization argues, which could affect those using Tor, a VPN service, or even those who declined to share their location with a smartphone app. The second part would allow the feds access to a PC compromised by a botnet. "This means victims of malware could find themselves doubly infiltrated: their computers infected with malware and used to contribute to a botnet, and then government agents given free rein to remotely access their computers as part of the investigation," the EFF says. As Reuters reports, however, the Justice Department argues that the move updates federal rules for the digital age. Right now, magistrate judges can only grant requests that cover their jurisdictions, which can hamper efforts to go after bad actors online, who are not limited to one jurisdiction. This article originally appeared on PCMag.com. A cleaning lady in Thailand, the mother of an activist leader, faces up to 15 years in prison after posting I see on Facebook. Patnaree Chankij, a 40-year old widow and mother of three, was charged by authorities earlier this month for failing to rebut a Facebook message that allegedly defamed the country's royal family. Citing her lawyer, the BBC reports that Patnaree responded to the message with the word Ja, the Thai equivalent of I see or ok. The exchange was between Patnaree and a political activist, according to the report. The complaint against Patnaree was filed with police by the military. She was arrested for allegedly violating the law on lese majeste defaming the monarchy and the Computer Crime Act. Lese Majeste is punishable by three to 15 years in prison. I was very shocked, Patnaree, who was released on bail, told the BBC in an interview Friday. In the Thai society, this charge is serious and it shouldnt have anything to do with me. Related: Thai military courts sentence man to 30 years for insulting monarchy on Facebook Patnaree is the mother of Sirawith Seritiwat, leader of a small group of activists who have repeatedly staged demonstrations against Thailand's repressive military junta, which took power in May 2014 after toppling an elected government. The second anniversary of Thailand's coup is Sunday. The arrest was widely seen as a way of putting pressure on Sirawith, who has been detained and arrested numerous times. According to her charge sheet, which was posted by Patnarees lawyers, the police alleged that her use of the word showed that she agreed with the post, which police declared "can be harmful to the Kingdom's security and stability ..." Human Rights Watch says that Patnaree was responding to a Facebook message from Burin Intin, a friend of her son. Burin was arrested last month on lese majeste and computer crime charges, the Bangkok Post reports. The Thai junta has sunk to a new low by charging an activists mother under the insulting the monarchy law, which has been systematically abused to silence critics, said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement released earlier this month. Prosecuting someone for her vague response to a Facebook message is just the juntas latest outrageous twist of the lese majeste law. Related: Thailand warns Facebook activity might slur monarchy Last year Thailand's military courts issued the harshest sentences in recent decades for two people convicted of insulting the monarchy on Facebook. Pongsak Sriboonpeng was sentenced to prison for 30 years, and a mother of two young girls was sentenced for 28 years. Pongsak was initially sentenced to 60 years imprisonment, 10 for each message, but his sentence was halved because he admitted wrongdoing. In 2011, Thai authorities warned that Facebook users who "share" or "like" content that insults the Thai monarchy are committing a crime. Patnarees arrest is the latest in a series that began last month for people who posted online material critical of the country's ruling junta and its policies. Several arrests have also been based on texts sent privately over Facebook Messenger, causing alarm that users' privacy is being violated. Users are also disturbed that Facebook has blocked a site that allegedly mocked the monarchy, the first time it appears to have done so in Thailand. The page redirects to an announcement that it is blocked to be in compliance with Thai law. In response to the Facebook issues, several activists have started a campaign to stop using the huge social network in favor of a competitor Facebook has not yet responded to a request for comment on this story from FoxNews.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. As emergency crews continue to search for wreckage from the EgyptAir Flight 804 jetliner crash, experts warn the latest incident is certain to cause devastating setbacks to both the flailing tourism industry and the overall economy in Egypt, where tourism accounts for about 12 percent of the GDP and for nearly one in nine jobs. Even before the Airbus A320 carrying 66 people crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday morning, a spate of plane crashes and terrorist attacks over the last seven months had prompted hundreds of thousands of tourists to rethink their travel plans to Egypt. An average of 900,000 foreigners were visiting the country each month before last Oct. 31, when a chartered Russian plane, Metrojet Flight 9268, blew up shortly after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport. ISIS quickly claimed responsibility for planting a bomb that killed all 217 passengers and seven crew members aboard. One month later, the number of tourists visiting Egypt had fallen to 500,000. On Jan. 8, gunmen opened fire at a hotel in the Red Sea resort city of Hurghada, injuring three tourists. The next month, the number of tourists visiting Egypt fell to 346,500, according to CAPMAS, Egypts official statistical agency. Compared to the year before, the decline was nearly 46 percent. Thursdays EgyptAir crash has not been declared a terrorist attack, but Egypts minister of aviation, Sherif Fathy, indicated that the case for terrorism is "stronger" than technical failure. The U.S. State Department has not issued a specific travel warning for Egypt, but it has issued advisories for neighboring Libya and Sudan in the past several months, citing the proliferation of terrorist groups within the region. Experts say it is too soon to estimate the fallout from the EgyptAir crash, but they are confident that tourism in the region is unlikely to rebound soon. According to the Ministry of Tourism, tourist-related spending fell by 15 percent last year, a figure that could fall even further if American travelers, bolstered by a strong U.S. dollar, decide to spend their money elsewhere. There is understandable consumer caution and hesitancy, said Paul Wiseman, president of Trafalgar USA, which operates over 250 guided excursions across the globe. There has not been a large influx of cancellations [for Egypt trips] for travel, but people are making different destination choices. A few years ago, Egypt was a top 10 destination for Americans traveling with Trafalgar, Wiseman said. Sadly, that is no longer the case. Though Trafalgar continues to operate tours to Egypt and other Middle Eastern destinations, continual setbacks like this will certainly cause people to travel to other destinations, he said. The vast majority of tourists in Egypt are Europeans who vacation at the countrys Red Sea resorts. Their numbers fell sharply when many carriers halted routes to resort towns after the Metrojet disaster. Sharm El Sheikh and other once-thriving Egyptian resort destinations have been turned into ghost towns since the October crash. But unlike the European beachgoers, Americans generally go to see Egypts archaeological sites, like the pyramids and the Sphinx. They have continued to travel to Egypt, but industry experts say their numbers could fall sharply now. Coupled with political unrest in the region, the EgyptAir crash may only reaffirm the external perception among travelers that there is a heightened terrorism risk for travelers to Egypt that needs to be addressed, said Nick Doyle, managing director and head of security risk management at Kroll, a security risk management consultancy based in New York. Patrick Surry, chief data scientist at the airfare prediction site Hopper, said the company has not seen rapid changes in searches for Middle Eastern travel, but it did see significant sales early this year, and prices have stayed below seasonal levels compared to last year, likely due to weak demand. Surry said terrorism tends to have a devastating effect not just on the local travel industry impacted by tragedy, but on regional tourism as a whole. In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels, he said, flight search demand to Europe is currently down about 13 percent for 2016 to date compared to 2015 to date. Though it is too early to see specific effects from the EgyptAir crash, flight prices to Egypt have fallen about 4 percent from last year, according to Hopper. Emerging markets, particularly those in Africa, should be a central focus for any investor right now. Major brands are establishing footholds in the region, signaling that Africa is the next frontier for investment strategy. Related: 4 Reasons Africa Is the Rising Star of the Tech World The Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies recently announced that it will open a research, training and innovation facility in Nairobi this year, the latest in a line of think tanks and companies investing in the region. IBM opened its first Africa-based research laboratory in Nairobi, Kenya, in November 2013. The Royal Philips technology firm opened its own maiden research lab in Nairobi in March 2014. Each of these landmark events is a testament to the hive of innovation and enterprise developing on the continent. In countries like Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria, theres a renewed appreciation for the role of research and development in economic growth. And, beyond the local benefits, this emphasis on innovation and enterprise poses a promising benefit for investors seeking opportunities in this region. Here are the key sectors to watch: 1. Fintech: The financial tech industry has proven pivotal to accelerating commerce in Africa during the past decade, and its now poised to significantly influence economic development in the coming years. SokoniSMS64, a new text messaging platform from mobile provider Safaricom, sends farmers updates on market pricing so they can adjust their planting projections. Such innovations provide rural, subsistence-based communities with an unprecedented access to data. This trend is fueling new growth engines for the African economy -- along with investments in the region. 2. Online retail Despite rapid growth in the wholesale and retail segments of various nations' economies, online shopping remains a fairly nascent concept, even in ICT- (information and communication technology) savvy markets such as Kenya and Nigeria. Given Kenyas recent 67 percent smartphone and 54.8 percent Internet penetration rates across the population, ecommerce is ripe for development. As incomes rise and consumers become more accustomed to online retail, the online shopping industry will explode in Kenya and other emerging markets as a result. 3. Healthcare Mobile solutions that address unfavorable medical personnel-to-patient ratios hint at an ongoing evolution within the healthcare sector. In Kenya, the Sema Doc telemedicine platform is allowing users to connect with doctors via mobile phones. They can receive diagnoses, locate treatment options, secure medical loans and access cash benefits for hospital fees. Healthcare solutions offer a new frontier for investors, as these initiatives are vital to economic growth in developing markets. Related: The New Health Market May Be the Single Greatest Business Opportunity in Our Lifetimes 4. Public transportation Transport management is poised to be the next big thing in Africa as countries grapple with rapid urbanization and rising mobility needs. Across the ocean, in Brazil, which is grappling with its own transportation issues, the government is using big data analytics for improved public transportation management. For Africa, investors can expect to see governments there following suit in the next decade or two; that's why technology will factor heavily in foreign investments in this space. Companies such as Kenya Power are already tapping into the power of big data to streamline their business processes, and other emerging markets will rely on analytics to address their own mobility concerns. Investors will find lucrative opportunities in tech-based transport solutions. 5. ICT industries Rwanda ranked first globally for ICT promotion in 2015. Tech hub organizations such as KLab provide a much-needed confluence between enterprise and ICT solutions in that country and serve as models for other emerging markets. Last year, Singapores CrimsonLogic and the Rwanda Development Board launched the Rwanda Technology Associate Program, aimed at cultivating young IT talent in the African nation. Talent-development strategies can boost long-term investment prospects significantly in emerging markets, as human capital plays a critical role in development. Sustaining this pace of growth will be vital to engendering new pockets of investment. Investors have reason to believe the trend will hold as governments enact supportive policies throughout the region. Increasingly favorable policy environments and private sector cooperation make Africas emerging markets particularly appealing to investors right now. Related: Tips for Investing in Emerging Markets (Infographic) By paving a smoother road for investment, Africa's emerging economies are unlocking an enterprise spirit previously hindered by bureaucratic bottlenecks. As credit access and technology infrastructure improve, foreign investors will be able to partner with a multitude of African counterparts and tap into an array of business opportunities. Is yours one of them? For startups spread throughout the world and looking to break into the United States, getting accepted to a well-respected U.S.-based accelerator program can feel like winning the lottery. Related: Within 10 Years, the Number of Accelerator Programs in the U.S. Has Increased Tenfold As a mentor to startups based in Ukraine and a technical associate for Techstars Boston, I frequently speak with founders who are about to join a U.S. accelerator, and they couldnt be more enthusiastic about the prospect of meeting the mentors, venture capitalists and other business contacts that will help them grow their businesses. Yet, while getting into a top U.S. accelerator program is certainly cause for celebration, there's more work to be done: Once accepted, entrepreneurs must focus on their preparations for taking full advantage of the experience. I recently caught up with a few of the international teams in the Techstars Boston Spring 2016 program. While everyone was quick to tout the many benefits of joining an accelerator we all know -- valuable VC contacts and expanded U.S. customer bases -- it was clear that these international startups faced additional hurdles relative to companies founded locally. Here are some words of wisdom such companies should know before starting a U.S. accelerator program: 1. Expect to make your own connections. Being part of an accelerator does not mean making connections will be easy. Name-dropping the top-tier accelerator youre a part of is a great conversation starter in many business situations, but compared to startups with U.S. founders, youll still be a step behind in building the business relationships you need for everything from attracting local talent to raising money. If youre a Boston startup, investors know what youre doing -- you may have graduated from the same school, or have other personal connections, says Mauro Repacci, CEO of Navut, a Canadian startup focused on real-estate technology. Also, everyone is trying to hire here, and if you dont have a network here or university contacts, recruiting be hard. The international startup founders most successful in making connections arent shy about consistently putting themselves in positions where they can network with U.S.-based startups, VCs and advisors as soon as they arrive in the United States, says Techstars Boston director Eveline Buchatskiy. Startups shouldnt come with a tourist mentality, Buchatskiy explains. Instead, they should have the mindset of building long-term relationships. 2. Show investors youre committed to having a U.S. presence. International startups might think that swinging into the United States for a few months is the key to getting in touch with the right investors and getting funded, but Nikolay Piriankov, CEO of U.K. online jewelry retailer Rare Pink, says its not quite so simple. People here are much more familiar with the landscape and process of fundraising, commented Piriankov. It can feel like youre starting from zero compared to local companies. As an international startup, making your company a U.S. entity is one way to signal to VCs that youre serious about raising money in this country. Flipping our company to a U.S. entity wasnt a hard requirement for getting into Techstars, but its an implicit requirement if youre going to raise money here, says Norman Wiese, CEO at Tapglue, a German company that builds social networks into apps. Buchatskiy also suggests that hiring local talent is absolutely essential as part of the process of showing U.S. investors that youre committed to building your business here. Related: Why the Number of Accelerators Is Accelerating 3. Be ready to experience to a new entrepreneurial mindset. No two entrepreneurial cultures are alike, and international startups that come to the United States for an accelerator program should prepare themselves to experience the optimistic entrepreneurial culture this country is widely known for. People in the U.S. are thinking bigger, and they require that from you as well, Wiese comments. European companies are more cautious, which people here dont necessarily like. 4. Make sure your teams back home are aligned with the accelerator process. For many international startups joining U.S. accelerators, moving the entire team to the United States simply isnt an option. Instead, the team back home may need to continue running the day-to-day business, while the startups leaders focus on using the accelerator as an opportunity to grow the business. With such different focuses, staying aligned as a company during the accelerator program can be challenging. In an accelerator, youre moving at a very fast pace, but back home your team is going at a more normal pace, says Repacci. As a startup with teams in two different countries, you need to be proactive about keeping them aligned. For many startups, this proactive alignment means setting up regular check-ins, and having collaboration technology in place that everyone is comfortable using. Founders might also consider bringing over each of their team members for a short time to get an understanding of the work being done at an accelerator. 5. Ask your accelerators for professional service recommendations. No sooner do startups arrive in the United States for an accelerator program than theyre faced with decisions about contracting with a variety lawyers, accountants and consultants. While accelerators likely wont provide all these services directly, asking them for recommendations can help startups find the best service providers more quickly. I got every introduction I needed, and Im glad I trusted them, says Rare Pink's Piriankov, describing how he asked Techstars for help getting in touch with professional service providers. Related: Why We Chose an Accelerator in Australia Over One in the U.S. Committing to a U.S. accelerator program is a significant investment for international startups in terms of time and effort, as well as the financial costs of moving. In order to make this investment as worthwhile as possible, take the time to prepare for the experience as much as you possibly can. If "counterculture" means fighting the status quo, then nobody on todays college campuses is more radical than the outspoken conservative student. They face ridicule, censorship and bullying from scornful classmates and faculty, all because their worldview is different from the prevailing politically correct orthodoxy. High-profile comedians including Jerry Seinfeld have given up performing on college campuses, conservative speakers have been disinvited from addressing students and strident demonstrators have increasingly demanded that those who disagree with them be silenced. But not all of their classmates agree, and some refuse to keep their opinions to themselves. FoxNews.com interviewed five college conservatives who arent afraid to speak their minds, even if doing so carries a price. "I was called a 'Race traitor'" Dominique Blair is finishing her freshman year at Cerritos College, in Norwalk, Calif., where she started a Turning Point USA chapter, and says shes been bullied not only for her views but specifically for being African-American and conservative. I spent three hours being berated and taunted I was called a "race traitor," "Uncle Tom" and "coconut" by black students. She recently came under fire just for attending a speech conservative writer Ben Shapiro gave at UCLA, she said. One student shouted directly at me, God is black. You will have to face him one day and repent for supporting Ben Shapiro. The hostility to her politics has not dissuaded Blair from conservative activism. We table with conservative literature, attend political events and engage in discussions about economics and government policies, she said. "Intolerance toward conservative ideology" Liberal students and faculty were likely thrilled when Hannah Oh graduated from Californias Claremont Mckenna College in December. While in school, Oh headed the Claremont Independent student newspaper and opposed demands for safe spaces on the grounds that they coddle students and protect them from viewpoints that they should hear. As a result, leftist activists on campus labelled Oh, who is Asian, a Shady Person of Color in some of their documents. Theres definitely disdain and intolerance toward conservative ideology among members of the far left academic community both students and faculty alike, Oh told FoxNews.com. During her time on campus, Oh also wrote in defense of a dean who was forced to resign for saying the university needed to do a better job serving students who dont fit our [Claremont McKenna] mold. The dean intended to express a desire to help minority students, but activists charged that her words implied that minorities didnt fit the mold. She resigned amid angry protests. Impeached for his conservative views Jacob Ellenhorn is president of the College Republicans at USC (University of Southern California) and was impeached from the student Senate because classmates said his opinions are hostile to theirs. It's getting out of hand to say the least, Ellenhorn told FoxNews.com. When I entered college I knew that it would be liberal. I didn't know the extent. I would have never imagined that I would have been impeached from student senate for my views. Ellenhorn said he was impeached after his College Republicans group brought Breitbart writer Milo Yiannopoulos, an irreverent right-wing firebrand, to campus to speak. Although he was permitted to serve out his term, he was denied a $250 stipend that goes with service in the student Senate. Professors at USC are overwhelmingly liberal, said Ellenhorn, but remain civil compared to students. I am noticing that students are becoming far worse than even the most leftist of staff members so much so that they try to shut down the speech of others, he said. Ellenhorn believes websites focusing on victimization are partly responsible. Students seem to be driven by online websites and Twitter personalities who perpetuate the absolute ridiculousness we have been seeing. Vox, Buzzfeed, and Mother Jones all perpetuate the snowflake, social justice warrior culture. Gender debate at all-women's college Christian Costa, who just completed her freshman year at the all-women Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C., served as the National Co-Chair of Students for Carly, a group that backed the failed bid of Carly Fiorina for the Republican presidential nomination. But Costas complaints about liberal intolerance on campus are not based in politics, but in the gender debate that has engulfed the state. North Carolinas Bathroom Bill, which restrict people to using the public restroom linked to their birth certificate sex, has engendered widespread controversy. I found it shocking that many of my professors didn't think gender is biological, she said. You have to be biologically and self-identifying as female [to go here] so how can you believe gender does not exist? Costa was angered when a "safe zone" sign was posted on a bathroom door on campus, with a message implying that people identifying as transgendered were welcome to use it. You better believe I would have serious issues with my questioning male professors being in the bathroom with me, she said. That does not make me feel safe. At all. Students "coddled," easily offended Anna Bauch is a junior at Chicagos DePaul University who is involved in College Republicans and Turning Point USA. She said the College Republicans recently got in trouble for writing Trump 2016 in chalk. The messages were erased by the next morning, and many students began complaining, she said. Although the club had carefully read and followed school rules about chalk messages, they still got in trouble with campus administrators. Anna said that her grades hadn't been hurt due to her views as far as she knows but that professors had advised her against writing on sensitive subjects. I have had professors tell me that certain paper topics would be "difficult" to write about, such as advocating for the Second Amendment and calling out race-baiting from the left, she said. Bauch suspects the over-sensitivity stems from fellow students being taught they have a right to not be offended. I think students have been more coddled and get offended more easily now than in the past 10 years, she said. I think my generation feels entitled and would rather complain about student loans than work harder to get better scholarships and make more money. The author, Maxim Lott, can be reached on Twitter at @maximlott Southern California mom-of-two Jennifer Brawley had just been rear-ended by a truck driver near Rancho Cucamonga, and was preparing for the post-accident ritual of exchanging insurance information when the driver handed her his cellphone. A voice on the other end explained that his non-English speaking friend had no coverage. Police came to the scene and determined the driver had a valid license, and sent him on his way. Brawley, grateful to be unhurt, was nonetheless left with a feeling that something wasnt quite right. In the push to grant illegal immigrants drivers licenses, Californians had been assured that doing so would spur them to get safety training and insurance coverage. Nearly a year-and-a-half later, theres no evidence it worked. It is hard to pinpoint whether the bill has had an impact or not, said Jeffrey Spring, spokesman for the American Automobile Associations California chapter. We have no way of knowing. The law, and a three-year, $141 million program designed to implement it, did not provide for a way to measure if illegal immigrants are any more inclined to buy insurance. There are no statistics regarding how many new license holders under AB 60, purchased vehicle insurance, said California Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman Artemio Armenta. We cannot relate our vehicle insurance data to driver licenses because the vehicle registration information is only associated with individual vehicles and cannot be used to identify any trends related to AB 60. Drivers under AB 60 are not tracked or singled out any differently. The DMV cannot relate our vehicle insurance data to driver licenses because the vehicle registration information is only associated with individual vehicles and cannot be used to identify any trends to AB 60, Armenta said. The DMV estimates that at least 1.4 million drivers will apply for a license over the next three years. As of March, the state had issued approximately 696,000 drivers licenses under the program. The program does not compel them to get auto insurance, and even if they get the coverage required to register a vehicle, they could stop paying premiums as many drivers do. "Im sure some drivers bought insurance before they took their test but in many cases they just dont pay the next month and its canceled," said anti-illegal immigration activist Don Rosenberg, whose son Drew was killed in 2010 in San Francisco by an unlicensed, uninsured driver who had entered the country illegally but was granted protective status. The law was part of a bundle of immigration measures designed to make California friendlier toward illegal immigrant residents. The state hired 1,000 temporary DMV workers, opened four new processing centers and extended hours in an effort to deal with the anticipated inundation onf the system which was reportedly even higher than expected as almost half a million applications came through in the first three months alone. It was clear that illegal immigrants wanted drivers licenses, but there is scant evidence supporters of the law were correct in saying it would spur them to get insurance. If licensed illegal immigrants want to buy auto insurance, the state provides a low-cost option. The California Department of Insurance markets the state-sponsored, Low Cost Auto Insurance Program for low income earners through Spanish-language media. Plans provide minimal liability coverage with annual premiums as low as $241. The coverage is less than what is mandated for other drivers who purchase policies through private insurance companies, paying a statewide average of just below $2,000 per year. Some 650,000 licenses were issued to illegal migrants in 2015 alone, and just 11,348 Californians some illegal immigrants and some not - bought Low Cost Auto Insurance policies. Rosenberg and other critics say the subsidized insurance pays victims less than regular policies, leaving them with insufficient protection in the case of accidents caused by illegal immigrants, further undermining a major selling point of the law. Prior to this program California had the worst property damage coverage in the country and was tied for the third lowest payouts for injury or death, Rosenberg said. To then offer a program that lowers the payouts even further and eliminates the safe driver criteria to enroll is unconscionable. Private insurance companies targeted advertising to an expected influx of illegal immigrant customers following passage of the law, but several contacted by FoxNews.com said there is no data to suggest such a market ever materialized. Some insurance company officials noted that despite the laws main selling point being that it would prompt illegal immigrants to get insurance, they were already allowed to by policies for cars they owned even without drivers licenses. According to the CDI, an estimated 25 insurance companies sold automobile insurance to those who owned cars but did not have a driver's license. It is hard to quantify the effect the bill has had on the safety of California roads, said Mark Sektnan, president of the Association of California Insurance Companies. But the summation is that many already had insurance before they could legally get a license. Possible evidence that more illegal immigrants are getting insurance could be reflected in numbers that show citations for driving without coverage on the decline. According to the California Highway Patrol, just over 92,000 drivers were cited for lacking proof of valid insurance in 2015, down from 105,500 the year before and 112,081 in 2013. But even those figures are inconclusive, as uninsured driver citations were on a downward trend for at least five years prior to passage of AB 60. The bottom line is that the public was sold a lie, Rosenberg said. Getting a license does not mean you will get insurance and what little history there is says that most dont. The Student of the Year at a Louisiana High School was not allowed to get his diploma at the graduation this week after running afoul of the districts policy against student facial hair. Senior Andrew Jones wore a beard all year at Amite High School and it never stopped him from earning As in all his classes, excelling in sports, or being awarded a college scholarship, Fox 8 New Orleans reports. The commencement was Wednesday night and when Jones arrived beforehand he was stunned to learn that he wouldnt be allowed to go up on the stage with the beard, according to the station. The Tangipahoa Parish School System has a policy ban on facial hair on students, according to the station. Jones and other graduating seniors with facial hair were given an ultimatum: if they didn't shave, they couldn't receive their diplomas up on the stage, the station reported. Jones shaved the hair covering his cheeks but refused to shave his goatee. He had to turn in his cap and gown, Fox 8 reported. I feel they should have let me march, Jones told the station. The hair on my face has nothing to do with school. I wasnt distracting anybody. WWL-TV reported that 13 in Jones' class agreed to shave. He was the only one who refused. What was the real issue that he couldnt walk with his class? his aunt Sabrine Davis wanted to know. He was top of his class, you know. That moment was the most important of his life. Tangipahoa Superintendent Mark Kolwe told WWL that Amite's principal had gone up to Jones to ask him to shave. He defended the policy but said he would make sure administrators know that it has to be enforced starting on the first day of school. Click here to read more from Fox 8 New Orleans. A former Toledo, Ohio firefighter and his son were arraigned Thursday for allegedly kidnapping a 13-year-old relative and keeping her chained up in a basement for as long as a year. Timothy Ciboro, 53, and Esten Ciboro, 27, were charged with kidnapping and child endangerment and were being held on $500,000 bond apiece. A preliminary hearing was set for May 26. The girl told investigators she was shackled by the ankle to a support beam in the darkened basement as punishment for wetting her bed. She said she was punished in this way for different periods of time, and as long as a year, according to a court document. The Toledo Blade reported that the girl managed to free herself with a spare key and escape the Ciboro house Wednesday night after the suspects went jogging in a nearby park. A police report said that a woman found the girl outside a downtown office building, carrying several bags and looking like a runaway. The teen told the woman that her mother had left her and her two siblings and gone to Las Vegas. She said her father had taken the children in. The Ciboros were arrested early Thursday. Officers said it appeared the two men were trying to flee when they arrived at the house. Both were pulling away in a van with two younger children, a dog and cat, a map and a gun, according to a police report. Officers found leg irons in the basement along with a bucket the girl said she used as a toilet, according to a police report. The head of Lucas County Children Services said the girl was found with poor hygiene, but the two other children who also lived in the house appeared to be OK. "They were not victims, to my knowledge," said Robin Reese, the agency's executive director. The agency had contact with the girl in 2014, but she did not show signs of being malnourished or mistreated and was never removed from the home, she said. The girl was home-schooled, Reese said. All three children were placed in foster care Thursday. The Toledo Blade reported that Timothy Ciboro was fired from the city's fire department in 2004 after demanding a discount on ice cream for a friend at a local ice cream stand. "I remember him," city Fire Chief Luis Santiago told the paper, " and I remember him not being a very good employee." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Click for more from The Toledo Blade. The federal government and Colorado have made little progress in remedying damage from the release of millions of gallons of wastewater from a southern Colorado mine last year, New Mexico's top prosecutor charged in a pair of scathing letters sent to officials this week. The wastewater, which contained arsenic, copper, lead, mercury and other dangerous pollutants, rushed down a Colorado mountainside and eventually fouled rivers in three Western states, setting off a major response by government agencies and private groups. Attorney General Hector Balderas wrote to the head of the U.S Environmental Protection Agency and Colorado officials as New Mexico's threat to sue the agency, the neighboring state and two mining companies remains on the table. Balderas said New Mexico reached out to discuss independent monitoring and remedial measures in the wake of the spill, but he's concerned about the lack of progress. New Mexico's requests have been disregarded and minimized, he said. "I am disappointed by the continued unwillingness to respond to the New Mexico Environment Department's numerous attempts to resolve this matter diplomatically and outside of court," Balderas said. "The safe and peaceful livelihood of our citizens should override any political or scientific indifferences that we face." The EPA didn't comment directly on the letter, but a spokeswoman told The Associated Press that the agency takes responsibility for the cleanup of the spill. The agency announced last month that it would reimburse states, tribes and local governments about $1 million for their costs after an EPA-led crew triggered the release of 3 million gallons of wastewater from the inactive Gold King Mine while doing preliminary cleanup work. Most of the money is for the cost of responding to the spill, but requests for another $570,000 in expenses from the immediate aftermath are still being considered. During the spill, water utilities briefly shut down their intake valves and farmers stopped drawing from the rivers as the bright yellow plume moved downstream. The EPA said the water quality quickly returned to pre-spill levels, but some continue to warn about heavy metals collecting in the sediment and being stirred up each time rain or snowmelt results in runoff. In his letters, Balderas said New Mexico's agricultural landscape was severely damaged by what he described as a catastrophe. He said meeting the state's repeated and reasonable demands for compensation and long-term monitoring would be a step toward justice. "Following this tragic incident, our greatest concern should be ensuring that the people and the lands we live on are free from hazardous materials," he wrote. According to the EPA, $2 million has been allocated to support the states' and tribes' monitoring plans. Another $628,000 will help to fund a real-time alert system that will monitor water quality. Sampling locations also have been set up in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and on Southern Ute, Ute Mountain Ute and Navajo tribal lands as part of the EPA's monitoring program. New Mexico has developed its own monitoring plan and the city of Farmington, which taps the Animas River for drinking water, has installed sensors to detect contamination. A Texas school has come under fire after a black 12-year-old girl came home from an overnight school campout with a rope burn around her neck. The Dallas Morning News reported Thursday that Sandy Rougely, of Waco, has retained a lawyer to press a personal injury claim against Live Oak Classical School, a private school where her daughter is enrolled. Rougely told the paper her daughter returned from the April 28 campout with the injury to the front half of her neck and now wonders whether her daughter was victimized by racially motivated bullying by sixth-grade classmates. "It looked like somebody had ripped her neck apart and stitched it back together," she said. Jeremy Counseller, a school trustee, told the Morning News in a statement the girl was accidentally injured by a rope swing. Counseller accused Rougleys attorney, Levi McCathern, of exploiting the accident for financial gain. "The student received first aid treatment immediately after the accident by a parent chaperon who is also a physician, and she was able to enjoy the remained of the field trip, which lasted through the next day," Counsellor said. Counsellor said Rougely and McCathern, of Dallas, asked the school to pay $2.7 million in damages or the allegations would be made public. McCathern tells the newspaper they asked for money after the school requested a financial demand in writing. The girl, whom the newspaper did not identify by name, said she was helping classmates pull a rope to move the swing when she stopped to watch. She said she felt nothing except the rope wrapping around her neck from behind and being pulled against her neck. She fell to the ground and was tugged backward. None of her classmates moved to help her, so she removed the rope, looked back and saw three boys, all of them white, who she said had been picking on her. She said she asked if they had done it on purpose and they said no. Rougely's daughter said the staff treated the injury with petroleum jelly and ibuprofen. Even if the injury were not the result of an intentional act, the school's handling of the situation was "beyond poor," said T.J. Jones, a lawyer with McCathern's law firm. No one has been accused of a crime, and the school statement said all student and teacher eyewitnesses have been interviewed "and each independently established that the (racially motivated attack) accusation made by the attorney is absolutely false." According to the Morning News, Rougely has removed her daughter from the school and Jones arranged so that her daughter can finish out the rest of the year from home. The Associated Press contributed to this report. How do we define greatness in sports? Winning. Yankees, Patriots and Lakers fans love Derek Jeter, Tom Brady and Kobe Bryant because they win. But for me, as an avid New York Mets, Jets and Knicks fan, it pains me to utter such heretic words -- I admire them. What do they all share in common, beyond filling up stat sheets and collecting trophies for their clubs? Consistency. All three played their entire career with one organization. That's a testament to the extent of their employee loyalty, one that is rarely found in a major league sports, particularly in the big market cities of New York, Boston and Los Angeles. Related: 4 Savory Strategies to Building an Army of Loyal Employees At ROYCE, we have our own Bradys and Jeters. Their names are AJ, Antonio, Carlos, Fred and Phil. All have been with our familys business longer than I have been alive, As a matter of fact, the majority were there to witness my mother -- their boss -- give birth to me. They were the backbone of our businesses growth from a modest New York City workshop and now they proudly line the walls of our companys Hall of Fame. My father, Harold, who continues to work 43 years after taking over the leather business from his father, and I became nervous after we read the Deloitte Millennial 2016 Survey which determined that more than two-thirds of millennial workers intend to leave their companies by 2020. The ubiquitous retirement-after-40-years-with-a-gold-watch-and-pension tradition of my fathers generation has diminished to a relic, especially when juxtaposed against the overriding entitlement of my peers. Another relic: the mere concept of lifelong employment with one organization. As we retire the jerseys of AJ, Antonio and others after decades of dedication, we must ask ourselves -- how can we mitigate employee churn in the face of a rapidly increasing millennial workforce? Undisputedly, employee retention is not the priority in all industries. A recent read of mine, The Alliance, reminds us that some companies rely on the idea of a tour of duty where the employee and employer together agree on a mutually beneficial, time-definitive mission, rather than focus on being together for the next 40 years. Related: Are Millennials Wreaking Havoc on Employers? Or Vice Versa? We dont have that luxury in our field of craftsmanship. Consistency is king. Thus, we celebrate our employee retention rate with both upstream and downstream supply chain partners. Make no mistake, it requires unparalleled effort and a company culture to support it. In fact, at ROYCE, we offer a plethora of mentoring, training, upward mobility and advancement opportunities, diversity of assignments, a highly competitive compensation package, and most importantly, a family environment that makes employees look forward to work. We apply the time-honored mantra treat each customer like theyre your top customer to our employees as well, because some of our warehouse holiday season temps have transformed into our best workers. In many instances, employee churn is not the fault of the worker but the failure of the company to come through for the employee. After all, loyalty is a two-way street. Jean Paul Saltos, who first moved boxes on pallets for us when he emigrated from Ecuador in 2008, now manages the entire front-end of our company. We believed in him, and that instilled his confidence in us. Related: Expert Tips For Efficient Employee Retention Strategy My mother, Kathy, reminds me that our business, both internally and externally, is about relationships, not metrics, a sentiment that greatly parallels the aforementioned giants of modern day American sports. When the Lakers went 27-55 in the 2013 season, there was never a doubt that Kobe would leave for a more competitive team; nor was there a headline questioning Jeters allegiance to the 78-loss Yankees club of 2014. Even when we showed signs of struggle during the Great Recession, we never lost faith in our ROYCE family, and likewise, they remained ardently devoted to us. As pieces of luggage, human remains, wreckage and what could be a tell-tale oil slick were found early Friday in the Mediterranean Sea, one aviation expert said telemetry received by satellites from the doomed plane suggested a fire could have started onboard, knocking out computers and control mechanisms. David Learmount said the fire could have started in the plane's avionics compartment. Such a scenario could indicate an electrical fire, and not terrorism, brought down EgyptAir flight 804 on Thursday. The first physical clues to the crash of flight 804, which carried 66 passengers, crew and security officers, surfaced about 190 miles off the coast of the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Reports of debris being found on Thursday proved false, but the verified debris field could bring authorities closer to the all-important flight data recorder, which could provide insight into what caused the crash. An EgyptAir official said midday Friday that wreckage of the missing plane has been found, including body parts, luggage and passengers' seats. The announcement came hours after a Greek official also reported evidence being found. "A short while ago we were briefed by the Egyptian authorities... on the discovery of a body part, a seat and baggage just south of where the aircraft signal was lost," Defense Minister Panos Kammenos told reporters in Athens, according to Reuters. The Cairo-bound flight had left Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris late Wednesday night, and disappeared from radar as it neared its destination. Authorities have said terrorism is more likely than technical failure, but the investigation is still in the early stages. A flotilla of international ships and boats were searching a wide swath of the sea Thursday and during the night for debris from the ill-fated Airbus 320. The mile-long oil slick was identified from satellite images from the European Space Agency, which cautioned that there was no guarantee the slick was from the missing aircraft. The agency said the slick was about 25 miles southeast of the plane's last known location, and passed the information to relevant authorities late Thursday. The Egyptian presidency Friday expressed its "deep sadness and extreme regret" over the deaths of the passengers and crew members aboard the flight -- the first official recognition of the tragic crash. Egypts military also confirmed for the first time Friday that plane debris and passengers personal belongings were found in the Mediterranean Sea. Egyptian army spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammed Samir wrote on his Facebook page that Egyptian jets and naval vessels participating in the search for the missing plane had found "personal belongings of the passengers and parts of the plane debris." Egyptian airport officials said Friday that three French and three British investigators and an AirBus technical expert had arrived in Cairo to join the investigation. No terror groups had taken credit for the disaster as of Friday morning, and authorities were going through the passenger manifest, crew members' backgrounds and airport staff for possible links to terror. Authorities said the plane swerved and spun wildly before plummeting into the sea. The Egyptian military said that no distress call was received from the pilot. In Paris, French authorities scoured Charles de Gaulle Airport, the country's main hub, for any sign of a security breach prior to the flight's departure. Reuters reported that investigators were interviewing officers who were on duty at the airport Wednesday night to determine whether they heard or saw anything suspicious. "We are in the early stages here," a police source told Reuters about the investigation. The Wall Street Journal reported that French investigators were poring over surveillance footage from the airport, as well as performing background checks of those on board the plane and anyone who may have had ground access to the aircraft. Flight 804 was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two babies, three security staff and seven crew members, officials said. Egypt's aviation minister, Sharif Fathy, described those on board as including 15 French passengers, 30 Egyptians, one Briton, two Iraqis, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi, one Sudanese, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Algerian and one Canadian. Families of the victims spent the night in a hotel in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, while they awaited the news of their loved ones. Egyptian officials said some arrived from Paris late Thursday, among them eight relatives of the 15 French passengers on board the missing jet. Later Friday, the relatives of those killed held prayers for the dead at Sultan Hussein mosque in Cairo. Some of them cried as they prayed. Among those killed were Salah Abu Laban, his wife Sahar Qouidar, their son Ghassan Abu Laban and daughter-in-law Reem al-Sebaei The relative, Abdel-Rahman al-Nasry, told The Associated Press, "I ask God for forgiveness. This is very hard for the family." Magdi Badr, a family friend, said, "we pray for the victims." In the U.S., Los Angeles International Airport announced Thursday that it was stepping up security in the wake of the EgyptAir disappearance. A statement from airport authorities said they were eliminating or restricting airport worker access to 150 doors in the terminals. The statement also said additional airport police officers had been assigned to monitor employee access points and conduct random screenings. The Associated Press contributed to this report. China on Thursday ordered the U.S. to end its surveillance patrols around the contested South China Sea region after the Pentagon said Chinese fighter jets buzzed a U.S. military reconnaissance plane in an unsafe manner earlier this week. Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei Hong told reporters that the U.S. militarys reconnaissance missions seriously endanger Chinese maritime security, according to Reuters. "We demand that the United States immediately cease this type of close reconnaissance activity to avoid having this sort of incident happening again," Hong added. A U.S. defense official told Reuters that two Chinese J-11 fighter jets flew within 50 feet of the U.S. EP-3 aircraft. The official reportedly told the news agency that the incident occurred near the Hainan island. Tuesdays incident comes a week after a U.S. Navy destroyer sailed within 12 miles of Chinas Fiery Cross reef, an artificial island made after months of dredging operations, more proof that tensions in the region are escalating between two global powers. It was the third time the U.S. Navy sailed a warship close to a contested Chinese island in what the Pentagon calls freedom of navigation operations. Hong said the Pentagons accusations that the Chinese fighter jets acted unsafely was untrue and that the aircraft were completely in keeping with safety and professional standards and didnt engage in any dangerous action. In January, China landed civilian jets on a 10,000-foot runway on Fiery Cross reef, more proof that China is militarizing the South China Sea and threatening U.S. allies in the region. In February, China deployed fighter jets to a contested island in the South China Sea, the same place, Woody Island, where China deployed surface-to-air missiles a week before, according to satellite imagery exclusively obtained by Fox News. The dramatic escalation in February came as Secretary of State John Kerry hosted his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, at the State Department. Wang said he hoped that close up military flights and patrols by U.S. Navy ships over the contested islands would end. Kerry said he wanted China to end its militarization of the contested islands in the South China Sea. "We want to halt the expansion and the militarization of occupied features," he said. His Chinese counterpart added that he didn't want to see any more U.S. military over flights or patrols. "We dont hope to see any more close-up military reconnaissance or the dispatch of missile destroyers or strategic bombers to the South China Sea," said Foreign Minister Wang. Chinese President Xi pledged not to militarize the South China Sea when he visited the White House last fall. In February, Adm. Harry Harris, leader of the U.S. militarys Pacific Command, told Congress that China was clearly militarizing the South China Sea. "You would have to believe in a flat earth to think otherwise," he told lawmakers. After the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer sailed past Chinas artificial island last week, China scrambled fighter jets to show its displeasure. Fox News Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report. Click for more from Reuters. President Barack Obama and the United States favor illegal migration in Europe because they want to fill it up with Muslims, the chief of staff of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Thursday. Janos Lazar also described Hungarian-born American financier George Soros as a standard-bearer for Obama's immigration policies for Europe and said "certain American groups" want Europe to be "diluted ... so Europe and America can cooperate without restraint." White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he was unaware of Lazar's comments, but added: "I'm not sure they're worthy of a response." Lazar called Soros a patron of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, the current U.S. presidential candidate, and a Democratic Party supporter who was "ready to step up" against Orban. "Not so long ago while visiting Europe, President Obama clearly spoke out in favor of the importance of migration, settlement and even the forced settlement (of migrants)," Lazar said at a news conference. Obama and America "are following a very strong pro-migration, pro-illegal migration policy in the interests of having as many Muslims as possible in Europe." Orban has said that he wants no immigration from outside Europe and that Hungary will solve its demographic problems and dwindling workforce with policies like higher subsidies for families with children. Hungary late last year built fences on its borders with Serbia and Croatia after nearly 400,000 migrants passed through the country on their way to Germany and other western European destinations. "Our conviction is that the borders of Europe have to be defended," Lazar said. "If the countries of Europe need immigration, it can be possible only in a limited, controlled manner." The government is also sponsoring a referendum expected to be held by October against a plan by the European Union to resettle refugees in Italy and Greece to other countries in the bloc. Obama and the Clintons have criticized Orban for his perceived authoritarianism and efforts to crack down on civic groups like those advocating for Roma or gay rights. Orban considers some of these groups "paid foreign activists." Since returning to power in 2010, Orban has also faced frequent criticism from the U.S. and the European Union for eroding democratic checks and balances, striving to build an "illiberal democracy" and using state funds to build up pro-government media. Hungary's migrant policies, including anti-migrant billboards, curtailed social benefits for asylum-seekers and repeated remarks equating migration with terrorism, have been denounced by the United Nations' refugee agency. Mexico's Foreign Relations Department ruled Friday that the extradition of convicted drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to the United States can go forward. The process can still be appealed, meaning it could be weeks, months or even longer before the Sinaloa cartel leader may be sent to the U.S., where he is wanted in multiple jurisdictions on charges related to drug trafficking and organized crime. Guzman's lawyers now have 30 days to appeal the decision, and they have said they will. The department said Friday in a statement that the United States has provided "adequate guarantees" that Guzman would not face the death penalty. Mexico has abolished capital punishment and does not extradite its citizens if they face possible execution. Friday's ruling covered an extradition request from a Texas federal court related to charges of conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine and marijuana, money-laundering, arms possession and murder, and another extradition request from a federal court in California. In all, Guzman faces charges from seven U.S. federal prosecutors including in Chicago, New York, Miami and San Diego. Jose Refugio Rodriguez, one of Guzman's lawyers, said Friday the legal team planned to appeal the decision all the way to Mexico's Supreme Court, and possibly to international tribunals. Rodriguez told the Milenio television station that any extradition would take "at least one to three years." "We expected it," Rodriguez said of the foreign relations department decision. "It is no surprise." Rodriguez said Guzman knew about the ruling and said he was "calm." "He knows and is conscious that the real battle against extradition is going to be waged through the constitutional appeals process," Rodriguez said. Guzman was arrested in January after almost six months on the run following his escape from a maximum-security prison through a mile-long tunnel that opened to the floor of his shower. He had already escaped once before in 2001 and spent more than a decade as one of the world's most wanted fugitives until he was recaptured in 2014. Guzman's lawyers have so far waged a public-relations offensive, speaking to the press and even organizing protests; but as extradition draws nearer, the battle could turn violent, like the one Colombian drug lords waged extradition in the 1980s, said Mike Vigil, a former head of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Vigil said there is still the appeals process and he expects Guzman's attorneys to "try to move heaven and earth" to prevent him from being extradited, noting that drug lords fear extradition because it removes them from their criminal infrastructure. "As long as they have access to their criminal infrastructure, they can intimidate or they can bribe, " Vigil said, "and I'm sure that right now, Chapo Guzman is going to be scrambling, trying to intimidate government officials, because he will fight it to the bitter end." "That could lead to violence against the government, to intimidate violence against the judicial system, against individuals that will have something to do with his extradition, and if he can't get to them, he'll go after their families," Vigil said. "That's a very strong possibility that he will launch a frontal assault on the Mexican government, to try to intimidate the government to stop his extradition." Prior to his latest capture, the drug lord met with Mexican actress Kate del Castillo and U.S. actor Sean Penn, who published an interview with the Guzman in Rolling Stone. Mexican authorities say the meeting in a remote area of Mexico helped them track down Guzman. After the capture, authorities returned Guzman to the same Altiplano lockup where he had pulled off his brazen tunnel escape. They said they had reinforced the prison's security. But earlier this month, authorities suddenly transferred Guzman to a prison on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, near the U.S. border, a move they said was due to work on improvements at Altiplano. Rodriguez, the lawyer, is trying to get Guzman returned to Altiplano, arguing that the transfer hurt his defense because it's hundreds of miles away from the court handling the case. He said a judge told them Guzman could be sent back to Altiplano if prison authorities determine the conditions are right. Authorities have said Guzman can be held safely in Juarez where, like in Altiplano, he is under 24-hour surveillance through cameras in his cell and on the helmets of his guards. The last known survivor of the team that carried out last November's Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, refused to talk during questioning Friday by anti-terror judges amid frustration at 24-hour video surveillance of his cell, his lawyer said. The much-awaited questioning session ended abruptly, dashing French authorities' hopes that Abdeslam would provide clues about the Islamic State group's strategies and what exactly happened Nov. 13. Abdeslam's lawyer, Frank Berton, said his client invoked his right to silence. While Abdeslam didn't give a direct reason, Berton said he was "disturbed" by 24-hour video surveillance in his maximum-security cell in the Fleury-Merogis prison outside Paris. "He can't bear being watched on video 24 hours a day," Berton told reporters. "It bothers him, and that doesn't make him want to collaborate with the judicial investigation." Berton called the surveillance illegal and said he would ask the Justice Ministry to stop it. He called it a political measure "simply to reassure public opinion." Abdeslam, 26, had said last month he wanted to explain his path to radicalization and his role in the Nov. 13 attacks. Berton expressed hope that Abdeslam would decide to talk soon, but said there was no date set for new questioning. Berton described his client as weakened by his isolation and the constant surveillance. "Other than me, he sees no one," Berton said. "He doesn't speak. ... He is in total isolation. That necessarily has very strong repercussions on his psyche and personality." Authorities and families of attack victims had hoped Abdeslam's testimony would shed light on how ISIS plotted the attacks, solve mysteries that remain about what exactly happened on Nov. 13, and identify others who might have been involved, or support networks still hiding in the shadows. Abdeslam, a French citizen of Moroccan origin, was handed a half-dozen preliminary terrorism charges after his transfer on April 27 from Belgium, where he was arrested after four months on the run. He is the only suspect still alive believed to have played a direct role in the Nov. 13 bloodshed at a concert hall, stadium and Parisian cafes, which killed 130 people. The other attackers died in suicide bombings or under police fire. Abdeslam's precise role in the attacks has never been clear. The Paris prosecutor has said he was equipped as a suicide bomber, but abandoned his plans and fled to Belgium, where he had grown up. Abdeslam's older brother blew himself up at a cafe during the Paris attacks. Abdeslam was captured March 18 at a hideout near his childhood home in Brussels' Molenbeek neighborhood. Four days later, suicide bombers detonated their explosives in the Brussels airport and metro, killing 32 people. iHandyMan to Expand Across Alberta iHandyMan Grows Amid a Host of New Locations May 2, 2016 // Franchising.com // CALGARY, Alberta iHandyMan, the newest franchise concept from Global Franchise Opportunities, will soon be available to residents seeking its services throughout the Province of Alberta. The Halifax, Nova Scotia-based franchisor announced today that it has signed a master franchise agreement to significantly expand within Alberta. Under the agreement, Calgary entrepreneurs JT and Erica Rice will develop iHandyMan, leading the openings of several offices within the province. The duo has several years of experience in corporate positions as well as the local educational system in Calgary. After intense market research and ongoing discussions with professionals in each local market, weve identified a need for a reliable home maintenance system capable of tackling a range of home projects, said Bill Redfern, founder, president and CEO of Global Franchise Opportunities, iHandyMans parent company. Our new regional master franchise owners, JT and Erica, are experienced professionals who will make the woes of maintaining a local home or business a thing of the past. iHandyMan frees homeowners from relying on specialized carpenters, electricians or plumbers, who are busy and sometimes require an hourly fee just for arriving at the job. iHandyMan franchise owners are bonded and insured, and are prepared for any job of any size. The home repair service covers a wide variety of projects to meet a host of needs from plumbing, electrical work and tile repair to working on concrete driveways, roofing and siding. We are very excited about the launch of iHandyMan in Ontario and Florida and now in Alberta, said Mike Smith, director of franchise recruiting for Global Franchise Opportunities. The response to all of our brands from franchise candidates has been incredible for both our master and unit franchise opportunities, and more announcements are coming soon. iHandyMan is the third franchise concept by Redfern and Global Franchise Opportunities, the parent company for his brands. His first concept, A Buyers Choice Home Inspections (ABCHI), became the largest Canadian home inspection franchise after only two years of operation, and subsequently grew into one of the worlds largest home inspection companies. Today, ABCHI has nearly 200 franchises operating in 15 countries around the world. Following ABCHIs worldwide success, Redfern launched iCare Intelligent Home Care Solutions in 2014 to meet the home health care needs of seniors everywhere. A proven expert in international franchising, Redfern and Global Franchise Opportunities together are responsible for the development, growth and success of these standout home-focused concepts. Global Franchise Opportunities aims to bring iHandyMan to every home in need of attention and repair across the globe. For self-starters looking for an opportunity to own their own business, iHandyMan offers a low-cost, proven path to success as part of a profitable home-based concept. Unit franchise owners can work on their own or with a staff, hiring and managing outside contractors for larger jobs. Additionally, Global Franchise Opportunities is one of the few franchisors offering master franchise opportunities for all three of its franchise concepts. Master franchise opportunities are for entrepreneurs looking to develop a larger territory consisting of multiple franchise locations. A work-from-home franchise opportunity with iHandyMan offers those with the drive and perseverance the chance to change careers, own a business and become their own boss, said Redfern. Our affordable franchise opportunity holds the key to self-employment, job security and financial gain that come with a proven method, without the high risk and uncertainty that plagues the traditional business marketplace. For more information about iHandyMan and available franchising opportunities, visit www.ihandymanservices.com or contact the Rices at (403) 249-8521 or ricejt@gmail.com. About iHandyMan iHandyMan is a home repair franchise that takes professionalism to the next level with expert service from reliable franchise owners. Launched by serial entrepreneur Bill Redfern and his franchising parent company Global Franchise Opportunities, iHandyMan is bringing homeowners everywhere the solution to any home maintenance issue. Whether the job is an emergency or just one on a growing list, iHandyMan is the answer. With a team of punctual and well-trained franchise owners, iHandyMan offers the peace of mind and preparedness for any home project. For more information, please visit www.ihandymanservices.com. For more information about iHandyMan franchise opportunities, call (954) 933-7129. SOURCE iHandyMan Media Contact: Jamie Izaks All Points Public Relations (847) 897-7480 jizaks@allpointspr.com ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Enter a State of Nirvana with Juice It Up!s Newest Smoothie Creation Leading Raw Juice & Smoothie Chain Enlightens Taste Buds with Nirvana Matcha Green Tea Smoothie May 20, 2016 // Franchising.com // IRVINE, California Juice It Up!, one of the nations leading raw juice bar and hand-crafted smoothie franchises, promises to enlighten taste buds with the launch of its Nirvana Matcha Green Tea Smoothie. Juice It Up!s mantra is to Live Life Juiced and the brand strives to transcend flavor and functionality by creating products that not only taste great, but are also chock-full of antioxidants, proteins and nutrients. Available for a limited time, this creamy and refreshing beverage features an uplifting and healthful blend of Matcha Green Tea powder, raw spinach, banana, nonfat milk, and nonfat frozen yogurt. Were constantly innovating in the Juice It Up! test kitchen to create new products that are as delicious as they are nutritious, and Matcha Green Tea is a powerhouse ingredient that provides many added health benefits, said Frank Easterbrook, Juice It Up! President and CEO. Were dedicated to providing juices and smoothies that support the active lifestyles of our guests at all levels of health. Our new Matcha Green Tea Smoothie is jam-packed with vital nutrients and were thrilled to showcase this powerful ingredient on the Juice It Up! menu. Available through July 25, the Nirvana Matcha Green Tea Smoothie is an excellent source of antioxidants and protein, and will be featured on Juice It Up!s menu alongside fresh-squeezed functional raw juices, blended-to-order real fruit and veggie smoothies, and nutrient-rich bowls loaded with superfruits Acai and Pitaya. With the recently-introduced Smoothie Bowls, guests can transform their favorite Classic and Veggie Smoothie, including the new Nirvana Matcha Green Tea Smoothie, into a nourishing meal replacement, topped with fresh bananas, granola and a drizzle of honey. To supercharge any bowl or smoothie, guests can ask to Make it Green by blending in raw kale and spinach to add an extra dose of fiber, vitamins and minerals. For the full menu and complete nutritional information, visit www.juiceitup.com. About Juice It Up! Juice It Up!, a leading raw juice bar and hand-crafted smoothie franchise, specializes in delicious and functional fresh-squeezed juices, blended-to-order real fruit smoothies and nutrient-rich options such as Acai and Pitaya Bowls. Founded in 1995, the Irvine, California-based lifestyle brand is focused on providing its guests with a variety of great-tasting, better-for-you food and drink choices designed with personal wellness in mind. With more than 80 locations across California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Texas, the company is showcasing a new restaurant design, a heavier focus on the growing demand for raw juice options and a menu refresh that reflects the brands active personality and motto to Live Life Juiced! An established lifestyle brand with unparalleled experience in the raw juice bar industry, Juice It Up! is poised for aggressive expansion throughout the U.S. For more information, visit www.juiceitupfranchise.com. Juice It Up! Social Media Pages Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/juiceitup/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/juiceitup/ Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/juiceituphq/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/juiceitup/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/juiceitupcorp/ SOURCE Juice It Up! Media Contact: Chelsea McKinney Juice It Up! Powerhouse Public Relations (949) 261-2216 Chelsea@powrhousepr.com ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus FirstLight Home Care to Present on Veteran Panel at IFE 2016 FirstLight Home Care of Glen Rock owner and military veteran Boyd Lowry to discuss "Opportunities for Veterans in Franchising" at International Franchise Expo May 20, 2016 // Franchising.com // CINCINNATI - FirstLight Home Care, a provider of quality, non-medical in-home care, has announced the owner of its Glen Rock, New Jersey location will present on franchising opportunities for military veterans at the 2016 International Franchise Expo. The three-day conference will be held at the Javits Center in New York City, June 16-18, 2016. FirstLight Home Care of Glen Rock owner and Marine Corp veteran Boyd Lowry will take part in the panel "Opportunities for Veterans in Franchising" on Friday, June 17 at 1:30 p.m. Moderated by Air Force veteran and VetFran program manager George Eldridge, the panelists will discuss why franchising is an attractive option for entrepreneurial veterans and share stories of how they got started in the industry. The U.S. has more than 70,000 veteran-owned franchise businesses, and the opportunities and benefits for military veterans interested in launching their own business continue to grow. FirstLight Home Care recently announced it has extended its $10,000 franchise fee discount for veterans through year-end 2016. The in-home care provider operates 115 locations in 31 states, with 13 territories currently owned by military veterans. "I served my country during my time in the Marines, and wanted to start a business that served veterans back home and those in-need in my community. Franchise ownership through FirstLight gave me the support I needed to start a successful company that fulfills this mission," shared Lowry. "I am eager to share the lessons I've learned through launching my FirstLight business with other veterans who are interested in the many opportunities franchising offers." The FirstLight Home Care business model gives entrepreneurs the chance to help meet the increased demand for non-medical home care services, a growing, $75 billion industry. The organization was ranked as a Top Franchise for Veterans by Franchise Business Review and is a member of the International Franchise Association, VetFran and the Home Care Association of America. FirstLight Home Care's state-of-the-art technology, commitment to establishing and spreading a Culture of Care, and award-winning training and ongoing support programs position its franchise owners for success. For more information about franchise opportunities with FirstLight HomeCare download your home care franchise kit today at www.firstlightfranchise.com or call (866) 985-5348. For more information on 2016 IFE, visit www.ifeinfo.com. About FirstLight Home Care FirstLight Home Care creates a new standard in non-medical home care by combining best practices with innovative approaches to make the franchise an emerging market leader in a fast-growing industry. Services can be provided at private residences, assisted-living facilities, retirement communities, nursing homes, adult-family homes or group homes. Clients might also include new mothers, individuals recovering from surgeries and others. To learn more, visit www.firstlighthomecare.com. SOURCE FirstLight Home Care Media Contact: Ashley Reilly Ripley PR areilly@ripleypr.com ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Franchisor Harris Research, Inc. Receives Presidential Award for Export Success Chem-Dry & N-Hance Home Service Franchises Recognized with E Award for Exports May 20, 2016 // Franchising.com // Nashville, Tenn. - U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker presented Harris Research, Inc. (HRI), parent company of home service franchise brands Chem-Dry Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning and N-Hance Wood Renewal with the Presidents E Award for Exports at a ceremony in Washington, DC earlier this week. The Presidents E Award is the highest recognition any U.S. entity can receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports. Harris Research, Inc. has demonstrated a sustained commitment to export expansion. The E Awards Committee was very impressed with HRIs adaptation of its product line for export markets. HRIs achievements have undoubtedly contributed to national export expansion efforts that support the U.S. economy and create American jobs, said Secretary Pritzker in her congratulatory letter to the company announcing its selection as an award recipient. Chem-Dry is the worlds largest carpet and upholstery cleaning service, with a presence in 51 countries. The company uses a green-certified solution and proprietary hot carbonating extraction cleaning process that allow surfaces to dry faster, provide a deeper clean, and create healthier homes and workplaces. N-Hance is a proprietary wood restoration service that requires no sanding and can be a fraction of the cost of re-facing or replacing cabinets, floors and other wood surfaces. N-Hance, a trusted partner of The Home Depot, has over 400 franchises across the U.S. and Canada. Both Chem-Dry and N-Hance sold more than 100 franchise units each in 2015, for the first time in the companys history. Over the past year, Chem-Dry has opened in Egypt, Bahrain, the Philippines, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, and has identified additional target markets including Turkey, Bahamas, Argentina, Columbia and other Central American countries. Both brands were also ranked No. 1 in their respective categories in Entrepreneur magazines 2016 Franchise 500 listing. Exporting is a key component of supporting the current markets we serve as well as our continued international expansion, and we are honored to receive the E Award, said HRI President and CEO Dan Tarantin. We first began exporting in 1987, and our export sales have grown to become a significant part of our business over the past three decades as weve found outstanding master franchise partners who share our vision and see the opportunity for the brand. The fact that Chem-Dry is in 51 countries around the world today is testament to our superior processes and the strength of the environmentally friendly home services market. In 1961, President Kennedy signed an executive order reviving the World War II E symbol of excellence to honor and provide recognition to America's exporters. Earlier this week, Secretary Pritzker honored 123 U.S. companies with the Presidents E Award for their outstanding work to reduce barriers to foreign markets and to open the door to more trade around the world. In 2015, U.S. exports totaled $2.23 trillion, accounting for nearly 13 percent of U.S. GDP. Nationally, exports contributed to the U.S. economy, supporting an estimated 11.5 million jobs. U.S. companies are nominated for the E Awards through the Department of Commerces U.S. Commercial Service office network, located within the Departments International Trade Administration, with offices in 108 U.S. cities and more than 70 countries. Record years of successive export growth and an applicants demonstration of an innovative international marketing plan that led to the increase in exports is a significant factor in selecting the winners. For more information about the E Awards and the benefits of exporting, visit www.export.gov. About Harris Research, Inc. HRI is the owner of the Chem-Dry and N-Hance franchise businesses. Chem-Dry is the worlds leading carpet and upholstery cleaning service with a global network spanning 50 countries and serving over 10,000 homes and businesses a day worldwide. Its green-certified solution and proprietary Hot Carbonating Extraction cleaning process provide a deeper clean, allow surfaces to dry faster, and leave homes healthier. Chem-Dry has been ranked the number one carpet cleaning franchise by Entrepreneur magazine for 28 consecutive years, and is listed as the No. 42 top franchise overall in the 2016 Franchise 500 list. N-Hance Wood Renewal has over 400 franchises across the United States and Canada and is the trusted partner of the Home Depot, with a presence in more than 1,550 locations. Using a proprietary chemical abrasion and refinishing technique that requires no sanding, N-Hance Wood Renewal restores the natural beauty of hardwood flooring, trims and cabinets at one-third to one-fifth the cost of traditional re-facing or replacing of cabinets, with less dust, mess and odor. N-Hance was ranked the number one wood refinishing franchise in the home improvement section of Entrepreneur magazines 2016 Franchise 500 listing. For more information on both franchise opportunities, visit www.hrisupport.com. SOURCE Harris Research, Inc. Media Contact: Mary Pattara Fishman Public Relations (O) 847.945.1300, ext. 262 mpattara@fishmanpr.com ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Gap Inc. Reports First Quarter Results Company outlines measures to drive long-term success. SAN FRANCISCO - May 19, 2016 - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) today reported first quarter fiscal year 2016 results and provided an update on the strategies outlined on May 9, 2016 to better position the company for improved business performance and to build for the future. Gap Inc.s first quarter fiscal year 2016 diluted earnings per share were $0.32. Total company net sales were $3.44 billion for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 and comparable sales were down 5 percent. As the pace of change across the apparel industry increases, now is the time to accelerate our transformation by scaling our product and operating capabilities across our global portfolio, said Art Peck, chief executive officer, Gap Inc. By taking every opportunity to exploit our strategic advantages, our brands will be able to more fully harness the power of the enterprise to better serve their customers across channels and geographies. As part of Gap Inc.s continued commitment to better position the company for long-term growth, the company has announced the following measures to better align talent and financial resources against its most important priorities: Focus on geographies with the greatest potential. The company remains committed to growing its brands in regions where it has a structural advantage and the greatest opportunity to gain market share. As part of this effort, Old Navy will strategically shift its focus to markets most favorable to the brands growth, resulting in the closure of its fleet of 53 stores in Japan in fiscal 2016. Old Navys near-term growth ambitions will be anchored in North America, including its most recent debut of company-operated stores in Mexico, as well as China and its global franchise operations. Japan remains an important market for Gap Inc.s portfolio, with a continued strong presence of more than 200 Gap and Banana Republic stores. Additionally, the company expects to close select dilutive Banana Republic stores, primarily internationally, in fiscal year 2016. In total, the company expects to close about 75 stores related to these measures. Streamline its operating model. The company will take steps to create a more efficient global brand structure, enabling its portfolio of brands to more fully leverage its scale advantage and move even faster in anticipating and responding to the ever-changing environment and needs of customers. The company estimates that together these measures will result in annualized pre-tax savings of about $275 million and operating margin improvement of nearly 2 percentage points. The company estimates an annualized sales loss of about $250 million associated with the store closures and expects to recognize restructuring costs in fiscal 2016 of about $300 million pre-tax, about $100 million of which is non-cash, from the store closures and streamlining measures. First Quarter 2016 Comparable Sales Results Gap Inc.s comparable sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 were down 5 percent versus a 4 percent decrease last year. Comparable sales by global brand for the first quarter were as follows: Gap Global: negative 3 percent versus negative 10 percent last year negative 3 percent versus negative 10 percent last year Banana Republic Global: negative 11 percent versus negative 8 percent last year negative 11 percent versus negative 8 percent last year Old Navy Global: negative 6 percent versus positive 3 percent last year Net Sales Results On a reported basis, net sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 were $3.44 billion compared with $3.66 billion for the first quarter of fiscal year 2015. The translation of foreign currencies into U.S. dollars negatively impacted the companys reported net sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 by about $20 million. In calculating the net sales change on a constant currency basis, current year foreign exchange rates are applied to both current year and prior year net sales. This is done to enhance the visibility of underlying sales trends, excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. The following table details the companys first quarter fiscal year 2016 net sales: ($ in millions) Gap Global Old Navy Global Banana Republic Global Other (2) Total Percentage of Net Sales Quarter Ended April 30, 2016 U.S. (1) $ 698 $ 1,328 $ 454 $ 178 $ 2,658 77 % Canada 70 98 47 1 216 6 % Europe 144 14 158 5 % Asia 280 50 26 356 11 % Other regions 31 10 9 50 1 % Total $ 1,223 $ 1,486 $ 550 $ 179 $ 3,438 100 % ($ in millions) Gap Global Old Navy Global Banana Republic Global Other (3) Total Percentage of Net Sales Quarter Ended May 2, 2015 U.S. (1) $ 735 $ 1,403 $ 515 $ 175 $ 2,828 77 % Canada 69 102 52 1 224 6 % Europe 164 17 181 5 % Asia 285 43 27 355 10 % Other regions 55 4 10 69 2 % Total $ 1,308 $ 1,552 $ 621 $ 176 $ 3,657 100 % (1) U.S. includes the United States, Puerto Rico, and Guam. (2) Includes Athleta and Intermix. (3) Includes Athleta, Intermix, and Piperlime. Additional First Quarter Results and 2016 Outlook Earnings per Share The company is not reaffirming its earnings per share guidance for fiscal year 2016. The company noted that the current First Call consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.92 falls within a reasonable range of potential outcomes, excluding restructuring impacts from its store closure and streamlining measures. However, the company also noted that trends in the apparel retail environment would need to improve from the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 in order to achieve this estimate. The companys diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 were $0.32. The company noted that foreign currency fluctuations negatively impacted earnings per share for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 by an estimated $0.02, or about 4 percentage points of earnings per share growth. In calculating earnings per share excluding the impact of foreign exchange, the company estimates current gross margins using the appropriate prior year rates (including the impact of merchandise-related hedges), translates current period foreign earnings at prior year rates, and excludes the year-over-year earnings impact of balance sheet remeasurement and gains or losses from non-merchandise-related foreign currency hedges. This is done in order to enhance the visibility of business results excluding the direct impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Operating Margin The companys operating margin for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 was 6.5 percent. Operating Expenses First quarter fiscal year 2016 operating expenses were $987 million compared with $996 million last year. Marketing expenses for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 were $127 million, down $9 million compared with last year. Effective Tax Rate The effective tax rate was 37.7 percent for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016. Due to certain non-cash tax impacts related to the restructuring charges, the company now expects its fiscal year 2016 effective tax rate to be about 40 percent. Inventory Total inventory dollars were down 3 percent at the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2016, in-line with the companys previous guidance. At the end of the second quarter of fiscal year 2016, the company expects total inventory dollars to be down in the low single digits year over year. Cash and Cash Equivalents The company ended the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 with $1.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents. Year-to-date free cash flow, defined as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property and equipment, was an inflow of about $30 million. Please see the reconciliation of free cash flow, a non-GAAP financial measure, from the GAAP financial measure in the tables at the end of this press release. Cash Distribution The company paid a dividend of $0.23 per share during the first quarter of fiscal year 2016. In addition, on May 18, 2016, the company announced that its Board of Directors authorized a second quarter dividend of $0.23 per share. The company ended the quarter with 398 million shares outstanding. Capital Expenditures First quarter fiscal year 2016 capital expenditures were $139 million. For fiscal year 2016, the company now expects capital spending to be approximately $525 million, $125 million less than its previous guidance, with a continued focus on mobile and supply chain capabilities. Depreciation and Amortization The company now expects depreciation and amortization expense, net of amortization of lease incentives, to be about $550 million for fiscal year 2016. Real Estate The company ended the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 with 3,727 store locations in 52 countries, of which 3,276 were company-operated. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2016, the company opened 18 and closed 17 company-operated stores. Square footage of company-operated stores was down 1.3 percent compared with the first quarter of fiscal year 2015. The company now expects net closures of about 50 company-operated stores in fiscal year 2016. As a result, the company now expects square footage to be down about 2 percent for fiscal year 2016 when compared with fiscal year 2015. Store count, openings, closings, and square footage for our stores are as follows: 13 Weeks Ended April 30, 2016 Store Locations Beginning of Q1 Store Locations Opened Store Locations Closed Store Locations End of Q1 Square Feet (millions) Gap North America 866 2 6 862 9.0 Gap Asia 305 7 - 312 3.1 Gap Europe 175 1 3 173 1.4 Old Navy North America 1,030 2 3 1,029 17.3 Old Navy Asia 65 4 - 69 1.0 Banana Republic North America 612 - 5 607 5.1 Banana Republic Asia 51 - - 51 0.2 Banana Republic Europe 10 - - 10 0.1 Athleta North America 120 2 - 122 0.5 Intermix North America 41 - - 41 0.1 Company-operated stores total 3,275 18 17 3,276 37.8 Franchise 446 21 16 451 N/A Total 3,721 39 33 3,727 37.8 Webcast and Conference Call Information Jack Calandra, senior vice president of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations at Gap Inc., will host a summary of the companys first quarter fiscal year 2016 results during a conference call and webcast from approximately 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Pacific Time today. Mr. Calandra will be joined by Art Peck, Gap Inc. chief executive officer, and Sabrina Simmons, Gap Inc. chief financial officer. The conference call can be accessed by calling 1-855-5000-GPS or 1-855-500-0477 (participant passcode: 214046). International callers may dial 913-643-0954. The webcast can be accessed at www.gapinc.com. May Sales The company will report May sales on June 2, 2016. Forward-Looking Statements This press release and related conference call and webcast contain forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than those that are purely historical are forward-looking statements. Words such as expect, anticipate, believe, estimate, intend, plan, project, and similar expressions also identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the following: total store closures in fiscal 2016, including Old Navy store closures in Japan and Banana Republic store closures, primarily internationally; impact of store closures and streamlining measures, including annualized savings and operating margin improvement, lost sales and restructuring costs; earnings per share for fiscal 2016; tax rate for fiscal 2016; tax rate for fiscal 2016; total inventory dollars at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2016; capital expenditures for fiscal 2016; depreciation and amortization expense for fiscal year 2016; store closings in fiscal year 2016; and square footage for fiscal 2016. Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause the companys actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, without limitation, the following: the risk that additional information may arise during the companys close process or as a result of subsequent events that would require the company to make adjustments to the financial information; the risk that the adoption of new accounting pronouncements will impact future results; the risk that we or our franchisees will be unsuccessful in gauging apparel trends and changing consumer preferences; the risk that changes in global economic conditions or consumer spending patterns could adversely impact our results of operations; the highly competitive nature of our business in the United States and internationally; the risk that if we are unable to manage our inventory effectively, our gross margins will be adversely affected; the risk that the failure to attract and retain key personnel, or effectively manage succession, could have an adverse impact on our results of operations; the risk that we are subject to data or other security breaches that may result in increased costs, violations of law, significant legal and financial exposure, and a loss of confidence in our security measures, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and our reputation; the risks to our efforts to expand internationally, including our ability to operate under a global brand structure and operating in regions where we have less experience; the risk that foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations could adversely impact our financial results; the risks to our business, including our costs and supply chain, associated with global sourcing and manufacturing; the risks to our reputation or operations associated with importing merchandise from foreign countries, including failure of our vendors to adhere to our Code of Vendor Conduct; the risk that trade matters could increase the cost or reduce the supply of apparel available to us and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations; the risk that our franchisees operation of franchise stores is not directly within our control and could impair the value of our brands; the risk that we or our franchisees will be unsuccessful in identifying, negotiating, and securing new store locations and renewing, modifying, or terminating leases for existing store locations effectively; the risk that our investments in omni-channel shopping initiatives may not deliver the results we anticipate; the risk that comparable sales and margins will experience fluctuations; the risk that changes in our credit profile or deterioration in market conditions may limit our access to the capital markets and adversely impact our financial results or our business initiatives; the risk that updates or changes to our information technology (IT) systems may disrupt our operations; the risk that failure to maintain, enhance and protect our brand image could have an adverse effect on our results of operations; the risk that natural disasters, public health crises, political crises, or other catastrophic events could adversely affect our operations and financial results, or those of our franchisees or vendors; the risk that changes in the regulatory or administrative landscape could adversely affect our financial condition, strategies, and results of operations; the risk that we do not repurchase some or all of the shares we anticipate purchasing pursuant to our repurchase program; and the risk that we will not be successful in defending various proceedings, lawsuits, disputes, claims, and audits. Additional information regarding factors that could cause results to differ can be found in the companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 30, 2016, as well as the companys subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are based on information as of May 19, 2016. The company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed or implied therein will not be realized. About Gap Inc. Gap Inc. is a leading global retailer offering clothing, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, and Intermix brands. Fiscal year 2015 net sales were $15.8 billion. Gap Inc. products are available for purchase in more than 90 countries worldwide through about 3,300 company-operated stores, about 450 franchise stores, and e-commerce sites. For more information, please visit www.gapinc.com. The Gap, Inc. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS UNAUDITED ($ in millions) April 30, 2016 May 2, 2015 ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,313 $ 1,234 Merchandise inventory 1,958 2,010 Other current assets 674 874 Total current assets 3,945 4,118 Property and equipment, net 2,864 2,790 Other long-term assets 698 587 Total assets $ 7,507 $ 7,495 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY Current liabilities: Current maturities of debt $ 424 $ 21 Accounts payable 1,108 1,156 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 974 960 Income taxes payable 49 37 Total current liabilities 2,555 2,174 Long-term liabilities: Long-term debt 1,318 1,331 Lease incentives and other long-term liabilities 1,112 1,111 Total long-term liabilities 2,430 2,442 Total stockholders' equity 2,522 2,879 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 7,507 $ 7,495 The Gap, Inc. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME UNAUDITED 13 Weeks Ended ($ and shares in millions except per share amounts) April 30, 2016 May 2, 2015 Net sales $ 3,438 $ 3,657 Cost of goods sold and occupancy expenses 2,229 2,275 Gross profit 1,209 1,382 Operating expenses 987 996 Operating income 222 386 Interest, net 18 4 Income before income taxes 204 382 Income taxes 77 143 Net income $ 127 $ 239 Weighted-average number of shares - basic 398 421 Weighted-average number of shares - diluted 399 424 Earnings per share - basic $ 0.32 $ 0.57 Earnings per share - diluted $ 0.32 $ 0.56 The Gap, Inc. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS UNAUDITED 13 Weeks Ended ($ in millions) April 30, 2016 May 2, 2015 Cash flows from operating activities: Net income $ 127 $ 239 Depreciation and amortization (a) 132 133 Change in merchandise inventory (53 ) (117 ) Other, net (38 ) (44 ) Net cash provided by operating activities 168 211 Cash flows from investing activities: Purchases of property and equipment (139 ) (150 ) Other (1 ) - Net cash used for investing activities (140 ) (150 ) Cash flows from financing activities: Proceeds from issuances under share-based compensation plans 10 35 Withholding tax payments related to vesting of stock units (17 ) (66 ) Repurchases of common stock - (232 ) Excess tax benefit from exercise of stock options and vesting of stock units 1 17 Cash dividends paid (91 ) (97 ) Net cash used for financing activities (97 ) (343 ) Effect of foreign exchange rate fluctuations on cash and cash equivalents 12 1 Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (57 ) (281 ) Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 1,370 1,515 Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 1,313 $ 1,234 (a) Depreciation and amortization is net of amortization of lease incentives. The Gap, Inc. NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES UNAUDITED FREE CASH FLOW Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure. We believe free cash flow is an important metric because it represents a measure of how much cash a company has available for discretionary and non-discretionary items after the deduction of capital expenditures, as we require regular capital expenditures to build and maintain stores and purchase new equipment to improve our business. We use this metric internally, as we believe our sustained ability to generate free cash flow is an important driver of value creation. However, this non-GAAP financial measure is not intended to supersede or replace our GAAP results. 13 Weeks Ended ($ in millions) April 30, 2016 May 2, 2015 Net cash provided by operating activities $ 168 $ 211 Less: Purchases of property and equipment (139 ) (150 ) Free cash flow $ 29 $ 61 Contacts SOURCE Gap Inc. Contacts: Jack Calandra Gap Inc. Investor Relations 415-427-1726 Investor_relations@gap.com Jennifer Poppers Gap Inc. Media Relations 415-427-1729 Press@gap.com ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Local Company Tops in Customer Satisfaction May 20, 2016 // Franchising.com // OMAHA, Nebraska - Signs Now Omaha was recently recognized by Survey Advantage as one of the top franchise locations in the Signs Now national network for customer satisfaction. The national survey company released their Print Buyer Satisfaction Index (PBSI) for the 1st quarter of 2015 and Signs Now Omaha achieved a 93 percent loyalty rate among its customers. The results are based on the percentage of 27,000 graphic communications buyer reviews that were Very Likely to recommend their service provider after receiving their recently completed jobs. The benchmark is a compilation of all feedback gathered for hundreds of businesses participating in CustomerPulse. The feedback is published to benchmark performance and enable printers and sign makers to react quickly to customer feedback. It is always gratifying to hear positive customer feedback, remarked Signs Now Owner Bob McRoberts. My team and I work very hard to ensure we are delivering the highest quality customer service, and we are glad to hear our efforts do not go unnoticed. About Signs Now The Signs Now service base includes business solutions for outdoor and indoor signage, banners, window and vehicle graphics, exhibit and trade show graphics, ADA signage, dimensional letters, directional systems and other visual communications tools. Located at 4505 S. 119th Circle, Signs Now in Omaha is locally-owned and operated, and is a member of Alliance Franchise Brands franchise network, a world leader in visual and graphics communications, linking more than 600 locations in the U.S., Canada and United Kingdom. For more information, contact Signs Now at (402) 330-8411, or visit the companys website at http://www.signsnow.com/omaha. SOURCE Signs Now Contact: Sarah Malpeli (828) 400-6840 sarahm@alliancefranchisebrands.com ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Marco's Pizza Franchise Launches Veterans Recruitment Program Marco's Hires 20-Year Army Veteran as Vice President to Oversee Recruitment Initiative TOLEDO, OH - (Marketwired - May 19, 2016) - Marco's Pizza has a strong history of supporting U.S. veterans, and the iconic pizza franchise has now formally committed to being an employer of choice for veterans through the launch of a veterans recruiting initiative. U.S. Army veteran Scott Quagliata will oversee the program as Vice President, Veterans Program and Recruitment. "We want to make sure that veterans know that Marco's has wonderful leadership and ownership opportunities for them," said Quagliata, who served in several leadership positions during his 20-year Army career, including Deputy Commanding Officer. "Successful franchisees understand and adhere to operational standards. Veterans make great franchisees; there is a direct correlation between success in the military and success in business." Marco's Pizza has a history of giving back to the men and women who have given so much to our country, and this initiative formalizes a recruiting program to specifically reach U.S. veterans. Entrepreneur magazine ranks Marco's Pizza among the Top Franchises for Veterans, and the brand is a proud participant in the International Franchise Association's VetFran Program -- which offers veterans a discount on their initial license fee. "We want to make sure that we're not just giving jobs, but meaningful careers and meaningful lives to people so they can raise their families and make all their dreams come true -- utilizing the Marco's Pizza business model as just a tool in that quest," said Bryon Stephens, President and COO of Marco's Pizza. Veterans' military service helps them develop leadership and tactical skills that translate well to successful franchise ownership. "Our structured operating systems at Marco's have a systematic structure, which offers a degree of familiarity for veterans. If you follow our processes, then your prospects for success are favorable," Quagliata said. Because of his extensive military career, Quagliata has connections within the U.S military system that will be extremely beneficial as Marco's Pizza develops a formal recruitment process. The veterans program will roll out as a pilot in late spring and early summer 2016 in the Southeast, with initial recruitment efforts focusing on military bases in Columbia, South Carolina (Fort Jackson); Savannah, Georgia (Fort Stewart); and Columbus, Georgia (Fort Benning). Quagliata attended Discovery Day last November with interest in becoming a multi-unit Marco's Pizza franchisee in Virginia. Stephens spoke with him about his vision to help veterans by providing leadership and ownership opportunities, and the conversation quickly led to bringing Quagliata on board to develop and grow the veterans program. "Several things attracted me to Marco's: the quality of the product, the quality of the people, the organizational culture and the ability provide long-term career opportunities with life-changing potential to our veterans," said Quagliata. "The Marco's Pizza veterans program will be an entry point into the franchise's management pipeline," Quagliata continued. "The long-term intent is that veteran candidates would go through the application and screening process, enter the program and rise through the ranks as general managers, go through the apprentice program and ultimately become Marco's Pizza multi-unit franchisees. "At Marco's, we live our Cultural Beliefs every day. That's apparent across the Marco's organization, and it's similar in nature to the service values with which veterans have lived," Quagliata said. "There is a correlation for many of our cultural beliefs that will resonate with many veterans." Build your success on ours Founded in Toledo, Ohio, in 1978, Marco's Pizza has become one of the fastest-growing large pizza franchises in the nation. The brand's homemade recipes and fresh ingredients are in the Italian tradition, and Marco's is the only top 20 pizza franchise in the country that was founded by a native Italian. Marco's is led by veteran pizza executives who have experience growing brands and supporting franchisees as they grow their businesses. To learn more, visit www.marcosfranchising.com. SOURCE Marco's Pizza Contact: Cameron Cummins Chief Development Officer 773-519-0333 ccummins@marcos.com ### Add to Request List Added Request Information Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Planet Smoothie Ends First Quarter With Strong Growth Increasing Volume Bodes Well for Remainder of 2016, Indicates Rising Interest in a Well-Known Brand With a Proven Track Record of Success SCOTTSDALE, AZ - (Marketwired - May 19, 2016) - Planet Smoothie's efforts to ramp up franchise sales are proving to be successful, as reflected by solid first-quarter numbers for 2016. "We are excited to have some good, organic growth happening," said John Wuycheck, Senior Vice President of Franchise Development. "For the first half of 2015, only five franchises were sold. We passed that number during the first quarter of 2016, and we have a lot of very solid candidates whom I believe will be on board very soon." Planet Smoothie is led by a veteran franchise team and dedicated brand support team as part of the Kahala Brands family, which it joined in mid-2015. There are single- and multi-unit franchise opportunities available in prime territories across the nation -- in new territories as well as in well-established markets in the Southeast, and Florida in particular. The Planet Smoothie franchise brand is benefiting from the many improvements made possible by being part of Kahala Brands. Those range from a more robust product testing and trial pipeline to improved support for franchise owners. As the franchise numbers show, there's also a lot of solid recruiting going on. "We are working to grow the Planet Smoothie franchise opportunity in every way imaginable," Wuycheck said. "We want to provide our current franchise owners the opportunity to expand in their territories, and to that end we have worked with an ownership team in Atlanta to become an area developer. That's going to mean a lot of new growth in that market, both for those owners and for potential new franchise operators." He added: "We are actively pursuing leads in many new cities and states. We are working with some new owners in Louisiana, for example, where they will be the first Planet Smoothie franchise in the state. That's really exciting for us." Interest in owning a Planet Smoothie franchise has never been higher, as the U.S. economy continues to strengthen and entrepreneurs ramp up their explorations of new-business opportunities. When they reach out to Planet Smoothie, they hear a compelling story. "We are a nationally known, trusted brand that is active in new markets and growing in existing ones," Wuycheck continued. "We offer industry-best backing in terms of marketing, system support and research and development. We offer a healthier product than our competitors, which is yet another way to differentiate in the market. There are many reasons why we are growing quickly, and we are excited to lay out the value behind each and every one of them to potential franchise owners." To learn more, visit www.planetsmoothiefranchise.com. SOURCE The Planet Smoothie Contact: Cherri Scoggin Franchise Development Coordinator cscoggin@kahalamgmt.com 480-436-1270 ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus In this rapidly developing topic, we aim to provide you with the ability to share your experiences, questions and news with us. Simply choose one of the options below and your story may be featured in this section. Learn More Essential Businesses Share Your Story Ask Questions Submit News Subscribe TeamLogic IT Continues Growth in New and Existing Markets A Solid Model That Combines Managed IT Services With Sales and Service Has Led to Nationwide Expansion in Even the Most Competitive IT Markets MISSION VIEJO, CA - (Marketwired - May 19, 2016) - TeamLogic IT has franchise locations in 36 states, 12 of which have come online in the past year. This new-market penetration is happening alongside expansion in areas where TeamLogic IT already has a solid presence, showcasing why the brand is generating excitement among current and potential owners. "We are in the enviable position of pushing our boundaries in every direction, and doing so successfully," said Chuck Lennon, President of TeamLogic IT. "We are getting inquiries from, and holding discovery days for, people in cities that weren't even on our radar 12 months ago, and from states that we hadn't planned on targeting for another year or so. Our name has gotten out ahead of us in a very good way." For areas where a TeamLogic IT franchise or franchises exist, entrepreneurs who see a successful business growing its market share generate much of the interest. When an entrepreneur who's looking to launch a business sees a company like TeamLogic IT growing rapidly in the market, that sparks an inquiry that often leads to a discovery day and a new franchise signing. "We recently met with someone who'd seen our franchise in the Atlanta market, which is fairly new but doing very well," Lennon said. "We're building a presence there, and I think we'll see more interest. That is a city that is still growing in every direction, so there's a lot of need for IT repair, sales and managed IT services." At the same time, many requests for information are coming from areas where there's no TeamLogic IT franchise as of yet, but where a sharp business person is looking for something to meet a territory's unmet needs. "We recently were speaking with a gentleman from a large, urban area in Florida that would be an entirely new market for us," Lennon said. "This was someone who came to us because he has an IT background, wants to set up a business and wants the security that a franchise operation can give him -- versus going it all alone. He wants exactly what TeamLogic IT offers; it was a very exciting conversation." By aggressively courting potential TeamLogic IT franchise owners in entirely new cities and states, while also pursuing infill opportunities where existing franchises wouldn't be squeezed by a new franchise owner, TeamLogic IT is ensuring that it has the best of both worlds. "We are very careful to look closely at any market, whether we're in it or not, before we add a new franchise," Lennon said. "We don't want to cram in another owner beside a solid franchise and see it lose business. We make sure that when we open a new TeamLogic IT franchise, whether it's the third one in a large metro area or the first one in a state, that there's more than enough potential business to drive its success right away." About TeamLogic IT TeamLogic IT is a top-rated technology franchise that solves a major headache for small and medium-sized businesses by offering managed IT services solutions that turn technology into an ally rather than an obstacle for clients. It is a fast-growing business with franchisees who meet a universal need among today's businesses: the need for rock-solid IT solutions that prevent downtime and provide security for critical data. To learn more, visit www.teamlogicfranchising.com. SOURCE TeamLogic IT Contact: Chuck Lennon TeamLogic IT President clennon@teamlogicit.com 866-531-4344 ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus The teacher crisis is real, and were not going to work our way out of it simply by making it easier to hire teachers. When youre too busy for a plan B Roh-Johnson knows the numbers are stacked against her, but shes approaching her faculty job hunt with a mix of optimism, passion for her chosen career and a healthy dose of dread. A nearly yearlong timeline is standard for the faculty job hunt, and postdocs have to walk a fine line when determining whether theyre ready to go on the market. They need a certain number of publications, preferably in prestigious journals, which takes time sometimes a lot of time. But their funding is limited to defined, short-term fellowships. This year, Roh-Johnson wasnt quite ready for the real deal faculty search of sending out several dozen applications shes still working on a publication and has a year of funding left to support her postdoc work but she put out a few feelers to her dream jobs, she said. She doesnt have a backup plan for what shell do if she doesnt land one of those rare faculty jobs, Roh-Johnson said. Any plan B would require too much time away from her focus on applying for faculty positions. But its not because Roh-Johnson doesnt have her eyes open in fact, she knows shes in an even more precarious position than some because her husband, Dr. Jarrod Johnson, is a postdoc at Seattles Center for Infectious Disease Research and also wants a faculty job. Roh-Johnson and her spouse face whats (not so) jokingly referred to as academias two-body problem, where both members of the couple are faculty hopefuls. The relatively few faculty positions open each year are scattered at universities and other academic research institutes like the Hutch throughout the country. With the exception of certain academic research clusters in places like Boston, New York and the Bay Area, many of those job openings are not within commuting distance of each other. What will Roh-Johnson and her husband do if they dont find a reasonable solution to their personal two-body problem? Thats TBD, too, she said. They know it will be a tough decision if one of them lands a dream job and the other doesnt, or if they both get dream offers on opposite sides of the country. But even though she has no idea how theyll face that decision if it comes up whose career would get priority? Who would be the trailing spouse? The couple doesnt see any other path than the one theyre treading, Roh-Johnson said. Were going to do the best we can as individuals, cast a wide net and hope for close positions, she said. Nobody is willing to step down on their goals If we both didnt try, nobody would be happy. Finding a fit in a competitive market Although postdoctoral research, and academic research in general, might seem like a career world unto itself, the characteristics that make a postdoc successful are not so different from those in any job, according to Peterson. In talking about previous Fred Hutch postdocs whove impressed her, Peterson uses words that wouldnt seem out of place on a general career advice website: outside the box, innovative, strategic, networking. Another word also applies to a successful postdoc. Luck, Peterson said. Lucking out on getting a good project that gives you good results that ends up with good papers. Skill, of course, is part of it too. But its the skill and luck combined. Overall, though, a successful postdoc is a person who is going to be thinking about their career path, she said. Being thoughtful about where do I want to go, and how exactly how am I going to get there? As goal-oriented as Roh-Johnson is, she does sometimes entertain doubts. When asked why she wants a research faculty position, she hesitated. I sometimes ask myself that, she said. I dont want the answer to be, because I dont know anything else. Her response is partly a reflection of the often-insulated nature of the academic pipeline Roh-Johnson said she loves the freedom of academic research, but she doesnt know enough about the for-profit research world to say whether a career in industry would strip those freedoms most important to her. But in talking with her, its also clear how deeply Roh-Johnson feels about her work. Shes currently using the see-through zebrafish as a model to study the beginning stages of melanoma metastasis. Roh-Johnson gestured animatedly when describing her broader vision for the research team she hopes to someday lead to understand why cells behave the way they do in the complicated context of their environment, be it in a healthy developing animal or in cancer. Roh-Johnson said she loves many aspects of research, not just the parts where she carries out experiments at the lab bench or in the fish room. She even likes writing grant applications, which is lucky, because science faculty can spend close to half their time applying for funding. I like thinking about whats not known, she said. I get deep into the subject and ask, what can I do that others cant? Last fall, dipping a toe into the job hunt, Roh-Johnson had planned to apply for just one job a position she really, really wanted. She didnt even get an interview. She was disappointed, but not too surprised, she said she knew she needed to publish her recent work before having a fighting chance. But then people she knows at two other institutes contacted Roh-Johnson and asked her to apply to faculty jobs they had open, and both groups flew her out for interviews. She was surprised and gratified at their interest, she said. I thought, theres a cycle, you apply, you either get the position or you dont, and you move on. But what Im learning is that a lot of it is networking. She didnt get the first job she interviewed for. But the second organization is so interested in her that theyve recently flown her out for a second interview and invited her husband for an interview for a second faculty position a solution to their two-body problem that almost never happens, Roh-Johnson said. In some ways she realizes this opportunity would make their lives much easier, in terms of reducing tough choices. But it also presents a new source of stress: shes not sure yet if the position is the best fit for her specific research goals. Its not just about having my own lab, where I can say, Oh, I have the Roh-Johnson lab I want to do the research that I want to do, so I want to find a place where I feel like I can achieve the goals Ive set out for myself, she said. In a field where you really cant be picky, youre all of a sudden wanting to be really picky. So what do you do? New Website Connects Americans Thinking of Moving to Canada With Canadians MeetAMaple.com was developed to help Americans and others find like-minded Canadians for dating, long term relationships or marriage. Maybe some Americans are concerned about the next presidency or just love the idea of living in the wonderful country known as Canada. -- Alcon Media announces a new website for Americans concerned about the next presidency and thinking of coming to the Great White North to live in Canada. Meet amazing Canadians for dating or marriage and move to Canada, eh! People will LOVE Canada and its beautiful Canadian men and women. MeetAMaple.com was developed to help Americans and others find like-minded Canadians for dating, long term relationships or marriage. Maybe Americans are concerned with the next presidency or just love the idea of living in the Great White North in the wonderful country known as Canada. Some interesting Canada facts: Canadians don't all live in igloos and Canada does not have snow 365 days a year. Canada has summers too with temperatures sometimes reaching 90 F and higher. Every Christmas, one million letters are addressed to Santa Claus at his own postal code: H0H 0H0, North Pole, Canada. Canada is the second largest country in the world, next to Russia, even though it has fewer people than Tokyo's metropolitan area and has the largest coastline in the world. Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world's lakes combined. The USA / Canada Border is the longest international border in the world and it lacks military defense. Americans have invaded Canada twice, in 1775 and 1812. They lost both times. Canada is the world's most educated country with over half its residents having college degrees. Canada has the third largest oil reserves of any country in the world after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Canada consumes the most doughnuts and has the most doughnut shops per capita of any country in the world. Interestingly, The Mall of America is owned by Canadians. About MeetaMaple.com MeetaMaple.com was developed by Alcon Media to let Americans and others find like-minded partners in Canada for dating and marriage. Visit Alcon Media at alconmedia.com. For more information about us, please visit http://meetamaple.com Contact Info: Name: Derek Stewardson Email: support@meetamaple.com Organization: Alcon Media Address: 963 Princess Ave. Release ID: 115139 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Peterson & Associates CPA Announces Successful Completion of Stewardship Presentation ( May 20, 2016 ) Provo, UT -- Mr. Nick Peterson was invited to give an instructive presentation on the Power of Financial Discipline at Utah's Emanuel Assembly of God church. The multilingual presentation was given in both English and Spanish and was well received, and well attended, by a packed audience. Nick commented on the evening: "I am so appreciative to have had the opportunity to share financial wisdom with members and guests of Emanuel Church Provo. The work that Pastor Guererro and the leadership team at the church does is so important to our community." Nick Peterson provided valuable financial information to help the church members become successful in their respective families and fields. He covered topics relating to financial independence, growing trends, support models, financial traps, and investment strategies. His presentation followed a Bible study where several passages from the Bible were shared regarding stewardship. About Emanuel Assembly of God Church Provo: There are over 70,000 people of Hispanic origin living in Utah County that are served by the church. The congregation is lead by Oscar Guererro who is over the Utah Region of Assembly of God. He is also a pastor in the Provo, Utah area. About the Mission of Emanuel Assembly of God Church: (source: http://www.emanuelutah.com) "Our Church is Dedicated to a lifestyle of Loving God and Loving People. We get that purpose from Matthew 22 where it says, 'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?' Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'" About Nick Peterson: (source: http://www.petersoncpa.net/staff/) "Nick first started in the accounting field in 2003 working under a Certified Public Accountant. Since that time, he joined an accounting team as a staff accountant for a Toyota dealership, and later became the Senior Accountant for NP Accounting Services in 2006 for five years. Nick has served a full year term as a Campus Ambassador for Utah Valley University representing the UACPA (Utah Association of CPAs). Nick currently holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and was at the top of his class, frequently being listed on the Dean's List and has been accepted into the business-world's honors society: Beta Gamma Sigma. Currently Nick consults with accounting firms across the state of Utah on best principles for combining investments with tax strategies. Nick Peterson is an Investment Advisor Representative and Registered Representative with CoreCap Investments Inc." About Nick Peterson's Firm: (source: http://www.petersoncpa.net/company/) "Peterson & Associates CPA, Inc. strives to provide fast and professional accounting services. Peterson & Assoc. specializes in everything from tax work to wealth management. Peterson & Associates CPA, Inc. has a solid history. Although the firm has many roots, it officially re-opened in our new location during July 2011. Layne R. Peterson originally started with Ernst and Young in Los Angeles during the mid 80's with a CPA auditing background. Eventually, Layne came back to Utah and became a partner with Hawkins, Cloward, and Simister, from there Layne opened his own accounting and tax practice, bringing with him many clients and a solid reputation. Nick Peterson opened and operated NP Accounting Services, a bookkeeping practice, in 2004 and continued to be its Senior Accountant up until July 2011. During that time, the company built strong relationships with many business owners throughout Utah County. Together, both firms united to form a solid practice." About Peterson & Associates CPA, Inc.: "Based in Orem, Peterson & Associates CPA, Inc. services clients from all over the United States. We are experts in assessing tax needs for both individuals and business entities with hundreds of clients from all types of industries and entity types. Current bookkeeping clients at the firm range from massive multi-state companies to small medical practices and small sole-proprietors." For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Matteson Partners Taking On New In-House Legal Recruitment Clients (Mon 29th May 17) Huong Nghiep A Au Vocational Guidance School Launches New Major (Thu 25th May 17) FSP unveils new Industrial and Gaming power solutions at COMPUTEX 2017 (Wed 24th May 17) The Best Free Keylogger of 2017 Has Been Announced by the Official Remote Keylogger (Tue 23rd May 17) The Remote Keylogger Development Team Announces An Update to the Official iPhone Keylogger (Thu 11th May 17) CaptureStream Announces its New Streaming Video Recorder and Downloader (Mon 8th May 17) TMJ / TMD Syndrome treatment available from Council Bluffs' Omni Dental Centre Dentists ( May 20, 2016 ) Council Bluffs, IA -- Proudly serving Iowa and Omaha, Omni Dental Centre continues to provide excellent dental care while acting as market leaders in the dental industry. Throughout their proven 40-year track record, Omni Dental Centre has been at the forefront of dental care with their practices in Council Bluffs and Carter Lake continually delivering optimal patient care. Omni Dental Centre offers TMJ/TMD Syndrome treatment for their local patients. With years of knowledge and experience, Dr. Jones and Dr. Nensel are the Omni Dental Centre TMJ/TMD syndrome treatment specialists. The doctors are proud to have newly launched http://tmj.omnidentalcentre.com/ to educate potential TMJ/TMD Syndrome sufferers on how special treatment can alleviate the pain, headaches, and soreness. On the new website, they may also find more information about TMJ/TMD Syndrome including detailed causes and symptoms. Patients may find additional answers to frequently asked questions about what may be causing their headaches, jaw pain, neck pain, and shoulder pain. There is also important information on the process including feedback from our actual patients who have received TMJ/TMD Syndrome treatment. A consultation with a TMJ/TMD Syndrome dentist is required before any treatment can be administered. Omni Dental Centre invites patients from Iowa and downtown Omaha to schedule a consultation with their knowledgeable team for a thorough evaluation to identify if the patient is suffering from TMJ/TMD Syndrome. From a ringing in the ears to recurring migraines, TMJ/TMD Syndrome can affect patients in many ways. During the first consultation, the doctors will walk the patient through each step of the treatment process so that they understand what is involved in their complete care. Dr. Jones and Dr. Nensel are conveniently located in Council Bluffs and Carter Lake and are certified to administer TMJ/TMD Syndrome treatment. Our doctors will ensure that your individual needs are met by creating a treatment plan that best fits your personal needs and lifestyle. They will be happy to answer any questions patients may have about the costs, procedure, and aftercare. Learn more about how TMJ/TMD syndrome can affect both adults and teens. Visit Omni Dental Centre online to schedule your first TMJ/TMD syndrome consultation! About Omni Dental Centreconversion@castlecs.com: If you suffer from headaches, jaw pain, popping in the ears, or facial pain, you may be suffering from TMJ/TMD syndrome and Omni Dental Centre can provide you with personal treatment. They are located at both 1026 Woodbury Avenue, Council Bluffs, Iowa, and 3004 North 13th Street, Carter Lake, Iowa. They can be reached by phone at (888) 860-4886 and emailed at office@omnidentalcentre.com. To learn more, visit the Omni Dental Centre website at http://tmj.omnidentalcentre.com/ and like their Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/omnidentalcentre. For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Matteson Partners Taking On New In-House Legal Recruitment Clients (Mon 29th May 17) Huong Nghiep A Au Vocational Guidance School Launches New Major (Thu 25th May 17) FSP unveils new Industrial and Gaming power solutions at COMPUTEX 2017 (Wed 24th May 17) The Best Free Keylogger of 2017 Has Been Announced by the Official Remote Keylogger (Tue 23rd May 17) The Remote Keylogger Development Team Announces An Update to the Official iPhone Keylogger (Thu 11th May 17) CaptureStream Announces its New Streaming Video Recorder and Downloader (Mon 8th May 17) AAA Storage Junction Grand Opening Announced, Set for May and June of 2016 Newest member of the AAA Storage Family brings new self storage solutions to residents and business owners in Liberty Hill, Texas, publishes aaastorage.com -- Industry statistics show a 75 percent increase in demand for self storage over the last decade. This is old news to the staff of AAA Storage who have watched this trend unfold first hand. For some time, the company has been on a mission to help cater to this growing call in its service areas. Most recently, spokesperson Dal Anderson has announced the grand opening of another new facility, giving residents in the Liberty Hill area a fresh alternative for fulfilling their space-related needs. Anderson confirmed, "We're excited to celebrate the grand opening of AAA Storage Junction during the months of May and June, 2016. This is our most recently added brand new, state-of-the-art and immaculately-maintained facility in the state of Texas. We're proud to announce the grand opening and look forward to serving the community with the best storage units Liberty Hill Texas residents could ask for through the newest member of the AAA Storage family." Along with extensive efforts to offer clean and well-kept storage solutions, the company places security high on its list of priorities. High security locks are placed on each individual storage unit. Facilities are surrounded by fencing with entrances safeguarded by computer-aided access control systems. Video surveillance is incorporated throughout the grounds of each AAA Storage location, and properties are manned by on-site service managers at all times. An array of unit sizes is offered ranging from 5 by 10 feet up to those with more than 300 square feet of interior space. Covered RV and vehicle storage is likewise available. The company provides climate-controlled units for items sensitive to heat, cold and humidity. Concluded Anderson, "AAA Storage Junction is the most recently opened of our facilities, which span across Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and North Carolina. We appreciate the opportunity to bring our dedication to cleanliness and security to families and businesses in the local area. With the self storage industry growing by leaps and bounds in Central Texas, our team is happy to expand its services, providing self storage to our new neighbors and friends. We welcome anyone in need of our services to call us today to learn more." About AAA Storage Junction: The staff of AAA Storage Junction is committed to delivering unmatched self storage quality every day. Those in Liberty Hill and the surrounding areas are invited to visit these state-of-the-art facilities and discover immaculately-maintained properties with professional storage experts who deliver the hassle-free experience customers deserve and expect. AAA Storage's secure facilities are located throughout Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and North Carolina, all offering a variety of unit sizes to accommodate anything customers may need to store, from household goods to RV's, and from business documents to commercial equipment. For greater convenience and peace of mind, the company offers 24-hour security monitoring, ground level access, and 11 separate ways to save money. For more information about us, please visit https://www.aaastorage.com/self-storage/liberty-hill-tx-f4285 Contact Info: Name: Dal Anderson Organization: AAA Storage Junction Phone: (512) 778-5700 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/aaa-storage-junction-grand-opening-announced-set-for-may-and-june-of-2016/116002 Release ID: 116002 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) 8 To The Bar Snacks Announces Their Free Shipping Offer The company is now offering free shipping on all of their snacks with an order of $50 or more, reports http://www.8tothebarsnacks.com/. -- 8 To The Bar Snacks, a Connecticut-based naturally gluten-free snack company, has recently announced their offer of free shipping for those who shop for snacks on their website. The free shipping offer applies to all online orders totaling $50 or more. Shoppers who are placing their order online need only enter a special code (available via the 8 To The Bar website or Facebook page) to take advantage of the free shipping. James Bruno and Kathy Monahan, the partners behind the creation and launch of 8 To The Bar Snacks, commented "The world of gluten-free snacks can often be hit-or-miss. While it's great that more stores are embracing gluten-free lifestyles and carrying more products, it can sometimes be difficult to find snacks on store shelves that are both naturally gluten-free and delicious. This is why we created 8 To The Bar Snacks and why we are offering free shipping to everyone who places a $50 order on our website. We want to make it easy for those who want healthy bar snacks that also taste great to get their hands on them." Getting the free shipping offer that 8 To The Bar Snacks has made available to their customers is as easy as placing an order at www.8tothebarsnacks.com entering the code "Ship50" during checkout. Those who would like to get a taste of the snacks before they order them can do so at one of the company's tastings. They will be at Whole Foods locations throughout the North East region this month giving out free samples for customers to try. Visit their Facebook page to keep up with tasting dates and to find out about 8 To The Bar's next location. As Monahan goes on to say, "8 To The Bar Snacks isn't just another gluten-free snack company. We've put a lot of thought and care into making our naturally gluten-free snacks so that they're both healthy and tasty. They are a great grab and go snack as well as meal replacement! We invite anyone residing in or visiting the North East region to come to one of our tastings and give us a try. We just know they'll love them as much as we do, and they can use our free shipping code whenever they get hungry for more." The company will also be launching a Kickstarter campaign this upcoming June. This campaign will be designed to raise funds for the product and brand development of this startup. "We are extremely excited for the opportunity to get the community involved in our project, they have been very supportive throughout the years" Monahan concluded. About 8 To The Bar Snacks, LLC: 8 To The Bar Snacks makes deliciously delightful naturally gluten-free snacks. There are 8 wholesome ingredients in every bite and their team uses all-natural and organic ingredients blended with raw, unfiltered honey. Their snacks are chewy and outrageously yummy. They are a great grab and go snack or even meal replacement snacks. For more information about us, please visit http://www.8tothebarsnacks.com/ Contact Info: Name: Kathy Monahan Organization: 8 To The Bar, LLC Phone: (203) 923-1462 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/8-to-the-bar-snacks-announces-their-free-shipping-offer/116016 Release ID: 116016 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Markham Dentist Main Street Dental Celebrates 40th Anniversary With New Website A Markham, Ontario dental practice has celebrated its 40th anniversary by announcing the launch of a new site. It provides a full list of services, tips and advice for ensuring the best oral hygiene. -- A Markham, ON based dental practice is celebrating its 40th anniversary by launching a brand new mobile friendly site to advertise its services and give easier access to existing and new patients. The new Main Street Dental site explains how over twenty five years, the Markham Dental practice has assembled a caring team of dentists, hygienists, assistants and administrative staff who can assist patients with general and emergency dentistry serving. It also has a dentist, dental assistant and receptionist who speak Cantonese and Mandarin for those that need help to better understand their dental care. More information is available on the Main Street Dental Team site at: http://mainstreetdentalteam.com. The site underscores how the Main Street Dental team prides itself on providing thorough, caring service. Patients in Markham can receive a free consultation when they visit the practice, which balances Unionville heritage and modern dental technology. Dental services are available in the evening and on Saturday, because the team recognizes it can sometimes be difficult to arrange appointments during working hours. A full list of services is available on the new 40th anniversary site, including bridges and dentures, esthetic dentistry, gum disease treatment and preventative care for oral cancer. There is information on root canals, tooth implants, and wisdom teeth removal, as well as general oral hygiene tips to help improve people's oral health. The hygiene tips page shows how, with proper care, patients' teeth and gums can stay healthy throughout their life. The healthier someone's teeth and gums are, the less risk they have for tooth decay and gum disease. People visiting the new site can also discover tips to help ensure the best outcome in a dental emergency. Main Street Dental explains that it is important to act quickly and calmly when someone has a dental emergency. A knocked out, cracked or loose tooth can potentially be salvaged if handled with care. If a knocked out tooth is dirty or replanting is not possible, people are advised to put it in a glass of milk and not let the tooth dry out. Time is critical with a missing tooth, as people have about 15-30 minutes before it's considered unsalvageable. Anyone wanting more information can contact the practice at info@mainstreetdentalteam.com. Alternatively, their phone number is (905) 477-1655. For more information about us, please visit http://mainstreetdentalteam.com/ Contact Info: Name: Dr. Michael Dagenais Email: info@mainstreetdentalteam.com Organization: MAIN STREET DENTAL Address: 104 MAIN STREET UNIONVILLE, MARKHAM, ON L3R 2E9 Phone: (905) 477-1655 Release ID: 115897 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) ESFS Introduces Missouri to Interior Design Quote Service Home service website ESFS today welcomes a new group of users from Missouri to their online interior design quote service. -- The home service website ESFS is welcoming the access of a new group of users to their online interior design quote service. Visitors to the website from Missouri can now take advantage of this efficient and free system. ESFS has partnered with pre-approved, reliable contractors in many areas of the state to provide a convenient online quote service. Website users fill out a single form on the ESFS website that collates their project details, budget, number and type of rooms to be renovated, the required timeframe and overall scope. This information is then fed to suitable contractors in the users' local area, who can then submit a no-obligation quote to the user. "The online quote system not only saves time by consolidating the quote request process but also has other benefits to the user," explained ESFS spokesman Matt Aird. "With identical project information being sent to each prospective company, quotes are easier to compare directly, and the competitive nature of the ESFS system can result in a saving of both time and money." Interior design is a subjective rather than technical undertaking, and can range from the very small, like a new coat of paint and curtains, to the grand, such as a complete replacement of flooring, fixtures and furnishings. Due to this ensuring a good fit between the client and designer is essential for satisfactory results. Checking for qualifications or membership of industry bodies such as the American Society of Interior Designers is another good way of narrowing down the final choice, as is perusing each designer's portfolio of work. For the initial push into Missouri, 21 locations have been chosen, which include both hubs and quiet areas, ranging from St. Louis in the East, Joplin to the West and Jefferson City in between. About ESFS.org ESFS stands for Easy Simple Fast Service and is an online service dedicated to providing customers with no obligation quotes for a variety of services including home repair and additions, interior design and decoration, cleaning, roofing and construction from pre-screened local contractors. For more information about us, please visit http://www.esfs.org Contact Info: Name: Matt Aird Organization: Easy Simple Fast Service Address: www.esfs.org Release ID: 116014 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) The Ladan Law Firm Expands Their Services To Include DUI Defense For Individuals In Orlando The Ladan Law Firm is one of Orlando's premier criminal defense firms, and has just expanded its services to offer the very best defence in DUI cases. -- Driving under the influence, or DUI, is a dangerous practice that can result in debilitation of the faculties needed to drive safely, putting both the driver and the public in danger. Doing so has been illegal for as long as driving has been around, and the consequences for a DUI can be dire for those accused. As such, it is important that individuals accused of a DUI seek the best defense lawyer they can find. In Orlando, Ladan Law has now extended its reach to include DUI defense cases, and is ready to help people defend themselves to the fullest extent of the law. The new service has been accompanied by a new section on their website, which contains a briefing on DUI charges and their potential consequences, as well as giving people the full implications of conviction in the case of multiple offences, which become very grave very quickly. The section also extends the offer of a free initial consultation to anyone accused of DUI. This service expansion is part of a consistent movement by the firm to offer the most comprehensive defense services possible, including criminal defence, theft, fraud and forgery cases, domestic violence, drug cases and even juvenile offenders. A spokesperson for The Ladan Law Firm explained, "Amir Ladan offers some of the best and most proactive defense services in Orlando, and we are pleased that he has seen fit to extend his talents to this new and important area. DUI cases are often not as clear cut as they might seem on the outside, and it is important that due process take into consideration all the variables and discrepancies. Amir has an outstanding record in these matters, and we look forward to taking on new clients to help them get the justice they deserve." About The Ladan Law Firm: The Ladan Law Firm is the law firm of experienced lawyer Amir Ladan. Ladan has worked within the legal community since 1998, and has developed an impressive portfolio of experience and knowledge, together with an exceptional reputation in the legal community. Now one of the premier criminal defense lawyers in Central Florida, Amir uses his extensive courtroom experience to help his clients fight a wide range of criminal charges. For more information about us, please visit http://www.ladanlaw.com/ Contact Info: Name: Amir Ladan Email: contactus@ladanlaw.com Organization: Ladan Law Address: 121 S Orange Ave #1420 Phone: 407-487-2522 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/the-ladan-law-firm-expands-their-services-to-include-dui-defense-for-individuals-in-orlando/116066 Release ID: 116066 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Thermalabs Supremasea Brand to Release More Formulations Thermalabs Supremasea brand has more top-quality releases in the pipeline. -- Thermalabs Supremasea brand is working on multiple new formulations that will be launched in the cosmetics market space within the next few months. That's according to the brand manager for Supremasea, Kristina Meyers. This is an interesting move especially considered that the company had announced plans to increase its research and marketing expenditure through the year 2016. Thermalabs has made a name for itself in the cosmetics space, where it started with nothing some three years ago. Currently, the company has furnished the global market with a portfolio of at least 15 top-notch products, most of which are priced tanning formulations and accessories. Thermalabs is an American firm that opened its doors in 2013, during an event held in New York City. Back then, the company had little to offer. In fact, a few months after their launch, Thermalabs introduced its first-ever product - a tanning lotion labeled 'America's Gold Standard Tanner'. But following an aggressive marketing strategy, the firm was able to turn tables around with this product. Thermalabs pilot product was fashioned as a lotion. It was designed to help people acquire a beautiful tan within no more than four hours and featured premium ingredients such as Olive Oil, Japanese Green Tea, and Aloe Vera. The product's success was immense and helped open new doors for the then-new company. Thermalabs Supremasea sub-brand was introduced sometimes last year as the company's branch that would be in charge of its private collection of Dead Sea mineral-based products. Supremasea would focus on tapping into the beneficial mineral salts of the Dead Sea, and making them available to the company's customers. Scientists have recorded that the Dead Sea is home to at least forty thousand different salts. Out of all these, at least a dozen are highly rare and very unique to this body of water. By combining the health-promoting special mineral salts from the Dead Sea with conventional ingredients such as Olive Oil and others whose benefits for the skin are well-known, Thermalabs would make Supremasea a premier brand. So far, Supremasea has been able to launch its first product, Tan Enhancer. This is a moisturizing and protective lotion that's applied after a tanning session to contribute to that radiant glow. It contains unique mineral salts, as well as a special blend of Shea Butter. It also contains protective Vitamin E, and other important ingredients that keep the skin supple, as well as shield it from free radicals and other environmental supplements. According to Kristina Meyers, the new lineup will be made of up exclusive formulations that will definitely cause a stir in the market. She said, "At Thermalabs, we have learned to be the best at what we do, and Supremasea is a true demonstration of that claim. Our new brand has just been on the market for less than a year, but within that time, we have managed to formulate, manufacture and pitch an awesome product - Tan Enhancer. And that's just where it starts. In the coming few months, we have a lineup of great new products coming. You can expect that these will be major releases with market-wide ramifications." For more information about us, please visit http://www.thermalabs.com Contact Info: Name: Jennifer Parker Email: press@thermalabs.com Organization: Thermalabs Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYHl45Cymuw Source: http://marketersmedia.com/thermalabs-supremasea-brand-to-release-more-formulations/116036 Release ID: 116036 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) IT Company Provides Service Upgrade MS SQL 2005 To SQL 2014 Salt Lake City Utah Wasatch IT now providing critical support for upgrades from Microsoft SQL 2005. Recommended update to 2014 would include major speed upgrades along with new tools and features in improved security, programmability, reporting, data analysis, integrations, and simplified avenues for cloud computing. -- Now is the time to upgrade Microsoft SQL 2005 as support for it by Microsoft has been discontinued. Wasatch IT, an IT outsourcing company now provides services to make the transition to the latest Microsoft Server SQL 2014. Locally owned and operated Salt Lake City IT service company, Wasatch IT is helping business owners upgrade from the unsupported SQL 2005 to the more robust supported Microsoft SQL 2014. More information is available at http://www.wasatchit.com/sql2005/index.html Microsoft has ended official support for MS SQL 2005 as of April 12, 2016. Database software has improved over the last 10 years, and new organizational tools and faster speeds are prominent improvements. Since 2011, support has been limited, but now as it is cut off, those still running MS SQL 2005 will need to upgrade. Without upgrading, users can expect that their databases will become non-functional in time. Upgrading to SQL 2014 may require hardware upgrades and data cleanup, among other things. Microsoft has an upgrade advisor tool that comes with the SQL 2014 Feature Pack, but database managers and businesses may need a human guide to help them make the upgrade a smooth process. Justin Fleming, VP of Operations at Wasatch IT said, "As with all Microsoft products there is a shelf life and SQL is no different, we have all been expecting the end of life for SQL 2005 for a few years now. It is surprising to me to see and hear how many companies are still using SQL 2005. Without additional patches or support from Microsoft the vulnerabilities in SQL 2005 will continue to grow and grow. It is certainly concerning that so much of a company's critical data is stored in SQL databases and could be vulnerable to corruption because of unsupported software. Our recommendation at Wasatch IT is to make sure our customers and vendors have updated their software to supported versions of SQL, and with the 2016 general release coming on June 1st, we strongly recommend that if you haven't started a migration plan to get off SQL2005, now is the time! We are happy to help with any questions on licensing or how to upgrade your current systems." Advantages to MS SQL Server 2014 over MS SQL 2005 SQL Server 2014 isn't Microsoft's first upgrade to SQL. Microsoft had an upgrade in 2008 and again in 2012 but 2014 offers some significant upgrades, especially from the 2005 version. Enhanced security, programmability, reporting, data analysis, more integrations, and a simplified avenue to the cloud are just a few upgrades amongst many included with SQL 2014. One of notable improved organizational tools in 2014 is Delayed Durability-- a feature that reduces latency and delays. About Wasatch IT Wasatch IT, located in Murray, has been providing contract support for the Salt Lake and Utah Valley areas since 2002. They offer services in managed services, networking, computer security, software licensing, and virtualization. Wasatch IT was awarded the Utah 100 award by Utah Governor Gary Herbert for four years straight, from 2009-2012. For more information, contact Wasatch IT at 888-275-8850 or visit their website at http://www.wasatchit.com. For more information about us, please visit http://wasatchit.com Contact Info: Name: Justin Fleming Organization: Wasatch IT Address: 5242 S College Dr, Ste. 200 Murray, UT 84123 Phone: 801-983-3671 Release ID: 116119 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Free Freightnet Membership List your company in the Freightnet directory. It's Free, it's Easy and your company can be displayed in front of potential freight buyers within 24 hours. Whistleblowing reports to The Pensions Regulator increased by almost a third over the last year, while enforcement actions more than quadrupled, as small and medium-sized enterprises struggled to meet auto-enrolment requirements. The regulator received 2,545 tip-offs about rule breaches in the 2015/16 tax year, which is up 29 per cent on the previous year, according to figures obtained by law firm Clyde & Co. Enforcement actions against employers rose to 8,812, up from 1,947 the previous year. Non-compliant employers may be liable to fines as high as 10,000 per day, the law firm warned. Auto-enrolment requirements came into force in 2012 for companies with more than 120,000 employees. Since then, the requirements have gradually extended to smaller employers in a staging process due to be completed by February 2018. Mark Howard, head of pensions at Clyde & Co, said non-compliance issues are likely to get worse over the next two years with the volume of employers who must auto-enrol their employees, and warned that very small employers without large management teams will find compliance particularly challenging. SMEs that are yet to face their enrolment deadlines are not going to have the support of HR departments to help them deal with the administrative headache of enrolling employees into a pension scheme, Mr Howard explained. The regulator has put out a lot of guidance aimed at SMEs, but even so, its not surprising we are seeing the number of whistleblowing and enforcement actions increase as the number of employers subject to auto-enrolment grows substantially. Employers were warned in April that if 28-day escalating penalty notices were ignored, they were at risk of being fined 50 a day by TPR for businesses with one to four staff, or 500 a day for those with five to 49 employees. Failing employers have already been hit with a record number of fines during the first quarter, with 96 escalating penalty notices, bringing the total to 127. One unnamed firm was fined 10,000 for failing to meet its AE deadline, even though it had engaged a financial adviser. Adviser view Nigel Sycamore, director at AE specialist adviser Clear Workplace, said many smaller businesses have not yet accepted the new requirements. We still find at the smaller business end that there are some employers who cant believe this applies to them as it does to the likes of Virgin and Marks & Spencer. Mr Sycamore said in smaller businesses where management is stretched, AE often falls between the cracks. But he said the regulator had got the balance between carrot and stick about right. He added: The Pensions Regulator will do everything it can to help people comply. But in the end this is about peoples right to a pension, so if businesses refuse to comply they need to be fined. A judge has ruled in favour of a financial adviser in a case brought by the beneficiaries of one of his clients wills. Claire Hartley and Tim Herring took Derbyshire-based Shorts Financial Services to court, claiming they didnt receive the full inheritance their great aunt intended for them. The client, known as Mrs Shemwell, asked her financial adviser to set up two trusts to help her mitigage inheritance tax. But while the will her lawyer drafted contained legacies of 54,000 each, it did not devise a formula to ensure they each received 200,000 from the trusts, and did not check the cash held would pass to the claimants on Mrs Shemwells death. In his ruling following a hearing at Leeds County Court, Judge Behrens said: Mrs Shemwell asked [the financial adviser] Mr Sully to leave within five minutes of the start of the meeting and before there were any discussions about the will. Contrary to the submission of [the claimants barrister] Mr OSullivan, Mr Sully was in no sense part of the will making process. He was asked to leave before he could explain the nature of the trusts. If he had been asked he could and would have explained. If he had been contacted by [Mrs Shemwells lawyer] Mr Woodhead before he drafted the will, he (Mr Sully) would have provided the explanation but Mr Woodhead did not contact him at all. The claimants had also attempted to take their great-aunts law firm to court, alleging negligence, but this was settled following mediation. In order to mitigate inheritance tax, Mrs Shemwell asked her financial adviser to set up two trusts in favour of the claimants in August 2011. One was a discretionary trust which named them as the sole discretionary objects and she invested 175,000 in this trust. This was the maximum remaining to her in respect of her nil rate IHT band. Another 125,000 was invested in a loan trust which also named the claimants as the sole discretionary beneficiaries. Mrs Shemwell gave her lawyer instructions in relation to her 2011 will, initially saying she wished to increase the amount the claimants would receive to 175,000. Later, on 31 October 2011, she increased this to 200,000. Following Mrs Shemwells death the claimants did not receive the full 200,000 she intended them to receive. They did receive the 54,000 and the cash in the discretionary trusts but they did not receive any part of the initial capital of the loan trust as it fell into the residuary estate. When he briefly attended the meeting when the will was drafted, Mr Sully had prepared a single sheet of paper on which he had written various details about the trusts. He described this piece of paper as an aidememoire for his own use in case he was asked questions by Mr Woodhead. The claimants contended a fair reading of the aide-memoire indicated 146,472 was held for each of them under the trusts but Shorts did not accept that. Wealth managers face a fight for survival as two thirds of chief executives at investment and private banks back an increasingly digital approach to financial management, according to a report by Temenos. A survey by the financial software firm of 60 chief executives at investment and private banks as well as 35 high-net worth investors, found significant support for more technology-heavy wealth management. The report attributed the findings to a transfer of wealth from baby-boomers to younger generations. Schroders, Credit Suisee, Julius Baer were among the financial giants which contributed views to the study. Peter Thuering, chief operating officer a Schroders, said: Im a strong believer in automation - making your processes more scalable so you can grow and take part in the consolidation process in the industry. For me, digitisation is not only a window into the bank through the clients mobile, its about the electronic or digital end-to-end management of the entire value chain. Those who can manage data properly will win, he added. Credit Suisses Christian Huber, chief operating officer for private banking Asia Pacific said for wealth management, its important to keep the client engaged and empowered We strongly believe that when it comes to serving our clients, the combination of having our wealth managers work with clients in tandem with technology is a winning proposition. But Pierre Bouquieaux, product director wealth management at Temenos, said the findings point to a fantastic opportunity for wealth managers. These findings highlight that increasingly intelligent technology will help wealth managers redefine processes, find new efficiencies and build better relationships with their clients. The report found more than a third of high-net worth clients now demand some form of digital communication from their wealth manager. Meanwhile more than 40 per cent of wealth managers believe a mix of digital and offline ways of communicating is ideal. Invesco Perpetuals Stephen Anness and Andrew Hall have sold down high-profile global equity names as markets willingness to pay any price for quality stocks force the pair further into value positions. Mr Hall, co-manager of the 170m Invesco Perpetual Global Opportunities fund, has moved away from stocks such as Alphabet (Google) and British American Tobacco (BAT), favourites for growth and income managers alike. The fund sold out of Alphabet the day it became the worlds largest company, and cut exposure to BAT despite great admiration for the firms defensive nature. On Alphabet, Mr Hall said: The valuation has re-rated significantly, and there is the law of large numbers: it gets harder to compound revenue growth at 15 per cent when youre the largest company in the world. In place of these stocks, the managers have added exposure to US banks and oil and gas stocks, as well as global industrials this year in a bid to find better opportunities. Value stocks are so unloved by the market [that] it is willing to pay seemingly any price for anything with quality, Mr Hall said. The manager said the US banking sector was at 75-year relative lows on a price-to-book basis. He said uncertainties over regulation and capacity to return capital to shareholders were contributing to poor market sentiment on the sector. The attraction was valuation but aligned with that is businesses which are fundamentally strong and difficult to disrupt, he said. The funds largest holding is now JPMorgan Chase, a 6 per cent position. Mr Hall said the bank was a quality business, dominant in its markets, well-capitalised and run by a strong management team. [JPMorgan] finds itself in a sector that is out favour but it is a quality business, just in a sector the market does not think is quality, he said. The fund has 33 per cent in financials, 17 per cent in industrials and 13 per cent in energy. Financials have weighed on returns year to date but this has been offset by the 13.5 per cent rise for global oil stocks. Mr Hall and Mr Anness have large holdings in Royal Dutch Shell and Statoil, which make up close to 10 per cent of the fund. Mr Hall said the oil sector had never been cheaper, which was understandable when taking into account both the paucity of results from the preceding capex boom and the oil price plummet. However, the pair felt some stocks with a cheaper cost of funding were still a good bet. The rhetoric of [oil companies] management has chang-ed, Mr Hall said. They are focusing on returns on capital and cash flow. With a value-over-volume strategy, focusing on cost and capital discipline, they can be fundamentally better businesses than they were in the past. But were doing it in a very risk-conscious way. It is not a bet on the oil price recovering; its the strongest companies with the strongest balance sheets. More than half of Building Societies Association members will now lend to borrowers up to or beyond the age of 80, seven months after the body published its first report on the issues faced by older borrowers. At its annual conference in Gateshead, the BSA launched a free consumer guide covering topics like the link between pension freedoms and borrowing into retirement, affordability, equity release options and lifetime mortgages. One of the interim reports nine recommendations last November was a commitment to review maximum age limits on mortgages, reflecting a shift as the population grows older. The BSA stated 27 building societies, which hold 200bn of mortgage assets between them, will now lend up to 80 or 85 years, or have no maximum age limit. Six societies will now lend up to age 80, with 10 societies lending up to 85 and a further 11 have no maximum age limit and manually underwrite each case. Societies with no age limits: Bath Buckinghamshire Cambridge Cumberland Dudley Harpenden Leek United Loughborough Monmouthshire National Counties Vernon The BSA gave some examples, including the Cambridge Building Society, which since removing maximum age limits in January, has already agreed over 30 mortgages worth 4.5m, where the borrower will be over 75 at the end of the mortgage term. Meanwhile, the Vernon Building Society offers a discounted rate on its Retirement Mortgage as an incentive for borrowers to register a lasting power of attorney, while its advisers are also required to hold the equity release advice qualification. Paul Broadhead, head of mortgage policy at the BSA said he has seen innovation in the approach to underwriting and the development of processes better tailored to the specific circumstances of older borrowers. With the proportion of older borrowers only set to rise, this challenge must be faced by all lenders. Constructive work is underway across the market and I have high hopes for the current FCA project on the ageing population. Speaking at the conference, Dudley Building Society chief executive Jeremy Wood stated: We took an early decision to remove upper age limits across our whole product range and train our mortgage underwriters to better understand the needs of older borrowers. The demand for what we offer is significant and so far we have seen no increase in credit risk. In fact, many cases have been markedly better. I passionately believe that we ought to be shouting louder about our successes in meeting the needs of 21st century borrowers, he added. The BSA explained the risk of a partner dying during the mortgage term is a key consideration in the underwriting process. Lenders will look at factors like whether the borrowers have life insurance and how much pension income will transfer to a surviving partner, when making their decision. The Council of Mortgage Lenders has also called for more action to assist lending into retirement, responding to the regulators recent discussion paper on the ageing population by suggesting reforms to assist advisers in offering clients a range of at-retirement options that includes lifetime mortgages. Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said some of the smaller building societies have set the example for lending to older borrowers for a while now. Responsible lending reviews, pension legislation reassessments and more work for the ombudsman were among the biggest themes this week. For a top-level round-up of what happened this week in the adviser industry, look no further: On Monday, the Financial Conduct Authority dropped the results of both its call for input and responsible lending review, giving the industry fairly good marks on its clean-up since the MMR, but also opening the door for more consultation. Sometime towards the end of the year, the intermediary side of the market will have to face questions on what its rise to dominance really means for borrowers and how the proliferation of technology can guide them to the right deals. The FCAs director of competition Deborah Jones also warned plans are underway to crack down on the web of relationships that exists within lender panels and mortgage sourcing systems, which risk conflicts of interest or misaligned incentives. The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries chief executive Robert Sinclair hit back at the regulator, pleading for the fragile sector to be left alone for once. 2. Pensions policy in the spotlight Yesterday, FTAdviser revealed plans for a radical new bill, which could see defined benefit pension scheme members face cuts to their promised retirement incomes, according to Work and Pensions committee chairman Frank Field. He argued many final salary schemes may never meet their liabilities, and must adjust them to more realistic levels, with the Labour MP promising a mega bill to deal with DB deficits, alongside policies to prevent companies paying out dividends at the expense of their employees pension schemes; reacting to the recent BHS debacle. Meanwhile, a Freedom of Information Act request from FTAdviser shed new light on how changes in adviser population over the last decade have impacted the industrys readiness for government pension legislation.The figures showed three-quarters of advisers have left since A-Days pensions simplification regime came into force in April 2006. One of the biggest problems since last April raised its ugly head again this week, as an adviser raised TCF concerns about the charges levied by closed book life company Phoenix Life on scheme members trying to transfer their pots out to take advantage of the at-retirement reforms. 3. Ombudsman stands firm Onto another pensions problem, with the Pensions Ombudsman cementing its position that Sipp providers should not be expected to carry out comprehensive due diligence on pension investments. Ombudsman Anthony Arter found in favour of Stadia Trustees in a complaint, deciding it was not their role to undertake the level of due diligence suggested, reflecting a previous decision where he controversially ruled it was not Berkeley Burkes responsibility to conduct extensive investigations into the suitability of investments. Meanwhile, over at the Financial Ombudsman Service, a decision saw an adviser criticised for recommending a client with a cautious attitude to risk put 210,477 of their pension savings into the unregulated New Earth Solutions Recycling fund, via his Sipp. A chartered accountant from Essex who acted as a financial advisers and stole 107,000 of tax and tried to hide the money in his childrens bank accounts has been jailed. Abdul Aziz Patel, a chartered certified accountant, failed to register with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and did not declare his earnings and money he made from renting out a property an income of almost 430,000. Instead, the 54-year-old held the money in a variety of bank accounts that he controlled, including accounts he had opened in his childrens names. Patel was registered to act as an agent for his clients, providing services as an accountant and financial adviser but often asked his clients to pay him cash, in an attempt to hide his true earnings, brazenly telling them HMRC will see the profit made and I would have to pay tax. He was offered the opportunity to pay what he owed in full, plus any interest and penalties due, through HMRCs civil contractual disclosure facility but ignored all letters sent to him and the tax office began a criminal investigation into his tax affairs. Patel, from Ilford in Essex, was arrested in September 2013. Paul Barton, assistant director of the fraud investigation service at HMRC, said: As an accountant, Patel was in a position of trust and knew only too well his actions were illegal and what the consequences would be when he was caught. He was given the chance to put things straight by paying the tax and penalty, but ignored it, so is now paying the price for ignoring his responsibilities. The vast majority of people in the UK pay the tax that they owe, and it is never acceptable for the small minority to steal the tax that should be funding public services. At interview, Patel, who traded as AAUP and Adam & Fleming from April 2005, initially admitted to HMRC investigators that he had not declared his income since 2005 and in a panic he had shredded some of his bank statements. However, he later changed his story, claiming that a childhood friend in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, with no accountancy experience, was really in control of his businesses and rental property. He was charged and found guilty of cheating the public revenue and was sentenced to four years in prison at Snaresbrook Crown Court yesterday (19 May 2016). His Honour Judge Kamil said: As an accountant and registered agent acting for others what you did was not through ignorance or negligence, it was through pure greed. Confiscation proceedings to recover the proceeds of his criminal activity will follow. Story Highlights Approval of leadership bottomed out in 2014 and 2015 Three in four residents perceive widespread government corruption New low of one in seven say they feel safe walking alone at night WASHINGTON, D.C. -- While Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro spoke last week of international and domestic plots to subvert him, Gallup polling in Venezuela shows that most residents have disapproved of their nation's leadership since he took office. In the past two years, just one in five Venezuelans have approved of the job performance of their country's leadership. Maduro declared a "constitutional state of emergency" last week to address "external and foreign aggressions" against Venezuela. But many view the state of emergency as a tactic to retain power amid the chaos of the nation's economic woes and the people's lack of access to basic goods and services, such as food and healthcare. The government's preparation for and response to the crisis have received criticism for mismanaging the nation's oil reserves and mistreating the private sector. Meanwhile, the federal government's executive and legislative branches remain at odds after Maduro was dealt a stinging blow when voters placed the opposition party at the helm of the nation's congress, which holds a two-thirds supermajority in the National Assembly. But before the incoming opposition lawmakers took office, Maduro hastily packed Venezuela's Supreme Court with allies, placing a check on the legislative branch in his favor -- a move criticized by constitutional experts. Venezuelans' perceptions of widespread corruption in their nation's government have risen in the years since Maduro took office. Majorities of 54% to 70% said corruption was widespread in their government from 2006 to 2012, during the final years of Hugo Chavez's presidency. Upon Chavez's death in 2013, Maduro -- his vice president -- narrowly won election to succeed him, and perceptions of widespread government corruption increased to even higher ratings of 75% to 78% from 2013 to 2015. At New Low, One in Seven Report Feeling Safe Walking Alone at Night Amid their weakened confidence and greater perceptions of corruption, Venezuelans are also feeling less safe. In 2014, the country rated lowest in Latin America and the Caribbean on Gallup's Law and Order Index and was nearly the lowest in the world. A record low of 14% in 2015 reported feeling safe walking alone at night in the city or area where they live. This percentage is nearly three times lower than the high of 44% in 2007. As they have continued to struggle in their personal lives, Venezuelans were twice as likely to say they would like to move permanently to another country in 2015 (22%) as they were in 2008 (11%). Gallup has found that Venezuelans who would like to move to another country are most likely to want to move to the U.S., Spain, Panama, Colombia or other Spanish-speaking countries in the region. The percentage who would like to move is nowhere near the highest in South America, but it is the highest Gallup has measured in Venezuela in nearly a decade. Young people in most countries are usually the most likely to want to leave, and this is true in Venezuela as well. One in three Venezuelans between the ages of 15 and 29 (33%) would like to leave their country permanently, compared with 21% of those between the ages of 30 and 49 and 10% of those aged 50 and older. Bottom Line As Venezuelans' lives have been turned upside down, few take solace in the government's ability to address their hardships. They continue to struggle with their incomes, food and healthcare affordability, and overall life evaluations while Venezuela's government officials spar in Caracas. As the political chaos unfolds, many fear for their safety and some even consider life in another country. Historical data are available in Gallup Analytics. Survey Methods Results are based on face-to-face interviews with 1,000 adults in Venezuela, aged 15 and older, each year. The most recent survey was conducted Oct. 27-Nov. 18, 2015. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is 3.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The margin of error reflects the influence of data weighting. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls. For more complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set details. Learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works. Story Highlights 70% say campaign is not damaging party Sanders, Clinton supporters about as likely to hold this view There is agreement across age groups WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Although Bernie Sanders has scored a series of victories in recent primaries to slow down Hillary Clinton's likely presidential nomination, the vast majority of Democrats (70%) do not think the continuing campaign for the Democratic nomination is hurting the party. Sanders and Clinton supporters share this sentiment, and Democrats' views are unchanged from last month (71%). Perceptions of the Campaign for the Democratic Nomination's Impact on the Party Do you think the continuing campaign for the Democratic nomination is hurting the party or not hurting the party? Hurting the party % Not hurting the party % Democrats/Democratic-leaning independents 25 70 Clinton supporters 23 74 Sanders supporters 27 69 Gallup, May 13-15, 2016 Meanwhile, one in four Democrats do believe the process has damaged the party. This perception of party damage is much lower than what Gallup measured among Republicans last month. In April, before Ted Cruz and John Kasich suspended their campaigns, a majority (63%) of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said they thought their party's continuing campaign for the nomination was hurting the party. That may have reflected the antipathy between Donald Trump and his Republican opponents in the race, as well as widespread speculation at the time that the party was headed for a brokered convention. The latest data, collected May 13-15, come as a dispute at the state Democratic convention in Nevada has angered Sanders' supporters. They alleged corruption in the vote for the state-level delegates, as some of them booed and later sent threatening messages to the party official tasked with leading the convention. Accusations that the party establishment has snubbed Sanders in favor of Clinton are not new, and date back to early in the nomination process. Last year, Sanders accused the party of scheduling debates during times of low viewership as a way to protect Clinton's candidacy. But the fallout from the events surrounding the Nevada Democratic convention underscores how difficult unifying the party after the nomination process could be. Across Age Groups, Democrats Agree That Continuing Campaign Not Hurting Party As of this recent poll, concluded Sunday, rank-and-file Democrats do not perceive the continuing campaign as having harmed their party. The process is coming to a close, as Clinton is fewer than 100 delegates away from clinching the nomination, with fewer than a dozen primaries left. Age-wise, Democrats are on the same page about the nomination process' impact on the party. About one in four younger Democrats, who skew toward Sanders, and older Democrats, who lean toward Clinton, say the process is damaging the party, while majorities of each age group say the campaign isn't harming it. Perceptions of the Campaign for the Democratic Nomination's Impact on the Party, by Age Group Do you think the continuing campaign for the Democratic nomination is hurting the party or not hurting the party? Hurting the party % Not hurting the party % 18 to 29 25 71 30 to 49 25 70 50 to 64 25 68 65+ 23 73 Gallup, May 13-15, 2016 Bottom Line Though tensions have boiled over recently, the dramatic events are not representative of the feelings of rank-and-file Democrats, who don't share with Republicans the view that a continuing campaign for their party's nomination is damaging the party itself. Republicans' more pessimistic views could stem from a long process that has involved a large group of candidates, name-calling and many heated, televised exchanges. While the Democratic candidates have had impassioned exchanges of their own, the temperament of the contest pales in comparison to that of the GOP. Regardless, the process is almost over, as Clinton nears the required delegate threshold for the Democratic nomination and few contests remain -- though Clinton's total delegate count includes many superdelegates, who can theoretically redirect their support to Sanders. But the larger challenge for the eventual nominee may not be how damaging the process has been, but whether he or she can unify the party in time to defeat presumed Republican nominee Trump. Democrats' current view that the process has been harmless could bode well for the party if, after the convention, supporters of the losing candidate continue to feel this way. Survey Methods Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted May 13-15, 2016, on the Gallup U.S. Daily survey, with a random sample of 699 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is 5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting. Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 60% cellphone respondents and 40% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods. View survey methodology, complete question responses and trends. Learn more about how the Gallup U.S. Daily works. The people have spoken -- working from home is a priority, even post-pandemic. Are you prepared to handle this new will of the workforce? Japan's Pepper The Robot Is Offering An Android SDK For US Programmers, iOS SDK Also Coming Soon Pepper The Robot from Japan will arrive in the United States in 2016. Its maker, SoftBank Robotics recently announced that it is inviting Android developers to boost its functionality. At Google I/O, SoftBank Robotics stated that it will set up an outpost in San Francisco, focusing on Pepper the Robot and will also feature an Android software development kit (SDK) to encourage programmers to develop code for the robot. The new offices will be located near Silicon Valley to stay close to tech companies that may help in its development. According to Engadget, Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank Robotics, initially preferred to keep Pepper the Robots whole platform closed. However, the company has been spending a lot to develop Pepper the Robot and developers have not been too keen in exploring the humanoids capabilities further. Humanoid robotics are very new. Our goal is to demystify things as much as we can so we get a broader group to come on board and help program Pepper, said Steve Carlin, vice president of SoftBank Robotics Americas Pepper the Robot was developed by SoftBank Robotics, in collaboration with French firm Aldebaran Robotics. It is made of white hard-plastic with humanoid characteristics like eyes, arms and a chest, which has a display screen. Pepper the Robot can reportedly interpret human emotions by processing both vocal and visual inputs using its several cameras and microphones. It is meant to mimic the way that humans interact with each other. Pepper the Robot has already been commercially launched, with 140 SoftBank mobile stores having at least one model greeting and dealing with customers. USA Today revealed that Carlin also said that Pepper the Robot is ultimately an unfinished product, so they wanted to provide incentives to developers to provide more ways that people can engage with the humanoid creation.The company stated that the purpose of Pepper the Robot is to be much more than a mere machine, but to be a real humanoid companion that can communicate with people naturally and intuitively. He continued that currently, Android is the pervasive language, and he would not rule out anything, including the launch of an SDK for iOS developers. According to Carlin, Pepper the Robot will most likely delve into retail and hospitality when it reaches the U.S. Later on, Pepper the Robot may move into healthcare and other areas. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that they are at a seminal moment for AI at present, where artificially intelligent machines can interact with users by anticipating visual and vocal cues. More updates and details on Pepper the Robot are expected soon. Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia was among the right people enshrined on the memorial wall on Saturday, Oct. 21. Most people will do whatever it takes to avoid getting into a dentist chair, but Elizabeth Diehl couldnt wait. I havent been to the dentist in six years, Diehl said. And its not because I didnt want it. I cant afford it. Diehl, her husband, Gary, and 10-month-old daughter Laelani had been homeless for months before moving into Community Outreach Inc. in April. The family, who originally hail from Montana, said they were shocked to see more than 30 vendors offering free services all under one roof Thursday afternoon at the seventh annual Benton County Project Resource Connect at the First United Methodist Church. The event is designed to be a one-stop spot for free medical treatment, food, clothing and information from local service organizations for low-income and homeless residents. Most places, when youre down, they kick you in the face, Gary Diehl said. But here, they actually offer you a hand up. Thats really rare to see people actually helping each other instead of tearing them down more. From the dental work provided by Capital Dental and eye exams from Melissa Frost Eye Care to the clothing, food, and a bike, the Diehl family estimated they received several thousand dollars worth of services Thursday. This makes a huge difference, Gary Diehl said. It goes from being a completely impossible fantasy to a reality. Its right here in front of us. Its amazing. Even with a baby, wherever we went in Montana we turned away, Elizabeth Diehl said. Here, they said no matter what, youre not sleeping outside tonight. Well do whatever it takes. Coordinator Jessica Taylor, of Community Outreach, said the number of vendors participating in this years event likely was a record. Seeing this many vendors tells me this community really wants to work together to help, Taylor said. Everyone is still really excited to do this. We had representatives from organizations meeting once a week for months to make sure this happened. Chris Hawkins, family outreach and crisis response representative at the Corvallis School District, said Thursday marked the first time the district joined Project Resource Connect. Hawkins said the district has 249 students listed as homeless, but with a third of all the district's students on the free or reduced price program, its likely there are more unlisted. Its pretty shocking how many homeless students we have, Hawkins said. They really are invisible. And so many families dont know there are ways to support them. Chris Gray, a harm reduction specialist for Benton County Mental Health, said hes helped provide HIV and hepatitis C testing at Project Resource Connect for several years, and that Thursdays turnout might have been a record. Sometimes we forget those people in need around us and they become invisible, Gray said. But its obvious many are struggling and need our help. Gray said he often hears that by providing so many services, he might be helping to attract homeless and low-income individuals to Benton County. What I say to that, is these people are Americans; theyre not immigrants, Gray said. They are veterans. They are mothers and fathers. They are families. And they are struggling. It is our duty as a community and as a country to address poverty and mental health and addiction. And if Benton County stopped providing the services? People would still be struggling, probably more. Just because you dont see homelessness every day, doesnt mean theyre not there anymore. Its all around us, Gray said. I live in this community and I want to invest in its health and well-being. Its not going to get better by ignoring the people who are suffering. Other organizations offering services Thursday included ACME Counseling, LOVE Inc., Jackson Street Youth Shelter, the Corvallis Daytime Drop-In Center, CARDVA, the Community Services Consortium in Albany, Heartland Humane Society, Corvallis Bike Collective, Oxford House, Faith Works, Selfie Salon, Deep Roots Therapeutic Massage and Goodwill Job Connection. Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021. 10 Motorola smartphones that are available under great exchange offers on Flipkart Features oi -Harish The Moto G4 and G4 Pus got official a couple of days back, after much hype and excitement around these smartphones. Both the smartphones pack in an interesting set of specifications, and are priced to meet the budget conscious consumers. SEE ALSO: Top 12 Best Motorola smartphones to buy in India in May 2016 If you are planning to upgrade to a new smartphone, Moto smartphones make for good purchase. The company has several handsets, placed across price segment, in its portfolio of products for India. All these smartphones bring good specifications, standard to their segment. However, what is the point of buying a smartphone until you buy it under a scheme or discount. SEE ALSO: Top 10 Most Trending Smartphones of Last Week [May 2-8, 2016] Today we bring to you a list of awesome exchange offers that you can avail on Motorola smartphones. Under these offers, you can exchange your old smartphone against a new Moto smartphone. With such offers, you can not only make the best use of your old smartphone, but also save money on your new purchase. Take a look at our pick of 10 Motorola smartphones that are available under exchange offer on shopping portal Flipkart. Motorola Moto G Turbo Edition Click Here To Exchange Your Old Smartphone Key Features 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection 1.5GHz Octa-Core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor with Adreno 405 GPU 2GB RAM 16GB internal memory expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD Dual SIM Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop) 13MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash 5MP front-facing camera IP67 rating for dust and water resistance 4G LTE / 3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS 2,470 mAh battery with Turbo Charging Motorola Moto X Play (With Turbo Charger) Click Here To Exchange Your Old Smartphone Key Features 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop) Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 ( 4 x 1.1 GHz Cortex A53 + 4 x 1.7 GHz Cortex A53) 64-bit processor with Adreno 405 GPU 2GB RAM 16GB /32GB internal memory expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD 21MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash 5MP 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802.11a/g/b/n/ac (dual band) Bluetooth 4.0 LE, GPS, GLONASS, NFC 3900 mAh battery Moto X (2nd Generation) (Black, 16 GB) Click Here To Exchange Your Old Smartphone Key Features 5.2 Inch, 1080x1920 px display, AMOLED Android OS, v4.4.4 (KitKat), upgradable to v6.0 (Marshmallow) Quad core 2500 MHz processor 13 MP Primary Camera, 2 MP Secondary 3G, WiFi 16 GB Internal Memory 2 GB RAM 2300 mAh, Li-Ion battery Motorola Moto X Play (With Turbo Charger) Click Here To Buy Key Features 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop) Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 ( 4 x 1.1 GHz Cortex A53 + 4 x 1.7 GHz Cortex A53) 64-bit processor with Adreno 405 GPU 2GB RAM 16GB /32GB internal memory expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD 21MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash 5MP front-facing camera 4G LTE / 3G, WiFi Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS 3630mAh battery Moto X Force (Grey, 64 GB) Click Here To Buy Key Features 5.4-inch (14402560 pixels) Quad HD 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GPS 2,470 mAh battery with Turbo Charging Best Mobiles in India Nokia says will re-enter mobile, tablet markets News oi -GizBot Bureau Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia said today it plans a global comeback into its former goldmine of handsets and tablets, by licensing its brand to a newly-created Finnish company. Nokia "will grant HMD Global Ltd the exclusive global licence to create Nokia-branded mobile phones and tablets for the next 10 years," the world's former number one handsets company said in a statement. 10 Motorola smartphones that are available under great exchange offers on Flipkart. As part of the process, HMD Global and its Taiwanese partner, FIH Mobile of FoxConn Technology Group, will take over Microsoft's feature phone business for USD 350 million ,which it had bought from Nokia in 2014, the US company said in a separate statement. Nokia was the world's top mobile phone maker between 1998 and 2011 but was overtaken by South Korean rival Samsung after failing to respond to the rapid rise of smartphones. In 2011, it chose to bet on the Windows mobile platform, which proved to be a failure. The new product portfolio will be based on Android. The Finnish company sold its handset unit to Microsoft in 2014 for some USD 7.2 billion which dropped using the Nokia name on its Lumia smartphones. Xiaomi Mi Box is here: 6 Key Features Of the Android TV-powered set-top box The conditional deal between Microsoft and Nokia's new brandlicensing partners is expected to close in the second half of 2016. Nokia said the new Finnish company, HMD Global, is a private venture in which Nokia will not hold equity. Source PTI Best Mobiles in India GizBot Nonstop 20: Top Tech News, May 20th, 2016 News oi -Vigneshwar Recently, the search engine giant, Google has hosted Google I/O conference in San Francisco, California. In this year Google has display lots of ideas and its vision with technology. Some of the announcement includes -- Google Daydream, Allo and Duo messaging app, Google Home, Android N, Android wear 2.0 and more. SEE ALSO: Intex Aqua Secure with Fingerprint Sensor Priced at Rs 6,499: What's Good About It? Also on the other side, Apple CEO Tim Cook visited India and leased about 50,000 sq ft of office space in Yelahanka, north Bengaluru, for its design and development accelerator to support engineering talent and grow the country's iOS developer community. Want to know more about tech? Don't worry, today we have compiled list of top 20 hot news that you should not miss. Do have a look at the below video! Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications The University of Glasgow is ranked as the top university in the prestigious BBSRC Excellence with Impact competition The University of Glasgow has been ranked the top university and overall runner-up in the prestigious national BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) Excellence with Impact competition. The award was given to the Universitys College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences (MVLS) at the BBSRCs Fostering Innovation event in London recognising bioscience impact and innovation in the UK. The Excellence with Impact competition, which was launched in 2012, measured institutions success in developing and successfully delivering a vision for maximising impact from research, including institution-wide culture change. Over 30 institutions took part in the competition and Glasgows award is testament to the culture of engagement with stakeholders and innovation that has become part of College life over the last few years. Professor Anna Dominiczak, Vice-Principal and Head of College of MVLS, said: "I am delighted that the College has been deservedly recognised as highest ranking University in the BBSRC Excellence with Impact Competition. "We have in excess of 2000 staff and 5000 students and participating as a college has been truly transformational. At some point, it stopped being a competition and started being a way of life. It's been a pleasure to watch colleagues from early career researchers to more senior colleagues who have taken an enormous interest and changed the way they approach impact. The competition has helped us influence staff and students and I have witnessed participation across the College that has made impact part of everyday discussion. What has happened has been beyond my expectations." Professor Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University, added: "I would like to congratulate the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences on being the highest ranking University in the BBSRC Excellence with Impact Competition. The accolade of runner up is hugely deserved and is a great example of the way in which impact can be used and profiled." Dr Carol Clugston, MVLS Chief Operating Officer and Excellence with Impact Lead, said: "This has been an ambitious three-year journey with the aim of changing our culture, and this national recognition by the BBSRC reflects the combined efforts of the Colleges academic and professional support communities, including our early career researchers and research students, and the huge support and engagement from the wider University, our industry partners, overseas collaborators, Glasgow City of Science and the Glasgow Science Centre." In addition, Professor Graeme Milligan, Dean of Research, and Douglas Morrison, Senior Lecturer at SUERC (Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre) were also up for the award of Innovator of the Year. On the University of Glasgow's award a spokesperson from BBSRC said: "This award recognises the outstanding work done at the University of Glasgow by yourself, your team, your colleagues and partners in delivering a compelling vision for institution-wide maximisation of impact. In particular, the Panel commented that the University of Glasgow demonstrated compelling evidence of impressive and sustainable culture change at all levels in the University." Speaking about the competition as a whole, Professor Milligan said: "We were delighted and honoured to be recognised by the BBSRC as the university which has most dramatically enhanced understanding of and approaches to the impact agenda, a key component in delivering clear evidence of the importance to the UK in providing and maintaining strong funding for underpinning research. Professor Melanie Welham, BBSRC Chief Executive, said, "Every single one of the participants in both competitions deserve our praise and thanks for having the vision and drive to take research from the lab and make a tangible impact in the world. As a result of the competition, the culture change and momentum achieved by MVLS will continue to drive college and university ambitions around knowledge exchange and impact in the years to come. enquiries: ali.howard@glasgow.ac.uk or elizabeth.mcmeekin@glasgow.ac.uk / 0141 330 6557 or 0141 330 4831 'Feels Like Home Season 2' offers something real and tangible to think about; takes home a pertinent point - if your intentions are good, there is nothing in life that isn't achievable. Dunford: U.S. Troops in Iraq Reinforce Success, Bolster Iraqi Actions By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT, May 19, 2016 People who say U.S. troop increases in Iraq are a "band-aid approach" or an incremental effort are missing the point, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today. The U.S. troops going to Iraq are going in the correct numbers and at the right time to best serve the mission, Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford said, speaking with reporters who traveled with him to yesterday's NATO Military Committee meeting. Dunford has said since taking office in October that he would continue to look for ways to accelerate success and bolster Iraqi actions to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. American troops or capabilities would be used to reinforce Iraqi success, he said, "and we were looking for places to put in capabilities to accelerate Iraqi progress." "The Iraqis are making more progress, [and] we need more in capability to accelerate the progress they are now making," the chairman added. Air Support An example, he said, is air support. In November and December, the number of sorties in Iraq was low, he noted. "When did we provide more air support?" Dunford asked. "When the Iraqis conducted more operations." Operations to take Ramadi meant more airstrikes, and that has continued as the Iraqis moved up the valley into Hit, he explained. Dunford and Defense Secretary Ash Carter regularly speak to President Barack Obama about the situation in Iraq and ways they can accelerate success, the general said. "We are going to continue to do that," he added. "President Obama has not said no to any request [for Iraq] we have made to him." How the Iraqis generate and deploy forces is very much up to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and that also plays into the U.S. footprint in Iraq, the general said. ISIL Terror Attacks ISIL has launched a number of terror attacks into Baghdad over the past days, killing and wounding hundreds of innocent Iraqis. ISIL controls the city of Fallujah, about 40 miles from Baghdad. Iraqi forces need to contain ISIL in Fallujah, while at the same time conducting operations up the Euphrates River Valley and conducting shaping operations against Mosul, the largest city still under ISIL control, the chairman told reporters. "The assessment of the guys on the ground is that the Iraqis can do both: isolate Fallujah and set the stage for operations against Islamic State in Mosul," Dunford said. Iraq has more trained units now, he said, and as more receive training, they will receive American advisors to help them as they conduct operations. "The reason why we are increasing our footprint in Iraq is because we are going toward Mosul," Dunford said. "We had a footprint that was sized for operations in Anbar province." Now, some 217 more American service members are deploying to Iraq. "We don't want them there too late, and we don't want them there too early," the chairman said. "We want to get them there when it makes to most sense." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Work Hails U.S-Norway Ties, Expresses Concern About 'Revanchist' Russia By Lisa Ferdinando DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, May 19, 2016 The global security landscape is changing, with a "revanchist" and "resurgent" Russia posing a major concern, Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work said here today. Work spoke at the Norwegian-American Defense Conference at the National Press Club, where he hailed Norway's commitment to global peace and security. The bonds between the United States and Norway are "unbreakable," Work said, and he thanked Norwegian counterpart, State Secretary for Defense ystein B, for the invitation. In addition to Russia, Work outlined concerns about Chinese actions in the South China Sea, North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons, Iranian "malign influence" throughout the Gulf region, terrorism and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. 360-Degree Challenges for Europe Europe and, by extension, NATO, faces challenges from 360 degrees, the deputy secretary said. To the east, west and north, it faces a "resurgent and apparently antagonistic Russia," while from the south and from within, terrorism and violent extremism are concerns. Migration along Europe's southern flank is a daunting challenge caused by terrorism and violent extremism, he said. "We feel that we are at a strategic inflection point in the strategic landscape," Work told the forum. "The next 25 years in the international security environment is going to be much, much different than the last 25." 'Steadfast Partner' in Norway Norway is a "steadfast partner" to the United States, Work said, noting it stood with the U.S. after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Norwegian troops served with U.S. forces in Afghanistan, he said, and the Nordic nation is part of the coalition against ISIL. He applauded Norway's recent decision to send 60 additional personnel to augment the 120 who are already in the fight, and to send a medical team to northern Iraq. That medical team will be especially important, Work said, as forces push toward Mosul. The 60 additional personnel are predominantly special operations forces who are going to help train vetted Syrian Arab Sunni fighters, Work said. The secretary highlighted the strong ties between the nations. He noted he visited Norway last year, and President Barack Obama hosted Nordic leaders last week at a summit in Washington. The Marine Corps also has a pre-positioning program in Norway, he pointed out. 'Revanchist' Russia Seeking Path of Aggression A "revanchist and a resurgent Russia" is "pursuing a path of confrontation, aggression and coercion," Work said. In 2012, the United States thought it was on a "path to partnership" with Russia, and reduced its last two heavy brigades from Europe, he said. The U.S. "believed and wanted to have a productive partnership with Russia into the future," Work added. However, Russia in March 2014 illegally annexed Crimea and started to destabilize eastern Ukraine, he said. Russia has engaged in "nuclear saber rattling," Work said, adding that it has made threats against NATO allies, most recently Romania and Poland for hosting ballistic missile defense sites. By 2017, the United States will have a full military division back in Europe, Work said. The United States, he said, is "exercising muscles" it hasn't used since the Cold War. He said the United States felt it was important to be a deterrent and reassure its European allies it would be there to respond to Russia if needed. "Even as we pursue the defeat of ISIL, and other violent extremist groups, we must also vigorously respond to the challenge in the east Russia," he said. He pointed out "reckless" behaviors from Russia, including "unsafe and unprofessional maneuvers" by Russian military aircraft and naval vessels. Maintaining Technological Advantage Budget pressures have led to a decline in research and development, he said, noting that the center of innovation has shifted to the commercial sector, and competitors have access to these technologies. The United States needs to stay ahead and must seek to keep pace with the evolving, dynamic commercial sector, he said. He outlined DoD's "third offset strategy" that highlights the important role of innovation and advanced technology. Artificial intelligence and autonomy are going to be central to operations, he said. "Right now, we see artificial intelligence and autonomy affecting all of our lives -- and the lives of all of our citizens," he said. Just as the rifle, telegraph and railroad changed the way wars were fought and changed the character of war, so will artificial intelligence and autonomy, he added. For more photos of Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work at the Norwegian-American Defense Conference, visit DepSecDef Flickr. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Department of Defense Press Operations News Transcript Presenter: Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook May 19, 2016 Department of Defense Press Briefing by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook in the Pentagon Briefing Room PETER COOK: Good afternoon, everybody. I've got a few things off the top here before I turn to your questions. First of all, our thoughts and prayers here at the Department of Defense are with the people of France and Egypt and the families of all those affected by the situation with Egypt Air Flight 804. The U.S. military has reached out to counterparts in Greece and Egypt to offer our support. The U.S. Sixth Fleet, working with the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Greece and the U.S. defense attache in Athens has provided a U.S. Navy P-3 Orion aircraft in support of search operations. That aircraft launched on its search mission earlier today and is still on-station helping with the search at this time. The department stands by to provide any other assistance that is requested. And at this point, the investigation is, of course, just beginning. If we have any information that could potentially be helpful, we will be, of course, happy to provide it in the future. Turning now to a different topic, the budget. The secretary continues to have deep concerns regarding proposals included in the National Defense Authorization Act which passed the House yesterday. This legislation includes a budget gimmick that would underfund the Department of Defense's overseas warfighting accounts by $18 billion and spend that money on programmatic items that are not our highest priorities for national defense. As the secretary expressed at the Navy League Sea, Air, Space Forum on Tuesday, this approach is deeply troubling for several reason. First, it's gambling with warfighting money at a time of war, proposing to cut off funding for ongoing operations in the middle of the fiscal year. Second, it's a step in the direction of unraveling the bipartisan budget agreement agreed to just seven months ago, which has provided critical stability the Department of Defense needs. And third, this provision threatens our readiness to respond to the challenges of a complex world. Buying force structure today without the resources to sustain it tomorrow is not a path to increased readiness. It's a path to a hollow force and exacerbates the readiness challenges we currently have. The secretary remains ready to work with Congress and looks forward to working with Congress on a path forward, but he has indicated he would recommend a veto of this legislation in its current form. And finally, I would like to highlight some continued progress in the counter-ISIL fight. As Colonel Warren mentioned yesterday, Iraqi forces have entered the town -- the strategic town of Rutbah. And in the last day, those forces have continued to expand government control and now have cleared 80 percent of the town. Rutbah, as you know, carried outside -- outsized significance because of its position on the main land route between Jordan and central Iraq. Before ISIL seized this town, more than $1 billion in trade passed through Rutbah each year and the eventual reopening of that route will have important benefits for the economy both in Iraq and in the region. And in addition, this operation recaptures the final ISIL stronghold in southern Iraq south of the Euphrates. Again, the strategic significant of Rutbah is -- is significant. And with that, I'd be happy to take your questions. Courtney? Q: Can you talk a little bit more about EgyptAir? What -- what efforts the U.S. military is making to identify any -- any cause? Are you looking at any kind of -- (inaudible) -- imagery or infrared imagery or anything to determine whether you see a flash? If so, have you seen that? Now that it's hours old, presumably the U.S. should be able to have analyzed something at this point. MR. COOK: It's -- it's still early, Courtney. As I said, we'd be happy to provide any information we can that might be helpful. But at this point, I think as Josh Earnest has said, there's nothing we can rule in, nothing we can rule out. If there's information we can provide in the future, we're happy to provide it. But this is still early in the investigation. The Egyptians and the French are taking the lead on this, and we'll be as supportive as we can be. But we have really nothing really at this point that leads us to any conclusions. Q: Were you aware of any specific recent indications that ISIS was trying to target airliners? Anything more specific than what we've seen in the past? MR. COOK: Yeah, I'm not aware of any specific threat here. But again, I'd refer you to my colleagues at the Department of Homeland Security specifically on that question. But we're just trying to do what we can to help with our resources in terms of the search effort with the P-3. That's our most immediate concern here at the Department of Defense. Q: Hi, Peter. What sort of warship presence does the U.S. have in the Mediterranean at the time? And given the importance of the various missions that the U.S. is partnering with, do we have any sort of ISR assets or radar that is being looked at right now to see if there's an image of what happened to this airplane? MR. COOK: Yeah. As you know, we have a variety of assets and personnel in the region. And we have a host of capabilities. And we will be reviewing everything possible that could be helpful in the course of this investigation. In terms of the immediate presence there, we did not have any ships immediately in the area, but we do have a presence in the region. And the most immediate thing we could do to be helpful in support of the search was the deployment of this -- of this aircraft. And that aircraft is still right now conducting search operations. Q: Just a quick follow-up, are there plans to send any U.S. ship to the area to help with recovery? MR. COOK: I'm not aware at this point. Again, we've offered assistance. Any further support that we can provide, but at this point, it's just the aircraft that's -- that's involved. Q: EgyptAir has said that they've found some wreckage. I was wondering if the P-3 was a part of that. Have you got any initial reports from the P-3 that they've seen anything? MR. COOK: I do not have any initial reports that the P-3 specifically has found any wreckage. I don't know that they haven't. I just know that this was a mission that was going to be able to -- they were going to be able to be up there for about six hours. They've been on-station for a while at this point. Again, three p.m. local time they took off. And that's local time in Italy. This aircraft originated from Sigonella. And so they're continuing their work, but I can't tell you if they've played a role in identifying anything so far. Q: When that P-3 is off-station, will there be another aircraft to be able to replace it? MR. COOK: Again, we have significant resources in the region. And we're going to everything we can to support this effort. I'm not aware of a replacement that's teed up ready to go, but if it looks like that's something that's important, I'm sure that we'll make arrangements. But we have other resources in the region, so it may not be a direct swap like that. Q: Do you know if the secretary has had any phone calls with his Egyptian counterpart or if he is planning to do so? MR. COOK: I know the secretary certainly has been informed of what's been going on and our contributions to the search effort. I don't have any particular conversation to read out at this point with any foreign counterparts. Q: No contacts with Egypt? MR. COOK: I -- I -- to be honest, I haven't been with the secretary all day, but I'm not aware of anything. Of course, Joe, if there is a call of some sort, we'll report that out. Yes? Q: China is rejecting the U.S. claims that the planes flew in an unsafe manner. Where is your review right now? And do you all still believe that you guys were flying in a safe -- MR. COOK: That our folks were flying in a safe manner? We believe our folks were flying in a safe manner for sure. Q: That they were flying in an unsafemanner. You still -- (CROSSTALK) MR. COOK: Yes, this incident is still under review. But certainly our air crew felt that this was not conducted in the safest and most professional way. And so we'll continue to review all the facts in this case. And this is an area where we have not had really a significant number of issues like this since some of the confidence-building measures over the last -- last few months. And so, obviously this is a concern that something like this would happen. We'll go through the review process and determine what, if any, appropriate action is needed. Q: Can you walk us through the facts of what's known about what happened in this intercept? MR. COOK: We're still going through the review. But again, our aircraft was flying in international airspace. And again, I can't walk you through every single detail, but there were two Chinese aircraft that approached and our air crew felt that the approach was not conducted in the safest -- a safe and professional manner. And so that's the concern that we have and that's what's being reviewed at this time. Q: It seems like it's happening -- (inaudible). So doesn't that give credence to China's claims that the U.S. is trying to, you know, violate their airspace or, you know, violate their sovereignty or something like that? MR. COOK: My understanding is this happened in international airspace over the South China Sea. And we have continued to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows. And -- and we feel confident that our crew was conducting this, again, in international airspace as allowed under international law. Q: A quick question about Okinawa. An American citizen, U.S. defense contractor, is a suspect in the murder of a local Japanese woman. Any comment? MR. COOK: Yeah, give me one second here. This is -- a very tragic situation in Japan, and we are shocked and dismayed to learn about this incident in Okinawa. And I want to assure you that the secretary of the Department of Defense, determined to provide complete cooperation to the government of Japan and local authorities in Okinawa regarding this investigation. This is an appalling tragedy. Secretary Carter joins Ambassador Kennedy in expressing his sincere condolences and sympathies to the victim's family and friends. And we also extend our deepest sympathies to the people of Japan, and express our gratitude for the trust that they place in our bilateral alliance and the American people. And we will also undertake efforts to assist the investigation in any way that we can. Yes, Jamie? Q: There are two questions on -- change the subject. The first one, Congressman Trey Gowdy at the Benghazi Committee has complained that the Pentagon has not been responsive in requests to provide the names of drone pilots that might have been in a position to respond to the Benghazi attack. Do you -- can you comment at all on that, or do you have a response to that? MR. COOK: Well, we continue, Jamie, as you know, to work with all congressional inquiries into this matter. We have been cooperating for some time with this committee on a range -- in a range of ways. This particular request, my understanding it, that we have now provided the names of four drone pilots and four sensor operators who operated on that date or the date in question to the committee. That was actually provided in April. And yesterday, we offered to make four pilots available for interviews with the committee as soon as next week. And we're continuing to work to identify additional pilots and operators, again, requested by the committee. And they're going to provide those names to the committee as well. Q: So, you, I take it, dispute the idea that you haven't been fully responsive to the committee's request? MR. COOK: Again, we've continued to work with this committee, responded for this particular request for these individuals. My understanding is some of these people are not still in the service at this point, and one may even be deceased. So, we continue to work closely in trying to provide the information to the committee that they've requested. And we'll continue to do so. Q: And I'm -- just on a different subject. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates was interviewed this morning, and he made some sharply critical remarks about the way the Pentagon and the administration has characterized the role of U.S. troops, specifically from shying away from describing it as combat. I think he used the phrase, "Semantic backflips were being employed to avoid describing this in a clear way." Could you just respond to that? MR. COOK: I didn't see the former secretary's interview. Certainly, I have great respect for Secretary Gates. So, I'd want to see exactly what it is he said. But I think if -- and Jamie, I think you know, when addressed with questions here, and the secretary as well through the course of his travels recently, we've made very clear what American troops are now engaged in overseas. And in many cases, they are in harm's way. And there have been instances when they've been engaged in combat situations. The secretary has been clear about that. I'd like to think I've been clear about that as well. These folks are in harm's way. We've seen, painfully, through recent experience that evidence itself. And so, we're not engaging in semantic backflips when we're talking about Americans at risk. We do think it's important to characterize and show that American forces right now, in Iraq, for example, and in Afghanistan are providing some -- in support roles to those local forces as they carry out the very important work of trying to secure their own countries. And it is a different role than those forces were in several years ago in both those countries, for example. So there is a distinction there. But to be sure, American forces have found themselves, as we saw most recently with Charles Keating, in combat situations in which they are in harm's way. And so I think we've made that clear. I think the secretary has been quite clear about that as well. Q: But you know, I think what the critics are saying that they're pointing exactly to that kind of phraseology, when you say that the troops are in harm's way or that they're in a combat situation, as opposed to just flatly saying "they're in combat." I think that's the thing that people are focusing in on, where they see that as semantics. Are you willing to say that U.S. troops are in combat in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan? MR. COOK: They have been in certain situations, absolutely. They have found themselves under fire. That is combat. Again, we're not -- I don't think we're disagreeing with you, Jamie, but it is fair, as well, to say that the role of U.S. forces in places like Iraq and Afghanistan is different than previously when they were in the lead in terms of -- of combat operations. They are not in the lead in combat operations now, but they certainly have found themselves in combat. Yes, that's a fair statement. Yes, Lucas? Q: Going to the war against ISIS in Iraq particularly. In December, top officials said that 40 percent of ISIS-held territory had been recaptured from ISIS. And now that number has gone to -- has moved to 45 percent. Is -- MR. COOK: In Iraq. Q: In Iraq. Is Secretary Carter satisfied with the pace of operations? It's only a five percent difference from five months ago. MR. COOK: Lucas, I think the secretary has made clear that he wants to accelerate the defeat of ISIL. And until that happens and their claims to a caliphate are eliminated, that they -- that he won't be satisfied. He'd like this to move faster. And I think he's made that clear from the start. Q: Does he think -- does the secretary think that the recent bombings in Baghdad that have killed over 200 people in the last week will slow down that effort? That efforts to take Mosul and other parts of the caliphate are now -- the timing is going to be pushed to the right? MR. COOK: I don't think the secretary feels that way. Obviously, we're watching the situation in Baghdad closely. Certainly, the violence that's been brought forward by ISIL is just -- once again raises the question, or not the question, but makes the point that the need to defeat ISIL is -- we need to accelerate that to eliminate the kind of threat that it poses in Baghdad and in other parts of Iraq. And by, again, taking the fight to ISIL, perhaps we can reduce the chances for those kinds of attacks going forward. Yes? Q: Going back to the South China Sea. Last year, China and the United States came to an agreement on the rules for air-to-air military encounters. The most recent intercept, how is that not a violation of that agreement? MR. COOK: I don't know that it is or it isn't. We're again reviewing the information from this, as I indicated earlier. Those -- that agreement, as you said, has -- has reduced these instances, which we think is a good thing. We think those confidence building measures have been productive and so we'll review this incident to determine whether or not there needs to be an appropriate response. Q: Have you brought this up with the Chinese yet, specifically how this might go against the agreement? MR. COOK: I think we're reviewing it and we'll, of course, use all the appropriate diplomatic channels to register our concerns as appropriate once we've concluded ourselves what happened here and the circumstances. Q: So, this happened on Tuesday. When do you think the review is going to be completed? MR. COOK: Well, we'll let you know. I don't have an exact deadline for you. But again, there are diplomatic channels for us to pursue in these instances, and we'll do so. Yes, -- (inaudible). Q: Can you tell us what distance of -- (inaudible) -- the American plane was when it was intercepted by the two Chinese aircraft? MR. COOK: I do not know from here. We can try to take that question, if you'd like. Yes, (inaudible)? Q: Two NDAA questions. With the House and Senate NDAA seek reduce the size of the National Security Council staff, does the secretary agree with his three predecessors that that's something that needs to be done? MR. COOK: Listen, I'm not going to get into every detail of the bill at this point. The secretary has expressed his views about one particular component that has direct bearing on us, and that of course is the funding. And so, again, I'm not going to get into every single aspect of the -- of the bill itself, other than particularly on the area of greatest concern for the secretary is the question about funds, going forward. Q: The House NDAA passed yesterday would cut funding both for DIUx and the Strategic Capabilities Office. Those are two of the secretary's biggest priorities. Any thoughts on that? MR. COOK: Again, I'm not going to go into every single detail about the bill right now. He has expressed his reservations about the funding part of it. I will say on two things, those are two priority items for the secretary, and feels they are important. And I'm sure he will look forward to engaging with Congress on why funds for those operations, those particular units are important at this moment in time. Yes, Paul. Q: Peter, going back to Iraq for a second. Can you talk about -- so the defense officials here have talked about how this represents a shift in ISIS' strategy from conventional fight to one of more of going back to their terrorist roots, I think is the phrase that has been used. As the secretary is looking for ways to accelerate this fight, can you talk about how he's planning to shift the U.S. strategy accordingly, away from perhaps preparing for conventional battles and more toward preventing terrorist attacks like this one? MR. COOK: Well, I think this is something that we'll continue to work in conjunction with the Iraqi government in support of their forces, and whether or not adjustments need to be made with regard to protection in Baghdad. This is something that we'll continue to have a conversation with the Iraqis about the threats they face, the threats our forces face in the region as well. Of course, force protection is critically important to us. And -- but in terms of the fight and the campaign plan for defeating ISIL, I don't know if we're going to see significant changes on that front, because again, that's moving forward, seeing progress on the ground, the effort to isolate Mosul, the effort in Syria to isolate Raqqa. That will continue, but of course there will be adjustments regarding the threats within Iraq itself as ISIL does continue to adapt. I think you've heard General MacFarland, General Votel talk about the need for us to adapt to the threats that ISIL poses. And we'll continue to do so. Q: Do these attacks raise any new concerns about the extent to which Shia militia provide security in Baghdad? MR. COOK: I think the -- again, the -- with regard to security in Baghdad itself, these are questions that the Iraqis have to deal with. We'll provide as much support as we can in terms of advice and assistance on adjustments that could be made. But with regard in particular to individual forces, again, the security situation in Baghdad is something that the people of Iraq need to confront, the government of Iraq needs to confront. We'll do everything we can to support them. Q: But in terms of the American presence there, you have no concerns about that? MR. COOK: In terms of the American presence in Baghdad itself? We feel confident that we've taken the appropriate force protection measures to protect our people. Q: And a very last quick question on the Egypt airline. Can you confirm that this is still a search and rescue mission? And hasn't transitioned to a search -- (inaudible)? MR. COOK: I'm going to leave that to the investigators, to the authorities in Egypt and France to characterize it. I've been able to share with you what we're doing at this moment to try and assist. Yes? Q: (inaudible) -- on South Korea. Can you confirm whether the U.S. forces conducted any -- (inaudible) -- tests in South Korea recently? MR. COOK: Yes. I'll take that question. I'm not aware of any Zika virus tests. I think this question came up even last week. I'll take that question to double-check, but I'm not aware of any Zika virus testing that's taken place in South Korea. Yes? Q: Peter, is U.S. -- is DOD perhaps helping the Egyptian government in order to check the list of passengers of the Egyptian plane to see if they find any links with jihadist groups? MR. COOK: Again, just on behalf of the Department of Defense, we're going to provide whatever support we can to this investigation. I'll leave it to Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies that may be in more direct communication with the Egyptians about some of these issues. But I think you've heard even from Josh Earnest already, the U.S. government stands ready to assist in whatever way we can with this investigation. Q: In regards to Mexico, last week Secretary Ashton Carter had mentioned in the change of command ceremony in NORTHCOM that Mexico has become a -- (inaudible) -- exporter of security both in the continent and beyond. What he was referring to? And what Mexico can do with the U.S. in Latin America about -- (inaudible)? MR. COOK: Yeah, I mean I think what the secretary was talking about is Mexico's role -- important role as a regional defense leader; its activities in the Inter-American Defense Board, the Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas; its role as a regional player; its assistance, for example, in responding to humanitarian and other disaster situations in the region and the prominent role it has played in that regard. And I think the secretary was again highlighting those positive contributions and the role that Mexico plays in the region. Q: I was referring to -- (inaudible) -- security also beyond the borders -- (inaudible) -- the continent -- (inaudible) -- maybe to the possible decision of the president to send military forces for peacekeeping operations -- (inaudible)? MR. COOK: Yeah, certainly I think that was undoubtedly another factor in what the secretary and his characterization there. And the secretary views that as a positive sign, a positive role for Mexico potentially to play in peacekeeping operations. And that was a significant decision last year from the president. And one the secretary certainly welcomes. And I know the secretary was pleased to have a chance to speak to, of course, the Mexican officials during that change of command ceremony; a good moment for him to catch up on issues in the region. Yes? Q: Thank you, Peter. I wanted to -- on the arrest in Okinawa, I wanted to clarify just a couple of points. You mentioned an offer to assist with the investigation. Is that an outstanding offer? Or has there been some cooperation or assistance already between military investigators and the local authorities? MR. COOK: Yes, I know that the U.S. officials have been in contact with the Japanese government over this. I don't want to characterize every aspect of it, because I don't know in full. But obviously, we'd like to assist in any way we can. I think the ambassador expressed that, and certainly the secretary feels the same way. Q: Okay. And then about the person who was arrested. Just, do you know if they were a civilian employee at -- (inaudible) -- or are they -- were a contractor? MR. COOK: My understanding is the individual in question is a contractor. It is not a civilian employee. Yes, (inaudible). Q: Peter, just two different questions. One on the incident in the South China Sea. Understanding that it's still under investigation, when you talk about possible responses, ramifications, are you talking -- what's on the table, I guess? Is it -- are you considering possible increased FONOPs in the region, is it increased ISR operations? I mean, it just runs the gamut, or? MR. COOK: Just there are diplomatic channels in which to have the appropriate conversation about these kinds of incidents. We're going to complete our review and determine what's the most appropriate next step. But I'm not going to get into hypotheticals at this point. We've had these -- this has happened in the past, and there are appropriate protocols to follow subsequently to try and again, explain -- or to engage in those diplomatic conversations. Q: And General Nicholson briefed General Dunford and NATO counterparts in Brussels today on his sort of -- from their recommendations for the next steps in Afghanistan. The readout was pretty sparse in terms of what those what those recommendations are finding are working. Can you elaborate a little bit on what the general sort of conveyed to General Dunford and others in Brussels? MR. COOK: Yeah. My understanding is what General Nicholson conveyed at that meeting in Brussels was a situational update on what's happening on the ground in Afghanistan at this moment in time. You spoke not just to U.S. colleagues, but also to other NATO colleagues from other countries who may be involved in the mission in Afghanistan. And it was more an operational update. It was not a set of recommendations for the future; it was, this is what's happening today. Q: And are those recommendations -- (inaudible) -- the -- over to the White House? Is the end of -- for mid-June, I think was sort of tentative timeline for that? MR. COOK: My understanding is General Nicholson is still set to meet that 90 window, if you will, and fully intends to meet that, following the chain of command in terms of reporting his recommendations up through the chain of command. Yes. Q: Getting back to the EgyptAir Flight. My understanding is, as has been explained to me is that the plane went down, was in the -- (inaudible) -- area, that is considered not a -- it's not considered to be many threats to civilian aviation. But given the growing concern about the Mediterranean region as a whole and the migrant crisis and other factors, has there been any discussion at this point at shifting some resources between the U.S., NATO, some of its other allies to get a better view both at -- on the Mediterranean Sea level and also perhaps in airspace in the area? MR. COOK: Well, this is -- obviously, there's a NATO mission there dealing with the migrant issue. And there are NATO assets in the region for -- for that region. There's -- obviously, the U.S. has a presence there, our other NATO allies have a presence. But I'm not aware of anything specific, particularly to an aviation threat that has required the shifting of NATO resources. I'd refer you to NATO for that specifically. But we have a fairly significant presence in the region as you know, and we were able to deploy an aircraft in this particular instance. But there's -- I'm not aware of any discussion of shifting U.S. assets to specifically deal with this kind of situation. Q: I want to follow up on Jamie's question, please. If I understood you correctly, you were saying that there are situations in which U.S. troops in Iraq find themselves in combat. Is that correct? MR. COOK: Yes. Q: When they're not in those combat situations, how does this department see their deployment? How does it define their deployment? Is it -- (inaudible) -- combat deployment no matter whether they're in those combat situations or not? And if not, how is it defined when they're not in those combat situations? MR. COOK: Well, Nancy, I think you've heard us describe in detail the training and advising and assisting mission that we've -- that our troops are engaged in in Iraq; the support we're providing to Iraqi forces. And I think we'll -- that's how we would describe that mission. They are still in harm's way, each and every one of those forces. And they may not find themselves in combat every single day. And -- and -- but there have been instances in which they have. And that's how we would describe it. Q: So you're saying there's a distinction between being in harm's way and in combat, if I'm hearing you correctly. MR. COOK: There's -- Q: I'm just trying to understand the terminology to make sure I'm getting an accurate -- MR. COOK: There are circumstances in which U.S. forces have found themselves in combat, and certainly there are circumstances in which they are not directly in combat, engaged in combat, in which they find themselves in harm's way. That's true every single day in Iraq. And we're pretty clear about that. And we're going to continue to be, that there are situations in which U.S. soldiers are at risk every single day. I think the secretary's been quite clear about that. Q: (inaudible) -- what I'm trying to understand is how you define what situation is harm's way and what situation is combat. That's what I'm having trouble with. MR. COOK: You know, I think we've explained it multiple times about the support role our folks -- our folks are playing; the training that they're providing; the capacity building that we're conducting with Iraqi security forces trying to enable them to secure their country. And in the course of doing that, given the situation with ISIL and the threat they pose, those U.S. forces find themselves in harm's way and there have been instances in which they've found themselves in combat. And they -- every member of the U.S. military there has a right to defend themselves if they find themselves in that situation as well. Q: So what you're saying is there's not -- it's not continually combat, if I'm hearing you correctly. MR. COOK: There are some U.S. forces that right now are not in combat in Iraq. That's right. Q: One more on EgyptAir. Given the previous security concerns about Charles de Gaulle Airport, is DOD considering issuing an advisory to servicemembers in Europe not to travel through that airport? MR. COOK: I'm not aware of any change in our current notifications to service members or civilians, for that matter. Yes, I'll go Bill and then Lucas. Q: The State Department had a release today that designated ISIS branches in Libya, Yemen and Saudi Arabia as terrorist organizations. I was wondering if that had any impact on the way that the U.S. military pursues them or targets -- targets leaders? MR. COOK: Certainly, we support the actions taken by our State and Treasury colleagues. And as you know, targeting the finances of ISIL leaders is one of the -- of ISIL overall has been an important component of our fight against ISIL. And we've had success working with our colleagues in terms of targeting their financial network. And as you've seen from our direct airstrikes on their cash centers, we've been able to have an impact on ISIL's finances. So we think this is a step that, again, could also prove productive in terms of targeting and further damaging their financial network, but there's no specific change for us as a result. Lucas? Q: Back to the China incident. Does the secretary think the unsafe intercept by the Chinese fighter jets was an isolated incident? Or does he think this is following a pattern? MR. COOK: Lucas, as we've talked about in recent months, we've had confidence-building measures in which these kinds of incidents have been rare, and that's been a good thing. So I'm not sure we're prepared to conclude at this point whether this was an isolated incident. But it certainly is not something we've seen a lot of recently, and that's been a good thing. And for all the reasons you would understand, this is about safe and professional conduct in the air and particularly when our aircraft is in international airspace. Q: What was the secretary's first reaction when he heard about the incident? MR. COOK: Lucas, I don't know what his first reaction was. I wasn't there when he learned about it. I'll be happy to ask him, but again, the secretary would have concerns for the safety of our air crews anywhere in the world in which they run into a situation which they deem a counterpart to be conducting themselves in an unsafe manner. It's dangerous. Q: And just one question on the budget. You said earlier that taking the funding out of the House plan to take funding out of the wartime budget is not in our highest priorities. Given the crash of the B-52 in Guam, is there some concern -- does the secretary have some concern that not enough money is going to funding pilots' hours training and getting new aircraft, given that so many of them are, frankly, just can't fly right now -- bombers, fighter jets and what not? MR. COOK: There's significant investment in the budget plan we've submitted in new aircraft; F-35, for example. Several -- there are several categories of aircraft in which there are new investments. There are new investments in this budget reflecting training and readiness for the Air Force, for the Marines, for the Navy. So the secretary believes that this budget represents an opportunity to both invest in the future in terms of innovation, technology, aircraft; also invest in our people and provide them the kind of training, readiness skills that they need to be able to conduct their missions. And that follows a period of time in which, because of the threat of sequester and budget cuts, it's been much harder to do those sorts of things. And to some extent, some of those issues we're facing right now reflect decisions from the past and the budget uncertainty that we've seen from the past few years effectively coming home to roost. And this represents, thanks to the budget agreement, some certainty in terms of our planning, some certainty in our ability to try and address some of these readiness problems from the past in a careful, planned, appropriate way. And to inject new uncertainty into the process now puts that at risk. We have a plan moving forward to improve readiness in terms of these investments, and to put that in jeopardy, the secretary believes is not the right step to take. So, all right. I'll go one more in the back, and then I've got to run. Q: Thank you. I want to -- (inaudible) -- Okinawa issue. MR. COOK: Yes? Q: So how do you think the impact by this case to U.S. presence in Okinawa? MR. COOK: Yes. This is a tragic event. And again, something that we're very concerned about. And this -- this is something we will obviously work closely with the Japanese government to the extent we can. But this is a shocking and dismaying incident, and we certainly have great concerns about it. But at the same time, we look forward to continuing to work with the people of Japan, the government of Japan and continue to move forward. Thanks very much. Appreciate it. http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/777180/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Calls Chinese Jet Intercept 'Dangerous Behavior' by William Ide May 19, 2016 The United States says Chinese jets exhibited "dangerous behavior" when they intercepted a U.S. military plane in international airspace Tuesday over the South China Sea. A State Department spokesman said Thursday that Chinese authorities were "not doing anything to decrease the possibility for miscalculations and perhaps put people in real harm's way." The Pentagon said the two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a U.S. reconnaissance plane that was on a routine patrol. Beijing disputed Washington's version of events, insisting that its jets operated responsibly in monitoring the U.S. plane. "The two Chinese fighter jets tracked and monitored [the U.S. plane] in accordance with the law and regulations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said, adding that the jets "continually kept a safe distance and did not take any dangerous actions." China demanded that Washington immediately cease close surveillance flights along the country's coast, saying they posed a serious threat to Chinese airspace. The incident came as President Barack Obama is preparing to embark on a historic trip to the region, during which he will become the first president to visit Hiroshima, Japan, site of a U.S. atomic bomb attack during World War II. It was the world's first such strike. Obama also will visit former wartime foe Vietnam for the first time. Chinese buildup Concerns have been growing in the region over China's aggressive approach to its territorial claims, especially those in disputed waters in the South China Sea. It has been quickly moving to build up massive artificial islands, complete with airstrips and military facilities. In the coming weeks, a ruling is expected in an international case the Philippines has lodged against Beijing's claim to almost all of the South China Sea. China, which has refused to participate in the court case, is in the midst of a massive public relations campaign to try to build support for its position before the ruling. Beijing argues territorial disputes in the South China Sea should be handled bilaterally by claimants and not through what it regards as international intervention. But based on what Chinese authorities have said in response, this week's air intercept incident appears to be more related to a long-standing dispute over military surveillance flights off China's coast. Beijing has long complained about the surveillance flights and demanded they stop. William Choong, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore, said based on what the Chinese have said, the incident "was kind of near Hainan Island. We are not really exactly sure how near or far it is. Then, it is kind of like the long-standing disagreement [between] the U.S. and China with regards to access of foreign military vessels and aircraft into Chinese maritime areas, and so it's not a South China Sea issue per se." In 2001, a Chinese fighter jet collided with a U.S. patrol plane off the coast of Hainan. The plane's crew of 24 was forced to make an emergency landing on the island. A Chinese pilot was killed during the collision, and the incident prompted a major diplomatic crisis. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address DRC Seeks Arrest of Presidential Challenger by Dan Joseph May 19, 2016 The Democratic Republic of Congo's government has issued an arrest warrant for Moise Katumbi, an opposition leader planning a possible election challenge to President Joseph Kabila. Government spokesman Lambert Mende told VOA French to Africa on Thursday that the arrest warrant was issued after Katumbi was indicted on a charge of hiring mercenaries. Katumbi's lawyer, Jean-Joseph Mukendi Wa Mulumba, said Thursday that he cannot respond to the indictment until he is formally notified. Foreigners arrested Four foreigners, including a former U.S. soldier, were arrested at a Katumbi rally in the city of Lubumbashi two weeks ago. Katumbi who has declared he will run in the next presidential election has denied government accusations that he was planning a coup attempt. He told Congolese prosecutors last week that he did not know an adviser sent to him by an American security company was a former member of the U.S. military. The current whereabouts of Katumbi are unknown. Earlier this week, he was in a Lubumbashi hospital. Not date for new elections Congo's constitution limits presidents to two five-year terms, and Kabila's second term ends in December, but officials have not set a date for new elections. Opposition parties have accused the president of trying to hang on to power by delaying the polls. The parties cried foul last week when Congo's Constitutional Court said the president can stay in office beyond his mandate if the election is postponed. In a phone call with Kabila in March, U.S. President Barack Obama called on the DRC to hold timely and credible elections that respect the country's constitution. Kabila is one of several African presidents who have attempted to skirt term limits in the past couple of years. Attempts by presidents in Burkina Faso and Burundi set off unrest, while Rwandan voters approved extensions for President Paul Kagame. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Monster Under The Kremlin May 19, 2016 by Brian Whitmore At first glance, the massive shoot-out at Moscow's Khovanskoye Cemetery this past weekend seemed pretty retro. What, after all, reminds us more of the 1990s than rival Russian gangs staging a deadly brawl in a turf war over control of the lucrative burial business? What is more reminiscent of the gratuitous violence and lawlessness of the first post-Soviet decade than a shooting gallery amid the tombstones? "The wild Russian '90s, replete with murders, racketeering, and criminal-fueled chaos, are back," the magazine The American Interest opined on its Mafia State Watch blog, adding that Russian leader Vladimir "Putin has long boasted that he alone was able to help Russia get over this tumultuous period, and that he alone could guarantee stability for an unlimited amount of time." But in addition to giving us a blast from the past, the showdown at Moscow's largest cemetery also gave us -- perhaps -- a glimpse of the future. Because Putin never ended the gangsterism of the 1990s, he just nationalized it. And now the Kremlin's grip may be slipping. If Boris Yeltsin's Russia often resembled a mafia masquerading as a country, it was a mafia run by a weak, feeble, and frequently inebriated godfather. This, of course, was a recipe for chaos, as it gave Yeltsin's capos and underbosses a lot of leeway, which they used with impunity. Putin, in contrast, sent a clear and early message to the underworld: the state is the biggest gang in town and all others are subordinate to it. Putin's deal with the criminal underworld was simple: do your gangster stuff, but don't do it in the open; don't embarrass the Kremlin with the noisy public shoot-outs that were the hallmark of the 1990s. And oh, by the way, if the Kremlin needs a favor someday, you had best be ready to oblige. The shoot-out in Khovanskoye Cemetery violated Putin's first commandment to the underworld. It also exposed the soft underbelly of the regime; it revealed the rot that forms the foundation of Putin's Power Vertical. Organized crime groups are colluding with the authorities and with law enforcement at every level. Police are often more concerned with taxing the illegal narcotics trade than fighting it. And even things like cemeteries are bound up in Russia's sprawling political- bureaucratic-criminal web. Russian media quoted law enforcement officials as saying that this weekend's shoot-out -- which involved enforcers from the North Caucasus attacking Central Asian migrants working at the cemetery -- was related to turf wars over who would control burial plots and maintenance work at the cemetery. One of those arrested was a police officer. Also under investigation is the cemetery's director. And one of the main subjects of the investigation is Ritual, a state-run funeral agency. "The language of the banditized '90s no longer describes today's power structures," journalist and political analyst Oleg Kashin wrote in Slon.ru. "The integration between criminals and the authorities is on a whole new level, as are the stakes." And the monster under the Kremlin has been rearing its head with increasing frequency. A warning shot came back in November 2010 in the Krasnodar region with the horrific Kushchevskaya massacre, in which 12 people, including four children, were killed by a gang led by a local mob boss with close ties to local politicians and law enforcement. Then there was the high-profile assassination of the legendary gangster Aslan Usoyan, an old-school "vor v zakone" who was known by the moniker "Ded Khasan," in downtown Moscow in January 2013. And last month in the village of Ivashovka in Samara Oblast, there was the slaying of Andrei Gosht, a former senior police officer, and five of his relatives -- a case Russian media reports suggested was tied to organized crime. When the economic pie was expanding, it was easy for the Kremlin to manipulate the criminal underworld and keep it tame and well fed. But those days are over. The pie is shrinking and only the best connected crime groups are thriving -- and the rest are getting restless, and more willing to break the rules. The shoot-out at the Khovanskoye Cemetery might just be a harbinger. "It's neither the opposition nor the bureaucracy, but those who are willing to die to achieve their specific goals who are showing us what a potential civil war in Russia could look like," Kashin wrote in his column in Slon.ru. Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/the-monster-under-the-kremlin/27744522.html Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address RENO, Nev., May 19, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) today announced that one of its subsidiaries has signed a $36 million Supply, Engineering, Procurement and Construction, (EPC) contracts, with Eastland Group for the Te Ahi O Maui geothermal project located near Kawerau, New Zealand. The construction of the project is expected to be completed in 2018. Under the Supply & EPC contracts, Ormat will provide its air-cooled Ormat Energy Converter for the Te Ahi O Maui geothermal project. This project is a partnership between Eastland Generation and the Kawerau A8D Ahu Whenua Trust, who are the owners of the land on which the project will be constructed. Eastland Generation owns the geothermal power plant GDL, which was built by Ormat in 2008. Isaac Angel, CEO of Ormat Technologies said, New Zealand is an early pioneer in geothermal energy, and for the past forty years it has been the country with the most consistent policy support for geothermal energy. Ormat has been very active in New Zealand since the late 80s, and we have installed our technology in 14 geothermal power plants covering over 350 MW. We are very pleased to partner with the Eastland Group, we look forward to share our technology, accumulated knowledge, and experience with our customer and to add to its portfolio another cost-effective and reliable power plant. About Ormat Technologies With over five decades of experience, Ormat Technologies, Inc. is a leading geothermal company and the only vertically integrated company engaged in geothermal and recovered energy generation (REG), with the objective of becoming a leading global provider of renewable energy. The company owns, operates, designs, manufactures and sells geothermal and REG power plants primarily based on the Ormat Energy Converter - a power generation unit that converts low-, medium- and high-temperature heat into electricity. With 72 U.S. patents, Ormats power solutions have been refined and perfected under the most grueling environmental conditions. Ormat has 450 employees in the United States and over 600 overseas. Ormats flexible, modular solutions for geothermal power and REG are ideal for the vast range of resource characteristics. The company has engineered, manufactured and constructed power plants, which it currently owns or has installed to utilities and developers worldwide, totaling over 2,000 MW of gross capacity. Ormats current 697 MW generating portfolio is spread globally in the U.S., Guatemala and Kenya. Ormats Safe Harbor Statement Information provided in this press release may contain statements relating to current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about future events that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally relate to Ormat's plans, objectives and expectations for future operations and are based upon its management's current estimates and projections of future results or trends. Actual future results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" as described in Ormat Technologies, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 26, 2016. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Advance Auto Parts Inc. on Thursday reported a drop in sales for the first quarter and announced that its chief financial officer is leaving the company as it heads in a new direction with new leadership. The news came a day after the Roanoke-based company named a new chairman of the board of directors: the CEO of Starboard Value, a hedge fund known as an activist investor that in September acquired a 3.7 percent stake in Advance. The company on Thursday reported that total sales for the first quarter, which ended April 23, decreased 1.9 percent to $2.98 billion, compared $3.04 billion a year earlier. The company said the decline was driven by a comparable store sales decrease of 1.9 percent, primarily due to availability and service shortfalls. Our first quarter results did not meet our expectations," said Advance CEO Tom Greco, who came to the company in April from Frito-Lay North America. "We are moving forward with urgency to drive improved performance. Our customers are our top priority and we are elevating our intensity to get the right parts to the right place at the right time as we empower our team members to serve the customer better than anyone else." Analyst Don Bilson of Gordon Haskett Research Advisors said the numbers shouldnt reflect badly on Starboard or the new CEO. They just had a quarter here where they werent really under a permanent CEO, he said. So you cant kill the company for what came out. He called this the kitchen sink quarter since so much happened, including Grecos arrival. Advance reported adjusted operating income of $315 million for the first quarter, an increase of 2.2 percent versus the first quarter of fiscal 2015. Adjusted earnings per diluted share were $2.51, excluding 11 cents of amortization of acquired intangible assets and integration and restructuring costs of 26 cents, associated with the acquisition of General Parts International Inc. Advance acquired GPI, a former competitor based in Raleigh, North Carolina, in January 2014. Advance has said the integration of GPI and its brands, including Worldpac and Carquest, has been challenging at times. As of April 23, Advance operated 5,086 stores and 125 Worldpac branches and served approximately 1,300 independently owned Carquest stores. The company said it has about 73,000 employees, with about 1,300 of those working in the Roanoke region. The Advance store support center at Crossroads Mall employs 800 people and has an additional 200 contract workers. Although Advances corporate headquarters is in Roanoke, many of its key executives now work in Raleigh. Advance also said Wednesday that CFO Mike Norona will leave the company, although he will remain in his current role until a successor has been named. The company has begun a search for a new CFO. Bilson said Noronas departure is likely a result of the other leadership changes in the company. I wouldnt read it as [there is] anything wrong with the books or there is anything wrong with this, he said, adding that Greco likely wanted someone of his own choosing as CFO. On Wednesday, Advance also announced a new chairman of the board of directors: Jeffrey Smith, CEO of Starboard. Just days before Smith joined the board in November, then-CEO Darren Jackson announced he would retire in January. Bilson said at the time that Starboard likely played a role in Jackson's decision to leave. The hedge fund had said Advance "underperformed" its peers O'Reilly Auto Parts and AutoZone. In a statement this week, Smith mentioned the change in CEOs. Since joining the board in November, Advance has taken important steps to generate shareholder value, including implementing a more field-centric organization and appointing a new chief executive officer," he said. "I look forward to continuing to work with the board and management team to help realize the exceptional future potential for the company." Smith replaces John Brouillard, who will continue as a director. Bilson said the board and CEO are now probably firmly in place for a while. Greco was selected from a high-profile company to turn things around. This quarter was a total restart to the company, Bilson said, and the five-year plan coming out in the fall will be more telling of Advances future. Danville Community College recently recognized milestone years of service for 21 employees, as well as naming Outstanding Faculty and Outstanding Staff awards. President Bruce Scism presented the 2016 Outstanding Classified Staff award to Ronald Fitzgerald, who works as a technician in the facilities department. His award nomination, signed by 13 co-workers, states, He is dependable and dedicated to his work and to DCC. Ronald does an exceptional job helping to maintain the grounds. He will also go the extra mile doing things around the shop, delivering supplies, collecting shredding materials and whatever else needs to be done without complaining. He loves to make people laugh and he enjoys helping others. Fitzgerald has worked at DCC since 1974. Professor of marketing and business management David Bonebright was recognized as the 2016 DCC Outstanding Faculty Member. His nomination states, Dave can always be counted on to contribute more than his fair share on any projects or endeavors. He can be found on campus early in the morning and late in the evening assisting students, working on committee tasks, preparing new and innovative course material, and teaching classes. The nomination letter also noted that Bonebright frequently brings management and marketing guest speakers into the classroom and arranges field trips for his students to experience real-world business processes. In addition to his busy teaching schedule, he contributes efforts and expertise to events at the Barkhouser Free Enterprise Center, co-advises the DCC chapter of Alpha Beta Gamma, and played a key role in the campus awareness campaign of DCCs Quality Enhancement Plan. Recognized for their years of service to the commonwealth of Virginia were: 45 years: Nancy Reynolds 35 years: Mark Bryant, Howard A. Graves and Sheila Wright 30 years: Lisa Johnson-Knight 20 years: Tom Canupp andWilliam Dey 15 years: Steven Carrigan and Sherry Gott 10 years: David Bonebright, Mukesh Chhajer, Patricia Dayberry, Rosanne Goble, Christie Lutz, Theodore Maier, Mary Motley, Donald Pippin, Martha Tucker and Teresa Wyatt 5 years: Shannon Hair and Jakita Warren. The Virginia Community College System on Thursday approved a 2.6 percent increase in tuition for students in its two-year academic degree programs, as a boost in state funding is driving down mandatory fee increases for in-state undergraduates at most public colleges and universities. The systems state board approved a recommendation by its finance committee to raise base tuition by $3.75 a credit hour, more than 40 percent lower than the previous increase. The total base tuition rate cost to the estimated 263,000 students in degree programs at 23 community colleges will rise to $146.25 per credit hour. [Virginia Western in Roanoke is one of seven community colleges allowed to charge a tuition differential rate in addition to the base rate. Its 2015-16 total tuition rate and fees per credit hour was $157.09. Its tuition differential rate will remain unchanged for 2016-17.] This years increase is the lowest one weve had in more than a decade, said Jeffrey Kraus, assistant vice chancellor for public relations. The increase reflects a broad trend among Virginias public colleges and universities with a few notable exceptions to restrain increases in tuition for in-state undergraduates to the lowest level since 2003, for an average increase of 2.7 percent, according to an analysis presented to the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday. The 50-year-old community college system said its decision was made possible by major investments in higher education in the two-year state budget that will take effect on July 1. The general fund budget passed by the governor and the General Assembly invests some real resources into our colleges, Kraus said. That translates into lower tuition bills for our students. The budget encourages restraint but does not require colleges and universities to keep tuition increases under 3 percent, as the House of Delegates had desired. Senate leaders made clear again on Wednesday that the institutions governing boards have the legal authority to set tuition as they deem necessary. You are all responsible, not us, Senate Minority Leader Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, said during the Finance Committee presentation on tuition and fees. You know what it takes to run these schools, not us. Leaders of the House Appropriations Committee erupted indignantly on Monday over an analysis that showed a 12 percent increase for the incoming freshman class at the College of William & Mary, which in turn will promise no tuition increase for those students in the next four years. This is the fourth class under the William & Mary Promise. The continuing students receive a zero percent increase, Senate Finance analyst April Kees told the committee. House budget leaders called the decision to maintain the 12 percent tuition increase mind-numbing and outrageous, considering the $3.8 million in state funding provided for William & Mary in the new budget, most of it for faculty and staff raises that will allow the college to use tuition money intended for salaries to pay for other program needs. Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment, R-James City, co-chairman of the Finance Committee and a member of William & Mary adjunct faculty, fired back at the House on Monday for what he called bullying and an attempt to impose some artificial cap on tuition as part of a philosophical divide between the two chambers on oversight of higher education institutions. Norment was absent from the Finance Committee meeting on Wednesday, but Co-Chairman Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta, sought to strike a balance between respecting the autonomy of the institutions boards of visitors and the states desire to keep in-state tuition low by investing more taxpayer money in higher education. We did appropriate a significant amount of money for state-supported colleges and universities, Hanger said. At the same time, he acknowledged: There is no hard and fast rule that a board of visitors cant go above a certain amount. Most colleges and universities are very serious about trying to keep it as affordable as possible, Hanger said. In addition to William & Mary, only Virginia Military Institute and Richard Bland College, a two-year junior college near Petersburg, adopted tuition rates for the next academic year above 3 percent. VMI approved a 4 percent increase and Richard Bland a 3.4 percent increase to fund their six-year plans. William & Mary said its tuition increase represents a four-year commitment that wont change, while keeping the net price of college education among the lowest in the state through increased financial aid and scholarships. The University of Virginia operates a similar program for freshmen called Affordable Excellence, which attempts to reduce reliance on loans for low- and middle-income families. Keys said U.Va. had planned a 10.8 percent increase for the freshman class but reduced it to 9.5 percent. For returning students, U.Va. reduced the tuition increase from 3 percent to 1.5 percent. The General Assembly and Gov. Terry McAuliffe approved a budget that increases funding for higher education by $257 million a year, according to the Senate Finance presentation. Those investments return state funding for higher education to the level it reached in 2008 before the recession forced deep budget cuts. For community colleges, the budget also includes $12.5 million to expand their short-term workforce training programs to prepare students with credentials for highly sought trades. The training programs are not subject to the tuition and fees paid by students in degree programs, but Kraus said the budget appropriation is the first direct state investment in the programs, which have been sustained solely by student fees. That is historic, he said. That is a game changer for the state. IC Potash Corp. (TSX: ICP; OTCQX: ICPTF) (ICP or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Mehdi Azodi Interim Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Azodi has served as the Companys Director of Investor Relations since 2013 and has over 15 years of experience in capital markets, acting as a consultant to a number of private and TSX/NYSE-listed companies to provide business consulting and capital markets strategy. He replaces Randy Foote, who is retiring. Mr. Foote will continue to share his operations expertise on a consulting basis. George Poling, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ICP, stated, We are delighted to have Mr. Azodi head the ICP team. We believe his leadership and commitment to financing the Company will help it to position it for the next phase of its operations. About IC Potash Corp. ICP has demonstrated a low-cost method to produce sulfate of potash (SOP) from its Ochoa polyhalite deposit in southeast New Mexico and seeks to become a primary, long-term producer of SOP. SOP is a non-chloride potash fertilizer widely used in the horticultural industry and for high value crops, such as fruits, vegetables, tobacco and potatoes. It is applicable for soils where there is substantial agricultural activity, high soil salinity, and in arid regions. The Ochoa Project has access to excellent local labor resources, low-cost electricity and natural gas, an approved non-potable water source, rail lines, and the Port of Galveston, Texas. ICPs land holdings consist of approximately 98,500 acres of federal preference right potassium leases, federal subsurface potassium prospecting permits and State of New Mexico potassium mining leases. For more information, please visit www.icpotash.com. Forward-Looking Statements Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of ICP to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements that use forward-looking terminology such as may, will, expect, anticipate, believe, continue, potential or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the receipt of exchange approval and other statements that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of ICP, including, but not limited to, risks associated with mineral exploration and mining activities, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, dependence upon regulatory approvals, the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing, and risks associated with turning reserves into product. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160519006783/en/ Contact IC Potash Corp. Mr. Mehdi Azodi, +1-416-779-3268 President and Chief Executive Officer MAZODI@ICPOTASH.COM Farm Management System The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.Source: Yara International ASA via Globenewswire HUG#2014008 Oslo, 20 May 2016: Yara International ASA has reached an agreement with the Bulgarian company MicroAccount to acquire their Farm Management System business in Bulgaria and Romania."By combining Yara's extensive crop nutrition knowledge with a broad portfolio of digital farm management tools and services, we will have a unique platform from which to support our customers, far beyond the geographical area this business currently serves," says Yara's Head of Crop Nutrition, Terje Knutsen.Last year Yara introduced a new farmer centric strategy for the Crop Nutrition segment. Digital tools and services like Farm Management Systems are becoming an increasingly important part of modern farming, and Yara has sought to strengthen its position in this area."We want to be the farmer's crop nutrition partner and deliver complete crop nutrition solutions, not only fertilizer. By expanding our digital tools and services portfolio we can help the farmer increase productivity and improve crop quality further, while at the same time contributing to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture," says Knutsen.For a number of years, Yara has invested in R&D and innovation to convert crop based agronomy and application knowledge into a digital format, through development of precision farming tools and services. The current portfolio includes the Yara N-Sensor which helps optimize the application of nitrogen fertilizers, smartphone apps designed to identify nutrient status and deficiencies in crops, and the knowledge bank Megalab where farmers' leaf or soil samples are used to give a complete recommendation for a Crop Nutrition Solution.The acquired business will be operated from Varna in Bulgaria and become an integrated part of Yara Crop Nutrition's global footprint.For more informationKristin Nordal , Media RelationsMobile (+47) 900 15 550E-mail: kristin.nordal@yara.comAbout YaraYara's knowledge, products and solutions grow farmers', distributors' and industrial customers' businesses profitably and responsibly, while protecting the earth's resources, food and environment.Our fertilizers, crop nutrition programs and technologies increase yields, improve product quality and reduce the environmental impact of agricultural practices. Our industrial and environmental solutions improve air quality by reducing emissions from industry and transportation, and serve as key ingredients in the production of a wide range of goods. We foster a culture that promotes the safety of our employees, contractors and societies.Founded in 1905 to solve emerging famine in Europe, today, Yara has a worldwide presence, with close to 13,000 employees and sales to more than 150 countries.www.yara.com VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 20, 2016) - Indico Resources Ltd. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:IDI) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a letter of intent (the "LOI") with Aruntani S.A.C. ("Aruntani") pursuant to which it will sell to Aruntani all of the shares of Indico Peru S.A.C. ("Indico Peru"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, which has an irrevocable option to acquire all of the shares in the capital of Inversiones Minerales S.A.C., an entity holding a series of concessions in Peru (the "Transaction"). Aruntani will acquire all rights held by Indico Peru to Inversiones Minerales S.A.C., which holds 23 concessions covering 123 km2, located on the northwest extension of the Southern Peru Porphyry Copper Belt (the "Irmin Property"). At present, the Company and Aruntani have an agreement to jointly develop the Irmin Property (the "Joint Venture Agreement"), with Aruntani holding an earn-in option allowing it to earn 70% interest in the Irmin Property after completion of expenditures totaling US$18,600,000. As part of the Transaction, Aruntani will acquire the Company's legal and beneficial right, title and interest in and to the Ocana Property, including any interests held pursuant to the Joint Venture Agreement. As consideration for the acquisition of all shares of Indico Peru, Aruntani will pay to the Company US$6,000,000 in cash and will grant the Company a 1% Net Smelter Return royalty over the Irmin Property. Aruntani is the holder of approximately 27.21% of common shares in the capital of the Company, and is considered a "control person" as such term is defined by applicable securities laws. Accordingly, the Transaction will be a related party transaction pursuant to the provisions of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions. Closing of the Transaction is subject, among other things, to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, minority shareholder approval and valuation, and any other applicable governmental or regulatory authorities. About Indico Resources Ltd. Indico is a mineral resource exploration company focused in the discovery and exploration of porphyry copper-gold deposits in South America. The Irmin Porphyry Project, located in the Arequipa Region of Peru, is the Company's primary exploration project and is currently the main focus of exploration activities. On behalf of Indico Resources Ltd., Robert Baxter President and Chief Executive Officer Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward looking information" within the meaning of the British Columbia Securities Act and the Alberta Securities Act. Generally, the words "expect", "intend", "estimate", "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking information. By their very nature, forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or that of our industry, to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any of our forward looking information. Statements in this press release regarding Indico's business or proposed business, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking information that involve risks and uncertainties, such as estimates and statements that describe Indico's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that Indico or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Since forward-looking statements address events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties. The foregoing commentary is based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. /NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/ VANCOUVER, May 20, 2016 /CNW/ - Freegold Ventures Ltd. ("Freegold" or the "Corporation") (TSX:FVL) is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced marketed public offering (the "Offering") of units (the "Units") of the Corporation for total gross proceeds of $7,283,118. The Corporation has issued 40,461,766 Units at a price of $0.18 per Unit. The Offering was completed through Paradigm Capital Inc. (the "Agent"), acting as agent. Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of Freegold and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole common share purchase warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one common share at any time prior to 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on the date that is 3 years following the closing date of the Offering at a price of $0.25. The Corporation has also granted the Agent an option to cover over-allotments and for market stabilization purposes (the "Over Allotment Option"), which will allow the Agent to arrange for purchasers to acquire up to an additional 15% of the Units issued pursuant to the Offering. The Over Allotment Option will be exercisable, in whole or in part, at any time until noon (Toronto time) on the 30th day following the closing of the Offering. The Corporation intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering for exploration and metallurgical work to be completed at the Corporation's Golden Summit and Shorty Creek projects in Alaska and for general working capital purposes. The Offering was completed pursuant to the Final Short Form Prospectus of the Corporation dated May 13, 2016 (the "Prospectus") which has been filed in each of the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. The Prospectus contains important detailed information about the securities being offered. Investors should read the prospectus before making an investment decision. A copy of the Prospectus is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or from the Agent by contacting the Agent at ecm@paradigmcap.com. This press release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States or to "U.S. persons" ("U.S. persons"), as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"). The securities being offered have not been, nor will be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. About Freegold Ventures Limited Freegold is a TSX listed company focused on exploration in Alaska and holds the Golden Summit Gold Project, near Fairbanks as well as a 100% lease interest on the Shorty Creek Copper Gold Molybdenum Project near Livengood. This news release contains "forward-looking information" which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the Offering, including the ultimate number of Units to be sold pursuant to the Offering, its expected timing of completion, the receipt of required regulatory approvals and the use of net proceeds therefrom.. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes", or variations (including negative variations of such words and phrases), or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Corporation has applied certain factors and assumptions that it believes are reasonable, including that there is no material deterioration in general business and economic conditions; that there are no adverse changes in relevant laws or regulations; that the supply and demand for, deliveries of, and the level and volatility of prices of metals and minerals develop as expected; that the Corporation receives any regulatory and governmental approvals for its projects on a timely basis; that the Corporation is able to obtain financing on reasonable terms; that the Corporation is able to procure equipment and supplies in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis; that engineering and exploration timetables and capital costs for the Corporation's exploration plans are not incorrectly estimated or affected by unforeseen circumstances and that any environmental and other proceedings or disputes are satisfactorily resolved. However, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Corporation and/or its subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological data, fluctuating metal prices, the possibility of unanticipated costs and expenses, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future and uncertainties related to metal recoveries, those factors discussed or referred to under "Risk Factors" in the Corporation's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2015 dated March 30, 2016. Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements contained or incorporated by reference herein are made as of the date of this news release, based on the opinions and estimates of management at that time. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Corporation does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws. SOURCE Freegold Ventures Ltd. VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - May 20, 2016) - Lupaka Gold Corp. ("Lupaka Gold" or "the Company") (TSX VENTURE: LPK) (FRANKFURT: LPQ) reports that Lupaka Gold and Pandion Mine Finance, LP have progressed to the preparation of definitive documentation phase for funding the Invicta Gold Project ("Invicta"). "Through a recent updating of the Company's internal mine plan, management has determined that production at Invicta should increase to 350 tonnes per day sooner than previously planned," stated Gordon Ellis, President and CEO of Lupaka Gold. Mr. Ellis added, "An earlier ramp-up will also help facilitate the move to phase two, the construction of a Company-owned processing facility, which is expected to improve internal operational controls, further reduce operating costs and increase metal recoveries." About Lupaka Gold Lupaka Gold is a Peru-focused gold explorer and developer with geographic diversification and balance through its interest in asset-based resource projects spread across three regions of Peru. The Company's 100%-owned Invicta Gold Project is located approximately 120 kilometres by road north of Lima. The resource estimate for Invicta shows a Measured resource estimate of 131,000 tonnes grading 6.65 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold equivalent for 28,000 contained ounces of gold. As well, the Invicta resource estimate shows an Indicated resource estimate of 8,513,000 tonnes grading 3.43 g/t gold equivalent for 939,000 contained ounces of gold and an Inferred resource estimate of 2,534,000 tonnes grading 2.90 g/t gold equivalent for 236,000 contained ounces of gold. The Company holds an option to earn a 65% interest on the Josnitoro Gold Project from Hochschild Mining plc The project is located approximately 600 kilometres by road southeast of Lima in the Department of Apurimac, southern Peru. Historical work on the disseminated gold zones includes over 170 shallow drill holes and extensive surface trenching. Lupaka Gold also holds a 100% interest in the Crucero Gold Project, a 5,500 hectare gold property located in southern Peru. Crucero has an Indicated mineral resource estimate of 1,003,041 ozs Au contained in 30,919,873 tonnes at 1.02 gpt gold (capped) and an Inferred mineral resource estimate of 1,027,806 ozs Au contained in 31,201,648 tonnes at 1.03 gpt gold (capped). These mineral resource estimates have been constrained by a conceptual pit shell in order to confirm reasonable prospects of economic extraction as set out in the CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves and NI 43-101. Qualified Person The technical information in this document has been reviewed and approved by Julio CastaAeda Mondragon, MAIG, the President of Lupaka Gold Peru S.A.C., a Peruvian subsidiary of the Company, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. CastaAeda has verified the scientific and technical information, including sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information or opinions contained in this news release. The Invicta Gold Project resource estimates referred to in this news release are disclosed in the technical report dated April 16, 2012, titled "Technical Report on Resources, Invicta Gold Project, Huaura Province, Peru", and prepared by SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc., which is available at www.sedar.com under Lupaka Gold's profile. The Crucero A-1 mineral resource estimates referred to in this news release are disclosed in the technical report with effective date January 17, 2013, amended and re-stated October 22, 2013, titled "Technical Report for the Crucero Property, Carabaya Province, Peru", and prepared by Tetra Tech WEI Inc. and SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., which is available at www.sedar.com under Lupaka Gold's profile. Cautionary Note Regarding the Invicta Production Decision The decision to commence production at the Invicta Gold Project and the Company's plans for a mining operation as referenced herein (the "Production Decision and Plans") are based on economic models prepared by the Company in conjunction with management's knowledge of the property and the existing preliminary estimate of measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources on the property. The Production Decision and Plans were not based on a preliminary economic assessment, a pre-feasibility study or a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with the Production Decision and Plans, in particular the risk that mineral grades will be lower than expected, the risk that construction or ongoing mining operations are more difficult or more expensive than expected, the risk that the Company will not be able to transport or sell the mineralized rock it produces to local custom toll mills on the terms it expects, or at all; production and economic variables may vary considerably, due to the absence of a detailed economic and technical analysis according to and in accordance with NI 43-101. Forward Looking Information and Regulatory Endnotes This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities regulations in Canada and the United States (collectively, "forward-looking information"). The forward-looking information contained in this news release is made as of the date of this news release. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to exploration plans and timing for Crucero, the grant of social license and exploration plans for Josnitoro, a potential mining operation at Invicta and estimates of mineral resources. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects, "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "projects", "estimates", forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes", or the negatives thereof or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable, including with respect to mineral resource estimates, the key assumptions and parameters on which such estimates are based, that that the current price of and demand for gold will be sustained or will improve, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and when needed on reasonable terms, that supplies, equipment, personnel, permits and local community approvals required to conduct the Company's planned exploration and development activities will be available on reasonable terms, that results of exploration activities will be consistent with management's expectations and that the Company will not experience any material accident, labour dispute, or failure of equipment. However, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, risk that actual results of exploration activities will be different than anticipated, that cost of labour, equipment or materials will increase more than expected, that the future price of gold will decline, that the Canadian dollar will strengthen against the U.S. dollar, that mineral resources are not as estimated, unexpected variations in mineral resources, grade or recovery rates, risk of accidents, labour disputes and other risks generally associated with mineral exploration and unanticipated delays in obtaining or failure to obtain community, governmental or regulatory approvals or financing. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to not be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information due to the inherent uncertainty thereof. This announcement contains certain forward looking statements, including such statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In particular, such forward looking statements may relate to matters such as the business, strategy, investments, production, major projects and their contribution to expected production and other plans of the Company and its current goals, assumptions and expectations relating to its future financial condition, performance and results. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements typically containing words such as "intends", "expects", "anticipates", "targets", "plans", "estimates" and words of similar import. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will or may occur in the future. Actual results, performance or achievements of the Company may be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences between the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company and current expectations include, but are not limited to, legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments, competitive conditions, technological developments, exchange rate fluctuations and general economic conditions. Past performance is no guide to future performance and persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser. The forward looking statements reflect knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this announcement. Except as required by the Listing Rules and applicable law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or change any forward looking statements to reflect events occurring after the date of this announcement. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast. CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - May 20, 2016) - BACANORA MINERALS LTD. ("Bacanora" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:BCN) (AIM:BCN), the London and Canadian listed lithium company which is developing the Sonora Lithium Project in northern Mexico(1), is pleased to announce that it has raised 7,702,500 (approximately US$11.2 million / approximately CAD $14.7 million) via the placing of 9,750,000 units (the "Placing Units") at a price of 79 pence (approximately CAD $1.48) per Placing Unit (the "Placing") with certain funds and accounts managed by BlackRock ("BlackRock"). Each Placing Unit is comprised of one new common share of the Company (a "Placing Share") and 0.3 of one common share purchase warrant, with each whole warrant (a "Placing Warrant") being exercisable into one common share at a price of 79 pence at any time subsequent to July 25, 2016, but on or before September 30, 2016. Accordingly, an aggregate of 9,750,000 Placing Shares and 2,925,000 Placing Warrants are issuable under this Placing. In the event that the Placing Warrants are fully exercised, the total proceeds received by the Company from the Placing will be approximately 10,000,000 (approximately US$14.6 million / approximately CAD $19.1 million). The Placing is in line with the Company's strategy to increase the institutional representation of its shareholder register and follows the securing of Bacanora's first major institutional investor in November 2015. The funds raised will be invested in the Company's Sonora Lithium Project in Mexico, one of the larger lithium resources in the world, which contains estimated Indicated Mineral Resources of 259 million tonnes ("Mt") averaging 3,200 ppm Li for 4.5 Mt of lithium carbonate equivalent ("LCE")(2) and Inferred Mineral Resources of 160 Mt averaging 3,200 ppm Li for 2.7 Mt of LCE. A fully funded Feasibility Study ('FS'), which is due for completion in Q1 2017, is underway at Sonora in line with the Company's strategy to deliver a two phase open-pit mine and lithium carbonate processing facility with a life of over 20 years as quickly as practicable. A Pre-Feasibility Study ('PFS') announced on 3 March 2016 highlighted the attractive economics associated with delivering on this strategy (Pre-tax NPV8% of US$776 million and Pre-tax IRR of 29%). In tandem with the FS, discussions are continuing with various Asian offtake partners, banks, debt providers and strategic investors. Peter Secker, CEO of Bacanora, commented, "We are very pleased to welcome Blackrock, our second major institutional investor, to our shareholder register. In our view, raising 7.7 million (with the potential to increase this to an aggregate of 10 million) at the prevailing share price in current market conditions is testament to the potential of the Sonora Lithium Project to be a major supplier to the lithium market, as highlighted by the recent PFS. BlackRock is not only gaining exposure to Bacanora at an exciting time in its development, but also to the attractive demand / supply dynamics of the global lithium market. Thanks to lithium's key role in highly innovative industries such as smartphones, electric vehicles and energy storage, supply is expected to struggle to match continued rapid growth in demand for many years to come. We believe Bacanora is well placed to play its part in closing this expected shortfall in supply and I look forward to providing further updates on our progress." The Placing was completed in reliance upon exemptions from applicable prospectus and registration requirements. Accordingly, any trades of securities issued under the Placing that occur in Alberta or to a purchaser in Alberta would be subject to a hold period equal to four months and one day from the date of issuance (being September 21, 2016). Trades of securities occurring through the CREST system among non-Alberta residents will not be subject to this restriction. There were no Alberta subscribers under the offering and all of the aforementioned shares will be deposited under the CREST system. ABOUT BACANORA: Bacanora is a Canadian and London listed minerals explorer (AIM and TSX-V: BCN). The Company explores and is developing industrial mineral projects, with a primary focus on its lithium project. The Company's operations are based in Hermosillo in northern Mexico. The main assets of Bacanora are: The Sonora Lithium Project, which consists of ten mining concession areas covering approximately 100 thousand hectares in the northeast of Sonora State. The Company, through drilling and exploration work to date, has established an Indicated Mineral Resource (in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101")) of 4.46 Mt LCE contained in 259 Mt of clay at a Li grade of 3,200 ppm and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 2.74 Mt LCE contained in 160 Mt of clay at a Li grade of 3,200 ppm. The Magdalena Borate Project, covering 16,503 hectares in Sonora state, Mexico, where the Company's main borate zone, El Cajon, has an Indicated Resource (in accordance with NI 43-101) of 1.17 mt of B2O3, at an eight per cent. cut-off grade. The Company has completed a number of measures to determine the geological and commercial potential of the project and is undertaking a pre-feasibility exercise to determine the economic benefit of developing the mine and constructing a processing plant on site in order to become a supplier of boric acid. Reader Advisory Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. In particular, forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to the use of proceeds of the Placing, completion of a Feasibility Study and ongoing discussions with potential off-take partners, banks, debt providers and strategic investors. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: commodity price volatility; general economic conditions in Canada, the United States, Mexico and globally; industry conditions, governmental regulation, including environmental regulation; unanticipated operating events or performance; failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, if and when required; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; competition for, among other things, capital, skilled personnel and supplies; changes in tax laws; and the other risk factors disclosed under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. (1) The Sonora Lithium Project is comprised of the following lithium properties: La Ventana lithium concession, which is 100 per cent. owned by Bacanora; El Sauz and Fleur concessions, which are held by Mexilit S.A. de C.V. ("Mexilit"); and the Megalit concession, which is held by Megalit S.A de C.V ("Megalit"). Mexilit and Megalit are owned 70 per cent. by Bacanora and 30 per cent. by REM. Recollections of service On April 23, 1975, President Gerald Ford announced the end of the Vietnam era. Little did I imagine that 44 years later I would be the last active duty, Vietnam-era veteran in the United States Air Force. I dropped out of school at the end of junior high and worked odd jobs until January 11, 1972, when I joined the Army at the age of 17. At that time, Richard Nixon was finishing his first term as president, the Dallas Cowboys would win the Super Bowl, no one had ever heard of the Watergate Hotel, the Air Force was five months away from launching Operation Linebacker, and another 890 service members would give their lives for freedom in Vietnam. Of the 9,087,000 military personnel who were on Active Duty during the Vietnam era, 2,709,918 served and fought in Vietnam. Like 6,377,082 other Vietnam-era veterans, I was asked to serve my country at other places around the world. My Army assignments included the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey, Calif.; Fort Wainwright, Alaska; and Fort Huachuca, Ariz. Through the early to mid-1970s, I served on a U.S. Army Field Artillery Forward Observer team and rose to the rank of sergeant. Like most who served in the military at that time, I witnessed the pain of a fiercely divided nation. While I was in uniform, my fellow Americans were just as likely to heckle and spit on me as they were to invite me to dinner. However, the greater pain was witnessing family members and friends who had suffered both visible and invisible war injuries in Vietnam treated in the same love hate manner, and sadly it was mainly the latter. In 1976, I separated from the Army. Over the next twenty years I married my sweetheart Barbara Moeller and raised three beautiful daughters, Michelle, Marie and Melinda. I earned a bachelors degree from the University of Alaska and a masters from Dallas Theological Seminary. I also served as a pastor in Fairbanks, Alaska and as a teacher in the Middle East. However, my lifelong love of my country and of those who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, led me to join the Air Force as a Chaplain in 1996. This began another twenty-year journey that would take me through Operations Southern Watch, Desert Fox, Joint Forge, Unified Protector and Inherent Resolve. I was also handpicked to serve on short term tours in support of operations Northern Watch and Enduring Freedom. When I first put on the uniform as an Air Force chaplain, I was not eager to wear it off base because of my past Army experiences. Not that it wasnt a symbol of pride, it was simply a painful reminder. Yet today, instead of looks of hatred, most people, even young children, look at me with dignity and respect and will even often offer words of thanks and encouragement. My time in uniform has left me with gratitude for a thankful nation and many treasured and profound memories. Even as a chaplain Ive had some unforgettable experiences. One occurred while I was visiting a wounded soldier who had sustained catastrophic injuries to his face; mercifully, the ballistic sunglasses he was wearing at the time of the attack, which killed three of his buddies, saved his eyes. His injuries were so severe that he was unable to speak so he motioned for me to get him something to write with. He wrote, Help me get back to my troops. I rotated from the hospital before he was discharged, but Im confident that his spirit has not waned from that day to this. That is a microcosm of the heroism of the American military, finer men and women I will never know. Yet, my greatest honor was to serve as the special escort officer for my nephew after he was killed in action while flying a combat mission near Kirkuk, Iraq in January, 2009. Making the sad journey in the back of a small jet with Joshs flag-draped coffin from Dover to Portland to take him back to the dirt bike trails in Oregon he knew and loved so well was profoundly impactful. Joshua was my brother Steves only son. He also left behind his wife, three boys, and an unborn son. While some think it trite to say, Freedom is not free; for thousands of others, those who lost loved ones, and especially Joshs family, it is not. As an Air Force chaplain, I specialized in providing freedom, faith and ministry for the men and women of all the uniformed services. My assignments have included Little Rock Air Force Base, Yokota Air Base, Wilford Hall, the Air Force Academy, Boston University, Maxwell Air force Base, Fort Jackson, Aviano Air Base and Goodfellow Air force Base. Alongside my Master of Theology, I have been awarded two other masters degrees as well as an earned doctorate, despite dropping out after junior high school as a kid. Now in closing this chapter of my life, my retirement, some 44 years after my initial enlistment, will take place on Goodfellow, the parent unit of both the Presidio of Monterey and Fort Huachuca, my first and last Army assignments. I will never grow weary of sharing the importance of showing respect and appreciation for our military men and women in uniform. May our nation never forget the central role they have played in our history. Whether serving at local bases, overseas installations, deployed locations, military schools or hospitals, I have appreciated the opportunities I have been given to provide comfort for the greatest military men and women of the world. Ze Pickle's Nutella-smoked bacon burger in a doughnut bun. Photo: Adam Pinzone Smell that? It's the smoky waft of a world gone mad for bacon. Recently, we've been hit with bacon cookbooks, bacon-scented air fresheners, a bacon food festival, and a national weeklong celebration of all things bacon. American author Heather Lauer taps into the phenomenon in her non-fiction book, Bacon, A Love Story. No longer reserved for hearty breakfasts and savoury dishes, our favourite cured meat has been no stranger to the dessert world in recent years. Like salted caramel, bacon has the ability to cut through sweetness while intensifying the flavour of its surrounding ingredients, and sometimes adding texture, too. Many believe we have Heston to thank; his bacon and egg ice-cream was one of the culinary drawcards of the Fat Duck and paved the way for other chefs to pull up their experimental sleeves. But Canadians have been dousing their streaky rashers in maple syrup for decades. Credits aside, here are some bacon confections to try. Sydney Bacon and maple cupcake at Black Velvet Black Velvet baked their first batch of bacon and maple cupcakes as a special order for a client. After tasting their creation, they knew they were onto a winner. Their signature vanilla butter cake base is topped with vanilla buttercream icing and finished with its crowning jewel: crisp maple-candied bacon ($42 per dozen). 3a/110 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst, bvsydney.com Blame Canada ice-cream at BL Burgers Advertisement The Bar Luca team has been busy opening standalone burger joints this year; both the Darlinghurst and soon-to-open Bondi BL Burgers menus feature the Blame Canada ice-cream ($6). Like their experimental burgers, it pushes the dessert envelope by combining vanilla ice-cream, "smoky beefy caramel", maple marshmallow fluff, maple bacon, chocolate-coated potato chips and parmesan. For an extra hit of salt, opt for the Blame FriesCream ($12): all of the above plus smoky caramel sauce, maple bacon bits and chocolate, sitting atop shoestring fries (pictured above). 1/151 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst; 71 Beach Road, Bondi, blburgers.com.au Grumpy Donuts' maple bacon doughnut bar. Photo: Alana Dimou Maple bacon bar from Grumpy Donuts Twice-cooked maple-glazed bacon adds crunch to this fluffy, rectangular doughnut ($6). "It has that perfect balance between salty and sweet," says Elise Honeybrook, co-owner of the doughnut delivery service. "We specially shape our dough into a sizeable bar for this flavour." grumpydonuts.com Stoner's Delight at Ms. G's No round-up of bacon desserts is complete without mentioning Dan Hong's ultimate dude-food celebration. Partly inspired by a sandwich Elvis Presley allegedly used to wolf down, version three of the Stoner's Delight (it's evolved slightly over the years, a previous incarnation is pictured at right) is a mash-up of doughnut ice-cream, peanut dulce de leche, peanut pretzel brittle, crisp bacon, Mars Bar brownie, raspberry curd, potato chips and deep-fried Nutella ($16). 155 Victoria Street, Potts Point, merivale.com.au/msgs Victoria Salted caramel shake at Grand Trailer Park Taverna This retro-tastic burger joint, furnished with caravans and Winnebago motorhomes, recommends washing a bun down with a salted caramel shake ($10), finished with a long, crisp slice of maple bacon. Long day? Spike it with a nip of Bulleit bourbon ($19). 87 Bourke Street, Melbourne, grandtrailerpark.com.au Bacon & smoked maple ice-cream sandwich at Bluebonnet Barbecue Bluebonnet chef-owner Chris Terlikar's ice-cream sambo ($10) at his recently reopened Texan BBQ joint has amassed a serious following. Maple syrup is smoked with ironbark, then churned with bacon bits and sandwiched between two chewy chocolate cookies. "The bacon bits almost take on a praline texture and it has a little saltiness to cut through the maple," Terlikar says. 32 St Georges Road South, Fitzroy North, bluebonnetbbq.com.au Queensland Banana french toast at Artie & Mai Sitting on the dessert side of the breakfast fence, Artie & Mai's banana french toast ($17) is loaded with decadent trimmings: salted caramel, candied bacon ice-cream, tomato jam, and banana roasted in its skin. 340 Sandgate Road, Albion, artieandmai.com.au Doughnutfukwitdis at Ze Pickle "As you would be well aware, bacon makes most things better," says Ze Pickle's co-owner Nathan Zuckerman. Ze Pickle's collaboration with Doughnut Time on the Nutella smoked bacon burger almost broke the internet when it launched earlier this year. Bridging the divide between main and dessert, it features a wagyu patty, double jack cheese and house-made Nutella smoked bacon, sandwiched between a Doughnut Time original glazed and grilled doughnut "bun" ($18). 1 Prospect Street, Fortitude Valley; Connor Street, Burleigh Heads; also at 6/17-51 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, zepickle.com Canberra Bacon chocolate stout cheesecake at Rocksalt Restaurant Cheese and bacon are longtime mates, so it's no surprise they work well together in Rocksalt's stout and chocolate cheesecake ($15). This time, it's candied caramel bacon that cuts through the other elements. 4/78 Hawker Place, Canberra, rocksaltcanberra.com.au In a postcode stacked with cafes, Sean McManus is actually offering something different. Photo: Dominic Lorrimer You can get your coffee with soy, nut milk and even an artery-busting shock of butter if you like. But how about a house-made oat milk that sounds legitimately delicious? That's on offer at Neighbourhood, which opened in Surry Hills on Monday. The cafe is run by Sean McManus, who has strong coffee-making cred: he was head barista at Single Origin Roasters and recently was at Artificer. So Neighbourhood was always going to get attention from the caffeine-deprived - but the signature oat milk also makes it stand out in suburb where a flat white is easier to get than a sandwich. "I'm all for dairy alternatives," says McManus, but he didn't want to serve soy, because the milk "tastes like wet cardboard". A hot chocolate made with Neighbourhood's oat milk and Weiss single-origin chocolate. Photo: Dominic Lorrimer "What we tried to do is find something that worked a lot better and we found a lot of almond milks and macadamia milks just don't cut it, purely because almonds and macadamias are so expensive, that when you actually make it - to make it worthwhile - you actually have to make such a massive ratio of water to almond that the texture of it is quite thin and a bit watery." His vegan-friendly solution happened by chance. "One day, I spilt an espresso inside of my porridge and noticed how amazing the oats went with the espresso and I started experimenting a couple of months ago, trying to make my own oat milk." His resulting recipe is a warm blend of organic oats, medjool dates and vanilla pods - plus "Himalayan rock salt just to balance it out" and filtered water. The starchy profile of the oats helps "develop a milk that has the same thickness and texture as cow's milk", he says. "It actually goes a lot better with coffee and it doesn't overpower it." Neighbourhood makes its oat milk from organic ingredients, Himalayan rock salt and filtered water. Photo: Dominic Lorrimer Order it as a flat white ($4.40), and it tastes a little like you're drinking a coffee-spiked porridge (which, frankly, is not bad thing at all). It's like breakfast in a cup - so ditch the Up & Go and get this on the run instead, it's much more satisfying (and has a bonus buzz). Interest in the oat milk is strong - McManus had to triple the amount he was originally making. You can also order it with a vegan hot chocolate ($5) made from single-origin Vietnamese chocolate. The barista plans to bring in vegan doughnuts ($5 each) from Woah Nelly! in the coming weeks. Caffeine-wise, he's been working closely with Artificer - "I personally believe that they've got the best-tasting coffee in Australia" - and rotates his selection daily, with one single origin that works with milk-based orders and another single origin for espressos and filters. McManus will also be expanding his business in the coming weeks. Next door, he'll set up Rutland Street Sandwiches (expect vegetarian-style sandwiches, with protein options like smoked meats) and on the other side, a retailer called Clementine's Natural Wines. So with caffeine, food and booze, McManus has compelling reasons for you to stick to his stretch of Surry Hills. Open Mon-Fri, 6.30am-3pm. At Neighbourhood, the coffee selection changes daily. Photo: Dominic Lorrimer 16B Buckingham Street, Surry Hills, instagram.com/neighbourhoodbsm Batanga! cocktail with pickled tartare and macadamias with lemon myrtle dukkah at PS Soda. Photo: Dominic Lorrimer DRINK PS Soda is a team effort from four friends who have opened a bar that makes its own soda. With smart monochrome looks and high ceilings, the small yet airy space has a corner set aside for the soda-making apparatus. House brews on tap are Wattle Cola, Smoked Lemonade, Blackstrap Ginger and Bush Tonic, plus a seasonal surprise, currently Tonka Bean Creaming Soda. Each is delicious, taken straight, mixed with spirits, or in a bespoke cocktail such as the Batanga! (pictured), with Wattle Cola, green-coffee-bean-infused tequila, lime and smoked salt around the rim. If the suggested combos on the menu don't appeal, one of the friendly co-owners will concoct something special for you, as well as assiduously filling your water glass. The food menu runs to four items, and we try half macadamias with house-made lemon myrtle dukkah, and pickled tartare, a vego version of the raw classic with grilled eggplant, pickled beetroot and an egg yolk on top. It's unexpectedly marvellous. Shop 2, 40 King Street, city, ps-soda.com. Kid-friendly pancakes at Kiss the Barista. Photo: Jacqui Taffel FIND On a bike ride along Botany Bay, a rain squall sends us scurrying into Kiss the Barista, a big, bright space with great water views tucked into the St Georges River 16-foot Sailing Club. Although it's officially past breakfast, the very affable waitress allows us to order bacon and egg rolls, which come with two eggs and a mountain of bacon. Pancakes with strawberries and ice-cream are hoovered up by the seven-year-old, and a goodly pile of avocado accompanies perfectly poached eggs with sourdough. When the rain stops, the children head out to spot soldier crabs on the sand while adults chat over coffee; everyone's happy. Sanoni Avene, Sandringham, 0433 582 582. CRUNCH Westmont pickles are being used by Papi Chulo and other Sydney restaurants. Photo: Louise Kennerley Westmont Picklery is another team effort, from best mates Joel Mevissen and Calvin Lidden. They started producing pickles in Sydney in 2014, selling to restaurants including Bistrode CBD and Papi Chulo in Manly. Now everyone can buy their bottled wares, including bread and butter pickles, sour dill pickles (pictured), and pickles with chilli. Mevissen became a pickle fiend while bartending in New York, and Lidden is a fine dining chef turned graphic designer, so their pickles taste good and their website looks good. Sour dill pickles, 1kg, $15, westmontpickles.com. REWIND Advertisement Remember the cream buns you used to get at the school canteen, the squishy ones spilling out mock cream? The Banquerie patisserie-bakery, new to Pyrmont, has its own version, with real cream and that authentic, iridescent cream-bun-flavour jam. The elegant fitout, with Parisian-Venetian looks, stars impressive glass counters so packed with baked beauties they make customers ooh and aah. Old school favourites neenish tarts, butterfly sponges, vanilla slice sit alongside other treats such as the choc-hazelnut biscuit (like a genteel Wagon Wheel) and the Hungarian Dobos Torte, with chocolate hazelnut layers and toffee on top. Choices for pie enthusiasts include chunky beef korma, and the tiramisu cake wins the popularity prize. The lovely light space was originally a bank, hence the name. It's an offshoot of Boronia Bakehouse, which has been keeping Hunters Hill in cake for 30 years. 1/125 Harris St, Pyrmont, 9518 4215, facebook.com/Banquerie EAT Food Beverages Banter is the motto at Back and Forth, which has joined the cafe throng in the Castlecrag shopping strip. Coffee is serious, with two bearded baristas on the wood-panelled espresso machine, and the menu is a mix of healthy and happy the buckwheat pancakes come with activated pecans and peanut-butter ice-cream. Spicy lamb merguez sausages recline on a bed of hummus with a bright medley of tomatoes and roast capsicum, a soft boiled egg and slice of rye sourdough, the kind of dish that sets you up for the day. The cakes are special too, from raw vegan bounty balls (if you're into that kind of thing) to lemon, pear and lavender cake (more my kind of thing). The beetroot chocolate brownie looks good too. Shop 2022/100 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag, facebook.com/backnforthcc. Contributed photo Jonathan Tyler will perform Friday at Blaine's Pub. SHARE Musician thrives under new freedom By Federico Martinez, Federico.Martinez@gosanangelo.com @tejasjukebox Jonathan Tyler appeared to have the world in his hands five years ago. He had a hit debut album and a contract with a major record label, and he was sharing the stage with superstars such as Kid Rock, ZZ Top and AC/DC. But Tyler was miserable. He resented his record label's efforts to make him a "rock star," lost the legal right to his band's name, The Northern Lights, and soon found himself without a record contract. "It was a streak of self-destruction," a now-wiser and happier Tyler said. "I was drinking all the time and was angry that my record label wanted to make me something I wasn't." Tyler who is making a strong bid for a comeback with last summer's release of his long-awaited sophomore album, "Holy Smokes" will continue on that path with a 10 p.m. show at Blaine's Pub on Friday. The album, which has slowly built momentum, has earned accolades from such sources as Rolling Stone and Paste magazines, NPR, Billboard and USA Today. If there's any question Tyler's happy to be back, his new album's hard-rocking, passionately sung opener "Hallelujah" dispels all doubt. The bone-rattling song is a celebration of his newfound freedom to record as he pleases, which is reflected in the diversity of sounds on his album. There's the laid-back honky-tonk of "Goin' Down to the City," the Southern rock of "Honey Pie" and the country twang of "To Love is to Fly," which features Tyler's girlfriend Nikki Lane. Tyler credits his resurgence to a three-year sabbatical that took him to California, where he "sobered up." "I grew up a lot there," he said. "My time in California was like a spiritual quest." After regaining his composure, Tyler began performing in coffee shops, restaurants and bars money he tucked away so he could return to Dallas and record a new album. When he returned to Dallas, he met Lane, called on some of his former band mates and hit the recording studio. Tyler self-financed the new album, wrote all of its songs and produced the recording. Initially the album averaged about 40,000 listeners per month of Spotify, he said. Currently more than 130,000 listeners are tuning in. "There was really no pressure," he said. "There was nobody looking over my shoulder trying to make a hit. "It's feeling very embraced by fans and radio stations that play honky-tonk." He doesn't regret leaving Atlantic Records and said he harbors no bitterness toward his former record label. Both sides realized they couldn't fulfill each other's needs, Tyler said. Had he followed the path charted by Atlantic, Tyler believes his time at the top would have been brief; a flavor of the month brand. Tyler wants the freedom to perform more country, Southern rock, blues and rock with a harder edge. Included among his musical influences are Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Doug Sahm, Stevie Ray Vaughan and "old school folk gospel." "I'm happy and liberated with where I'm at," he said. "What happened five years ago really helped shape my character and life. "This album represents me. I can stand behind it." If you go What: Jonathan Tyler performs When: 10 p.m. Friday Where: Blaines Pub, 10 W. Harris Ave. Cost: $10. Tickets available at blainespub.com. Contact: 325-653-7074 If you go What: Jonathan Tyler performs When: 10 p.m. Friday Where: Blaines Pub, 10 W. Harris Ave. Cost: $10. Tickets available at blainespub.com. Contact: 325-653-7074 John Begnaud/Special to the Standard-Times Vitex, or chaste tree, is a good landscaping choice in West Texas where the environment keeps the plant in check. But the story is different in other parts of the state, where it can become an invasive nuisance. Sometimes plants escape and go wild from their intended use. They can become a nuisance and alter their new habitat. Often when these invasive plants establish themselves in their new home they are there forever. We should be cautious when selecting landscape plants that have the potential to escape and cause havoc with the native ecosystem. I recently kayaked and canoed the lower Pecos from Pandale, Texas to Lake Amistad and was amazed at the older established invasive plants choking the river and some real new ones that may threaten the river in the future. Giant reed, Arundo donax, is a bamboo-looking large cane that was introduced in the 1800s for erosion control in California and elsewhere in the United States. We have it growing in West Texas and in San Angelo along the Sulphur Draw and Concho River. In places along the Pecos River, it literally has narrowed the river to a canoe width. Flash floods have not removed the cane but rather contributed to its spread. It was alarming to see young Chinaberry trees, Melia azedarach, beginning to grab a hold in the waterway. These profuse berry producers have been used as landscape trees and seem to escape and invade wet environments. It is interesting to note that plants that may be considered invasive in one area of the world may be barely able to survive in another based on climate, soil, etc. In Texas, this is so true because of our size and diverse soils and climate. A good example is the often used nandina shrub which can escape and become a nuisance in East Texas but is a good hardy choice for West Texas landscape as a low growing, evergreen shrub. We will never see it become an invader of rangeland out west. Another example of a landscape plant that can escape and become a nuisance is vitex or chaste tree, Vitex agnus-castus. We use it here in landscapes with great success. It is a no-water survivor with profuse purple, pink or white blooms that are great for attracting butterflies and bees. At Lake Buchanan in Central Texas, it has escaped and spreads wildly around the shores of the lake. I have only witnessed a few escapees around here. A great source for researching invasives for Texas is texasinvasives.org. This site is very comprehensive with good information and is very helpful in identifying escaped plants with good pictures. Some states have a prohibited and regulated invasive plant list which legally prohibits the planting of certain identified plants. Texas currently has a list of plants that are considered invasive, but does not have the legal authority to enforce a "no plant rule." The terrestrial invasive plant list is a recommendation to be considered. The list can be viewed at the official site of the Texas Invasive Species Coordinating Committee tiscc.texas.gov. Aggressive plants may be survivors here in the west but we need to use common sense when choosing landscape plants to insure they stay in place. I hope my grandchildren can kayak the Pecos and enjoy the natural beauty and not have to battle more invasive plants. John Begnaud is a retired Tom Green County Extension agent for horticulture. Contact him at jebegnaud@gmail.com. SHARE By Staff Reports The San Angelo Police Department on Thursday released an alert about three male suspects allegedly scamming men leaving local Walmarts. They and their vehicle were captured on surveillance video, the release states. The first suspect a black man in his mid-20s to early 30s, wearing casual clothes and speaking with a foreign accent reportedly approaches men and asks for directions to Walgreens, offering to pay for a ride to the store. The first suspect then reportedly points out a second suspect a black man in his mid 20s to early 30s wearing a tie, slacks and possibly a lab coat. After they perform a "pigeon drop" scam (see more details at sanangelopolice.org/articles/view/fraud-scams-5329f2a6-542c-4e01-84ef-0f2d0abbf8a2), a third suspect another black man driving a 2000 model blue Chevrolet Trailblazer picks up the other two men at another location, the alert states. One victim reported being scammed out of several hundred dollars. Another resident did not fall for the scam when the men attempted it at another Walmart, the alert states. SAPD is asking anyone who encounters these suspects to call police dispatch at 325-657-4315. SHARE By Rashda Khan, Rashda.Khan@gosanangelo.com / @Rashda_SAST San Angelo is gearing up for the 10th annual Craig Partusch Memorial Drag Boat Races Showdown in June, and work on a bigger, better boat ramp at Spring Creek Park on Lake Nasworthy is well underway. The three-day showdown is part of the national Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series and brings in 12,000-15,000 people and about 130 boats from all over. Lucas Oil requested a bigger ramp, Jenni Campbell, director of sales and services of the Convention and Visitors Bureau and point person on the San Angelo event, said in April. "It's a win-win for us to work with the city on this," said Peggy Arnold, acting president of the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce. "The races have just grown and grown and become such a major event. ... (Having) that ramp in that different area would make our event flow so very well for that one week," she said. "And for the other 51 weeks of the year the city has the use of it for the park." The city of San Angelo and Chamber of Commerce signed a memorandum of agreement on Feb. 18. The agreement, according to information presented to City Council on Jan. 19, involved: The city allocating $150,000 to be used by the chamber to construct the boat ramp. Additional funding would come from the Hotel Occupancy Fund balance. The city purchasing a cofferdam system and storage container at a cost not to exceed $140,000, to be used by the Chamber for the construction of the ramp. The amount includes the cofferdam, storage, and training on how to use and store the temporary, movable dam, city staff said. Rick Weise, assistant city manager, said the City Council discussed the purchase of the cofferdam at length and went forward with it because they "thought it would be a good thing for the city to have." "This project was just one component of where it could be used, but we have multiple projects it could be used for," he said, adding that the idea was always to get multiple uses out of the cofferdam. Also, Weise said, having the cofferdam and other tools gives the city a competitive edge with grant applications for future applicable projects. The city has 11 boats ramps at Nasworthy, four at Twin Buttes, and three on the Concho River, and a handful of them need work. Carl White, director of Parks and Recreation Department with the city, hopes to apply for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department's Boating Access Grant soon. However, as work progressed on the Spring Creek boat ramp project, it turned out the cofferdam could not be used there. "We discovered the conditions under the water weren't what we were expecting," Weise said. "What I love about San Angelo is its can-do spirit." The group city, chamber and volunteers got together, assessed the situation and came up with another way to continue with the project while staying on schedule and within budget. The chamber then shared the final concept with SKG Engineering, LLC to "look over and make sure it worked." Two chamber members Goode Construction and Campbell Construction are the lead construction contractors on the ramp project and "are using their own equipment and donating much of their time and labor as well as the labor of their crews to bring the cost of the project down to a more manageable figure," Arnold said in an email. "The costs involved are for materials." She said the Chamber paid SKG Engineering, but at a discounted rate and not using city funds. Russell Gully, owner of SKG, said the company charged a nominal fee because "we enjoy what we do for the boat races staking out the racecourse every year. We've been supporting the boat race since it started." "I was born and raised here, so I do what I can to help San Angelo grow and thrive," Gully added. "If I were to charge the Chamber a lot, it takes away from how much they can do." "This is another one of those stories that shows a great partnership (the city has) with the Chamber and other volunteers in the community that gets a project done" Weise said. "If the whole community hadn't come together, then I don't know if the project would have been done or whether we'd still be waiting." As is the case, Arnold said the project is progressing forward and well within budget. "The only delays we've had have been because of the weather," she said. But she's optimistic of meeting the deadline of June 24, the first day of the showdown this year. "The goal was always to have the ramp in place by the boat races, and it's absolutely going to be done," Arnold said. "We just have to finish the construction and launch those boats." This photo provided by David Johnson shows David Johnson with Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders. I-Vt., at a campaign event in Iowa. The Bernie Sanders supporters who will be inside the Democratic National Convention in July are not backing down and see no harm if they have to shout a little at the gathering. I dont see any scenario where I would support her at the convention, said Johnson, 50, a delegate from West Branch, Iowa. But in the general election? Its a hard call for me. Nobody wants to see that insane Trump guy win. (Laura Twing/David Johnson via AP) SHARE Gabriel McArthur, 24, a delegate for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., holds a campaign sign in his living room, in Northglenn, Colo., Friday May 20, 2016. McArthur is heading to the Democratic National Convention in July to serve as a delegate for Bernie Sanders. Screaming and shouting are a distinct possibility from the Sanders camp at the event, he says. McArthur and other Sanders supporters are approaching the gathering with the enthusiasm that has powered the effort from the start. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and CATHERINE LUCEY, Associated Press DENVER (AP) Gabriel McArthur is heading to the Democratic National Convention in July to serve as a delegate for Bernie Sanders. Screaming and shouting are a distinct possibility from the Sanders camp at the event, he says. McArthur and other Sanders supporters are approaching the gathering with the enthusiasm that has powered the effort from the start holding garage sales, delivering pizza and raising money online to pay for their travel to Philadelphia. But their nerves are raw now over the Democratic Party's perceived slights against the insurgent candidate and they are clinging to a bygone hope that Sanders can wrest the nomination from Hillary Clinton despite her overpowering lead in delegates. As these super-fans chant "Bernie or bust," Democratic officials are growing increasingly worried about dissent, especially after a recent state convention in Nevada turned raucous. Some of the Sanders backers who are going to the convention as delegates for him and there are more than 1,400 give party officials little reason for comfort. "I don't think we're going to see a lot of violence, but we are going to see some screaming and shouting if the DNC doesn't humanize itself," McArthur, a 24-year-old administrative assistant in suburban Denver, said of the Democratic National Committee. "A little civil disobedience is OK. It's part of being an American." Sanders delegates, in more than a half-dozen interviews, say that while violence is not their goal for Philadelphia, party unity isn't their priority, either. They don't believe he has been treated fairly by the party establishment. "Anything can happen," said Jesica Marie Butler, 25, a Sanders delegate from Hawarden, Iowa, who volunteers for the campaign and is raising money on gofundme.com for her trip to Philadelphia. "This is a movement. This is a political revolution. It's getting people involved in the process. We're going to stick to it." Clinton only needs 90 more delegates to lock up the presidential nomination, a number she's likely to reach June 7, the final major day of primary voting. She now leads Sanders by nearly 300 delegates won in primaries and caucuses, an advantage that grows when including superdelegates, or party officials who can back any candidate. Most of them, by far, say they will support Clinton. Still, Sanders has shown no interest in letting up, despite concerns of many Clinton supporters that he is undermining her as Republicans coalesce around Donald Trump. Many Sanders delegates don't want him to give up, either. JoAnn Fujioka, a Sanders delegate from Denver, said she didn't approve of the chaos in Nevada, where Sanders supporters shouted down speakers. The state party chairwoman later received death threats and thousands of angry phone calls. Fujioka says Sanders supporters are determined, but idealistic and optimistic. "We should do whatever we can to get him nominated," she said. "We are in it to win it as Bernie is." Without acknowledging the reality that the nomination is essentially out of reach, the Sanders campaign has signaled it will agitate for changes in the party's platform and procedures, which could also disrupt the convention. The DNC began discussing composition of the committee that would draft the initial platform this week, assuring both the Clinton and Sanders campaigns they'd be fairly represented. Sanders supporters want the Vermont senator's priorities, like a $15 minimum wage and stricter banking regulations, included in the platform, an agenda that is not binding on the nominee. They also want changes in how elections are run, criticizing superdelegates and restrictions on primary voting. Ingrid Olson, 38, a Sanders delegate from Council Bluffs, Iowa, said: "I think open primaries should be available everywhere. I also believe in restorative rights for felons. I don't agree with superdelegates unless superdelegates are going to follow the will of the people." The acrimony has reached such a pitch that several Sanders delegates say they don't know if they can ever back Clinton. "I don't see any scenario where I would support her at the convention," said David Johnson, 50, a delegate from West Branch, Iowa. But in the general election? "It's a hard call for me. Nobody wants to see that insane Trump guy win." He said it's a "ridiculous argument" to say Sanders delegates should stand down to avoid weakening Clinton in the fall. "This is a competition," he said. "Bernie Sanders isn't running to prop up Hillary Clinton. He's running to win." Some Sanders delegates don't want to go too far. "No matter who the nominee is, we have to unite," said Euell Santistevan Jr., 20, of suburban Denver. But Cleo Dioletis, from Denver, said the Nevada blow-up showed how far the party establishment would go to silence Sanders' supporters. "I am very concerned that credentials could be pulled for unjust causes," he said. Ashley Wolthuis, a realtor in Ogden, Utah, said worries have increased sharply among her fellow Sanders delegates after Nevada. And she said Sanders supporters feel shortchanged by the few slots the Democratic National Committee gave them on the standing committees that will govern how the convention operates. Wolthuis said she was appalled at the chaos in Nevada. But, as a former Libertarian Party member who became a Democrat because of Sanders' focus on overhauling money in politics, she's not worried about a Sanders-led push causing Democrats heartburn. "Hillary didn't inspire me to join the Democratic Party, Bernie did, so it's hard for me to not imagine following Bernie wherever he goes," Wolthuis said. SHARE The following editorial appeared in the May 16 San Antonio Express-News: Texas should focus on problems that exist, not on those that don't and are never likely to. Welcome to the latest permutation in our ongoing culture wars the transgender community and which bathrooms it uses. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recently said he supports keeping people who are listed as males on their birth certificates out of women's bathrooms, even if it takes legislation to accomplish this. Patrick is the Senate president and it's likely that someone will submit yet another "potty" bill to please him. He doubled down afterward, trying to impose his will on a local school district whose superintendent is allowing transgender students to use the restrooms that fit their gender identity. He demanded the resignation of superintendent Kent Paredes Scriber and staged a news conference before a school board meeting of the Fort Worth Independent School District on Tuesday. And what did he urge of the board? Discrimination against an already besieged group among other things. That's how the federal government views it. The administration is reportedly preparing a directive instructing school districts to allow students to use restrooms according to their gender identity. While this would not have the force of law, it is a signal that the federal government could sue districts who veer from this policy. Patrick was among the first to condemn the directive, declaring that this means the end of public education as we know it. He is wrong on a couple of levels. First, for scaremongering on a nonissue transgenders now use public restrooms of their choice unnoticed and without incident and second for intruding on local affairs. He argues that the federal directive is a better example of such intrusion. But the sad fact is that the federal government is often the protector of last resort in matters of discrimination when states fail to act or when the states are, in fact, what citizens need to be protected from. Last year, Houston voters approved an ordinance that repealed HERO, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, which banned discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. To help win the day, repeal supporters raised the specter of cross-dressing sexual predators assaulting wives and daughters in public restrooms. If Texas approves legislation that mandates that people use only the restroom that corresponds to the gender on their birth certificate, it will be following North Carolina. That state's actions drew national protest and business backlash. Patrick says no such backlash occurred in Houston. But we're certain it will occur if Texas acts. North Carolina has suffered economic harm and has been sued by the federal government, which says it can withhold federal funds for violating civil rights. Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott, who is backing North Carolina's move, invite the same sort of risk for Texas if they block transgender rights. But the arguments do not center solely on the pocketbook. It is about singling out an already misunderstood and demonized community for more scaremongering and stigmatization. This is real. It is not a lifestyle choice, the fashionable description used at one time for gays and lesbians. And, just as gay men were often falsely depicted as predators, so, too, are transgender people in this case. Who, by the way, is going to be monitoring genitalia at the bathroom door? If this were a real threat, you'd think real predators would long ago have started donning dresses. And aren't women who are listed as males on their birth certificates exposing themselves to the risk of sexual assault if they use the men's restroom? In important respects, transgender people genuinely don't feel they are the gender their birth certificates say they are. But they're there solely to use the restroom in any case. Eighty-two percent of sexual assault victims know their attackers. Stranger rape is at 18 percent. But supporters of such bills have trouble coming up with instances in which transgender predators have fulfilled that stranger-rape scenario in restrooms. The Texas Legislature should defy Patrick and move on to real problems. In George O. Smiths science fiction short story Pandoras Millions, society collapses when the invention of a matter replicator, like the ones from, instantly renders most of the economy, and money itself, obsolete. Being a short story, this is resolved quickly with the invention of a substance that cant be duplicated, followed by rebuilding the economy and society around services.Real life doesnt always recover so quickly from disruptions, as we are finding out.Process improvements, technology and global trade, we were told, would be a great boon. And indeed they have been. Global economic output has soared, and some developing world nations have dramatically transformed themselves. The modern economy has tremendously benefited many in the educated classes. More important, a billion people around the world have been lifted out of $1.25-a-day poverty. This is a truly stunning achievement that should not be discounted.Alas, not everything has gone as promised. The middle and working classes in the developed world have struggled, not just economically but also socially. While creative destruction would wipe out many existing jobs, we were assured that it also would create many new ones, just as yesterdays industrialization provided better jobs not just for those displaced from the collapsing agricultural economy but for millions of poor European immigrants as well.We tend to forget that industrialization involved a long and painful period of adjustment and that the beneficial outcome wasnt guaranteed. Today we find ourselves in another such period of uncertainty, one highlighted in a recent McKinsey study citing the thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs lost from increased goods trade with China since 2000. Workers who lose their jobs in one industry should find opportunities elsewhere, the study notes. Yet this process does not always play out neatly and quickly. As a recent academic paper entitled The China Shock put it, Offsetting employment gains have yet to materialize. The Brookings Institution adds, Household incomes and wages are stagnant or losing ground for all but the top tier of earners. Nationally growth in low-wage jobs has far surpassed growth in middle-skill and higher-wage occupations.My Manhattan Institute colleague Scott Winship demonstrates that income gains are not disproportionately going to the top 1 percent, as some would argue, but writes that in part thats because so far in this business cycle, there have been no income gains to divide between rich and poor. And both conservative scholar Charles Murray and liberal Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam have documented the social destruction that has gone along with and reinforced this.Theres ample reason to believe these trends will continue. Northwestern University economist Robert Gordon argues that we are in an age of slower growth. But even if productivity growth does rise sharply, that may actually increase near-term job displacement. Researchers at Oxford University estimate that nearly half of all U.S. jobs are at risk of being lost due to automation in the next 20 years.Unsurprisingly, this has generated discontent. Back through to the 1980s and 90s, this was mostly limited to displaced industrial workers. Today that has grown to a much broader spectrum, from young masters degree holders with piles of student loan debt who are stuck working at Starbucks to corporate middle managers losing their jobs to outsourcing or foreigners working here under H1-B visas.Add to these the many people who have seen their wages stagnate or decline. Yes, some compellingly dispute the stagnant wage hypothesis, but clearly theres enough that we can see is wrong to justify the feeling of pessimism many have about their own and their childrens lives. Cumulatively, there are many millions of unhappy people out there. The white working class may not excite much sympathy on the left, or increasingly on the right either, but if they are hurting this badly theres little prospect of accomplishing the critical task of economically integrating black America into prosperity.This has percolated through to the political system, with the rise of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, both questioning many of the premises of the current economic system. America is more receptive to these arguments than many ever would have believed possible. Thats because the current system has lost legitimacy in the minds of many. Not only did it fail to deliver the promised benefits to them, but then government turned around and bailed out the big banks in the financial crash.The economic and social challenges facing America are serious and wont go away by wishful thinking. The industrialization era was turbulent and produced many reform movements, not all of them good. Even if Trump and Sanders lose their momentum in the presidential race, the forces propelling them will remain.Mainstream politicians in both parties need to take a gut check and provide more than bromides to the disaffected. They must acknowledge that the status quo has created a lot of losers. We need some serious policy proposals for how to start changing that. Failure to implement some new ideas will only perpetuate further social upheavals, and they might even get uglier than what were seeing today. Who Should Pay for Special Elections? Across the country, special elections to fill vacant legislative seats are a near-weekly event. The cost of holding them adds up to millions of dollars annually. Often, counties are left with the bill. In California, some legislators favor shifting that burden elsewhere.The state Senate elections committee gave unanimous approval earlier this year to a bill, sponsored by state Sen. Andy Vidak, which would require the state to reimburse counties for their administration costs. A Whirlwind of Change in Campaign Finance Laws In Kentucky, Longtime Incumbents Shown the Door Portland Gets New Mayor and Higher Gas Prices California used to do just that, prior to 2008, when its budget went kablooie. The reversal cost some counties big time. Los Angeles County alone has spent $18 million on special elections over the past six years."In Fresno County, [the senator] heard from his local electeds that it was causing stress on their already stretched budgets," said Jann Taber, Vidak's communications director.Naturally, the California State Association of Counties is all for the idea. But it's not clear how much farther Vidak's bill will go.It would make reimbursements retroactive to 2008, meaning the state would be out some $40 million right from the start. Senate appropriators have the proposal on hold and will decide by May 27 whether to kill it or move it along.But at least that bill got a hearing. Another proposal requiring retiring legislators to pay part of the freight for special elections went nowhere in the state Assembly. It's one thing when a legislator dies -- no one expects his estate to kick in for the cost of choosing a successor. But so many legislators leave office to become lobbyists or for other lucrative gigs that state Rep. Jim Patterson thought it was only fitting that they use any leftover funds in their campaign accounts to defray the cost of the special elections their departures have prompted.Self-interest being what it is, his colleagues didn't agree."It moved into the dark file of bill death," said Alisha Gallon, Patterson's spokeswoman.Few politicians willingly give up potential campaign money. There's fresh evidence of that obvious fact from all over the country.Inthe state Senate voted 24-8 to lift a two-year-old ban on fundraising during parts of the legislative season. The ban was put in place in the wake of a series of scandals that got three senators thrown out of office. Members weren't allowed to fundraise during eight weeks of the year -- four weeks during budget negotiations and the last four weeks of the session.But with primaries coming up next month, senators found this an inconvenient hindrance. It wasn't fair, they argued, that they couldn't raise money while their opponents -- including members of the state Assembly -- could.Similarly, thestate Senate killed a proposal that would have limited campaign contributions. Missouri is the only state with no limits; campaign contributions were abolished in 2008. But the issue isn't entirely dead: Earlier this month, backers of a ballot measure to impose fundraising limits turned in 272,000 signatures to the secretary of state's office.And on Tuesday, a federal judge struck down's limits on parties and political action committees' contributions to candidates for statewide office. The state will appeal, but for now, limits revert to where they were before a campaign fundraising law was passed in 1994.That means candidates can raise a lot more money. PACs, for example, will now be able to give $10,610 to statewide candidates for their primary and general election campaigns, compared to just $1,320 before.In, GOP House Speaker Greg Hughes warned his colleagues Wednesday to maintain a clear distance between policy discussions and pleas for campaign donations. The comments came in response to the publication of an audio recording between GOP Gov. Gary Herbert and lobbyists. The governor was caught saying that his chief of staff and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox would be running the state so he could be on "high giddy-up" pursuing his re-election bid. He then added that he would be happy to meet with them individually or as a group to collect campaign checks.Two longtime legislators from Louisville lost their seats in primaries on Tuesday.Republican state Rep. Tom Crimm, who had been in office for 20 years, was unseated by attorney Jason Nemes. On the Democratic side, Attica Scott, a member of the Metro Council, easily defeated Tom Riner, who had served in the state House since 1982.Riner had drawn criticism from Democrats for helping Kim Davis, the Rowan County clerk who became nationally famous for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.In another GOP state House primary, Tony Quillen won, even though he'd tried to drop out of the race. Quillen ran for the seat in a March special election. After losing, he unsuccessfully sought to withdraw from the race to give fellow Republican Danny Bentley a free ride to the nomination for a full term.Quillen won easily, but party officials say that the results won't count and that Bentley will, in fact, be the nominee."I can't lie," Quillen told . "It did put a big smile on my face when I drove home tonight."Oregon Treasurer Ted Wheeler was elected Tuesday as the new mayor of Portland. He faced 14 opponents, but by taking a majority of the vote (56 percent), Wheeler was able to avoid a runoff in November. Portland is booming , but Wheeler pledged to address income inequality, build more affordable housing and reduce homelessness.Portland voters also voted to raise gas taxes in the city by a dime for four years. The measure is expected to raise $64 million, which will be spent on roads and pedestrian and bicyclist safety improvements. A federal judge upheld Virginia's voter I.D. law Thursday, saying the state's Democratic Party failed to show that it targets minority voters.The law has created "a layer of inconvenience for voters," but that, "appears to affect all voters equally," U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson wrote in his 62-page opinion.Hudson, a George W. Bush appointee, also wrote that none of the 12 voters who testified during the case's seven-day, non-jury trial, "was actually denied his or her right to vote.""Admittedly, for some, the process was cumbersome," Hudson wrote, but that's not enough to declare Virginia's law unconstitutional on any of the arguments presented. The judge also noted that Virginians can register to vote online and that photo IDs are available for free.The loss is a blow for Democratic Party attorneys fighting GOP-authored election laws, and districts, in a number of states. Lead attorney Marc Elias said in an email that his team is reviewing its options, including an expedited appeal.Speaker of the House William Howell called the decision "a victory for the integrity of Virginia's elections and the three-quarters of Virginians who support our commonsense law." He criticized the Democratic Party of Virginia and Elias, who is also presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's general counsel for bringing "a politically motivated lawsuit."Elias' firm, Perkins Coie, brought not only this case, but a pair of redistricting cases against the state. Bruce V. Spiva, a Perkins Coie attorney involved in Virginia's case, is in Wisconsin this week for a trial in a similar lawsuit there.The speaker also had harsh words Thursday for Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring, who brought in outside counsel to defend the state against this suit. That has cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars.The Department of Motor Vehicles filed a motion this week, asking Hudson to force payment of $30,000 to cover costs associated with a subpoena that covered more than 43 million department records.The suit, filed last summer by the Democratic Party of Virginia and two voters -- one black, one Latino -- was initially much broader, alleging that an undercurrent of racism was at play in a number of Virginia election practices. The bulk of that suit was thrown out, though Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe's Department of Elections agreed to several steps meant to address long election day lines.Long lines have more effect on poorer voters, the suit argued, who can't afford time off work.In his opinion Thursday, Hudson agreed with the plaintiffs that there is little reason to believe that in-person voter fraud, the supposed reason behind enacting voter ID laws, is anything but rare. Evidence shows a widespread perception, though, that fraud is a legitimate concern, and photo ID laws are a reasonable way to address citizen confidence in elections, Hudson wrote.Democrats had argued that voter ID was about Republicans seeking a "tactical advantage," since minority, elderly and college student voters are less likely to have ID and more likely to vote Democratic. Hudson found " no evidence to elevate this impression beyond suspicion.""Even assuming ... that a single Republican senator had a latent motive to effect minority vote, such motive could not on the record at hand be imputed to the other Republican senators," Hudson wrote. "How many affirmative voters would be necessary to prove that a legislative body adopted a measure with discriminatory objective? That question remains unanswered!"The Democratic Party of Virginia stuck to its argument Thursday, saying Republicans passed voter ID "the sole purpose of making it more difficult to vote."An appeal would go to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, where North Carolina's voter ID law is already before the court. North Carolina's law is more strict than Virginia's, and if it's upheld by the 4th Circuit, than it's very likely Virginia's will be as well, according to Rick Hasen, a California law professor who follows these cases.With various other suits pending and plaintiffs finding "mixed success" challenging voter ID laws, the matter may eventually be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court, Hasen said. Whats Going on With Muni Credits? Paul Ryan Meets With Cities to Talk Taxes Revenue Slowdown The trend of local governments only seeking out one credit rating for bonds is growing. Now, one in five bonds issued in the municipal market has just a single credit rating assigned to it, according to data from Municipal Market Analytics (MMA).This can be attributed to several factors. For one, fewer individual investors -- the biggest users of credit ratings information -- are directly purchasing muni bonds, so the demand for multiple ratings has lessened. Also, agencies are increasingly giving different ratings to the same bond, which undermines the notch-by-notch value of individual rating assignments," said MMA analyst Matt Fabian.Along with this trend is another one: A significant portion of municipal issuers are worse off than they were at the end of the Great Recession. By the measure of PNC Capital Markets analyst Tom Kozlik, 20 percent of state and local governments have seen their underlying credit quality decline -- some significantly so.Kozlik blames this on one key fact: governments' inability to balance their revenue and spending to live within their means. Also, Kozlik adds, some state and local governments still have not grasped the scale, costs and risk that pension liabilities and other post-employment benefits still pose to credit quality and fiscal balance.These two trends contribute to the mysterious reputation the municipal market has with outsiders. When even the credit rating experts cant agree (note Chicagos three different ratings from four agencies), its tougher than ever to generalize about the overall health of state and local governments. But if more of them continue to falter, it will undoubtedly invite assumptions about unsustainable governments everywhere. During a meeting with the National League of Cities, Speaker Paul Ryan said this week that the U.S. House will take up tax reform next year.Among the considerations is nixing the provision that allows taxpayers to deduct state and local taxes from the income they declare to the federal government. Ryan said he favors that over the more common proposal of eliminating the tax exemption for municipal bond investment income because it would bring in twice as much revenue for the federal government ($1.1 trillion over 10 years).Next year may also bring long-awaited movement on taxing online sales. Ryan said he's asked the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee -- where a Senate-approved bill allowing states to levy online sales taxes has languished -- to get the Houses version of that bill to the floor. If that's accomplished, the two bills would have to be reconciledbecause they differ on whether a sales tax would be applied in the state of the buyer or seller.This could mean more battles for state and local governments on Capitol Hill. The news about the Internet sales tax bill is encouraging, but it's coming a little late. States have grown tired of waiting for Congress to act and have taken the issue to the courts. A test case could be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court as early as late 2017, when the House may still be debating the issueMeanwhile, Ryan has added a new tax concern for state and local government interests on top of the perennial fight about keeping the muni bond tax exemption. While saving [the muni bond] exemption is our top priority in efforts to reform the tax code, wrote NLCs Carolyn Coleman, I let the Speaker know that preserving [the state/local tax] deduction is a close second.The unpredictable stock market over the past nine months has taken a bite out of Californias revenue. The state's income tax revenue tends to be among the most volatile in the country because it's so closely tied to the stock market. Income tax collections in April, states' biggest month for the tax, were $1 billion less than California had budgeted. The flagging revenues impact what the state can deposit in its budget reserve accounts. That means a year from now, California expects to have somewhere between 5 and 7 percent of its annual expenditures in reserve -- far below the 10 percent originally envisioned.Adding to the volatility is a temporary tax hike on millionaires that was approved by voters in 2012. To date, a mostly appreciating stock market throughout the Proposition 30-era has helped boost California's revenue trend, said Standard & Poors analyst Gabriel Petek in his report this week. But in a sustained market correction -- which is inherently unpredictable -- the dynamic would work in reverse, making state tax revenues susceptible to a steeper drop-off.California has tried to mitigate its volatile income tax revenue by putting excess revenue in its reserves . But despite all the state has done to protect itself from another revenue crash like the one it experienced during the Great Recession, it may not be enough to fully absorb the shock if and when the next downturn comes. That doesnt bode well for other states that have only recently begun planning for the next downturn. For example, Kansas, which has been plagued with revenue shortfalls largely thanks to an income tax cut, created a budget reserve fund just this month. Louisiana will become the sixth state to make women wait three days before they can get an abortion.Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, signed House Bill 386 into law on Thursday to extend the waiting period from 24 hours to 72 from first consulting with a doctor before an abortion can be performed. The new law takes effect Aug. 1.Anti-abortion activists haled the extended waiting time as a "victory for women in Louisiana.""This important bill empowers women considering abortion with additional reflection time before an abortion so they can consider their options more effectively," Louisiana Right to Life Legislative Director Deanna Wallace said in a statement. "Since abortion facilities in Louisiana are only in the business of selling abortion, this reflection period allows for further consideration of other choices, including adoption and parenting."As the bill weaved its way through the State Capitol, abortion-rights advocates described the effort as "condescending" and argued that it will create hurdles for women who have already made up their minds but have work or family commitments that may be disrupted by the three-day delay.Like many other recent efforts to restrict abortion in Louisiana in recent years, the increased waiting time has won broad bipartisan support among Louisiana lawmakers.Two clinics -- one in Shreveport and one in New Orleans -- continue to perform abortions in the state.Tripling the waiting period will put the state with Missouri, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Dakota and Utah as having the nation's longest mandatory waiting times. The longer wait time in Louisiana won't apply to women who live more than 150 miles from an abortion clinic, but they would still be required to wait 24 hours. A day after a Louisiana House member proposed weight limit for strippers, a House committee, as expected, voted down Thursday legislation demanding equal pay for men and women.The House Labor and Industrial Relations Committee voted along party lines -- with the exception of one Democrat -- to involuntarily defer the measure.The one Democrat, Rep. Willie Hunter, of Monroe, said he voted to take advantage of parliamentary rules that could allow him to bring the bill back up again. Though all admit that is an unlikely scenario.Senate Bill 254 would have set up procedures and timelines through which employees who feel they are being paid less because of their gender could rectify the situation with their employers. If a resolution could not be found, the employee would have the right to file a lawsuit.An amendment by Hammond Rep. Chris Broadwater, a Republican who had previously opposed the measure, would have limited, but not eliminated, those lawsuits. It was a compromise worked out over several weeks with Sen. JP Morrell, D-New Orleans and chief sponsor of the bill, and Gov. John Bel Edwards, who campaigned on getting an Equal Pay measure passed.Broadwater said he hoped that the compromise in his amendment would persuade enough Republican members of the committee to drop their opposition. Business groups, such as the Louisiana Association of Business Industry, said Broadwater's efforts weren't good enough.His recommendation was voted down.Additionally, several supporters referred to an amendment on a bill debated Wednesday -- setting a maximum weight for strippers offered to legislation that set the minimum age for dancers in strip clubs at 21 years old. Women legislators erupted that such an amendment was demeaning.Rep. Helena Moreno, D-New Orleans, held up the front page of The Advocate and asked the members of the House Labor committee to at least let the Equal Pay bill to the floor so that the entire House could debate it. That would change the headlines that are now going around the country, she said. The Supreme Court on Thursday made it easier for the government to deport immigrants who have committed crimes under state laws.The 5-3 ruling by Justice Elena Kagan clarified immigrants can qualify for removal from the U.S. even if they lack an element in corresponding federal laws that trigger deportation. The decision rejected claims by a Dominican electrician convicted of attempted arson that the deportation trigger was limited to crimes related to interstate commerce.The Immigration and Nationality Act lists some 80 aggravated felonies that justify expedited deportation proceedings, whether the conviction came under federal law or corresponding state or foreign laws. The court, in a ruling that scrambled ideological lines, held that qualifying state laws need not include a link to interstate commercea typical element in federal criminal statutes. Description GIS - 20 May, 2016: The Peoples Republic of China has allocated a grant of RMB 145 million which is approximately Rs 780 million to the Government of Mauritius for the financial year 2016-2017. The Peoples Republic of China has allocated a grant of RMB 145 million which is approximately Rs 780 million to the Government of Mauritius for the financial year 2016-2017. In this context, the Financial Secretary, Mr Dev Manraj, and Senior Officials of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, met the Ambassador of the Peoples Republic of China in Mauritius, Mr LI LI, on 17th May 2016, in the presence of the Economic and Commercial Counsellor, Ms. Xie Yajing, to discuss on the grant made available to Mauritius which will further reinforce forthcoming cooperation. Mr Dev Manraj also submitted an official request together with relevant project documentation for assistance in respect to the construction of the National Archives and the National Library. The Chinese Authorities agreed to consider the provision of a grant of Rs 360 million (equivalent to RMB 70 M), under the Chinese Government Aid to finance this project. Discussions also focused on potential projects that could be considered on a fast track basis for funding during financial year 2016-17 whereby both sides agreed to give priority to the transport and energy sectors. In that respect, the Government of Mauritius will submit projects by end of May 2016 to the Chinese authorities for funding consideration. The Chinese Ambassador also stated that following the Johannesburg Summit and the 6th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in December 2015, new cooperative partnership will be available to implement cooperation plans for the African countries on several sectors such as: industrialisation, agricultural modernisation, infrastructure development, financial cooperation, green development, trade and investment facilitation, poverty reduction, public health, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and peace and security cooperation. The Chinese Authorities have been requested to submit necessary guidelines to allow Mauritius to develop proposals for assistance. The Financial Secretary and the Ambassador further discussed on possible assistance in the agricultural sector under the 18th Agricultural Technical Cooperation Programme. Furthermore, under the Chinese Volunteers Programme, assistance in the education sector will be extended for a further period of one year to teach mandarin in our primary schools. Noelle Knell has been the editor of Government Technology magazine for e.Republic since 2015. She has more than two decades of writing and editing experience, covering public projects, transportation, business and technology. A California native, she has worked in both state and local government, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, with majors in political science and American history. She can be reached via email and on Twitter. CIO: A Failing Proposition? Digital services: the services residents use to engage and do business with the city; Back-office software: Day-to-day core services like email, human resources management, budgeting, fiscal and accounting that all departments rely on; Mission IT: The business applications that run the internal processes of departments and agencies; and Infrastructure: Network and connectivity, hosting and device management. San Francisco Maps Building Inspections Congressional Reports Kept Private In a Medium post this week, Jennifer Pahlka, founder of the civic tech group Code for America, opined on the problematic job descriptions of chief information officers and chief innovation officers. Her message, aimed at officials seeking digital leadership, argued that most jurisdictions define CIO duties too broadly.Both of these jobs are framed in such a way that it can be almost impossible to succeed in them," she said, "and the candidate you want is also the candidate who can see that, and wont take the job."Instead of an all-encompassing position, she suggested cities and agencies consider two leaders. The first would focus on digital services that engage directly with citizens, and the other would focus on the internal and back-end management of IT. As long as the two shared the same vision, she said it didnt matter who reported to who. Examples of this type of split approach are San Francisco, Boston and Asheville, N.C.Even so, she clarified that shared responsibility did not infer a division between traditional structure and progressive 21st-century practices.The one deadly combination is one leader protective of the status quo, and another hell-bent on modernization ... Pahlka said. In most cases, you should consider recruiting two top people who have some combination of responsibility across the four domains."The four domains to which Pahlka refers are:To make building inspection permit and complaint data easier for citizens to digest, San Franciscos Department of Building Inspection (DBI) on May 19 unveiled an interactive map to track its troves of public records. The map, provided by the startup buildingeye, is a major update for the citys older online service. The colorful map allows prospective renters to display active complaints attached to residential structures, it gives homeowners and housing contractors status updates on filed permits, and neighborhood groups can track projects under review.DBIs partnership is also one of consolidation. The new map is paired with a separate record map from the citys Planning Department that San Francisco launched in 2015 with historical data going back to 1997. The addition of the building inspection data extends even further, going to the 1960s, and ongoing updates are estimated to total 68,000 records each year.Through buildingeye, the public can now easily view online permit applications through an interactive mapping interface that complements DBIs online Permit Tracking System, which provides 24/7 access to records with a click of a button, said DBI Director Tom Hui in a release.The announcement also shows an ongoing relationship between the city and buildingeye that began in 2014 when it participated in the citys first Entrepreneurship in Residence program. Other cities to adopt the platform are Palo Alto, Calif; Redwood City, Calif., and Adams County, Colo.Open data advocates are reeling after an 18-to-32 vote by the House Appropriations Committee against the public release of congressional research reports. The documents called Congressional Research Service reports are meant to educate Congress on critical issues surrounding policy decisions and are entirely funded by taxpayers. In an article by the Huffington Post, the amendments sponsors, Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Illinois, and Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Virginia, estimated that costs for some of the reports tally in the millions.In many cases, here we are, putting out reports that were spending $100 million a year on, and were telling the public, Oh, you dont have access to them, Quigley said in a debate Tuesday.Opposition to the legislation stemmed from fears that public disclosure would slow research and stigmatize lawmakers who might not want to be identified requesting information on controversial issues. A second piece of legislation, to just list the titles of the reports publicly, was also voted down by the lawmakers. In both cases, votes mostly fell along partisan lines, with Democrats siding for transparency and Republicans for privacy.Notwithstanding, the CRS reports are not classified and legislative companies have used this loophole to capitalize, profiting, Quigley said, on the reports by becoming research resellers. (TNS) -- It has gotten a lot more difficult for criminals to lie about their identity thanks to the advent of "Live Scan" computerized fingerprint technology.Years ago it would take weeks for fingerprint comparisons to be made in a state database. But in recent years, many police agencies across the country have gotten computerized scanners that can take a person's print and almost instantly compare it to those in the database.The result is people who give false names are typically caught in minutes, before they are arraigned or released on the underlying charge.The Washington County Sheriff's Office found out this week that it will be getting state funding to purchase new Live Scan equipment, which will allow the agency to equip its substation in Salem and buy newer equipment for its main station in Fort Edward.It will receive $19,945, part of more than $1 million given to police agencies across the state for Live Scan technology over the past few months. and was the only local police agency named in the most recent rounds of state grants.Sheriff Jeff Murphy said the equipment has dramatically approved the process for fingerprinting and taking mugshots, and led to quick determinations as to whether someone is lying about who they are. That is particularly important for determining if someone is wanted on a warrant elsewhere."It's an excellent tool for identification. You instantly know who you are dealing with," he said."Before it would take weeks before a print was processed and you knew who it was," Hudson Falls Police Chief Randy Diamond said. "Now they do it in minutes."Without a terminal in the Route 22 station in Salem, sheriff's officers have had to drive some suspects to Fort Edward to put their prints through Live Scan if there is concern about veracity of their personal information.The computerized process also hastens the fingerprinting process for non-criminal matters such as pistol permit applications and school bus driver background checks, Murphy added.In Washington County, the Sheriff's Office, State Police, Hudson Falls Police, Granville Police and Cambridge-Greenwich Police are the only agencies with Live Scan technology in their stations. In Warren County, the Sheriff's Office, State Police and Glens Falls Police have the technology."We have had a number of cases where people lie and sign the (print) cards and it winds up being a felony forgery charge," Glens Falls Police Detective Lt. Peter Casertino said.The system also provides uniform backgrounds for mugshot pictures, so that there are no variations between agencies that can affect the picture, Diamond said.Murphy said the Sheriff's Office has set up its system so other agencies in the county can use it, including Whitehall Police, Fort Edward Police and the state Department of Environmental Conservation. (TNS) -- The pilots of Solar Impulse an aircraft attempting to travel around the world using power from the sun instead of fuel told a Pittsburgh audience this morning their goal is to not only complete their global round trip this year but to demonstrate the benefits of developing clean technologies and products.This project became about energy-efficiency, not just a new airplane, said Andre Borschberg, 63, one of the planes pilots and an engineer who co-founded the privately-funded Solar Impulse initiative.We want to show that renewable energy and clean technology can achieve the impossible: to fly without fuel, said Bertrand Piccard, 58, the other pilot and an aviation pioneer who spearheaded Solar Impulse in 2003.The aircraft landed in Tulsa, Okla., May 12 and could take off for its next target destination, New York City, as soon as this weekend, Mr. Borschberg said.After that it will cross the Atlantic Ocean to Europe and eventually make its way back to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates where it began the journey in March 2015.The Solar Impulse crew initially projected it would fly around the world in four months but after several stops in Asia, it was grounded in Hawaii from July until last month. During that time the crew made adjustments to the batteries that store its solar energy because they had overheated during the prior flight from Japan, said Mr. Borschberg.The plane runs on 17,000 solar cells in its wings, fuselage and tail that power electric motors and propellers.On April 21, it departed for Mountain View, Calif., then stopped in Phoenix before landing in Tulsa last week.Solar Impulse has a strong connection to Pittsburgh because its lead corporate sponsor, Covestro, has its North American base in Robinson.The materials company supplied the polyurethane foam used in the planes cockpit, polycarbonates used for its scratch-resistant windscreen, and coatings and adhesives that cover the planes wings.Covestros logo appears on the tail and the side of the aircraft.Mr. Piccard and Mr. Borschberg made their remarks during a briefing at the Energy Innovation Center in the Hill District where Covestro announced a new partnership to supply sustainable products for that facility.Almost 3,000 square feet in conference and classroom space currently being renovated at the center will be renamed the Covestro BrightSpace.It includes Covestro insulation and coatings similar to what it supplied for Solar Impulse, said Jerry MacCleary, president of Covestros North American region.Solar Impulse is the flying laboratory of our materials, he said. And the Energy Innovation Center is our laboratory on the ground. Last week, New York City announced the NYC Digital Playbook , a commitment and strategy to building an interactive and innovative host of digital services. This week, the initiative delivers its first content. An evolving online portal called Alpha will give citizens a chance to watch the city experiment with new ideas online and even participate in the development.Alpha is New York Citys pilot website, explained Chief Digital Officer Jessica Singleton; it's a place where officials can test out new ideas, get feedback from the public and blog weekly on whats working and what isnt.When we say designing in front of New Yorkers, we dont have someone in the middle of Herald Square actually coding, but there is a destination, alpha.nyc.gov, where New Yorkers can follow along," she said, "and then on the blog they can read ways that weve incorporated their feedback about what were doing well and whats not working, and the changes we make in response to that."Alphas simple interface contains a search bar, three widgets for the most commonly accessed services: Find a Job, Get IDNYC and Pay a Parking Ticket. Below that, three icons provide status information on parking, garbage pickup delays and school closures. A large green button that reads, We want your feedback! invites visitors to participate.A dynamic and interactive experience is what the city hopes will keep people engaged and checking the progress regularly, Singleton said. Alpha is not intended to replace NYC.gov, she said, but a message at the top of the Alpha website that reads, Welcome to the pilot version of NYCs website, indicates the site may eventually serve as a permanent replacement, if not for the main website, then perhaps for a smaller agency site.There are over 340 unique nyc.gov websites that reflect the city of New Yorks digital footprint, and yet those websites are difficult for me as the chief digital officer to understand how they all fit together, Singleton said. Our aspiration is to ensure that New York Citys digital footprint is reflective of New Yorkers needs and identities, not the citys organizational chart. So we believe Alpha is the first real step toward building out a roadmap for how we might accomplish that aspirational goal.Progress updates to Alpha and other NYC Digital Playbook projects will be posted to the NYC Mayors Office of Digital Strategy official Medium page (TNS) -- WASHINGTON A bipartisan Senate coalition led by Democrat Ron Wyden and Republican Rand Paul wants to block efforts to make it easier for the government to search computers across multiple jurisdictions.The Justice Department is proposing rule changes that would allow it to use a single warrant to search far and wide, a move the government says is designed to deal with modern technology.But some senators see the change to criminal procedure rules, which has already been blessed by the Supreme Court, as opening the door to a vast expansion of surveillance by the FBI. And on Thursday they introduced legislation to stop it.Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, called the proposal to amend Rule 41 a dramatic expansion of the governments hacking and surveillance authority.Such a substantive change with an enormous impact on Americans constitutional rights should be debated by Congress, not maneuvered through an obscure bureaucratic process, Wyden said.The rules change has been opposed by civil libertarians and companies like Google.Our law enforcement policies need to be updated to reflect 21st century realities with a process that is transparent, effective and protects our civil liberties, said Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., one of the co-sponsors of the bill.The legislative text is extraordinarily short, fitting on a single page and declaring without ambiguity that the rule changes as proposed, shall not take effect. Late last month, GovTech caught up with officials leading the cybersecurity charge in New Jerseys Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC) . During the conversation, we learned that their approach also included analysts from the states Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP), who help to close the communications gap between state agencies and improve intelligence sharing.On Tuesday, May 17, analysts and NJOHSP officials hosted a monthly intelligence webinar to brief their national partners on a recent domestic terror conference and to unclassify some of the threats they monitor on a daily basis. The webinar was attended by participants from state and federal law enforcement, academia and private-sector partners from across the country.During the roughly 50-minute webinar, counterterror officials discussed the overarching threat environment, but also some of the technological tools used by the groups in question and how NJOHSP monitors these threats online.The transparent, and almost surprising, approach to homeland security is meant to drive awareness of issues, like homegrown violent extremists (HVEs), anti-government militia activity and racially motivated extremism within the state.According to those on the afternoon call, these topics are often overlooked by the mainstream media, where the focus is largely on the threats posed by outsider groups like the Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL).Among the myriad topics discussed during the panel was the idea that social media has become a useful tool in the efforts of certain groups to spread their extremist ideals. Analyst Paige Schilling said she constantly monitors social platforms like Twitter to stay on top of the conversations around certain hashtags.I can say as an analyst that I am on TweetDeck most of my day and Im looking at different hashtags, she said. The news may not be 100 percent accurate because its coming out so quickly, but its a way to really connect with different academics and follow and watch for these hashtags so you can watch for them and view the movements overall.Unlike accounts linked to ISIS, Schilling said groups like white supremacists and black separatists are often not as likely to have their accounts closed by administrators, which allows them to retain followers and use the online mediums to effectively communicate their messages.When asked whether social media has been as useful a tool for investigators and analysts as it has been for domestic extremist groups, officials said there was no surefire way to measure. Dean Baratta, the analysis bureau chief with the NJOHSP, said the online tools play an important role for both sides of the domestic terror issue.I think its been valuable. I dont know if I can weigh which has been more valuable for whom. But certainly, if you review for example the criminal complaints of the dozens of homegrown violent extremists that have been arrested since 2010 ... these extremists go online, on some form of social media usually, and say something, do something, incriminate themselves that leads to them getting charged. So, it does help, but certainly extremist groups are finding it valuable as well.When asked whether domestic groups appear to be focused on the critical cybersystems and infrastructure, officials said the issue was not specifically addressed during the conference under discussion, but confirmed it was an important topic for future dialog.Baratta said the technology focus of the recent conference was more focused on how technology is being leveraged by groups operating within the borders of the United States. Renault is open-minded about the composition of the driver lineup for its new works team beyond 2016, according to boss Frederic Vasseur. Having inherited Jolyon Palmer's contract from Lotus and then signing up Kevin Magnussen at the eleventh hour, speculation about the next Renault lineup has swirled in the F1 paddock so far this year. But Renault has also backed Palmer and particularly Dane Magnussen, even though youngsters Sergey Sirotkin, Esteban Ocon and Nicholas Latifi are all being given chances to shine on Friday mornings. The French marque's former double world champion Fernando Alonso has been linked with Renault again, but Vasseur played down the likelihood of a 'big name' signing. "The idea is that at some point my boss will ask me to deliver," he smiled to Denmark's Ekstra Bladet newspaper. "And he does not care what the drivers' names are. "If you put a big name in the car, it works for you for a week but in the end it's all about results. So you either put the best in your car or someone who could improve to become the best," Vasseur added. "If you look at it, we are only putting young drivers in the car. For us the most important thing is to find the world champion of 2020 or 2021, not 2006. "I can't remember who won in 2005 or 2006. Or 2007," Vasseur laughed, referring not only to Alonso but also Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen. So he suggested that Renault's involvement in the 2017 'silly season' will be a low-profile one. "First, we must be able to give our drivers a proper car," said Vasseur. (GMM) Beleaguered Republican Congresswoman Renee Ellmers says calling a Republican not conservative enough is "a form of bigotry. Because basically what you're saying is, you don't think like I do, therefore you are not as good as me. I believe if you say you are a conservative, you are a conservative." She was speaking at a debate among the three GOP candidates running in North Carolina's 2nd Congressional District. Pretty much all you hear when Republicans run against each other are claims about who's the most conservative and who's less than pure. Which is kind of funny when their presidential candidate flunks whatever purity test there is on conservatism. But, then again, he says he's a conservative. Maybe it's bigotry not to believe him. NEW YORK Lowe's completed a $2.4 billion buyout of Canadian home improvement retailer Rona Inc., the company said Friday, one week after Canadian regulators signed off on the deal. The Mooresville, North Carolina, went after Rona for a second time in February after its first attempt to acquire the company in 2012. The acquisition creates one of the largest home improvement retailers in Canada, with 539 store locations. U.S. rival The Home Depot Inc., which is based in Atlanta, has about 180 Canadian stores. Lowe's and rival Home Depot have seen sales boom in the midst of a strong recovery in the U.S. housing market. Both companies have reported positive first-quarter results and upbeat outlooks. Lowe's Companies Inc. this week reported a 31 percent spike in first-quarter revenue. Profits rose almost 8 percent. RALEIGH The North Carolina Railroad Co. has been accused of being a closed shop to all outsiders, but for an hour Thursday the board of directors held part of its monthly meeting with reporters present. The railroad recently pledged up to $15.2 million to buy 875 acres in the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite, a 1,400-acre tract in northeastern Randolph County that officials hope will attract an auto manufacturer someday. The railroad is a private corporation owned by the state. The megasite is not located directly on the railroads corridor, which runs from Charlotte to Morehead City. The News & Record has requested and been denied minutes of past board meetings that might shed light on what led to the railroads decision to buy the land. Officials contend that because the railroad is a private entity, its not subject to public records laws that typically apply to state agencies. Its 13-member board is appointed by the governor and General Assembly, but it is free to make its own decisions. Its a contradictory relationship that is starting to raise eyebrows now that the railroad is involved with the megasite. Earlier this month, Board Chairman Franklin Rouse Jr. and President Scott Saylor detailed the railroads reasons and process for buying the land in an interview with the News & Record. Without records of past meetings, however, meetings like the one Thursday would do little to provide an unfiltered look at the inside relationships and decisions that contributed to the megasite purchase. Earlier this week, the board posted an announcement for the meeting that said registered guests may attend. Thats normal policy, several railroad officials said before the meeting began. During Thursdays meeting, the first hour was spent on general reports about infrastructure, the states economy and other matters from board members and their advisers. The most striking part of the meeting came when board Vice Chairman Robert Brown, a nationally known communications specialist and champion of civil rights causes who served in the Nixon administration, began an impassioned defense of the railroad and its mission. Every state in the South has all kinds of industrial plants, including automobiles, he said. We have fallen behind everybody in the South. He explained that the railroads mission is to bring jobs and growth to the state. Brown said he knows the railroad has been criticized, but were not trying to cheat anybody. Were not trying to go behind anybodys back. We dont need to do anything under the table. He added that if the railroad doesnt help land bigger industry, that is a slam on the children yet unborn in this state. HARTFORD The number of state employees who have been terminated as a result of the Connecticut budget crisis pushed close to 1,000 on Friday, when the Judicial Branch announced that 61 temporary court clerks and recording monitors will be out of work next month. The layoffs are on top of 30 Executive Branch layoffs announced Thursday by Gov. Dannel P. Malloys budget office. The total of those employees who are either off the job now or next month under union rules reached 980. Chief Court Administrator Patrick L. Carroll III, in an email to employees, said the latest layoffs will take effect on June 22. Five employees are to be terminated in Bridgeport Superior Court, two in Danbury, one in Milford, and five in Stamford. Carroll said that the $19.7 billion budget passed last week, to take effect July 1, cut the Judicial Branch by $77 million, $35 million of which has to come from salaries. Regrettably, and as you know, 239 valued employees have received layoff notices over the past month, Carroll said. With the latest announcement, the number of judicial staff reductions reached 300 out of 4,000 employees in the courts. We are continuing to analyze the impact of the budget on the Judicial Branch, and will take into account retirements, resignations and the impact of a hard hiring freeze, as we determine what additional staff reductions may be necessary, Carroll said. We also continue to work on plans to close courthouses, to consolidate functions in different courthouses and to reduce funding for the contracted programs and services that we administer. As we have said in the past, the budget reductions are severe under any circumstances and consequentially the cuts we are making are also unavoidable. We are acutely aware that the decisions made dramatically alter the lives of those affected and wish the outcome could have been different. Chuck DellaRocco, president of AFSCME Local 749, which represents court workers, said that while the 61 temporary workers dont have union protections, courthouses are deeply affected by the job losses. By contract, they have to let them go prior to other union employees because some of their duties cross over, DellaRocco said in a phone interview. We feel so sorry for these employees. We are a family and they are still judicial employees. On Thursday, the Office of Policy and Management, which is the governors budget office, said that another 30 people in the Executive Branch were terminated. Those positions are: 24 in the Department of Developmental Services food-services division at the Southbury Training School; four in the Office of Governmental Accountability, comprising two each in the Freedom of Information Commission and the Office of State Ethics; one in the Department of Correction and one in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Malloy has estimated that at least 2,000 layoffs in the statewide workforce of about 47,500 would be needed to help balance the budget, which has been suffering from sharp falloffs in tax revenue. The lack of revenue created a $960 million deficit in the second year of the biennial budget that was approved last year and was redrafted and approved last week. Malloy has until the middle of next month to sign it, sign it with line-item vetoes, veto it or let it become law without his signature. Executive Branch employees are being told their jobs are terminated at the end of the days business, but they will retain salaries and benefits through a contractual notice period that extends into June. DellaRocco said that AFSCME filed some technical grievances on the judicial layoffs. Union officials and those representing the umbrella State Employee Bargaining Agency Coalition have also filed grievances on the job terminations. Sal Luciano, executive director of AFSCME Council 4, said Friday that the union is contesting the firings. The Malloy administrations failure to honor previous agreements and to respect our members contractual rights is making a bad situation worse, not just for the workers who are losing their livelihoods, but for the services that are being damaged by these reckless layoffs, Luciano said. DellaRocco said the layoffs are not going to solve the states fiscal problems, and that lawmakers will be back as soon as December, after the General Assembly elections, to again balance the budget. The whole state should be worried about what is going on right now in the budget, he said. Youre going to have to raises taxes. kdixon@ctpost.com / GPD GREENWICH Police closed the case of a robbery at the Staples store in Riverside with the arrest of a suspect this week. Devon C. Fontus, 28, of 152nd Street, Jamaica, Queens, is due to be arraigned on a charge of third-degree robbery on May 25. Fontus was in custody of Port Authority police in Queens on another criminal matter, and he was picked up by Greenwich police on Wednesday. or Already a subscriber? Sign In What is your email? This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us. Enter your email: Please enter a valid email address. Submit Email or Connect with Google Sign In To Continue Reading Create Your Free Account edit email Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google Choose a password to create an account: Enter your password or sign in with a different email Forgot Password? Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: Lower case letters (a-z) Upper case letters (A-Z) Numbers (0-9) Special Characters (!@#$%^&*) New York sites. By submitting your email, you agree to our This password will be used to sign into allsites. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us. Sign In Create Account Photo: iStockphoto Welcome to Grub Streets weekly survey of the most-talked-about, must-visit restaurants in New York. The list below features spots both new and old, ranked according to one important, ever-fluctuating (and admittedly subjective) metric: Who has the most buzz? Perhaps a famed chef has taken over the kitchen or theres a new dish you absolutely must order. Maybe the restaurant is just brand new or the critics are raving about it. Whatever the reason, these are the 12 hottest restaurants in New York right now. 1. Le Crocodile (10) Would you like some Barbuto-style roast chicken with a big pile of crisp, skinny fries? Of course you would and so, it seems, does Times critic Pete Wells, who this week gave three stars to this Williamsburg brasserie, writing, Nearly everything Ive had at Le Crocodile has made me want to come back for more. 2. Barbuto (7) Then again, if you want your Barbuto-style chicken from Barbuto, you will be very happy to learn that the restaurant is now back in action, albeit around the corner from the original location. Everything, and everyone, you love from the original version is back, too, so the restaurants legions of regulars should have no trouble settling right in to the updated space. 3. Thai Diner (2) Suddenly, everythings a diner including Soho Diner, Jose Andress Spanish Diner, and chef Sam Yoos very excellent Golden Diner and now the Uncle Boons team unveils the aptly named Thai Diner. As you might guess, its equal parts Greek-American diner and Thai restaurant with a wild mix of food (kanom krok, eggs with Thai sausage, chicken liver with pineapple and Thai herbs, straight-up cheeseburgers) that is something like a free-for-all of deliciousness. 4. Rule of Thirds (1) The new Japanese spot at the Williamsburg-Greenpoint border is off to a good start. The bar is huge, the drinks are solid (including a list of sake for natural wine lovers), and chef JT Vuongs menu is filled with hits, like a tofu-and-Camembert hot pocket, and a deeply comforting vegan riff on kasujiru, a mushroom-and-bean-laden stew thats infused with the flavor of sake lees. 5. Ernestos (3) Chef Ryan Bartlows impressive menu is filled with all sorts of food you find yourself thinking about long after youve left his new downtown Spanish restaurant: chicken croquettes with a beautiful custardy interior, that Instagram-famous pile of potato chips and Spanish ham, pots of long-cooked tripe, squid stewed in its own ink, and peppers stuffed with tender lamb neck. 6. Jua (4) Chef Ho Young Kims Korean tasting-menu spot is open, and quickly finding fans. The food on the $95 set menu is polished with an ambitious approach that marries Korean and Western techniques and the entire room smells pleasantly of the wood fire that Kim uses to cook much of his food. 7. Karazishi Botan (7) Returning to the idea of everythings a diner how about a ramen diner, this one from chef Foo Kanegae, who is best known here for his work with Ippudo? Its in the space that was previously home to Battersby, which you may recall is, um, cozy. You might also know that everyone loves ramen and that this particular diner will not accept reservations. All of this is to say: Expect a wait! 8. Leo (8) Whats not to like about this Williamsburg pizza joint? The vibe is as casual as it gets, the pizzas are exceedingly solid, you can just grab whatever wine you want off the wall (or from a cooler up front), and everyone just seems so exceedingly happy to be here. Also: those beans! 9. 232 Bleecker (11) Chef Suzanne Cupps has teamed up with the Dig chain for this new neighborhood spot in Greenwich Village. There is a massive grill, Cuppss signature way with fresh, seasonal ingredients, and lasagna made with Moses Sleeper cheese from Vermonts Jasper Hill Farm. 10. Da Toscano (12) Speaking of highly revered New York chefs arriving in new spaces, Michael Toscano has returned to the city with an upscale Italian spot that promises to hit all the carby, meaty notes his fans will remember and love. 11. Veronika (9) What does Adam Platt think of Stephen Starrs newest restaurant, a gilded homage to the European luxury of yesteryear? Our critic recently wrote that much of chef Robert Aikenss cooking is extremely polished the duck-stuffed chou farci and chicken Kiev are lovely but as dinner progresses at Veronika, theres a sense that the kitchen, like this latest Starr concept in general, is missing that little creative twist that in cooking (and theatrical) circles is sometimes called a point of view. 12. Saltbae Burger (New this week) You probably shouldnt actually go here, but when something is universally understood to be the worst restaurant in NYC right now it has to make you a little curious, no? Metropolitan has become the Grand Central of Brooklyns gay scene. Photo: Liz Clayman Its time to declare the best gay bar in Brooklyn. With the closures of Lovegun, Sugarland, and the queer emporium Spectrum, the Brooklyn gay bar is in a moment of transition. Many venues for gay black men have shuttered as well (RIP: Starlight, Rockwells, and Brooklyn Cafe). But the places that remain some new, some newly renovated, and some old standbys are doing their part to keep the boroughs LGBT community lubricated. The Absolute Best 1. Metropolitan 559 Lorimer St., nr. Metropolitan Ave., Williamsburg; 718-599-4444 The long-running Metropolitan bar has always been the casual first and last stop of the night, but its evolved to become something of a Grand Central Station for Brooklyns gay scene, with a lively roster of DJs, drag queens, and events that are always mixed and never exclusionary. Both divey and dynamic, the big, multi-roomed locale has a cool factor without trying too hard (a.k.a. the Brooklyn credo). The place is known for the outdoor patio, where youll find many a bearded grad-student dude with a beautiful woman who looks like shes in HAIM. And now that summers coming up, Metropolitan will be resuming its legendary free (with a drink) Sunday barbecue. Also: Nights like Hella (every fifth Friday) and Frankie Sharps Metro-Sensual (every other Saturday) are popular; people come religiously to Queeraoke on Tuesdays; and the party/vintage-clothing auction/drag show Alotta Stuff hosted by Alotta McGriddles and Thorgy Thor (every third Thursday) is hilarious fun. 2. Macri Park 462 Union Ave., at Metropolitan Ave., Williamsburg; 718-599-4999 Macri Park reopened as a gay bar in August 2015 under the same owners as Metropolitan. In less than a year, this sister bar has become a welcome presence at the Lorimer stop. Nights like Cissy (Wednesdays) reaffirm your faith that the young gay boys of NYC are still having fun. 3. This n That 108 N. 6th St., nr. Wythe Ave., Williamsburg; 718-599-5959 Raucous and youthful, this is where you go to dance with your friends and finally see that guy on Scruff in real life. Or This n That is where youll find the 30-something fashion and design professionals of Billyburg dancing with friends. Its a sexy space (note the curved ceiling), and the drag performers are cutting their heels to become future Drag Race contestants. 4. Excelsior 563 Fifth Ave., nr. 15th St., Park Slope; 718-788-2710 After closing two years ago, Excelsior reopened in a new location a few blocks south of its former spot in August 2015. Bigger and more ambitious, the new Excelsior is the perfect place for all those new Gowanus and Sunset Park boys to meet their Park Slope daddies in person. Theres a front cafe-like seating area, a long narrow bar, a lovely outdoor space, and a cute upstairs annex where they screen RuPauls Drag Race (of course). 5. Gingers 363 Fifth Ave., nr. 5th St., Park Slope; 718-788-0924 JD Samsons The Last Lesbian Bars mini-doc for Broadly brought up the cogent question: What happened to all of the lesbian bars? Gingers is one of the last ladies standing. An old dependable with cheap drinks and a pool table, it has a good happy hour and Shake It Fridays. 6. Xstasy Bar & Lounge 758 Fifth Ave., at 26th St., Sunset Park; 718-499-2348 Opened in 2014, this friendly corner bar right across from Green-Wood Cemetery gives locals a place to call home. Its a mixed crowd with a strong Latino clientele (they had a major Cinco de Mayo party). Best of all, the decor serves up 70s-gay-dive-bar realness: See the weird guitar in the corner, draped white couches, and old album covers adorning the walls. With Google confirming Play Store's arrival on Chromebooks, we're sure most of you will be waiting to know exactly which Chromebooks will support Android apps. Well, the wait is over as the Mountain View, California-based company has released the list. The list of Chromebooks that Google says will work with Android apps starting next month currently includes Acer Chromebook R11, Asus Chromebook Flip, and of course Google Chromebook Pixel (2015). The search giant also released a long list of Chromebooks that will get the Play Store later this year (head to the Source 2 link below). However, notably missing from the list is the original Pixel from 2013, and a closer look reveals that devices more than two years old aren't there in the list. Google told ArsTechnica that this is intentional. "Android apps should be supported on all new Chromebooks going forward and older hardware going back to 2015 or late 2014, but hardware older than that isn't likely to run them," the report says Source 1 Source 2 | Via I am confused as I write this. Before reading ahead, you need to see the same video that left me with a baffled look on my face. I feel as if I just got back from my own high school days once filled with acne, confused teenagers, long hair, and Motorola RAZRs. The video is titled Moto 06.09.16, likely the date for a new phone to launch or to hold an unveiling event. Lenovo quietly released this ad, on Motorola Mobilitys YouTube channel, set in a high school with a bunch of adolescents living through their high school phases. The ad starts with a girl sending a text message to Tyler saying ILYSM (meaning I love you so much, back when we used to text with acronyms). After that, the camera rolls past a bunch of other kids who are either in a phone call, answering the phone, or generally engaged with their RAZRs. The vibe is set with the song in the background called The Great Escape by a band called Boys Like Girls. While I could sit and analyze the story going on, thats not what matters. The point of the video is to tap into viewers nostalgia. We even get a Hello Moto at the end of the video. Oh yeah, nostalgia. What do you make of it? Why would Lenovo use an ad like this to tease its newest flagship device? It just doesnt add up in my head for some reason. Could Lenovos new flagship be as successful as the Motorola RAZR was? Could Lenovo be releasing a clam-shell smartphone? Could Lenovo be targeting the millennial demographic? At this point there are more questions than answers. The Motorola RAZR was one of the most successful clamshell cellular devices in the world. Lenovo thinks it can use Motorolas legendary history to gain attention across the globe for its upcoming flagship device. This will be the first Moto flagship that Lenovo will release since the acquisition of Motorola has been completed. Source | Via These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. Haiti - Politic : Second postponement of the National Assembly in 3 days Tuesday, after the cancellation of the session to the extraordinary of the National Assembly due to the celebration of May 18, 213th anniversary of the creation of the Haitian flag and of numerous moves of parliamentarians in their constituencies, the session was postponed to Thursday. Thursday, for the second time in 3 days, the session at the extraordinary could not take place and was postponed "sine die". This time they are the deputies of the majority block of the Parliamentary Alliance for Haiti (APH) called G48, that boycotted the session to protest against the Executive for the removal of the amending budget of 10 million gourdes allocated to communes. The deputies would condition their return to the Assembly by the insertion of communal funds in the draft amending budget. Cholzer Chancy, the President of the National Assembly, who hope that the Assembly may be held next week, recognizes that the deputies are concerned by the lack of communal funds in the amending budget and informs that discussions were held with the Executive, which should make the necessary adjustments. However, he says he is not able to confirm that the absence of his colleagues in parliament Thursday is linked to this reason. Recall that parliamentarians are invited to the extraordinary for among others consider the review and the vote : of the Draft of the Amending Finance Act 2015-2016; the Draft Penal Code; the Draft Code of Criminal Procedure; the Draft law on electronic commerce; the Bill establishing the Commune of Montrouis; the Proposal for a framework law on decentralization; the Bill on organization and functioning of the Ministry of the Environment; and the Law proposal creating a basic public service in communal sections. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17441-haiti-flash-privert-convene-parliamentarians-to-the-extraordinary.html S/ HaitiLibre Published on 2016/05/20 | Source Director Na Hong-jin and the cast of "The Wailing" arrive for the screening of their film at the Cannes Film Festival in France on Thursday. From left, Japanese actor Jun Kunimura, Na, and actors Chun Woo-hee and Kwak Do-won /AFP-Yonhap Advertisement Harlow is a former New Town in Essex with a population of 86,000. Located in the upper Stort Valley, it was built in the decades after the Second World War to ease overcrowding and London and provide homes for people bombed out during the Blitz. It includes Britain's first pedestrian precinct and first modern residential tower block, The Lawn. Old Harlow, the historic part of the town, was mentioned in the Domesday Book. David and Victoria Beckham's former home, Rowneybury House, nicknamed 'Beckingham Palace', is nearby. 15:16, 24 OCT 2022 Premier Sothebys International Realty has appointed Richard Puckett as broker in charge and Don Blair as managing broker of its newest Blowing Rock office at 1127 Main Street. This is the brokerages second location in Blowing Rock, with the first located at 159 Sunset Drive. The new office is a result of the firms announcement that it had acquired Village Real Estate April 27, and it is Premier Sothebys International Realtys seventh sales gallery in North Carolina. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, and graduate of the University of Louisville, Richard and his wife moved to Blowing Rock in 1993. With over two decades in the real estate industry, he has extensive experience in multi-family development, property management, site acquisition, resort, residential and condominium sales. His recent areas of focus have been in the Blowing Rock, Boone, Valle Crucis and West Jefferson markets. Early in his career, Don lived in both Ecuador and Brazil with his family while working for international companies. He ultimately chose to return to his native North Carolina and began his career in real estate in 2006. Not only does Richard have experience in so many different facets of the industry, but he also brings a sense of personal investment that is so important in helping not only buyers and sellers, but other brokers as well, Judy Green, president and CEO of Premier Sothebys International Realty, said. It is important for us to have extraordinary leadership in all of our offices. Throughout 2015 and the beginning of 2016, Premier Sothebys International Realty expanded its footprint in both North Carolina and Florida. The company recently expanded into Asheville and will celebrate the offices official opening in June 2016. Headquartered in Naples, Florida, Premier Sothebys International Realty has over 900 associates and employees in 36 locations throughout Florida and North Carolina. The brokerage has been in North Carolina since 1982, when its parent company, The Lutgert Companies, broke ground on Linville Ridge, a country club community marketed and sold exclusively by Premier Sothebys International Realty. In 2016, the annual Real Trends 500 survey ranked the firm number 30 in its survey of the top U.S. residential sellers by volume. Premier Sothebys International Realty also benefits from an association with the storied Sothebys auction house, established in 1744. For more information, visit premiersothebysrealty.com. Sue Wolverton Named Premier Sothebys International Realtys EVP of Sales Premier Sothebys International Realty has announced the addition of Sue Wolverton to its leadership team as executive vice president of sales. Formerly the Senior Vice President at Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate in Sarasota, Wolverton brings four decades of real estate experience with her to Premier Sothebys International Realty. Her role will include working closely with over 900 associates and employees to build a stronger presence in the companys 36 offices throughout Florida and North Carolina. In 2016, the annual Real Trends 500 survey ranked Premier Sothebys International Realty number 30 in its survey of the top U.S. residential sellers by volume. Share this: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Pocket Concerned about the increasing number of neurological complications related to the Zika virus, the WFN has recently established a working group to contribute expertise in support of the coordinated global response to the Zika crisis. A large percentage of people suffering from Zika virus infections are asymptomatic or show only mild symptoms. But potential neurological complications can be dramatic. There is a lack of awareness that perhaps more risks are involved in Zika infections than the devastating foetal malformations when Zika is acquired during pregnancy such as the now-familiar microcephaly issue. With major neurological conditions such as Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), myelitis, or meningoencephalitis involved in Zika infections, the risks are much broader than originally thought, says Prof John England (Louisiana State University, New Orleans) who chairs the WFN Zika Work Group. In a follow-up to a recent meeting on the public health implications of Zika in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Prof John England and Prof Marco Medina, of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Honduras, also a member of the WFN Zika Work Group, agreed on the need for formal guidelines outlining diagnostic criteria for neurological complications of the Zika virus. We will be working over the next weeks to develop a broad consensus among experts on this, said Prof England. With no vaccination in prospect for the time being and lack of evidence about the risk factors influencing the development of neurological symptoms after Zika infection, the focus is now on surveillance, enhanced mosquito control, and prevention, says Prof England. In particular at a time when thousands of athletes and fans will be travelling to Rio in July, we need to create awareness about the risks involved, and what needs to be done for personal protection. As of 11 May 2016, 58 countries and territories report continuing mosquito-borne Zika transmission. Nine countries have reported evidence of person-to-person transmission of the virus. Source: World Federation of Neurology The network equipment manufacturer announced earlier this week that it has signed a strategic agreement to grant HMD Global, a private venture headquartered in Helsinki, exclusive global rights to develop a new generation of smartphones and tablet computers under its brand name for the next ten years. Nokia may no longer possess the appeal needed to succeed in the heavily-contested smartphone market, several market research analysts have estimated. It's going to take more than a well-known brand name in this competitive market, Annette Zimmermann, a smartphone analyst at Gartner, says in an interview with Bloomberg. To shake up the market and offer something that excites the fickle market will be difficult. Nokia is, however, taking on virtually no risks by licensing the manufacturing of handsets to a third party, Ramon Llamas, an analyst at IDC, reminds in an interview with the news agency. If things don't live up to expectations, the company isn't saddled with enormous inventory and expense still on the books. Ben Wood, an analyst at CCS Insight, is similarly unsure whether or not the brand name has withstood the test of time. Seems like Nokia has cooked up a clever deal with HMD to get back into the phone business but drive revenue through brand licensing and patents, he tweeted on Wednesday. The chances of the smartphones and tablets are called into question also by Martin Nilsson, an analyst at Nordea, and Lars Soderfjell, an equity analyst at Swedbank. A new company is about to try something that Microsoft failed at. I think it'll be difficult because of pricing pressure and intense competition, Nilsson says in an interview with TT, a Swedish news agency. The licensing agreement is, despite what are presumably high expectations, likely to generate only modest revenues for Nokia, estimates Soderfjell. The agreement was unveiled simultaneously with the announcement that Microsoft has agreed to sell its mobile phone business to FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of Foxconn, and the contract partner of Nokia, HMD Global, for 350 million dollars. FIH Mobile will also take over the manufacturing plant of the software developer in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Nokia share strengthened by nearly three pre cent on the Helsinki Stock Exchange in the wake of the announcement on Wednesday. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi The threat of terrorism has grown also in Finland. The threat has grown due to the arrival and return of people who have participated in fighting in conflict zones and due to an increase in the number of people who are interested in extremist groups and the recruitment of such people to radical activism, a ministry spokesperson states in a press release . The security environment of Finland has changed permanently, concludes the first internal security report of the Ministry of the Interior. Organised support structures for terrorism have developed in Finland and connections between Finland and foreign terrorist organisations have increased, they add. Finland should consequently develop the capabilities of security authorities to improve public security, according to the Ministry of the Interior. New threats include, for example, the deterioration of relations between Russia and the West, widespread illegal immigration, and hybrid and cyber threats. Meanwhile, old threats have yet to be overcome. There are signs of a deteriorating sense of security among the public, it states. The Ministry of the Interior also lays out a number of measures to facilitate the operations of security authorities, such as putting an end to the decline in the number of police officers and deploying an additional 160 border guards to the eastern border. In addition to police officers, firefighters, border guards and emergency call centre workers, broad co-operation between authorities, non-governmental organisations, businesses and various other operators is necessary to improve security in Finland, it says. Finland, it reminds, remains a very safe country statistically despite the fact that the crime clearance rate has fallen and extremist groups have become more visible. Only a third of property crimes are solved. If the identity of the offender is initially unknown, roughly one-half of rapes and nearly two-thirds of assaults are left unsolved, the press release reads. The internal security report, which was presented for parliamentary consideration yesterday, was drawn up in order to make Finland the safest country in the world by the end of the current electoral term an objective set forth in the government programme. The report will also serve as a basis for an internal security strategy that along with the government programme will steer the operations of the entire central administration in years to come. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Antti Aimo-Koivisto Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi The government debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to peak at 67.4 per cent in 2019 and to decline to 67.2 per cent in 2020, the European Commission predicts in its opinion on the stability programme of Finland . The European Commission has refrained from putting Finland into the so-called excessive deficit procedure regardless of the fact that the country has failed to maintain its debt-to-GDP ratio within acceptable limits and to reverse its debt trajectory. The European Union has stipulated that its member states must maintain their debt burdens below 60 per cent of GDP and budget deficits below 3 per cent of GDP. Finland has already pierced the threshold for government debt and is edging closer to also piercing that for budget deficit. The European Commission urges the country to take action to overcome the nagging economic problems. Finland, it recommends, should achieve an annual fiscal adjustment of at least 0.5 per cent of GDP in 2016 and 0.6 per cent in 2017, ensure that its wage-setting system encourages local bargaining and removes rigidities, and continue its efforts to promote competition in service sectors. The country should also use windfall gains to reduce its debt burden. Finland is also urged to carry out the reform of social and health care services to improve the cost-efficiency of the social and health care sector and to shift to a more export industry-led approach in wage determination. Belgium and Italy are in the same situation as Finland, according to the European Commission. Croatia, France, Greece, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom, meanwhile, are in the excessive deficit procedure. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Trond H. Trosdahl Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi DuPont, Ag Center, WNC crime lab, Muddy Sneakers get money in House budget Funding for buildings and personnel at DuPont State Forest, a new pavilion at the ANC Ag Center, $1 million to equip the new crime lab at the WNC Justice Academy in Edneyville and money to expand a learning in nature program founded in Henderson and Transylvania counties are among the appropriations in the 2016-17 budget the state House approved and sent on to the Senate this week, Rep. Chuck McGrady said. "If all politics are local, then every budget is about the effect the budget will have upon ones district," McGrady, one of the chief budget writers in the House, said in his regular newsletter to constituents. "While legislators clearly pay attention to a budgets effect on specific statewide programs (education, roads, state parks, etc.), legislators pay particular attention to what is in their backyards. As an Appropriations Chair, I am particularly aware of this because I am one of the legislators who hear directly from my colleagues about how funding is needed for specific local needs or wants." Word for word, here's McGrady's newsletter: Some view requests for monies for local projects as pork, but often these requests are for projects of statewide significance that just so happen to be in ones community. For example, western North Carolina legislators for years have been trying to get a state crime lab located in western North Carolina because DUI convictions were being lost because lab results were not available quickly enough to support DUI prosecutions. In other words, DUI offenders were continuing to drive because of delays in getting lab results. Ultimately, a western lab was funded at the Justice Center in my district in Edneyville. Is my seeking funding for the completion of that lab pork? I think not. On the other hand, a budget proposal can get pushed by a legislator to fund what is really just a local need or want. I tend to view those funding requests as porkor as another legislator called them Easter eggs. The projects may be worthwhile, but the question is whether state government should be funding them. A project may have real significance locally, but not tie to any state responsibility. Local government officials sometimes want a new library or museum, but then hope the state will help them bear the costs. If the state funds such projects, one can understand why one might view such projects as Easter eggs---gifts out-of-the-blue. So what is in the House budget that is particularly focused on western North Carolina? There are a host of programs and projects that relate to the region. Accompanying these items are references which can be found in the Special Provisions or the Money Report. WNC Agricultural Center. Construction of a new building with an open pavilion, and restrooms to support the annual NC Mountain State Fair and year-round ground rentals. There is $500,000 in the House budget for the construction. (Page 134, line 4 of the Special Provisions) Western Crime Lab. The state is completing work on the Western Crime Lab in Edneyville. The lab now must be equipped. There is $1,087,803 in the budget to buy equipment and $301,276 for a technician, scientific supplies, increased maintenance and utility costs. (Page I 13, Item 13 of the Money Report) DuPont State Recreational Forest. Because of visitation and the lack of infrastructure, the Agriculture Department said it needed roughly $5 million. The House budget provides $3 million for bathrooms and other infrastructure and also funds 9 new employees to manage and maintain the state recreation forest. Additionally, there is a Special Provision that makes the forest eligible for funding from the Parks & Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF). (Page H 5, Item 4 and Page M 3, Item 1 of the Money Report) Muddy Sneakers. Muddy Sneakers is an educational program piloted in Transylvania and Henderson counties. Some schools in several WNC counties participate in the program that takes 5th grade students outside to teach them parts of their science curriculum. The idea is that some kids learn science better by being in the fieldtypically public lands like Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, Gorges State Park or DuPont State Recreational Forest. (Page F 9, Item 28 of the Money Report) Firefighting Equipment. The budget allocates $3 million for the purchase of an airplane and heavy equipment used to fight fires in the mountains and across the State. (Page H 5, Item 5 of the Money Report) Agricultural Development & Farmland Preservation Trust Fund. The budget allocates $1 million to protect prime farmland. (Page H 5, Item 7 of the Money Report) Western Womens Business Center. The Support Center received $100,000 to match a federal grant from the federal Small Business Administration. (Page H 39, Item 45 of the Money Report) Natural Heritage Program. The House budget adopted the Governors budget in restoring $489,750 to fund work critically necessary to producing the environmental documents necessary to start work on road projects funded in the budget. (Page H 44, Item 50 of the Money Report) Clean Water Management Trust Fund. $5 million was added to the trust funds budget to support its water conservation work which in WNC mostly means acquisition of lands adjacent to major watersheds. The Dept. of Agriculture will likely be able to seek funding to complete acquisition work at DuPont State Recreational Forest and Headwaters State Forest (Transylvania County). (Page H 43, Item 49 of the Money Report) Motor Vehicle Emissions Inspections. Upon U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) approval, Henderson County will be exempt from motor vehicle emissions inspections. Such approval is not likely until 2017 at the earliest. (Page 90, line 24 of the Special Provisions) WNC Farmers Market. Money is provided for repair and renovations of existing facilities and infrastructure and construction of new facilities to support Farmers Market programs. The WNC Farmers Market is beginning to lose market share to markets in other areas and other states, because it is not able to track fruit and vegetables going through the market. These monies are a first step towards addressing that issue. (Page 134, line 1 of the Special Provisions) Mary Harney told how her family was deeply hurt after effigies of her were burned following the "highly controversial" reform of national cancer services. The former Health Minister and leader of the Progressive Democrats said she developed the thick skin necessary for politics - but that her parents and husband had been very upset about the criticism throughout her political career. Speaking at yesterday's Women's Executive Network (WXN) breakfast, Ms Harney opened up about the public reaction to the "incredibly controversial" reform of national cancer services - consolidated into eight centres - while she was Minister for Health. It resulted in Brian Cowen's government losing two deputies because the Taoiseach "stood by the plan, notwithstanding political pressure". Ms Harney recalled how there were "posters in Monaghan up with my picture, saying 'wanted for murder' and effigies of me were burned on bonfires in many parts of the country". "I just say that as a sample of when you try to do the right thing, how very often it can be a challenge," she added, telling delegates that they have to be "determined, focused, be tough, calm and have passion". Ms Harney looked relaxed and fresh with her hair worn longer and flipped up at the ends as she joked to delegates about her billing at the WXN event as "Reinvention and Re-imagination". "I suppose when you saw reinvention and re-imagination .you probably thought you were going to see a size six Mary Harney on the stage with long blonde hair," she said. Privacy Speaking at the breakfast event, she said she is now enjoying life outside politics - particularly her privacy. Ms Harney also revealed she is working in a number of roles, including one on the board of the Hospice Foundation. The former Tanaiste also spoke of the financial collapse, admitting that one of the key mistakes the government of the time made was in benchmarking the public sector against private sector pay instead of public sector pay in other countries. She said that when there's a downturn, the private sector can make reductions much more easily. "It's much more difficult in a public sector environment," Ms Harney said. She spoke about her time as Minister for Health, making a veiled reference to her reform of the health service. "In each job you can only do incremental change," she said, adding that if she has learned anything over the course of her political career it is that "getting bogged down in structural change is not a very worthwhile task". "I would tell anybody in a ministerial role to avoid structural change unless it's very necessary because it is all-consuming for the people who work in an organisation." She added that "sometimes there's confusion between structural reform and the real reason the structure is in place which is to make things happen". Meanwhile, she addressed the increasing role played by women in Irish politics, saying she had originally been against quotas - and praised new senator Lynne Ruane, who she said was an "invaluable role model" for women in West Tallaght remaining in education. Irish holidaymakers are flocking to hotspots that are deemed sunny but safe this summer. The terrorist threat in Europe - which intensified following yesterday's disappearance of EgyptAir flight MS804 - has already had a major impact on how holidaymakers are planning their summer, according to Irish tour operators. Egypt, which used to be a popular destination for Irish tourists, is now off the list for most following terrorist attacks there. A series of bombs ripped through a market and beachfront hotel in the popular resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in July, 2005, killing 88 people and wounding 150. Hundreds more people have been killed in various terrorist attacks across the country since the overthrow of democratically-elected president Mohamed Morsi in July, 2013. Irish tour operators no longer operate tours to Egypt as a result of the heightened security risk posed by Islamic militants, and Irish tourists are increasingly looking for affordable and safe alternatives elsewhere. "Clients have done the research and know what they want," said Marie Claire Porter, of Sunway Holidays. Hotspots With France now on high terrorist alert after the Paris massacres that left 130 people dead, traditional hotspots such as the Canary Islands, Portugal, Menorca and the Costa del Sol are selling out fast this summer, she said. "We are finding some people are now booking for September and October," she said. The Algarve, Madeira and Italy are also proving to be popular alternatives for families seeking affordable and stress-free package holidays, according to Michelle Anderson of Topflight holidays. Ms Porter said there's no question that more people are heading to areas in southern Europe that are not high on any terror risk list, she said. "The summer season is filling up very fast, especially July and August," she said. Cormac Meehan, president of the Irish Travel Agents Association, said the spate of terrorist attacks in Egypt and elsewhere, has had a knock-on effect for the Irish travel industry. Tour operators decided to stop going to Egypt and Tunis altogether following attacks there, he said. "They collectively decided they couldn't take the risk. The market decided some time ago that given the perception of terrorism that there may be issues," he said. Three Irish holidaymakers, Lorna Carty, from Co Meath and Larry and Martina Hayes from Athlone, were gunned down at a resort in Tunisia in June 2015. Payments to Irish Water dropped by more than 9m in the utility's last billing cycle. The drop in revenue collected at the end of March represented a reduction of 20pc when compared to the third quarter of last year. The company has revealed 8,000 of the 200,000 customers who had signed up to pay their water charges by direct debit cancelled payments. Irish Water has begun sending out its final round of bills, which are for the first three months of this year. However, it is likely there will be another significant drop in payments. Following the General Election, there was speculation that the charges were to be shelved from March. The Irish Water figures suggest that as the result of the General Election became clear many households decided not to pay any more water bills. The last round of bills were sent in January and February. In total, 33m was paid to Irish Water in the fourth bill cycle of last year, compared to 42.3m in the third cycle. Irish Water said while some customers began paying for the first time during the fourth bill cycle, others who paid earlier bills may not yet have paid their fourth bill, "which explains the fall in revenue". Last year, 975,000 people paid at least one of their water bills, which represents around 64pc of those liable to pay. However, Irish Water declined to release details for the percentage of customers who are fully paid up to date. The amount collected over 2015 was 144m, which was 53pc of the total income due from domestic charges in the year. "Payments received through all payment channels reduced during the month of March," the company said in a statement. Suspending "Legislation suspending water charges is due before the Dail in June. Once this legislation is passed, we will update our customers," it added. Sinn Fein water spokesman, Eoin O Broin said figures he obtained through a Freedom of Information request also revealed a "dramatic drop" in the number of people paying charges. He said those figures show 36pc of people haven't paid any of their water charges over the last 12 months and that Irish Water failed to collect almost 50pc of their projected income from the charge. "Unfortunately, Irish Water have not provided clarity on the number of customers who paid their water charges during the fourth billing cycle," he said. "Instead, they provided cumulative figures. This is an attempt to hide the drop in the number of people who have stopped paying the controversial charge," he added. Taoiseach Enda Kenny has come under fire for increasing the number of junior ministers from 15 to 18, the most since the boom years. Mr Kenny's new team is second only in size to the 20 appointed by Bertie Ahern in June 2007. Just three new Ministers of State are from Dublin. Fine Gael TDs Eoghan Murphy and Catherine Byrne joined "super junior" Finian McGrath of the Independent Alliance, who was previously named as a minister. Drugs Dublin Bay South TD Mr Murphy - who had been tipped for a senior Cabinet role as he was involved in government-formation talks - was given the junior finance portfolio, seen as one of the top jobs on offer. Ms Byrne from Dublin South Central is minister for communities and national drugs strategy, while Dublin Bay North's Mr McGrath was previously announced as minister for disabilities. He has a seat at Cabinet but does not vote. The number of junior ministers was cut from 20 to 15 as the recession intensified in 2009 and the last government kept to that number in 2011. Each junior minister is entitled to an extra 34,000 a year, on top of a TD's yearly salary of 87,000, along with additional staff and the right to hire two civilian drivers to drive the new appointees' own cars. Labour leader Joan Burton, who was in Cabinet with Mr Kenny up to a fortnight ago, blasted the decision to increase the number of junior ministers. "I find it remarkable that the number of Ministers of State appointed has increased from 15 to 18, and is fast approaching the record set by Bertie Ahern of 20," Ms Burton said. "The state finances have certainly improved in the last two to three years, but have they really improved to the extent where we can afford the luxury of so many ministers? I don't think so," Ms Burton said. Stronger Fianna Fail also condemned the move. "The Taoiseach certainly seems keen to find a job for everyone in the Fine Gael parliamentary party," a spokesman said. But the Taoiseach said the appointments showed that his government was "putting a stronger emphasis on important policy areas, particularly on the Department of Health, to which four Ministers of State will be attached." Sitting junior ministers Michael Ring, Damien English, Joe McHugh and Dara Murphy have all been kept on as Junior Ministers - but some of them have changed roles. Terrific 10: Championship season brings out best in county athletes Tesla Cup and Central Maryland Conference championships were decided last week, with county teams and athletes rising to the occasion. Kees van den Heuvel, standing, talking to guests about the Jewish family that once lived in what is now his home in the Netherlands town of Vught, April 30, 2016. THE HAGUE, Netherlands (JTA)-After Yvonne van Gennep-Bouma discovered that Holocaust victims used to live in what is now her home, she began to think about them constantly. At night, van Gennep-Bouma imagined the former occupants preparing to turn in. And in the morning, she wondered where they had their breakfast. That was in 2012, she recalled, talking to a visitor in the manicured three-story townhouse in the Hague where she has lived with her husband and three children since 2001. It was also in 2012 that van Gennep-Bouma, a nurse in her 50s, started to research the tragic story of Barend Koekoek, who lived here with his wife and son until they were evicted and murdered in the genocide. In researching their story, van Gennep-Bouma said she relied on help from a historian who studied The Hague's Jewish community. Koekoek, she learned, joined the Nazi-sponsored Jewish Council through his friendship with the controversial Friedrich Weinreb-a Jewish author accused and later imprisoned for taking money from other Jews he falsely promised to protect. Koekoek eventually eschewed the privileges he would have been extended as a member of the council, instead insisting on boarding a death transport to Auschwitz with his ailing son, 5-year-old Henry Martin. His wife, Goderta Frederika Koekoek-Micheels, perished in Auschwitz on Oct. 30, 1944, at the age of 33. Though she has to hold back tears while talking about certain parts of the story, van Gennep-Bouma said knowing Koekoek's fate ultimately helped her find peace and learn to live with the Koekoeks' memory. "It brought closure and replaced the uncertainties with facts," she explained. In February, van Gennep-Bouma completed a two-year effort to have memorial cobblestones placed outside her home bearing the victims' names. Now she doesn't think about the Koekoeks as much as she once did. Yet van Gennep-Bouma wanted to do more than merely know the story. On Sunday, she decided to share it by joining Open Jewish Houses, a unique grassroots project featuring dozens of property owners and renters of former Jewish homes. Each year ahead of Holland's national memorial day for its World War II victims, they open their homes to strangers for lectures about the Jews who used to live there. At a time when survivors are increasingly scarce, she said, "buildings can tell the story in a very powerful way," she told JTA at her home on Sunday. Taking place for the fifth consecutive year, the Open Jewish Houses project was born in 2011 out of a website, joodsmonument.nl, which lists the former addresses of 104,000 Dutch Jews murdered in the Holocaust. Having found his own address in the database, advertising copywriter Frits Rijksbaron urged other Amsterdam residents of former Jewish homes to place a "Jewish home" poster on their windows. The action created a small community in Amsterdam, which in 2012 saw the first Open Jewish Houses event ever held in Europe. The following year, the project spread to five other cities and now encompasses dozens of homes in 16 municipalities, with 10,000 visits expected this year on May 4, the Netherlands' day of Remembrance of the Dead (which this year happens to fall one day before Yom Hashoah, world Jewry's day of Holocaust remembrance). Danielle Citroen, who coordinates the project for Amsterdam's Jewish Historical Museum, attributes the project's success to a number of coinciding factors that are specific to the Netherlands, including the fact that unlike in Austria, Hungary and Poland, "Jewish property issues were resolved vis-a-vis the Dutch government shortly after World War II, meaning very few homeowners have reasons to resist or fear the initiative." Most Jewish victims, she added, were renting their residences. In addition, information about Dutch Jewry was preserved thanks to meticulous archives. And then there's "a certain element of guilt," she noted, for the murder of 70-75 percent of Dutch Jewry during the Holocaust-the highest death rate in Nazi-occupied Western Europe. And whereas this guilt would have prevented earlier generations from talking about the Holocaust in such an intimate setting, "younger generations are sufficiently distant from the genocide to speak about it without triggering questions about personal complicity," said Citroen, who is Jewish. The Netherlands also has Western Europe's highest number of non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews from the Holocaust. With 5,516 Dutch rescuers designated as Righteous among the Nations by the State of Israel, the Netherlands is second only to Poland's 6,620. If Poland had the Netherlands' ratio of saviors per Jews in 1940, there would have been nearly 120,000 Polish Righteous among the Nations. Hosts and guests often discuss the broader context of World War II over coffee or tea, after the host is done telling about the specific Holocaust victim who lived at that Open Jewish House. In Vught, an eastern town that is infamous for the nearby concentration camp run by the Nazi SS, host Kees van den Heuvel remarked on Saturday that the story of the Frankenthals, Jewish refugees from Germany who lived in what is now his home, "is something very familiar to countless Syrians today." He also said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte should take in more Syrian refugees. Not everyone agreed. Van den Heuvel and his wife, Bernadette, knew their house used to belong to Jews-a wine dealer and his brother, who were killed, and a dentist who avoided deportation thanks to his marriage to a non-Jewish woman-because they found "little signs," he said. These included special tiles favored by Jews in the 1940s and a mural of a Jewish man. ButVan den Heuvel learned the story from local volunteers working with Citroen to encourage participation in the Open Jewish Houses project. "I now know this space right here used to be the waiting room for the dentist's clinic," he said at his home. "His clinic was upstairs. I can really see it before me." For the volunteers, "Googling and researching on Yad Vashem archives till 3 a.m. is very normal in the days leading up to May 4," said Robert Herbschleb, a Jewish businessman from Vught who helped set up the town's first Open Jewish Homes edition last year. "You know you need to go to sleep, get ready for a day's work," he said, "but here's this person, you only have three lines about them and it's up to you to do for them the only thing you can do: Remember." Taxi drivers standing still during a two-minute siren marking Memorial Day in Jerusalem, May 11, 2016. Tonight, at 8 o'clock, the sirens around Israel were sounded. Everywhere. Not for rockets from Gaza, or Lebanon, or any other place of hate in the Middle East. For the soldiers who died defending Israel, for the victims of terrorist attacks, and for their families and their communities. Today is Yom HaZikaron, Israel's Memorial Day. There are no sales, and there are no barbecues. There are candles and ceremonies and tears. There are memorials on Memorial Day. It sounds obvious, but to this American it is a radical change and one that I could not fully comprehend until I saw it first hand. I get it now. -Sam Friedman, Central Florida Hillel director of community relations, traveled to Israel at the conclusion of his participation in the 28th Annual March of the Living. LONDON (JTA)-Less than two years after he moved his family from Paris to London, David Herz is already feeling at home in the United Kingdom. The co-founder of a communications agency, Herz is among thousands of French Jews who moved across the channel in recent years. He says he immigrated mostly for financial reasons and is enjoying the added benefit of having his teenage children study in English in a good school. Herz, his wife and three kids are part of the vibrant congregation of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, which recently added services in French led by a rabbi from Strasbourg. The school and the synagogue, he added, are the pillars of his social life in his adoptive country. But like millions living in Britain, the Herzes are now unsure of their future on the island kingdom as it prepares to vote next month on a referendum on staying in or leaving the European Union-a decision that could have far-reaching consequences for Europeans living and working in England, and for British workers on the continent. "We're in limbo," Herz, 45, told JTA. "No one, including the government, seems to know what it would mean for us if Britain leaves." The June 23 vote on whether to "Brexit" or "Bremain" follows December's vote in Parliament to put the decision to a referendum. Occurring amid a debate over the EU's authority over individual member states and their financial affairs, the Brexit issue is further complicated by growing tensions among lawmakers over foreign policy issues, including Turkey's strained relationship with the EU and the migrant crisis. As in elsewhere in Europe, Britain's right-wing parties resent UK membership in the bloc. A Brexit would ensure Britain is not pressured into taking in some of the 1.8 million mostly Muslim migrants who entered Europe last year, they argue. But Bremainers-including Prime Minister David Cameron, who agreed to a referendum to appease his Conservative Party's right-leaning bloc-warn it would disrupt Britain's economy and force millions of Britons living on the continent to return. The scenario triggered speculation that Britain might retaliate by sending millions of EU citizens living in the UK packing. Despite Cameron's campaign against the Brexit-U.S. President Barack Obama controversially endorsed his position in a joint news conference last month with the British premier-polls suggest a 50-50 split, with some surveys registering a growth in the Brexit vote. British Jews are also divided on the issue, according to Justin Cohen, news editor at London's Jewish News daily. But among Europeans living in Britain, including French-speaking Jews, Brexit is seen as a disruptive choice born out of fear and arrogance. "In France, we see fear taking the form of xenophobia, as a rising National Front party reaches new popularity," said the Herzes' rabbi, Rene Pfertzel, who came to Britain 15 years ago to study and ended up staying. "In Britain, it assumes the form of Brexit isolationism. But it comes from the same source." For French Jews, Britain is attractive because it has lower taxes than France, more employment opportunities and a large Jewish community of some 250,000 people-Western Europe's largest after France's own 500,000 Jews. Plus, Paris and London are only a two-hour train ride away, facilitating family visits. Under EU agreements, citizens of member states may relocate and work in any of the bloc's 28 member states without requiring permission, often simply by registering as residents with their EU passport with the local municipality. For Europeans, a Brexit is expected to mean some sort of application process for residence in the UK, possibly involving a vetting process by British immigration authorities. The ability to escape anti-Semitism is among the arguments for remaining in a union that allows individuals greater freedom to move among member states. Some Jews feel safer in Britain than in France, although anti-Semitism here remains a problem. In 2013, 69 violent anti-Semitic attacks were recorded in Britain compared to 105 in France, meaning Jews were 1.3 times likelier to be physically assaulted in Britain. In some other years, French Jews were likelier to be attacked, though not by much. "The risks are the same risks, guards are sadly necessary in synagogues here and in France," said Sacha Bielawski, a 38-year-old father of two who came to London 10 years ago from Paris and works in finance. "I feel equally safe and unsafe in both countries." Linda Borowski, a computer specialist from Brussels who moved to London 10 years ago, says she is now in the process of immigrating to the United States because of the threat of jihadism. "My children are targets here every bit as much as in Brussels," she said. "I don't want to raise them in fear or under guard." Herz said the British media was playing up the risk to Jews in France and portraying Britain as a refuge in what he called "French bashing." Jewish immigration to London "is part of a major wave of general emigration from France" and is not specific to Jews, he said. Whatever the reason, the recent arrival of hundreds of French Jews to Britain led to the establishment of Francophone Jewish communities in three London synagogues and the formation of predominantly French-speaking classrooms in at least one Jewish London school. Many of the French Jews of London have little to fear even in the event of Brexit, said Bielawski. "A realistic solution will be found to the visa issue," he said. "The London finance industry and market is full of foreigners; they will have to be reasonable if they want to avoid a collapse." But newcomers like the Herzes are less certain than longtime residents, who have accumulated various rights over time, including to vote in some local elections and referendums. In the Brexit referendum, however, only British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens who live in the UK may vote. British Jews are far more divided on the issue than the French Jews among them. Robert Halfon, a British-Jewish lawmaker, argued in a March op-ed in The Jewish News that remaining would allow London to positively influence EU policy on Israel. But Geoffrey Alderman, a historian and former member of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, disputed the point. In an op-ed the same month in The Jewish Chronicle, he asserted that British Jews are better off lobbying for communal interests in London, which they know, than in Brussels, where they have less sway and which is perceived as more hostile to Israel. And while EU membership allows Jews to come and leave "murderous racism in France," Alderman said, murderous racists were free to follow them. "Brexit comes down to a question of sovereignty," he wrote. "As a religious Jew, I pray for the welfare of the nation. And that is why I shall be voting for Brexit on June 23." Pictured in the center is Naz Shah, who was suspended from the United Kingdom's Labour Party over a Facebook post in which she suggested the "relocation" of Israel. At right is Labour member and former London mayor Ken Livingstone, who was also suspended from the party for saying that Hitler was a Zionist. Jewish leaders in the United Kingdom have voiced their displeasure with the Labour Party amid an anti-Semitism scandal within its ranks that continues to engulf the country's second-largest party. With the reported suspension of at least 50 Labour members for anti-Semitic comments over the past two months, British-Jewish voters are also indicating that the scandal may have damaged their perception of the liberal party. Although the Labour Party's candidate for London mayor, Sadiq Khan, defeated Conservative Party candidate Zac Goldsmith in the city's May 5 election, results from other local and regional elections around the U.K. on the same day showed losses for the Labour Party among Jewish voters, including in Manchester, home to the country's second-largest Jewish community. Officials in other regions with major Jewish communities-such as Glasgow, Scotland-indicated similar results. In the aftermath of the anti-Semitism scandal, a poll conducted by Survation and published May 4 in the London Jewish Chronicle showed that 38.5 percent of British-Jewish respondents believe there are high levels of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, and only 8.5 percent of Jewish voters polled said they would vote for Labour if there were a general election held at this time. Just 20 percent of respondents said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's effort to address the problem has been "good." Some skeptics, however, have described the anti-Semitism accusations as a witch-hunt instigated to damage Khan, who will now become London's first Muslim mayor. "There could be a political element linked to the election-on the other hand, it was also an excellent moment to raise the issue to the public's attention," Jonathan Walker, president of the U.K.-based Anglo-Jewish Association, told JNS.org. "The underlying exposure of disgraceful behavior has not been manufactured." The anti-Semitism scandal first came to light when the Guido Fawkes website reported about a social media post made by Labour MP Naz Shah suggesting that Israel be relocated to the United States as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Shah apologized for the remark, but was subsequently suspended by the Labour Party. In an attempt to defend Shah, former London Mayor Ken Livingstone told BBC Radio that Hitler "was supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing 6 million Jews." Livingstone later claimed he was simply quoting historical facts, but he was also suspended. "During the 1930s-before the Holocaust-Hitler's policy was to put severe economic and social pressure on German Jews to leave the country. The fact that some of those Jews went to British Mandatory Palestine did not mean Hitler was a 'Zionist,' and the fact that some of them went to the United States or England did not mean Hitler was pro-American or pro-British," Dr. Rafael Medoff, founding director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, told JNS.org. A YouGov survey conducted in the wake of Livingstone's initial controversial remark showed that while not all British respondents believe Livingstone is anti-Semitic, 45 percent said the Labour Party made the right move by suspending him. While some defenders of Livingstone have said that he had simply made a clumsily worded point, James Sorene-chief executive of the Britain Israel Communications & Research Centre (BICOM), an independent research organization focused on Israel and the Middle East that supports a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict- told JNS.org he believes Livingstone "knew exactly what he was doing." Sorene explained that Zionism is the movement for "the national liberation of the Jewish people...from hundreds of years of persecution," whereas Livingstone's remark was intended to twist the definition on its head by claiming, "the Zionists were so bad that Hitler even worked with them." Livingstone then gave an interview on May 3 to an Arabic language TV station based in London, revealed by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), in which he repeated similar claims and blamed terrorism by the Islamic State on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. In an interview with the BBC TWO on May 6, Livingstone called the controversy over his views "anti-Semitism nonsense." Meanwhile, the suspensions of Shah and Livingstone have been followed by additional suspensions of many other Labour MPs and local councillors for similar remarks-with a significant portion of them being Muslims. "It is a matter of record, which some commentators have said, that there is a problem of anti-Semitism in the [U.K.'s] Muslim community, that it isn't challenged enough [and is] too freely expressed," Sorene said. Additionally, there has been "a long process" on the far left in British society that has isolated Israel as "a unique evil in the world" due to a perspective that divides the world between imperialists/colonialists and the oppressed, he explained. Those who espouse this view cannot "believe that Jews could ever have been the victims, either throughout history or in the Arab-Israeli conflict," he added. Ever since the 9/11 terror attacks and the West's subsequent wars on terror in the Middle East, many people on the British political left-who are opposed to those wars and believed in liberal values such as freedom from what they consider to be oppression and racism-have found themselves in the company of Islamic extremists on those issues. This trend has been exacerbated by escalations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the years. Mike Katz, a Labour candidate for the London Assembly and national vice chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, told JNS.org that the recent discourse over anti-Semitism could be traced to the party's internal elections in September 2015, which along with the election of Corbyn as party leader brought in many new activists into the party from the far left. As a result, "statistically speaking there are bound to be more obnoxious views," said Katz. Corbyn has controversially called the Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups "friends," and has admitted to attending "two or three" events hosted by a Holocaust denier. On May 4 in the House of Commons, British Prime Minister David Cameron asked Corbyn on three separate occasions to say Hamas and Hezbollah are "not his friends," but Corbyn refused. "He just said any racist or anti-Semitic group are not [friends], but couldn't speak their names in this context," the Anglo-Jewish Association's Walker told JNS.org. While Khan, London's mayor-elect, has been vocally critical of the anti-Semitism scandal, he was also forced to defend his track record this week as a moderate Muslim candidate due to the surfacing of a remark he made in a video interview calling moderate Muslims "uncle Toms." Critics of the outrage over Labour anti-Semitism have said the comments by Labour members were intended as legitimate criticism of Israeli policies, a view that BICOM's Sorene sees as "the biggest misconception of the entire issue." "You can criticize Israel and the Israeli government, you can talk about what the Israeli army might or might not be doing, but from our perspective once you start trying to portray the existence of Israel as a crime, once you start blanket denial of the Jewish people's right to self determination, and [espouse] dangerous fantasies about Israel no longer existing ... then that does become anti-Semitism," he said. The same YouGov poll that examined public perception of Livingstone following his comment on Hitler and Zionism also found that 53 percent of British respondents believe that hating Israel and questioning its right to exist is anti-Semitic. Sorene said that "in refuting the anti-Semitism of some of these [Labour] individuals, [those who dismiss the scandal] then echo the worst kind of Jewish conspiracy theories of historical anti-Semitism" by saying that the controversy was "cooked up behind the scenes by the all-powerful Jewish, Zionist, Israel lobby that controls everything." Such critics of the outrage have "so little sense of self-criticism or self-awareness" that they "prove the point that the rest of society is trying to make about them," he added. Katz agreed, calling the widespread outrage on Livingstone's comments "heartening" and praising the "clarity" among most of the British public "that he shouldn't have said what he said and that he had gone too far." In particular, Katz noted the role of Jon Lansman, a Jewish Labour activist and a close ally of Corbyn, who recently told The Guardian that Livingstone should leave politics "altogether." Simon Johnson, leader of the Jewish Leadership Council-a British umbrella group for Jewish organizations, charities, and religious groups-told JNS.org that despite the "unsettling" existence of individuals with anti-Semitic views in the Labour Party, he does not believe the party itself is "institutionally racist or anti-Semitic." "It is wrong to assume that these views are only held within one political party. This terrible issue is a poison throughout our wider society and sadly transcends all class, social, and political boundaries," Johnson said. "We need to make sure that anti-Semitism is rooted out wherever it is found," he said, adding that the U.K.'s Jewish community "will be watching very carefully the outcomes" of the various inquiries that have been set up to tackle the issue in the Labour Party. Despite some disappointing results for the Labour Party among Jewish voters, the Jewish Labour Movement's Katz dismissed the notion that "you can't possibly be Jewish and be involved in Labour now." "Of course you can," he said, "because you need to support friends and colleagues within Labour who are supportive of Israel and the Jews." WASHINGTON (JTA)When it comes to Israel, Democrats and Republicans simply do not see eye to eye, and for all their love of Zion, evangelicals will turn out for a candidate who is less than 100 percent on the issue. Welcome to the 2016 presidential election, when the conventional pro-Israel wisdom has been turned upside down. For years it was sacrosanct that whatever else divides the parties, backing the American Israel Public Affairs Committees line on Israel unites them. And Republicans who want to be elected better count on evangelicals and their rock-solid support for Israel. This year, the presumptive Republican nominee is an unknowable provocateur who has said he couldnt care less about pandering to pro-Israel donors. Democrats who bucked pro-Israel orthodoxies over the last year are confident they can reclaim the Senate and are setting their sights on the once-unthinkableregaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Donald Trump has said repeatedly that he would approach Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking with neutrality and for weeks would not commit to recognizing Jerusalem as Israels capital. He also told a roomful of Jewish Republicans that he did not want their money. Trump seems unwilling to consistently panderon Israel or anything elseto a constituency whose turnout many deem essential to a Republican victory in presidential elections. Yet while much of the evangelical establishment loathes Trump, the real estate magnates support among evangelicals, at 36 percent, was commensurate with his support among Republicans overall, the Washington Post reported in March. And some leaders in the movement back him, most prominently Jerry Falwell Jr., who heads Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. Pro-Israel insiders, attempting to explain evangelical support for Trump, point to disquisitions like one in the Washington Post by Jennifer Rubin and Peter Wehner, neoconservative commentators who distinguish between evangelicals who self-identify because of broad cultural identification (and are likelier to vote Trump) and those who do because of a creedal faith (less likely to vote Trump.) Its an old argument, but it explodes the conventional wisdom. David Brog, the one-time director of Christians United for Israel, would tell reporters year in and year out at CUFIs conferences that the group had as one of its missions reminding Republicans that to win they needed evangelicals, and to win evangelicals they needed to be pro-Israel. CUFI declined to comment, as did Brog, who now heads a Sheldon Adelson-funded initiative to advance pro-Israel activism on campus. The end of the third rail Rabbi Steve Gutow also embodies the new normal: He helped set up AIPACs Southwest operation in the 1980s, helped found the National Jewish Democratic Councilfor years the pro-Israel voice in the partyin the 1990s and for 10 years starting in 2005 directed the consensus-driven Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Last week, Gutow began working for J Street helping candidates who once may have been isolated for their criticism of Israel tap into what J Street calls pro-Israel, pro-peace American Jewish voters. Its affiliated J Street PAC is raising money to support candidates who backed the Iran deal over AIPACs objections. Most of the folks who led for the Iran deal will have won reelection and those who opposed will have lost come November, predicted Ben Shnider, J Streets political director. Its not the single factor, but if you look at the calculus, supporting diplomacy was added value, and that will go even further in changing the dynamics. In an interview, Gutow said the willingness of incumbents to openly challenge pro-Israel orthodoxies came not just because of differences over the Iran deal, but had evolved as Democrats sought to salvage the two-state solution. He said the collapse of the U.S.-driven Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in 2014 meant that sentiments once uttered privately were coming out into the open. Why are people feeling more free to speak out? Gutow asked. Its the length of the problem and the seeming insolubleness of the problem. AIPAC recognizes the challenges and this month named Jonathan Kessler, who set up the Israel lobbys campus operationone of its signal successes in recent decadesas a director of strategic initiatives. Kessler will identify new outside the box approaches, according to a release that cited upheaval in the Middle East and real changes in Washington, D.C. as reasons for the new position. AIPAC remains steadfastly nonpartisan. A hallway at its annual conference in March was lined with posters profiling a diverse array of activistsblack, white, Latino, Christian, Jewish, liberal, conservative. AIPAC is strongly committed to further strengthening the bipartisan pro-Israel movement in America both in its size and diversity, Marshall Wittmann, its spokesman, said in an email. But bipartisanship has its limits. For eight years, from 2007 to 2014, AIPAC hosted the Steny and Eric show. The titles variedsome years one was the majority leader, the other the minority whip and vice versabut the script for Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Eric Cantor, R-Va., didnt vary by much: It was a demonstration of bipartisan solidarity on Israel despite political differences. Although were on opposite sides of the political aisle, we are absolutely united when it comes to the U.S.-Israel relationship, Cantor said in 2008. This years installment was very different. Cantor, booted from Congress in 2014 by a Tea Party challenger in the Republican primaries, was replaced by Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. All seemed good when he and Hoyer paired up in March at the AIPAC conference. But McCarthy said the Obama administration sowed doubt about Israel, and Hoyer, his voice tense, interrupted the moderator to say the U.S. and Israeli security establishments are cooperating as closely today as they have in the past. If the seams began to show, it was because it had been a rough year or so for unanimity. A year earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress, blasting President Barack Obamas talks with Iran to achieve a nuclear deal. The speech and its fallout rallied the Democratic Partys leadership to keep the deal alive, even as AIPAC led the charge against it. The deal went through. AIPAC has profited from the perception, however mythical, that it can kill political careers. But with a new perception loomingof a lobby that no longer gets its waythe folks who would supplant AIPAC and its allies are ready to seize the day. By April, when Hillary Clinton faced off against Bernie Sanders ahead of the New York Democratic presidential primary, the Vermont senator chided Clinton in the debate for her well-received speech to AIPAC. You barely mentioned the Palestinians, he said, and the Brooklyn audience cheered. Sanders did not win the primary, but his willingness to take on Clinton over an issue once seen as the third rail was the sign that the new normal had arrived. Within days of the debate, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerryrepresenting twice the administration firepower AIPAC had drawn just weeks earlierwere preaching tough love at J Streets annual gala. Biden made headlines at the event, saying Netanyahu was taking Israel in the wrong direction. Israeli Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked (third from left), former Chief Rabbi of Israel and Auschwitz survivor Israel Lau Forth from left carrying Torah scroll), Holocaust survivor Ed Mosberg (sixth from left raising Torah Scroll above head) and Director of March of the Living Shmuel Rosenman (second from right) lead the 10,000 participants from 42 countries of the 28th March of the Living from Auschwitz to Birkenau on May 5th. KRAKOW, Poland-More than 10,000 young adults from 42 countries participated in the 28th Annual March of the Living through Auschwitz-Birkenau, the world's largest Holocaust commemoration. The March brings together both Jews and non-Jews (40-percent of participants) to mark the annual Yom Hashoah-Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day. Included this year were several UCF students and Hillel staff. It was the culmination of a week of events, which included visits to the ghettos, monuments and concentration camps. Among them were about 150 Holocaust survivors, world political, judicial, business leaders, members of the Israeli Knesset and the Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked and former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau. The emotional day was highlighted by the lighting of the torches ceremony in Birkenau, which were lit by the Metropolitan Ignatious Georgakopoulos of Demetrias in the name of Righteous of Among Nations; the Hon. Justice Rosalie Abella, herself born in a displaced persons camp and now a member of Canada's Supreme Court, in the name of the survivors; Edward Mosberg, a survivor from Mountainside, NJ, in memory of the Six Million; Zoe Shir of the USA, Ari Gateno of Panama, Calvin Tenenhouse of Canada, Francisco Hamara of Argentina, Isaak Reuben Sabbhamissod of Morocco and Ilana Neimart of France in the memory of the Children; Alisa Robbins Doctoroff and Steven Greenberg in memory of the other minorities murdered by the Nazis; and Tali Ploskov and Hamad Amir in the name of the State of Israel. "In Birkenau, another key question-no less painful-arises: where was the world?! Where were the enlightened Western nations when the Nazis started to brutalize the Jews? ... There is no way to go around it-the entire world deserted the Jews. Today, I can say with pride that we are no longer at the mercy of the world, Jewish blood will never be forsaken again," said Shaked. Those attending the march had an opportunity to meet with the last witnesses of the Holocaust. "To tell them, to educate them: this is the whole thing. That this never ever happens again," said Edward Mosberg, who was accompanied at the march by his young granddaughter. March of the Living was founded in 1988 to revamp Holocaust education, creating an emotional experience that students could connect with outside of the classroom. All groups are escorted by local tour guides, history experts and holocaust survivors, allowing participants to not only witness the destruction caused by the Holocaust, but to also hear from people who lived through the atrocities committed by the Nazis. Many of the marchers will now continue to Israel to celebrate Israel's Independence Day. Chairman of March of the Living International Shmuel Rosenman said, "The organization insists on the going to Israel as an integral part of the program that young people undergo. It is very important to send young people back to their community after they have been through the complete tour and have seen how the Jewish people survived the inferno and was able to establish a strong and proud state of their own." The March of the Living is an annual educational program which brings individuals from all over the world to Poland and Israel in order to study the history of the Holocaust and to examine the roots of prejudice, intolerance and hate. Since the first March of the Living was held in 1988, over 220,000 participants, from 52 countries, have marched down the same 3-kilometer path leading from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Holocaust Remembrance Day-Yom Hashoah-as a silent tribute to all victims of the Holocaust. March of the Living is a unique, historical and innovative partnership between local March of the Living international, local MOTL foundations, the Claims Conference, thousands of individual donors and private philanthropists, and Jewish communities from around the world. Visit http://www.motl.org. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, shaking hands with Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Yair Golan, and standing with President Reuven Rivlin, at an Israeli Independence Day ceremony honoring soldiers, May 12, 2016. TEL AVIV (JTA)-For a leader often accused of not wanting to talk peace with the Palestinians, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sure does a lot of talking about wanting to talk to the Palestinians. In a series of three statements this month, Netanyahu repeatedly stressed the need for peace with the Palestinians. He called the peace process one of his highest priorities and hinted that a renewal of talks might be underway. Responding to a question about the peace process on Twitter on May 12, Israel's Independence Day, Netanyahu said "there's nothing I want more or am more active on, in many ways you don't know." Later that day, speaking to foreign diplomats in Jerusalem, he asked for help arranging a meeting between himself and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. "I have taken steps that no other prime minister in Israel's history has taken to advance peace," he said. "Every minute that President Abbas refuses to accept my call for peace robs Palestinians and Israelis of the opportunity to live without fear." Netanyahu's commitment to a Palestinian state, even in theory, has remained a question mark and divided observers of Israeli politics since he took office in 2009. Both his defenders and his critics point to different sets of gestures and statements he's made that signal support for, or opposition to, a two-state solution. In the lead-up to elections 14 months ago, he dismissed the possibility of a Palestinian state on his watch. But in a talk to North American Jewish federations last November, he said he "remain[s] committed to a vision of two states for two peoples where a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the Jewish state, and Israel will continue to work for peace in the hope that what is not achievable today might be achievable tomorrow." At the same time, Abbas repeatedly has declined another round of negotiations, saying he would only talk following Israeli good-faith measures. Before the last series of talks, in 2013, Israel released 82 Palestinian prisoners before the two sides met. Netanyahu's defenders say Abbas' reticence shows that the Palestinian leader remains the main obstacle to a deal. "This process has two sides, and I think the central problem isn't Israel but Abu Mazen," said former Israeli Deputy National Security Adviser Shaul Shay, using Abbas' nom de guerre. "Abu Mazen isn't prepared to reach an agreement, so things are stuck not necessarily because of Israel." Abbas instead has turned to international forums, including the United Nations, to recognize a Palestinian state and hold Israel accountable for what he calls violations of international law. Most recently, Abbas endorsed a French-led initiative to convene an Israeli-Palestinian peace conference for the summer, an initiative Israel opposes. The France initiative is just one of three factors leading Netanyahu to emphasize peace talks again, analysts say. The others include the possibility of the center-left Labor Party joining his coalition and a desire to project optimism on Israel's Independence Day. The French initiative calls for a regional peace conference to be held in the summer. Should negotiations fail, France has vowed to recognize a State of Palestine. Israel thus far has refused to participate, saying the statehood recognition threat gives the Palestinians no incentive to negotiate in good faith. "The only way to advance a true peace between us and the Palestinians is by means of direct negotiations between us and them, without preconditions," Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday. "Any other attempt only makes peace more remote and gives the Palestinians an escape hatch." Netanyahu is also enmeshed in negotiations with the Knesset's largest opposition party, Labor, which advocates a settlement building freeze and renewed peace talks. Rumors have swirled in recent days that party chairman Isaac Herzog is ready to sign on in exchange, in part, for being named Israel's foreign minister. Herzog acknowledged the negotiations in a May 12 Facebook post, but said he was not yet ready to join the government. "If I receive a mandate to stop the next campaign of funerals and to block the danger of an international boycott, to bring back the United States and Europe as allies, to open negotiations with regional states and to separate from the Palestinians into two states so as to stop the continual campaign of terror, then I'll know my hands are on the steering wheel," the post read. Netanyahu's peace talk may also have been prompted, analysts say, by a need to give a sort of "State of the Union" on Independence Day. While prospects for peace may be dim, Shay said, relations with the Palestinians are still of paramount importance. "On Independence Day, the prime minister talks to the people and surveys what the situation is and what the future will hold," Shay said. "You can't ignore this central subject." Renewed negotiations have seemed remote recently. A brutal war in Gaza followed the collapse of talks in 2014. Last year saw the formation of a right-wing Israeli government, succeeded by a wave of terror that is only now fading. "He sees a theoretical possibility but not a practical one," said Dror Zeevi, a Middle Eastern studies professor at Hebrew University, referring to Netanyahu. "If things come together, it's possible he would be ready for a deal, but I don't think it's practical in the current government." Those who insist Netanyahu is sincere about renewing talks point to his 2009 speech at Bar-Ilan University, where he committed to supporting a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside Israel. They note that he froze West Bank settlement growth in 2010 and freed Palestinian prisoners to jump-start negotiations in 2013 and 2014. Since taking office seven years ago, Netanyahu repeatedly has called for direct negotiations with Abbas. "He's ready to make concessions," said Ephraim Inbar, director of Bar-Ilan's Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. "Everyone knows he'll make concessions. He was ready to freeze settlements. There are concessions he won't make for security reasons, for historical reasons, and the nation agrees with him." Others point to Netanyahu's decades-long opposition to Palestinian statehood prior to 2009. Since the building freeze, they note, Netanyahu has expanded settlements throughout the West Bank. And in March 2015, two days before Israeli elections, Netanyahu told the Israeli news website NRG that a Palestinian state would not rise while he is prime minister. Gershon Baskin, who has acted as a conduit between the Netanyahu government and Palestinian leaders, told JTA that Abbas has thrice offered to begin secret direct talks with Netanyahu. Each time, Baskin said, Netanyahu has refused. "The point isn't negotiating anymore-it's making decisions," Baskin said. "[Netanyahu] doesn't do anything in terms of policy to show that a two-state solution is what he wants. Nothing on the ground indicates that." But others insist it is Abbas offering the "Mixed Messages," as the Washington Institute for Near East Policuy titled a recent report on the Palestinian leader and Israel. "It is not just that Abbas and the P.A. turned their backs on any peace talks with Israel-a position they have hewed to ever since" turning to the international community for unilateral actions, wrote David Pollock, the Kaufman fellow and director of Project Fikra at The Washington Institute. "It is also that they had decided thenceforth to seek independent statehood for themselves without paying any price at all to Israel-neither the end of claims and conflict, nor a compromise on refugees, nor formal agreement on any other issue. In other words, their objective was land without peace." Why should the casual observer care about the seemingly obvious need to prosecute and convict Nazi war criminals, whether it be during the Nuremberg trials of the 1940s or similar proceedings in more recent years? "The Nuremberg trials only convicted the leaders and a relatively small number of people," retired Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz told JNS.org. "Even for the trials that occurred thereafter, we're talking about just hundreds of people... and for years they were protected. And there's no statute of limitations on genocide and war crimes. So it's very important that everybody in the world who is contemplating committing genocide understand that they will never be able to live out their life without being held legally accountable." Dershowitz and Irwin Cotler, renowned human rights attorneys and pro-Israel advocates, took center stage in Poland this week at an event that looked back on the Nuremberg trials and extracted lessons for the future. In Krakow on March 4-the eve of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day)-Jagiellonian University, March of the Living International, and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights hosted "The Double Entendre of Nuremberg: The Nuremberg of Hate, The Nuremberg of Justice." The symposium was held to mark the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany's anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws and the 70th anniversary of the Nuremberg trials-the Allied forces' military trials of 13 prominent Nazi leaders. While the Nuremberg Laws were a precursor to the Holocaust, the trials served as a foundation for contemporary international humanitarian law. "I think that people today must concern themselves with the struggle against impunity," Cotler told JNS.org. "The 20th century was not only the age of atrocity, it was also the age of impunity. Few of the perpetrators were brought to justice. And so, just as there must not be any base or sanctuary for racism and hate, because that takes you down the road to mass atrocity, so there must not be any base or sanctuary for these war criminals....We've learned that if you do not bring war criminals to justice, what you do is you not only encourage impunity, you embolden the war criminals and you encourage more war crimes." Now in its 28th year, March of the Living is an educational program that brings youths and adults from around the world on two-week trips to Poland and Israel "in order to study the history of the Holocaust and to examine the roots of prejudice, intolerance, and hate." The "march" itself is a 1.86-mile walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau as a silent tribute to victims of the Holocaust. To date, the program has drawn 220,000 participants. Dr. Shmuel Rosenman, chairman of March of the Living International, said the theme of justice infused into this year's program reflects the annual objective of adding an "extra touch" to the educational journey. "No one March of the Living is a routine," Rosenman told JNS.org. "This year, we're talking about the Nuremberg Laws and the Nuremberg trials. A year before it was the 70th anniversary of the destruction of Hungarian Jewry. We had a train of students riding on the same path from Budapest to Auschwitz [that concentration camp prisoners traveled]. The year before, it was the year of liberators. One-hundred liberators came [to the March of the Living program]. So every year, we are trying to bring certain things that give an extra touch, in spite of the fact that the Holocaust does not need an extra touch. It speaks for itself. But we are running out-unfortunately-of survivors, so you have to bring something more into [the trip] in order to make it more interesting to the young generation." How can the young generation connect with the particular theme of justice? "I think everyone-age 16, 17, 20, 30, 40-knows that in our world, you don't see much justice being done. So if you are taking the Nuremberg Laws, you are going to find that during the last 70 years, not much changed," said Rosenman. Cotler told reporters in a pre-symposium briefing that there are two often-ignored lessons which are "central to this historic juncture"-first, that the Holocaust and other genocides occur as a result of "state-sanctioned incitement to hate," and second, that genocide is enabled by "indifference and inaction" on the part of international bystanders. Dershowitz warned of what he described as the expiration of a "70-year-old statute of limitations against anti-Semitism." While the wrongs of the Holocaust meant that Jews earned the right not be vilified, that right has seemingly evaporated on college campuses today, Dershowitz told reporters. The young generation doesn't "remember the kind of bigotry that we had," he said, paving the way for the emergence of the "new anti-Semitism"-the targeting of one nation and one group of people, Israel and the Jews. Asked if there is a link between the Holocaust and the modern Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, Dershowitz argued that there is actually "no such thing as a BDS movement." "[BDS] starts by focusing on Israel, and then asks, 'What tactics can we use?'" said Dershowitz, emphasizing that BDS must be fought like any form of anti-Semitism. Cotler-Canada's former justice minister and attorney general-recalled being present at the 2001 World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, describing that conference as "the creation of BDS" despite the movement's official formation in 2005. A prominent modern anti-Zionist narrative was born in Durban in 2001, explained Cotler, with marches in the streets conflating the dismantling of South Africa's apartheid state with the desire to dismantle the "apartheid state" of Israel. Cotler said that today's Jewish college students have told him about how they are unable to fully participate in the fight against discrimination in all its forms because the BDS movement stereotypes them as "part of the white privileged class." Asked if post-Holocaust declarations of "never again" can have any practical impact, Dershowitz responded that one "has to use every resource available to fight against bigotry," including the tactics employed by the Nuremberg symposium in Krakow-moral suasion and statements by well-respected leaders. Cotler expressed hope that the symposium would help encourage parliamentarians from around the world to follow Canada's lead in officially recognizing the link between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. Dershowitz, similarly, said it would be a significant step forward if more nations adopted the U.S. State Department's definition of anti-Semitism, which acknowledges that anti-Semitism can include the demonization of Israel, delegitimization of Israel, and application of double standards to Israel. As part of a panel of current and former justice ministers, Israeli Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked echoed the symposium's "double entendre" theme by emphasizing that while jurists and legal experts sanctioned the dehumanization of Jews through drafting the Nuremberg laws, legal experts also proceeded to design the corrective-the Nuremberg trials. "[The law] can lead to the abyss, but also make amendments," Shaked said. In Europe, both physical and media attacks against Jews prove how "the continent that should have learned its lesson" from the Holocaust has not done so, she said. Commenting on the ongoing anti-Semitism scandal within the British Labour Party, Shaked noted how suspended Labour lawmaker Naz Shah apologized for posting on Facebook that Israel should be "relocated" to the United States, but that former London mayor Ken Livingstone has not retracted his comments suggesting Hitler was a Zionist. Shaked said Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn "must clarify that anti-Semitic comments are not within legitimate political debate, and that anti-Semitic views should end a politician's career and disqualify from any future public office." "And European leaders should also heed the British lesson and affirm that anti-Semitism is unacceptable," said Shaked. "Israel is proud to be part of the international community and is committed to the success of international institutions. But we will not compromise our sovereignty," she added. Other prominent speakers at the symposium included former International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, former French justice minister Robert Badinter, Canadian Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella, former president of the Israeli Supreme Court Dorit Beinisch, British Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice Lord John Dyson, Chief Justice of Rwanda Prof. Sam Rugege, Rwandan Supreme Court Justice Maria Therese Mukamulisa, and former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor. Yossi Zeliger Former Canadian justice minister and attorney general Irwin Cotler speaks at "The Double Entendre of Nuremberg" symposium on May 4 at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. The Nuremberg trials' landmark achievement was that "leaders were accountable for massive atrocities" for the first time," Ocampo said. "Before Nuremberg, it was considered a right of sovereign nations to kill people in their own country," he said. "After Nuremberg, that was impossible." At its conclusion, the symposium adopted a comprehensive "Never Again" declaration. "Never again will we be indifferent to incitement and hate," part of the declaration stated. "Never again will we be silent in the face of evil; Never again will we indulge racism and antisemitism; Never again will we ignore the plight of the vulnerable; Never again will we be indifferent in the face of mass atrocity and impunity. We will speak up and act against racism, against hate, against antisemitism, against mass atrocity, against injustice, and against the crime of crimes whose name we should even shudder to mention: genocide. (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the 10th-most-admired person in the United States, according to the "World's Most Admired 2016" YouGov poll that gauged the popularity of famous people in 30 different countries. U.S. President Barack Obama topped the chart, Pope Francis came in second, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders was sixth, and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump ranked eighth. Netanyahu ranked higher than former president George W. Bush, actor Johnny Depp, and former president Bill Clinton, who came in 11th, 12th, and 13th, respectively. The poll was conducted using "open-ended nominations from panelists across 30 countries," YouGov said. (JNS.org) The United States has announced a $50 million humanitarian aid program for the Gaza Strip. According to U.S. officials, the aidwhich will be distributed by the U.S. Agency for International Development in conjunction with Catholic Relief Serviceswill be dispersed over five years to provide basic humanitarian assistance and create jobs. U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem Donald A. Blume said the effort is meant to address the dire needs that are obvious in Gaza, the Associated Press reported. The announcement of U.S. aid comes as a recent World Bank report said that many leading Arab and Muslim statessuch as Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabiahave fallen well short of their promised aid to help reconstruct Gaza following the 2014 summer war there between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas. According to the report, Qatar, which promised $1 billion in aid, has so far only donated $152 million, while Saudi Arabia has only delivered 10 percent of its $500 million pledge and Turkey has only delivered one-third of the $200 million it promised. May is Jewish American Heritage Month in the United States, and the Museum of Seminole County History is proud to display the great impact of Jewish contributions to Seminole County History in a special exhibit located in its front parlor. This display, running through May 28, features Moses Levy and several other influential families and their lives in Seminole County. As the western hemisphere neared the second decade of the 19th century, Caribbean Spaniards grew more and more certain that the Spanish Crown would cede its colony of Florida to the fledgling United States. Spaniards rushed to acquire grants and purchase land before the change, knowing they could reap huge profits selling it to American settlers after it became a U.S. Territory. Moses Elias Levy had become very wealthy as a timber trader throughout the Caribbean, and he invested much of his wealth in this new land rush. He grew up a Sephardic Jew in Morocco, and fled to Gibraltar with his father in 1790 upon the ascension of a particularly anti-Semitic Sultan. From there he carried his faith westward as he sought greater opportunities in the New World. Now that he had achieved his fortune, he sought to invest it not just in the high rewards of land speculation, but in the American promise of religious freedom. Moses believed that he could build a utopian community in this new territory, one where the next generation of Jews like himself could find refuge from a new nexus of Jewish persecution, post-Napoleonic Europe. For the site of this community he chose a lakeshore along the St. Johns River as far south as ships could travel reliably from the main supply port of St. Augustine: Lake Monroe in what is now Seminole County. He envisioned it as a place of pilgrimage for Jews the world over, a site they could call home. Bad crop years put an end to Levys plan for his community on the lake. Either the soil was too poor, or the weather too harsh. He moved his plantation in 1822 to another grant he owned on the fertile Alachua Savannah near Micanopy, on the shore of another lake which now bears his name: Levy. He brought 26 known Jewish refugees from Europe to grow sugarcane there, and supplemented their labor with slaves. They built a school, synagogue, mills and houses, and functioned as an autonomous and growing community until the onset of the Second Seminole War in 1835, when a December raiding party burned the plantation to the ground. After 13 years Moses Levys dream of a homeland for persecuted Jews ended, and the inhabitants scattered to parts unknown. But the dream was here first, in Central Florida. Moses Levy sold his first plantation sitehis grant on Lake Monroeto an Irishman named Joseph Finegan, a man who would later command the Confederate forces in Florida. Finegan in turn sold it to businessman Henry Sanford in 1868, and Sanford built there a city, which today is the seat of Seminole County. Sanford Florida sprawls across a landscape, which once symbolized the hope of Jewish autonomy and free practice of religion. The Museum is located at 300 Bush Boulevard in Sanford, just off of U.S. 17/92. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children, plus tax. The Museum of Seminole County History would like to extend special acknowledgements to Alicia Clarke and the Sanford Museum, Christine Kinlaw-Best, Heritage Florida Jewish News, and the Holocaust Memorial Research and Education Center for their contributions to this exhibit. Islamophobia: dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims, especially as a political force. When UCF students walk toward the Student Union, they are greeted by a cacophony of music and welcomed by tables of students. Among the student organizations manning these tables are the Catholic Ministry, Knights for Israel, College Republicans and so on. As students continue to walk, they are handed pamphlets from religious, political, recreational and student government organizations. Students can walk inside the Student Union and witness many different banners of varying size, color and topic. Amongst these banners was one belonging to the Muslim Student Association at UCF. MSA at UCF is well known on campus for its consistent presence tabling outside of the Student Union. Perhaps at schools such as the University of South Florida, which is rife with anti-Israel sentiment, the MSA takes on a different shape and promotes different ideals. However, the UCF MSA is a pleasant force on campus. Its table is always manned by smiling faces eager to open dialogue with UCF students and educating their peers about their beliefs. Its banner read: Say: He is Allah, the one and only Allah. The eternal absolute, he begotteth not, nor is he begotten, and there is none like unto him. A post was made in the Knights for Israel Facebook group page in response to this banner: This is in the Student Union. I am FURIOUS! Something needs to be done. If I am the only one standing underneath this holding a sign speaking truth about the G-D OF ISRAEL then I will. Lets draw attention to the lies by peaceful protest?!? Members of the group, including myself, questioned why there was an issue with the sign or the organization of MSA at UCF at all. Those who agreed with the Facebook post cited the Canary Mission, saying the MSA is a front for the Muslim Brotherhood. Other students found issue with the sheer fact that Allah was promoted. For those who are unaware, the Canary Mission lists itself as a database... created in order to document people and groups that are promoting hatred of the USA, Israel and the Jewish people, particularly on college campuses in North America. It cites the MSAs mission in its overview of the organization and then has the following sub-lists: Links to Radical Islam and terrorism... MSA members who became terrorists... Radical Speakers... and so on. The Canary Mission believes that the MSA has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Sunni-Islamist organization founded in Egypt, which is believed to promote religious fundamentalism at the expense of promoting anti-West, anti-Israel, and anti-Semitic sentiment. If one attends UCF and frequents the Student Union, she may be acquainted with the MSA of UCF that offers free Henna, free Snickers around finals time, promotes their club by handing out pamphlets, and tables alongside student organizations such as Knights for Israel. Their mission is ...to serve as a platform for all Muslim students, faculty, and staff on campus, and to spread awareness of Islam. Aimed toward diversity on campus. Front and center on the MSA of UCF webpage, it states: Religion of Peace... And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace... al-Quran 25:63. I mean unless their sneaking in little notes inside of their goodie bags that say, Down with America! Im not sure why anyone would label this organization as a breeding ground for terrorists. Some responses to the post were wholly in agreement with me. They found no problem with any registered student organization promoting religion and argued that they have a right to exist on campus and promote their beliefs, even if theyre different from our own. It shocks me that this level of common sense was not shared by all. One of the people in agreement with me was Rez, a member of MSA and current president of Shalom-Salaam, a club aimed toward opening a dialogue about culture between young Jewish and Muslim people. Hes a Sunni Muslim who has read the Quran from cover to cover and a member of Knights for Israel. He dubs himself as simultaneously pro-Israel and pro-Palestine. He describes MSA as a safe space for Muslims that is absolutely necessary with the rising Islamophobia in the country. He said he found the statements of the Canary Mission, which he had never heard before he saw the post, reminiscent of, President Bushs War on Terror... almost like a War on the Islamic World. He admits that he cant speak for all MSA organizations, but emphasizes that MSA at UCF is a very peaceful organization with no ties the Muslim Brotherhood and its radical values. Frankly, the idea that there are people in this day and age that would suppress the civil liberties of a group of people simply because of their religion disgusts me. I hear about it on the news. I see in on social media. But having it so acutely brought to my attention makes me fear for my generation. How many others share this view? This blind prejudice reminds me all too eerily of the blind prejudice against Jews. There are discrepancies, but at the heart of it is hate speech and ignorance, which I cant accept as a logical human being. Israels Yom HaatzmautIndependence Dayis particularly meaningful to my family. My uncle brought his family to the country from Poland in 1936, and he and my aunt fought on the streets of Tel Aviv in the War of Independence in 1948. My grandmothers sister and her husband escaped the Nazis, making aliyah in the 1930s. My brother, sister, first cousin, and their families all have made aliyah. Two nephews and a niece are now serving in the Israel Defense Forces. As I was growing up, Israel was an ever-present part of my life, and my father consistently spoke of the Jewish state from his pulpit. Ive visited the Jewish state more times than I can count and have seen Israels economy boom and its technology prowess grow. Its accomplishments and innovations are astounding, including its leadership in water desalination and conservation, medical advancements, agricultural technology, and computer savvy. These Israeli achievements have helped change and improve the way we live today. Ive also seen diversity and inclusion growing and readily accepted, particularly in Tel Aviv, and Im proud that later this month the Jewish Federations of North America has such a large LGBTQ mission leaving for Israel, where President Reuven Rivlin has been invited to welcome participants. Israel is a magical place where strangers invite one another to share Shabbat meals, and before you know it, you are extended family. But this magical land also is one of contradictions and challenges that leave me in a constant struggle as I try to understand my relationship with Israel. Gender fairness, religious pluralism, income inequality, the lack of affordable housing and the discrimination that Ethiopians and Israeli Arabs face are all issues that leave me frustrated and wondering why this magical country is unable to also deal with these challenging issues. Then I remember that as we celebrate Yom Haatzmaut this weekgoing from the solemnity of Yom Hazikaron, Israels Memorial Day, to the joys of independencethe modern State of Israel at 68 is a young country, still maturing and finding its way. As Israel matures, Diaspora Jews have a role to play. Yes, we must acknowledge Israels flaws and push it to improve, but that should never preclude our standing together with Israel. That hit home for me nearly two years ago as Israel frantically searched for three kidnapped Jewish teenagers only to learn that they had been murdered. I spent time with the teens families both during the search and after, developing close personal relationships. I was struck by their strength, and how in the face of such tragically horrific acts, they called for unity among the Jewish people, urging us to come together in both good times and bad. It is toward unity that I believe we should strivenot a unity that is blind to Israels flaws, but a unity that inspires us to help Israel improve and continue to grow. And, so on this 68th anniversary of the State of Israel, I say Baruch Hashem, praise God that we have an Israel in our lifetime. Four out of five of my children have experienced a year in Israel on Masa programs. My nephew will be honored on Yom Haatzmaut for his exemplary service in the Israeli navy during a ceremony at President Rivlins house. He, his siblings, and his first cousins are my familys next generation of Israelis. I have always believed that we have been given a gift and a miracle: Torah, the gift that frames our history and the values we should live by, and Israel, the miracle that, despite its challenges, is ours. We are blessed. Yom Haatzmaut sameach. Jerry Silverman is CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America. HICKORYCatawba County has seen fewer business interests looking to locate in the area, county leaders say. We have seen less calls, particularly from the big, big opportunities, Scott Millar, president of the Catawba County Economic Development Corporation, said. A larger part of the reason many businesses have not chosen to locate has to do with the uncertainty over the law, as well as effects on the potential works and backlash that might come with locating in the state, Millar said. If a company cant determine what an answer is going to be, then that uncertainty will force them to look elsewhere, Millar said. In terms of local businesses, there have been no issues raised with the law, Danny Hearn said, who is the president of the Chamber of Commerce. Ive not had a phone call; Ive not had a business call to express any concern or say that they have lost a customer, or have lost business, Hearn said. I would hope our members would want us to stay focused on our main objective, and thats talent recruitment and filling and creating jobs, Hearn said. Im going to let the politicians fight that one out, because what we have, weve solved a problem where a problem didnt exist." There was a member of the board who asked if the chamber was taking a position on the issue, Hearn said. The lack of outcry over the measure in the business community has resulted in the issue not being raised in the chamber, so no position has been taken, Hearn said. Any decision to take a stance on the bill would have to come from the chamber's board, or its members, Hearn said. House Bill 2 only applies to government buildings and schools, Communications Director for the governors office Josh Ellis said. Private companies are free to establish whatever bathroom or hiring policy they choose. Since the passage of the bill, several analyses have shown economic losses for the state. A report from the North Carolina Justice Center released May 16 found the revocation of federal funds could result in 53,000 job losses and $2.4 billion in lost wages. The White House released a statement that no funds will be withdrawn until the conclusion of the HB2 litigation with the state, however. Earlier this month, the Williams Institute at the UCLA law school estimated a loss of $5 billion in both federal funds and investment. Several local businesses have placed stickers on their establishments indicating that the business is dedicated create a safe place for LGBT people. The Piedmont Counseling and Development Group has had the sticker in its window since the establishment opened in March 2015, managing partner Robert Hoffman said. From the very beginning we sought out LGBT community to make them aware that we were supportive, and inclusive. And really, thats in fulfillment of our professional mandate to advocate on behalf of communities of minority status, including LGBT, Hoffman said. Given the flexibility the law gives businesses to discriminate, Hoffman said it is important for businesses to put the sticker to show LGBT people that they will be safe in a given establishment. Hatch Sandwich Bar also put up the sticker in its window over a year and a half ago after being approached by Catawba Pride, owner Zach Harkins said. I just want people to know that it is a safe, friendly environment for anyone to come eat at, Harkins said. HICKORY House Bill 2 (HB2), commonly known as the transgender bathroom bill, has received national media attention from both sides of the issues since the State General Assembly passed it March 23 during a special session. However, the bill does not include any recommendations for enforcement of the bill. We handle it like we always have, Catawba County Sheriff Coy Reid said. If the people who own the bathroom tell someone to leave and they do not, they could be arrested for (trespassing). In such cases, the charge would be misdemeanor trespassing, Reid said. Reid clarified that HB2 did not introduce any new criminal statute, but noted a city or county could adopt an ordinance. We have never really had much of a problem with it in the past, Reid said. We will come if someone calls us, but we dont have a bathroom patrol. Even if HB2 got struck down, if a property owner asks someone to leave and they dont, it could still be (trespassing). Hickory Police Capt. Jeff Young said HB2 did not change the departments stance much. It is not something we would usually get involved in unless there is some other criminal violation, Young said. Young said offenses such as peeping or the production of child pornography would be possible criminal violations. To my knowledge and looking back at our records, we have not had any issues or complaints, Young said. Various parties, including Gov. Pat McCrory and the U.S. Department of Justice, have filled multiple separate lawsuits either in support or in opposition of HB2. One of the lawsuits is from ACLU North Carolina and Lambda Legal on the behalf of six North Carolinians, according to a May 9 press release from the ACLU. Transgender people work for the state of North Carolina, attend school in North Carolina and are a part of every community across the state, stated in the release. It is unconscionable that the government is placing a target on their backs to advance this discriminatory political agenda. McCrory issued a release on the same day in response to the Department of Justices lawsuit against the state. The Obama administration is bypassing Congress by attempting to rewrite the law and set restroom policies for public and private employers across the country, not just North Carolina, McCrory said via the press release May 9. This is now a national issue that applies to every state and it needs to be resolved at the federal level. DES MOINES, Iowa Amid a massive frozen foods recall involving millions of packages of fruits and vegetables that were shipped to all 50 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico, authorities who want to stem the listeria-linked illnesses and deaths worry it'll be difficult to get consumers to dig through their freezers and check for products they may have bought as far back as 2014. It's one of the largest food recalls in recent memory, with well over 400 products from CRF Frozen Foods in Pasco, Washington, sold under more than 40 different brand names at major retailers like Costco, Target, Trader Joe's and Safeway. So far, eight people have been sickened by listeria that's genetically similar to that found in CRF vegetables, and two have died, though listeria was not the primary cause of death. "Unquestionably, this is a lot of product. ... It reflects the severity of listeria as an illness, the long duration of illnesses and the outbreak and the long shelf life of the products," said Matthew Wise, who leads the outbreak response team at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The initial recall started April 22, covering 11 frozen vegetable products. On May 2, CRF expanded it to include all of its frozen organic and traditional fruit and vegetable products manufactured or processed at its Washington plant since May 1, 2014. Thanks to recently developed whole-genome sequencing of food-contaminating bacteria, the Food and Drug Administration and CDC found that the listeria bacteria found in the blood of a person sickened in 2013 is genetically similar to the listeria tied to the recall. "The idea is that it's possible that it could be linked to this plant as far back as that because of the match. As a result the company, working with the FDA, decided to do the recall that far back," CRF spokesman Gene Grabowski said. The CRF plant closed two weeks ago and Grabowski said the company is still trying to pinpoint the source of the contamination. Wise said his concern is that consumers check the online recall lists discard the products from of their freezers. "Listeriosis always makes us worry because it's such a serious infection," he said. The CDC says listeria is most harmful to adults over 65 with weakened immune systems and pregnant women. Products were both packaged for sale as individual products and repackaged by places like Piggly Wiggly, Kroger and ConAgra foods as ingredients in a host of other store-brand and private-label products for stores like Trader Joe's and Costco. Also, retailers including Target and regional distributors such as Midwest grocery chain Hy-Vee Foods have recently recalled products made by Tokyo-based Ajinomoto Windsor due to the company recalling 70 of its Asian variety products that contain CRF vegetables about 47 million pounds worth some of which were also sold in Canada and Mexico. The FDA and CDC have developed a system to track the genetic makeup of salmonella, listeria and E.coli. Once a food-related illness outbreak is identified, scientists can match the DNA from contaminated food with the bacteria making people sick and potentially trace it to the originating food processing plant. In this outbreak, of those eight who were sick, six were in California. The two people who died were from Maryland and Washington. Authorities say it's unclear why there are not more illnesses from listeria. Wise said that the levels of listeria contamination might not be high or may be uneven in the packaged vegetables. Also, the vegetables in the recall are typically cooked before they're eaten, which would kill the bacteria. The CDC continues to monitor state illness reports for any sign of additional cases, Wise said. Listeria causes an estimated 1,600 cases illnesses each year in the U.S., but just half are reported. About 18 percent of listeriosis patients die. FDA spokeswoman Lauren Sucher said it's important to follow label directions for cooking frozen foods and to check freezers thoroughly for the products listed on the FDA website . HICKORY A young boy with severe mental illness, who needs his mothers assistance in public restrooms, now has to go into the mens restroom alone due to House Bill 2 (HB2), Dr. Patricia Littwin, certified psychologist, sex therapist and gender therapist, said. That is a danger, not only could that child be hurt, but if there truly was a pedophile in that bathroom, that child is at huge risk of being harmed, Littwin said. HB2 allows children 7 years or younger to be accompanied by an adult, but those 8 years or older must go alone or with a parent of the same sex. The bill is stating people have to use bathrooms based on the sex they were assigned to at birth, Littwin said. Littwin defined sex as being assigned to male or female at birth based on sexual characteristics. Gender is a mental state and sexual orientation is who an individual is attracted to, she added. (Gender) is what, if we close our eyes, we believe that we are as an individual, Littwin said. Transgender is not a mental illness or anyones fault, Littwin said. It is not something parents do wrong, she added. Researchers, psychologists and scientists discovered something goes wrong during the pregnancy making the child want to be a different sex than what they are born as, she said. The gender is female or male, but the sex that develops is opposite, Littwin said. Children born with a sex opposite from their gender will have horrific confusion, she said. I know I am a girl, but when I look at my body its calling me a liar, is whats going on, Littwin said. Maddison Homjak said she was born a male, but knew her gender was female at a very young age. The feelings started to get a lot harder; I started to feel like everything I was doing was wrong because I wasnt living my life authentically, Homjak said. Homjak didnt come out as openly transfemale until she was 26 years old. She said she refuses to go into the mens restroom because there are too many instances of assault. She hasnt had the sex reassignment surgery so she cant change her gender mark on her birth certificate, she added. In North Carolina, the gender mark on the birth certificate cant legally be changed unless an individual has the surgery, which can cost $100,000, Littwin said. Not everyone can afford these surgeries, and therefore have to use the wrong restroom, Littwin said. You picture someone that looks like Hulk, and you tell that person that they have to go into the womens bathroom, Littwin said. I know I wouldnt want a male in my bathroom, and a transmale is a male. Littwin said she has several transmale patients that are over 300 pounds in fit condition who fully pass as males, and they have to use the womens restroom because they havent had the surgery. Bill or no bill, I am a woman and Im going to use the womens restroom, Homjak said. Transfemales are assigned as male because of their sex, but identify their gender as female, Littwin said. A transmale is an individual assigned as female and identifies as male. Harm can come to a female-assigned-at-birth woman that walks into the restroom and looks a little too masculine for someone, Littwin said. Any individual can make the decision to call the police on another individual in the restroom because of their appearance, Littwin said. Once (transgenders) get to the point we are living our lives authentically, we are not going to cause a ruckus or do anything to get in trouble because now that we are living authentically, why would we throw that away for something thats going to get us thrown in jail? Homjak said. Littwin said it isnt only transgenders being affected, it is cisgenders too, Littwin said. Cisgender is a person with their gender and sex matching, she added. For example, men and women in the army cant be told apart because they all have short hair, no facial hair, no makeup and the same uniform, Littwin said. No one chooses their gender, it is who they are, Littwin said. I just want to keep people safe. I dont care if youre transgender, cisgender, green, purple blue, it doesnt matter, Littwin said. We are only one race, the human race. Discrimination and minimum wage An individual can be fired from their work for being a woman, gay, transgender, a certain race or a certain religion, and it cant be fought in the state court, Homjak said about HB2. It is going against our civil rights because it is saying that if we are discriminated against, and Im using we because this is anybody, if we are discriminated against we cant do anything about it, we cant sue, Littwin said. Women werent allowed to have a career or vote; African Americans were considered slaves; and Jewish people werent considered equal to other humans, Littwin said to name a few examples of people who had to fight for human rights decades ago. I personally, not only as a transgender woman, but as a native North Carolinian, I am absolutely just appalled at the fact that our government officials and government in general would be so discriminatory toward a certain group of people, Homjak said. Littwin raised the question, because someone is different than what people said they should be, does that mean they are labeled non-human or unequal? When the bill was pushed into law I was hurt; I literally felt like somebody just took a gun and shot me in the heart, Homjak said. It was terrible. I felt like my rights as an American were being stripped away just because I happen to be different than everybody else. People dont realize HB2 is damaging the Civil Rights Act, Homjak said. If you ever wonder what its like to live in the 60s during a civil rights movement when Dr. King was around, well were going through it right now, Homjak said. At Homjaks company, her employer supports diversity and inclusion, Homjak said. Pretending to be someone you know youre not is hurtful, its something that nobody should be forced to do, but unfortunately in the society we live in, thats how everybody feels, Homjak said. Her employer wants all employees to work at their highest level, Homjak said. If that means being transfemale, that is what her employer wants her to do, she added. HB2 also states if the federal government raises the minimum wage, North Carolina doesnt have to, Littwin said. The minimum wage in North Carolina is $7.25 an hour, according to the North Carolina Department of Labor. It has not changed since 2009. There are flaws with this law, flaws with everything about it, Homjak said. Its unconstitutional in every way. This domain has expired. If you owned this domain, contact your domain registration service provider for further assistance. If you need help identifying your provider, visit https://www.tucowsdomains.com/ The BJPs expanding imprint, the Congresss diminishing footprint thats the sum of assembly poll results in four states and a Union territory. What we have is more of a BJP-yukt (fitted) than a Congress-mukt Bharat. Ousted from power in two states, the Congress is abysmally down. Not out. Its 115 seat haul in five battles compares better than the BJPs 63, the bulk of which came from Assam. The saffron party improved its vote and seat share in West Bengal and Kerala but failed to open account in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. But is that the way the Congress should be looking at the outcome? Not really. Having grown at its cost, the BJP now rules most states with issues impinging on national security: Assam, Arunachal, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and also Gujarat. It has none except itself to account for myriad internal security and cross-border challenges for which it blamed the Congress in these states. The politically-guided discourse on cross-border terrorism, relations with Pakistan, illegal migrants from Bangladesh and the boundary dispute with China could see now a reversal of roles. If the BJP fails to measure up to the task, it could well be handed down the whipping boy role the saffron outfits had foisted on the Congress by showing it as being soft on what they called Islamic terror. At the kernel of the saffron victory in Assam is the popular outrage the Sangh kept fuelling, post the AASU agitation, over furtive arrivals from Bangladesh. Its campaign distinguished between Hindus who were welcome and Muslims who werent. How they handle now the complex problem with a bearing on ties with Dhaka should engage the Congress. Will it? All these are the openings the Congress cannot exploit with the wavering focus and scattered vision it has shown in its critiques of the NDAs handling of Nepal or its hyped up engagements with China and Pakistan. The answer isnt in becoming a latter day BJP. Its in proving the UPAs pro-talks approach right retrospectively. Kashmir, for instance, is in ferment under the PDP-BJP working at cross purposes in Jammu and the Valley, exacerbating alienation among Muslim youth. Its hard to see on the ground the realization of the PMs promise to make the regime work in national interest. The BJP has countless questions to answer there. The Congress isnt posing many! Not at least the way it did in the AugustaWestland controversy when its leadership came under attack. So a change the Congress can effect faster is the way it ideates, debates and deliberates internally to put forth its policies and track-record when the BJP is seen as tripping on issues of national import. A case in point: The NDA had the UPA on the mat on the Sharm-al-Shaikh statement referring to Indias alleged role in Balochistan. In comparison, the Congresss riposte to the NDA allowing a Pakistani team into the terror-hit Pathankot air base was tepid. Getting its talking points right would also help the Congress in the 2017 assembly polls in seven states, including Gujarat and Punjab, where it will be pitted against the fire-spewing, glib-talking Aam Aadmi Party. Getting the communication strategy right in a polity where airwaves are clogged could be competitive but not as cumbersome as an organizational makeover. One isnt sanguine therefore about the Congress undergoing a quick-fire overhaul. The efficacy of a round of musical chairs is doubtful also as the party needs to alter its glacially slow work culture. India has changed. So must the grand old party. More than at the top, it needs young boots on the ground. Lazy congresspersons crowding party ranks need to be retired or redeployed. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is racing the monsoon to launch its Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) from the Sriharikota space port next week. We are looking at May 23 as a tentative date for the launch, provided atmospheric conditions are favourable, says Devi Prasad Karnik. The RLV-TDs first test was scheduled last year, but it was postponed due to technical reasons. The size of a big sedan, the RLVs prototype resembles NASAs iconic Space Shuttle. And ISRO would hope it flies like one, too. The problem with the launch systems of today is that once launched, a booster rocket cannot be re-used. Since nearly 70% cost of any space launch vehicle lies in its structure and avionics, RLVs are ideal to minimise payload cost as they could be recovered, refurbished and reused. Read | ISRO all set to launch indigenous version of space shuttle If all goes well, Isros winged spaceplane will be launched by an expendable single stage solid fuel booster, which powers the spacecraft to Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) and an altitude of 70 km in five minutes. The RLV-TD then uses its fin and wing controls to glide a bit before starting its descent, touching Mach 5 again, and landing in the Bay of Bengal. Elapsed time from lift-off: 20 minutes. The trickiest part of the flight is the spacecrafts re-entry into Earths atmosphere: Come in too steeply, and it burns up; approach at too shallow an angle, and it skids off the atmosphere, spinning out into space. It is also a huge challenge for spaceflight engineers to deal with the heat generated by friction as the spacecraft plunges through the atmosphere. So the RLV-TD has a blunt nose, which, unlike needle-noses, forms a thick shockwave ahead of it to deflect heat and slow the spacecraft more efficiently. This is the first of a series of technology demonstration flights each of which will see the RLV being released from aircraft at increasingly greater heights, to eventually land on runways. Isro plans for an advanced version (six times larger than the RLV-TD) to fly sometime in the next 12 years. In the not -too-distant future conventional boosters like its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will make way for RLVs, whose low maintenance costs and quick turnaround times could cut launch costs to less than `10,000 per kg of payload (as compared to current costs touching `9,90,000 per kg). Read | US has asked Isro to pause launch of American satellites But for this to happen, Isro must seriously think of creating a private space industry in India (as Nasa and the European Space Agency did) so that entrepreneurs can step in and attract investments. Microsofts Paul Allen (Spaceship One), Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos (New Shepherd), and Elon Musk (SpaceX Falcon) are some prominent entrepreneurs who have poured billions of dollars into RLV research and made stunning progress. Curiously, while the entry of private players has made the technical feasibility of RLVs less of an issue, the economic angle is now in sharper focus. How much, for instance, would low-cost frequent launches expand the market? And how often would an RLV need to be refurbished and re-launched to make its development cost worthwhile? Isro, though, has rightly decided to cross these bridges when it comes to them and seems focused on successfully developing its own RLV to cut satellite launch costs and give India a competitive edge in the launch market. And since the realisation of new markets like asteroid mining and space tourism depends on cutting the cost of space transportation, the RLV, clearly, holds the key. Prakash Chandra is a science writer. The views expressed are personal Just a week into my arrival in Ottawa, I asked my interlocutor, a well known US-Canadian educationist, if Canadians were indeed as friendly as they appeared. Without batting an eyelid, she recounted an experience of shopping at a supermarket, when a watermelon she had just placed in the cart simply disappeared. Intrigued, she wondered, When had watermelons learnt to fly? A G7 and G20 nation, with a resource-rich expansive landmass and a small but wealthy population, Canada will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of its foundation next year. Other than its harsh winter, Canada and Canadians have encountered very few real challenges. Geography and the US have teamed up to ensure the vast nations security. Bountiful nature, sustained economic growth over several decades and an effective social safety net have inculcated a sense of trust, friendly disposition and community spirit in the populace. The seeds were sown by the early immigrants who helped each other in coping with the desolate wilderness and building settlements. That generosity of spirit was evidenced in recent months when Canadians opened up their homes and wallets to help Syrian refugees. A land of immigrants, except for the million and a half descendants of the Aboriginals (First Nations), Canada is as colour-blind as it gets. Read | Trudeau apologises: Making common cause of Komagata Maru Canadians like to say that their country is not a melting pot but a salad bowl where disparate ethnic and linguistic groups, blend seamlessly, while continuing to retain their distinct identities and celebrate their heritage. It is no wonder then that visible minorities a million-plus each, of the Chinese, Indian and Ukrainian diaspora, as well as, a million Muslims, three hundred thousand Jewish people and others comprising some 20% of the countrys population, consider themselves proud Canadians. Pluralism is Canadas strong suit and they are justifiably proud of it. The Indian diaspora has done particularly well. Every thirtieth Canadian is now of Indian origin. Punjabi has become the third most spoken language across the nation, after English and French. Indo-Canadians head a number of multi-billion dollar companies. Their success has begun to accrue dividends back home. Prem Watsa, chairman of Fairfax Financial Holding, is so bullish on India that he has invested $1 billion in the infrastructure sector, over the last eighteen months. Nineteen of the 338 parliamentarians and four of the 31 cabinet ministers, are of Indian origin, a feat that has not been matched by any other diaspora. Read | Largest Canadian contingent to join parliamentary group with India And yet, despite its enviably idyllic existence, Canada harbours a bit of a complex about living in the shadow of the US. With an economy and population that is one-tenth of the US, Canada often finds itself struggling for attention. Thus the State visit of PM Justin Trudeau to Washington was a cause of celebration in this country. The Canadian media was quick to proclaim that Justin (Trudeau not Bieber) fever had swept the US. Read | Canada PM Justin Trudeau apologises for elbowing woman lawmaker in House An aging population poses another challenge to Canada, though not as serious as the one buffeting Europe, due to its progressive policy of admitting around 300,000 immigrants annually. By 2020, the median age in India is projected at 29 years, China 37 years, Canada 43 years and Europe 49 years. Related to this is the concern about slowing GDP growth which has halved to 1.5% per annum in the recent period. Canada is struggling to find a way forward in the face of depressed commodity prices and its less than robust innovation base. Soaring household debt is stoking middle-class angst. All said and done, Canada is still one of the top five most-liveable countries in the world. People are relaxed and friendly. Until a lone-wolf attack in October 2014, when an armed radical entered the parliament after killing a soldier at the National War Memorial, public vehicles could enter the complex. In some respects, there is a charming innocence about the Canadians which extends, some believe, even to taking security concerns lightly. Read | Go home graffiti scrawled near gurdwara in Canada When had watermelons learnt to fly? All of a sudden, a stranger walked up to her carrying another watermelon The one you had picked out wasnt the best. I thought I would choose a better one for you. Vishnu Prakash is Indian high commissioner to Canada The views expressed are personal The knives are out in the CPI(M) after its West Bengal poll debacle. A large section of the central leadership and the partys Kerala leaders appeared keen on Friday to attack their Bengal comrades after the Left Front slid to an ignominious third position in the assembly polls. Anticipating the political heat, the party has already deferred its politburo and central committee meeting till mid-June. The CPI(M)-led Left Front that once ruled West Bengal for 34 years was decimated by Mamata Banerjee who swept to power with 211 seats on Thursday. There was no formal agreement with the Congress, no common minimum programme yet some of our leaders started talking about forming a government with the Congress and confused voters, CPI(M) politburo member Hannan Mollah told HT. A senior CPI(M) leader said the partys Bengal leaders had estimated that the Left would bag at least 100 seats. It got 32 seats, a stark reminder of how the party has lost touch with its cadres. Mollah agreed. We were detached from 90% of the population for 4.8 years. We did not reach out to our people who lived in fear. It is foolish to expect that in four months, out fortunes will turn around, he added. With 26 seats, the CPI(M) has a vote share of only 19.7% as against 40 seats and 29.6% in 2011 and 176 seats and 37.13% in 2006. This is clearly the partys worst performance in the state. The Left Front partners fared worse. The Communist Party of India (CPI) won a single seat and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) three seats. The Forward Bloc, which saw its Dinhata MLA Udayan Guha switch over to Trinamool last year, won only two seats with a 2.8 % vote share. The partys preliminary assessment also shows that its anti-Mamata campaign over the Narada sting operation, the flyover collapse in Kolkata and the Saradha chit fund scam was confined to some TV channels while the Trinamool marketed its development agenda across the state. Many of our leaders now blame the decision to forge a seat-sharing alliance with Congress. While Congress benefited, we suffered in many seats, a senior state committee member of the CPI(M) said. A sizeable section of Left leaders feels the BJP played spoilsport. Also, Muslims in many areas didnt vote for us, a CPI(M) state secretariat member said. A senior Left leader added, No individual should be blamed for the debacle. There was no comprehensive plan for fighting the election. Bengal communists failed to do any proper agitation in the last few years. Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy resigned from his post on Friday following the humiliating defeat his Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) suffered in the assembly election on May 19. Chandy called on governor Justice (retd) Sathasivam on Friday morning to submit his letter. Read | Oomen Chandys UDF goes down battling graft charges against his govt The Left Democratic Front, led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), decimated the Congress in the elections, coming back to power after five years with 91 seats in the 140-seat assembly. The halfway mark required for a majority is 72. Party sources said Chandy is unlikely to accept the opposition leaders post. If that is indeed the case, outgoing home minister Ramesh Chennithala will be given the post. Kerala CM Oommen Chandy submits his resignation to Governor P Sathasivam. pic.twitter.com/97Y5WGbUV2 ANI (@ANI_news) May 20, 2016 Calling the setback temporary, Chandy said the party would bounce back with renewed vigor after he submitted his resignation. We failed to tackle the misinformation campaign unleashed by our opponents. Similarly, we failed to highlight some of the good works carried out by our government, he said. After the drubbing, many in the party publicly turned on their leadership. Padmaja Venugopal, the defeated Congress candidate from Thrissur and daughter of late leader K Karunakaran, came out in the open criticising senior leaders for not fully backing her. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which credits the resurgence of the nationalistic movement in the country for helping BJP gain a toehold in the Left bastion of Kerala and for winning Assam, is not shying from admitting its own contribution to help its protege. After the assembly election results were announced on Thursday, the Sangh--which otherwise insists on being called a cultural organisation--shed its diffidence in admitting it helped the BJP. Election outcomes do not determine the Sanghs work but, yes, positive changes (electoral gains) enthuse our workers, a senior RSS functionary told Hindustan Times. Read: Poll results: Its an all-time high for us, says Jaitley on BJPs win in Assam The RSS, which runs the highest number of Shakhas (5,000) in the state, has been zealously working to breach the Lefts firewall in Kerala. BJP won its first ever assembly seat in the state and increased its voter share to a double digit here. The Sanghs biggest concern about the state is its changing demography, which fuels worries over increasing religious conversions and a decreasing Hindu population. When we began work in the State, people mocked us; they said Nagpur oranges dont grow in Kerala (RSS is headquartered in Nagpur). But our positive work in the state has been recognised. We worked undeterred by ridicule, neglect and physical attacks, a functionary in Kerala said. Read: BJPs O Rajagopal wins from Nemom, gives BJP its first seat in Kerala assembly A similar exercise was carried out in Assam, with an emphasis on reaching out to the economically weaker sections as well as the tribals. Special schools in the tribal areas and programmes through the Vanvasi Kalayan Ashram helped the Sangh pave the way for the BJP. A senior RSS functionary said, unlike in Kerala, there is greater acceptance for the Sangh in Assam and rest of the North East. The Sanghs focus however was Kerala. The first signs of the Sangh steering the BJPs election campaign in the state was the appointment of K Rajasekheran, an erstwhile RSS pracharak as the partys state president. This was followed up by fielding some active RSS workers as candidates in the Assembly election, the most notable being Sadanand Master, who lost his legs in an alleged Left-incited attack. On the ground, there were more boots than ever. Karyakartas (workers) were trained to canvass for an alternative to the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF), which have dominated the political scene in the state for decades on end. There are several issues that the BJP-backed by the Sangh flagged, such as poor employment avenues, lack of development and the unbridled violence perpetrated by the Left, the functionary said. Attention was drawn to gory incidents of hacking, maiming and injuring those sympathetic to the RSS-BJP combine, as the Sangh set out to consolidate the Hindu vote. Read: P Vijayan to be Kerala CM, Achuthanandan to get cabinet post: Party sources Borrowing from the Sanghs Hindutva card, the BJP forged ties with the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, representing the Ezhava community, the so-called backward Hindus. The followers of saint-philosopher Sri Ramanuja, an exponent of Vaishnavism, were wooed with the intention of dispelling the notion that the RSS perpetuated casteism. While the BJP tried to focus its campaign around a development agenda, the RSS did not demur from raising the issues of love jihad and beef eating, both pitched as deliberate attempts to marginalise the Hindus. With an emphasis on reviving temple festivals and religious ceremonies in Gods Own Country, as Kerala is hard-sold to tourists, the RSS set out to break the jinx of the BJP not ever winning a seat in the Kerala Assembly or winning a Lok Sabha constituency. There is a bookstore in Kolkata unlike any other. Tucked away in a genteel corner of south Kolkata away from the main avenues, it is almost as if the shop doesnt want the plebian customers on the main road. Only connoisseurs know of it and youd better know your Trotsky from your Gramsci. For a long time, this was a hub of the Bengali bhadralok scholars and bureaucrats and bright doctoral students who would congregate and talk about the world around themselves, from Chechnya to Chandannagar and Kosovo to Kasba. The shop must lie deserted now. In the post-industrial collapsed Bengal, the states biggest export was the bhadralok culture: the mostly upper caste, upper middle class Bengali men and women who talked politics and culture in polite tones, versed in Satre and Camus and wore muted shades of pastel or grey. English would be mostly clipped and residences in Delhi/Bombay/London so that one could worry about the intellectual decay of Presidency without having to worry about sending ones children there. But after Thursdays election results, Mamata Banerjee has replaced the bhadralok as Bengals biggest cultural export. In all her blue chappal, broken English, mangled pronunciation, Youtube video glory, Didi is now what Bengal is synonymous with outside the republic of south Kolkata. Read | Trinamool wins decisive mandate but challenges remain This is very bad news for the bhadralok because she has made clear she doesnt care for their support. She is loud, screeches at meetings, patronises regional film heroes the horror our dear Satyajit Ray must feel in his grave and doesnt want to refine her English. Worse, she doesnt think the bhadralok is important to Bengal. For five years now, she has used her clout among the rural voters and people living in poorer parts of Kolkata Topshia, Dumdum, Kalikapur, the bits that are invisible to the bhadralok to neutralise the influence of the intellectual class. The Left Front did this for three decades. But they were always careful to put a veneer of culture on booth management and alleged scientific rigging. Its public faces in Kolkata were always dhuti-clad bhadraloks who were equally at ease in Rabindra Jayanti celebrations and the Calcutta Club. Their chief ministers and top leaders were drawn from the same group upper caste, middle class, urban, English medium educated and soft spoken. Read | How Mamata Banerjee scripted the decimation of Left in West Bengal Mamata doesnt care for such niceties. With her 211 seats, she has proven that her potent mix of cult and populism is more than enough to take on the illusion of intellectual heft of the bhadralok. In the run up to the assembly elections, the buzz in Kolkatas intellectual circles was the supposed tough fight between the Trinamool Congress and the opposition alliance. An influential local Bengali daily added to the debate, its coverage mostly critical of the chief minister. But as the results show, the disdain of the bhadralok towards Mamata came as a boon it helped her shore up her image as a leader of the masses, who was connected to the villages, the farmers and the labourers. It also exposed Kolkatas bhadralok for the out-of-touch theorising class it is. West Bengal is a strange state. No region revolves so much around its capital city Kolkata as Bengal does. Media coverage is saturated with the nitty-gritty of what is happening in the city and the political opinion of the citys powerful elite the bhadralok gets aired as the mandate of the state. Read | Mamata the fighter: West Bengal ushers in second term for Didi For decades, conversation around education and health in the state centred on the capital, with no mention of how the districts were faring. In culture too, the famous Bengali renaissance movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries that most Kolkatans still reminisce about is almost entirely about the city. Where is Bankura, Bishnupur or Dinajpur in the lost glory of the Bengalis? Mamata knows this. In her first term, she tried to woo the bhadralok towards her. She started wearing spectacles, carried a book of poetry under her arm and gave speeches at the Calcutta Club. But the snooty intellectuals didnt warm up to her and soon Mamata realised that the pretence of influence they held in Bengal was just that, pretence. Kolkata and its bhadralok have been synonymous with Bengal for a long time -- to the detriment of the districts and their Dalit Bahujan adivasi and farming class populations. The Trinamools massive victory threatens to take away from the bhadralok the power to steer conversation and decide the agenda in the state. Nothing could be more welcome. Read more: Left blundered by tying up with Congress: Mamata Similar but not same: The success stories of Jayalalithaa, Mamata SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Communist Party of India(Marxist) is likely to elect senior politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan as the next chief minister of Kerala on Friday, a day after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) registered an emphatic victory over the Congress-led alliance in the assembly election. Read: After poll debacle, Oomen Chandy resigns as Kerala CM The LDF won 91 seats in the 140-member House as the scam-ridden United Democratic Front (UDF) was reduced to 47 seats with many incumbent ministers failing to win from their constituencies. The decision will be taken during the committee meeting which began in the morning. Read: Poll analysis: Politics of Hindu consolidation pays dividend for BJP The ever-bickering nonagenarian VS Achuthanandan will be given a new post with a cabinet rank to contain factional feuds in the party, a senior leader told the Hindustan Times. Like Congress president Sonia Gandhis post during the UPA regime, we will accommodate VS in a position with cabinet rank. With his falling age the veteran has almost came around the idea, the leader, who did not wish to be named, said. Sensing trouble for Pinarayi in the event of a victory, party officials insisted that Achuthanandan should lead the election campaign and not become a candidate. However, the central leadership had to intervene to ensure a seat for him. In 2006, at the height of a faction feud both Achuthanandan and Pinarayi were denied assembly seats. Later the party had to change its decision and accommodate Achuthanandan after widespread protests broke out in state. After Achuthanandan became the CM, Pinarayi filled his cabinet with his aides to seek revenge. Going by Achuthanandans past, hes unlikely to give up before striking a hard bargain. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Election Commission of India has decided to postpone elections in Aravakurichi and Thanjavur assembly constituencies by three more weeks. Originally scheduled to be held on May 16 along with other constituencies in Tamil Nadu, polling to the two segments was deferred till May 23 due to charges of bribing of voters. Challenging the decision to hold it on May 23, BJP and PMK had moved the Madras high court, seeking further postponement of polling. The EC on Friday made a submission in the high court about further deferring when petitions filed by a BJP candidate contesting in Thanjavur and PMK candidate of Aravakurichi came up for hearing. The commission said it will make an assessment of the situation in the two constituencies and also consult all candidates before holding polls in the two constituencies. After recording the statement by EC counsel Niranjan Rajagopalan, a vacation bench comprising Justices K Kayanasundaram and D Krishnakumar adjourned the cases to June for further hearing. BJPs Thanjavur candidate MS Ramalingam and PMKs Aravakurichi candidate M Baskaran had moved the court,saying that deferring polls by merely by a week would not serve the desired purpose. Though EC did not give any specific reason for its decision to postpone the elections, it told the court earlier it formed a seven-member committee to probe charges of money distribution and announcement of freebies for voters. In his petition, Ramalingam submitted that the returning officer himself had recommended postponement of polls due to alleged corrupt poll practices. He also alleged in the court that that a party candidate had distributed money to voters in Thanjavur constituency and he was apprhended by the returning officer and his team on May 14 after complaints were made. On the returning officers complaint to EC, cases were registered and some party cadres arrested, too, he said. He wanted the court to order postponement of the polling to the two constituencies. Similarly, PMKs Aravankurichi candidate Baskaran wanted a court direction to EC to conduct a thorough inquiry into the charges before taking appropriate decision on conducting elections on a different date. Rabu Manohar, counsel for RSS, welcomed the decision and said the commission must finalise a new date after consulting all parties concerned. DMK leader MK Stalin, who campaigned in Aravakurichi on Wednesday, reached Thanjavur on Friday for electioneering by the time the Election Commission decision was conveyed in the high court. Business / Companies by Staff reporter AN Indian billionaire planning to set up a multi-million dollar PepsiCo plant in the country visited Zimbabwe over a fortnight ago to clear bureaucratic hurdles, which appeared to stall the project, the Financial Gazette's Companies & Markets (C&M) can report.Ravi Jaipuria flew into the country for talks with government officials and other stakeholders after delays in the granting of certain approvals stalled progress on the US$30 million PepsiCo plant.PepsiCo is an American multi-national food and beverages giant.Previously set for completion before year-end, the plant might now not be finished in December due to delays by the City of Harare, which has to give the project a green light, according to people familiar with the transaction. It was the second time that the Indian tycoon arrived in the country specifically to deal with problems in facilitating the development of the project. Despite the country desperately needing foreign direct investment, its policies and administration of investment-related institutions and State organs have combined to deter foreign investment.The Indian tycoon had last year visited the country before meeting President Robert Mugabe during the Africa India summit in November, where he laid out a vision that was far beyond beverages production.C&M understands that his plan includes setting up a tomato processing plant and hospital, among other investments.This week, Jaiparu's Zimbabwean partner, Adam Molai, confirmed that the project had been stifled by red tape and bureaucratic bungling, which authorities were now trying to resolve."The regional CEO is now here to run with the project and to make sure that we implement it as quickly as possible," Molai told C&M.The regional CEO is Krishnar Shankar, who leads the southern African operation. Shankar helped set up southern African plants in Zambia and Mozambique and was present at a ground breaking ceremony in November attended by government officials, including Industry and Commerce Minister, Mike Bimha, and Finance Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, who all promised a friendly business environment to foreign investors."The funding is there, and we have been going through regulatory approvals. The contract has been signed and my partner was here last week."He asked government to expedite the approvals to make sure we complete the project by the end of the year if possible."The delay was caused by the fact that the land belonged to NMB, and the City of Harare has been delaying the subdivision. They are working on this now," said Molai.NMB Bank is a local commercial bank owned by NMBZ Holdings, which is listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.During his recent visit, Jaiparu, the proprietor of the Varun Beverages in India, which has undertaken to set up the plant under franchise, is said to have met authorities in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to impress upon them the urgency of granting of certain approvals, among them a certificate of compliance from the City of Harare, which has to subdivide the land.Jaiparu is one of India's wealthiest individuals with a net worth estimated by Forbes magazine at US$1,67 billion.On completion, the PepsiCo plant is projected to create at least 3 000 jobs.It will become the single largest competitor to beverages conglomerate, Delta Corporation Limited, whose fortunes have recently been affected by a liquidity crunch that has combined with increasing joblessness to erode disposable incomes and consequently sales.C&M reported in November last year that PepsiCo had sought to start operations in the country earlier but had been frustrated by bureaucratic bungling.Molai said while great strides had been made towards business reforms at national level, the local government system was still fraught with red tape, which undermines the implementation of deals that could bolster ongoing efforts to repair the country's ailing economy."We do not want to end up building illegal structures," said Molai, referring to delays in granting a certificate of compliance on the land on which the plant would be built."The ease of doing business in this country has improved at national level but at local authority level, we still have problems," he said.Last week, Molai flew to Lusaka, Zambia, to familiarise himself with the PepsiCo operations in that country, as he moved to promote one of the major investments recently announced in Zimbabwe.After the ground-breaking ceremony in November, PepsiCo shipped significant tonnes of bricks and deployed contractors on site, which have completed a wall.But in recent months, there has been no activity on site, and the wall is now overshadowed by tall grass.PepsiCo is the world's second largest food and beverages business by net revenue.Last year C&M reported that the Indian billionaire had complained about the cumbersome process required to set up a business in Zimbabwe, where investors move from one agency to another for documents."The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development demanded certain things; the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said something else. Compliance with the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act was also a talking point. It is bureaucracy that is affecting the flow of investment in this country," a source said then. Its mission to turn Assam saffron achieved with help from regional partners, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) now faces a teamwork challenge to run its alliance government smoothly. Assam is a complex state with a difficult terrain, four official languages Assamese, Bengali, Bodo and English and pockets of diverse ethnic, religious and linguistic groups that have had a history of conflicts. Some commentators have said BJPs main hurdle would be to unite disparate indigenous and Indian settler groups in its avowed fight against illegal migrants aka Bangladeshis. But party insiders feel Sarbananda Sonowal, as chief minister, would have to be on his toes dealing with allies Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF), and Himanta Biswa Sarma, an import from Congress who delivered as BJPs poll manager. Read: Checking infiltration top priority for BJP govt in Assam: Sonowal Sonowal, 53, and Sarma, 47, began their socio-political career with the influential All Assam Students Union (AASU). But while Sonowal led the students body, Sarma was more of an errand boy before former Congress CM Hiteswar Saikia brought him to the party ahead of the 1996 polls. Both Sonowal and Sarma are law graduates. Sarma took eight years to rise in the Congress, becoming CM Tarun Gogois second-in-command after the partys first of three consecutive electoral wins in 2001. His climb in the BJP has been phenomenally faster nine months since joining the party in August 2015 after falling out with Gogoi over a leadership tussle. Addressing the media after the BJP-led alliance bagged 86 seats on Thursday, Sonowal thanked Sarma almost as an afterthought. You should not read much into it, a senior party leader said, admitting one could not expect the former Gogoi protege, more experienced in state politics than the older Sonowal, to be content with the number two slot for long. If the BJP is thinking long-term, it should be sincere in addressing the issues that matter most to the people of Assam and implementing its vision document. Everything else will fall in place, political commentator Dileep Chandan told HT. Full coverage: Assembly elections The BJP leadership has indicated it wants Sarma to focus on a bigger agenda use Assam as the base to give the party a firm foothold in seven other north-eastern states. Sonowal also has management of allies to think of. AGPs founder-president and former CM Prafulla Kumar Mahanta had, before the results, reminded Sonowal he was the BJPs CM candidate, not of the alliance. And the BPF, interested more in a package for Bodoland Territorial Council, comprising four western and north-central districts, has a better equation with Sarma than Sonowal. While in Congress, Sarma was instrumental in forging the Congress-BPF alliance government in 2006. The Congress that year had won 53 seats, 11 short of the majority mark. This (Sonowal-Sarma gelling) is in the domain of speculations. We trust our central leadership to handle any situation, a BJP leader said, declining to be quoted. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON History was made in Tamil Nadu after AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa managed to return to power despite the efforts of bitter rival DMK, breaking a three-decade long cycle of anti-incumbency. This is the first time since 1987 that an incumbent government has been re-elected in the state, after the enormous success of AIADMK founder, MG Ramachandran. Several exit polls had predicted a loss for Amma, as Jayalalithaa is reverently called by her supporters, but the results definitively show that impact of the DMKs campaign was overstated. In the hotly contested election battle, here are five things that stood out: 1. The cult of personality works in politics The entire AIADMKs campaign, and indeed their government for the last five years, has been centered round the personality cult of Amma. Brand Amma was everywhere, adorning party flags, billboards, and even government legislation. This, coupled with her Amma schemes that benefited the poorest sections of Tamil society including the Amma canteens, Amma drinking water, and Amma salt schemes seems to have worked. Watch | HT Explains: 3 reasons why Jayalalithaa won 2. MK Stalin needs to go back to the drawing board More than his father, the 2016 elections were a referendum on the heir-apparent to the DMKs ability to lead: Stalin has led the charge of the states oldest party since mid-2015. Massive campaigns and meetings both on and off of social media, such as the Namakku Naame (For us, by us), streamlining the DMKs campaign machinery, and bringing in new blood failed to make a dent. His stature as a leader may also be under question after two consecutive losses for the DMK at the electoral level. 3. One party, one government politics still rule the state The utter failure of the DMDK manned Third Front, and its CM candidate Vijayakanth, to gain a significant number of seats, has shown that the nascent idea of coalition governance has yet to take root in Tamil Nadu. Vijayakanths failure to even win in his own constituency reveals one clear fact in Tamil Nadu, politics continues to revolve around the DMK and the AIADMK. 4. The future of the DMK and Kalaignar is questionable Ill health and his advanced age forced the DMK patriarch into the back-seat these elections, forcing him to rely on his son Stalin to take charge. At 92, Karunanidhi is the grand old man of Tamil politics, and one of the few people who can lay claim to the legacy of Periyar and the Self-Respect movement. But it isnt a stretch to think this may be his last election. It remains unclear whether Stalin can command as much respect and loyalty among the electorate as his father can, and did. Read | I will be the Tamil Nadu CM if DMK wins election: Karunanidhi 5. Jayalalithaa is here to stay It isnt all smooth sailing from here for the AIADMK chief, especially with the Supreme Court yet to deliver its verdict in the disproportionate assets case that has plagued her for more than a decade. But this most recent victory signifies that she has broken the cycle of alternating DMK and AIADMK governments. And by doing so, she has sent out a clear message that she is here to stay. Read | Historic victory, but Jayalalithaa has lessons to learn SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Hours before counting of votes began on Thursday, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi visited Kamakhya, the holiest of Hindu shrines in the east. He had a stopover at Bura Jame Masjid, the citys oldest mosque, on his way back. But the gods did not answer his prayers as the saffron surge ended 15 years of Congress rule on his watch. The 81- year-old Gogoi, known for a genial smile, blunt approach and political acumen, was confident of retaining power for a record fourth consecutive term. He believed the Congress had been cleansed of tainted leaders who joined the BJP, especially his de facto second-incommand Himanta Biswa Sarma who revolted and left. But a possible loss worked in his subconscious after in-house surveys indicated the Congress did not do well in the 65 seats that went to the polls in the first phase across eastern and southern Assam. The old warhorse had backed his intuition, as he had done in the past three assembly elections. He turned down suggestions from poll strategists to work an alliance with regional parties and project a younger face as chief minister. I respect the verdict of the people, and I hope they get the change they sought, Gogoi said after his partys exit became clear. He said a couple of months ago that the 2016 polls would be his last, and that he might step down as chief minister after two years if the Congress managed to pull off a win despite antiincumbency. Gogoi has not spelled out his plans but Congress insiders said it was too early for him to retire. He has the responsibility of handing over the baton to his successor, since he is not keen on fighting the next election, said a Congress leader who didnt wish to be named. The chief minister asserted the Congress does not nurture anyone as leaders emerge from the masses. But he did take a few names as his probable successors PCC president Ajan Dutta, former MP Paban Singh Ghatowar and trusted lieutenant Rockybul Hussain are among them. Political commentators didnt read much into the suggested names, saying it would be tough for Gogoi to choose between son Gaurav, a Lok Sabha member, and others. One has to note that Gauravs promotion bred dissension in the Congress, which lost Himanta to the BJP and eventually Assam, analyst Dileep Chandan said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Actor-producer Arbaaz Khan was a loyal brother to Salman Khan on Thursday when he declined to confirm or deny if the superstar is set to tie the knot soon. Asked at a concert by Berklee College of Music here if it was true or false that Salman is getting married soon, Arbaaz said: Well, listen, this (event) is not for that. You think Im going to answer that? There are reports that Salman is soon set to marry his rumoured Romanian girlfriend Iulia Vantur, after the couple made a public appearance at Preity Zintas wedding reception. Few days before that, Iulia was also seen escorting Salmans mother Salma at the airport. Arbaaz and Salman will soon being work on Dabangg 3. (HT Photo) Arbaazs own marriage with Malaika Arora Khan has been in the news for a considerable amount of time now, with a split between the two regularly reported. Read: Is Salman Khan trying to save Arbaaz-Malaikas troubled marriage? The Berklee Band consisting of artists from various countries performed numerous styles of music. Regarding the musical concert, Arbaaz said: Its exciting, theres a friend of mine Clint who is a part of this event, when he called me and asked me would I be interested in seeing this. I was more than happy to be here because I love music and this event is going to be a wonderful event. Looking forward. Salman Khan recently arrived at Mumbai airport along with mom Salma and rumoured girlfriend Iulia. (HT Photo) Would he also like to form a music band? Im not a musician; I just love music. I dont really play any instrument. I do like singing and I was contemplating learning, taking singing classes. So maybe that is something that Ill do. And if at all I train well and good enough, then maybe I can sing and have a band, but right now no such plan. Read: Salman Khan sends three bodyguards for Iulia Vantur? Actor Sanjay Dutts sister and former MP Priya Dutt, who was also present along with her husband Owen Roncon, said: One of the best international music colleges is performing today, so Im really looking forward to it. Of course my husband is part of the organization so Im lucky that I always get a great opportunity to witness these kind of events. Follow @htshowbiz for more Indian actor Mallika Sherawat, who is currently here for the 69th Cannes Film Festival, has shared a selfie with Hollywood star Mads Mikkelsen. The Hisss actor was seen donning a gorgeous lavender coloured outfit and the Casino Royale star looked dapper in a black suit teamed with a crisp white shirt and a black bow tie. Selfie with one of my favourite actors Mads Mikkelsen at amfAR Cannes, Cannes 2016, Mads Mikkelsen, Mallika tweeted on Friday. Mallika is attending the ongoing film festival for her film Time Raiders. Directed by Hong Kong-based filmmaker Daniel Lee, Time Raiders was shot in China last year. Read: Mallika Sherawats stunning yet safe red carpet appearance Read: Mallika Sherawat reveals extraordinary love for French tycoon This is not the first time that Mallika has made an appearance at the Cannes Film Festival. Mallika made headlines in 2014 in a pale, pleated dress she wore to the amfAR Gala. Follow @htshowbiz for more. You may get an offer to act Mini-CEO, Mini-COO or Mini- General Manager at your organisation, this year, if your boss is happy with your work. Companies are increasingly rewarding top-performers with shadow positions -- under which a young candidate enjoys autonomy over hundreds of employees and controls own space to make the business grow. With an objective to build a talent pipeline for future leaders companies including Infosys, TCS, MTS India, HCL Technologies, Godrej and RPG Group among many others are offering shadow positions for top roles to extra ordinary-performers. MTS India, the mobile telecom service brand of Sistema Shyam TeleServices, selects candidates for critical positions such as head of department (HOD) or chief operating officer (COO) -- where they cross check the core competency and leadership attributes of candidate after putting them under acting for the role positions for three to six months. In the last 2 years we have moved more than 40 employees internally to take on higher roles. The total percentage of positions closed through internal talent mobility was 65% of overall hiring done at senior level, said Tarun Katyal, chief human resource officer at MTS India. Companies offer a certain percentage of hike, about 30%, on their current CTC, during acting roles. However, upon successful completion of the tenure, they offer the hike on the CTC following the market benchmark for the position and the current percentile positioning, companies claim. The idea is to retain and elevate youngsters in 30s to handle top level positions at the companys primary projects. Firms like Infosys and TCS have been emphasising and putting plans in place to address how employees yearn to take up entrepreneurial roles to woo talent that flock to start ups in hopes of going big and getting there fast. Every organisation needs leaders... Internally, we have also come up with the concept in which potential leaders are assigned leadership roles and oversee the operations of the people under them with almost 300 employees reporting to them, said Sanjay Joshi, Asia Business Head at ZS Associates, US based sales and marketing consulting firm. The concept is the key to the future leadership roles at Infosys, explained companys HR head, Richard Lobo. We identify the potential of employee and then throw him or her in challenging assignment... focus is on developing the next set of leaders. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Buoyed by the success of Uday Scheme for revival of debt-ridden discoms, power minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said bonds worth Rs 1.5-1.75 lakh crore are expected to be issued in the ongoing fiscal. This year, you may see slightly bigger amount. May be Rs 1.5-1.75 lakh crore of Uday bonds will be issued, Goyal told reporters while addressing the media on the achievements of his three ministries of power, coal and new and renewable energy in the last two years. Uday scheme was launched by the Centre in November last year for revival of debt-stressed distribution companies. He further said Uday bonds worth about Rs 1 lakh crore were issued in the last financial year. Central Government does not borrow. Borrowings are by the state government and the state discoms, although that borrowing is domestic borrowing.... Last year, Uday bonds worth about Rs 1 lakh core were issued, the minister said. The government was also looking at bringing in some amendments in the Uday programme to accommodate those states, which have privatised discoms, he further said. They (Odisha) have requested the central government that they would like to participate in Uday and now we are looking to bring in some amendments through the Uday programme, the minister said. I am going back to the Cabinet to see how we can support states like Odisha which are privatised but are going through problems and can ensure how they can enjoy the benefits of Uday, the minister added. He further said 10 states have already signed agreements to join Uday and eight states and one union territory have agreed to join the scheme. The discoms have accumulated debt of Rs 4.37 lakh crore. Under the programme, the states will issue bonds to take on 75% of the debt of these discoms and the remaining credit will be paid through state-guaranteed bonds issued by discoms. Rajasthan has issued bonds worth Rs 37,350 crore followed by Uttar Pradesh at Rs 24,332 crore, Haryana at Rs 17,300 crore, and Punjab at Rs 9,860 crore. Jharkhand issued bonds worth Rs 6,136 crore while Jammu & Kashmir and Bihar issued securities worth Rs 2,140 crore and Rs 1,553 crore, respectively. Chhattisgarh has issued bonds worth Rs 870 crore under the scheme to pare debt of its discoms. MUMBAI: The Indian subsidiary of UK banking major HSBC on Thursday said it will reduce the number of branches in the country by almost half, a move that could result in job deployments for employees. HSBC India, one of the oldest foreign banks to set up shop in the country it established here in 1853 said it was cutting its retail branch network in the country from 50 branches in 29 cities, to 26 branches across 14 cities, due to changes in customer behaviour, who are increasingly using digital channels for their banking needs. The exercise follows a strategic review of HSBC Indias retail banking and wealth management business (RBWM). The bank shut down its private banking business in the country last year. Customer expectations are changing rapidly and we need to adapt accordingly, said Stuart P Milne, group general manager and CEO, HSBC India. India is a priority market for HSBC and we will continue to invest to achieve sustainable growth. While Milne did not comment on the job losses, a HSBC India spokesperson said: A key priority is the fair treatment of our staff and we will do everything we can to assist affected employees during this business transition. Re-deployment opportunities would be accorded to the affected employees. The cutting of the branch network will take place in a phased manner and HSBC said it does not expect any additional branch consolidation beyond that announced on Thursday. Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook, on the second day of his India visit on Thursday, inaugurated the tech giants development centre in Hyderabad and visited a womens college, while admitting he was impressed by Hyderabads culture and history and had already fallen in love with the city. Cook, who flew in from Mumbai on Thursday morning, opened the facility which will focus on development of maps for Apple products like iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. office, Apple chief Tim Cook talks with Indian colleagues during the inauguration of the Apple's Map development office in Hyderabad. (AP) The investment will accelerate maps development and create up to 4,000 jobs, the company said. It, however, did not reveal the investment made and other details. The facility has come up on leased space at WaveRock complex at Nanakramguda in the IT corridor. It will provide a world-class, LEED-certified home for the Maps team. Apples CEO Tim Cook visits the Golconda Fort in Hyderabad in Hyderabad. (PTI) Telanganas Information Technology Minister K. T. Rama Rao requested Apple to set up their permanent campus in Hyderabad and also consider the state as its partner when they eventually decide to manufacture mobile phones. Apples CEO Tim Cook (R) in a meeting with Telangana CM K Chandra Sekhar Rao in Hyderabad o (PTI) Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who inaugurated the facility along with with Cook, assured all support for Apples future endeavours. For the map development centre, Apple has partnered with Noida-based RMSI, a leading IT services player that offers GIS, analytics and software services. Employee queue up for security check before entering Waverock Apple development office in Hyderabad, India. (AP) Rama Rao later tweeted: Hyderabad becomes home to the largest tech development centre of Apple Inc outside of US. With Apple, Hyderabad now is proud to be home to 4 of the top 5 most valued tech companies largest office outside USA: Google, MS & Amazon. : Apples CEO Tim Cook (L) with Telangana CM K Chandra Sekhar Rao after inauguration of Apple's development office in Hyderabad. (PTI) Cook described the warmth of people in India as unparalleled and said he liked the vibrancy of its people and has already made some lifelong friends here. Cook catches the Indian Premier League (IPL) game between Gujarat Lions and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Green Park in Kanpur. (IPL Twitter handle) Apple CEO Tim Cook with IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla (Rajeev Shuklas Twitter Handle) The main thing I have learnt about India is the warmth of people. It is unparalleled unlike any country I have ever been to, including my own. I travelled to India this week to learn about the culture, learn about the people and learn how business is done. I have learnt a lot about all those, I still have a lot to learn. But most of all, I will leave India inspired. I am deeply inspired by the vibrancy of the people that I have met, the energy enthusiasm and incredible talent, he said. The Apple CEO, who was in Mumbai on Wednesday, said it was an unbelievable day and that he has already made some lifelong friends. Addressing Chandrasekhar Rao as KCR, Cook remarked: I love the informality and I can tell you already I love Hyderabad. He said he took a tour and has already picked up how rich Hyderabad is in culture, history and tradition. Cook told the gathering that he also found there were various technologies here even in very early days. I think history is repeating here, he said. He said Apple had always been about creating the very best products in the world. We always like to do products that enrich other peoples life because we are driven as a culture by changing the world, changing it for the better, he added. We are honoured to be here. We hope to be a key partner of the community here and hope for lifelong friendship together, said the Apple CEO amid thunderous applause by the company employees and state officials. The talent here in the local area is incredible and we are looking forward to expanding our relationships and introducing more universities and partners to our platforms as we scale our operations, added Cook who later visited G. Narayanamma Institute of Technology and Science for women, where he inaugurated a computer centre for which also Apple signed an MoU for training the students. A group of 45 students will be trained in fusion technology used in map development and some of these may later be absorbed in the company. Before inauguration of the facility, Cook had a meeting with the chief minister. Rama Rao, who is the chief ministers son, IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan and a few top officials were also present. As many as eight woman directors have been appointed to the boards of public sector banks (PSBs) in the last six months, as the government looks to adhere to regulations that mandate companies to have at least one woman director. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) issued the directive in February 2014, asking all listed companies to adhere to the rule by October 1, 2014. The deadline was, however, extended by six months to March 31, 2015. Despite the extended deadline, several state-owned lenders failed to comply. At present, there are 11 women directors on boards of state-owned banks, who are either nominees of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or the government, according to Prime Database. Of them, in the last six months, the finance ministry directly appointed three directors as its own nominees Sindhu Pillai (UCO Bank), Vandana Jena (Syndicate Bank) and Mudita Mishra (Indian Bank). Public sector banks have huge responsibilities and it may take time to follow this rule, but the government has started appointing women officials its own nominees as and where it can, an official source who did not wish to be identified told HT. State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) already have women chiefs Arundhati Bhattacharya and Usha Ananthasubramanian, respectively. Bhattacharya is, however, slated to retire in September. The SBI chairman is on the boards of four banks, including SBI, and three of its subsidiaries. Finance and corporate affairs minister Arun Jaitley has said that the government will take strict action against companies that do not adhere to the Sebi directive. The markets regulator, on its part, announced a minimum fine of `50,000 for companies that fail to adhere to the guidelines. It also said it may take further action against promoters or directors of companies in case of non-compliance. As of March 31, 2016, out of 5,451 companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 1,375 have failed to appoint woman directors on their respective boards. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Business / Companies by Staff reporter The state-owned mobile operator NetOne is eyeing to declare a dividend by the end of the year despite making a US$3 million loss last year which is inconsistent with the US$218 million investment in network expansion.The new policy thrust by the mobile operator was revealed to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment chaired by Gokwe Nembudziya legislator Justice Mayor Wadyajena at the company's head office in Harare.Briefing members of the portfolio committee, NetOne acting chief executive officer Mr Brian Mutandiro says the company made a loss of US$3 million last year and promised that the new business model adopted will turn the firm to profitability this year.Mr Mutandiro further noted that there were a number of mistakes done by the previous management, hence the decision by the board to send them home and will not be repeated in future.NetOne has been under the spotlight owing to poor corporate governance structures and awarding of tenders to companies without going to tender, thereby losing millions of dollars. After Fridays bank strike, the employees union of State Bank of Indias subsidiaries plan to go for a second strike on June 7 and a third on July 28 against the proposed merger of SBI subsidiaries with the parent bank. About 45,000 employees including clerical and subordinate staff of the five associates went on a day-long nationwide strike on Friday with help of the All India Bank Employees Association, impacting daily banking transactions. Todays strike was successful. The employees were intimidated by the management who called the strike illegal and that action will be taken. But we will continue to oppose the merger of 5 large associate banks into SBI...We will again go on strike on June 7 and thereafter July 28, said CH Venkatachalam, general secretary of the All India Bank Employees Association. About 1,000 employees also staged a demonstration against the proposal at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. SBI has five associate banks -- State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank Of Travancore. Cash receipts, outward clearing and other transactions were said to have been impacted by the strike on Friday. The SBI board on Tuesday discussed the possibility of merging its associate banks with itself to create a banking monolith with a balance sheet size of Rs 37 lakh crore. The discussion is purely exploratory at this stage and not certain. A proposal seeking an in-principle approval to start negotiations with associate banks will be submitted to the central government, SBI had said after the board meeting. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON After Fridays bank strike, the employees union of State Bank of Indias associates plan to go for a second strike on June 7 and a third on July 28 against the proposed merger with the parent bank. About 45,000 employees including clerical and subordinate staff of the five associates, went on a day-long nationwide strike on Friday with help of the All India Bank Employees Association, impacting daily banking transactions. Todays strike was successful. The employees were intimidated by the management who called the strike illegal and that action will be taken. But we will continue to oppose the merger of 5 large associate banks into SBI...We will again go on strike on June 7 and thereafter July 28, said CH Venkatachalam, general secretary of the All India Bank Employees Association. About 1,000 employees also staged a demonstration against the proposal at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. SBI has five associate banks -- State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank Of Travancore. Cash receipts, outward clearing and other transactions were said to have been impacted by the strike on Friday. The SBI board on Tuesday discussed the possibility of merging its associate banks with itself to create a banking monolith with a balance sheet size of Rs 37 lakh crore. The discussion is purely exploratory at this stage and not certain. A proposal seeking an in-principle approval to start negotiations with associate banks will be submitted to the central government, SBI had said after the board meeting. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON When Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal was presiding over a sangat darshan at Amarpura village in Abohar, a 27-year-old resident of the same village allegedly committed suicide by inhaling poison in front of a police station for alleged police inaction over his complaint. The cops found him lying unconscious in front of the police station and moved him to the civil hospital in an ambulance where he died in the evening. Today at 12.30pm, Kuldeep Kumar filed a complaint with the Bahawala police station and, later on, when an ASI visited his house, he was not found there. But, the police found him lying unconscious in front of the City-I police station in Abohar. An ambulance was called which took him to the civil hospital, said Narinder Bhargav, SSP, Fazilka. A police team of Bahawala police station later reached the civil hospital to record the statement of the victim at about 3.30pm, but he was declared unfit to record his statement by the doctor concerned, claimed the SSP. Investigation into the case is on and whosoever is found guilty would be taken to task, said the SSP. During search, a suicide note was recovered from the victim in which he named Rakesh Kumar, Ravi Kumar, Sunder Kumar, Shanker Lal, Manoj Kumar and Sanjay Kumar, his co-villagers, responsible for the extreme step. The victim had complained against all six persons at Bahawala police station, but none met hime as police were busy at the CMs sangat darshan. Later, he went to local city-I police station for help, but the police refused to entertain him as Amarpura village was not under their jurisdiction, said sources. Kuldeep sat near a canter in front of the city-I police station and allegedly inhaled celphos, the sources added. The suicide by a common man due to apathetic attitude of the administration, that too when the states CM was holding a sangat darshan in his home village, itself speaks about the credibility of such politically motivated programme, said chief spokesperson of the Congress and Abohar MLA Sunil Jakhar. Sangat darshans are not only wastage of time and money, but also adversely affect the law and order situation in the state. A 70-year-old tantrik (occultist) has been arrested for allegedly raping a 29-year-old woman at his home in west Delhis Nihal Vihar on Thursday night. The woman had gone to meet the tantrik as he had promised to cure her ailment by his touch therapy, police said on Friday. The woman told the police that the tantrik had threatened to destroy her family and ruin her life with black magic powers if she informed anybody about the sexual assault or filed any complaint against him. Butt the woman reported the matter at the Nihal Vihar police station. A senior police officer confirmed receiving the womans complaint. He said the victim was sent to a government hospital for examination that confirmed rape. A case was registered on the basis of the womans complaint and her medical report. A raid was conducted at the tantriks house and he was arrested. He has been identified as Kapil Dev, said a police officer. Investigators said they recovered some visiting cards from the tantriks house that he used to distribute in the locality and targeted gullible people, especially women. The visiting card had his name, phone number, address of the clinic, and services that he provided to his clients. Read: Amritsar: Lover, clinic helper, tantrik booked for rape The accused had advertised he could cure peoples problems by chanting religious hymns, using his divine powers and through his magical touch. The police suspect him of allegedly sexually abusing more women on the pretext of treating their chronic ailments. But no other complaint had been received against him till Friday evening, said a police officer. According to the officer, the woman lives with her husband in Nihal Vihar. She had been suffering from chronic abdomen and back pain for the past few years and had consulted different doctors but got no relief. Recently, her friend told her about the tantrik. The woman decided to seek the tantriks help for getting relief from her prolonged ailment. He asked her to come to his house on Thursday. When she reached his home, the tantrik was alone in his room. During the alleged touch therapy session, the tantrik allegedly persuaded her to strip herself for some medication. Clueless about his ill-motives, the woman agreed and stripped before him, only to be allegedly raped by the tantrik. When she raised an alarm, he threatened to destroy her with his black magical powers, said police. Though the Centre deferred uniform medical entrance examination, NEET, by a year on Friday, Delhi chief minister Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day urging him to decide otherwise. In his letter, Kejriwal stated that parents and students had welcomed NEET as it discouraged those seeking admission through donation. I sincerely urge Modi ji not to bring any ordinance to overturn SC order on NEET. Wrote this letter to Hon'ble PM pic.twitter.com/9eID2IsfSD Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 20, 2016 Any decision to not hold a common entrance test for admission to medical colleges will make people think that the Centre supported those with black money, he wrote. It has come to my notice that central government is bringing an ordinance to reverse the SC order. Many students have come to meet me and if central government does this, this will amount to cheating, Kejriwal said in the letter. A few days ago, Union health minister JP Nadda called a meeting over the issue, where almost all health ministers opposed NEET except Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain. Many leaders and MPs run medical institutes that is why they are against NEET, he added. However, the Government on Friday approved promulgation of an ordinance to keep state boards out of the ambit of uniform medical entrance examination, NEET, for one academic year. The executive order is aimed at partially overturning a Supreme Court verdict which said all government colleges, deemed universities and private medical colleges would be covered under NEET. The next phase of the exam is scheduled for July 24. Nearly 6.5 lakh students have already sat for the first phase of NEET held on May 1. Once the ordinance is issued, students of state government boards will not have to sit for NEET on July 24. They, however, will have to become part of the uniform entrance exam from next academic session, government sources clarified. NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Partys dramatic gains in the assembly elections may not be a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modis governance, but they will have a significant bearing on national politics and the pace of economic reforms. For one, a diminished and demoralised opposition and friendlier state governments will likely enable and embolden the Centre to carry out its reforms agenda with renewed vigour. The victory also sets the stage for the party to carry the momentum into seven states, including Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, which will go to the polls next year. But above all, the BJPs better-than-expected showing in West Bengal and a debut seat in Kerala, with possibly higher vote share, will help the party shed the limiting image of a predominantly higher caste, north Indian party. And its possible emergence as a pan-India party could see it replace the Congress as the principal opposition for regional forces. In contrast, the Congress sixstate loss since the 2014 national elections has undermined its proud status of a national party. That excludes the newly-created state of Telangana and Arunachal Pradesh, where Presidents rule forced its ouster. In Jharkhand, it had quit the ruling alliance months before the elections. In 2013, Rahul Gandhi had said if India is a computer then the Congress was its default option. That software could be crashing but the party appears to have no backup option. After a series of electoral reverses in 2014, the party sought to revive by piggy-riding regional parties in Bihar. That inspired little confidence in the party rank and file. Thursdays results could only add to anxieties over Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhis next move. For the BJP, the news from Bengal and Tamil Nadu must come as pure music. J Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu is seen as largely friendly towards the ruling NDA alliance and the trouncing of the Left-Congress combine in Bengal only helps undermine opposition unity in parliament. For now, a majority of states are either with the NDA or friendly parties. They are likely to throw their weight behind the Modi governments policies and programmes, weakening the Congress influence over big-ticket legislation such as labour reforms and the goods and services tax (GST). The results probably do little for the NDAs influence in Rajya Sabha. By-elections in June to fill up six Upper House vacancies from Tamil Nadu might add just one more seat to the ruling AIADMKs tally. The other states that voted are not due to send Rajya Sabha representatives anytime soon. The last Parliament session saw many BJP lawmakers speak out against ministers, apparently because of unease over the way the party and the government was being run. Thursdays results will likely silence the sniping. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The age limit imposed by the Madhya Pradesh government on admissions to undergraduate and post-graduate courses, barring yoga, has kicked up a debate in the state. The maximum age limit on admission to undergraduate courses for male students in MP is 23 years, while it is 28 years for postgraduate courses. However, there is three years relaxation for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students. Several educationists told Hindustan Times while there was no age bar on admission to yoga courses, fixing age limit for entry into general courses led to violation of the Right to Education Act. They said, As there is no age bar on admission to yoga courses why should there be age limit on entry into other courses? The age limit should be done away with in light of a Supreme Court judgment setting aside the maximum age limit on sitting Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). The state government had fixed age limit on admission to undergraduate and post-graduate courses about seven years ago to check the entry of those who prolonged their stay on the campuses and got involved in student politics. Why there should be two different yardsticks for yoga and other courses: Zamiruddin Why there should be two different yardsticks for yoga and other courses? You cant stop a person from pursuing higher studies. In India, many people are not able to continue their studies due to poverty and certain other circumstances. Later, if their condition improves and they want to attend a college or a university he cant do so because of this bizarre eligibility criterion, said Professor Zamiruddin, an educationist. He said, Even when I was studying, some retired military officers attended college with me. When a person craves for education how can a government make such rules. Thats why I always emphasised that education policy should be made only by educationists. It violated the fundamental rights of a person. The SC had dismissed a petition of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Lucknow, against a judgment of the Allahabad High Court, directing the university to remove the condition of upper age limit for CLAT. This ruling clearly suggests that there cannot be age limit on admission to any course, said an educationist, who did not wish to be named. However, fixing age limit on admission in courses like MBBS, B Tech and M Tech was understandable, he added. Retired vice-chancellor Arun Gurtoo said, Maybe, they have taken the decision to keep anti-social elements away from the institutions of higher studies as they create nuisance. But then why have they opened the gate for entry to campuses through yoga? The rules should be uniform. This is an RSS agenda to keep tabs on activities in educational institutions: Cong Congress spokesperson KK Mishra said, This is an RSS agenda to keep tabs on the activities in educational institutions. While they have fixed age limit on admission to general courses, they have done away with this condition for yoga courses. The Congress will oppose it tooth and nail. However, principal secretary to higher education Ashish Upadhyay said, We dont have enough resources to impart higher education to all, so we have fixed the maximum age limit on admission to undergraduate and post-graduate courses to promote the younger generation. As lesser number of people takes admission in yoga courses and as government wants to promote this subject, we have not fixed any age limit on admission to it. With the Centre issuing an ordinance to bypass the Supreme Court order which mandates the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test ( NEET) for admissions into medical courses across the country, Andhra Pradesh government has announced that it will declare the results of the Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Test (EAMCET) on Saturday at 11 am. You can check the results at www.apeamcet.org. More than 2.90 lakh students had appeared in the test held on April 29. Of these, while the results of the students who opted for the engineering stream were announced on May 10, 1,03,000 students who appeared for the medical test had to wait after the Supreme Court ruled that admissions into medical courses in all the states this year will be only through NEET. Both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana had sought exemption from NEET, arguing that their case is different from other states since they are protected by the Article 371(D) and the subsequent Presidential Order that gives special privileges in admissions. Telangana, which conducted EAMCET on May 15, delinked admissions to MBBS and BDS in view of the Supreme Court verdict. Read more: Cabinet clears ordinance to keep state boards out of common medical test Telangana State Council for Higher Education (TSCHE) had announced that the test will be valid for admissions into agriculture, horticulture, veterinary science and pharmacy courses.Over 2.46 lakh students had appeared in EAMCET in Telangana. They include 1,02,012 who opted for the medical stream. The ordinance issued by the Centre came as a huge relief for students and their parents in both the Telugu states. The Supreme Courts order on NEET had come on April 28, a day before EAMCET was conducted in Andhra but the state still went ahead with the exam. The apex court subsequently refused to exempt any state. Students said the court orders led to confusion and affected their preparation. Andhra Pradeshs minister Kamineni Srinivas said he discussed the issue with union health minister J. P. Nadda. He added that the chief minister also prevailed upon the Centre to come to the rescue of the students by bringing an ordinance. Andhras human resources development minister G. Srinivasa Rao said while they respect the court orders, states should get time for one to two years to prepare for NEET. Over a million students across India will find out at 12 noon on Saturday how they fared in the class 12 CBSE examination that is crucial for college admissions. The Central Board of Secondary Education will declare the results of all regions on the same day, a first this year. The results will be available on www.results.nic.in and www.cbseresults.nic.in. The results are anxiously anticipated this year, especially by students from the science stream who took the mathematics exam that drove thousands of candidates to tears. Many complained that the question paper was unusually lengthy and wrote to the board. The CBSE constituted an expert committee to look into the grievances and said adequate measures will be taken. I hope the committee does justice to the students. I am worried that my maths marks may affect my overall percentage, said Tanmay Nath, student of Delhi Public School, Mathura Road. The pressure on students to score a high percentage of marks has mounted in the last decade with rising scores driving up college admission cut-off levels. Most prestigious colleges in Delhi University declare first list cut offs above 99% marks. Read more: CBSE Class 12 maths exam gives jitters to students The board is yet to announce the date when class 10 result would be declared. A total of 1,067,900 candidates registered for the class 12 exam with 621,259 boys and 446,641 girls. The examination was conducted between March 1 and April 22 with the maximum examinees 270,000 students taking the test from Delhi region, followed by Panchkula and Dehradun. Last year girls had outperformed boys with a pass percentage of 87.56%. Boys scored a distant 77.77%. But the overall pass percentage fell to 82% last year from 82.7 % in 2014. Students of Class 12 coming out after appearing in exam of CBSE board at Bal Bhawan school in Bhopal. (HT file photo/Mujeeb Faruqui) Jaipur In Jaipur, students from science and commerce students expressed concerns about scoring low in the mathematics paper. I am not expecting high percentage tomorrow as my mathematics paper did not fare well. I am not sure with limited percentage, whether I would be eligible for Delhi University, said Ayush Gupta, a class 12th student of science stream. Read more: Now, some students find CBSE Class 12 accountancy paper lengthy Ananya Jain, a commerce stream student from Neerja Modi Public School, expected a lower score card due to her poor performance in mathematics and business studies. Many of my friends had a difficult time with maths and business studies. However, I am not nervous as I have already taken admission in Hong Kong University, said Jain. Another commerce student Saksham Jhalani, says that he is not tensed about the results and is expecting a good score. My maths paper was satisfactory and I am expecting a score between 90-95%, said Jhalani. Patna In Patna, Shivam, a student of Acharya Sudarshan Patna Central School, said he was expecting the results on May 23. Now, I hear they are being declared tomorrow. I am expecting good marks. I qualified for the JEE-advanced, which would be held on May 22. I am expecting to crack that, too. Alka, a student of Acharya Sudarshan Patna Central School, said the sudden announcement was unnerving. The CBSE should really mend its ways and announce the dates of the results at least a couple of days in advance, so that we are mentally prepared. I feel I would fare well in the examination. My parents are more nervous than I am, though, she said. Pragya Vaibhav, a student of St Michaels High School, called said she was nervous by the unexpected announcement. I know that the results had to be declared someday, but the sudden announcement has made me jittery. I just hope my results are good. The CBSE has still not put anything on its website regarding the results, though. What are they waiting for? Ranchi In Ranchi, Ayushi Katalka, a comer student of Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamli said she was nervous but hoping for the best. My family and friends are all supportive of me, said Ayushi, who hopes to become a chartered accountant. Another Ranchi girl Richa Ojha appeared in her CBSE class 12 board examinations from Delhi Public School from the commerce stream. I am confident in my abilities and my exams went well. I hope to achieve a good score as it will open a lot of future prospects, she said. Class 12th students do last minute preparation for their CBSE exams in St. Thomas School of Gole Market area, New Delhi, on March 1, 2016. (Arun Sharma/ HT file photo) Lucknow In Lucknow, about 12,000 students took the CBSE class 12 examination in the city, said Jawaid Alam Khan, coordinator CBSE, Lucknow. At Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Tarun Kumar said he was confident of scoring 90% and above. To me board marks really do not matter. I have scored 195 in JEE Mains and Im only focusing for Advanced. My board marks will not determine my career. It all depends how I will fare well in Advanced test, he said. Aadarsh Sonkar was not even aware when will class 12 result come out. I want to become engineer. I have scored 165 marks in JEE Mains. Hopefully I will score around 90% in CBSE class 12, he said. Several students at City International School said that they were slightly anxious as how will they fare in mathematics and science paper. Anurag the head boy of CIS said, I have given my best and there is no reason for me to fret now. I have done most of my papers well. Harshita the head girl, said, I approached the examination with a strategy. So Im that much confident to do well in the examination. City-based psychologist Manju Agarwal said for parents it might be a question of their standing in society, but they failed to understand that 90% marks didnt decide their childs destiny. This will not only put the child under stress. If he fails to score high marks, encourage him to try again because he needs to learn from his mistakes, which is way more effective than pressuring him to always perform well, she said. Check Delhi Universitys first cutoff list Check Delhi Universitys second cutoff list Around the annual admission season in Delhi University (DU), its not just the application counters across colleges that see huge crowds and serpentine queues. Vendors in the varsity area also enjoy towering sales, making more earnings than any other time of the year. Because when else can you expect a footfall of 7 to 8 lakh of hopeful aspirants (local and outstation) and anxious parents in the sweltering summer of Delhi. But, NOT this year. The business of vendors in DU is expected to take a hit this year, as registration for 54,000 undergraduate seats goes online from May 28 to June 16. A tiny window of hope: the offline registration, which will be available in a select few colleges for the last five days, June 12 onwards. With a thanda admission season upon them and their earnings expected to dwindle, most stall owners, street vendors and rickshaw pullers are preparing to pack their bags and head back to their village till the colleges re-open mid July. Mahinder, who runs a banta stall, says he will welcome any excuse to go home as the sales fall. (Shivam Saxena/HT) Pehle toh high cut-offs ne business ko maara aur ab yeh online registration. Itni kam kamai ho gayi hai. We have kept the stall open for the small crowd that we are getting for post graduate admission, but as soon as we find an excuse to leave, we will, and come back only when the colleges will reopen in the new session, rues Mahinder, a vendor who runs a banta stall outside the Law Faculty in North Campus. Rickshaw puller Rajesh Kumar Yadav has decided to leave for his village soon, as earnings are sparse. (Shivam Saxena/HT) Rajesh Kumar Yadav, a rickshaw puller, says, Iss baar toh 300 rupaye bhi roz nahi kama payenge. Pehle to admission time pe Rs 1,000 tak kama lete thay roz. Main toh ghar chala jaunga bas kuch din mein. Itne mehenge shehar mein bina kamaai kaise rahunga? Read: DU colleges asked to update web portals with details of seats filled Vishu Gupta, who heads a drinks stall along with her father near the Northern Ridge road, finds herself in a similar situation. She laments that the sales have already taken a serious hit due to the online admission process. Kuch bikta hi nahi hai ab. Earlier there would be so many students buying things from our stall during the admission season. When its so hot, who doesnt want a cool drink? Ab sab ghar reh ke apply karenge, yahan kaun ayega?. Abhi bhi kam hi log aatey hain, says Gupta. Dinkar Singhal, a stationery vendor, says his sales have already gone down by 60%. (Shivam Saxena/HT) Things are not any different for stationery sellers in the campus. Rows of pens, glue sticks and envelopes that otherwise sold like hot cakes remain untouched at Dinkar Singhals stationery stall inside the Art Faculty. He says his sale has gone down by 60%. Every year during admissions, DU aspirants would line up here. Ab toh college ke bacche aa hi nahi rahey university mein, adds Singhal. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON News / Africa by Staff reporter Nairobi - A Kenyan man is recuperating in hospital after his genitals were chopped off by an angry sex worker following an argument over payment.According to The Standard, the 31-year-old victim in the Rift Valley town of Nakuru, some 250km north of capital Nairobi, was alleged to have picked up the sex worker on the streets on Tuesday at around 16:00 and taken her to his room. They later failed to agree on payment, leading to the incident.The Star quoted a member of the Gender Recovery Centre in Nakuru as saying that the man was brought in on Monday evening. He was bleeding profusely and was taken straight to the theatre for surgery.His condition was said to be stable and he was responding well to medication. He, however, would be in the hospital for some time as the doctors monitored his progress.Incidences of men's genitals being chopped off are not new to Kenya.In February, Nairobi News reported that a man chopped his genitals off and then his wife's breast in Thika after suspecting her of having an affair with his brother. Newcastle University, UK, in partnership with the British Council, is offering their GREAT Scholarship Scheme to four Indian students. Newcastle University is inviting postgraduate students from India for a scholarship award of 5,000 payable towards the first year of tuition fees. The students need to meet the conditions of the offer for a place on one of the courses in Newcastle University. The candidates have to submit their application online before June 30, 2016 to qualify for the scholarship. To be eligible, the candidate must hold a conditional or unconditional offer on any masters degree programme at Newcastle city campus. Visit http://www.ncl.ac.uk/undergraduate/finance/scholarships/ for more. The post-appraisal season of job changes is here. And candidates, in a bid to impress the potential employer, are increasingly relying on professional resume writers. But if you are also planning to jump ship, dont make that mistake. Spending thousands of bucks on grooming the curriculum vitae (CV) may increase the chances of getting interview call, but at the cost of disappointing the employer. Sometimes you get resumes with similar drafts, sometimes they are (fake) customised as per job advertisements and sometimes the charisma of candidate does not match the hi-fi resume he had sent, said Tarun Katyal, chief human resource officer at telecom major, MTS India. Five out of ten resumes that reach telecom company MTS are professionally written. To avoid confusion, we have created a format for basic and required details, so we dont need other formats, Katyal said. The mismatch in the quality of the resume and the candidate is a recurring concern. Ritupar na Chakraborty, co-founder of staffing fir m, Teamlease Services and president of Indian Staffing Federation said, There have been instances where the resumes of few candidates were very powerful but after meeting them in person, they sounded average. Such CVs set high expectations which sometimes back fire by disappointing the employer. A resume for a fresher costs about 1,500 whereas cost for a senior level candidate (above 8 years of experience) costs about 5,000. In many cases the writer is a professional researcher or editor, employed by HR consultancies to write concise, well formatted and attractive resume. Companies such as Naukri.com, Monster.com among others provide the resume writing services. While Naukri.com s spokesman declined to comment citing silent period, Monster.coms spokesperson was travelling. A CV written by a professional does help avoid basic grammatical and language errors, buy for employers they are like those hall of mirrors which throw up distorted reflections (of candidates). They may not necessarily bring out the essence of what drives you as a professional. It may only get one to reach out to recruiters through piles of resumes and not necessarily a job, claimed Pratima Salunkhe, HR head at Raychem RPG. Besides at times data in the resume is misleading which only increases work for the recruiter. Crisp resume written by self is good for HR scrutiny, for the details interviews exist, she said. But it is imperative to set the resume apart as Kiran Yadav, director, human resource at Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance advises. She says professional help is acceptable but up to an extent. In the end, there is no one else other than you who can provide the insights into what makes you perfect for a job, Yadav said. The line, therefore, between a self-written and a professionally-written CV is very thin. We receive about 10% resumes which are professionally written. But what is critical, is that the resume is able to communicate what is important and really matters. It is secondary if its professionally written, flagged Krity Sharma, head, people at Tesco Bengaluru. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The swirling rumours of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolies divorce refuse to die down. For the last few months, there have been a series of reports alleging that the Hollywood couple has split after 11 years of being together. The latest is that Brad has given the shaft to Top Gear. Daily Mail recently reported that the 52-year-old Hollywood star pulled out of the auto shows much touted return at the last moment. Read: Is Brad Pitt cheating on Angelina Jolie with Marion Cotillard? Naming Brad as the star in question, the paper quoted a source as saying, Chris Evans and the new team had lined up a Hollywood heavyweight for the hotly-anticipated return, though he was left scrabbling around for a replacement this week due to filming schedules. Angelina Jolie at the world premiere of Kung Fu Panda 3. The actors drastic weight loss has also fuelled divorce rumours. (AP) Design and Trend magazine has now alleged that the raging war between the couple is the reason for the pull out. Theyre at war over whos looking after the kids since that agreement got blown out the window with her desire to turn her directing career into a success after several failures, a source was quoted in Radar magazine. This is tearing them apart, but Brads got no choice. Hes done more than enough to help her directing career, even risking his own reputation in her schmaltzy flop By the Sea, and now its time to get back to work. United Nations high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) special envoy Angelina Jolie looks on as she meets Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at the Maximos Mansion in Athens, Greece, March 16, 2016. Buzz also suggests that Angelinas drastic weight loss and her dark demons are taking a toll on the marriage. Her wild lifestyle when she was younger and her intense surgeries to avoid getting breast and ovarian cancer have taken a toll on her as a person and a life partner. Some of her issues force her to retreat into isolation and pull away from Brad and the kids. It is impossible to be entirely free from who she once was, a source is quoted as saying. Priyanka Chopras Hollywood debut Baywatch has finished production, and the entire cast is tweeting about it. Now, an official image of the main cast has been released by Paramount. Its hard to believe its the first one, considering how many sneak peeks from the movie weve already seen. That's an official wrap! We had a blast pushing the rated R envelope on this one. See ya next summer! #BAYWATCH https://t.co/vMxlTmh4LZ Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 19, 2016 Read: Priyanka Chopra wraps Baywatch, bids cast and crew farewell, in pics Green screens ... Night shoots.. Crazy upside down hours.. Another dawn bedtime story begins as #baywatch continues!! A photo posted by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on May 13, 2016 at 3:41am PDT Baywatch arrives in exactly one year, so the studio thought it would be a cool idea to release this image, which is similar to a lot of images weve already seen. The team of lifeguards - Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Ilfenesh Hadera, Kelly Rohrbach and Jon Bass - is all there. Leaked: Priyanka Chopras first pic with the entire Baywatch cast Priyanka Chopra is missing, but thats understandable because shes playing the villain Victoria Leeds, and would be out of place in an image of the heroes. And since weve already seen images of her in character, were not complaining. We are officially wrapped on baywatch... Can't believe it but we will be in theaters one year from today. #BayDay !!! A photo posted by alexandra daddario (@alexannadaddario) on May 19, 2016 at 9:06am PDT Look out for the film, directed by Seth Gordon, to hit theatres in one years time. that's a wrap on a 6 month journey with director @sethnodrog. thank you to all my first and second unit crew who came along for the 6 day weeks and nights and long hours. special thanks to 2nd unit director @kevin_c_scott_ and dp @hughenasc along with underwater cinematographer Pete Zuccarini for getting us some spectacular stunt and underwater work. movie comes out in theaters one year from today. #reposted pic by @_davidrichardson #setlife A photo posted by Eric Steelberg, ASC (@ericsteelberg) on May 19, 2016 at 12:49pm PDT Follow @htshowbiz for more William Friedkin, the director of the horror classic The Exorcist, has revealed that he was allowed to film a real exorcism at the Vatican earlier this month. The 80-year-old American filmmaker told a masterclass at the Cannes film festival late Thursday that he was invited by Romes exorcist to record the event. I was invited by the Vatican exorcist to shoot and video an actual exorcism which... few people have ever seen and which nobody has ever photographed, he said. Friedkin said he was taken aback at how close the ceremony was to the exorcism depicted in his 1973 film. I was pretty astonished by that. I dont think I will ever be the same having seen this astonishing thing. I am not talking about some cult, I am talking about an exorcism by the Catholic Church in Rome, he added. But the Vatican denied making any such invitation. The Vatican (itself) does not have an exorcist, a spokesman told AFP. Each Catholic diocese has an exorcist and papal universities regularly organise training for the exorcism. People often confuse any Catholic initiative/organisation/person with the Vatican. Perhaps this is the case here, he added. The director said he intended to shoot The Exorcist -- based on a bestselling novel by William Peter Blatty -- as a horror movie, but the more he learned the more it became a story of the supernatural instead. The film recounts the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl and her mothers attempts to win her back through a rite conducted by two priests. While the book was based on the 1949 case of an American teenager called Roland, Friedkin said the Catholic archdiocese of Washington DC asked Blatty to change the gender (in the novel) so as not to draw attention to the young man. But in reality, the director said, it was a young man of 14 years, not a girl who was allegedly possessed. The film recounts the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl and her mothers attempts to win her back through a rite conducted by two priests. Friedkin said he believed the boy was genuinely possessed. Im convinced that there was no other explanation. I read the diaries not only of the priest involved (in the exorcism), but the doctors, the nurses and the patients at Alexian Brothers Hospital in Saint Louis where this case was carried out, he added. Everything having to do with medical science and psychiatry was attempted. This young men suffered from afflictions very similar to whats in the film, as hard is that is to believe. The exorcism scenes in the film has been repeatedly voted among some of the scariest ever shown in cinemas. Watch: Mass hysteria, faintings post The Exorcist screenings in 1973 When I started I thought I was making a horror film and then the priest, who was the president of Georgetown University (in Washington DC), let me read these diaries and I knew that it was not a horror film, Friedkin said. This was a case of exorcism. I believed in this story, Friedkin told the audience in Cannes, referring to the original possession of the boy. I made this story as a believer. Im not Catholic, I dont go to church, I dont belong to a church or a synagogue. I do believe in the teachings of Jesus, Friedkin added, whose parents were Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. I believe they are incredibly profound and beautiful and we know that this character existed... the supernatural aspect I leave to each persons conscience and belief system, he added. I dont intend to join a church and yet what amazes me... is the fact that this man (Jesus) over 2,000 years ago preached in the desert, on street corners and in synagogues and there is no recording of his voice... yet billions of people have believed in the idea of Jesus Christ. Read: Stuart Littles Geena Davis will be seen in The Exorcists TV adaptation Watch the trailer for the TV adaptation of The Exorcist There must be something in there, said Friedkin, who also made The French Connection, and was with Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Bogdanovich one of the leaders of the New Hollywood group of filmmakers in the early 1970s. Follow @htshowbiz for more The world premiere and the trailer launch of One Under the Sun, starring Bollywood actor Pooja Batra, took place at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival. The former beauty queen, who set her Bollywood aspirations aside to marry Los Angeles-based orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Sonu Ahluwalia, was spotted having her moment under the sun. The Virasat actor, dressed in a white sari at the gala, looked excited about her Hollywood debut in which she essays the role of an astronaut. It is a proud moment for me to play the lead in my first Hollywood film. It is a great role. In order to prepare for it, I needed to really dig deep into myself and my feelings to find honest inspiration. For my physical appearance, I took hints from Indian-born astronaut Kalpana Chawla and American astronaut Sunita Williams, Pooja Batra said in a statement. Executive producer Sunny Vachher, who always believed in Pooja, said she has what it takes, a true go-getter. One Under the Sun is the story of astronaut Kathryn Voss (Pooja), a sole survivor of a disastrous space shuttle mission. As a distraught mother desperate to reunite with her terminally ill daughter, she becomes a wanted fugitive after discovering she possesses an extraordinary gift. Watch the trailer here Co-director Vincent Tran has praised Pooja for her hard work and dedication towards the project. He said: Poojas acting in One Under the Sun brings audiences on an emotional journey and challenges their notions of war. World News Network Managing Director Satish Reddy at 69th Cannes Film Festival in France. Also seen Producer Sunny Vachher, Isha Vachher, Thomas Pierce, Riyanna Hartley, Vincent Tran and others. (IANS) The trailer launch took place recently at the Indian Pavilion of Cannes Film Festival where Sunny Vachher, Isha Vachher, Thomas Pierce, co-director Riyanna Hartley, managing director of World News Network Satish Reddy, co-director Vincent Tran, Pooja, actor Rich Paul, executive producer Mike LeBlanc were present along with many delegates from India and the international film fraternity. Follow @htshowbiz for more Lashkar-e-Taibas operations commander Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi and six others accused in the 2008 Mumbai attack case will be individually charged for the abetment to murder of each of the 166 people who died in the carnage, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court ruled on Friday. The seven suspects will be charged individually, a senior court official said, quoting the verdict of the trial court. The official said the court, however, did not allow cross examination of the suspects in this regard. The prosecution had filed an application in the ATC Islamabad some two months ago requesting it to make amendment in the charges against the suspects in abetment to murder of each individual in the carnage. The trial court in March last had reserved the verdict after the prosecution and defence lawyers completed their arguments on the plea that amendment in the charges against all seven suspects in abetment to murder of each individual in Mumbai attack should be made. Read | Scotsman, LeT man linked to Lakhvi among those sanctioned by US, Saudi 166 people, including six Americans, were killed and more than 300 injured in the attack in November 2008 by 10 Pakistani terrorists. The prosecution was of the view that it was seeking amendment to the changes for further strengthening the case against the suspects. It had also pleaded for including the post-mortem reports of those killed in the attack. The prosecution said India should be asked to send the post-mortem reports of each victim of Mumbai attack while the defence lawyers opposed it. Meanwhile, the Mumbai attack case has faced inordinate delay as no proceedings were held for the previous seven consecutive hearings. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for May 25. Read | Austria probes Pakistani terror suspects link to Mumbai attacks The Pakistani authorities are blaming India for the delay in the case, saying it cannot move further till the Indian government sends witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case. The seven consecutive hearings of the case were adjourned without any proceedings because the Pakistani government is still awaiting its counterparts response about sending (Indian) witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case, the court official said. The foreign ministry of Pakistan had written to the Indian government about three months ago asking it to send all 24 Indian witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the trial court in Mumbai attacks case. According to prosecution lawyers, the trial court had already completed recording the statements of all (Pakistani) witnesses in the case which has been underway in the country for more than six years. Now the ball is in Indias court. The Indian government should send all Indian witnesses of the Mumbai case to Pakistan to record their statements so that the trial could further move ahead, a prosecution lawyer said. Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum are accused of abetment to murder, attempted murder, planning and executing the Mumbai attacks. Lakhvi is living in undisclosed location after he got released from jail on bail a year ago. The other six suspects are in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi. The Congresss electoral defeat in four states led to urgent introspection in the party and a working committee meeting would be announced soon to address the factors behind the debacle, sources said on Friday. This came amid rumbling in the principal Opposition party over the poll results, with senior leader Digvijaya Singh suggesting the time for introspection was over and surgery was the need of the hour. Congress sources indicated that a much-anticipated organisational reshuffle would take place shortly. Singh told HT accountability had to be fixed and functioning of the party reviewed in view of the electoral downslide. He suggested the Congress have a margdarshak mandal along the lines of that in the BJP, which edged out veteran leaders such as LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi from decision-making bodies and kept them in a group to guide the party. Read | In depth: After Assam, Kerala losses, Congress struggles to stay relevant Asked if he meant some veteran leaders should be excluded from the decision-making process, the Congress general secretary refused to elaborate, saying it was for the party leadership to decide. Singhs call for action was endorsed by many Congress leaders but they refused to go public with their views. Congress spokesman PC Chacko said Singh should have discussed these issues at party fora. Reasons for the debacle and remedial measures will be discussed at the next CWC (Congress working committee) meeting which will be held soon, he said. Read | Puducherry lone bright spot for Congress in summer of disappointment Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said wherever there were shortcomings the party should remove them. Todays results disappointing but not unexpected. We have done enough Introspection shouldnt we go for a Major Surgery? Singh had tweeted on Thursday soon after Congress president Sonia Gandhi issued a statement that pledged introspection. We will introspect into the reasons for our loss and will rededicate ourselves to the service of the people with greater vigour, she had said. Singh was followed by Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor. Very clearly, the party as a whole has to move beyond this sort of cliched introspection business into some serious action, he said. Read | Hands down! Congress also suffers setbacks in by-elections But the party did not agree with them. Surgery probably is not the first step. It is done only when unavoidable. We will soon come out with proper prescription, Chacko said. Chacko said the party had given freedom to state units to decide on poll strategies. We are not saying the national leadership is not responsible, he said. The party vowed to bounce back and silence those writing it off. Congress has got inner vitality to bounce back. In the past also, we had been written off many times but we continue to exist today across the countrys length and breadth, Chacko said. After liquor, the Bihar government has cracked down on gutka and pan masala, banning the sale, distribution, storage and publicity of such tobacco products. The government issued an order on Friday, authorising officials to conduct raids and inspections and take action against those flouting the guidelines. Read: Bihar goes dry: Five things you must know about liquor ban The ban, which will remain effective for the next one year, on edible items having tobacco content, both packaged and unpackaged, aims at preventing the deterioration of public health, officials said. But, the order will hit the business interests of a large number of small businessmen and vendors. The Bihar government had banned sale and consumption of country and spiced liquor in rural areas from April 1 this year, but had allowed sale of Indian Made Foreign Liquor in towns and cities. The decision, announced by chief minister Nitish Kumar after a cabinet meeting, made it clear that no alcohol can be legally consumed in all of Bihar, including bars and restaurants. Alcohol prohibition in India is in force in the states of Gujarat, Nagaland and parts of Manipur; as well as in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. Kerala has been implementing prohibition in a phased manner since 2014. Kumar has repeatedly talked about the positive social impact the ban would have, especially on women - his vote bank, to justify it. After criminal-turned-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin was shifted from Siwan jail to another location in connection with the murder of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan in Bihar, his three associates were given the same treatment on Friday. Three associates of Shahabuddin have been shifted from Siwan jail to Motihari jail, said a police official. One of them is Upender Singh, who was arrested and interrogated in connection with the murder of Rajdeo Ranjan in Siwan last week. Upender Singh is well known to be a sharpshooter of Shahabuddin, who has been serving a life sentence in connection with a murder case. Shahabuddin was shifted from Siwan jail to Bhagalpur jail on Thursday, a day after his prison cell was searched by police in connection with the murder of the journalist. Read: Shahabuddin shifted to Bhagalpur jail He has been lodged in Siwan jail for over a decade. He has only twice been shifted to Bhagalpur and Gaya jails for brief periods. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have alleged that Shahabuddin had been pulling strings from his prison cell and had played a role in the killing of Rajdeo Ranjan. The BJP leaders also demanded that Shahabuddin be shifted from Siwan jail to some other place. Shahabuddin is one of the most prominent criminal-politicians of India having been convicted in several criminal cases and being tried in more cases, including murder, attempts to murder, abduction, theft and rioting. He was elected four times as a Member of Parliament from Siwan as a member of Lalu Prasads Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) which is part of the ruling coalition in Bihar with Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and Congress as other members. He was also twice elected as a member of the Bihar assembly. Last month, he was included in the RJDs national executive along with former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and the states health minister Tej Pratap Yadav. The media also reported that Bihar minority affairs minister Abdul Ghafoor visited Shahabuddin in Siwan jail on March 6 and was caught on camera feasting with the murder convict in violation of the jail manual. The BJP had then accused the state government of functioning with the help of convicted criminals while RJD chief Lalu Prasad had said there was nothing wrong with Ghafoor visiting Shahabuddin. The Bihar government led by Nitish Kumar has already recommended a CBI probe into the journalists killing. Ranjan, Siwan bureau chief of Hindi newspaper Hindustan, which is part of the HT Media, was shot dead last Friday in a busy market near Station Road in the district. An American tourist was detained by the Colaba police after he tried to enter the Gateway of India with a bayonet, a sword-like blade that can be fixed to the muzzle of a rifle or used on its own. He was questioned and released after it was found he had no intention of using it. According to police sources, US national John Samuel (name changed) tried to enter the Gateway of India with the knife in his handbag on Monday. The security officials found the weapon while he was examined at the entrance. A police officer, who did wish to be named, said, While his belongings were checked, a knife was found. He was taken to the police station for questioning. Zonal deputy commissioner of police Manoj Kumar Sharma was informed and he reached the police station immediately. According to the police, Samuel was allowed to go following a preliminary inquiry, during which he said he carried the knife for self defence. Ironically, the weapon went unnoticed during security checks in the US and in the Middle East, where Samuel stopped over. The officer said, The foreign national claimed that his grandfather was with the US military and he is used to carrying weapons in his home town, so accordingly he had put the weapon in his luggage and carried while on tour. Samuel arrived in the city last week for his friends wedding and he visited the Gateway of India with them. Deputy Commissioner of police Manoj Kumar Sharma ( zone 1) said, We made a detailed inquiry into the matter and after confirming his innocence and the fact that he would not harm anyone, we warned him and let him go. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The next time you board an Air India (AI) flight, you might notice a slight change in the way the in-flight announcements are made. Ashwani Lohani, the chairman and managing director of the state-owned carrier, has asked his pilots to use the words Jai Hind when they make an announcement. During the journey, the captain should often connect with the passengers at the end of his first address, usage of the words Jai Hind makes a tremendous impact, Lohani said in a communication to employees. As a part of our efforts to turn around, it is of utmost importance that our passengers have a good experience. I expect all frontline employees to put in their best efforts to improve passenger experience. Lohani said he wants clean planes and a helpful staff, especially in case of delays. The quality of food has to be good and special check needs to be kept on supplies. The engineers should ensure that the planes are immaculately clean, and defects in the cabin are kept at the bare minimum. Curtains, carpets and seat covers should also be maintained immaculately clean. Clean planes and a polite and helpful staff are the basics. An airline like IndiGo has reached where it has by keeping its focus on basics, aviation expert Rajji Rai said. The cabin crew should greet the passengers while enplaning and deplaning with namaskaar as was the earlier tradition. A smile on the face, and conversing sweetly and politely without an iota of irritation, would be a good thing. The country has been embroiled in a debate over nationalism since the Jawaharlal Nehru University fracas, and the recent controversy over certain political leaders refusing to chant Bharat Mata ki Jai has only added fuel to the fire. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A mob of upper-caste villagers in Uttarakhands Chakrata region injured BJP parliamentarian Tarun Vijay and some Dalit leaders on Friday afternoon for allegedly going into a temple where the entry of backward caste people is prohibited. Rajya Sabha member Tarun Vijay, local Dalit activist Daulat Kunwar and other members of the community were hit with stones while coming out of the Silgur Devta temple in the remote Punah village around 180 kilometres from state capital Dehradun. The (upper caste) villagers of a nearby area had organised a bhandara (feast in honour of local god). The irritated villagers pelted stones when they saw the Dalit crowd coming out of temple and injured all of them, a police official said. Police said the injured MP was rushed to a nearby military hospital as the irate crowd damaged his car and threw it into a gorge. Chief minister Harish Rawat ordered an inquiry by the Garhwal commissioner. The CM said the incident is not acceptable and strict action will be taken against those found guilty. The CM condemned those responsible for the deplorable incident, said Surendra Kumar, media adviser to Rawat. The entry into Silgur Devta temple was the start of a campaign by the Dalit community in the state against a centuries-old tradition that forbids them from entering and worshipping at 349 temples of the hill states Jaunsar-Bhabar region. Dalit leaders have said they will forcibly enter the temples, especially five popular shrines in the Chakrata region. The BJP MP who is retiring from the Rajya Sabha next month was backing the campaign. Dubbed the holiest land for Hindus, the Himalayan state is studded with thousands of temples, many of which have been off-limits for backward-caste people. Many Dalit villagers HT spoke to last week expressed fear of an upper-caste backlash to the temple entry campaign. The incident comes amid a nationwide debate on caste-based discrimination following the suicide of PhD scholar Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad earlier this year. Caste-centric discrimination, including untouchability, was banned in India in 1955, but centuries-old feudal attitudes persist in many parts of the country and Dalit people, who represent 16% of the countrys population, still face prejudice. They are sometimes beaten or killed for using a well or worshipping at a temple. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was stopped at the gates of the Jagannath temple in Puri as she was deemed an outcaste for marrying a non-Hindu. In 2014, a temple in Bihars Madhubani district was purified the shrine cleaned and its idols washed after a visit by then chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, a member of the Musahar community. Last year, a 90-year-old Dalit man was brutally attacked with an axe and set on fire for trying to enter a temple at Hamirpur in Uttar Pradesh. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A photojournalist of a vernacular newspaper was allegedly held hostage and thrashed by some people while he was taking pictures of a pillar being erected for an elevated at Hindon river, police said on Thursday. The incident occurred on Wednesday, when photo journalist Abhinav Rajan Chaturvedi was taking photos of a pillar which was obstructing the water flow of the river, they said. A group of unruly persons reached there and snatched his camera mobile and allegedly held him hostage for at least two hours, SHO, Sihani Gate police station Avneesh Gautam said. When he somehow freed himself from their clutches, and was escaping from the spot, they allegedly fired in air. An employee, Sandip, of the private construction company which is building the elevated road, was arrested , the officer said, adding that the owner of the company and other co-accused will be nabbed soon Ahead of his state visit to China, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday India seeks a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement of boundary question which will help in achieving full potential of Sino-India relationship. Talking to state-run Chinese Central Television (CCTV) and Xinuha news agencies ahead of his first state visit beginning May 24, the President spoke on various issues including Indias concerns on terrorism, bilateral trade and cultural and educational exchanges. In reply to a question about some sensitive problems left over from history between India and China, Mukherjee said India would like to expand and diversify its engagement with China across various fields while proactively addressing outstanding issues including the boundary question. We seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement of the boundary question and, pending the boundary settlement, to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas. Both sides should strive to ensure that the outstanding issues are addressed in a manner that demonstrates mutual sensitivity to each others concerns, interests and aspiration, he said and added that it was only in this manner can we ensure that these differences will not come in the way of continued development of bilateral relations. The President also favoured increasing mutual trust and understanding through stepped-up dialogue on political, security and strategic issues. We should expand our defence exchanges and increase economic engagement, especially through greater investments, he said and also suggested functional cooperation at international fora. In reply to another question on his state visit, the President said, We are doing well but the full potentiality is yet to be achieved. That is why we want to resolve all outstanding issues in a mutually acceptable manner, keeping in mind the aspirations, concerns, sensitivities of each country. An Indian-American psychiatrist, dubbed by local media as Dr Death for his alleged role in the deaths of 36 patients, has been indicted on three counts of felony murder and 57 charges of unauthorised distribution of controlled substances in the US. Dr Narendra Nagareddy from Atlanta was arrested in January. He is being held in a county jail without bond. The indictment was charged against him on Wednesday. Nagareddy has regularly prescribed excessive amounts of controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose, resulting in the abuse and diversion of the prescribed controlled substances, the indictment alleged. According to the court papers, these drugs were given to patients without presenting previous medical records, MRIs, X-rays, or prescription records. The indictment alleged that drugs were powerful painkillers that were outside the scope of his practice. At least 12 patients have died from overdose deaths and another 36 deaths have been directly linked to his practice, it alleged. He became well known to addicts on metro Atlantas south side as a doctor that you could score drugs from without a hassle. Nagareddy regularly prescribed Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Fentanyl and Methadone, as well as other highly addictive drugs, the indictment said. What it means is there will no longer be prescriptions issued by D. Nagareddy that result in the deaths of any innocent people, Clayton County district attorney Tracy Graham-Lawson told local Channel 2. In early March, Nagareddy had told a local news channel that he was innocent. Im explaining to you, sir, Im an honest man. I look after all the severely mentally ill patients, please understand, sir, he was quoted as saying by CBS46 news. A court date has been set for July 7. Indian mountaineer Rajib Bhattacharya died on Mt. Dhaulagiri on Thursday afternoon while descending from the mountains peak. The 43-year-old from West Bengals Howrah district had complained of difficulty in vision before collapsing between the peak and Camp III. At 8,167 m above sea level, Mt Dhaulagiri is the seventh highest mountain in the world, located in western Nepal. There was heavy snowfall when the team was returning from the peak. Bhattacharya complained of snow blindness and collapsed. He died soon after at an altitude of 7,600 metres, said Mingma Sherpa of Kathmandu-based Seven Summit Treks, the expedition organiser. Snow blindness, or photokeratitis, is a painful and temporary loss of vision caused by overexposure to the suns ultraviolet rays. It is, however, not known to cause deaths. The expedition organisers suspect Bhattacharya may have had a heart attack due to lack of oxygen. There were Sherpa guides with him when the incident occurred. We still dont know what was the exact cause of death, said Nivesh Karki, another official of Seven Summit Treks. Bhattacharyas body is still on the mountain and efforts are underway to airlift it to Kathmandu by helicopter. Inclement weather condition in the area delayed the operation, Sherpa said. Known among climbers from West Bengal, Bhattacharya had earlier scaled Mt Everest in 2011 and Mt Kanchenjunga in 2013. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Indian families are getting smaller and the decline is sharpest among Muslims, religious census data released on Friday said, in what could be signs of rising literacy levels in the community. The report of the census carried out in 2011 was released almost a year after the government revealed religion-wise population figures from the same year. The latest data said the countrys average family size in 2011 was 4.45 members, down from 4.67 a decade earlier, a drop of 5.3%. In the Muslim community the average family size fell from 5.61 to 5.15, the report released by the home ministry said. The reduction was sharper -- 11.1% -- for Muslim households headed by men while for families headed by women it was 4.47%. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Muslim community is often targeted by Hindu right-wing groups of having large families and a higher population growth rate. Last year, BJP parliamentarian Sakshi Maharaj and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Sadhvi Prachi had separately asked Hindu women to bear at least four children to counter the growth in Muslim population. Religious population data released last year showed that the community grew by 24.6 percent between 2001 and 2011. At 17.22 crore, the community formed 14.2% of Indias 121 crore population. With a population of 96.63 crore, Hindus constitute 79.8% of the population. Data released on Friday also showed the average size of Hindu families declined by 5.02% over the decade, Christian households by 6.47%, Sikh by 7.44%, Buddhist by 5.96% and Jain by 5.5%. The average household size was higher in male headed households as compared to those headed by females across all religious communities. Overall, Christians had the highest percentage of households headed by females (17.4%) followed next by Buddhist (15.9%). The lowest percentage of female headed households is in Jain community (11.5%), the report said. The data showed that the difference in household size between different religious communities wasnt as big as was often made out. Besides, the continuing decline has also narrowed the gap in family size between different religious communities. In 2011, the average size of a Hindu family was 4.35. In contrast, a Muslim household had 5.15 members, a Christian household 4.05, Sikh household 4.85, Buddhist household 4.1 and a Jain household 4.45 members. In 2011, an average Muslim family just had 0.8 more persons than a Hindu household as compared to 1.03 persons in 2001. The BJP government in Rajasthan changed old and boring school curriculum to evoke nationalism, education minister Vasudev Devnani said on Thursday amid a raging controversy over alleged attempts to black out Congress leaders from history books. The Congress has accused the Vasundhara Raje government of trying to saffronise education after references to the countrys first Prime Minister Jawaharal Nehru in textbooks were trimmed considerably. The government denies the charge. Devnani, however, accused the Congress of trying to blacken history by striking off swadeshi leaders such as Vinayak Savarkar and Deen Dayal Upadhay from textbooks when the party was in power. Devnani also named a long list of swadeshi leaders whose lives and times have been included in the new curriculum. In the name of changing curriculum, the Congress removed mentions of freedom fighter Savarkar and humanist Deen Dayal. They even had issues with Ram Lakshman and they went to the extent of removing Mahatma Gandhis contribution. Even the battle between Akbar and Maharana Pratap was removed from books, Devnani said. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested a wanted terror suspect after he arrived at the Delhis Indira Gandhi International airport from the UAE. Abdul Wahid Siddibapa is allegedly associated with the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM), say NIA officials. He has been accused of providing material help for terror activities in India while operating from his base in the UAE. Believed to be a brother -in-law of key IM kingpin Riyaz Bhatkal, Wahid was first arrested in Abu Dhabi in January 2014. However, rather than being deported immediately, the UAE authorities asked India to seek his formal extradition. By the time Indian documents reached a court in Abu Dhabi, he was already out on bail. Indian officials suspected intense diplomatic pressure from Pakistan to stall his deportation or extradition. Sources say it was claimed that Wahid is a Pakistani national but finally India managed to convince the local authorities that he was a wanted terror suspect in India. Originally, a native of Bhatkal in Karnataka, Wahid is also related to Yasin Bhatkal who is another alleged key operative of the IM. The NIA was informed about his arrival from a foreign country and after he landed here he was put under arrest. He was later produced before a court which remanded him in seven-day NIA custody, said a senior NIA official requesting anonymity. NIA sources say it was carefully calibrated intelligence-led operation in which Wahid was almost lured to India. Wahid is considered one of the oldest members of the IM and he has been instrumental in providing funding, tactical and other support to his associates in India, said another NIA official. News / Africa by Staff reporter President Robert Mugabe has called for more educational opportunities for the girl child in Africa as a way to accelerate development in the previously patriarchal dominated continent.The African icon who recently handed over the chairmanship of the African Union after the expiry of his term was addressing scores of students and delegates who attended centenary celebrations for Fort Hare University in South Africa.The President, who received a standing ovation which is now synonymous with his addresses within and outside the country's borders noted that Zimbabwe has made great strides in empowering women who previously were regarded as inferior to their male counterparts.Turning to politics, Mugabe highlighted how the western world tried to effect a regime change agenda through the use of non-governmental organisations but faltered in their endeavour saying it is time Africa should fight for economic independence to avoid the dependency syndrome.President Mugabe himself a graduate from the institution in 1951, is at the celebrations as a guest speaker for the university's alumni. Former Congress MP Nilesh Rane was today arrested by Chiplun police in connection with the case of alleged assault and kidnapping filed by a party worker, police said. Nilesh, son of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane, surrendered before the Chiplun police in Ratnagiri district at around 8 AM today following which he was taken into custody, they said. Rane will be produced before a court in Chiplun later on Friday, police said. His supporters gathered outside the police station when he surrendered. However, there was no law and order issue, they said. The Bombay High Court had on Tuesday refused to grant pre-arrest bail to Rane and asked him to surrender before police on or before May 23. The police had told the high court that there were serious allegations against Rane and his custodial interrogation was needed as investigations were still on. A case was earlier registered by Thane police against Rane, his personal assistant Tushar Panchal and bodyguard Manish Singh under relevant IPC sections for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting Congress president of Chiplun taluka, Sandeep Sawant, in April. According to the FIR, Rane and his accomplices had allegedly kidnapped Sawant and assaulted him on way to Mumbai for not attending a rally called by the former MP at Chiplun in Ratnagiri district to demand reservation for the Maratha community. Sawant was allegedly confined to a house at Andheri in Mumbai and later let-off, the complaint alleged. Sawant had told Rane that he could not attend the rally because his mother was taken ill in a nearby village and he had to rush to be with her. On the basis of the complaint filed by Sawant, the Thane police had registered a case against Rane and his accomplices. Soon after the incident, Sawant was hospitalised and Rane visited him to pacify him. He urged Sawant to withdraw the complaint against him but the latter declared his resolve to fight the case. The Chhattisgarh government has constituted a high-level coordination committee to look into the arbitrary arrest of the journalists by the police in the state. The committee besides looking into the reports of atrocity against the scribes will review the charges framed against them. Before filing an FIR and arresting a journalist, the case will first come up for scrutiny before the committee. The committee will act as an deterrent for the police who act as per their whims and fancies. It will fix an accountability on the police and the rights of the scribes will be protected, Rajesh Toppo, member-secretary of the committee, told HT. The journalists covering the conflict zone of Bastar in south Chhattisgarh hope the committee will effectively adhere to its roles and responsibility. Four journalists were arrested by the police in Bastar two in September-October 2015 and the other two in March this year. Constituted at the behest of the chief minister Raman Singh, the committee may invite the inspector general of the concerned police range, if necessary. It will act as a bridge to strike coordination between the journalists and the government. We are committed to ensure a thriving free and independent media in the state, Singh affirmed. A heat wave sweeping through vast swathes of the country will remain intense till next week, the weatherman said on Friday, warning of temperatures rising to a blistering 50 degree Celsius in many parts of north India. The India Meteorological Department (IMDs) warning came a day after Phalodi in Rajasthan experienced 51 degree Celsius, the highest ever in India since weather monitoring began. Heat wave to severe heat wave conditions are very likely at a few places over Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat; and at isolated places over south Uttar Pradesh, Vidarbha and central Maharashtra, the IMD said in its forecast. It issued a red alert the highest level -- and severe heat wave warning for east and west Rajasthan, east and west Madhya Pradesh, Saurashtra and Kutch and the Gujarat region. Read | Intense heat wave to sweep parts of India next 2-3 days: IMD The IMD said the intensity of the heat wave is likely to gradually abate during May 27 to 31. Large parts of north, west and central India are already reeling under unusually high temperatures 45 to 48 degree Celsius for the past few weeks, aggravating problems for farmers hit by back-to-back droughts. It has also led to acute water shortage in many areas of central and western India which has seen water riots, government-monitored rationing and armed guards at reservoirs. The Met department earlier said the southwest monsoons the annual June-September rains crucial to millions of farmers in the country will be delayed by around a week. The IMD, however, has predicted above normal monsoon rains this year. Since April, around 400 people have died due to the heat wave across the country. Read | April was hotter than usual in Delhi this year In Madhya Pradesh, two people died of heat stroke on Thursday including a 20-year-old student. The day temperatures are hovering between 44 and 47 degrees, with Gwalior recording the highest 47 degree Celsius in the last 24 hours. No respite from heat wave is expected in the state soon, said state Met director Anupam Kashyap. In Phalodi, baking under temperatures nudging 50 degree Celsius, the roads were deserted for most parts of Friday as people decided to remain indoors. In most places in Rajasthan, the temperature dipped by 0.5 degrees to three degrees, but severe heat wave conditions were prevailing in many parts of the state. Jaipur recorded 46 degree, 0.5 degrees less than Thursday and usually hot Churu recorded 48.1 degree, down from 50.2 degrees on Thursday. Similarly temperature drop was recorded in Ajmer, Pilani, Kota, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Barmer. Read | Soaring temperatures rekindle forest fires in Uttarakhand In Ahmedabad, which recorded its hottest day ever at 48 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the heat wave continued to sweep the city and several other parts of Gujarat on Friday. More than 10 heat-related deaths have been reported from across the state, including four in Ahmedabad, so far this summer. The worst appeared to be over for Bihar as a cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal pushed inland, raising possibilities of rains in the state. A cyclonic storm that is moving eastwards from Tamil Nadu has led to significant drop in maximum daily temperatures in Patna. In north-eastern Bihar, the temperature was even lesser, said Patna IMD Patna director AK Sen. He said eastern Bihar would get good rainfall from Friday while other parts could experience drizzles. (With agency inputs) What happens Expanding the high-speed internet network facility, Railways on Friday launched Googles free Wi-Fi service at Patna, Ranchi and Visakhapatnam railway stations. We had announced that we will launch Wi-Fi service across 400 stations in partnership with Google. I am happy at the pace at which the work is going on...within a year, the services will be offered at 100 stations, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said after launching the service at three stations through video-conferencing from here. He suggested that arrangement be made to ensure the service is available for only those who purchase tickets or platform tickets at least. According to Google, Prabhu said, the project will be the largest public Wi-Fi infrastructure in the world once it is fully operational. The Minister said the government has received positive feedback from users regarding the high speed Wi-Fi system, which is already made available at seven stations namely Mumbai Central, Bhubaneswar, Kacheguda, Vijayawada, Raipur, Bhopal and Jaipur. The Wi-Fi facility at these stations has been commissioned by Railway Ministry PSU RailTel in association with Google for providing high speed internet to the commuters, an official statement said. According to the Ministry, the service built over the fiber network of RailTel Corporation is designed to offer high-speed broadband experience to users. Travellers passing through these stations will now be able to easily stream a high definition video while theyre waiting, research their destination, download a book or a new game for their journey, the statement said. RailTel roped in Google as the technology partner for setting up fast Wi-Fi network initially covering 100 A1 and A category railway stations with an aim of covering 100 millions per day by the end of 2016, it said. Sparks have started to fly within the six-month-old Bihar government following the murder of senior journalist Rajdeo Ranjan in Siwan and the subsequent shifting of local strongman and former RJD parliamentarian Mohd Shahabuddin to Bhagalpur central jail. The sudden transfer of the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader from Siwan jail has irked party leaders and on Friday, the RJD -- an alliance partner of the Janata Dal (United) in government -- joined the Opposition chorus in criticising chief minister Nitish Kumar over the declining state of law and order. An RJD leader Mohammed Taslimuddin even demanded Kumars resignation for his failure to control crime. Nitish Kumar should resign and understand his failures, he said in Patna after the RJD central parliamentary board Friday meeting that was attended by senior party leaders including party chief Lalu Prasad. Read: Bihar journos murder: Shahabuddin shifted to Bhagalpur jail As Kumar holds the home portfolio, the law and order failure has to be pinned to him, Taslimuddin said. He was joined by senior RJD leader Prabhunath Singh in criticising the state governments working. If Shahabuddin was holding durbars in jail, it only shows the administrative weakness of the government. If durbars were being held regularly what were the officials doing, asked RJD leader and former MP Singh. Singh also said that the media trial launched against former Siwan MP is also not fair. Why is his name being taken repeatedly? Has he been named in any of the investigations, asked Singh. Shahabuddin was shifted to Bhagalpur central jail following a surprise raid on Wednesday when 63 people who came to attend his durbar were detained and 38 mobiles were seized from them. It is said that order to kill Siwan journalist was made from jail, though the ex-MP has not been named by investigators or the police brass. Read: Fear for my life today: Bihars Siwan clams up about journos murder The murder of Ranjan the Siwan bureau chief of Hindustan newspaper triggered widespread outrage and the police detained a top aide of Shahabuddin for questioning. This is not the first time that RJD MP Taslimuddin has attacked CM Kumar. Last Monday, he said Kumar is not PM material and he is day dreaming of becoming the prime minister as he has failed to provide sushashan (good governance) in Bihar. Nitish Kumar is not PM material. How can a person run the country who could not provide sushashan in his own state, which is witnessing a spate of killings, Taslimuddin had said. Another senior party leader and vice-president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh had been targeting Kumar and had called him selfish in projecting himself as a leader of a possible anti-BJP front. He said Kumar seemed to have decided to go alone on trips across the nation without consulting the RJD and other parties. The JD (U) reacted strongly to demands for Kumar resignations and said that the question doesnt arise. When his own party leaders are not taking him seriously, why should we take cognizance of such utterances, said JD (U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar. Prabhunath Singh should know that former Siwan MP was shifted as per jail manual and following reports from district magistrate. We dont care for Taslimuddins utterances as his intentions and leanings are not clear, he said. Read: Rising crimes can thwart Nitishs PM ambitions SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Suspected Maoist rebels fired on the Dhanbad-Jhargram passenger train at Kokpara station in East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, officials said on Friday. At least four-five unidentified assailants attacked the train at about 10pm and fired several rounds before fleeing with three walkie-talkie sets from the train driver, guard and station master of Kokpara, about 80 km south east from Jamshedpur on Howrah-Mumbai main line. Kokpara falls under Kharagpur division of South Eastern Railway. Train movement has normalised as we escorted out the passenger train from Kokpara. Theres no casualty but they have looted three wireless sets. Its still not clear who these miscreants were but were investigating the incident, Anoop T Matthew, Jamshedpurs senior superintendent of police, told HT at the time of filing this report. Jamshedpur rural superintendent of police Md Arshi said a spent cartridge of 9 mm has been recovered from the spot. Were investigating if Maoists had any role in it, said Arshi. RA Ansari, Railway Protection Force (RPF) commandant at Chakradharpur, said he was unable to speak at the moment. On May 28, 2010, Maoists blew off 46 cm of railway track between Khemasuli and Sardiya stations near Jhargram in West Bengals West Midnapore district on the same route derailing Gyaneswari Express, killing over 100 people and injuring over 180. Armed Maoists hijacked the Tata Kharagpur passenger train in 2006 on the West Bengal-Jharkhand border and threatened to blow it up, but later abandoned it and made off with two rifles and a walkie-talkie. Lawmakers and government servants caught violating traffic rules should shell out ten times the fine imposed on general public, a group of state transport ministers have told the government on Friday. The group set up by the Centre has also recommended increasing fines for various traffic violations such as talking on mobile phone while driving from the present Rs 100 to Rs 1000. For subsequent violation the fine will be Rs 2000. To curb rising fatalities from underage drivers, the group has recommended stringent punishment for parents of children who are caught driving. Such parents will have to face three-year jail and Rs 20,000 penalty. It will be treated as abetment of offence by the parents, Rajasthan transport minister Yoonus Khan, who heads the group told HT after its second meeting in Bangalore. Besides, the child will have to serve term in a juvenile home if a person is killed in the accident. If an underage driver is caught, he/she will have to do community service for a period of three months. Read | Mercedes case: Dummy driver held, cops say kin tried to mislead probe The governments push for stricter road safety comes amid a growing call to make parents accountable after a Class 12 student in north Delhis upmarket Civil Lines mowed down a 33-year-old marketing consultant with his fathers Mercedes car last month. The group set up in February to review road safety rules also recommended increasing the minimum traffic violation fine from Rs 100 for red light jumping to Rs 500. Subsequent violation could result in suspension of license for a specified period. For rash driving, the fine will be Rs 5000 and six month jail for first offence and Rs 10,000 and two year jail for subsequent offence. Repeated violation could result in cancellation of license. The recommendations of the group of ministers will be finalized in consultation with the states as road transport is on the concurrent list. We will give our final report to road transport minister Nitin Gadkari in June, Khan told HT. A senior road ministry official said, Once we get the report we will then discuss it with states and start the process of amending the Motor Vehicle Act. Read | Road rage: Only exemplary punishment can cure Delhis power driving trip Since the draft Road Transport and Safety bill that has been pending for over two years now will still take some time before it is approved by the cabinet and introduced in the Parliament, the ministry has decided to amend the existing MV Act and incorporate the changes recommended by the group of state transport ministers. The group submitted its first interim report to Gadkari on April 29 where among other things it recommended extending the validity of driving license from the present 50 years to 60 years. After 60 years, it recommended renewal of license every ten years. Presently driving license is valid for 20 years from the date of issue or until one completes 50 years, whichever is earlier. After that it is renewed every 5 years. STRICTER PUNISHMENT SUGGESTED Underage driving: Parents to face 3 years in prison and Rs 20K penalty. Presently: No provision Drink-driving: Rs 5,000 fine, 6months jail and suspension oflicense for 3 yrs. Subsequentoffence will fetch 12 mth jail,Rs 10k fine and licence cancellation. Presently: Rs 2,000- Rs3,000 fine and 6 months-2years jail Red light jumping: Rs 500.Subsequent offences fetchRs 1,000 and suspension oflicence. Presently: Rs 100 Rash driving: Rs 5,000 and 6months in jail. Subsequentoffence fetches Rs 10,000 and 2yrs in jail. Presently: Rs 400 andRs 1,000 for subsequent offence Talking on phone while driving: Rs 1,000. Rs 2000 for subsequentoffence. Presently: Rs 100 - Rs 300 SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A toddy tappers son from a sleepy village in Kannur district to the chief minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan has risen from the ranks. A pragmatist to the core he represents the modern face of the Communists - wealth creation and ideological growth can go hand in hand, he proved. The 72-year-old assiduously built the CPM Inc running into several thousands of crores in the state - TV channels, amusement parks, super speciality hospitals, banks, IT unit and infrastructure projects - and the party accumulated wealth under his regime as the secretary. No wonder the party now employs more than one lakh people in party-controlled banks and other institutions. Read: Pinarayi Vijayan will be Kerala CM as CPM tries to pacify Achuthanandan Once an aide of VS Achuthanandan, he helped his mentor in his infamous Vettineruthal or the scheme of throwing revisionists out of the party. Many senior leaders, including MV Raghavan and PV Kunhikannan, then LDF convenor, fell by the wayside. Soon, he became the party secretary with his mentors help after quitting the ministers job in 1998. But as both nourished parliamentary ambitions, they soon fell out. In the Malappuram party conclave in 2005, Vijayan humiliated his mentor by defeating all his nominees in the state committee. Soon two powerful factions emerged in the state unit of the Communist Party of India(Marxist). He slowly and steadily tightened his grip on the party - dissenters were thrown out or sidelined systematically. As he was getting stronger in the party, a power scam returned to hound him. Read: For a change, RSS not shying from accepting role in BJPs Kerala toehold More than the opposition, Achuthanandan was in the forefront to corner him in the Lavalin case, an agreement with Canadian power giant SNC-Lavalin, in which the state reportedly lost several crores of rupees. But he never sat idle despite continued barbs and started targeting Achuthanandans followers. At the height of the faction feud in 2007, he and Achuthanandan were both suspended from the politburo. Despite the intervention of the central leaderships both continued to nurse their grudges and took all opportunities to discredit each other. But unlike Achuthanandan, development was not a synonym for corruption for this economic graduate. And he has no qualms in citing his colleagues blunders of blocking tractors or smashing computers. Known for his administrative skills and quick decisions, he was the one to end the states nagging electricity problem as the power minister. On the eve of the assembly elections, party general secretary Sitaram Yechury did a perfect job blending the popularity of Achuthanandan and organisational strength of Pinarayi and it yielded good results. But given Achuthanandans nature, he may bargain enough to let his rival run the show. Read: Verdict 2016: BJP gains, Didi and Amma remain, Left takes up Kerala reins SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Sarbjit Director: Oomung Kumar Cast: Randeep Hooda, Darshan Kumar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Richa Chaddha Rating: 1.5/5 Based on the life of Sarabjit Singh, a farmer who was wrongfully convicted in Pakistan and died after a fatal assault inside jail, the movie Sarbjit focuses on his sister Dalbir Kaurs fight against the system to prove his innocence. However, given the very real context of the plot, the movie is an almost fictitious, drum-beating melodramatic saga that suffers from an overly-worked-up lead actor. Applause is due for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who plays the struggling Dalbir. But, in the same breath, the 42-year-old actor doesnt manage to bring alive the character. Her lip-twisting, chest-thumping and shouting does not help either. Instead, the melodrama alienates us from an otherwise evocative character. A poster of Sarbjit shows Aishwarya as Dalbir. The constant harping on Indo-Pak relations mostly about the sympathy people should show for innocent people, but at times digressing to more political and subtle anti-Pakistani sentiments loses the plot. Simple humane moments focusing on the struggles of a family that has lost a member to an unfair system wouldve taken the movie much further. Its a movie, so melodrama and fiction is all right, but it does take some doing if the audience is expected to identify with characters using phrases like Khauf ki badboo or burning their own effigies. Or accept the Pakistani advocate who faces attack for supporting Sarbjit (played by Randeep Hooda) and decides to join the violent crowd protesting against him! Because, apparently nobody knows what he looks like. Randeep as Sarabjit evokes pity and sympathy. He is sweet as the brother and brings a smile on our face when he is with his family. The movie would have been much better, had director Oomung Kumar given Randeep a little more space. The few sequences where we do see him make us teary-eyed, but the movie quickly moves on. Read: I saw my brother in Randeep, says Dalbir Randeep as Sarbjit inside the jail in Pakistan. One of the rare engaging scenes is where Sarbjits family goes to meet him in jail. The frisking of the women in his family is disturbing and also offers a moment where Aishwarya looks authentic in the movie. Richa Chaddha, yet another talented actor wasted in this star-driven plot, leaves her mark as the silent wife who painfully waits for her husband. Richa Chaddha plays Randeeps wife in Sarbjit. Despite the heavy, tragic air of the film, there are a few breathers the mini flashback scenes of Sarabjit with his family are touching. In one of the initial sequences, we also see a grieving Aishwarya clinging on to her still-born child. Randeep convinces her to give up the infants body. Delicately done, this is one of the rare winning subtle moments. Watch Sarbjit trailer Its a tough movie to get right, and Oomung should be lauded for choosing the story and for picking a star to get the story out to wider audience (like he did with Mary Kom). But, Oomung fails to deliver a moving, poignant film and instead leaves us with a load of melodrama. Read: Sarbjit is not about Pakistan-bashing, says Randeep Follow the author @swetakaushal ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON City schools and students are worried about their performance in the unusually tough mathematics paper in the Class 12 examination, the results of which will be announced on Saturday by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Of the 14,99,122 students that had taken the exam throughout the country in March, 54,000 students were from Chennai region, which includes Maharashtra. Last year, the state had registered a pass percentage of 91.59%, the lowest in the past three years. History could repeat itself this year too, as the maths paper held on March 14 had driven millions of students across the country to tears and triggered a debate in Parliament. The CBSE was flooded with online complaints about the daunting paper and faced flak over a reported question paper leak in Patna region. We are anxious about the Class 12 results, especially because of the maths paper this year, said Avnita Bir, principal, RN Podar School, Santacruz. Around 478 students of this school had taken the exam this year. Read: Tough maths paper may affect results, fear students Schools said they were counting on the remedial measures promised by the board. The board had placed the feedback received from students, subject teachers and examiners before a committee of subject experts. Officials had also said students will get marks for following the right steps to solve a problem even if they failed to get the answer right. The board had assured us that the maths paper will be checked leniently. We are hoping that will ensure good results, said Ganesh Parameshwaran, principal, Balbharti Public School, Airoli. Even the physics paper was a bit tough, according to the students, he said. A day after the results are announced, the CBSE plans to start its counselling sessions, which will continue until June 4 from 8am to 10 pm. A special counselling facility will also be made available for differently-abled children. Students can call toll-free number 1800 11 8004 from any part of the country and get in touch with operators for general queries related to results or to connect with the counsellors. Techniques to help students cope with result-related anxiety are available on the CBSE website www.cbse.nic.in. Access your results here The CBSE results will be declared online at noon on May 21 on three web portals www.results.nic.in, www.cbseresults.nic.in and www.cbse.nic.in. They can also be accessed through search engine www.bing.com. Starting this year, CBSE will also provide Class 12 digital mark sheets on https://digilocker.gov.in on their DigiLocker accounts. The DigiLocker account credentials will be sent to students via SMS on their mobile number registered with the CBSE. The results will also be available via Android mobile app DigiResults. Students in Maharashtra can call 011 24300699 to hear their results through an IVR system. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON News / Local by Stephen Jakes Harare Residents Trust has challenged the Harare City Council to alleviate the problem of water leakages which is rocking the city along the water supply network.The trust said the City of Harare should drastically cut down on the leakages along the water distribution network where they report that a total of 60 percent is being lost through illegal water connections, leakages, thefts (City Budget speeches 2014 and 2015)."The Finance and Development Committee Chairperson reported that 60 percent of the produced water is non revenue water. Of that, 30 percent is being used but not being paid for, and another 30 percent is lost due to illegal connections, faulty metering, leakages due to an aging water supply network and general water thefts," said the trust. The Shiv Sena-BJP war is all set to intensify. The relationship hit a new low on Friday with BJP MP Kirit Somaiya threatening to drag Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to court and press defamation charges against him. This comes after Sena mouthpiece Saamna, of which Thackeray is the editor-in-chief, published a front page article carrying allegations by an activist, Kalpana Inamdar, regarding Somaiya and his wifes involvement in irregularities surrounding a slum-redevelopment project. Somaiya said he had asked for an apology from the Sena mouthpiece which hadnt come yet and hence, he would approach the Bombay high court on June 1 with these charges. I am going to press charges against the editor, the director, the owner and the management of the newspaper, he said. Under Thackeray, Sena spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut is the executive editor. While the Sena insists that the report was based on the allegations made in a press conference attended by the media, Somaiya said it was politically motivated. I am very certain that the report appeared only because I have taken on the mafia in the BMC and the fight that corruption exists in the BMC. Somaiya dismissed Inamdars allegations, claiming that she was a history-sheeter. Somaiya said Inamdar was working with arrested NCP leader and former public works department minister Chhagan Bhujbals office as a liason officer. Do Saamna and Bhujbal have an arrangement to use this lady to defame me? It seems like after Bhujbal, Saamna is now using her as a liason officer to hit out at me, he said. Not stopping at that, Somaiya said he would now take on the octroi mafia in the BMC. I challenge the Saamna editor and the owner that I am going to expose the octroi mafia, which is robbing the citys coffers of around Rs 2,000 crore annually. They can do what they want to, to suppress me, Somaiya said. Raut said, In journalism, one often faces such defamation notices. We were not the only ones to carry the allegations. If he is dragging all media organisations, which published it, to the court, then its fine. If he is selectively dragging the Saamna, then its politically motivated. Inaugurated by finance minister Arun Jaitley in July 2015, Punjabs first drug-rehabilitation centre, which cost Rs 5 crore, is left with just one patient in a sea of 100 beds. The footfall at Swami Vivekanada Drug De-addiction Centre (SVDDC) of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital here has increased but few detoxified patients are being motivated to go in for rehabilitation. Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal had said that the rehabilitation centre would serve patients from the nearby districts as well but from an all-time high of 30, their number has just kept going down. On Thursday, Amritsar deputy commissioner Varun Roojam, who is also head of the drug de-addiction and rehabilitation committee, sat his team down to make things work at the deserted facility. He tried solving the issue between chief medical officer Jai Singh and Dr PD Garg over who would take charge of treatment. Dr Garg told him he had been running the centre fine until orders from director principal secretary of the health department transferred the charge to the CMO. The members of the staff stopped taking me seriously and my job became tough. I need orders to take over again, he said. On the issue, CMO Jai Singh said Dr Garg was welcome to take over even at the Swami Vivekananda centre, which was under his operational control already. He is also head of the psychiatry department at Amritsar Medical College that could refer detoxified patients for rehabilitation. I have, in any case, been transferred and new the CMO is due to join, he said. The DC announced Dr Garg to take over again and revive the count of patients. I will write to the principal secretary for health that the doctors rapport with patient could motivate them to join rehabilitation, he said. Dr Garg said the Swami Vivekananda centre received 3,000-odd patients a month at 30 a day. In summer, the number goes up. Now that I have the charge again, Id be able to bring the patients back. Most of them have been detoxified of heroin (50%), opium, and alcohol, he said. He called for mass awareness about the rehabilitation centre, besides activities and skill-development courses for the patients. Private centres almost packed Bhatia Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, a private detoxification facility in Amritsar, receives 100 to 120 cases a day in the outpatient department (OPD) and 140 coming in for regular treatment. It has 15 patients in indoor care against a total bed capacity of 25. Another local private de-addiction facility Hermitage, which has 30 beds, has 28 rehabilitating addicts, including 19 fresh cases, all of who live with families and two counsellors. It newly built womens wing can house another 25 inmates. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who arrived in the city on Thursday morning to attend the funeral of his nephew Mandeep Singh Kohli, expressed displeasure over the poor condition of the city. After attending the funeral, Singh visited the residence of Congress MLA from Amritsar (west) Raj Kumar Verka to condole the death of his relative. Thereafter, he had a cup of tea at Congress MLA from Amritsar (central) OP Sonis residence, where he interacted with a handful of people, including a few reporters, prior to his departure to New Delhi. Singh seemed unhappy after seeing heaps of mud along the roadsides. Notably the roads are being dug up for the Rs 100-crore Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) a project of the SAD-BJP government that aims at providing dedicated corridors for local transport buses. Manmohan did say much, but seemed unhappy when Soni told him about the difficulties being faced by the people of the city due to the BRTS project work. Amritsar should have been developed on a priority bases. It is one of the important cities of Punjab, Manmohan said. Amritsar (urban) district Congress committee (DCC) chief Jugal Kishore Sharma told the former PM that barring the elevated road project that was sanctioned during his (Manmohan) government, no other project had been completed till date. The former Prime Minister, however, made no inquiries about the pending projects. As a couple of businessmen were also present, the former PM inquired about the state of business and industry in Amritsar. Punjab Beopar Mandal chief, Amritsar, Lal Jain, told Manmohan that business and industry in the city was in a bad state and in over the last 10-years a number of units had been shut down. Adding, a couple of other businessmen said the only way to improve the situation was to give Amritsar a special border area package on the lines of the one given to the industry in Himachal Pradesh. Replying to businessmen, Manmihan said, You know most of the development issues in Amritsar should be taken care by the state government. The Centre cannot do much in this. It is the duty of the state government to carry out development work here. Amritsar (rural) DCC chief Gurjit Singh Aujla and municipal corporation members Raj Kawal and Preet Pal Singh Lucky made a reference to the upcoming assembly polls in Punjab. But the former PM gave no response, apparently sending a message to a couple of other Congress leaders present that he was not here to discuss politics. More than two months after the body of an NRI, who was into property dealing in the district, was found in Sawara village in Kharar on March 16 with multiple stab wounds, the police have booked his wife Pawandeep Kaur (35) for murder and arrested four men who had planned the crime, including the contract killer. Police claim that Pawandeep, a mother of two staying in Toronto, had an estranged relationship with her husband, Jaskaran Singh (38) and also wanted to grab his property. The victim Jaskaran Singh and mastermind Pawandeep Kaur. (HT Photo) Police also claim she was also having an affair with two of the men involved in the murder. She had paid Rs 2.75 lakh to the killers and had promised another Rs 25 lakh. The accused have been identified as Lakhbir Singh (32), the contract killer; Davinder Singh alias Prince (25), Bhawanpreet Bhangu (25) and Gurpreet Singh alias Soni (25). Davinder holds a bachelors degree in computer applications (BCA) and worked with the Nawanshahr district transport office, Bhawanpreet Bhangu from Ropar is also a BCA; Gurpreet is a BCA and is a bus conductor at Ropar. Killer posed as property buyer On the day of the murder, contract killer Lakhbir approached Jaskaran as a property buyer and the duo decided to go take a round. At a vacant plot near the Government Middle School, Jaskaran was stabbed repeatedly with a knife and the body was dumped in the fields. His body was later spotted around 4am by a woman passerby. Pawandeep conspired to kill Jaskaran as they had an estranged relationship and she also wanted his property. The couple jointly owns a house in Toronto where she is presently living, said SAS Nagar senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar. He added that Pawandeep was having an affair with Gurpreet Singh alias Soni since 2013 and later also developed intimate relations with Bhangu, who introduced her to contract killer Lakhbir Singh. Money transfer, the major clue Bhullar added that since the murder appeared to be the work of a professional, from Day 1, the police did suspect the hand of a family member in crime and had been monitoring Pawandeep. Pawandeep transferred Rs 2 lakh to Bhangu through Western Union that alerted us. Another Rs 75,000 was sent directly to the account of contract killer Lakhbir, the SPP added. Killer fled to Delhi After the brutal murder, Lakhbir fled from the district to Delhi in the victims Swift Dzire that has been recovered from his possession. He had fitted a fake registration plate and kept on using the car. Mastermind wife did attend cremation In a brazen show of overconfidence, Pawandeep, along with her children, had even visited the Swara village to attend the last rites of Jaskaran. Even as the police investigation is on, she had returned to Canada on the plea that her children had their exams. In fact, the unsuspecting father of Jaskaran had requested the police to allow her to leave. We did suspect her, but did not have evidence to nail her. She was thus allowed to leave. We will approach the Canadian embassy for her arrest, the SSP added. Murder convict on parole is the killer Lakhbir is a double murder convict serving life term and came out on parole in 2012 from the Patiala Jail. He is a proclaimed offender and figures as accused in four other cases. Coming down heavily on the central government, the Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday observed that a syndicate was operating in Delhi to loot the states. The courts remarks came during the resumed hearing of a plea on delay in opening of CNG stations in Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar. Four Punjab citiesLudhiana, Khanna, Amritsar and Mandi Gobindgarh were among the worlds 25 most-polluted cities as per a WHO report released recently. The bench of justice SS Saron and justice Gurmit Ram was appalled to hear that around Rs 3,000 crore have been spent on the project but these cities are yet to get CNG stations. The CNG supply was to be initially in 2011. Whats the reason behind this bias against states? Dont you want to see them progress?...There is a syndicate in Delhi working on how to loot states, the high court bench observed while referring to the delay in opening of CNG stations, international flight operations at the Chandigarh airport and disbursal of subsidies. We want to know. Why it is so across the board, the high court bench observed as lawyers appearing on behalf of the central government cited various reasons for delay. Terming the attack on Sikh preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale the governments sinister design to muzzle opposing voices, the Punjab Congress on Friday demanded a special Vidhan Sabha session to discuss the law and order situation in the state. The Congress said it will stand by Dhadrianwale and build pressure on the government to crack the case at the earliest. After a half-an-hour-long closed-door meeting with Dhadrianwale at Gurdwara Parmeshar Dwar, 15 km from Patiala, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) vice-presidents Sunil Jakhar and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said: Dhadrianwale has been one of the fiercest voices against the government over the sacrilege issue at Bargari village in Faridkot district. By attacking him, an attempt is being made to muzzle the voice of those speaking against the state government. Read: Know Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale, and a spat with Taksal head The Congress leaders said their discussions with Dhadrianwale pointed towards the governments direct or indirect role in the attack on his cavalcade near Ludhiana on Tuesday. They said deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal should name the attackers, who managed to orchestrate the ambush in a busy district such as Ludhiana. Read: As Sukhbir meets him, Dhadrianwale: I know whos behind attack, govt must name PPCC chief spokesperson Jakhar said while everyone in the state is feeling unsafe, the special investigating teams probing the Bargari sacrilege, Namdhari matriarch Chand Kaurs murder and other similar incidents had failed to crack the cases. The state police are busy providing security to either sangat darshan programmes of the Badal family or providing gunmen to gangsters, while the common man is left at the mercy of goons. There is an attempt to create panic in Punjab. The Congress wants a special assembly session to discuss the prevailing law and order situation in the state, he said. Jakhar said when the Shiromani Akali Dal took the reins of the state from the Congress in 2007, there was no gangster in Punjab. Now, the director general of police has admitted that the state has 57 gangsters, who have nearly 500 aides. This is what Sukhbir Singh Badal has given to the state in past nine years, he said. Read: Assassination bid on Dhadrianwale: Probe points to role of Damdami Taksal supporters A case of negligence has been registered against the four policeman from whose custody six armed goons freed gangster Dilpreet Singh on Wednesday at a Balachaur highway eating joint. Armed goons attack police team in Nawanshahr, free gangster The cops were moving the criminal back to the Hoshiarpur central jail from Rupnagar after a drug case hearing when they stopped for lunch at Prince Deluxe Dhaba of Railmajra village on the Chandigarh highway and came under attack. The Kathgarh police have booked assistant sub-inspector Neel Kamal, besides head constables Gurdeep Singh, Balwinder Singh, and Jaspal Singh under Sections 223 (escape from confinement because of the negligence of public servants), 224 (obstructing lawful arrest), and 225 (resisting lawful arrest of another person) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The attackers had also taken away the squads mobile phones and a magazine of the AK-47 assault rifle. Within a few minutes, the goons had returned to the dhaba and taken away its surveillance camera recording system after hitting owner Sonu. Balachaur deputy superintendent of police DSP) Rajpal Singh Hundal said the registration number of one of the gangs two getaway cars had come out to be fake. The other car had not even a number plate. Superintendent of police (investigation) HPS Parmar had inspected the scene of crime. Gangster Dilpreet Singh is from Dhahan village in Rupnagar district. He is accused in 10 criminal cases, including attempt to murder and drug peddling. Police on Thursday identified the man who gave shelter to those who shot at the cavalcade of Sikh preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale on Burwal road here. One of the four persons arrested after the attack, Ludhiana resident Manjit Singh not only provided shelter to nearly two dozen attackers before and after the crime, but also helped them in setting up a fake chhabeel where Dhadrianwale was attacked, said police. The police on Wednesday had also rounded up Balkar Singh of Baba Bakala in Amritsar. Sources said he was driving one of the vehicles used by the attackers. After the interrogation of the accused, police have added sections 212 (harbouring accused) and 216 (harbouring accused who have escaped from custody) of the Indian Penal Code to the first information report (FIR) in the case. It was a meticulously executed attack. Manjit Singh, a watch repairer, was given the task of sheltering assailants. He also helped them in organising a fake chhabeel, said Ludhiana police commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh, adding that some more men have been rounded up. When asked if the accused are supporters of Damdami Taksaal head Harnam Singh Dhumma, Aulakh said police were looking into this aspect. The May 17 attack had left Dhadrianwales aide Bhupinder Singh dead. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Komagata Maru, a collective symbol of standing up to racial discrimination against Canadian immigrants, has found its way into cinema, literature and art. Filmmaker Ali Kazimi, who migrated from India to Canada in 1983, says: The Sikh community has led and continues to lead the struggle for recognition of the history of the Komagata Maru (1914 rejection of the Asian migrant ship), but it does fill me with dismay to sometimes see this history being defined in narrow religious terms. A 1889 poster luring immigrants to Canada. (HT Photo) Delhi-bred Kazimi (55), whose 2004 documentary film Continuous Journey based on the incident was acclaimed internationally as a story of immigration and injustice, about equal rights for all citizens as long as they are white-skinned. Extremely beautifully crafted and told, this is a film that shows historical footage in a way never seen before, is now chair of the department of cinema and media arts at York University, Toronto. Encounter with gatekeepers What inspired Kazimi to make the film? His reply in an online interview is: When I arrived in Toronto in 1983, I had an interesting encounter with an immigration officer, and that experience drove home the power of these individuals to act as gatekeepers for Canada. I also asked myself the simple question why was it that Canada had started describing itself as a multicultural country only recently? This led to an exploration of early immigration history and various forms of exclusions against so called Asiatics Chinese, Japanese and South Asians. Inevitably, the Komagata Maru appears in this history. Most Canadians, including communities from South Asia, were unaware of this history completely. Ali Kazimi and Tariq Malik. (HT Photo) special moment came for Kazimi at a conference commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Komagata Maru held at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, in 2014, when city-based academic professor Harish Puri stated publicly that the film had inspired a new wave of research. Several artists have acknowledged that watching Continuous Journey inspired them to engage with the history of the Komagata Maru, as have many academics. Taria Malik, who wrote the novel Forgotten Shores; painter Raghu Rao; musician Neelamjit Singh; and theatre director Ravi Jain are among the dozen-or-so creative people to have acknowledged this either publicly or in private. Kazimi also went on to do an illustrated history on the Komagata Maru called The Undesirables. Slice of history Vancouver-based novelist Tariq Malik (60), born and educated in Pakistani Punjab, also does not see the Komagata Maru episode related to any one community. The author of the well-appreciated book on the incident, Chanting Denied Shores (2010), says in an online exchange: The Sikhs have done a remarkable job of preserving and escalating awareness of the Komagata Maru event but this history does not belong solely to them. Agreed, most of the Komagata Maru passengers (340 of 376) were Sikh; but 24 Muslims and 12 Hindus were also on board. It is as much a Canadian history as any experienced by a local minority. Furthermore, the issues of official apologies on regional and national levels keep the event in the limelight. Before migrating to Canada in 1995, Tariq Malik worked for 20 years in Kuwait as a manufacturing quality manager. What was his Canadian experience and how did it inspire his novel? Malik replies: When I migrated to Canada in 1995, I was surprised to find so many Punjabis among the locals. I uncovered a long Canadian history that linked Punjab to British Columbia, stretching all the way back to 1880s. Central to this local history is the pivotal event of the Komagata Maru in the summer of 1914. No one had yet treated the subject as a source for a full-length novel. I hoped to raise awareness about this shameful incident of Canadian history beyond the great divide that separates our immigrant community from the established locals. Pride and prejudice When asked why this harking back to the Komagata Maru in Canada by writers, filmmakers, and others? Maliks answer is: I believe the injustices of the past cloud all our presents, and that there are obvious lessons to be learnt from such events. He adds: Racism and the resulting social injustices do not belong to the past alone. Even though modern Canada is an increasingly egalitarian society, the minorities, immigrants, and native societies here still struggle daily with the legacy of past prejudices. Posters blaming Delhi chief minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal for demolition of piao (water kiosk) at Gurdwara Sisganj Sahib in Delhi and equating him with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi have dotted SAS Nagar and Kharar, with signatures of Akhand Kirtani Jatha Amritsari (Urban) on them. These posters, having the pictures of both Indira Gandhi and Kejriwal, say the Delhi CM is towing the line of former PM Indira Gandhi. Taking a serious note of these forged posters, the local unit of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday complained about the matter to senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar. The party alleged these posters showing Kejriwal in a bad light were pasted in public places on the night of May 19. Talking to the media after meeting the SSP, party spokesperson and legal cell head Himmat Singh Shergill said, The posters depict false facts. This has been done under a deep-rooted political conspiracy against the party. We demand a thorough investigation as this conspiracy can hurt the religious harmony in the state, said Shergill, adding that some political outfits were afraid of the overwhelming response to the party in Punjab. Clarifying Kejriwal has nothing to do with the piao issue, Shergill also said the demolition was carried out by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-lead North Delhi municipal corporation (NDMC). Documents pertaining to the NDMC requesting the deputy commissioner of police, north district, Civil Lines Delhi, to provide adequate police force to raze piao and other religious structures in Chandni Chowk area have been attached with the complaint, said Shergill. Read: SAD flays Kejriwal govt over demolition of piao at Sis Ganj gurdwara Read: Kejriwal should apologise for hurting sikh sentiments: Majithia Demanding an FIR in the case, he said the culprits responsible for this criminal act should be arrested soon. He added the police should be more vigilant regarding activities that affect the religious harmony. AKHAND KIRTANI JATHA DISOWNS POSTERS RP Singh, chief spokesperson of Akhand Kirtani Jatha, in a statement has denied its involvement in putting up the posters. We are a religious organisation, and have nothing to do with the politics, and the posters that have been put up in the name of our branch, said RP Singh, while talking to HT. He added, This has been done to malign our name. We urge the government and the police to take appropriate action against the accused. News / Local by Stephen Jakes Harare Residents Trust has reported that the city of Harare will shut down Morton Jaffray water works on May 21 and 22 to facilitate the removal of obsolete equipment."The City of Harare wishes to advise residents of a scheduled complete shutdown of Morton Jaffray Water Works from 0600 hours on 21 to 22 May 2016," said the trust."The shutdown is to facilitate the removal of obsolete equipment and subsequent installation of new equipment."The trust said the city is taking advantage of the winter season when water usage is at its lowest to complete the retrofitting of the new equipment."Residents are urged to store adequate supplies before the shutdown and use the water sparingly," said the trust. The May 19 poll verdict in five states with the Congress losing Kerala and Assam and its alliances in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu facing a drubbing has upped the stakes for the party in Punjab. Its not only where it can hope for a rebound, salvaging Punjab is also important in terms of the perception game. Punjab is among the next lot of five states that go to polls early next year, including Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Goa and Uttarakhand. Unlike other poll-bound states, a loss in Punjab to the rookie Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will embolden the latter to challenge the Congress in other states where it is in opposition. The prospect of losing even the opposition slot to Arvind Kejriwals party that is working aggressively towards having a national footprint makes Punjab crucial to the very survival of the Congress in the country. This is why partys poll strategist Prashant Kishor is giving Punjab as much importance as Uttar Pradesh, if not more. In UP, much of Congress fortunes will depend on the alliances it is able to forge or if it at all plays a Gandhi as CM face card. Without that, even a reasonable performance will be good enough seeing that the party has been reduced to its lowest tally of 28 in the 2012 state polls. Though the Congress government in Uttarakhand has been able to survive a floor test and a coup attempt, it will have to battle strong anti-incumbency to romp home. Though the party had braced for the worst, the May 19 verdict will hit the Congress prospects in Punjab even as the personal stakes for Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh, who has announced it to be his last election, have gone up by several notches. Recent surveys have predicted a perceptible wave in favour of the AAP. The Panthic-rural appeal of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) coupled with its president Sukhbir Badals poll management make it a party that cannot be written off on the ground of two-term anti-incumbency. It may also gain from split in anti-incumbency votes between the Congress and the AAP. In the face of it all, the Congress is still hoping for redemption after two successive poll drubbings. Unlike the AAP, in Amarinder, the party has a CM candidate, never mind the timing of his announcement as one. Not averse to playing second fiddle in alliances with regional parties in Tamil Nadu and Bihar, in Punjab, the Congress has managed to merge smaller parties such as Peoples Party of Punjab and SAD (Longowal) into it though the Left and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have not responded positively to Amarinders call for a grand alliance, the recent election results may change that. Full-throttle campaign from June The poll verdict, however, failed to dampen spirits of the party. Congress Bhawan in Chandigarh remained abuzz with activity the whole day as the party prepared for a onslaught on the AAP from June with members of its different cells and frontal organisations. Some were even distributing sweets after their inclusion in the recent list of state executive. The Congress knew it will have to start from zero after the poll verdict on May 19. Our campaign will take off after we hit rock bottom, a senior Congress functionary said. Kishor is learnt to have decided to launch the campaign full throttle from June after the May 19 verdict. Roping in both its central and state leadership, the party will try to counter AAPs Punjab Dialogue by engaging people in deciding Punjabs agenda. Though it claims AAPs Punjab Jodo campaign has fizzled out, it will go village-to-village, door-to-door from next month to cover each household. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Four more arrests in Tuesdays murderous attack on Sikh preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadarianwale that killed one of his aides took the count of accused to eight on Friday. Police explore their links with the radical Damdami Taksal of Harnam Singh Dhumma. Police commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh confirmed that the accused Sukhwinder Singh Sonu of Amritsars Gahiri village, Manveer Singh Mahant of Hissowal (Sudhar, Ludhiana), Gurpreet Singh Gopi of Daluwala near Haridwar in Uttrakhand, and Satnam Singh of Moranwali in Faridkot would be interrogated about possible links with Dhumma. Well seek their police custody from court on Saturday to be able to know the motive, said Aulukh. Police at the spot where the cavalcade of Sikh preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale was attacked in Ludhiana on Tuesday. (HT File Photo) The followers of Dhumma are believed to have carried out the attack over a verbal spat on the social media with the Dhadrianwale faction. Accused Sukhwinder Singh now lives at Amritsars Chowk Mehta, where Dhumma has his dera. Police claim that all the accused have accepted their hand in the crime and led them to the Tata Safari car that a surveillance camera had captured fleeing the crime scene on May 17. Aulakh said police had trapped the four new accused at Kishangarh Adda on the Jalandhar-Pathankot road on their way in from Bhogpur. Another four accused were arrested on May 18. Sources said they had surrendered but had been shown as arrested. Police have the custody of the first four till Monday (May 23). Dhadrianwale took cover in police mess Dodging death and racing away from the hail of bullets fired at his vehicle on Tuesday (May 17), Sikh preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale had taken shelter in a Ludhiana police mess for two hours. Senior police officers who had moved to the scene of crime on the Barewal road had escorted Dhadrianwale to the mess. The body of Narinder Kumar, the guide accompanying seven youths from Punjab whose Mahindra Bolero SUV was washed away in a flashflood on May 10 following a cloudburst in the Loti Khad near Sunni, 65 km from here, was recovered from the Sutlej on Thursday. Narinder Kumar alias Titu was washed away with four youths from Nawanshahr in Punjab while three were rescued the same day. He hailed from Nepal whose family was settled in Tihri Garhwal of Uttarakhand. He was working as a guide-cum-rafting assistant with a local service provider. Earlier, a 28-member National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team had called off it search operation, saying the possibility of recovering the bodies in the river was bleak. On Thursday, some rafters spotted a body floating in the Sutlej near Sunni around 11:30am. They informed the police and the body was taken out. It was later identified as that of Narinder Kumar. Police officials said the deceaseds family has been informed. They are reaching here tomorrow. After postmortem, body will be handed over to them, an official said. Shimla deputy commissioner Rohan Chand Thakur said the district administration had launched the search operation to locate the bodies in the Loti Khad and surrounding areas. We put our efforts but as experts said the bodies were in the river and will come up after some time, Thakur said. On Wednesday, around six dozen villagers from Ranewal and Chahrmajra villages in Nawanshahr district of Punjab had arrived to search the bodies of the missing youth. After realising that the possibility of bodies in the debris are low, villagers have returned to their native place. Four of the missing tourists have been identified as Sharanpreet Singh (22), Hardeep Singh (20), Evanjot Singh (20) from Ranewal; Amanpreet Singh (20) of Chahrmajra in Nawanshahr. Two minor youths have been booked for allegedly murdering their minor friend in a village in the district. 14-year-old Dilpreet Singh, a resident of Ferozeshah village, and a student of Class-8 in a government school, went missing on Sunday evening. Sukhdarshan Singh, father of the minor, filed a police complaint following which a case of kidnapping was registered against Hardev, 15, and Swarnjit, 15 , both friends of Dilpreet, besides three others, including a minor girl. During the preliminary probe, Hardev and Swarnjit informed the police that Dilpreet went to meet his girl friend in the same village on Sunday late evening, so he might have been kidnapped or murdered by the family of that girl. However, the police found nothing against the girl and her family. Later on, during intense interrogation, the duo broke down and allegedly confessed to have murdered Dilpreet. They had some grudges against Dilpreet and, on Sunday evening, they called him on the pretext they would arrange his meeting with the girl. They mixed some drugs into the liquor which was consumed by Dilpreet. When Dilpreet got unconscious, the duo tied his arms and legs and, after causing some injuries with a sharp- edged weapon, threw him into the Rajasthan feeder canal, said Manminder Singh, SSP, Ferozepur. The body of the victim was recovered from the canal near Sukha village in Muktsar on Wednesday evening and on Thursday, it was handed over to his family after postmortem, added Vibhore Sharma, DSP, Ferozepur. The kidnapping case, registered earlier, has is now been changed to murder. We are also looking into the role of the girl, her father and one of their relatives, said the DSP. A schoolteacher of this steel town in Jharkhand was robbed of Rs 4.5 lakh by a Facebook friend, a suspected US national who has befriended her through the social media platform. The complainant, Mahrukh Ram Patel, told police on Wednesday night that an American man, Michael Morgan, and an associate asked her to deposit Rs 4.5 lakh to get development funds and equipment such as laptops and washing machines for her school. His aide, Sangita Chowdhary, who posed as an official in the Delhi customs office, called the teacher on March 21 and asked her to deposit Rs 50,000 to complete the formalities for some gifts and Rs 64 lakh from Morgan. She also asked for Rs 98,000 for an anti-terrorist clearance certificate. Patel did what she was asked without checking the credentials of the people offering such huge donations, police said. Chowdhary asked her again on March 23 to deposit Rs 22 lakh into an account UTR No-CBINR 5201604710002586 but since the amount was too big, the teacher checked with Morgan. He apparently told her that Rs 3 lakh would do and she obliged. Since then, there has been no word from them. The teacher then lodged an FIR with Olidih police station against the duo who was almost regularly in contact with her from February 29 to April 8. Cyber robberies are not uncommon in Jharkhand as people in Jamshedpur alone have lost more than Rs 20 crore since 2013 to such criminals. In fact, records in the states lone cyber police station in Ranchi reveal such crimes have increased considerably from 172 cases in 2014 to 221 in 2015 across Jharkhand. Jharkhand director general of police DK Pandey said on Thursday that Jamshedpur required a dedicated cyber police station to ease the load on the Ranchi cell. The lone cyber PS in Ranchi is looking after the entire state. If the Jamshedpur deputy commissioner and SSP present a proposal approved by the Kolhan commissioner and deputy inspector general, we will seriously consider it, he said. Cyber crime investigation is a specialised domain as it involves catching criminals hiding inside a vast online web. Weve detected many cases such as the arrest of a Nigerian from Mumbai in October last year. At present all such cases are being handled by our technical cell. But it is burdened with other cases needing assistance such as tracking mobile phones, Jamshedpur SSP Anoop T Matthew said. Jamshedpur police arrested 33-year-old Onumajaru Chukwudi alias James Bennett, a resident of Nigerias Kano, in Mumbai for cheating Manoj Kumar, a businessman from Adityapur of Seraikela-Kharsawan district, of Rs 12 lakh. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Chantal Detimmerman weeps at the funeral parlour as she spends a last few moments with her beloved Chico who has been prepared for cremation and laid out in a dog basket. That is no disrespect for Chico. Curled up as if asleep, with a garland of flowers around one paw, the Chihuahua is getting a high-class send-off at Animatrans, a funeral home that claims to be the first in Belgium to cater exclusively for pets. I loved him so much that I decided to keep his ashes, to always have Chico next to me, Detimmerman said. Graves of pets at a cemetery for animals in Aywaille, Belgium. (REUTERS) Other customers choose to turn their dead pets into an even more tangible reminder. Arthur was a special duck, said Myrian Waeles, who nuzzles her nose against the mallards green head as she poses for photographs, at her home in nearby Lennik, a town west of Brussels. Arthur stares ahead with the same expression he has had for the last eight years, since he died and Waeles took him to Animatrans to be stuffed. The company also makes death masks, casting an impression of an animals face in long-lasting resin. The body of Chico, a Chihuahua, in a decorated basket at the Samsara Eternity crematory for animals in Soignies, in Belgium. (REUTERS) He was always waiting for me at the door when I came home, walking next to me in the living room, Waeles said of her duck. Having Arthur, stuffed next to me, comforts me. Patrick Pendville set up the funeral service after seeing first-hand what animal disposal often looks, and smells, like. Patrick Pendville, founder of Animatrans, adjusts coffins made for animals at his shop in Brussels, Belgium. (REUTERS) Dropping a dead dog off at an animal rendering plant, a guard instructed him to unpack the carcass, remove its collar, and throw the body into a two-metre-high (seven-foot) container swarming with flies, among other animal remains. Pendville says his company which charges between 35 and 350 euros for a cremation provides a humane way for people to say goodbye to animals they feel were part of the family. But by law it is classified as a processor of hazardous waste. I totally refuse (that) name, he said. I eagerly wait for when a pet is considered to be sentient and not an expired common commodity when it dies. Follow @htlifeandstyle for more. A body of nurses today lodged a complaint against stand-up comedian and actor Kapil Sharma for allegedly depicting nursing profession in bad light and demanded an apology from him. The All India Government Nurses Federation today lodged a police complaint with the North Avenue Police Station in New Delhi district expressing their resentment over derogatory representation of nurse in an episode of a private television show aired on a popular TV channel, sources said. In the complaint, the federation has demanded that all versions of the episode (broadcast on May 7 and 8), in which a popular Bollywood actor was the chief guest, be removed from all platforms, including the internet. (Twitter) In the complaint, the federation has demanded that all versions of the episode (broadcast on May 7 and 8), in which a popular Bollywood actor was the chief guest, be removed from all platforms, including the internet. Read: Nurses damn The Kapil Sharma Show as sexist, vulgar. So, whats new? It also demanded a public apology from the stand-up comedian and actor and two others associated with the channel and the programme, the source added. Two days ago, nursing and paramedical staff of government Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Amritsar, which is Sharmas hometown, had staged a demonstration over the issue. Later, a nurse association there had lodged a police complaint too. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Sargun Mehta has been keeping a lot busy lately, thanks to her budding film career and this makes her miss her husband actor Ravi Dubey. Whether I am in Punjab or in Canada, I miss Ravi a lot . Apart from that I feel that I adjust pretty well wherever I am shooting and I enjoy the experience of shooting a lot. I would get involved a lot in my work. I dont miss home if he is also travelling. I miss Ravi and for me my home is Ravi, says Mehta, who tied knot with Dubey in 2013. Read: Balika Vadhu actor Sargun Mehta opens up about her big fat Indian wedding Mehta made her film debut with Punjabi film Angrez (2015) which got her positive response. Asked if she is planning to take up Bollywood projects any time soon? I dont plan anything for myself. I always say let God follow his plan and everything will fall in place and I know that whatever happens, will happens for the best, she says. Actor Sargun Mehta with her husband Ravi Dubey. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON News / Local by Staff Reporter Mwenezi is the poorest district in Masvingo, according to statistics released by the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development Willard Manungo.Masvingo Mirror reported that Mwenezi tops the household poverty prevalence rate with 79, 4% of its inhabitants being poor, while 26, 2% of them are extremely poor.Masvingo is rated the 8th least poor province in Zimbabwe with Matebeleland North being the poorest followed by Mashonaland Central.The information was made known to participants at an Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy (IPRSP) held at a Masvingo hotel on Tuesday.The meeting was attended by several high-ranking officials including the Provincial Administrator for Masvingo, Felix Chikovo, District Administrators, traditional chiefs, the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), representatives from various ministries and the informal sector.These figures are contained in a survey of the poverty prevalence rates for the nation, provinces and districts. The results which were obtained from the survey conducted for the period between 2011 and 2012 are acting as a guide in the ministry's current nationwide consultative meetings.Mwenezi is followed by Bikita (70,9% poor people;20,6% extremely poor), Zaka (70,7% poor;9,6% extremely poor),Chivi(67,3% poor;9,2% extremely poor) Gutu (65,6% poor;13,7% extremely poor), Chiredzi (64,4 poor; 15,3% extremely poor),while Masvingo Rural has the least poverty prevalence rate of 59,7% who are poor and 14,4% are extremely poor.At national level, Matabeleland North province tops the least in household poverty prevalence where 81, 7% are poor, while 36, 9% are rated as being extremely poor. Mashonaland Central is second in terms of poverty prevalence, followed by Mashonaland West, while Masvingo is ranked eighth in terms of poverty prevalence rate, according figures presented at the meeting by the National Coordinator of the Poverty Reduction Consultation Programme, Dr. Jesimen Chipika. A 42-year-old Sherpa woman from the US reached the summit of Mount Everest for the seventh time on Friday, breaking her own record as the most successful female climber on the worlds tallest peak. Lhakpa Sherpa, who was born in Nepal and is now based in Connecticut, reached the 8,848-metre peak from the Tibetan side early on Friday morning, her expeditions organiser said. She reached the summit at 5 am along with 17 other climbers from our team. They are on their way down to the Advanced Base Camp, Rajeev Shrestha of Kathmandu-based 7 Summits Adventure told Hindustan Times. Sherpa, a permanent resident of the US who works as a cashier in a convenience store and is also a housekeeper, reached the peak for the first time in 2000. She repeated her feat five more times by 2006. After staying away from the peak for almost a decade to raise her children, she attempted to better her record last year. But was forced to abandon her attempt when an avalanche triggered by the April 25 earthquake claimed 19 lives on the Nepal side of the mountain and led to all expeditions being suspended. The record for most successful ascents of Everest is held by two Sherpa men born in Nepal - Apa Sherpa and Phurba Tashi Sherpa - who have reached the peak 21 times. More than 40 climbers reached the summit from the Nepal side on Friday, taking the total number of successful climbers this season to more than 330. From May 11 to May 16, 88 climbers had reached the peak. Another 202 more scaled it on Thursday. More than 40 were successful on Friday and we are expecting over 80 more summits on Saturday, Gyanendra Shrestha, a tourism department official, told Hindustan Times on phone from the Everest Base Camp. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A massive search was under way for an EgyptAir plane that disappeared over the Mediterranean with 66 people on board, with suspicions swiftly focusing on a terrorist motive. Read: Terror angle probed in missing EgypAir plane Egypts aviation minister said that while it was too soon to say why the Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo had vanished from radar screens, a terrorist attack would be a more likely scenario than a technical failure. The tragedy raised fears of a repeat of the bombing of a Russian passenger jet by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group over Egypt last October that killed all 224 people on board. Read: EgyptAir plane fell 22,000 feet, swerved sharply: Greek minister The plane disappeared between the Greek islands and the Egyptian coast in the early hours of Thursday morning, without its crew sending a distress signal. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the aircraft had swerved sharply twice in Egyptian airspace before plunging 22,000 feet (6,700 metres) and disappearing from radar screens. Both Egypt and Greece dispatched aircraft and naval vessels on a major search mission. They were expected to be joined by French teams, while the US sent a surveillance plane to help with the operation. Read: Terror attack most likely scenario for EgyptAir disappearance: Experts Egypts President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi demanded an intensified search for the aircraft after reports that wreckage from the plane had been found were retracted. EgyptAir initially said on its Twitter account that the Egyptian authorities had recovered wreckage from the missing aircraft but the head of the Greek air safety authority told AFP that debris found close to the area where the jet went down did not come from a plane. Read:EgyptAir plane carrying 66 people crashes off Greek island: 10 developments French President Francois Hollande said the plane had crashed, as authorities in both Paris and Cairo opened investigations. Egypts Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said he was unable to deny the hypothesis of a terrorist attack or something technical. The airline said 15 French citizens were among the 26 foreign passengers on the plane, who also included a Briton and at least one Canadian. Both France and Egypt have come under attack by IS jihadists in the past year, and Hollande promised a comprehensive probe into the cause of the crash. IS has been waging a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security forces and last October claimed the bombing of the Russian airliner flying home holidaymakers from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. - No distress call - In the United States, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said its too early to definitively say what may have caused this disaster. The catastrophe also entered the US presidential election campaign, where national security is shaping up a prominent issue. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said it appeared to be yet another terrorist attack, adding When will we get tough, smart and vigilant? His likely Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton agreed that it does appear that it was an act of terrorism and once again shines a very bright light on the threats that we face from organised terror groups. A Greek aviation source said the flight had disappeared from Greek radar at around 0029 GMT. It crashed around 130 nautical miles off the island of Karpathos, the source told AFP, referring to an island northeast of Crete. Greek civil aviation chief Constantinos Litzerakos said the pilot had mentioned no problem in the last communication before the plane disappeared, and it had not deviated from its course. The flight controllers contacted the pilot at a height of 37,000 feet (near Athens)... he did not mention a problem, Litzerakos told Greeces Antenna TV. Neither the Greek coastguard nor the navy could confirm reports that a passing ship had seen a ball of fire in the sky. The civil aviation chief said if there had been an explosion, any debris would have been scattered across a wide area. EgyptAirs Adel also said there had been no distress call before the plane vanished. - Two babies - The passengers also included two Iraqis and one citizen from each of Algeria, Belgium, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, as well as 30 Egyptians, the airline said. They included a boy and two babies. Seven crew members and three security men were also on board. EgyptAir said the plane had been manufactured in 2003. Airbus said it had clocked up 48,000 flight hours. EgyptAir hit the headlines in March when a flight from the coastal city of Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to divert to Cyprus, where the hijacker, who was described as unstable, demanded to see his ex-wife. Last October, foreign governments issued travel warnings for Egypt and demanded a review of security at its airports after IS downed the Russian airliner with what it said was a bomb concealed in a soda can that had been smuggled into the hold. China on Friday warned Taiwans new President Tsai Ing-wen against seeking independence soon after she made her inaugural speech, in which she spoke of maintaining stable relations but left out any reference to consensus on the one China policy. Taiwan is perceived as a breakaway province by China, which believes reunification is inevitable and a task that is left over. In her speech soon after taking oath as Taiwans first woman president, Tsai said her administration will work to maintain existing mechanisms for dialogue and communication across the Taiwan Straits. She did not mention the 1992 consensus, a reference to a meeting held that year when leaders from the two countries decided to maintain the one China policy without clearly defining parameters. She mentioned the 1992 meeting without using the word consensus, saying the two sides had reached various joint acknowledgments and understandings. Tsai, who heads the Democratic Progressive Party that is considered to be at least nominally against reunification, also referred to trade ties and said her administration will attempt to move away from over dependence on one economy. The Chinese government was quick to react to her speech. Taiwan independence remains the biggest menace to peace across the Taiwan Straits and the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations, said a statement issued by Beijing. Should Taiwan independence be attempted, there would be no peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, it warned. We will resolutely forestall any separatist action or attempt for 'Taiwan independence' of any form. The Chinese mainland's Taiwan affairs authority described Tsais remarks on relations across the Taiwan Straits as an incomplete answer sheet. Tsai was ambiguous on the fundamental issue of the nature of cross-Straits relations, an issue that is of utmost concern to people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, the authority said in the statement. There was no explicit recognition of the 1992 Consensus and its core implications, and no proposal of concrete ways to ensure the peaceful and stable development of cross-Straits relations, it added. After foreign office minister Hugo Swire ridiculed ministerial colleague Priti Patel for linking a severe shortage of chefs in Indian restaurants to immigration from within the EU, it was the turn on Friday of senior Labour MP Keith Vaz to take her on. Patel, who is minister of state for employment and one of six ministers in the David Cameron government in the Brexit camp, believes it is unfair that restaurant owners cannot recruit from the Indian subcontinent while chefs from Europe can move to Britain freely. She said on Wednesday: Our curry houses are becoming the victims of the European Union uncontrolled immigration rules. By voting to leave the EU we can take back control of our immigration policies, save our curry houses and join the rest of the world. After Swire remarked Patel was making up Home Office policy on the hoof, Vaz, who has often espoused the cause of Indias restaurant industry, reacted with fury. So I was furious to see Priti Patel claiming that leaving the EU and shutting the door on immigrants from Poland and elsewhere would save Britains curry houses. This is divide and rule politics of the worst kind, he said. The truth is that the stoking of anti-Eastern European sentiment is a new form of racism that is no less bad than that experienced by previous waves of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. I will defend to the hilt the right of those who come here and contribute to our society, wherever they come from. Giving in to rhetoric that sets one community against another would be to take a step towards a less tolerant and more mean-spirited Britain, Vaz said. Vaz accused Patel of not acting on demands that, as employment minister, she could easily lower the salary threshold required to recruit chefs from the Indian subcontinent. This (curry crisis) could easily be solved in a stroke of Priti Patels pen by lowering the minimum salary requirement for chefs, something I have campaigned for long with MPs from all parties. But Priti Patel has failed to address this vital issue and is now conveniently using the EU as a scapegoat, he said. The curry industry in Britain is worth more than 3.6 billion and employs more than 100,000 people. It is deeply alarming that on average two curry houses are closing every week. But this has nothing to do with the EU and everything to do the policies espoused by Priti Patel, who just happens to be an employment minister and the Governments diaspora champion, Vaz added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON With Bernie Sanders determined to take the battle to the last ballot, a very assertive Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton declared in an interview on Thursday she will be the party nominee. She said in the same CNN interview her Republican rival, Donald Trump, was not qualified to be president. Displaying rare aggression and assertion, Clinton told the CNN interviewer: I will be the nominee for my party That is already done in effect. There is no way that I wont be. Clinton does indeed have an insurmountable lead over Sanders in the count of delegates with 2,293, she is merely 89 delegates short of the 2,393 needed to clinch the ticket. Sanders trails with 1,533, but he is hoping to close the gap in pledged delegates to take the fight to the party convention in July and pitch himself to unpledged delegates. In a nominating system typical to the Democratic party, candidates collect pledged delegates from the primaries and caucuses they win through the course of the contest. These delegates are considered pledged, bound, to the candidates. Unpledged delegates, also called superdelegates, are not tied to anyone and are free to back anyone they choose. They are past and present presidents, vice-presidents, elected members of the senate and the House and party officials. Clinton has already secured the support of 525 of the total of 712. Sanders, who has only 39 so far, is hoping to re-pitch himself to them if he can close the gap sufficiently among unpledged delegates, arguing he is the better candidate. For now, he is making his case to Democratic party voters citing polls that show him beating Trump in head-to-head match-ups by wider margins than Clinton. He beats Trump 50.6% to 39.4% in the RealClearPolitics average of polls, doing far better than Clinton, who beats the Republican 45.8% to 42.7%. But Clinton is confident she will win; in fact, she already has it in the bag, she insisted in the interview, pivoting to focus her attention on the general election and her rival. When asked if she though Trump was qualified to be president, she said he is not and went on to use words such as dangerous, irresponsible and reckless for him and his comments. Trump hit back later, questioning her credentials for being president saying in a tweet: I said that Crooked Hillary Clinton is not qualified to be president because she has very bad judgement. He added: Bernie said the same thing! Does a sprinkling of stardust influence voter behaviour? No, says academic research, but leading lights from the world of art, film and literature including Mumbai-born Anish Kapoor appealed to the British public on Friday to remain in the EU. As rival camps prepare to despatch millions of leaflets in Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu to Indian-origin voters before the June 23 referendum on Britains future in the European Union, nearly 300 actors, authors and leaders of Britains creative industries issued an appeal through a letter to The Daily Telegraph. It said: The referendum forces us to look in the mirror and ask ourselves: what kind of nation do we want to be? Are we outward-looking and open to working with others to achieve more? Or do we close ourselves off from our friends and neighbours at a time of increasing global uncertainty? From the smallest gallery to the biggest blockbuster, many of us have worked on projects that would never have happened without EU funding or collaborating across borders. Britain is not just stronger in the EU, it is more imaginative and creative. Our global creative success would be severely weakened by walking away. Signatories included Anoushka Shankar, Benedict Cumberbatch, Danny Boyle, Jude Law, Helena Bonham-Carter, Hilary Mantel, Ian McEwan, Jatinder Verma, Keira Knightley, Michael Morpurgo, Asif Kapadia, Nitin Sawhney and Carol Ann Duffy. The letter said: And what would Out really mean? Leaving the EU would be a leap into the unknown for millions of people in the UK who work in the creative industries, and for the millions more at home and abroad who benefit from the vibrancy of Britains cultural sector. From the Bard to Bowie, British creativity inspires the world. We believe being part of the EU bolsters Britains leading role on the world stage. Lets not become an outsider shouting from the wings. Prime Minister David Cameron visited Londons Abbey Road Studios on Friday and said: When it comes to creativity, British talent and expertise has made this country the envy of the world. Whether it is music or film, art or video games, the UK leads Europe. More than most, this is a sector that thrives on being open to the world outside. The results of Creative Industries Federations survey are clear: we are better off in a reformed European Union than out on our own. To leave would be a leap in the dark. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON While the highlight of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the US in June will be his meeting with President Barack Obama, equally significant will be an unprecedented engagement with American lawmakers. Modi will not only address a joint meeting of Congress, as announced before, but also stay back to meet leaders of the two parties and, in a first for an Indian leader, attend a formal lunch hosted for him by House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan. He meets Obama on June 7, the first day of his two-day visit, according to simultaneous announcements on Friday by the external affairs ministry in New Delhi and the White House in Washington. The external affairs ministry said the main purpose of the visit will be to consolidate the progress made in diverse areas such as economy, energy, environment, defence and security, and to intensify cooperation for the future. The White House said Modis visit will highlight the deepening of the US-India relationship in key areas since the Presidents visit to New Delhi in January 2015. Obama and Modi have met several times since, most famously at the signing of the historic climate change accord in Paris last year and at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington in March-April. The two leaders expect to pick up from their last conversations, according to the White House statement, which said Obama looks forward to discussing progress made on our climate change and clean energy partnership, security and defence cooperation, and economic growth priorities. Modi goes to Capitol Hill on June 8 for the engagement with lawmakers that has been described as both unprecedented and about time by sources. India enjoys unparalleled bipartisan support in Congress the India Caucus, which is co-chaired Republicans and Democrats, is the largest country-specific grouping on the Hill. It was time to recognise that support and reciprocate. The US Congress has been a source of strength for the India-US strategic partnership and the India Congressional Caucus is the largest such group in the US Congress, the external affairs ministry said. The last Indian prime minister to address Congress was Manmohan Singh in 2005 those before were Rajiv Gandhi (1985), PV Narasimha Rao (1994) and Atal Bihari Vajpayee (2000). But none of them got a formal lunch at the Capitol Hill, said a congressional source. Ryan is hosting one for the Prime Minister shortly after the joint meeting. Ryan is also hosting a meeting of leaders from both parties from the Senate and the House of Representatives with Modi. Modis day on the Hill wraps up with a large public reception hosted for him jointly by the foreign affairs committees of the Senate and the House. Congress is rolling out the red carpet for the prime minister, said a source. But he is reciprocating with noticeably equal enthusiasm by agreeing to these engagements. Read: US Congress formally invites Modi to address joint session on June 8 Ignoring objections of the White House, the Republican majority House of Representatives has approved the National Defense Authorisation Act that blocks $450 million aid to Pakistan for failing to take action against the dreaded Haqqani network. The NDAA 2017 (H R 4909) was passed by the US House of Representative (277-147) on Wednesday night. The act included the approval of three major amendments reflecting the strong anti-Pak sentiment prevailing among the US lawmakers. As a result, as per the House version of the Bill, the Obama administration must certify that Pakistan has met before releasing $450 million in aid. Read: After F-16 episode, Pakistan says downward slide in US ties Congressman Dana Rohrabachers amendment adds an additional requirement that the secretary of defence certify to Congress that Pakistan is not using its military or any funds or equipment provided by the US to persecute minority groups seeking political or religious freedom. The NDAA-2017 also includes the sense of the Congress that Shakil Afridi is an international hero and that the Government of Pakistan should release him immediately from prison. NDAA-2017 now needs to be passed by the Senate, before it can be sent to the White House for the US President Barack Obama to sign it into law. Early this week, the White House had expressed strong objections to several provisions of the bill, including the one related to $450 million in aid to Pakistan. The Administration objects to section 1212 (of HR 4919), which would make USD 450 million of CSF (Coalition Support Fund) to Pakistan ineligible for the Secretary of Defenses waiver authority unless the Secretary provides a certification to the Congressional defense committees, the White House said in its statement. We share the Committees concerns regarding the threat posed to our forces and interests in Afghanistan by the Haqqani Network, and we continue to engage with Pakistan at the highest levels regarding the need for concerted action specifically against the group, the White House said. However, Congressman Mark Thornberry, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee late on Wednesday night decided to ignore the White Houses objection to this and asked the members of the House to approve these amendments in block, for which no voting took place. Read: NYT calls Pak duplicitous, backs hold on F-16 subsidy Image courtesy of WGBH Thirty years after the former 13 American colonies abandoned the Articles of Confederation in order to form a more perfect Union and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, slavery still existed within the United States. Its eventual demise was assumed to be not far beyond the horizon; every Northern state had abolished slavery, and Congress had prohibited it in the Northwest Territories. But the development of the cotton gin made possible more efficient methods of processing cotton fiber. Increased demand for cotton required ever-greater growing areas, necessitating increased use of slave labor in the South; Northern textile mills also depended upon those Southern slaves to keep cotton fibers flowing northward. By 1830, slaves represented the largest financial asset in American societymore than all the manufacturing and transportation industries put together. Only the land itself surpassed the combined worth of slave property. Those observations come early in The Abolitionists, a new, three-part series from American Experience on PBS, directed by Rob Rapley (Freedom Riders, The Supreme Court, Wyatt Earp). The first installment of The Abolitionists airs Tuesday, January 8, from 9:00 to 10:00 pm ET. The second and third parts follow on January 15 and 22. As always, check your local PBS listings for times in your area. The series explores the lives of five of the most prominent voices of the abolition movement, but more importantly it examines the rise, fracturing, decline, and resurgence of what was arguably the most important social crusade in all of American history. It tells its story in a compelling mannerthis reviewer watched all three episodes back to back and was never boredand leaves viewers with a deeper understanding of the conflicting approaches to ending slavery in America. The format is well-trod ground: narration while old photos and documents fade in and out; dramatic re-enactments of some key events; commentary from a few historians. This recipe has proven successful many times, and it works particularly well in this series. The talking head sequences are well-spaced throughout instead of dominating the production, and what makes The Abolitionists so watchable is the acting by those portraying historic figures, including Angelina Grimke (played by Jeanine Serralles), Frederick Douglass (Richard Brooks), William Lloyd Garrison (Neal Huff), John Brown (T. Ryder Smith), and Harriet Beecher Stowe (Kate Lyn Sheil). The five represent a disparate group. Grimke was born into a slave-owning family of the South Carolina aristocracy, but she leaves the South because of her opposition to slavery. Douglass was a slave who escaped to freedom and became an inspiring figure for both white abolitionists and blacks who hoped to find freedom and / or rise in society. Garrison found his spiritual fulfillment as publisher of the most prominent abolition newspaper, The Liberator. Unlike Garrison, who staunchly advocated non-violent evangelism as the means of ending slavery (lead slave owners to redemption by getting them to renounce the peculiar institution), John Brown became the face of violent opposition to slavery, a saintly martyr to abolitionists but the devil incarnate to slave owners and others who opposed the fanaticism of abolition. It was Harriet Beecher Stowe, however, who discovered the way to swell the ranks of abolitionists was not through logical appeals nor violence but by touching their heartstrings, as she did with Uncle Toms Cabin. Viewers whose knowledge of the abolition movement is limited to the surface material they learned in school will likely be surprised by some of the information presented in this series. Northern mobs threatened Garrisons life, and in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, a mob set fire to a prominent building the night after Angelina Grimke spoke within it. White firemen stood by, watching it burn. While Uncle Toms Cabin is well known, many Americans are unfamiliar with Slavery As It Is, a powerful compilation of slave abuse taken from the words of slave owners themselves (I burnt her with a hot iron.) published by Grimke and her husband. Perhaps the information that will most surprise viewers is that within the space of five months President Abraham Lincoln declared the Civil War was not about slavery; he suggested all blacks should leave the U.S., because he despaired of them ever having equality here; proposed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves in rebel territory; and offered a peace plan to Congress that would have guaranteed Southerners they could retain their slaves until 1900 if they would lay down their arms. The confusing signals coming from the president led Garrison to deplore Lincolns association with the white trash of Kentucky, which had left him with nothing noble or uplifting in his character. Douglass went even further, declaring Lincoln was a genuine representative of American prejudice and Negro hatred. Rather curiously, the program never mentions that, as a legislator in Illinois, Lincoln voted with the majority to condemn the agitation of abolition societies, then promptly offered a bill mollifying the language of the previous bill. There is also not much by way of explaining why slavery was so ingrained in America, especially in the South, beyond the economic considerations. The focus of the program admittedly is the abolitionists, but spending a little more time discussing the political considerations, religious and social beliefs that underpinned the peculiar institution would have enhanced viewers understanding of why so many Americans, South and North, opposed abolition so intensely. Apart from those points, The Abolitionists succeeds in telling the story of the abolition movement and the gradual shifts in public opinion that ultimately allowed abolitionists to achieve their goal of freedom for all Americans. Highly recommended. John Brown (T. Ryder Smith) tries to persuade Frederick Douglass (Richard Brooks) to join his planned assault on Harpers Ferry as Shields Green (Thomas Coleman) looks on. Courtesy WGBH and Antony Platt. Jefferson Davis Mexican War exploits led directly to the Confederate White House. When Jefferson Davis took the oath of office as president of the Confederacy, it was with some regret that he assumed a post of political, rather than military, leadership. Indeed, his wife, Varina, recalled that Davis received the news of his election as a man might speak of a sentence of death. Despite a lengthy career as a United States congressman, senator and secretary of war, Davis considered himself first and foremost a soldier. This perception was shared by enemies as well as friends. The Cleveland Plain Dealer, hardly a Southern newspaper, acclaimed Davis as a genuine son of Mars, and a Richmond newspaper predicted boldly that President Davis will soon march an army through North Carolina and Virginia to Washington. This somewhat inflated view of Davis military prowess was based on his prominent role in two pivotal battles in the Mexican War, Monterrey and Buena Vista. When war with Mexico broke out in 1846, Davis was serving as a congressman from Mississippi. Resigning his office, he accepted the colonelcy of the 1st Mississippi Volunteers. Before leaving Washington, however, Davis endeared himself to his new command by pulling political strings to see that his men were equipped with nonregulation Whitney rifles, which were much more accurate and dependable than the old flintlock smoothbores carried by U.S. Army regulars. When Davis arrived on the Texas-Mexico border, he immediately received a message from his former father-in-law, Zachary Taylor, who had already crossed into Mexico. (Davis first wife, Sarah, Taylors daughter, had died of malaria a mere three months into their marriage.) Taylor, charged with holding a defensive line in northern Mexico, was determined to capture the mountain fortress at Monterrey, 200 miles west of the American stronghold on Brazos Island. On the morning of September 21, 1846, Taylor attacked the town. Davis, on foot and still in civilian dress (he had not had time to order a uniform), led his Mississippians into line alongside volunteers from Tennessee. Together, the Mississippians and Tennesseans captured the fort, and Davis somewhat uncharacteristically dashed about brandishing a captured enemy sword above his head. The next day, Davis and his men again were at the forefront of the action, fighting house-to-house in Monterrey proper. One of his soldiers called Davis the bravest, coolest, grandest man that I ever saw. Five months later, Davis won even greater fame at the Battle of Buena Vista. There, in the hilly countryside of northern Mexico, Taylors depleted army of 4,800 men faced a Mexican army four times its size, led by the infamous conqueror of the Alamo, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. It was Santa Annas plan to defeat Taylors army, clear northern Mexico of American troops and turn on General Winfield Scotts main army as it advanced toward Mexico City. Taylor positioned his forces in the hills alongside the road leading from San Luis Potosi to Saltillo, where the American base camp was located. Davis, moving with the 1st Mississippi, arrived on the field just as the battle was getting underway. Immediately, the Southerners were confronted by evidence of a demoralizing break in the line, as members of the 2nd Indiana broke for the rear due to a confusion of orders. Davis moved his own men into the position vacated by the Hoosiers. He could clearly see the Mexicans massing to attack. The moment seemed to me critical, Davis wrote later, and the occasion to require whatever sacrifice it might cost to check the enemy. On his own direction, he sent his regiment forward to check the Mexican advance, receiving for his troubles a painful bullet wound to the foot. Mexican cavalry next arrived on the scene and threatened to overrun the Americans. Davis, reinforced by the 3rd Indiana Regiment, shaped his men into a V and poured converging fire into the enemy horsemen. Boys, fire, and at them with your knives! he cried. A few Mississippians did manage to drag the fleeing lancers from their mounts and stab them to death with well-honed bowie knives. Davis inarguably fine performance at Buena Vista won him national fame (and helped win his erstwhile father-in-law the presidency a year later). He quickly parlayed his heroic reputation into election to the U.S. Senate, where his growing influence soon made him a leader of the Southern delegation. Without his Mexican War laurels, it is doubtful that Jefferson Davis would ever have become president of the Confederacy; with them, his election was virtually inevitable. Roy Morris, Jr., Editor, Americas Civil War 1996, The History Group of Cowles Enthusiast Media. Allrights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Cowles Enthusiast Media is prohibited. News / Local by Staff Reporter The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) is holding belated Press Freedom Day Celebrations at the Golden Mile Hotel on Friday 27, May 2016.The Mirror confirmed the event in an interview with ZMC chairman, Godfrey Majonga.Masvingo Mirror reported that the Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Dr Christopher Mushowe will be the guest of honour.Majonga said ZMC delayed its commemorations in order to avoid duplication of the event that is always witnessed on May 3 in the capital city.World Press Freedom is celebrated on May 3 every year.The event which is being hosted by Kwekwe Press Club will have ; Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms: This is Your Right as the theme."We are going to have belated commemorative event at the Golden Mile Hotel on May 27, 2016. That is going to bring together members of the Kwekwe Press Club, Zimbabwe Association of Communtiy Newspapers and ZMC commissioners."The choice of the date and venue has been necessitated by the need to avoid duplication of events on May 3 here in Harare as has been the case in the past," said Majonga. The presidency is an exclusive club, and its members are not above bending the rules. Over time, however, the executive branch has tried to consolidate its own power at the expense of the Constitution. In October 2002, both houses of Congress voted overwhelmingly to authorize the use of military force against Iraq. The measure originated with President George W. Bush and allowed him complete discretion to decide whether, when and how to attack the regime of Saddam Hussein. The president had rejected any change in the resolutions wording that would impose the slightest limitation upon his prerogatives, and his legal advisers insisted that he did not need congressional authorization. Scarcely any members of Congress objected to this apparent usurpation of their constitutional power to declare war. Outside observers in the media saw an administration contemptuous of Congress and a Congress timorous in the face of presidential demands. Bush is hardly the first president to start a foreign war on his own initiative. James K. Polk claims that distinction. But the contrast between Polks war and Bushs helps to reveal how drastically the dynamics of presidential power have changed. The ostensible objective of Polks war with Mexico was the annexation of the independent Republic of Texas. Since a majority of Texans supported annexation, Polk might have accomplished it with less bloodshed and political grief if he had fixed the southern boundary of Texas at the Nueces River, where the Mexican government seemed willing to draw it. Instead, Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to take up a position 150 miles to the south, on the left bank of the Rio Grande. Mexican troops attacked a U.S. reconnaissance patrol there, killing or capturing about 40 men. The news reached Washington on the evening of May 8, 1846. Earlier that afternoon, Polk and his cabinet had already decided to ask Congress for a declaration of war. Now they could justify the request as a response to the Mexicans invasion of the United States to shed American blood on American soil. Polks implausible justification for the war called up a chorus of dissent, some of it from members of his own party. Even his constitutional role as commander in chief was not secure. In an era of political generals, the Democratic Polk found himself trying to control two Whig commandersWinfield Scott and Zachary Taylor whom he suspected of having designs on the presidency. Polk dismissed General Scott and lost the support of the military. Although the war was a resounding successthe country gained California and New Mexico along with TexasCongress censured Polk for military action unnecessarily and unconstitutionally begun by the President of the United States. The great paradox of the modern American presidency is that even when individual presidents fail, the institution of the presidency flourishes. In the midst of the lurid scandal that brought him to impeachment, President Bill Clinton refined the use of executive orders and administrative regulation to circumvent Congress statutory powers. Clinton was adding to a repertoire of executive initiatives developed in part by Ronald Reagan, while Congress was investigating his administrations misdeeds in the Iran-Contra scandal. As members of his own party in Congress sought to distance themselves from George W. Bush, and congressional Democrats called for investigations of his administrations conduct, the president ignored Congress and used his executive powers to govern. Together, Bush, Reagan and Clinton contributed to the onward march of executive power in the face of a Congress that seems to retain only the power to complain and harass. Harding Changes the Game Executive autonomy occasionally has advanced in dramatic responses to war, terrorism or nuclear threat, but its path runs more frequently through the fine print of public business. Consider, for example, the presidency of Warren G. Harding, who came to office in 1921 promising to return the country to normalcy after World War I. Chief among the wartime disruptions were the sweeping powers that Congress had ceded to President Woodrow Wilson. The National Defense Act of 1917 authorized the president to procure needed military hardware by any means necessary. The Lever Food and Fuel Control Act gave him the power to regulate the transportation, production and storage of wartime necessities, and the power to fix prices, to requisition needed materials and to take over the operation of factories and mines. In 1920, despite Wilsons opposition, Congress repealed 60 of the wartime measures, and Republican presidential nominee Harding pledged that he would abjure executive autocracy. Harding, however, was not indifferent to executive power. His administration, in fact, achieved the most substantial enhancement of the presidents budgetary powers since the ratification of the Constitutionthe 1921 Budget and Accounting Act. With few exceptions, presidents prior to Harding had been ignorant bystanders in the budget making process. Each executive department presented its annual request directly to the congressional committee that oversaw its budget. Congressional appropriations committees scrutinized the proposals and drew up legislation that specified, to the last dollar, how funds were to be spent. In 1921 out-of-control federal spending prompted Republican congressional leaders to reach an accommodation with the new Republican president. Harding would submit a unified executive budget for congressional approval, but Congress stipulated that it be prepared by an agency distinct from the Office of the President. A new Bureau of the Budget (BoB) would be housed in the Department of the Treasury, which Congress regarded as the federal department most responsive to congressional influence. Harding seized the opportunity and issued an executive order requiring agencies to submit their proposed budgets to the BoB for the 1922 fiscal year. He worked closely with General Charles G. Dawes, the BoBs first director, to introduce the principle of central legislative clearance. Agencies had to get BoB approval for all requests and recommendations submitted to Congress, not just budget requests. The agencies at first resisted this challenge to their independence, but after Hardings death in 1923, President Calvin Coolidge ignored congressional and agency objections and mandated a central clearance procedure. The presidents war powers have expanded recently in much the same way as his budgetary powers. Congress last exercised its constitutional authority to declare war during World War II, and subsequent attempts to curb executive authority have backfired. The War Powers Act of 1973 was intended to prevent a president from carrying the country into the quagmire of some future Vietnam. In fact, it gave the president more discretion in the deployment of military forces than the Constitution had granted. Under the War Powers Act, the president on his own initiative may commit American military forces to combat abroad for up to 90 days. But as a practical matter, once troops have been committed, both military and political considerations make it difficult for Congress to pull them back. Prior to 1973, other presidents acted as though they did not recognize any limits to their war-making powers. In 1950, for example, President Harry Truman deliberately refused to ask Congress for a declaration of war before sending troops to Korea. Leaders of both houses volunteered to enact a joint resolution approving his action, but Secretary of State Dean Acheson advised Truman that it was best not to create the impression that Congress had anything to say about the exercise of the presidents powers as commander in chief. The Presidency and the Parties Presidentialism has risen as popular participation in politics has declined. Americans, in short, are no longer as much a part of American politics as they used to be. Their absence has been most pronounced in congressional and local elections, but it is evident in presidential elections as well, where turnout never again attained the peak it reached in 1896. As one might expect, representative assemblies such as the House and Senate, whose influence derives from popular mobilization, have suffered politically. But institutions that do not depend on public participation in order to achieve their objectives have become more powerful by comparison. In the 19th century, political parties were essential to public mobilization and critical to the nomination and election of American presidents. With few exceptions, the politicians who the major parties chose to elevate to the White House held views and ambitions that posed little threat to party dominance or solidarity. Near the start of the 20th century, however, presidential aspirants began to run for office on their own account instead of waiting to be called by their parties. To make oneself president required a powerful, driving ambition, and the ability to break the parties control of the presidential nominating process was a sign of party weakness. The gradual unraveling of party organization made it more difficult for congressional leaders to impose party discipline. When powerfully ambitious presidents faced a Congress with a reduced capacity to achieve unity, the stage was set for a steady shift of power toward the executive branch. Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt all managed to reach at least some of their objectives and to enter the pantheon of presidential greatness because they were party leaders. Perhaps Jeffersons chief strength as a party leader was the weakness of the party that opposed him. Andrew Jackson was in much the same position, except that his party did manage to mobilize voters more effectively than the Jeffersonians. In 1832 Jackson became the first president to win an election in which turnout exceeded 50 percent, but just barely. Parties make presidents great, it seems, when the presidents party is the only one in the field. When Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860, most of the opposition seceded, and for the remainder of his presidency, he headed a single party state. But Lincolns experience also illustrates the unreliability of party as a source of presidential power. When the supply of congressional Democrats diminished, Republican legislators turned their fire on the president. To the extent that Lincoln depended on his party, he relied for the most part on Republican governors, not congressional Republicans, and his principal political strength was probably the Union Army. He ordered his generals to furlough regiments whose votes were needed in critical state elections and used Union troops to supervise balloting. Franklin Roosevelt was clearly a different sort of partisan president. He orchestrated a vast extension of the Democratic Partys electoral base, reaching out to constituencies of the dispossessed. He sealed their loyalty to the party with hundreds of thousands of federal jobs and millions of dollars in loans and benefits. His reward was the landslide reelection of 1936. Yet it was after this stunning victory that FDR encountered Democratic opposition. Congress, dominated by Democrats, rejected his first reorganization plan for the Office of the President, a plan that would have extended his powers significantly. Conservative Democrats opposed his new social policies. Roosevelt tried to purge the party of his most annoying critics during the congressional elections of 1938 but emerged a chastened loser. After that rebuff, says presidential historian Sidney Milkis, FDR was firmly persuaded of the need to form a direct link between the executive office and the public. How Presidents Connect With the Public A number of presidents have attempted to make the same connection, although few have been as successful as Franklin Roosevelt. Speaking directly to the people, over the heads of Congress and party, has emerged as a favored tactic of presidential leadership in the age of television, but it had its beginnings even before the age of radio. William McKinley was the first White House occupant to set aside a room for the press, and he had run for office in 1896 as the candidate of The People Against the Bosses, the bosses of his own party. Jefferson and Jackson, though great party builders, made few speeches or public appearances. Lincoln, en route from Springfield, Ill., to his inauguration, greeted crowds along the way, but he spoke only briefly at each stop, saying that it would be inappropriate to offer public views on the pressing issues of the day. All three held office during a time when it was considered bad form for presidents to address the people directly except on ceremonial occasions. Congress apparently regarded any more tendentious communication from president to people as an impeachable offense. Just such a charge was included in the bill of impeachment against Andrew Johnson. Prohibitions on presidential speech were fully broken during the administrations of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Roosevelt personally appealed to the public in 1906 to achieve passage of the Hepburn Act, which prohibited railroads from offering discounted rates to large shippers and authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to set maximum freight charges for railroads. Roosevelt also pioneered the use of White House leaks, making sure that favored reporters got information damaging to the railroads and their political champions. The strategy succeeded. Public opinion put pressure on Congress, and the effort brought a railroad regulation bill to Roosevelts desk that included virtually every feature he had sought. Wilson refined Roosevelts techniques for rallying the public. Not only did he embark on speech-making expeditions around the country, he also invented the press conference so that he could exercise similar influence without leaving Washington. Wilson met regularly with correspondents from major newspapers and invited them to ask him questions about political issues in the news. Sometimes he even provided friendly reporters with the questions that he wanted to answer. Wilson was also the first president to make use of professional public relations consultants. After winning the 1916 election on the slogan He kept us out of war, Wilson asked New York publicist George Creel to design a public relations campaign that would swing American opinion to the view that the countrys interests demanded that it support Britain and France. When the United States finally entered the war, Wilson named Creel to head the new Committee on Public Information, whose mission was to mobilize the entire civilian population for the industrial and agricultural production essential to sustain the Allies war effort in Europe. The committee recruited its staff largely from major advertising agencies, and its assignment, according to Creel, was to sell the war. Franklin Roosevelts fireside chats on the radio during the 1930s made him a personal and welcome presence in millions of homes. In the 1950s, Dwight Eisenhowers press conferencesthe first to be televisedconvinced the public, according to political scientist Fred Greenstein, that Ike was solid and full of common sense. John Kennedys press conferences radiated wit and charm. Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon lacked Kennedys poise but made an impact with prepared speeches. Johnson used a televised speech to a joint session of Congress to frame his administrations response to a violent attack by Alabama officials on civil rights demonstrators in Selma. His address is credited with gathering sufficient public support for voting rights legislation to overcome congressional resistance. Johnson also used television appeals to build public support for his War on Poverty. Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton both preferred the televised town meeting as a format for personal contact with the public. It was less formal than the prepared speech, but since the town included only invited participants, it was less likely to produce hostile questions. Under Clinton the White House Communications Office assumed a role similar to Wilsons Committee on Public Information. Its job was no longer simply to respond to reporters inquiries, but to mount a coherent communications strategypromoting the presidents policy objectives, responding to unfavorable media coverage and projecting a positive image of the president. George W. Bushs first communications director, Karen Hughes, worked to keep her office ahead of the news by constructing stories that would dominate the headlines and preempt critical coverage. The shortcomings of party leadership and public appeal have led presidents, especially the most recent of them, to pursue their objectives through the administrative capabilities of the executive branch itself. Presidents must realize the same three conditions that serve as criteria of criminal culpability in the courtsmotive, means and opportunity. The means are not always available because presidents do not always command the executive agencies needed to achieve their ends. The opportunity to exercise bureaucratic power depends on the ability or willingness of the other branches of government to resist presidential initiatives. The motivation is not simply a matter of personal inclination. It is at least in part a product of unnatural selection. Todays candidate centered campaigns tend to favor aspirants who are driven, aggressive, tenacious and perhaps even ruthless. Conventional political wisdom holds that those who lack the requisite fire in the belly should not even apply for the job. Understanding the presidency begins with a consideration of how politicians become presidents. Presidents of the past were created in an evenings deliberation at party conventions, and they were expected to make as little trouble as possible. We now expect presidents to make history. This story was originally published in American History Magazine By early July 1876, the sore and weary troopers of Colonel Wesley Merritts 5th Cavalry were cursing the heat, the dust and their own hard luck. For a month they had plodded the wastelands of Wyoming and Nebraska, living on hard crackers and muddy water, all the while searching for hostile Indians rumored to be streaming north in bloodthirsty hordes, eager to join the Sioux and Cheyenne under a Hunkpapa medicine man named Sitting Bull. But the 5th had found no Indians, and certainly no gloryonly an endless succession of sand buttes, prickly pear and sagebrush, all hidden in a swirl of alkali thick as cream. As far as Merritts soldiers were concerned, they had been sent on another useless water haul, chasing phantoms across a wilderness that stretched on forever. Then, on July 7, a courier in a lurid red shirt galloped breakneck into camp. His dispatches carried an incredible report, news that made more than one troopers heart sink right down into his boots. Both the message and the man who bore it were destined to be enshrined in American history. The message spoke of the worst disaster the U.S. Cavalry would ever see; the messenger was 30-year-old William Frederick Cody, already celebrated across the continent as Buffalo Bill. And just 10 days later, when the 5th Cavalry met the Indians at last, Buffalo Bill Cody would seal his fame for all time on a lonely plain near a sluggish little stream in northwestern Nebraska known as Warbonnet Creek. The real story of the fight at Warbonnet Creek began years before, when geologists found traces of gold in Dakotas Black Hills. Immediately, rumors buzzed East, claiming the Black Hills were literally mountains of gold, where anyone with a pocketknife could carve out the precious ore like butter. The administration of Ulysses S. Grant, rocked by scandals and facing an economy flat on its back, saw in the Black Hills gold a possible political salvation. There was, of course, one small problem. The Black Hills were on land originally set aside by the U.S. government for those members of the Sioux tribe who chose to follow the old lifestyle of roving hunters. Still, no one in Washington was about to let a few Indians and some buffalo stand in the way of economic paradise. The Sioux would simply have to go, one way or the other. So it was, in 1875, that the commissioner of Indian Affairs issued an edict barring the use of the Black Hills by the Indians, and demanding that all tribes now encamped there should return immediately to the confines of the Great Sioux Reservation in present-day South Dakota. The response of the Sioux and their Cheyenne allies was immediatethey gathered weapons and fled the reservation, determined to make a last stand for their people in the beloved Black Hills. To the U.S. Army went the thankless task of rooting them out. General Phil Sheridan, commanding the Division of the Missouri, had a plan to do just that. A reiteration of the successful 1874 campaign against the Comanche, the plan involved sending a number of troop columns into country where the hostiles were known to be hiding, then having the columns slowly converge, all the while sending out scouts to make sure the Indians did not slip away before the net closed tight. Since each separate column was kept strong enough to defeat the enemy all by itself, it seemed certain the Sioux would eventually be driven into a corner and hammered into submission. By 1876, a column under Brig. Gen. Alfred Terry, including the 7th Cavalry under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, began marching west from Fort Abraham Lincoln in the Dakotas; General George Crook moved north from Fort Fetterman, Wyo.; and Colonel John Gibbons small infantry force, strengthened by a battery of Gatling guns, headed east from Fort Ellis in western Montana. These were the main thrusts. Farther south, other forces were on the move. Sheridan knew of a large feeder trail snaking from Nebraskas Red Cloud and Spotted Tail Indian agencies; warriors, guns and ammunition flowed north over this trail, trickling a steady stream of reinforcements to the Black Hills hostiles. To cut this line of supply, Sheridan mobilized the U.S. Cavalrys 5th Regiment. For more than a decade the Dandy Fifth had held a proud record of Indian fighting, and its commander, Lt. Col. Eugene A. Carr, was an experienced veteran of many campaigns. Carr, described as a bearded Cossack by the press, was ordered to place the 5th at the crossing of the Main Powder River Trail leading from the vicinity of Red Cloud Agency westward to Powder and Yellowstone Rivers. Arriving at this point, you will follow the trail westward, proceeding such distances as your judgment and the amount of supplies which you carry will warrant. While the 5th was mustering, momentous events were taking place on the other side of the continent. General Crook had been seeking a guide to lead his men across the badlands of Montana. Accordingly, one of his officers telegraphed for the services of the most famous scout in AmericaBuffalo Bill Cody, ex-Pony Express rider, famed buffalo hunter, hero of numerous dime novels andmost recentlytheatrical performer. Cody had been portraying himself in Scouts of the Plains, a blood-and-thunder melodrama that played to theaters packed with delighted Easterners. But the life of the stage had recently soured for Cody, whose young son Kit had died that April, and Crooks telegram was just the tonic he needed. The same night it arrived, he took his usual curtain call and then proudly announced that he was through with playacting for a while; his country had called, and Buffalo Bill was setting out on a real campaign with the U.S. Army to fight the redskin savages. With the cheers of the crowd still ringing in his ears, Cody ran out the stage door and headed for the depot. As his train passed through Chicago, Cody somehow learned that the 5th Cavalry was moving into the Powder River country. He promptly gave up any thought of joining Crook. The Dandy Fifth was the same regiment Cody had scouted for back in 1869, when a battle against Chief Tall Bulls band of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers at Summit Springs, Colo., first thrust the name Buffalo Bill into the headlines. In that battle, Carrs cavalrymen successfully struck an Indian village, killing 52 Cheyenne, including Tall Bull. According to members of the 5th Cavalry, Cody was the one who killed Tall Bull, shooting the chief out of the saddle at 30 yards. Now, seven years later, Cody was determined to cast his lot with the 5th. Cody officially signed the paybook as scout in Cheyenne, Wyo., on June 10, 1876. One trooper recalled, All the old boys in the regiment upon seeing General Carr and Cody together, exchanged confidences, and expressed themselvesthat with such a leader and scout they could get away with all the Sitting Bulls and Crazy Horses in the Sioux tribe. A soldiers wife was similarly impressed with Buffalo Bill: I remember his fine figure as he stood by the sutler store, straight and slender, with his scarlet shirt belted in and his long hair distinguishing him. Actually, Codys unique costume was cause for some snickering in the camp. Back in 69 hed worn a frontiersmans buckskins, yet now he sported a bright red firemans shirt; his black velvet pants were trimmed with scarlet, adorned with silver bells and fancy embroidery. This outfit was apparently some Eastern stage managers idea of what Mexican vaqueros wore, and it was adopted for Codys theatrical performances. When some unkind wags in Philadelphia joked that a real scout, whose job often entailed stealth, would scarcely roam the plains in a red shirt and bells, Buffalo Bill had been furious. He vowed to someday wear his stage duds on an actual campaign. Throughout the 5ths long, weary ride, Cody stuck to his velvet pants, bells and all. The command left Cheyenne for Fort Laramie, where they met a new scout, Baptise Little Bat Garnier. Garnier, though he could not have known it, was soon to make his own peculiar contribution to the Cody legend. Also joining was an old pal of Codys, Jonathan White, who was seen trailing around behind Cody so often that the troopers soon dubbed him Buffalo Chips. The night before the regiment left Fort Laramie, Bill posted a letter to his wife, Louisa, expressing his first misgivings about the prospect of more Indian fighting. I have always been horrified at the idea of killing Indian women and children, he wrote. Poor things, I do not blame them for fighting for their husbands and fathers, right or wrongmany white women would do the same. The 5th left Fort Laramie at dawn on June 22, riding toward Custer City. The force consisted of Companies A, B, C, D, G, I, K and M, totaling some 350 officers and men. Company C, with Little Bat as scout, roamed in advance of the main force, searching for signs of Indians. Two days after starting out, a large trail was struck. First Lieutenant Charles King remembered, It looked like a great highway, deserted and silent, and it led from the thick timber on the Cheyenne Valleyand disappeared over the dim, misty range of hills in the direction of the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail reservations. The regiment camped near the South Cheyenne River, hoping to ambush any tribesmen using the trail to travel north. For nine days the 5th waited and waited, but saw only small bands of Indians whose nimble little ponies were easily able to outrun the 5ths plodding patrols. While in this camp on July 1, the troopers were surprised to learn that Carr was no longer their commanding officer. Brevet Major General Wesley Merritt had been appointed to take over command of the 5th. That same day, Merritt and his staff arrived in camp. Cody echoed the sentiments of many soldiers when he wrote Louisa, I was sorry that the command was taken from General Carr, because under him it had made its fighting reputation. Like Custer, Merritt had been a successful Union cavalry leader during the Civil War and had become a brevet major general. After the war, he had commanded cavalry in Texas, where he had fought Comanche, and when he was promoted to colonel of the 5th Cavalry on July 1, 1876, he was quite prepared to fight again. But Merritt and his men were in for a shock just two days later. At dawn on July 3, as sleepy troopers were just stirring from their bedrolls, a dozen or more painted Cheyenne warriors rode their ponies almost into the middle of the soldiers camp before realizing their peril and dashing hellbent back across the prairie to safety. Cody led two companies of the 5th in pursuit, but a fruitless daylong ride only left Merritts men even more spent and discouraged. Realizing that every hostile in Nebraska must by now know of the Armys presence, Merritt finally broke camp and dispersed his command into separate companies in order to make a wide sweep of the countryside. By July 6, the 5th had reassembled near a small Army stockade at the head of Sage Creek. Early the next morning, Cody came pounding into camp bearing ghastly news. General Crooks column had struck the Sioux and Cheyenne over two weeks before at Rosebud Creek and in a fierce fight had been stopped cold. Then, on June 25, George Armstrong Custer and half of the 7th Cavalry had been wiped out at the Little Bighorn in Montana. Gibbons tiny column now had its hands full just burying the dead. Sheridans whole plan had gone down to complete disaster. The northern Plains Indians were proving to be a far more effective fighting unit than almost any blue-coated soldier had imagined. And if the reputation of the U.S. Army was to be saved, the worn-out regulars of the 5th were the last force left in the field to do it. As for Cody personally, the massacre of the 7th and Custers shocking death may have indeed inspired a desire for revenge. Cody and Custer had come to know each other fairly well during the Indian Wars. On July 14 came yet more bad news. The commander at Camp Robinson claimed that hundreds of Cheyenneperhaps as many as 1,000were preparing to flee the Red Cloud Agency and join up with Sitting Bull. Merritt immediately turned back toward Rawhide Creek crossing on the trail between Fort Laramie and Camp Robinson. It would take a long forced march to head off the Cheyenne, and the 5ths supply wagons, under the command of a Lieutenant Hall, were ordered to follow along as best they could. By July 16, Merritt had reached a small Army post on the Custer City road, where he briefly rested his command. This isolated spot, about equidistant from the Red Cloud Agency and Fort Laramie, would position the 5th to readily respond to alarms from either direction. Amazingly, the tireless Hall came up with the supplies only two hours behind the main column. Horsemen and wagons next proceeded across the prairie to a point where the Indian trail crossed Warbonnet Creek. By the time final bivouac was reached late that night, the 5th had covered 85 miles in little over 30 hours. In that time the soldiers had had nothing to eat except some hardtack hastily snatched from saddlebags while still on the move. While the rest of the force bivouacked in a hollow on the west bank of the Warbonnet, Company K was given the unwelcome task of posting its exhausted men as night sentinels. King stationed most of his pickets out of sight in ravines, while he and a few others waited on a nearby hill to better survey the countryside at first light. Trooper Christian Madsen, a sharp-eyed and eager young man, was given a telescope and positioned on a smaller hill to the north. Dawn broke blood-red a little before 4 a.m. on July 17. Fifteen minutes later, as drowsy soldiers were boiling coffee in their tin cups, a corporal abruptly jumped up and pointed toward the southeast. He shouted to King, Look, Lieutenantthere are your Indians! Some 10 miles away, a small band of Cheyenne could just be seen in the hazy dawn, riding slowly over a ridge before descending into a wide, shallow ravine leading down toward Warbonnet Creek. Merritt and Cody ran to join King on his hilltop observation point. In the growing light, dozens more Cheyenne, knotted in small groups of riders, could be seen snaking down the ravine. Amazingly, the warriors seemed oblivious to the soldiers positioned in front of their advance; instead, they appeared to be fascinated by something they saw far to the west, in the direction of the old Sage Creek camp. A moment later, Merritt realized what the Cheyenne were watching so intently: Halls blue supply wagons were just then rolling into view in the distance. The wagon train itself was safe enougha guard of infantrymen was concealed under the canvas coversbut two messengers riding well ahead of the wagons were totally unaware of the oncoming Cheyenne, who were already starting to whip their ponies forward to snatch up this unexpected prize. Seven of the warriors soon broke off from the rest, riding hard to intercept the couriers. Merritt faced a real dilemma. He had wanted the Cheyenne to get as close as possible before he launched his attack, to avoid yet another futile horse race. But if he was going to save his couriers, he had to do something and do it fast. Just then, Cody spoke up. He suggested that a few picked mennaturally including himselfcould ride out and scatter the seven Cheyenne, leaving the rest of the 5th free to charge at full strength. Cody, another scout and six troopers of Company K were given the assignment. Merritt ran down the hill to join the 5th as it crossed Warbonnet Creek and formed its ranks on the east bank of the stream, just behind a high rise concealing them from the oncoming Cheyenne. Responding to whispered commands, the troopers thumbed cartridges into their Springfields and waited for whatever the next few fateful minutes would bring. As scouts and soldiers saddled up, King kept the seven warriors under observation. He waited until they were no more than 100 yards from Warbonnet Creek, then jumped up and waved his hat, shouting: Now, lads, in with you! Instantly, Cody and the rest of his little band galloped around the hill and launched themselves at the seven Cheyenne. Trooper Madsen, still posted on his lonely hilltop to the north, had a clear view of all that happened next, as did Sergeant John Powers of Company A, who was moonlighting as an on-the-scene correspondent for the Ellis County Star. Cody, astride a powerful horse, was well in advance of the other would-be rescuers, so far in front that upon rounding the hill he nearly ran headlong into the leading warrior, a young man sporting a magnificent headdress so long its feathers nearly trailed on the ground. Cody and the lone Cheyenne fired at each other almost simultaneously, Cody using his Winchester carbine and the Indian replying with a heavy revolver. Codys aim was better: his first shot passed through his opponents leg and killed the pony he was riding. At that moment Codys own horse stumbled in a prairie dog hole, pitching Bill headlong to the ground. The scout scrambled up in an instant, just as his wounded opponent sent another bullet whizzing past his ear. Kneeling, Cody took careful aim and fired his second shot, one that hit the young Cheyenne square in the face and dropped him dead on the brown prairie grass. While Codys companions scattered the other six Cheyenne, he ran forward with a bowie knife and stripped the scalp of his dead foe. He later recalled that, swinging the grisly trophy above his head, he cried out in triumph, The first scalp for Custer! And perhaps he did, though no one else on the field that day ever recalled his dramatic oratory afterward. The warriors still straggling up from the rear began surging forward to see what all the shooting was about. Companies B, I and K of the 5th broke cover, formed line abreast and charged directly toward the oncoming Cheyenne, bugles blaring. The Indians, whose numbers were far, far less than the rumored 1,000, immediately turned and fled in the opposite direction, back toward the Spotted Tail Agency. In their flight, they abandoned blankets and provisions. The three companies pursued only a short distance, never coming close enough to fire a single shot at their retreating enemy. The 5ths sole casualty that day came when a horse tumbled down an embankment, leaving a trooper named Jeffers badly bruised. Later, Merritt led the whole command along the trail of the fugitives, stopping only when he felt assured that all the Cheyenne were back within the confines of the agency. The fight at Warbonnet Creek, such as it was, had ended. Shortly thereafter, the 5th was sent north to reinforce Crook, but not before Merritt had submitted a lengthy report of his campaign to Washington. Of the actual fighting, Merritt said only a party of seven Indians were discovered near the command, moving with the intention of cutting off two couriers who were approaching from Sage Creek. A party was sent out to cut these off, killing one of them. Carr, stilling smarting over the loss of his command, was disgusted with the whole business. He later wrote of his astonishment at seeing such a long report made about what was essentially nothing, recalling, There were not over 30 Indians in sight at any one time, and we had over 400 men. The 5ths total victory spoils amounted to one dead Cheyenne, a dozen ponies and a few sacks of flour. Back East, people saw things much differently. The triumph at Warbonnet Creek was glorious, a just revenge on treacherous savages. Newspapers played up Codys accomplishment; the New York Herald, for instance, filled nearly a column with news of the faraway event. And for Easterners eager to learn more of the thrilling combat, Little Bat Garnier was able to add a few choice details: The dead Indian was Yellow Hand, an important chief of the Cheyenne; his death at the hands of Cody was enough to make all the other hostiles turn tail and run. Alas for history, Garnier was not one to let the truth stand in the way of a good yarn. Codys victim was in truth Hay-o-wei, a name which translates as Yellow Hair, so called for a blond scalp he had once taken. Yellow Hair was the son of a chief named Cut Nose, but was himself of no particular importancethat is, not until he had the questionable luck to be killed by Buffalo Bill Cody, thereby instantly becoming a legend. Cody started the ball rolling the very next day. He wrote Louisa: We have had a fight. I killed Yellow Hand, a Cheyenne chief, in a single-handed fight. [I am going to] send the war bonnet, shield, bride [bridle], whip, arms and his scalp.I have only one scalp I can call my own: that fellow I fought single-handed in sight of our command, and the cheers that went up when he fell was deafening. Unfortunately, Codys parcel reached his wife before his letter. Thinking her husband had sent some fine new gift, she eagerly reached inside. Upon pulling out the rancid scalp, poor Louisa fainted dead away. She later made Cody promise he would never again scalp another Indian. Yellow Hairs accoutrements, including his missing topknot, can be still be seen today in the Buffalo Bill Museum at Cody, Wyo. Codys famous fight was, of course, single-handed only in a loose sense; he did have some small help from the 5th Cavalry. Still, a man can be forgiven for bragging to his own wife. However, since everything he did or said was grist for the popular press, the legend overtook the truth in short order. Within a few months, Cody was treading the boards once more in a stage production titled The Red Right Hand; or Buffalo Bills First Scalp for Custer. The show was a success almost everywhere Cody took it. Over the years, the story just kept getting better and better. The fight became not only single-handed but also hand-to-hand, a titanic hour-long, no-holds-barred, death struggle fought with knife and tomahawk against a Cheyenne chief backed by no less than 29,000 followers. The names Cody and Custer became closely associated in the minds of the public, mainly because of several popular dime novels. In Buffalo Bill with General Custer, a typically fanciful work by Prentiss Ingraham, the brave scout Cody was made out to be the only white survivor of Custers Last Stand. In the same mold was Buffalo Bills Grip; or, Oath-bound to Custer. Cody does not participate in the battle, but he does arrive before Custers body is cold. After being captured by the Sioux and then rescued by a Pocahontas-like lndian maiden, Cody gets his revengeagainst Yellow Hand in a one-on-one knife fight. Cody himself came to prefer showcasing Custers Last Stand rather than his own First Scalp. When he began his Wild West show in 1883, Cody championed Custer repeatedly. The Last Stand became the climax of each show. An actor named Buck Taylor played Custer, and in every performance, the circle of cavalrymen would grow smaller and smaller. Then, after Taylor and his fellow actors had bit the dust, Buffalo Bill would appear, remove his showy hat and bow his head mournfully. The words Too Late would be projected on a screena fitting end to the show. As late as 1904 there were posters out that depicted Custers final moments and said Custers Last Stand as presented by Buffalo Bills Wild West. Not that Cody ever completely grew silent about his own heroism at Warbonnet Creek. He was not that kind of guy. After a couple of decades, the story had reached such outlandish proportions that skeptics were already beginning to insist the whole thing was pure moonshine, and that Cody had never seen an Indian wilder than the cigar-store variety. Still, the U.S. government considered the Warbonnet fight important. It was just about the only victory American soldiers were going to get in that dreary centennial year of 1876, so the most had to be made of it. Washington officials cheered the skirmish as though it had been a second Gettysburg. Thus, in the end, the legend of Buffalo Bill and the Indian served just about everyone well. In 1930, Congress invited an aged Chris Madsen, then a retired law officer of considerable fame himself, to help relocate the spot where the Warbonnet battle took place. Madsen, his memory undimmed by the passage of 54 years, did so without difficulty. In 1934, no less than two monuments were dedicated there, a place still pretty much smack in the middle of nowhere. One stone obelisk commemorates the heroism of the 5th Cavalry; the other marks the spot where Buffalo Bill killed his Indian. Both markers still stand. They ensure that, whatever else may be forgotten, Americans will remember Warbonnet Creek and the man who took the first scalp for Custer. This story wa written by Robert B. Smith and originally appeared in the December 1996 issue of Wild West Magazine. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Wild West magazine today! In December 1941, nothing else brought home the reality that the entire world was suddenly at war more than the awful sight of smoke billowing from the shattered remains of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. With the surprise Japanese attack on December 7, what many Americans had expected would remain yet another European bloodbath had finally jumped beyond the borders of that war-ravaged continent. Incensed at the assault on their homeland, hundreds of thousands of patriotic citizens rushed to recruiting offices everywhere, among them blacks, Asians, Latinos and other minorities. As desperate as the country was for manpower, however, these volunteers were often thanked for their loyalty by being shunted off to a variety of unglamorous units and assignments. Military officials clung stubbornly to the racial stereotypes that permeated the country at the time, refusing to integrate the armed forces. With America fighting for its life, they insisted, they were too busy to engage in social experiments. U.S. military leaders, of course, werent the only ones to feel that way. Until Pearl Harbor and then Adolf Hitlers declaration of war on the United States, Great Britain pretty much had stood alone against Nazi Germany. Facing dire manpower shortages of his own, Prime Minister Winston Churchill turned to Britains dominions for assistance, and as they had done in all the empires previous wars, the colonies answered the call. However, though the native volunteers were all citizens of the empire, more often than not they were placed in segregated units. But it quickly became apparent that this was a different war. In 1942, as reports of Jewish internees being shipped to extermination camps and Russian civilians having to endure horrible excesses at the hands of German invaders began to reach the Allied powers, they realized that more was at stake than boundaries on a map. This was a war that pitted democratic governments against Fascist dictatorships espousing frightening racial theories. Seeing this as an opportunity to reverse decades or even centuries of discrimination or indifference, the leaders of minority and native populations around the free world began to ask, How can governments fight fascism abroad while ignoring injustice at home? It was a simple question that laid bare the hypocrisy of outdated notions of racial inferiority and, at least for the nations armed forces, registered the first cracks in long- established color barriers. In the United States, minority leaders began to speak out for greater rights and demanded that all Americans be treated as full citizens. Black leaders pushed the Roosevelt administration to provide greater opportunities for African Americans in uniform and in industry. This pressure, along with mounting casualties, led to the creation of several black combat groups, among them the Tuskegee Airmen and the 761st Tank Destroyer Battalion. It even led to experiments with full integration (see Blood for Dignity, P. 26). By the end of the war, more than 1 million African Americans had served in uniform. Without the help of these men and women, the war would not have been won. Once it was, however, the genie could not be put back in the bottle. The millions who had helped defeat fascism would not placidly return to their roles as subjects or second-class citizens. As Michael Gambone pointed out in The Greatest Generation Comes Home: World War II became the launching pad for the modern Civil Rights movement. Its ranks were populated and stiffened by the same veterans who had sacrificed their lives and their youth for a better America. When they returned, their expectations began on that basic point. Name Those Dollies I found this picture of the Donut Dollies that I think some of the people in it would like to see. I didnt know any of the women and cant even remember how it came into my possession. Someone possibly left it in my picture album by mistake as we were reminiscing about round-eyed women. Perhaps if it is published, someone can identify these wonderful ladies who sacrificed their time and talent for us young kids in Vietnam. I remember a group of them visiting our fire base and trying to lift our morale. I was in Vietnam from March 1969 to March 70, so this picture is possibly dated around that time. Dave Andrews New Boston, Ohio True Tiger Tragedies Rich Thurmonds letter to the editor (February) questioning the veracity of author Karl Marlantes comment in the October Interview about a tiger attack caught my attention because I have specific knowledge that it did happen. I was not involved myself, but I knew the Marine who was killed in this incident. I was still in high school at the time, and my sister was dating Frank Baldino from Ashland, Pa. Frank was killed while on patrol on November 14, 1968. Recently I came across a related newspaper article about Frank. I suspect the incident in question and Franks death are the same. So many years have gone by, but reading the article made it seem like it happened yesterday. Just setting the record straight on behalf of Pfc Francis Baldino, United States Marine. Bob Hall Allentown, Pa. The letter headlined Tall Tiger Tales was off the mark. Maybe the author of the letter never heard of an attack, but that doesnt mean that they didnt occur. I served with the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Infantry (Mechanized), 4th Infantry Division in 1968. In November that year a soldier with the 2nd of the 8th was killed and partially eaten by a tiger. In Jack Leningers book, Time Heals No Wounds, he cites a 4th ID report dated November 2: Shortly before 0655H, near ZAO56224, a tiger attacked and killed one member of a SRP from Company A, 2d Battalion (Mechanized), 8th Inf. The victim had been on watch while the other members of his team slept. I remember when this happened, and I talked to a medic who saw the body. He told me it was a tiger attack. I communicated with him two years ago, and he again confirmed that it was a tiger attack. Paul Marks Lake Forest, Calif. In my recently published book, Class of 67, I write about a Marine who in November 1968 was dragged from a night ambush position by a tiger in the rugged mountains west of the Marines Vandegrift Combat Base. In the November 1968 Command Chronology for 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, it states that a Company D ambush at XD754534 had one member of the ambush dragged away by a carnivorous animal. The body of the Marine was found and recovered the next day. Jack Wells Cupertino, Calif. I was the battalion armorer for 3/7 1st Marine Division, and a squad leader on a reactionary platoon. (One of the company commanders at that time was Captain Charles Robb, President Johnsons son-in-law.) I was in Vietnam from April 1968 to May 1969 and heard of lots of tiger encounters! I still have an article from a March 1968 Leatherneck magazine showing a tiger that was killed in Vietnam (seen at left) after it came upon 1st Recon Battalion, Marine 1st Division. Mike Phillips Cochranton, Pa. To all those concerned, they can research it all they want but it is true. There was a 1st Force Recon Company, 1st Marine Division Marine killed and half eaten by an estimated 300- to 400-pound Bengal tiger on May 7, 1970. It happened at night when a seven-man team was in its harbor site on top of a ridgeline. A yell was heard in the dark from the Marine who was at the end of the line wrapped in his poncho. It was my close friend Sergeant Robert C. Phleger. I was in the center of communications bunker at Camp Adnair near Marble Mountain when the team radio operator called in a situation report to me. I was told to tell the team to stay in position on 100-percent alert until first light to see what happened. At first light all they found was a torn poncho liner, an M-16, bush hat, radio and drag marks. I was told to tell the team to follow the drag marks, as they thought Sergeant Phleger might have been captured. About 50 meters down the hill, they spotted the missing Marine, up against a tree with his head and one side of his body gone. All of a sudden a tiger came charging at the team, and they opened up with their M-16s. The tiger ran off, but in seconds came back for its kill. This time the Marines scared it away with some grenades. They wrapped what was left of the Marine in a poncho, and the team was extracted. Sergeant Phleger was 32 and had just returned from R&R in Hawaii, where he had married his high school sweetheart. We fought together, we lived in the bush together. This tragedy was seared into my memory, its no tiger tale. I write this as a tribute to him. John E. Hoffman Jr. Zelienople, Pa. Its a known fact that 3rd Recon Bn had at least one, if not two confirmed killed by tigers. Another one or two close calls occurred where the tiger was killed while trying to attack Recon members in their harborsites. I think they still have a story from Stars & Stripes or Sea Tiger on the 3rd Recon Bn website with photos etc. of some of the attacks. I thought you reprinted one of the stories in a previous issue of your magazine. William J. Messner Sr. GySgt 3rd Recon Bn 1966-67 Erial, NJ Art of the Helmet Ive been a subscriber to Vietnam since it was first published. The helmet art portfolio in the October issue blew me away! I served a year starting in April 1968 with the 1st Air Cavalry, Charlie Company, 1/5. I kept my helmet cover, and when I show it to vets it takes them all back. Some cry, some laugh, but they all think it was great I held on to it. Back then, I drew Snoopy on everythingletters, my M-16, rucksack, everything. I think of Vietnam a lot. After you go through something like that, you learn to appreciate life and the great things we all take for granted. Jerry Gormas Delano, Pa. Vets Helping Vets Get Home I just came upon the news item Circle of Warriors and the excellent interview with former Army Chaplain James D. Johnson in the December issue. As an officer of the 25th Infantry Division Association, I make frequent contact with active duty soldiers and see how seriously the military is taking the tidal wave onslaught of PTSD this time around. Veterans Administration Secretary Eric Shinseki recently commented that veterans with PTSD successfully transition most rapidly when they return to familiar routines and are employed, aiding self-confidence and initiative. We Vietnam vets can and must help with this process, and that is part of how the Circle at my church in Tallmadge, Ohio, started. I can attest to the success we are seeing in healing the hearts of not only veterans, but also their wives, mothers and siblings. More information is available at: warriorsjourneyhome.com. Thomas A. Jones North Canton, Ohio Long Shadow of Hue Regarding the February 2011 article on Hue by James Willbanks, only the actual count of those killed in the city of Hue can be debated! The NVA and VC actions in Hue in 1968 led to the total breakdown of the South Vietnamese government, military and the citizens fearful of its reoccurrences in 1975. Major Roger L. Kehrier, USA (Ret.) Plymouth, Mich. Bacon-Saving Radios I had the privilege of serving with Robert Hunt, author of One Four Man Up and the article Showdown at Dai Do in the June 2010 issue. We served together on Mutters Ridge, the Rock Pile and the DMZ. I also got excellent training in the art of being a TACP radio operator from Ralph Flash Gordon. That training allowed us to hump the much heavier PRC-41 ground to air radio. The radio saved our pork several times. Randy Williams Decatur, Ill. Patton Perspective Thank you for your article on the M48A3 Patton tank (February Arsenal). I was with H Co, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in 1966-67. My Patton was hit in the fuel tank during Operation Junction City in an ambush, but we were able to defeat the NVA before we were forced to flee the burning tank. If it had gasoline fuel, I am sure that the outcome would have been different. Richard Quinn Newtown, Pa. Send letters to: Vietnam Editor, 19300 Promenade Drive, Leesburg, VA 20176; or email: Vietnam@weiderhistorygroup.com. Become a fan of Vietnam Magazine on Facebook. In the summer of 1966, General Nguyen Chi Thanh, Viet Cong commander of the Central Office of South Vietnam (COSVN), won a bitter argument. In Hanoi, Defense Minister Vo Nguyen Giap had been criticizing Thanh for ordering near suicidal, stand-up battles with American combat forces in the South during the past year instead of choosing less costly hit and run guerrilla tactics. In July, Thanh, an ideological zealot famous for motivating his soldiers with class hatred, convinced the Politburo that success in the South would only come with the loss of so many American lives that the growing U.S. antiwar movement would force Washington to abandon the war. Confusion was rampant on the U.S. side of the ferocious collision of forces Immediately after prevailing over Giap, Thanh gave his most reliable and experienced division orders for a November offensive. The chosen ground was the sparsely populated region of Tay Ninh Province, just south of the Cambodian border, about 60 kilometers northwest of Saigon. Many considered it as the gateway corridor to the Saigon region and the locus of the majority of countrys population, most of its industry and agriculture and its political capital. Among other tasks, the 9th Viet Cong (VC) Division was to protect the hidden VC storage and supply facilities in Tay Ninh Province, disrupt South Vietnams growing effort to win over the rural population and destroy a vital element of the enemy forces in the III Corps area. Senior Colonel Hoang Cam, the 9th VC Division commander, picked the newly arrived U.S. Army 196th Light Infantry Brigade (LIB) based at Tay Ninh West as the vital element to be destroyed. The well-experienced and battle-savvy Cam would employ a local force battalion, two of his divisions regiments and the 101st North Vietnamese Army (NVA) Regiment in the offensive. He assigned his 271st Regiment, 1,500 men strong, to attack the American brigades base while two battalions of the 272nd Regiment and the local force unit targeted the South Vietnamese home guard unit at Soui Cao, 30 kilometers southeast of Tay Ninh. At the same time, the 3rd Battalion of the 272nd Regiment and the 101st NVA Regiment would attack a U.S. Special Forces unit and indigenous forces at Suoi Da, northeast of Tay Ninh. Cams counterpart, the 196th LIB commander, Brig. Gen. Edward H. de Saussure, an artilleryman in World War II and guided missile expert thereafter, was in his first infantry command. De Saussure had little reason to expect what was coming. While American intelligence was reporting that elements of the 9th VC Division were becoming active in War Zone C, there was no knowledge of COSVN and Colonel Cams actual intentions. In September, de Saussure, still supervising two of his battalions in building the brigades base camp, launched Operation Attleboro (named for the Massachusetts town). The operation, a battalion-size series of probes into the sparsely populated region surrounding Tay Ninh, was a familiarization and combat training effort focused on searching for VC supply caches and getting the brigades feet wet. Colonel Cam and General de Saussure were about to embark on a bloody encounter that would begin on November 3 and conclude 22 days later. It would ultimately involve skirmishes and battles over several thousand square kilometers with 22,000 Allied troops fighting 5,000 to 6,000 NVA and VC soldiers. But, this wide-ranging struggle would be triggered, driven and shaped not by well-laid plans of either Colonel Cam or General de Saussure, but rather by the ferocious action in a bloody three-day battle that exploded unexpectedly in a thickly wooded four-square-kilometer patch 14 kilometers northwest of Dau Tieng. In those 72 hours, a decisive victory was won by a few American soldiers whose units suffered almost 40 percent of the U.S. battle deaths during the entire three-week operation. Unfortunately for the American survivors of that fight, most did not know what they had achieved at the battles end, and it is likely many of those men still do not know the results today. In late October, de Saussures training and familiarization foray began paying big dividends by finding and substantially diminishing COSVNs secret logistical stocks and discovering valuable intelligence. The search took place in densely forested areas among large, open expanses of savanna and elephant grass, the latter ranging from waist high to even higher. Many of these caches were hidden in sheds under camouflaged roofs. One such storage facility contained some 843 tons of riceenough to support several of General Thanhs campaigns. The 196th began gathering, bagging and transporting the rice out to be given back to the peasants from whom it had been seized by VC authorities. Among the weapons, ammunition, food and medical supplies were documents, one of which drew de Saussures attention. It described a substantial concealed depot complex where a stream, the Suoi Ba Hao, flows into the Saigon River, about seven kilometers northwest of a 196th Brigade forward command post at Dau Tieng, six kilometers southeast of the Suoi Da Special Forces camp. The three-day ordeal began on November 3, when General de Saussure laid out an overly complex plan to exploit the intelligence. The operation involved elements of four battalions: 1st Battalion 27th Infantry Regiment (on loan from the 25th Infantry Division), commanded by Major Guy Sandy Meloy, and three 196th Brigade battalions: the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry, commanded by Lt. Col. Charles Weddle; 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, under Lt. Col. Hugh Lynch; and 3rd Battalion of the 21st Infantry, commanded by Lt. Col. Charles Nulsen. Meloy, a short, intense 36-year-old infantryman, argued vigorously against the planto no avail. De Saussure wanted the dense wooded area to be attacked from the south by four widely separated elements, all of which were to be flanked on both sides by two elements from Meloys battalion. His battalion, separated in two parts by a distance of about four to five kilometers, would lose its cohesion. Years later, Meloy described the plan as ludicrous, because, command and control of the separate attacks was impossible. He told de Saussure that there would be no mutual support and extreme difficulty in maintaining control of the several columns once they entered the forest. Not surprisingly, the generals views prevailed. The American plan was launched at 0900 as the four columns of Weddle and Lynchs battalions entered the tree line. Twenty-two minutes later, Meloys B Company landed to the east of the attacking columns. At 0950, Meloys C Company landed to the west, moved to the tree line and sent a point patrol ahead into the woods. After moving a few hundred meters, the patrol ran into the 9th VC Divisions Reconnaissance Company guarding a well-camouflaged camp. Fierce fighting erupted and in a short time, the C Company commander, his first sergeant and four others were killed. Six more men were wounded. Meloy quickly made his way to the beleaguered unit, called for reinforcements and began evacuating wounded. By 1245, Meloys A Company made its way to the growing fight, joining C Company. Flying overhead, General de Saussure ordered the commitment of a reserve company from Nulsens battalion, which was back at Tay Ninh. It began landing in Meloys rear at 1445. De Saussure also ordered up two companies from Weddles battalion. They arrived at dusk, 1800 hours. As darkness fell and the fighting began to wane, the realization of the character of this ferocious collision between two equally determined forces emerged. On the U.S. side, confusion was rampant. For instance, Meloy did not realize he had been given two of Weddles infantry companies until they reported to him during the night. De Saussure had not forewarned him. Meloy now had five companies under his command, three of which he had never worked with. The vegetation was so thick that units easily became separated, losing their own unity and contact with sister units. The American ace-in-the-hole, firepower, was largely nullified by fear of hitting friendly forces whose exact location could not be determined. American casualties were mounting, chiefly because of a skillful defense by Colonel Cams troops. The camp Meloys men had discovered was protected by camouflaged bunkers, some of them made of concrete and manned by machine gun crews. Well-concealed snipers were high off the ground in many of the larger trees, and had easily picked off individual Americans. Elsewhere, however, Meloys B Company, which had landed at 0920 in the morning about four kilometers east and to the right of the four columns, had gotten underway to a blocking position, made good progress and had uncovered a fortified, deserted VC position. Realizing the unexpected strength of the Communist forces, de Saussure discarded his original scheme and ordered his remaining five companies to circle up several kilometers to the northeast under the command of Lt. Col. Lynch. The Americans were not alone in making changes to their plans. Colonel Cam radically revised his whole offensive. The assault on the 196th Brigades headquarters at Tay Ninh West was downgraded to a standoff mortar attack. The raid on South Vietnamese forces at Suoi Cao was to be lightened to a mere feint. (But when executed the next day, the 272nd VC Regiment made an all-out frontal attack, leaving 53 bodies behind in its retreat.) The assault on Suoi Da was canceled. Instead, Cam was intent on the utter destruction of American forces along the Suoi Ba Hao. The 9th VC Division commander began funneling troops of the 101st NVA Regiment into the fightaimed right at Meloy. On November 4, after a relatively quiet night, Meloy launched a two-company flanking movement to the east. An hour later, hoping he had flanked the enemy, he began an advance through the heavy vegetation to the northeast and promptly ran into a battalion of North Vietnamese regulars manning bunkers. Defenders and attackers fire was deafening and intense. In many spots the two forces were slugging it out only 10 to 20 meters apart. Meloy called in artillery fire and directed two company-size flanking attacks. Both failed. Rifle and machine gun fire was so constant that merely standing up invited a quick death. Suddenly, the North Vietnamese began attacking in waves. The Americans were forced to defend and could neither attack nor withdraw without prohibitive casualties. Except for one enlisted man, everyone in Meloys command party including himself was wounded. With air or artillery support either ineffective or unwise because of the uncertain proximity of friendly forces, the only remaining option was to bring in more forces to get at the enemy flank, rearor both. The rescue force had already been selected. Late in the day, just after the third unsuccessful NVA wave attack, C Company from the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry, was landed about 400 meters behind what was believed to be the enemy right flank. Almost immediately, the newcomers drew heavy fire from tree snipers and a new deadly hazard: fire tunnels. The wily defenders had chopped narrow firing lanes into tall elephant grass whose tops had leaned over, obscuring the open lanes below waist level. At the beginning of each tunnel was a bunker with a machine gun crew peering through the length of the tunnel and cutting down anyone unknowingly stepping into the firing lane. The 2nd Battalions C Company commander was an early victim, and a half-hour later, the 2nd Battalion commander, who had accompanied the unit, was also killed. As with Meloys stymied forces, their rescuers found themselves on the defensive, partly because they did not have enough able men to evacuate their many wounded. That night, Meloy, who, with the newly arrived elements, now controlled eight infantry companies, made an attempt to reach the beleaguered 2nd Battalion company. At the cost of five dead and eight wounded, the assault failed. During the night, Meloy kept up artillery support well forward of where he believed friendly forces were located. (Throughout the three-day battle, his fire support included 14,000 artillery rounds and 40 airstrikes.) At first light on November 5, Meloy ordered the recently arrived A Company of the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry, to resume the effort to reach and recover C Company. A Company, under the command of Captain Robert Foley, a tall, 25-year-old level-headed and fearless infantryman from Newton, Mass., was told what little was known of C Companys plight and began his attack. After advancing only 30 meters, the company ran into withering fire. Foley organized a base of supporting fire and personally led an attack that overran three bunkers, but he could not carry the other NVA positions. Foleys actions and those of one of his courageous privates, John Baker, who single-handedly attacked and knocked out one of the bunkers, earned Medals of Honor that bloody morning. This rescue attempt cost the lives of eight A Company soldiers. Nevertheless, C Company would soon be saved. To the northeast, Meloys B Company commander, Captain Robert Garrett, was in a blocking position with two 196th Brigade companies under the control of Lt. Col. Lynch. Garrett, no longer willing to remain stationary listening to the roar of battle to the southwest, simply decided to go to the sound of the guns. Convincing a reluctant Lynch, Garrett led his own and the two 196th Brigade companies in a three-pronged attack to the southeast in the morning of November 5. Moving against surprisingly light resistance, Garrett radioed Meloy and announced his ad hoc battalion was within 1,000-1,250 meters of the fight. Strangely, enemy firing had become sporadic. By 1200 hours, Garretts force reached the remnants of C Company and helped evacuate its six dead and 19 wounded. The North Vietnamese Army had all but vanished. The mysterious reason for their disappearance would not be known until several months later. While Meloy was still in a deadly toe-to-toe struggle with the NVA and VC regulars, U.S. higher headquarters were in the midst of changing battle leadership and expanding the scope and strength of the response to General Thanhs forces. The likelihood of at least one change emerged during the afternoon of November 5 when Maj. Gen. William DePuy, commander of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, suddenly appeared at Meloys command post. Meloy later described the conversation: He asked if I really had eight companies. I told him that since I had been given three more, I was now up to 11. He was rather astonished and he asked when I had last talked with de Saussure on the radio, and I told him it had been at least 48 hours. He then asked when was the last time I actually had physical contact with de Saussure and I told him it had been on the evening of November 2 at Dau Tieng. With the standard of a combat commanders span of control being only three to five subordinate elements, and General de Sausseurs lack of contact with his most engaged subordinate, it was obvious that de Sausseurs tenure as a brigade commander was going to be considerably shortened. But first, DePuy, who had been given command of the entire operation, ordered all of the U.S. units out of the woods, assembled and returned to their original battalion. When all men were accounted for, they were to be flown back to their home bases. Mysteriously, the North Vietnamese Army had all but vanished A dark and gloomy mood prevailed among exhausted officers and troops of the 196th LIB and the two 27th Infantry battalions as they withdrew. Talking about what they had been through, many of the soldiers claimed they were ambushed, inferring the enemy had gotten the best of them. Telling these dejected soldiers that they had in fact, been the force that had located an enemy camp and attacked it and that it was the Communists who had been forced to defend themselves was not a satisfying explanation. Most had never experienced such large losses. On returning to their bases, they would learn the depressing numbers: 60 U.S. killed in action and 159 wounded. Contributing to the low morale was that they had been pulled from the battlefield before they had an opportunity to see the death and destruction they had brought on their adversaries, losses that included about 200 dead. Another reason for the dismal mood was General de Sausseurs performance. It was best summed up by one of his battalion commanders, Lt. Col. Charles Nulsen: One battalion commander was commanding 11 companies while another battalion commander was left to command only his headquarters elements. Operation Attleboro was going into a new phase even before the withdrawal of the 196th LIB. Brigades of the 1st Infantry Divisionand later the 25th Infantry Division, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, the 173rd Airborne Brigade and three South Vietnamese infantry battalions, began arriving at several locations in Tay Ninh Province. The next morning, November 6, a massive hunt for all elements of the VC 9th Division began. DePuy, a highly intelligent officer with a superb record as an infantry battalion commander in World War II and a stern intolerance of incompetence, shaped the next 19-day phase of Attleboro with a simple dictum: Find the enemy with the least number of men and destroy them with the maximum amount of firepower. His forces produced what the general demanded from the very start. On the evening of November 6, a 1st Division ambush squad spotted a column of enemy troops moving along a trail. The men fired their claymore mines into the column and quickly called in artillery. Soon, 70 enemy bodies lay along the trail. Throughout this first day of Attleboros new phase, 1st Division losses were one killed and 23 wounded while enemy losses included 170 killed. Two days later, under incessant attacks from several U.S. brigades, Colonel Cam began losing control of his 9th Division. Sending orders to the battered 101st NVA Regiment to protect ammunition stores being moved by a COSVN rear service group, he discovered the NVA unit was in a panicky retreat that spooked the logisticians, who abandoned the ammunition stores and joined the rout to save their own skins. During the next two weeks, U.S. forces found huge amounts of rice, clothing, communications equipment and ammunition abandoned by General Thanhs forces. On November 25, when Operation Attleboro concluded, American leaders reported a total 1,016 VC/NVA killed. There were 155 U.S. KIA. While an agent reported Communist losses at twice the U.S. estimate, captured documents, found many months after the operation ended, pegged VC/NVA losses at about half of what the American leaders claimed. These documents also reported the 9th Divisions 101st NVA Regiment suffering heavy losses while the two VC regiments, the 272nd and 271st, experienced moderate and slight losses respectively. Few members of the two 27th Infantry battalions, soldiers who had borne the lions share of the losses and had done most of the heavy fighting during Operation Attleboro, would learn of their actual accomplishments before they left Vietnam. Most had arrived there early in 1966 and had completed their tours long before the enemy side of the story surfaced. A carefully researched unclassified study of the battle was not published until 32 years later, in 1998. It is now clear that General Nguyen Chi Thanhs Dry Season Offensive came to an early and ignoble end within hours after the first contact with Meloys battalion on November 3. Almost immediately, Colonel Cam changed his Dry Season Offensive plan to concentrate his forces on the destruction of the 196th Brigade. In the next three days, this battle went so badly for him that Cam never resumed the original effort. The captured documents also unraveled the mystery of the sudden lack of enemy resistance on November 5, soon after Foleys violent attack and during Garretts sweep to reach Meloys position. The documents revealed that the 3rd Battalion of the 101st NVA Regiment that was facing Meloys men was so ravaged by the American attacks and firepower thatwithout withdrawal ordersits troops simply fled the battlefield. The report went on to describe how the North Vietnamese were so shaken that it took six days to locate the survivors. The Operation Attleboro story ended with most elements of the 9th VC Division having either been run out of the country or desperately evading the forces they had been sent to destroy. The heroic performance of these two U.S. battalions in early November ensured there would be no Communist offensive in the Saigon Corridor during the dry season of 1966. General Nguyen Chi Thanh was posthumously promoted to the rank of senior general after reportedly being killed in a 1967 B-52 bombing attack. Brigadier General Edward H. de Saussure was relieved of command of the 196th LIB shortly after Attleboro ended. To the dismay of many who were there during those costly three days, de Saussure was later promoted to major general. He died in 2002. Major General Sandy Meloy retired in 1982. Robert Foley retired as a lieutenant general in 2000. Master Sergeant John Baker retired in 1989 and serves as vice president of Americas most prestigious veterans group, the Medal of Honor Society. In April 1975, a little over nine years after Operation Attleboro, Maj. Gen. Hoang Cam commanded the North Vietnamese IV Corps in the defeat of the South Vietnamese army at the last clash of arms of the Vietnam War, the Battle of Xuan Loc. Rod Paschall was a Special Forces detachment commander in Vietnam in 1962-63, served in Laos in 1964 before returning to Vietnam as a company commander and staff officer in 1966-68, and finished his service in Southeast Asia in Cambodia in 1974-75. Currently, he is editor-at-large for MHQ. On a hot afternoon in August 1918, the Chemical Warfare Service of the U.S. Army rolled into the village of Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., a small factory town on the banks of the Hudson River, 20 miles north of midtown Manhattan. The soldiers built their barracks along the main road outside the business district and stationed a garrison as the engineers went down to the waterfront. There, they put up about a dozen wood-framed buildings on the grounds of the Zinsser Chemical Company for the production of mustard gas. In case of explosion, the buildings were designed to blow outward so as not to collapse on the workers inside. When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, the Army had to scramble to catch up to its Old World counterparts in every aspect of military preparedness. Germany held a towering advantage over its opponents, thanks to its chemical engineering expertise and its bold use of poison gases. In the United States, only chlorine had ever been manufactured on a large scale, and no facility was geared up to make the king of battle gases, mustard gas. The governments solution was to contract with privately held chemical companies to manufacture poison gases. One of the first was the Zinsser Chemical Company, whose president and chief chemist was Frederick Zinsser. Born in 1868 in New York City, Zinsser grew up in Hells Kitchen, speaking both English and German. His father, a chemist from the Rhineland, and his mother, an Alsatian homemaker, came to the United States in 1848. Frederick completed a degree in chemistry at Columbia University, and then spent three years at Heidelberg University in Germany, where he worked under the worlds most respected chemists, including Dr. Viktor Meyer, who first synthesized mustard gas in 1886. Zinsser returned to the United States and briefly worked in Manhattan before moving to Hastings-on-Hudson in 1897. He and his father, August, converted an old sugar mill on the Hudson River into a chemical plant. The Zinsser Chemical Company produced tannic acid and a dye made from gallnuts and alizarin that wool manufacturers used to give Army uniforms their distinct khaki color. By 1917 Zinssers business occupied more than a dozen buildings on the Hudson and employed some 200 chemists and laborers. But it was Zinssers association with Viktor Meyer that caught the attention of the Chemical Warfare Service. Gas is the cheapest, the most effective, and the most humane weapon to ensure our national safety, said Zinsser. He was not alone in his belief that chemistry could bring the battlefield carnage to a swift end. Only the Germans had mustard gas in 1917, however, and its use was tipping the war in their favor. The Germans first used mustard gas at the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele, in July 1917. (By then, countermeasures to chlorine attacks were so effective that releases were primarily used to harass the enemy into wearing gas masks, which were difficult to breathe through and restricted vision.) Mustard gas is a colorless, oily vesicant, a blistering agent whose viscosity allowed it to cling to foliage, uniforms and even horse hair for up to a week. Toxic when inhaled, it caused temporary blindness, hoarseness and pulmonary inflammation. Unlike chlorine and phosgene, which completely dissipated after five to 10 minutes, mustard clouds settled in trenches and ditches and lingered for days in puddles and sinkholes. A soldier exposed to the oily gas could easily contaminate his entire unit with his soiled uniform. Zinsser described mustard as the most important of all chemical compounds. . . . An area liberally sprinkled with mustard gas is an absolute barrier against attack and if weather conditions are favorable, will make a terrain thus treated impassable for days at a time. At first the troops didnt notice the gas and were not uncomfortable, wrote Harry Gilchrist, medical director of the Gas Service of the American Expeditionary Force. But in the course of an hour or so, there was marked inflammation of their eyes. They vomited, and there was erythema of the skin. . . . Later there was severe blistering of the skin, especially where the uniform had been contaminated, and by the time the gassed cases reached the casualty clearing station, the men were virtually blind and had to be led about, each man holding on to the man in front with an orderly in the lead. It is estimated that 30 percent of American battle casualties in 1918 were caused by exposure to mustard gas, though of those who had been wearing gas masks only about 3 to 4 percent died. In November 1917, the Army purchased a large tract of land outside Aberdeen, Md., to be used as artillery proving grounds. A portion of this land, known as the Edgewood Arsenal, was set aside for filling explosive shells with toxic gas. Edgewood also began producing chlorine and phosgene. Mustard production did not begin until February 1918, when the British chemist Sir William Pope devised a new technique for the rapid manufacture of the gas, a procedure perfected by scientists at American University in Washington, D.C. There is such a thing as creative chemistry, said Zinsser. The method which we [the Americans] developed in collaboration with the English chemists was very simple. But the Army could not meet the demand for gas. In August 1918, after the government agreed to finance new construction and equipment costs, the Zinsser Chemical Company and the National Analine and Dye Company in Buffalo, N.Y., were contracted to produce mustard gas in conjunction with the Edgewood Arsenal. Each facility, named for its location, was overseen by an Army representative and protected by a garrison to ensure the safety of military secrets and the safe handling of the poison gas, though mustard gas production was responsible for 674 casualties at Edgewood and its satellites between June and December 1918. Edgewood Hastings, the Zinsser plant, was prepared for a daily production of 75 tons when the armistice was signed in November 1918. (It is unclear how much was ever actually produced.) Edgewood Maryland had a daily capacity of 100 tons; Edgewood Buffalo, 50 tons. In contrast, German plants were never able to produce more than 6 tons a day. The German method of production, based on the work of Professor Meyer, was a very complicated and difficult one to put into practice on a large scale, said Zinsser. There is reason to believe that the willingness of the German high command to sue for peace was in a large measure due to their knowledge of what was in store for them. The production of chemical weapons during World War I was an unprecedented collaboration between the government, research scientists and private industry. Until 1914, the Germans had practically a world monopoly on organic chemicals, said Zinsser. Very few plants existed in any country outside Germany, and here in the United States only a few had the courage or backing to enter into competition with these strongly entrenched competitors. Almost 2,000 scientists in the United States, and thousands of industrial workers, made chemical weapons research the largest government-funded research program at the time. Factories and laboratories that in times of peace produce dyes, medicines, and perfumes can at short notice be changed into plants for munitions and gas, using practically the same apparatus, operated by the same skilled workmen and supervised by the chemists trained for the job, said Zinsser. What Zinsser describes in broad strokes would prove the foundation for the rise of American military-industrial might in the world created by the Great War. Whats more, the hazards of producing the toxic gases would lead to new standards for worker and soldier safety. But mustard gas in particular was so horrific in its effects, causing more chemical casualties than all other agents combined, that world opinion finally turned against the poisons, creating the climate for the first lasting agreement regarding chemical weapons. Bans on chemical weapons had been tried before. Two decades earlier, at The Hague Conference of 1899, many of the major powers, including Imperial Germany, had signed an agreement pledging not to use poison gas in warfare. The United States refused to sign, its representative, Captain A.T. Mahan, calling the prohibition hypocritical. It is illogical, said Mahan, to be tender about asphyxiating men with gas, when all are prepared to admit that it is allowable to blow the bottom out of an ironclad at midnight, throwing four or five hundred into the sea to be choked by the water. Regarding the violations of this treaty in World War I, Zinsser observed: Conventions and agreements are merely scraps of paper when a nation finds itself in a hopeless situation. The wreckage of the Great War, however, delivered a new impetus for compliance. In 1925, 37 countries, including the major belligerents in World War I, signed the Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, which restricted the use of chemical weapons, although not their production or storage. (Both the United States and Soviet Union maintained large stockpiles of chemical weapons during the Cold War.) The last documented use of mustard gas came in 1988, when Iraqi president Saddam Hussein deployed it and other chemical weapons against Iraqi Kurds. Eliminating global stockpiles, however, would not commence until the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993, and by December 2012, the United States had destroyed 78 percent (71,000 metric tons) of its declared chemical weapons, including 90 percent of agents in Category 1, which includes mustard gas, and all stockpiles of agents in other classifications. As of October 2013, 190 countriesrepresenting 98 percent of the worlds populationhad agreed to abide by the Chemical Weapons Convention. Only Angola, Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan had neither signed nor acceded to the convention. David J. Jackowe is a physician and writer in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. Long after I dont care, somebody will look at my paintings and say, You know what? He damn sure knew what he was painting. At the heart of Donald M. Yenas 3-by-5-foot oil Texas Trail to Rail Trails, a trail herd ambles into town. On the tracks, a 4-4-0 engine waits for rangy Texas Longhorns of every conceivable color to cross. One drover pauses between the rails with a tally book, while the rest of the crew herds the cattle into massive loading pens. Off in the distance, just discernable through the dust, are a windmill, a water tank and the town. In the lower right, the trail boss meets with a man in a spanking rig pulled by a nice ponyprobably the buyer. Unused railroad ties, tin cans and trash lie scattered about, and as the tracks cross a prairie dog town, a furry onlooker or two watches the action. I never thought I was going to finish the damned thing, Yena says in that deep Texas drawl, but I did. Talk about your narrative style of painting. The canvas is one of several Yena plans to create depicting the Texas cattle business, big paintings that tell a story and show the West as it really was. The San Antoniobased artist stresses historical accuracy. Thats the way I do it, Yena explains. If you see a saddle or a gun, itll be the right one of the era. Everything will be just like it should be. He doesnt have far to look to find the objects for his research, either. Usually, hell pick something out of his and his wife Louises personal collection of Western memorabilia, which includes badges, knives, guns and holsters, the latter of which, Yena says, are harder to find than the actual guns. He stresses historical accuracy in his art. Im a real stickler for that, he says. Long after I dont care, somebody will look at my paintings and say, You know what? He damn sure knew what he was painting. I dont know where he got it, but he had it. Where he got it, Yena says, was growing up around the cattle business in Castroville, Texas, about 15 miles west of San Antonio in the historic Medina River Valley. Texas Ranger John Hays is said to have led Henri Castro and his colonists, most of who came from Alsace, France, to found the town in 1844. And south Texas certainly grew into cowboy country. I was always playing cowboys and Indians, he says, and never got over it. That explains his interest in collecting the West. And art? I got in trouble in grade school for drawing and scribbling and carving up desks rather than learning how to read and write, he says. Thats a fact. My mother used to go and get me shoe boxes at the store because they had white paper on the side, and I would do my crayon work and drawing on that, because everything else had lines through it. My mother could sketch, Yena recalls. We didnt have much money. My family moved out to Medina County when I was about 3 years old. I watched her sketch some of the old buildings around Castroville, some of the ruins. I can remember watching her. I dont have anything she did, but I know she did. Maybe that was the beginning of it. After studying commercial art at a vocational high school in San Antonio and a stint in the Navy, Yena broke into the Western art field. He does not sell prints and is not represented by a gallery or agency, but he has been dealing on the private collector market for more years than he cares to remember. About a dozen years ago, Yena sold much of his collection to the Witte Museum in San Antonio, but he has been rebuilding his personal collection since. We usually convert most of our monetary assets back into our collections, he says. Thats why were broke all the time. So how would he prefer to be rememberedas a collector or as an artist? Just a damn good Western artist, he says. Thats what I like to do. I paint once upon a time in the West with authenticity. ww Donald Yenas San Antonio studio is open only by appointment. Call 210-494-5371. James Butler Hickoks reputation as the Old Wests premier gunfighter or man-killer made him a legend in his own lifetimea distinction shared by few of his gunfighting contemporaries. Thanks to an article in Harpers New Monthly Magazine in February 1867 and some other colorful accounts published in the mid-1860s, Hickok, or rather Wild Bill, as he was generally called, was soon elevated from regional to national status. And since his death in 1876, he has achieved worldwide fame. This woodcut of Hickok appeared in the February 1867 Harpers New Monthly Magazine as the lead illustration for a George Nichols article that helped make Wild Bill famous. But even without such publicity, Hickok would have made his mark, for he was a man whose personality, strength of character and single-mindedness set him apart. Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer described him as astrange character, just the one which a novelist might gloat over a Plainsman in every sense of the word whose skill in the use of the rifle and pistol was unerring. Many others besides Custer regarded Wild Bill as the best pistol shot on the Plainsa man whose quick-witted reaction to danger enabled him, according to one account, to draw and fire his Colt Navy revolvers before the average man had time to think about it. Credited with the deaths of 100 or more badmen, Hickok emerged as perhaps the most prolific man-killer of his generation. But when some of his critics branded him a red-handed murderer, his reaction was predictable. Hickok admitted his flaws and vices as do most people, but he reckoned that being called a red-handed murderer was going too far. In February 1873, it was widely reported that he had been shot dead by Texans at Fort Dodge in Kansas. Worse, it was suggested that, like all men of his kind, he had died with his boots on. Wild Bill broke his silence of some years and wrote angrily to several newspapers, declaring, No Texan has, nor ever will `corral William. He also demanded to know who it was who prophesied that he and others should die with their boots on. I have never insulted man or woman in my life, but if you knew what a wholesome regard I have for damn liars and rascals they would be liable to keep out of my way. Two years later, in conversation with Annie Tallant, one of the first white women to enter the Black Hills, Hickok again denied that he was a red-handed murderer, but admitted that he had killed men in self-defense or in the line of duty, adding, I never allowed a man to get the drop on me. Sadly, it is Hickoks pistol prowess and his image as the slayer of innumerable badmen that is best remembered today. Indeed, many seem unaware of his deserved reputation as a great Civil War scout, detective and spy; Indian scout and courier; U.S. deputy marshal; county sheriff; and town marshal. Wild Bill himself hated his desperado reputation, and he may well have regretted his famous alias, though it had been fastened upon him during the Civil War and he had no reason to feel ashamed of it. Nevertheless, he must have realized too late that once he pulled the legs of the likes of Colonel George Ward Nichols of Harpers New Monthly Magazine and Henry M. Stanley of the St. Louis Weekly Missouri Democrat, he became a target for the press, sensationalists and reputation seekers. The real Hickok, however, was in complete contrast to his newspaper-inspired desperado image. Rather, he was gentlemanly, courteous, soft-spoken and graceful in manner, yet left no one in any doubt that he would not be put upon, and if threatened would meet violence with violence. Wild Bill could be generous to a fault and, though slow to anger, would willingly defend a friend or the fearful if they were under threat. When angered, however, he became an implacable enemy and sought out and faced down those who insulted or challenged him. This man-to-man approach, rather than involving brothers or close friends in gunfights, feuds or disputes, earned him respect among his peers, especially when it was known that he only became pistoliferous as a last resort, and on occasion was known to slug it out with antagonists fist to fist and toe to toe. It could be argued that Wild Bill Hickoks alleged exploits as a city marshal or as acting county sheriff inspired the image of the lone man who, thanks to novels and the movies, walked tall and tamed cow towns, mining camps and indeed any other Western habitat where law and order was in short supply. This is nonsense: In reality, it took more than one man to clean up, civilize, or enforce and uphold the law, and city councils hired deputies to assist the marshal. Colonel Custers statement that Hickok was both courageous and able to control others by threatening to settle disputes personally if they refused to back off reflected contemporary opinion. Old-timers in such places as Hays City and Abilene recalled that his presence did much to keep the violence down. In the latter Kansas cow town, the cry Wild Bill is on the street! is said to have curtailed many a drunken brawlor aided a harassed mother anxious to persuade an unruly child to do as he was told! An announcement that appeared in the Coolidge, Kan., Border Ruffian of July 17, 1886, is worth repeating because the character sought sums up the legendary Wild Bills own alleged attitude toward so-called evil-doers: WANTED. A man for marshal, with the skin of a rhinoceros, a bullet proof head, who can see all around him, run faster than a horse, and is not afraid of anything in hades or Coolidgea man who can shoot like [Captain Adam] Bogardus, and would rather kill four or five whisky-drinking, gambling hoodlums before breakfast than to eat without exercise. Such a man can get a job in this town at reasonable wages, and if he put off climbing the golden stair for a few years may get his name in a ten-cent novel. Despite its humor, the foregoing opinion was shared by citizens in Kansas who were either the victims of, or feared, drunken desperadoes or the murderous Texas cowboys in their midst. For many knew that once Hickok assumed his position of authority, ordinary folk felt a sense of security. He never tried or succeeded in eradicating lawlessness, but he helped control it. Indeed, on November 25, 1871, the Topeka Daily Commonwealth, in a feature devoted to Wild Bills bloodless head-on clash with some roughs from a train (which was copied verbatim by the Abilene Chronicle on the 30th), stated that the citizens of the state should thank him for the safety of life and property at Abilene, which has been secured, more through his daring than any other agency. A Leavenworth paper, following his death, added that his memory would be cherished by those whose peace and security he had sought to preserve. Hickok did not wear a badge for long in Hays City (chosen Ellis Countys acting sheriff in a special August 23, 1869, election, he was defeated in the regular election that November) or in Abilene (city marshal from April 15 to December 13, 1871), but it was time enough for him to make his mark. Like most of his contemporaries, he was not a professional policeman but did what he was paid for. To suggest, as one recent writer has, that today Wild Bill would have difficulty getting a job as a dogcatcher is unfair to Hickok. There is no comparison between a 19th-century frontier marshal and one of todays professionally trained law enforcers. Each must be judged by his own time. Hickok commanded respect and was vilified, based as much on hearsay as on fact. His legendary life has long been subject to eulogizing and deflation. But what of the real man? In appearance at least, Hickok matched his myth. He was a broad-shouldered, deep-chested, narrow-waisted fellow, over 6 feet tall, with broad features, high cheekbones and forehead, firm chin and aquiline nose. His sensuous-looking mouth was surmounted by a straw-colored moustache, and his auburn hair was worn shoulder length, Plains style. But it was his blue-gray eyes that dominated his features. Normally friendly and expressive, his eyes, old-timers recalled, became hypnotically cold and bored into one when he was angry. Around his waist was a belt that held two ivory-handled Colt Navy revolvers, butts forward, in open-top holsters. Worn in this fashion, his six-shooters could be drawn underhand and spun forward for the Plains or reverse draw, or for a cross-body draw. Either way, the weapons were readily and easily available. An anonymous admirer in the Chicago Tribune of August 25, 1876, wrote that in his rapid and accurate use of his Navy pistols, Wild Bill had no equal. He then said: The secret of Bills success was his ability to draw and discharge his pistols, with a rapidity that was truly wonderful, and a peculiarity of his was that the two were presented and discharged simultaneously, being `out and off before the average man had time to think about it. He never seemed to take any aim, yet he never missed. Bill never did things by halves. When he drew his pistols it was always to shoot, and it was a theory of his that every man did the same. Charles Gross, who knew Wild Bill in Abilene, recalled years later that he watched Hickok shoot and was impressed both by his quickness and accuracy. He also said that Hickok told him one should aim for a mans gutsit might not kill him, but it would put him out of action. Hickoks real and imaginary shooting skill had fascinated the public ever since Colonel Nichols in his Harpers article described how Wild Bill pointed to a letter O on a signboard some 50 yards away that was no bigger than a mans heart, and without sighting the pistol with his eye, fired six times, and each ball hit the center of the O. Others later upped the distance to 100 yards, and soon amazing stories of Hickoks marksmanship circulated that had him hitting dimes at 50 feet, driving corks through whiskey bottle necks 20 feet away, and other near-miraculous feats that are now legion. Some of those alleged feats have been duplicated by modern gun experts. Although tests carried out during the 1850s had proved that Colts Model 1851 Navy revolver was accurate in the hands of an expert at 200 yards, Wild Bill, like most of his contemporaries, was more concerned with its accuracy and reliability at 10 or 20 feet. As the anonymous writer for the Tribune and others have pointed out, Hickoks ability to get a pistol or pistols into action as quick as thought furthers the awe-inspiring image of a pistoleer who had no equal in the Wild West. Besides Hickoks obvious liking for Colt Navy revolvers, at various times he was armed with, or proficient in the use of, Colts Model 1848 Dragoon. By the early 1870s, however, the introduction of centerfire and rimfire revolvers to replace the still popular percussion, or cap-and-ball, arms was led in the United States by Smith & Wesson. That companys No. 3 model in .44 rimfire, which broke open to load or eject its cartridges, was superseded by Colts New Model Army revolver, the Peacemaker. Hickok did not get his hands on the latter, but when, in March 1874, he left Buffalo Bills theatrical Combination, William Buffalo Bill Cody and Texas Jack Omohundro presented him with a pair of Smith & Wesson No. 3 American revolvers. Later that year it was reported from Colorado that Hickok carried them, but by the time he reached Deadwood in Dakota Territory, they had disappeared and he either had the old cap-and-ball Navy revolvers or perhaps a pair of Colts transitional rimfire or centerfire revolvers known as conversions . Although he never met or fought them, Hickok was well aware that there were better shots, and deadlier men, on the frontier. Nonetheless, he must have realized the potential of his awesome reputation and, understandably, when it suited him, turned it to his own advantage, ever conscious that while drunken bravado rarely matched action, there was always some gunman eager to prove himself superior to Wild Bill. But Hickoks speedy reaction to danger was backed by the killer instinct. Without it, or the state of mind needed to react instinctively when threatened or under fire, even the best shots could hesitate and go down before a drunken desperado or someone coldbloodedly determined to kill or be killed. Despite his awesome gunfighter reputation, Wild Bill did not draw his six-shooters in serious confrontations as often as one might think. Certainly his tally was considerably lower than the hundreds of badmen he tongue-in-cheek claimed to have laid away. In fact, the authenticated killings number six known victims with a possible seventhif one accepts that he also killed David C. McCanles at Rock Creek in 1861. However, those six victims do serve to pinpoint the difference between a newspaper reputation and reality. As we have said, much of Hickoks real and mythical reputation as a fighting man can be laid at the door of border scriveners who elevated Wild Bill into a kind of demigod. Some were genuine admirers, some tongue-in-cheek and others malicious, or they thought it was what the public wanted. Whatever the reason, Hickok typified the era of the man-killer or shootist, better known today as the gunfightera term in use as early as 1874 but not popularized until post-1900. Back in 1881, however, a Missouri editor was to write that the gentleman who had killed his man was quite common, and if his homicidal talents had been employed in the enforcement of law and order, he would be ranked as a `great Western civilizer. Predictably, some writers have eagerly seized upon the word civilizer to explain Hickoks role in the control and eradication of the badmen who infested many frontier towns and habitats, ignoring the fact that when acting in an official capacity, every time he drew and fired his pistols and a man was killed, he was answerable to the coroner and not necessarily applauded for ridding them of such characters. We will probably never know how Wild Bill really felt about gunfighting. Old-timers recalled his bravery under fire, or deadly purpose when he drew and fired at another man who was as intent on killing him. Buffalo Bill Cody, in one of his last interviews, said that Hickok cocked his pistols as he drewwhich gave him a split-second advantageand was always cool, kinda cheerful, almost, about it. And he never killed a man unless that man was trying to kill him. Thats fair. The first recorded shootout involving Hickok was the so-called McCanles Massacre at the Rock Creek, Nebraska Territory, station on July 12, 1861, when, according to Harpers, Wild Bill killed 10 ruffians in a desperate fight that left him with shot and stab wounds. In fact, only three men died, and the fracas has been a controversial issue ever since. The fight occurred following a row between former owner David C. McCanles and Russell, Majors & Waddell, the company that had bought the place from him for use as a Pony Express relay station. After making a down payment and promising to pay the remainder on a regular basis, Russell, Majors & Waddell went bankrupt. McCanles demanded his money or his property back or he would take it by force. Hickok, who had turned up at the station in late April or early May 1861 and was employed as a stable hand or handyman, was not involved when the station keeper, Horace Wellman, who had failed to get money for McCanles or at least a promise to pay, returned empty-handed from the company office at Brownville, Nebraska Territory. McCanles and Wellman then had an argument, which ended with McCanles and two of his men dead and his young son William Monroe escaping to give the alarm. It has been alleged that Hickok shot McCanles, but it could well have been Wellman. However, Hickok, Wellman and one J.W. Doc Brink were arrested and taken before a justice of the peace, who accepted their plea of defense of company property and released them. To date, despite the lurid account in Harpers and a mass of published material, no one knows for sure who killed McCanles. If we ignore Hickoks Civil War service, during which he is reported to have killed a number of bushwhackers and guerrillas, it was 1865 before he was again involved in a face-to-face shootout. This was between himself and his friend Davis K. Tutt, an ex-Confederate turned Union man who, like Hickok, was an inveterate gambler. The pair played cards on the night of July 20 in Springfield, Mo., and Hickok lost. Tutt claimed he was owed $35, and Hickok said it was $25. Dave took Wild Bills Waltham watch pending payment. The pair then spent most of the 21st arguing over the amount. Hickok stated that Dave had loaned him money many times in the past, but he did not believe that he owed his friend $35 and they should compromise. But Tutt stormed off and reappeared on the public square at 6 p.m. sporting the watch. When Hickok told him to stop, Tutt drew his pistol, and Hickok did the same. Seventy-five yards apart, both men opened fire, the shots sounding as one. Tutt had turned sideways (in dueling fashion) and missed, but Hickoks ball entered Daves right side and exited through his left, piercing his heart. Arrested and put on trial for manslaughter, Hickok was found not guilty by a jury influenced more by the judges remarks on ones rights of self-defense than by the opinion of the prosecuting counsel. Tragically, neither man had wanted the fight, which is a far cry from the anti-Hickok statements made in the 1920s by men who claimed to have witnessed the shootout, some of whom had not even been born when it took place. It was to be another four years before Hickok again killed another white man (Indians did not count in those days), during which time the press had been busy building up his reputation both as a man-killer and pistol dead shot. Following his election as acting sheriff of Ellis County in August 1869, Wild Bill shot dead Bill Mulvey, who when drunk had refused Hickoks order to disarm and continued shooting at anyone who moved. A month later, Wild Bill was called to a saloon where Sam Strawhun and friends were raising a ruckus and threatening to shoot anyone who stopped them. Whether Strawhun threatened to shoot Wild Bill or thrust a broken glass into his face is hotly debated, but Sam was buried the next day, unmourned, and Hickok received congratulations for ridding Hays City of such a character. Wild Bill still lost the November election to his deputy, Peter Rattlesnake Pete Lanahan. Almost a year later, in July 1870, when Hickok paid a visit to Hays City, either on personal business or in his guise as a U.S. deputy marshal, he was set upon in a saloon by two troopers of the 7th Cavalry, Jeremiah Lonergan and John Kile. During the scuffle, Lonergan pinned Hickok down and Kile pushed his pistol into Wild Bills ear, but it misfired, by which time Hickok had his hands on a six-shooter. Lonergan received a ball in the knee and Kile, who was shot twice, died the next day. Hickok, meanwhile, hid out on boot hill, determined to sell his life dearly if other troopers fancied their chances. It was more than a year later, on the evening of October 5, 1871, when a number of Texans were roaming the streets of Abilene, carousing and drinking, that City Marshal Hickok heard a shot and found himself facing more than 50 armed and drunken Texans led by gambler Phil Coe. Coe said that he had fired at a dog, and then fired twice at Hickok, one shot hitting the floor and the other passing through the marshals coat. Hickoks first two shots thudded into Coes stomach, and he may have hit others in the crowd before he shot at another armed man rushing toward him out of the shadows. To his horror, Wild Bill later discovered that the man was a former jailer and now friend, Mike Williams, who, in trying to help Hickok, ran into the line of fire. Williams was the last known man to be killed by Wild Bill. Hickok paid for Mikes funeral and later told his grief-stricken wife what had happened and why. That gunfight brought to an end Hickoks career as a law officer. When the cattle season ended, the town officials decided to get rid of the cattle trade and had no further use for a highly paid marshal, so on December 13, Wild Bill was fired. Wild Bill now left it to his reputation to deter most would-be rivals, while the legend builders eagerly spread the word. But it is doubtful even they realized how much Hickoks murder at the hands of the back-shooting coward Jack McCall in a Deadwood saloon in August 1876 would immortalize Wild Bill Hickok as a Western legend. This article was written by Joseph G. Rosa and originally appeared in Wild West. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Wild West magazine today! Personal belongings from passengers as well as other debris from the missing EgyptAir jet confirms that the airliner carrying 66 people had plunged into the water, the Egyptian navy said Friday. The found wreckage from Flight 804 includes luggage, seats and body parts and was discovered about 180 miles off the Egyptian city of Alexandria. The plane disappeared from radar on Thursday over the Mediterranean Sea. It was traveling from Paris to Cairo. The revelation Friday came on the heels of discussion over whether wreckage had indeed been located. On Thursday, Greek authorities found debris, but EgyptAir said the material was not from Flight 804. "[P]ossible terrorism appeared more likely than a catastrophic malfunction at 37,000 feet," a top Egyptian aviation official said, the Washington Post reported. Meanwhile, Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said a seat, luggage and "a body part" were among the debris, and the European Space Agency said that a possible oil slick was spotted in the crash area by a satellite. While French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Aryault said Friday that there has been "absolutely no indication" as to why the plane went down - "We're looking at all possibilities, but none is being favored over the others because we have absolutely no indication on the causes," he told a French TV station - the focus in his country is on if a security breach occurred at Paris de Gaulle airport. According to reports, after the November Paris terrorist attacks, some de Gaulle staffers had their security clearance revoked over suspected terror links. There had been attempts by Islamists to recruit airport staff, Eric Moutet, a lawyer for some of those staff members, told the BBC. "That is clear," he said. "There are people who are being radicalized in some of the trade unions, etc. The authorities have their work cut out with this problem." As the investigation continues, the Egyptian navy is searching for two flight recorders that were aboard the plane. Among the passengers and crew were 30 Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis and one passenger each from the U.K., Belgium, Chad, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Portugal, Algeria, Canada and Kuwait. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Oklahoma legislature on Thursday passed a bill that would allow doctors who perform abortions to be charged with a felony. It would also lead to any doctor performing an abortion to have his or her medical license revoked. SB1552 passed the state's House of Representatives, 59-9, last month, and on Thursday it passed the Senate, 33-12. Republican governor Mary Fallin now has five days, not including Sunday, to take one of three options: sign the bill, veto the bill or allow the bill to become law without her signature. The bill, the first of its kind, was authored by Republican Sen. Nathan Dahm. "Most people know I am for defending rights," Dahm said. "Those rights begin at conception. I believe it's a core function of state government to defend that life from the beginning of conception." However, Dahm's fellow senate Republican Ervin Yen, who is a medical doctor, called SB1552 "insane" and said, "It will be declared null and void" via litigation of it is signed into law. Jennifer Miller, of the Center for Reproductive Rights, called the bill "unconstitutional" and asked Fallin to veto it, but she noted Fallin's past stance on abortion-restricting legislation. "Since Gov. Fallin took office in 2011, she has signed 18 bills restricting access to reproductive health care services, including a Texas-style clinic shutdown law, a ban on the most common method of second trimester abortion, unconstitutional restrictions on medication abortion, and a law that forces abortion providers to perform an ultrasound and display and describe the image," Miller said. "Each of these laws have been blocked by courts; in fact, the Center for Reproductive Rights has challenged unconstitutional restrictions on reproductive health care in Oklahoma eight times in five years." @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. News / National by Felex Share Zimbabwe has a robust education system despite the economic challenges it is facing and its students are well behaved as compared to other countries, Botswana Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Kenny Kapinga has said.He made the remarks after bidding farewell to Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko at his Munhumutapa offices in Harare yesterday."The other area we talked about is education," Mr Kapinga said. "Zimbabwe has a resilient education system doing well in spite of resource challenges and we are looking at how the two countries can work together in that sector. I have always been encouraging people who want to send their children for education outside Botswana to send them to Zimbabwe because of the good socio-cultural environment that you find here. Children here are more behaved than those in other countries we cannot name."Mr Kapinga, who leaves the country next week, said the joint investigation by Zimbabwe and Botswana police into the recent murder of Air Zimbabwe public relations executive Mrs Shingai Dhliwayo was a demonstration of the good relations between the two countries and their security services.Mrs Dhliwayo's body was found tied to a tree about 5km from Plumtree Border Post in a bushy area.Her hands and legs were tied with a rope in a sitting position, while her mouth was gagged with a cloth and she was bleeding from the nose.A post-mortem revealed that she died due to strangling.Said Mr Kapinga: "I also mentioned the close relationship between our security services. They work together, transparently as demonstrated recently in the investigation into the murder of a lady who was working for Air Zimbabwe."You know that the Zimbabwe Republic Police crossed into Botswana and did a joint investigation with the Botswana police, demonstrating the close relations between the two and by extension the close relations between the two countries."Mr Kapinga said the expansion of the Harare International Airport planned by the Zimbabwean Government deserved support for the country to become a regional hub."We also talked about the close level of cooperation we have in terms of tourism and aviation and our hope that Harare International Airport with the support of other countries will become a regional hub as an alternative to the other hubs we are using," he said."We also spoke about animal disease control, the need to work closely to control foot and mouth and other cross boundary diseases. This is something we have worked together on for several years and would want to strengthen."He said there were many areas where the two countries could forge new relations."There are many areas and mining is one of them," Mr Kapinga said."You know Botswana is experienced in terms of diamond mining and we have other minerals we are exploiting and there is need to be together to exchange experiences and technology."On his stay in his Zimbabwe, Mr Kapinga said: "It was the second time. I have worked here in a diplomatic capacity and it was an opportunity I enjoyed very much." News, events, history, and other mid-week tidbits. Tuesday, October 25, 4:30 7 p.m. Orr Area EMS Open House Brats and burgers will be served. Event includes a new ambulance tour and blood pressure screenings. For more info: 218-780-3798. Orr Fire Hall 4540 Lake St., Orr Tuesday, October 25, 12 6 p.m. Essentia Health Job Fair Talent recruiters and department managers will be on-site at Essentia Health-Virginia. Candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to attendnurses, nursing and clinical assistants, surgery technicians, radiology technicians, respiratory therapists, human resource professionals, and those interested in environmental services or nutrition services. Essentia staff will greet candidates, conduct an initial screening and filter them to appropriate hiring managers for interviews. Select candidates will be verbally offered a position before leaving. Candidates are asked to bring a resume, but its not required. Attire is business casual. For more info: www.essentiacareers.org. 901 9th St. N., Virginia News / National by Walter Mswazie THE Friends of Joshua Nkomo Trust has started upgrading the late Vice President Simon Muzenda's Mucheke home, known as kwaVaMuzenda in Masvingo, into a heritage site at an estimated cost of $200,000.The trust's creative director, Rayban Sengwayo, told The Chronicle that the project has started in earnest and is expected to be complete by June, after which it will be commissioned."This is done as a follow-up to VP Phelekezela Mphoko's visit to the village, Sikombela in Midlands and Gonakudzingwa in Chiredzi restriction camps last year. He made it clear that heritage sites should be set up," said Sengwayo.He said by refurbishing the 124-year-old home, the trust seeks to honour the contribution that the late Vice President made to the liberation struggle and relive his legacy."We're upgrading the late Vice President Muzenda's home in Mucheke Suburb into a heritage site as we want to preserve our nationalists' legacies at a cost of $200,000. This home was built in 1892 with five huts which we're thatching and painting. We're through with late VP Muzenda hut. We will build a perimeter wall round it," said Sengwayo.He said all huts would be named after late luminaries who lived in Masvingo with the first one named after the late VP Muzenda."The village will show the present generation how the late VP Muzenda lived and headed the war of liberation as he operated from his house. VP Muzenda used to provide freedom fighters like our Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa ammunition meant to destabilise the enemy. He gave him ammunition to bomb a train in the 1960s from the same home," Sengwayo said."We're going to name all houses after prominent revolution cadres here in Masvingo. We're going to name one hut after the late Nolan Makombe, the other one after Benjamin Burombo, another after Mayor Urimbo while the other two will be named after the first blacks who lived there in 1892. We've already started consultations with Masvingo City Council and residents."He said the museum would have photos that show the late VP Muzenda's political career, his walking stick, all the paraphernalia associated with the icon also known as the Soul of the Nation.Sengwayo said the refurbishment of the home is also supported by the Muzenda family especially the late VP's wife, Maud Muzenda, Masvingo City Council and Zanu-PF member Joosbi Omar who has provided most of the material."We will have VP Muzenda's works that he did in South Africa in the 1940s when he graduated with a diploma in carpentry at Marianhill College in Durban. We will also bring his college mate for the commissioning," he said.Sengwayo also said there is going to be a coffee shop, traditional market, arts and craft centre and a colossal museum as a promotional tool to community-based tourism.The Joshua Nkomo National Foundation established a museum for the late Father Zimbabwe, Vice President Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo at his house in Bulawayo's Matsheumhlophe suburb.It has become a major tourist attraction after opening its doors to the public in 2012. Mr Adrian Zecha, founder of Aman Resorts, received the inaugural SHTM Lifetime Achievement Award from the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) at a ceremony held in his honour at the SHTM's teaching and research hotel, Hotel ICON, on 19 May 2016. The SHTM Lifetime Achievement Award is established by the SHTM to honour outstanding personalities who have contributed substantially to the development of hospitality and tourism industry in Hong Kong, the region and around the world. In awarding the distinction, the School seeks to recognise true leaders who help define the global hospitality landscape and advance the industry as a whole. Mr Adrian Zecha is the first recipient of this prestigious award. At the award ceremony, PolyU President Professor Timothy W. Tong, said, "Widely recognised as visionary, Mr Zecha continues to create, develop and operate hotels and resorts throughout his career. His contribution to the international hotel sector is without parallel and he is truly a deserving recipient of the School's Lifetime Achievement Award." "It is a tremendous compliment for me to be awarded the SHTM Lifetime Achievement Award," said Mr Zecha. "The SHTM has gone from strength to strength and is now a highly regarded hotel and tourism school in Asia. The School is uniquely positioned to cultivate the human capital needed to drive the overall development of the industry. I'm very much encouraged to witness such a remarkable commitment in education partnership right here. It is this dedicated level of partnership between academia and industry that propels us forward." In a career spanning more than 40 years, Mr Adrian Zecha has founded a series of successful hotel and resort companies, conceiving and developing more than 100 internationally-applauded properties around the world. Initially a journalist and publisher, Mr Zecha's entry into hospitality was as one of the founding members of Regent International Hotels, recognised in its day as the finest international hotel management company. His entrepreneurial role with Regent was focused on the development and positioning of the brand. Selling his interest in Regent International in 1986, he went on to partner with Georg Rafael in the Rafael Hotel Group, which focused on the acquisition and management of luxury five-star hotels and resorts in Europe and the US. The company was eventually sold to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Mr Zecha also founded Beaufort Hotels, which opened luxury hotels in Brisbane, Darwin, Singapore and Bangkok. In 1987 he independently developed, with a group of investors, a small resort and villa property named Amanpuri in Phuket, Thailand. This property went on to become the flagship for Amanresorts, a world-renowned benchmark for luxury hotel living. Mr Zecha currently serves as non-executive Chairman of General Hotel Management, which develops and operates three, four and five star hotels and resorts throughout Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas, including the highly-successful Setai in Miami. "As a world-leading hotel and tourism school, the SHTM has forged close partnership with many of our industry partners and academic institutions in the region and around the world. Our commitment to excellence is well supported by distinguished individuals such as Mr Adrian Zecha," remarked Professor Kaye Chon, Dean and Chair Professor of the SHTM and Walter Kwok Foundation Professor in International Hospitality Management. "Today, our students, alumni and scholars cover the globe in their search for knowledge and excellence, and their contributions make a difference everywhere. With concerted efforts, we will continue to play a leading role in nurturing talents for the advancement of the entire industry globally". About PolyU's School of Hotel and Tourism Management For over 40 years, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has refined a distinctive vision of hospitality and tourism education and become a world-leading hotel and tourism school. Ranked No. 1 in the world in the "Hospitality and Tourism Management" category in ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2022 for the sixth consecutive year, placed No. 1 globally in the "Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services" category in the University Ranking by Academic Performance in 2020/2021 for four years in a row, rated No. 1 in the world in the "Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism" subject area by the CWUR Rankings by Subject 2017, and ranked No. 1 in Asia in the "Hospitality and Leisure Management" subject area in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022 for the sixth consecutive year, the SHTM is a symbol of excellence in the field, exemplifying its motto of Leading Hospitality and Tourism. The School is driven by the need to serve its industry and academic communities through the advancement of education and dissemination of knowledge. With a strong international team of over 80 faculty members from diverse cultural backgrounds, the SHTM offers programmes at levels ranging from undergraduate degrees to doctoral degrees. Through Hotel ICON, the School's groundbreaking teaching and research hotel and a vital aspect of its paradigm-shifting approach to hospitality and tourism education, the SHTM is advancing teaching, learning and research, inspiring a new generation of passionate, pioneering professionals to take their positions as leaders in the hospitality and tourism industry. Pauline Ngan Marketing Manager +852 3400 2634 Hong Kong Poly It looks like you've reached a page that doesnt exist (anymore). Please use the navigation or search above to find content on Hospitality Net. Go back to home Though hes experienced some dissent within his ranks, Birdman is adding to his roster at Cash Money. The latest Cash Money signees come from opposite sides of the country, Phillys AR-AB and Compton Menace (from the CPT, of course). AR-AB shared a video of himself and Menace standing behind Birdman as the Cash Money boss announced the new signings. My n*gga Menace, my n*gga AR, yall got the green light from me, said Bird, N*gga Im fuckin with that. West Coast, Philly, lets get it. AR titled the video AR-AB signs a deal with Cash Money/Rich Gang, and uploaded it to his YouTube channel. The Philly rapper also tweeted a picture showing the Cash Money logo next to that of his own brand, OBH. Men of honor, he captioned the post. AR-AB also mentioned his new label in his latest track, Law Freestyle. He shouts out Cash Money, Rich Gang, Compton Menace, and Birdman during the intro. Soon into the song, he raps, Cash Money Records, baby, pass the ball. AR-AB has long had a solid following in Philly, but he made nationwide headlines last summer when he got involved in the Drake vs. Meek Mill beef that shook the rap world. Drake namedropped AR-AB on Back to Back, and Meek then dissed his Philly compatriot after he seemed to take Drakes shout-out as a compliment. AR-AB even dropped a Back to Back Meek diss of his own. Compton Menace also confirmed the signing via social media. He posted a picture of two Cash Money chains to his Instagram, and wrote, When its 4real. Congrats to both artists on their new deals. Birdman News / National by Melody Baya A MAN from Cowdray Park suburb in Bulawayo allegedly assaulted his girlfriend's ex-husband after a confrontation.Paul Gatsi, 28, together with his two brothers allegedly bashed Busani Ncube, 23, of Gwabalanda using a shovel, fists, and logs on his head as well as other parts of the body.Ncube is admitted at Mpilo Central Hospital due to injuries sustained.Ncube allegedly saw his ex-wife Thubelihle Ncube walking with Gatsi and his companions when he asked to have a word with her.Gatsi was offended and teamed up with his brothers to assault Ncube, a court heard.He appeared before Western Commonage magistrate Themba Chimiso facing an assault charge.Chimiso did not ask him to plead and remanded him in custody to June 1.Prosecuting, Mufaro Mageza told the court that on May 16 at around 9PM at Ezigodweni area in Cowdray Park, Ncube bumped into Gatsi walking with his ex-wife."As the complainant approached his ex-wife, the accused who was acting in common purpose with Norman and Eric Gatsi who are still at large started assaulting the complainant using fists, stones, shovels and logs all over his body," said Mageza."The accused was arrested for the assault and his accomplices fled from the scene and are still at large."The prosecutor said Ncube was rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital for treatment where he is still admitted. Foo Fighter's The Colour and The Shape turns 19 years old today. To celebrate its birthday we take a look back at its best tracks and Stuart Clarke's interview with Dave Grohl before last year's historic Slane Caslte gig. The Colour and The Shape was the second album released by Foo Fighters way back on May 20 1997. It proved to be a very successful record for the still young Foos when it reached no.10 in the US album charts and no.3 in the UK. After selling 1.9 million copies in the US it received a platinum certification. It also helped to cement Foo Fighters as stalwarts of rock and roll. Here we take a look back at the album's most memorable tracks and an interview with Dave Grohl before their infamously muddy Slane Castle gig in May 2015. The songs appear here in the same order as they do on the album but not chronologically. Monkey Wrench First we've got the second track off the album, 'Monkey Wrench'. This high octane, blistering track opens the album up and prepares the listener for the other tracks on the record. Here Grohl pushes his vocal chords to their shrieking limits while still driving the song forward with a perfectly growly guitar tone. Couple this to a slightly Inception like music video and you've got a classic on your hands. My Hero Its easy to forget that Grohl is also an incredibly proficient drummer as well as a guitarist. So much so he is responsible for this diamond of a track. 'My Hero' was written by Grohl about the "ordinary, everyday heroes" of the world. While Taylor Hawkins is currently Foo Fighters' drummer, Grohl wrote and recorded the drum line for this song with Hawkins only appearing behind the kit in the video. The song as serves as one of the most widely recognisable drum intros out there. Everlong Here's a slightly different beast. 'Everlong' has been a staple of the band's live set since it was first released as a single. Again Grohl is responsible for the majority of the song's composition. He recorded the vocals and drums as well as one of the guitar lines. The video is also quite surreal as it takes place in the somehow connected dreams of Grohl and Hawkins' married couple characters in the video. It takes on trippy elements of dreamscape before storming in to the last chorus to finish it out. An acoustic version of the song was released on a greatest hits album in 2009 has also proven extremely popular. For even more Foo Fighters check out Stuart Clarke's 2015 interview with Dave Grohl about Foo fighters playing Slane and almost moving to Belfast as a child. In an interview with Hot Press' Stuart Clark, Graham Norton - perhaps Ireland's best-known gay man - speaks about same sex marriage, shares his widespread disgust over RTE's refusal to stand and fight over Pantigate, and at the broadcasters decision to pay off the conservative crusaders who have bridled at being labeled 'homophobic'. Im not registered to vote in Ireland, but I do pay the licence fee there and Im fucking furious that some of my money has gone to these idiots. RTE settling wasnt just gutless, it was absolutely moronic! Graham Norton can be acerbic when hes on the telly, but rarely do you find him spitting nails as he is today, discussing the Miss Panti Bliss homophobia controversy and RTEs decision to reach for the cheque-book rather than trusting in the courts to decide whether the use of the description homophobic was libellous or not. Within minutes of seeing Pantis subsequent Abbey Theatre speech, in which the drag queen made a powerful call for true equality for gays, the star man at the BBC was on Twitter alerting his 662k followers to the speech. Gay, straight, undecided everyone should watch this, he urged, before concluding: Brilliant! Pantis Noble Call... A year on from our historic and momentous 'Yes' vote on Ireland's same-sex marriage referendum, we look back at Niall Stokes' pre-vote message urging the citizens of Ireland to vote for freedom, equality and mutual respect Ireland is on the verge of something extraordinary and brilliant. Which is why Hot Press is urging its readers to vote Yes to the constitutional amendment to enable same sex marriage in Ireland, which takes place on May 22. The referendum is essentially an equality issue. Why should a hugely significant proportion of the population be excluded from the right to marry? There is no basis for it at all, other than that vilest and most small-minded of motivations: discrimination against the other. Those campaigning for a No vote can try to dress their ideology up in any and every form of sneaky, weasel verbiage but at heart it comes down to this: they believe that the love shared by gay people is somehow diminished, compared to that between heterosexuals. They believe that gay people are intrinsically inferior. And, in truth, when you scrape away the veneer of ecumenical- style dishonesty and obfuscation, the essential truth is that they believe that fucking someone of your own sex is sinful and wrong and should not be done. Well, it is time to let them know, definitively and forever, that we dont care. We do not fucking care! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement has always believed, and has campaigned on the basis, that queers, homosexuals, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, trannies, drag artists, queens, heteros, homos, males, females, shemales, hegirls and every other shade or shape or variation or mutation across the gender spectrum are all unequivocally and unashamedly absolutely equal under the sun. Whether we are black, brown, orange, green, dark, pale, blonde, bald, hairy or entirely hairless, the day we become consenting adults, we are all equally entitled to love and fuck and marry and procreate and have a family and no bishop or bigot is going to tell us otherwise, thank you very much.It is encouraging that, over the past two years, the polls have been strongly in favour of the proposition that gays should be allowed to marry. So too is the widespread support for the amendment, which has been reflected across the political spectrum. But, in truth, there is no room for complacency. As we go to press here in HP Central, it is not a given that the amendment will be passed. Which means that it is vital to make certain that you get to the polling station on time! and cast your vote in favour. And also that you do everything you can to ensure that your friends get there and tick the yes box too. Because the beauty of a referendum of this kind is that unlike voting for the Lib Dems or the Greens in a British general election every vote counts absolutely equally. Your yes vote cannot, and will not, be wasted.That is especially true on this occasion. Winning is, of course, what matters most. But winning well would be even better. Because this is a moment which is potentially rich in symbolism; a moment when the enlightenment can finally and definitively be seen to have arrived in Ireland. Which is why, at the outset, I mentioned the word brilliant'...It is a concept that is thrown around too liberally at times. I have been guilty of it myself. A brilliant goal. A brilliant solo. A brilliant song. A brilliant night. These things are often said a little bit too easily in the excitement of the moment, when what is being described was just... excellent.But here, I mean it in its original, French sense of brightness, being suffused with light, glittering, sparkling. And of the qualities which flow from that: being distinguished, lustrous, illustrious, splendid, magnificent. A shining light...It isnt often that we are offered the opportunity to step forward and show others the way, to be a global lighthouse. But that opportunity is there for us on May 22. We should, I believe, embrace it unequivocally and give gay men and women all over the world, and their families and friends, something real and important to celebrate.Marriage for gays has, of course, been legalised elsewhere. As far back as 2001, same sex marriage was ratified in the Netherlands. Belgium, Spain, Canada, Norway and Sweden followed. In 2014, same sex marriage was legalised in the UK(with the sorry exception of the six counties of Northern Ireland). In all, seventeen countries have introduced laws which enable marriages between same sex couples; meanwhile in the US, nineteen States have legalised gay marriage. On the other hand, 29 States have constitutional provisions which exclude it.Irelands situation is different to other European states. Indeed, if the referendum is passed on May 22, we will become the first country in the world where the people themselves have decided, in a plebiscite or a referendum, in favour of embracing gay culture to the fullest extent possible. The law allowing gay marriage can be changed by parliament in the UK. It can be changed in Holland. It can be changed in Spain. The freedom gays currently enjoy to marry, in any and all of these jurisdictions, could therefore be reversed by a reactionary government. But in Ireland, if the referendum is passed, that decision can only be changed by the people themselves in another referendum. It is an extraordinary position of strength. And it is one that gives us, the citizens of Ireland, the opportunity to act as a positive example, which gays all over the world will want their countries and their fellow citizens, to follow.And it will, officially, make Ireland one of the most gay-friendly places in the world which is exactly what this country should be.It is interesting to travel back in time to 1985. Even in our wildest dreams, could anyone have imagined then that, just thirty years on, we would have the opportunity to vote for gay marriage? Not on your life. Back then, it was illegal for a man to make love with another man in Ireland. Strictly speaking, as a homosexual, you could end up in jail for the crime the crime! of fornicating with your VBF. Indeed in 1983, in response to the case taken by gay rights activist David Norris, the Supreme Court here had specifically upheld the constitutionality of the law which criminalised homosexual acts. (Women were so irrelevant apparently, that they were excluded from this draconian provision but thats another days discussion).David Norris, who is one of the great Irish heroes of recent times, had the courage of his convictions. And he also had a powerful legal team, headed by Mary Robinson, who went on to become the President of Ireland. He took his case to the European Court of Human Rights and, in a landmark decision, in 1988, the court decided that the law criminalising same sex acts was contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights. It was a decision which changed the course of modern Irish history. But what if David Norris had run out of energy or felt unable to take his case to Europe? Where would we be now? It is a chastening thought.Such was the deep-seated prejudice amongst Irish politicians, legislators and public servants, and so great was their craven fear of the wrath of of the Catholic bishops and by extension the Vatican, back then, that it took the Dail a further five years to repeal what was an utterly repugnant and discriminatory law. For five long, dreary years the shadow of criminality was allowed to hang over everyone in the homosexual community. The cowardliness of those politicians made me sick then. Looking back, it still does...Well, it may be dressed up in different rhetoric now, but for the most part, the interests, primarily in the Roman Catholic church, that opposed the legalisation of homosexuality are in the vanguard of the No campaign. Lest we forget, they opposed the availability of condoms. They tried to deny even married couples access to contraception. They made life miserable for unmarried mothers: they sacked them from their jobs, stole their children and locked them up in workhouses and Magdalene laundries. They fought against the legalisation of homosexuality. They tried to stop the introduction of divorce here. And throughout all of this, they colluded in the violent sexual abuse of Irish children, hid the evidence and did everything they could to assist the perpetrators in their own ranks to escape scot free, putting other innocent children at risk in the process.At every stage of this referendum debate, these No campaigners have lied about what is at stake in the vote. They know that it has nothing to do with surrogacy, but they put the posters up anyway. They know that it has nothing to do with adoption, but they do everything they can to create paranoia on that score. They know that it has not undermined heterosexual marriage in any of the countries where it has been introduced, but they attempt to inspire panic all the same. They have lied their way through every single referendum and campaign, and through the child abuse scandals, in the hope that people will be confused or disorientated enough that they will follow their miserable lead.And now they or more specifically the Catholic bishops are threatening that if the referendum is passed, they may no longer be able to carry out the civil aspect of marriages, for couples that do decide that they want to be joined in matrimony in a church.It is the final throw of the dice, which says it all. If the referendum is passed, they whisper in the ears of the faithful, it will cost you and your children. It is a threat that has as much dignity, and deserves as much respect, as that of a spoiled child who sticks out his bottom lip and says that if the referendum is passed hell take the ball home and nobody will be allowed to play with it.But heres the inspiring thing; I truly believe that in 2015, Irish people are above all of that. They have been lied to a thousand times too often. They are too smart and open and intelligent and too generous and inclusive to be dissuaded now. A Yes vote on May 22 is a vote for freedom. It is a vote for love. It is a vote for liberation. It is a vote for equality. It is a vote for the Republic.This is an opportunity for Ireland to do the right thing by all of the people on this island and by gay people all over the world. It is an opportunity for us to shine. It is an opportunity for us, as a people and as a democracy, to show the way. Vote yes. Let there be light... Bayer's proposed mega deal to buy Monsanto is likely to create a mega public relations challenge for the German company at home. Bayer faces a backlash against Germany's biggest planned acquisition because of two products from the St. Louis-based company that are widely detested in the country: genetically modified seeds and the weedkiller Roundup, which uses a compound called glyphosate that some believe can cause cancer. "Germans view Monsanto as the main example of American corporate evil," said Heike Moldenhauer, a biotechnology expert at German environmental group BUND. "It may not be such a good idea to take over Monsanto as that means incorporating its bad reputation, which would also make Bayer more vulnerable." A German Environment Ministry study found 75 percent of citizens are against genetic engineering of plants and animals. Aware of voter suspicions, members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats, have already come out against the deal, which would turn Bayer into the biggest supplier of farm chemicals. Monsanto, which has a market value of $42 billion, said Thursday it's studying the offer. Neither party has disclosed the terms. A merger would "strengthen the economic power of genetic engineering in Germany, which we see as very problematic as the majority of the population in Germany is opposed to the technology," said Elvira Drobinski-Weiss, the lawmaker responsible for formulating policy positions on genetic engineering for the Social Democrats. BASF four years ago abandoned research into genetically modified crops in Germany, citing a lack of acceptance for it in many parts of Europe from consumers and farmers. The German company moved the unit to the U.S. and halted development of products targeted for Europe to focus on crops for the Americas and Asia. Bayer is no stranger to the public outcry that crop chemicals can cause, and has been under fire itself for the use of two chemicals that some claim are responsible for the dying off of bees. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate FMC Technologies' proposed $13 billion merger with France's Technip is the oil industry's latest bid to reinvent an offshore drilling business crippled by high costs and low oil prices. The all-stock deal, announced Thursday, would wrap FMC, a Houston oil equipment maker, with Technip to create the second-largest oil services company by revenue, ahead of Houston's Halliburton and Baker Hughes, and behind only international giant Schlumberger, according to Rystad Energy, a Norwegian consulting firm. The proposed merger, which would cut up to $400 million a year in costs, brings additional worries for employees, already seeing layoffs since oil prices collapsed in late 2014. FMC employs 3,100 in Houston, and Technip employs 2,200 here, including in offices along Interstate 10's Energy Corridor. "The first thought for employees is always: How does this affect me? Is my job safe?" said Keith Wolf, an executive at Houston staffing firm Murray Resources. "In a relatively down market, it's a scary thing to be looking for a job when opportunities are more limited." Oil field contractors, which manufacture equipment and provide services ranging from drilling to well cementing, have culled thousands of jobs from payrolls over the past two years as low prices have forced producers to stop drilling and cut spending. In Houston, the energy services sector has lost one out of three jobs, according to an economic analysis by the Greater Houston Partnership. The jobs that remain could be cut further as oil languishes under $50 per barrel. At FMC Thursday, employees, none willing to be identified, said they feared their jobs could be the next to go. "We were all worried about layoffs, even before the merger," one worker said. FMC and Technip said they expect to shed $200 million in annual costs in 2018 and $400 million in 2019. In an interview, top executives with both companies stressed that the objective of the merger wasn't simply to slash costs and payrolls, but instead to take the combined company in a new direction by integrating FMC's expertise in manufacturing equipment with Technip's installing it. "This is not a consolidation play," said Doug Pferdehirt, the chief operating officer of FMC and the future CEO of the new company. "This is about redefining and reshaping our industry." The most compelling reason for FMC and Technip's marriage lies on the seafloor. More Information How they stack up Workforces in Houston and revenues in billions: Local2015 employeesrevenue FMC3,100$6.4 Technip2,200$13.6* *Converted from euros at current rates. See More Collapse FMC Technologies is best known for making the equipment that helps drillers manage oil and gas flowing from underwater wells. Technip, headquartered in Paris, is among the world's best in planning how that equipment will fit together and installing it under hundreds of feet of water. The maze of pipes and equipment on the seafloor, which can represent one-third of an offshore well's price, is a major focus for an industry that has become obsessed with cost savings since oil prices began to fall in 2014. In particular, analysts have noted, the lack of standardization among equipment has made assembling undersea wells prohibitively expensive, eating into profit margins for drillers and manufacturers. Services companies have recently sought to lower costs by consolidating design, manufacturing and installation under one roof. Combining would help achieve that, said Technip's chief executive, Thierry Pilenko, who would become executive chairman of the new company. "We're going to work in a much more integrated manner," he said. The two companies have experience working together. In early 2015, they launched Forsys Subsea, a joint venture that set the ambitious goal of cutting offshore project costs by up to a third. Executives said the merger should held drive costs even lower. A similar larger-is-cheaper rationale has already driven a number of other deals across the oil field services industry. In August 2015, the largest services company, Schlumberger, paid $12.7 billion in cash and stock to buy Houston manufacturer Cameron International Corp. And the same thinking was part of Halliburton's $34.6 billion offer for Baker Hughes in November 2014. The Halliburton-Baker Hughes deal was scrapped at the end of April because of strong opposition of antitrust regulators. FMC and Technip executives said they didn't expect antitrust problems, noting that their joint venture, a precursor to the deal, won regulatory approval. Analysts said this merger would likely be less troublesome to regulators because, unlike Halliburton and Baker Hughes, FMC and Technip have few overlapping businesses. Had the Halliburton-Baker Hughes merger gone through, the combined company would have controlled 70 percent shares in four markets, according to the U.S. Justice Department. This merger would make TechnipFMC the largest player in underwater services, but it would still only have about 27 percent of the underwater equipment and services market, according to Rystad. FMC and Technip also run businesses onshore. Technip, for example, designs and builds refineries, and FMC builds the movable arms that help load liquefied natural gas and other products onto tankers. Analysts said that much of the merger's success will come down to how the companies are stitched together. The company will keep three headquarters, in Paris, Houston and London, and organize its activities into five businesses. Two of those, surface operations and underwater services, will be headquartered in Houston, and the others in Paris. "They're pursuing the holy grail of integration," said Bill Herbert, an analyst who tracks the companies for investment bank Piper Jaffray. "They're trying to drive simplification, standardization. It's an ambitious agenda." The deal is expected to close in early 2017. At that time, each share of Technip stock will be converted into two shares of TechnipFMC and each FMC Technologies stockholder will get one share of TechnipFMC. FMC shares lost $1.35, or 4.7 percent, to close at $27.30 on the New York Stock Exchange. Technip gained 2.93 euros, or 6.3 percent to close at 49.30 euros. RIO DE JANEIRO - Former Brazilian energy minister Pedro Parente has been named by acting President Michel Temer as the new CEO of state-run oil giant Petrobras. Parente was picked Thursday to replace Aldemir Bendine, an appointee of now-suspended President Dilma Rousseff. The new Petrobras CEO was working as chairman of Sao Paulo-based financial bourse BM&FBovespa. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LOS ANGELES - A Houston-based oil pipeline company responsible for a massive spill on the California coast a year ago didn't do enough to prevent corrosion and its operators didn't detect and react to the spill quickly enough, federal regulators said Thursday. Plains All American Pipeline also didn't have adequate systems in place to signal there was a major leak in the pipeline running near the Santa Barbara County coast, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said in its final investigation report. The report was issued on the one-year anniversary of the 120,000-gallon spill and just two days after the company was indicted in Santa Barbara County Superior Court on dozens of criminal charges. Beaches remained closed for weeks in the aftermath as oil from the pipeline washed up more than 100 miles away in Los Angeles County and more than 220 birds, such as pelicans, and nearly 140 marine mammals, mostly sea lions, died. The agency previously said severe corrosion led to a 6-inch gash in the 2-foot-wide pipe, but the final report goes into greater depth about failures to detect and prevent that corrosion and operator error in recognizing the leak. Plains, which remotely operated the pipeline from a control center in Midland, Texas, did not initially detect the spill after a series of pump failures and a severe drop in pressure on the pipeline eventually led to a shut down. The agency said alarms that should have been triggered by changes in pressure didn't sound to alert staff to a problem and the control room didn't realize there was a leak. The controller even restarted the line after the spill occurred, the agency said. Plains has apologized for the spill and said it was an accident that does not merit criminal charges. News / National by Crime Reporter Two people were seriously injured after they were shot by unknown armed robbers in separate incidents in Harare on Wednesday night.Police have since urged people to be wary of a group of criminals recently released from prison.A foreign currency dealer lost two cellphones and $2 000 to three armed robbers, who included a woman, after they lured him into believing that they intended to change South African rand into United States dollars.Chief police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba confirmed the incidents and said investigations were in progress.She said on Wednesday at around 7pm, Philimon Machadho, who was driving a silver Honda Fit (registration number ADU 0604), offered a lift to two men at a food court in the city centre."Along Bishop Gaul, the complainant stopped the car and asked the two for directions to the place they wanted to go. One of the armed robbers produced a pistol and ordered him to drive and follow their orders and he was forced to drive along Danges Road in Belvedere," she said.Along the way, the two searched Machadho and took away three cellphones and $40 cash before they ordered him to stop near Zesa Training Centre.Machadho was ordered to get out of the vehicle and he complied."One of the robbers fired two shots and he was hit on both hands and he fell down. The robbers drove off leaving him lying on the ground," Snr Asst Comm Charamba said.Machadho later made a report at Milton Park Police Station. He was taken to Parirenyatwa Hospital where he is admitted.Another man was shot and seriously injured on the chest by armed robbers along Samora Machel Avenue on Wednesday night.The man is reported to be in a critical condition.In a related incident, a foreign currency dealer lost $2 000 to three armed robbers in Ruwa after he was lured into believing they wanted to change 31 000 rand to US dollars.The dealer was in the city when he received a call from the robbers who asked him to proceed to Ruwa for the transaction."When he got to Ruwa, he met the three criminals, one woman and two men who were travelling in a Altezza registration number AND 8595. They convinced him to get into their car," Snr Asst Comm Charamba said.The robbers drove along a dust road and one of them produced a pistol and robbed the man of two cellphones and $2 000 in cash.Snr Asst Comm Charamba urged people to be wary of criminals who were on the loose.She said they should avoid offering lifts to strangers."We believe that some of the criminals were released from prisons and people should be wary of them. To the armed robbers, the long arm of the law will soon catch up with you," she said.Snr Asst Comm Charamba said they had intensified their investigations of these armed robbery cases. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A man was found shot early Friday morning in a bullet-riddled sport utility vehicle stopped along Interstate 45 in southeast Houston. The wounded man was spotted about 2:30 a.m. in the 8100 block of the outbound Gulf Freeway service road near Glenbrook Court, said Sgt. Kenneth Daignault of the Houston Police Department. Daignault said a wrecker driver passing by saw the SUV stopped along the roadway and noticed a man inside slumped over the steering wheel. He had blood on his head and had been shot. Several bullet holes pockmarked the driver's side of the SUV. The wounded man was rushed to Ben Taub General Hospital, where he was in critical condition. Daiganult said investigators believe shooting occurred where the man was found. They are trying to determine what sparked the gunfire. They don't know if an incident happened elsewhere that led to the shooting or if the gunfire erupted during a road-rage confrontation. "We're trying to back track his timeline," Daignault said, "to see where he was coming from -- if it started somewhere else and flowed over to the road or if it was a genuine road-rage incident." So far, investigators have no motive or suspects in the case. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate For the better part of 85 years, Jack Terrell wondered who he was. Though he loved the family that adopted him when he was only a few days old, he had so many questions. At an early age, he decided one thing: The mother who gave up her own baby must have been an awful person. Terrell knew only scraps of his past. He was born Sept. 2, 1930, to Fannie Woodard at a home for unwed mothers in Pilot Point, Denton County. Woodard named him Kenneth Ray. He was raised in Waco by Hazel Terrell and her husband, and after their divorce, by Hazel and Everett Taylor, who adopted Jack. It was a happy childhood, Terrell says, anchored by loving parents and strict but loving grandmothers. Between U.S. Navy postings in Hawaii and Seattle ("Somebody had to do it," he says with a wink) he met and, within nine days, married Betty, in Waco in 1953. They, too, had a good life, raising three children while Terrell worked in Houston in the savings and loan industry - "before it went poof," as Terrell puts it. Though he never stopped looking for his mother, closed records and cumbersome search methods never gave Terrell much insight into his past. Then came the Internet, and shortly thereafter, sophisticated and swift ways of analyzing DNA. So Terrell swabbed the inside of his cheek and sent it off to Family Tree DNA, a 16-year-old Houston company. Patricia Bond developed a passion for genealogy when she was in college, about 40 years ago. One day, doing dishes over the holidays, she asked her grandmother, a widow, about family history. Standing with her back to everyone, the grandmother said, "I don't know." Finally, she turned around to show big tears running down her face. "I'll tell you what you want to know," she said. "But promise me that you'll find my son." The grandmother, Fannie Woodard Davis, had never told anyone she had a child before she was married. "Find my baby boy," she said. At that moment, Bond's mother, Ruby Winters, remembered that her mother would sometimes take out a box holding tiny baby-boy clothes, rest them in her lap and sob. Fannie Woodard met Robert Davis five months after her baby was born and given up for adoption. They lived on a 145-acre farm near Weatherford their whole lives and raised a son and three daughters. Every weekend, Fannie and Robert would drive into Weatherford and stop at the orphanage to bring a different boy out to the farm for the weekend. Every weekend, they would tell their four children not to go down to play in the Brazos River, but every weekend they did anyway. Seventy miles away, their half-brother was doing the same thing. After the kitchen revelation, Fannie often reminded Bond that she had entrusted her with the task of finding the missing child. "Find my son," she said. "Life got in the way," Bond says now. She was busy with career and family; records were sealed, and computers were crude. In 1996, Fannie Woodard died. Along the way, Bond never had any indication that Fannie's son was looking for family. She had no idea if he was even alive. She and her husband retired to Salt Lake City, a genealogy mecca. Someone suggested that Bond send her DNA to Family Tree DNA, just to see what might happen. Bennett Greenspan, an entrepreneur, founded Family Tree DNA in 2000 in Houston, capitalizing on the growing understanding of the workings of human genetic material. At first, the company could trace a man's ancestry through his Y-chromosome, or men's and women's mitochondrial DNA, which passes through the mother's line. About six years ago, tests for autosomal DNA - the specific genes each person gets from Mom and Dad - became practical, Greenspan says. That type of test could match blocks of DNA from other people and predict the degree of relation, if any, between two people. Greenspan often speaks to adoption groups. "Everywhere people are desperate to answer the question why," he says, as in, 'Why did my mother give me up?' "Biology is going to solve the problem." As more individuals enter DNA in databases, he says, more matches will be found. On April 24, Bond got an email from Family Tree telling her a close family match had been discovered. On the site, she read that the match was someone named Jack Terrell, whose most distant ancestor was Fannie Woodard. Fannie's son? Bond emailed him. You have two half-sisters still living, in Fort Worth, she told him. "What color were my momma's eyes?" he asked. "Very blue," she said. Both Bond and Terrell have very blue eyes. Bond, the Terrells and the Davis sisters, Ruby and Jo, met the next Saturday, May 1, in Fort Worth. Many tears were shed from very blue eyes. Jack Terrell looks like his late half-brother, Robert. He has Fannie's laugh and her love of dancing. His birth mother and adoptive mother shared a birthday, Jan. 27. Most important, he knows his mother loved him. "So much stuff I lost out on," Terrell says. But so much he has gained. He and Ruby talk on the phone every day. Bond looks back and sees one clue that seems important now. Unlike many unwed mothers, Fannie Woodard left her name on her baby's birth certificate. On some level, she wanted to be found. Bond and Terrell visited her grave together. "This is huge," Bond says now. "I finally feel that Fannie can rest. Jack has peace and knows his mother loved him. His children know their heritage." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Moms holding their kids' hands trudged along a footpath, heading home from school to one of the apartment complexes lining a stretch of Spears Road in northwest Harris County. Whatever lay ahead for these children for the rest of the day - homework, dinner, TV, playing with friends - it's doubtful that a visit to a park was on the agenda. The nearest public park to this spot is more than 2 miles way, at Kaiser Elementary School in the Klein school district, according to a map developed by the nonprofit Trust for Public Land. Kaiser participates in SPARK, a program that makes school playgrounds available for public use after school and on weekends. This site, near the intersection of Spears Road and Veterans Memorial Drive, ranked third among Harris County locations outside the city of Houston in the Trust for Public Land's assessment of "optimum new park locations" - places where parks are most needed. The analysis took into account not just the proximity of parks, but factors like the number of children in the neighborhood and the residents' income levels. 'Not as well served' I learned about this research when Ernest Cook, the trust's senior vice president and conservation director, contacted me after reading my May 10 column about access to parks in greater Houston. The column noted that Houston's vast suburban areas were seeing relatively few benefits from the philanthropy supporting spectacular new green spaces like Buffalo Bayou Park and Discovery Green. "Generally, it's true that neighborhoods outside the city are not as well served as those in the city," Cook told me. The trust's analysis of parks in Harris County, funded by a grant from Houston Endowment, will be a model for similar work in cities around the country, Cook said. Local governments and nonprofit agencies can use the data to help determine where they should focus their resources. SPARK parks could be an important tool in the effort to improve Houston's ranking for park accessibility. In 2015, Houston ranked 58th out of 75 cities studied by the Trust for Public Land; just 45 percent of Houston residents had access to a park within a half mile, a distance considered walkable. Working together Created in 1983, SPARK was the brainchild of then-City Councilwoman Eleanor Tinsley, who died in 2009. Tinsley, a former school board member, was keen on intergovernmental cooperation, recalled her former aide, Madeleine Appel. Using school playgrounds as public parks was a way "to get the city and the county and the school district to work together," Appel told me. The late councilwoman and her staff chose five schools to kick off the program. Today, 33 years later, more than 200 schools participate, according to the group's website. It would be easier for the families living in the apartment developments on Spears Road to get to Claughton Middle School, just down the street. But Claughton doesn't have a SPARK park. The SPARK program has never recruited schools, according to Kathleen Ownby, who runs the nonprofit that oversees the program. (Ownby is Eleanor Tinsley's daughter.) Instead, the program has worked with schools whose leaders asked to be included. This strategy has been driven in part by conditions attached to federal funds that pay for improvements - new playground equipment, benches, picnic tables and other amenities. Generally, these funds are limited to low-income neighborhoods. "We have never focused before on the 'park desert' theme," Ownby told me, although the approach may soon change. Access: 1 in 7 The Trust for Public Land's study found that about one in seven Houston residents, or 317,000 people, had access to a SPARK Park. Eighty-six percent of the users surveyed said the school playground was the primary park they visited. This was certainly true of my family during the more than 25 years we lived a few blocks from the SPARK park at Travis Elementary School in Woodland Heights. My daughter spent countless evenings enjoying the playground equipment while my wife and I walked around the track, and many a birthday party included some time playing "Red Rover." A school playground, of course, isn't Discovery Green. But SPARK parks can be a valuable part of a strategy to increase access to green spaces throughout the Houston area, and to distribute them more equitably. I imagine the kids in those apartments on Spears Road would be happy to have one nearby. Let me tell you, it's not easy taking pictures of photographers. They're finicky, hard to please. The Marvins brothers, Mike and Buz, are no exception, although they're good-natured about it. "This is not going to end up on the front page of the Chronicle, is it?" Mike mumbled when I whipped out my iPhone and snapped a candid shot of the two peering at a computer screen. Of course, these guys have a right to be exacting. They're heirs to Kaye Marvins Photography, a Houston institution their parents founded in 1945. For more than 70 years, the family has chronicled this city's weddings, births, bar mitzvahs, graduations, cultural events, official ceremonies and business openings. Images of the DeBakeys, Cooleys, Cullens, Mitchells, Bakers, Links and Abercrombies, not to mention Marvin Zindler, Gordie Howe and Mary Lou Retton, are among the 250,000 negatives Mike Marvins is combing through this week, now that he and his brother are retiring and the venerable business is closing its doors. "Ninety percent of our stuff is just regular folks, but we've recorded a helluva lot of Houston history," Mike told me as we wandered through the emptied-out front rooms of the two-story red-brick house on Montrose - the one with the long, green awning out front - that's been the studio for more than 60 years. "It's a picture of what life was like in Houston - what people did, the clothes they wore. It's a who's who of Houston." Actually, Mike, 75, and Buz, 70, are heirs to a commercial photography tradition that stretches back decades earlier. In the latter years of the 19th century, their grandfather, Zalman Kaplan, was the local photographer in the small town of Szczuczyn, a shtetl in northeastern Poland. With photographs of market days, school events, church and synagogue services and the habits and rituals of everyday life, Zalman Kaplan captured the daily life of his village (just as his son and grandsons would do decades later in their "village"). Those remarkable photos of a vanished world are collected in a book called "Lives Remembered: A Shtetl Through a Photographer's Eye," published in 2002 by the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City. Name change In 1929, Zalman Kaplan's son, Moyshe, left Poland to join a brother who had immigrated to Canada. Still learning to speak English but already an accomplished photographer and touch-up artist, 18-year-old Moyshe (Moses) applied for a job with a studio in Montreal and was told no one identifiably Jewish would be hired. Change your name, the interviewer suggested. Moyshe Kaplan instantly became Kaye Marvins. Mike and Buz's mother, Sonia Wilenska, grew up in Stawiski, a Polish village 7 miles from Szczuczyn. She met Moyshe Kaplan when he and his brother came to Stawiski to make portraits, transporting their camera, tripod, glass plates and other equipment by bicycle. Sonia and Moyshe became teenage sweethearts, before she and her family immigrated to Worcester, Mass., also in 1929. In 1933, Sonia married Moyshe (Kaye), and two years later the young couple moved to Texas to work for the Houston branch of a Boston studio called Bachrach's Photography, then located at Isabella Court on South Main. After Kaye finished a wartime stint in the Houston shipyards as a welder helping build Liberty ships, they opened their own studio. They moved to 4401 Montrose in 1955, studio downstairs, living quarters upstairs. "He was a great photographer; she was a great salesperson," Mike said. "He did portraits, and my mother sold them. My mother sold and sold and sold." They made valuable connections by doing pro bono photo shoots for Alley Theater actors and later for the opera, the ballet and the symphony. Year after year they took photos for the Kinkaid School and wedding portraits for prominent Houstonians. "My dad was the best bridal photographer in the country," Mike says. Kaye Marvins was one of the first to do commercial outdoor portrait photography, one of the first to do color; his sons were among the first in Texas to convert to digital. The elder Marvins helped a newly created NASA set up its photo studio and for years trained NASA photographers. He made portraits of the astronauts and their families. Kaye Marvins retired at age 65. "He never took another picture after he retired," Buz recalled - and his sons took over the business. "We grew up in the studio," Buz said. "I never wanted to do anything else." Their father died in 2001 at age 90, their mother in 2005. "Mother and dad loved Houston so much, because they were so welcome here," Buz said. "They were 24-year-old immigrants and without a penny, and they went into business and were successful from the start." Close to customers The sons maintained close ties to customers through three and four generations. "We've got a million stories we could tell you about them, but we won't," Buz said, laughing. They know the funny stories and the sad ones, but they're discreet. They prefer telling about restoring wedding albums from their vast archives for families flooded out. "These were wedding photos from the '40s and '50s they thought were lost forever," Mike said. Mike did break down and tell me about their experience with the high-society murder trial of Dr. John Hill in 1971, the trial immortalized by Tommy Thompson's best-seller, "Blood and Money." "All those people were our customers," he recalled. "During the trial we had people coming over here, and they'd say, 'Take our picture; we need 50 glossies. The pictures running of us in the Chronicle and the Post are horrible.'" Buz redirected his older brother to the good stories, including riding with Miss Ima. In the '70s, Houston's legendary Ima Hogg was doing a book on early Texas furniture, and she enlisted Mike to travel with her and to photograph hand-crafted furniture throughout East Texas. At lunch time, they occasionally ended up in the village of Round Top, her long, black chauffeur-driven limousine parked outside a little grocery store that made sandwiches. "We'd be sitting on the steps eating sandwiches, she dressed to the nines," Mike recalled. Brothers who look and act younger than their years, who actually seem to get along after working together most of their lives, the Marvins are turning out the studio lights and selling the building. Their grown children have other interests, so the vast collection of negatives, 70 years' worth, is going to the Houston Metropolitan Research Center. Tim Ronk, who oversees photo archives, says the center has been working for several years to acquire the collection. "Since they've been around since the '40s, they've developed history," he told me. Indeed, they have - developed history, that is. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Houston fire inspectors are refusing to follow orders from a top administrator over building inspections because they fear the rules would endanger the public and put firefighters at risk. The open insurrection started after Houston Fire Marshal Jerry Ford issued new protocols last year that inspectors believe cut corners on safety in an effort to pad the division's performance statistics. "Rushing through an inspection invites tragedy," Chief Inspector George Meadows wrote to superiors in an October email obtained by the Houston Chronicle, warning that the plan would "water down" the department's inspection process. "This will no doubt have a negative effect on life safety. It has already had a negative impact on morale," he wrote. Meadows declined to comment about his email, but a half-dozen employees at the Fire Marshal's Office, who spoke anonymously out of fear of retaliation, told the Chronicle that the new policy would force inspectors to perform substandard assessments of high-rises, apartments and other buildings. The new policy called for high-rise inspectors to review only every third floor of the city's tallest buildings, and instituted a daily quota for inspections. In a memo laying out his plans, Ford said inspectors should review each of the city's more than 600 high-rises every year and that employees should inspect three high-rises a day - a move one employee deemed "not possible." More Information By the numbers 3: Number of high-rises fire Inspectors should review a day under the new policy, which calls for only every third floor to be examined 600: Number of high-rises in Houston 7,000: Number of apartment complexes a team of 11 inspectors is supposed to review each year See More Collapse Ford also called for annual inspections of the city's nearly 7,000 apartment complexes by a team that at the time had just 11 inspectors. "He just made an assumption this could be done and we were going to do it," one member of the team said. "That goal is not even reasonable." Ford defended the policy in an emailed statement to the Chronicle, saying he wanted to make the inspection process more efficient, so on-site inspectors would be familiar with the facility's fire suppression systems ahead of time. He did not address the safety issues raised by employees, but said the policy would increase efficiency and allow the department to "perform more inspections, increase public safety and be more fiscally responsible to the community we serve." Interim Fire Chief Rodney West said only, "Our line of work lends itself to constant evaluation and process improvements to best serve the community and protect our firefighters." Demands called 'dangerous' The controversy is the latest to hit the Fire Marshal's Office, which has been riven by a string of scandals in recent years, including a 2014 dispute over safety code violations in city buildings that led to the demotion of the previous fire marshal, who was later fired. Randall Kallinen, a civil rights lawyer who is representing some of the employees, said the inspectors are taking a stand for safety. "Jerry Ford's orders are extremely dangerous," Kallinen said. "The concept you can do an inspection of a high-rise by doing only one of three floors is ridiculous and extremely dangerous. By Jerry Ford's standards, you could have the exits not working, the sprinkler system not working, the alarms not working on certain floors, and it would still pass the inspection. "That puts thousands and thousands of people at risk in the city of Houston," he said. Meadows' email said the policy would put civilians and firefighters at risk. "The loss of firefighter lives in high-rise fires are well documented," the email stated. "This plan places an emphasis on quantity and not quality. This new plan is viewed by us as a means to water down the inspection process and inflate numbers." High-rise blazes have proved lethal in Houston and across the country in recent years. In 2001, Houston Fire Capt. Jay P. Jahnke died in a high-rise residential fire at the Four Leaf Towers at 5100 San Felipe after being overcome by smoke. Ford also tried to institute a protocol called the "360 Program," which required inspectors to send "pre-inspection" checklists to managers and private contractors overseeing or performing work at city high-rises, apartment complexes and numerous other facilities. The program essentially asked them to perform their own inspections and then email the reports back to the Fire Marshal's Office, with the department labeling them "analytical inspections." The 360 program - described as a "bold first step" by fire officials in announcing expansion in September - was presented as a way to track inspections across the city. But staff broadly bucked the order, saying it would artificially inflate numbers while failing to improve public safety. "You're letting the fox guard the henhouse," one employee said. "Why would you tell me you had problems which would bring me out there?" Others agreed. "I don't trust building personnel to do an inspection because if that's the case, I don't see a need for us," said another employee. City Councilwoman Brenda Stardig, who chairs the council's public safety and homeland security committee, said she was not aware of the issues at the Fire Marshal's Office but would be looking into them. "All policies and guidelines should be followed as designed to ensure public safety," she said. Latest in string of problems The inspection insurgency follows a series of problems in the Fire Marshal's Office. In 2014, fire inspectors balked at orders not to cite city buildings that were in violation of safety codes. At the time, then-Fire Chief Terry Garrison dismissed the inspectors' allegations, saying they had "little merit" and came from "disgruntled employees." However, the city's Office of Inspector General launched an investigation into the claims that resulted in a demotion of then-Fire Marshal Richard Galvan. In 2015, Galvan was fired for "lack of transparency" during a city employment investigation. Galvan appealed his firing and was rehired as an assistant fire marshal, a position he still holds. Ford, an assistant fire chief, was appointed fire marshal last year by Garrison, who has since resigned to lead his hometown fire department just outside Phoenix. The latest allegations have renewed tensions in the department. Kallinen said one of his clients complained of recent retaliation after informing Ford's superiors about problems with the directives. "With all these scandals, Jerry Ford should not be the fire marshal," Kallinen said. "This is a continued disregard for safety they have at the top levels, which started when they weren't properly enforcing violations at the city buildings. It's more of the same." An advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., challenged Harris County's bail system on Thursday, arguing in a federal civil rights lawsuit that hundreds of offenders are unlawfully jailed for minor offenses like trespassing and shoplifting simply because they are poor and cannot afford even nominal bail payments. Lawyers for the non-profit, Equal Justice Under Law, filed the suit on behalf of Maranda Lynn ODonnell, a 22-year-old single mother jailed Wednesday for driving without a valid license, and all other pretrial misdemeanor offenders held in Harris County, asking the court for class action status. ODonnell, mother of a 4-year-old, has been held for two days only because she can't afford to post $2,500 bond, according to court documents. The suit described ODonnell as one of many poor defendants who have been "subjected to the County's unlawful and ongoing post-arrest wealth-based detention scheme." "She is currently being held in a jail cell solely because she cannot pay what to other people is a small sum of money," the lawsuit says, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court has "repeatedly articulated the fundamental principle that no person can be kept in a jail cell solely because of her poverty." More for you Ellis renews calls for reforms in response to federal lawsuit Equal Justice Under Law has previously targeted what it calls "money bail" practices all across the United States as unconstitutional, filing lawsuits against 17 other cities and counties nationwide, including Ferguson, Mo., New Orleans and San Francisco, according to Alec Karakatsanis, one of the non-profit's attorneys. The group has obtained federal consent decrees eliminating that practice for newly-arrested offenders in eight cases involving smaller cities, including Dodge City, Kan, and Moss Point, Miss., he said. Harris County is the largest jurisdiction to face a challenge from the group. Harris County court officials and prosecutors have long relied on a rigid bond schedule that generally fixes the amount of bail for all defendants based on the type of offense as well as a defendant's criminal history. Bail for misdemeanors ranges from $500 to $5,000. Bail hearings in Harris County often take place via video link-ups with hearing officers. Very few defendants are freed on so-called personal bonds based on inability to pay and a promise to appear for later court dates. In April, Harris County officials announced the launch of a $5.3 million plan, including a $2 million grant from the MacArthur Foundation, that includes a diversion court, a new county court coordinator and a new system that supposedly will make it easier for defendants to gain release without posting bail. County officials have claimed their plan will help reduce the jail population and address racial and ethnic disparities. But it's still unclear whether judges and hearing officers who set the bonds have begun to make any changes. In an affidavit, ODonnell described how after her arrest, the hearing officer who reviewed her case, whom she described as the "TV judge," sais he found "'probable cause'" before confirming her bail would be $2,500. "I was never asked if I could afford my bail," she said, "A sheriff's deputy told me not to say anything during my hearing. It took about 60 seconds." ODonnell added that she has a job, but lives paycheck to paycheck and stays with a friend because she can't afford rent. Court records show she has prior misdemeanor convictions. The lawsuit seeks to prevent any person from being detained on bail without a "valid constitutional process" including an examination of a defendant's ability to post bond and findings of whether a person can actually afford to pay. It names Sheriff Ron Hickman and five Harris County hearing officers as defendants. Hickman oversees the Harris County jail, where about 70 percent of inmates are typically pretrial detainees. Hearing officers handle the buck of the county's probable cause hearings and set bond. Hickman said he had not seen the lawsuit and declined comment late Thursday. Robert Soard, first assistant Harris County attorney, said he had not yet reviewed the case. "But we are aware of this general issue. We have been providing guidance to the county and the district judges on this matter and we'll certainly review the lawsuit and respond appropriately," Soard said. The county's pretrial detention practices previously have been criticized by Texas civil rights experts, Houston legislators and local researchers who say poor defendants almost always get harsher punishments than those that can afford to pay for pretrial release and that minorities are overrepresented among pretrial detainees. Lawyers have requested an emergency hearing on behalf of ODonnell and other pretrial misdemeanor offenders. In the suit, they are seeking reforms to the bail process, rather than monetary relief. "We see this as an opportunity for Harris County to reform its practices to better reflect our community's values regarding the poor in our legal system, and to bring those practices into compliance with the Constitution," said Lexie White, a lawyer at Susman Godfrey who is leading the nonprofit's Houston legal team. Chasing $4 million in grant money, Harris County officials Thursday announced reforms in the criminal justice system to unclog dockets, lower jail population and address racial and ethnic disparities. And because the changes are so important, they said, they will do it even if they don't get the money. "The pursuit of this grant has broken down the silos that we've been working in, independent of each other," District Attorney Devon Anderson said. "Whether we win this grant or not, we are going to do these things." The changes mean two new dockets for violent offenders to get to trial faster, more treatment and services for addicts and the mentally ill, and diversion programs for mentally ill homeless people and low-level nonviolent suspects. County Commissioner Steve Radack, Sheriff Ron Hickman, several judges and other criminal justice officials flanked Anderson as she outlined changes that reflect six months of field trips and data-driven research, all bankrolled by the MacArthur Foundation, one of the country's largest independent philanthropic organizations. Last year, the foundation awarded Harris County $150,000 to study other jurisdictions and the county's processes. More Information Six-point plan Harris County officials announced a plan to unclog dockets and lower the jail population. It includes: 1. Hiring a coordinator to involve minority communities in criminal justice policy. 2. Using more personal recognizance bonds and pretrial diversion programs for shoplifting and certain drug cases 3. Cultivating treatment options for repeat felony offenders accused of prostitution, theft and nonviolent drug use 4. Creating two "impact courts" to speed up trials for violent crime cases 5. Expanding services for mentally ill homeless people 6. Hiring a jail coordinator to oversee the population See More Collapse Late Wednesday night, a little-known committee that began meeting monthly under the late County Commissioner El Franco Lee submitted the county's application for a grant that could mean $2 million a year for two years to put its plans into effect. In preparing the application, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council gathered data on arrest and release decisions and case processing and diversion and looked into recidivism and re-entry initiatives. "What we found is that not one group is responsible for who is in the jail," Anderson said Thursday. "We all are." Jail population targeted To achieve the biggest of their stated goals - lowering the jail's daily population, which hovers around 8,500 by 1,800 people - officials are implementing several changes, including one often sought: the use of personal recognizance bonds instead of bail. Replacing money with a standard assessment to determine risk of violence or future crime and whether the person will return to court has been trumpeted in several jurisdictions across the country. The problem in Houston, state District Judge Susan Brown said Thursday, is that the county's 22 felony judges don't believe in the reliability of the current risk assessment tool. By replacing it, Brown said, judges will be more likely to look beyond the county's stated bail schedule and release suspects on personal recognizance. Another part of the grant application outlines the county's plan to hire two coordinators to give stakeholders a better handle on systemic problems. One will work to involve minority communities in criminal justice policy and put together forums and training regarding racial bias across the system. The other will troubleshoot the jail population and implement simple solutions when applicable, like getting a personal recognizance bond for someone who is severely ill. Anderson also will expand pre-arrest diversion, initially allowed for first offenders with marijuana, for suspects of shoplifting, the class B misdemeanor of retail theft. The plan begins in February. February also will see the creation of a diversion plan for first offenders in felony drug possession cases, including so-called crack pipe cases. Pre-trial diversion Unlike the marijuana diversion plan, suspects caught with less than 4 grams of drugs like cocaine or methamphetamine will still be arrested. But they may be able to seek pre-trial diversion, which means that if they keep their nose clean for a year, the charge would disappear. The county also will create a "re-integration impact court" in an existing courtroom to provide treatment options for repeat felony offenders accused of prostitution, theft and nonviolent drug use, Anderson said. The new court will join two new expedited dockets for suspects of violent crimes like murder, rape and armed robbery to make sure suspects in those cases do not linger in the jail for years waiting for trial. It is expected to be based on the current "capital murder court," which has cleared a logjam in cases over the past year using visiting judges. Public defenders To help keep mentally ill homeless people out of jail, defense attorneys from the Harris County Public Defenders Office will represent those indigent people, usually arrested for trespassing, and help get them into less costly mental care facilities. Commissioner Radack said the grant process became an opportunity for a mix of county officials to improve the workings of the justice system. "It's about fairness and efficiency, it's looking at things, everything from faster trials to looking at what some people believe is prejudice in the system," Radack said. "Some of these things are broken, and that's why we're trying to fix it." His voice cracked as he credited the man who created the committee and who was laid to rest just hours earlier. "Commissioner Lee made you examine your conscience," Radack said. "And if more of that happened in this world, the world would be a better place." Chronicle reporter James Pinkerton contributed to this article. News / National by Stephen Jakes Senator Lilian Timveos has called for the implementation of provincial councils as enshrined in the new constitution which the government seem to be ignoring to do for the past three years it has been in power after the disbandment of the government of national unity."It is a pertinent motion because it reminds the government that there is a Constitutional mandate that there are supposed to be provincial assemblies that assist each other with counsel in various areas," she said. "The Constitution has not yet implemented this provision. It is important that we uphold the Constitution and do as what is provided for. I remember that when we came into the Senate, there were names of people who were supposed to be part of those provincial assemblies. I am surprised and I wonder what they think of the government because up to now, they have not yet resumed office."She said the the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is aware of that and has the names of the provincial assembly members."What is government going to do about it? Will these people be compensated or receive what is due to them, if the assemblies are not yet in place? We need to be transparent because the Constitution is the supreme law of the land which should be followed at all cost," she said. "There is a lot of legislation that has not been aligned to the Constitution. When will this take place? I have realised that the provincial assemblies would have been helpful in the sense that we are worried about the roads and the poor road network, if the provincial assemblies were in operation, they would have assisted in ensuring that the roads are resurfaced and addressed."She said they would know that in Manicaland, this is not in order, in Midlands, they would outline the situation in terms of what is going on there."We need to ensure that the provincial assemblies come into operation as it is in the Constitution and I appeal to the Hon. Minister of Finance to expedite allocation of funds for the provincial assemblies or Governments to commence operation and also that the legislation is aligned to the Constitution. With these few words, I thank you for the time that you have given me." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In the courtroom and on the streets, Che Lajuan Calhoun has shown he can juke the law. The day before police believe he fatally stabbed 11-year-old Josue Flores with a knife as the boy walked home from school, Calhoun slipped away from tasers and police who tried to arrest him after an altercation on a light rail platform. The latest charges add to a rap sheet that includes nearly three dozen arrests in Texas, Tennessee and Michigan over the past decade, for making terroristic threats, assault, drug possession, home invasion and destruction of police property. Yet Calhoun appears to have avoided any heavy time behind bars. In just the six cases he has previously faced in Harris County, Calhoun worked out plea deals, bartered for probation and was able to violate the court's terms and still remain with just days - not years - in the county jail. His arrest this week in the death of the sixth grader - who stayed a little late for a Science Club party Tuesday and wanted to be a doctor - has left the northside neighborhood wondering how Calhoun built such a long criminal history so short on punishment. Neighbors were already on edge over what they see as an increase in crime tied to drug usage, homelessness and other problems in the area, said Councilwoman Karla Cisneros. More for you Boy's death strikes fear in northside neighborhood "They are fearful," Cisneros said. "They are worried about what could happen and then we have this terrible thing. What could be worse?" The Harris County District Attorney's Office declined to comment on Calhoun pending a court appearance on the murder charge. Concerns about rail A day before Josue was killed, Metropolitan Transit Authority police almost had Calhoun in custody. "He was fighting with another person, and the officer encountered them and tried to break up the fight," Metro Police Chief Vera Bumpers said Thursday. Calhoun, 31, became "combative," however, and the officer shot one taser dart into Calhoun's leg and another into his back, the chief said. Calhoun jumped up and ran, but not before he'd dropped his identification, she said. Metro and Houston police officers, as well as a canine unit, searched for him for about 90 minutes, but came up empty-handed. The next day, just blocks away, he attacked Josue, police said. "I have no way of knowing how he escalated or why," Bumpers said of the murder investigation, which is being handled by Houston police. Word that Calhoun had clashed with police so close to a Metro platform strengthened concerns among some residents that the rail's expansion to the area in December 2013 brought more crime to an already troubled neighborhood. People with mental health and drug abuse problems have descended on the neighborhood because of the train access, they say. "They are a bunch of vagabonds in the streets drinking and smoking - we are not safe," said Esmeralda Rivera, 50, who mourned the loss of the Marshall Middle School pupil. "He was a baby," she said. "It hurts." Didn't know Calhoun Court records filed Thursday show that Calhoun lived just two blocks from the boy's house in the Northside Village area, and Josue may have walked near Calhoun's house on his way home from school. Josue, one of seven children, left school about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday after staying about an hour late for an end-of-year Science Club celebration. Witnesses say they saw a man approach the boy, then heard loud screaming. The two appeared to struggle and then Josue collapsed and fell to the ground. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital from multiple stab wounds. The assailant fled the scene on foot, and one of the witnesses followed in his vehicle but eventually lost him. The boy's mother and sister have said they don't know Calhoun and have never seen him before. It is unclear how long he'd lived in the area. Calhoun's Facebook page doesn't offer obvious signs for concern. In a recent post from last week, he talked about the importance of making the right decisions in life, and included a photo of what appears to be a prison inmate sitting in a cell surrounded by piles of packages of instant noodle soup that are often sold in prison commissaries. "To all the young Cats out there doing all that shooting. This is your future. Bail Out," the post states. "Children need love from both parents whether they are living together or in separate homes," according to another post. Former Harris County prosecutor Colleen Barnett said the posts, taken alone, suggest he had a bad upbringing and was trying to get his life together. That may have contributed to his ability to navigate the justice system through multiple jurisdictions, she said. The challenge now is knowing why he would have committed such a brutal crime against someone he apparently didn't know. "You just don't do that," she said. "This is just somebody who is extremely angry or has obvious mental health issues or a combination of both." Stabbings uncommon Mental health concerns were raised during Calhoun's most recent case in Harris County in October. Calhoun was charged with making a terroristic threat, and court records indicate the judge appointed an attorney with experience at handling mental health issues. He also ordered mental health records be released from the county about Calhoun's mental competency. Calhoun eventually reached a plea deal with prosecutors, however, even though records show he was wanted in his hometown of Detroit for violating probation in a 2009 cocaine possession case. He pleaded no contest to the Harris County charge and was sentenced to 15 days in jail, with credit for three days he'd already served. It was one of two charges he'd faced in Harris County for making a terroristic threat. He also had been charged four other times since 2012 - twice for assaulting a family member, once for violating a protective order and once for resisting arrest, records show. He has been formally charged with murder in the death of Josue, and with evading arrest and causing bodily injury in the Metro platform altercation. He remained behind bars Thursday under $5,000 bond. Melissa Hamilton, a visiting professor at the University of Houston Law Center, said certain mental illnesses, as well as a prior history of violence, can help determine the threat level a person poses. Stabbings by a stranger are relatively uncommon in the United States, she said. "On the face of it, a 31-year-old who suddenly stabs an 11-year-old in broad daylight and they don't know each other? It is just odd - there is likely something else going on," she said. A local Republican precinct chair, who is also a Houston City Council staff member, is under fire this week for trying to block the appointment of a fellow precinct chair because he is Muslim. Trebor Gordon, who makes $55,000 a year as community outreach director to first-term Councilman Mike Knox, said Syed Ali should not be named to fill a vacant precinct chair post in the Alief area because "Islam and Christianity do not mix." Gordon, who serves as a part-time pastor at a Near North Side church and as chaplain for the Harris County Republican Party, contended Ali did not bow his head Monday night during his prayer at the party's quarterly meeting. "If you believe that a person can practice Islam and agree to the foundational principles of the Republican Party, it's not right, it's not true, it can't happen," Gordon said. A video of the discussion shows a fair number of voice votes in favor of Gordon's motion, but a louder chorus of members opposed. Gordon did not respond to a request for comment. GOP chair Paul Simpson, who ruled Gordon's motion defeated, noted Ali - one of 37 candidates up for confirmation on Monday - had received a unanimous recommendation from the party's vacancy committee. Simpson also lauded Ali for being "a voice for Republicanism in the Pakistani community for years," and noted what he said was Ali's regular Republican voting history. "I agree with the overwhelming majority of our volunteer grass-roots activists that we don't have religious tests for those who want to fight for our country, help elect Republicans and advance conservative principles," Simpson said. Ali, who works in the insurance business, said Gordon's comments did not offend him. "I don't have anything against him. That's his point of view," Ali said. "Freedom of speech, Constitution of the United States, his belief, his thought, his experience, his individual mind that was his mind, and that was his speech. That's fine with me." No test needed Mustafaa Carroll, of the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations' Houston branch, was less sanguine. "There is no religious test necessary to be a public official in the United States of America," Carroll said. "This country is founded on religious pluralism and if he (Gordon) knew about the document the Founding Fathers wrote, then he would know that." Knox said he was upset when he learned of Gordon's comments, which he called "unfortunate" and "incendiary," but said he does not plan to fire him. "As a conservative person, I believe in the First Amendment and I think people can say whatever they want on their own time, have their own beliefs and so forth. We shouldn't be throwing people away when they make mistakes in judgment the first time," Knox said. "I've had a discussion with him about it. He understands that's not the policy of this office and we're not going to tolerate that kind of behavior up here." Gordon's social media pages are dominated by political commentary, including repeated references to Islam. He recently has shared links from sites such as "Bare Naked Islam," whose tagline is "It isn't Islamophobia when they really ARE trying to kill you," and "Islam Exposed." Alongside one link about a man being charged with a hate crime for tearing off a Muslim woman's headscarf on an airplane, Gordon wrote, "Here, we find Islam defining morality," along with the hashtag "#IslamicSupremacist." Page removed Knox said he doesn't monitor Gordon's social media posts. Late Thursday, following a reporter's inquiry, Gordon's Facebook page no longer appeared in search results and links to it from his Twitter account stopped working. "As long as he's been working here, I've not noticed any of that attitude here in the office during our business hours," Knox said. "The people of Houston need to know I don't think that way. All the citizens of Houston can expect fair representation from me." Muslims comprise an estimated 1.2 percent of Houston's population, meaning Knox can count about 27,000 Muslims among his constituents, as he holds an at-large seat and serves citywide rather than in a specific district. An estimated 422,000 Muslims lived in Texas as of 2010, the highest tally of any state. "It appears that Muslims are the last people in America that you can talk about and use hateful language and hateful speech, and there are no political consequences," Carroll said. Ali, who has been involved in the Republican Party for three decades, said he had not previously faced discrimination from members. "Matter of fact, this has become a blessing to me, since so many people talked to me, (shook) my hand," Ali said. "If one person has this kind of experience or this kind of remark, there's 300 people (who) have a positive remark." One of those in attendance at Monday's meeting was Katy-area precinct chair Felicia Winfree Cravens, who recorded a video of Gordon's motion and the ensuing discussion. "I don't know that I've heard anybody make that kind of an objection on the floor, ever," Cravens said, adding she feels the party has become more inclusive in recent years. "It's been a little bit of cold water in the face to realize that some of that sentiment is still here." Councilwoman Ellen Cohen, who last year rallied votes for Houston's since-repealed nondiscrimination ordinance, said she found Gordon's comments "abhorrent." "That attitude is so disruptive and doesn't speak for the kind of country we are and should be," she said. Gordon was the plaintiff last year in a lawsuit that resulted in the removal of some of the city's campaign finance restrictions. Gordon, who in 2013 finished a distant fourth in a four-man race for City Council, argued the rules kept him from effectively challenging an incumbent. Criminal defendants too poor to bail out of jail prior to trial typically end up with a harsher punishment in Harris County than those with resources to pay for their freedom, according to a new study of more than 6,500 cases. The study showed that the poor and others locked up weeks or months pretrial often pay in advance for alleged crimes - even when proven innocent - and usually end up with tougher punishments, too, according to an analysis by Gerald R. Wheeler, a Ph.D. researcher who served as director of the Harris County pretrial department from 1977-83. Wheeler and attorney Gerald Fry examined felony and misdemeanor cases processed in Harris County from January 2012 to June 2013. Many defendants unable to post bond spent weeks or months in jail awaiting punishment even for relatively minor offenses, such as possession of small amounts of drugs or misdemeanor charges like trespassing. For example, first-time felony offenders who were unable to post bond spent an average of 68 days in jail before having their cases resolved, the study showed. Those who remained jailed for drug possession - a common charge among Harris County jail inmates - were much less likely to win dismissals or deferred prosecutions than those able to afford to bail out, the study showed. More Information Crime and punishment A new study of Harris County pretrial detention and punishment in 6,558 cases shows: 1 African-Americans more often remained in jail before their trials during felony cases compared to white and Hispanic inmates. 1 Those who couldn't afford bonds also received tougher punishment. Most served about a month in jail pretrial and then generally got more time than those released on bond. 1 In drug possession cases, 55 percent of those who remained in jail got deferred prosecution or had cases dismissed compared to 83 percent of those who posted bond. Source: Project Orange Jumpsuit, an evaluation of effects of pretrial status on case disposition of Harris County felony and misdemeanor defendants. See More Collapse "Regardless of age, ethnicity or color of skin of over 90,000 people annually arrested, what generally determines the defendants' fate is his or her economic status," Wheeler argues in the report, though he did not interview defendants about why they did not post bond. Tougher judges Other national studies have found that criminal defendants unable to post bond are generally poor and more often plead guilty or accept longer sentences for a variety of reasons. Many become depressed and lose jobs, homes or family relationships while being detained prior to being adjudicated, while those on bond often can better continue with their lives. Hispanics, African-Americans and white defendants alike who remained jailed all received tougher punishments than defendants who were released on bond, the study showed. However, African-Americans more often remained jailed pretrial, even when they faced similar charges and had similar criminal histories as Anglos or Hispanics. Caprice Cosper, a judge who serves as director of the Harris County Office of Criminal Justice Coordination, declined to comment on the findings. But Cosper said the processing and pleas of first-time and drug offenders, the jailing of the mentally ill and other issues raised by the study have long been recognized by local leaders, who have created programs and continue to explore new ways to address them. Harris County judges have long been recognized as being significantly tougher than judges nationwide on jailing defendants pretrial. Last year, judges agreed to release only 1 percent of those arrested on felony charges and only 7 percent of those arrested on misdemeanors on so-called personal recognizance. Most defendants released, therefore, had to pay bondsmen non-refundable fees. By comparison, judges elsewhere released approximately 26 percent of felony defendants without requiring bond, according to a 2006 survey of 75 urban areas by the U.S. Department of Justice. Some defendants who insisted on their innocence end up spending the most time in jail awaiting trials, 2012 data shows. 8 months in jail In one case, a homeless man, Johnnie Mason, then 55, was arrested in March 2012 after being accused by an ex-girlfriend of striking her with a 2x4 board. Mason, who was held without bond, spent eight months in jail before being acquitted on felony assault charges when his attorney exposed oddities in the victim's rambling account. Mason's attorney, Michael E. Trent, declined to discuss whether prosecutors offered Mason a plea deal. However, Trent said he has represented many others who felt pressured to plea after being jailed pretrial, including some with innocence claims or legitimate legal defenses. Though attorneys and judges review potential consequences of guilty pleas, Trent said younger offenders often fail to grasp the long-term impact that even a misdemeanor conviction can have on the ability to win a scholarship, get a job or, for immigrants, avoid deportation. In another case, Carlos Mathis, 42, an African-American from Houston with a history of minor drug and theft offenses, waited seven months in jail unable to post bond. Ultimately, a felony charge of drug possession was dismissed in March 2013 after an officer involved in his arrest failed to show up in court or produce a search warrant, court records show. Mathis' attorney did not respond to a request for comment. Wheeler found that some misdemeanor offenders who were detained longest prior to trial were found to be mentally incompetent. Some spent one to three months jailed after being arrested for minor offenses like trespassing before being transferred to institutions - including Sharon, a 57-year-old homeless woman who spent 35 days in jail before being found incompetent and transferred to a state hospital last year, public records show. Floyd Jennings, an attorney in the Harris County public defender's office who specializes in mental health cases, said he and his staff work with police and others to get non-violent mentally ill offenders freed from jail and into treatment as soon as possible. However, he said delays seem unavoidable since some people become competent after receiving a few weeks of medicine or food. Added to that, competency tests can take 30 days to schedule. Defendants declared incompetent can end up being shipped to mental hospitals as far away as San Antonio and Big Spring, Jennings said, because of a shortage of beds, and some get released too soon - and end up jailed again. WASHINGTON - Gen. Carter F. Ham, who led the U.S. Africa Command on the night of the attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, has been interviewed at least nine times by investigators scrutinizing the events in 2012 that led to the deaths of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. But more than two years after House Republicans created the Select Committee on Benghazi, Ham has yet to appear before that panel. He was finally supposed to do so Thursday, but Republicans suddenly postponed his session until June 8, citing scheduling conflicts. Whether by diligence or design, the committee's grindingly slow pace has put it on track to deliver a final report shortly before the presidential nominating conventions in July, or even as late as the weeks before the November election - both points at which it could inflict maximum political damage on Hillary Clinton, who has been a central focus of the investigation since its inception. Even some Republicans say the sluggishness of the committee risks feeding its reputation as an exercise meant to harm Clinton's campaign. It also illustrates how a committee created to get at the truth of a terrorist attack that killed four Americans has expanded in multiple directions but could fail to come up with significant new information. "The sooner you got through the investigation, the better it would be to do the report," said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., who is not on the committee. "I think the later it goes, the more politicized it seems." Political impact Although Cole said he trusted Rep. Trey Gowdy, the South Carolina Republican who is chairman of the Select Committee, he offered some advice: "If you can't get it done relatively soon, certainly don't put it out the month before the election. That, to me, would discredit the hard work I know that committee has done." Gowdy blamed what he called repeated obstruction by the Obama administration for the slow pace, and said that he was trying to get the report out "before summer." On Thursday, Gowdy complained the Pentagon has failed to provide the names of all the pilots who sent drones over Libya the night of the deadly 2012 attacks. Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook dismissed Gowdy's criticism, saying the department provided the names of four drone pilots and four sensor operators working the day of the attacks. Cook said the Pentagon has offered to make four pilots available for interviews as early as next week. "My understanding is some of these people are not still in the service at this point, and one may even be deceased," Cook said. Gowdy and Republican staff members say the report will contain important revelations, a prediction Democrats dismiss as laughable. They point to the Select Committee's eight-hour questioning of Clinton at a hearing in October, which even some conservative commentators derided as a waste of time. In a statement, the senior Democrat on the panel, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, said he had no doubt about the Republicans' true purpose. "The Select Committee has been a taxpayer-funded attack against a presidential candidate by an opposing political party rather than an objective effort to seek the truth," Cummings said. Democrats have accused Republicans of wasting millions of dollars on the investigation, although independent assessments have found some of that criticism to be exaggerated. Heart of the matter The war of words escalated this week after Gowdy appeared on Fox and seemed to undercut a central allegation that Republicans have made about Benghazi: that the military could have done more that night to help the Americans who were under attack. Aides to Gowdy insist his remark was not a departure from previous queries. "Whether or not they could have gotten there in time, I don't think there is any issue with respect to that," Gowdy said in the Fox interview. "They couldn't. The next question is, 'Why could you not? Why were you not positioned to do it?' " Republicans say those are among the questions they want to ask Ham, as well as the other Defense Department employees they have asked to testify. Oil prices Regarding "Effects of oil bust expected to worsen" (Page A1, Wednesday), opinions are divided among analysts concerning the outlook for oil prices in the next few years. Some argue that overproduction and rapidly filling storage suggest weak prices for some time to come. Others argue that prices are likely to rise sharply in the coming year. I think they are correct. The reason is that in the absence of new development, world production would decline by several million barrels a day per year. Most of the new production to offset this decline must come from high-cost sources such as shales, deep water, tar sands, tight sands, etc., which require about $60 oil to be economical. Further, the badly damaged oil industry may not be able to respond to higher prices in time to avert shortages. The higher prices of recent years did not dampen demand, so one cannot expect a significant decrease in demand if prices rise to former levels. Sidney Moran, Houston Hiroshima perspective Regarding "Should America apologize for Hiroshima?" (Page B14, Sunday), I believe President Obama is going to throw one of the best presidents in my lifetime, President Harry S. Truman, under the bus. Can anyone imagine the hours he spent before he ordered the bombing of Hiroshima to save thousands of lives? Maybe President Obama should visit the National World War II Museum in New Orleans before the visit to Hiroshima. Then maybe he would understand the shoes President Truman wore that he has not walked in. Ken Rosenberger, Houston Don't forget sidewalks Regarding "Turner steers conversation to diversifying transit" (Page A1, Wednesday), greater walkability has been put forth as a goal, but a key enabler toward that end has not been mentioned. The law making the sidewalk the responsibility of the property owner is ridiculous. Sidewalks are a common good, no different from streets, and if we actually expect to have quality sidewalks, the city will have to pay for them. I frequently see wheelchair-bound people in the Heights travelling in the middle of the street because the sidewalks are either nonexistent or in such poor repair as to be useless. Having a good sidewalk really is a prerequisite for having a walkable city. Alan Jackson, Houston Charity at home, first Regarding "Barring refugees" (Page A14, Thursday), I certainly think there should be some help for those who desire to work and to become citizens of the United States, but we cannot put them before the citizens in our state or country. Last month when the terrible flooding forced many people from their homes, especially the Greenspoint area, help was slow to come. These citizens faced many heartbreaking days trying to rebuild their lives, and find places to live. It is time to put our citizens first. Linda Anderson, The Woodlands A non-issue Regarding " 'Restroom law' battle is a fight over nothing" (Page B13, Sunday), Phyllis Randolph Frye states it is a fight over nothing. I agree. She has been using birth-gender-opposite-sex bathrooms successfully for 30 years. Why do we need any new legislation? It seems to me that most everyone has been doing what they want to do successfully, in regard to using bathrooms, particularly if they didn't draw attention to themselves or make an issue of it. Nicholas Gahr, Houston From Armed Forces Day to Memorial Day to Military Spouse Appreciation Day, May is a month that honors our veterans in many different ways. But we still have work to do in how we recognize and support their families. Can we really address veterans' needs separate from the challenges faced by the family as a whole? Simply put, the answer is no unless we change what we are doing. We can do more to provide spouses the support they need to provide essential caregiving for their veterans as well as rebuild their families' emotional and economic health. Spouses are vital to veterans' successful transition into civilian life and in veterans' recovery process when they require treatment. It is often the wives and partners who actively encourage their spouse to seek treatment, in order to save their marriage and/or to improve their children's relationship with their parent. It's also spouses who become the family's breadwinner when veterans are unable to work. While many veterans receive pensions and disability pay, the money is not enough to provide for a family transitioning to new lives in new homes. An employed spouse allows veterans time to find appropriate, higher income employment, instead of being forced to take the first available job in order to support their family. Unfortunately, spouse unemployment and underemployment are among the most common issues facing military and veteran families. In a recent survey by Blue Star Families, 75 percent of spouses said their status as a military spouse negatively impacted their career. Military spouse employment was indicated as the top obstacle to financial security. In fact, the Military Officers Association of America and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University conducted their own survey in 2013 and found a whopping 90 percent of responding female spouses of active duty service members are underemployed. In other words, we are ignoring a huge issue affecting the resiliency of our military and veteran families. Many factors contribute to these high rates. During a veteran's service, their spouse often must put their own career and education on hold. Frequent moves lead to school transfers, unfinished degrees, disjointed resumes with strings of short-term employments, professional licensure issues that may bar a spouse from practicing in a new state, and reluctance from employers to invest in hiring someone who may soon move. Spouses deserve equal preference for employment that is afforded to the veterans they care for and support. Spouses of veterans should receive career counseling, internships and preferential hiring just like veterans. For example, the Texas Veterans Commission has opened career counseling services to spouses and dependents. Other agencies should follow suit and lawmakers should eliminate hurdles. For instance, Texas Senate Bill 1476, passed in 2013, established the Veteran Entrepreneur Program to support veteran-owned small businesses. Like many programs aimed at helping veterans, programs such as these are unable to assist veteran spouses because of the language of the bill, even if they see the value in doing so, because the program recipients must themselves be veterans. According to Texas state law, wartime veterans have preference in employment in state agencies or offices, as do widows and orphans of those killed on active duty, until that office has reached 40 percent veteran employment. Passing similar legislation at a state level inclusive of all wartime veteran spouses would help improve economic stability in veteran family households. There is a common saying among the caregiver community to "put on your own oxygen mask first." This metaphor recognizes that it is impossible to take care of others if you are not taking care of yourself. Spouses and caregivers are so used to playing a supporting role, they often forget about their own needs. When they are well cared for, veterans and their children fare better. For the sake of our communities and our veterans, we can't afford to ignore these hidden heroes. We must do more for the spouses of our veterans. Borah is a research associate in the Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health within the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin. Soon the U.S. Supreme Court will issue a decision on the most significant abortion case in decades, Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, about abortion regulations included in the Texas law known as HB2. Most opinion polls and surveys about abortion have focused on the public's support for legal access to the procedure, but few studies have homed in on support for the types of restrictions in HB2 or assessed support for laws that limit abortion access among women of reproductive age, who are most likely to be directly affected by such regulations. In research conducted as part of the Texas Policy Evaluation Project at the University of Texas at Austin, we surveyed a statewide representative sample of more than 700 reproductive-aged Texas women in 2014 about their knowledge and attitudes about Texas abortion laws, which, including HB2, are some of the most restrictive in the nation. Our study, recently published in "Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health," found that a majority of women in Texas do not support the restrictions on abortion that HB2 and other recent laws have mandated, such as requiring physicians who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital or requiring facilities where abortions are provided to meet ambulatory surgical center standards. More than half of the women surveyed (55 percent) had not heard of these laws, or if they had, did not know much about the laws' provisions. Among the women who were aware of the laws, 19 percent said they strongly or somewhat strongly supported them. Our results also showed that those who support recent abortion restrictions seem to base their opinions on poor knowledge about the safety of abortion. Abortion is among the safest office-based procedures performed in the United States, but a majority of those who expressed some level of support for the Texas laws (64 percent) believe the laws would make abortion safer. But the risk of a woman having a serious complication that requires hospitalization is less than one quarter of 1 percent - that's fewer than 1 in 400 women. In a recent review of over 50 scientific articles, we found that there is no difference in the complication rate between abortions performed in an outpatient clinic or an ambulatory surgical center or hospital. What's more, major medical associations have uniformly agreed these laws serve no medical purpose. Despite this evidence, proponents of laws like HB2 have waged a misinformation campaign about the risks of abortion that make these regulations seem like common sense, and in turn, might have neutralized opposition to the restrictions. While the authors of the abortion laws in Texas deny their intention was to restrict access to abortion, other research has found that this indeed has been the result. The closure of more than half of Texas clinics performing abortion since passage of HB2 has left more than double the number of Texas women over 100 miles from the nearest clinic. Women seeking services face wait times for the next available appointment, meaning some might be unable to get an abortion until later in pregnancy. Others have been unable to overcome the financial and logistical burdens to reach a clinic and obtain care. This increase in barriers to accessing abortion care is not aligned with the preferences of most women we surveyed. Fewer than one-third said they would favor a hypothetical law that makes it more difficult for a woman to get an abortion. The only group that said making abortion harder to get was their main reason for supporting Texas abortion laws was more conservative Republicans, who accounted for 19 percent of our sample. Only 24 percent of this group supported Texas laws for this reason - and fewer than 8 percent of less conservative Republicans, Independents and Democrats did so. During oral arguments in the Supreme Court case, when pressed on the claims that the admitting privileges and ambulatory surgical center requirements were passed due to concerns about safety, Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller conceded that "legislatures react to topics that are of public concern." However, our results suggest that passage of major legislation on abortion in Texas has occurred without most women's knowledge and has taken advantage of the public's misinformation about the safety of abortion. As the Supreme Court reviews the Texas law, it's critical to recognize that the majority of reproductive-aged women in Texas do not support legislation that impedes access to this essential health service. White is an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. Potter is a professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. Both are investigators on the Texas Policy Evaluation Project. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. News / National by Staff reporter OPPOSITION MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai has been rushed to South Africa for treatment over a yet-to-be disclosed ailment.In a statement yesterday, the party's secretary-general, Douglas Mwonzora, said Tsvangirai was flown out early this week."Tsvangirai was taken ill. On the advice of doctors, he had to travel to South Africa for treatment. Yesterday (Wednesday) he successfully underwent a medical procedure and is recuperating well in South Africa," he said without disclosing further details, including the name of the hospital.Party sources said the MDC-T leader was being treated for a fatigue-induced ailment at a private hospital in Johannesburg.Last month, Tsvangirai looked frail when he led his party's anti-government demonstration in Harare, but the opposition leader dismissed reports he was unwell as speculative, insisting he was "as fit as a fiddle".This was after a State media columnist, Nathaniel Manheru, revealed to be President Robert Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, raised concerns over Tsvangirai's health.Said Tsvangirai then: "I think that Charamba must realise that he cannot compare me with his boss. If Mugabe is frail, it doesn't mean that Tsvangirai is frail as well. I am healthy and I don't have any health problems. In fact, [during the march] it was my wife (Elizabeth Macheka), who was balancing on me because she was wearing shoes that made her require some balance from me. But the long and short of it is that I don't have any health problems."Tsvangirai last month failed to attend the burial of Harare councillor, Farai Muzhinyi with acting mayor, Chris Mbanga telling mourners that the party leader was bedridden.Tsvangirai has been vocal about Mugabe and his family's expensive medical trips to Asia, saying the First Family should use local health facilities and save on taxpayers' money.But, MDC-T spokesperson, Obert Gutu yesterday defended Tsvangirai's decision to seek treatment in South Africa."You should know that there is certain specialist medical attention that is not locally available in Zimbabwe because the Zanu-PF regime has trashed the health delivery system over the past few decades," he said."As a political party, the MDC doesn't approve of a system where leaders have to travel outside Zimbabwe to seek medical treatment for ailments that can be effectively and efficiently treated locally. That's our main bone of contention."You will recall that at one time, President Mugabe travelled all the way to Singapore to seek treatment for an eye cataract, a condition that can be effectively treated by local eye specialists," he said. gapore Airlines plan to operate its subsidiaries, Scoot and Tigerair (formerly Tiger Airways) under the one holding company will not result in any job cuts.Speaking to The Straits Times, spokesperson for Singapore Airlines (SIA) Nicholas Ionides said that there were no plans for retrenchment although some employees could take on different roles.Scoot now has around 900 employees while Tigerair has around 850. These staff will be merged together into the single company, Budget Aviation Holdings.Under this company, the two airlines will share key functions such as sales, marketing, planning and operations, SIA said.Budget Aviation Holdings will be headed by Tigerair chief executive Lee Lik Hsin. The CEO of Scoot Campbell Wilson will return to SIA in late August to work as acting senior vice-president of sales and marketing.Amidst the move, two of Scoots senior executives chief commercial officer Steven Greenway and head of ground services Benson Tan have both decided to quit.Scoot was first established in 2011 with only five staff. Since then it has expanded out to a headcount of over 900 employees and last week reported its first ever annual profit.Tigerair has not been so successful and has experienced several rocky years financially. This has affected how SIA has had to deal with the airlines staff, said CAPA Centre for Aviation. Speaking at the time of the merger, CAPA noted that SIA would have to use careful internal communication with staff from Tigerair due to the firms high turnover rates and low employee morale. henomenally popular CEO has received the send-off he deserved after staff lined the corridors to give a standing ovation wearing somewhat unusual t shirts.After 25 years at the helm of Admiral Insurance, Henry Engelhardt was greeted with rapturous applause the moment he arrived in the companys underground car park.Hundreds of employees, all kitted it in t-shirts sporting the CEOs face, continued the clapping as he entered the lift and walked to his office.A banner reading Thank you, Henry, also greeted the clearly gob-smacked and overwhelmed boss who laughed and shook his head in disbelief.Youre lucky I dont start at 7:30, joked the 58-year-old.Engelhardt, the son of a meat-packer, founded The Admiral Group in 1993 - the UK-based firm has branches in Spain, France, Italy, and the US and is known for its employee-friendly culture.I made a dedication to myself that if I could help it, I would never again work somewhere where I was unhappy, the fun-loving leader said in an interview with the BBC back in 2014. This is because it is simply very difficult to flip a switch and then be happy when you arent in work.Engelhardt is renowned for his philanthropic leadership and earlier this year, he and his wife Diane announced they would be personally giving a cash thank you of either 500 or 1,000 to each employee in Admirals global workforce with an employee-base of approximately 8,000, the sentiment cost the couple approximately 7 million.Its not the first time Engelhardt has splashed out on a reward for workers in 2014, he spent an estimated 500,000 to hire Wales Millennium Stadium for a staff party. He then had it decorated in both Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter themes with jazz bands, jugglers, clowns and pop star Olly Murs brought in to entertain the 5,000 staff attendees.The Engelhardts have also donated millions to good causes through their Moondance Foundation charity.Watch the video of Engelhardts emotional tribute here: OTTAWA The man in charge of Canada's consular services says he's considering legislation to ensure that all Canadians detained, kidnapped, or in general need of help abroad are treated equally by government officials. Omar Alghabra, the parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs with responsibilities for consular affairs, told The Huffington Post Canada that he often lies awake at night thinking about the Canadians who are in trouble overseas. Advertisement "There are very difficult situations and cases where you want to do everything you can and we are to get our citizens out of difficult situations, or trouble, and with limited, sometimes, options," he said. Liberal MP Omar Alghabra rises in the House of Commons on Monday April 11, 2016. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/CP) Families are often, understandably, concerned, very frustrated, and want a quick resolution to the matter, he said. "So it is difficult, and it really keeps me up at night, some nights, trying to find ways to be creative. Advertisement "We don't just want to use a passive wait-and-see approach, we want to be proactive and involved in examining all options to help our citizens who are in a difficult situations abroad," Alghabra added. Recently, Gar Pardy, the former head of Canada's consular services; and Mohamed Fahmy, the journalist who spent two years in an Egyptian prison, and Amnesty International have called on the new government to introduce legislation guaranteeing equal consular treatment for all citizens in need abroad. Alghabra thinks it's an "interesting" idea. "The department and I are examining that option and, obviously, there are arguments on both sides, but I feel it is a worthy proposition that needs careful and thoughtful examination," he told HuffPost. Perception of 'political favouritism' with last government The parliamentary secretary said he welcomes input, especially from family members, about the service they received, the support they may have wished was available but wasn't. "There are a lot of lessons that can be learned," he said. "Ultimately, our goal is to enhance the assistance. We want to make sure that we not only do it more effectively but that we do it consistently." Advertisement During its 10 years in office, Alghabra said, "there was certainly a perception of "political favouritism" in the Conservative government's approach to consular affairs. "That isn't helpful for Canadians' having confidence in our system and in the government's ability to defend their rights when they are abroad." This image made from undated militant video, shows Canadians John Ridsdel, right, and Robert Hall. (Photo: AP Video) Approximately 1,437 Canadians are detained abroad, figures from Global Affairs Canada indicate. In 2015, more than 249,800 consular files were opened. Ninety-six cases involved child abductions. Fifteen were kidnappings. Advertisement Some cases make headlines, as Alison Azer has in urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Tuesday to bring her four children back from Iran, where her ex-husband abducted them. Other recent, tragic and horrific incidents include the April beheading of John Ridsdel, who was kidnapped along with fellow Canadian Robert Hall last September in the Philippines by Abu Sayyaf. Hall's kidnappers want $16 million or, they say, he'll suffer the same fate. Many consular cases, however, don't get as much attention from the public or the government. Lawyer Lorne Waldman said his client, Bashir Makthal, is the perfect example of the Tories' discretionary use of consular assistance. Makthal was arrested at the Kenya-Somali border in 2006 and secretly flown to Ethiopia where in 2009 he was convicted of inciting rebellion, aiding an armed opposition group, and being a member of a group with ties to terrorism, according to local reports. Although his grandfather was a leader of the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front, Makthal denies that he has any personal ties to the organization. "All Canadians, regardless of their political belief, have a right to expect that their state will do everything in their power to provide them consular services, especially if they are unjustly detained." "At the beginning, the Canadian government did nothing," Waldman said. "For a period of time, when John Baird was minister of foreign affairs, he took a personal interest in the file and did try to obtain Mr. Makthal's return." The government publicly floated the idea of a prisoner transfer, but after Baird left the post, Waldman said, the case was "completely neglected" again. Advertisement Since the Liberals' election, he's met with officials and believes they have taken a "renewed" interest in the file. "I'm hopeful things will move quickly now." "Under the former Conservative government, the role they played, the positions they took, and the degree to which they intervened depended very much on their political perceptions," Waldman added. "That is completely unacceptable. All Canadians, regardless of their political belief, have a right to expect that their state will do everything in their power to provide them consular services, especially if they are unjustly detained." Several high-profile cases illustrated the lengths to which the Tories went to deny services to some Canadians. The government prevented Abousfian Abdelrazik, a Montreal man who was arrested in Sudan in 2003 but never charged, from returning to Canada by refusing to grant him travel papers. It wasn't until a federal court judge ruled in 2009 that Ottawa had violated his constitutional rights that he was able to return home. Abousfian Abdelrazik poses for a photo, June 10, 2010 in Montreal. (Photo: Ryan Remiorz/CP) In 2010, the Supreme Court found that the Canadian government had participated in an illegal process to deprive Omar Khadr of his constitutional rights to liberty and security of the person. But the top court declined to order him returned, citing the Crown prerogative over foreign relations, and left it up to the government to decide how to remedy his situation. Advertisement It's that claim on use of "Crown prerogative" in consular matters that Pardy and Fahmy want to see Ottawa drop. In his report, "Canadians Abroad," published by the Rideau Institute and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Pardy writes that by keeping the Crown prerogative, the government retains the ability to act as it deems appropriate on any matters not governed by statutes, such as consular affairs. He cites a 1993 consular manual stating that services are provided "as a matter of discretion" and that "no one is entitled to claim such services as a matter of legal right." Denial of assistance was rarely used before the Tories came to office, Pardy told HuffPost. Tories didn't abide by international norms Over the years, the Conservatives chipped away at the philosophy of service previously present in the department, said the now retired Pardy, who set up the 24-hour help line for Canadians in trouble abroad. The Tory government refused to abide by international norms such as when it decided in 2007 to stop requesting clemency for Canadians on death row and subjected the provision of service to political judgments, he said. Advertisement "They took decision-making in this area all to the minister's office and even into the PMO." In 2013, the Tories may have further limited their responsibility on consular matters when they repealed the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Act (DFAITA) and replaced it with a new act, changing one crucial word regarding the minister's responsibilities on consular affairs. The old act stated: "the Minister shall conduct all diplomatic and consular relations on behalf of Canada." The new act replaced the "shall" with "is to." In 2004, a federal court judge found Khadr had a legitimate expectation of consular service because of that word "shall" in the DFAITA. Omar Khadr walks out the front door of his lawyer Dennis Edney's home to speak the media in Edmonton, Thursday, May 7, 2015. (Photo: Nathan Denette/CP) "There is clearly an obligation to carry out these functions and not merely an authorization to do so," justice Konrad von Finckenstein wrote at the time. Fahmy told HuffPost he feels the Canadian consular team in Egypt wanted to do more to help his case but were "shackled by Ottawa's decisions" and didn't have the liberty to share information that he and his family badly needed about meetings with the Egyptian government. Advertisement "I was literally sitting in a cell, trying to put together ideas of what could be done in order to improve the situation rather than just finger-pointing," said the former Al-Jazeera reporter, who was locked up on trumped-up charges and beaten by officials while in custody. He was shocked to learn that other countries, such as Germany and the United States, have laws and transparent policies about the provision of consular services, he said. Fahmy's ideas formed the basis of a "Protection Charter" he drafted with Amnesty International outlining 13 ways the government could ensure that services are provided to all in need. Mohamed Fahmy listens to his verdict in a soundproof glass cage inside a makeshift courtroom in Tora prison in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. (Photo: AP via CP) Advertisement Outlining protections in law could, however, be a risky proposition for the government. It could open the door to legal action from individuals or family members who feel officials haven't done everything possible to help their loved one, Alghabra acknowledged. "That's why we are taking this very seriously," the parliamentary secretary said. "If we were to proceed in this direction and I'm not sure what direction we are going to take it has to be done carefully and thoughtfully and take into account other ramifications that may not be visible in the short term but could have serious ramifications down the road." Pardy hopes a new law might place an obligation on the government to do more to help Canadians, including those kidnapped. 'Equality of service' "The elimination of Crown prerogative will not guarantee a result; it would guarantee an equality of service," he said. It might prevent what some have suggested was favouritism towards Canadian diplomats Robert Fowler and Louis Guay, for whom documents suggest a $1-million ransom was paid to al-Qaeda. Then-prime minister Stephen Harper denied paying any ransom, but Pardy suggests that something is always exchanged when people get out alive. Advertisement "Ransoms are always paid," he told HuffPost. "Groups like Abu Sayyaf, or Islamic State, they don't suddenly take somebody and then decide they made a mistake here and they are going to let somebody go," he said. "The question is how does that ransom get paid, and by whom, under what conditions it's not always money that is paid." Freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout, who was kidnapped in Somalia with a friend, writes in her book, "A House in the Sky," that the Canadian government offered to pay $250,000 for her return, a figure spurned by her kidnappers. In the end, their families hired a British firm and paid more than $1 million to secure her safety. After Ridsdel's beheading, Trudeau told Canadians that the federal government "does not and will not, pay ransom to terrorists, directly or indirectly." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes a statement to the media about the death of John Ridsdel, in Kananaskis, Alta., Monday, April 25, 2016. (Photo: Jeff McIntosh/CP) Advertisement Pardy thinks that statement was ill-conceived. "Governments make that kind of a statement after they've resolved the situation. You don't say it upfront while there are negotiations going on to try to save somebody's life," he said. "Just about everyone in Europe, they accept that there is no alternative to the idea of getting somebody released in these situations other than through making the arrangements for some payment or some political promise," he added. After dealing with kidnappings for 25 years, mostly in Colombia, Pardy said he doesn't believe ransom payments make any difference. "Unless there is an effort to solve the political issues that give rise to kidnappings, the kidnappings will go on, regardless of whether payments get paid or not. What happens is that a lot of innocent people get killed if you try to apply that [no ransoms] policy," he said. Pardy said he decided to write a report to give the new Liberal government ideas to improve consular services. Among some of his suggestions, he calls for the government to: be more transparent with consular cases and not to hide behind the Privacy Act; seek agreements with countries to respect Canadian citizenship in cases of dual citizenship, request clemency for all Canadians sentenced to death, add an oversight role on consular cases, possibly an independent ombudsman. Alghabra suggests that he isn't opposed to the idea but is treading with caution. "In principle, who would be against independent review?" he said. At the same time, though, he said, the government is focused on changes that make things more effective, not that could eventually paralyze the system." In the same vein, he said, privacy needs to be respected at times. "You would never hear me argue against transparency in public debate in any matter. And I think the families of Canadians who are detained abroad, and it is well understood that when their loved one is in trouble, they need to do whatever they think they can to assist their loved one. But there are times, there are cases, where, depending on the media attention, depending on language [transparency] can be hurtful to that case." "Just about everyone in Europe, they accept that there is no alternative to the idea of getting somebody released in these situations other than through making the arrangements for some payment or some political promise." Alghabra wouldn't discuss specific or current cases, but by way of an example, he suggested that if there were discussions with a foreign government about a person being detained and the other government felt the case was of high enough profile for Canada because of public attention, negotiators might think they could demand greater concessions. Transparency could also, if the other government felt the public discourse was offensive, limit face-saving abilities to do subtle moves to make a quick resolution to the matter, he said. Advertisement Several of Pardy's suggestions overlap with Fahmy's and Amnesty International's and some have already been acted upon by the Liberal government. Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion announced last month, for example, that the federal government was taking the first steps towards signing the Optional Protocol to the Convention on Torture. Dion also announced in March that the government would request clemency for all Canadians on death row. 'A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian' In December, shortly after being elected, the Liberals introduced legislation to revoke certain parts of the Conservatives' bill C-24, to ensure that dual citizens are not discriminated against on the basis of having a second citizenship. Alghabra said he wants to ensure dual citizens have the same rights to access consular services from Canadian officials even when they are in a country they also call home. But that task might be more difficult, he said, because there doesn't appear to be a global appetite to re-open the Vienna convention on consular matters. Advertisement "We need to keep our eye on the ball and work towards it and in the meantime we can sign bilateral agreements with other countries who would respect our citizens rights to access consular services from our government even if they have dual citizenship," he said. Canada needs to reaffirm "our principle position that a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. No matter what citizenship they have and no matter what country they are in trouble with," he said. Fahmy said he believes the Liberal government is listening. A 'no-brainer': Fahmy "I think the government is responsive to initiatives like mine and Gar Pardy's and to other people who are coming in with genuine hope for change," he said. "This is a positive atmosphere." Enshrining consular services into law, he said, should be a "no-brainer" for Trudeau. "[He] has become extremely recognized in the world as someone who is changing Canada's image especially after what he did with the Syrians," Fahmy said, referring to the prime minister's welcome of refugees. Alghabra said the Liberals are showing a different approach. "At the end of the day, the objective is to help Canadians the best we can." Disclosure: Althia Raj worked in the consular division of the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2001-2002 when Gar Pardy headed the division. . The work of Aboriginal writers in Canada has received a much-needed boost lately, thanks to the inclusion of Tracey Lindbergs book Birdie in the most recent slate of CBC's "Canada Reads" selections. But as good as Lindbergs work is, its just a small slice of the poetry, fiction, non-fiction, criticism, and other written work produced by Aboriginal writers across the country. The list below is far from comprehensive, but it highlights some of the best and brightest of Canadas Aboriginal writing community. That includes Sheila Watt-Cloutier, a recent winner of a prestigious international award. It also features Joseph Boyden, whose novel The Orenda can be found in bookstores across the country. Youll find Governor Generals Awards nominees and winners and critical favourites, representing Canada from coast to coast. Advertisement The 19 writers found here are among the most celebrated living Aboriginal writers in Canada right now but they are far from the only ones worth investigating. Canadians could find themselves chilling at the family cottage instead of basking in the bright lights of Las Vegas this summer, all thanks to the weak loonie. A new survery from Tangerine said as many as 81 per cent of Canadians plan to spend the Victoria Day long weekend at home, and two-thirds blamed the loonie. Over half of respondents plan on travelling within Canada instead, but as many as a quarter said they won't be going anywhere at all, the Canadian bank said. Advertisement Tangerine spoke with 1,515 randomly selected Canadian adults from April 20 to 21. It found that only nine per cent of respondents plan on travelling to the United States this summer, while only eight per cent will travel elsewhere. For their part, Americans are certainly making an effort to lure their neighbours south. Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls in New York, for example, is offering gift cards of up to $100 to Canadians who spend $200 in a single day from May 20 to 30. Bellis Fair, a mall in Bellingham, Wash. about 100 kilometres from Vancouver, is taking the loonie at par during Canadian long weekends including this one. Advertisement That deal is also expected to be in effect around Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, and Remembrance Day. The Canadian dollar was worth about US$0.76 on Friday, its lowest value in six weeks, according to The Financial Post. That's higher than it was in January ($0.68), but still lower than this time last year. And there's even more bad currency news on the horizon. The Financial Post reported that June is a traditionally poor month for the loonie, and this one is likely to be even worse. Advertisement Also on HuffPost: Mark Blinch / Reuters A Porter Airlines Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft is seen in Toronto February 23, 2009. Just two years after launch, niche airline Porter Airlines now flies routes to eight cities in eastern Canada and the United States. It remains profitable and is gearing up for expansion at a time when industry rivals are strapped for cash. REUTERS/Mark Blinch (CANADA) Traffic jams in the Toronto region can be epic, but are they bad enough to convince people to fly to work? Officials in Niagara Region hope so. They're working to sell Porter Airlines on the idea of running a commuter flight from Niagara District Airport to Torontos downtown Billy Bishop Airport, the Financial Post reports. Advertisement Regional Council Chair Alan Caslin said he recently met with Porter CEO Bob Deluce to pitch him on the idea of using Niagaras airport as a service centre and a place to keep airplanes overnight. The twist is that if you did in fact use Niagara District Airport as an overnight parking lot, the first flight in the morning could be a commuter flight to Toronto Island, the Post quoted him saying. Its a 115-km drive around Lake Ontario from Niagara's airport to Torontos downtown airport. The commute can sometimes take more than 90 minutes in heavy traffic. Caslin says a flight between the two airports would take eight minutes. Advertisement A spokesperson for Porter was noncommittal on the idea, telling the newspaper that the airline is generally open to proposals for new flights, but said there are no current plans to introduce new routes. Not climate-friendly Flying to work would be an environmentally unfriendly way to commute, as airplanes emit more carbon pollution than other forms of public transportation. Research shows that smaller, short-haul jets emit 30 to 40 times as much carbon per kilometre travelled as a typical urban diesel bus, despite having only a slightly larger passenger capacity. Market research Niagara airport officials are trying to gauge how much interest there would be in a commuter flight to Toronto. The airports website landing page opens on a survey asking travellers how interested they are in taking such a flight, and how much theyd be willing to pay for it. Advertisement Niagaras airport currently serves only general aviation, meaning it mainly serves private jets and other non-scheduled flights. The Niagara Advance reported earlier this year that officials are interested in bringing commercial flights to the airport, but this would likely mean having to build a new passenger terminal. Correction:An earlier version of this article identified the city in the aerial photo as Niagara-on-the-Lake. It is, in fact, St. Catharines. HuffPost Canada regrets the error. Also on HuffPost: Police in Texas allege a teenager shot his three-year-old stepson in the head because he wouldn't stop jumping on a bed. The boy was taken to hospital and pronounced dead Wednesday morning. The Washington Post reports George Coty Wayman, 18, was charged with capital murder in the death of Dominic TraJuan Castro. Advertisement George Coty Wayman is charged with the capital murder of 3-year-old Dominic Tra'Juan Castro: https://t.co/Q6rsWSIQWNpic.twitter.com/sOxSzN5fs0 TexomasHomepage.com (@TexomasHomepage) May 19, 2016 Witnesses had initially told investigators the boy accidentally shot himself. However, authorities later concluded that Wayman pointed the gun at the child to stop him from jumping on the bed. When he didn't, Wayman "discharged the handgun," according to CBS News. The Dallas Morning News reports the teenager is being held in the Clay County jail. His bail set at $505,000. Also On HuffPost: One of two Canadians on board an EgyptAir flight that crashed early Thursday has been identified as a Saskatoon-born mother of three. A friend confirmed to Postmedia Friday that Marwa Hamdy, a businesswoman, was on Flight 804, which disappeared from radar screens between Paris and Cairo. Advertisement She was a very attentive mother, kind, helpful loved by everyone who knew her, Haleh Banani told CTV News. She was a very attentive mother, kind, helpful loved by everyone who knew her. Hamdy grew up in Saskatoon and moved to Cairo for post-secondary school. It was there where she got married and settled down, Banani said. She worked as a project manager for IBM. Her sons are between the ages of 11 and 16, Postmedia reported. Banani said she's impressed with how well Hamdys eldest son is handling news of his mother's death. I think hes being very hopeful, she told the outlet. He told me he needed to be strong for his younger brothers." Advertisement Two Canadians were on board the EgyptAir flight, Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephane Dion said in a statement Thursday. The federal government is working closely with local authorities to determine if any other Canadians were on the plane, Dion's statement said. #EgyptAir victim Marwa Hamdy, mother of 3. Crashes like this are always, most of all, heartbreaking personal stories pic.twitter.com/ptgGXCp5hw Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) May 20, 2016 Also on HuffPost Change.org Parents of an 11-year-old boy who died of cancer are at odds with the school board after being asked to refrain from visiting their late sons classmates. Charlene McIntee and Robert Martin visited their son Thomas school every week for pizza lunch to see his friends. McIntee said it was Thomas favourite day at school before he passed away in February from gliomatosis cerebri, a rare form of brain cancer. Advertisement Even up until he couldnt hold his own head up, he would still want to go and see the kids on pizza day, she told CTV Toronto. Talks begin between HPE School Board and parents of Thomas Martin https://t.co/9UjnzBtyI3pic.twitter.com/fhEEeghkJc Quinte News (@quintenews) May 20, 2016 On Tuesday, the principal at Queen Elizabeth Public School in Belleville called Thomas parents and requested that they take a break from attending school lunches. I was upset. I said I didnt understand and that I just wanted to see the kids, McIntee said. We have not done anything wrong. Advertisement Thomas parents were also told that they shouldnt mention their sons name at Pedal for Hope, an event dedicated to raising funds for the Canadian Cancer Society. The school principal explained that talking about Thomas might make people emotional. He says to me the kids might cry, the teachers might cry its a hard situation all the way around. I dont want people going home upset, McIntee told the Intelligencer. Crying is a part of grieving. Martin said on Facebook that they were also put on notice for using inappropriate language and talking about inappropriate stuff at school. Evelyn Wilson, a parent liaison for Pedal of Hope, said to The Intelligencer that the school board often tries to move past devastating events as quickly as possible. She said that they do this in order to protect the students, but that suppressing grief is not the right way to go about it. Advertisement Other parents are openly supporting Thomas parents. One mother voiced her concern on Facebook stating, Childhood cancer is a reality. This monster claimed the physical life of a beautiful boy. Dont be that institution that lets it claim his memory, too. Martin agreed, saying, Childhood cancer should not be swept under the rug. Pedal of Hope did mention Thomas by presenting his parents with shirts honouring his memory, but Wilson said that the situation was a reminder of flaws in the school system. Ablestock.com via Getty Images Parliament building clock tower in Ottawa , Ontario , Canada Tensions are high right now in Parliament. Our politicians are being expected to vote on something that makes them have to question their own moral values. It may be partly to blame for the recent kerfuffle ithe goan the House of Commons, but we shouldn't get sidetracked by the latest lack of decorum. Instead we need to focus on the task at hand. Our elected leaders are hopefully digging deep and trying to figure out what the right path is for Canada on Bill C-14: the Liberal's legislation on medically assisted dying. It's not an easy task. It may be the most important piece of legislation some of these MPs ever vote on. It's remarkable that our country has even gotten to this point in the first place, but we need to take it slow. Advertisement The bill has to pass in the upper and lower chambers. While the Senate has made it clear they need more time to debate it, the House is expected to vote on the act sometime soon. In fact, Wednesday's #elbowgate incident happened leading up to a vote on a motion to limit debate on the bill, which did not pass. So why the rush? It's because of a June 6 deadline imposed by the Supreme Court of Canada. On Feb. 6, 2015, in a game-changing unanimous decision in Carter v. Canada, the court found the prohibition against Physician Assisted Dying (PAD) was unconstitutional. In particular, section 241(1) and s. 14 of the Canadian Criminal Code violated section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Therefore, the court ruled, the government had exactly one year to change the current legislation and decriminalize PAD. By January, as the one-year mark was approaching, we now had a new government in power that needed more time to enact the law. So in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada allowed four more months for Ottawa to get their act in gear. That brought the deadline from Feb. 6, 2016 to June 6, 2016, which is now just over two weeks away. The goal of Bill C-14 is to clearly list conditions when seriously ill patients can end their lives with the help of their physician and/or nurse practitioners. As it currently stands, however, some groups find the legislation too vague, while others find it too restrictive. Nevertheless, whether you support Bill C-14 or not, and whether the act passes or not, the current prohibition on PAD is ending. It becomes law on June 6, 2016. Advertisement That's scary for Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, who is warning if nothing is passed in time there will be a "legal vacuum" with "no safeguards" in place, since doctors won't know how to implement the Carter case. However, some Senators are not so concerned, seeing that for the last four months PAD has already been happening in this country, albeit after judicial review of applications. So as June 6 approaches, knowing the Senate won't meet the deadline, now what? Will the government of Canada or the attorney generals of each or one of the provinces bring an application to the Supreme Court to extend the current extension? The case in January was so novel. Could it be done again? Would that mean a continuance of judicial review, something the PAD advocacy groups are trying to avoid? The government would be laughed at for coming back to the court for more time, but at least important debates on the wording of the act wouldn't be rushed. Good on our politicians for dealing with such a polarizing issue and really examining what they believe in. As Senator James Cowan, the leader of the Liberal caucus in the red chamber, recently said, "June 6, in my view, is not a drop-dead date. We have to get it right." Advertisement Regardless though of when this happens, good on our politicians for dealing with such a polarizing issue and really examining what they believe in. MPs are not voting on party lines, but are free to vote with their conscience. That's rare -- we don't see that too often in the House of Commons. Over the half century there haven't been even a dozen topics where members didn't have to vote in accordance with the dictates of their party whips. Debating capital punishment and motions on the flag were the rare exception. In June, 2005, same-sex marriage was a vote on one's morality, but the NDP didn't allow its members a free vote on that issue and Liberal cabinet ministers were required to vote in support, while other MPs could vote based on their own beliefs. In a 273-1 vote in June of last year, Canada's elected parliamentarians voted that on matters of conscience they should be able to do so free of party wishes. Seriously? We needed a vote on that? And yet, in light of what they're taking on now it seems to make sense. There are MPs who are standing against their party's traditional position on PAD. It's brave to be bold and go against the current, even when you are allowed to. Others have personal, religious or cultural experiences that are swaying their views. That might not be right, considering they were elected to represent their constituents and to be objective. However, isn't personal experience what makes us all human? At the end of the day, isn't that what we want our MPs to be: humans with a conscience, just like us? Advertisement I say bravo to Canada for being so mature and moving into this next phase of life as a nation. It's as if we're transitioning from our teenage years into adulthood. However, we need to remember that if we want to be grown up, we need to act like it. Life moves fast, but sometimes we need to slow down. We can't make rash decisions that haven't been thought through. Like it or not, PAD is becoming the law and if it's here to stay, let's at least make sure we put in place an act that has been given its proper due course so that it will live forever. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: ASSOCIATED PRESS This photo from video provided by the Canadian House of Commons shows Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,near Opposition whip Gordon Brown in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Ontario on Wednesday May 18, 2016. Footage from the House of Commons television feed shows Trudeau wading into a clutch of lawmakers, mostly opposition members, and pulling a lawmaker through the crowd in order to get the vote started. As Trudeau turns around to pull the lawmaker through, lawmaker Ruth Ellen Brosseau can be seen reacting with discomfort. (House of Commons via The Canadian Press via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT As pundits continue to dissect Justin Trudeau's shoving behaviour in the House of Commons 20 ways to Sunday, family law lawyers are asking themselves this question: during separation, would that act be considered unwanted touching, manhandling or assault? On Wednesday, May 18, agitated by a vote that was less than a minute late in starting and irritated with the stalling opposition, the PM unexpectedly marched down the House of Commons aisles and "manhandled" Official Opposition Whip Gordon Brown by grabbing his arm and shoving him into his seat. On his way down to Brown, the PM pushed past some NDP MPs and elbowed MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the chest. Immediately after, he made his way back down the aisles, confronting other members of the opposition party and reportedly telling them to "get the **** out of the way." Advertisement Although he said his actions were "accidental" and he has since apologized, the PM's behaviour has provoked concern and anger from MPs and Canadians all over the country. What are the potential legal consequences of the PM's shoving and manhandling? Well, threatening, hitting, kicking, punching, harassing and shoving another person are all offences punishable under the Criminal Code of Canada. No one, not even the prime minister of Canada, should be above the law. Within the family law context, if you accidentally and in the heat of the moment (much like the PM) shove your spouse, it could be considered domestic violence. Domestic violence is not tolerated in Ontario, and a person committing such an act can be arrested, charged, convicted and jailed. Immediately after a 911 call and the reporting of domestic violence, a variety of extremely inflexible legal processes begin. Under Canadian law, the police are compelled to act. Once police arrive at the scene, the accused person will be handcuffed and taken to jail. Usually, the accused will be placed in a holding cell and appear in court the next day to be charged and hopefully released with a return date. Advertisement Once the accused is removed from the family home, the other spouse usually gets de facto custody of the children and de facto exclusive possession of the matrimonial home. Consequently, the accused can no longer return to the family home (except to retrieve their belongings with a police escort). They may also potentially lose their entitlement to custody of their children. Domestic violence can also trigger the immediate requirement to commence paying child support, and potentially spousal support as well. As if that weren't enough, domestic violence can also seriously and negatively impact one's reputation, often leading to the loss of a job, which affects the ability to pay support. It becomes a vicious circle. So, whether it's an accident or not, unwantedly touching your spouse or your ex-to-be could have some serious legal consequences. If shoving and manhandling are so egregious, why has Prime Minister Justin Trudeau not been charged for his actions? No one, not even the prime minister of Canada, should be above the law. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: Chris Wattie / Reuters New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Ruth Ellen Brosseau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa March 8, 2012. REUTERS/Chris Wattie (CANADA - Tags: POLITICS) Imagine you are a small child in a crowded school hallway. A couple big kids block your way and when you try to move around them they maneuver to stay in your way. Getting tired of being bullied, you push by. The next thing you know, the bully runs to the vice-principal to report you for pushing and demands that you be punished. The scene I just described is called "crybullying." It is used by political and environmental activists daily to slow down industrial development and discredit their political enemies. Consider this classic example of crybullying from the University of Missouri. Advertisement In the video a young reporter is trying to take pictures of a demonstration in a public space when he is physically assaulted by protestors. The photographer, who is standing still, is repeatedly bumped by these protesters who then turn around and demand that the photographer be arrested for assaulting them. Think that is the only case of this scourge? Consider #elbowgate this week (video here). In #elbowgate, two members of the NDP caucus physically blocked the path of a senior member of the Conservative party (MP Gord Brown) in the House of Commons. MP Ellen Brosseau took a dive that would put Cristiano Ronaldo to shame. As MP Brown tried to move around them, the NDP members repeatedly moved to block MP Brown. At one point one of the bullies (MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau) is even seen laughing, presumably about their actions, to a fellow MP in red. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, clearly tiring of the antics, decided to intervene and in doing so brushed MP Brosseau. The result? MP Brosseau took a dive that would put Cristiano Ronaldo to shame. This is a grown woman who, before being elected as an MP, worked at a campus pub where she was presumably jostled on more than one occasion. Instead of shrugging it off she made a grand speech about how traumatized she was. It is easy to forget that she wasn't the innocent bystander in this story, she was one of the bullies. Advertisement So, what is the story the next day? The prime minister, who stepped in to help a bullied colleague, issues a formal apology and the crybullies are lionized by their peers. Think this only happens in school grounds or the House of Commons? Think again, the tactic is used at virtually every major environmental protest. Protesters storm into buildings and then complain when they are detained by security. After all, they only wanted to scream at office workers using a megaphone. There was no way they could expect that the occupants of the building might not appreciate their intrusion. Ultimately the crybullies have a simple approach, as Daniel Greenfield (who has written a lot on the topic) points out: If you don't fight back, the crybully bullies you. If you fight back, the crybully cries and demands a safe space because you made him feel unsafe. Sadly, we as a nation are letting the crybullies win and in doing so are only encouraging them to bully us more. Advertisement So, what is the cause of this problem? Well it can be traced back to the fact that the government has trained these crybullies to believe that they can use the tactics of civil disobedience while not suffering the consequences of their actions. Back in the 1990s, during the Clayoquot protests, protesters understood that their actions had consequences. The protesters at the Clayoquot were arrested with over 850 being thrown in jail. Most interestingly, it was not a Conservative or Liberal government that had them arrested and charged, the government of the day was NDP, their allies. You see, the government of the day recognized that their role was to ensure that the law was obeyed irrespective of political stripe. Since that time our governments have gradually given in to the crybully pressure. Consider the Burnaby Mountain protest. There the police actually asked the protesters which ones wanted to be arrested. Can you imagine a police officer asking a bank robber if he wanted to be arrested? The decision by our government to not enforce the law has taught activists not to be concerned with the law. Coupled with our school system which emphasizes second, third, fourth and more chances, we are bringing up a generation that wrongly thinks that the rules don't apply to them. They have been taught that each one of them is special and that their individual wants and needs are more important than those of anyone else around them or even society as a whole. To conclude this piece I will quote Daniel Greenfield again: Advertisement Crybullies are everything they claim to abhor. They are narcissists who complain about selfishness. Completely incapable of human empathy, they whine that no one cares about their feelings. They are prone to cowardly acts of violence, but demand safe spaces. They are bullies who say they're bullied. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: Chris Wattie / Reuters Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers an apology in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, May 19, 2016 following a physical altercation the previous day. REUTERS/Chris Wattie Something happened in Parliament on May 19th, 2016. It may have changed everything. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the perfectionist heart-throb that has taken the world by storm, stepped away from his Disney Prince persona and had a very human moment. In a heated parliamentary debate, the prime minister strode across the floor, grabbed hold of Conservative whip Gordon Brown, and accidentally elbowed a female MP. Ruth Ellen Brosseau appeared in shock as Trudeau's less than shining performance put a serious damper on the parliamentary stage. It wasn't long before the commotion made headlines, prompting questions about Trudeau's "feminist" motivations and furthering discussion about his performance as our leader. How enraging to us that he's a politician, and not the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Looks like Ted Cruz isn't the only Canadian elbowing women, eh? The whole thing made me laugh. To turn a whole discussion of appropriate behavior in the House of Commons into a question of gender politics is like pouring gasoline on a half-hearted campfire. This was one of the first times when I fully disagreed with our prime minister's initial actions, but the quick and stormy actions of the Conservatives and NDP turned a reasonable concern into a farce. It's the overly polite, overly politically correct narrative that turns Canada into one giant joke for the rest of the world. This time, I was laughing with them. Advertisement And all of that got me thinking. The country has been pretty harsh on the Trudeau family recently. It seems as though our "Commander-in-Chief" and his "First Lady" haven't been able to do anything right. First, Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau can't have a nanny, then the Trudeaus can't go on vacation, then Trudeau is doing too much for refugees and not enough for Fort McMurray, then Gregoire-Trudeau has no right to ask for help with her busy schedule, and NOW, it's Elbowgate. "He MUST be perfect!" the Canadian public seems to cry, because isn't that what he marketed himself as at the beginning? How enraging to us that he's a politician, and not the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Oh, Canada. How lucky you are to have such problems. There's a lot of issues that we need to work on as a country, but throwing our leader under the bus is NOT going to help anything. I speak often of the time when Barack Obama was elected as President of the United States. On election night, the footage from around the globe looked like the final scene in Return of the Jedi. This was America's chance for REAL change, and yet the debt piled up, the promises got broken, and then Obama was just another politician who didn't cut it. Naturally, this made him a bad president because some people can't deal with the force from the ground after they fall off of their unicorn. And Trudeau has been elbowing us off of our unicorns for the past couple of months now. Magical horses everywhere have been left unattended after we have all started to realize that Saint Justin Trudeau isn't a thing and that he's just a guy trying to do a job that none of us criticizing him are actually qualified to do. Elbowgate is the icing on the cake right now, and frankly, the whole thing is getting embarrassing for us. If this is what Canada calls "chaos," then someone is going to have to throw us a dictionary sooner than later. Advertisement We've become the whiny kid in the schoolyard that no one wants to play ball with because everyone knows that kid is going to go crying to Teacher if someone looks at them wrong way. The Opposition even threw in that nice gender equality dig, just to show the entire planet how truly bored we are with having nothing real to complain about. There's a lot of issues that we need to work on as a country, but throwing our leader under the bus is NOT going to help anything. We all need a dose of reality every now and again. There are some things that you can get pissed off at Justin Trudeau for. The TTP Agreement, for example, is not particularly popular, as are some of the Easter eggs hidden in the most recent budget. Hell, I don't think it's unreasonable for you to be irritated by Trudeau's initial response to Brown. On the whole, however, it is undeniable that we are in a better position than we were under Stephen Harper's regime, if only for the incredible approval Canada has received on the International stage as a direct result of Trudeau's leadership. So, let's pick our battles a bit, shall we? Let's not be that whiny kid no one wants to play with and show the world that we can play ball just like anyone else. In the most Canadian thing ever, Trudeau humbly and extensively apologized for his actions in the House of Commons on Thursday. I'm sure that we have many friends south of the border who would be thrilled to even hear the word "sorry" mumbled for anything their recent candidates have said, but alas, they are not in the land of the unicorns. We are a spoiled lot, Canadians are and it's about time that we suck it up a bit and stop being the backseat driver to our chauffeur. Remember, we voted him, guys. Isn't it reasonable to give him a chance to keep doing his job without picking on every single human detail? We all need a dose of reality every now and again. This marginally bitter pill couldn't have come at a better time for us, and I'm hoping that this will make us smarter. There are far greater things to be concerned about now. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook ALSO ON HUFFPOST: ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE In this photo taken Friday Jan. 3, 2014 heavy surf breaks over the seawall during a winter storm, Hampton, N.H. A commission that studies risks and hazards to New Hampshire's coast is releasing a report Friday March 18, 2016 on projected sea-level rise and flooding and the effect on communities. (AP Photo/Jim Cole/FILE) Our aging newspapers and private TV networks are doing little to inform Canadians in a meaningful way about the dramatic changes in the climate that are already altering life in this country. Scientific research shows that by 2050, unless huge progress is made, it will get much worse. Canada will be a land of climate-change extremes, the research says. Some parts of the country will experience very hot extremes, others will have longer wet periods. Droughts and forest wildfires will become more severe. Advertisement The damage caused by these dramatic changes will cost Canada billions of dollars, depending on how much action is taken. The time-frame we're talking about is very short. A child born this year will be 34 in 2050. The person will be 84 at the end of the century. If Canada does not implement an effective carbon control program, future generations will see significant changes during their lifetime. Older media generally provide biased coverage of climate change issues because they tend to focus on costs of taking action, without highlighting the costs of inaction. Old media ignored wildfire link to climate change While scientists were pointing out that the Alberta wildfires were more severe this year than in the past, most old media ignored the likely link. Advertisement Despite the severe threat to the country, no Canadian newspaper has taken on fighting climate change as a crusade. However, The Guardian newspaper, published in the U.K., has won worldwide praise for its strong coverage of climate change issues. A survey of the country's old media shows that, while a few have run excellent, one-time features on climate change, only the Winnipeg Free Press has a dedicated environment page -- and even it consists of random environmental stories from around the globe. Meanwhile, in Alberta, Canada's home of Big Oil, The Calgary Herald hasn't come out directly and said it's against action on climate change, but it has done a lot to encourage people to oppose the NDP government's plans. Last week the Calgary Herald published a piece by Ted Morton of the Manning Foundation for Building Democracy, in which he wrote that the government's actions planned to take on climate change were no more reliable than going and betting in Los Vegas. Another Calgary Herald piece was entitled: "Climate change plan is causing worry." It was written by Robin Campbell, president of the Coal Association of Canada. The National Post has given the most coverage to the few scientists and would-be experts who deny that climate change is the result of human activity. Most recently, the paper resisted the idea that the wildfires in Alberta were the result of climate change. Advertisement And the paper has been at this, practically weekly, for a very long time. Ten years ago, the Post published a huge 27-part series that presented only the views of climate change deniers. Interestingly, the last part of the series, which ran in June 2007, said people should be more concerned about a coming Ice Age. The Globe and Mail, allegedly the country's most influential national paper, has been running stories that tend to scare people about how hard it will be to overcome climate change. But, at the same time, the paper neglects to point out what will be the consequences of climate disaster if we don't act. How the Globe opposes climate action Here are two examples of the Globe's biased approach of supporting economic development versus the threat of climate change: On Monday the Globe ran a front-page story "Ontario to spend $7-billion on sweeping climate change plan." But the paper published no accompanying information concerning why the Ontario government feels the plan is necessary. On Tuesday, the Globe orchestrated a follow-up that suited its position on supporting the status quo: "Energy, auto sectors raise red flags over Ontario climate plan." Advertisement All the usual bosses that will have to change the ways of their corporations were quoted. The story quoted environmentalists who favour the plan but, again, the Globe did not publish any information about what will happen to Ontario's environment if little is done to fight climate change. In recent years, the Globe, while it has carried out some excellent investigative journalism, has supported and published reactionary views and columns on climate change, including some that deny there's a problem. While The Toronto Star does not have a regular section devoted to climate change, it reports on the need for action more than any other paper in the country. Today, while the Globe was, in effect, urging business and people to oppose a climate change plan, the Starreported that Ontario's cap-and-trade system will be cheaper than a tax on carbon for the average household. Mass media is the main place where people should be learning of the threat ahead. Largely because of inadequate reporting by mass media, most Canadians are not well enough informed or angry enough to demand action by government and non-renewable corporations. A study co-authored by Universite de Montreal researchers suggests that, while 79 per cent of Canadians do not doubt the reality of climate change, 39 per cent don't believe it is caused by human activity. These discouraging numbers represent the media's failure to report on the threat of climate change. Advertisement It's time Big Media stopped making excuses and started doing their jobs. Read other posts by Nick Fillmore from his blog: A Different Point of View. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook ALSO ON HUFFPOST: News / National by Stephen Jakes The outspoken Zanu PF youth member Fidelis Fengu has challenged the government to listen to the people indicating that what ever success leaders can have is only successful when they have [people' support.Fengu said the flag was birth by a struggle , a liberation struggle that saw gallant sons and daughters fight for our rights to this flag.. and these gallant sons and daughters stood under the banner of Zanu and Zapu which are now known as Zanu PF."The founding fathers have bragging rights to the flag and can call it our flag , the people of Zimbabwe as mothers to this child , the people of Zimbabwe as the ones who endured the labour pains equally have bragging rights to this our flag," he said."Zimbabweans have a right to express themselves and a right to be heard , after all they are the employers of the Executive that leads Zimbabwe."He said it is therefore my view that the Minister of Policy Implementation and Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo takes the issues being raised by the people and finds a way to ensure that the plans outlined in the Zanu PF manifesto are implemented and people given a status report.When the people speak they deserve to be heard and answered because they are the same people who should be helping government build Zimbabwe , government cannot do it alone without the people Letizia Le Fur via Getty Images Womans hand holding a mobile phone Sometimes I wonder how I ever got through postpartum depression (PPD) the first time around without Facebook, Google, mommy blogs and my smartphone. That was seven years ago, i.e. the olden days, when everyone didn't own a smart phone and there weren't any live online PPD support groups to access. Advertisement The only the thing I could do then at 3 a.m. in the middle of the night on the verge of a panic attack while the rest of the world slept was grab my cell phone and dial 911. Nowadays, however, thanks to the rapid evolution of social media and web-based technology, whenever I feel a strange symptom coming on or wonder if my PPD misery will ever end, instead of waking up my husband to tell him I've called an ambulance and seeing the look of "Why, why, why? Again?" on his face, I lean over, grab my smartphone and connect with other moms going through the same thing in real time. And I calm down. The first thing I do is leave a comment about how I'm feeling in a couple private PPD Facebook groups and wait for other moms to reply. It only takes a couple of minutes. Soon enough there's a plethora of responses from moms who have either been through or are currently going through the same thing. This instantly provides comfort to me knowing that what I'm experiencing is normal in the context of my journey through PPD and more importantly, that I'm not alone. I begin to take take breaths and feel my heart rate slowing down. My husband continues to snore. Next, I Google my symptoms and find so many amazing mommy blogs openly talking about PPD and all its forms; and once again I feel so good knowing that I'm not the only one going through it and experiencing all these weird and scary symptoms no one except a mom going through PPD can ever really understand. Advertisement I take another deep breath and feel the tightness in my chest and stomach begin to subside. Thanks to the Internet, I begin to actually believe that the terrifying nightmares that wake me up in a panic are not real and that the terrifying intrusive thoughts still running through my head are not real. I learn that PPD is not my fault, that it's a result of hormonal and biochemical changes that occur in pregnancy and postpartum, that the meds I'm taking will take effect soon, and that one day, just like the moms in the Facebook groups who've been saying it all along, I will get better and be well again. I lie back down next to my peaceful baby, close my eyes and feel the possibility of sleep returning. Welcome to the digital age of PPD. As long as you have access, you can enlist the support of other moms from wherever you are, at any time of the day. The technical term for what I'm doing is called peer support, a highly valued, evidence-based tool in the fight against PPD which the Internet is managing to provide organically. A study by the University of Western Ontario monitored comments from moms in an online support group for six months and found that they "provide women experiencing postpartum depression a safe place to connect with others and receive information, encouragement and hope". Advertisement I remember desperately searching for a face-to-face PPD peer support group in my community and was dismayed that there weren't any. I started my own Facebook support group and joined countless others. I even tried starting one that would meet regularly in-person but only two other moms showed up. I could understand why. Meeting at a certain place and time is hard enough when you're dealing with the irregular schedule of a newborn. Add to that PPD, and the chances of getting out of the house are slim to none. That's the beauty of the Internet. As long as you have access, you can enlist the support of other moms from wherever you are, at any time of the day. According to Edison Research, "mom's time with the Internet is almost eight times what it was in 2000", spending an average of three hours daily online. And Canadians are the ones spending the most time online. Our gadget of choice? A smartphone or tablet. According to Baby Centre, "the percentage of Canadian millennial moms who owned a smartphone grew from 59 percent in 2012 to 94 percent in 2014." The medical community is catching on. Because wouldn't it be wonderful to have trained medical professionals monitoring our comments and providing expert feedback and links to further resources? Earlier this week, Women's College Hospital in Toronto launched it's first ever online support group as part of the Reproductive Life Stages Program for moms with PPD in Ontario. It's called, "Mother Matters" and they're currently recruiting 50 moms for the first 10-week program beginning in June and set to run again this fall. Advertisement "Women can create anonymous screen names to address issues related to shame or stigma and highly-trained psychotherapists can provide care to women in areas where specialty mental health care might not otherwise be available," says Mother Matters program psychiatrist, Dr. Simone Vigod. "It is a low-cost intervention that is already reaching women across Ontario, and pending a demonstration of efficacy, can be scaled up and adapted for other centres." And coming to Canada soon, I hope, is an online program and future app called Mevoked that moms and doctors can use together to track a mom's online behaviour in real time. Mevoked founder, Arun Ravi created the software after witnessing his wife struggle with access to care after the birth of their son. "We believe that this program can help treat those moms in between the mild to moderate range of postpartum depression while identifying those at severe risk," says Arun Ravi. "We just want to create a better funnel and make sure every mom gets help." Each time a mom goes online, the software keeps track of what sites she's visiting, the time of day, and what keywords she's typing into her search browser, much the same way Google does in order to target its ads to us. But instead of getting us to buy more stuff, what Mevoked does with the data is provide doctors a window into the emotional health of the mom at various times of the day over an eight week period. It also provides real time wellness advice for moms and a chance to provide information on how she's currently feeling via smart pop-ups that appear intermittently whenever she's onscreen. Advertisement Right now, the largest PPD study using smart phones is currently underway in the U.S. with Canada set to hop aboard soon. That's the one where DNA spit kits are being mailed to moms with PPD to study whether PPD has a genetic component. "We have started working on it," says Dr. Vigod. Can't wait. If you live in Ontario and struggle with PPD, register here for the Mother Matters online support group. While you wait to see if you qualify, here are five private PPD Facebook groups in Canada and abroad with 24/7 PPD peer support: Advertisement Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Chris Wattie / Reuters Canada's Finance Minister Bill Morneau takes part in a news conference in Ottawa, Canada, December 7, 2015. The new Canadian government's planned tax hike on the rich will bring in less money than forecast and will not cover the cost of a promised middle-class tax cut, according to an official release on Monday. A government document said the tax hike would bring in C$2.01 billion ($1.49 billion), while the cost of the tax cut would be C$3.44 billion ($2.55 billion). REUTERS/Chris Wattie? The Trudeau government's first budget offered hope but little change on increasing the CPP in our lifetime. After extolling the virtues of the Canada Pension Plan, we're told that the finance ministers talked about enhancing the CPP last December and set a goal of making a collective decision before the end of 2016. And, oh yes, the government will launch consultations. At least Finance Minister Bill Morneau didn't say "No, not ever" as his predecessor and the former prime minister did. Advertisement But the promise of yet more consultations is deeply disappointing. If we needed any more proof that Canadians are talked out about CPP, check out the revelations about the last such consultation. After years of refusing to let the word "CPP" pass their lips without a sneer, the Harper government sought reaction to its surprise proposal to offer a voluntary CPP. A grand total of 47 responses were submitted. Twenty-six for to 17 against, in case you were wondering. Hardly worth the effort! The next round of CPP talks comes in June when the federal and provincial finance ministers meet again. Morneau says he's "cautiously optimistic." It's a phrase he repeats. It's hard to guess what he's optimistic about. The CPP amending formula amounts to a virtual veto. The reverse is also true -- the previous federal government exercised its veto when the provinces almost reached a consensus. We need two-thirds of the provinces agreeing to increase CPP -- at the same time! And we don't have it. Not now, maybe never. Hearts were set aflutter when the new federal government promised to work with the provinces to enhance the CPP. In the Throne speech and in the mandate letter to the finance minister, the CPP was highlighted. It topped the agenda for the first finance ministers' meeting. Then we broke for Christmas. The provincial consensus started to fray early. Ontario announced in February that its new pension plan, the ORPP -- the only actual pension reform offered in a generation -- would be deferred one year to 2018. The feds needed more time to herd the other provinces into the fold. A faint hope. Saskatchewan's finance minister was given the starring role last December saying there was no deal on CPP and wouldn't ever be if it were up to him. With just over three per cent of the population, Saskatchewan's vote was unlikely to ever matter but with his new mandate, Premier Brad Wall might rally opposition voices among the provinces. Manitoba's NDP government was ready to join the Ontario initiative. With the change in government, Manitoba is likely to line up with its federal Conservative counterpart and soulmate Saskatchewan's "No, not ever." Alberta's NDP government should be ideologically aligned with its federal counterpart on increasing the CPP, but in December Premier Rachel Notley had other problems on her mind. Now with the Fort McMurray disaster on her hands, she can be forgiven for giving the CPP file a pass. Advertisement British Columbia with 13 per cent of the population comes up for a vote in 2017. Given the flack Premier Christy Clark has taken on political fundraising, what are chances that she will spend any political capital on a CPP increase? And Quebec. It's always something with Quebec. Premiers Couillard and Wynne may act like BFFs on cap and trade, but on this, desole! In December, premier Couillard agreed with the principle of a supplementary plan like Ontario's, but the threshold had to be higher or "Not never, but not right now!" With 23 per cent of the population, Quebec holds a virtual veto. The Atlantic provinces have six per cent of the population, but after their austerity budgets, they couldn't convince people to live with an even smaller paycheque to save for retirement. Their electorate just wants to make next month's rent! So there you have it folks! We need two-thirds of the provinces agreeing to increase CPP -- at the same time! And we don't have it. Not now, maybe never. So why is a CPP increase needed again? Canadians are not saving enough for retirement and government can help. Those braying "Too bad for them!" need to realize that every pension dollar reduces the need for taxpayer-funded payments like Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplements or even welfare. Advertisement Older Canadians know the fear of outliving their money, but it's younger Canadians who have to clue in and start saving. And their options are limited. CPP as it is will not be sufficient. Two thirds have no workplace pension plan to help them save. Middle-income Canadians don't use their RRSPs like their higher-income counterparts and therefore risk a much lowered standard of living when the paycheques stop. Behaviourial finance -- the science of why people who skipped math behave irrationally when faced with a financial decision -- explains why people don't act in their own best interests when it comes to saving (and investing) for their own retirement. So they don't save unless forced to -- good thing the CPP just takes the premiums off their paycheques. And most know they'd be better off if they let the real experts invest their money for them. The rest figure that out when they lose their shirt in the stock market. So when the polls show that more Canadians support a CPP increase, it's not the CPP they love -- it's just the only one on offer. What they want and need is a large public pension plan they can all join. Call it what you like, just let us in! The feds should therefore issue a challenge to the provinces: put up or shut up about caring that Canadians need help to save for their own retirement. And they can offer to let any province setting up a CPP-like pension use the federal services that deduct CPP contributions from our paycheques and send out the CPP pension cheques. This was offered to Ontario to defer its ORPP. Advertisement This way, the Trudeau Liberals get to fulfill the true spirit of their election promise -- giving Canadians, especially the middle class, real hope that they can have a decent retirement. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: Endurodog via Getty Images Rainbow behind a cross and grey sky Today I woke up thanking the Lord for allowing me to see another sunrise, only to have my spirit angered by a so called "man of God" who I once regarded as a friend and mentor while I was living on the Caribbean island of Antigua and Barbuda. As part of my daily routine, I visited the Antigua Observer's website, where I stumbled upon the headline "Bishop Browne: Buggery law must stay." Already upset, I opened the article where Mr. Browne was being quoted from an interview he did on ZDK Radio. In it, the bishop indicated that he had recently held talks in Canada. Advertisement "The session focused on several controversial issues including homosexuality, abortion, same-sex marriages, medically assisted deaths, which are indicative of end-times issues," he said. Bishop Browne then used the opportunity to justify his position on buggery laws by pointing to the wildfires which have devastated the people of Fort McMurray: "They can't tell why these fires are breaking out all over the place. Our God is an all-consuming fire, Antigua can't stand those types of fire." And as expected, he also mentioned the famous Bible story used to beat members of the LGBTQ community in the Caribbean and across the world. "Do not play around with God. He is a consuming fire, I am reminded of Sodom and Gomorrah," he said. Are they not deserving of a little respect or is it OK to attack others as long as they are LGBT? I read this article over and over to make sure I wasn't seeing things that are really not there and I do have a little message to share with my old friend: Advertisement Dear Bishop Browne, Do you know what is going on in Antigua and Barbuda today? As we speak, there's an alleged "serial woman beater" creating havoc in our community. Isn't violence against women worthy of a public statement? It was a woman who brought you into this world, sir. Where were you when Princess and Sherese (both open transgender women) were being attacked almost on a daily basis just for merely existing? They don't interfere with people unless provoked, yet they are constantly harassed and discriminated against. Are they not deserving of a little respect or is it OK to attack others as long as they are LGBT -- just like it was OK when one of your fellow churches kicked out a gentleman because they "heard about his lifestyle?" Is this what Jesus would do? Where were you when our children were being robbed of their youth by grown men left, right and centre? What about the drug lords, dons and gunmen who have many of your church members living in fear in Antigua? I won't even talk about the politicians and police officers who continue to rob poor people and abuse their power, since the church basically lies in bed with them. Nowadays you can't tell a politician from a pastor. Where are the public statements when these law enforcement officers are boldly breaking the law? When I used to debate in high school, I remember sharing with you how I was being bullied at JSS and how much that affected my entire life. Where was your voice then to speak out against bullying? Advertisement The church continues to protect molesters who preach to us every Saturday and Sunday, but you know this already because they are finally being exposed thanks to social media. It is time for these so-called men of God to stop using the bible as a weapon to hide their personal prejudices and hatred for us. All of the above mentioned are issues worth ranting about. These are "end-times" signs that continue to halt the progress of our twin island state and other homophobic countries across the Caribbean. How does my love life or the bedroom activities of my gay friends affect Antigua and Barbuda? Please tell me! Instead of focusing on the "stories of Sodom and Gomorrah" and using that in the same conversation about a horrific incident that has left many homeless here in Canada, you should go and find your heart because your comments are shameful and distasteful. I hope Canadian media groups are watching. It was this same Canada that saved my life when I was forced to leave my country of birth, Antigua, because of homophobia; something that came about because of the type of teachings coming out of churches like yours. Countries like Canada are a safe haven for many of us coming from and still living in the Caribbean. You should be thanking this great nation for correcting your wrongs instead of suggesting that the LGBTQ community is to blame for something that occurs from nature or human carelessness. Advertisement All in all, do not confuse your personal beliefs and convictions with my personal rights and freedoms as a human being. There's a big difference! I doubt the news agencies there will publish my statement, but I make no apologies for it! It is time for these so-called men of God to stop using the bible as a weapon to hide their personal prejudices and hatred for us. We are your sons and daughters! We are Antiguans and Barbudans! We are Caribbean nationals! Signed, A Proud But Angry Caribbean Lesbian Living In Canada Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: Bora030 via Getty Images Green sign of the Red Cross as a designation for pharmacy Written by Elisa Krovblit Toronto landlords are about to find themselves on the wrong side of the law when it comes to medical marijuana. The last time I checked, possessing marijuana wasn't legal, smoking pot in public wasn't legal and selling cannabis products in an open setting sure as shinola wasn't legal, but Toronto has been be embracing and reinterpreting its nickname "The Big Smoke" in a whole new way. Advertisement Pot dispensaries, cannabis cafes, medical marijuana clinics, smoke shops, vapour lounges -- cannabis culture has gained a foothold in Toronto. Some neighbourhoods have had little to no infiltration, but many have had a staggering number of pot dispensaries open along the main street, out in the open -- neon signs, welcoming storefronts and all. The city is estimating there are currently over 100 of them. You'll see the sign if you take a walk along The Danforth, and new ones are cropping up in The Beaches, too. You'd almost expect that they'd multiply faster in the seedier neighbourhoods, but that's not the case. You'll find them in trendy midtown neighbourhoods like Eglinton and Davisville, as well as in North York community hubs Like University Heights, Scarborough and Etobicoke. A dispensary is only a Google search away. Of course there's long been cannabis culture in Toronto, from Rochdale College in The Annex in the late 60s, to grassroots advocates like Kensington Market's Roach-O-Rama and Hotbox Cafe. But until recently most marijuana culture stayed underground. While illegal but seemingly tolerated to some degree, it made efforts to stay off of the radar of the general public and the law. These new dispensaries are popping up in storefronts, claiming to serve a community relying on marijuana for medical purposes -- glaucoma, epilepsy, chemotherapy, chronic pain, PTSD. Because the law to legalize marijuana is set to come into legislation in 2017, they've been allowed to operate, but with the unregulated business booming to new highs, the City of Toronto has decided to crackdown. Advertisement Mayor John Tory has concerns about the unregulated industry becoming infiltrated by organized crime, and many of the city's residents are asking why these dispensaries are allowed to operate when they're essentially not legal. While the city doesn't want to waste extensive resources cracking down on these dispensaries, only to be caught up in long legal battles as the products are decriminalized, some action has to be taken. The solution is kind of brilliant -- in a diabolical kind of way. Pass the buck on the dirty work! Instead of going after dispensaries, the city has chosen to go after the landlords. It is a bylaw infraction to run an illegal business, and landlords who know that they're renting to an illegal operation face fines of up to $50,000 and can even have their property seized. Police spokesperson Mark Pugash has said notices are being hand delivered directly to landlords. Landlords are being given notice of the illegal usage of their properties and have three days to remedy the problem or face consequences. The dispensaries aren't being notified or busted; the police and city are putting it to the landlords to take care of the situation. And, realistically, they are legally culpable. Pugash did not specify how many notices have been delivered, but implied that there were dozens. These pot dispensaries shouldn't be confused with legitimate ones. There are licensed manufacturers and they dispense medical marijuana legally. The ones opening up shop all over town mostly are not -- they are privately owned and selling various grades and qualities of marijuana products. They offer the typical smokable plant in a variety of strains and names, as well as edible products for those that prefer not to smoke. But their sources are not government sanctioned, there is no control on quality and no consumer protection. Advertisement (And it's illegal.) Medical marijuana is an interesting alternative and a growing movement that won't be going away, so it's high time the government decided to do something about it. While this crackdown may clean up the streets in Toronto, Vancouver is undergoing the same issue and has just handed out their first legal business license. The spring of 2017 will bring new laws and hopefully some great regulations to the business of medical marijuana. Originally posted on YPNextHome.ca Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: The five things you need to know on Friday May 20, 2016 1) T-TIP FORAY If you were in any doubt about just how nervy David Cameron is over the EU referendum, yesterday proved it in spades. After a Parliamentary procedural ambush by the Vote Leave camp, and hours of confusion, we had the spectacle of No.10 effectively confirming the Government would admonish itself over its own Queens Speech. Advertisement Of course, Downing Street doesnt for a minute think the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) planned for the EU and US will mean the NHS is open to backdoor privatisation. But it has been forced to accept an amendment (as revealed on HuffPost) regretting the lack of a Bill to protect the health service. A lethal cocktail of more than 25 Tory rebel Eurosceptics and Labour and SNP MPs wanting to embarrass the Government just proved too much. No.10 says the rebels have had their fun but accepting the amendment means it avoids that symbolic defeat on the Queens Speech that would have set hares running. But there's one more twist this morning: I'm told Govt whips have been calling round telling backbenchers to take their names off the amendment. An amendment the Government now backs. Theres better transatlantic news for the Remain camp early this morning, with Canadian heart-throb and PM doing an Obama and warning he wants the UK to stay in the EU. In his own back of the queue warning, Trudeau told Reuters there is "nothing easy or automatic" about negotiating new trade deals between Canada and a Brexit Britain. The irony is not lost that some Outers back a Canadian model for trade with the EU. But in the economy-versus-migration Project Fear contest we see nearly every day now, the be-Leavers will be more pleased with the Mail splash on the buried report claiming Brussels is ordering Britain to build more homes to house EU migrants. Oh and a new poll shows that two in three students dont know when the referendum is - and many will not be at their registered addresses to vote. Advertisement 2) FLAT PAT SQUIRMITURE Ah, Pat Glass has had her very own Gillian Duffy moment (in fact, like Gordon Brown, it wasnt just a moment, it lasted several excruciating hours, though the apology was swifter). The Shadow Europe Ministers on-mic remarks about a voter being a horrible racist spread like wildfire online yesterday and is on the front of a few papers today. Pat was flattened by her own candour in declaring just how she viewed a bloke in Sawley in Derbyshire who had complained about neighbouring Poles living like scroungers. Of course, no one is daft enough to deny some voters arent pretty racist against Eastern European or other migrants. Its just that - once again - a possibly legitimate concern may have been misinterpreted by a Labour MP with a different view of the world. The irony of this is that I was told some weeks ago that Glass - who is new to the political frontline - was getting media training from Ken Livingstones former comms chief Joy Johnson. I understand that the ex-City Hall and Labour media expert certainly gave some advice, but it looks like it was ignored in the heat of the moment yesterday. Its not just Ken who goes off-message (yesterday he offered dinner to anyone who could prove him wrong on his Hitler/Jews history). The only saving grace for Glass is that she wasnt caught on camera. The incident was a gift to the Vote Leave camp. And the FT has a story of the Brexiters taking a novel approach with non-white voters. It reports leaflets are being prepared in Asian languages warning that if Britain quits the EU it will mean more immigration from elsewhere in the world. People with EU passports can "just walk in" to Britain, and the leaflets warn of the "increasingly far-right tinge to politics across Europe. If Austrian Freedom Party leader Norbert Hofer is elected this weekend, that may not just be rhetoric. 3) HIS WORD IS HIS BOND I interviewed Sadiq Khan yesterday at City Hall and the new Mayor of London had lots of things to say. With Daniel Craig set to quit as Bond, he suggested it was time for a woman as 007, namechecking both Naomi Harris and Rosamund Pike. Advertisement Khan added: Im busy for the next eight years, so as much as there will be a big clamour for me to go for it, I rule myself out. Note that eight years tenure, by the way More seriously, the Mayor has given details of his invitation to Donald Trump to London, saying how he wants to educate the ignorant billionaire getting him to meet his family, take him to a mosque, and introduce him to Bake Offs Nadiya, Leicesters Riyad Mahrez and ex-ID star Zayn Malik. With the EgyptAir crash looking more like terrorism with every hour, Khan (who spoke before the jet went missing) also makes the point that its important to get away from the image Americans like Trump have of Muslims only being bad people they see on the TV news. The only experience they have of Muslims could well be what they see on TV on the news when there are criminals, terrorists, bad people committing acts of terror and terrorism, using the name of Islam to justify their acts. And so I accept some peoples view of Islam may be clouded by what they see on the TV and the news. "My point to Donald Trump is: if it is the case that your views on Islam are ignorant, if it is the case that you have not met Muslims who are compatible with, comfortable with Western values, to all purposes normal come to London. Advertisement We will have the full interview up online later, with more on Khans thoughts on Hillary, Bernie and Jeremy Corbyn. BECAUSE YOUVE READ THIS FAR Watch this The Thick of It mash-up of Jeremy Hunts interview on Channel 4 News. Thats a mega-blink 4) THE OTHER DEFICIT Just as Jeremy Hunt looks like hes got out of the junior doctors frying pan, he may be straight back in the fire of the NHS deficit. Though stories about health service finances are more of a slow burn, this is just as important a moment for the Government today. New figures are expected to show the deficit rising once more to nearly 3bn and theres panicked talk that the NAO could censure the DH because it risks spending money that Parliament simply hasnt voted for. And the BBCs Health Editor has got hold of the NHS finance director turned whistleblower who says that all sorts of alchemy is going on to cook the books, including shifting cash from capital into revenue. Advertisement This is the deficit that George Osborne would rather not go on about. He has so far been lucky that stories about NHS financing are rather dry and complicated. But never forget that a former chief exec of the NHS actually had to quit under Blair for getting the health service into the red, by a much smaller sum. 5) THE AWKS NEST The Sun picks up on the PMs LBC interview to highlight just what was so awkward about his and Jeremy Corbyns non-conversation on the way to the Queens Speech. "I was asking about whether he had time to see the Chilean President when she was in town because I know hes got a great passion for Latin America and things that are happening there. So we talked about Chile. We talked about Colombia. "I was about to get onto Venezuela but we didnt... maybe thats where I went wrong! But thats sort of the thing we were talking about! That Venezuelan reference was possibly to leftwing President Maduro, who was accused yesterday of being as mad as a goat and who is facing mass protests over his repressive regime. No wonder Jez threw some shade. Advertisement COMMONS PEOPLE Our latest Commons People podcast is out (LISTEN HERE). This weeks focus is on guess what? Yep, Brexit, the H-word and the Queens Speech. If youre reading this on the web, sign-up HERE to get the WaughZone delivered to your inbox. By the GEM Report and the UNHCR Education Section Days before the World Humanitarian Summit, we have jointly released a new policy paper, 'No more excuses', with new data showing that only 50% of refugee children are in primary school and 25% of refugee adolescents are in secondary school. As people gather for one of the biggest ever summits on humanitarian needs, we are calling for all those forcibly displaced to have access to quality education within three months of displacement. Countries and their humanitarian and development partners must urgently ensure that those forcibly displaced are included in national education plans and programmes and to collect better data to monitor their education status and progress. What data there are show that, behind the global average number of refugee children out of school, there are significant differences among countries. Primary enrolment rates average 80% in selected refugee sites in Egypt, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Yemen but only 40% in Pakistan and 50% in Ethiopia. Advertisement Access to secondary education is even more limited for refugees in many countries. In 2014, in Kenya, Pakistan and Bangladesh, less than 5% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 were enrolled in secondary education. Enrolment in early childhood education also remains very limited in some countries, reaching only 7% in Turkey in 2015. There is no doubt that collecting information on moving populations is challenging, if not impossible sometimes. What little we know is mostly about those living in camps, yet almost two thirds of the world's refugees reside outside of camps, largely in urban areas, where even less is known because information systems aren't tracking them. Countries must monitor these children and youth when they enter national systems so we know who they are, how they are progressing and whether we're effectively responding to their needs. From select available data outside of camps coming from Ministries, we can see that of school-aged Syrian refugees only 53% in Jordan and 30% in Turkey are enrolled in school. Reliable data on internally displaced people (IDPs) are even more limited, but reports from the International Organization for Migration and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre indicate that their displacement is putting huge strain on already weak education systems. Advertisement In Nigeria, for instance, children displaced due to attacks by Boko Haram in 19 out of the 42 camps did not have access to any form of education in June 2015. In Iraq, only 32% of internally displaced children and adolescents in 2015 had access to any form of education. In Yemen, only one third of school age IDP children in Lahj governorate were enrolled in school. Those already marginalised, such as girls, are often the worst affected among refugees. In Kakuma camps in Kenya, in 2015 only 38% of primary school students were girls. In Pakistan, where child marriage and teenage pregnancy are often cited among refugee girls, dropout rates for refugee girls are as high as 90%. Girls and women make up 70% of the world's internally displaced population and are left the furthest behind in education. In Iraq, in Najaf governorate 81% of 15-17 year-old girls were out of school compared to 69% of boys of the same age. In urban areas in Afghanistan only 1% of IDP women were found to be literate versus 20% of IDP men. Education is essential for all children and especially so for refugee children who have already lost so much. Our joint findings lead to four main policy directions for governments and their partners: Enshrine forcibly displaced people's rights to education in national laws and policy Include displaced children and youth in national education systems Enable accelerated and flexible education options to meet diverse needs Ensure an adequate supply of trained and motivated teachers Join in the conversation #NoMoreExcuses @GEMReport / @Refugees Listen to the podcast: French/ English With almost five weeks still remaining until EU referendum day, students - and the population generally - could be forgiven for suffering from referendum fatigue and information overload. We have faced a barrage of news and advertising, a plethora of (sometimes questionable) facts and stats and a chorus of politicians and public figures speaking out in favour or against remaining in the EU. While the news has been dominated by fierce battles between Remainers and Brexiteers, the big question is: how many people will actually turn out to vote on 23 June? Much has already been said about whether young people and students will turn out to vote. And what impact, if any, the date of the referendum - during university holidays and clashing with the Glastonbury festival - will have on the overall outcome. This is why Universities UK commissioned YouthSight to conduct a poll to see how referendum-ready students are across the UK. They surveyed over 2,000 students eligible to vote on 23 June. The results of the poll, published today, highlight some good news, and some bad news. On a positive note, the poll suggests that many students are interested in the outcome of the referendum. Almost three quarters (72%) of students think the outcome of the referendum will have a significant impact on their futures. More worryingly, many students (63%) did not know what date the referendum was taking place and many are registered to vote in the wrong place. The poll revealed that only half (56%) of students registered only at their term-time address were likely to be there on polling day. A quarter (25%) who said they are registered only at their university address, confirmed they won't be there on 23 June. This means that many students will be registered and think they have taken the correct steps needed in order to vote, but - if they are registered in the wrong place or for the wrong type of vote - they won't be able to have a say. Advertisement The potential low turnout of student voters should be of profound concern to those on both sides of the EU referendum debate. The decision that voters make on 23 June will shape the future of the United Kingdom and the future direction of our economy and society. How did we get to this position, where hundreds of thousands of students could miss out on their chance to participate in a hugely important decision for the UK? There are two main reasons for this: bad timing and recent changes to electoral registration rules. While we have known for over a year that a referendum on EU membership was going to be held, the precise date was only confirmed in February this year. The government decided to plump for a date in late June. A date which, for most students, is outside normal university term-time. Advertisement On top of this, there are relatively new rules on the way in which people can register to vote. In 2014, a new system of electoral registration was introduced whereby students are required to register to vote individually rather than by a 'head of household' who registers all occupants at an address. This change meant that universities could no longer register their residential students collectively, and it was over to students to take individual actions themselves. Some missed, or ignored, the repeated calls for them register; others fell at the first hurdle by not having their National Insurance number to hand (although some councils have now agreed to accept student numbers as ID verification). At this late stage, is there anything that can be done to make sure students do not miss out on their chance to vote? I think so. Huge efforts have been made by universities and colleges across the UK to increase student voter registration numbers over recent months. And these efforts are proving a significant success. However, students registered for earlier votes such as the May elections are not automatically set up to vote in the EU referendum. The date means many will need to re-register if they are going to be at a different address. To help, Universities UK, the National Union of Students and the Association of Colleges have begun a major EU referendum registration drive at campuses and colleges across the UK. The main message is to get students to think about where they are likely to be on 23 June 2016 and, if they think are going to be unable to get to their polling station, to consider applying for a postal vote. If they can get to a polling station, students need to think about whether they will be at their term-time or home/parents' address, or somewhere else entirely. Students are being encouraged to register, re-register or apply for a postal vote, depending on their circumstances. It takes just two minutes to register to vote online and students can register at a new address quickly and easily. This can be done, fuss-free at: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote A student who has a permanent home address and a term-time address can be lawfully registered at both addresses - although of course can only cast a vote in one place. If you're not sure where you'll be - register to vote in both places or better still, get a postal vote. While today's poll findings are worrying - with just over a month to go until the vote - there is still time to take action. The key date is the 7th June, the date by which everyone has to be registered to vote if they want to take part in the referendum. Advertisement While not all students will be heading for the fields of Somerset for the Glastonbury Festival (22 - 26 June), it helps as a reminder for students to think about where they are likely to be on 23 June, and whether they are registered at the correct address. If those on holiday or festival-goers want to vote, they will need to think ahead and apply for a postal or proxy vote. Disliked candidates A plethora of political risks threatens the global economy. One of them is the potential US presidency of Donald Trump. Opinion polls indicate a 46/43 division to the benefit of Hillary Clinton, but she too, is not very popular with voters, as a result of which it is not unthinkable that Trump may overtake her. It is telling that in matchup between Bernie Sanders and Trump Sanders would beat the tycoon by a much wider margin than Clinton would: 51% of the votes versus 39%. Clinton's favourability rating must also worry the Democratic Party: 42% of the people have a favourable opinion of Clinton whereas 55% hold the opposing view. The only relief for the Clinton-camp is that Trump is even more disliked: his numbers are 37% favourable and 59% unfavourable. Whoever wins in November, the US will have a leader who isn't very much liked. The financial markets will not wait with their responses until election day. If opinion polls start leaning towards Trump, this will already be sufficient to elicit a negative response. Advertisement An ambiguous world Whatever rational arguments you could make against Trump, the words of the CEO of Nestle in a reaction to a big scandal spring to mind: "This is a case where you can be so right and yet so wrong. We were right on factual arguments and yet so wrong on arguing. It's not a matter of being right....We live in an ambiguous world. We have to be able to cope with that." Not that long ago, all 'sane minds' knew for sure that Trump wouldn't stand a chance against his competitors and that his inflammable rhetoric and his incoherent, irrational, offensive proposals and pledges would drive the electorate away. Those pundits, journalists and politicians could be forgiven for their conviction that Trump would tumble and fall considering that the rabble-rouser went against every rule in the political book. Just like the 2008-2009 financial crisis didn't fit into the models of banks and economists, the Trump rise was almost impossible to square with all that you could find in campaign handbooks. Indeed, it is an ambiguous world we live in and the stars - anti-establishment sentiment, rising inequality, the ever-present (social) media etc - were aligned to light up a possible path towards the White House for Trump. Already, the GOP establishment is (trying to) come to terms with the almost inevitable Trump nomination. Many a Congressman has stated that he will back Trump and all is done to project a unified image of the Republican party. Although the embrace of Trump by the party is far from a warm embrace. Guarded, wary, grudgingly, reluctantly are better words to describe it. Advertisement Goldwater or Reagan? If Trump worries about his disapproval ratings, he should take a closer look at the campaign of Bill Clinton in 1992. By June 1992 Clinton looked like he would be trounced by his Republican opponent and incumbent President George Bush in November. Only 13% of Americans thought he could be trusted and his favourability rating was at a shockingly low 16%. Nevertheless, Clinton grabbed the presidency. So it is not impossible for Trump to surprise the world by being handed over the keys to the Oval Office. Of course, we cannot rule out a spectacular failure like in 1964 when GOP nominee Barry Goldwater lost 44 states during the presidential election. On the other hand, Ronald Reagan was an actor who many discarded as way too lightweight and he also had a tendency to go off the rails: as a presidential candidate, he called those on public assistance welfare queens, and said anti-war protesters reminded him of the story of Tarzan because they looked like Jane and smelled like cheetah. The unpresidential president The real question is whether Trump is willing and able to turn 'presidential'. Recently it looked like he was toning down his tug-of-war campaigning style. But it wasn't too long before he started again with the very 'un-presidential'-like behaviour. In his own words: "If I was presidential about 20% of you would be here, because it would be boring as hell." However, even if Trump recalibrates, I still have great doubts about a Trump presidency. His history doesn't bode well. His business career is full of examples in which his ego trumped sound judgment. He puts his name on everything he owns, he doesn't stop boasting about his - severely exaggerated - wealth and he is convinced that he is great at everything. He could amass very competent, intelligent, experienced people around, but if he thinks he is his own best Foreign Secretary, trade negotiator, general etc. the country is in for trouble. Moreover, Trump may be boasting that he would reign in massive US debt, he himself has been very well skilled in piling on debt recklessly, with sometimes disastrous results. All this together with his pledges like building a wall along the Mexican border, banning Muslims from entering the country and opposing trade deals, bode ill for the US and the world. Advertisement Unpredictability guaranteed? TRUMBO Jay Roach / Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis CK / Drama / 2016 / 15 / 124mins What makes a man tick? For Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) it's screenwriting. He's a genius and proud of his job, earning big bucks and fame. However, as WWII draws to a close, Communist aggression leads to his arrest and exclusion from the big league studios. Despite his place on the infamous Blacklist, Trumbo signs pseudonymously for King Brothers Studios to churn out B-movie scripts for a living before triumphantly returning to former glory with Spartacus, picking up the odd Oscar here and there. It's strangely evocative of the whole Fury Road 'A-to-B-to-A' sequence, except this time there's Commies and Movies and the ups and downs you come to expect. Cranston is assured and as confident as ever. His whole embodiment of Trumbo - the accent, the calmly delivered wit, and, ultimately, the emotional weight behind certain scenes - is quite striking and unequivocally human, a deserved Oscar nom. Mirren is devilishly cunning and wry as Hedda Hopper but the rest of the cast are left floundering. Advertisement The deeper problem is that Cranston can't explore his character further. Roach turns an inspiring figure sour with an incoherent script. We flit between bookmarks in the life of Trumbo, major incidents that dog his family and his career, but there's an underlying paranoia that should be haunting every frame: the fear of McCarthyism, the fear that someone, anyone, your neighbour or your Mom, could hightail you to court and have you arrested for nothing more than an (often assumed) political leaning. To not utilise the context of this grossly underfilmed era is treason - we have been robbed of a potentially terrifying psychological thriller. Worse yet, we have been robbed of a convincing character study. The actors can't express themselves to a high standard, simplicity glosses the film, and it becomes gallingly long. Cranston's supposed vehicle to Oscardom is a polished but plain period drama, visually flat and lacking a cutting edge. Doesn't do Trumbo's sharp wit justice. Film as a Film - 2 / Target Audience - 2 / General Audience - 2 GRADE C+ ANOMALISA Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson / David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan / Animation, Drama / 2016 / 15 / 90mins Advertisement LIFE IS MUNDANE, BORING, REPETITIVE. And so it goes... at least, that's what writer Charlie Kaufman believes. At its core, Anomalisa wrestles with one question: what it means to be human. David Thewlis voices Michael Stone, a man at odds with his life, who comes across someone remarkable one night at a hotel in Cincinnati: Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a woman who sounds... different. Everyone apart from Thewlis and Jason Leigh is voiced by Tom Noonan, creating the idea that everyone is 'the same'. Quite interesting, then, that Kaufman turned to renowned stop-motion animator Duke Johnson to emphasise the nature of existence. It's a clever ploy. A play on religion? Animator and the animated? God vs Filmmaker? It's the edge of theory that Kaufman typically turns to in his work. There are two distinct moments that consciously reveal the animatronic nature of the characters. During one Michael's lower face falls off entirely. It's deliberate, a conscious effort to stylistically visualise our grappling with ourselves. Neat stuff. Anomalisa has achieved widespread acclaim. Whilst I admit I'm pleased that the public are taking the time to tackle an artsy film, I get the feeling many simply sympathise with the content. Put simply, it's a bland, depressing film that gets nowhere. So what if that's a message in itself, it still leaves the audience hanging. Memento leaves the audience with countless questions and zero answers, but at least its core plot finishes to some degree. There is at least one complete circle. Anomalisa offers a window to a depressed man's life and his failings. He does things that make him an arsehole, like have an affair; so, where do we go with this? Are we all intrinsically arseholes? I was severely let down by this film. Fuck you if you think I don't get it - I do - but this film opens a can of worms. I can't give a film a good rating for two philosophical quirks. Michael's not even an anti-hero - he's a straight up arsehole. The questions he asks aren't exactly overwhelming; everyone deals with these 'existential' crises every day. If everyone's dealing with them, it's normal. Personally let down, but fans will love its animation concept. In every sense an extra-ordinary film. Advertisement Film as a Film - 3 / Target Audience - 4 / General Audience - 2 GRADE B For more film & music gossip follow @THEMOVIEGUVNOR on Twitter. Read The Movie Guvnor blog here. Oil & gas companies are professing that the natural-gas and solar industries should be partners, working together supposedly to mutual benefit. It is a strategy that should be avoided by all solar companies able to do so - which is to say all those not owned by oil & gas companies - as long as the oil and gas industry pursues its current goal of growing gas use for decades to come. There are two main reasons: emissions arithmetic and methane leakage. The COP21 Paris Agreement on climate change, adopted by every independent nation last December, commits the international community to a global warming ceiling well below 2C. The world's best climate scientists are clear on what this means in terms of emissions limitations: total decarbonisation as soon as possible, and certainly within a few decades. Advertisement There is no room for anything except a managed retreat from gas; yet oil & gas companies claim that society will still be mostly dependent on growing supplies several decades from now. BP's recent Global Energy Outlook foresees the probability of 80% fossil-fuel use in 2035, most of it oil and natural gas. Solar can grow, but will still have only a minor role. Make no mistake, this is the future most oil & gas companies are lobbying for, as things stand. The industry repeats a mantra at every opportunity: that gas is less bad than coal in fuelling global warming, focusing on the fact that burning a unit of natural gas releases less greenhouse gas than burning a unit of coal. This is true, but ignores gas leakage. Gas leaks add methane, a potent greenhouse gas, to the atmosphere. If as little as 2% leaks before it is burned, gas is as bad as coal in global warming terms. There is a growing body of evidence, across the entire global gas supply chain, of more than 2% leakage. Individual companies may be good at controlling their emissions, but their industry as a whole clearly fails the test. As long ago as 2011, scientists from Cornell University estimated that gas leakage from a US shale well could be 7.9% over its lifetime. Advertisement Gas industry lobbying has ensured that there has been astonishingly little systematic monitoring, but since 2013, a steady stream of measurements and observations of high leakage has emerged, as summarised in my book The Winning of the Carbon War. Worrying evidence has continued to clock up since its publication in January. In March this year, researchers from Harvard University used satellite observations to show a "startling" increase in US methane concentrations, and suggested that shale fracking is the most likely explanation. As Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy puts it, "methane emissions from existing sources in the oil & gas sector are [much] higher than we previously understood". Most US gas, fracked from shale or otherwise, is stored undergound in abandoned oil and gas fields. In October 2015, one such field near Los Angeles started to leak so profusely that it became California's biggest source of methane emissions. When it was finally plugged 112 days later, almost 100,000 tonnes of methane had escaped: the amount of gas consumed annually by a medium-sized European country. During the public outcry, it has become clear that shoddy regulation means many more of America's 400 storage fields are at risk of leaking. This is before we start on the rest of the supply chain. In April, NOAA published data from airborne monitoring about the US shale belt, suggesting leakage on a massive scale as a result of gas production. Advertisement How, you may ask, can the gas industry stick to its "gas is good for the climate" mantra in the face of this kind of worrying evidence? The least uncharitable answer is enculturated wilful blindness. Which introduces a third reason for solar to avoid this proposed partnership: the demonstrably malign nature of much oil & gas lobbying. One recent case illustrates the point. The US and Canadian governments have decided to face up to gas leakage, as best they can, announcing a commitment to cut methane emissions from their oil & gas industries by 40-45%. The reaction of the American Petroleum Institute has not been to welcome much-needed help in a crucial route to emissions limitation. It will instead take the Obama administration to court for loading "unnecessary" costs on the shale revolution. The revolution they speak of is in fact a slow-motion bust as company after company goes bankrupt because they can no longer service the mountain of junk debt they have been permitted to build as they prosecute a doomed business model wherein drilling costs exceed revenues. Advertisement News / National by Stephen Jakes A political analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya has mocked at the President Robert Mugabe for reportedly distributing bananas at a rally in Gutu Masvingi saying such actions are not expected from a head of state.Mugabe reportedly recently gave hungry villagers in Masvingo 30 tonnes of bananas and cassava yams to hundreds of food insecure villagers at a Zanu PF Campaign rally."President Mugabe's distribution of bananas at a Zanu PF rally in Gutu confirms Zimbabwe is a Banana Republic," Ruhanya said. "How can a whole Head of State and Commander-in-chief of the Zimbabwe's Defence Forces move around distributing bananas and used clothes (mazitye) at rallies?" The outcome of the UK wide referendum on 23rd June will have significant long term implications for the country's governance, politics, economy, environment, public services, employment rights, social mobility, migration, refugees, asylum status ... and so much more. Indeed, whatever the outcome, the referendum will result in what is effectively a new constitutional settlement, which will have implications for many charities. In other words - it matters! Charities concerned with social wellbeing, fairness, social justice and inclusion, employment, the environment and much more simply cannot ignore the referendum. In particular, they should not assume that the vote on 23rd June has nothing to do with them and their beneficiaries. Quite the reverse - if they value the benefits of EU membership, it most certainly does matter. And I expect that many charities do value the benefits of membership - especially after any analysis of the issues. Advertisement Many charities, whether aware of such or not, are in receipt of EU funding, either directly, or via public bodies, or from public bodies that are using EU funds to support programmes involving charities. It is also the case that charities and community groups will be working in places and with communities which are the beneficiaries of EU grants and investment. And they will often be working with people who have enhance employment rights and protections as a consequence of EU legislation. Those charities which fall into this category would be ill-advised to ignore the referendum. It matters. Some charities contract with the public sector and consequently are subject to EU procurement regulations. For those charities in this category, there is an immediate and direct reason to be concerned about the referendum. And no one should think that if the UK leaves the UK these or similar procurement rules will not continue, so it matters. My advice to every charity board and senior executive is to ensure that you fully understand and are well briefed on the potential impact of the referendum on your beneficiaries, their communities and for your charity itself. You need to understand what could be at stake if the UK were to vote to leave the EU, including the implications of the inevitable economic turmoil. Such activity is simply what any responsible board and senior leadership of any prudent charity should be doing; and indeed should be doing constantly in terms of: anticipating political and economic change; being confident of understanding the implications of any national or macro change; assessing the risks and identifying the opportunities; and ensuring appropriate strategies to respond are in place. This is what good governance is all about. Advertisement Charity trustees have an absolute and overriding duty to act at all times in the interests of their charity and deploy their charity's resources only to advance its charitable purposes, for the benefit of the charity's beneficiaries. So let's be clear, for in the case of the EU referendum, this may require some charities to use their resources to make their voice heard and to explain why they are so doing. They can and should be willing to explain why their evidence-based analysis suggests supporting staying in or leaving the EU, and what this means for their beneficiaries. Failure to do this could very easily be deemed to be a dereliction of their responsibilities. Of course, I fully acknowledge that charity trustees and senior executives will wish to avoid being drawn into partisan and over-politicised debates - but this does not mean they should avoid the issues raised by the referendum and engage in it. Far from it. If trustees decide that a particular outcome of the Referendum is likely to support the charity's ability to further its objects, they might well and quite reasonably decide to publicly advocate that outcome in the referendum campaign. And in doing so, trustees will clearly need to be mindful of the law and your charity's reputation. Equally, however, you should also be aware of the risks of damaging this reputation by simply standing aside and remaining silent. In any event, the Charity Commission has softened its original guidance that sought to dissuade charities from being engaged with the referendum debate. And significantly, the civil society minister has urged charities to speak up in the referendum debate. Rob Wilson, the Cabinet Office minister for the charity sector who backs staying in the EU, said it was legitimate and valuable for the voice of voluntary organisations to be heard during the campaign. I share Rob Wilson's view and similarly urge charities and voluntary and community groups to be ready to defend and promote the objectives of their charities and the interests of their beneficiaries. Advertisement As you will have gathered, my firm personal opinion is that the UK will be stronger if we stay as members of the EU. I believe that this is in the economic, environmental and social interests of the country and most charities' beneficiaries. And I would be surprised if most charities, having undertaken an analysis of the issues at stake on 23rd June, did not come to a similar position (and many, like me, will also wish to argue and campaign for reform of the EU's institutions and policies post-referendum). There is an opportunity and, I believe, that there would be great advantage from the EU strengthening its current and adopting even more enlightened social policies and frameworks including addressing inequality and poverty across the members states, adopting an more enlightened approach to migration, creating a stronger sense of an Europe of communities as much if not more than of nation states and supporting pan-European social movements and social action. Many charities will agree with this and if Britain votes to remain a member of the EU this case can and should e made with vigour. Any charities that believe that their beneficiaries would benefit from a "Brexit" should be ready to say so too. I would expect that such charities will be in a small minority. Some may wish to work with others in the sector and / or with those engaged in the wider referendum campaign. Whatever you do, charity trustees should think and act positively; and above all, decide what if anything you should be doing and saying. If you think the EU referendum debate so far has been focused far too much on the personalities and internal party spats than the real issues that affect you and the country, you're not on your own. Of course, it doesn't have to be like this - we can have a vibrant and lively EU referendum debate, looking at the real issues: from health and education to the economy and immigration. The Scottish referendum showed that these ballots don't have to be boring - we can turn them into festivals of democracy: genuinely engaging national conversations that bring in every community. So we, together with three British universities, are proud to be launching an online democratic tool for a 'Better Referendum' on Monday. Advertisement Better Referendum is a project to open up the EU referendum debate by allowing people to organise 'meetups' where all the issues are discussed and debated. Anyone who wants to can organise a meetup. They'll hear from leading experts and from different sides of the debate, including videos from the official Remain and Leave campaigns. Then they'll get to debate the issues in full - and even vote on them. We'll be launching the project offline too, with an event in Sheffield, 'A Better Referendum: The Big EU Debate' hosted by Professor Matthew Flinders, Director of the Crick Centre, one of the project partners . This event - the first of its kind - is a chance to hear all the arguments from both sides, from experts and citizens, and to discuss them in an open and innovative forum. There'll be great conversations, great (free!) food, videos, votes, and short pitches from the main campaigns, so that you'll have a chance to hear the arguments and have your say in an engaging environment. Whether you're in Sheffield or elsewhere, this tool is the first of its kind. We can cut through the spin and have a grassroots referendum debate that we deserve. Let's have a Better Referendum. Advertisement Keep an eye on the ERS website on Monday for a link to the newly-launched site - and tell your friends! 'A Better Referendum - The Big EU Debate' will be held at St Mary's Church & Conference Centre on Monday 23 May - exactly a month before the referendum. Members of the public can sign up to the event here for free: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-better-referendum-the-big-eu-debate-tickets-25377141714 The news has been full of pictures of refugees sleeping rough, of babies being washed in dirty puddles or going without enough milk. All happening in Europe: one of the richest continents in the world. The British public has been undoubtedly moved by the plight of these desperate men, women and children; last September forcing the Government to announce it would resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees in Britain, and then again pressurising the Government to act this year to offer safety to lone children, both in Europe and beyond. But it's not just on Greek beaches and in Italian parks that refugees are struggling to survive. It's happening right here in Britain too. Below the surface, behind the headlines, refugees are being left with nowhere to sleep and with no way of feeding themselves and their families. Advertisement Of course, it isn't happening on anywhere near the same scale as we see in Europe. The reality is very few asylum seekers make it as far as Britain in their search for safety: we receive just 3% of all claims made in the EU. That surely makes it even more perverse that the Government fails to properly look after the small minority of refugees who actually make it to our shores and are granted asylum. Asylum seekers in Britain usually arrive with no money and nowhere to go. While their claims are processed, they're banned from working and are forced to rely on the Government to feed and house them. People struggle to survive on just over 5 a day - a sum so low the Refugee Council and the Government both know it leaves people hungry and ill. Asylum seekers are bussed around the country and housed on a no choice basis; in places that have been repeatedly been found to be substandard. Most asylum seekers are far too scared to complain: they're petrified that speaking up could somehow mean their asylum claim gets rejected. Advertisement Many people spend years living in an anxious limbo for a decision on their asylum claim. When that decision comes, and the news is good, it should be a moment to be celebrated. But as the Refugee Council's new report England's forgotten refugees: out of the fire and into the frying pan reveals today, for many newly recognised refugees in England, a fresh nightmare is set to begin. Unlike the 20,000 Syrian refugees due to be resettled in Britain who will all receive housing and intensive support for their first year in the country, the Government appears wilfully oblivious to the need for other refugees here to be helped to settle and integrate. Bizarrely, at the very point refugees are granted asylum, the Government washes its hands of them, leaving often traumatised and disoriented people to survive on their own. Newly recognised refugees are given just 28 days to leave their asylum accommodation before they are turfed out onto the street. And that measly 5 a day asylum seekers receive that I mentioned earlier? That's cut off too. Advertisement Finding somewhere to stay is virtually impossible; prior to being granted refugee status, people have been living in poverty, surviving hand to mouth while in the asylum system. They simply don't have savings for a deposit to secure somewhere to stay; let alone rent in advance. It'd be ludicrous to expect them to. Yet that's exactly what the Government does. To make matters worse, delays in refugees' new identity documents being sent out mean that people are left with no way to secure an income because they often can't prove they are legally entitled to work, or to access mainstream support. Even if a refugee receives their documents on time, they're often not recognised by Job Centre staff and people are wrongly turned away. Imagine what that's like - to suddenly find yourself, someone who the Government has just acknowledged is in dire need of international protection, with no money and nowhere to live. Every day, newly recognised refugees come through the Refugee Council's door in crisis: homeless and desperate for help. They had no idea this is what being granted protection in Britain would mean; left on their own, refugees without refuge. We do what we can to help, but it's beyond belief that the Government runs a system which by design leaves vulnerable people homeless and destitute. This is not the welcome British people took to the streets for in their thousands. This is not how this country expects or wants to deal with desperate people who need our protection. We wish all refugees received the same welcome and support the Syrians being resettled here receive. Advertisement But it doesn't have to be this way. The Refugee Council is calling for the Government to ensure that refugees who have been granted asylum are not forgotten, and to recognise they need specialist Government funded support to rebuild their lives and integrate into British life. It couldn't be plainer that if refugees are going to be able to begin rebuilding their shattered lives then they need to be given the tools and support they need to do so. At the moment, new refugees are able to apply for a small loan from the Government to help them get on their feet: but this process takes such a long time refugees have already been evicted by the time their loan applications are processed. When the loan does finally come, it simply isn't enough money to secure refugees a roof over their heads. Increasing the level of this loan so it actually covers the costs of starting your life from scratch would be a good place to start. So too, would be to acknowledge that refugees in Britain often have no friends or families; no one to act as guarantors. Local authorities up and down the country run rent deposit schemes, designed to help homeless people into the private rented sector. But these schemes are usually beyond the reach of refugees. Advertisement We'd like to see central Government run its own similar scheme specifically for refugees: a central place that refugees can turn to, to help them get on the rental ladder. Coupled with a more reasonable integration loan and timely receipt of their new identity documents, these simple steps could save many refugees from homelessness. For people who have escaped war, torture and rape; being granted asylum in Britain should be a moment of immense relief; a time to finally stop running and instead to focus on rebuilding their shattered lives. It is unacceptable that the reverse is true and that it is a confusing, chaotic period where people can find themselves on the street, begging for money. Which pro-EU fanatic do you think said this? 'Brexit is a dangerous gamble which could trigger a gradual disentanglement of the EU and jeopardise the peace and stability created following the end of the second world war.' Clearly, it was someone who has never heard of NATO. Except it wasn't. It was Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who happens to be a former secretary-general of NATO and presumably is well aware of the respective roles that the two organisations have played in keeping the peace in Europe. Pro-Leave campaigners complained loudly when David Cameron made a similar point 10 days ago. 'Of this I am completely sure,' he said. 'The European Union has helped reconcile countries which were at each other's throats for decades.' Advertisement As you may recall, he was roundly mocked for this claim by that renowned historian and wanna-be prime minister Boris Johnson: 'I think all this talk of World War Three and bubonic plague is totally demented frankly.' Which is exactly the opposite of what this arch-disciple of consistency said in his biography of Winston Churchill: 'Together with NATO (another institution for which [Churchill] can claim joint credit) the European Community, now Union, has helped to deliver a period of peace and prosperity for its people as long as any since the days of the Antonine emperors.' (Note for non-classicists: 'The Nerva-Antonine dynasty was a dynasty of seven Roman emperors who ruled over the Roman Empire from 96 AD to 192 AD.' - Wikipedia) So let's play a game of make believe. Let's pretend that there was no European Union (as it then wasn't) when the Soviet empire collapsed in 1991. Let's pretend that the Communist dictatorships of central and eastern Europe imploded and that, as usually happens when decades of authoritarianism give way to a more pluralistic political system, a period of chaos ensued. Without the offer of EU membership, conditional on the post-Communists adopting a long list of democratic values, the so-called Copenhagen criteria, it is more than possible that the almost painless transition to democracy would have been a great deal bumpier. It is impossible to prove a negative. But a quick look at what has happened in the Arab world in countries where authoritarian regimes have been overthrown suggests that there is nothing automatic about peaceful transitions. It is also worth noting that, as in the Arab world, in central and eastern Europe, with only a few exceptions, there was no real tradition of democracy, most countries having been ruled variously by the Russians, Germans or Ottomans for much of their recent history. Advertisement Now consider the fate of the Balkans. When Yugoslavia imploded in 1990, the EU was left floundering. You could even argue with some justification that, if anything, it made things worse by being too ready to recognise the self-declared independent republic of Croatia. It eventually took NATO intervention (ie US involvement) in first Bosnia and then Kosovo to halt the horrors of ethnic cleansing, but it was then the EU that encouraged the emergence of new leaders in both Croatia and Serbia who put the past behind them in the hope of being admitted to the Brussels club. (Croatia joined in 2013, and Serbia is currently negotiating the terms of its entry.) Would Slobodan Milosevic, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic have been arrested without pressure from the EU? Quite possibly not, thus strengthening the argument that the EU has been, largely, a force for good in the most turbulent corner of Europe. I assume no one needs reminding where the conflagration that became the First World War had its origins. Fine. So what does any of this have to do with the UK referendum next month? Pro-Leave campaigners say the EU is welcome to continue along its merry way, but without the UK on board. Except that an EU without the UK will be a weaker EU, and a pro-Leave vote may even, as Anders Fogh Rasmussen suggested, lead to the gradual unravelling of the entire project. Bottom line: a vote for the UK to leave the EU would have the potential to destabilise Europe and increase the likelihood of future conflicts. It would also be likely to encourage the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to start threatening the security of the Baltic states, all of them members of both the EU and NATO, if he thought Europe's pan-national institutions were showing signs of metal fatigue. The EU has already been buffeted by the Eurozone and migration crises; one more major shock to the system could well mark the beginning of the end. In the words of David Cameron: 'Can we be so sure that peace and stability on our continent are assured beyond any shadow of doubt?' Like the prime minister, I would never be so rash as to make that assumption. Advertisement Just over three decades ago Harold Wilson campaigned for a 'yes' vote in the 1975 European referendum. He passionately believed it was in the national interest for the UK to stay in the European Common market, as it was then called. But not all of his Labour colleagues agreed. Some of the most senior members of Wilson's Cabinet campaigned for Britain to pull out. Wilson, ever the pragmatist, knew his best chance of keeping his Government together was to allow his Cabinet to campaign for the outcome they believed in. Advertisement There are some obvious parallels with the referendum next month. David Cameron wants to remain in the European Union but Michael Gove, Chris Grayling, Priti Patel and other Tory Ministers are demanding we leave. Once again, collective responsibility has been lifted so Government Ministers can campaign for different sides. But thirty years on, there is one big difference. Because this referendum has been hijacked by one man who never fails to place political ambition before principle. Boris Johnson has decided to use the EU vote to further his own career and force his way into No 10 - regardless of the cost to the country and seemingly his own party. It is cynical. It is short-sighted. It is selfish. And I believe the British electorate will see through it. Advertisement I don't agree with Michael Gove about anything. I don't have much time for Chris Grayling or Iain Duncan Smith. But at least they are expressing a sincerely held view when they claim the UK would be better off outside the EU - no matter how misguided they are to believe it. The same cannot be said of Boris Johnson. Just two years ago he wrote: "leaving the EU will be globally interpreted as a narrow, xenophobic, backward-looking thing to do". Now he is the cheerleader for the Leave campaign. The truth is every political calculation he makes is judged against one criteria - whether it will increase his chances of becoming Prime Minister or not. He is campaigning for Britain to leave Europe behind because he wants to be the darling of grassroots Tories who generally dislike the EU. He believes they will carry him to Downing Street on wave of anti-European euphoria. He is wrong. Michael Heseltine was right to say he has lost his political judgement. Boris Johnson will always put his own interests before the interests of his country. That's why he is not fit to be Prime Minister. Advertisement Boracay is one of the most popular beach destinations in the Philippines. Located just a few kilometres from the Western Visayas region, this island is a dreamy paradise, one which isn't short of eager visitors each year. But don't be put off by its popularity; travel smart and you won't have to pay premium prices. Here's a backpacker's guide to beautiful Boracay, covering everything from flights and accommodation to finding the best cheap food and drink... Flight Prices Flights to the Philippines can be expensive but if you dedicate some time and effort to searching around, you just might stumble across some amazing deals. Following budget airlines such as AirAsia on social media will give you immediate notification of their deals and using discounted flight websites will give you the option to compare and contrast from the comfort of your laptop. Advertisement "BORACAY BOAT 1" by Michael is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Best Time to Book When it comes to planning the best time to go, it's important to remember that unlike a lot of popular tourist destinations, Boracay offers great deals even in peak season. So search for deals all year round and align these with the cheapest flights. The weather is best from November to May, ranging from 25 C and 32C with little rain and low humidity. "sunset at boracay" by John Valentine II is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Food and Booze If you eat and drink smart, this is where you'll make the biggest savings as a backpacker. Alcohol is incredibly cheap so Boracay really is the ultimate party island for young, energetic travellers in search of a good time. Bar prices are very affordable (with plenty of happy hours to make it even better) but a bottle of San Miguel beer can be as cheap as 30 pesos if you buy from a convenience store instead! Advertisement The best way to eat is street food; not only is this the ultimate way to experience authentic eats in the Philippines but you can get light bites from vendors for as little as 15 or 20 pesos! Some of the delicious street eats you have to try include King Corn cobs, Spanish inspired chorizo burgers, candied plantains, barbequed meats, fish and pork fat crackers, and various fried pastries. "BORACAY VALUE MEALS" by BORACAY VALUE MEALS is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Accommodation Tips Renting an apartment privately can be extremely cost-effective on Boracay Island and hosts in the Philippines are often very friendly. It's in their nature to be welcoming of tourists so you will get great service. If you prefer the convenience of a hotel, make sure you search around for deals (remember, sometimes last minute is much cheaper so don't always plan too far ahead). And with a number of the hotels (this map shows them all) or self-catering holiday apartments on the island, there are big discounts for extended stays. Stay up to a month and you could get anywhere up to a 50% discount on room prices! "Bora 4" by Gep Pascual is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Water When it comes to saving money on bottled water, make sure you fill up your water bottle at water refill stations. These are conveniently dotted around the island and will save you a lot of money. Refilling at a station will cost you less than 20p at time! Advertisement "Paradise" by Lyniel Sy is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Today, Donald Trump addressed the NRA, in what is almost certainly a run-up to some sort of Reichstag Fire. There, he loudly touted the utility of teleprompters and reversed his past position on gun control. The only thing that could get fawning coverage of the speech off cable news was a shooting outside the White House, because life is pain. And Hillary Clinton's campaign doesn't know how a Venn diagram works, which is concerning for their ability to turn red states at least somewhat purplish. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, May 20th, 2016: NRA ENDORSES LOUD STRONG GUY - Who saw THAT coming? Christina Wilkie: "The National Rifle Association on Friday endorsed presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, saying that gun owners and supporters must unite to block presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. 'The damage that would be done by [Clintons] policies and her Supreme Court picks would destroy individual freedoms, and therefore destroy the America we all love,' said the groups top lobbyist, Chris Cox, executive director of the NRAs Institute for Legislative Affairs. 'We cannot let that happen. We have to unite, and we have to unite right now.' The endorsement came after a fiery speech by NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, the groups longtime leader. LaPierre railed against Clinton, promising that she would strip Americans of their Second Amendment rights. Trump took the stage after Cox.The NRAs Trump endorsement came earlier than previous NRA presidential endorsements, which typically take place later in the election cycle. And it wasnt always a sure thing. Unlike most Republican candidates for national office, Trump endorsed a ban on assault weapons earlier in his career." [HuffPost] Advertisement Heres a fun fact, by the way: Donald Trump once tweeted: President Obama spoke for me and every American in his remarks in #Newtown Connecticut. TRUMP AGAIN PRETENDS TO HAVE POLICY POSITIONS FAVORABLE TO CURRENT AUDIENCE - Jeremy Diamond: "Calling the endorsement a 'fantastic honor,' Trump dove right into attacking Clinton, saying the Democratic presidential front-runner 'wants to abolish the Second Amendment.' 'We're not going to let that happen,' Trump said. 'We're going to preserve it, we're going to cherish it.' Trump's claim reiterated a statement he made earlier in the month, though on Friday, he suggested that Clinton would take away gun rights via the Supreme Court. 'If she gets to appoint her judges, she will abolish the Second Amendment,' Trump told an enthusiastic crowd. 'In my opinion, that's what she's going to go for.'" [CNN] SPEAKING OF GUNS! Phil Helsel and Pete Williams: "A man was shot outside the White House grounds after approaching a checkpoint with a gun and refusing commands to drop it, officials said. The White House was placed on lockdown after the shooting near 17th and E streets. The shooting was reported shortly after 3 p.m. 'He was carrying a gun it was a silver gun in clear sight, walked through the fence line,' Larry Samples, who was on E and witnessed the shooting, said. 'They immediately tried to stop him and came up to him,' Samples said. 'Yelled at him multiple times stop, stop, stop. He kept ignoring him.' The man who was shot, identified only as a white male, was shot in the chest by a member of the Secret Service Uniformed Division, a federal official said. D.C. Fire and EMS said the person who was shot was transported in critical condition. Officials said the man was brandishing the gun and was shot after refusing several commands to drop it. No one else was hurt." [MSNBC] Advertisement PAUL RYAN JUST MUDDLING THROUGH THIS WHOLE TRUMP THING, WAITING FOR YEAR TO END - Matt Fuller: "House Speaker Paul Ryan doesnt want to talk about Donald Trump. Except when he does. But definitely not when he doesnt. Huh? The Wisconsin Republican has struggled to maintain consistency on his self-imposed policy of not answering questions about 2016 or the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. Ryan has promised to take a stand when he sees something that 'runs counter to who we are as a party and as a country,' as he did with Trumps call to ban Muslims, Trumps slow effort to denounce former KKK leader David Duke, and the violence at Trump rallies. Thats a noble policy, of course. But Ryans refusal to speak out on so many other occasions leaves him open to easy criticism: Does he not think Trump adequately crossed the line other times? When he was asked about Trumps comments on women decades of calling them 'bimbos,' a 'beautiful piece of ass,' or saying their success on his show, 'The Apprentice,' was 'dependent on their sex appeal' Ryan could barely contain his excitement over shutting down CNN producer Deirdre Walsh, telling her that he wasnt going to get into 'the day-to-day, up-and-down of this campaign.'" [HuffPost] THE POWER OF ELITE FAVOR-TRADING COMPELS YOU! - According to reports, all it took for Donald Trump to win over skeptical Senate Republicans was his mighty list of Supreme Court nominees. What was the secret ingredient that made this list so successful? Nearly everyone on Trumps list has close ties to Republican senators. Thats right, Trump made sure his list featured the friends and family of prominent GOP senators. Why if this anti-establishment outsider candidate offers up more brash moves like this, who knows how deeply hell change Beltway culture? [HuffPost's Jen Bendery & Sam Stein] NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT (WHICH YOU CANT) - Politicos Annie Karni takes a deep dive into the Clinton family business -- getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to give speeches to randos! -- and emerges with fun details. Apparently, when you pay Bill upwards of $285,000 you get "a dose of the full unplugged Bubba. A great highlight from one of Bills stemwinders: I learned that the weight, combined weight, of all the ants on Earth is greater than the combined weight of all the people on Earth. Thats sobering. Maybe the Clintons dont release the transcripts because they know this oratory belongs under glass at the National Archives? [Politico] Another highlight: I never loved another man more than I loved Yitzhak Rabin. I can't even describe how I felt about him. Huh? But they are paying you five times the median income to do precisely that! Advertisement Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? Get your own copy. It's free! Sign up here. Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to huffposthill@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill TODAY IN HEADLINES THAT ARE REASSURING, BUT EVEN STILL, YOU KINDA NEVER WANT TO SEE THEM ANYWAY - China denies exporting human meat to African supermarkets. [The Straits Times] DACA DOXXING ON THE DOCKET - U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, a chill guy whos not at all acting out of ideological animus about White House immigration policy, has ordered the federal government to hand over a list of certain [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] recipients in the 26 states that sued over Obamas immigration programs. That list -- which would include names, addresses, and other contact information -- would then be handed over to state authorities, exposing the DACA enrollees to their depredations. HuffPosts Elise Foley: They [havent] done anything wrong they just applied for a government program in the same way hundreds of thousands of so-called Dreamers have done since the [DACA] program started in 2012. [HuffPost] Hillary Clinton released the worst Nenn diagram of all time. ANYBODY REMEMBER KIM DAVIS? The Kentucky county clerk who made news this past year for refusing to permit gay marriage in her fiefdom is -- I guess the preferred term is speaking out? -- to Frank Wright, the president of the D. James Kennedy Ministries. Apparently, shes still upset with the fact that LGBT applicants always came to her office, brandishing the Supreme Courts ruling in their favor: They wanted to shove that paper down my throat and make me eat it for my dinner. Without suggesting a wine pairing? Rude. [Right Wing Watch] Advertisement THE MOST TRUSTED NAME IN COFFEE INSTAGRAMS: CNN headline: Is this the worlds most Instagrammed coffee? Sure, why not? Did you want us to check for you or something? [CNN] BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Enjoy hating this trailer for a new show about millenial content creators. THE CREDIT INDUSTRY SEEMS SO SOBER AND CHILL RN - Whats up with the credit card industry today? I see we got steady economic conditions and an improving job market. Cool, cool. U.S. credit-card balances are on track to hit $1 trillion this year. Okay...does that seem a little high? That sum would come close to the all-time peak of $1.02 trillion set in July 2008, just before the financial crisis intensified. Oh! Uhm In addition, lenders have signed up millions of subprime consumers who previously werent able to get credit. What could go wrong? [Wall Street Journal] COMFORT FOOD - 56 million people have watched this woman trying on a Chewbacca mask. You should too. - A Rihanna fan twerking her nose to "Work." - Woman plays virtual reality zombie game, loses her damn mind. TWITTERAMA @jimantle: Wayne LaPierre is French for Wayne The Pierre. @elisefoley: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love this Headline Construction @unlikelylad: Oh god. This is awful. HANG IT THE RIGHT WAY AROUND. Meet the passengers and crew missing in the crash over the Mediterranean Sea, and here's a timeline of what we know so far. [Reuters] "The U.S. militarys top general said Thursday that the Libyan government is in a 'period of intense dialogue' that could soon lead to an agreement in which U.S. military advisers will be deployed there to assist in the fight against the Islamic State." [WaPo] Over 200 of the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 have yet to be rescued. [NYT] "That sum would come close to the all-time peak of $1.02 trillion set in July 2008, just before the financial crisis intensified, and could signal an easing of frugal habits ingrained by the recession." [WSJ | Paywall] Inside their battle to get the charges dropped after they were arrested while reporting in Ferguson in 2014. [Ryan Reilly, HuffPost] Advertisement Take San Francisco -- 57 percent of the housing market is valued at over a million dollars. [Kate Abby-Lambertz] WHATS BREWING "And while itd be misleading to call the network some sort of juggernaut, its absolutely one of the bigger TV success stories of the decade. The lineup the CW unveiled today looks to continue that momentum." [Vulture] Dr. Luke "let her" after the outcry. [HuffPost] Almost $1 million for "patriotism" events the military had paid for. [Justin Block, HuffPost] "Dams are going up all over Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. At the same time, theyre coming down all over the US. Thinking about hydropower in 2016 can feel like falling through the looking glass, where the opposite of environmentalism isstill environmentalism." [Wired] The society for Republicans in a very liberal Hollywood. [California Sunday Magazine] Honoring the top work of the legendary journalist, who died at 84 after retiring from "60 Minutes" last week. [HuffPost] Advertisement For more from The Huffington Post, download our app for iOS or Android. WHAT'S WORKING This war vet summited Mt. Everest. [HuffPost] For more, sign up for the What's Working newsletter. BEFORE YOU GO ~ "Never has a country that should have been so rich been so poor:" ~ Pope Francis calls those that exploit the poor "bloodsuckers." ~ The late, great David Carr's Twitter was hacked yesterday, highlighting the vulnerability of zombie Twitter accounts. ~ J-Law basically just told Hollywood that Fox better pay up to have her back in the next X-Men installment. ~ This badass woman designs NASA's space suits. ~ How Seth Rogen perfected the art of making bad sex funny. ~ Everybody loves a good nature cam -- until actual nature things like death happen. ~ The "So That Happened" crew declare party unity the responsibility of whoever wins the Democratic nomination. ~ We're big fans of the plus-size model casting in Joe Jonas's latest music video. ~ These famous leaders' faces were made all out of stock images, and we're totally blown away. Joseph Nye has been the preeminent thought leader on the issue of power dynamics and relationships connecting global actors. His seminal book Power and Interdependence introduced the world to neo-liberalism -now one of the major theories in the field of international relations. He went on to pioneer another ground-breaking concept - soft power- which illustrates international actors' ability to shape the preferences of others through appeal and attraction rather than coercion and force. He has served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Under Secretary of State and Chairman of the National Intelligence Council. Dr. Nye has been recognized on numerous occasions as one of the most influential figures in American foreign policy. He is University Distinguished Service Professor at Harvard and author most recently of Is the American Century Over? Go to Moments in U.S. Diplomatic History "We oscillate between triumphalism and declinism" I had the privilege of serving Secretary of State Cy Vance as a deputy Under Secretary of State from 1977 to 1979. At that time, there was widespread public debate about American decline and belief that the Soviet Union was about to surpass us. Not only did this not happen, but in little more than a decade there was not even a Soviet Union. As I show in my recent book, Is the American Century Over? Americans frequently misunderstand our place in the world. We oscillate between triumphalism and declinism. Advertisement Charles Dickens wrote that the Americans always think they are in "an alarming crisis." After the Soviets launched Sputnik in 1957, we believed we were in decline. When Japan's manufacturing outstripped ours in the 1980s, we thought the Japanese were ten feet tall. In the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2008, a majority of Americans mistakenly thought that China was about to overtake the United States. The result is a foreign policy debate that is often divorced from reality. The Middle East is in turmoil and American influence in that region has diminished. But the causes are the revolutions in the Middle East, not American decline. It is a mistake to generalize from the Middle East to the rest of the world. In the 19th century, following George Washington's advice to avoid entangling alliances and the Monroe Doctrine focused on the Western Hemisphere, the U.S. played a minor role in the global balance of power. The U.S. did not keep a large standing army, and in the 1870s the American navy was smaller than that of Chile. The U.S. did not shun military power (as Mexico and native American nations can attest), but isolationism was our attitude toward Europe and the global balance of power. In the short Spanish-American war of 1898, the U.S. took the colonies of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines from a declining Spain; but that period of formal global imperialism was brief. Advertisement A big change was American entry into World War I when Woodrow Wilson broke with tradition and for the first time sent American men to fight in Europe. Moreover, he proposed a League of Nations to organize collective security on a global basis. After the Senate rejected American membership in the League, the troops came home and America "returned to normal". Though it was now a major factor in the global power balance, the United States became virulently isolationist in the 1930s. Not even the eloquence of Franklin Roosevelt could persuade the American people to stand up to Hitler's threat. We had no alliances in the 1930s and the result was a disastrous decade marked by economic depression, genocide, and world war. The turning point and the beginning of the century in which the United States has been central to the global balance of power was Harry Truman's post-war decisions that led to permanent alliances with a military presence abroad. When Britain was too weak to support Greece and Turkey in 1947, the U.S. took its place. We invested heavily in the Marshall Plan in 1948, created NATO in 1949, and led a United Nations coalition that fought in Korea in 1950. In 1960, we signed a security treaty with Japan. These actions were part of the strategy of containment. As George Kennan (and others) saw the world after the war, there were five main areas of industrial productivity and strength; the U.S., the Soviet Union, Britain, Europe and Japan. It was in the American interest to ally with three of the five as a means of containing the growth of Soviet power. American troops remain in Europe, Japan, Korea and elsewhere to this day. While Americans have had bitter debates and partisan differences over intervention in developing countries like Vietnam and Iraq, the bedrock consensus in American foreign policy for seven decades has been our alliance system. Now it has been called into question by a major political party presidential candidate. That would be a radical change in American foreign policy. Advertisement "New transnational issues will require power with others as much as power over others" As Cyrus Vance well knew, our alliances have reinforced our leadership and slowed the dangerous proliferation of nuclear weapons. While presidents and secretaries of defense have sometimes complained about the levels of alliance defense spending, they have always understood that alliances are best judged as stabilizing commitments like marriages rather than as temporary real estate bargains. Even though it has often complained about free riders, the United States has been in a position to steer the bus. What is the future of this American century? My guess is that among the range of possible futures, ones in which a new challenger such as Europe, Russia, India, Brazil or China surpasses the United States and precipitates the end of the American centrality to the global balance of power are not impossible, but not very likely. The distinguished British strategist Lawrence Freedman notes that among the features that distinguish the U.S. from "the dominant great powers of the past: American power is based on alliances rather than colonies." Alliances are assets; colonies are liabilities. As an overall assessment, describing the 21st century as one of American decline is likely to be inaccurate and misleading. More important, it can lead to dangerous policy implications if it encourages countries like Russia to engage in adventurous policies; China to be more assertive with its neighbors, or the United States to over-react out of fear. America has many problems, but it is not in absolute decline, and it is likely to remain more powerful than any single state in the coming several decades. The real problem for the United States is not that it will be overtaken by China or another contender, but that it will be faced with a rise in the power resources of many others - both states and non-state actors. Advertisement The real challenge will be entropy - the inability to get work done. We will face an increasing number of new transnational issues which will require power with others as much as power over others. In a world of growing complexity, the most connected states are the most powerful. As Anne-Marie Slaughter has recently written in the Financial Times, "diplomacy is social capital; it depends on the density and reach of a nation's diplomatic contacts." And the U.S. comes first in Australia's Lowy Institute ranking of nations by number of embassies, consulates and missions. Washington has some 60 treaty allies; China has few. In political alignments, The Economist estimates that of the 150 largest countries in the world, nearly 100 lean toward the United States while 21 lean against it. A key question for American foreign policy is how to bolster institutions, create networks and establish policies for dealing with the new transnational issues we will confront in this century. Leadership by the largest country is important for the production of global public goods, but domestic political gridlock often blocks such leadership. For example, the U.S. Senate has failed to ratify the Law of the Seas Treaty despite its being in the national interest and the fact that the U.S. needs it to bolster its position in the South China Sea. Advertisement Similarly, Congress delayed in fulfilling an American commitment to support the reallocation of IMF quotas from Europe to China, and in terms of leading on climate change, there is strong domestic resistance to putting a price on carbon emissions. Similarly, there is growing domestic resistance to international trade agreements. Such attitudes weaken the ability of the U.S. to take the lead in dealing with global public goods, and that in turn can weaken the legitimacy and soft power that are critical to the continuation of American leadership. How does the United States maintain the credibility of its alliances, if other countries perceive the country as turning inward and constantly granting ourselves exemptions? In conclusion, the American century is not over, if by that we mean the extraordinary period since 1945 of American pre-eminence in military, economic and soft power resources that have made the United States central to the workings of the global balance of power, and to the provision of global public goods. Contrary to those who proclaim this the Chinese century, we have not entered a post-American world. But the continuation of the American century will not look like it did in the 20th century. The American share of the world economy will be less than it was in the middle of the past century, and the complexity represented by the rise of other countries as well as the increased role of non-state actors will make it more difficult for anyone to wield influence and organize action. My dad sends the occasional Wall Street Journal article my way because I think he likes to watch me squirm while I read it, but putting Bret Stephens' "What's Socialism, Dad?" in my hands just made me laugh and not for the reason Stephens would have hoped. Granted, this piece calls the Opinion section home, but opinions aren't exempt from intellectual honesty in my book. No argument is fully fleshed out until counterarguments are accounted for and adequately gainsaid; that's the only way to earn an A on a paper in college. I don't know why standards are suddenly lowered once one begins working for such an acclaimed newspaper. To begin, and possibly as a digression, the tone of the opening anecdote is something I personally experience when speaking with conservatives, and just as a reminder, unlike Stephens' son, I'm not ten years old. Earnest inquiries about ideological differences (in this case, from a child) are seen as opportunities to pitch conservative biases instead of giving both sides the equal weight they deserve. Of course, liberals do this too, but I'm not really concerned with who says what. I'm only concerned with the issue of intellectual honesty here, not political parties, ideologies, or learned prejudices. For the record, Stephens' humor is not lost on me. I understand the tongue-in-cheek jest of the opening of this piece, but I also think it's indicative of a bigger issue that perpetuates erroneous perceptions of opposing viewpoints by oversimplifying them and patronizing those who hold them. On top of that, Stephens doesn't define socialism correctly. Government ownership of the means of production does not equal "dictating what you can and cannot do with your money, and therefore your life." That's stepping dangerously into the realm of conflating socialism and communism, which again, is oversimplifying the opposing viewpoint, but because Americans talk about socialism and communism like they are summoning a demon, that oversimplification is welcomed and even necessary. As for the content of the article itself, Stephens does a good job of outlining how socialism failed Latin America. There is no denying the tragedy Venezuelans endured and continue to endure at the hands of a socialist overhaul, but Stephens' failure to differentiate between Venezuelan socialism and the Nordic model is disingenuous. The Nordic model is not socialism. A report by The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA) outlines how the Nordic model absorbs risk but maintains a capitalist economy a la the necessary and not-at-all pedantic distinction between authoritarian socialism and democratic socialism. "This unique 'third way' of the Nordics has two tracks: an opening and well-functioning market economy, combined with a large public sector that has wide ranging responsibilities." The report goes on to say that although globalization complicates this model drastically, "reducing benefit dependency and raising employment rates," "capping the welfare state and enhancing efficiency," and "giving priority to the young and investment in the future" are ways of fitting the model to the present day. The fact that Nordic countries, such as Denmark, aren't utopias - as if anywhere ever could be - is not sufficient grounds for dismissal of their strengths (e.g., paid maternity leave). In places where socialism has failed, it was partly because authoritarian regimes did not invest tax revenue into programs that truly benefitted the people. Reallocation within a welfare state is not anti-capitalist. The United States is not a capitalist utopia. We do not have a truly free market economy just as no country can have perfect socialism. Correcting market errors is a key part of real-life capitalism. What "socialism" as we have seen it in places like Venezuela and the USSR entails - denial of property rights, of market determination of prices, and of free trade - is anti-capitalist. So, Mr. Stephens, instead of demonizing Bernie Sanders and his advocacy of the Nordic model, perhaps you should try to understand it in all its complexity before pushing your biases onto your son and preaching to the choir of your readers, but pretending that Sanders is a communist because of a comment he made in the 1980's is misleading. I'm not necessarily "feeling the Bern," but I can at least look at the merits of his platform before criticizing him. News / National by Staff Reporter The government has drafted a Diaspora policy, which seeks to tap into remittances that are estimated to be about $1,8 billion per annum.This comes as the importance of remittances has risen, as they are now generating more money than foreign direct investment (FDI).Speaking at a stakeholder engagement Workshop on a review of the Industrial Development Policy (IDP) yesterday in Harare, government consultant, Gibson Chigumira said the policy would govern how government could tap into remittances."This is a policy where we are saying how do we tap into remittances from overseas for the economy. Currently, there is a draft policy awaiting approval," he said.The lack of liquidity and the recent negative response to the introduction of bond notes have contributed to government seeking alternative sources of income to boost the economy.ZNCC chief executive officer Christopher Mugaga said with more than two million Zimbabweans living outside the country, there was need to seriously look into that space."A simple fact that we have more than two million Zimbabweans residing outside the country calls for concerted efforts to tap into their skills and purses, as a way to industrialisation. It is also a fact that Diaspora remittances are one of the major sources of liquidity in Zimbabwe ahead of FDI," he said.Mugaga said some of the policy measures that government can adopt are a transfer of know-how through expatriate nationals (Tokten), return of qualified Zimbabwe nationals (RQZN) programme and Zimbabwean network of skilled Africans.Tokten would be used for to recapture some of the experience of highly skilled expatriate professionals residing outside their countries of origin; RQZN would reduce the gap between the Zimbabwe economy and the fast-growing international market, by using services of their citizens in the Diaspora. Some time ago I had a desire to work in a prison and I do not know why. Could it be because of the prison I visited three years ago, though, at the time it did not make an impression on me? More recently I have worked as an intern Research Assistant with the Warden Exchange, a program of Prison Fellowship located in the Washington DC area, and it has been one of the most valuable experiences I never expected to have. I am ending a period of time off from Christopher Newport University, where I am pursuing a double major with a concentration in criminology. When I took the semester off, I had no real plans or jobs lined up (which my mom was not thrilled about). But now I am aspiring to someday work in a correctional facility with my own rehabilitation or reentry program focused on the inmate's needs. I started the new year googling any possible job, internship, or volunteer position even remotely related to criminal justice and corrections. It was not until I found the Prison Fellowship website and began talking with Pedro Moreno, director and innovative genius of the Warden Exchange, when I had realized I hit the college-kid jackpot. The Warden Exchange works with wardens and top corrections professionals nationwide to empower them with skills in transformational leadership so they can create a prison culture conducive to the moral rehabilitation of inmates. This intern experience has been far from stereotypical. Sure, I've made a few photocopies here and there, but it has been much more rewarding that merely going on coffee runs. I have read many substantive documents and written summaries on topics spanning transformational leadership to gamification. Not only that, but I even got to travel to Boston with a team to help with the second residency with the Warden Exchange. I met a Navy SEAL Commander who has trained over 200 Navy SEALS (HOOYAH). I met Bernie Kerik, former Commissioner of the New York Police department, who instead of becoming Secretary of Homeland Security ended up in prison for three years. I met a professor from the John Jay School of Criminology, former VP with Price Waterhouse Coopers, legislators, the former prison head of the federal Supermax prison in Colorado where the Unabomber and Shoe Bomber are, and many more. My job was to help with audio visuals, prepare short videos, help with the lights, the prison alarm for an exercise we did, and other live injects in this very interactive event. Advertisement My boss, Pedro, has not only helped me strengthen skills required in the office and life, but also helped me solidify and affirm my passion for criminal justice reform. It can be hard for me, and I assume for all of us sometimes, to receive feedback and critiques. But Pedro has taught that it is okay to be teachable and to always "attack the problem and not the person." Everyone I have met is inspired to find positive change in a large, run down, and static system. Our nation's recidivism rates are obscene and prisoners are not receiving the proper care, treatment, diagnoses, or rehabilitative measures they desperately need. The Office of Justice Programs at the National Institute of Justice released a study reporting that "67.8% of the 404,638 state prisoners released in 2005 in 30 states were arrested within 3 years of release" (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014, http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/rprts05p0510.pdf). It is time to put the 'correction' back into corrections. Correctional facilities should be a crucial element in the deterrence of crime by providing proper rehabilitation programming before prisoners reenter society. Prisons should not solely be about punishing for crime (because clearly that has not worked so well in the past). The Warden Exchange works from the top-down to inspire hope in prison wardens. Advertisement Source: J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press In recent mainstream media attacks on Donald Trump, there has been considerable effort made to categorize him as a consistent verbal abuser of women based on physical appearance. It hasn't turned out so well for the critics, however, since several of the women cited as "abused" have disputed the accounts as misleading and distorted. Similarly, there has been a concomitant effort to marginalize Mr. Trump as a man who will make numerous new enemies for the US in the world due to his "intolerant" attitude toward those of the Muslim faith. Leading the latter attack in recent weeks has been General David Petraeus. Despite admitted criminal conduct, General Petraeus is depicted as a knowledgeable, dispassionate expert on the Middle East. In a recent widely circulated op-ed, "Anti-Muslim bigotry aids Islamist terrorists" (Washington Post, May 13, 2016), General Petraeus focuses criticism on those who "toy with anti-Muslim bigotry" and "inflammatory political discourse". . . "engage in hate speech" . . . and those who "denigrate Islam." General Petraeus' critique, which amounts to some ugly name-calling when stripped of its rhetorical varnish, is a disguised attack on and roundabout way to portray Donald Trump as a "bigot" and "hater," although Mr. Trump is not named. Advertisement Petraeus' concern is ostensibly national security, but, speaking plainly, Mr. Trump's attempt to raise the subject of the further pace and level of Muslim immigration into the US for discussion and debate is, I believe, the real target. Petraeus' name-calling ("anti-Muslim bigotry") is designed to shut down any such discussion, while simultaneously denigrating Mr. Trump by implication. So what are the merits of Petraeus' charges? Viewing daily reports coming from Europe, a more nonpartisan observer (General Petraeus, recall, served in the Obama administration as CIA director in 2011 and 2012) might conclude Mr. Trump is responding to the obvious desire of American voters to have an open and honest, no-punches-pulled debate about this very serious, possibly life-and-death subject. Shouldn't Americans rightly expect their leaders to seek to reduce security threats through policy, not overlook them? Petraeus overstates and exaggerates the position Mr. Trump advocates, too, and, thereby, sets up a straw man like "blanket discrimination," ignoring the fact that Mr. Trump has strongly indicated that any Muslim-refugee-entry ban would be temporary and that there would be exceptions. The recent experience of Europe should inform our discussion, as Donald Trump, to his credit, forthrightly maintains. The images of refugees flooding into Europe and acts of terrorism in European capitals -- and just this week, the destruction of Egyptair 804, en route from Paris to Cairo, over the Mediterranean, by a bomb, early assessments indicate -- are reason enough to justify extreme caution in matters of Muslim immigration at this time, even if speaking about doing this is perceived by some as politically incorrect. Advertisement General Petraeus, among others, suggests that we risk offending essential Muslim allies, which would adversely impact our own national interests, i.e., our ability to defeat ISIS. Most of these allies - Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Afghanistan, Jordan, the Gulf States - we are pledged to protect from attacks of jihadist terrorists who also seek to overthrow those regimes. I submit they, contrary to the thrust of General Petraeus' argument, would be among the first to understand that a head of state's first duty is to deal realistically, not mincing words, with security threats facing the nation. During wartime, civil liberties have been restricted because of the perceived needs of nationwide cohesion and security. It was so in World War I and World War II, both declared wars. A free discussion in this national election on this vitally important subject, however, should not be a casualty of the current undeclared war. General Petraeus' arguments notwithstanding, shutting down discussion by employing devious aspersions to enforce conformity to the Obama/Clinton position is precisely what we don't need. Rather, let us exercise our freedom of speech, as Donald Trump advocates, in discussing national security risks. Per the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 and the U.S. National Space Policy (also issued in 2010), NASA is currently developing the capability to send humans to Mars. Aside from the normal budgetary wrangling that accompanies any such large endeavor, the decision to use human beings instead of robots raises many ethical and policy questions. The refusal to rely on robots endangers lives, vastly increases the costs of the mission, and delays further exploration of Mars. Moreover, although there are still some things robots cannot do, developments in AI make them smarter and smarter. Last but not least, Roger Wiens, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, notes that any person who landed on Mars would only be able to return following the assembling of "a relatively large rocket on the Martian surface to blast the astronauts back into orbit. It would be extremely costly, not to mention incredibly risky." Advertisement Because the return from Mars is the costliest, and most technically challenging part of the mission, some astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin, have suggested that any human mission to Mars should be a one-way one; in plain English a suicide mission. Even if the two-way trip would be successfully completed, Laurie Zoloth, a professor of medical ethics and humanities at Northwestern University, notes that in addition to the obvious medical and physiological risks of such a proposal, there are also significant psycho-social risks for those who engage in such a voyage. In response, NASA's Administrator Charles Bolden argues that the first humans to go to Mars would be serving the greater good of humanity: "If this species is to survive indefinitely, we need to become a multi-planet species. So one reason we need to go to Mars is so we can learn a little about living on another planet, so when Mikaley, my granddaughter, is ready to move out of the solar system we'll know a lot more about living away from this planet than we know today." Very touching. Anybody who feels a burning need to become a member of a 'multi-planet species' should make donations to NASA's manned missions. The rest of us may wish to invest our ingenuity and research and development efforts and dollars in other missions. I have been following NASA since 1964, when I published a book called The Moondoggle. The book argued that the nation would be much better served if the resources dedicated to the lunar visit were invested in the inner cities and shoring up the environment. The book challenged various claims the NASA propaganda machine was spouting on behalf of Project Apollo. NASA depicted capturing the moon as a military necessity. I argued that if we had to fire at the Soviet Union, shooting from the moon would give them much longer warning time than from any place on earth. NASA claimed that the moon contained some fabulous materials. My book countered that there was no evidence that the moon had any hidden treasures. NASA claimed that putting a man on the moon would lift America's prestige overseas. I pointed to public opinion polls that showed that people in many countries would have preferred for us to focus on conquering poverty and disease. Finally, the book maintained that if we must invest large amounts of scarce resources in space--the place to go was near space (around the earth) and not outer space. This turned out to be the case, as one can see if one compares the benefits of weather, communication, and reconnaissance satellites to lunar trips. I closed by arguing that it would be much safer and less costly if we relied on unmanned flights. (See, for instance, the great achievements of Hubble). Advertisement I am repeating all this to show that NASA learned nothing and forgot nothing. It still believes that the only way it can capture the imagination of American tax payers is if it sends astronauts to Mars. And it keeps pushing for this policy despite all the lessons of the human visits to the moon and the huge risks and costs of a visit to Mars. Note: I write as one who has supported Bernie from the beginning, and voted for him in the Virginia primary. Various good commentators are noting that Bernie has lately been campaigning in a way that fails to deal honestly with the reality that the race for the nomination is over and that is making more likely the election of Donald Trump to the presidency. (For example...) The failure to come to grips with the reality that Hillary Clinton will be the nominee -- Bernie will not win the remaining primaries with the necessary blowouts, and the superdelegates are not going to switch to him -- is being combined with feeding in his followers an essentially inappropriate sense of grievance. This combination is threatening a degree of division that would hand the election to Donald Trump. Advertisement Bernie Sanders has said most emphatically that a Trump presidency absolutely must be prevented. That alone should be reason enough to motivate Bernie's way of campaigning to one that attacks the GOP and its presumptive nominee more than the Democratic Party and its presumptive nominee. But if a second source of motivation for such change is necessary, there's another one readily available: Bernie is in serious danger of turning what would have been a positive, even heroic legacy -- for his movement going forward, and for his place in history -- into a shameful one. Is there someone in a position to deliver this message to Bernie so that it has the necessary impact? Senator Merkley (D-OR) -- the only member of the U.S. Senate to have endorsed Bernie -- said yesterday that he absolutely opposes the plan, bandied about by Bernie and his people, to take the fight to the convention. Advertisement That's a start. But more may be needed. Who has the clout -- in terms of relationship with Senator Sanders, and in terms of their status -- to be able to provide it? Would Joe Biden be the man for the job? As a long-time colleague, and the Vice President, would Biden be able to bring Bernie back to a clearer picture of the larger battlefield, and of what is now called for from him? Would Elizabeth Warren coming out publicly at this late date to endorse Hillary and call for party unity provide the necessary wake-up? I've loved Bernie. But the contest for the nomination has been decided. Bernie's conduct is already visibly eroding the Democrats' position, as registered in the futures markets, as the Republicans consolidate around Trump and as Bernie is widening rather than narrowing the divisions on the Democratic side. It is sad to see Bernie lose his way on this homestretch when a shift rather than an escalation is what is clearly called for. Advertisement But it would be more than sad, it would be an absolute disaster for America to so thoroughly lose its way as a nation as to hand all the powers of the presidency to a fascist demagogue. Armenian air defence missiles launchers roll during a military parade marking the 20th anniversary of the nation independence Yerevan, on September 21, 2011. Armenia flexed its military muscle on today at a showpiece parade to mark 20 years of independence from the Soviet Union amid a simmering territorial conflict with neighbour Azerbaijan. AFP PHOTO / KAREN MINASYAN (Photo credit should read KAREN MINASYAN/AFP/Getty Images) YEREVAN, Armenia -- NATO's deployment of a missile defense system in Romania this month brought the requisite Russian snarls and vows of countervailing action, such as reintroducing a movable, rail-based missile system that Moscow abolished in 2008. The Romanian system is the latest piece in a strategic chess match between Russia and the West that is based on polar-opposite views of who is the threat to the region. Advertisement Russia, which has been invaded by the Mongols, Napoleon and Hitler, freaks out when it sees a force on its doorstep that it believes could be the vanguard of a new invasion. The West, meanwhile, wants a strong military presence on Russia's borders to insure there is no repeat of the Soviet subjugation of Eastern Europe that lasted from the end of World War II to the USSR's collapse in 1991. So which perspective is right: Russia's view that it needs a military-free buffer zone on its borders to protect it against a new invasion, or the West's view that it needs troops on Russia's borders to prevent Moscow from subjugating its neighbors again? My view is that the West's perspective is correct. Anyone with common sense can't take seriously the notion that NATO is planning to invade Russia. It would be suicidal -- because Russia would be unlikely to hold back when it defended itself, and this would include using nuclear weapons. Advertisement Suicidal or not, some Russian leaders have been saying publicly in recent days that they believe the West is planning an invasion soon. I've watched the rising Russian paranoia with increasing disbelief in recent months. It has included a surge in Russian ship and plane incursions into NATO territory and even into the sea and air space of Japan, a Western ally. In similar fashion, Russian planes have been buzzing NATO ships in the Black Sea, coming so close that a miscalculation on either side could spark a conflict. Russia has also poured more military equipment into Armenia to threaten Turkey. This was a response to Turkey downing a Russian plane involved in the Kremlin's air war against the forces trying to topple Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. The downing occurred after Russian planes repeatedly ignored Ankara's warnings not to intrude into Turkish airspace. The justification for Russia's two bases in Armenia -- one army, one air force -- used to be that its smaller neighbor needed help to protect itself against any outside threat. Advertisement With the beefing up of the bases' equipment in recent months, the two facilities now constitute a forward operating base against Turkey and the rest of NATO. Meanwhile, Russia has been rattling sabers at Finland and Sweden over those countries' discussions about joining NATO -- even though the discussions are a direct result of Russian aggression in the region, including the takeover of Crimea and dispatch of troops and equipment to the eastern Ukrainian separatists. Traditionally neutral Finland and Sweden, which have borders with Russia, have been wondering if they will be subjected to Russian aggression if they don't have NATO's protection. Russia has even threatened tiny Montenegro about its plans to join the European Union and NATO. Russian President Vladimir Putin has famously said that the end of the Soviet Union was the biggest geopolitical calamity of the 20th Century. Many in the West are convinced that he is determined to reconstruct the Soviet empire, starting with the Baltic states and Poland, which have been very vocal about their determination never to fall under the Russian yoke again. Advertisement Putin has denied he has such plans, but much of the world is not convinced. That includes countries in Russia's Near Abroad that have felt the Kremlin's boot on their necks in recent years: Ukraine, which lost Crimea to Russia and is fighting a war against the Russian-backed separatists; Georgia, which lost a war to Russia in 2008; and Moldova, where the presence of Russian troops discourages government forces from trying to crush pro-Russian separatists in the Transnistria region. Although Russia has howled about the deployment of the NATO missile defense battery in Romania, my take is that that development, in and of itself, is not enough to make the Kremlin as apoplectic as it has been toward the West in recent years. What is upsetting Russia is that the West has been countering every threat that Moscow has made against the Eastern European nations that were once its property and that it wants to subjugate again. Every time the West makes a move that denies the Kremlin another checkmate of Eastern Europe, Russia's frustration grows. But it doesn't give up. It plans its next move -- and the tension continues to build. When Encores! clicks, it renders the imperfect to perfection. Do I Hear A Waltz? is a famously imperfect Broadway musical that very few ever got to see. (It ran for roughly six months, after opening in March 1965, and rarely gets revived). The fact that it was composed, musically and lyrically, by Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim, respectively, in their only collaboration, is the sole reason Do I Hear A Waltz? has not disappeared altogether. It isn't absolutely necessary to know that Rodgers and Sondheim were behind Do I Hear A Waltz? to enjoy it, but it certainly adds extravagant subtext. I've listened to the score over the years and liked it, but nothing prepared me for the vivacity and the richness of Do I Hear A Waltz? live, as Encores! delivered it at City Center this past weekend. Adapted from Time of the Cuckoo, a 1952 straight play by Sondheim's frequent early collaborator, Arthur Laurents, Do I Hear A Waltz? charts the sexual blossoming and subsequent withering of an uptight American secretary on a first-time visit to Venice. To analyze the show at this late date is almost beside the point. No one has dissected its assets and liabilities better than Mr. Sondheim himself in his decisively edifying memoir and lyric-writing manifesto, Finishing the Hat, published just a few years ago. Do I Hear A Waltz?, Sondheim wrote, "was not a bad show, merely a dead one. It was well constructed, literate, even entertaining. It has some wit in the lyrics, some lovely music that could have come only from Richard Rodgers and a neatly constructed, touching libretto, but it was dead to begin with. It comes under the heading of... a 'Why?' musical: a perfectly respectable show, based on a perfectly respectable source, that has no reason for being...The authors never ...ask themselves what music will do for the story that hasn't already been accomplished by the original." Advertisement There you have it. The extraordinary thing about the Encores! revival of Do I Hear A Waltz? was how these disparate assets, expertly and lovingly displayed, added up to a marvelous, even memorable, evening in the theater -- without remotely rescuing Do I Hear A Waltz? from its inescapable failings. There was something surreally exciting about this. Watching Do I Hear A Waltz? rising and falling on its strengths and its weaknesses was almost like witnessing a cage match between two gladiators. One could sense Sondheim jabbing at the constrictions of Rodgers' pleasing, but often squarely standardized, melodies with biting -- even bloodying lyric wit. And one could luxuriate in Rodgers' sporadic melodic majesty when it simply swept Sondheim's words up in its wake. The cast put together by Encores! was marvelously true to the show's elements of allure, without patronizing or commenting on the limits of that allure. Do I Hear a Waltz? is a show that doesn't necessarily cry out to be revisited but wonderfully rewards re-examination by sensitive and acute performers, like Claybourne Elder, Sarah Hunt, Zachary Infante, Cass Morgan, Richard Poe, Michael Rosen, Sarah Stiles, Richard Troxell -- who attained Ezio Pinza-like tenor heights on the Rodgers high spots, the songs, "Take the Moment," and "Stay" -- and especially Melissa Errico, who managed to be both delightful and disturbing as Leona Stamish, one of the most irritating lead characters in musical theater history. Advertisement The true co-star of this Encores!revival may well have been Ralph Burns' orchestrations, which are lush, lithe and linger in the ear and in the heart. Rob Berman's musical direction underscored every nuance. It seems incontestable that Louisiana's criminal justice system is in a state of collapse. The state judiciary appears to be oblivious to violations of the constitutional rights of criminal defendants; prosecutors continue to violate the rights of accused with impunity, especially by suppressing exculpatory evidence; public defenders are so overwhelmed by huge caseloads they have refused to take new cases; and the state prisons have the highest incarceration rate in the nation. Although the Supreme Court and lower federal courts have intervened in numerous cases to correct abuses, they can do so only piecemeal, and only when the abuse is so flagrant that deference typically given to the conduct of state officials is inappropriate. For example, the Supreme Court and lower federal courts have vacated numerous Louisiana convictions - many in death penalty cases - because of serious prosecutorial misconduct, and often after the Louisiana courts found no wrongdoing. Moreover, in several of these cases the defendant was innocent and ultimately exonerated after spending many years in prison. The Supreme Court is poised to take up yet another misconduct case from Louisiana involving prosecutors who suppressed evidence favorable to the defendant that likely would have changed the jury's decision to execute him. David Brown, one of the Angola 5 defendants convicted of murdering a prison guard during an escape attempt and sentenced to death, is asking the Supreme Court to review his case. Brown claims, and it is not disputed, that prosecutors obtained a confession from one of Brown's co-defendants who admitted to being the actual killer and who intimated that Brown was not involved in the killing. The prosecutors never disclosed this confession to Brown's lawyers, who obviously would have used it to persuade the jury to spare Brown's life. Despite clear constitutional authority establishing that prosecutors violated Brown's due process rights, the Louisiana courts found no misconduct, and also held that the prosecutor's failure to disclose the statement would not have changed the result. There is abundant evidence that prosecutors in Louisiana have for years consistently violated the rights of defendants by failing to disclose to defendants favorable evidence that could alter the verdict, and that Louisiana courts in reviewing criminal convictions, especially capital murder conviction, consistently failed to correct these prosecutorial violations, and in fact concluded that no violations occurred. Thus, for example, in a Louisiana capital murder case decided by the Supreme Court in March, Wearry v. Cain, the prosecution hid critical evidence from the defense that almost certainly would have altered the verdict. The Louisiana courts agreed that the prosecutor should have disclosed the evidence but nevertheless affirmed the conviction, concluding that the withheld evidence would have made no difference to the result. The Supreme Court overturned this ruling, finding "beyond doubt" that the undisclosed evidence destroyed confidence in the jury's verdict. In another Louisiana capital murder case decided by the Supreme Court three years ago, Smith v. Cain, critical evidence that would have discredited the prosecution's only witness was hidden from the defense. Every Louisiana judge who reviewed the conviction found no violation; all eleven state judges believed it was a slam dunk conviction. The Supreme Court felt otherwise. At oral argument and in its 8-1 ruling overturning the conviction, the Court was incredulous that the state prosecutor arguing the case was so oblivious to such clear misconduct. The current capital murder case of David Brown is a mirror image of the landmark ruling of the Supreme Court in Brady v. Maryland, decided 53 years ago. In that case, as in Brown, there was no doubt that Brady participated with an accomplice in a murder. But the prosecutor failed to disclose to Brady's lawyer a statement made by the accomplice in which he identified himself as the actual killer. Clearly, if the jury knew about the statement, it might have persuaded them to spare Brady's life. The Supreme Court found that by not revealing the statement to Brady the prosecutor violated Brady's due process right to a fair determination of his punishment. Brown makes the same argument. He claims, and the trial judge agreed, that the prosecutor deliberately withheld from the defense the co-defendant's inculpatory statement identifying himself the actual killer and suggesting that Brown was not involved in the killing. As in Brady, although the statement would not have absolved Brown of complicity in the killing under the theory of accomplice liability - Brown did participate in the escape during which the guard was killed - the trial judge found that the suppressed statement would have lessened Brown's overall culpability, and might very well have persuaded the jury not to sentence him to death. At the very least, the prosecutor by suppressing the statement denied Brown's lawyer the opportunity to make that argument to the jury. The trial judge vacated the death sentence. The Louisiana appellate courts once again sided with the prosecutor. They found that even if the prosecutor suppressed the statement, it would not have changed the result. The statement, the reviewing courts concluded, was not favorable to Brown, and certainly not material to his punishment. In making this determination, the appellate judges viewed the co-defendant's statement as not exculpatory to Brown, but simply as proof of the guilt of the confessing co-defendant. As shown in many earlier cases that were overturned by federal courts, the Louisiana judges were confused about how to analyze exculpatory evidence under the Brady rule; they appeared to consider such evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution rather than to examine how a jury might use it, and how the failure to give the jury the proof erodes confidence in the jury verdict. Moreover, and of critical significance, the consistent failure of these courts to understand and apply correct legal rules sends a terrible message to prosecutors to follow the erroneous rulings of the state courts and be indifferent to the result. As with the many other instances of misconduct by prosecutors and errors by the Louisiana judiciary, the Supreme Court again is being asked to step in to correct a clear constitutional violation. It seems like such a disproportionate investment of Supreme Court resources to have to continue to monitor one state's dysfunctional criminal justice system. But if Louisiana continues to be indifferent to and flaunt constitutional norms, Supreme Court intervention again is mandated. In what may be a first in the nation, this week the Portland, Oregon school board passed a sweeping "climate justice" resolution that commits the school district to "abandon the use of any adopted text material that is found to express doubt about the severity of the climate crisis or its roots in human activity." The resolution further commits the school district to develop a plan to "address climate change and climate justice in all Portland Public Schools." The resolution is the product of a months-long effort by teachers, parents, students, and climate justice activists to press the Portland school district to make "climate literacy" a priority. It grew out of a November gathering of teachers and climate activists sponsored by 350PDX, Portland's affiliate of the climate justice organization, 350.org. The group's resolution was endorsed by more than 30 community organizations. Portland's Board of Education approved it unanimously late Tuesday evening, cheered by dozens of teachers, students, and activists from 350PDX, the Raging Grannies, Rising Tide, the Sierra Club, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Climate Jobs PDX, and a host of other groups. The resolution's "recitals"its guiding principlesaddress the characteristics that the Portland school district seeks to nurture in its students: "All Portland Public Schools students should develop confidence and passion when it comes to making a positive difference in society, and come to see themselves as activists and leaders for social and environmental justiceespecially through seeing the diversity of people around the world who are fighting the root causes of climate change; and it is vital that students reflect on local impacts of the climate crisis, and recognize how their own communities and lives are implicated..." Advertisement Portland's resolution also calls for training in green jobs, and notes that "as our society moves rapidly and definitively away from fossil fuels, we will need to prepare our students for robust job opportunities in green technologies, construction, and restoration efforts..." The school district's commitment to rid itself of text materials that encourage students to doubt the severity of the climate crisis or its roots in human activity was prompted by the school district's long use of materials that do just that. One textbook still in use in Portland schools is Physical Science: Concepts in Action, which informs high school students that "Carbon dioxide emissions from motor vehicles, power plants, and other sources may contribute to global warming"implying that motor vehicles and power plants may not contribute to global warming. The book's brief section on climate change consistently uses may and might and could to sow doubt about the severity and human causes of climate change. Another text used with almost all Portland high school students is Holt McDougal's Modern World History, which includes a scant three paragraphs on climate change, the second of which begins: "Not all scientists agree with the theory of the greenhouse effect." Presumably, Portland's new policy will require that these texts be abandoned. Rather than asking for the adoption of new textbooks, Portland's resolution imagines a collective process to create and disseminate new materials: The school district will commit itself "to providing teachers, administrators, and other school personnel with professional development, curricular materials, and outdoor and field studies that explore the breadth of causes and consequences of the climate crisis as well as potential solutions that address the root causes of the crisis; and do so in ways that are participatory, imaginative, and respectful of students' and teachers' creativity and eagerness to be part of addressing global problems, and that build a sense of personal efficacy and empowerment..." Advertisement Portland's resolution also acknowledges that this curriculum development will not come from education corporations, but needs to be a grassroots process, "drawing on local resources to build climate justice curriculumespecially inviting the participation of people from 'frontline' communities, which have been the first and hardest hit by climate changeand people who are here, in part, as climate refugees..." In their testimony in support of the climate justice resolution, a number of activists mentioned how they were inspired by their participation in the recent "Break Free" demonstrations at the Shell and Tesoro oil refineries in Anacortes, Washington. High school student Gabrielle Lemieux told the school board, "We put our bodies on the line by risking arrest with protests and even a blockade of the railroad tracks leading to two major oil refineries. "I am 17 years old. While I was there, I was asked several times why at my age, I felt it was necessary to risk arrest by standing with other activists. People said to me, 'You have a whole lifetime ahead of you to get arrested, to do this kind of work.' "My response is: We don't have my lifetime to wait. We don't even have the couple years it will be before I'm truly an adult. My action starts now, or it works never." The school board did not accept all components of the resolution introduced by climate justice activists. One plank called on the school district not "to engage in any partnerships with fossil fuel companies, which offer legitimacy to these companies"targeting Chevron's Donors Choose program. Another plank in the activists' version of the climate justice resolutionwhich the school board omittedasked the school district to express solidarity with the recent Portland City Council measure opposing "expansion of infrastructure whose primary purpose is transporting or storing fossil fuels in or through Portland or adjacent waterways." Advertisement Still, climate justice resolution organizers and their many supporters who attended this week's school board meeting were jubilant after the board's unanimous vote. The vote was greeted with tears, hugs, high fives, and a standing ovation. As Lincoln High School teacher Tim Swinehart commented after the vote. "Now the real work begins: transforming the principles of this resolution into the education of climate literate students across the district who feel empowered to work toward a more just and sustainable future." Read the full text of the Climate Justice resolution (PDF) here. Of all the civic holidays on our U.S. calendar, Memorial Day may come closest to a deep embrace of spiritual values. Originally called "Decoration Day," this remembrance began following one of the most poignant eras in our country's history. Between 1864 and 1866, just after the end of the American Civil War, community leaders established a date upon which we could honor both Union and Confederate war dead. To remember those who had died in the service of their country, these leaders established observances that enabled Americans to engage in activities of unity and spiritual healing. Memorial Day is a sacred commemoration. The persons we honor on this day are a silent witness to a virtuous honor that is particularly dear to people of spiritual values. This is the time each year when we remember men and women who have been, as is written about a leader of Roman soldiers in the New Testament, "...set under authority (Luke 7:8) ..." On this day we remember that some of those under authority have, as a consequence of their service, sacrificed their lives. Is there a cause for which dying is honorable? Laudable? Since the beginning of my military service 50 years ago, I have been trying to answer that question. For those who embrace Godly values, the question about dying in the service of your country has some important implications. Military training almost always contains the underlying lesson that being involved in the fulfillment of a mission could end up in death. Obviously, military service is not a commitment to be considered lightly by those who take the oath of office to "...support and defend the Constitution of the United States..." (10 U.S. Code, Section 502). At the same time, few of us ever thought they we would die during a military mission. Unfortunately, some have died. Advertisement I believe that people of faith can find spiritual values from the stories of men and women who have made the "ultimate sacrifice" of their lives. A few years ago I had the honor to conduct the Arlington National Cemetery burial service for Medal of Honor awardee Lieutenant Colonel Don C. Faith, U.S. Army. Don Faith, who had been killed during the Korean War, had the reputation of being a "Soldier's Soldier," who gave his life doing everything he could to simultaneously keep his soldiers alive and achieve the mission. His dedication to his men and to his mission has become a timeless inspiration to service members and citizens alike. Former President Bill Clinton speaks while campaigning for his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Friday, May 13, 2016, at Passaic County Community College in Paterson, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) As the primary phase of the presidential campaign winds down speculation about the prospect of a Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton general election showdown has heated up. In so many ways a matchup between these presidential contenders breaks new ground as far as U.S. presidential elections are concerned. One significant departure from previous campaigns can be found in the way each candidates' spouses break the mold from the traditional expectations Americans have for the individuals who have occupied these roles. On the Democratic side with Bill Clinton not only are we likely to have the first male presidential spouse in U.S. history, he also happens to be a former U.S. President with a very unique and controversial political record in his own right. For the Republicans, Melania Trump, a Slovenian immigrant with an extensive modeling career which became a major flashpoint during the course of the GOP primary casts a very different profile than her predecessors in many ways as well. Since Clinton and Trump deviate so prominently from the traditional norms that presidential candidate spouses have adopted in recent years what does this development mean for how the American public views them in the 2016 election? Advertisement Based on our own research examining public attitudes toward the spouses of the two major party candidates in general elections from 1992-2012 along with poll results gauging the favorability of Bill Clinton and Melania Trump in the 2016 campaign we can offer a preliminary answer this question. We have compiled the aggregate favorable and unfavorable ratings for the spouses of the Republican and Democratic nominees from 1992-2012 with an update for poll questions asked so far in 2016 which we include here. From these data several trends emerge that shed light on how the public views the spouses of the leading presidential contenders in 2016. First, the public expresses a preference for spouses who embody a more traditionalistic view of the First Lady (or in the case of Bill Clinton, first gentlemen) who does not intend to play a major policy role in presidential administration. Barbara and Laura Bush represent this preference with the highest favorability ratings over this period. Hillary Clinton's high unfavorable ratings in 1996 were due in part to perceptions that she was too deeply involved in helping shape White House policy. In 2016 Bill Clinton also has some of the highest unfavorable ratings in this time series. This finding can be linked his well-established political record so naturally he engenders less support than spouses largely outside of the political fray like the Bushes and even Michelle Obama. There have been fewer polls asking about Melania Trump than Bill Clinton so far in the 2016 campaign but what indicators are available suggest the public is more negative than positive about her so far. If this trend were to continue over the course of the campaign she would be the only spouse of the past two decades with a net negative favorability rating. Advertisement This development can be tied to another trend we find in our research about how the public evaluates spouses. While they are certainly viewed as distinct political entities in their own right, and they possess a somewhat unique ability to rise above the political fray, citizens' feeling toward the candidates' spouses are colored by their own views of the presidential candidates themselves. While both general election nominees are perceived unfavorably by the public Donald Trump has the highest negatives of any major nominee in recent memory. Since Melania Trump is not a well known quantity among most Americans much of the reaction to her is mediated by how the public feels toward Donald Trump. Unless or until Donald Trump can reverse his standing with American voters Melania Trump's ratings will suffer in comparison to the spouses of the past few election cycles. Of course these early numbers can fluctuate throughout the course of the campaign with new information encountered by voters. In recent presidential elections, candidate spouses have been well positioned to campaign on behalf of their husbands due to their high approval ratings, higher than their husbands in many cases and receive some level of support from those across the partisan aisle. Whether Melania Trump will be able to help her husband's campaign in a similar way depends in part on whether she can reverse her favorable/unfavorable scores. She may be able to improve her image with a well-received GOP convention speech in Cleveland. Particularly if she emphasizes that she will play the traditional role of First Lady in a Donald Trump administration. As communications scholar Tammy Vigil has noted, the popularity of female presidential candidate spouses has been helped when they embrace traditionally gendered rhetoric and issue selection. The unfortunate downside of such strategies, at least for those interested in gender equality, are that they act to reinforce traditional gender roles rather than using these high profile opportunities to underscore that women can hold a variety of diverse policy interests and goals. Advertisement For Bill Clinton an opposite trend may develop over the course of the campaign. As he engages in more partisan attacks on Trump and the GOP ticket his negatives should rise even further as Republican voters start to associate him even more strongly with the views of Hillary Clinton. Moreover, Bill Clinton's missteps during the Democratic presidential campaign are a reminder that his campaign skills are not what they once were and that he can often serve as a distraction from the core message that Hillary Clinton wants to communicate to the public. On Thursday, James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, signed a new policy that will allow government investigators to review a person's public social media accounts before deciding whether to issue a security clearance. Welcome to the new Normal. While this is a limited change--it will likely be handled through an automated search that will only find public postings from accounts that are explicitly tied to the individual under review--it is a significant step into the 21st century, moving beyond a time when investigators focused largely on analog information collection in an increasingly digital era of communications and sharing. During a hearing to review the new decision, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee's subcommittee on government operations, noted that "what a person says and does on social media can often give a better insight on who they really are." Advertisement Over the last decade, Americans have become increasingly comfortable and adept at sharing general and intimate details alike about their lives and families on social media, whether it be pictures on Instagram, political opinions on Twitter, resumes on LinkedIn, or birth dates, cat memes and favorite foods on Facebook. At the same time, mistakenly believing that they were protected by the distance and anonymity suggested by the internet, Americans have developed an acute habit of blithely sharing insults and threats online without any regard for the consequences. The bill is coming due for our openness, and it is the right decision. The crux of the DNI's decision, barring future unsanctioned abuses or failures in the collection and review process, has little to do with personal privacy or free speech. It is an effort to ensure that the government keeps up with life in the 21st century, and in assessing someone's qualifications to hold a security clearance, social media accounts should be fair game. It certainly is for me. For the last five years, I have made it a habit to do a quick review of every job applicant's public social media accounts. It is yet another view into the mind and life of a person who is otherwise captured through the static medium of formal application materials. Perhaps the DNI's new decision, once it trickles down and begins to affect other employers and investigators, will serve as a necessary wakeup call. For every American who refuses to create a digital trail out of paranoia, there are five idiots who are happy to share their home address, family details or post screenshots that prove they like porn. Social media is a wonderfully flexible and adaptable communications medium, and it has deeply embedded itself in our lives. Yet it is not without risks, risks that extend beyond the potential for embarrassment. Advertisement As Aliya Sternstein , "public social media is a potential safety threat to civilians and troops when individuals are not careful about the content they share." The Navy, she noted, showed how easy it was to build a profile on the average American during a recent cybersecurity exercise at Naval Station Rota in Spain. Officers armed only with laptops asked visitors to the base's shopping center to provide their first and last names. Combining that information with the knowledge that the visitor lived in Rota and had some affiliation with the Navy, the officers were able to find details including: The city and state where a person's parents live The name of a person's spouse The number of sons and daughters a person has The fact that a person's son is a Cub Scouts member The types of duties a person performs at work Whether a person has a secret clearance A person's habits, such as visiting the same Starbucks every day at the same time. Social media is fun. It's professionally valuable. In some professions, such as public relations, the lack of a social media account is actually judged negatively. But it is a double-edged sword. For sailors and their families in Rota, the information available publicly online could be used to threaten their lives, as ISIS has been known to do. But for many Americans, the end result could be more mundane. You could be denied a security clearance or a job because you shared inappropriate opinions or content online, or shared information that casts doubt on your ability to protect classified information. The Internet is not a "get out of jail" zone from the consequences of free and uninhibited speech. Lipstick mark in shirt. When you discover your husband's affair, you might feel the urge to take violent revenge upon the cheating cad. At the very least, there is a strong temptation to whack him in the face with a heavy object or destroy his prized possessions. An adulterer's wife might also fantasize about stabbing his floozy in the heart or punching her in the face. However, in most of the Western world, adultery is allowed yet physically attacking your spouse or his mistress might cause you a few inconvenient legal problems. In the movies, revenge is sweet. In real life, that's not necessarily the case. The desire for revenge can be a very toxic emotion that keeps you bound to all the negative effects you've suffered from his infidelity. Seeking vengeance can lead to endless hatred and bitterness--it never brings back what you have lost. It is easy to smash something up, but takes a lot longer to rebuild it. Out of revenge, you may do something you later sorely regret, but by then it may be too late to fix. Advertisement I heard a case of a psychiatrist who was having an affair with a former patient. In a fit of rage upon finding out, his wife reported him and the man was struck off. Losing his medical license meant that her husband lost his practice and most of his income. The wife received a far lower alimony and divorce settlement than she would have been able to claim had she not turned her spouse in. Perhaps the man deserved to be struck off for what he had done. Nevertheless, some might say that the psychiatrist's wife had cut off her nose to spite her face, acting out of revenge rather than good sense. In the book David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants, Malcolm Gladwell discusses a situation considerably more devastating than an unfaithful husband or a failing marriage--dealing with the murder of a child. He contrasts the lives of parents who have taken the revenge route, often characterized by broken marriages and lifelong suffering, with those who have tried to move past and let go of the pain of losing their child, even attempting to forgive the murderer. A famous aphorism from the New Testament illustrates the importance of forgiveness within Christianity: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do;" says Jesus while he is suffering on the Cross. Quite an improvement on the "eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" revenge model (from King Hammarabi's code of ancient Babylon), don't you think? The Dalai Lama is another spiritual leader who takes a strong stance against revenge. He advocates and genuinely practices compassion towards the Chinese government whose armed forces have oppressed, imprisoned, tortured and killed his people. Advertisement So if the parents of a murdered child, Jesus on the Cross, and Tibetan monks tortured by the Chinese can forgive, how about trying to forgive your wayward spouse and his girlfriends? Even if you're an agnostic or an atheist, rolling your eyes at the mention of Jesus and religion, at least consider the value of trying to come to terms with your circumstances and finding a way to be at peace with yourself. The bottom line is this: Why waste mental space thinking about how to take revenge on your husband and/or his mistress, rather than putting your focus on how to make your source of happiness and fulfillment independent of the pair of them? The best revenge you can take is to move past the need for it. Easier said than done, of course, but it's still very much worth striving for. According to certain schools of Tibetan Buddhism, if you're guilty of sexual misconduct in your current life, in your next reincarnation you're likely to have a promiscuous, hostile and ugly spouse who also has committed sexual misconduct in a previous life. Thus, as far as revenge is concerned, perhaps you can content yourself with the possibility that both your husband and his floozy will be unhappy and hideous to behold in their next lives. However, what Buddhists deem to be sexual misconduct varies considerably from one sect to another. Nevertheless, if there's a person you've come across who really looks like the back of a bus, at least now you have some idea of what he or she may have done to deserve it. Penis captivus is another fine form of revenge that might visit a couple committing adultery, at least that's the claim of a German manual of gynecology published in 1933. The author Walter Stoeckel theorizes that during illicit sex, the fear of discovery can increase the force of the woman's vaginal spasm, trapping the man's engorged member inside her. So does penis captivus really exist or is it just a popular myth? William Kremer reported on this fascinating phenomenon for the BBC World Service in February 2014. Many doctors have heard about copulating couples getting stuck together at least for a few seconds. There are also documented cases of penis captivus resulting in hospital admissions, although this condition is rare. It certainly gives a new twist to the expression, "I'm stuck on you." His movements were first recorded in Wyoming in 2008. He took off in 2009, heading south for hundreds of miles. He traveled across inhospitable lands looking for a place he might fit in and finally settled in Colorado. He wandered around Colorado for years, then headed north once again, possibly up to Montana. He trekked east across flat lands and found himself in North Dakota. This is no tale of a wandering, fugitive human, following some wanderlust or trying to find a job. This is M56. He's a wolverine, the largest (and arguably the toughest) member of the weasel family. These fearless scavengers are incredible -- they can drive grizzly bears and wolves away from carcasses, and have been documented climbing 5,000 vertical feet in the middle of winter in less than two hours. M56 was an ambassador for his species, captivating the entire state of Colorado with hope of a reestablished wolverine population, and inspiring all who learned of his immense travels and ability to traverse unlikely habitat. Sadly, M56's remarkable life and unbelievable journey ended a few weeks ago near Alexander, North Dakota, where he was killed by a ranch hand who didn't recognize what M56 was and thought he could threaten livestock. Advertisement Scientists studying wolverines in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming fitted M56 with a radio transmitter in 2008 to track his movements. In April 2009, M56 traveled south from the Tetons, through the 'Red Desert' in Wyoming and crossed I-80 in Wyoming over Memorial Day weekend. By June, this lone, young male wolverine made headlines when he was spotted (and radio-confirmed) in Rocky Mountain National Park. This was the first time a wolverine was documented in Colorado in more than 90 years. By the time he reached Colorado's borders, M56 had trekked over 500 miles. He stuck around and became known as Colorado's wolverine. In the three years that M56 was tracked by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), he traveled hundreds of miles across our state from Rocky Mountain National Park, across I-70, and even to the mountains southeast of Leadville. Coloradans were excited about M56 and what he represented for the state. With fewer than 300 wolverines in the lower-48 states, we hoped his presence might signal that Colorado would once again become home to a population of wolverines. And it wasn't just residents interested in seeing wolverines return to Colorado. CPW began drafting plans to reintroduce wolverines to Colorado, and held multiple conversations with stakeholders about the possibility of restoring this animal to our rugged mountains. Climate change models predict that Colorado's southern Rocky Mountains will maintain enough snowpack for wolverines to den with their young, making it one of the best refuges for wolverines from the anticipated effects of climate change. Advertisement Sadly, when the Fish and Wildlife Service decided not to list wolverines under the Endangered Species Act in 2014, CPW put its plans for reintroduction on hold. M56's last known location in Colorado was documented in October 2012. Scientists lost track of him after that point, assuming the battery in his tracking device died. But Coloradans' interest in this remarkable animal held strong. Backcountry hikers kept a watchful eye for M56 (one lucky hiker found him!) and school children asked curiously where he was and what he was doing. It's safe to say the idea of reintroducing wolverines -- and maybe even helping M56 find a mate -- caught hold. Now, after learning about M56's senseless death, many in our state, especially all wolverine fans out there, are left with a surprisingly strong sense of mourning. Is there anything that can be gained from his passing? M56 may perhaps go down as the most famous wolverine yet known, other than a certain Marvel character. M56's audacious, wild movements across fragmented, western landscapes is a clear indication of this species' resilience if we are willing to help them recover. His journey reminds us of the need to connect fragmented lands so wolverines can thrive and to push for wolverine reintroduction in Colorado and other places with quality (but currently unoccupied) wolverine habitat. M56's story too clearly demonstrates that the patchwork protections afforded by states are insufficient to help this highly imperiled species recover. That's why we won't stop fighting to get wolverines throughout the lower-48 the Endangered Species Act protections they've needed for decades. scoop.nz reports: Auckland, 16 May 2016 - Greenpeace is calling for an independent investigation of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) in light of an explosive academic report released today, which finds that the quantity of fish caught in New Zealand is more than twice what is officially recorded. ...Of the total catch from foreign and New Zealand flagged vessels, commercial discards were estimated to be as high as 37.4% of fish caught. Unreported landings from the industrial sectors made up 18.3%. "That means nearly twenty percent of all fish caught are stolen and over a third are thrown back. The waste is mind boggling," says [Executive Director of Greenpeace New Zealand, Russel Norman]. ...The University of Auckland's report also reveals a situation where multiple vulnerable Hector's dolphins were caught, and only one reported. This follows on from allegations that surfaced just last Friday, in a study by German conservation organisation, NABU International, that revealed a critically endangered Maui dolphin catch cover-up by MPI. Norman says Greenpeace is demanding an independent investigation into the government department. "Not only has the catch been more than double what has been recorded, but it appears that MPI have known and kept it quiet," he says. "MPI must now release any visual evidence they have hidden, and let all New Zealanders see what is going on out at sea. " In the early years of the epidemic, AIDS was an almost unspeakable disaster. As if a medieval plague had become manifest in our times. To be stricken with AIDS was to be given a death sentence. Tens of thousands of people died; many suffered gruesome, horrific deaths. The horror was compounded by the panic the disease provoked and the virulent homophobia of the times that led many sick people to be abandoned, shamed, and treated with contempt. The AIDS crisis brought out the worst in many people. But it also brought out the best in some. Among the best were those able to hold on to their humanity and decency, and had the courage and the strength to care for those who were sick and dying. There are many people who deserve to be recognized as heroes for their selfless, compassionate care giving during the fierce and terrible plague years of the 1980's and 90's. One of them has recently died; the famous anti-war priest Father Daniel Berrigan. I had the privilege of knowing Dan when I was a young man. I was in awe of his witness against war and violence, dating back to the Vietnam war. I first heard him speak in 1982, when still in high school. A few years later I participated in religious services he led at the Catholic Worker house where I lived. I also joined him in several protests at facilities that helped make nuclear weapons. Most remarkably, at his invitation, I helped him plan an act of civil disobedience against one of those facilities. Advertisement However I did not then realize the extent to which Dan had immersed himself in the care of those dying of AIDS. In 1984, at the very beginning of the epidemic, when people with AIDS were overwhelmingly treated with a toxic mixture of terror and contempt, Dan had begun to care for them. He volunteered with the AIDS Hospice program at St. Vincent's hospital in the West Village of New York City, and for more than a dozen of the very worst years of the epidemic, welcomed the dying into his life and heart. When Daniel Berrigan died many tributes to his remarkable life swiftly appeared in the media . Rightly, there was a great deal of focus on his life of resistance and non-violence. But to my sorrow, I read almost nothing of his work with people with AIDS. At most a single sentence: Berrigan volunteered with those dying of AIDS in the 1980's and 90's. Such work required much of one's heart and soul, and yielded much suffering and sorrow. Dan's heroic care giving throughout the plague years deserved far more recognition that a sentence. I googled Dan's name and AIDS. I learned that in 1989 he had written a book about his care giving, Sorrow Built A Bridge: Friendship and AIDS. I rush ordered it, and have been reading it over the past days. It is slow going; what Dan writes is so painful, raw, so overwhelming, that I have a hard time reading more that a paragraph or two before I begin to weep. I walk back and forth until the tears stop flowing from my eyes. Dan's task was to befriend those who were sick and dying. Most of them were gay men. He went to their homes, usually apartments in the East and West Village and Chelsea. He brought gifts, arriving with flowers, or cookies, books, a milkshake, a container of clam chowder. Advertisement He got to know the men. He describes himself as their "listener of last resort." Some were lonely and isolated. He invites them to meals at his apartment when they are healthy enough for the journey uptown. He takes them to restaurants. He invites one man living as a guest in someone's tiny spare room to stay in his apartment while he spends some weeks teaching at a distant university. He invites another man to stay at a cottage he has use of on Block Island to escape a brutal heat wave, but alas when the time came the man had become too ill for the journey. Some of the most moving passages are Dan's descriptions of the gay men he encounters caring for their dying lovers and friends. One night Dan hosts a dinner for Peter, and Cary, who has moved in with Peter to help care for him. Also present were members of Dan's Jesuit community Dan describes how Peter had cared his previous lover, and as he was dying Peter had also become ill. Now Cary was Peter's partner: Then Cary; he had entered Peter's life, he had become the wage earner of the duet. "And the cook as well," he interjected, half humorously, half in indignation. "And the shopper, and just for the record, the dish washer too!... Cary, such burdens taken on, has grown. I think to myself, what is one to do with his life, except give and give? And stick with someone, thick and thin?I'm a tribal person, my background is Polynesian. We're big on family. In lonely New York I have to have someone to come home to. This is grief, but also privilege. The Jesuits were bug-eyed. I think we saw our own community in a light that shamed us, and at the same time, opened a vein of hope. Some pages later Dan describes, with evident and abundant admiration, another pair he has befriended; how Andrew has taken Rick into his home, and quit his job, living off of his savings, so as to care for his friend around the clock. Andrew tells Dan: Two years ago I learned that Rick was in the hospital. I visited him; then someone told me, no one wants him, he has nowhere to go. On an impulse I said, let him come to me. I'll take care of him. And you understand, I hadn't the slightest notion of what that would involve. I only heard the words, he has no one. And I thought, Yes he does. He has me. Dan humbly comments: Never once have I responded to someone in such a way. (Maybe once or twice tried gingerly to walk that thin line.) But to meet someone homeless on the street, saying on impulse, Come home with me. And then to discover the consequence; this someone, this new-found friend is ill, God help us, very ill. And God above all help me; I've taken on a task that well may break my bones. I think it important that we read Dan's words of admiration for the heroic goodness of these gay men in contrast to the messages then being disseminated by the leaders of his Roman Catholic church. These were the years when the Vatican and the Archdiocese of New York were ramping up their hostilities against LGBT people. When Cardinal O'Connor held a press conference on the steps of Saint Patrick's Cathedral and threatened to close every catholic orphanage and every catholic school in New York City should the local gay rights bill be passed and he be forced to hire gay men. When Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict) issued his notorious document saying that homosexuality was an "intrinsic inclination towards evil." But no condemnation from Dan. Only the most tender and patient friendship. As the men grew sicker he fed them, he bathed them. He washed their soiled clothes. He panicked when they did not answer their phones. Dan sits with them for hours in the hospital as they decline. Talking with them while they still have the ability to communicate, offering silent companionship when they are rendered unable to speak. Often merely holding their hands. These were the first years of the epidemic, when the ability to treat the scores of opportunistic infections was limited. The suffering that comes upon his friends is horrific. Some became covered in lesions. Some went blind. Some are rendered unable to eat, or suffer from endless diarrhea. Dan describes Rick's passing: ...Andrew summoned me urgently. "Please come, I must have some help. He's been vomiting blood, is quite beside himself." Dan rushes to their East Village apartment. Our patient was quite visibly dying. He continued vomiting blood, as we held him, spoke as tenderly as we might on that bleak last mile of his. His breathing stertorous, his calling out Help me, Help me. His head tossed witlessly this way and that, his poor sticks of arms made wild gyrations in the air; tracing what? ...He seemed at times to be beckoning, at others repelling. He was bleeding, he was dehydrated...Andrew leaned close, called in his ear; Do you want to return to the hospital? The hospital once more? But what benefit could the hospital offer at this dire stage? And could not a catastrophe be precipitated on the way, with the banging and pummeling and lifting up and thumping down? Why not abide in peace with us? Go for it. Andrew phoned the police...A siren sounded, the medics came in... They uncovered him; then a horror, a stench. Even the medic was shaken. He turned to us. 'Didn't you know he's been bleeding rectally?' Indeed he had bled, a dark infected stain permeated sheets and mattress. They bore him out. At the doorway I saw the tormented head fall to one side. The others hardly knew, but I knew. Andrew followed them, a friend and I stayed, cleaning up as best we might, rolling up sheets and coverlets for burning. We were sobered and silent; the swift assault upon that poor life! Outside the medics pursued their crisis routine, hustled his frame into an ambulance. But he was gone, they knew it. Again and again the men that Dan has tenderly befriended suffer and die. Dan attends funeral services, describing attending one held by Dignity at the LGBT Center on 13th Street, after they had been banished by Cardinal O'Connor from any local Catholic church. Some have asked Dan to conduct their memorial services, planned them out with him before their deaths. Some, estranged given the hostility they endured from the churches of their youths, ask Dan to provide their memorial services in his own apartment. Peter had asked Dan to scatter his ashes into the ocean surrounding Block Island. Dan obtains a boat and he and Cary make the journey to comply with Peter's wishes. The moment came, the boat (or was it ourselves?) shivered as we sped. Months of waiting, years of travail all ended. We took in hand the sack of human ash, the small light residue of one we loved and wept for... The boat leaned gently, as though a providence held us in it's palm. The ashes fell and fell. They met the waters in a scaly cloud and sank on the instant. No trace, no wake, Peter's name written in water. It was simple, easeful, final, after the ferocious ice and fevers of life... Dan writes of being bludgeoned by grief, of being frightened by it's intensity as his friends suffer and die. And yet, again and again, for many years, he continues to open himself with love and companionship to new men, knowing the devastation that lay ahead. The AIDS caregivers of that terrifying, anguishing time deserve to be recognized as heroes. Dan was hardly the only one. What is remarkable, though, is that he was by far the most famous, most notorious, person to enter that hard world. It is curious that the extraordinary compassion and kindness of his care giving in a time of plague hasn't been celebrated, especially as he left such a compelling document in Sorrow Built a Bridge. I consider the reasons for his neglect: Dan's audience was primarily the Catholic left. I can attest, from having spent several years in the Catholic Worker movement in the 1980's that there were strong currents of homophobia in that environment. There must have been a great deal of discomfort with the fact of Dan's immersing himself so thoroughly in the world of openly gay men. Frankly I suspect that his doing so raised troubling questions among some of his Catholic admirers about Dan's own sexuality. (I wondered how much this discomfort informed the fact that among the many speeches at his wake and funeral service, at which I was present, there was not one mention of Dan's years of AIDS work). Even in the compilation of his "essential writings" assembled by a brother Jesuit, there is no inclusion of the searing writing about his AIDS work. And conversely, our broader LGBT community would have seen Dan's Catholicism as a barrier. These were years of tremendous antagonism, when the Catholic hierarchy, in the midst of a time of unbearable terror and suffering for LGBT people, saw fit to repeatedly condemn and disparage us. When Cardinal O'Connor saw fit to cruelly throw Dignity, the LGBT affirming catholic group, out of the church where they had met for eight years (ironically St. Francis Xavier, the same church where Dan's funeral was held), and threatened to remove any pastor who dared welcome Dignity in. When the powerful cardinal fought tooth and nail attempting to prevent the passage of the local law prohibiting us to be discriminated against in jobs and housing. Even more enraging were the efforts of Cardinal O'Connor and the Vatican to oppose HIV prevention strategies meant to save our lives. They refused to re-examine catholic moral teaching on the use of contraception, even if doing so might have saved many lives. They aggressively opposed the use of condoms, even opposed public efforts to educate about the effectiveness of condom use in preventing HIV infection. Cardinal O'Connor and Vatican officials went so far as to deceive, claiming that condoms were largely ineffective in preventing HIV infection. Many in the LGBT community saw this response to our plague as almost genocidal. Their dogma took priority over our lives. In 1989, the same year Dan's book was published, ACT-UP held it's infamous protest outside of Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Nearly 5,000 people (I being one of them) screamed in rage over Cardinal O'Connor's obstruction of HIV prevention. It wasn't a time in which the efforts of a priest, even one as deeply allied to our community as Daniel Berrigan, were able to be widely recognized. Furthermore, the trauma of survivors who cared for the sick and buried the dead during the plague years continues to be felt. The memories of so much suffering and so much loss are hard to bear, and hard to examine. The LGBT community has thus far been more able to celebrate the heroism of the AIDS activists who did so much to bring about viable treatments. Now, as the impact of Daniel Berrigan's extraordinary life is being examined, I hope this neglect can be corrected. Dan provides something remarkable: an example of a truly Christian response to AIDS and homophobia. Dan responded to the suffering and ostracism of people with AIDS with loving kindness, compassion and friendship. A friendship in which there was no place for the pharisaical moral judgement of so many church leaders. A friendship of persons made equal though love, helping each other through a terrible time. Sorrow Built a Bridge concludes with a homily that Dan preached at a Miami gathering of Dignity in 1987. In it he sums up a recurrent theme through the book, his immense sorrow at the ways his suffering friends had been harmed by religious condemnation, and his recognition that such cruelty is a betrayal of the suffering Christ. The church remains for the present adamant: against serious peacemaking, against the gay community. But in these matters, each in it's own way a matter of life and death, it cannot be said that the church speaks for Christ. It could even be said that the church speaks in contrariety to Christ...We think of the church, and the official treatment of many, and then we think of Christ...We are struck by a contrast. The church rejects, ostracizes, places certain people beyond the pale; on a lifelong basis... I do not know, any more than you, whether church authority will renounce it's sinfulness, will at last heal and bind up those it has wounded so grievously. (And so be healed and bound up, and acknowledge her own wounds.)...We must forgive, deepen our love, persist in our conviction that even the church can be redeemed from sin. "Will you really have enough time to work on this project?" "Shouldn't you be spending more time with your newborn?" "If I gave you a break, I'd have to give everyone a break." These are just some of the discriminatory comments working women hear from their bosses during or after their pregnancy, and they do more than just make women feel uncomfortable. Hardworking women are being forced out of their jobs or onto unpaid leave after they reveal they are pregnant. Many are denied even minor accommodations, such as bathroom breaks or a flexible schedule to attend a doctor's appointment, forcing them to work under conditions that cause them pain or discomfort. And it must stop. Although it has been illegal under federal law to discriminate against pregnant women for nearly 40 years -- and illegal under New York City law to deny pregnant women reasonable accommodations since 2014 -- women are still routinely discriminated against in the workplace for being pregnant. Advertisement At the NYC Commission on Human Rights, the agency that fights discrimination citywide, we see pregnant women who are denied even minor workplace accommodations, such as one pregnant retail worker who was told she wasn't allowed to attend a doctor's appointment because it was the holiday rush season. In another case, a pregnant worker was told she needed take more time off to spend with her newborn and was later terminated. And yet another worker was fired immediately after she told her boss she was pregnant. Workplace discrimination has real and lasting consequences for pregnant women, their careers, and their families. When women are forced onto unpaid leave, they lose a paycheck when they need it the most. Some even lose access to health insurance as a result of being on unpaid leave, which forces them onto Medicaid. And some even question whether they want to continue with their pregnancy at all when faced with workplace discrimination. All too often, employers make assumptions about what pregnant women can or should be doing in the workplace -- the meetings they should attend, the projects they can handle, the hours she should be working. Although some of these assumptions may be well intended, they take away a woman's right to make those decisions for herself, limiting employment opportunities. Advertisement It is imperative that pregnant women everywhere understand their rights in the workplace and that employers know their responsibilities under the law. This month, New York City issued legal guidance to help pregnant women and employers understand existing protections under the New York City Human Rights Law. The guidance specifies that employers in New York City are required by law to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers, such as minor changes in work schedules, additional bathroom and snack breaks, or less strenuous or hazardous positions if available. The guidance also clarifies that employers are prohibited from retaliating, demoting, or firing a woman because she is pregnant. Earlier this week, the Administration took steps to support private sector interest in Burma and help the new democratically-elected government. Specifically, the Administration took sanctions steps intended to support investment and trade with Burma. These steps facilitate the movement of goods within Burma; allow certain incidental transactions related to U.S. individuals residing there; and allow most transactions involving designated financial institutions in Burma. The sanctions changes are calibrated to maintain pressure on the military and other targeted persons, and to encourage additional democratic reforms. It's important that Burma reaps the rewards for its progress. After all, the goal of sanctions is to change behavior, not to punish. That's why it is critical that we follow through on our commitments to provide sanctions relief when change occurs. After all, sanctions won't succeed in promoting change if there's no light at the end of the tunnel. Advertisement By easing sanctions, as we did earlier this week, we are underscoring our support for the new government, led by President Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, to deliver on the dividends of democracy for their people. Of course, we are also hoping to make doing business in Burma a more enticing prospect. Easing sanctions is not an exact science. There is no magic formula for balancing our support for political and economic progress while also maintaining sanctions pressure where needed. As many interested observers have noted, from civil society activists to business leaders, Burma's progress has been one of vaunted hopes tempered by the realities of a country still emerging from years of international isolation. In 2012, just after our initial major sanctions easing, Myanmar was dubbed "the final frontier," because it was one of the last markets largely untouched by Western business. Market analysts breathlessly speculated about its economic potential: untapped natural resources, its young, large and literate population, and its promising geographic positioning. But to date in Burma, we haven't seen the cascade of U.S. investment that some predicted. We have had to rely on the ebb and flow of the free market to identify opportunity. Advertisement I am tremendously proud of those American companies that have forged ahead with this new opportunity. Consumer goods are going strong, from Procter & Gamble to Colgate-Palmolive. We've seen new investment by the likes of GAP and Coca-Cola, which are bringing the highest standards of corporate responsibility and raising the bar across the board. But, we are clear-eyed about the reality: Burma is still a risky venture for businesses, especially for those in the financial services community. Businesses look at more than just the regulatory environment when deciding whether to forge ahead in a nascent market. They look at everything from the political environment to market conditions to social to cultural factors before they make their decision to invest. As Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs at the State Department, I have seen those deliberations - and frankly reluctance - from the private sector in Burma firsthand. When I met with businesses in Yangon and Naypyitaw, I heard two chief complaints about our limited remaining sanctions. Advertisement First, due diligence is difficult in such an opaque business environment, where corporate registration requirements need to be improved and naming conventions are different. Second, we heard about the lack of reliable banking channels, which inhibits a broad range of philanthropic, educational, and economic activities. We need to remind ourselves how special this moment is. For the first time in half a century, Myanmar is enjoying a democratically-elected, civilian-led government. In the first few weeks of their term, they've released hundreds of political prisoners and made strides on national reconciliation. They've got their work cut out for them, but their first moves offer great hope for the future. Sean Turnell, key economic advisor to State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, said that the new government's top priorities would be "Growth, and jobs, jobs, jobs!" Former President Thein Sein said that he'd hoped to quadruple the size of the economy in a mere five years. After fifty years of oppressive military rule, you can't blame them for dreaming big. The actions by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) earlier this week make clear that U.S. individuals and companies will not be prevented by sanctions from finding banking partners in Myanmar. OFAC also made updates to provide greater clarity to those seeking to comply with sanctions. Advertisement All of our moves are guided by our desire to help them deliver on their jobs and reform agenda. As Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor said on Wednesday to Washington policy makers, "No transition to democracy takes place overnight. Progress will be measured not just in months and years - but in decades." But ultimately, he said: "I am hopeful about the future of Burma because I have come to know, respect, and admire the people of this great country. We're betting on them." "Leave the keys on the table in the apartment." Carlos' instructions were clear. Both Joy and I talked about it as we were preparing to leave Barcelona to head to our next destination. Remember: Leave the keys on the dining room table. We were simply to set the keys down and then walk out the door of Carlos' oasis in the middle of one of the most charming cities in the world, close the door and then go on our merry way leaving Barcelona behind us. Check. Got it. No need to worry, we got this; keys on the table and shut the door behind us. Carlos gave us these instructions as we were about to begin our last day in Barcelona, which turned out to be one of the delightful days of my life. We wandered around the heart of Barcelona taking in every last morsel of this delectable city stopping only for a place to eat and to drink some wine for me and water (with ice, please) for Joy. At every corner of Barcelona you will discover one of many restaurants that will tout "the best tapas in all of Barcelona" and if I were given the chance to vote I would have to say a great many of these restaurants could lay claim to the prize. The tapas in Barcelona are divine. Anyone with a few euros can sample several different types of tapas in sizes that will never overwhelm with a taste that will always satiate. Small, delectable and affordable. This is my kind of eating. Advertisement As the morning drifted into the late afternoon on our last day Joy and I meandered around the plaza trying to drink in every drop of this quixotic city that boasts culture, love, understanding, compassion, lust and whatever other emotion that makes a person feel the most alive. Each turn around the city center brought us face to face with the essence of Spanish culture; love, laugh, eat drink, dance. Around one particular corner we were beckoned by the sound of live acoustical music that was accompanied by one of the most melodious voices a street performer could ever possess. As Joy and I approached we were instantly drawn to have a seat at the cafe that these talented men decided to perform at no charge, that is unless you feel compelled to put something in their cup (we always felt compelled to put something in their cup. They are artists supporting a dream, who wouldn't want to help them?). Joy and I settled in for the magic and soon 45 minutes had passed as we tapped our feet to the sounds of this extemporaneous concert while eating food and drinking elixirs that ignited our souls. This is life. This is the manifestation of dreams. When we state our intention to the Universe and we make it clear everything we have ever wanted is presented to us. For me, this moment was the culmination of everything I had ever desired. I was in Europe on the trip of the lifetime with someone I loved in the purest way possible and this music became the soundtrack that underlined the beauty of that love. It was the soundtrack that dreams are made of, the kind of dreams that will keep our hearts warm when we teeter away in our rocking chair when we reach our advanced years. For our part, Joy and I were living now, not for the future, but right now and there is nothing more intoxicating than this feeling. It was in this moment that I remembered the most fundamental law of the Universe. Whatever we put into our minds, whatever we let occupy our thoughts becomes our reality. My thoughts center on love. They center on giving to those that need it the most and knowing that my kindness will come full circle. My intention is kindness for everyone no matter who you are or what you think you have done that somehow makes you feel undeserving of love. This music solidified my belief that we all want and deserve love so why not just be that love. Why not embody that love. Advertisement My thoughts also center on travel. When we get out into the world we soon discover that no matter where we call home we are really not all that different from one another. The Spaniard and the American are one. I certainly discovered this while I lounged in Carlos' home that he so beautifully provided for us. My thoughts also center on being with the people I love the most and although everyone that I love wasn't sharing this moment with me listening to music and eating and drinking in this plaza in Barcelona, Spain these amazingly special people whom I love so much were with me in spirit My dearest sister was with me in spirit on this perfect day in April. My closest friends were sitting with me if only energetically. My children were there. My former lovers stood beside me and nodded with love as I relished in this moment. They were all there in spirit and isn't this our truest nature. My thoughts always consider that we are all one and if we all agree that this thing called life can be a bumpy ride why not hold on to each other and try to make it a little bit easier for all of us. This is the essence of a life. Everything that had ever happened, everyone I had ever met, everything thing that I had experienced was coming together in this one divine moment to create pure bliss. It was the pure bliss of love. It was the feeling of peace and tranquility. Mindfulness had become mine in that plaza on that day. I was free. Free of torment and free of shame and guilt. I was FREE and this music was the orchestral symphony of pure manifestation. The night ended for Joy and me as we headed back to our room to catch a few hours of sleep before we departed for the airport. Joy and I had decided we would head to Venice to languish in all of the love that Italy had to offer. We drifted off to sleep and before we knew it morning had arrived and our next adventure awaited. We excitedly showered and gathered our belongings as we headed out the door to catch the Metro to deliver us to the doorstep of the airport for our next destination. Joy and I would learn later, after quite a journey on the Metro, that it would have been much easier to take the Aerobus directly to the airport. Advertisement Our previous experience with the Aerobus was convenient and inexpensive so why we decided to turn our backs on something so reliable can only speak to our desires as people to always long for better. "Reliable transportation to the airport at an inexpensive price? What else you got, anything better?" The bus trip would have been no more than 20 minutes with only four stops before we got to the airport however we were sleepy after a short night of rest and we weren't quite at the top of our travel game so we decided to try our hand at the Metro in Barcelona. We had a short walk to our stop although we didn't fully know which Metro to take to the airport. We found the Metro entrance and were about dive knee deep into our train journey when Joy stopped and spied a cab. Right as we were about to descend the stairs into the underground culture of a European Metro to hop on the train, a taxi driver spotted Joy, made eye contact with her, honked his horn and signaled to us that he was available for a fare if we desired a ride to what I assumed he knew was to the airport. Joy looked at me as if to say, "Should we just take a taxi?" "A taxi to the airport while in Europe? I don't think so," I responded. "We WILL take the Metro like all self-respecting travel aficionados do. Cabs are for tourists." I politely shooed the taxi driver on his way and jaunted down the steps to continue our European" train" adventure. When I entered the maze of the subway system I immediately walked over to the map to try and figure out which trains we needed to take to get to the airport. After a quick perusal of the map I realized I was simply unequipped to navigate the inner workings of a Spanish train system so I decided to do the one thing that always seems to work: I played the, "I am just a dumb American card" with the man who stood behind the ticket counter who gave no evidence that he really desired to help us or anyone else for that matter. After fumbling through my rudimentary Spanish he agreed to trace the route to the airport for me. Using only his finger and some monosyllabic attempts at English (it's his country and yet I still won't speak the native language) he showed us the two trains we would have to take to get to the airport. I, for my part, gratefully thanked him for performing a task that was certainly not in his job description and Joy and I anxiously headed to our train so that we could get to Venice. Advertisement After our second transfer on the Metro Joy and I were about to ascend the escalator in the subway station when she lost her balance getting on and she almost fell off of the moving staircase. Joy stumbled over her luggage and never quite got her footing and she ended up safely and without any major injury, ending up on the ground of the train station. This is exactly the kind of place that a germaphobe fears, the floor of a subway station with every strain of disease known to man all on one walking surface. This was the Walmart of germs and they were being sold at very reasonable prices. Joy told me later that on her way to the ground that she felt something stab her in her leg. I actually remembering this happening because when she went to the ground I clearly heard her say, "ouch" as she fell. Then I saw her reach into her pocket to discover the culprit of the cause of pain and almost immediately she said, "Oh no!!!!" Alarmed I said, "What's the matter?" It was in this moment that Joy reached into her pocket and revealed three keys, each one dedicated to the door to the home of our host, Carlos. "I accidentally took Carlos' keys! I have them in my pocket," she said as she held up the very keys that were supposed to by lying on Carlos' kitchen table in his apartment in the center of Barcelona, which incidentally was now 45 minutes away from where we were. Our plane was scheduled to depart in about 90 minutes. "I'm sorry," she pleaded. Not as sorry as Carlos, I thought. The thought quickly passed as I could see that Joy was mortified and felt she had majorly screwed up so I realized the only course of action was dive in headfirst and figure out a way to get out of this predicament with as little judgment as possible. We called Carlos and we explained our predicament after wading through a few language barriers. Carlos was under the impression we were close to his house and could easily return the keys before leaving to the airport. When we were finally able to explain that we were out of town to return his keys his incredibly kind heart told us to just mail him the keys when we got back to the States. Advertisement As the train started up and rumbled through the underground tunnel of the subway system Joy looked over at me and said, "I have no idea how or why I took those keys. I feel like there is some reason why Carlos is staying in our life." I couldn't argue with her. The Universe has a way of unfolding circumstances that we can't always see the meaning. This is the reason why I was in such a place of acceptance with her accidentally grabbing the keys. Maybe Carols would remain in our lives and maybe this was exactly the way and the reason that we would continue our friendship. I couldn't wait to find out. Joy and I would get to the airport and we would get there on time. Carlos would get his keys in about 10 days and we were off to Venice, uncertain of where this adventure would take us next. Everything always works out perfectly, I thought as the train sped towards the airport, if we only trust in this process called life. Everything is divinely guided even when we can't always see the whole picture. This is what makes this journey so magical. Barcelona was behind us, Venice was in front of us, both holding a different place in our hearts; one of longing, one of anticipation. It's always hard leaving something you have come to know and love. We were saying goodbye to Barcelona. It is equally as difficult to move to something new. We were saying hello to Venice. One thing I know for sure is that Joy and I were creating moments and those moments are what comprise a life of happiness if we so desire and what could be more beautiful than this? Advertisement It's official. Trump no longer is self-funding his own campaign. Like that was really going to last! We learned this past week that Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson may personally donate up to $100 million to get Donald Trump elected. (You thought Trump was funding his own campaign? Well, think again!) It's another pathetic example of how billionaires, multi-millionaires and special interests are buying up all our leaders. The wealthiest two percent in this country now contribute two-thirds (and growing) of every dollar donated in support of political candidates. And guess what? Those candidates ... the ones they want in office ... the ones, of course, who raise the most money? They win 91% of the time! Advertisement Is that bad for democracy? Are you kidding? The super-rich and special interests don't give money away for free. They want something in return. They want special access. They want special influence. They want laws and policies that help them out. And they get what they want. Money talks in politics. Green-backs have become so essential to winning that, according to the investigative news show, "60 Minutes," many members of Congress now spend 30 hours a week at a "call center" across from the U.S. Capitol, literally dialing for dollars. Like solar panel telemarketers. No wonder so little gets done. Meanwhile, the influence of the average voter - that's you and me - has shrunk like Ant Man. (But without the super powers.) You want influence in Washington? It's like the CapitalOne credit card ad: "What's in your wallet?" Advertisement We can change the system, if we all band together. (You can start by signing the Next Party petition on Change.org calling for the new President, whoever that is, to appoint justices to the Supreme Court who will overturn the catastrophic Citizens United ruling.) History has shown, the hard way, that democracy only works if citizens have confidence that their government is equitable and works for all the People. Not just the rich and powerful. Right now, that's not the case in America. The greater sage-grouse, an iconic bird of the American West, won a fight last year with the help of ranchers and others to stay off the endangered species list. Meanwhile, the golden-cheeked warbler, a flashy little Texas songbird that weighs less than an ounce is in a battle with powerful developers to stay on the same list. Audubon and bird lovers are supporting both efforts. Why? Because the Endangered Species Act is giving birds a fighting chance for survival in both cases. Just a few months ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the greater sage-grouse would not be added to the endangered species list. Audubon supported that decision because it showed how ranchers, farmers, federal agencies, states, industry and green groups had banded together to create plans that--if implemented well--will help safeguard the threatened habitat of the brown-and-white, chicken-sized bird. We called it a new lease on life for the greater sage-grouse and the entire sagebrush ecosystem: The plant life that provides cover from predators, serves as shelter for nesting birds in summer and supplies the grouse's sole source of food in winter. Brian Rutledge, Audubon's vice president and policy advisor for the region, said it best: "This is the kind of cooperation the Endangered Species Act was designed to encourage. It wasn't intended to list everything under the sun; it was to motivate conservation before listing became necessary." Unfortunately, the act itself is under assault in the U.S. Congress and in states across the country. Federal lawmakers have tried to kill it, gut it and cut off the funding to enforce it. For example, language in the current National Defense Authorization Act bill threatens to hamstring the Department of Interior's sage-grouse conservation management and blow up years of collaboration under the guise of military readiness. The Pentagon has had to publicly state that sage-grouse conservation plans pose no threat to the operations of the United States armed forces. The sage-grouse saga continues. Now flash to Texas Hill Country in the south-central heart of the Lone Star State--a landscape of green hills and rocky canyons--and voraciously expanding urban and suburban sprawl. Texas Hill Country is home to the golden-cheeked warbler, a true Lone Star State native. It does not breed or raise its young anywhere else in the world except in 33 Texas counties. The striking black-and-white songbird with the brilliant golden face is finicky when it comes to housing materials, building its nests from the bark of mature juniper trees. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put the warbler on the endangered species list in 1990 because its habitat in Hill Country was being sliced up and sold off to developers at such an alarming rate. Even with the protection of the act, an estimated 1.5 million acres (nearly a third of the golden-cheeked warbler's home range) disappeared between 1999 and 2011. News / National by youtube Zimbabwean student excited to see Mugabe at Fort Hare Not all wars take place on the battlefield, and for women -- a population twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) -- the primary scene of combat is most likely within their own comfort zones. The authors reviewed 290 studies conducted between 1980 and 2005 to determine who is more at risk for potentially traumatic events (PTE) and PTSD - males or females? The results of the meta-analysis found that while males have a higher risk for traumatic events, women suffer from higher PTSD rates." ~American Psychological Association Five women, scattered from Upstate NY all the way to British Columbia Canada, whom have never met, have joined forces to combat the false belief that only men in uniform live with PTSD. Now, women from America, Canada, Africa, India, Australia, the UK and everywhere in between have begun sharing their pictures, and their stories, all over social media. Each one hoping to change the landscape of online search engines, to more accurately represent the #FacesOfPTSD. The belief that PTSD is a disorder that exists only within combat veterans creates a barrier in recovery for women suffering with the disorder. Some may suffer in silence. Some may not even be aware there is a name and plan of action for recovery from what they are experiencing. "As someone who works in the trenches of the mental health system, I see how often people's traumas are ignored, meaning they are left with inaccurate diagnoses and band aids placed over their problems. The connection between what a person has experienced and the psychiatric and medical symptoms they present with as adults is neglected. Because of that, I believe most women that suffer with PTSD symptoms aren't even aware the diagnosis may apply to them. That is why the #FacesOfPTSD campaign is so important. I hope even one woman will see the images, hear the stories and then start asking her primary care doctor or psychiatrist about whether or not PTSD is playing a role in her struggles." ~Dawn Daum Co-Editor of Trigger Points: Childhood Abuse Survivors Experiences of Parenting The movement is making waves. The story has been covered by The Mighty and The Revelist . Support is coming from not only individuals, but supportive online communities and non-for-profit organizations as well. The campaign will continue through out the month of May, to help raise awareness during Mental Health Awareness Month. Get Involved. If you identify with having PTSD, share a photo of yourself on any or all social media outlets, with the hashtag #FacesOfPTSD. Add the byline 'not all wars take place on the battlefield' to help bring the message home. If you are not comfortable posting a picture of yourself, feel free to share any image included in this article, including the video. It's time to defy shame, honor our battles and introduce the real #FacesofPTSD. I have been disappointed at the recent public discussion about White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes. Some of this recent press is grounded in the usual Washington debates about President Obama's foreign policy. Ben does represent that policy to the outside world and helps shape it inside the administration. That's his job. It's natural for outside observers to take issue with various elements of the President's foreign policy -- from Syria to Iran to Afghanistan -- and having a lively policy debate on these issues is a meaningful part of our democracy. But much of our foreign policy ought not be controversial. Every day, a bit under the political radar, America works with others to fight hunger, disease, climate change, advance human rights, and create more opportunity for young people to aspire to be a force for hope and change on our planet. It sounds lofty, I know. For many decades, in a truly bipartisan manner, America has been a force for good in some of the farthest corners of our globe. President Bush launched PEPFAR which dramatically altered the trajectory of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. President Obama continued that effort and embraced the opportunity to extend it. He launched Feed the Future, Power Africa, led the global fight against Ebola, and accelerated efforts to save children who die of simple, preventable diseases such as diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria. All along, and over the two terms of the Obama Administration, Ben Rhodes has been a steady, committed leader working behind the scenes to make much of this happen. Ben's job requires dealing with and responding to urgent crises -- from hostage situations to terrorist threats to major acts of military aggression. Despite being bombarded with crisis after crisis, Ben somehow overcame the pressure to simply react to the urgent and became a steady leader on efforts to create a more peaceful, just, and hopeful world. I know as I served for more than five years as the Administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Even when other foreign policy crises were dominating the airwaves, Ben put his time and effort into answering President Obama's call to end extreme poverty and advance our nation's proud bipartisan legacy as the world's humanitarian and development leader. Ben led the effort to reopen the Burma USAID office and program to support civil society and the very poor. Despite a schedule crammed with meetings on challenges from Syria to Iran to the DPRK, Ben hosted meeting after meeting and led a half a dozen federal agencies to create programs for young leaders in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America. Today, tens of thousands of young people from these parts of the world are better connected to America, our institutions and our values thanks to Ben's leadership. I have met with young African civic leaders and entrepreneurs who have told me their entire lives and hopes have changed for the better as a result of their participation in the Young African Leaders Initiative. Much has been made of whether Ben channels President Obama's voice and instincts on foreign affairs. Everyone who has been a part of the President's decision making will note that President Obama, usually after careful deliberation, makes his own decisions. But there is no question that Ben is a trusted, consistent advisor and implementer for the President. I always have felt that Ben also represents and advocates for this President's natural inclination to fight for those who otherwise lack a champion -- displaced refugees from Syria, survivors of sexual trafficking in Nepal, girls who should have every right to go to school in Pakistan. The Ben Rhodes I know is a thoughtful and an experienced leader who spends more time figuring out how to elevate the people around him than himself. He is among a small handful of individuals who were hand-selected by President Obama to serve in his White House. He is a listener and a learner and I am grateful that amongst his many responsibilities he chose to support so many efforts that really do project the best of America's values around the world. I am proud to have served with him and hope many others follow the great example Ben has set. Dr. Rajiv Shah served in the Obama Administration as the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development from 2010-2015. U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S., May 16, 2016. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump made it almost official. He now has in his hip pocket the names of 11 hardline conservative judges and legal luminaries who he deems fit SCOTUS judges. The names supplied by the equally hardline conservative Heritage Foundation weren't much a surprise. At a town hall in last December, the month before the South Carolina primary, Trump didn't hesitate when asked who his favorite High Court justice was. He named Clarence Thomas. Thomas was his guy on the court because he is "very strong and consistent." Trump's 11 names, then, are in keeping with his Thomas swoon. Advertisement Naming a High Court judge is the one issue that has ignited the greatest debate, furor and public warfare. The legal bloodbath would be even messier if "President" Trump plucked any one of the 11 names from the list as his SCOTUS choice. So the repeated question then is why would anyone play with fire with Trump and bulk at backing Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee? The possibility of one, not to mention, the possibility of two or even three more Thomas clones on the High Court given the ages of the three court liberals should be more than enough incentive to insure that Trump never gets a chance to pull that list of names out of his pocket. Yet polls repeatedly show that a troubling percentage of left-leaning Democrats and progressive leaning independents say they won't back Clinton no matter what. One of the two stock retorts to shunning Clinton is to spit out the by now familiar epithets at her, Wall Street shill, corporate sell-out, war hawk and untrustworthy. The Hillary bashers convince themselves that there wouldn't be a dime's worth of difference between a Trump White House and a Clinton White House. The other comeback is that "President" Trump would propel legions of protesters into the streets at every Trump turn. He would be relentlessly challenged every step of the way by Congressional Democrats, civil rights, liberties, environmental, and women groups. They would stop him dead in his tracks when he tries to shove his agenda through, and that first and foremost would mean an epic war against his effort to put another Thomas on the High Court. Advertisement The first rationale is, of course, patently absurd. Trump has made it perfectly clear that he would try to repeal the Affordable Care Act, totally scrap the Dodd-Frank financial industry regulations, do nothing to stop the further evisceration of the Voting Rights Act, cheer lead the NRA and avoid comprehensive gun control like the plague, wreak new miseries on undocumented workers and their children, and give a wink and nod license to ramp up anti-Muslim hysteria in the country. Clinton is the diametric opposite of this and trying to make the case against her as a Trump policy look alike is beyond laughable. The other problem with the assumption that Trump can be easily stopped is there is no guarantee that Senate Democrats and progressive House Democrats would not still be in the minority in Congress. If that is the case, they would be at the mercy of a White House now in the hands of a fickle reactionary, and a Congress that would giddily aid and abet his most rightwing draconian initiatives and legislation. That wouldn't be all. Protest groups would have leverage only in the forces they could muster in the streets. But Trump and a Republican Majority Congress would be virtually immune to those protests since they did not rely on them to win or stay in office. This makes the case for Clinton even more urgent even without Trump in the White House but with Congress in the GOP's grip. She is the only one who could then stand deflect, derail, or at the least minimize the irreparable political carnage that the GOP would wreak if it kept the Senate and the House. Now back to Trump and the Supreme Court. In decades past, many Democratic and Republican appointed justices scrapped party loyalties and based their legal decisions solely on the merit of the law, constitutional principles and the public good. Trump's favorite judge, Thomas, has gone full steam in the other direction. He has blatantly rammed his strictest of strict constructionist ideology into every opinion he's written and vote he's cast on civil rights, police powers, corporate financial dealings, the death penalty, abortion, and voting rights. He has firmly carved out a granite like niche as one of the most reflexive, knee jerk, reactionary jurists to grace the court in decades. Advertisement Thomas punctuates that by being the court's first openly public recluse and with rare exceptions refusing to utter a peep during any of the oral arguments before the court. But then there's not much need since his votes are already guaranteed. Saying no to Clinton is the most dangerous of dangerous propositions. It would say yes to the possibility of three more Thomas's on the High Court. We have grown so accustomed to vast collection of our personal data and breaches of our privacy by both government agencies and private companies that new revelations no longer come as a surprise. However, we cannot pass over in silence the secret agreement made in September 2015 (but first reported by New Scientist on April 29), giving Google's subsidiary DeepMind access to confidential medical records of 1.6 million Britons. These records from the U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS) apparently include such details as a person's full name, HIV status, results of pathology and radiology tests, past drug overdoses, and logs of their hospital stays, including who visited them and when. NHS has given assurances of "anonymity" for these data, but that offers little comfort. In fact, the agreement states that "pseudonimisation is not required," and besides, even anonymized data may be used to reveal private information. Advertisement Concerns have been raised over why DeepMind needs such a wide range of data when its stated goal is to develop an app for the prevention of a specific kidney disease. Furthermore, these sensitive data are given to DeepMind without either informing patients of seeking their consent. Questions have been asked whether in order to have access to these data Google was obligated to receive a regulatory approval under a U.K. law, the NHS Act 2006. Google has not applied for such an approval and has argued that it was not necessary, but critics believe that in fact the law does require it. What makes this case especially troubling is that Google is the world's largest information technology company and one of the world's two biggest companies overall. Today, given our collective addiction to technology, Google wields tremendous power over our tastes, our behavior, and our future. Health care is surely an area in which technology companies have an important role to play. In particular, properly supervised data analysis using novel learning algorithms has the potential to improve the diagnostics and treatment of major diseases. Google has done the world much good with its search engine and other products. However, the company's secrecy and lack of oversight are of grave concern. When it acquired the artificial intelligence startup DeepMind two years ago for a reported $650 million, Google promised to set up an ethics board to deal with the issues of artificial intelligence. Well, I Googled "Google ethics board" -- and there is still no information about it. That is troubling. Advertisement Artificial intelligence is invading our lives through various programs and devices, but it's a double-edge sword. For example, a facial recognition program can be used to quickly organize your photo album, but it can also be used in a lethal autonomous weapons system that identifies suspects and strikes them without human supervision. Thus, along with great promise, AI holds the potential for unprecedented risks to the humankind. That's why transparency and oversight are crucial in this area. Alas, Google hasn't been particularly forthcoming with information about its AI projects. But here's what we know about DeepMind. Founded by three brilliant young scientists, the company was in the news recently because a deep learning algorithm AlphaGo it had developed beat a human Go champion -- no doubt, an impressive achievement. Unfortunately, the company's CEO then proceeded to declare that DeepMind's algorithms could lead to a "meta-solution to any problem." That is a wild exaggeration, given what we know about the limitations of such algorithms. As a mathematician, I can attest that although there are some elements of 20th-century math in them, they are really based on 19th-century mathematics, cleverly adapted. The math itself is beautiful, and I salute my fellow mathematicians and computer scientists pushing the boundaries of what such algorithms can do. But to believe that everything about life can be explained in this way is akin to the exuberance of an 11-year old who has learned trigonometry and is so excited he thinks the whole world is trigonometry. Pure and simple, this is hubris. And, I am sorry to say, it is reflected in how DeepMind has acted in acquiring the NHS medical data: not bothering to ask for people's consent and not following ethics rules and regulations. What these actions communicate is that DeepMind views people's medical histories merely as a bunch of data it wants to feed into a learning algorithm, in the same way as it used the old Go games for training the AlphaGo algorithm. And if a company treats people as pieces in a board game, why would it care about privacy and ethics? Well, that is precisely why we shouldn't give DeepMind and its parent company a free hand in using our private data without proper supervision. Unlike a human, a company is an algorithm, set to maximize a utility function: profit. Therefore, companies often become secretive, evading oversight. But we shouldn't set the bar low. We must demand transparency and oversight -- especially of technology companies that exert such profound influence on our lives. Ultimately, it all depends on us. This is not about robots or algorithms. It's about us, humans; it's about who we are, who we want to be. Advertisement Science and technology are essential parts of our culture, as well as the means for improving our lives. Humans have an insatiable desire to explore and to understand. In this quest for knowledge, we keep pushing the envelope. But life is not a game of Go. Simplistic solutions can, and will, lead us astray, especially when driven by big money. In his prescient book The Myth of the Machine, Lewis Mumford has warned us: "On the terms imposed by technocratic society, there is no hope for mankind except by 'going with' its plans for accelerated technological progress, even though man's vital organs will all be cannibalized in order to prolong the megamachine's meaningless existence." DeepMind's motto is "Solve intelligence." But more than intelligence, we need wisdom. Without it our proverbial "left brain" will run amok, to devastating results. The Krafla Lava Fields in Myvatn, Iceland By Maximilian DeArmon In March 2016, future leaders gathered for a few days in Iceland - the land of Vikings, volcanoes, black beaches, lava fields, green moss, ice caves, glaciers and geothermal energy. These high school students were traveling with EF Education First to attend this year's Global Student Leaders Summit, which focused on The Future of Energy. My colleagues Missy Lahren, Theo Badashi, and myself were privileged to lead a workshop entitled "Filmmaking for Positive Change" where students created their own film treatment based on a social or environmental issue they cared about. We also screened a film we produced on renewable energy called The Future of Energy: Lateral Power to the People to highlight what is already happening with renewable energy worldwide. On first arrival, my senses were awakened to see the youthful spirit and enthusiasm of both the participants and the facilitators around a topic that is usually quite boring - energy. Energy, something that is so fundamental to modern civilization, and yet somehow it's mostly overlooked unless it relates to electric bills, gas prices, engineers, or environmental activists. But there we were, with students who were ready to explore the possibilities of an energy revolution. As we began to engage with the students and listened to them talk about the future, one thing was very clear - they were filled with hope. They were not only filled with hope but they were excited about the challenge. They were excited to create a new energy future and move away from the harmful use and production of fossil fuels. They see renewable energy as a way to be creative and solve problems. They see this energy revolution as a window of opportunity for technological innovations, job creation, and building a sustainable future. The hope they feel is not unfounded or solely idealistic. All around the globe, governments, businesses and local communities are implementing 100 percent renewable energy and getting phenomenal results. Professor Mark Z. Jacobson at Stanford has crunched the numbers and shown that it is economically and technologically possible to reach 100 percent renewable energy globally by 2050; Sweden plans to become the first fossil free nation; Iceland is getting all of their electricity from renewable energy; Burlington, Vermont is already generating 100 percent renewable energy for its citizens; Hawaii has pledged to be 100 percent renewable by 2045; New York and California both have mandates for their States to be using 50 percent renewable energy by 2030; China is pushing for a renewable energy integration mandate; and, there are many more examples from around the globe that can be found at Go100Percent.org. Advertisement While the renewable energy industry is taking off, there's a simultaneous movement to divest from fossil fuels. Institutions around the globe have already pledged to divest a total of 3.4 trillion dollars from fossil fuel companies. And while natural gas produced by "fracking" is being sold as a clean energy bridge fuel, places such as France, Scotland, and New York have banned the practice all together, with many others placing heavy restrictions. After the successful international agreement made at COP21 in Paris, and an agreement reached by the G7 nations, it seems the end of the fossil fuel era is in sight. As energy specialist Diane Moss likes to say, "the question is not if we will transition to 100 percent renewable energy, it is how and when." Advertisement These are only a few examples of why I feel hopeful about the future. From what we saw in Iceland, future world leaders are ready to take on this challenge and create a sustainable world for all life on Earth. If we match these students' hope and enthusiasm with emerging technological innovations, financial incentives, and regulations on fossil fuels, we may have a chance at overcoming the ecological crisis we face. For many decades we have focused on exposing the atrocities of environmental degradation with the hope that someone would listen. Well... now that everyone is listening... we can turn our attention to the solutions. We can turn our attention to the future leaders who are hopeful and ready to take ac-tion. We can turn our attention to rebuilding our social systems to reflect greater ecological and cosmological systems. This gives me great hope for the future of humanity and the entire Earth community. Maximilian DeArmon is a philosopher, filmmaker, and planetary advocate currently working on his doctoral degree at The California Institute of Integral Studies. He's the associate producer of Changing of the Gods, and producer and co-writer of The Future of Energy film. For decades physicists have been trying to decipher the first moments after the Big Bang. Using very large telescopes, for example, scientists scan the skies and look at how fast galaxies move. Satellites study the relic radiation left from the Big Bang, called the cosmic microwave background radiation. And finally, particle colliders, like the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, allow researchers to smash protons together and analyze the debris left behind by such collisions. Physicists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, however, are taking a different approach: they are using computers. In collaboration with colleagues at University of California San Diego, the Los Alamos researchers developed a computer code, called BURST, that can simulate a slice in the life of our young cosmos. While BURST is not the first computer code to simulate conditions during the first few minutes of cosmological evolution, it can achieve better precision by a few orders of magnitude compared to its predecessors. Furthermore, it will be the only simulation code able to match the precision of data from the Extremely Large Telescopes, currently under construction in Chile. These new telescopes will have primary mirrors that range in aperture from 20 to 40 meters, roughly three times wider than the current very large telescopes, and an overall light-collecting area up to 10 times larger. Advertisement A few seconds after the Big Bang, the universe was composed of a thick, 10-billion degree "cosmic soup" of subatomic particles. As the hot universe expanded, these particles' mutual interactions caused the universe to behave as a cooling thermonuclear reactor. This reactor produced light nuclei, such as deuterium, helium, and lithium -- all found in the universe today. "Our code, developed with Evan Grohs, who at the time was a graduate student at UCSD, looks at what happened when the universe was about 1/100 of a second old to a few minutes old," says Los Alamos physicist Mark Paris of the Theoretical Division. "By determining the amount of helium, lithium and deuterium at the end of those first few minutes of life, BURST will be able to shed light to some of the existing puzzles of cosmology." One such puzzle is dark matter: physicists know that it exists because of the way galaxies rotate, but they haven't been able to detect it because it does not radiate in any known spectrum. Physicists have theorized that dark matter is made of so-called "sterile neutrinos", which do not interact with any other particle, and are responsible for these unobservable interactions. "Once we start getting data from the Extremely Large Telescopes," Paris explains, "we will model sterile neutrinos into the BURST code. If we get a good description of the data, we will be able to prove their existence." Measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation have led physicists to theorize "dark radiation," a speculative form of energy that may have acted in the early universe. BURST could possibly reveal whether or not dark radiation is real and caused by sterile neutrinos. "The universe is our laboratory," Paris enthusiastically concludes. "BURST will help us answer questions that are currently very difficult to address with particle colliders like the one at CERN." Advertisement Ongoing support for the project is provided by the National Science Foundation at UCSD and the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program through the Center for Space and Earth Sciences at Los Alamos. BURST will be running on the supercomputing platforms at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Disclaimer: Elena E. Giorgi is a computational biologist in the Theoretical Division of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. She does not represent her employer's views. LA-UR-16-23519. Pink Piggy bank on top of books with chalkboard in the background as concept image of the costs of education The above is quoted from a letter written by businessmen supporting Mayor de Blasio's bid for mayoral control of NYC's public schools. Advertisement As the parent of two children currently in NYC public schools, I wholeheartedly disagree that the current system serves students and the city well. It is fundamentally inequitable, opaque, disorganized, and even when spotlights are shined on shortfalls, it doesn't appear that righting wrongs is at the top of anyone's list. The Mayor is presently choosing not to attend a Senate hearing about mayoral control of city schools - perhaps answering questions about the many issues that currently exist isn't a priority. This school year I delved into the rampant and seemingly randomness of Fair Student Funding (FSF) in city schools. FSF was instituted to, surprise, bring fair funding into schools. Instead of awarding lumps sums, funds are, as the Department of Education notes on their website, "used by schools to cover basic instructional needs and are allocated to each school based on the number and need-level of students enrolled at that school." Meaning, student driven categories range from everything including type of school (elementary, middle, high) to students in special ed, English language learners, performance, technical based and specialized programs. If schools were funded at 100% of their FSF budgets, it still wouldn't be enough but things would be pretty good. If schools were funded at less than 100% but at equal percentages of their FSF budgets, things would be less good, but fair. But that's not the case in city schools. There's a 42% differential when it comes to school funding. As a Brooklyn Technical high school parent and PTA co-president, I chose to focus on the eight test in specialized high schools, of which Brooklyn Tech, at 87%, gets the lowest percentage of its FSF budget while the highest funded receives 124% of it's FSF budget. That's a 37% jump from low to high. The allocations don't seem based on size, although Brooklyn Tech is, by far, the largest of the eight. In fact, it's the largest high school in not just New York City, but in the country. Funding doesn't seem to be relate to student poverty levels - Brooklyn Tech has a higher percentage of reduced and free lunch students than most of its specialized cohorts. The funding doesn't appear to based on AP courses offered, student body diversity, teacher populations - there is no apparent reason as to why funding is so strikingly different at schools with the same student funding rate according to FSF outlines. Advertisement Parents were told by the Department of Education that current funding doesn't seem to have a basis in anything other than previous funding streams set up before the advent of Fair Student Funding, with no one thinking or taking time to level out the funding playing field. And right now, the focus is on the Mayor's 94 renewal schools, not the hundreds of others not funded equitably. The issue was brought to the public and was written about in the Wall Street Journal, DNAinfo, Schoolbook, and was reported on NPR. Parents, students, and alum testified in front of the Chancellor, her staff, and school superintendents at Panel for Educational Policy meetings. Thousands, worldwide, signed an online petition protesting the disparity. The city knows it's an issue. In the Mayor's new budget he proposes raising all schools to an average of 91% with the new bottom at 87 instead of 82%. Which means, in this remarkably non-transparent scenario, that Brooklyn Tech could very well spend yet another year trapped at the FSF percentage it has long struggled with. As costs rise and percentages stay the same, it gets harder and harder for administrators to effectively run programs and schools. Even these vague changes are a mere bandage to much deeper and troubling issues. How did funding go so awry in the first place? How did this inequitable system survive for so many years with no investigations? With people now asking questions and facts surfacing (not that they were hidden - school funding percentages are readily available on the DOE website), why has no one delved into how it could be reasonably rectified? In the end throwing extra money at some schools doesn't erase years of inequitable funding or a set up that's been remarkably unfair. One would hope the Mayor would look to resolve issues, not avoid and ignore them. Advertisement The sign said it all: "Vermont won paid sick days. My uncle in Pennsylvania didn't. We all need paid sick days." The momentum for paid sick days is inspiring. As of today, thirty-two locations in the U.S. have won such policies, bringing access for the first time to more than ten and a half million people. And that doesn't count the millions more who already earned sick days but, because of the new laws, can now use their time to care for an ill loved one, or use it without being docked pay the first day out or getting disciplinary points for following doctor's orders. Still, like the young Vermont girl in the photo, we all know people who live in other cities and states where these policies are being blocked. So the coalitions that won these victories decided to do coordinated celebrations and use those events to call attention to the benefits of the policy - and the need for a federal standard, the Healthy Families Act (HFA). Advertisement The events ran the gamut. Connecticut hosted a forum with Verizon strikers; Vermont hosted a candidates' forum. DC bought popsicles from a supportive business and delivered them to City Council to ask for better enforcement of the paid sick days law. Several places held roundtables. Los Angeles celebrated with music at a health clinic. Chicago, Minneapolis and Maryland used the occasion to call for passage of a city or state bill, while a Spokane gathering urged support for a statewide ballot initiative. All the events featured a range of speakers, starting with workers who previously lacked paid sick days and now know what it means not to have to choose between getting well and getting out of debt. "The right to paid sick time has allowed me to put my health first without worrying about losing my financial stability," said Caitlin Mooney, a Philadelphia caregiver who lacked any paid sick days when recovering from a bone marrow donation a few years ago. Since passage of a law in Philadelphia, she's been able to earn paid time off to recover from a chicken pox-related illness she contracted from the babies she now cares for. Business leaders also spoke at the events, including Matt Birong, owner of Three Squares Cafe in Vergennes, VT: "Passing the paid sick days bill in Vermont was an exemplary collaboration between businesses, workers, and the legislature - and I'm personally proud of our work as a state," he said. "I hope this process will have set an example for how we can come together to make positive change possible for our state in areas that we still need to address - like the affordability crises in health care and child care and making sure that families have parental and medical leave." Advertisement Political champions spoke as well. "Jersey City was the first city in New Jersey to pass earned sick leave, because we felt that no parent should have to choose between caring for a sick loved one and losing 20% or more of their weekly pay," said Steven Fulop, Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey. "Nearly three years later - and despite all the evidence showing that earned sick leave actually helps strengthen local economies - it's unconscionable that there are still so many places in New Jersey where working families continue to be left on their own." As the issue of paid sick days continues to gain momentum, the majority of Americans cite it as a top economic issue. When the only option is to be docked much-needed pay, many workers are forced to go into work sick, jeopardizing the health of their coworkers and patrons--a constant challenge for many restaurant workers, bus drivers, and other lower-wage workers who interact with the public daily. Dr. Paul Chung, a pediatrician at UCLA who received the 2009 Nemours Child Health Services Research Award for his research into social determinants of health for vulnerable children, emphasized this point in a Facebook Q&A May 19 with Cong. Rosa DeLauro, chief sponsor of the Healthy Families Act. "Especially when you're talking about infection control--what good is YOUR paid leave if the person next to you doesn't have any, had to come to work sick, and passes along the illness to you?" In 2016 alone, Vermont, Spokane, WA, Plainfield, NJ and both Santa Monica and Los Angeles, CA have won paid sick days victories. By the time our coalitions join together for a National Day of Action on Capitol Hill on June 15th, Chicago, Minneapolis and San Diego may win victories as well. More information on the events and the call for passage of a federal bill can be found here. It's been an incredible year for the movement for paid sick days. These events provided time to celebrate our success, reflect on the work still to be done, and call attention to the need for a national solution to build on the local wins. As Lois Whittmore, Board Member of Community of Vermont Elders and AARP VT, put it at one event: "everyone in this room is someone's child, and everyone in this room is also a rising senior. The problems are just as acute for providers caring for elders as they are for people caring for our children." Paid time to heal and to help our loved ones heal is essential to our nation's success and well-being. Here's to many more victories in 2016. Unless you have been comatose for the last month, you are undoubtedly aware of the fact that the internet (or rather segments of the media) has engaged in high gear racially bigoted overdrive for the few weeks. Remember the reaction of a colorful (pun intended ) Old Navy ad that featured an interracial family in addition to the news that Malia Obama, the eldest daughter of President and First lady Michelle Obama, had decided to attend Harvard University after a gap year. The ad caused more than a few wild eyed racists to engage in their furtive, resentful, paranoid, juvenile behavior which is often standard fare for many of the men and women who fall into this camp. Not to be outdone, just last week, conservative cartoonist Ben Garrison drew a juvenile, tasteless cartoon image of first lady Michelle Obama referring to her as having no class while praising first lady hopeful Melania Trump as being the epitome of elegance. http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2016/05/racist_michelle_obama_cartoon_is_just_another_example_of_conservatives_blatant.html?wpisrc=topstories. Indeed , the savages are on the racial warpath. Without skipping a beat, critics of the ad launched into racist, anti-miscegnation invective with many declaring such a photo was encouraging mongrelization, the destruction of the White race and other perversely paranoid fears. It was a sad sight to see/view. Fortunately, in response to such intolerable behavior, many sane people, including the son of Arizona senator and 2008 presidential candidate John McCain, posted pictures of themselves with either their interracial children, spouses or families. To be sure, there were many individuals who were offended, if not outright, appalled by the antics of such sinister deviant posters and made their feelings known in the comments section of various blogs where such despicable behavior occurred. This was good to see. Human decency often triumphs over intolerance and unenlightened buffoonery. The haters were largely quashed. The Malia Obama situation was just as troubling. A number of conservative bloggers were making their opinions known in various quarters of conservative media. Nonetheless, at FOX News.com, things became so acerbic that site moderators disabled the comments section of an Associated Press article after readers saturated the post with viciously racist comments. However, addictinginfo.org managed to capture some of the blatantly racist comments beforehand. Examples of such vehemently racist and white supremacist venom were: Advertisement *I wonder if she applied as a muDslime..or a foreign student..or just a Ni@@er. * Hopefully she gets cancer/aids or one of those colored diseases." *Another academically challenged affirmative-action parasite steals a place from a qualified White or Asian student." *I'm sure she's being fed a stem of celery with two grain muffins for lunch as accorded by her man-thing mother, Sasquatch. *Probably staying out for a year so she can help her parents carry out the furniture and dinnerware when they leave the White House," "Typical." * Malia will have her Harvard transcripts buried, just like Chewbacca and the WH Muslim. As for the gap year, my guess is she will get some heavy tutoring to try to match up at Harvard. If she looks like she won't cut it, Malia goes somewhere outside the US to hide her further. Gap year, sure. By the way, ever hear either daughter ever talk? Can they? *Doesn't have the grades, can't do the work, needs extensive tutoring to have a chance at ANY college, unless Affirmative Action and sealing her transcripts can be arranged (very likely!) Phony Birth Certificate, sealed transcripts from Harvard AND Columbia, 'gap year', see a pattern?" As hard as it is to imagine, some other comments were even worse. Several posters blatantly and brazenly used the word Nigger in referring to the young lady. Quite frankly, if we are honest with ourselves, most politically astute people should not have been surprised by the fact that that Malia Obama came under attack by right wing bloggers. The fact is that even as far back when the President first took office in 2009 his entire family, wife and daughters were the subject demeaning racist remarks and cartoons (particularly Barack and Michelle) amplifying and and grossly distorting their physical features. Referring to the first lady and his wife as apes, monkeys, pimps, prostitutes and other demeaning terms. Advertisement This is not the first time that Malia has been the target of right wing attacks. In 2011, she was referred to as a "typical street whore" and :ghetto Street trash" for wearing a shirt with a peace sign on it. http://www.womanistmusings.com/malia-called-typical-street-whore-at/. A few years in 2014, Elizabeth Lauten, a former communications director for congressmen for Tennessee state Rep. Stephen Lee Fincher bashed Malia and her younger sister, Sasha who were 16 and 13 at the time, for their outfits (both girls wore miniskirts at the event) and facial expressions at the annual turkey pardoning. Teenage girls wearing miniskirts! Never heard of such a thing! Imagine ! (sarcasm) . The fact is that the disrespectful comments attributed to Malia Obama questioning her intelligence, her looks, behavior etc... is a larger symptom of the pernicious level of poisonous racism that is still deeply embedded in various pockets of our nation. Right wing media and talk radio feed into such attitudes with their often gross and blatant misrepresentations and depictions of non-Whites, women, gays and lesbians, people of color, immigrants and other groups. Technology has afforded many bigots the opportunity to spew hate filled garbage behind the cloak of anonymity. The fact that right wing trolls, no doubt many of them adults, have/had no apprehension in taking to the internet directing their vile, unhinged and odious attacks toward a teenage girl is nothing short of abominable. Such people are perverse, menacing, immoral, amoral and are arguably suffering from a pitiful degree of racial hatred. They are a disgrace to the human race. Michelle Obama has been so blatantly derided by a segment of unhinged, arguably mentally disturbed critics that it is hardly news anymore. The good news is that Malia Obama and the first lady are undoubtedly strong enough to disregard such inflammatory commentary from their demented detractors. Both women are beautiful, poised, classy (as is the case with Sasha) women who embody far more beauty, class and intelligence than their pathetic minded critics ever will. Elwood Watson, Ph.D. is a professor of History, African American Studies and Gender Studies at East Tennessee State University. He is the co-author of the forthcoming book Violence Against Black Bodies (Routledge Press, 2016) A recent ruling by a federal judge that struck down certain provisions of Washington D.C.'s concealed carry law as "likely unconstitutional" in the case of Grace v. District of Columbia has spurred on a needed conversation on the topic of firearms rights for the private citizen. For legal context, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008 affirmed the Constitutional right of the private individual to own a firearm for use in legal self-defense in such federal enclaves as Washington D.C. This right was acknowledged to extend to state residents in the McDonald vs. Chicago decision of 2010, with the Court stating that legally owned and used handguns are viable for personal self-defense. Concurrent with the Heller and McDonald decisions, there has been a pattern of loosening concealed carry permitting restrictions in many states across the country. These permits allow citizens to carry a loaded firearm concealed on their person for the purposes of self-defense, and have become increasingly easy to obtain for the law-abiding citizen in recent years. Many states, such as Ohio, have modernized the training requirements for citizens to become lawfully armed, with the Buckeye State modifying the required training time from twelve hours down to eight and permitting hybrid training. Advertisement Other states, such as Arizona and West Virginia, have abolished all training or permitting requirements altogether, allowing citizens to carry a concealed firearm as long as they are legally allowed to possess it and are not in a prohibited area. Some states (and territories such as D.C.) have retained laws and related policy that make it a challenge for the average citizen to carry a handgun for self-defense. While no states remain that have a "no issue" policy (consistent with Heller and McDonald), many maintain a "may issue" policy, meaning that the applicant for a permit must prove a need for self-defense. "May issue" states such as New Jersey and Maryland restrict permitting to the extent that permits are very rarely held by private individuals. Washington, D.C. holds a similar restriction to its neighbor Maryland, requiring an applicant to prove an emergent need for a permit, such as having a job that requires transportation of cash or other valuables. Key to permitting requirements are each state's laws concerning the training needed to apply for a permit. There are five major camps on the issue. The first type are states such as Arizona, which have no required permit (sometimes called "Constitutional Carry") and thus there is no required training. The second type of state includes those which require a permit, but no training, such as Indiana and Georgia. The third type are states such as Virginia, Iowa, and Oregon, which allow the required training to be held entirely online, as long as certain requirements are met. The fourth type of states are those such as Ohio and several other states, which allow for hybrid training, meaning that a portion of it can be done online, leaving live range fire and other material to be completed in-person. The fifth type of the remaining states require entirely in-person courses, although most do not place restrictions on the content or quality of them. Advertisement The recent Grace decision by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon calls D.C.'s restrictive permitting policy into question, citing it as "likely unconstitutional," and paving the way for an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, on behalf of the nation's capital. At the core of the argument is the applicability of the Constitutional right to the private individual's ability to carry a firearm on his or her person while outside of their home, and if states have the right to provide significant restrictions that throttle back this right through restrictive permitting laws and policies. Central to the conversation are two primary notions. The first is the legality of a highly restrictive permitting policy, which will be fought out in the courts, assuming an appeal is granted. The second is one that private citizens will debate, namely the merits of firearms as defensive tools for the individual. Both will shape policy, as future court decisions shape interpretation of law, and voters elect representatives that echo their own sentiments on gun ownership and usage. News / National by Stephen Jakes The Movement for Democratic Change MDC has described the Zanu PF youth league organised million man march as a waste of time but acknowledged the party's constitutionally enshrined right to do so.Party's spokesperson Kurauone Chihwayi said however the march must be seen for what it is, a weak, directionless, pointless and desperate ploy to prop up their nonagenarian leader, President Mugabe who has led this country to ruins. He said the march is a waste of time and resources and should be dismissed with the contempt it deserves."It defies logic that a whole march would be dedicated to proving support for President Mugabe when the country is currently going through so many economic challenges. It is sad that the Zanu PF youth league allows itself to be used in this to promote a president who has failed them in every sense, preferring instead to use them as instruments of violence on his opponents," he said."It is unfortunate that the right to demonstrate is being vulgarised by Zanu PF. And just like the Grace rallies and war veterans indaba before it, the tax payer will be forced to pump up the costs for this worthless cause. The planned march will only bring misery to the people of Zimbabwe."He said Zanu PF would be better advised to use this march to give Zimbabweans answers to what happened to the 2.2 million jobs it promised; what government plans to do about the drought and hunger ravaging most parts of the country; the corruption cancer that is bleeding our economy dry and how on earth the soon to be introduced bond notes are going to improve the liquidity crisis."These should be matters for the youths to bring across instead of wasting time and resources promoting an individual like President Mugabe who for the last 36 years failed to prioritise the interests of ordinary Zimbabweans," he said."As MDC we simply cannot stand back while those most in need are ignored by a government that puts Zanu PF first and the people last every time." Workers watch as a truck unloads land at a ShanDong ZhongJiao Navigation Engineering Co. construction site as a new port is built near Boke, Guinea, on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015. Building the port only took about eight months and allowed China Hongqiao Group Ltd.s project to start shipping in July. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images The Western and African media have long fueled the myth that Chinese investors are buying up vast tracts of land across Africa as part of some neo-colonial plan to export food back to China. Sure, on one level, the theory appears plausible: China has around 20 percent of the world's population but only about 7 percent of the planet's arable land, so it seems obvious that Beijing might look abroad in search of farmland to feed its people. There's only one small problem. That premise, no matter how convincing it may sound, is just flat-out wrong. Advertisement Johns Hopkins University professor Deborah Brautigam detailed all of the reasons why this myth remains so durable in her 2015 book "Will Africa Feed China?" A lot of it, according to Brautigam, has to do with a mix of bad journalism, Western narratives of African victimization and the Chinese themselves who oversell their ambitions in Africans. Now, though, there's a twist to the story. Not only are the Chinese not on a land-buying spree in Africa, it appears they are actually doing more to support African agricultural development than any other country in the world. Professor Ian Scoones from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex recently completed a four-country research project into Chinese agricultural engagement in Africa and discovered that the combination of Chinese immigrant farmers in Africa, along with the deployment of Chinese agricultural technology and PRC government training programs that have brought some 10,000 African officials to China, have all had a remarkably positive impact on Africa's struggling agricultural sector. Professor Scoones joins Eric & Cobus -- in the podcast above -- to discuss why Chinese engagement in African agriculture is not what it seems. Babies' and kids' skin care products are big business. But what makes them different, and do we all need to be using products designed for our age group? US senator Lindsey Graham gestures during a press conference with members of his Congressional delegation on April 3, 2016 in the Egyptian capital Cairo. / AFP / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED (Photo credit should read MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/Getty Images) South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham (R), free from the partisan restraints of campaigning, has returned to his maverick ways in the Senate in pushing for clean energy solutions to climate change. Graham's effort last month to include a bipartisan "sense of Congress" amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill is reminiscent of 2009 when Mr. Graham teamed up with then Democratic Senator John Kerry to propose climate change legislation. In a New York Times opinion editorial they described the bill as "a framework for climate legislation to pass Congress and the blueprint for a clean-energy future that will revitalize our economy, protect current jobs and create new ones, safeguard our national security and reduce pollution." Advertisement Unfortunately, back then the wind was in their faces and the Senate's climate-science-denial caucus, backed by industry money and influence, won the day. While climate denial is still in full swing in the Senate, Graham and a growing coalition of moderate Republicans are heeding the public's demand for climate action and recognizing the political risk of continued obstruction. Mr. Graham's recent amendment was co-sponsored by four Senate Republicans (Kelly Ayotte, Susan Collins, Mark Kirk and Rob Portman) and five Senate Democrats (Sherrod Brown, Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, Brian Schatz and Sheldon Whitehouse). The amendment would have Congress asserting that "climate change is real", and "poses an increasing risk" to our citizens' health and the nation's "security, economy and infrastructure". It called on the United States to "be a world leader in addressing climate change" and put the responsibility on Congress "to take actions that reduce emissions and combat climate change" through policies that support "research and development to bolster clean energy technology." By pushing for clean energy solutions, this maverick is going with the wind, as in wind energy, not against it. While the amendment was not adopted, there is wide acceptance outside the U.S. Capitol for Mr. Graham's position. The business community is particularly concerned about the economic consequences of unrestrained climate change. The widely acclaimed 2014 report, "Risky Business: The economic risks of climate change in the United States", has provided a comprehensive analysis of the danger. Advertisement "The U.S. faces significant and diverse economic risks from climate change. The signature effects of human-induced climate change--rising seas, increased damage from storm surge, more frequent bouts of extreme heat--all have specific, measurable impacts on our nation's current assets and ongoing economic activity." Polling by the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) found that "87% of small business owners believe that consequences of climate change could harm their business in the future. Higher energy costs, power outages due to stress on the power grid, and severe storms top their list of concerns." And Mr. Graham certainly is attuned to the views of South Carolinians concerned about vulnerability to rising seas resulting from climate change. A Winthrop University poll found that 68 percent of South Carolinians living in coastal counties are very sure or somewhat sure sea-level rise is or will be happening. Only 15.4 percent said that sea levels were not rising or would never do so. Mr. Graham is correct in calling for Congress to take action to minimize the negative impacts of climate change brought about by human activity. Government standards are part of the answer to reducing carbon pollution, and the ASBC poll found that 64 percent of small businesses support government action to reduce carbon pollution from power plants. With Congress paralyzed by deep partisan disagreements, the Environmental Protection Agency used its authority under the Clean Air Act to move forward. EPA's Clean Power Plan sets the first-ever federal limits on carbon pollution from power plants and encourages the development of cleaner, safer sources of energy. With the Clean Power Plan being challenged in federal court, twenty-five business groups lead by ASBC and including the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce filed a friend of the court brief highlighting the economic benefits of taking action to reduce the carbon pollution that contributes to climate change. Advertisement Mr. Graham should see the Clean Power Plan as his amendment enacted and continue to work within his party at the national and state levels to move the country toward cleaner, safer energy. Clean energy is a business-friendly way to strengthen the American economy, reduce dangerous carbon pollution and address climate change. Senator Graham knows it. He has the wind at his back. Mr. Knapp is the co-chair of the American Sustainable Business Council and the president and CEO of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce. I had just graduated college. It was the summer of 2013, and I received my first job offer: the opportunity to teach English in China. Soon after I began celebrating my first "real-world" job, red flags started coming in. My program went silent for a month. I had no idea what city I would be teaching in and when I would be starting. No details, no e-mails, no phone calls. I got onto Skype to call their office in Shanghai, and after they found an English speaker to address my concerns, I was given a response: be patient. After waiting two and a half months, I finally received notice I was assigned to a private school in Shenzhen. Since the summer holiday was ending, I was left with 48 hours to receive my visa from the New York consulate and board a flight to Shanghai for orientation. Advertisement The one-week orientation was nothing more than a hodgepodge of poorly led seminars that barely prepared us to stand in front of a classroom. There were about 100 other English teachers in attendance, most of which were fresh college grads like myself. By the week's end, we got ready to fly off to our respective cities to start our year of teaching. Right as we are getting ready to leave, the program leaders told a handful of teachers there was a change of plans. Their assigned schools could no longer take them as teachers, so they would now be re-assigned to schools in a rural part of China. Rightfully so, these teachers were upset, angry and shocked. They flew across the world expecting to teach in one place, and now they were told they would be going somewhere vastly different. Luckily for me, I was not in this group. Myself and 15 other teachers flew down to Shenzhen and were greeted at the school gates with surprises of our own. An administrator told us our apartments were still being "professional cleaned," so in the meantime, we would be housed in student dorms. As she guided us to the dorms, I noticed piles of debris and garbage everywhere, which I later learned resulted from an explosion that had occurred on the campus earlier that month. Advertisement We arrived at the back of the school to see a row of wooden cabins. Inside each cabin were three pairs of bunk beds, two squatting toilets and a hose dangling over the toilets to shower. I don't think there was plumbing because the toilets wouldn't flush and reeked of... toilet. This was my new home. After setting our things down, the school hurried us to a "welcome lunch." In the cafeteria, they handed me two containers. One container had a cold pile of rice, and the other had overcooked vegetables alongside a puddle of oil with bits of bony meat. Just before I decided to taste the meal, they handed me chopsticks. I ripped open the chopstick wrapper to find mold lining the side of the chopsticks. When I saw the mold, I politely declined the meal, returned to my cabin and went to sleep. From then on, things continually got worse. The next morning, the administrators had us attend a meeting in their boardroom. We were told that before we started working at their school, we must agree to some new policies. They wanted us to work double the hours we agreed to and teach extra subjects besides English. For example, I was assigned to teach U.S. history without any proper curriculum. They handed me a 1,000-page textbook and said go teach. Mind you, my monthly salary was around $900, which is extremely low for foreigners in China. For the hours they wanted us to put in, it was completely unfair. Instead of expressing sympathy for our concerns, they responded with manipulation and scare tactics. The administrators warned us that if we were to leave, they would have their "connections" find and punish us. Advertisement Not only was the school going against our contract and making us work extra, but they now were threatening to harm us if we left their school. A bunch of us foreign teachers decided we had to come up with an escape plan. After we would teach during the day, we would head to a cafe, huddle around our laptops and desperately search for other teaching jobs around Asia. I was lucky to find another position that was looking to hire immediately in Shenzhen. Before I knew it, I was packing my bags and shipping across the city to move into a new school. At first, I was nervous and afraid that this was another program I couldn't trust. It took me a while to open up to Chinese culture again. Thankfully, they were wonderful to me and I had a fantastic year working with them. My biggest piece of advice for any foreigner coming to China is to have backups. No matter what program you go through, what flashy websites you read, and what promises they tell you, you never know what your situation is going to be until you arrive. Through this experience, I learned how to adapt, be resourceful, and stand up for myself. If I wasn't someone who sought hope during times of hardship, I'm not sure how I would have gathered the strength to get myself out of hole I found myself in. Advertisement I share this story not to scare anyone away from teaching abroad. My intention is to empower those who find themselves stuck in a difficult situation like my own. No matter what, there is always a way out. When getting into bed cues that ticker in your head. The Arianna Huffington + Furthermore Sleep Series knows that all good sleepers are alike; all bad sleepers are bad in their own way. When we asked you what your sleep issues were, you answered. Many of you said you couldn't shut your minds off at night. The day behind you or the one ahead plays in your head; you recount conversations and write to-do lists. For the first in our four-part series, we asked Arianna Huffington, author of The Sleep Revolution, and UCLA psychologist Jennifer Martin, M.D., for their take. Arianna Huffington Waking up in the middle of the night with thoughts crowding your mind is less likely to happen if you create a transition to sleep. I provide a menu of techniques in the book, but here is my own ritual, which I treat as sacrosanct. Thirty minutes before bed, I turn off all my electronic devices and gently escort them out of my bedroom. Then I take a hot bath with Epsom salts and a candle nearby--a bath I prolong if I'm feeling anxious or worried. I don't sleep in my workout clothes as I used to (think of the mixed message that sends to our brains), but in pajamas. Sometimes I drink a cup of chamomile or lavender tea, and my nightstand holds things that help me unwind like flowers, an analog alarm clock, physical books (poetry, philosophy, novels) that have nothing to do with work, and a picture of my daughters. Each stage helps shed more stubborn daytime worries. Advertisement One thing keeping us up is worrying about our never-completed to-do lists. I have a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson by my bed that begins: "Finish every day, and be done with it..." To do that, I think about advice given to me by Joey Hubbard, who directs our Thrive workshops. It's the "mind dump." Before bed, write down all the things you can think of that you need to do. This can empty your mind and reassure you that you don't need to remember your tasks through the night--your to-do list will be waiting for you in the morning. And when I'm really having trouble sleeping, or wake up with thoughts crowding my mind, I've found meditation to be a great remedy. Instead of stressing out about how I'm staying awake and fearing I'll be tired the next day, I prop a few extra pillows under me and reframe what's happening as a great opportunity to practice my meditation. If it's the middle of the night, I remind myself that's precisely when many avid meditation practitioners, like the Dalai Lama, wake up to get in two or three hours of meditation; this both takes the stress out of my wakefulness and adds an extra layer of gratitude to my practice. Just by reframing it from a problem to a blessing allows me to go deeper without a deadline or any distractions. I find that I both have some of my deepest meditation experiences and, inevitably, drift off to sleep at some point. Advertisement Jennifer Martin, M.D. While many of us wish we could flip a switch and turn off our thoughts, our brain does not have an on/off switch. Social psychology experiments have shown that trying to "suppress" thoughts makes them harder to avoid. This is most certainly true for thoughts that intrude on a peaceful night's sleep. Moreover, some people get "conditioned" to worry, ruminate, plan, think and engage their brains during the night. This association is not intentionally formed. It's the result of accidental learning. This is amplified if you try to avoid worries during the day by keeping yourself busy and distracted. After a while, lying in bed at night becomes the only time for major concerns to rise to the surface of awareness. The following three strategies, when used consistently, can help to quiet the noise in your mind and help you get to sleep: 1. Disengage from the day long before bedtime. Create a "buffer zone" of at least 15 minutes between the active day and restful night. Put away your technology and work, and prepare for sleep. Most people spend an hour or more preparing for their day - at least a fraction of that should be devoted to preparing for sleep. 2. Allow time to deal with what's on your mind before you get into bed at night. This is especially important during stressful periods of life. Also, avoid getting into the habit of doing serious thinking in bed. Otherwise, this will become a "conditioned response" that's hard to change. Advertisement 3. When your brain is too active for you to fall sleep, get up and do your thinking elsewhere. It's not necessary to jump out of bed after a specific number of minutes (otherwise, you might start to worry how many minutes have passed). However, if your mind is too active to let you sleep, get up for a while and do your thinking elsewhere until you feel ready to fall asleep. At that point, go back to bed. There is much at stake in this year's election for Americans and the global community. We are living in a time where US citizens are feeling particularly vulnerable and have a strong distrust of government. With Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as the frontrunners many are bracing themselves for the possibility of two very different outcomes. That said, college women - many who are voting for their first time - will be significantly impacted by the 2016 election. With women's issues continually under attack, female college students are facing a cold shoulder upon graduation. Whereas gendered rights have been political pawns throughout history, in 2016 we are taking steps backwards. Gains made are being eroded; the pay gap, lack of reproductive rights and health care, and no paid parental leave are among the many issues that threaten college women as they prepare to enter the workforce. This semester I had the privilege of teaching a gender studies class at Ursuline College, a Catholic women's focused institution. Although none of the students in the class attended a woman's focused college because they were seeking a particular type of education, all accredited such an education as having a strong impact on their understandings of the intersection of gender, race, and class. As a result, they have given serious consideration to the roles gender and intersectionality play in politics and their futures. Our conversations were powerful and brought to light the many fears they are facing at the end of their college careers. Advertisement When examining the issues, all students placed gendered issues in their top five concerns with the pay gap, violence against women - sexual assault in particular, and reproductive justice ranking high for each. According to Jamie Walmer, "When I graduate from college I am going to have to worry about my health and safety because a panel of white men took my rights away." Jessica Solomonova explained, "We are already spending so much time and money to get an education and it is scary that once I am out of college employers might not value the fact that I worked hard to get a degree just because I am a woman." Lauretta Amanor highlighted the intersectional nature of these issues stating, "Even though I might get a job I wont be able to move up in an organization the way that I want to because I am female and black." These young women had great concerns about sexual violence, particularly on college campuses where we continue to see high rates of rape. John Kasich's comments that college women should avoid parties where there is alcohol was viewed as highly problematic. For college women, it is critical to know that sexual assault on campus is an issue taken seriously by the White House. However, when discussed by some candidates, rape continues to be viewed as the woman's responsibility rather than a structural issue dictated by a patriarchal culture. They questioned, when will we teach men not to rape? Advertisement Immigration and marriage equality are also factors that are pressing for these young women, noting that the focus should be on honoring the full humanity of persons rather than attempting to exclude individuals because of bias. Oppression of any kind is not acceptable, and we must address these issues from a social justice perspective rather than intolerance. Having researched each of the candidates thoroughly, some students stated that it changed the way they would vote and all stated that they would be voting for a democrat believing that republican perspectives on women's issues are troublesome. Allison Sargent explained that she is far more focused on Clinton's candidacy believing she will do the most good for women; "I have really come to understand the ways that women are being impacted in the world when it comes to the pay gap, reproductive justice and so on." Amanor and Andrea Widmer both shared that they think that the Republican Party overall is problematic for gendered issues. According to Amanor, "The GOP is oppressive to women." Widmer agreed stating that "A GOP candidate would be like going backwards and eliminating all progress made thus far... it will add to the oppression that already exists and create roadblocks for feminist movements." Students overwhelmingly thought that a Trump presidency would be detrimental to them as women focused on building careers after college. Trump's treatment of women as demonstrated through videos swarming social media as well as Trump's flagrant attacks against immigrants, Muslims, and African Americans strongly influenced their positions. Cydney Bartlett said that she originally planned to vote for Ted Cruz, supported by her parents. However, after taking a careful look at Cruz's stances and comparing them against other candidates, Bartlett explained that she thought a Cruz presidency would also be damaging for her as a woman citing Cruz's positions on Planned Parenthood and parental leave. While a Cruz presidency is no longer viable, Bartlett has embraced a responsibility for using her vote to combat sexism in politics. Advertisement Elizabeth Warner explained that she has come to realize that "women are not as privileged as we think." Sargent added, "Not having a female perspective is a worldwide epidemic." While we must recognize the intersectional nature of politics and gendered issues, an examination of the ongoing patriarchal culture demonstrates that women continue to be at risk in the US and around the globe. As these young women prepare to graduate, they are taking seriously the ways our next president will impact their futures - their ability to find employment, earn equal pay for equal work, have appropriate health care, parental leave options, and to feel safe in a world where women are under attack because of their gender. Quality of life and just opportunities are at stake for these young women and the outcome in November will determine much of what they have to look forward to post-college. As Sarah Kiefer affirmed, "Courage is an attribute both women and men can cultivate. I want to be part of a society that celebrates and recognizes humanity, not one that encourages hate and disrespect." Last week a local religious leader asked my opinion of a blog post by Denny Burk, a professor of New Testament at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's Boyce College. Full disclosure: I happen to be an alumnus of that seminary, and like most alumni of my era, I'm embarrassed by the narrowly fundamentalist direction the school has taken. Applying his expertise in a nefarious way, Burk argues that when Jesus imagines judgment according to how we treat "the least of these" (Matthew 25:40, 46), he means not poor people in general but fellow Christians who face mistreatment when sharing their faith and pursuing the path of righteousness. By the time Burk's blog reached me, it was being used to argue against a Christian obligation to help the needy. I cannot say whether that is what Burk intended. He explicitly acknowledges that Christians should care for the poor. However, the overall gist of his post displaces the poor in favor of Christian culture warriors. That's how people took it, and that's wicked theology. Let's take a moment to unpack Burk's argument before we reflect on its larger significance. The literary context is the parable of the sheep and the goats, found only in Matthew 25:31-46. Burk argues correctly that in Matthew, when Jesus employs terms like "brothers," "sisters," "little ones," and "the least of these," he usually means his followers and not people in general. But Burk is devoted to the kind of wicked theology that twists Scripture in the service of the culture wars. Having briefly acknowledged that, "Yes, the Bible teaches about our obligation to care for the poor," he goes on to identify "the least of these" as being about... well, here's what he does: Advertisement [The parable is] about Christians getting the door slammed in their face while sharing the gospel with a neighbor. It's about the baker/florist/photographer who is being mistreated for bearing faithful witness to Christ. It's about disciples of Jesus having their heads cut off by Islamic radicals. By some sleight of hand we've moved from Christians suffering poverty and persecution - like martyred believers in contemporary Syria and Iraq - to the rejection of door-to-door missionaries and the expectation that Christian businesses not discriminate against the LGBT community. There's of course no warrant for elevating neighborhood evangelists and anti-gay entrepreneurs to the status of martyrs, apart from Burk's culture wars agenda. Of course, by now we've left the poor far behind. Not surprisingly, the right wing Acton Institute cited Burk's blog with approval and a small Twitter feud began. Somehow the blog reached my friend. Denny Burk is just one of many theologians and biblical scholars whose gospel is twisted by right wing politics. It's hard to find evidence that Burk cares much about the poor, at least not by searching his blog and his publications. He's far more interested in promoting the subordination of women to men, in attacking the LGBT community, and apparently in unpacking the doctrine of hell. He's written books on all those topics. Advertisement Let's be honest. All Christians interpret Scripture in conversation with their social and political commitments. I do too. However, it's a great perversion to twist Jesus' message into petty political resentment. It is especially wicked to twist Jesus' teachings to promote the social privilege of one's own group. Jesus rejected all claims to privilege, and his concern for the poor literally jumps off the page at any Bible reader. His support for business that discriminates against anyone, no matter how they live? Zero. How clear is Jesus about treatment of the poor? According to Luke, Jesus begins his ministry by describing it as good news for the poor and release to prisoners (4:18). He tells one parable about a rich man who neglects his poor neighbor and winds up in Hades (Luke 16:19-31). He criticizes the religious authorities of his day for impoverishing poor widows (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4). And let's look at Burk's argument. It's technically correct about the passage he's discussing. But Matthew's gospel also commands Jesus' followers to make no distinction between fellow disciples and others. "Love your enemies," remember (5:44)? It's Matthew's Jesus who wants his followers to give to every beggar they confront (5:42). Matthew includes the story of the would-be disciple who turns away when Jesus requires him to sell his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor, followed by Jesus' lament that it is extremely difficult for the rich to enter God's reign (19:21-24). Burk acknowledges an obligation to the poor, but he does not emphasize it. Jesus emphasized the poor. In contrast, Burk abandons the poor to score cheap political points. Burk also neglects the single most distinctive feature of Matthew's gospel: Matthew presents Jesus as a faithful interpreter of Israel's law. Jesus is entirely Jewish. He calls his followers to practice the law in its entirety (5:17-20), to become "perfect" or "complete" in following the law (5:48), and to exceed even the scribes and Pharisees in their observance of the law (23:2-3). Indeed, a primary criticism of the scribes and Pharisees is that they devote themselves to technicalities while neglecting "the weightier matters of the law" - namely, justice, mercy, and faithfulness (23:23). How better to characterize Burk's blog post than to say it pursues technicalities at the expense of justice? Jesus' Jewishness accounts for his vision of justice. Israel's law condemns the exploitation of laborers, provides for regular redistribution of property ownership, forbids exploitative lending, and requires setting aside resources for the poor and for sojourners. Israel's prophets cried out against religious observance that neglects the poor and condemned those who acquire luxury by exploiting powerless people. As reflected in the gospels, Jesus' social vision is entirely Jewish in these respects. Advertisement You hear wicked theology from time to time. I've had friends tell me the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30; see Luke 19:12-27) promotes capitalism. Of course, capitalism hadn't even been conceived of in Jesus' day, but that doesn't stop wicked theology. Wicked theology takes Jesus' saying, "The poor you always have with you," as a warrant to ignore the problem of poverty. I've even had a friend argue that since Jesus did not command governments to provide a social safety net, Christian citizens ought not support one. Let's think that one through: right-wingers take the Bible's silence on modern social welfare programs as evidence Christians should support limited government. These arguments are just a wicked twist on the gospel message, making mountains out of molehills and ignoring the whole. These are tough times to be a Republican. With Trump as the party's standard-bearer, key senate races are in jeopardy, the Supreme Court majority is hanging in the balance, and even the House could fall into Democratic hands. If Democrats take control of all three branches of government, voters will have dealt the GOP a knockout blow. You would think that in these troubled times the party would be regrouping, building on its core competencies -- effective economic management, a strong value system, and control of state legislatures across the country -- to put up their best defense come November. If the GOP can get its act together, it could maintain its control of the legislative branch and thereby protect the Supreme Court from an outright liberal being nominated. Donald Trump could even be president. But when we look at the news from this past week, it seems like the GOP is catalyzing its own demise. There are no headlines about new economic plans or tax policies, no legislation to revitalize beaten down communities, and certainly no pivot to appeal to independent voters. Advertisement No, there were three big issues that the GOP focused on this week: supporting a transgender discrimination law in North Carolina, opposing a federal LGBT anti-discrimination amendment, and supporting an Oklahoma anti-abortion law. Aside from the obvious ethical problems involved with supporting discriminatory laws, there's a practical insanity to focusing on these issues: independent voters - especially young people - tend to be socially liberal. 65 percent of millennials say they support comprehensive federal reform on the issue of LGBT rights. 15 percent of young people are neutral, leaving just 20% of millennials opposing reform. Immediately after the House struck down an amendment that would have barred discriminatory businesses from receiving federal contracts, a friend of ours, a Ted Cruz supporting Republican turned Clinton Democrat (yes, this species of voter is growing), wrote "Damn, House Republicans, back at it again with blocking common sense legislation... This is another reason why we need to flip the House in November." The transgender bathroom fight too, is a bit embarrassing. Sure, trying to ban transgender people from using their preferred bathrooms is red meat for the Republican base. In that sense, it might be politically expedient. But from the perspective of young voters, who tend to be most tolerant of people who identify as being transgender, it was distasteful. I'm no left-wing activist, but I could care less who uses my bathroom. And I have to think that a politician who would want to embarrass a transgender person just for the hell of it - because really, you've got to be kidding me if you think transgender people are any more dangerous than cisgendered people - are just plain mean. Advertisement Next is abortion, and this is a real doozy. This week, the GOP-led Oklahoma legislature literally banned abortion. Now this is interesting from the millennial perspective, because millennials have been called the most pro-life generation in America. They are the most likely voters to believe that abortion is morally wrong. But millennials are also the most likely generation to believe that abortion ought to available in their communities, favoring this position by a 2:1 margin. In our book When Millennials Rule (Post Hill Press, August 2016), we explain this divergence as a result of "radical realism," the philosophy we ascribe to millennial voters. Young people may not approve of abortion, but they're pragmatic, realizing that if abortion must happen, it should happen in a healthy, safe environment. But putting the millennial perspective aside for the moment, there's a bigger reason to be skeptical. The Supreme Court already decided this issue in Roe v. Wade. "This bill is as direct an assault on Roe v. Wade -- and the Supreme Court's subsequent jurisprudence -- as anything we've seen before. If this law is upheld, then (the Roe decision) is meaningless," Steve Vladeck, American University law professor told CNN. The GOP is at a crossroads. With millennial and Latino voters representing the fastest growing demographics in America, the party has the opportunity to broaden its base and revitalize its brand. But as long as it continues to harp on divisive social issues that unify these swing voters against it, Republican will relegate their party to political obscurity. Therefore, for Republicans basking in this week's votes, victory may be short lived. The voters of tomorrow are united. As they run for office and cast their ballots, the tides of justice will turn. Excerpted from the chapter "Silencing the Voices of Others -- with Jason Stanley," in I'm Right and You're an Idiot: The Toxic State of Public Discourse and How to Clean It Up. When I began thinking about pollution in the public square, the attack rhetoric and toxic public discourse that we hear coming from all sides, I wanted to know more about what was causing it and how to dial it down. Why? Because this kind of damaging debate leads to inaction and gridlock. If we could clean up the public square and make space for real conversations, maybe we could begin dealing with today's serious issues such as climate change. Having been in PR for 30 years, I know that lasting solutions to a communications challenge are found when we first examine the background causes of a problem and the obstacles to change. Jason Stanley is an expert in this area. A professor of philosophy and epistemology at Yale, he teaches courses on democracy and propaganda; but he also explores new ideas and techniques about mass deception that are directly related to pollution in the public square. One of these is something he calls "silencing." There are a number of rhetorical and linguistic tactics being used to silence people today, and he said one of the most blatant is the misappropriation of words such as "ethical" or "clean" in relation to oil and coal. In an article for the New York Times' Stone series, Stanley said that using what he called code words to win support has always been part of the arsenal of politics, but it is now widely used in the popular media. Advertisement When we talked, Stanley explained that making outlandish allegations, twisting meanings and making improbable statements have the same effect. This is not really about making substantive claims; these tactics are what he calls linguistic strategies for stealing the voices of others, silencing people. Making bizarre claims that President Obama is a secret Islamist agent, or was born in Kenya, painted the US President as grossly insincere. His voice was stolen, not by a legitimate objection to his platform or a logical argument, but by undermining the public's trust in him so that nothing he said could be taken at face value. Simply put, when Fox News carried a story charging Obama with being a secret Muslim it damaged everyone's sincerity, and any opportunity for reasoned debate evaporated. It's a simple tactic: When the public doesn't trust you and you can't rely on your own credibility to argue your viewpoint, when the public doesn't share your values or interests, when facts aren't on your side, why not attack and undermine your opponents' integrity while making them appear to have a vested interest? When no audience or viewer expects truth in the media, only bias, political candidates cannot be held responsible for lying. Stanley made the case that it becomes possible for everyone to lie with impunity; there is no downside to deceit. Every person has an "everyone's doing it" defense. People start to believe that no one is speaking authentically, that even scientists are massaging data to suit their ideological agendas. Advertisement Jason Stanley says this is an attack on objective speech. When scientists' facts aren't clear, when everyone is trying to either complicate issues unnecessarily or promote a political agenda, public dialogue becomes confused. People start to believe that "Climate scientists are just trying to get us to wear healthy clothing, or eat vegetarian food ... They are just trying to sway you, not inform you about what is going on." Stanley believes right wing media, such as Fox News, is not trying to communicate accurate, well-researched stories, but is intentionally scrambling information, broadcasting noise so that it becomes difficult to hear the truth. This insight came to him a few years ago, when he was watching Fox News and began thinking about its claim of being "fair and balanced," something he and his friends thought nobody believed, including Fox News. He decided that the right wing news media is not trying to deliver fair and balanced coverage of events or reportage of issues. Instead, the message of Rupert Murdoch's media corporations goes something like this: In a world where everyone is trying to manipulate everyone else for their own interests and where no one can believe anything they hear, there is no point in being fair, no possibility of balance. This results in a silencing of all news sources by suggesting everyone is grossly insincere. Stanley warned that democracy is in danger when we no longer expect truth or demand accountability from public figures, when there is no longer even a pretense of integrity. One early warning sign of this is when an institution is "having a problem" with facts, when the facts don't align with its interests and rivals may have more credibility. The climate change debate is rife with examples of this, Stanley told me. Public discourse has deteriorated to such an extent that the traditional debating model -- based on accuracy, evidence and proof -- isn't happening, so the typical fallback position is to tarnish another person's reputation. When it comes to climate change, for instance, the new technique is to first criticize the research and scholarship, then undermine and discredit scientists. How is this done? Rather than challenging facts, Stanley believes the general strategy is to co-opt vocabulary. Advertisement "It is difficult to have a reasoned debate about the costs and benefits of a policy when one side has seized control of the linguistic means to express all positive claims." This kind of dexterous management of language was brilliantly highlighted in the writings of George Orwell, whose Newspeak was designed by a one-party state to prevent freethinking. Stanley said the diaries of Polish-born journalist and comparative literature professor Victor Klemperer are another rich resource when detailing this kind of propaganda. Drawing on his experience in Germany from 1933 to 1945, the linguist recorded how propaganda changed the value of words. For instance "special treatment" became a euphemism for murder; "intensified interrogation" another name for torture and words such as "fanatical" were elevated to the rank of high praise. It is difficult to have a sensible debate about a policy's benefits versus costs when the policy is labeled "Operation Iraqi Freedom" or "tax relief." Co-opted language takes many forms, including oxymorons such as "clean coal" or "ethical oil." Stanley explained that seizing control of positive vocabulary makes naysayers appear to oppose something that is clearly beneficial. "It's possible to silence people by denying them access to the vocabulary to express their claims." Democracy only works if reasoned debate in the public square is possible. If everything is mislabeled, then conditions for deliberative democracy do not exist. If people are deluded into thinking there is such a thing as clean coal, or ethical oil, if their ability to apply correct facts is circumvented, and the credibility of experts is undercut, where is the basis for reasoned debate? It's like trying to design a building without a level. Stanley became concerned about the role of silencing in the public sphere through analyzing right wing media and its reliance on truthiness -- a word coined by satirist Stephen Colbert to describe the "feeling" of truth based on a gut reaction, rather than evidence or logic. Stanley explained when citizens have no access to reliable news they become suspicious and untrusting: "The effects of a belief in general gross insincerity are apparent in societies in which the state media delivers only propaganda. Citizens who grow up in a state where authorities deliver propaganda have no experience with trust." In such an authoritarian society, "The public's trust in public speech, whether by politicians or in the media, disintegrates to such a degree that it undermines the possibility of straightforward communication in the public sphere." Advertisement Stanley used the example of North Korea: "Clearly something is really wrong with discussion in the public sphere in North Korea." Democracy only worksif you have normal, reasoned debate...so you need to set the conditions where that's possible. We would hope that free speech guarantees the conditions for deliberative democracy, but if that is true: "How did we end up with public spaces in North America where nobody trusts what anyone says, and that look in certain aspects like North Korea -- even though we've got free speech? That's a real mystery." Cropped view of a prisoner in an orange jumpsuit standing in a prison cell with arms extended through the bars. Horizontal format. There are about 2.3 million people incarcerated in the United States of America. According to the NAACP, African Americans now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population. If you asked me why I went to jail, the easiest explanation would be to say, because 'I'm Black.' Unfortunately there isn't a simple answer to this question; Being that I never actually grew up in an impoverished community and the fact that I am the first person in my family to ever go to jail, the stereotypical urge to categorize my situation doesn't apply. No... Not the same way it would for the rest of my friends who have been incarcerated. The roots are much deeper and the answer is far more extensive. It's an answer I will be sharing for the first time today. I grew up in a middle class home, 15 minutes away from Washington D.C. in Glenn Dale, Maryland. My mother, Julia, a paralegal just shy of earning a master's degree, purchased our home with some financial help from my stepfather, Martin. The neighborhood bordered The Bowie (middle-class, African American city) and Glenarden (lower-class African American city) areas. My first year of high school, I attended Duval High, home of the Duval Tigers. It's located in one of most notorious neighborhoods in the Prince George's County, Maryland area. It's safe to say Duval was one of the worst schools in the county at the time. My days at Duval consisted of talking to girls, cutting class and looking for more girls to talk to. I always went for the girls that liked the bad guys. At Duval, the best way to fit in with the cool crowd was to act up. This mentality would throw me in a whirlwind of trouble for the next six years. Advertisement Three years and three different high schools later, I found myself behind a shatterproof window. Directly across from me was a Black male about the age of 20, eating a cold bologna and cheese sandwich exactly identical to the one I had in my hand. Next to him was what looked like a middle age, Hispanic man whose face was so battered I had trouble believing he could even see his sandwich and just assumed he was eating it based off his sense of feeling and judgement. As he began to taste the cheese, bread and processed meat made by inmates, I was getting my first taste of incarceration. The fact that I was only 17 in an adult prison proves the extent of what my charges could have been. In the state of Maryland, a minor only gets charged as an adult for the following: murder, rape and anything that involves being armed with a weapon. My charges in total carried over 80 plus years in prison. My bond/bail was $300,000. The only thing I could do was sit down and realize that all those years of trying hard to be cool had finally caught up to me. I was charged with armed robbery with no hopes of getting out. My days as a juvenile inmate consisted of breakfast at 4 a.m., educational program from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with lunch in between, dinner at 4 p.m., and the rest of the time in-between to mingle with other inmates, watch TV or stay in my cell and reflect. Weekends were less educational and were use for more TV or reflecting time, and Sundays were left for us to hone in on our spiritual sides. This was no place for a 17 year old developing mind, if you asked me. But if you asked the justice system, it was perfect. They would tell you I was right where I belonged, regardless of the fact that I was not yet convicted and could be completely innocent. Regardless of the fact that this was my first offense ever. Ignoring the fact that the weapon used, which was the only reason I was in an adult jail, was never found. There were 35 other juvenile inmates like me. We made up a small percentage of the nearly 2,000 inmates at the Prince George's County correctional facility. All of us had serious charges, orange jumpsuits and, at one point, a future. Advertisement My first visit in in 'the system' came to an end 6 months after going in when my lawyer convinced the judge to release me on private home detention. Months of prayers had been answered. During my stay, I had been practicing Christianity much more than when I was in the outside world. My plans and interest in education were at an all-time high for the first time, and I was eager to finish high school and move on to college. In 2010, I attended Prince George's Community College in hopes of transferring to The University of Maryland. My major was computer science, and the goal was to one day work as an I.T. I figured it was a good source of income and I had a slight interest in it due to a summer job prior at Tech U.S.A. A job that only God could tell you how I got it since I had been registered in the system as a felon. In October 2011, I was a full time student with a job working as barber, but all of a sudden, I was back behind bars. Without my knowledge, the woman running the private home detention company decided to violate me due to late payments. $350 dollars a month isn't the easiest to keep up with when you have $3,000 worth of restitution, $1000 of court fees and college tuition to pay. Nonetheless, that orange jumpsuit that I thought I'd never see again, became my uniform for another three months until my violation hearing transformed the orange into denim jeans and a blue shirt that read "D.O.C." D.O.C stands for Department of Correction. Translation: I had graduated from county jail to state prison and it became my home for the rest of my three year sentence (1 year). My questions are the following: Does it matter that I was Black and the victims were White? Even if being Black didn't directly put me in jail, did it put me in the position that landed me there? Or is money the issue? Doesn't being Black make me less likely to have money? If that's the case, then being Black is indeed why I was in jail, right? Is money the reason why there are so many inmates? I overheard a prison guard saying that private companies make a certain amount of money for each bed they fill. The inmates then work outside of the jail for $30 a month doing a job that could make up to $30 dollars an hour. Where does the rest of that money go? Do the taxes that we pay today go towards the inmates? If that's the case, I ask my question again: where does that rest of that $30 an hour go? Although we had our struggles, money wasn't the biggest source of my family's' problems, but my case wasn't the norm. What about the mass majority of black who do have that issue? I could ask three pages worth of questions... News / National by Staff Reporter In the first such tough move, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) which has received and dealt with reports of politicians who are politicising food aid will now take such culprits to court, the head of the Commission has said.Masvingo Mirror reported that ZHRC chairperson, Elasto Mugwadi told The Mirror that his organisation has already dealt with and resolved a case where a family was denied food aid in Manicaland because of its political affiliation.Mugwadi said this in an interview on the sidelines of a public meeting held in Mucheke in Masvingo recently. He said ZHRC was extremely concerned by the discriminatory nature of food aid allocation by some political heavy weights.This human right violation was taking place at a time when thousands of Zimbabweans were in dire need of food.Commissioner Mugwadi said the Commission was receiving reports of politicisation of food aid and has already dealt with one case of a family in a similar situation in Hauna in Manicaland.He said discrimination of people in food aid distribution along political lines was one of the serious violations of human rights prompted the Commission to embark on a nationwide campaign to make people aware of the Commission's work and hear grievances.Commissioner Mugwadi said politicians or any distributors of aid discriminating beneficiaries of food aid along political lines would from now on be taken to court.Politicisation of food in Masvingo is done openly despite President Mugabe's recent message that every Zimbabwean is entitled to food. In our issue last week, Zanu PF Chiredzi West MP, Darlington Chiwa openly says the maize that he was distributing in his constituency would not go through constitutionally elected MDC T councillors as the programme belongs to Zanu PF and this is despite the fact that all food aid is being distributed through councillors.Speaking at Mucheke Hall Commissioner Mugwadi said his commission has rolled out a nationwide campaign to familiarise all Zimbabwean citizens with the commission and enlighten people on what they should do whenever their rights are violated."The ZHRC which has two regional offices in Bulawayo and Harare is one of the independent commissions established by the State. Its functional role is to strongly guard against violation of human rights at all levels."We are mandated to take those who violate others' rights to courts. A total of 558 complaints of human rights abuses have so far been received by the commission through its human rights partners since 2014 when commissioners were appointed. Over 200 complaints were directly received by the commission. To date, 82% of these cases have been resolved either by way of writing petitions or lobbying the State," Mugwadi said.He said some of the heart-rending reports that the commission has so far received include the case of Bindura prisoners who were not being given clothing ,and the case of a family in Hauna area in Mutasa district which was denied relief food on grounds of political affiliation."We immediately intervened and both cases were resolved amicably," Mugwadi said.ZHRC was expecting a budget of US$7,5million for conducting human rights programmes this year, but only US$1,3 million was realised from the Government.Mugwadi told the Mirror that the Commission eventually sourced another US$1,4 million from international human rights partners which include the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Danish Government. If we want to ensure that the talent pipeline is robust and plentiful for a digital future, we need to invest in it now. We have a great opportunity for industry and academia to partner and inspire our youth to participate in innovation programs to solve local issues while teaching kids how to make a difference. While the business world and global economies are experiencing a digital revolution, so is education. Traditional educational models are being put the test. However, experiential education - dating back to the days of Aristotle and in modern history in the 1970s - is experiencing something of a renaissance, but within a new digital paradigm. What's old is new again. Taking young people out of the classroom and into real-world experiences and scenarios (or what's also known as project-based learning) is the cornerstone for preparing students for the future and enabling the dynamic and well-rounded talent pool our economy requires. Advertisement While learning outside of the traditional classroom setting isn't a new concept, experiential education has yet to be broadly embedded in the education curriculum, but has been treated as more of an "add-on," with a few exceptions. But it needs to be a core tenant of early education. These real-world, hands-on experiences can give young talent unparalleled insight into the world-of-work and future careers, help them develop job-related skills, and contribute to the welfare of their communities. At Cisco, we see investing in these young, bright, inquisitive minds as investing in our own future. It's really one-and-the-same. We recently hosted a hackathon event at a school in our Silicon Valley backyard, to demonstrate the hands-on approach to learning that we believe so strongly in. Cisco's Services Innovation Excellence Center collaborated with Bullis Charter School in Los Altos, Calif. to run an event called "Innovate Together" for students in grades 6-8. This event is part of a growing trend in education - experimenting with experiential learning models. Advertisement To see a video of the event, click here. Students were asked to develop an idea using Internet of Things technology that would have a positive impact on their community. More than 150 students participated, coming up with concepts ranging from an app to help parents control their children's "screen time," to an app that uses image recognition to determine if a consumer product was tested on animals. Research has found that experiential and project-based learning is linked to significant improvements in student test scores, attendance and classroom engagement as well as improved higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills, and speaks to a broader range of learners. In one study funded by the National Science Foundation, students in project-based physical science classes performed an average of 8 percent better on end-of-unit learning assessments than their peers in traditional classes. It's not just K-12 students who benefit from this approach; a 2014 study found that medical students' test scores increased when project-based learning was implemented. The Bullis students' ideas were judged on criteria including creativity/originality, magnitude of community impact, ease of use, incorporation of IoT technology, and presentation. The winning proposal was "The Sellery," which would distribute fresh salads through vending machines. The team won $250 to donate to the community charity of their choice. Through this project, the students not only learned about helping their communities but they also learned about leading technology applications in the IoT. From a broader perspective, these types of programs will ultimately help to close the current technology skills gap we face as a society. Advertisement What we witnessed from these bright young students was invaluable. We saw eyes light up at the idea that they could invent, create, build and make a difference in their own community. This partnership with Bullis Charter Schools is the kind of opportunity we must provide to our youth - the talent of the future. Our approach to experiential learning will continue to foster innovation, collaboration across business disciplines and industries, and create new pathways for future entrepreneurs. Well, it's all over except the crying. After a beguiling nomination process in the Republican and Democratic Party primaries, things are rapidly winding down. Team R has done the nearly unthinkable and nominated the orange-faced, anti-establishment, bigot extraordinaire, infamously thin skinned reality TV star, "Teflon" Don Trump to be their party's standard-bearer. An oft-failed businessman with exactly zero experience governing, and ostensibly zero understanding of some basic principles under which the US government functions. And Team D has done nearly the opposite, and is set to nominate a well-known establishment candidate with a lengthy resume governing, Hillary "The Inevitable" Clinton. Or "Crooked" Hillary and "Dangerous" Donald, if you ask them what to call each other. With a choice between the two least liked candidates in history, people on the Left and Right are feeling reluctant to vote for either. The #NeverTrump crew is frantically searching for an out by drafting someone for a third party run like Nebraskan Senator Ben Sasse, failed primary candidate John Kasich, failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney, or even Trump's fellow reality TV star and billionaire Mark Cuban. And the Left is typically disenfranchised, faced with the prospect of voting for proud moderate Hillary Clinton, a third party candidate, or abstaining entirely. To their credit, both Hillary and The Don are doing what they can to inspire people to vote against them. I've heard more than a few people say they feel forced to vote for Clinton to stop Trump, and I've heard the same about Clinton from people justifying a vote for Trump. If you asked either group, they'd probably tell you the other side is making the wrong choice, without noticing they've made the same one. Meanwhile, many of us are wondering if we can bring ourselves to vote for either major party candidate. Advertisement Ponder that choice too publicly, at least if you're on the Left, and you'll quickly learn such musing is forbidden by Democrats. In the presidential elections I've been eligible to vote in I've always voted for Democrats--or at least against Republicans. I'm done with that thoughtless charade this year, though. My weariness isn't new. In 2004 I didn't care at all for John Kerry, but after watching as George W. Bush lied to lure the country and some of my friends into fighting unnecessary war, I was happy to cast my first vote against him. In 2008 I was an early supporter of Barack Obama's. I argued for his candidacy with family at our caucus, which Obama narrowly won, sent his campaign money, volunteered a bit, and I was excited voting for him in 2008. That excitement only lasted a month or two after January 20, 2009. In 2012 I considered voting for Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, but in the end unenthusiastically voted for the lesser of the two evils. (Yes, I also voted in midterms). But in 2016 I'm evaluating my options with a candidness I haven't allowed myself in the past. That doesn't mean I won't vote for a Democrat, but it's looking less and less likely. So here we are, it's still spring and I'm already at the end of my rope talking about the fall election with Democratic Party diehards. In anticipation of continued pestering from the #UniteBlue crowd, and in the hopes it helps some other Lefties evaluate their choice for president, or prompts some partisans to ruminate on theirs, I'm going to lay out my thought process. Yes, thought process. In spite of what some dyed-in-the-wool Democrats suggest, you can apply a more thoughtful process to who you're voting for than: Are they the Democratic nominee? Advertisement WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE DEMOCRATS? "It is better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it," Eugene Debs. There are a number of things, more than I can discuss here, that Leftists might want to ponder before unreflectively voting for Hillary Clinton (the same could have been said if Bernie Sanders were the nominee). From an ideological standpoint my ideal candidate of the likely options on the ballot will be Jill Stein, or someone further Left like one of several socialist candidates. There's no question I agree with them on more issues than any potential Democratic nominee. Nobody owes a political party their vote. Political parties and elected representatives owe it to The People to earn our votes. This shouldn't be a controversial or foreign concept in a country that considers itself a democratic republic, yet in this age of hyper-partisan politics, it is. Speaking of hyper-partisan politics, let me be clear. This isn't a "Bernie or Bust" thing. That movement seems largely rooted in fandom for a candidate and fueled by a contentious primary. While I liked Bernie as far as Democratic candidates go, he never earned my full-fledged support, and any enthusiasm I had when he entered the race waned as it went on (he did get my caucus vote). First, he's no socialist. He's a New Deal Democratic capitalist who's shown no interest in democratizing control of the means of production. Second, he's failed to move past his old school class first point-of-view in a meaningful way. Time and again when he's in the limelight of a debate, a town hall, or an interview, Bernie finds his way back to discussing class no matter the issue that's been raised. When he does that on issues of race and/or gender it amounts to erasure. I have no interest in a revolution that doesn't embrace intersectionality. And no, it's not too much to ask any progressive leader to incorporate an advanced intersectional analysis into their approach. Third, he's no dove. Like Hillary, he'll continue the US drone program. He supports the wildly expensive and ineffective F-35. He talks about crushing and destroying ISIS; at times immediately after holding up a peace sign. Because you know the old hippie proverb: Peace, love, crush, and destroy. And, in spite of mastering some softer rhetoric on matters of Israel than Hillary, he still largely supports Israel's continued oppression of Palestinians. He's also only made passing reference to cutting the largesse of the defense budget, which currently consumes a whopping 54% of discretionary spending. And he's called for Edward Snowden to face trial. Sure, he voted against going to war in Iraq (both times), the Patriot Act (and its reauthorizations), but those are pretty obvious calls for any progressive to make. So he's not much more deserving of my vote than any other Democrat nominee. Advertisement The failures of late-stage capitalism necessitate big, bold ideas. And Leftists need to fight for them. The good news is there's a younger generation far less moored to party affiliation waiting to reward just such an effort. Democrats, both politicians and voters, tend to discuss the boundaries of what's possible in our current political milieu as though they're fixed. Rhetoric matters. Fighting for progressive values requires committing to the long game. The impacts from the Reagan Era go far beyond administrative accomplishments. Conservative wins reshaped the very basis of our dialogue on a variety of issues. Even today, in the face of the clear failures of trickledown economics and imperialist military pursuits, the Overton Window remains largely bound by those dynamics. As is almost always the case, Democrats aren't without blame. With Bill Clinton at the helm, the New Democrats embrace of Third Way politics helped cement those conservative wins in place. Leftists need to win the discourse back, not continue ceding to its current restrictions. The Democratic Party has shown no interest in this fight. And frankly, Democratic voters (including me) enable their fecklessness. Bernie, for what little it's worth given my aforementioned issues with him, is talking a decent game when it comes to his limited range of big ideas, and showing a willingness to fight for them. If nothing else, I hope that's the lesson politicians on the Left take from his campaign's surprising insurgent success. One of Hillary's central campaign counterpoints to Bernie's bolder calls to action has been the promise that she's "a progressive who gets things done." But I haven't heard her offer much in the way of concrete details as to how she'll do so in the face of the same GOP obstruction President Obama has had to confront. Given her position to the Right of Obama, it seems she means operating within the parameters of Reaganomics, neoconservative foreign policy, and GOP sabotage the Democratic Party has confined itself to for decades now. If getting things done means continued US imperialism abroad and capitulation to the fanaticism of the GOP at home, I'm not sure we should be rooting for things to get done. I could go on voicing my trepidations with Democrats, but I'll leave it here. The point is that not only are they imperfect, I have serious disagreements with how they've governed that clash with some of my core beliefs. That, to me, is worth more than enough to give some proper consideration as to whether they deserve my vote in November. DON'T WE HAVE TO PRIORITIZE BEATING THE EVIL GOP? For some people, it seems the only priority every four years is keeping the GOP out of the White House. That position might be rooted in fear, but it's not entirely unreasonable. Especially with Fuhrer Trump as the presumptive nominee. For me it's not so uncomplicated. Here are a few of the overarching concerns that will guide my choice of who to vote for, in no particular order... Forwarding progressive causes. Simply and broadly put, to me this means prioritizing human rights, the quality of people's lived-experiences now, and the lived-experiences of generations to come. This might include anything from ending US imperialism to combatting climate change. Fighting regressive causes and victories. This might include anything from keeping conservative ideologues off the Supreme Court to combatting the wars on the poor and women's bodily autonomy. Ending the two party system, or at least shifting its makeup. Building a progressive coalition that pulls the two major parties to the Left on national, state, and local levels. As you'll notice, some of these lead to potential conflict. Number one is a mixed bag. Number two compels me to help stop the election of a Republican, which might mean voting for the Democrat. And numbers three and four oblige me to do what I can to help build a progressive coalition outside of the limited paradigm of our current two parties. When the time comes to cast my ballot I'll need to balance the importance of each. Some of that balance will hinge on a few things that I have no way of knowing right now. SOME KNOWN UNKNOWNS Advertisement Then there's the question of whether my vote will have an impact on the outcome of the election. I live in Colorado, which is usually considered a swing state. But after going blue in the last two presidential elections it's moving more solidly into the Democratic column. If it's leaning that way again, or if it doesn't seem like the outcome of Colorado will impact the end result, I'll be more inclined to vote for a third party candidate. I hope progressives who aren't in swing states and those poor souls stuck in red states will strongly consider doing the same. No longer acquiescing to the lesser evil is integral to building electoral opposition capable of challenging the capitalist, patriarchal, and white supremacist power structures that dominate US politics. Since most states divvy up votes to the electoral college on a winner take all basis, progressives who live outside swing states can vote third party without any fear of increasing the odds of a Republican moving into the White House in January 2017. The foreboding possibility of a Trump presidency, combined with my state being close, might be enough to make me feel obliged to strategically vote for Hillary to help stop it. Trump's tiny little fingers are bad enough just having access to Twitter. Giving them access to nuclear launch keys could lead to a global disaster. And further empowering his supporters is dangerous ground to venture into. I'm sure this feeling is emphasized for me as a Jew who routinely faces the anti-Semitic ire of this crowd on social media, but I suspect Leftists can agree that it'd be a dreadfully precarious thing to embolden a group of nativist White Supremacists who feel increasingly marginalized in modern society. I also don't really buy Susan Sarandon's heightening of the contradictions argument that Trump would "bring the revolution immediately." Rather, his success is more likely to open the door to further democratically sanctioned authoritarianism. If preventing that means biting my tongue and voting for Hillary, then I might just have to do so. I'd really rather not, though. And a lot of the typical arguments as to why I should are far from bulletproof. SCRUTINIZING THE TYPICAL ARGUMENTS AGAINST VOTING THIRD PARTY It's a two party system and a third party won't win, so it's a waste of your vote. The absurdity of this non-sequitur becomes clear if we ask a simple question: Do our votes only matter if they're cast for the winner of the election? If that's the case, I should've voted for Dubya in 2004. It's true that US electoral politics have two major parties by design, and that without changes to how we tally votes and the Twelfth Amendment this will remain true. But there's nothing that says those two major parties have to be the Republicans and Democrats. As things currently stand, progressives often find ourselves reluctantly allying with business friendly centrists who control the Democratic Party. By building a progressive alternative those dynamics could shift, forcing centrists to reluctantly ally with progressives to halt GOP regression, instead of the other way around. Imagine if it wasn't that Leftists morally at-odds with voting for hawkish, corporatist, moderate Democrats were expected to bite our tongues and do so to forestall a GOP win, but that moderate Dems were expected to bite theirs and vote further Left to do so. That's not an unattainable reality, but we'll never get there if the bar set for trying is an immediate electoral victory. On top of that, if a third party like the Greens can attain five percent of the national vote it qualifies them for General Election Funding, which is an important and realistic goal. While the Green Party is imperfect (read, not socialist), it represents an actual Leftward challenge to US electoral politics. Check out the party's "Ten Key Values" here. If we wait until a third party can win a presidential election to start voting for them, we'll be waiting forever. At a certain point we need to be willing to vote with our feet and not wait for some progressive electoral bandwagon to hop on after the fight is over. One thing Bernie's insurgent success financing his campaign without corporate donors has shown, is the possibility of mounting such an effort from outside the two major parties. Ralph Nader gave us eight years of George W. Bush. This one drives me a little batty. Yes, Ralph took votes from Al Gore. But pinning Gore's loss on him misplaces the blame and scapegoats Leftists. This infighting only aids the Right. First and foremost, the millions of people who voted for George W. Bush are to blame for his presidency (not to mention the conservative machinery behind his rise, e.g. think tanks, talk radio, and Fox News). Next on the list of culpability is "Super Cereal" Al Gore, who lost Florida by a few hundred votes, yet failed to ask for a recount in the state, and was remarkable for his lackluster candidacy. A minor tweak here or a little extra effort there could've netted him the votes he needed to win. Somewhere down the line of fault you'll find Nader, and even further down you'll find his supporters. Yet, Nader et al. aren't just first on most Democrat's lists of who's responsible for Gore's loss in 2000, they often stand alone. Not to mention, the lesson from this debacle should have been for the Democratic Party to stop taking progressive voters for granted, not that progressives are to blame for the failures of centrism. It's not the fault of the Left that this lesson remains unlearned. Advertisement We can't risk the Supreme Court. This is an important, but overemphasized and sometimes shortsighted subject as people weigh their votes. Believing the ideological slant of the Court is the end-all and be-all before casting your ballot is a pretty narrow way to conceive of both presidential elections and the Court. For one thing, the US legal system fails to represent large swaths of the population regardless of who sits on its highest Court. It was designed that way. To make a real dent challenging that system of oppression we need to get going on tearing it down to prepare for a ground up restructuring. Putting all your electoral decision making eggs into the Supreme Court's basket is an unfortunately popular phenomenon. Leftists need to resist the temptation to ignore broader aims at the expense of narrow ones. Our goal should be to enact radical change across our legal system, not stack SCOTUS with centrists like Merrick Garland. Achieving those broader goals requires building a more widespread and formidable Leftist movement than a presidential campaign could ever offer. And while odds are good there will be at least one vacancy for the next president to fill, odds are even better the next administration will get to fill several. This begs the question: Can a Democrat win now and in 2020? Historic trends suggest that's unlikely, though demographic trends combined with the Republican's open embrace of bigotry might prove otherwise. But there's a case to be made that in the long-term Democrats are better off giving the GOP four years in the White House now. While I don't know if losing in the face of the preposterousness of a Donald Trump candidacy is even possible, there's a lot to be said for the necessity of prioritizing long-term wins over immediate gains. The ideological leaning of the Supreme Court is a serious concern, but Leftists can disagree about the best strategy for winning it over. One thing the obstruction of the GOP has demonstrated beyond the pale, is that whether we want to settle for the Merrick Garlands of the world, or fight for the next Notorious RBG, winning control of the Senate is integral to making either feasible. This emphasizes the need for a filibuster proof Left-leaning majority in the Senate. Since that's unlikely to happen in 2016, the most likely route is through sweeping wins in 2020. No incumbent president is likely to rouse the support needed to carry the Democrats to such victories. This is sure to raise some eyebrows, but people who prioritize the ideological slant of the Supreme Court might, counterintuitively, want to root against a Democrat winning in 2016. On top of that, 2020 is a census year, upping its stakes significantly. It's not hard to imagine Paul Ryan coming in and taking the White House for the GOP after a third term with a Democrat at the helm. The Democrats aren't perfect, but they're the lesser evil. This argument is so ubiquitous I doubt most people making it even bother to consider its veracity. I didn't for a long time. It's often countered by people who contend that the two major parties are the same, which is also an intellectually dishonest construal. The two aren't the same. The GOP's unwillingness to govern, rampant anti-intellectualism, rejection of science, and embrace of extremism and outright bigotry has seen to that. But the R's and D's share at least one key similarity: They're both parties of the Ruling Class. While one party denies climate change, the other pays it lip service while failing to act on it in a way that might have much impact beyond fattening the checkbooks of "green" businesses. While one party denies xenophobia or racism exist, the other publicly denounces them, while simultaneously deporting record numbers of undocumented immigrants and supporting policies that have been detrimental to Black people and/or People of Color. While one party openly panders to banks and wealthy elites, the other quietly supports their extraction of wealth and undue influence while passing toothless reforms to hold up as trophies to their base. The lesser evil argument is annoying, played out, and couched in fear, but there's an emotional appeal to it that's tempting to submit to. Even with the juxtaposition above the Democrats seem to qualify as the lesser evil, albeit slightly. The question worth asking, is if there's more merit to the case that the overt nature of GOP repression fuels Leftist opposition, while the friendlier face of Democratic Despots goes unnoticed and unchecked by either the Left or Right. Combine this with the Democrats failure to even attempt to advance truly progressive ideas in the face of GOP obstruction, and what seems like the lesser evil might actually be the more insidious of the two. And, consequently, not really the lesser evil at all. I'm increasingly swayed by that argument, especially in terms of the longer arc of progress. At the very least, we might take from this complexity that the only real lesser evil is working outside electoral politics. It's also important to recognize that choosing who we vote for on the basis of who's the lesser evil allows the continued creep of the Greater Evil. At some point, progressives need to break up with the Democratic Party. Advertisement Which brings me to the final argument used to browbeat Leftists into submission that I'll discuss here... Choosing not to vote or voting third party are positions reserved for the privileged. This argument is less common, but I've seen versions of it pop up from time to time. The basic premise is that anyone who'd consider doing anything that might aid the GOP--even indirectly--is doing so because their privilege shields them from the ill effects of a GOP administration. This is important for those of us with various privileges to reflect on. But let me pose an alternative theory. Maybe what's rooted in privilege is taking the comfortable route, and sticking with the devil you know, instead of seeking out an alliance sans devil. Maybe what's rooted in privilege is for those of us who benefit from the status quo to continue voting for it. Maybe what's rooted in privilege is for us to limit our push for progress to an establishment capitalist political party that can only be considered progressive in contrast to the wild rightwing zealotry of Republicans. A party whose horse only rides high relative to the depths of its reactionary counterpart. If you believe our system needs a revolution to rectify the racial, gender, economic, and other injustices that exist as a direct result of its structure, then the Democrats aren't the party that will help make that happen. It's a sad reality that a compromise including cuts to major social welfare programs might be more likely under a Clinton administration than a Trump one. It's no secret that the establishment GOP's primary grievances with Trump aren't his nativism, racism, misogyny, xenophobia, Islamophobia, or general bigotry, but his lack of interest cutting Social Security and Medicare. AND SO... I initially planned to wait to write this as an explainer of who I chose to vote for after I'd decided. I'm glad I didn't. Laying out my priorities, my reasoning, and what I'm considering has been enormously helpful and led me to places I didn't anticipate. As I started this writing I was reluctantly leaning toward voting for the Democrat as I have in the past. Now, as I come to the end I remain uncommitted, but if I had to cast my vote today it'd be for a third party. I have too many moral hang ups with the Democrats, and after allowing myself the chance to openly reflect on the logic of continuing to give them my vote in the face of the common arguments about SCOTUS, lesser evils, wasted votes, and Nader, I came away unconvinced. For too long I accepted those arguments prima facie, and even made them. Now, having examined them, I can say that for me, they struggle to hold up to scrutiny. Advertisement Building an alternative to the Democrats is never going to happen if we wait for an instantly electorally viable alternative. Radical change has always been hard fought and requires keeping an eye on the long game. Which brings me back to the most important point of all: Electoral politics need to be seen as a tool to help achieve our goals, not the goal itself. If we want to see fundamental changes to our capitalist, white supremacist, patriarchal society, like abolishing prisons, disarming the police and military, battling climate change, reparations, the recognition of the rights of indigenous people the world over, student loan debt forgiveness, publicly funded access for everyone at public colleges and universities, homes for all the unhoused, an end to poverty, wars, drug prohibition, and hunger, then we need to organize amongst ourselves and fight, not elect politicians to do so on our behalf. As a quote attributed to Howard Zinn aptly puts it: "What matters most is not who is sitting in the White House, but "who is sitting in"--and who is marching outside the White House, pushing for change." I don't want my discussion here to leave the impression presidential politics is where I think we should focus our energy. I do want it to act as a reminder that there's more to picking a candidate than the oversimplified arguments regularly made by partisans during the election season. Hopefully explaining my thought process will help other people on the Left consider their choice, and maybe even get some True Blue Democrats to at least take the time to consider that they have a choice. It's also not like there aren't compelling strategic reasons to vote for Hillary. A vote against the GOP has been a vote against racism, classism, xenophobia, sexism, Islamophobia, and other intersections of oppression for some time now. But that's especially true this go-round. While partisans do their best to hype up the other candidate as the Bogeyman every election year, Trump truly represents a frightening blend of ignorance, hate, and authoritarianism. On top of that, his proto-fascist base of support amongst Angry White Men is a dangerous beast to feed. Hillary is eminently qualified for the job in terms of experience governing. She's malleable to prevailing trends--which means she's susceptible to the influence of activists pushing her in the right direction, Left. And electing our first woman president is long overdue and a big deal. None of that changes my fundamental ideological disagreements with her, but they are silver linings relative to Trump. And at the end of the day, assuming things continue as they are, either Donnie "Little Fingers" Trump or Hillary "The Inevitable" Clinton are going to be sworn into office next January. There are a multitude of ways to view the coming presidential election from the Left based on individual priorities, beliefs, experiences, estimations, and predictions. I understand why a lot of people will vote for one of the two major party candidates no matter what. I do. And I don't think it's my place to tell them their choice is right or wrong. The same should be true for people who come to another conclusion and abstain from voting or vote for a third party. The problem isn't who people on the Left choose to vote for, or those who choose not to vote. The problem is those whose political engagement is limited to voting or not. The problem is a system that intentionally fosters ignorance, stifles political engagement, and disenfranchises voters and non-voters alike. The problem is a political party, with the full backing of cultural apparatuses like Fox News, ultraconservative think tanks, and talk radio dominated by cranks, that spent decades espousing racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, ableism, xenophobia, and paranoid jingoism to appeal to the basest instincts of its voters. And the problem is a political party, that represents wealthy elites, corporations, and Wall Street, bombs civilians in other countries regularly, and at times its own citizens, all while it feigns progressivism. America has always associated happiness with the acquisition of wealth. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the declaration of independence, his original intention when he wrote "the pursuit of happiness," was to express the "pursuit of property." In the last few decades this pursuit of property has been unattainable for the majority of Americans as the gap between rich and poor increases exponentially. The American dream is failing. No longer can many young people realistically envision having more wealth than his or her parents. Democracy and industrial capitalism closely mirror our instinctual egoistical desire to attain more without considering the benefit of the whole system. This is why the greatness of America in the mind of a patriotic person is the result of his or her ability to pursue individual prosperity and comfort. However, when this American dream becomes difficult or unrealistic to attain, what grows is an angry populace that has lost faith in the very systems that once brought its nation fortune to the likes of which the world had never seen. Advertisement This lack of faith is loudly expressed in the upcoming presidential elections, where candidates who appeal to the emotions of voters have captured the imaginations of the public. Donald Trump's slogan of "Make America Great Again," is appealing directly to this desire. He won the Republican nomination on a platform of xenophobia, the personal freedom to be politically incorrect and the need to run America like a business that wins negotiations with foreign powers and stops wasting money it doesn't have like a sieve. He is essentially trying to use the ego to recreate the past American system, a desire in the voters to return to a nostalgic version of America where great prosperity waits around the corner, which is patently impossible. On the other side of the coin, Bernie Sanders wants to create a new economic model that curtails America's huge economic disparity and provides free college and single payer healthcare like Scandinavia. Though it would be near impossible for any of these promises to be fulfilled in a single presidential term when questions like, "Where will the money come from and how could these proposals pass without a huge congressional majority" loom, these revolutionary ideas are gaining widespread support from a population that has lost faith in its leaders. If in the most likely scenario, Hillary receives the democratic nomination it will not be because of her insider status and extensive experience, it will be because she can convince the country that she too wants to change the failing systems, that she is the only person who understands the process of making these changes and that the big banks donating money to her campaign won't affect her policy decisions. What people fail to understand is that this desire to shake things up in American life comes from a spiritual lack that cannot be solved politically. When politicians and private individuals are all driven by their egoistical desires, greed will always persevere above the best interests of the majority. Even if Bernie Sanders were able to create a more socialist framework for American life, it would ultimately fail, because it would still be born out of a collective egoistical desire for free things, not a truly revolutionary shift in human consciousness. It would be recognition that it is too hard to attain personal wealth on one's own instead of a change in human desires. Socialism without a change in consciousness will never work, because it expressly goes against the ego, which strives to attain more to the detriment of others. The world needs to recognize that the force of the ego that is responsible for all of human development has become a cancerous cyst on humanity and nature. Advertisement We must recognize that our self-interest has created a world crisis in all spheres of existence, be it economic, environmental, educational, or social. Look at the rainforest and the polar ice caps and we can see the environment is literally destroying itself. These ecological phenomena all begin with humanity, the ego-driven dominant species of the planet that works in opposition to the system of nature where everything serves a purpose in the life of everything else, where everything works for the betterment of the entire world. The only choice we have is to redefine how we measure success in our world. We have to strive to repair our world over our individual desires and this is only possible if we make a decision to connect with each other specifically for this purpose. We need to care for the whole above even our own interests. We need to shift humanity from egoists to altruists, but before we can achieve this we need to recognize our nature. Precisely because of our current egoistic nature we don't understand a single thing about reality. Like the politicians running for president, until we recognize the sickness of our ego and connect with each other to overcome it, we are only grasping at straws. Without a desire to work above our egos and a method to attain true connection, we will be unable to repair the world from its state of crisis. At the North American Kabbalah Convention taking place this weekend in Newark, New Jersey (May 19th-22nd), one thousand fellow Kabbalah students will unite expressly for this purpose, as tens of thousands connect around the world on the internet around our common desire. From our humble beginnings we believe we are taking a giant leap towards a revolution in human perception. By making great efforts to mirror nature and work above our egos, according to the wisdom of Kabbalah, we can create a new reality above the limits of our five senses. We will awaken a pure connection that can gradually serve as an example for the entire world. We will unconsciously influence the rest of the world. While we understand many people may find this pronouncement naive, all great revolutions begin with naive idealism. Was it not idealistic when a small group of Americans sat in a room and decided to pronounce themselves independent of the most powerful monarchy in the world on July 4th, 1776? Atasehir, the city's new business and residential district in the Asian side, is pictured from a helicopter in Istanbul, Turkey March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo Humanitarian crises increasingly play out in urban settings: some 85 percent of the 21 countries that have received the most humanitarian aid in the last three years have some of the highest global urbanization rates. While urban conflict can cause high levels of morbidity and can decimate basic services, urban settings can also offer hope and opportunity in crisis situations. The majority of internally displaced people and refugees seek sanctuary in towns and cities whose populations, institutions and infrastructure provide opportunities in the form of work, schooling and basic services. Humanitarian response in urban settings will look very different to traditional rural operations, but the humanitarian system not yet fully come to terms with this new reality. We need to 'Think Urban' if we want to prevent, prepare and respond better to humanitarian crises now and in the future. In his report "One Humanity: Shared Responsibility" the Secretary-General called for leaders across the spectrum to work differently to end need'. This is what the Global Alliance for Urban Crises, to be launched at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, intends to do. Bringing together over 30 organizations including local governments, humanitarian, development, and urban professionals its global ambition to better serve victims and survivors in towns and cities undergoing humanitarian crises. Advertisement Urbanization, and its intersection with climate change, conflict and displacement, challenges our usual ways of working. Urban areas are characterized by high-density, heterogeneous communities. In contrast to rural areas, urban inhabitants are more mobile and their social, political, economic and institutional environment is more complex, as is their built environment. Urban inhabitants are also reliant on a range of interconnected systems and infrastructure to support their daily lives and livelihoods, such as road networks, public transport, water, sanitation, and markets, and most important; local governance institutions. Humanitarian agencies have traditionally responded to floods, famines and refugee movements in remote rural areas and are still at the nascent stage of realizing that the traditional focus on counting the needs of affected families and translating those into aid packages to be delivered, does not work well in urban areas. Humanitarians must work as much as possible with local governments and ensure that these and other local actors - civil society, the judiciary, the private sector - have central roles in crisis response. Humanitarian agencies should concentrate on restoring or bolstering existing city systems, rather than creating parallel services or providing short-term, unsustainable solutions such as water trucking to meet the needs of affected populations. Maintaining electricity supply, collecting garbage, increasing and diversifying housing solutions are often critical interventions that prevent further worsening of crisis conditions and can help to reduce needs and build stability. The focus on shifting to delivering cash rather than goods across the humanitarian sector is a step in the right direction in urban response, but needs to be accompanied with measures to get local business back up and running where they have been severely disrupted. Advertisement Getting the humanitarian response right is one key task, while strengthening urban resilience is another. Urban areas across the globe are becoming more prone to risk as a result of a number of factors, including poor planning, rapid population growth and climate change. Many of the world's fastest growing cities are in fragile settings, where their growth is fuelled by displacement due to climate change conflict, or opportunistic development patterns. These towns and cities are often characterized by poor governance and planning, weak rule of law and a low economic base. Juba, the capital of South-Sudan, doubled in size in the five years following the end of the civil war in 2005. In such a setting, a holistic response approach which brings together humanitarian and development solutions is needed. One of the key opportunities that urban response brings is the ability to provide immediate humanitarian relief while also strengthening urban resilience. Crisis response offers concrete opportunities to put towns and cities on a more resilient and sustainable urban growth trajectory by for instance, incorporating urban planning approaches or 'build back better' solutions into decision-making from the get-go. The need for better urban solutions is critical, particularly as the world faces the largest displaced population since following the Second World War, most of these people seeking haven in towns and cities. Given displacement will inevitably be protracted and can even last several generations, communities hosting displaced people can experience the fallout from the increased pressure on, and competition for, scarce basic services, housing and jobs. This can create social tensions. Addressing this must be fully integrated into any urban response, including humanitarian and development operations as well as urban growth strategies. Serving the urban displaced and their host communities is as much a development issue as it is a humanitarian challenge. At the World Humanitarian Summit, we will launch the Global Alliance for Urban Crises, which represents the start of larger, global movement, mobilizing the necessary forces to make a difference at scale. The Alliance will call for support to a number of core commitments. Among these include an Urban Crisis Charter, which aims to mobilise all groups committed to work together to enable urban societies to prepare for, cope with and recover more quickly from the effects of humanitarian crises; and an Action Agenda, that aims to develop medium-term innovative approaches that better address the complexity of urban crisis management. Advertisement As Bernie Sanders is peaking in the Democratic Nomination process many pundits claim it is too late for him to be the nominee of the Democratic Party in terms of delegates. While holding a large delegate lead, Hillary Clinton will arrive in Philadelphia an injured candidate. Mysteriously changing voter registrations in caucuses and closed primaries shade the wins she has achieved. FBI investigations into her email servers and clamoring about her quid pro quos to Goldman Sachs drag her credibility into the mud. The fact Barack Obama beat her about the head with her Iraq War Vote in 2008 is the perfect game plan for the GOP to employ in 2016. There are just too many negatives on the Clinton side that will allow the GOP to destroy her in the general election. In a dangerous game of rock, paper, scissors each remaining candidate beats only one of their opponents and loses to the other. Bernie beats Donald Trump in a general. Hillary beats Bernie in a smaller Democratic Primary. Donald Trump beats Hillary in a General. Advertisement To those who say that Sanders has not been vetted properly because the word "Socialist" has been banned in many lexicons, keep something in mind; FDR ran on essentially the same agenda. The Constitution was changed after he died in office during his 4th term. This country has always been ready for someone who will use fairness or honesty as a conduit to power. Kennedy, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and Obama all were outsiders when running for their first terms. All were knocked on the lack of foreign policy experience as some sort of minus. Sanders is no different. But this campaign cycle is. The Democratic Party has sold its soul to Wall Street, Insurance, Fracking and the host of lobbyists who make up the Clinton Wall of Super Delegates. They block Sanders' arrival to the White House. There is another path. In August, after the Democratic Party nomination is the Green Party nomination in Houston. There is an outlet for the millions of disaffected Democrats and Independents. The question is would Jill Stein, the perennial leader of The Green Party, open the party's door to these millions and their energies. Advertisement The Green Party can play power politics and dismantle the Democratic structure right now. Make an offer to Sanders of their nomination if shunned by the Democratic Party provided a baseline number of new voters arrive in the party with him. Want to talk about the Art of the Deal? The Greens have and small car without a top-flight driver. Bernie has proven to be a skillful driver soon to be without a car. The Greens would gain numbers and credibility instantly. In the 2012 cycle the Green Party garnered less than 500,000 votes. If the Green party cuts a deal to increase its footprint by putting a new voter threshold for Sanders at 3 million, it would drive the Democrats up the wall, as the number of votes Ralph Nader received in 2000 was about 2.8 million. Bernie does not even have to respond to the offer publicly. Walking out of a crucible of the Democratic Convention that has been rigged against him, interest in such a campaign would be compelling. Imagine the close of the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia where protests by those yearning for Sanders are beaten back by police state tactics. If Debbie Wasserman Schultz was worried about what happened in Vegas staying in Vegas there is a real possibility she may push the local security forces in Philly to go overboard in quashing dissent. The ham-handedness of everything Democratic this year could easily sway 3 million of the disaffected to swap parties in a week. Just in time for Houston. A Green Party convention concluding with Sanders' Army marching onto the field would easily eclipse the 15% threshold required by the Presidential Debate Commission to put him on a debate stage to duke it out on an even playing field against both Clinton and Trump. Advertisement As is often the case, at least when it comes to love, William Shakespeare said it best: When my love swears that she is made of truth, I do believe her though I know she lies *** Therefore I lie with her and she with me, And in our faults by lies we flatter'd be - Sonnet 138 Put into modern day, how do you answer your loved one when she asks: Do I look fat in these pants? Yes -- Shakespeare (and perhaps experience) tells us that a "little white lie" may not be so bad! But what about in the professional world? Is withholding the full truth really a virtue? ******* A friend -- a notable physician and scientist -- and I once discussed, debated really, whether unbridled candor was appropriate when speaking to patients/clients in our respective professions. We both abide by our legal and ethical obligations, that is not the issue. Perhaps it is more one of "style." He bemoaned that when I tell clients the "God's honest truth" (my phrase), I wasn't giving them the necessary ingredient of hope. Advertisement He told me, as one of his field's world class specialists, that he aspired to always give his patient hope, even if he knew that the patient's illness would invariably prove fatal. Put aside, if one can, the value of a patient's hope in their recovery (reassured, confident patients may in fact fare better) -- I wondered if, facing the dread disease he was called upon to treat, I myself would want a physician who communicated as part physician and part Oprah. Some patients, after all, do want their doctor's "God's honest," and, if they do, deserve to receive it unvarnished. So if a physician knows, for example, that in 98 percent of instances the disease will prove to be fatal within two years -- putting aside the customary: "remember, the science is advancing every day" -- isn't the treating doctor obliged to tell the patient who asks for "my chances" the God's honest, without sugar-coating? In other words, without hope? And isn't the criminal attorney likewise obliged when it's his turn at bat? Mustn't he tell the client facing the death penalty that he fully expects a sentence of death, when such is his professional judgment? Or should he communicate "hopefulness" to a client who lacks the mental and emotional fortitude to instruct his lawyer to "give it to me straight." In the case of the professional, it is of course true that bedside manner may be critical, although if too much hope is given, it may lead the patient or client to see the professional as a liar whose assurances are not necessarily worthy of acceptance. Hope given by a doctor or a lawyer is not the same as the confidence given when one's religious leader preaches that sins confessed in the name of God "guarantee" safe passage through the pearly gates. One, I suppose, might accept a priest's "guarantee" -- forgive my skepticism, but is it truly a guarantee? -- with genuine hopefulness or even religious fervor. Let's face it, those who believe will believe in the power of the confessional, but belief in religious leaders is simply not the same as belief in one's lawyers and doctors. Advertisement The real problem with giving too much hope is that clients and patients -- no matter how knowledgeable and how sophisticated -- are limited, to some degree, as to how much "truth" they can hear and absorb. Yes, patients and clients can look things up on the internet, join chat rooms, hear others' horror stories. But if they are wont to do so, they will find dozens of reasons why their situation is different from their internet comrades. Whether in the medical world or the criminal realm, their lives or their freedom may well be at stake. And, if patients and clients are accorded too much hope, they may put too much trust in that hope, and be gravely unprepared when let down. I can't presume to know whether my friend's offer of hope or my perhaps brutal honesty is the right answer, if there is such a thing. I suspect "right" is dependent upon the patient or the client at that moment in time, even though our ability to assess whether the patient or client wants it straight or laced with some degree of hope may not be so easy. But don't we hire our professionals because -- whether tempered or not -- we need an objective, honest assessment of where we stand? And we need that assessment -- that reality check, if you will -- regardless of whether we actually want to hear what we are being told. When I set out to document election fraud ten years ago by traveling around Ohio with a video camera, I knew I had my work cut out for me. The suggestion that the presidential election, in America of all places, could be stolen earned you an incredulous look, if not laughter in your face. And this was from Democrats. Even when we released the resulting documentary, FREE FOR ALL!, most of the media wouldn't even acknowledge these concerns, let alone give credence to wild theories that political leaders might not be that honest. A lot can happen in ten years. Now Democrats seem to readily accept any theory of election theft offered. Now the media follows voter suppression like the new electoral horserace, from following Voter ID laws that make it harder to vote, to upholding the myth of in-person voting fraud. I've been following the news closely for more signs of voter disenfranchisement in this primary, so I was alarmed to see this headline come out the night of the Kentucky primary: "31 Kentucky Counties Report Election Fraud." Advertisement Wow! Already proven election fraud? In so many counties? I knew there were serious doubts about the last gubernatorial election in Kentucky, but this seemed major. I saw that the headline was on a blog, so I was skeptical that this wasn't paranoia posted as fact. But no, it was from the local news, WSAZ, even the same headline. (The headline has since been changed, but you can see the original title of the article in the URL) The Kentucky Attorney General's election hotline received 76 calls, about a range of voter concerns: A voting machine question, a couple of procedural questions, a concern about an election official, confusion with an absentee ballot, someone electioneering within 100 feet of polls. These were ordinary election day issues, far from election fraud. In fact, having done my share of Election Protection work, this sounds like a pretty quiet day. I remember on Election Day in Kentucky 2006, there was a fistfight at a polling location, but for curiously non-partisan reasons: a poll worker told a voter they had to vote for the judges, but the voter didn't want to because they didn't know anything about the judges on the ballot (usually the case), yet still the poll worker was adamant about completing the ballot, and it came to blows. In Cleveland on Election Day 2012, a disagreement outside a polling place between two people resulted in an election monitor approaching to resolve the dispute, but BITING one of the people on the face before running away, ultimately getting arrested. This was the person there to resolve disputes. Still, even face-biting isn't election fraud. Advertisement Getting terms right and being accurate while making charges of election-meddling matter. In 2006, I had to accumulate copious proof to show people that it happens. In 2016, that standard of proof still matters, even if it is a notion we can now discuss. Right now, Baltimore is reviewing its most recent election after state officials decertified the primary results amid striking irregularities, such as a thousand more votes cast than voters who checked in at the polls. It is that kind of statistical deviation that is an alarm. While much has been made of trusting exit polls lately, the reality is, the veracity of exit polls in U.S. elections has been greatly diminished since the 2004 election, when exit polls showed John Kerry beating George W. Bush in Ohio and other states, only to see those states go to Bush. Despite the mountains of voter suppression and evidence of manipulation that would pile up about the 2004 election, pundits and journalists joked long after about exit polls' unreliability, diminishing the credibility of such polling in the mainstream media and in the minds of voters. In FREE FOR ALL!, we show how divergent exit polling was an indicator in the 2004 election, and we also show how reporters were quick to blame exit polls for being wrong immediately after, including Dan Rather. Exit polling results used to be reported while the polls were still open, but that practice was discontinued so as to not dissuade people from voting if they thought their candidate would lose or was safe. Similarly, at some point since 2004, the folks that conduct exit polling stopped trying to keep their own count of votes as an indicator, and focused more on how different population trends voted. Now, exit polling firm Edison Research makes no claims about trying to approximate the vote count in its research--you can read their explanation on their website. I would prefer to know that there is a "back-up" headcount going on at polling places, like a canary in a coal mine, to give a heads-up when something seems foul. But these are news organizations paying for this, an atrophying industry, which is why exit polls aren't even done in all the states. Our voting system, like it or not, is still the best way we have to count everybody. Advertisement That's one of the reasons I want to continue the movement to Video The Vote. Ten years ago, myself and fellow organizers tried out this new website that had launched called YouTube.com, which allowed one to upload video files free of charge for other people to watch on the internet. Shooting video at that time involved a non-HD video camera recording onto a small DV tape, perhaps a memory stick, and then capturing that video on a computer to upload it to YouTube where it would be viewable, in a couple of hours. [To some people, reading that last paragraph might seem like what it took to make wax and dip candles so that settlers could see indoors at night with candlelight.] A lot can happen in ten years. Today, we have mobile apps in our pockets that broadcast live worldwide in HD with geo-tagging and a cloud backup. Instead of watching social media to find out what is happening at the polls, we can go to our polling places and report for ourselves what is going on there. You can see FREE FOR ALL! now for free until the end of May, at SaveOurElections.org. This documentary shows what voter suppression looked like in Ohio, and how Video The Vote came together to document these issues. You can also sign up to help Video The Vote in 2016, because ultimately we need to be able to show others that these problems exist, and the people we need to convince to make reforms aren't just going to take our word for it. Nine out of 10 newsmakers endorse this news test. Find out why by taking our latest Week to Week News Quiz. Here are some random but real hints: He was holding down the fort; we're only saying' you're doing fine; they thought he was a straight-shooter; and Texans are born that way. Answers are below the quiz. 1. Why was Vice President Joe Biden briefly placed in seclusion on Friday? a. He held a secret meeting with Saudi Arabia's ambassador regarding that country's threat to pull its investments out of the United States b. He was in the White House when a gunman was shot outside by the Secret Service c. It was the only place he could get any sleep during construction work at his home d. He was found wandering the halls of the vice presidential mansion, muttering incoherently Advertisement 2. Last weekend, a feud erupted between Senator Sanders' supporters and Democratic officials over the conduct of Sanders supporters where? a. California b. Nevada state party convention c. Massachusetts d. The House Democratic caucus 3. What state's legislature just voted to make performing an abortion a felony? a. New York b. Arizona c. Georgia d. Oklahoma 4. Legendary CBS newsman Morley Safer died this week at the age of 84. Which one of the following is not true? a. He was inspired to become a foreign correspondent by Ernest Hemingway's writing b. He was the only Western correspondent in East Berlin when the Berlin Wall started going up c. In an exchange with President Nixon, he was asked "Are you running for something?" and Safer shot back, "No, sir, Mr. President. Are you?" d. Safer died just eight days after announcing his retirement from 60 Minutes 5. What did Glenn Beck call "affirmative action for conservatives"? a. A meeting of conservatives with Facebook's CEO b. Donald Trump's list of prospective Supreme Court nominees c. Donald Trump's list of prospective vice presidential picks d. Baylor University's new affirmative action program for conservatives Advertisement 6. What endorsement did Donald Trump pick up on Friday? a. Bnai Brith International b. The National Rifle Association c. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan d. Conservative commentator Glenn Beck 7. What state's GOP lawmakers are considering directing their federal representatives to file impeachment charges against Barack Obama over his transgender policies? a. Oklahoma b. Texas c. North Carolina d. Oregon 8. What city replaced its police chief on Thursday following another shooting death at the hands of police officers? a. Chicago b. San Francisco c. Los Angeles d. Washington, D.C. 9. On Friday, what record was set by Rajasthan, India? a. Communal violence between Hindu nationalists and Muslims entered its fifth straight month b. The city entered the Guinness Book of World Records for creating the world's longest pizza (1.9 miles long) c. Temperatures reached a record 123.8 degrees d. It ranked number-one on CNN's World Happiness Index 10. What did Germany achieve last Sunday? a. It got almost 100 percent of its energy for the day from renewable sources of power, such as solar and wind b. It ranked number-one on CNN's World Happiness Index c. Its streets were rated as the "cleanest and best-designed" by the United Nations d. It became the first European Union nation to officially pull out of the latest recession Advertisement BONUS. Due to a grammatical error in the Texas Republican Party's platform, what does it now declare? a. Guns have legal personhood b. Homosexual behavior is ordained by God and the majority of Texans are gay c. Texas law must be based upon sharia law d. The right to fly the Dixie Chicks flag shall not be abridged ANSWERS 1. b. 2. b. 3. d. 4. c (that was actually an exchange between Nixon and Dan Rather). 5. a. 6. b. 7. a. 8. b. 9. c. 10. a. BONUS. b (as Talking Points Memo put it, "Either Texas Republicans think that gay people's behavior 'has been ordained by God' or they desperately need a copy editor"). Want the live news quiz experience? Join us Wednesday, June 20 in downtown San Francisco for our next live (and lively) Week to Week political roundtable with a news quiz and a social hour at The Commonwealth Club of California. A majority-Muslim country invites ten Jewish Millennials from New York to attend an interfaith conference. At a time of cynicism and division, it sounds implausible, but it happened to us. The country of Kosovo, nestled in the Balkans, is becoming an international leader in interfaith dialogue and collaboration. I first attended the annual Interfaith Kosovo conference three years ago. In between sessions, I walked down the streets of Peja, a smaller city in the countryside, and decided to don a yarmulke. To my amazement, I was greeted with handshakes, overtures, welcome, and kindness. People would follow me down the street smiling, waving, and asking if I was Israeli. When I told them I was American, they were even more effusive, seeking to shake my hand and thank me. Last year, I went back to the conference (this time in Kosovo's capital of Pristina) with a group of five Millennial leaders from Tribe, an organization that engages young Jewish professionals in New York and is a collaborative project of Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, New Jersey and Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York City. They had a remarkable, eye-opening experience. Never before had these rising leaders, all in their twenties, represented both their country and their religious tradition in such an international forum. Never before had they seen such nuance in interfaith engagement. Our group was received with open arms, and Acting Foreign Minister (then Deputy Foreign Minister) Petrit Selimi went out of his way to share his wisdom - and even attend a Shabbat gathering - with our group. Advertisement This year, Interfaith Kosovo went a step further, providing for ten young Jewish leaders from Tribe to take part in the gathering. Beyond our gratitude for this generosity, we will be heading to the conference with a new focus in mind: Jewish-Muslim engagement in the United States. Given the hospitality we experienced before (and will no doubt receive again); given the longstanding connection Kosovo has had to the Jewish community, especially at challenging times; given that Muslim-Jewish relations in the United States are so often defined by the Middle East and the conflict; given that we need a new story and frame of reference for our work, we want to learn what Kosovo has done right, which we can bring back to the United States for our own efforts to improve inter-communal collaboration. Imagine that: a country that just a couple of decades ago was wracked by conflict has become a beacon and guide in a truly fraught area of interfaith collaboration. Kosovo is a "newborn" country that is rising to the occasion and defining itself for the better. Advertisement The Millennial Generation in the United States is rising before our eyes, entering the workforce, forming important voting blocs, and driving disruptive innovation and social change. Yet Muslim-Jewish collaboration remains elusive, even within large swaths of this generation's leaders from both religious communities. Though ten open-minded (and wide-eyed) Jewish professionals and a rabbi going to Kosovo cannot possibly change the dynamics between two great American religious communities, they can help us begin to reframe, reshape, and redirect the story towards a more hopeful arc and follow words with action. diplomacy - Diplomacy - DIPLOMACY: the three different ways of writing this word illustrate three different ways in which diplomacy is perceived today. diplomacy - written in lower-case letters - reflects our daily experience. At home, at work, and on the street, we deal with conflicts through negotiations, engagement, and ultimately, compromise. In addition, we represent our family, our communities, and our companies. We often speak on behalf of others. This is what diplomacy is about. Most people would not use the term 'diplomacy' to describe these activities. Yet, these activities are at the core of diplomacy. Diplomacy - with a capital 'D' - is a profession and a system of representation for states. This is how diplomacy is seen in the news. It is about negotiations and international treaties, among other elements. Traditionally, Diplomacy is performed by diplomats and international officials working in embassies, ministries of foreign affairs, and international organizations. A lot has been written about Diplomacy; and you can read more about it on Diplo's website. DIPLOMACY - fully written in upper-case letters - is how diplomacy is often perceived by the general public. This is the diplomacy of flags, receptions, black limousines, and protocol. DIPLOMACY looks glamorous and aristocratic. This perception can be traced back to the history of diplomacy, when it was a profession reserved for aristocrats. The practice of Diplomacy has changed significantly since the times of aristocracy. It has become just another, though highly important, profession; yet, the perception of Diplomacy has been changing more slowly than its reality. DIPLOMACY, seen mainly as an elitist profession, is still deeply ingrained in the public perception. For example, in an attempt to increase standing, hundreds of hotels worldwide are named 'Diplomat' or 'Ambassador'. Most likely, you have one of them in your city. The title 'Ambassador' is used by representatives of companies, charities, and other organisations and still carries a certain prestige. But, paradoxically, it is difficult to find streets named after prominent national diplomats in capitals worldwide. Advertisement While DIPLOMACY as an abstract concept is attractive and luring, the applied diplomacy of reaching peace through compromise usually falls short in the historical competition with military victory and national bravery. An awareness of these three perceptions of diplomacy is important now, at a time when we need to use diplomacy more than ever before. In the digitally-driven world, interdependence requires diplomatic solutions. They lie more in persuasion and engagement than in military might, as we can see from the latest diplomatic breakthroughs (Iran Nuke, Cuba, and Kosovo, to name a few). We need to negotiate more than ever before - be it in the family or in global politics. Local communities and companies are starting to develop their diplomatic capacities. Traditional diplomacy (with a capital 'D') has to adjust to profound changes in the modern world. Diplomats no longer have a monopoly in managing relations with foreign entities. Many more actors are now involved in the conduct of diplomacy. Diplomats have to engage with 'diplomats' representing cities and local municipalities, civil society, and the business sector. Finally, the public has to learn to perceive diplomacy as its own tool. Diplomacy should no longer be a distant realm reserved for the few. As a way of solving conflicts while respecting others, diplomacy is becoming a vital element of modern society. News / National by Staff reporter It was as student at the University of Fort Hare that he first became aware of the evils of colonialism and the need to fight against it, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said on Friday.He also again warned against countries thinking they can run "our affairs", vowing that a regime change in Zimbabwe will "never come".Sharing stories of his time at the institution at its centenary celebrations, he said he discovered his African identity during his time at Fort Hare in the early 1950's."It was during my days at this university that I became aware of the evils of colonialism... this galvanised our commitment to fight against all forms of oppression," he said."I personally regard this institution as the cradle of anti-colonialism. Here I was academically born. Here I was transformed and here I discovered my African identity and African personality."'Change will never come'Mugabe spoke of a time when he and several other student activists boycotted a scheduled event to honour an apartheid government governor."While we were having supper, [late activist and politician] Joe Matthews whispered in our ears that who is coming is the embodiment of apartheid... we said let's boycott because he was carrying in his mind and body apartheid," he told the crowd.Mugabe said there would be no equality in Africa until there was economic equality. He said students were impatient and they would make changes.Mugabe arrived at the celebrations walking hand in hand with President Jacob Zuma. He was greeted by loud applause and ululation from the crowds in attendance. He said Africans were still trying to continue to prove they can run their own affairs."You get countries like France that think they can run our affairs. America has been quite open, they say they can change regimes and in Zimbabwe they say they will change. I say never. That is why I am still here, because regime change will never come," he said. Before I lived here, I shared the stereotype that many Americans have of San Francisco, that it is run by pushover liberals. Lo and behold, I have come to learn this stereotype is wrong. San Francisco is run by Dirty Harry, enabled by ambitious liberals who care more about the next office they can attain than the people of San Francisco. Abundant evidence makes it clear that it is currently impossible in San Francisco to call 911 and have peace of mind that the officers who respond will be free of racial bias and ethical. Advertisement To be fair, many, perhaps most, SFPD officers are fine, but there is an overarching cultural problem with SFPD that allows bad officers to act without accountability. As a San Francisco citizen, voter, taxpayer, homeowner, small business owner, mother and daughter, I find this situation unacceptable. In all the other places I have lived- even New York City with NYPD's challenges- I have never felt that I could not have confidence in the police. Despite NYPD's many instances of brutality, a popular movement to remove its Chief has not taken root in New York City. This is because the tremendous power of NYPD is held in check by civilian oversight. I served in the Giuliani and Bloomberg administrations as Director of Internal Review and Assistant General Counsel of a City agency, among other roles, and observed how civilian oversight functions closely. San Francisco has been my home since 2012 and I love it. Advertisement I was blissfully unaware of the problems of SFPD until December 2nd, 2015, when a young man I mentor posted a video of SFPD executing Mario Woods firing squad style on my Facebook. It looked like a scene from the Spanish Civil War only it took place right here in San Francisco six months ago. I attended a vigil for Mario on December 3rd, 2015 and soon became active in the Justice4Mario Woods Coalition. Since then I have spoken with Mayor Ed Lee personally twice, and testified at Police Commission meetings, Board of Supervisors meetings, US Department of Justice listening sessions, and Blue Ribbon Panel hearings. I have learned that under Chief Greg Suhr's tenure, SFPD has killed 21 people, at least four of which involved a very rapid escalation and/or excessive use of force: Alex Nieto (shot 59 times, police opened fire within 2 minutes of arriving on scene), Amilcar Perez Lopez (shot 6 times in the back), Mario Woods (shot 20 times), and Luis Gongora Demetrio Pat (shot 7 times, police opened fire within 22 seconds of arriving on scene). Advertisement Police unions throughout California have tremendous political power that has resulted in legal protection in addition to union protection. A jury decided 59 bullets was not excessive use of force in Alex Nieto. The officers who killed Mario in December returned to work in January. I have observed closely how the San Francisco Police Officers Association (SF POA), the union of police officers, holds power in San Francisco, unchecked by Mayor Ed Lee, the Board of Supervisors, the San Francisco Police Commission, California State Attorney General Kamala Harris, nor US Attorney General Loretta Lynch (presumably influenced by US Representative Nancy Pelosi and US Senator Dianne Feinstein, former Mayor of San Francisco and resident). They all rubberstamp Chief Suhr, who is beholden to the SF POA, despite the tremendous work of the Justice4Mario Woods Coalition, Justice4 Alex Nieto Coalition, Justice4 Amilcar Perez Lopez Coalition and the #Frisco5 hunger strikers presenting overwhelming evidence that Chief Suhr is responsible for SFPD's culture that is harming the people of San Francisco. Supervisors Jane Kim, John Avalos, David Campos and Eric Mar had the good sense on May 12 2016 to call for a search for Chief Suhr's replacement. Rumors abound that Chief Suhr is planning to retire in August 2016 anyway because his new wife will vest his pension benefits then. But to send Chief Suhr off with a party and a gold watch would send the wrong signal to SF POA. Presumably electeds and appointeds stand by Chief Suhr because to remove him would be an admission of liability in current litigation against SFPD that would increase the likelihood of plaintiffs prevailing and higher awards. Advertisement But I ask, what has more value, human life or money? More life will be lost unless SFPD changes its culture. And all citizens should be able to call 911 with confidence. To change the culture of SFPD, Chief Suhr must be removed and a new leader appointed who knows how to run a modern, accountable police department, is not beholden to SF POA, and has the full force of the Federal government supporting his or her accountability agenda. We also need a new Inspector General who continuously audits SFPD. Why Does San Francisco Need a New Police Chief? Recently I published San Francisco Needs A New Police Chief detailing the reasons why Chief Greg Suhr is no longer the right person to lead SFPD. Every day since, new developments made it clearer than ever why San Francisco needs a new Police Chief NOW, the first of many steps needed to make the rogue, racist, violent SFPD accountable to the people of San Francisco. On Friday May 6, 2016 to make it seem that SFPD acts quickly to discipline officers for racism in light of the 2016 racist text scandal, SFPD issued a press release that said that in February 2016, a member of SFPD had been reported by two other members and was being disciplined for using "inappropriate language" that "had sexual and racial undertones. In line with Department policy and the Not on My Watch initiative, the "witness" members reported the conduct. An investigation was initiated immediately and the involved member was disarmed and reassigned to a nonpublic contact position as the investigation moved forward." Advertisement Sounds good, right? Officers doing what they are supposed to do and SFPD acting on it. The reaction this announcement provoked says everything about what is wrong with SFPD culture. On Saturday May 7, 2016 former SF POA President Gary Delagnes expressed his views on this matter on Facebook: I recommend reading the comments on Delagnes post, which are highly instructive. Among them: According to his security firm's website, Gary Delagnes has the full endorsement of Chief Greg Suhr (as well as Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom): On Monday May 9, the Blue Ribbon Panel appointed by District Attorney George Gascon to investigate SFPD racism in light of the 2014 texting scandal held its final hearing. In 2014 a federal investigation of SFPD fraud uncovered racist text messages exchanged by officers. These messages were reported to Internal Affairs, however, because the federal investigation was going on, Internal Affairs did not investigate the racist texts at the time. The officers who were not implicated in the fraud investigation were allowed to keep their jobs because the statute of limitations ran out before the texts were investigated. Because racially biased officers can be barred from testifying in court, the DA needs to know the extent of racism at SFPD and appointed the Blue Ribbon Panel of retired judges to find out. The judges in turn recruited pro bono lawyers from the finest law firms in San Francisco to investigate every aspect of SFPD operations, including Hiring; Background Investigations; Training, Use-of-force and Officer-Involved Shooting Investigations; and Internal Affairs. The pro bono lawyers found that in every aspect, SFPD demonstrates racism, is not transparent and lacks accountability. There is no oversight nor auditing of its functions in any meaningful way. That means that the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, and Police Commission all are failing to provide oversight of SFPD, the job we elected them and pay them to do (Police Commission is appointed and not paid). Advertisement Here is a summary of some of the lawyers' findings, the final report will be issued by the judges in a few weeks: Culture o Officers disagree about whether there's a culture of bias (which in and of itself, means there is a biased culture) o The POA and SFPD are viewed as the same Hiring o Hiring and promotions are highly discretionary, leading to high potential for bias and favoritism o Background investigations of recruits are conducted by retired SFPD officers without any clear procedures Internal discipline o There is no transparency in the disciplinary process o There is no tracking of disciplinary outcomes o Disciplinary guidelines are outdated External Oversight o No entity regularly audits the SFPD o In the wake of the texting scandal, no oversight body attempted to determine whether there was systemic bias within the department o Office of Citizen Complaints rarely result in disciplinary consequences, and when they do, the discipline imposed is almost always mild o San Francisco is not as transparent about officer discipline as it could be, even after accounting for state law restrictions On May 10, in response to the report, Mayor Lee announced a $17.5 million package to change the culture of SFPD, including introducing tasers. If Mayor Lee thinks he can address the culture of SFPD with money and no leadership change, he does not know enough about organizational culture to run a major city. As leadership guru Peter Drucker famously recognized, "culture eats strategy for lunch." That same day Mayor Lee attended the Board of Supervisors meeting where he was peppered with questions he couldn't answer about SFPD and reiterated his stance that he stands by Chief Suhr. Advertisement On May 11, four of the 11 supervisors announced that they are supporting the launch of a national search for Chief Suhr's replacement. On May 18, a new story broke of an SFPD officer who blew the whistle on police misconduct and alleges she was forced into early retirement. http://www.ktvu.com/news/142775743-story That same evening a group of UCSF doctors shut down the meeting of the San Francisco Police Commission, demanding that they discuss SFPD's killings as a public health crisis in San Francisco. As I went to press with this post, at 10 am this morning, May 19, another SFPD shooting occurred. The victim is in critical condition. How can this mess be fixed? June 2, 2016 will be six months since SFPD executed Mario Woods. No one has been held accountable and until last week with the announcement by the four Supervisors, not one public official has acted boldly to change SFPD culture. Advertisement Meanwhile discontent with SFPD, particularly but not exclusively in communities of color, grows stronger by the day. Tepid appeasements are not going to satisfy the community. Mayor Ed Lee or the San Francisco Police Commission needs to appoint an interim Chief as soon as possible while a national search is conducted for a new Police Chief. The community needs to be involved in defining the criteria for and selecting the new Chief. Criteria should include extensive experience with: building trust with community 21st century policing procedures holding an entire department accountable The new Chief must pledge to train SFPD to adhere to President Obama's 21st Century Policing Task Force Report and follow all its recommendations. Attorney General Loretta Lynch needs to suspend the COPS collaborative review of SFPD and instead send the USDOJ Civil Right Division to conduct a pattern and practice investigation to reorganize SFPD under consent decree. The current review of SFPD will result in recommendations that local oversight will have to enforce. That is clearly part of the problem. We need a federal judge to ensure that the changes recommended by USDOJ actually occur. The SF Police Commission needs to implement a clear, easy to follow Use of Force policy with community input, pledge to discipline officers who violate the new policy, and not adopt tasers. Part of the problem is SF's Use of Force policy was adopted in 1995. A few things have changed since then. Advertisement The SF Police Commission needs to flex its muscle and remove officers identified by the community, the interim and new Chief and the US DOJ Civil Rights Division as resistant to a culture of courtesy, professionalism and respect. This is crucial so that all the good officers can do their jobs. The Board of Supervisors needs to create an Office of Inspector General of SFPD, modeled on the office in NYC, to continuously audit and analyze SFPD and make recommendations. We need accurate, impartial data to make good decisions. As a former Member of the Colorado House of Representatives from Aurora, it was my distinct honor to accompany Colorado's Speaker of the House, Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, onto the floor for the 2016 General Assembly Opening Day in January. And she made her priorities very clear in her Opening Day speech: "Ideologues and opportunists will try to impose their views on the woman who isn't ready to have a family. They will try to rob her of the choice to make her own private medical decisions. We will defeat these ideologues and opportunists." And we did. Every bill in the 2016 Colorado General Assembly that didn't reflect our Colorado values and our shared belief in women making their own private, personal medical decisions was defeated. It's proof that having women lead, as we did with Speaker Hullinghorst, House Majority Leader Crisanta Duran, and Senate Democratic Leader Lucia Guzman, matters. Here in Colorado, unlike in Congress, we actually have women legislators voting on women's health care. Every Democrat on the House Health Committee, all seven of them, were women. So thanks to women's leadership, and the strength of male allies, these bills - most of which came from the national anti-choice groups profiled in our opposition report, ("Against Our Will: How National Anti-Choice Groups are Targeting the Pro-Choice Majority in Colorado") " - failed. Advertisement The bills were drafted to introduce personhood into our state laws, even though voters have repeatedly and loudly said no. It included legislation to dictate the conversations between doctors and their patients, and bills to force women to have unnecessary medical procedures like transvaginal ultrasounds against their will. We defeated unconstitutional abortion bans and attempts to restrict access to birth control. And we successfully included public funding in the FY 2016-17 for Colorado's award-winning program providing free long-acting reversible for young, low-income women. That program cut the teen birth and abortion rate almost in half over 5 years, as well as saving Colorado taxpayers millions in the cost of unintended pregnancy. We also saw a bill pass that provides workplace accommodation for pregnant women, a cornerstone of our reproductive freedom agenda. But that's not enough. Seven in 10 Americans support the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision affirming abortion as a private matter, and that number is even higher in Colorado. Strong majorities in our state support abortion rights and have proven that at the ballot box by defeating personhood and electing pro-choice legislators. This state supports abortion rights. A majority of voters want our elected officials to focus on other issues instead of attempting to roll back current law. Our laws need to better reflect that majority. We need to not just defeat anti-women's health care bills, we can and must have our right to reproductive freedom reflected in our state laws. Doctors should be able to practice medicine without harassment or fear or political meddling, and patients should be able to access health care without threats or coercion. We need to be pro-active about protecting our rights, not just defeating bad bills. Advertisement JJ: "Iggy made a decision not to go to the [1968] National Democratic Convention which erupted in incredible violence. I remember being a teenager at the time and watching it on TV and just starting to cry because I also had the same beliefs and wanted to run out and be a street fighter, because of the Vietnam War and the creeping corporatization that is now everywhere on this planet." IP: Our band did not belong at that convention because we were not idealistic guys about that. We were idealistic about something else. JJ. I love the MC5 and their overt politics. But I realize historically that the Stooges by avoiding being directly political or didactic have a stronger political effect by not being so pointed. Their primal unleashing in the end has a political cultural consequence which was very important to me and certainly to millions who are Stooges fans. [Similarly]: the Velvet Underground avoided being directly political, but they are artistic revolutionaries. IP: The Stooges remained amorphous. We were like an amoeba that got into your house. Co-authored and illustrations by Victoria Sgarro In March 2011, a group of schoolboys painted anti-regime slogans on a school wall in Daraa, Syria. When the boys, ages 10-15, were arrested and tortured by security forces, protests erupted in Daraa that would later transform into nationwide unrest and a civil war that still rages on today. Though the Syrian Revolution began with the acts of boys, children are often overlooked when evaluating the consequences of the conflict. Today, there are over 2.4 million Syrian child refugees in neighboring countries (including Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey) and in Europe. Many travel to their new homes alone - some have lost their families in war or along the journey, others' relatives do not have enough money for the entire family to make the trip. Aicha is the hypothetical story of a child refugee from Syria who arrives in Florence, Italy. The story describes Aicha's fictional day exploring the city, but hopes to illuminate the greater reality of the current child refugee crisis. She is outlined in pen, while her environment is drawn with watercolor and colored pencil - a technique meant to illustrate the dissidence between Aicha and her new environment. Each image is shown as a vignette to convey the dream-like quality and disconnection from reality that occurs when a person's life is uprooted and transplanted to a new city. Advertisement Make a Difference: Donate today to the Children of Syria - Save the Children Fund. Mark Beringer in the Beringer Vineyards 140 years ago, a man named Jacob Beringer left Germany, on a ship to America, landed in New York and found his way to Northern California and Napa Valley. He was an apprentice and a cellar master in Berlin. While it appears he was not in financial hardship at that moment, the confining situation in Germany with land and the ability to grow wine was not optimal. For him the choice to embark on this adventure, while not dire, was necessary. You see, he was the second son. Second son's in the 1800s were always second. Almost like an afterthought. In their first year of winemaking they produced 40,000 gallons of wine. Jacob did not let being a second son slow him from helping to make Beringer Vineyards one of the longest running wineries in Napa. He was fine standing out of the spotlight and happy to do his work in the shadow of his older brother, Frederick. Truth be told, they both were critical to the success of this venture. One with the money and the other making, creating and building. In their first year of winemaking they produced 40,000 gallons of wine. Just wrapping up his first year of winemaking for his namesake, Mark Beringer is fully engaged in the business of Beringer. Today I am meeting with him to discuss the 140 year anniversary, his winemaking life that brought him to this moment in time, and how his second year as Chief Winemaker for the brand is evolving. Advertisement Rhine House I pull into the driveway of the Beringer Estate and am first taken by the main house, known as the Rhine House. It is surrounded by trees rich with history of wine and story. The sprawling yard lies before the house, a grand tudor, a statement of wealth beyond my comprehension in the era it was built. The tudor itself was built for Jacob's elder brother, Frederick, who was granted the family's riches. The magnificent attention to detail, from the rich luster of the hand carved wood to the stain glass accents, the house was a veritable palace in those days. Jacob had a much smaller house, now known as the Hudson House. So many thoughts running through my head as I am struck by the situation of growing up a namesake but having little relationship to the brand representing said namesake. Later in a complete twist of fate, becoming the Chief Winemaker of said company reconnecting with your piece of history while building a foundation of a powerful new era in winemaking. It's the kind of disposition you don't expect from an heir to legendary history. As Mark greets me, I am enthralled with his down to earth and friendly nature. It's the kind of disposition you don't expect from an heir to legendary history. We take a tour of the Rhine house, behind the ropes and up to the second floor. You get an idea of how his family lived so many years ago. No expense spared from the nursery to the master, and decorated with impeccable taste. Many of the rooms have been converted into a wine friendly state, either tasting rooms or meeting rooms, but you can still feel the presence of family members from years ago. We move outside to where the wine production began, the barrel room. The barrels here are the original ones that Jacob worked with. I can feel the history exuding from them. There is a missing name plate on one, which had been given to a wood worker when they were restoring the room in the 70s. Sadly it never made it back. Next to that barrel is the original press used to make wine, and a photo of Jacob and his brother. There shines the exact Beringer nameplate missing from so many years ago. Glancing up to the ceiling I marvel at the architecture of the day and ask about it. The wood above us was modeled after a ship's hull. The goal, to be water tight, and it was. It was one of the first structures to use gravity to drive the wine from the top floors down into the barrels. The grapes would be delivered by horse and carriage in the back of the building and crushing would begin on the floors above. As the press ran, the wine would be directed into the giant barrels below reducing labor needs while increasing efficiency. The top floor is where the deliveries occurred. The second floor is the fermentation room leading to the bottom floor which was storage. It's fascinating to hear how early the Beringer Family used these techniques. This was state of the art wine making 140 years ago. Advertisement In 1992 he took a job at Duckhorn. It was a 15 year adventure. I ask Mark about his interests when he was younger, taking him back to high school to get a handle on his journey. His love for music in those days, specifically the trumpet, made him scholarship-eligible to play the in the symphony at Cal State. Symphony did not resonate at the time because he was a jazz guy. This combined with the finality of the selection hit him. He did what any young man would do when faced with a decision of this magnitude. He balked. Instead his journey into wine began with a stint at Santa Rosa Jr. College. With a few electives left over, he took a couple of viticulture class and was hooked. He built his background in viticulture and transferred later to Fresno State where he got a degree in enology and a minor in chemistry. Later he worked at Raymond Vineyards with his uncle & the winery namesake, Roy Raymond Sr., and his cousins. This work would carry him and his knowledge from 1985-1990. He was working there whenever he could, weekends, summers, from harvest to crush to bottling. It was a path that took him away from Beringer, which was now owned by Nestle. Rather than looking back to the corporate world where his namesake was now owned, he looked for work wherever he could. He found his way back home. He attended school with several of the Duckhorn kids and his roommate at Fresno State, Alex Ryan (the current president). In 1992 he took a job at Duckhorn. It was a 15 year adventure. The wonder years. Some of the best wines and new brands were created during this time including Paraduxx, Decoy and Migration. In 2006 he began consulting, then did a brief stint as a GM, neither of which held the allure that winemaking did. "I felt, I finally had the resume to walk in the doors and do this." While it wasn't his goal to return to Beringer (where he stocked shelves in high school) he asked around and the more he talked to the insiders, the more he learned. Beringer was still very much a corporation, and held a unique place in the winemaking. With over 140 years in the business, being owned by two corporations and a few individuals, the winery managed to make wine consistently with just eight winemakers in that period. Was it the allure of the famed winery, magical people involved in the process or simply good luck that made it a place where Jacob Beringer was the first winemaker and his great great great grandson the eighth? I don't know about you, but I am a romantic. Truly. My take is it was all three and fate to some degree. This was a marriage of name and skill meant to be. While Mark did not set out living his life with the singular goal of making wine, or making wine for Beringer, he found his way back home. Advertisement He went through seven different interviews with different departments. The process resulted in him walking away not only with the knowledge that this was a good fit, but he would also have the ability to be successful there. He also felt he had earned his way. "I felt, I finally had the resume to walk in the doors and do this", Mark said, reflecting on his journey. It's an auspicious rebirth of a Beringer on the 140th anniversary of his great great grandfather's beginning. When his children were little, he, as a single dad, showed them how hard he worked. "I had to go out and find my own way in this business. The thing I always want to teach my girls is nothing comes for free.", Mark reflected. "When they were little I had a DVD player in the back of the car and would throw a movie on when we headed to the vineyards. They were out there with me tasting grapes." We are now standing in the caves. The extensive caves were originally dug by hand by Chinese immigrants with pick and shovel and carried the dirt out with wicker baskets. It's cool and well lit, the temperature perfect for storing wine particularly in the 1800s when refrigeration wasn't a possibility. I'm marveling at the experience. The history is staggering, the wine, beyond compare. It's an auspicious rebirth of a Beringer on the 140th anniversary of his great great grandfather's beginning of Beringer. Advertisement "That's the thing that I've always been curious about is what drove him to come here." I ask Mark Beringer how he intends to leave his imprint. "I don't know yet. I'm still learning where the light switches are." And on to Jacob Beringer, his ancestor, "If you could speak to him right now, what would you say to him?" He takes a moment, "I think the main thing that's always come to my mind is what gave him the vision to come here. What was it about this area, this area was nothing back then. It was some stone and stuff like that used as pasture land. A lot of cattle. It was the Wild West and quite novel. That's the thing that I've always been curious about is what drove him to come here. To have the vision to do wine here was such a good thing. He was a true pioneer in that sense." Mark reflects on his last 31 years in the business and how he stays fired up, "The great thing about winemaking is every day is different. I could be in tastings doing gradings of wine or working in the vineyards. We're also doing tasting and blending and getting ready to open up the tanks, so that come fall, there's someplace to put that new vintage." This past Sunday, GMHC hosted the 31st Annual AIDS Walk New York in Central Park. To many, it may seem hard to imagine why we need to host things like AIDS Walk; we have marriage equality, and gratefully HIV is no longer a death sentence for most people. To anyone who believes that, I would say you have not been paying attention because 2016 has already been an ugly year of attacks on the LGBT community and people of color. Presidential campaigns often share positive messages filled with renewed hope for a better future. Not this campaign season. Instead, we have seen a slew of hateful, prejudiced rhetoric emanating from the presidential campaign trail. And GMHC's clients -- most of whom are people of color, low-income, members of the LGBT community, and women -- are bearing the brunt. The hate speech by these so-called leaders is clearly intended to foster public ridicule of people and families that rely on government-sponsored medical care and other social services. Advertisement This is exactly the kind of environment that we have to fight back against if we are serious about ending the AIDS epidemic. This is exactly why GMHC released our presidential candidate survey, because people need to know what every candidate's plan is to address the worst epidemic of our lifetimes. This year's AIDS Walk New York ad campaign served to combat these stigmatizing and degrading messages, and remind people why it is critical to keep walking until we find a cure. We reminded people that "Hate is not a New York value," nor is it an American value. Sexism, racism and homophobia can never be tolerated, and we reminded our clients and supporters to rise above such repugnant rhetoric. Thankfully, they did. An enormous crowd of 30,000 participants came to Central Park on Sunday May 15th in support of AIDS Walk New York -- the world's largest single-day AIDS fundraising event. Dozens of corporate sponsors, hundreds of teams, and tens of thousands of individual walkers collectively raised over $4.5 million to support people living with HIV and AIDS and to stop new infections. These critical funds will allow GMHC to continue our life-saving services to help those affected by HIV and AIDS. We will be able to serve over 80,000 hot meals a year, to test over 3,000 people a year at our testing center, to advocate at all levels of the government, to offer legal services and so much more. Advertisement This year, AIDS Walk New York also served as an important reminder. We were reminded of the incredible, supportive community we have today. In the earliest, darkest days of the epidemic, AIDS was a death sentence. Our elected officials wouldn't even utter the word. For a long time, HIV thrived in the shadows of stigma and shame. We have certainly come a long way since then. Today, GMHC and other HIV and AIDS organizations successfully persuaded the federal government to recommend widespread use of PrEP, a daily treatment that is over 90% effective in preventing HIV infection. We adopted a statewide goal in New York of ending AIDS as an epidemic by 2020. And most recently, Secretary Hillary Clinton sat down with HIV and AIDS activists in Brooklyn to discuss national strategies to end the epidemic and gratefully she raised the importance of a President addressing HIV stigma head-on. We are getting closer and closer to ending the epidemic, and more importantly toward our collective goal of an AIDS-free world. AIDS Walk 2017 planning is underway already. The AIDS Walk New York community has delivered a message of hope and resilience for 31-years, and that is why we have risen above the hateful rhetoric to accomplish so much. Join us! Three pistols laying on table with bullets A David Axelrod tweet now carries the same authority as white smoke emanating from a Sistine Chapel Papal conclave. Last month Axelrod authoritatively declared a new piece of political conventional wisdom; Gun Violence Prevention is a winning political platform. So ended over 20 years of collective strategic advice and mythmaking from lesser political consultants and former officeholders. A confident Axelrod, now a CNN Senior Political Commentator, among many post-Obama Administration roles, tweeted on the April 26th Democratic primary night that Democratic Presidential primary candidate Hillary Clinton had drawn significant advantage over competitor Bernie Sanders among voters concerned about gun policy. This, after reviewing statewide exit polling of Connecticut, Maryland and Pennsylvania's Democratic Presidential Primary voters. Advertisement Some may wonder just how many Americans had to die from gun shots before political consultants would pronounce it safe for campaigning candidates to make gun violence prevention a central part of their platforms. The answer sadly is thousands. Children. Wives. Sisters. Daughters. Parents. Sons. How many school shootings, one might ask have occurred since 1999s horrific Columbine High School shattered Littleton, Colorado and our country? Hundreds. How did the standard political conventional wisdom become so ingrained and accepted? What did it take to overcome the myth? This issue became very personal for me on April 19th 1999, when as a brand new Congressional candidate and small business owner; I learned that one of my small business employees had purchased 3 of the guns used by the Columbine High School student/shooters. I was more than two-steps removed from the traumatic violence and loss of life, yet through activism ever since have become friends with many family members of gun violence victims including those who lost loved ones in the hundreds of mass shootings since. That's a tragic way to make new friends. The myth-making on the political toxicity of gun violence prevention has its roots way back in President Bill Clinton's first term, more accurately in the wake of the disastrous 1994 mid-term election results where the Republicans gained their first House majority in 40 years by switching 54 seats. It isn't hard to imagine a shell-shocked Democratic president and his political advisors casting about to identify causes. One convenient and easily blamed target was the passage in 1994 of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, said to stir up the NRA, a part of the Crime Bill which had passed both House and Senate with bipartisan support. But the myth/conventional wisdom really took hold after Al Gore lost his home state of Tennessee and his 2000 presidential campaign. Advertisement Even though the 2000 presidential election results are widely remembered for hanging chads in Florida, and Bush v. Gore US Supreme Court decision, one can find any number of news articles pinning Gore's loss to his strong support for gun violence prevention legislation. One can't separate however, Gore's 2000 campaign from the 1999 national trauma centered in Littleton at Columbine. "It has been a horror show," the late ABC News anchor Peter Jennings declared on April 19, 1999 news broadcast coverage of shootings at Columbine. Quoting a Colorado County commissioner, Jennings endorsed her shocked sentiment, "perhaps now America will wake up to the dimensions of this challenge...if it could happen in a place like Littleton." It was widely and repeatedly said, "This changes everything." And when the investigation revealed that the Columbine shooter's guns had been purchased by their friend (my employee) at a local gun show from an unlicensed dealer without a background check, politicians sprang into action. In the final stretch of that 2000 election though, candidate Al Gore was perceived as tapering back his campaign rhetoric on gun laws. In that highly charged and closely watched final few weeks, Gore campaign advisors were quoted referring to "last minute strategic adjustments" which were most apparent in the second Gore/Bush nationally televised debate Oct. 11, 1999. "Let me say," said Al Gore, "that the governor and I agree on some things where this subject is concerned. I will not do anything to affect the gun rights of hunters or sportsmen. I think that homeowners have to be respected, and the right to have a gun if they wish to." National media were also watching my 6th Congressional District campaign against first-term incumbent and staunch "gun rights" advocate Tom Tancredo. We never hesitated to highlight and take Republican Tancredo to task for his support for expanding gun rights and protecting gun manufacturers even while representing Littleton Colorado. Tancredo had in early 1999 co-sponsored the first introduction of the gun manufacturer's immunity bill (Firearms Heritage Protection Act of 1999), later passed and signed into law by Pres. George W. Bush in 2005, with the support and vote of then Congressman Bernie Sanders. Would that vote have become one of Hillary Clinton's campaign critical talking points, separating her from Sanders, were it not for traumatic gun violence in community after community? It's not the repeated episodes of gun violence since 1999 however, which have toppled the conventional political wisdom; it is the sea change in citizen activism as a response to the continued mayhem over the past four years that has really made the difference. Advertisement Three most significant galvanizing episodes were the January 2011 Tucson Arizona shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, the December 2012 death of 20 first graders and 6 adults, mercilessly shot in their classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School in idyllic Newtown Connecticut. And a few months prior in August of 2012, a gunman clad in body armor entered the mid-night movie premier in Aurora Colorado wielding stun grades, smoke bombs an assault rifle with a 100-round magazine, killing 12 wounding 70 others - stunning Colorado yet again. These national traumas revitalized gun violence prevention activism utilizing a new grassroots social-media platform. Average people, never previously involved in political activism found each other and connected, demonstrating a heightened sense of urgency - throughout the country. "This" really has changed everything. Now Americans won't wait for Washington politicians to respond, they began organizing creating public pressure with methods not technologically possible in 1999. Besides the new communications technologies, the demographics of new gun violence prevention political activists is also in sync with the social media platforms. Probably the best known exemplar of this synergy is Shannon Watts, founder of a Facebook page in December of 2012 which became the portal by which hundreds of thousands connected to form Moms Demand Action for Gunsense in America - now a branch of a national umbrella Everytown for Gun Safety. Everytown, which was founded in NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office as Mayors Against Illegal Guns and headed by former top mayoral advisor for strategic planning and criminal justice John Feinblatt, has transformed well beyond its initial focus on big city mayors. Advertisement Gabby Giffords upon her recovery, along with her husband astronaut Mark Kelly, founded a more traditional political action committee Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS). These new organizing entities joined well established Washington-based gun violence prevention long-time advocates like the Brady Campaign, Violence Policy Center, States United to End Gun Violence (with 30 state affiliate organizations), California-based Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and relatively newer but significant progressive force Center For American Progress. President Obama's personal commitment for prioritizing gun violence prevention and the good fortune of having VP Joe Biden's focus and dedication (Biden was an author and Senate Judiciary Chair, sheparding passage of the 1994 Crime Bill) has given the activists a champion in the White House with the highest media profile available. All of this activism has engendered significant interest from traditional media outlets - which in turn has helped attract more activists. For example the February 2016 issues of major women's magazines Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire all ran simultaneous feature stories on the issue and movement of new gun violence prevention activists. Cable networks have also discovered a greater audience interest HBO "Requiem For The Dead" and "Gun Fight", CNBC "America's Gun: The Rise of the AR-15", PBS "After Newtown: Guns in America" and CNN "Guns in America Townhall". Independent documentary film makers have also produced and distributed major feature length films such as the currently touring "Under The Gun" co-produced by Katie Couric. Still with all this activism and media coverage, wary Democratic politicians and consultants sometimes counseled candidates to maintain a low profile in campaign platforms for gun violence prevention initiatives. Conveniently, the Democratic presidential primary process provided a readily available contrast between Sanders and Clinton which Hillary Clinton boldly exploited. In a happy coincidence, the demographics of many new gun violence prevention activists correlate with a critical Clinton campaign target audience. Sophisticated political calculus isn't the only factor taken into account by the Clinton campaign. When the October 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting took place, traumatizing the Oregon community, Clinton took on Washington Republicans and the NRA, not Bernie Sanders. Again this past December when San Bernardino became the most recently traumatized community, Clinton tweeted that she "refused to accept this as normal, we must take action to stop gun violence now." Advertisement The state of Nevada is a hotbed of election controversy following a chaotic Democratic convention over the weekend. If you're thinking "Wait, didn't Nevada already have their caucus?" You're right. They did. But the process of choosing the Democratic delegates to represent Nevada at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this July is one of the most complicated in the country--and, as a result, conflict broke out between supporters of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' over the delegate count. "We need a medic in the front. A medic in the front." At a goddamn Democratic convention.https://t.co/XPbvMlyTNd Sady Doyle (@sadydoyle) May 14, 2016 Advertisement What is the state convention? So, the Nevada state convention exists to hand out the 7 at-large delegates. Nevada has a total of 35 and at the time of the caucus, back in February, the 23 votes were distributed proportionately to the two presidential contenders: 13 to Clinton and 10 to Sanders, based on how many votes each one got in the caucus. What exactly were the caucus results? Clinton won the Nevada caucus: So why the controversy? There was a heated ordeal over the fact that Bernie Sanders supporters tried to change the delegate count at the state level, and that effort failed. In April, about 2 months after the primary, the Democrats in Nevada elected the people to serve as delegates in the state convention. A count of delegates pledged to Bernie Sanders at the Lyon County Democratic Party convention in Sliver Springs, Nevada, on April 2nd, 2016. The count was held to make sure all 88 of the initially allocated Sanders delegates were accounted for after seating alternates. A similar count was made of the Clinton delegates. Afterwards, delegates could switch affiliations before the final split of delegates to the State convention was decided. (Kevin Standlee/Flickr) Advertisement Sanders supporters out-organized Clinton's and surpassed the number of delegates significantly. Sanders supporters ended up getting 2,124 people elected to the state convention, in comparison to Clinton's 1,722. Initial report of the Credentials Committee of the Lyon County Democratic Party convention in Silver Springs, Nevada, April 2nd, 2016. Numbers at right (Clinton 80, Sanders 88) represent the number of delegates initially elected to the county convention by the caucuses earlier in the year, while the numbers in the slots (Clinton 42, Sanders 65) were the number of directly elected delegates for each candidate who actually showed up. Alternates pledged for the candidates were seated to fill the vacancies when possible, but so few Clinton alternates showed up that the final delegate count was Clinton 66, Sanders 102. Thus the county ended up sending to the State convention 21 Clinton delegates and 34 Sanders delegates. (Kevin Standlee/Flickr) Suggesting--despite the fact that Clinton won the caucus--that Sanders would actually take the lead in Nevada. But that didn't happen, and Sanders supporters believe it's because some things went down in Nevada a crooked way that favors Clinton. Specifically, they really did not like the last-minute changes to the rules governing how voice votes would be verified. Advertisement #NevadaConvention trying to put through original caucus results rather than county level #FeelTheBern #tytlive Jordan (@JordanChariton) May 14, 2016 There were also loud demands for a vote recount. And they responded to perceived unfairness by getting rowdy. @SenSanders Demanding a recount! NV convention getting ugly pic.twitter.com/24Fg0t8V0Z Justice Seeker (@helena_jennie) May 14, 2016 Chaos at the #NevadaConvention proves my point about Bernie supporters. A bunch of spoiled children throwing a tantrum to get attention. jawillie (@jawillie) May 14, 2016 Advertisement Behavior of Clinton surrogates at #NevadaConvention does not exactly project the image they feel the nomination to be sewn up. #FeelTheBern Kurt Hackbarth (@KurtHackbarth) May 14, 2016 They even booed longtime liberal Senator Barbara Boxer of California. Booing Barbara Boxer off the stage. A life long champion of women's rights. Who ARE these Bernie people? #NevadaConvention Sandra (@LVview) May 14, 2016 At the convention, it was mentioned that Hillary won Nevada. Yeah, she did in 2008 too but Obama won at the state level. #NevadaConvention Simon (@NDPSimon) May 14, 2016 Why didn't Sanders take the lead in Nevada convention delegates? Part of the reason that this didn't happen is because 56 of Sanders' delegates didn't register as Democrats by the May deadline. So in the end, Clinton ended up with most of the delegates, bringing her total to 2,240--just a handful of delegates away from winning the nomination. Advertisement Breaking: Bernie supporters are outraged the winner of the #NevadaConvention is the same candidate who won the popular vote at the caucus. Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) May 14, 2016 But despite winning the likelihood of winning the nomination there is definitely concern from the Democratic party that she may not be able to bring Sanders' supporters on to her side. Clinton supporters definitely don't want a scene like this at their state convention in July--they want to project party unity in their effort to defeat Donald Trump. Last night Bernie Sanders enjoyed a big win in Oregon and just barely lost to Hillary Clinton in Kentucky. So, not a bad primary night for the senator. Oregon goes to Bernie Sanders, Kentucky to Hillary Clinton in the latest Democratic primaries. Listen: https://t.co/Dw0cHZqOf8 CBS News Radio (@CBSNewsRadio) May 18, 2016 But that victory is being overshadowed by the continued backlash over the actions of some Sanders supporters over the weekend in Nevada, when the state Democrats held their convention to allocate delegates a few weeks after their caucus (which was won by Hillary Clinton). In their anger over Sanders failing to gain more delegates and a sense of unfairness about how the convention was run, some of his supporters have threatened violence against party officials and even violated the privacy of state party Chairwoman Roberta Lange by posting her phone number and address online. Lange says some supporters went as far as sending her death threats. Advertisement Thrown chairs. Death threats. This is how some Sanders supporters tried to pressure Nevada's Democratic Party https://t.co/oJ3qLNAV0N The New York Times (@nytimes) May 17, 2016 Party officials started calling on Sanders to apologize. .@DWStweets explains the DNC response to Bernie Sanders' campaign after Nevada's convention https://t.co/jRosSlpsGC https://t.co/VU37XkzW7q CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 18, 2016 Defiant Sanders condemns Nevada Dems who accused him of promoting violence https://t.co/SUPOWVYwz9 pic.twitter.com/AFjIpUlKv4 The Hill (@thehill) May 18, 2016 Which he won't do. Sanders condemns Nevada convention violence but refuses to apologize https://t.co/nhZLBCTTZt The Guardian (@guardian) May 17, 2016 Advertisement He issued a statement that many have described as #sorrynotsorry--and as not going far enough in disavowing his supporters' intense reactions. So, yeah: the tone of the Democratic nomination race has gotten significantly uglier. Lately more people have started drawing comparisons between Bernie Sanders supporters and Donald Trump supporters, and even between Sanders and Trump. Sanders' statement feels oddly similar to Trump's when his supporters caused violence https://t.co/9LtVlNff0m Elizabeth Plank (@feministabulous) May 17, 2016 Trump has called him "Crazy Bernie." But that hasn't stopped him from borrowing from Sanders's playbook https://t.co/hNQzzk1s3e The New York Times (@nytimes) May 17, 2016 People have been applying the demagogue label to Trump for months, but now we're seeing more musings about whether it should be applied to Sanders as well. Advertisement So ... is Sanders a demagogue? This is the dictionary definition of demagogue: A person, especially an orator or political leader, who gains power and popularity by arousing the emotions, passions, and prejudices of the people. Does that sound like Sanders to you? Maybe, maybe not. It depends entirely on who you speak to, and their opinions on his policies and style. If you believe Sanders fully intends to follow through on his campaign promises and that his policy recommendations are feasible, you probably don't think demagogue applies to him. @MikeBloomberg Bernie is NOT a demagogue and he is NOTHING like Trump. It is your prejudices that are showing when you make such comments. Denise Ingram (@leclemot) May 1, 2016 @SenSanders Bernie is the 'real thing' and he is the best choice we have to lead us as President!! Honest, trustworthy, authentic, humble Jim Ennis (@jimetoo) May 12, 2016 But if you don't think that he can or will actually follow through on his populist views and calls for political revolution, and that he's just saying what disadvantaged and frustrated people want to hear, then you may think the demagogue label seems fitting. Advertisement Can we agree that Bernie is also a demagogue with his anti Wall Street rhetoric? I work for Wall Street, I am not a crook Dan Harmon (@DwhFtw) March 12, 2016 sorry Bernie folks.. But he was never a revolution. He's been in Congress for 25 yrs, did nothing but at 74 decided to become a demagogue. psychedelicatessen (@MentalRiot) May 15, 2016 Does anyone else see the problem with this? #bernie demagogue much? https://t.co/07qFgNp8d2 Passionate4 Hillary (@puppymnkey) May 14, 2016 Why are some people calling Sanders a demagogue? Partly because of his rhetoric, but also because of the way he's steering his campaign, vowing to fight to the end and to force a contested convention. 5/ to me until now. Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) May 18, 2016 Advertisement But actually, a lot of it has to do with the passion of many of his supporters--which in some cases ventures into hero worship territory. #ScareHillaryIn4Words Bernie Forever, Hillary Never #DropOutHillary (your supporters would never get a tattoo of you pic.twitter.com/6710T1euBM virginiaallain (@vallain576) May 6, 2016 Advertisement He's a superhero: Or Obi-Wan Kenobi: Even Jesus: Some of that super passionate support for Sanders, combined with dislike of the political system, takes the form of calling the election a conspiracy to stop Sanders from winning the nomination. With a ton of suspicion thrown on Hillary Clinton and the establishment. Hillary mad people dared to boo and complain when Roberta Lange stole delegates her behalf~Claims of violence are to DISTRACT from the THEFT Bad John Brown (@BadJohnBrown) May 18, 2016 The fervent, die-hard dedication of some supporters (see: #BernieOrBust), combined with his apparent encouragement of this, is what's inspiring these labels of Sanders as a demagogue. What's Bernie's role in all this? There have been some calls for Bernie to reign in his supporters before things get even more out of hand. (Along with calls for him to drop out.) Advertisement Barbara Boxer on the Nevada convention: I expect Sanders to get a hold of this situation https://t.co/6OZtrfIwim https://t.co/ajLMAUFjeK CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 18, 2016 The fact is that Clinton has earned 94% of the delegates needed to clinch the nomination. Based on the way delegates are awarded, Sanders would need a landslide victory in every remaining primary and a miracle in order to clinch the nomination. But he hasn't acknowledged that to his supporters yet, and it doesn't seem likely that he will. But he keeps encouraging people to join his fight against Hillary Clinton and the establishment and only kinda sorta condemning things like the outrage in Nevada. Reid: Nevada 'test of leadership' for Sanders https://t.co/LT38dvg8xm POLITICO (@politico) May 17, 2016 The supporters who are tweeting things like the #BernTheWitch hashtag in reference to Hillary Clinton are part of a vocal minority of Sanders supporters. The problem is that this vocal minority is getting attention on social media and in news coverage, so it could hurt his image and legacy unless Sanders himself does something about it. Advertisement JUST IN: DNC chairwoman: Sanders response to Nevada violence "falls short" https://t.co/pCOGGfgfch pic.twitter.com/ewNZYCpOnW The Hill (@thehill) May 18, 2016 OK, so some of his supporters are passionate. So what? Even though it'd be silly to paint all Bernie supporters with the same brush--not everyone is saying Sanders was ordained by Mother Earth--as always, it's the ones who are most vocal who grab the most attention. After Nevada, party leaders are worried that we may see more Democratic primaries unravel. The last thing they want is for violence to break out like it has at so many Trump rallies. On top of that, the party needs to start looking ahead to be able to unite against their Republican opponent. They believe Sanders is firing up his supporters knowing good and well that it will split the party. The toxic attitudes feeding the @BernieSanders Nevada debacle, @joshtpm is hearing, are coming from Sanders himself. https://t.co/aonh9oxZYn Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) May 18, 2016 While Republicans argue over whether or not they'll support Trump, Democrats want to be able to present themselves as calm and unified in comparison. Advertisement They're not. This is a war. We did not choose that war but it was thrust upon us We will not be brought to heel.#StillSanders pic.twitter.com/qPIjk2NtMB Truth to Conservatives (@ToConservatives) May 13, 2016 The Dems are so divided that it's hard to imagine the Sanders and Clinton camps to come together. That does not bode well for a blue victory in November. Trump poll numbers improving as Clinton and Sanders turn on each other: https://t.co/OFqujJj2gx pic.twitter.com/IOdoeWc6V7 The Hill (@thehill) May 18, 2016 Those top Democrats might be right to worry about the lengths to which Sanders supporters will go to support their candidate. There are already organized plans to protest the Democratic convention in July, which hints that even if Clinton becomes the official nominee, Sanders supporters won't quit fighting. This article was written by Lauren Wethers and originally appeared on Kicker. Kicker explains the most important, compelling things going on in the world and empowers you to get in the know, make up your own mind, and take action. For more, check out the Kicker site, like their Facebook page, or subscribe to their email newsletter. It's not easy to talk to the press about being shot and losing a friend to gun violence. It's even harder to tell your story while calling out one of the most powerful members of Congress. But some issues are just that important. Expanding Brady background checks is one of them. When we talk about the lives that will be saved by expanding simple, effective background checks to every gun sale, one of the lives we're talking about might be mine. Chuck Schumer is my Senator. He's also a staunch ally to the gun violence prevention movement. But it's just as important to hold your friends accountable as it is your foes. And on Monday I joined Brady Campaign leaders and advocates to ask Senator Schumer to keep a promise he made to us and introduce an expanded background check bill into the Senate. Advertisement As a survivor of gun violence and a constituent, I still wondered whether my voice would really matter. And did I really want to put myself out there like that, with an ally I respect? Some in the gun violence prevention movement asked the same question. But I felt - and my colleagues, friends and fellow advocates at Brady felt - that it was critical to ask our champion to step up once again. And I'm glad I did. Within hours of receiving thousands of calls from Brady supporters - and soon after I publicly asked Senator Schumer to make good on his promise - he introduced a bill to expand Brady background checks to every gun sale - a Brady Bill 2.0. And now it's time for me to thank Senator Schumer. When Senator Schumer made his promise last November - at a gala filled with gun violence survivors, advocates, donors, celebrities, and politicians - the room was electric. Senator Schumer talked about his career championing gun safety laws and then said, "We are going to bring the universal background check bill to the floor of the Senate early next year." Advertisement I nearly spit out my drink - I couldn't believe it. The news was huge and unexpected. But then months passed without Senator Schumer taking action. So I travelled to DC in April to meet with one of Schumer's aides and explained why this issue is so important to me - why I hang on every word he says about gun violence prevention. In 1999, I was on a date with a friend when we were robbed at gunpoint. We were both shot and a few hours later Philip died. Our shooter was apprehended by police and later pled guilty. Today, he is still serving time in a Georgia prison, but will likely be released in a few years. Once out of prison, my shooter - a confessed murderer - will be able to purchase a firearm without a background check from a private seller at a gun show or through the internet, easily. No questions asked. I can't wait much longer for Congress to act. And neither can the 90 Americans who will be killed by a gun today, tomorrow, the day after that, and so on. That's why Senator Schumer's decision to introduce Brady Bill 2.0 is such a huge victory to me - and why I'm so glad I spoke up and asked him to keep his promise. So, THANK YOU, Senator Schumer for hearing me, and the thousands of other advocates, who called on you to do what's right. We need this bill. We deserve it. Advertisement The fight to expand life-saving Brady background checks is already under way, but advocates need a bill to rally behind. The original Brady bill took seven consecutive years and six votes to become law. And since then, Brady background checks have stopped 2.6 million gun sales to people who shouldn't have them. We know the law works. It's paramount that we keep doing everything we can to close the loopholes and expand background checks to all gun sales. While I'm at it, I should thank Senator Schumer for the original Brady bill too. After all, it was his bill. News / News by Stephen Jakes Government of Zimbabwe has indicated that the 2016 harvesting period has started and farmers were working out with their produce which is not at the expected or satisfying levels.Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Joseph Made said confirmed that indeed maize harvesting has started across the country."However, I want to indicate that the harvest is not to the levels that we can consider stopping the maize measures in terms of imports that have been put in place. The estimated imports still stand at the same levels as announced. So, all the activities relating to maize coming into the country are continuing. That is one major point," he said."The other one is on maize that is being delivered to the Grain Marketing Board. I am happy to indicate that currently the levels of deliveries to the Grain Marketing Board are substantial to the point that we are also able to use what is being harvested to mitigate drought in certain parts of the country."He said to date already, the Grain Marketing Board has taken delivery of 16 000 metric tonnes in the current season."I have also directed the Grain Marketing Board to take the maize at 13.5% moisture content where we normally take the grain at 12.5% moisture content. The prices obviously will be adjusted according to the moisture content levels. We have done this in order to facilitate the early deliveries of maize to the Grain Marketing Board. In terms of payment for the maize delivered, I am happy to also indicate to the House that the farmers are being paid as they deliver their grain to the Grain Marketing Board," Made said.The minister said to this effect, already Treasury has released US$3.5 million plus US$1 million, making a total of current releases to the Grain Marketing Board to US$4.5 million."The farmers are being paid as directed. This is also to enable the farmers who are harvesting maize to be able to start the winter preparation. Specifically on the winter preparations, we are going to support the farmers through this method of grain deliveries and paying those farmers to the extent that we anticipate that 25 000 hectares will be planted to wheat," he said. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks to supporters during a rally for local union members in San Francisco, California on May 18, 2016. / AFP / JOSH EDELSON (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images) Hand-wringing over party unity misses the point. No one cares about your precious parties. As Hillary Clinton joylessly stumbles her way to the Democratic nomination, calls have increased for Bernie Sanders to either drop out of the race altogether or, at least, to stop fighting so darn hard. We're told that Bernie should drop out for the good of the party. Bernie should drop out so that Hillary can make her general election "pivot" (which presumably means she can be free of the burden of pretending to be a liberal). Bernie should drop out so that Hillary can focus on Trump. According to this logic, Bernie and his band of loyalists need to get pragmatic, face the music, have a reality check. Hogwash. Doesn't anyone see what I see? Bernie Sanders is our best chance to beat Donald Trump and to prove to the young voters backing him that the Democratic party actually stands for something. Advertisement Error in thinking #1: Sanders supporters care about the existing system. Not all Sanders voters are young but many are, so let's consider the world as it appears to a 24-year-old. Perhaps you are deeply in debt from a college degree that still left you with few job prospects. Perhaps you were told in many ways large and small that you are not clever or connected enough to make it into the vaunted ranks of the "creative class" so you are doomed to a life of poorly paid service sector hell in which you will never be able to properly afford a family, a house or a vacation. Perhaps you were one of the lucky few who are ascending that creative class, new economy ladder, but find it deeply disturbing that the kids you went to high school with have been so casually cast aside and relegated to a life of gut-clenching instability. And again, you're 24-years-old so you've got a long time to live and struggle with this corrupt, fickle, Gilded Age, bubble prone system -- unless, that is, you are one of the many who will suffer a shortened lifespan like so many others who don't make it in this system. Now from this vantage point, how much might you care about Harry Reid or Debbie Wasserman Schultz or some other Democratic partisan pearl clutcher's pleas for party unity? These young voters are expected to back down for the sake of a party they tell pollsters they don't identify with, in the service of nominating a presidential candidate who promises to maintain a system that has conspired to screw them at every turn. Error in thinking #2: Uniting around Clinton is the best shot to beat Trump. The very same people who condescendingly exhort Sanders followers to "do the math" on the nomination process seem to have left their own calculators at home when it comes to figuring out who can actually win this fall. So for the math-obsessed, here are some numbers for you. According to RealClearPolitics, Sanders beats Trump in polls by an average of 13 points while Clinton's average lead over Trump has dwindled to five points with one outlier poll from CNN doing a lot of the heavy lifting to give her even that much of a lead. The two most recent polls, NBC and Gravis, give her a lead of only three points and two points respectively. This in a week that was supposedly terrible for Trump with embarrassing stories about his butler's racist rants, his penchant for pretending to be his own publicist, and his lecherous ways with women. Advertisement According to the math, Sanders is a much better bet for November, which makes sense when you think about it. Consider, for example, that he has cleaned Clinton's clock with independents. Come November, these independent voters will have their every mood and microclimate measured by a Democratic party desperate to win them over. For now, however, they either don't enter the calculus, or they are used to grant greater legitimacy to Clinton voters who are the "real" Democrats. Here's a reality check folks: Independents win elections. They like Bernie and they hate Hillary. That's to say nothing of the fact that a majority of voters find Clinton untrustworthy, a reality I'm confident will not be helped by her general election "pivot" to yet another version of the real HRC. Will she pick Warren as her veep and double down on her newfound progressivism, or will she pick Tim Kaine and shift to the center to help assuage the fears of white men? The very fact that her team is so publicly mulling these choices reveals that they have no clue that their biggest problem isn't making the proper electoral calculations, but rather that their entire campaign is based on electoral calculations. We are told that these voters who like Bernie now would all come to their senses by the general election when they notice Sanders is a *cue scary music* SOCIALIST!!! A fact that could not have possibly escaped anyone's notice since Hillary Democrats have made common cause with Republicans by hurling this supposed epithet at Sanders every chance they get. I guess they haven't noticed that after watching our vaunted capitalistic system enter a free fall from which it could only be saved (we were told) by throwing a bunch of money at the bankers while somehow forgetting to help any of the individuals whose lives were destroyed, well, socialism doesn't sound quite so scary anymore. In fact, millennials tell pollsters that it sounds quite a bit better to them than the system we call "capitalism" which is really just socialism for bankers, billionaires and multinationals. So remind me again who has the best shot and who all patriotic Democrats must rally around for the good of saving the Republic from Trump? Advertisement Error in thinking #3: Winning is the only goal that matters. Let's pretend for a moment that I'm completely wrong about Hillary being a dreadful choice for November and that the moment voters discover Sanders is a socialist they will run into the loving arms of Donald Trump. Let's pretend Hillary Clinton is a winner. Is this really what the Democratic party has been reduced to? Not fighting for the poor? Not standing up for the working people of this country? Not fighting with every breath to push the money and corruption out of a system that only works for a glossy few? Of course, we know that for much of the party establishment the answer is yes. Bill Clinton provided a master class in how to sacrifice your principles to the gods of electoral success. A tactic, by the way, that may have found some success at the presidential level, but which has led the Democratic party to historic, crushing defeats in most of the country. For reference, just examine the largest number of state legislatures in our nation's history in Republican hands or the way inequality has soared unchecked as Democrats decided that winning national elections mattered more than fighting for the middle class or the working class or the poor. Make no mistake, the values that we say we stand for will be compromised by a Clinton nomination. After all, who will really believe we're the party of the people when we unite behind the queen of the global glitterati? Who will buy that we'll fight to get money out of politics when we back the most prolific political fundraiser in history? Who will take seriously that we'll get tough on Wall Street when our nominee got paid big bucks to stroke their fragile egos? So to the Bern-baby-Bern crowd I say, keep fighting. Your fight is worthy. Your cause is just. Your passionate existence irritates the Democratic powers that be because you remind them of all that they are supposed to stand for. Krystal Ball is a former MSNBC host and Democratic congressional candidate. She currently writes for Glamour Magazine's political coverage at The51million.com. "Yeah but you, you are not black." I stopped. Took a deep breath. Calmed down. And refrained myself from arguing. When I was 16, that's what I was told by one of my white classmates. In my class there were only 2 black people. Myself and another girl (we're going to call her Orchid). Orchid was sitting in front of me with her friend and they were talking about something, I don't remember what. But then her friend, we're going to call her Lilac, told Orchid something along those lines: "OMG poor you and you're the only black girl in the class". That is when my head jerked up. Offended I then proceeded to ask "What about me?". And I was playfully thrown this very upsetting answer: "Yeah but you, you are not black". You are not black enough to be called "black." My skin color is what some might call "light-skin". And personally, I find this distinction between "light-skin" and "dark-skin" very offending. Because it creates a separation between the two. You just have to look that up on social media. People are proudly hashtaging which team they belong to. Claiming that one is better than the other. But that is just it, one shade is not better than the other. They all belong to the same color which is black. And black is just another color between many others. One color is not better than the other either. They are just colors. And we all belong to one simple category: humans. Stop trying to differentiate one another and trying to find out which is better than which. We're all the same. There are already racism between different colors. We don't need people from the same color to also judge each other and try to find who's better than who. Advertisement I see too many people that have a very low self-esteem because they think that they are not up to the "standard" that their color has put. For instance, darker women would bleach their skin because the supposed beauty "standard" is to have lighter skin. To me all those different shades are beautiful. We should love and appreciate all the different shades and not bring one down because one is darker or lighter than the other. I also find the distinction between "light-skin" and "dark-skin" to be offending because it implies that they don't belong together. That they are not both black. And that is why you would hear people say "you are not black." Just because my skin is not the "standard black color", like a black nail polish or a black dress does not mean I am not black. That does not give you the right to tell me what I am and what I am not. That does not mean that I am not "black enough" to be considered black. I shouldn't even have to be considered as "black" by anyone. That IS what I am. And even if you might think that I am not black or that my skin doesn't fit in the "standard black color," you have no right to tell me what you THINK I am or what you THINK I am not. Advertisement In my personal experiences, this kind of sentence "But you're not black" was usually said by someone who was, in fact, not black themselves. So my question is, what gives you the right to tell me what I am and what I am not? Did someone give you the right to judge who was black enough to be considered "black"? Do you even know what being black is? I'm curious, how many of you have heard "yeah but you, you're not white?" Is there any differences between the different shades of white? I know there are different shades of white. I have friends that tell each other that one's skin is lighter than the other. Not all white people are paper white. I've seen different shades. But I don't go around telling people "oh but you're not white" because they don't look like the "standard white color" which would be the same white as a piece of paper. I don't know you, maybe you are white, maybe you are not, I don't know. But even if I did know, I have no right to tell you what you are and what you are not based on what I think I know about you. I am not pointing my finger at white people in particular but rather at the whole human race. We all feel like we can say certain things to certain people because we think that we know the right answer so we assume that we won't be offensive. But that's just it, what you are saying is wrong. You are wrong for saying it. You are wrong for assuming that you have the right to say it. And you are even more wrong to assume that you are not being offensive. Whether the person is black, white, Asian, Mexican, mixed or anything in between, you have no right to tell them what they are and what they are not! What/Who the person is is not for you to tell. It is for the person to discover for themselves. I am not pointing any finger at anyone. Nor am I saying that one group of people is the "bad guy". The way I see it, the whole human race IS the bad guy, to everyone. No one is safe. Everyone judges and criticizes. Everyone is mean to each other and we all are rejecting each other. This needs to stop. WE need to stop. Advertisement It is a vicious circle. And I am tired of it. We fall into this ugly habit of separating things. Black vs. White. Light-skin vs. Dark-skin. Men vs. Women. Young vs. Old. This religion vs. that religion. For what? To see which is better, which looks better, which is smarter, which makes a better lover, which does this better, which does that better, which will be richer, which is more talented, which is right, which is wrong etc... So we now have a glimpse of how President Donald Trump would handle a crisis and as expected he has failed so miserably that it is hard to imagine how anyone who considers themselves rational would see it otherwise. Ready, fire, aim is the mantra of a madman. It may have some appeal to those who never have nor ever should be in any position of authority. But when the mantra is held by one whose hands are on the trigger the repercussions can be deadly. Trump shoots from the lip. Some find this endearing. Trump makes decisions and asks questions later. Some may think this is decisive. Trump has no training or instincts when it comes to international affairs. Some may see this as refreshing. Trump is a bully. Some believe this exemplifies strength. Trump is quite simply overwhelmingly unqualified to be commander-in-chief. Some believe that is the antidote to our problems. Trump excels in exploiting fear. Those who are afraid accept abuse. As the world now contends with the downing of EgyptAir Flight 804 in what is apparently another terrorist incident Trump simply could not control his impulse to jump the gun. By assessing the incident prior to having appropriate evidence to suggest such a finding and immediately placing blame without any documentation with which to do so other than his gut instincts he proves decisively that he is not ready for the job of President. Advertisement In this instance he may be correct, but if this is the formula for decisive action there will be instances in which he will be wrong. No one, not even the narcissistic egomaniac who looks in the mirror each morning and sees infallibility wrapped around overconfidence, can rely upon hunches as an appropriate proxy to intelligence without an unacceptable degree of risk. Risk-taking may be an appropriate tactic in a business world protected by favorable tax and bankruptcy laws, but on the international stage where mistakes often cause death and destruction it can be catastrophic. There is nothing, I repeat nothing, to suggest that Donald Trump has the slightest knowledge of how to deal with the life and death decisions that confront being commander-in-chief of the deadliest arsenal known to mankind. His bombastic proclivities may very well play out at a negotiating table where the size of profits are the sole metric of success but when you are gambling with other people's lives and other people's money such recklessness can have long-lasting negative impacts upon societies and nations. Donald Trump often suggests that his instincts in hiring folks who know what he doesn't will be his and our salvation. However, there is nothing to suggest that his ego would allow those folks to actually overrule his instincts. Equally as insidious is the judgement used to assemble his advisors. If it is as callous and reckless as the way in which he responds to crises is there any confidence that they may actually know more than the boss? Cool hand Luke he is not. More and more he resembles the notorious gunfighter Kid Shelleen, a character portrayed in the 1965 comedy western Cat Ballou as a drunken bum whose pants fall down when he draws his gun, and who is unable to hit a barn when he shoots. The saddest part is that Trump plays the role sober. Advertisement If the stakes were not so high it would actually be funny, but in this instance the potentially tragic consequences of such idiocy should send shivers down the spine of anyone who prefers to use the intellect either education or experience has afforded them. Yet even in the shadow of such foolishness I am still absolutely bewildered by my progressive friends who insist that Trump may be preferable to Hillary. Absolutely astounding. That is the equivalent of being too clever by half. And spite and revenge are simply unacceptable as reasons to cast a vote for President. My only advice to those who express such outrage is to extract your head from your rump and take a deep breath. Face it, we may very well be looking at an election that pits Hillary against Trump. If so we must soberly assess the very different styles and policy preferences that each has to offer. You do not have to love either or even the two party system that presents us with such a choice. But logic and intelligence forces us to accept the inevitability that either one of them could be the next President of the United States. Anger and frustration do not justify either dropping out altogether or casting a vote in spite. So it is vitally important to use examples such as the one before us at the moment to assess which candidate exemplifies the temperament and judgement required to contain not inflame the situation. Trump's bellicosity is a valuable recruitment tool for the very radical jihadists he detests. I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he is an intelligent man, but if your ego trumps your intelligence it once again smacks of being too clever by half. "And recently, Mr. President, you swept the White House in the rainbow colors. Being the first country on Earth to allow same-sex partnership, Denmark admires and supports your fight for diversity and equal rights," said the Danish Prime Minister Lars Lkke Rasmussen in his address to President Obama during the Nordic Leaders' Summit. President Obama had invited the Nordic leaders to meet, last week, to reaffirm our U.S.-Nordic partnership. It was a wonderful summit, which culminated with Prime Minister Rasmussen's remarks on LGBT rights. Not only did his remarks receive the biggest applause during the State Dinner, it also made me feel very proud to be from Denmark. The U.S.-Nordic bond is based on set of strong, shared values. The respect for universal human rights regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity is one of the strongest bonds between Denmark and the U.S. Therefore, the paragraph on LGBT rights was also one of the easiest to formulate collectively amongst the U.S. and Nordic leaders in the U.S.-Nordic Leaders' Summit Joint Statement Advertisement The language on LGBT in the statement is strong and is really a reflection of how far we have come with the LGBT agenda. That being said, much more has to be done! Millions of people risk discrimination, humiliation and even imprisonment and death because of sexual orientation or gender identity every single day. The U.S. is in itself an example of how LGBT rights may improve in some states, while they deteriorate in others. That is to say that even with improvements, the protection of LGBT rights is an agenda we have to follow closely every single day. To underscore Denmark's continued commitment to support the equal rights and dignity of LGBT people I spoke at the conference "The Geopolitics of LBGT Rights" on Capitol Hill this morning. During the conference, I joined the initiative "Ambassadors for Equality". I am proud to join 42 other ambassadors, who have signed up for this initiative in order to support the equal treatment, dignity and protection of LGBT people. The initiative is spearheaded by Ambassador Andras Simonyi, who's doing tremendous work to advance LGBT rights. It is a strong belief amongst the Danish people that all people are born equal and free. This human rights based approach is reflected in all of Denmark's engagements around the world. With our human rights lens, we do not regard LGBT rights as a matter of being gay or straight. It's about ensuring that everyone enjoys the same universal rights. The inclusion of all is well reflected in the Danish laws. Let me give you five quick examples: 1.Denmark was the first country in the world to grant legal recognition to same-sex "registered partnerships" (in 1989). The law was replaced by a new same-sex marriage law in 2012. This includes marriages in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark. Advertisement 2.Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was entirely prohibited in 2004. Danish law includes hate crimes legislation, which adds extra penalties for crimes committed against people because of their sexuality and for their gender identity or form of gender expression. 3.Same-sex couples were allowed to jointly adopt children in 2010. 4.Gay, lesbian and bisexual soldiers are allowed to serve openly and without hindrance in all branches of the Danish Defence. We have prominent openly gay military leaders and no reported cases of threats. 5.Denmark is also set to become the first country to no longer define being transgender as a mental illness. Being transgender is considered a mental or behavioural disorder by the World Health Organization. A dear friend of mine, Ambassador Rufus Gifford, the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, truly encompasses the LGBT agenda. Ambassador Gifford is a strong diplomatic partner here and in Denmark. He is openly gay. And he decided to get married to his partner Dr. Stephen DeVincent in Denmark. Their wedding was a big event - not only for the couple themselves, but also for us Danes. We were very proud. Ambassador Gifford is an inspiration to all. At the Danish Embassy we will continue to work hard for LGTB rights. The next opportunity is on June 11, when the 2016 Capital Pride Parade takes place here in Washington, DC. I will certainly be there - and so will my Nordic colleagues from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Make sure to save the date and join us in this colourful, fun and important manifestation. The big news coming out of the G7 meeting in Japan will not be about establishing international norms for cybersecurity. That will only get an honorable mention at best. But maybe it should get greater attention: the threat is real and growing. Consider just these four events of the recent past: 1. The electric grid in Ukraine was brought down last Dec. 23 by, it is believed, the Russians. Because of its older design, operators were able to restore power with manual overrides of the computer-controlled system. 2. The Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles was ransomed. This crime takes place when a hacker encrypts your data and demands a ransom, often in untraceable bitcoin, to unlock it. The hospital paid $17,000 rather than risk patients and its ability to operate. Advertisement While these ransom attacks are fairly common, this is the first one believed to have been launched against a hospital. Previously, hospitals had thought patient records and payment details were what hackers would want, not control of the operating systems. Some of the ransoms are as low as $3,000, with the criminals clearly betting that the victims would lose much more by not settling immediately, as did the medical center. The extortionists first asked for $3.6 million. 3. In a blockbuster heist on the Internet, the Bangladesh central bank was robbed of $81 million. The crooks were able to authorize the Federal Reserve of New York to release the money held in an account there. They would have got away with another $860 million, if it were not for a typing mistake. In this case, the money was wired to fraudulent accounts in the Philippines and Sri Lanka. 4. Target, the giant retailer, lost millions of customer records, including credit card details, to an attack in February 2014. Since then, these attacks on retailers to get data have become common. Hackers sell credit card details on what is known as the "black web" to other criminals for big money. Often the finger is pointed at China, which will not be at the G7. While it may be a perpetrator, it also has victim concerns. There is no reason to think that Chinese commerce is not as vulnerable as that in the West. China, with the help of the Red Army, is blamed in many attacks, particularly on U.S. government departments. But little is known of attacks Chinese institutions sustain. Advertisement Governments want to police the Internet and protect their commerce and citizens, but they are also interested in using it in cyberwar. Additionally, they freely use it in the collection of intelligence and as a tool of war or persuasion. Witness U.S. attempts to impede the operation of the centrifuges in Iran and its acknowledged attacks on the computers of ISIS. The existential threat As the Net's guerilla war intensifies, the U.S. electric utility industry, and those of other countries, is a major source of concern, especially since the Ukraine attack. Scott Aaronson, who heads up the cybersecurity efforts of the Edison Electric Institute, the trade group for private utilities, says the government's role is essential and the electric companies work closely with the government in bracing their own cyber defenses. Still, opinions differ dramatically about the vulnerability of the electric grid. These contrasting opinions were on view at a meeting in Boston last month, when two of the top experts on cybersecurity took opposing views of utility vulnerability. Juliette Kayyem, a former assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Homeland Security who now teaches emergency management at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, said she believed the threat to the electric grid was not severe. But Mourad Debbabi, a professor at Concordia University in Montreal, who also has had a career in private industry, thinks the grid is vulnerable -- and that vulnerability goes all the way down to new "smart meters." The fact is that the grid is the battleground for what Aaronson calls "asymmetrical war" where the enemy is varied in skill, purpose and location, while the victims are the equivalent of a standing army, vigilant and vulnerable. No amount of government collaboration will stop criminals and rogue non-state players from hacking out of greed, or malice, or just plain hacker adventurism. If you're one of the many who don't like any presidential nominee this election cycle, don't waste your energy trying to decide whether to vote or not to vote, focus your thinking on which nominee's spouse you could tolerate in the White House. Melania? Do you want a bunny in the White House every day when it's not even Easter? Do you want someone who plans to downsize to the White House's puny 55,000 sq. ft. after failing to find the bathroom in Mar-a-Lago's 110,000 sq. ft? Do you want someone who's been told to have Trump's eldest sons hang their grisly, decapitated, taxidermied trophies of once magnificent African wildlife on the walls of the Situation Room? The purpose is that, when their father and Putin skype, the Russian president can see what's in store for him if he doesn't cave to Trump's demands. Perhaps Trump thinks dead heads on the walls of the White House will make him another Teddy Roosevelt. If so, he can find plenty of them in this congress. Bubba? Too much taxpayer cost to keep tabs on him. If Hillary wins the presidency, she could assign him an office in the East Room, the famous walls of which have enjoyed the music of Yo Yo Ma, Pablo Casal, and Aretha Franklin. Those walls can now listen to Bubba pacticing his saxophone. Or she could appoint him Chief of Staff, the single most important office in the cabinet, where he'd be gatekeeper to POTUS, manage the entire cabinet, and save his sax for his wife. Advertisement Jane? Hmmm. Feisty, loyal, and smart. What's not to like? She's personable, has a killer smile, and she's done a phenomenal job Berning up the country. She was president of Burlington College in Vermont (not to be confused with Bennington College, also in Vermont), for seven years. Is it her fault that the daring real estate expansion she negotiated for Burlington didn't work out, leaving the college with such a huge, unpayable debt, that it's closing down on May 27th? So much for noble intentions. My source of information is not "Anonymous," "sources close to nominees," or "someone who is not authorized to discuss." I use the only infallible source in the nation: Aaron Sorkin's "The West Wing." Mother and teenage daughter are in the kitchen researching colleges and filling out university applications. I was just about to send out a "What the new application essay prompts are" email to students with whom I work. Right in the middle of writing it, it dawned on me that everyone should have access to this information, especially since it's not that easy to find. And so I decided to write a HuffPost blog. I am well aware of how busy students are now with AP tests, finals and other end-of-year activities. In the middle of this hustle-bustle, however, I have heard from any number of juniors (and parents) wanting to know what students should be doing during the summer re: college admissions and application essays. Here is what I have to offer: Advertisement 1. COLLEGE LIST If you haven't already, pull together and then finalize your college list. HuffPost is full of blogs that tell you how to do this, including "Seven Steps to Putting Together a Great College List," and "5 Biggest Mistakes Applicants Make When Putting Together Their College Lists." You need to know where you're applying to college before you even start thinking about writing essays. 2. ACTIVITIES RESUME Create an activities resume. There are so many ways in which you can use a resume, including submitting it to colleges through The Common App. A resume is an essential tool in making sure you fully answer the 5-item Honors space and 10-item Activities Grid on the Common App. Finally, a resume is perfect for evaluating your involvements and talents in order to focus on what's important and meaningful in college essays. For information about creating and using an activities resume, read "Activities Resumes: A Surprising First Step to Having a Successful College Application." 3. COLLEGE APPLICATIONS: THE COMMON APP, UNIVERSAL APPLICATION, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA APPLICATION AND THE COALITION APP The following notes the different applications colleges use for their respective admissions programs. Of course, many colleges have their own unique applications. Determine which applications the schools on your college list use. A. COMMON APP The Common Application now has more than 600 colleges signed up to use their application service. Advertisement After school is out, begin filling out the different spaces in The Common App. As you may have heard, The Common App has a new policy that allows students to sign up for a 2015-2016 Common App account AND begin working on it. What's new is that the account you create can be rolled over to the 2016-2017 Common App. This is HUGE! To learn more, go to The Common App's "Five Things to Know about Account Rollover." Another thing to do is begin identifying the potential topics you want to consider for your Common App Personal Statement essay. You will be glad to know that the Personal Statement prompt options for 2016-2017 are the same for 2015-2016. Here they are: THE COMMON APPLICATION ESSAY PROMPTS 2016-2017 In 650 words or less, please respond to one of these prompts: PROMPT #1: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. PROMPT #2: The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? PROMPT #3: Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again? PROMPT #4: Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution PROMPT #5: Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family. Colleges who make use of The Common App may also require other essays as Supplements to the above essays. Advertisement B. THE UNIVERSAL APPLICATION 44 colleges make use of The Universal Application, including American University in Bulgaria, Bay Path, Beloit, Brandeis, Bryant, University of Charleston, University of Chicago, Christian Brothers University, Colgate, Cornell, Dean, Duke, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Emerson, Fish, Gardner-Webb, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Johnson & Wales, Lake Erie, Landmark, Lawrence Tech, Lynn, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Monmouth, Nazareth College, Newberry College, Notre Dame of Maryland, Princeton, Randolph College, Rensselaer Polytechnic, Rice, Rochester Tech, University of Rochester, Roger Williams University, Savannah College of Art and Design, Southern Vermont College, University of Tamp, Utica, Vanderbilt, Wentworth Tech, Westminster, Wilson College and the University of Wyoming. THE UNIVERSAL APPLICATION ESSAY PROMPTS PROMPT #1: In 650 or fewer words, please write an essay that demonstrates your ability to develop and communicate your thoughts. Some ideas include: a person you admire; a life-changing experience; or your viewpoint on a particular current event. PROMPT #2: In 100-150 words, tell us about one of your extracurricular, volunteer or employment activities. Colleges who make use of The Universal App may also require other essays as Supplements to the above essays. Advertisement C. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA APPLICATION While The Common App essay prompts are the same, the UC questions are TOTALLY different. The directions are to answer four of the eight questions and limit your responses to 350 words each. Here they are: THE NEW UC ESSAY PROMPTS 1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time. 2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side. 3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? 4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced. 5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? 6. Describe your favorite academic subject and explain how it has influenced you. 7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? 8. What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the University of California? In case you haven't heard, 80 "elite" colleges and universities are coming together to offer an alternative to The Common Application starting 2016. Their goal is "to improve the college admission process for all students" and it's free! The colleges include American, Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Brown, Bryn Mawr, Cal Tech, Carleton, Claremont McKenna, Clemson, Colby, Colgate, College of the Holy Cross, William & Mary, Colorado College, Columbia University, Connecticut College, Cornell, Dartmouth, Davidson, Duke, Emory, Florida State, Franklin and Marshall, Olin College of Engineering, Georgia Tech, Grinnell, Hamilton, Harvard, Haverford, Illinois State, Indiana University, James Madison, Johns Hopkins, Miami of Ohio, Michigan State, Middlebury, Mount Holyoke, North Carolina State, Northeastern, Northwestern, Oberlin, Ohio State, Penn State, Pomona, Princeton, Purdue, Ramapo, Reed, Rice, Rutgers, New Brunswick, Skidmore, Smith, St. Olaf, Stanford, SUNY, Geneseo, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY, Buffalo, Swarthmore, Texas A &M, College Station, College of New Jersey, Tufts, Union, University of Chicago, University of Connecticut, University of Florida, Gainesville, University of Georgia, Athens, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, University of Iowa, University of Maryland, Mary Washington, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, University of Missouri, Columbia, University of New Hampshire, Durham, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, University of Rochester, University of South Carolina, Columbia, University of Vermont, Burlington, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, University of Washington, Seattle, Vanderbilt, Vassar, Virginia Polytechnic, Wake Forest, Washington University, St. Louis, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Williams and Yale. Advertisement The Coalition essay prompts directions say that applicants should choose one essay and recommend that the answer be no longer than 500-550 words. THE COALITION ESSAY QUESTIONS 1. Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it. 2. Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution. 3. Has there been a time when you've had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs? 4. what is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What is the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)? 5. Submit an essay on a topic of your choice. It goes without saying that many colleges have their own unique applications, and do not make use of any of the above. In writing this blog, MY GOAL FOR YOU IS TO COMPLETE ONE MAJOR COLLEGE APPLICATION, INCLUDING ITS ESSAYS, BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS IN THE FALL! You have no idea how useful this is. Advertisement Last night I used the word stupid in front of my children. I felt slightly ashamed. I felt as if some word police will soon be knocking on my door demanding that I turn myself in for being a lousy parent and allowing this awful word to cross my lips. In today's society we are not supposed to admit that there are people out there whose actions leave much to be desired for. I guess I was frustrated with my son for not wanting to read and for asking me: "Why do I have to read?" He is seven years old. I am sure many would say that it is not a "big deal" (favorite two words these days). It's not a big deal to miss a sport practice. It is not a big deal to skip on reading books. It is not a big deal to feed your children McDonald's. It is not a big deal to let kids play video games, for hours on end. Hey, we as parents cannot keep up with all the demands thrown at us, we must "let some things go" (another favorite phrase). However, I felt strongly that this is more than the plain desire to control my son's actions and I needed to explain to him (bluntly maybe) that things are not as simple as that. So, I called "some people" stupid. I was having flashes of future to come where I permanently damaged my son who is going around calling everyone stupid and people refusing to be friends with him. Then I blinked and the moment passed. I am in charge of teaching this little person the right from wrong in this world. I am also responsible to let him know that he will run into people who will exhibit some "stupid" behavior and he needs to learn how to deal with it. Advertisement "Stupid is what stupid does" Forest Gump would say. Yes, you may be intelligent but your actions (or what you say) sometimes mean that you are really not thinking. Stupid is not a reflection of one's ability, people with mental disabilities are not by proxy stupid. Actually, only those who have capacity to think for themselves and learn on a higher level are those who exhibit these "interesting behaviors". Here I was, stuck in the perpetual mode of teaching my children, guiding them, my son was giving me a hard time about finishing his library book. Lately he has been refusing to read. As he was progressing towards reading "chapter books" he was initially very excited and read all the time (on the bus, at home, in the car), but lately he was having a hard time sitting down and enjoying a book. So, being an avid reader myself and reading everything from Karl Marx's "Communist Manifesto", to Kafka's "Metamorphosis" to Nora Roberts' fun romance novels, I was very frustrated. I was trying to coerce him into reading and later telling him that he needs to do what he's told and then I realized that forcing the issue was really not the way to go ("Stupid is what stupid does"). Both my husband and I were now in the kids' room talking about the benefits of fiction and non-fiction works and reading. My son, who is too wise for his age, was asking questions that were pretty intuitive. "Why do I have to read fiction if I want to be a scientist?" "Why do I have to read when I can just watch the Discovery Channel?" Those were some damn good questions. I told him, bluntly:" You have to read so that you don't become stupid like some people." I was shocked at my own words. What did I mean by this? After fumbling to assure my son that I really did not mean that, it occurred to me that maybe I did mean it. I read a blog post that a twenty-three-year-old woman wrote (name is irrelevant) titled "I am a proud Donald Trump Supporter-Get over it". In this article she argues that her political views and who she supports should be respected and that no one is entitled to call her a racist or a sexist-bigot simply because she supports Trump. I agree that no-one should be calling her names and it is a free country so she can support whoever she wants. She may be allowed to support Trump and people should not be calling her names or keying her car (she claims that the Trump supporters that openly support him have had this happen to them). Advertisement This recent college graduate was giving validity to a campaign that has been demeaning at every step of the way. At the risk of sounding pompous and condescending I would encourage this young lady to read a little, familiarize herself with the world and the history that lead to the current events. For a start she can read Trump's website and the policies outlined there. His immigration policy calls for a tighter control on immigration and it is stating that 40% of unemployment among African-Americans and the Hispanics (I am assuming he means legal ones) could somehow be solved by curbing immigration. Since most of the immigrant workers are working in the low-paying job sector because majority of these immigrants have less than the high-school level of education (see Report from Pew Research Center http://www.pewhispanic.org/2015/03/26/share-of-unauthorized-immigrant-workers-in-production-construction-jobs-falls-since-2007/ ) , then he must be insinuating that these young African-Americans and Hispanics ( I suppose he is now referring to the legal ones) should be looking for these low-paying jobs that will earn them no more than a minimum wage thus effectively not lifting them out of the poverty levels that they are living in now. Trump's website also calls for the H1-B visa overhaul. Numbers tell us that the share of the H1-B visa workers is only a small part of the American work force. It is allows for measly 65000 (bachelor degreed) workers to be admitted to the States per year and an additional 20,000 with masters degrees, a speck in the sea of the still high demand for educated work force in the States where employment numbers are in millions. For example, I have heard a speculation that in the State of Connecticut where I live the unemployment percent for engineers is zero based on the information I received from a friend and the HR Person in her company. While this is in no way an accurate number and it is"hear-say" information I can tell you that my friend's company is having a hard time hiring good engineers. They do not have enough candidates to fill in their open positions (their company does not support hiring candidates with H1-B visa status). Further I would encourage her to take up a few books and peruse them instead of reading junk on the websites and various blogs discussing only one sided opinions echoing her own sentiments. I would personally recommend the Qur'an (trust me it reads the same as the Bible), the Bible, Sykes-Picot Treaty, letters written to "the Federalist" preceding the voting on the Bill of Rights, perhaps even Hitler's "Mein Kampf" to understand fully the nature of America, the nature of how dangerous Trump's hate-mongering speeches are. She needs to really understand the Muslims and the causes of the conflicts in the Middle East (Sykes-Picot Treaty text and many books written on the subject are a good place to start). She needs to understand the deep issues that America has within their own young generation that will be strapped on with the debt and disarray that the present politicians and the business people like Trump will leave them with. Advertisement I could recommend books on economy of immigration and how it is important for American progress, books on political games played presently (by both parties) and many others, but then I would really be pompous and condescending. To fight stupidity, I told my son, is to read and think and imagine. To fight stupidity is to avoid watching what TV propaganda is telling us. To fight stupidity is our ability to learn from the facts that are written down in books that people who studied history and events thoroughly wrote and to critically asses what is being presented to us and not believing only what we are comfortable with. Books that contain opinions we agree with and also the books that we do not agree with so much are both available in every library, in every town in America, because this is a free country and the books are not banned for stating truths, regardless how uncomfortable they may be. If your library does not have the book you are looking for, they will request it from a neighboring library (at least in my small New England town they will.)This is what distinguishes America from other countries and people who may not have the same choices. There is really no excuse. Drop Facebook, blogs and twitter and Go Forth and Learn! Finally, I told my son that as important it is to read the non-fiction works, it is just as important to read fiction works, to be able to imagine the world that is good and accepting and free of racism and bigotry. Fiction helps develop imagination and our ability to create wonderful things and to improve our lives. Advertisement Growing up along the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez border, the interrelation of our two communities is ingrained in our DNA. It's part of everyday life; waking up on one side of the border, traveling to the other for work, to visit relatives or enjoy some good food; and then heading back home with the hundreds of people that cross the border daily. Despite the long wait times to cross the border, the flow between our two cities remains seamless and undisrupted. However, politicians that are far removed from the realities of the border, talk about erecting a big great wall that would disrupt the harmonious relationship we share along the border. They speak of keeping out criminals and rapists, while we know it's often grandmothers, students and hardworking people that cross daily: do we want to keep them out too? For those of us who embrace the border for what it is -- a gateway between two nations that facilitates trade, economic activity, the exchange of culture and traditions, and interactions between people -- it's important to lift up the realities of the border. While we can spend significant time dispelling myths, what we would rather do is invite people to come and experience the border firsthand. Advertisement Last month, we had the privilege of hosting a delegation of 10 influencers, from the corporate, advocacy and policy communities, who visited the border region as part of the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program. They were here to personally get a look at the border, which as we know, has become a topic of national conversation this election cycle. The delegation was surprised at how much coordination and partnership happens between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. It's a binational ecosystem that's coming together to plan for its economic and social future. For example, one day the group toured Paul F. Foster School of Medicine in El Paso -- the first medical school built along the U.S.-Mexico border -- to hear about regional efforts to create a health and medical cluster that will address the health care needs of people on both sides of the border. The next day, they toured Seisa Medical in Juarez, which manufactures medical devices for international companies and is part of this health ecosystem trying to spur health and medical innovation in the region. While visitors are surprised at everything happening in El Paso, they are even more surprised by how much innovation and progress is happening in Ciudad Juarez. Advertisement As someone who invests on both sides of the border -- and who has roots in both cities -- I welcome the awe that comes from visiting Juarez. For a city that had mostly been put on people's radars and covered in the news for a wave of intense violence, it's hard for outsiders to imagine what else Juarez has to offer -- or if it's even safe to travel here now. Luckily, the answer is there is a lot the city has to show; and, yes, it is now safe to travel here. As the group learned firsthand, Juarez is shedding its history of low-skill, low-wage manufacturing and transitioning its workforce into technology and advanced manufacturing opportunities such as those at Seisa Medical, Mechatronics, and Transtelco where Juarenses are leading in technological and medical innovation. Juarenses have also come together after the wave of violence in the late 2010s to create stronger civic organizations and public spaces that allow the community to thrive. The group visited La Rodadora, a world-class interactive museum where children and families from Juarez can come to see more than 120 exhibits and even take coding classes. If students are not able to make it to La Rodadora to participate in these coding classes, they can make it to the TechHub, which offers the same classes and so much more. The delegation ended their tour of Juarez at this state of the art startup incubator and business accelerator, which is connecting Juarez with the latest innovative technology and inspiring innovation in the border region. Advertisement After recent events during this bizarre election season, let's pause. Do we want to inhabit a culture of human dignity, or an honor culture where every slight is met with face-saving, self-important insults? Do we want to transcend harm--or to cause it? Do we want to allow the indignant ill will swirling within our flawed human souls to overflow, or to temper such poison with its only true antidote--empathy? Our civic duties lend these questions import. As voters, we are responsible for electing legislators who translate our values into laws. We are responsible for electing executives who direct the government's monopoly on the lawful use of force, both inside and outside our borders. Our votes will affect everything from mass incarceration to how we fight terrorism. The point is simple: Elections are important. How can we debate the 2016 election in a way that recognizes that gravity? To me, improving our discourse means rising above "the impulse to do harm," which is something humans naturally feel after being slighted. We must suppress our biases. We must embrace System 2 thinking over System 1 impulse. We must strive to see others, especially others who are "the Other," as human beings rather than political beings. Only then can we create an all-encompassing rhetoric that lends equal dignity to all who enter the arena of good-faith political debate. Only then can we have a productive discussion. Advertisement I'm not singling out the Right. The illiberal Left's festering tendency to shut down speakers because they are conservative "cis white men" is troubling; it's fueling the rise of Trumpist sophists peddling a different flavor of identity politics. Still, the Right's growing obsession with Mexican immigrants is contributing to our polarized discussion at least as much as the regressive Left's illiberal tactics. As Americans, we are failing to be kind. We are failing to realize that to advocate for a cause, one need not advocate against people. One can disagree with ideas instead of disagreeing with people. One can view people--all people--as flawed beings worthy of good-faith treatment, as ends rather than means to the fulfillment of one's parochial sense of self-righteousness, of anger, of political vindication. 2016 proves, to me, that there is only one thing we can do that is truly revolutionary. We can be kind. This post was modified from a previous post concerning the tenor of campus debate at Harvard Law School. Opinion / Columnist Because the US-EU imperialist media apparatus prematurely and arrogantly proclaimed themselves victors of what was labelled in political circles as the Cold War, this led our former colonisers and enslavers to function from the understanding that they had absolute carte Blanche when it came to propagating their ideas by intentionally distorting the history of people they had previously conquered and ruthlessly exploited.This methodology is of course without question an extension of their around the clock efforts to revive and reinvent those amongst our ranks, who find it both politically and financially rewarding to work for the demise of our sincerest efforts to be united and self-determining at every phase of the African revolutionary process.While the birthday of Malcolm X was celebrated by Africans the world over on May 19, it is necessary to also evoke the memories and fighting spirits of our beloved sister, the writer and freedom fighter Lorraine Hansberry and the indomitable Vietnamese warrior Ho Chi Minh who were born on the same day.When addressing how Vietnamese writers, artistes, and journalists should approach ideological warfare, Uncle Ho said; "Write in such a way as that you can be readily understood by both the young and old, by men as well as women, even by children".Our sister Lorraine confronting this exact dilemma said; "Never be afraid to sit awhile and think," which on the surface appears to be rather simplistic, but is rather potent when we take into consideration how vulnerable Africans that let their enemies define what our role on the world stage should be, have truly become.Since the beginning of this millennium Zimbabweans in particular and Africans in general at home and abroad, have become all too familiar with the following words: Human rights, democracy, transparency, civil society, rule of law, fact-finding missions. The manner in how regime change agents in Zimbabwe use these words to make their arguments and justify their unpatriotic activity, is almost identical to how glossaries explain their purpose, which is described in Random House Webster's dictionary as a list of difficult or specialised terms with accompanying definitions.When Mr Tsvangirai announced the Save Zimbabwe Campaign was a civil disobedience campaign, this conjured up an image that MDC-T was duplicating historic demonstrations organised inside US borders against modern day segregation like Bloody Sunday in Selma, the March from Selma to Montgomery or the Black Power march in Greenville, Mississippi, which would place Mr Tsvangirai historically alongside Chief Albert Luthuli, who organised a bus boycott in South Africa after witnessing the success of this tactic in Montgomery, Alabama. What blew this plan out of the water is when MDC-T members started throwing petrol bombs at police stations and nearly beating a member of the rival MDC faction Trudy Stevenson to death due to political tension and differences.In 2007 when Mr Tsvangirai became the neo-colonialist poster child for human rights abuses who ignored these provocation methods, what was called global condemnation actually comprised of nine nations: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, Sweden, the US, Mauritius and South Africa. When President Mugabe briefed SADC leadership a few weeks later the exaggerated lies were put to rest.We recently saw regime change agents in Washington mildly vandalise the Zimbabwean embassy by writing on the pavement directly in front of the gate in black magic marker "Bob Must Go". Based on protocol, all embassies are supposed to be under the watchful eye of the US Secret Service, the officers on duty must have done what Christians and non-violent protesters are trained to do; turn the other cheek.During his tenure as the Secretary-General of Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) Mr Tsvangirai was able to rock to sleep our most seasoned and respected organisation fighting for African people's rights in the work force, the Congress of Black Trade Unionists whose, President Emeritus William Lucy, accepted the propaganda slant that President Mugabe and ZANU-PF had outlived their usefulness, were abusing political power and it was time for Mr Tsvangirai to lead Zimbabwe back to prosperity. During a debate on the Zimbabwe elections aired on WPFW in Washington, DC in 2008 Mr Lucy admitted that he never consulted with late vice presidents and national heroes Simon Muzenda and Joseph Msika who, alongside Father Zimbabwe Joshua Nkomo, among the most respected freedom fighters, had a trade unionist background.It is hard to determine how Mr Lucy and CBTU arrived at the conclusion that they could have a full analysis of the needs of workers in Zimbabwe, without counsel from these two iconic figures who were still among us physically when CBTU decided to support ZCTU unconditionally. Another key point worthy of mention was that Mr Lucy had no answer when questioned about the relationship between the international labour solidarity centre and the CIA, which was pertinent since the money to start MDC was funnelled through ZCTU by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. What became glaringly obvious is how Mr Lucy and Bill Fletcher Jr, who at the time headed the now defunct Trans Africa Forum, were supporting regime change through ZCTU, because they clearly understood supporting MDC would be viewed as the equivalent of supporting UNITA instead of MPLA in Angola or RENAMO in Mozambique.The African world also found the efforts of US-EU imperialism suggesting that ZINASU (Zimbabwe National Student Union) was cut from the same cloth as SNCC(Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee), GUPS(General Union of Palestinian Students), or SASO (South African Student Organisation).This angle was completely discredited when one of their bi-products, Briggs Bomba worked for Africa Action who along with Trans Africa Forum, and the Priority for Africa Network oversaw what was strategically labelled the Zimbabwe Solidarity Fund which funnelled National Endowment for Democracy money to 14 civil society groups in Zimbabwe.Any attempt to provide an analytical framework would be incomplete if perhaps the most colourful masqueraders, Global Witness, were not included in any discussion focusing on regime change in Zimbabwe. While their organisational mantra is exposing corruption and environmental abuse, Global Witness appears to have no shame when it comes to funding any unholy alliances. Their plan entitled the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative was introduced in South Africa at the World Summit on Sustainable Development by none other than former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.Some of the characters on the advisory board of Global Alliance include Arlene McCarthy who served four terms as a member of the EU parliament from 1994-2014, Stephen King, who was chief executive of BBC media action, which is more horrific than the novels written by his namesake, and last but not least Alexander Soros, the biological son of one of President Mugabe and ZANU-PF's most bitter detractors, George Soros. When we hear that old adage; the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, it certainly applies to the Soros family as Mr Soros runs the Alexander Soros Foundation and his father in conjunction with OXFAM, Transparency International and Save The Children and the British and Norwegian Governments have financed Global Witness from the beginning.The only argument they make more compelling than their pseudo intellectual arguments are when they justify who butters their bread.This is why the laughable claim that Zimbabweans are involved in blood diamonds in Marange even though there is no war or military conflict on the ground is racist and disrespectful and holds no weight at all.As far as human rights go, Commandante Raul Castro spoke not only for Cuba, but for all people subjected to colonialism and slavery when he politely warned President Obama about politicizing human rights. When it comes to democracy, all regime change agents continue to avoid the collective will of SADC to lift sanctions on Zimbabwe and the will of the people who say the land question and indigenisation are irreversible.From the wannabe graffiti, artistes in Washington to the reactionary technocrats in Harare, should read the writing on the wall.Obi Egbuna Jr is the US Correspondent to The Herald and the External Relations Officer of ZICUFA(Zimbabwe Cuba Friendship Association). His email is obiegbuna15@gmail.com This week's criminal indictment of an oil company for its involvement in the Refugio oil spill in California last year comes as no surprise. After all, Plains All-American Pipelines' corroded pipes allowed more than 140,000 gallons of oil to spew into the coastal environment, killing birds, sea lions, and other wildlife. But there's a larger crime at work here - one that may not seem as obvious - that sets the stage for the oil industry's spills, the pollution of our beaches and coastal communities, and the worsening of the climate crisis. By allowing companies to drill for offshore oil, and accepting that these kinds of incidents will happen without a doubt, the U.S. government is setting the stage for one disaster after the next. And it's been going on so long, we've stopped taking notice on most days. Did you hear about how one of Shell's offshore pipelines spewed nearly 90,000 gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico last week? It created a 13-mile oil slick on the Gulf. No? There were short news stories about it, but not enough to penetrate our national consciousness enough to inform federal decisions about whether to expand or scale back the country's extensive offshore oil infrastructure. Advertisement Plains' pipelines along Santa Barbara's coastline serve seven offshore oil platforms that have been dormant since the Refugio spill almost a year ago. They should stay that way - forever. Federal data shows that pipeline failures and spills become exponentially more likely as they approach 40 years old, and most of Southern California's coastal oil infrastructure is that age or older, built from the 1960s to early '80s. Continuing to operate oil pipelines that are likely to burst is criminally negligent. So is waiting hours to notify the authorities after a spill happens. California Attorney General Kamala Harris, upon announcing the Plains indictment on May 17, said in a public statement, "Crimes against our environment must be met with swift action and accountability." When will we treat Big Oil's routine crimes against our climate and coastal communities with the same firm resolve? People around the world are demanding "swift action and accountability" from President Obama to meet his carbon reduction pledges before he leaves office, not the expansion of offshore drilling in the Gulf and the Arctic that his administration proposed in its current five-year energy plan. Coastal oil spills violate laws protecting wildlife and water quality, and are not the "unfortunate accident" that Plains called its Refugio spill this week. You just can't call a statistical inevitability an "accident" - it's the inherent cost of continuing to extract oil from the ocean floor. In fact, when the pipeline was constructed, the federal government acknowledged that the probability of an oil spill increased to 100 percent once the pipeline reached 40 years of age, and that there could be significant adverse impacts from such a spill. Advertisement The reason establishment, conservative Republicans have swallowed their pride, eaten their words, and have held their noses at the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency can be summed up in one acronym: SCOTUS. Supreme Court of the United States. Forget about the wall and making Mexico pay for it. Or deporting 11 million illegal aliens. Or meeting with North Korean strong man Kim Jong-Un. Or scrapping Obamacare. Or permitting Japan and South Korea to develop nuclear weapons. Or by sheer force of his personality making America great again. However bad Trump might be as the leader of the free world, as the next president he might pick one to three, or even four, Supreme Court justices, jurists who could guide the nation back to a time when prejudice and bias dominated employment, housing, electoral and education standards, while environmental, labor and safety safeguards were secondary to corporate profits. In releasing his list of potential nominees last week Trump cunningly calculated the correct connection his candidacy posed to conservatives and the Republican establishment. The elites know a president has temporary powers, four to eight years, but a properly picked Supreme Court justice can wield influence and power for decades, for a generation or longer. So they are all in on their Faustian deal with The Donald. Even if Democrats unseat Trump in 2020 they wouldn't be able to unseat picks he made for the court in the next four years. Advertisement Did you ever stop to analyze why Hillary Clinton is so hated by Republicans? She did, after all, vote with George W. Bush for the Iraq war. She's generally as hawkish as they are. They blame her for the deaths of four Americans in Libya, but they say hardly a word about the thousands who have died and the billions of dollars squandered in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan based on lies by Bush and Dick Cheney. She is a capitalist, as her speaking fees clearly show. She is liberal, but less so than Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. She showed strong family values by standing by her man when he was accused of sexual indiscretions. She hasn't been accused of sexual infidelities as have numerous Republican politicians. She hasn't been proven to be corrupt and criminal as have some GOP leaders, such as former Speakers of the House Dennis Hastert and Tom DeLay. No, the reason they hate her so is the threat she represents to their way of life. Hillary would place progressive justices on the Supreme Court. Which brings up the most important theme Hillary and other Democrats must repeat over and over: the future of the Supreme Court and that of our country is at stake in this election. They need to draw stark contrasts from today's rights and protections versus the rollbacks a conservative majority would impose. Advertisement Barack Obama must become the campaigner-in-chief for his legacy. This is no time to be an above-the-fray president. In a wide-ranging interview conducted by Guillaume Goubert and The WorldPost's "Following Francis" columnist, Sebastien Maillard, the pope demonstrates once again his wise and mature grasp of the issues. In the interview, he acknowledges the limits of Europe's ability to absorb refugees while focusing on the larger picture of why there are so many migrants. Francis cites an unjust global economy in which, "the great majority of humanity's wealth has fallen into the hands of a minority of the population." He blames arms traffickers for fomenting profitable conflict. And he criticizes the counterproductive consequences of Western intervention: "In the face of Islamic terrorism, it would therefore be better to question ourselves about the way in [which] an overly Western model of democracy has been exported to countries such as Iraq, where a strong government previously existed. Or in Libya, where a tribal structure exists. We cannot advance without taking these cultures into account. As a Libyan said recently, 'We used to have one Gaddafi, now we have fifty.' The pope also calls on Europe to "rediscover its capacity to integrate," which had once characterized its long history. Advertisement If Pope Francis represents the inclusive universal spirit, Donald Trump and his xenophobic counterparts in France, Austria -- where elections this weekend will likely see the victory of the far-right -- and elsewhere represent the exclusivist nationalist spirit that searches for scapegoats instead of solutions. Writing from Germany, Benjamin Reuter looks at how Austria's "right-wing hipsters" have become an influential force. Writing from Yerevan, Armenia, Armine Sahakyan ponders the sympathy in Russia and the post-Soviet states for Donald Trump: "Given that many leaders in the former Soviet Union are racists, homophobes, bullies and thugs," she writes, "it's no wonder they like Trump. As president of the United States, he would likely receive a hero's welcome in their capitals." Writing from Beirut, former MI6 agent Alastair Crooke worries that anti-Western nationalists who want to prepare Russia for a confrontation with NATO are gaining influence. Crooke also provocatively suggests that Donald Trump's unorthodox views could break out of the policy gridlock of the status quo. He writes that, "Trump can simply say that American -- and European -- national security interests pass directly through Russia -- which they clearly do -- that Russia does not threaten America -- which it clearly does not -- and that NATO is, in any case, 'obsolete,' as he has said. It makes perfect sense to join with Russia and its allies to surround and destroy the so-called Islamic State." Writing from New Delhi, Kabir Taneja describes how Trump has fixated the attention of Indians with his unorthodox antics and even prompted a fringe nationalist Hindu group to organize a ceremony to bring him good luck. Iranian dissident Akbar Ganji marvels at how Donald Trump has cast America as weak and victimized. Advertisement Writing for HuffPost Italy, historian Andrea Mammone sees a common angst animating the rise of populism across the West: "The uneducated white members of the working-class on both sides of the Atlantic are angry, tired and likely worried about globalization, delocalization, immigration and unemployment, while the middle class is becoming poorer thanks to the weak economy and concentration of wealth in the hands of the few." Writing from Manila, Rommel Banlaoi looks at the shakeups in foreign policy that the election of Rodrigo Duterte -- who has been called "the Donald Trump of the Philippines" for his demagogic bluster -- could bring. "While Duterte seriously values the Philippines' long-standing security alliance with the U.S.," Banlaoi says, "he seems to be more enthusiastic in repairing the Philippines' damaged political ties with China." In a fascinating interview conducted by the philosopher Daniel Bell at Tsinghua University's Institute for Advanced Study in Beijing, "Sapiens" author Yuval Harari offers a sober glimpse into the future. "The whole of biology since Darwin can be summarized in three words: 'Organisms are algorithms,'" says Harari. "Simultaneously, computer scientists have been learning how to create better and better electronic algorithms. Now these two waves -- the one coming from biology and the other coming from computer science -- are merging around this master concept of the algorithm, and their merger will create a tsunami that will wash everything in its way. The basic insight which unites the biological with the electronic is that bodies and brains are also algorithms. Hence the wall between machines and humans, between computer science and biology, is collapsing and I think the next century and probably the future of life itself will be shaped by this algorithmic view of the world." Also looking to the future, Hal Sirkin assesses the quickening pace of robots replacing workers in both the advanced and emerging economies. Last week the Brazilian Senate ousted President Dilma Roussef from office by initiating impeachment proceedings. Lucas Bento hails the process as ultimately good for democracy because the rule of law has prevailed. Writing for HuffPost Brazil, Thais Viyuela sees it far differently. She sees the "attack" on Brazil's first female president as "an attack on all women." Advertisement On a broader scale, World Bank CEO and Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati argues that ending poverty means closing the health and opportunity gaps between men and women. As one example of what that might mean, we take a look at an online effort by Turkish entrepreneurs to teach young girls English in order to boost their chances in life. Writing from Havana, Yoani Sanchez sees the coming collapse of the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as protests mount and international support evaporates. This 360 degree tour of Cuba makes it seem as if you are there. Writing from Spain, Pablo Machuca examines how the anti-austerity movement there has upended the political order. From Istanbul, WorldPost Middle East Correspondent Sophia Jones reports that aid groups were finally able this week to deliver life-saving supplies to 10,000 Syrians isolated by a government siege in a Damascus suburb. To mark the 50th anniversary of the start of the Cultural Revolution in China, we rummage back through the vintage propaganda posters of that era. Fast forward to 2016 -- or is it backward? Alexandra Ma reports on a couple that spent their wedding night copying out the Chinese constitution as a gesture of loyalty to the Communist Party. In a podcast, Eric Olander and Cobus van Staden discuss why China is not in fact on a land-buying spree in Africa. Sarah Grossman delivers some good news about a new strain of corn that can help end hunger by producing 50 percent more kernels than a typical maize crop. Finally, in our Singularity series this week we examine how facial recognition technology can put your words into the mouth of anyone. Advertisement WHO WE ARE EDITORS: Nathan Gardels, Co-Founder and Executive Advisor to the Berggruen Institute, is the Editor-in-Chief of The WorldPost. Kathleen Miles is the Executive Editor of The WorldPost. Farah Mohamed is the Managing Editor of The WorldPost. Alex Gardels and Peter Mellgard are the Associate Editors of The WorldPost. Katie Nelson is the National Editor at the Huffington Post, overseeing The WorldPost and HuffPost's editorial coverage. Charlotte Alfred and Nick Robins-Early are World Reporters. Rowaida Abdelaziz is Social Media Editor. CORRESPONDENTS: Sophia Jones in Istanbul EDITORIAL BOARD: Nicolas Berggruen, Nathan Gardels, Arianna Huffington, Eric Schmidt (Google Inc.), Pierre Omidyar (First Look Media) Juan Luis Cebrian (El Pais/PRISA), Walter Isaacson (Aspen Institute/TIME-CNN), John Elkann (Corriere della Sera, La Stampa), Wadah Khanfar (Al Jazeera), Dileep Padgaonkar (Times of India) and Yoichi Funabashi (Asahi Shimbun). VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS: Dawn Nakagawa. CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Moises Naim (former editor of Foreign Policy), Nayan Chanda (Yale/Global; Far Eastern Economic Review) and Katherine Keating (One-On-One). Sergio Munoz Bata and Parag Khanna are Contributing Editors-At-Large. The Asia Society and its ChinaFile, edited by Orville Schell, is our primary partner on Asia coverage. Eric X. Li and the Chunqiu Institute/Fudan University in Shanghai and Guancha.cn also provide first person voices from China. We also draw on the content of China Digital Times. Seung-yoon Lee is The WorldPost link in South Korea. Jared Cohen of Google Ideas provides regular commentary from young thinkers, leaders and activists around the globe. Bruce Mau provides regular columns from MassiveChangeNetwork.com on the "whole mind" way of thinking. Patrick Soon-Shiong is Contributing Editor for Health and Medicine. ADVISORY COUNCIL: Members of the Berggruen Institute's 21st Century Council and Council for the Future of Europe serve as the Advisory Council -- as well as regular contributors -- to the site. These include, Jacques Attali, Shaukat Aziz, Gordon Brown, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Juan Luis Cebrian, Jack Dorsey, Mohamed El-Erian, Francis Fukuyama, Felipe Gonzalez, John Gray, Reid Hoffman, Fred Hu, Mo Ibrahim, Alexei Kudrin, Pascal Lamy, Kishore Mahbubani, Alain Minc, Dambisa Moyo, Laura Tyson, Elon Musk, Pierre Omidyar, Raghuram Rajan, Nouriel Roubini, Nicolas Sarkozy, Eric Schmidt, Gerhard Schroeder, Peter Schwartz, Amartya Sen, Jeff Skoll, Michael Spence, Joe Stiglitz, Larry Summers, Wu Jianmin, George Yeo, Fareed Zakaria, Ernesto Zedillo, Ahmed Zewail, and Zheng Bijian. From the Europe group, these include: Marek Belka, Tony Blair, Jacques Delors, Niall Ferguson, Anthony Giddens, Otmar Issing, Mario Monti, Robert Mundell, Peter Sutherland and Guy Verhofstadt. MISSION STATEMENT The WorldPost is a global media bridge that seeks to connect the world and connect the dots. Gathering together top editors and first person contributors from all corners of the planet, we aspire to be the one publication where the whole world meets. By Janet Hernandez, Senior Civic Engagement Project Manager and David Castillo, Digital Content Manager With nearly one million Latino citizen youth turning 18 every year, the Latino voting population continues to grow and become active in our democracy, but there is more work to do. In the last election millennials had the lowest turnout rate of all age groups. To close this gap, NCLR launched the High School Democracy Project at East Austin College Prep last month to increase youth voter participation by engaging high school students and teachers across the country. Melissa Garcia, a high school senior at NCLR California Affiliate Academia Avance, became a registered voter on April 28, her 18th birthday and day of the curriculum launch; she was preregistered in the state of California. "As a newly registered voter, I'm really excited to vote for the first time because I want to know how it feels to speak my mind with my vote; I hope my vote makes a difference in our community." Melissa Garcia from Academia Avance, promoting the NCLR App. Garcia, participating in the High School Democracy Project Training Session The High School Democracy Project was designed in coordination with East Austin College Prep, Houston Gateway Academy, Academia Avance, and AAMA's George I. Sanchez Charter School. The curriculum includes six lessons; it starts with an overview of government, explains the different types of governments including democracy, walks through the voter registration process, and provides the option for students to engage in their community after they vote. Advertisement Teachers and administrators can use the curriculum with students in the classroom as well as in after-school programs. Since the lessons can be used as standalone pieces, they can also be used in other settings such as adult education classes or general community workshops. Alejandro Johnson leads his classroom at the launch of the NCLR High School Democracy Project Johnson explains how advocacy and voting can affect change. East Austin Prep Students registering to vote through the High School Democracy Project lesson on voter registration which includes online registration through the Latinos Vote App. "What we wanted was for students to have a safe place to experience all of democracy from voter registration to campaigning and to the polls," said Alejandro Johnson, government teacher at East Austin College Prep, who carried out a curriculum lesson with students in his classroom. Johnson was instrumental in leading a mock election and a voter registration effort at East Austin College Prep, which signed up nearly half the senior class to vote. Many of them cast their ballot in the Texas primary. One of the students who registered to vote was Laura Plascencio, pictured below, who will be voting for the first time in the presidential election on November 8, 2016. Advertisement Student Laura Plascencio sharing her story with students. Mr. Johnson, who trained to register voters and was deputized by the state of Texas, registering one of his students during the implementation of the NCLR High School Democracy Curriculum. "I've been a teacher for 10 years and I've seen lots of kids graduate and I've had lots of proud moments. But, the very best, truly, was seeing the smiles on those students' faces when they walked out of those polls and they knew that they had done something special," said Johnson. East Austin College Prep Students who participated in the first NCLR High School Democracy Lesson. Facing eviction by Wedgewood Inc, Pablo Caamal and his family launched a vigil in front of their Rialto, CA home, supported by friends and neighbors (Photo by La Opinion). On March 30, Greg Geiser, the CEO of Wedgewood Inc., kicked Mercedes and Pablo Caamal out of their modest home in Rialto, a working class suburb of Los Angeles. So that night the couple, joined by supporters from the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), protested on the sidewalk outside Geiser's tony Manhattan Beach home in an effort to persuade him to sell them back their foreclosed house, as he had promised to do. The protest was also designed to draw public attention to Wedgewood's predatory real estate practices. Now Geiser is suing the Caamals, ACCE organizer Peter Kuhns, and the statewide community organizing group, claiming that he has amassed huge costs in private security and has feared for his life as a result of the protests at his home and at Wedgewood's Redondo Beach headquarters. Advertisement In essence, Geiser is trying to evict the Caamals twice - once from their own home, and now from the sidewalk outside his home at 212 Morningside Drive in Manhattan Beach, which according to Zillow is valued at $5.7 million. "It is outrageous that a multi-millionaire would file a case seeking punitive damages against a family whose house he just foreclosed on," said lawyer Matthew Strugar, who is representing the Caamals, Kuhns, and ACCE along with co-counsel Colleen Flynn. "In addition to being cruel it is also unconstitutional. The Caamals or anybody else have the First Amendment right to protest on a public sidewalk - the quintessential forum under First Amendment law." Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Armen Tamzarian is scheduled to hear the case tomorrow (Friday) afternoon. The case has broad implications for civil liberties and public protest throughout Southern California. If successful, Geiser's suit could criminalize all protests in residential neighborhoods. "He's saying 'you can't protest outside my house because I don't like you,'" said Strugar. The Caamals will appear at a press conference on Friday at 1 p.m. in from of the courthouse at 111 North Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles. The Caamals will describe how Wedgewood agreed to resell them their property but demanded $100,000 more than the company paid for it - and then decided to evict the family once they provided a loan prequalification letter from a lender. Other homeowners and tenants who have been victimized by Wedgewood's aggressive foreclosure and eviction practices will describe the company's dishonest and deceptive behavior, such as promising to provide relocation assistance and then refusing at the last minute. Advertisement Greg Geiser Geiser, 58, founded Wedgewood in 1985 and merged it with HMC Assets in 2014. Companies like Wedgewood are often called "bottom feeders." They buy homes at short sales and foreclosure auctions and sell them at huge profits. Reflecting its business philosophy, the company has a huge Monopoly board on a wall at its headquarters at 2015 Manhattan Beach Boulevard in Redondo Beach. Speaking at a real estate conference last September in Florida, Geiser claimed that his firm is the biggest "fix and flip" company in the country. He boasted that the company purchases about 250 foreclosed or about-to-be-foreclosed homes a month. Geiser told the audience that the "distressed market" is "hot and sexy" and "new and trendy." The "fix and flip" business made Geiser a wealthy man, but it has caused much distress for homeowners like the Caamal family, victimized by Wedgewood's practices. The Caamals came to the United States from Mexico in the 1970s and are American citizens. Mercedes, 58, and Pablo, 63, have both worked at cooks in local restaurants. They purchased the house at 1805 North Willow Avenue in 2006. They have five children who are pursuing successful lives. Their 19-year-old daughter Daisy is a full-time college student in San Francisco who supports herself by working in a restaurant. Their 23-year-old daughter Merari is also a college student who lives at home and works part time in a warehouse. Elizabeth, their 27-year-old daughter, also lives at home and works in the same cafeteria, at Cal State-San Bernardino, as her parents. Their 32-year-old son Moises and 35-year-old daughter Christy are married and live with their respective families. But in 2010, at the height of the economic crisis, the Caamals' American dream started to become a nightmare. Both Mercedes and Pablo were laid off from their jobs as cooks at a local private college cafeteria. They quickly found new jobs and, like many Americans struggling to make ends meet during economic hard times, applied for a loan modification with Wells Fargo. The bank immediately granted a temporary modification. Advertisement The Caamals never missed a payment on their mortgage, but Wells Fargo nevertheless denied their request for a permanent modification and then began returning their payments. Last September, after Wells Fargo put the home up for sale at an auction, Wedgewood -- which purchases and sells foreclosed properties around the country -- bought the Caamals' home for $284,000. After the Caamals and their supporters held a protest at Wedgewood's Redondo Beach headquarters, the company reluctantly agreed to hold off on eviction long enough for the family to secure financing for a loan to repurchase the home. But Wedgewood reneged on its promise and demanded that the Caamals pay $375,000 for the home they were still living in. The Caamals sent Wedgewood two letters from a lender stating that they qualified for a loan to purchase their home at that price. According to Kuhns, a Wedgewood staffer called the lender to verify that the family had qualified and said they would be requesting income documentation. But Wedgewood never followed through. Instead, they refused the Caamals' offer and began eviction proceedings against them. "Why is Wedgewood evicting us, when we're offering to give them a $100,000 profit on their investment?" Mercedes Caamal said. "I don't understand why they won't accept our money." The Caamals had never been involved in any protest activities before, but their experience with Wedgewood led them to fight back. Advertisement "I'm not willing to walk away from a home I worked my whole life to buy," explained Pablo Caamal. With ACCE's help, the Caamals, along with the family, friends, neighbors and ACCE members, pitched tents outside the house and launched an around-the-clock vigil to demand that the eviction be stopped. The Caamals and their supporters visited the San Bernardino County Sheriff's headquarters, where representatives of Sheriff John McMahon accepted a letter requesting that the department refuse to carry out the unfair eviction. The first few times the Sheriff's deputies came to the house and saw local news media covering the vigil, the law enforcement officers did not try to evict the family. But private security, presumably hired by Wedgewood, kept constant vigil outside the home as well - and one morning more than 15 Sheriff's deputies surrounded the house and evicted the family. The Caamals, along with their ACCE supporters, also took their protests to Wedgewood's offices and then to Geiser's home. The protest that triggered Geiser's lawsuit started around 9 pm. The entire protest consisted of about 30 people, most of them wearing ACCE t-shirts, picketing for about 90 minutes on the sidewalk carrying signs that read "No More Unfair Evictions." In a signed declaration, a legal observer from the National Lawyers Guild, who was present during the rally, noted that the protest was peaceful and that all the participants stayed on the sidewalk during the entire time. In the lawsuit, Geiser calls the peaceful group a "mob" and claims that he and his wife "feared for our safety." According to Geiser's lawsuit, 10 police officers arrived after he called the Manhattan Beach police. The NLG observer reported that at no time did the police have to intervene. During the protest, Geiser's wife left the house through the back door and went to a neighbor's house. Geiser late hired a private security company to patrol his home. According to Strugar (the Caamals' and ACCE's attorney), such protests are legal because sidewalks are public property. Among the 88 cities in Los Angeles County, only four have local laws restricting "focused residential picketing" (that targets a particular person or family) in front of private residences. Manhattan Beach isn't one of them. Geiser's lawyers, from the LA firm Troy Gould, are making their claim based on an LA County law against such picketing, but that law only applies to unincorporated areas, not incorporated cities like Manhattan Beach. Geiser is seeking so-called "unlimited civil damages" in excess of $25,000 and seeking to ban the Caamals and other ACCE members from protesting near his home. Not surprisingly, Geiser and his company are staunch Republicans, since the GOP has fought hard in Washington, D.C. against laws requiring lenders to modify mortgages and stem the epidemic of foreclosures. In recent years, Wedgewood's employees have made over $231,000 in political contributions, almost all of it to Republican candidates, the Republican Party, and Republican-oriented PACs. Geiser alone has made $93,000 in political donations, including contributions to Mitt Romney, John Boehner, Right to Rise (Jeb Bush's presidential PAC), and Americans for Ethical Leadership, a Republican super PAC. David Wehrly, the firm's COO, has given $86,441 in contributions, spreading his donations among many candidates, including George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, and John Boehner and, in this year's president sweepstakes, to Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, and Marco Rubio. He also donated $1,000 to the Tea Party PAC called Our Country Deserves Better. Advertisement Geiser and Wehrly are both on the board of Prager University, a conservative website founded by the talk show host Dennis Prager. Geiser is also on the board of directors of UCLA's Anderson School of Management and of the Oklahoma State University Foundation. Wehrly donated to the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing propaganda outfit. Meanwhile, the Caamals and their children are living with different relatives while they pursue their effort to buy their home back. Families facing unfair foreclosure or eviction can contact the ACCE anti-eviction hotline at (877) 881-0878. 2000 protestors rally in front of Los Angeles City Hall, May 14, 2016 Two thousand people attended a protest march in downtown Los Angeles last Saturday to 'break free' from fossil fuels. Advocate group 350.org organized a multi-cultural rally where organizers from across the state came to speak about communities suffering from petroleum and methane leaks across the country. Afterwards the marchers walked en masse from City Hall, placed hundreds of flowers before the county of Los Angeles Hall of Administration in memory of those who have died from cancer and sickness in neighborhoods poisoned by fossil fuels, and ended their march shouting protests at the corporate offices of Southern California Gas, who are responsible for the "Porter Ranch Leak" in the city of Los Angeles. That leak has now been declared the largest methane leak in United States history, in findings published by the journal Science in February, where in the first 112 days of the leak in the well-heeled suburban community of San Fernando Valley has released over 100,000 tons of methane into the atmosphere (as of February 2016), which has doubled the methane release of the Los Angeles basin. Though SoCal Gas reported the leak officially sealed February 18th, residents of Porter Ranch who have returned to their homes currently still complain of sickness. Advertisement Joe Galliani, the local 350.org organizer for the rally, said "I'm thrilled to see this turn out. It's hard to see the day to day effects of global warming, particularly in southern California, when every day is just a beautiful day, but the scientific reality that 350.org prides itself on, is that daily and yearly increases in the CO2 level is very real, it can't be denied, and all of our concerns are fact based on the simple science." Bill McKibben, founder of 350.0rg, spoke at the rally as well. A scholar in residence in environmental studies at Middlebury College in Vermont in 2007 he started 350.org with eight college students after writing the well known environmentalist book "The End of Nature", a science based book warning of the dangers of global warming. He championed the claim by climate scientist James Hansen who determined that 350 parts carbon per million in the atmosphere was the 'safe' threshold that would prevent global warming. That year McKibben was trying to warn the world that carbon was already measuring 383 parts per million globally. This year in March NASA confirmed that we are currently at 400 parts per million. NASA has determined last year (2015) to be the warmest year on its 134 year record, with the 10 hottest years occurring since 2000. Since its start 350.org has grown into a very large organization and has been active and successful in organizing political action and demonstrations in 100s of countries, and regular protests across America. They are organizers and advocates not only against fossil fuels, but also supporting and promoting new and clean energy systems. Advertisement The fight continues, says Joe. " We have continued residential drilling, it is very dangerous. Fracking is happening right now very close to communities and sometimes in the middle of neighborhoods. Los Angeles alone has multiple sites of residential drilling." These are drilling operations hidden by high walls covered with ivy that can make them look pleasant, but looks can be deceiving, as Ashley Hernandez learned, a young Latino girl living in the Wilmington neighborhood of Los Angeles. She began suffering nose bleeds, headaches and nausea regularly at age 9 after LA city planners gave the oil company Warren Energy &Power permission 10 years ago to drill 540 wells in her neighborhood and extract 5000 barrels of oil a day. Some pumps were put in next to homes, another was placed next to a local student ball field. Sick and worried, she and her mom went around the neighborhood and found many others like them. They learned they were not alone, and put together "Stand L.A." a community organization to fight back. She is 23 now and her fight continues. "There are many sites like this throughout Los Angeles," says Joe. "And they are always in communities of color, because those communities don't have a voice. It's an ongoing struggle to " says Joe. "We need a shift, or the climate is doomed." The 350.org organizers felt the rally did what it was supposed to. "This is a difficult topic for people. We don't sense the threat. It's too invisible. Even with Hurricaine Sandy and climate impact, people are not impressed. Even if you live in 'SoCal', there's no hint that we're being bombarded and that our climate is at the verge of becoming unlivable climate. There is no sense of urgency to this. But to see that crowd, and that diversity. What was really heartening was the coming together of so many different groups, Asian, Hispanic, Black, White, Indigenous people, L.A., Richmond, San Diego, Oakland, Kern County, Porter Ranch, young people, old people, families - this is what we've been working for. To change everything, it takes everyone." Advertisement For more information on 350.org. The most recent events in Brazilian politics, which seem to come out of a movie script, represent a big step back in the field of democracy. Several internationally renowned newspapers condemned this week the deposition of Dilma Rousseff and many analysts began to find differences and similitudes between the years 2016 and 1964, both coup d'etat years, each in its own way. If there is any chance to believe this is a matter of real democracy, we'd better look towards a "Ponte para o Futuro" ("A Bridge Towards the Future") - the name given to the PMDB's and interim president Michel Temer's governmental plan - and then admit this is actually a tunnel directed towards the past - one that goes even further back than 1964. A tunnel that reaches back to the Greece of the 5th century B.C. where the newly born Democracy legitimately belonged to an elite of just a bunch of male landowners, banishing from public life more than 80% of the entire population which included women and slaves. One of the crucial points that has been neglected now in Brazil is precisely Democracy's foundational essence as a way of moving past oligarchical models. In its ethical root resided the mission of breaking up inequality as an immanent element, of injustice as a contingent process. And, in its practical purpose, to positively manage inequality in a way it ensures stability and promotes citizenship. Advertisement In this process where Brazil elected and deposed the first female President in its history, it also ended up opening Pandora's Box. Twenty-four hours of interim government sufficed to confirm the worst suspicions. For instance, this was sufficient time to prove that the investigations, which before had been threatening to all the protagonists from all the political parties, turned to PT's leading figures and allies in order to quench the thirst for justice enhanced by the country's mass media - thus preventing PT's election in 2018 - and safeguard the core of corruption in the country (of which PT also became a partner) as people such as Renan Calheiros, Eduardo Cunha, Michel Temer and Aecio Neves will remain at large. Indeed, considering the current legislative and executive representatives in Brasilia, Dilma Rousseff, the politically deposed President, is probably one of the few figures that will escape any sort of legal charges since she has committed no crime. The most immediate and serious problem is the difficulty to promote conciliation among a large majority of the population who, split into 'yellow shirts' of a garbled patriotism and the 'red shirts' of incondite leftism, will together pay the incalculable price of the step taken by the oligarchical foot that follows the order of transnational plutocracy. A new ministerial body made up of just white men leaves little room to the suspicions that firmly arose before the nomination, right when the new first lady was praised by the media as "bela, recatada e do lar" ("beautiful, discreet and a housewife"). This is not at all about postmodern, multiculturalist cosmetics! In a country where there are more women than men and more black people than white people, it is shocking to find the imposition of this representative and ideological homogeneity. Advertisement We are facing here a dangerous paradox that shows how far Brazil is from a new and challenging social contract. From two hypotheses, there is hardly one. First, either we assume the elitist, patriarchal and aristocratic profile that defines a government that rules for just a few or, second, we recognize that there aren't more capable women or black people to take part in the Brazilian government. Fortunately, if we take a look at the 21 ministers appointed by Michel Temer - let alone his own political survival - it will be easy to state that, seeing that some are no experts in the affairs of their respective ministries, those who actually are represent quite obscure interests. This being said, it would be easy and even natural to assume that the best nominations would reflect a much more diversity. I have the following question for those who are misled by the fallacy of meritocracy in order to swallow a scandal that would be unacceptable by any 21st century democracy: What would you have about a ministerial body exclusively composed of black women? You would have surely shouted "Where is meritocracy here?" A truly multicultural country, fully integrated in a global world of intense exchanges within all imaginable spheres and minimally progressive aspirations, would never consent to such a shameful exclusion. Temer's response to popular pressure will most likely entail the appointment of a woman for a merely decorative office. Brazil's meritocratic speech is serving to forge social mediocrity, exactly as a process already predicted by Alexis de Tocqueville in his magnificent work 'Democracy in America.' Let us assume Pandora's Box is open and all the evils within it finally come out. Reactionary, ill-intentioned speeches insisting on the comparison of Brazil to Venezuela or Cuba, should sadly meet the destinies of Paraguay or Honduras. Even the conspicuous fall of Maduro in Venezuela, though it may satisfy similar interests, will never serve the world as an example of a blow against Democracy. Advertisement Robert F. Kennedy People's anger and frustration, both in the U.S. and around the world, has reached a critical point. Too many of our leaders seem unable to solve such monumental challenges as global terror, regional wars, poor mental health, drug abuse, climate change, social conflicts, and the growing educational and economic divide. This discord reveals an underlying lack of leadership and understanding of how to address these unprecedented domestic and global issues. For example, the late Helmut Schmidt, a highly respected German statesman and former Chancellor, was said to have bemoaned the lack of leaders in high office who truly understand today's financial system during the European financial crisis in 2010. Building on Chancellor Schmidt's observation, I would add that effective leaders, both in high office and at all levels of society, must understand not only global economics, but also the social and psychological complexities that drive our ever-changing world. At its core, this requires that leaders understand and empathize with the needs of the people they are serving. The successful recruitment of young jihadists in western countries, the riots and protests that followed the police shooting of an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, and the banking practices that caused the global financial crisis, are just a few recent examples where responsible leaders failed to understand the human needs that drive those behaviors and actions. In his book, The Values Driven Organization (Routledge 2014), Richard Barrett builds on the ideas of psychologist Abraham Maslow, when he describes how our needs are the primary drivers of behavior. Barrett describes the underlying sequence of cause and effect, where high priority needs determine our values and beliefs, which then feed our thoughts, feelings and emotions, and ultimately drive our behaviors and actions. (See graph below.) Advertisement This should inspire any leader to ask, "How can I better understand people's unmet needs, and how do those needs effect people's behavior and actions?" Here are three factors leaders might consider when trying to understand people's needs: 1) People's Attention to Specific Needs Vary: Richard Bennett writes, "The amount of attention and sustained effort we give to satisfying a specific set of needs changes depending on one's life circumstances." For example, while I was growing up in West Germany, we had the freedom to travel to countries around the world, whereas my relatives in East Germany and their fellow citizens were limited to travel mostly to other communist countries. Because I had freedom to travel, it allowed me to focus my attention on studying and exploring the wider world. While many people in East Germany committed their sustained attention to fighting for their freedom and eventually bringing down the Wall. 2) Putting Yourself in People's Shoes: Effective leaders must be able to put themselves into the shoes of the people they serve in order to empathize with them and gain a deeper understanding of their needs. Advertisement A great example is the welcome keynote that Chairman Heart of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe gave to the participants at the Ute Mountain Native National Partnership Retreat when he said, "I would like to invite you to walk in our moccasins so you can better understand us and our needs." That metaphor inspired the participants to put themselves -- with their hearts and minds -- into the shoes of the tribal people. As a consequence, I noticed as a facilitator, that the quality of listening reached a deeper level and led people to not only understand, but also empathize, with the needs of the tribe. This allowed participants to come up with more innovative and creative solutions to the tribe's challenges. 3) Deficiency Needs and Growth Needs Drive Different Behaviors: For effective leaders it is crucial to understand the difference between "deficiency" needs, e.g. staying alive and healthy, and "growth" needs, e.g. achieving autonomy or pursuing one's life purpose. Richard Barrett writes that people's attention to unmet deficiency needs creates anxiety and fear, but the attention soon goes away after those needs are met. Growth needs, on the other hand, drive deeper and more sustained commitments, even after those growth needs have been met, because they satisfy people's on-going desire for internal alignment and fulfillment. The big difference between focusing on growth needs versus deficiency needs was made evident during a Blue Earth Network consulting project where our team collaborated with the Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency (ACSS) to help homeless people get off the street and back into the work force. Previous programs had focused on people's deficiency needs, such as getting an apartment and finding a paying job. With that deficiency needs-based approach after only 3 months over 50% of the homeless had dropped out of their jobs. In contrast, our new approach focused on people's growth needs. By helping people find jobs aligned with their purpose and passion, over 75% of the previously homeless were still in their jobs after 9 months. (See graph below). How should leaders apply these lessons? Effective leaders, regardless of the kind of organization or role, must seek out opportunities to put themselves into the shoes of the people they serve to better understand and empathize with their changing needs, and then translate that understanding into a vision for a better future. In order to mobilize people in a deeper and sustained way, that vision must go beyond deficiency needs and truly inspire people by focusing on their growth needs. Robert F. Kennedy, in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's, clearly reinforced the power of putting oneself into people's shoes before judging, when he said: "If any man claims the Negro should be content... let him say he would willingly change the color of his skin and go to live in the Negro section of a large city. Then and only then has he a right to such a claim." Advertisement What are "Conservative values?" In reading Carolyn Renee Dupont's book, Mississippi Praying: Southern White Evangelicals and the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1975, I noticed that the term "liberal" was given to people who believed in and supported the movement, and "conservative" was the term used to reference people who wanted to maintain the "Southern way of life." Conservatives framed their protests against the quest by blacks and supportive whites "in theological terms," wrote DuPont. They relied on "the Bible" and "biblical inerrancy" to support their belief in and support of segregation and white supremacy. Those who fought against segregation were "liberal" and were said to be heretics of the Christian faith. White Christian ministers said things like, "The heart of the gospel is not the treatment of others, but ..."Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," Dupont noted. (p. 215) While "liberals" said that segregation was immoral, Dupont writes that the "conservative understanding of the Gospel equipped them to render a complete and even mocking denial" of the legitimacy of the ministers who fought for integration and for the rights listed in the U. S. Constitution to be extended to African Americans. Advertisement Conservatives adopted without flinching "white-only" worship policies, and railed against those who criticized them for it. It was God who said, in the Holy Bible, that the races should be separate. It was a Conservative value. Reflecting on that, and seeing what is going on now as regards the rights of LGBTQ individuals, as well as transgender individuals, I am again wrestling with what "Conservative" values are. Someone needs to explain them to me. Conservatives, it seems, are the ones who are most concerned about which bathroom a transgender person; Conservatives are the ones wanting to cut funding for Medicaid, which enables poor, primarily women, get health care. Conservatives are in favor of cutting food stamp allotments, who are more interested in funding mass incarceration rather than public education. From my vantage point, "Conservative" values, using the Bible as justification, includes a fair amount of racism, sexism, homophobia and Islamophobia. To be a "true" conservative, one must be anti-abortion (I say it that way because clearly, what anti-abortionists support is only the life of an unborn fetus, not the child after it has been born.) A Conservative believes in limited government, states' rights, and prefers that federal money be spent on building and maintaining the military, rather than on "entitlement" programs and other domestic programs that improve the lives of American citizens. Overtly in the South, but certainly practiced in the North as well, ministers like Rev. Douglas Hudgins preached "a gospel that strengthened and renewed the underpinnings of racial subordination," according to DuPont. (p. 120) Rev. Hudgins and others encouraged "Christian America" (which for him meant white Christians) to resist the federal government. The Conservative value he sought to emphasize was states' rights: the federal government had overreached in supporting the goals of the Civil Rights activists. A Conservative value is strict adherence to the law, I have heard them say ...except if the law rubs them the wrong way. When the Brown v. Board of Education ruling was handed down by the U. S. Supreme Court, white school districts refused to abide by "the law," choosing instead to home school their children or form private schools. So, it seems that a "Conservative value" is a belief that laws which encourage the equal and humane treatment of people whom they think are not worthy of their support or respect. Advertisement Bruce Covert, in a New York Times opinion piece, wondered aloud about what is really being said when Donald Trump, the GOP presumptive nominee for president, says, "Let's make America great again!" Covert notes that that the America of which Trump speaks was one where women and minorities were kept out of the loop. "Women and minorities were largely kept from positions of power," he wrote. (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/16/opinion/campaign-stops/make-america-great-again-for-the-people-it-was-great-for-already.html?_r=0) Is it correct to say that a "Conservative" value is keeping people in their place? Conservatives, I am supposing, were all right with and are probably still all right with many people being prevented from aspiring to and reaching "The American Dream?" The GI Bill helped create the middle class following World War II. Covert writes that the government "spent more than $95 billion on it between 1944 and 1971, and...millions of people used its benefits to buy homes, go to college, start businesses and start jobs." Veterans had it pretty good - unless they were African American. Black soldiers coming home applied for GI benefits, but they were "routinely denied" as the federal government handed implementation of the GI Bill to the states. Writes Covert," Black veterans, made up of the more than 900,000 who served in World War II, had trouble. "Those seeking a college education were crowded into limited slots in segregated institutions. Even though mortgages were guaranteed," wrote Covert "black borrowers had to get a bank to lend to them, and most refused." Conservatives, I assume, would have been and are in favor of policies and practices which are clearly racist and discriminatory? I need someone to explain to me what "Conservative values" are. I may be wrong, but the very label "Conservative" connotes the expectation of being allowed to support white supremacy, at the expense of people who have been knocked down by the policies of this country. Advertisement Trump, says Covert, is "no small-government Republican." But isn't small government a 'Conservative value?" Are Conservatives, many of whom profess to be Christian, allowed and encouraged to be bigoted - to be racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic? What are Conservative values? I love the hope expressed in the Gospel phrase "that they may all be one". It was Christ's hope for the church, and it's the motto of my own denomination, the United Church of Christ. At the same time, I'm watching as the United Methodist Church moves towards a possible split. There are reports that leaders are now acknowledging a way forward that includes the option of a sort of amicable separation. And in its wake I do hear the concern of those who think the church should never schism. But the reality is that the church of Jesus Christ has been in schism for over a thousand years, and many of those schisms have been necessary and good. The Protestant Reformation was a schism. The Methodist church itself broke away from the Anglican tradition. American denominations were in schism during the Civil War, with the Presbyterians not reuniting until 1983. Other denominations have broken apart over issues involving the inclusion of women. The truth is that schism is practically as old as the church. Advertisement And it's not necessarily a bad thing. Here's how I think of churches that have to break apart over issues of inclusion: everyone is sitting in a large room, and there is one big table. The only trouble is, not everyone at the table agrees that everyone else should be allowed to sit. So, the ones who aren't allowed to sit remain standing against the wall while everyone else sits there comfortably, eats well, and debates whether or not they will let the ones standing sit at the table. Here's what an amicable separation could look like: Everyone agrees a solution is not coming anytime soon, but a large portion of the group says "we aren't going to wait for our friends to be allowed to sit anymore." And so, everyone remains in the same room, but another table is set up where everyone is welcome to sit. The larger Methodist tradition is that big room, but it could be true that it's time to set up two tables and let the faithful LGBTQ people leaning against the wall take a seat. The church is already in schism, because a church is not whole that does not recognize the baptisms of all of its members. Perhaps it's time that we simply adjust the seating arrangements accordingly. When denominations debate issues of inclusion or justice they do so because a separation has already taking place. There are already multitudes of United Methodists who are not in the room because they have had to leave it for other rooms. LGBTQ people and their allies have grown tired of waiting for a seat, and have gone to other places where their God-given gifts have been well utilized. In a quiet and gentile way, they have been schism-ed out of the church. (I get that; I was a PCUSA minister for eight years, standing against the wall and waiting. Leaving was the healthiest option I had.) Advertisement So now the United Methodist Church is facing a big moment. The UCC, Presbyterian Church (USA), Episcopal Church, and Evangelical Lutheran Church have also been here, of course. But the United Methodist Church remains the largest mainline Protestant denomination in this country, and the split is becoming more deeply entrenched. The fact that the idea transgender people should undergo "reparative therapy", a fringe treatment condemned by everyone respectable medical and psychological association, is getting serious support at General Conference is just one example. So the time has come to ask the question: Can the people leaning against the wall wait any longer? Or is it time to set up a table where they can sit down. Like I said, I do pray for a time in which "they may all be one". Because we are humans, and deeply fallible, I fear that may not come about on earth. It may only be in the next life, when we see God's love and truth face-to-face. But that's not to say there isn't something good that can come from this. This week over 1,000 LGBTQ clergy members from other denominations said we would stand in solidarity with our United Methodist LGBTQ colleagues. To me that's a symbol of what progressive Christians from all mainline denominations should do more of going forward. I am a devoted student of Reformed theology, and even I can say that in the 21st century church we can't make our theological differences our idols. The reality is that Luther, Calvin, Wesley, were they alive today, would have far more in common than we realize. I wonder what they would think about their 21st descendants fighting 16th, 17th, and 18th century theological battles when the real work of the Gospel is yet to be done. Advertisement And so, if the United Methodist Church splits, I will not see it as a failure. I will see it as a commitment to get everyone a seat at the table. But more than that, I hope it will be a call for all of us who are progressive Christians to gather together in a bigger room, and to all sit together in fellowship. We don't have to forget where we come from, but we do have to remember why we are here now. This article originally appeared in the May 2016 issue of AVN magazine. Click here to see a copy of the digital edition. In May of 2015 Google announced that more searches were taking place on mobile than on desktop in ten major countries, including the United States and Japan. To put that in perspective, Comscore had previously reported that mobile search was 29 percent of all searches as recently as Q4 of 2014. With that level of sustained growth and new audiences coming online for the first time via mobile devices every day, the speed of changein viewership, billing practices and technologyis also becoming difficult to keep pace with for many business owners. AVN sought out leading experts in the field to provide information that should be useful in successfully charting the mobile future. The mobile landscape has been pretty dramatic in the last 12 months, said Joey Gabra of Affil4You.com. We are seeing a massive surge in the acceptance and advancement of VR technology. We are becoming more and more regulated by mobile carriers in Tier 1 countries while we are also seeing growth and unexpected success in the Tier 2 and Tier 3 countries. The mobile carriers themselves are competing against each other with more liberal data plans and friendly price points for their users, which in turn affects our business models. We havent yet determined if this affects us positively or negatively... but so far it seems its a little bit of both, dependent upon the local economy and which country or carrier is being used. The density of that statement gives you a good idea just how often and in how many ways mobile content distribution continues to evolve. Stefan Muehlbauer, director of marketing and sales at Brokerbabe, agreed. The Directcarrier billing opportunities are getting more rare and more regulated. The industry adapts and goes again more into apps and dating. This progress will continue. I think the next years will bring the rise of live content and VRboth are things that are talked about and been tried since eternity without proper results. Virtual reality is a popular buzzword these days, much the same way mobile itself had been years ago. It seems as though most of the industry believes VR will eventually become a major force in adult content sales, but there is a lot of disagreement as to whether that shift is imminent or still a few years away. Just as with mobile, there were plenty of companies that lost fortunes moving too early or too late, and with VR mobile many of those same timing dangers and opportunities are at play. Virtual reality is already an awesome development in mainstream mobile, Laura Cebrian, affiliate manager of FirstMobileCash, said enthusiastically. It is only natural that it has extended into the adult world. I mean, having the possibility of not only watching your favorite performers in action, but also experiencing the action in your own flesh ... how cool is that? The impact of VR can only be positive, in all areas mobile. Phone producers, for example, are going strong on VR too because this way they will increase their sales, for sure... However, Carmen Lumina, managing director of BitterStrawberry.com, cautioned that The availability of low-cost virtual reality gear will drive the creation of VR mobile video content and apps, and will drive advertisers to experiment with VR mobile video advertising, but for the moment, from a consumption perspective, your mobile remains a two-dimensional information exchange. Once you require [more] gear to make use of VR, is it really still what could be considered mobile? For some, mobile VR is a great idea that is not yet ripe. Virtual reality will impact mobile dramatically ... however, I dont see it happening for at least five or more years, warned Gabra. It will be hard for people to enjoy adult products while wearing a big helmet or funny glasses on their head, but the helmets and glasses will get smaller and less awkward over time and people will eventually learn to appreciate how cool the whole VR thing can be. With other aspects of mobile, innovation comes faster, because so many of the foundational elements of mobile are already known to people as opposed to the more speculative VR market. Due to rapid changes in the way content is reaching customers, the field of testing and tracking has become undeniably important to the success of any mobile campaign. Getting your mind wrapped around so much data from so many sources, and making accurate decisions in real time that allow your company to profit from the information it has on hand, is simply becoming too complicated for even the smartest minds to do manually. Thats where better tools are needed and why companies like Wister are leading the way. There is a big movement in how we assess and utilize and optimize data, explained Gabra. Its always been an important part of business, but the tools being used have never been smart enough. We have learned that obtaining good data and having the ability to confidently make good reliable decisions about how you utilize that data is becoming more and more significant. The recent successful launch of our optimization tool KHEPRI (Khepri.tech) has proven to us that there is a huge demand for quality tools to assist marketers scrutinizing data with maximum potential and minimum risk. We have finally found a powerful way to fill those demands and the results are exceptional. Ad blocking has also become an important topic recently, thanks in part to Apples decision to allow ad blocking as a native feature of its IOS9 build, but the impact has been much smaller than many outsiders expected. The average usage of ad-blockers in the US is about 2.5 percent of the mobile market, while the worlds highest ad-block using country is Germany with up to 12 percent, explained Carmen Lumina. We believe that the ad blocking will have no real impact on the advertising market, but it will more likely hurt the content providers and site operators rather than advertisers. Ad blockers affect not more than 5 percent of the business, as they do not interfere with advertisements within apps, through which the majority of content consumption is done. There are already sites like Forbes.com, which are fighting back and they wont allow the user to log in while using ad blocking and for sure this practice will expand. Once mobile traffic finds its way into the app ecosystem it can be advertised to with native ads that are unblockable, as the audience becomes almost entirely agnostic to browser changes, device hardware differences, carrier anomalies and many of the other variables that impact mobile traffic. For that reason many companies are starting to pursue app development as a new parallel alongside traditional browser based mobile websites. Within adult itself, there are a lot of restrictions on the kind of content that can be distributed in-app, but clever companies are finding ways to push content to app-based audiences without breaching iTunes or Google Play terms of service, said Justin of Monetize.xxx. Where there is a will, there is always a way, and as mobile becomes a larger audience, the will to penetrate that market is becoming immense. Its something the gay side of the industry has done far better so far, but I do see a fair amount of catch-up taking place right now. It is also becoming apparent that many so-called adult companies have expanded far beyond the traditional notion of adult-only content into new verticals that lend themselves to proliferating their message in app, online and across any medium without being so obviously from one niche or another. As Laura of FirstMobileCash said simply, At FMC, we are always innovating and finding new smart ways to reach our markets accordingly. A good example is that we are one of the few companies offering unique products for mobile Wi-Fi traffic built and managed in-house in several geos. This is a competitive advantage in the industry, especially for our affiliates, as the amount of Wi-Fi traffic keeps growing. When mobile first came to prominence it was all about having a desktop business that offered a parallel mobile presence. Then the world shifted and everyone pursued responsive designs that worked equally well from any device. Now, it appears a new shift is well underway, and is leading many brands to build several versions of their products for the specific purpose of taking every advantage in each iteration of content. Perfect Wi-Fi, exceptional content optimized and translated for each region, the right carrier relationships, in-app builds, feature-rich versions for competing devices, future-proofed content to keep pace with improved displaysand solid analytical testing of each new campaign. In short, to succeed with modern mobile you really do need to be everything for everyone anytime and anywhere they want. Scituate, Ma is a beautiful, idyllic place. Years ago while attending a mid-career clergy evaluation in Wellesley Hills, Ma I was hosted by an American Baptist Church pastor . We had a great dinner, Portuguese cuisine; and we took a long walk on the beach. I remember that I asked my host "How have you lost so much weight ? " He replied, " I am not eating. " Now, in retrospect, I wonder if he wasn't suffering from depression. This was Cape Cod and it was pristine and lovely. The memory of Scituate and the hospitality experienced there was meaningful to me during a time when there was a lot of turmoil for me professionally. I was saddened to have learned about the imminent closure of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini Catholic Church in Scituate. The members of this congregation have held a non-stop vigil for the past twelve years protesting its closure to the Archdiocese of Boston. According to a recent article in The Guardian: Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, a group of parishioners has maintained a vigil inside the building to prevent its sale by the archdiocese of Boston, to help pay the Catholic church's enormous bills relating to its long history of child sexual abuse. Children have slept in the sacristy, meals have been eaten beneath the stained glass windows, planning meetings have been held in the pews, prayers said and candles lit. Possession of St Frances Xavier Cabrini, which sits in 30 acres of prime real estate overlooking the ocean about 25 miles south of Boston, will soon return to the archdiocese, which had sought to evict the parishioners as trespassers. According to the archdiocese, St Frances Xavier Cabrini was placed on the closings list in response to declining attendance, fewer priests and changing demographics. It denied that the closure was connected to the sexual abuse crisis, saying legal settlement costs were largely met from insurance payments and the sale of an administration complex. Boston church's parishioners evicted after 12-year occupation The Guardian - 5 hours ago You really have to respect the tenacity and the commitment of these parishioners to keep this parish open. They clearly realized that the church was more than a building or property. They have been a living embodiment that the church is about people responding and reaching out to those who are in need to hear the Good News. My concern is how these people will transition and what type of spiritual home will be available for them. I wonder if the Archdiocese of Boston will make any attempt to provide any pastoral care, counseling and assistance to the congregants of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini Church ? I have known of similar situations involving church closures where this type of support was not offered to church members who were effected by their church closure. The situation at St. Francis Xavier Cabrini certainly looks like a land grab. As Joni Mitchell observed: " They paved paradise and put up a parking lot." ( Big Yellow Taxi ) Originally published at OpEdNews Bernie is going to win the July convention. That's because polls already are and will even more dramatically show that Hillary will lose to Trump, but not just the White House. She will cost the Democrats a majority in the Senate, the Supreme Court and a stronger position in the House. Over the weeks before the Democratic convention, Hillary will slide to a worse and worse position. Her "win" in Kentucky is emblematic. In 2008 she defeated Obama by over 200,000 votes. She squeaked out a victory by 1800 votes last night. The slide will be in full bloom, like the reek of a cesspool, by convention time. The superdelegates will be faced with a decision-- go with Hillary, with many many polls showing a disaster about to unfold, or go with Bernie and win the Senate, take the Supreme court and make major headway in the House. It's happening. Now that Donald Trump has the nomination he is shifting his image, softening and moderating it with the help of the best consultants in the world. Paul Manafort, , is one of a team of PR geniuses who will succeed in re-framing Trump. That will drop his negatives to below the record high negatives Hillary has, and THAT, is already changing the polls. One recent Rasmussen poll has Trump defeating Hillary and another shows them in a statistical tie. Hillary's slide is just starting. It will get worse, a lot worse. To foresee where she's heading look to polls of states, some swing, some usually red, comparing Clinton and Sanders running against Trump. Here are recent national polls from RealClearPolitics (updated 5/20) Quinnipiac shows Clinton losing to Trump in Ohio and statistically tying Trump in Florida and Pennsylvania. Bernie Sanders beats Trump by 2 in Ohio and Florida, and by six in Pennsylvania, compared to Hillary's one point lead. In New Hampshire, Clinton squeaks by Trump, while Sanders trounces him, with a 16 or 21 point difference. Clinton loses to Trump in Arizona, a red state. Sanders squeaks a win-- a five point difference from Hillary. These differences are important, and they will grow. They really matter when it comes to Senate races. In New Hampshire, the race between Ayotte and Hassan is very close. Can you image that Sanders sixteen or 21 point leads could make the difference, coat-tail-wise, in helping Democratic senate candidate Maggie Hassan pull ahead of incumbent Republican Kelly Ayotte? In Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania the Senate races are all very close. Sander's stronger pull among independents and the youth vote will absolutely make the difference in enabling Democratic challengers to Senate incumbents in PA and OH to win, and to help insure a win in the Florida race where candidates are competing to replace Marco Rubio. But take a look at that Arizona poll. Sanders on the ballot could put the Arizona senate race into play. That would force Republicans to spend a lot more money in a traditionally red state. Then there's Georgia. Here's another traditional red state that Bernie Sanders puts into serious play. Again, it will force the GOP to spend a lot more to try to hold on to Georgia. Remember, Trump is just getting started going after Hillary. Her slide into defeat and being thrashed in the polls nationally and in key states is just getting started. It will get much worse as we get closer to the July convention in Philly. By the time the superdelegates arrive they will be faced with a difficult choice-- support Hillary and hand complete control of the nation-- White House, Senate, Supreme Court and the House-- over to Donald Trump and the GOP, or switch to supporting Bernie Sanders. Bernie may not even have a lead in pledged delegates. But he'll have cut Hillary's lead enough so between the 150 not yet committed Superdelegates and the ones smart enough to see the writing on the wall who switch from Hillary, he will win the primary. Clinton and her supporters will scream bloody murder. They will argue that Hillary has three million more popular votes, a specious like which my article, Debunking Hillary's Specious "Winning The Popular Vote" Claim refutes. But the stark reality-- that allowing her to become the candidate will doom the Democratic party-- will enable Bernie to win the convention and move forward into the general. Additional Considerations: Several readers of this article on OpEdNews have pointed out that the DNC and superdelegates may be more interested in tending to where their bread is buttered-- their corporate leash-holders-- than in securing a winning candidate. They'll screw women and minorities and stay with Hillary. Polls have been really off this election season, a Hillary supporter scoffs. That's true, but almost every poll that was off predicted that Hillary would do better than she actually did. That means that when a poll suggests that Hillary is up a few points over Trump, or even five or six, based on past performance of almost all the polls, she'll actually do far worse than that. This further supports my analysis. Shaun King writes, in the NY Daily News: "In May of 2008, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who is currently the Chair of the Democratic National Committee, served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton's campaign against Barack Obama. Even though the campaign was down on delegates, Wasserman Schultz actually said superdelegates should side with Clinton anyway, since she was the stronger candidate come the general election." She said: 'Senator Clinton won last night. She will win next Tuesday. She will win in Puerto Rico. And the case needs to be made to the superdelegates -- who, Governor, at the end of the day, that's who's going to decide this -- that Hillary Clinton is the strongest potential nominee in the fall, and that's what we're going to -- the case we're going to continue to make.'" WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 19: House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), speaks to the media during his weekly news conference at the US Capitol, May 19, 2016 in Washington, DC. Ryan (R-WI) vowed to fight a final rule that will change overtime protection so that it covers millions more Americans. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Talk about a political tin ear! Wednesday, House Republican Leader Paul Ryan and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell threatened to take away middle class overtime pay. Speaking as a Progressive Democrat my response is simple: go ahead -- make our day. Talk about bad politics. Advertisement Here is the backstory. On Wednesday, the administration announced its final rule revising the threshold used to define who is automatically required to be paid time and a half for overtime when they work more than 40 hours per week. The Wage and Hour Act that was passed in 1938 requires overtime be paid to almost all hourly workers. But there are exceptions for professional, managerial and executive personnel. To prevent employers from declaring that people who do ordinary jobs are professional, managerial or executive personnel, the law required the Labor Department to set a pay threshold. If a worker makes less than that threshold, he or she cannot be categorized as a professional, manager or executive, no matter what his or her "duties." Three decades ago, when the wage threshold was set, 62 percent of all workers made less than that threshold and qualified for automatic overtime, no matter their job classification. Advertisement But the threshold has not been materially increased for 30 years. As a result, only 8 percent of all employees now qualify for automatic overtime. And, not surprisingly, many companies have driven a Mack truck right through the "professional, executive and managerial" loophole. As a result many employees, like some who spend most of their days making sandwiches at Subway, are classified as "managers" and required to work 50- or 60-hour weeks with no overtime pay. In fact, they are often put on fixed -- if tiny -- "salaries" so they get no pay for overtime at all. The disappearance of overtime protections is precisely one of the rules of the economic game that has been rigged by the CEO class to assure that virtually all of the new income growth in America has gone to the top one percent. So Wednesday, Labor Secretary Tom Perez, Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Sherrod Brown went to Columbus, Ohio to announce that the threshold would be raised from $23,000 -- where it has been stuck for years -- to $47,500. This is a huge victory for the middle class and all ordinary workers, and it is likely to benefit more than 12 million American families. It will once again make certain that workers are actually paid for their overtime. But to hear the Republicans, this was a gigantic Obama overreach that will stifle job growth and hurt small businesses. This is the same thing they say whenever we increase the minimum wage or take other steps to make certain that ordinary people get to keep a bigger share of economic growth that they themselves create. But Republican predictions of doom never turn out to be true. Advertisement Of course the reason it never turns out to be true is that economic growth -- and with it, job growth -- is actually fueled by putting more money into consumer pockets rather than in the offshore accounts of corporate CEOs. But putting the economics of the case aside -- for the GOP this is really dumb politics. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or political guru to tell you that trying to take away the overtime pay of ordinary voters will not make them happy -- no matter how happy it makes the GOP's corporate givers. If there is one thing that this election season has made crystal clear: ordinary voters are plenty unhappy about the fact that their incomes have flatlined at the same time CEO salaries and bonuses have soared. It makes no sense to them that per capita Gross Domestic Product has shot up 48 percent over the last 30 years and yet their incomes have stagnated. And they are figuring out who is to blame -- the .01 percent that rigged the rules of the economic game so they could keep virtually all of that gain for themselves. But Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell have convinced their rank and file that they are better off being dragged around by their noses by corporate bigwigs who give them money than they are by paying attention to the needs of ordinary voters. Newsflash: want to know why the GOP rank and file has turned on the GOP elite? It's because they have time and time again failed to deliver for the white working class men who they have used as cannon fodder in their quest to give more tax breaks for the rich. Advertisement So now this brilliant GOP leadership has threatened to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to pass resolutions overturning the new overtime rule -- and in effect take away people's overtime pay. But when they do, President Obama will veto their resolution, and there is no way Democrats will give the GOP the votes to override his veto of this very popular new regulation. Instead, Democrats plan to have a field day reminding voters that their GOP representative voted to take away their overtime pay. Sometimes, as the famous organizer Saul Alinski once said: you can count on your enemy. This time, the Republican's blind allegiance to corporate orthodoxy and rightwing ideology will lead them into a bloody political ambush. It couldn't happen to a more deserving crew. If you count yourself among the folks who might be willing occasionally to engage Congress to try to help protect Palestinian civilians living under Israeli military occupation if there were a plausible story that your action could have a positive impact, I have some good news. Today is your special day. Today is your opportunity to serve. Minnesota Democrat Betty McCollum is circulating a letter to House colleagues, urging President Obama to take action to protect Palestinian kids in Israeli military detention. The letter closes early next week. The American Friends Service Committee, Defense for Children International - Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, the U.S. Campaign Against the Israeli Occupation, American Muslims for Palestine and Just Foreign Policy are collaborating on generating contacts to the House in support of this letter. Churches for Middle East Peace did an alert. Code Pink did an alert. Advertisement Now, you might think to yourself: McCollum's letter looks great, but there's no way my poopy-doopy Rep. in the House is going to sign it. Well, let me be perfectly honest. (What other way is there to be?) You might be right. If your Rep. is a Republican, then you are surely right. This is a Democratic letter. Three-fourths of the current signers are CPC. There is no way on God's green earth that your poopy-doopy Republican Rep. is going to sign this Democratic letter. So don't bother to call them. Instead, sign a petition, share it on Facebook or Twitter or however you share things; some of your friends online aren't represented by poopy-doopy Republicans in the House. Now, you might think, my Rep. is a Democrat, but my Rep. is a poopy-doopy Democrat who is never going to sign the McCollum letter. Again: you might be right. If your Rep. is a Democrat who opposed the Iran deal, then you are almost surely right. Your Rep. missed a slow pitch that was lobbed right over the plate. There's no way on God's green earth that your poopy-doopy Rep. is going to sign a letter implying that Palestinian kids are human beings with "certain, inalienable rights." Don't bother to call them. Sign a petition. Put it on the ground, spread it all around. Advertisement If, however, you have reached this part of the flow chart, then it is my sacred duty to inform you that relative to the matter at hand, your Rep. is not a lost cause. Regardless of what you think of them otherwise, if your Rep. supported the Iran deal, then it is a historical fact that one fine day, when the sun was shining and the birds were singing, your Rep. told AIPAC to go drink the water of the sea. And therefore, your Rep. is not a lost cause. Q.E.D. If you don't remember where your Rep. was on the Iran deal, you can check here to see if they were one of the 150 Dems who signed the Schakowsky letter in support of the Iran framework agreement, widely understood at the time as "I pledge to help block Republican/AIPAC efforts to scuttle the Iran deal." If your Rep. signed the Schakowsky letter, call them right now at 202-225-3121. (Or, if you're reading this after the close of business in Washington, call them Monday morning when the office is open.) Ask to speak to the staffer who handles foreign policy. When you speak to a staffer or leave a message, you can say something like: "As a constituent, I urge you to sign the McCollum letter asking President Obama to take action to protect Palestinian children in Israeli military detention." When you've made your call, you can report it here. If you think this is impossible, consider this: the Iran deal was impossible. The Sanders campaign was impossible. Maybe some things that used to be impossible are now possible. Let's put this proposition to the test. What kind of sacrifice is it to try? Not a very big one. Advertisement The Supreme Court's current lack of a 9th justice is causing ripple effects across policy issues, including major disputes over President Obama's immigration policy. On April 18, 2016, The Supreme Court of the United States heard the oral arguments for United States vs. Texas, which is about President Obama's 2014 executive action on immigration. While the SCOTUS ruling will not come out until later in the summer, analysts predict a 4-4 split decision. While the President's executive action and the fight for better immigration laws in Congress is a battle worth having, they are not the only laws and policies that will help undocumented migrants in the U.S. thrive. Laws and practices at the state level are increasingly having more of an impact on the lives of undocumented migrants. Advertisement If the 5th circuit court injunction on DAPA/DACA+ stands, the executive action could still become policy in particular states. Whichever way the ruling goes, immigrant rights advocates should not ignore the mechanisms that are in place at the state level that can help undocumented migrants successfully integrate into U.S. society. The advocacy work of small civil society organizations at the local level is one example of how people can have an impact on the lives of migrants even without federal immigration reform. The CLEAN Carwash Campaign in Los Angeles successfully fought for carwash workers to have union contracts for the first time in U.S. history. The collaboration between different civil society organizations to create CLEAN has led to a better respect for the labor rights of carwash workers in Los Angeles. Local legislation can also have an influence on making the lives of migrants safer for undocumented migrants. Whether undocumented migrants can obtain driver's licenses is one example of local legislation that is in the hands of the state population. In May 2013, Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber signed into law the bill permitting for undocumented migrants to have Oregon driver's licenses. Unfortunately, Measure 88 in 2014 reverse the law after a well-funded campaign by the opposition to the bill. Not having a driver's license makes the lives of migrants harder since they are not legally allowed to drive to work or take their children to school. Increasingly, identification laws are increasing or decreasing the rights of migrants. The New York municipal ID card is one example of how greater identification rights for migrants can lead to improved access to state services, thus increasing the livelihoods of migrants. IDNYC has allowed for undocumented migrants to open bank accounts, enter government buildings, and identify themselves to the police. Advertisement In the National Immigrant Integration Conference (NIIC) in December 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York would spend $7.9 million in 2016 to provide free legal assistance for the cities immigrants, called Action NYC. During NIIC, Governor Andrew Cuomo also emphasized the city's focus on cracking down on wage theft and exploitation. Even during the stalemate of President Obama's executive actions, states still hold power in making the lives of their migrant population better or worst. Ultimately, federal immigration reform matters, DACA and DAPA matter, but immigrant rights advocates should not blind themselves into forgetting about the everyday ways that they can locally help migrants in their community. Union contracts, driver's licenses, and state ID laws are all contested on the local level. If one feels hopeless about waiting for the SCOTUS ruling to come out, maybe it is time to take a step back and remember how the power of a state residency can be used to help our immigrant neighbors. On May 6th, Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta called for the immediate closure of all of Kenya's refugee camps. Kenya is home to one of the world's largest refugee populations, with over 600,000 refugees living in the country. Closing down the camps, if such a thing really were to occur, would have a staggering impact throughout the region, and Kenyatta's announcement has been condemned by local and international humanitarian organizations including the United Nations and Human Rights Watch. It seems unfathomable that Kenya should suddenly decide to close refugee camps that have been in existence for over 25 years. So what's really behind this sudden announcement? Timing is everything, and there are two major events on the global horizon that may play a role. First, the announcement coincides with Kenya's campaign cycle leading up to next year's presidential election. And second, the global humanitarian crisis is coming to a head as more and more countries volunteer or are forced to take on refugees. In the wake of the World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC and looking ahead to the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, it seems that the international development community is starting to take a hard look at its funding priorities. It is possible that Kenyatta's announcement is a tactic designed to force the development community's hand and ensure that the cost of maintaining these camps becomes a global funding priority, rather than the sole responsibility of Kenya's government. Advertisement Looking ahead to the 2017 presidential elections, Kenyatta is running as an incumbent for the TNA party in what will likely be a contentious race. He has worked extensively throughout his term in office to consolidate his support base through key appointments and voter registration efforts. Despite this, Kenyatta still faces great opposition due namely to his alleged crimes against humanity during the 2007-08 post-election violence that rocked the nation, and his re-election is by no means a sure thing. One tried and true method of consolidating support ahead of an election is to unify voters against a common threat - whether that threat is real or perceived - and refugees and immigrants have historically been called upon to fill this role. Kenya's refugee population hails primarily from Somalia, having fled from the Somali civil war as early as 1992. And recent attacks by the Somali militant group Al Shabaab in 2013 and 2015 have heightened anti-Somali sentiments throughout the country. This makes the refugee camps an easy political target for Kenyatta to call upon as a threat to national security, effectively playing on voters' concerns for their own safety while neatly distracting from widespread allegations of corruption, election fraud, and crimes against humanity. Political grandstanding aside, the fact is that refugee camps - particularly camps the size of Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp and home to over 300,000 people- do place a heavy social and economic burden on Kenya's economy. The cost of supporting refugee camps is a growing problem not just in Kenya, but throughout Africa and the Middle East. Today, there are over 51 million refugees in the world. The last time we saw this high number of refugees was during the holocaust, and the great financial and social costs of hosting refugees most often falls on the world's poorest states. The development community - and more importantly, its funders - are waking up to the fact that we can no longer rely on the world's poorest states to bear the cost of supporting refugees. The World Humanitarian Summit taking place in Istanbul on May 23-24 is one effort to improve the financing and mechanisms of support to help people being affected by the humanitarian crisis. In many ways, this is a first of its kind meeting that brings together members of government and public, and private sectors to create a collaborative framework for addressing the needs of people affected by conflict. On the list of topics to be discussed: Leave No One Behind, Preventing and Ending Conflict, Respect the Rules of War, Working Differently to End Need, and Investing in Humanity. Advertisement transgender flag painted on... It is not surprising, in a nation undeniably known for its proliferation in setting up systems to dehumanize and disadvantage sectors of its own population, some of the people charged with protecting all of our citizens have escalated the attack on transgender Americans. It is, however, extraordinarily sad. There are many worrisome words being thrown out to the winds of wickedness, but they are not the words of transgender and gender non-conforming Americans. They are the words of people who have elevated themselves into positions of jurisdiction and judgement about love and life. It seems these people believe people who are TGNC (transgender and gender-nonconforming) don't have the right to exist. Advertisement Closer examination uncovers a likelihood that those attacking TGNC human beings are not really interested in TGNC human beings at all. We are just all they have left. No one else vulnerable enough to pick on. No means left available to claim their "inalienable right" to tell other people what to do. To lift themselves up by holding someone down. Let's examine. 3 things happened: 1.We elected a black president -- twice. 2.Marriage equality became the law of the land. 3.It is common knowledge that minority populations will outnumber white populations in the near future. 3 things ensued: 1.Old, white, Christian, heterosexual, cisgender, men can no longer envision the day when their great grandsons will be the dominant race; the controlling population. 2.In spite of their desperation, they can't do anything to stop it. 3.They are the generation who is responsible for letting this happen. After more than 500 years, they are losing their grip on power. It's just a matter of time. Really, the only question left is if they are willing to throw the country into civil war again. as a last desperate act of trying to hold on. Advertisement They are afraid. Not afraid of the loss of moral compass in the United States. They are afraid the United States will find its moral compass and realize we need to follow the last 6 words of the Pledge of Allegiance -- with liberty and justice for all. They should be afraid. For more than 500 years, they have been doing everything humanly possible to dehumanize millions of Americans. These millions of Americans are on the threshold of coming into rightful power. Millions of people who have suffered needlessly. Millions of people who have right and reason to be exceedingly angry. What has happened, and what is happening, are crimes against humanity. Genocide of indigenous peoples. Slavery. Denial of basic rights to women. Interment of Japanese Americans. Institutionalized racism. Christianist ideology. Criminalization of sexual orientation. Legislation of gender identity. And many, many more. Legislation of gender identity. It is a crime against humanity. Trans and gender non-conforming people are dying. I don't reckon I am going to use the men's room no matter what laws they make and what fears they throw out to the winds of wickedness. I am no longer willing to deny my own identity. I am not willing to watch them destroy the lives of transgender youth so they can feel powerful for a little while longer. Advertisement So, there it is. Their white, Christian, heterosexual, cisgender grandsons will not be the dominant race and controlling population; and they know their generation has allowed it to happen. Known for its sophisticated beaches and enough culture to quench any traveler's adventurous and inquisitive side, Barbados is a tropical island that can now be accessed by ALL explorers. Launching, a Fully Accessible Barbados (FAB), an initiative of the Barbados Council for the Disabled, the importance of creating greater accessibility and exploration of the island by those with disabilities is now a concept being adopted by almost everyone on the island - from hoteliers to restaurants and more. Travel is a right and with a number of Bajan tourism partners enlisting in the FAB program, a totally cohesive and accessible Barbados is now in the sights of the 8 out of 10 Canadians with disabilities that use aids or devices. Advertisement "Combining travel needs of those with disabilities with the island's eclectic terrain - from its rocky eastern shoreline, to the calm, serene waters of its "Platinum Coast," and changing the landscape of an entire community is a monumental and somewhat daunting task, but seeing a Fully Accessible Barbados is a dream that is quickly becoming a reality," says Deborah Millington, Business Development Officer for Barbados Tourism. The aim of FAB is to create a cross-section of standards and criteria that help meet some of the challenges travelers may encounter, especially seeing as the prevalence of disability increases steadily with age. The retirement of Canadian seniors (baby boomers) will soon make up the largest cross-section of the population. The impact to the Inclusive Tourism sector is significant as over 40% of them will be retiring with some form of disability, and according to recent statistic raises the total value of this sector to over 25% of the tourism market by 2020. This is by no means a 'niche market'! To communicate their level of accessibility, partners will be awarded in the following areas: Wheel Chair Assisted:Offering easy access to persons who depend on the use of a wheelchair, who can transfer unaided to and from the wheelchair in a seated position. This person would most likely be an independent traveler. Or, offering easy access to persons who depend on the use of a wheelchair in a seated position. Mobility Challenged:Offering easy access to persons who have restricted walking ability and also for those who may need to use a wheelchair some of the time and can negotiate a maximum of three steps. Advertisement Visually Impaired:A property or facility that provides easy access to persons who are visually impaired. Hearing Impaired:A property or facility that accommodates the hearing impaired. "Traveling is one of life's greatest pleasures, and Barbados Tourism Authority is paving a new way by offering persons' with disabilities FULL access to this Caribbean paradise," says Saj Rahman, Show Manager People In Motion, a free to the public show for those with disabilities and aims to help enhance independent living taking place May 27-28 in Toronto's Exhibition Place. "As part of the upcoming show, we are honoured to offer attendees access and information on traveling with a disability and how Barbados has opened up accessibility to the island and helped enhance independent travel," Rahman adds. But it's not just in how tourism partners have made their hotels, restaurants and attractions accessible. Barbados has opened up their island to those traveling in a whole new way: The introduction of an amphibious wheelchair that has caught the attention of world-travelers and myself. The FAB Beach Wheelchair is ideal for people with moderate or severely reduced mobility. With the introduction of an amphibious, ergonomically designed wheelchair, maneuvering the island, on the ground or in the turquoise, crystal clear water no longer proves challenging. Easily manipulated on all types of soil, sand or pebbles, its passenger gain full access to the beach and can enjoy a leisurely swim in Barbados' calm waters. Advertisement Known for their warmth, Bajans have proven once again that they have amazingly welcoming culture. Without international involvement in the OMP it will be extremely difficult for the victims to place faith in the institution. Given that the Sri Lankan Armed Forces are to-date involved in threatening victims and activists in the North-East and the veneration accorded to them by most if not all major political actors in the South, it will very difficult to envisage willingness and imagine the possibility of an OMP made up of exclusively Sri Lankan nationals, undertaking a vigorous process of evidence collection and tracing. For example, it is difficult to conceive how the OMP made exclusively of Sri Lankans, in the current power imbalance, will have the moral and practical courage to enter camps and prisons and properly investigate alleged acts of disappearances. The OMP will be sufficiently empowered to be independent only when qualified foreign individuals known for their integrity, independence and professionalism are included in its composition. We wish to stress that this is the underlying rationale of the hybrid process recommended in the OISL report and the [U.N. Human Rights Council] UNHRC Resolution...and that it should apply to all aspects of the transitional justice process. BOTSWANA - 2014/06/14: Aerial view of the Okavango Delta in northern part of Botswana. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images) It is impossible to look out over the winding waterways and lush green wetlands of the magnificent Okavango Delta and fail to understand the importance of conserving the natural world. A World Heritage Site teeming with plants, fish, birds and home to some of the planet's most endangered animals, the delta is one of Botswana's - and Africa's - most impressive natural jewels. Advertisement It is clear that the world has a moral obligation to save areas of wild beauty like these: the planet would be poorer without them. But it's not only about saving nature for nature's sake. It is also about recognising that the natural world, when looked after correctly, can contribute immensely in tackling some of the most critical problems facing humanity, from hunger to poverty, disease to climate change. Here, in Sub Saharan Africa, more than 70 per cent of people depend on forests and woodlands for a living. Ecosystems like the Okavango Delta play a key role in Botswana's economy, providing livelihoods for herders, farmers and fishermen alike in addition to the revenue accrued from tourism. If we are to advance some of humanity's highest ideals, then we need to improve the way we manage these vital ecosystems and sustainably harness the essential resources they provide us with. Advertisement Nowhere is the need for this greater than here in Africa. Reducing poverty, creating jobs, combatting climate change, ending hunger and driving sustainable economic growth on the continent - goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - will require trillions of dollars at a time when international financial assistance to Africa is on the decline. But, despite the daunting costs involved, the potential for real transformation is there. Africa holds 30 per cent of the world's mineral reserves, roughly 65 per cent of its arable land and 10 per cent of its internal renewable fresh water sources. Its fisheries are estimated to be worth $24 billion and the continent boasts the second largest tropical forest in the world. These are just some of the resources that make up Africa's vast reserves of natural capital - the environmental assets that, if managed properly, could drive the continent's transformation. But simply extracting these resources will not be enough to bring long-lasting change. If current population and consumption trends continue, humanity will need the equivalent of two Earths to support itself by 2030. This is clearly not viable in a world where climate change will make it even harder for the natural world to provide for our basic needs. So, instead of simply extracting natural resources and exploiting natural capital we need to start managing them sustainably. The economic incentives for this are compelling. Africa alone could save as much as $103 billion every year by harnessing its natural capital in a sustainable way - money that could then be pumped back into alleviating poverty, providing access to clean energy and improving education and health. There are even more savings to be made by stemming the illicit flow of money from illegal logging, the illegal trade in wildlife, illegal fishing, illegal mining practices and degraded ecosystems. Advertisement In addition, sub-Saharan Africa currently spends $35 billion every year on food imports, a vast amount when you consider that only 3.5 million hectares out of a possible 240 million hectares of land suitable for wetland rice cultivation have been exploited. By one of the most conservative estimates, the illegal plunder of the continent's natural resources, its food imports and the damage done to its ecosystems loses Africa $195 billion every year. This astonishing figure exceeds the total amount of money that Africa requires every year to invest in improving infrastructure, healthcare and education, and combatting climate change - all key goals of the 2030 Agenda. If Africa is to achieve the sustainable development goals, then it is vital that we reverse these losses. This will require governments to roll back the damage done to ecosystems and tackle illicit financial flows. We can then redirect the recovered funds back into African economies and ensure that these funds are used to boost natural capital-based sectors like clean energy and agriculture. The benefits of doing this are clear. In Africa, simply increasing crop yields by 10 per cent equates to a seven per cent reduction in poverty. Providing access to clean energy will reduce the indoor pollution that kills 600,000 people every year on the continent. And reversing environmental degradation and prioritising healthy ecosystems not only combats climate change but also helps to tackle desertification and reduce biodiversity loss. Advertisement Strong work has already gone into laying the foundation for a future that recognises the importance of natural capital. In 2012, in Botswana, a meeting between African heads of state and public and private sector partners adopted the Gaborone Declaration for Sustainability in Africa. The aim of the declaration is "to ensure that the contributions of natural capital to sustainable economic growth, maintenance and improvement of social capital and human well-being are quantified and integrated into development and business practice". Last month, at the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment in Cairo, Egypt, Africa sought to build on the momentum generated in Gaborone by focusing on how natural capital can contribute to implementing the 2030 Agenda and the African Union's Agenda 2063 and its first ten-year plan, which aims to achieve a "prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development". These are major steps forward but they are only the beginning of the fight for a brighter, more prosperous future.To rally the world to greater action, countries like Botswana are pushing for the international community to come up with a clear plan on how best to manage natural capital in a way that fosters sustainable development and eradicates poverty. In May 2016, countries will meet in Nairobi for the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) - the world's most powerful decision-making body on the environment. At UNEA, Botswana, the DRC, Kenya and Zimbabwe will table a resolution that seeks to develop policies and programmes that will enable countries to sustainably harness natural capital, crack down on illicit financial flows, reverse the degradation of environmental assets and foster international cooperation. Advertisement It is crucial that the world comes together to pass this resolution so that we can expand and diversify our economies, create jobs, achieve food security, enhance the productivity of our ecosystems and achieve a more inclusive society. LOS ANGELESThis weekend, emissaries from the global female domination community are arriving in L.A. for DomCon, the largest event in Southern California dedicated to the BDSM and fetish lifestyle. Last year, more than 1,500 people gathered to network, learn and celebrate. DomCon LA draws both professional and lifestyle FemDommes alike. Dominas are arriving from Australia, Belgium, Britain, Germany and across the United States to share common interests, celebrate diversity and promote awareness. "Last year, instead of feeling depleted, I left DomCon feeling energized and excited, full of erotic energy," said Mistress Alice of AliceInBondageland.com. This year she'll celebrate by shooting the anniversary episode of '300 Clothespins and 300 Cane Strokes' for her site. Guest of Honor Irene Boss will debut 'ProDommes DomCon Los Angeles' at the event and promote her new dungeon space in Orange County. This year, there's an additional element for the community. Whiplr, the mobile social networking app for kink, is hosting the Whiplr party suite for members to meet in real life. "This year's event will have a special twist," said organizer Mistress Cyan. "Renowned photographer Chris King will be capturing images for the DomCon book, a photo journal of the event for guests and the community. So when you see him, try to get in front of his many lenses and join us in this project. A release date for the book will be announced after the event." The event will be held at the Hilton LAX at 5711 West Century Blvd in Los Angeles. For details and the complete list of special guests, parties, sponsors and much more, go to DomConLA.com. Detail from a USA visa document with magnifying glass. While many across the world are busy planning summer vacations to visit family and loved ones, thousands of people's ability to do so has been restrained and unfairly burdened at the hands of Congress. Why? The sole explanation is because of their ancestral heritage and/or national origin. Now how did we get here? How could Congress enact a law that is discriminatory on its face? A law that segregates out a population for different treatment based on their identity? Advertisement Last December, in the immediate aftermath of the San Bernardino and Paris attacks, congress painted entire populations as the enemy. They wanted to seem like they were doing something, without actually understanding and determining whether their action was effective, necessary or counterproductive. Without even attempting to address what caused these attacks. When addressing the causation question, I don't mean the superficial answers of the perpetrators, the means and the motive. I mean the U.S. Government actions in regards to foreign policy decisions, failure to place respect for human rights of all before economic and political decisions. So in haste, without substantive time for debate and to understand the bill and implications, Congress passed into law discriminatory provisions that prohibit travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) for select populations based on their ancestral heritage and/or national origin. This law was passed under the spending bill package in December 2015. The law prohibits Syrian, Iraqi, Iranian, and Sudanese dual nationals from traveling under the VWP. Now there is no individual security assessment done on a case by case basis. Persons based on their identity alone are cast out. Let's just think about it, law abiding individuals have been denied the right to the same travel benefit as their neighbors, friends, co-workers, customers, for no reason of their own. Many of these people have never even set foot in Syria, Iraq, Sudan or Iran. Many are being treated differently because they have automatically inherited citizenship through their father, but were born in Europe and Europe is their home. The security of our nation has been touted as the reason after all the law was named the Visa Waiver Program Terrorist Travel & Prevention Act. However, many have come to expect propaganda in the title of bills for messaging, that does not actually reflect the content of the bill nor based on neither objectivity nor facts. Advertisement Now that rationale minds have exposed the hecklers rhetoric and have come together, there is an opportunity to correct this mistake. Congressional members both Republican and Democrat in the House and Senate have introduced the Equal Protection in Travel Act. The Act will remove the discriminatory dual national provisions. It will restore our VWP partners citizens back to full citizens with the benefits provided to all, no longer categorizing some citizens as second class. The actual security requirements in VWP Act remain intact. This includes but not limited to the VWP Act provisions of increased information sharing between VWP partners, reporting lost or stolen passports to Interpol, use of biometric passports, and Electronic System of Travel Application approval. Remember these security requirements are in addition to security enhancements to the Visa Waiver Program put in place by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. You know, if I had known just how terrible chemotherapy would be, I never would have gotten cancer in in the first place. (It's ok to laugh. That was a joke.) But the amount of love and support, encouragement and prayers from friends and loved ones, long lost acquaintances and complete strangers has made life more than bearable. Advertisement It's made life worth living, worth fighting for. I am grateful beyond words for the myriad of ways kindness has been poured into my family's life over the past few weeks. It's a debt I doubt I will ever be able to fully repay, but will most certainly try. I'm also grateful for what hasn't been said. In moments like this when someone we know is diagnosed with a horrible disease or when someone we love is taken from us tragically, we often and understandably find ourselves at a loss for words. We know there's nothing we can say that will offer the sort of deep peace and healing that is needed and yet we feel compelled to speak anyway because silence can be so terrifying and, unfortunately, as we fumble for what to say we sometimes end up compounding the pain instead of bringing the peace we hoped to give. Whether it is through the inherent wisdom of my friends and family or some sort of prevenient grace, I was never told even once over the past few weeks that my cancer diagnosis happened for a reason or that it was somehow part of God's plan, some sort of cruel plot device the divine decided to hurl my way for some mysterious purpose. As I've said so many times already, I'm one of the lucky ones. No one told me that God gave me cancer. Now, you might be thinking to yourself, "Well, I would sure hope not. That would be awful. Who would ever say or even think such a think?" Advertisement I wish the answer was no one and I'm convinced many of the someones who do respond with misguided words of comfort about God's plan don't completely think through what they're saying or they would realize the horror they are inflicting on their loved ones and remain silent. Sadly, there are many self-professed Christians who are convinced in their utmost being that the God does indeed give people cancer (while also intentionally inflicting every other imaginable form of evil on creation). Which means there are countless other Christians who walk into their first session of chemotherapy treatment or sit beside a loved one with Alzheimers or survive a brutal sexual assault only to be told that such unspeakable evil is all part of God's plan. That God willed their suffering for his own glory. If it sounds insane, it should. It that God sounds reprehensible and altogether evil, that's because he is. And yet, this is the very dogma folks like John Piper seem to relish in. In fact, he's written an entire book entitled -- and I'm sad to say I'm not making this up -- Don't Waste Your Cancer. In it Piper "writes about cancer as an opportunity to glorify God. With pastoral sensitivity, compassion, and strength, Piper gently but firmly acknowledges that we can indeed waste our cancer when we don't see how it is God's good plan for us and a hope-filled path for making much of Jesus." According to Piper, you will be "wasting your cancer" if, among other things, you don't believe God designed your cancer just for you, believe your cancer is anything other than a gift from God, and seek comfort in the prospect of your survival. As a cancer patient, there are no words to describe how utterly appalling I find Piper's theology to be. Advertisement As a Christian, I can't begin to tell you how repugnant and Christologically bankrupt I think his view of God is. It's a soulless dogmatism that allows, empowers, and even sanctifies someone to tell the suffering and the dying that their pain is not just a gift from God, but a gift given solely for the self-serving purpose of some perverse divine need for glory. If you've heard this nonsense before, hear me when I say this as strongly as I can: this is not the gospel. This is blasphemy against the Spirit disguised as systematic theology. It's blasphemy because there is no other word for describing the portrayal of God as a serial child rapist, unabashed murderer, unspeakable abuser, and creator of unimaginable evil. That's not hyperbole or slander. It is exactly who God is if God is the God people like Piper and his theological forefather John Calvin claim God is: a God who micromanages, ordains, and even revels (for "his glory") in every act of evil in the world. Moreover, if God indeed did give me cancer, then it creates a rather awkward situation for Piper's version of the gospel. You see, while our faith family has been unbelievably supportive ever since we announced my diagnosis, we have also received an overwhelming amount of love and support from our non-religious friends as well. In particular, some of our closest friends up here in Connecticut are committed atheists and yet despite all the rumors you may have heard about atheists, they have been amongst our biggest champions, showering us with more love and grace than we deserve. They started a GoFundMe page which will allow us to cover all of my medical expenses and then some. They've made and delivered meals to our home and even offered a freezer to store all of the extra food in. And just last week when I made an unexpected trip to the emergency room, they came over to watch the girls so my wife could come pick me up from the ER...even though they have a kid of their own and the wife had to work in the morning...and, oh yeah, she's 37 weeks pregnant. Advertisement If it's true, as Piper and his theological brethren argue, that God gave me cancer, then our non-Christian friends are objectively better than Piper's Christian God. For, I was sick and they came and comforted me for no other reason than it was the right thing to do, while Piper's God authored my suffering for the sole purpose of somehow making himself look better. Of course, faith is ultimately a matter of what we personally believe is true about God. So, maybe Piper's version of God is indeed who God is, but if Jesus is the means through which we know God, it cannot be the God of Christianity. Jesus heals the sick; he doesn't bring about their illness. Jesus liberates the oppressed; he doesn't ordain their oppression. Jesus sets the prisoner free; he doesn't imprison. Jesus restores a broken creation; he doesn't further cripple it through disease, suffering, and pain. And, perhaps most importantly for folks like Piper to remember, Jesus doesn't seek out power and couldn't care less about glory, but instead emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, and being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death -- even death on a cross. The fundamental problem with Piper's Calvinism is it sees the world and reads/interprets scripture through the very power dynamic which Christianity fundamentally rejects. The God of John Piper and John Calvin is an extrapolation of the kings and principalities Calvin and his forbearers knew too well: kings who controlled, at least indirectly if not directly, nearly every aspect of their subjects lives, all for their own glory. Seen through this lens, God therefore must be an infinitely more powerful king who directly controls every aspect of life for everyone and everything for God's glory. Advertisement But if the gospels are to believed, neither glory nor micromanaging are of any interest to the God of the Christian faith. The God we see in the gospels is born into poverty and scandal, raised as a pauper, lives a life of homelessness, and dies in humility after being beaten, stripped naked, and nailed to a cross...all the while devoting his life to the healing and liberation of the sick and the dying, the marginalized and the oppressed. Oh, and there's that whole bit about inviting people to freely join him in the work of salvation by going and doing likewise. As Christians, it is through the lens of Christ that we must read scripture and it is this christological lens that, no matter the isolated prooftext, precludes us from ever being able to conclude that the God of scripture, the God we see incarnated in Jesus is a God who gives people cancer and afflicts others with Alzheimer's while ordaining unspeakable abuse against children and the murder of innocents. To be clear, that doesn't resolve the problem of evil or theodicy. Even taking into account free will, the laws of nature, and the idea of self-limited God, surely a God who creates existence has the ability to create differently, less painfully, or at least in a way that doesn't involve so much wasteful suffering. Of course, maybe this is the so-called best of all imaginable worlds and I would certainly agree that creating a world with the potential for evil is a much better alternative to authoring every act of evil in that world, but that God didn't create a world with less suffering is a question that will remain unanswered this side of eternity But, if life of Jesus is to be both believed and be our guide for understanding the nature of God, then we can say definitively that God did not give you or me cancer or your grandfather Alzheimer's, nor did God chose and empower a pedophile to molest a child or a murder to take the life of their victim. Advertisement That is not the God of the Gospels. The God of the Gospels doesn't revel in the suffering of creation, nor does the God of the Gospels cause that suffering, nor does the God of the Gospels worry about you "wasting" your cancer or any other horrible experience by not doing more to promote a particular ideology. The God of the Gospels is a God who heals, who walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death calling on us to fear not, and who even in eternity bears the scars of God's own suffering as an eternal reminder that our pain matters to God. God did not cause it, but God will ultimately heal it. And in the meantime, we need not worry about wasting our suffering as if such a thing were possible. But John Piper, if you're listening, please know this: I promise I won't waste my cancer. I will use my diagnosis as a platform to speak real hope into peoples live and will spend every moment I have of whatever life I have left doing whatever I can to make sure no one going to chemotherapy or sitting beside a loved one with Alzheimer's or working through past abuse from their childhood or trying to figure out how to make it through another day after surviving a horrific attack ever has to hear that God ordained their suffering for his own unspeakably perverse and utterly selfish ends. If I can do that, if I can do my part to ensure that at least one less person never ever has to have their suffering compounded by such heinous theology ever again, then maybe, just maybe my cancer won't be a waste after all. Schoolgirls wearing chadoor. Isfahan Iran If there's one thing that my Islamic Sunday School and middle school sex ed had in common, it's that they split classes by gender. The overlap just about ends there. While the former looped through CDs to attune our ears to the correct pronunciation of the Arabic alphabet as we labeled maps that sketched out historical borders of the Middle East, the latter greeted us with live birth delivery room videos as we labeled eight and half by eleven inch naked silhouettes for a crash course on reproductive organs. Advertisement The juncture at which religion meets anything remotely associated with "modern" -- from objectively advanced technology to subjectively new attitudes (usually anything relating to feminism, sex, and womanhood) -- more closely resembles a murky, muddy swamp than any sort of intersectionality between two perpendicular roads. As a fundamental underpinning to guide a way of life as opposed to just "a religion," Islam is a lens that guides how we view the world; it plays a pronounced, active, and relevant role in our relationship with the world around us. And inside of us. Like inside of our bodies. Teenagers know where babies come from; breaking news, they understand it's not just directly "from Allah." Just last year, Dr. Sobia Ali Faisal from the University of Windsor published her findings of a research study to explore the relationship between North America's Muslim youth and sex, much of which included their stance and access to sexual education. Advertisement Of her 403 participants, including of men and women ranging from 17-25 all over the States and Canada, two-thirds of those who had sex did so before marriage. Her results saw an almost equal breakdown of this response between genders. Half of those who hadn't had sex before marriage acknowledged that "they considered it." While these figures lurk in contrast to the lectured cultural norms professed in our communities, they are accompanied by a far more dangerous set of statistics with a pretty basic bottom line: even if you don't talk to your kids about sex, someone else will. The young Muslims surveyed ranked their "parents" as the least likely source for sexual education, with "media" being the most. "Friends" fell somewhere in between. Frankly, perhaps such a ladder also mirrors a similar one for the rest of teens in the 21st century, but such a qualitative question was paired with a reporting that 76.2% of the youth received their sex ed from school, while only 4.2% did from their mosque. Overall, the Muslim youth suffered from negative sexual self-judgment folds more than their non-Muslim counterparts. Advertisement As such, it's not just one arbitrary institution of "Sunday School" to be blamed; this issue originates from a deeply rooted religious rhetoric substantiated by cultural convention. Ali Faisal's sample size was composed of the following ethnic breakdown, at least from those who chose to disclose such information: 43.4% South Asian, 25.1% Arab, 7.4% European, 6% Black, and 5.6% multiple ethnicities. Sixty five percent of the participants were born in either the US or Canada, while 23% had moved here by age 12. In other words, almost 90% of the group spent the entirety of their teen years here, thus embodying a fair breakdown of both components that constitute the hyphen "Muslim-American"/"Muslim-Canadian." The driving motivation for Ali Faisal's research was the negative sexual self-judgment that then anchors as the basis for unhealthy sexual relationships, particularly concerning major issues, such as consent and abuse. Putting aside personal view, Quranic interpretations, and individual choices regarding premarital sex, whether you agree with it or not, it's completely beyond necessary to foster more dialogue about sex ed, and provide our Muslim youth with quality sexual education. Cultural taboos cannot trump the risks that come with leaving kids in the dark. Whether or not sexual activity should be withheld for after marriage is up for debate, but sexual education should be non-negotiable; it simply cannot wait, and must not. Advertisement Such logic practically manifests into expecting a young man and woman to know basically nothing the day before marriage, but expecting them, the day after, to be an expert ready to pop out children at the nine month mark. (In other words, here also lies the myth that sex is just the dirty verb for "baby factory.") The underlying norms of mainstream society and lingering baggage of traditional culture overlap on telling territory; in this case, a dangerous one that much more readily objectifies, blames, and shames women. In the context of healthy relationships, these attitudes are not casual points of misunderstanding; they are critical points of mistake. These then catapult into the dangerous mindsets surrounding consent, abuse, and expectations. This 0-100 switch may well be the reason there is rarely acceptance of the very real notion of rape within marriage, or the indisputable right to personal agency for women in relationships. Some organizations are trying to fill the dearth of resources currently lying at this intersection of sex ed and religious taboo. HEART Women & Girls, an organization currently working out of Chicago, Ill. and Canada, states on its website that it "promotes sexual health and sexual violence awareness in faith-based communities by developing culturally-sensitive health education, advocacy, research and training," -- specifically targeting Muslim communities. Advertisement A past history of its recent events include workshops such as "Sex Education for Muslim Youth: Understanding its Challenges & Opportunities" and "Creating Safe Spaces: Empowering the Muslim Woman's Reproductive Health Experience." While groups like HEART are striving to make an impact via resources and workshops for Muslim youth, dismantling further ingrained mindsets regarding the role of boys and men in such scenarios remains an obligatory step to consider. Sex after all requires two people, making both individuals equally in need of education and equally accountable in responsibility, as well as equally entitled to pleasure, comfort, and consent. It's easy to get lost in the debate about premarital sex versus waiting; a war with fast flying Quranic verses and hadiths, shielding traditions met with arguments about medical advancements, social practices, or historical patriarchal control (especially with delicate topics such as in times of war, i.e. sex slaves). What simply must not be treated as complicated, though, is the actual education that promotes safe activity and healthy relationships, no matter when they occur. After all, these topics also envelope interactions beyond just the sexual. Abuse and gender-based misconduct can precipitate emotionally and psychologically, too. Advertisement As the writer Zahira Kelly included in a tweet earlier this month, it's abuse, even if #MaybeHeDoesn'tHitYou. Either these dialogues about healthy sex and relationships can proliferate, or the silence can succumb to the influences of often harmful, even toxic, sources that sow the seeds for catastrophic disasters. From a one-time assault to a decades-old abusive marriage, these vulgar attacks can seriously stick and haunt for life. Sexual education isn't just about a condom or a pill. It isn't inherently about telling teenagers to run wild or commanding them to be sexually active when they're not ready, or telling them to wait. It is, however, about equipping people (even more mature folks, if they weren't given the chance to learn when younger) to make decisions--whether those decisions are to have sex or not to have sex, or whether those decisions are to allow them to recognize an abusive relationship when they see one. I fully believe that cultural awareness and sensitivity are paramount pillars to any cause. Balancing advancement toward the uncertain but seemingly developed, with respect for the traditional but seemingly antiquated, might appear impossible because it is honestly difficult. But refusing to attempt any sort of reconciliation at all is frankly the worst, weakest, and least wise consensus. Whether or not we like it, whether or not we're fighting it, there is no talk of Islam without talk of gender. As such, sexual education simply cannot be omitted from the discussion. Perhaps one day Islamic Sunday School and middle school sex ed will share a little more common curriculum, even if not exactly the same maps or diagrams. Advertisement Perhaps one day both will concern themselves with matters of health, wellbeing, safety, and respect-these aren't taboo topics. In the end, the most critical term remains "choice." The sexual agency of a person must be left up to an individual, but no one should make any sort of decision unaware. It's our right to be educated, and it's our right to be sexually educated. ARUN SANKAR via Getty Images Members of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(AIADMK) party carry placards with the image of AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa Jayaram as they celebrate in front of her residence in Chennai on May 19, 2016.The makeup of India's next government could lie in the hands of a trio of women who command a massive following in their regional heartlands, including a populist former movie star known as 'Mother' to supporters. / AFP / ARUN SANKAR (Photo credit should read ARUN SANKAR/AFP/Getty Images) 1) 2-Leaves Symbol In All Constituencies The two most recognizable symbols in Tamil Nadu are the two-leaves symbol of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the rising sun symbol of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. In the absence of a strong wave against the ruling party, votes were swung on the basis of symbol. Jayas smart move to force her meager allies (7 seats in all) to contest on the two-leaves symbol gave her the edge over the DMK alliance which gave 41 seats to the Congress, and another 17 seats to other smaller Muslim and Dalit parties. In a direct contest between two-leaves and rising sun the DMK appeared to have had the edge, as analysis of the numbers showed. 2) Prohibition Not Really An Election Issue After All! Jayalalithaa may have been criticised for ignoring demands for Prohibition before polls, but the issue does not seem to have been one over which the electorate voted. Women, the core constituency of the AIADMK, appeared to have backed their leader solidly. According to C Lakshmanan from the Madras Institute of Development Studies, caste and cash were the only two factors in these elections. Advertisement Despite the widespread corruption, and demands for prohibition, none of these were reflected in the way that people voted, he said, adding that both the DMK and the AIADMK were very similar in their approaches to the election. Jayalalithaas cautious approach to the Prohibition bogey, where she repeatedly stated in campaigns that she would implement Prohibition in a phased manner, appears to have given even tipplers the impression that she would not ensure a dry state. The DMK, on the other hand, promised total Prohibition in the southern state if voted to power. 3) Money Power Over Rs 105 crores of cash was seized in the run-up to elections by the Election Commission, of which Rs 48 crores was returned to rightful owners on submission of documents. But this haul appeared to be just the tip of the iceberg, as reports flooded in, especially in the last two days before polling, of large sums of cash being paid to voters as bribe. In many parts of the state, the AIADMK appeared to have paid as much as Rs 5000 per family. Advertisement The DMK too paid for votes, averaging around Rs 250 per vote, but in constituencies where the party strongmen contested, the cash flow was much more. Speaking of the complaints against the AIADMK for distributing money, N Sathiyamoorthy, Director of the Chennai Chapter of the Observer Research Foundation, said that even though there were complaints of cash collection in places like Siruthavoor, where there was even video evidence of money changing hands, the Election Commission failed to do anything concrete. The Election Commission needs to take steps to make the election transparent, and create a level playing field not only for parties and leaders, but also at the candidate level, he said. DMK Treasurer MK Stalin too has warned that the party would move court to get justice on the issue of cash distribution unless the ECI took firm action. Speaking to the media post results, former union minister Dayanidhi Maran of the DMK said, The peoples mandate was for the DMK, but the crores of rupees spent by Jayalalitha forced the people to vote for them. 4) DMKS Severe Crisis Of Credibility The battle in 2016 was clearly between the two main Dravidian parties in the state, with the Third Front, the Pattali Makkal Katchi and the Bharatiya Janata Party all being demolished. Despite simmering anti-incumbency and discontent on the ground, the DMK was unable to cash in on it, since people had not forgotten the land grabbing and rowdyism of the previous DMK regime between 2006 and 2011. The DMK was unable to convince voters that a repeat of the same would not happen. 5) Targeted Freebies & Discounts Last mile undecided votes were shoved the AIADMK way, with the lure of 50% discount on scooters for working women and the prospect of more gold for mangalsutras (Thaalikku Thangam) scheme. Most other promises made in the manifestos of both parties were similar in nature. The people have been depoliticised, which is why they would support Jayalalithaa, who is not approachable, and continues to offer freebies like motorbikes if people voted for her. This victory for the AIADMK is also partly because of the dissatisfaction towards Karunanidhi, he said. Also See On HuffPost: The India Today Group via Getty Images NEW DELHI, INDIA - MAY 18: CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan arrives to attend the CPI(M) Politburo meeting on May 18, 2009 in Delhi, India. India is the world's largest democracy which has decided to re-elect Congress again for its second term with Dr. Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister. (Photo by Subir Halder/India Today Group/Getty Images) Pinarayi Vijayan is set to be the next Chief Minister of Kerala. The 72-year-old leader of Communist Party of India (Marxist) has steered the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to a spectacular win in the state, with Congress decimated at the hustings and the BJP managing just a token entry in the state Assembly. The LDF, led by the CPI (M), won more than 90 seats out of 140, while the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) managed only 45 seats, even as the BJP opened its account with just one seat. Advertisement Early Life Vijayan was born to a toddy tappers family in northern Keralas Kannur district, a traditional stronghold of the communist party, in 1944. After completing school, he worked as a hand-loom weaver briefly before joining the Government Brennen College in the neighbouring Thalassery district. Vijayan eventually graduated from the same college. Political Career With the distinction of having served the longest stint as the communist partys Kerala State Committee Secretary, from 1998-2015, the poor toddy-tapper's son has come a long way in life. During his early days in college, Vijayan joined the students union and became deeply involved in political activities. He later joined the Communist Party in 1964 and went on to become the state president of the partys students wing, now known as the Students Federation of India (SFI). Vijayan played a key role in protecting the organisation from the influence of extreme ideologies such as Naxalism, according to party sources. Advertisement The defining moment of Vijayans spectacular rise in politics was probably his selection as the CPI (M) district secretary in Kannur, following the exit of the veteran leader M.V Raghavan from the party. Vijayan became a member of the partys Kannur District Committee at the age of 24 and of the district secretariat at the age of 28. He was elected to the state legislative assembly four times -- in 1970, 1977, 1991 and 1996. He was the Minister for Electricity and Cooperation from 1996 to 1998, and was inducted into the CPI(M) politburo in 2002. Vijayan has been at loggerheads with V.S. Achutanandan, who is the face of the communist party in Kerala. In 2007, both Vijayan and Achutanandan were suspended from the politburo for their remarks about each other. Though Vijayans name had cropped up in a Rs 375-crore scam relating to irregularities in awarding of contracts for the repair and maintenance of three power plants in the state, he was later acquitted. Advertisement Contact HuffPost India Also See On HuffPost: T-Series/YouTube Aishwarya Rai Bachchan sure knows how to ruin a good thing. In the case of Omung Kumars Sarbjit, however, there isnt even much of a good thing to ruin. As Dalbir Kaur, the protagonist of this movie, Rai Bachchan delivers a screechy, overpitched performance Sunny Deol from Border wouldve been proud of. But then, in light of Bollywood biopics weve seen in the last few years, this shouldnt come as a surprise. This one is based on the real-life incarceration of Sarabjit Singh, a farmer who strayed into Pakistan and was immediately arrested under suspicion of being an Indian spy. The first thing that strikes you about Sarbjit is how entirely uninterested it is in being a good film or even an interesting one. It is a film made to entertain, which apparently is (still) shorthand for a movie that assumes its audience has never watched a movie before. So, obviously, theres more emphasis on dialogue-baazi and melodrama than there is on character development and storytelling. Advertisement Still, it can be said that Sarbjit, simply on the basis of its moving true story, has some sort of power. Hooda plays the eponymous character, with early scenes showing him as a devoted husband to Sukhpreet (Richa Chadha), a man who likes to wrestle, laugh, and have a good time. Dalbir and he share a deep bond, she having practically raised him. The early scenes are fairly standard, but carry with them a sort of warmth that is easy enough to digest, if not like. The village they live in, Bhikhiwand, Punjab, is at the border of India and Pakistan, and this is the 80s, when the animosity between both countries wasnt quite at its peak. A drunk Sarabjit strays across the border (one of the films many stagey scenes) and disappears for many months. Dalbir, rather than the reticent Sukhpreet, leads the search for him. Rai Bachchan plays this strong, real-life character (who was present at a screening held for the press in suburban Mumbai on Thursday) with little nuance. In the hands of a better actress, it would have been very interesting to see the contrast between Dalbirs doggedly determined public persona and her more vulnerable private moments. Advertisement The script, by Utkarshini Vashishtha and Rajesh Beri, acknowledges this range in her character (in a clumsy, direct sort of manner), but Rai Bachchans histrionics arent sophisticated enough to convey this fully. Watching her act often feels like riding in a vehicle that runs on only two gears: neutral and overdrive. After a point, it seems like shes just screaming at everything without any real emotion guiding her. Randeep Hooda in a still from 'Sarbjit' Hooda, who underwent a shocking transformation for this role (he lost roughly 28 kg to look like a tortured prisoner), is much more effective. As he grows weaker and weaker over the course of 23 years, his speech gets mangled and he becomes a shadow of his former self the only character in the film whose graph is clearly visible. A melodrama-soaked scene, in which he sees his family for the first time in years, is salvaged by him somewhat, even though all I could think about while watching it was how hilarious the same scene wouldve been without background music (an acid test of sorts I use to see if a scene stands on its own merit). He and Chadha, who makes the best of a low-key character (although this is one of her least effective performances) deserved a better screenplay than this, which unfolds with the elegance of a 'Did You Know?' comic you'd find in an edition of Tinkle Digest. There are no surprises, no real insights to be gained; it's all just information. Every scene takes place exactly where youd expect it to take place. The staging is predictable. The dialogues, many in Punjabi, are standard-issue. And, of course, if all this wasnt enough, theres a loud background score to explain to you how dramatic all of this is, which wouldve been fine if it werent omnipresent. One small mercy is that the film isnt exactly jingoistic at heart and attempts to further the idea that India and Pakistan are essentially the same country. But the way things are depicted, especially a scene in which Dalbir says of Pakistanis that they are experts at backstabbing (with good reason, at that point), its likely that many portions will be interpreted as being anti-Pakistan. This is what happens when a good idea is dumbed down a tragedy tends to lose its complexity and becomes a convenient tool for propaganda. Advertisement Also see on HuffPost: Hindustan Times via Getty Images KOLKATA, INDIA - MAY 19: TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee during a press conference at her resident on May 19, 2016 in Kolkata, India. Banerjee said, 'I want to thank the Election Commission as elections were conducted peacefully in West Bengal.' Banerjee appeared set on Thursday to storm back to power in West Bengal with a two-thirds majority in the assembly, decimating an opposition alliance that charged her with corruption and megalomania. This is for the first time in 49 years that such a massive mandate has been given to a single party, said Banerjee, whose party was surging ahead in almost 211 of the 294 constituencies. The chief minister also trashed allegations of corruption and declared West Bengal free of corruption. Winning over 210 seats, the Trinamool Congress party became the single largest ever to capture power in the stateas electoral history. (Photo by Subhankar Chakraborty/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) Within hours of her sweeping victory in Bengal, at a crowded press conference in Kolkata, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee categorically ruled out the possibility of an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2019 elections. When asked who her political friends were, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) Chief Minister trotted out a string of names of potential third front leaders. I have so many friends Kejri (Arvind Kejriwal), Nitish Kumar, Jayalalithaa, Naveen Patnaik, Mulayam Singh Yadav all are my friends, she said in her inimitable style. However, she had no such comforting words to offer to her arch enemies, the Congress and the Left Front, both badly mauled in the recently concluded state elections. In Bihar, the Janata Dal (United) Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, too, echoed the same sentiment. Soon after the election results became clear, Kumar said the outcome in the five states has more than ever highlighted the need to craft a national level alliance against the BJP. In recent days, Delhis Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has time and again emphasised the urgency of working towards such an anti-BJP, anti-Congress political front. Advertisement In the coming days, such efforts are likely to gain pace. One thing however seems clear: a future third front if and when it does materialise would look fundamentally distinct from its predecessors in the 1990s. Having lost their bargaining power, the Congress and the Left, the two pivots of such a third axis in the past, are in no position to be decision-makers in this process. While the Congress has been replaced by the BJP as the sole national party, the Lefts rout in Bengal (despite its victory in Kerala) has stripped it off the numbers needed to be considered an important political presence on the national stage. A future third front would look fundamentally distinct from its predecessors in the 1990s. Gone is the 1996 moment when an entire range of regional leaders, from every corner of the country, virtually pleaded with Bengals then CPI(M) Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, to lead the anti-BJP coalition at the Centre. The Congress, (which was supporting the third-front coalition from outside,) put its full weight behind Basus candidacy. But flatly rejecting their collective and repeated appeals to Basu, the CPI(M) central committee argued that the party programme did not allow its leaders to be part of a central government. Times since have indeed changed. Today, the CPI(M)s bete noire Mamata Banerjee is calling the shots. She has stepped into the space vacated by the Left, and is basking in the same prominence the Left once enjoyed in the national politics. Given her extraordinary electoral mandate for a second consecutive term, Banerjee is now the cynosure of all eyes, while the CPI(M) is struggling to keep its head above water. In the changed scenario, the AAP and the TMC, have emerged as a sort of new Left bloc. Not saddled with the dogma of traditional Left parties, they have nonetheless kept the interests of subaltern classes at the centre of their governance agenda. Advertisement The Congress for its part has been reduced to the position of a virtual regional player. But even in this scenario, the party lacks the vibrancy that defines other regional parties like the TMC, Janata Dal (United) and the AAP. In such a situation, the Congress can hardly hope to be treated as a valued partner in a potential third front. The party also has little hope of making substantive gains in the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh and Punjab elections. In both states, the AAP, Samajwadi Party, and the Bahujan Samaj Party are the main anti-BJP forces to watch out for. The Congress and the CPI-M will have to get used to the new political weather. The Left will have to abandon fanciful projects of reclaiming political space through clumsy alliances. Most important, the Congress high command at 10 Janpath will have to adjust to a new political landscape where their regional allies take charge. Both Congress and Left which have shared a downward electoral spiral since 2009 will need to do something they are essentially incapable of: real course correction and the shedding of hubris. The CPI(M) leaders in Kolkata are already blaming the Congress for not transferring their votes to the CPI(M). But that was bound to happen in the backdrop of the mutual bloodshed that historically marks the Congress-Left relationship in Bengal. The fact is like the Congress, the CPI(M) too, seems incapable of doing what is takes to rebuild its party organisation a task requiring both structural changes and massive ideological transformations. Without effecting such moves, both players face a long future in the shadows. Still, today, the only thing more unlikely than a radical change in the stance of the Congress or the CPI(M) is the possibility of either party re-emerging as a major national force. The key question, in other words, is: will actors like Banerjee agree to co-exist in a potential front which includes Congress and the CPI(M)? While some regional parties will surely be open to such an alliance, the Bengal Chief Minister is a different case altogether. The Congress high command at 10 Janpath will have to adjust to a new political landscape where their regional allies take charge. Relations between Banerjee and the Left have particularly soured after the latter teamed up with the Congress in the recent polls. No doubt, Mamata has had the last laugh. Not only has the Lefts tally plummeted from 2011, it has even ceded ground to the Congress, now the second largest party in Bengal. Given her acrimonious personal history with the CPI(M) and the never-ending template of revenge based politics that has become a feature of Bengali culture, turning Banerjee around is easier said than done. Courtesy Loudspeaker Media At the 17th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, held in the city last October, only one Indian film played under its International Competition section. This was Raam Reddys Thithi, a gentle, playful comedy set in a small village in Karnataka, with dialogues in the regions local Mandhya dialect. The Indo-US production ended up winning the Grand Jury Prize at the festival. This is only one of several trophies it has picked up since first premiering at the prestigious 68th Locarno International Film Festival last year, where it picked up two top awards: a Golden Leopard under the Concorso Cineasti del Presente (Cinema Of The Present) section, for first- or second-time filmmakers, and the Swatch Award for Best First Feature, awarded by a separate jury. It also received a National Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada earlier this year. Advertisement Earlier this month, the film, made by first-timer Reddy and based on a story by Ere Gowda, who hails from the region it was shot in, released in limited screens across Karnataka. The reception, so far, has been quite encouraging: shows in multiplexes the state, as well as in Hyderabad, where it released the following week, have been running close to house-full. On Tuesday, after it scooped up three awards Best Film, Best Dialogues, and Best Supporting Actress at this years Karnataka State Film Awards, Reddy announced on Facebook that the film would be releasing soon in major cities across the country, with English subtitles. Thithi, to my mind, is the finest Indian film of 2016 so far, and will probably remain among the best by the time it draws to a close. In a diary Id written during last years Mumbai Film Festival, Id said: Thithi is a delight, featuring a wonderful ensemble of non-professional actors that transports you to an Asterixian village in Karnataka. After a crabby old man named Century Gowda dies at 101, the villagers plan an elaborate send-off, sparking off a series of events involving his descendants. Advertisement Reddy, making his feature debut here, emerges as one of the most exciting new talents in Indian cinema right now. His direction is rock-solid and honest, while Ere Gowda, the films writer (who hails from the village depicted) develops beautiful and highly memorable characters. On re-watching the film, I was reminded of things Id loved the first time around but hadnt been able to elaborate upon. Its wonderful cast, comprising non-professional actors from the region, is led by a beautifully nuanced performance by Chennagowda as the enigmatic, free-spirited Gadappa. As Century Gowdas only living son, he spends his time wandering around aimlessly, puffing beedis and swigging cheap liquor, with a beatific smile on his face imagine an Indian equivalent of The Dude (played by Jeff Bridges) from Joel and Ethan Coens 1998 classic The Big Lebowski. Gadappas son Thamanna (Thammegowda S) is quite the opposite, a tightly-wound-up, perpetually irate fusspot who speaks more than he gets heard. As a result, he is barely able to control his son Abhi (Abhishek HN), a cocky teenaged boy with a young Michael Jackson-esque grin who lets his raging hormones get the better of him. Reddy, a 26(!)-year-old polymath who, aside from having made numerous short films, is also an economics graduate from Delhis St Stephens College and a published author, commands your attention by telling the story in a manner that is honest, humane, and completely unpretentious What interests me most about Thithi, which takes these three characters on separate arcs following the death of Century Gowda, is its subtle critique of The Great Indian Joint Family. While popular culture, comprising TV soaps and mainstream cinema, constantly promote Indian family values in broad strokes, Thithi dismantles the myth that the family that lives together, lives happily ever after in a gentle, unhurried manner. The three generations of sons share complicated relationships with each other as is true for many families, in reality and are only, frustratingly for them, bound together by blood. Advertisement However, each character is motivated by something different. Gadappa is carefree and existentialist in his ways. Thamanna is concerned about the land in Century Gowdas name and his own mounting debts. Abhi is besotted by the pretty young shepherd girl Cauvery (Pooja SM, who won a Karnataka State Film Award for her work) visiting his village. All this, in the midst of a funeral that is being celebrated with great pomp because a man, as spiteful as he may have been, lived to be a 101 years old. Gowdas fantastic screenplay creates unforgettable characters and moments. A clubfooted man appears from nowhere to dance with wild abandon every time a band plays in the village. A fiery woman who runs a local watering hole demonstrates the agency to publicly thrash a drunkard who attempts to leave without paying. The prospect of a free non-vegetarian meal makes people cram uncomfortably into auto-rickshaw tempos and travel to a neighbouring village. A still from 'Thithi' Reddy, a 26(!)-year-old polymath who, aside from having made numerous short films, is also an economics graduate from Delhis St Stephens College and a published author, commands your attention by telling the story in a manner that is honest, humane, and completely unpretentious. His world cinema influences notwithstanding (the depiction of a local band reminded me of the clueless Egyptian orchestra from the 2007 Israeli film The Bands Visit), Thithi is remarkably accessible, eschewing the sometimes frustrating indulgences one traditionally associates with arthouse cinema. Sure, the film is stripped of a background score, songs, stylish camera movements, and visual razzmatazz. Yet, it is infectiously likeable and always gripping, aided by beautiful, unobtrusive cinematography (Doron Tempert), uncommonly realistic sound design (Nithin Lukose), and a lovely edit (John Zimmerman and Reddy) that makes its 120-odd-minute runtime pass by breezily, without sacrificing character development, emotion, and honesty. Reddys directorial voice is calm, assured, and entirely free of manipulation it always seems to be saying, This is how it is. Advertisement Thithi isnt issue-based, unlike many Indian films that have traditionally received such acclaim. Despite depicting many aspects of rural Indian life patriarchy, religious beliefs, and teenage sexuality, for instance it isnt important or a must-watch. It has no flag to wave, and no apparent desire to kick-start conversations on hot-button issues. But that, to me, is exactly whats so refreshing about it. Reddy and Gowda, two storytellers as clear-eyed as can be, are pure oxygen suppliers at a canned air convention. This is everything good cinema should be: funny, poignant, honest, and occasionally devastating, without ever losing sight of the story its telling. It shares many sensibilities with the new wave of young, first-time Indian filmmakers who are changing the paradigm of parallel cinema. Last year, this included films such as Chaitanya Tamhanes Court, Avinash Aruns Killa, Aditya Vikram Senguptas Labour Of Love, and Neeraj Ghaywans Masaan. With Thithi, Reddy joins the ranks of this league of extraordinary filmmakers and, as with the others, I cant wait to see what he does next. 'Thithi' is currently playing in select theatres across Karnataka, Hyderabad, and Chennai. It is slated to release in other parts of the country within the next fortnight. Also see on HuffPost: Leo De Watts Of Aethaer Sells Bottled Air Meet The 27-Year-Old Getting Rich Selling Fresh Air In A Bottle If you are in the market to buy some air, a 27-year-old Englishman named Leo De Watts has you covered. De Watts is the founder of Aethaer, a company that is making a tidy profit by supplying bottled British air to Chinese buyers. Beijing, Zhuhai, and Shanghai all have a major pollution problem so bad that at times schools have been forced to close because of thick smog. People in China (and some curiosity seekers in other locations) are grabbing the bottles of fresh air for 80 around $115. Despite the hefty price tag, hundreds of bottles have flown off the shelves in a very short amount of time. But air is air, right? How does Aethaer even collect it? Well, check out the video below to see the air bottling process in action. It involves snow and it is rather amazing to see. And where does the company source the air? Its website says that AETHAER is collected from fresh natural air flowing over a range of prime locations, from fertile lush pastures and wild untouched meadows, to wind-kissed hilltops and heavenly snow-capped mountains. I asked Cort Anastasio, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of California, what he thought about all this. Its a funny conversation piece but its not going to help someone get a meaningful dose of fresh air. Each 580 mL jar sells for 80 English pounds ($116). The average person breathes in 10 L/min at rest (more if active). So you get about 3.5 seconds of fresh air from each jar. Enjoy! Alternately, you can think about how much it would cost to get a full days worth of Aethaer. The price tag? $2.9 million dollars for the required 24,800 jars, he told me in an e-mail interview. RELATED: Scientists Discover Air Pollution Can Make You Stupid Despite criticism, De Watts remains undaunted. He was kind enough to sit down with us and answer some questions about what he calls the Louis Vuitton of air. How did you get started in the fresh air business? Increasing levels of air pollution have been reported in the news over the past few years, particularly in heavy industrial cities such as Beijing. During December 2015, Beijing issued a high-level air pollution warning, prompting a shutdown of factories until the levels decreased. News reports included mention of a company selling compressed "fresh" air from the mountains of Canada to the citizens of Beijing. I immediately looked to see if there was a luxury product on the market. There was none. As a consequence, Aethaer is now the global luxury brand for clean, fresh, air. You have been quoted saying your product is the Louis Vuitton of air. Why is your air so good? Aethaer is the only global air brand that collects, packages and ships clean, pure, fresh air. Our competitors either don't deliver globally or don't actually supply naturally filtered, clean, fresh air. When I first heard of others selling air, I noticed they use compressors to fill metal cans with artificially compressed air. None of this is natural. By artificially collecting air and passing it through a compressor, you are contaminating your air with a motorized process. Any form of pump needs a power supply such as a generator, and the machinery is likely to have its own petroleum-based oils to keep it lubricated. What you are left with is an inferior product for the mass-market. We stay well clear of any of those sorts of pollutants, and use good old traditional hard work and effort to collect our air which we can guarantee is naturally occurring, pure, and fresh. How do you go about collecting the finest air you can? What is the process? Collecting the finest air does take some effort. You can't just collect Aethaer at any time or place. First off, you need to find the right location. And by right location, we mean a place far away from cities, towns, villages or roads. It also has to be a place well known to our clients, hence why the UK is perfect it has a strong reputation. Our locations also have significance as world-renowned areas of natural beauty. Once you have found the ideal location, you need to wait for a day when the wind is blowing over the right landscape whether that's beaches, cliffs, valleys, streams, rocky outcrops, pastures or meadows so that it is naturally filtered, and captures the subtle notes of the surrounding areas. While we have done this from locations within the UK, we are now expanding our collection, and are offering 2,000 (approximately $2,900) to anyone who finds us the best location in the world. Once the air has passed over the desired landscape, we wait patiently for it at the collection point, and use fabric nets filled with a windproof material attached to long poles to collect as much air as possible from a height of approximately three to five meters above the ground. Once the net is full, we bring it down swiftly upon an open glass jar, which will have been sitting opened for around five minutes, and we push the captured air into it. We then close the jar's lid shut and secure it with a clasp. We later package the jars and send them to our customers. What sort of benefits does one get from breathing your fresh air? Our clients purchase Aethaer because they recognize the value of fresh, clean, naturally filtered air. And owning such a product in an area where it otherwise does not exist is a luxury. Also, a jar of Aethaer is in itself a piece of artwork. It is a status symbol, an investment, and a piece of art that brings awareness to a very important issue. All of our jars are individually identifiable, belong to limited-edition runs, and are expected to appreciate in value. These factors, of course, appeal greatly to our clients, but only the wealthiest can afford to inhale Aethaer on a regular basis. For these clients, inhaling fresh, clean, naturally filtered air is dramatically beneficial. Air pollution kills approximately 5.5 million people a year. Avoiding inhaling toxic pollutants and breathing fresh air instead will dramatically improve longevity. What is it like to be a young air salesman from a foreign country living in Hong Kong? Hong Kong is a unique place it is the stepping-stone to China, a space where East meets West, a true melting pot of culture, history and tradition. Most people use Hong Kong as a hub to export Chinese factory products to the rest of the world. The difference for a Hong Kong-based air farmer is that I am sending trade in the opposite direction, using Hong Kong as a hub to send products into China. Hong Kong is a very wealthy and densely populated city. As a result, it attracts many household and luxury brands. It makes sense to position ourselves there. Kansas not planning to require COVID-19 vaccine to attend school There is no plan to require the COVID-19 vaccine for school attendance in Kansas, as the CDC puts the shots on the childhood vaccination schedule. With a copyright reform bill anticipated in the near future, the Copyright Office has been holding a series of roundtable talks which it will use to support its alterations to copyright law. Unfortunately, many of the ideas raised thus far are more than a little troubling. _______________________________ Guest Post by Mike Masnick on TechDirt The Copyright Office has been holding a series of "roundtable discussions" on copyright reform that it's going to use to produce a paper supporting certain changes to copyright law. We already know that some sort of copyright reform bill is expected in the near future, and what comes out of this whole process is going to be fairly important. Unfortunately, the roundtables are not encouraging. There was one held in NY a few weeks ago, which Rebecca Tushnet blogged about in great detail, and I attended the ones last week in San Francisco and I've gathered up my tweeted commentary, if you feel like reading through it. Unlike the House Judiciary Committee roundtable that was held in Silicon Valley last year, where the Representatives surprised many of us by actually asking good questions and listening to the answers, the Copyright Office's roundtables were bizarre and troubling. First, the whole setup of the two two-day events was problematic. The Copyright Office wanted to make sure that everyone who applied to speak was allowed to participate in some manner, so for each set of roundtables, they set up 7 roundtables of 20 people each on pre-defined topics, where each roundtable was only 90 minutes. This was problematic in many ways, because the very fact that the Copyright Office already assigned the topics of each "panel" suggested the preconceived notions that the Office came into the hearings with. Second, 20 people in 90 minutes meant a kind of soundbite culture, rather than an actual discussion. Basically, 4 people from the Copyright Office sat up front and would declare the topic and ask a single (usually general) question to kick off the panel. Then anyone who wanted to respond would turn their name placards on the side. Each person speaking was told they had 2 minutes, and a Copyright Office person would hold up cards counting down the time until finally holding up a giant STOP sign when time ran out. If the Copyright Office people felt like it, they might pepper you with follow up questions, or just move on to the next upturned placard. Only a few times during two full days of everyone locked in a courtroom was there any real discussion or attempt at moving the ball forward on issues. Instead, there were a lot of 2 minute speeches, often totally contradictory, and sometimes with people saying blatantly false things. The hearings were not livestreamed, though there was a court reporter who apparently is creating a transcript that will be distributed at some point (hopefully soon). While anyone could sign up to participate, the public was definitely a big missing factor. The Copyright Office itself repeatedly seemed to act as if copyright law is about two industries at war with each other "content" v. "tech" and unfortunately seemed to think that all content creators who mattered were against the tech industry. While the public could, in theory, have attended, there was very little seating available for non-participants, and we were all quite literally locked into a courtroom in San Francisco (getting out was always fun as we had to wait for the doors to unlock). If I had to summarize the most general theme throughout the hearings, it was this: many individuals and businesses that relied on a certain way of doing business in past decades have not been able to adapt to the changing internet world, and they're very upset about this. They see that companies like Google (especially) are now making lots of money, and assume that somehow that money belongs to them. This ridiculous chart was waved around by one of the participants. It's basically the old way of doing business lashing out at the new way. Attempts to point out that there are many more new content creators today, and many more ways to make money, were dismissed, ignored or ridiculed. Attempts to point out that the "obvious" solutions weren't at all obvious and might cause more harm than good were similarly ignored. There were many attempts to "blame Google" and to use copyright law to "force Google" to do something. Many of the things that people were asking for, Google actually already does, but people wanted more. With that as background, here are twelve really troubling ideas that were raised during the hearing, many (though not all) by representatives from the Copyright Office itself: Notice & Staydown: If there was one overarching theme to the hearings it was the idea that many kept pushing for a "notice and staydown" regime to replace the current "notice and takedown" regime in the DMCA today. There would be weird alternating comments from people where a recording industry person would say something like "look, we need notice & staydown!" and then someone who actually understood the technology or the law would explain the problems of a notice & staydown regime, only to have the next person ignore all of that and say "what we truly need is notice and staydown." Concerns raised about abusive takedowns were mostly ignored. The Copyright Office kept arguing that people can just counternotice abusive takedowns, and didn't seem to care that evidence suggests many people are too afraid to counternotice. They also totally ignored the fact that if you move to a notice and staydown regime, there won't be notices to counter in many cases. Related to this, there seemed to be little willingness to recognize that copyright is context specific, and that the same content in one realm may be infringing, while in another may be non-infringing. Which brings us to: Notice & Staydown For Full-Length Content: This appears to be the "compromise" solution that the Copyright Office kept pushing during the discussions, repeatedly bringing this up as an option. Their argument is that "okay, some people are worried about notice and staydown interfering with fair use, but 'full-length content' isn't fair use, so perhaps we just say that if it's 'full-length' movies, books and music, then any platform needs to have a notice & staydown setup." Of course, there are numerous problems with this as well. First off, such filtering platforms are both expensive and often not very good (see: ContentID, which cost $60 million to build, and still sucks). A requirement for such a filtering system would basically stop all new entrants into the market and lock the big players (YouTube, Facebook) in as the dominant platforms. It also doesn't make sense for all kinds of content. A lawyer from Wikimedia pointed out that a technology filter mandate would be insane for Wikipedia, since its human editors already seemed to be better and more efficient at removing infringing stuff. Most importantly, plenty of full-length content may be non-infringing. I mean, we just had the Google Books ruling not too long ago, which found that scanning, indexing and storing full-length books was fair use. Or there's the Bloomberg/Swatch case where full-length recordings of investor conference calls were used in a way that was fair use. Or what about people backing up their own movies? After all, one of the most famous copyright lawsuits ever, the Betamax case over the legality of home video recordings, found that recording full-length video was fair use. Creating a bright line rule saying that full-length content isn't fair use would go against settled law and harm many forms of innovation. And that brings us to: One-size-fits-all tech mandates and carve-out attempts: Because of the points above, the Copyright Office and some others kept trying to see if there were ways to write the rules so that they would only target certain players (i.e., "Google"). This makes little sense for a variety of reasons. First, as Google itself noted, when you're talking about something like YouTube, it already offers a notice-and-staydown tool in the form of ContentID, but many people choose not to use the staydown portion, because Google also offers an option to "monetize" those works. Whether or not we agree with how ContentID works, it's clear that it already provides a lot more than what the law currently says YouTube needs to do, and people still aren't satisfied. But it's nearly impossible to create mandates for technology in a way that doesn't (1) harm many other companies in the space and (2) create weird and dangerous incentives. The most common suggestion was some sort of special safe harbor for "small" companies, so that the next startup wasn't burdened with having to build or buy a filter until they reached a certain size. But that doesn't work either. Both Wikimedia and the Internet Archive noted that in terms of traffic, they're both pretty big but they're also both non-profits with limited funding and where a mandated tech filter would be both prohibitively expensive and total overkill. So, then the Copyright Office suggested maybe a carve-out for "non-profits." But, as someone from eBay pointed out, that still creates problems for a site like eBay. eBay notes that it doesn't have a huge issue of copyright infringement, but there is always some that happens usually in the form of people using photographs for an auction without having a license. But, as eBay notes, the "harm" here is pretty minimal, and the idea that eBay should need to purchase an expensive tech filter to weed that out is clearly overkill. Only some kinds of content matter: Perhaps the most frustrating thing was how clearly the Copyright Office and many of the participants who had experience in the legacy content creation world seemed to totally dismiss the idea of new content creators, new kinds of content and new content business models. When lawyer Cathy Gellis mentioned that she was an amateur singer who was able to make some money today, whereas in the past she'd be totally out of luck, the Copyright Office's immediate response was to basically say, "but that doesn't count" for content creators who need to invest in their content creation. Similarly, one musician did the "get off my lawn" style of complaint, saying that all the music today sounds the same, and blamed piracy and Google for that happening (which is incredible, since there is so much more music, including so many different kinds of music, more widely available than ever before). Over and over again people suggested that their own content mattered much more than anyone else's. Too often, panelists absolutely dismissed amateur content or even professional content from new kinds of content creators. People dismissed YouTube as just being about "cat videos." And, again, the Copyright Office seemed to support this idea. In fact, somewhat astoundingly, at one point, someone from the Copyright Office tossed out the suggestion that political content could get extra rights, compared to other kinds of content, suggesting that maybe political related videos could get a carve-out such that it would get put back up online faster if it gets a bogus takedown, whereas a "dancing baby" doesn't matter enough. That would clearly violate the First Amendment in determining that some kinds of speech get extra rights compared to other kinds of speech. Update: In the original post, I wrote that Copyright Office General Counsel Jacqueline Charlesworth made the comparison between political speech and "dancing baby" speech. She denies having said anything of the sort. It is possible someone else raised that point instead and I misheard. I apologize for the error. Service providers shouldn't be allowed to reject takedown notices: This one was pretty incredible (especially combined with the next one). The Copyright Office's General Counsel seemed taken aback by the idea that service providers might choose, of their own volition, to reject DMCA takedown notices. She came back to this point multiple times on day one, suggesting that she was somehow uncomfortable with the idea that a service provider might choose to "adjudicate" whether or not a takedown notice was valid. This was surprising, because the law is pretty clear. The DMCA does not say what a service provider must do. It just describes steps that are necessary to keep the safe harbors. That doesn't mean that if you don't follow the safe harbor requirements you're violating the law, it just means that ifyou're sued, you don't get an automatic pass on liability. But Charlesworth seemed really disturbed by that idea. And that's problematic, because if you talk to various platforms that receive lots of takedowns, they need to be able to reject some to avoid completely bogus takedowns. Service providers should lose their safe harbors based on a single decision to reject safe harbors over a single takedown: This one could potentially be lumped together with the one above, but it's so crazy that it deserves its own bullet point. Basically, Charlesworth suggested that if a service provider decides to forego the safe harbors for a single item (e.g., refusing to take down content based on an obviously frivolous takedown notice), it might mean that they've removed safe harbors for the entire site. This came up during a direct discussion with a lawyer from Google, in which she interrupted him to ask why a service provider would refuse to take down content, and it was explained that if the takedown was obviously bogus, a site shouldn't take it down. Charlesworth then questioned the lawyer about whether or not the safe harbors only applied to each individual instance, or to the site as a whole, leaving many people in the audience stunned that this was even a question including the Google lawyer, who basically said that "obviously" the safe harbor question applied to each individual takedown. Put these two things together and the suggestion is that service providers should never be allowed to question a takedown, no matter how bogus, and if they do, they automatically lose the DMCA's safe harbors entirely. Talk about a recipe for mass censorship. Punishment for false counternotices: Another bizarre idea that came up during these discussions was adding punishment for false counternotices. This is crazy. The system is already totally imbalanced in favor of the person sending the takedown. They get to remove content in most cases based on a single email, and there's no real punishment for false takedowns at all. But after one person complained about false counternotices (a problem that I find it difficult to believe actually exists at any type of scale that warrants further corrective action), suddenly the Copyright Office suggested that maybe there could be additional punishment for bogus counternotices (but without suggesting there should beany punishment for false notices). This makes no sense. There's already punishment for false counternotices, which is that the copyright holder gets to sue the person for up to $150k per infringed work. And, indeed, as various studies have pointed out, the fear of such a lawsuit already greatly chills the willingness of many people to file counternotices at all. The idea of chilling the counternotice process even further, especially without fixing the problem of abusive takedowns, is crazy. Artists struggling to make money have piracy/Google to blame: Over and over again speakers and the Copyright Office kept pointing out this or that content creator who is struggling to make money as proof of "the problem." But that's a massive logical leap. I'm sure that some content creators are losing some earning opportunities because of infringement, but making money as a content creator has always been incredibly difficult. Most musicians don't make very much money. Most movies don't make much money. And it was that way before the internet was even around, and it's still true today. It seems ridiculous to assume that single examples of artists struggling must be a result of piracy. The author TJ Stiles, who is on the board of the Authors Guild, literally claimed that because of infringement he was less creative and wrote less, saying piracy meant he couldn't pay healthcare or his mortgage. Yet, I can just as easily point to new authors or other content creators who are now making a living entirely because of these new platforms that so many people at last week's hearings were angry about. These days, there are new business models using Kickstarter, Patreon, IndieGogo, YouTube, Vine, Instagram, Snapchat, Amazon and many, many more. And many of the artists making money from those platforms wouldn't even have been able to create content in the old world. So those seem to wipe out the claims that it's "piracy" undermining the ability to make money. It seems to suggest that it frequently is a number of other factors from (1) a lack of an audience, (2) an audience that is no longer interested, (3) an inability to go where the audience wants to go these days or (4) an unwillingness to adapt to new business models. One filmmaker even claimed that he didn't think the law should allow "new media" business models to upend "old media" business models. That's an interesting viewpoint, given that under that thinking, film shouldn't have been allowed, since it undermined the market for theater. Public comments are a "denial of service" attack: As mentioned earlier, it was somewhat distressing how frequently the public was ignored in all of this. The Copyright Office was clearly not entirely happy with the fact that Fight for the Future and the YouTube creators (yes, actual content creators!) urged the public to file comments with the Copyright Office on the problems with bogus takedowns. But perhaps the most ridiculous comment came from ( : As mentioned earlier, it was somewhat distressing how frequently the public was ignored in all of this. The Copyright Office was clearly not entirely happy with the fact that Fight for the Future and the YouTube creators (yes, actual content creators!) urged the public to file comments with the Copyright Office on the problems with bogus takedowns. But perhaps the most ridiculous comment came from ( known Techdirt hater ) Jonathan Taplin, who suggested that because the Copyright Office's servers couldn't handle the ~87,000 inbound comments, it might be considered a "denial of service attack." Really? Helping the public to comment is a denial of service attack? On one of the panels that I was on, I raised the issue of the public being left out of all of this, and the focus on tech v. content neither of which might have the public's best interests in mind. The Copyright Office asked about how to better engage the public, and I suggested that encouraging more public comments, rather than dismissing them or labeling them "zombies" or a denial of service attack, might be a good start. Gov't-supported "Voluntary measures" as a panacea: Repeatedly this was one area where the Copyright Office kept claiming "we have some agreement!" where both tech and the legacy content players kept insisting that "voluntary measures" between these parties could solve many of the issues. Representatives from Microsoft and Google excitedly talked up all the great "voluntary measures" that were going on in working with the content industries to come up with solutions that went beyond what the law required. Others talked up various efforts to stop ad networks or payment processors from working with "pirate sites." But, again, this seems dangerous to me. Voluntary measures between two giant industries leave the public and the public interest out of the discussion. Attacking "pirate" sites sounds great until you ask, "how is that list made?" Considering that the Internet Archive, personal blogs and even 50 Cent's personal website have been called pirate sites in previous attempts to build such lists, it's not quite as obvious as some would have you believe. On top of that, lots of brilliant innovations look like piracy when they're first created, but later turn out to be revolutionary. As I noted in my 2-minute soundbite opportunity, radio, the photocopier, cable TV, the VCR, the DVR, the mp3 player and online video were all decried as nothing but piracy tools when they first came out. And yet all of them turned into significant business opportunities for content creators. Cutting those off in the early days through the collusion of "voluntary measures" could stifle all sorts of powerful innovations that actually would help content creators make more money and reach a wider audience. The Lumen Database as a rogue site: One filmmaker was particularly concerned about the fact that : One filmmaker was particularly concerned about the fact that Lumen Database (formerly known as ChillingEffects.org) archived DMCA takedown notices that were forwarded to the site. The claim was that people seeking infringing versions of content would search through Lumen to find the URLs listed for takedown. Someone else pointed out that there's no evidence that this is happening at any sense of scale, but someone from the Copyright Office substituted anecdotes for data, and claimed, "well, it's come up a lot." The suggestion was that perhaps Lumen should be required to redact the details of takedowns, and that only certified researchers should be allowed to access the full corpus. This is troubling on any number of levels. One of the things that was clear throughout the discussion is that we need more data and more research into what's working and what's not working. And you don't do that by locking up important data and then suggesting that only a special class of people should be allowed in. Though, I guess it fits with the idea that only some kinds of content creators matter. Apparently only some kinds of researchers might matter as well. Ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft have had their widespread success hampered somewhat by taxi companies and insurance regulators. Now, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is looking to take them on.Speaking Thursday at the New America Foundations annual conference, Warren slammed the so-called gig economy for taking advantage of the contract status of workers by not providing traditional benefits like paid leave, retirement plans and insurance.Without proper regulation, she said, they will continue to deprive workers of a chance to earn the same kind of wealth the company is.Just as this country did a hundred years ago, its time to rethink the basic bargain between workers and companies, Warren said. As greater wealth is generated by new technology, how can we ensure that the workers who support this economy can share in that wealth?Warren wants to require companies to, among other things, provide universal catastrophic insurance coverage to workers.Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing companies have already come under fire for not providing drivers with what regulators consider adequate liability insurance. This measure asks companies to do even more for workers, providing them with traditional health benefits.Warren noted this in her speech, though praising ride-hailing companies for fighting against the monopolies of the traditional taxi system.As the dispute in Austin, Texas has demonstrated, the companies fought just as vigorously against local rules designed to create a level playing field between themselves and their taxi competitors, and they have also resisted rules designed to promote rider safety and driver accountability, she said.Warren also wants Social Security and paid leave for drivers.Those three Social Security, catastrophic insurance and earned leave create a safety net for income, she said. Together they give families some protection in an ever-more-volatile work environment, and they help ensure that, after a lifetime of work, people will face their last years with dignity. It is likely that 2016 will be a huge year in terms of insurance payments due to the Fort McMurray wildfire, said the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).The IBC reported that severe weather insurance claims have been rising for a few decades and have climbed exponentially since 2009. According to Steve Kee, director of media and digital communications at IBC, payouts are expected to reach C$1bn annually, up from C$40m in the 1970s.Prior to 2009, the insurance payouts to the policy holders as a result of severe weather, they really werent big notable events, said Kee. And today annual claim payouts of a billion dollars or more have become the new norm. And if you go back to 2013, and you include the Alberta and Toronto floods, insurance paid out $3.4 billion to policy holders that year, which was a record breaking year.In 2013, flooding in southern Alberta set the record for most expensive natural disaster ever for the ICB. Over C$1.72bn in insured losses were recorded. Insured damages for the Fort McMurray wildfire are still unknown, but the Bank of Montreal forecast it to hit C$9bn.We have no idea what the Fort McMurray numbers are going to be but I think it will be a significant number, Kee said.Insurance payouts for severe weather have doubled every five to ten years since the 1980s. Since 20098, around C$1bn was lost yearly, compared to an average of C$400m from 1983 to 2008.Given that the insurance industry aims to predict the likelihood of future events, Kee compared the industry to a barometer. With how its going, it seems that we should brace for more losses due to extreme weather in the future. Industry sources have identified the lead underwriter and broker for the EgyptAir flight that went missing this week, now believed to have crashed into the Mediterranean. XL Catlin was the lead insurer for the Airbus A320, whose hull is said to have been worth $18 million. Marsh was the broker. Both declined to comment on the incident, which officials have said is almost certainly the result of terrorism.The plane was en route from Paris to Cairo when it swerved sharply upon entering Egyptian airspace and crashed into the water. Fifty-six passengers were confirmed to have been on board, including three children. Seven crew members and three security staff members were also lost in the incident.Wreckage from the flight was originally reported to be found near Karpathos Island in Greece, but later reports said the wreckage was not from the EgyptAir Flight.The eventual insurance payouts from XL Catlin will depend largely on the cause of the crash. Though initial reports suggested a technical failure, a senior Egyptian official later said terrorism was a likely cause.Lets not try to jump to the side that is trying to identify this as a technical failure on the contrary, said Egyptian Aviation Minister Serif Fathi.The situation may point and I say may because I dont want to speculate and I dont want to go to assumptions like others but if you analyze the situation property, the possibility of having a different action, or having a terror attack, is higher than the possibility of having a technical [fault].If it does appear that the crash was a deliberate act of terrorism, it must be certified. If that is in dispute, it may be difficult for insurance companies to settle payouts.For example, the gunning down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 near the Russia-Ukraine border complicated insurance coverage due to a wartime exclusion that is often included in aviation hull and liability policies. While it is unlikely the EgyptAir crash was the result of an act of war, certain other exclusionsperhaps for terrorism may apply.Liability costs may also vary depending on victims nationalities, as governments differ over how citizens can sue airlines for damages.The loss of the EgyptAir jet is just the latest in a long line of aviation tragedies in recent years, including two Malaysia Airlines crashes and the purposeful crash of a Germanwings aircraft last year.Aviation insurance experts have predicted a subsequent increase in market premiums in the wake of these events an increase that has already taken place in some cases.The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation reported premium increases of 10 to 20 per cent for all-risk policies last year, and a report from Lockton Companies estimates the cost of insuring a plane against attack will nearly double.As of last year, insuring a new aircraft worth $200 million would cost an airline about $40,000. Now, that figure could jump to $80,000.For a number of years, abundant capacity has placed considerable pressure on pricing, as well as terms and conditions, across all aviation lines, said Catherine Thomas, director of analytics at AM Best. At the beginning of 2014, rates were significantly below peak levels, and despite a few losses, the market was still profitable.But now, losses will considerably outweigh premiums written, and insurers are expected to react with substantial rate increases, Thomas said. The steeple once soared above the buildings on Eagle Street. Now the truncated spire will be further reduced over the next few days. PreviousNext Bishop to View St. Francis' Church Demolition St. Francis' height was low enough to allow the reoccupation of the Flatiron building and the reopening of Village Pizza. NORTH ADAMS, Mass. Eagle Street was fully opened to pedestrian traffic on Thursday afternoon as another section of the steeple on St. Francis' Church was removed. Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski will be in the city on Friday to review progress on the demolition and thank members of both the diocesan and city teams that have worked together responding to this emergency situation. The bishop will meet members of both teams starting at noon at the site of the demolition on Eagle Street. The extent of the deterioration of the 150-year-old church became apparent late last week when brick facing on the south side of the bell tower fell on the lawn and North Church Street. Engineers hired by the Diocese of Springfield determined that the structural integrity of the building was failing and was in danger of collapse. Late Saturday night, after discussions with public safety officials, the church property was cordoned off and North Church and Eagle streets closed. The Flatiron Building and the Village Pizza building were evacuated because they were in collapse zone of the 182-foot steeple. The street and buildings were reopened at 3 p.m. on Thursday and pedestrians were able to cross from the Veterans Memorial to Eagle; the jersey barriers on North Church were moved further north on the street. Village Pizza, which was allowed to operate for delivery only on Tuesday, reopened its dining section almost immediately. Residents of the Flatiron building, some of whom were being put by the diocese at the Holiday Inn, were allowed to return home. Charlie Arment Trucking Co. of Springfield has been using two cranes to carefully remove the steeple. Work began on Monday, with a two-man crew in a bucket peeling off the exterior sheathing with hammers and pry bars. A top section of the denuded steeple was lifted off by crane on Wednesday, and a smaller section on Thursday, reducing the collapse zone. All that was left of the steeple was a pile of old wood on the church's north lawn. The company recently demolished the 1857 Holy Name of Jesus Church IoT Evolution is the leading event for education on the technologies, solutions and impact that the IoT will have on the ente The representative is running unopposed in the election. All of the Berkshire representatives attended the celebration, including William "Smitty" Pignatelli, photographed here. PreviousNext Mark Eyes Leadership Roles In Fourth House Term State Rep. Paul Mark catches up with supporters at an annual gathering. Thursday's was held at Dewey's in Dalton. DALTON, Mass. In this last term, state Rep. Paul Mark was appointed the vice chairman of both the House and Joint Rules Committees. That position doesn't get a lot of hype or publicity. But whoever has that role is appointed to no other committee because the work is so vitally important. It determines how bills move through the legislative process. "It is a behind-the-scenes committee," Mark said. In the next term, Mark is hoping to build on that leadership position and is eyeing other influential roles on Beacon Hill. The Peru Democrat is running unopposed for another term as the Second Berkshire representative, a position that spans from Pittsfield up through much of Franklin County. "We're into a third term now. In a third term, I've gotten established in the House. I understand the job very well. I am able to get things accomplished and bring things back to the district," Mark said. "And looking forward to another term next January, I'm hoping to end up in an even better leadership position than I am right now." Mark launched his campaign for re-election the way he had the last time, with a birthday party and fundraiser at Dewey's on Depot Street. For more than two hours colleagues and supporters stopped in to wish the representative a happy birthday, catch up on the issues, and support his re-election bid. "This is our annual birthday fundraiser celebration. Every year as I get a little bit older, I like to pull the team together and catch up on what's going on in the last year. People are still interested. People are still supportive. People are still excited about me running which feels good," Mark said. "It's always a nice night. It's low key. I don't make speeches. I don't make a lot of pressure. I just talk to people and listen to what's going on." Mark cited more funding in the budget for an opioid task force in Franklin County, which he helped get funding for just a few years ago, and the filing of an amendment to establish a long-term forestry plan a bill that complements a sustainable food-plan bill he previously submitted as some of the recent highlights of his work. "I'm excited about the forestry plan because I think it is going to help keep forestry and farmlands sustainable in Massachusetts. Out here in Western Massachusetts, farmers are often overlooked by the rest of the state," Mark said. Beyond that, he had previously chaired a study committee focused on student debt and that has grown in momentum and support since the report was released. The issue of student debt is a high priority for Mark and he hopes to make a bid to chair, or at least have a stronger role, in the Higher Education Committee. The current chairman is not running for re-election. "That's a committee I'd love to end up chairing or be move involved with. There is a lot of good places out there: telecommunications, labor and workforce development. There are a lot of areas I am interested in that are really important to this district and now that I have a strong foundation in the house behind me, I'd like to really start making an impact in policy that could be felt all across the state," he said. Mark is also looking to make a push on the last mile of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute's efforts to install high-speed internet in every corner of the commonwealth. "The towns that I represent, the town I live in, are sick of waiting. We need movement and we need it quick," Mark said. Democratic state Senate candidates Adam Hinds, Andrea Harrington, and Rinaldo Del Gallo pose with Rep. Paul Mark and North Adams City Councilor Lisa Blackmer. Mark was first elected in 2010, winning the Democratic nomination over Noreen Suriner and Thomas Szczepaniak and then besting Republican Michael Case and independent Stefan Racz in the general election. The seat was open after Denis Guyer opted not to run for re-election after three terms. At the time, Mark lived in Hancock and the district covered a large stretch on the northern portion of the state. The 2010 Census led to redistricting and the Second Berkshire district saw the biggest change among the Berkshire House of Representatives seats with a move eastward. In anticipation, Mark moved to Peru and, in 2012, was elected to the newly crafted district in an unopposed race. He also ran unopposed in 2014. This year he had considered running for the state Senate seat being vacated by Benjamin Downing but ultimately decided to stay in the House of Representatives. "It feels really good that people six years into this are still excited about me doing this job. They still want me to keep running and they still come out," Mark said. "Every time I have a fundraiser it still amazes me when somebody gives me a check, even if it $50, that someone works hard, take money and they give it to me because they want to see me get elected. That never gets taken for granted and it just amazes me. It reinforces that people like the work I am doing and it keeps me excited." We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector The content you are trying to view is exclusive to our subscribers. To unlock this article: Press Release: IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde Calls for Global Solidarity to Address Humanitarian Challenges Press Release No. 16/234 May 20, 2016 Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement today ahead of the first World Humanitarian Summit being held in Istanbul, Turkey, May 2324: The need for humanitarian assistance has reached levels not seen since the Second World War, leaving millions of people in desperate need of support. This is one of the biggest challenges of our time. The need for fundamental change in how humanitarian aid is delivered to ensure more effective use of scarce resources is now widely recognized. The UN Secretary-Generals decision to organize the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit is especially timely and deserves the full support of the international community. We all need to step up our game by boosting financial support for humanitarian relief from all countries that can afford to contribute, and by improving the organization and delivery of humanitarian assistance. To support global efforts aimed at improving the delivery of humanitarian aid, the IMF will leverage its track record of moving quickly to support governments facing humanitarian crises. The IMF can: Speedily disburse financial support through special facilities that do not require full economic programsthe Rapid Financing Instrument and Rapid Credit Facility. Countries that have benefited from such support in recent years include Nepal and Vanuatu. Increase the amount of financing provided to countries with whom we already have lending arrangements, adjusting economic programs to accommodate the new demands on budgets and foreign reservesas we have done with Jordan. Use its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust to provide financing to low-income countries to meet debt service payments, as was done for Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone in the wake of the Ebola outbreak. Assist governments in designing macroeconomic policies to contain the economic fallout from humanitarian crises. This can help to provide bilateral donors with the confidence that the effectiveness of aid programs is not undermined by macroeconomic instability. The IMF is deepening its engagement with fragile countries by helping them build institutions that can deliver key economic services, from putting in place efficient tax systems to implementing sound public investment. We are also assisting countries exposed to natural disasters in designing macroeconomic strategies that enhance their resilience and expand their room for maneuver to respond to adverse shocks. Humanitarian crises require action on multiple levelspreventive engagement, relief provision, protecting and empowering those affected by crises to rebuild livelihoods. The IMF is committed to playing its full part, working collaboratively with governments and international agencies, using its financial resources, policy expertise, and technical assistance. Press Release: AFRITAC South Holds Seminar on Strengthening Supervisory Approaches to AML/CFT Press Release No. 16/236 May 20, 2016 During May 16-20, 2016, the International Monetary Funds Regional Technical Assistance Center for Southern Africa (AFRITAC South) held a seminar at the premises of the IMFs Africa Training Institute in Mauritius on Risk-Based Approaches to Anti Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Supervision. The event brought together senior bank supervisors and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) officials responsible for AML/CFT supervision from Angola, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. International experts on the topic shared with participants their knowledge and country experiences of implementing AML/CFT requirements. Mr. Mardayah Kona, Head of the Legal Department of the Bank of Mauritius, in his opening remarks emphasized the need for enhancing the skills and competencies of supervisors towards mitigating the risks involved in Money Laundering/Financing Terrorism. The EU Ambassador to Mauritius, Comoros, and Seychelles, Mrs. Marjaana Sall, addressed the participants in the closing session, stressing the need for greater vigilance, awareness, and coordination in the region in managing risks associated with Money Laundering/Financing Terrorism activities. She noted that the EU collaborates closely with the IMF at global level on a wide range of issues. More locally, there is an excellent working relationship with the IMF technical assistance centre for Southern Africa. The EU is also the lead donor to AFRITAC South, with almost 20 million in contributions. Participants shared their own country experiences with compliance to AML/CFT regulations, National Risk Assessments, and mutual evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Through effective peer learning, the seminar promoted the importance of AML/CFT issues in the region and complemented ongoing regional integration initiatives. Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces Takedown of Stockton Criminal Street Gangs Westside Bloods and Taliban Stockton, California - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the successful takedown of two criminal street gangs in the Stockton area, following a joint investigation and operation by the California Department of Justices Bureau of Investigation Special Operations Unit (SOU) and the Stockton Police Departments Gang Violence Suppression unit. The joint operation, named Operation Bloodline, resulted in the seizure of 22 illegal firearms, $12,000 in currency, and 41 pounds of marijuana; as well as the arrests of 52 individuals on felony crimes. The investigation found that Westside Bloods and Taliban gangs have been illegally purchasing firearms and are responsible for numerous armed robberies and shootings in the Stockton area, including a recent triple homicide. Several attempted murders and robberies were solved or circumvented as a result of the investigation. Members of these two street gangs have terrorized the Stockton community and escalated violence and the proliferation of illegal guns in the city. Today, the California Department of Justice, the California Highway Patrol and the Stockton Police Department have made significant strides toward dismantling these groups and increasing safety in Stockton, said Attorney General Harris. I want to thank our DOJ Special Agents and the dedicated officers of the Stockton Police Department and the California Highway Patrol for their incredible efforts in this case. We identified two groups, through an Operation Ceasefire analysis, who were significant security threats to our community based upon documented shootings, murders and attempted murders, in 2015, said Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones. I would like to thank everyone involved for assisting with the ongoing efforts to disrupt and dismantle criminal street gangs in and around the City of Stockton. Stockton and surrounding areas suffer from high rates of homicides and other gun crimes, with 44 homicides reported in Stockton in 2015 and 14 homicides to date in 2016. The Special Operations Unit (SOU) is a collaborative investigative effort between the California Department of Justice and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) that provides statewide enforcement for combating violent career criminals, gangs, and organized crime groups, along with intrastate drug traffickers. In 2014, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow worked with the Legislature and Governor Browns administration to secure $9.4 million for California DOJ Bureau of Investigations SOU teams. These unique and essential teams use the latest technology and advanced investigative techniques and work alongside local law enforcement to enhance investigations into violent criminals and organized crime throughout the state. In 2015, the California Department of Justices Bureau of Investigation, Special Operations Unit arrested 329 individuals and seized over $249,000 in cash, eight stolen vehicles, 146 pounds of methamphetamine, 20 pounds of heroin, 12.2 pounds of cocaine, 131 pounds of marijuana and 196 firearms (126 handguns, 38 rifles, 15 shotguns and 17 assault weapons). Simple ways you can save the Earth Imperial, California - While you're probably familiar with common ways to help the environment, you could be doing so much more year-round. Not only should you become more aware of how your daily habits affect climate change, but you can take action at the click of a button to be part of the solution and community of supporters. Here are some simple things you can do to celebrate the earth and make a lasting impact: 1. Find alternative transportation Instead of hopping into your car every time you need to get somewhere, think about other ways you could get around. If possible, try riding your bike to work once a week or taking public transportation. See if anyone in your office lives near you. Could you start a carpool? There are so many options available to avoid using fossil fuels that emit carbon. 2. Support a project that verifiably reduces carbon right from your phone or tablet Everybody should have the chance to be a part of the solution, says Marisa de Belloy, COO of Cool Effect, an online community that allows individuals to create a tangible impact on climate change. While youd probably love to get out and plant a tree or install solar panels on your roof, those might not fit into your busy lifestyle. Even if you are already doing everything you can, you are still emitting harmful CO2 into the atmosphere. Cool Effect provides consistent funding to the highest-quality carbon reducing projects around the world. With projects like Methane Capture in Colorado and biogas in India, youll know exactly where your contributions go and who they benefit. 3. Maintain an energy-efficient home From energy-efficient appliances to small changes in lighting, there are plenty of options for reducing the amount of energy you use in your home. For example, you can reduce drafts and energy use while improving comfort simply by updating your weather stripping and caulking. You can also help the planet by switching to compact fluorescent lightbulbs. If youve already done your part to make your own home more energy efficient, you can support efforts like this cookstove project in Uganda that is reducing carbon emissions by 58 percent per household by installing smarter appliances that burn less charcoal and wood. Efficiency at home is helpful, but the ripple effect across the globe is even better. 4. Buy local and reduce waste Shipping burns fuel which releases carbon pollution. You can do your part to minimize this by buying locally as much as possible. Purchase foods that are both in season and grown close to where you live. Head to your local farmers market and you might be surprised at the delicious fresh foods you can find. Additionally, do your best not to waste food. When food gets tossed, it sits in landfills, producing methane while transporting waste creates more carbon pollution. Dont limit your climate change fight to just one day. You can take action with any or all of these projects and be a part of a greater solution. To learn more, visit cooleffect.org. First Lady Michelle Obama to Host White House Turnaround Arts Talent Show Washington, DC - First Lady Michelle Obama to Host White House Turnaround Arts Talent Show: Wednesday, May 25th The White House * 3:30pm ET -- As part of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, the First Lady will welcome students and artists from across the country to perform at the White House Turnaround Arts Talent Show. To showcase America's budding artists, the students will perform alongside Turnaround Artist mentors including Paula Abdul, Keb Mo, Alfre Woodard, Tim Robbins, Bernie Williams, Charles "Lil Buck" Riley, Citizen Cope, Damian Woetzel, Irvin Mayfield, and Paula Fuga. Turnaround Arts is a national program created by the Presidents Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in coordination with the White House, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Arts, and several foundations and corporations. Turnaround Arts empowers high-need, low-performing schools with innovative arts, dance, theater and music programs, arts integration across subject areas, arts resources, musical instruments, and high-profile artist mentors, as a proven strategy to help address broader school challenges and close the achievement gap. Since 2011, Turnaround Arts has empowered 27 school districts across 13 states and Washington, DC with an infusion of arts and music education. In 2014, the First Lady hosted the inaugural White House Turnaround Arts Talent Show. Students from the following Turnaround Arts programs will perform at the White House: California Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary (Los Angeles, CA) Connecticut Barnum School (Bridgeport, CT) Hall School (Bridgeport, CT) Hallen School (Bridgeport, CT) Tisdale School (Bridgeport, CT) Roosevelt School (Bridgeport, CT) Hawaii Kalihi Kai Elementary (Honolulu, HI) Kamaile Academy Public Charter (Waianae, HI) Waianae Elementary (Waianae, HI) Illinois Chalmers School of Excellence (Chicago, IL) Herzl School of Excellence (Chicago, IL) Johnson School of Excellence (Chicago, IL) Dvorak School of Excellence (Chicago, IL) Iowa Warren G. Harding Middle School (Des Moines, IA) Louisiana ReNEW Cultural Arts Academy (New Orleans, LA) Minnesota Bethune SchooL (Minneapolis, MN) Northport Elementary (Brooklyn Center, MN) Northside Elementary School (St. James, MN) New York Ebbets Field Middle School (New York, NY) East Flatbush Community Research School (New York, NY) P.S. 284 Gregory Jackson Community School (New York, NY) P.S. 165 Ida Posner (New York, NY) Washington, DC Turner Elementary Moten Elementary Noyes Elementary Bunker Hill Elementary Savoy Elementary Secretary of State John Kerry's Meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu Brussels, Belgium - Secretary Kerry met today in Brussels with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The two ministers reviewed the situation in Syria, emphasizing the need for all parties to the cessation of hostilities to abide by their commitments and to contribute to the political process for transition. They also discussed ongoing coalition efforts against Da'esh in Iraq and in the region, as well as international efforts to address the worsening refugee crisis. The Secretary thanked Foreign Minister Cavusoglu for Turkey's leadership in this regard. The Secretary also discussed the importance of freedom of expression and a free and independent media. Taiwan's Presidential Inauguration Washington, DC - The United States congratulates President Tsai Ing-wen on her inauguration as Taiwans fourth democratically elected president. We also congratulate the Taiwan people on the occasion of this peaceful transition of power, which marks another milestone in the development of Taiwans vibrant democracy. The United States commends President Ma Ying-jeou for his success in strengthening U.S.-Taiwan relations over the past eight years. We look forward to working with the new administration, as well as with all of Taiwans political parties and civil society groups, to further strengthen the ties between the people of the United States and Taiwan. United States Announces More Than $28 Million in Additional Humanitarian Assistance for Ukraine Crisis Washington, DC - Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), Nancy Izzo Jackson and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Assistant Administrator Robert Jenkins announced on May 20 in Kyiv that the United States is providing more than $28 million in additional U.S. humanitarian assistance. This assistance will help hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people affected by Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine and Russias occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea. This announcement brings the total of U.S. humanitarian assistance since the start of the crisis to more than $112 million. According to the most recent United Nations (UN) estimates, more than $3.1 million vulnerable people in Ukraine, including many children, disabled, and elderly individuals, are in need of food, water, shelter, medicine, health care, and basic services. The funding announced today includes nearly $17 million from USAID. Of this, $12 million is from USAIDs Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, which will be provided to UNICEF, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and a number of international NGOs, for shelter assistance, water and sanitation programs, cash benefits to help displaced families, small livelihoods projects, and humanitarian coordination and information management. The remaining $5 million is from the Office of Food for Peace for the UN World Food Program to address immediate food needs of the most vulnerable and food insecure population among internally displaced people, returnees and conflict-affected residents, such as female-headed households, the elderly and disabled. The funding announced today also includes more than $11 million from PRM that will support the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Population Fund, and other international humanitarian organizations. Through the provision of much-needed medical supplies, blankets, hygiene items, and food, the support announced today will help meet the basic survival needs of thousands of vulnerable people. This funding will also help improve access to health care services, and will provide resources to aid in the prevention of, and response to, gender-based violence. The NAGP has commenced efforts early to establish a close relationship with the new Minister for Health with the representative body writing to Simon Harris seeking an early meeting. The NAGP had a letter delivered by hand on May 9 to the Minister, who has already adopted a policy, also called for by the Association, to have a 10-year health plan following a nudge by opposition party Fianna Fail in the recent lengthy government negotiations. The Associations CEO Chris Goodey last week confirmed the letter hand been handed to the Minister, and that the NAGP was seeking a meeting with Harris on a variety of issues for GPs. We are waiting to hear back and will update you when we know we will be meeting the Minister, a spokesperson for the Association told IMT. lloyd.mudiwa@imt.ie Optical Illusion: Help This Boy Find his Missing Shoe in Messy Room Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Last Face (R), dir: Sean Penn, 2hr 12min, Starring Charlize Theron, Javier Bardem Nine years after Into The Wild, Sean Penn is back in the director's chair with The Last Face, a horribly misjudged tale set in conflict zones across Liberia, Sierra Leone and South Sudan. Penn's own humanitarian efforts have doubtless led him to tell this story, but using this backdrop to play out a tortured love story between two doctors was ill-advised. Penn has been here before: last year's risible thriller The Gunman, a film he was heavily involved with behind the scenes, was set in the world of NGOs. But this somehow feels worse. Set across a decade, Charlize Theron plays Wren Petersen, a doctor who becomes embroiled with Medecins Du Monde, the organisation founded back in 1980 dedicated to providing healthcare for the vulnerable and displaced in developing nations. It's here she meets Javier Bardem's mildly roguish medic Miguel and, gradually, feelings flourish. But with a fragmented structure flashing forward to a time after their split it's almost impossible to find an anchor into their relationship. It doesnt help that the script, by Erin Dignam (who previously wrote The Crossing Guard, Penn's second film as director), is full of dialogue the actors struggle to make credible. Zubin Cooper, Sean Penn, Adele Exarchopoulos, Javier Bardem, Charlize Theron, Jean Reno and Jared Harris pose during the photocall for 'The Last Face' at the Cannes Film Festival (Reuters) Theron, who was here in Cannes a year ago wowing audiences with Mad Max: Fury Road, is left to flounder by Penn (who was dating her at the time the film was made). She gamely tries to make something of her character, but narrating lines like Had I found peace? Or was I trading on Miguels? gives the impression that she's in a bad soap opera. Bardem, who featured in The Gunman with Penn, offers little in the way of support. With films such as The Indian Runner and The Pledge, both which played in Cannes, Penn has proved himself a director of great skill. But this mawkish effort sees him rarely in control. Veering between sentimentality and brutality, one minute you're watching Theron and Bardem suggestively brushing their teeth, the next you're seeing a man's entrails strung up. Put next to a film such as last year's brilliant Beasts of No Nation, this just looks amateur. No doubt the real doctors who work in conflict zones are heroes that need to be celebrated, but not in this way. The film recalls Angelina Jolie's 2003 aid-worker tale Beyond Borders, which similarly dissolved into laughable melodrama. To be fair, there are some powerful scenes notably when a young boy is forced by rebels to take aim at his father and pull the trigger. But largely you're left to agree with Theron's Wren as she mutters: This is so futile. Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} British trip hop group Massive Attack are returning to Bristol for their first homecoming gig since 2003. Tickets for the one-off event, which is due to take place in September, went on sale this morning with fans queuing since 4:30am in the hopes of securing a ticket. A reported 20,000 people are expected to attend the gig which will take place on the Downs; the momentous occasion will mark the first outdoor event to take place there in 15 years. While tickets were available to purchase online at 9am, Bristol Post reports that tickets were made available to residents from as early as 8am. Music festivals guide 2016 Show all 20 1 /20 Music festivals guide 2016 Music festivals guide 2016 Horizon Where: Bansko Ski Resort, Bulgaria When: 12-17 March Price: From 175 Line Up: Ame, Goldie, Nina Kraviz, John Talabot, Lady Leshurr, Craig Charles Music festivals guide 2016 Live At Leeds Where: Leeds, UK When: 30 April Price: 32.50 Line Up: Jess Glynne, Circa Waves, Mystery Jets, Band of Skulls, We Are Scientists Music festivals guide 2016 Primavera Sound Where: Barcelona, Spain When: 1-5 June Price: 175 Line Up: Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem, Sigur Ros, PJ Harvey, Tame Impala, Beach House, Suede, The Last Shadow Puppets Primavera Music festivals guide 2016 Best Kept Secret Where: Hilvarenbeek, The Netherlands When: 17-19 June Price: 147.50 Line Up: Beck, Editors, Two Door Cinema Club, Beach House, Bloc Party, Caribou, Half Moon Run Best Kept Secret Festival Music festivals guide 2016 Glastonbury Where: Worthy Farm, Somerset When: 22-26 June Price: 220 Line Up: Coldplay, Muse, Jeff Lynnes ELO, PJ Harvey, Jess Glynne (TBC) Music festivals guide 2016 Roskilde Where: Copenhagen, Denmark When: 25 June-2 July Price: 2,020 DKK Line Up: LCD Soundsystem, New Order, PJ Harvey, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foals, Tame Impala, Savages, Skepta, Tenacious D Simon Frsig Christensen / Roskilde Festival Music festivals guide 2016 Hideout Festival Where: Zrce Beach, Croatia When: 26-30 June Price: From 152.90 Line Up: The Martinez Brothers, Joris Voorn, Waze & Odyssey Hideout Festival Music festivals guide 2016 Bilbao BBK Where: Bilbao, Spain When: 7-9 July Price: From 69 Line Up: Arcade Fire, Pixies, Tame Impala, Foals, New Order, Hot Chip, Father John Misty, Years & Years, Wolf Alice Music festivals guide 2016 Open'er Where: Gdynia, Poland When: 29 July-2 August Price: From 130 Line Up: Bastille, Florence + the Machine, Foals, LCD Soundsystem, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The 1975, The Last Shadow Puppets, Wiz Khalifa Open'er Festival Music festivals guide 2016 Electric Love Where: Plainfeld, Austria When: 7-9 July Price: 119 Line Up: Alesso, Zedd, Tiesto, Chase & Status, Steve Aoki, Knife Party Music festivals guide 2016 Melt! Where: Ferropolis, Germany When: 15-17 July Price: From 136 Line Up: Two Door Cinema Club, Disclosure, Jamie xx, Sleaford Mods, Skepta, Jamie Woon Music festivals guide 2016 Sziget Where: Budapest, Hungary When: 10-17 August Price: From 215 Line Up: Bastille, Bloc Party, M83, Sigur Ros, Bring Me the Horizon Music festivals guide 2016 Flow Where: Helsinki, Finland When: 12-14 August Price: 165 Line Up: Sia, New Order, The Last Shadow Puppets, Jamie xx, M83, Chvrches, Four Tet, Stormzy, Daughter, The Kills Flow Festival / Jussi Hellsten Music festivals guide 2016 Rock En Seine Where: Paris, France When: 26-28 August Price: From 119 Line Up: TBC Music festivals guide 2016 Oasis Where: Marrakech, Morocco When: 16-18 September Price: From 110 Line Up: Bicep, Derrick May, Tale of Us, Dixon, Dusky, Hunee Music festivals guide 2016 Latitude Where: Henham Park, Suffolk When: 14-17 July Price: 205.50 Line Up: The Maccabees, The National, New Order, John Grant, Beirut, Father John Misty, Chvrches, Grimes Music festivals guide 2016 Bestival Where: Robin Hill, Isle of Wight When: 8-11 September Price: 190 Line Up: The Cure, Major Lazer, Hot Chip, Fatboy Slim, Craig David, Years & Years, Wolf Alice, Tourist, Katy B Music festivals guide 2016 Isle of Wight Where: Newport, Isle of Wight When: 9-12 June Price: From 186 Line Up: Queen + Adam Lambert, Stereophonics, Faithless, Iggy Pop, Adam Ant, Buzzcocks, Sigma, Jess Glynne Music festivals guide 2016 Citadel Where: Victoria Park, London When: 17 July Price: From 54 Line Up: Sigur Ros, Caribou, Lianne La Havas, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats Music festivals guide 2016 End of the Road Where: Larmer Tree Gardens When: 2-4 September Price: 195 Line Up: Joanna Newsom, The Shins, Animal Collective, Bat for Lashes, Teenage Fanclub, Devendra Banhart, Savages, Cat's Eyes Sonny Malhotra As we write, tickets are still available but are on the cusp of selling out. The duo, consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, formed in 1988 alongside former member Andy "Mushroom" Vowles. They are perhaps best known for the single "Unfinished Sympathy" which was taken from their debut 1991 record Blue Lines. Their previous homecoming gig coincided with the release of successful fourth album 100th Window. Massive Attack will perform on 3 September. Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyArts email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Hollywood is getting the message, slowly. The Directors Guild of America reported slight improvements with regards to the number of women and minorities in the TV industry during the 2015-16 season, in a sneak peak of the findings in its upcoming Episodic Television Director Diversity Report. Women directed 17.1% of episodes, up from 15.8% in the 2014-15 season, and ethnic minorities directed 18.5%, up from 17.7% the previous season. Interestingly, a lack of diversity seems to be more of a problem at the smaller networks. There was a marked difference in hiring patterns between the major networks which were the clear leaders in diverse hiring and the basic cable and pay-TV networks, the DGA said. Its important for us to share hiring data during this critical period, guild president Paris Barclay said. As the networks convene in New York to present their fall lineups and court billions in advertising dollars, theyre also deciding on who theyll hire to direct to bring these stories to life for an increasingly diverse audience. Theres much work to be done by the networks, studios and producers to repair the broken hiring pipeline theyve shaped, and then neglected over the years, he added. Well be providing an in-depth analysis of the entire television season later this summer with a very close eye on new entrants to the pipeline, analyzing who is getting hired for those critical breaks as first-time episodic television directors. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Facebook is going to include more conservative news in its trending topics, according to people who attended its summit with right-wing websites. The site has been struck by controversy in recent weeks after ex-workers said that its Trending Topics bar had been tweaked so that it didnt include more conservative news. Now the company has laid out plans to revamp Trending Topics, according to Rob Bluey, the editor-in-chief of right-wing site the Daily Signal. It did so at a summit it held with conservative news outlets to address the complaints. Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty Facebook previously published a list of 1,000 news outlets that it uses to vet stories that go in the trending panel. But that list could include new right-wing sources, according to Mr Bluey. Mark Zuckerberg posted on Facebook about the meeting, but discussed little of the details about what actually was discussed. Noting that conservative causes tend to be highly discussed on the site, he only said that he would do what he could to address outlets concerns. I know many conservatives don't trust that our platform surfaces content without a political bias, he wrote in a public Facebook post. I wanted to hear their concerns personally and have an open conversation about how we can build trust. I want to do everything I can to make sure our teams uphold the integrity of our products. The most highly-rated post under Mr Zuckerbergs post took issue with th e idea that Facebook should be a platform for all ideas as was written in the post. I think it's great to include different points of view, wrote Marc Getzoff. However, if conservatives want to claim that transgender people have mental disorders and that Obama is a Kenyan Muslim, they shouldn't be surprised if their news stories don't show up. The news trends should include news, not hateful or discriminatory ideas meant to harm people. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} People tend to prefer products and videos which are spelt with more letters from the right-hand side of the QWERTY keyboard, a new study has found. The study, conducted by David Garcia from Zurich's Federal Institute of Technology and Markus Strohmaier from the Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, looked into the phenomenon known as 'the QWERTY effect', the theory that the layout of the keyboard can influence word meanings by linking positivity to the right side and negativity to the left. In their investigation, the pair gathered huge amounts of data from websites like Amazon, IMDB, Yelp, YouTube and even Pornhub, recording things like product names and video titles. In this example, a film with a low ratio of right-side letters has a lower rating (Garcia/Strohmaier) When analysing the data, they found that the content with more 'right-side letters' was more highly-rated by the audience in reviews, 'likes' or ratings. Out of the 11 sites included in the study, there was a positive correlation between the ratio of right-side letters and good ratings on 10 of them. Porn site Redtube was the only outlier, where more right-side letters actually seemed to result in fewer 'likes'. Recommended Read more Most used passwords of 2015 revealed In a paper on their research, published online and presented at April's International World Wide Web Conference in Montreal, Garcia and Strohmaier claim the study "provides the first evidence of the extent of the QWERTY effect on the web." "In our datasets we confirm that products with more right side letters and fewer left side letters have higher average ratings," they add. Their findings seem implausbile, but the effect has been demonstrated before. As Quartz notes, a 2014 study found that baby names containing more right-side letters became more popular with the standardisation of the QWERTY keyboard and the spread of home computers in the second half of the 20th century. The effect has also been observed in non-English-speaking countries, where keyboard layouts are often slightly different. Science news in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Science news in pictures Science news in pictures Pluto has 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen Pluto has a 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen that is doing strange things to its surface, Nasa has found. The mysterious core seems to be the cause of features on its surface that have fascinated scientists since they were spotted by Nasa's New Horizons mission. "Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball - completely flat, almost no diversity," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author on the new study. "But it's completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what's going on there." Getty Science news in pictures Over 400 species discovered this year by Natural History Museum The ancient invertabrate worm-like species rhenopyrgus viviani (pictured) is one of over 400 species previously unknown to science that were discovered by experts at the Natural History Museum this year PA Science news in pictures Jackdaws can identify 'dangerous' humans Jackdaws can identify dangerous humans from listening to each others warning calls, scientists say. The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or contact calls (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average. Getty Science news in pictures Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females. But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the Goldilocks Zone which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal Ye et al/Current Biology Science news in pictures Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found. It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017. Reuters Science news in pictures Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planets oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago A. Gennari Science news in pictures Animal with transient anus discovered A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a transient anus that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste Steven G Johnson Science news in pictures Giant bee spotted Feared extinct, the Wallace's Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands Clay Bolt Science news in pictures New mammal species found inside crocodile Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal New Mexico Museum of Natural History Science news in pictures Fabric that changes according to temperature created Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold Faye Levine, University of Maryland Science news in pictures Baby mice tears could be used in pest control A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males Getty Science news in pictures Final warning to limit "climate catastrophe" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase Getty Science news in pictures Nobel prize for evolution chemists The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies Getty/AFP Science news in pictures Nobel prize for laser physicists The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his "optical tweezers" which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers Reuters/AP Science news in pictures Discovery of a new species of dinosaur The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn" Viktor Radermacher / SWNS Science news in pictures Birth of a planet Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever. This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star. ESO/A. Muller et al Science news in pictures New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the interstitium. These compartments are found beneath the skin, as well as lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels and muscles, and join together to form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins Getty Science news in pictures Previously unknown society lived in Amazon rainforest before Europeans arrived, say archaeologists Working in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a team led by archaeologists at the University of Exeter unearthed hundreds of villages hidden in the depths of the rainforest. These excavations included evidence of fortifications and mysterious earthworks called geoglyphs Jose Iriarte Science news in pictures One in 10 people have traces of cocaine or heroin on fingerprints, study finds More than one in 10 people were found to have traces of class A drugs on their fingers by scientists developing a new fingerprint-based drug test. Using sensitive analysis of the chemical composition of sweat, researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly. Getty Science news in pictures Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter's great red spot The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image's colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth. Pictures by: Tom Momary Garcia and Strohmaier's study doesn't explain why the QWERTY effect seems to exist, however. Some studies have suggested it may be to do with right-side letters being easier to type for right-handed people, or possibly the English association of 'right' with 'correct'. The pair say their work lays the foundation for further psychological study into the effect, focusing particularly on how the right-side ratio of certain messages may affect their popularity or shareability. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Two hundred cases of the Zika virus have been confirmed and thousands are suspected in Cape Verde in the first African outbreak of the strain of the disease that has hit South America, the World Health Organisation has revealed. Three cases of babies with microcephaly an unusually small head associated with incomplete brain development have already been discovered on the island off Senegal on Africas west coast with 170 pregnant women among those infected. A WHO spokesman said more than 7,500 people were suspected of having the Asian strain of the disease, but the diagnosis had yet to be confirmed. There is an African strain of the Zika virus but it is feared that this will not confer immunity from the Asian version. Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHOs regional director for Africa, said: The findings are of concern because it is further proof that the outbreak is spreading beyond South America and is on the doorstep of Africa. This information will help African countries to re-evaluate their level of risk and adapt and increase their levels of preparedness. In a statement, the WHO confirmed this was first time that the Zika strain responsible for the outbreaks linked to neurological disorders and microcephaly has been detected in Africa. The global health body advised countries in the area to raise awareness of the disease, particularly among pregnant women and promote protection steps to avoid mosquito bites as well as sexual transmission. In addition, countries should increase their surveillance for Zika transmission and congenital malformations, such as microcephaly, as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, the statement said. Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in health protection at the University of East Anglia, told The Independent that the disease would "almost certainly" now spread to continental Africa in what he predicted could become a major disaster. "Once it has got a toe-hold in Africa, it is likely to spread pretty dramatically," he said. "It's potentially going to be even a bigger disaster than in South America. "I'm pretty sure the WHO are taking it very seriously." The Zika virus - in pictures Show all 5 1 /5 The Zika virus - in pictures The Zika virus - in pictures A three-month-old, who has microcephaly, in Recife, Brazil. A rise in microcephaly cases is thought to have been caused by the spread of the Zika virus in affected countries Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A mother holds her baby who has microcephaly Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A five-month-old baby, who has microcephaly, in Recife, Brazil Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A pediatric infectologist examines a two-month-old baby, who has microcephaly, in Recife, Brazil Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A baby affected with microcephaly While there might be little risk to people in dry places like Niger and Chad, Professor Hunter said the inhabitants of countries with wet climates where mosquitoes flourish, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe and "even South Africa", could all be affected. He said the African strain of Zika might also cause microcephaly but because people tend to catch it as children, women tend to be immune when they became pregnant. Professor Hunter said that the African strain might confer some immunity against the Asian version, but might also make things worse. For example, catching one version of dengue fever gives immunity to a different strain for about 10 to 15 years, he said, but those infected after that period experience a more severe illness. Only on Wednesday, the WHO warned that the virus could come to Europe. Zika virus could spread to Europe say WHO Its regional director for Europe, Zsuzsanna Jakab, said: There is a risk of spread of Zika virus disease in the European Region and ... this risk varies from country to country. "We call particularly on countries at higher risk to strengthen their national capacities and prioritize the activities that will prevent a large Zika outbreak." In Europe, the areas where Aedes mosquitoes thrive, in particular on the island of Madeira and the north-eastern coast of the Black Seam, are believed to be most at risk. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} What bothers me most about the Brexit debate is how fashionable its become to say the whole things boring. Blah blah blah. I just wish theyd get it over with and well deal with the consequences either way. Theres still a huge sense of disengagement among the public at large. I guess thats largely the fault of the politicians leading the debate, and the way the media has portrayed it. A battle between two old Etonians in the Tory party is hardly going to inspire a 100 per cent turnout. So surely, I asked the anti-Brexit chief executive of one of our biggest advertising companies this week, our creative geniuses should be able to come up with some eye-catching campaign to get the voters interested. Something catchy and viral to get the youth out. Never fear, he said, we have an idea: the belly button campaign. Are you an innie? cue video of beautiful, midriff-baring hunks and beauties with gorgeous inverted navels having fun on a continental beach. Or are you an outie? cut to sad image of a topless old man with a belly button like a pigs nose. It just might work. The Gravitas of Darling's eyebrows Unlike the public at large, business is totally engaged in the EU debate. There was little else discussed at the CBI Annual Dinner at the Dorchester on Wednesday night. Smelling the mood, the CBI had bussed in as guest speakers the former chancellor Lord Darling (Lab: Remain), and the night-scented former Tory leader Lord Howard (Con: Brexit). How refreshing it was to see Darling back in action again, those jet-black eyebrows accentuating his wise words like thick inverted commas. Lord Darling held the vast room of bowtied bigwigs with his experience, intelligence and passion something we get so little of from the Establishment talking heads whove dominated the debate thus far. Im sure I wasnt the only one wishing the Opposition had someone of his gravitas these days. Whenever hes asked to take risks he didnt understand, he said, he thinks back to the phone call he took from Sir Fred Goodwin, then boss of RBS, in May 2008. His bank the worlds biggest was running into the ground thanks to its suicidal lending. Darling recalled him saying: Were haemorrhaging money. We can only survive another two or three hours... So what are you going to do about it? An interesting way of looking at the situation, Lord Darling added, wryly. Lord Darling went on to rail with passion against Boris Johnson for dropping the H-Bomb at the weekend. It was, he declared, utter nonsense to compare the EU with Hitler, and proof of how desperate the Brexit camp had got. Lord Howard also spoke convincingly and with style, but, as so often happens with the Brexiteers, he couldnt adequately answer Lord Darlings questions about why we should ignore practically every major economic group in the world who tell us not to do it. His only response was that most economists forecasts are wrong anyway. That seemed to me an utter vacuum of an argument. Secrets of the complete Hollywood package One of the bigwigs at United Talent Agency had a bash at the Groucho club in Soho on Thursday night. While I knew companies like his represented glamorous Hollywood stars, I wasnt sure exactly how. Little wonder: big actors, studios and movie investors have so many layers of middlemen and fixers youd need a month to get your head around it. Chris Day, a surprisingly unpretentious guy with a Beverly Hills business card but little in the way of visible botox, gave me a crash course: the star has an agent, who moulds his career, and a manager like UTA, who helps get them the roles. Increasingly, the biggest managers like UTA - now also represent the directors, the scriptwriters, the producers and even the moneymen. With those clients, the management company can assemble into a neat, ready-to-go package every component of a movie for the studio except the film itself. Having all that red carpet talent on its books (UTAs roster includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Radcliffe and Angelina Jolie), theres plenty of marketing deals to do, too. Not only do companies like UTA arrange commercial deals for their stars Channing Tatum vodka, anyone? but theyre using their contacts to get big corporations a ride on the Hollywood money-go-round. An example: Hollywood spends hundreds of millions of dollars every year transporting filmmaking kit, production teams and talent around the world to shoot movies. For airlines, thats business worth having. So Delta Airlines has hired UTA to get its movie industry clients to select Delta as their carrier of choice. The sell is soft, of course. UTA arranges luxury Delta Festival flights for movie types to travel from festival to festival in celebrity-pampered style, with parties and schmoozathons all around. Goody bags with free international flights help get the message across too. Sounds a lot of fun, doesnt it? I feel some research in Tinseltown is needed. A week or two should do it You give me fever - but for how long? I have to admit, Id never heard of Fever Tree tonic water until one of my colleagues put them up for the shortlist in our SME business of the year award. Since then, it seems to be the mixer of choice at every bar Ive visited. The business was set up by Charles Rolls, who used to run Plymouth Gin, and food marketer Tim Warrillow in 2005. They floated it on the stock market in 2014 at 165p and now the shares change hands for a stonking 711p. Messrs Rolls and Warrilow upgraded their profit forecasts yet again this week and the business is now valued at 850m. Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year. It never ceases to amaze how savvy marketing and clever flavours can create such a phenomenon so quickly. A contact at easyJet told me over gin and Fever Tree tonics on Tuesday that, when they started stocking the stuff in their planes, sales of tonic shot up something like 40 per cent. Thats a lot of passengers drinking a lot of G&Ts. The trouble is, these fizzy drinks and mixers so often seem to become huge, then disappear as drinkers move onto the next big thing. I wonder if Fever Tree is just, ahem, a bubble. Just the tonic after being shaken and stirred... Speaking of booze, Id like to toast the drinks giant Diageos suave, Goa-born chief executive Ivan Menezes for administering first aid with one of his products yesterday. On my way to meeting him for lunch, I got knocked off my bike by a careless cabby. Seeing my somewhat shaken and stirred demeanour when I arrived at the restaurant, Mr Menezes swiftly stood me a stiff Smirnoff and tonic (Fever Tree, of course). That, and a jolly good lunch, calmed me down no end. Cheers, Ivan! For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Pavlov proved that animals can be conditioned to behave a certain way. Now a British software company has taken that theory to new painful extremes by creating a way for people to link their bank accounts with a wristband that claims to shock the wearer out of bad habits - like spending too much. The Pavlok wristband, which was successfully crowdfunded in 2014, can be set to monitor a user's habits and send electric shocks through the wrist when the user breaks their own rules. Intelligent Environments, which sells software to banks including HSBC and the Bank of Ireland, has figured out a way to connect it to bank accounts. "Contactless, smart phone, direct debits, standing orders: money in virtually invisible today," David Webber, managing director at Intelligent Environments, said. The company's internet of things platform, Interact IoT, allows users to connect their bank account and credit cards to any internet device, like their central heating or the Pavlok wristband. Users then set a spending limit. When they get close to their limit, they might get a text alert or set off a vibration on the wristband. But if they breach their limit, they can set the wristband to send an electric shock of up to 340 volts. Intelligent Environments, which is also behind an emoji passcode, has offered the service to banks, but none have yet bought the technology. 101 gadgets that changed the world Show all 2 1 /2 101 gadgets that changed the world 101 gadgets that changed the world 8206.bin 101 gadgets that changed the world 7609.bin Banks and other money services have been experimenting with new ways for customers to log in to their accounts and make payments. In February, Mastercard has confirmed that it is to start accepting selfies and fingerprints as an alternative to passwords when verifying IDs for online payments. The credit card firm tested selfie software in the US and Netherlands and found that 92 per cent of test subjects preferred the new system to passwords. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Britvic, the owner of Robinsons squash and Fruit Shoot, is planning to make further changes to the recipe of its drinks to comply with the UK sugar tax, expected to be introduced in 2018. Simon Litherland, Britvics chief executive, said the company is aiming to reduce the calories of its drinks by 20 per cent by 2020, as he identified changes in consumer preferences to sugar, natural and artificial sweeteners as the biggest risk to his business. He said the soft drink maker was well placed and prepared for the change. As the category leader, removing added sugar from this family brand is appropriate for the long term as consumers seek better for you soft drinks, Mr Litherland said. He added that Britvic had taken significant steps in recent years to reduce added sugar and reformulate drinks. Mr Litherland admitted that the company was disappointed with the Governments plan, saying he believes a holistic approach rather than a tax on sugary drinks is necessary to tackle obesity. However, Britvic remains determined to engage fully in the Government consultation process to take place this summer. Two-thirds of the beverages from the companys UK portfolio do not contain enough sugar to be taxed. Britivc has already been reducing sugar in its drinks for the past four years. Last year its juice drink Drench went through a 2m rebrand, which included new packaging and a lower-sugar recipe. Sales of Robinsons fruit squash fell last year after the firm removed its added-sugar variant. The company said growth was still possible despite the proposed tax. Britvic also been contracted to stock drinks in Subway, the fast-food sandwich chain, in the UK. Pre-tax profits rose by 7.3 per cent to 54.5m in the last year to 10 April. Sales were up by 5 per cent to 678m, driven by growth in Pepsi Max, a sugar-free and artificially sweetened drink, Pepsi and Ballygowan water in Ireland. Companies have been given two years to reformulate their products with reduced sugar levels, after which drinks with over 5g of sugar per 100ml and over 8g per 100ml will be hit with greater taxes in two bands, following George Osbornes announcement in March. The amounts of sugar in food and drink Show all 6 1 /6 The amounts of sugar in food and drink The amounts of sugar in food and drink Minstrels A 42g bag contains 28.9g of sugar The amounts of sugar in food and drink Dairy Milk A 49g bar contains 26.8g of sugar The amounts of sugar in food and drink Skittles 45g of Skittles (about a quarter of a large 174g pouch) contains 40.4g of sugar The amounts of sugar in food and drink Ribena A 500ml bottle of Blackcurrant Ribena contains 23g of sugar, down from 50g/500ml after it was reformulated to avoid the government's tax on sugary drinks The amounts of sugar in food and drink Coca Cola A 330ml can of Coca Cola contains 35g of sugar The amounts of sugar in food and drink Innocent Smoothies A 250ml bottle of strawberries & bananas Innocent Smoothie (the middle size) contains 26g of sugar Coca-Cola, which said that a sugar tax was the wrong way to address the issues of child obesity, will change its Coke Zero recipe and rename it Coca-Cola Zero Sugar in the UK. The company wants to encourage people to reduce their sugar intake without sacrificing the taste of Coca-Cola, which includes nine teaspoons of sugar in a 330ml can. Mars food, the company behind Dolmios pasta sauce, is to release a new label advising its consumers that its products that are higher in fat, salt and sugar should be only eaten occasionally, the company announced in April. Sign up for a full digest of all the best opinions of the week in our Voices Dispatches email Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Voices Dispatches email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The number of children being taken out of school on unauthorised holidays has risen by more than half, Government data has revealed, furthering concerns over a change in attitude towards term-term holidays for school pupils. Speaking in the House of Commons, Schools Minister Nick Gibb said he would take whatever measures necessary to overturn a landmark High Court ruling and strengthen rules against term-term holidays. Mr Gibb said he wants to give schools and councils in England the power and clarity to ensure children attend school when they should. Despite the minister citing Government figures that pupil absences in England have declined overall, analysis of the same report shows the number of children off school for unauthorised holidays has in fact risen. A Government policy introduced in 2011 allows for holidays to be granted during term time provided the parent has permission from their childs headteacher. While the proportion of authorised family holidays has decreased since then, accounting for just 1.1 per cent of pupil absences in autumn 2015, those being taken out of school for unauthorised holidays by their familes has risen year-on-year to account for more than 270,000 absences - more than 50 per cent. In the year the policy came in, unauthorised family holidays accounted for 2.9 per cent of school absences overall, but by autumn 2015, this figure had increased to 4.2 per cent. Despite roughly a quarter of holiday requests having been authorised by schools in the autumn term last year, the figures suggest that many parents who are not able to get their childs schools permission are likely to take pupils out on term-time holidays regardless of whether or not it is permitted. In parliament on Thursday, Mr Gibb addressed the landmark High Court ruling last week which asserted that Jon Platt, a father from the Isle of Wight, was entitled to take his daughter out of school on holiday on account of her high attendance record. Steve Double, MP for St Austell and Newquay argued that family holidays are good for children, they widen their experiences, and the children of families who take them on holiday often perform better as a result. Mr Gibb responded that he was awaiting the written judgement from the high court and would set out the government's next steps in due course. Recommended Read more Government could change school attendance law after High Court verdict He said: The ruling represents a significant threat to one of the Government's most important achievements over the last six years - improving school attendance. For this reason the Government will do everything in its power to ensure headteachers are able to keep children in school. The schools minister said there was abundant academic evidence to show a correlation between time spent in school and academic success. Referring to Mr Platts case, he added: The need to take time off school in exceptional circumstances is important, but there are no special circumstances where a 10-day family holiday to Disney World should be allowed to trump attendance at school. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Guardian has denied rumours it is about to close its print operations in a bid to curb operating losses of 58.6m a year. The rumours were sparked when Spectator journalist Toby Young claimed the print arm of the newspaper was due to clsoe. Howver, the paper's director of publishing Richard Furness said the rumour was "massively off the mark". A spokeswoman for the newspaper told The Independent: "These rumours are categorically untrue. "The latest ABC figures, which were released yesterday, saw an increase in print sales for both the Guardian and The Observer - clearly demonstrating a sustained demand for our quality print products. "We will continue to produce world class journalism across both digital and print." The newspaper is on a redundancy drive as it attempts to reign in its operating costs after they ballooned in recent years. In March, the newspaper's management announced a plan to reduce their UK workforce by 18 per cent over the next three years in a bid to balance their books by 2019. Around 100 jobs from the 725-strong editorial workforce look likely to be lost along with 150 staff from commercial departments. In an email to staff, editor-in-chief Katharine Viner and chief executive David Pemsel said the "volatile media environment" had led to an "urgent need for radical action". It comes after it's former editor-in-chief, Alan Rusbridger, was blocked from becoming the chairman of the Scott Trust - which owns the newspaper's parent company Guardian News & Media - last week after facing opposition from Ms Viner and Mr Pemsel. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} An Iranian model and make-up artist who was famous in Iran for sharing photos without a hijab has left the country with her boyfriend. Women in Iran are legally required to wear a hijab in public and this law is strictly enforced by morality police. But a campaign opposing this and other repressive laws against women has been building in recent years and a number have chosen to share their hijab-free selfies on Instagram and Facebook. Recommended Read more What it is really like to be a female TV anchor in Iran State authorities have reportedly been monitoring social media accounts for two years as part of Operation Spider II, a crackdown on women appearing in photos without their hair covered. Reports emerged in Iranian media earlier this week claiming at least eight women were arrested as part of the crackdown, including the model Elham Arab, who was shown apologising on state TV. Elnaz Golrokh has since reportedly denied being one of eight women detained by authorities for sharing selfies without their hijab on social media. According to the BBC, Ms Golrokh said in a post: Neither did I leave Iran on bail nor was I in custody. She has over 650,000 Instagram followers and shares modelling posts from Dubai, where she appears to have been living and working in recent weeks with her boyfriend Hamid Fadaei. She is understood to have left the country in January, writing in a post: Before anything else, I am sorry that during this time I have not been able to return the calls made by you dear friends. The countries with anti-women laws Show all 5 1 /5 The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws Unfortunately for the moment I will not be active in Iran, but I will continue my work outside Iran. Thanks for your support and your positive energy. I love you. Mash Alinejad, an Iranian journalist and activist based in New York, runs the My Stealthy Freedom campaign against enforced hijab. On her Facebook page, she shares pictures of women enjoying moments of stealthy freedom while out in public in Tehran and not wearing a headscarf. Recommended Read more Iranian actress publishes Instagram photos without a hijab The head scarf issue often features prominently in the constant tug of war between hard-liners and Irans youth society," Ms Alinejad told The Independent. "Irans laws require that all women, from the age of seven, cover their hair out of a traditional respect for culture and morality. But so far, Iranian women are brave to break this discriminatory law." This is not the first time models have been punished for sharing photos without a hijab. In October, the Iranian Government allegedly denounced the actress Sadaf Taherian as immoral and revoked her work license for sharing pictures of herself without her hijab on Instagram. Ms Taherian had left the country when she began posting the images, but she will not be able to work in Iranian cinema without her licence. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Katie Hopkins has been mocked for sharing a photoshopped version of a road sign including Arabic translations underneath, apparently believing it to be real. The controversial columnist is often criticised for her views on immigration, the refugee crisis, Islam and a host of other issues, which are usually shared with her 641,000 Twitter followers. On Thursday, Hopkins retweeted a post showing a digitally altered Google Map image of a sign at a junction on the A658 in West Yorkshire for Harrogate, Leeds Shipley and Keighley. The image first appeared in an article by The New Observer website claiming signs around Bradford were installed at a cost of more than 100,000 because English-only road signs were putting Urdu speakers at unnecessary risk. The New Observer has since removed the story and posted a statement on Facebook: Unfortunately the story about Urdu street signs in Bradford, UK, appears to have been an elaborate hoax. We are investigating further, and if it is correct, will repost the story. Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Show all 16 1 /16 Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins on 'plus size' 'To call yourself 'plus-size' is just a euphemism for being fat. Life is much easier when you're thinner. Big is not beautiful, of course a job comes down to how you look.' Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins on naming children I think you can tell a great deal from a name. For me, there are certain names that I hear and I think Urgh. For me, a name is a shortcut of finding out what class that child comes from and makes me ask, Do I want my children to play with them? Theres a whole set of things that go with children like that and thats why I dont like those sorts of children. Hi, this is my daughter Charmaine. I hear: Hi, I am thick and ignorant. Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins on gender equality 'Women don't want equal treatment, they couldn't handle it if they got it. It's a tough world out there. What a lot of women are actually looking for is special treatment. What women need to realise is that they have to toughen up.' Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins on immigration 'I've always said if you go into a school playground and shout Mohammad, you'll probably get 100 children running towards you!" Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins to Benefits Street's White Dee 'Do you not feel like the patron saint of druggies and dropouts?' Channel 5 Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins on tattoos 'Are tattoos just a badge for the stupid? For me, and for lots of people like me, when you see tatoos you think of someone who is just looking for attention, who hasn't managed to find a way in their life through conventional means and who is just shouting 'I want attention! I want to be looked at!' Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins on addiction I dont believe what Russell Brand says about addiction. I just dont buy it. Gazza likes drinking, let him crack on. He is enjoying himself. Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins on The X Factor 'The X Factor 2013 has ended in a painful showdown between a fat mum in a jumpsuit (Sam Bailey) and a small boy in whatever his mum laid out for him on his bed (Nicholas McDonald)' ITV Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins on the Egyptian uprising 'The difference between most mothers and me is that I didnt sit around drinking coffee at baby group for 12 months after the birth of my baby. No, in three weeks I was back in my suit, back at my desk earning profit for my business and I dont see why other women shouldnt do the same.' Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins on maternity leave 'Egyptian uprising continues to look like Bonfire Night. Protest fireworks. Right up there with angry cup cakes.' Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins on 'gingerism' 'Ginger babies. Like a baby. Just so much harder to love. A ginger person with tattoos called Jayden? The triumvirate of horror!' Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins on affairs 'I lied to get someone else's husband because I wanted him. I give myself 8 out of 10 for ruthlessness for that one.' Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins on the elderly Personally I hate mobility scooters. I find their owners intolerable. Ran past a mobility scooter going up hill. Made me giggle. I need to grow up and stop being an arse. Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins after the Glasgow helicopter crash 'Life expectancy in Scotland is 59.5. Goodness me. That lot will do anything to avoid working until retirement.' Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins on Ramadan 'Channel 4 broadcasts Islamic calls to prayer for Ramadan. A 30 day reminder that minority rules in the UK. Any more PC, it'd be a bloody laptop.' Katie Hopkins' most offensive moments Katie Hopkins on self-harming 'I am advised by the Twitterati to 'cut myself'. I grazed myself on my house gate yesterday. Will that suffice?' The Arabic writing on the sign roughly translates to the greeting As-salaam Aalakom and the refugees welcome you. A number of people were quick to debunk the doctored picture. Bradford councillor Nicola Pollard (Lib Dem, Eccleshill) praised residents for dismissing the road sign claims. She told The Telegraph and Argos: It is absolute nonsense and Katie Hopkins is just trying to create controversy. I'm pleased to see the people of Bradford have got more sense than that. Bradford Council was also quick to discredit the story. Councillor Alex Ross Shaw, Bradford Council's executive member for transport, said: This is obviously a complete nonsense. It is a spoof story. What the public really thinks of Katie Hopkins Unsurprisingly, Hopkins has yet to delete her post or apologise for her error. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Sir Mix-A-Lot has come to Blake Lively's defence amid controversy over an Instagram post containing lyrics from his 1992 hit, Baby Got Back. In one of her most divisive posts to date, the actress shared an image of herself at Cannes Film Festival from the front alongside one from the back, with the caption: LA face with an Oakland booty. The reactions came in thick and fast on social media, sparking a fierce debate over her appropriation of the lyrics. As a privileged white woman, Lively was accused of being racially insensitive, using black womens bodies as a commodity and hit by suggestions she get woke - and fast. The feminist blog Jezebel claimed her use of the lyric was problematic because of the way LA face and Oakland beauty" sets up a racial division, presenting only one - whiteness - as beautiful. But not everyone understood the backlash, including the man who penned the original lyrics 24 years ago. Sir Mix-A-Lot told Pret-a-Reporter: That song was written with African-American women in mind, but trust me, there are white women with those curves everywhere, and they were once considered fat. And that's what the song was about." A number of those who initially defended Lively asked why, if there was an issue, it wasn't being taken with the actual lyrics as opposed to Lively's use of them. "I wrote this song not as a battle between the races," Sir Mix-A-Lot said in response. "I wrote the song because I wanted Cosmopolitan, I wanted all these big magazines to kind of open up a little bit and say, 'Wait a minute, this may not be the only beautiful.' I mean, I don't look at Serena Williams as fat. I don't think she has an ounce of fat anywhere on her. I didn't want there to be one voice. I wanted to say, 'Hey, us over here! What we feel like is this.' Sir Mix-A-Lot said his lyrics were written to empower black women by promoting a type of beauty that was being shunned by mainstream culture, explaining his reference to LA as a reference to Hollywood. "In other words, makeup or whatever it took to make that face look good, they do it in LA But, as much as you can throw makeup on something, you can't make up the butt. That's what LA face and Oakland booty meant. He suggested Livelys post signifies that beautiful people have accepted our idea of beautiful. I think it's almost a nod of approval, and that was what I wanted. I wanted our idea of beautiful to be accepted. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The University of Cambridge has proposed a new business program that may cause some sticker shock. The four-year course is a doctorate of business and will cost students roughly 230,000, as Times Higher Education reported. Not including room and board, that makes it one of the most expensive degrees in the world. The Doctor of Business Degree will be comparable to a PhD program, a representative for Cambridge told Business Insider in an email, noting that it's still subject to approval. The four-year programme's annual fees are comparable to leading Executive MBA programmes, while also reflecting the fact that the programme will be very small and selective, demanding substantial resources for intensive teaching and support services, the representative said. For comparison, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania has a two-year executive-education program that runs students $192,900. The London Business School has a 20-month-long program that runs students 72,795 pounds, or $106,328. The 24 best universities in the world Show all 24 1 /24 The 24 best universities in the world The 24 best universities in the world 24. University of Edinburgh, UK 80.3 Teaching: 68.6 Research: 77.2 Overall: 80.3 Founded in 1583, Edinburgh is the sixth-oldest university in the English-speaking world. Extremely notable alumni include Charles Darwin, Alexander Graham Bell, and Arthur Conan-Doyle The 24 best universities in the world 23. London School of Economics, UK 81.3 Teaching: 69.8 Research: 80.6 Overall: 81.3 Leaping 11 places from last year, LSE is one of the foremost universities in Europe for studying business, finance, and economics. This shows in its graduates: According to a 2014 study, LSE produced the most billionaires of any European university The 24 best universities in the world 22. Carnegie Mellon University, US 82.3 Teaching: 67.4 Research: 88.8 Overall: 82.3 My heart is in the work is CMU's motto, and it's accordingly known for many inventions and innovations in the fields of driverless cars, brain science, data, and more. It was also, curiously, the first university to create a smile in an email, in 1982 The 24 best universities in the world 21. University of Michigan, US 82.4 Teaching: 76.8 Research: 85.2 Overall: 82.4 One of the biggest research centres in the US, Michigan was attended by President Ford and Google cofounder Larry Page. Mysteriously, a large cube-shaped object sits on campus, balanced on one corner so students can spin it around despite its weight Getty The 24 best universities in the world 20. Duke University, US 82.7 Teaching: 76.0 Research: 78.0 Overall: 82.7 One of the wealthiest universities in the country, Duke is known for its sporting prowess as much as its academics, and its basketball squad is one of the best college teams in the US. President Richard Nixon graduated from here, as did future heads of Apple, JPMorgan, and PepsiCo The 24 best universities in the world 19. University of Toronto, Canada 83.9 Teaching: 75.9 Research: 89.3 Overall: 83.9 A university known for its research and innovation, Toronto has academic papers that are among the most cited in the world. It also has a wide array of extracurricular activities, with more than 800 student clubs, which probably explains why such a high proportion of its alumni begin startup companies The 24 best universities in the world 18. Cornell University, US 84.0 Teaching: 77.9 Research: 86.1 Overall: 84.0 A private Ivy League university with a mission to discover, preserve, and disseminate knowledge, Cornell boasts a glorious campus in upstate New York that allows students to hike around the Finger Lakes. It also has daily bell performances, a tradition dating back to 1868 The 24 best universities in the world 17. University of Pennsylvania, US 85.2 Teaching: 82.0 Research: 86.9 Overall: 85.2 Established before the US even became a sovereign nation, UPenn claims to be the oldest multifaculty university in the country. It also has the nation's oldest student union and first double-decker football stand. Noted alumni include President William Henry Harrison as well as modernist writers Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams The 24 best universities in the world 16. University of California at Los Angeles, US 85.8 Teaching: 80.8 Research: 88.6 Overall: 85.8 UCLA is known for its encouragement of community undergraduates usually begin with a year-long Cluster Course, a team-taught exploration of a demanding topic. It also has a great student-exchange program, with more than 2,400 students going abroad each year The 24 best universities in the world 15. Columbia University, US 86.1 Teaching: 85.9 Research: 82.2 Overall: 86.1 Notable alumni of Manhattan-based Columbia include Presidents Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt as well as a founding father Alexander Hamilton. It also enjoys a massive endowment value of $9.6 billion last year The 24 best universities in the world 14. University College London, UK 87.1 Teaching: 78.1 Research: 91.0 Overall: 87.1 Founded in 1826, UCL became the first English university to admit women on equal terms as men in 1878. UCL has one of the biggest postgraduate schemes in the country, at 52% of the entire student body The 24 best universities in the world 13. University of California at Berkeley, US 87.2 Teaching: 80.4 Research: 91.1 Overall: 87.2 Dropping five places from last year, Berkeley is still hugely prestigious, and its San Francisco setting makes it a real draw for students looking to study in a vibrant city. It also has a legacy for activism: Some of the best-known Vietnam War protests took place on its campus during the 1960s and 1970s The 24 best universities in the world 12. Yale University, US 87.4 Teaching: 86.5 Research: 87.8 Overall: 87.4 The third-oldest higher-education institution in the US, Yale takes its cue from Oxford and Cambridge by having residential colleges. Five American presidents have studied there: William Howard Taft, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Make that six if Hillary Clinton wins this year's election The 24 best universities in the world 11. Johns Hopkins University, US 87.6 Teaching: 77.6 Research: 90.4 Overall: 87.6 Johns Hopkins was an abolitionist, philanthropist, and entrepreneur, and he was also the first benefactor of the school, which was founded in 1876. Based in Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University's notable alumni include Woodrow Wilson, the 28th US president The 24 best universities in the world 10. University of Chicago, US 87.9 Teaching: 85.7 Research: 88.9 Overall: 87.9 A leading centre of science, the University of Chicago also has prestigious literary alumni, including Saul Bellow and Susan Sontag. It is also the university where film icon Indiana Jones studied The 24 best universities in the world Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Zurich, Switzerland 88.3 Teaching: 77.0 Research: 95.0 Overall: 88.3 Jumping four places from 2015, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology is known for its groundbreaking research as well as teaching excellence in natural sciences and technology. Twenty-one Nobel laureates have studied or taught at the university, while about 80 patent applications a year come from there The 24 best universities in the world 8. Imperial College London, UK 89.1 Teaching: 83.3 Research: 88.5 Overall: 89.1 Up a place from last year, Imperial is known for its pursuit of science. Its Central London setting also makes it popular to foreign students 51% of its student body are from overseas. The university's motto is Scientia imperii decus et tutamen, which means Scientific knowledge, the crowning glory and the safeguard of the empire The 24 best universities in the world 7. Princeton University, US 90.1 Teaching: 85.1 Research: 91.9 Overall: 90.1 Princeton is devoted to teaching, offering residential accommodation to undergraduates across all four years of study, which means 98% of them live on campus. The beautiful surroundings are attractive to tourists too: 800,00 people visit the campus each year, bringing in a revenue of $2 billion The 24 best universities in the world 6. Harvard University, US 91.6 Teaching: 83.6 Research: 99.0 Overall: 91.6 Down four places from last year, Harvard is still one of the world's most prestigious institutions. It's the oldest university in the US, and it also has one of the largest endowments of any on this list, raising $1.5 billion in 2013 The 24 best universities in the world 5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US 92.0 Teaching: 89.4 Research: 88.6 Overall: 92.0 Eighty-five Nobel Laureates have studied at MIT, which was founded in 1861. The university likes to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, and its living alumni have apparently started more than 30,000 active companies Getty The 24 best universities in the world 4. University of Cambridge, UK 92.8 Teaching: 88.2 Research: 96.7 Overall: 92.8 Up a place from last year, Cambridge isn't quite as old as Oxford University, but with an 800-year history it is still one of the longest-running universities in the world. It has more than 100 libraries, with over 15 million books among them The 24 best universities in the world 3. Stanford University, US 93.9 Teaching: 92.5 Research: 98.9 Overall: 93.9 One of the largest campuses in the US, Stanford benefits from being right next to San Francisco's Silicon Valley. President Herbert Hoover was part of Stanford's first class, in 1895, while the first American woman to enter space, Sally Ride, graduated from there in 1973 The 24 best universities in the world 2. University of Oxford, UK 94.2 Teaching: 86.5 Research: 98.9 Overall: 94.2 Oxford moves up one place from last year to become the best university outside the US. For an institution that was reportedly founded in 1096, that's a remarkable run. It also boasts 30 world leaders among its alumni, including 26 British prime ministers Getty The 24 best universities in the world 1. California Institute of Technology, US 95.2 Teaching: 95.6 Research: 97.6 Overall: 95.2 The best university in the world for the second year in a row according to the Times, Caltech is at the top in teaching, industry income, research, and citations in 2016. It is renowned for its science and engineering courses, but any degree here is sure to be a winner The University of Cambridge's massive price tag has already led some faculty members to implore the school to think through the implications of creating the new course. Four UK universities in world's top five Where is the intellectual justification for this departure into new doctoral territory? asked Gill Evans, professor emeritus of medieval theology at Cambridge, according to Times Higher Education. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A man has been arrested after four women were stabbed in the car park of Sainsbury's supermarket in West London. Police arrived at the supermarket in Hampton in Richmond to discover three women suffering from knife wounds to the chest, legs and back. A fourth female stab victim was later discovered in a nearby property. She was airlifted to hospital by the air ambulance for injuries described by police as life-threatening. The other three victims were taken by road ambulances to a different hospital with what have been described as non-life-threatening injuries. A witness, who did not want to be named, told the Evening Standard: "The attacker only went for the women. "The man ran through and started attacking them. It didn't seem like they knew him it was completely unprovoked. "One lady is in very bad condition, she had to be air-ambulanced out." She said the man "appeared to be out of it", on "drugs or crazy". Tangley Park Children's Centre, which overlooks the scene of the incident, made sure all their children were kept inside until it was safe. A staff member at the centre said: "It's just such a shock, our parents and children could have been walking to their cars at that time. HAMPTON GVS "Our sympathies go out to everyone who was hurt and we are really glad none of our families were involved." A spokesman for the London Ambulance Service said: "We treated four women at the scene for various stab wounds including to the chest, legs and back. "We took three women as a priority by road ambulance to a major trauma centre in South London. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 New Conservative Party leader and incoming prime minister Rishi Sunak waves as he leaves from Conservative Party Headquarters in central London having been announced as the winner of the Conservative Party leadership contest AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 9 September 2022 King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace Getty UK news in pictures 8 September 2022 A screen commemorating Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London Britain EPA UK news in pictures 7 September 2022 Police officers stand guard after Animal Rebellion activists threw paint on the walls and road outside the Houses of Parliament in protest, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 6 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2022 Visitors at the PoliNations garden in Victoria Square, Birmingham, which is made up of five 40ft high tree installations and over 6,000 plants. The PoliNations programme aims to explore how migration and cross-pollination have shaped the UKs gardens and culture PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2022 Undergraduates at the University of St Andrews take part in the traditional Pier Walk along the harbour walls of St Andrews before the start of the new academic year PA "The air ambulance took the other woman as a priority to another major trauma centre in Central London." A man in his 60s was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder and is being held in a nearby police station. Police do not believe the incident is terror-related. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A former teacher has been jailed for having sex with a 16-year-old pupil she groomed at school. Lauren Cox, 27, reportedly screamed as she was sentenced to a year in prison after admitting guilt to several counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child under 18. She had first met the boy at a school in south-east London, when he was aged 13, before starting a sexual relationship with him when he was aged 16. Cox also sent the boy explicit photos and videos during the course of their eight-month relationship in which they would meet after school and in the holidays. The boy invented imaginary girlfriends to explain his erratic behaviour to his family during this time. Later, the student's parents became increasingly suspicious and he eventually told them of the relationship. The parents contacted the head teacher of the school, which cannot be named for legal reasons. The school alerted social services, after Cox, from Oxted in Surrey, continued to message the pupil after her behaviour was discovered. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 New Conservative Party leader and incoming prime minister Rishi Sunak waves as he leaves from Conservative Party Headquarters in central London having been announced as the winner of the Conservative Party leadership contest AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 9 September 2022 King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace Getty UK news in pictures 8 September 2022 A screen commemorating Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London Britain EPA UK news in pictures 7 September 2022 Police officers stand guard after Animal Rebellion activists threw paint on the walls and road outside the Houses of Parliament in protest, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 6 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2022 Visitors at the PoliNations garden in Victoria Square, Birmingham, which is made up of five 40ft high tree installations and over 6,000 plants. The PoliNations programme aims to explore how migration and cross-pollination have shaped the UKs gardens and culture PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2022 Undergraduates at the University of St Andrews take part in the traditional Pier Walk along the harbour walls of St Andrews before the start of the new academic year PA In court, she screamed as her sentence 12-month sentence was read, the Mail Online reported, and said sorry to her family as she was led away. She has also been barred from teaching again. In a letter to the court, described by the news website, Cox wrote: Id like to apologise to [the boy] for putting my heart in front of my head. I fell in love and thought the feeling mutual. If theres any small chance I might resurrect my career, I will fight for it. However, Judge Adam Huddleston called her a shame and a disgrace. Pc Laura Davies of the Met Police said: "Cox abused her position of trust as a teacher and groomed the boy, which went on to sexual abuse. The abuse has had an extremely adverse effect on the boy with his studies suffering as a result. "Cox never once admitted the offences during police interview. She only admitted the offences subsequently because of the wealth of evidence against her. "Cox displayed dismissive arrogance to the seriousness of the allegations against her. It's most concerning that she showed no remorse - as professionals, teachers have a specific duty of care to young people and this was abused." Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The brother of Richard Osman, a qualified geologist and father of two feared dead after an EgyptAir plane crashed into the Mediterranean, has said Mr Osman was a "very admirable person". Alastair Osman told ITV News: "Richard has two kids. Richard was a very kind person, loving person, very focused. He was a workaholic and never deviated from the straight path. "A very admirable person and a lot of people admired him for his strength and values. He's a new dad. A dad for the second time now and I know that would have filled him with love and joy. It's funny how quickly things change." Mr Osman, 40, is believed to be one of the 56 passengers on board the flight from Paris to Cairo. Egyptian and Greek authorities in ships and planes searched the suspected crash area throughout the day for traces of the airliner or its victims, with more help on the way from the US, Britain and France. Civil aviation minister Sherif Fathi said the disaster was still being investigated but the possibility it was a terror attack is higher than the possibility of having a technical failure. Asked about why Mr Osman was on the flight, his brother told the news programme: He would have been going to work I assume. I know he works in both Egypt and another country in Africa. I guess it was work related. He's been doing this for years in the gold mining industry. This was a regular trip. He used to do it at least once a month, year after year. Alastair Osman, who said the family of four were all born in Carmarthen, Wales, added: This is the reality of Isis and groups like that. It's indiscriminate. They don't think any of these people have family members, or a past, or a history of hopes and dreams. It's indiscriminate. In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of a passenger who was flying aboard an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo overnight cries as family members are transported by bus to a gathering point at Cairo airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Security personnel are seen outside an Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport Reuters In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport AP In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives leave the Egyptair in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 reacts as she makes a phone call at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 wipes her tears as she is comforted by unidentified people at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 is escorted at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of missing EgyptAir flight MS804 are seen at Cairo Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Flight path of EgyptAir Flight MS804 According to the Carmarthen Journal, Mr Osman is 40 and a former pupil at QE Cambria with family in the Swansea area. The newspaper said he was the son of the late Fekri Osman, a founder of the Werndale private hospital in Bancyfelin. His father moved to Wales from his native Egypt to work as a consultant in ear, nose and throat surgery in Singleton Hospital, Swansea, it said. Alastair said that he knows nothing is concluded as of yet, but added, it doesn't look good. He said other family members are still holding out and are advising others not to listen to the media too much due to conflicting evidence. Time is the only thing that will get us closer to the truth, he said. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The ITV studios were evacuated after police officers were called to a bomb scare in London. Witnesses reported a bomb disposal unit conducting several controlled explosions on a white Skoda car parked near the studios. An episode of ITVs Loose Women was interrupted on air by an announcement over a loudspeaker announcing it is clear to return. Presenter Andrea McLean addressed viewers shortly after, saying: Earlier on in the show you may have heard a security tannoy announcement. I just have to say there is nothing to worry about thankfully, we had a security alert outside ITV, we were in lockdown, but that announcement was giving the all clear so were all OK now. Lindsey Bowers, a digital producer at ITV, Tweeted saying the road had been cordoned off, there had been a controlled explosion and staff had been asked to move away from the south side of the building. The National Theatre, which is located in the same area, also Tweeted to thank the police for their swift response. A spokesman for the Met said officers had investigated the vehicle and the incident had since been stood down, according to the Evening Standard. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The topic of conversation which led Jeremy Corbyn to snub David Cameron before the Queens speech has been revealed. Television images showed Labour leader appearing to ignore Mr Camerons attempts at small talk. Instead, the pair appeared to walk in awkward silence to the speech. Speculation has been rife as to what caused the rebuke, in which Mr Corbyn remained stern-faced throughout their stroll. The Prime Minister has now revealed all on LBC Radio, admitting he had been scraping for some common ground with Mr Corbyn by trying to talk about Latin America. I was asking about whether he had time to see the Chilean President when she was in town, Mr Cameron told the broadcaster, because I know hes got a great passion for Latin America and things that are happening there. So we talked about Chile. We talked about Colombia. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 New Conservative Party leader and incoming prime minister Rishi Sunak waves as he leaves from Conservative Party Headquarters in central London having been announced as the winner of the Conservative Party leadership contest AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 9 September 2022 King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace Getty UK news in pictures 8 September 2022 A screen commemorating Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London Britain EPA UK news in pictures 7 September 2022 Police officers stand guard after Animal Rebellion activists threw paint on the walls and road outside the Houses of Parliament in protest, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 6 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2022 Visitors at the PoliNations garden in Victoria Square, Birmingham, which is made up of five 40ft high tree installations and over 6,000 plants. The PoliNations programme aims to explore how migration and cross-pollination have shaped the UKs gardens and culture PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2022 Undergraduates at the University of St Andrews take part in the traditional Pier Walk along the harbour walls of St Andrews before the start of the new academic year PA The Labour leader is romantically linked to the continent and was married to a Chilean woman, Claudia Bracchitta, but divorced in 1999. He is now married to a Mexican human rights lawyer, Laura Alvarez, who is twenty years his junior. Mr Cameron added: "I was about to get on to Venezuela but we didnt maybe thats what went wrong! But thats sort of the thing we were talking about." Mr Corbyn has previously expressed support for the socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela for rejecting neo-liberalism. As recently as June 2015, he said: It is a cause for celebration, the achievements of Venezuela, in jobs, in housing, in health, in education, but above all its role in the whole world as a completely different place, we do that because we recognise what they have achieved. However, the country is now seen by many to be on the brink of collapse, as an economic crisis causing food, water and power shortages has ravaged the country despite having had some of the largest oil reserves in the world. Maybe Mr Cameorn was having a little dig after all... Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Michael Gove has been accused of desperate and hypocritical scaremongering after he claimed five million more migrants could come to Britain if the public votes to stay in the European Union. In an attempt by Leave campaigners to push immigration to the heart of the referendum campaign the Justice Secretary warned that a migrant influx - equivalent to the population of Scotland - would put "unsustainable" pressure on the NHS by 2030. But critics pointed out that for Mr Goves figures to become a reality Turkey, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, would all have join the EU by 2020, and the UK would not impose transitional immigration controls on them. Turkey has been in accession talks with the EU since 1987. Recommended Read more Brexit is an exercise in fear rather than futurology Mr Goves claim also appears to be at odds with his position just a year ago when he argued - in just eight words - that further immigration was a good thing for the NHS. Is Britain full? No, it is not full, the Justice Secretary told Question Time in April last year. It is a good thing when talented people who want a better life and who can contribute to this country come here. In our public services, in our NHS, the nurses and doctors who care for us in many cases come from outside the United Kingdom. He added that the debate on immigration had been poisoned by those who say that we should pull up the barriers. But yesterday he said: The reality is that voting to Remain and continuing with a policy of free movement and enlargement will continue putting huge additional pressure on the NHS. There is only one way the public can take back control and that is to vote Leave. The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit Show all 7 1 /7 The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 22 May 2015 In his regular column in The Express Nigel Farage utilised the concerns over Putin and the EU to deliver a tongue in cheek conclusion. With friends like these, who needs enemies? PA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 13 November 2015 UKIP MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire Mike Hookem, was one of several political figures who took no time to harness the toxic atmosphere just moments after Paris attacks to push an agenda. Cameron says were safer in the EU. Well Im in the centre of the EU and it doesnt feel very safe. Getty Images The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 19 April 2016 In an article written for The Guardian, Michael Gove attempts to bolster his argument with a highly charged metaphor in which he likens UK remaining in the EU to a hostage situation. Were voting to be hostages locked in the back of the car and driven headlong towards deeper EU integration. Rex The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 26 April 2016 In a move that is hard to decipher, let alone understand, Mike Hookem stuck it to Obama re-tweeting a UKIP advertisement that utilises a quote from the film: Love Actually to dishonour the US stance on the EU. A friend who bullies us is no longer a friend The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 10 May 2016 During a speech in London former work and pensions secretary Ian Duncan Smith said that EU migration would cause an increasing divide between people who benefit from immigration and people who couldnt not find work because of uncontrolled migration. The European Union is a force for social injustice which backs the haves rather than the have-nots. EPA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 15 May 2016 Cartoon character Boris Johnson made the news again over controversial comments that the EU had the same goal as Hitler in trying to create a political super state. Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods. PA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 16 May 2016 During a tour of the womens clothing manufacturer David Nieper, Boris had ample time to cook up a new metaphor, arguably eclipsing Goves in which he compares the EU to badly designed undergarments. So I just say to all those who prophecy doom and gloom for the British Business, I say their pants are on fire. Lets say knickers to the pessimists, knickers to all those who talk Britain down. Getty Images We can ensure that we give the NHS the additional support and investment that the public believe in and future generations deserve. The Cabinet Minister said that between 172,000 - 428,000 migrants a year would be arriving in the UK until 2030, meaning A&E attendances would spiral by between 6.3 million - 12.8 million annually, increasing emergency NHS demand by between 28 per cent 57 per cent. But one commentator pointed out that this would require the new immigrants to use the NHS at four times the rate of existing British users despite the fact the majority of migrants tend to be younger. Others questioned the inclusion of Turkey among those countries likely to accede to the EU within the next ten years. Mr Gove said that the European Commission was in the process of speeding-up the accession process. It is already setting up the visa free travel programme with Turkey. That will create a zone of free movement from our borders to the borders of Syria and Iraq," Mr Gove said. But two months ago Mr Goves fellow leave campaigner Boris Johnson said Turkish accession was not going to happen in the foreseeable future. If it were to happen what you wouldnt get is anything to do with free movement, he said. At the start of the referendum campaign Vote Leave said it did not want immigration to be a significant part of its message arguing that those voters who were concerned about immigration were likely to vote leave anyway, while such campaigning could put off swing voters. Mr Goves intervention suggests that the campaign is rethinking this strategy following a difficult few weeks in which it has struggled to make it more optimistic message for Brexit heard. The Remain Campaign described the immigration warning as desperate and said it was also hypocritical given what leading Brexit campaigners had said in the past. These figures are nonsense because accession of these countries is not remotely on the cards, said Neil Kinnock, former leader of the Labour Party, adding Michael Goves hypocrisy is staggering. Meanwhile the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker intervened in the Brexit vote warning that Britain would face a rough ride with other EU countries if it voted to leave. Deserters will not be welcomed with open arms, he said. Asked by French newspaper Le Monde how Brussels would respond to a Leave vote, Mr Juncker said: If the British say no - which I hope they will not - community life will not carry on as before. The United Kingdom will have to accept being considered as a third party, which does not have its hair stroked in the right direction. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Holocaust survivors who were among among hundreds of children rescued by the man described as "Britain's Oskar Schindler' have attended a special service to honour the unassuming hero who died last year aged 106. Sir Nicholas Winton rescued the children in Czechoslovakia at the start of the Second World War. His "Kinderstransport" operation enabled British families to take more than 600 mostly Jewish children to London instead of letting them be sent to concentration camps. John Fieldsend, who is now 84 and a grandfather to seven, described Sir Nicholas as an amazing man. Mr Fieldsend lost his parents and other members of his family in concentration camps. He said: I think what we can learn is that one or two people can make a difference. He was not your public idea of a hero, very quiet, very unassuming. Even after the rescue, he really gave his life to charity. Kurt Taussig, who is now 92 and living in west London, lost all of his family except two brothers. He said: We owe everything to him - myself, my family, my children, everything. He didn't look for fame or fortune, it was just something he did. Renate Collins was five when she left Prague on the Kindertransport. She recalled how 64 members of her family had lost their lives in the Holocaust. The 82-year-old who is now based in Wales said she hopes Sir Nicholas realised how incredibly appreciated he was. Among the other guests were survivors from Israel, America and the Czech Republic, along with many descendants of those rescued by the late Sir Nicholas. The memorial, held at Londons Guildhall on Thursday, which would have been Sir Nicholass 107th birthday, was also attended by home secretary Theresa May and dignitaries from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It was especially poignant as it took place against the backdrop of Europes biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War. Mr Taussig, who was 15 when he left Czechoslovakia, said: It is hard to put into words but what goes on now is vastly worse than what I experienced, which was just the beginning of the continental mess and concentration camps and so on. The sheer numbers of children and women involved is heartbreaking. I do what I can but there's a limit to how much one can help. This is happening all over the world, we're talking about millions of children in the Middle East, in Asia - you can name so many places. It is tragic, what goes on. Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Show all 20 1 /20 Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau The main gate entering the Nazi Auschwitz death camp Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau A warning sign is seen in front of a watch tower of the former Auschwitz concentration camp held by the Nazis in Oswiecim Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau Visitors walk between barbed wire fences at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Oswiecim Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau Guard towers and barbed wire fences stand at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp on the night prior to commemoration events marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the camp on 26 January 2015 in Oswiecim, Poland Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau Holocaust survivor Mordechai Ronen (C) from the US is comforted by his son as he is overcome by emotion standing next to President of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder (2nd R) as he arrives at the former Auschwitz concentration camp in Oswiecim on 26 January 2015 Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau Auschwitz and Belsen concentration camp survivor Eva Behar shows her number tattoo in her home in London Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau A wall with historic photos is pictured at the memorial site of the former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau A general view of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz in Oswiecim Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau The 'wall of death' at the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz in Oswiecim Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau General view of wooden bunks inside a destroyed barracks at the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau near Oswiecim Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau View of the barracks of the former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau View of the barracks of the former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau Empty Zyklon B canisters are displayed at the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz in Oswiecim Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau Prosthetic limbs confiscated from Auschwitz prisoners lie in an exhibtion display at the former Auschwitz I concentration camp, which today is a museum, in Oswiecim, Poland Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau Eyeglasses confiscated from Auschwitz prisoners lie in an exhibtion display at the former Auschwitz I concentration camp, which today is a museum, in Oswiecim, Poland Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau Children's shoes confiscated from Auschwitz prisoners lie in an exhibtion display at the former Auschwitz I concentration camp, which today is a museum, in Oswiecim, Poland Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau Suitcases confiscated from Auschwitz prisoners Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau Enamel bowls used by Auschwitz prisoners Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau Visitor are seen walking behind barbed-wire fences at the memorial site of the former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: Haunting images of Auschwitz Auschwitz-Birkenau A cargo wagon is parked at the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau near Oswiecim We were so lucky because our problem ended the moment we arrived in London. We were taken care of, people looked after us - we had a home immediately from the start. There is no comparison. Sir Nicholas's son, Nick, told the service he hoped his father's example would continue to inspire others. It is his legacy to inspire and encourage all of us to be actively involved in our own communities. He's inspired me, my sister and many others I know, many of you in this room. And that is one of the ways his memory will live on and stay with us in the future, he said. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Two SNP MPs have been reported to the parliamentary standards watchdog over allegations they conducted affairs with a journalist at hotels or accommodation paid for on expenses. Angus MacNeil and SNP economics spokesman Stewart Hosie, are both alleged to have had separate extra-marital affairs with Westminster journalist Serena Cowdy. Mr MacNeil, who announced his separation from his wife last year, is alleged to have stayed with Ms Cowdy at the Park Plaza hotel in London and claimed for the room on MPs expenses. Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw has written to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner calling for an investigation into the conduct of both MPs. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has said she has seen no evidence of any breach of parliamentary expenses rules. Mr Carlaw claimed that if the affairs had been carried out in accommodation paid for on expenses it would break rules which say expenses should only be used in support of parliamentary duties and not in activity that could cause significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons. Mr Carlaw said: The SNP says there is no financial impropriety but it is widely reported that Angus MacNeil stayed with Ms Cowdy at a hotel in London and put the bill on expenses. The best course is for the Standards Commissioner to look into the matter. MPs' expenses: gallery of shame Show all 37 1 /37 MPs' expenses: gallery of shame MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181881.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181803.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181536.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181801.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181519.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181802.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181882.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181902.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181941.bin Reuters MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181904.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181905.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181907.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181923.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181926.bin Reuters MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181931.bin Reuters MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181933.bin Reuters MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181943.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181950.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182185.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182201.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182203.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182208.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182209.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182226.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182227.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182234.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182235.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182274.bin PA MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182236.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182283.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182267.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182265.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182262.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182242.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182241.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 182255.bin Getty Images MPs' expenses: gallery of shame 181982.bin Getty Images An SNP spokeswoman said: The expenses were approved by the Commons authorities in line with the rules on MPs London accommodation, and none involved any additional cost to the public purse This is the height of hypocrisy from the Tories, given the extent of flagrant abuse of expenses by their MPs. Mr MacNeil has claimed around 90,000 in accommodation expenses since 2010/11, mostly for hotels in the London area. He owns a flat in south London. Mr MacNeil said: "My accommodation in London is claimed under normal expenses, as is the case for all MPs, and the cost of this is compliant with the rules of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). "I don't like to comment on my personal life or related tabloid stories, but my marriage sadly ended for very different reasons to what has been suggested in lurid newspaper stories this week. "For the record, as if I even need to say, I have never had so much as a crossed word with my colleague Stewart Hosie MP." Questions over hotel accommodation have chiefly centred on Mr MacNeil. Mr Hosie is alleged to have had a later affair with Ms Cowdy and has been included in the complaint to the Commissioner. Mr Hosie recently separated from his wife, SNP Scottish Assembly member Shona Robison. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The polling industry has descended into a row about what the real state of play in the EU referendum race is as different firms show wildly differing results. Polls conducted over the phone are consistently showing significant leads for the Remain campaign, but online polls are showing a much tighter race practically neck-and-neck. Peter Kellner, former president of YouGov until this year, said his old firm was currently getting the race wrong because it only conducted online polls. He said these surveys included too many Ukip voters. Recommended Read more Why you should be very careful about believing EU referendum polls On the great majority of issues, online and telephone polls produce comparable results, he said. However, the EU referendum is one of that minority of occasions when there is a significant difference; so far, telephone polls seem to generate more accurate results. We shall see whether the online polls acknowledge this and make further changes to their methods. But told of the comments, Stephan Shakespeare, the CEO and founder of YouGov, replied: Is this the same Peter Kellner who got [the 2015 general election] wrong? Which we've fixed... YouGovs chief innovation officer Andy Morris hit back even harder claiming in a blog post that it was in fact telephone polls that were flawed because they included too many graduate voters. The online polls are doing a better job of finding representative samples and therefore a better job of representing the views of the population, he argued. In December the pollster ComRes, which conducts both phone and online polls, said its phone polls were more accurate. The latest ComRes phone poll had figures of 52 per cent voting to remain but 41 per cent voting to leave. The back-and-forth comes after the industry disastrously failed to judge the result of the 2015 general election, leading to an industry-wide review of practices. Telephone polls have a better record than online when it comes to UK-wide referendums. According to an analysis by the Political Betting website online polls got the 2011 AV referendum wrong by an average of 14.8 per cent, while phone polls were only 1.9 per cent out. The EU referendum will be held on 23 June. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Boris Johnson's Turkish cousin says the leader of the Brexit camp has turned into such a Little Englander he is no longer being very honest about his views. Mr Johnson is the great-grandson of the newspaper editor and Turkish Government minister Ali Kemal, who was assassinated in 1922 after falling foul of Mustafa Ataturk who founded the modern Turkish state. In an interview with the Irish Times Sinan Kuneralp, who is Mr Johnsons cousin once removed, said the former London mayor's current stance would mean his own grandfather wouldnt have been able to come to the UK. And he questioned the sincerity of his views. Recommended Read more Paul Mason says Boris Johnson is ruining EU referendum debate To become such a Little Englander is silly, said Mr Sinan. His family is as cosmopolitan as it gets! He doesnt strike me as being very honest about his views. I think hes playing at populism. Hes worth much more than this. Mr Sinan suggested there were marked similarities between Mr Johnson and his grandfather. 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Show all 21 1 /21 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Portugal drinks more wine than France Tindo - Fotolia 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Young Italians, by some distance, are the most likely to live at home with their parents 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Britain is on course to overtake Germany as Europes most populated country 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Greek workers work the longest hours in the EU 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Estonia has, per capita, more drug-related deaths than anyone else 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe The fastest download speeds are to be found in Romania 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Slovenia, Malta and Poland have the smallest gender pay gaps 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe France hates its leader more than other European countries 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Eastern and Western Europe are very divided on the issue of gay marriage 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Germany has the most millionaires 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Everyone likes Christmas, apart from France 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Germany accepts by far the most asylum applications 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe The UK and France have some of the most positive views of Muslim people 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Europe's largest Muslim population is in Germany 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Danes are the most trusting Europeans, and Cypriots the least 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Finland has the worst economy in the EU 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Italy has cut back its military spending more than any other major European Nato member 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Everyone is sad about the refugee crisis 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe People in Spain are also the most likely to live in flats (Brits are most likely to live in houses) 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Spain is the most likely to feel neighbourly 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Luxembourg is home to the highest proportion of foreign nationals Boriss great-grandfather was a born opponent. He was against everything, he was controversial, a contrarian. But he added: Boris has a sense of humour, which our grandfather didnt. Mr Johnson is the descendent of Ali Kemals first wife, an Anglo-Swiss woman called Winifred Brun, who died after giving birth to Boriss grandfather. Her son was originally called Osman Kemal, but his name was changed to Wilfred Johnson, due to anti-Turkish sentiment in England prior to the First World War. Otherwise Mr Johnson would be called Boris Kemal. However Mr Sinan said he would still be very happy if Mr Johnson became Britains next Prime Minister. But, I cant say Id see eye-to-eye with his politics, he said. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} GPs have voted overwhelmingly to be balloted on their willingness to take strike action, as family doctors warned that the Governments rescue package for family doctors would not be enough to prevent the demise of the profession. The vote, at a conference of the British Medical Associations Local Medical Committees, holds out the prospect of another bitter industrial dispute between medics and the Government, just days after a settlement was reached with junior doctors. Any such move would not be an official strike ballot, but rather a canvassing of opinion among GPs about their willingness to strike. The wording of the motion calls on the Government to improve their offer to GPs within three months, or face such a vote. The dispute centres on a rescue package for GPs announced in April, which allocated an extra 2.4bn a year of NHS spending to general practice, with the aim of recruiting 5,000 more GPs and other extra staff. However, there is concern that, after what the BMA describes as a decade of underfunding, the package will not be enough to reduce heavy workloads and save many practices from closing. In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Doctor in acute medicine, Melissa Haskins, holds up a 'I ain't afraid of no Hunt' sign whilst striking with other junior doctors outside her hospital, St Thomas' Hospital in London Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Accident and emergency junior doctor, Jennifer Hulse, holds a homemade placard outside St Thomas' Hospital as she strikes with colleagues in London Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Demonstrators and Junior doctors hold placards as they protest outside the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, in Basingstoke during a strike by junior doctors Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Demonstrators and Junior doctors hold placards as they protest outside the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, in Basingstoke during a strike by junior doctors Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike A supporter displays a slogan on her bag during a junior doctors' strike outside St Thomas' Hospital in London Reuters In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike The picket line outside King's College Hospital in London PA In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike The picket line outside King's College Hospital in London, as thousands of junior doctors begun the first all-out strike in the history of the NHS after the Health Secretary said the Government would not be "blackmailed" into dropping its manifesto pledge for a seven-day health service PA In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Junior doctors and supporters take part in a strike outside the Royal United Hospital in Bath Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Doctor in acute medicine, Melissa Haskins, holds up a 'I ain't afraid of no Hunt' sign whilst striking with other junior doctors outside her hospital, St Thomas' Hospital in London Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Dave Prentis, UNISON general secretary visits a British Medical Association picket line at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, to show support for striking junior doctors on the second day of the union's annual health conference PA A motion put forward at LMC conference a meeting of local GP leaders and backed overwhelmingly, stated that the rescue package, known as the General Practice Forward View, was not an adequate response. It also called on the BMA to ballot members on their willingness sign undated resignation letters. Dr Jackie Applebee, from Tower Hamlets LMC, who proposed the motion, said: Are we going to accept the demise of general practice? If not now, when? Will there be a general practice to defend if we wait much longer? The Government can always find money if the will is there, but is the will there? We have to remember that this is a Government determined to drive through austerity. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the BMAs GP committee, said the vote reflected deep anger among GPs. He said underfunding had led to patients being put at risk because of unsafe workload pressures and a growing recruitment and retention crisis leaving too few GPs to meet growing patients' needs. "The BMA has already secured important commitments from NHS England in their GP Forward View but will continue to push hard for tangible improvements that really turns around the current crisis, he said. The Department of Health declined to comment, indicating that the vote was a matter for NHS England. A spokesman for NHS England said: The widely supported new General Practice Forward View, backed by a ground-breaking 2.4bn action plan, will help tackle longstanding pressures in primary care, but of course we know this a step on the journey, not the final destination. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} NHS hospitals and other providers of health services have declared record overspends for the year 2015/16, as experts said the health service was maxed out and that patients would begin to see the effects. Analysis by the regulator NHS Improvement confirmed that the provider sector deficit for the past year the amount by which hospitals, ambulance trusts and other services in England have over-reached their budget amounted to 2.45bn. Nearly nine in 10 of Englands hospitals ended the year in the red, in figures that experts said would rule out mismanagement or inefficiency as an explanation, and instead point to a system-wide crisis of squeezed budgets and increasing demand. It is the second year in a row the provider sector has ended in the red, but this years figure is almost double last years deficit. Analysts at the Nuffield Trust think tank said that even NHS Improvements record figure was an underestimate of the true scale of the problem, estimating that the real underlying figure was more than 3.2bn and that the official numbers had been flattered by accountancy measures. The record-breaking overspend could lead the Department of Health to exceed its spending limit for the year. One whistleblowing hospital finance director told the BBC that the DH had been cooking up accounting alchemy, such as shifting the recording of capital spending into day-to-day running costs, to ensure the NHS meets the spending limit set by the Treasury. A DH spokesman said that such a mechanism would make no difference to the Departments overall spending picture, full details of which will be available by the summer. Chris Hopson, chief executive of the NHS Providers umbrella body, said that expecting the NHS to keep cutting costs while trying to meet rising demand was placing an intolerable burden on staff. Todays report reveals how the combination of increasing demand and the longest and deepest financial squeeze in NHS history is maxing out the health service, he said. At the same time as treating the highest ever number of patients, NHS trusts are 2.45 billion in the red, with 65 per cent of providers in deficitThis record number, with a record overall deficit, is simply not sustainable. We have to rapidly regain control of NHS finances otherwise we risk lengthening waiting times for patients, limiting their access to services, and other reductions in the quality of patient care. The Government has given the NHS a 3.8bn funding increase this year part of an 8bn uplift between 2015 and 2020. However, at the same time, the NHS has been told to cut 22bn from its budget at a time of increasing demand from an ageing and growing population. Richard Murray, director of policy at the Kings Fund think tank said the deficit figures showed a health system buckling under huge financial and operational pressures. At the same time, performance against key targets is deteriorating and concerns about quality of care are increasingly widespread, he said. The challenge facing the NHS is not limited to hospitals, general practice is also in crisis as they try to keep up with demand. Hospitals and other services spent 3.6bn on temporary agency staff, 1.4bn more than planned. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has singled out agency spending as a key cause of overspends and the Government has introduced measures to cut down on the practice. In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Doctor in acute medicine, Melissa Haskins, holds up a 'I ain't afraid of no Hunt' sign whilst striking with other junior doctors outside her hospital, St Thomas' Hospital in London Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Accident and emergency junior doctor, Jennifer Hulse, holds a homemade placard outside St Thomas' Hospital as she strikes with colleagues in London Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Demonstrators and Junior doctors hold placards as they protest outside the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, in Basingstoke during a strike by junior doctors Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Demonstrators and Junior doctors hold placards as they protest outside the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, in Basingstoke during a strike by junior doctors Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike A supporter displays a slogan on her bag during a junior doctors' strike outside St Thomas' Hospital in London Reuters In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike The picket line outside King's College Hospital in London PA In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike The picket line outside King's College Hospital in London, as thousands of junior doctors begun the first all-out strike in the history of the NHS after the Health Secretary said the Government would not be "blackmailed" into dropping its manifesto pledge for a seven-day health service PA In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Junior doctors and supporters take part in a strike outside the Royal United Hospital in Bath Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Doctor in acute medicine, Melissa Haskins, holds up a 'I ain't afraid of no Hunt' sign whilst striking with other junior doctors outside her hospital, St Thomas' Hospital in London Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Dave Prentis, UNISON general secretary visits a British Medical Association picket line at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, to show support for striking junior doctors on the second day of the union's annual health conference PA But Labours Shadow Health Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said that ministers had lost complete control of hospital finances and warned patients would pay the price. The NHS is now in the deepest cash crisis in its history, she said. "This is a crisis that the Tories can no longer choose to ignore. We need an urgent plan to get hospital finances back on track and to improve patient care." A Department of Health spokesman said: "We recognise parts of the NHS are under pressure as demand rises due to our ageing population, but we are providing intensive support to improve performance, boost efficiency and reduce the use of expensive agency staff. TVA IT employees teach Chattanooga elementary students how STEM skills can improve lives. The students final assignment? To 3D print and assemble a prosthetic hand to help a child in need. In Chattanooga, Orchard Knob Elementary fourth graders like Jaden Roberts, 11, could not wait for Chris Welch, TVA IT program manager, and his team to come back to the school to help teach STEM skills. On the first day we started, Jaden told me I dont like math, Mr. Welch said. Then Mr. Welch asked Jaden and the class, Who likes video games? and everyone raised their hands. Mr. Welch explained that video games were created with math and you use math when you play them. It was that ah-ha moment where you saw it in their eyes an abstract concept become real and fun, Mr. Welch said. We knew we had them. For the past few months Mr. Welch has been using 3D printing and virtual reality technology to teach math and engineering skills. We started by printing cubes to calculate volume, he said. Then things expanded as the students quickly caught on. Mr. Welch used virtual reality to explain architecture and design. The team also used circuit kits to teach electricity and electrical engineering. One student [Raven Chapmen] even made a fan from the electrical parts because she said she was hot that day. Everything was building up to the students final assignment in mechanical engineeringprinting and assembling a real prosthetic hand. The week of May 15, Mr. Welch and his students completed printing the prosthetic, which that will be used by a young child through the Enabling The Future charity based out of Atlanta. This was an amazing journey with the students, Mr. Welch said. At TVA our mission is to serve. I believe that we not only opened career doors for these young minds, at the end of the day, together we helped a child who literally needed a hand. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Boris Johnson is debasing the EU referendum debate with "ludicrous" arguments, journalist Paul Mason has said. Mr Mason, a former Channel 4 News and BBC Newsnight editor, said Mr Johnson's approach "shows what a 35,000 a year education at Eton buys you". He made the comments appearing on the BBC's Question Time programme. Mr Johnson has commited himself to campaigning to leave the European Union and taken centre stage in the campaign. He has caused controversy on a number of occasions, however: by suggesting that "part-Kenyan" Barack Obama had an "ancestral dislike" of Britain, and by claiming the EU's aims were similar to those of Adolf Hitler. The Mayor of London also attracted criticism for inaccurate claims about EU regulations on the sale of bananas. He said that the fruit could not be sold in bunches of "more than two or three". "You cannot sell bananas with abnormal curvature of the fingers," he said. Boris Johnson takes down boy during rugby match Show all 7 1 /7 Boris Johnson takes down boy during rugby match Boris Johnson takes down boy during rugby match Boris Johnson plays rugby with Japanese elementary school children in Tokyo Getty Boris Johnson takes down boy during rugby match Boris Johnson bumps into a schoolchild during a Street Rugby event at Tokyo Square Gardens building EPA Boris Johnson takes down boy during rugby match Boris Johnson collides with 10-year-old Toki Sekiguchi during a game of Street Rugby with a group of Tokyo children Reuters Boris Johnson takes down boy during rugby match Boris Johnson falls down after colliding with 10-year-old Toki Sekiguchi during a game of Street Rugby with a group of Tokyo children Reuters Boris Johnson takes down boy during rugby match Boris Johnson falls down after colliding with 10-year-old Toki Sekiguchi during a game of Street Rugby with a group of Tokyo children Reuters Boris Johnson takes down boy during rugby match Boris Johnson takes down boy during rugby match "Why should they tell us? Why should they tell us how powerful our vacuum cleaners should be? "Why should they tell us how powerful our hairdryers should be? "This is not a matter for an international, supranational body to dictate to the British people." For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Chinese government has issued a statement strongly dismissing reports it is packaging human meat as corned beef and sending it to African grocery stores. The government was forced to respond after several African publications reported the allegations, made by Facebook user Barbara Akosua Aboagye in a post which has since been shared 26,168 times. South African websites Msanzi Live and Daily Post even went so far as to speculate the reason behind exporting human meat is due to Chinas overpopulation, suggesting the country is unable to find space to bury its dead. Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Yang Youming issued a statement on Chinese State Media, saying: Today a local tabloid newspaper is openly spreading a rumour, claiming that the Chinese use human meat to make corned beef and sell it to Africa. This is completely a malicious slandering and vilification which is absolutely unacceptable to us. We hereby express our utmost anger and the strongest condemnation over such an act. China meat scandal hits McDonalds, Starbucks China has invested heavily in Zambia, especially in the mining industry, however its economic downturn has directly affected workers in the country, with plants being closed and operations suspended. Some Chinese companies have also come under fire for allegedly exploiting their Zambian workers. Officials are concerned that rumours, such as those about the exporting of human meat, will further strain the relationship between locals and Chinese businesses. In pictures: Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2016 Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2016 In pictures: Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2016 Dog meat market, Yulin In pictures: Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2016 Dogs in holding pen at slaughterhouse, Yulin In pictures: Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2016 Cats crammed in wire cage, delivered to slaughterhouse in Yulin In pictures: Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2016 Dogs held at slaughterhouse, Yulin In pictures: Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2016 Cat looks out from its crate as arrives at slaughterhouse, Yulin In pictures: Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2016 Dogs in blood-covered holding pen at slaughterhouse, Yulin In pictures: Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2016 Dogs at slaughterhouse, Yulin In pictures: Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2016 Dog meat market, Yulin In pictures: Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2016 Dog meat market, Yulin In pictures: Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2016 Cat slaughterhouse, Yulin Zambia's deputy defence minister Christopher Mulenga has vowed the government will launch an investigation into the damaging reports. He said: The government of Zambia regrets the incident in view of the warm relations that exist between Zambia and China. We shall make sure that relevant government authorities will take up the investigations and give a comprehensive statement. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Wreckage from EgyptAir flight MS804 has been found in the Mediterranean Sea alongside passengers belongings as investigations into the disaster continue. EgyptAir said officials had been informed of the discovery on Friday morning during searches for the Airbus A320. The Egyptian Armed Forces have informed EgyptAir that they have found the first debris from the missing aircraft operating flight MS804 295km from the Egyptian coastline, a statement said. EgyptAir sincerely conveys its deepest sorrow to the families and friends of the passengers on board. It was EgyptAir's second announcement claiming to find wreckage (AP) We extend our deepest sympathies to those affected and have engaged international emergency support group Kenyon to assist with care for those touched by this tragedy. A spokesperson a the airlines head offices in Cairo told The Independent the find was separate from previously recovered debris that was found to be unrelated. The statement yesterday was incorrect there was a misunderstanding but today in the morning they found the wreckage around 295km away from the coast at Alexandria, she added. The information has just been confirmed. An aviation industry publication, meanwhile, reported that sensors detected smoke in a lavatory, suggesting a fire onboard before the aircraft went down. The publication cited information transmitted through the plane's Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, which transmits data from the plane to the ground in the form of a series of messages. Those messages showed that smoke was detected in the plane's lavatory near the cockpit, according to the report. The Egyptian army confirmed the discovery, saying the finds were being salvaged as search operations continued on Friday morning. Brigadier General Mohammed Samir said Egyptian jets and naval vessels found personal belongings of the passengers and parts of the plane's wreckage 290km (180 miles) north of Alexandria. More details emerged later in the day, with officials saying body parts, suitcases and plane seats had been recovered. If the debris is confirmed as a part of the missing aircraft, it will be instrumental in investigations into the cause of the crash. Authorities say nothing has been ruled out so far, including a possible terror attack, technical failure, hijack or sabotage. Egypt's civil aviation minister said he believes the disaster was more likely to have been caused by a terror attack than technical failure. If you analyse the situation properly, the possibility of having a terror attack is higher than the possibility of having a technical (problem), Sherif Fathy told a news conference. EgyptAir made a previous announcement claiming part of the aircraft had been found on Thursday but backtracked after analysis indicated the debris was not from a plane. The captain of a cargo ship that joined the search had shared photos claiming to show items from the missing plane on Facebook, while Greek television also published images. Photos claiming to show debris from a crashed EgyptAir plane were posted on Facebook by a ship captain but the items were found to be unrelated (Tarek Wahba) Athanassios Binis, head of Greece's Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board, told ERT TV an assessment of the finds showed that they do not belong to an aircraft. EgyptAir announced the finding of wreckage at 6pm but its vice president, Ahmed Adel, later admitted that the company had been mistaken. We stand corrected on finding the wreckage because what we identified is not a part of our plane, he told CNN. So the search and rescue is still going on. The scheduled flight left Charles de Gaulle at 11.09pm on Wednesday (10.09 BST) and radar shows it continued on its normal path over Italy and Greece before starting to cross the Mediterranean. The last signal was picked up by Greek air traffic control at 2.27am (1.27am BST) and the countrys civil aviation ministry said the pilot did not respond to contact attempts as the plane headed towards Egyptian airspace. In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of a passenger who was flying aboard an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo overnight cries as family members are transported by bus to a gathering point at Cairo airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Security personnel are seen outside an Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport Reuters In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport AP In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives leave the Egyptair in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 reacts as she makes a phone call at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 wipes her tears as she is comforted by unidentified people at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 is escorted at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of missing EgyptAir flight MS804 are seen at Cairo Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Flight path of EgyptAir Flight MS804 Egyptian authorities lost contact with the flight at around 2.30am (1.30am BST), 45 minutes before it was due to land at Cairo International Airport. The Greek defence minister said the plane had been cruising at an altitude of 37,000ft when it started rapidly losing altitude, suddenly veering to the left and then making a full circle in the opposite direction immediately after it entered Egyptian airspace. The aircraft dropped by 22,000ft to 15,000ft before contact was lost at around 10,000ft. All 66 people on board are feared dead. They include 56 passengers, three security staff and seven crew members. EgyptAir said 30 Egyptians, 15 French passengers, two Iraqis, and one passenger from Britain, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria, Canada, Belgium, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were on board. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Body parts, passengers' belongings, luggage and plane seats have been found in the continuing search for EgyptAir flight MS804. We were informed that a body part, two seats and one or more items of luggage where found in the search area," the Greek defence minister said. Panos Kammenos told a news conference the items were found in the search area slightly to the south of where the plane vanished from radar on Thursday morning with 66 people on board. The Egyptian army says it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 290km north of Alexandria (AP) Debris was being transported back to Cairo for analysis as investigations into that cause of the disaster continued. EgyptAir said government officials had been informed of the discovery on Friday morning during searches for the Airbus A320. The Egyptian Armed Forces have informed EgyptAir that they have found the first debris from the missing aircraft operating flight MS804 295km from the Egyptian coastline, a statement said. Welsh man on EgyptAir flight EgyptAir sincerely conveys its deepest sorrow to the families and friends of the passengers on board. A spokesperson at the airlines head offices in Cairo told The Independent the find was separate from debris previously recovered that was found to be unrelated. In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of a passenger who was flying aboard an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo overnight cries as family members are transported by bus to a gathering point at Cairo airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Security personnel are seen outside an Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport Reuters In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport AP In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives leave the Egyptair in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 reacts as she makes a phone call at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 wipes her tears as she is comforted by unidentified people at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 is escorted at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of missing EgyptAir flight MS804 are seen at Cairo Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Flight path of EgyptAir Flight MS804 The statement yesterday was incorrect there was a misunderstanding but today in the morning they found the wreckage around 295km (180 miles) away from the coast at Alexandria, she added. The information has been confirmed. Brigadier General Mohammed Samir, a spokesperson for the Egyptian army, said planes and naval vessels found personal belongings of the passengers and parts of the plane's wreckage. Later on Friday afternoon, EgyptAir has said more debris, passengers personal belongings, body parts, luggage, and aircraft seats has been recovered. A spokesperson for the Egyptian Army said efforts would be intensified as the military released footage of the efforts. A possible oil slick from the plane was also picked up on a satellite at around 4pm on Thursday. The European Space Agency (ESA) says its Sentinel-1A radar satellite detected the 1.2 mile-long slick around 25 miles south-east of the aircraft's last known location. The information was passed to authorities on to aid search operations but officials emphasised that there was no guarantee the slick was from the EgyptAir plane. Images from its Sentinel-2A satellite will be analysed further for traces of fuel or debris after it passes above the same area on Sunday. EgyptAir made a previous announcement claiming part of the aircraft had been found on Thursday but backtracked after analysis indicated the debris was not from a plane. The crashed EgyptAir plane, an Airbus A320 registration SU-GCC, is seen here taking off from Vienna in August 2015 (AP) The captain of a cargo ship that joined the search had shared photos claiming to show items from the missing plane floating in the sea, while Greek television also published images. An American Orion aircraft was being deployed to join the search and a French navy patrol boat equipped with sonar is on its way from the port of Toulon. The 262-foot ship will aim to identify the sound of the underwater location beacons fitted to the crashed plane's cockpit voice and flight data recorders, known as black boxes. The Navy says it will take two to three days for the vessel and its crew of 90 to arrive in the search zone, which is roughly halfway between Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria and the Greek island of Crete. It may take some time to find the recorders the water is 8,000 to 10,000 feet deep and an oceanographer likened the sea floor to the Alps. Dr Simon Boxall told BBC that the A320 could easily slip through the cracks of the ocean floor or be lost in soft sediment several kilometres down. Families of passengers who were on board missing EgyptAir flight outside Cairo International airport (KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images) It sits on a boundary where the ocean floor is more like the Alps, very rugged and contoured, he said. This is a very soft sediment area and wreckage could sink very quickly, so they need to find it fast. Ioannis Chapsos, a research fellow in maritime security at Coventry University said sea searches were particularly difficult. As time passes by, sea currents and weather conditions will cause wreckage to drift, he added. In practice, this means the search and rescue area must continue to expand for every hour the search goes on. Families of the 66 people on board have been formally told their loved ones are dead, with many gathering for an emotional memorial service at a mosque in Cairo. Among the victims was Richard Osman, a father-of-two from Wales, and a Frenchman who almost missed the fated flight after losing his passport. Families and friends of the victims of the missing EgyptAir flight MS804 hold an absentee funeral prayer in a mosque nearby Cairo airport, Cairo, Egypt, 20 May 2016 (EPA) EgyptAir said 30 Egyptians, 15 French passengers, two Iraqis, and one passenger from Britain, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria, Canada, Belgium, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were on board. The scheduled flight left Charles de Gaulle at 11.09pm on Wednesday (10.09 BST) and radar shows it continued on its normal path over Italy and Greece before starting to cross the Mediterranean. The last signal was picked up by Greek air traffic control at 2.27am (1.27am BST) and the countrys civil aviation ministry said the pilot did not respond to contact attempts as the plane headed towards Egyptian airspace. Egyptian authorities lost contact with the flight at around 2.30am (1.30am BST), 45 minutes before it was due to land at Cairo International Airport. The Greek defence minister said the plane had been cruising at an altitude of 37,000ft when it started rapidly losing altitude, suddenly veering to the left and then making a full circle in the opposite direction immediately after it entered Egyptian airspace. The aircraft dropped by 22,000ft to 15,000ft before contact was lost at around 10,000ft. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A "lucky" would-be EgyptAir passenger has spoken of his relief after he was warned "not to board" the doomed flight to Cairo. Mounir Namour was originally planning to travel on the MS804 flight but was persuaded to stay in Paris for an extra day. The Frenchman arrived at Paris' Charles De Gaulle Airport ready to board the Airbus A320 flight to Cairo on Wednesday night but changed his mind at the last moment and changed his flight to depart the following day. Recommended Read more This man lost his passport a week before the EgyptAir flight He told NBC News: "I said to myself, I'm really lucky. Honestly I'm really lucky. Recommended "It was really difficult when I saw the news flash. I had knots in my stomach and I have had it ever since then. "Arriving at the airport even my parents said not to get on board the plane but there you go". Some 66 passengers onboard on the flight are now believed to have died when the plane dropped off the radar and reportedly crashed into the Mediterrnean sea. The plane had been cruising normally in clear skies for most of the journey before it sudden lurched left, then right and plummeted from 38,000ft without issuing a distress signal. Egyptian authorities have said that terrorism was the more likely explanation for the crash rather than engine failure. Some have speculated about whether it was a hijacking - a struggle in the cockpit would explain why the plane began to jerk violently before it fell out of the sky. The cause of the crash will not be known until the black box recorder is found among the wreckage. In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of a passenger who was flying aboard an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo overnight cries as family members are transported by bus to a gathering point at Cairo airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Security personnel are seen outside an Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport Reuters In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport AP In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives leave the Egyptair in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 reacts as she makes a phone call at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 wipes her tears as she is comforted by unidentified people at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 is escorted at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of missing EgyptAir flight MS804 are seen at Cairo Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Flight path of EgyptAir Flight MS804 Earlier on Friday, Egyptian state TV said the military had begun to uncover pieces of wreckage, body parts and passenger belongings in the sea around 290km north of Alexandria. The crashed EgyptAir plane, an Airbus A320 registration SU-GCC, is seen here taking off from Vienna in August 2015 (AP) No terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack - in contrast to the downing of a Russian aeroplane over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in October last year where Isis immediately said they had planted the bomb. European security officials have studied the flight manifest but there are no names on it that are on any terrorism watch lists. French aviation investigators have begun to question all baggage handlers, maintenance workers, gate agents and ground crew at Charles de Gaulle who had a direct or indirect link to the plane before it took off. France, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Britain have joined Egypt in the search in a wide area south of the Greek island of Crete. One British man, Richard Osman, died on board the flight along with 30 Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis, one Belgian, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi Arabian, one Canadian, one Portuguese, one Algerian, one Chadian and one Sudanese. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The pilot of the EgyptAir flight which crashed in the Mediterranean, Mohamed Saeed Shaqeer, has been described as a "highly disciplined captain" with a "good reputation". Mr Shaqeer, 36, had more than 6,000 hours of total flying time, while his co-pilot Mohamed Ahmed Mamdouh, 24, had more than 2,700. An Egyptian Interior Ministry official told the New York Times the men had no known political affiliations, and had passed their periodic background security checks. A Cairo airport official described Mr Shaqeer as kind and responsible and called the suggestion that either of the pilots might have downed the plane "preposterous". Both lived in Cairo, according to CNN. [Mr Shaqueer] is a very well trained, highly disciplined captain, EgyptAir Vice President Ahmed Adel said. He has a good reputation and was a good colleague of mine. Mike Vivian, former head of operations at the UKs Civil Aviation Authority, told Radio 4's Today programme he thought the planes sharp manoeuvres before disappearing from radar were more likely to be caused by a struggle in the cockpit than by a bomb. It looks highly unlikely that this was consistent with some sort of explosive device, he said. One's inclined to go towards the theory that there had been some interference in the aircraft and on the flight deck, with the control of the aircraft. Mr Mamdouh's father works as a flight crew member for EgyptAir, according to the Daily Beast. He wanted to be a pilot since he was five, his childhood friend Omar Nasef said. He was an unbelievable person, social. In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of a passenger who was flying aboard an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo overnight cries as family members are transported by bus to a gathering point at Cairo airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Security personnel are seen outside an Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport Reuters In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport AP In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives leave the Egyptair in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 reacts as she makes a phone call at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 wipes her tears as she is comforted by unidentified people at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 is escorted at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of missing EgyptAir flight MS804 are seen at Cairo Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Flight path of EgyptAir Flight MS804 His co-pilot's mother, Mona, is said to have passed away from cancer a few years ago. His mum put all her savings towards his education, Nasef said. The academy and all that, and its very expensive in Egypt. That was a big sacrifice. All that I know is that he loved flying, Nasef added. That was his dream job and thats it. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} US officials and analysts believe a catastrophic event downed EgyptAir flight MS804, although the cause remains uncertain. An anonymous intelligence source said the planes flight path and high speed of its descent suggested it fell like a rock. "All indications are that a catastrophic event took down the aircraft" as it passed over the Mediterranean Sea, they told CBS News, but it was unclear whether a mechanical failure, terror attack or other deliberate act was to blame. Welsh man on EgyptAir flight Egyptian officials said suspected wreckage from the Airbus A320 was found alongside passengers belongings on Friday morning. It was being taken to Cairo for analysis and could provide vital clues into the planes final moments. American reconnaissance satellites did not detect evidence of a large explosion on board, officials said, but the infrared data does not rule out the use of a smaller bomb. As seen with Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, the penetration of a small part of an aircrafts outer body can cause mid-air break-up and fatal decompression in the cabin. John Goglia, a former US.National Transportation Safety Board member, said early indications point more to a bomb than to a structural or mechanical failure, citing the lack of a distress call and sudden movements before the plane disappeared from radar. Given the fact that (the pilot) made those abrupt turns without broadcasting any maydays would indicate to me that something catastrophic like a device happened, he added. The analyst said a mechanical failure still has to be considered, but at this point I would put that down pretty low. In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of a passenger who was flying aboard an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo overnight cries as family members are transported by bus to a gathering point at Cairo airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Security personnel are seen outside an Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport Reuters In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport AP In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives leave the Egyptair in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 reacts as she makes a phone call at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 wipes her tears as she is comforted by unidentified people at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 is escorted at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of missing EgyptAir flight MS804 are seen at Cairo Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Flight path of EgyptAir Flight MS804 A structural failure, like a piece of the plane's aluminium skin ripping away from metal fatigue, was possible but unlikely, he added. Officials said the US had not ruled out any possible causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew. The White House has offered its deepest condolences over the disaster, which claimed the lives of all 66 people on board. At this time we do not yet know definitively what caused the disappearance of Flight 804, Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement. The United States stands ready to provide our full support and resources to the Governments of Egypt and France as they investigate this incident. Investigators will be hoping for the swift recovery of the planes flight recorders, or black boxes, to access sound recordings from the cockpit and detailed data. Egyptian authorities said the first possible debris was recovered from the Mediterranean Sea on Friday morning, including part of the wreckage that could provide vital clues. The Egyptian army said it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 north of Alexandria (AP) Despite widespread speculation that the plane's disappearance is terror-related, there has been no claim of responsibility and a marked lack of jihadist chatter online. There have been comparisons to the Metrojet crash on 31 October, which killed all 224 people on board. Isis' Egyptian affiliate, Wilayat Sinai, claimed responsibility for the disaster within hours of the plane going down in the Sinai peninsula. Supporters uploaded footage claiming to show the aircraft falling, while Isis released a propaganda statement celebrating the deaths of Russian crusaders. The group later said it had planted a bomb on board. The scheduled flight left Charles de Gaulle at 11.09pm on Wednesday (10.09 BST) and radar shows it continued on its normal path over Italy and Greece before starting to cross the Mediterranean. The last signal was picked up by Greek air traffic control at 2.27am (1.27am BST) and the countrys civil aviation ministry said the pilot did not respond to contact attempts as the plane headed towards Egyptian airspace. Egyptian authorities lost contact with the flight at around 2.30am (1.30am BST), 45 minutes before it was due to land at Cairo International Airport The Greek defence minister has said the plane suddenly started veering to the right and left just before it disappeared from radar. The crashed EgyptAir plane, an Airbus A320 registration SU-GCC, is seen here taking off from Vienna in August 2015 (AP) Panos Kammenos told a news conference flight MS804 had been cruising at an altitude of 37,000ft when it started rapidly losing altitude. It made sudden swerves first 90 degrees to the left, and then in a full circle in the opposite direction immediately after it entered Egyptian airspace, he said. The aircraft dropped by 22,000ft to 15,000ft before contact was lost at around 10,000ft. Investigators are investigating a report from a captain of a merchant ship who saw a flame in the sky at the time, off the island of Karpathos. Egypt's civil aviation minister said he believes the disaster was more likely to have been caused by a terror attack than technical failure. If you analyse the situation properly, the possibility of having a terror attack is higher than the possibility of having a technical (problem), Sherif Fathy told a news conference. Alexander Bortnikov, chief of Russias top domestic security agency, went further, saying: In all likelihood it was a terror attack. French President Francois Hollande said no hypothesis had been ruled out. When we have the truth we need to draw all the conclusions, he said. At this stage, we must give priority to solidarity toward the families." For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} As confidence in travel to Egypt is shaken by the disappearance of a flight bound for Cairo, focus on the safety of prospective holiday destinations is increasing. The countrys tourism industry was already suffering a steep decline following Isis downing of a Russian passenger plane from Sharm el-Sheikh and a wave of terror attacks, sparking warnings from the British Government. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advises against travel to western parts of Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, while warning of a high threat from terrorism elsewhere. Over 900,000 British nationals visit Egypt every year, the FCO said, adding that most visits are trouble-free but warns tourists to remain vigilant. British national on EgyptAir The country has seen particular focus on travel, with the downing of Metrojet flight 9268 in October sparking the suspension of flights between the UK and Sharm el-Sheikh. A spokesperson said no restrictions had been imposed following the EgyptAir crash as the cause is currently unknown but that the situation would be reviewed. All 66 people on board died when the plane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea in the fifth fatal passenger plane incident of the year. In February, an al-Shabaab suicide bomber killed himself but no one else when he detonated explosives on a flight from Mogadishu. A domestic flight crashed in Nepal in February, and another in Papua New Guinea in April, while plane from Dubai to Rostov-on-Don in Russia went down in March. Despite the total of 164 lives lost in 141 days, 2016 remains on course to be one of the safest years on record, but the security situation on the ground is deteriorating in several popular tourist destinations. One way to gauge the safety of prospective holiday locations is using the Global Peace Index, which takes into consideration countries security at home, militarisation and involvement in domestic and international conflict. (Independent/Statista (Independent/Statista) Like Egypt, Tunisia was favoured by British tourists for its beaches, historical sights, dependable weather and affordable package holidays. But Junes shooting massacre on a beach in Sousse, where 30 Brits were among the 38 victims killed, caused the FCO to advise against travel to the whole country. Previous terror attacks at the Bardo Museum and against security services had sparked concerns of a rising threat from supporters of Isis and al-Qaeda. The FCO said that despite good co-operation from the Tunisian government and additional security measures the intelligence and threat picture has developed considerably, reinforcing our view that a further terrorist attack is highly likely. On balance, we do not believe the mitigation measures in place provide adequate protection for British tourists in Tunisia at the present time, a spokesperson said. Increasing concerns over Islamist attacks in North Africa have been mirrored in other parts of the continent, where al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, al-Shabaab, Boko Haram and al-Mourabitoun are among the groups launching insurgencies and attacks. Countries popular for wildlife and safari tourism, like Kenya, have been affected by the threat. In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of a passenger who was flying aboard an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo overnight cries as family members are transported by bus to a gathering point at Cairo airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Security personnel are seen outside an Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport Reuters In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport AP In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives leave the Egyptair in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 reacts as she makes a phone call at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 wipes her tears as she is comforted by unidentified people at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 is escorted at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of missing EgyptAir flight MS804 are seen at Cairo Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Flight path of EgyptAir Flight MS804 Parts of South East Asia have also seen recent terror attacks, including a bombing at a Bangkok tourist attraction in August, and Januarys bombing and shooting attacks in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. The FCO also warns of local insurgencies and unrest in some areas, including in parts of Laos, the Philippines, India and Pakistan. Visitors to most parts of South America and the Caribbean are cautioned over violent crime rates, theft, as well as the threat of the Zika virus, although officials say most visits are trouble free. According to the Governments advice, the safest countries for travel are mostly in Europe, Australasia and North America, which have no restrictions. But since Isis seized swathes of Iraq and Syria in its 2014, a wave of international terror attacks has raised threat levels in the countries bombing its militants and their citizens. The US issued a global travel alert declaring itself the only safe nation in the wake of the Paris attacks, while the FCO warns that British citizens could be targeted abroad. There is considered to be a heightened threat of terrorist attack globally against UK interests and British nationals, from groups or individuals motivated by the conflict in Iraq and Syria, a spokesperson said. You should be vigilant at this time. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Mechanical failure Greek military sources have suggested that the MS804 jet made a series of violent swerves as it lost altitude. Some have speculated that a sudden, uncommanded thrust reverser deployment could be responsible, as it was for the Lauda Air Boeing 767 crash in Thailand in 1991. Do the jets maintenance records indicate any possible structural defect? Could there be a previously unidentified problem with the Airbus A320? Human intervention on the cockpit Captain Mike Vivian, former head of flight operations for the Civil Aviation Authority, said the Greek reports indicate a possible struggle in the cockpit: Ones inclined to go towards the theory that there had been some interference on the aircraft, and on the flight deck, with the control of the aircraft. If so, was the perpetrator a hijacker? A member of the crew? EgyptAir flight MS804 - What we know so far Terrorism After the loss of the Metrojet flight over the Sinai desert last October, believed to be due to a bomb loaded on board at Sharm el Sheikh, investigators will want to know if an explosive device was planted on board - and, if so, where and by whom? Could one of the passengers have taken control, even though three Egyptian security agents were on board? And could workers on the ground have assisted someone to take something on board that allowed them to gain control of the aircraft? In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of a passenger who was flying aboard an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo overnight cries as family members are transported by bus to a gathering point at Cairo airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Security personnel are seen outside an Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport Reuters In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport AP In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives leave the Egyptair in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 reacts as she makes a phone call at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 wipes her tears as she is comforted by unidentified people at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 is escorted at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of missing EgyptAir flight MS804 are seen at Cairo Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Flight path of EgyptAir Flight MS804 Pilot suicide Sadly, there have been multiple cases of pilots deliberately crashing and killing everyone on board - including according to American investigators, Egyptair flight 990 in 1999. The official report blamed: "Departure from normal cruise flight and subsequent impact with the Atlantic Ocean as a result of the relief first officers flight control inputs.. Egyptair, though, says From an impartial review of the factual evidence gathered during the investigation, it is clear that the [relief] first officer did not intentionally dive the aircraft into the ocean." Missile or mid-air crash? The eastern Mediterranean has plenty of military activity. Investigators will search for any evidence of a missile strike, or indeed if any other aircraft were in the vicinity of MS804, and could have collided with it. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A report into the biggest Isis stronghold outside of Syria and Iraq has documented the everyday effects on the lives of women under the militant Islamist regime. Human Rights Watch (HRW) observed developments in the Mediterranean port town of Sirte, in Libya, and found the self-proclaimed Islamic State is enforcing a severe interpretation of Sharia law on its inhabitants. Not satisfied with simply demanding that all women wear a black, unadorned abaya (robe) and niqqab (headdress), in August last year a decree was issued containing seven more rules about the garments. The diktat stated the garments must be think, loose and cover the whole body, and they must not be extravagant, decorative, scented or resembling the clothing of female infidels and men. Should Isis morality police find a woman or girl breaking the strict dress code their male relatives will be fined and flogged, often on the spot, residents say. According to the report, a 28-year-old woman, referred to only as 'Huda' said: We had to cover everything including our faces. If you show your hands, they fine your husband 75 dinars (37.50). If you show your feet, its 150 dinars (75). The second time it happens they give the husband a warning. The third time it happens, they whip him. Timeline: The emergence of Isis Show all 40 1 /40 Timeline: The emergence of Isis Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2000 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (pictured here) forms an al-Qaeda splinter group in Iraq, al-Qaeda in Iraq. Its brutality from the beginning alienates Iraqis and many al-Qaeda leaders. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2006 Al-Zarqawi is killed in a U.S. strike. Al-Zarqawis successor, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, announces the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI). Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2009 Still al-Qaeda-linked ISI claims responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 155 in Baghdad, as well as attacks in August and October killing 240, as President Obama announces troop withdrawal from Iraq in March. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2010 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi becomes head of ISI, at lowest ebb of Islamist militancy in Iraq, which sees last U.S. combat brigade depart. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2012 In Syria, protests (pictured here starting in Daree) have morphed into what president Assad labelled a real war with emergence of a coalition of forces opposed to Assads regime. Syria group Jabhat al-Nusra are among rebel groups who refuse to join, denouncing it as a conspiracy. Bombings targeting Shia areas, killing more than 500 people, spark fears of new sectarian conflict. Sunni Muslims stage protests across country against what they see as increasingly marginalisation by Shia-led government. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2013 Al-Baghdadi renames ISI as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or Isis, as the group absorbs Syrian al-Nusra, gaining a foothold in Syria. In response, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri (Bin Ladens successor) concerned about Isis expansion orders that Isis be dissolved and ISI operations should be confined to Iraq. This order is rejected by al-Baghdadi. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - January Isis fighters capture the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, giving them base to launch slew of attacks further south. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis declares itself the Caliphate, calling itself Islamic State (IS). The group captures Mosul, Iraqs second largest city; Tal Afar, just 93 miles from Syrian border; and the central Iraqi city of Tikrit. These advances sent shockwaves around the world. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Around the same time Isis releases a video calling for western Muslims to join the Caliphate and fight, prompting new evaluations of extremists groups social media understanding. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis take Baiji oil fields in Iraq - giving them access to huge amounts of possible revenue. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August James Foley is executed by the group as concerns grow for second American prisoner, fellow reporter Steven Sotloff. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August Obama authorises U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, helping to stall Isis along with action by Kurdish forces following the deaths of hundreds of Yazidi people on Mount Sinjar. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release video showing Steven Sotloffs murder prompting Western speculation his executioner is same man who killed Mr Foley. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Obama tells us that America will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release a video appearing to show David Haines, who was captured by militants in Syria in 2013, wearing an orange jumpsuit and kneeling in the desert while he reads a pre-prepared script. It later shows what appears to be the aid worker's body. Rex Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Peshmerga fighters scrabble to hold positions in the Diyala province (a gateway to Baghdad) as Isis fighters continue to advance on Iraqi capital. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Aid worker Alan Henning is killed. Self-imposed media blackout refuses to show images of him in final moments, instead focuses upon humanitarian care. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Isis raise their flag in Kobani, which had been strongly defended by Kurdish troops. The victory goes against hopeful western analysis Isis had overextended itself, while alienating much of the Muslim population through the murder of Henning. Victory causes fresh waves of Kurdish refugees arriving in Turkey. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - November American hostage, who embarced values of Islam, Peter Kassig and 14 Syrian soldiers are shown meeting the same fate as other captives. But intelligence agencies will be poring over the apparently significant discrepancies between this and previous films. Seramedig.org.uk Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis has released a video revealing the murder by burning to death of a Jordanian pilot held by the group since the end of December 2014. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have released videos which appear to show the beheading of Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February American aid worker, Kayla Mueller was the last American hostage known to be held by Isis. She died, according to her captors, in an airstrike by the Jordanian air force on the city of Raqqa in Syria, though US authorities disputed this. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have posted a gruesome video online in which they force 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian hostages to kneel on a beach in Libya before beheading them. Egypt vowed to avenge the beheading and launched air strikes on Isis positions. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February The British Isis militant suspected of appearing in videos showing the beheading of Western hostages has been named in reports as Mohammed Emwazi from London. Rex Features Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - March Isis triple suicide attack has killed more than 100 worshippers and hundreds of others were injured after the group members targeted two mosques in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Iraqi forces have claimed victory over Isis in battle for Tikrit and raised the flag in the city. EPA/STR Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan that killed at least 35 people queuing to collect their wages and injured 100 more. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis media arm released a 29-minute video purporting to show militants executing Ethiopian Christians captives. The footage bore the extremist groups al-Furqan media logo and showed the destruction of churches and desecration of religious symbols. A masked fighter made a statement threatening Christians who did not convert to Islam or pay a special tax. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis has been "incapacitated" by a spinal injuries sustained in a US air strike in Iraq. He is being treated in a hideout by two doctors from Isis stronghold of Mosul who are said to be "strong ideological supporters of the group". Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis has also claimed responsibility for killing 300 of Yazidi captives, including women, children and elderly people in Iraq AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis attack on Prophet Mohamed cartoon contest in Texas was its first action on US soil. Two gunmen were shot and killed after launching the attack at the exhibition. Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi have been named as the attackers at the Curtis Culwell Centre arena in Garland. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isiss deputy leader, Abu Alaa Afri, a former physics teacher who was thought to have taken charge of the deadly terrorist group, has been killed in a US-led coalition airstrike. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May US special forces have killed a senior Isis leader named as Abu Sayyaf in an operation aiming to capture him and his wife in Syria. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Iran-backed militias are sent to Ramadi by the Iraqi government to fight Isis militants who completed their capture of the city. Government soldiers and civilians were reportedly massacred by extremists as they took control and the army fled. Charred bodies were left littering the city streets as troops clung on to trucks speeding away from the city. Ramadi is the latest government stronghold to fall to the so-called Islamic State, despite air strikes by a US-led international coalition aiming to stop its advance in Iraq and Syria. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis rounded up civilians trapped in Palmyra and forced them to watch 20 people being executed in the historic citys ancient amphitheatre. The Unesco World Heritage site was overrun by militants, threatening the future of 2,000 year-old monuments and ruins. Thousands of Palmyras residents fled but many are still living within the city walls, while the UN human rights office in Geneva said it had received reports of Syrian government forces preventing people from leaving until they retreated from the city. Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May A group of Isis-affiliated fighters have captured a key airport in central Libya. The militants took control of the al-Qardabiya airbase in Sirte after a local militia tasked with defending the facility withdrew from their positions. Affiliates of Isis, already control large parts of Sirte, the birthplace of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and a former stronghold of his supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June The US Air Force has destroyed an Isis stronghold after an extremist let slip their location on social media. According the Air Force Times, General Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said that Airmen at Hulburt Field, Florida, used images shared by jihadists to track the location of their headquarters before destroying it in an airstrike. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Kurdish forces captured a key military base in a significant victory in Raqqa as well as town of Tell Abyad. YPG fighters, backed by US-led airstrikes and other rebels, consolidated their gains, when they seized the key town on the Syria-Turkey border. They are now just 30 miles to the north of Raqqa and have cut off a major supply route deep inside Isis-held territory. Ahmet Silk/Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has released gruesome footage claiming to show the murder of more than a dozen men by drowning, decapitation and using a rocket-propelled grenade as it seeks to boost morale among its fanatical supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has begun carrying out its threat to destroy structures in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, blowing up at least two monuments at the Unesco-protected site as Syrian government troops made advances on the Islamists positions. AFP Huda fled from her home in Sirte in March this year. Another women, known only as 'Ahlam', told HRW she was travelling in a car with her husband when an Isis enforcer stopped them. He made me raise my hands and when he saw they were bare he shouted at my husband to make me put on my gloves, she said. Both women said mothers were covering their daughters when they were as young as eight for fear of their husbands being fined or flogged. Another displaced resident, simply called 'Omar', told the human rights NGO that you had to go to specific stores controlled by Isis to buy underwear. Read more Shops are banned from selling frilly underwear, ornate accessories and perfume, and one resident told HRW the militant extremists had even banned the use of mannequins to display women's clothing. HRWs investigation called We feel we are cursed also found women and girls as young as 10 are forbidden to leave home without a male relative - or mahram. A Charter for the City ordered women to spend their time settling in the home refraining from leaving unless necessary, which, along with other aspects of the charter is widely policed. Huda told HRW: We had to have a male escort even to go shopping. We had no choice. Women in Sirte cannot object. 2016 is the 80th anniversary of the Unified Plan of the Development of the Tennessee River, the document that outlined TVA's integrated resource management approach to the Tennessee River system. The plan stressed that TVA was created to provide flood control, improve navigation and provide affordable electricity to the people of the Valley. TVA's hydroelectric system is the tangile symbol of our mission of serviceof taming the Tennessee River and improving life in the Valley. Since Norris was the first TVA-constructed and first TVA-built project to operate, TVA is hosting a public event centered around Norris to kick off a yearlong recognition of the dams that TVA built. Mark your calendar: The event will take place on Friday, July 29, and Saturday, July 30, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. The festivities will include: Tours of the powerhouse and dam Family fun and activities Music and food All parking will be at the Museum of Appalachia with shuttles running to a from the site. Water bottles and sunscreen are welcome, but we ask that chairs, coolers and pets stay home. People who plan to attend the event an need special help should call (865) 632-6000. Wheeler Dam also turns 80 this year. Below are the dates of our other dams' initial operations. Follow us on the web this year to learn more about each dam in our series, "Built for the People: Celebrating TVA's Dams": Norris July 28, 1936 July 28, 1936 Wheeler November 9, 1936 November 9, 1936 Pickwick Landing June 29, 1938 June 29, 1938 Guntersville August 1, 1936 August 1, 1936 Chickamauga March 4, 1940 March 4, 1940 Hiwassee May 21, 1940 May 21, 1940 Watts Barr February 11, 1942 February 11, 1942 Cherokee April 16, 1942 April 16, 1942 Douglas March 21, 1943 March 21, 1943 Ocoee No. 3 April 3, 1943 April 3, 1943 Apalachia September 22, 1943 September 22, 1943 Fort Loudoun November 9, 1943 November 9, 1943 Kentucky September 14, 1944 September 14, 1944 Fontana January 20, 1945 January 20, 1945 Watauga August 30, 1949 August 30, 1949 South Holston February 13, 1951 February 13, 1951 Boone March 16, 1953 March 16, 1953 Fort Patrick Henry December 5, 1953 December 5, 1953 Chatuge December 9, 1954 December 9, 1954 Nottley January 10, 1954 January 10, 1954 Melton Hill January 10, 1956 January 10, 1956 Nickajack February 20, 1968 February 20, 1968 Tims Ford March 1, 1972 March 1, 1972 Normandy January 5, 1976 January 5, 1976 Tellico November 29, 1979 - See more at: https://tva.com/Newsroom/Come-Help-Us-Celebrate-TVA-Dams!#sthash.7sYY0Bii.dpuf For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A man has had his penis cut off following a dispute over payment with a sex worker. The mans genitals were placed in a black paper bag and he was admitted to hospital in Nakuru, Kenya, bleeding excessively. Investigators are now searching for the alleged attacker. Recommended Read more Kenya could be about to end forced anal examinations of gay men The man is thought to have had sex with a woman working as a prostitute but the pair had not agreed on payment, leading to the alleged attack. Local police Chief Stephen Macharia said: "The victim told me that he picked the woman from the streets but unfortunately they did not agree on payment in exchange for sex, only for her to attack him with a sharp knife." Authorities said they recovered two blood-stained knives from the victims house. After the attack, the man was discovered by his nephew. His aunt later arrived and described the scene: "Being a woman, my nephew did not explain to me what transpired but I was shocked the house was full of blood including his clothing, she told local newspaper The Standard. He called the taxi driver who rushed him to the hospital, she added. "He was in deep pain when I found him in the house, the taxi driver told the newspaper. He said that a woman, whom he picked from the streets, had chopped off his manhood." The driver said the man also managed to tell him his genitals were in a black paper bag but was unconscious when he was admitted to hospital. "The patient was received bleeding excessively after his private parts were chopped off, said Gender Violence Recovery Centre officer, Angela Gwaro. He was taken to theatre and his condition has been stabilised." Urologists will now work with the man to find a way to allow him to urinate. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The mans family have expressed their sorrow at the castration. His mother said: "I received a phone call from my sister informing me that my son had been stabbed, but she did not explain under which circumstances." "I have never seen or witnessed such an act apart from hearing it from media. Now it has happened to my son. It is sad because I wanted to see him raise a happy family to continue with our family lineage." Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} As the US supreme court is battling whether or not to uphold one of the most aggressive assaults on womens healthcare in recent history and shut down abortion clinics in Texas, women are facing a myriad of other hurdles and restrictions to access health care across the country. From anesthetizing patients to putting them in prison, the Center for Reproductive Rights has documented the loopholes that lawmakers are proposing and signing into law to deter women from aborting their pregnancies and thereby chip away at their fundamental rights. 1) Defund Planned Parenthood Despite one in five women relying on the family planning clinic during their lifetime, the US House of Representatives voted in September 2015 to strip the organization of all national funding which is dedicated to providing basic health care services, including contraception and breast cancer screening. It is also the largest abortion provider in the country. 2) Force clinics to shut down due to stringent requirements If stopping funding is not an option, lawmakers can place an increasingly strenuous list of obligations on clinics and physicians. This includes asking doctors to have "admitting privileges", meaning they can walk in freely to a hospital situated within 30 miles of the clinic if needed, or demanding that clinics are equipped to the same standards as walk-in surgical centers. For example, there is just one clinic in Mississippi. The Jackson Womens Health Organization is fighting to keep its doors open. Now that the state governor has banned second trimester abortions, the waiting list alone could stop women from getting an abortion. Recommended Read more Oklahoma passes bill to make abortion a criminal offense 3) Anesthetise women during their abortions - unnecessarily Like the thought of being knocked out instead of just taking a pill? The governor of Utah signed a bill in March to force women to be anesthetized if they get an abortion after 20 weeks, causing unnecessary health risks to the mother. The law, the first of its kind, is to ensure that the foetus does not feel pain. A similar law was vetoed in Montana. 4) Delays, and more delays In Louisiana, women face a mandatory 24-hour delay when they need abortion services. This might triple to 72 hours soon if state lawmakers get their way. There are a myriad of other house bills passing through the state senate which seek to ban second trimester pregnancies, ban abortion medication and stop women from having abortions if the foetus is discovered to have genetic abnormalities. Senator Wendy Davis putting the time in with 11 hour filibuster to stop anti-abortion bill Show all 7 1 /7 Senator Wendy Davis putting the time in with 11 hour filibuster to stop anti-abortion bill Senator Wendy Davis putting the time in with 11 hour filibuster to stop anti-abortion bill 28-trendinghours-ap.jpg AP Senator Wendy Davis putting the time in with 11 hour filibuster to stop anti-abortion bill wendy2.jpg Senator Wendy Davis putting the time in with 11 hour filibuster to stop anti-abortion bill senate3.jpg Senator Wendy Davis putting the time in with 11 hour filibuster to stop anti-abortion bill wendy-senate.jpg Senator Wendy Davis putting the time in with 11 hour filibuster to stop anti-abortion bill wendy3.jpg Senator Wendy Davis putting the time in with 11 hour filibuster to stop anti-abortion bill wendy4.jpg Senator Wendy Davis putting the time in with 11 hour filibuster to stop anti-abortion bill wendy1.jpg 5) Force patients to give up more time and money In Florida, lawmakers recently tried to force women to make at least one additional trip to the doctor before they could receive legal abortion care. It was blocked by the state supreme court. If it had passed, it could have acted to stigmatize women and abortion providers, and impose additional travel time, costs and time off work - all virtually impossible for many low-income women. If a women has a pregnancy which threatens her health, or the pregnancy occcured due to rape or incest, there would have been no exceptions to this rule. 6) Make women dwell on the unborn foetus Thanks to a law in Oklahoma, abortion doctors are forced to give women seeking an abortion an ultrasound, and then display and describe the image of the foetus. The countries with anti-women laws Show all 5 1 /5 The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws 7) Imprisonment Also in Oklahoma, if you have an abortion you could spend up to three years in prison. Republican governor Mary Fallin has just five days to sign this measure into law. There are only two safe and legal abortion providers in the state after a Texas-style clinic shutdown. 8) Lying to patients In Arizona, a measure which has recently been reversed would have forced doctors to lie to patients and say that it may be possible to reverse a medication abortion. The so-called junk science law has been opposed by the American Medical Association and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Not only that, doctors would also have advised women to follow guidance on an FDA label from the 1990s rather than use the approved, new label which reflects updated medical science. Although the Republican governor Doug Ducey reversed these measures, it was he who signed them into law in the first place in March. 9) Ban abortions really early on Another measure that failed to pass was in North Dakota. Politicians there wanted to ban abortions at six weeks. The supreme court refused to review it, meaning that the law has been blocked. It was described as the earliest and most extreme abortion ban in the US, besides that of Oklahoma. 10) Take away the easiest way of aborting a pregnancy - a pill The Virginia governor has twice vetoed a measure which would force women to undergo additional, invasive surgery to abort a pregnancy rather than take a pill. 11) Take away your health care insurance As in the case of Zubik v Burwell, various religious-affiliated organizations sought to meddle with their employees' right to access affordable insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act. In November, the US supreme court heard seven cases where employers argued that the one-page form they had to fill in to allow their employees to get third party insurance coverage was a substantial burden on their beliefs. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Brazils interim President Michel Temer is brushing off critics appalled by his failure to include a single woman in his 23-member cabinet saying he will consider females a little further ahead. It is also, remarkably, all white. The country club-looking team was assembled by Mr Temer after he replaced President Dilma Rousseff following her suspension a week ago to face an impeachment trial. It has fueled suspicion on the left that he is returning Brazil to a model of government-by-the-elite amidst a wholesale rejection of the progressive legacy left by Ms Rousseffs now displaced Workers Party. Recommended Read more Dilma Rousseff leaves office calling herself victim of a coup In a meeting with female members on Congress last week, Mr Temer offered no concrete action to add diversity to the cabinet - whites make up less than half the countrys population - and merely pleaded for patience with a promise to add women to the goverment down the line. He asked us for some time, Josi Nunes, a member of Mr Temers Democratic Movement Party, told reporters after the confab in Brasilia. I told him that in the decision-making table of the ministries it is necessary to have a woman. He also said he will work on issues of women, the elderly, the young and the handicapped. Ms Rousseff offered her own tart assessment of Mr Temers ministerial picks on her Facebook page suggesting that women would rather not be treated like a decorative fetish. If, as most people expect, she is found guilty of fixing the countrys budget books at her trial, Mr Temer, 75, would serve out what would have been the remainder of her second term to the end of 2018. It may not have helped that Mr Temer indicated that should Ms Rousseff be permanently ousted he had his wife, Marcela Temer, a 32-year-old former model, in mind to head social policy in his government. Quizzed in a televised interview if she was qualified, he said, Yes, she is a lawyer and has a lot of concern of social issues. It does not appear she is a lawyer, however. For a moment, it looked like we had retrogressed to the start of the last century, despaired Luiza Nagib Eluf, a former prosecutor, author and columnist. There was also a rebuke last week from the Washington DC-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, an agency the Organisation of American States. The designation of a cabinet of ministers that does not include any women or persons of African descent leaves more than half the population excluded from the highest government offices, IACHR said in a press statement. The last time Brazil had a cabinet with no female ministers was during the military dictatorship. The urgency and complexity of the challenges facing Mr Temer, combined with the fragility of his own coalition in Congress, means the storm over his cabinet profile will not be his greatest concern for now. In addition to Brazils daunting economic crisis, he faces intense pressure to tackle the nations ongoing corruption scandal involving Petrobras, the state oil giant. There is also the ongoing Zika virus to contain, in addition to completing preperations for the Summer Olympic Games that open in Rio de Janeiro in August. He may also feel more or less free to ignore those railing against him since he was neither elected to the top job nor, he says, will he run after 2018. I do not need to practice gestures or actions leading to a possible re-election. I can even be shall we say unpopular as long as it produces benefits for the country. For me, that would be enough, he told a local news station. On Thursday, Mr Temer picked a new head of Petrobras in hopes of giving the deeply troubled corporation a clean sheet. The appointment of Pedro Parente, a former chief of staff and energy minister under former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, will be considered by the board on Monday. Shares in Petrobras ticked up sharply on Friday in reaction to the choice. Yet, Mr Temer further shocked observers by choosing seven ministers who have directly been cited in the Petrobras probe, involving graft and kick-backs. Three of them, including planning minister Romero Juca, are under formal investigation. Mr Temer has also been mentioned in the probe; should he come under direct investigation, his hold on power might quickly slip. Last week Mr Temer was also forced to clean up a mess left by his just-appointed Justice Minister, Alexandre de Moraes, after he made remarks suggesting the new government was about to challenge the independence of the state prosecutors office, which in turn fueled suspicion that it was looking for ways to stymie the ongoing graft investigations. The many-tentacled probe has already ensnared top figures both of Ms Rousseffs Workers Party and of Mr Temers Democratic Movement Party. Mr Temer said he would not attempt to interfere with the investigation and would dismiss any minister charged directly in the case. Better marks have been awarded to him by economists who wonder how quickly the interim president can move to reverse Brazils economic spiral, which has seen the countrys budget deficit reach dangerous proportions, an alarming decline in economic output and rising unemployment, which together have created the worst recession since the 1930s. Mr Temer picked a widely respected former central bank president, Henrique Meirelles, as his finance minister and one of the countrys most admired economists, Ilan Goldfajn, of Brazil's largest private sector bank Itau Unibanco, as its new central bank governor. The austerity prescriptions that are surely coming - a scaling back of underfunded pension commitments as well severe cuts in other areas of social spending - will, however, confirm the shift away from the progressivism championed by the Workers Party of Ms Rousseff and her predecessor as president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, towards a more neoliberal future for Brazil. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} For an actor, reeling off endless lines of Shakespeare is a demanding job. Shouting it over the din of planes, helicopters and ambulance sirens whizzing past New Yorks Central Park is even tougher. Doing it all naked however, in front of hundreds of onlookers who would do that? An all-female cast as it turns out. Made up of individual actors as well as members of the Outdoor Co-ed Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society. They're currently performing their thoroughly modern version of The Tempest in Central Park. Surrounded by lush grass and green trees, while the audience settles itself on the ground and on benches at the iconic Summit Rock, a naked Miranda (Marisa Roper) is wandering around her supposed tropical island, picking up sticks and dropping them again. She is approached by a lost tourist with a map. She admirably ignores him and carries on acting her part. She is joined by her father Prospero (Gina Marie Russell), who really commands her nakedness, striding around and brandishing her stick to conjure all that manipulation and illusion to make sure Miranda is restored to her rightful place in society. As the plot evolves, the rest of the cast appear, some in body paint, some in clothes, but by the end, all 11 women are butt naked and taking a bow. Why naked? The company said not wearing clothes is about body freedom and free expression, and that those freedoms should not be taken for granted, even in a state so liberal that it has two democratic senators. Topless Tempest in New York's Central Park Show all 9 1 /9 Topless Tempest in New York's Central Park Topless Tempest in New York's Central Park Topless Tempest Reanna Roane, as Ariel, perches on a rock in Central Park during the Outdoor Co-Ed Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society theater company's performance of Shakespeare's The Tempest, Thursday, May 19, 2016, in New York. Associated Press Topless Tempest in New York's Central Park A sign directs people to a "stripped-down," free performance of Shakespeare's The Tempest Associated Press Topless Tempest in New York's Central Park Reanna Roane as Ariel, creeps up behind Sarah Sutliff as Alonso Associated Press Topless Tempest in New York's Central Park Led by Reanna Roane, second from left, as "Ariel," a group of supernatural spirits emerge from the woods at Central Park's Summit Rock Associated Press Topless Tempest in New York's Central Park Led by Reanna Roane, second from left, as "Ariel," a group of supernatural spirits emerge from the woods at Central Park's Summit Rock Associated Press Topless Tempest in New York's Central Park Kara Lynn, left, as Ferdinand, and Marisa Roper, as Miranda Topless Tempest in New York's Central Park Kara Lynn, left, as Ferdinand, and Marisa Roper as Miranda Associated Press Topless Tempest in New York's Central Park Kara Lynn, left, as Ferdinand, and Marisa Roper as Miranda Associated Press Topless Tempest in New York's Central Park Gina Marie Russell, left, as the sorcerer Prospero, and Marisa Roper as Miranda Associated Press The play may be free, but novelty is aplenty. Half way through the 90-minute performance, the colourfully painted Ariel (Reanna Rone) and her companions run towards the audience and guide them higher up the rock to sit on a different patch of grass. Unlike the much coveted tickets for the annual Free Shakespeare in the Park, this production of The Tempest was keen to encourage passers-by to take a look. In such a busy and eccentric city as New York, these women are braver than most. One elderly man was stood near the back row with his binoculars out (below), while another was snorting loudly, punching his hand into his fist and wandering around in small circles. (The Independent (The Independent) In the final scenes, the audience watches, rather uncomfortable on the ground, as Miranda unites with Ferdinand (Kara Lynn), the prince of Naples. The women sit side by side on the bough of a tree, smiling at each other. They look like twins and its slightly odd. Directed by Alice Mottola and Pitr Strait, the actors make good use of the space, and they do an incredible job of not forgetting their lines amid the craziness of the park. But the pitfalls of setting a Shakespeare play so close to the road means everything serves as a distraction, including the police cars, the eagle flying overhead or was it a seagull? and the bizarre members of the audience, who, at points, were each worth a closer look than the production itself. It felt like one had once again stumbled upon a group of students from a university society who have dressed up in medieval garb and are play-fighting in the woods. Woman strips naked in Paris museum and films it There is an important point to it, but sometimes its easy to forget what. The Tempest will play at 2.30pm at Summit Rock, New York City on Friday 20 May Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A Christian school in Kansas is at the centre of mounting controversy after it emerged that it reserved the right to expel students if any of their family members were gay or transgender. A so-called Statement of Understanding sent to parents who wish to send their children to the private school located in Wichita, requires them to agree that a student who attends can he asked to leave if their home life promotes anything counter to the schools understanding of a biblical lifestyle. All pupils and parents are required to sign the document. Given the debate and confusion in our society about marriage and human sexuality it is vital that Trinity families agree with and support the schools traditional, Christian understanding of those issues, says the document, first obtained by Patheos.com. The document was first uncovered by the Patheos.Com website Therefore, when the atmosphere or conduct within a particular home is counter to the schools understanding of a biblical lifestyle, including the practice or promotion of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) lifestyle or alternative gender identity, the school should have the right, in its sole discretion, to deny the admission of an applicant or discontinue enrollment of a current student. Pink News reported that the schools website features a more friendly faith statement that says: We believe in a biblical perspective for all areas of life. In the social arena, Trinity Academy seeks to impart a respect for the sanctity of life and an abhorrence for the sins of idolatry, abortion, euthanasia, sexual impurity, racism, lying, stealing, gossip, slander, greed, injustice, prejudice, and the abuse of the body through the use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Title IX of the Education Act, written in 1972, means schools with public funding cannot discriminate against LGBT students, the newspaper said. The school's motto is 'truth, faith, character' (Trinity Academy) However, religious schools are able to request exemptions, while private schools are not always bound by the legislation. A release from the federal Department for Education revealed last month that a 232 religious institutions had received exemptions from anti-discrimination rules, with 31 pending requests. The school, which has 322 pupils, did not immediately respond to inquiries on Friday. Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, which campaigns for sexual equality, said: The alarming and growing trend of schools quietly seeking the right to discriminate against LGBT students, and not disclosing that information publicly, is what spurred our call for greater transparency. We believe that religious liberty is a bedrock principle of our nation, however, faith should never be used as a guise for discrimination. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} US lawmakers have passed a measure to allow Veterans Administration doctors to recommend medical marijuana to patients in states where the drug is legal. The bill was introduced by Democrat Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and acts to strike down a restriction on these doctors which prevents them from recommending medical marijuana for treatment of pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, and as a way to deal with growing numbers of opioid abuse and suicides. I have been deeply troubled about our inability to adequately deal with our returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr Blumenauer said, as reported by The Huffington Post. A lot of them are suffering from PTSD, chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, and these are all conditions that have been shown to respond to medical marijuana. Recommended Read more Illinois lawmakers pass marijuana decriminalization bill Currently veterans seeking medical marijuana had to pay for it out of their own pocket, outside of the VA system. The drug is legal in 24 states as well as the District of Colombia. The House of Representatives passed the Veterans Equal Access Amendment by 233-189. Later on Thursday, the senate voted in another massive spending measure on Thursday, ushering in $81.6 billion for veterans and military construction programs, and also using similar language on medical marijuana. Pot smokers in Colorado welcome 'Green Wednesday' as marijuana sales become legal Show all 2 1 /2 Pot smokers in Colorado welcome 'Green Wednesday' as marijuana sales become legal Pot smokers in Colorado welcome 'Green Wednesday' as marijuana sales become legal Colorado-AP.jpg AP Pot smokers in Colorado welcome 'Green Wednesday' as marijuana sales become legal Cannabis-colorado_1.jpg AP Photo/Brennan Linsley Republican Senator Steve Daines of Montana told Bloomberg: A veteran, whether they walk into a VA facility or a non-VA facility, should have the same options available to them. The senate measure includes new coverage for fertility treatment and $57 million for housing. Subject to approval from president Barack Obama, the law could go into effect next year. Medical marijuana can also be used as an alternative to prescription painkillers or antidepressants, but the Drug Enforcement Agency claims there is no currently accepted medical use and classifies marijuana in the most dangerous category. The DEA said in April it plans to decide whether to reclassify the drug at some point this year. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump traded his usual crooked Hillary nickname for his likely Democrat opponent in the presidential election in November, Hillary Clinton, using an appearance at the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual convention to label her heartless Hillary instead. The former first lady and likely Democratic standard-bearer will render Americans everywhere helpless in the face of violence by taking away their firearms, Mr Trump told an enthusiastic audience. And thats why we are going to call her heartless Hillary. In one of the less surprising turns in the election derby thus far, the NRA, the main force championing gun ownership rights in America and fighting any and all attempts to pass gun control, said on Friday it was endorsing the New York billionaire for president. If your preferred candidate dropped out of the race, it's time to get over it, the organisation tweeted, shortly before Trump took the stage in Louisville, Kentucky. What to do about Americas scourge of gun violence, marked by a seemingly endless march of mass shootings - or not do about it - is almost certain to become an area of sharp debate and disagreement between the two partys candidates as the November election approaches. President Barack Obama has publicly lamented his failure to persuade Congress to enact meaningful legislation even in the aftermath of the Newtown school shooting two years ago that left 26 people dead, most of them small children. Ms Clinton has vowed to press the issue even harder, often portraying her Democratic rival, Bernie Sanders, as being to soft on the issue. People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Show all 8 1 /8 People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Miley Cyrus 'God he thinks he is the f***ing chosen one or some shit! Honestly f*** this sh*t I am moving if this is my president! I dont say things I dont mean!' Jemal Countess/Getty Images People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Whoopi Goldberg 'I dont think thats America. I dont want it to be America. Maybe its time for me to move you know' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Samuel L. Jackson 'If that mother**er becomes president, Im moving my black ass to South Africa' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Raven Symone 'My confession for this election is, if any Republican gets nominated, Im gonna move to Canada with my entire family. Is that bad? I already have my ticket. I literally bought my ticket, I swear' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Cher 'If he were to be elected, I'm moving to Jupiter' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Neve Campbell 'Im terrified. Its really scary. My biggest fear is that Trump will triumph. I cannot believe that he is still in the game ... [I'll] move back to Canada' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Jon Stewart 'I would consider getting in a rocket and going to another planet, because clearly this planets gone bonkers' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Randy Blythe 'He could just be a clown. If he is the president, though, I am leaving America 'till he's gone' By contrast, Mr Trump has repeatedly argued at rallies that far fewer victims would have died at incidents like the Paris terrorist massacre last year or the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, shortly before Christmas, if the victims had been carrying their own weapons. Even as Mr Trump was speaking in Kentucky, the news networks jumped to Washington DC where an apparent would-be intruder at the White House was shot in the stomach by the Secret Service. Warming up the crowd in Louisville, NRA Director Chris Cox said Ms Clinton has a legitimate chance to be the next president as long as people like us stay home, stay on the sidelines, adding: We have to defeat her, because America can't survive eight years of her policies. Throwing red meat to an eager audience, Mr Trump said Ms Clinton would abolish the Second Amendment, the sacred text to the NRA referencing the rights of Americans to bear arms. The convention doubles as a political echo chamber for guns rights advocates and a massive sales exhibition for enthusiasts looking for the latest in, say, colored rifles for children, or petite pistols for weekend shopping visits to the mall (where allowed). There is a tremendous crime of all kinds in America, Mr Trump announced, giving no quarter to those who would argue that much of that crime involves use of deadly guns. Hillary wants to disarm vulnerable Americans in high-crime neighborhoods, he offered. Whether it's a young single mom in Florida or a grandmother in Ohio, Hillary wants them to be defenseless. Wants to take away any chance they have of survival, he added. Ms Clinton has insisted she respects the Second Amendment to the Constitution, but does advocate a series of measures to make gun ownership safer, including a reinstatement of a federal ban on the sale of assault weapons and reinforcement of background checks for anyone buying guns. In a 2000 book, Mr Trump said he supported an assault weapons ban and favoured extending waiting times for anyone to buy a gun. He has since abandoned both positions and said he would like to make it easier for law-abiding citizens to purchase firearms. He also has spoken specifically of ending gun freeze zones and allowing school staff to carry guns in classrooms. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Mexico has approved the extradition of notorious drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman to the US to face federal drug trafficking charges, almost five months since he was recaptured following an elaborate escape from a Mexican maximum-security prison. Guzmans lawyers have 30 days to appeal the extradition ruling, which means the Sinaloa cartel boss may not be transported across the border for several months. The Mexican Foreign Relations Department received a guarantee from the US that Guzman would not face capital punishment, the Associated Press reported. Mexico no longer has the death penalty. Recommended Read more El Chapo drama series coming to Netflix and Univision Guzman, who is thought to be around 60 years old, escaped from Altiplano prison near Mexico City in July 2015, reportedly via a tunnel that led directly from beneath the shower in his cell to a building one mile beyond the walls. He was recaptured by Mexican marines in January at a hideout in Los Mochis, a city on the Pacific coast of Sinaloa, his home state. At least 20 prison officials were arrested last year in connection with his escape, including the former head of the Mexican federal prison system and the former director of the Altiplano prison itself. The incident was a major embarrassment for the Mexican government and called into question whether the countrys prison system could guarantee his long-term detention. Earlier this month, Guzman was transferred by the Mexican authorities to a prison close to the US border in preparation for extradition. El Chapo whose nickname translates as Shorty, a reference to his 56 stature is the feared boss of the powerful and ruthless Sinaloa cartel. He has now been imprisoned three times since his first arrest in 1993, and escaped twice: first in 2001, when he broke out of the maximum-security Puente Grande prison in Jalisco state. It was reported that he had escaped with the help of guards who hid him in a laundry cart, though that version of events is disputed. He was on the run between 2001 and 2014, when he was again arrested. In 2013, Chicago designated Guzman its Public Enemy Number One, with federal agents saying his organisation supplied most of the drugs sold on the citys streets, more than 2,000 miles from Sinaloa. Drug trafficking is widely blamed as the underlying cause of Chicagos epidemic of street violence. Earlier this week it was announced that Netflix and the Spanish-language TV network Univision are to co-produce a drama about the drug lords life, entitled El Chapo. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The controversy in the US over transgender peoples use of toilets erupted afresh in Washington DC where a security guard allegedly stopped a transgender woman from using the ladies lavatory in a supermarket. The security guard - who was female - allegedly told 32-year-old Ebony Belcher: You guys cant use our womens restroom. Reports said the incident happened at a Giant Food supermarket in the nations capital, where Ms Belcher had tried to use the womens bathroom. According to an incident report filed by police and obtained by local media, the guard, 45-year-old Francine Jones, told her she could not enter and pushed her out. The guard allegedly used a homophobic slur and added: They did not pass the law yet. Giant has issued a statement apologising for what happened Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck told the Associated Press Ms Jones was charged with assault, which is listed on the report as a suspected hate crime. Giant apologised in a statement, saying the guard acted inappropriately during the incident on Wednesday. Ms Jones was employed by Wolf Professional Security, which is based in Baltimore. Neither she nor the companys lawyer have yet commented. After she left the store, Ms Belcher called 911, the statement said, and Ms Jones was then arrested. Ms Belcher said she was left emotionally hurt from the incident. Its terrible....Im distraught, she told WJLA. People should not be discriminated based on their gender identity. Ahold USA, the parent company of Giant, said in a statement: Giant has a longstanding commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive environment in which all associates and all customers are treated fairly and with respect at all times. It added: We view the choice of restroom as a personal matter, and if any customer feels uncomfortable at any point shopping in our stores for any reason, we encourage them to speak to a member of store management, who have both the experience and the discretion to address all issues. The issue of transgender peoples use of lavatories has become an increasingly testing issue, with several states passing laws that force a person to use the toilet assigned for their gender at birth, rather than how they identify. North Carolina has experienced conservable backlash from business and performers, who have sought to cut links with the state after it passed such a bill. The Obama administration has responded by issuing a directive that told every public school district in the country to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that matched their gender identity. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A culmination of racially charged incidents involving police in San Francisco has resulted in the resignation of the citys top officer. For months, the city's mayor, Ed Lee, had supported police chief Greg Suhr as the city reeled from the shooting of a young black man who was carrying a knife, and the release of racist text messages from officers. But the mayor's support for his police chief became untenable after the fatal shooting this week of a young black woman who was driving a stolen vehicle and driving to elude officers. When the vehicle crashed, officers approached the vehicle, tried to grab her and one of them fired a shot that killed the 27-year-old. Protesters had called for the police chief to stand down (AP) On Thursday, Mr Lee asked for Mr Suhrs resignation. The progress we've made has been meaningful, but it hasnt been fast enough, Mr Lee said in a brief statement. Not for me, not for Greg. The Associated Press said that pressure had been mounting for the resignation of Mr Suhr since December, when five officers fatally shot a young black man who had been carrying a knife. Since then, there had been protests, moves to reform the police department and a federal review of its protocol. Last April, it was disclosed that three officers had exchanged racist text messages. Mr Suhr was criticised for moving too slowly to fire the offending officers, all of whom have retained their jobs because of the chief's failure to start disciplinary action when he first found out about the inappropriate messages. Protesters demanding Mr Suhr's resignation drowned out the mayors second inaugural speech in January, and demonstrators forced the mayor to abandon a planned speech on Martin Luther King Jr Day later that month. The incident involving the shooting of a young black woman took place on Thursday in an industrial neighbourhood where police officers were searching for stolen vehicles. The officers came across a 27-year-old black woman sitting behind the wheel of a parked car and, when the officers turned on the patrol cars lights and sounded its siren, the woman sped off in the stolen car. A few second later and about 100 feet away, the stolen car slammed into a parked truck, the news agency said. Officers then approached the car, where the woman was shot. This is exactly the kind of thing with all the reforms we are trying to prevent, Mr Suhr said on Thursday, less than two hours after the shooting and before he resigned. He has not yet commented since offering his resignation. Neither the police nor the San Francisco Medical Examiner has released the identity of the dead woman. She was shot in the same neighbourhood where the five officers shot and killed Mario Woods, the 26-year-old black man carrying a knife. Video of the shooting circulated widely online and led to protests and calls for Mr Suhr's resignation. This week in the Arts: Thursday, May 19 The Emerson String Quartet at the Hunter Museum of American Art Burlesque: Babes In Toyland at Barking Legs Theater Salt Of The Earth at The Heritage House The Best of SCIPE at St. John United Methodist Church Friday, May 20 Harrison Scott Key, South Bound Lectures at the Arts Building Homeschool Workshop at the Hunter Museum of American Art Burlesque: Babes In Toyland at Barking Legs Theater A Standard Flower Show at St. Augustine Catholic ChurchCambridge Square Night MarketDavenport Brothers Band at the North River Civic CenterDeath of a Salesman at the Mars TheatreSaturday, May 21Young Artists Art Classes (Ages 6-11) at Townsend AtelierYoung Artists Art Classes (Ages 7-12) at Townsend AtelierWings and Whiskey at the First Tennessee PavilionChattanooga River Market at the Tennessee AquariumSunset on the Pond at the Rossville Duck PondYears of Art Exhibit at ArtcraftersBluegrass All Night Open Mic at Harrison Riritan ClubUnCorked! at the Renaissance ParkVocal Confidence Workshop at Mountain Art Community CenterA Standard Flower Show at St. Augustine Catholic ChurchDeath of a Salesman at the Mars TheatreSunday, May 22Rick Springfield: Stripped Down at the Tivoli TheatreChattanooga Market Mountain View BluegrassDeath of a Salesman at the Mars TheatreArtist Series Concert at St. Paul's Episcopal ChurchMonday, May 23Oil Painting II at Townsend AtelierTuesday, May 24No scheduled events on this dayWednesday, May 25Drawing 102 at Townsend AtelierCollegedale Market at Collegedale CommonsThursday, May 26Art + Issues Event at the Hunter Museum of American ArtPSC opens Gallery and Reception at BlackwellFriday, May 27Metal Works Show & Reception at Artisan DepotThe Importance of Being Earnest In the Face of the Zombie Apocalypse at Mars TheatreCambridge Square Night MarketSaturday, May 28Sid the Science Kid Exhibit at the Creative Discovery MuseumChattanooga River Market at the Tennessee AquariumSpring Arts in the Park at Blue Ridge Mountains Arts AssociationThe Importance of Being Earnest In the Face of the Zombie Apocalypse at Mars TheatreSunday, May 29Rick Springfield: Stripped Down at the Tivoli TheatreThe Importance of Being Earnest In the Face of the Zombie Apocalypse at Mars TheatreCurrent Ongoing Exhibits and CollectionsArtist-in-Residence Arni Katz at the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts AssociationRiver Gallery May ExhibitMixed Media Inspired Artists Contemporary Voyages at Harris Art CenterPSC Summer Season Gallery Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} When police arrived at the yellow-brick house in Garland, Tex., on the afternoon of Aug. 17, 2010, they found Alan Nevil lying near death in a neighbors yard. He had been shot five times. One bullet was lodged in his throat. His wife, Darlene, was found dead inside the house, shot in the back and head. Despite the blood in his mouth, Alan managed to gargle the name of their attacker. It was his stepdaughters 13-year-old boyfriend, he said. Minutes later, police pulled up outside the boyfriends house, just a few blocks away. There, they found Darlenes 12-year-old daughter and her boyfriend having celebratory sex. When Alan Nevil succumbed to his injuries 16 days later, the young couple was charged with capital murder. Adults convicted of the charge can be executed. Charged as juveniles, though, the youths faced a maximum of 40 years in prison. The boyfriend and girlfriend both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 28 years and 20 years, respectively. Neither has been publicly named because they were juveniles. I feel nothing but disgust for you, Alans sister, Fran Nevil Cawley, said to the girl in court. Less than six years later, the Nevil familys disgust has suddenly deepened. On Wednesday, a Dallas judge ordered the boy released when he turns 19 next month, the Dallas Morning News reported. The ruling was an astonishing and for the Nevil family, terrifying twist on the 2010 double murder. Judge Andrea Martin could have transferred him to adult prison for 10 years. Instead, he will now face nothing more than parole and anger-management classes. Juvenile justice experts and officials said the boy had turned over a new leaf behind bars, accepting responsibility for the crime, getting his GED and becoming a role model for other inmates at his juvenile-detention center. But the ruling left the Nevils furious, and fearful. He gets to see his mom, and my dad is in a box, Susan Nevil told Fox4, displaying Alan Nevils ashes. This is how my kids get to visit their grandfather. And its just not right. She added that she has dreams in which her fathers murderer tracks her down and kills her, too. The judges ruling raises questions about the age at which juveniles can be charged as adults in Texas, it is 14 as well as the severity of sentences they should face when convicted. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty for crimes committed before age 18. Some scientists say adolescents brains arent as capable of controlling impulses and understanding long-term consequences as adult brains. In the past decade, many states have moved away from life sentences for minors. For the Nevils, no amount of expert testimony can justify the judges ruling. Five years? shouted Alan Nevils son, Alan Jr., as he left the courtroom, according to the Morning News. For capital murder? The saga began June 6, 2009, when the girl joined her mother, Darlene, and her stepfather, Alan, in Garland, a suburb of Dallas. We decorated the house in Garland, bought a cake and welcomed you with open arms, Fran Nevil Cawley, Alans sister, would later tell the girl in court, according to the Morning News. But problems quickly appeared. The girl claimed her father back in Ohio had thrown away her clothes and ice-skating medals, but her belongings later arrived. It wouldnt be the last time the girl lied. In the spring of 2010, the girl began dating a boy who lived nearby. He had had a hard life, psychiatrists would later testify in court. One of his uncles had murdered a family member. Another uncle had been killed. And he watched his mother endure domestic violence. He began smoking marijuana at age 10 and became involved with a gang. But the two seemed normal together. Neighbors saw them walking around the neighborhood, holding hands. I just thought they were two teenagers having a teenage relationship, neighbor Michelle Campbell told the Associated Press. Jasmine Sepulveda, a 14-year-old who lived across the street from the girl, detected something odd about the relationship. She was a really cool person but when she hung out with him, her boyfriend, thats when she got weird, Sepulveda told the AP. She didnt want to talk to me anymore. The Nevils didnt approve of the relationship. In July, a month before the murders, the girl ran away from home. When she returned, she began to plot to kill her mother and stepfather, according to police. Her parents had grounded her to where she couldnt see [the boy], Garland police detective Bruce Marshall testified in court, according to the Morning News. And she told me, The final straw, Detective Marshall, is when they took away my coloring books. I knew they had to die. The girl was smarter than the boy and easily manipulated him, she told Marshall. Over several weeks that summer, she tried to persuade her boyfriend to kill her parents. When she first showed him Alans gun, he wouldnt touch it, Marshall testified. When the Nevils insisted that the two break up, the boy was furious, according to text messages later introduced as evidence. Finally, the girl lied to her boyfriend. She told [the boy] she was pregnant and that Alan Nevil tried to sexually abuse her, Marshall testified, according to the Morning News. It wasnt true, but it worked: The boy agreed to the plot. On Aug. 17, he was waiting for Darlene when she came home from work. The boy shot her twice, killing her, then waited for her husband. When Alan arrived, the boy shot him five times. When the gun jammed, he used it to beat Alan over the head. But Alan clung to life, crawling out a window and toward a neighbors house for help. When police arrived, he told them his stepdaughters boyfriend had shot him. Police officers found the couple having sex and arrested them. Meanwhile, Alan underwent surgery. For a while it appeared as if he would live. Whenever he regained consciousness, he would ask for Darlene. Wed tell him Darlene was dead and hed start fighting and they would put him under again, Alan Jr. toldthe Morning News. When Alan Sr. suddenly died after 16 days in the hospital, it seemed as if his stepdaughter and her boyfriend might spend most of their lives in prison. They deserve everything theyve got coming, neighbor Juan Garcia Jr. told the AP. Kids nowadays, they dont think twice. The boy admitted to shooting the Nevils because his girlfriend told him to, according to police. He was cooperative. He took responsibility almost immediately, Marshall testified Wednesday, according to the Morning News. But the boys first couple of years in juvenile detention did not go smoothly. He was involved in 64 incidents, 21 of which required him to be moved to a security unit, officials testified. Six were major offenses, including assault and possession of a controlled substance. Those same officials said the boy had matured, avoiding trouble over the past two years, earning his GED, learning carpentry and working as a groundskeeper. Having a job has built his confidence, testified Kathryn Hallmark, a psychiatrist who runs the therapy program at the boys center. He can be at peace while being focused on his work. But the judges decision to release the boy next month, rather than send him to adult prison for up to 10 years, is unlikely to give the Nevil family any peace. Im going to be graduating in 11 days and my grandpa isnt going to see me walk the stage, Destiyne Nevil, Alans granddaughter, who is the same age as the teen murderer, told Fox4. We didnt get the outcome that we wanted. The guy, he only served 6 years of a 28-year sentence and I dont think that was just for my family. Theyre considering him a good candidate for parole, well my dad was a good candidate to live, added her mother, Susan. My kids are still suffering. Im suffering. My brother is suffering. Its just not right. Adding to the familys agony is the fact that Alans stepdaughter convicted five years ago of killing him could also soon be released. She faces her own hearing later this year. Copyright: Washington Post Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A federal judge in Texas has quoted extensively from Hollywood films to support his ruling that 100,000 immigrants hand over their contact information. Judge Andrew Hanen quoted from the film Bridge of Spies to argue that all immigrants are only American if they abide by the "rules". "My names Donovan, Irish, both sides, mother and father. Im Irish, youre German, but what makes us both Americans? Just one thing the rulebook." He also cited script from 1947 film "Miracle on 34th Street" to illustrate that lawyers should not lie in court. Recommended Read more US Supreme Court rejected appeal of controversial Texas voter ID law His bugbear is that the Justice Department allegedly deceived him by not informing him that immigrants who came to the US as children, and who have to reapply every two years to stay in the US, will now have to apply every three years instead. He is now demanding the Justice Department turn over personal information and addresses of more than 100,000 beneficiaries of the new three-year program between November 2014 and March 2015. Mr Hanen said he would keep the information private but on a showing of good cause he would release the list or a portion thereof to state authorities in one of the 26 states that sued the Obama administration to halt the program. America's Immigrants as they arrived on Ellis Island Show all 4 1 /4 America's Immigrants as they arrived on Ellis Island America's Immigrants as they arrived on Ellis Island A woman from Lapland Ellis Island / Augustus Sherman America's Immigrants as they arrived on Ellis Island A Danish man Ellis Island / Augustus Sherman America's Immigrants as they arrived on Ellis Island A Guadeloupean woman Ellis Island / Augustus Sherman America's Immigrants as they arrived on Ellis Island A German man Ellis Island / Augustus Sherman The judge filed his case in Brownsville, southern Texas, in reaction to the presidents November 2014 order that 4.9 million undocumented immigrants would have the right to temporarily work and live in the US. Despite not filing the case in the capital of Austin, the plaintiff in the case is named as Texas and the defendants as United States of America et al. He has also ordered hundreds of lawyers, many of whom have never been to Texas, to attend a remedial ethics courses, to prevent the alleged misconduct from happening again. He quoted script from the beloved movie" "Miracle on 34th Street". The Judge: 'Tommy, you know the difference between telling the truth and telling a lie, dont you?' Tommy Mara Jr.: 'Gosh, everybody knows you shouldnt tell a lie, especially in court.' (Spectators chucking). It is likely the Department of Justice will appeal Mr Hanens order, according to Think Progress. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Although New Jersey Gov Chris Christie has taken an important role leading Donald Trumps transition team in recent weeks, he still is not safe from schoolyard jabs made by the presumptive GOP nominee. Im not eating Oreos anymore, you know that. Neither is Chris, Mr Trump said, talking about US cookie manufacturer Nabisco outsourcing of 600 Chicago jobs to Mexico. The New York tycoon turned and pointed to his former opponent: Youre not eating Oreos anymore. No more Oreos - for either of us. Dont feel bad - for either of us. Recommended Read more Trump raises rape allegation against Clinton as campaign gets ugly Mr Trumps comments drew guffaws from the audience at the National Guard armory in Lawrenceville Township, New Jersey, who paid $200 (137) a ticket to see the former Atlantic City casino mogul speak at a fundraiser to pay off Mr Christies $250,000 (171,291) campaign debt. "Chris paid off his entire campaign debt tonight. His entire debt," Mr Trump on Thursday evening, gesturing toward Mr Christie, who stood with his family offstage. "You cant even give him a table and a seat. Thats terrible." While Mr Christie could not quite escape the butt of Mr Trumps jokes, he still saw the candidate as the man for the job of keeping the US safe. "You see events going on around the world that scare us. We know that there are people out there that want to hurt America and Americans," Mr Christie said in his introduction of the candidate. "We need a strong president who will fight back and defend America first, and Im confident that person is Donald Trump." From long-shot to contender: Donald Trump and the Republican nomination Mr Trump used the speech as an opportunity to go on the offensive against the likely Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, whom he criticised for her refusal to use the phrase radical Islamic terrorism when discussing the Thursday disappearance of EgyptAir Flight 804. The aircraft reportedly spun off course and plunged into the Mediterranean Sea while en route from Paris to Cairo. Officials have yet to find wreckage or determine the cause of the flight's disappearance. What just happened about 12 hours ago? A plane got blown out of the sky. And if anybody thinks it wasnt blown out of the sky, youre 100 per cent wrong, folks, OK? he said. Ms Clinton earlier told CNN the disappearance of the flight shines a very bright light on the threat that we face from organised terror groups. Many Trump supporters in attendance expressed concern for the safety of the country, especially as it related to terrorist organisations, and cited that reason as to why the billionaire businessman would have their vote in the general election. Cindy Kyreakakis shows her Trump support with a custom made T-shirt (Feliks Garcia) I want him to kick ISIS a**, Cindy Kyreakakis, a 48-year-old Marlboro resident, told The Independent. I think hes going to rebuild our military. Hes really going to let people know were not playing around anymore. The Democrats cant even say radical Islam. Give me a break. Im not politically correct, either. I mean my dog loves watermelons - he thinks hes black, she joked in reference to a negative stereotype of African Americans. Christine and Samantha Stetson believe in Trump to keep the US safe (Feliks Garcia) Christine and Samantha Stetson showed their spirit at the rally with a sign that read Moms & Daughters for Trump. They, too, were concerned about national security threats from abroad, and felt Mr Trump was the only candidate who could stop them. I think the main thing about Donald Trump is that he stands for, number one, the safety of America, Samantha, a 27-year-old registered nurse, said. Safety is number one and making sure that, as Americans, that we keep the rights that we have. Christine, 55, elaborated for her daughter: Shes always saying to me that, Mom, everybodys so worried about womens rights - not that we arent, because were women - but we wont have any rights if theres no country, because were worried for our safety. Tara DeLeon (left) and Ann Marie Corriere feel that a Hillary Clinton presidency will be a third Obama term (Feliks Garcia) Human resources professionals Anne Marie Corriere, 53, and Tara DeLeon, 56, drove from Easton, Pennsylvania, a town about 50 miles (80.5 km) north of Lawrenceville, to see Mr Trump speak. Similarly, they viewed national security as the top issue of the 2016 election. Dont bring refugees from Syria, Ms Corriere said, suggesting how Mr Trump would keep the coutry safe. I just helped Syrian refugees yesterday, added Ms DeLeon. Because I was afraid and I wanted to get to know them. Protesters gathered outside of the National Guard Armory before the event expressing their concerns for the safety of Americans - not from terrorist extremists, but from Mr Trump himself. Chris Reith and Dalicia Luna see many parallels between 1930s Germany and Trump's rise (Feliks Garcia) Chris Reith, 31, and Dalicia Luna, 29, carried posters depicting Mr Trump as a Nazi, and they feared that many of his positions are too similar to those of Adolf Hitlers during his rise to power in the 1930s. Hes exploiting the fact that people are desperate and frustrated, which is the same thing that Hitler did: He came in a bad economy and he had a simple answer to very complicated questions, Ms Luna, a personal banker, said. Essentially Trump is doing the same thing. Its the Muslims! Its the Mexicans. Mr Reith added that in order for Mr Trump to enact his controversial immigration laws, such as mass deportations, he would basically institute martial law. To actually [deport 11 million undocumented immigrants] in the time period hes talking about would take a police state, he said. Hed have to put people in cattle cars, basically, to ship them out of the country. However, to one protester, a hypothetical Trump presidency would prove so catastrophic that it could function as a reset button for the entire US government. While Val Dagrain does not support Trump, he does still feel the US would benefit from a Washington shake up (Feliks Garcia) There is a part of me that would rather Trump over Hillary, artist and musician Val Dagrain, 26, said. I feel like he would blow it up - just like hes doing to the Republican party right now. Hes destroying the party. Silver lining - even though it will be like a nuclear holocaust - at least we will have blown it up where we can start from the bottom and start building all over again. Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Independent Climate email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} India has set a new record for its highest-ever recorded temperature a searing 51 degrees Celsius or 123.8F amid a devastating heatwave that has ravaged much of the country for weeks. Hundreds of people have died as crops have withered in the fields in more than 13 states, forcing tens of thousands of small farmers to abandon their land and move into the cities.Others have killed themselves rather than go to live in urban shanty towns. Rivers, lakes and dams have dried up in many parts of the western states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat. India's previous record high was 50.6C (123 F), which was set in 1956 in the city of Alwar, also in Rajasthan. The world record temperature is 56.7C, which was recorded in July 1913, in Death Valley, California. Human body temperature is normally 37C. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned that heatwave conditions were expected to continue for much of the next week in parts of central and north-west India, interspersed with dust and thunder storms in places. Dr Laxman Singh Rathore, the IMDs director general, firmly pinned the blame for the rising temperatures on climate change, noting the trend dated back about 15 years. It has been observed that since 2001, places in northern India, especially in Rajasthan, are witnessing a rising temperature trend every year, he said in a statement. The main reason is the excessive use of energy and emission of carbon dioxide. Factors like urbanization and industrialization too have added to the global warming phenomenon. I think similar trend would be maintained in Rajasthan in coming days. In the latest deaths from the heat, a 60-year-old woman being treated in a hospital ward set up for heatstroke victims in Baran, Rajasthan, died from the condition on Thursday, according to the Pradesh18.com news website. It also said a 27-year-old woman had died from suspected heatstroke while travelling to Kanwarpura, Bundi. Mansions burn in California wildfires Show all 7 1 /7 Mansions burn in California wildfires Mansions burn in California wildfires 171174.bin Getty Images Mansions burn in California wildfires 171219.bin MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images Mansions burn in California wildfires 171227.bin MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images Mansions burn in California wildfires 171228.bin MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images Mansions burn in California wildfires 171213.bin AFP Mark Ralston Mansions burn in California wildfires 171230.bin MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images Mansions burn in California wildfires 171229.bin MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images But the Indian Express newspaper reported that more than 400 farmers in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra alone had taken their own lives this year. Kishore Tiwari, who runs a government-backed mission to help farmers, told the paper: We have launched a number of schemes to halt the suicides of farmers in Marathwada and other parts of the state. "Among the plans includes Food Security Act, critical illness, waiver of fees, counselling for farmers as also vigorous implementation of crop insurance. Since farmer suicides are growing, it is clear that our effort will take time to yield results." The city of Latur in Marathwada is currently being supplied with water by a train. Dubbed the Jaldoot or Messenger of Water, the train has been bringing millions of litres of water to the city every night since April. Ashok Balunke, a farmer in the region, said: It's an extremely bad situation. There's absolutely no water. The water dried up in January. The country is awaiting the arrival of the much needed rainfall and cooler temperatures brought by the annual monsoon, which normally arrives at Kerala on 1 June. However it has been several days late three times over the past five years. In 2011, it came on 29 May, but last year it was delayed until 5 June. The IMDs forecast is that it will be even later this year, arriving in Kerala on 7 June, although they have given a margin of error of four days before or four days after this date. Last year, a heatwave killed about 2,500 people with the country hit by temperatures of 47C. At the time, Government minister Harsh Vardhan said; "Let us not fool ourselves that there is no connection between the unusual number of deaths from the ongoing heat wave and the certainty of another failed monsoon. It's not just an unusually hot summer, it is climate change. The Associated Press contributed to this report For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Taiwan has sworn in Tsai Ing-wen, the countrys first female president, at the presidential palace in Taipei after winning a landslide victory in January. During her inaugural speech on Friday, the 59-year-old said Taiwanese people have shown they are "committed to the defense of our freedom and democracy as a way of life. Cross-Strait relations have become an integral part of building regional peace and collective security, Tsai told thousands outside the palace. She also called for Taipei and Beijing to set aside the baggage of history and engage in positive dialogue for the benefit of the people on both sides. Tsais led the Democratic Progressive Party, whos leaned toward the islands independence from China, to victory after eight years of Nationalist Ma Ying-jeou in January. "If 'independence' is pursued, it will be impossible to have peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits," the Taiwan Affairs Office told the AFP after the speech. "Independence is the greatest disaster for the peaceful development of peace in the Taiwan straits and the peaceful development of cross-straits relations. John Kirby, a spokesperson for the US Department of State, congratulated Tsai Ing-wen on her inauguration as Taiwans fourth democratically elected president. We also congratulate the Taiwan people on the occasion of this peaceful transition of power, Kirby said in a statement, which marks another milestone in the development of Taiwans vibrant democracy. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also reaffirmed Chinas opposition to Taiwans independence after the speech. Regardless of what internal changes take place within Taiwan, China will uphold the one China principle and oppose Taiwanese independence." For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Two hairy and eight-legged stowaways were blamed for unleashing a rare commotion on board a recent flight on Air Transat from the Dominican Republic to Canada that sent passengers screaming in panic and standing on their seats. In a wildlife invasion turned nightmare for anyone suffering from arachnophobia (and possibly fear of flying too), not one but two tarantulas, potentially measuring as much as 20 centimeters across, were spotted roaming the carpeted cabin soon after the inflight meal had been served on the 18 April flight from Punta Cana, a popular holiday destination, to Montreal in Quebec. Recommended Read more Airline evacuates entire flight after tarantula escapes from hold The spider crawled up my leg - I was in a skirt, one passenger, Catherine Moreau from Repentigny, outside Montreal, told Radio Canada on Friday. My husband managed to trap it in a plastic container, but its legs were sticking out. My daughter was screaming, she was in a state of shock. Snakes on a Plane was a Hollywood invention, but its seems that Spiders on a Plane was not an eventuality that the Air Transat crew was ready for. Ms Moreau averred that when she turned to the flight attendants at the back of the cabin there were variously too terrified or too clueless to be of any help. Canadian air travel authorities do not enforce spraying against exotic intruders on planes coming from tropical countries nor are any kinds of import permits required for spiders. The two tarantulas were spotted roaming the cabin soon after the meal had been served (GETTY) Etienne Normandin, an entomologist at the Universite de Montreal, speculated to CBC television that the tarantulas may have been Phormictopus cancerides, a species which is very common in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and easy to catch. Not that it helps anyone now, but he also said they are a spider that is aggressive, but the venom is not strong. It is quite possible, Mr Normandin added, that someone had brought them on the plane in their luggage to sell them in Canada. The market for live tarantulas is very lucrative, he said The crews actions were defended this week by Julie Roberts, vice president of Air Transats flight attendant union. She insisted the crew did what they could to calm people down and administered First Aid where needed. They also quite reasonably ordered the passengers to put their shoes on and cover their ankles. Aside from the one tarantula that found itself incarcerated in Tupperware, its compadre - Tarantula Number Two - remained on the loose until the aircraft landed. It was reportedly then scooped up by emergency federal workers at Montreals Trudeau airport. For its part Air Transat, which operates both scheduled and charter flights from its bases in Montreal and Toronto to destinations largely in the Caribbean and Europe, said that while the passengers may have been surprised by the presence of tarantulas on the flight, they by and large had reacted calmly. And so, it said, had their employees. Our cabin crew are trained to ensure the safety of our passengers at all times, spokeswoman Debbie Cabana said in an email to CBC. In the case at hand, which is an extraordinary and isolated event, our staff reacted promptly and efficiently. However, dealing with venomous spiders is not something that Air Transat specifically trains its employees for. Air Transat suffered a potentially far more serious incident in 2001 when an Airbus 330 en route from Canada to Lisbon developed a serious fuel leak, eventually depleting all of its tanks over the Atlantic. The pilots, one of whom used to fly gliders as a hobby, successfully flew the plane without power for nearly 100 more miles from flameout to a landing strip in the Azores and no one was hurt. Last September a passenger on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to South Africa survived a tarantula bite. By the time the plane landed, reports said, his leg had turned black and had doubled in size from the swelling. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A wife from Austria laced her husbands morning coffee with rat poison, apparently to spare them both from the burden of his dementia. The 67-year-old woman from the state of Styria poured the toxic substance into her partners drink and later claimed she had become depressed with caring for him. In the past two months her 77-year-old husband was taken to hospital on four occasions, complaining of stomach pains and bleeding, according to a report by The Local. After a series of blood tests doctors confirmed he had been poisoned several times. Investigators searched the married couples house and found a half-empty packet of rat poison in the kitchen pantry. The unnamed wife was taken into custody and admitted to adding the substance to her partners coffee as she felt she could no longer cope with the strain of his condition. Initially she was not even considered to be a suspect by police given that she had brought her husband to hospital each time herself. 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Show all 21 1 /21 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Portugal drinks more wine than France Tindo - Fotolia 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Young Italians, by some distance, are the most likely to live at home with their parents 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Britain is on course to overtake Germany as Europes most populated country 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Greek workers work the longest hours in the EU 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Estonia has, per capita, more drug-related deaths than anyone else 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe The fastest download speeds are to be found in Romania 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Slovenia, Malta and Poland have the smallest gender pay gaps 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe France hates its leader more than other European countries 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Eastern and Western Europe are very divided on the issue of gay marriage 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Germany has the most millionaires 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Everyone likes Christmas, apart from France 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Germany accepts by far the most asylum applications 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe The UK and France have some of the most positive views of Muslim people 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Europe's largest Muslim population is in Germany 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Danes are the most trusting Europeans, and Cypriots the least 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Finland has the worst economy in the EU 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Italy has cut back its military spending more than any other major European Nato member 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Everyone is sad about the refugee crisis 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe People in Spain are also the most likely to live in flats (Brits are most likely to live in houses) 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Spain is the most likely to feel neighbourly 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Luxembourg is home to the highest proportion of foreign nationals The couple had been married for 47 years before he was affected by the brain condition. The wife is to be examined by a psychiatrist before she is put on trial later this year. In 2008 a British housewife was spared jail after lacing a fruit cake she baked for her cheating husband with poison, with the court taking into account a history of domestic abuse. A German man was not so fortunate in 2012 when received a twelve year jail term for pouring rat poison into his wifes wine because she was too old to have more children. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Pope has condemned exploitative bosses as bloodsuckers and said they make slaves out of workers. Pope Francis also spoke out against unfair employment contracts in a sermon which appeared to refer to both exploited migrants and domestic workers. Speaking at Mass at the Vatican, he told the story of a girl who found a job working 11 hours a day for 650 euros (500) a month, and was paid "under the table". Recommended Read more Catholic leaders are undoing the good work of Pope Francis on migrants "This is starving the people with their work for profit! Living on the blood of the people. And this is a mortal sin," the Pontiff said. Referring to unscrupulous employers running unstable seasonal work, he said: "Without a pension, without health care ... then they suspend [the contract], and in July and August [the workers] have to eat air. And in September, they laugh at you about it. Those who do that are true bloodsuckers." He continued by saying that these employers fatten themselves on wealth, the Catholic News Agency reported, and what they do is is truly a form of slavery. Quarter of a million hear Pope Francis denounce the greedy and exploitative in Easter message Show all 3 1 /3 Quarter of a million hear Pope Francis denounce the greedy and exploitative in Easter message Quarter of a million hear Pope Francis denounce the greedy and exploitative in Easter message pope-francis.jpg AFP Quarter of a million hear Pope Francis denounce the greedy and exploitative in Easter message pope-st-peters.jpg AP Quarter of a million hear Pope Francis denounce the greedy and exploitative in Easter message pope-francis`.jpg AFP We used to think that slaves no longer exist: they exist. Its true, people are not going and taking them from Africa to sell them in America, no. But it is in our cities. The speech was not a diatribe against wealth, but asked people to consider their relationship to their money and how they earned it. The Pope has become known for his comments on social justice. On the same day, he spoke to a new delegation of ambassadors to the Vatican on the need to build bridges to deal with the migrant crisis. While maintaining that fears about migration shouldnt be ignored, he called for increased communication. Recommended Read more Pope Francis takes three families of Syrian refugees on plane to Rome We must not allow misunderstanding and fear to weaken our resolve, Pope Francis said, the Catholic News Service reported. Rather, we are called to build a culture of dialogue, one which enables us to view others as valid dialogue partners, to respect the foreigner, the immigrant and people from different cultures as worthy to be listened to." "If misunderstanding and fear prevail, something of ourselves dies; our cultures, history and traditions are weakened; and our own peace is compromised. "When on the other hand, we foster dialogue and solidarity, both individually and collectively, it is then that we experience the best of humanity and secure an enduring peace for all as intended by our Creator," Pope Francis said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} UK travellers planning to enjoy a tipple on their European city break should head to Prague for the cheapest drinks, according to new research. The Czech capital was ranked number one out of 16 popular destinations across the continent based on the price of a dozen drinks. Post Office Travel Money found that the bar bill costs Britons 29 in Prague, including 1.26 for a bottle of beer, 1.57 for a glass of wine and 1.73 for a shot of tequila. Click on the gallery to see the cost of a round of drinks across the continent Price of drinking in 16 popular European city break destinations Show all 1 1 /1 Price of drinking in 16 popular European city break destinations Price of drinking in 16 popular European city break destinations GETTY The same 12 drinks cost more than twice as much in the Spanish coastal city of Marbella, which came bottom of the list at 72. Eastern European cities dominated the top of the rankings with Budapest at number two (30) followed by Krakow (34), Riga (50) and Tallinn (53). Palma on the island of Majorca emerged as the cheapest in Western Europe at 57, while London was at number 10 (61). The totals were calculated by taking the average price for each drink at several restaurants, bars and nightclubs in each city. Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money said: "Our research shows that the cost of a special celebration evening out can vary dramatically, depending on your choice of drink and which city you visit. "Check out prices before booking a city break because some advance homework can help to ensure the bar bill doesn't bust the celebration budget." Research published by travel organisation Abta last October found that city breaks have overtaken beach holidays as the most popular type of trip for UK holidaymakers, with around half the population taking a city break each year. PA For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A Greek immigration tribunal has ruled that Turkey is not a safe country to send refugees back to throwing an EU plan to return Syrians there en masse into jeopardy. The EU and Turkey reached a deal in March under which Turkey would close its internal border and prevent refugees from travelling to Europe under their own steam. Under the same plan, countries such as Greece that have borne the brunt of new arrivals would return refugees to Turkey, while asylum seekers in Turkey would be systematically found a home elsewhere in Europe relieving pressure on the south of the continent. Recommended Read more Refugees and migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey down 90 per cent In exchange, the EU has offered Turkish people visa-free travel and an informally accelerated process of accession to the Union, which Turkey wants to join. But Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported that a secondary appeals panel on the Greek island of Lesbos found that Turkey was not a safe third country to send refugees back to, a decision it said was likely to set a precedent under the countrys legal system. More than a million refugees have travelled through Greece since 2015, according to UN estimates, and the country is one of the main spots on which Syrian refugees first make landfall in Europe. Repatriation from Greece was one of the main aims of the scheme, to relieve pressure on the already austerity-hit country. In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugee children at the Moria camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees queuing for food at the Kara Tepe camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees' tents at the Kara Tepe camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees at the Oxy transit camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees waiting to board ferries to the Greek mainland in Mytilene, Lebos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees waiting to board ferries to the Greek mainland in Mytilene, Lebos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees waiting to board ferries to the Greek mainland in Mytilene, Lebos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos The graves of drowned refugees in Mytilene, Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos A building used to house unaccompanied children at the Moria camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees queuing to register at the Moria camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees at the Moria camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees arriving on smugglers' boats from Turkey in Lesbos The EU is already likely to miss its June 2016 deadline of approving visa-free travel for Turkish citizens meaning both sides of the deal are now in jeopardy. The blow to the deal comes the same week as Conservative MP Peter Bone warned that a vote to stay in the EU would be a vote for mass immigration from Turkey. The consequences [of Turkish accession to the EU] could be grave. We will open our borders to a rapidly growing Turkish population, he wrote in an article for the Daily Telegraph newspaper. It grew from under 50 million in 1985 to 77 million in 2015. It is projected to overtake Germanys declining population by 2018 and reach over 95 million by 2050. But asked on LBC Radio today about whether Turkey would join the EU, Boris Johnson said it was not going to happen for the foreseeable future describing the odds as between nil and 20 per cent. A group of Lee University communications students and professors are working in Kiev, Ukraine, with the Mohyla School of Journalism on a project to highlight the displaced people due to Ukraines recent conflict. Dr. Michael Finch, assistant professor of communication, and Dr. Megan Moe, associate professor of communication, are leading the 20-day trip for communications students. This cross-cultural trip includes complete immersion into the Ukrainian culture as well as hands-on research done while visiting the country. The 10 participating Lee students have created a website called The Uprooted to share stories of displaced people with a Western audience. According to Kiersten Powers, a communications major on the trip, various revolutions and Russian invasions over the years have caused over 1.4 million Ukrainian people to be displaced from their homes. Those who are in this situation struggle to obtain things that Westerners might take for granted like a stable job, food, and permanent shelter. Many who are displaced find themselves in detrimental health due to these poor living conditions. While in Ukraine, the Lee students will collaborate with masters-level students from the Mohyla School of Journalism to conduct interviews with those displaced by the conflict. Their website, The Uprooted, will spread awareness through videos, photographs, and content based on the information from in-depth research and interviews. By informing people about the reality of the situation in Ukraine, the group hopes to raise awareness and evoke a response. The Uprooted will be supporting Save Ukraine Now, an organization that provides emergency relief, food, medicine, clothes, and blankets for displaced Ukrainians. For more information about the displaced people of Ukraine the Lee group documented, please visit theuprootedproject.wordpress.com or www.facebook.com/theuprootedproject. For more information about Save Ukraine Now, or to donate, please visit saveukrainenow.org. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Israel's Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon has announced his resignation, citing a "lack of faith" in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The move comes after Netanyahu apparently proposed replacing him as part of a move to expand the coalition government. Political sources say the PM offered ultra-nationalist politician Avigdor Lieberman the defence portfolio instead. Lieberman, 57, is one of the country's most polarising politicians. Over three decades, he has at times been Netanyahu's closest ally and other times a fierce rival. "I informed the PM that after his conduct and recent developments, and given the lack of faith in him, I am resigning from the government and parliament and taking a break from political life," Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Twitter. Mr Yaalon's exit could put a new dent in domestic and Western confidence in the Netanyahu government. A former chief of Israel's armed forces, Yaalon had shored up relations with the Pentagon that provided a counter-weight to Netanyahu's policy feuds with U.S. President Barack Obama over peace talks with the Palestinians and Iran's nuclear programme. By contrast, Lieberman - whose appointment has not been confirmed - is inexperienced militarily and known for his past hawkish talk against Palestinians, Israel's Arab minority and Egypt - a key regional security partner for Israel. Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to Yaalon's resignation announcement. Video shows Israeli soldier pushing man out of his wheelchair The prime minister's offer of Yaalon's cabinet post to Lieberman emerged this week after talks on bringing centre-left opposition leader Isaac Herzog into the government failed. The inclusion of Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party in the coalition, which has also yet to be confirmed, would give Netanyahu's Likud party control over 67 of parliament's 120 seats, up from the current razor-thin majority of 61. The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Show all 10 1 /10 The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Medics evacuate a wounded man from the scene of an attack in Jerusalem. A Palestinian rammed a vehicle into a bus stop then got out and started stabbing people before he was shot dead AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Israeli ZAKA emergency response members carry the body of an Israeli at the scene of a shooting attack in Jerusalem. A pair of Palestinian men boarded a bus in Jerusalem and began shooting and stabbing passengers, while another assailant rammed a car into a bus station before stabbing bystanders, in near-simultaneous attacks that escalated a month long wave of violence AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Getty Images The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians throw molotov cocktail during clashes with Israeli troops near Ramallah, West Bank. Recent days have seen a series of stabbing attacks in Israel and the West Bank that have wounded several Israelis AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Women cry during the funeral of Palestinian teenager Ahmad Sharaka, 13, who was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes at a checkpoint near Ramallah, at the family house in the Palestinian West Bank refugee camp of Jalazoun, Ramallah AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A wounded Palestinian boy and his father hold hands at a hospital after their house was brought down by an Israeli air strike in Gaza Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians look on after a protester is shot by Israelis soldiers during clashes at the Howara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus EPA The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A lawyer wearing his official robes kicks a tear gas canister back toward Israeli soldiers during a demonstration by scores of Palestinian lawyers called for by the Palestinian Bar Association in solidarity with protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, near Ramallah, West Bank AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Undercover Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian in Ramallah Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinian youth burn tyres during clashes with Israeli soldiers close to the Jewish settlement of Bet El, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after Israel barred Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City as tensions mounted following attacks that killed two Israelis and wounded a child Yaalon is also a Likud politician who shares Netanyahu's dim views on the prospects for a long-term accord with the Palestinians. But they clashed this month over the trial of a soldier who shot dead a wounded and supine Palestinian assailant, with Yaalon coming out against public calls for clemency while Netanyahu took a more circumspect position. A poll aired by Israel's Channel 10 television on Thursday found that 51 percent of Israeli Jews saw Yaalon as best suited for defence minister. Twenty-seven percent preferred Lieberman. U.S. officials have declined comment on the prospect of dealing with Lieberman as Israeli defence minister, but one Egyptian diplomat told Reuters on Thursday that Cairo was "shocked" at the idea. Additional reporting by Reuters and other agencies For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The man reportedly offered the role of Israeli Defence Minister has called for "disloyal" Arabic citizens of Israel to be beheaded. Avigdor Lieberman, who has previously served as Foreign Minister between 2009 and 2012 and 2013 to 2015, leads the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party and has been described by some academics as a "far-right extremist". The controversial cabinet move follows the resignation of his predecessor, Moshe Yaalon, who said he "no longer had faith" in Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr Lieberman, who lives in an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank, said of Arabs in Israel in a 2015 election campaign speech: "Those who are with us deserve everything. Those against us, it cannot be helped, we must lift up an axe and behead them - otherwise we will not survive here." While Foreign Minister, he called for financial incentives for Israeli Arab citizens to leave the country into a future Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly offered him the choice of becoming the Minister of Defence or Minister of Immigration Absorption, Ynet News said. Mr Lieberman had initially refused to serve in the current right-wing government in 2015 due to it not being "nationalist" enough. The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Show all 10 1 /10 The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Medics evacuate a wounded man from the scene of an attack in Jerusalem. A Palestinian rammed a vehicle into a bus stop then got out and started stabbing people before he was shot dead AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Israeli ZAKA emergency response members carry the body of an Israeli at the scene of a shooting attack in Jerusalem. A pair of Palestinian men boarded a bus in Jerusalem and began shooting and stabbing passengers, while another assailant rammed a car into a bus station before stabbing bystanders, in near-simultaneous attacks that escalated a month long wave of violence AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Getty Images The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians throw molotov cocktail during clashes with Israeli troops near Ramallah, West Bank. Recent days have seen a series of stabbing attacks in Israel and the West Bank that have wounded several Israelis AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Women cry during the funeral of Palestinian teenager Ahmad Sharaka, 13, who was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes at a checkpoint near Ramallah, at the family house in the Palestinian West Bank refugee camp of Jalazoun, Ramallah AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A wounded Palestinian boy and his father hold hands at a hospital after their house was brought down by an Israeli air strike in Gaza Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians look on after a protester is shot by Israelis soldiers during clashes at the Howara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus EPA The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A lawyer wearing his official robes kicks a tear gas canister back toward Israeli soldiers during a demonstration by scores of Palestinian lawyers called for by the Palestinian Bar Association in solidarity with protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, near Ramallah, West Bank AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Undercover Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian in Ramallah Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinian youth burn tyres during clashes with Israeli soldiers close to the Jewish settlement of Bet El, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after Israel barred Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City as tensions mounted following attacks that killed two Israelis and wounded a child Professor Juan Cole from the University of Michigan, an expert on Middle Eastern politics, described him as a "far-right extremist", telling the Salon: "There is no European cabinet minister who comes close to Liebermans far, far right positions, and if there were he or she would be boycotted by the other Europeans." He added that in his opinion the current politics of the Israeli government has no real comparison other than in Hungary's neo-fascist party. The Independent has contacted Mr Lieberman for comment. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Hundreds of protesters have stormed the Iraqi Prime Minister's office, it has been reported. Eye witnesses have reported tear gas and gunshots have been fired. One person has reportedly been shot in the head. The major security breach has occured in Baghdad's Green Zone which is thought to be one of the most secure areas in the country. In a news flash on state television, the military announced a curfew is being imposed in the capital city "until further notice." The incident follows a similar mass protest last month when hundreds of people stormed Iraq's parliament buildings. Supporters of the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr forced open the gates of the protected Green Zone in Baghdad to demonstrate against government deadlock. A state of emergency was subsequently declared in the city. Mr Sadr and his supporters have called for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to follow through on promises of reform, including anti-corruption measures, which he says have not yet materialised. More than 200 people have died in a string of bomb attacks over the course of the last week, further erroding confidence in Mr Abadi's premiership. Mr Sadr said that attacks proved Mr Abadi was not providing sufficient stability for the country, saying the attacks: "are the clearest evidence that your government has become unable to protect and provide you with security." For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} More than half of British university students do not know when the EU referendum is taking place, according to a worrying new poll published Friday. Conducted by YouthSight for Universities UK, a staggering 63 per cent of just over 2,000 students were not able to name the date as 23, and 54 per cent did not know the month as being June. Recommended Read more Majority of UK students set to vote Remain in EU Referendum While a high proportion expressed an interest in the outcome, many risk not being able to vote because they are not registered at the address they will be at on the day. The news has come just hours after another poll of 12,000 UK students revealed an overwhelming 81 per cent are set to vote Remain, suggesting, for the first time, that the student contingent could swing the campaign in the opposite direction, as many site job security as being their main reason for staying in the union. Almost two million students across the nation are eligible to vote in Junes referendum, and huge efforts have been made by the countrys universities and colleges to increase student voter registration numbers. The date of the referendum, however - outside of term-time - means many students who registered to vote at the recent local elections on 5 May may need to re-register if they will be at a different address on 23 June. Student news in pictures Show all 34 1 /34 Student news in pictures Student news in pictures South Korean policemen detain a student demonstrator during a protest against South Korean President Park Geun-Hye EPA Student news in pictures South Korean policemen detain student protestors during a protest against South Korean President Park Geun-Hye outside the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea. The protesters demanded that the parliament takes steps to impeach President Park Geun-Hye EPA Student news in pictures Filipino demonstrators face off with anti-riot police during a protest near the US Embassy in Manila, Philippine EPA Student news in pictures Hundreds of protesters including Indigenous People, students and militant groups marched towards the US Embassy to protest against the presence of US military troops and condemning the violent dispersal which left at least forty people hurt including twenty police officers and three people who were run over by a police van EPA Student news in pictures A federal judge in Mexico has ordered that a once-fugitive police chief be held on charges of kidnapping in the disappearance of 43 students Student news in pictures A man holds up a photograph of a missing student with a caption reading 'We are missing 43,' during a meeting marking the 25-month anniversary of the disappearances of 43 students in the southern state of Guerrero, in Mexico City. A federal judge in Mexico has ordered that a once-fugitive police chief be held on charges of kidnapping in the disappearance of 43 students AP Student news in pictures Miguel Perez, an intern student from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, puts away his cell phone before walking into the operating room at the Dr. Isaac Gonzalez MartInez Oncological Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Once they complete their general surgery training, many residents are moving to the United States in search of better wages, one of the main factors linked to the current shortage of specialists in the Island Student news in pictures Fewer EU students have applied to start university courses in the UK next autumn. There was a 9% fall in the numbers who had applied for courses, according to admissions service UCAS. PA wire Student news in pictures University students protest against President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela. Masses of protesters jammed the streets of Venezuela's capital on the heels of a move by congress to open a political trial against Maduro, whose allies have blocked moves for a recall election AP Student news in pictures University students protest against President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela AP Student news in pictures Thousands, most of them high school students, march during a demonstration in Madrid, Spain, on a one day strike to protest about the country's education law that increases the number of annual exams AP Student news in pictures Students gather on the west mall to confront the Young Conservatives of Texas student organization over a controversial bake sale on The University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas. The Young Conservatives of Texas chapter at the University of Texas-Austin sparked the protest with an affirmative action bake sale. The club encouraged students to buy a cookie and talk about the disastrous policy that is affirmative action Student news in pictures Donald Parish Jr, right, confronts Electrical and Computer Engineering senior Dewayne Perry over a controversial bake sale on The University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas. The Young Conservatives of Texas chapter at the University of Texas-Austin sparked the protest with an affirmative action bake sale. The club encouraged students to buy a cookie and talk about the disastrous policy that is affirmative action AP Student news in pictures Brigham Young University announced that students who report sexual assault will no longer be investigated for possible violations of the Mormon-owned school's strict honor code that bans such things as alcohol use AP Student news in pictures Students of secondary education march to protest against the final examinations and LOMCE (The Improvement Quality Education Law) law, after a call by trade unions, in Murcia, Spain EPA Student news in pictures South African police have used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of protesters who had marched to the parliament building to call for free university education, where the finance minister was giving a budget speech AP Student news in pictures Police break up student protests outside the parliament in Cape Town, South Africa Reuters Student news in pictures South African Policemen fire rubber bullets at student protestors in Cape Town, South Africa AP Student news in pictures A student protestor is hit by a rubber bullet in Cape Town, South Africa AP Student news in pictures An injured student is helped by colleagues during protest outside the parliament during South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's medium term budget speech in Cape Town, South Africa Reuters Student news in pictures Plaintiffs and bereaved families of elementary school students killed in the tsunami that followed a major earthquake in northeastern Japan in 2011, show banners that say 'victory in a suit filed with the Sendai District Court' in Sendai. A Japanese court ordered municipalities to pay $13.7 million dollars to families of school children who were swept away to their deaths by the 2011 tsunami Getty Student news in pictures A group of student at Ewha Womans University calls for a thorough investigation into those involved in years of engagement with state affairs backstage by Choi Soon-sil, a personal confidante of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, at the school's front gate in Seoul, South Korea EPA Student news in pictures Students raise placards during a strike action called by the student union, in Madrid against university entry exams Getty Student news in pictures Libyans throw a newly graduated student into a fountain as they celebrate during the graduation ceremony for students from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Al-Arab University in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi Getty Student news in pictures Libyans celebrate as they attend the graduation ceremony for students from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Al-Arab University in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi Getty Student news in pictures Libyans celebrate as they attend the graduation ceremony for students from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Al-Arab University in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi Getty Student news in pictures Thousands of Thai Catholic students take part in mourning tributes and in singing the Thai Royal Anthem to honour late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at Saint Dominic School in Bangkok, Thailand EPA Student news in pictures Students of Silpakorn University paint portraits of the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the university campus in Bangkok Getty Student news in pictures A student of Silpakorn University paints a portrait of the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the university campus in Bangkok Getty Student news in pictures St Andrews University students take part in a foam fight known as Raisin Monday in the Lower College Lawn behind St Salvator's Quadrangle following the Raisin Weekend PA wire Student news in pictures St Andrews University students take part in a foam fight known as Raisin Monday in the Lower College Lawn behind St Salvator's Quadrangle following the Raisin Weekend, an annual tradition where student 'parents' inflict tasks on the unfortunate first-years they have adopted as 'children' as part of a mentoring scheme PA wire Student news in pictures Students at the Cuba's National Ballet School (ENB) in Havana, Cuba Reuters Student news in pictures Students at the Cuba's National Ballet School (ENB) take part in a practice in Havana, Cuba Reuters Student news in pictures Students at the Cuba's National Ballet School (ENB) wait in line to enter a classroom in Havana, Cuba Reuters Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, described the finding as being a real concern and said that, from this week, universities will be scaling up their efforts to encourage students to register to vote, and to make sure they do so in the right location. She also said it was important students think about where they are likely to be on referendum day and also to consider registering to vote by post or by proxy, adding: With nearly two million UK students eligible to vote, it is vital they have all the necessary information to make sure they can take part in this hugely important decision. The poll also revealed just 56 per cent of students registered only at their term-time address are likely to be there on polling day, while a quarter who said they are registered only at their university address confirmed they wont be there on 23 June. Almost three quarters (72 per cent) said they think the outcome of the referendum will have a significant impact on students futures, despite the concerning result. Richard Brooks, deputy president of the National Union of Students (NUS), said the referendum is a once in a generation vote, and added: The decision made on 23 June will impact young people and students the most as they are the ones that will live with the consequences for the longest. What to believe about the EU referendum If students dont want their future decided for them, it is essential as many as possible get out and vote. If they are unsure about where they will be, students can register at both their term-time and home address, providing they only vote once. If they are going to be on holiday or are heading to Glastonbury, they should apply for a postal vote by 5pm 8 June. Please click here for more information and to register to vote Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The afternoon air is full of gently drifting poplar seeds and sunbeams through oak trees. I rock to the trains rhythms. Railway buffs love the stocky mechanics of this green locomotive, bought from Romania half a century ago and still going strong on its narrow-gauge track, but Im more interested in what the railway represents: resilience, continuity, work-horse adaptability. This is a steel thread stitching together two ages cleaved by history; an Iron Curtain has fallen, but this track still clickety-clacks. Twenty-five years ago next month, Soviet occupation finally came to an end in Hungary and these days the symbols of communist power are trophies mounted for tourists. You can stroll among hulking statues of Lenin and Marx neatly arranged in a park outside Budapest, or nose about the old secret police headquarters. But beyond the dead museum pieces are resourceful, living industries, former communist staples that have unpicked themselves from the fabric of the past and re-shaped for a new world. Take this narrow-gauge railway in Gemenc forest, 100km south of Budapest. Currently its making room for my pampered western backside, but under communism it would have been loaded with wood and workers, heaving its way through the soggy undergrowth. Charming it might be, but this train was originally just a practical solution to a practical problem a means to extract logs from a flood-prone forest by the Danube. Clickety-clack. Ahead of us, a procession of four red deer emerges, stopping to stare at our lethargic approach before trotting across the track and disappearing into the trees again. Deer like this were once the sport of prominent communist party officials, who were rewarded for their loyalty with the exclusive right to hunt here. The landscape and its wildlife were there to serve the cause; like the train, everything had to pull its weight. A renovated hunting lodge in the Gemenc forest (Adrian Phillips) Today a different cause is being served. Some logging and hunting still take place in Gemenc forest, but the driving force now is conservation and promotion of enjoyment of the natural world. Over 56,000 tourists a year ride this train through stands of willow, English oak and narrow-leafed ash trees with names rather than uses. A former workers house at Porboly, the railways start point, has been converted into an eco-centre with an interactive forestry exhibition and a forestry school for local pupils. Visitors walk the forest trails, take kayaking tours on waterways that harbour otter and beaver, and follow guides into autumns gloam to hear the bellow of mating stags. The new cause is a challenge, thanks to the Gemencs landscape. Head of Forestry Peter Csontos meets me at Lassi station, a quarter of the way along the 30km line, to show me an extraordinary exhibition of photos in a whitewashed foresters cottage. In one image, a stag swims across a stretch of deep water, its antlers like billowing sails. In another, scores of deer stand marooned on a lonely island. Every few years the forest floods badly, Peter explains. We set up feeding stations on hilltops so animals can wait in safety until the water drops. For up to a fortnight, deer dine with wild boar and foxes rub shoulders with badgers. Its a modern-day Noahs ark of forest wildlife. The train has gone, but we climb aboard Peters 4x4 and drive to Keselyus, a logging station further north along the line where men busy themselves around tidy stacks of tree trunks. Logging is strictly regulated by the Duna-Drava National Park, established in 1996, and the aim is to return the forest to as natural a state as possible. When loggers remove black walnut, for example a wood used for fine furniture and originally imported from America they replace it with indigenous trees, even though these are less commercially valuable. But what Peter really wants me to see is in a hut next to the logging station. Inside sits a portly man watching television. Peter nods towards the screen, where three downy-white chicks lie in a nest of moss and silvery twigs. An orange spear of a beak appears and drops a cartwheeling lump into the nest. Its a dead frog, a lunch offering met with unanimous approval by the chicks, who tug and squabble for their share. Black storks, just a week old, Peter says proudly. The mother has a strange taste in nesting sites; faced with a forest 10km long and 5km wide, shes chosen to set up home 100m from the logging station. Last year, her chicks died when she left to hunt. This year, were monitoring the brood round the clock. Such diligent management is allowing the forest and its wildlife to flourish. Black storks shun all but the healthiest wetland habitats, yet 55 pairs have chosen to live in the Gemenc, more than anywhere else in the country. The red flag might have gone, but they keep the black stork flying here. Next day, I drive 30km south-west to Pecs, a university city renowned not only for its Ottoman architecture but the striking porcelain thats made here. Although you wouldnt hear that from Istvan Komor. Zsolnay porcelain is famous only in Pecs, says the Managing Director of the Zsolnay Heritage Quarter as he greets me glumly at the gate; I sense that Istvan tends towards a glass-half-empty view of the world. A statue in Pecs (Adrian Phillips) Zsolnay might not be an international household name but at its height the factory was a Hungarian institution, and only the most myopic visitor to Budapest can miss its work. Landmark buildings such as Matthias Church and the Great Market Hall blaze with multi-coloured Zsolnay roof tiles, while many shops sell the curious metallic-sheened ceramics synonymous with the company. And, like Gemenc forest, the Zsolnay factory has ridden some radical changes in recent years. It was founded in 1865 by a wealthy aristocrat, but the company could never be accused of being lofty or traditional. Vilmos Zsolnay was a nobleman moulded by reformist spirit, eager to push boundaries. He gathered artists and chemists to his factory, and challenged them to reinvent the world of pottery: to come up with new glazes, try new types of kiln, and to fire the kilns with different materials at different temperatures. Some of the results of this experimentation can be seen in the Golden Age of Zsolnay exhibition, displayed in what was originally Vilmoss house. The taciturn Istvan points to a turquoise pot with an uneven, dappled surface. Vilmos loved that finish he called it the Tiger Effect. It was discovered accidentally when a worker dropped petroleum in a glaze mixture. Elsewhere are early examples of the shimmering eosin technique, unveiled at Budapests Great Exhibition of 1896, and named after Eos Greek goddess of dawn because the first glaze was the captivating red of a morning sky. The iridescence is achieved by adding metal oxides, but the precise recipe is a closely guarded secret. Zsolnay Cultural Quarter (Adrian Phillips) In its pomp, the Zsolnay factory employed 2,000 workers. And after nationalisation in 1948, it continued to thrive, although the focus switched to more lumpen communist priorities industrial insulators, pipework and utilitarian tableware. Then came the crash, as tastes changed and cheap imports from the East flooded the market. From the 1980s the European porcelain industry spiralled in steep decline; just 200 workers remain at the Pecs factory in 2016. Yet today the site is thriving, having been revived as an arts quarter during the run-up to Pecs year as Capital of Culture in 2010. Its the perfect backdrop to a celebration of creativity. Vilmos, his workers and their families all lived in the grounds, and they took clear pride in making this a quirky and characterful spot to be. All around are vibrant wall tiles and sculpted fountains. A kiln chimney is decorated in diamond patterns and balustrades are set with polished studs like gemstones. Yes, its quite cheerful, observes Istvan morosely. We browse a second collection of porcelain in a yellow villa that once belonged to Vilmoss daughter, Julia. The home of his other daughter, Terez, is now a puppet theatre, and the Pyrogranite Yard hosts outdoor performances of music and dance. Children can try porcelain painting or watch sweets being made in a former workers residence. This seems to me a tremendous success story, a story of an area rejuvenated, of Zsolnay re-shaped for the 21st century, and as I say so to Istvan he betrays the flicker of a smile. I finish the day on the terrace of Gere Winery in Villany, a glass of 2008 cabernet franc in hand as I watch paragliders make lazy circles above the vines of Devils Valley. If you want to taste a way in which Hungary has changed in 25 years, then try its wine. When I was growing up, beer was bitter and wine was sour, observes Tamas Frohlich, the winerys 34-year-old sommelier. It wasnt until I had a Bulls Blood from Szekszard in 1999 that I realised it could be any other way. Gere Winery, Villany During the 1980s, Bulls Blood came to represent the death of quality wine production behind the Iron Curtain. All across the country, farms were collectivised and forced to squeeze as much as possible from the land. And when you squeeze a vineyard, you get vinegar. But the reputation of Hungarian wine has made a Lazarus-like resurrection in the last few years. There are now over 30 winemakers in Villany, and many have travelled abroad to soak up valuable lost knowledge. In 2005, the region launched an origin-protected scheme. Tamas tells me they plant vines only on the sunny hillsides, ignoring the flat lands used under communism, and that grapes are harvested by hand. Wine cellars in Villany (Shutterstock) Decanter magazine recently described Villany as the spiritual home of cabernet franc, and certainly the glass Tamas has given me is fruity and tannic. Its the work of Attila Gere, one of the countrys leading vintners, who founded his winery here in the 1990s. Cut Attila and hell bleed grape juice; the Gere family tree is heavy with wine makers, seven generations of them spanning 150 years. But communism came, and Attilas grandfather and father reluctantly abandoned their calling. Attila is repairing the family line, reviving and reshaping for a new world. Just like the people of Gemenc and Zsolnay. As the light fades, I raise a quiet toast to those who are stitching together ages cleaved by history: may they keep on clickety-clacking. Travel essentials Adrian travelled courtesy of specialist tour operator Hungary4U (020 8241 1297; hungary4u.co.uk). A week-long trip to Hungary including two nights in the three-star Danubius Palatinus City Centre (danubiushotels.com) in Pecs, one night in the four-star Crocus Gere Wine and Spa Hotel (crocus-hotel.gere.hu) in Villany, three nights in the five-star Corinthia Hotel Budapest (corinthia.com), car hire with Fox Autorent (foxautorent.com) and return flights from London costs from 800 per person. More information Adrian Phillips is author of the Bradt guide to Hungary. For a 25 per cent discount, enter code HUNGARY at checkout. uk.gotohungary.com Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} One man is certain about what caused the loss of EgyptAir flight MS804 and the deaths of the 66 people on board. Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, said: If anyone thinks it wasnt blown out of the sky, you are 100 per cent wrong. But no terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the loss of the jet from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Cairo. Investigators are considering a wide range of possible causes of besides a terrorist bomb. The French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault said: We're looking at all possibilities, but none is being favoured over the others because we have absolutely no indication on the causes. Even though the Airbus A320 has an excellent safety history, a catastrophic mechanical failure cannot be ruled out. Investigators will be checking the planes maintenance record. Human intervention on the flight deck is another possibility; Greek military sources have suggested that the jet made a series of violent swerves as it lost altitude. Captain Mike Vivian, former head of flight operations for the Civil Aviation Authority told Radio 4s Today programme there could have been a struggle on the flight deck. EgyptAir flight MS804 - What we know so far Ones inclined to go towards the theory that there had been some interference on the aircraft, and on the flight deck, with the control of the aircraft," he said. In 1999, an EgyptAir flight from New York to Cairo crashed in the Atlantic. A US investigation concluded that one of the pilots had deliberately downed the Boeing 767, though Egypt insists the cause was a mechanical problem. Last year, the first officer of a Germanwings Airbus A320 killed himself and 149 others on board a Barcelona-Dusseldorf flight by crashing into a mountainside. If terrorism was involved, the modus operandi could take many possible forms. It is believed that the Metrojet flight from Sharm el Sheikh to St Petersburg airport was downed by a bomb placed on board at the airport in the Egyptian resort. If the same method was used to destroy MS804, a device could have been loaded at Paris, Cairo or one of the other locations the jet had recently visited, including Tunis and Asmara. In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of a passenger who was flying aboard an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo overnight cries as family members are transported by bus to a gathering point at Cairo airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Security personnel are seen outside an Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport Reuters In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport AP In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives leave the Egyptair in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 reacts as she makes a phone call at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 wipes her tears as she is comforted by unidentified people at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 is escorted at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of missing EgyptAir flight MS804 are seen at Cairo Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Flight path of EgyptAir Flight MS804 Investigators will look carefully at the passenger manifest, because of the possibility of a suicide attack. They will also study CCTV images of the security search area, to see if any weapon or explosive could have been smuggled through. After the shooting down of MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, the possible use of a ground-to-air missile will be considered. The only factor which is unlikely to feature prominently in the investigation is weather, which was fine. Jamie Bowden, a former British Airways executive, was on a flight on a very similar track to the EgyptAir jet at the same time. He said: Flying conditions over the Med were perfect. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} When David Cameron telephoned Sadiq Khan to congratulate him on winning the London mayoral election, his call was not without self-interest. The Prime Minister pleaded with Khan to get out the Labour vote in London in next months EU referendum. Khan will play his part from next week and is expected to represent the Remain campaign in one of the TV debates. Camerons request reveals anxiety in the In camp that Jeremy Corbyn is making only a half-hearted attempt to persuade Labour voters to back Remain. The Labour leader usually couples his vote In message with strong attacks on the Tories and refuses to share a platform with them. Allies explain that Corbyn has been scarred by Labour joining the Tories in a cross-party campaign to keep Scotland in the UK in 2014. His attitude to the EU referendum is all about the Scottish one, one Corbynista MP admitted. It was the final nail in our coffin in Scotland. Although the latest opinion polls on Europe suggest a clear lead for Remain, it knows it can take nothing for granted. The Leave campaign will not go down without a fight and is now playing the immigration card for all its worth. Brexit campaigns in full swing With Conservative voters divided, both sides in the referendum agree that Labour supporters could decide it. Corbyn, an instinctive Outer who voted to leave in the 1975 referendum, went with the pro-EU flow of his party when he became leader last September, saving his energy for battles on Trident and air strikes in Syria. His head over heart decision angered some hard-left allies. They have launched a Lexit (Left Exit) campaign, which argues that Brexit could bring down Cameron and the Tory government even though most Labour MPs are not exactly clamouring for a snap general election. Some left wingers believe Brexit would be good for the EU as it would break up the neo-liberal club and put the single currency out of its misery. A separate Labour Leave group includes eight MPs such as Frank Field, who warns that by backing Remain, Labour is driving working class voters into Ukips arms. Pat Glass, Labours spokeswoman on Europe, did a pretty good job of that on Thursday when she was caught on microphone describing a voter as a horrible racist and had to apologise. As Corbyn regularly discovers, being leader of his party means he cant please either his friends (as he could easily do as a rebel backbencher) or his enemies within. Labours pro-EU wing is worried that what it calls his lukewarm support could yet lose the referendum. Polls suggest that one in four Labour voters backs withdrawal; if they turn out in much greater numbers than Labours soft Remainers, the result could be close. The In campaign is frustrated by the less than reliable backing from the Labour leadership. Cameron aides insist he is relaxed about Corbyn sending different messages from him in order to reach a different audience. Critics accept that Team Corbyn has stepped up a gear since this months local elections, but wonder whether this will be maintained until 23 June. There was frustration that when the decks were cleared on Tuesday for a big speech by John McDonnell, the shadow Chancellor attacked the very negative tactics of both sides and accused Remain of running Project Fear. We didnt expect him to shoot at his own side, sighed one exasperated In campaigner. Some Labour MPs even claim Corbyn could face a leadership contest if the public vote for Brexit. Anything he does is being taken down and may be used in evidence against him, snarled one. Despite that, a challenge to Corbyn looks more likely next year than this. The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit Show all 7 1 /7 The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 22 May 2015 In his regular column in The Express Nigel Farage utilised the concerns over Putin and the EU to deliver a tongue in cheek conclusion. With friends like these, who needs enemies? PA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 13 November 2015 UKIP MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire Mike Hookem, was one of several political figures who took no time to harness the toxic atmosphere just moments after Paris attacks to push an agenda. Cameron says were safer in the EU. Well Im in the centre of the EU and it doesnt feel very safe. Getty Images The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 19 April 2016 In an article written for The Guardian, Michael Gove attempts to bolster his argument with a highly charged metaphor in which he likens UK remaining in the EU to a hostage situation. Were voting to be hostages locked in the back of the car and driven headlong towards deeper EU integration. Rex The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 26 April 2016 In a move that is hard to decipher, let alone understand, Mike Hookem stuck it to Obama re-tweeting a UKIP advertisement that utilises a quote from the film: Love Actually to dishonour the US stance on the EU. A friend who bullies us is no longer a friend The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 10 May 2016 During a speech in London former work and pensions secretary Ian Duncan Smith said that EU migration would cause an increasing divide between people who benefit from immigration and people who couldnt not find work because of uncontrolled migration. The European Union is a force for social injustice which backs the haves rather than the have-nots. EPA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 15 May 2016 Cartoon character Boris Johnson made the news again over controversial comments that the EU had the same goal as Hitler in trying to create a political super state. Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods. PA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 16 May 2016 During a tour of the womens clothing manufacturer David Nieper, Boris had ample time to cook up a new metaphor, arguably eclipsing Goves in which he compares the EU to badly designed undergarments. So I just say to all those who prophecy doom and gloom for the British Business, I say their pants are on fire. Lets say knickers to the pessimists, knickers to all those who talk Britain down. Getty Images His allies insist that Corbyn is not a secret Outer and is convinced that, on balance, it is right for Britain to remain in the EU for now. He believes that Brexit would allow Tory Europhobes to scrap workers rights guaranteed by the EU and to pursue their real Thatcherite agenda. McDonnell is backing Another Europe is Possible, an anti-austerity group which wants to change the EU from within. It includes Yanis Varoufakis, despite his bruising experience at the EUs hands when he was Greeces finance minister. He believes Brexit could trigger the EUs implosion, which would be bad for the UK economy as well as a disaster for its neighbours. There is another reason why progressive voters tempted by Brexit should hold their nose and vote to remain this time, at least. Outers like Gove and Boris Johnson claim the EU has fuelled the rise of populist, extremist parties on the left and right across the continent. What the Outers dont say is that this process would get a whole lot worse if Britain votes to leave. The biggest winner might be Marine Le Pens National Front in Frances presidential election next year. There could be demands for In/Out referendums in countries including the Netherlands, Denmark and the Czech Republic. To try to prevent such contagion, EU leaders would give Britain rotten exit terms. As the Greek crisis showed, we shouldnt underestimate their determination to keep the EU project alive. That is why, if we leave, even Germany would not do us any favours. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} On the day of the centenary of the Sykes-Picot agreement this week, the Kurdish Rudaw media network, for which I write a weekly column, asked me if David Cameron would advance the independence of Kurdistan. I suggested this was the wrong approach. Britain and other great powers will not create a new Kurdish state. It might be seen as making up for imposing borders nearly a century ago but Britain should not do that, even if it seems the better thing to do. Great powers value order and wont intentionally set precedents that could be emulated in places where volatility and violence would result. The President of the Catalonian region was recently in London, but emphatically not to canvass for independence which he considers to be an internal matter with Madrid. Great powers are more likely to react to a fait accomplis as in Kosovo and Croatia. The Kurds currently in Iraq (just) would find it easier to win eventual support for independence by continuing to fight the common enemy of Daesh, and by pursuing thorough reform to ready their society for all possible futures revived Iraqi federalism (improbable), independence or confederation. Kurdish success in driving Daesh out of Kurdistani lands speaks for itself as do comparisons with the failures of the Iraqi security forces, and with the bloodthirstiness of the Shia militia. There has been a real effort spearheaded by the Kurdish Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister to reform the economy, and a wider belief that the slump in oil prices has been a blessing in disguise. Oil prices above $100 would prevent creative attempts to diversify the economy and further democratise Kurdistan. Recommended Read more Independence for the Kurds is only a matter of time It is evident to me that, after a century of misery and a decade of failed federalism in Iraq, Kurds in Iraq need sovereignty. It is seen as fundamental to their survival in allowing them to borrow on international markets, buy arms, and attract investment to rejuvenate their economy and to turn quantity into quality in everything from education to governance. It will be instructive to see if the Kurdistan region gets its fair share of the recently announced $5 billion loan from the IMF to Iraq. But its also clear that Baghdad and Erbil must boost security co-operation in the immediate fight against Daesh as well as reach longer term agreements on the economy and natural resources such as water, as well as auditing and fairly dividing assets accrued commonly over decades. The Kurds have to make their own pitch to those who matter most leaders and people in Baghdad. Turkey and Iran also count for a landlocked country. If that is achieved then external recognition will follow. America and Britain would stay their hand and not be the first in the field to recognise the new state. Turkey might be in the first few to do so. And there are signs that leaders in Baghdad can also see that an amicable divorce is best. The Iraqi oil minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi told a Kurdistan Independence Conference in Slemani this week: People of Kurdistan have faced oppression and have been forced to confront others. I personally support aspirations of the Kurdish nation, but its steps have to be pre-planned and they should know how they are taking the steps. Such words should be built upon. The Kurdish Prime Minister wishes to open up direct talks with Baghdad about how to manage the transition to break-up. There is much to discuss. One of the most vexed questions is the status of disputed territories such as Kirkuk. The southern borders need to be agreed, excluding potential revanchist hot spots if necessary, or they will be bloody borders for generations to come. Talk of a referendum this autumn on independence has faded. Domestic politics are in a holding pattern with a greater priority being given to defending Kurdistan and assisting, probably next year, in the drive to expel Daesh from Mosul. It also seems likely that the process of overcoming internal divisions will pick up after the scheduled parliamentary elections in 2017. My guess is that an independence referendum, following referendums in disputed territories on whether they join the Kurdistan region, will take place then or in 2018, both after the defeat of Daesh and the reconfiguration of domestic political structures and coalitions. In the meantime, Baghdad needs to be won over to the idea that an independent Kurdistan region could be a better ally outside the boundaries of Iraq. It will not be easy to disentangle and manage popular and sectarian passions. It would be wise if countries like the UK are open to the possibility and prepared to help broker complex agreements if and when the people of Kurdistan decide to take their destiny into their own hands. Suppressing it is unthinkable given the Kurds new confidence, popularity and strategic importance. But expecting Cameron to cut through the work that should be done on the ground is a dangerous illusion that obstructs winning Iraqi consent for a necessary change. Gary Kent is the Director of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Kurdistan Region in Iraq and a columnist for Rudaw who has visited Kurdistan and Iraq many times since 2006. He writes in a personal capacity. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Will Gore is right, there is no good reason other than salacious prying for us to know the identity of PJS. I do not want to know his identity and will not look for his name online. However if this injunction is lifted his name will be all over the media and I, and many others like me, will be told his identity. I believe the tabloid press only want to get this injunction lifted to sell papers and not for any genuine desire to inform the public of some important information. The courts should be encouraged to maintain these injunctions where there is no genuine reason why these people's names and activities should not be kept private. R. Alliott Cambourne The ghosts of politics past In criticising Iain Duncan Smiths position on the EU referendum, Michael Heseltine says: It is always good to hear voices from the past. I would be grateful if they stayed in the past. Quite. Mr Heseltine himself recently elevated the debate to a new level, when interviewed in the New Statesman. He claimed that Mrs Thatcher would have vote Remain. Sadly, it has not been possible to confirm this. Further, he claimed that it is inevitable that Britain will eventually join the Euro. I suspect that it is more likely that I will be the first person to cycle to the moon. Keith O'Neill Shrewsbury Scottish opposition to the British Bill of Rights is unfounded Nicola Sturgeon says she intends to oppose a British Bill of Rights. So much for her claim of taking a more open minded and consensual approach in this new term of the Scottish Parliament. Within a couple of days she forgets all that, dismissing the UK governments idea in advance, claiming it will weaken "human rights protections" before she has even seen the detail of what is proposed. Perhaps her opposition has less to do with the "Rights" element of the proposed Bill but more with the "British" part. For Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP it is unthinkable to agree with anything that has "British" in its title, so it is simply dismissed out of hand. Our new First Minister was taught by Alex Salmond to use any dealings with the UK government primarily as an opportunity for political grandstanding. A shame the SNP cannot approach something as fundamental as human rights with a more measured and honest approach. Keith Howell West Linton What has changed for the BMA to cooperate with the Government? Because of limited resources, I butter my breakfast toast only Mondays to Fridays; the weekend toast is unbuttered. Were I to have 7-day buttering, the weekdays would be more thinly spread, butter-wise. Jeremy Hunt constantly told us that the proposed junior doctors contract for a 7-day NHS was cost neutral. The BMA, in effect, made the buttering point: doctors and other staff would be spread more thinly across the week, therefore without any greater overall care. So, what has changed, such that the BMA now recommends the latest deal? Is patient safety overall no longer threatened? Or is it simply that the misleading mantra of "7-day NHS" has such powerful political clout that good sense and good reasoning are silenced? Peter Cave London We should look to Japan when it comes to public toilets On a first visit to Japan last year I was impressed that as far as we observed every single station on the vast Tokyo Metro system has immaculate and thoughtfully designed public toilets, with shelves for bags and parcels, handrails for the elderly, etc. Toilets on the London Underground system, apart from those at mainline stations, are now virtually non-existent. Indeed some have disappeared with the recent spate of station redesign. With the growing number of elderly travellers this is a real issue. Brits (and Brexiters not least) are fond of boasting about many aspects of life in the UK, without in many cases having the least idea about how much better some things (although certainly not all) are done abroad. Often we seem to import the worst aspects of foreign cultures whilst being unwilling to learn from the best. Gavin Turner Gunton Were expenses appropriately used? Politicians now question whether parliamentary expenses have been used appropriately by Stewart Hosie and Angus MacNeil, SNP MPs, both alleged to have conducted extramarital affairs with journalist, Serena Cowdy. So let's just get this right before the SNP's army of spin doctors sets to work: Nicola Sturgeon is fond of implying if you criticise the nationalist party, you're not a true Scot. So are opposition parties talking down Scotland? Of course not. They're asking pertinent questions about how senior members of the SNP use tax payers' cash. Martin Redfern Edinburgh Boris isn't taken seriously Boris Johnson has emerged as the de facto voice of Brexit. He is still not taken seriously by many as a politician of any standing and is widely believed to have chosen his allegiance solely on the basis of furthering his personal ambitions. Voters will not buy this. Richard Walker Malvern Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Fierce criticism has greeted the claim by the former head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, about the dangers of giving Turks easier entry to Europe. He said that for the EU to offer visa-free access to 75 million Turks to stem the flow of migrants across the Aegean seems perverse, like storing gasoline next to the fire. He warned that extreme right wing populist parties in Europe would benefit from the hostile reaction to a fresh wave of migrants as has happened already in Austria and beyond. In response to his remarks Dearlove was denounced for speaking in tabloid language and indulging in demagoguery. It was even suggested that his outspokenness was a cunning attempt to divert attention from the upcoming publication of the Chilcot report which is expected to criticise him over his role in Britain taking part in the Iraq war of 2003. Somewhere along the line as with much of the rest of the debate on Britains membership of the EU discussion has become disconnected from reality. The issue of visa-free entry of Turks to the EU should raise a number of important questions. It pushes the outer barrier to the entry of migrants, as well as Isis and al-Qaeda terrorists, further south and east to Turkeys 717-mile long border with Iraq and Syria. More than twice the length of the French-German border, this is highly porous and abuts on the worlds biggest war zone. This war is no longer confined to Syria and Iraq, but has spread since last summer into south east Turkey where the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) are locked in a savage guerrilla war. Large parts of Kurdish cities in Turkey like Cizre and Diyarbakir are in ruins and at least 200,000 Turkish Kurds have fled, some of whom have been found in the boats trying to reach Greek islands in the Aegean. EU refugee deal in jeopardy over Turkeys visa conditions There is something bizarre about EU policy when it comes to migration from this part of the world. It seems to be based on the supposition that refugees are in flight from the war in Syria, but in practice the battle zone is today far larger. The conflict is at its most intense in Syria, Iraq and south east Turkey, but there are at least seven wars and three serious insurgencies being fought out in the swathe of land between Pakistan and Nigeria. In Syria, Iraq and SE Turkey, with a total population of around 60 million, people fear that the only prospect is war and economic breakdown and want to get out. I was talking earlier this year to a group of women the town of Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan who were Arab and Kurdish refugees from Syria and Iraq. All were living in houses not camps and had some form of employment, but with the exception of one woman from Fallujah whom the other refugees gently mocked for not being frank about her travel plans all of them wanted to make their way to Europe. Officials in Brussels and Berlin may imagine that lines on the map in the Middle East denote real barriers to movement. But the smuggling of people and goods is one of the main businesses in the Turkish-Syrian-Iraqi-Iranian border area, fuelled for decades by the profits to be made by evading sanctions imposed on Iran and Iraq. Note also that central government authority in this area is limited because the dominant ethnic group are Kurds at odds with Ankara, Baghdad and Damascus. A further problem with the EUs proposed front line is that on the Turkish side of the border the Turkish army has proved either incapable or unwilling to stop people crossing to, or from, Turkish territory. The PKK moves freely between its bases in the Kandil Mountains in Iraq and its hideouts in Turkey. In Syria Isis still controls a 60-mile-stretch of the border west of the Euphrates, fighting successfully over the last month to keep control of its populous and fertile territory in northern Aleppo province. The advance of the Syrian Kurds along the border has squeezed Isiss access to Turkey but its fighters and supporters can still cross. In fact, Isis may not have to send terrorists from its heartlands across the frontier since it already has ethnic Kurdish and Turkish cells in Turkey. Some of these were involved in suicide bomb attacks there last year and in future they can easily do the same inside the EU. EU policy towards Turkey centred on the migrant crisis and the threat of Isis terror attacks is based largely on wishful thinking. The surge in migrant numbers and Isis terrorism will only be brought under control when the wars end in the Iraq-Syrian-SE Turkish triangle. EU leaders were briefly energised by the influx of migrants last summer, followed by the Isis killings in Paris and Brussels, but present proposals will be at best ineffectual and probably counter-productive. The implementation of the visa-free regime in the 26-nation Schengen zone of the EU is currently being delayed by Turkish unwillingness to modify anti-terrorism laws that target all forms of criticism of the state. Nevertheless, EU officials speak confidently of the scheme going ahead with one saying that "its not the first time there has been quite provocative talk from the Turkish side, then we sat down and found a way forward. By making the southern border of Turkey the new barrier against migration and terrorism, EU leaders are deluding themselves by including part of the Middle East battle zone within their outer defences and pretending that there is no war in SE Turkey and the Turkish border is impermeable. Dearlove is right to say that the EU's ill-judged response to the twin crises over migrants and Isis is set to fail and the political beneficiaries will be the proto-fascist right across Europe. Patrick Cockburn is the author of Chaos and Caliphate: Jihadis and the West in the Struggle for the Middle East, published by OR Books, 18. Readers can obtain a 15 per cent discount by using the code: INDEPENDENT Climate Change and Potential Impacts to Wildlife in Tennessee will be held Monday, June 27, 7 p.m. at green|spaces, 63 E. Main St. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, National Wildlife Federation and Nature Conservancy completed a comprehensive assessment in 2015 of the potential impacts to wildlife and their habitats from a changing climate, which is projected to warm for the remainder of this century. Bill Reeves, TWRA chief of Biodiversity, will discuss that report and give the 2016 updates. The event is sponsored by the Cherokee Group of the Sierra Club. The public is welcome and healthy snacks will be served. Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe exposed bad policing and negligence among colleagues in the Cavan and Monaghan district The Garda Inspectorate has been called on to investigate how whistleblowers are treated on the back of alleged attempts to discredit Sergeant Maurice McCabe. Transparency International Ireland, which promotes the fight against corruption, said an independent body is needed to examine the experience of officers who expose wrongdoing in the ranks. The organisation also said the oversight body was best placed to recommend how to stop whistleblowers being victimised. John Devitt, chief executive of TI Ireland, said he was seriously concerned at detail of exchanges from leaked transcripts of the O'Higgins Commission where the Garda Commissioner's lawyers said they would criticise Sgt McCabe. "The O'Higgins Commission observed that Sergeant McCabe had reason to believe that he was being 'set up' and wrongly faced disciplinary action in response to concerns he raised about Garda malpractice," he said. "The recently leaked testimony to the Commission that appeared to question the integrity and motivation of Sergeant McCabe also poses serious questions about commitments to respect and protect whistleblowers. "The O'Higgins Commission did not inquire into these matters further and it's for this reason that we believe a more thorough examination of current management practices and whistleblower protection procedures is required." Mr Devitt, who has spoken regularly to Sgt McCabe as he exposed bad policing and negligence among colleagues in the Cavan and Monaghan district, urged the Garda Inspectorate to assess current attitudes to whistleblowers among gardai. He also said it should look at a sample of cases and circumstances where officers reported malpractice but subsequently alleged being faced with formal or informal sanctions for doing so. Mr Devitt said Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan could partially answer some of the questions by clarifying what instructions she gave her lawyer. To date Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald and the Commissioner have refused to go down that road insisting that it would be illegal but their opponents claim there is no law to stop the police chief revealing her orders. Leaked transcripts claim to show that the barrister initially backed an assessment by the commissioner chair, Judge Kevin O'Higgins, that the Commissioner's case was that Sgt McCabe acted with "malice". Further documents allege the lawyer clarified that he had made an error in saying the case was to attack Sgt McCabe's "integrity" but that it was to challenge the respected officer's "motivation and credibility". Mr Devitt said the Commissioner should clear up what the basis was for these instructions. "She should also make it clear to all members of the service that any attempt to victimise whistleblowers or fabricate evidence against them will be met with fair but swift disciplinary action," he said. A statement from the Commissioner on the controversy has been expected - the second in a week. "Whistleblowers from every walk of life routinely face sanctions including unwarranted disciplinary action, reassignment of duties, the sharing of false and damaging information against them, unfair dismissal and other forms of maltreatment," Mr Devitt said. "It's important therefore that all employers understand the essential role whistleblowers play in exposing wrongdoing and have procedures in place to prevent harm to anyone who speaks up." Whistleblowers are supported by law under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014. Since it came into force TI Ireland's Speak Up helpline has seen a 100% increase in the number of calls received from whistleblowers with the majority from health workers. Simon Harris, at the Department of Health, blamed missing the deadline on the "unusual" delay in the formation of a new government Health minister Simon Harris has come under pressure to live up to commitments to ban branded cigarette packets. As a European deadline on plain packaging for tobacco passes, campaigners warned the crackdown was a minor and technical law which should be a priority for the new minority government. Some of the world's biggest cigarette makers - Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International - failed to stop the branding controls in Britain. Donal Buggy, of the Irish Cancer Society, said Ireland had missed the chance to lead the reform and become one of the first countries in Europe to do it. "The sooner plain packs are on the shelves in Ireland the better," he said. The Department of Health blamed missing the deadline for the European directive on plain packaging on the "unusual" delay on the formation of a new government. It could be several months before amendments to health laws are passed by politicians to force cigarette companies into selling products in boxes which are virtually indistinguishable from each other. Tobacco giants claim the marketing clampdown will destroy valuable property rights. But Mr Buggy warned: "The tobacco industry will stop at nothing to delay plain packaging, because they know it works. "We are concerned that they will use the delayed introduction of plain packaging to exploit other aspects of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2016." The plain packaging rules will include graphic health warnings on two-thirds of the tobacco packet cover, with the brand name the only differentiating feature. The Irish Cancer Society claimed a survey showed four out of five people were behind the reform, and more than three in five smokers supported it. Australia has already introduced plain packets and t he European Court of Justice ruled at the start of the month that it was legal. Mr Buggy said the society's research also showed that smokers were less inclined to see the change as an immediate effective incentive to quit. "38% of smokers thought it would encourage them to quit smoking, with 44% disagreeing, while 35% of smokers thought it would encourage family or friends to quit," he said. "We expect that this view will evolve as plain packaging becomes the norm, but it highlights the need for continued investment in ... such progressive public health actions". The Irish Cancer Society welcomed the UK High Court's decision to reject the tobacco industry's challenge to plain packaging regulations. Mr Buggy added: "We are also asking that the 'wash-out' period, allowing for the sale of labelled stocks of existing cigarette packs manufactured or circulated before May 20 2016, is not pushed back beyond the existing deadline of May 20 2017, as this could further endanger the goal of a Tobacco Free Ireland by 2025." Ulster Bank are delighted to host an information briefing for the nursing home sector at its offices in Georges Quay, Dublin on Thursday 26th May. Tadhg Daly, CEO of Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI) will be sharing his insights on current trends & issues in the nursing home sector at the event. Places at this breakfast briefing are free to nursing home operators & advisors please email Margaret.brett@ulsterbank.com for information and firm your attendance. Ahead of this Briefing, Orna Stokes of Ulster Bank spoke with Tadhg Daly to find out more about the challenges and issues faced by private & voluntary nursing homes in Ireland at this time. What is the size and impact of the nursing home sector in the Republic of Ireland? Tadhg: The private & voluntary nursing home sector is a vital part of a well-functioning health service. There are 577 nursing homes, across the Republic of Ireland, providing c30,000 residential care beds (source Public Bed register April 2012, and NHI Bed Register June 2014). The private & voluntary nursing home sector has taken the lead in providing this specialist care within our communities, with circa 80% of such care delivered by our sector. 23,000 people are provided with this specialist care in homes from home by 430+ private & voluntary nursing homes. It is a key employer and contributor to the economy, employing circa 25,000 people. It contributes 190m to the Exchequer annually through direct taxation. In rural locations, the local nursing home may be the largest employer and is a key part of the social fabric of the community. While historically nursing homes were over the wall, they are now very much a part of the community, with intergenerational activities, such as transition year student engagement and young / old memory sharing programmes ongoing within many nursing homes. The fourth annual Nursing Homes Week (13th to 19th June, 2016) will include a range of celebrations hosted in nursing homes across the country. These will bring the nursing home residents, their families & friends, staff and wider communities together, with activities this year focused on sharing 1916 memories. Nursing Homes Week promotes the positivity of nursing home care and informs the wider public of what nursing home care entails. So the private & voluntary nursing home sector is a very significant service provider, and has real impact in our communities, what does future demand look like? Tadhg: A relatively small number of our older population persons aged 65+ - require nursing home care. Around one in 20 persons or 4% in this cohort require the continuous care provided by nursing homes. It is our older old population persons aged 85+ - who are most dependent upon nursing home care. Approximately one in five of such persons will require nursing home care. This number of the population is anticipated by the CSO to grow by 46% by 2021. The sector is seeing investment through additional capacity being added in particular parts of the country. In tandem with our older old population growing significantly, the requirement for nursing home care will increase. A Department of Health commissioned report undertaken by DKM Economic Consultants, published December 2015*, stated 400 700 additional beds will likely be required nationally per annum to meet need. However the current funding model under the Fair Deal is a disincentive to investment. Present providers with the experience and proven ability to provide this specialist care and meet the high standards it entails must be supported through an enhanced, fit-for-purpose funding model. What are the key issues faced by nursing homes in Ireland at this time? Tadhg: Essentially there are three key challenges for the nursing home sector: funding; increased demand for services and the challenge of ensuring continued availability of quality committed staff. Funding Fair Deal, the nursing home sector funding model currently in place, is a positive scheme from the point of view of nursing home residents, but does pose significant financial challenges for nursing home providers. Effectively the State is a monopoly purchaser of nursing home services, and its main focus is on driving down the costs of care. If this downward focus on care costs continues, NHI fears that it may negatively impact the standards and quality of care that are established within the Irish nursing home sector. The downward push on care costs poses a real threat to the sustainability of private & voluntary nursing homes in Ireland. The average fee provided to public nursing homes is 58% higher than the fees paid to private & voluntary nursing homes. The divergence between the prices paid for care to public and private & voluntary nursing homes is unprecedented within State Procurement. The DKM review pf the Fair Deal scheme ** was highly critical of the present funding model to support nursing home care. It cited lack of reference to efficient cost levels and return on efficient capital, stating the present funding model is unsustainable, has been developed in an ad hoc way, lacks logic and is not fit for purpose. It criticised the lack of reference to the dependency levels of residents who require nursing home care. Furthermore, private and voluntary nursing home providers dissatisfied with the fee being offered by the monopoly purchaser of care the NTPF are not afforded fair right of independent appeal. NHI will be impressing upon new Ministers at the Department of Health Minister Harris and Minister McEntee the imperative requirement for introduction of an independent appeals process under the Fair Deal scheme for nursing home providers who are dissatisfied with the fee proposed for care provision. Requirement for nursing home care Nursing home care fulfils a critical and central role in healthcare delivery. This will continue in the years ahead, given substantial growth in our older population and the increasing requirement for the specialist care nursing homes provide. Circa 75% of people who are clinically fit for discharge within our acute hospitals commonly referred to as delayed discharges require long-term nursing care. Keeping a person who doesnt need to be there, in an acute hospital bed, is not a person-centred approach to care. Future care strategies need to be developed which include a holistic mix of homecare, community care and nursing home care, so that older people who are not in need of acute hospital care, are looked after in more appropriate settings. Such care strategies would make financial sense it costs an average of eight times the fees payable to private & voluntary nursing homes, to keep a person in an acute hospital setting. Workforce Planning Our healthcare system needs to adopt effective workforce planning, recruitment and retention policies, so we have sufficient appropriately trained and skilled people to meet the needs of our entire health and social care sector. Such a system needs to embrace the non-public hospital system and offer attractive career paths for care staff, reflecting their relevant skills & attributes, and their personal sphere of interest. Nurse recruitment is a critical issue; there is a shortage of qualified nurses world-wide. We need to plan and develop a strategy for recruiting, training and keeping qualified, committed and caring staff, who can effectively meet the needs of our people in the care system. The growing numbers growing old will lead to escalation in requirement for gerontological nurses to support their clinical care requirements. Registration applications from overseas nurses wishing to fulfil nursing roles in Ireland must be processed in a timely manner. As Minister Harris takes up his new role, what would you like him to do for the nursing home Sector? Tadhg: NHI would call on Minister Harris to take on board the recommendations of the DKM report* in terms of a developing a more sophisticated funding /commissioning model and introducing an independent appeals process. We rarely hear about the unsung heroes of nursing home care, but there are many who make real differences to the lives of nursing home clients. Is there anything a satisfied client, their family or friends can do to recognise great carers? Tadhg: Yes, the NHI Care Awards recognise excellence and dedication across the Nursing home sector. There is a range of awards, reflecting the wide encompassing and holistic care that is provided in nursing homes.. Nominating nursing home staff or nursing home initiatives is a great way of saying thanks to someone or a nursing home that goes the extra mile. The nursing home community and the general public can nominate anyone they feel deserving of an award, from 1st June 2016, on www.nhicareawards.ie. *DKM Economic Consultants, on behalf of the Department of Health Potential Measures to Encourage Provision of Nursing home & Community Nursing Unit Facilities, December 2015 *Review of the Nursing homes Support Scheme, A Fair Deal, Deloitte & Toucnsultants 9th May to http://health.gov.ie/blog/publications/potential-measures-to-encourage-provision-of-nursing-home-community-nursing-unit-facilities/ **The Review of the Fair Deal scheme report can be downloaded here: http://health.gov.ie/blog/publications/review-of-the-nursing-homes-support-scheme-a-fair-deal/ Sponsored by: The heads of 15 major international companies, including GE, Cisco, Mars, EMC, Airbus, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, yesterday signed a letter to the 'Financial Times' calling for Britain to remain in the EU. Representatives from many of the companies, which the UK government said together employed more than 170,000 people in Britain, also met Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday to discuss Britain's June 23 EU membership referendum. "We see Britain's EU membership as a win-win situation: the single market offers us seamless access to a market of 500 million people, giving us instant possibility to scale up our investment," the business leaders said in the letter, published in the newspaper yesterday. Jeff Immelt, chief executive of GE; Tom Enders, chief executive of Airbus Group; Chuck Robbins, chief executive of Cisco; Hiroaki Nakanishi, chairman of Hitachi; and Grant Reid, president of Mars, among others, signed the letter. The signatories said if Britain were to leave the single market, major international businesses' future investment decisions could be affected. A spokesman for David Cameron said that many of the companies said they had located their European headquarters in Britain knowing they would have free access to the EU's single market. Ireland is in the front line of countries that will be worst hit if the UK votes for a so-called Brexit. Recovery in the export sector could take years. That's according to Jean Michel Six, S&P Global Rating's chief economist for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. However, a vote for the so-called remain side on June 23 would provide an immediate boost to Irish exports because sterling would immediately strengthen, he said. A vote by Britain to exit the European Union won't lead "mechanically" to a ratings downgrade for Ireland, but would be a blow to the economy here, he told the Irish Independent. Sterling could be expected to weaken significantly if Britain votes to leave, making it tougher to export from the Eurozone just as domestic demand in the UK market would also weaken following the vote, he said. "Exports to the UK would be likely to weaken for years, at least," he said. That would make it harder for the UK government to finance its huge spending deficit. The after-effects of a leave vote would hurt the demand from international property investors that underpins London and UK house prices, he said, creating a "shock to consumer confidence". Demand in Britain has already showed signs of slowing already this year, not just because of the Brexit vote, he said. However, sterling would find a floor, because the Bank of England has the "fire power" to prevent a currency crisis, even if there is a Brexit vote, he said. The risk of a Brexit vote is being taken "extremely seriously" by the European Commission, he said. It would come at an especially difficult time, as the EU continues to struggle with the refugee crisis, he said. Among the key challenges would be the impact on the banking and finance sector, which in many areas is dominated by London, he said. With Britain in the EU but not the Eurozone, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank have been able to work in partnership on issues, but anything to change that could have serious repercussions, he said. "I'm confident the ECB and BoE are talking about a Plan B, and how to avoid a meltdown," Mr Six said. The ECB has asked all banks, including in Ireland, to carry out stress tests measuring their ability to cope if Britain's exits from the EU. That is needed, "given the level of risk," Mr Six said. Philippe Legrain and Institute of Directors chief executive Maura Quinn at the Dublin event yesterday. Photo: Jason Clarke. An economic recession and potential financial crisis in Britain in the event of a Brexit would spill over into Ireland, an ex-advisor to former European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has warned. Philippe Legrain told an Institute of Directors event yesterday that the value of the pound would plummet, with a negative knock-on effect for Irish exporters. "Brexit would disrupt Ireland's trade with Britain. "There would be tariffs, customs checks, rules of origin requirements and other red tape," Mr Legrain said at the event in Dublin's Westbury Hotel. "That matters, because Britain is the largest export market for Irish services and the second-largest export market for Irish goods. "Since Ireland would have to apply EU tariffs on UK imports, prices would go up too. And cross-border supply chains would be disrupted twice over." He said Ireland would lose a key liberal ally in the EU that favours free trade, deregulation and low taxes, while the common travel area would be put at risk. "Last but not least, Brexit could cause the EU to unravel further, fuelling nationalism and populism, weakening the West in the face of Vladimir Putin's newly-aggressive Russia, and making the international system more unstable," he said. "As a neighbour and partner, Irish voices need to speak out." Ireland needs to ramp up its offering in terms of tax, education and the infrastructure around financial services to attract investment in the event of a Brexit, a conference heard yesterday. A British withdrawal from the EU will present opportunities for Ireland, Susan Dargan, the head of Financial Services Ireland (FSI), told the conference, organised by the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA). But she stressed any benefit would be outweighed by the market uncertainty, damage to trade and impact on the free movement of goods and people that a Brexit would spark. "We don't think that a Brexit has been priced into the market at this stage," Ms Dargan said. "There is stronger than usual international investor flows into UK equities and bonds, and that might be because FTSE companies do not rely fully on the UK market itself. But we've also seen that currency hedging is at over 50pc, and that's the first time that we've seen that since we started to monitor this in 1999." Asked by Pat McArdle, former Ulster Bank chief economist, if Dublin's IFSC has the capacity to take companies that may relocate here, including housing for their employees and office space, Ms Dargan said the infrastructure is there, but needs to "significantly ramp up". Expand Close Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan with IIEA director general Tom Arnold, IIEA chair Brendan Halligan and McCann Fitzgerald managing partner Barry Devereux at the Aviva Stadium. Photo: Maxwells / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan with IIEA director general Tom Arnold, IIEA chair Brendan Halligan and McCann Fitzgerald managing partner Barry Devereux at the Aviva Stadium. Photo: Maxwells "FSI has introduced an apprenticeship programme more recently with NCI," she said. "We're talking about 1,000 people going through that over a number of years. You would have to ramp up that type of activity significantly. "You would have to have an environment that would be conducive to relocating to Ireland as well, and that covers tax, education and the regulatory environment." Other speakers at the packed conference in Dublin's Aviva Stadium included Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan, Peter Sutherland, a former European Commissioner for Competition and founding director general of the World Trade Organisation, AIB chairman Richard Pym, and chairman of Old Mutual Patrick O'Sullivan. All the speakers were in favour of the UK remaining in the EU, with no voices present representing the 'leave' side or advocating a withdrawal. Mr Sutherland said Ireland needs to remain strongly committed to the EU if the UK withdraws, despite the close ties between the two countries. "I hope our policy of favouring ongoing European integration remains part of what we believe in," he said. "If that means on occasion saying uncomfortable things to our great friends in the United Kingdom, or taking positions which are not the same as theirs, then we must do it. We must not resile from a commitment which is vital to the future of our country, which is Europe." Mr Sutherland said the negotiation period between the EU and UK in the event of a Brexit could take "significantly in excess of five years". rather than the two-year period allowed under current EU rules. The former Commissioner said it will be impossible from Britain's point of view to ditch the requirement to allow free movement of people or to make financial contributions to the EU. Earlier, John McGrane. Director General of the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce, said that 16pc of FDI exports from Ireland go to the UK, but that rises to 44pc for home-grown firms. "This is extraordinarily serious for Ireland," he said. BDO chairman and former Ryanair chief financial officer Howard Millar said the 'leave' campaign in the EU was badly led, and he warned that there would be a mini-recession here as a result of the economic fallout from a potential Brexit. Minister Flanagan said the priority of the Government is to ensure a "fully informed debate". "There are a number of areas that would require detailed attention, not least the common travel area. It would require a detailed concentration on the part of a range of government departments here," he said. "But our focus, and our concentration, is on ensuring that Irish people would be voting in Britain and 120,000 British citizens who live in the Republic of Ireland... and they would exercise their vote in the best interests of the very positive and constructive relations between the UK and Ireland." Ministers intend to lobby the Irish community at events in Britain, with Minister Flanagan due to visit Liverpool and Manchester in early June. He will be in Derry and Belfast next week. Irish energy firm NTR is close to sealing a deal to acquire UK-based windfarm group Velocita in conjunction with a Chinese joint venture partner. It's believed that if they succeed in buying the company, NTR and Chinese wind turbine firm Envision Energy will split up Velocita. The Irish firm would take control of its assets in the UK, while Envision would acquire Velocita's assets in France, it's thought. NTR and Envision are among the final bidders for Velocita, with Finnish firm Fortum also in the running. Velocita's UK assets include one operational windfarm in Scotland, but Velocita has a huge portfolio of planned projects. It has a 12 megawatt operational windfarm in Scotland, as well as a 14 megawatt windfarm in France. It also has projects in construction phase, including a three windfarms in France that will generate a total of 136 megawatts, and two in Scotland with a total of 42 megawatts of planned output. A further 229 megawatt portfolio of projects will have reached financial close and entered construction over the next year, according to industry publication 'SparkSpread', which first reported the planned sale of Velocita and NTR's involvement. NTR, which is headed by chief executive Rosheen McGuckian, declined to comment. Velocita also has an 820 MW portfolio of development projects and is in advanced discussions for near-term bolt-on growth acquisitions in both France and Scotland that would double the size its current portfolio. Velocita's major shareholder is US private equity firm Riverstone Holdings. In March, NTR closed a 250m energy equity fund, and has been looking to raise about 410m in debt from lenders. The company has stated that it will target windfarm acquisitions and investments in Ireland and the UK. NTR's energy fund secured a 50m investment from the Strathclyde Investment Fund, and 35m from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, which is controlled by the National Treasury Management Agency. Former business tycoon Sean Quinn has left the business he founded for a second time, following a mutual agreement with management. Quinn Industrial Holdings Limited (QIHL) said a consultancy agreement that last year saw founder Sean Quinn and his son Sean Quinn Jnr come back to work as advisers to their former business had ended. QIHL is the consortium that bought much of the former Quinn empire two years ago. "As time has progressed, it has become evident that Sean's expectations for his role and the ownership structure of QIHL are at odds with the strategic direction of the businesses. "Accordingly, it has been mutually agreed between the parties that QIHL's consultancy arrangement with Sean Quinn and Sean Quinn Junior will be discontinued, albeit Sean will have continued access to office facilities for his own personal use," staff were told in a memo from management. "The Board of QIHL is pleased that it has been possible to reach agreement on this matter and we were keen that staff should hear the news directly from the company." QIHL had brought Mr Quinn back into his former business for the first time since the company was taken over by receivers appointed by the former Anglo Irish Bank; however, relations between the two sides had become strained in recent months over the extent of Mr Quinn's role within the business. Threats A spokesperson for Mr Quinn did not respond for a request to comment when contacted by the Irish Independent. The spokesperson was also asked if the decision to terminate Mr Quinn's involvement with QIHL was in relation to "abusive" threats received at one of the firm's premises last year. They did not respond to this query at the time of going to print. Mr Quinn Snr previously issued a statement in which he criticised "abusive" threats directed at his former business interests - which are now controlled by QIHL. In one incident, bullets were sent in the post to contractors working on windfarms. A chilling handwritten message, accompanied by three bullets, was left near the company's premises during the week. The message ends with the words "Final warning". The former Quinn group of companies has received various threats since Mr Quinn's empire collapsed in 2011. Mr Quinn lost control of the Quinn Group and was bankrupted as a result of losses he suffered after his massive gamble on Anglo Irish Bank shares following the bank's collapse into a bailout and nationalisation in 2008. The finances of the Quinn Group and Anglo Irish Bank had become damagingly linked as a result of the Anglo Irish Bank share investments, made through secret trading in so-called contracts for difference. Parkridge Health System, comprised of Parkridge Medical Center, Parkridge East Hospital, Parkridge West Hospital, Parkridge Valley Adult and Senior Campus, and Parkridge Valley Child and Adolescent Campus, announced its 2015 Frist Humanitarian Award recipients during a ceremony May 5 at the Tennessee Aquarium.Parkridge Health System recognizes each of our award recipients for their personal commitment to providing the highest standard of care to our patients and for their contributions to their communities and those who need a helping hand, said Darrell Moore, president and chief executive officer of Parkridge Health System.Parkridge Health System 2015 Frist Humanitarian Award recipients are:Mary Anna Sanders, MD OBGYN physician: Dr.Sanders was instrumental in helping her parents found Shepherds Arms Rescue Mission in 1995. She serves as youth leader for at-risk youth as well as the music leader for the homeless women and children mission. She serves on the mission board of directors and leads Bible study each Saturday. She recently traveled to Nepal where she climbed to a remote village in the Himalayas to set up a womens clinic and share her faith. While there, she trained volunteers to assist with difficult deliveries and treated women involved in sex trafficking in Kathmandu.Robert Magill, MD hospitalist physician: Dr. Magill is a board member of Volunteers in Medicine, an organization dedicated to building a network of sustainable free primary health care clinics for the uninsured in the area. Last year he participated in a medical mission trip to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where he treated over 450 patients in clinic. He donates his time and expertise for a variety of causes including Medicine Explorers where he served as an advisor for high school students interested in pursuing medical careers.Rob Brown Parkridge Health System volunteer: Robs relationship with Parkridge began when he was a patient at Parkridge Medical Center. He was so impressed by the compassion and care he received that he decided he wanted to become a part of the Parkridge story and volunteers hours of his time each week at both Parkridge Medical Center and Parkridge East Hospital. He is known for his positive personality and willingness to go above and beyond in providing assistance to anyone in need.Reba Holliefield Parkridge Health System volunteer: Reba is always looking for ways to ensure that a patient or visitor to the hospital has a positive experience. Whether by providing directions, filling and tidying up refreshment stations or handing out that perfect magazine to meet the visitors interests, she is a true asset to the organization.Brianna Hartin RN Parkridge Medical Center nurse: Brianna is a volunteer with Bridge Refugee Services and organization that helps refugees with jobs, housing and medical needs. She also volunteers with Westside Low Income Housing, devoting her time playing with the children who always enjoy seeing her. She provides respite care for the family of a Downs Syndrome child one day each week. She raises money annually to send children to camp, last year collecting $22,000. For many years, Brianna and her family have devoted their time and resources building homes in Nicaragua.Michelle Gulley RN, BSN Parkridge East Hospital case management manager: As chairperson of her local Lions Club, for years Michelle has put in countless hours coordinating Christmas family benefits. She raises money through donations, grants, and family adoptions. Shes not finished there, and she also coordinates the shopping activities and distribution of gifts and food boxes. The club serves over 200 families every year, helping ensure a happier holiday season.Donna Nelson RN Mountainview Treatment Center behavioral health nurse: For more than a quarter century, Donna and her church have been the driving forces behind her Christmas Toys mission to ensure local children from less fortunate financial circumstances enjoy the holiday season. Serving an estimated 400 children during the 2015 holiday season alone, she has turned herself into a virtual Santa managing donations, storage, and distribution. She even has her own elf shop where select gently love toys are restored and repaired. When Christmas is over, Donna and her supporters start right back up on Dec. 26 shopping for deals and bargains for the next year.TriStar Division Winner: Dee Gladden, Parkridge Valley executive assistant: Dee coordinates Parkridge Valleys activities including the Fall Festival and the Christmas Adopt-a-Child program. She also hosts a book club for teenage girls and runs a dance studio for younger, underprivileged girls. Dee helps provide supplies to the dancers and helps them with fundraising events to cover the costs of costumes and shoes.The Frist Humanitarian Awards were created to recognize an employee, physician and volunteer at each Hospital Corporation of America - affiliated facility who demonstrates extraordinary concern for the welfare and happiness of patients and community. The Frist Humanitarian Awards are presented annually in recognition of the humanitarian spirit and philanthropic work of the late Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr., a founder of HCA. Campaigners hold placards as Prime Minister David Cameron delivers a speech at a Remain campaign event in his Witney constituency in Oxfordshire. Photo: PA 1 Sterling The currency has already weakened from about 69 pence to the euro at the end of November, to as high as 80 pence recently. It has strengthened fractionally recently as the 'remain' side has gained momentum in the polls. But if a Brexit occurs, analysts believe sterling's value could plummet, which would be bad for Irish firms exporting into Britain. 2 Trade Ireland's trading relationship with Britain is our most important and anything that could disrupt that would be a negative, especially in terms of the imposition of tariffs or border and customs controls. 3 The North/peace process A number of studies, including from the Nevin Economic Research Institute and Oxford Economics, warn that Northern Ireland is particularly vulnerable. It is regarded as the most exposed part of the UK to any negative consequences of Brexit, with particular concerns around the reimposition of the border. 4 Free movement of people The common travel area between Ireland and the UK predates our entry into what is now the EU. But can it continue if the UK leaves and Ireland remains? 5 Policy challenges Authorities here would have to rise to a massive diplomatic challenge post-Brexit to both minimise any threats to Ireland while pressing advantages around foreign direct investment. 6 Social welfare Irish workers in the UK could lose their right to British in-work benefit such as tax credits. Here are the main business stories from this morning's papers: Irish Independent * The owners of the Harcourt Hotel in Dublin have received the go-ahead for a new 152-bedroom hotel on Harcourt Street. Dublin City Council gave Brian and Sally McGill's Olema Consultants permission to transform the existing Pinebrook House Offices into the four-star Pinebrook House hotel. * Companies in Ireland contributed over 27m to charities and community groups last year while employees racked up 213,000 volunteer hours, new research has shown. Intel Ireland had the highest number of volunteer hours contributed by employees with ESB, Eir, IBM, and KPMG making up the top five. * Irish healthcare firm UDG has about 550m to fuel acquisitions and is targeting deals worth around 100m each, according to chief executive Brendan McAtamney. He said that there's a good pipeline of potential targets, and that even in the past week he met with five companies from both the United States and Europe that presented takeover possibilities. The Irish Times * Tech recruitment company Harvey Nash has announced the creation of 100 new jobs in Ireland over the next two years. According to a report in The Irish Times, the IT specialist firm said 40 of the new roles would be directly involved with Harvey Nash Ireland in the areas of recruitment and support services. * An Bord Pleanala has ordered 3 Ireland to remove a mast in an industrial estate in Dublin due to complaints from nearby residents who deemed it as an eyesore. According to a report in The Irish Times, the mast provides mobile phone coverage as well as 2G, 3G, and 4G to customers in the area and beyond. * The Central Bank has sold another 500m worth of bonds that were linked to the bailout of Anglo Irish Bank. According to a report in The Irish Times, the further sales bring the total disposals up to 3.5bn. Irish Examiner * Revenue at Britvic, the company that owns MiWadi and Ballygowan, increased to 678m in the first six months of its financial yearl The firm's revenue increased by 5.1pc year on year and posted an after-tax profit of 41.7m, up 7.5pc on the same period last year. * Minister for finance Michael Noonan has been urged by Dail members to speed up his department's review of the motor insurance market. According to a report in the Irish Examiner, the department launched an investigation into the area following rapid price increases over the last year, which has seen premiums increase by 34pc. * Leicester City is open to adding Irish sponsors to its portfolio following Premier League success. The club's Cork-born commercial director has appealed for Irish sponsors given the current Irish influence within the club. Euro notes are spread out at a bank branch in Madrid...Euro notes are spread out at a bank branch in Madrid January 13, 2011. Spain and Italy staged successful bond sales on Thursday, buying European leaders a little time to come up with a new package of measures to stem the debt crisis rocking their 12-year old single currency bloc. A day after Portugal surprised many in the markets by selling 10-year debt relatively easily, Spain and Italy passed their first major financial tests of 2011, auctioning a total of 9 billion euros in bonds. REUTERS/Andrea Comas (SPAIN - Tags: BUSINESS)...I Companies in Ireland contributed over 27m to charities and community groups last year while employees racked up 213,000 volunteer hours, new research has shown. Intel Ireland had the highest number of volunteer hours contributed by employees with ESB, Eir, IBM, and KPMG making up the top five. In terms of cash donations the ESB Group donated the most, followed by the likes of Tesco Ireland, SSE Airtricity, A&L Goodbody and Vodafone Ireland. The data was collated by Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), a network encouraging corporate social responsibility, which showed 51 firms in Ireland have formed more than 7,200 community links and have contributed through cash donations, in-kind donations and employee fundraising. Intel's donations came prior to the announcement it was cutting jobs in Ireland. Over 400 jobs could be lost at the tech giant's plant in Leixlip as part of a global culling in which it is redirecting its business. Nationally, over 11.3m was given in cash donations, 10.5m was contributed through in-kind donations with almost 5.3m raised through employee fundraising. Business in the Community Ireland chief executive Tina Roche described employees as "heroes". "They volunteered over 213,000 hours in just one year alone and we see this increasing all the time. The big trend is utilising professional skills to help local causes and this benefits the charities but crucially is engaging employees and boosting morale," she said. The figures for 2015 represent an increase on 2014 where employee hours amounted to 210,000 and the amount contributed reached 22m. The areas of health, community and poverty were the best supported. Over 7m was donated to health with a further 4.8m being donated to communities and another 4.1m going towards aiding poverty. Elsewhere, education and children and youth received sizeable contributions. More than 2.7m was donated to education while another 2.2m was donated to children and youth. Dublin generated the most support in the country, raising just under 18m. Outside of Dublin, Kildare raised the most with 2.2m. BITCI said the donations from Kildare was primarily due to Intel. BITCI said prospective employees consider company culture and engagement when they are looking for a job. The business network said the quality of the corporate social responsibility programme (CSR) weighs on workers' decisions on whether to stay in a job. CSR is defined by the European Commission as "the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society". The definition is broad and so too is its applications. In Ireland, part of Ulster Bank's CSR programme involves teaching skills for its customers and communities to adapt to changing economies. A firm's involvement with causes ranks high among millennial employees when they're applying for a job, with a recent report, titled 'The Millennial Impact', citing it above office environment and diversity. BITCI said more and more workers want to work with companies that hold values similar to their own and that and expectancy is growing among the workforce that firms should engage with community groups as standard. Irish small business funding platform FundSME has been approached by three foreign governments to address issues in raising cash, its chief executive has said. Dalkey-based FundSME connects businesses with a wider variety of sources of finance and says it has been contacted by three foreign countries to help deal with lending issues in the SME sector. Speaking at the company's second annual funding event yesterday, chief executive Nollaig Fahy said issues around lending to SMEs are not exclusive to Ireland. "We are being approached by governments outside of Ireland to assist them in being part of the solution of the SME problems outside of Ireland. "The problem for SME finance isn't just an Irish phenomenon it's right across Europe and outside," he said. Regarding the situation here, Mr Fahy said "there are about 183,000 SMEs, there are about 12,000 new companies that come in and there's about 10,000 that basically go bust or go bankrupt. "But of the 183,000, the top end are being minded by Enterprise Ireland and the likes of the IDA. The low end are being minded by self-finance, micro-finance, friends and family. The middle section is where we are looking and focused on," he said. FundSME's target audience includes around 45,000 businesses which are looking for funding between 25,000 and 5m. One FundSME client became fully funded after meeting "a really good fit" for the business at the event in the Ballsbridge Hotel yesterday. Bray-based PartyPacks.ie, which was set up by Willow King, became fully funded for expansion after securing 100,000 in funding. France has awarded its highest civilian honour to Irish businessman John Mullins, recognising his work in developing the countrys solar energy market. Corkman John Mullins, chief executive of Amarenco Solar, was awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur (Legion of Honour) at a ceremony in the French Embassy in Dublin, by the Ambassador of France to Ireland, Mr. Jean-Pierre Thebault. Mullins is the former head of Bord Gais Eireann and current chairman of the Port of Cork and sits on the board of Irish companies including Wisetek, Mainline and Heneghan PR. Amarenco is an independent power company that invests in, builds and operates solar power-plants. Its been active in the French market since 2014 and now has over 130 megawatts of operating and in-development solar projects. Amarenco is headquartered in Cork and has offices are in Nice and Gaillac. The Legion of Honour can be awarded to non-French citizens in recognition of actions benefitting the French nation, and is given at the discretion of the President of France, Francois Hollande. It is a great honour for me personally, but more importantly for the whole team in Amarenco and for our partners across France and Ireland, to receive the Legion of Honour award, John Mullins said. Its week five in the First Dates restaurant, with more singles looking for love. In a week that was full of mammies, sarcasm and self-sufficient women, the results were a mish-mash of hits and misses. Lets recap First in to the restaurant was sky diver Damien from Limerick, who gave up his job to live the dream. His date, single mum Dia, was looking for something more than the toy boys that approach her. She doesnt have a checklist, but she knows what she doesnt want her men to be thieves or criminals. Fair enough, like. She doesnt need her Prince Charming because shes a self-sufficient gal, but she does want one. Shes half Cuban, half Russian but shes in to Irish lads in a big way. Again, fair enough. "I do t need him. I just want him" I like this chick #firstdatesirl Niamh Hassell (@niamhhassell) May 19, 2016 The eldest of five boys, Damien made the mistake early on of bringing his mammy in to it. Allegedly testing Dia, he called her at the table to gauge his dates reaction. Right so. Damien is perplexed by women, but clearly didnt understand that mammy ringing is never a good idea. Come on, dude! This show has just confirmed the theory that Irish men are #mammysboys #FirstDatesIRL Christine (@chrissy1710) May 19, 2016 Dia seemed to enjoy photographing her food more than chatting to Damieneven though she claimed she doesnt eat a lot. Twitter was quick to pull her up on that one and despite thinking Damien was very nice, she didnt feel the spark. Poor Damo got friend zoned, but he took it well. I can't judge anyone for taking pictures of food... but taking a picture of food you're not gonna eat? That's torture #FirstDatesIRL Audrey (@Audge2000) May 19, 2016 Next time man, dont ring your mam! 74-year-old Tony was a hit right away. Hes still looking for love, while great granny Lexi, 75, has been single for nearly 20 years. She wants her very own Elvis, but can Tony love her tender? If the old pair don't find love I'll probably cry myself to sleep #FirstDatesIRL Ruth Hirsch (@BareLayer) May 19, 2016 In perhaps a damning indictment of millennial appetites, the pair were awed at the sight of the burger and chips delivered to a neighbouring table. Tony is an oul messer, which Lexi seems to admire. It didnt take long for the bold talk to start, with Lexi wanting people to know that people in their seventies are still in to sex, while Tony says hes still firing thanks to Viagra. Ahem. Tony is breaking my heart right now....please don't reject him Lexie....please love him #FirstDatesIRL LindaG (@lennygood76) May 19, 2016 Video of the Day There wasnt a dry eye in the country when Tony spoke of losing his wife nearly thirty years ago. They met on a blind date and were married for nearly two decades. Hes been in a couple of relationships since, but hes still looking for Ms Right. But very sadly, Lexi wasnt in to Tonys smooth moves and was quite direct about it. Dont worry Tony, Twitter absolutely fell in love with you! Well Lexie was even more brutal than I expected. AND I EXPECTED BRUTAL #FirstDatesIRL Ken Mooney (@kenmooney) May 19, 2016 Dating as an OAP seems nice and simple. A straight out "no" instead of overanalysing texts #FirstDatesIRL Niamh Gunning (@niamhspectrum) May 19, 2016 The Rebel Countys very own Laura says her deal man needs to be tall, smart and outgoing, while Dub Adam is worried hell be left on the shelf at 25. However there was tension right away when Adam referred to Cork as the country, while Laura declared it to be the real capital of Ireland. Right from the get go, the banter was NOT mighty between Laura and Adam. In fact, they seemed completely at odds. However, it might have been the case that Adam was a bit bowled over by Lauras good looks apparently he doesnt normally go for gals so glam (eyeliner goals, in fairness) Expand Close Adam and Laura / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Adam and Laura In fact, Twitter seemed to think he was getting on way better with the very lovely waitress.. However there was a glimmer of hope when they found out they were both only children and animal lovers. Oddly enough, Laura had never met another solo kid before. By the end, Adam was smitten, but it was very unclear what Laura thought as she said yes and no several times. However when she articulated that she did in fact like him, he went in for a kiss. Adam has fierce amounts of patience... What a gent! Love him #FirstDatesIRL Katie May (@nutbutterface) May 19, 2016 If it doesnt work out Adam, the gals on Twitter sure liked you Next up, Martin is an outgoing kind of guy, demonstrating his finest dance moves and swearing (quietly) that has a very loud personality. Hes not in to rules or boring people. Meanwhile, his date Cian is Martins type physically, but might he be a little bashful for our extra loud guy? Cian is not normally one for second dates while Martin just wants the wine with the kangaroo on it. Get the Chap a bottle of this #FirstDatesIRL pic.twitter.com/LMkeuo7ult Me aka Lisa Loeb (@Orls81) May 19, 2016 "Oh you ya big gay with your dominos" Best Irish Mammy line ever!!! #FirstDatesIrl baz brock (@Bazzyb85) May 19, 2016 They discussed coming out and polo necks, talked about their mams and pizza, but nobody could quite keep up online. Again, it was unclear if they liked each other at first because apparently Irish people arent great at sarcasm. But in the end, they went to 777 for a birra Mexican, and according to the show, have been dating ever since. Result! Next up, Michelle swore she woudnt do her laugh on national telly, but her giggles won her legions of fan right away. Shes another one from the I dont need a man, I want one school of thought, but thinks she doesnt have one because shes a bit mad. Not one for dates, shes nervous about any potential awkwardness. Expand Close Michelle and Stuart / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michelle and Stuart Stuart has been single for five years, and seems quite perplexed by that fact. He has a child and has been focussing on his son for years. Michelle then shocked everyone by revealing she has three kids, and two of them teenagers. Michelle says the girls have nicknamed her F*** Off, as thats her response to most fellas that approach her. However Twitter was in love with her right away. Still, Michelle wasnt feeling it. Something tells us she wont be short of dates if social media was anything to go by as long as she can hold her tongue when the lads chat her up. A hit and miss kind of night, well be back next week with more First Dates Ireland! Conor Cremen, Tomas O'Donovan and Conor Lyden are affected by the issue (Inset: Eimear Shovlin said the situation had a 'domino effect' on her friends) Irish students looking forward to a summer abroad in the US have been forced to cancel their trips last-minute as a result of strict, new J1 rules. More are in a rush against the clock to check all the boxes according to the new changes to the J1 Work and Travel Visa programme. College students are experiencing chaos as they are caught in a catch 22 situation and are struggling to complete vital documents in time. This year, Irish students must have their job approved before entering the country but many students are struggling to work with the Irish and American J1 companies. Student Tomas O'Donovan has lost over 1,000 after he had to cancel his trip because his job was not approved by a US agency on time. Tomas, from Cork, had paid Mayo-based J1 company TravelBug 799 to help him through the J1 process and to obtain a J1 Visa. Expand Close Eimear Shovlin said the situation had a 'domino effect' on her friends / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Eimear Shovlin said the situation had a 'domino effect' on her friends TravelBug work with the American Work Adventures (AWA) agency in the US to approve students jobs and to issue them with a DS2019 form, which is needed to get a work visa from the American Embassy. I just got word from TravelBug that they will not be able to get me a visa. I was due to fly out to America next Friday. They just said they had exhausted every possibility. "To be fair to TravelBug I'm probably inclined to believe them that the problem is at the American end, said Tomas. My job was approved by the AWA so I cant understand why my visa wasnt approved. I was on a J1 last year and worked in the same place. Expand Close Conor Cremen, Tomas O'Donovan and Conor Lyden are affected by the issue / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Conor Cremen, Tomas O'Donovan and Conor Lyden are affected by the issue While TravelBug said theyre going to refund 700 of the 799 Tomas paid he said he has still lost a lot of money. In total I will lose out on the 500 I paid for flights, 450 deposit for accommodation and the 99 euro deposit for TravelBug. Its a catch 22 for other Irish students as they need their job to be approved in America before the DS2019 form is issued. This form is needed for students to get an interview with the American Embassy to approve a J1 work visa for the students. No embassy means no airport for the Irish students and even after they get their embassy appointment, students passports are held for up to five days before the visa is received. Eimear Shovlin from Donegal booked her J1 with the company SAYIT, who work with the American agency InterExchange. She started her J1 process in January and only got word back recently that her job wasnt approved by InterExchange. I wouldnt even have minded if they had told me sooner that my job was rejected. They said that they couldnt get in touch with my employer to approve the job but thats not true," she said. "My employer filled out the necessary forms, she gave her tax and business numbers and then we were waiting to hear back about whether it was accepted or not. My employer even signed up for email notifications but didnt hear anything back, Eimear said. Nobody rang me to let me know and it didnt make sense because nobody had contacted my employer either. Im in the position now where Id have to fill out the application forms again with my employer and Id have to go through the process of giving all the information again which I did in January. Now, Im not going on a J1, Im not going through the application again. Eimear said she paid SAYIT 290 so far, and has been getting messages to pay the remaining 400. I told them I wasnt going to pay it until my job was sorted. Luckily I didnt pay that or book my flights. I begrudge giving them any money. Eimear said that not going on the J1 had a 'domino effect' on her friends; We had an apartment sorted and when I refused to sign the sub-lease the landlord threatened to take the lease off the other girls until they found someone else. There was nothing I could do, she said. I just dont understand whats going on. Olive Weeks rang RTEs Liveline to share her daughter Niamhs experience with the J1 application. She should be travelling on Sunday but she had to change her flight to the following Saturday but she doesnt think shes going to make that flight either, said Olive. Niamh arranged her J1 with USIT, who work with the American Agency, Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), to approve students jobs. She had her job offer arranged by the April 10 and sent it off. USIT told her shell have to wait for CIEE to approve her job. So she got her employer in Ocean City to ring them and they told him that she wasnt on the system so she went back to USIT again and they said that it must be a mistake because her job form was sent off. She got her employer to ring again and she was told she still wasnt on the system. "One day USIT said that they had re-submitted her form but didnt tell her why they did it so then they told her that her job was approved on May 10 but she knew at that stage she knew she wouldnt be there by her start date which was May 22 so her employer had to contact CIEE again to give them a new start date, Olive said. Niamh still doesnt have her DS2019 form and she was told it would take two weeks to come. When her form does arrive, shell then have to go to the American Embassy to get her visa. Its highly unlikely shes going to make her flight on Saturday week, said Olive. USIT released a statement that said: If anyone is experiencing delays, we urge them to get in touch with us and we will do all possible to help expedite where ever possible. The statement said that delays have occurred due to students applying late, the US Servis system crashing, and with employers delaying in providing necessary documentation. SAYIT and TravelBug were contacted but were unable to comment. Tonight the US embassy in Ireland said it would accommodate students who had encountered last-minute processing issues. In a statement a spokesman said they were now engaging with a number of independent US sponsors to ensure that affected Irish students who are eligible and qualified to participate in the J-1 program this year "have every opportunity to do so". He continued: "All Irish J-1 SWT applicants who apply for visas between May 23 and June 17, and whose visas are approved, will be permitted to collect their passports from the U.S. Embassy in Ballsbridge within two working days after their scheduled interviews. "Passport/visa collection will be at 2:00 p.m. and must be in person. In a small number of visa applications, additional administrative processing may be required. If that situation applies to any J-1 SWT applicant, U.S. Embassy Dublin will contact him/her immediately." The spokesman confirmed that they became aware of the problems earlier this week. Since its launch in 1966 the J-1 Summer Work Travel program has welcomed 150,000 Irish young people to the United States. The embassy spokesman said: "We remain committed to the continued success of the J-1 program." The jury in the trial of four former bankers accused of conspiracy to defraud the public in 2008 has been sent home for the weekend after a third day of deliberations. Four former executives from Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Life & Permanent (ILP) are alleged to have conspired to mislead investors about the true health of Anglo. By the end of day 78 in the trial the jurors had deliberated for just over 13 hours. At 4.30pm Judge Martin Nolan told them to go home and to return to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Monday morning to resume deliberations. Anglo's former head of capital markets John Bowe (52) and the bank's then finance director Willie McAteer (65) along with former chief executive of ILP Group Denis Casey (56) and ILP's former finance director Peter Fitzpatrick (63) have been on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court since January last. It is the longest running criminal trial in the State's history. Bowe from Glasnevin, Dublin, McAteer of Greenrath, Tipperary Town, Co. Tipperary, Casey from Raheny, Dublin and Fitzpatrick of Convent Lane, Portmarnock, Dublin have all pleaded not guilty to conspiring together and with others to mislead investors by setting up a 7.2 billion circular transaction scheme between March 1st and September 30th, 2008 to bolster Anglo's balance sheet. The prosecution case is that the four men were involved in a setting up a circular scheme of billion euro transactions where Anglo lent money to ILP and ILP sent the money back, via their assurance firm Irish Life Assurance, to Anglo. The scheme was designed so that the deposits came from the assurance company and would be treated as customer deposits, which are considered a better measure of a bank's strength than inter-bank loans. The 7.2 billion deposit was later accounted for in Anglo's preliminary results on December 3, 2008 as part of Anglo's customer deposits figure. The prosecution say that the entire objective of the scheme was to mislead anybody reading Anglo's accounts by artificially inflating the customer deposits number from 44bn to 51bn, a difference of 16%. Lawyers for the Anglo defendants have argued that the deposits were real deposits and were accounted for correctly on Anglo's balance sheet and so no fraud was carried out. Lawyers defending the former ILP executives say their clients had no control over how Anglo would account for the deposits and that their clients had no intention to mislead the public. A Chattanooga roofing firm will put a new roof on Cleveland Middle School. The Cleveland School Board, at a brief special called meeting on Friday morning, approved the bid of JDH Roofing. The bid price was $601,125. School officials said that due to that bid being lower than estimated two alternates were included. One provides a 30-year warranty. Also, the firm will replace all the existing prefinished edge metal (coping, gutter, gravel stop and downspouts). School officials said JDH "has an excellent reputation for performing their work in a timely manner using quality workmanship and materials. Since they are close in location they should be able to service the warranty quicker if needed, compared to a company who is located several hours away." The work is set to start as early as next week. Officials said it will likely run through August. There were 10 interested bidders, and six turned in proposals. Board members said it was surprising that the current roof did not last any longer than it did, but said it was the result of "value engineering." The roof was original to the building, which was built in 2000. A High Court challenge has been launched to block inspectors conducting an investigation into the collective redundancies of workers at the iconic Clery's Department Store. The inspectors were appointed by the Work Place Relations Commission (WRC) following the Dublin store's closure in June 2015, shortly after its sale by its previous owners, the Gordon Brothers Group, to Natrium Ltd. Natrium is a joint venture made up of Irish investment group D2 Private Ltd, and Cheyne Capital Management in the UK. Approximately 460 people either directly employed by Clery's or by various concession holders in the store lost their jobs. D2 Private Ltd and its director and owner Ms Deidre Foley have brought proceedings after the inspectors, along with members of An Garda Siochana, entered the firm's offices at Harcourt Terrace Dublin on Thursday. Mr Justice Anthony Hunt heard that as part of their investigation, the two inspectors rely on certain provisions of the 1977 Protection of Employment Act and the 2015 Workplace Relations Act, including powers to enter premises and seize documents. After entering D2 Private's offices the inspectors demanded to be furnished with a laptop belonging to a company employee and certain books and records. The laptop was taken by the inspectors, the court heard. The documents include correspondence the company had with parties including the liquidators and directors of the company that had operated Clery's - OCS Operations, before Natrium acquired the Store. In their action Ms Foley and D2 Private reject the inspector's assertions they have the power to enter onto their premises or to lawfully take the computer or the materials sought. In their action against the Commission and the Inspectors Ms Foley and D2 Private Ltd seek an order quashing the requirement made on them by the Commission and the inspectors to hand over materials. They also seek a declaration from the court that the use of the investigatory powers under the Acts allowing the inspectors and the Commission obtain access to D2 Private's premises and obtain documents and other materials is unlawful and outside of their powers. Barrister Breffni Gordon Bl for the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, which has responsibility for the Commission said his client opposes the application. He said the investigation was being conducted to see if a criminal prosecution should be brought arising out of the workers collective redundancy. Seeking permission to bring the challenge, barrister Eoin McCullough SC for Ms Foley and D2 Private said the case was essential about the statutory interpretation of the Acts in question. He said the inspectors were acting under powers contained in the act which they say allows them to enter any premises where there are employees. Counsel said it is their case this cannot be so, and that the inspectors can only enter premises and take documents from premises relevant to their investigation. Ms Foley and D2 Private were never the employers of and had no connection with the Clerys workers. The documents sought and the materials on the computer are outside the remit of the investigation and there was no valid basis for taking them, counsel said. Counsel added there were concerns about commercially sensitive information contained on the seized laptop. It was their case the inspectors were not entitled to take it and they are seeking orders to have the laptop returned. Mr Justice Hunt adjourned the case to Monday. Noting the importance of the action, and the serious consequences for the parties involved, the judge said it was best the application be heard as soon as possible. The judge accepted an undertaking that the laptop taken by the inspectors would be kept by a solicitor for the Department and not interfered with pending further order by the court. The judge also granted an injunction preventing any party from making any use of any material that has been downloaded from the laptop. ALMOST 80 students have been suspended from one of Dublins most prestigious schools in the last year due to their behaviour on class outings. The students, from separate classes, were suspended and banned from future trips by Belvedere College. In one outing on the Camino in France, a number of students were punished for consuming alcohol while on the tour. These students were subsequently suspended from the school for a small period on their return. During a separate trip, a group of second-year pupils were caught vaping (using vaporisers which are intended for smokers attempting to quit) while on a trip to an adventure centre. Those caught were also suspended. Meanwhile last year, students were suspended after being caught drinking on a fourth- year outing to France. In total, 79 teenagers have been suspended from the school for a period over their behaviour on trips in the last 12 months. In a statement, Belvedere College said that it has a zero tolerance policy to alcohol consumption and deemed the sanctions appropriate. The college has a strict code of disciplinary conduct agreed with pupils and parents, and applied with consistency. The code is board policy drafted in consultation with sub-committees of the Board of Management representing both parents and teachers and the school council, the statement said. In particular, we are very concerned about the culture of underage drinking in our society. The college has a zero tolerance policy in place regarding the consumption of alcohol by underage students. Every year almost all the students in the school 1,000 avail of the opportunity to go on one or more residential trips at home or abroad or on exchange trips. In this overall context only a small minority infringe the rules. A student who does so is given a sanction, typically a one, two or three-day suspension, which we deem appropriate, all factors considered, Belvedere College said. Any parent or pupil is entitled to appeal but to date the policy has received the overwhelming support of parents and teachers. They understand that it would be unfair to allow the behaviour of a small minority to jeopardise the viability of these educational trips, which are greatly enjoyed by the majority of students who are well-behaved and benefit considerably from them. Understandably any comment about individual disciplinary cases would be a breach of privacy, the schools statement added. Belvedere College is one of the capitals most recognised free-paying secondary institutes, boasting a wide range of achievements from educational to sporting. Fees for the Great Denmark Street school were previously in the region of 5,000, and it has several well-known past pupils including Irish rugby international rugby Cian Healy, former UFC fighter Cathal Pendred and late Finance Minister Brian Lenihan. If the dispute is not resolved, it could lead to possible closure of more than half the country's secondary schools (Stock Image) The row between secondary teachers and the Government has escalated with a decision by the ASTI to ballot for strike action if there is any interference with members pay and conditions when they stop working the 33 Croke Park hours in September. If the dispute is not resolved, it could lead to major disruption to, and possible closure of more than half the country's secondary schools when they re-open after the summer holidays. The strike action move by the union's ruling body, the ASTI Standing Committee, follows the 69-31 vote in favour of withdrawing the extra hour a week productivity introduced at the height of the national financial crisis. The 33 hours were introduced for second-level teachers in the Croke Park Agreement for public servants, continued through the subsequent Haddington Road Agreement and they are also a part of the new Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA). The LRA which has been accepted by virtually all unions - is offering partial pay restoration after the era of cuts and concessions, such as ongoing protection against compulsory redundancy for teachers in schools where there is a surplus. However, the ASTI has voted against the deal, and the ballot on refusing to continue to work the 33 hours means it has a mechanism in place with which to respond to any action by the Government against members. The Department of Education has taken a hardline on the issue and said that refusing to work the 33 hours from September would represent a repudiation of the LRA A spokesperson for Education Minister Richard Bruton warned this week that such a move would have major implications for students and schools. The stand off means that schools where the ASTI has members are facing a highly volatile situation when they re-open in September. A vote on strike action could be triggered for a number of reasons, including if the Department of Education penalised teachers for refusing to work the 33 hours from September. The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) has accepted the LRA. The other second-level teachers' union, the TUI, has rejected it but, following discussions with the Department of Education it putting it out to ballot again with a yes recommendation. Health Minister Simon Harris confirmed that it will now be early 2017 before the BCG vaccine can be administered to all newborns. Photo: Tom Burke A huge backlog of more than 100,000 infants who have not received the vaccine to protect against TB will have built up by the time supplies become available again. Health Minister Simon Harris confirmed that it will now be early 2017 before the BCG vaccine can be administered to all newborns. A European shortage of the vaccine since April last year means around 70,000 babies have had to be put on hold for the vaccine. Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person. It can be cured with proper antibiotic treatment. The minister said there is only one licensed supplier of the BCG vaccine to Ireland and to other countries within the EU. "Since this problem became apparent, the HSE National Immunisation Office has been in regular contact with the manufacturer of BCG vaccine to ascertain when the vaccine might be available. "The HSE has also asked the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), which licenses and regulates all human medicines in Ireland, to source an alternate supplier of the BCG vaccine. " Efforts have been made to find a company who can provide the vaccine for use in Ireland which satisfies all the HPRA requirements on safety and efficacy." BCG vaccination clinics in maternity hospitals and the HSE have had to be postponed until the new stock arrives, said Mr Harris in a parliamentary response to Tipperary TD Seamus Healy. To date no suitable alternative BCG product has been found. Therefore the HSE has been unable to procure the BCG vaccine from any other source and still awaits the product from the HPRA licensed supplier of the vaccine. The HSE has reassured parents that they should not be concerned as the number of cases of TB in Ireland has been falling. While the incidence of TB in Ireland has been declining, more than 300 cases of the disease were diagnosed in 2015. Over the last decade the number of cases of TB decreased from 450 in 2005 to 318 cases in 2015. The incidence in foreign-born patients here was 16.5 per 100,000, while among Irish it was 4.1 per 100,000. There was one case of multi-drug resistant TB and the highest number of patients were diagnosed in the east of the country. More than half the cases were diagnosed in men and the main age group were aged 25 to 34. Jim O'Neill, who has said that tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is "absolutely essential", Superbugs will kill someone every three seconds by 2050 unless the world acts now, a hugely influential report says. The global review sets out a plan for preventing medicine "being cast back into the dark ages" that requires billions of dollars of investment. It also calls for a revolution in the way antibiotics are used and a massive campaign to educate people. According to the BBC, the report has received a mixed response, with some concerned that it does not go far enough. The battle against infections that are resistant to drugs is one the world is losing rapidly and has been described as being "as big a risk as terrorism". The problem is that we are simply not developing enough new antibiotics and we are wasting the ones we have. Since the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance started in mid-2014, more than one million people have died from such infections. And in that time doctors also discovered bacteria that can shrug off the drug of last resort - colistin - leading to warnings that the world was teetering on the cusp of a "post-antibiotic era". The review says the situation will only get worse, with 10 million people predicted to die every year from resistant infections by 2050. The analysis was based on scenarios modelled by researchers Rand Europe and auditors KPMG. They found that drug-resistant E. coli, malaria and tuberculosis (TB) would have the biggest impact. And the financial cost to economies of drug resistance is expected to add up to $100 trillion by the mid-point of the century. The review recommends: An urgent and massive global awareness campaign, as most people are ignorant of the risks; Establishing a $2bn Global Innovation Fund for early stage research; Improved access to clean water, sanitation and cleaner hospitals to prevent infections spreading; Reducing the unnecessary and vast use of antibiotics in agriculture, including a ban on those "highly critical" to human health; Improved surveillance of the spread of drug resistance; Paying companies $1bn for every new antibiotic discovered; Financial incentives to develop new tests to prevent antibiotics being given when they will not work; Promoting the use of vaccines and alternatives to drugs. The review said the economic case for action "was clear", and it could be paid for using a small cut of countries' current health budgets or through extra taxes on pharmaceutical companies not investing in antibiotic research. Jim O'Neill, the economist who led the global review, told the BBC: "We need to inform in different ways, all over the world, why it's crucial we stop treating our antibiotics like sweets. "If we don't solve the problem we are heading to the dark ages, we will have a lot of people dying. "We have made some pretty challenging recommendations which require everybody to get out of the comfort zone, because if we don't then we aren't going to be able to solve this problem." O'Neill's review called for a group of countries such as the G20 to reward companies for finding and developing new antibiotics. "These market entry rewards, of around $1 billion each, would be given to the developers of successful new drugs, subject to certain conditions that ensure they are not over-marketed but are available to patients who need them wherever they live," it said. In July 2013, John Hopkins stood waiting at the airport for his wife and nine-year-old son to return from their holiday in America. But they never came back. After three years of searching, the 40-year-old found his little boy, Cody, but he now faces a battle to bring him back home to Carrickfergus. Expand Close John Hopkins with son Cody when he was younger / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp John Hopkins with son Cody when he was younger John met Cody's American mother, Jackie, on the internet in 2002. They fell in love, and John went to Wisconsin to meet her. A few months later, he went back to get married in Las Vegas. Cody was born on September 10, 2003, and although the family enjoyed life in the US they decided to move to Northern Ireland in 2006 after John's mother suffered two strokes. In 2013, Jackie began to feel homesick, so John arranged a trip for her and his son to visit her family in the States. Throughout the two-week trip, Jackie sent messages keeping John up to date with what they were doing and finished each one with the words "love you". The pair were due to fly back on July 13, but they never arrived and all contact ceased. "My wife couldn't make friends and couldn't get a job," John said. "I knew she was struggling, but it was a complete shock when she just didn't come back." Worried about what had happened, John contacted police in Wisconsin, where Jackie was staying, and was told she was fine and would be catching the next flight to Northern Ireland. A few days later, however, officers said they did not know where the mother and child were and had listed Cody as missing. "I was always expecting her to come home," John said. "It was hard when I realised. I've left Cody's bedroom as it was. I couldn't go into it for the first year, but it's basically untouched. "Cody is my only son and for the last three years I've been contacting someone nearly every day to try and get information." "I did almost give up at times, but I've had a lot of support from groups on Facebook and the charity Reunite, who all told me never to give up. "There have been children who have been found after five or six years. I had to keep working at it." Over the weekend, John finally received the news he was waiting for: Cody had been found. It transpired that Jackie had suffered a massive heart attack and died in Tennessee on May 7. The authorities discovered she had been on the run for three years, using a false name to avoid detection. Following her death, they were able to identify who she was and contact John to tell him his son was safe. "I have been suffering with severe anxiety because of this, but the moment I found out that Cody was safe, it just dropped away - it was a sense of pure relief," he said. However, his elation was short-lived because Cody is now in the custody of child protection services in Tennessee - and his doting father faces a lengthy and expensive court battle to bring him back to Ireland. While John knows his son is in no danger, he has so far been unable to contact him. "When I heard the news, I just wanted to be with my son," he said. "But I'm not allowed any contact whatsoever until it goes through the courts, which will be by June 8 at the latest. "I just can't wait to see him. I haven't even seen photographs of him, so I don't even know what he looks like now." John has set up a petition in a bid to show the courts how much support Cody will have in Northern Ireland. "He's pretty much on his own over there and we just want to show that we want him back," he said. "He lived here for seven years and he has loads of friends around here. "We want him to come back to his life here." The State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs said: "We are aware of reports of an international parental child abduction from the United Kingdom to the United States. The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is in force between the United Kingdom and the United States. "The Bureau of Consular Affairs, along with our Embassies and Consulates, works with parents and foreign governments to try to resolve these difficult cases. Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment." To sign John's petition to bring Cody home, visit http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bring-cody-hopkins-home FORMER Minister Alan Kelly is to consider his position within the Labour Party after his fellow TDs refused to support his nomination for the leadership, Independent.ie can reveal. Mr Kelly has failed to secure the required backing of just one TD and will therefore not be allowed to contest a leadership contest. This means Brendan Howlin has succeeded Joan Burton as leader without any election taking place. Mr Kelly was not present at Mr Howlin's unveiling this afternoon. "I am very disappointed Alan Kelly did not show up today," Mr Howlin said. "I will be ringing him after this press conference." In an interview with News at One, the new leader said he had no trouble" with Mr Kelly and he would be an intrinsic part of the Labour Party. Expand Close Labour TD's Brendan Howlin & Alan Kelly during the Labour Party's Annual James Connolly Commemoration at Arbour Hill Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Labour TD's Brendan Howlin & Alan Kelly during the Labour Party's Annual James Connolly Commemoration at Arbour Hill Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins I have spoken to him [Mr Kelly] for many hours. We have different views. But a decision has been made under the Constitution of the Labour Party. Mr Kelly has since released a statement. "I wish Brendan Howlin well as leader of the Labour Party and congratulate him on what is a proud day for him, his family, friends and supporters," he said. "Over the past week I sought to ensure that the leadership of the party would be chosen by the members, by way of a contest and a democratic election. "I further thought that a shortened contest would allow for re-engagement with our members and ensure a contest based on vision and ideas for the future direction of the party, where the best candidate would emerge with a clear mandate," "The rest of the parliamentary party took a different view to what I believe is the members wish and entitlement. I want to thank the huge volume of members who have confirmed that view to me." In the News at One interview, Mr Howlin denied he was reluctant volunteer for the post of the Labour Party. I laid out my stall to my parliamentary colleagues very clearly. We had a very bruising election campaign result. When I didnt stand in the last leadership contest, I didnt expect to be standing in the subsequent one. "But looking at the needs of the party, all of us in the parliamentary party, searched our souls about what is right for the future. We spent many hours mapping out a policy platform that will in the quickest possible time restore the Labour Party. Several sources across all levels of the party today said the issue may result in members submitting their resignations. Sources also said Mr Kelly will now consider his future within the Labour fold after failing to secure a 'seconder' to support his nomination. And former deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin, Henry Upton, told independent.ie: This is an insult to democracy and an insult to the Labour Party. Mr Upton, who is a member of the Labour National Executive, added; The new leader of the Labour Party will be elected by the parliamentary party, not the 4,000 members. Mr Kelly had asked Jan OSullivan for her nomination but she told him she had already made her position clear. I said from the beginning The person to lead the Labour Party is the right person, the person I believe in. To me Brendan is the right person, Ms OSullivan said. Alan Kelly is a good friend and colleague and I am sure he will be part of the shared-leadership. I know he said he would like to be leader but I think Brendan Howlin was the correct person. A home was destroyed by fire Friday afternoon on Mowbray Mountain. The Mowbray Volunteer Fire Department battled the fire at 12 p.m. at 1232 Hot Water Road. MVFD Chief Chris Weddington was the first unit on the scene and reported fire showing on the left front corner of the house. He requested a mutual aid response for the Sequoyah VFD and Dallas Bay VFD to respond. Fire spread quickly throughout the double-wide mobile home so firefighters conducted a defensive attack to contain the fire to the single structure. No injuries were reported but Hamilton County EMS was on the scene for any potential injuries. No one was home. The cause of the fire is undetermined and will be under investigation by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. Damages are listed at $35,000. Alan Kelly's hopes of becoming the next Labour Party leader look set to be dashed after none of his fellow TDs committed to supporting his nomination. With nominations due to close at midday today, Mr Kelly had yet to secure a seconder among his fellow Labour TDs. This is despite calls from a large number of members for a contest to be held to succeed Joan Burton. Sources within the Kelly camp last night said it looked unlikely he would secure the backing of any of his six colleagues in the Dail. If such a scenario materialises, former Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin would be the only candidate, therefore eliminating the need for an election. Cork East TD Sean Sherlock yesterday said he was keeping his options open in relation to the leadership - but sources say he is highly unlikely to run. As reported by the Irish Independent yesterday, Limerick TD and former Education Minister Jan O'Sullivan came under pressure from within her own constituency to back Mr Kelly and therefore force a contest for the leadership. Former branch chairperson Gerry Burke resigned from the party yesterday over the issue. He told the Irish Independent last night there is "deep annoyance" over the prospect of members not being allowed to vote in a contest. The issue of the leadership dominated a Labour Party event in Dublin. Mr Kelly said it would be up to the members of the parliamentary party to decide if there was a contest, other than outgoing leader Joan Burton and chairperson Willie Penrose as they have said they will not declare support either way. "So if there is more than one person putting themselves forward . . . it falls down to three people to assess what is the right thing for membership of approximately 4,000," he said. "I believe contest is healthy but whether one will be elected or not, that's really one for internal discussion," added Mr Kelly. Micheal Martin and former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern were among the hundreds of mourners who thronged St Jude's church in south Dublin yesterday for the funeral mass of former Fianna Fail TD and councillor Sean Ardagh. More than 700 people including politicians, journalists, friends, neighbours and fellow parishioners joined Mr Ardagh's heartbroken family in bidding a final farewell to a man who, in the words of the Fianna Fail leader, "was loved across the House on all sides". The former TD for Dublin South-Central passed away on Tuesday following a battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at Our Lady's Hospice in Harold's Cross at the age of 68. Among the chief mourners were his beloved wife Maire, their children, Rory, Charlie and Catherine, his siblings Pat, Fintan and Jackie, his grandchildren Charlotte, Jamie and Jane and extended family. Delivering the eulogy, his daughter, Senator Catherine Ardagh, who was recently elected as Fianna Fail Seanad leader, beamed with pride as she spoke of her father's kindness, his encouragement and dedication to his family as well as his deep loyalty to his friends and colleagues. "He loved nothing more than the company of friends and family," she said. And while she described him as a "dedicated public servant", he always had time for his family, she said. He was laid to rest at Burgage cemetery in Wicklow. Fianna Fail's Jack Chambers says he has been compared to a "Lego man" by friends, making light of abuse he received on social media over his appearance. The Dublin West TD also described a "tsunami of abuse" after his election. "I suppose if you enter politics, you expect people to make a comment on you (online) when you make a speech or talk in the Dail," he told Independent.ie's political podcast, the Floating Voter. "Some people making these comments have issues in their own lives and it's important not to get obsessed about it, which I don't," he said. The deputy has also received attention for his conservative views on keeping the constitutional ban on abortion. "A lot of people have views on the Eighth Amendment and it can be polarising. I think it's important to have constitutional protection for the unborn," he said. Mr Chambers also spoke to the political team of Niall O'Connor, Philip Ryan and Cormac McQuinn - and told how he lives in a "red and green house" because of his Mayo roots. The Floating Voter is available on Independent.ie. Avril McHugh, marketing director of CPL Resources, with former Tanaiste Mary Harney at the WXN breakfast talk on the subject of Reinventing and Reimagining in the Westin Hotel, Dublin. Photo: Frank McGrath If it seems like Mary Harney has gone off the radar, that's because she has. The former Tanaiste and leader of the Progressive Democrats has candidly admitted her favourite benefit of life these days is her precious privacy. She doesn't do interviews any more, and when asked her opinion of the new 32nd Dail, she wryly says: "No comment" - pausing only to add: "I wish them well." Nevertheless, cajoled into giving an address to the Women's Executive Network (WXN) breakfast event at the Westin Hotel in Dublin, she explains: "Believe it or not, I am very shy. You might find it extraordinary, but it is true." Harney (63) looks relaxed and wears her hair longer, joking about her billing at the WXN event under the heading "Reinvention and Reimagination", quipping: " I suppose when you saw reinvention and reimagination . . . you probably thought you were going to see a size six Mary Harney on the stage with long blonde hair." She tells them that the distilling and analytical skills she honed in the political arena translate well to the world of industry and commerce. She speaks frankly - but perhaps not quite elaborately enough - about her time as Health Minister and makes a veiled reference to her reform of the health service. "In each job you can only do incremental change," she says, adding that if she has learned anything over the course of her political career it is that "getting bogged down in structural change is not a very worthwhile task." " And I would tell anybody in a ministerial role to avoid structural change unless it's very necessary, because it is all-consuming for the people who work in an organisation," she says. "Sometimes there's confusion between structural reform and the real reason the structure is in place which is to make things happen." She mentions the "incredibly controversial" reform of national cancer services - consolidated into eight centres, recalling how there were "posters in Monaghan up with my picture, saying; "wanted for murder' because we had taken away the service. Effigies of me were burned on bonfires in many parts of the country." Such criticism hurt her family - but she remained thick-skinned, she says. "I just say that as a sample of when you try to do the right thing, how very often it can be a challenge," she adds. And she speaks of the financial collapse, admitting that one of the key mistakes the government made was in benchmarking the public sector against private-sector pay instead of public-sector pay in other countries. "Of course, when there's a downturn the private sector can make reductions much more easily. It's much more difficult in a public-sector environment." The government had accepted the consensus in the country of a 'soft landing' and didn't listen to those giving a different view. She chimes in with Enda Kenny's concerns about young people being "always on the phone, heads down". Harney has come around to the idea of quotas for women in politics, is enthusiastic over the appointment of new Senator Lynn Ruane and says how awful it was how a psychologist on TV once claimed Joan Burton "moved her lips a certain way because she was adopted". Politics is harder for women, she concedes. The Irish Defence Forces carried out its most complex-ever exercise in the Irish Sea yesterday... and it looked like it was a scene straight out of Hollywood. Bystanders may have thought Star Wars was being outshone by a new show in town, but in fact it was the Irish Defence Forces' latest misson. The Army Ranger Wing practiced what they described as "assault team elements", approaching their target from sea and air. The footage released shows the teams successfully target the Stena Superfast Ferry and manage to board the vessel before it approached Dublin Port. The LE James Joyce and the Air Corps CASA were used to locate, track and provide surveillance of the ferry. Meanwhile, Army Ranger Wing teams simultaneously boarded the ferry from both AW139 Helicopters and RIBs before securing the vessel. The Defence Forces Special Operations Task Group, otherwise known as the Army Ranger Wing, conducted the joint operation. The notion that a valuable album of old photographs might be hidden somewhere in the attic is generally a family myth. Old photographs are rarely valuable and if an album has been relegated to storage, it's usually because it's not that interesting. But, just occasionally, something of genuine interest comes to light. And that's what happened when the auctioneers from Mealy's were cataloguing the contents of Lotabeg, Tivoli, in Cork City. "The family mentioned an album of old photographs of India but they didn't know where it was," says George Gerard Mealy. "We found them in the hot press." Because old photographs are sensitive to light and fluctuations of temperature, the linen closet was a relatively sensible place to store the three leather-bound albums. The albums contained images dating from the earliest days of photography and taken by one of the pioneering explorer photographers of the British Empire, Samuel Bourne. When Bourne arrived in India in 1863, he set up a studio in Simla and, from there, embarked on three successive photographic expeditions to the Himalayas. Each venture was crazier than the next. Bourne had all the qualities of a Victorian explorer-photographer: physical courage, exquisite craftsmanship, and complete disregard for his own (or anyone else's) safety in pursuit of his goal. Bourne's final expedition travelled to the source of the Ganges in 1866 with an entourage of 80 porters. Early photography was a cumbersome business and the porters were required to carry boxes of chemicals, glass plates, and a portable darkroom tent. Another part of their job was to tend to the flock of sheep and goats that travelled with the party, supplying them with food on the hoof. Bourne crossed the Manirung Pass at 18,600 feet, taking the opportunity of a rare break in the cloud cover to set the world record for high-altitude photography. He took three views at the pass, one of which is included in the Lotabeg albums. The death-defying expedition continued to the ice cave at the Gangotri Glacier where the Ganges originates. Bourne returned to England in 1870, leaving a legacy of around 2,500 views, mostly of architecture and landscapes. Reproduced and distributed by his partner Charles Shepherd, who remained in Simla, the photographs were avidly collected by the British in India. Most of the photographs in the Lotabeg albums are by Bourne, signed and numbered. They show Indian landscapes ranging from the Taj Mahal at Agra and Gate of the Kaiser Bagh in Lucknow to colonial shooting parties, complete with grisly trophies, and ethnographic studies. They include alluring titles like 'Group of Thugs' and 'Snake Charmers'. On one level the photographs are a fascinating glimpse of life on the subcontinent, as seen through British colonial eyes, but Bourne's meticulously composed images also show the potential of the emerging art of photography. "You can tell that real time and effort went into setting up the shots," Mealy comments. The three albums are for sale as a single lot with an estimate of 6,000 to 10,000. Bourne's photographs can fetch very large sums at auction. In November 2015 an album of 68 photographs from the studio of Howard and Bourne sold at Bonham's Travel and Exploration sale in London for 22,500 (28,567). Bourne's partnership with Howard was brief and predated that with Shepherd, which would have added to the price. In the same sale, an album of 53 views of India by Bourne sold for 3,250 (4,126). The high prices paid for Bourne's work reflects a wider interest in photographs of 19th-century exploration. This March, a collection of portraits of Maori people by Elizabeth Pulman (nee Chad) (1836-1900) sold at auction in Shropshire for 18,000 (22,766) collectively, or 850 (1,075) to 2,000 (2,530) apiece. The auction had the blessing of the Maori Society of London, who travelled to Shropshire to pray around the collection before the sale, and several of the images will return to New Zealand. Although many early photographs require expert valuation, it's possible to get a notion of their value by rule of thumb. A photograph must, for example, contain interesting subject matter. A boring 19th-century photograph is of no interest to anyone. Original photographs of famous people can be valuable, especially if they were taken by a known photographer (many of these, like Bourne, signed the negatives). As it can be difficult to tell an original photograph from a later reproduction, the provenance of the collection will also be taken into consideration. In the case of the Lotabeg albums, the connection to colonial India was not difficult to trace. The albums come from the collection of Vincent Hart (1881-1939) and his wife Evelyn Hart (nee Sheedy) of Lotabeg. Between 1903 and 1935, Vincent worked as an engineer with the Indian Public Works Department in Madras. His biggest project was the construction of the Cauveny Mettur Dam which, at the time, was the biggest solid gravity dam in the world. The engineering of this massive project was solidly documented by Vincent with an archive or photographs of every stage of construction along with newspaper clippings (mainly of himself). The archive is included in the sale (200-300). In 1935, King George V presented Hart with the Companionship of the Star of India, a prestigious order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria. This too is included in the sale, along with the corresponding letter from George V. It is estimated between 1,200 and 1,800. The sale of the contents of Lotabeg, Tivoli, will take place on May 24 in the Silver Springs Clayton Hotel, Cork. For full details see mealys.ie. In the salerooms De Veres The Irish Art Auction at de Veres takes place at the Royal College of Physicians, No. 6 Kildare Street, Dublin 2, on May 25 at 6 pm. There is much here to interest the serious collector of Irish art, including two paintings by Roderic OConor. Still Life with Apples on a White Cloth, painted in the mid-1920s in his Paris studio at rue Cherche-Midi, reflects the subtle light and the influence of Cezanne. Its estimated between 50,000 and 70,000. A portrait by OConor, Woman in a Turquoise Cardigan (15,000 to 20,000) was probably painted in the mid-1930s. Semur-en-Auxois (30,000 to 50,000), a lively cubist oil by Mary Swanzy (pictured), shows the River Armancon winding through the town (the red roofs work well for her in this regard). It was probably painted in the 1920s. The Ferry Boat (50,000 to 70,000) by Jack B Yeats, dates from 1943 and shows a paddle steamer between flooded streets, an arrangement that seems to blend the ferries of early 20th-century Dublin with a Venetian cityscape. Contemporary artists represented in the sale include John Shinnors. His deeply engaging oil on canvas, Badgers, Her Place is estimated between 25,000 and 35,000. English Allotment, Snow, also by Shinnors, is estimated between 4,000 and 6,000. Other contemporary works include paintings by Martin Gale, Donald Teskey, and Nick Miller. The works are on view at de Veres Gallery, 35 Kildare Street, from 21 to 25 May with full details on deveres.ie. Morgan ODriscoll The online Off the Wall auction conducted by Morgan ODriscoll is currently underway with bidding ending on May 23. It includes a number of paintings by well-known artists including Kenneth Webb, Markey Robinson and Graham Knuttle. There are several works of equestrian interest. Liam ONeills The Horse Fair is estimated between 4,000 and 6,000, and The Morning of a Horse Fair (2003) by Cecil Maguire (also 4,000 to 6,000). Cecil Maguire was born in Lurgan, Northern Ireland in 1930. In 1993 he was a Gold Medal Award winner at the Royal Ulster Academy and he now divides his time between Italy, Belfast and Roundstone, Connemara, which has been the genesis for much of his work. Tallow Horse Fair Against Evening Light by Arthur K Maderson is estimated between 1,500 and 2,000 and a t20-th century bronze sculpture of a horse by Stephen Lawlor (24 x 27 x 8 cm) is also 1,500 to 2,000. Full details are on morganodriscoll.com. Antiques and vintage fairs The Kerry Antique Fair, organised by Robin ODonnell of Hibernian Antique and Art Fairs, will take place in The Earl of Desmond Hotel, Tralee, County Kerry, on Sunday May 22. For further details see the organisations new website hibernianantiquefairs.com. The following weekend there will be a two-day Antique & Collectors Fair organised by AVA Antiques, in the Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle, County Down. The fair takes place on Sunday May 29 and Monday May 30, from 11am to 6pm on both days, and admission is 2. Red Earth at HOUSE - Ireland's New Interior Design Event which takes place at the RDS from Friday till Sunday . Pic Steve Humphreys Fusing art and interiors has been a welcome feature for Irish and international artists featuring at house 2016. Adrienne M Finnerty, a professional artist of 12 years who features frog paintings among her work, was very impressed with Ireland's new fair. "It's really exciting, there's a lot of nice things here and the Art Loft is full," she said. "Two of my frogs have leaped off the walls and gone to Dalkey and Limerick, which was really nice. Hopefully a lot more will go by the end of the weekend. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Putting the finishing touches to HOUSE - Ireland's New Interior Design Event which takes place at the RDS from Friday till Sunday .Pic Steve Humphreys Putting the finishing touches to HOUSE - Ireland's New Interior Design Event which takes place at the RDS from Friday till Sunday .Pic Steve Humphreys Arlene Regan Marketing and Promotions Manager at IN&M and Cliona Carroll Sponsorship Events Manager at IN&M at the Irish Independent Lounge at HOUSE - Ireland's New Interior Design Event which takes place at the RDS from Friday till Sunday. Pic Steve Humphreys Putting the finishing touches to HOUSE - Ireland's New Interior Design Event which takes place at the RDS from Friday till Sunday was Artist Orla Barry from Dundalk Co Louth alongside an exhibiion of work by Artist Ann Flynn on left. Pic Steve Humphreys Red Earth at HOUSE - Ireland's New Interior Design Event which takes place at the RDS from Friday till Sunday . Pic Steve Humphreys Pollard Design in Howth at HOUSE - Ireland's New Interior Design Event which takes place at the RDS from Friday till Sunday . Pic Steve Humphreys Putting the finishing touches to HOUSE - Ireland's New Interior Design Event which takes place at the RDS from Friday till Sunday was Aisling Kelly who is Interior Buyer and Stylist for 'The Orchard' in Cellbridge. Pic Steve Humphreys The Irish Independent Lounge at HOUSE - Ireland's New Interior Design Event which takes place at the RDS from Friday till Sunday. Pic Steve Humphreys Putting the finishing touches to HOUSE was Julianne Kelly from Donnybrook who is Managing Director of Kevin Kelly Interiors. Pic Steve Humphreys Putting the finishing touches to HOUSE was Julianne Kelly from Donnybrook who is Managing Director of Kevin Kelly Interiors. Pic Steve Humphreys Marie Cusack and Claire Kelleher from Trim at HOUSE 2016 Exibition RDS Main Hall. pic:Kyran OBrien General Pix HOUSE 2016 Exibition RDS Main Hall. pic:Kyran OBrien Marie Cusack and Claire Kelleher from Trim at HOUSE 2016 Exibition RDS Main Hall. pic:Kyran OBrien Annie Sloan (expert in Chalk Paint) speaking at HOUSE 2016 Exibition RDS Main Hall. pic:Kyran OBrien Annie Sloan (expert in Chalk Paint) speaking at HOUSE 2016 Exibition RDS Main Hall. pic:Kyran OBrien Annie Sloan (expert in Chalk Paint) speaking at HOUSE 2016 Exibition RDS Main Hall. pic:Kyran OBrien General pix HOUSE 2016 Exibition RDS Main Hall. pic:Kyran OBrien Annie Sloan (expert in Chalk Paint) speaking at HOUSE 2016 Exibition RDS Main Hall. pic:Kyran OBrien General pix HOUSE 2016 Exibition RDS Main Hall. pic:Kyran OBrien / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Putting the finishing touches to HOUSE - Ireland's New Interior Design Event which takes place at the RDS from Friday till Sunday .Pic Steve Humphreys "My style is very abstract but sometimes I go back and do landscape and the frogs are very new. They're a new departure. "I've been to the Brazilian rainforest so some of these are from Costa Rica and Brazil. They're all oils on canvas." She commutes between her home in Barna, Galway and the studio in Blackrock, Louth, a transition which is reflected in many of her works. "I went to art college originally but left and did a lot of things, including being a dental hygienist. I did lots of hypnotherapy and then dancing the rainbow, which is all about healing through art and colour, so then I started painting again." Wicklow artist Eoin O'Connor is showcasing his depictions of rural Ireland across the weekend. "I think it is very nice and the standard of stands is great. It's a very professional, lovely exhibition," he told independent.ie. "Today has been very encouraging and I'm looking forward to the weekend." He described Irish people's taste as "varied" and is optimistic for interest in his works tomorrow and Sunday. French artist Stephanie Malossane travelled over especially for the festival. "I think it's interesting, I'm used to exhibiting at art fairs so it's quite nice to be in a show which has design and sews it together," she said. "It's good to mix both of them and it opens to new opportunities. "I'm based in Paris so I come over for shows. "I always like to come back to Ireland because I think people appreciate art and buy with their heart rather than trends or something, they are very sincere and honest. "It's been really good to come back." Other artists at the Art Loft include Orla Walsh, Jane Ryan and Gill Hennessy. 'Of all the elements of Japanese architecture, the toilet is the most aesthetic," wrote that nation's novelist Junichiro Tanizaki. "Compared to Westerners, who regard the toilet as utterly unclean and avoid even the mention of it in polite conversation, we are far more sensible and certainly in better taste," says Tanizaki in the pages of In Praise Of Shadows (1977) where he waxes lyrical about the joys of the outdoor loo, which he describes as "a place of spiritual repose". One can only conclude that the Japanese thunder box was a far more elegant affair than the Irish version. The Japanese are good at toilets. On my travels there, I've experienced WCs that pre-warm the seat, play covering music, and squirt you with warm water when you're done (the trick is not to jump up in alarm). And now the toilets of the land of the rising sun are available in Ireland. The Geberit Aquaclean offers an oscillating spray, a pulsating massage spray, a "gentle lady wash", and then dries you off with a gentle puff of air. It comes with a remote control on which up to four people can save their "personal pampering programme". The Geberit Aquaclean costs between 1,600 and 5,000, depending on your choice of bells and whistles. "If you're one of those people who likes the product, the price becomes almost irrelevant," says Tony Murphy of Tile Style. "It's a new product so it's early days yet, but we're getting a lot of enquiries." He has also noticed that, where the typical Irish household was once happy with a roll of loo paper, the desire for cleanliness is bringing the bidet back into style. "A lot of people from other countries think we're very dirty because we don't use bidets," Murphy comments. A standard bidet from Tile Style costs 118 with an additional 100 for a bidet tap. The family-owned company based in Dublin is this year's Bathroom Retailer of the Year for both the UK and Ireland, and caters for the middle-to-upper end of the market. Its top-selling toilet is the Acro Porcelanosa (450), but you can pay up to 1,221 for a high-end Arquitect wall-hung loo. Bathrooms will be a big part of the very first House show event which debuts at the RDS this weekend, with most of Ireland's leading bathroom retailers taking part. They say wall hung toilets, which have no pedestal and no visible U-bend are by far the most popular in all price brackets. And, according to Richard Sloan of Sonas Bathrooms, rimless toilets are trending. "The rim was developed to facilitate the flush, but now we're seeing rimless porcelain bowls with clean ceramic all the way around," he says. "They have a good strong flush and they don't splash!" They do cost a little more though. An entry-level wall hung loo from Sonas Bathrooms costs 175 and the rimless version of the same model costs 280. According to recent research from Houzz, 66pc of Irish people who renovated their bathrooms last year put in a new toilet and 68pc bought a new shower. In fact, showers are more popular in Ireland than anywhere else in the world, apart from Australia (74pc) and New Zealand (72pc). Only 31pc of Irish bathroom renovators splashed out on a new bathtub and, according to Murphy, there is a trend for getting rid of the bath. "People don't want a bath and they don't want a shower tray. They want a walk-in shower and they're going for unusual finishes like polished nickel and powder-coated steel. They'll also buy a wiper in the same finish as the shower to clean the glass. It looks nice and matches everything else, so you don't have to hide it away." Rain-shower heads are popular, but many people, realising that it's hard to wash conditioner out of your hair without a directional jet, go for an additional hand-held shower. "When you're installing a rain-shower, the tallest person in the house sets the height and smaller people can feel out of control, standing on their tippy-toes to redirect it," says Murphy. The space created by removing the bath is often used for double wash-basins, often as part of wall-hung cabinets. Popular luxuries include under-floor heating that dries out the tiling where you step out of the shower, magnifying mirrors and steam-proof mirrors. "There's a condensation map behind the mirror just like the one on the rear windscreen of your car," says Murphy. "The bathroom is becoming more of a dressing room. It's that little alpha closet where you can think for yourself and the smartphone and the tablet don't crowd in on you." Meantime, the metal look is big across the water in the UK with antique style stand alone claw tubs in copper and brass (see main picture) making a big splash right now through companies like Hurlingham of Lincolnshire at prices of around 2,700. Many items can be specially imported by arrangement. According to Shane Colleran of Tubs & Tiles, the often-neglected downstairs bathroom is now moving into the limelight. "The little loo under the stairs or off the kitchen is the one that is used most and thought about least," he says. "People are realising that this is the bathroom the visitors use and they're going for quality." Colin Welford of Fired Earth agrees. "Everyone wants their bathroom to be a little different and people are dressing up the downstairs loo. They're making it an event." While tastes for ensuite decoration tend to be conservative, a small bathroom can be a more daring space (how wrong can you go?). Welford has recently finished a project where a downstairs loo was tiled in black mother-of-pearl mosaic. "It's like walking into a jewellery box," he says. At slightly more than 600 per metre, you can see why those particular tiles would be a good choice for a very small room. If you're looking for advice on bathroom products or design, drop in to the interior design event, House, in the RDS this weekend (May 20-22) where experts from Tubs & Tiles and Sonas Bathrooms will be there to help. See also firedearth.com, tilestyle.ie, sonasbathrooms.com, tubstiles.ie, and houzz.ie. A website for Ireland's Ancient East has gone live, giving visitors their first glimpse of Failte Ireland's new tourism proposition. The website, irelandsancienteast.com, is the first substantial way for the public to engage with the follow-up to the massively successful Wild Atlantic Way. "I think Ireland's Ancient East will be a bigger game-changer than anything we have done in Dublin or the West," Alex Connolly, Failte Ireland's Head of Communications, told Independent.ie Travel. "We're talking about fundamentally changing the nature of tourism on the ground, about turning a transit region into a touring region." Ireland's Ancient East sprawls far beyond the east coast, taking in attractions that range from the Cavan Burren (below) to Waterford's Copper Coast - a total of 17 counties that together attract just 10pc of overseas tourism revenue in Ireland. By 2020, Connolly says, Failte Ireland hopes to grow visitors to the region by 600,000 (21pc), and overseas visitor revenue by 204 million (28pc). Expand Expand Previous Next Close The Cavan Burren, Ireland's ancient East. Photo: Tony Pleavin/Failte Ireland Outline map of Ireland's Ancient East. Source: Failte Ireland / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Cavan Burren, Ireland's ancient East. Photo: Tony Pleavin/Failte Ireland The 'mobile-first' website aims to immerse visitors in 5,000 of heritage attractions, themes and signature stories in the region, and will be followed by the roll-out of a domestic marketing campaign this weekend, and a 60-second TV ad in June. Failte Ireland is investing 18 million in Ireland's Ancient East this year, it says - in addition to 2.3m already committed to capital projects such as Cobh's Titanic Experience, Wexford's Hook Lighthouse and Athlone Castle. Branded signs, training supports and a 550,000 investment in national and regional festivals are also due in 2016, it says. In the south and east of the country, we are presented with a particular tourism challenge that of increasing the length of time visitors stay in the region and effectively transforming it from a transit zone to a touring zone in its own right," said Michael Cawley, the tourism development authority's chairman. Our new destination brand will allow us to market and leverage the unique depth and diversity of the regions heritage assets." Businesses are "really up for it", Connolly added, with more than 250 tourism operators attending a briefing on the proposition in Kilkenny this week. Social profiles have also been launched for Ireland's Ancient East, including on Facebook, Twitter (@AncientEastIRL) and Instagram (@IrelandsAncientEast). Read more: Tennessee Emergency Medical Services for Children recognized Bradley County EMS, Bradley County 911, Bradley County Fire and Rescue, Charleston Police Department, Bradley County Sheriffs Department, and Erlanger LIFE FORCE at the Eighth Annual Star of Life Awards in Nashville at Rocketown. The mission of TN EMSC, the host of the Star of Life Awards, is to ensure that every child in Tennessee receives the best pediatric emergency care in order to eliminate the effects of severe illness and injury. The ceremony reunited the EMS personnel on stage with the young patient, Granite Moseley. The Star of Life Awards are designed to honor Tennessees excellent prehospital providers for their lifesaving care. The evening recognizes these crews who are on the frontlines of emergency care. Below are the recipients for Region 3: Jeff Jones, CCEMT-P Will Plemons, EMT - IV David Mooneyham, CCEMT-P Chuck Payne, EMT Jesse Coleman, D.O. Wes Davis, Dispatcher Heather Allen, Dispatcher Casey Croft, Dispatcher Sam Silvers, Dispatcher Lt. Davis Sims Matt Godbee, Engineer Michael Stephens, FF Glenn Susskind, Flight Medic Tina Biggs, RN Brad Simmons, Pilot Andy Lopez, Communicator Chief Johnny Stokes Patrolman Louis Johnson Sheriff Eric Watson Granite Moseleys life was saved when he was choking on a hot dog on May 14, 2015. Granites father quickly sprang into action to save his sons life as he struggled to breath and began turning blue. The emergency crews arrived and began administering lifesaving care to the five-year-old boy, ultimately removing the object and stabilizing his breathing. Granite was transported to Tennova Healthcare Cleveland and subsequently transferred via Erlanger LIFE FORCE to Childrens Hospital at Erlanger where he, amazingly, made a full recovery. Each of the crew members played a vital role in saving this young boys life. Here is Granite's story: On the evening of May 14, 2015, five-year-old Granite Moseley was chomping on a hot dog as only a 5-year-old boy can, when he suddenly began choking. His Dad wasnt in the room, so Granite ran to find him and was gesturing to his Dad that he couldnt breathe. When Granites father realized that his son was in distress, he immediately attempted the Heimlich maneuver and activated 911. Granites father noted that his son was turning blue and was struggling to breathe, but was not moving any air. Granite soon became unresponsive and the repeated back blows and Heimlich maneuvers were unsuccessful in clearing his airway. After calling 911, Granites Dad was instructed by Bradley County 911 dispatchers Wes Davis, Heather Allen, Casey Croft and Sam Silvers to start CPR. When the Bradley County EMS crew, consisting of Critical Care Paramedic Jeff Jones, EMT Chuck Payne and EMT-IV William Plemons, arrived on the scene they were met by a group of firefighters. Lt. Davis Sims, Engineer Matt Godbee, and Firefighter Michael Stephens from Bradley County Fire Engine 10, brought the limp and lifeless child out to meet them. On the scene was Chief Johnny Stokes and Patrolman Louis Johnson of the Charleston Police Department and Sheriff Eric Watson of the Bradley County Sheriffs Department. EMT-IV Plemons quickly evaluated the patient and began assisted ventilations with a bag-valve-mask. Jeff Jones noted that Granite was unresponsive, but thankfully had shallow respirations, though only at a rate of less than 6 per minute. He was blue with a weak central pulse and peripheral pulses were absent. Capillary refill was four seconds. Ventilations were met with strong resistance and there was little or no chest wall movement. Granites airway was suctioned, at which time a large Oscar Meyer foreign body was visualized and confirmed it was indeed a portion of the hot dog he had been eating earlier. Paramedic Jones tried multiple times to remove the obstruction with Magill forceps, but was only able to get small pieces as the hot dog would break off in smaller parts each time it was grasped with the forceps. Eventually enough of the obstruction was cleared to enable the emergency responders to partially ventilate Granite and he was moved to the EMS Unit. While continuing ventilations and attempting to remove the obstruction, other treatments were being performed simultaneously. Intraosseous vascular access was established in Granites right lower leg for fluid and medication administration, and he was placed on a cardiac monitor. During this time EMS Medical Director, Dr. Jesse Coleman, and Shift Supervisor David Mooneyham, a Critical Care Paramedic, arrived on the scene to assist in the attempts at removal of the foreign body. Eventually, Granite coughed vigorously, which moved the remaining obstruction into the oropharynx and the last portion was removed. (It was 3 inches long!) At this point, Dr. Coleman requested that Granite be chemically paralyzed to secure the airway. The rapid sequence intubation was successful and he was intubated on the first attempt. Granite was transported through emergency traffic to Tennova Healthcare Cleveland where he was stabilized and subsequently transferred via Erlanger Lifeforce. Andy Lopez was the flight communicator and placed Granite in the care of Flight Medic Glenn Susskind, Flight Nurse Tina Biggs and pilot Brad Simmons as the young boy was flown to Childrens Hospital at Erlanger. Granite was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and, not long after, was discharged home and has made a complete recovery. This was a miraculous call that could have gone bad in so many ways. This was an unwitnessed event with Granites father (who had been taught CPR and the Heimlich maneuver) as the first responder, followed by Ground EMS with on-scene participation of their Medical Control physician and finally, the use of Air Transport services. Thanks to this coordinated team effort Granite is here with us tonight. It is for these reasons that Bradley County EMS, Bradley County 911, Bradley County Fire and Rescue, Charleston Police Department, Bradley County Sheriffs Department and Erlanger LIFE FORCE receive the 2016 Star of Life Award for Region 3. Director Tidwell will now present to Granite his Certificate of Life that reads: It is hereby certified and solemnly attested that Granite Moseley survived a life-threatening event on May 14, 2015. This certificate commemorates the first day of the rest of your life. The 2016 Star of Life Star Partner was Erlanger Childrens Hospital and Erlanger Health Systems. Premium John Downing Opinion New British prime minister Rishi Sunaks succession proves an important milestone in British political inclusivity There is an old saying in British politics that goes: The right looks for converts while the left seeks out traitors. It comes to mind when one reflects upon the election of Rishi Sunak as the UKs first non-white prime minister in a party traditionally seen as most opposed to mass immigration and the dilution of national identity via multiculturalism. I have reconnected with my Catholic faith as an adult after a long journey of endless possibilities. (Picture posed) I was pleasantly surprised to read the heart-warming article by Jillian Godsil, 'My emotional ride through humanity's endless possibilities' (Irish Independent, May 18). She described her experience last year of attending a seminar with Jordan Belfort, of Wolf of Wall Street fame (or infamy, depending on your perspective), then having a personal development experience with the Landmark forum, to recently singing hymns in a church at the funeral of her best friend's father. To hear a person in our national media share openly, honestly and positively regarding a faith experience is both refreshing and hopeful, as she so correctly describes our growing culture of "self-enlightenment". While acknowledging the benefits and merits of a business seminar and of a personal development experience (having worked and trained in both of these fields myself), I believe there is a part of every human being which indeed does long for something deeper and more fulfilling. Having reconnected with my Catholic faith as an adult after a long journey of endless possibilities, I realised I needed to look no further than the first three letters of Jillian's surname . . . faith, hope and love - but the greatest of these is love. Lee Curran Cloyne, Cork Funding for children's hospices There are 4,000 children and young people living with life-limiting conditions in Ireland, and Children's Hospice Week (May 23-30) is an opportunity for a sustained focus on the special needs of these people and their families. With extremely complex and unpredictable health needs, these children require constant care and attention. Furthermore, the physical, emotional and financial pressure on their families is immense. Families in this situation, wherever they are living, deserve to be able to access hospice services, with the specialist skills and knowledge to support them. Unfortunately, this is not the case and many families end up relying on emergency and acute support because children's hospice care is not available in their area. LauraLynn, Ireland's Children's Hospice, is the only dedicated children's hospice in the State, providing planned short breaks (respite), unplanned crisis and end-of-life care, symptom management, family support and bereavement care. Last year, it launched a hospice-at-home programme, which has enabled us to expand our services to many more families. It would be a fitting way for the new Government to mark Children's Hospice Week by ensuring sufficient funding to provide fair and equal access to hospice services for all children with life-limiting conditions, and their families. David Andrews Chairman, LauraLynn Ireland's Children's Hospice A sad story - in three words I came across a website recently which asked visitors to submit their three-word sad story. There were many responses. For me, it was very simple: "The 32nd Dail". What's yours? Damien Carroll Kingswood, Dublin 24 Number of TDs in the Dail Desmond Clarke (Irish Independent, May 19) believes that we have too many TDs and this contributes to the national parliament not acting in the national interest. He says, firstly, that we should use international comparisons to determine how many TDs we should have. He proceeds, however, to compare us with the United States, the UK and France, to support his argument that we have too many TDs. Had he chosen to compare us with similarly sized countries, his argument would collapse. The Dail, with 158 members, is not out of step with the national parliaments of Slovakia (150), Croatia (151), Norway (169), Denmark (179) or Finland (200). Mr Clarke also ignores the fact that local government is much stronger in most other countries and that we have one of the worst ratios of councillor to population (in Ireland, we have one councillor for every 4,800 people, compared to 1:2,900 in the UK and 1:120 in France, for example). However, Mr Clarke is correct in his assertion that our voting system encourages a greater focus on local rather than on national issues and leads to more internal party competition than debate on policy platforms. That said, it is also the decision of the public as to whom they choose to represent them, and if that vote is on the basis of local issues rather than national or global interests, then the number of TDs will make little impact. Malcolm Byrne Gorey, Co Wexford No cogent argument in EU poll Dr Munjed Al Qutob's assertions that the current debates in the UK are informative and inspiring are either sarcasm in drag or risible (Irish Independent, Letters, May 18). Both the UK government and the Brexit campaigners are empty vessels without a grey cell between them. Boris Johnson's entry in the debate is nothing more than a self-serving vehicle for his own political ambitions. His utterances are more ludicrous than usual and would not stand up to the scrutiny of a primary school pupil. David Cameron has lost the plot, assuming that he was ever within a mile of it. Both sides are treating the rest of us in the UK with contempt. Democracy is a sacred right, and as the people of Ireland will attest, a right not given but fought for and died for. The least we should insist upon is a cogent argument from those who aspire to serve us. Harry Charalambou Muswell Hill, London, UK More critical thinking please The coverage of the Maurice McCabe/Noirin O'Sullivan 'malice' controversy brings to mind 'Animal Farm': Maurice (all) good, Noirin (all) bad. An impartial and common-sense view would suggest it's a lot more complex and nuanced than that. Are we witnessing another case of group think? Could we have more critical thinking and impartial reporting, or is that beyond human nature? Joseph Mackey Athlone, Westmeath Gardai are investigating the theft of 1,500 worth of dresses from celebrity dress rental boutique Starla. The high-end rental store, which is frequented by Vogue Williams, Rosanna Davison and blogger Suzanne Jackson, has appealed for information on three women who were caught shoplifting on CCTV. Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Security footage from Starla Dress Rental Madeline Mulqueen wears a dress from Starla at the 2016 IFTAs Security footage from Starla Dress Rental / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Security footage from Starla Dress Rental A video of three women was posted to the stores Facebook page on Thursday, in which they can be seen placing items into their purses. To the women who came into Starla on Monday the 16th of May and shoplifted from us... I hope this video finds you a bit of internet fame. Please feel free to share and create awareness, the post read. Expand Close Security footage from Starla Dress Rental / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Security footage from Starla Dress Rental Starla Dress Rental and Sales owner Johanna Mc Aleese told Independent.ie that they havent yet identified the women, but they have given the CCTV to the Gardai who will hopefully do so. Johanna said that the store has increased security since the incident, but her priority is looking after her staff. My main concern is for my staff to work in a safe environment and limit incidents like this happening again, she said. Shop-lifting is usually at a minimum in the store, only happening maybe twice a year, says Johanna. The post has been shared over 500 times since it was published on Thursday. No arrests have yet been made and investigations are still ongoing, a Garda spokesperson told Independent.ie. Video of the Day The store, located on South William Street in Dublin, provides a rental service for designer dresses, costing between 50 and 200, as well as sales. The San Francisco-based priest who helped the families of the Berkeley balcony tragedy victims has said parents should still encourage their children to go on J1 trips this summer. Fr Brendan McBride, who received international praise for his efforts last June, said his Californian community was still trying to come to terms with the deaths of the six students - but was preparing for a new influx of young Irish people. As the first anniversary of the tragedy approaches, Fr McBride said: "Parents will always worry but you have to allow them to go. "Most people will tell you, they dip their toes in the States through the J1 programme. This was a horrific tragedy, but I don't think parents would want their kids not to have the opportunity to see what the States is all about. Some come back and make careers." Fr McBride was speaking to the Irish Independent in Washington where he was asked to take part in a tree planting ceremony at Capitol Hill alongside Taoiseach Enda Kenny. The Donegal native said he still got upset talking about the deaths of Eoghan Culligan, Lorcan Miller, Nick Schuster, Eimear Walsh, Olivia Burke and Irish-American Ashley Donohoe. They perished and seven of their friends were seriously injured after falling to the ground when a fourth-floor balcony on a Berkeley apartment gave way last June. Mr Kenny praised the cleric's "extraordinary Christianity and humanity" during a brief speech in front of a number of US congressmen. The Taoiseach recalled how he was at a Cabinet meeting when he was passed a message suggesting some Irish people were involved in an accident in the US. "It was an extraordinary event in the relationship of our two countries," he said. Fr McBride said the next few weeks would be "really tough" for the families and friends of the victims. "You feel for the families, We will have an anniversary mass and event, It helps the community to gather. They gathered last year. They need to be with their own around that time," he said. "I do get emotional sometimes thinking about it, because it draws you back to the pain of the parents. I get emotional and I sometimes can't talk about it." Fr McBride is the founder of the Irish Immigration and Pastoral Centre in San Francisco. Last year he was one of 10 recipients of the Presidential Distinguished Service Awards. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump used the word "rape" when discussing past allegations of sexual misconduct involving former President Bill Clinton, further escalating his rhetoric on the subject. Clinton's wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination and Trump's likely opponent in the November general election. In an interview with Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity on Wednesday night, Trump was answering questions about an unflattering story published last weekend by 'The New York Times' involving his relationships with women when he turned his attention to Bill Clinton. "By the way, you know, it's not like the worst things, OK," Trump said. "You look at what Clinton's gone through with all of the problems and all of the things that he's done." Hannity went on to question whether the newspaper would interview women including Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Jones and Kathleen Willey. All three have accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct. "In one case, it's about exposure. In another case, it's about groping and fondling and touching against a woman's will," Hannity said. "And rape," Trump responded. "And rape," Hannity repeated. In response to the exchange, Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said in a statement: "Trump is doing what he does best, attacking when he feels wounded and dragging the American people through the mud for his own gain. If that's the kind of campaign he wants to run, that's his choice." Allegations of womanising, extramarital affairs and abuse have trickled out over the course of Bill Clinton's political life, including what his campaign referred to as "bimbo eruptions" when he first ran for president in 1992. More allegations of misbehaviour emerged after investigators in 1997 started looking into Clinton's sexual encounters with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Clinton was impeached over the affair. In 1998, he agreed to an $850,000 settlement with Jones, an Arkansas state worker, who had accused Clinton of exposing himself and making indecent propositions when he was the state's governor. The settlement included no apology or admission of guilt. Broaddrick, a nurse, in 1999 claimed she was raped by Clinton at a Little Rock hotel in 1978. Kathleen Willey, a White House volunteer, claimed Clinton fondled her when she met privately with him at the White House in 1993 to seek a job. Clinton denied the allegations by Broaddrick and Willey. The Kelly's of Cornwall TV ad shows an ice-cream seller standing in a field speaking in Cornish (Kelly's of Cornwall/PA) A TV ad will become the first in Britain to be entirely spoken in Cornish when it is aired next week. Ice cream manufacturer Kelly's of Cornwall is paying homage to its heritage with the 30-second advert, which will be screened from May 23 on ITV and Channel 4. Viewers will see a Cornish ice-cream seller standing in a field speaking in Cornwall's native tongue to promote Kelly's new range of take-home ice cream. Apart from occasional English words, the ice cream seller enthusiastically talks about Kelly's parlour range, entirely in Common Cornish, before a voice over, in English, says: "Kelly's: Cornish for ice cream." The ad will be first screened on Monday at 8.15pm during Britain's Got Talent and will also appear later that night during an episode of Food Unwrapped on Channel 4 at 8.30pm. The agency behind the campaign, which will run for six weeks, worked with the Cornish Language Partnership to ensure the script was linguistically accurate. Mark Trevethan, from the partnership, said: "We were really pleased to be asked to work with Kelly's on these projects. "Although they're fun and entertaining, there's also a serious point being made about the important role of language in celebrating culture and heritage. "We're looking forward to hearing Cornish spoken on national television in an advert for the first time." Charlotte Hambling, from Kelly's parent company R&R Ice Cream UK Ltd, added: "We hope our cheeky Cornish chap will make people smile whilst also driving home a more serious message." :: The advert spoken in Common Cornish is: Yma res nowydh kavadow a Kelly's Cornish ice cream hag yw as tasty as. Hwi a yll kavos oll agan saweryow parledh an gwella, y'ga mysk Honeycomb Crunch, Praline Caramel, hag ynwedh Berry Eton Mess Yth yw gwrys oll gans clotted cream (dhyworth bughes leel). Ha'n pyth yw moy, ymons i yn agas local supermarket, may hyllowgh take home six new parlour flavours ... geddon! :: The English translation of the advert is: There's a new range of Kelly's Cornish ice cream available that is as tasty as. You'll find all our parlour favourites, including, Honeycomb Crunch, Praline Caramel and even Berry Eton Mess. It's all made with clotted cream (from local cows). And what's more, they're in your local supermarket, meaning you can take home six new parlour flavours ... geddon! Sandra and Peter Wright and daughter Emma, with their Yorkshire terrier Eddie, who was missing for five years (PDSA) A dog missing for five years has been reunited with his family thanks to a microchip that traced him to his new owners just half-a-mile away. Sandra Wright, 50, from Reddish, Stockport, thought she had lost Yorkshire terrier Eddie when he disappeared from her sister-in-law's home in Fallowfield, Manchester, in 2011 while they were on holiday. Mrs Wright said: "Neighbours were searching the streets, we put up posters everywhere, alerted all the local vets and rescue centres, reported it to police and registered him on all the websites. "We even offered a reward but he had simply vanished. With each week that passed, we knew the chances of finding him decreased. It was awful." The trail remained cold until this year when Jeanette Johnson, 57, also from Reddish, took in Eddie, now aged 13, from a neighbour who was struggling to look after him. She brought him into Manchester PDSA Pet Hospital for a check-up and it was discovered Eddie had already been chipped and was registered missing five years ago. It led to a welcoming phone call to the Wright family to tell them their beloved pet had been found. Mrs Wright said: "We still had conversations about Eddie - what he might be doing, if he was being looked after, if he was even still alive. But never in a million years did we think we'd get him back after all this time. "Best of all, he arrived home on my daughter's 16th birthday. I printed off one of Eddie's 'missing' posters from the computer for when she arrived home from school, then when she came in and saw Eddie next to it she was over the moon and said it was the best birthday present ever. "We can't know for sure just how Eddie ended up where he did, but he was clearly well-loved during his time away as he's still as friendly and loving as ever. I'm so grateful to PDSA and everyone who helped to get him back to us - it just shows the difference a microchip can make." The veterinary charity treats more than 470,000 pets annually across its 51 pet hospitals in the UK. Helen McEntee, vet nurse team leader at Manchester PDSA Pet Hospital, said: "Every year, thousands of pets across the UK go missing. Sadly, many are never reunited with their owners, but microchipped pets stand a far better chance of a happy homecoming. "It is now a legal requirement for all dogs in the UK to be microchipped once they are eight weeks old. And thanks to funding from players of People's Postcode Lottery, PDSA will be delivering 50,000 microchips this year." Tensions have mounted as an increasingly assertive China transforms hotly contested South China Sea reefs into islands capable of supporting military infrastructure. Photo: Reuters Claims that two Chinese fighter jets carried out an "unsafe" intercept of a US military aircraft over the South China Sea were rejected by Beijing yesterday. The Pentagon said on Wednesday that one of its reconnaissance aircraft was intercepted the previous day when it was carrying out a "routine US patrol" in international airspace. But Chinese foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the Chinese aircraft kept a safe distance from the US plane. He also repeated calls that had previously been made by Beijing for the US to stop spying activities in nearby waters. China claims almost all the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion (4.5 trillion) of world trade passes every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims. The latest incident - which was said to have taken place near China's southern island of Hainan - comes a week after Beijing scrambled fighters to a disputed reef in the South China Sea as a US ship sailed nearby. Washington also raised concerns over China's military in 2014 when it claimed a Chinese plane made a "dangerous" pass near a US aircraft - performing a barrel roll, apparently to display its weapons. The Pentagon statement said the Department of Defence (DoD) was addressing the latest incident through military and diplomatic channels. "Over the past year, DoD has seen improvements in PRC actions, flying in a safe and professional manner," the Pentagon statement said, using an acronym for the People's Republic of China. Rival territorial claims in the South China Sea have been a major source of friction between China and its neighbours, particularly Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Tensions have mounted as an increasingly assertive China transforms hotly contested South China Sea reefs into islands capable of supporting military infrastructure. ( Daily Telegraph, London) Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] Alexs Lemonade Stand Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to finding cures for all kids with cancer, has selected 36 families across the country to take a stand against childhood cancer as Lemonade Day Hero Reps during Alexs Lemonade Days, June 10-12. The 36 Lemonade Days Hero Reps symbolically represent the 36 children diagnosed with cancer every day in the United States. Each family has been personally impacted by childhood cancer and will spread awareness about the ongoing childhood cancer fight by sharing their personal journeys. These 36 families show that childhood cancer occurs regularly, randomly and spares no ethnic group, socioeconomic class or geographic region. As a part of their Lemonade Days Hero Family duties, the families will each hold a lemonade stand during Alexs Lemonade Days, spread awareness of their initiatives to their communities and enlist community members to host their own stands. Tynece Babbs is a fun loving, sassy little girl that loves her family, dancing and the beach. Her mother Chiniqua says she is a very strong and has really taken this situation like a true trooper. Shes had surgery to remove a tumor and is currently radiation and chemotherapy treatment. The 8-year-old tries not to let it bother her or her family. Chiniqua says, She is always trying to comfort me and make sure I am okay, when she is the one going through the most. Just like the Babbs Family, our family knows firsthand just how personal the fight against childhood cancer is, said Liz Scott, co-executive director of ALSF and Alexs mom. Our daughter would be honored to know that these 36 families will continue her legacy by literally taking a stand against childhood cancer and inspiring those in their community to come together toward finding cures. Alexs Lemonade Days commemorates 8-year-old Alexandra Alex Scotts challenge to help her raise $1 million for childhood cancer cures, one cup of lemonade at a time. With help from volunteers across the country, Alex reached her million dollar goal before losing her life to cancer in August 2004. Now every year, volunteers are invited to host lemonade stands over the course of these three days in June to continue Alexs mission and bring renewed attention to the fight against childhood cancer. Since 2004, more than 22,000 Lemonade Days stands have been held nationally, raising over $12 million. This year, the Foundation hopes to reach the 25,000th Lemonade Days stand. Participants are encouraged to show support through social media utilizing #LemonadeDays on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and more. For more information on Alexs Lemonade Days and to sign up to host a lemonade stand visit AlexsLemonadeDays.org. 36 Lemonade Days Hero Representatives The Mercado Family, Astoria, NY The Bumstead Family, West Hills, CA The Dawson Family, Chicago, IL The Podeszwa Family, Dallas, TX The Hull Family, San Francisco, CA The Buhr Family, Fairfax, VA The Barrie Family, Chestnut Hill The Richardson Family, Sugarland, TX The Ugarte Family, Phoenix, AZ The Pebworth-Gonzales Family, Renton, WA The Sturgis Family, Chaska, MN The Strom-Edwards Family, Homestead, FL The Doane Family, Orlando, FL The Smith Family, Sacramento, CA The Concannon Family, Pittsburgh, PA The Williams Family, Buffalo, NY The Miller Family, Indianapolis, IN The Garmo Family, San Diego, CA The Heywood Family, Nashville, TN The Morris Family, Manchester, CT The Lawson Family, Kansas City, MO The Gregory Family, Simpsonville, SC The Ferm Family, Raleigh, NC The Rak Family, Portland, OR The Batton Family, Morgantown, WV The DaSilva Family, Stockholm, NJ The Babbs Family, Chattanooga, TN The Dunlap Family, East Helena, MT The Palacio Family, Pantego, TX The Newlin Family, Waxhaw, NC The Castel Family, Farmington Hills, MI The Melton/Watson Family, Wilmington, DE The Boyle Family, Pottsville, PA The Evans Family, Paintsville, KY The Houtchings Family, Wakeman, OH The Garrett Family, Brush, CO Families of victims of the EgyptAir plane crash attend prayers for the dead in Cairo (AP) The hunt is continuing for bodies and debris from the EgyptAir plane that fell out of the sky over the Mediterranean Sea as investigators try to determine whether the disaster was the work of terrorists. Search crews have found human remains, luggage and passenger seats from Flight 804, but Egypt's civil aviation minister has told relatives of victims there are no survivors, according to a newspaper report. The daily Al-Masry Al-Youm said Sherif Fathi told the families that Egyptian armed forces are doing their best to locate the wreckage and personal belongings of the victims. With no bodies to bury, relatives and friends of some of the 66 people on board held special prayers for the lost. Several mosques around Cairo held what is known as Salat al-Ghaib, Arabic for "prayers for the absent", held for the dead when there is no body. Mystery remains over why the Airbus A320 - which had been cruising normally in clear skies on a night-time flight from Paris to the Egyptian capital early on Thursday - suddenly lurched left and then right and plummeted into the sea, never issuing a distress signal. Egyptian authorities said they believe it may have been an act of terrorism, as have Russian officials and some aviation experts, but no hard evidence has emerged. No militant group has claimed to have brought down the aircraft, in contrast to the downing of a Russian jet in October over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula that killed 224 people. In that case, Islamic State's branch in Sinai issued a claim of responsibility within hours. A terror analyst who is in contact with members of IS and other jihadist groups said there have been "no credible or even semi-credible" claims of responsibility. Shiraz Maher, at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, said IS released a 20-minute video on Thursday about its plans to conquer India, and added: "If they had been involved in the crash, it would be very odd for them to have sent that video rather than boasting of the crash." Three European security officials said the passenger manifest for Flight 804 contained no names on terrorism watch lists. The manifest was leaked online and has not been verified by EgyptAir. Egyptian security officials said they were running background checks on the passengers to see if any had links to extremists. A French judicial official said investigators have begun to check and question all ground staff at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, who had either a direct or an indirect link to Flight 804 before it took off on Wednesday night. Workers including baggage handlers, maintenance staff, gate agents, security guards and airline boarding employees all carry "red badges" that provide access to restricted areas of the airport. The tragedy has fuelled suspicions of terrorism, especially in light of the bombing of the Russian plane and recent attacks in Paris and Brussels, but French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault insisted there is "absolutely no indication" of what caused the crash. Some aviation experts have said the circumstances suggest a bomb blast, but add that answers will come only with examination of the wreckage and the plane's black box recorders, although retrieving them may take time. The water is 8,000ft to 10,000ft deep in the area where the airliner is thought to have gone down, roughly halfway between Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria and the Greek island of Crete. The pilot, Mohammed Shoukair, was experienced by Egyptian standards, with 6,275 flying hours, and co-pilot Ahmed Assem had clocked 2,101 hours, officials said. Friday brought the first confirmation of debris from the crash. The Egyptian army said it found debris around 180 miles north of Alexandria, and that it was searching for more. EgyptAir said luggage and seats were found, as well as body parts. France, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Britain have joined the search, which encompasses a wide area of the Med south of Crete. Investigators from Egypt, France and Britain as well from Airbus will examine everything found in the search, Egyptian officials said. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's office issued a statement expressing its condolences to relatives and its "deep regret and sadness for the victims". "God give great mercy and host them in his heaven," it added. Donald Trump has condemned Hillary Clinton as "heartless" for backing restrictions on gun ownership that he said would leave Americans in high-crime areas unable to protect themselves. He also challenged Mrs Clinton to follow his lead and release a list of potential Supreme Court nominees. Mr Trump's remarks came at the National Rifle Association (NRA) convention in Louisville, Kentucky. The gun rights' organisation endorsed the presumptive Republican nominee ahead of his remarks, despite Mr Trump's previous support for measures like an assault weapons ban that the NRA vigorously opposes. Mr Trump centred much of his remarks on Mrs Clinton, claiming she would seek to "abolish" the Second Amendment if elected president. He called her a "Heartless Hillary" - a new nickname for the likely Democratic nominee - for backing restrictions aimed at reducing gun deaths, saying her proposals would instead put law-abiding citizens at risk from criminals. "She's putting the most vulnerable Americans in jeopardy," Mr Trump said. "That is so unfair and that is so egregious." Mrs Clinton has said she supports the Second Amendment but that safety measures are needed to keep firearms out of the wrong hands. She has called for expanding background checks to sales at gun shows and online purchases, and for reinstating a ban on assault weapons. Mr Trump backed an assault weapons ban, as well as slightly longer waiting periods for gun purchases, in a 2000 book. He has since said such bans do not work and has also called for making it easier for law-abiding citizens to carry guns for self-protection. On Friday, he reiterated his call for ending "gun-free zones" and touted the list of potential Supreme Court nominees he released this week as a sign of his commitment to upholding the Second Amendment. "I'd like to call for Hillary Clinton to put together a list also," said Mr Trump, predicting her potential justices would be a "day and night" difference with his. Security forces are seen outside the international arrivals terminal at Cairo Airport, Egypt May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh The last known position of the plane Journalists report near the EgyptAir desk at Charles de Gaulle airport, after an EgyptAir flight disappeared from radar during its flight from Paris to Cairo, in Paris, France in Paris, France, May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport, Egypt, Thursday, May 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Egypt said on Friday its navy had found human remains, wreckage and the personal belongings of passengers floating in the Mediterranean, confirmation that an EgyptAir jet had plunged into the sea with 66 people on board. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi offered condolences for those on board, amounting to Egypt's official acknowledgement of their deaths, although there was still no explanation of why the Airbus had crashed. "The Egyptian navy was able to retrieve more debris from the plane, some of the passengers' belongings, human remains, and plane seats," the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. The navy was searching an area about 290 km (180 miles) north of the port city of Alexandria, just south of where the signal from the plane was lost early on Thursday. Expand Close The track displayed on Flightradar24 showing the EgyptAir aircraft travelling from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board which has disappeared from radar 10 miles into Egyptian airspace. Flightradar24/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The track displayed on Flightradar24 showing the EgyptAir aircraft travelling from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board which has disappeared from radar 10 miles into Egyptian airspace. Flightradar24/PA Wire There was no sign of the bulk of the wreckage, or of a location signal from the "black box" flight recorders. Read More EgyptAir Chairman Safwat Moslem told state television that the current radius of the search zone was 40 miles (64 km), giving an area of 5,000 sq miles (13,000 sq km), but that it would be expanded as necessary. A European satellite spotted a 2 km-long oil slick in the Mediterranean, about 40 km southeast of the aircraft's last known position, the European Space Agency said. Expand Close People wait outside the international arrivals terminal at Cairo Airport, Egypt May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People wait outside the international arrivals terminal at Cairo Airport, Egypt May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said that it was too early to rule out any cause for the crash. The aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure. Although suspicion pointed to Islamist militants who blew up another airliner over Egypt seven months ago, no group had claimed responsibility more than 36 hours after the disappearance of flight MS804, an Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo. Expand Close Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy speaks, after EgyptAir plane vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo, during a news conference at headquarters of ministry in Cairo, Egypt May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy speaks, after EgyptAir plane vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo, during a news conference at headquarters of ministry in Cairo, Egypt May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany Jihadists have been fighting Egypt's government since Sisi toppled an elected Islamist leader in 2013. In October, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for blowing up a Russian airliner that exploded after taking off from an Egyptian tourist resort. Russian investigators blamed a bomb smuggled on board. Expand Close Reporters gather in front of the EgyptAir counter at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris, Thursday, May 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Raphael Satter) (AP Photo/Michel Euler) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Reporters gather in front of the EgyptAir counter at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris, Thursday, May 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Raphael Satter) (AP Photo/Michel Euler) Read More TOURISM DEVASTATED That crash devastated Egypt's tourist industry, one of the main sources of foreign exchange for a country of 80 million people, and another similar attack would crush hopes of it recovering. Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived in Cairo early on Friday, airport sources said. Officials from a number of U.S. agencies told Reuters that a U.S. review of satellite imagery so far had not produced any signs of an explosion. They said the United States had not ruled out any possible causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew. The plane vanished just as it was moving from Greek to Egyptian airspace control. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said it had swerved radically and plunged from 37,000 feet to 15,000 before vanishing from Greek radar screens. Read More Ultra-hardline Islamists have targeted airports, airliners and tourist sites in Europe, Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries over the past few years. Khaled al-Gameel, head of crew at EgyptAir, said the pilot, Mahamed Saeed Ali Shouqair, had 15 years' experience and was in charge of training and mentoring younger pilots. "He comes from a pilot family; his uncle was a high-ranking pilot at EgyptAir and his cousin is also a pilot," Gameel said. "He was very popular and was known for taking it upon himself to settle disputes any two colleagues were having." A Facebook page that appeared to be Shouqair's showed no signs of Islamist sympathies. It included criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood, repostings of articles supporting President Sisi and pictures of Shouqair wearing aviator sunglasses. The aircraft was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew. They included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals, along with citizens of 10 other countries. The plane had made scheduled flights to Tunisia and Eritrea on Wednesday before arriving in Paris from Cairo. The crashed EgyptAir plane, an Airbus A320 registration SU-GCC, is seen here taking off from Vienna in August 2015 The pilot of the EgyptAir flight which crashed in the Mediterranean, Mohamed Saeed Shaqeer, has been described as a "highly disciplined captain" with a "good reputation". Mr Shaqeer, 36, had more than 6,000 hours of total flying time, while his co-pilot Mohamed Ahmed Mamdouh, 24, had more than 2,700. An Egyptian Interior Ministry official told the New York Times the men had no known political affiliations, and had passed their periodic background security checks. A Cairo airport official described Mr Shaqeer as kind and responsible and called the suggestion that either of the pilots might have downed the plane "preposterous". Both lived in Cairo, according to CNN. [Mr Shaqueer] is a very well trained, highly disciplined captain, EgyptAir Vice President Ahmed Adel said. He has a good reputation and was a good colleague of mine. Mike Vivian, former head of operations at the UKs Civil Aviation Authority, told Radio 4's Today programme he thought the planes sharp manoeuvres before disappearing from radar were more likely to be caused by a struggle in the cockpit than by a bomb. It looks highly unlikely that this was consistent with some sort of explosive device, he said. One's inclined to go towards the theory that there had been some interference in the aircraft and on the flight deck, with the control of the aircraft. Mr Mamdouh's father works as a flight crew member for EgyptAir, according to the Daily Beast. He wanted to be a pilot since he was five, his childhood friend Omar Nasef said. He was an unbelievable person, social. His co-pilot's mother, Mona, is said to have passed away from cancer a few years ago. His mum put all her savings towards his education, Nasef said. The academy and all that, and its very expensive in Egypt. That was a big sacrifice. All that I know is that he loved flying, Nasef added. That was his dream job and thats it. A French court has sentenced a Belgian woman to seven years in jail for killing her baby by putting him in the freezer. Nathalie De Mey (32) was convicted by an all-female jury of murder in the French city of Carcassonne in 2011. De Mey escaped a life sentence usually given for the murder of a minor because her lawyer argued that she had a temporary loss of judgement. On Wednesday when De Mey was asked why she did not choose a "more violent" method to kill the infant, she replied: "I didn't want to hurt him." De Mey, who has two daughters, said she had several alcoholic binges during her pregnancy. "When I realised I was pregnant, I tried to get help... but it was too late," she said. She said she gave birth to the child over a toilet. "When the baby came out, I caught him by the head so he wouldn't fall in the water, then I cut the cord with scissors." Hours later, she said, she placed the baby, swaddled in a blanket, in the freezer. The dead baby was discovered by the father of De Mey's two daughters three months later. Her lawyer said before the trial that De Mey had been afraid of admitting to her estranged companion that the third child was not his. Journallists surround Frank Berton, lawyer of Salah Abdeslam, at the courthouse after the arrival of Paris attacks suspect at the main law court in Paris, France, May 20, 2016 for his first hearing before French judges Journallists surround Frank Berton, lawyer of Salah Abdeslam, outside the courthouse after the arrival of Paris attacks suspect at the main law court in Paris, France, May 20, 2016 for his first hearing before French judges French police and Gendarmerie stand guard and block a street following the arrival of a convoy transporting a surviving member of the group that carried out Paris terror attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam to Paris courthouse for his first questioning by anti-terror judges in Paris, on May 20, 2016 Police secure the street as a vehicle believed to transport Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam departs the courthouse after his first hearing before French judges in Paris, France, May 20, 2016 The leading suspect in November's Paris attacks has refused to talk to judges in France, bringing the hearing to a close, according to his lawyers. Salah Abdeslam had been due to be questioned by investigating judges for the first time since his extradition from Belgium as authorities bid to shed light on the Islamic State group's strategies in Europe. Expand Close Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam Photo: Belgium Federal Police via AP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam Photo: Belgium Federal Police via AP Abdeslam, 26, was given a string of preliminary terrorism charges after his transfer from Belgium, where he was arrested after four months on the run. He is the only suspect still alive believed to have played a direct role in the November 13 bloodshed at a rock concert, stadium and Parisian cafes, which killed 130 people. The other attackers died in suicide bombings or under police fire. Read More Abdeslam's lawyer, Frank Berton, said his client had invoked his right to silence. Abdeslam had said last month that he wanted to explain all, but Mr Berton told reporters his client was disturbed by the 24-hour video surveillance in his maximum-security cell. An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off the Greek island of Crete early yesterday morning, Egyptian and Greek officials said. Egypt's aviation minister said the crash was more likely to have been caused by a terror attack than by technical problems. There were no immediate signs of any survivors but regardless of what caused the crash, the incident is likely to deepen Egypt's woes as the country struggles to revive its ailing economy, particularly the lucrative tourism sector that has been battered by the turmoil in which the country has been mired since a 2011 popular uprising. The crash also renewed security concerns surrounding Egyptian planes and airports, and brought back still fresh memories of the horrific Russian passenger plane crash in Sinai last October, when all 224 people on board were killed. Moscow has said the aircraft was brought down by an explosive device, and a local branch of the so-called Islamic State (Isil) has claimed responsibility for planting it. Later yesterday, an Egyptian search plane located two orange items believed to be from the EgyptAir flight, 230 miles southeast of Crete. Expand Close Click to enlarge / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Click to enlarge In Cairo, Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi told a news conference that he did not want to prematurely draw conclusions, but that indications suggest a terror attack as the more likely cause of the crash. "The possibility of having a different action or a terror attack is higher than the possibility of having a technical failure," Mr Fathi said, cautioning that the truth would not be known before the investigation is concluded. Earlier, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail also said a terror attack could not be ruled out. "We cannot rule anything out," Mr Ismail told reporters at Cairo airport. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the EgyptAir flight 804 made abrupt turns and suddenly lost altitude just before vanishing from radar at around 2.45am Egyptian time. Expand Close An EgyptAir jet takes off from Charles de Gaulle airport. Photo: Reuters / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp An EgyptAir jet takes off from Charles de Gaulle airport. Photo: Reuters He said the aircraft was 10-15 miles inside the Egyptian Flight Information Region, and at an altitude of 37,000 feet. "It turned 90 degrees left and then a 360-degree turn toward the right, dropping from 38,000 to 15,000 feet and then it was lost at about 10,000 feet," Mr Kammenos added. EgyptAir said the Airbus A320 vanished 10 miles (16km) after it entered Egyptian airspace, around 175 miles (280km) off Egypt's coastline north of the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. The carrier's account fits closely with an account from Konstantinos Lintzerakos, director of Greece's Civil Aviation Authority. The airline said the Egyptian military had received an emergency signal from the aircraft, an apparent reference to an Emergency Locator Transmitter, a battery powered device designed to automatically give out a signal in the event of a sudden loss of altitude or impact. The Egyptian military denied it had received a distress call and Egypt's state-run daily 'Al-Ahram' quoted an unidentified airport official as saying the pilot did not send one. The absence of a distress call suggests that whatever sent the aircraft plummeting into the Mediterranean was both sudden and brief. Exploring the possibility of a terror attack, Egyptian security officials said they were running background checks on the passengers to see if any of them had links to extremists. In Paris, the city's prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the incident. "No hypothesis is favoured or ruled out at this stage," the prosecutor's office said in a statement. Egypt's chief prosecutor, Nabil Sadeq, followed suit, ordering an "urgent" investigation into the crash. Egyptian military aircraft and navy ships were taking part in a search operation off Egypt's Mediterranean coast to locate the debris of the plane, which was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two babies, and 10 crew members. The pilot had more than 6,000 flight hours. Greece also joined the search and rescue operation, officials at the Hellenic National Defence General Staff said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault offered to send military planes and boats to join the Egyptian search for wreckage. French President Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting at the Elysee Palace, and later spoke with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on the phone and agreed to "closely cooperate to establish as soon as possible the circumstances" surrounding the incident, according to a statement issued in Paris. In Cairo, Mr el-Sissi convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, the country's highest security body. The council includes the prime minister and the defence, foreign and interior ministers, in addition to the chiefs of the intelligence agencies. Sobbing Those on board, according to EgyptAir, included 15 French passengers, 30 Egyptians, two Iraqis, one Briton, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi, one Sudanese, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Belgian, one Algerian and one Canadian. Mr Ayrault confirmed that 15 French citizens were on board. Around 15 relatives of passengers on board the missing flight arrived at Cairo airport yesterday morning. Airport authorities brought doctors to the scene after several distressed family members collapsed. In Paris, relatives of passengers on the EgyptAir flight started arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside the French capital. A man and a woman, identified by airport staff as relatives of the flight's passengers, sat at an information desk near the EgyptAir counter at Charles de Gaulle Airport's Terminal 1. The woman was sobbing, holding her face in a handkerchief. The pair were led away by police and airport staff and did not speak to gathered journalists. The 66 people lost aboard EgyptAir Flight 804 included a businessman adored by his colleagues, a language and history scholar, and a mother caring for a daughter with cancer. A look at the lives of some of the dead: :: Ahmed Helal was a business executive who directed Procter and Gamble's Amiens manufacturing site. His death sent shock waves through the northern French town. The 41-year-old French-Egyptian husband and father with the bright smile was a beloved figure at the consumer goods company, which described his disappearance as a "huge loss". P&R spokeswoman Segolene Moreau said Mr Helal, who was travelling for a holiday, was "extremely valued by his employees. He really was exemplary". :: Mohammed Saleh Zayada was a 62-year-old Unesco scholar who specialised in translation and history and was one of five brothers. His brother Malek said his older sibling was heading to Sudan through Egypt to visit relatives and to mourn his mother, who died just four days before the crash. He was supposed to head to Sudan 10 days before the crash but had to postpone that trip because of work. "He wanted to see my mother before she died. He wanted to see her. He felt so bad for missing her," Malek Zayada said. He added that he spoke to his Sudanese-French brother as he boarded the plane, and Malek was waiting for him at Khartoum airport when he heard that the plane was missing. :: Frenchman Pierre Heslouin was a 74-year-old management consultant from the Paris suburb of Val-de-Marne. He was using the trip to spend time with his son, 41-year-old Quentin Heslouin. The family was still mourning the death of Pierre's wife Edith, who died in 2015 after a long illness. The elder Heslouin leaves behind four other children and nine grandchildren. :: Sahar Khoga was a Saudi woman who had worked at her country's embassy in Cairo for 13 years. She was in Paris to follow up on her daughter's medical treatment there. According to the Saudi daily newspaper Okaz, the 52-year-old was visiting her daughter Sally, 22, who was battling cancer. A cousin told the newspaper that Ms Khoga had been accompanied on the trip by relatives, including her sister and their sons. The sister and her sons returned two days before the crash and only Ms Khoga and her daughter were left in Paris. :: Pascal Hess was a freelance music photographer from Evreux in the French region of Normandy who was travelling to Egypt on holiday to see a friend and visit the Red Sea. Local media reported that the 50-year-old nearly missed out on the trip after he misplaced his passport. He found it after several days of searching. Friend Didier Roubinoff confirmed that Mr Hess was among those on Flight 804 via Facebook and posted a photo of him with the caption "Adieu, my friend". A 2010 video on YouTube shows Mr Hess in a black shirt and trademark shades talking about capturing the energy and excitement of local rock concerts with his lens. :: Mohammed Shoukair, 36, was remembered as a hard-working aviator who sought all his life to be a pilot. Childhood friend Sherif al-Metanawi said family and friends are "traumatised, especially about the body, whether it will be found or remain to be missing". He added: "This is what is ripping our hearts apart, when we think about it. When someone you love so much dies, at least you have a body to bury." The last time the two met was on Saturday, when Mr Shoukair came to attend a funeral. A week earlier, the pair had a large gathering with friends, and Mr al-Metanawi teased his friend about being single, asking whether he was going to get married. :: Also aboard the flight was a student, who has not been named, training at a French military school who was heading to his family home in Chad to mourn his mother. :: Another passenger was an Egyptian man returning home after medical treatment in France, according to two friends who turned up at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport. "It breaks my heart," one of them, Madji Samaan, said. The fifth in a series of meetings organized by the 3-Star Healthy Project Task Force has been announced for Tuesday, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. The meeting will be held at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, 1 Cameron Hill Cir. in the Community Room. The OSCE's Lamberto Zannier says there must be agreement on all sides The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe may send an armed police mission to help conduct elections in conflict-torn eastern Ukraine, if there is agreement on all sides. OSCE secretary general Lamberto Zannier said his group was ready to send hundreds of policemen, potentially armed, to ensure the vote took place in a secure and safe atmosphere. "It would be a police operation to help maintain law and order in this area and to help provide a safe environment for the elections to take place," he said in Washington. As part of an internationally-brokered peace agreement, Ukraine must hold local elections in two eastern regions controlled by Russian-backed rebels, but progress on ending the two-year conflict that has already killed more than 9,300 people has been slow. Moscow says Ukraine must pass the necessary legislation to conduct the vote and Kiev insists the separatists must first cease all hostilities and pull back weapons and Ukraine must restore control over its border with Russia. The sides are also at odds over the degree of autonomy that will be granted to the separatist regions and the details of a prisoner exchange and amnesty for the rebels. Mr Zannier said the mission, requested by Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, could work alongside the local police force in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions to prevent criminal activity and help international observers monitor the vote. The mission would be able to deploy only after both sides fully committed to a ceasefire. "It is a complicated scenario, but it's certainly something that we can do if, as I say, everybody agrees," Mr Zannier said. Russia, however, has spoken against such a mission, with foreign minister Sergey Lavrov calling the issue "an artificial problem" and saying unarmed monitors of OSCE would be enough for the vote. Ukranian ambassador to the US Valeriy Chaly said: "As of today, it is impossible to conduct normal elections. "Russia will continue playing its game and try to do what it wants to do - for Ukraine to have this cancerous tumour. This position is unacceptable." Three Albanians who had reached England illegally were sent back to Cuxhaven on Monday Police in the German port city of Cuxhaven have stopped dozens of migrants from stowing away on freighters heading to Britain in recent months. The Cuxhavener Nachrichten newspaper reported that German border police have been monitoring the port since last autumn. It quoted police spokesman Holger Jureczko saying the young men, mostly from Albania and Kosovo, had repeatedly tried to climb over security fences to reach trucks being loaded on to freighters. Three Albanians who had reached England illegally were sent back to Cuxhaven on Monday. Mr Jureczko said police and port operators had increased security measures, and authorities believe they are now apprehending the majority of illegal migrants. The US is seeking the extradition of Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman (AP) The extradition of convicted drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to the United States can move forward, Mexico's Foreign Relations Department has ruled . But the process can still be appealed, meaning it could be weeks or months before the Sinaloa cartel leader may be sent north. Guzman's lawyers now have 30 days to appeal against the decision. The department said on Friday that the United States has guaranteed Guzman would not face the death penalty, which is not applied in Mexico. Friday's ruling covered an extradition request from a Texas federal court related to charges of conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine and marijuana, money laundering, arms possession and murder, and another extradition request from a federal court in California. In all, Guzman faces charges from seven US federal prosecutors including in Chicago, New York, Miami and San Diego. Earlier this week, Jose Refugio Rodriguez, one of Guzman's lawyers, said that if the government approved extradition they would pursue an injunction. "We are going to do it, but not right away, because it's a process you have to fight with arguments," he said. "We have 30 days." Guzman was arrested in January after almost six months on the run following his escape from a maximum-security prison through a mile-long tunnel that opened to the floor of his shower. He had already escaped once before in 2001 and spent more than a decade as one of the world's most wanted fugitives until he was recaptured in 2014. After his latest capture, authorities returned him to the same Altiplano prison where he had pulled off his brazen tunnel escape. They said they had reinforced the prison's security. But earlier this month, authorities suddenly transferred Guzman to a prison on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, near the US border, a move they said was due to work on improvements at Altiplano. Mr Rodriguez is trying to get Guzman returned to Altiplano, arguing that the transfer hurt his defence because it is hundreds of miles away from the court handling the case. He said a judge told them Guzman could be sent back to Altiplano if prison authorities determine the conditions are right. Authorities have said Guzman can be held safely in Juarez where, like in Altiplano, he is under 24-hour surveillance through cameras in his cell and on the helmets of his guards. A 12-year-old Christian girl who was burnt to death in her home by Isis urged her family to forgive them with her dying breath. The girls mother described how jihadi fighters had set fire to the family home in Mosul, northern Iraq, after they failed to pay a religious tax on time. The tax, known as the Jaziya, is imposed on all non-Muslims in Isis controlled territories and is calculated according to their estimated net worth. The unnamed mother described how foreign Isis fighters had arrived at her door and said she had two choices, either you are to leave now or you are to pay the Jaziya". Human rights advocate, Jacqueline Issac, said the mother told them she would pay, but asked for a few seconds as her daughter was in the shower. The jihadis reportedly refused to wait and lit the house with a torch immediately. Both the mother and her daughter managed to escape the burning house, but the child died from her fourth degree burns a few hours later. Ms Issac told the Daily Express: The daughter had fourth degree burns and the mother took her daughter, scrambling, doing anything to save her. She rushed her to the hospital and her daughter died in her arms. The last thing her daughter said was: Forgive them. Last week, a leading cleric in Baghdad said the countrys ancient Christian population could disappear within five years because of the Isis threat. Father Martin Hermis Dawood said he used to advise members of his congregation who were contemplating fleeing the country to stay strong, but since the emergence of the terror group two years ago he had told them to go. Iraqi Christian leaders estimate the total number of Chaldean Catholics, Syrian Orthodox and members of the eastern Assyrian church - the main denominations in the country - has declined from 1.3 million people 20 years ago to just 400,000 today, the Daily Telegraph reports. Father Dawood said: We are in the middle, we have seen it. When newspapers published cartoons about the Prophet Mohammed, it was in Europe, but gangs tried to assault Christians here. Something happened in Belgium or in Holland, I paid here. We know very well that not every Muslim here is a terrorist, but there is a culture rising, not only here in Iraq, but in the Middle East. Theres a struggle happening in the whole world and we will be burned in this fire in the future. The last known survivor of the Islamic State team that carried out November's Paris attacks has refused to talk during questioning by anti-terror judges, and the session ended abruptly. Salah Abdeslam's lawyer, Frank Berton said his client had invoked his right to silence. Abdeslam, 26, had said last month that he wanted to explain all. Mr Berton told reporters that Abdeslam was disturbed by 24-hour video surveillance in his maximum-security cell and called the practice illegal. "He can't tolerate being watched on video 24 hours a day," Mr Berton said. "Psychologically that makes things difficult." Friday was the first time Abdeslam had been questioned since his extradition from Belgium last month. At that point, Mr Berton said his client wanted to talk to investigators and explain his path to radicalisation. Abdeslam, a French citizen of Moroccan origin, was handed six preliminary terrorism charges after his transfer on April 27 from Belgium, where he was arrested after four months on the run. He is the only suspect still alive believed to have played a direct role in the November 13 bloodshed at a concert hall, stadium and Parisian cafes, which killed 130 people. The other attackers died in suicide bombings or under police fire. Authorities and families of attack victims had hoped Abdeslam's testimony would shed light on how IS plotted the attacks, solve mysteries that remain about what exactly happened on November 13, and identify others who might have been involved, or support networks still hiding in the shadows. Abdeslam's precise role in the attacks has never been clear. The Paris prosecutor has said he was equipped as a suicide bomber, but abandoned his plan and fled to Belgium, where he grew up. Abdeslam's older brother blew himself up at a cafe during the Paris attacks. Abdeslam was captured on March 18 at a hideout near his childhood home in the Molenbeek neighbourhood of Brussels. Four days later, suicide bombers detonated their explosives at Brussels airport and metro, killing 32 people. The search is continuing for missing EgyptAir flight 804, which disappeared from the radar while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. Authorities are scouring a wide area south of the Greek island of Crete for wreckage, more than 24 hours after the Airbus 320 lost contact. The Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos says the plane swerved wildly before plummeting into the sea. The Egyptian military says that no distress call was received from the pilot. The country's aviation minister Sherif Fathi says the likelihood the plane was brought down by a terror attack is "higher than the possibility of a technical failure". Meanwhile the distressed relatives of some of those on board have spent the night in a hotel in Cairo while they await news. France's foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Friday there is "absolutely no indication" of the cause. The junior minister for transport, Alain Vidalies, said on France-Info radio that "no theory is favoured" at this stage and urged "the greatest caution". A French military Falcon jet is helping in the search for debris. Vidalies said France could offer undersea search equipment and experts. Amid fears it was an extremist attack, Vidalies defended security at Charles de Gaulle Airport, saying staff badges are revoked if there is the slightest security doubt. Mayors Andy Berke and Jim Coppinger announced on Friday the creation of a new Mayors Art Award. A partnership with the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, the Mayors Art Award will recognize businesses that support the areas artist community. Art expresses the unique identity of our city, said Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke. Our collection of Public Art tells the story of our areas rebirth -- once on the decline, we are now an outdoor destination, a booming manufacturing hub, and a center for innovative start-up companies. Importantly, art not only showcases our assets, but reminds us of our struggles and problems that remain to be tackled through collaborative efforts. This reminder of our successes and shortcomings would not be possible without the support of our business community, who time and time again has supported creative endeavors, Mayor Berke continued. The Mayors Art Award, which was recommended through Mayor Berkes Chattanooga Forward process, will be awarded during the Annual Chamber Meeting in August. The Award will specifically celebrate businesses that have a demonstrated and tangible connection to the local arts community through financial, in-kind support, or general promotion of the arts. Art has played an important role in our community. It expresses the unique identity of our region and helps to build a vibrant community, said Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger. Through the Mayors Art Award, we will celebrate those businesses that go above and beyond in their support for our local artists. Starting today until June 30, individuals can nominate a for-profit business as a potential recipient of the Mayors Art Award. While a business of any size can be awarded, they must be located in Hamilton County. The public is encouraged to nominate businesses that may support any type of creative expression including but not limited to arts programming, performing arts or visual arts. The Mayors Arts Award will be made without discrimination of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age or disability. To nominate a local business, visit connect.chattanooga.gov/artaward. US Army Gen Joseph Votel visited the base in Taji, Iraq, where Iraqi soldiers are being trained (AP) The top American general for the Middle East has said he is confident that Iraq is on course to defeat Islamic State. Gen Joseph Votel, the new head of US Central Command, spent Friday consulting with US and Iraqi military officials and visiting a base north of Baghdad in Taji that is training Iraqi army combat units. "They are getting better," he told reporters later, referring to his broad assessment of Iraq's progress after the stunning collapses in 2014-15 that ceded large swaths of territory to IS in the north and west. "That said, there is still a lot left to do." Noting the Iraqis' recent battlefield successes, including the recapture of Ramadi late last year and their retaking this week of Rutba, a strategic crossroads in western Iraq, Gen Votel said he sees momentum developing and Iraqi confidence rising. "I think their readiness is improving," he said, adding: "I think they're getting a better handle on the challenges that they face." The backdrop to this assessment is a persistent question not voiced explicitly by Gen Votel but suggested by his careful description of progress in rebuilding the Iraqi army. The question is: If, as US commanders expect, Iraq eventually pushes IS off its territory, will a divided government in Baghdad be capable of sustaining that success and warding off yet another collapse? The question recalls what happened after President Barack Obama pulled all US forces out of Iraq in December 2011. In the view of many US officials, the Iraqi forces who the US had trained for several years were allowed to atrophy amid sectarian mismanagement in Baghdad. When Islamic State fighters swept into Mosul in June 2014, the Iraqi forces collapsed. Gen Votel, who has headed Central Command for about seven weeks, came to Iraq to get an up-close look at the US-led international campaign against IS. At its core, that campaign depends on the Iraqi security forces generating enough skill, firepower and gumption to recapture and hold the vast stretches of territory that IS still controls. That includes Mosul, the northern stronghold that is considered key to collapsing IS in Iraq. Gen Votel said the Iraqis need to do what it takes to continue the momentum they have gained lately. "In general, we're moving forward," he said. The next big move is supposed to be in Mosul, although US officials do not believe the Iraqi security forces are ready for an all-out assault there yet. Army Lt Gen Sean MacFarland, the Baghdad-based commander of the US-led campaign in Iraq and Syria, said in an interview that the US does not want to move to push the Iraqis too fast. "We don't want to rush them out there and achieve fragile victories," Lt Gen MacFarland said. "We want to make sure that their victories are irreversible." Weighing on the Iraqi campaign is the political paralysis that has gripped the government in Baghdad. IS has also launched a series of deadly attacks in the capital, including suicide car bombings, apparently with the aim of sowing further discord within the government and causing the government to pull some of its forces away from Mosul to help defend Baghdad. "It's important to make sure that we help keep Baghdad secure," Lt Gen MacFarland said. "It's the centre of gravity here. One of the ways we're trying to help the Iraqi security forces is to do that in the most efficient way possible so that it (Baghdad) doesn't become kind of a sinkhole for all of the Iraqi security forces." He said that "for the most part", Iraqi's political leaders are resisting what he called the temptation to bring significant numbers of Iraqi forces back into the Baghdad area. Already, about half of the Iraqi army is deployed in or near Baghdad. At Taji, Lt Col Jim Hammett, the Australian officer commanding the training effort there, said an infantry school for 250 Iraqi enlisted soldiers had to suspend operations because the trainees were suddenly sent to Baghdad to perform security duties. They returned to the training school after two weeks, he said. The Iraqi staff of another school at Taji was likewise dispatched to a western suburb of Baghdad to perform security. Lt Gen MacFarland described an Iraqi military leadership of vastly different levels of competence. "I've seen some pretty dang good leaders actually, surprisingly good, out there in some of the units that I've talked to," he said. "Other times you look at them and say, 'Eh, this guy may not be cutting it'." The Zika virus that is believed to have infected more than 7,500 people in an island nation off the western coast of Africa is the same strain spreading through the Americas, the World Health Organisation has said. As a result, three babies in Cape Verde have already developed microcephaly - the same devastating condition that has left babies in Brazil and elsewhere with undersized brains and skulls. Zika's emergence near Africa raises new concerns because many of the nearby countries on the continent have very poor health infrastructure, as was laid bare by the Ebola epidemic that ravished Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said: "The findings are of concern because it is further proof that the outbreak is spreading beyond South America and is on the doorstep of Africa." Cape Verde, which reported its first Zika case in October, is a former Portuguese colony like Brazil, where the mosquito-borne virus emerged last year before spreading to nearly 60 countries. There have already been more than 7,500 suspected cases of the Zika virus in Cape Verde. Most infected people suffer no symptoms but authorities in Brazil have seen a dramatic increase in severe brain-related birth defects in babies born to women infected with Zika during pregnancy. After studying evidence, health officials this year concluded Zika causes such birth defects. One of the babies believed to have contracted Zika in Cape Verde was born at a hospital in Boston, officials said. WHO said that health officials in the region should start warning pregnant women to take precautions against mosquito bites. Zika can also be spread sexually, and WHO has said that pregnant women should abstain from sex or practice safe sex with anyone who has recently returned from areas with outbreaks. Doctors also believe Zika can cause a rare paralysing condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome, which leads to rapid muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Tyus and Anita Butler are pictured in a photo courtesy of the Motorcycle Awareness Alliance's Facebook page. By Nikie Mayo of the Independent Mail Tyus Butler, senior pastor of Labor of the Fields churches in Anderson and Iva, died Thursday afternoon, 12 days after being injured in the motorcycle crash that also killed his wife, Anita. The Butlers were participating in a "Look Twice, Save A Life" motorcycle-safety event May 7 when they crashed. According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the couple were traveling west on S.C. 418 in Greenville County when their 2000 Harley-Davidson went off the right side of the road and struck a guardrail. They were both ejected from the motorcycle. The husband and wife were both wearing helmets. Anita Butler died at the scene the day of the crash. Tyus Butler suffered a severe head injury, multiple fractures and broken bones and was taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital. He was removed from life support at the hospital Thursday. "We know that Tyus and Anita are in heaven walking on the streets of gold," said Vernon Bagwell, the assistant pastor at the church. "But I feel like half of me is gone now, because we have been involved in ministry together for years. I can tell you, this church is going to stay wide open. We are going to continue to minister to the poor, the addicted and the broken. That is what Tyus and Anita would want." Bagwell said the church on Airline Road in Anderson will have a special service Friday night in honor of the Butlers. The service begins with a meal at 6 p.m. and worship at 7 p.m., he said. "We had already scheduled Tyus' favorite band, Retro Praise, to come play for us Friday night," Bagwell said. "We are going to still have that and dedicate it to this family." The Butlers had planned to renew their wedding vows this month in honor of their 20th anniversary. Bagwell said Tyus Butler started Labor of the Fields in 2010 with just five people. Now, an average Sunday service includes 75 to 100 people. In 2015, the Butlers opened a second church on Broad Street in Iva, the town where Tyus was raised. The ministry also has a soup kitchen and a rehabilitation program for men struggling with addictions. Between the soup kitchen and the rehab, the ministry gives away 3,500 meals a month. In the days after the crash, more than 3,000 people joined the Facebook group Prayers for Pastor Tyus Butler. Some shared their memories of the Butlers and their experiences at Labor of the Fields. "I remember walking in and seeing him in his Converse and Ed Hardy shirt and thinking: Yep, I'm home," Kim Owens Turner posted on the Facebook page. Multiple fundraisers are planned, some to benefit the family and some to benefit the church. The Butlers' youngest children David and Addison are teenagers. Rick "Ponytail" Allison, president of Motorcycle Awareness Alliance's Anderson chapter, said in a previous interview that the Butlers have long been active members of the group. Allison was too overcome with emotion to say much Thursday. "Oh, mercy," he said. "This is a lot to take in. Two good people have left this world." Follow Nikie Mayo on Twitter @NikieMayo Benefits planned For Labor of the Fields When: June 25 at 1 p.m. Where: Civic Center of Anderson, 3027 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Anderson Need: socks, underwear, toiletries, cash donations Call: 864-367-5336 For the Butler family What: Barbecue plates for $8 When: July 9 at 1 p.m. Where: Pirates Creek, 120 Waybrook Drive, Anderson Call: 864-226-0425 SHARE Teresa Culpepper, mother of Capri Culpepper, attends a discussion at the first Young Democrats of Anderson County meeting. Pam Melton of Central talks about bathroom bills and other LGBT issues. Jennifer Tague of SC Equality speaks. Caleb Suttles, videographer producing a film on Anderson transgender teen Capri Culpepper, attends the first meeting of the Young Democrats of Anderson County. By Kirk Brown of the Independent Mail A discussion of transgender issues on Thursday night highlighted the first meeting of the Young Democrats of Anderson County. Jennifer Tague, operations director of SC Equality, said her group "battled and beat all 13 negative, anti-LGBT bills" that were considered in the current South Carolina General Assembly session. "We are the only state in the Deep South that can say that," she said. Tague said an intense lobbying effort and strong ties with the state's business community helped block the bills that her group opposed. One of those bills was a measure that would have required transgender people to use public bathrooms matching their birth gender. Its sponsors included Sen. Kevin Bryant, a Republican from Anderson. Capri Culpepper, a transgender teen from Anderson, was among the critics who testified against the bathroom bill at a Statehouse hearing last month. She previously settled a lawsuit against the state Department of Motor Vehicles after being told to remove her makeup for a driver's license photo. She also was a homecoming queen finalist last year at T.L. Hanna High School. "Trans people's bodies are theirs. That is not something that other people need to be considering if they are trying to use the bathroom," Culpepper said at Thursday night's meeting. "To be quite honest, what does my genitalia have to do with your life?" Culpepper's mother, Teresa Culpepper, spoke Thursday about how Capri Culpepper was suspended for four days after using the girls bathroom at T.L. Hanna High. Capri Culpepper also was required to write a 16-page essay explaining "what she did wrong," her mother said. Teresa Culpepper said Capri Culpepper left Hanna High is now attending Anderson 5 Charter School, where she hopes to graduate this spring. Caleb Scuttles described a feature-length documentary film that he is making about Capri Culpepper's recent experiences. The film is expected to be completed this fall. A woman at the meeting talked about how her transgender child is now being home-schooled after being harassed by students at Glenview Middle School in Anderson. Tague said many transgender children struggle for acceptance. "We just really need to wrap our arms around our trans kids and really support them and love them and let them know they're OK, because that is the most important part," she said. About 25 people attended the meeting Thursday at McGee's Scot-Irish Pub in downtown Anderson. The Young Democrats of Anderson County plan to start having monthly meetings, said Phil Dudley, the group's president. Follow Kirk Brown on Twitter @KirkBrown_AIM JSW reported strong set of numbers on the back of some inventory liquidation and lower coking coal costs. The companys topline of Rs. 10,698cr was inline with estimates as the impact of lower subsidiary contribution was offset by strong growth in standalone entity. Standalone sales volume jumped 28.6% qoq and 7.2% yoy even though 3 furnaces were non-operational for major part of the quarter. Blended realisations improved 2.1% qoq as the transmission of higher steel prices post the implementation of MIP would be witnessed in Q1 FY17. Domestic prices have bounced back 25% from January lows. Standalone EBIDTA/ton was higher than expected due to higher volumes and lower coking coal costs. This would improve further in Q1 FY17 on the back of strong volumes and higher steel prices. Consolidated operating profit was also boosted by higher contribution from subsidiaries leading to 8.4% yoy increase. The company has guided for strong volume growth of 24% yoy to 15mn tons. This would be achieved on the back of higher domestic demand and import substitution. Result Highlights: (Rs. in crore) Reported Results IIFL Estimates Variance (%) Consolidated Revenue 10697.52 10703.8 [0.06] Consolidated Net Profit 171.25 -9.9 0 Corporate Action: JSW Steel recommended dividend at the stipulated rate of Re. 1/- (Rupee One only) per share on the 10% Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares of Rs. 10 each of the Company has been recommended for the year ended March 31, 2016; and The company has recommended dividend of Rs. 7.50/- per fully paid-up Equity Share of Rs. 10 each has been recommended for the year ended March 31, 2016. The dividend, if declared by the members at the 22nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company will be credited/dispatched to the members on or before 30 days from the date of Annual General Meeting. JSW Steel, country's largest private sector steel company, reported consolidated net profit of Rs.171.25 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, registering growth of 174.53% yoy. However, the company had reported net loss of Rs. 923.34 crore in the preceding quarter. The companys consolidated revenue stood at Rs. 10,697.52 crore, down 15.1% yoy but up 22.98% qoq.Its consolidated core operating profit of Rs. 1,824.62 crore for the quarter, clocked growth of 8.45% yoy and 104.59% qoq. Operating profit margin for the current quarter at 17.06% expanded by 371 bps yoy and 681 bps qoq.For the year ended March 31, 2016, the company reported consolidated net loss of Rs. 741.95crore as compared to net profit of Rs. 1,796.57 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Its consolidated revenue for the period stood at Rs. 41,878.88 crore, registering decline of 20.94% yoy.JSW Steel Ltd's core operating profit stood at Rs. 6,072.99 crore, recording decline of 35.41% yoy. Operating margin for the current period at 15.02% contracted by 273 bps yoy.On standalone basis,JSW Steel Ltd, reported standalone net profit of Rs.372.19 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, registering growth of 97.21% yoy. However, the company had reported net loss of Rs. 4,142.22 crore in the preceding quarter. The companys standalone revenue stood at Rs. 9,544.25 crore, down 13.09% yoy but up 31.29% qoq.Its standalone core operating profit of Rs. 1,774.07 crore for the quarter, clocked growth of 6.01% yoy and 102.06% qoq. Operating profit margin for the current quarter at 18.59% expanded by 335 bps yoy and 651 bps qoq.For the year ended March 31, 2016, the company reported standalone net loss of Rs. 3,498.28crore as compared to net profit of Rs. 2,166.48 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Its standalone revenue for the period stood at Rs. 36,706.92 crore, registering decline of 20.35% yoy.JSW Steel Ltd's core operating profit stood at Rs. 5,722.52 crore, recording decline of 35.5% yoy. Operating margin for the current period at 16.21% contracted by 304 bps yoy.Bloomberg estimated the companys consolidated net profit at Rs. 127.22 crore.JSW Steel Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 1314.3, down by 5.95 points or 0.45% from its previous closing of Rs. 1320.25 on the BSE.The scrip opened at Rs. 1321 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 1329 and Rs. 1311.25 respectively. So far 182346(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 31913.08 crore.The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1379 on 29-Apr-2016 and a 52 week low of Rs. 801 on 28-Jul-2015. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1344 and Rs. 1254 respectively.The promoters holding in the company stood at 41.48 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 37.23 % and 20.51 % respectively.The stock is currently trading below its 50 DMA. Mangaluru-based private sector lender reported better than expected. However, the bank reported a fall in its Q4 net profit on account of higher provisioning. The bank made a provision of Rs112.50 crore during the fourth quarter of 2015-16 as against Rs 63.11 crore in the third quarter of 2015-16. However, there was a reversal of provisioning of around Rs 4.49 crore during the fourth quarter of 2014-15. Encouragingly, the banks asset quality improved sequentially with gross non-performing assets (NPA) falling 12 basis points to 3.44 percent and net NPA declining 6 bps to 2.35%. Result Highlights: (Rs. in crore) Reported Results IIFL Estimates Variance (%) Standalone Revenue 359.73 272 32.25 Standalone Net Profit 106.79 100 6.79 Karnataka Bank, reported standalone net profit of Rs.106.79 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, registering decline of 20.55% yoy, but growth of 10.2% qoq. It's Net Interest Income (NII) for the quarter stood at Rs. 359.73 crore, clocking growth of 23.48% yoy and 17.97% qoq.Gross non-performing assets (GNPA) for the quarter stood at 3.44% up 49 bps yoy, but down 12 bps qoq. Provisions at 112.50 crore grew by 78.26% qoq. There was a provision write-back of Rs. 4.49 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.For the year ended March 31, 2016, the bank reported net profit of Rs. 415.29 crore, witnessing decline of 8.01% yoy. It's NII for the current period of Rs. 1,302.87 crore was up 11.47% yoy.Provisions during the period at Rs. 326.53 crore were higher by 52.6% yoy.Bloomberg estimated the companys standalone net profit at Rs. 941 crore.Karnataka Bank Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 118.6, up by 6.55 points or 5.85% from its previous closing of Rs. 112.05 on the BSE.The scrip opened at Rs. 110.25 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 119.3 and Rs. 110.25 respectively. So far 1341071(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 2111.65 crore.The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 158 on 07-Jul-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 84.85 on 29-Feb-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 122 and Rs. 111.35 respectively.The promoters holding in the company stood at 0 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 29.65 % and 70.35 % respectively.The stock is currently trading below its 200 DMA. Mutual fund investment is generally preferred by passive investors. Mutual funds are doing well in India because of the inherent risk-averse nature of its people. However, there are some myths that can influence an investor's mindset and affect the mindset. This invariably results in lower returns in the long run. Mutual fund is for financial experts The majority of people have a mindset that asset allocation involved in mutual funds is not easy to understand and only financial experts can know this better. But, this is not true. In every asset management company, there are fund managers who track different companies and sectors and help you make well thought-out investments. Fund managers pick the stocks that are doing well and have significant upsides left. They do all the hard work; so, in reality, you do not need to be a financial expert at all to invest and understand the world of mutual funds. Mutual fund = an equity product Some people avoid investing in mutual funds because they have an element of equity. However, one must realize that mutual funds is not only about equity; it has a lot more to it. Mutual funds possess a debt and hold-cash component. So investing in mutual funds is in essence an investment in a financial product that possesses a variety of instruments and thus helps gain considerable profit. Mutual fund needs a large sum of investment Today, most funds allow investments as low as Rs.1000, with zero limits on the maximum amount. In fact, the amount is as low as Rs.500 for investment in equity-linked savings schemes. Mutual funds also give the SIP facility in many of their plans that allow you to invest a small sum of your choice regularly. Mutual fund with lower NAV gives higher returns Investing in a mutual fund with lower NAV delivers good returns; this is another common myth related to MF. However, investing in a mutual fund is also subject to market albeit lesser compared to equity shares. Therefore, a good investment logic holds the key. NAV represents the market value of all investments. Hence, do not forget that the current NAV of a mutual fund does not have any impact on future returns. Mutual fund investment good for long-term Investing in this financial instrument for a long-term has a slight advantage. But, it doesnt mean this product is not for short-term investors. There are short-term schemes available in the market where you can invest from a day to a few weeks. It has been observed that each investment gives scope for higher returns in the long run. Maruti Suzuki launched Alto 800 with more attractive front design, fresh interiors, vibrant colours, higher fuel efficiency and new features. (India Infoline) Maruti Suzuki has announced that it soon undertake a 'service campaign' to inspect a suspected fault and replace a brake part in 20,427 units of the S-Cross. (NDTV) Eicher Polaris, a 50:50 JV between Eicher Motors and Polaris Industries, today forayed into Karnataka with the launch of Multix, a personal utility vehicle with ten dealerships. (Financial Express) India has a chequered record when it comes to acting against errant car manufacturers, which can be attributed largely to weak provisions in the motor vehicles law that regulates the safety and emission norms of automobiles. (ET) Indias cost competitiveness in manufacturing vis-a-vis Europe may decline from current level of about 44 per cent to 30 per cent by 2023 owing to growing labour costs, according to an ASSOCHAM-Roland Berger joint study. (India Infoline) Maruti Suzuki India said the issue of using improper fuel economy and emission tests faced by parent Suzuki Motor Corp in Japan will not have implications in India citing distinct testing regulations. (Deccan Chronicle) Harley-Davidson riders returned to the Land of the Thunder Dragon- Bhutan for the 3rd International H.O.G. Ride to fulfill their quest for riding in one of the worlds most sought after riding destinations. (India Infoline) Brigade Enterprises is set to launch large commercial real estate projects spread over six million square feet during the fiscal year 2016-17, reports a financial newspaper. Bengaluru-based property developer will invest more than INR 3,000 crore for various projects, a top company official has been quoted as saying. The proposed projects include setting up of a world trade centre (WTC) in Chennai and an office-cum-retail and residential project at Brookfields in Bengaluru, says the business daily. "We are commencing the construction on these projects during the current financial year. We will invest INR 1,000 crore on development of World Trade Centre at Chennai and close to INR 2,000 crore for the development of office-cum-retail project at Brookfields in Bengaluru," Brigade's CEO - Commercial Vishal Mirchandani told the paper. Brigade has partnered with Singapores sovereign wealth fund GIC for both Brookfields and WTC projects in Chennai, he added. "We will be executing both these projects through a joint venture with GIC," Mirchandani told the daily. Cairn India Ltd has announced Mayank Ashar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer has decided to step down for personal reasons effective June 05, 2016. Cairn India Ltd ended at Rs. 136.75, up by Rs. 1.45 or 1.07% from its previous closing of Rs. 135.3 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 136.5 and touched a high and low of Rs. 138.4 and Rs. 135.5 respectively. A total of 1783428(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 25366.89 crore. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 touched a 52 week high of Rs. 202.3 on 20-May-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 106.6 on 19-Jan-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 143 and Rs. 134.6 respectively. The promoters holding in the company stood at 59.88 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 26 % and 14.12 % respectively. The stock traded below its 50 DMA. Sudhir Mathur, CFO, will lead the organization as the acting CEO. The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the Indian economy is estimated to register 7.6% growth in 2015-16, notwithstanding contraction of global exports and two consecutive years of shortfall in monsoon. Amid weaker outlook across the globe, he said that Indias experience of strong economic growth, comfortable price situation, low Current Account Deficit (CAD), and adherence to path of fiscal recovery have projected it as an outpost of opportunity for global investors. The Finance Minister Jaitley was speaking at a meeting with a group of Executive Directors (EDs) of the World Bank Group here yesterday. The discussions held ranged from the performance of ongoing World Bank Projects in India to various policy issues related to the World Bank Group financing. Speaking further on the occasion, the Finance Minister Jaitley said that the focus of the present Government is on areas like non-conventional power generation, the Nation-wide sanitation campaign, electrification of villages in India, major and minor irrigation projects and rural housing for all among others. Highlighting the various macroeconomic variables favorable to India, he pointed-out good monsoon forecast, political reform process and low current oil prices as the key drivers of economic growth. He emphasized on the macro-economic benefit that India is experiencing due to the fall in oil prices. He stated that the fall in global oil prices during the time when India was recovering from the impact of Global Financial crisis, has greatly benefitted India in the recovery process. Talking about the role of World Bank Group in World development, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley stressed on the need for the World Bank to have a larger capital base, more activity and more projects. He also stated that the role of World Bank Group could be expanded in areas like social sector - education and health, agricultural development, small-scale industry and handlooms etc. A group of nine World Bank Executive Directors is currently on a six (6) day official visit to India as a part of their South Asian Region visit. They will also be visiting Bangladesh & Sri Lanka. In India, their visit covers meeting the senior Government of India officials and getting a firsthand experience of the implementation of the World Bank projects in Agra, Bhubaneswar and Jaipur. As Apple CEO Tim Cook is touring India, another important news is doing the rounds. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is all set to come to India for his third visit as the chief of the tech giant on May 30, say reports. This visit will last for only a day during which Nadella will meet young enterpreneurs and students in Delhi as well as participate in the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organized session to meet top 100-150 CEOs of the country, as per reports. In December 2015, Nadella's tour to India was more of a personal visit when he spent time with his family. During the December visit, he also met AP CM Chandrababu Naidu and visited startup incubator T-hub and Microsoft development centre in Hyderabad. During his first visit as the CEO in November 2015, Nadella attended the 'Future Unleashed' event in Mumbai exploring his vision to empower every person in India by adopting the Mobile-first, Cloud-first approach. He shared the stage with tech experts and entrepreneurs such as Anand Mahindra, Chairman & MD, Mahindra Group; Mukund Rajan, Brand Custodian & Spokesperson, TATA Group; Shikha Sharma, MD & CEO, Axis Bank and Dr. Devi Shetty, Chairman & Founder, Narayana Hrudayalaya. Tata Communications plans to strengthen the data centre businesses in India and Singapore to further capitalise on the growing demand of the Asia Pacific region, reports a business daily. "The multi-pronged strategy behind this partnership is about growth," Rangu Salgame, CEO of growth ventures at Tata Communication, told the financial newspaper. "We have made significant investments and have taken the business to a significant scale and have gained indisputable market share. Now, this joint venture gives us an opportunity to grow further with a new partner, ST Telemedia, on one hand, and on the other, use part of the cash proceeds to partially pare down our debt and improve the consolidated balance sheet," he told the daily. "At the same time, we can also use the cash to reinvest in innovation around our managed services portfolio," Salgame told the paper. Tata Communications on Thursday announced the sale of a 74% stake in its data centre operations in India and Singapore to ST Telemedia for INR 4,130 crore (US$616 million), including debt. Tatas will retain a 26% stake. India and Singapore jointly have 17 of the total 44 data centres of Tata Communications, reports the paper. The remaining 27 centres are in the UK and the US. "The cash proceeds from this deal will translate to ~INR 3,056 crore (US$456 million). We haven't yet decided how to break that up for debt repayment, product innovation and future capital expenditure. The revenue from these centres stood at around $150 million. Over and above, there are additional revenues for services generated which Tata Communications will retain," Salgame said. In 2014, the Indian data centre business was transferred to a wholly-owned subsidiary called Tata Communications Data Centers (TCDC). Wars have always been an integral part of human history. The bloodshed the world over has led to the inception of new kingdoms, new religions and individual greats, who not only brought changes in regime, but also paved the way for much-needed change in the socio-political orders of countries. And Indias history is certainly no exception. blogspot.in Wars have always been associated with the destruction of one and the rise of another; and in India, some wars were so crucial that they scripted the fate of the countrys history. If Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka, Samundragupta, Harshvardhana, Prithviraj Chauhan and Akbar were among the rulers who saved India from outside invasions; there were many who weren't up to the task. Porus, despite fighting valiantly and almost defeating Alexander The Great when the latter invaded India in 326 BC, couldn't defend the border from foreign invaders. Post 1000 AD, Indias vulnerability to tough opponents became evident, which is why most of the wars that followed always brought about changes in regime. Whether it was Chandraguptas advance against Greek Commander Seleucus Nictor in 305 BC, or Samundra Guptas conquest of the south up to Sri Lanka, which got him known as Napoleon of India, these are rare examples when Indian kings successfully tried to conquer foreign lands. But let's move forward to modern history. There were 5 major wars that brought in and established Islam, the Mughals, and the British in India, essentially scripting the history that we get to read today. 1. Second Battle of Tarain wikipedia This war took place in Tarain in 1192 between Delhi's King Prithviraj Chauhan and Muhammed Ghori, the Sultan of Ghor. Ghori had been invading and looting India for three decades when he challenged Prithviraj in the First Battle of Tarain in 1191. The great Rajput king defeated him. According to text books, humiliated after his defeat, Ghori returned to Afghanistan, but came back in 1192 with a bigger army and challenged Chauhan once again. This time, due to the lack of unity between the Rajput confederation, Chauhan was short on support from other Rajput kings, resulting in a massive defeat for Chauhan, the last Hindu king on the throne of Delhi. The war established Islam in India, because unlike other Islamic invaders who used to loot India and return to their lands, Ghori stayed put. He established an empire and before returning to Ghor, left Qutub-ul-Din Aibak, the man who laid the foundation of Qutub Minar in Delhi, as his regional governor. Later this event led to the foundation and rise of the Delhi Sultanate. 2. First Battle of Panipat wikipedia This war took place between the invader Babur from Fargana, and Delhis Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi in 1526. Many books, including Babur's biography, claim Babur was invited to attack India by Lodhis brother, Sikander Lodhi, and Mewar's King Rana Sanga, who thought that war with Babur would weaken the Sultan enough to defeat him. But like Ghori, Babur was mesmerized with the riches of the beautiful India, and didnt leave after defeating the Sultan. Instead, he laid the foundation of the Mughal Empire. Babur, later in 1527, defeated Rana Sanga in the Battle of Khanwa. But the Mughal rule was cemented in the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556, when his grandson Akbar defeated Hemu, the last hope of Hindu rule over Delhi. 3. Battle of Plassey britishbattles This battle established the British as one of the contenders, along with the Marathas, the Jats and many others as successors to the Mughal empire. The war took place on 23 June 1757, between the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-Daulah and the British. Tensions escalated between the two when the British fortified Fort William in Calcutta without the permission of the Nawab. According to NCERT books, the Nawab was fed up with the continuous interference of the British in his rule, and took this opportunity to vent his anger. He destroyed the fortification. But soon the British got help of Madras Province. Robert Clive, the British Commander, was scared of being outnumbered by the Nawab's army. Therefore, he bribed Mir Jaffer, one of the commanders of the Nawabs army, along with many other key commanders. As a result, a majority of the 40,000 soldier army of the Nawab didnt fight, and surrendered meekly at Plassey. The Nawab lost to an army of just three thousand soldiers. This war made Britain's dream of ruling India more accessible, and they realised it by defeating all other contenders to the Mughal throne - the Marathas, the Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan, and many others in future. 4. Third Battle of Panipat panipat-online This war, between the Marathas and Afghan invader Agmad Shah Abdali, took place on 14th January 1761. The war is considered to be one of the most decisive battles in Indian history because it didnt decide who would become the successor of the Mughals in India, but who would not. The Marathas, under the leadership of the Peshwas brother Sadashiva Rao Bhau, lost their war despite having twice the number of soldiers against Abdali. According to A Comprehensive History of Medieval India, the major cause of Maratha defeat was the lack of support from other Indian regional kings like the Rajputs, Sikhs, Jats and even the Nawab of Awadh. Panipat was thousands of miles away from their capital in Pune, and it resulted in soldiers dying of hunger. Maratha supply lines were cut by Abdali and his Indian allies. Out of compulsion, Bhau had to fight at Panipat. Initially, the ferocity of the Maratha attack was such that it took the Afghans by surprise, but soon the law of averages caught up and the Afghans dominated and defeated the Marathas. This defeat opened the gates of India to the British. A few years later, the British waged war against the Maratha empire and completely destroyed it by 1818 in the third Anglo-Maratha war. 5. Battle of Buxar vikrama.in The battle took place on 22 October, 1764 at Buxar, roughly 130 km west to of Patna, between the British, led by Hector Munro, and the combined forces of Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, Shuja-ud-Daula, the Nawab of Awadh, and Mir Qasim, the Nawab of Bengal. The Indian side had a massive army of almost 40,000 troops, whereas the British had only 10,000 soldiers in their ranks. But the Indian side lost. Some believe this was due to the increasing rift between Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II and the Nawab of Awadh. As a result of the defeat, the treaty of Allahabad was signed, and the Mughal Emperor became the prime victim. Apart from being the pensioner of the British, he remained confined in Allahabad, had to give Diwani Rights of revenue collection of the Bengal Province, comprising todays Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and parts of Uttar Pradesh, to the British. After Buxar, the British never looked back. The victory gave the British great confidence and they became a force to reckon with. Till the 1857 revolt, they defeated all their potential enemies including the Marathas, Tipu Sultan and the Sikhs, resulting in the complete subjugation of the Indian subcontinent under the British rule. Recently, a picture of the King of Bhutan Jigme Wangchuck was trending on Twitter and you'll be surprised to know why. The Dragon King, as hes famously called, was captured cooking food. Really, in the picture he was seen chopping onions and chilies to prepare food for the Community School at Mongar. King of Bhutan, chopping onions and chilli to prepare a meal for the Community School in Mongar by himself. pic.twitter.com/t2RRgyy1Ie Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) May 19, 2016 Isnt it inspiring? Previously, the King of Bhutan celebrated the birth of his son by planting 108, 000 trees, a move that touched the hearts of millions across the world. The step was applauded for being environmental friendly, and its effort to make this world a better place. In a world where our egos are so big and we think a thousand times before doing someone a favour, this picture comes as a pleasant surprise. This royal is definitely inspiring the world! Iranian films and actors have, for long, been the toast of the cinema-appreciating Cannes audience. But now, the countrys independent cinema sector which is thriving despite tough regulations, is getting a lot of attention. Religious, political and cultural red lines represent obstacles to filmmakers and actors in the Islamic republic. Scripts must be pre-approved by the state. Most learn to live with the restrictions but some leave the country, seeking more artistic freedom. The Salesman by Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi is challenging for the prestigious Palme dOr while Varoonegi (Inversion) directed by Behnam Behzadi, is competing in the sidebar section Un Certain Regard. Iranian producer and member of the Jury Katayoon Shahabi poses as she arrives for the screening of the film Loving at Cannes. (AFP) Farhadis latest effort has already generated interest from US distributors, The New York Times quoted French co-producer Alexandre Mallet-Guy as saying. This year in Cannes, two Iranian actresses compete for best actress; self-exiled Golshifteh Farahani in Paterson, by the award-winning US director Jim Jarmusch, and Taraneh Alidoosti in Farhadis The Salesman. The momentum is partly due to Farhadis talent, most notably marked by his best foreign film Academy Award in 2012 for A Separation, a dark but touching tale of family break up set in Tehran. (From right) US director Jim Jarmusch, Iranian actor Golshifteh Farahani and US actor Adam Driver leave after the screening of their film Paterson at Cannes. (AFP) With the large global distribution of this film Farhadi gave a great visibility to Iranian cinema, that in fact started long before him, said Agnes Devictor, a professor at the Sorbonne in Paris, specialising in Iranian cinema. A Separation won a Golden Globe in the same category and his follow-up, The Past, set in France, was nominated for the Palme dOr in 2013. Farhadi is not alone in gaining accolades. In 2015, Nahid, Ida Panahandehs debut feature won the promising future prize in Un Certain Regard. Dozens of cinemas screened the film in France, Spain and Greece. Distribution companies such as the France-based Noori Pictures, headed by Katayoon Shahabi, have played a major role in bringing Iranian films to a wider audience. Golshifteh Farahani poses during a photocall for the film Paterson at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes. (REUTERS) Nude controversy Often, stars have fallen foul of the authorities. Farahani, lead actress in Farhadis About Elly, was one of those who left Iran a few years ago. The first top Iranian actor to star in a Hollywood film, she raised eyebrows in her homeland when she appeared in Ridley Scotts Body of Lies in 2008, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. But beyond the big screen Farahani, who is starring in the fifth of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, caused major controversy in her homeland by posing nude for a French magazine. Leila Hatami, Farhadis top actress in A Separation and a Cannes 2014 juror was criticised by Iranian authorities after kissing the Cannes president Gilles Jacob on the cheeks when on the red carpet. She later apologised. Abbas Kiarostami, one of the most well-known Iranian directors worldwide working in France for over a decade, believes recent cinema success comes from a wave of independent filmmakers. On the one hand there is the state cinema, financed by the authorities... then there is an independent sector that is flourishing, said Kiarostami who won the Palme dOr at Cannes in 1997 for Taste of Cherry (Tam e Guilass). Today, unknown filmmakers are arriving from the most far-flung provinces. Amir Pouria, an Iranian film critic, said that Farhadi has helped break down Western stereotypes of movies coming out of the Islamic republic. The world has accepted that Irans cinema is capable of cinematic production with technical standards, and is not being paid attention to only for an exotic atmosphere and common oriental tourist interests. But still, it is the individuals that make up Irans cinema, he believes. Politics also has a role although the impact of the 2013 election of the moderate President Hassan Rouhani is yet to be seen, said the director. The juvenile justice board has rejected the bail plea of a teenager who had allegedly run over a 32-year-old man with his father's Mercedes leading to his death. bccl Wrongly granted bail Additional Sessions Judge Arvind Kumar dismissed an appeal filed by victim Siddharth Sharma's sister seeking to cancel the bail given to the youth, who recently turned major. The plea to cancel the bail was also supported by Delhi Police which had said the relief was wrongly granted. Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava had earlier argued that the board had granted bail to the boy without any fresh bail application. "The board had first denied bail to the boy on April 19. Thereafter, he was granted bail on April 26 by the board without filing of fresh application which was wrong. indianexpress "We were not even shown the psychological report of the boy due to which we could not argue on that aspect," he had said. The boy's counsel, however, had submitted that he was rightly granted bail and the court should also see that it was for the welfare of the youth. What happened? The incident took place on April 4 when marketing executive Siddharth Sharma was trying to cross a road near Ludlow Castle School in north Delhi and the speeding Mercedes hit him. A case under IPC sections 304 A (causing death by rash or negligent act), 279 (driving on a public way so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life) and 337 (causing hurt by an act which endangers human life) was lodged against him. The board had on April 26 granted bail to the youth who had sought the relief to appear in entrance examinations. The police has booked the juvenile for the alleged offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and he was sent to the reform home. The police had earlier arrested a man who claimed to be the actual driver of the Mercedes at the time of the incident but did a volte-face after he got to know the victim was dead. The driver and the boy's father, who was also arrested earlier, were granted bail by the court. The youth had appeared before a Delhi court to surrender and moved a bail plea which was rejected on the ground that it was a matter of JJB. He was then produced before the board. Read Also: The Car In The Delhi Hit-And-Run Case Was Challaned 5 Times In 8 Months, Was Let Off In Another Hit-And-Run Case At least one in every 50 voters in Chennai chose None of The Above (NOTA) in the assembly election, according to data released by the Election Commission. The ratio across the state was almost half with one in 100 voters picking the option. BCCL Residents of Velachery topped the charts with 4,225 people polling for NOTA followed by Anna Nagar with 4,048 votes and Virugambakkam with 3,897 votes. Harbour had the least number of people (2101) polling for NOTA. BCCL Interestingly, 2,873 voters went the NOTA way in the Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency, from where chief minister J Jayalalithaa was elected, while 3,554 voters chose NOTA in the Kolathur seat of DMK leader M K Stalin. In T Nagar, where many welfare associations announced that they would choose NOTA, there were 3570 votes. Read Also: Election Results 2016: BJP's Growth, The Decline Of Congress And Other Key Takeaways From Today In the suburban areas, 7,332 voters in Shollinganallur, 6,655 in Maduravoyal, 5,823 in Pallavaram, 5,603 in Ambattur and 5,007 in Tambaram chose NOTA. More than 2.5% of voters in Ambattur and Maduravoyal constituencies plumped for NOTA. BCCL The NOTA option, enabling voters to reject all candidates in the fray in a particular constituency, was made available on the ballot box for the first time in an assembly election in the state. Political observers say NOTA is preferred by urban voters and non-dalit voters in SC constituencies, who would like to vent their anger without staying away from the election process. The poor, however, tend to display political affiliations. Read Also: Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections Prove That Amma's Fans Are Not To Be Underestimated! Miscreants were riled for being advised by her to drive safe after accident Represenatational image/dailymail After coming to India and learning about attacks on African students in Bengaluru, 29-year-old Himaya from Kenya, pursuing her graduation at a college in Yelahanka, was extremely cautious. She even hired a trusted auto driver to ferry her to around. Despite this, she got entangled in a road rage case where she was abused by three men in another auto. The victim, a resident of Kalyan Nagar, came to India two years back on a student visa. She stays with her younger sister, who is also a student. Since the area where she resides has witnessed attacks on African nationals, she exercised caution. She met Gaja Rao, an auto driver from Channasandra, with whom she felt safe while travelling. She requested him to help her on her daily commutes to college and back. Rao agreed to ferry her elsewhere too; all she needed to do was to call him on his mobile. Read Also: Tanzanian Girl Stripped, Paraded Naked In Bengaluru After Woman Was Ran Over By A Sudanese Man Represenatational image/bccl Badly hurt Around 11.30 pm last Thursday, she was in the auto with Rao, commuting to a hotel on Kammanahalli Road. In an attempt to overtake their vehicle, an autorickshaw that was trailing behind, rammed into their auto. Himaya fell down and hurt her hand badly. She asked the driver in the other auto to drive safe, but he and two others allegedly abused and misbehaved with her. "They even attacked Rao and threatened Himaya with dire consequences when she told them she would be reporting the matter to the police," said an officer, who is part of the investigations. Rao and Himaya reached the police station and filed a complaint. A case under section 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered. However, neither of the two victims were able to note down the other auto's registration number, said the Banaswadi police, who is investigating the case. Represenatational image/bccl "Strangely, after registering the case, neither the woman nor the driver is responding to our calls regarding the investigations. Since both are ignoring the calls, it appears that the woman is not interested in pursuing the case further," the officer added. Repeated attempts to get the versions of both victims failed as they did not answer BM's calls either. Further investigations are on. Read Also: The Tanzanian Girl Talks About The Racist Attack On Her In Bengaluru & It'll Give You Goosebumps Previous attacks on foreigners in city May 2016: A 30-year-old African national, Covulibaly, was beaten by a group of unidentified people near Hennur Bande in Banaswadi mistaking him for a thief. The victom was walking back home when the miscreants intercepted him calling him a thief. When he began to run for safety, he was assaulted. He was later admitted to a private hospital for treatment. February 2016: A 21-year-old student from Tanzania and her four friends were beaten in Soladevanahally police limits. The student, pursuing her graduation, was beaten in a mistaken identity following a road accident in which another African national had run over a woman killing her on the spot. This incident which took a racist turn angered the entire African community staying in the city. March 2015: A few locals from Chikkabanavara near Kothanur assaulted four African students accusing them of spoiling peace in the area. March 2015: Nearly six Africans staying at Byrati near Hennur were attacked with bottles by a group of over 20 people. The miscreants alleged that the foreigners were creating a ruckus in the area and hence attacked them. Police personnel who tried to rescue the victims were also injured. In what could turn out to be beneficial for thousands of commuters in Delhi, app based cab aggregator Uber has said that the company is ready to follow the per kilometre fare prescribed by the government. Reuters According to prescribed rates, fares for Economy Radio taxi are Rs 12.50 per km and Rs 14 per km and Rs 16 per km for non-AC and AC Black & Yellow top taxis. For radio taxis, which are mostly sedan, the fare is fixed as Rs 23 per km. Additional night charges (25% of the fare) are applicable between 11pm and 5am. With prejudice to all our rights and contentions, we would like to humbly submit that the per kilometre fare charged on the Uber platform within Delhi will not exceed the government prescribed fare applicable in Delhi. We remain committed towards providing a reliable and affordable transportation service to the people of Delhi, Ubers Gagan Bhatia said in a letter to Delhi transport commissioner. The move comes after the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi ordered a tough crackdown on cab operators over surge pricing. App based cab operators including Uber and Ola which charged extra on customers during the second phase of odd-even had dropped it after stern warning from the government. AFP Despite the government saying no, the operators had resumed surge pricing after the odd-even ended. This had led to the government impounding a number of cabs for overcharging. Also read: This Is What Surge Pricing Really Is And Here's Why Cab Operators Think It's A Good Thing The national capital is becoming an increasingly dangerous place for children as the number of missing cases are on the rise. BCCL According to an RTI reply from Delhi Police, 7928 children went missing from Delhi in 2015 alone. That is nearly 22 children every single day. "A whopping 7928 children went missing in 2015, an increase of almost 1500 children from the previous year. It means 22 children on an average went missing in Delhi every day last year," Child Rights and You (CRY) Among the children, boys in the age group 0-12 years, who went missing was much higher, as compared to girls. PTI/ Representational Image Most of these children who go missing are from poor families and are believed to become victims of human trafficking, ending up in beggary, forced labour or prostitution. insighttoasia/ Representational Image Meanwhile the Delhi Police informed the Delhi High Court on Friday that 2,252 children went missing in 2016 so far, adding that it has traced of 1,293 them. The court taking serious note on the report termed it as bad as terrorism. "Lots of children gone missing, its a horrible feeling. This is as bad as terrorism. Parents losing a child is horrible. If we can't keep our children safe, its unfortunate. Unless and until your (police) force is sensitive, nothing can be done," the court said. The court also slammed traffic police for not doing their bit to help children they found on Delhi's roads. Fifty-one irregular migrants of various nationalities were deported on Friday to Turkey from the eastern Aegean islands of Lesvos and Kos, part of an ongoing program by Frontex to repatriate third country nationals that illegally entered Greece from the neighboring country. By Thierry Meyssan Every time the Syrian Arab Army beats the jihadists, new combatants arrive in Syria in their thousands. We are therefore forced to admit that this war is being cultivated from the exterior, and that it will last as long as soldiers are sent to die. So we must understand the exterior reasons which continue to maintain it. Then, and only then, can we elaborate a strategy which will spare lives. May 20, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - Syria has been at war now for more than five years. Those who supported the conflict first explained it as an extension of the Arab Spring. But no-one today uses this explanation. Simply because the governments which developed from these Springs have already been overthrown. Far from being a struggle for democracy, these events were no more than a tactic for changing secular regimes to the profit of the Muslim Brotherhood. It is now alleged that the Syrian Spring was hijacked by other forces, and that the revolution - which never existed has been devoured by jihadists who are all too real. As President Vladimir Putin pointed out, primarily, the behaviour of the Western and Gulf powers is incoherent. It is impossible on a battlefield to combat both jihadists and the Republic at the same time as pretending to take a third position. But no-one has publicly taken sides, and so the war continues. The truth is that this war has no interior cause. It is the fruit of an environment which is not regional, but global. When war was declared by the US Congress in 2003 with the vote on the Syrian Accountability Act, Dick Cheneys objective was to steal the gigantic reserves of Syrian gas. We know today that the Peak Oil scare did not signal the end of oil reserves, and that Washington will soon be exploiting other forms of hydrocarbons in the Gulf of Mexico. The strategic objectives of the United States have thus changed. As from now, their objective is to contain the economic and political development of China and Russia by forcing them to engage in commerce exclusively by maritime routes which are controlled by their aircraft-carriers. As soon as he arrived in power in 2012, President Xi Jinping announced his countrys intention to free itself from these constraints and to build two new continental commercial routes to the European Union. The first route would build on the antique traces of the Silk Road, the second would pass via Russia and on to Germany. Immediately, two conflicts appeared first of all, the war in Syria was no longer directed at regime change, but at creating chaos, while the same chaos broke out, for no better reason, in Ukraine. Then, Belarus contacted Turkey and the United States, expanding the Northern barricade which splits Europe in two. Thus, two endless conflicts block both routes. The good news is that no-one can negotiate victory in Ukraine against defeat in Syria, since both wars have the same objective. The bad news is that the chaos will continue on both fronts as long as China and Russia have been unable to build another route. Consequently, there is nothing to be gained by negotiation with people who are being paid to maintain the conflict. It would be better to think pragmatically and accept that these are simply the means for Washington to cut the Silk Roads. Only then will it be possible to untangle the numerous competing interests and stabilise all the inhabited areas. Demonizing Russia NATO Finalizes Military Buildup to Take on Russia By AFP May 20, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " AFP " - BRUSSELS: NATO foreign ministers met on Thursday to finalize the alliances biggest military build-up since the end of the Cold War to counter what they see as a more aggressive and unpredictable Russia. At a Warsaw summit in July, NATO leaders will sign-off on the revamp which puts more troops into eastern European member states as part of a deter and dialogue strategy, meant to reassure allies they will not be left in the lurch in any repeat of the Ukraine crisis. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the two-day meeting will address all the important issues to prepare for a landmark summit in Poland. We will discuss how NATO can do more to project stability ... and at the same time address how NATO can continue to adapt to a more assertive Russia to find the right balance between defense and dialogue, he told reporters. Helping struggling countries help themselves rather than have NATO always take the lead was more effective, he said, citing growing challenges to the south, from conflict in Syria and Iraq to instability across North Africa. The fear is that terrorist groups such as Daesh can exploit the turmoil. In November, Daesh attacks in Paris left 130 dead and in March militants killed 32 in Brussels, home to NATO HQ, the European Union and a host of diplomatic and corporate offices. The EU meanwhile is grappling with the worst migrant crisis since the end of WWII, and the bloc wants increased cooperation with NATO to tackle the problem, notably in bolstering the UN-backed government in Libya where Daesh has recently gained ground. EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini will join the NATO ministers on Friday. Of the 28 NATO member states, 22 also belong to the EU where Mogherini is overseeing a review of its global security strategy. US ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute said Wednesday foreign ministers would have a very sober discussion on dealing with Russia, which essentially has thrown out the rulebook. This is not the predictable partner we thought we had, Lute added. NATO will sign later Thursday an accession accord with Montenegro, another bone of contention with Russia over the future of the Balkans, home to historic Slav allies and a key strategic interest. Georgia, which fought a brief 2008 war with Russia, is also seeking membership but when asked on Thursday if Tbilisi could expect similar progress, Stoltenberg notably stopped short of commenting directly on its accession prospects. Instead, he stressed NATO would continue to boost cooperation, including military training, with the former Soviet republic. Russias intervention in Ukraine and its 2014 annexation of Crimea stung NATO into action after years of complacency and defense cuts following the fall of the Soviet Union. Moscow however says NATO is encroaching on its borders, while Washington builds a European missile defense shield which undercuts Russias nuclear deterrent. Mutual suspicion runs deep, former NATO deputy supreme commander Richard Shirreff warned Wednesday the West could find itself at war with Russia next year unless it boosted its defenses. Stoltenberg had cautioned Wednesday against a new arms race, stressing the alliance upgrade was purely defensive, proportionate and in line with our international obligations. NATO wanted dialogue with Russia to ease tensions and avoid potentially dangerous incidents getting out of control, he said. NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Russia over Ukraine but left a channel of communication open through what is known as the NATO-Russia Council (NRC). Stoltenberg convened the first NRC since June 2014 last month, which he said produced a frank but also useful exchange. NATO diplomatic sources said some member states wanted another NRC before the Warsaw summit, as at least a gesture of good faith, but others are reluctant, seeing no reason to cut Russia any slack. I think there will be a meeting, a number of allies want it quite badly and the rest of us think it is not worth fighting about, one source said, downplaying the NRCs importance. See also Russia lambasts Nato as Montenegro signs member deal : Moscow accuses Nato of harming Europes security and casts doubt on proposed talks Watch: First Interview With Brazils President Dilma Rousseff Since the Senates Impeachment Vote By Glenn Greenwald (Para ler e assistir a versao desse artigo e video em Portugues, clique aqui.) May 20, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " The Intercept " - Last Thursda y, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was suspended from the presidency when the Senate voted, 55-22, to try her on the impeachment charges, approved by the lower house, involving alleged budgetary maneuvers (pedaladas) designed to obscure the size of public debt. Although she nominally remains the president and continues to reside in Brasilias presidential palace, her duties are being carried out by her vice president, Michel Temer now interim President Temer and the right-wing, corruption-tainted, all-white-male cabinet he has assembled (due to Brazils coalition politics, Temer is from a different party than Rousseff). Rousseffs suspension will last up to 180 days as her Senate impeachment trial takes place, at which point she will either be acquitted or (as is widely expected) convicted and permanently removed from her office. On Tuesday, I spoke to President Rousseff in the presidential palace for her first interview since being suspended. The 22-minute interview, conducted in Portuguese with English subtitles, is below. Rather than subdued, resigned, and defeated, Rousseff who was imprisoned and tortured for three years in the 1970s by the U.S.-supported military dictatorship that ruled the country for 21 years is more combative, defiant, and resolute than ever. Since he has taken power, Temer has exacerbated the fears of those who regard impeachment as an attack on democracy or even a coup. Unlike Rousseff, he is personally implicated in corruption scandals. He was just fined for election-law violations and faces an eight-year ban on running for any office (including the one into which he was just installed). Polls show only 2 percent of Brazilians would support him in an actual election, while close to 60 percent want him impeached. Worse, Temer created a worldwide controversy when he appointed 23 ministers, all of whom were white and male in a deeply diverse country, and one-third of whom are under suspicion in various corruption inquiries. And his government beloved by hedge funds and Wall Street but very few other factions has begun preparing the groundwork for a radical right-wing attack on the countrys social safety net, which could never attract the support of actual voters if it were subjected to a democratic framework. Meanwhile, as the Olympics arrive in Rio in 10 weeks, protests are breaking out all over the country and are certain to become more destabilizing and disruptive as the Temer government attempts to cut some of the most critical social programs established by Rousseffs party (which has won four straight national elections). I spoke with President Rousseff about all of these matters, as well as whether it is now justified for Brazilians to use civil disobedience against the government she describes as illegitimate, and the likely impact on international affairs and economic realignment from this extreme and undemocratic change of ideology in the worlds fifth most populous country and seventh largest economy. (Interim President Temer has not yet responded to The Intercepts request for an interview.) The interview can be watched on the recorder below. A full transcript appears below that. (This transcript has been lightly edited for continuity and clarity) GLENN GREENWALD: Im Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept and Im here at the presidential palace, in Brasilia, to speak with the Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, for her first interview since being suspended last week by the Senate, after it voted to try her on impeachment charges. Good morning, madam president, and thank you for the interview. DILMA ROUSSEFF: Good morning, Greenwald. GG: The last stage of the impeachment proceedings takes place at the Supreme Court, which is constituted of 11 judges; eight of them were nominated by the Workers Party (PT), five of them by you. Would you say that the court and its decisions are legitimate? DR: I do believe that the courts decisions have been legitimate. I dont think that the court will judge it; its not the Supreme Court that will judge the impeachment proceedings. In Brazil, impeachment proceedings are judged by the Senate. The session is conducted by the president of the court, Judge Lewandowski. I hope that his leadership makes the proceedings more consistent. GG: But if the Senate impeaches you, you could ask the Supreme Court to reject that decision and rule on whether there were indeed high crimes and misdemeanors. Also, the Supreme Court could have interrupted the process, but has not so far. Can a process being conducted under the authority of a legitimate court be considered a coup? DR: Look, these are two completely different things. The proceedings, according to Brazilian law, are conducted by the Senate. I can appeal to the Supreme Court, and that will happen at the appropriate time for my defense. But, in the meantime, it will go through the court. It will be undertaken by the Senate. The Senate is the appropriate court. After that, I can debate whether the proceedings were carried out accurately, whether they were correctly accepted, whether we were given a fair trial, and whether there was any interference in the proceedings. We are appealing this. We have not been granted an injunction, but the Senate is analyzing the request, which will be presented to the full Supreme Court. It has not been accepted by the judge. He has not granted a suspension of proceedings. Now, they will have to deliberate. GG: But will you have the opportunity to ask the Supreme Court to define whether there were high crimes? DR: The merits [of the impeachment charges]! GG: After DR: Afterward. GG: On the day after the Senate voted, [Supreme Court] Justice Gilmar Mendes suspended the investigation of Aecio Neves, defeated by you in the last election. Many people saw that and thought, The court is behaving like a political actor. The suspension paves the way to bury the Car Wash investigation. Would you agree with that? What does this suspension mean? DR: I think the suspension is strange; as far as I know, no proceedings have been suspended up until now. No Car Wash investigations have been suspended. But Justice Gilmar Mendes is not the only judge on the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is composed of 12 members. Not all of the 12 members have similar dispositions, that of a real militant, an obvious militant, as Judge Gilmar Mendes does. His actions will be judged over time by the Brazilian people. GG: Do you think theres a risk DR: We should not have double standards in our country. If youre investigating one, you have to investigate them all. No one should be spared from the investigations. GG: Do you think theres a risk, after you leave office if it comes to that that Operation Car Wash will be swept under the carpet? DR: That might be a threat, but I believe that there are many parties interested in the continuation of the Car Wash investigation. So I dont think that it will be simple to bury Operation Car Wash. I am more concerned about reverting back to the previous situation, in which the prosecutor general was not chosen from a list of three nominees, but was selected on the basis of their political alignment, which led to lots of inquiries being filed away. So much so that the prosecutor general of the republic became known as the filing clerk of the republic. After President Lula took office and I carried on the same practice what procedure did we adopt? We generally chose the first name on the three-nominee list. Why? To give the Prosecutors Office more investigative autonomy and to stop the filing away of inquiries. I believe that there is a structure today the Prosecutors Office, the Federal Police, and segments of the judiciary branch, like the Supreme Court and the Superior Court of Justice that is willing to undertake investigations. Now, no institution is immune to the political process. They all suffer the consequences of the countrys political climate. GG: Regarding the allegations against you: I know that other presidents, including Fernando Henrique Cardoso, and some governors also performed the budgetary maneuvers that you did, although perhaps not to the same extent as you, but they did use them. I know you insist that the budgetary maneuvers are not high crimes and misdemeanors that deserve an impeachment. DR: They are not high crimes just as much as they are not crimes against the budget. They are not crimes. GG: But would you agree that the Fiscal Responsibility Act prohibits them? DR: No, because it is not prohibited by the Fiscal Responsibility Act. What is considered a budgetary maneuver? The appropriation bill authorizes the process known as complementary credits. And what does it say? It says that if you expect to collect a surplus in taxes from a specific initiative, the surplus can be re-invested. So let me ask you this: Where do these decrees come from? The Superior Electoral Court. The credit I authorized was requested by the Justice Department, by the court. This is not a surplus from the general pot; it was an extra credit from individual headings, which is something extremely technical. Nothing was concealed. It crossed everyones desks. The court has always done that sort of analysis. GG: Id like to switch gears now. You were the first female president of Brazil, and your interim replacement, Michel Temer, revealed his cabinet of 23 ministers last week: not a single woman or black person and one-third are accused of corruption. How did you react when you saw his team? DR: Look, I think that it seems to me that this interim and illegitimate government will be very conservative from every aspect. One of which is the fact that it is a government of white men, without black people, in a country that, in the last census in 2010, and I think this is very important, more than 50 percent of the population self-identified as being of African origin. So, I think that not having any women or black people in the government shows a certain lack of care for the country you are governing. GG: Would you say that we have arrived at the end of Brazilian democracy? DR: No, I wouldnt. Why wouldnt I say that its the end of democracy? Because today, institutions can be disrupted, but theyre stronger than you think. Im apprehensive now, because what happens under an illegitimate government? An illegitimate government tries to dress itself in the veil of pseudo-order; it bans protests and freedom of expression and, above all, shows an enormous willingness to cut social programs. GG: OK. Since you classify this government as illegitimate, do you believe its correct for Brazilians to fight against this government with civil disobedience, as you did after the coup of 64? DR: I think they are completely different situations GG: I understand. But should Brazilians engage in civil disobedience to fight against this? I know the situations are different. But have we arrived at the point in which it is justified for Brazilians to fight against this government, which youre classifying as illegitimate, with civil disobedience? DR: I think that, in Brazil, we need to fight against it, protest it, and also exert some pressure on members of Congress. I think we need to urge all social movements to engage GG: And with Bolsa Familia [social program for the poor] now DR: No, Im just trying to give the example. GG: But I want to ask only about DR: Because we need concrete battles not a generalized civil disobedience. There will be some concrete struggles. People will have to organize in the most diverse ways. If you call protests civil disobedience, then Id say, yes, civil disobedience. Now, it depends how you define it. GG: OK, but many people are now going to the streets to protest in your defense, in defense of democracy, and they are very worried that they can be caught up in this anti-terrorism law that you approved just two months ago. And when I interviewed ex-President Lula last month, he said hes against this law, because it gives powers to the government that are unnecessary and dangerous and subject to abuse. Now that these powers are in the hands of another president, do you think it was a mistake to approve this law? DR: No, I dont think so. Do you know why? Because I vetoed all the items in the law that would make that sort of use possible. This law was approved in Congress; it is about the Olympic Games. It GG: Thats what its for, but it can be used DR: I know, but it doesnt have the scope to be applied to social movements or political protests. Everything that was somewhat vague we vetoed. So, Im sorry, I slightly disagree with President Lula on this matter. He would be completely right if it had been approved in the format sent by Congress. GG: The Temer government said that it would focus on Bolsa Familia [social program] only for the poorest 5 percent. What impact would this have and how would the population react to that, in your opinion? DR: Greenwald, I think people will not receive it well. Why? If you focus on only 5 percent in a country of 200 million people, 204 million, that would be 10 million people. Today, Bolsa Familia reaches around 47 million people. We need to clarify what the target audience of Bolsa Familia is. Its not aimed at adults. Its basically designed for children. The programs require a key condition: Keep children in school, vaccinated and provided with medical care. With that, we reduced child mortality. With that, we brought children back to school. Its not possible to create programs for the children without caring for their parents, families and mothers. And I think this clearly shows the regressive nature of conservatism. GG: Theres an American journalist, based in Brazil for a long time, Alex Cuadros, who wrote an article in the Washington Post three weeks ago with this headline: How the Workers Party Lost the Workers. He pointed out that the Workers Party has transferred a significant amount of money to billionaires, to the richest, to large corporations, and at the same time, has imposed austerity measures on the poorest. Is it because of these policies that a large part of your partys base has abandoned you? DR: Well, firstly, I dont think that my partys base has abandoned me GG: But there are many supporters who now are not supporting you DR: Well, I have not observed this, quite the opposite, actually. I have seen a lot of support from my partys base and from the progressive base in Brazil. One of the results of this process was a vast regrouping movement. See, lets understand the scenario we currently live in. Brazil, as all other countries in the world, is now facing an economic crisis that started in 2014. Obviously, when a crisis emerges, the growth rates begin to decline, rather than rise, and you lose the instruments needed to implement counter-cyclical policies. We implemented counter-cyclical policies: in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. In 2014, the fiscal capacity necessary for these counter-cyclical policies was depleted. GG: I know, but during this period you helped many billionaires, many large corporations DR: Id like it if you would explain to me where I helped billionaires and large corporations. Why? Because of the following: We did not adjust to the crisis by cutting social programs. We preserved Bolsa Familia, we preserved the PROUNI and FIES [higher education funding programs], we preserved all of the policies for small-scale agriculture, the food acquisition program, all funding for this small farming, our policies for women, for communities founded by former slaves, for the indigenous all of these things they are trying to take apart. GG: You said earlier that Michel Temer is building a very conservative government, and also that he is a leader of this coup, or least involved in it. Also, two weeks ago, Eduardo Cunha was removed from the presidency of the lower house of Congress because of corruption. Why did you choose these two people as such close allies? DR: Lets be clear I was even looking at this today. In Brazil, you have a process that, I believe, is perhaps one of the most distorted in the world. The number of parties is systematically increasing and every successive government needs more parties to form a simple majority and a two-thirds majority in Congress. To form a coalition you have to have a base of alliances. Larger coalitions cause decreased ideological alignment on policy. And you have to build very broad alliances. This is an extremely complex process. Beyond that, it has another feature. This coup has a leader. It was not the interim president. GG: But he was involved. DR: No. Wait. The leader is not the acting president. The leader is the president of the lower house of Congress [Eduardo Cunha], who is now removed from office. A little late, but better late than never, as I said. This leader, he represents a conservative sector, extremely conservative. GG: But he was your ally for a long time, wasnt he? DR: Hold on. He was my ally because he was with the centrist party 99, built the majority with the governments. He is not part of Its a complex party; its not an ideological party. So, you have to understand the fact that inside this party one finds many different characteristics. He inexorably, was, quote-unquote, my ally. We began to have friction from the first day of my government, of my second government. During my first term, we had systematic friction with him. So this is an issue that is very important to be understood, because he will act he works under the cloak of darkness. Hes very good at acting in the dark. GG: In your opinion, could the change of government and foreign policy damage Brazils relationship with the BRICS [association of emerging nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa] and Mercosul [multi-lateral Latin American trading group]? DR: I hope they dont do something this absurd to the country. I hope. I think that UNASUL, Mercosul, and the BRICS are some of Brazils greatest accomplishments. To assume that its possible for a country of Brazils dimension not to have a close relationship with the countries of UNASUL, Mercosul, and the great achievement of multilateralism that is the BRICS, would be reckless. It is reckless. I think it would be, at the very least, greatly ignorant. It would reflect a huge ignorance of international affairs. GG: Youve said many times that you will fight until the end against the impeachment proceedings, but if you do end up losing and have to leave office, what would be better: that Michel Temer stays in office without the approval of voters or holding new elections? DR: Please forgive me for not answering that question. GG: Because youre still fighting. DR: Because Ill fight until the end. GG: I understand. DR: Dont ask me Because youll understand that if I asked myself that question, Id be giving up. GG: You are known to be a very strong woman and have mentioned many times that theres no comparison between what you went through in the past and what is happening now, but the crisis has been very harsh on the country, and on you as well. Is this affecting you and your family? DR: Look, I think it does affect us, it affects you personally, I even mentioned that the other day. On the day I lost the status of acting president Im still the incumbent president of Brazil, and the legitimate one. I think it affects me in this sense: because its unjust. Maybe the hardest thing for someone to withstand, besides pain, illness, and torture, is injustice. Why? Because you feel like youre trapped. Of course, after a while they said that I was a person a woman I think they assumed that I would simply resign. Why did they want me to resign? Because my presence unsettles them. Because I dont have foreign accounts. They totally took apart my affairs: I have never received a bribe. I refuse to consent to corruption. One of the reasons why they say Im tough is because its very difficult to approach me and propose anything illicit. The injustice of this situation, the political injustice of this, the personal injustice, it affects me, it affects my family, and it affects all of us. The other day I said I was a victim, not a sacrificial victim, but a victim of injustice. I am a victim of injustice. GG: Madam president, thank you very much for the interview. DR: Thank you. Glenn Greenwald is one of three co-founding editors of The Intercept. He is a journalist, constitutional lawyer, and author of four New York Times best-selling books on politics and law. His most recent book, No Place to Hide, is about the U.S. surveillance state and his experiences reporting on the Snowden documents around the world. Prior to co-founding The Intercept, Glenns column was featured at The Guardian and Salon. He was the debut winner, along with Amy Goodman, of the Park Center I.F. Stone Award for Independent Journalism in 2008, and also received the 2010 Online Journalism Award for his investigative work on the abusive detention conditions of Chelsea Manning. For his 2013 NSA reporting, he received the George Polk award for National Security Reporting; the Gannett Foundation award for investigative journalism and the Gannett Foundation watchdog journalism award; the Esso Premio for Excellence in Investigative Reporting in Brazil (he was the first non-Brazilian to win), and the Electronic Frontier Foundations Pioneer Award. Along with Laura Poitras, Foreign Policy magazine named him one of the top 100 Global Thinkers for 2013. The NSA reporting he led for The Guardian was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for public service. Syria : U.S. Finally Agrees To Russian Ceasefire Plan By Moon Of Alabama May 20, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Moon Of Alabama " - The recent talk between the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Secretary of State Kerry brought some progress. The U.S. was so far not willing to agree to a real ceasefire in Syria and persisted on a lower level "cessation of hostility" agreement. This now changed. The U.S., for the first time, agreed to proceed towards a full ceasefire between its proxy forces in Syria and the Syrian government and its allies. In the press availability after the Tuesday talks Kerry said: [T]oday, we believe we moved the ball forward in some ways, and Ill say specifically. First, we pledged our support for transforming the cessation of hostilities into a comprehensive ceasefire. And we committed to use our influence to use the parties to the cessation in order to ensure compliance. Second, we agreed that if a party to the cessation of hostilities engages in a pattern of persistent noncompliance, the task force can refer that behavior to the ISSG ministers or those designated by the ministers to determine appropriate action, including the exclusion of such parties from the arrangements of the cessation. Interpreted directly, that means that if they continue to do it and theyre pretending to be part of the cessation and theyre not, they could be subject to no longer being part of the cessation immediately. Those last sentences are mainly directed at Ahrar al Sham which never signed the cessation agreement but claimed to be part of it while continuing its attack on Syrian government forces and civilians. Kerry is conceding to the Russian standpoint that Ahrar, by its action, is a terrorist group that needs to be fought down. Fourth, we call on all parties to the cessation of hostilities to disassociate themselves physically and politically from Daesh and al-Nusrah and to endorse the intensified efforts by the United States and Russia to develop shared understandings of the threat posed and the delineation of the territory that is controlled by Daesh and al-Nusrah and to consider ways to deal decisively with terrorist groups. Kerry had agreed to this position on al-Qaeda ad the Islamic State in earlier talks but later retracted with weak excuses that "intermingling" between al-Qaeda and "moderate rebels" made fighting al-Qaeda nearly impossible. That "intermingling" is no longer an excuse. The U.S. now agreed that Russia and the Syrian government will fight al-Qaeda and that any other groups standing nearby and getting hit have only themselves to blame. By the way, the New York Times account of the talks and the press conference by chief manipulator David Sanger are waaay off from what was really said. The "cessation of violence" has held up quite well since the end of February. The south is mostly quite and there are only few hotspots elsewhere where fighting still flares up. Over 100 settlements and their local forces have, with Russian mediation, signed ceasefire agreements with the government. There is also a new, deeper level of Russian and U.S. cooperation of Syria and on fighting al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. A common rough plan was agreed upon to attack and eliminate both group. As part of this plan Iraqi forces under U.S. control attacked and occupied Rutba in west Iraq. Rutba, part of Anbar province, controls much of the open land and desert in the triangle of the Iraqi, Jordan and Syrian border. This move cuts off the southern route that connected the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The Syrian/Russian part of this move will be the liberation of Deir Ezzor in south-east Syria in the upcoming months. An attack on the Islamic State held Raqqa will only follow later on after a large concentration of force is made possible. There are a few other active flashpoints in Syria. In East Ghouta, east of Damascus city, the Saudi sponsored Salafists of Jaish al-Islam are fighting groups once supplied by the CIA and now associated with al-Qaeda/Jabhat al Nusra for control of the area. This fight is already part of the disassociation from Nusra that the U.S. agreed upon. But the fighting is bloody with at least 500 losses on both sides during the last weeks. The Syrian army is the laughing third party in this and today took a significant part of the south of the East-Ghouta pocket. The rebel part of Aleppo city, controlled by al-Qaeda, is now cut off from its only supply line. Improvised rockets from the rebel side are daily hitting civilians in the densely populated government held side. To eliminate the now besieged al-Qaeda in east Aleppo city will be a very bloody and destructive fight that might take months. In the north Turkish supported "moderate rebels" still try to move towards east along the Turkish-Syrian border to eliminate the Islamic State access there. But each time they announce to have taken this or that town away from IS, a counterattack follows and IS regains its positions. This infighting between hostile forces is again to the advantage of the Syrian government. Around Palmyra the Islamic State has made some surprise attacks on the Shear oil field and the T-4 military airport on the western road to Palmyra. There was, according to unofficial sources, some significant damage to Syrian and Russia material on the air base but no news about the incident was published. The advances the Islamic State made in area have by now, with significant Russian help, all been reversed. Following a consolidation phase a renewed push from Palmyra eastward to Deir Ezzor is expected. Hizbullah has pulled back all troops for the Aleppo area where they were replaced by Iranian forces. It is unwilling to commit additional forces just to move some ceasefire lines a few miles back or forth. It continues its engagement around Damascus and in the border region to Lebanon with IS and al-Qaeda being the main targets. Russia, Iran, Hizbullah and the Syrian government are all aware that the U.S. is "flexible" with its interpretation of agreements and tends to cheat whenever it believes that it can do so to its own advantage. They are fully prepared to respond and escalate again should the U.S. proxy forces divert from the new agreements or should some significant other changes on the battlefield occur. America The Most Frightened Nation On Earth By Finian Cunningham May 20, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " SCF " - America is exceptional alright. It is the most frightened nation on Earth, subjected to hysterical propaganda over decades warning about foreign enemies and ideologies. No wonder its supposed democratic freedom is in so appallingly bad shape, when the preponderant population is imprisoned by their rulers in a virtual cage of fear. Paradoxically, though, the dissonance of supposed freedom could not be more abysmal. At a press conference at the Cannes film festival last week American screen actor George Clooney digressed from his latest movie to talk about Republican presidential contender Donald Trump. Clooney, who is well known for his liberal brand of US politics and a big supporter of Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton, predicted that rightwing business tycoon Trump would not win the forthcoming November presidential contest. Clooney dismissed Trump as a demagogue sowing fear and divisive tensions along racial and xenophobic lines. Which is fair enough. Of interest here is not so much the actors views on Trumps chances of political success. Rather, it is Clooneys premise that Americans would not succumb to reactionary fear peddling. Seated at the press conference alongside his American co-star Julia Roberts and film director Jody Foster, Clooney told his Cannes audience: Fear is not going to drive our country were not afraid of anything. Well, sorry George, but you are dead wrong on that score. Fear is the paramount emotional driver in American politics since at least the Second World War, and probably decades before that too. Contrary to Clooneys bravado, Americans are very, very afraid. The biggest bogeyman for the US public was the Soviet Union, whose specter dominated American politics for nearly 50 years. This specter has been conjured up again through casting Russia and its President Vladimir Putin as intent on resurrecting the Soviet Union. It was Hillary Clinton Clooneys political champion who made the ridiculous and historically illiterate charge that Putin is the new Hitler. Many other senior US political figures and Western news media have since stampeded like a herd in likewise demonizing the Russian leader. The unquestioned consensus in Washington, from President Barack Obama to his foreign secretary John Kerry, and from senior Congressional figures to the Pentagon chiefs, is that Russia is an existential threat to global security. Americas new NATO military chief General Curtis Scaparrotti has warned that the US-led alliance must be prepared to go to war against Russia at any moment due to alleged Russian aggression towards Eastern Europe and the Baltic states. The Cold War has thus been rehabilitated a quarter of a century since the Soviet Union dissolved. As in former times, fear is once again fueling American politics. Consistently, there is negligible objective basis for this mass phenomenon. Russia today is not a threat to the US or its NATO allies, just as the Soviet Union was not a threat. Bombastic claims about Russian annexation and invasion of Ukraine are factually tenuous, spurious or devoid. The claims dont stand up to scrutiny. But thats hardly the point. The point is that the false narrative propaganda of alleged Russian malevolence is amplified and repeated over and over again in Western independent media, not unlike the Big Lie technique of Nazi spinmeister Josef Goebbels. US and Western allies, with the help of pliable news media, in effect are able to construct their own false reality. It is not objective reality. It is a subjective, delusional reality one in which Western nations are portrayed to be under threat from a stalking, salivating enemy in the form of Russia. Fear is a powerful lever for control over populations, as English author George Orwell keenly perceived. Get the public to fear for their lives from an external enemy, and they will be easily manipulated into accepting authority, no matter how draconian and illegitimate that authority is. Fear is the key to surrendering democratic rights and submitting to a cage. From the end of the Second World War in 1945, the West immediately needed the Cold War with the Soviet Union as a bulwark against more progressive, democratic development within their own countries. American writer David Talbot in his book, The Devils Chessboard, clearly depicts how Wall Street, the Pentagon and ideologically inclined politicians were able to construct the monstrous military-industrial complex and its gargantuan consumption of economic resources for the enrichment of an elite ruling class based on Cold War angst and trepidation about the evil Soviet Union. When a minority of skeptical, more independently intelligent politicians, authors or artists questioned the Cold War assertions they were peremptorily ostracized as Reds, traitors or indeed assassinated by the military-industrial complex, as David Talbot convincingly argues in the case of President John F Kennedy. This perverse distortion and waste of US economic resources a $600 billion military budget year after year overshadowing all other social needs is engineered precisely through fear. American military might must be supreme and sacrosanct in order to defend or protect US vital interests and those of its allies from existential threats. Russia, and to a lesser extent China, continues to be designated in the role of global threat. To this end, Americans have been subjected to a relentless psychological program euphemistically referred to as news for the past seven decades. Europeans too. Perhaps in the whole of Europe the British media is the most toxic and reactionary when it comes to demonizing Russia. The manipulation of the Western public mind is flagrant. The claims against Russia are preposterous, but astoundingly the manipulation, to a degree, succeeds. However, the domination through fear is not as omnipotent as it once was. During the former Cold War, the Western public were far more susceptible to the depiction of evil Soviet menace. This is no longer the case. Western media have long been discredited over fabricating lies, such as the pretext for the Bush-Blair war on Iraq and other criminal US-led regime-change operations, including Libya, Syria and Ukraine. Today, Western citizens have more access to alternative information sources, including Russian mass media and critical internet news outlets within their own countries. The Big Lie technique, while still potent, is not quite as effective as it was in former times. This new historical development in public awareness is reflected in the growing, popular discontent across Europe towards governments that are seen to be slavishly toeing Washingtons policy of aggression against Russia. Citizens are angrily questioning why they are made to accept economic austerity while US-led sanctions against Russia are hitting their jobs, businesses and export revenues. Citizens are rightly furious that they are told there are no financial resources for public services and infrastructure, while billions of dollars are pumped into NATO forces to recklessly provoke tensions with Russia. Of course, the anomalies in Western government priorities with regard to meeting public needs are ludicrous, unjustifiable and unsustainable. And the only way that Western rulers can get away with such absurd denial of democratic realities is to play the fear factor. Nowhere has the fear factor been played more than in the US ironically, the nation which proclaims from the rooftops to be exceptional, free and democratic. George Clooney would do better to stick to the silver screen where his heroics and valor shine larger than life in fiction. The American people are not afraid of anything, he claimed in real life. George, with respect, your people are the most scared on the planet; and the brainwashing system is so good, that you and they dont even know that. Indeed, havent even an inkling of the gross manipulation. Zionism Begins to Unravel By Lawrence Davidson Part I A Flaw in the Ideological Outlook May 20, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - Ideological movements, be they religious or secular, are demanding and Procrustean movements. By ideological movements I mean those that demand of their adherents resolute belief in some deep set of truths posited by a deity, by supposed immutable historical laws, or by some other equally unchallengeable source. Their followers, once initiated, or even just born into the fold, are expected to stay there and, as the saying goes, keep the faith. However, in cultural, political and religious terms there are no eternal deep truths. History has an abrasive quality that erodes our beliefs in this god and that law. Though the process might take a longer or shorter time to manifest itself, yesterdays faith will at some point start to ring less true. At some point followers start to fall away. What happens when ideologically driven leaders start to lose their following? Well, they get very upset because those who are supposed to affirm everything the movement stands for are now having doubts. Such doubters are dangerous to the supposed true faith and so are usually dealt with in one of two ways: (1) the ideologues in charge attempt to marginalize the disaffected by denigrating them and then casting them out of the fold or (2) if we are dealing with totalitarian types, they send the dissenters off to a gulag, or worse. Part II Zionism Unravelling This sort of unraveling the loss of growing numbers of traditional followers of an ideological movement seems to be going on within the Zionist community, particularly among American Jews. Zionism is an ideological movement that preaches the God-given Jewish right to control and settle all of historical Palestine. Since the founding of Israel in 1948 the Zionists have also claimed that the Jewish State represents all of world Jewry, thus self-aware Jews owe allegiance to both Israel and its prevailing Zionist philosophy. However, in the last ten or so years that allegiance has been breaking down. In the U.S. a growing disconnect has been noted between the outlook and actions of the ideologically rigid leaders of major U.S. Jewish organizations (who remain uncritically supportive of Israel) and the increasingly alienated Jewish American rank and file whom, at least up until recently, the leaders claimed to represent. This gap has been repeatedly documented by several sources ranging from, Pew Research Center surveys, to the Jewish Forward newspaper, and the organization of Reform Judaism. As characterized by the Jewish Forward the situation is that ordinary American Jews are far more critical of Israel than the Jewish establishment. Almost half of the American Jews surveyed by a Pew study in 2013 did not think the Israeli government was making a sincere effort to achieve peace with the Palestinians. Almost as many saw Israels expanding colonization of the West Bank as counterproductive. Thus, this disconnect is not a sudden or new situation. The numbers of questioning American Jews have continued to grow, and things have only gotten worse for the Zionist leadership. Indeed, just as many young American Jews may be joining pro-peace activist groups as are cheering on AIPAC at its conventions. Part III Leadership Reactions in the U.S. Following the two-option scheme described above, the main reaction of the leadership of American Jewish organizations is to try to marginalize these questioning Jews to dismiss them as uninformed, unengaged, or wrong. To that end American Jewish officials are now conveniently asking if they really need to represent the disorganized, unaffiliated Jewish community the 50% of Jews who, in a calendar year, do not step into a synagogue, do not belong to a JCC [Jewish Community Center], and are Jews in name only. This sort of marginalizing of all but the true believers was articulated by Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. He told the Jewish Forward, you know who the Jewish establishment represents? Those who care. Here Foxman was engaging in a bit of circular thinking: the important constituency are those represented by the establishment. How do we know? They are the ones who still care about Israel. How do we define caring? Caring means continuing to believe what the Jewish establishment and the Israeli government tell them. Eventually Foxman goes even further, concluding that Jewish leaders arent beholden to the opinions of any aspect of the Jewish public. I dont sit and poll my constituency, Foxman said. Part of Jewish leadership is leadership. We lead. It would appear that, over time, he is leading diminishing numbers. Part IV Leadership Reactions in Israel Reaction out of Israel to reports of the growing alienation of American Jews has been aggressively negative. After all, Israel is the centerpiece of Zionist ideology its grand achievement. Being the subject of criticism by growing numbers of Jews, in the U.S. or elsewhere, is utterly unacceptable to those now in charge of Israels ruling institutions. These leaders, both secular and religious, have begun to write off critical and skeptical Jews as apostates, even to the point of denying that they are Jews at all. Seymour Reich, who is a former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (such folks always wait till they retire to speak out critically), has recently described Israels current leadership as alarmingly anti-democratic. He writes of the Israeli governments assault on democratic values and its use of legislation and incitement to strike down dissent, be it expressed through speech, press, religion [or] academic freedoms. He goes on to quote the Israeli Minister of Religious Affairs, David Azoulay. Speaking about Reform and Conservative Jews, who happen to make up the majority of Jews in the U.S., are often of liberal persuasion, and increasingly alienated by the ultraorthodox policies of Israels religious establishment, Azoulay said, I cannot allow myself to call such a person a Jew, and, We cannot allow these groups to get near the Torah of Israel. Things appear potentially even worse when we hear Israels Intelligence Minister Israel Katz calling for the targeted killing of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) leaders. In the U.S. many of these leaders are Jewish. Such official Israeli attitudes make a mockery of the claims of American politicians, such as Hillary Clinton, that Israel is built on principles of equality, tolerance and pluralism. And we marvel that such a bastion of liberty exists in a region so plagued by intolerance. It should be noted that in January 2016 the Israeli Knesset rejected a bill that would have secured in law equality for all the countrys citizens. Part V Conclusion In truth, Zionism and the state it created have always been ideologically rigid. Every effort at modifying the movements basic demand for a state exclusive to one people, from early concepts of cultural Zionism to more recent notions of liberal Zionism, has failed. The occasional bit of propagandistic dissimulation notwithstanding, Zionist leaders from Ben Gurion to Netanyahu have been dedicated to (a) territorial expansion based on the principle of Eretz Israel (greater Israel) and (b) the principle of inequality none of them have ever seriously considered equal social and economic, much less political, treatment for non-Jews. That means that the present, obnoxiously rigid hardliners both in the U.S. and Israel are pushing persistent racist and colonialist themes. It is the persistence of these Zionist themes that has led to increasing skepticism among U.S. Jews, most of whom take the ideals of democracy seriously. And it is the ideologically rigid refusal to reach a just peace with the Palestinians, who 67 years after the triumph of Zionism are still being ethnically cleansed, that has pushed many otherwise passive Jews into open opposition. It has taken us several generations to get to this point, but our arrival has been predictable all along. That is because the ideology of Zionism brooks no compromises and admits to no sins even as Israeli behavior grows evermore barbaric. Thus, the number of dissenters and critics grow and the ideologues start to become anxious and vengeful a display of aggression that only alienates more Jews. Thus it is that Zionism has begun to unravel. Lawrence Davidson is a retired professor of history from West Chester University in West Chester PA. His academic research focused on the history of American foreign relations with the Middle East. He taught courses in Middle East history, the history of science and modern European intellectual history. Some yet be identified gunmen have shot dead the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Benue State on Security Matters, Hon Igbana Denen. Reports indicate that the gunmen invaded his house around 2:30am and shot him dead. President Muhammadu Buhari has said the safe return of Amina Ali Nkeki, one of the abducted Chibok school girls, has given the government hope that others would be rescued alive. Rest assured that this administration will continue to do all it can to rescue the remaining Chibok girls who are still in Boko Haram captivity, said Buhari on Thursday at a brief ceremony held at the Presidential Villa during which he formally met with the girl. Aminas rescue gives us new hope, and offers a unique opportunity for vital information, he added. The Chibok girl was brought back after she was spotted by a civilian vigilante in Sambisa forest. A member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustee, Chief Clement Awoyelu says Governor Ayodele Fayose has lost grip of the party in the state. Speaking in Ado Ekiti, yesterday during the swearing-in of a faction of the State Executive Committee of the PDP, Awoyelu said he has no personal grudge against Fayose, but the issue he had always brought up with the governor is that due process should be followed in everything and that Fayose should stop arrogating the party to himself and run it like his personal estate. I have been in the party politics for more than 50 years and that is why we are trying to restructure our party. We will never sleep until we reclaim our party from Governor Fayose. We are ready to correct all the wrongs in our party, Awoyelu said. I have grouse with Fayose in two ways: One, I have never seen a state where governor will be the one to appoint councillorship candidates. This is wrong because it is the duty of the party leaders. Two, the governor has appropriated the party to himself . The governor has not attended any meeting at the party secretariat, instead he relocated the party to his house in Afao Ekiti. These, we will not tolerate. I have been a member of the PDP National Executive Committee since 1998, Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru YarAdua and Goodluck Jonathan were attending meeting at Wadata Plaza in Abuja. But this is not so under Governor Fayose. Governor Fayose was not in Ekiti when we formed PDP . He didnt know anything about PDP . And we thank God that the election of the new SEC and the verdict of the court have shown that God and the pople have rejected the governor. We have reclaimed the state from him. As SEC of the party, you have nothing to fear because the court had validated your victories. You should ensure unity in our party and bring every aggrieved member on board, he said. The Federal Government plans to deploy appropriate surveillance technology and combat vehicles and boats to difficult terrains to check oil thefts and illegal bunkering in the country. The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd), disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Jonah, while giving update on NEC Ad-Hoc Committee on Crude Oil Theft Prevention and Control, told the Council that the committee set-up sometimes in 2013 consulted widely with relevant stakeholders including the Armed Forces Joint Task Force (JTF), Oil Companies, Oil Producing States and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to arrived at the recommendations. Among the key recommendations of the committee are Procurement and deployment of appropriate technology in surveillance and combat vehicles/boats in difficult terrain would drastically reduce incidents of oil thefts and illegal bunkering and this would ensure full benefits of uninterrupted supply. Federal Government should set up special courts for speedy prosecution of oil bunkerers and oil theft suspects. Engagement of traditional rulers to sensitize their communities on the criminal and environmental dangers of oil theft, Jonah said. The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has sentenced a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration Safety Agency, Raymond Temisan Omatseye, to five years in prison over a N1.5bn contract scam. Omatseye was arraigned before the court today May 20 on a 27-count charge bordering on alleged contract variation, bid rigging and awarding contract above his approval limit while he was in office. Omatseye is accused of approving contract above the threshold level of the agency. He was also convicted for bid rigging. Omatseye is also alleged to have warded contracts to company that was the highest bidder and not those pre-qualified for a contract. Source: Linda Ikejis blog A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Chief Bisi Aloba, has urged Nigerians to take the removal of petrol subsidy in good faith and see it as a sacrifice that must be made to correct the wrongs of the past. In a statement released in Ibadan, Aloba said urged the organised labour to sit back and think again about the current situation of things and the reasons behind the governments decision. The APC chieftain further urged Labour to consider the future benefits of the deregulation and not the current pain that Nigerians will pass through. He said that, in the end, Nigeria and Nigerians will be better-off for this economic decision taken by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. National leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was at the Labour House, the headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) today, to beg the leadership of the union led by Ayuba Wabba, to suspend the ongoing strike. The faction had embarked on the strike over increment in the fuel pump price by the federal government. Tinubu, who was accompanied by the Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, Senators Kabir Marafa and Suleiman Hunkuyi, among other members of the party, appealed to the union to call off the strike and resume negotiation with government on the contending issues. I am here to appeal to you to understand that whatever you are doing now and whatever this government,led by Buhari is doing, is for the development of all Nigerians. I have come to appeal to you to suspend the action you have embarked upon and return to the negotiating table, he said. I came to appeal to you to go back to history that we worked very hard to bring Nigeria to progressive path. I can guarantee that this government is the government of honesty and integrity. Whatever is the anger,we must apply anger management. Whatever is the difference,I appeal to you, lets go back to the negotiating table, lets call off this strike, it is done on the street. Yes, its good to fight out your differences; we are in a democracy, we have the freedom but we will end up negotiating and agreeing with one another. I want to appeal to you. I have come to beg on behalf of my party. I come on behalf of our government. Its our collective government, APC is for progress, APC is for change. That is my submission. In his response, Wabba assured that he would convey Tinubus message appropriately to the unions various organs. Your excellency,let me first thank you immensely for finding time and thinking it apt to visit the secretariat of the working class,the secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress. This alone,I think, has demonstrated the fact that you are concerned about the issues of development in our country and I think we must put on record,our appreciation for that,despite the fact that you know the situation we are in and despite the fact that you know the action we are in, which also may have captured very well that this action is not about personal issues, its about engaging policies. Overtime, NLC has actually led the vanguard and I think we have collaborated with a lot of civil society organisations even in the fight to bring about democracy. And I think these are some of the traditions that we cherish so much to actually continue to fight for policy engagement and also to ensure that there is development to address the issue of poverty and bring about social justice. And therefore,I think there is no much difference as regards what we are saying. I think the difference is only the approach, Wabba said. The National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria has called on all Labour unions to unite for the common good of the movement in Nigeria. The general secretary of the union, Mr Issa Aremu, made the call in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Kaduna. He noted that the current division in the labour movement over fuel hike will spell doom for the unions. If we operate separately, we will be defeated separately but if we operate in unity, we will triumph as one, the statement read. The recent 70 percent fuel increase is indiscriminate in its impact on transport cost and cost of living in general. The response of organised labour must, therefore, be inclusive and uniform, not disjointed as we recently witnessed. Aremu said that labour unions must reinvent themselves and return to the vibrant movement they used to be. In a bid to end the clash that had crippled business activities at the Ladipo market, Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, on Wednesday evening held a closed-door meeting with the leadership of the market. Vanguard gathered that the meeting was attended by the leadership of the Igbo and Yorubas in the market, aimed at ending the lingering crisis that had led to destruction of property which worth could not be accurately ascertained. It was learned that Owoseni addressed the traders briefly before he ordered the Departmental Police Officer, DPO of Olosan to ensure that he broker peace between the factions involved in the clash. The clash was said to have started at about 10am on Tuesday, when some hoodlums (largely of Yoruba extraction) stormed the market to collect parking fees but were resisted by the traders, who were mostly of Igbo extraction. Speaking to Vanguard, Mr. Gabriel Oganeze, Chairman of Olateju/Rotimi Traders Association, said; Truly we attended the meeting called by the CP and the aim was to end the clash that has led to destruction of property. We are committed to ensure that there is a lasting peace in the market, as this is when we will be able to do business without fear. Oganeze disclosed that; Although some of the traders whose property were destroyed during the clash demanded compensation but we are yet to reach conclusion on that. this is because we will need to see the Central Executive Committee of the market before any decision is taken on such demand. We lost over N300 million Traders Lamenting the quantum of goods and property destroyed in the mayhem, Oganeze said; We calculated the worth of goods destroyed in the inferno and we discovered that over N300 million goods were destroyed in the inferno. Two structures were on Wednesday razed displacing at least 100 traders. The two burnt structures were Light House Hotel on 13 Osoro Street and a plaza on 12 Olapeju Street, Mushin Local Government. Corroborating this, the chairman said; The cost I told you excludes the two buildings. And the reason we cannot state the worth of the buildings destroyed was because we are not the owners. Surce:Vanguard President Muhammadu Buhari, Friday, assured oil companies operating in the Niger Delta that the Federal Government is doing its best to protect strategic assets in the region from vandals and criminals. We have to be very serious with the situation in the Niger Delta because it threatens the national economy. I assure you that everything possible will be done to protect personnel and oil assets in the region, President Buhari said while speaking at a meeting with the Global Director (Upstream) of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, Mr. Andrew Brown. He said he has directed the Chief of Naval Staff to reorganise and strengthen the military Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta to effectively deal with the resurgence of militancy in the region. Buhari added that the operations of the JTF have been enhanced with increased support and cooperation from the United States and Europe. However, he urged the aggrieved communities in the Niger Delta to drop their confrontational stance and work with those who have been charged by the Federal Government to review the Amnesty Programme initiated by the YarAdua Administration for the benefit of all parties. He also urged Shell to do its best to end gas flaring in the Niger Delta and produce more gas for electricity generation. On his part, Mr. Brown appealed for an urgent solution to rising crime and militancy in the Niger Delta. He also dispelled speculations that the company was pulling out of Nigeria. The Chairman of the Ebonyi State chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) Mr Ikechukwu Nwafor has been hospitalised after being beaten by the police, as the union protested the hike in the pump price of petrol. The fuel price was increased from N86.50 to N145. Nwafor was reportedly admitted at the emergency ward of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki. The labour leader condemned the police action, saying: the police treated them like a `common criminal. The policemen, led by senior officers, beat me to the ground, made me roll severally before bundling me into their van after some merciless beating. They pelted the venue with bouts of teargas canisters, molested our female colleagues and detained us after the attacks. He accused the police of acting a script that will soon be unravelled. The police claimed we did not inform them of the intended protest but we did so in writing. This is in the possession of the Commissioner of Police. We have informed our national leadership of the incident, who promised to handle the matter appropriately, he said. Commissioner of Police in Ebonyi, Mrs Peace Ibekwe-Abdallah, however, urged Nwafor to be truthful to himself on the alleged attack. The NLC people were dispersed in the most minimal way; I deployed the Officer in Charge of Operations and the Commander in charge of the Mobile Force to the venue of the gathering. These are highly distinguished officers. I believe their reports. It is not a case of deploying patrol teams to fire into the air while dispersing the labour people. He, Nwafor was rolling on the ground, showing that he was injured but I bluntly told him and his men that every Nigerian feel the pinch of the situation in the country. The command can no longer tolerate the situation where people go to public places and decide to deny other people their fundamental rights, she said. Yesterday, several online news platforms carried a story on a supposed authorisation by the Federal High Court in Lagos to the AGF to begin the immediate prosecution of Chairman/CEO of Innoson Group for forgery. Now Innoson Group has through its company spokesperson Cornel Osigwe released a statement to counter the said publication. Our attention has been drawn to a news report published by various online media that the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has authorised the Attorney-General of Federation (AGF) to commence the prosecution of a Lagos businessman, Innocent Chukwuma, his company, Innoson Nigeria Limited, and four others for alleged forgery. Ordinarily, we would not have dignified this news report with a response but in a nation where silence may be seen as an admission of guilt, we therefore come out to state the true position of things. Although there is a charge pending against Innoson Nigeria Ltd, the charge is a trumped up. To this end, the police have through its letter of 17th February 2016 discontinued the charge in order to further investigate the matter. Also, Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation through paragraph 10 of its opinion referenced DPPF 30/03/2016 contained in the policy file of the Ministry of Justice directed that the charge be discontinued and the file sent back to the police to further investigate the matter. The court never ordered or directed the Attorney General of the Federation to take over the case since and more importantly no court in Nigeria has such power over the AGF. Already Innoson has over N15billion judgment in its favour against Guaranty Trust Bank (who is sponsoring the charge) in suit no Fhc/AWK/CS/139/2012, suit no Fhc/L/CS/603/2006 and Appeal no CA/I/258/2011 and Appeal no CA/E/288/2014. The charge is to blackmail Innoson and to force it to forgo the judgments sums of over N15Billion. A second Chibok schoolgirl has been found two days after one, Amina Ali Nkeki, safely returned after being found in Sambisa Forest in Borno State, according to the Nigerian Army. The girls are part of the more than 200 abducted by Boko Haram from their school on April 14, 2014. Army Spokesman Col Sani Usman said the girl identified as Serah Luka was among 97 women and children rescued by troops in operations in the north-eastern Borno State. More than 270 girls were abducted by the Islamist sect group in 2014, with 217 girls remaining missing. Amina had yesterday met President Muhammadu Buhari who said her safe return has given the government hope that others would be rescued alive. Rest assured that this administration will continue to do all it can to rescue the remaining Chibok girls who are still in Boko Haram captivity, the president said. Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwans first female president was sworn into office on Friday morning after winning the presidential polls in January. Almost 700 dignitaries from 59 countries watched Tsai, leader of the Beijing-skeptic Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), receive the presidential seal at Taipeis Ching-kuo Hall. The 59-year-old former law professor who studied in The U.S takes over from outgoing Kuomintang (KMT, or Nationalist Party) President Ma Ying-jeou, who was ineligible for re-election after two four-year terms. At this moment, Taiwans situation is very difficult, said Tsai in her inauguration speech. I invite every fellow citizen to carry the future of this country. Taiwan has been a model citizen in global civil society, Tsai told the 20,000 capacity crowd, Since our democratization, we have persisted in upholding the universal values of peace, freedom, democracy and human rights. More photos The Ayuba Wabba-led faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had vowed not to relent on its efforts at grounding Nigerias economy to ensure the government listen to its demand. The Wabba-led NLC is asking the federal government to reverse its decision on the price of petrol which was increased by more than 60 percent. The union, however, failed to carry out its plan of grounding flight operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on Thursday. Vice-president of the NLC, Mr Adelegan Solomon, had, on Wednesday, vowed that no flight would land or take off from the airport if the Federal Government refused to revert the pump price of petrol from N145 to N87 per litre. A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent, who monitored the situation, reported that flight operations went on smoothly at both the international and domestic wings of the airport. However, security was tight within the airport environment as police officers were deployed around strategic locations. Thousands Flooded Springfield To Protest Rauner As Budget Impasse Drags On By aaroncynic in News on May 19, 2016 9:27PM At the Springfield Rally. Photo by Tyler LaRiviere/Chicagoist As the clock ticks closure to the adjournment of the Illinois legislature, more than 8,000 people descended on the State Capitol Wednesday to rebuke Gov. Bruce Rauner and his Turnaround agenda. The coalition of labor and community groups that included thousands of union members, many of which have been at odds with the governor for his entire tenure in office over his agenda that would severely weaken unions, say Rauners agenda has been devastating for Illinoisans. This guys holding the state budget hostage unless he gets his way on these devastating policies, said Jeff Maher, a Galesburg firefighter and member of the Associated FireFighters of Illinois. He went around telling everybody he was going to shake up Springfield with this agenda. What he didnt tell you was how harmful that agenda was for people like me. Illinois has been without a budget for more than 320 days, and with only a little more than a week left before the legislature adjourns, could end up going a full fiscal year without one. Democratic lawmakers want a budget that includes revenue options to help plug the $9 billion deficit, but the governor has said he would only consider them if they pass a package of reforms that would give more power to big business while weakening unions. Meanwhile, the backlog of bills the state must pay grows larger every day. Earlier this week, data obtained by Voices For Illinois Childrens Fiscal Policy Center shows the Department of Human Services owes more than 800 agencies $350 million under contracts the state issued, including more than $27 million to the City of Chicago. Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan held a closed-door meeting on Tuesday that had little results except the creation of another working group regarding Rauners reforms. At the Springfield Rally. Photo by Tyler LaRiviere/Chicagoist To take this path, we dont have to enact every item of our Turnaround Agenda in their current forms, but we must pass real reforms this year, Rauner told the Sun-Times. Those include a property tax freeze, workers compensation reforms and limits to collective bargaining. Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton though, are less than enthusiastic about those reforms, which many groups have called non-budgetary items. The pair briefly took the stage at Wednesdays rally. Tell me how you feel, Madigan told the throng of demonstrators, ticking off a list of the governors proposals. With each bullet point, the crowd responding with a thunderous NO. At the Springfield Rally. Photo by Tyler LaRiviere/Chicagoist Because of you, the people in Illinois make more money than in the non-union states, said Cullerton. We think thats a good thing. The governor thinks you make too much money...Were going to stay tough, fight for your interests and the middle class in the next two weeks. Rauner was dismissive of the rally, according to the Chicago Tribune. "If yelling and chanting and protesting solved problems, Illinois wouldn't have any problems, he said. Blac Chynas mum, Tokyo Toni who has a lot of hatred for the Kardashians, has surprised everyone by congratulating Kris Jenner on the news of their shared unborn grandchild. A lot has definitely changed since the announcement of Blacs pregnancy with fiance, Rob Kardashians baby and Toni is being swept along with the wind of change. The models mum took to her Instagram page to share a photo of Kris as she revealed her excitement over her unborn grandchild, congratulating the momager and praying for her. Toni also took time to slam critics who commented on her change of heart in forming a relationship with Kris, reminding them that she leads by example. She shared the photo on May 18, 2016, commenting: You are going to be a wonderful glamma Bless your sweetheart @Krisjenner. Sweet Summer Sixteen Ps for you haters. Bitch i lead by example. So if you mad about me congratulating my grandchilds grandmother to bad!!! Checkmate!! You LOSE! You mad Bitchezzz im not! First there was TensorFlow, Googles machine learning framework. Then there was SyntaxNet, a neural network framework Google released to help developers build applications that understand human language. What comes next is anyones guess, but one thing is clear: Google is aggressively open-sourcing the smarts behind some of its most promising AI technology. Despite giving it away for free, however, Google is also apparently betting that artificial intelligence will be its secret sauce, as Larry Dignan details. That sauce permeates a bevy of newly announced Google products like Google Home, but its anything but secret. Indeed, as Google, Facebook, and other Web giants keep teaching us, softwares magic no longer derives from ones and zeroes, but rather from the services delivered through those ones and zeroes. In short, having Googles code is not the same as being Google. What makes Google Google? Speaking of Google Home, Googles answer to Amazon Echo, Dignan suggests, Google Home's secret sauce is really Google. Though the context of this statement suggests that Dignan is referring to all the other Google services and data that combine to deliver the Google Home experience, theres more to it. Buried in that statement is the key to answering why Google can open-source its artificial intelligence code and still make a mint selling services around it. Googles code isnt Google. Running that code as only Google can, is. Craigslists Jeremy Zawodny essentially made this point to me in a heated discussion 10 years back at OSCON. I had challenged Zawodny (then at Yahoo) for not contributing more code as open source. Though initially Yahoo and Google (Chris DiBona) suggested that no one would understand the code even if they were to open it, a more compelling argument came from Zawodny later (captured here): Yahoos applications are tightly bound together, making it difficult to open one piece without giving away information about how the remainder is written, or making it useless because knowing 1/10th of the application wouldnt be helpful (because of all the unknown code). In short, getting some of Yahoos (or Googles) code doesnt magically turn you into Yahoo or Google. Even if you were able to get the entire code base, it wouldnt transform you into a Web giant, because youd still need to be able to run it like them, and more important, you wouldnt have all the data that gives life to the code. So why is Google bothering to open-source this machine learning code? Build with Google, run on Google One smart answer comes from David Mytton: Google wants to standardize machine learning on a single framework and API, then supplement it "with a service that can [manage] it all for you more efficiently and with less operational overhead. Standardize on Googles smarts, then operate them at Google scale: The [TensorFlow/Tensor Processing Units] announcement demonstrates that Google has optimized dedicated hardware designed specifically to "deliver an order of magnitude better-optimized performance per watt for machine learning." This is a true differentiator because nobody else offers such a service on their cloud platform and with the increasing focus on AI and machine learning, positioning Google Cloud as the best place to run machine learning workloads is important. Some developers will cavil at this inherent control Google retains over the code, but thats a bit churlish. After all, no one is forcing developers to run their code on Googles cloud. Even if they dont, Google wins if developers rally to its machine learning projects and help to improve them. The model for this is Kubernetes, an open source implementation of Googles internal management systems. In 2015, Google gave control of Kubernetes to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, joined by IBM, AT&T, Huawei, and a range of others. Google may employ lots of incredibly smart engineers, but it doesnt employ all of them. By open-sourcing its code, Google gets access to the industrys brightest minds, without giving up its crown jewels. Those crown jewels, as mentioned, really have little to do with software and everything to do with running the software at scale, all while amassing and putting to use mountains of data. Its why we can correctly say that Google is both open-sourcing its machine learning code and that machine learning will be its secret sauce. The two arent contradictory. Theyre complementary. Google's Play Store for Android will be coming this fall to Chrome OS, the lightweight operating system that powers Chromebook laptops, the company announced today. That means Chromebook users will be able to download and install apps made for Android onto their Chromebooks, expanding the base of applications available for those devices. Previously, Chromebooks were able to run only Web applications built for Chrome. [ Android is now ready for real usage in the enterprise. Read InfoWorld's in-depth guide on how to make Android a serious part of your business. | Get the best office apps for your Android device. ] It's an important enhancement for Chrome OS, which Google has been touting as the perfect operating system for schools and businesses, but which is lacking applications compared to Android, OS X, iOS, and Windows. By bringing Chrome OS and Android together, Google will expand the utility of both Android apps and Chromebooks. Chromebooks lack app compatibility, admitted Rajen Sheth, the director of product management for Android and Chrome for Business and Education. The fall Chrome OS update will better equip businesses and schools with apps they want, without requiring the developers of those apps to build a separate Chrome app, Sheth said. Chromebook shipments overtook Mac sales in the U.S. during the first quarter of this year, according to IDC, with most Chromebooks sold to educational institutions. Making Android apps available to those users should make the platform even more appealing to buyers. With the planned update, Chrome OS users will be able to write term papers on their Chromebook while also checking Snapchat, said Kan Liu, Google's senior director of product management, at the company's I/O developer conference. With the Chrome OS Files app, users will be able to keep files in sync across both Android and Chrome apps, too. Android apps will be able to run in three window sizes, and users will be able to receive Android notifications on Chrome. Enterprise administrators will be able to push applications down to devices through a centralized process and can control which apps are available through the Play Store using the Play for Work API. Administrators concerned about the security of the system can also disable the store altogether. It's all powered by a containerized Android framework that runs on top of the Chrome OS. Apps will be running on the latest version of Android, with the latest security patches, so users can ensure that their apps will stay secure, Liu said. What's more, the architecture of the system will allow Chromebooks to work with just about every Android app, as long as devices have the hardware to support the applications' needs. This is a feature Google has been working on for a while, but this is the first time the company has shown off more of the technical details of the app integration. The move to create a cross-functional app platform across both a desktop operating system like Chrome OS and a mobile OS like Android isn't unique to Google. Microsoft is trying a similar approach with Windows 10, allowing developers to build Universal Windows apps that run on computers, tablets, and smartphones. Like many of the other announcements Google made at its I/O developers conference this week, the Android apps integration feature won't be available for users until this fall. Developers who want to test their Android apps on Chrome will be able to use the Asus Chromebook Flip, Chromebook Pixel, and Acer Chromebook R11 starting in June. Buy Signal on Wheat, buy wheat now! Banghart Properties - Mon Oct 24, 9:13PM CDT We have issued a buy signal in wheat. Shootin' the Bull Swift Trading Company - Mon Oct 24, 5:24PM CDT With boxes and cattle higher, the consumer may be in for a shock when these higher prices are passed along. Live cattle futures set new contract highs in some months. Risk management to the fat cattle... Limit Loss for Dec Cotton Barchart - Mon Oct 24, 4:52PM CDT Cotton continued to sell off into the new week, with December going home down a limit 3 cents. Dec did stay above the Friday low. The other front months closed 167 to 281 points weaker. USDAs weekly... CTZ22 : 76.16 (+0.04%) CTH23 : 75.87 (+0.17%) CTK23 : 75.66 (+0.15%) Wheats Weaker Out of Weekend Barchart - Mon Oct 24, 4:52PM CDT The wheat market closed with Monday losses of +10 cents in the winter wheats. Front month MGE futures were down by 3 to 3 3/4 cents on the day. CBT prices dropped by 10 to 12 cents through the front months.... ZWZ22 : 831-4 (-0.86%) ZWH23 : 851-2 (-0.82%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.7336 (-1.52%) KEZ22 : 929-4 (-0.91%) KEPAWS.CM : 8.9620 (-1.06%) MWZ22 : 949-0 (-0.91%) Hogs Close Steady on Monday Barchart - Mon Oct 24, 4:52PM CDT December lean hog futures dropped triple digits out of the weekend, but the other front months closed mixed and within a dime of UNCH. December hogs are now a $2.52 discount to the Feb contract. The USDA... HEZ22 : 87.925s (-1.35%) HEJ23 : 93.900s (+0.05%) KMZ22 : 97.750s (-0.26%) Cattle Rally Continued Post CoF Barchart - Mon Oct 24, 4:52PM CDT The new week of cattle trading did little to stall the rally. December fats printed another new LoC high, now at $154.20, Feb also printed a new high, but the April and June contracts remained under their... LEV22 : 151.600s (+0.75%) LEZ22 : 154.125s (+1.12%) LEG23 : 156.975s (+0.93%) GFV22 : 175.675s (+0.23%) GFX22 : 179.150s (+0.45%) News outlets embracing digital journalism increasingly find themselves in a kind of Catch-22 predicament. Discuss. On one hand, digital journalism can shape society and expand concepts like freedom of speech in ways unimagined 20much less 200!years ago. On the other hand, these opportunities carry significant risks, thanks to a certain group of professionals as old as the First Amendment itself: lawyers. In short, the Wild West of digital journalism is rife with land mines. Outlets lack clarity around ever-changing legal definitions of concepts like online privacy. They may nix pieces because they're afraid they'll get sued. And if they do get sued, they lack the resources to mount a suitable defense. If any of these challenges resonate with you, our dear journalist-readers, rest assured. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation hears you loud and clear. The grantmaker announced that it would team up with Columbia University to create a First Amendment Institute. The $60 million effort will seek to preserve and expand First Amendment rights in the digital age through research and education, and by supporting litigation in favor of protecting freedom of expression and the press. Let's take a closer look at each of these two charges, shall we? To the former, the institute's research and education efforts will seek to influence legal debates over First Amendment protections that have faced new scrutiny through the lens of an Internet-connected society. Issues of concern include online privacy rights, free expression on college campuses, and whistle-blower protections. To the latter, according to recent Knight poll of leading newsroom editors, 65 percent of respondents felt that the news industry as a whole is "weaker in its ability to pursue legal activity around First Amendment-related issues than it was 10 years ago." And why, exactly, are these organizations in a far weaker position? Money, of course: Of the editors who described the industry as "less able to go to court" 89 percent cited economic pressures as the main reason. More than a quarter (27 percent) of the editors said there were cases at their own news organizations that could have been pursued but were not. And so the Knight First Amendment Institute would take on legal battles that newsrooms have found increasingly costly to pursue on their own. (We know what you're thinking, and yes, it feels very ACLU-ish to us, too. We know what else you're thinking, which is that the institute would have come in handy in 1798 when President Adams signed the Sedition Act, criminalizing false statements that were "critical of the federal government.") Proving our point, "the basic freedoms we take for granted under the First Amendment are hardly settled," said Alberto Ibarguen, president of Knight Foundation. "As the internet becomes even more integral to our lives, we face significant questions about the evolution of our rights. Threats to free speech are on the rise, and our hope is that the Institute will not just protect but help reinvigorate First Amendment principles for future generations." Knight and Columbia will contribute five million dollars each in operating funds and $25 million each in endowment funds to the institute, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Knight's allotment representing the largest journalism grant in its history. Add it all up, at the institute acknowledges that while the First Amendment promises Americans freedom of speech, it doesn't provide much guidance, much less financial backing, to news organizations committed to ensuring such freedoms in a confusing and litigious digital age. Turns out freedom of speech ain't exactly free. (You saw that one coming a mile away, didn't you?) Two Charged In February's Gage Park Massacre By Mae Rice in News on May 19, 2016 9:11PM Diego Uribe, 22 (left) and Jafeth Ramos, 19, both of whom have been charged in the Gage Park Massacres (Chicago Police Department) Updated at 6:30 p.m. with information from police: Police have charged a man and his girlfriend in relation to the February's Gage Park massacre. Diego Uribe, 22, and his girlfriend Jafeth Ramos, 19, have been charged with the six murders. Uribe, a relative of the victims, was linked to the Gage Park crime scene by DNA evidence and phone records, police said. Uribe and Ramos both gave statements to the police admitting to involvement in the killings, according to police. The Gage Park massacre was first discovered on Feb. 4, when police found six people murdered in a home in the 5700 block of South California Ave. The victims were three generations of the same family: Noe Martinez and his wife, Rosaura Hernandez; their adult children, Noe Martinez Jr. and Herminia Martinez; and Alexis and Leonardo, Herminias two sons, (ages 10 and 13, respectively). Based on the latest details of the murders, including select autopsy reports, the massacre was the the work of multiple killers, using weapons including a gun and knives to bring their victims to brutal ends. The environmental movement, like philanthropy, has a race problem. There are some emerging funding efforts to address it, including new fellowships hoping to introduce more diverse leadership into the field. We come down pretty hard on the mainstream environmental field for its persistent whiteness, for good reason. The lack of diversity in green NGOs and foundations is well documented, with around 12 percent of staff being people of color, according to one recent landmark report. One thing thats particularly troubling about that specific study is the finding that, while many express interest in initiatives to improve diversity, numbers nosedive when leaders are surveyed about the likelihood of their organizations to support them. In other words, sure, they like the idea of it, but it probably won't happen. These numbers are troubling for many reasons. For starters, the United States is well on its way to becoming a majority-minority country, with some states and top cities already there. But it's fair to say that corporate America is doing a better job of embracing and adapting to historic demographic changes than key parts of the nonprofit world, including the environmental movement. That doesn't bode well for green market share in the face of a future when ecological stressesand the need to rally the public to address themwill only become more acute. Still, there are a lot of promising pockets of activity growing in environmental justice circles, among those fighting environmental racism, as well as efforts to introduce more people of color into mainstream organizations. Green 2.0 is one movement-wide initiative thats been beating this drum loudly, and working to establish better metrics on the subject among major NGOs and foundations. It even picked up an endorsement from Mark Ruffalo, our fave Hollywood environmentalist (sorry Leo). Related: A great op-ed by Environmental Grantmakers Association Executive Director Rachel Leon and University of Michigan Professor Dorceta Taylor, who authored the report cited above, called out the insufficient commitments to diversity in the mainstream movement, while pointing out several points of hope. In particular, they highlight some fellowship programs launched in the past year or so backed by philanthropy, and supporting future leaders from underrepresented communities and communities of color. One such program is actually a partnership between the EGA and the University of Michigan, the Environmental Fellows Program (EFP), announced this year. Its a national program that seeks to diversify the environmental and conservation philanthropic sector through 12-week paid internships with a set of partner foundations and NGOs. Funders of the program include C.S. Mott, Island Foundation, New York Community Trust, Pisces Foundation, and some others. Also based at University of Michigan, the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program, funded by the foundation of the same name, looks to diversify the conservation workforce by connecting 20 undergraduates with lab research and internships with environmental groups. One cool thing about this program is that it not only supports young people from underrepresented backgrounds, it actually teaches an approach to conservation that incorporates diversity and inclusion. This is especially encouraging, because the race problem in environmentalism has just as much to do with a limited view of the field itself as it does with staffing. A third program worth mentioning, even though its not limited to the environmental sector, is the Momentum Fellowship. This one is coordinated by affinity group Philanthropy Northwest, and kicked off its first cohort of fellows in 2015. Regional environment funder Meyer Memorial Trust, which has made a strong commitment to diversity, is one of the participating foundations. Seeing these programs driven by philanthropic affinity groups is encouraging, because foundations have a massive role to play in improving the field. For one, they have a unique birds-eye view of the sector and big picture currents running through it. They also hold the purse strings, and can thus reward or not reward groups based on whether they get the need for diversity. Right now, funders overall are not doing a great job of driving diverse outlooks, underfunding community and justice groups and disproportionately funding the big green NGOs. Related: Where Is Environmental Giving Headed? Here's a (Mostly) Hopeful Look As Taylor and Leon put it in their column: [P]hilanthropy and the field have a long way to go when it comes to diversityan issue that we believe stands in the way of the environmental movements overall effectiveness. Grassroots organizations remain underfunded, and philanthropy has yet to catch up with demographic shifts. Again, the hopeful thing is that environmentalism is changing, just as the country is changing. Funders need to get with the program. New overtime rules finalized this week by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and signed by President Barak Obama could affect thousands of self-storage owners and managers. The rule will extend overtime eligibility to anyone earning less than $913 per week, or $47,476 per year, beginning on Dec. 1. Workers below the wage threshold who work more than 40 hours per week will earn time-and-a-half pay under the new regulation. The move more than doubles the current salary threshold from $23,660 and is expected to make 4.2 million salaried workers eligible for overtime, according to the DOL. The rule could also benefit millions of other employees who dont currently receive overtime pay even though they are technically eligible, according to a source. The change is authorized under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Just 7 percent of salaried workers currently receive time and a half when they work more than 40 hours per week, which is down from more than 60 percent in 1975. The DOL last updated the regulations in 2004, when it set the weekly salary level at $455. "Our whole mission here is about strengthening and growing the middle class," Labor Secretary Tom Perez told NPR. "In order to do that, we need to ensure that middle-class jobs pay middle-class wages." The salary threshold is less than the DOLs original proposal of more than $50,000 per year but should still impact about 35 percent of salaried employees, according to Perez. The new regulation has come under fire from some business owners and associations, particularly those in the restaurant and retail sectors. "What our members have told uswhat many other employers have told usis there's not a golden pot of money out there sitting in employers' pockets where they can all of a sudden pay a lot more overtime pay," David French, vice president of the National Retail Federation (NRF) told NPR. "Instead, they're going to make the rational change, and they're going to change jobs." An NRF study estimates the new overtime rule could incentivize employers to move a third of salaried restaurant and retail workers to hourly pay, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The study also suggests one in 10 salaried employees, including managers, could see their work hours reduced. Employers could also try to skirt the rule by hiring more part-time or temporary staff. Although employers will be allowed to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) to satisfy up to 10 percent of the new standard salary level, a WSJ editorial speculates some employers will increase the salary level of some employees just enough to avoid paying overtime and wind up reducing their available benefits and bonuses. The National Federation of Independent Business has noted that the DOLs own analysis indicates the average pay rate of someone newly eligible for overtime is expected to decline by 5.3 percent in 2017, WSJ reported. The new rule also establishes a mechanism to automatically update salary and compensation levels every three years to maintain the salary level at the 40th percentile in earnings of full-time salaried workers in the lowest-wage census region, which is currently the South. The mechanism is also intended to provide useful and effective tests for exemption, according to the DOL. Update 12/22/16 A 6-1 vote by city council members yesterday will allow Firehouse to move forward with its proposed development. The vote came after eight pilots voiced their concerns about the danger of allowing the property so close to the runway, and how it might affect their safety during takeoffs and landings. Councilwoman Polly Christensen cast the dissenting vote. During the meeting, pilot Ken Bickers recounted the time his home-built plane died mid-flight in 2015 and he was forced to crash in a field west of the airport. "I hurt some corn, but I was completely unhurt," he said. "If I had taken off to the east that day and the same kind of thing happened ... the lawyer says this complies with all the rules ... but I ask you, would you have gotten in that front seat of that airplane?" The storage facility could also jeopardize the airports development plans and its ability to increase jet traffic, said Dan Berry, a former member of the Airport Advisory Board. "This sounds like a completely legal, completely compliant bad idea," he said. "Every one of these operators have a flight-operator center that measures the risk of coming into an airport and leaving. That risk will go up [if you approve this] no matter what, and jets may choose, most likely, to go somewhere else with a lower risk profile." Scott Dunn, the Burtons legal council, reminded council members the storage owners had complied with all city laws and FAA guidelines in its site plan. Basically, when some of these things are being referred to, they're related to safety issues," said Dunn, a former member of the citys planning and zoning committee. "They're critiquing planning and zoning for not applying criteria that simply do not exist. Denying these property owners the right to develop their property would result in a taking of the owners' property." Prior to the vote, several council members said they were sympathetic to the pilots concerns, but had to follow council procedures and city code. Christensen even sought a compromise. "Does it have to have a 34-foot building? Does it have to be adjacent to the landing zone? Can't we have a meeting where everybody compromises a little bit for the safety of all instead of turning this into a legal issue?" she asked. Councilman Brian Bagley, a defense attorney and owner of a hangar at the airport, said he would stay in accordance with the law. "If the airport hangar owners want to get together and buy that land and keep it as open space, go for it. I'd like to see it as open space. I'd love to see a huge empty area around the airport," he said. "However, we must balance that with the rights of property ownership. They have a right to build their business light industrial [development], because that's what city council approved in the 1990s." Following the meeting, Christopher Burton, whos also a pilot, told the source he didnt believe the storage building would present the danger the pilots believe it will. "If the FAA came back and said, 'lower it,' we would lower it. We want to be cooperative and we want to be good neighbors with the airport. We don't want any danger to the pilots," he said, adding hell take off and land from the runway near the proposed building. Firehouse Self Storage is facing opposition to the 235,000-square-foot facility its attempting to build near Vance Brand Municipal Airport in Longmont, Colo. City council members will hear an appeal on Tuesday regarding the planning and zoning commissions approval of the project on Airport Road. The plea was made by Dale VanZant, a member of the airports advisory board, whos among several people against the project, according to the source. The proposal includes several single-story buildings as well as one two-story building containing an office on the first floor and a managers residence on the second. Though Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations prohibit buildings of higher than 31 feet, and the Firehouse building is designed at 34 feet, the FAA has said the extra height would have "no substantial adverse effect on the safe and efficient utilization of navigable airspace by aircraft, the source reported. Airport manager David Slayter sent a letter to the FAA in November asking it to reconsider its decision. In it, he wrote that the airport has seen an increase in jet and air-traffic pilots who use instruments rather than sight during take-off. "In a visual [or non-instrument departure], the pilot can see obstructions visually and the safety concern is not as great as for instrument departures," he wrote. Slayter suggested the FAA might be underestimating the number of instrument departures and landings because theyre sometimes canceled. "We feel that based on what we have been experiencing with increased traffic of a certain operational type and the instrument departures [as well as arrivals], that such a penetration does classify as a hazard to air navigation," he wrote. In his appeal, VanZant noted planes will fly over the storage site 70,000 times a year, including 40,000 takeoffs. As shown on the proposal's plat plan, the storage units will be about 1,500 feet from the southeast end of the runway. At approach speeds for a typical flight plan, this distance is traversed in less than 15 seconds. Any problem encountered on landing will almost certainly be exacerbated by having buildings, trees and people in the potential off-airport landing that will follow." During a Nov. 16 planning and zoning meeting, commissioner Michael Polan asked the developer if the two-story building could be moved to a different location on the parcel. The structure will be near the facilitys entrance, which was required to be off Rogers Road rather than Airport Road, city planner Ava Pecherzewski told the board. The site will also require three feet of fill due to drainage issues, which will cause its height to increase, said Barbara Brunk, the projects representative and manager of Resource Conservation Partners LLC. Brunk told the board in November it was too late in the process to change direction. "Could we redesign the whole site to make it work? Absolutely. But somebody asked us to go to the FAA and ask if it was OK, and they said it was. So, we're pretty far down the road on a site design to start again. Howard Morgan, president of the airport's Hangar Owners Association, also wrote a letter to the commission asking it to reconsider its decision. "To build something like this right off the end of a runway is stupid, the letter stated. A building at this location would leave pilots having a problem making it to the runway [with] zero options. If an airplane has a problem, not only would the crew and passengers be in jeopardy, but anyone in the facility would also be in jeopardy." In a letter to the city, Lisa Doughty, the wife of a pilot, called the proposed building dangerous and likened it to putting a building right at the edge of a highway. "The proposed location of this facility in the 'bail-out' zone of Vance Brand Airport poses an unnecessary safety risk to pilots, passengers and people on the ground," Doughty wrote. "I'm very afraid that this development will kill my husband or someone like him." Self-storage owners Barbi and Christopher Burton are building their second Firehouse Self Storage facility in Colorado. The new development, situated on a 42-acre parcel at the intersection of Airport Drive and Rogers Road in Longmont, Colo., will resemble a 1900s firehouse and carry the theme throughout. Itll be nearly double the size of the couples existing facility in Loveland, Colo., which sits on 24 acres and offers 1,500 units, according to self-storage industry blog The SpareFoot Storage Beat. The Burtons decided on the firehouse theme several years ago after learning the Larimer County Search and Rescue (LCSAR) team was in need of cash. Barbi Burton suggested rebranding their existing facility as well as donating money each month to LCSAR, a nonprofit search and rescue resource for Larimer County, Colo. The Burtons continue to offer a percentage of revenue from every storage rental to the organization. To establish the theme, the couple purchased several old fire trucks as well as other firehouse-themed memorabilia. The Loveland site includes a fire-truck coffee bar and a waiting area with chairs made from fire hydrants. The whole thing is an experience, Barbi Burton said. In addition to supporting LCSAR, the Burtons have donated free storage during natural disasters, including a September 2013 flood in Colorado. Firefighters, police and military personnel all receive rental discounts, and the business offers an emergency price guarantee, claiming it will beat any comparable competitors price by 5 percent. The company also hosts various community events throughout the year and participates in local charity drives. @RaybestosBrakes @JasonHathaway3 @EHRT3R @Pintysfoods #NASCAR UXBRIDGE, ON Raybestos, a leading brand of premium quality brakes, first dipped its toes in the automotive racing world in the 1950s. Todays NASCAR Canadas Most Popular Driver, Jason Hathaway, welcomes Raybestos as a marketing partner. Having Raybestos on board with us this season is a great opportunity for both partners. We look forward to helping them promote their Element3 brake pads both on and off the track, said Ed Hakonson, team owner of the Ed Hakonson Racing/Team 3 Red team. Raybestos has been involved with auto racing for more than 60 years. We are excited to partner with Jason Hathaway and join a fast-paced environment where we can showcase Element3 brake pads in every race, said Kristin Grons, Marketing Manager, Brake Parts Inc. Element3 hybrid formulations deliver unsurpassed stopping power and vehicle control, even under the most aggressive braking conditions. Raybestos Element3 with Enhanced Hybrid Technology (EHT) combines the best attributes of ceramic and semi-metallic all in one disc brake pad. This innovative engineering breakthrough ensures clean, quiet, optimal performance and improves pad wear and durability. T3R/EHR is also proud to be partnered with sponsors Fast Eddie Racewear, The Harman Group, Praxair and Choko Motorsports. Fans can keep up with Jason and the rest of T3R/EHR at their Ed Hakonson Racing page on Facebook, on Twitter @JasonHathaway3 or @EHRT3R and Instagram at jasonhathaway3. In addition, fans can also visit the official webpage www.Team3Red.com for all updates on the 2016 season. For additional information please contact Jamie Hakonson at 416-560-6103 or email jamie@team3red.com About Raybestos: Raybestos has been known as the best in brakes for over 100 years. With a demonstrated commitment to research, development and testing, Raybestos is widely recognized for quality brake components, including friction, rotors, drums, calipers and hydraulic products. The brand was the first to introduce Enhanced Hybrid Technology (EHT) with its Element3 brake pads, delivering the best attributes of ceramic and semi-metallic for optimal performance, improved pad wear and durability, and increased stopping power during aggressive braking. To learn more, visit www.raybestos.com. The Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance ( ANZIIF ) welcomed a new deputy chair and a new board member at their AGM held this week.Allan Reynolds, EGM direct & New Zealand of Steadfast , will take on the role of deputy chair with Tim Considine, managing director of Austbrokers Countrywide, officially welcomed to the board after commencing as a director in January 2016.Karl Armstrong, chief risk officer of IAG New Zealand, will stay on for another term as president, it was also announced.ANZIIF CEO Prue Willsford welcomed the new members.We are so pleased to welcome Tim and Allan, both of whom have extraordinary experience in the industry as well as vision, she said.As ANZIIF looks to the future, our board will provide invaluable guidance and insight.Reynolds explained why he was pleased to take on the role of deputy chair.Through its world-class education, membership and community initiatives, ANZIIF plays a vital role in supporting insurance professionals, businesses and the industry to grow and succeed.I am looking forward to working with ANZIIFs members and partners across insurance at this exciting yet challenging time, he said.Departing directors, board deputy president Heinrich Eder of Munich Re , Colin Fagen of QBE and Frank Crapis, previously of Munich Re, were also acknowledged during the AGM.Willsford and past president Jonathan Fox also recognised a number of award winners and members for their contribution to ANZIIF and the insurance industry.Former ANZIIF president Tony Morgan was recognised with honorary membership for his extraordinary service to ANZIIF, having been involved with the organisation for over 40 years.He is known as one of the regions leading experts on business interruption and is the former president of the Australasian Institute of Chartered Loss Adjusters.The annual ANZIIF Service Award was presented to ANZIIF fellow Alan Brown who was recognised for his work mentoring and supporting young insurance professionals and for his significant contribution to the development of education materials for ANZIIF students in Papua New Guinea.Brown previously held roles with Zurich AIG and QBE.The EE Vines Memorial Prize for the most outstanding article written by a member for ANZIIFs quarterly publication, Journal, was awarded to QBE New Zealands Alistair Monk for his article The war we lose.Monks essay discussed the challenges insurers face in balancing the consumer demand for competitively priced insurance products with those that meet their needs and provide adequate cover.The full ANZIIF board line-up is now:Karl Armstrong (president) Chief Risk Officer IAG New Zealand LtdAllan Reynolds (deputy) EGM direct & New Zealand SteadfastJonathan Fox (immediate past president) general manager Elders Insurance LtdPaul Allison principal and COO Guy Carpenter Andrew Bart CEO Crawford & Co AustraliaMegan Beer director of insurance AMPTim Considine managing director Austbrokers CountrywideDaniel Fogarty consultantTony Lee executive director Seascope Risk Services (Hong Kong) LtdCallan McDonnell Executive manager, CI learning campus, commercial insurance learning and development Suncorp Paul Munton EGM Rothbury Insurance BrokersPrue Willsford CEO ANZIIF Admiral Insurance CEO Henry Engelhardt is renowned for his incredible gestures to reward his staff and following the announcement of his departure after 25 years at the helm, his employees decided to make their own incredible gesture back to him to show their appreciation.From the moment he parked his car in the basement on his last day at the office, lining every floor and even in the lift, he was met by hundreds of staff members wearing white t-shirts emblazoned with his face, all cheering and applauding their beloved boss.A banner reading Thank you, Henry, also greeted the clearly gob-smacked and overwhelmed CEO who laughed and shook his head in disbelief, reported the Daily Mirror.Youre lucky I dont start at 7:30, the 58-year-old joked.Engelhardt, the son of a meat-packer, founded The Admiral Group in 1993. The Cardiff-based firm, which has branches in Spain, France, Italy, and the US, has become known for its irreverent, employee friendly culture.Said the fun-loving Engelhardt in an interview with BBC in 2014, I made a dedication to myself that if I could help it, I would never again work somewhere where I was unhappy. This is because it is simply very difficult to flip a switch and then be happy when you arent in work.At a general meeting in March 2016, Engelhardt and wife Diane announced that they are personally giving a 1,000 cash thank you to Admirals global 8,000-plus workforce. The Engelhardts have also donated millions to good causes through their Moondance Foundation charity.Two years ago, Engelhardt threw an epic office party for 5,000 of his staff costing half a million pounds when he hired Wales Millennium Stadium decorated in both Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter themes with jazz bands, jugglers, clowns and pop star Olly Murs brought in to entertain them.Said Engelhardt of his staff: The people I work with bring with them a rare desire to improve and succeed, as the economist Joseph Schumpeter put it long ago: there is the will to conquer, the impulse to fight, to prove oneself superior to others, to succeed for the sake, not of the fruits of success, but of success itself.I look forward to my calls, my meetings, and my trips around Admiral Group. And thats because the people I work with care: they care about what they do, they care about the company, they care about each other, perhaps most importantly, they care about everyone who works in Admiral Group. I hope that care lasts for a long, long time.Engelhardt has expressed that he will retain involvement in the company even after his retirement. The Engelhardts still have around 11% equity stake in Admiral, worth more than 500 million, according to Wales Online. Man Shot In The Face While Driving Semi Tractor On The Dan Ryan By Mae Rice in News on May 20, 2016 3:12PM Photo via Bryce Edwards on Flickr A man was shot in the face while driving a semi tractor on the South Side Dan Ryan Expressway last night. The shooting occurred near 95th Street at roughly 11:50 p.m., Illinois State Police told reporters. The 68-year-old man was taken to Oak Lawn's Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition. Though no one witnessed the shootingthe man was alone in the vehicle when he was shotbystanders saw his semi weaving between lanes of traffic shortly afterwards, police said. Police shut down the stretch of the highway between 87th and 95th streets after the shooting to search for bullet casings, reopening it at roughly 4:30 a.m., police told ABC7. They found at least one shell casing, the Tribune reported. This is the Chicago area's third expressway shooting this week and the 20th so far this year. On Thursday, a man and a woman were shot, the woman in the head, in a road-rage incident that started on Lake Shore Drive. On Monday, a man and a woman were found fatally shot in an SUV on the Kennedy Expressway, a shooting that has since been ruled a murder-suicide. A former insurance agent in Essex County, New Jersey, is going to prison for bilking Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company of more than $1 million in commissions and bonuses. A judge sentenced 33-year-old Stanley Jerome of Orange, New Jersey, to six years in prison. He pleaded guilty in March to money laundering and insurance fraud. Jerome admitted he paid people for their personal information and used it to submit bogus life insurance applications, for which he collected commissions and bonuses. State prosecutors say Jerome used some of the money he received to make some premium payments, but most policies lapsed within a few months. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Agencies New Jersey Skuld, the Oslo, Norway-based marine insurance provider, announced it has signed a letter of intent to purchase SMA/Gerling Norway. The transaction includes the acquisition of the renewal rights of the hull & machinery book of business written by Gerling Norway, owned by HDI Global SE. (This business covers 6,000 vessels paying around US$40 million in premium.) Skuld also is acquiring the management companies Gerling Norway and Scandinavian Marine Agency (SMA), which is partly owned by HDI (majority owner) and the employees of Gerling Norway, Skuld explained. Any successful renewals of the hull & machinery book would be insured with Skulds own corporate paper and operate separately from Skulds Syndicate 1897 at Lloyds. Skuld 1897 will continue its strategy as before and will not be affected by the acquisition of SMA/Gerling Norway. SMA/Gerling Norway will continue to be run by Tron Nummedal and his team of 19, said Skuld in a statement. Further details of the deal, which remains subject to completion and regulatory approval, will be announced later in the year, Skuld said. This is a very exciting deal for Skuld, and is very much in line with our strategy of diversification. Tron and his team are highly regarded in the shipping market and we are proud to have him on board, said Stale Hansen, Skuld president and CEO. The most important thing that we are committed to is ensuring that brokers and policyholders experience no downgrade in service: it is simply a change of ownership and we are confident that in Skuld they will enjoy the service and competence that our existing partners and clients rely on, Hansen added. Im very pleased that SMA/Gerling Norway can announce its intended acquisition by Skuld, commented Nummedal. For me, my staff and our clients, it was important that we found a partner that shares our commitment to the quality of our underwriting operations, takes pride in its members, and importantly, is dedicated to the care of clients, Nummedal added. Im truly excited about the next step for my team and our business as we come together under the Skuld banner. Source: Skuld Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Manufacturing StarStone, the global specialty insurer and subsidiary of Enstar Group Ltd., announced the creation of an underwriting capability in Australia. The new hub will operate alongside Enstars existing Australian operation, subject to regulatory approval. StarStone Australia will be led by Robin Barham in Sydney and will target specialty business emanating from Australia and New Zealand on behalf of Lloyds Syndicate 1301. Through Syndicate 1301, StarStone offers a range of niche marine, property, casualty and specialty products for small and middle market to multinational accounts, and the new operation will provide direct access to those classes for brokers in the Australasian region, London-based StarStone said in a statement. The ability to offer our products locally in the Asia-Pacific region is key to our growth strategy, said Demian Smith, StarStone Internationals CEO. Our majority parent, Enstar, has had a presence in the Australasian market since 2008, and the opening of an underwriting operation signals our continued commitment to the region and to supporting Lloyds in pursuing its 2025 vision, said Smith. Robin brings with him an impressive network of relationships, and has the business-building experience and technical expertise to help bolster StarStones capabilities in Australia, Smith continued. Barham joins StarStone with 28 years of insurance experience, both at Lloyds in London and with Catlin in Sydney, and has underwriting and management experience across a broad range of classes. Most recently, he led the Arch Syndicates operation in Australia as its regional director, and set up a digital underwriting agency, Agile Underwriting Services. Barham said: Australia is a highly sophisticated and mature market, with a wealth of talented underwriters. We see exciting opportunities to increase the depth of StarStones current product offerings and to provide a tailored local service to existing and future clients. Source: StarStone Topics Excess Surplus Underwriting Australia Federal safety officials say an Illinois company has been ordered to pay $190,547 in back wages and damages to a safety manager in a whistleblower case stemming from a Lansing, Ill., facility. The U.S. Department of Labors Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the order against Polar Service Centers after a federal investigation found the commercial tank trailer company violated the whistleblower provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act. The department found the company demoted, censured and ultimately forced the safety manager to resign after he reported to the U.S. Department of Transportation that he suspected a Polar customer was improperly certifying trailers to haul hazardous waste, a potential and dangerous safety violation. Censuring a worker for complying with the law clearly violates the whistleblower provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act. This act is designed to protect the safety of the motoring public, said Ken Nishiyama Atha, OSHAs regional administrator in Chicago. On Sept. 12, 2013, Polar Service Centers suspended the service manager indefinitely, and later demoted and barred him from talking to customers or the Department of Transportation in reprisal for reporting a potential safety violation of a Polar customers suspected improper certification of tank trailers to haul hazardous waste. The manager had also requested that a driver of the Polar customer provide information concerning the potential safety violation to DOT. After the suspension, demotion and censure, he was forced to resign from his employment. OSHA has ordered Polar Service Centers to reinstate the manager to his position, pay $88,847 in back wages minus applicable employment taxes, $100,000 in punitive damages and $1,700 in compensatory damages as well as reasonable attorney fees. Both parties have 30 days from the receipt of OSHAs findings to file objections and request a hearing before an administrative law judge. Source: OSHA Topics Lawsuits Workers' Compensation Commercial Lines Business Insurance Illinois Office Concepts Inc., a Fort Wayne, Ind., office product and service store, will pay $45,000 and provide other relief to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced. EEOCs suit charged that Office Concepts, which provides machines, supplies and service to customers in northern Indiana and northwestern Ohio, fired Lynsey Burd after she informed her manager of her pregnancy. Burds final task, as it turned out, was to train a new employee, EEOC said. Burd finished training the new employee, and Office Concepts terminated her the next business day. Immediately after firing Burd, Office Concepts hired another new employee. Neither new employee was pregnant, EEOC said. Pregnancy discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No. 1:14-cv-290) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana after trying to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The company denied the allegations, but, under the consent decree approved by U.S. District Court Judge Rudy Lozano, agreed to pay $45,000 to Burd. In addition, Office Concepts will distribute a new non-discrimination policy to all employees, attend three training sessions led by EEOC, and submit compliance reports to the agency during the decrees two-year term. Source: EEOC Topics Lawsuits USA Indiana A week after rejecting a proposal to let law enforcement agencies automatically scan motorists license plates, a House committee has reversed course and backed the proposal that some called a money grab. The House criminal justice committee voted 8-3 to advance the Senate-approved measure for full chamber consideration. The sponsor, Republican Sen. Ronnie Johns of Lake Charles, said the state would avoid financial risk because a license plate recognition system vendor would bear the initial cost about $5.3 million to create and implement the program. That would include paying $15,000 for each reader installed in sheriff deputies cruisers across the nine participating parishes. The technology would enable law enforcement to cross-check license plates with databases to determine if vehicles are stolen or uninsured. As the panel questioned the purpose of Senate Bill 54, Johns said the plate readers would help to enforce Louisianas mandatory liability insurance law. Supporters said they would also help in identifying criminals vehicles. But Rep. Steve Pylant, R-Winnsboro, likened the suggested plate reader program to red light cameras, calling them both a money grab. He said law enforcement would be out stopping vehicles if they were concerned about safety. Other panel members agreed, asking why the state wasnt running the program itself, instead of shopping it out to a vendor. The state simply cant afford such a program, Johns said. The House committee reworked how to divvy up each collected $200 fine, giving public defenders 10 percent, handing the technology vendor 30 percent and splitting the remaining money between the local sheriffs office and district attorney. Rep. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, wanted to give a larger portion of the collected fines to the states cash-strapped indigent defense funding, but the committee didnt approve it. If its not a money grab, lets spread it out and let everybody have some, she said. Critics there was no proof the proposal would reduce the number of uninsured motorists, adding that the bill overlooked privacy concerns and only supported revenue-based law enforcement. This is Louisiana politics at its worst, said Daniel Hayes, Jefferson Parish representative of the Libertarian Party of Louisiana. If its not about money, then whats it about? The Louisiana District Attorneys Association supported the measure. Pete Adams, executive director of the organization, reminded the committee the Louisiana Legislature can eliminate the program in the future if it doesnt work as intended. Former Gov. Bobby Jindal vetoed a similar bill last year. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Louisiana Decade-Old Mural In Elgin Found To Depict A 1930s Lynch Mob By Mae Rice in News on May 20, 2016 7:00PM Warning: Disturbing image of a 1930s lynching below. A decade-old mural in downtown Elgin, IL sparked controversy this week when residents realized that it portrayed the lower half of a famous photo of a lynching. Thursday night, locals gathered at the mural to demand its removal. "I think it speaks hatred, evilness," Sequanda Haugabook told ABC7. She was among the black protesters who gathered at the mural Thursday to demand its removal, chanting "Take it down," the Elgin Courier-News reported. The parallels between the mural, "American Nocturne," and the 1930s photo from Marion, IN had escaped previous notice because the mural only depicts the lower half of the photo, which shows the crowd. It omits the upper half of the photo, which shows the lynching. The controversy began when Elgin resident Richard Farr, 25, and St. Charles resident Alex Cokinos, 33, noticed the parallels between the mural and the photo Tuesday night, and posted a side-by-side of the two images on Facebook, the Courier-News reported. The similarities were news to everyoneincluding city officials, who didn't know about the mural's inspiration when it was made, Elgin communications director Kristine Rogowski told CBS. Farr's post has since sparked a public conversation throughout Elgin, and the city plans to hold a public meeting next week to discuss the mural's future. David Powers, the artist who painted the mural, has defended his work. The idea here was talking about lynching, asking questions, the history, Powers told the Elgin Courier-News on Thursday. He doesn't seem to think the mural will stay up, though. He told ABC7 that city officials are "total cowards" who will "crumble like a cheap suit and hang me out to dry." Here's the original, 1930s photo that the mural parallels: The lynching of two black men in Marion, IN (Indiana Historical Society, P0411) Here's a side-by-side of the two images, tweeted out by the Tribune's Kurt Gessler, that shows the similarities between the two images: Un ottobre da sogno per Antonio Conte: lex ct della Nazionale italiana, attualmente alla guida del Chelsea, nelle ultime quattro gare di Premier League ha collezionato solo successi, conditi da 11 reti segnate e addirittura nessuna incassata. Numeri da record che non sono certo passati inosservati alla Federazione inglese, la quale ha conferito al tecnico leccese lambito premio di Manager del mese. Unavventura oltremanica iniziata in sordina, quella di Conte, pur a fronte di tre vittorie nelle prime tre gare di campionato. A far vacillare, anche se solo per un momento, le certezze del patron del club londinese, Roman Abramovich, i risultati conseguiti tra la 4a e la 6a giornata, coincisi con un pareggio sul campo dello Swansea City e, soprattutto, con le due pesanti sconfitte subite dal Liverpool, sul terreno casalingo di Stamford Bridge, e dallArsenal. In particolare, la debacle interna coi Reds, aveva irritato non poco il numero uno russo, poiche occorsa proprio nel giorno della sua 250esima partita da presidente della societa. Come detto, solo un momento. Dopo lincontro dellEmirates, il tecnico salentino cambia modulo, adottando un piu equilibrato 3-4-3 e inserendo elementi di corsa come lo spagnolo Pedro. Una svolta totale perche, di li in poi, il Chelsea inanellera solo e soltanto vittorie: 2 gol allHull City e al Southampton in trasferta, 3 ai campioni dInghilterra del Leicester e 4 allo United in casa, con un meraviglioso numero zero nella casella delle reti subite. Un fantastico poker, ottenuto tra l1 e il 29 ottobre. Un cambio di marcia sbalorditivo, confermato dal 5 a 0 rifilato ai toffees dellEverton nel primo match di novembre, e una scalata che, man mano, ha portato i blues al secondo posto in classifica, a soli 2 punti dal Liverpool capolista. E allora, non poteva mancare il riconoscimento di migliore allenatore del mese, ottenuto surclassando tecnici del calibro di Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool), Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) e Mark Hughes (Southampton). Tanta, ovviamente, la soddisfazione: E un grande onore e voglio condividerlo con i giocatori e con la societa ha dichiarato Conte sul sito ufficiale della Premier League -. E la prima volta che lavoro in un altro Paese, con una cultura diversa, e portare la propria filosofia non e facile, ma ora sono contento di questa scelta. A completare la festa, la premiazione del fantasista belga, Eden Hazard, come miglior giocatore di ottobre. Due risultati importanti per il club, ottimo incentivo per la rincorsa al trono dei campioni, occupato dal Leicester di Ranieri. Il prossimo appuntamento per l11 di Conte sara al Riverside Stadium, tana del Middlesborough neopromosso. Il tempo di festeggiare e gia finito. Panoramica privacy Questo sito web utilizza i cookies per fornire all'utente la miglior esperienza di navigazione possibile. L'informazione dei cookie e memorizzata nel browser dell' utente, svolge funzioni di riconoscimento quando l' utente ritorna nel sito e permette di sapere quali sezioni del sito sono ritenute piu interessanti e utili. San Francisco-based tech company Uber was founded in 2009 as a way to connect people in the city who needed rides (but couldn't find taxis) with limousine and town car drivers who wanted to make extra money. The company went public in May 2019 and the stock trades under the ticker symbol UBER. Today, Uber connects drivers and passengers in 400 cities worldwide and its drivers include, not just professionals, but also average people willing to drive strangers around for a fee. The company launched its UberEats food-delivery app in 2014 and a helicopter taxi service to JFK airport in New York City in 2019. Uber has seen a number of competitors, such as Lyft and Via, spring up in the ride-sharing business and the company has faced regulatory issues worldwide. From being banned from airport curbs (and entire countries) to increasing operational risks, Uber has four challenges on its hands in America and abroad. Key Takeaways As it struggles to be profitable Uber faces several challenges both in the U.S. and worldwide. There have been legislative and court challenges to Uber classifying its drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. Changes in laws can also affect how much Uber pays in taxes; it already faces complaints from various governments that it shirks its tax liabilities. Some countries and airports have banned or drastically limited ride-sharing companies. Some authorities are imposing access or other special fees on Uber, increasing the cost of a ride and making the service less competitive than traditional taxis. 1. Status of Drivers One ongoing thorn in Uber's side has been the status of its drivers: whether they should be classified as employees or independent contractors. Uber, not surprisingly, prefers the latter. It maintains that it is a technology company and that its sole function is to connect drivers and passengers. This works out well for the companyit can start operating in new markets easily and doesn't need to concern itself with employer-employee laws and the related responsibilities and obligations. Without an employer-employee relationship, Uber isn't obliged to pay Social Security taxes, unemployment insurance, or worker's compensation. And, it is not required to reimburse drivers for mileage. Drivers welcome the flexibility and freedom that comes with not being an employee (or so Uber claims). Uber drivers can work when they want, for as many hours as they want. And they can quit anytime. That may be so, but other Uber drivers are upset about being treated as independent contractors, their working conditions, and the earnings that effectively often amount to less than minimum wage. Uber has settled major class-action lawsuits launched by drivers in Massachusetts and California. In 2021, with the lifting of pandemic restrictions, Uber has had problems in getting enough cars on the road to meet newly increased demand. It has offered sign-up incentives and significantly raised prices for rides. But it's also fiddled with compensation structures, so drivers tend not to share in the bigger fareswhile their earnings are up, it's due more to bonuses rather than pocketing a percentage of the tab. California Challenges Uber has also faced legislative challenges on this issue in California, whichwith its population of 39 millionis a huge market for the company (not to mention its home, and the site of its first ride). In 2019, the California Senate passed Assembly Bill 5, a rule that would've required Uber, Lyft, and other ridesharing companies to treat workers as employees rather than independent contractors. Uber's top attorney said in response that the company would not begin treating drivers as employees despite the legislation. It also launched a campaign to undo it, along with Lyft and other on-demand delivery companies. On Nov. 3, 2020, Uber-backed Proposition 22 was introduced on the ballot in California, which defined app-based transportation and delivery drivers as independent contractorsoverriding Assembly Bill 5. The voters approved it. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company will more loudly advocate for laws like Prop 22, and "work with governments across the U.S. and the world to make this a reality. So, round two to the ridesharing firm. But the saga continues. On Aug. 20, 2021, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled that two sections of Proposition 22 were unconstitutional and that the measure as a whole was unenforceable. Uber and Lyft announced they would appeal. Prop 22 remains in effect, while its ultimate fate remains uncertain. Still, drivers in other states may likely wage their own court battles against the company. And Uber has to consider the PR angle to all this: The impression that a high-profile, billion-dollar company exploits workers doesn't play well in the court of public opinion. In February 2021, Britains Supreme Court ruled that a group of Uber drivers should be classified as workers entitled to a minimum wage and vacation time. 2. Taxes Related to the employer-employee relationship between Uber and its workers are tax issues. If Uber loses its status as a technology companya mere go-between linking riders and driversand instead is classified as a livery company, governments can argue that the entire ride payment is revenue for Uber and subject to city and state taxes. Uber already faces complaints from various governments that it shirks its tax liabilities onto its drivers and that the drivers are often non-compliant about paying their taxes. More tax legislation could exacerbate the problem and will also mean either an increase in ride fares or the end of Uber operations in that particular city or state. 3. The Risk of Being an Uber Driver Aside from non-compliance with taxes, Uber drivers face incredible risk when working in cities or countries that have banned the company. In various countries, Uber is outright forbidden. In others, there is a call for regulation in the industry or for the governments to declare the car-sharing app illegal. Aside from government intervention, airport authorities have been cracking down on Uber drivers. The authorities have begun charging Uber drivers access fees to drop-off and pick-up customers at the airport. The access fees increase the cost of a ride for consumers, making the service less competitive when compared to traditional taxis. 4. International Expansion Comes With Risks As Uber continues to expand outside of the United States, it increases its operational risks. In Asia, for example, the ratio of taxis to the population is higher than in America. Because of this, there is more competition between Uber drivers and traditional taxis. Furthermore, taxi service in Asia is fast, clean, cheap and, in some countries, can be paid for via NFC cell phones using apps such as Alipaynegating Uber's competitive advantage of being able to pay for a ride with its app. 83 The number of countries with Uber drivers as of January 2021. With more reliable and cheaper service than in the U.S., it seems unlikely that there is a strong market for Uber abroad. As the technology company expands and is met with governmental opposition and protest, it will find it harder to get drivers to compete against established taxi companies. The Bottom Line Uber is a company that disrupted the transportation system. In its role as a liaison between customers and drivers, the company takes a cut and the platform is among the most successful in the world. But Uber has struggled to attain profitability. In its first report as a public company, Uber said it lost more than $1 billion on $3.1 billion in revenue during the first quarter of 2019. In its latest report for the second quarter of 2021, net income was $1.1 billion on $3.9 billion in revenuesbut the bottom line still showed a loss of $509 million (adjusted EBITDA). While Uber stands to make a crazy amount of money given its high revenue and the low wages that drivers earn, it's not shocking to learn that Uber is facing many challenges as it grows. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is one of the world's largest companies by market value and among the tech industry's greatest success stories. Founded in 1975, its Window's software product turned it into a multi-billion dollar corporation within the span of a few years. Microsoft's business today encompasses personal computing devices, cloud systems and services, software, and related products sold to both individual consumers and businesses. The top shareholders of Microsoft are Satya Nadella, Bradford L. Smith, Jean-Philippe Courtois, Vanguard Group Inc., BlackRock Inc. (BLK), and State Street Corp. Microsoft's 12-month trailing revenue and net income are $138.7 billion and $46.3 billion, respectively. The company's market capitalization is $1.6 trillion. All figures are as of July 10, 2020. Below is a look in more detail at Microsoft's 6 biggest shareholders. "Insider" refers to people in senior management positions and members of the board of directors, as well as people or entities that own more than 10% of the company's stock. In this context, it has nothing to do with insider trading. Top 3 Individual Insider Shareholders Satya Nadella Satya Nadella owns 1,337,768 shares of Microsoft stock, representing 0.02% of total shares outstanding. Nadella has served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Microsoft since 2014. Nadella joined Microsoft 28 years ago in 1992. He has held leadership roles in Microsoft's enterprise and consumer businesses. Most recently, Nadella was executive vice president of Microsofts Cloud and Enterprise group, where he led the transformation to the cloud infrastructure and services business, which has outperformed the market and took share from competition. Microsoft today is one of the world's biggest cloud services providers. Before joining Microsoft, Nadella was a member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems. Bradford L. Smith Brad Smith owns 845,058 shares of Microsoft stock, representing 0.01% of total shares outstanding. Smith is President and Chief Legal Officer of the company, having previously served as Microsoft's general counsel. Smith serves as the companys chief legal officer and leads the company's initiatives on public issues such as cybersecurity, privacy, and environmental sustainability. After joining Microsoft in 2003 as general counsel, Smith spent the following decade leading work to resolve the companys antitrust controversies with governments around the world. Previously, he was an associate and then partner at Covington and Burling in Washington, D.C. Jean-Philippe Courtois Jean-Philippe Courtois owns 600,510 shares of Microsoft, representing 0.01% of total shares outstanding. Courtois is Executive Vice President and President, Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing and Operations. He joined Microsoft in 1984 and has held numerous positions since that time, including general manager for Microsoft France, CEO and President of Microsoft EMEA, and President of Microsoft International. Top 3 Institutional Shareholders Institutional investors hold the majority of Microsoft's shares at about 70.7% of total shares outstanding. Vanguard Group Inc. Vanguard Group owns 640.2 million shares of Microsoft, representing 8.4% of total shares outstanding, according to the company's 13F filing for the period ending March 31, 2020. Vanguard is primarily a mutual fund and ETF management company with about $6.2 trillion in global assets under management (AUM). The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) is among the company's largest exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with about $151 billion in AUM. Microsoft is the largest holding in this ETF, representing 5.5% of VOO's portfolio. BlackRock Inc. BlackRock owns 517.6 million shares of Microsoft, representing 6.8% of total shares outstanding, according to the company's 13F filing as of March 31, 2020. BlackRock is primarily a mutual fund and ETF management company with approximately $6.47 trillion in AUM. The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) is among BlackRock's largest ETFs with approximately $198.7 billion in AUM. Microsoft is the largest holding in this ETF, representing 6.2% of IVV's portfolio. State Street Corp. State Street owns 314.8 million shares of Microsoft, representing 4.2% of total shares outstanding, according to the company's 13F filing as of March 31, 2020. State Street manages mutual funds, ETFs and other investments with $3.1 trillion in AUM. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is among State Street's largest ETFs with approximately $276 billion in AUM. Microsoft is the largest holding in this ETF, representing 6.2% of SPY's portfolio. Diversity & Inclusiveness of Microsoft As part of our effort to improve the awareness of the importance of diversity in companies, we offer investors a glimpse into the transparency of more than just who are the shareholders at [Company Name]. We highlight the company's commitment to diversity, inclusiveness, and social responsibility as a whole. Find out how [Company Name] reports the diversity of its management and workforce. The shows if Microsoft discloses its data about the diversity of its board of directors, C-Suite, general management, and employees overall across a variety of markets. Uber Technologies Inc.'s (UBER) explosive growth and constant controversy make it one of the most fascinating companies to emerge over the past decade. The global ride-sharing application, founded in 2009, disrupted modern transportation as we know it and at one point grew to become the highest-valued private startup company in the world. Ten years after its founding, Uber went public on May 9, 2019. Though the road has been bumpy, Uber remains a major company in the ride-sharing space. In its most recent quarterly earnings release, for Q2 fiscal year (FY) 2021, Uber reported a net income of $1.1 billion, $3.9 billion in revenue, and 1.5 billion trips on its platform. Key Takeaways The world's largest ride-sharing company, Uber Technologies, was founded in 2009 and quickly grew to become the world's most valuable startup. Ubers disruptive technology, explosive growth, and constant involvement in controversy make it one of the most fascinating companies to emerge in recent years. Uber's IPO was one of the most highly anticipated of the year, and the company was valued as high as $120 billion by Wall Street investors. The company went public on May 9, 2019, but fell flat: Uber made history with the biggest first-day dollar loss in U.S. history. Since then, Uber has worked on becoming profitable and has completed some high-profile acquisitions of companies including JUMP, Postmates, and Drizly, as well as a partnership deal with Lime. It also sold its highly anticipated self-driving car division in 2020. In 2017, Uber's corporate culture was outed for being highly hostile, sexist, and offensive, resulting in a company-wide investigation. CEO Travis Kalanick was forced to resign, along with more than 20 employees. Uber History: Paris and Rapid Growth Ubers story began in Paris in 2008. Two friends, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp, were attending LeWeb, an annual tech conference The Economist describes as where revolutionaries gather to plot the future." In 2007, both men had sold startups they co-founded for large sums. Kalanick sold Red Swoosh to Akamai Technologies for $19 million while Camp sold StumbleUpon to eBay (EBAY) for $75 million. The concept for Uber was born one winter night during the conference when the pair was unable to get a cab. Uber was founded on a single idea: "What if you could request a ride from your phone?" Initially, the idea was for a timeshare limo service that could be ordered via an app. After the conference, the entrepreneurs went their separate ways. However, when Camp returned to San Francisco, he continued to be fixated on the idea and bought the domain name UberCab.com. UberCab: The Beginning In 2009, Camp was still CEO of StumbleUpon, but he began working on a prototype for UberCab as a side project. By summer of that year, Camp had persuaded Kalanick to join as UberCabs "chief incubator." The service was tested in New York in early 2010 using only three cars, and the official launch took place in San Francisco in May. Ryan Graves, who was Uber's general manager and an important figure in the early stages of the company, became CEO of Uber in early 2010. In December 2010, Kalanick took over as CEO, while Graves took on the title of general manager and senior vice president of Global Operations. The ease and simplicity of ordering a car fueled the apps rising popularity. With the tap of a button, a ride could be ordered, a GPS identified the location, and the cost was automatically charged to the card on the user account. The San Francisco-based startup quickly became one of the hottest companies and grew quickly. The first Uber ride was requested in 2010 and less than two years later, in 2011, Uber had already launched internationally in Paris, where the idea for it first took root. Uber's Valuation: Funding Rounds First five years: 2009 to 2013 After starting in 2009 and launching its first ride in 2010, the company received its first major funding, a $1.25 million round led by First Round Capital. 2011 was a crucial year for Ubers growth. Early in the year, the company raised an $11 million Series A funding round led by Benchmark, and it went on to expand to New York, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, and Washington D.C., as well as abroad in Paris. In December at the 2011 LeWeb conference, Kalanick announced that Uber raised $37 million in Series B funding from Menlo Ventures, Jeff Bezos, and Goldman Sachs. In 2012, the company broadened its offering by launching UberX, which provided a less expensive hybrid car as an alternative to black car service. Additional funding and setbacks: 2014 to present In July 2015, Uber became the most valuable startup in the world, valued at $51 billion after its funding rounds. In June 2016, Uber then raised a further $3.5 billion from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. With Uber's rapid growth came many controversies. In April 2017, Uber opened up about its finances for the first time to Bloomberg and reported a global loss of $3.8 billion for 2016. This included losses from its China business, which it sold in the summer of 2016without it, net adjusted losses were $2.8 billion. By the following year, the firm's valuation had been knocked down from a lofty $68 billion to $48 billion. In 2018, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group, along with a group of investors including Dragoneer Investment Group, successfully bid for 20% of Uber's stock at this lower valuation, a 30% discount on the last valuation figure. The deal reportedly gave SoftBank 15% in the ride-share company while Uber got a powerful ally in Asia that could help turn the tide for the company after a few very public missteps. The remaining shares reportedly went to other investors in the group. This period was also marked by other challenges, including the fatal crash of a self-driving vehicle from Uber's fleet. Additionally, on Aug. 8, 2018, New York City Council voted to put a pause on new licenses issued to ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft. Uber IPO: Disappointing Feat Uber's IPO made history as the biggest first-day dollar loss in IPO history in the United States. At one point, Uber was valued at $120 billion by Wall Street analysts, which would have made it the largest company ever to debut on the stock market. After its IPO, it was only valued at about $69 billionjust over half of its high-hopes IPO. $85.314 billion Uber's current market capitalization, as of September 2021 Uber Culture Controversy: Kalanick Out, Khosrowshahi In 2017 was a rough year for Uber. The troubles began in February when a former female Uber engineer outed the company for its sexist culture in a 3,000-word blog post. It was alleged that Uber's corporate culture was highly hostile, sexist, and quite offensive to most people. The post quickly went viral and a number of high-level employees were let go or resigned for reasons relating to the allegations in the following months. Following the blog post, the board called for an internal investigation, which became known as the "Holder Investigation" (it was lead by former Attorney General Eric Holder). The investigation resulted in 47 recommendations intended to improve the culture and work environment, and according to Uber, the firing of more than 20 staff members. In the following months, scandals seemed to haunt both the company and its CEO. Letters were released to the press which confirmed that sexist attitudes came from the top downincluding from Kalanick himself. Kalanick was also caught on video arguing with an Uber driver about lowering fares, which did not strengthen his image in the public eye. On June 21, 2017, Kalanick resigned after a shareholder revolt. After a little more than two months, it was announced that Dara Khosrowshahithen-CEO of Expedia (EXPE)would take over. Khosrowshahi came to New York in 1978 with his parents to escape the Iranian revolution. He started his career in finance at an investment bank and eventually became the CFO of IAC/InterActiveCorp (IAC), a position he held for seven years before becoming the CEO of Expedia. As of Sept. 3, 2021, Dara Khosrowshahi remains the CEO of Uber. Uber's History of Legal and Policy Challenges During its expansion, Uber has met fierce resistance from the taxi industry and government regulators. As part of its strategy to mitigate the opposition, the company hired David Plouffe, a high-profile political and corporate strategist who worked on Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Here, we chronicle some high-profile moments of Uber's challenges. Surge pricing backlash Uber uses an automated algorithm to increase prices based on supply and demand in the market. On New Year's Eve 2011, prices soared to as much as seven times standard rates, fueling negative feedback from users. Surge pricing triggered outrage again during a snowstorm in New York in December 2013. More recently, Uber committed to capping surge pricing during several blizzards in New York City. In 2014, taxi drivers in London, Berlin, Paris, and Madrid staged a large-scale protest against Uber. Taxi companies have claimed that because Uber avoids their expensive license fees and bypasses local laws, it creates unfair competition. The case was heard by Europe's top court in November 2016. Uber lost its license to operate in London, where the company had 40,000 registered drivers in September 2017. On June 26, 2018, a London judge overturned the ban, effectively allowing Uber to operate under a 15-month license along with conditions. In September 2020, Uber was granted a new license to operate in London. The current license lasts for 18 months and is conditional on Uber providing periodic safety reports. Fair pay and driver benefits In New York, it became known that Uber had mistakenly charged drivers commission based on pretax earnings as opposed to after-tax earningsat a cost of tens of millions of dollars to New York drivers. The company said it was an accounting error, and that it was committed to paying its drivers back in full as quickly as possible. The issue does raise questions about the fairness of who ends up paying the taxes. Driver advocacy groups have argued for some time that Uber is avoiding a tax at the expense of its drivers, something The New York Times found evidence to support. The paper estimated it could have cost drivers hundreds of millions of dollars. On June 13, 2017, a New York judge ruled that Uber drivers should be considered employees as opposed to independent contractors at least in certain cases. This decision opens up for drivers to receive employee benefits, which would likely have a significant impact on the bottom line. Later, restrictions on licenses by the New York City Council were introduced, which represented a blow for Uber and meant a pause on any new licenses for the ride-sharing service in the city for a 12-month period. Meanwhile, California passed Proposition 22 during its November 2020 election, allowing companies like Uber to classify their workers as independent contractors in the gig economy, and not as full-time employees. The Uber-backed ballot measure is now the costliest in California history, with over $200 million spent in campaigning for it. On Aug. 20, 2021, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled that two sections of Proposition 22 were unconstitutional and that the measure as a whole was unenforceable. However, it remains in effect while its proponents appeal his ruling. Settlement on claims of discrimination, harassment, and hostile work environment In 2018, Uber paid approximately $7 million to more than 480 current and former employees to settle a 2017 lawsuit alleging gender discrimination, harassment, and a hostile work environment. The lawsuit claimed that Uber used a discriminatory ranking system that undervalued female employees and employees of color. Discrimination against a blind customer An arbitrator ordered Uber in April 2021 to pay $1.1 million to Lisa Irving, a blind customer. The arbitrator ruled that Uber's drivers had discriminated against Irving by denying her rides or verbally abusing her more than a dozen times. Uber had argued that it was not responsible for the drivers' actions because of their independent contractor status. Uber vs. Lyft Competition Competition has been ferocious between Uber and its closest rival, Lyft. In 2014, both Uber and Lyft claimed that drivers and employees engaged in sabotage by regularly hailing and canceling rides on each others services. Kalanick also openly admitted to trying to undermine Lyfts fundraising efforts in a Vanity Fair article. Uber's Acquisitions and Business Units Uber Eats, UberPool, and credit card Uber has a merchant delivery program for food deliveries called Uber Eats. Uber previously offered a service named UberPool, which allowed drivers to pick up multiple riders on one scheduled ride, making it a cheaper option compared to UberX and Uber Black. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the service has been temporarily suspended in many regions, including the U.S. and Canada. Uber has been testing a new ride-pooling service in Africa under the name Pool Chance. Uber said that this service is similar to UberPool but not identical. In 2017, the company, in partnership with Barclays, also rolled out a co-branded rewards credit card in the U.S. Lime On July 9, 2018, Uber announced it would be investing in the electric scooter rental company, Lime, in collaboration with Alphabet Inc.'s GV (GOOG). Lime's lightweight scooters are available for rent all over a number of major cities, and customers leave them on the sidewalk for the next rider, making for a convenient and clean-energy-based business model. The deal is part of a $335 million investment round, and the business is valued at $1.1 billion. Uber promotes Lime through its app and also provides a separate Lime app that customers can use to locate a scooter. Uber made similar efforts with bike-share startup JUMP before acquiring the business for reportedly close to $200 million in April 2018. Postmates Another high-profile acquisition occurred in July 2020, when Uber announced that it was acquiring food delivery app Postmates for $2.65 billion in an all-stock deal. As the food delivery business continued to grow, the acquisition (along with the creation of Uber Eats) was a strategic one in order to offset losses from the ride-sharing portion of the business, which has been struggling, especially during the pandemic. After the Postmates acquisition, Uber's stock hit an all-time high. Uber self-driving cars Like Google, Apple Inc. (AAPL), and Tesla Inc. (TSLA), Uber is also a front-runner in the future of driverless cars. However, the road has been bumpy, starting with Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo suing Uber in 2018 for theft of its self-driving technology. Uber hit perhaps its worst snag yet in March 2018, when a self-driving car fatally struck a pedestrian, causing the company to temporarily suspend all testing. In May 2018, Uber announced that it would halt its Arizona testing program and go elsewhere. In July 2018, Uber's self-driving cars made their return in Pittsburgh, but business lagged. In December 2020, it was announced that Uber would sell its autonomous vehicle business to Aurora, a startup in San Francisco that was started by the former head engineer of Waymo. Uber had invested more than $1 billion in the business at the time of the sale. The Bottom Line Uber is one of the most closely followed companies in the world, once going down in history as once the world's most valuable startup and disrupting the modern ride-sharing and transportation industry as we know it. Though the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench into Uber's plans to become profitable, marking large losses in its ride-hailing business, the company's strategic investments in its food delivery arm Uber Eats as well as its recent California Proposition 22 win bode well for the company. Perhaps soon, time will tell if Khosrowshahi can lift Uber's valuation to its originally projected $120 billion. Theoretically, the ability to make money on stocks involves two key decisions: buying at the right time and selling at the right time. To make a profit, you have to execute both of these decisions correctly. Buying a stock is relatively easy, but selling it is usually a more difficult decision to make. If you sell too early and the stock goes higher, you risk leaving gains on the table. If you sell too late and the stock plunges, youve probably missed your opportunity. Whats an investor to do? Many investors have trouble selling a stock, and sometimes the reason is rooted in the innate human tendency toward greed. However, there are strategies that you can use to identify when it is (and isnt) a good time to sell. Key Takeaways When it comes to investing, the decision of when to sell a stock is often more difficult than deciding to buy it. In general, there are some intrinsic reasonsrelated to the stock itself and/or the marketsto sell a stock, and some extrinsic reasons related to the investors finances and lifestyle. Occasionally, the sell decision may be triggered by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Emotion and human psychology can sometimes get in the way of making a smart decision, so stay attuned to the data (and not your feelings). 1:59 When To Sell Stocks Selling a Stock Is Hard Heres an all-too-common scenario: You buy shares of stock at $25 with the intention of selling it if it reaches $30. The stock hits $30, and you decide to hold out for a couple more dollars in gains. The stock reaches $32, and greed overcomes rationality. Suddenly, the stock price drops back to $29. You tell yourself to just wait until it hits $30 again. This never happens. You finally succumb to frustration and sell at a loss when it hits $23. In this scenario, it could be said that greed and emotion have overcome rational judgment. The loss was $2 a share, but you actually might have made a profit of $7 when the stock hit its high. These paper losses might be better ignored than agonized over, but the real question is the investors reason for selling or not selling. To remove human nature from the equation in the future, consider using a limit order, which will automatically sell the stock when it reaches your target price. You wont even have to watch that stock go up and down. Youll get a notice when your sell order is placed. When Should You Sell? In general, there are some intrinsic reasons to sell a stocki.e., reasons that are related to the stock itself and/or the markets. In addition, the investor may also have extrinsic reasons to sell; by extrinsic, we mean reasons that are related to the investors finances or lifestyle. Occasionally, the sell decision may be triggered by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Lets look at some intrinsic reasons or factors first. Intrinsic Reasons to Sell When the initial buying decision was a mistake : Most experienced investors may have encountered this situation at some point. Youve watched this stockor more likely, a meme stockmake phenomenal gains on a daily basis, so you finally decide to suspend your disbelief and recklessly put in a sizable buy order for the stock. But as soon as you do so, you realize that youve probably made a mistake. The best course of action in this case is to sell the stock, even if it means taking a small loss on the trade. And to avoid making the same mistake in the future, resist the temptation to chase hot stocks that are running on fumes, as they may burn you financially. : Most experienced investors may have encountered this situation at some point. Youve watched this stockor more likely, a meme stockmake phenomenal gains on a daily basis, so you finally decide to suspend your disbelief and recklessly put in a sizable buy order for the stock. But as soon as you do so, you realize that youve probably made a mistake. The best course of action in this case is to sell the stock, even if it means taking a small loss on the trade. And to avoid making the same mistake in the future, resist the temptation to chase hot stocks that are running on fumes, as they may burn you financially. When the price rises dramatically : Selling a stock merely because it has risen dramatically in price isnt always the best course of action. In some cases, the price gains may be justified by the companys underlying fundamentals (for example, its sales and/or earnings may be growing faster than investors expectations). But in other cases, the price may have posted exponential gains purely on speculation, or due to other reasons such as takeover rumors or a short squeeze. In such cases, the investor would be well-served by doing some research to try and ascertain the reason for the stock gains, and depending on the findings, either sell the full position or sell part of the position and put in a stop order to sell the balance if it trades below a certain price. The more that a stocks short-term gains contribute to your overall portfolio, the more critical the sell decision. For example, if you bought 1,000 shares of a biotech stock at $5 per share when your total portfolio was worth $25,000, that stock constituted 20% of your portfolio. If, after three months, that biotech stock quadrupled on promising trial results while the rest of your portfolio is unchanged, it would now account for 50% of your portfolio. In this situation, it might be prudent to sell some of your shares and book part of the profits, because of the negative impact on your portfolio if the stock retraced most of its advance. : Selling a stock merely because it has risen dramatically in price isnt always the best course of action. In some cases, the price gains may be justified by the companys underlying fundamentals (for example, its sales and/or earnings may be growing faster than investors expectations). But in other cases, the price may have posted exponential gains purely on speculation, or due to other reasons such as takeover rumors or a short squeeze. In such cases, the investor would be well-served by doing some research to try and ascertain the reason for the stock gains, and depending on the findings, either sell the full position or sell part of the position and put in a stop order to sell the balance if it trades below a certain price. The more that a stocks short-term gains contribute to your overall portfolio, the more critical the sell decision. For example, if you bought 1,000 shares of a biotech stock at $5 per share when your total portfolio was worth $25,000, that stock constituted 20% of your portfolio. If, after three months, that biotech stock quadrupled on promising trial results while the rest of your portfolio is unchanged, it would now account for 50% of your portfolio. In this situation, it might be prudent to sell some of your shares and book part of the profits, because of the negative impact on your portfolio if the stock retraced most of its advance. When a stock reaches your price target : Have you ever owned a stock that has been down in the dumps for years, but suddenly has a new lease on life and is now trading at your original entry price? If you promised yourself that you would sell the stock if it ever came back to your buy price, dump it without hesitation (you shouldnt have been holding on to that loser for so long in the first place, but thats a subject for another time). Similarly, if a stock reaches a level that it traded at all too briefly in the past, and you always thought that you would sell if it reached that price again, or would consider selling part of your position rather than regret another missed opportunity, then why not sell all of it?... Because of the next point... : Have you ever owned a stock that has been down in the dumps for years, but suddenly has a new lease on life and is now trading at your original entry price? If you promised yourself that you would sell the stock if it ever came back to your buy price, dump it without hesitation (you shouldnt have been holding on to that loser for so long in the first place, but thats a subject for another time). Similarly, if a stock reaches a level that it traded at all too briefly in the past, and you always thought that you would sell if it reached that price again, or would consider selling part of your position rather than regret another missed opportunity, then why not sell all of it?... Because of the next point... When a stock trades at a technical inflection point : When a stock trades nearand then breaks belowa multiyear low, it often portends additional losses ahead. In this case, it may make sense to sell the stock as soon as the technical level is breached on the downside. Likewise, if a stock breaks through a key resistance level on the upside, it may signal more gains and a higher trading range for the stock, which means it might be advisable to sell part of the position rather than all of it. Technical analysts also watch stock price charts closely to identify other signals such as moving average crossovers. : When a stock trades nearand then breaks belowa multiyear low, it often portends additional losses ahead. In this case, it may make sense to sell the stock as soon as the technical level is breached on the downside. Likewise, if a stock breaks through a key resistance level on the upside, it may signal more gains and a higher trading range for the stock, which means it might be advisable to sell part of the position rather than all of it. Technical analysts also watch stock price charts closely to identify other signals such as moving average crossovers. When the fundamentals deteriorate : A stocks fundamentals may deteriorate for any number of reasons: slowing earnings and/or revenue growth, increased competition, higher costs and lower margins, or simply valuation. The first such signal of deteriorating fundamentals may come from a companys quarterly earnings report, or sometimes from guidance ahead of an earnings report. Market reaction to negative news from a company, such as an earnings miss or lowered forward guidance, tends to be swift and unequivocal, with the stock likely to plunge by double digits. In such cases, the investor needs to determine whether the deterioration in the stocks fundamentals is temporary or permanent. Since this is no easy task, it might be preferable to sell and exit the position first, then evaluate if it should be bought back later. : A stocks fundamentals may deteriorate for any number of reasons: slowing earnings and/or revenue growth, increased competition, higher costs and lower margins, or simply valuation. The first such signal of deteriorating fundamentals may come from a companys quarterly earnings report, or sometimes from guidance ahead of an earnings report. Market reaction to negative news from a company, such as an earnings miss or lowered forward guidance, tends to be swift and unequivocal, with the stock likely to plunge by double digits. In such cases, the investor needs to determine whether the deterioration in the stocks fundamentals is temporary or permanent. Since this is no easy task, it might be preferable to sell and exit the position first, then evaluate if it should be bought back later. When a rival company issues bad news : Often, the problems affecting a specific sector may be highlighted when a bellwether company in that sector reports an earnings miss. If you own stock of a company in that sector, consider selling it unless you are quite confident that your stock will not be affected by the sectors woes. : Often, the problems affecting a specific sector may be highlighted when a bellwether company in that sector reports an earnings miss. If you own stock of a company in that sector, consider selling it unless you are quite confident that your stock will not be affected by the sectors woes. When the market looks wobbly: This is no easy task, and is certainly not a suggestion to indulge in market timing, but there are times when the broad market looks overextended; at such times, it makes sense to cull the weaker names in your portfolio. In a financial earthquake, stocks of companies that have a heavy debt burden or a weak financial position might be the first to collapse. Now, lets look at some extrinsic reasons or factors. Extrinsic Reasons to Sell Financial reasons : This can include any number of reasons pertaining to the investors finances. For instance, a stock may have gained so much in proportion to the rest of the portfolio (as in the example of the biotech stock mentioned earlier) that the investor may need to rebalance it to bring it back in balance. Or the investor might wish to sell a stock to book a loss for tax purposes. Another reason to sell a stock could be because the investor needs cash to deploy in a competing investment, such as real estate. Such financial reasons are pretty potent ones to justify selling a stock. : This can include any number of reasons pertaining to the investors finances. For instance, a stock may have gained so much in proportion to the rest of the portfolio (as in the example of the biotech stock mentioned earlier) that the investor may need to rebalance it to bring it back in balance. Or the investor might wish to sell a stock to book a loss for tax purposes. Another reason to sell a stock could be because the investor needs cash to deploy in a competing investment, such as real estate. Such financial reasons are pretty potent ones to justify selling a stock. Lifestyle reasons: Lifestyle changes also present good reasons for selling a stock. Younger investors might consider selling all or part of their portfolio to make a down payment on a house or buy a car. Investors nearing retirement might sell stocks to wind down the equity part of their portfolios and reduce their risk exposure. Parents may also sell stocks in tax-advantaged plans earmarked for specific purposes such as their childrens education. Combination of Reasons In some cases, the decision to sell a stock or stocks may be precipitated by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. For example, lets say you lose your job because of a corporate restructuring and are a few years from retirement. You have been uneasy about the markets elevated levels and historically high valuations, but you previously felt little inclination to act upon it. Now, however, you would like to conserve your capital with the intention of using it in the business that you always dreamed of starting. In this case, your sell decision is justified by intrinsic reasons (your lifestyle change) as well as extrinsic ones (markets elevated levels/valuations). If the Price of a Stock That I Hold Plunges, Should I Sell It or Buy More to Average Down? It really depends on a number of factors, such as the kind of stock, your risk tolerance, investment objectives, amount of investment capital, etc. If the stock is a speculative one and plunging because of a permanent change in its outlook, then it might be advisable to sell it. But if it is a blue chip that has suffered a temporary setback, then averaging down is a strategy worth considering. I Like the Long-Term Prospects for a Stock in My Portfolio, but I Am Nervous That It Might Fall in the Short Term. Is There an Alternative to Protect My Downside Instead of Selling It? Consider a put option, which gives you the right to sell the stock at a specific price for a period of time. Put options arent cheap, but neither is insurance. Can I Sell a Stock on the Same Day When I Bought It? Yes, as long as you dont make a habit of it. Otherwise, you might be considered a day trader. Day trading can result in substantial losses and is best left to experienced, well-capitalized traders. When I Sell a Stock, After How Many Days Will I Receive the Proceeds? For most stocks, the standard period to receive the proceeds of a stock sale is two days; this is also known as the T+2 settlement period. The Bottom Line Any sale that results in profit is a good sale, particularly if the reasoning behind it is sound. When a sale results in a loss with an understanding of why that loss occurred, it too may be considered a good sell. Selling is a poor decision only when it is dictated by emotion instead of data and analysis. The key thing to remember is that once the sell decision has been made on the basis of thorough and rational research, the investor should neither look back nor experience sellers remorse. Illinois Lawmakers Are Poised To Decriminalize Pot Possession By aaroncynic in News on May 20, 2016 2:02PM Possessing small amounts of pot could become less criminal in Illinois, if Gov. Bruce Rauner signs a bill the House sent to his desk on Wednesday. According to the legislation, those caught and possessing 10 grams or less of marijuana would face fines between $100 and $200, rather than facing a trial where they could end up getting a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a fine of up to $1,500. Additionally, the measure slightly loosens restrictions Illinois current zero-tolerance policy on marijuana and driving. Currently, drivers found with any trace of pot in their systemeven if it was toked long before and theyre not impaired, can be charged with a DUI. Drivers found with less than 5 nanograms of THC in their blood or less than 10 in their saliva would be let off the hook. "Illinois is long overdue for creating marijuana policies that treat our residents more fairly and free law enforcement up for more serious crime," Rep. Kelly Cassidy, the bills chief sponsor in the House, told the Chicago Tribune. Cassidy reintroduced the legislation in January after Rauner vetoed a different version of the bill in 2015. Rauner took umbrage with the initial version for going too far too fast. Had that version passed, the fines wouldve been lowerabout half as much. The carrying threshold would have been 15 grams, and the limit to nanograms in the bloodstream for driving would have been 15. This time around, it seems more likely Rauner will put his stamp of approval on the measure. According to the Bloomington Pantagraph, the governor said Thursday he would probably be comfortable with it. Top News - Investor Idea Mullen (NASDAQ: MULN) Continues Acquisition Path With Purchase of ELMS Assets Including Factory in Mishawaka, IN., Enabling EV Production for Retail and Commercial Vehicle Lines BREA, Calif. - October 19, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), an emerging electric vehicle ("EV") manufacturer, announces the US Bankruptcy Court approval on Oct. 13th, 2022 of its acquisition of electric vehicle company ELMS's (Electric Last Mile Solutions) assets in an all cash purchase. Top EV Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking EV Stock News: Mullen (NASDAQ: MULN) Announces the I-GO, New Urban Commercial Electric Delivery Vehicle Available Now for European Markets BREA, Calif. - October 24, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), an emerging electric vehicle ("EV") manufacturer, announces today it has secured exclusive sales, distribution and branding rights to the new compact urban delivery electric vehicle, the I-GO, which is fully EU Standard homologated and certified for sale in select European Markets. Top EV Stock News - Investor Idea EV Stocks Driving Higher: (NASDAQ: $MULN) (NASDAQ: $TSLA) (NYSE: $NIO) (NYSE: $F) Vancouver, Delta, BC - October 20, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Investorideas.com, a leading investor news resource covering EV and automotive stocks releases a special report featuring Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), covering the continued growth of the EV market as government policy and infrastructure plans sync up with consumer and investor interest in the EV space. Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking AI Stock News: FatBrain (OTCQB: LZGI) Acquires Confidential Computing Platform ZeroTrust to Protect Data Privacy and Accelerate Innovation for Millions of Growth Businesses NEW YORK, NY - October 19, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, has acquired the confidential computing and privacy intellectual property (IP) plus software assets of Zero2A PTE LTD ("ZeroTrust Platform"), a software company based in Singapore. Check out our Podcasts for great investor ideas: Get new posts by email: Subscribe Powered by Investorideas.com Newswire: Subscribe to Investor Ideas Newswire Yesterday Google made a few announcements during its keynote speech to start Google I/O, the companys yearly developer conference. There was a lot to take in, and theres no doubt that Googles main vision, one thats focused quite a bit on a new feature, Assistant, is a broad scope that should see plenty of impact and advancements in the years to come. With Assistant, Googles expanding what many users have relied on with Google Now and Googles years of Search, and making it all happen in conversations with a digital personal assistant. Assistant is all of the right things, and its crystallized very well in our mobile devices. Having an assistant we can speak to, get responses from, and still get things done is pretty great. Were starting to see the proliferation of chat bots in messaging platforms, and it was honestly a bit strange to see Google not announce something similar to what Facebook is doing in Messenger, but Assistant is something better, I think. Thanks to the power of Googles base, including Search, Gmail, and plenty of other products and features, theres already something to go off of for customers using the feature. Google already knows where I live, which movie theater is closest to me and the one I visit most often. It knows the movies I like, the music I like, and you get the idea. What Google is building up from is why Assistant looks so great, and will hopefully perform up to expectations. And then its distilled into a perfect little device called Home, which is Googles direct competitor to Amazon Echo. Its a device that makes so much sense for Google its hard to imagine it didnt exist already up until this point. Thanks to Home, you can have a Bluetooth speaker thats supposed to have great audio quality, but also another device that gives you access to Google Assistant. The Bluetooth speaker part is great, and the fact you can customize it to fit into your house more naturally is pretty awesome, too. But with Assistant on board, and with what will obviously be plenty of support from third-party developers and companies, Home is going to be pretty great. Im honestly looking forward to having a conversation with Assistant about a movie I want to see, and then at the end of it have my movie tickets booked at my favorite cinema ready for me to pick up. Id honestly like to have that conversation with Siri more, though. Right now, Siri is a tentpole feature within iOS, as it has been for quite some time now. And Siri has seen plenty of improvements over the years, since her debut. The digital personal assistant can do quite a bit, and Siri is good at what she does, but theres obviously room to grow. Its hard to argue that, almost objectively, Siri is outmaneuvered by Google Now, and even Microsofts Cortana. Yes, its great that Siri is baked not iOS and easily accessible with just a quick voice command on some devices, but using Google Now and even using Cortana arent difficult. Apple has its eyes set on the home, thanks to things like HomeKit, and smart devices are obviously just another area that Apple can capitalize on. Part of that, as Google and Amazon are showing us, is having a device thats easily accessible with just an owners voice, and can offer up a plethora of features and information with just a simple command or query. Siri is perfect for this, and lets face it: Having a real conversation, where Siri actually feeds off of context and does more than just answer a single question and be done, would be great. Rumor has it that Siri is coming to Macs with the release of OS X 10.12 (or the rebranded macOS), which should be debuted at this years Worldwide Developers Conference in June. Thats a great first step, because for the folks who have their computers on and listening when theyre home, even with a laptop, that means Siri is available with just a simple Hey Siri command. Ive worked Cortana like this on a desktop PC Ive got access to, and its legitimately pretty great. But a standalone device, like Googles Home or Amazons Echo, means I can access that feature without needing to be near my computer. These devices are meant to be heard without you needing to be right on top of them, and while some PCs might be better than others in this area, to really use Cortana on my desktop I basically have to be sitting right in front of it. Now that Google is entering this specific market, and Amazon has been there for awhile, I think its time that Apple figures out what it needs to do to improve on the areas it believes to be improved upon, and launch a product already. Obviously were all accustomed to Apple taking its time, but I cant help but think this is one thing the company has been working on already. It doesnt matter if you launch after Google (and Amazon) at this point, Apple, just give me Siri on more devices. (Yes, having my phone on me or even an Apple Watch strapped to my wrist does make accessing Siri a bit easier, but sometimes I want to leave my phone in another room, and I dont own an Apple Watch (yet).) But what do you think? Do you want to see Apple launch a Google Home/Amazon Echo competitor? The Willis Tower And Hancock Center Could Be Getting New Names By Rachel Cromidas in News on May 20, 2016 5:26PM Christopher.F Photography Naming-rights negotiations for two of Chicago's most well-known skyscrapers are underway, Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed is reporting. The deals could mean new names are on the horizon for the Willis Tower, which was known as the Sears Tower until 2009, and the John Hancock Center. Anonymous sources told Sneed that the Hancock Center's owners, Hearn Co., are close to signing a naming-rights deal and have hired a naming-rights consultant. Meanwhile, the naming rights to the Willis Tower are also up for negotiation. The tower was sold to the Blackstone Group for $1.3 billion last year, in one of the biggest American real estate deals outside of New York City and is set for a major remodeling. But, though it is officially the Willis Tower after Willis Group Holdings, an insurance broker, leased the naming rights in 2009, many still staunchly refer to it as the Sears Tower. We can only imagine a re-naming making the divide over how to refer to the iconic, 1970s tower even wider. As of this year, the Willis Tower is no longer one of the 10 tallest buildings in the world at 1,451 feet. What more can they take from us! Thirty-two US Congressmen have written to President Barack Obama urging his administration to block the granting of a foreign carrier licence that would allow the first US flights from Cork airport. In April 2016, the US Department of Transport (DofT) made a tentative decision to grant a foreign carrier permit to Irish-based airline Norwegian Air International (NAI), a subsidiary of low-fares giant Norwegian. The airline wish to begin a Cork to Boston route this year, which would extend to Barcelona, and also wish to start a Cork-New York route in 2017. The DofTs decision has been met with some criticism, however, with 32 Congressmen writing to President Obama to put a stop to the licence and four Congressmen attempting to introduce legislation that would block the permit. Democratic Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has also voiced his opposition to the granting of a foreign carrier licence to NAI. Read more: Sanders slams planned Cork-Boston airline flights as anti-union Earlier this week, NAI received technical certification that will allow them to operate certain aircraft on their proposed transatlantic route but are not yet allowed to sell tickets until the foreign carrier permit has been completely signed off. The DofT deadline for submission in relation to its tentative decision closed earlier this week and they are expected to provide answers to those submission in the coming weeks. The Congressmen's letter comes after this deadline in a bid to convince the President that NAI will operate against the terms laid out by the US-EU Open Skies Agreement if it is awarded the foreign carrier licence. Market liberalisation has improved service options for consumers, spurred fare competition, increased travel to the US, and opened opportunities for US carriers in new markets, the Congressman said of the Open Skies Agreement. The benefits come as a result, in part, of provisions designed to ensure our aviation labour forces continue to enjoy strong employment protections. They argue that as a Norwegian-owned company, NAI and its base in Ireland should not be granted a licence, accusing the company of plans to outsource employees from Asia. We understand that NAI does not plan to locate significant operations in Ireland and may hire some employees under Singaporean or Thai employment contracts, they claim. This structure could allow NAI to avoid the labour and employment protections in Norwegian and EU law. This type of arrangement appears to be exactly what the labour provisions of the agreement (Open Skies) are intended to prevent. It is troubling that DoT does not appear to have done its own analysis of whether the application does in fact violate these elements of the agreement. Instead, DoT only concluded that certain labour provisions alone cannot be used as the basis for denying an application. NAI have consistently denied claims that they will employ foreign workers on the Cork-Boston route, highlighting that since applying for the permit two years ago, they have faced a rigorous assessment from the DofT to ensure they comply with Open Skies. A spokesman for the airline stated: "Some US politicians and unions are continuing to do everything they can to block the competition, preventing passengers' access to affordable airfares, and blocking the creation of new jobs and significant benefits to Ireland and the US. "The fact remains that NAI is a recognized EU airline, with a Dublin headquarters, more than 35 aircraft registered in Ireland and a series of new routes from Ireland planned. "It is also a clear fact that Norwegian always follows labor laws in all the markets we operate, offering competitive wages and conditions. NAI does not have a single Asian-based crewmember or pilot." Read more: Norwegian Air planning direct flights from US to Cork and Shannon Are Norwegian Airlines International using Ireland as a flag of convenience Cork MEP says no https://t.co/7sY7JkJZSn #Cork #TheCorkIE TheCork.ie (@TheCork_ie) May 11, 2016 In their letter, the Congressmen continued to warn the President of the negative effects to the Agreement if the licence is granted and the damage is could cause to the US aviation industry. Bilateral air transport agreements have enjoyed wide support in the US because they have successfully fostered increased competition while providing greater opportunities for US airlines and their workers, they write. Approving NAIs foreign air carrier permit application would upset this careful balance and seriously harm the US aviation industry. A timeline for a final decision in the permit is still unknown, although President Obama told Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny in March that there is no legal impediment to the granting of the licence. If the licence is denied, the European Commission are poised to trigger arbitration. Earlier this week anti-Cork-US flight protesters made an unfortunate error in their campaign against the proposed routes. Hiring a skywriter to emblazon Deny NAI i the sky over Washington DC, the pilot instead wrote Deny NIA although they returned later in the day to fix their typo. H/T: The Irish Examiner Eighty-six refugees are to arrive in Mayo before the end of the year as part of a Irelands commitment to resettle refugees affected by the war in Syria. The details of the resettlement program were outlined at the monthly meeting of Mayo County Council, which heard that Mayo is one of eight counties in Ireland taking part in the program. Siofra Kilcullen, chair of the newly formed Mayo Interagency Resettlement Committee, explained that the Syrian refugees who will be arriving Mayo will be made up of 20 families. Half of the 86 will be children. The first 16 families will be arriving in early August, and the final four will arrive before the end of December. Read more: George Clooney cites his Great Hunger roots in refugee speech When they come to Ireland they will be six to eight weeks in a registration center before they come to Mayo. We aim to have all the services in place prior to the arrival of the groups. They are program refugees, which means they will have the same rights and entitlements to education, housing and social welfare as an Irish citizen, she said. Kilcullen explained that the families will be relocated in Castlebar, Westport and Claremorris, facilitating access to health care, education facilities and public transport. The refugees are currently in refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon. Kilcullen said that Mayo has a positive history when it comes to resettling refugees, pointing to the integration of members of the Burmese Karen community as one of the best examples of resettlement in the country. Sinn Fein councilor Therese Ruane said there had to be an integrated approach to resettlement or some of the refugees would slip through the net and end up in ghettos. Ruane added that while there was a housing crisis in Ireland, local authorities had to be careful not to create an us and them scenario and ensure that the needs of all vulnerable people were met. Councilors welcomed the arrival of the refugees in Mayo, with many calling for extra funding to be made available to ensure funds would not be taken from other services. Read more: U2s Bono seeks help for Syrian refugees H/T: The Mayo News A brave Irish girl, who was at one stage given just a five percent chance of survival, has taken a huge step on her road to recovery after she was declared cancer-free by doctors in the U.S. for the first time in three years. Robyn Smyth, 11, who suffers from neuroblastoma and who has battled childhood cancer since the age of three, was declared disease-free for the first time in 2009. But the youngster relapsed three years ago when a tumor broke through her jawbone and the cancer spread rapidly to her spine, legs and pelvis. Her mother Bernadette Dornan, from Whitehall in north Dublin, had feared the worst after doctors gave her daughter just a five percent chance of survival. But determined Dornan refused to give up hope, and after identifying a groundbreaking medical trial at Helen de Vos Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she launched a successful fundraising campaign to cover the colossal medical bills. And now Dornan, who also has a four-year-old daughter called Millie, said she finally has reason to celebrate after her daughter's latest scan results were clear for the first time in three years. Read more: Doctors say US treatment is the last hope for Irish woman with devastating disease "It's wonderful news and something I couldn't have dreamed of a few years ago. I thought the treatment in the U.S. was the best option for Robyn and the scan results show that it's worked, Dornan said. "Of course this doesn't mean she's out of the woods yet, because there's always a big chance of the cancer returning. But this is a huge step for us and it's taken three hard years to get to this point. It's a great day." The youngster is due to have further tests in Michigan, which will enable doctors to assess whether she's eligible for a further pioneering trial. However, the costs of the two-year trial for children whose cancer is in remission will be in the region of $250,000, meaning the youngster is facing another desperate race against time to raise funds. "It's vital I get Robyn on to this trial as soon as possible, because as great as the news we've just had is, her cancer could still return at any time, Dornan said. "So this is the best option we have to make sure she stays healthy. I've $120,000 left to cover her fees, but need to raise at least $130,000 more to cover the rest of the costs. "The people of Ireland have been great and I can never thank them enough for getting us this far. But we've still got a long road ahead." For more information and to donate visit www.robynslife.com. Read more: Sinead OConnors mental illness should not be a celebrity scandal The Irish family of Vice-President Joe Biden has voiced their excitement at the Biden familys home-coming visit, scheduled for late June of this year. Biden, who was inducted into the Irish America Hall of Fame in 2014, often speaks of his pride in his Irish roots, traced back to counties Mayo and Louth, and he holds a long-standing invitation from the Irish government to travel to further research his roots in Ireland. Although the Vice President has had many stop-overs in Shannon Airport while in office, he has never properly visited the country with his family. That is about to change. The news was officially announced by Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny at Tuesday night's launch of a three-week Irish festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington at which Kenny declared that the Vice President would be coming home next month. Read more: Vice President Joe Biden set for Irish visit in late June Bidens Irish cousins are said to be proud and excited to finally be able to welcome him to Ireland. His fourth cousin Laurita Blewitt told the Irish Mirror that there was a buzz in his home place of Knockmore, Co. Mayo, since the announcement was made. For us its a novel thing really, she said. Its something exciting and something for us all to be proud of. My dad Brendan Blewitt and Joe Biden would be third cousins. Biden grew up in Scranton, PA and he is believed to be five-eighths Irish, with an especially strong connection on his mothers side of the family. On the paternal side, Bidens great-great grandfather emigrated from Knockmore, Co Mayo in the 19th Century. Biden's mother Catherine Jean Biden was Finnegan before she was married and that Finnegan connection has been traced back to Bidens great-great grandfather who emigrated from the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth in 1850. While his mothers entire family tree traces to Ireland with ancestors named Arthurs, Blewitt, Boyle, Roche, Scanlon and Stanton accompanying her Finnegan kin, just one-eighth comes from Bidens fathers side, which contributed the Hanafee name. When he became vice-president first genealogists identified us straight away as the family that would be closely linked and then literally loads of American people were getting in touch with me, Blewitt continued, mentioning that Catherine Biden came to visit their ancestor's house in Knockmore Co. Mayo in the 1960s or 1970s. That would be my dads home house, my grandparents' house and we have pictures of that visit at home, she said. His aunts and his sisters came as well years ago. He hasnt visited Knockmore himself but thats imminent now at this stage I would say. Vice President Biden may find on his trip 'home' that some of the family followed in his ancestors' footsteps and have since made their way to the US too, although it's unlikely he would approve of their political leanings. The funny thing is a lot of my dads family live in America so my dads brother Paddy Joe and his two sisters Agnes and Nora live in America and they would have always been very Republican minded voters, said Blewitt. Americans dont mind expressing how they vote not like here but it was funny when he was elected there was lots of jokes going round. Despite their differing political views, the exterior similarities between Biden and his Irish cousins may be more obvious, Blewitt believes. Recently a journalist came to take a picture of my dad and his picture and Joe Bidens picture were put together in the paper and hes not unlike him, she claimed. He has that kind of look as well and the grey hair. My dad is a little bit like him around his eyes and stuff. You know its not a far out relation. Barack Obama's relations are a lot longer down the line than this would be. Biden has previously told IrishCentral sister publication, Irish America magazine, I see myself as an Irish Catholic. If we have a moral obligation to other parts of the world why dont we have a moral obligation to Ireland? Its part of our blood. Earlier this week, the Vice President received the 2016 Laetare Medal the oldest and most prestigious honor accorded to American Catholics alongside former Speaker of the House John Boehner at the University of Notre Dame Commencement weekend. H/T: The Irish Mirror ARE YOU A TOP COMPANY? What it Really Means to be a Top Company! To be a Top Company in Irish Construction Industry Magazines Top Companies listing means far more than just a rank and position in an ordered catalogue of names. To us, it means that your efforts to be the best you can be and to excel in your industry and sector have been effective and have paid dividends. To us, it means that your determination and commitment to develop and instil a positive work culture and environment have brought your business due success plus satisfaction. We see it as you being a supportive and inclusive place in which to work that strives to bring the best out of everyone across every level of the organisation. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE Sophie Moore learned she had chronic Lyme disease three years ago, after travelling abroad to a specialist facility for diagnosis. It came after she had to leave her job and college course due to her illness and became "bankrupt with zero quality of life". Sophie believes there is a "poor understanding" of Lyme disease in Ireland, which is highlighted by the lack of treatment options in the country. "In the last three years alone I have been misdiagnosed with over thirteen conditions, this is why Lyme disease is known as the great imitator. I have lost track of all the doctors and consultants who have not been able to help me in any shape or form,"Sophie told the Irish Examiner. Irish health insurance does not cover the costs of treatment for Lyme disease, so Sophie has been fundraising to cover the high costs herself for the past few years. "In February my health declined rapidly again, making my condition life threatening, so I took the earliest appointment available to me," Sophie says. "I still hadn't enough funds raised for full treatment, it just so happened that there was a cancellation available. "I flew over to America for my appointment on May 9, in a Lyme disease clinic in Clearwater, Florida." Sophie learned she needs "intensive and comprehensive treatment for at least one year". "My bill for the first five weeks alone is $31,374. The cost is very expensive due to the complexity of my case," she says. "I am already running out of funds over here to carry on with treatments, treatments that can ultimately save my life. Treatments will involve several months of various specialist IV therapies to rid my body of the bacterial load that is killing me." Sophie receiving treatment "It is horrible to know that the key to your health and staying alive is in the hands of those who donate to my treatment and cause. As ashamed as I am, in this case I need to put my shame behind me and ask for your help. I need to raise 100,000 for these life saving treatments to rid my body of these infections that are breaking it down. "I will do anything to live and not have to die when there is a way for me to regain my health and my life. Health is wealth, health is life, health is happiness, health is love, without it all other arenas of our lives suffer greatly. "I never want anyone to go through what I have had to and the long road ahead of me, awareness and prevention is the only way forward. "I miss being me, I don't remember what it's like to be normal and genuinely feel like you are going to drop dead any minute. It feels like someone came in and confiscated my brain and tied my hands behind my back to just watch and see life go by without me participating in it. "I don't even feel like myself anymore, I am a shadow of myself. I miss the old Sophie so much. I can no longer bear to be a prisoner to Lyme disease. "Please help me to take the shackles off and get treatment that I so greatly need so that I get to make beautiful memories of health and happiness instead of living in the depths of despair." If you would like to help Sophie you can donate to her fundraising campaign at: https://www.gofundme.com/jzpknw Alternatively, here is her charity bank account information: Account name: Fight Back For Sophie Account number: 42482941 Branch: BOFIIE2D Sort code: 903576 Update 2.15pm: Health Minister Simon Harris has signed into law an EU directive that will see menthol cigarettes banned. The regulations will also ban the advertisement of e-cigarettes. Earlier: Plain packaging on tobacco products is not coming into force today as planned. There has been a delay in pushing through the required legislation due in part to the length of time it took to form a government. Plain cigarette packets will start hitting shelves today in the UK. The plain packs are intended to make cigarettes less atrractive to young smokers and children. Ireland's Health Minister Simon Harris is now coming under pressure to live up to commitments to ban branded cigarette packets here. As a European deadline on plain packaging for tobacco passes, campaigners warned the crackdown was a minor and technical law which should be a priority for the new minority Government. Some of the world's biggest cigarette makers - Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International - failed to stop the branding controls in Britain. Donal Buggy, of the Irish Cancer Society, said Ireland had missed the chance to lead the reform and become one of the first countries in Europe to do it. "The sooner plain packs are on the shelves in Ireland the better," he said. The Department of Health blamed missing the deadline for the European directive on plain packaging on the "unusual" delay on the formation of a new government. It could be several months before amendments to health laws are passed by politicians to force cigarette companies into selling products in boxes which are virtually indistinguishable from each other. Tobacco giants claim the marketing clampdown will destroy valuable property rights. But Mr Buggy warned: "The tobacco industry will stop at nothing to delay plain packaging, because they know it works. "We are concerned that they will use the delayed introduction of plain packaging to exploit other aspects of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2016." Plain or standardised packaging means all cigarette packs will look the same. They are packaged in a standard shape without branding, design or a logo. Features of plain packs include: - The shape, colour and method of opening the pack will be standardised - Cigarette packs will be a standard shape, size and colour - Pictorial and text health warnings will feature on all packs - Brand names will be in standard type face, colour and size - The duty paid stamp will remain with covert markings that show the pack is not counterfeit. Source: The Irish Cancer Society The plain packaging rules will include graphic health warnings on two thirds of the tobacco packet cover, with the brand name the only differentiating feature. The Irish Cancer Society claimed a survey showed four out of five people were behind the reform, and more than three in five smokers supported it. Australia has already introduced plain packets and the European Court of Justice ruled at the start of the month that it was legal. Mr Buggy said the society's research also showed that smokers were less inclined to see the change as an immediate effective incentive to quit. "38% of smokers thought it would encourage them to quit smoking, with 44% disagreeing, while 35% of smokers thought it would encourage family or friends to quit," he said. "We expect that this view will evolve as plain packaging becomes the norm, but it highlights the need for continued investment in ... such progressive public health actions". The Irish Cancer Society welcomed the UK High Court's decision to reject the tobacco industry's challenge to plain packaging regulations. Mr Buggy added: "We are also asking that the 'wash-out' period, allowing for the sale of labelled stocks of existing cigarette packs manufactured or circulated before May 20 2016, is not pushed back beyond the existing deadline of May 20 2017. "What we would like to see is the enabling legislation to be put in place as soon as possible in order to continue to show the leadership required to get us to a tobacco-free Ireland in 2025." While the ascension of independence-leaning Ms Tsai to the presidency today has sparked concern relations with China will deteriorate, JP Morgan Asset Management and BlackRock say the bigger risk is the slowdown in the global smartphone business. Apple reported its first quarterly sales decline in 13 years, with chief executive officer Mr Cook acknowledging on April 26 that - nine years after the iPhones game-changing debut -- the market had stopped growing. Thats bad news for the islands largest companies, which help build the devices. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Hon Hai Precision Industry both reported falling profit last quarter. Exports account for about two-thirds of Taiwans economy, with electrical equipment and machinery comprising half of all outbound shipments. President Tsai, who succeeds Ma Ying-jeou today after winning elections in January, has shown no sign she will accept the principle that the island and China are both part of one China- an understanding thats underpinned eight years of improving ties across the Taiwan Strait. Foreign investors pulled a net $2.2bn from Taiwans shares this quarter. The outflows are a reverse of March, when overseas funds pumped $5bn into the islands stock market, the most since 2007. Stocks rallied as Apples biggest monthly gain in almost three years lifted confidence in its suppliers and the victory by Ms Tsai, whose Democratic Progressive Party won its first legislative majority, failed to trigger a significantly negative reaction from China. Falling profits at the islands technology companies are now weighing on the Taiex Index. Hon Hais earnings slid 9.2%. Pegatron, which assembles iPhones, missed profit expectations and said April sales dived 16%. TSMC, one of the largest manufacturers of the application processors that are a mobile devices brains - cut its 2016 smartphone demand forecast in April. Its major customers include Apple, Qualcomm and HTC. At the same time, Taiwanese firms such as Acer and Compal Electronics are still struggling to rebound from the downturn in personal computers, another key export for the island. The technology industrys failure to develop new must-have products is darkening the outlook for Taiwan companies, said Andrew Swan, head of Asian equities at BlackRock, who is underweight on the islands shares. Now that smartphones are fairly well saturated, technological breakthroughs havent been keeping up to pace. That process has destroyed profitability for the sector, Mr Swan said. It is not just missing children that the police return to their parents sometimes they have to do the same for a baby finless porpoise. On Wednesday, police and fishery workers in east China's Jiangxi province helped just such a baby find its mom. At about 10am, a worker patrolling Poyang Lake spotted a small finless porpoise inching forward in front of their ship. "We thought it must be lost," said Zhan Dingli with Duchang county fishery bureau, and dispatched a dinghy to approach the animal and take a picture that was sent back to base. "We were told that it was a finless porpoise, born only about two weeks before," Zhan said. "It was too young to survive alone without its mom." Measures were immediately taken to help. Police and the ship's crew began to search for an adult that could be the mother of the lost infant. The dinghy remained with the baby and flags warned passing vessels to keep clear. After one and a half hours, someone on the ship spotted two adult porpoises, and those on the dinghy splashed with their hands to lead the baby back to its mom. "Small as it was, the porpoise appeared to be very clever," Zhan said. "It changed direction and headed for the adults." Five minutes later, they were back together again. They had been worried that neither of the adults were the missing animal's mom, but ten minutes later, all three reappeared, playing together. Only around 1,000 finless porpoises, a dolphin-like freshwater mammal with an iconic "grin" on its face, live in the Yangtze River and two lakes linked to the busy waterway. Zhan was relieved by the happy ending. "When we left, we wished the baby health and safety," he said. The St Louis-based company, with a market value of $42bn (37.2bn), said its reviewing the offer but didnt disclose the terms of the proposal. Bayer, confirming the bid, said the combination would bolster its position as a life sciences company. Merging Monsanto with the company that invented aspirin would bring together brands such as Roundup, Monsantos blockbuster herbicide, and Sivanto, a new Bayer insecticide. Shares of Bayer plunged amid concern that a large purchase would weigh on its credit rating and force the company to sell more shares. The proposal by Werner Baumann, who has been at Bayers helm for less than a month, follows Monsantos failed attempt to buy Syngenta and the proposed merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont. To help finance its quest to buy the worlds largest seed maker, Bayer is considering asset disposals and a share sale. The German company is exploring the potential disposal of its animal-health business and the remaining 69% stake in plastics business Covestro. The Covestro holding is worth about 4.9bn. If Bayer buys Monsanto, it could be the biggest acquisition globally this year and the largest German deal ever. A takeover of Monsanto would require an enterprise value of as much as 65bn, according to analysts at Citigroup. Bayer fell 9% to the lowest in more than two-and-a-half years. The shares have dropped by almost a quarter this year. Monsanto shares rose 5%. Monsanto is particularly vulnerable to a takeover after piling up a mountain of problems this year. The company has cut its earnings forecast, clashed with some of the worlds largest commodity trading companies and become locked in disputes with the governments of Argentina and India. Its a relentless string of bad news, Jonas Oxgaard, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in New York, said. Its almost like they forgot to sacrifice a goat to the gods. BIM told the Irish Shellfish Association Conference in Athlone, Co Westmeath, that sales of farmed fish, shellfish and seaweed came to 150m. Total production volumes sold rose to 40,140 tonnes, with employment figures stabilising at 1,840. BIM chief executive, Tara McCarthy, said: While 2015 was a challenging year for some shellfish operators, the 27% increase in production volumes is a welcome step towards the targets set out in the National Strategic Plan for Aquaculture, which sets a growth target of 45,000 tonnes across all aquaculture production by 2020. The European Maritime Fisheries Fund (EMFF) along with funding from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is providing almost 30m to further assist the sector to develop and achieve these ambitious targets. Salmon farming accounts for 64% of total aquaculture production, valued at 95m. Shellfish farming is valued at 51m with oysters accounting for 38m of this and mussel farming valued at 13m. More than 1,600 of total aquaculture jobs are in shellfish production. The market for Irish oysters in Hong Kong and China was actively targeted in a collective manner by Irish producers, with the assistance of BIM, in 2015. Irish oysters have won a warm welcome, commanding a premium price in the Chinese and Hong Kong markets and are now the highest priced oysters in this region. Oyster farming employed 775 people in 2015, providing valuable employment in coastal areas that often offer little alternatives. Over 90% of Irish oysters are exported, the majority going to France, however 2015 saw 10% of Irish oyster exports going to Hong Kong and China. Meanwhile, Irish Shellfish Association chairman, Jerry Gallagher, says the indigenous Irish shellfish sector needs a more responsive licensing system, and measures to support producers in meeting environmental challenges. He has called upon Agriculture Minister Michael Creed to review procedures and reducered tape to encourage the sectors development. Mr Gallagher said: Development in the last 10 years has largely taken place without state aid and in the face of tremendous challenges and unnecessary obstacles in dealing with licence applications for renewals and new sites to grow shellfish. One significant source of investment in small and medium-sized businesses that will be cut off in the case of Brexit is from the European Investment Bank (EIB). Last year alone, EIB invested 7.8bn in the UK economy more than its ever done so before. In 2014, EIB invested 7bn which was an increase of 20% on the previous years total. Many small companies feel constrained by what they see as the growing level of red tape that comes with being part of the EU, however. For that reason, a Brexit would be welcomed by many companies, according to Luke Davis, chief executive of London-based private equity firm IW Capital. Mr Davis counts his own SME-focussed business among those that would benefit but admits that staying within the EU might be best in the long run. If Im completely honest, I think a Brexit for IW Capital is a good thing [but] I think staying in [the EU] for the UK economy, is probably a good thing too I think theres too much uncertainty from an exit. But I think not having the European Commission and all the bureaucracy around the management of our small businesses and SMEs, I think thats a good thing. Its just ridiculous: more and more regulation; more and more rules; more and more bureaucracy and its just a headache, Mr Davis said. Perhaps a bigger worry is the potential for private overseas investors to pull back from the UK in the aftermath of the vote should the Leave campaign win the day. In March, Hong Kongs richest man, Li Ka-shing who has business interests in the UK worth 34bn, said: If Brexit really happens, we will surely decrease our investments. Brexit could hand the UK greater control over its much-coveted Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) to the benefit of small businesses too, however. After less than two weeks, it is clear that Fianna Fail is holding the Sword of Damocles over the Government, and stands ready to bring it down with devastating force at the opportune time. The danger is that, in the meantime, it, and other parties in opposition, will seek to put forward legislative proposals that will have populist appeal and may deliver popular results in the short-term, but create longer-term problems. Even if the Government does not approve of the legislation, there is not a lot it can do about it, if the majority in the Dail supports it. This is not a recipe for sensible policymaking. This week, Fianna Fail brought forward legislation to the Dail that will give the Central Bank power to force the commercial banks to cut variable mortgage rates. The other political groupings support this legislation, and, despite the justifiable reservations of the Government, there is not a lot it can do to prevent it. Such a proposal has obvious popular appeal, given that average variable mortgage rates in Ireland stand at 3.6%, compared to around 2% in the eurozone. The question is why the Irish banks are earning such margins. The obvious answer is because they can. However, the less obvious answer is that the banks have a lot of tracker mortgages on their books, which are loss-making. With a tracker mortgage, the bank enters into a legal contract with the mortgage holder to charge a certain margin over the European Central Banks base rate. Unfortunately, these were very popular up to 2007 and there is now a very negative legacy. The ECB base rate currently stands at zero and most holders are now paying a rate of between 0.5% and 1%. Given that the average cost of funding for banks is now, at best, around 1%, these tracker mortgages are loss-making, but there is not a lot the banks can do about a legally-binding contract. Hence, the wider margins on variable-rate mortgages are, to some extent, being used to subsidise the loss-making tracker mortgages, as the banks seek to rebuild profitability and their balance sheets. The question is if the political system should be used to undermine the independence of the Central Bank of Ireland for what is obviously a populist political motive. One of the first things that Tony Blair did, when elected British Prime Minister in 1997, was to give the Bank of England operational independence and free it from the whims of its political masters. The boom-bust characteristics of the economy, up to that time, have been largely eradicated, notwithstanding the impact of the global shock in 2007. For any central bank, and for monetary policy in general, independence is crucial to credibility. Once the politicians start to interfere at a micro level, that credibility risks being damaged, and, once damaged, it is hard to restore. I heard one Fianna Fail TD, on radio, arguing that these extra powers for the Central Bank would enhance competition in the market. I fail to see how this could possibly be so. What the Irish banking market requires is more completion from at home and/abroad. Theory would suggest that if super-normal profits were being earned in a particular market segment, then competitors would enter that market and eventually compete away those super-normal profits. This is exactly what happened when Bank of Scotland entered the Irish mortgage market in 1999. With government intervention of the type proposed, such competition would be less likely to materialise. Furthermore, for any potential purchaser of AIB, such micro-intervention could act as a deterrent. By forcing the banks to cut variable rates, it is likely that the supply of new loans to first-time buyers will be damaged. There will, inevitably, be significant opportunity costs, if the Central Bank were to exercise its proposed new powers by insisting that banks cut variable rates for their existing mortgage-holders. The other point to note is that the Central Bank does not want these new powers. As a matter of both law and principle, we disagree with this demand, wrote Kent Walker, Googles senior vice-president and general counsel in a blog post. We comply with the laws of the countries in which we operate. But if French law applies globally, how long will it be until other countries perhaps less open and democratic start demanding that their laws regulating information likewise have global reach? CNIL, the French data protection commission, levied the fine on Google in March after a tussle that started with a 15-day ultimatum last year for the company to comply with the order. The French probe was triggered by several complaints from people who wanted the search engine to delete search results that pointed to personal information about them. While Google removed links from its French .fr domain, it didnt take them off the .com domain visible to European web users. The EUs highest court, in a precedent-setting ruling in May 2014, created a right to be forgotten allowing people to seek the deletion of links on search engines if the information was outdated or irrelevant. The case provoked a furore, with Google creating a special panel to advise it on implementing the law. The group opposed applying the ruling beyond EU domains. Mr Walker said Goggle complies with the court ruling in every country in the EU. Across Europe weve now reviewed nearly 1.5m web pages, delisting around 40%. In France alone, weve reviewed over 300,000 web pages, delisting nearly 50%, he said. Google in March said it would add geoblocking technology to make it harder for users to find information. CNIL has said it received hundreds of complaints following Googles refusals. The authority declined to comment on the appeal. In his first meeting with the minister, IFA president Joe Healy has also called for immediate payment of TAMS 1 and 2 tranches to the 5,000 farmers who applied, and for sheep fencing and tillage measures to be included under TAMS. Government and the EU Commission in Brussels must take measures across the board to assist farmers through the current difficulties, said Mr Healy. Michael Noonan said there is no evidence to suggest there are links between the recipients of disclosures from former Nama official Enda Farrell and bidders for assets offered for sale by Nama debtors. Mr Noonan said the information provided to potential bidders is much more comprehensive than the unlawfully disclosed 2009 information, which was the subject of a recent Circuit Criminal Court case. The Department of Finance is undertaking a review of the motor insurance market after rapid price increases over the past 12 months have seen premiums surge 34%. Speaking in the Dail in response to a query by Fianna Fail TD Thomas Byrne, Mr Noonan reiterated his stance that the review would be finalised by the end of 2016. The finance minister came under pressure from Mr Byrnes Fianna Fail colleague, finance spokesperson Michael McGrath, to fast-track the process, however. Mr McGrath said he accepted the minister did not have the power to directly affect insurance costs but warned that the high cost of motor protection would harm consumers and stunt economic growth if allowed to persist. This issue cannot wait until the end of the year While the industry has a role to play in this regard and must have its voice heard, the voice of consumers also needs to be heard. Deputies hear day in and day out about dramatic increases in motor insurance premiums. These increases are occurring across the board but younger drivers and the owners of older vehicles, in particular, are being hammered by increases in insurance premiums. The current rate of increase is not sustainable as it will act as a drag on the economy and impact on the business community. We need to get to the bottom of the factors driving the increases and then tackle them, Mr McGrath said. The focus of the first phase of the review is on the motor insurance compensation framework. Issues in this regard were highlighted by the collapse of Setanta Insurance and subsequent wrangling over whether the Insurance Compensation Fund or Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland was liable for policyholders claims. Mr Noonan said the first phase was nearing completion but was unable to say whether policy initiatives could be introduced once it has been finalised or whether this would only happen once the entire report has been published. The second phase of the review will specifically examine the spiralling cost of motor premiums which are now 60% more expensive when compared with January 2014. Many factors are involved in the dramatic escalation in motor insurance premiums, including court awards, the need for a review of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, legal costs, false and exaggerated claims, regulatory oversight, and the lack of transparency regarding the profits earned by insurance companies. All these issues must be examined, Mr McGrath added. The insurance sector argues an increased number of claims, growth in the number of people going to court to seek compensation, and low levels of reserves in the industry are to blame for the hike in premiums. Industry experts have criticised insurance companies for financial mismanagement which they claim has contributed to the increases. QIHL and Sean Quinn separately issued statements yesterday which called time on a strained relationship between the former tycoon and QIHL directors, but which descended into acrimony after Mr Quinn returned as a consultant to the firm just over a year ago. His departure brings an end to the direct involvement of Mr Quinn with his former sprawling building products-insurance-and property empire. His family lost control of the empire during the crisis. However, it appears Quinn family members could participate at some sort of level in QIHL, sometime in the future. As time has progressed it has become evident that Seans expectations for his role and the ownership structure of QIHL are at odds with the strategic direction of the businesses, QIHL directors said. Accordingly, it has been mutually agreed between the parties that QIHLs consultancy arrangement with Sean Quinn and Sean Quinn Jnr will be discontinued, albeit Sean will have continued access to office facilities for his own personal use. "The board of QIHL is pleased that it has been possible to reach agreement on this matter and we were keen that staff should hear the news directly from the company, QIHL said. QIHL, which controls 12 operations and employs 743 people in counties Fermanagh, Cavan and Longford, as well as in Kent in England, was bought in late 2014 by New York and Connecticut-based investment funds, Brigade Capital, Contrarian Capital and Silver Point. The funds own up to 80% of QIHL. Last month, QIHL said its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose to 16.6m in 2015 from 6.2m in the previous year. QIHL said it swung back to a pre-profit of 5.9m before exceptional charges and posted a net profit of around 3m in 2015, compared with a pre-tax loss of 14.6m loss in 2014. Sales rose 25% to 202.7m. Yesterday, QIHL said it continues to perform well. It is taking advantage of the recovering Irish economy as well as strong and continuing demand from the UK construction market, it said. The drop in the shares to a three-year low of 72 pence came as it released its first-half results, on the day travel stocks fell after the disappearance of an EgyptAir flight. Despite shifting 1.2 million airline seats from the eastern to the western Mediterranean, the British travel operator said bookings were down by 5% and full-year profit would now be at the bottom end of market forecasts. Chief executive Peter Fankhauser said Turkey, its second most popular destination last year, had not recovered as he had hoped after an attack on tourists in Istanbul in January. This has had a particular impact on our German airlines business, which is the market leader into Turkey, he said. The last update from Thomas Cook in March, which sent its shares to a previous three-year low, came on the same day as explosions in Brussels. Mr Fankhauser said holiday bookings in Belgium had come to a standstill as a result. Thomas Cook shares have now slumped 40% since the start of the year. Shares in its much bigger European rival, TUI, fell 2.5% yesterday. Its shares are down 17% this year. TUI said last week it plans to sell a collection of adventure travel activities, tightening its focus on mass-market holidays to lift profitability. Bookings at TUI were up 1%, with demand strong, it said. Other travel shares also eased slightly yesterday, with IAG the owner of British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and Vueling down 1.7%. Experts said that inbound tourism to Ireland was unlikely to be affected. In the past, other big European city destinations had been affected by outrages in Paris and Brussels, but Ireland was not affected. We do not expect an effect on inbound tourism from the US, said Conor McMahon of Travel Extra. Tourism chiefs said that Ireland had benefited in the past because the island was seen as a safe destination. Thomas Cook shifted airline seats from Turkey, Tunisia, and Egypt to the Canaries, Balearics, and mainland Spain where it had found extra hotel rooms, but it was not enough to compensate. Holidaymakers could turn to Turkey at the last minute, Mr Fankhauser said. There is no late market in Spain, because Spain is filling up extremely fast, and then there may be a shift back into Turkey, he said. We are suffering a bit more (than rivals) because we are much bigger (in Turkey) than other competitors, Mr Fankhauser said. We are happy with the demand outside Turkey, we are up 6% if you take Turkey out, he said. Thomas Cook said operating profit for its year to end-March 2017 would be between 310m (398m) to 335m. Analysts have forecast a range of 310m to 359m. First half revenue grew slightly to 2.67bn, it said, and an underlying operating loss narrowed by 5% to 163m thanks to an improvement in margins. It said it continued to expect to pay a dividend this year. Chinese prosecutors have approved the arrest of 125 people and put 37 officials under investigation for negligence and graft as police trace a vast illegal network of vaccine sales that came to light in February. The investigation that began three months ago has so far seen 190 criminal cases involving 341 suspects filed by police nationwide, 15 people indicted, and two convicted of illegal sale of vaccines, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said in a statement on Thursday. The 125 suspects include 25 from Fujian Province, 19 from Henan Province, 15 from Heilongjiang Province and 13 from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The 37 officials implicated in 22 cases, who are suspected of taking bribes, abuse of power or negligence, are from Fujian, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong and Hubei, said the SPP, adding that 10 of them are to be arrested. Police in east China's Shandong Province announced in February that they had arrested a mother and daughter suspected of selling improperly stored or expired vaccines worth more than 570 million yuan (about 88 million U.S. dollars) since 2011. The vaccines had allegedly been sold in more than 20 provincial-level regions. Cork City FC have invited Darth Vader and his twin children, Luke and Leia, for a nice family day out to cheer on the Rebel Army against Athlone's St. Peters FC at Turner's Cross tonight, and three seats have been reserved for the Skywalker family. No comment on who will be attending tomorrow night's FAI cup game in Turners Cross #RebelArmy pic.twitter.com/bE60L9vxQr Of the three invited, only Luke is in Ireland at the moment but maybe he can bring his apprentice Rey and estranged nephew Kylo Ren along in place of his sister and father. So, should we expect to see Mark Hamill and co at the Cross tonight? HT: Joe Leogue Maria Foley from Cobh, who is in her 30s, leaped into the water in a bid the rescue the child, who fell into the water on Patricks Quay in the city centre, near Brian Boru bridge. She held the child above water until the fire and ambulance services arrived. Cancer Trials Ireland, formerly known as the All-Ireland Cooperative Oncology Research Group (ICORG), wants to increase the proportion of patients on trials from 3% to 5%. Their Just Ask campaign aims to make the organisation more open and approachable to cancer patients who want to know if there are new treatments for them. Clinical lead for Cancer Trials Ireland and consultant oncologist, Professor Bryan Hennessy, said it is now accepted around the world that clinical trials are the cutting edge for many cancers. I have found that people are a little bit suspicious about clinical trials and feel they are human guinea pigs. When people are better informed about the trials and what their purpose is I think they will be more likely to take part in them. The medical community around the world now accepts that clinical trials are in many cases the best way to advance treatment and the best way in many cases to treat individual people with cancer, said Prof Hennessy. He said they want to initiate and support more investigator-led studies; work with pharmaceutical companies; and broaden their impact across more cancer types: This growth will further bolster the huge reservoir of scientific knowledge and expertise that we have built over the past 20 years and ensure that people living with cancer continue to access the latest medicines not yet widely available. An independent report commissioned by Cancer Trials Ireland estimates that the 3.63m funding from the exchequer and other grants allocated to cancer trials this year will save the HSE at last 6.5m in cancer drug costs. Rosaline OBrien, 53, a mother of three grown-up sons, from Cappamore, Co Limerick, is very glad she joined a clinical trial when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013: I leapt at the chance to be involved. I had no complications and everything went well for me. It is very comforting and reassuring to be in a trial because you are regularly and rigorously checked. Rosaline is a nurse at University Hospital Limerick where she is being treated by Dr Linda Coate, consultant medical oncologist. I was actually diagnosed through BreastCheck and had my surgery in Cork University Hospital. Even though I have been working in the same hospital as Dr Coate I knew nothing of the trial. Cliodhna Pearson fromDublin, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, an early childhood cancer last October, just weeks after her fourth birthday. Her parents, Sinead and Alan Pearson, decided to enrol her in a clinical trial to see how chemotherapy can be less toxic and more successful. It will also investigate the best way to administer immunotherapy. Sinead and Alan, who have two other children, are scientists and that helped them to find the right treatment for Cliodhna: We want to show that the trials are not that scary; that they are done for a good reason. The trial has been beneficial to Cliodhna and we are happy to be involved. Argentinean speaker Ed Silvoso, who has described the marriage of gay couples as blatant immorality, was due to speak at the Redcross Church north of Arklow on Sunday, a year to the day since the marriage equality referendum was held. The Church of Ireland has said that the invitation to Dr Silvoso has been rescinded, but would not say when asked if Canon Roland Heaney, Rector at Redcross Church, had been aware of Mr Silvosos pronouncements on homosexuality when he asked him to speak. The spokeswoman said Dr Silvoso was expected to speak about churches getting involved in their communities before his invitation was withdrawn. She also said that the Church did not time the invitation with the first anniversary of the marriage equality referendum in mind. Redcross Church is not aware of the timing of Dr Silvosos visit, she said. It is understood that he is visiting Ireland to attend a conference which is not connected with Redcross Church, the organiser of which contacted the rector to say Dr Silvoso was free on Sunday morning if the rector would like him to preach. Dr Silvosos appearance at Redcross Church was cancelled after West Cork-based activist Fiona OLeary contacted the Church of Ireland to raise the issue of his controversial stance on homosexuality. Dr Silvoso has written on the subject in a number of his books. In Transformation: Change The Marketplace and You Change the World, Dr Silvoso urges politcians to embrace Judeo-Christian values and ethics, instead of the existing drift towards amorality and the emerging push toward blatant immorality, as evidenced by the recent legalisation of homosexual marriage. Footage on YouTube, purportedly recorded in Singapore in 2008, shows Dr Silvoso deliver a speech about Joey, a taxi driver who followed Dr Silvosos teachings and later baptised a gay man. When the new believer came up from the water, the power of God hit him, delivered him of all the demons, rewired him correctly; he felt like a man, claimed Dr Silvoso. Dr Silvoso later describes the man as the ex-gay. In another book, Dr Silvoso described homosexuality as a challenge in the natural. Abortion, homosexuality, violence and bigotry are spiritual problems within a human shell, he wrote. All major development along the famed Blackwater River had been halted by an EU directive in 2014. The mussel cannot breed in polluted waters and the EU had stepped in to suggest that the local authority, and Irish Water, would have to drastically improve sewerage treatment in the region, if further development was to be allowed to go ahead. The county council and the Department of Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht had to conduct studies on the prevalence of the freshwater pearl mussel in the river. They discovered the species had not bred locally for a number of years in the main channel and that it could not be considered a sustainable population. Cllr Gerard Murphy (FG) said the outcome would allow the department to amend the conservation objective for the Blackwater SAC (Special Area of Conservation). The designation had serious consequences for all kinds of development in the Blackwater catchment area and has, up to now, delayed all types of potential housing and commercial development, Cllr Murphy said. If that designation was enforced, it would see the virtual sterilisation of development in most parts of North Cork. Scientists advised that there was no evidence of breeding in the past 20 years. Cllr Murphy said Minister Heather Humphreys, who is aware of the surveys, was expected to shortly declassify the EU directive. The final decision to deregulate has yet to be decided by the minister responsible, but Ms Humphreys former department has communicated to the county council, and it will be taken into consideration by its planning department, Cllr Murphy added. Council officials confirmed the correspondence with the department. However, while the main river will be declassified, the stringent regulation will remain in force for one of its tributaries, along the River Allow, north of Kanturk bridge, where the freshwater pearl mussel shows signs it can form a sustainable population. This area is currently protected, with work being carried out under the EU Life programme administered by IRD Duhallow. Sediment build-ups can also have an effect on the mussel, and one of the schemes on the Allow is river-bank preservation. River banks have been strengthened in several areas. There was speculation that a statement was going to be published yesterday, but it never materialised. The Department of Justice confirmed yesterday that Tanaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald and Commissioner Noirin OSullivan met in the afternoon. Both Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Ms Fitzgerald stated on Wednesday that they expected Ms OSullivan to give more clarification, within legal constraints. The controversy centres around what instructions Ms OSullivan gave to her counsel at the OHiggins inquiry regarding the legal strategy towards Sgt McCabe. Last Friday, the Irish Examiner quoted from transcripts from legal argument at the OHiggins inquiry in May 2015, at which it was claimed Ms OSullivan was alleging malice on the part of Sgt McCabe in his claims of corruption. On Monday of this week, Ms OSullivan issued a statement in which she said she did not, and never had, regarded Sgt McCabe as malicious. On Wednesday, the Irish Examiner published actual transcripts from the May meeting, at which Colm Smyth SC told the inquiry he had been instructed to challenge the motivation, credibility, and integrity of Sgt McCabe in relation to the corruption and malpractice allegations. Those transcripts show Mr Smyth did not use the word malice but appeared to agree with the proposition from Mr Justice OHiggins that he was claiming malice or some such motive on the part of Sgt McCabe. At a later hearing, Mr Smyth said he erred in saying he was instructed to challenge Sgt McCabes integrity, but said the legal team was challenging his credibility and motivation. The controversy grew on Wednesday in the Dail and Ms Fitzgerald came under sustained questioning. It is thought that Ms OSullivan and Ms Fitzgerald hope the forthcoming statement will be sufficient to allay political concern, particularly within Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, if not the wider public concern. Ms OSullivan is scheduled to meet the Policing Authority next Thursday in a private session, at which she is likely to be questioned on the matter. Elsewhere, she could be asked to attend the Oireachtas Justice Committee, which is expected to form next week. Meanwhile, Ms Fitzgerald has pledged to report directly to the Dail on her talks with Ms OSullivan about the OHiggins report. The inquiry into allegations of malpractice in the force is now expected to be debated next week in the Dail. Sinn Fein deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald pressed the Tanaiste in the Dail yesterday about why there had been no answers to growing questions about how the commissioners lawyers had acted in the OHiggins Inquiry. Responding, Ms Fitzgerald said she fully supported the Commissioner in the difficult job she is doing, adding: I have ongoing contact with the Garda Commissioner. When it comes to the Dail debate next week, consistent with the principles I outlined yesterday that must be observed by both her and by me, I will inform the House fully as to the outcome of those discussions. Alison OConnor: 12 Analysis: 12 Declan Bushby, 45, was this week jailed for a total of two years and 10 months after admitting he had touched the victim while she was sleeping. Luton Crown Court heard he finally returned from Cork in January this year and handed himself in to the police. He initially denied the sex assault charge, but pleaded guilty on Wednesday before his trial started. Prosecutor Peter Shaw told Luton Crown Court that the woman was having her 27th birthday party at her home on the evening of July 23, 2011. She allowed Bushby, who she knew only through friends, to attend, but he became very drunk and at midnight she asked him to leave. Mr Shaw said Mr Bushby left without trouble. However, in the morning the woman was asleep on a sofa bed in the sitting room when she awoke to discover Bushbys head and shoulders under her blanket with him touching her upper thigh area. She shouted: What the f... are you doing? How did you get in my home? Bushby replied: I am a professional burglar. He said he had come back for his mobile phone. When he was interviewed by the police he said he had returned for his tobacco. Bushby pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the woman on July 24, 2011. He also admitted failing to attend Luton Magistrates Court on September 21, 2011. The prosecution accepted his not guilty plea to burglary. Mr Shaw said he had 10 convictions for 28 previous offences, including burglary and wounding. Defending, Alec Williams, said Bushby had come to Ireland to visit his grandmother who was very ill and had stayed on to deal with her funeral. On the night of the sexual assault he had drunk a full bottle of expensive brandy, he said. Judge Michael Kay QC said: It was a one-off drunken opportunistic offence, but was a very serious assault carried out in the victims home. Bushby was made the subject of a restraining order banning him from contacting the victim. He must also register indefinitely as a sex offender. It recalled thousands of cars in November 2015 after a fire risk was identified in the Zafira B model. Opel said it was due to the improper repair of the blower motor resistor and its thermal fuse which is designed to protect the blower motor system. These improper repairs which may have been conducted without the owners knowledge, can lead to overheating of the systems electrical components and the potential for a fire, said the company. Resistors should never be repaired, they should only be replaced. Last October, a vehicle was filmed after it burst into flames in Passage West in Cork. The car had been about to board the ferry from Passage West to Cobh when the fire started in the dashboard area. The driver managed to escape but the front of the vehicle was engulfed in flames and was destroyed. Reports, at that time in Britain, suggested there had been up to 130 similar incidents affecting a Vauxhall equivalent there. In the six months since the issue was identified, Opel has been conducting a recall designed to return the cars to their original condition. It has involved replacing the resistor in every vehicle inspected along with the blower motor and the pollen filter in many thousands of vehicles. All of this has been free of charge to the customer, said the company. However, the German car giant confirmed, following consultation with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), further remedial works are needed and a second recall has been announced. We will therefore be initiating a second recall to replace the current soldered fuse resistor with a wax fuse resistor so reducing the opportunity for manipulation, said a company statement. When the recalls are complete, all vehicles will have a new wax fuse resistor, a new blower motor and a new moulding at the base of the windscreen to address water ingress. Again, this work will be conducted free of charge. Opel said it will be writing to customers to advise them of the second recall action from August. Owners of vehicles which have not yet had the initial recall completed should still bring their vehicles to their dealership to have them returned to their original condition. The recall comes as Opel faces an inquiry in its home country of Germany into claims it uses software in its Zafira and Astra diesel models to manipulate emissions. The investigation follows an investigation by German magazine Der Spiegel which found tests it carried out on the two models showed they emitted around 11 times the legal limit of noxious nitrogen oxide. General Motors Opel division has admitted its Zafira model has engine software that switches off exhaust treatment systems under certain circumstances but says this is legal. We at Opel do not use any illegal software. The German government wants to check this. We will fully support this, a statement said. The Room director has spoken out in response to the Governments decision to include the arts portfolio in the same department as regional development, rural affairs, and the Gaeltacht. In a series of tweets, the director accused Taoiseach Enda Kenny of using the arts as a photo op while a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a world-class film and TV industry is squandered. Mr Abrahamson accused politicians of paying lip service to the arts and continuing to trade on the legacy of Irish artists while the level of financial support for the sector remains shamefully low. The Minister for Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts, and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys, responded to Mr Abrahamson by stating that she valued the arts and film sector and will be making a case for extra funding at the Cabinet table. However, during a statement outlining her priorities for the new department earlier this month, Ms Humphreys made no mention of the arts. Speaking on RTE radio yesterday, Mr Abrahamson called for a dedicated Department of Arts and said the Government was wasting a golden opportunity to make Ireland a world leader in film, TV and animation. The quality is there, he said. If proper investment and strategic investment was made that could be grown hugely. And the idea which I think that the Government still seems to have of the arts of some sort of optional decorative extra that you can add in when theres a few quid swilling around and pull out when youre not. He said not only was this a really crazy way to invest in resources, it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the positive social and economic impact that the industry can have. Earlier this week, Labour senator Kevin Humphreys also called for a dedicated arts minister and hit out at the Taoiseach for attending a major festival of Irish arts and culture in the US while relegating the arts at home. It is somewhat incongruous that the Taoiseach officiated at such an event in the US when, back here in Ireland, there are well-founded fears that this vital sector has been side-lined in the new government department configuration, he said. As it stands, the arts portfolio has been further diluted by cramming more and more responsibilities into the same department. Therefore, a dedicated minister would provide much-needed direct support to this sector which would enable them to flourish and grow. The Irish Catholic newspaper claimed the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, had said he had discussed a visit with Pope Francis, and the Pontiff had said either he would come, or his successor would. The Catholic World Meeting of Families is staged every three years in a different location around the world, and is usually attended by the Pope. Flash Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday reiterated that the country sticks to one-China policy. Speaking at a weekly briefing in the resort town of Sochi, the ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia is "monitoring the situation" after recent elections in China's Taiwan. "We would like to stress that whoever leads the administration of the island, our position on the Taiwan issue is consistent, firm and unalterable," she said. The Russian side recognizes that there is only one China, that the government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government which represents the whole of China, and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, Zakharova said. This September the programme will expand to allow 5,000 children from all over Ireland access its courses in a facility in Wicklow. This expansion was made possible by a 30,000 grant from the Irish Youth Foundation (IYF). IYF CEO Niall McLoughlin said: Fighting Words encourages creative writing for children and operates out of north Dublin and theyre at maximum capacity. They help 10,000 children every year in creative writing and hes a firm believer that creative writing is a great way of giving kids self-confidence in their own abilities. So this year the IYF is providing a grant of 30,000 to Fighting Words to start a project in Glencree, a beautiful setting in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. The idea is that 5,000 children from around the country will be able to come and do the Fighting Words programme there. Glencree will be for everyone, its accessible. Its a magical place, its fairytale like. Its in a valley and a river runs through it, with a woods, on 30 acres of land and it starts in September, Mr McLoughlin added. Its all free. Say if it was a school down in Kerry, theyd have to pay their transport costs to get there but everything else is free in terms of the programme. It operates seven days a week, mornings and afternoons. Hollywood actor Colin Farrell said the programme means that children experiencing disadvantage will have a voice. The work they are doing is real and lasting. It is holding up a light to those who have too much shadow in their lives and that light is saying: we care, that light is saying, you have a voice, you will be heard. Ken Curtin, from Cobh, Co Cork, said he learned of his omission from the lector rota at a Mass service in St Colmans Cathedral last Sunday. He told The Irish Catholic that once he did not see his name on the rota he was advised to speak to the Cathedral administrator, Fr John McCarthy. Fr John told me that he had removed me from the list of lectors because of my partys view on repealing the Eighth [Amendment] and my own support of the Social Democrats position. And regardless of my own personal position, either way, as long as I was a member of a party that was a supporter of something against a core Church belief, I couldnt be a lector at the same time. Mr Curtin, 41, said the manner in which he found out about his omission from the upcoming rota was appalling, particularly as he had earlier received a blessing from Fr McCarthy as part of the same Mass. He said the news was a complete bolt from the blue and said Fr McCarthy had apologised for not having warned him of the change. Mr Curtin, a strong supporter on the yes side of the marriage equality referendum last year while a member of Fianna Fail, said he had notified the Social Democrats parliamentary party of the situation. In some ways the partys position is one thing but I think a persons faith is their own business, he said, adding that his faith was important to him and that he had been a lector in Cobh for the past three years. I am hopeful but not certain that I will get a meeting with the [Bishop of Cloyne William Crean] to discuss it. Mr Curtin said he had had no further contact from Fr McCarthy, but hoped the matter would be resolved. Efforts by the Irish Examiner to contact Fr McCarthy were unsuccessful. The story emerged as a Church of Ireland rector in Wicklow rescinded an invitation to a guest speaker who has written of rewiring the psyche of gay men so they can feel like a man again. Mr Doorley suffered two broken shoulders during the incident and Dublin District Court had already heard all the prosecution and defence evidence last month. However, before a verdict was reached, a new witness came forward, having read about the case in the media. Judge Miriam Walsh described the development as a curveball but when the case resumed yesterday, she noted the defence wanted to call the witness and the prosecution had no objection. He has already given a statement to gardai. Judge Walsh said she will hear the evidence. The trial will resume on June 21 and all parties in the case should attend, she said. Taxi driver Mark Cruikshanks, aged 38, of Cushlawn Park, Tallaght, Dublin, pleaded not guilty to careless driving at Fleet St on October 17, 2014. He claims Mr Doorley rushed out in front of his Toyota Avensis. Mr Doorley earlier told Judge Walsh he suffered two broken shoulders when he was knocked down. He alleged he checked if any cars were coming before he crossed the Fleet St junction with Westmoreland St. He told the court he lives in Cork but has a flat in Dublin. He said he went into the city centre for a business lunch at the Merrion Hotel, where he drank two average- sized glasses of red wine. Afterwards, he went to Trinity College to check some references for a book he was preparing, he said. Later, at about 6pm, he went to another restaurant for another meal, at which he drank two small bottles of water. He then decided to get a taxi home and walked along Westmoreland St. At the junction with Fleet St, he said, he was on the outside flank of a number of people crossing the road. Due to a particular childhood experience I am extremely cautious crossing the road, he told the judge. He said he looked up Fleet St and confirmed nothing was coming. He said he proceeded to cross and recalled that, as he was about to step on to the pavement on the far side, he spun and ended up on a bonnet of a car. He said he then landed on the ground on his back. The court heard Mr Doorley was taken by ambulance to St Jamess Hospital and was given painkillers; he was subsequently treated at Blackrock Clinic. One shoulder was broken in three places and he also broke his other shoulder. His left side was immobile for six months and he just recently had surgery, he said. Medical reports were furnished to the court. Garda Declan Ryan has said it had been an extremely wet on the day in question and there would have been a lot of traffic. Though there is lighting in the area, it is not well lit, he said. Gda Ryan said Mr Cruikshanks was very shaken up by what happened. The taxi driver told Gda Ryan he did not see the pedestrian and suddenly there was an impact on the front of his Toyota Avensis and he braked immediately. Passers-by helped the man on the ground and an ambulance arrived, the court heard. Fr Brendan McBride, who helped those in need after the balcony collapse in California, last year, made the comments as he said those who lost their lives will always be connected to us. Speaking at a 1916 commemorative tree-planting ceremony in Washington DCs Capitol Hill, in which he was lauded by Taoiseach Enda Kenny for his actions, the Donegal-born priest said that, one year on from the horrific June 16 tragedy, the events continued to play heavily on his mind. However, he said that, despite the loss of life, parents who are concerned that their own children could be at risk if they travel to the US on a J1 this summer must put their fears to one side. Parents will always worry, but you have to allow them to go, he said. Most people will tell you, they dip their toes in the States through the J1 programme. This was an horrific tragedy, but I dont think parents would want their kids not to have the opportunity to see what the States is all about, he said. Asked about the families of the six Irish college students who died when a balcony in their apartment collapsed under them last year, Fr McBride said they were always on his mind. He said the victims of the tragedy will always be connected to us and said the memories continued to cause pain. Its a really tough time for the families, because they are living with it all year. You feel for the families. We have an anniversary mass and event [next month] and it helps the community to gather. They need to be with their own around that time. I do get emotional, sometimes, thinking about it, because it draws you back into the pain of the parents. I get emotional and sometimes cant talk about it. Taoiseach Enda Kenny praised Fr McBride for the key role that he played in the aftermath of the tragedy last year and praised the priest for his extraordinary Christianity and humanity. He told Fr McBride you did your nation proud, as he planted a tree on Washington DCs Capitol Hill grounds, in honour of those who died in 1916. Speaking at the event on Wednesday, Mr Kenny told Fr McBride who was appointed to bless the tree planting event he provided comfort to those in need when they needed it most. Politicians debated a range of reforms to change how the Dail works yesterday, including increasing the number of technical groups, establishing a cross-party budget committee, and deciding on committees using the DHondt system. During the debate, Sinn Fein TD Louise OReilly said she found it incredible that my new workplace has not one, but two bars. The Dublin Fingal TD said: Aside from providing employment, albeit with somewhat erratic hours, I cannot see any reason for the existence of bars in this or any other workplace. We should use the opportunity presented to us by all the talk of new politics and a new way of doing politics to make some real and lasting reforms. If we think people outside this Chamber agree that we need two bars, we are fooling nobody. The public certainly does not think two bars are needed. Independents 4 Change TD Joan Collins said there was also a need to change the prayer at the start of each Dail sitting to a moment of reflection so everybody could do their own thing within that space, whatever their religion, creed or non-religion is. I am tired of walking to the back of the Chamber every time we have prayers. I believe that would be a good thing, she said. Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, who is on the Dail reform committee, said: It was unanimously agreed across the board that, to a certain extent, we have to turn our focus outwards. We have to open our parliament up and be as open as we can be in terms of how we do our business. We have to be a citizens assembly in every way. The decision by Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) members means they will no longer fulfil the additional 33 hours a year. These hours were being worked since 2011 under the Croke Park Agreement and successor public service pay deals. But the requirement that they be used for staff meetings or other non-teaching functions has angered teachers. Although the Haddington Road Agreement, under which the work was being done, ends this summer the union's 18,000 members are now likely to fall foul of financial emergency law. They would therefore not see the benefits of the Lansdowne Road Agreement, already rejected by ASTI members, that include an increase in salary of 1,000 for teachers earning under 65,000 from September 2017. Increases equivalent to 2.5% for those who earn less than 24,000 a year and 1% for those earning under 31,000 will also be foregone. So too will partial restoration of pay cut from those earning over 65,000, and payment of an additional 1,600 a year in two tranches from next September which would impact lower-paid teachers most. In a very high turnout of 76% of members, the withdrawal of the Croke Park hours was supported by 68%, an outcome to be considered today by ASTI's standing committee. The union's president Maire Ni Chiarba said it is a very strong statement to the Government that they are determined to reclaim their terms and conditions following years of cuts and reduced resources. They want to be able to get on with their jobs, instead of having to waste time completing bureaucratic box-ticking exercises. The Croke Park hours divert teachers time away from core duties such as teaching, learning, and building relations with their students," she said. Of necessity, all teachers are doing more with less. However, the Croke Park hours are needless and unnecessary and place additional constraints on teachers time and workload," Ms Ni Chiarba said. Education Minister Richard Bruton told the Dail soon after the result was known yesterday afternoon that his department recently reached agreement with the Irish National Teachers' Organisation and Teachers' Union of Ireland on 'a quantum' of the Croke Park hours which no longer need to be worked on a whole-school basis such as staff meetings and other uses prescribed by the department. A spokesperson for the minister expressed concern at the implications for individual teachers, and for major disruption for students and schools from September if the ASTI proceeds with the proposed action. National identity is defined simply as ones sense of belonging to one state or nation, but it means very different things to different people. In its most potent incarnations, it packs all the gravity of an atomic bomb. National identity is embedded so deeply in some psyches that it can fuel rebellion, war, and even genocide. In its more dilute forms, national identity is a phantom intersecting our daily lives but never leaving much of an impression. In privileged countries, we never have to defend ourselves against racial attack, and what we dont have to fight for, we have the luxury of ignoring. As an Irish gay person, I never had a strong national identity. How could any of us, in a country where we were written out of existence by our own Constitution? I never had to fight for my national identity so much as fight against it. Growing up here, the schoolyard bullies, the passers-by hurling slurs in the street, and the respectable conservatives sniffing their disapproval in national newspaper columns all blurred together into one damning, definitive vision of Irishness an Irishness I wanted no part of. My sense of alienation cemented over adolescence, culminating with my emigration to Edinburgh to study at the age of 18. I fell readily and eagerly in love with Scotland. It was a clean slate, free of toxic associations, and it only served to intensify the internalised loathing of my home. Every time I confidently walked down the street without fear of abuse, it was another counterpoint to the countless times I had winced at the word faggot screamed at me by a passing teenager back in Cork. It is hard to convey through words the utterly dehumanising effect of continuous verbal assaults like this. Panti Bliss said it best in her Noble Call: oppression means constantly checking yourself. I was never at peace in Ireland. As a feminine gay teenager, I was always a target. I felt intensely uncomfortable even being in public places throughout my teens. I couldnt be on a school corridor or a high street without my skin prickling, my eyes darting, and my hands sweating. I remember distinctly one occasion on St Patrick St when I was 15, when a man slowed down to quietly spit faggot at me as he passed. We were both alone. What was so chilling was that it was not a raucous display of bravado, or an attempt to show off. It was a private, intimate expression of unadulterated hatred, from a grown man to a child, and it made my blood run cold. Can you imagine being that age, and feeling like there was a contingent of adult society who wished to inflict bodily retribution on you for no apparent reason? Can you imagine the paranoia and dysphoria? Imagine then, if the portion of so-called civilised adults who were supposed to be your protectors from such vitriol spent more time denouncing your lifestyle and debating your equality on Prime Time than they did tackling this sort of violent homophobia? It sounds like a dystopia, but that was where I and countless other LGBT teenagers in this country lived. Thats the environment in which I was supposed to mature to a healthy adult. Thats the level of trauma that Ireland inflicted on me as a young LGBT person. I felt unsafe, simply by existing. Surely, readers can understand why that was hard to let go of? We all need someone to blame. Of course, Ireland is not unique in its patriarchal, homophobic culture. Now I realise that had it been the other way around had I grown up in Scotland and moved to Ireland for university I would have felt exactly the same way in reverse. The schoolyard bullying and homophobic passers-by would have been relics of my Scottish heritage, and Ireland would have been the fresh, clean landscape of redemption. But I didnt and it wasnt. When I returned intermittently to Ireland for holidays, I was disdainful of my old home and defensive of my new one. Ireland was drifting into a haze of antipathy, becoming more and more foreign to me. Suddenly, as the marriage equality referendum began to dawn as a real prospect on the horizon of 2015, everything shifted. Debates raged and distinct battlelines began to solidify amid the chaos. As a young person, I felt like a lone, vulnerable child cowering in secret against a wall of misunderstanding and hate, but the platform that the referendum debates provided to our LGBT figureheads made me realise I had been ignoring my fellows in arms. I was not alone, simply one of many Irish people who had a complicated relationship with Irelands maternal shores. For the first time, I felt invested in the action like something might be done to right past wrongs. As war was waged on TV and radio, martyrs and heroes were born and rallied around. Work began on the ground, with Yes Equality canvassers marching the length and breadth of the country every evening to win over hearts and minds. As these events unfolded, my heart ached from afar to join the fight and stand toe-to-toe against our oppressors. Finally, it was no longer me vs Ireland, but Yes vs No. The referendum finally revealed to me the true nature of Irish homophobia, and what I saw was profoundly healing it was not endemic and deep-rooted, as I had once feared, but distinctly localised, misguided, and in-bred. The Yes Equality campaign itself did much of the work mending my broken heart. However, May 22 and 23, 2015, brought reparations on a whole other level. I dont think I can adequately convey the transcendental redemption that those two days wrought upon us as gay people. To walk to my local polling station, which happened to be the very school building where gay slurs were first levelled at me, with my whole family in tow, and to vote in unison with them for my rights, was a pseudo-religious experience. To stand the following morning in the count centre with my long-term partner, ticking off one-by-one the votes, and slowly realising we had won that we were loved and valued by the nation that sired us was nothing short of rapturous. I will never forget the moment that we came to the end of that first box of folded papers. It was from a rural constituency that was predicted to vote conservatively, and even there, yes outnumbered no two to one. As I made the final tick and stared at my clipboard, the whole mass of my body seemed to float away. In that moment I knew we had won. I knew that all my fears about the people of my country and my place with them were wonderfully, gloriously unfounded. Nesting demons in the shadowy, forgotten corners of my mind unfurled their wings and finally heaved themselves out of me of their own accord. Unacknowledged weights clicked out of place in the pit of my stomach and rolled away effortlessly. In that moment, a cleansing light radiated through every dark corridor of my being, and my blood ran not red, but pure gold. The summer that followed was a time of triumph. It was also when I decided to leave my university degree, which I wasnt enjoying, and return to Ireland glad to be home, in a way Id never been before. Now a returned emigrant, I have reconciled with the warm bosom of my motherland, and feel a wholeness that I never knew I was missing. It feels like a black and white filter I didnt know I was wearing has been lifted. Suddenly everything is allowed to be colourful. I find myself behaving like a tourist, Instagramming scenes from around my home city that before I would have considered banal. I am reacquainting myself with an estranged parent, whose neglect has been transfigured to love. National identity was always a sore spot for me fraught with paradox and rejection. The referendum finally redefined Ireland to encompass who I was and to enfold me in the motherly embrace of nationhood that we, as Irish people, should all be able to enjoy. May 22 will live forever in my mind as the date when I finally stopped feeling fragmented, and home finally became home. THE latest scientific hope in the search for an effective male contraceptive pill comes from researchers at the University of Minnesota. Although theyve made progress in finding the exact chemicals needed to bring about temporary infertility in men, weve seen headlines heralding the male pill as a step closer since the 1990s. Its been more than 50 years since the contraceptive pill for women (heralded by some as the greatest scientific invention of the 20th Century) became available in Ireland. In 1963, pharmaceutical companies succeeded in introducing the pill as a way to regulate womens menstrual cycles and in 1972 The Rotunda became the first Irish maternity hospital to set up a family planning clinic that prescribed the pill. Today, its the most commonly used form of contraceptive, next to condoms. While developments in contraception have revolutionised the world for women (weve got implants, pills, patches, IUD, and IUS, to name a few), men are still faced with only two options: condoms or a vasectomy. And so, the search for a contraceptive pill for men has come to be seen as a scientific hunt for the holy grail. Almost every year new reports emerge promising a male pill is one step closer, but talk to researchers and even optimists say we are still seven to ten years away from seeing it prescribed. The latest breakthrough comes from a group of scientists, including lead researcher Gunda I. Georg, PhD at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, who presented their findings at the National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society in March. In the past, researchers have banked on testosterone as the key to creating an effective hormonal male contraception, but because of the associated side effects including infertility, weight gain, cholesterol, and loss of sexual desire its now seen as pretty much a non-runner. What Georg and her team have done sounds unintelligible to most of us (Science Daily reports that the researchers are gaining a better understanding of how tweaks to the chemical structure of their test compounds affect the substances cellular interactions in the body). In plain speak, they are developing alternative compounds to testosterone and making chemical tweaks in an attempt to create a safe and stable male pill that could be swallowed, just like the pill women take. This isnt the only chink of hope for a breakthrough male contraceptive. On the other side of the world, Dr Sabatino Ventura, a senior lecturer in drug development at Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Australia, has dedicated two decades of his life to finding a non-hormonal method of male contraceptive. Hes working on a way to stop the transport of sperm. Ventura uses an aeronautical metaphor to explain his work. Picture an airplane. Take-off is ejaculate leaving a mans body, but before it leaves it needs passengers (sperm) on board. Venturas drug would silence the announcement in the airport terminal telling passengers to board, so the plane takes off empty. Not as easy as it sounds. Men make a lot of sperm, about 1,000 sperm per second, says Ventura, so they are a lot harder to stop than a female who produces just one egg per month. Ventura believes a non-hormonal pill is the only viable solution, but how long will we have to wait? He says he has a good biological strategy, which theyve already shown works in genetically modified mice. Now, he says, they are trying to develop chemicals to make it work in men. Ventura asserts that while other forms of a male contraceptive in clinical trials are close, it will still be a good five to 10 years away at least before we have an oral male contraceptive. And he stresses, a lot of men wont take something if they think it will make them less manly, or affect their sexual behaviour or affect their male characteristics. If its going to be viable it has got to be convenient, non-hormonal, and easily reversible. As well as the scientific issues that stand in the way, according to Ventura, pharmas are just not interested in putting the money behind risky research, so progress is slow. US-based Aaron Hamlin, the executive director of Male Contraception Initiative (MCI), says lack of funding is a common theme all over the world. If serious funding appears, we could have our first reversible male contraceptive in around 10 years. But if governments, philanthropists, and drug companies continue to ignore this issue, then we probably wont see anything for at least a couple decades. Big pharmas are of course thinking about the bottom line, but even if they do come up with a pill that works, will men take it? Hamlin argues men and women are ready for a male pill. The biggest prospective pro of a male contraceptive pill would be to give men a more effective option. "For those who claim the condom as their primary method, they report a real-world pregnancy rate of 18% over the first year. "Most men arent comfortable with slightly worse than a one-out-of-six dice roll each year. The focus on providing numerous contraceptives for women has had the benefit of giving women options. But excluding men altogether has had the side effect of putting a disproportional contraceptive burden on women. And thats unfair to everyone. Ventura says the numbers speak for themselves; with an estimated 70m to 80m unwanted pregnancies worldwide per year, the more options available for contraception the more likely that number will come down. Men are starting to become much more willing to take control of their contraception, a lot of men are much more worried about getting women pregnant. "I think it would take off and if one comes out, more would follow. That first one is the big hurdle, says Ventura. Other alternative male pills are being developed worldwide. You might have heard of the clean sheets pill, which works by allowing orgasm without ejaculation, also known as a dry orgasm. Theres Vasalgel which works by having a hydrogel injected into the mans sperm-carrying tubes, accessible much like a no- scalpel vasectomy. The San Francisco-based researchers behind this are aiming for later this year to start Phase-I human trial. In Indonesia, Gendarussa based on a native shrub is one of the furthest progressed of all the reversible methods of a male pill. The team in Airlangga University in Indonesia has done work in Phase-II human clinical trials. The aim is to produce an oral contraceptive that works by interrupting fertilisation between sperm and egg. Anti-Eppin, another frontrunner, is a drug that affects the ability of sperm to swim so that it doesnt reach an egg. Anti-Eppin could be taken orally or placed as an implant under the skin. But what do men and women think about the prospect of a male pill, and would they use it? Rory is a married man in his early 30s and a father of one. I ask if he would consider taking a pill for men. His answer is straight: As long as it was tried and tested and he wasnt a guinea pig, then he would. Having a baby is the equal responsibility of a man and a women, he says. Next I ask his wife Sophie if she would trust him to take it? I would... but Id probably remind him regularly. She adds: Id need to be in a relationship for a few years to get to that level of trust. Couple number two Tim, 34, and Maeve, 35 say theyd also be happy to swap roles with the pill. Tim says, in a relationship, hed be happy to take control of the contraception (what dont men want to be in control of?) But what about his girlfriend? Id trust him from a practical perspective, as in I know he wouldnt forget but I may have a problem with my contraception being in someone elses hands even his. Helen, 32, who is getting married next month, echoes this view when she emails a reply to my question about her fiance, Ben. If it was safe, hed take it, but would she trust him? I absolutely wouldnt, she says, hed never remember to take it. Back in 2011, Dr Susan Walker, senior lecturer in sexual health at Anglia Ruskin University, told the British Sociological Association annual conference that only 50% of the 134 women and 54 men she surveyed said they would use the contraceptive method when it came on the market. Some 19% stated they definitely would not use a male pill, while 31% were unsure. Dr Walker found that 52% of the women surveyed were concerned their partners would forget to take it. Manchester-born documentary maker Tim Samuels has just completed a book (Who Stole My Spear?) about the challenges men face in the 21st century. Hes thought about a male pill, but is conflicted. The inner-hypochondriac would wonder if there could still be unforeseen long-term consequences and one day my sperm could keel over. "But, in a relationship, itd be another option for contraception. It could even be used to double up, just to be even more sure. For casual sex and flings, Samuel says he cant imagine women buying into it. I cant see many women trusting a guy who says, Dont worry love Im on the pill. For many women, the thought of being able to say goodbye to the pill and its side-effects and risk (from mood swings to blood clots) will be welcome. One woman on social media talked about the awful side-effects she had taking various forms of contraception (the coil and an implant). Both she and her husband use condoms but she says a male pill would make both our lives easier. Of the more than 50 male friends, family, colleagues, and strangers on social media I asked, only one man said he wouldnt consider taking the pill. It seems men worldwide are just as open. Aaron Hamlin of MCI quotes an international study from the journal Human Reproduction that indicated at least half of men would use a male contraceptive, even if it were hormonal (only one in eight said no outright). Dr Sab Ventura says womens trust issues are changing too. He cites new social science literature that says men are willing to take control and that women would trust their partners to take the pill. If a male pill does make it to market, for the first time ever men might finally have an alternative to condoms (98% effective when used right, but seen by many to be a passion killer) or a vasectomy (see above). While the Irish Family Planning Association isnt involved in any research for a male pill, medical director Dr Caitriona Henchion says it would very much welcome its launch in Ireland. I put Aaron Hamlin of MCI on the spot and ask him if hed be willing to try the first male pill on the market. His answer is a convincing yes. As a member of half the population that doesnt want to have a child upon every act of intercourse, yes I would be among the first to try a new male contraceptive that made it to market. "Im just as excited as everyone else wondering, once funding is there, which method will make it first. Getting the snip Vasectomies are not something you hear about too much these days. The Irish Family Planning Association says vasectomy is the most effective method of contraception with a failure rate of one in 2,000. It is a minor surgical procedure that seals the tubes which carry sperm from the testicles to the penis. The operation is carried out under local anaesthetic and takes about 10 minutes to complete. "The one-time cost of vasectomy is much less than the repeat cost of other modern forms of long-term contraception, says Caitriona Henchion, medical director of the association. The Irish Family Planning Association carried out its first vasectomy in 1974. Since then, it has carried out over 10,000 procedures but in 2015, only 19 men went to it for the snip. Dr Henchion says that the reason this number is so low is because many GPs now provide vasectomies, meaning men seeking the service have greater choice of provider. This allows your device to install updates in the background without shutting down the phone entirely. However, its unlikely that this feature will work on current handsets. While its technically possible, according to Google who spoke with Android Police, it would require repartitioning the entire phone. This isnt easy to do and those who try it run the risk of breaking their phone or losing data, so its unlikely that itll be something that Google supports. A CENTURY ago today, three men Ernest Shackleton, Frank Worsley, and Tom Crean stumbled into a whaling station at Stormness on the island of South George in a pitiful condition. They had not washed for months. Their faces and hands were black from blubber smoke, their hair and long beards were matted, their clothes were in rags. Their experiences were among historys greatest survival and rescue stories in the most trying conditions, extending not just over hours, days, or weeks, but months. They were part of a 28-man expedition that set out from Britain just before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Led by Kildare-born Shackleton, they had planned to make the first crossing of the Antarctic from one side to the other via the South Pole. With the outbreak of war in Europe, the expedition was essentially forgotten. Their ship, the Endurance, got caught in an ice flow in January 1915 and they drifted with the flow for the next eight months before the ship got crushed in the ice. They managed to salvage three lifeboats, and Shackleton decided to head for uninhabited Elephant Island, some 160km away. It took six days to reach the island, where they remained for over four months, sheltering under their upturned boats, and eating penguin meat. With the southern winter approaching and no sign of help, Shackleton decided six of them would undertake the perilous 1,450km journey to the island of South Georgia for help in the James Caird, the sturdiest of their lifeboats. Shackleton selected Worsley and Crean for the rescue mission. Worsley was chosen for his navigational skills, while Crean, from Gurtuchrane near Annascaul, Co Kerry, was selected for his experience and the extraordinary prowess he had already demonstrated in tight situations on earlier Antarctic expeditions. Crean had been part of Robert Scotts Expedition to the Antarctic in 1901, and he later distinguished himself in Scotts second expedition during the epic race to the South Pole. Crean was one of the 16 men Scott had selected for his team when he set out on the 1,500km journey on October 24, 1911. On the long trek towards the South Pole, they set up depots with supplies for their return journey. As those were established, the men no longer needed to pull the supplies, would return to their starting base. The plan was for just a few men to escort Scott on the final leg of the journey. Lt Edward Evans, petty officers William Lashly, and Crean were the last three sent back on January 4, 1912. Crean was reportedly very emotional at having to turn back so close to the South Pole. Poor old Crean wept, Scott noted in his diary. On the return journey, Evans became seriously ill with scurvy. Crean and Lashly relieved him of pulling supplies, and eventually pulled him on a sledge for four days, 13 hours a day. Evans told them to leave him, as otherwise none of them would survive. When it snowed heavily on February 18, 1916, they were no longer able to move the sledge. With their food supply running dangerously low, they decided to split up. Lashly remained with Evans in a tent, while Crean set on out on his own to their starting base, some 55km away. It took him 18 hours to reach the camp. Creans lone march that day was one of the finest feats in an adventure that is an epic of splendid episodes, polar explorer HG Ponting wrote in his 1923 book, The Great White South. Evans and Lashly were duly rescued little over a day later. But Scott was not so lucky. His party had reached the South Pole on January 17, only to find that they had lost the race to a Norwegian expedition, led by Roald Amundsen. Scott and his four colleagues then failed to make it back to their base camp. His body was later found in his tent a little over 15km from safety. Crean had managed to walk more than three times that distance on his own to ensure the rescue of his two colleagues. He was therefore an obvious choice for Shackleton in the attempt to reach South Georgia from Elephant Island. They loaded their boat in the water. As each boatload came alongside, the contents were passed to us, with a running fire of jokes, chaff, and good wishes from dear pals whom we were leaving behind, Worsley wrote. As for Crean, they said things that ought to have made him blush; but what would make Crean blush would make a butchers dog drop his bone. In the early hours of Easter Monday 1916, around the time that the Easter Rebellion was beginning in Dublin, two Irishmen Shackleton and Crean set out with four colleagues on their heroic journey across the south Atlantic in a small boat. Crean was remembered as always cheerful on the arduous journey. He used to sing during his turn at the tiller, but he was tone deaf, so nobody knew what he was singing, except at more inspirational moments when he would burst into The Wearing of the Green. They got caught in a hurricane in which a steamer bound for South Georgia actually foundered. After 17 eventful days they made land at the uninhabited southern side of South Georgia. Their boats rudder broke off during the landing. Another storm struck that night. Shackleton decided that three of them would cross the island on foot, but they had to wait for nine days for suitable weather. They set out without overnight provisions, planning to walk to the whaling base at Stormness as quickly as possible. They covered some 65km of mountainous terrain in 36 hours. Next morning, the three men went on board a whaler to rescue their three colleagues on the other side of the island. The day after that, they set out to rescue the 22 men on Elephant Island, but they were forced back by weather conditions. It required three different attempts to get to Elephant Island, which they reached on August 30, 1916. They found their colleagues still living on penguin meat under their upturned boats. Crean retired from the British navy and returned to Annascaul in 1920, to open his own pub, the South Pole Inn. He died on July 27, 1938, and is buried in the graveyard nearby at Ballinacourty. Had Crean been of the officer class, he would undoubtedly have been celebrated internationally for his feats on two wholly separate occasions. While he was engaged in the second venture, the rebel Proclamation read in Dublin promised to cherish all the children of the nation equally. Yet Crean was almost forgotten until the memory was resurrected in recent years. This is not to demean Shackletons accomplishments, but Crean deserves to be celebrated as a distinguished Irishman for his phenomenal endurance in helping to save so many men in the most trying of circumstances. IT IS one of the most infamous judgements in British history and a Hollywood movie that keep coming to mind when thinking about this latest controversy involving our Garda Siochana. The movie is Groundhog Day and the judgement is that of the now deceased Lord Denning who threw out a civil action by the Birmingham Six against West Midlands Police in 1980 and remarked that to accept their case would have opened up an appalling vista. In our case it would appear to be the appalling vista of us losing a second Garda commissioner in such a short space of time, and the repercussions of that occurring, which seem to be the guiding principle, not just of Fine Gael but also Fianna Fail. It is a response so classic of Irish public life where words are spoken out of both sides of politicians mouths. People like whistleblower Maurice McCabe are feted in public and thrown to the wolves behind closed doors, all the time with the pretence that he and his actions have been in fact embraced by the establishment. The manner in which language and meaning has been utilised by various parties attempting to spin this Commission of Inquiry report to their own advantage, or the advantage of others, has had an Alice in Wonderland quality. How much of a comfort has it been to Maurice McCabe to have it played out in public all week that Commisioner Noirin OSullivans instructions to her legal team were to question his motivation and his credibility in mounting these allegations of corruption and malpratice, but that his integrity was not to be questioned. .@Mickcliff: Garda Commissioner needs to step up or step down https://t.co/ZeffriNNoN (GM) pic.twitter.com/MnwTyl3h69 Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) May 19, 2016 Surely in having your motivation and credibility questioned there is an automatic follow-on in terms of your integrity? It almost made me laugh to read in Judge Kevin OHiggins report that Sgt McCabe was prone to exaggeration. I reckon Id be prone to far more than exaggeration if I found myself in similar circumstances. How else might you be after so long hitting your head off a brick wall and having your reputation traduced? Honestly if you had a friend, or indeed even a passing acquaintance, who told you that as a Garda they had witnessed unacceptable things occurring within the force, the last bit of advice you would offer is that they should blow the whistle. In fact if you had a Christian or compassionate bone in your body youd advise them to keep their mouth closed, or if it was too unbearable to tolerate to move to Australia. There is Sergeant McCabe hiding in plain sight as he features in all our main news bulletins over the past 10 days. Some of the coverage has been so contradictory as to be downright embarrassing. There was a mind boggling element to watching RTEs crime correspondent Paul Reynolds discussing the implications of the leaked transcripts on Tuesday nights television news bulletins, and then to hear the same subject presented a few hours later by Prime Times political correspondent Katie Hannon who has done some really fine work on this story. Presenter Miriam OCallaghan went on to conduct a superb interview with Frances Fitzgerald in what will surely rank as one of the Justice Ministers most uncomfortable media performances. Ever since these controversies concerning the gardai began surfacing during the last Government the spotlight has fallen on crime correspondents and how beholden they are to their main sources the gardai. But there have been farcical elements to the coverage from our State broadcaster in this latest instalment, and that needs to be addressed by the station. While Im handing out the plaudits this newspapers special correspondent Michael Clifford has remained steadfast in his pursuit of this story, and moved it on at key times over the past few years when the Establishment would have far preferred it to be forgotten. But the bulk of the praise must go to independent TDs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace for their continual role in highlighting the defects and dysfunctionality that exist in our police force. Dissent in an organisation, as she so rightly pointed out on that same Prime Time, is not disloyalty. But this is not how they view such things within An Garda Siochana. Deputy Daly was on that programme on a panel with Fianna Fails Niall Collins. Minister Fitzgerald must have found it some consolation that rather than being attacked by Deputy Collins she actually had his assistance in trying to push the lid back down on this Pandoras box full of troublesome transcripts. Collins, who often gives the distinct impression that he might opt for a career in the Gardai if things in politics dont work out for him, said we needed to draw a line under this, and try to rebuild An Garda Siochana after a series of controversies. This was what the public wanted, he insisted. Listening to this from the Limerick TD you wondered if hed used the same focus group Fine Gael relied on for their general election campaign. His party leader Micheal Martin, who has shown good form in the past on these series of controversies, laid out the bottom line for the party on Wednesday even as a series of important questions remained unanswered. He had confidence in Commissioner Noirin OSullivan and was not looking for her head. So its been made more than clear to us that protection of the institution is far more important than a properly run force where those who wish to highlight wrongdoing would not live in fear of their reputation and their mental health. We are left now with a report that uncovered some amazing and disturbing episodes yet quite remarkably recommended no disciplinary action be taken. We have a Government and a Taoiseach still suffering from the trauma of the resignation of former Commissioner Martin Callinan. We have a Commissioner who was the ultimate insider appointed to do a job transforming the culture in An Garda Siochana which cried out for someone from outside the force. We await an explanation from her on her instructions to her legal counsel regarding Maurice McCabe. But even without hearing that the political establishment has made it clear that the price of the head of another Garda Commissioner is too high too pay. There is so much that is wrong here; we will keep ending up back in the same place unless real change is brought about. The plane aborted on take-off and caught fire at about 8.30am Guam time, Pacific air forces public affairs said. It crashed on the flight line of the base. No injuries were reported. We are thankful that the air crew are safe. Because of their quick thinking and good judgement in this emergency situation, the air crew not only saved their lives but averted a more catastrophic incident, said Brigadier General Douglas Cox, 36th wing commander. The air force said there was no danger from any of the planes armaments. A US military spokesman said: The aircraft was carrying inert munitions at the time and posed no danger to the local community. The US air force website says the aircraft is capable of carrying nuclear or precision guided conventional ordnance. The bomber was deployed to Guam from Minot, North Dakota, as part of the militarys continuous bomber presence in the Pacific, according to the force. The crew members are with the 69th expeditionary bomb squadron and were performing a routine training mission, it said. The incident is under investigation. The US air force is taking steps to mitigate any possible hydraulic oil and fuel contamination, said captain Ray Geoffroy, spokesman for Pacific air forces. The plane was taking off with a full load of fuel. Environmental specialists are assessing any potential impacts to the environment from burning aircraft materials. The US air force said emergency responders and law enforcement officials had completed their initial checks. It said it has been rotating B-1, B-2, and B-52 bombers through Guam since 2004 to boost the US security presence in the Asia-Pacific region. A B-52 crashed off Guam in 2008, killing all six crew. That plane had been flying around the island as part of Guam Liberation Day celebrations, marking the day when the US military arrived to retake control of the island from Japan during the Second World War. Guam is a US territory about 6,000km south-west of Hawaii. Opposition politician Ruth Brosseau said she had to leave the House of Commons chamber on Wednesday after feeling overwhelmed. I was elbowed in the chest by the prime minister and then I had to leave. It was very overwhelming, she said. I missed the vote because of this. The House of Commons speaker concluded that Brosseaus privileges as an MP had been breached, which means the encounter will be examined by an all-party committee. Footage from the chambers television feed shows Liberal Party leader Trudeau wading into a group of MPs, mainly opposition members, and pulling a male MP through the crowd in order to get the vote on assisted dying laws started. As Trudeau turns around to pull the politician through, Brosseau can be seen reacting with discomfort. Trudeau, a former bar bouncer, later stood up in parliament and said it was not his intention to hurt anyone as he attempted to escort the MP though a throng of opposition members in the chamber. He said he thought the man was being impeded as he walked up the aisle of the chamber and wanted to help him. I took it upon myself to go and assist him forward, which was I now see unadvisable as a course of action, said Trudeau, who characterised his actions as unacceptable. Opposition New Democrat MP Peter Julian called it a pretty violent push and said he had never seen such behaviour in his 12 years in parliament. China has rejected US claims that its warplanes manoeuvred unsafely when they intercepted a US navy reconnaissance plane over the South China Sea. Chinas foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told journalists the Chinese jets monitored the US plane from an acceptable distance and operated in a safe and professional manner. Mr Hong said China urged the US to stop such surveillance missions, which he said endangered Chinese security. The Pentagon said two Chinese J-11 fighters flew within about 15m of the EP-3 Aries on Tuesday, forcing the US pilot to descend sharply to avoid a collision. It said the US plane was conducting routine operations in international airspace. It described the incident as an unsafe intercept and said it is being reviewed. Mr Hong said: According to the related Chinese authorities, the US allegation is not true. We urge the US to immediately stop spying activities and prevent such events from happening again. The US has sought to prevent such confrontations through frequent communication and the signing of an agreement on handling unexpected encounters at sea and in the air. However, such incidents may now be on the rise as the US challenges China claims its new artificial islands in the South China Sea enjoy legal rights to territorial seas and airspace. China says it is entitled to keep watch over such airspace and seas. In 2001, a collision between a Chinese fighter jet and a US surveillance plane in which the Chinese pilot was killed and the American crew detained on Hainan led to a crisis in US-China relations. Zimmerman who was acquitted over the 2012 killing revealed on his blog that the sale had been successful, but did not give any details. The website believed to be the venue for the auction, United Gun Group, tweeted that there had been two auctions running simultaneously, one for pre-qualified buyers and a fake one for the public. Radio Radicale, the radio station of Mr Pannellas Radical Party, announced the death yesterday. Pannella, who was known for his frequent hunger strikes, anti-church positions and sit-ins, had been in hospital at a Rome clinic in recent days. Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi described the veteran politician as a lion of freedom. Pannella was one of the founders of Italys Radical Party in the 1950s. As a member of parliament and outside agitator over the ensuing decades, he was crucial to pushing the overwhelmingly Catholic Italy to legalise divorce and abortion. On the international stage, the cigar-smoking activist was also friends with the Dalai Lama and a fan of Martin Luther King Jr. Despite his anti-clerical rhetoric, he found common cause with the Vatican on efforts to end world hunger. Pannella, who served several stints as a European parliamentarian, had been diagnosed in recent years with tumours in his lung and liver, and had frequent hospital stays due to his hunger strikes. Britain: Grayson Perry has been inspired by the City of Londons bankers and traders to create a huge glazed ceramic penis. The artwork, which stands 68cm tall, is embossed with images of bank notes, designer objects, and city workers. The final episode of Grayson Perry: All Man sees the artist exploring the Citys finance sector as he examines contemporary masculinity. On the artwork, titled Object in Foreground, Perry said: Theres no disputing what it is. Its a big cock. The object was temporarily exhibited in London skyscraper The Shard as part of filming for the Channel 4 show. Perry, 56, added: I was thinking of an object that could hold its own amongst all the marble [of the City lobbies] but drew attention to the unquestioned maleness of its world. Men dominate the financial centre especially at the top so I wanted to make something that said its there all the time, its the centre of gravity thats pulling us all in. Facebook delivers US: A man in America accidentally livestreamed the birth of his son on Facebook. Kali Kanongata, 26, recorded a video of his partner giving birth to Ngangatulelei HeKelesi, thinking just his family and friends on the island of Tonga could see it. The California-based man told People magazine he wanted to share the video with his family in Tonga. He didnt realise what was going on until he noticed the viewer count increasing. Eventually thousands of people tuned in to the 45-minute video either live or thorough playback. Kanongataa said he considered stopping recording when he realised the video was public, but decided to keep going. Theres a lot of negative stuff on Facebook and so I thought this would be positive, he said. He added his partner, Sarah Dome, was happy with being filmed. Sauna with your fries Finland: The Parliament has one. Nokia has one. And now a Burger King restaurant in downtown Helsinki has its own sauna. Hanne-Mari Ahonen, brand manager for Burger King in Finland, on Wednesday said the idea was to combine local traditions with serving burgers. She says the restaurant had lots of good feedback since they opened last year, with groups of 15 accounting for some 60 or more people attending every week. Customers do not eat in the steam bath that comes after the big sweat. No, no, the sauna is for sweating it out, and our hamburgers taste all the better for it afterward, she said. The sauna costs 250-300 for a group, depending on weekday or weekend. The meal costs extra. Dressing down US: Louisianas house of representatives has voted to block strip clubs from hiring dancers under 21, after a politicians joke provoked outrage about the treatment of women. The measure, which will go back to the senate for final passage, was pushed as fighting human trafficking, but instead prompted sniggers and jokes when Kenny Havard proposed an amendment that would limit strippers to between 21 and 28 and weighing no more than 11st 4lbs. He quickly withdrew it, but women members were not amused, with Julie Stokes describing the amendment as utterly disrespectful and disgusting. Mr Havard said the amendment was a commentary on over-regulation and not aimed at women. The house voted 96-0 for the bill without the amendment. Permission to roam Britain: Saira Khan has admitted that she told her husband he could sleep with other women because she has lost her sex drive. The former Apprentice contestant made the revelation on ITVs Loose Women on Wednesday. Khan, 46, a panellist on the show, said she was so tired she had lost interest in sex, despite still being in love with her husband. The panel, featuring Coleen Nolan, Ruth Langsford, and Jane Moore, was discussing whether couples should always have sex on their wedding night. Khan said: Ive had, in my younger days, a fantastic sexual life. But recently I feel like I love my husband, hes the most amazing man in the world, 11 years Ive been married to him but lately I just find Im not interested. I just dont want to do it. Before joking that her husband would kill her for bringing the topic up on national television, she said: Ive got to that stage where I actually said to my husband youre going to be shocked that I said this I said, Look Im just not in that place, if you really want to just go with somebody else. I want to make him happy. Experts have warned that resistance to the drugscould cause a bigger threat to mankind than cancer. Tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is absolutely essential, said Jim ONeill, who has published a global action plan to prevent drug-resistant infections and defeat the rising threat of so-called superbugs. One of his proposals suggests that big pharmaceutical companies should play or pay meaning they either join the search to hunt for new antibiotics or be forced to pay a fine. However, those who do and find successful new treatments should be rewarded handsomely. Another calls for better use of diagnostic tools to prevent patients being given antibiotics unnecessarily. Health leaders from around the world have raised serious concerns about the growing resistance to antimicrobial drugs. These are the drugs which destroy harmful microbes. Antibiotics are the best known of these drugs, but there are others, such as antivirals, antimalarial drugs, and antifungals. Mr ONeill likened AMR to facing a growing enemy with a largely depleted armoury. His report warns that if antibiotics lose their effectiveness then key medical procedures including gut surgery, caesarean sections, joint replacements, and chemotherapy could become too dangerous to perform. Projections suggest that if nothing is done to control AMR, there will be 10m deaths each year by 2050. Failure to act will cost the world more than $100tn (89.2bn) in lost output between 2014 and 2050, the review suggests. In the forward to a separate report on AMR from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Prof Sally Davies, Englands chief medical officer, suggests antibiotic resistance is responsible for around 50,000 deaths every year across Europe and the US. The ONeill review, commissioned by British prime minister David Cameron in 2014, sets out a series of measures to tackle the threat of AMR, including: Reducing the unnecessary use of antimicrobial drugs in healthcare settings; Monitoring and reducing superfluous use of the drugs in farming; Quicker progress to be made on banning or restricting antibiotics that are vital for human health from being used in animals; Better use of diagnostic tools to help reduce unnecessary use of the drugs; A global public awareness campaign about the problem of drug resistance; Increasing the supply of new antibiotic drugs. The report points out that the process of determining whether or not a patient needs antimicrobial drugs, especially antibiotics, has not changed for decades. Rapid diagnostics would be able to reduce use of antibiotics by letting doctors know if a patient has an infection and if this infection is viral or bacterial, meaning that antibiotics will only be given out to patients who need them, states the report. Mr ONeill said antibiotics are treated like sweets as he called on governments across the worlds richest countries to mandate that by 2020 antibiotics could only be prescribed following a rapid diagnostic test, wherever one exists. Introducing this mandate will lead to advances in technology and diagnostic tools by opening a new market for them, he said. The review points out that a new class of antibiotic has not been seen for decades because developing new drugs is an unattractive commercial proposition for pharmaceutical companies. Mr ONeill suggests one way to encourage development of new drugs would be to reward pharmaceuticals that develop new drugs. These market entry rewards of around $1bn each would be given to the developers of successful new drugs, subject to certain conditions. The review also sets out how the proposals should be financed through governments, international institutions, and taxation on current antibiotic drugs. It suggests pharmaceuticals who do not invest in research for AMR should be forced to pay an antibiotic investment charge. My review not only makes it clear how big a threat AMR is to the world, with a potential 10m people dying each year by 2050, but also now sets out a workable blueprint for bold, global action to tackle this challenge, said Mr ONeill. The actions that Im setting out today are ambitious in their scope but this is a problem which it is well within our grasp to solve if we take action now. Q&A A new report has highlighted that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) will become a greater threat to mankind than cancer currently is. But what is AMR? Here are the answers to some key questions about the subject. What are antimicrobial drugs? These are the drugs which destroy harmful microbes. Antibiotics are the best known of these drugs, but there are others, such as antivirals, antimalarial drugs, and antifungals. What is antimicrobial resistance? AMR occurs when micro- organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites evolve to resist the drugs that combat the infections that they cause, making the drugs ineffective. As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, infections persist, and may spread. How does this happen? AMR has occurred for multiple reasons. The World Health Organisation states that AMR is facilitated by the inappropriate use of medicines, for example, when taking substandard doses or not finishing a prescribed course of treatment. Low-quality medicines, wrong prescriptions, as well as poor infection prevention and control. Why is it a problem? The WHO has warned that many infectious diseases may one day become uncontrollable. Resistance has become a serious issue because the number of new antimicrobrial drugs in the pipeline has slowed drastically while antibiotic use, and therefore resistance, is rising. What happens if nothing is done? Experts have estimated that by 2050, 10m lives could be lost every year as a result of drug-resistant infections. If antibiotics lose their effectiveness then key medical procedures including gut surgery, caesarean sections, joint replacements, and chemotherapy could become too dangerous to perform. What infections should not be treated with antibiotics? Viral infections should not be treated with antibiotics. Common infections caused by viruses include: Colds, flu, some sore throats, most coughs and bronchitis, many sinus infections, and many ear infections. Many GPs come under enormous pressure from patients to prescribe antibiotics. It has called for better public awareness of the fact that prescribing antibiotics is not always the answer to treating minor, self-limiting illness. At least 18 people are known to have been killed and hundreds are reported missing in the landslides so far. Rescue work had resumed early in morning before fresh rains began in the area. Military spokesman Brigadier Jayanath Jayaweera said the army was assessing the situation and would deploy more troops in the worst-hit Kegalle district if needed. Torrential rain has lashed the island nation for several days and officials said the extent of the tragedy was still unclear. The Sri Lankan Red Cross said at least 220 families were unaccounted for. The task is to figure out what happened to them, the Red Cross said, saying some people may have left after local officials warned earlier this week of possible landslides. Brig Jayaweera said that the army had so far rescued 156 people trapped by landslides and more than 1,550 people were being sheltered in seven shelters. Heavy fog, rain, power cuts and the loose ground have made it difficult to search for survivors. Officials have also warned that, with rain still falling, more landslides could occur. Villagers said torrents of muddy water, tree branches and debris came crashing down around their homes in the three villages, located at different heights on the same hill in Kegalle district, about 70km north of Colombo. Officials could not give the populations of the villages of Siripura, Elangapitiya or Pallebage, but such villages typically include 1,000 to 1,500 residents. In Elangapitiya alone, where 14 bodies were recovered on Wednesday, about 130 people were still missing, according to major general Sudantha Ranasinghe, who was co-ordinating rescue efforts. Hundreds of stunned villagers took shelter in four temporary camps set up in schools. Anti-smoking campaigners described it as a crushing defeat. The day before new regulations were to come into force, a high court judge in London declared that they were valid and lawful in all respects, and rejected a judicial review action brought against the UK health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, by four of the worlds biggest firms. Mr Justice Green yesterday said: There is no basis upon which I could, or should, strike down the regulations, or prevent them coming into effect tomorrow. The UK public health minister, Jane Ellison, said: This is a victory for a generation that will grow up smoke-free. Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco, and Japan Tobacco International had challenged the legality of the standardised packaging regulations, which come into force today. Tobacco firms say the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations, 2015, will destroy their property rights and render products indistinguishable from each other. The judge said: The regulations were lawful when they were promulgated by parliament, and they are lawful now, in the light of the most up-to-date evidence. Action on Smoking and Health chief executive, Deborah Arnott, said: This landmark judgement is a crushing defeat for the tobacco industry and fully justifies the governments determination to go ahead with the introduction of standardised packaging. Japan Tobacco International said it intended to appeal. Daniel Sciamma, British managing director, said: We will continue to challenge the legality of plain-packaging. The fact remains that our branding has been eradicated and we maintain that this is unlawful. Philip Morris said it would not appeal. Here, plain-packaging legislation was scheduled to come into effect in 2017, but has been delayed because of the tardiness in forming a government. Donal Buggy, at the Irish Cancer Society, said: Due to the prolonged period of government negotiations, a minor piece of technical legislation, changing the laws that introduce plain-packaging, has not been progressed. So what is standardised packaging? New rules governing standardised packaging of tobacco products are coming into effect. Q. What is standardised packaging? Standardised packaging is free of anything promoting the product or making it attractive, and is consistent across all brands. It prohibits branding other than the product name, which is restricted to a standard font, size and colour, as well as trademarks, logos, colour schemes, and graphics. Q. What does the new tobacco packaging look like? All packaging not already covered in warnings, which must take up 65% of the front and back of packs, must be the same dull green colour, called Pantone 448C. Graphic images of health conditions caused by smoking combined with text dominate the pack. The name of the brand and product appears underneath in a regulated font designed to be less noticeable than the warnings. All packs must be cuboid in shape and contain a minimum of 20 cigarettes, to allow room for the warnings, while hand-rolled tobacco must also be packaged in the standard green colour and contain a 30g minimum. Q. Why is standardised packaging being introduced here? Smoking is the number one cause of preventable early death, and 100,000 people in Britain die every year from smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Every year in Britain around 200,000 children start smoking - enough to fill 6,900 classrooms. Health charities say that if just a fraction of these children are discouraged from taking up smoking as a result of standardised packaging, it will save thousands of lives. A review of evidence of standardised packaging carried out by the University of Stirlings Institute for Social Marketing found that standard packs are less appealing, make health warnings more effective, and reduce the ability of the packaging to minimise the harms of smoking. Q. Has it worked elsewhere? Standardised packaging was introduced in Australia in December 2012, where figures from the national drugs strategy household surveys have shown that the prevalence of smoking among adults fell in the second half of 2013, from 15.1% to 12.8%. In Britain, an independent review conducted for the government by paediatrician Sir Cyril Chantler found it highly likely that standardised packaging would serve to reduce the rate of children taking up smoking. Q. Why are the old packs still on sale? Tobacco companies and shops have a year to sell old stock and fully implement the changes, after which time they will face severe penalties for flouting the rules. The poll was commissioned for the charitys International Safe Cities for Women Day, which is today. Three quarters of women in the UK have experienced violence or harassment in cities, says the research. The poll of 2,518 women found that 75% of them had been subject to violence in urban areas; 23% had been groped in public, and a third (36%) felt at risk on public transport. Three in seven (43%) said they felt at risk of harassment on city streets. The proportion of women in other parts of the world who had experienced urban violence was higher. In Thailand and Brazil, 86% of women said they had been subjected to harassment or violence in public. Sarah Carson, ActionAids womens rights campaign manager, said the research was worrying. Every day, women around the world face groping, unwanted touching, and many other forms of harassment on the streets of their cities. But behind every statistic are real women. Women who have been raped in their homes in the slums of Delhi, women in Brazil who fear the drug traffickers who dominate and control their neighbourhoods, and garment workers in Cambodia and Thailand who are abused and harassed in and around their workplace. It is appalling, and unacceptable, that this is happening in cities around the world. The charity is campaigning for the Government to increase the proportion of aid to womens groups working on the frontline in poor communities. ActionAid are asking for 70m, over the next three years, to be committed to the existing aid budget, so that no matter who she is, or where she lives, no woman has to live in fear of violence or harassment in her city. Broadchurch star, Jodie Whittaker, spoke of her own experience of harassment, as she joined fellow actress, Imelda Staunton, in launching a campaign to improve womens safety in cities. Whittaker, 33, said her experiences had made her think about the types of inappropriate behaviour women accept, and when they should report it. She was speaking at the launch of ActionAids International Safe Cities for Women Day, at Marble Arch. Thirty mannequins a third marked in red were installed at the London landmark by the charity, to represent the one-in-three women who experience violence and are subject to it on the streets of their cities. Asked whether she had felt unsafe on the streets, Whittaker replied: Theres been five or six incidents that, over my life and Im only 33 Ive experienced, and, actually, it made me question how far does something have to go before you report it. And thats the terrifying thing, I think, for women ... What do we accept? Do we accept someone grabbing you inappropriately on the Tube? Do we accept being leered at, and all those things? And how far does it have to go before you report it? Staunton, 60, said women were plagued by concerns that someone might be following them when they are alone in cities. That, surely, isnt a way any human being should be walking home, or walking to school, or walking back from work, she said. So, I think its important for all of us to bring this to the surface and that women who sometimes dont have a voice be able to voice their concerns. She added: Its not just about women. Its about men being made aware. There might be some men who arent aware that women dont feel safe, but they should be made aware of that. Of course, there are some men who dont feel safe, but, today, we are talking about women and when you talk about women, you have to include men. ActionAids International Safe Cities for Women Day will be marked by events across the world today. Asia Atomic Bomb Survivors: Obama Apology Nice, But Priority Is Disarmament Atomic bomb survivors say an apology from US President Obama for Hiroshima would be welcome, but their priority is on ridding the world of nuclear weapons. TOKYO Japanese atomic bomb survivors say an apology from President Barack Obama for the US bombing of Hiroshima would be welcome, but their priority is on ridding the world of all nuclear weapons forever. Obama, who in 2009 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize partly for making nuclear nonproliferation a centerpiece of his agenda, will on May 27 become the first incumbent US president to visit Hiroshima, site of the worlds first atomic bombing on Aug. 6, 1945. The city of Nagasaki was bombed three days later. Obamas visit to Hiroshima, after he attends a meeting of G7 leaders in Tokyo, was hotly debated in the White House, with concern it would be criticized in the United States if it was seen as an apology. Most Japanese feel the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unjustified. Many in the United States say the bombings shortened the war and saved the lives of numerous US servicemen. Terumi Tanaka, a native of Nagasaki who was 13 when the bomb hit, said on Thursday an apology for the human suffering would be welcome. Though he was unharmed, he vividly recalls searching the blackened city and piles of bodies for family members. We would definitely like an apology to people who lost their lives, those who lost loved ones, parents who lost their children, Tanaka, who heads a national organization of bombing survivors, told a news conference. But insisting on a broad apology risked interfering with the ultimate goal of nuclear disarmament, he said. The strongest feeling of survivors is that this should not become a barrier to getting rid of nuclear weapons, he said. The bomb dropped on Hiroshima killed thousands of people instantly and about 140,000 by the end of the year. About 27,000 people were killed instantly in Nagasaki and about 70,000 by the end of the year. Japan surrendered six days after the bombing of Nagasaki. Toshiki Fujimori, who was a baby on his mothers back when the two of them were bowled over by the blast wave from the Hiroshima bomb, said he sensed efforts were being made to dampen talk of an apology in advance of Obamas visit. What I mean is, there has been pressure applied to create a mood in which he can visit, he said. I wont go into details. Hiroshima governor Hidehiko Yuzaki said Obamas visit was stirring a range of emotions in survivors but they were mostly putting hope for nuclear disarmament first. Their biggest wish is that they dont want anybody to go through this again, he told Reuters. In order to carry this out, theyll put the issue of an apology to the side for now. Asia US Could Lift Arms Embargo on Vietnam Amid China Tensions US President Obama could lift restrictions on arms sales when he makes his first visit to Vietnam, which would remove wartime animosity but not please China. WASHINGTON President Barack Obama could lift restrictions on arms sales when he makes his first visit to Vietnam next week. That would remove a final vestige of wartime animosity but would not please China, which views growing US defense ties in its backyard with deep suspicion amid rising military tensions in the South China Sea. Theres considerable support in Washington for lifting the restrictions, including from the Pentagon, but also pockets of congressional opposition, leaving uncertain whether Obama will announce it when he visits Vietnam, starting Sunday. The administration is pushing for more progress on human rights, a constant drag on the relationship. Significantly, the communist government has committed to allow independent labor unions as a condition of its participation in the US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, but it still holds about 100 political prisoners and there have been more detentions this year. As part of Obamas effort to help Southeast Asian nations counter Beijing, the United States in 2014 partially lifted an arms embargo in place since the end of the Vietnam War, allowing Vietnam to buy lethal defense equipment for maritime security. Vietnam, which has mostly Russian-origin equipment, has not bought anything, but is still eager for Washington to remove the remaining restrictions. If nothing else, it would show relations are fully normalized and open the way to deeper security cooperation. Real progress on protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms including through legal reform is crucial to ensuring that Vietnam and our relationship achieves its full potential, Daniel Kritenbrink, the White House senior director for Asian affairs, told reporters Wednesday. He refused to comment directly on whether the remaining arms sale restrictions would be liftedalso sensitive because of criticism of Vietnams rights record among congressional opponents of TPP. The risk of confrontation with Beijing is already growing as the United States challenges Chinas island-building and assertive behavior in the South China Sea, where five other Asian governments, including Vietnam, have territorial claims. The Pentagon said that two Chinese fighter jets flew Tuesday within about 50 feet of a US Navy reconnaissance plane, forcing the pilot to descend sharply to avoid a collision. China on Thursday denied its behavior was unsafe, and demanded the United States stop spying. China would view the lifting of the restrictions as an attempt to woo Vietnam closer to the United States and away from China. It will undoubtedly be seen as aimed at weakening Chinas position and influence in the region, said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS. But Beijing will be guarded in its reaction because Vietnam is a fraternal communist neighbor. Asked about the prospect of the United States lifting arms restrictions, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Thursday that China hopes the countries concerned will play a constructive role in ensuring their cooperation be conducive to the regional stability and safety. Hanoi and Beijing have an ambivalent relationship. Despite the ties between their ruling parties, they fought a border war in 1979 in which thousands died, and clashes in 1988 over their conflicting claims in the South China Sea claimed dozens of lives. Those tensions reared again in 2014, when China parked an oil rig off Vietnams central coast, sparking confrontations at sea and deadly anti-China riots in Vietnam. The Vietnamese have got a very tough strategic equation to solve, said Marvin Ott, a former National War College lecturer who led the first, cautious military-to-military contacts between the United States and Vietnam in the mid-1990s. One aspect is how far Vietnam can go in deepening relations with the United States without provoking China. The other is placating US demands for progress on democracy and human rights without threatening the ruling partys grip on power, he said. Obama will be the third consecutive US president to visit Vietnam since diplomatic relations resumed in 1995. In 2013, the two sides declared a comprehensive partnership, and last July, the chief of Vietnams Communist Party visited the White House, showing that resistance among party hardliners to deeper ties with Washington was receding. But anxiety about China and memories of the Vietnam War still limit military cooperation, said Murray Hiebert, a CSIS expert on Southeast Asia. Despite Vietnams desire for the United States to lift restrictions and its interest in modernizing its defense equipment, buying from Russia is cheaper and easier. According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Vietnam has been the worlds eighth largest importer of weapons over the past five years. Ott said that among South China Sea coastal nations, Vietnam is potentially the most significant military partner for the United States. Among the others, Indonesia says it has no territorial dispute with China although they have overlapping maritime claims; the military of the Philippines, a US ally, is weak; and Malaysia and Brunei are unwilling to confront China. If youre sitting in the Pentagon, theres only one country that actually could be a military partner and a factor in the South China Sea, and thats Vietnam, Ott said. Burma 21st Century Panglong Conference Set for Late July Aung San Suu Kyis new push for a peace conference with ethnic armed organizations is expected to include groups still clashing with the Burma Army. RANGOON The National League for Democracys push for peace with ethnic armed groups is expected to begin in late July, according to sources familiar with the matter. At the office complex of the former Myanmar Peace Center in Rangoon on Thursday, the government committee making preparations for the so-called 21st Century Panglong Conference met with the eight non-state signatories of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), a peace pact signed with Burmas previous government in 2015. The committee explained that they would like to hold the conference by the end of July, Khun Myint Tun, chairman of the Pa-O National Liberation Organization, told The Irrawaddy. The preparation committee, however, did not provide details about the conference, Khun Myint Tun added. The framework for the conference is expected to build upon the political dialogue established by the previous government, according to NCA signatories. But, the committee will also invite 13 NCA non-signatories to work together on creating an agenda for the conference, the signatories said. When asked if the NCA non-signatories would be allowed to participate in the conference, Khun Myint Tun said: They can participate from the very beginning. They will be allowed to take part in the decision-making of developing the framework [for the conference]. At a meeting in April with the Joint Monitoring Committee, a ceasefire watchdog that includes the eight NCA signatories, Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmas state counselor, first proposed holding a Panglong-style conference. The original Panglong Conference was convened in southern Shan State in 1947 by Suu Kyis father, Gen. Aung San, and leaders from some of the countrys ethnic minorities, in preparation for independence from Britain. It led to the signing of an agreement by the same name, which has been widely praised for the spirit of inclusiveness and cooperation that it fostered between the dominant Burman majority and ethnic minorities at the time. Suu Kyi is set to meet with the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) on May 27 and inviting NCA non-signatories to participate in framework drafting will be on the agenda, said Khun Myint Tun. The UPDJC was charged with drafting the framework for political dialogue under the previous government, and is a tripartite body consisting of government-military representatives, as well as those from NCA signatories and political parties. The chairman of the conference preparatory committee, Dr. Tin Myo Win, said his committee in the meantime would encourage NCA non-signatories to sign the NCA or to take part in the development of a framework for the conference. The committee has formed a sub-committee headed by Tin Myo Win to negotiate with NCA non-signatories, and another sub-committee led by Gen. Yar Pyae of the Burma Army will take care of preparations for the conference. Hla Maung Shwe, a member of the preparation committee, said that Suu Kyi had instructed them to include ethnic armed groups that are still clashing with the Burma Army in the conference, and they have taken steps to achieve that goal. Whether or not [the NCA non-signatories] sign [the NCA] would depend on their discussions with the government later, said Hla Maung Shwe. What is important now is to figure out how to bring them into the talks. Hla Maung Shwe declined to comment on whether the Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Taang National Liberation Armythree ethnic armed groups that are non-signatories and are actively in conflict with the Burma Armywould be invited to the conference. The previous government shut the three groups out of talks leading up to the NCA signing. The Irrawaddys Moe Myint contributed reporting. Burma Court Accepts Defamation Suit Against Nationalist Provocateur Fringe politician Nay Myo Wai faces charges under Burmas Telecommunications Law for allegedly defaming the president, army chief and state counselor on social media. PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Division A court in Irrawaddy Divisions Kangyidaunt Township on Thursday accepted a lawsuit filed against ultra-nationalist politician Nay Myo Wai for allegedly defaming the president, army chief and state counselor on social media. Wai Yan Aung, an executive member of the Burma Teachers Federation, filed the lawsuit against the politician two weeks ago under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law and accused him of defaming President Htin Kyaw, Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. Article 66(d) carries a punishment of up to three years imprisonment for using a telecommunications network to defame. Nay Myo Wai is a supporter of the Buddhist nationalist group Ma Ba Tha and serves as chairman of the Peace and Diversity Party. In recent years he has earned a reputation as a frequent propagator of anti-Muslim sentiment online. Nay Myo Wai was arrested on May 4 and remained in custody in Pathein Prison while police sought approval from the transportation and communications minister to charge him under the Telecommunications Law. The minister approved and the case was submitted to the court on Thursday. The defendants sister Sandar Oo will act as his lawyer, and Myint Thein will represent the plaintiff Wai Yan Aung. As Nay Myo Wai was brought to court on Thursday, dozens of relatives and supporters showed up and shouted blessings to him. The trial is scheduled for May 23. Several cases under the Telecommunications Law rose to prominence during the former governments rule. Kachin aid worker Patrick Khum Jaa Lee and Chaw Sandi Tun each received six-month sentences for Facebook posts that courts deemed defamatory to the military, and a local Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) official received a six-month sentence for sharing fake, altered images of the head of Suu Kyi transposed onto the body of a naked woman. Burma Fleeing From the Sex Trade Three young Arakanese women, lured by well-paid factory jobs, barely escape after finding themselves nearly sold as brides to Chinese men. RANGOON Two weeks ago, three Arakanese women from Kyaukphyu Township in northern Arakan met in an unlikely place: Shweli, a Chinese town also known as Ruili, on the border with Burma. The trio had been convinced to cross into China, lured by the promise of lucrative factory jobs in the border boomtown. They travelled by bus to Muse Township in Burma, and after crossing the border on a seven-day visa, they were ushered by smugglers to the Shwi Cott guest house where they stayed for a few days. One day, Hnin Sandar Phyo, one of the Arakanese women, eavesdropped on the smugglers conversation. I was horrified, said Hnin Sandar Phyo, a native of Taung Yin village, Kyaukphyu. She heard them talking about a virgin market where the smugglers could earn four million kyats (US$3,415) and the youngest girl, Thuzar Khin, 17, was likely to bring in five million kyats. The smugglers said that the girls would be able to support their families with the money they earned from marrying the Chinese clients. I never expected this, because I trusted her, she said. I didnt know what to do and just cried the whole night, said Thuzar Khin. I missed my boyfriend. I didnt tell him about my journey because I was coming to work [in China], not to marry a stranger. Hnin Sandar Phyo, 20, was also distraught. I immediately broke out in a cold sweat, she said. The three Arakanese girls decided to flee. In an unknown environment, surrounded by a foreign language, the only thing they knew to do was run. We left the guest house around 10 pm, said Thuzar Khin. We felt helpless because we couldnt speak Chinese. Even asking for help was hard. Fortunately, they met with a Burmese man who runs a betel nut shop near the Shwi Cott guest house. He brought them to his house to hide for the night. But they knew the traffickers were after them, and the following morning he took them to the Ruili-Muse border crossing and gave them money for bus tickets to Mandalay. When they arrived in Mandalay, they were penniless. They begged a bus operator to let them go to Sittwe for free, and the kind-hearted man acquiesced. The three girls reached Sittwe on May 15, and the bus driver called the human trafficking prevention department of the Sittwe Police. Police Col. Kyaw Nyunt met with the girls and launched an investigation into their case. According to Kyaw Nyunt, the smugglers were Kyaukphyu residents who live in different neighborhoods. They approached the girls because they have relatives working in China, and they promised them a salary of US$150 per month to work in a Chinese factory. The girls were all from poor villages, and the prospects of a good job were very appealing. After the police recorded the girls statements, they took them back to Kyaukphyu on a high-speed boat. On May 18, local police apprehended four womenSan San, Myint Myint Than, Hla Shwe and Ma Nayand charged them with human trafficking. Thuzar Khin said the traffickers should be jailed for forty years, adding, [The traffickers] also have children, so they should have had empathy. But even bringing the traffickers to justice is unlikely to help Thuzar Khin overcome the trauma of the experience. She met her boyfriend at home on Thursday, but it was not the happy reunion she had expected. I wanted to tell him everything, but I couldnt say anything. Burma Lawmakers Propose Further Easing of Protest Law After criticism from rights groups, the Upper House of Parliament debates scrapping further harsh provisions in Burmas Peaceful Assembly law. RANGOON Burmas Upper House of Parliament has decided to review a bill to replace the controversial Peaceful Assembly and Procession Law, so as to align it more closely with international human rights standards, after criticism from rights groups that it retained several provisions used to stifle dissent in recent years. First enacted in 2012 under the previous military-backed government, the lawwhich ostensibly bestowed new rights of protest and assemblywas repeatedly used to arrest and imprison activists who flouted its harsh provisions. This included the need to seek permission from local authorities five days in advance of the protest and to supply detailed information on the content and intended route of the activities. Earlier this month, the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) recommended in the Upper House of Parliament that significant changes be made to the Peaceful Assembly law. Demonstrators would only need to notify local authorities 48 hours in advance, a new statute of limitations of 15 days would be introduced, and protestors would not be vulnerable to prosecution from multiple township authorities. However, the proposal to merely reduce, rather than abolish, prison sentences for violating sections of the lawand to continue to require detailed information on proposed protests be provided to local authoritieshas drawn criticism from both local and international human rights groups. It also led to accusations that the amendment of the law was being rushed by the NLD. Four lawmakers brought debate of the replacement bill to Thursdays legislative session. In particular, they recommended that the requirement for protest leaders to supply the content of slogans to local police along with the names of speakers should be deleted or amended. One lawmaker suggested further reducing the statute of limitations for filing lawsuits against protestors to seven days, but another recommended increasing the original proposal to 30 days. Members of the Upper House Bill Committee on Friday discussed the new bill with representatives from the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), or AAPP. Bo Kyi, joint secretary of the AAPP, described the changes in the bill as insufficient in addressing challenges faced by activists in Burma, since peaceful protests could still entail jail terms, and impromptu demonstrations were not accounted for. [The law] has yet to [secure rights of] peaceful assembly and protest for anyone living legally in the country, Bo Gyi told The Irrawaddy. If Burma wants to address its ugly record of human rights violations, it has to amend the law in accordance with international standards, he said. Zaw Min, who chairs the Upper House Bill Committee, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that the committee would look into amending the bill. The recommendations we received from different human rights associations and legal experts are quite similar, Zaw Min said. We will consider including their recommendations and redrafting the bill before submitting it to Parliament. Amnesty Internationals South East Asia and Pacific Director Rafendi Djamin sent an open letter to Burmas Parliament the previous week, urging a review of the bill through a transparent consultation with relevant stakeholders. Failure to do so not only risks more arrests, detention, prosecution and imprisonment of peaceful protesters, it also could undermine wider efforts to reform the countrys legal framework in general, the letter stated. Business Stock Exchange Sophomore IPO Hits Ceiling After only a few hours of trading, the Yangon Stock Exchanges second public listing soars 25 percent, reaching its daily trading limit. For the second time in as many months, the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) has hosted an initial public offering (IPO). Myanmar Thilawa Special Economic Zone Holdings on Friday followed First Myanmar Investment to become the second firm listed on the YSX; hungry for the new opportunity, investors drove the stock up 25 percent on its first day of trading. Thilawa SEZs float price of 40,000 kyats (US$34.16) quickly soared to 50,000 kyats, where it hit the daily price ceiling and trading was suspended. Myanmar Thilawa SEZ is a holding group that holds a major stake in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone 20 miles south of Rangoon that is home to factories, a deep sea port and housing complexes. Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings is a very attractive company for investors, said Thet Tun Oo, senior manager at YSX. Businesses have already started operating there, unlike at other development zones, and I believe Thilawa will develop very quickly. While the opening day may seem like a good sign for Thilawa SEZs stock price, its predecessor on the bourse has already had a rough ride. FMI, YSXs maiden listing, fell below its IPO price a few days after the initial wave of exuberance subsided and has remained 5,000 to 10,000 kyats below its peak ever since. Thilawa SEZ offered over 3.8 million shares on Friday, which had been previously sold to investors through over-the-counter trading. Commentary A Fragmented Ethnic Bloc Impedes Suu Kyis Panglong Vision Disunity among ethnic armed groups may result in irreconcilable demands, frustrating Suu Kyis plans for a 21st Century Panglong Conference. RANGOON While State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi beats the drum for a 21st Century Panglong Conference to resolve decades-long ethnic conflict in Burmas border regions, the division between the minority of ethnic armed groups who signed last years Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) and the majority who did not appears to grow sharper by the day. The two blocs are already developing contrasting approaches to the peace process, and articulating different ideas, including over the centrality of the Burma Army versus the National League for Democracy (NLD) government in negotiating peace. The division has been exacerbated in recent months by hostilities in northern Shan State: between the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), the armed wing of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) which signed the NCA, and the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the armed wing of the Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF) which was excluded from participating in the NCA by the previous government. The TNLA has repeatedly accused the SSA-S of receiving assistance from the Burma Army in its campaign. Recent comments from armed group leaders, who asked to remain anonymous, suggest that a group from among the non-NCA signatory ethnic armed groups could break away to form a powerful third bloc, based in northern Burma along the Chinese border and led by the United Wa State Army (UWSA)the largest of Burmas ethnic armed groups and reportedly close to elements of the Chinese government. Soon after Suu Kyi proposed the 21st Century Panglong Conference (a reference to the Panglong Agreement of 1947 reached between Suu Kyis father Aung San and ethnic minority leaders to form a federal union guaranteeing ethnic communities equal rights), two NCA signatories, the RCSS and the Karen National Union (KNU), held a private meeting in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, to discuss proposals for federalism that they would present at such a conference. Ethnic armed group sources have said that the two ethnic blocs on either side of the NCA are likely to deliver differing messages to the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC). The NRPC is the secretariat recently formed by Suu Kyi to facilitate negotiations with ethnic armed groupsa replacement for the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) under the previous government. Both ethnic blocs have formed their own delegations for peace negotiations and political dialogue with the government: the Ethnic Armed Organizations Peace Process Steering Team (EAO-PPST) in the case of NCA signatory groups, and the Delegation for Political Negotiation (DPN) in the case of non signatory groups. Sources familiar with the issue told The Irrawaddy that NCA signatories prefer dealing with the Burma Army to Suu Kyis NRPC, while the NCA non-signatories have expressed greater willingness to deal with Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (NLD) government. KNU leaders met privately with Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Burma Army, and former President Thein Sein on May 14 in Naypyidaw to discuss the peace process. Mahn Nyein Maung, a senior figure in the KNU, told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that although Suu Kyi has proposed holding a 21st Century Panglong Conference within two months, political dialogue should only begin once NCA non-signatories sign the NCA. It will not be a meaningful conference if there are still ethnic armed groups who havent signed the NCA, Mahn Nyein Maung said. They [NCA non-signatories] should sign the NCA before proceeding to political dialogue. The process should be based on the NCA established by the previous government, Mahn Nyein Maung said. Mahn Nyein Maung added that the purpose of the KNUs visit to Naypyidaw was to strengthen their relationship with the Burma Army chief. While the Burma Army has exercised a carrot policy with the KNU and the RCSS, offering benefits and cooperation, it has stepped up hostilities against NCA non-signatories in Kachin and Shan states in the north and east of Burma. NCA non-signatories including the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP), Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Arakan Army (AA) have seen active conflict with the Burma Army since the NCA signing ceremony in October last year. These hostilities have served to undermine the unity of even the NCA non-signatories. The TNLA and the MNDAA have recently moved to resign their membership of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of nine non-NCA signatory armed groups. The TNLA and the MNDAA reportedly wish to ally with the powerful UWSA, in order to focus on military defensereflecting their more embattled position vis-a-vis the Burma Army, compared to some other UNFC groups. According to a senior member of an NCA signatory group, speaking on condition of anonymity, ethnic armed groups along the Burma-China border in northern Shan State may merge to form a new alliance. He hinted it would comprise of NCA non-signatories. The TNLA, the MNDAA and the UWSA are the most likely candidates for this northern third bloc of ethnic armed groups, with the latter assuming a leadership position on account of its superior size and strength. The Arakan Armyan ethnic Arakanese armed group founded in Kachin State but which has recently been fighting the Burma Army in Arakan Statehas reportedly fostered ties with the UWSA over the past two years, and is another likely member of this new alliance, along with the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) based in eastern Shan State and popularly known as the Mong La Group, which has historically been close to the UWSA. Additionally, the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP), whose armed wing is the Shan State Army-North, has enjoyed political, military and business partnerships with the UWSA. Their participation cannot be ruled out in this new, potentially destabilizing northern alliance, which would significantly weaken the UNFC. TNLA spokesperson Tar Bong Kyaw was quoted by RFA as saying that they had submitted their resignation to the UNFC alongside the MNDAA because of their political standpoint and the current military situation. It is mainly because military tensions are so high in our region. Clashes have been going on for some time. But we received only weak assistance from the UNFC, Tar Bong Kyaw was quoted as saying. In March, the UWSA hosted a conference of ethnic armed groups at its headquarters of Panghsang at the Chinese border, during which it proposed that it take a leadership role on behalf of NCA non-signatories in peace talks with the new government. However, the KIOthe second largest ethnic armed group in Burma, which currently leads the UNFCrejected the proposal at the conference. The Burma Army meanwhile has shown no signs of softening its stance on the TNLA and the Arakan Army, both of which backed the MNDAA in fierce clashes with the Burma Army in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone in Shan State early last year. The Burma Army still will not countenance the formal involvement of these three armed groups in the peace process, which may have alienated them from other UNFC members eager to reach a peace deal with the new NLD government. Although Suu Kyi will likely remain determined in her project to emulate the achievements of her father with Burmas ethnic minority groups, there are very substantial obstacles to achieving a 21st Century Panglong Conference in the current environment of distrust, disunity and polarization. With the existing bonds of unity among ethnic armed groups growing increasingly fragile, highly differingand possibly irreconcilabledemands are likely to be addressed to Suu Kyi. For instance, multiple ethnic minorities in diverse Shan State, such as the Pa-O or the Palaung (Taang), may demand their own federal statesor at least substantial autonomyfor fear that the ethnic Shan majority may dominate a federal Shan State. The ethnic Shan may view this as a splintering of their territory. Furthermore, the looming possibility of a new northern alliance led by the UWSA, as a substantial third bloc of ethnic armed groups in Burma, could de-stabilize the situation further. Friday, May 20th, 2016 (10:50 am) - Score 629 London-based ISP NextGenAccess has hinted at plans to expand its fibre optic based broadband network into more areas that are currently outside the coverage of the BTs UK FTTC/P roll-out, with a particular reference being made to rural areas and non-city centre data centres and technology hubs. At present the provider already claims to have its kit and cables connected via 57 Exchange street cabinets across the UK with the ability to serve over 600,000 premises with either copper or fibre services (everything from DSL to Dark Fibre), which includes the ability to provide our own sub duct and fibre in the Openreach network. The ISP also claims to have their own subcontractors, which can deliver bespoke large scale fibre projects quickly without the reliance on BT. All of this sounds like a mix of LLU, Sub Loop Unbundling (SLU) and Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA), although weve not heard about NextGenAccess before today. Never the less it looks like they could be planning for a significant network expansion, at least thats the impression we get from the providers application for Code Powers from Ofcom (i.e. quicker / easier approval of civil works). Code Powers Submission (Extract) It now plans on expanding this network from copper-based to other technologies, including FTTP and FTTH. This will allow for services that can support high bandwidth and will enable big data usage in areas which are currently outside of the coverage of the BT superfast broadband rollout and other smaller service providers (in particular, in rural areas and non-city centre data centres and technology hubs). It has explained that its network will provide services with superfast and even ultrafast speeds, up to 10GB/s. It explained that its initial phase of expansion will include the installation of economic high-speed fibre to its existing cabinets in order to have the core backbone network ready to deliver ultrafast services, as well as the delivery of last-mile fibre (i.e. FTTP) in some areas, including for large scale rural broadband. The Applicant has suggested that it would utilise simplified delivery methods for the last-mile fibre delivery in order to avoid the delays experienced by a number of other operators when deploying fibre. [NextGenAccess] explained that its fibre delivery network will utilise existing duct and infrastructure, wherever possible, including sewer ducts and BT Openreachs PIA product. However, in some places, it explained that it may nevertheless need to carry out its own works in order to construct its own fibre network. The Applicant has explained that a key sector that is currently under serviced by BT and the current BDUK broadband rollout is SMEs. As a result, it has previously deployed bespoke FTTP solutions to customers in areas whose options are limited to standard broadband or expensive dedicated fibre services and will continue to do so if it obtains Code powers. According to the Applicant, this has allowed businesses served by its network to receive reliable high-speed internet services with speeds of 50Mb/50Mb at an affordable price. NextGenAccess is predominantly focused upon catering for Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SME), although it does also cater for some residential consumers within its network footprint. For example, theyre currently deploying into a small rural hamlet in Hertfordshire (England), where it intends to deliver 100Mbps+ business grade connectivity for a local charity. However the network will also cater for other local residents in the same area. As usual Ofcom has proposed to grant the code powers and opened a public consultation. Mind you it should be said that such applications are often written in an overly optimistic way in order to make them seem as attractive as possible for the regulator to wave through. 5 Ways Retailers Can Best Leverage Data Analytics I never realized before, but Ive come to learn that ad blockers cause a lot of hand-wringing. Juniper Research earlier this month put out a report warning that digital publishers stand to lose over $27 billion by 2020, and theres a lot of chatter about what Google is planning to do in response to people installing these ad-blocking extensions on their browsers. All of this angst is music to the ears of Mark Bauman. Bauman is founder and CEO of ReviveAds, an ad block circumvention tool provider in San Diego. For a cut of the digital publishers advertising revenue, ReviveAds will install a script on the publishers site that blocks the blockers. In an interview earlier this week, I told Bauman that it all seems kind of pointless, because it seems to me that anyone whos inclined to block ads is going to be disinclined to pay any attention to an ad if its there, so why bother making the ads reappear? He said those people are still potential customers. They still want to see the ads, Bauman claimed. Even though theyve taken the action of installing an ad blocker, it doesnt necessarily mean they dont want to see ads at all. Its just that at that time, it was a thing they added into their repertoire when surfing the Web. Bauman said even sites with strong user communities, with a lot of vocal users chiming in on blogs, forums and chat boards have had no user complaints, or users even asking whats going on when the ads start reappearing. That seems counterintuitive to me, so I asked Bauman what he attributes the lack of pushback to. I think its just a plug-in mentality, he said. I have about eight plug-ins on my computer that I forget I have until it pops up. You just install these things that you forget are even there. I would contend that theres some responsibility on the parts of websites and advertisers to make their ads less intrusive and annoying, so people will be less inclined to block them. Bauman said he agreed. One of our practices is we dont do annoying adsno sound, no overlays, no animation, he said. The worst is an animated gif. That might be part of the reason why we dont get so much pushback from users. We stay away from those, because you can make almost as much money using just gifs and static images. ReviveAds revenue model is based on taking a cut of that money. Basically, we just keep our standard advertising percentage, Bauman said. We have different deals with different publications10 percent to 20 percent of the revenue, depending on the size of the site. To earn its money, ReviveAds simply gives the customer website a script it places on its site. That script does all the detection, the circumvention, the placement of the ads it places the ads exactly where they need to be, Bauman explained. It calls our ad server in a way thats basically obfuscated from the ad blockers, and were able then to deliver the ads as they originally were. If youre thinking all of this is a little underhanded, and that you should have the right to block ads if you want to, Bauman has a reminder for you. The market is built on a free model, so if you take away ads on a free model, that does a disservice to the users, because theyre not going to have free content anymore, or theyre going to be tricked into buying content that they probably dont want, he said. You cant stop a users choice. For the most part, you can go around it, and you can work with it. Thats what we have to do, unless the model is changed, which users arent going to be happy with. A contributing writer on IT management and career topics with IT Business Edge since 2009, Don Tennant began his technology journalism career in 1990 in Hong Kong, where he served as editor of the Hong Kong edition of Computerworld. After returning to the U.S. in 2000, he became Editor in Chief of the U.S. edition of Computerworld, and later assumed the editorial directorship of Computerworld and InfoWorld. Don was presented with the 2007 Timothy White Award for Editorial Integrity by American Business Media, and he is a recipient of the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for editorial excellence in news coverage. Follow him on Twitter @dontennant. The recent Verizon strike update revealed big losses for the tech company. The union workers' demands and unrest have impeded operations. As such, speculations of the company's end are spreading thanks to the strike. A massive number of telephone, cable TV and broadband Internet service installers walked out of Verizon Communications, which has led to a significant decline in new customers this quarter, Fortune reports. Moreover, about 40,000 employees who work from Massachusetts to Virginia installing and servicing traditional telephone lines and newer FiOS offerings have been on strike since April 13. During the first month of the strike, the two sides traded increasingly heated allegations, leading up to an armed confrontation in the Philippines between Verizon's security guards and U.S. workers, who supported the strike. Jobs & Hire formerly reported that the latest Verizon strike is predicted to finally come to an end since the tech company is finally open for negotiation. With talks underway, many are thinking about whether the rift and division will finally settle and if a resolution or compromise can be reached in Washington. Verizon and striking union officials will remain at the bargaining table in Washington this week. Senior leaders of the telecommunications giant, Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers met last Tuesday with Labor Secretary Tom Perez and federal mediator Allison Beck to continue the talks. The strike has led to countless repercussions. Although there were talks of both segments meeting to reach a resolution, the situation remains unsettled. Verizon seems to have lost control of its operations and of its profits as well. Apple has constantly been innovating and has proven the public its mighty position in the market sales world. Apparently, the giant mobile company has never failed the customers in meeting the latter's satisfaction despite the mobile prices. This time, there is another innovation that Apple is telling the people about. According to a web post via Patently Apple, Apple has two patent pending inventions that encompass a futuristic version of Touch ID that is being located beneath the display of the iPhone or iPad devices. In addition, Apple's newly granted patent covers innovation relating to a very creative way of designing a good and cool looking iPhone. It comprises electronic device apparatus, which is capable of showing graphic text, icons, images and any data. These are shown on screen while the transparent finger touch sensor is slightly visible above the display apparatus. According to a post via Gizmodo, the patent shows three different kinds of technologies that can work as fingerprint sensor. To know how it works, read here. Furthermore, one report suggested that the iPhone 7 might come without the home button already. But these things will be impossible for now because it will take years for it to be integrated to the consumer products. According to BGR, the best part of this innovation is that the entire screen will be a finger touch sensor already. It means that the user will not be finding any home screen button anymore. He or she will directly access the screen to go straight to any application he or she wants to log in. Apple has so many patents; that is why, it is not impossible to redesign its models like this. There have been rumors that this radical change will happen next year. Reports even say that with these changes include the eradication of the iconic home button. Apple users are really looking forward to this. Google announced on Wednesday, May 18, at the Google I/O conference event, that it designed its own computer chip for deep neural networks. According to Wired, CEO Sundar Pichai said that Google has designed an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) aimed to drive deep neural nets, an artificial intelligence (AI) technology that is reshaping the Internet. These are networks of software and hardware that analyze vast amount of data in order to learn specific tasks. Google uses neural nets to recognize voice commands in Android phones, identify faces and objects in photos, or translate text from one language to another. Even the Google search engine is transformed by the applications of this new technology. Because it underpins TensorFlow, Google's software engine that drives its deep learning services, Google calls its chip the Tensor Processing Unit (TPU). TensorFlow was released by Google this past fall, under an open-source license. Any developer outside the company can use and modify the software program. Google said in a blog post that TPU is tailored to machine learning applications, requiring fewer transistors per operation and being more tolerant of reduced computational precision. Google has not shared the designs for the TPU, but outsiders can use the company's machine learning software and hardware via various cloud services. According to Computerworld, the new TPU built by Google is a major leap forward for intelligent applications. By creating its own custom chip, the company has taken a big leap forward with the speed of its machine learning systems. Google has been testing the TPU for over 1 year. Based on job ads posted in recent years, Google was rumored to have been designing its own chip, but until today it did not make its project public. Other companies have also incorporated deep learning into a wide range of Internet services, including Twitter, Microsoft and Facebook. The neural nets are typically driven with graphics processing units (GPUs) made by companies like Nvidia. But some companies are also exploring the use of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) that can be programmed for specific tasks. The Chinese company Xiaomi has participated at Google I/O, where it announced that its 4K Mi Box is soon to come to the U.S. market. According to Digital Trends, the new set-top box from Xiaomi, the 4K Mi Box, is an Android TV device that features support for Google's Cast standard, Bluetooth remote with voice activation and 4K video playback. The support for Ultra HD is a first for Xiaomi's Mi Box line of media streamers. Voice commands are parsed by Google's dedicated search app. The Mi Box's Cast integration will support the standard library of Chromecast-compatible music, photo and video apps available on Android and iOS. Xiaomi's 4K Mi Box will ship with the newest version of Android, the Android N. It features playback of High Dynamic Range, APIs for live video recording and content picture-in-picture support. The platform is gaining apps from a diverse range of content partners such as ESPN, CNN, Disney and Comedy Central. The 4K Mi Box features a USB port, an HDMI outport and an AV port. The device will ship alongside a game pad accessory. It will arrive in the U.S.' market later this year. The price is not disclosed yet. According to the website 4k.com, the number of specific device offerings in the growing market for Ultra HD 4K set-top box technology is increasing almost monthly. Various streaming content platforms are being attached to the new set-top boxes. Xiaomi's 4K Mi Box is just the latest example of two converging trends. Earlier versions of the box were available only overseas and offered only Full HD support. The new 4K Mi Box will offer not only 4K content but it will also run on the Google Android TV platform when it will ship to American customers soon. The 4K Mi Box from Xiaomi is a partnership with Google and its Android gaming and TV streaming media platform. The Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi will deliver Google Cast and Android TV to users' homes. In a major breakthrough, computer scientists at the Austin-based University of Texas have developed a novel means to produce genuinely random numbers, which can be employed to encrypt date and enhance cyber security. The latest system developed by the scientists helps to create accurately random numbers with very less computational endeavor compared to other existing methods. The new invention may make it appreciably easier to ensure superior levels of security for almost everything including consumer credit card transactions and even military communications, IANS reported. Moreover, the new method can also help to make electronic voting further secure, perform statistically important polls as well as replicate intricate systems like the Earth's climate more accurately. According to David Zuckerman, a computer science professor and a member of the research team, he has been coming across the problem time and again for over two decades and now he is delighted on having solved the issue. It is worth mentioning here that Zuckerman and Eshan Chattopadhyay, graduate student, released a draft paper in an online forum for the public illustrating the method they used to create random numbers. According to the draft paper, the method invented by these scientists chooses two weakly unsystematic series of numbers and transforms them into one sequence of accurately random numbers. The weakly random sequences, like stock market prices or air temperatures sampled over a period of time, harbor expected patterns. On the other hand, truly random sequences are like a toss and have nothing predictable about them. It has been established that the new method developed by scientists at the University of Texas is much more reliable than the previous means, which either required that one of the two source sequences be truly random or both source sequences be nearly truly random, News Nation reported. This, in fact, makes more difficult for hackers to crack the data. Data encryption is vital especially when it is used to secure credit card purchases and bank transactions, ensuring that personal medical data is kept private and shield military communications from enemies in addition to several other practical applications. Now, Zuckerman and his student Chattopadhyay will present their invention at the annual Symposium on Theory of Computing (STOC) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in June. Watch the basics of cyber security below: home Tech Google Nexus 7 2016 release date rumors: Looking to launch at Google I/O 2016 Google Nexus 7 will be released before the week ends, if rumors proved true that it will be unveiled at the Google I/O Developer's Conference 2016 event which will open today, May 18 and last until May 20. The Google event will also witness the launch of the new operating system (OS) Android N. According to TechRadar, Android will support pressure-sensitive displays like 3D Touch and Force Touch, and also Unicode 9. It is expected to sport a new Vulcan API and launcher shortcuts. Android N will then add more features to the upcoming Nexus 7. The device will release two variants, the 7-inch and 5-inch models. Both handsets will sport Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 chipset which will be backed up by 4 GB of RAM. The internal storage capacity of the new handset will be low, but it can be expanded up to 2 terabytes (TB) through a microSD card. The Google Nexus 7's price range will be between $229 and $269. It can be recalled that in 2012, Google worked with Asus as its manufacturer of the first version of Nexus 7. The following year, Google released the Nexus 7 2013 tablet which was again manufactured by Asus. It has been three years and Nexus users say it is about time for the company to release a new tablet. It is uncertain if Asus will be manufacturing the Nexus 7 2016, but rumors are rife that this time Google will tap HTC or Huawei to make the new tablet model. Google, HTC and Huawei have not released any statements in this regard. It should be noted that these are but speculations about the Nexus 7 2016 which leave users excited for its imminent launch. Starting today, Nexus fans will find out what Google has in store for them from its newest tablet. The biggest debate about big data is who owns it and what they can do with it. The short answer is you dont own your data, and they can do anything they like with it. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is seeking public comment on the draft Guide to big data and the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) and if your business involves big data and analytics (or you are covered by the Privacy Act 1988) you should at least read the Guide and preferably comment as this portends the beginnings of federal policy on the issue. Closing data for comments is 25 July 2016. I have tried to become a subject matter expert on big data but the topic is, well, too big. What I am concerned about is that the opening words of the consultative document state, Big data analytics has changed the way we identify trends and challenges, as well as identify opportunities. This means big data has the potential to bring about enormous social and economic benefits. Well-written lofty words for sure and reflecting the government's perception of big data "social and economic benefits" and that is great when used benignly. But as I learn more about big data, its dangerous cousin granular data, and analytics, I see it used more to extract money from unsuspecting consumers' wallets by developing appeals for goods and services that we did not even know we needed. Some of the areas covered in the guidelines include: Privacy by design "Privacy by design" is a holistic approach where privacy is integrated and embedded in an entitys culture, practices, and processes, systems and initiatives from the design stage onwards. In practice, this means entities should embed "privacy by design" across and within their organisation, as well as for individual projects and activities. This includes taking a risk management approach to identifying privacy risks and mitigating those risks from occurring. Embedding "privacy by design" will lead to a trickle-down effect where privacy is considered automatically by the entity, resulting in better overall privacy practice and compliance. APP privacy policy APP 1.3 requires entities to have clearly expressed and up-to-date privacy policies describing how they manage personal information. An APP privacy policy is a key tool for ensuring open and transparent management of personal information. Entities undertaking big data activities should include general information about those activities in their APP privacy policy, for example, by including that they undertake big data analytics for marketing or policy development. Collection by lawful and fair means and notice Personal information collected by an entity may only be used or disclosed for the primary purpose for which it was collected unless an exception applies. This means the way personal information is collected, and the notice given to the individual concerned is important for big data activities. Direct marketing Direct marketing is where an organisation directly promotes goods or services to an individual, and can include any communication made by, or on behalf of, an organisation to an individual. APP 7 sets out when and how organisations can use and disclose personal information they hold for direct marketing purposes. Organisations can use and disclose personal information for direct marketing if: the organisation collected the personal information directly from the individual, and the individual would reasonably expect their personal information to be used or disclosed for direct marketing; the individual has consented to their personal information being used or disclosed for direct marketing; and it is impractical to get the individuals consent to their personal information being used or disclosed for direct marketing. However, individuals sensitive information can only be used and disclosed for direct marketing if the individual has given their consent. The document covers so much more including sharing of PII, sending it overseas, and reasonable steps for protecting it. But it does not really address who owns that data and whether the individual can easily access their component and edit, redact, or delete what they want to. Yes, that is more a granular issue than big data, but the two are intrinsically intertwined. Jurors in the Google-Oracle trial in California were sent home on Thursday, with the two combatants having completed the presentation of evidence. They will return to the courthouse on Monday to hear closing arguments from both sides and will then begin deliberations. They can either find that Google is liable for copyright violation or that the company's use of 37 APIs from Java is covered under the fair use provisions of US copyright law. If they come to the former conclusion, then only will a new phase of the trial commence, to determine damages to be paid to Oracle. Oracle took Google to court in 2010, seeking damages for what it said was copyright and patent violation. The trial ended overwhelmingly in favour of Google in 2012, with the presiding judge, Justice William Alsup, ruling that APIs were not copyrightable. This was overturned in a subsequent appeal by Oracle and the ongoing trial is solely to determine whether Oracle is entitled to damages or not. The final day of the evidentiary part of the trial on Thursday saw Google co-founder Larry Page among others on the stand. Pagethat he did not think that Google had to pay anything for using code that he characterised as being open and free. Oracle lawyer Peter Bicks asked Page whether Google had paid for the use of Java, to which Page responded: "I think when Sun established Java it was established as an open source thing." When Bicks repeated the question, Page's response was, "No we didn't pay for the free and open things." Some of the evidence presented was noteworthy, as when Dr Greg Leonard, an economist put up by Google, claimed that Android had no impact on the licensing market for Java. The same witness testified that Google could well have developed Android without copying any code from Java at all. Somewhere around the witching hour on Wednesday, goblins and demons found Telstra ADSL and NBN black boxes and wielded powerful black magic. Hundreds of thousands of NBN and ADSL users reported issues that were, at the time of writing (10am, Friday 20 May) still largely unsolved. The reports at Aussieoutages showed outrages sorry, outages, in most capital cities and most of the eastern seaboard. This follows significant outages on Wednesday, 18 May (starting about 7am and ending at 1 am) and Thursday, 19 May, sporadically throughout the day. Euphemistically, the Telstra website called this an unplanned service outage; that has been changed. And its the fourth major outage (mobile included) in as many months. Telstras current response is that it is still trying to contain customer anger on social media by 9.30am, saying it was working to restore services "ASAP". "Customers with NBN voice and data services and ADSL services may be having difficulty connecting to the internet. We apologise to customers and are doing everything possible to restore services as quickly as possible." What is clear is that good old fashioned voice PSTN is still working as Telstra call centres are flooded with complaints. It's ironic that its digital Omni channel policy is preventing more users from venting their spleen. If you can get on the internet, I suggest you check Teltras service status page. Is Apple losing its mojo baby? I know the Apple aficionados are going to tear into me probably led by some of my pro-Apple colleagues but I wanted to present a good weekend read that encompasses many of the flames, rants and a modicum of opinion in this area. Every comment below has occurred in the popular press over the past few months as the gloss comes off Apple. Let me state for the record that I use Android and Windows devices two ecosystems are enough for me to master but I admire what Apple does to retain its brand and value for shareholders. I think its kit is well made. I have no personal opinions on Apple so dont shoot the messenger here. What I hope is that fanboys and girls will present erudite opinions on the various issues to ensure balance. Some recurrent themes have been juicing the ether. Is it a good investment? Perhaps this should have been the last item in this article but I cant help feel that when billionaire Carl Icahn exited and "value investor" Warren Buffett made an entrance, that Icahn may have been more stock savvy. iTWire commentator Alex Zaharov-Reutt wrote an article stating that one billionaires trash is another even richer billionaires treasure! Apple share prices closed at US$94.20 which is better than $90 seven days ago but down from what Buffett paid. According to USA Today, investors have seen nearly US$240 billion in wealth evaporate in their Apple holdings since the stock hit its closing peak on 23 February 2015. That's a staggering loss, rivalling some of the biggest implosions in stock-market history even exceeding stock investors' losses on failed energy firm Enron as the epitome of a terrible investment. The US$240 billion lost on Apple makes it the fourth largest market value loss among current members of the Standard & Poor's 500 from their all-time highs to now. What goes up must come down and we have not seen the full extent of Apple share price readjustments yet. The caveat is that Apple is a long-term stock. Smartphone saturation? iPhone revenues account for about 66% of the company's earnings. Analysts say that a perfect storm has hit and "you'll never see that type of growth from the iPhone again". Why? Most markets are saturated (almost one phone per person) Most new models are incremental improvements, not aspirational ones, offering few compelling reasons to upgrade The flagship segment that Apple dominates is less than 10% of the market and toxic to all, bar those with deep pockets The main ecosystems are well established there is littlle between them Smartphone replacement cycles have lengthened from 18.7 months (2007) to nearly 30 months (2016) The after-effects of the g lobal financial c risis (austerity) have led to a quest for value evidenced by the rapid rise of the Chinese companies like Huawei, OPPO, VIVO, Xiamoi and more offering better value for similar features. Upgrade cycles explained The 30 months, however, is a direct result of users planning to change every two years due to telco contracts, rather than declining functionality (most handsets are good for 4-5 years) or feature imperatives a lack of compelling reasons to upgrade puts this on hold. If Apples iPhone 7 is a "tock" (feature refresh of the 6/S), then buyers will wait for a "tick" what excites them. But added to this are the wholesale changes by carriers to discontinue offering cheaper handset prices subsidised from the profit made on calls and data. In the US, Apple iPhone is mostly being offered by carriers at around US$700 and all of a sudden the Chinese companies, at half the price, are looking much better. Some bad press There have been millions of articles in the past year on Apple missteps (polite words for FUPs) that have saturated social media and put off its prime market that expects great corporate social responsibility and transparency. Frankly the past 12 months has been an annus horribillis that has overshadowed #antennagate, #bendgate and #Foxysuicide. Apples policy of "not commenting on anything" used to speak volumes to sceptical baby boomers, yet the very Gen X, Y, Z and Millennial audience Apple appeals most to are asking for more. Here are some of the head-scratching issues not well managed by Apple PR in 2015/16: Why did Apple let error 53 drag on , lose control of the discussion and let it drag it down? , lose control of the discussion and let it drag it down? Why is iOS9 so buggy (perhaps version 8 was even more so)? Why are hackers declaring war on iOS when Apple claimed it was secure? Why does iOS have more [unpatched] vulnerabilities than Android? Ah, but how many are exploited? iOS have more [unpatched] vulnerabilities than Android? Ah, but how many are exploited? Why did Apple let XCodeGhost malware into the Apple Store? Why wont Apple let in third party security companies? What is it afraid of ? ? Why did Apple gloat over selling fewer apps and making more money? Why wont Apple be open and release Apple Watch sales figures? Is it because they have tanked? WTF with the 4 iPhone 5 sorry SE? New versions of existing products dont cut it. What about nude photos of celebrities and the breach of iCloud? Why did many music celebrities disavow iTunes? Why did Apple make a misstep in the FBI case (it had lots of opportunities to make good of this)? Apple could not win either way but its recalcitrance makes it likely technology companies will no longer be allowed to ignore court orders or design devices to evade reasonable searches. to make good of this)? Apple could not win either way but its recalcitrance makes it likely technology companies will no longer be allowed to ignore court orders or design devices to evade reasonable searches. Why is Apple letting users find this bugs in premium products? Jobs would never allow this. Why is co-founder Woz bagging Apple? Why did the raft of recent mockumentaries about Steve Jobs not show the man in a particularly nice light? MacBook sales have fallen dramatically the new MacBook is the old MacBook wearing make-up. iPad Pro has not annihilated Surface and sales appear to be limited at best Apple TV was left in the dust by rivals Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and even Googles Chromecast in the dust by rivals Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and even Googles Chromecast Apple's home-automation protocols were seen as too proprietary and overtaken by open products from Amazon et al as too proprietary and overtaken by open products from Amazon et al Why has Apple lost the crown as the worlds coolest brand? And, perhaps most monumental, is why is China abandoning the iPhone and why are iTunes and other Apple services locked out there? iPhone sales are down 44% with major decreases predicted in Q2 and Q3. CultofMac an Apple aficionado site where many of these questions have come from asks Does Apples design team need some fresh blood? Apples design team isnt perfect. There have been some missteps over the years, and it seems like theyve become more common under Tim Cook. Its design has also become predictable; even before we get a new product, we have a good idea what it will look like. I also dont think its as fresh or as exciting as it once was; Apple seems to have become more conservative in recent years. It doesnt take risks or experiment with exciting new things like it used to. We can expect its latest devices to be thinner and lighter every year, but its safe to say they will still be made out of aluminium and glass, and theyll look almost identical to their predecessors. Whats more, Apple appears to stick with this familiar formula even when it limits functionality. Apple doesnt listen to our feedback, either. It doesnt care that wed accept slightly thicker iPhones with better battery life, or slightly bigger Macs that you can repair and upgrade. Jony Ive and his team decides whats best for us, and dont really care what we think of it. In contrast, you have a manufacturer like Samsung, which, in recent years, has become closer to Apple in its earlier days. It is experimenting with new things! Samsung has out Appled Apple Three to five years ago "switchers" from the marginal players (Blackberry, Nokia, and Windows Phone) had a black and white choice a superior iPhone or an economic "plastic" G3/G4 Samsung. However, with the Galaxy S5, S6/Note 5 and now the amazing S7/Note 6, Samsung has not only substantially narrowed this gulf but surged ahead of the iPhone. It has addressed security via Knox and Android works well with third-party antivirus/malware suites to the extent that it's now considered safer than Apples iOS which will not let them into its ecosystem. Tech reviews have almost universally given Samsung phones strong ratings over the iPhone and even the most diehard iPhone fans cannot honestly dispute that. On a stand-alone basis (i.e. untethered from the Apple ecosystem), the Samsung (and LG and Chinese companies) competes fairly well with the iPhone. Lets talk about the ecosystem Apples is closed once you are in it and have invested in apps and iTunes, it is hard to leave. Call it sticky. Well, more app developers are allowing a free "switch" and more apps now play iTunes content. The new Samsung Switch app makes abandoning the iPhone painless. Apples ecosystem is considered too expensive whereas Google and Samsung have the same or similar apps at a lower cost. While developers are doing the iOS version first, the Android version follows shortly after. Samsung is also prepared to work with Microsoft and offer their apps on the handset the familiarity of Office over Apples offerings on mobile devices is compelling. Comment This article highlights the most frequently mentioned issues in the past 12 months. If I were Apples PR department, I would be considering hara-kiri for not having been able to adequately address many of these issues in a positive, meaningful way. To be fair, they work under a strict policy that is perhaps not right for the times. The irony is that I could not write a similar article about Google, Yahoo!, Samsung, Microsoft, HP, Dell, Toshiba, Sharp, etc but I will try to. While all have had missteps, none has as comprehensive and undefended catalogue as Apple. This Week in Review A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more. home Tech Microsoft Surface Pro 5 release date rumors: Surface Pro 4 price down by $150; Surface Pro 5 coming up next month? Those who have been waiting for Microsoft to release the new generation model of the popular Surface Pro line may not have to wait longer, as the Surface Pro 5 is expected to arrive sooner this year. If the rumors are correct, the newest hybrid device will be released in the markets in June. The rumor of the Surface Pro 5's launch next month came up when different units of the previous Surface Pro 4 models received hefty price cuts, signaling that the company is prepping up their shelf for the arrival of the newer devices. It was reported that the Surface Pro 4 hybrid tablets received a price cut as high as $150. Specifically, the Surface Pro 4 variant with Intel Core i5 processor, 256 GB memory and 8 GB worth of RAM is now being sold by Best Buy and the Microsoft Store for only $1,199. The original price of the entry level Surface Pro unit is $1,299. The Surface Pro 4 unit with Intel Core i7 processor, 256 GB memory and 8 GB RAM now has a selling price of $1,449, down from the original price of $1,599. Meanwhile, the higher level Surface Pro 4 with Intel Core i7 processor, 256 GB hard drive memory and 16 GB worth of RAM is being sold for $1,649, down from $1,799. Lastly, the Surface Pro 4 unit with the same Core i7 processor and RAM capacity but with 512 GB memory can now be purchased for $2,049, down from the $2,199 original price. According to the latest specs rumors, the Surface Pro 5 will boast a wider screen with the width measuring 13.3 inches. This screen is designed to support 4K resolution. For the first time in Microsoft products, the Surface Pro 5 is rumored to use Intel Kaby Lake processor that will enhance the system performance of the device and optimize its battery life. However, there are some reports that the device will be powered by the next generation of Intel Skylake chipset. The price of the entry level Surface Pro 5 is expected to be at around $899. Get unlimited access to all content and features at ivpressonline.com with our Full Online Access Subscription. Read our E-Edition, the digital replica of the print newspaper online, access content in exclusive sections including Family, Teen, Business, Databases, Farm and more. This option does not include daily home delivery of the Imperial Valley Press newspaper. For home delivery service, please select Premium or Premium Plus. Donald Trump's net worth has been claimed to be over $10 billion. However, there are reports that the figures are actually lower. Earlier this week, CBS reported that presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has filed new documents regarding his finances and personal wealth. Late Tuesday, the real estate mogul announced that he has submitted his candidate financial disclosure form to the Federal Election Commission. "I filed my PFD, which I am proud to say is the largest in the history of the FEC," Trump said in a statement. "Despite the fact that I am allowed extensions, I have again filed my report, which is 104 pages, on time." "Bernie Sanders has requested, on the other hand, an extension for his small report. This is the difference between a businessman and the all talk, no action politicians that have failed the American people for far too long." The form will be publicly available after the government's review. This will provide updated information on Donald Trump's net worth, including the value of his assets as well as the revenues generated by his businesses. As per the presidential aspirant, his revenues have grown to $190 million in 17 months. Moreover, he also claimed that he has earned $557 million in income. Forbes Media, according to Money Morning, begged to differ. Apparently, Donald Trump's net worth is actually lower than what he claims. The company's CEO, Steve Forbes, told CNN during an appearance in its "New Day" show that Donald Trump's net worth is estimated to be $4.5 billion. He explained that Trump has assigned a large dollar sum to his personal brand but shouldn't be counted when calculating for net worth value. Fortune noted that, to get Donald Trump's net worth of $10 billion, he would need a free cash flow of more than $500 million. Furthermore, even with the 52 percent increase in his businesses' sales, those revenues would need to be in the billions to achieve the worth that he claimed. The Verizon strike 2016 has caused the company's stock to drop. The month-long protests have had an adverse impact on new customers. The Street reported that the Verizon strike 2016 is affecting the company more and more. On Thursday, its stock has dropped 1.49 percent to $49.63. It was noted that the Verizon strike 2016 has had a negative impact on the new customers of the telecommunications company. Union workers are still pushing for better pension benefits as well as the prevention of outsourcing jobs to contractors. According to Fortune, Verizon has seen a massive decline in new customers ever since its employees walked off their jobs last Apr. 13, 2016. CFO Fran Shammo has confirmed at th e MoffettNathanson investor conference in New York that installations and new orders of FiOS service have "significantly dropped." This may result to the company seeing a net loss of cable TV or broadband customers in the quarter. This will come after showing net gains in both businesses last year. Previous Verizon strike 2016 news reported that the company and unions have returned to the bargaining table on Tuesday. The negotiations came after a meeting with Labor secretary Tom Perez. On Sunday, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, CWA president Chris Shelton and IBEW president Lonnie Stephenson met with Perez in Washington. According to the department, the parties involved decided to renegotiate after "an open, frank and constructive dialogue." Fortune added that both parties have agreed not to comment on the new round of negotiations. Shammo did note that the new talks were "a good sign" of progress. Meanwhile, Frontier, who bought Verizon's fiber and copper networks in California, has explained why several customers were hit by service outages. Ars Technica reported that the company's corrupted data prevented Frontier's network from properly communicating with the customers' equipment. "If we can get the provisioning to the ONT [the optical network terminals at customers' homes] in the proper manner then all the services come back up," Frontier West Region President Melinda White said. It will take another 10 days to clear the backlog of customers waiting for resolution. Gap will be shutting down 75 Old Navy and Banana Republic stores. This comes after the retailer's disappointing sales for the first quarter. Fortune reported that Gap Inc. has said on Thursday that it will be closing 75 Old Navy and Banana Republic stores around the world. This may be part of the apparel retailer's efforts to recover from falling sales over the past five quarters. The company revealed in a statement that the store closures will include 53 Old Navy outlets in Japan. Last week, Gap already issued a warning about store closures after a dismal report about its first-quarter sales for its top three brands. Gap also announced that it was not reaffirming the adjusted profit forecast of $2.20 to $2.25 per share for the year. The recent additional decline of Old Navy poses a greater challenge for the retailer. Its net income dropped 46.9 percent to $127 million, equivalent to about 32 cents per share, for the first quarter which ended last Apr. 30. Its net sales also declined by 6 percent at $3.44 billion. According to Washington Post, Gap will also close a "select number" of Banana Republic outlets, mostly in international locations. The company admitted that it is trying to focus on places which have the most growth potential. "I'm obviously disappointed that we're going to be discontinuing operations," Gap chief executive Art Peck said on a conference call to investors. "But I view it as a sign of a good company that you acknowledge when a business isn't going to deliver." The company added on Thursday that it will also streamline its operating model to cater to customer demands. It is expected to save about $275 million a year. Banana Republic has around 679 stores all over the world while Old Navy has more than a thousand. Peck has confirmed that the company's plans for Old Navy stores will be focused on Mexico and China. LA Times noted that investors aren't happy about the company's decline. Other retailers such as Nordstrom, Macy's and Kohl's also face the same problems currently. Back in April, over 40,000 Verizon workers walked out off their jobs to protest the contract conditions. That turned out to be the second biggest strike in United States history. Today, the Verizon 2016 strike has entered its second month. Verizon Communications' telephone, cable and broadband internet service is starting to suffer. There is a significant decline in new customers this quarter, according to a company statement. Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo noted that there is a significant drop in the new orders and installations services in their FiOS line of business. Fortune has it that Verizon may be seeing a net loss coming from their broadband and cable TV customers this quarter compared to previous months and year. The Verizon 2016 strike has affected the company in this manner. The union groups and Verizon executives are still continuing the dialogue in order to reach a better round of negotiations. The Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have agreed not to comment on the new round of negotiations. It was reported by the Huffington Post that the Obama administration has stepped in to push a better conversation between the two opposing groups to avoid further delays in employment. Unemployment claims have already risen slightly because of the Verizon 2016 strike. The union groups will not accept Verizon's plan to outsource jobs to the Philippines, Mexico and Dominican Republic as a form of cost minimization because the telephone business is shrinking. The Verizon 2016 strike also has affected the shares of the company. It has declined 3% since the strike began, were down 2% to $49.35 in morning trading on Thursday. The strike has reached it's second month and there is no clear sign that both parties have reached an agreement as of yet. However, Shammo added that the start of new talks was "a good sign" that some progress was being made. The dust has barely settled in Cuba from the filming of Fast & Furious 8 just last April when Cubans are finding themselves once again welcoming the production crew of the second big budget film to be shot on their soil. Michael Bay is back onset to direct and filming is a go for "Transformers 5: The Last Knight." Cuba's official newspaper "Granma" has released an official statement from the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry that scenes are scheduled to be shot in the Cuban capital in parts of the Malecon seawall and Old Havana. Filming overseas isn't new to Hasbro's multi-billion movie franchise. China, Egypt and Jordan provided the setting for the previous Transformers installments. Cuba seems to be the newest crowd favorite becoming a popular location for American movie producers Relations between the 2 countries have improved in late 2014 begun by Presidents Obama and Raul Castro. The first time since the 1962 embargo and the U.S. government had given the greenlight to film on the island. The Last Knight shall be picking up from where the franchise left off in Age of Extinction where Optimus Prime left Earth in search of the creators of their race. Mark Wahlberg shall be brought back to reprise his role as Cade Yeager as well as Josh Duhamel and possibly Tyrese Gibson who'd both sat out Extinction but were part of the first three. Megan Fox had been taken out and replaced from the third installment due to "differences" with Bay. The 2 have reportedly made up so some speculate that Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox might be brought back as well. Scriptwriters are reportedly Matt Holloway and Art Marcum, known for their work on "Iron Man", as well as Ken Nolan who'd written for "Black Hawk Down." Either way, fans the world over await expectantly. She was born Joanne Kathleen Rowling in Yate, England on July 31, 1965. Just in her twenties, within a 7 year period, she'd lost her mother, moved to Portugal to teach English, got married to journalist Jorge Arantes, gave birth to daughter Jessica, was divorced and moved back to Edinburgh. While she'd struggled to support herself and her daughter, she'd suffered from severe depression and contemplated suicide. Prior to finding herself a single mother living on welfare, she'd been a bilingual secretary with Amnesty International having conceived an idea for a book on a delayed train from Manchester. Thankfully, the 7 sad years in between had not made her give up on her idea. Having been rejected by no less than 12 publishers and given a mere 1,500 in advance when her idea was finally accepted, she was finally able to finish her book in 1997. It told the story of a young orphaned boy who finds out he's a wizard. That book was the first of 7 that would later take the world by storm. That book was "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". Within 5 years she had gone from depending on welfare to becoming a multimillionaire, from secretary to the United Kingdom's best selling living author. Forbes ranked her as the 48th most powerful in 2007 taking into consideration the social impact and inspiration of Harry Potter. By 2008 her fortune had been estimated at 560 million making her the twelfth richest woman in the UK. Leading magazine editors named her "Most Influential Woman in Britain" in 2010. Sunday Times UK Rich List listed her net worth by 2014 at $1 billion. The Harry Potter movies became the highest grossing film series of all bringing in $7.7 billion worldwide while the Harry Potter brand's estimated worth stands at $15 billion. Between the books, films, merchandise and the Universal Studios Harry Potter themed park, she shall be receiving revenues for the rest of her life. Elon Musk promised a rapid and reusable rocket that is cost effective. This was not the case for Falcon 9. The rocket's cost was not anywhere near cost effective when it was produced but SpaceX wants to prove that it will have the ability to rebuild these rockets and the engines in a speedy and reusable manner. Its reusability will determine its cost effectiveness when it comes to future launches. That's the future plans of Elon Musk. Currently, the successful SpaceX launch is a celebrated occasion as it landed three rockets from space - two by see and one by land. According to Science World Report, this achievement has provided the company a number of boosters in its Hangar 39A in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Musk was so excited about the images gathered from the three boosters that he went to Twitter to ask for the need to increase the rocket storage in the hangars. The company's aim to focus on reusability is crucial as the second rocket emerged on a boat surrounded by fire and smoke. SpaceX launches are expensive and economically, the costs are being driven by hardware. Musk once mentioned that when SpaceX launches a rocket, the cost is around $61 million. The kerosene propellant and liquid oxygen alone costs $200,000. Now, SpaceX plans to reduce the Falcon 9 rocket's cost with the reused booster up to $43 million for every flight, with 30% savings. Later one, the company hopes to make all of the Falcon 9 launch systems reusable and routinary, according to The Guardian. Aside from SpaceX rocket launches, the company is actively developing technologies with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars because the company believes in a future where humanity is exploring the stars. The litigation lasted a decade, involved tens of thousands of lawyer hours and accumulated more than $1.23 billion in settlements, but the class-action suit against the worlds top airlines has finally drawn to a close. Air India became the last of more than 30 defendants to settle in the multi-district Air Cargo Shipping Services Antitrust Litigation, agreeing to pay $12.5 million to direct purchasers of air cargo shipping services. The carrier and Air New Zealand, which settled for $35 million earlier this month, were heading for a September trial, but with all their peers already having settled it was no surprise that these two airlines did the same. Once the court approves the settlements the long-running case will be concluded. After more than a decade of relentless effort, we are pleased to add these final settlements to our existing recoveries and achieve justice for those impacted by the defendants alleged anti-competitive practices, said Hollis Salzman, co-lead counsel for the plaintiff class and co-chair of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation practice group at Robins Kaplan. This was echoed by Brent Landau, partner at Hausfeld and co-counsel. Our work in this case should send a message to price-fixers that they will be held accountable for the damages caused by their conduct, he said. The class-action suit was brought by direct purchasers of air cargo shipping services for shipments to or from the U.S. between Jan. 1, 2000, and Sept. 30, 2006, who have been seeking compensation for alleged overcharges sustained as a result of a price-fixing conspiracy. The conspiracy involved fuel and security surcharges. The lawsuit began in February 2006, following raids by government investigators worldwide. Hausfeld said criminal prosecutions by the U.S. government resulted in more than $1.8 billion in fines, but no restitution for victims. Instead, compensation for the customers overcharged by the price-fixing conspiracy came from the settlements achieved in the civil litigation. As the case progressed, and the plaintiffs expended more resources and gained more knowledge of the workings of the conspiracy, the settlements paid by the airlines as expressed in terms of a percentage of their relevant sales increased. The earliest settlements represented in the range of 2 percent of sales and the final settlement accounted for more than 10 percent of sales, Hausfeld said in a statement. Some of the settlements have resulted in huge amounts. The largest fine was paid by Korean Air at $115 million with Polar Air paying $100 million. Taiwans EVA Air was hit with a $99 million fine and its compatriot China Airlines paid $90 million to purchasers of its air cargo services. Air France/Martinair was hit for $87 million, Lufthansa for $85 million and Cathay Pacific settled at $65 million. Ten years of legal work has generated some interesting numbers. Hausfeld, just one of several co-counsels, said its attorneys spent more than 35,000 hours working on the case, which involved more than 18 million pages of documents, approximately 100 depositions, and numerous court appearances. Lawyers who represent a class in such litigation are generally paid out of the money that's recovered in settlements. According to legal website lawyers.com, a benchmark award generally accepted by the court is approximately 25 percent of the total, which in this case would be $309 million. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@ihs.com and follow him on Twitter: @greg_knowler. Email Links to our top local news stories of the day, Monday through Saturday. By of the The $31 million redevelopment of downtown Milwaukee's former Laacke & Joys building would receive a $1 million loan to help pay for environmental cleanup work, under a new proposal. Investors groups affiliated with developer Wangard Partners Inc. would receive the loan through the city Redevelopment Authority, according to a city document. The loan would come from a fund that is financed through grants to the city from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A hearing on the proposed loan is set for the June 16 Redevelopment Authority board meeting. Part of the building, 1433 N. Water St., is being demolished, with a five-story addition developed to create a 113,830-square-foot multitenant office building anchored by Bader Rutter & Associates. The business marketing firm plans to move there from Brookfield in May 2017. Also, two neighboring buildings will be converted to restaurants, and a 12-story, 140-room hotel could eventually be developed at the site. Financing for the project includes two loans, each totaling $1.5 million, from Milwaukee Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit business lender affiliated with the city, and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. Several hundred brewing pros gathered Thursday at Lakefront Brewery for the 3rd Annual Milwaukee Beer Summit. Credit: Mike De Sisti By of the The term "craft beer" is getting diluted, and less meaningful, some in the brewery industry say but not everyone in the rapidly growing business is all that concerned about the definition right now. On Thursday, several hundred brewing professionals gathered at Lakefront Brewery for the 3rd Annual Milwaukee Beer Summit, which was an ideal opportunity for brewers to learn about what's new in the industry and, more importantly, what's coming next. "Good breweries have to try and figure out what's going to be the next wave. You bet on your horse and see if it wins," said Russ Klisch, president, founder and owner of Lakefront Brewery. The one-day event attracted leading craft brewers from across the nation including Boston/Sam Adams, Alaskan Brewing Co. and Ballast Point. As craft beer sales continue to grow at unprecedented rates, and once-small breweries produce more beer to keep pace with the demand, some have questioned the American "craft beer" definition that is, beer produced by a small, independent, traditional brewer. "After months of painstaking research and taste tests, I have found that there may not be one agreed-upon definition," Rob Sirrine, a Michigan State University-Extension educator and hops expert, wrote in a recent column. The definition of a small brewery has changed over the years. It used to be 2 million barrels or less of annual production, according to Sirrine, but the threshold has since mushroomed to as many as 6 million barrels or less. There are now more than 4,400 breweries in the United States, the highest level ever, with most of them in the craft beer category. Yet brewery giants MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch also have what they consider to be craft beer products in their portfolio. Klisch says it's probably better to define craft beer by the beverage's ingredients than by who owns a particular brewery. "To me, it's about the ingredients. Adventurous beer will still be craft...it will still be fun to drink," Klisch said. "I am not concerned about the big boys getting into it. They are going to be one of many ... and if they can make some great craft beer, then the customer wins." Craft beer, like artisan bread, won't easily be mistaken for anything else. "Everybody who goes to a craft beer festival is looking for different ingredients and different ideas on how to make beer. I think the term will still be relevant," Klisch said. Craft beer consumption in the U.S. is skewed toward people under 30, so cracking the millennials' code is important to brewers. And in such a crowded marketplace, breaking into the business has become more difficult. Beer is becoming more and more local. There are large megabrands and some large craft brands, but there are also many breweries making beer for their community, said Evan Hughes, publisher of DRAFT magazine. "The brewery that starts today is going to have more of a challenge to grow than it would have 10 or 15 years ago. Access to the market is more and more difficult. There is only so much shelf space," Hughes said. A small brewery in Milwaukee, with a local distributor, will find local retail shelf space. But that same small brewery could have difficulty landing a distributor in another state. "Every mile away you go from your brewery, your story becomes less interesting," Hughes said. It takes time, often years, to build a craft beer brand and a customer following. Hughes' advice for someone thinking about entering the business: "I would say, 'Do your homework.' The No. 1 guiding light should be making a quality beer, and not starting this because you want to make a bunch of money. You are doing this for the art of brewing." A floating sculptural artwork called Drift resembles the ancient glaciers that bypassed the Driftless Area. The piece near Reedsburg, by Chicago artists Sara Black, Amber Ginsburg and Lia Rousset, was part of the annual Farm/Art DTour in 2014. Credit: Brian Solomon By of the Cutoffs and flip-flops may not seem like proper art-world attire, but in these warmer months we can be grateful we're not the art world proper. We do art differently in Wisconsin. Here are a few places to celebrate that fact this summer. Lakefront Festival of Art June 17-19, Milwaukee What began as a modest gathering of artisans more than a half-century ago has grown into one of the best fairs of its kind anywhere. Get all of your Christmas shopping done in June during the three-day festival on the grounds of the Milwaukee Art Museum, 700 N. Art Museum Drive. Tickets at the gate are $17, $15 for seniors and students, $10 for museum members and $25 for a three-day pass. More info: lfoa.mam.org. Temporary Resurfacing June 18, Milwaukee For one night, from dusk until midnight, historic buildings along Mitchell St. will be "resurfaced" inside and out with video artworks created by regional and national artists. The film projections will fill entire facades or be found in intimate nooks, all looping simultaneously, for a truly unique outdoor public art event. More info: temporaryresurfacing.org. Northwoods Art Tour July 29-31 The northern latitudes serve as inspiration for countless artists in our state, and this self-guided tour of individual artists studios "up north" offers an opportunity to meet them in the spaces where they weave, paint and throw pots, among other things. More info: northwoodsarttour.com. The Poor Farm Experiment Aug. 5-7, Manawa Every year, artists from across the country make a pilgrimage to the most unlikely of places to see avant-garde art: a 19th-century farm in rural Wisconsin. Set among farmlands, wetlands and small rivers in the central part of the state, the 8,000-square-foot venue was once part of the American Poor Farm System, an alternative to indentured labor. The opening weekend is an auspicious art-world gathering brought down to earth with quintessential Midwesterness. In addition to taking in some of the most intriguing and talked about contemporary art in the United States today, visitors can camp out beneath spreading trees, float down the Little Wolf River and enjoy a brat with other art travelers. The Poor Farm is at E6325 County Highway BB in Manawa. More info: poorfarmexperiment.org. Bronzeville Week Aug. 6-13, Milwaukee Once an enclave for culture and diverse art-loving audiences, the Bronzeville neighborhood will explore the area's artistic legacy, past and present, during this weeklong event. More info: milwaukee.gov/Bronzeville. Eaux Claires Aug. 12-13, Eau Claire While many think of this quintessentially Wisconsin event as the music festival created by Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, it might be better termed a culture festival. If nary a note were hummed, the art and film projects alone would warrant a sojourn to the Chippewa River. Tickets are $169 (two-day pass), $165 to $300 for camping, at eauxclaires.com. Birds in Art and Artrageous Sept. 10-11, Wausau Like the famous return of swallows to San Juan Capistrano every year, humans have for more than 40 years flocked to Wausau at the end of the summer for the "Birds in Art" exhibit. Hosted by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, 700 N 12th St., the exhibit features 100 works selected by an esteemed jury. The opening weekend is also part of the citywide and family-friendly Artrageous event. More info: lywam.org. Farm/Art DTour Oct. 1-9, Reedsburg Scanning the unglaciated farmlands of central Wisconsin for "farm forms" and contemporary art installations, it is remarkable how quickly everything begins to look like art. People bike and drive this self-guided art tour (usually about 50 miles), a marriage of culture and agriculture. Though the event doesn't officially begin until October, the art is usually under construction in late summer. More info: fermentationfest.com. Danta D. Rowsey confers with an attorney during his trial in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. Credit: Journal Sentinel photo By of the A trial delving into the brutal tactics of Milwaukee's crime scene took an important turn Friday as a man close to the four shootings, three of them fatal, described how the murders were a concerted effort by the defendant to eliminate those who could implicate him. Prosecutors allege that Danta Rowsey, 27, directed the killings of his criminal cohorts, one by one, out of concern that they would turn on him. Rowsey is charged in the killings of three men and the botched murder attempt of a fourth man who is now paralyzed. Marvin Sanders, 24, who said he knew Rowsey for a decade and was in his inner circle, testified he was present for two of the killings and knew about the other shootings. Sanders figured he could be next. Sanders acknowledged he received time off his sentence for helping police in this and other cases. When asked by Rowsey's attorney if he was trying to "cut his losses" by testifying, Sanders said "Yes sir, and to save my life." The scene in court Friday was tense as Sanders took the stand. Witness intimidation has become a growing problem in Milwaukee including during trials. Sheriff's deputies were posted throughout the courtroom. District attorney investigators accompanied Sanders, who was not in custody, and then watched spectators to make sure they were not secretly recording the testimony. In the past, such witness testimony has been posted on social media, which officials said is an effort to intimidate witnesses. Sanders testified that the string of murders started with a botched robbery in December 2011. Sanders, Rowsey, Irven "Buddha" Hale and Isreal "Izzy" Gatlin went to Ralph's Coffee Bar, in the 4500 block of W. Lisbon Ave., that night. Sanders went in to get food and saw a man inside, Joseph McBeath, wearing expensive sunglasses and told the others. Hale said he would rob McBeath. Hale waited for McBeath and another man to get in a car and walked up, knocked on the window and asked for a light, according to Sanders and another witness who testified earlier. Hale tried to open the door. McBeath pulled it closed. Hale opened fire as McBeath put the car in reverse, trying to pull away. McBeath was killed by two shots to the head. Sanders said he was with Rowsey in an SUV a short distance away. Rowsey, Sanders and Hale sped away and got rid of the gun, Sanders said. Gatlin was arrested and began talking to police. Sanders said there was a meeting with Rowsey and others, including Emmanuel "E-Bay" Carter, about what to do. They figured Gatlin told police that Hale was the shooter. Rowsey wondered if Hale were interrogated if he would keep quiet or implicate the others. Sanders said he thought Hale could be trusted, but Rowsey was unconvinced. He said Hale had to be eliminated even though he had not actually cooperated with police, Sanders said. They set up a ruse that they were going to rob the house of a rival drug-dealing gang in early January 2012, Sanders said. Hale was supposed to go in first. As Hale was preparing to break down the door, Carter shot him in the back of the head and then fired several more rounds into his body, Sanders said. Sanders said Carter came back to the car laughing about the fact that Hale really thought it was a robbery right up until the moment he was killed. Rowsey drove onto the freeway and threw out the personal items belonging to Hale, who had just been in the vehicle. The group concocted a similar plot to kill Gatlin once he was released from jail, Sanders said. Sanders was not at that killing but said he learned later from Rowsey that Carter killed Gatlin in September 2012, again with several shots to the head. Rowsey later decided Carter "knew too much" and he too would have to be killed, Sanders testified. Rowsey set up a fake drug deal in September 2013 and had another associate move in to kill Carter. The shooter put a gun to Carter's head but it jammed, according to court documents. Carter was shot as he ran and was paralyzed. Carter has pleaded guilty to the Gatlin and Hale homicides and agreed to testify in the trial, which continues Monday. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has 107 proposals from students, staff and faculty aimed at helping students of all races, religions and ethnic origins feel more valued and welcome on campus Credit: Journal Sentinel files SHARE By of the More than 100 proposals for how to improve campus climate poured in from students, faculty and staff at the University of Wisconsin-Madison after Chancellor Rebecca Blank called for an all-hands-on-deck approach this spring to curb hate and bias incidents. Among the more creative ideas: a "cheesy, informal and fun" Stall Seat Journal posted in bathroom stalls and above urinals that encourages students to listen to each other; and 30-minute interactive Pop-Ups impromptu and disruptive presentations designed for shock value to force students to challenge their own biases. The university Thursday released 107 proposals from students, staff and faculty aimed at helping students of all races, religions and ethnic origins feel more valued and welcome on campus. Blank solicited the proposals in the midst of a tumultuous academic year punctuated by student protests over campus climate. A committee of 15 individuals from across the campus community is reviewing the proposals and will make recommendations to Blank for which ones hold the most potential to improve campus climate; which ones can be implemented, evaluated and scaled; and what resources would be needed to make them happen. Several of the proposals are straightforward: Create a student-led task force to recommend changes to the nonacademic misconduct code emphasizing consequences of acts of hate and discrimination, and establish a transparent protocol for how university officials respond to such incidents. Build cross-cultural awareness through the same mandatory orientation program that already teaches new students about sexual violence and alcohol misuse. Offer special training for house fellows in residence halls to help them better respond to incidents of hate and bias, and nurture a healthier, diverse community. The proposed Stall Seat Journal would be hung in holders above urinals and on the backs of bathroom stall doors. Because it's informal and fun, it could be an effective tool to encourage students to listen to each other and learn because it's not an obvious diversity effort, said Laura Albert McLay, an associate professor of industrial and systems engineering. "It could be a way to subtly make students recognize that some of their behaviors are not healthy by providing them with a better alternative," McLay said, crediting Virginia Commonwealth University with successfully implementing the idea around student health issues. Another innovative idea: 30-minute interactive Pop-Up Presentations that force students to challenge their own biases. The presentations would be impromptu and disruptive to create shock effect, and occur randomly in classes, residence halls, cafeterias and student union spaces the same way incidents of hate and bias pop up on campus. Proposals also included funding a new online publication to give diverse and minority students a voice through blogs; using psychology theory to change student behavior; and encouraging faculty and teaching assistants to attach to their course syllabuses statements of consequences for acts of hate and bias including academic discipline. The committee reviewing the proposals expects to send its recommendations to Blank in time to begin testing ideas in the 2016-'17 academic year. The chancellor said she would commit funding to test and scale promising approaches, but did not announce a dollar amount. "We've heard loud and clear from people they don't want a lot more talk; they want action. We don't want to be hasty or slipshod, but we want to move forward as rapidly as we can," UW-Madison spokeswoman Meredith McGlone said. Erica Liu, a pastor for Pres House campus ministry since 2004, is a member of the committee reviewing the proposals. She has long been in the middle of discussions over how UW-Madison can become more inclusive. "This campus is very white," Liu said. "For some students, this is an issue they've never thought about. We also get students feeling very distressed and wrestling with how to respond if they're a white student." Some of the proposals involve curriculum changes or new requirements. One proposal calls for a mandatory one-credit course on race and racial climate for freshmen. Another would assign each academic department a week to focus on cultural diversity. Several proposals involve the core ethnic studies requirement, whether it's expanding the requirement into a series of dialogue-based seminars or bumping up completion so students develop cultural awareness early in college. Liu said she is hopeful that whatever proposals ultimately are chosen by the chancellor will take hold. "There are moments when a community becomes more aware of an issue," she said. Customers take advantage of pleasant weather Friday to get treats at Leons Frozen Custard. The owner of Leons canceled a meeting Friday with a Latino civil rights organization over the business language practices. Credit: Michael Sears By of the A meeting scheduled for Friday between a Latino civil rights organization and the owner of Leon's Frozen Custard over the business' language practices was canceled, the organization said. The meeting between the League of United Latin American Citizens and Leon's owner Ron Schneider was scheduled after the organization called for a federal probe of a reported "English-only" policy at the custard stand at S. 27th St. and W. Oklahoma Ave. on Milwaukee's heavily Latino south side. Word of the policy spread after a Latino man told WISN-TV in Milwaukee that he was told by an employee at the stand that all transactions must be conducted in English. Rules requiring workers to speak only English violate federal law unless they are reasonably necessary to the business' operation, such as emergencies in which a common language is necessary for the safety of all, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Schneider has said that although he encourages the few Latino workers employed at the business to speak English as much as possible, he does not forbid them from speaking Spanish if a customer cannot communicate otherwise. He also said that though he prefers they speak English, they are free to speak Spanish to each other. According to a statement from LULAC Friday, Schneider canceled the meeting because he needed more time to confer with his legal counsel. At the custard stand Friday, Schneider said he would issue a statement next week but declined to comment further. Russian President Vladimir Putin: Donald J. Trump believes his career in commercial real estate has prepared him for Putins world. Credit: Associated Press SHARE By Whether it is bargaining with China over trade, forcing Mexico to pay for a border wall or getting along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump asserts that he can "win" based on his negotiating skills. He lays out a series of bargaining strategies "Trump Cards" in Chapter 2 of his 1987 book with Tony Schwartz, "Trump: The Art of the Deal," and says they have made him a success in real estate and other business dealings. But how applicable are they to the world of international politics and diplomacy? Many of Trump's principles are standard negotiation practice taught in university classes and business seminars on negotiation. Missing, however, are the more subtle arguments that a president needs to understand to operate on the global stage: Think big. Yes, going for a home run (Trump's analogy) can pay off. It also can lead to a strikeout. When a pitcher (your opponent) has your number, you are better off going for the single (reining in your ambitions). Trump's fatally flawed quick fixes for large problems are instructive. They include his plans to solve the national debt by negotiating better terms with creditors (in essence claiming bankruptcy); solve the immigration problem by deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants, and solve terrorism by keeping Muslims out of the country. Be focused or single-minded.Yes, keeping your eyes on the prize is good advice. The problem is that Trump does not distinguish between the prize and the process. Unwavering dedication to negotiating positions, such as insisting that Mexico pay for a border wall, is a recipe for impasse. Protect the downside and maximize options.Again, sensible advice. Although fallback positions and expanded options can prevent caving in for bad deals, they also can steer the process away from good compromises. Trump's lack of dependence on other nations and international organizations enables him to criticize what he views as "bad" deals. The problem is that he risks alienating these critical allies, who would view him as a loose cannon. Use your leverage. Surely, negotiating power is an asset. But it also can embolden weaker parties. Long ago, Thomas Schelling introduced us to the "paradox of weakness." Reacting to the power asymmetry, weak parties can increase their leverage by reducing their dependence on stronger opponents, developing alternative alliances and reframing the issues. Mexico might be tempted to do this, given Trump's rhetoric on trade and immigration. Reframe. Good idea, especially when stuck in an impasse. The problem is that Trump's take on the term is manipulative. For example, he writes that "a little hyperbole never hurts," and reframes the phrase "truthful hyperbole" as an "innocent form of exaggeration." That is not useful. Get the word out. News media attention creates value. In his own campaign, Trump is showing that even negative publicity generates support. But is this good advice for diplomats? The most ambitious international agreements the recent talks with Cuba, the 1990s Oslo Accords that produced a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian relations, practically all of the successful peace and arms control deals were negotiated privately. Fight back.And why not, especially when treated unfairly? Indeed, Bernie Sanders makes this a cornerstone of his campaign. But for Trump, who keeps track of who is "nice" or "mean" to him, fighting back is usually on behalf of himself. Imagine negotiators fighting back at each other. They'd be on a collision course where neither gains anything and the focus is misdirected to personal rather than substantive concerns. Deliver the goods. Your credibility depends on following through. Reputation is important for future deals, and here is the rub. Trump sees himself as a man of action and is not overly concerned about the impact of his policies. Many of his ideas could create new problems, such as a trade war with China, even as he was flaunting his image as a doer. This is the wrong motivation for a president. Rely on your instincts. Now this is bad advice, not because intuition is always misleading but because it defies the odds. The chances for negotiation success are improved when analysis is used to support intuition. Trump mentions that he learns from his own "random" surveys. It is not clear that he understands the meaning of random sampling, and he appears to reject empirical evidence based on data. Trump perceives his world to be full of vultures. Life is a game to be won while having fun keeping score. That's fine perhaps in the niche of Manhattan real estate. It is not fine for a president. Effective presidents understand that conflicts are problems to be solved, not games to be won. Daniel Druckman is a professor of public and international affairs at George Mason University. Paul F. Diehl, associate provost and Ashbel Smith professor of political science at the University of Texas-Dallas, is a former president of the International Studies Association. Their commentary was first published by USA TODAY. House Speaker Paul Ryan: He should say no to Donald J. Trump. Credit: Associated Press What if Paul Ryan said "no"? What if he said: "I cannot support Donald J. Trump. We disagree on too many issues. I don't think he is qualified to be president." I know: This is unlikely. Far more likely is that Ryan will come around, as so many other Republicans have come around, and pay homage to the party's new ruler. The pressure to support the party's nominee will be enormous on the speaker of the House. But Ryan should resist. There is no "for the good of the party" argument as compelling as the "for the good of your principles" argument. Ryan's brand rests on his principles. He is a spirited defender of limited government and traditional American values. Like his mentor, the late Rep. Jack Kemp, he is a happy warrior who believes in using the power of elected office for good. How can Ryan square 18 years of service in the House for this cause with support for a misogynistic narcissist who has debased the political process with extra-constitutional calls for a religious test for entry into the country? Who has degraded women, minorities, the disabled anyone who doesn't look like Donald J. Trump because he knows his crude insults play to the insecurities of his supporters? How can Ryan support a candidate who has lied repeatedly during the campaign so often that Politico recently counted dozens of falsehoods during a week of stump speeches? A candidate who has mocked the war record of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was tortured during his time as a prisoner of war in the Vietnam War? How can Ryan possibly support a man whose political DNA resembles a chameleon? Who has produced simplistic rhetoric about making "American great again" in response to the nation's biggest challenges? Who is no conservative at all? Would Ryan really suspend disbelief just for the good of the party? Would it really be good for the party if he did? U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wis.) doesn't think so. The outgoing congressman from Wisconsin's 8th District remains disdainful of Trump. In a recent interview with the Journal Sentinel's Craig Gilbert, Ribble said, "It's an unrecoverable relationship, let me put it that way." What would happen if Ryan said "no"? Would he lose his seat? Not likely. He might gain votes for standing up for what he believed. Would he be blamed for splitting the party? Perhaps. But it was Trump who split the Republican Party, with the help of early adopters such as Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and former Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and other sheepish hangers-on to the Trump train. Abandon all principles ye who enter here. Would Ryan be blamed for costing Trump the election if the real estate tycoon loses? Possibly. But if Trump does lose, the real reason will be that most voters finally realized the truth: That Trump is thoroughly and transparently unprepared to handle the world's most powerful office. If Ryan and other GOP leaders who are now falling into line believe they can "control" Trump, they will be sadly mistaken. As the battle for the Republican nomination has illustrated, no one controls Trump. Handed the massive power of the presidency, he will be even less open to their ministrations. As Robert Kagan of The Brookings Institution writes elsewhere in Crossroads: "Is a man like Trump, with infinitely greater power in his hands, likely to become more humble, more judicious, more generous, less vengeful than he is today, than he has been his whole life? Does vast power un-corrupt?" Everyone knows the answer to that question, and that's why Paul Ryan has to say "no" to Donald J. Trump. David D. Haynes is editorial page editor for the Journal Sentinel. Email dhaynes@jrn.com Twitter: @DavidDHaynes Eleven people are asking Gov. Scott Walker to be appointed to the state Supreme Court. Credit: Mike De Sisti SHARE By of the Madison Eleven people are asking Gov. Scott Walker to be appointed to the state Supreme Court, including his former top legal adviser and the father of his current legal counsel, as well as one person whose name is being kept from the public. The GOP governor plans to name who will fill the seat of retiring conservative Justice David Prosser before Prosser steps down July 31. Walker has sole say on who gets the seat, and the person won't have to run for election until 2020. Seeking the appointment are Minnesota attorney Andrew Brown; Appeals Judge Mark Gundrum; Appeals Judge Brian Hagedorn; Appeals Judge Thomas Hruz; Madison attorney Claude Covelli, who abandoned an earlier run for the state Supreme Court; Jefferson County Circuit Judge Randy Koschnick; Marinette County Circuit Judge James Morrison; Public Service Commissioner Ellen Nowak; Milwaukee attorney Paul Scoptur; and James Troupis, who resigned from the Dane County Circuit Court this month after about a year on the bench. An 11th person applied but asked that his or her name be kept confidential. State law allows applicants for appointments to keep their name confidential at this stage, but Walker's office said the name would be released if the person became a finalist. Brown works for Reding & Pilney in Lake Elmo, Minn., but frequently practices in Wisconsin. Covelli sought an appointment to the Supreme Court from Walker last year after swing Justice N. Patrick Crooks died. After Walker picked Rebecca Bradley as a justice, Covelli mounted a run for the seat, but dropped out soon afterward. Bradley was elected to a 10-year term on the court in April. Koschnick ran for the Supreme Court in 2009, losing to Shirley Abrahamson, a liberal who at the time was chief justice and continues to serve on the high court. Koschnick is the father of Walker's legal counsel, Katie Ignatowski, and Hagedorn is Walker's former chief legal counsel. Because of those ties, Ignatowski and deputy legal counsel J.D. Tripoli will not be involved in the selection process, according to Walker's office. Filling their roles will be Rich Zipperer, Walker's chief of staff, and lobbyist Andrew Hitt, a former deputy legal counsel to Walker. Hitt works for Michael Best Strategies, and his current lobbying clients are the Management Group and Care Wisconsin First, two entities that have a stake in an overhaul of the state's long-term health care programs Walker is implementing. The Supreme Court applications will first be reviewed by a panel headed by Michael Brennan, a former Milwaukee County judge. Conservatives control the Supreme Court 5-2, and the ideological makeup of the court is not expected to change with Prosser's replacement. Hartland fire incident found to be shooting, murder-suicide The two adults and four children were all found to have gunshot wounds. SHARE By , Madison Wisconsin's elected officials don't have the right to sue to block the release of public records pertaining to them, the state Supreme Court affirmed Friday in a ruling open government advocates hailed as a victory. The case stems from a dispute between Vilas County District Attorney Albert Moustakis and the state Department of Justice. The Lakeland Times newspaper asked the DOJ in 2013 for records tied to an agency investigation into complaints about Moustakis' conduct. Court filings don't detail the allegations, although Moustakis has said they were leveled by a political rival and didn't involve on-duty misconduct. The DOJ has noted in court filings the investigation found the complaints were unsubstantiated, but Moustakis still filed a lawsuit in 2014 seeking to block disclosure. Wisconsin's open records law allows public employees to sue to block disclosure of records pertaining to disciplinary proceedings, records obtained through search warrants or subpoenas and records prepared by employers who aren't government agencies. The DOJ argued that the law clearly doesn't extend the right to sue to elected officials such as Moustakis. Both a Lincoln County judge and a state appellate court agreed. Moustakis argued that he's a state employee and is therefore allowed to sue. The court disagreed and sided with the lower courts, saying Moustakis' argument creates confusion and doesn't fit with any reasonable reading of the open records law. Moustakis' attorney, Ben Krautkramer, said he hadn't read the decision and had no immediate comment. A DOJ spokesman said only that the agency was reviewing the ruling. Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, praised the ruling. He said the court recognized that the open records law clearly doesn't allow elected officials to sue to block disclosure. "District Attorney Moustakis wasted a great deal of time and taxpayer dollars fighting to keep the public from obtaining records to which it is clearly entitled," Lueders said in an email to The Associated Press. Moustakis has amended his original lawsuit to add arguments that the DOJ didn't properly apply the so-called balancing test a test of whether releasing records would hurt the public interest and allowing public employees to sue but not elected officials amounts to a violation of constitutional equal protection guarantees. The Supreme Court did not address those arguments, allowing Moustakis to continue to pursue them in Lincoln County Circuit Court. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson is asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration whether the agency considered how many businesses could shut down over e-cigarette rules. Credit: Associated Press By of the How many businesses will shut down as a result of the FDA's new regulations on electronic cigarettes? U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration whether the agency considered that question when it devised rules requiring FDA review of e-cigarettes and other products derived from tobacco. "I write to request your assistance in understanding the consequences that this new regulation may have on small businesses and the public's health," Johnson wrote this week in a letter to FDA officials. Johnson cited concerns of a Hartland-based vapor company whose top executive called the regulations "catastrophic" and suggested that the regulations would put tens of thousands of people out of business nationwide. E-cigarettes and other vaping devices used to inhale nicotine have been unregulated and gaining popularity since hitting the U.S. market in 2007 growing to a roughly $3.5 billion industry, according to analysts. Industry trade groups estimate that there are roughly 8,000 e-cigarette and specialty vape shops nationwide. The FDA announced new rules earlier this month banning sales to minors, requiring ingredients to be included on labels and mandating a pre-market review of all such products, among other provisions. Pre-market reviews can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, possibly millions depending on the number of products. "The costly impact the rule will have on e-cigarette manufacturers will stifle innovation and make it harder for e-cigarette companies to continue to offer products that serve as an alternative to smoking," Johnson wrote. Johnson noting that the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to investigate the efficiency and economy of all branches of government also questioned how the government settled on the regulations given the available data about the potential benefits and possible harms. Public health experts debate the risks that e-cigarettes present especially when compared with conventional cigarettes. Studies have shown electronic cigarettes and e-liquids used for vaping can contain diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione, two flavoring chemicals associated with serious and sometimes fatal lung disease. Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health called for "urgent action" last year after their study found 39 of 51 e-liquids tested had diacetyl. Before that, a cardiologist in Greece found diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione in nearly 75% of the 159 samples of sweet flavored e-liquids that he tested. An investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last year found diacetyl is sometimes present in e-cigarettes and liquids even when manufacturers claim it's not. Manufacturers often trust their flavor suppliers and don't always test for the chemicals. When they do, the testing method often used isn't sensitive enough to detect lower levels, the investigation found. Diacetyl was tied to deaths and serious lung disease in hundreds of workers in the microwave popcorn industry in the early and mid-2000s and more recently in coffee workers. The chemical is also present in conventional cigarettes. Studies differ on the concentrations and public health experts argue diacetyl could play a role in lung disease in smokers. Arguments that e-cigarettes help people quit smoking are anecdotal and not based on scientific evidence, FDA officials said in defending the regulations. The agency is involved in dozens of studies examining the potential benefits and risks of e-cigarettes. Johnson wondered whether the agency would issue a "revised rule" if it finds sufficient data indicating that e-cigarettes are safer than conventional cigarettes. He asked the FDA to respond to his questions by the end of the month. Read the investigation Read the Journal Sentinel's investigation into the dangers of the chemical diacetyl, which is commonly found in e-cigarettes and the coffee-roasting process, at jsonline.com/gaspingforaction. Reddit Email 0 Shares By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu bolstered his majority and rid himself of a troublesome voice of conscience Thursday by appointing the extremist Avigdor Lieberman minister of defense. This move strengthened Netanyahus hand politically, removing a critic in the form of Moshe Yaalon, the previous minister of defense. But it also sent a signal to Israels officer corps, which has been showing distinct unease at Netanyahus march of the country into Mussolini territory. Part of the dispute is over the cold-blooded murder allegedly committed by a 19-year-old Israeli soldier with an extremist background, who was caught on camera killing an incapacitated Palestinian assailant, Abd al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif. Sharif had committed a knife attack before being incapacitated and searched. The video showed Azarya rushing back over, shouting angrily, and shooting the prostrate twenty-one year old in the head. The Israeli officer corps insisted that Azarya be tried for manslaughter, apparently over the objections of Netanyahu, who called the soldiers parents and expressed sympathy for him. The far, far-right Lieberman led a virulent campaign on behalf of Azarya. This incident, and the extremist Israeli attacks on Palestinians, so alarmed deputy chief of staff 3Maj. Gen. Yair Golan that he went so far as to liken the sickening processes he saw taking place in Israel to Nazi Germany in the 1930s (note: not the 1940s, when the Holocaust took place). Netanyahu rebuked the general, but Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon backed him. He gave his own speech in which he said that Israelis must comprehend the limits of power and meticulously safeguard our purity of arms and our humanity, not lose our heads, eradicate racism, violence, verbal and physical attacks on women and exclusion of the other. Netanyahu has now replaced Yaalon (a man of the right himself) with Avigdor Lieberman, who has been accused of racism. Lieberman once talked about destroying the Aswan Dam and sweeping 80 million Egyptians into the Mediterranean. He is in favor of expelling Palestinian-Israelis from Israel and taking away their citizenship unless they swear fealty to a Jewish state. He has been shadowed for years by corruption allegations, which even went to trial inconclusively. Lieberman, who wants to move around millions of Palestinians whose families have been living in the area from time immemorial, is a fairly recent immigrant from Moldova. In his youth, there, he worked as bouncer in a club. This is no ordinary cabinet reshuffle. It is another step taken by the Israeli leadership into the dark side, as even its top generals recognize. Putting the civilian Lieberman, who has no particular military experience, over people like Gen. Golan as their boss sends the signal that the officer corps is to sit down and shut up, and let Netanyahu continue to move Israeli politics in the Mussolini direction. Israeli journalists are fearful of criticizing Netanyahu. Rivals have accused him of trying to control the media. Human and civil rights in Israel and especially in the Occupied Territories where millions of Palestinians live, stateless, under Israeli military rule or under siege, and worsening by the month. Netanyahus appointment drew forth a lot of hand wringing in the Israeli centrist and left of center press. BBC Monitoring translated Yossi Verter, who wrote in Haaretz, Reddit Email 0 Shares TeleSur | EgyptAir said the planes emergency devices sent a distress signal at 4.26 a.m. local time, about two hours after the previously stated radar contact. A senior U.S. Intelligence official familiar with the U.S.s capabilities in the region told NBC News that infrared and multi-spectral imagers strongly suggest there was an explosion aboard EgyptAir plane, which went missing over the southern Mediterranean earlier Thursday. However, he stressed that the cause of the crash remains unknown. Meanhwile, the wreckage of the EgyptAir plane has been found near the Greek Karpathos Island, the airliner said in a statement. . . . EgyptAir said in a statement Thursday afternoon . . . EgyptAir sincerely conveys its deepest sorrow to the families and friends of the passengers onboard Flight MS804. Family members of passengers and crew have been already informed and we extend our deepest sympathies to those affected. The statement added that an Egyptian Investigation Team in co-operation with a Greek counterpart are still searching for . . . remains of the missing plane. Via TeleSur Related video added by Juan Cole: CNN: Greek official: EgyptAir wreckage not found Reddit Email 0 Shares By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | Protests and suicide bombings have caused tension within the Shiite Muslim alliance thats been fighting extremists. As neighbourhoods are taken over by militias, locals fear intra-sectarian fighting. Abu Fatima al-Budairi is a member of the powerful Badr Organization, one of the largest Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq. And he used to be proud of his membership of the group, which has been integral in fighting the extremist group known as the Islamic State, but which has also been controversial in some cases. However al-Budairi lives in Baghdads Sadr City neighbourhood in the east of the Iraqi capital. And in this neighbourhood another Shiite Muslim militia is in control, the Peace Brigades, part of the Sadrist Movement led by the cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Although the Peace Brigades have also fought against the Islamic State, or IS, group, recent conflicts between the two militias has seen tensions between them rise. And it means that al-Budairi can no longer boast about his allegiance to the Badr organization when hes at home. Its too dangerous. The same is true of members of the Sadrist Movement who live in areas like Karrada which is under the control of the Badr organisation. Both groups say they are afraid the militia in control of their neighbourhood will want to take revenge for slights that the others believe have been committed against them. Different Shiite Muslim militias control different parts of Baghdad but some street corners are still the site of power struggles. In fact, whether they are associated with one or other militia or not, the people of Baghdad are increasingly afraid that fighting could break out between the different Shiite groups at any time. As one local man told NIQASH, there seem to be dozens of armed fighters deploying in our streets but we have no idea which group they belong to. We are really worried theyre about to start fighting one another. Different Shiite Muslim militias currently control security in different parts of Baghdad. Sadr City is under the control of the Sadrists, Karrada is controlled by the Badr organization, then Baladiyat, Mahmudiyah and Wishwash belong to the League of the Righteous. However other Shiite-dominated neighbourhoods like Bayaa, Shula, Abu Dashir, Hurriyah and Shaab are not under the control of any specific militia which means there are ongoing power struggles over which street corner belongs to which group. It is almost two years since Iraqs highest religious authority, Ali al-Sistani, issued a decree telling Iraqis they should unite to fight the threat presented by the Islamic State group. And although most of the various Shiite Muslim factions did unite against the Sunni Muslim extremists, recently the various alliances within the Shiite Muslim militia and political sector have been fracturing. It seems that the unity that developed between the various Shiite Muslim factions due to the emergence of a common enemy is starting to fade as power and politics begin to take precedence again. The most recent problems began with the demonstrations coordinated by the Sadrists, against political corruption. These peaked about a fortnight ago when the protestors broke into the capitals highly protected Green Zone, where most of Iraqs senior politicians live, along with foreign diplomats. However other Shiite Muslim political factions and militias didnt participate in these demonstrations or the vandalism in the Green Zone. Shortly after the Sadrist-associated protestors left the Green Zone, hundreds of fighters from other militias including the Badr organization and the Khorasani Brigades were stationed in various places around the capital, including the Green Zone, to maintain security. Hakim al-Zameli, an MP and a senior member of the Sadrist group, asked other groups not to interfere in politics and warned them not to attack the protestors. But those other groups quickly accused the Sadrists of making use of the protests for their own political gain. Especially after some of the Sadr-affiliated protestors broke into the Diyala offices of the Dawa Party, to which both the present and former Prime Ministers, as well as Hadi al-Ameri, who leads the Badr organisation, belong. Protestors also stormed the offices of other Shiite Muslim political parties and damaged the pictures of the parties leaders that were hanging there. Since then the leaders of the various Shiite Muslim organisations have been trading accusations and criticisms. And the recent spate of suicide bombings in Baghdad which resulted in over 100 dead also made things worse. Sadrist MP, al-Zameli, who heads the Iraqi Parliaments National Security and Defence Committee, was critical of the work of the Ministry of the Interior in keeping Baghdad safe and only hours later there was another Sadrist-affiliated protest, during which protestors demanded that the Minister of the Interior, Mohammed Salem al-Ghabban, resign. It just so happens that al-Ghabban is a member of the Badr organization. So of course, Badr group members responded by saying that the Sadrists were only attacking the Minister because of his political affiliation, not because he had done a bad job. In fact, this conflict between the various Shiite factions is not something new in Iraq. Similar scraps happened around 2008, when the Sadrists clashed with the Badr organization in southern Iraq, and again in 2011 and 2012, when the Sadrists got into fights with one of the more extremist Shiite militias, the League of the Righteous. Some have suggested that underlying these tensions is a split in Iraqs Shiite groups, between those who are more loyal to Iran and those who feel strongly about Iraqi sovereignty. The conflict between the Sadrist movement and the Shiite factions [like the Badr organization] who are loyal to Iran stems from an ideological argument that has been going on for decades, says Jabr al-Mohammedawi, an independent Shiite Muslim cleric who teaches theology in Najaf, in southern Iraq. The Sadrists are opposed to the idea of the clergy interfering in matters of state whereas the groups closer to Iran prefer the Iranian way, known as the Wilayat al-Faqih, or Guardianship of the Jurist in English. Basically disagreements about this subject centre on how much control the religious leaders in a country should have over the politics of that country. Should they be involved in all matters pertaining to ruling the country? Or only certain, more appropriate ones? The Sadrists believe the Wilayat al-Faqih idea was imported from Iran. The Sadrist movement itself was born inside Iraq, and was created by Iraqis, most of who lived inside the country, even under Saddam Hussein, who treated the countrys Shia so badly. A lot of the other leaders of Shiite Muslim groups lived outside the country while Saddam Hussein was in power, some of them in Iran where they developed closer ties with the Iranian leadership. In Iraq, the Badr organisation is strongly linked with Irans leadership as are several other prominent Shiite militias like the League of the Righteous, Hezbollah in Iraq and the Khorasani Brigades . There is another suspected reason for the growing tensions between the Shiite Muslim groups, after two relatively calm years of both direct and indirect cooperation. Iraqs next provincial elections will be held in 2017 and many believe that tensions will just increase as the date for voting comes closer. Usually what happens in Iraqs provincial elections is that the Shiite political parties, most of which now have military wings or associated militias, compete with one another in the southern provinces with a predominantly Shiite population that is Karbala, Najaf, Babel, Wasit, Diwaniya, Samawa, Nasiriyah, Basra and Muthanna. They also compete for votes with other parties in three provinces with more mixed demographics, Baghdad, Diyala, and Salahaddin. The upcoming provincial elections will be an even tougher fight than usual. Many of the Shiite Muslim militias have become very popular because locals have seen them fighting the IS group and consider them heroes. Although the Iraqi government has tried to rein the militias in, they have remained independent and in some cases, have refused to do what the Iraqi government has told them. And although they do not seem to be prepared to admit it, theres no doubt that many of the leaders of the militias have political ambitions; rumour has it some have already started negotiating new alliances in secret in preparation for the elections. For example, Hadi al-Ameri was actually a former Minister of Transportation but since the beginning of the security crisis, he has re-fashioned his image as a military commander. Theres no doubt that the Shiite Muslim volunteer militias will seek representation in the next elections, al-Mohammedawi says. And they will win large victories because they control different neighbourhoods and towns and their members live among the people. Via Niqash.org - Related video added by Juan Cole: Press TV: Iraqi cleric blames Iraqi PM for terror attacks VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 20, 2016) - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. (TSX:SBB) announced today the closing of the previously announced bought deal financing. The offering was comprised of 18,410,000 common shares of the Company (the "Common Shares") at $1.63 per share. In addition, the over-allotment option granted to the underwriters was exercised in part for 1,380,750 Common Shares at $1.63 per share. This financing and the over-allotment are closed, bringing total gross proceeds of $32,258,922.50. The financing was underwritten by a syndicate of underwriters led by BMO Capital Markets and including Canaccord Genuity Corp., Cormark Securities Inc., as co-lead underwriters, and RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Dundee Securities Ltd., Haywood Securities Inc., National Bank Financial Inc. and Paradigm Capital Inc. (collectively, the "Underwriters"). The Underwriters received a cash commission of 5.0% of the gross proceeds from this financing. "This financing provides the Company with the ability to continue de-risking Back River by progressing with detailed engineering as well as completing work required for the regulatory phase of the permitting process (namely the Type A water license)," said Bruce McLeod, President & CEO. "Additionally, we remain focussed on work to optimize the project, including metallurgical studies as well as opportunities to unlock the imbedded future growth on this prospective district through desk top and field exploration work. We believe this is the optimal path for continued creation of shareholder value." Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. is a well-financed, emerging precious metals company with district scale, world class undeveloped assets in one of the world's most politically stable mining jurisdictions: Nunavut, Canada. Sabina recently released a Feasibility Study on its 100% owned Back River Gold Project which presents a project that has been designed on a fit-for purpose basis, with the potential to produce ~200,000 ounces a year for ~11 years with a rapid payback of 2.9 years. At a US$1,150 gold price and a 0.80 exchange rate, the Study delivers a potential after tax internal rate of return of approximately 24.2% with an initial CAPEX of $415 million. In addition to Back River, Sabina also owns a significant silver royalty on Glencore's Hackett River Project. The silver royalty on Hackett River's silver production is comprised of 22.5% of the first 190 million ounces produced and 12.5% of all silver produced thereafter. The Company has over $45 million in its treasury and is currently amending the budget and plans for 2016. Qualified Person Wes Carson, P.Eng, Vice-President, Project Development for the Company has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure in this news release in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (the "forward-looking statements"), including the results of testwork, including, but not limited to, gold price, diesel price and exchange rate assumptions, cash flow forecasts, projected capital and operating costs, metal or mineral recoveries, mine life and production rates; the Company's potential plans and operating performance, including plans for the use of proceeds from the financing;; potential production from and viability of the Company's properties; estimates of future production and operating costs; These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the future circumstances, outcomes or results anticipated in or implied by such forward-looking statements will occur or that plans, intentions or expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based will occur. While we have based these forward-looking statements on our expectations about future events as at the date that such statements were prepared, the statements are not a guarantee that such future events will occur and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which could cause events or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and assumptions include, among others, the ability of the Company to raise sufficient funds to implement the FS; the effects of general economic conditions; changes in commodity prices including the gold price assumed in the FS; increases in input costs; uncertainty of production and cost estimates for the project; changing foreign exchange rates; actions by government and regulatory authorities; and misjudgments in the course of preparing forward-looking statements. In addition, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Known risk factors include risks associated with exploration and project development; the need for additional financing; the calculation of mineral resources and reserves; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in metal prices; title matters; government regulation; obtaining and renewing necessary licences and permits; environmental liability and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain of our officers or directors; the absence of dividends; currency fluctuations; labour disputes; competition; dilution; the volatility of the our common share price and volume; future sales of shares by existing shareholders; and other risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the Back River Project and general risks associated with the mineral exploration and development industry described in our Annual Information Form, financial statements and MD&A for the fiscal period ended December 31, 2015 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available at www.sedar.com. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We are under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws. This news release has been authorized by the undersigned on behalf of Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. Bruce McLeod, President & CEO 555 Burrard Street, Suite 375 Vancouver, BC V7X 1M7 Tel 604 998-4175 Fax 604 998-1051 http://www.sabinagoldsilver.com VANCOUVER, May 19, 2016 /CNW/ - Eureka Resources Inc. ("Eureka" or the "Company") (TSXV: EUK) is pleased to provide the following update of recent developments on its Gemini Lithium Project ("Gemini"). Gemini is located in the Lida Valley, Nevada, and consists of 247 placer claims totaling 4,940 acres (2,000 hectares). On January 20, 2016, Eureka entered into a letter agreement (the "Agreement") with Nevada Sunrise Gold Corporation ("Nevada Sunrise") (TSXV: NEV) which gave it the right to acquire a 50% participating interest in Gemini (see Eureka news release dated January 21, 2016). On May 4, 2016, Eureka and Nevada Sunrise entered into an addendum to the Agreement in which they agreed that Eureka had completed its due diligence review on Gemini and that Nevada Sunrise had confirmed receipt of approximately CAD$97,000 from Eureka representing 50% of the acquisition and evaluation costs on Gemini as provided for in the Agreement. The companies also agreed that a definitive joint venture agreement would be entered into on or before September 30, 2016, or such other date as may be mutually agreed to by the companies. All approvals of the independent directors of each company have been obtained and the Agreement and its addendum have been filed with the TSXV. Upon acceptance by the TSXV, Eureka will issue 300,000 common shares to Nevada Sunrise and will become the beneficial owner of a 50% interest in Gemini. About the Gemini Lithium Project The exploration strategy at Gemini is to target desert sub-basins, or playas, that exhibit similar geological and geophysical characteristics to the Clayton Valley basin where lithium brines are known to accumulate. The Clayton Valley hosts North America's only producing lithium mine 40 kilometres (26 miles) to the northwest of Gemini. Such desert sub-basins can be delineated by gravity surveys that detect strong gravity lows. A geophysical gravity survey carried out in 2012 and 2013 indicated strong gravity lows at Gemini West and Gemini East, two faulted sub-basins located approximately 7 kilometres (4.5 miles) apart and each interpreted to be hundreds of metres deep. To view maps of Gemini visit: https://www.eurekaresourcesinc.com/projects/lida-valley The decision to stake the Gemini claims was made after review of the geophysical gravity data in conjunction with the favourable local geology. Specifically, the late Miocene felsic volcanic tuffs adjacent to Gemini could provide a source of lithium for trapped ground-waters within the sub-basins. In February and March 2016, Nevada Sunrise completed two reconnaissance time domain electromagnetic ("TDEM") surveys totaling 23.3 kilometres (15.1 miles) across Gemini West and Gemini East. The TDEM surveys each detected conductive zones within the sub-basins defined by the previous gravity survey. The results gained from the surveys could be interpreted to be conductive brines at depth well below the non-conductive alluvium sediments at surface. A conductive layer 150250 metres deep appears to cover most of Gemini West and Gemini East. In addition, several isolated strong conductive zones were interpreted at depths from 400 to 600 metres. The conductive layers and zones may be indicative of brine solutions in porous aquifers and traps within each sub-basin. After the review and interpretation of the compiled TDEM data is completed, the companies intend to apply to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for a drilling permit which should occur by the end of the second quarter of 2016. There are no known drill holes at Gemini. John R. Kerr, P. Eng., is the Company's designated Qualified Person for this news release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including statements that address future exploration and drilling plans; potential mineralization; timing of application for drilling permits; and the intention of Eureka and Nevada Sunrise to enter into a definitive joint venture agreement. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intends", "believe", "potential", and similar expressions, or describes a "goal", or variation of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "should", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of Eureka to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others: that Eureka and Nevada Sunrise may not obtain TSXV approval for the Agreement and its addendum thereto; that the companies may be unable to agree on the terms of the definitive joint venture agreement in the time expected or at all; that appropriate drilling targets may not be identified in the time expected; risks related to the interpretation and actual results of historical exploration at the Gemini property, reliance on technical information provided by third parties, including access to historical information on the Gemini property, current exploration and development activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; current economic conditions; future prices of commodities; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals, financing or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the Three Months Ended January 31, 2016, which is available under Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Although Eureka has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Eureka disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and accordingly are subject to change after such date. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of the Company's operating environment. Eureka does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are included in this news release, except as required by applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of accuracy of this release. SOURCE Eureka Resources, Inc. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 20, 2016) - Columbus Gold Corp. (TSX:CGT)(OTCQX:CBGDF) ("Columbus" and "we") is pleased to announce that Andrew Yau, the former Controller of Columbus, has been appointed as the new Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Andrew Yau, CPA, CGA, holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Business Administration degree from the University of British Columbia and has been in accounting and finance roles with publicly listed companies since 2006. Mr. Yau has an extensive accounting background, having previously served as Controller of several TSX and TSX-V listed companies where he was responsible for all aspects of accounting, tax compliance, managing banking relationships, financial reporting, and developing internal control frameworks. With Mr. Yau's strong working knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards and public company reporting requirements, he played an instrumental role in completing complex transactions, such as business acquisitions, divestitures, and reverse takeovers. Mr. Yau assumes the position from Akbar Hassanally, who has left to pursue other opportunities. Columbus would like to thank Mr. Hassanally for his efforts and dedication to the company since he joined us in January 25, 2011. We wish him well in his future endeavours. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, Robert F. Giustra, Chairman & CEO [JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas [official website] on Thursday ordered [order, PDF] Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] lawyers appearing in multiple states to take ethics classes after finding DOJ lawyers misled the court. Judge Andrew Hanen found that the DOJ lawyers, who had initially been defending the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) [materials, PDF] policy, misrepresented information regarding when the government would be implementing and accepting applications for the program, and subsequently misled the court in regards to the number of individuals given their work permits through the program while still under an injunction. In imposing sanctions for these misrepresentations the court held that it would not enforce monetary sanctions because it would not make the states challenging DAPA whole, nor would it serve to deter any future misconduct. Hanen stated, there was a lack of knowledge about or adherence to duties of professional responsibility in the halls of the Justice Department. He ordered that any attorney employed at the Justice Department in Washington D.C. who appears, or seeks to appear, in a court (state or federal) in any of the 26 Plaintiff States annually attend a legal ethics course. In addition, the judge ordered that the Attorney General provide a plan within 60 days to prevent any further misconduct and ordered that the government provide a list of roughly 100,000 who entered illegally through early implementation of this program. The case in which this misconduct occurred has been granted certiorari [JURIST report] by the US Supreme Court. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the injunction against DAPA last May, a month after Hanen declined to lift [JURIST reports] the stay he imposed in February. In March of last year the DOJ urged [JURIST report] the Fifth Circuit to reverse the injunction blocking the presidents immigration executive action. In November 2014, President Barack Obama announced two new immigration programs [text], purportedly under his executive authority as president. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the DAPA would lift the threat of deportation for about 4.7 million undocumented residents by allowing immigrants that have been in the US for more than five years or have children who are citizens to register and pass a criminal background check in order to stay in the country. [JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Thursday that Virginias voter identification law is constitutional. The plaintiffs challenged SB 1256 [materials], which requires that voters have a valid form of ID either before voting or within three days after voting, alleging that it inhibited equal participation by protected classes in the electoral process and was discriminatory. The judge rejected these arguments, however, and stated that the plaintiffs had failed to prove that the voter ID law was arbitrary, irrational, or invidiously discriminatory, in either its enactment or implementation and noted that while the law added a layer of inconvenience to the voting process it appears to affect all voters equally. The judge finally noted that the Courts mission is to judge not the wisdom of the Virginia voter ID law, but rather its constitutionality. Voting rights remain a controversial legal issue in the US. Earlier this week a federal judge ruled that Kansas cannot require voters to provide proof of citizenship [JURIST report] when registering to vote. Last month a federal judge upheld [JURIST report] North Carolinas voter ID law. Earlier last month a federal appeals court held that a Wisconsin voter ID law needs to be re-examined [JURIST report]. In March a federal appeals court agreed to reconsider [JURIST report] Texas voter ID law before the entire court. Last May the New Hampshire Supreme Court struck down [JURIST report] a 2012 law requiring voters to be state residents, not just domiciled in the state. In March of last year Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a new law [JURIST report] that made Oregon the first state in the nation to institute automatic voter registration. Thousands of victims of sexual assault in the US Military have been unfairly discharged, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] report [text] Thursday. The 128-page report, the result of a 28-month investigation with the support of Protect Our Defenders [advocacy website], found [press release] that many victims were discharged for a variety of mental health reasons that made them ineligible for benefits. According to the report, these other than honorable discharges impact the service members health care, employment, child custody, disability payments and burial rights among other areas. Bad paper, a term for an other than honorable discharge, has been correlated with high rates of suicide, homelessness and imprisonment. Furthermore, the report notes that under US law, service members are unable to sue the military for harm suffered and the Boards for Correction of Military Records and Discharge Review Boards are often overwhelmed with cases. Due to this, over 90 percent of claims are rejected with no opportunity for review and little to no judicial oversight. HRW urged Congress to create a right to a hearing before the Boards for Correction of Military Records, make this information more available to the public, and create a committee to study the standards for granting relief and determine procedure. The treatment of veterans has been heavily criticized over the past several years. The military has come under scrutiny [JURIST op-ed] over the last decade about its treatment of veterans with mental trauma such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Veteran Affairs office has also been heavily criticized for its failures in providing adequate care to veterans. In 2015 President Barack Obama announced [JURIST report] the creation of a new advisory committee to improve conditions in the VA. The committee consists of business leaders, members of veteran organizations and health science professionals with a diverse range of experience. He also signed [JURIST report] the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act [HR 5059] into law in order to combat increasing suicide rates among American veterans suffering form PTSD. The act was passed by a unanimous Congress and is intended to facilitate veterans access to mental health resources, as studies have shown that suicide rates are higher among those who do not receive any type of mental health care. In 2014 Obama signed [JURIST report] the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014 [bill summary] to allow veterans to seek private care outside of VA facilities and provide money for the VA to hire more doctors and nurses. In 2013 the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] reported that the VA grants disability claims for PTSD caused by in-service sexual trauma at significantly lower rates [JURIST report] than it has granted claims for PTSD arising from other causes. South Carolina lawmakers on Tuesday approved a bill [H 3114 materials] that would ban abortions at 20 weeks or later. The House of Representatives voted 79-29 in favor of the bill, which does not contain exceptions for rape or incest. Proponents claim the bill is necessary because there is evidence to suggest that fetuses can feel pain [NYT report] at 20 weeks. Opponents note that abortions in the second half of pregnancy are rare, contending that this bill poses a danger to women. The bill now goes to Governor Nicki Haley, who has indicated her support for the legislation. Abortion remains controversial across the US, with state legislatures continuing to pass various regulations. If approved, the bill would make South Carolina the seventeenth US state to ban abortions at 20 weeks. Earlier this week the Louisiana state Senate approved a bill banning [JURIST report] dilation and evacuation abortion procedures. In March Utah became the first state to require doctors to administer anesthesia [JURIST report] to women receiving an abortion after 20 weeks. Also in March the US Supreme Court heard arguments [JURIST report] on a Texas law that would require abortion clinics to upgrade facilities to hospital-like standards and would require doctors to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] unanimously Thursday in Betterman v. Montana [SCOTUSblog materials] that the Sixth Amendment [text] right to a speedy trial ends at conviction. A criminal defendant is entitled to a speedy and public trial, and this case dealt with the question of whether protecting a criminal defendant from inordinate delay in the final disposition of his case falls under the provisions of the amendment. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the court: We hold that the guarantee protects the accused from arrest or indictment through trial, but does not apply once a defendant has been found guilty at trial or has pleaded guilty to criminal charges. For inordinate delay in sentencing, although the Speedy Trial Clause does not govern, a defendant may have other recourse, including, in appropriate circumstances, tailored relief under the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Justice Clarence Thomas filed a concurring opinion, joined by Justice Samuel Alito. Justice Sonia Sotomayor also filed a concurring opinion. Thursdays ruling affirms a decision [opinion, PDF] of the Supreme Court of Montana. The court heard oral arguments [JURIST report] in the case in March. [JURIST] The UKs High Court of Justice [official website] struck down a challenge by several cigarette companies against requiring plain packaging on cigarette packaging. In its almost 400-page decision [judgment, PDF], the court upheld the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 [materials, PDF] against the tobacco companies claims that this regulation would constitute an intellectual property rights violation. In doing so, the court stated that its decision did not rely simply upon financial pluses and minuses, although it did balance these factors, but also weighed the damage to the property rights of the cigarette companies against the benefits to the public health that would arise through this law. As a result of this ruling, tobacco companies will be banned from branding on their cigarettes. In particular they will not be able to use color or brand names to help market their product. Increased regulation of smoking has been seen throughout the world. Earlier this month the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded [JURIST report] its regulatory reach to all tobacco products. Just prior to that, the EU Court of Justice [official website] upheld [JURIST report] rules that will require health warnings to cover 65 percent of a cigarette pack. In 2014 the Supreme Administrative Court of Thailand approved a new regulation requiring packs of cigarettes sold in the Southeast Asian country to be 85 percent covered with graphic health warnings [JURIST report]. In 2012 the High Court of Australia upheld [JURIST report] a law that requires cigarette packages to display graphic images warning of the dangers of smoking and bans brand logos. In the US, there has also been debate over the constitutionality of graphic cigarette warning labels. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] struck down [JURIST report] graphic warnings in August 2012, holding that the FDA rule on graphic cigarette label warnings exceeded the agencys statutory authority and undermined tobacco companies economic autonomy. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein [official profile] on Thursday welcomed the measures [press release] being taken by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to prevent the use of its drugs in state-sponsored execution by lethal injection. Pfizer announced its decision to restrict the sale of seven products that have been part of lethal injection protocols in some states. Resale will be restricted, and government entities will need to certify that any product they purchase from the company will not be used for penal purposes. Pfizer also stated its intention to monitor the distribution of its products consistently. The High Commissioner stated, [i]t is heartening to see companies playing an active role in furthering the trend towards ending use of the death penalty, and called on all businesses to avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through their own activities, and seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services. Stressing that the UN opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, Zeid also expressed his concern for the potential that states may resort to questionable sources for the drugs required to administer lethal injections and urged them not to engage in such tactics. Capital punishment [JURIST op-ed] remains a controversial issue in the US and worldwide. Last week the US Supreme Court [official website] upheld a stay [JURIST report] of execution issued by the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [official website] for Alabama inmate Vernon Madison. A few days before that a Miami judge ruled [JURIST report] that Floridas revamped death penalty law is unconstitutional because it does not require a unanimous agreement among jurors to approve executions. Last month Virginias General Assembly voted [JURIST report] to keep secret the identities of suppliers of lethal injection drugs. In February the Eleventh Circuit rejected [JURIST report] a Georgia death row inmates legal challenge to the death penalty. In January Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood stated that he plans to ask lawmakers to approve the firing squad, electrocution or nitrogen gas as alternate methods of execution if lethal injection drugs become unavailable [JURIST report]. The Supreme Court in January ruled [JURIST report] in Kansas v. Carr [opinion, PDF] that a jury in a death penalty case does not need to be advised that mitigating factors, which can lessen the severity of a criminal act, do not need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt like aggravating factors. A spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] Friday condemned [press release] Iranian authorities for the sentencing of Nargis Mohammadi, an anti-death penalty activist. Mohammadi is currently being held in Evin Prison, which is located in Tehran. The UN rights office expressed concerns for Mohammadis health, saying, [she is] believed to have serious medical conditions and has reportedly not been granted adequate access to the specialised medical care she needs. Mohammadi was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The spokesperson said Mohammadis detention is expressive of a growing trend in Iran against tolerance for human rights. Much international pressure has been directed toward Iran in recent years for its use of the death penalty. In March UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, expressed continued concern regarding Irans alarming rate of juvenile executions [JURIST report] and other flaws in the justice system. In February Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] criticized Irans justice system after 40 men were sentenced to death [JURIST report]. In January AI reported on the many juvenile offenders [JURIST report] on death row in Iran. [JURIST] A spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] on Friday repeated its earlier request for the Mexican government to investigate human rights violations [press release] in Tlatlaya in Mexico State. Among the human rights violations alleged are the deaths of 22 people, including the summary execution of 12 individuals. Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani spoke to reporters, restating the UNs concern with the poorly performed investigation, including the handling of seven military personnel that were arrested and charged in connection with the killings. This briefing follows the decision of Mexican court to drop charges against four of the officers in 2015 and freeing the remaining three only last week. While she acknowledged the judiciarys independence and decision-making, she stated that this briefing was meant to call on Mexican authorities to ensure a thorough, effective, impartial, independent and prompt investigation into these and other human rights violations. Mexico has received criticism from multiple human rights organizations for its handling of human rights abuses, as forced disappearances and military violence have come to international attention. Last month three UN human rights experts pleaded [JURIST report] with Mexican authorities to support human rights groups facing extreme criticism in the national media. In 2015 Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] reported [press release] that there is evidence of recent unlawful police killings in Mexico. The report suggests that police action which left eight civilians dead in the city of Apatzingan on January 6, and 42 civilians and one police officer dead in Tanhuato on May 22 was an excessive use of force against unarmed civilians. That same year, the Miguel Agustin Pro human rights center [official website] in Mexico announced that there is evidence that high-ranking Mexican officers gave soldiers orders to kill criminals prior to an army mass slaying of suspected cartel members in June 2014. In 2013 the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns [official website], urged Mexicos government [JURIST report] to better protect against human rights abuses, specifically with respect to the militarys use of force against civilians. Track product launches by FMCG companies to get an understanding of the product-level strategies including geographic concentrations, innovation types, product claim, category focus and more Monitoring the advertising strategies of various brands and gain insights into channel focus, regional focus, and more Perform company-level analysis to understand business model, size, and geographic focus Unilever product advertising is mainly through mainstream TV channels. Out of the products advertised so far at least 50% (over 850) of ads have been run on TV, while print media comes second with 496 ads. Unilever also utilizes social media platforms for advertisement. Unilever products are categorized by innovation ratings and tags in our product launch database. The North American region consists of almost 74 products with innovations related to the formulation of the product. Europe and other regions also have more products categorized under formulation-related innovation, followed by the packaging and positioning of the products. Most Unilever products are tagged with High Vitamins, Recyclable, and Natural tags to understand what the product differentiator is from other products available in the market. The majority of products belong to the personal care industry with a total of 5,788 products to date. This report, through the Unilever Example, illustrates how GlobalData Explorer enables you to:Dont miss out on key market insights that can help optimize your next investment read the report now. Schedule All of the following brown bag lunches are from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. unless otherwise noted by asterisk. Spring 2019 January 17, 2019 Location: Room 206, K-State Student Union Topic: K-State 360 Christa DellIsola, program coordinator for K-State 360 will discuss why co-curricular involvement is crucial to students success beyond college and how K-State 360 can help. March 21, 2019 Location: Cottonwood Room, K-State Student Union Topic: Post-graduation statistics Kerri Keller, director of the Career Center, and Mary Ellen Barkley, the assistant director, will present on the topic of communicating post-graduation statistics. Almost five years ago, President Barack Obama delivered a speech in which he acknowledged, and claimed credit for, the fact that the last U.S. combat troops would soon be leaving Iraq. The tide of war is receding, Obama said on Oct. 21, 2011. What Obama didnt anticipate was that the Islamic State, an offshoot of al-Qaida in Iraq, would seize large amounts of territory in Iraq and Syria, inspiring and orchestrating terrorist attacks in the West. So in 2014 Obama promised to degrade and ultimately destroy the Islamic State, but without getting dragged into another ground war in Iraq. So far, the president has abided by that pledge. Yet signs of mission creep in Iraq are multiplying. There are now about 4,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, officially in a training and advisory role but increasingly in harms way. After a Navy SEAL was killed coming to the rescue of Kurdish and Christian fighters near Mosul, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said: It is a combat death, of course. More such casualties are possible as U.S. forces assist in the counteroffensive designed to expel the Islamic State from territory it occupies, a campaign that has achieved some success but faces significant challenges. Even if the casualty count remains small, the history of U.S. military involvement in the Middle East and elsewhere, notably Vietnam, will inspire concern that the U.S. is on a slippery slope to just the sort of large-scale commitment Obama has forsworn. One way to counter such concerns, and constrain Obama and his successor, is for Congress to approve an Authorization for Use of Military Force against the Islamic State. Strangely, the administration is conducting its campaign against that group under resolutions passed during the George W. Bush administration that provided authorization both for retaliation against al-Qaida after the Sept. 11 attacks and for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Obama has proposed a three-year AUMF that supposedly would rule out a repeat of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but its wording could justify lengthy and large-scale deployments so long as they were described as temporary and defensive. Congress needs to adopt more restrictive language. Even if Congress imposes limits on U.S. involvement, the depressing prospect for the foreseeable future is that the U.S. ideally with more support from its regional allies will be engaged in a significant and at times dangerous struggle with the Islamic State and similar groups with no guarantee of achieving all of its objectives. For example, even if the Islamic State were defeated in Iraq and Syria, political instability in both countries and elsewhere could give rise to similar insurgencies. As even the intervention-averse Obama has realized, it is impossible to extricate the U.S. entirely from a conflict thats metastasizing in many locations. The tide of war has receded, but not as far as he or we thought in 2011. KEARNEY Juggling work and classes can be a tall order for college students, but owning a business can be an even greater challenge. Daniel Uddin and Anah Nolasco, University of Nebraska at Kearney students and owners of Komal Mexican Taqueria, split their time between running their restaurant and attending classes. Located across from the UNK campus at 942 W. 24th St., Komal opened in March and serves traditional taqueria-style Mexican cuisine. Uddin and Nolasco said that they saw the empty building formerly the Come and Get It BBQ restaurant while attending classes. We saw this location, and when the opportunity came, we took it, Nolasco said. With the support of their families, the two opened the restaurant in the spring semester, while taking classes. When they opened they said that their days at the restaurant often stretched from 9 a.m. until midnight with breaks to attend classes. We did get burned out, Uddin said. But we worked around it. He said they worked around it by hiring more employees and learning how to delegate responsibilities to their staff. They also designated Sunday as their day off, and the one day of the week that the restaurant is closed during the semester. We need a day to prepare for our classes, Uddin explained. Uddin and Nolasco also have to schedule their classes around one another. When one is in class, the other is managing the restaurant. We kind of just have to work around it, Nolasco said. Uddin, a junior business major, and Nolasco, a senior visual communication and design major, said their skills pair well. They added that theyve been able to bring skills from certain classes that have allowed them to better understand how to run the restaurant. Accounting has been a big help, Uddin said. He added that it has made the financial component of running a business easier to manage. Nolasco said she has used skills learned as a visual communication and design major to craft a brand image for Komal. She developed the logo, menu and shirts worn by staff. In addition to designing the visual elements of the menu, she also turned to family as a resource for authentic Mexican recipes. A lot of food is Tex-Mex. Our food is not, Uddin said. This is something that you can go to Mexico City and find. Before opening Komal, Nolasco said she and Uddin would go out of their way for authentic home-style Mexican food. We used to drive all the way to Lex to get Mexican food, she said. Komal offers traditional Mexican fare such as tacos, tortas, burritos and nachos. Uddin and Nolasco pride themselves on the six meats on their menu: steak, chicken, al pastor (pineapple pork), beef tripe, and beef tongue. Any Komal menu item can be made with their signature meats. Uddin and Nolasco said that the campus and community have supported Komal since it opened in March. There was a lot of hard work involved, but I think in the end that it was worth it, Uddin said. email to: Al Cotton, left holds a flare gun aboard his 26 foot sailboat called The Cats Ass, while Clark Berry, Canadian Power and Sail Squadron Education Officer holds a safe boating sticker, during a press conference to kick-off National Safe Boating Week at the Kelowna Yacht Club on Thursday. The timing of the week, starting on the May long weekend, is aligned with the unofficial start of the summer and a time when many boating fatalities occur. See story on page A2. Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, right, speaks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Friday, May 20, 2016. NATOs chief says the alliance has reached a broad agreement to seek another meeting with Russia before NATO heads of state and government meet in Warsaw this July. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) 18K Shares Share Many young physicians in training have asked me, quietly or by e-mail, Is it possible to be a Christian and practice emergency medicine? I think that they ask a good question, and likely for good reasons. In their rotations, they have witnessed, first hand, life in the ER. They are uncertain, perhaps, because they see the frustration that boils over in the words and actions of otherwise compassionate and caring doctors and nurses. They hear the bitterness and sarcasm, the profanity, the unkind words spoken behind the glass window that separates professional from patient. They also see, hear, touch and often smell the humanity that pours through the doors of trauma centers, academic emergency departments, community ERs and all the rest. There is suffering and loss, and the long, piercing wail of the bereaved down the hall, receiving the worst news of all. They experience the addicted, the drug seeker who will tell any lie, contrive any store to get the pill or injection he or she so needs and desires. They witness the poverty and need, the hungry, empty eyes of neglected children. The may witness, or experience, the explosive violence, and cruelty of the drunk, the criminal, the wounded. In such a place, between suffering patients and suffering staff, what young, wide-eyed Christian wouldnt ask, Dr. Leap, is it possible to keep your faith and work in the emergency department? So here is my short epistle on the topic: To the believers in the hospitals and emergency rooms, the church medical, across the land, around the world. From your brother Edwin, who these years has fallen and gotten up over and over and who loves you and wishes to encourage you. It is my prayer that you have strength to face the sickness and pain into which you plunge yourself every day. All around you come victims; victims of disease and accident, victims of violence and neglect, cruelty and hatred. The drunk and addicted, the angry and the sad, the suicidal and lost, the rejected and abused, the healthy and also the dying; and all are among the dying in the end. Remember that all of them, and all of us, are also victims of sin, for it was in our separation from God in ancient times that all of this pain began, and in which death took hold of those originally destined for life. Remember that the guilty and the innocent alike suffer from this and that our Lord came to be an intercessor, high priest and atoning sacrifice for all. Your struggle is against the infirmities of the flesh, but also against the wounds of the spirit that underly all suffering in this veil, until we reach the kingdom where death has no power and you will be out of work for all eternity. Amen. Look around you each day, and consider that the emergency room, the hospital ward, the clinic, the operating room, these are places where the gospel is shown forth to you in power, a great gift from the Father so that you may understand by the example of others troubles what spiritual truths lie beneath it all and undergird it all. Although we are all poor reflections, destined to one day (as the word says) to be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is, we are still his dim but ever growing likeness. And we are His hands, feet, mouth, eyes, mind. Like Him, we who go day in and day out among the lost, the suffering and those who (despite their willfulness) are hostages to evil. And although we may have sin in our hearts, although we judge and are angry and frustrated, we do His work. That is, brothers and sisters, we bring love and touch and healing and comfort to those who frequently have done nothing to deserve it, who exhibit no gratitude or intent to change, but who need our love, need the love of Jesus. And like Him, we will show it seventy times seven, through temper tantrums thrown our way, complaints, cruel words, irresponsibility, patient satisfaction, EMR (the devils work) and every other difficulty. Dear ones, in the ER, grace is at work, and a model of grace is there for you to enact and understand. You give undeserved love and care for everyone all day, every day. The Spirit gives you strength in hardship so that you may be bold, whether rested or tired, prepared or unprepared. One day, on that Great Day, you will see that each act, every stitch, every comforting hand, every EKG, every airway, every psychiatric commitment, each and every weary step into the same room with the same patient and same complaint, every unkind word for another physician restrained, every patient act, these were all acts of grace that molded you. And the Father, Son, and Spirit will welcome you, veteran of ten thousand daily trials. And it is in this way that one can be a Christian in the ER, in the trauma center, clinic, operating room, delivery suite and all the rest despite the trials, temptations, and bitterness that the enemy of our souls inflicts up on us in our work. May the God of all peace guide you and strengthen you in your difficult work, and fill you with radiant, overwhelming love. And may you have a quiet shift. Edwin Leap is an emergency physician who blogs at edwinleap.com and is the author of the Practice Test and Life in Emergistan. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Editors Note: With the U.S. elections just half a year away, it is important for investors to now start considering how each presidential candidate could potentially affect their portfolio, particularly their gold investments. Kitco News continues its new series Gold-Ocracy that asks veteran industry experts how they think Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and of course, the only Republican candidate left in the race Donald Trump could affect the global economy. Stay tuned every Friday as a new expert opinion is unveiled and as they share who they think would be best for gold and stock markets, as well as who they think the Federal Reserve fears most at the White House. (Kitco News) GOP presumptive nominee Donald Trump is just laying back while both Democratic candidates are still campaigning their way to secure their nomination. Hillary Clinton is still racking in more votes, but more unrest broke after Bernie Sanders supporters lashed out at Democratic Party leaders this week. Kitco News spoke with Martin Murenbeeld, chief economist for Canadian-based Dundee Economics, who aside from noting that Sanders is the most Canadian candidate of them all, the Donald may actually be the best candidate for gold. Week 1 of the series included comments from famed financial commentator Dennis Gartman. of the series included comments from famed financial commentator Dennis Gartman. Week 2 had comments from 25-year veteran commodities trader Vince Lanci. had comments from 25-year veteran commodities trader Vince Lanci. Week 3 included insights from famed libertarian and contrarian investor Doug Casey. included insights from famed libertarian and contrarian investor Doug Casey. Week 4 had longtime trend forecaster Gerald Celente saying Wall Street would be delighted with Clinton in the White House had longtime trend forecaster Gerald Celente saying Wall Street would be delighted with Clinton in the White House Week 5 shares insights from famed economist Mark Skousen, who says Clinton is the less likely candidate to rock the Fed's boat. shares insights from famed economist Mark Skousen, who says Clinton is the less likely candidate to rock the Fed's boat. Week 6 check out market visionary Keith Fitz-Gerald comments on the U.S. presidential candidates and why he thinks the U.S. central bank may not be too happy about Trump's lead. check out market visionary Keith Fitz-Gerald comments on the U.S. presidential candidates and why he thinks the U.S. central bank may not be too happy about Trump's lead. Week 7 read now to find out why veteran market watcher Rick Rule thinks Trump & Clinton would both help gold. You can also catchup on previous articles: EXPERT: Martin Murenbeeld CLAIM TO FAME: Chief economist for Dundee Economics Which presidential candidate would be best for gold? Why? Trump if he follows through on his campaign promises, he will put sanctions/tariffs on imports from countries that employ unfair trade practices and that have manipulated/devalued their currencies, the longtime economist said. The value of the US dollar would decline -- it is very overvalued -- which would raise the price of gold in dollar terms (all other things equal). Who would be best for U.S. economy and the dollar? Why? Trump if he actually increases spending on infrastructure and reduces corporate taxes as promised then economic growth would likely be higher under his presidency, Murenbeeld explained. Who would be best for stock markets? Why? Probably Clinton, he said. Going by historical data, stock markets have had higher average returns when a Democrat is president. However, Murenbeeld argued that Clintons policies are not as pro-business as Trumps policies. But then again, he continued, we know very little of Trumps policies; the program/platform outlined on his website is thin in the extreme. Who do you think the Fed wouldnt want in the White House? Why? The Fed wouldnt want the Donald moving in the White House, he said. He is more likely to support initiatives to limit Fed independence and/or question the Feds monetary policy decisions, he explained. Clintons economic advisors include Alan Blinder (a former Fed vice chair); Clinton is unlikely to challenge Fed independence. Of the candidates running now, who would be your best pick? (optional) John Kasich but he is gone, he said. Not Bernie Sanders he is too Canadian. By Sarah Benali of Kitco News; sbenali@kitco.com Follow @SdBenali SHARE Steven Gardner | Kitsap Sun A poster in Homero Capetillo's fifth-grade class at Puesta del Sol Elementary School in Bellevue tells students to "think outside the box," in Spanish. Steven Gardner | Kitsap Sun Homero Capetillo, fifth-grade teacher at Puesta del Sol Elementary School in Bellevue, teaches students about fish, or "pescados," in the school's Spanish immersion program. The entire school's classes are taught in Spanish. The Bremerton School District will begin a Spanish immersion kindergarten class next school year. Steven Gardner | Kitsap Sun Donna Zendejas, fifth-grade teacher at Puesta del Sol Elementary School in Bellevue, writes information about the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics in Spanish on a white board. Steven Gardner | Kitsap Sun Maya Stevens leads Puesta del Sol students in the "Jueves Jubiloso" (Jubilant Thursday) assembly. Stevens was among the first students 20 years ago in the Bellevue School District's Spanish immersion program and returned to the district as a fourth-grade teacher. By Steven Gardner Sgardner@Kitsapsun.Com Bellevue A Thursday at Puesta del Sol Elementary School starts with a celebration, not unlike routines at other schools. The difference comes when children rise for the pledge of allegiance and begin, "Yo prometo lealtad a la bandera." They continue the entire pledge in Spanish. It's the language heard throughout the hallways and classrooms all day, as students raised in English-speaking homes get their lessons in Spanish. The Bremerton School District plans to repeat such a scene on a much smaller scale at Naval Avenue Elementary next school year. A couple dozen kindergarten children will begin their educational careers taking the same classes everyone else takes only they'll be taught in Spanish. So far, eight parents have signed up their children, said Gretchen Peters, Naval Avenue principal. Peters took her second trip to Puesta del Sol with two other teachers Thursday to observe a school day. She said that aside from the language difference, the subject matter is essentially the same. "A lot of it is no different from any other school," Peters said. "It's just that it's going to kick it up a notch in the fact that children will be learning Spanish." Approaching the school, it doesn't immediately appear any different from other schools. Buses amble in and out and children beat a path on nearby streets. Near the entrance, a girl greets "Bob the bus driver" and confides to her friend that sometimes she calls him the "butts" driver. As school begins, however, the scene changes. Rita Lowy, the school's principal, announces over the public address system that students should head to the auditorium for the regular "Jueves Jubiloso" (Jubilant Thursday) assembly. That get-together has two pledges as bookends. Students first say the Pledge of Allegiance and then say a pledge that they will learn and think in Spanish. In between, there are presentations by different classes. On the Thursday before Mother's Day, fourth-grade teacher Maya Stevens reminded the students of the upcoming honors owed to their mothers. Stevens was part of Puesta del Sol's first immersion class and came back to teach. Lowy said the program began 20 years ago at the request of parents. Sunset Elementary was chosen, primarily because the declining enrollment from neighborhood children offered room. Over the years, the program expanded until two years ago when the school became entirely Spanish immersion. The school's name was changed to the Spanish phrase for sunset. Demand to enroll in the school is so high now that the district uses a lottery system to pick students. The kindergartners get a lot of their instruction in English at first, but get most of it repeated. Kindergarten teacher Ana Ganje responded to one tattler by saying in English that he only needed to worry only about himself, then repeated the phrase in Spanish: "a usted no tiene mas que preocupar mas que usted." Over the years the amount of instruction in English reading and writing increases, but most of the day remains in Spanish. Donna Zendejas, who teaches fifth-graders at Puesta del Sol, said teaching language at a young age, rather than waiting until high school, works best because there isn't as much embarrassment from their peers if they make mistakes. Lowy, who has picked up some Spanish as principal, said learning regular subjects in a foreign language forces the children to pay closer attention, an attribute that can pay off years later. Lynne Banfi, who has three children in Bellevue's immersion program, which continues into Tillicum Middle School and Newport High School, sees practical benefits. "Especially living on the West Coast, with the population of Spanish-speaking people, it's going to be huge for these children," she said. Lowy said studies show immersion students lag behind their peers in reading and writing for the first couple years, but by the time they take the Washington Assessment of Student Learning test, they're pretty well caught up. Puesta del Sol fourth-graders scored about 10 points better than their peers in other Bellevue district schools in the 2005-06 school year in reading, with 97 percent passing. The writing and math scores were about five points lower, while the science score was about even. Other factors have a role in those scores. Puesta del Sol's ethnic makeup is different than the rest of the district. The number of children qualifying for reduced-price or free lunches is about a fourth the average of the rest of the district. Puesta del Sol's WASL scores for fourth-graders are better than the Bremerton district scores in all subjects. Again, the ethnic mix is different and more than half of the students in Bremerton qualify for a price break on lunch, about 10 times the number at Puesta del Sol. Homero Capetillo, another fifth-grade teacher, said one of the bigger challenges for the Bellevue program is finding qualified teachers. The state provides funds for teachers to travel to other countries to find instructors. He went to Spain a year ago and found two willing to come over, but one returned after a month. "It was just too demanding," he said. Peters said potential instructors are required to speak, write and present a lesson to administrators. Bremerton does plan to expand into higher grades as the first batch of kindergartners progresses. Peters said the district starts with an advantage, because Naval Avenue already has two native Spanish speakers and there are at least two more in the district. After Peters' day at Puesta del Sol, she said that if Naval Avenue's experience aligned with the Bellevue school's, the district would one day have to employ a lottery to choose children for the school. "That would that be my dream," she said. Join an online conversation about Bremerton at the "Bremerton Beat" blog at www.kitsapsun.com. SHARE By Josh Farley of the Kitsap Sun BREMERTON Police officers, employees represented by the Teamsters union and other city managers will get bumps in pay under contracts approved Wednesday night by the Bremerton City Council. The new contracts represent most city employees except firefighters, whose union has yet to reach an agreement. The city will pay out about $519,000 mostly from its general fund, though a fraction of the money will come from its water, sewer and stormwater utilities for employees in the Public Works Department. City officials and at least one labor leader praised the negotiations as some of the most pleasant and efficient in years. The police department's last contract took 3 years to complete; this time, a similar contract was completed in four months, according to Charlotte Belmore, the city's human resources manager. Mayor Patty Lent expressed optimism about the labor agreements. "This was an example of labor and management working side by side," she said. "I think we're moving in the right direction." Employees represented by the Teamsters 589 will get a 2 percent bump this year, 2.25 in 2017 and 2.25 in 2018. The city's managers also will receive similar bumps in pay, as mandated under the Bremerton Municipal Code. Representatives of the Teamsters union could not be reached for comment. Officers represented by the police department's guild, as well as the Bremerton Police Management Association will receive a 2.5 percent bump in pay in 2016 and a 2 percent increase in 2017. Beau Ayers, the Bremerton Police Officers Guild president, said he was pleased with the outcome and gave kudos to city management for the process. "The city worked really well with us," he said. "I think it was a fair deal on both sides." Viking re-enactor Bob Granier, of Poulsbo, stands among the brightly colored tents as he and others set up their Viking village Thursday at the Poulsbo Waterfront Park. SHARE Poulsbo's Sluys bakery cookie rack is ready for this weekend's Viking Fest. Alan Andrist, of Kenmore, attaches the canvas covering to the framework of his pavilion Thursday at Poulsbo Waterfront Park. Viking helmets are ready for sale Thursday in front of the Cat's Meow shop in downtown Poulsbo. By Kitsap Sun Staff Kitsap County's annual parade doubleheader kicks off Saturday with the Armed Forces Day parade in Bremerton, followed by the Viking Fest parade in Poulsbo. The 68th annual Armed Forces Day event is billed as the largest and longest-running of its kind. After the event, many of the parade entrants, support people and members of the crowd will load up and head for Poulsbo's parade. The 48th annual Viking Fest activities begin at noon Friday with an opening ceremony at 4 p.m. It ends at 6 p.m. Sunday. The parade, which is in its 47th year, takes place at 2 p.m. Saturday. Armed Forces Day parade Time: 10 a.m.-noon Start: Sixth Street and Chester Avenue Route: Parade runs east on Sixth Street, turns right on Park Avenue, then left on Fourth Street and left on Pacific Avenue. End: Ninth Street and Pacific Avenue Access: Roads along the route, including Warren Avenue, close at 7 a.m., denying access to the area within. Access to the ferries will be preserved. Evergreen-Rotary Park will be used for the parade and not be available. Parking: Arrive early, park close and kill time at pancake breakfasts and Fifth Street booths. Most neighborhoods offer two- or three-hour free parking. Later, you might have to walk a dozen or so blocks, but there's no reason to pay unless you want to come late and get closer, like at the old J.C. Penney building. Viking Fest parade Time: 2-4 p.m. Start: Sixth Avenue and Fjord Drive Route: Fjord Drive north, left on Hostmark Street, which curves into Front Street End: Front and Sunset streets Access: Roads along the route close at 12:30 p.m. Access to downtown and parking will be limited Friday through Sunday as the three-day festival takes place. Sunset from Front Street to Jensen Way will be closed to all traffic from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Sixth from Hostmark to Fjord will be closed to all traffic 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. There will be no parking on Sixth for the day, and side streets accessing it will be closed to through traffic. Parking: Free parking is available at North Kitsap High School with $2 round-trip shuttle buses to downtown. Parking will be available at Gateway Fellowship Church or First Lutheran Church on Saturday for a suggested $5 donation. Overall parade preparation Forecast: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after 11 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 63. South southwest wind 6 to 10 mph. Attire: Wear layers to peel off/put on as the sun plays peekaboo. Bring a hat to protect your eyes/bald head from sun/showers/seagulls. Red, white and blue will be predominant at the Armed Forces Day parade, while the Viking Fest theme is Norwegian heritage. All parade participants should have some form of Norwegian design to their floats and/or outfits. Comfortable walking shoes also are recommended. Bring: Folding chairs. Sunglasses, sunscreen. Even if it's overcast, rays can cause eye squints and sear skin. Water. Tissues, in case you tear up over the patriotism during the Armed Forces Day parade. And a camera. SHARE It's long been a tenet of this country that Americans believe in fair play. But millions are ready to elect a president who believes the rules do not apply to him. And millions more are willing to be convinced that if this man is elected, somehow he will change from a self-centered oligarch to a leader who will put the country first. It used to be that politics stopped at the water's edge. That meant that unless a controversial vote on declaring war were involved, presidential candidates did not condemn a sitting president's foreign policy efforts. But Donald Trump has insulted the prime minister of Great Britain, our closest ally, while promising to sit down and negotiate with sworn leaders such as murderous North Korean thug Kim Jong Un, who is testing nuclear weapons. And Trump cozies up to dictators like Russia's Vladimir Putin. Trump has appealed to millions of primary voters turned off by politics as usual by promising to self-fund his campaign. But it turns out he was only loaning money to himself and wants it repaid by fat cat donors. He now wants the mighty Republican fundraising apparatus to raise a billion dollars for his candidacy. And it will. Trump is demanding that anyone he might consider to be his running mate turn over tax returns. But Trump refuses to release his own, saying only that he has worked hard to pay the smallest amount he could get with. He says he can't release his returns until an ongoing IRS audit is complete. But that is not true. He could release them. He is hiding something, but millions do not care. During his rambunctious past, Trump publicly boasted of his many affairs with women, even on the radio. Now he wants such discussions stopped even though he vows to continue bringing up former President Bill Clinton's dalliances as a way to attack rival Hillary Clinton. Ah yes, blame the wife. He has openly flaunted the Republicans' 11th commandment of not speaking ill of fellow party members by using schoolyard epithets and bullying tactics against his rivals. He publicly has insulted many women, but millions do not care. Trump has forged his campaign on latent fear and hatred of immigrants and Muslims, stoking such emotions into white-hot rage. Never mind that this country was built by the hard work of immigrants and a belief that freedom of religion is paramount. His slogan, "make America great again," has been easily parodied into "make America hate again." Trump vows to be the best job-creator in the history of the world but has never given a single specific blueprint of how he would do this. Yet he has called for lowering taxes on the richest Americans and does not believe in raising the federal minimum wage. Sometimes, he says, his various comments are really just "suggestions." Nobody knows what he actually would push for if he becomes president. He preys on the misunderstanding of trade by promising to illegally tear up trade agreements without accounting for the fact that fair trade helps Americans sell their products abroad and protects worker and environmental rights. He issues platitude after platitude without facts. Foreign policy experts say his understanding of how the world works is nonexistent and call his shallowness stunning. He says he no longer believes that women have a right to choose what happens to their bodies and would punish women who get abortions. Millions are impressed because Trump is rich. But he has made money by buying and selling things, licensing his name and by being paid huge salaries through reality TV, shows mastering the ability to dazzle and distract with word bombs and ridicule. But if the tables are turned against him, he cries "unfair" and sues. We can't blame our fellow Americans for worrying about their economic futures and being furious that politics as usual has failed them. We can blame them for turning blind eyes and deaf ears to a false prophet who has been shown to be a sweet-talking, entertaining con artist courted by a hypocritical media. We have wondered how past societies have chosen so poorly when it came to their leaders. Now we know. SHARE Hillary Clinton's political advocates I prefer "meat puppets" are wringing their hands over the Republican vulgarian Donald Trump. They're upset over the boorish things he says about women, but, even worse, they're anguishing over the death of American outrage. What bothers them is that anti-Trump outrage isn't as widespread as the Clinton campaign hoped. And GOP Chairman Reince Priebus triggered them even more by suggesting that Trump's character issues weren't all that big a deal. This so enraged the Clinton meat puppets that you could hear their teeth gnashing. Clearly, they're in need of therapy. And I will prescribe a cure. But first, what really set them off? It was that attempted New York Times hit piece about how Trump allegedly mistreats women. It blew up in their faces after the featured grievant, model Rowanne Brewer Lane, said it was all a negative spin job. "They spun it to where it appeared negative," Brewer Lane said. "I did not have a negative experience with Donald Trump and I don't appreciate them making it look like that I was saying it was a negative experience because it was not." I'm not crazy about either Trump or Clinton. The fact that The Hillary or The Donald might be president almost makes me yearn for a yurt in the wilderness. There, I could read the Constitution alone, in peace, like some oblivious hermit, without worrying what the next president will do to it. Except for tribalists and the willfully ignorant, most Americans should know by now that Trump is the GOP presidential nominee because the Republican Party Establishment lied to and manipulated its base for so long that voters stopped believing a damn thing it said. And Clinton is the Democratic candidate because, even though she's tired and stale and hopelessly establishment in the year of insurgency and apt to change accents in midsentence she still knows how to win the old Democratic way. She's backed by President Obama. And she's lined up Democratic Party insiders as superdelegates. And they want her to slice them some big chunks of cheese as tokens for their fealty. Right now, though, Clinton's meat puppets aren't worried about Queen Hillary handing out American cheese to party hacks. Instead, they're worried about the lack of outrage over Trump. And so they whine and whine: How does Trump get away with treating women that way? Why isn't America as angry as we are? Does character even matter in American politics anymore? If you're mystified about Trump and the death of outrage and lack of character evidenced in our national political actors, here's what you could do. Find a dark room with a mirror. Bring with you a small lit candle. Stand before that mirror and spend three minutes in complete silence wondering about the death of outrage, then repeat after me: "Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton." If that doesn't work, try one of these: "It's only about sex," or "Everybody does it" or "It's a private matter." Repeat until the words lose all meaning, becoming mere sounds, unintelligible, so they'll transport you to your safe meditative space. If that doesn't work, there's one more. Repeat the following: "If you drag a hundred-dollar bill through a trailer park, you never know what you'll find." Those immortal words belong to James Carville, the Clinton Democratic operative who with Hillary's assent set the tone on how the Clintons would treat women who dared accuse former President Clinton of sexual harassment. And the woman Carville referred to was Paula Jones. She wasn't fancy or rich, just a working woman, who accused Bill of sexually harassing her when he was governor of Arkansas. But she was denigrated by Clinton's top advisers as "trailer park" trash, as someone so craven she'd crawl on dirt for the cash to slander Bill. She was telling the truth. It was a straightforward sexual harassment case. If Bill had been a private-sector CEO, he'd have been fired. But Hillary and Bill fought back, denigrating Jones and others, including Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey and the intern Monica Lewinsky. As part of all this, Bill Clinton, as president, lied under oath. Just consider the mental gymnastics it takes to excuse perjury in a sitting president. Not only was liar Bill Clinton defended, but he also was politically rehabilitated by many of the same actors, by feminists and by the Democratic insiders. Hillary and Bill and their meat puppets told us then that character didn't matter. It was all a private thing. So if Hillary Clinton and her meat puppets wonder about what happened to character and outrage in politics, all they have to do is this: Just look in the mirror. John Kass is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune. His email address is jskass@tribune.com, and his Twitter handle is @john_kass. SHARE By Tom Philpott The Senate Armed Services Committee is embracing some TRICARE fee increases proposed by the Obama administration, particularly for working age retirees and their families. But it links those fee hikes to some surprising and long overdue improvements in patient access and quality of care. This is a far different and seemingly less strained approach than adopted by the House, which would delay most TRICARE fee increases for a generation so they impact only people who enter the military after 2017 and begin to retire 20 or more years later. On TRICARE fees alone, military beneficiaries almost certainly would prefer that the House provisions prevail when a conference committee meets to iron out differences in the two versions of the fiscal 2017 defense authorization bill. But Democrats charge that the House only was able to defer hard decisions on military compensation by voting to fund just seven months of Iraq and Afghanistan War operations next year. The threat of a presidential veto if the House budget blueprint prevails, and the attraction of Senate initiatives to expand patient access, seem to give the Senate's approach to reform better odds of becoming law, though the outcome isn't near certain. Steve Strobridge, director of government relations for Military Officers Association of America, said MOAA opposes the TRICARE fee increases but the Senate committee does deserve credit for following through on a promise to link them to concrete steps to improve care access and care quality. Here are highlights of what senators have endorsed: TRICARE for Life: No fee increases for disabled retirees or for retirees and family members age 65 and older who rely on TRICARE for Life, the military's prized supplement to Medicare coverage. TRICARE Prime: The enrollment fee to use military managed care would be raised only for non-disabled retirees under age 65 and their families. For family coverage, retirees would pay $700 a year versus the current $565. Individual retirees would pay $350, up from $282. TRICARE Choice (Standard): TRICARE Standard, the military fee-for-service insurance option, would see a name change, to TRICARE Choice. This would underscore that users get to pick their providers. But that freedom to choose would become more costly. Active duty family members or retirees and families would pay a first ever annual enrollment fee. Senators rejected the administration's call for the fee in fiscal 2018 to be set at $450 for individuals and $900 for families. It opted for a lower fee to start, with a climb to $450/$900 over five years. TRICARE Supplemental: Working spouses and military retirees would be offered a new lower-cost Choice option if they have alternative health insurance through civilian employers. TRICARE Supplemental would cover costs that alternative insurance wouldn't pay. And so beneficiaries would pay only half of the annual enrollment fee of full Choice coverage. Deductibles: The bill accepts the administration's proposal to establish an annual deductible for Choice beneficiaries who use out-of-network providers. For family members of pay grades E-4 and below, the deductible would be $100 for individuals and $200 for families. For dependents of higher grades and for retirees, the deductible would be $300 per individual or $600 for families. Outpatient Cost Shares: The Senate bill largely embraces the administration's call to replace existing co-shares for Choice (Standard) with flat cost-shares for active duty family members and retirees who use health care providers outside the network. The aim is to incentivize patients to use TRICARE network contractors and base facilities more efficiently. Pharmacy Co-Payments: The bill largely accepts the administration's plan to phase in higher co-pays for off-base pharmacy benefits to spur greater use of generic drugs and mail order. The administration wanted co-pays for brand name drugs at retail outlets or by mail order to climb from $24 this year to $46 by 2026. Instead, co-pays for generic drugs at retail would stay at $10 through 2018 and then climb to $14 by 2025. Generic drugs filled by mail order would have no co-pays through 2019, but rise thereafter to reach $14 by 2025. Brand names not on TRICARE's drug formulary would be unavailable at retail outlets. Through mail order, non-formulary brand drugs would cost beneficiaries $54 per prescription in 2017, and climb to $92 by 2026. Prescriptions would continue to be filled on base at no charge. Health Fee Indexing: Senators reject the administration's call to index TRICARE fees and co-pays to the annual rise in health care costs as measured by the National Health Expenditures (NHE) index. They found a different index to use that that should keep fee increases somewhere between the NHE index and annual retiree cost-of-living adjustments. Here are highlights of Senate package aimed at ensuring the military health system delivers better value: Commercial Insurance for Reservists: DoD would have authority to test a program to offer drilling Guard and Reserve members access to the commercial health insurance plans for federal civilian employees. The benefits and premiums might be more attractive than those offered under the TRICARE Reserve Select program, which would not be changed. End Pre-Authorization Requirement: TRICARE beneficiaries no longer would need pre-authorization from TRICARE managers to seek urgent or special care. This is expected to vastly expand timely access to care. Appointment Schedules: Military treatment facilities would be required to adopt a single standardized appointment system. Improved Dental/Vision Coverage: Military retirees would be allowed to enroll in the same dental and vision insurance plans offered to federal civilian retirees. The dental benefits, in particular, are seen as an improvement over the plan now offered to military retirees. Value-Based Co-Payments: DoD would gain authority to lower beneficiary co-pays on health services and drugs critical to health care outcomes, and to raise them elsewhere. This should encourage wiser choices in use of health resources, replacing a one-size-fits-all approach to fees. No-show appointment fees: Beneficiaries would be charged a "no-show" fee if they fail to appear for scheduled appointments at military treatment facilities, a move to curb current widespread abuse that limits patient access to care and leads to systemwide inefficiencies. Telemedicine Expansion: The health care system would be required to offer a full range of telehealth services to military beneficiaries. Forbes reports: On Wiless figures, German house prices in 2012 represented a 10 percent decrease in real terms compared to thirty years ago. That is a particularly astounding performance compared to the UK, where real prices rose by more than 230 percent in the same period. (Wiless commentaries can be read here and here.) A key to the story is that German municipal authorities consistently increase housing supply by releasing land for development on a regular basis. Stuff reports: See you in court thats the message from Scenic Hotel Group founders, the Hagamans, to Labour leader Andrew Little. Little looks set to face defamation proceedings after ignoring an ultimatum and failing to apologise to the Hagamans. In a statement from Lani Hagaman she said she would see Mr Little in court after he failed to retract and apologise his comments that a Niue resort deal they were awarded stunk to high heaven. Little has written to Hagamans lawyers saying he has a constitutional duty to challenge the actions of the Government over the expenditure of public funds. Little had every right to ask the Auditor-General to investigate. However by saying the tender stunk to high heaven he went well beyond what was advisable. He effectively accused them of corruption. The Herald further reports: In a statement released this evening, Lani Hagaman said she would see Mr Little in court. The reasons were taking defamation action have been widely reported in the media and I wont be repeating his allegations that Earl and I find hurtful, highly offensive and totally false, she said. While Mr Little may be entitled to call for an investigation there is a correct process in which to do this. In my opinion a public flogging is not the correct process. Were incredibly disappointed he hasnt apologised and retracted what he said. Again it isnt the calling for an investigation which was an issue. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr Richard Harman writes at Politik: This weekend sees the last of Nationals regional party conferences. Over the past three weeks, hundreds of party members have met in Hamilton, Auckland and Wanaka and will meet on Saturday in Palmerston North. And Richard has attended most or all of those conferences. I regard Politik, written by Richard, as a must read. It comes out at 5 am every morning and is my first read of the day. It almost never talks about who said what in the House, who won question time etc. But almost every day I read something there which gives me an insight I dont get anywhere else. Richard is focused on policy and policy issues. He attends not just the national conferences but the regional conferences of the parties. He talks to members to get a feel of where the party is at. I see him at obscure briefings such as the 40 year energy forecast from Exxon Mobil. Im not sure if he even bothers to attend question time, but when I do see him at Parliament he is almost always engaged in a discussion with an MP gathering intelligence and insights. And I think MPs are much happier talking about stuff to him, than other media because its not about a headline that will sell newspapers, or get click throughs for advertising. His model is providing valuable content and insights that people will pay for. In no way do I mean to disparage the many good journalists in the press gallery who provide some excellent reporting and also analysis. But the nature of the media they work for means they cant do what Richard does. Their employers wont pay for the cost of sending them to regional conferences just to gather intelligence. They need stories every day to justify their investment. As the media look at the very challenging commercial environment, they could do worse than look at the model of Politik a daily newsletter that provides enough insights you dont get elsewhere that you are willing to pay for. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr This aerial view shows the Cherokee Farm Innovation Campus in Knoxville. It's a joint project of the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (PAUL VARNER/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS SENTINEL) SHARE SUBMITTED An artist's rendering shows how the new 45,000 square-foot building housing Civil & Environmental Consultants will look on the Cherokee Farms Innovation Campus. The company is making the first private investment on the site on the Tennessee River in Knoxville. By Bob Fowler of the Knoxville News Sentinel The first private tenant has agreed to locate its operations in a research-and-development park that's unique in the Southeast, on a site next to the Tennessee River in Knoxville. Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc. said today that it would construct a 45,000-square-foot building in Cherokee Farm Innovation Campus. In a ceremony this morning, Gov. Bill Haslam is scheduled to be among dignitaries welcoming the move. The announcement "is very, very significant as far as paving the way for the future of the research-and-development campus," said Cliff Hawks, president and CEO of Cherokee Farm, located off Alcoa Highway across from University of Tennessee Medical Center. Cherokee Farm is the only research-and-development park in the Southeast affiliated with a major research university, the University of Tennessee, and a national research lab, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The park is now anchored by the 144,000-square-foot Joint Institute for Advanced Materials, a research center that Hawks said is officially scheduled to come on line at the end of June but already is occupied by 50 scientists. Civil & Environmental Consultants will be occupying about 22,000 square feet in the new building, for which construction begins today. There will be space for other firms, Hawks said, and several prospects are eying that location. CEC, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., has 20 offices scattered across the U.S., and about700 employees. The company will be closing its Maryville office and relocating its 35 employees now there into the leased Cherokee Farm building. "We expect to expand quickly," CEC Vice President James Tomiczek said. The new office will likely double its workforce to 70 people in three to five years, he said. CEC is involved in land planning and structural engineering as well as environmental and ecological studies. "The breadth of our services is extremely wide," Tomiczek said. Hawks said CEC will be developing an internship program with the UT College of Engineering "that will allow students to be involved in the work environment at CEC." Tomiczek said CEC looked at about a dozen possible sites for its relocation before settling on Cherokee Farm. Knoxville-based Partners Development is developing the new building, which will have unique features custom-designed for CEC. Blaine Construction Corp. is the contractor, and officials are targeting a move-in date late this year. Through Cherokee Farm's partnership with UT and ORNL, CEC is considering ways it can possibly integrate use of the lab's supercomputer program into some of its more-complex, data-intensive projects. Cherokee Farm is on the 188-acre site of a former dairy farm operated by UT's agriculture school. It has 77 acres suitable for development. Hawks said today's announcement, coupled with a marketing campaign that's about to launch, should spur future development. "I'd love to see the majority of the campus developed within the next 10 years," he said. Plans for Cherokee Farm were first announced in 2007, and UT President Joe DiPietro called today's announcement a milestone for the center. Future tenants will also have access to what officials called "world-leading resources in computational science, advanced materials search and testing, neutron science and biological sciences." SHARE FLAMENCO KIDS Pasion Flamenca is offering an introduction to flamenco dancing for children between the ages of 7-12 years. Classes are held on Friday afternoons from 4 p.m. and are just $36 for a four week session. Pre-registration is required, call 865-202-0740 or send an email to landronescu@tds.net. More: Tennessee Conservatory of Fine Arts, 8701 Unicorn Drive, www.flamencowestknox.com/Class-Schedule.html GET OUT! To kick off the summer, Bass Pro Shops is hosting a "Go Outdoors" series of activities at their store on May 21-22 and 28-29. Free activities on May 21 and 22 include a free photo download, a catch-and-release pond and free kids crafts including a firefly hanging craft (May 21) and color-your-own-raccoon-drawstring-pack (May 22). Free cooking demos include funnel cake between 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and fish samplings from 2-5 p.m. On May 28 there is a free Kansas barbecue sampling and seminars including: how to choose the right grill, rubs, sauces and techniques for a great family BBQ at 11 a.m.; conquering campfires at 2 p.m. On May 29 stop by for seminars on kids camping and comfort at 11 a.m.; and kayaking at 2 p.m. Free messenger-style tote for the first 25 customers to attend a seminar each day. The store is at 3629 Outdoor Sportsmans Place, Kodak. Info: 865-932-5600, www.basspro.com/ DISCO SKATING Have some retro fun as Cool Sports, 110 South Watt Road, hosts "disco lights" through the end of May for all of their weekend public sessions. The current schedule is 7:30-9 p.m. Fridays and 2-3:30 p.m. Saturdays and 4-5:30 p.m. on Sundays. Admission and skate rental is $10 per person, with skate aids available to rent for beginner skaters. More: 865-218-4500, www.coolsportstn.com N.C. HIKE Great Smoking Hiking and Adventure Group heads to Mingus Creek Trail off of Newfound Gap Road on the North Carolina side of the Smokies on Friday, May 27. The outing includes time for lunch at 95-foot Little Creek Falls and some creek crossings, so creek shoes may be needed. Loop hike is 17.7 miles, rated difficult due to distance and total ascent. Meet at 8 a.m. at Mingus Creek Trail, across from the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Pre-register with JD Schlandt, trailhard@gmail.com BIRDS OF PREY Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Balsam Mountain Trust will present a program on Birds of Prey at the Oconaluftee Multipurpose Room at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 26. Michael Skinner will conduct the program and provide visitors with an up-close glimpse of some of the most recognized and revered birds such as the tiny eastern screech owl and northern bald eagle. The Oconaluftee Visitor Center is on Newfound Gap Road, 2 miles north of Cherokee, N.C. Info: 828-497-1904. Church Street United Methodist is celebrating 200 years in Knoxville this year. The church has occupied the current Gothic-style building since 1931. SHARE Church Street United Methodist Church is celebrating its 200th anniversary as a congregation with a number of special events throughout the year. They will include everything from a "Friends" celebration Sunday, May 22, to a "Coming Home" celebration in September featuring former senior minister, Bishop Ken Carder, as the guest preacher. Banners commemorating the anniversary and designed by church member Chad Young are being displayed with the help of the city of Knoxville alongside Henley Street near the church. Church Street UMC as a congregation traces its roots to 1816, when the White's Chapel church was formed and began meeting in a modest wooden structure on East Hill Avenue, in the area where the Marriott stands today. In 1836, the congregation first moved to Church Street, now Church Avenue, into a plain brick building, although it would not officially be called Church Street Methodist for several more decades. After barely surviving the Civil War, the church built a new and ornate brick worship facility in 1878 on the north side of what today is West Church Avenue, about halfway between Market and Walnut streets. The building was destroyed by a fire in 1928. The current and large Gothic-style church building was completed and dedicated in 1931. It was a joint design project between the noted New York architectural firm of John Russell Pope and Barber and McMurry of Knoxville, which included church member Charles Barber. Planned prior to the stock market crash of 1929 and the onset of the Great Depression, the large new church facility became a financial burden on the membership trying to pay off the construction debt. However, through the sacrifice of several members, the church was able to hang on to its building and eventually pay off the debt. Beginning in the 1940s, the church began installing stained-glass windows constructed by the famed Charles Connick studio of Boston. The church built an education wing during 1963, and a church life center featuring a gymnasium was dedicated in 1989. Among the main activities planned for the church's bicentennial are: A Friends Day will be held on Sunday, May 22. Church members are invited to bring a friend, and former associate pastor the Rev. Jim Bailes will preach during the 8:30 and 11 a.m. services. A brunch will be held from 9 to 11. A bicentennial party will take place in the parking lot on June 26. Downtown history talks by local historian Jack Neely will be held each Sunday during August, and public tours of the nave will also be offered on those days. A Coming Home celebration for current and former members and attendees will take place on Sept. 18. Bishop Ken Carder will preach, and a special lunch will be held. A final potluck celebration will be held on Nov. 13. By Kendi Anderson, Chattanooga Times Free Press Detective Rodney Burns with the Gatlinburg Police Department has been charged with two counts of aggravated perjury related to his testimony regarding the rape of an Ooltewah High School freshman. On Friday, Burns, 55, turned himself into the Hamilton County Jail, where he was subsequently released after posting $2,500 bond, according to a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation news release. At the request of Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston, the TBI looked into whether Burns committed perjury during his February testimony in Hamilton County Juvenile Court. Aggravated perjury is a class D felony and if found guilty could come with a sentence between two and four years in prison. During Burns' testimony in February, he referred to the rape of the 15-year-old as "something stupid kids do." He said the perpetrators received no sexual gratification from the act, so he did not consider it a sexual assault. Burns' attorney, Bryan Delius, said, "I'm confident he's not violated the law in any way." Continue reading at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, a News Sentinel partner. SHARE Ty-Ray Earl Webb. (KNOX COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE) By News Sentinel Staff KNOXVILLE A man was sentenced to 40 years in prison Friday for killing his brother-in-law. Ty-Ray Earl Webb, 26, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of C.J. Crowder, according to a news release from Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen. In a hearing before Criminal Court Judge Scott Green, prosecutor Kevin Allen explained to the court that on Sept. 16, Webb invited friends and family to his house at 2430 Jefferson Ave. for a birthday celebration. During the party, Webb and Crowder began arguing, which led to a fistfight in front of the house. The fight between Webb and Crowder stopped, but others at the party also began fighting in the street, according to the news release. While others were fighting, Webb walked into his house and got a gun. Webb walked onto the house's porch and fired several shots into the air. He then walked up to Crowder, who was standing in the street, raised the pistol and fired three rounds. Crowder was hit twice in the chest and once in the arm. Webb then walked back into the house, packed a bag and fled the area. "This senseless act of violence has devastated a family," Allen said in the release. "Defendants who have so little regard for human life deserve the lengthy sentences they receive." More details as they develop online and in Saturday's News Sentinel. SHARE Deshawn Thomas Whited, 19, was charged Friday with retaliation for past action and assault after he allegedly cursed Knox County Criminal Court Judge Steven Sword, threatened to kill him and advanced toward Sword's bench. By Don Jacobs of the Knoxville News Sentinel A 19-year-old man sentenced Friday to six years imprisonment garnered new charges when authorities said he cursed the judge, threatened to kill him and lunged toward the jurist. Deshawn Thomas Whited, who gave an Oak Ridge Highway address, was before Knox County Criminal Court Judge Steve Sword for sentencing on two counts of aggravated assault. Records show Whited, who turned 19 on May 9, had pleaded guilty to the charges. Sword issued the six-year sentence, and Whited was being escorted from the courtroom when he "began cursing Judge Sword and threatened to kill him," according to the Knox County Sheriff's Office. "The judge asked that the defendant be brought back before the court and asked Whited what he had said," the Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Whited issued an expletive "and advanced toward Judge Sword," according to the Sheriff's Office. Whited's advance was thwarted by bailiff Dennis Bowman, "who restrained Whited before he reached the judge," according to the release. Authorities charged Whited with retaliation for past action and assault. The charges that garnered the six-year sentence arose from an incident in the parking lot of Green Hills Apartments, according to court records. Authorities alleged Whited pointed a semiautomatic handgun at a group of people on a sidewalk including children and three times pulled the trigger after each time working the slide mechanism to put a bullet in the chamber, but the weapon did not discharge. Whited still faces an assault charge stemming from an April 26 incident at the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility. A guard alleged Whited tossed an unknown liquid on his arms and face, records state. Vice Chancellor Rickey Hall takes notes at the UT Diversity Matters coalition's second meeting with administrators at the Frieson Black Cultural Center at University of Tennessee on Tuesday, March 1, 2016. (CAITIE MCMEKIN/NEWS SENTINEL) By News Sentinel Staff University of Tennessee Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion Rickey Hall, who has been at the center of controversy and calls to defund his office, has been named the University of Washington's vice president for the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity and chief diversity officer. University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce made the announcement in a news release Thursday, saying the position is effective Aug. 1. "This is a good opportunity for Rickey, and I wish him the best as he moves forward," UT Chancellor Jimmy Cheek said in a statement. Hall, the first person to serve in his UT role and who has been on campus for just under three years, has been a job finalist at three other universities. He's spent the academic year as the recipient of wide support from students and criticism from lawmakers. Hall's office came under fire from legislators following web posts about gender-neutral pronouns and inclusive holiday parties over the fall semester. Hall was earning a salary of approximately $181,638 annually. Gov. Bill Haslam on Friday allowed without his signature a bill to become law that diverts about $445,000 from Hall's office into minority engineering scholarships during the next school year as a result of the turmoil and legislative action. The university had no immediate comment on the impact of the law on the diversity office staffing. At times of tension, including calls for his resignation, Hall has repeatedly told students to not worry about him and his future. At Washington, Hall will oversee the university's progress in diversity, according to the news release. Hall had been a candidate for chief diversity officer at the University of Northern Iowa. He grew up in Iowa. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Iowa and was the director of student diversity programs and services at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, from 1995 to 1998, according to UT. Hall also had been a finalist for chief diversity officer at San Jose State University. Hall came to UT in June 2013 from the University of Minnesota, where he was assistant vice president for equity and diversity. SHARE Oak Ridge Councilman Rick Chinn By Bob Fowler of the Knoxville News Sentinel OAK RIDGE A 6-1 City Council vote on a street-paving contract, where the city's oldest business was outbid by a Knoxville competitor yet was still awarded the work, has spurred a legal complaint alleging the vote was illegal and against the city charter. The Anderson County Chancery Court complaint was filed by Duracap Asphalt Paving Co. of Knoxville in response to the council's May 9 decision. Duracap said it would resurface 16 city streets for $408,644.60. The Rogers Group Inc., which also lists a Knoxville address but operates an asphalt plant in Oak Ridge, bid $411,622.05. Council members opted not to take city staff's recommendation that Duracap had the "lowest and best bid" and instead gave it to Rogers Group. That decision "violated state law, its (Oak Ridge's) charter, and its municipal code by failing to award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder, by favoring a local company in the bidding process," according to the complaint. The complaint asserts any contract the city makes with Rogers Group for the work should be voided. Also sought: a court ruling that Duracap should win the project, or the firm be awarded the costs it incurred for preparing its bid and any profits it might have reaped. During discussion before the vote, Councilman Rick Chinn Jr. called Rogers Group "a great company" that has been "exemplary in community service." He and other council members said the city would be deriving sales tax revenue on asphalt produced for the project at Rogers Group's Oak Ridge plant. Mayor Warren Gooch said the city wouldn't get any sales tax on asphalt purchased outside the city. "We'd be cutting our nose off to spite our face to award this contract to an outside company," Chinn said. Councilwoman Trina Baughn said it is "kind of odd that we are challenging this competitive process." She said it "lends to that anti-competitive reputation we seem to be developing." Baughn cast the lone dissenting vote on the motion to amend the resolution and award the paving contract to the Rogers Group. Voting in favor were Gooch, Chinn, Vice Mayor Ellen Smith, Kelly Callison, Charlie Hensley and Chuck Hope. By News Sentinel Staff SEVIERVILLE The plane crash that killed a 62-year-old pilot Thursday apparently resulted from a landing gear failure, authorities said Friday. Ray Allen Irwin was the only person aboard the single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza during the crash at Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport, 134 Air Museum Way, in Sevierville, according to the Sevierville Police Department. Irwin was practicing his flying skills by engaging in "touch-and-go" landing maneuvers taking off, landing and then taking off again, officials said at a Friday news conference. "(The plane) was making circuits around the airport, landing and taking off again," said Todd Gunther, an air security investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. On the last maneuver, the landing gear wasn't down, and the plane struck the runway, officials said. The plane crashed just before 11:45 a.m. at the edge of some woods about 15 feet from the runway and burst into flames, which crews quickly extinguished, airport manager Emily Haun said. Gunther said the plane appeared to have touched the runway with its propeller, rose again, and then came down. Just before the crash, a witness described hearing a "loud pop" and then silence. The pilot's body was taken to the Regional Forensic Center in Knox County for autopsy. Federal Aviation Administration records list the plane as made in 1953 and registered to Irwin and Kenneth L. Justice of Sevierville. Early checks on the plane's operation appeared to be OK, according to Gunther. He said those systems that handle the pitch, roll and yaw of the plane appeared to be working, as did the propeller rotation and fuel line. "We do have evidence that fuel was getting to the engine," he said. There was no evidence of an in-flight fire or explosion. For the next several days, Gunther said, "we will be on-site, looking at the weather conditions, physiology of the pilot and airport operations." A preliminary report on the crash is expected in seven to 10 days, he said. The runway is in working order, Gunther said. "There are what we call ground scars or witness marks," he said. "Those are not going to affect the pavement at all." According to Irwin's Facebook page, he studied nursing at the University of Toledo and the University of Tennessee. Irwin was certified as a medical X-ray technician in Tennessee and worked at University Physicians' Association and Parkway Medical Center, both in Sevierville. He retired and let his license expire in 2013. His mother and sister also live in Kodak. Gunther said Irwin had logged at least 200 flight hours. Thursday's crash is the second fatal aviation-related accident in Sevier County in less than two months. An April 4 sightseeing helicopter crash killed pilot Jason Dahl, 38, and passengers Johna Morvant, 49, visiting from North Carolina; her daughter Peyton Rasmussen, 22, and son Parker Rasmussen, 18; and Peyton Rasmussen's boyfriend, 21-year-old Michael Glenn Mastalez of Texas. The 1977 Bell 206-L LongRanger, operated by Smoky Mountain Helicopters, hit trees near the top of a 1,100-foot wooded ridge behind an outlet mall before coming to rest, in flames, on its left side. A preliminary NTSB report on the April crash said the helicopter "lost the rotor sound" shortly before crashing. A full report and ruling on what caused the crash could take up to a year, NTSB officials have said. The report on the plane crash is expected to take a similar amount of time. Gov. Bill Haslam (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) SHARE By Richard Locker of the Knoxville News Sentinel NASHVILLE Despite earlier misgivings, Gov. Bill Haslam signed into law Friday the bill that reduces Tennessee's Hall income tax on some dividend and interest this year and eliminates it in 2022. Senate Bill 47 cuts the Hall tax rate from 6 percent to 5 percent effective with tax year 2016, on tax returns due in April 2017. The bill also says it's the "legislative intent" that the rate be reduced by one percent annually starting next year. It eliminates the tax entirely for tax year 2022 and beyond, regardless of whether the annual reductions occur. If some future legislature doesn't reverse course, Tennessee in 2022 will join seven other states with no state personal income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Although most states with income taxes tax wage, salary and investment income, only Tennessee and New Hampshire tax certain dividend and interest income but not wages and salaries. The governor's office did not issue a comment on his action. But the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which analyzes tax policy from a progressive standpoint, says repealing the Hall income tax will make Tennessee's tax system more regressive than it already is because it will benefit the wealthiest taxpayers the most while the majority of Tennesseans will see no benefit at all. ITEP says that when the tax is eliminated, the tax cut would average more than $5,000 per year for the top 1 percent of Tennesseans in terms of income and less than $50 for the majority of Hall taxpayers. The state Department of Revenue says there were 204,944 Hall income tax returns filed for tax year 2014, the last year for which full results are available. The average tax liability per 2014 return was $1,446 but the median was $266, which means that half of the returns had a liability of $266 or less. In recent years, lawmakers had enacted provisions that spared many retirees and middle-class earners from having to pay the tax. People 65 and older were already exempt from the Hall tax if their total income from all sources is $68,000 or less for joint filers and $37,000 or less for single filers. And for all taxpayers regardless of age or income levels, the first $2,500 in Hall-taxable income is exempt for joint filers and the first $1,250 is exempt for single filers. The Hall tax is not levied on interest earned on savings and checking accounts, certificates of deposit, government bonds, bank money-market accounts and dividends from bank stock, insurance companies, credit unions. Tennessee has the highest combined average state and local sales taxes in the country, according to the more conservative Tax Foundation, and is one of only 13 states taxing non-restaurant food purchases, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators. Five of the 13, but not Tennessee, provide tax rebates or tax credits to low-income people for their food taxes. The net result is that while Tennessee's overall state and local tax burden is in the bottom three nationally, the tax burden for the poorest 20 percent of taxpayers is 14th highest among the states, according to ITEP's analysis. "The Hall Tax plays an important role in offsetting the otherwise regressive impact of Tennessee's tax system," said Dylan Grundman, an ITEP senior analyst. "Overall, the state's tax system captures a greater share of income from low- and middle-income people than from the wealthy but the Hall tax is one of the few taxes that runs counter to that trend." The Hall tax named for state Sen. Frank Hall of Dickson, who sponsored the income tax when it was enacted in 1929 has been a target of Republicans since they gained full control of the statehouse six years ago, although some favored reducing the tax rate or continuing to increase the exemption levels rather than a full repeal. During the legislative discussion, Haslam supported reducing the tax rate but sent his finance commissioner and other top aides to warn a legislative committee last month about the potential impact on the state of eliminating the tax. He had argued that future reductions and repeal should be left to future legislatures and governors, who would make decisions based on the state's needs at the time. But with heavy pressure by anti-tax groups that play active roles in Republican primary elections, the GOP majority included the 2022 repeal in the bill, sponsored by Sen. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, and Rep. Charles Sargent, R-Franklin. The final bill passed the House 66-17 and the Senate 29-1. Senate Minority Leader Lee Harris, D-Memphis, cast the only "no" vote in the Senate. "I would have been much more comfortable with having something that just did it (a tax-rate reduction) this year, where we know what the state's fiscal situation is every time we make that decision," Haslam said when the bill won legislative approval on April 22. The reduction and ultimate repeal also mean a loss in revenue for local governments particularly the largest cities and the more affluent suburban municipalities because 37.5 percent of every Hall tax dollar collected flows to the town or city where the taxpayer lives, or to the county if the taxpayer lives in an unincorporated area. The Hall tax generated $304 million in fiscal year 2015: $198 million for the state and $106 million for cities and counties. Metro Nashville-Davidson County received $17 million, Memphis $15 million, Knoxville $10 million, Brentwood and Chattanooga $4.2 million each, Franklin $3.7 million, Knox County $3.3 million, Germantown $3.1 million, Belle Meade $2.1, Shelby County $1.5 million, and Murfreesboro, Collierville and Williamson County $1.2 million each. Farragut received about $500,000. There was discussion early in the legislative process about the state reimbursing cities and counties for the lost revenue but Haslam argued that doing so while repealing the tax would mean taxpayers statewide would be forced to funnel money into the most affluent towns, cities and counties that benefit the most from Hall tax revenue some of which fund their entire operations with state-shared revenue. Tennessee state flag By Joel Ebert, USA TODAY NETWORK The Tennessean Despite having concerns, Gov. Bill Haslam will allow Tennessee to become the first state in the nation to sue the federal government over refugee resettlement on the grounds of the 10th Amendment. On Friday, Haslam announced his decision to allow the measure, which directs Attorney General Herbert Slatery to sue the federal government for noncompliance of the Refugee Act of 1980, to take effect without his signature. Sign up for our free email newsletters. Get headlines in your inbox. The federal act was designed to create a permanent procedure for the admission of refugees into the United States. In his explanation, Haslam said the resolution "directs the Attorney General to initiate legal action regarding refugee placements and authorizes the General Assembly to hire outside counsel in the event the Attorney General does not pursue action in this case." "I trust the Attorney General to determine whether the state has a claim in this case or in any other, and I have constitutional concerns about one branch of government telling another what to do. I am returning SJR 467 without my signature and am requesting that the Attorney General clarify whether the legislative branch actually has the authority to hire outside counsel to represent the state. "I also question whether seeking to dismantle the Refugee Act of 1980 is the proper course for our state. Rather, I believe the best way to protect Tennesseans from terrorism is to take the steps outlined in my administration's Public Safety Action Plan, which enhances our ability to analyze information for links to terrorist activity, creates a Cyber Security Advisory Council, restructures our office of Homeland Security, establishes school safety teams, and provides training for active shooter incidents and explosive device attacks." Refugee resettlement has become a hot-button issue throughout Tennessee and the rest of the country as the nation continues to take in people from around the world, including Syrians who have fled their country amid a bloody civil war. Proponents of the measure have argued the lawsuit is necessary because the federal government has failed to consult with Tennessee on the continued placement of refugees. Opponents, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, argue the resolution will negatively affect the state's refugee community and perpetuate a culture of fear. Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, who was among the more outspoken advocates of the resolution, said it is necessary to initiate legal proceedings for declaratory relief given the fact that the federal government has not consulted with the state on the resettlement of refugees. The legislation received wide support in both chambers, with as many as 23 Republicans sponsoring the measure in the Senate. The chamber approved it with a 27-5 vote on Feb. 22. The House voted 69-25 in favor of the resolution on April 19. While considering the resolution, several Democrats and even Haslam, a Republican, questioned a provision in the legislation that allows the Legislature to hire outside counsel in the event that the state's attorney general declines to sue the federal government. Attorney General Slatery has not indicated whether he would follow the legislature's directive. "We are aware of the resolution and will consider it seriously and respectfully," Harlow Sumerford, a spokesman for Slatery's office, told The Tennessean in February. Last week Sumerford elaborated, saying, "Our office continues to review ways to protect the State's interests in this matter. This was certainly the case in December 2014, when we joined the Texas litigation challenging the President's executive action on immigration. Due, in part, to inaction by Congress, there is understandable fear and frustration among many on this issue. Should the resolution become effective, it provides a number of options and we will carefully consider the best option to continue to protect the interests of Tennessee." Sponsors of the measure have indicated the Thomas More Law Center, a nonprofit public interest Michigan-based law firm, will provide free legal services to the state. The law center has been engaged in "fighting the culture war being waged against families by abortionists, pornographers, those against school prayer, those against the Ten Commandments, those against God," according to a testimonial found on the firm's website from Michael Savage of Savage Nation. Former U.S. Rep. Allen West said the law center has initiated and funded more cases "challenging the Stealth Jihad being waged against our Nation." Prior to Haslam announcing his decision, the ACLU and TIRRC encouraged the governor to veto the measure. "Attempting to block refugee resettlement blames refugees for the very terror they are fleeing and erodes our own civil liberties," Hedy Weinberg, ACLU of Tennessee executive director, previously said. "Especially in these times, using fear and misplaced blame to pursue litigation challenges the values of fairness and equal treatment that are at the heart of our constitutional guarantees." Stephanie Teatro, co-executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said the Legislature tried to "twist the arm of the attorney general." But Haslam was also lobbied by Norris, who started an online petition, with the headline, "Don't let potential terrorists come to Tennessee," which asks Tennesseans to join in the effort to ask the attorney general to act. While some believed the legislation could not be vetoed by Haslam, the governor's office noted that the state's constitution indicates otherwise because it is actually a joint resolution. At an end-of-session news conference, Haslam said he believed he could veto the measure because it pertained to a substantive matter but declined to say which way he was leaning. Two other states Texas and Alabama have sued the federal government over refugee resettlement, Tennessee's lawsuit will be the first of its kind in that it will be based on the 10th Amendment, which states that the federal government possesses only powers delegated to it by the U.S. Constitution and that all other powers are reserved for the states. While arguing in favor of the resolution, Norris pointed out that although the state opted out of the federal resettlement program in 2008 under then-Gov. Phil Bredesen, the fees have required Tennessee to participate in the program. Although 14 states, including Tennessee and most recently Kansas and New Jersey, have opted out of the federal program, that does not mean refugees are not sent to their states. Instead, voluntary agencies, also known as VOLAGs, have entered into cooperative agreements with the U.S. State Department to coordinate resettlement efforts. In Tennessee, Catholic Charities handles refugee resettlement. Norris has argued that the state is being forced to appropriate funds for as many as 11 programs, including Medicaid, to support refugee resettlement. Catholic Charities has said funding for resettlement comes entirely from the federal government. Beyond the cost issue, another reason advocates have argued for the measure is due to safety concerns about continually allowing refugees to come to Tennessee although Haslam previously said he does not share such concerns. In December, Haslam said the state should not "abandon our values by completely shutting our doors to those who seek the freedom we enjoy." As the measure made its way through the Legislature, some lawmakers pointed to the March 22 terrorist attack in Brussels to further that point. "I just don't understand how at this time with all that's going on in the world ... how we could not do everything we can to stop the influx of refugees from countries that we know have ties to terrorism, such as Syria," said Rep. Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin, during a March 22 committee meeting. Between last October and March, only 17 of the 702 refugees, or 2 percent, who were resettled in Tennessee came from Syria, according to statics maintained by Catholic Charities. The vast majority 514 were from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, Somalia and Iraq. Overall, Tennessee was 18th in the nation in terms of the total number of refugees received during that time period, according to federal statistics. Those defending the resettlement program have noted the financial benefit refugees provide to the state. A 2013 report presented to the Joint Government Operations Legislative Advisory Committee determined that refugees and their descendants provided $1.4 billion in revenue for Tennessee between 1990 and 2012, compared with requiring $753 million in state support. Tennessee Democratic Party spokesman, Spencer Bowers, criticized Haslam's decision. "Governor Haslam caved to right-wing extremist, once again, today by allowing Tennessee to be the first state in the nation to sue the Federal Government over the refugee resettlement. Refusing refugees who are in desperate need of place to seek shelter from war and hardship creates a culture of fear for the immigrant communities in Tennessee. It's not who we are as a state and Governor Haslam should be ashamed of his inaction today." Gov. Bill Haslam (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig) By Richard Locker of the Knoxville News Sentinel NASHVILLE Gov. Bill Haslam allowed the bill that diverts about $436,000 from the University of Tennessee's office of diversity and inclusion and into minority engineering scholarships during the next school year to become law without his signature on Friday. "This bill received considerable debate and discussion during legislative session, and the final form of HB 2248 was revised so that its primary effect is to redirect administrative funding for the Office for Diversity and Inclusion for one year into scholarships for minority engineering students. Although I do not like the precedent of redirecting funds within a higher education institution's budget, I find the ultimate outcome of the legislation less objectionable and am therefore letting it become law without my endorsement," Haslam said in a message to the Legislature. Timeline: UT Office for Diversity and Inclusion: A year of controversy The governor's action comes a day after the University of Washington announced that it is hiring UT Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion Rickey Hall, who has been at the center of controversy and calls to defund his office. He becomes Washington's vice president for the office of minority affairs and diversity and chief diversity officer. PDF: UT Diversity Matters' response to defunding of office House Bill 2248: * Reallocates "all funds in the budget of the office of diversity and inclusion" at UT Knoxville for fiscal year 2016-17 into scholarships for minority students in engineering programs. That budget contained about $436,000 in the 2015-16 school year. The UT Board of Trustees has not yet approved budgets for 2016-17. * Bans UT from spending state funds "to promote the use of gender-neutral pronouns, to promote or inhibit the celebration of religious holidays, or to fund or support sex week," most of which had already occurred. See also: Chancellor Jimmy Cheek on impact of new law The bill has a dual set of roots, one growing out of four years of student-sponsored "Sex Week" activities on the Knoxville campus and the other from a newsletter and a web posting by the diversity office last year. Republican lawmakers denounced the first Sex Week in 2013, a wide-ranging set of events, programs and discussion panels some with salacious titles on sexuality, preventing sexual assaults and sexually transmitted diseases and other topics, including sexual abstinence. The statehouse outcry prompted UT to pull any state funding from the event, which was mostly funded with student activities fees and donations. In 2014, after failing to kill Sex Week, lawmakers forced the UT board of trustees to let students "opt out" of having a portion of their activity fees used for student programming. More than 80 percent of students have opted in annually since they were given the option. The event continued in 2015 and this spring, funded by students and donations. Lawmakers were relatively quiet until last August. At the start of fall semester in August, the UT Pride Center's newsletter suggested that instructors learn students' preferred names and pronouns in an effort to be more inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. The newsletter said not everyone thinks in traditional male-female terms and may not identify with the gender listed for them on class rosters, generated by student information systems. It noted that some prefer pronouns such as "xe," "xym" and "xyr." Conservatives went ballistic, demanded the diversity office be "defunded" and lawmakers scheduled a Nashville hearing in the fall. As that furor was dying down, the diversity office posted on its website a "Best Practices for Inclusive Holiday Celebrations in the Workplace" memo that suggested but did not require ways to make non-Christian university employees feel welcome at holiday office parties on campus. Most were no different from recommendations from UT administrators in prior years but the web post's suggestions that office parties not be a "Christmas party in disguise" and discouraging an "emphasis on religion and or culture" and "secret Santa exchanges" first set off U.S. Rep. Jimmy Duncan, R-Tenn., who went on TV to charge it was political correctness run amok. At that time, state Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey called for Hall's firing and others called for the resignation of UTK Chancellor Jimmy Cheek. Cheek and UT President Joe DiPietro ordered the posts removed and required the diversity office to get administration approval of potentially controversial web postings. But as the legislative session began in January, Republicans remained outraged and held more hearings. When demands to "defund" diversity programs first surfaced last fall, the discussion revolved around a much larger $19 million figure spent throughout public higher education, including such diversity efforts as scholarships and faculty recruitment. In March, the Senate Education Committee narrowed its focus and recommended taking $8 million only from UT diversity programs. On campus, students protested the actions in Nashville. And UT officials maintained their commitment to diversity efforts. The compromise finally approved by the Legislature on April 21 was much narrower, diverting money from the diversity office into scholarships for one year only and banning the use of state funds for sex week, which UT had already done. The House approved the final version 63-21, the Senate 27-3. After the legislative approval, DiPietro issued a statement noting that UT administrators had hoped that their frequent discussions had given lawmakers an understanding of the "need to support and advance a culture of diversity and inclusion on our campuses. "While we appreciate what could have been an $8 million hit being reduced to $436,000, we continue to be concerned about the loss of those important inclusion and diversity programs impacted by this reduction. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion hasn't changed," DiPietro said, adding that he would be working with Cheek on how the campus will "move forward" on the issue. The legislative debate included angry rhetoric directed at UT but also some support for the university's diversity efforts. When Senate Minority Leader Lee Harris, D-Memphis, called the bill a "disproportionately strong" attack on UT, Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, argued that it was only "a slap on the wrist compared to the foolishness that's come out of" the diversity office and said "they're lucky we don't shut that office down" Rep. Joe Armstrong, D-Knoxville, said the bill would hurt UT's efforts "to recruit world-class scholars, world-class athletes, world-class researchers." And Rep. Micah Van Huss, R-Jonesborough, the bill's co-sponsor, said during the House discussion that if the UT administration "doesn't want the Legislature micromanaging, they should clean up their act. Nothing opens the closed mind of an administrator like the sound of a pocketbook snapping shut." File -- Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser briefs reporters on Sunday, May 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen) SHARE By Michael Collins of the Knoxville News Sentinel WASHINGTON Washington, D.C., has become the second city to ban publicly funded travel to Tennessee over the state's controversial new law allowing mental health counselors to deny services to gay, lesbian and transgender clients and others. Mayor Muriel Bowser's order, issued May 11 and published Friday in the city's official legal bulletin, bars all city-funded travel to the Volunteer State on the grounds that the law could be "particularly harmful" to the LGBT community. Official travel to Tennessee is prohibited "to ensure a constant voice in policy and practice in the District of Columbia in favor of equal treatment for all," the order says. The ban will remain in effect until the Tennessee law is "permanently enjoined, repealed or amended." Washington's ban is the latest repercussion for Tennessee over its new law, which Gov. Bill Haslam signed late last month. The law allows licensed counselors and therapists to deny service to counselors whose "goals, outcomes or behaviors" conflict with the counselor's "sincerely held principles" a measure the American Counseling Association had denounced as a "hate bill" against gay and transgender people. Counselors and therapists who deny such services are shielded from civil lawsuits, criminal prosecution and sanctions by the state licensing board for counselors as long as they coordinate referral of the client to another counselor who would serve them. Last week, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney banned all publicly funded, non-essential travel to Tennessee, saying the law "infringes on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals." Earlier this month, the American Counseling Association canceled its annual conference, which was set to be held in Nashville next year, in protest of the new law. The group believes Music City will lose as many as 3,000 visitors next year, $4 million in combined local and state tax revenue and a local economic impact of up to $10 million. In addition to the counseling group, the Colorado-based Centers for Spiritual Living, which was expected to bring 550 people to Nashville in February, also canceled its convention in protest of the law. Despite the recent backlash, Haslam has regularly defended his decision, including during an appearance at a recent fundraiser for the Tennessee Republican Party. "We want every bit of business we can in Tennessee but we also have to do things that we think are right," he said. "This isn't a hate bill; it isn't discrimination. It's about serving the client the best way you can and counselors of conscience that's what they want to do." SHARE After reading the Sunday Perspective column "Remember the reason for the bombing of Hiroshima," I wonder why it was not on the front pages of every newspaper in America. The Japanese and the Nazis caused the deaths of more than 60 million people in the world, and the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima actually saved the lives of possibly more than 5 million more. The Japanese should be thanking President Harry Truman for saving so many Japanese lives by quickly ending World War II. Victor Davis Hanson's column should be read by everyone in the world. It helps explain how horrible the Japanese army was to both military prisoners and civilians who happened to be in its way. Let's all review the horrors of both Nazi Germany and Japan to learn how much they cared about humanity in their quest to rule the world. We Americans and the Japanese people should thank God for Truman. Fred Barrowclough, Knoxville Hanmi Pharmaceutical Vice President Son Ji-woong makes a presentation about the company's newly released targeted therapy drug for lung cancer, Olita Tab, at Westin Chosun Hotel in central Seoul, Friday. / Courtesy of Hanmi Pharmaceutical By Jhoo Dong-chan Hanmi Pharmaceutical started selling the first domestically developed targeted therapy drug for lung cancer, "Olita Tab," Friday. The company recently surprised the drug market with a series of blockbuster licensing deals amounting to 8 trillion won ($6.42 million). Olita, or its component name Olmutinib, is expected to be prescribed for the treatment of people with locally advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer, who had previously been treated with an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). On May 13, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced approval of the targeted therapy drug for lung cancer, which is considered a major breakthrough for lung cancer patients. "The approval of Olmutinib is a great step forward for lung cancer patients in Korea," Professor Park Keun-chil, Director of Innovative Cancer Medicine Institute (ICMI) at Samsung Medical Center, said. "This is an exciting and much needed new treatment option for the majority of EGFR mutation-positive lung cancer patients whose disease has become resistant to first-line TKI therapy, which can be devastating." A Hanmi Pharmaceutical official said that among 76 treated patients, Olita has shown 62 percent of its objective response rate by independent assessment and a 91 percent disease control rate. The company reached an 850 billion won ($730 million) exclusive license agreement with German-based pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim last year, providing worldwide exclusive rights, except in Korea, China and Hong Kong. Chinese ZAI Lab has secured exclusive rights in China, including Hong Kong and Macau. Olita Tab comes in 200mg and 400mg tablets. Hanmi Pharmaceutical was founded in 1973 by then pharmacist and incumbent chairman Lim Sung-ki. It has clinched a licensing deal with global drugmaker Sanofi to develop a portfolio of experimental, long-acting diabetes treatments valued at up to 5.1 trillion won. The company's annual sales jumped to nearly 1.32 trillion won last year, up 73 percent from the previous year's 761 billion won. Its operating income skyrocketed 515 percent to 211.8 billion won. By Kim Jae-won, Lee Kyung-min A man, surnamed Park, committed suicide in 2012, lying on a railway track in Okcheon, North Chungcheong Province, after suffering depression as private moneylenders pressured him to pay back a debt of 50 million won. Park's parents were given 60 million won from Kyobo Life from their son's life insurance policy which he signed in 2004. But, the insurer refused to pay an additional 50 million won of insurance based on a special disaster clause, saying it had made a mistake to include suicide in the list of 32 disasters. Park's parents filed an insurance payment lawsuit with a Seoul district court against Kyobo in 2014, but the lower court said the insurer did not need to pay because it was inappropriate to include suicide on a list of disasters. However, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court's ruling last week, saying Kyobo must pay the special insurance payments because the insurer is responsible for including the condition. "The lower court misunderstood the legal logic of how to interpret insurance conditions," said the highest court in its ruling. "Thus, we overturn the case of the lower court with a unanimous decision." The Supreme Court's ruling wrapped up a years-long legal dispute over the so-called suicide insurance payments. But, it rekindled a debate over the issue of whether it was appropriate to pay suicide insurance payments which could lead to more suicides. Insurance customers agreed with the court's ruling, but showed concerns over side-effects of the decision. "I think it is no problem that insurers pay family members of the deceased who committed suicide, but I am worried that it may give the wrong signal to insurance policyholders," said Lim Soo-hyang, a housewife in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. With the ruling, insurers that have refused to pay the combined suicide insurance payments worth 200 billion won, will be under pressure to pay them to family members. According to data from the Rep. Kim Gi-juhn of the Minjoo Party of Korea, ING Life should pay the largest amount in suicide insurance payments of 65.3 billion won, followed by Samsung Life, the nation's top life insurer by revenue, with payments of 56.3 billion won. Kyobo Life, a leading insurance company in the market, is also obliged to pay 22.3 billion won for the special condition while Allianz Korea must pay 15 billion won and Dongbu Life owes payments worth 10.8 billion won to policyholders' families. Kyobo said that it will respect the court's ruling and will pay the insurance payments. Other insurers are also expected to follow its footsteps as the highest court's ruling was clear in recognizing the insurance company's responsibility in the case. Korea is notorious for its high suicide rate. According to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Korea's suicide rate reached 29.1 per 100,000 persons in 2012, hitting the second-highest level, only behind Lithuania which marked 29.5 in the same year. Han Kang, winner of the 2016 Man Booker International prize for fiction, speaks to the media after winning the award for her book "The Vegetarian" after the award ceremony in London, Tuesday. / AP-Yonhap By Choi Yearn-hong Han Kang's "The Vegetarian" is seen at a bookstore in London. / Yonhap Han Kang's novel landed and shocked England as a bestseller. I purchased the novel in London before it was published in the United States. It was my special joy to read the British translation. By now, Han has become famous as the first Korean writer to earn one of the world's three highest literary prizes, the Booker Prize. I admire her work and share my review with The Korea Times. Her novel is composed of three related stories of Yeong-hye by her husband, her brother-in-law and her older sister, so it is interesting as a serial story in one rather slim book. It is also interesting, because it starts with a bad dream of violence killing an innocent animal that persists in all three parts of the story. The author may conclude at the end that life is just another dream in a spring night. Han's story reminds me of "The Metamorphosis," Franz Kafka's famous short story. Many critics have pointed out that The Vegetarian is beautifully poetic. Han's writing style is poetic in that it is beautifully lyrical. I realized that her Korean is so beautiful that the translation should be equally beautiful. Much later, I realized that her translator's work is also beautiful. The translator's British English is new and strange to me, but pleasant to read. I have not yet read the American version of "The Vegetarian." But I can guess that the original translator's English is well preserved. Deborah Smith's understanding of the Korean language is admirable. Her translation sticks matter-of-factly to the original prose without being sentimental. The publisher made the decision to publish the book after reading the first page. The first page contains almost everything this three-part story is going to develop in the intriguing story of the strange woman's dream, violence and sex, her dream to run away from her family and life. She becomes a vegetarian and then fantasizes about becoming a tree, not eating any food at all, and then dying. The second section is the most sensual part between the video-artist brother-in-law obsessed with his sister-in-law's Mongolian spot on her lower body. He paints flowers on her naked body covering her Mongolian spot and then on his naked body. The director who adapted this as a film did not aim to make a pornographic film. Sexual interactions in flowering waves in filming are filmed tastefully as art, not pornography. The film depicts sexual intercourse between the man and the woman that ended in the couple's separation. The woman as an adulterer is sent to a mental hospital. As a matter of fact, Han Kang was concerned about this part of the short novel, because it was controversial when some readers had pointed out this element is on the boundary of pornography and art. But I think this is legitimate art. Earlier, this section earned one of the coveted Korean literary prizes, the Yi Sang Award. In the third and last section of the novel, the vegetarian woman fantasizes to become a tree in flames. The New York Times summarizes the novella: Han's novella-in-three-parts zigzags between domestic thriller, transformation parable and arborphiliac meditation, told from the points of view of her lousy husband, who works at an office (Part I); her obsessive brother-in-law, who is an artist (Part II); and her overburdened older sister, who manages a cosmetics store (Part III). The third narrator, her sister In-hye, is the only one in the family who cares about Yeong-hye. The structure of the novella masterfully progresses from one narrator to the next. I found that the following paragraph in Part 3, "Flaming Trees," summarizes the major thrust of the story. Yeong-hye turned her head and stared blankly at In-hye, as though the latter were not her sister but a complete stranger. After a while, the question came. "Why, is it such a bad thing to die?" In-hye is the only person to visit Yeong-hye in the mental hospital outside Seoul as she tries to save her life. All her other family members had already lost interest in her recovery or given up. Han Kang made it clear that she did not provide the answer to the question posed above. She ends her 183-page novella without answering the question. She may be a nihilist in my view of her story. She may be still attempting to raise questions about why we live. She is now a 46-year old writer. Does she attempt to find the answer? I hope she does. The world has now discovered one relatively young writer who has been producing meaningful stories continuously. I hope she becomes a Nobel Laureate soon, heralding Korea as a nation of poetry and literature. In composing her prose, Han Kang is a poet, and that is her best qualification to attract the world to her stories. Here is the last paragraph of "The Vegetarian": In-hye stares fiercely at the trees. As if waiting for an answer. As if protesting against something. The look in her eyes is dark and insistent. Dr. Choi is a Washington-based poet and writer. American actor Daniel Henney, who is of Korean and Irish descent, will continue into season two of the CBS TV series "Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders," his management agency said Friday. Henney will play FBI agent Matt Simon, as he did in the first season, Echo Global Group said. The main cast of season one, including Gary Sinise, Alana de la Garza, Tyler James Williams and Annie Funke, will all carry over to the second season, which is scheduled to air in 2017. The "Criminal Minds" spin-off premiered in March on CBS as the most watched TV series in its time slot. Henney has also appeared in "Dear My Friends," an ongoing South Korean TV series broadcast on the cable channel tvN. (Yonhap) Lubosh Barta, general manager of Four Seasons Seoul, left, shares his opinion on attracting Chinese tourists while Darren Morrish, general manager of Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas, listens. / Courtesy of CICI By Yun Suh-young The Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) explored ways to attract tourists to the country during its annual 5.4 Club meeting Tuesday. The 5.4 Club was established in 2013 by CICI President Choi Jung-wha and her husband Didier Beltoise to share Korean culture through the five senses using four methods eating, seeing, enjoying and talking. With more Chinese tourists coming to Korea, the question was posed at the meeting about "what would be the next event to interest the Chinese in enjoying Korean culture," following two previous events that catered to the Chinese the "chimac" (chicken and beer) and "samgyetang" food events held for a large group of Chinese travelers to Seoul. But club members suggested that Korea develops its own uniqueness to attract global tourists as a whole, in which the Chinese will be just a part. They expressed concern about focusing on a particular nationality. "The way I see how we should attract Chinese is how we should attract all foreigners," said Mark Chung, president of KCMI, a musical company. "It's more about how can we present the strengths of this country, what is uniquely Korean. It's kind of like dating. We should present the attractiveness of Korea. What is sustainable for us is highlighting the things we already have here and promoting that overseas. If we start making ourselves into what we think they like, then we start losing what we have. The major brands all over the world don't change because of a certain type of audience." Darren Morrish, general manager of Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas, said: "We should be catering to all international tourists. "The Chinese will find another K-pop. They can turn to any other cultural interest. So we should look across the sea. It shouldn't just be the Chinese, it should be international." Others said Korea needs to develop its own story and unique experiences. Nils-Arne Schroeder, general manager of Conrad Seoul, said: "Korea doesn't have a story to tell. Korea has focused on volume to achieve mass tourism but there's no story for people to be fascinated by, except to go shopping in Myeong-dong. Quality tourism is going to Japan, not coming to Korea. "Hotels are not benefiting from it because the Chinese are staying in cheap hotels in Myeong-dong. Chicken is just a promotion gate. Korea deserves more than that. France has a story and people spend millions of dollars to experience it." The members also suggested that the industry should cater to the high-end demand of luxury travelers in addition to the mass market. "There needs to be a balance between the mass market and the high-end market," said Lubosh Barta, general manager of Four Seasons Seoul. "We work at the top end of the segment and we noticed from our customers that they want to see the private collections which aren't available to the general public. That's where Korea needs to open up more to the outside than just shopping at Myeong-dong." Foreign ownership of land in South Korea grew slightly last year from a year earlier amid rising Chinese investment in the southern resort island of Jeju, the government said Friday. The amount of land owned by foreign entities came to 228.27 million square meters as of end-2015, up 9 percent from the previous year's 208.28 million, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The land owned by foreign investors or companies accounted for 0.2 percent of the country's total area, with the estimated values of the land owned by foreigners coming to about 32.57 trillion won (US$27.39 billion). South Korean expatriates accounted for the largest 54.5 percent of land owned by foreign entities, the ministry said in a press release. Joint ventures owned 33.1 percent of the total, followed by foreign firms with 7.6 percent of the foreign total. Foreign individuals of non-Korean heritage owned about 10.3 million square meters of land, accounting for 4.5 percent of the foreign total. Some 0.3 percent is held by foreign governments or state agencies. By nationality, individuals or companies from the United States owned some 117.4 million square meters, accounting for 51.4 percent of the foreign total. European investors owned some 22.1 million square meters of land, followed by Japanese and Chinese entities with 18.7 million square meters and 14.2 million square meters, respectively. In particular, some 20.6 million square meters, or 1.1 percent, of Jeju Island is owned by foreigners, marking the fourth-highest number in size after South Jeolla Province, Gyeonggi Province and North Gyeongsang Province. Chinese ownership takes up 44.4 percent of the total, followed by the U.S. with 17.9 percent and Japan with 11.7 percent. (Yonhap) By Choi Sung-jin North Korea and its nuclear programs have been put on the back-burner for most of President Barack Obama's tenure. But dealing with the recalcitrant regime will likely be one of the foremost diplomatic issues for whoever occupies the White House next January, diplomatic watchers here say. Both Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton and de facto Republican candidate Donald Trump have said they regard the North's nuclear program as a big threat to U.S. national security and would handle it as an urgent issue. "The North Korean nuclear issue is the biggest threat to the national security of the United States and is the foremost agenda item to be handled by the next president," said Jake Sullivan, top foreign policy advisor to Clinton, in his address to the Asia Society on Monday. "North Korea's nuclear programs are a very big and serious problem," said Walid Phares, foreign policy advisor to Trump. In an interview with the Yonhap News Agency last week, Phares said: "The Barack Obama administration has been unable to solve the problem but the Donald Trump administration' can resolve it by all means." The two presidential hopefuls are poles apart on almost all issues but show considerable similarities on the North Korean nuclear problem. Both call for "pressure" rather than "dialogue" as long as the North refuses to denuclearize itself and want to force the isolationist regime to change its attitude by using China, which exerts the biggest influence on Pyongyang. A deeper look into their plans shows differences between how each camp views the North Korean nuclear issue and approaches it. Clinton seems likely to follow the basic direction of the Obama administration's North Korea policy and resolve the North's nuclear problem in a similar way to that of nuclear negotiations with Iran. Trump, on the other hand, will step up the pressure tactic, with the help of allies and friendly nations, and use China to force Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambition. Trump's frequent change of words and his lack of concrete action plans are eroding the trust in his policy, however, the local observers say. Clinton's application of the Iranian model to North Korea means she would tighten the reins of sanctions and pressure on the reclusive regime until it comes to the dialogue table on its own. This appears to be little different from Obama's "strategic patience" but there is a clear difference: while Obama "outsourced" sanctions on the North to China, Clinton will pressure Beijing to join sanctions and, if necessary, apply a "secondary boycott" on Chinese banks and businesses that engage in business with North Korea. If Clinton is elected, therefore, chances are high that top leaders of the U.S. and China will hold a parley on the North Korea issue. "The next U.S. president, when she or he holds the first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, should handle the North Korean nuclear issue in a most urgent and important way," Sullivan said. Given North Korea has an isolated economic system unlike Iran, however, the pressuring tactic's effects are yet to be known, the observers said. Trump's strategy is also to "pressure China to pressure North Korea," and more so in that the real estate-mogul-turned-politician said he would be ready to wage an "economic war" with China for that purpose. On Tuesday, however, Trump said in an interview with Reuters he was willing to meet and talk with North Korea's Kim Jong-un, seemingly breaking away from his previous indirect approach using China. Yet most experts, in Seoul and Washington, do not attach much significance to Trump's most recent remark, regarding it as the reiteration of a diplomatic principle that the door to dialogue is open to all. A ranking North Korean official welcomed the Republican runner's remark. "We do not care who will be the president of the United States, as long as he or she does not try to oppress us," said Yang Hyeong-sup, vice chairman of the standing committee of the North's Supreme People's Assembly. Asked to comment on Trump's remark during an interview with APTN, Yang said: "There will be nothing wrong with it." A U.S. expert opposed the move, though. In a contribution to Foreign Affairs Wednesday, Michael Green, deputy director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, advised against Trump's alleged intention to meet Kim, saying it would be tantamount to recognizing North Korea as a nuclear power while deepening the agonies of North Korean people suffering glaring human rights abuses under the three generations of dictatorship. By Lee Han-soo An army captain has been sentenced to 18 months' jail for leaking confidential information about North Korea's submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test to the media last year. A military court ordered the sentence and the defense ministry on Friday confirmed the conviction. The army captain, who specialized in intelligence gathering, was indicted in February for leaking confidential information to a reporter about the SLBM test. He is also known to have leaked other military secrets related to the North Korean military. By Chung Hyun-chae A fresh heat wave battered the country Friday as midday highs climbed above 30 degrees Celsius in Seoul and many other cities. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) issued heat wave advisories in Seoul and seven locations in Gyeonggi Province, including Seongnam and Gwangmyeong. The KMA issued this year's first heat wave advisory Thursday for five locations in Gyeonggi Province, including Gapyeong and Yangpyeong. This was the first time that a heat wave advisory had been issued in May. An advisory is issued when the midday temperature is forecast to reach 33 degrees Celsius or higher for two consecutive days. If the mercury soars above 35 degrees, a heat wave warning is posted. The daytime high surged to 32.6 degrees Celsius in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province; 31.5 degrees in Seoul; and 31.3 degrees in Suwon. The weather agency predicted the temperature will climb to 33 degrees in Seoul and some other cities across the country, Saturday. Also, Seoul and other cities in Gyeonggi Province posted an ozone advisory in the afternoon. Long exposure to ozone can cause chest pains, coughing and nausea. The Ministry of Safety and Security advised the elderly and children to avoid outdoor activities during the daytime and to take care of their health _ it also recommended drinking plenty of water. "The temperatures in May have been unduly high when looking at the data we have collected since 1994," Lee Hyun-soo, an official at the climate prediction division at the KMA, told The Korea Times. "We think that this weather condition arose from a migratory high atmospheric pressure," he said, adding that intensified global warming was partly to blame for the heat wave. The daily highs will also stay around 30 degrees in other parts of the country. "The ongoing heat wave will begin to fade Tuesday when rain hits the central regions," Lee said. But the agency said hot weather is forecast to continue throughout the summer. "June is expected to be hotter than usual," Lee said. The government is concerned about a surge in energy consumption as people increase their use of air conditioners. "Because of the early summer, energy consumption nationwide will rapidly rise," Noh Seong-woon, a KMA spokesman said. Kim Eun-mi, right, who has recovered from MERS, speaks during a forum marking the one-year anniversary of the outbreak at the YWCA office in Seoul, Friday. Byun Keum-sun, another survivor of the disease, is sitting next to her. / Yonhap Gov't urged to invest more to strengthen health security By Jung Min-ho The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak was believed to have caused 30 trillion won ($25 billion) in social costs. What if the country had invested the money in advance to prevent such an infectious disease? This question is still important because the nation remains ill-prepared to cope with epidemics. Health experts gathered at a YWCA office in Seoul, Friday, to mark the one-year anniversary of the MERS here. They exchanged opinions over how far the country's medical system has improved since the outbreak. "If the government had invested the money in preventing infectious diseases, I think the country would have been safe from diseases such as MERS for at least 10 years," Professor Kim Yoon from Seoul National University College of Medicine said. Korea spends more than 38 trillion won on defense. In terms of protecting lives, he noted, investment in health security should be considered as a similar form of insurance. "The government needs to invest in advance rather than spend money on taking care of the mess afterward," he said. The outbreak began on May 20, 2015, when a 67-year-old man tested positive for the virus after returning from the Middle East. The disease proceeded to kill 38 people, including a teenager and a pregnant woman out of the 186 infected. Many experts blamed Korea's hospital culture, in which family and friends crowd around to take care of the sick, for the unusually quick spread here. But Lee Ju-ho, leader of the Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union, said that a lack of government funding is what created the culture in the first place. "Family and friends basically do the job of medical workers, who cannot spend enough time with each patient, and hospitals cannot afford enough of them," he said. Since the outbreak, calls have grown for a system that allows only health workers to take care of patients. However, adopting such system would cost the government 4.5 trillion won, according to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. With hospitals relying largely on government subsidies under the national insurance system, the issue will likely remain unsolved unless the government drastically increases its budget for health. Eom Joong-sik, an infectious diseases specialist at Hallym University Medical Center, said the government needs a single Cheong Wa Dae level entity to coordinate the nation's efforts to prepare and combat infectious diseases, citing that directions from different government agencies during the MERS crisis confused medical workers. "The government needs to create something that can coordinate not only the health ministry but also the finance ministry and the National Assembly to effectively solve issues regarding health security, from budgeting to coping with outbreaks," he said. "Over the past year, I have seen so many conflicts of opinion among different government agencies, and almost nothing gets done." Some medical workers from different hospitals said a MERS crisis could happen again at any time, saying suspected MERS patients visit them from time to time. Byun Keum-sun, a 50-year-old woman who recovered from MERS, also participated in the discussion, offering gratitude for medical workers' efforts. "The pain was excruciating. When a doctor asked me about my symptoms, I said I wanted to die. I couldn't eat for days, and I slept in a bathroom because I kept vomiting," she said. "I was touched by medical workers who did their best to help me. They gave me the hope to live." By Lee Jin-a A senior Buddhist monk has been indicted for allegedly videotaping sexual intercourse with his lover without her consent - at a temple. The Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office said Thursday the monk, 64, installed several cameras in the ceiling of the main prayer room and his residence room in the temple in Gyeonggi Province to record sex with a 40-something female Buddhist believer between 2009 and 2011. The woman learned about the videotaping during a wrangle that led to their split. Feeling ashamed, she filed a petition with the prosecution, calling for him to be charged with defamation and illegal videotaping. She recently dropped her complaint over defamation, but the monk was indicted for the unauthorized videotaping of their sex. Cheong Wa Dae criticizes approval of 'hearing bill' By Yi Whan-woo Tensions are growing between Cheong Wa Dae and the National Assembly after parties approved a revision bill to make it easier to hold hearings on government policies and controversial issues at a plenary session, Thursday. Cheong Wa Dae criticized the revision, Friday, saying the law, if implemented, will "paralyze state affairs." Some analysts speculated that President Park Geun-hye may veto the bill as she vetoed a bill in June 2015 designed to make it difficult for the government to submit proposals concerning state affairs. Opposition parties fired back, saying the presidential office is ignoring the parliament. At the plenary session, 117 of the 222 lawmakers present voted in favor of the revision bill. Seventy-nine others voted against it while 26 abstained. That means some lawmakers of the ruling Saenuri Party, which holds the majority, voted for the revision. The revision may be a new seed of conflict between the Park Geun-hye administration and opposition parties because the ruling party lost its majority in the April 13 general election. The 20th Assembly is scheduled to begin its four-year term on May 30. The main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) won 123 of the 300 parliamentary seats in the election last month while the minor opposition People's Party won 38 seats. The Saenuri Party will be the second largest party with 122 seats. The presidential office argued that the MPK and the People's Party will be able to convene hearings at their convenience and summon Cabinet officials and other bureaucrats regardless of their schedules. Proposed by the outgoing Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa, the bill is aimed at bolstering the legislature's role of checks and balances against the government. It allows a standing committee to open a hearing when more than one third of the committee members makes an endorsement to do so. It also allows a committee to open investigations into sensitive issues involving the government. Under the current law, a committee can only discuss issues on bills that it exclusively deals with. People's Party floor leader Rep. Park Jie-won hinted at convening hearings at multiple standing committees after May 30. There are a total of 12 standing committees so far, although that number may change in the 20th National Assembly. Park Jie-won cited a series of suspicions involving the government in disputed events lately. Some of them are the Ministry of Environment's alleged negligence in coping with the deaths of customers who died after using humidifier disinfects and also a Cheong Wa Dae official's alleged order to the Korea Parent Federation (KPF) an ultra-conservative civic group involving senior citizens, to hold pro-government rallies. "We'll firmly ask the government to resolve suspicions concerning the humidifier disinfect and the KPF through the hearings," Park Jie-won said. The National Assembly is anticipated to toss the bill to the President for approval after May 27. The President is required to proclaim the law within 15 days after she receives the bill or sends it back to the National Assembly for revision. The bill, if it is returned to the National Assembly, will be finalized as a law if more than half the 300 lawmakers are present and two-thirds of them endorses it. Sources said some Saenuri Party members who are against the mainstream Park Geun-hye loyalists will vote for the bill again. "Considering the factional feud would not let up within the Saenuri Party, its minor factional members are likely to join the MPK and People's Party to endorse the bill again," a source said. "Their combined number can surpass 200 or two-thirds of the 300 lawmakers. And also it should not be forgotten there are also lawmakers from the other minor opposition Justice Party and independents who are critical of the government." By Kim Se-jeong Prosecutors summoned a Lotte Mart employee Friday for questioning about allegations that the company had knowingly sold toxic humidifier disinfectants. They said the employee, surnamed Hwang, denied the allegations and said that Lotte had outsourced the risk tests to a third company which he held responsible for the disinfectant scandal. Lotte Mart, which was blamed for 22 deaths, began selling its own brand of disinfectant beginning in 2006. Altogether, the government has recognized 146 deaths caused by the disinfectants. The questioning came one day after Reckitt Benckiser Korea's finance director was grilled. Oxy Reckitt Benckiser is blamed for 103 deaths, and the prosecution is widening its investigation into other companies that manufactured and sold the harmful products. The head of Reckitt Benckiser Korea office, Ataur Rashid Safdar, met with victims' families in Daejeon, Friday, and apologized to them again. More than 100 reportedly attended the meeting which lasted more than three hours. Oxy has already promised 10 billion won in compensation for the dead victims, while holding additional negotiations with survivors suffering from serious lung damage. The nation's worst biocide crisis erupted in August 2011. The criminal investigation began in January this year. Three former and current Oxy employees have been arrested so far. It was also discovered that two government-affiliated research institutes called for tougher biocide regulations to ensure consumer safety in 2000 but the authorities ignored them. This adds pressure on the government which is under scrutiny over its poor chemical management. "There's a growing need for stricter biocide regulations in Korea. Given that developments are made swiftly overseas, we strongly recommend the government conduct basic research on health risks and exposure," one paper recommended. The Korea Environment Institute, affiliated with the environment ministry, published the paper in 2000. Rep. Chang Han-na of the main opposition Minjoo Party Korea said she found two additional studies published by the same institute including the same recommendations. The Korea Health Industry Development Institute also reportedly issued a similar paper. By Chung Hyun-chae Kim Jun-tae, 32, who got married in 2013, moved from Seoul to Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, last year, to build a house there. "Living in Seoul costs huge sums, which made both my wife and me work together for a living," Kim told The Korea Times. "We wanted to live a more leisurely life, enjoying what remains of our lives, and opted to move outside of the capital." Seoul's population continues to decrease amid a growing number of people, like Kim, who are moving to the outskirts of the city. According to data released by Statistics Korea (KOSTAT), the number of people who left Seoul in 2015 stood at 137,256, the highest since 1997 when 178,000 people moved to the new towns including Bundang and Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province. At the same time, the suburban population has grown because housing is more affordable outside of the city. The main reason for leaving, which 84,900 people chose to do last year, was soaring housing prices. The most sought-after region to which Seoulites headed from January to March was Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, followed by Goyang and Namyangju in the same province. According to KOSTAT, the number of people registered as Seoul residents stood at 10,009,588, as of March. Reflecting the recent trend, the figure is expected to fall below the 10-milion mark soon, for the first time in 28 years. Seoul's population reached 10 million for the first time in 1988 and peaked in 1992. Then the figure has steadily decreased while fluctuating. "With housing prices remaining inflated, people in their 30s and 40s have rushed to the suburban cities of Seoul to find low-cost housing," said a researcher of the Seoul Institute, a research institute focused on urban policies. Experts said that the polarization of housing in Seoul will become worse as the most affluent people in the urban area will gather in Gangnam, southern Seoul. By Choi Sung-jin The ongoing "Oxy scandal" has highlighted the dilemma the nation's large law firms have found themselves in. A case in point is Kim & Chang, arguably Korea's largest legal service provider, which has come under public criticism for representing Oxy Reckitt Benckiser (RB) Korea, the British company's local offshoot related to the humidifier disinfectant that allegedly caused the deaths of more than 100 people. As people's interest grows in the law firms handling the cases that have become social concerns, large providers of legal services are agonizing between "public opinion" and "clients." According to legal circles, RB Korea reportedly asked not Kim & Chang but a different law firm to defend its case. But the law firm decided to reject the proposal after a free-for-all among its partners. "It is true the company proposed us to accept the case," said a staff member at the law firm. "We decided not to take the case for fear of social repercussions, although we did not say so." Some partners resisted the decision, saying, "Even a serial killer has the right to counsel," and "Will foreign companies continue to invest in Korea if few law firms are willing to defend them in legal disputes?" The Korea Bar Association's bill of ethics stipulates that "a lawyer should not refuse to accept a case only because his or her client or the content of the case is subject to criticism from society in general." The bill of ethics is a rule that has binding power enough to authorize the association to discipline violators. The Oxy scandal is not the first case that has thrown law firms into "case risk." When the law firm Shin & Kim rejected the proposal to defend the Seoul branch of the Yomiuri Shimbun for fear of adverse public sentiment years ago, BKL accepted the case. The Japanese newspaper was taken to court after it reported that former President Lee Myung-bak, when Tokyo demanded Seoul endorse the description of the Dokdo islets in the Japanese name of Takeshima, said: "This is not the right time. Wait a little longer, please." In the 5 trillion-won investor-state dispute (ISD) case involving the Lone Star Fund, BKL represented the Korean government while Kim & Chang worked for the Texas-based private equity fund. In another ISD case between two foreign oil companies and the Korean government, on the other hand, Kim & Chang is representing the Seoul government. When few large law firms came forward to defend Yoo Byeong-eon, the owner of Cheonghaejin Marine, the operator of the ill-fated Sewol ferry, a midsize law firm took the case by default. "Large legal firms cannot help but listen to and follow popular sentiment," a lawyer said. These legal service providers, however, are concerned about losing major clients if they continue to turn down cases attracting public interest. "It will be difficult for large enterprises to trust law firms that choose their cases according to public opinions, won't it?" another lawyer said. The "absolute support" Kim & Chang is enjoying among corporate clients, here or abroad, is owed to its strong work ethic, he said. "Foreign law firms stop at nothing to defend their clients' interests," said a lawyer belonging to a large company's legal team. "Kim & Chang is one of the Korean law firms most similar to their foreign counterparts." A large law firm's partner agreed. "The intrinsic role of law firms is defense argument, which can be damaged by selective acceptance of cases, however," he said. "Except for the indefensible cases of illegal defense, the public should not criticize law firms for just taking up certain cases." By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS Stressing that terrorism "can only be defeated by a sustained and comprehensive approach" involving the active participation and collaboration of all States, the UN Security Council hosted an open debate on developing a counter-narrative campaign to in effect dissuade, discourage and ultimately defuse this widening global threat which is increasingly disseminated through the internet and social media. The meeting was held amid the deadly backdrop of two massive car bombs in Baghdad which killed nearly 100 civilians. The Security Council clearly stated "the urgent need to globally counter the activities of ISIL, Al Qaida and associated individuals, who craft distorted narratives that are based on the misinterpretation and misrepresentation of religion to justify violence." Speaking as one of the debate sponsors, Egypt, a country victimized by terrorist violence, outlined the challenge. Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry warned of the "exploitation of the technological leap in means of communication and social media by terrorist groups" which has enabled such groups to spread their hateful ideologies. Egypt's secular government has long been confronted by Islamic fundamentalism and increasing militancy. Archbishop Bernardino Auza, representing the Observer Mission of the Holy See, stressed, "Countering the narrative and ideologies of terrorist groups is a grave responsibility of allReligious authorities, therefore have a particular responsibility to refute the falsehoods and condemn the blasphemy of terrorist narratives and ideologies." He added, "Religious leaders and people of faith must be at the forefront in delegitimizing the manipulation of faith and the distortion of sacred texts as a justification for violence." The Vatican representative added, "the more religion is manipulated to justify acts of terror and violence, the more religious leaders must be engaged in the overall effort to defeat the terrorist that hijacks it." Yet, Archbishop Auza conceded, "Certain terrorist groups have excelled in the art of cyber recruitment, giving them transnational and borderless reach." It's the misuse of social media which offers extremists a high tech platform. New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully admitted, "Sadly, we now live in a world where terrorism is a global enterprise, exported through modern technology and sophisticated social media." Speaking on behalf of Malaysia, a Muslim majority state, Deputy Foreign Minister Reezal Merican stated bluntly, "Terrorism and violent extremism are global threats that transcend cultures, religions and geo-political boundaries. They have no religion." Yet Minister Merican added, "However, as Muslims, we should not be in denial. We should be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that there is a critical need for us to address the exploitation of Islam by terrorist groups, that led to the perceived link between terrorism and Islam or Muslims." Referring to the most heinous perpetrators of terrorism which include Al-Qaida, the Taliban, Al Nusra, Al-Shabab, Boko Haram and ISIL, the Minister stated, "They all have one thing in common, they rely on Islam, or more accurately, their twisted interpretation of Islam, to legitimize their causes, justify their criminal actions, and attract followers." He called on religious and community leaders to counter the extremist narrative. British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft advised, "Microsoft is a brand that we all recognize, that we all understand. The same could be said of our brand, the United Nations.But sadly, the same can also be said of Da'esh. (Islamic State)." He added, "To the disaffected, the disillusioned and the vulnerable, the Da'esh brand has a terrifying ability to connect and persuade. It offers the false promise of empowerment, of identity of belonging." "To defeat a network, we need a network," the United Kingdom's Rycroft asserted. During the debate in the fifteen member Security Council, rarely were the specific state sponsors of terror cited. Israel however chose to name names. "Global terror is promoted, financed and supplied by state sponsors," warned Ambassador Danny Danon, "And the largest shareholder in the terrorist enterprise is Iran." Continuing, Israel's delegate added, "Iran funds death and destruction across the region and beyond. It bankrolls fear, instability and chaos around the globe." Ambassador Danon viewed the wider angle, "Israel, like France, and Belgium, and too many others, is not attacked because of what we do, but because of what we represent." So very true. John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of "Divided Dynamism: The Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China." Conta jjmcolumn@earthlink.net By Yi Whan-woo The fear of being kidnapped by North Korean agents looms over South Koreans abroad, after the repressive regime's leader Kim Jong-un reportedly ordered retaliation against the South for "abducting" his people. It is believed that up to 300 security and intelligence agents from Pyongyang have been sent to China after Seoul refused to repatriate the 13 North Koreans who defected to South Korea en masse in early April. Citing their relatively privileged backgrounds, North Korea has claimed that the defectors, who worked at its state-run restaurant in China, had no reason to abandon their nation. The regime has argued that Seoul's intelligence agency abducted the 13 restaurant employees, including 12 young waitresses, after luring a male manager to join the scheme. It is seen that Kim has ordered agents to kidnap South Koreans in other countries and use them as pawns in exchange for the 13 North Korean defectors and to prevent his people from being agitated further. "These 300 agents are the largest group ever tasked with kidnapping exclusively," a source familiar with North Korea told Daily NK, a Seoul-based website specializing in providing Pyongyang-related news. "They've been told to abduct many more South Koreans than the 13 North Koreans who recently defected." The anonymous source said the agents are from the Ministry of State Security (MSS) and the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), both of which report directly to Kim. The MSS is Pyongyang's autonomous police agency, while the RGB is responsible for clandestine operations. "The agents are eager to fulfill their duty, and they keep track of flight schedules from Seoul to Dandong, Shenyang, Yanji and other Chinese cities for possible targets," the source said. The tense diplomatic climate on the Korean Peninsula has increased the South Korean public's safety concerns about traveling to other countries, and the suspected murder of Korean-Chinese pastor Han Choong Yeol by North Korean authorities only served to exacerbate those concerns. Han, who helped North Korean defectors, was found dead on April 30 in Changbai, near the Chinese-North Korean border. The confirmation of six missing South Koreans by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this week did not reassure the public. The six have been reported missing by the South Korean consulate in Shenyang this year. The ministry said it "does not have the slightest clue" about the whereabouts of two in particular. Identified only as Kim and Joo, the two, according to sources, are North Korean defectors and have been affiliated with supporting underground churches in the repressive regime even after escaping to South Korea and becoming South Korean citizens. ground churches in the repressive regime even after escaping to South Korea and becoming South Korean citizens. Tips for avoiding abduction In a meeting with some 10 major travel agencies in Seoul this week, the foreign ministry and affiliated ministries urged them to be prudent when selling tours to attractions near the Chinese-North Korean border. According to the government, such attractions are popular among South Koreans because many of them are related to Korean history, such as the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo (B.C. 37- A.D. 668), and have abundant relics. "We are asking you to refrain from selling tours to those regions, given the high risks of terrorist attacks and kidnapping there," Deputy Foreign Minister for Overseas Koreans Han Dong-man said. Some defectors in Seoul echoed the government's view. "People should be extra careful when traveling to China and Russia because both face North Korea via land routes, which make it easier for North Korean agents to abduct targets and transport them to North Korea," said An Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies. Park Sang-hak, a defector-turned-activist, said: "Using airplanes and ships to reach North Korea requires passports, so it would be preferable for the agents to kidnap South Koreans, especially missionaries and journalists, from the Chinese border and from Russia." To help ensure their safety, the government advised South Koreans not to travel alone, not to go outside at night and to be cautious of strangers who approach them. Park also said South Koreans should avoid passing by North Korean embassies and consulates. Kang Cheol-hwan, a defector who runs the North Korea Strategy Center in Seoul, warned against staying at hotels where North Koreans are known to stay. He said North Korea has invested in two Chinese hotels Ryugyong Hotel in Yanji and Chilbosan Hotel in Shenyang to expand its intelligence operations in China. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, another defector advised against eating at a chain of Chinese restaurants operated by North Korea. The cash-strapped regime ran an estimated 130 eateries in 12 countries before the U.N. Security Council imposed its harshest sanctions on March 2. The countries included mostly former communist states such as China, Russia, Cambodia and Laos, but also the Netherlands. "Never forget that security agents are behind the pretty waitresses," the defectors said. Others speculated that North Korea may have bribed certain Korean-Chinese people running restaurants in China to offer South Korean and other customers food and drinks laced with anesthetics and help kidnap them. By Yi Whan-woo North Korea's state-run media is distorting reports by international journalists who were invited to Pyongyang earlier this month to cover the ruling Workers' Party Congress. The (North) Korean Central News Agency (KNCA) excerpted and redistributed international news concerning the reclusive state and reported as if the world applauded the country and its rare congress. Citing Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the KNCA reported that "With the presence of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, the citizens of Pyongyang celebrated the congress splendidly during a commemorative festival at Kim Il-sung Square." "All the participants threw their support for their leader." Quoting Thailand's English-language newspaper, The Nation, the KCNA claimed that North Koreans enjoyed spending time at water parks and other leisure facilities. "The British communists paid their highest respect to honorable Workers' Party Chairman Kim Jong-un for leading the congress in success," it added, referring to the news from "The New Worker, a weekly newspaper of the New Communist Party in the United Kingdom. The KCNA report comes after some 130 journalists from the West complained about North Korean authorities for controlling their every move during their visit to the country. /Courtesy of Twitter By Lee Jin-a Fancy some North Korean military memorabilia? More than 7,000 items, including medals, military uniforms and propaganda posters, were on sale on international auction websites last year, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA). The U.S. media outlet reported that most of the items were made after Kim Jong-un took the state's helm, and that the number of products available is increasing because there are more foreign visitors to the reclusive state. RFA raised the suspicion that the North may have put the products up for sale to earn foreign currency. "Selling and buying of these products are not a violation of U.N. sanctions because they are classified as souvenirs," Bruce Klinger, a senior researcher at the Heritage Foundation, told RFA. Meanwhile, RFA reported that the North is amassing foreign currency by selling the works of government-commissioned artists via the Mansundae Art Studio Gallery website, and exports propaganda posters through Korean Posters, a state-authorized Italian company. By Kang Hyun-kyung Lawyer Jo Woo-sung / Courtesy of the Corporate Dispute Research Institute In Korea, lawyers had long been regarded as some of the most eligible bachelors, along with doctors and judges, partly because of the culture that celebrates academic accomplishments. A male lawyer was portrayed as a total package someone who is intelligent, rich and has a stellar resume. People once joked about the excessive dowry involved in matchmaking, the symbolized practice referred to as the "three keys." Under this practice, only young women who come from families that are rich enough to buy the couple's housing, car and office building for their son-in-law's law practice were considered good matches. But such high regard for lawyers has been changing over the past decade. Lawyers are no longer considered such attractive spouses for single women as they were in the past, especially after the government raised the yearly quota for licensed lawyers "to help the public have access to quality legal services at reasonable prices." In the 1990s, no more than 300 people a year were licensed to practice law after passing the state bar exam. But the number has since soared following the measure to increase the quota for licensed lawyers in 2004. The legal market became even more saturated in 2012 when law school graduates joined the legal work force. Since then, 1,500 newly licensed lawyers join the legal market every year. This oversupply of lawyers is hurting the lawyers themselves. Requesting anonymity, a middle-aged lawyer who has been practicing law in Seoul for 10 years said the good old days for lawyers are over. "Some of us are worried about how to make ends meet because it has become harder for us to find clients owing to the intense competition among us," he said. Jo Woo-sung, a lawyer at the Seoul-based law firm Hanjoong, said marketing skills have become necessary for lawyers in the saturated market. "Lawyers need to understand that advertisements and pitching their skills are no longer options. They are necessary," he said. "But we need a strategy." He illustrated the hunting strategies of lions and spiders as two types of marketing. He pointed out that lions chase their chosen prey to the end, consuming all their energy so that by the time they catch their prey, they are exhausted. "When you look at spiders, their approach is very different. Unlike lions, spiders invest most of their time spinning their webs near where their prey is located. So once the web is built, they don't need to spend much of their energy catching their prey. They just wait," he said. "As a lawyer, I do market myself to potential clients, but my approach is a little different from those of other lawyers. Mine is more like what spiders do when they hunt their prey." Jo, who has been practicing corporate law for some 20 years, said he regularly posts tips for business leaders and self-employed people about operating their businesses as part of his efforts to "spin his web" to find his clients. He said he tries to post professional, substantial materials to position himself as a lawyer within his areas of expertise. He said his strategy has been working well. Jo said he has been posting on Facebook for over 10 years, and about 70 percent of his clients are people who decided to take their cases to him after reading his Facebook posts. It's hard to imagine there were only 3 lawyers in 1906. There were 10,000 in 2008, and this figure has since doubled in the past eight years following the influx of those who passed the state bar exam, including law school graduates. According to the Korea Bar Association, over 20,000 people were registered as licensed lawyers as of November 2015. Competition among lawyers to find clients becomes more intense every year. The average number of legal cases a lawyer took annually in 1997 was 50, but this figure dropped to less than half in 2013 to 24. The stiff competition also lowered legal fees. In the past, the minimum fee per case stood at 5 million won (nearly $4,000), but today, some lawyers take only a fifth of that fee. The increased competition among lawyers has also prompted many to seek less-than-ideal cases, for example legal representation for rich, corrupt defendants. Once such defendants are put into custody, some lawyers take advantage of the opportunity and set up an interview with them. Their proactive strategy sometimes deals a blow to their fellow lawyers. Some defendants who are satisfied with their legal advisors simply ignore such interview requests. But those who are interested in hiring new lawyers to replace their current ones screen the list of candidates based on their experience and qualifications and then meet with the lawyers on their shortlist in person. During the meetings, the potential lawyers present their skills and strengths, such as their rapport with the judge in charge of the defendant's case and how they can influence the judge to rule in favor of the defendant. This new phenomenon drew public attention following media reports about judge-turned-lawyer Choi Yoo-jeong, who accepted billions of won in return for allegedly using her influence in courts to help her clients receive lighter sentences. She was reportedly hired by her rich clients through such humiliating job interviews. Choi's clients included cosmetics company Nature Republic CEO Jung Woon-ho who is accused of gambling. Jo criticized the unethical, self-serving practice, calling it insulting to other lawyers. He encouraged young lawyers not to follow suit and instead make the effort to increase the pie by creating job opportunities in uncharted legal areas. He promotes what he calls "preemptive law" as a possible solution. "Some 10 years ago, because of the intense competition among hospitals, the medical market went through an experience similar to that lawyers are going through now," he said. "In the past, hospitals made money mainly through performing surgery, but today, most of their income comes from a new area called preventive medicine, which focuses on protecting, promoting and maintaining people's health." The old hospital management model entails lots of risks, according to him. The nature of an intensive care unit, which requires patients to go through serious surgery and treatment, could leave their doctors vulnerable to legal action in case the surgery doesn't turn out the way the patients and their families hoped it would. "I feel what's happening in the legal market is similar to this old management model in the medical field. It is not desirable for lawyers to focus heavily on clients in legal disputes, which I think are red oceans.' We can consider practicing preventive law," he said. "Instead of taking on the firefighter-like role of settling legal disputes in court, I think lawyers can consider becoming planners and helpers for their clients and provide their potential clients tips on how to prevent legal disputes and advise them about putting a preventive legal system in place." President Park Geun-hye hosted a fifth deregulation meeting at Cheong Wa Dae earlier this week. Despite Park's emphasis on regulatory reform, there has been little visible outcome. Korea is still stuck in a situation where regulation has failed to keep up pace with rapidly developing technology, as seen in a latest Wall Street Journal report which blamed regulations as one of the reasons for Korea's lack of an "entrepreneurial spark." The report underlined that Korea ranks worse than average in an index that shows barriers to entrepreneurship from product regulations. Against this backdrop, it is a welcoming move that the government has decided to lift a series of regulations covering drones, autonomous vehicles, the biotech industry and other areas to boost growth in new industries and promote next-generation technological innovation. The government's decision paves the way for more active businesses related to drones and self-driving cars, among others. Test operations of self-driving cars, which had previously been allowed only in limited regions, can now be conducted across the nation. Small electric cars and other future vehicles will also be allowed to run on local roads on the condition that they meet safety requirements. Many experts say that implementing deregulation is a core strategy to revitalize the nation's sluggish economy by boosting new industries, which are becoming more important as Korea's dependence on large businesses is dimming its growth potential. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Monday cut its 2016 growth forecast for the Korean economy to 2.7 percent from 3.1 percent. President Park said that Korea's corporations will be left behind in the global market if we do not carry out a rapid regulatory reform. Already, Korea is falling behind other advanced countries such as Japan and China in self-driving cars and other technological innovations. According to the latest reports, Jpan plans to expand commercialization of driverless cars in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The regulatory reform to back this kind of innovative thinking is necessary for Korea to stay competitive in the age of a technical revolution. U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry & Analysis Marcus Jadotte, second from left in the front row, poses with Kim Hyoung-min, second from right in the same row, EnerNOC Korea managing director, and company officials after visiting the firms headquarters in downtown Seoul, Friday. / KoreaTimes photo by Shim Hyun-chul By Lee min-hyung EnerNOC Korea, the local subsidiary of a U.S.-based energy intelligence software provider, is moving to become a key player in the nation's IT-converged energy industry, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Commerce. This comes as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry & Analysis Marcus Jadotte visited the EnerNOC Korea headquarters, Friday, as part of his eight-day trip to the Asia-Pacific region. Both sides discussed details about partnerships on cybersecurity, tightening the firm's grip on the IT-centered energy business in Korea. "His visit to EnerNOC Korea is clear evidence to show our leadership position and transformative role within the industry," said Kim Hyoung-min, EnerNOC Korea managing director. "EnerNOC is a leading player in the local energy industry. We will continue to expand our footprint here for the growth of the nation's energy industry." The U.S. official also stressed that he would do all he could to strengthen strategic alliances with East Asian countries, raising the importance of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. "The digital economy is transforming the world, and the United States is committed to helping our strategic partners protect themselves," Jadotte said. U.S. President Barack Obama's planned visit to the Japanese city of Hiroshima will include laying a wreath at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and a "brief tour" of the memorial grounds, a senior White House official said Thursday. "We anticipate that he will be able to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial to lay a wreath and engage in a brief tour of the memorial grounds after which he will be able to deliver a statement reflecting upon what his impressions are," Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said during a conference call with reporters. Obama's visit to Hiroshima, set for May 27, has also been a focus of attention in South Korea amid concern that it could dilute Japan's wartime aggression by making the country look like a victim. Calls have risen in South Korea that Obama's visit to the peace park should include a stop at a monument honoring Korean victims. "This will be an opportunity for him to reflect on the extraordinary human toll of war and the loss of innocents in World War II, the loss of innocents of course in Hiroshima and Nagasaki but also in many countries around the world," Rhodes said. "Even in Hiroshima, you had obviously an extraordinary loss of life of innocent Japanese civilians, and you also had the loss of life of many Koreans who were present in Hiroshima and even American service members who were there," he said. Rhodes also said Obama will reaffirm his commitment to a world without nuclear weapons. In response to a question about the possibility of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visiting Pearl Harbor, Rhodes said the U.S. draws "no linkages" to the decision to visit Hiroshima. He said that Obama made the decision because he believes it's important to acknowledge and look squarely at history. Rhodes also applauded South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Abe for their courage to reach December's agreement on resolving the "comfort women" issue of Japan's wartime sexual slavery. (Yonhap) 15 Ways to Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Cincinnati-Style Chili Cincinnati-style chili is celebrating its 100th birthday on Oct. 24. By Danny Cross, Maija Zummo and CityBeat Staff Oct 24, 2022 Certain cities are in part defined by their native cuisines. Although at times stereotypical, one cannot debate the value of partaking in a hot slice of New York-style pizza in the Big Apple, a hunk of deep dish in Chicago or a greasy cheesesteak topped with Cheez Whiz in Philadelphia... Cloud Musings As we roll through the first part of 2016, many businesses are still developing their paths forward. Employees may still be reflecting on the past year and brainstorming what to expect in the months and year ahead. They start asking themselves, how will my industry change by the end of 2016? Who will emerge as the major players? How will my company fit into the evolving landscape? While technology innovation is constantly in flux, its safe to say the cloud sector will continue its steady momentum until mass adoption is realized in 2017-2018. So, whats in store for 2016? Over the course of the next few months, we can expect the cloud industry to evolve in response to market needs and technology advancements. For instance, we will see an increased emphasis on cloud security. Several high profile security hacks in 2015 including Ashley Madison, JPMorgan Chase and Home Depot have caused some to call the security and reliability of the cloud into question. With these high-profile hacks, security is once again front and center. With hackers active worldwide, service providers need to be prepared to address user concerns around data protection, loss or mismanagement in an effort to restore trust. To stay ahead of these security concerns, we can expect big players, such as Amazon, IBM (News - Alert) and Oracle, to proactively provide security best practice reports or tips while tapping predictive analytics to assess potential vulnerabilities. Already, Amazon releases whitepapers and reports detailing cloud architecture and effective uses of the technology to safeguard customer data. Other players will surely follow suit, underscoring the value of employee security training, robust role-based access controls for business data in the cloud, multifactor authentication for all cloud apps and, most importantly, choosing cloud vendors that adopt established security standards. 2016 should also see continued M&A activity in the cloud industry. Increasingly, businesses are recognizing the value of incorporating the cloud into their business model so that customers can operate according to cloud best practices from the onset of the relationship. We saw companies like Rapid7 acquire LogEntries, a provider of machine data search technology, to create a cloud-based security data and analytics solution in 2015. We should continue to see like strategies play out as more organizations see value from eliminating the need to integrate their existing systems with the cloud later on. By late 2017 and into early 2018, cloud will have become the preferred choice amongst individuals and businesses. In fact, according to a recent Technology Business Research report, the rate of cloud adoption in 2018 is expected to grow to 85 percent, becoming an $80 billion dollar industry by 2019. While 2018/2019 may seem far away, the industry is actually moving at a record pace. Just fifteen years ago, the cloud was a mysterious technology that many large enterprises were wary of. However, by the mid-2000s, Amazon had adopted a cloud computing infrastructure model driving mass adoption by several forward-thinking organizations eager to similarly benefit from greater efficiency within existing capacity. Theres no question, today, that the cloud here to stay. As it becomes more and more ingrained in businesses, we can expect it to drive even greater opportunities for innovation. Pete Zimmerman is Vice President of Client Services and Operations, Sonian. He is responsible for delivering the world class, high availability and superior customer satisfaction the Sonian customers and partners expect. He joined Sonian as one of the first employees, bringing over 15 years experience in SaaS (News - Alert)-based messaging and collaboration solutions. During that time he has demonstrated a strong will and determination to do whatever it takes for Sonians valuable customers and partners. Pete has also been a key contributor to the Sonian Product Management team. Prior to joining Sonian, Pete worked for Wipro/Infocrossing (News - Alert) as the Director of Business Integration in their hosted messaging and collaboration unit. While at Wipro/Infocrossing, Pete created and delivered a range of training and policy consulting services to compliment the on boarding of enterprise customers to the companys integrated, policy based messaging platform. Pete and his family have been long time supporters of the United Nations Unaccompanied Minor Refugee program raising three foster sons from Liberia and Myanmar (Burma) who are now all attending college in Massachusetts. Pete has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California San Diego. Edited by Stefania Viscusi Police arrested Timothy Bunch about 3:20 p.m. Friday at Osage Beach RV Park. He'd been hiding from officers for about three hours. Bunch has arrest warrants for a suspected parole violations in St. Louis City, Gasconade County and Osage County. He has convictions for second-degree assault, domestic assault and tampering with a vehicle, The Osage Beach Police Department received an anonymous tip about noon Friday that Bunch, 32, was walking east on Osage Beach Parkway. Officers found him but he fled on foot into some woods. That's when officers set up a perimeter to try to capture him. Osage Beach Police officers were assisted in their search by Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers and Camden County sheriffs deputies. Former Kansas City Chiefs long snapper Kendall Gammon recently launched a social media site that gives people a place to express thanks on the fifth anniversary of the deadly tornado in Joplin. The effort is inspired by Will Norton, who was sucked away by the tornado as he headed home from his high school graduation. posts videos of people thanking others. Years ago, Gammon gave a game ball to Norton. Gammon realized what the ball meant to the young man after his death. He knew Norton's family and, while visiting them, he went into Will's room. That's when he saw the ball and his old jersey number, 83, painted on the wall. Gammon decided, too often, people don't know when they've made a difference in someone's life. ___ The Director General of the Geneva based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Dr. Francis Gurry, commended Sri Lanka for its achievements and concrete deliverables under the 10 Point GoSL-WIPO Intellectual Property Action Plan, which could serve as a good model for other countries similarly placed as Sri Lanka. Dr. Gurry made these observations when Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Mr. T.M.K.B. Tennekoon met him on the sidelines of the 35th Session of the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) held from 25- 27 April 2016 in Geneva. Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization Ambassador R.D.S. Kumararatne and Second Secretary Dilini Gunasekera were associated in the discussion. Secretary Tennekoon recalled Dr. Gurrys visit to Sri Lanka in November 2013, which triggered the formulation of the WIPO-Sri Lanka 10 point Action Plan, which had become a catalyst in the rejuvenation of the intellectual property field in Sri Lanka, and strengthening of the cooperation between the Government of Sri Lanka and WIPO. The Secretary and the Ambassadors provided an update of several activities completed and in process under the Action Plan and highlighted that Sri Lanka is currently in the process of integrating IP into its national policy formulation, with special emphasis on innovation, science and technology and creativity as a means of economic development and empowerment. The Secretary added that a National Steering Committee on Intellectual Property (SCIP), chaired by him was monitoring the implementation of the Action Plan, and since November 2015 there is an exchange of views between the SCIP and WIPO officials through a video conference held every two months. Detailed discussions on furthering operationalization of WIPO-Sri Lanka cooperation was also held by the Secretary and Sri Lanka delegation with a group of WIPO officials, headed by the Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific of WIPO, Mr. Andrew Michael Ong. During the discussions Mr. Ong highlighted the importance of strengthening the capacity of the national IP office, in terms of structure, human resources and skills, including the development of middle level management. Mr.Ong also underlined the upcoming WIPO IP Hub Mission to Sri Lanka scheduled from 13-17 June 2016, which envisages to bring together a group of stakeholders from the public and private sectors, including 21 line Ministries and 64 research institutions, as well as other actors, drivers, service-providers, technology and research professionals, technology businesses, investors and funders, research universities, to discuss the uses of many tools of IP, in order to create Intellectual Property Hubs (IP Hubs). This is also expected to complement the ongoing efforts to integrate innovation into IP policy formulation in Sri Lanka. The objective of the IP Hub Project is to improve the coherence and coordination of existing national innovation policies, devising improved mechanisms to finance innovation and R&D, resolving particular challenges as to the supply and use of scientists and engineers, fostering university-enterprise linkages, identifying and supporting particular innovation clusters and sectors, while drawing on existing local advantages but also building on creating advantages of commercializing inventions at international level. It was also noted that the CDIP Project titled Intellectual Property, Tourism and Culture will be launched in Sri Lanka through a WIPO Mission to be undertaken from 2-6 May 2016 by Ms. Francesca Toso, Senior Advisor to the Office of the Deputy Director General, Development Sector of WIPO. This is co-organized by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the coordinating agency for the project implementation in Sri Lanka. Further, along with the IP Hub Mission to be held in June, Mr. Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, Senior Economist from Economics and Statistics Division of WIPO is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka from 13-14 June 2016, with regard to the formulation of a National Innovation Index, in cooperation with the Coordinating Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (COSTI). Earlier in his address to the 35th Session of the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) on 25 April, Mr. Tennekoon mentioned that it is essential that the contemporary intellectual property system be responsive to the diversity of needs and the development of all Member States, acknowledging the timely need for international action to prevent the undue registration or use of country names as trademarks, supporting the proposal by the delegation of Jamaica for the development and future adoption of a Joint Recommendation by the SCT to address this issue in a balanced manner. Commenting on the Draft Design Law Treaty, it was pointed out that adequate provisions for building capacity to meet the obligations in the draft Treaty would contribute to realistically achieve its desired outcome. Press Release in PDF Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka Geneva 29 April 2016 Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha has said, by becoming a State party to the Budapest Cyber Crime Convention from 1st September 2015, Sri Lanka has demonstrated its strong commitment towards harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques, and increasing law enforcement and judicial cooperation among nations in combating cyber crimes. Addressing the High Level Policy Dialogue of the WSIS Forum held in Geneva 2 6 May 2016, he said, Sri Lanka was the first South Asian state to do so, which has enabled that Sri Lanka is safer for international investments and trade using digital infrastructure. Sri Lanka also supports the multi-stakeholder framework for Internet Governance. He noted that Sri Lanka's experience in implementing successful ICT4D strategies have demonstrated, it is essential to ensure that stakeholders works towards achieving a safer and secure Internet accessible to all communities. Sri Lanka has worked closely with ICANN, ITU and we have also established a vibrant Internet Society (ISOC-LK). Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka Geneva British Prime Minister David Cameron commended the commitment of the Sri Lankan Government for corruption free good governance. He made these remarks when he met President Maithripala Sirisena for bilateral discussions on the sidelines of the Anti Corruption Summit, being held in London today (May 12). At the venue British Prime Minister, David Cameron warmly welcomed the President and later held bilateral discussions. Modi assures assistance for reconciliation Setting up of Allopathic Medicine Investment Zone in Sri Lanka was discussed President Maithripala Sirisena who is on an official visit to India had bilateral discussions with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today (May 13) in Hyderabad Home New Delhi. During the discussion, the Indian Premier assured to give every support to Sri Lanka to make the reconciliation program successful. They also discussed about establishing of an Allopathic Medicine Investment Zone in Sri Lanka, with assistance of the Indian Government. The attention was also paid on enhancing of the economic, commercial and cultural relations between the two countries. An idea of a common economic zone was also taken into discussion. President Sirisenas visit for the Simhasth Kumbh in Ujjain was very significant as it showed the deep civilizational ties between India and Sri Lanka, said the Indian Premier. The two leaders discussed all issues of bilateral interest, in particular the problems being faced by fishermen and the current status of various economic projects being implemented by India and efforts to further increase trade and investment. In this context, both the leaders appreciated the meetings of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission led by two foreign ministers, which had met after a gap of three years. This was the 6th meeting of President Maithripala Sirisena with the Indian Premier, during a short span of 15 months. President Sirisena selected India for his first state visit after electing as the President of Sri Lanka. He had discussions with Prime Minister Modi during his visit to New Delhi as well as Prime Minister Modis visit to Sri Lanka, during the sidelines of the international forums such as the General Assembly of United Nations and the CHOGM Summit in Malta as well as at the Environmental summit held in France. Thus, the leaders of Sri Lanka and India have become the two heads of states met the largest numbers of times during a period of 15 months. Consequently, the two heads of states have set an example of who held periodical bilateral discussions for most number of times. The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary Read more This interview appears in the May 20, 2016 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. HELGA ZEPP-LAROUCHE Lookin g a t th e Ma p o f Afric a, On e Can See That It Lacks Basic Infrastructure [PDF version of this interview] This interview of Helga Zepp-LaRouche was conducted for the weekly Cameroonian publication Integration on May 6 by its New York City correspondent Celestin Ngoa Balla, and was published in its May 16 issue. Below is a transcript of the interview. May 6The political activist answers the questions of the newspaper Integration after the April 7 conference of the Schiller Institute in New York City. Integration: You just held a conference in New York. What was it about? What was said there? And what should we expect next? Helga Zepp-LaRouche: In this New York conference we focussed on the war danger and the fantastic breakthroughs of the New Silk Road development in various countries, the science of the future, and the dialogue of cultures. The best is, you go on our websites and look at it yourself. And we will do more of these kinds of events. http://www.schillerinstitute.org/ https://schillerinstitute.com/ Integration: You have been lecturing all around the world, but never in black Africa and, in particular, never in Cameroon. So when will you visit us? Helga Zepp-LaRouche: I have been in conferences in Khartoum and Abuja. I have been working on African development programs since the beginning of the 1970s, so it is not a lack of interest, but of opportunity. Integration: Why are you calling for a New World Economic Order? Helga Zepp-LaRouche: Because the present world order, which is generally called globalization, is completely bankrupt, financially as well as morally. The need for a just New World Economic Order is today much more urgent than it was half a century ago, when the Nonaligned Movement demanded a New World Economic Order. The great humanitarian crisis, which is reflected in the fact that millions and millions of people are fleeing today from war, hunger, and poverty from Southwest Asia and Africa, and are risking their lives in trying to get to Europe, which is closing its borders, is a condemnation of those who try to maintain a system which only benefits a few, and sacrifices billions. Mankind has reached a crossroads, where either we define a new paradigm which takes into account the interest of all human beings living on this planet, or we will plunge even deeper into a new dark age, or even a third world war. Integration: Doesnt the International Conference on Corruption indicate some guidelines for this new World Economic Order? Helga Zepp-LaRouche: I cant see that this conference has done anything in practice to change the corruption of the present system. Just take the enormous multitude of crimes the trans-Atlantic banking system is involved in, as revealed by the so-called Panama Papers, where the banks organized systematic tax evasion and other illegal activities, which is only the tip of the iceberg. Or the Libor rate manipulation, swindling people out of three digit sums of billions, or the drug money laundering of such banks as HSBC. These guidelines so far are only words. Integration: You are saying that we should expect regime changes in many countries, particularly in Africa where we see the phenomenon of Presidents for life who are able to avoid any recourse to democracy? Helga Zepp-LaRouche: The tragedy is that in Africa many leaders who fought for the common good of their people were assassinated and replaced by stooges for the colonial system, which in a way still exists, for example in the form of the conditionalities of the IMF. In his book The Economic Hitman John Perkins describes very well how this system operates still today. One also has to see that the nice sounding words democracy and human rights have often become a synonym for foreign interventions to bring to power people who would fulfill the interest of the trans-Atlantic financial system. Integration: Cameroon head of state M. Paul Biya has often called for a Marshall plan for Africa. Do you think that this is necessary and possible? Helga Zepp-LaRouche: Absolutely! It is more than necessary, given the extreme poverty in many areas and countries in Africa. It is also a realistic possibility for the near future. China has started to build the New Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road, where already more than 60 countries are cooperating. My organisation, the Schiller Institute, has produced a 370-page study, describing how The New Silk Road Becomes the World Land Bridge, which has a large section on key development projects for Africa, which would be a complete game changer. Primarily, large infrastructure projects are the absolute precondition for the development of agriculture and industries, as well as water projects, energy production and distribution, and new cities. However, I would not call it a Marshall Plan, because the New Silk Road extended into Africa should not have a cold war connotation, but be a win-win perspective for all participants. Integration: The international press gave you the nickname of Silk Road Lady. How do you justify this name and what exactly is the Silk Road initiative? Helga Zepp-LaRouche: I guess I got that nickname, because I have campaigned now for 25 years for the New Silk Road, because that is what my husband and I proposed when the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991. Then we called it the Eurasian Land-Bridge/New Silk Road, which was the proposal to connect the population and industrial centers of Europe and Asia through development corridors, opening up the landlocked areas of the Eurasian continent. We have conducted literally hundreds of conferences and seminars on this topic all over the world since. The good news is that in 2013 Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the New Silk Road as the official policy of China in the tradition of the ancient Silk Road, uniting peoples through an exchange of goods, technologies, cultures, and ideas. In the two and a half years since then, this project has taken on an enormous momentum, and it is right now the only positive perspective on the planet. Integration: We have to ask you, what does the new Silk Road initiative mean for Africa, or what contribution can Africa make to the New Silk Road initiative? Helga Zepp-LaRouche: If you look at the map of Africa, you can see that it lacks basic infrastructure. The few railway lines and roads still are not much better than they were during colonial times, when they were built only to exploit raw materials. So essentially it would mean building integrated high-speed railways, highways, waterways, as well as investment in advanced technologies and education. This would not only provide for the elimination of poverty, hunger and disease in a very short time, but also leapfrogging as quickly as possible to the most advanced technologies, to learn the lesson from the Chinese economic model, which has brought about the most spectacular economic miracle in the last 25 years. This model is based on exactly the same economic theory which was also the basis for the German economic model in the post-war period in Germany. In principle, this model can be replicated everywhere, if one focuses on the best possible education of the population and brings forward its creativity. This article appears in the May 20, 2016 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. NEW PARTY IN GERMANY The AfD Party: Old Wine in New Bottles? by Helga Zepp-LaRouche, chairman of the German political party BuSo [PDF version of this article] The tidal wave of refugees entering Europe from the Middle East and Africaas a result of Obamas destructive wars on behalf of British policyin the context of Europes economic collapse as a result of the demands of the banks, has enabled the rise of a new party of dissent in Germany, the Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD). Zepp-LaRouche asks, What is it, and why? May 13The crucial question for many people in Germany today is not where do you stand on religion, but where do you stand on the Alternative for Germany (AfD)? Is it only a party of people in a bad mood, which we should not describe as Nazis as long as the AfD is only right-wing populist, as the deputy chairman of the SPD Olaf Scholz put it? Where could Chancellor Angela Merkel have seen people frothing at the mouth when they confront the AfD? Does the AfD really provide the light at the end of the tunnel, because it denies the influence of CO 2 emissions on the climate, as AfD member Michael Limburg, who is Vice President of the European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE), puts it? The presence of varying currents within it, and its sudden electoral successes, make it appear that the most diverse expectations and forms of wishful thinking can be projected onto the AfD. So what should we think about this party? Can its program fulfill the hopes of those who have voted for it? Is it dangerous, or can it develop into something dangerous? Does it have solutions for todays existential challenges, such as the escalating danger of a new, this-time-thermonuclear world war, or for the acute danger of a new financial collapse of the trans-Atlantic sector, much more dramatic this time than in 2008, orto mention one issue that the AfD has already addresseddoes it have a solution for the refugee crisis? Since the partys self-conception rules out any attempt at strategic thinking, it is foreign to the AfD to attempt to define a solution to overcome the war danger. Since the party is completely trapped in a diffuse mix of social liberalism and the Austrian School, it does not have the analytical prerequisites needed to recognize the magnitude of the crisis, let alone a conception of how to overcome the systemic crisis of the trans-Atlantic financial system. ruptlyTV/you tube And even on the refugee crisis, a subject on which the AfD expects to be attractive, its incompetence is appalling. This is the greatest humanitarian catastrophe since the immediate post-war period; there will be many hundreds of millions of people fleeing war, starvation, and epidemics in the years to come, if the causes of refugee flight are not resolved. Whoever believes that this crisis can be solved by stopping refugees at the borders with barbed wire and firearms, and purports to implement such a plan, is not only deceiving himself and others, but accepts the hateful spirit of the authors of such proposals. Rage at the Establishment Any classification of this party must begin by defining what lies behind its sudden leap in popularity. The source is the complete policy failure of the European Union (EU), the German government, and the established parties, which for a considerable time have given a growing share of the population the impression that there is ultimately no authority that takes their interests to heart or to which they can turn. And as long as this is not admitted and corrected, the major parties will continue to shrink. Mrs. Merkel has occasionally said that the fundamental causes of the refugee crisis must be addressed, but she has not done so: She has addressed neither the wars of the Bush and Obama regimes, based on lies, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and Yemenone cause of the refugee crisisnor the IMF policy of denying credit to Africa, thus prohibiting any economic developmentanother cause. As a result, these causes, as well as a real approach for solving the problem, are not understood. That is why more and more citizens fall for the simplistic, incompetent, and profoundly inhuman proposals of the AfD. The more the German government and the legislature, the Bundestag, have ceded competences and responsibility to a untransparent, soulless bureaucracy in Brussels through European Union treaties from Maastricht to Lisbon, the more the feeling of helplessness grows, as expressed in the Germans favorite saying: You cant do anything about it! The impression is thereby created that the party system doesnt allow the individual to influence political events in any way, because the criteria for nominating candidates and party discipline permit total control from the top. This control is exercised entirely for the benefit of financial interests and against the general welfareas citizens have learned from experienceand as a result, the rich get richer and the shrinking middle class and the poor get ever poorer, especially since 2008 and the repeated rescue packages. Handelsblatt, for example, recently published documentation of what was already clear: 95% of the rescue packages for Greece flowed into the European banks. EIRNS/Ilya Karpowski Consider these conditions: The implementation of Hartz 4 (the latest phase of the Hartz commissions reforms of labor policy), amounting to the cold-hearted expropriation of people unemployed through no fault of their own; the flop of the supplementary pension plan (the Riester pension); poverty among the elderly; rising costs and worsening care in health care; the lack of affordable housing; a growing sense of insecurity due in part to layoffs of police; the feeling of being left alone in encountering cultures of immigrant communities that you dont understand; the feeling of being manipulated by the mass media, of not being protected by the government from total surveillance by domestic and foreign intelligence services; and the awareness that your government is being led by the nose by the United States and Great Britain into a confrontational policy against Russia and China, which is provoking a new war danger. The list could be significantly longer. The result is that more and more people do not feel represented by the established parties. That is not only the case in Germany, but in most European countries and the United Statestake the case of Donald Trump, for example. Learn from History In Germany, this development presents very obvious parallels to the situation in the 1920s and 1930s: The debt demands of the Versailles Treaty were in essence the same as the EU debt-corset today, which puts the interests of the profit-seeking casino bankers above those of the general welfare, whether in Greece or Germany. The difference between Bruning and Schacht, on the one side [German Chancellor and Reichsbank President in the period before Hitler], and todays Schauble and Draghi on the other [German Finance Minister and European Central Bank President], lies only in the predicates, not in the fundamentals. It is almost lawful that various political and social movements, out of a very similar frustration and lack of trust in the political system, are expressing themselves in similar forms. And precisely as in that time, one can very clearly differentiate between the many whofeeling uprooted and betrayedfollow anyone who promises pragmatic solutions in ideological wrapping, and those who, as masterminds of geopolitical interests, understand how to use the social ferment for their own objectives. The key to understanding the process which characterized the run-up to the First World Waras well as the developments between the world warsand which has today brought about these processes in the United States, Europe, and even in Germany in respect to the AfD, is the continuing tradition of the Conservative Revolution. This is a reaction against the ideas of 1789, that is, against the ideas of the French Revolution, and even more so, against the Leibniz-oriented American Revolution, of universal human rights, and an image of man which understands the individual as capable of limitless perfectability. Then, as today, this Conservative Revolutionto which right-wing intellectuals such as todays Gotz Kubitschek referwas not a homogenous world outlook, but a broad spectrum of ethnic nationalist (volkisch) and national revolutionary ideologies, but always exclusionary, backward, and based on defining mankind by his biology. To come straight to the point: If we have learned anything from history, then we should see the difference between how America got out of the Depression and the world economic and financial crisis of the 1930s, and what happened in Europe. In America, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ended the casino economy which was responsible for the crisis. He did it with the Glass-Steagall banking separation law, the reintroduction of the credit system based on Alexander Hamilton, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, the Tennessee Valley program, and later his own plan for the Bretton Woods System, altogether a package of measures that brought America out of the crisis and allowed it to become the worlds strongest economic power. In Europe, by contrast, varied forms of fascism prevailed, from Mussolini to Franco, Petain, and Hitler. It is an irony of history that today China, with its policy of the New Silk Road, is implementing the Franklin Roosevelt tradition, while America, in the grip of Wall Street, advocates recipes taken out of mothballs from the Europe of the 1930s. Germany is still teetering on the brink: It has not yet decided which pathway to take. (To be continued.) This article appears in the May 20, 2016 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. In the Face of World War III by Dave Christie [PDF version of this article] We are not on the edge of World War III. We are in the middle of it. We are already there, and if we dont stop it, civilization will no longer exist. May 13Lyndon LaRouche issued the above statement during the May 6 LaRouche PAC Friday Webcast, one day shy of the 71st year since the signing of the act of military surrender in Reims, France, marking the formal acceptance of Nazi Germanys unconditional surrender of its armed forces, by the Allies of World War II. Over the weekend after LaRouche spoke, and into the following Monday, May 9, Immortal Regiment marches would move through cities around the United States with a mixture of part solemnity, and mostly joy, celebrating the end of World War II and the defeat of fascism. Yet, these celebrations were notably lacking the citizens whose relatives played such a decisive role: Namely, the citizens of the United States. Russians, and Americans of Russian (and other former USSR) descent, took to the streets in cities across the United States, as well as cities in other nations of the world. In Moscow, and other cities and towns across Russia, these celebrations of the victory over Fascism drew tens of thousands of participants. But, where were the Americans? Why do Russians, and those of Russian heritage, have such a visceral sense of honoring those who fought the Great Patriotic War, when most Americans cant even remember that Russia and China were our greatest allies in that war? Is it simply that the Soviet Union lost 27 million people in the war, while the United States only lost about half a million? Or, does it have something to do with the cultural difference between these nations? Part of the answer lies in what Lyndon LaRouche has repeatedly identified as part of his personal experience after the war. While Lyndon LaRouche returned from World War II with a commitment to carry out Franklin D. Roosevelts mission to continue the fight against fascist slavery, and free the world of the British Monarchys backward colonial policy, most of LaRouches fellow veterans gave up the vision of FDR and capitulated to J. Edgar Hoovers FBI and Allen Dulless CIA, which, together, ran a global assassination cartel to wipe out the leadership that shared Roosevelts commitment to end the British colonial system. U.S. News & World Report/Library of Congress/Marion S. Trikosko The other part of the answer lies in the fact that Russians have a far more acute sense of LaRouches warning of the imminence of World War III. The Immortal Regiment is therefore not only a memorial for those who gave their lives in the past, but it is also a living memorial to honor that great mission to free the world from the grip of fascism. For many Russians now, there is a sense that fascism has returned. And whether it is in the form of Ukrainian Nazis or violent mercenaries under the cover of Islam, it has the same geopolitical intent, and the same sponsors: the British Monarchy. Putin Calls for a Non-Aligned System to Counter Terrorism Today our civilization has faced brutality and violenceterrorism has become a global threat, President Putin said to crowds in Moscow prior to the parade dedicated to the 71st anniversary of victory in World War II. We must defeat this evil, and Russia is open to join forces with all countries and is ready to work on the creation of a modern, non-aligned system of international security. According to the Russian leader, the lessons of the World War II showed that double standards and short-sighted indulgence of those who are nurturing new criminal plans are unacceptable. The lessons of history show that peace on our planet doesnt establish itself, that you need to be on high alert, he said. At the 2015 United Nations General Assembly this past September, Putin had issued the call for a coalition, similar to the anti-Hitler coalition, to defeat the new fascist scourge of mercenary forces being deployed in the Southwest Asia: What we actually propose is to be guided by common values and common interests rather than by ambitions. Relying on international law, we must join efforts to address the problems that all of us are facing, and create a genuinely broad international coalition against terrorism. Similar to the anti-Hitler coalition, it could unite a broad range of parties willing to stand firm against those who, just like the Nazis, sow evil and hatred of humankind. And of course, Muslim nations should play a key role in such a coalition, since Islamic State not only poses a direct threat to them, but also tarnishes one of the greatest world religions with its atrocities. The ideologues of these extremists make a mockery of Islam and subvert its true humanist values. Putin then asked, in an obvious reference to those who had signed the checks to these mercenaries: Im urged to ask those who created this situation: do you at least realize now what youve done? But Im afraid that this question will remain unanswered, because they have never abandoned their policy, which is based on arrogance, exceptionalism and impunity. Islamic Mercenaries and the Great Game The use of paid mercenaries to destroy nations and spread barbarism is not a new concept. In fact, the revival of the British Empires Great Game of the Nineteenth Century was an instrumental feature of Winston Churchills Iron Curtain which launched the Cold War and pitted the allies of World War II against each other, under the classic imperial policy of divide et impera. Bernard Lewis, the British Foreign Office agent turned Princeton professor, trained a cadre of young naifs and fascists, many of whom became the inner core of the neo-conservatives working out of the U.S. Senate office of Lewiss friend Scoop Jackson (D-Wash.). Lewis also indoctrinated Zbigniew Brzezinski in his Arc of Crisis Great Game program, which became the core of the foreign policy of the Carter Administration. Under Brzezinski, mercenaries called the Mujahedeen were deployed against the Soviet Union in a form of proxy war, led by Osama bin Laden. Standard You Tube License CC/Mariusz Kubik Kleinschmidt/MSC In 1999, as the newly sworn-in Prime Minister under President Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin faced his first challenge in the form of the Second Chechen War. Chechnya had become the home base for the mercenaries who had sharpened their teeth fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan under Osama bin Laden. This war against Russia was supported by the American Committee for Peace in Chechnya (ACPC), which included Brzezinski and a menagerie of neocons, including Robert Kagan, whose wife Victoria Nuland continues to play, from within the Obama administration, a key role in the irregular warfare against Russia after her instrumental role in orchestrating the coup in Ukraine. In 1997, Kagan would found the Project for a New American Century (PNAC), which included many of the neocons from the ACPC, to explicitly prevent the emergence of what would becalled the multipolar world by some foreign policy circles. The Strategic Triangle & the BRICS In October 2014, on the occasion of the 85th birthday of former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized the importance of Primakovs role in creating the precursor to what is today known as the BRICS, which was the Strategic Triangle of Russia, India, and China, in the late 1990s. He said: Remember that Yevgeny Primakov first set forth the idea of strengthening cooperation in the Russia-India-China (RIC) troika format, which jump-started the evolution of geopolitical structures advocating multi-polarity and the formation of a polycentric world, where all positions and rights are distributed in line with a [countrys] actual economic and financial weight, as well as political clout. RIC became a pioneer in this respect. Eventually, BRIC was formed when Russia, India and China were joined by Brazil, and now it is BRICS, with the participation of the Republic of South Africa. There is a growing number of countries lining up to join this organization as full-fledged members or as dialogue partners. U.S. Department of Defense/Robert D. Ward Primakovs Strategic Triangle concept was an integral part of the fight being waged by Lyndon LaRouche and his wife Helga Zepp-LaRouche to create a new system to replace the collapsing trans-Atlantic British empire. In the early 1990s, while LaRouche was a political prisoner of the Bush Family and the secret government apparatus, his wife Helga Zepp-LaRouche was creating and organizing the New Silk Road concept, which is now unifying the Russia-India-China core of the BRICS process. The neocons behind the Project for a New American Century intended to crush this emerging new paradigm by lighting fires along the relevant borders of Russia, China, and India, calling for regime change and war in a list of nations that included Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Syria. In a 1999 video presentation called Storm Over Asia, Lyndon LaRouche issued the warning that these British Empire-directed forces would use mercenaries under the banner of Islam to light small fires of conflict, that would spread to regional war, and ultimately to world war using nuclear weapons. In the video presentation, LaRouche said: EIR video grab This war, if continued, using mercenaries, can lead to nuclear general war. The major powers principally threatened today by this mercenary operation, are two of the worlds largest nations: China and India; China on its western borders, India on its northern borders. Iran is also threatened; but, more notably, Russia. If these nations are pushed to the wall by a continuing escalation of a war which is modelled on the wars which the British ran against Russia, China, and so forth, during the Nineteenth Century and early Twentieth Century, this will lead to the point that Russia has to make the decision to accept the disintegration of Russia as a nation, or to resort to the means it has, to exact terrible penalties on those who are attacking it, going closer and closer to the source, the forces behind the mercenarieswhich include, of course, Turkey, which is a prime NATO asset being used as a cover for much of this mercenary operation in the North Caucasus and in Central Asia. LaRouche has stated that his policy approach was resonant with Putins approach at the time of the war in Chechnya. That resonance has continued in many forms to this day, but above all, LaRouche has repeatedly emphasized that the current strategic flanking operations now being carried out by Putin are the primary reason we have not already entered into World War III. Putins Flanks Within days of Putins speech at last years United Nations General Assembly, the Syrian Government formally approached Russia to ask for its help in combatting ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the other mercenaries that were seeking to overthrow the government of Syria. On Sept. 30, 2015, the upper house of the Russian Federal Assembly granted the request by Putin to deploy the Russian Air Force in Syria. For the next five and a half months, the Russian Air Force would conduct over 5,200 sorties to back up the ground forces of the Syrian government, and turn the tide in favor of the nation of Syria in the fight against the British-Saudi sponsored terrorists. The operation, which was formally ended March 14, 2016, cost $464 million, according to the Kremlin. This price tag is less than the $500 million paid for the failed program of Obama to train the moderate rebels in Syria to supposedly fight against ISIS, and orders of magnitude less than the trillions of dollars (estimated somewhere between $1 and 6 trillion) pumped into Obamas fraudulent War on Terror. On May 5, 2016, Putin launched another brilliant flank in Palmyra, with a concert performed by the St. Petersburg-based Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, led by world renowned conductor Valery Gergiev. The price tag of flying an orchestra into the middle of a war zone is unknown to this author, but could or should the effect of this concert be measured in mere monetary terms? How would you measure the value of the moralizing effect of bringing the beauty of Bachs Chaconne for Solo Violin into an ancient amphitheater, where just recently ISIS had carried out its barbaric beheadings? Over the weekend following this historic cultural intervention in Palmyra, Immortal Regiment marches took place in forty-two countries, with over two million people participating around the world. As he had done in 2015, Putin again marched with a picture of his father, who had been severely wounded in World War II. LaRouches associates were invited to march, sing, and speak at various locations around the United States, as well as in other countries. Long-time LaRouche PAC activist Al Korby, a veteran of World War II, was interviewed by the Russian news service TASS. In that interview, Korby stated, We dont need any more wars, and for that we must cooperate to develop space and new lands, and make scientific discoveries. . . . Americans should unite with Russians, both physically and spiritually, in ideas, and only then will there be no more wars. The Ability to Create Whether it is the march of the Immortal Regiment, or bringing beauty to the war-torn desert in a Prayer for Palmyra, these actions represent a living memorial, not simply to honor those who have sacrificed in the past, but as a living commitment to their posterity by continuing to fight now, for the future. Moreover, as flanking actions, they represent a quality of real power, with the potential to shift what might become possible in the days ahead. Lyndon LaRouche discussed the nature of this kind of power with some of his associates on May 10, and said that winning the war is not about killing people, but rather it is about developing the humanity of the individuals in your nation. LaRouche stated: And thats what the recent experience of Putin comes in. He has worked on a continuous drive to win the global war. And its not to win the war in the sense of killing people; that was not the way he functioned in his recent activities. Not at all! Its the development of the individual within the nationthat is the key to power. The ability to create something better than mankind has known and experienced beforehand. Obama does not understand the nature of this power. He only understands the power of the British Empire that he is subservient to, which grants him the power to kill and murder. In a recent New York Times article about Ben Rhodes, The Aspiring Novelist Who Became Obamas Foreign Policy Guru, Rhodes provided a crucial psychological insight into how power is understood within the Obama Administration. To understand Obama, Rhodes said, one must grasp the critical influence of his upbringing and how that shaped his approach to power and killings: Indonesia was a place where your interaction at that time with power was very intimate, right? Tens or hundreds of thousands of people had just been killed. Power was not some abstract thing. . . . When we sit in Washington and debate foreign policy, its like a Risk game, or its all about us, or the human beings disappear from the decisions. But he [Obama] lived in a place where he was surrounded by people who had either perpetrated those actsand by the way, may not have felt great about thator else knew someone who was a victim. I dont think theres ever been an American president who had an experience like that at a young age of what power is. The parts of Obamas foreign policy that disturb some of his friends on the left, like drone strikes. . . are a result of Obamas particular kind of globalism, which understands the hard and at times absolute necessity of killing. In this epic moment of human history, with a global financial collapse exacerbating the desperation of the British Empire, we dont have the time to wait and see whether someone who understands the absolute necessity of killing, will follow orders or not. Obama must be removed, or thermonuclear war will follow. PRESS RELEASE Obama Still Stalling on 28 Pages May 19, 2016 (EIRNS)Sen. Bob Graham has told the Florida Bulldog that the Obama Administration has structured a four-step process around the demands to declassify the 28 pages, that stinks of more cover-up. In a May 18 interview with Dan Christensen, former Senator Graham recounted the May 17 meeting he had, along with Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), with Director of National Intelligence Gen. James Clapper. While Clapper came across as "sympathetic" to the demands to declassify the chapter from the Joint Congressional Inquiry into 9/11, he explained that President Obama has organized a four-step process for deciding on whether or not to release the pages. After Clapper submits his own recommendations to the President, the matter will be further referred to the Interagency Security Clearance Appeals Panel (ISCAP), which has representatives from the CIA, the FBI, the NSA, the State Department and other intelligence agencies, which will review and make their own recommendations. President Obama will then make a decisionand refer the issue back to the Congress for final decision. If this sounds like a stall and cover-up, it is. While Senator Graham was not about to denounce the process, he expressed alarm about the added steps: Christensen reported: "Graham, who co-chaired Congresss Joint Inquiry into 9/11 in 2002, said the idea of adding Congress to the declassification mix is new. Ive talked with numerous people in the White House and theyve never suggested that anyone other than the president would make the decision to release. I dont know where Clapper got this idea, and I hope its not just another stalling tactic. "Graham said it is unnecessary to involve Congress now. This was a document the Congress was prepared to make public 14 years ago, but the Executive Branch intervened and said there were unstated reasons as to why these pages could not be released, he said. "Such a move would just add another unexpected step to the process with a body which has a reputation of being slow to make decisions. Look whats happening today about the Zika epidemic. Congress cant decide whether to appropriate money to prevent it." Washington sources have added that, following President Obamas meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders in Saudi Arabia last month, the U.S. is moving ahead with joint military programsand is relying on the Saudis to make huge new purchases of U.S. weapons. There is also growing pressure, both in the U.S. and in Britain, to cut off arms sales to the Saudis over their persistent war crimes and violations of the Geneva Conventions in their war in Yemen, which both the Obama and Cameron governments are aiding. PRESS RELEASE Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong May 19, 2016 (EIRNS)The Belt and Road Summit is now taking place in Hong Kong. In addition to the top personalities in the Hong Kong institutions and business world, the conference was addressed by Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress and the vice chairman of the National Security Commission of China. He is also known as the "third man" of China. Speaking on the Belt and Road policy, Zhang said, "China is the initiator, but this is not a one-man show. The Belt and Road are not private exclusive roads but wide and open avenues for all of us," adding that some 30 international agreements had been signed with the countries on the routes defined by China. Another deal with Indonesia was signed on May 18. Zhang, apparently for the first time, enumerated the areas where Hong Kong can make important contributions to the New Silk Road, especially in terms of financial services, and in high technology. "The central government ... holds the view that Hong Kong possesses a multitude of unique strengths in the development of One Belt, One Road, and is capable of performing such functions that are of high importance," Zhang said. The Hong Kong corespondent for the Turkish daily Hurriyet and other journalists covering the summit were briefed on the Belt and Roads six corridors by Tommy Lui, who is an advisory board member of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and a director of the Chinese logistics company, Li & Fung. b"It consists of six economic collaboration routes," Lui said. The first is the China-Russia-Mongolia route. Others include the Eurasia Bridge; the China-Central and East Asia corridor; the China-Indochina Peninsula corridor the China-Pakistan corridor, which Hurriyet points out is the most advanced, where China has already built oil refineries in Pakistan; the sixth corridor is the Bangladesh-India-Myanmar (BIM) corridor. Hurriyet reported on Chinas having already earmarked $40 billion for the Silk Road Fund, and $50 billion for its contribution to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Referring to the ancient Silk Road, Zhang said, "From the Yellow River to the Ganges, from the Nile to the blue Mediterranean, the flowers of ancient civilizations have bloomed in the course of mutual learning and become the shared memory of countries along the routes." Other speakers included: Jin Qi, Chairman, Silk Road Fund; Sultan Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates; Dr. D.J. Pandian, Vice President, Chief Investment Officer, AIIB; Tan Sri Dr. Francis Yeoh Sock Ping, Managing Director, YTL Group (Malaysia); Teresita Sy-Coson, Vice Chairperson, SM Investments Corp. (the Philippines); Suryo Bambang Sulisto, Chairman, KADIN Indonesia Honorary Council; and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DP World (U.A.E.). PRESS RELEASE House Bill for Puerto Rican Debt Relief Is an Obscenity May 19, 2016 (EIRNS)The bill released late last night by the House Natural Resources Committee (HNRC), H.R. 5278, allegedly providing Puerto Rico with a debt-restructuring mechanism to prevent a horrific humanitarian crisis, is a real obscenity. Its central feature is blackmailPuerto Rico can only restructure its debt if it accepts a draconian, three-year financial control board, six of whose seven members will be chosen by Barack Obama. Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla said today that the control board, which strips Puerto Ricos government and Congress of any power to determine financial and budgetary matters, is "unacceptable," and violates the islands "self-governance." This bill, said Senate President Eduardo Bhatia, demands "that we be prisoners in our own land, telling us we cant have any mechanisms to restructure the debt, and yet will impose on us...a board that will tell us when we can enter and leave the prison." He likened this to 18th- or 19th-Century debtors prison, El Nuevo Dia reported. HNRC chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) says he will submit the bill to a committee vote next week, and then to the full House next month. But brawls within the committee are ongoing, and there is no guarantee the bill will even be passed there. According to the HNRCs summary of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), the control board has "exclusive control" over the islands finances. The government must produce a "fiscal plan" which the board will enforce. It has full authority to enforce balanced budgets and government reform, if the island government doesnt, and can force the sale of government assets and reduce the size of the workforce. Bottom line? PROMESA holds "supremacy over any territorial law or regulation that is inconsistent with the Act" and can "prevent the execution of legislative acts, executive orders, regulations, rules and contracts that undercut economic growth initiatives or violate the Act." One of its provisions reduces the minimum wage to $4.25 per hour for youth under the age of 25. The bill specifies that "pre-existing debt priorities" must be respected, and the control board, "in its sole discretion," will determine which public entities can even be "certified" as debtors, after they meet a set of stringent conditions. PRESS RELEASE New York State Legislators Pushing for Glass-Steagall May 20, 2016 (EIRNS)In a press release issued May 19, New York State Senator James Sanders Jr. (D-Rochdale Village) announced that he had sent letters to the entire New York Congressional delegation this week, including all 27 U.S. Representatives and both U.S. Senators, urging passage of H.R.381 and S.1709. This federal legislation would reinstate the protections of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act, which was repealed in 1999, separating commercial banking from investment banking and all forms of gambling schemes. Sanders was joined by fellow Senators Jesse Hamilton, Liz Krueger, Jose M. Serrano, Bill Perkins, Ruth Hassell-Thompson and Marc Panepinto, who also signed the letters. Though the state legislature does not make federal law, members can encourage Congress to take action on important issues. "Glass-Steagall worked for 66 years and prevented any banking collapse like the one we recently experienced," wrote Sanders. With the law reenacted, "[T]he government will no longer be on the hook for the gambling debts of the large Too Big to Fail banks." Many have partially attributed the 2007-2008 economic collapse, the effects of which are still being felt in Southeast Queens, to financial institutions not being adequately regulated. Glass-Steagall seeks to ensure "non-bank" activities such as investment in stocks, underwriting of securities and acting as guarantors in derivative transactions do not receive national protection. Sanders and his colleagues argue this will secure a safer American banking system. "Reinstating the protections of Glass-Steagall is a critical requirement to rebuild the physical economy of our country, not the virtual economy of manipulated finance," Sanders asserted. Sanders colleagues in the New York State Assembly are also speaking up for the reinstatement of Glass-Steagall. In mid-April Schenectady Assemblyman Phil Steck introduced into the New York State Assembly Bill K01192, a resolution calling on the legislature to convey to Congress its support for reinstatement of Glass-Steagall. The resolution has 26 co-sponsors. Theres no use in sitting alone on a shelf. Agreed? Certainly those who contribute their time and talent at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa couldnt agree more. The Center is known for its Broadway, dance, jazz and chamber music series as well as hosting performances by seasoned performers like Frankie Valli and Yanni. These events not only appeal to those 50 or better, it is this same generation that is a vital part of the engine that makes Segerstrom successful. We spoke with three of these passionate folks who have also made their own lives more vibrant by working at the Center. A master storyteller Advertisement James Cogan, 65, has been a treasure at Segerstrom for more than 26 years as a paid performer in special events like the The Nutcracker, and Imagination Celebration. He calls himself a storyteller, but to his audiences hes a craftsman. His ability to weave a tale with sound effects, facial expressions, and cool characterizations has ignited the imaginations of child audiences, and brought him national recognition with hundreds of public engagements every year. Since childhood I have been enthralled with the creativity and diversity that the arts have instilled in me, he says. Now, more than ever, our youth need the individuality and imaginative process that are kept alive by storytelling, and all the arts. Cogan says, not only is keeping the arts alive a goal, but performing also keeps alive the child in himself. Of course, not everyone wants to perform. For those who want to be part of the arts, Cogan encourages them to find their niche helping to raise funds, working as an usher during a performance, or sharing knowledge by being a docent. Wherever you fit in, Cogan says, If this doesnt keep you young, nothing will. Tour de force When longtime docent Arlene Steinert talks about her volunteer work at Segerstrom her enthusiasm is infectious. For anyone who has a love of the arts and a love of people, this is a great way to take part in the community, she says. After retiring from a career in public relations and in human resources, she has enjoyed 17 years sharing her knowledge and people experience by leading tours. When tours lead visitors onstage to see and hear what the performers see and hear, Steinert enjoys watching their faces light up. One tour attendee brought his guitar and asked if he could play onstage to get the true performance experience, Steinert relates. The sound of him playing in the concert hall was breathtaking, she says. Keeping the arts accessible For docent William Moodie, leading tours allows him to meet people from all over the world, including a group from Hungary. Foreign visitors love our theaters because they are fresh and new, and thats something they are not used to at home, he says. Moodie, 84, is no stranger to the theater. He spent 50 years selling theater lighting and control equipment and still does theater consulting. Like the visitors, Moodie appreciates theater architecture. Sometimes he likes to stand outside the Segerstrom Center at night, when the concert hall is lit up, and just take in the sheer beauty of it. Moodie also appreciates the benevolence. Most public schools can no longer afford to teach the arts, Moodie explains. For awhile the schools sent busloads of kids to Segerstrom to hear concerts. When that became unaffordable, Segerstrom stepped up and paid the cost to bring kids in for symphonies. The Center also pays to have artists go out to the schools, he says. --Tribune Content Solutions for Primetime From discovering a quaint neighborhood park within walking distance to realizing theres a group of neighbors who share your hobby, there is excitement to a living in a new place. We asked several people to tell us what surprised them about their new community. It turns out many are surprised to be developing so many friendships later in life. Here is what they said: Warren Hernand, 77 Ocean House, Santa Monica, a Brookdale Senior Living Community Advertisement There are two groups in assisted living: those there because of illness and those there by choice. I was in the second group. My biggest surprise at Ocean House was that these groups have different emotional and physical requirements. Each require different approaches to facilitate maximum happiness, satisfaction, and contentment. Early on, I encouraged an experiment to see if the second group could find even more happiness, contentment and fulfillment. I chose to work with the single men exclusively, by creating a community within the community that would satisfy the needs of these men. Thus far, this experiment has been an outstanding success, so much so that we are bursting at the seams with new men who want to be a part of the Mens Club. We have our meals together in a reserved space where we can congregate and converse. We attend monthly activities outside the facility. But, most importantly, we create friendships with the other men from the moment they walk through the door. Jerry Savitt, 83 Sedgebrook in Lincolnshire, Ill. I was surprised by how nice all of the people are to one another. Everyone always says hello and smiles and asks how youre doing. Everyone is friendly to one another. We lived in a condo for 10 years and this is so different. We had neighbors that wed never see, but here everyones friendly and encourages me to meet other people. Im busier than I was living at (the condo). There were a lot of times that Id just sit and read. Now I have to pick my times that Im going to read because I always have other things to do such as fitness and discussion groups. Most of the ones that I like have to do with politics. Howard Blumenthal, 88 Sedgebrook in Lincolnshire, Ill. We got tired of shopping and cooking. Those are the guiding principles to seeking a retirement community. We came to look at Sedgebrook and walked around. It took my wife quite awhile to decide that she wanted to pick out an apartment ... about five minutes actually. Im going to quote my wife, who quotes Benjamin Franklin. One friend in a lifetime is much, two are many, three are hardly possible. When we moved here we found that doesnt hold any water. We have more friends now than total from our lifetime put together. And good friends. One of the things I like best is that were right on the Des Plaines River Trail. I love biking. I have a group of four or five bikers and once or twice a month, we ride 15 miles on the trail. Evelyn Hilton, 86 Tri-State Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Lansing, Ill. I had been here before visiting my husband when he was here. I knew about the people who lived here and how well they were treated. Thats what brought me here. At first I thought I didnt belong. But, people are so friendly and I met a lot of new people. Its good to be around people and I found out it was good for me. Naomi R. Magro, 96 Tri-State Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Lansing Its nice having more friends. Even the people that work here are friends. Everybody works to help you and gets along together. I needed care because I had fallen and couldnt live on my own anymore. Im a people person; Ive worked with people all my life. My family owned a candy and school supply shop so I was working with people way back then. I also like all the activities and all the action. Jody Paige for Primetime Up until very recently, a diagnosis of age-related macular degeneration was a point of no return in vision loss. (AMD is when retinal cells of the maculathe back of the eyebreak down, leaving patients with a blind spot in the center of their field of vision.) AMD has robbed nearly 1.8 million Americans age 60 and older of their sight. More than 500,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, according to the National Eye Institute. There is no cure for AMD, but there is a revolutionary new treatment program called CentraSight, in which a miniature telescope the size of a pea is implanted in the eye, behind the iris. The telescope can restore reading ability and facial recognition in some end-stage AMD patients. More than 400 Americans have gotten the implant since the program was approved by the FDA in 2010. Its also covered by Medicare. Advertisement If the technology sounds futuristic, thats because it is. Dr. Samuel Masket of Advanced Vision Care in Los Angeles, explains how it works: In the center of our retina we have cones, which discern fine detail. When they are lost, the cells outside that area are generally functional. The telescope creates magnification inside the eye. When you make the image large enough, it hits those good cells, and the patient gets the image. The telescope is implanted in only one eye because with magnification you lose visual field, Masket explains. It is like looking through the world through a straw, he says. The other eye is used for walking around. Doctors say results are high and risks are low due to a stringent patient qualification process. Only a select group of eye surgeons have received training to implant the telescope. Currently 80 are approved to do so nationwide. To qualify for the implant, patients must be 75 years old or older, have end stage AMD in both eyes, and must not have had cataract surgery in both eyes in order to be considered, says Masket, who has done 12 procedures. All were successful with no complications, he says. Dr. Jonathan Rubenstein, Vice-Chairman of Ophthalmology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, describes the CentraSight process as threefold: diagnosis and evaluation, surgery and rehab. Part of the evaluation process is a trip to a local low vision center, such as The Chicago Lighthouse. There, they do a test trial with an external telescope to see if the implant would help them. After surgery, we have to teach patients how to use this new vision, he says. Its analogous to getting an artificial limb. Were training the brain how to use the image that is coming from this telescope, and how to process and integrate it with the other eyes image. Masket says the adjustment process takes time. Unlike routine cataract surgery, which has an instant response, this is a learned response, he says. We rarely see a big improvement within the first few weeks. The patients brain must adapt, and it varies from person to person. Their brain learns to sort between those two images. Anthony Adducci of Schererville, Ind., is one of Rubensteins patients, and success stories. In 2008, the retired pipefitter was told there was nothing he could do about his AMD. He had stopped driving and had to rely on his wife to read things for him. After the procedure in May 2013, which Adducci says was completely painless, he says his vision is getting better every day. I was two feet away reading the eye charts, now Im 10 feet away, he says. I can read large print. And best of all, I could see my grandson performing in a marching band competition at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. I could see all the way down to the field. Adducci is still doing plenty of rehab, learning to make the most of his new vision. The more you put into it, the easier it gets. Its like going back to school again, he says. If you have been diagnosed with AMD, do not be afraid to ask your eye doctor if you might be a candidate for the telescope implant, because many eye professionals may be unfamiliar with it, Rubenstein says. He adds that it is particularly important to inquire before you have cataract surgery, which could disqualify you later on. With time, as more patients have the implant, the awareness will go up, he says. Lisa Jevens for Primetime Los Angeles real estate services firm CBRE Group Inc. has sold its corporate headquarters on Bunker Hill to a joint partnership that includes a German asset manager. A purchase price for 400 S. Hope Street in downtown Los Angeles was not disclosed, but people familiar with the deal pegged it at about $330 million. The 700,000-square-foot building, which is adorned with the CBRE name, is home to the brokerage, BNY Mellon and law firm OMelveny & Myers, for whom the building was originally constructed in 1982. Advertisement See more of our top stories on Facebook >> CBRE Global Investors, an affiliate of CBRE Group, had acquired the 26-story tower at the southeast corner of Hope and 4th streets in 2012 for a reported $236 million. Lew Horne, president of the Los Angeles region for CBRE, said the global investor unit always planned to sell the property. He said CBRE, which handles leasing for the building, was able to boost occupancy from about 80% in 2012 to 93% today, by renovating the building and putting in two new restaurants. The company will remain in the building, where it built its own creative, untethered office with no assigned desks. SIGN UP for the free California Inc. business newsletter >> The new buyers were a joint partnership between PNC Realty Investors and Munich-based GLL Real Estate Partners, said Kevin Shannon, president of West Coast capital markets for Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, who represented the sellers along with agents from CBRE. We are seeing a lot more foreign capital. The U.S. is the global safe haven, Shannon said, noting the struggles of overseas economies. Horne put it this way: The entire globe feels like L.A. is a very good value. MORE FROM BUSINESS Gannett, Tribune Publishing execs trade barbs as takeover battle heats up Ports O Call remake is one step closer Why bids for Yahoo might come in $6 billion lower than expected andrew.khouri@latimes.com Follow me @khouriandrew on Twitter Rather than disrupting Americas blood-testing industry, as it has repeatedly promised, beleaguered biotech start-up Theranos has disrupted care for some patients. Desperate to stop the shutdown of its California lab, Theranos told federal regulators that it is retracting the results of tens of thousands of blood tests that doctors had depended on to care for patients over the last two years. The Palo Alto company confirmed a report by the Wall Street Journal that said Theranos was voiding or correcting two years of results from its blood-testing device called Edison a much-hyped technology that had made company founder Elizabeth Holmes, a Stanford dropout, a multi-billionaire on paper. Advertisement Consumers were told that for a low price and a quick finger prick Edison would give them test results in a matter of hours. But doctors may have made wrong decisions based on the faulty results. The Journal quoted a Phoenix family doctor who said she received a corrected report from the company for a patient she had sent to the emergency room after receiving abnormal results in late 2014. The corrected blood test report for that patient now shows normal values, she said. Theranos is withdrawing the test results in an attempt to persuade the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from going through with severe sanctions it proposed this spring, which include banning Holmes from the blood-testing business for at least two years. Whether the companys moves will improve its relationship with regulators is not known. Lauren Shaham, a spokeswoman for the federal health agency, declined to comment. Yet by issuing the corrected test results to doctors and patients, Theranos is admitting that its technology failed. This can be very disruptive, but not in the way that Theranos intended it to be, said John Ioannidis, a professor at Stanfords School of Medicine. If a blood test doesnt work, it can have major consequences on health. Brooke Buchanan, a Theranos spokeswoman, said the company hasnt done a comprehensive patient impact analysis, but believes that there has been no harm to patients. We recommend if someone has received a corrected or voided result that they should contact their physician, Buchanan said. The start-ups escalating problems have caused tensions with its partner Walgreens. The pharmacy chain built Theranos wellness centers in 40 of its pharmacies in Arizona as well as in a store in Palo Alto. The Walgreens partnership was a huge win for Theranos when it began in late 2013, helping to give legitimacy to the start-ups technology. It also gave Theranos access to consumers going to their corner drugstore. Now the relationship is threatening to unravel. Asked if any of the withdrawn tests had affected the pharmacy chains customers, Jim Cohn, a Walgreens spokesman, declined to comment. In January, after regulators unveiled multiple patient safety violations at Theranos lab in Newark, Calif., Walgreens suspended the blood testing at its Palo Alto pharmacy. The company also said that blood tests collected at its Arizona stores would only be sent to a Theranos lab operating in that state. But the Journal reported that Theranos was now recalling many tests performed in its Arizona lab as well. Those tests are performed on a traditional blood-testing machine made by Siemens, which had been programmed to the wrong settings by Theranos. For years, Holmes had promoted her start-up by saying the company had found a way for consumers to access less invasive and more affordable blood testing. With the Edison device, she said, multiple tests could be done with just a few drops of blood taken from a tiny finger stick. But the company has never published any studies in peer-reviewed journals to back up Edison a point that Stanfords Ioannidis had warned about a year ago in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. This is an acknowledgment on the part of Theranos that their technology is not up to par, Ioannidis said Thursday of the companys retraction of the testing results. The company also faces a criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department into whether executives misled investors about its technology and operations, as well as another probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In recent months, Holmes has been trying to turn things around. Last week, the company announced changes to its leadership, including that its president, Sunny Balwani, was retiring. The company also said it had added three new members to its board of directors, including Fabrizio Bonanni, a former Amgen Inc. executive vice president, and William Foege, a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Excellence in quality and patient safety is our top priority, Buchanan said. But one of Theranos customers, Jean-Louis Gassee, a former Apple executive, warned patients away from the companys tests on Thursday. Last year, Gassee compared a blood test he had at the Palo Alto Walgreens for $5.35 to another test he had at the Stanford clinic he regularly visits and found that the results varied as much as 30%. He needs the test to prevent blood clots from a hereditary condition. This is a serious situation, Gassee said. Its pretty obvious that Theranos invention is not working. Melody.petersen@latimes.com Twitter: @melodypetersen ALSO Bayer takeover of Monsanto would create a global giant Googles new smart products might force it to rethink its ad business Sports Authority to close all of its stores, including dozens in California UPDATES: The spelling of John Ioannidis name was corrected at 5:40 p.m. Resting on a knoll above the Sunset Strip, this contemporary showplace is visually dramatic, with offset wings and walls of glass designed to offer city-to-ocean views from multiple perspectives. Designed for entertaining, the multilevel house features such amenities as a 10-person theater, a lower-level lounge and a gibbous-shaped infinity-edge swimming pool. The master suite caters to the well-dressed, accessories-obsessed professional, with crushed-glass shelving and separate handbag and shoe rooms. Advertisement See more of our top stories on Facebook >> The details Location: 9380 Sierra Mar Drive, Los Angeles, 90069 Asking price: $21 million Year built: 2014 House size: 6,500 square feet, five bedrooms, six bathrooms Lot size: 0.47 acres Features: American walnut flooring; hand-built kitchen with Caesarstone countertops; living room with hidden audio/video closet; lower-level lounge; gym; 10-person theater; 1,800-square-foot swimming pool; 8-foot fire pit About the area: In March, 19 single-family homes sold in the 90069 ZIP Code at a median price of $2.501 million, according to Corelogic. That was a 27.4% increase in price over March 2015. Stunning photos, celebrity homes: Get the free weekly Hot Property newsletter >> Agent: Ben Bacal, (310) 717-5522, Rodeo Realty; Brandon Williams and Rayni Williams, (310) 691-5935, Hilton & Hyland, an affiliate of Christies International Real Estate. To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, send high-resolution color photos via Dropbox.com, permission from the photographer to publish the images and a description of the house to homeoftheweek@latimes.com. MORE FROM HOT PROPERTY Boyle Heights remains a center of gravity for L.A. Latinos Shaquille ONeal scores a two-house compound outside of Atlanta As outfielder Coco Crisp lists his desert home with Wiffle ball field for $10 million neal.leitereg@latimes.com Follow me at @NJLeitereg. Boyle Heights has long been a gateway community for people from all over the world and once was the most ethnically diverse neighborhood in Los Angeles. Mexican Americans have made their homes there since the 1800s, and the early 20th century saw African Americans, Japanese, Russians, Poles, Serbs, Italians and Jews from Eastern Europe settle on or at the foot of the bluffs on the L.A. Rivers east bank. What brought them there was the lack of the racially restrictive covenants that dictated who could live where in much of the city of Los Angeles. Even the neighborhood cemetery was open to burials of almost all, though Chinese Americans were shamefully relegated to its potters field. Advertisement This openness helped Boyle Heights rapidly develop, especially from 1900 to 1930, as streetcars and the rivers viaducts knitted the once-isolated neighborhood into the city. Those streetcars and bridges were crucial, because early in L.A.s history, Boyle Heights wasnt considered to have development potential. It was a rural area, used mainly for cattle grazing, cut off from downtown by the mercurial rio, which could swell from a trickle to a raging torrent terrifyingly quickly, sweeping wooden bridges and trestles away and out to sea. Andrew Aloysius Boyle, an Irish shoe salesman and rancher who would inspire the name of the neighborhood that would rise on his land, was typical of those who would come after him: an immigrant who worked in the city but wanted a slower-paced home life. Once Boyle Heights became a streetcar suburb, almost anyone could afford to live that dream. Though the bluff top was more affluent, the riverside flats below were within reach of most working families. Many of the families were Jewish, especially before 1950, though eventually they followed the development of the city westward. Boyle Heights in the years after became an important center of Chicano culture, a historical moment still preserved in the neighborhoods many murals, and today it remains a center of gravity for Latinos in Los Angeles. A pedestrian passes by a mural in Boyle Heights. (Christina House / For The Times ) Neighborhood highlights Cultural heritage: From the Breed Street Shul to Mariachi Plaza, the history of Boyle Heights is still there to experience. Hollenbeck Park, the Sears Building, and the old Santa Fe Railroad hospital are just some of the iconic locations in the neighborhood. Food: Besides the original Guisados, Boyle Heights is home to some of the citys best Mexican restaurants, including El Tepeyac, Ciros and Al & Beas. Location: With easy access to four freeways, a light-rail line and plenty of bridge connections to downtown, Boyle Heights is centrally located to most employment centers in the eastern half of the city and is close to bars and restaurants in the lively Arts District. They dont make em like that anymore: Boyle Heights has a wealth of homes that were built to last, with some of the oldest dating all the way back to the 1880s. Queen Anne, Foursquare, Arts and Crafts, and Spanish Colonial Revival are all well represented. Customers enjoy a burlesque show on a Saturday night at the Eastside Luv bar in Boyle Heights. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times ) Neighborhood challenge Real estate pressure: Residents of Boyle Heights are concerned about the possibility of widespread gentrification, which has led to some friction as the market has heated up. Expert insight Tracy Do, a Realtor at Compass, said shes increasingly bringing clients to the neighborhood as an alternative to areas such as Eagle Rock, Highland Park and Glassell Park. She listed a three-bedroom Boyle Heights single-family residence this month and received more than 20 offers in less than a week. Its certainly an up-and-coming neighborhood, Do said, and its rising quickly in terms of desirability due to its distance from downtown L.A., and the Arts District specifically. In a sellers market, buyers who are finding themselves priced out of Northeast L.A. are turning to Boyle Heights for the next best thing. And she noted that buyers who can afford only a condo in another neighborhood can get a single-family residence in Boyle Heights. A gardener works in the yard at the former Linda Vista Hospital that is now affordable housing buildings. (Christina House / For The Times ) Market snapshot Portions of the 90023, 90033 and 90063 overlap the Boyle Heights neighborhood. In March, the median price for single-family homes in the 90023 ZIP Code was $225,000, based on two sales, according to CoreLogic. In the 90033 ZIP, based on two sales, the median price was $233,000, and in 90063, the median price was $380,000, based on 13 sales. Report card There are more than 20 public schools within the boundaries of Boyle Heights. Among the bright spots is KIPP Los Angeles College Preparatory, which scored a 916 out of a possible 1,000 in the 2013 Academic Performance Index. Garza Primary Center scored 889; Milagro Charter scored 884; and Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High had a score of 847. hotproperty@latimes.com Another day, another security breach. Theyve almost become routine to many of us. This latest one actually happened in 2012, when LinkedIn, and later EHarmony, revealed that hackers had stolen the login info for about 6.5 million users. The new development is the revelation it actually affected over 100 million users. (Yes, thats significantly more.) And now a hacker is selling user data on the Dark Web marketplace the Real Deal for 5 bitcoin (which is about $2,200), according to Motherboard. Advertisement LinkedIn has said in a blog post that it has demanded that parties cease making stolen password data available and will consider legal action if they dont comply. And for now, the company is using what it calls automated tools to try to catch any suspicious activity. If you use LinkedIn, chances are youre among the 117 million users who need to change their password. Even if youre not, you might consider strengthening it anyway. Weve begun to invalidate passwords for all accounts created prior to the 2012 breach that havent updated their password since that breach, wrote May Chow of LinkedIns corporate communication, in an email to the Los Angeles Times. Were also continuing to notify members via email and banners on our site. Most of us have become a bit nonchalant about breaches. However, an information security professor advises that we need to take more responsibility for our own security. In fact, San Diego States Murray Jennex says that if you are online at all, you can assume youve been hacked. Everyone in the U.S. has probably been hacked once, he said. Technology has become intertwined in how we function individually and as a culture. But the nature of our digital lives has created penetrable doors to our personal data. In his classes, Murray asks students to do a risk assessment of themselves. Often there are almost 300 different information sets think of all of your accounts, from Netflix and Amazon to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Instagram. Each one is a door to your data. The reality is we often get lazy with our password construction. We may use the same simple, personally meaningful passwords, sometimes deviating only slightly across websites -- which makes them highly hackable. Part of the problem is ... its hard for us to remember large numbers of passwords, Murray said. Were set up to be hacked, just by being human. He advises assuming that, regardless of where its posted, everything online is public: Nothing is private. Back to LinkedIn. Hacked-data search engine LeakedSource claims to have obtained the user data as well. Motherboard reports that LeakedSource provided a sample of almost a million credentials, including email addresses, encrypted passwords and the corresponding hacked passwords. It claimed so far to have cracked 90% of the passwords in 72 hours. LinkedIns Chow tells The Times that the Mountain View, Calif., company is working to figure out how many of what is purported to be available in this data set are current and/or active. As noted in the blog post from LinkedIn, changing your password on a regular basis is always a good idea and you dont have to wait for the notification. ALSO In latest stumble, Theranos retracts blood tests Googles new smart products might force it to rethink its ad business Silicon Valleys D-word: These breakdowns show that disruption is sometimes just hype michelle.maltais@latimes.com Chat me up on Twitter: @mmaltaisLA To say that playwright Julie Marie Myatt has a knack for understatement would be something of an understatement. The prolific Myatt, whose works have appeared on prominent Southern California stages for the better part of a decade, excels at using small details to evoke larger truths. That skill is apparent in two new L.A.-centric plays alternating in repertory at the Road Theatre Companys Lankershim Arts Center. Myatts John Is a father and Birder are directed with clarity and sensitivity by Dan Bonnell, using the same design team for a consistent overall look and feel. Both plays explore fatherhood, mortality, the post-recession economy and the illusory nature of the American dream, though they approach these themes in strikingly different ways. As one plays title declares up front, John Is a father. What emerges more gradually, though, is exactly what kind of father the character played by John Owens happens to be not a very good one, it turns out. Advertisement Masterfully played by Sam Anderson, John is an aging ex-con whose weary voice and stooped gait immediately telegraph a man whos had all the fight beaten out of him by life. In impeccably spare dialogue rarely longer than single-sentence exchanges, fragments of Johns troubled past come to light during his encounters on a trip to reconnect with whats left of his estranged family. To his only friend, a homeless veteran (Mark Costello) not much further down the social ladder, John reveals that his son was a Marine killed in combat, leaving behind a wife and child whom John has never met. At LAX, a few more details surface under the nosy prodding of an affably chatty couple (Carl J. Johnson and John Gowans). The extent of Johns disastrous failure as a father becomes clear only in a painfully awkward confrontation with his daughter-in-law (Hilary J. Schwartz). At the center of this excellent ensemble, Anderson conveys the challenges John faces in pursuit of redemption with the simplest gestures staring at a photo of his lost son, gingerly handling a gift for his grandson (Jackson Dollinger or Elliot Decker), scrambling in panic for an exit route when the prospect of a connection gets too real. Its utterly compelling naturalism rendered with economy and grace reminiscent of a Horton Foote play. In contrast, the lighter, more intricately staged Birder revels in quirky, meta-theatrical artifice, complete with flashbacks, overt symbolism and fourth-wall puncturing monologues. Its protagonist, the accountant Roger (Chet Grissom), is a poor excuse for a dad, although unlike John, Roger always has played by the rules in pursuit of an affluent lifestyle. Like so many in the disappearing middle class, Roger grapples with the pressures of living beyond his means; his atypical answer to midlife crisis, however, is to quit his job and take up bird watching under the reluctant mentorship of Charles (Webster Williams), a lonely widower. Rogers abundant flaws and missteps include keeping his unemployed status and looming bankruptcy a secret from his wife (Laurie Okin), his borderline creepy flirtation with Charles daughter (Monique Marie Gelineau), and his territorial resentment of her preternaturally perfect boyfriend (Crash Buist). Nonetheless, in confessions addressed to the audience, Roger maintains a disarming boyish charisma as he chronicles how the growing appreciation of birds hiding in plain sight among us come to represent everything else thats missing from his life. Each of Myatts new plays offers a quiet vision of hard-won hope amid adversity, but John Is a father goes deeper. Its the difference between showing life as its lived versus life as its talked about. ------------ John Is a father, 8 p.m. Thursdays, 3 p.m. Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays. Ends July 3. $34. Running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes. Birder, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. Ends June 19. $34. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes. The Road on Lankershim, 5108 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. (818) 761-8838, www.RoadTheatre.org. Follow The Times arts team @culturemonster. A show of quiet paintings that explore the mundane. Photographs that capture the revelry around Southern music scenes. And a gathering of significant works by an important Detroit artist. Plus, royal treasures made from feathers and a wild feminist performance that takes on Homers The Odyssey. Here are five shows to see this week: Fred Reichman and Eleanor Ray, at the Landing. Artists from opposing coasts (he from postwar San Francisco, she from contemporary New York) produce paintings that ruminate on mundane settings. Reichman, who was a student of Clyfford Stills at San Francisco Art Institute, depicts spare backgrounds and quiet scenes: A sleeping figure, a brooding cat, an open window and flashes of color and landscape. Ray, in the meantime, depicts quiet studios and fragments of urban settings. The two artists have eschewed trends to focus on the act of finding and capturing the serene and the quotidian. Opens Saturday and runs through July 16. 5118 W. Jefferson Blvd., West Adams, Los Angeles, thelandinggallery.com. Ivar Wigan, The Gods, at Little Big Man Gallery. In recent years, the Scottish photographer has devoted himself to capturing the street culture associated with the urban music scene of the American South in cities as varied as Miami, Atlanta and New Orleans capturing fall-of-Rome revelry but also social marginalization. Opens Saturday at 6 p.m. and runs through June 21. 1427 E. 4th St., downtown Los Angeles, littlebigmangallery.com. Olayami Dabls, Flags Erotic Rights, at Henry Taylors. An artist, historian and curator from Detroit, Dabls is known for his extensive collection of African beads, textiles and other cultural objects. But he is also an artist, and for his Los Angeles exhibition, he is showing three bodies of work created over three decades. This includes his flag paintings from the mid-1980s, a series devoted to civil rights from that same era and an African erotica series from the mid 2000s. Opens Saturday at 5 p.m. and runs through June 30. On Sunday at 2 p.m., Dabls will be in conversation with Taylor and L.A. architect Lorcan OHerlihy, whose firm is helping renovate the African Bead Museum. 810 E. 3rd St., downtown Los Angeles, facebook.com. Advertisement Royal Hawaiian Featherwork: Na Hulu AliI, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. For centuries, long cloaks, capes, and other attire were painstakingly layered with the bright plumage of birds. Today, fewer than 300 examples of these exquisite garments exist which makes this show of feather works, once donned by Hawaiian royals as far back as the late 18th century, a rare treat. Opens Sunday and runs through Aug. 7. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org. Tip of Her Tongue: Dynasty Handbag, Soggy Glasses, A Homos Odyssey, at REDCAT. The Broad is continuing its feminist performance series with a presentation of a recent work by L.A.-based artist Dynasty Handbag, who is turning the Greek poets famous tale into a feminist extravaganza complete with a giant plush hero sandwich prop. This I have to see. The performance is a co-presentation with REDCAT. Tonight at 8:30. 631 W. 2nd St., downtown Los Angeles, thebroad.org. FINAL WEEK Daniel Joseph Martinez, If You Drink Hemlock, I Shall Drink It With You at Roberts & Tilton. A hallucinatory environmental installation by the L.A.-based artist takes on Jacques-Louis Davids seminal French revolutionary painting The Death of Marat as a point of inspiration. Martinezs mise-en-scene features the artist as the key figures in this famous murder, including Marat, and his killer Charlotte Cordray, among others. Through May 21. 5801 Washington Blvd., Culver City, robertsandtilton.com. Linda Arreola: Architect of the Abstract, at the Vincent Price Art Museum. This one-woman exhibition looks at roughly a 10-year period in the work of this abstract Los Angeles artist. Arreola is known for creating taut, grid-like arrangements using bright blocks of color. Her work extends into the sculptural realm too. Through May 21. 1301 Cesar Chavez Ave., Monterey Park, vincentpriceartmuseum.org. LA Rebels: Photographs by Janette Beckman, at Project Gallery. Beckman, who is known for photographing some of hip-hops most revered figures (including Ice Cube and Dr. Dre), is showing two sets of works at this show. The first features her collaborations with artists, who often drew and painted over her photographs; the second is a series from the 80s that documents the El Hoyo Maravilla gang from East L.A. Through May 21. 961 Chung King Road, Chinatown, Los Angeles, projectgallery.com. Deveron Richard, at Good Luck Gallery. Unicorns get groovy on light-up disco floors, polar bears rock lipstick and buxom birds wear rainbow dresses in the humorously electrified scenes imagined by this South Bay artist. Through May 21. 945 Chung King Road, Chinatown, Los Angeles, thegoodluckgallery.com. Portraits and Autobiographies by Kim Abeles, at Post. The Los Angeles artist known for using smog some of her works literally trap particulates onto their surfaces takes a more inward view in this, her latest solo exhibition. The show includes self-portraits, photo-based works, research projects and sculptural works that often employ the body. Through May 21. 1206 Maple Ave., Los Angeles, postlosangeles.org. PLAN, at the El Segundo Museum of Art. An exhibition organized by the Wende Museum and the El Segundo Museum of Art brings together works by disparate figures from Camille Pissarro to Egon Schiele to Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid exploring the idea of plans and planning. This includes references to five-year plans, a map for the projected Soviet invasion of West Berlin and other works that play with the idea of fate versus meticulous intention. Through May 22. 208 Main St., El Segundo, esmoa.org. Abel Alejandre, Public Secrets, at Coagula Curatorial. The Wilmington-based artist, known for his hyper-detailed graphite drawings, is unveiling a new series of paintings at the gallery that contend with secrets from the family sort to UFOs. All of this comes in advance of the opening of his public commission for the Westwood/Rancho Park Metro Station in May. Through May 22. 974 Chung King Road, Chinatown, Los Angeles, coagulacuratorial.com. ONGOING EXHIBITIONS Gerald Davis, House With Buried Figure, at Ltd. Los Angeles. The Los Angeles painter has his first solo exhibition at the gallery with a series of eight, large-scale expressionistic canvases that depict quivering house-like structures obscuring a human figure within. Through May 27. 7561 Sunset Blvd., No. 103, Hollywood, ltdlosangeles.com. Ramiro Gomez, On Melrose, at Charlie James Gallery. In his third solo exhibition at the gallery, the Los Angeles artist, known for creating works that insert the often invisible laborers who makes luxury possible, is turning his sights to Melrose Avenue creating a series of paintings that take on iconic sites such as the Paramount Studios and Fred Segal. Through May 28. 969 Chung King Road, Chinatown, Los Angeles, cjamesgallery.com. TRI(ed): Revisiting TRI Gallery, at Wilding Cran Gallery. In 1992, artist Rory Devine established a gallery in his home at Hayworth Avenue in L.A., in which he showed one work by three artists in one room of the house. That evolved into a storefront in Hollywood that lasted for 4 1/2 years. Over its life, the gallery presented more than 30 exhibitions. This show gathers work by artists who showed in the space, including figures such as Mary Heilmann, Kathleen Johnson and Leonardo Bravo, Trudie Reiss and George Stoll. Through May 28. 939 S. Santa Fe Ave., downtown Los Angeles, wildingcran.com. Margie Livingston: Holding It Together, at Luis De Jesus Los Angeles. Livingston doesnt make paintings; she makes paint objects canvases wrapped in acrylic paint skin that she straps to her body, then drags through the citys streets. Part penance, part performance, these actions leave behind a work that is as much a wall hanging as it is evidence of something darkly destructive. Through May 28. 2685 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City, luisdejesus.com. Prison Arts Collective Presents, Through the Wall, at CB1 Guest Gallery. The downtown gallery has donated its arts space for an exhibition that features paintings, drawings and handmade objects by participants from the Cal State San Bernardino Prison Arts Collective, which offers art-making classes in three California state prisons: the California Institution for Men and the California Institution for Women in Chino and the California State prison in Los Angeles County. Any works sold help raise money for this program. Through May 29. 1923 S. Santa Fe Ave., downtown Los Angeles, cb1gallery.com. Lily Simonson, Midnight Sun, at CB1 Gallery. The painter known for her electric renditions of icy snowscapes is having her third exhibition at the gallery, showcasing work that was inspired by a recent trip to Antarctica with the National Science Foundation. Expect otherworldly vistas from both above and below the ice. Through May 29. 1923 S. Santa Fe Ave., downtown Los Angeles, cb1gallery.com. Catherine Fairbanks, Two Chimneys, at Wilding Cran Gallery. A pair of chimney sculptures crafted out of geologic layers of papier-mache evoke the ruined domestic buildings throughout the West. But while they may call attention with their scale and their dexterous construction, dont miss the pair of abstractions, on a rear wall, exquisitely woven together from different shades of horse hair. Through May 28. 939 S. Santa Fe Ave., downtown Los Angeles, wildingcran.com. Delicious Taste, Re-Corded History, at C. Nichols Project. The duo of Grant Levy-Doolittle and Bruce Yonemoto, known as Delicious Taste, has created an installation that takes on the ephemera of our digital lives and marries it to pre-Columbian tradition. Phones, monitors and surveillance cameras are connected by a vast array of knotty wires that evoke ancient Andean quipus, the knotted strings that served as record-keeping devices. Through May 28. 12613 1/2 Venice Blvd., Mar Vista, cnicholsproject.com. Popol Vuh: Watercolors of Diego Rivera, at the Bowers Museum. The Popol Vuh is a nearly 500-year-old Mayan text, written in Quiche, that recounts that cultures creation myths. This sacred text inspired a series of watercolors by Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, an artist who was preoccupied with indigenous themes. Now 17 of these paintings, on loan from a museum in Mexico, are on view at the Bowers. Through May 29. 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana, bowers.org. John Kilduff, at Daniel Rolnik Gallery. Kilduff, known as Mr. Lets Paint for his wild painting performances on treadmills, has a show at Daniel Rolnik that is part conceptual flower shop, part paean to vintage Americana. For the former, the artist is painting specially commissioned canvases of flowers for $100 a pop and in the area he calls The Cavern he is featuring works inspired by the show American Pickers, which includes renderings of bits of garage sale detritus, as well as a full-blown pinball machine crafted out of cardboard. Through June 1. 2675 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City, danielrolnikgallery.com. Amy Park, Ed Ruschas Every Building on the Sunset Strip at Kopeikin Gallery. Park takes Ruschas iconic 1966 photo book, which documented every building on West Hollywoods Sunset Strip, and re-creates it as a series of watercolor paintings a 97-foot immersive environment that wraps the gallery and therefore the viewer. Its a new way of seeing a familiar Los Angeles work. Through June 4. 2766 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City, kopeikingallery.com. Joan Snyder, Womansong, at Parrasch-Heijnen. The prominent abstract painter has seven new canvases on view at this new Boyle Heights space, which explore aspects of landscape and the female figure, as well as one of the early stroke paintings for which she is well known. These are canvases composed of bold strokes of paint on gridded backgrounds works that ride the divide between abstraction and conceptualism. Through June 10. 1326 S. Boyle Ave., Los Angeles, parrasch-heijnen.com. 43: From Ayotzinapa to Ferguson, at Self Help Graphics & Art. In partnership with the Social Public Art Resource Center (SPARC), the venerable Eastside print workshop and gallery is bringing together a panoply of L.A. artists including David Botello, Sandy Rodriguez and Eye.One to take on the issue of abuses of the state around the Americas. Through June 10. 1300 E. 1st St., Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, selfhelpgraphics.com. A Shape That Stands Up, at Art + Practice. A group show that treads the line between abstraction and figuration features works by Amy Sillman, Henry Taylor, Sadie Benning and a host of other interesting names. Through June 18. 4339 Leimert Blvd., Leimert Park, Los Angeles, artandpractice.org. Elliott Hundley There is No More Firmament, at Regen Projects. The Los Angeles-based artist is known for his wild fusions of collage, assemblage, photography and painting producing wall objects that come off as totally painterly, yet providing endless layers for the viewer to get lost in. For his fourth show at Regen, he has created a series of works inspired by the work of 20th century French dramatist Antonin Artaud. Expect a riotous, engrossing, obsessive tour examining different states of anxiety. Through June 18. 6750 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, regenprojects.com. Morgan Fisher and Karina Nimmerfall, Past Future Housing, at the MAK Center. This exhibition brings together two artists one German, one from Los Angeles who look at the question of mass-produced housing in the United States. This includes the creation of a fictional prototype for a new utopian city inspired by historic development plans for Los Angeles. Through June 25. Mackey Garage Top, 1137 S. Cochran Ave., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, makcenter.org. Peter Opheim: Fables of the Eleven Rooms and Six Houses, at Zevitas Marcus. Opheim paints clay renderings of bulbous Venus of Willendorf-ish figurines that are charmingly grotesque. The show includes 11 paintings, as well as a series of sculptures made from the discarded clothing of friends and family members. Through June 25. 2754 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City, zevitasmarcus.com. Berman, American Aleph, at Kohn Gallery. This is the first comprehensive Los Angeles retrospective for the pioneering Southern California assemblage artist in roughly four decades. The artist, who was also the publisher of the influential arts and literary magazine Semina, had an international influence. The exhibition gathers works from the 1940s to his death in 1976, including numerous examples of his Verifax collages, photocopied and painted assemblages that play with the tropes of popular culture. This is one not to miss. Through June 25. 1227 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, kohngallery.com. Ed Moses, Moses@90, at William Turner Gallery. To celebrate the prominent L.A. painters 90th birthday, this survey exhibition gathers works from throughout his career. This includes drawings from the 1950s to the 1970s, his more gestural paintings from the 1990s, as well as a slew of recent works. Through June 25. Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., E-1, Santa Monica, williamturnergallery.com. Making Waves: Japanese American Photography, 1920-1940, at the Japanese American National Museum. In the early 20th century, groups of Japanese American photographers all along the Pacific coastline launched photography clubs, through which they published and exhibited their work. Their striking imagery ranging from abstract compositions to scenes of everyday life drew the attention of artists such as Edward Weston and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. Unfortunately, much of their work was destroyed or lost when Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps by the U.S. government during World War II. But examples remain and JANM has gathered more than 100 of these prints for a show that explores the history and legacy of the clubs. Through June 26. 100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles, janm.org Salomon Huerta, at Christopher Grimes Gallery. A new series of works by the Los Angeles artist features his watercolor portraits of celebrated boxers, including Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano and Mike Tyson an intimate look at the hyper-masculine figures of one of the worlds most brutal sports. Opens Saturday at 6 p.m. and runs through July 1. 916 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, cgrimes.com. Urbanature, at the Alyce de Roulette Williamson Gallery at ArtCenter College of Design. A group exhibition looks at the increasingly fraught ways in which the urban intrudes on natural world and the ways in which nature has adapted to this new human-centric reality. Through July 3. 1700 Lida St., Pasadena, artcenter.edu. C.O.L.A. 2016, at the L.A. Municipal Art Gallery. Every year, the Municipal Art Gallery features work by the winners of the City of Los Angeles (C.O.L.A.) Artist Fellowships, which honor a dozen mid-career artists from around the city one of the rare municipal programs to directly fund artists in the United States. This year, the visual arts winners include Paolo Davanzo, Marsian De Lellis, Keiko Fukazawa, Megan Geckler, Won Ju Lim, Sarah Maclay, Blue McRight, Sandeep Mukherjee and Christine Nguyen. A separate public event in Grand Park will honor C.O.L.A.s three literary winners: Sarah Maclay, Claudia Rodriguez and Lynne Thompson. The art exhibition runs through July 3; 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. A reading with the literary winners will take place at Grand Performances on June 11 at 7 p.m. at California Plaza, 350 S. Grand Ave, in downtown Los Angeles, lamag.org. Marilyn Minter: Pretty/Dirty, at the Orange County Museum of Art. The New York-based painter and photographer has long played with the tropes of feminine beauty in works that seamlessly stir the alluring with the mildly grotesque. Through July 10. 850 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach, ocma.net Alex Israel, at the Huntington. In 2012, the San Marino library and museum unveiled the first of its contemporary interventions with low-key works by Ricky Swallow and Lesley Vance. Now the museum is getting bolder, with a series of installations by painter Alex Israel, whose pop-inspired canvases and objects touch on topics such as celebrity, glamour and power. Through July 11. 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, huntington.org Jose Montoya, Abundant Harvest: Works on Paper / Works on Life, at the Fowler Museum. Throughout his life, activist, poet and painter Jose Montoya drew on whatever was at hand: napkins, hotel stationery and notebooks. And in those drawings he recorded the quotidian aspects of Mexican American life in the United States: dogs and children, women and sailors, pachucos and pachucas, the architecture of low-lying Central Valley neighborhoods, industrial warehouses and agricultural settings, as well as the glamorous profile of lowrider cars. It is the first comprehensive look at this vital Chicano artists drawing practice. Through July 17. UCLA, 308 Charles E. Young Drive North, Westwood, fowler.ucla.edu. Robert Mapplethorpe, The Perfect Medium, at the L.A. County Museum of Art and the Getty Museum. A two-part exhibition spread over a pair of L.A. museums explores the photographic legacy of an artist who brought as much grace to images of flowers as he did to S&M. The LACMA portion features early drawings, collages, sculptures, Polaroids, still lifes and archival material. The Getty will present his more formal portraits, along with the infamous X Portfolio, with its elegant S&M imagery. The LACMA runs through July 31. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, lacma.org. The Getty exhibit also runs through July 31. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, Los Angeles, getty.edu. Sam Maloof Woodworker: Life/Art/Legacy, at the Maloof Foundation. The foundation is celebrating the centennial of the birth of the renowned Southern California woodworker, whose elegant objects and furnishings are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the L.A. County Museum of Art and the Smithsonian. The exhibition will feature more than 60 objects from throughout the artists life, including furnishings, drawings, photographs and other ephemera. The show is part of a years worth of events that will celebrate Maloofs life and work. Through Aug. 27. 5131 Carnelian St., Alta Loma, malooffoundation.org In Focus: Electric! at the Getty Museum. Electricity: It powers your home, it powers your work and it powers the phone on which you are likely reading this post. This photographic exhibition at the Getty gathers historic images that showcase the allure of light and power. Through Aug. 28. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, Los Angeles, getty.edu. Art of the Austronesians: The Legacy of Indo-Pacific Voyaging, at Fowler Museum. A look at the legacy of Austronesian-speaking peoples gathers art and artifacts from the Philippines, Indonesia and other points in the South Pacific. This includes nearly 200 works, from wood sculptures to ceremonial textiles to canoe prow ornaments. Through Aug. 28. 308 Charles E. Young Drive N., Westwood, fowler.ucla.edu. Duchamp to Pop, at the Norton Simon Museum. Drawing mostly from the Norton Simons permanent collection, this exhibition looks at the influence Duchamp likely had on generations of artists, from assemblagists to pop painters figures who have appropriated elements of the everyday world and transformed them into art. Through Aug. 29. 411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, nortonsimon.org. Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women, 1947-2016, at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel. The debut exhibition at the citys newest gallery tackles more than half a century of sculpture by women, featuring key works by important international figures (Louise Bourgeois, Lee Bontecou) and key California artists (Ruth Asawa, Clare Falkenstein). Pieces range from the ethereal (Lygia Papes golden threads) to downright hilarious (Lara Schnitgers lacy/cat/fur assemblage sculptures). Altogether, the show offers an alternative to the narrative of the macho man postwar painting scene that has so dominated the story of 20th century art. Through Sept. 4. 901 E. Third St., Los Angeles, hauserwirthschimmel.com. Claire Falkenstein: Beyond Sculpture, at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. The 20th century California artist, whose name has is circulating once again after being included in the debut exhibition at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, is now the subject of her own retrospective, tracking her entire career, from the 1930s to the 90s. (She passed away in 1997.) The artist, who worked in San Francisco and Los Angeles as well as Paris produced prints and murals, among other works, but she is best known for her sculpture: in particular, her often gritty assemblages made out of wire studded with chunks of glass. Through Sept. 11. 490 E. Union St., Pasadena, pmcaonline.org. Hito Steyerl: Factory of the Sun, at the Museum of Contemporary Art. A video installation by the German artist takes the viewer into a dystopia where the movements of workers are harvested to create artificial sunshine. The piece, which debuted at the Venice Biennale in 2015, is a mash-up of contemporary communication, told as video game, news report documentary film and Internet video. Through Sept. 12. MOCA Grand Ave., 250 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, moca.org. Reflections on the Self, at the California African American Museum. Drawn from the museums permanent collection, this wide-ranging exhibition looks at the representation of the self, examining the idealized and mythicized ways that artists have portrayed pop and cultural icons, from Malcolm X to Thelonious Monk to a New Orleans grand marshal. Also on view at the museum is Oh Snap! West Coast Hip Hop Photography, which will feature an array of hip-hop artists who came up in the 90s, such as Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur and others. Through Sept. 18. 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, caamuseum.org. MOLAA at Twenty: 1996-2016, at the Museum of Latin American Art. The Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach is celebrating two decades in existence with a show that draws from the museums permanent collection of more than 1,600 objects. These include works by renowned Modernists Joaquin Torres-Garcia and Wifredo Lam, Argentine conceptualist Leon Ferrari as well as contemporary figures such as Alexandre Arrechea and Patssi Valdez. Through Jan. 1. 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach, molaa.org. Senses of Time: Video and Film-Based Works of Africa, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. For one of its long-term installations, the museum has gathered works of video or film by contemporary African artists that explore the body and the looping nature of time. This includes pieces by figures such as Yinka Shonibare, Sammy Baloji, Berni Searle, Moatax Nasr and Theo Eshetu. Through Jan. 2. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, lacma.org. Non Fiction at the Underground Museum. An emotionally charged exhibition curated by the late Noah Davis, in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles brings together works that explore issues of race and violence. This includes important works from MOCAs permanent collection by artists such as Robert Gober, Kara Walker, Henry Taylor and David Hammons. Through March 2017. 3508 W. Washington Blvd., Arlington Heights, Los Angeles, theunderground-museum.org. Geographically Indeterminate Fantasies, hosted by Providence College Galleries. Dont worry if youre nowhere near Providence College in Rhode Island. A new digitally-minded exhibition by the art writing team at Art F City features more than two dozen works by artists who use animated GIFs to create work from Brenna Murphys dizzying electronic architecture to Jacolby Satterwhites pulsing alternate universe. Its the sort of thing that will encourage you to spend quality time online (and away from awful Facebook). pcgalleries.providence.edu. Islamic Art Now: Part 2 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Contemporary works from LACMAs permanent collection by 20 artists who live in or have roots in the Middle East look at questions of society, gender and identity. Runs indefinitely. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, lacma.org. Find me on Twitter @cmonstah. 5:27 P.M. REPORTING FROM CANNES, FRANCE I, Daniel Blake wins Cannes Palme dOr as a jury goes its own way British director Ken Loach with his trophy after winning the Palme dOr at the Cannes Film Festival. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) Its not always noted, but there are two Cannes film festivals, one composed of critics, journalists and industry professionals, and the other inhabited by the sequestered jury. Sometimes these two Cannes speak with one voice, but in this 69th festival, they definitely did not. The German film Toni Erdmann, directed by Maren Ade, one of the few women in the competition, was easily the non-jury favorite among the 21 films eligible for prizes. Both wildly raucous and movingly humane, it chronicles the evolving relationship between a prankster father and his high-powered careerist daughter. Far from winning a top prize, however, Toni Erdmann was totally shut out by the jury chaired by Mad Max director George Miller. Instead, the Palme dOr went to 79-year-old British filmmaker Ken Loach for I, Daniel Blake, the on-the-nose narrative of working-class folks getting the run around from an unfeeling government welfare bureaucracy. Read more 3:16 P.M. REPORTING FROM CANNES, FRANCE Cannes: How George Millers jury got it wrong George Miller, president of the Cannes Film Festival jury, fourth from right, poses with jury members, from left, Arnaud Desplechin, Kirsten Dunst, Laszio Nemes, Vanessa Paradis, Donald Sutherland, Katayoon Shahabi, Mads Mikkelsen and Valeria Golino. (Thibault Camus / Associated Press) During a news conference after last years Cannes Film Festival awards ceremony, Joel Coen, co-president of the jury, responded to a question about why the Palme dOr had gone to Jacques Audiards tepidly received Dheepan, rather than one of the more acclaimed films in competition. Coens response was characteristically blunt: This isnt a jury of film critics. Indeed. And setting aside my own obvious bias in the matter, I can say that this arrangement is in theory, and sometimes in practice a good thing. We critics are often accused, sometimes rightly, of approaching our chosen art form with harsh scowls and highfalutin criteria at the ready, our judgments reflecting a profound detachment from the experience of the general audience, as well as of the artists who work hard to entertain them. At the same time, I would counter that Cannes, the greatest film festival in the world, has a mandate to honor the best in world cinema, which at times means pushing back against popular expectations. Theres also the fact that anyone who serves on a festival jury is, by definition, exercising critical judgment and making an assertion of personal taste. Some of the most satisfying Palme dOr winners in recent memory Amour, Blue Is the Warmest Color, The Tree of Life, and even a difficult work like Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives have demonstrated that its possible for non-card-carrying critics to make smart, aesthetically adventurous decisions. Theyve also demonstrated that honoring the art form and satisfying an audience are not mutually exclusive goals. There were a number of films in this years competition that managed to do both, perhaps none more brilliantly than Toni Erdmann, an alternately piercing and side-splitting dramedy from the German director Maren Ade, which premiered to rapturous acclaim early on and led the critics polls to the very end. Close behind was Paterson, Jim Jarmuschs exquisitely wrought portrait of the poet as a young city-bus driver (played by wait for it Adam Driver), which emerged as an immediate and unexpected high point in the American indie darlings career. And the competition ended on a strong note with Paul Verhoevens supremely sinuous Elle, starring Isabelle Huppert in a career-crowning performance as a woman who turns the tables not only on her rapist, but on the entire troubling subgenre of rape-revenge thrillers. Hayley Squires and Dave Johns in I, Daniel Blake. (Joss Barratt) None of these films won a thing. Instead the jury, led by the Australian director George Miller, awarded the Palme dOr to Ken Loachs I, Daniel Blake, an appreciably passionate, sometimes stirring yet excessively contrived and self-congratulatory drama about the ravages of poverty and unemployment in the U.K. Its a film that many in Cannes liked more than I did, and which drew widespread praise from British critics in particular, who can surely attest to the authenticity of its harsh depiction of their welfare state. But in handing Loach his second Palme (he won the first in 2006 for The Wind That Shakes the Barley), Millers jury, deliberately or not, wound up favoring an angry, relevant message rather than a great work of cinema. Loach inadvertently seemed to confirm as much when he noted in his acceptance speech that film is exciting, its fun, and as youve seen tonight, its also very important. Still, better for the Palme to have gone to Loach than to Quebecs Xavier Dolan, the 27-year-old world-cinema enfant terrible who pretty much horrified the press audience by inexplicably winning the runner-up Grand Prix for Its Only the End of the World. In my 11 years of attending Cannes I cannot recall a worse jury decision than this one. A badly shot, shrilly performed and all-around excruciatingly misjudged dysfunctional-family torture session that felt far longer than its 97-minute running time, World was by far the least endurable film in competition (and that includes Sean Penns dreadful but dreadfully entertaining The Last Face). Far inferior to the directors 2014 jury-prize winner, Mommy, the picture failed to win over even Dolans many fans, and I have counted myself among them on more than one occasion. The jury did honor excellent films elsewhere. The decision to split the director award between Romanias Cristian Mungiu and Frances Olivier Assayas was inspired; Mungius Graduation is a tense, beautifully structured and richly expansive morality tale framed and acted with his usual precision, while Assayas Personal Shopper, an eccentric supernatural thriller starring Kristen Stewart as a medium, was one of the festivals most successful and surprising experiments. Frankly, handing Mungiu and Assayas the top two prizes would have made for a more satisfying outcome. Along similar lines, I had hoped that Andrea Arnolds deeply enveloping road movie American Honey would garner something more than a jury prize the third such honor shes won at Cannes (after 2006s Red Road and 2009s Fish Tank). Given the advance the new film represents in terms of scope, ambition and achievement, Arnold surely rated more than another third-place mention this time around. Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti in The Salesman. (Habib Majidi / SMPSP) I cant begrudge the Iranian drama The Salesman its prizes for actor Shahab Hosseini and for writer-director Asghar Farhadis solid, well-carpentered screenplay. Nor can I dispute the effectiveness of the quietly stirring performance given by the Filipino actress Jaclyn Jose in Brillante Mendozas Ma Rosa, except to point out that it was chosen in a year with so many superb female performances including Sandra Huller in Toni Erdmann, Sonia Braga in Aquarius, Stewart in Personal Shopper, Ruth Negga in Loving, Huppert in Elle that struck me as fuller, richer and more resonant achievements. Asked about their decisions at Sundays news conference, Millers jury responded with the kind of diplomatic evasiveness that past Cannes juries have showed before them: There were so many fine films, it was a difficult decision, you cant please everyone, etc. My own sense, judging by their awards slate, is that they entered their deliberations with Ken Loachs buzzword importance ringing in their ears. By and large, their taste ran toward tales that focused on economic disparity around the world (I, Daniel Blake, Ma Rosa and even American Honey), or that examined human corruption under oppressive societal circumstances (Graduation, The Salesman). These are worthy causes to illuminate and, in some cases, worthy films as well. But after seeing all 21 movies in competition, I can attest that the 2016 Cannes Film Festival will not be remembered most for the films that trumpeted their importance (and self-importance) the loudest. It will be remembered for the gorgeous flurries of comedy and heartache in Toni Erdmann, which was acquired during the festival by Sony Pictures Classics and should put Maren Ade decisively on the international map. It will be remembered for the still but deep-running waters of Paterson, and for the high-wire interplay of terror, eroticism and provocation in Elle (and, for that matter, in Park Chan-wooks highly entertaining The Handmaiden). Is there no room, in the recognition of cinematic excellence, for movies that dont wear their politics or morality on their sleeve that touch less obvious, more nuanced chords? (Like, for example, the movies of George Miller?) That say a lot without raising a megaphone? That show that comedy is worth taking seriously? As Joel Coen noted, no, this is not a jury of film critics. But it should be a jury of artists with a less rigid, more sophisticated idea of what award-worthy cinema can and should be. And who can recognize a terrible Xavier Dolan movie when its staring them in the face. 7:14 A.M. REPORTING FROM CANNES, FRANCE Cannes: With Elle, Paul Verhoeven makes noise, and another comeback French actress Isabelle Huppert and Dutch director Paul Verhoeven arrive for the screening of Elle at Cannes. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP/Getty Images) The movies opening may as well arrive with an on-screen statement. Loud shrieking lends the impression a couple is having sex, but the first sight is a close-up of a cat. Then the camera cuts to the source of the shrieks, and it turns out what sounded like love was actually an assault. Paul Verhoeven is baa-aack. Needling, absurd, sexual, kinetic all those adjectives apply to Verhoeven. The Dutch-born director has followed one of the more improbable career arcs in modern cinema from European obscurity to Hollywood heights to industry punch-line (Showgirls, anyone?), back to European acclaim. And then, finally, to silence. Now, after a 10-year feature-film hiatus, the 77-year-old has returned with one of his most provocative and unclassifiable films yet. It is vintage Verhoeven by not being vintage Verhoeven. Read more 6:18 P.M. REPORTING FROM CANNES, FRANCE Cannes: Why Toni Erdmann could win the Palme dOr and other predictions Peter Simonischek in Toni Erdmann. (The Match Factory) Predicting the major prizewinners at the Cannes Film Festival awards that are handed out by a nine-person jury that changes annually, and whose individual reactions have been a complete mystery all festival long is a fools errand. But Ive never been one to let that (or my dismal track record) stop me. Here are my thoroughly whimsical, highly unscientific predictions for what will win the Palme dOr and other prizes from George Millers jury on Sunday evening. I am adhering to the festivals rules, which state that no film can win more than one prize (with the exception of the acting and screenplay awards, which can be paired for the same film). Palme dOr: Toni Erdmann. Maren Ades achingly funny, utterly surprising relationship comedy has been the dominant critical favorite of the competition, and the dominant critical favorite often wins. (Last years middlingly received Dheepan proved an exception to the rule, but other recent winners Blue Is the Warmest Color and Amour come to mind have borne it out.) It helps, too, that Toni Erdmann is a genuine crowdpleaser, packed with the sort of showstopping moments that make its lengthy 162-minute running time feel not just bearable but wholly earned. A win for Ade would not only be richly deserved, but also make her the first female director to win the most prestigious award in international cinema for the first time since Jane Campions The Piano tied with Chen Kaiges Farewell My Concubine. It would also be a nice feather in the cap of Germany, which hasnt been well represented at Cannes of late: The last German-directed films to win the Palme were Wim Wenders Paris, Texas (1984) and Volker Schlondorffs The Tin Drum (1979). Some potential spoilers: Julieta has not been rousingly received, but Pedro Almodovar is considered long overdue for a Palme, and affection for this beloved auteur runs deep. (Expect the film to win the Palme or nothing.) The two Romanian heavyweights, Cristi Puius Sieranevada and Cristian Mungius Graduation, were both well received and have passionate admirers. And Andrea Arnolds American Honey, the only other female-directed film in competition besides Toni Erdmann to have generated significant acclaim, might well emerge as a major challenger. Grand Prix: Sieranevada. Puius two-ton family epic screened on the competitions first day and has remained in the running ever since. Rumors that it was one of the festivals best films had long preceded its arrival on the Croisette, where they were roundly confirmed. Like all Puius films, Sieranevada rewards patience in spades; it takes some time, though not much, for the directors filmmaking mastery of character and dialogue, tone and style, framing and blocking to get its hooks into you. Graduation offers a worthy and more accessible alternative, but if the jury takes into account Mungius awards history (a Palme for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, screenplay and acting prizes for Beyond the Hills), they may be inclined to give this runner-up prize or the Palme itself to the other godfather of the Romanian New Wave. Jury Prize: Graduation. A total shot in the dark, especially since this third-place award could conceivably go to any film (or films) that the jury likes well enough. Even if both Romanian films emerge with big prizes, its not at all likely or certain that theyll be honored in this particular configuration, and the awards history I mentioned earlier could work against Graduation as well. But I have a feeling that the intelligence of the films construction, the seamlessness of the camerawork, the resonance of the storys moral inquiry and the emotional impact of the ending will make it hard for a jury not to recognize Mungius achievement somewhere along the line. Most of the films mixed notices have taken issue with its familiarity in the context of the directors work, but thats a complaint lodged more often by critics than jurors, who are often encountering a filmmaker or an entire national cinema for the first time. Sasha Lane in American Honey. (Protagonist Pictures) Director: Andrea Arnold, American Honey. Arnold has twice won the festivals jury prize (for Red Road and Fish Tank), and while her roving, ravishing, pop-and-adrenaline-fueled youth road movie was one of the festivals more polarizing entries, I suspect the jury might be more favorably inclined than not toward its outsized ambition. As noted earlier, Arnold could be in line for an even bigger prize, but her sheer display of formal chops here a decisive triumph of bold, jagged image making over thin-to-nonexistent narrative seems most likely to be rewarded in this category. Other possibilities: Ade for Toni Erdmann, and Alain Guiraudie for Staying Vertical, one of the competitions most likably eccentric titles and a master class in sustained, low-key dream logic. Actress: Sonia Braga, Aquarius. The years single most competitive category, and how refreshing is that? Isabelle Huppert gives an arguably career-best performance in Paul Verhoevens marvelously deft thriller Elle, but shes won this award twice already, and I imagine the jury may want to acknowledge someone new. Kristen Stewart holds you for every minute of Olivier Assayas spooky paranormal thriller Personal Shopper, but her presence in two films here (the other being Woody Allens Cafe Society) and her international stardom may seem reward enough. Sandra Huller is a knockout in Toni Erdmann, but assuming that film is bound for a bigger prize, as Im predicting, she wouldnt be eligible for this one. In a lesser year, I imagine Adele Haenel (the Dardenne brothers The Unknown Girl), Elle Fanning (The Neon Demon) and Sasha Lane (American Honey) would have been stronger candidates. Should the jury be inclined to honor a fresh face, they might well go with Ruth Neggas gently revelatory work in Jeff Nichols Loving. But in the end, I think this is Bragas to lose. Shes stupendous in Kleber Mendonca Filhos Aquarius, in which she plays a woman in her prime at 65, taking on corrupt developers and flaunting her blazingly intelligent, funny, righteous, dignified, sexy-as-hell presence in scene after scene. The chance to reward a veteran for one of her finest performances may be too much for the jury to resist. Actor: Adam Driver, Paterson. Pickings are slimmer where the boys are concerned, though the competition did turn up some excellent late-in-the-game options, courtesy of Adrian Titieni (Graduation) and Shahab Hosseini (Asghar Farhadis The Salesman), both giving nuanced performances as family men navigating slippery slopes into moral corruption. The British actor-comedian Dave Johns could be a favorite, too, for Ken Loachs I, Daniel Blake, in which he plays a down-on-his-luck carpenter railing against the bureaucratic tyranny of the British welfare state, and is always convincing even when the film goes into oppressively worthy Stations of the Cross mode. But amid all these talky, sometimes shouty performances, the quiet dignity of Drivers work in Paterson stands out all the more. Showing theres more to him as an actor than brash comedy and Kylo Ren, hes in the frame at almost every moment, and he commands the screen through sheer taciturn presence alone. This isnt a mopey performance or a self-consciously minimalist one; its a beautifully rendered study of a man trying, at every moment, to synchronize his rhythms with those of his environment. Driver won best actor at the Venice Film Festival two years ago for Saverio Costanzos Hungry Hearts; a second major festival prize would be well deserved. Screenplay: David Birke, Elle. Not in any way a confident prediction, and a writing award might seem odd for a film that is so clearly such a high-wire feat of acting and direction. But listen to just a few of the scintillating lines in Birkes surprisingly ambitious and gloriously unpredictable script (adapted from Philippe Djians novel Oh ), and the worthiness of this choice becomes very clear. Other contenders, assuming they dont win big elsewhere: the tidal wave of talk that is Sieranevada, the intricately nested wordplay of Paterson, the cleverly structured morality plays of Graduation and The Salesman, and the bravura loop-de-loop twists of Park Chan-wooks The Handmaiden. 12:54 P.M. REPORTING FROM CANNES, FRANCE Cannes: Elle, with Isabelle Huppert, brings competition to a strong close Isabelle Huppert in Elle. (Guy Ferrandis / SBS Entertainment) The Dutch-born, Hollywood-friendly director Paul Verhoeven has a gift for bringing out the very best in his leading ladies, usually by forcing them to embrace the very worst. From Sharon Stones ice-pick-wielding femme fatale in Basic Instinct (1992), to Carice van Houtens Nazi-seducing Jewish resistance fighter in Black Book (2006), Verhoeven has always had fun playing with his heroines desires and desirability, allowing them to wield their sexuality with the kind of brazen self-assurance rarely accorded women on American screens. But he also likes putting them through the wringer, as evidenced by the hideously memorable image of van Houten covered in human excrement at once an act of degradation and the foulest sort of baptism. Not unlike Brian De Palma, another filmmaker who likes to skirt the boundaries of good taste, Verhoeven has inspired no shortage of gender-based arguments over the years: Whether his female characters are misogynist constructs or avatars of empowerment is a topic open to continual debate and reappraisal. That seems unlikely to change with his latest work, Elle, a breathtakingly elegant and continually surprising French-language thriller that brought the 69th Cannes Film Festival competition to a rousing close on Saturday. If the early reactions seem tilted in Verhoevens favor, its surely because this indecently entertaining provocation his first film since Black Book, and his first to compete for the Palme dOr since Basic Instinct seems to belong equally to the French actress Isabelle Huppert, who rises to the occasion with one of the greatest performances of her very great career. In Huppert, Verhoeven has more than met his match; he has found a stunning collaborator, an actress who brings flurries of wit and tremors of complication to the sort of material that, in less assured hands, might well have tilted into outright disaster. In Elle, Huppert plays Michele, a mother, a recent divorcee and a successful video-game company executive. We know none of these things about her, however, in the startling opening scene, in which she is sexually assaulted on the floor of her home by a masked intruder. The act is quick, brutal, and filmed with nary a hint of exploitation. Verhoeven doesnt seem to be trying to shock us; he merely seems to be dispensing with the nasty preliminaries, the better to get on with his slow and steady deconstruction of Micheles psyche. Most importantly, he doesnt make the mistake of assuming that being a victim is the most interesting thing about her. And victim, in any case, is hardly the operative word here. After sweeping up some broken crockery and taking a bath, Michele returns to her normal routine with eerie calm. In the days that follow, she bickers with her mother and her son, and clashes with her (mostly male) co-workers. She matter-of-factly informs her ex-husband and closest friends about the attack, quietly shrugging off their horror. She thinks about what happened to her, and what she might have done differently and when her attacker unexpectedly resurfaces, she contemplates what she might do next. I dont want to give away too much about Elle, the considerable pleasure of which lies in the steady unraveling of its secrets. (The beautifully constructed screenplay was adapted by David Birke from Philippe Dijans novel Oh ) Suffice to say that what seems at the outset like a standard-issue rape-revenge thriller gradually becomes something deeper: a subtle character portrait and a wickedly dry comedy of manners, in which the characters gender and power dynamics are continually being renegotiated, scene by scene. Even uttering the words comedy and rape in the same sentence, of course, immediately risks offending certain sensibilities. And while Verhoeven doesnt downplay or trivialize the trauma of sexual assault, he isnt afraid to suggest that Michele might respond to her attack in any number of difficult, troubling ways, not all of them wholly or purely negative. All in all, its hard to imagine Elle working without the poker-faced reserve of Hupperts mesmerizing performance: Always among the most steely intelligent of actors, she illuminates the mystery of Micheles identity, paradoxically, by holding her feelings in check. Huppert is no stranger to exploring the outer limits of sexual debasement, as she did 15 years ago in Michael Hanekes The Piano Teacher, which earned her the second of two best actress prizes at Cannes. No one who sees Elle will begrudge her for winning a third. You dont always understand what Michele is doing and thinking, but you cannot help but believe her, every delectably perverse step of the way. ***** Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem in The Last Face. (Kelly Walsh) Saving one of the competitions very best offerings for last was smart scheduling on the festivals part. It would have been even smarter had they spared us the embarrassment of Sean Penns atrocious The Last Face, which stars Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem as international aid workers falling in and out of love in war-torn Africa. Its astonishing, in this day and age and less than a year after Cary Joji Fukunagas scrupulous, superior Beasts of No Nation to encounter a movie that so blithely presents Third World atrocities as grist for a romance between two gorgeous movie stars. Its even more astonishing coming from Penn, who has done good work behind the camera before (Into the Wild, The Pledge), and whose own passionate commitment to humanitarian causes can scarcely be disputed. But again and again over the course of this 132-minute movie, that sincerity proves his undoing. Climaxing with a dreadfully teary-eyed speech from Therons character about how poverty attacks dreams, The Last Face is both hectoring and drippy, an interminably goopy romance and a fatuous humanitarian lecture. Deservedly laughed off the screen on Friday, Penns film immediately supplanted Xavier Dolans Its Only the End of the World as the worst-received title in competition; if its completely forgotten by next week, itll be a kinder fate than the film deserves. The late screening of Elle also served to put a provocative bit of punctuation on a program that has featured an uncommonly rich array of movies about women. Maren Ades Toni Erdmann, Andrea Arnolds American Honey, Olivier Assayas Personal Shopper, Park Chan-wooks The Handmaiden, Pedro Almodovars Julieta, Kleber Mendonca Filhos Aquarius, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes The Unknown Girl and, yes, Nicolas Winding Refns The Neon Demon its an altogether astounding lineup, and the fact that many if not all of them will be headed to American theaters serves as a welcome corrective to the glut of male-centric movies that, with a few heartening exceptions, tend to clog our cinemas year-round. In one of those peculiar threes-a-trend coincidences, Elle is the third film in nearly as many days in which the plot pivots on a vicious physical attack on a woman by a man. The other two are Cristian Mungius well-received Graduation and Asghar Farhadis solid if underwhelming The Salesman, which was acquired for North American distribution by Amazon Studios shortly before its unveiling on Friday in Cannes. The film is another of Farhadis characteristically thoughtful morality plays stemming from a series of dangerous, all-too-human misunderstandings: A woman in Tehran lets a man into her apartment, mistaking him for her husband; the accidental encounter leaves deep physically and psychological scars, awakening in her husband a wholly understandable yet all-consuming desire for revenge. Beautifully acted by its three principals (Shahab Hosseini, Taraneh Alidoosti and especially Babak Karimi), Farhadis movie is a grave inquiry into the many varieties of male aggression and the moral cost of punishing our enemies, especially those who turn out to be as pitifully, redeemably human as we are. Its title is a deliberate nod to Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman, a local production of which the husband and his wife are both performing in a peripheral metaphor that never quite satisfyingly merges with the bigger-picture drama. If The Salesman feels like a lesser achievement than Farhadis About Elly, The Past and his Oscar-winning masterwork, A Separation, it may be because it lacks the dizzyingly intricate craftsmanship of those films, which functioned like humanist detective stories: Ingeniously plotted and endlessly multifaceted, they were Hitchcockian thrillers by way of Jean Renoir. Nevertheless, the new films wrenching final moments ably confirm Farhadis standing as a dramatist of the first rank, an artist whose far-flung domestic dramas can make us feel painfully at home. 12:40 P.M. CANNES, FRANCE Neon Demon director Nicolas Winding Refn brought his pulsating provocations to Cannes Nicolas Winding Refn is one of those directors who pushes buttons as much with his pronouncements as his work. In an interview with The Times at Cannes a few years ago for the polarizing Thai western Only God Forgives, he fashioned an elaborate metaphor out of the image of a birth canal then proceeded to compare it to sex. The Danes appearance at the festival this year has been no less needling. Refns Neon Demon played its first screening Thursday, and the movies hyper-stylized mashup of noir, fashion films and a host of other influences quickly became the most debated movie of the festival. In person, too, the artsploitation auteur wasted little time getting down to business as the self-proclaimed punk king of the global cinema world a comparison that became literal in one instance. He also dropped a dis track on a countryman. Here is a sampling of his comments from the Neon Demon news conference Friday afternoon. On the divided reaction to Neon Demon: If I dont split, what are we doing here? Creativity is about reactions. And reactions are the essence of experience. If you dont react, what are you doing here? Why would you waste your time? There are so many things in life you could do besides watch a film or TV show. Look at all the reactions you guys are having. Take it or leave it, but you cant deny it. On the punk-like quality of that last quote: I passed Iggy Pop on the way to rehearsal last night. Its like we took the trophy from him. On countryman Lars von Trier: Lars. Hes done a lot of drugs. Over the hill. The last time I saw Lars, he was telling my wife he wants to have sex with her. I told him to [bleep] off. So he found another slut. On his unlikely bit of casting: Just having Keanu with a knife at someones throat is the best. On feminism in his new movie: All the men are like the girlfriends in other movies. Because the women are the focus. The men represent certain approaches of fear, or control, or predatory behavior. On the unlikely connections between fashion, mortality and iPhones (theres a through-line in here somewhere): "Theres something very interesting about the digital revolution becoming a reality. Digital alters reality, so what you see is unreal which is death. Beauty and death are the same because theres nothing; its just the end of the line. Theres a dangerous possibility of this alternate world becoming a reality for our children because were not going to reverse the wheel. Its just going to get more and more." This is about, well, the thing that, you see...never mind, we cant really set this one up: The lesbian necrophilia scene is the essence of the film. We shot at the L.A. Morgue We had to sign a paper that if someone died, we had to leave. It escalated into a really intense necrophilia scene. [I asked actress Jena Malone] Can you stick your tongue in the mouth [ of the actor playing a corpse]? OK, thats great. Can you get more saliva on her? [He describes increasingly sexual acts.] And after that, we found the character. So now go with God. The lesbian necrophilia scene is the essence of the film. We shot at the L.A. Morgue. We had to sign a paper that if someone died, we had to leave. ... It escalated into a really intense necrophilia scene. And after that, we found the character. So now go with God. @ZeitchikLAT 7:12 P.M. REPORTING FROM CANNES, FRANCE Cannes: The Neon Demon, Graduation and the curse of auteur expectations Elle Fanning in The Neon Demon. (Gunther Campine) How you approach the sick, ravishing object that is Nicolas Winding Refns The Neon Demon is entirely up to you. Nervy feminist provocation or misogynist freakshow? Hypnotic art piece or exploitative trash? Im still wrestling with it myself, and have not yet ruled out the possibility that it may be all of the above. Refn, who competed in Cannes years ago with the very good Drive (2011) and the very bad Only God Forgives (2013), has in some ways surpassed Quentin Tarantino as the filmmaker with the least shame or discretion when it comes to projecting his most demented fetishes and fantasies onto the screen. This is no small thing. For all the praise directors routinely get for the honesty of their visions, it can be galvanizing to encounter one who truly operates without a filter (except, of course, for whatever filter he uses to achieve those sizzling reds and cool blues in his gorgeously tinted widescreen images). A voluptuously arid, glacially paced evisceration of an industry that routinely leaches beautiful women of sustenance and soul, The Neon Demon stars Elle Fanning as a naive, fresh-faced 16-year-old beauty who moves to L.A. and becomes the sensation of the modeling world. This prompts her impeccably coiffed, nipped-and-tucked rivals to begin their (very) slow descent into murderous jealousy. The movie is Refns Black Swan, his Mulholland Dr., his All About Eve, his Death Becomes Her and his Suspiria rolled into one. Its got gold body paint, menstrual floods, cannibalism, lesbian necrophilia and Keanu Reeves. Its bewitching to behold, with its surreal strobe effects and static, fashion-shoot-style compositions, and bewitching to listen to, with its nightmarish synth-on-stilettos score by Cliff Martinez. Its banal, ludicrous, thuddingly one-note and once you adjust to its narcotic rhythms entirely mesmerizing. By the end I was aghast and, loath though I was to admit it, impressed by the terrible coherence of Refns vision. Others were less impressed, and not shy about making their displeasure known: It was clear, five minutes into the screening, that The Neon Demon was going to draw the loudest and longest boos of the competition though as is always the case with a movie willing to sink to such disreputable depths, the catcalls were answered by a blast of defiant applause. Itll be interesting to see how Amazon Studios, after such classy, well-received Cannes entries as Paterson and The Handmaiden, handles the marketing and release of this already critically derided oddity. If past festival scandales have taught us anything, its that hatred is usually far preferable to indifference. I bowed to no one in my contempt for Only God Forgives, which, a juicy performance from Kristin Scott Thomas aside, felt like a creative dead end from a talented filmmaker. Featuring a cast of beauties made to look like bulimic vampires, The Neon Demon may be no less the work of a director with his head (and camera) somewhere in the vicinity of his colon. But what a beautiful colon it is! And what intoxicating moods it produces! The movie builds to a silly, unforgettable image with a nice little sting of a visual punchline: In this debauched charnel house of a movie, beauty truly is, ahem, in the eye of the beholder. ***** Adrian Titieni and Maria Dragus in Graduation. (Mobra Films / Why Not Productions / Les Films du Fleuve) Neon Demon or no Neon Demon, this has been one of the most consistent, strength-to-strength competition programs in some time. For many, an estimable Palme dOr contender arrived Thursday in the form of Graduation, Cristian Mungius latest sobering glimpse into the cold, black heart of Romanian society. Such an outcome would make Mungiu a double Palme winner, as he won the festivals top prize in 2007 for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. (His 2012 follow-up, the arthouse exorcism drama Beyond the Hills, won Cannes prizes for acting and screenwriting.) Less galvanizing than 4 Months, but more complex and persuasive than Beyond the Hills, Graduation traces the welter of moral complications that arise when a high-school senior, Eliza (Maria Dragus), is attacked one morning; her injuries, though not serious, will make it harder for her to take her all-important final exam. Her father, a middle-aged doctor named Romeo (Adrian Titieni), unwisely decides to intervene, at which point this swiftly paced, scrupulously measured film becomes a blow-by-blow indictment of this man and his manifold hypocrisies. Those who know a thing or two about Romanian history may pick up on a subtext about the lingering aftereffects of the Nicolae Ceausescu regime and how they impacted men like Romeo, who pride themselves on their strict moral compasses but are at the mercy of desire and self-interest. But even those who bring no such background knowledge to the table will be held, I imagine, by the force and fluidity of Mungius storytelling, and by the richness of the moral dilemmas he confronts us with: Who wouldnt want to do the best for their children, and to spare them the cruel deprivations of an earlier generation? Dragus, a German actress, first came to international attention in Michael Hanekes The White Ribbon, and there is something of the Austrian directors chilly spirit suffusing Mungius characteristically gray palette this time around: With its tale of rocks being thrown through windows and startling, out-of-nowhere physical attacks, Graduation evokes the social paranoia of both The White Ribbon and Hanekes earlier Cache. But this is finally a gentler, more compassionate film than either; Mungiu may be a ruthless realist with no love for the grim regimes of despots past, but his final shot offers bracing assurance that children really are the future. ***** Nathalie Baye and Gaspard Ulliel in Its Only the End of the World. (Shayne Laverdiere / Sons of Manual) Compete at Cannes often enough and youll find that your biggest rival may be your own enviable track record. Graduation, although admired by many, also drew criticism from those who felt Mungiu was treading thematic water rather than breaking new ground. Ironically, the Romanian film counts among its producers the great Belgian filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, whose own competition entry, The Unknown Girl, came in for even worse knocks a day earlier most of them directed at the unusually schematic nature of the story. The Dardennes, who have twice won the Palme dOr (for Rosetta and Lenfant), are among the most consistent filmmakers alive, to the point that even their strongest films are sometimes received with an impatience that can tilt over into ingratitude. Ill concede that The Unknown Girl, a socially conscious detective story that reminded me in some ways of Ruth Rendells 1994 crime novel Simisola, is something of a disappointment: Although fronted by a remarkable performance by the French actress Adele Haenel, it lacks the powerful moral and dramatic surprises typical of their best work. But if all disappointments were this thoughtful and mature or, for that matter, as thoughtful and mature as Pedro Almodovars tepidly received Julieta life would be almost too marvelous to bear. Auteur expectations are all but impossible to shake off at Cannes: If theres a reason a competition entry like Toni Erdmann has been such a critical favorite, its that Maren Ade, with just two features under her belt, arrived here as something of an unknown quantity. The same goes for the Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonca Filho, whose sophomore effort, Aquarius, merges the rich social critique of his acclaimed debut, Neighboring Sounds, with an unexpectedly accessible character study. Playing a woman who refuses to vacate her longtime apartment and finds herself at war with the buildings new owners, the 65-year-old Sonia Braga gives a performance of bravura intelligence, sensuality and emotional range. And if theres a director whose every new movie arrives bearing far too much expectational baggage these days, its surely Xavier Dolan, that 27-year-old Canadian enfant terrible, whos been known to divide audiences with films such as Mommy (winner of a Cannes jury prize in 2014), Tom at the Farm and Laurence Anyways. Ive been an erratic but sincere admirer of Dolans work over the years, but no amount of devotion could have kept me from recoiling from Its Only the End of the World, an insufferable compendium of dysfunctional family neuroses that stars a maddeningly aloof Gaspard Ulliel as a gay man making a rare trip home to tell his folks of his impending death. Im all for no-holds-barred emotional scrutiny, but rarely have I felt so imprisoned by a movie as by this one. The actors who include Lea Seydoux, Nathalie Baye, Vincent Cassel and an unprecedentedly awful Marion Cotillard are wretchedly served by their material, as well as by Dolans decision to trap them all in extreme closeups throughout. Ingmar Bergman believed the human face was the greatest subject in all of cinema, but I doubt even he would have lasted five minutes into Its Only the End of the World. Youve seen Biore pore-cleansing-strip commercials before, and theres no reason for them to be this tediously shrill. 3:55 P.M. REPORTING FROM CANNES, FRANCE Going under the shell of Cannes animated sensation The Red Turtle A still from the Dutch animator Michael Dudok de Wits film The Red Turtle. (Touchwood PR) CANNES, France The opportunity to make a feature film is, for most directors, the ultimate grail, a pearl without price, but for Dutch animator Michael Dudok de Wit, its always been an offer he felt he had to refuse. Until he couldnt. The 62-year old Dudok de Wit, a Dutch filmmaker based in London, is not just any short-film animator. He was twice nominated for an Academy Award in that category and took home the Oscar in 2001 for his emotional Father and Daughter. When I direct a short, I do all the elements myself: the design, the backgrounds, everything, I dont have to justify or explain, I just do it, the filmmaker says. With features there are always discussions, and that really puts me off. And I was not ready for the struggle of raising money. A thoughtful man with a quiet, reserved air, Dudok de Wit arrived at Cannes with two things he didnt expect: an infection that led to a bandage over his right eye, and a dazzling animated feature, The Red Turtle, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section, earning exceptional early notices and a U.S. distribution deal with Sony Pictures Classics. Read more 4:30 A.M. Feminism, Spielberg and a German showstopper: Times staffers make sense of Cannes (Walt Disney Pictures) The Cannes Film Festival hits its one-week mark Wednesday night, and while for some that sounds like an endless amount of time, for those at the fest -- where big movies from the likes of Paul Verhoeven, Sean Penn and Nicolas Winding Refn are yet to premiere -- thats far from the end. Its a good moment, in other words, to have a conversation about whats unfolded here at the so-called Olympics of cinema. READ MORE 4:35 A.M. REPORTING FROM CANNES, FRANCE Julian Assange film Risk offers an inside look at controversial Wikileaks founder Wikileaks founder Julian Assange squints in the sunlight as he prepares to speak from the balcony of the Ecuador Embassy in London in February. (Carl Court / Getty Images) New administrations can mean a change in fortunes for controversial figures. But a Hillary Clinton presidency would not improve the status of Julian Assange, say those aligned with the Wikileaks founder, who remains in Ecuadors London embassy pending a Swedish extradition request. In fact, they argue, it could well do the opposite. Under Clinton [Assanges situation] will possibly get worse, said Wikileaks staffer Jacob Applebaum. Clinton was secretary of State when Wikileaks released a trove of classified cables in 2010, many of them sensitive or embarrassing to the U.S. government. Applebaum noted a meeting he had with a senior Clinton staffer at the time that he said carried with it an air of intimidation. (Incidentally and not unexpectedly, Applebaum was hardly bullish on Donald Trump either. I dont have any ideas about other candidates but I dont think they have any ideas either.) Read more 1:09 A.M. Cannes: Jeff Nichols Loving stirs a festival and enters Hollywoods diversity debate (Patricia Williams / For The Times) As it reached a boiling point earlier this year, the #OscarsSoWhite movement and its proponents raised strong doubts about Hollywoods willingness to address issues of equality. Serious, topical films about race were lacking, they said, and consequently so were black nominees. At the Cannes Film Festival on Monday, those critics were given an answer. Premiering at the worlds most prestigious cinema gathering was Loving, a fact-based drama, from the Arkansas-raised auteur Jeff Nichols, about an interracial romance deemed illicit in Virginia circa 1958. Impeccably made and drawn closely from historical research, the film tells the relatively little-known story of Mildred and Richard Loving, a couple whose case, which eventually went to the Supreme Court, both exposed the racial divides of the time and helped bridge them. But as with so many films that touch on diversity, the movie has also just as quickly drawn skepticism, in this case for not being sufficiently hard-hitting about the racism of the era. Nichols has sought to keep a distance from the fray, saying he was simply looking to tell an intimate tale of a couple that overcame obstacles, not a larger social history. You look at this film from a distance and there are so many pitfalls for melodrama or histrionics, the writer-director said in an interview with The Times. But then you start to look at these people and theyre not melodramatic. Read more 6:23 P.M. REPORTING FROM CANNES, FRANCE Cannes: Kristen Stewart in Personal Shopper, and other grief-haunted heroines Kristen Stewart in Personal Shopper. (MK2 Pictures) There may not be enough female directors competing for the Palme dOr, but there has certainly been no shortage of stories about women in the mix. Its not the first time that assessment has been trotted out at Cannes, but oh well: It happens to be very, very true this year, and as such its a point worth both critiquing and celebrating. Not that the media audience seemed to be in a very celebratory mood on Monday night, to judge by the ill-considered boos that greeted Olivier Assayas Personal Shopper, a deliriously spooky paranormal thriller featuring another remarkable performance from Kristen Stewart this time as a fashion buyer and spiritual medium haunted by her twin brothers recent death. Booing films off the screen is a silly yet time-honored festival tradition, and my main objection to the practice apart from how it reduces an artistic showcase to a sporting event is that the movies that wind up getting the brunt of it are usually those with ambiguous endings or unconventional narratives. In short, the ones that attempt the most significant or daring creative risks. (Among the recently Cannes-booed, Abbas Kiarostamis Like Someone in Love and Carlos Reygadas Post Tenebras Lux come to mind.) If youll allow me to butcher Susan Sontag, the act of booing is too often little more than the revenge of the audience upon the intellect. There were no boos, if I recall correctly, for Assayas and Stewarts first collaboration, Clouds of Sils Maria, which premiered in competition at Cannes in 2014 and went on to win a raft of international acting prizes for Stewart (including the Cesar for best supporting actress). That film gave her a wryly humorous turn as a celebritys assistant, and so does Personal Shopper, except that here the celebrity stays almost entirely off screen while Stewart remains front and center. Its a smart choice: Assayas plot is preposterous and he knows it. He needs every moment of his leading ladys restless intelligence and twitchy, self-effacing beauty to carry it off. Stewart plays Maureen, an American living in Paris. (Assayas, savvy cine-globalist that he is, knows better than to explain why.) Maureen is moderately conversant with the spirit world, and Assayas wastes no time plunging her into the inky shadows of a haunted house, where she moves from room to room, murmuring the name of her late brother (Lewis ?) while a ghostly, ectoplasmic presence materializes every so often behind her. Before long, Maureen is receiving coyly menacing text messages from an all-knowing presence, and the escalating intensity of their back-and-forth makes for perhaps the most creepily sustained use of screen-within-a-screen since last years Unfriended. Where some might see an extended product placement for Apple, I see a director in full command of his craft and not too proud to flex his genre muscles. Assayas display of raw filmmaking chops here is so shiveringly bravura he turns those little iPhone text-in-progress bubbles into a harbinger of dread that it almost doesnt matter whether the ideas behind it cohere. And yet, on some eerie, subterranean level, they do. In films as different as his autumnal masterpiece Summer Hours and his sensationally trashy cyber-thriller demonlover, Assayas has long evinced a fascination with how globalization and technology are continually reshaping our relationships with the modern world, and with one another. His roving camera is forever drawing invisible lines and parallels between his characters, but here he has chosen to emphasize disconnection and disembodiment in every frame. Why does the movie end in Oman? What happens during Maureens climactic hotel-room assignation with the mystery texter? How hot does Stewart look in a black bondage gown? Only one of those questions will be answered definitively, but they are arguably not the right questions to start with. In Personal Shopper, a thriller whose heroine is forever at the mercy of unseen tormenters communicating with her remotely (her boss not least among them), Assayas has stumbled on perhaps the most literal definition of ghosts in the machine. And in Stewart, an extraordinary talent who does her best work at her most seemingly ordinary, he has found an ideal medium for his ideas. Maybe Im over-intellectualizing. A friend summed things up perfectly as we exited the theater: Its got Cartier and ghosts. Whats not to like? ***** Adriana Ugarte in Julieta. (Sony Pictures Classics) If youd asked me months ago which director would show up in Cannes with a kinky supernatural chiller about a woman reeling from personal tragedy, I might well have guessed Pedro Almodovar. Instead this justly beloved Spanish auteur has arrived on the Croisette with Julieta, a more subdued yet still powerfully affecting portrait of implacable grief and its myriad ripple effects. The movie is what you might call a return to form but then, after his mirthless airplane comedy Im So Excited!, you might call anything other than 96 minutes of uninterrupted black screen a return to form. Shuffling with effortless grace between the past and present lives of his title heroine (played at different stages by Adriana Ugarte and Emma Suarez), Almodovar seems to have taken the theme of loss unusually to heart. Julieta is a melodrama by subtraction; its about the traumas we dont always see or register, the painful emotions that we actively stifle and allow to consume us. The scenes that cut the deepest are practically invisible: A fatal accident is left off screen. Without explanation, a lady vanishes (not the films sole nod to Hitchcock). The teary ending we expect never happens and in some ways, the one we get is even more shattering. The reviews of Julieta have run the gamut from raves to polite yawns; the words minor Almodovar have popped up more than once, and in this context they feel both understandable and a bit ungenerous. Its true that since his triumphant Volver (which narrowly lost the Palme dOr at Cannes in 2006), Almodovars films, including Broken Embraces and The Skin I Live In, have seemed to merely go through the motions. You could see the gears spinning: After years of flooding the screen with outre melodramatic gestures, lush homages to Sirk and Hitchcock, and acres of crimson-streaked production design, the directors heart didnt seem to be in it anymore. Julieta is promising evidence to the contrary. This deceptively tamped-down film may not have the audacity and emotional force of an Almodovar masterpiece, but it reveals his mastery nonetheless. His manipulation of time frames, his sly infusions of comedy and his flawless direction of his actors all merge together with the dexterity of an artist who doesnt need to wow us to earn our love. Its a lesson I hope Almodovar carries with him always, even in the unlikely event of some idiots booing him off the screen. 1:57 P.M. REPORTING FROM CANNES, FRANCE Cannes pays tribute to 1992s richly emotional Howards End (Derrick Santini / Sony Pictures Classics) The Cannes Film Festival does more than anoint the triumphs of the present, it also celebrates whats transcendent in the past. Which is why a crowd of admirers waited patiently in line a few nights ago, a few with autograph books and posters they hoped would be signed, to both see a new 4K restoration of a modern classic, 1992s Howards End, and to do so in the presence of its director, James Ivory, and its perhaps most ethereal star, Vanessa Redgrave. Read more 1:54 P.M. REPORTING FROM CANNES, FRANCE Oldboy director brings feminist thriller The Handmaiden to Cannes Kim Tae-ri, from left, director Park Chan-wook, Kim Min-hee and Ha Jung-woo at Cannes. (Albert Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) In The Handmaiden a thriller told Rashomon style by original Oldboy auteur and all-around gore maestro Park Chan-wook the two lead female characters are the narrative focus, theyre the love story and, though there are times one or both seems powerless, they often gain leverage, with their minds far more than their bodies. (OK, there is plenty here involving their bodies too; this is a lesbian romance that doesnt skimp on the sex scenes.) Im not afraid of this being called a feminist film, and certainly I had that intention, said Park, via an interpreter, as he sat on a rooftop deck here Sunday. Then, in his inimitably better-you-than-me-to-interpret-my-work manner, he added, But once you start labeling movies you start focusing only on that. And I dont want to focus just on that. Read more 6:11 A.M. Cannes, France Cannes 2016: Kristen Stewart shares her philosophy, work approach (Ian Langsdon / EPA) Kristen Stewart addressed reporters ahead of the premiere of Personal Shopper, her Europe-set ghost tale that reunites her with director Olivier Assayas, in Cannes on Tuesday. Here are excerpts from her comments: The constant nature of life is so terrifying that you cant get away from it. Right now. I cant get out. I cant get out. Thats really scary. "[This film] is a ghost story but supernatural aspects lead you to the very base questions. Am I making this up right now? Is this current reality a thing? Its so ridiculous. Is this (my) perception compared to yours? It is really a movie about finding yourself. Its an identity crisis movie. On super-fame: Sometimes I feel like I have my limbs cut off. Thats not a bad feeling. Its just surreal. On playing an assistant to a person so rich and famous she cant leave the house: Theres a lot of hatred and conflicted desires that go along with [my characters] attraction to shiny things. To be on the other side [of someone who is] not able to go to a store and buy something. Technically you can but it can prove to be ... not worth it. Maureen is so capable just so tactile and physical.. It was fun to play someone who was sort of like um, whats the word Im looking for dude. So capable. Ive been thinking a lot about distractions. Im absolutely guilty of constant stimula thats not actually stimulation.In the context of the movie the fact that she can sit behind the phone and feel closer and feel alive, it says something about how we interact with technology. It would be a lot easier for me to sit down and write an email of what Im talking about right now. [Pause.] But its nice to engage too. On Assayas, who also directed her in Clouds of Sils Maria: Theres a flame he lights under mine [butt] that is stronger than I ever felt. I dont know why. I really try to navigate my career by feel, and I just feel him. Without any religious implications, Im agnostic about ghosts. [Pauses] This is going to sound great in quotes. Im really sensitive to energies. I truly believe were driven by something. Im driven by something, I cant really define. I cant necessarily take responsibility for it and it gives me a feeling were not so alone. On sexually charged scenes: I wasnt afraid of that. Im really--Ill do anything. I really appreciate all of it. On acting technique: Im not trying to affect you, Im not trying to manipulate you. [Its not about] packaging and delivering a notion. Its being shocked by it and then someone captures it. And the only way to do that is to get naked. My favorite kind of work is someone says did you know that about yourself, because I saw it and wanted to highlight it. Do I believe in ghosts? I guess. I believe in something. Thats not a very finite answer. But thats the film. 11:10 A.M. Photos from the red carpet and beyond Actors Matt Bomer, left, and Ryan Gosling and director Shane Black arrive for the screening of The Nice Guys at the Cannes Film Festival. (Ian Langsdon / European Pressphoto Agency) Edgar Ramirez, left, Robert de Niro and Usher Raymond IV at the Hands of Stone photocall at the Cannes Film Festival. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) Adam Driver poses during a photocall for the film Paterson at the Cannes Film Festival. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP/Getty Images) Actress and jury member Kirsten Dunst arrives at the premiere of Loving at the Cannes Film Festival. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) Read more 8:37 A.M. REPORTING FROM CANNES, FRANCE Cannes: The happy marriages of Jeff Nichols Loving and Jim Jarmuschs Paterson Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton in Loving. (Focus Features) Though he could scarcely be accused of making the same movie twice, Jeff Nichols has established a set of cinematic themes and preoccupations as consistent as those of any American writer-director working today. Stories of the rural South, rich in mythic undertones and the odd apocalyptic portent. Families that come under threat. Brooding, laconic men of action, usually played by Michael Shannon. Fiercely resilient women. Immaculate visual and rhythmic control. And, as seen in the recent Midnight Special, many, many shots of people behind the wheel, often at night. There are a few of those signature nocturnal driving scenes in Loving, Nichols second film of 2016, his second film to premiere in competition at Cannes (after Mud in 2012), and in some ways both his least typical and his most emblematic work to date. It tells the fact-based story of Richard and Mildred Loving (played by Joel Edgerton), a Virginia couple whose mixed-race marriage he was white, she was black challenged the social expectations of the era and ultimately led to the Supreme Courts 1967 civil rights decision against the prohibition of interracial marriage. It sounds like prime Oscar-bait on paper. And sure enough, the films well-received press screening had barely ended before the first wave of awards handicapping erupted on Twitter much of it focused on how the radiant Negga will singlehandedly dispel the curse of #OscarSoWhite. Maybe she will. But Id like to think at least some of the films applause was in appreciation of how largely un-baity it plays on screen, some overly insistent musical cues aside. Its the sort of movie whose flaws and familiarities wind up revealing its makers strengths: Nichols direction is clear-eyed and restrained, almost to a fault, and he refuses every opportunity to grandstand. In this he is operating very much in line with his characters, whom we never once hear extolling the importance of what theyre doing, or raising their voices or fists to those trying to tear their family apart. Nichols keeps the Lovings front and center, cutting away only when he must. When Richard refuses to attend the Supreme Court hearings and listen to the states noxious arguments on the dangers of miscegenation, the film honors his decision and keeps its distance as well. Nichols seems almost relieved at being able to skip the usual courtroom histrionics. The Lovings struggle is one of quiet, incremental persistence, their bond a force as permanent and elemental as the sun-kissed Virginia fields where they strive to make their home. The applicability of their story to Americas ongoing marriage-equality debate is implicit but goes entirely unmentioned. Specificity, self-control and humility are the hallmarks of Nichols approach. Negga and Edgerton are both outstanding, and at times their characters mutual devotion acquires an almost comic tinge. Mildred gently takes the lead in most of their decisions, smiling agreeably as a lawyer (a slightly jarring Nick Kroll) steers them this way and that, while Richard frowns in silence, his spirit willing but his mouth frozen in a pucker of revolt. Edgerton is playing one of Nichols quintessentially decent, inarticulate men, the kind of guy usually played by his Midnight Special co-star Michael Shannon, who turns up here as a friendly Life magazine photographer assigned to show the world who the Lovings really are. Which is, in the end, the goal of Nichols film as well. Richard and Mildred are not the most vigorous or demonstrative of protagonists, which makes Loving feel at once scrupulously honest and dramatically under-powered. That seems to suit Nichols just fine. The unalloyed perfection of his characters relationship may not make for the most urgent drama, but it makes their moral high ground that much more unassailable. The final shot underscores perhaps the overriding theme of Nichols work: an urgent yearning to return home, even if it means building one anew. ***** Adam Driver and Golshifteh Farahani in Paterson. (Amazon Studios) The Cannes programmers must have seen fit to schedule Loving as the second half of a double bill with Jim Jarmuschs wonderful Paterson, another portrait of a happy marriage between a white man and a woman of color. The similarities end there: The characters ethnicities go unmentioned in Paterson, and the film itself is unlikely to be confused for Oscar-bait anytime soon. Working in a mode that feels both completely accessible and richly personal, Jarmusch spends two hours observing a week in the humdrum life of a bus driver in Paterson, N.J. Every morning he rises at 6 a.m., eats breakfast, smiles at his wifes plans for the day (usually involving curtain or cupcake decoration), drives his bus, goes home for dinner, walks their ill-tempered English bulldog (an impudent scene-stealer), and ends the night at a local bar. The driver is played by Adam Driver, and whether that casting was a happy coincidence or the joke from which the movies central conceit arose, we have every reason to be grateful. For the bus driver is not just a bus driver but a poet, scribbling warm, intuitive free-verse observations in a notebook he keeps with him at all times. And Paterson itself is a sort of poem one with its own delicately calibrated internal structure, predicated on a cleverly sustained scheme of rhyme and repetition. Jarmuschs screenplay is a marvel of intricate visual and verbal gamesmanship. Mysterious doublings recur throughout: Drivers driver not only lives in Paterson but also is named Paterson. William Carlos Williams becomes a significant plot device. Lines of dialogue in one scene are replicated, with uncanny accuracy, a few scenes later. Characters from a movie by another American indie darling make a delightful surprise appearance. One of Patersons poems invites us to consider the beauty of a book of Ohio Blue Tip matches, and if your brain works the way mine does, youll immediately think of matches in the other sense, perhaps in stealth reference to the identical twins who keep popping up in the background. A work of becalmed eccentricity and unforced charm, Paterson is a portrait of an artists world, and how that world presented here as recognizably mundane, and yet touched by a sort of cats-cradle enchantment can provide him or her with inspiration, nourishment and an inevitable dose of failure. Driver, whose career from Girls to Kylo Ren has been a succession of off-the-wall surprises, gives a performance of great, taciturn melancholy. Sacrificing the boisterous comic personality he brought to movies like While Were Young and What If has taken him to soulful new depths as an actor. (Also, if that is indeed his scrawl we see on the screen, he has lovely penmanship.) As his wife, the superb Golshifteh Farahani is a perpetually upbeat figure, comically idealized in ways that somehow only deepen the movies wellspring of melancholy. When it was announced that Paterson was Cannes-bound, a colleague warned me that hed heard it was extremely minor Jarmusch. That didnt bother me in the slightest: His previous work, Only Lovers Left Alive, slipped into Cannes 2013 with little early fanfare and emerged one of the festivals unexpected highlights. And since the directors brand of low-wattage indie minimalism has always insisted that we learn to see the beauty in the small and everyday, as well as in the neglected and rarefied, it stands to reason that his minor effort might in fact turn out to be the deepest, truest expression of his ethos as an artist. The tedious common line on Jarmusch is that his filmmaking, like so much poetry, is too idiosyncratic to be savored by more than an appreciative few. The unfashionable wit, delicacy and modesty of Paterson would seem to confirm that truism, even as the emotional effect of the film utterly rebukes it. Jarmusch has made a movie for anyone whos ever felt out of step with the world which is to say, a movie for everyone. 7:07 A.M. REPORTING FROM CANNES, FRANCE Cannes: American Honey, The Handmaiden and a (brief) word on long movies Sasha Lane in American Honey, which runs 162 minutes. (Protagonist Pictures) How long is too long? Its a question that moviegoers are accustomed to asking at the Festival de Cannes, with its reputation for marathon running times, and this year has been no exception. The official selection got its most time-consuming entry out of the way on the first day with Cristi Puius just-shy-of-three-hours Sieranevada. But Puius film is scarcely the sole competition entry to have clocked in at well north of two hours. Park Chan-wooks The Handmaiden runs a tightly coiled 145 minutes, and Maren Ades Toni Erdmann and Andrea Arnolds American Honey last a somewhat baggier 162 minutes each and have, even in their most glowing notices, taken some flak for their perceived self-indulgence. (Still to come: Kleber Mendonca Filhos 140-minute Aquarius and Na Hong-jins out-of-competition thriller The Wailing, listed in the festival program with a running time of 156 minutes.) Ive already written about why I think Toni Erdmann, in mapping the contours of an unusually intricate father-daughter relationship, largely earns the right to be unhurried and exhaustive. American Honey, though in some ways trickier to parse, earns it, too. Arnold, the prodigiously talented British director of Red Road, Fish Tank and Wuthering Heights, has shown an increasingly fearless command of form with each film, and in American Honey, her tough, electrifying, the-kids-are-definitely-not-all-right road movie, she leaves conventional ideas of narrative structure almost completely by the wayside, relying on pure texture, sensuality, imagery, music and performance to drive her picture forward. The astonishing newcomer Sasha Lane plays Star, a Texas girl who, fed up with her depressing home life, impulsively tags along with a band of teenage drifters making their way across the Midwest. At the instruction of their whip-cracking manager, Krystal (a terrific Riley Keough), these kids raid remote outposts and suburban neighborhoods trying to sell magazine subscriptions, though its soon clear that what theyre really selling are their own dead-end sob stories something that will stir the charitable empathy of the poor and wealthy alike. They are in effect selling themselves, the implication of which Arnold follows, at one point, to its logical conclusion. There are some toxic romantic complications and misunderstandings involving Krystals top seller, Jake (a charismatically grunged-up Shia LaBeouf), who shows Star the ropes and soon shows her other things as well. But the movie never becomes fully invested in their on-again-off-again flirtation, and with a few exceptions, we never learn much about the other kids in this nomadic commune, either. Arnolds attention gravitates toward other elements in this rural American panorama: the startling beauty of a prairie sunset, the furious pop energy supplied by the films terrific soundtrack, and the small insects that repeatedly creep into the frame as though drawn, moth-like, to the flame of Lanes magnetism. You cant blame them: Arnold and her extraordinary cinematographer, Robbie Ryan, keep their camera close to their leading lady, who has both a spunky-sultry impudence and a profile worthy of a Greek coin a quality emphasized repeatedly in Ryans ravishing square-frame compositions. American Honey is a jaggedly beautiful aesthetic object, and at two hours and 42 minutes, its accumulation of immersive details is meant to frustrate your sense of time passing. The subculture being examined here is a fascinating one, but long stretches of tedium, we come to understand, are also a significant part of the characters journey. Which is not to suggest that Arnolds road movie, for all its sensory pleasures, lacks an arc or a destination: In a revelatory culmination of song, image and wordless exchange, the movie arrives exactly where it needs to, with Star emerging a bit sadder and a bit wiser an epiphany that wouldnt matter as much to us if we hadnt seen and experienced so much alongside her. How long is too long? Roger Ebert was fond of saying, No good movie is too long and no bad movie is short enough. I have a feeling he would have dug American Honey. ***** Kim Min-hee and Kim Tae-ri in The Handmaiden. (CJ Entertainment) The Handmaiden is the Korean director Park Chan-wooks most delectable narrative feature in years and I say that as someone who found his Stoker a genial hoot, but had little patience for Thirst, Oldboy and his other strained exercises in gore-sloshing perversity. Theres a little of that sadism on display here, but it doesnt rear its head until the very end, and when it does it feels almost reflexive, compulsive as if Park himself had become so wrapped up in the yarn he was spinning that he suddenly realized, shoot, he hadnt sliced off anyones fingers yet. Adapted from Sarah Waters Victorian-set novel Fingersmith, but relocated to 1930s Korea, this ornately art-directed erotic puzzler centers around two beautiful women: Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri), a wily pickpocket turned duplicitous caretaker, and Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee), a Japanese heiress who is the target of Sook-hees deception. Over the course of the movies three chapters, two of which provide a revelatory, Rashomon"-style shift in perspective, the women will become lovers, rivals and allies, and their teasing, mercurial role play is what gives the movie its seductive pull. A sort of Gaslight-meets-Jane Eyre with a big ol splash of Diabolique, The Handmaiden has predictably generated a lot of ink over its explicit lesbian love scenes a touch that might well have been decried as exploitative (just as Blue is the Warmest Color came under attack here at Cannes three years ago), if not for the righteous narrative primacy that Park grants his leading ladies. Guys may well get off on the sight of these two women going at it, but the entire audience can take a certain gratification in the way they turn the tables on the devious and controlling men in the picture, including Hidekos uncle (Cho Jin-woong), a pervy old purveyor of Japanese erotica who keeps a collection of human genital parts in jars. Fetishism is both a crucial plot point and an entirely accurate description of Parks stylistic approach. The Handmaiden may not be much more than ravishing surface at the end of the day, but Parks embrace of his own voyeurism is awfully infectious. He likes to watch, and its a pleasure to admit that we do, too. ***** Marion Cotillard and Alex Brendemuhl in From the Land of the Moon. (Studiocanal) By Eberts running-time logic, Nicole Garcias dreary competition entry From the Land of the Moon, though relatively trim at two hours, should feel positively interminable. It doesnt, exactly. Marion Cotillard never ceases to be watchable even in a role as painfully limiting as Gabrielle, a gorgeously miserable 1950s Frenchwoman who spends all (and I do mean all) her time pining for men who will never be hers, while her perfectly decent, sensitively stubbled husband (Alex Brendemuhl) suffers silently in the background. Wallowing gently in picturesque scenery, coyly filmed couplings and prettily tortured shots of Louis Garrel, but without ever building the sort of delirious, full-on sexual boil that might have cut through its exquisite drippiness, the film (adapted from Milena Angus book Mal di Pietre) builds to a ludicrous final twist thats pure Nicholas Sparks. That said, this particular masochistic weepie is still preferable to last years stealth Nicholas Sparks movie in competition, Gus Van Sants indefensible The Sea of Trees. (Presumably the sea of trees and the land of the moon are thematically if not geographically adjacent.) In a year of heightened attention to industry-wide diversity issues, much worthy attention has been focused on the presence of three female filmmakers in competition: Its not enough, but its still an improvement over past editions of Cannes, and Id argue that the improvement is as much a factor of quality as quantity. Toni Erdmann and American Honey both have their detractors, but youd be hard-pressed to find two Palme dOr contenders that feel more thrillingly, urgently and cinematically alive. From the Land of the Moon isnt in the same league, though Im leery of comparing leagues in the first place: Why lump filmmakers together simply because theyre female and why hold Garcia to a more exacting standard than that of the numerous male-directed mediocrities that have been slotted into competition without a second thought? Garcias film can be defended, up to a point, as an old-fashioned throwback to the womens pictures of the 1940s and 50s, though its retrograde sexual politics would almost certainly have felt livelier and less dated in that context. Like most movies that take themselves with such deadly (and deeply French) seriousness, this unhappy-marriage drama almost begs to be remade as a comedy, perhaps even a sitcom. One of these days, Gabby, bang, zoom! Straight to the land of the moon! 4:07 P.M. REPORTING FROM CANNES, FRANCE Cannes: Mark Rylance reunites with Steven Spielberg and astonishes anew in The BFG Mark Rylance in The BFG. (Walt Disney Pictures) By his own admission, Steven Spielberg doesnt become personal friends with many of the actors he works with. I have a lot of acquaintances over 44 years [as a filmmaker], he told reporters at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday. And I havent brought a lot of people into my life from the movies ... He has, however, made an exception for Mark Rylance. The director said hes become close with the actor, a fact that runs parallel to their professional lives, with two collaborations under their belts and a third on the way. Audiences should be glad for the relationship. Rylance, who played the simmering spy Rudolf Abel in Spielbergs 2015 hit Bridge of Spies, returns, in a remarkably different guise, in Spielbergs latest, the adaptation of the Roald Dahl childrens fantasy The BFG, which premieres here Saturday. The 56-year-old British-born Tony and Oscar winner (and Emmy and Golden Globe nominee) stars as said title character -- it stands for big friendly giant. He gives a performance in motion capture as rich and subtle as his turn in the Soviet-era espionage drama. Read more What is a film? The question is not a new one. Not by a long shot. While the question seems especially pertinent right at this moment with ESPN debuting its 7 1/2-hour documentary O.J.: Made In America in theaters, doing whatever it takes to qualify the series for the Oscars, films greatest honor in fact, this kind of platform fluidity is really nothing new. In recent history, on the dramatic side of things, we have the case of 2003s Best of Youth. Created for Italian television with no thought of export, a quirk of fate made the project better than it otherwise would have been. Advertisement Rank snobbery should have kept it from captivating the rarefied international film festival world, and its six-hour length should have kept it from American or Italian theatrical release. But thats not the way things worked out. I said to them, If it plays on a screen and you can sell popcorn, its a movie. The T.A.M.I. Show producer Bill Sargent A managerial crisis at RAI, Italys national broadcasting company and the films production entity, freed director Marco Tullio Giordana from the at-times stifling oversight of cultural bureaucrats. He was left alone to make his film. An Italian scout for Cannes tipped the festival off to Best of Youths qualities and it showed up out of nowhere in the Un Certain Regard section. FULL COVERAGE: The blur between movies and television The emotional impact the film had on proverbially hard-bitten Cannes audiences was palpable: People seated near me were literally reduced to tears. Adding surprise to surprise, Best of Youth took home Un Certain Regards top prize. The New York and Telluride film festivals took notice, as did theatrical distributors in Italy, where the film did remarkably well on the big screen before finally appearing on television (in four 90-minute installments) considerably later than anyone anticipated. Going back even further, there is the case of 1964s The T.A.M.I Show, short for Teen Age Music International, the filmed record of a once-in-a-lifetime concert at the Santa Monica Civic that was released into theaters by American International Pictures. On the bill, among others, were Chuck Berry, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones and, in a truly classic performance, James Brown and the Famous Flames. You would think theater owners would be clamoring to show this film, but, producer Bill Sargent told me years later during a re-release tour for the film (recorded in an early high-definition process called Electronovision), this was not the case. People said to me, Its not a film, its a concert, Sargent recounted, still irked. I said to them, If it plays on a screen and you can sell popcorn, its a movie. The august National Film Registry agreed with Sargent, including The T.A.M.I. Show for its prestigious preservation project in 2006, and I do too. If something is booked into a movie theater, I consider it a film, no questions asked, and definitions and classifications be hanged. Because if you truly love the moving image, as far as Im concerned there is no film youd want to see anywhere but inside a movie theater. Even the smallest, most intimate dramas maybe especially the smallest, most intimate dramas benefit enormously from the sense of shared emotional experience that nothing but being in a large dark space with an empathetic crowd can provide. MORE: Does anything but where we watch separate film and television anymore? What the melding means for storytelling Is O.J.: Made in America a TV show or a movie? Five films that were faced with the theatrical/streaming choice To stream or not to stream: Filmmakers face a tough choice on getting their films to audiences On Twitter: @kennethturan Film directors are well-known for sloughing off bad reviews, or saying they dont read critics entirely. Such an attitude, had he held it, might have helped the emotional health of Xavier Dolan. But it also would have made the 27-year-old French-Canadian director of Mommy and the divisive new Cannes drama Its Only the End of the World"--about a young playwright and his fractious family less interesting, less dramatic and, perhaps, less human. Advertisement I dont know if I want to go on being a director after this, Dolan said, a few minutes into a beach-side interview with the Los Angeles Times on Friday afternoon. FULL COVERAGE: CANNES FILM FESTIVAL Could things really be that bad? He had won a top prize here for Mommy just two years ago and was a jury member last year. Dolan pulled up a World review on his phone and passed it to a reporter. Its simply impossible to believe that a story this stridently self-pitying could not refer, more or less explicitly, to writer/director Dolan himself, read the review from the online publication the Playlist. It suggests a level of martyred self-involvement on Dolans part that is tantamount to a persecution complex. Dolan took the phone back with an angry look. Who the ... does this person thinks she is? the director said. How does a person think they know what my personal life is? This is not journalism. Its gossip. Its pretending to be a sophisticated analysis, but really its cheap psychology. Then, sounding more ruminative, he briefly cast his eyes downward. Its hard to shut them out when theyre about you personally and not your work." Dolans French-language film based on Jean-Luc Lagarces play and with a dream cast that includes Gaspard Ulliel, Lea Seydoux, Marion Cotillard and Vincent Cassel centers on a successful young writer who returns home after a 12-year self-imposed exile. There are high hopes all around for joy and reconciliation. 1 / 89 French actress Marion Cotillard leaves after the screening of Juste la Fin du Monde (Its Only the End of the World) during the 69th Cannes Film Festival. (Julien Warnand / EPA) 2 / 89 British director Ken Loach reacts as he receives the Palme dOr award for his movie I, Daniel Blake. (Sebastien Nogier / EPA) 3 / 89 French Moroccan director Houda Benyamina poses with the Camera dOr award for her movie Divines. (Ian Langsdon / EPA) 4 / 89 Spanish director Juanjo Gimenez, center, receives the Best Short Film award for Timecode from French actress Marina Fois, right, and Japanese director Naomi Kawase. (Sebastien Nogier / EPA) 5 / 89 Iranian director Ashgar Farhadi, right, and Iranian actor Shahab Hosseini pose during the award winners photo call after they won the Best Screenplay award and the Best Performance by an Actor award for the movie Forushande (The Salesman). (Julien Warnand / EPA) 6 / 89 Canadian director Xavier Dolan with his Grand Prix award for Juste la Fin du Monde (Its Only the End of the World). (Ian Langsdon / EPA) 7 / 89 Filipina actress Jaclyn Jose with her Best Actress prize during a photo call at 69th Cannes Film Festival. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 8 / 89 Romanian director Cristian Mungiu with his trophy during a photo call after he was awarded the Best Director prize for the film Graduation (Bacalaureate). (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 9 / 89 Mel Gibson and girlfriend Rosalind Ross (Sebastien Nogier / EPA) 10 / 89 British director Andrea Arnold poses with her trophy during a photo call after she was awarded with the Jury Prize for the film American Honey at 69th Cannes Film Festival. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 11 / 89 Actress Marion Cotillard and director Xavier Dolan arrive at the screening of the film Its Only the End Of The World. (Thibault Camus / Associated Press) 12 / 89 Singer Iggy Pop, left, and director Jim Jarmusch arrive at the screening of Gimme Danger. (Thibault Camus / Associated Press) 13 / 89 Actor Leonardo DiCaprio conducts an auction during the amfARs 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 14 / 89 Faye Dunaway, left, and actor Kevin Spacey perform on stage during the amfARs 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 15 / 89 French actress and singer Stephanie Sokolinski arrives for the screening of the film Its Only The End Of The World at the 69th Cannes Film Festival. (Valery Hache / AFP/Getty Images) 16 / 89 Actress Valentina Acca, left, producer and member of the jury Valeria Golino, director Stefano Mordini, actress Marina Fois, actor and producer Riccardo Scamarcio and producer Viola Prestieri arrive for the screening of the film Pericle (Pericle il Nero) at the 69th Cannes Film Festival. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP/Getty Images) 17 / 89 Eric Anzalone, front, Ray Simpson, Jim Newman, Felipe Rose, Bill Whitefield and Alex Briley of the band Village People pose as they arrive for the amfARs 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 18 / 89 Producer Harvey Weinstein and his wife, British actress Georgina Chapman, pose as they arrive for the amfARs 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 19 / 89 Director Olivier Assayas, actress Kristen Stewart and actress Nora von Waldstatten attend the Cannes Film Festival screening of the film Personal Shopper on May 17. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 20 / 89 Milla Jovovich attends the De Grisogono party at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17. (Jean Christophe Madnenet / AFP/Getty Images) 21 / 89 Kristen Stewart poses during a photocall for the film Personal Shopper at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 22 / 89 From left, Inma Cuesta, Emma Suarez, Rossy de Palma, Adriana Ugarte and Michelle Jenner pose during the Julieta photocall at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday. (Guillaume Horcajuelo / EPA) 23 / 89 From left, Viggo Mortensen, Annalise Basso, Nicholas Hamilton, Charlie Shotwell, Samantha Isle, Shree Crooks and director Matt Ross pose for photographers during the Captain Fantastic photocall at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday. (Thibault Camus / Associated Press) 24 / 89 French model Cindy Bruna arrives for the Chopard Wild party at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday. (Jean Christophe Magnenet / AFP/Getty Images) 25 / 89 Former boxer Roberto Duran, left, and actor Robert De Niro pose for photographers at the screening of the film Hands of Stone at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday. (Joel Ryan / Associated Press) 26 / 89 Jason Derulo performs at the Harmonist cocktail party at the Plage du Grand Hyatt during the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday. (Samir Hussein / Getty Images for The Harmonist) 27 / 89 Usher Raymond IV, left, Ana de Armas and Edgar Ramirez during a photocall for the film Hands of Stone at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP / Getty Images) 28 / 89 Edgar Ramirez, left, Robert de Niro and Usher Raymond IV at the Hands of Stone photocall. (Loic Venance / AFP / Getty Images) 29 / 89 Adam Driver poses during a photocall for the film Paterson on Monday in Cannes. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP / Getty Images) 30 / 89 Actor Adam Driver, left, actress Golshifteh Farahani and director Jim Jarmusch after Mondays screening of the film Paterson. (Valery Hache / AFP / Getty Images) 31 / 89 Chris Pine, left, and Ben Foster share a laugh at a photocall for the film Hell or High Water on Monday. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 32 / 89 Salma Hayek Pinault attends Kering Women in Motion talk at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday. (Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images for Kering) 33 / 89 Susan Sarandon, from left, Salma Hayek, Geena Davis and Kering CEO Francois-Henri Pinault arrive for the Kering Women in Motion Honor Awards during the 69th Cannes Film Festival. (Guillaume Horcajuelo / EPA) 34 / 89 Actress and jury member Kirsten Dunst arrives at the premiere of Loving on Monday. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty Images) 35 / 89 Mischa Barton on the red carpet at the Loving premiere. (Loic Venance / AFP / Getty Images) 36 / 89 Actors Murielle Telio, left, actor Russell Crowe, actress Angourie Rice, actor Matt Bomer, actor Ryan Gosling, director Shane Black and producer Joel Silver pose upon arrival at the screening of the film The Nice Guys at the 69th Cannes Film Festival. (Joel Ryan / Associated Press) 37 / 89 Actors Matt Bomer, left and Ryan Gosling and director Shane Black arrive for the screening of The Nice Guys. (Ian Langsdon / EPA) 38 / 89 Actor Russell Crowe takes a picture at The Nice Guys premiere. (Ian Gavan / Getty Images) 39 / 89 Actress Geena Davis attends The Nice Guys premiere during the Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals. (Tristan Fewings / Getty Images) 40 / 89 Actress Marion Cotillard poses as she leaves the screening of the film Mal de Pierres (From the Land of the Moon) at the 69th Cannes Film Festival. (Valery Hache / AFP/Getty Images) 41 / 89 Model Kendall Jenner poses for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film Mal De Pierres (From the Land of the Moon). (Thibault Camus / Associated Press) 42 / 89 Actress Sonam Kapoor poses as she arrives for the screening of the film Mal de Pierres (From the Land of the Moon). (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 43 / 89 Actress Kirsten Dunst arrives for the Kering Women in Motion Honor Awards during the 69th Cannes Film Festival. (Guillaume Horcajuelo / EPA) 44 / 89 Actors Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf and Riley Keough leave the American Honey premiere during the 69th Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals. (Ian Gavan / Getty Images) 45 / 89 Actress Aishwarya Rai poses as she arrives for the screening of the film Mal de Pierres (From the Land of the Moon). (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 46 / 89 Actresses Sonam Kapoor, left, and Araya A. Hargate pose as they arrive for the screening of the film Mal de Pierres (From the Land of the Moon). (Valery Hache / AFP/Getty Images) 47 / 89 Actress Salma Hayek arrives for the Kering Women in Motion Honor Awards during the 69th Cannes Film Festival. (Guillaume Horcajuelo / EPA) 48 / 89 Actors Gael Garcia Bernal, Salma Hayek and Diego Luna arrive for the Kering Women in Motion Honor Awards. (Guillaume Horcajuelo / EPA) 49 / 89 Actor Shia LaBeouf poses for photographers during a photo call for the film American Honey. (Lionel Cironneau / Associated Press) 50 / 89 From left: Director Jodie Foster, actress Julia Roberts, and actor George Clooney pose together before leaving the Festival Palace after the screening of their new film"Money Monster at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday night. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 51 / 89 Blake Lively on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of Ma Loute (Slack Bay) on May 13. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 52 / 89 Juliette Binoche arrives for the screening of Ma Loute (Slack Bay) at the Cannes Film Festival on May 13. (Valery Hache / AFP/Getty Images) 53 / 89 Aishwarya Rai poses for the cameras at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of Ma Loute (Slack Bay) on May 13. (Antonin Thuillier / AFP/Getty Images) 54 / 89 Lily-Rose Depp poses at a Cannes Film Festival hotocall for the film La Danseuse (The Dancer) on May 13. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 55 / 89 Diego Luna, a member of the Un Certain Regard jury, waves during a Cannes Film Festival photocall on May 13. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 56 / 89 Juliette Binoche smiles during a Cannes Film Festival news conference for Ma Loute (Slack Bay) on May 13. (Laurent Emmanuel / AFP/Getty Images) 57 / 89 Director Jodie Foster and actor Jack OConnell discuss Money Monster in Cannes on Thursday. (Ian Gavan / EPA) 58 / 89 Julia Roberts of Money Monster at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 59 / 89 Money Monster director Jodie Foster, center, with stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts at the Cannes Film Festival. (Thibault Camus / Associated Press) 60 / 89 George Clooney of Money Monster waves to photographers at the Cannes Film Festival. (Thibault Camus / Associated Press) 61 / 89 George Clooney and Julia Roberts at the Cannes photo call for Money Monster. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP/Getty Images) 62 / 89 Actress Vanessa Redgrave and director Jim Ivory of the 1992 film Howards End, which is screening in the Cannes Classics section. (Thibault Camus / Associated Press) 63 / 89 Director Woody Allen, actress Kristen Stewart and actor Jesse Eisenberg arrive for the screening of Cafe Society"and the opening ceremony. (Ian Langsdon / EPA) 64 / 89 Festival director Thierry Fremau, from left, producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, actors Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake and festival president Pierre Lescure at the Cafe Society premiere and opening night gala. (Andreas Rentz / Getty Images) 65 / 89 Actors Corey Stoll, left, and Blake Lively arrive for the screening of Cafe Society. (Ian Langsdon / EPA) 66 / 89 Eva Longoria on the red carpet at the premiere of Cafe Society at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. (Neilson Barnard / Getty Images) 67 / 89 The scene outside the Cannes Film Festivals opening night gala. (Clemens Bilan / Getty Images) 68 / 89 Actress Kristen Stewart and actor Jesse Eisenberg arrive for the screening of Cafe Society and the opening ceremony of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. (Ian Langsdon / EPA) 69 / 89 From left, actresses Julianne Moore, Susan Sarandon and Naomi Watts pose for photographers at the Cannes Film Festival screening of Woody Allens Cafe Society on Wednesday. (Thibault Camus / Associated Press) 70 / 89 Cannes Film Festival jury member Donald Sutherland attends the Cafe Society premiere and opening night festival gala at the Palais des Festivals on May 11. (Tristan Fewings / Getty Images) 71 / 89 Actress Gong Li arrives at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty Images) 72 / 89 Actress Jessica Chastain smiles as she arrives at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP / Getty Images) 73 / 89 Actor and festival juror Mads Mikkelsen appears on stage during the opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. (Valery Hache / AFP/Getty Images) 74 / 89 Actress and festival juror Kirsten Dunst waves to the crowd during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. (Valery Hache / AFP/Getty Images) 75 / 89 George Miller, president of the Cannes Film Festival jury, fourth from right, poses with jury members, from left, Arnaud Desplechin, Kirsten Dunst, Laszio Nemes, Vanessa Paradis, Donald Sutherland, Katayoon Shahabi, Mads Mikkelsen and Valeria Golino at the 69th edition of the festival in France on Wednesday. (Thibault Camus / Associated Press) 76 / 89 Actress Anna Kendrick, left, and Justin Timberlake, right, arrive by boat to the photocall for Trolls at the 69th annual Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. (Jerome Roux / EPA) 77 / 89 Among those attending the Trolls photocall at the Cannes Film festival Wednesday, are, in front row, starting second from left, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Justin Timberlake, director Mike Mitchell, Anna Kendrick and director Walt Dohrn. (Neilson Barnard / Getty Images) 78 / 89 Actress Kristen Stewart attends a photocall for the film Cafe Society at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. (Thibault Camus / Associated Press) 79 / 89 From left, director of photography Vittorio Storaro, director Woody Allen, and actors Jesse Eisenberg, Corey Stoll, Blake Lively and Kristen Stewart attend the Cafe Society photocall during the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. (Andreas Rentz / Getty Images) 80 / 89 Actress Blake Lively poses Wednesday during a photocall for the film Cafe Society at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in France. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 81 / 89 Jury member Vanessa Paradis arrives at the 69th Cannes Film Festival. (Joel Ryan / Associated Press) 82 / 89 Cannes Film Festival jury member Valeria Golino arrives in southern France for the festival. (Joel Ryan / Associated Press) 83 / 89 Jury Director George Miller poses for photographers upon arrival at Cannes for the 69th international film festival. (Joel Ryan / Associated Press) 84 / 89 Jury member and actor Mads Mikkelsen at the 69th Canness Film Festival. (Joel Ryan / Associated Press) 85 / 89 Jury member Donald Sutherland arrives at the Cannes Film Fetival. (Joel Ryan / Associated Press) 86 / 89 A beach artist creates an image with sand on the beach in front of the entrance of the Festival Palace in Cannes. (Joel Ryan / Associated Press) 87 / 89 Jury members actress Kirsten Dunst, left, actress and director Valeria Golino and actress and singer Vanessa Paradis on the balcony at the Grand Hyatt Cannes Hotel Martinez. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP/Getty Images) 88 / 89 Iranian producer and jury member Katayoon Shahabi arrives at the Grand Hyatt Cannes Hotel Martinez. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP/Getty Images) 89 / 89 Hungarian director and jury member Laszlo Nemes arrives at the Grand Hyatt Cannes Hotel Martinez. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP/Getty Images) But the family mother, brother, sister, sister-in-law quickly splinters into bitterness and infighting, an oppressiveness Dolan highlights with quick cuts between extreme close-ups. The movie strips away all the distancing layers and glossy devices of most on-screen family dysfunction; in fact, it takes an inherently painful set of interactions and effectively locks you inside them. The film is far from easy to watch. Then again, thats the point. The reviews were not kind, as words such as shrill and insufferable were used. Its not an accident youre the only American [journalist] who wants to talk to me this week, he said dolefully. (The director, known as a prodigious talent and an enfant terrible since his breakthrough as an actor-filmmaker at 19, has been a favorite subject of this reporter, including during this lively interview for Mommy two years ago and this more explanatory conversation about the Adele Hello video, which he directed.) Indeed, U.S. journalists were harsh toward End of the World. Many Europeans werent much kinder, though the movie had its champions on this side of the pond, notably the Guardians Peter Bradshaw, who in a four-star review called World a brilliant, stylised and hallucinatory evocation of family dysfunction. But the overall tone was sharp-tongued, a commentariat drawing out its knives for this film as readily as it opened up its arms in embrace of Mommy. So for nearly a half hour, Dolan fought a battle, if as much with himself as with the critics. Whats that word in English for how wolves move? Packs? Its something where a very influential wolf says something and everyone follows. Its this mass movement. It becomes a spiral of hatred. A moment later, though, he said. Lets start over. Me whining is not interesting. Then, as if rethinking that position, he added, I know people think I like to indulge the ego-monster reputation I have. So why not, lets do it, then went into I know people get bad reviews. But this is patronizing. They sit back with their arms folded he mimed the action and judge me like theyre judging a child doing his homework. They look at me like Im some invention of the festival. (Dolan has debuted many of his half-dozen films at Cannes.) I dont know that these reviews are written by humans, he said. But theyre certainly being read by humans. During a few moments he did let loose at a critical establishment he saw as complicit with Big Hollywood (This is someone who eats doughnuts at their desk and gives 4 1/2 stars to Fast and the Furious and is bitter theyre not a filmmaker, indulging in some of the professions baser stereotypes.) But he also made clear he seemed genuinely hurt. In fact, the director became so disconsolate that at several points in the interview this reporter had to reach over and pat him on the shoulder and tell him it would be OK, and that he should, in fact, keep directing. Its too late anyway Im already in prep [on my new movie], suggesting this might otherwise be an option. (The film hes prepping is his English-language debut, the star-studded The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, which is set to begin shooting this summer.) Then he said, I dont know that I want to do this for the rest of my life. I cant put myself through this. Asked if all this was mitigated by the rapturous reception to Mommy, he shook his head. That movie I thought was good. But there we things I didnt love about it, enumerating ways he could have told the story differently. This I thought was my best film. As he spoke, he offered a kind of microcosm of his polarizing persona those who accuse him of narcissism (or a persecution complex) were unlikely to be dissuaded by this exchange, while admirers were likely to again see in Dolan a blast of honest air, someone willing to be candid in a film-promotion world of increased glibness, where no one ever seems to have a doubt about a creative choice or a normal human reaction to a criticism. He began to talk about the themes of the film, then segued, almost unconsciously, back to what was gnawing at him. This is a movie about people saying everything thats useless and stupid and missing out on whats essential, Oddly enough I feel that this reaction in Cannes has been paralleling the plays fundamental message, which is peoples incapacity to love and listen. Cannes is a place of heightened emotions--a function of the beautiful scenery, maddening crowds, glittery surfaces and frustrating bureaucracy, intensified by the fact that several times a day people are asked to exit all that and sit in a dark room to be taken somewhere else. Being at the center of a limelight, let alone a negative one, is not easy. More than a few times even civilians (this one included) have had a reaction at the festival to which theyve later looked back and said, Why did I care about that so much again? Dolan continued with what was bothering him at the moment. Every movie gets booed now. And then everyone Tweets about it as if thats the verdict on a film. Underscoring an idea that others have raised regarding the hothouse, Twitterized atmosphere of film festivals and a point one suspects even Cannes leadership has some unease about added, Its odd and bizarre and unseemly. What are we, in summer camp? As the interview ended, he said, shaking his head, Im going to get slammed for this. He was assured, once again, that it would be OK. Twitter: @ZeitchikLAT The Los Angeles-based electronic producer John Tejada has been creating meticulously crafted beats and remixes for nearly two decades, and has done so while exploring a brand of rhythm-based minimalism that draws on Detroit- and Berlin-style techno to propel underground dance floors. For the past five years Tejada has been aligned with the German imprint Kompakt, and his new release for the label, out Friday, is a three-song EP called Lakewood Drive that couples relentless thump with shards of melody. The artist, who has issued more than 80 EPs and albums since the mid-'90s, also released a new video for the title track, one with edits that move in lockstep with the beat. Advertisement Directed by Clement Oberto, the video travels through a kind of invisible Los Angeles. As Tejadas track moves with a conveyor-belt momentum, wobbly synth blurts and curlicue melodies, the director ignores the famous views -- sun-washed scenes of Malibu, the Hollywood sign or ritzy Rodeo Drive -- in favor of more humble sites. He trains his lens on the beige residential apartment buildings that consume acre after acre, on hills littered with under-imagined architecture and streets notable more for the telephone poles than the palm trees. Where are we? Is this Atwater Village? Frogtown? Boyle Heights? Did we get lost in Reseda? Inglewood? (In fact, according to Oberto in an email, its shot from his balcony on Monterey Hill and atop Elephant Hill and Mt. Washington.) Oberto is a French expat living in Los Angeles, and he seems to be offering a message to outsiders, illuminating the vast swaths of property that consume Southern California on the other side of the Hollywood facade. This is the second collaboration between Tejada and Oberto. The short film One Step, above, is set in a barren Southern California desert and enlivened with fever-dream colors, washed-out light, plumes of colored smoke and a sensual, ambient score by Tejada. Tejadas new EP is available now. ALSO: Dont let the drama around Sinead OConnor eclipse her art De La Soul announces that David Byrne and Damon Albarn will have cameos on new album Bob Dylan, interpreter: Seven of the artists greatest covers Follow Randall Roberts on Twitter, Instagram, Vine, MySpace and Friendster: @liledit For a long while I have had what felt like a workable definition of television, one adaptable to a changing world of proliferating platforms. It was generous including everything from Vine videos to decade-long network dramas and it was also fundamentally exclusive: Television, to my mind, was everything that wasnt the movies. That definition has become less workable of late. It may, in fact, be on the verge of becoming useless. Technology, that destroyer of worlds, is at the bottom of it: digital cameras with fine lenses that can achieve the look of film with none of the cost; software that puts special effects within affordable reach; bigger, sharper, smarter sets. Advertisement FULL COVERAGE: The blur between movies and television And perhaps most important, faster delivery systems that can reliably shuttle a movie by cable or satellite into a modem and out to a television without freezing or pixelating. On the one hand, they make TV more cinematic; on the other, they make cinema more like TV. Structural improvements have helped make television more attractive to filmmakers and brought big-name directors, writers and actors into the fold, redoubling the success of Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. Like Showtime and HBO before them, they went from being recyclers of content to producers. They began with things that looked like television and moved on to things that look like movies, sometimes made by people who also work in the movies but appreciate the freedom the new streaming frontier affords. At the same time, Netflix and Amazon are looking to make or acquire films for theatrical runs as well they want Oscars as well as Emmys. For most of its life, TV was what you watched in your house, alone or with friends or family; movies were what you watched in a theater, among strangers. When you watched a movie made for theaters on television, it was not television, it was merely on television. (It was also edited for content, time and commercials, panned and scanned to fit the boxier format of the cathode-ray tube TV set.) And television, with rare exceptions remained something you watched ... on a television. In the 1950s, the movies became tactically, defensively expensive in order to be what TV wasnt: huge, colorful, sumptuous, stereophonic. Robert Lloyd The mediums started out as enemies. Indeed, some movie studios contractually forbade actors from appearing on television, and there was a kind of superstitious belief that TV work could actually hurt an established, active film career. TV was where you apprenticed for the movies, or went after your big-screen career was on the wane; film was where you headed if TV made you famous enough. Television was cheap where movies were expensive. Indeed, back in the 1950s, when the new medium of television was cutting heavily into film attendance, the movies became tactically, defensively expensive in order to be what TV wasnt: huge, colorful, sumptuous, stereophonic. For all the talk about television now being better than the movies, film remains more prestigious. Oscars still trump Emmys, and even today were reflexively impressed when some big-name, big-screen actor steps down from the Olympus of cinema to walk among the little people of TV. Where the television academy allows films that have only screened in festivals, or in strictly limited runs, to compete for Emmys, no movie that plays on TV before playing in theaters is eligible for an Academy Award. Whats the difference? Financial considerations aside, it seems to be all philosophy and semantics. Does a movie suddenly turn into TV if it is produced with hopes of theatrical release but goes straight to television or a streaming service instead? Is it a question of length, of self-containment, of the overall career of the person making it? (Where does the Vinyl cable TV pilot fit into Martin Scorseses canon? Or HBOs Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra into Steven Soderberghs? Or the made-for-TV Duel into Steven Spielbergs?) Is it a matter of where it runs first and for how long? Is it the form or is it the platform? What does it mean that this February, YouTube, the millennial star-making machine, launched YouTube Red Originals, a subscription service that, among other things, allows access to a slate of original, youth-oriented series and feature-length films? Are they movies or just really long videos? If television seems fit to swallow it all, moviegoing is by no means over that last Star Wars film has made more than $2 billion, and there are more than 43,000 movie screens in the U.S. But it may be that the movies now refers more to the experience than the thing you go there to watch, a kind of amusement park for the eyes and ears. As critics, we still have our beats and guard them jealously. As viewers, were already living in this new open world. Just as the distinctions between broadcast television, basic cable and premium cable have ceased to matter in the business of actually watching TV its all just stations on the on-screen guide, one as available as the next so are whatever accidents of corporate birth or distribution that would make something officially a movie or a TV movie growing pointless. These changes are inevitable, but not always easy. When Beasts of No Nation was simultaneously released theatrically and online last year after Netflix wrote a $12-million check for worldwide rights, like any old-school studio, the closing of the traditional monthslong window between theatrical and television premieres led to a boycott by four important American film chains. And it is with the permanent closing of that window a day when all movies are available everywhere at once, making the phrase wait until it comes to TV meaningless that lines now blurred will completely be erased. MORE: Does anything but where we watch separate film and television anymore? What the melding means for storytelling Netflixs Ted Sarandos on how his disruptive methods are ensuring the future of film Five films that were faced with the theatrical/streaming choice All hail our smart TV masters, but not just yet How should television be defined nowadays? On Twitter: @LATimesTVLloyd The CW may be known for shows about young, photogenic vampires and young, photogenic superheroes, but at its upfront presentation Thursday, the Little Network That Could put its eccentric heroines front and center. Gina Rodriguez and Rachel Bloom, the Golden Globe-winning leads of Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, respectively, were the first stars to take the stage. After paying tribute to the CWs 10th anniversary by playing a round of Never Have I Ever in character, the women struck a more earnest note. Advertisement Rodriguez praised the network for making shows that are transforming the way we look at our culture, the way we look at women in the industry. Our network has a lineup of so many shows led by women and run by women, which is incredible, she said. Both Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend have female show runners (Jennie Snyder Urman and Aline Brosh McKenna, respectively), as do the CWs The Vampire Diaries (Julie Plec) and Supergirl (Allison Adler), which has been moved over from CBS. Bloom continued Rodriguezs line of commentary, calling the CWs gender balance awesome and surprisingly rare, considering were half the world. So I dont know why its taken this long. Were like 51% of Earth. The remarks earned a hearty round of applause from the crowd at City Center, and one hopes that executives at the CWs corporate cousin, CBS, with six new fall shows about white men, were listening. With perfect comic timing, Bloom then threw to the man who made it all possible, network president Mark Pedowitz. He boasted that the CW was the most critically acclaimed broadcast network -- a claim that he certainly couldnt make without Jane the Virgin or Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Jane the Virgin, which premiered in 2014, is a telenovela spoof about an aspiring writer who is accidentally impregnated during a mishap at the gynecologists office. The musical comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend follows a high-powered lawyer who relocates cross-country in pursuit of a guy she briefly dated as a teenager. While neither is a ratings hit, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend in particular has struggled to find an audience, both are critical darlings lauded for their portrayals of ambitious, flawed young women and their particular struggles. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has humorously taken on mental health, body image and even Jewish identity, while Jane the Virgin has been praised for its realistic depiction of early motherhood and the plight of undocumented immigrants. The shows popularity with critics and journalists has helped to rapidly change perceptions of the CW, which just a few years ago made self-deprecating jokes on Twitter about its lightweight reputation. Now, its got For Your Consideration campaigns to worry about. What a difference a few funny women can make. Sara Ramirez is leaving Greys Anatomy. On Thursday the actress announced on Twitter her departure from the long-running ABC medical drama. Im deeply grateful the last 10 years with my family at Greys Anatomy and ABC, but for now Im taking some welcome time off, she said, also thanking series creator Shonda Rhimes. Shondas been so incredible to work for, and we will definitely continue our conversations! I send my love to Ellen [Pompeo], the rest of the cast and crew, and I look forward to always being a part of the Shondaland family! Joining the series in its second season, Ramirez played Dr. Callie Torres, an ambitious, bisexual surgeon. Thursdays season finale saw her character making peace with her former wife Arizona, played by Jessica Capshaw, and moving to New York. Advertisement Rhimes bid farewell to Ramirez and her character with a note on Twitter. Dr. Callie Torres came into our lives dancing it out in her underwear almost a decade ago, and I could not be happier or more proud of her journey, she wrote. Sara Ramirezs performance inspired me as well as millions of fans each week. We wish her the best on her well-deserved time off. I will miss Callie tremendously, but am excited for what the future holds for Sara. She will always have a home at Shondaland. Its the latest high-profile departure from the series, which remains a strong ratings performer heading into its 13th season. Last year fans were stunned by the unexpected death of Derek Shepherd, the character played by original cast member Patrick Dempsey. ALSO: Havent we seen this before? TV networks opt for safe bets in the 2016-17 season Gina Rodriguez and Rachel Bloom praise the CW for changing industry perceptions of women Game of Thrones, Confirmation and black-ish lead our 2016 Emmys Buzzmeter Whats been happening in the L.A. restaurant world lately? A lot. Bruce Kalman (Union and Knead) is heading to Culver City, two Grand Central Market favorites branch out, a Santa Monica restaurant closes and a Westlake Village restaurant plans a ramen pop-up. Bruce Kalman, the chef behind Union in Pasadena and Knead & Co. Pasta Bar + Market at Grand Central Market, and his partner in both businesses, Marie Petulla, has taken over the former Bucato space at the Helms Bakery complex in Culver City. Details are slim, but we do know that winemaker George Pitsironis (wine director at Union) will be involved. The project is scheduled to open in 2017. 8758 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles. Aestus, the Santa Monica restaurant by owner Kevin OConnor (former Spago wine director) and chef Andrew Betita (formerly of Fishing With Dynamite and Alma) will close Sunday. A new Italian restaurant (ownership team TBA) will open in its place in the fall. 507 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, (424) 268-4433, www.aestusrestaurant.com. Eggslut, the Grand Central Market breakfast stand known for its long lines and tricked out egg sandwiches, will open a location in Glendale, across from the Americana at Brand. Other restaurants planned for the area include Shake Shack, Mainland Poke, Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop and Philz Coffee. Eggslut is scheduled to open in the fall. 252 S. Brand, Glendale. www.eggslut.com. Advertisement Wexlers, the Grand Central Market stall by chef Micah Wexler, is opening a location in Santa Monica. Expect more of the bagels, pastrami and smoked fish hes known for at the downtown food market. The restaurant is scheduled to open by the end of the month. 616 Santa Monica Blvd., (213) 620-0633, wexlersdeli.com. Jeannines Gourmet Food Hall in Westlake Village, a restaurant that typically serves egg salad sandwiches and barbecue chicken pizza, is launching a ramen pop-up May 31. Why? Because owner Gordon Hardey loves ramen. He studied in Tokyo in the 80s and has loved it ever since. Hardey enlisted the help of chef Mako Tanaka (from the now-closed Jujuya by Mako) and chef Keiki Shinkai for the pop-up. Theyll be making a Tokyo shoyu ramen; chicken shio ramen, tokotsu shoyu ramen, spicy seafood ramen and vegetable ramen, as well as gyoza, karaage, a pork chashu bowl and a chicken soboro bowl. 30770 Russell Ranch Road,Westlake Village, (818) 735-9726, www.jeannineswestlakevillage.com. If youre a mover, and a shaker, follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Jenn_Harris_ ALSO: 6 dishes to order at L.A. restaurants if you love XO sauce All Los Angeles farmers markets will now accept food stamps How to get Philippes French dip sandwiches delivered. Seriously. Cookbook of the week: An: To Eat: Recipes and Stories From a Vietnamese Family Kitchen by Helene An and Jacqueline An (Running Press, $35) There are certain places in Beverly Hills that are dining destinations in the same way that Barneys or Jimmy Choo are shopping destinations: Spago, of course, and since 1997, Crustacean, Helene Ans seriously upscale Vietnamese restaurant. The An family began its restaurant empire in San Francisco in a little Italian deli that it bought after immigrating to America as refugees from the Vietnam War. They transformed that deli, as well as the familys fortunes and our understanding of Vietnamese cooking, and now Helene An and her daughters oversee five California restaurants and a catering business. To that long list of accomplishments, An and her daughter Jacqueline have added a cookbook. An: To Eat is a beautifully photographed (by Evan Sung) book that combines many of Crustaceans recipes with the central story of the An family. (The name of the cookbook refers to the happy fact that the word an is not just the family name but also means to eat in Vietnamese.) Helene An recounts her aristocratic youth, when the family employed three cooks (one French, one Chinese and one Vietnamese), then traces the familys journey through the war years to San Francisco and to Los Angeles, and the kitchens (one public, one famously secret) in Beverly Hills. There are sections outlining basic cooking techniques and ingredients, entertaining tips, family anecdotes and photographs, as well as the history of and context for the An familys other restaurants. Thus there are recipes for both traditional and more modern dishes, comfort food and banquet food, plus plenty of cocktails and even more sauces. (The sauce chapter is alone worth the price of admission.) One thing the book does not have, however, is the recipe for Crustaceans most famous dish: the garlic noodles. This should not surprise anyone, really, because if a restaurant has a secret kitchen, as Crustacean does, then it is only fitting that it should continue to have a secret recipe. More reason to head to Beverly Hills, sit down under those thousand red paper cranes and let the chefs make your garlic noodles for you. Advertisement ALSO: Cookbook of the week: Little Flower Baking SOS: How to make the fried broccoli from Ramen Hood Cookbook of the week: The reissue of Diana Kennedys Nothing Fancy Martha Stewart eats a lot of pastries. This might seem obvious when you consider her books Martha Stewarts New Pies and Tarts, Martha Stewarts Baking Handbook, Martha Stewarts Cakes, Martha Stewarts Cupcakes and Martha Stewarts Cookies and we could go on. All this pastry consumption is also research for her PBS show Martha Bakes. She is developing the seventh season; the sixth season premiered last month. So on a recent May morning, Stewart planned a mini bakery tour of Los Angeles for some research and a little inspiration. Her first stop: Gjusta, Travis Letts bakery palace in Venice. She walked up and down the bakery counter with her chin up and her Canon EOS M3 at the ready. In platform espadrilles, white leather pants, a black blouse and not a strand of her signature blond mane out of place, the 74-year-old seemed almost half a foot taller than most of the other patrons. Her entourage (a publicist, director of food development, director of special projects and a makeup artist) trailed close by. Advertisement Instead of actually staring, some of the diners and employees used the side-eye I-see-a-celebrity spy technique too cool to actually gawk at a celeb. This is Venice, after all. Martha Stewart samples the pastries at Gjusta in Venice. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times ) Those croissants are beautiful, Stewart said, pointing out the baklava croissants to her director of food development, Thomas Joseph, who has worked with Stewart for the past eight years. The two often travel around the world sampling bakeries and restaurants and doing research for the PBS show, in which Stewart develops recipes for everything from her favorite the Breton pastry kouign-amann to pizza dough. Were focusing on regional American baking thats kind of unusual, Stewart said of the upcoming season. Were testing all kinds of recipes right now. One is a mashed potato pie. Not good. She and Joseph casually walked behind the counter for an impromptu tour, and Stewart proceeded to inspect the ovens, the flour and anything that caught her eye. Then she made her way outside to a communal table to begin a feast. Plate after plate was brought to the table: an assortment of smoked fish, a bagel, a brioche doughnut, another baklava croissant, baguette with butter and cheese, a slice of carrot cake, a cinnamon roll and babka. Stewarts must-try items at all bakeries: croissants, kouign-amanns and baguettes. And in case youre wondering, when its appropriate, Stewart eats with her fingers. And shell expect you to do the same. From left, Thomas Joseph, director of food development for Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart and Margarita Manzke, pastry chef at Republique. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times ) She tore into the bagel (she prefers poppy seed), took a big bite of the carrot cake, ripped open the baguette, added cheese, dissected the babka and slathered half a croissant with butter before digging in. As she did this, she added running commentary on the flour, the butter, the texture and the presentation of each item. Were still developing content for the show, Stewart said. Were finding all of these old, forgotten recipes that you really dont hear about anymore. They are a little wild and wacky, but really fun. Like the crunch cake from San Francisco. Stewart was referring to the crunch cake at Blums, a version of which shes developing for the show. After discussing her affinity for pastries in Korea (maybe its the ingredients, the water or something) Stewart decided she was ready for her next bakery. But before she got up from the table, she loaded a baguette with butter and cheese and wrapped up the sandwich in a paper menu. This is for my driver, said Stewart, who cruises L.A. in a black Chevy Suburban. My driver gets the best things. On her way out of the restaurant, she paused at the counter to look at a diners salad. If Stewart likes the look of what youre eating, shell ask if she can take a photo. And because its Martha Stewart, you say yes, as did the guy with the pretty salad. Martha Stewart poses with the staff at Republique. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times ) At Milo and Olive, pastry chef Zoe Nathan and husband Josh Loebs bakery and restaurant in Santa Monica, Stewart repeated her routine and inspected all of the pastries, took photos and asked Nathan for a tour of the kitchen. When Stewart was done, she was presented with a kouign-amann, baguette, scone, sour cherry crostada and a slice of lemon meringue pie. There also was a pizza, a bowl of housemade pasta with bolognese and the restaurants famous garlic knot. She and Joseph took the kind of bites that didnt let on that this was their second meal in 48 minutes, then contemplated the ingredients. What do you think the meringue is made out of? she asked him. Maybe they use some sort of stabilizer, he said. (They dont.) Is that a pate brisee? she said, pointing to another item. When she left, she took a box full of pizza for her driver. At Republique, Margarita and Walter Manzkes French restaurant and bakery on La Brea Avenue, Stewart sat at one of the long communal tables in the dining room and swooned, as do most Angelenos, over one of Margaritas baguettes. She broke off a big piece of bread, added some butter and closed her eyes as she ate it. This tastes like what I used to make, Stewart said. This tastes just like my bread. It has exactly the same taste. Manzke and her staff brought over what seemed like five platters of pastries full of kouign-amann, raspberry kouign-amann, knotted pastry with sticky caramel, peach and mulberry brioche, two bowls of doughnuts, pavlova and a slice of the salted caramel chocolate cake. A crowd of people from the kitchen giggled and huddled around Stewarts table. She picked the mulberries off the brioche, amazed at the availability of the fresh fruit, and devoured the kouign-amann. Their kouign-amann is better than the last one, Stewart said. It tastes like ours. Stewart said she and her team of four recipe testers spent hours testing a kouign-amann recipe for the show before deciding on one she liked. Im amazed at how many good, high-quality bakeries there are here, she said. Its extraordinary taking good advantage of whats local and making things that are delicious and fresh. Those are mulberries. You never get to have mulberries in anything. Everything in L.A. is with a twist, which is nice. It shows great creativity, she added. I think La Brea Bakery really started it. I remember eating fabulous bread in San Francisco at ACME and thinking, Oh, there cant be anything better than ACME, then I tasted Nancy Silvertons and now tasting some of these wonderful offshoots. As she walked through the crowded dining room back to her car, a few people asked to take selfies, and Stewart happily obliged after three and a half hours and two dozen breads and pastries, still not a hair out of place. Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos has a vision for the future of movies and, not surprisingly, streaming is at the heart of it. As Netflix continues its aggressive push into the movie business, bringing A-listers like Will Smith, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on board the streaming bandwagon, Sarandos laid out his ideas for how the Internet can save Hollywood. As this disruptive new force in the movie business, streaming services like Netflix are either the white knights or the enemy depending on who you ask. Thats fascinating to me. We have no desire to disrupt the movie business for the sake of disruption or to preserve it for the sake of nostalgia. What we want to do is evolve it so its a better experience for filmmakers and a better experience for consumers. Advertisement What do you say to those who argue that if movies are treated as just another piece of content to be streamed online, they will lose what makes them special? When people say we want to protect things and keep them special, that just means keep them small and unhealthy. I think movies are special because of how well theyre crafted, how well theyre acted and shot not because of the room that you saw them in first. Every director that I talk to that talks about the romance of cinema talks about the movies that they saw on VHS tape when they were growing up. This gets spun around a lot that were somehow anti-theaters. Im totally not. You are much more likely to find me at a movie theater Saturday night than most executives who are having this debate. I love the experience and I think by preserving film the economics of film you will preserve that experience as well and you will keep films relevant in the culture. Theres an idea that the streaming model lends itself best to smaller, more intimate movies. Netflix recently signed a major deal to produce a cop thriller called Bright directed by David Ayer and starring Will Smith. Are you looking to move into bigger projects like that? Bright is ambitious and very global. Its a great script, a great star and a very accomplished director. And were going to bring it fans exactly when they want it, which is when they hear of it. Whatever the theatrical component is, its going to be concurrent with the Netflix window, because I dont believe its sensible to hold back 81 million people from watching a movie so that a couple of hundred people can see it in a theater. Theres lots of direct-to-video movies this is not that. Theres a bunch of made-for-TV movies this is not that. The movies that Bong-Joon ho is making for us in Korea right now or that Angelina Jolie is directing in Cambodia or that Brad Pitt just did, War Machine these are really ambitious films that spook studios, that in the old model would just be very difficult to make. The studios gave up on a lot of films that viewers did not. Were looking to fill that gap. Sarandos, at the premiere of the Netflix series Marseille -- the first French series produced by the streaming giant -- at the Pharo Palace, in Marseille. (Claude Paris/Associated Press ) As Hollywood focuses more and more on giant tentpole movies, how do you help keep smaller films relevant? Peoples tastes are remarkably diverse theres an audience for everything. But the trade radius of any individual theater is so small sometimes that you dont have enough people to have enough fans to support the economics of even a $12 ticket. What we offer is an infinite trade radius. Theres millions of John Sayles fans but the problem is theyre dispersed around the world. We can pull those fans together and, using the algorithsm we use to merchandise a film, we can make that film as prominent to the person who loves John Sayles as Captain America. When Beasts of No Nation failed to get any Oscar nods, some people took it as a sign Oscar voters saw it as somehow not a real movie because it simultaneously streamed on Netflix. Do you think there was a bias against it? Maybe Im just an optimist but I dont think thats true. Straight Outta Compton was probably the best movie last year and it got the most traditional release youve ever seen and it barely was recognized by the academy. Beasts of No Nation was recognized by the Screen Actors Guild, the Independent Spirit Awards, the BAFTAs, the Golden Globes it just didnt get an Oscar nomination. Im giving the academy voters more credit than to think it was just a vendetta against a distribution point. The burden of that is on us. We have to make the movie that is so good you cant ignore it. How far do your ambitions go in the movie business? Do you envision a future in which Netflix is essentially another major studio with all that implies: a lot with big soundstages, long-standing production deals with talent and so on? I have no objections to doing the old stuff that works. Some parts of that system work really well. Giving proven and dependable creators a creative home I think can work very well. The more our original initiative expands, more and more of it will come under a studio-type umbrella and well build out the production expertise to support these projects more and more. But you dont have to own all of that. The things that are outsourceable we should be outsourcing. We dont need to run a lumber mill to make content. josh.rottenberg@latimes.com Restaurant chain Joes Crab Shack announced with much fanfare in November that it was experimenting with a no-tipping policy at 18 of its outlets nationwide. The chains parent company, Ignite Restaurant Group, said at the time that tipping is an antiquated model and that customers can expect the same great food and service without the obligation to leave tips. It said menu prices at participating restaurants had been raised so that employees would receive higher wages, but the increased cost to diners would be typically less than the average 20% service tip. Advertisement Yet now, less than a year after the experiment quietly began in August, Joes has restored tipping at all but four of the locations. The lesson seems to be that even though tipping is indeed an antiquated model, and even though much of the developed world has moved on from this archaic, class-based system, Americans remain convinced wrongly, many researchers say that service is always better, and prices cheaper, when tips are a factor. What we know in practice is that tipping actually has little impact on service in most restaurants, said Lars Perner, an assistant professor of marketing at USCs Marshall School of Business. But it gives consumers the feeling that theyre in control. Mike Lynn, a professor of consumer behavior at Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, said diners routinely disregard the tip theyll leave when judging a restaurants prices. Thus, if a restaurant has a no-tipping policy but 20% higher menu prices, it will be seen as a lot more expensive than a restaurant with 20% lower prices but where a 20% tip to the server is customary. Is that rational? No, Lynn said. But its what people think. In recent years, restaurants in Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere have introduced no-tipping policies. In most cases, this was done to provide greater pricing transparency and more equitable compensation to the staff, including those toiling away in the kitchen. A widespread end to tipping has been seen as unlikely, though, until large restaurant chains also did away with the practice. Joes Crab Shack was the first national chain to give it a go. The company has seafood restaurants in 32 states, including nearly a dozen locations in California. The no-tipping experiment was confined to restaurants in the Midwest. I spoke with the manager of a Joes outlet in Southern California, who asked to remain anonymous because he wasnt authorized to speak on behalf of the company. He said executives at the parent company, Ignite, were initially excited about the no-tipping policy. They wanted us to be an industry leader, he said. But it didnt work out. I asked Ignite whether I could speak with its chief executive, Bob Merritt, about the companys experience. No one responded to my calls and emails. But Merritt shared some thoughts with investors in his companys recent first-quarter earnings call. The system has to change at some point, but our customers and staff spoke very loudly, he said, according to a transcript of the call. And a lot of them voted with their feet. Merritt said the companys internal research found that almost 60% of Joes Crab Shack customers disliked the no-tipping policy. He said customers felt theyd lost control over quality of service and didnt trust managers to share the wealth of higher prices with employees. The restaurants tried various ways of communicating to customers how things now worked, Merritt said, but most patrons just wouldnt play ball. As for why four of the 18 outlets will continue without tipping, he said the company will try to figure out why it worked in some places and why not in others. Richard McKenzie, an emeritus economics professor at UC Irvine, said one reason may be because of management. When restaurant customers perceive strong oversight by managers, he told me, they feel more comfortable that good service isnt contingent on paying a fat tip. In other words, if the manager is seen working the room and interacting with diners and staff, as opposed to hiding away in a back office, customers think theres no danger of servers slacking off and, McKenzie said, theres no need for tipping. In much of the developed world, its simply a given that restaurants strive for good service: Diners arent expected to be responsible for motivating servers. USCs Perner hails from Denmark. He said you might leave behind a token tip after a meal there, or something more substantial if the level of service was exceptional. Tipping is an absolute no-no in Japan, where a server would lose face if a diner suggested he or she wasnt always trying their best. Tipping also isnt customary in Australia, China, France, Italy, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, among other nations. American consumers seem to be of two minds. We believe tipping is essential to good restaurant service, but we usually dont tip hard-working staffers at fast-food outlets. We tip the person who cuts our hair but not the one who fixes our car. Meanwhile, tasks that once were seen as un-tip-worthy, such as pouring a cup of coffee or toasting a bagel, now routinely come with the soft pressure of tip jars. Facebook is even said to be considering digital tip jars for users who share particularly popular posts. As for the future, look no further than the ride-sharing service Uber. It tells customers that tips are neither expected nor required. Yet many passengers still grease the palm of drivers. Cornells Lynn, who is regarded as one of the nations foremost experts on tipping, said this is a perfect example of why tipping will remain a part of the U.S. economic landscape. Its just a matter of time, he said, before all Uber passengers are tipping. If some people do it, eventually everyone will have to do it, Lynn said. Thats how it works. David Lazarus column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com. A state Senate budget committee on Thursday blocked an effort by Gov. Jerry Browns administration to gut key provisions of a groundbreaking 2008 law that requires child protection services to release case records after a child dies from abuse or neglect. California Department of Social Services Director Will Lightbourne had drafted language for the trailer bill, to be introduced as part of the states May budgeting process. That approach bypassed the usual committee review and fast-tracked the proposal for a vote. Following criticism by child welfare advocates, committee staff issued a negative recommendation and members unanimously blocked the bill from moving forward. Advertisement See the most-read stories this hour >> Since the state implemented the original law, reporters have had access to social worker case notes and other files. These sometimes revealed glaring inadequacies in the states child welfare system, including instances of social workers disregarding policies and allowing children to remain in conditions that proved fatal. Earlier this year, Los Angeles County prosecutors filed criminal charges against four social workers who handled the case of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez in the months before he was tortured and killed. The case was first reported in The Times based on information that included documents released through the disclosure law. The social workers union has staged protests against the criminal charges and worked with the administration to craft the bill that would reduce public scrutiny of the case files for child fatalities. The state child welfare directors association also supports the administrations bill. The bill currently under consideration would relax deadlines for the release of records and keep the names of social workers secret. It would deny the public access to original case notes, instead providing abbreviated summaries of how the government attempted to protect vulnerable children. Interested in the stories shaping California? Sign up for the free Essential California newsletter >> The familys full history with child protective services would also be reduced, and new restrictions would be put in place to remove information provided by witnesses. State officials said the provisions were necessary to protect surviving children and adults who were not responsible for the abuse, but department spokesman Michael Weston said he was not aware of any cases in which the current procedure had harmed anyone. A similar effort failed last year, and the Brown administration promised to draft a new bill that preserved current disclosure requirements and expanded access to near-death cases as well. Instead, it introduced language last week that was similar to what failed last year, and officials urged the Legislature to pass it on an urgent timetable. Since the laws passage, the state Social Services Department has repeatedly sought to curtail its effect. In 2013, San Diego Superior Court Judge Judith Hayes ruled that the department had issued regulations inconsistent and in conflict with the law and had inappropriately limited the release of information. garrett.therolf@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter: @gtherolf ALSO LAPD union sues Chief Charlie Beck over corrupting influence in discipline process Failures that led to Santa Barbara oil spill were completely unacceptable, investigators say Weeks after Bay Area mother is found in shallow grave, toddler remains missing, police say Paddleboarders and soccer fans all riding new Expo Line Marketing materials for the Expo Line promised to carry passengers to the beach, and Andrew Rice took them at their word. The 47-year-old Mar Vista resident and a friend boarded the train at Culver City on Friday afternoon, carrying paddleboards. Wedging the boards onto a packed train wasnt super easy, Rice said after they disembarked in Santa Monica, but its doable. And, he said, passengers enjoying the first day of the Expo Line thought it was funny. Its L.A., Rice said. People are used to seeing beach gear. On the platform nearby, two dozen men and women in black T-shirts and scarves emblazoned with Los Angeles Football Club chanted, shouted and clapped to the beat of a small drum. The group, made up of Major League Soccer staff members and fans, were hyping a MLS expansion team that will start playing in L.A. in 2018. Their $250-million, privately financed stadium will be built on the site of the Sports Arena in Exposition Park, just off the Expo Line. Were making the maiden journey to our future stadium, said John Thorrington, an executive vice president of the team, as he waited for the train. Behind him, serval supporters sang, The sports arenas coming down, coming down, coming down, to the tune of My Fair Lady. Others yelled and waved their scarves in the air. Gary Roth, 54 of Cheviot Hills, emerged from a packed train impressed with the smoothness of the ride. Roth lives a four-minute walk from the Westwood/Rancho Park station and works near the 26th Street/Bergamot station. He probably wont commute by train every day, he said, but plans on making the Expo Line a part of his life especially at lunchtime. Downtown Santa Monica is only five minutes away, Roth said. Ill be riding it. Political tension ramps up at legislative hearing on Newsoms gun control initiative Backers of a gun control initiative proposed for the November ballot argued during a legislative forum Tuesday that it is needed to make California safer, while opponents said it will unfairly harm law-abiding gun owners and is primarily aimed at getting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom elected governor. Newsom turned in 600,000 signatures last week for an initiative that would require background checks for ammunition purchasers, ban large-capacity magazines, make gun thefts a felony and require those convicted of serious crimes to give up their firearms within 14 days. The Assembly and Senate Public Safety committees held a joint hearing on the proposal Tuesday in anticipation of the measure qualifying. Craig DeLuz, head of the Firearms Policy Coalition, told lawmakers that most of the provisions in the initiative have been rejected by the Legislature or the governor as too extreme or unworkable. He said the real purpose of the initiative is to get Newsom elected as governor in 2018. Its for one individual to get his name in the paper so he can run for higher office, DeLuz told the lawmakers. That drew a rubuke from state Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley), chair of the Senate panel. I do take offense at the personal attacks on the proponents of the intiative, Hancock said during the hearing. Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) responded, saying the initiative is unnecessary. I am equally offended that the person who came up with this initiative isnt here today to address this body, she said. Thats incredibly disrespectful. Newsom, who has fueded with legislative leaders who are pursuing their own gun control bills, did not attend the hearing, instead participating in a memorial service held for California Highway Patrol officers, a representative said. Attorneys for the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which co-wrote the initiative, told lawmakers it will plug serious loopholes in Californias tough gun laws. We believe reasonably that more can and should be done to protect California families and keep lethal weapons out of dangerous hands, added Ari Freilich, a staff attorney at the center. The initiative was criticized by Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Michele Hanisee, president of the Assn. of Deputy District Attorneys of Los Angeles, who predicted many people will not obey the new laws requiring them to get rid of high-capacity magazines. The initiative places additional burdens on an already overburdened court system, she added. None of the lawmakers at the hearing commited to endorsing the initiative. Lawmakers raised questions about the cost of enforcing the initiative, but the Legislative Analysts Office said the bulk of costs may be recovered by fees authorized by the measure. Hancock said she is interested in alternative approaches to addressing gun violence, including a look at improving mental health services. On Monday, the California Senate is expected to approve a bill that would allow women to pick up a years worth of birth control pills at a time, instead of forcing them, as their health insurance companies so often do, to return to the pharmacy every month or every three months for refills. A years supply of contraception, studies show, reduces unwanted pregnancies, lowers the abortion rate and saves millions of dollars. There is a need for consistent, uninterrupted contraception, said the bills author, Democratic state Sen. Fran Pavley, when she introduced the measure, SB 999, at a committee hearing last week. Its especially important, she said, for women who live in rural areas, or whose busy schedules make it difficult to get to the pharmacy to keep refilling a prescription. Its a bill whose time has come. Advertisement Ill get to why in a moment, but first its important to understand why this modest proposal could have such a major impact. To get a handle on the issue, UC San Francisco researchers analyzed the birth control supplies and pregnancy rates among 84,401 California women. The study was conducted in 2011 based on data from 2006. Eleven percent of the women got a one-year supply of birth control, 58% got a three-month supply, and 20% got a one-month supply. Women who received only a 30-day or 90-day supply of contraception had a much higher rate of unintended pregnancy than women who took home a years supply at a time. Why is that? Because women work. They go to school. They dont always plan things meticulously. If you are busy, or if you live in a rural community, refilling a birth control prescription can be a burden. Every time you have to stop and pick up your pills, thats life getting in the way, said Deborah Rotenberg, legal counsel for Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, a cosponsor of the bill. Yet, unlike blood pressure or cholesterol-lowering meds, where missing a days dose will not hurt you, missing a day or two of birth control pills can result in instant fertility and an unwanted pregnancy. Diana Greene Foster, the lead author of the UC San Francisco study, told the UCSF News Service that providing only a months worth of oral contraceptives at a time to women is similar to asking people to visit a clinic or pharmacy to renew their seat belts each month. A separate analysis by the California Health Benefits Review Program, which was created in 2002 to provide the Legislature with independent analyses of proposed health insurance mandates, found that fewer office visits and fewer unintended pregnancies would result in a savings of about $42.8 million a year. It also estimated a decrease of 15,000 unintended pregnancies per year (resulting in 6,000 fewer live births, 2,000 fewer miscarriages and 7,000 fewer abortions). These kinds of results from a research or medical standpoint are just astounding, Dr. Mitchell Creinin said when he testified last month at a state Senate hearing on the bill. Creinin is chief of family planning in the UC Davis Health Systems Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. A 12-month supply decreases pregnancy rates and abortion substantially. This is a life-altering change. A 12-month supply decreases pregnancy rates and abortion substantially. This is a life-altering change. Dr. Mitchell Creinin, UC Davis By the way, doctors generally write 12-month prescriptions. Its insurance companies that prevent women from receiving more than a 30- or 90-day supply, which is frustrating to physicians as well. Were trying to remove barriers, said Creinin, and we know that removing barriers when a woman is trying to prevent unintended pregnancy is important. Health insurance industry opposition to this bill is a head-scratcher. Steffanie Watkins of the Assn. of California Life and Health Insurance Companies sounded almost regretful when she told state senators last month that her group opposes the bill because women might get a years worth of pills and then not use them all. That just seems silly. Researchers found that a miniscule number of pills go unused. Anyway, compare the cost of a few wasted pills against the cost of prenatal care, plus labor and delivery. Or an abortion. Its not even close. A conversation I had with Nicole Evans of the California Assn. of Health Care Plans was more on point. We have a standard position on benefit mandates, she told me. They drive up the cost of coverage. But, but, but, I said, there are studies showing this measure could save millions of dollars a year! Evans had not seen them, she said, and they didnt really matter, since the position of the industry is that mandates drive up costs. (Even if they dont, I guess.) The bottom line is insurance companies dont want to be told how to run their business, said Kathy Kneer, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. Its a principle thats near and dear to their heart. :: In 2013-2014, the California Health Benefits Review Program estimated, 744,000 California women between the ages of 15 and 44 were using hormone-based contraception like the pill, the patch or the vaginal ring. Only 5,000 women received a 12-month supply. If Pavleys bill becomes law, that number could jump to 285,000. To get a sense of how the law might affect a real person, I put in a call to my reliable, one-woman reproductive rights focus group. Shes a 23-year-old college graduate who works in a San Francisco medical clinic. I told her about the proposal, which will need to be approved by the state Assembly and signed by the governor before it becomes law. Oh thank God! my daughter, Chloe, practically shouted into my ear. That was such a rude awakening for me that you have to go to the pharmacy every month for your pills! Its such a hassle! What if you cant get your [act] together to go pick them up? That happened to my friend. She got pregnant and had to have an abortion. I have no idea why insurance companies are resisting a common sense proposal to make contraception less onerous for women. Its a foolish kind of consistency that puts principles before the needs of real, live human beings. MORE FROM ROBIN ABCARIAN California is poised to become the center of cannabis culture Dont blame the smelt: The salmon too reflects the dire state of the California Delta The family of David Silva received a $3.4-million settlement from Kern County, but did they get justice? robin.abcarian@latimes.com @AbcarianLAT Just the spot for space and science nerds ET-94, the 15-story orange tank, had celebrity status in Marina del Rey Friday night before it took off on its journey through city streets. The tank, sitting in a parking lot at Fishermans Village, could be seen across the marina at Burton Chace Park, where Los Angeles County hosted an outer-space-themed public party. In the park, a giant banner read: Marina del Rey Welcomes ET-94. Crowds lined up at a fence by the water to snap selfies and gaze at the tank. One man wore a shirt that read, Occupy Mars. It looks like the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, Michael Jimenez, 30, of Playa Vista said, laughing, as he took photos of ET-94 from the park. Jimenez had come with his wife and cousin to see the tank and wondered aloud what it would look like standing upright, with the shuttle Endeavour, in its new home at the California Science Center. Lisa Lascody, of Marina del Rey, had come Wednesday morning to see the tank arrive by sea barge and said she couldnt resist the space party and a few more photos with ET-94. She wore a T-shirt that said, Space: The Final Frontier. But she was outdone by her friend Tara Lewis of Palms, who works in the fashion industry. Lewis was decked out in a full orange NASA astronaut costume and a bright green wig. Were space and science nerds, Lewis said. The Endeavour and now the tank? It was all pretty cool, she said. Another woman snapping photos of the ET-94 put it this way: Its so random. COLUMBUS For we walk by faith not by sight: 2 Corinthians 5:7. With all Mikayla Loseke has endured throughout her nine years on Earth, this Bible verse became her favorite and she wanted to find a way share it with others while helping those in need. Mikaylas sister Jordyn, 8, was completing chores for her grandparents and neighbors to raise money for Thursday's Columbus Big Give. But Mikayla kept asking, What can I do, what can I do? said their mother Katie, who is executive director of Youth for Christ. But its really hard to find something she can do. Mikayla lost her vision at a young age from neurofibromatosis, an aggressive disease that causes tumors to form on nerve tissues. She also suffers from seizures. She has never really let her limitations stop her, Katie said. For the first time in two years Mikayla had a two-month break from chemotherapy trial treatments in Chicago, giving her time to learn how to use a six-key Braille typewriter. She came up with the idea to make Braille cards with her favorite Bible verse, 2 Corinthians 5:7. With the help of her teachers at Platte Center Elementary School, they went to work, creating personalized Bible verse cards by order. Within two weeks she was able to raise $170, money she donated to Sammy's Superheroes, a local nonprofit that supports pediatric cancer research. Jordyn, who started the spirit of giving in the Loseke household, felt she hadnt made enough, so she broke into her piggy bank and used her birthday money to donate a total of $54 to Youth for Christ. Im so proud of them, Katie said. With me working at YFC they see firsthand that there are people out there that need help. They were just so excited to know they were helping others. Even Katies 3-year-old daughter Elizabeth got in on the action, collecting $1 by helping Jordyn pick up sticks. With the help of $225 raised by the Loseke sisters, Big Give officials announced Friday morning the 24-hour event raised $85,545 for 36 participating nonprofits. The event raised nearly $60,000 last year and $23,000 in 2014. Erin Nahorny with Sammy's Superheroes said she believes the three donation sites set up at Super Saver, Hy-Vee and Wal-Mart boosted contributions. It really helped catch more people versus the one giving station the last years, she said. Some organizations also set up their own donation sites and money could be contributed online. More than 750 donations were made in all. The Japanese American children who spent years in World War II internment camps were hopeful. Some thought racial discrimination would end after the war, they wrote in letters about their daily lives. But now, the grown-up survivors are seeing another group endure isolation and hatred: Muslim Americans. That link is illustrated by the Muslim American children, ages 7-13, in filmmaker Frank Chis video, as they read the letters aloud with internment camp survivors (not the writers of the original letters). The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center posted Chis video on its Facebook page this week. Its part of a Memorial Day exhibit called CrossLines: A Culture Lab on Intersectionality, and its meant to remind people that hateful words arent just words they can cause real fear and harm. In a November statement arguing against allowing Syrian refugees into the country, a Virginia mayor referenced the internment camps. After the San Bernardino terrorist attack and since, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S. Camp survivors say this language is too similar to what they heard decades ago.If you ask me, 'Could this happen again to youngsters?' The answer is absolutely yes," said Rep. Mike Honda (D-San Jose). When we let down our guard as citizens and political leaders ... bad things happen." ------------ FOR THE RECORD 7:22 a.m.: An earlier version of this article identified Rep. Mike Honda as (D-Walnut Grove). The designation should have been (D-San Jose). ------------ Honda is one of the Japanese camp survivors who appears in the video, next to 11-year-old Zaid Syed, from Virginia. A 1942 letter from Louise Ogawa to Clara Breed (Japanese American National Museum) (Test) In the video, Zaid reads part of a letter that a girl named Louise Ogawa sent in 1942. "One discouraging thing which occurred here is the building of the fence," Zaid reads, standing next to Honda in front of the American flag. "Now there is a fence all around this camp. I hope very soon this fence will be torn down." This video is one form of speaking out against hateful rhetoric, Honda said. That's the lesson Saba Baig wanted to teach her son Zaid, when she agreed to let him be a part of the video. Baig was born in 1976 to parents who grew up in Pakistan and raised her in New Jersey. She remembers multiculturalism being celebrated at her school, but that feeling of acceptance has changed in the last decade. ------------ FOR THE RECORD 7:07 a.m.: An earlier version of this article stated that Saba Baig was born in 1986. She was born in 1976. ------------ Last year Baig was with Zaid and other family members at an ice cream parlor, when a man noticed her hijab and began telling the family that they should be Christian and that their children would die and go to hell, she said. Other patrons chased the man out of the shop, and the manager called police. But before someone intervened, Baig saw that her children "had fear in their eyes." This video, Baig said, was a way to teach her son how to combat hate in a positive way. Where did the letters come from? In the 1940s, as Japanese American families were being rounded up and sent into years of imprisonment, a librarian in San Diego named Clara Breed gave children paper and ink and stamps. She told them to write to her, and she sent them books and letters. Chi came across the collection of letters on the Japanese American National Museum's website. The museum, in Downtown L.A., houses the collection in an archive. A 1943 letter from Louise Ogawa. (Japanese American National Museum) (Test) The letters discuss life in the camps, what the children hoped for upon their release, how they wanted America to look. "I am sure when this war is over there will be no racial discrimination," reads one letter, "And we won't have to doubt for a minute the great principles of democracy." The video includes six pairs of children and Japanese elders, reading from three different letters: two from from Louise Ogawa in Arizona and one from Fusa Tsumagari in Minneapolis. Breed is a beloved figure in the Japanese American community, said Greg Kimura, president and chief executive of the Japanese American National Museum. ------------ FOR THE RECORD 10:08 a.m.: An earlier version of this article omitted a full identification of Greg Kimura, president and chief executive of the Japanese American National Museum. ------------ She was a representative of mainstream America who made sure these children knew that their thoughts mattered, Kimura said. Chi shot most of the video in the Menlo Park home of Claire Haratani Chambers, an 89-year-old who was incarcerated in camp as a teen. Six family members went from a three-bedroom Santa Clara house on a 10-acre farm with walnut trees and raspberries into one room, first at Santa Anita and then in Heart Mountain, Wyo. A 1945 letter from Fusa Tsumagari. (Japanese American National Museum) (Test) "When we left [home], no one was at the station to say goodbye to us," said Chambers, who had no one to send letters to. " Clara Breed "was very courageous and very thoughtful. Though the letters aren't currently on display at the museum, they are online. Chambers wants people to see this video to understand what children like her went through because other Americans make judgments based on religion or race. It happened once," she said. "It should never happen again." Reach Sonali Kohli at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com or on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli. When the long-awaited Expo Line extension opens Friday at noon, passengers will ride from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica in 50 minutes. Thats an improvement over the ugly rush-hour commutes many days on the 10 Freeway. But its roughly as long as the trip took on the old Pacific Electric Red Cars, which operated a similar route six decades ago. Speed is one of the biggest challenges facing regional planners as they try to coax Los Angeles drivers out of their cars and onto public transit. Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials say they hope to convert 20% to 25% of Angelenos into regular transit riders, triple the current percentage. Advertisement See the most-read stories this hour >> Although the regions ambitious rail building boom will help, experts say, the mandate would be easier if trains and buses made for a quicker trip than a car. Unlike mass transit systems in other major cities, such as New York and Washington, the majority of L.A.'s 105-mile passenger rail network runs at street level, rather than elevated or underground. That helps keep construction costs lower, but means the speed of the trains is dictated at least in part by the regions infamous traffic. To have a lot of people riding the train, it needs to be a competitive service, which light rail is not always, said Lisa Schweitzer, a USC associate professor in transportation and urban planning. Trains heading north into downtown Los Angeles frequently stop at traffic lights, she said, and are rarely faster than bus lines operating on congested streets. The trains travel time isnt terrible, she said, but longer than it should be. Most light-rail vehicles are capable of speeds up to 60 mph, three times faster than the Expo Lines average. On sections of the line that run at street level, Expo Line trains follow the speed limit, typically 30 mph to 35 mph. Metros long road to the Expo Line began more than three decades ago, after a series of subway construction disasters and persistent cost overruns. Interested in the stories shaping California? Sign up for the free Essential California newsletter >> The 1985 methane gas explosion that left 23 people hurt, and a 1995 sinkhole on Hollywood Boulevard, sparked laws at home and in Washington that banned the use of federal and local dollars for subway construction. So transportation planners turned to other options to link the Westside and downtown. They quickly discarded an elevated train concept along Wilshire Boulevard, but continued to study a light-rail line along a right-of-way where Southern Pacific trains had once run. By eliminating land acquisition and tunneling, officials reasoned, the agency would save enough money to create a rapid-bus route along Wilshire. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> Still, consultants noted in 1998, light-rail had its drawbacks. Trains running at street level through intersections posed some safety considerations, they said, including collisions with cars. Today, trains move quickly along the 6.6-mile extension, slicing through Palms, Sawtelle and West Los Angeles on primarily elevated tracks before re-entering mixed traffic in Santa Monica. The trip from Culver City to the new terminus, at 4th Street and Colorado Avenue, will take about 22 minutes. An Expo Line Metro train operator goes on a practice run from the downtown Santa Monica station on Thursday. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times ) But the design of the eastern half of the line, which opened four years ago, continues to dog Metro. Trains run almost entirely at street level, passing through 29 intersections, only six of which have crossing arms to prevent cars from cutting in. Los Angeles has tried to coordinate stoplights along the route to give trains a green light wherever possible, said Sean Skehan, a senior transportation engineer. But if a train leaves a station behind schedule, or is held up by a driver pulling across the tracks, the light will eventually change. An online petition with nearly 1,400 signatures, prompted by a story in the L.A. Weekly, asks transportation officials give Metro trains signal pre-emption, meaning lights would immediately change to green when a train approached, the same system used by ambulances and firetrucks. An Expo Line test train passes over a busy and congested Cloverfield Blvd. in Santa Monica on Thursday. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times ) With an estimated 64,000 daily trips on the line by 2030, the Expo Line should get priority, advocates said. Slowing a train down isnt the way to get people out of their cars, wrote one petitioner. Nobody wants to sit in a traffic jam ON A TRAIN! another wrote. But even total signal priority wouldnt solve congestion issues at the citys most troubled rail junction, Skehan said. At Washington Boulevard and Flower Street, the Expo Line and Blue Line converge onto a shared track. Because Blue Line trains can be longer than a city block, they can obstruct more than one intersection at a time. As a result, they mostly receive the first green light, meaning Expo Line trains often sit and wait. Northbound and southbound trains pass by so frequently during peak periods that pedestrians and drivers could wait for five minutes before crossing if trains always received priority, he said. There are times when the train has to stop briefly, or not so briefly. Sean Skehan, a senior transportation for the L.A. Department of Transportation, delays when light rail trains converge on downtown L.A. There are times when the train has to stop briefly, or not so briefly, Skehan said. The typical light cycle in downtown is 1 minute, so a train that just misses a green light could sit for nearly 60 seconds before restarting not a torturous wait, but long enough to irritate passengers. Stretches of track at street level, without gates, are the most vulnerable part of the Metro rail system, and one of the leading causes of major delays. In the last three months alone, the Expo Line has struck three cars sitting on the tracks in the downtown area. The answer, Skehan said, is to untangle cars and trains from the same routes wherever possible, either by tunneling or building bridges. But both are costly options. Major grade-crossing improvements, such as building an overpass, can cost more than $20 million, which poses difficulties for California transportation agencies with long project wish lists. As soon as you start putting things above ground, or putting things below ground, your capital costs go up, Schweitzer said. When that happens, people who are cognizant of the cost and benefits say, Well, darn, if we were going to put it under the ground, we could have had a subway. Another way to speed up the trains express service isnt on the table. Most of the Metro rail system has just one set of tracks in each direction, in part because the agency built rail along existing rights-of-way, and in part because laying more track and building extra platforms costs more. An Expo Line test train in Santa Monica on Tursday. The line opens Friday. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times ) It was considered, but it was impractical, Metro spokesman Paul Gonzales said of running Expo Line express trains. Youre eventually going to catch up with the train in front of you. A decade ago, Metro tried running express trains on the Gold Line between Union Station and Pasadena during peak periods. Officials had hoped that shaving five minutes off the 34-minute trip, skipping eight of 13 stations, would boost lackluster ridership. But express trains blowing past crowded platforms at rush hour confused riders, officials said, and the local trains became more crowded because Metro did not add cars. The service stopped a year later. Still, Metro staff point out, 50 minutes to Santa Monica is a vast improvement over current east-west bus routes, which take about an hour and a half. And, they say, the hope is that commuters will see the other benefits. Commute times are generally predictable. Passengers can read, or nap, or watch the scenery flash by. And a one-way trip costs $1.75, about the cost of half a gallon of gas. ALSO Lawmakers block effort to make child death records secret Californias fight against the Zika-carrying cockroach of mosquitoes Counter-terrorism security increases at LAX after EgyptAir Flight 804 disappears laura.nelson@latimes.com For more transportation news, follow @laura_nelson on Twitter. Flames erupted Friday morning at Seal Beach Pier, destroying the old Rubys Diner and sending a column of smoke over the area. The fire began just after 7:30 a.m. at the end of the pier in the 900 block of Ocean Avenue in Seal Beach. Flames were spotted under the pier, with fire extending to the abandoned restaurant, said Capt. Larry Kurtz of the Orange County Fire Authority. Advertisement At least 70 firefighters and eight fire boats tackled the flames as they swept through the 1950s-themed diner. By 9 a.m., most of the flames had been extinguished. There is some involvement to the pier but not too much, he said ."Pier inspectors will look at the integrity of the wood and determine what repairs need to be made in order for it to be safe to the public again. See the most-read stories this hour >> The Orange County Sheriffs Department sent a harbor patrol boat to help fight the blaze, spokesman Lt. Mark Stichter said and the Long Beach and Los Angeles County fire departments also assisted. The Seal Beach Pier has been damaged and destroyed several times over the decades by storms and fire. In 1983, the pier was damaged when huge storm waves cresting beneath it lifted 1,140 feet of the 1,835-foot deck off its pilings. The pier, an iconic part of the citys identity, was rebuilt with the help of private donations. The new pier was built of wood to preserve its historic look. Fire damaged the pier in 1992 and 1994, but each time it was restored. Join the conversation on Facebook >> The restaurant closed in 2013 after operating at the pier for 25 years. At the time, Seal Beach officials said the restaurant chain had decided not extend its agreement with the city. Seal Beach later declared the restaurant a public nuisance due to multiple deficiencies and unsafe conditions, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported. The cause of the blaze is under investigation. ALSO Seal Beach Pier has been battered by fires, storms and quakes From the Archives: Seal Beach Pier 1994 blaze blamed on short-circuit Man accused of racist drawing: Theyre trying to crucify me For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter. UPDATES: 9:29 a.m.: This story was updated with more information about Rubys Diner and the Seal Beach Pier. This story was originally posted at 8:22 a.m. Attention, Hermosa Beach smokers: Youve been getting off easy for years, but thats all about to change. The city banned smoking on its beaches and along its popular Pier Plaza nearly four years ago, joining other cities like Santa Monica and Los Angeles in outlawing tobacco in many public places. (Its also illegal to smoke in Hermosa Beach parks, outdoor dining areas and parking lots.) But Hermosa Beach police officers have let the vast majority of offenders go with only a slap on the wrist. While handing out about 350 warnings a month, city officers issued only a dozen citations for smoking violations in 2013, six in 2014 and 13 last year. Four smokers have been cited so far in 2016, according to police statistics. Advertisement See the most-read stories this hour >> Violators can be fined between $100 and $500. Though many municipalities have enacted smoking bans, it can be difficult to determine how many tobacco-related citations have been issued, said Stanton A. Glantz, director of the UC San Francisco Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. And citations dont necessarily equal stricter enforcement, he said. Its not at all unusual for there not to be a lot of tickets if the government has made it clear to the public theyre serious about enforcement, Glantz said. People start obeying the law. But, in the near future, people caught lighting up in Hermosa should expect more severe penalties. Interested in the stories shaping California? Sign up for the free Essential California newsletter >> City and police officials have started posting no smoking signs and are meeting with business owners to remind them of the regulations. Police will give the public some time to adjust, before cracking down around Memorial Day, according to Sharon Papa, the citys police chief. Its almost like a relaunch, she said. Its unclear why Hermosa Beach didnt strictly enforce the smoking regulations earlier, but enforcement wasnt as comprehensive as we would like, Papa said. ALSO Man nearly beaten to death by mob in San Francisco, police say Metro Expo Line opens to Santa Monica Police make a gruesome discovery in San Bernardino after 60-mile freeway chase jason.song@latimes.com @byjsong The Los Angeles City Council on Thursday voted unanimously to adopt Mayor Eric Garcettis proposed $8.76-billion budget for the coming fiscal year, signing off on a plan that includes dramatic increases to spending on housing and services for the citys growing homeless population. Council members left virtually unchanged the budget presented by Garcetti last month, making minor adjustments to funding for community programs, the budgetary reserve and non-sworn office staff for the police department. Councilman Paul Krekorian, chairman of the citys Budget and Finance Committee, said in a statement that the budget was healthy and fiscally responsible and marked a significant step toward reducing homelessness. Advertisement See the most-read stories this hour >> Up 2% from last year, the budget featured few significant changes to government staffing or programs. The exception was Garcettis proposal to spend $138 million on homelessness programs in the coming year a more than fourfold increase from the $34 million the city appropriated last year for homelessness. Only $71 million of that amount is money the city has on hand. Garcetti says an additional $67 million will be realized during the next year through a fee on developers he has proposed and the sale or development of unused city property. The new cash infusion comes as both the city and county struggle with growing numbers of the homeless, many inhabiting the makeshift encampments that have become a familiar sight from Venice to the Verdugo Wash. This month the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority announced that the problem had grown worse over the last year, with an estimated 28,000 now homeless in the city. Interested in the stories shaping California? Sign up for the free Essential California newsletter >> The budget that was approved today shows that the City Council is putting money where our mouths are, Councilman Mike Bonin, whose Westside district has is home to many street encampments, said in a statement. There have been far too many press conferences calling for the eradication of homelessness and far too few votes to provide the money we need to actually accomplish our goals. The $138 million is a sizable increase from homelessness funding in previous years, but it remains a modest down payment on the $2-billion plan to house the homeless approved by the mayor and council this year. City officials are considering a ballot measure that would ask voters to help fund the remaining costs through a tax or bond. A formal budget resolution will go before the council again next week for a procedural vote, then to Garcetti for his signature. The mayor said in a statement Thursday that he would sign the budget, calling it a critical step to solving this [homelessness] crisis. peter.jamison@latimes.com Twitter: @petejamison ALSO LAPD union sues Chief Charlie Beck over corrupting influence in discipline process Failures that led to Santa Barbara oil spill were completely unacceptable, investigators say S.F. police chief quits amid growing scandals and racial bias claims against the department Counter-terrorism security measures were heightened Friday at the Los Angeles International Airport in the wake of the disappearance of EgyptAir Flight 804. Los Angeles Airport Police say security was strengthened as it monitors events and intelligence, both abroad and domestically. The safety and security of passengers, airport workers and visitors is the number one priority of the Los Airport Police Division, Sgt. Belinda Joseph said in a statement. Advertisement The increased measures come after the Airbus A320 aircraft lost radar contact early Thursday, four hours into a flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 people aboard. See the most-read stories this hour >> The Egyptian navy found wreckage from the missing plane in the Mediterranean Sea, officials said Friday. Investigators say terrorism likely caused the crash, but they have not ruled out technical failures. In Los Angeles, airport police said they will conduct random checkpoints at airport entrances. Airport officers assigned to the Joint Regional Intelligence Center and the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force are constantly sharing and receiving real-time intelligence, Joseph said. Police have restricted access to more than 150 doors in passenger terminals. Additional officers have also been assigned to a Vulnerability Analysis and Assessment Unit. The unit monitors employee access points, conducts checkpoints and randomly screens airline workers. Join the conversation on Facebook >> More than 48,000 credentialed employees have gone through background checks and have undergone specific security measures. While some may consider these individuals as 48,000 potential threats, airport police sees them as 48,000 sets of eyes capable of observing behavior that is uncharacteristic or suspicious and reporting that information to airport police who can respond quickly to investigate, Joseph said. Police advised airport passengers, If you see something, say something. veronica.rocha@latimes.com For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter. ALSO Metro Expo Line opens to Santa Monica Fire burning on Seal Beach Pier Man accused of racist drawing: Theyre trying to crucify me A trio of robbers have hit at least two dozen banks throughout Los Angeles County in the last six months and are becoming increasingly brazen, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The three have targeted banks from Long Beach to Pasadena and most recently barged into a bank branch in Artesia on April 28, according to detectives with the LAPDs Robbery-Homicide Division. The three men sometimes shield their faces with caps as they enter the bank. Initially, they would pass a note to a teller, demand money and threaten violence while claiming to be armed, investigators said. Recently, they have taken to jumping over the tellers counter. Advertisement Surveillance footage from the Artesia robbery shows one of the suspects cleaning money out of a tellers drawer while another stands at the counter holding what appears to be a handgun. A bank employee can be seen lying on the floor. See the most-read stories this hour >> The three are described as black and about 25 to 30 years old, according to the Los Angeles Police Departments Robbery-Homicide Division. Two of them are between 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 170 to 190 pounds. The third man is about 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing 140 to 160 pounds. In recent robberies, the suspects have become increasingly brazen and have jumped over the tellers counter. LAPD The robberies began in Rosemead last Nov. 17 with the Pacific Alliance Bank on East Valley Boulevard. In the weeks that followed, the suspects began hitting locations in Southeast L.A. County and then parts of the San Fernando Valley. Join the conversation on Facebook >> Investigators from the LAPD, the L.A. Sheriffs Department, Long Beach, Pasadena and Alhambra are all working on the robberies. Many of the crimes have been captured on high-quality video cameras inside the bank branches, and investigators hope someone will recognize the men. Anyone with information about the case is urged to call LAPD Det. Chuck Geiger at 213-486-6890, Sheriffs Det. Mike Coleman 562-533-3271 or the FBI at 310-477-6565. After-hours calls may be made to the LAPD at 877-527-3247. ALSO A battered Seal Beach icon burns yet again L.A. City Council president gets restraining order against man accused of racist threat Fire breaks out at worlds largest solar power plant near Nevada border The man accused of making racist threats on a public comment card directed toward Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson said that he would apologize but insisted that the drawing of a burning cross and a man hung from a tree with a racial epithet amounted to satire. Wayne Spindler, an Encino-based attorney who specializes in immigration law, told The Times that he didnt expect such an uproar and denied that he threatened Wesson. The 46-year-old said his exercise of free speech in the vein of the controversial French publication Charlie Hebdo has been inflated in order to stymie participation. Wesson, the first black councilman to serve as president, was sending a message to City Hall critics, he alleged. Advertisement This is what you get when you go against us, Spindler said of his arrest on May 13 at City Hall, where he is frequently seen at council meetings. Its a warning. [Wesson] is setting an example to tell all the other activists: Stay out. See the most-read stories this hour >> A spokeswoman for Wesson emphasized that the councilman strongly supports and defends the 1st Amendment. The issue at hand is not about the right to free speech, according to Vanessa Rodriguez. Rather, [it is] about one individual using racial epithets to threaten anothers life, and that will not be tolerated in the most diverse city in the nation. In Spindlers telling, the blue marker drawings submitted during a May 11 committee meeting in Van Nuys are a portrayal of Los Angeles politics. The card appears to depict a Ku Klux Klan figure holding a sign that states, Herb = [N-word]. The image of a body dangling from a tree by a noose is evocative of the lynching of blacks in the 19th and 20th centuries. The burning cross, he said, refers to how the city is burning down with corruption. The person hanging by the tree captured how Department of Water and Power customers would suffer with a recently approved rate increase. Were getting lynched with a 20% rate hike, Spindler said. The hooded figure that resembles a Ku Klux Klansman carrying a noose, he said, was a spin on the animated icon from the citys water conservation campaign, Save the Drop L.A. Spindler said he just added legs and arms. And the use of the N-word to label Wesson? He gets called this by black speakers, white speakers, Spindler said. Join the conversation on Facebook >> Wesson has asserted a different interpretation, and pointedly addressed Spindler near the end of the meeting where the card was submitted. He calls me the N-word and has [an image] of me hanging from a tree, Wesson told the audience. So I just want to go on record to make sure that the city attorneys office knows that this idiot has done what hes done, not man enough ... to come up to my face and say something like that. When Spindler began to respond from the audience, Wesson instructed the sergeants to show him the way out, according to audio of the meeting. You get out. You get out, Wesson said. Nobodys threatening you. You just need to treat people respectfully, and you dont know how to do that. But as Spindler sees it, Wesson silenced him and prevented him from giving a response. Rather than challenging me to a fight, how about asking for an apology? He never did. I tried to explain, Spindler said, reiterating that he would apologize for the card. You dont say, Come up and say it to my face, he added, cackling. Thats not constituent services! The card was later shown to police, and investigators with the LAPDs Threat Management Unit concluded that the drawings warranted taking Spindler into custody. Spindler said that two days after the meeting, he was following a typical routine when he was arrested as he entered City Hall. LAPD officers handcuffed him and put him in jail, booking him on a felony count of making a criminal threat. He was released on bail that night. Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the L.A. County district attorneys office, confirmed that prosecutors were evaluating the case and deciding whether to file charges. Spindler is scheduled to be arraigned June 10. NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >> After news of the arrest emerged this week, Spindler said he has felt anger, fear and mortification. He insists he is not a Ku Klux Klan member, although he sometimes wears a white hood with a swastika at council meetings. Spindler says he wears the hood to symbolize the clan mentality of the LAPD, and he wasnt wearing a hood on the night of the May 11 meeting. As an attorney, Spindler said he often represents immigrants facing the prospect of deportation. On Thursday morning, shortly after photos of him were plastered in the news media, he had to appear at a hearing in Adelanto for a client, he said. Najee Ali, a local activist and director of Project Islamic Hope, called for Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey to file hate crime charges against Spindler. Others have called for his law license to be revoked or for the State Bar of California to discipline him, but Spindler said his City Hall protests should be kept separate from his part-time legal practice. They are trying to crucify me because I have a bar license, Spindler said. Do you want to take a guys livelihood away? Spindler has had a long history of outrageous behavior during public meetings, City Councilman Paul Koretz said. But the councilman said the comment card took things into new territory. This is reaching a point where one wonders if he isnt a real danger, Koretz said. Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, one of three black members of the council, said the drawing of the noose was unprecedented and a direct communication of an act of violence. Spindler said he meant no harm, and if he could do it over again, he would fill out his comment card a different way. I would put down, Boring meeting, vote no on the proposition, he said. But we dont have time machines, do we? matt.hamilton@latimes.com | Twitter: @MattHjourno emily.alpert@latimes.com | Twitter: @LATimesemily david.zahniser@latimes.com | Twitter: @davidzahniser ALSO Metro Expo Line opens to Santa Monica Counter-terrorism security increases at LAX after EgyptAir Flight 804 disappears Lawmakers block effort to make child death records secret A man and two teenagers were arrested Friday after trying to light a body on fire in a trash bin in San Bernardino, then leading police on a wild chase through Southern California, authorities said. An officer was patrolling the area near 6th Street and Sterling Avenue at 1:09 a.m. when he spotted three people lighting something on fire, said Lt. Rich Lawhead, spokesman for the San Bernardino Police Department. The officer tried to stop the trio, but they fled in a pickup truck that was hauling a trailer. Advertisement See the most-read stories this hour >> A chase began that eventually covered more than 60 miles on the 10, 57, 710 and 105 freeways, police said. At some point during the pursuit in San Bernardino, the teens jumped out of the truck or were dropped off, authorities said. California Highway Patrol units were finally able to stop the driver on Orizaba Avenue near Golden Avenue in Paramount, CHP Officer Tony Polizzi said. The driver, later identified as Enrique Jimenez of Highland Park, was taken into custody. The teens were also arrested. After the pursuit ended, San Bernardino police returned to the trash bin, where they made a gruesome discovery. A body of a man in his 40s was found inside the bin in a vacant field, Lawhead said. Detectives believe the man was killed in Highland and later abandoned in the field, where he was soaked with an accelerant and lit on fire, he said. Investigators obtained search warrants and collected evidence from the multiple crime scenes connected to the incident, Lawhead said. ALSO Man nearly beaten to death by mob in San Francisco, police say Metro Expo Line opens to Santa Monica Once-sedate L.A. Police Commission meetings upended by protesters set on disrupting business as usual For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter. Hundreds gathered Thursday evening in a Los Angeles theater for a powerful discussion of the suffering and violence of wars and the role of artists, journalists and the global media in covering the human toll of such conflict. Held at the wood-paneled Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Hancock Park, the event kicked off a two-day confab featuring panel discussions with seasoned foreign correspondents, bestselling writers such as Sebastian Junger, and intrepid photographers such as Nick Ut of the Associated Press, whose images showed children in flight from a napalm bombing during the Vietnam War. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> Advertisement The summit features several winners of the Pulitzer Prize, the top award in American journalism, arts and letters, and is one of several events commemorating the 100th awarding of the prestigious prize. Kim Murphy, the assistant managing editor for foreign and national news at the Los Angeles Times and the 2005 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting, led the discussion with a panel that included novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen, Harvard University professor Fredrik Logevall and Junger, a novelist and documentary director. Threaded through the conversation was the central role of the media in telling the story of war and its costs. Nguyen, who won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his debut novel The Sympathizer, focused on the impact of the media narrative. How we tell stories about war shapes our understanding of them, and how we fight future wars, said Nguyen, later stating that while war necessarily entails encountering people of other nations, those in the U.S. often have an American-centric view of war. Murphy asked Junger, who chronicled the war in Afghanistan in his documentary film Restrepo, why he featured few Afghan people in his film. Soldiers, Junger said, rarely interacted with people so he wanted to make a film that communicated the experience of American soldiers. War contains narratives these ancient narratives of courage, community, selflessness, cowardice and all these ancient things, Junger said. And its played very smartly in these war movies. The summit continues Friday at the Ebell Theatre, starting with a morning panel on war reporting featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning veteran foreign correspondents including Murphy, Times photojournalist Carolyn Cole and David Rohde, the 1996 international reporting winner. Later panels focus on migration and veterans, the latter of which includes investigative reporter Dana Priest. ALSO Arraignments for ex-Beaumont city leaders accused of corruption are delayed L.A. City Council approves surge in homeless spending in $8.76-billion budget California student killed in Paris attacks receives degree posthumously For more California news, follow me @MattHjourno. E-mail me at matt.hamilton@latimes.com. The shooting death of an unarmed black woman by San Francisco police Thursday set off a chain of events that ended with San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr stepping down. The department said that shortly before 10 a.m., two officers spotted a suspected stolen car with a woman in the drivers seat. When the officers tried to make contact, she drove off but collided with a truck near the end of a dead-end street. As officers tried to take her into custody, the woman attempted to move the vehicle. One of the officers opened fire, striking the woman. She was later pronounced dead at a hospital, police said. Advertisement The womans name was not released. She was identified as a 26-year-old African American. This was the latest of several recent police killings that have raised tensions the city. She was entitled to due process and, above all, she was entitled to her life, said San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi in a statement, calling the shooting disturbing. See the most-read stories this hour >> U.S. Department of Justice officials were also looking into the shooting. Surh stepped down Thursday at the request of Mayor Edwin Lee. The shooting was the latest in a series of scandals that have rocked the department, prompting a federal probe and public demand for reform. Lee said he met with Suhr and asked for his resignation after learning of the shooting in the Bayview neighborhood earlier in the day. Lee had previously expressed confidence in Suhr, praising the chief for understanding the need for reform, even as public calls had mounted for his ouster. But the mayor said progress has been too slow. These officer-involved shootings, justified or not, have forced our city to open its eyes to questions of when and how police use lethal force, Lee said in a statement. The progress weve made has been meaningful, but it hasnt been fast enough. Not for me, not for Greg .... The men and women of SFPD put themselves in harms way literally every day. We owe it to them to restore the communitys trust in their work. Join the conversation on Facebook >> Toney Chaplin, a 26-year department veteran who previously led the departments homicide division, was named acting police chief. For more than a year, San Francisco police have been under scrutiny as several scandals unfolded, with officers accused of violating citizens civil rights, exchanging racist text messages and impeding criminal investigations. Last year, a federal grand jury convicted an officer of violating a citizens civil rights while conducting unlawful searches at a downtown hotel that serves the poor. Public calls for reform escalated after cellphone video recorded five police officers shooting and killing 26-year-old Mario Woods in the same neighborhood where the woman was fatally shot Thursday. Civil rights activists demanded a federal investigation into the killing of Woods, a black man who was struck by more than 20 bullets. In February, the Department of Justice launched a two-year review of the police department, which Lee requested. Anger over Woods killing was compounded by a judges decision that officers who exchanged racist and homophobic text messages could keep their jobs. NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >> The racist text messages found on officers cellphones involved more than a dozen officers and put more than 3,000 criminal cases in jeopardy, including several homicides. In April, a second text-messaging scandal rocked the department, revealing that officers referred to minorities as barbarians, cockroaches and other slurs. A former lieutenant was also charged with impeding the investigation of a fellow officer accused of rape. After the discovery of the racist text messages last year, Suhr and city leaders had pledged to implement a host of reforms to add officer training against implicit bias and increase accountability for officers who dont report misconduct by their colleagues. Some of the reforms underway might have prevented or clarified todays incident, Lee said. ALSO A battered Seal Beach icon burns yet again L.A. City Council president gets restraining order against man accused of racist threat Fire breaks out at worlds largest solar power plant near Nevada border San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr stepped down Thursday at the request of the citys mayor, hours after a police officer fatally shot an unarmed black woman -- the latest in a series of scandals that have rocked the department, prompting a federal probe and public demand for reform. In an announcement that caught many residents off guard, Mayor Edwin Lee said he met with Suhr and asked for his resignation after learning of the deadly shooting of a black woman in the Bayview neighborhood earlier in the day. Lee had previously expressed confidence in Suhr, praising the chief for understanding the need for reform, even as public calls had mounted for his ouster. But the mayor said progress has been too slow. Advertisement These officer-involved shootings, justified or not, have forced our City to open its eyes to questions of when and how police use lethal force, Lee said in a statement at City Hall. The progress weve made has been meaningful, but it hasnt been fast enough. Not for me, not for Greg. ... The men and women of SFPD put themselves in harms way literally every day. We owe it to them to restore the communitys trust in their work. Suhr tendered his resignation, Lee said. Toney Chaplin, a 26-year department veteran who previously led the departments homicide division, was named acting police chief. For more than a year, San Francisco police have been under scrutiny as several scandals unfolded, seeing officers accused of violating citizens civil rights, exchanging racist text messages and impeding criminal investigation. Last year, a federal grand jury convicted an officer of violating a persons civil rights while conducting unlawful searches at a downtown hotel that serves the poor. Public calls for reform escalated after cellphone video recorded five police officers shooting and killing 26-year-old Mario Woods, in the same neighborhood where the woman was fatally shot Thursday by police. The department said that shortly before 10 a.m., two officers spotted a suspected stolen car with a woman in the drivers seat, and after officers tried to make contact, the woman drove off. The woman eventually collided with a truck near the dead-end of a street and as officers tried to take her into custody, she moved the vehicle. At some point, one of the officers opened fire, striking her. She was later pronounced dead at the hospital, police said. Civil rights activists demanded a federal investigation into the killing of Woods, a black man who was struck by more than 20 bullets. In February, the Department of Justice launched a two-year review of the police department, which Lee requested. Anger over Woods killing was compounded by a judges decision that officers who exchanged racist and homophobic text messages could keep their jobs. The racist text messages found on officers cellphones embroiled more than a dozen officers and put more than 3,000 criminal cases in jeopardy, including several homicides. In April, a second text-messaging scandal rocked the department, revealing that officers referred to minorities as barbarians, cockroaches and other slurs. A former lieutenant was also charged with impeding the investigation of a fellow officer accused of rape. After the discovery of the racist text messages last year, Suhr and city leaders had pledged to implement a host of reforms to add officer training against implicit bias and increase accountability for officers who dont report misconduct by their colleagues. Some of the reforms underway might have prevented or clarified todays incident, Lee said. After the resignation was announced, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi said the city was at a crossroads. The question I have, Adachi said, is whether or not were going to bring on leadership that is truly committed to changing the culture in the police department, or will it be business as usual? ALSO Failures that led to Santa Barbara oil spill were completely unacceptable, investigators say L.A. man wanted in killing of pregnant girlfriend is now one of FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives Weeks after Bay Area mother is found in shallow grave, toddler remains missing, police say For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna. UPDATES: 9:45 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information and quotes. 6:42 p.m.: This article was updated with additional statements from the mayor and public defender. A generating tower at the worlds largest solar energy plant was shut down Thursday after a mirror misalignment caused sunlight to burn through electrical wiring and start a small fire, according to officials. The blaze at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in the Mojave Desert broke out around 9:30 a.m., according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department. In a Facebook post, officials said that flames could be seen near the ninth floor of the Unit 3 tower, but that they had apparently died out by the time firefighters arrived. See the most-read stories this hour >> Advertisement The plant is located near Interstate 15, just inside the California border southwest of Primm, Nev. It uses enormous mirrors to reflect sunlight to boilers atop three towers. The suns energy heats the water to more than 1,000 degrees, creating steam that spins electricity-generating turbines. Some misaligned mirrors instead focused sunlight on a different spot, which caused the electrical cables to catch fire, San Bernardino County Fire Capt. Mike McClintock told the Associated Press. William Dusenbury, general manager of Ivanpah, said a plant worker used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. It wasnt a big fire at all, he said. Workers are still repairing some of the damaged cables, and there was no estimate on when the tower would be back online, he said. Clark County Fire Rescue 87 from Jean, Nev., also assisted in the response. Only one of three towers is currently operating, with the fire shutting down one and another undergoing maintenance, Dusenbury said. brittny.mejia@latimes.com Follow me @brittny_mejia on Twitter ALSO Metro Expo Line opens to Santa Monica Space shuttle tank move: Where you can see it Hermosa Beach smoking ban to be strictly enforced soon Times staff writer Julie Cart contributed to this report. The Encino-based attorney accused of making a racist threat against Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson is now barred from coming near his home, vehicle or city office. Wesson obtained a temporary restraining order Thursday against Wayne Spindler, who had turned in a public comment card that included a racial epithet directed at Wesson and drawings of a burning cross, a person hanging from a tree and a figure resembling a Ku Klux Klansman. The temporary order allows Spindler to continue to attend City Council meetings, but requires him to stay at least 10 yards away from Wesson while on city property and two yards away from his City Hall office. Advertisement See the most-read stories this hour >> Spindler is also prohibited from coming within 100 yards of Wessons home and must keep his distance -- at least 10 yards -- from the councilmans car and his district office on Western Avenue. But the 46-year-old can continue to contact Wesson in writing or through emails or phone calls, according to the order. Spindler, a frequent presence at City Hall, was arrested last week and booked on a felony count of making a criminal threat. The arrest stemmed from a comment card he turned in at a committee meeting two days earlier. Wesson made clear at a news conference Thursday that he saw the comment card as a potential threat to his family, city workers and City Hall visitors. Wesson said the card also brought to mind horrific stories recounted by his grandparents of liquored-up Klansmen running through the South terrorizing black people. It is not OK to do that to me, said Wesson, the first black president of the City Council. It is not OK to do that to us in the year 2016. And when Im talking about us, Im talking about all of us -- white, yellow, black and brown. Spindler has denied threatening Wesson, arguing that his drawing was a kind of satire akin to the controversial French publication Charlie Hebdo. In an interview, Spindler said the burning cross was a way of showing how L.A. is burning down with corruption, while the stick figure hanging from the tree alluded to how Department of Water and Power customers were getting lynched with a rate hike. He contended that he was arrested to warn other City Hall critics that this is what you get when you go against us. Prosecutors have been evaluating whether to file charges against Spindler. Najee Ali, a local activist and director of Project Islamic Hope, has called for Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey to lodge hate crime charges against him. Others have called for his law license to be revoked. A court hearing is scheduled for June 10 on whether to impose a more permanent restraining order against Spindler. The temporary order that Wesson obtained Thursday is slated to expire at the end of that hearing. Times staff writers David Zahniser and Matthew Hamilton contributed to this report. ALSO Hermosa Beach smoking ban to be strictly enforced soon Man nearly beaten to death by mob in San Francisco, police say Fire breaks out at worlds largest solar power plant near Nevada border emily.alpert@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter at @LATimesEmily Randy Garcia points a flashlight into a bush and shakes the leaves. Martin Serrano climbs a ladder to peer into rain gutters. Yessenia Avilez ducks under stairs and flips over a plastic tarp collecting water. In a Silver Lake backyard resembling a small jungle, the team dressed in khaki shirts tucked into blue slacks searches for its target. Serrano and Garcia spot a tub filled with rainwater, leaves floating on the top. Theres movement just below the surface: hundreds of swimming creatures, like tiny tadpoles. Advertisement Then something flies out of the water, inches from their faces. Its an Aedes mosquito, the villain in the Zika virus epidemic that has broken out in dozens of countries this year. Nationwide, mosquito control workers like these ones are waging a war against the insects, but it will be a difficult one to win. Aedes mosquitoes, which arent native to the Americas, are hardier than mosquitoes were familiar with here and local officials have struggled to curb their spread. With the threat of Zika virus looming and summer approaching, that bug problem has turned into a pressing public health concern. This is very, very, very serious, said Edward McCabe, chief medical officer for the March of Dimes and an emeritus professor of pediatrics at UCLA. We wouldnt want L.A. to turn out to be ground zero for endemic Zika in the U.S. See the most-read stories this hour >> Though parts of Texas and Florida are at highest risk for Zika, health officials warn that outbreaks could be expected this summer across the U.S., including in Southern California. Experts say limiting mosquito populations is the first line of defense against Zika, but worry insect control agencies arent prepared. Weve seen them in Doritos wrappers. Martin Serrano, an L.A. vector control specialist, on the Aedes mosquitoes need for little water in which to breed. Zika spreads when Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito, bites an infected person and then bites another. Unlike most types of mosquitoes that prefer the blood of animals, Aedes like to bite humans. With other kinds of mosquitoes, one worker in a truck could spray a quarter of a small city with pesticide in one night and eliminate most of the bugs, said Michael Doyle, head of vector control for the Florida Keys. But spraying doesnt work well against Aedes mosquitoes and their eggs usually need to be destroyed by hand. So to cover that same area you need 10 people working for a week, going door-to-door, he said. When Aedes mosquitoes began transmitting dengue, another viral disease, in 2009 in Key West, the agency had to bring in 30 inspectors to work 10 hours a day, six days a week to scour every yard in the city for mosquitoes, Doyle said. After more than 90 cases of dengue were confirmed in the outbreak, the district added $1 million to its budget for 10 inspectors to continue the check-ups. But thats not a solution for agencies across the country, he said. Join the conversation on Facebook >> We just cant afford to double our staffs in most of those places, he said. On that chilly spring morning in Silver Lake, Serrano and Garcia, vector control specialists with the Greater Los Angeles Vector Control District, dumped out the water and larvae in the tub. Garcia drilled holes in its bottom, as well as in other buckets in the yard. Theyre diligent about eliminating places where water can collect because the mosquitoes can breed using as little as a teaspoon of water. Weve seen them in Doritos wrappers, Serrano said. In the L.A. region, Aedes mosquitoes are believed to have arrived several years ago in shipments of bamboo plants coming from China to El Monte. Theyre now found in at least 12 counties in California, according to the state health department. Avilez picked up a watering can and aligned one eye with its narrow spout. The mosquitoes tend to lay their eggs so small theyre nearly invisible to the human eye at the waterline of buckets and containers. The eggs can survive several months of drought, waiting to hatch when they come in contact with water. When the Sahara dried up and became a desert thousands of years ago, Aedes aegypti evolved to survive without a natural source of water, breeding using the water in pots outside peoples homes, said Marten Edwards, a professor at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania who studies the species. Theyre so hard to eradicate because theyre essentially domesticated, he said. Unlike the more common Culex mosquito that comes out only at dawn and dusk, Aedes bite during the day when people are active. Often considered the cockroach of mosquitoes, they can even survive inside peoples homes, he said. These aggressive, invasive mosquitoes have become a burden for insect control agencies in California. In September, when Aedes numbers peaked in Southern California, service requests for Aedes made up 90% of all requests to the L.A. district, said Kelly Middleton, the districts director of community affairs. When Serrano would pull up in his truck to inspect a home, neighbors would flock toward him, asking him to also inspect their backyards. We couldnt leave a street, he said. That was before the Zika virus arrived. An obscure disease once believed to have only mild symptoms, Zika was declared an international public health emergency this year after an outbreak in Brazil coincided with a spike in babies born with microcephaly. Scientists have since confirmed that the illness, now spreading in more than 30 countries in the Americas, causes many other birth defects as well. No one in the U.S. has yet been infected by a mosquito here, though approximately 500 Americans who traveled to countries with outbreaks have returned infected with the virus, according to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Health officials say that widespread transmission in the U.S. is unlikely because most homes have air conditioning and screens on windows that keep out mosquitoes. Still, federal health officials recently estimated that 30 states have climates that could sustain Aedes mosquitoes, and held a summit last month on improving mosquito control in a time of Zika. Everything we look at with this virus seems to be a bit scarier than we initially thought, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDCs principal deputy director at a recent news briefing. So while we absolutely hope we dont see widespread local transmission in the continental U.S., we need the states to be ready for that. In the Central Valley, mosquito workers were baffled when Aedes first showed up in their region in 2013, said Steve Mulligan, head of vector control for a district encompassing parts of Fresno and Kings counties. They were even more surprised when they werent able to stop their spread, Mulligan said, adding, It really does not lend itself to control with conventional or traditional methods. The agency is trying a new tactic this summer. As part of a trial with the University of Kentucky, they plan to release male Aedes aegypti that are infected with a bacteria that prevents their eggs from hatching. A similar pilot project in El Monte last year significantly reduced the female mosquito population, said Susanne Kluh, scientific technical director for the greater L.A. district. But such new control methods require federal approval and will likely take several months before widespread use is possible. For now, mosquito control agencies are watching to see what summer brings. Last year, the Aedes population in San Diego County grew because of the unusually warm weather, said Chris Conlan, supervising vector ecologist for the county. He said theyre now tracking the mosquitoes, thought to have come from Mexico in 2014. But the bottom line is were going to have to wait and see what mother nature throws at us, he said. Because if we get rain again this year, its probably going to become impossible for us to get these things under control. ALSO Metro Expo Line opens to Santa Monica Fire destroys old Rubys Diner and damages Seal Beach Pier Man accused of racist drawing: Theyre trying to crucify me soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com Twitter: @skarlamangla Once upon a time, liberals pushed free speech at every opportunity. They lauded Justices Oliver Wendell Holmes and Louis Brandeis for protecting unpopular views early in the last century. During the 1960s, Berkeleys Free Speech Movement demanded the right to demonstrate politically on campus and liberals championed the cause. Now liberals want to empower the government to silence those who advance political ideas come election time. Hillary Clinton, for instance, has declared a litmus test for Supreme Court justices: a commitment to overrule Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission, the 2010 opinion upholding Americans 1st Amendment right to criticize or praise politicians running for office through nonprofit corporations. Worse still, Democratic senators have introduced a constitutional amendment that goes beyond reversing Citizens United and gives Congress substantial discretion to regulate how electoral debates are conducted. This dramatic shift suggests that liberals have lost faith in their arguments above all, at the ballot box. If you hold sway over the media and the academy and yet still fail to convince a majority of voters with your views, suppressing speech that counters those views can start to seem like a constitutional imperative. And make no mistake: beyond the rough-and-tumble of political campaigns, liberals continue to control the institutions that set the nations political agenda. As well-known data show, academics and journalists have, on average, quite liberal opinions. Join the conversation on Facebook>>> Elections, though, can disrupt this control, providing opportunities for citizens who arent academics or media representatives to speak about public matters. Among the citizens who tend to enter the fray at election time are those with the financial means to send out messages. These wealthy people dont all lean right the Koch brothers on the conservative side are countered by George Soros and Tom Steyer on the left but as a group, theyre more ideologically balanced than journalists and academics. Even as liberals have abandoned their traditional support for free political speech, its protection has become central to Supreme Court jurisprudence under Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. At almost every turn, the Roberts court has made sure that campaign regulation is subject to ordinary 1st Amendment principles and doesnt become, as liberals desire, a law unto itself, justifying restrictions that would be quickly ruled unconstitutional when other forms of expression are involved. The Roberts courts key insight is that any laws restricting electoral speech must obey neutral principles. That is to say, they should be generalizable beyond whatever dispute is at stake and whatever the characteristics of the parties involved. Consider how the Roberts court has treated the mantra beloved of reformers who want paid political communications curbed at election time: Money is not speech. Outside campaign regulation, the Supreme Courts 1st Amendment jurisprudence has banned any restrictions of expenditures that pay for expression. A government-imposed limit on, say, the amount of money a newspaper could spend for investigative reporters would be obviously unconstitutional. Why, then, should money spent on political campaigns be any different? Or take a central issue in Citizens United, of whether the right to express views about candidates in a campaign extends to corporations. In finding that it does, the court embraced neutrality, relying on earlier 1st Amendment decisions that upheld the rights of corporations to talk about politics. In New York Times vs. Sullivan (1964), for instance, the court ruled in favor of the Times (a corporation), strengthening 1st Amendment protections against libel suits by public officials. The 1st Amendments text supports corporate speech: Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech. As set down by the framers, the right isnt limited to particular kinds of speakers but bans the government regulation of speech, period. And if the 1st Amendment protects an individuals right to speak, then why if neutral principles are adhered to shouldnt a group of individuals, banded together in a partnership or other association, also enjoy that right? And if an association has that right, why would it lose it when it takes corporate form? If the Roberts court majority has been relentless in trying to make campaign-finance jurisprudence consistent with general 1st Amendment principles, the liberal dissenters in these cases have been no less persistent in trying to carve out exceptions to permit the comprehensive regulation of campaigns. In McCutcheon vs. FEC (2014), the court ruled unconstitutional a congressionally imposed limit on the amount of money that any individual could contribute to federal candidates during an election cycle. Justice Stephen G. Breyer, writing for all four dissenters, argued that the court should not apply the scrutiny typical of 1st Amendment cases but instead rely on legislators judgment about what best serves the public. His premise was that members of Congress are uniquely knowledgeable about how to design the rules for their campaigns. The 1st Amendment guarantees freedom, not equality. Rights are exercised to radically unequal degrees, and the right to speech is no exception. Not only did he ignore the substantial interest that politicians have in protecting their incumbency, Breyer was even willing to rethink the meaning of the 1st Amendment, arguing that its best understood as in part a collective right, with a goal of connecting the nations legislators to the true sentiments of the people. In this revised understanding, the 1st Amendments purposes are advanced when the government cracks down on speech (such as political donations from the wealthy) that may mislead lawmakers about where popular opinion stands on a given issue. Breyer has found support in the academy for a 1st Amendment that allows the subordination of the individual voice to the collective will. Lawrence Lessig of Harvard Law School, for example, has argued that Congress must prevent the political distortion that occurs when legislators become dependent on the wealthy. Strong limits on campaign contributions can thus be constitutionally justified. By its logic, though, Lessigs argument would permit Congress to regulate the press, too. Its power to distort opinion is surely as great as, or greater than, that of the wealthy. But the 1st Amendment guarantees freedom, not equality. Rights are exercised to radically unequal degrees, and the right to speech is no exception. Some people are wealthy and can push their views with their money. Others work for the media or academia and can advance their opinions disproportionately in those settings. Still others command extra attention through celebrity. Most citizens have none of these advantages, but sometimes they join together to amplify their influence. In a free society, what law could succeed in purging elections of the unequal influences of the celebrated, the well-connected or the wealthy? Restricting one group would just magnify the influence of others. Many complaints about campaigns seized on by progressives to justify restrictions on speech could be addressed without suppressing 1st Amendment rights. The most widespread complaint is that only the rich get to influence campaigns; the poor and the middle class, the charge goes, wind up frozen out of politics. Why not, then, provide an income-adjusted tax credit for political contributions? A tax credit of $50, phased out as income rose, would encourage millions of citizens of modest means to donate (collectively) large sums to their favorite candidates. Another concern about money in politics is that political contributors can win economic favors for themselves. Here, too, rules could prevent such favoritism without harming speech. A good example: ensure competitive bidding for all public contracts, which would restrict the actions of government officials, not the rights of citizens. Applying ordinary free-speech protections to electoral expression ensures that government will still depend on the back-and-forth of open debate, generated by free citizens in all their variety. Whats ultimately at stake in the battle over campaign regulation is the 1st Amendments empowerment of civil society over the prerogatives of the state, a virtue central to our constitutional republic that liberals once defended. John O. McGinnis is a contributing editor of City Journal and the George C. Dix Professor in Constitutional Law at Northwestern University School of Law. This piece was adapted from the spring 2016 issue of City Journal. MORE FROM OPINION When does free speech become a threat? That wasn't a Mayan lost city, just another example of the culture of hype Professors are overwhelmingly liberal. Do universities need to change hiring practices? Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook It was a good story while it lasted: A 15-year-old boy discovered a lost city by theorizing that a modern star map would correlate with ancient Mayan settlements. It seemed to fit the common understanding of the Maya as peaceful stargazers, centuries ahead of their time in astronomical observation and deeply mystical. It only makes sense theyd plan their cities to align with constellations. The teenage scientist, William Gadoury, of Saint-Jean-de-Matha, Quebec, overlaid constellations and known Maya cities. When he found a gap where it seemed a settlement ought to have been, he consulted satellite imagery and found shapes the looked man-made. Suddenly, the lost city story went viral. The Canadian Space Agency, which had supplied Gadoury with the satellite images, swiftly awarded him a Medal of Merit. A University of New Brunswick expert on geospatial technology suggested he might have found a metropolis with 30 buildings and a large pyramid. The teen was interviewed by the BBC, and the public passed along word of his achievement as his story skyrocketed to the top of the global medias trending topics. Advertisement The only problem is, Gadoury was most likely wrong. David Stuart, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and one of the worlds leading experts on the Maya, was among the first to raise an alarm. He argued that the square shape Gadoury saw on a satellite image of the Maya heartland was probably a fallow agricultural field. Since then, numerous other experts have cast doubts on Gadourys city, some even presenting evidence that what was aligned with the constellations was actually an old marijuana plot. The rise and fall of this particular news flash is a perfect illustration of the way a hyperspeed media landscape can elevate speculative, unproven facts to prize-worthy status. On Sunday, the satirist John Oliver devoted his commentary on his HBO show, Last Week Tonight, to the problem of junk science and the medias role in swiftly enshrining hypothesis and theory as truth. Oliver gleefully mimicked the hyperbolic morning-talk-show approach to science journalism: A new study shows coffee can kill you! A new study shows coffee can cure cancer! The lost city story undeniably had a lot going for it as a media phenomenon. It conformed to cherished tropes: the appealing plotline of the genius kid scientist who sees what the hidebound researchers and experts missed. And an equally appealing confirmation of popular if incomplete notions about the Maya. The story felt right, not least because of the stereotypical notion of indigenous peoples as innately in tune with nature. (Never mind the detail that the Maya exploited the land to the point of environmental collapse.) Reporters ... must cast a critical eye on scientific discoveries [by checking] with experts and scientists who werent involved in the research in question. Gadoury undoubtedly deserves genuine praise for his initiative and drive. His hypothesis about how constellations relate to Maya cities may even deserve closer study. Certainly archaeologists, Maya experts and geospatial scientists have something to say to each other: Remote-sensing technology has already enhanced archaeological ground surveys in spectacular fashion in Jordan, Egypt, Peru and other locales, even earning researcher Sarah Parcak the nickname space archaeologist. But so much else about this particular lost city story is cause for concern. Weve come to value the thrill of the seeming breakthrough over the slower processes of analytical thinking and the importance of scholarly expertise. The geospatial specialist at the University of New Brunswick and the Canadian Space Agency should have taken the time to call a Maya expert for verification before giving Gadoury any sort of endorsement, let alone a medal. As for the media, reporters too must cast a critical eye on scientific discoveries. They cant hide behind merely presenting the news; they need to check findings with experts and scientists who werent involved in the research in question. As Oliver suggested when he lampooned the reporting on caffeines risks and benefits, a minimum requirement for science journalists is to understand the difference between initial trials and repeated studies that confirm results and build a consensus vetted through peer review. Finally, all of us who consume the news could also do better in the critical-thought department. What trends on social media isnt necessarily a fact. What sounds too good to be true usually is. Still, there are several positive take-aways from the lost city story. Gadourys enterprise should serve as a model for other aspiring scientists; he may well have a bright future as an archaeologist. And the excitement the public demonstrated about even a false lost city discovery at least proves that interest in ancient civilizations is very much alive. There are, no doubt, lost cities left to be discovered. The best way to do it is to support and fund careful collaborations between down-in-the-dirt archaeology and all the other sciences that can enhance their work. When that effort lands on the real thing, well have something lasting to tweet, post, share and award. Stephennie Mulder is a professor of art history and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a specialist in Islamic architecture and archaeology and a consultant on cultural heritage issues. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Atlanta-area attorney Mathew Titus, a faithful Republican and suburban father of three, is so disheartened with Donald Trump as the presumed GOP nominee he plans to sit out the presidential election this year. Titus, 36, preferred what he saw as Sen. Marco Rubios modern, optimistic approach to Republican ideology Trumps surprise ascent even convinced Titus to reconsider his dream of running for local office. When he votes in November, he expects to leave the top of his ballot blank rather than vote for the New York businessman. Advertisement That the party, the electorate, would favor Trump is crazy in my mind, said Titus, adding that several of his friends feel the same way. I definitely feel like an orphan .... Am I even part of this party? Election 2016 | Live coverage on Trail Guide | Track the delegate race | Sign up for the newsletter Every election has its sore losers. But this years rowdy Republican primary promises to make the party-unification process more difficult than usual. Left in the wake of Trumps victory are many holdout Republican voters like Titus, who are wringing their hands over whether they can get to yes on Trump, and, if not, what they will do in November. Its a particularly tough decision for young, upscale suburban voters in places like metro Atlanta and Northern Virginia, where Trump lost several counties to Rubio in primary voting. They will become battlegrounds this fall, with Democrats already trying to exploit the lingering ambivalence about Trump among more moderate Republicans. Mathew Titus and son, Asher, 4, at a Marco Rubio rally in the Atlanta suburbs before Donald Trump became the Republican Partys presumed nominee. (Lisa Mascaro / Los Angeles Times ) Whether these Republicans would ever flip to Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic candidate, remains very questionable. And recent polls suggest a growing number of Republican voters are coming around to the idea of Trump as their candidate. But for these Trump holdouts, the frustration is apparent. Will Kremer, 22, disagrees with Democrats on taxes and fiscal issues, but the political science student said he just cant accept Trumps divisive statements about Muslims, immigrants and women. For now, and the foreseeable future, Im on the Never Trump bandwagon, said Kremer, who supported Scott Walker and was Georgia co-chair of Students for Walker, then shifted to Rubios campaign after the Wisconsin governor exited the race. Trump fans ask when hell join the Trump train, and he throws the question back to them. I say, When is he going to stop making racist and misogynist remarks? said Kremer, who also works at his familys trucking insurance company. I have kind of come to the belief that party loyalty has its limits. Kremer recalled Trumps taco bowl tweet on Cinco de Mayo as the kind of insensitive infraction that makes it hard to support the billionaire. I wanted to pound my head in the desk, he said. Sydney Rubin, 25, outside a Marco Rubio rally in the Atlanta suburbs earlier this primary season. (Lisa Mascaro / Los Angeles Times ) Sydney Rubin, who backed Rubio and has worked for Republicans, is also struggling over her November vote. She worries that Trump is hurting the GOPs image, but cant bring herself to vote for Clinton. For somebody like me, whos 25 and moderate, and worked in Republican politics for a while, hes just not somebody Im proud to support, said Rubin, a University of Georgia graduate who does government relations for a trade association. Id never knock a door for him, she said. A lot of my friends are voting for Hillary a lot of GOP friends. Usually, the parties put on a display of unity after bitter nomination battles. Rival candidates make a show of rallying around the presumed nominee, lending endorsements, sharing staff and offering up resources namely prized email lists for the fall campaign against the opponent. But in the Trump era, that system appears to be breaking down for Republicans. The traditional campaign model hasnt been anything [Trumps campaign has] used, and I dont think they see a reason yet to use it, said Pete Seat, who was Ohio Gov. John Kasichs campaign spokesman in Indiana, and a former White House staffer in the George W. Bush administration. While Trump has picked up support from some former rivals, including Ben Carson, others are doing little to help him bridge party unity. Rubio recently said that he would support the nominee, but more notable was what he didnt do, observers noted: He did not ask his voters to do the same and he has not released his delegates to vote for Trump on the first ballot at the GOP convention. Sen. Ted Cruz and Kasich have not yet come around to support Trump, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has made it clear he will never vote for Trump. The Trump holdouts might not be easily swayed. New polling shows more than half of American voters are dissatisfied with either Trump or Clinton. Trumps off-the-charts unpopularity he was viewed unfavorably by two-thirds of Americans this spring, a high not seen since President Nixon has since improved. While Trump did well among most categories of Republican primary voters, one notable shortcoming was among the more affluent and educated in suburban metro areas in Northern Virginia, Atlanta and Des Moines, where Rubio handily won. Rubio beat Trump among voters earning more than $100,000 a year in Georgia, exit polls showed, winning several upscale counties around Atlanta. In Virginia, Rubio outperformed Trump among the most educated voters, those with college and post-graduate degrees, but also with the new generation of 17-29 year-old voters and those ages 30-44, often parents of young families. Both parties have long fought over this demographic slice of the electorate particularly women, who can help tilt outcomes. Clintons campaign is already making a subtle play for these voters. Earlier this month, Clinton visited working families at a coffee shop in Virginias Loudoun County, which Rubio won in the primary, focusing precisely on women who may be uncomfortable with Trump. The campaign routinely sends out lengthy lists of prominent Republicans like Mitt Romney who have said they cannot support Trump, suggesting its OK to stray from party loyalty. The goal is to make it easier for Republicans to switch. When every living GOP president and the most recent GOP nominee wont support Donald Trump, it makes it OK for Republicans voters to do what their heart is telling them and hold back from supporting him, said a Democrat with knowledge of the Clinton campaign. See the most-read stories this hour >> The safer route may be to encourage disgruntled Republicans to simply stay home on election day, avoiding a risky and costly investment to try to flip their votes. The goal for Democrats is for them not to vote, said one GOP strategist, granted anonymity to discuss the situation. The best way to get them not to vote is to leave them alone. Trump, meanwhile, remains optimistic that reluctant Republican leaders like Ryan are turning his way, and that he can grow the party beyond its base of conservatives. Once GOP leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan fall in line, many Trump holdouts will likely follow, Trump supporters predict. Youre going to see as unified a Republican Party as we have seen in a long, long time, former rival-turned-supporter Rick Perry, the former Texas governor, said on a donor call for the pro-Trump PAC. But educated, upscale Republicans arent the only Republicans that Trump is having a hard time winning over. Bruce Garraway, a deacon and former vice mayor of Snellville in the Atlanta suburbs, is having a tough time matching his conservative values to Trumps campaign rhetoric. Even though Trump swept evangelicals in the primaries, Garraway said many conservative Christians he knows wont vote for him. We have a huge crowd saying never Trump, but whats that going to get us? Is that going to give us Hillary Clinton? he said. Many Republican voters oppose Democrats because of their views on social issues like abortion and gay marriage. He still pines for what could have been his choice was Cruz, the perfect conservative candidate. He is unlikely not to vote. But he is not yet a yes on Trump. Im still in a quandary, he said, and struggling. MORE POLITICS NEWS Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump isnt fit for the Oval Office Stop Trump? Heres why a third-party effort will probably fizzle Trump announces his Supreme Court picks, including one who has repeatedly mocked him lisa.mascaro@latimes.com Follow on Twitter @LisaMascaro Donald Trump tells Latino church leaders: Youre going to like President Trump Donald Trump told an annual gathering of Latino church leaders Friday that he will win the election in November and that they are going to like President Trump. In a short video message played at the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference Convention in Anaheim, the presumed GOP presidential nominee abstained from the heated immigration rhetoric that has earned him many critics in the Latino community. Instead, Trump stressed what he would do for poor and middle-class minority communities, vowing to lower taxes, improve schools and create jobs. Im going to win and were going to take care of everybody, Trump said. Were going to take care of you. Youre going to like President Trump. In her taped remarks to the convention, Hillary Clinton, Trumps likely rival in the November general election, addressed Trump and his calls for mass deportations. Were hearing some divisive and dangerous rhetoric in this election, Clinton said, citing Trumps allegation that Mexico is sending drug dealers and rapists to the United States. That is not who we are as a people. Clinton repeated her promise to push for comprehensive immigration reform legislation that would allow most of the estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally to stay. According to recent polls, most Latinos have an unfavorable impression of Trump and favor Clinton by large margins. Latino evangelical Christians, many of whom embrace conservative social values, have long been seen as natural targets for Republican votes. Many of them supported GOP nominee Mitt Romney against President Obama in 2012. But Trumps targeting of immigrants in the country illegally over the past year has made it hard for some Latino Christians to support him, said the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Leadership Conference. It offended me and my community, Rodriguez said at a news conference shortly before Trumps video aired. Immigrants, Rodriguez said, are parishioners in our churches. But many evangelical Latinos also have doubts about Clinton, who supports abortion rights and same-sex marriage. That puts evangelicals in a difficult position, Rodriguez said. It is a weird year. Rep. Janice Hahn remembers the story from her childhood. Her father, a Navy captain during World War II, received benefits under the GI Bill. Her uncle, Gordon Hahn, a lieutenant in the Merchant Marines, did not. Maybe that had something to do with just an early sense of that doesnt seem fair. Theres a bit of an injustice here, Hahn said. The first time I ever heard the story I think it hit me that this is a wrong that we should right. With just months before she leaves office, the Los Angeles Democrat is pushing Congress to recognize the Merchant Marines service during World War II with $25,000 for each surviving Merchant Mariner. Advertisement Though thousands of them died during the war, the civilian seaman who transported goods and soldiers for the U.S. military during the war werent included in the GI Bill and didnt have access to college tuition subsidies and home loan guarantees extended to returning veterans. When he signed the bill granting benefits to service members, President Franklin Roosevelt urged Congress to return to the issue and extend the benefits to the Merchant Marines. They never did. It wasnt until surviving Merchant Marines sued in the late 1980s that the group was designated veterans. At which point, Hahn notes, many were past the point of needing help to pay for college or buy their first home. Hahn estimates that her bill, the Honoring Our WWII Merchant Mariners Act of 2015, would cost the federal government $125 million for the estimated 5,000 surviving veterans. Itll be less every day, because we are losing Merchant Mariners every day, she said. Hahn took up the Merchant Marines cause from former San Diego Rep. Bob Filner, who proposed a $1,000-a-month payment to each Mariner for the rest of their lives. Bills that Hahn put forward have twice sat in committee with no consideration. The most recent has lingered in the House Veterans Affairs Committees Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs for more than a year. With National Maritime Day coming Sunday, and a crowd of veterans expected to gather at San Pedros American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial, Hahn said she hopes to draw new interest in the bill before its too late. She said was encouraged this week when a Republican on the House Veterans Affairs Committee told her staff that if the payment amount was lower, hed want to look at how to pass the bill. At this point you just sort of want something thats a token, something that shows our appreciation for a job well done, Hahn said. I certainly would be willing to negotiate. It feels like maybe there is some movement. We havent had this before. The Republican, Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Florida, is still looking at Hahns legislation, his staff said. Morris Harvey, vice president of the group American Merchant Marine Veterans, said by phone that after running into a wall for so long and having to take legal action to be declared veterans, some payment of benefits would mean a lot. At this point, recognition of our service by Congress would be a big step. Money would be a secondary factor, said Harvey, 88, of Crystal River, Fla., adding that most of our people could use the money. At this point, recognition of our service by Congress would be a big step. Money would be a secondary factor. Morris Harvey, vice president of American Merchant Marine Veterans Harvey said that less than 5,000 of the 250,000 Merchant Marines who served during the war are thought to still be alive. Harvey was 17 when his draft number was called. He was told poor health would keep him from going overseas to fight, so he took a draft deferment and enlisted in the Merchant Marines. As a 17-year-old and [being] pretty patriotic, I thought if I have to go, I want to go where the war is, he said. Harvey served as a seaman for five years. As the war wound down, Harvey said he knew he wouldnt get the benefits of the GI Bill, and he saved for two years to be able to afford to study electronic engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. There were other people there who had served less time than I had in the military who were getting full benefits, he said. He and many of the remaining Merchant Marines are active advocates on social media, and stormed Capitol Hill last year to confront members about recognizing their service. We were on the same ships in the same war under the same commander, Harvey said. When we got back, we got nothing. The Merchant Marines arent sure what will happen to their cause when Hahn retires, Harvey said. At this point we do not have anyone that has indicated that they would step up, he said. ALSO: Rep. Judy Chus nephew took his own life after military hazing. Now shes seeking justice for him and other families Women who flew on home front in WWII seek burial in Arlington Updates on California politics sarah.wire@latimes.com Follow @sarahdwire on Twitter Read more about the 55 members of Californias delegation at latimes.com/politics One key question about the 2016 election got answered this week, another critical one remains pending. The answered question: Are Republicans able to unify behind Donald Trump? Yes, they can. The percentage of GOP voters with an unfavorable impression of Trump has dropped sharply since he became the partys presumptive nominee, and the share of Republicans who say they will vote for him has risen, several recent polls show. Unanswered yet: Can voters who typically back a Democrat similarly unify behind Hillary Clinton? Good afternoon, Im David Lauter, Washington bureau chief. Welcome to the Friday edition of our Essential Politics newsletter, in which we look at the events of the week in the presidential campaign and highlight some particularly insightful stories. Advertisement THE RACE TIGHTENS Trump hasnt won over all those who backed other candidates during the GOP primaries. Some groups remain particularly disenchanted, notably suburban moderates, many of whom backed Sen. Marco Rubio during the primaries. Lisa Mascaro did an excellent portrait of those moderate GOP voters, who could be a key weak spot for Trump in the fall. Those voters, however, are the exceptions. In the main, Trump has gained ground within his party in the last two weeks, and polls of the November matchup with Clinton have tightened as a result. The former secretary of State led Trump by 3 points in the most recent NBC/SurveyMonkey national poll, to cite one example. In mid-April, she had an 8-point lead in that survey. In a New York Times/CBS poll released Thursday evening, she led by 6 points, last months New York Times/CBS survey had her ahead by 10. An average of recent polls shows Clintons lead at about 2 points, down from about 10 a month ago. For comparison, President Obama defeated Mitt Romney by roughly 4 points in 2012. The big question mark now is whether voters on the Democratic side will unify in the next few weeks the way Republicans have begun to. If backers of Sen. Bernie Sanders swing into formation behind Clinton after the final states hold their primaries on June 7, look for her lead to widen again. If not, Trump will have the opportunity to create a true horse race. Clintons problem is not really with Democrats unlike Trump, she has always been fairly popular within her own party. Instead, her difficulty lies primarily with Democratic-leaning independents, many of whom have voted for Sanders. People often think of independents as voters who occupy the center of the political spectrum somewhere between Democrats on the left and Republicans on the right. But in truth, independents cover a much wider range of ideologies. Many Republican-leaning independents stand significantly further to the right than the average Republican; their ranks swelled when significant numbers of conservatives stopped identifying as Republicans during the final years of the George W. Bush administration. Trump does well among them. Democratic-leaning independents include a significant number of voters who are further left than the average Democrat, and Clinton has a notable problem with them. Many hold a strongly unfavorable opinion of her. Winning over those voters will determine whether this years election ends up a tight race or one in which Clinton holds a compelling advantage. WHAT DIDNT STAY IN VEGAS Right now, Sanders campaign blocks Clinton from being able to reach those left-leaning independent voters. So long as the Vermont senator continues to run powerfully against her, their loyalty remains his. And while Sanders has no realistic chance of winning the nomination, the campaign grew more intense this week, not less. The flashpoint was the Democratic state convention last weekend in Las Vegas, where a group of Sanders supporters shouted down Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, threw chairs and, afterward, made threats against the state party chair all over the allocation of at most two delegates from a caucus that Clinton won in February. As Kate Linthicum reported, the Las Vegas brawl set Sanders against some of the partys most powerful figures, led by Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who largely controls his home states Democratic party. Sanders took three days to condemn the violence, and even then, he did so in cursory fashion, blaming the problems on the Nevada Democrats. The exchanges, Cathy Decker wrote, showed how much Sanders campaign has become a race against the Democratic Party as an institution an ominous note for those looking for party unity. All that could change, of course, once the primaries end. As Mark Z. Barabak set out, the final results are not in doubt Clinton needs to win only about one in eight remaining delegates to clinch the nomination. As the remaining primaries play out, well continue to bring you all the results and analyses on Trail Guide and on our Politics page. And you can keep watch on the delegates in both parties with our Delegate Tracker, which shows where each candidate stands and where each has won support. Once the voting ends, parties traditionally start looking for bridges between their competing factions. One potential bridge builder would be Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Noah Bierman took a close look at Warrens position and the issue on the minds of many Democrats: What does Warren want? TRUMP SEEKS TO REASSURE THE PARTY HE HAS CAPTURED Trump took several steps to consolidate his position within the GOP this week. He signed a joint fundraising agreement with the party, which will enable a big donor to give as much as $783,400 to the campaign this year. (Clinton and the Democratic National Committee set up a similar arrangement, and because they started last year, donors can give up to $1.1 million between 2015 and 2016. The Democrats have begun using that money to set up coordinated campaigns in several presidential battleground states that also feature contested Senate races.) Trump also expanded the campaign role of Paul Manafort, the longtime GOP operative and lobbyist whom he brought on board last month when his campaign was struggling. And he released a list of potential Supreme Court nominees. As David Savage wrote, the list aimed to reassure conservative voters, but theres reason to question whether Trump was really committed to or even familiar with the judges he named. Within hours, Trump was backing away from the specific names. As those moves have unspooled, the #NeverTrump movement has faded to a remnant. Some still cherish the hope of a third-party alternative, but, as Barabak explained, the third-party option is pretty much a non-starter. Even among Republicans who say they will vote for him, some parts of Trumps platform draw dissent. For example, Melanie Mason reported, his sharp rhetoric against international trade looks very different from the towns along the California border with Mexico and troubles some business leaders who typically support the GOP. WHAT WERE READING The place where #NeverTrump remains strongest is among the GOPs foreign policy elite, many of whom see the partys nominee as not only unqualified, but dangerous. Trump has repudiated positions that the foreign policy establishment has espoused for a generation. In Politico, Julia Ioffe took an excellent look at the quandary facing Republican foreign policy professionals, who find themselves adrift, unwanted by either party. Earlier in this edition, I talked about Clintons problems with left-leaning independents, who have supported Sanders. For a deeper dive into the effect of independents on the race, check out a story by Nate Silver at 538. LOGISTICS If you like this newsletter, tell your friends to sign up. That wraps up this week. My colleague Christina Bellantoni will be back Monday with the weekday edition of Essential Politics. Until then, keep track of all the developments in the 2016 campaign with our Trail Guide, at our Politics page and on Twitter @latimespolitics. Send your comments, suggestions and news tips to politics@latimes.com. Just as we have grown accustomed to stories of increasingly small planets being discovered around distant stars, along comes a new study that ups the ante. This week, for the first time ever, scientists have announced evidence of icy comets orbiting a sun-like star about 160 light-years from Earth. Consider them the first known exocomets. The work will be published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Advertisement The international team that worked on the observations were not able to see the comets directly. Instead, they used the European Space Observatorys ALMA radio telescope to measure low levels of carbon monoxide gas in a debris disk that had formed around the star. A debris disk is exactly what it sounds like -- a disk of dust and debris that can be found around both new and mature stars. It is not the same as a protoplanetary disk, which is a disk of gas and dust that forms around young stars and can form planets. Debris disks are produced when large bodies collide during the protoplanetary disk phase. A system is usually expected to evolve from a protoplanetary disk phase to a debris disk phase, said Sebastian Marino, a doctoral student at Cambridges Institute of Astronomy and the lead author on the paper. The authors were drawn to look at this particular system, around a star called HD 181327, because it happens to be especially dusty, and therefore probably had a lot of collisions. The star is 30% larger than the sun and just 23 million years old. For context, our sun is 4.6 billion years old. Using ALMA, the researchers were able to detect carbon monoxide in the ring, which was probably released as icy comets collided with one another, releasing gas and dust. The gas must be continually produced [for us to detect it], as well as the dust, so the natural explanation is that they are both being produced by the same phenomenon, Marino said. As always in science, there could be other explanations, but the most simple and least biased is that it is coming out from icy bodies, i.e. exocomets. See the most-read stories in Science this hour >> Using computer models, the researchers were able to determine that if all the carbon monoxide they detected came from a single body, it would be 124 miles across. However, it is more likely that the gas is being generated by several comets much smaller than that. Although the researchers were able to detect exocomets in this system, they have not yet been able to detect exoplanets. Thats because planets are very compact and faint compared with their host star, Marino said. On the other hand, dust or gas can be much brighter than a planet, and therefore easier to spot. Marino said detections of comets outside the solar system could one day help researchers determine what systems are suited for life. Comets can deliver large amounts of volatile elements, such as water or carbon monoxide, to terrestrial planets, he said. This can change or create the right atmospheric conditions for the development of life on a planet. Do you love science? I do! Follow me @DeborahNetburn and like Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook. ALSO: Why male spiders need to get their game on -- or die Inside a distant superbubble astronomers find hot gas, young stars Fossilized space dust from 2.7 billion years ago holds surprise about Earths ancient atmosphere A state appeals court has overturned the 2013 murder conviction of a Lake Forest man accused of killing a Hotel Laguna catering manager in Laguna Beach nearly seven years ago, citing errors by police. In December 2013, an Orange County Superior Court jury found Matthew Thomas Dragna guilty of one felony count of special-circumstances murder during commission of a robbery in the bludgeoning death of Damon Nicholson at Nicholsons apartment on Oct. 23, 2009. But in a ruling last week, a three-judge panel said Laguna Beach police erred in continuing to question Dragna after he said he wanted to speak with a lawyer following his arrest. Advertisement Dragnas police statements were a centerpiece of the prosecutions case, Associate Justice Richard Aronson wrote in the ruling. Indeed, they led the prosecutor to describe [Dragna] as his star witness. Join the conversation on Facebook >> The attorney general described as harmless any error in including these statements by Dragna because compelling evidence pointed to his guilt, including his DNA found at the scene, but the appeals court counters that assertion, Aronson wrote. The judge said that the flaw in the attorney generals position is that none of this or similar evidence established when Dragna was at the crime scene. On the day of his arrest, before arriving at the police station, Dragna told officers, You guys have me in a situation where I dont even know what to do right now. I have to talk to a lawyer, according to an excerpt from the court ruling. Once at the police station, according to court records, officers advised Dragna of his Miranda rights, which include the right to an attorney and to remain silent as protection against self-incrimination. According to the ruling, the state attorney general said in a court brief that Dragna initiated further conversation with the police when he asked the officers, So what do you guys wanna know? Dragnas expressed willingness to answer questions after acknowledging his Miranda rights was sufficient to constitute an implied waiver of such rights, the state attorney general continued. The appeals court disagreed. Dragna, now 26, admitted he had gone to Nicholsons Dolphin Way apartment the day before the murder to have sex with Nicholson, 40, and returned a day later with Jacob Quintanilla, a friend whom Dragna believed would be interested in similar [sexual] acts, according to court records. Dragna claimed he stayed in the car to smoke cigarettes and marijuana and that Quintanilla told him he had argued with Nicholson, struck him with a bat to knock him out, but killed him, the court ruling said. Nicholson was found with a fractured skull and a red, oval bruise above his left hip in his apartment, according to prosecutors. Dragna was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole and remains in state prison. The Orange County district attorneys office will retry the case, spokeswoman Roxi Fyad wrote in an email. Quintanilla is awaiting trial. bryce.alderton@latimes.com Twitter: @AldertonBryce Lighting candles on a cake is one of the oldest birthday traditions, but more than 3,500 would have been needed for a celebration at the Adult Recreation Center on Tuesday. Thats because 40 elderly residents all over the age of 90 gathered for an annual party where city officials recognized them for their longevity and, for most, their colorful personalities. NEWSLETTER: Stay up to date with whats going on in your community >> This is inspirational because of the energy in this room, Mayor Paula Devine said. When you think of the ages in this room and what theyre doing, theyre active, theyre engaging, theyre social. Its an absolutely fantastic event. It was the 13th year for the 90-Plus Birthday Celebration. It didnt matter on what day their birthday fell; if theyve lived nine decades or more, they received a commendation from the city and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) as well as a slice of birthday cake. Madeline Salibian, 100, and Bob McTaggert, 99, were crowned king and queen at the 90-Plus Birthday Celebration on Thursday, May 19, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) Jean Bates, 95, said she comes to the recreation center three times a week to meet up with her many friends. That routine may be a key secret as to why shes lived for almost a century, she said. I think getting out and socializing is an important thing for older people, it really is, Bates said. I think its very important to keep moving and being outgoing. A Missouri native, shes lived in La Crescenta since 2005. Bates has held a number of jobs over the years, but found her longest-lasting career when she turned 50 and became a nurse. She retired when she was 72. In addition to the commendations, a king and queen were named at the event, and this year the honorees were Bob McTaggert and Madeleine Salibian. Afifi Masri, 100, shows her big smile during a party for Glendale residents ages 90 and over at the Adult Recreation Center in Glendale on Thursday, May 19, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) At 101 years old, Salibian is one of the last remaining survivors of the Armenian Genocide. Born in Aintab, now known as Gaziantep, Turkey, she and her family managed to escape the Ottoman Turks with the help of her fathers Turkish friend who lent three donkeys, Salibian said. On the following day, we went toward Damascus, she said. They managed to flee to Aleppo, Syria. It was a long journey, but so was the path to becoming a centenarian. As for being surrounded by many others near her age, she said: Im very honored. -- Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com Twitter: @ArinMikailian -- ALSO: New Welcome to Glendale sign coming to La Crescenta in show of unification Glendale Police Awards Luncheon doles out honors for officers, citizens Despite concerns, Glendale board approves hotel project on Brand Boulevard Ten Years Ago A two-day fundraiser at Foothill Car Wash generated support and approximately $13,000 to assist former Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department Sgt. Randy Rousseau, a popular local law enforcement official who had been stationed at the Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station before being diagnosed weeks earlier with leukemic meningitis. A year later, in May 2007, the 44-year-old Rousseau passed away from the cancer. Twenty Years Ago Bil Hoge, then La Canadas representative in the state Assembly, introduced a resolution asking for Gov. Pete Wilson to order the state National Guard to patrol the California-Mexico border to stem the flow of undocumented immigrants. Thirty Years Ago A Sport Chalet manager reported that five La Canada teens had been arrested in the spring of 1986 for various incidents and warned through a press statement that shoplifting at his store (then in the building that now houses a Sprouts market), would not be tolerated, no matter how small the crime. He stated arrests would be made and prosecutions carried out. Forty Years Ago As La Canada prepared for its 1976 Fiesta Days celebration saluting Americas 200th birthday year while also giving a nod to the Crescenta-Canada Valleys Spanish heritage a calendar of events was released for May 23 through 31 that included an open house at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a carnival, an art festival, folk dancing, a Gold Rush Ball and a host of other activities, including the annual parade along Foothill Boulevard. Fifty Years Ago The 12th annual Fathers Frolics, a stage revue featuring local dads, was presented at Lanterman Auditorium, courtesy of the Fathers Council, which presented 25 different acts. Sixty Years Ago The La Canada branch of Bank of America moved from its first location here, on Foothill at Beulah Drive, to a new $250,000 building in the 600 block of Foothill. The bank then had 16 employees who made the move. Compiled from the Valley Sun archives by Carol Cormaci Earlier this month, I attended the Revolution Dance Co.s gala awards ceremony. Our daughter, Simone, has been involved in the companys dance classes for four years, and I was there to support her and the other dancers. It was an elegant affair; everyone was dressed to the nines. In particular, the senior company dancers were highlighted and afforded an opportunity to address their rite of passage through their years of competitive dance. Daphne Smith, Kylie Yates, Xiamara Velasco-Mayner, Elayna Conaty and our Simone presented five lengthy speeches. What I found fascinating were the seniors saying goodbye to the past and hello to the future. The context of their talks centered on the life-changing experiences of competitive dance. They were transitioning to adulthood before our eyes. I took copious notes of the teens comments and recognized my college philosophy professor Sister Audreys assertion that what it means to exist is founded in theory, not in application. The speakers contentions expressed an acquired thematic belief: never be afraid to attempt and never be afraid to fail. The seniors implied that one never looks back on life and smiles at what one could have accomplished. I believe the dancers understood that the joy of life is predicated on those things that they have already tried and those they will attempt in the future. Thats the big picture. Its theoretical! The growth of the children involved with Revolution Dance takes place in the safe and loving environment established by Miss Julie Kay Stallcup. She is both soul and inspiration. Kylie Yates expressed this phenomenon by speaking of Revolutions ethos as a Comfort and judgment-free zone. This ethos is reinforced by competent and caring teachers: Miss Rebecca Antolik Mala and Miss Hillary Morris-Pawlik, Zareh Markarian and Fred Diaz. I couldnt help but notice their extraordinary influence on the students. It was evident that they had given the graduating senior dancers a remarkable journey. I found Elayna Conatys words profound: I was young once, and I blinked, and here I am. Aint that the essence of life? Elaynas words give credence to the lyrics of Seals and Crofts, You may never pass this way again, cautioning us to never to let the moment slip away. I betcha a sawbuck that the seniors learned that lifes not about what you say, but what you do. In spite of the fact that I was compelled to sit for almost four hours, I enjoyed the evening. I loved Stallcups Ar-Kansas (Arkansas) phrases such as You look prettier than a birthday cake. I was hoping Miss Julie Kay was talking about me, but I knew better. Watching the evening unfold, I understood her secret. It was found in the dancers collective assumption as they referenced a Chaka Khan song in attempting to describe Stallcup. Aint Nobody Loves Me Better than You! -- JOE PUGLIA is a practicing counselor, a retired professor of education and a former officer in the Marines. Reach him at doctorjoe@ymail.com. Visit his website at doctorjoe.us. Heres a hurry-up-and-buy bargain that will get you to Oslo for $697 round trip, including all taxes and fees, from LAX on Scandinavian Airlines, or SAS. The fare, subject to availability, is for travel Sundays through Thursdays from Aug. 23 to March 25. It requires a Saturday night stay, and it is blacked out Dec. 15-Jan. 9. You must buy the ticket by May 30. Info: SAS, (800) 221-2350 Advertisement Source: Airfarewatchdog Soaring more than 50 stories, the new blue-and-white skyscraper at the top of Future Science Street cuts a Jetsons-like form. Its tower is crowned with a golden planet, and its sleek tiers of stacked oblong shapes call to mind a cartoon spaceport, ready to dock flying saucers. Down the block, two dozen other new apartment and commercial buildings in bold hues of orange and green and adorned with celestial logos glow brightly in the night, their sail-shaped facades reflected in the ripples of the Taedong River. Downstream half a mile, a sleek metallic-and-glass group of buildings rise from Ssuk Island in the shape of a huge atom. Dubbed the Sci-tech Complex, the campus, opened last fall, houses an electronic library, reading areas and an earthquake experience room, and boasts of heating and cooling systems powered by solar, geothermal and other green energy sources. Advertisement For decades, North Koreas capital has been seen by outsiders as a city frozen in time, with its Soviet-style squares, giant monuments, brutalist apartment blocks and ubiquitous propaganda billboards earning it appellations like the worlds best-preserved open-air museum of socialist architecture, and the city that globalization forgot. Nearly wiped out during the Korean War in the 1950s, Pyongyang was rebuilt in subsequent decades as a sort of model socialist city, with drab, imposing buildings and a significant amount of green space. It was hardly known for being architecturally interesting. But despite continued international sanctions and economic lethargy, supreme leader Kim Jong Un is giving the city a striking makeover thats flooding its once-drab streets with color, loosening its formal vibe and even adding a smidgen of whimsy, while offering both residents and visitors myriad new opportunities for leisure, pleasure and consumption. In this Sept. 8, 2012, photo, a man holds a womans bag and parasol as they play miniature golf at a newly built amusement park in Pyongyang, North Korea. (David Guttenfelder / AP ) Since inheriting the reins of power in late 2011, the Swiss-educated Kim has largely eschewed the kind of grand arches, obelisks and statues and hulking government palaces that were the pet projects of his father and grandfather, Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung. Instead, the young leader has ordered up the construction of water parks, amusement parks, skating rinks, a dolphinarium and a ski resort. New residential districts like Future Science Street and Satellite Scientist Street boast amenities like health clubs, pizza parlors and coffee shops. A shooting range opened in 2014 in central Pyongyang, while the more sedate can enjoy an excursion on the Rainbow, a 1,230-seat, 393-foot river cruiser that launched last October with a revolving restaurant on the 3rd and 4th floors. Dotting the main thoroughfares are new snack kiosks, many of them plain, prefab sheds but a few shaped like cartoon animals. On the citys outskirts, a new shiny glass-and-metal airport terminal welcomes tourists and business travelers with multiple gift shops and duty-free stores selling Remy Martin cognac and Marlboros. Theres been a huge amount of construction from 2010 onwards. The city is much more built up than when I first visited, in 2008, and the pace of development is much faster, said Calvin Chua, a Singapore-based architect who has been running urban development and design workshops in North Korea since 2013 via a group called Choson Exchange. In almost any other city, such shifts in the skyline would typically be regarded as the unremarkable result of routine cycles in the real estate market. But parsing the meaning of such changes in a long-insular communist state where architecture and urban planning have been tightly yoked with ideology for seven decades is less straightforward. Some Pyongyang-watchers believe the changes are merely skin deep, and do not portend or reflect deeper political or economic changes. There is still all this state influence. There is no free development. There is not a free market. Its all ruled by the state vision of what North Korea can look like, said Philipp Meuser, a German architect who in 2012 published the two-volume Architectural and Cultural Guide Pyongyang. The production of the city has not yet changed. Only the shapes of the buildings have changed. Much of the construction is still accomplished in the old way -- with labor from the military or youth shock brigades. The main material -- concrete -- is locally sourced. But Chua has noted the apparent rise of what he calls non-state entities getting involved in North Korean building projects. In the last few years, North Korea has enacted new laws supposedly aimed at protecting foreign investors and establishing special economic zones. Since 2013, the state-run Korean Central News Agency has published multiple stories detailing projects involving architects and builders from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, the Middle East and Africa. The city of Wonson has urged overseas investors to come develop there. There is this thing among North Koreans about developing an architecture that is reflective of their society. So what is an architecture that reflects their society? In 70s and 80s, it was a reinterpretation of [traditional] Korean architecture things like tile roofs and columns being added to Soviet-style neoclassic designs, said Chua. Today, the interpretation is much more open-ended. That is something we are still trying to find out from them. A view of the Pyongyang, North Korea, skyline with the pyramidal Ryugyuong Hotel visible. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times ) If North Korea has its own Frank Gehry or Zaha Hadid, its not saying few of its buildings are credited to individual designers because architecture (like most things in the country) belongs to the people. But Pyongyang design past, present and future is increasingly attracting the attention of foreign architects, scholars, critics and hobbyists. A year after Meuser published his book, travel company Koryo Tours launched architecture-focused tours of Pyongyang and has put out several issues of a magazine focused on the citys iconic buildings. Chua, the Singapore architect, conducted a workshop last year in Pyongyang in conjunction with Londons Architectural Assn. and is returning in August for another focused on sustainable design. Nick Bonner, founder of Koryo Tours, even organized an exhibit at Venices 2014 Architecture Biennale, commissioning a North Korean architect to envision new structures for the ever-larger numbers of tourists flocking to the country. The result was a hand-drawn technicolor dreamscape of conical, solar-powered mountain hotels linked by slides, cantilevered Frank Lloyd Wright-esque villas and tree-shaped retreats where visitors travel via helicopter-hovercrafts. Cristiano Bianchi, an Italian architect based in Beijing, was so struck by what he saw on a trip to Pyongyang last year hes launched a book project tentatively called The Model City that aims to explain the narrative patterns of the North Korean capital through nine stories about its structures, including its 300-foot-deep, ornate subway stations and its expanding examples of informal architecture like kiosks. Hes animated in part by a sense that something is shifting in Pyongyang, with strong influence coming across the Chinese border as trade and tourism expand. Already, they are doing a lot of updating and modernizing of their 60s and 70s buildings, he said. North Koreans are replacing their very peculiar original designs -- made of brut concrete, mosaics, and terrazzo floors -- with a more modern and international style, with a large use of marble and glass surfaces, he added. More buildings will have the same destiny in the future. Meuser agreed. They are core copying some elements from Chinese cities, and I would even go one step further and say Pyongyang is losing its identity by copying Chinese commercial buildings, he said. While North Korean architects do stay abreast of international trends, says Bonner, information in the country is strictly controlled, and most architects in North Korea dont have daily access to the Internet or even a particularly wide selection of current books and magazines. From time to time Im contacted by the [North Korean] embassy, asking if Ill speak to some North Korean architects coming to Germany, said Meuser. With the conditions they have, lack of good building materials and experience, they try to compensate by traveling and doing interviews with experienced architects from other countries. Some North Korean architects have trained in Europe and China, but even if they wanted to copy all the latest foreign designs, the lack of funds and building materials would limit their options. Concrete with rebar is still the primary material of choice, and construction standards still lacking. In a rare move, state-run media publicized the collapse of a just-built apartment block in May 2014. Although the reports did not detail the number of dead and injured, Kim Jong Un did visit a hospital, meeting injured workers and orphans. Despite all the construction taking place, one project Kim has yet to complete is the massive, pyramidal Ryugyong Hotel. The 105-story concrete colossus, begun in 1987, has been called the worst building in the history of mankind by Esquire and a luxury hotel designed for Mordor by the Lonely Planet. It still looms unoccupied over the city, though an Egyptian telecom company seeking businesses dealings in North Korea did foot the bill for a glass exterior a few years ago. For Kim, the Ryugyong may be a painful reminder of the danger of overreaching on massive, iconic projects that do little to please the populace. And besides, the city is so stuffed with monuments, theres not exactly a crying demand for more. The symbolistic architecture is not needed in the moment, said Meuser. So they did the water park, and the ski resort... because they have to entertain the people. Follow @JulieMakLAT for news from China MORE FROM NORTH KOREA: North Koreas big parade: We have displayed the power of our military state North Korea detains, interrogates, expels BBC journalist North Korea ruling party gives Kim Jong Un a grander title: Chairman Security at European airports came under fresh scrutiny Friday as investigators struggled to explain what caused the EgyptAir crash. At Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, where flight 804 began its ill-fated journey, officials were scouring surveillance cameras, conducting passenger background checks and reviewing who had access to the plane prior to takeoff. Major soul-searching already has begun into what more can be done to protect passengers. Advertisement See more of our top stories on Facebook >> In terms of security, the chain is only as strong as the weakest link, said Bob Mann, a former airline executive and industry analyst. The problem is you have to be 100% right all the time. In terms of security, the chain is only as strong as the weakest link. The problem is you have to be 100% right all the time. Bob Mann, a former airline executive and industry analyst Europe has been in a heightened state of alert since the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels. Security at Europes airports is governed by European Union law, but some airports and airlines choose to exceed the minimum requirements. For example, since the March terror attack at the Brussels airport, where suicide bombers detonated a suitcase filled with explosives inside a terminal at the airport, only people with valid identification and a ticket have been allowed to enter the check-in area. Paris also has adopted aggressive tactics to reassure travelers. Thousands of extra soldiers, border and customs guards and security personnel were deployed to the citys three main airports after the November attacks that left 130 dead. After the Brussels attacks, the Paris airports added more security measures, including increased video surveillance, more random bag checks, heightened patrols and greater use of sniffer dogs. Specially trained staff look for unusual behavior. While those measures may ease fears of travelers, experts say there are still significant gaps in security. Paul Charles, an independent aviation analyst based in London, said more checks conducted by people as opposed to machines should take place in and around airplanes. Thats the most urgent thing that could be done, he said. Youve got to stay one step ahead of the terrorists, he said. Terrorists are getting more advanced, and therefore security teams themselves need to be more advanced with this threat. Of particular concern is the so-called insider threat. Cleaning, catering, baggage handling and other jobs give large numbers of workers access to planes. Many work for third-party contractors, complicating the vetting process for security clearance. At Charles de Gaulle, the second busiest airport in Europe, about 86,000 staff have red badges, giving them access to secure areas. Their clearance is reviewed every three years by local authorities. Airports, by their nature, employ large quantities of low-paid, transient workers with a high staff turnover rate, said Philip Baum, a London-based security consultant who specializes in passenger profiling techniques. It is very difficult for the authorities to do effective background checks. Still, Baum said that Europe is light years ahead of the U.S. when it comes to airport security. The threat in Europe is probably greater than in the United States, but they screen staff when they arrive at work every day in Europe, he said. In the aftermath of the Brussels attacks, French officials went through the lockers of about 4,000 employees at Paris airports and revoked security passes of 70 people for the phenomenon of radicalization, Augustin de Romanet, head of the Paris Aeroport authority, said at the time. Eric Moutet, a lawyer representing some of the affected employees, all of whom are Muslim, said militants have attempted to recruit airport staff. There is effectively recruitment going on at the airports, thats clear, he told the BBC. There are people who are being radicalized. ... The authorities have their work cut out with this problem. In the EgyptAir crash this week, there is conjecture that someone could have tampered with the Airbus A320 even before it landed in Paris. The plane made stops in Eritrea, Cairo and Tunisia before it embarked on its final journey from Paris to Cairo. In the absence of a black box recorder, the mystery surrounding the crash continues to intensify, leaving passengers jittery and forcing authorities to review security procedures. Yet air travel remains far safer than driving. Its psychological, said Norman Shanks, professor in aviation security at Britains Coventry University. We think we can control our destiny when were driving. But we cant control our destiny when were in a plane. ALSO Terrorists may have brought down EgyptAir flight, officials say Counter-terrorism security increases at LAX after EgyptAir Flight 804 disappears What we know so far about the people who were on board EgyptAir Flight 804 Boyle is a special correspondent. Japans prime minister expressed his strong indignation Friday after an American working on a U.S. military base in Okinawa was arrested on suspicion of abandoning the body of a woman who disappeared last month. I have no words to express, considering how the family feels, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters. We urge the U.S. side to take thorough measures to prevent the recurrence of such events. The arrest sparked outrage on Okinawa, where anti-U.S. military sentiment is high because of a heavy American troop presence. It could fuel further opposition to the relocation of a U.S. Marine Corps air station on the southern Japanese island, a long-delayed project that Abe has been trying to push forward in the face of large protests. Advertisement Police said Kenneth Shinzato, 32, was arrested Thursday after he was questioned and investigators found the body at a location he provided, a forest in central Okinawa. Investigators determined that the body is that of a 20-year-old woman missing since April 28, when she messaged her boyfriend that she was going for a walk. Police said they suspect Shinzato was also responsible for her death. He has not been charged. In Washington, Defense Department spokesman Peter Cook said the man arrested was a U.S. military contractor. This is an appalling tragedy, he said. The U.S. military extends its deepest sympathies to the people of Japan, and express our gratitude for the trust that they place in our bilateral alliance and the American people. Kyodo News agency said Shinzato used to be a Marine. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. military was cooperating fully with local authorities in their investigation. This is a terrible tragedy and its obviously an outrage, he told reporters in Washington. See the most-read stories this hour >> Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga said he was outraged and that the death of the woman broke his heart. As I look back at all the developments to date, Im simply speechless, he said. Onaga has spearheaded opposition to the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from a densely populated neighborhood in central Okinawa to another site on the island, saying the facility should be moved away from Okinawa instead. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida summoned U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy to convey his regret over the crime. Kennedy said: Nothing that I can do or say will make up the loss or to bring her back, but I want to express to you my determination and that of my military colleagues to cooperate fully with Okinawan police and the Japanese government, and we will double our efforts to make sure this will never happen again. Okinawa is home to more than half of about 50,000 American troops based in Japan. Many Okinawans complain about crime and noise connected to the bases. Taiwans new president, Tsai Ing-wen, expressed a willingness to talk to Beijing as she took office Friday, but she laid out no grand framework for handling relations between the two rivals and instead emphasized her determination to focus on her islands economy and make it less reliant on trade with China. Elected in a landslide in January, Tsai is the islands first female leader, and only its second from the Democratic Progressive Party many of whose members advocate formal independence from China. She delivered her inaugural address to an enthusiastic group of about 30,000 invitees in the streets outside the presidential offices in Taipei after a morning of performances that emphasized Taiwans farmers, youth and minorities. Members of one indigenous troupe sang their own version of the national anthem, spotlighting Taiwans Austronesian, rather than Chinese, heritage. China is keeping a wary eye on Tsai. Taiwan split from the mainland in 1949 after Chinas civil war, and has been selfruled ever since, with its sovereign status in a kind of limbo. Taiwans constitution binds the two sides, but public opinion polls show most Taiwanese prefer autonomy. Beijing, though, insists that Taiwan is still part of China. A declaration of formal independence by Taiwan would be a red line for China, but Tsai says she wont cross it. Advertisement The two governing bodies across the Strait must set aside the baggage of history and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides, Tsai, a 59-year-old law scholar said, referring to Taiwan and China. We will also work to maintain the existing mechanisms for dialogue and communication across the Taiwan Strait. The two governing bodies across the Strait must set aside the baggage of history and engage in positive dialogue. President Tsai Ing-wen, referring to Taiwan and China Tsais predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou of the Nationalist Party, pursued new trade and tourism pacts with China after taking office in 2008, winning appreciation from Beijing. Exports to China surged under Ma over the last eight years, to a record two-way trade total of $130 billion in 2014. The two sides signed 23 deals aimed at helping Taiwans economy, but many Taiwanese feel theyre now too dependent on their giant neighbor, and that the benefits have not trickled down to the lower levels of society. Economic growth slowed last year. Tsai said Friday that Taiwan should rely more on trade with other countries, outlining a multi-layered plan to turn the stalling half-trillion-dollar economy around. We will also promote a New Southbound Policy in order to elevate the scope and diversity of our external economy, and to bid farewell to our past over-reliance on a single market, Tsai said. That means broader exchanges with Southeast Asia and India, she said. Taiwan is looking to expand its political role in Asia as well, she said, noting that the region is becoming increasingly complex. As for disputed maritime claims involving countries from Japan to Indonesia in the South China Sea and elsewhere, Tsai proposed laying aside territorial claims and exploiting natural resources in the area together. We will establish mechanisms for intensive and routine communications with all parties involved, and exchange views at all times to prevent misjudgment, establish mutual trust and effectively resolve disputes, she said. Invited guests watch and listen as new Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen gives her inauguration speech in Taipei on May 20. (Isaac Lawrence / AFP/Getty Images) China actively works to block its 170 formal diplomatic allies from engaging with Taiwanese officials in regional disputes. But during Mas administration, Beijing got out of Taiwans way occasionally, which allowed the island to sign two free-trade agreements in the region. Taiwanese political scientists said they believed Beijing would react coolly to Tsais remarks but not fume or make threats in the short term. But if Tsai doesnt follow up with a more concrete proposal to hold dialogue, analysts say, China will likely step up pressure by curtailing economic benefits built up over the last eight years. China has already made it pretty clear what it really wants, and it wants to hear more about the relationship between China and Taiwan, said Liu Yi-jiun, public affairs professor at Fo Guang University in Taiwan. Its non-avoidable that Tsai has to address this to minimize political uncertainty. Any talks hinge on whats prescribed by Taiwanese laws and the democratic principle and prevalent will of the people of Taiwan, Tsai said. Ma did not base his engagement on such conditions, and Tsais stance could frustrate China. Opinion in Taiwan is divided on how to handle China, and legislators are considering a law that would give people on the island more oversight of any engagement. Beijing hopes Tsai will continue dialogue, emphasizing that the basis for the talks under Ma was the 1992 Consensus, an awkward arrangement that said both sides agreed there was one China -- but with differing interpretations on each side as to who leads that entity. Tsai acknowledges there was an understanding reached in 1992, but says its not the sole premise for talks. Beijings Taiwan Affairs Office said Friday it was unclear whether Tsai supported the consensus. Ma had brought the two sides closer by setting aside political differences to build trade, transit and investment links. But his deepening engagement with the mainlands Communist government fanned fear at home, costing his party the presidential election. The charter of Tsais party advocates legal independence for Taiwan. But that would require changing Taiwans constitution, which dates from the 1940s when Chiang Kai-sheks Nationalists based in Taiwan after losing the Chinese civil war to the Communists. The United States, the staunchest informal ally of Taiwan, quickly expressed congratulations to Tsai on Friday. In a sign of continuing warm relations, next week Washington will send a cyber-security delegation led by Assistant Secretary of Commerce Marcus Jadotte. On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution to strengthen relations with Taiwan. Analysts say China could pressure Taiwan by trying to buy off a few of Taiwans 22 remaining formal diplomatic allies, scaling back tourist visits or asking exchange students to stay home. China held a military drill off its southeast coast, near Taiwan, earlier in the week. Chinese authorities can use that to press their case that you need the 1992 Consensus to solve those issues, said Lai I-chung, vice president of Taiwan Think Tank and former China head under Tsais party. Beijings effort has already begun. It forged formal diplomatic ties with Gambia, a former Taiwan ally, in March. The next month, it arranged to have a total of 67 Taiwanese fraud suspects deported from third countries to China. Since the election, China has also pulled back on granting travel documents for Taiwan-bound tourists. Negotiations also stopped on an agreement that would cut potentially thousands of import tariffs, a particular boon to trade-reliant Taiwan, as China is its No. 1 export destination. Past economic agreements will hold, but dont expect any new ones anytime soon, and certainly nothing political, said Sean King, senior vice president with consulting firm Park Strategies in New York. Tsai will advance trade with Japan, the United States and other countries as a counterweight to any loss of business from China, said Lo Chih-cheng, a legislator from Tsais party. Taiwan should also try for membership in regional free-trade deals, Tsai said Friday. The slowdown in tourism is already hurting the hospitality business. Taiwan earned $6.86 billion from mainland Chinese tourists last year, and their numbers created 92,000 service jobs since 2008, according to Taiwan government figures. Everyone figures, oh, business is great, so many mainland Chinese are coming, but now their numbers are falling, said Tseng Mei-chuan, general manager of a Taipei boutique business hotel chain and president-director of a travel marketing association. Over time, some of these hotels will be eliminated. Taiwanese people, some fearful that China would ultimately use economic ties to exert political control, are bracing for the setback, said Shane Lee, political scientist at Chang Jung Christian University in Taiwan. Its going to affect Taiwan a little bit, particularly those who depend on tourism, he said. But the government cant just sacrifice Taiwans sovereignty for the sake of a few profits. Any government must take practical and firm steps to handle China, a spokeman for Mas Nationalist Party warned this week. Tsai may come out with a China dialogue proposal when she has made all calculations, possibly after parliament approves a bill on public oversight of relations with Beijing by the end of June, some analysts say. The new president began her inauguration speech Friday with a list of Taiwans woes, including food safety, a rigid education and a pension system at risk of bankruptcy, to name just a few. She focused especially on youth, who complain of too few career jobs and low pay. Basically what we hope most is that the new government can help young people find work, said Huang Chun-jung, a member of the 30-person advocacy group Taiwan Youth Public Affairs. Because today salaries are quite weak, graduates have to take low-paid jobs. The chatter these days in the halls of the labyrinthine United Nations complex almost resembles a contested U.S. political convention. Only the names and nationalities are different. For the first time since the U.N. was founded in 1945, the 193 member states will choose a new secretary-general in a relatively open and apparently transparent election. And for the first time, a woman could win. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> Advertisement Voting, usually a secretive process of geopolitical deal-making, starts later this year, and the new term starts Jan. 1, 2017. Those vying for the post include at least four women, as well as candidates from some of the planets tiniest countries, like little Montenegro (pop: 650,000). Formally, nine candidates have thrown their hats in the ring, and a few more are expected in the coming days. Speculation is rampant that someone of the stature of, say, Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, could be recruited. The candidates are making the rounds of hearings, submitting their resumes and traveling to high-profile U.N. events the world over. Campaigning can be risky, however, for a position whose job description could be worlds ultimate diplomat. Aspirants have to be careful not to voice views that could come back to haunt them. For example, advocacy on behalf of LGBT rights, a favored U.N. cause, could doom a candidate in some African or Asian countries where homosexuality is still illegal. Its a different world, Igor Luksic, the 39-year-old foreign minister of Montenegro, said in a public forum last month for candidates. I really believe the U.N. needs something new, not only faces, new approaches, he added, acknowledging his youth made him a long shot. Theres been some detachment between the U.N. and the people. We need to fight to make the U.N. relevant. Theres been some detachment between the U.N. and the people. We need to fight to make the U.N. relevant. Igor Luksic, foreign minister of Montenegro How much change is real and how much is cosmetic in the election process is still unclear. Some experts say the top dogs at the world body the United States and Russia ultimately will make the decision. But for now, there is an air of jockeying and campaigning rarely seen at the august institution. With the existential threats humanity is facing, there is recognition in the bureaucratic hallways that we need leadership ... that is inspirational ... and that the system as usual will not deliver, said Ricken Patel, head of Avaaz, one of several activist organizations demanding a more open election as part of a grass-roots movement called 1 for 7 Billion. This is a quiet, gentle collaborative revolution in how the U.N works. ... This is a tremendous step forward. Many U.N. veterans believe that, kind of like a nominee to the Supreme Court, or the selection of a new pope, choosing a secretary-general should be a decorous process that is conducted out of the glare of public scrutiny. Overexposure may burn them, said Alvaro de Soto, a former senior U.N. official who worked closely with Javier Perez de Cuellar, a Peruvian diplomat who served as secretary-general from 1982 to 1991. Like cultivating a rare species of orchid too much light and it wilts. Campaigning can be dangerously compromising to the patina of impartiality, de Soto added. Showing too much eagerness should be an eliminating factor, he said, speaking by telephone from Paris, where he is teaching. But activists say knowing a persons philosophy does not necessarily undermine his or her fairness and can help. Plus, given the U.N.s widely criticized response to scandals such as sex abuse by some U.N. peacekeeping troops and its struggle to respond to the mass movement of refugees in the Middle East and Europe, a new kind of voice especially that of a woman is in order, they say. I dont know that transparency will beget a woman candidate, said Rachel Vogelstein, director of the Women and Foreign Policy Program at the nonpartisan Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. But the importance of having a woman at the helm is that it sends a critical signal. Tradition, but no actual rule, says the position of secretary-general rotates to different regions of the world. Two Asians, two Africans or Middle Easterners, one Latin American and three West Europeans have held the post so far. This has led to a movement among East Europeans who think it should be their turn, even though Eastern Europe no longer is technically a separate region from Western Europe. Hence, of the nine formally declared candidates, seven are from Eastern Europe, and five of those from the former Yugoslavia. One, Irina Bokova of Bulgaria, who is head of UNESCO, the U.N.'s educational, scientific and cultural organization, is said to be an early front-runner, thanks to backing from Russia. Another Bulgarian, Kristalina Georgieva, a European Union commissioner, is said to have the backing of the United States, although she had not yet declared. The scuttlebutt at the U.N. is that none of the East Europeans has been especially impressive. It could happen that the rotation would skip ahead to Latin America, in which case Washington is said to be favoring Susana Malcorra, the Argentine foreign minister who until recently was chief of staff for current Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. She has not entered the race formally. Among those who have declared, Helen Clark, a former prime minister of New Zealand, and Antonio Guterres, a former prime minister of Portugal and former U.N. high commissioner for refugees, receive high marks from fellow diplomats. Among the undeclared, some of the potential postulants generating buzz include Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Christiana Figueres, a veteran Costa Rican diplomat credited with a major role in executing the historic Paris climate-change accord. In the past, the five permanent members of the 15-nation Security Council the United States, Russia, Britain, China and France agreed on a candidate and gave the name to the General Assembly, which always rubber-stamped the choice. Despite the pressure for more democracy, there is nothing to stop that process from being repeated this year. As one senior U.N. official put it, the Permanent Five dont want to leave much to chance. There is constant speculation about what the Permanent Five are saying. They are definitely sussing out their interests, said the official, who spoke anonymously to discuss internal politics. They can ultimately still do what they were doing before, the official added. ALSO Taiwans new president says shes willing to talk to Beijing North Korea is building something other than nukes: architecture with some zing Human remains and wreckage from EgyptAir Flight 804 found in Mediterranean Body parts, luggage and airplane seats discovered in the Mediterranean Sea on Friday confirmed that EgyptAir Flight 804 crashed into the water but did little to resolve the mystery of what downed the aircraft carrying 66 passengers and crew members. The first full day of search operations following the Airbus A320 aircrafts disappearance early Thursday found no sign of the black box recorders that could help explain what caused the jet to veer sharply at 37,000 feet before hurtling into the eastern Mediterranean on a clear morning en route from Paris to Cairo. Egyptian and U.S. officials believe that terrorism, not a mechanical failure, likely brought down the airliner. But no group has claimed responsibility and U.S. intelligence agencies have not identified any passengers or crew members with links to known terrorists, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal assessments. Advertisement See more of our top stories on Facebook >> As naval ships and reconnaissance aircraft from the U.S., Egypt and other countries scoured the seas between Greece and Egypt for wreckage, U.S. officials were searching for clues in satellite images and communications collected by intelligence agencies. Based on radar information showing the airliner abruptly veered 90 degrees to the left before swerving back to the right, officials believe the plane most likely experienced a sudden major structural failure or a bomb blast. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi urged patience as investigations are continuing to unravel the circumstances surrounding this unfortunate incident and to establish the truth and the causes of the crash. 1 / 19 A handout picture made available by the Egyptian Defense Ministry shows a life jacket from EgyptAir Flight 804. (Egyptian Defense Ministry / EPA) 2 / 19 A photo on the official Facebook page of the Egyptian military spokesperson reportedly shows EgyptAir crash debris. (AFP/Getty Images) 3 / 19 A photo on the official Facebook page of the Egyptian military spokesperson reportedly shows EgyptAir crash debris. (AFP/Getty Images) 4 / 19 An image reportedly of debris from the EgyptAir crash posted on an official Egyptian military Facebook page. (AFP / Getty Images) 5 / 19 A relative of Salah Abu Laban, Sahar Qouidar, Ghassan Abu Laban and Reem al-Sebaei, all victims of EgyptAir Flight 804, grieves following prayers for the dead, at al Thawrah Mosque in Cairo. (Amr Nabil / Associated Press) 6 / 19 Relatives and friends of passengers of the EgyptAir plane that crashed in the Mediterranean pray at Abou Bakr el-Sedek mosque in Cairo. (Mohamed Meteab / AFP/Getty Images) 7 / 19 An image from an Egyptian Defense Ministry video shows Egyptian pilots searching the Mediterranean Sea for wreckage of Flight 804. (AFP/Getty Images) 8 / 19 In an image from an Egyptian Defense Ministry video, the Egyptian military searches the Mediterranean for wreckage of the plane that crashed Thursday. (Egyptian Defense Ministry / AFP/Getty Images ) 9 / 19 A radar aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force took part in the search for EgyptAir Flight 804. (Thanassis Stavrakis / Associated Press) 10 / 19 A relative of a passenger who was flying aboard an EgyptAir plane that crashed en route from Paris to Cairo cries as family members are transported to a gathering point at Cairo International Airport on May 19. (Khaled Desouki / AFP/Getty Images) 11 / 19 An unidentified employee of EgyptAir speaks to journalists at Charles De Gaulle Airport on May 19, after one of the airlines jets crashed as it traveled from Paris to Cairo. (Thomas Samson / AFP/Getty Images) 12 / 19 A relative of a passenger on EgyptAir Flight 804 grieves at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside Paris. (Michel Euler / Associated Press) 13 / 19 French officers stand guard at the entrance of the Mercure Hotel next to Charles de Gaulle airport, where relatives of the passengers are gathering near Paris. (Etienne Laurent / EPA) 14 / 19 Relatives of missing EgyptAir passengersgather at Cairo Airport. (Khaled Elfiqi / EPA) 15 / 19 Relatives of missing EgyptAir passengers gather at Cairo Airport. (Osama Sayed / EPA) 16 / 19 Relatives of passengers aboard EgyptAir Flight 804 grieve as they leave the in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport. (Amr Nabil / Associated Press) 17 / 19 A French member of the border police stands guard at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport. (Etienne Laurent / EPA) 18 / 19 An EgyptAir Airbus A320 is seen at Istanbul Airport in Turkey in May. (Christoph Schmidt / EPA ) 19 / 19 Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport after the crash. (Selman Elotefy / Associated Press) With confirmation that the jet had landed in the sea, Sisi expressed great grief and deep sorrow for the family members of the 56 passengers, seven crew members and three airline security personnel. EgyptAir tweeted condolences to the families, saying it deeply regrets this tragic accident. Along with the debris located by the Egyptian armed forces about 180 miles north of the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria, the European Space Agency detected a potential oil slick more than one mile long, about 35 miles southeast of the aircrafts last known location. While the slick could be jet fuel spilled as the plane broke apart, the agency said there was no guarantee it was related to the crash and the satellite would pass over the same area again to gather further images. The discoveries were helping search teams narrow the focus of their efforts, with the relatively calm waters of the Mediterranean preventing wreckage from drifting far away. A portion of the search area was in some of the deepest reaches of the sea, however, where the waters exceed 10,000 feet in depth. The U.S. Navy is contributing P-3 Orion submarine-hunting aircraft to the search and recovery effort, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said. The long-range maritime planes, which fly from Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily, are outfitted with advanced radar, electronic sensors and sonar systems. As the search stretched into Friday evening, Egyptian naval vessels and reconnaissance planes had recovered passengers belongings, body parts, luggage and aircraft seats, EgyptAir said in a statement. The Egyptian armed forces, in a statement announcing the earlier discovery of aircraft parts, said the searching, sweeping and retrieval process is underway. Egypt sought to demonstrate it was in control of the investigation a day after EgyptAir said wreckage from the missing plane had been found near the Greek island of Karpathos but later had to retract the statement after Greek officials said the debris did not belong to Flight 804. The confused messages added to the anguish of family members of victims who had gathered at the Cairo airport and accused the government and airline of mishandling the crisis. EgyptAir said Friday that Egypts civil aviation minister, Sherif Fathi, had appointed an investigative committee, led by Ayman El-Moqadem, the official who also is leading an investigation into a Russian passenger jet that crashed in the Sinai Peninsula last October, killing 224 people on board. That probe has been criticized in some quarters for failing to produce findings after more than six months of inquiry. Islamic State, the terrorist organization that has an increasingly active branch in the Sinai, is seen as a possible suspect in the Flight 804 crash because the group claimed to have brought down the Russian jet. Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived in Cairo early Friday to assist in the hunt for Flight 804, airport officials said. Many family members of passengers and crew members were staying Friday at hotels near the airport. Senior EgyptAir officials met Friday morning with some families to update them on the investigation, the airline said. In the afternoon, some families held prayers for the victims at Cairo mosques. EgyptAir has not issued an official list of passengers, but Egyptian media reported that one town in the northern governorate of Gharbeya said four victims had been born in the area. Among them was Khaled Allam, 40, who lived in France with his wife and was returning to Egypt from vacation, according to local reports. Another was identified by family members as Haytham Samir Didah, 35, who was living in France with his Moroccan wife and their daughter. Of the 56 passengers aboard, 30 were Egyptians, 15 were from France and two from Iraq. There were also passengers from Britain, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria, Kuwait and Canada. EgyptAir identified the pilot as Mohamed Shokair and his copilot as Mohamed Assem. Shokair had 6,275 flying hours under his belt, the airline said, including more than 2,000 on the Airbus A320, one of the most common passenger aircraft in the world. Family members have rejected any suggestion that Shokair or Assem deliberately crashed the plane as an EgyptAir pilot did in 1999 on a flight originating in Los Angeles, with 217 people aboard. In an interview with CNN, EgyptAirs vice chairman, Ahmed Adel, described Shokair as a very well-trained, highly disciplined captain. He has a good reputation and was a good colleague of mine, Adel said. MORE WORLD NEWS North Korea is building something other than nukes: architecture with some zing Taiwans new president says shes willing to talk to Beijing The life of a racing pigeon in Pakistan: massages, steroids and the occasional Viagra shashank.bengali@latimes.com Twitter: @SBengali Staff writer Bengali and special correspondent Hassan reported from Cairo, and staff writer Bennett from Washington. Staff writer W.J. Hennigan in Washington contributed to this report. UPDATES: 2:03 p.m.: This article has been updated throughout. 10:25 a.m.: This article has been updated with Egypt confirming the discovery of human remains. 6:48 a.m.: This article has been updated with details on the search and names of passengers. 5:44 a.m.: This article has been updated with details and additional comment from EgyptAir. 4:48 a.m: This article has been updated with a statement from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi. This article was originally published at 2:41 a.m. The Egyptian military has located wreckage from EgyptAir Flight 804 about 180 miles north of the coastal city of Alexandria, Egypt. The Airbus A320 aircraft vanished from radar screens early May 19 while carrying 66 people from Paris to Cairo. Here is what we know so far: What has been found from the plane? An Egyptian plane searches the Mediterranean Sea for signs of EgyptAir Flight 804. (Egyptian Defense Ministry / European Pressphoto Agency) (Egyptian Defense Ministry ) EgyptAir said the debris recovered includes passengers belongings, suitcases and aircraft seats. Body parts also have been found, the airline said. On June 16, the cockpit voice recorder of the plane was recovered and pulled out of the Mediterranean Sea. The next day, the second black box was found. See more of our top stories on Facebook The find significantly raises hopes that investigators will finally be able to determine what caused the crash. Both France and the United States are sending investigators to Cairo to help with the probe. A statement from the Egyptian committee said the vessel John Lethbridge, contracted by the Egyptian government to search for the plane wreckage, pulled the data recorder out of the sea in stages. It added that it managed to successfully retrieve the memory unit of the recorder, which is the most important component. The committee said that the data will be downloaded and analyzed once it arrives from the port city of Alexandria, where the black boxes will be transferred from the site of the crash. What do we know about the planes final moments? (Raoul Ranoa) 11:09 p.m. May 18: Flight 804 takes off from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on route for Cairo, where it was scheduled to arrive at 3:15 a.m. the following day. 1:24 a.m. May 19: The plane enters Greek airspace. 2:26 a.m.: The pilot speaks with air traffic controllers in Greece. No problems are reported. 2:37 a.m.: The plane enters Egyptian airspace. Shortly after, it makes a 90-degree turn to the left, then a 360-degree loop to the right, plunging from 37,000 to 15,000 feet before disappearing from radar at about 10,000 feet, according to the Greek defense minister, Panos Kammenos. What might have caused the crash? Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail speaks to reporters at Cairo International Airport after the crash. (Selman Elotefy / Associated Press) (Selman Elotefy / Associated Press) The cause is not yet known. But the Egyptian minister for civil aviation, Sherif Fathi, said an act of terrorism was more likely than a mechanical failure. Egypt and France have both been the target of attacks by Islamist extremists. In October, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for bringing down a Russian passenger plane over Egypts Sinai Peninsula, killing 224 people on board. NEWSLETTER: Get the day's top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >> Aviation safety experts said the Airbus planes swerves and sudden drop are not typical of a technical malfunction and suggest that a catastrophic event took place on board. They said there was a strong possibility of an explosion. A hijacker also could have tried to commandeer the aircraft, resulting in a struggle in the cockpit. Or the pilot might have intentionally crashed the plane. Whatever happened, it appears to have been sudden: There was no distress call. What do we know about the plane and pilots? An EgyptAir Airbus A320 is seen at Istanbul Airport in Turkey in May. (Christoph Schmidt / European Pressphoto Agency ) (Christoph Schmidt / EPA ) Airbus 320s are considered reliable aircraft and are among the most common planes used in air travel. The aircraft in question went into service in 2003, which is not that old for a jet. The plane was on its fifth flight that day. It flew from Asmara, Eritrea, to Cairo, then to the Tunisian capital, Tunis, and back to Cairo, before flying to Paris. EgyptAir said experienced pilots were at the controls on the flight from Paris to Cairo. The captain had more than 6,000 flying hours, including 2,100 on the A320. The copilot had 2,766 flying hours. Who was on board? EgyptAir said the plane was carrying 56 passengers, seven crew members and three airline security personnel. Of the passengers aboard, 30 were Egyptians, 15 were from France and two were from Iraq. There also were passengers from Canada, Belgium, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria and Kuwait. They included two babies and a child. No Americans were on the passenger list. alexandra.zavis@latimes.com Twitter: @alexzavis Times staff writers Shashank Bengali in Cairo and Del Quentin Wilber in New York contributed to this report along with special correspondents Amro Hassan in Cairo and Kim Willsher in Paris. ALSO Terrorists may have brought down EgyptAir flight, officials say What we know so far about the people who were on board EgyptAir Flight 804 Human remains and wreckage from EgyptAir Flight 804 found in Mediterranean UPDATES: 7:20 a.m., June 17: This article has been updated with news that the planes two black boxes have been recovered. This article was originally published on May 20. All material is subject to strictly enforced copyright terms & conditions and cannot be repurposed or reproduced. 19882022 Latin American Financial Publications Inc. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is demanding a federal investigation amid accusations that a Milwaukee-based store owner urged his employees to speak only English and not to converse with customers in Spanish. "One Day...No One (Will Speak Spanish)" Ron Schneider, owner of Leon's Frozen Custard, insists he never barred his employees from speaking English, though he admits for the last year he has regularly encouraged them to communicate in English as much as possible. "I'm trying to avoid (customers) getting used to Spanish and then one day finding no one here who can speak it," he added, insisting that only a small number of the store's roughly two dozen employee actually speak Spanish. Federal Government Asked to Investigate While requesting that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission now intervene, representatives from LULAC contend that the English-only "policy" violates federal labor law. "While many of us consider (Leon's) as a community institution, it was surprising when we learned of their language policy, which is in clear violation of federal labor law," the organization said in a statement. The whole issue recently came to light after a Spanish-speaking customer claimed he witnessed a Leon's employee tell another Spanish-speaking customer to place her order in English. He added an employee later told him she was not allowed to converse with him in Spanish. "I'd prefer that (employees) didn't speak in Spanish," Schneider, who claims that his wife is of Spanish and Apache Indian descent and only speaks English, later admitted. "This is still the United States. Why do we have to get involved in multi-language things?" Frozen custard has long been a staple in Milwaukee, with Leon's reigning as one of the city's favorite spots, where lines are typically filled with customers at all hours through all kinds of weather. Democratic State Rep. Josh Zepnick insists he hopes to soon meet with Schneider to talk out the situation. JavaScript is disabled on your browser. CORDIS website requires JavaScript enabled in order to work properly. Please enable JavaScript. Honoring officers for their service, and remembering their brethren who have died, the Bethlehem Police Department held its annual memorial service Thursday night in the auditorium of Liberty High School. "Our nation has no better role models, especially today, than in law enforcement," Mayor Bob Donchez said in commending officers he described as having gone above and beyond the call of duty. He called the department the finest police organization in Pennsylvania, something Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said he had to stop short of agreeing with -- if only because of other Lehigh Valley law enforcement leaders present. "We couldn't do what we do in the prosecutor's office without good police work," Martin said. President John F. Kennedy established May 15 in 1962 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day, city police Chief Mark DiLuzio said. Thursday's service, in part, honored the six Bethlehem police officers killed in the line of duty since 1907, starting with George Shuman and continuing with Charles Lawrence in 1924; Charles Fenton in 1927; Harry Strauss, a captain, in 1933; Phillip J. Fahy in 1969 and Daniel Rice in 1997. The department also recognized Bethlehem police officers who died during the past year: Norman Taylor, who served for 25 years through July 10, 1993, and who died Sept. 10, 2015, at age 78. The department also lost K-9 officer Rexo last Nov. 29 after seven years and seven months of service. "When a police officer dies, a piece of civilization dies and a small piece of all of us dies," DiLuzio said. The department was joined by motorcyclists who carried American flags as part of the Warriors' Watch group, including members of the American Legion Riders, South Side Motorcycle Club and Knights of Labor. Two Outstanding Citizens were also honored Thursday night, Kadeza Stonewall and Stephanie Almanzar, for helping to provide comfort to police and firefighters battling an apartment building blaze last Nov. 28 in the 1500 block of Irene Street. The department's Detective of the Year was Thomas Galloway. Receiving an Award of Merit were officers Joshua Hobson and Glenn Woolard for their roles in helping get tenants to safety in the Irene Street fire and officers Matthew Ragusa and John Limpar for their actions during another fire, Jan. 23 in the 400 block of Wyandotte Street, during the record snowstorm. Also recognized with commendations were officers: James Apgar William Audelo Zachary Beals William Boerstler Daniel Brown Joseph Brylewski Michael Buckley Jon Buskirk Kevin Conrad Robert Corsi Wilfredo Cruz Louis Csaszar Samuel Delrosario Jonathan Desiderio Michael DiLuzio Ricky Dunbar Brian Ellis Emily Falko Cordt Fenstermaker Wade Haubert Joshua Hobson James Hoffman Jason Holschwander Bobby Hoppes David Horvath Gregory Huff Daniel Kennedy Micheil Koblish Christopher Kopp Blake Kuntz Peter Labiak John Limpar Stephen Marks Kelly Martin William Marques Jonathan Mill Grayson Peacock Bryan Phelps Paul Ramsden Thomas Rasich Jeremy Rimmer Manuel Rivera William Rodriguez David Sabol Joshua Schnalzer Brendan Schlegel Kristopher Shirk James Smith Thomas Somerville Albert Strydesky Matthew Vanic Eric Waldeck Scott Weber Glenn Woolard Gregory Yerk *** Detective Christopher Benton Detective John Casella Detective Jason Hammer Detective Jeffrey Lutte Detective Bradford Jones Detective Patrick Maczko Detective Justin Madera Detective Moses Miller Detective Sean Molony Detective Douglas Nothstein Detective James Ruvolo Detective Eric Schaedel Detective Jeffrey Taylor *** Sgt. Ronald Brazinksi Sgt. Rodney Bronson Sgt. James Freed Sgt. Benjamin Hacket Sgt. Robert Kromer Sgt. John Lamana Sgt. Jonathan Pesesko Sgt. Robert Urban *** Detective Sgt. Michael Martinko Detective Sgt. Michael Mish *** Lt. Donald Hoffman Lt. Scott Meixell Lt. Michael Reszek *** Detective Lt. William Dosedlo Detective Lt. Jeffrey Herzog Detective Lt. Michelle Kott *** Communication supervisor Bernice Colon Communication specialists Jill Holmberg and Melvin Bachman Freemansburg police officer Jonathan Itterly Lower Saucon Township police officer Steven Kunigus Special Agent William Rodgers Special Agent Robert Wohlbach Task Force Officer Vasa Faasuamalie Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. RobertCorbySr NCC student Robert Corby Sr., 81, is studying whatever strikes his fancy after struggling most of his life as a poor student. The priest sexual abuse survivor used to hate school and now loves earning A's at NCC. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com) ( ) Robert Corby was a terrible student as a boy. Corby, 81, of Bethlehem, disrupted class frequently and the nuns at his Catholic school did not mince words when evaluating his character. "I was often told I wasn't worth anything, I was a bad kid," Corby recalls. But what the nuns didn't know is that Corby, an altar boy at Sts. Simon and Jude Catholic Church in West Bethlehem had been sexually abused by a priest in 1947. His self-esteem was rock bottom and he was acting out in hopes of attracting attention. Corby did manage to graduated from Central Catholic High School after being held back twice. But he did not have the grades or drive to follow his friends to college. And it was one of his life's great regrets. Six years ago, Corby finally decided to confront his sexual abuse and began therapy. His therapist told him it wasn't too late to go back to school. Corby was terrified when he enrolled at Northampton Community College for his first class. "It took many years of encouragement to overcome my fears that no one would accept me," Corby said. Now, he is four years in to his college career. He takes advantage of NCC's tuition and fee waiver for Northampton County and Bethlehem school district senior citizens. If seats are free in a credit class, those over 65 are welcome to enroll. He enjoys classes in subjects that interest him -- philosophy, world geography -- and skipping ones that don't, like accounting. "I think the professors like to see me in class," Corby said. "I always thank the class for accepting me. I learn from them and hopefully they learn from me." But he's also found his voice. "I have opportunities to speak up for victim's of sexual abuse," Corbey said. "I was 11-years-old when I was sexually abused. If I can even help one other victim to know I can understand their pain and suffering, I consider that a success." Corby was drafted shortly after high school and spent time serving in Japan. He spent 40 years working as an electrician, married and raised three kids, who he's very proud of. But he never mentioned the abuse of his childhood to anyone, not even his wife, who died 20 years ago. He regrets she never knew why he struggled with intimacy. He comforts himself knowing she told him he was a good husband on her deathbed. Robert Corby Sr., 81, has discovered a love of learning late in life at NCC. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com) When the Boston Globe began publishing its series of articles on the cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church it changed Corby's life. "With the Boston Globe articles, I finally thought: there is more than me," Corby said. "You think that you're the only one that's been abused." The reporters' Pulitzer Prize-winning efforts were chronicled in the Academy Award-winning movie "Spotlight." Earlier this year, Corby attended a screening of the film at Lehigh University, which included a Q&A with Lehigh alum Marty Baron, who was the Boston Globe Editor that guided the Spotlight team's reporting. He shocked himself by standing up at the screening and telling how the Globe coverage in 2002 inspired him to speak about the abuse, seek out therapy and later tell his three children and grandchildren about it. Rev. Gerald J. Royer only spent six months at Sts. Simon and Jude but the damage he did to Corby has lasted his entire lifetime, he said. "I live with it every day," Corby said. The Diocese of Allentown did not directly respond to the specific allegations against Royer but did say in a statement: "The Church has a sincere and compassionate commitment to the emotional and spiritual well-being of all individuals who have been affected by the crime of child sexual abuse." Corby had mixed feelings when he discovered Royer listed on the Philadelphia Archdiocese's list of accused priests. Royer was placed on a leave of absence in 1960, served as chaplain at St. Joseph Manor until 1964 and left active ministry in 1964. Corby never spoke up, so he knew the "accused" meant there was at least one other victim. He was happy to see Royer was defrocked in February 1965. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has paid for his therapy, Corby said. Therapy that has helped him achieve one of his life's greatest successes at a time many of his peers are slowing down. "For me, walking across the campus, going to school, it is just a good feeling," Corby said. "I'm so at ease going to school. When I was in grade school, they considered me a loser." Corby's surprised himself by earning A's in his classes and an award for his submission to the campus literary magazine, The Laconic. "What a difference from going to Catholic school and then going to Northampton Community College," Corby said. "They treat me so wonderful and I love it. I just love going to school at my age." He pays his grandkids for their good grades and is quite proud to have put two of his three kids through college. One works for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and another for the F.B.I. He sometimes wishes he could rewind time and go back to when he had three young children filling his house. He fills his retirement with classes, volunteer work at Sacred Heart Hospital and spending time with his female companion of 18 years. "Believe it or not I still go to church. I don't go for the Church," Corby said. "I go for the guy that's nailed on the cross. I go for Jesus and that's about it." Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. James Cruciani James Cruciani (Courtesy photo) James Cruciani and his girlfriend had plenty of excuses to justify a fight that led to a police response last fall. But when pressed by a judge, the 22-year-old Lower Saucon Township man was at a loss to explain away his criminal past or come up with a good reason he should stay out of state prison. Northampton County Judge Stephen Baratta sentenced Cruciani on Friday to a year and a half to three years in prison for the fight in November in the 1600 block of Main Street in Hellertown. Cruciani kicked his girlfriend during an argument. When police came, Cruciani kicked an officer in the groin and ran away barefoot and in handcuffs. Someone later cut them off his wrists. The origin of the argument was in dispute. Cruciani told a probation officer he fought his girlfriend because he wanted sex, but she told the judge Friday it centered around a lack of alcohol in the home. He was also apparently upset because he felt the girlfriend's grandmother wasn't doing a good enough job watching over one of their two children in the backyard. "It's a bizarre story, quite frankly," Baratta said. The girlfriend testified she wasn't actually kicked by Cruciani. He ran into her when police arrived, she said. She said she didn't want police there. Her grandfather called them. She had a protection from abuse order against Cruciani at the time, but said she meant to cancel it. She asked Baratta to release Cruciani on probation. "I really do need (James) out there to help with my kids," she said. The judge said Cruciani had multiple juvenile offenses, including indecent assault and theft. Defense attorney Alex Mills said Cruciani suffered because he was often moved around as a youth. He attended Saucon Valley, Liberty and Salisbury high schools before dropping out. The judge said Cruciani left school to work to raise bail money for his girlfriend, the same one with whom he had the fight. "I'm sorry," said Cruciani through tears. "This is a big mess that I caused." The judge said Cruciani's tears don't make up for his past and current crimes. "You create messes," the judge said. "You don't do what you're supposed to do. What have you done at all that indicated to me that you get it?" Baratta shrugged off a claim by Cruciani that he's a good father. The judge refused to put Cruciani on probation or even let him serve his time in Northampton County, opting to send him to state prison. "This is something that's well beyond Northampton County Prison," Baratta said. In addition to prison time, the judge ordered Cruciani to serve two years on probation. He has to pay $40 to cover the cost of the broken handcuffs and $234.35 to cover a workman's compensation claim for officer John Donato. Cruciani pleaded guilty to escape, simple assault and theft. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook. If Phillipsburg seems like an extension of Easton and the Lehigh Valley, it's because it's only a short bridge ride away. Bridges over the Delaware and Lehigh rivers have been the key to Easton's commercial and residential development since its inception. Constructed during the Great Depression and called the "World's Most Brilliant Bridge," the city's toll bridge opened on Jan. 14, 1938, according to the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission. It supplemented a wooden covered span called the Palmer bridge. The Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge quickly became the major bridge for crossing the Delaware north of Trenton. Traffic congestion led to construction of a four-lane approach to the bridge on the New Jersey side in 1946. Work on a new Lehigh Valley Thruway allowed motorists to bypass Bushkill Street in Easton and head at highway speed over the bridge. Construction started in 1950 and ended in 1951. The toll bridge and its approaches have been repaved and revamped many times in the intervening decades, including a $30 million overhaul that wrapped up in 2015. Take a look at some of the images of bridges over the last century provided by the Sigal Museum in Downtown Easton. The photos are published by lehighvalleylive.com with permission from the Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society. Reproduction of these photos without permission is prohibited. Research your past and find more photos like these at the Jane S. Moyer Library in the Sigal Museum. BRIDGE HISTORY 1739 - First ferry between Easton and Phillipsburg 1806 - First bridge built between Easton and Phillipsburg, a shareholder-owned woodencovered toll structure 1895 - Wooden covered bridge is replaced by a steel truss bridge, the current Northampton Street Bridge, which operated as private toll bridge for more than 25 years 1900 - The Easton-Phillipsburg area is a nexus point for three canals, seven railroads, and three Delaware River railroad bridges 1938 - Bushkill Street bridge opens, later renamed the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge 1989 - Interstate-78 toll bridge opens, providing unimpeded highway travel from the Holland Tunnel to just east of Harrisburg. Source: Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook. Escalera.jpg Delvin Anthony Escalera, left, says he was just driving a car where numerous fraudulent credit cards were found Thursday evening, Palmer Township police said. (Tony Rhodin | For lehighvalleylive.com) A man and a woman from New York City spent Thursday afternoon driving across the Lehigh Valley and using fraudulent credit cards to buy gift cards and baby supplies, Palmer Township police said in court papers. Alexandria Maldonado-Diaz, 24, of Manhattan, was arraigned Friday morning before District Jacqueline Taschner on 64 charges, including 29 counts of possessing an instrument of crime and 28 counts of possessing a credit card while knowing it was altered or counterfeit, court papers say. Alexandria Maldonado-Diaz allegedly used fraudulent credit cards in Thursday in Lehigh Valley Kmarts, her co-defendant tells a a Palmer Township officer, police say. (Tony Rhodin | For lehighvalleylive.com) Delvin Anthony Escalera, 26, of Brooklyn, who told an officer that he did the driving and Maldonado did the buying, was arraigned on 89 charges, including 28 counts of possessing an instrument of crime, 28 counts of possessing a credit card while knowing it was altered or counterfeit, and 28 counts of conspiracy related to possessing an instrument of crime, court papers say. Taschner set bail at $150,000 each, court papers say. Maldonado-Diaz and Escalera were taken to Northampton County Prison, police said. Township police became involved about 7:55 p.m. Thursday when an officer was following a maroon Nissan in traffic on Route 248 and noticed Escalera looking away from the road and toward his lap, as if he were texting or reading GPS on a phone, police said. When they stopped at a traffic light at Kingston Road, the officer could see the car did not have inspection stickers on the front window, police said. A check showed the car was registered in Philadelphia, police said. The officer pulled over the car and Escalera said he was lost returning to New York after dropping off a prom dress for his sister in Allentown, police said. He said he borrowed the car from a friend and it was inspected, but he didn't have the paperwork, police said. Escalera said he was using GPS to get home and that's why he was looking down, police said. Escalera said he met his passenger "Alex" a few days ago but didn't know her last name, police said. Maldonado-Diaz told the officer she didn't speak English, police said. After giving Escalera a ticket, the officer said Escalera was "good to go," police said. But then the officer said he had a few more questions about Escalera's day in the Lehigh Valley, police said. The officer then asked Escalera if there were illegal contraband in the car and Escalera asked, "You mean drugs? No," police said. Escalera then consented to a search of the car, police said. In the passenger door storage area, the officer found 11 unused MasterCard gift cards, police said. A Kmart bag stuffed under the passenger seat had numerous receipts from Thursday and several cut up credit cards, police said. Scissors were found nearby, police said. A black sock was also found under the seat and it contained four credit cards in Maldonado-Diaz's name, police said. Maldonado-Diaz's white purse was nearby and it had two receipts from the Wilson Borough Kmart, three unsigned credit cards and a counterfeit $100 bill, police said. The receipts in the bag showed Maldonado-Diaz made 12 purchases between 3:22 p.m. and 7:47 p.m. -- three totaling $715.05 from the Kmart in Walnutport, four totaling $976.86 from the Kmart of Tilghman Street in Allentown, three totaling $712.22 from a Kmart in Whitehall Township and two totaling $246.74 from the Wilson Kmart. Approximately 15 credit cards were used to buy $200 gift cards from all the stores, police said. Other items bought totaled $352.68, police said. There were two bags in the back seat of the car containing baby products and clothing, police said. In total, there were 28 fraudulent credit cards recovered, including two Maldonado-Diaz stuffed down her pants, police said. Escalera said he drove Maldonado-Diaz to the stores but didn't go in, police said. Both said they knew nothing about the gift cards, but they were all bought with fraudulent cards found in the car or on Maldonado-Diaz, police said. Preliminary hearings for both suspects are tentatively scheduled 9 a.m. June 3 in Taschner's township court. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A bear came to visit on Friday morning in the 300 block of Circle Drive in Catasauqua. Lehigh County emergency dispatch confirmed the report, but couldn't provide more details. About 8 a.m., the Pennsylvania Game Commission was on site to deal with the animal. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Smiling and speaking sometimes in a raspy voice, former wrestling star Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka took the witness stand Friday to speak with the judge deciding if he's competent to stand trial on a murder charge. Judge Kelly Banach's questions ranged from Snuka's name to details about the legal proceedings, but stayed away from details of the case. Snuka, of Waterford Township, New Jersey, is charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the May 1983 death of Nancy Argentino in Whitehall Township. Friday's hearing, the third time Snuka has been in court for the competency proceedings, did not mark the end of testimony. Snuka's wife, Carole, is expected to testify at the next hearing scheduled for next month. Experts have testified about Carole Snuka answering questions for her husband and providing information at meetings with doctors, attorneys and mental health experts. The judge has indicated she does not plan to rule on Snuka's competency from the bench. While the differing opinions of the prosecution and defense's experts have led to testy exchanges and yelling in court, the interview between the judge and Snuka was relaxed, and at times marked with laughing from the whole courtroom based on Snuka's answers. The questioning lasted about 1 1/2 hours. Snuka called Banach dear, hun, ma'am and, toward the end, sister. In interviews and in testimony, Snuka commonly refers to men as brother. That includes his own defense attorney, Robert Kirwan, because the 72-year-old Snuka said on Friday he has a hard time with names. One of the longest pauses came when the judge asked Snuka if he knows the name of the current president. "Do you care who the president is?" the judge prompted. "I do, dear," Snuka answered. The judge asked about the belief that professional wrestling is fake. "You know what, they always say it's fake. To me, I don't think so," Snuka said. The wrestlers would be told who would win matches, Snuka continued, and the judge asked how it felt being told he would lose a match. "It don't matter," Snuka said. Banach asked about Vince McMahon and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Snuka smiled as he described both of them in glowing terms, though he couldn't remember Johnson's wrestling name. At the end the judge thanked Snuka for answering her questions. "Thank you very much for your kindness. ... Thanks again, sister," he said. Earlier in the hearing on Friday, when questioning the prosecution's expert, the judge described one of the questions she's considering with Snuka's competency. Psychiatrist Dr. John O'Brien testified Snuka has essentially been putting on an act, and that his medical records, MRIs and other tests don't show Snuka as having debilitating brain atrophy. O'Brien said recent interviews show Snuka can answer questions with reasonable thought, and that his recent test answers show a lack of effort, not a lack of ability to answer. But Banach said the questions may be ones Snuka has faced hundreds of times, and mused the "act" could be the one Snuka has taken on as a professional wrestler. "To what extent is it, he's putting us on, versus it's what he knows, it's what he does, it's who he is ... he's 'Superfly' Snuka," the judge asked. CATCH UP ON COMPETENCY HEARINGS Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Among a long list of crimes, Maria Rodriguez had five theft convictions prior to April when she pleaded guilty to thefts number six and seven. "You were engaged in the business of theft," Northampton County Judge Stephen Baratta told her Friday. "It was a business for you." The judge sentenced her to two to four years in state prison, but had little faith the punishment would stop the 41-year-old Allentown woman when she gets out. "At some point in time you're going to get so old that you won't commit crimes, but apparently we haven't reached that point," the judge said. She was with her 7-year-old when she took $150 in goods from Wegmans supermarket in Hanover Township, Northampton County, in December. She hit, kicked and stomped on the foot of the police officer who arrested her. She was charged in February with stealing 26 bags of clothes from Carter's and Five Below stores. Police found more than $2,200 in clothes in her SUV after it was impounded. The judge said Rodriguez started abusing drugs at age 18 and has used marijuana, cocaine and heroin. She claimed she's been clean for the past six years. Defense attorney Alex Mills said Rodriguez was abused as a child. The judge sympathized with her for being victimized, but said she needs to pull her life together. "You haven't been able to learn to deal with whatever demons you have in order to remain crime free," he said. She admitted she has no excuses for her crimes, but asked the judge to release her on probation so she can be reunited with her children. "I have a 7 year old waiting for me," she said. The judge said she was warned to straighten up when her child was 5 years old and she was convicted of a drug crime in Lehigh County. "For you to try to play the fact that your son needs you, this is all repetitive information," Baratta said. "You don't get it. You don't learn." Rodriguez pleaded guilty in April to two counts of theft and a single count of simple assault. She was sentenced Friday. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan has contacted the Minister for Housing, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Minister for Finance, to examine with urgency what measures can be taken to regenerate provincial and rural towns. I am in touch with Simon Coveney, Mary Mitchell OConnor and Michael Noonan to now take a collaborative approach in terms of providing the necessary incentives and support for business growth and job creation and retention, in towns and village centres and to do this in tandem with dealing with challenges in the housing sector. Im very pleased to see in the Programme for Government that the renewal of towns and villages will be a top priority for the Government, as a way to revitalise rural Ireland. To deliver on this goal the new Minister for Regional Development and Rural Affairs will develop a new and improved Town and Village Renewal Scheme, with input from the Oireachtas, in time for Budget 2017. This is a critical need for re-vitalisation of towns in Laois and a new policy on town centre rejuvenation, including a policy on housing in, and adjacent to, our main streets is necessary. Initiatives like the Living City initiative, which is administered by the Department of Finance, should be rolled out in towns across Ireland, in order to bring new life back into the towns themselves, while being part of an overall strategy to tackle the housing crisis. The Retail Consultation Forum, set up by Minister Richard Bruton as part of the Action Plan for Jobs, provides a platform for a structured engagement between the retail sector and relevant Government Departments and agencies. The forum allows key issues, relevant to the retail sector, to be discussed. This is with a view to identifying practical actions that can be taken by Government or the industry itself to support the sector, with the aim of looking at innovative ways to rejuvenate our towns and villages and create much needed employment. A report published in March 2015, on Business Growth Potential in Small Towns, from the Oireachtas Committee on Jobs Enterprise and Innovation, recommended that central Government support local authorities to introduce grant relief schemes, in order to incentivise new businesses to take up vacant properties on main streets, as well as addressing the issue of Upward Only Rent Provisions, among other recommendations. The government will work collaboratively to devise a joined-up and innovative approach to this whole issue and I will be stressing the need for such a policy in county Laois. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan has urged people to reach out to anyone they knew in the UK to give them the Irish perspective on the forthcoming Brexit referendum. Minister Flanagan made his comments at a keynote address at the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) Brexit Event conference on Thursday in the Aviva Stadium which explored the risks a 'Brexit' poses to business. Focusing on the UK in the EU Minister Flanagan said the government's view is that the effectiveness, the internal balance and credibility of the EU itself would be damaged by a British departure. I prefer having their influence and voice as we seek to deliver concrete actions in favour of growth and jobs, such as trade agreements and the completion of the EU digital single market urgent initiatives both highlighted in the UK settlement deal reached by the 28 EU leaders in February and strongly supported by Ireland. These are the building blocks of prosperity for all our citizens. As Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, I prefer to have the UK at the table on foreign policy issues. I see what my colleague Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond brings to the EU Foreign Affairs Council in terms of the UKs global reach, its permanent membership of the UN Security Council and its expertise and influence on key strategic issues. My preference for continued UK membership of the EU is also informed by work we do together on areas which involve the daily lives of most of our own citizens. I am thinking, for example, of the role of the UK - and Irelands work with the UK - on the consular protection of citizens when travelling abroad. I could go on and mention other areas ranging from climate change, to the practical value of removing roaming charges, to hugely important issues such as the EUs relations with the Middle East, Africa, Russia and the Unions many other neighbours. In all cases, the UKs active presence at the EU table is one we want to keep. In saying all this, what I am not saying is that the UK will magically become some sort of Europhile voice if it votes to remain in the EU. The distinctive and often questioning elements of the British voice would still be there, but its energy would be used constructively and positively to improve how the EU does its business. This is in ways a preferendum and not simply a referendum. In that context, the settlement agreed by EU leaders in February, in which the Taoiseach played a particularly important role, is crucial. If the UK votes to remain, it also endorses the terms of the deal which fundamentally recognises the need to improve the way in which the EU does business. For the Union to continue to deliver long-term growth and stability for our citizens, we must engage with this agenda in the period ahead. There are now 35 days left to polling day. The decision will in the end be in the hands of the UK electorate, having heard both sides. And as we know from our own referendums, a lot of people especially those undecided make up their minds closer to polling day and draw heavily on people they know and trust personally when making up their minds. That is where all of us can come in when talking to everyone we know who has a vote and who cares about the Irish and British-Irish dimensions to this debate. These people are at the core of the Irish stake in this issue as a friend of the UK, as neighbours, as 62 billion a year trading partners and as partners in facilitating and supporting work to help secure peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland. So I urge each and every person to set themselves a target of talking to people they know lets say 20 friends/family/customers/partners/whoever. Some will know more than 20, some less, but if we each got to an average of 20, we would each be making a difference. Give them the Irish perspective and ask them to share the word. Lets turn our attention in these final weeks away from ourselves and to the unconverted. The undecided. Those unsure if theyll vote at all. Lets join in efforts supported by European Movement Ireland and others to phone a friend. Lets encourage people to register to vote by 7 June and to make their voice heard on 23 June, something that the independent Irish4Europe campaign in Britain is making a valuable contribution to. For my part, I am managing a targeted series of ministerial visits during these final weeks, so we can reach out directly, meet the Irish community and put forward the Irish and British-Irish dimensions to wider audiences. If the UK votes to leave the EU, we would enter uncharted waters. The negative knock-on effects have been highlighted by a range of independent research. The level of uncertainty overall cannot be underestimated. From an EU perspective, the Union as a whole would face two or more years of an unprecedented negotiation process on the exit of a large and significant member state. Here in Ireland a huge amount of work is being undertaken across government to be ready to respond to either outcome. The importance of this issue was identified in 2014 in our National Risk Assessment. Government Departments have been working for some time to identify the key strategic and sectoral issues that could arise for us if the UK were to vote to leave the EU. We will continue to deepen our analysis of the risks and key issues that would require priority attention in the event of a UK vote to leave. And it will be actively managed in the event that it arises. There is already a clear framework in place for bilateral co-operation between the Irish and UK Governments under the Joint Statement which both the Taoiseach and Prime Minister Cameron signed in 2012. As part of this, for my part I have an excellent working relationship with my UK counterpart, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond. Such bilateral engagement will continue, whatever the outcome of the UK referendum, but will become particularly important in the event of a vote by the UK to leave the EU. Ireland would have a range of national concerns and issues that we would wish to see addressed at EU or bilateral level in the context of a negotiated withdrawal by the UK. These include the operation of the Single Market and the effects on trade between us, the common travel area and energy interconnection between the islands. We must remember too that in the negotiations we would be one of twenty-seven Member States on the EU side, and that in matters of EU competence the scope for bilateral arrangements has to be seen in that light. We would nevertheless seek to emphasise the very particular relationship we have with the UK, including on Northern Ireland. That said, let me conclude by looking at the scenario which I strongly prefer along with the vast majority of this room, I suspect and that is a Remain outcome on 23 June. Here we have an opportunity as a renewed Union of 28 Member States, to move forward together in tackling the challenges that face us and our citizens. I sincerely hope that the EU remains a Union of 28 after the UK referendum on 23 June, and that the distinctive and valuable UK voice remains at the table. Lets make the most of these five weeks before the UK referendum, and make our voices heard in this debate that is so important for Ireland, for Northern Ireland, for our relations with the UK and for the EU as a whole. Naas Credit Union has temporarily acquired a pub licence. At Naas District Court last week, Judge Desmond Zaidan granted the ad interim transfer of the licence used by the former McCabes public house in Newbridge to Peter Kelly of Naas Credit Union. The credit union is not going into the pub business, however, the Court was told. Evidence was given by Sean Murray of Naas Credit Union in support of the transfer. Eoin OConnor, solicitor, said the transfer was being sought to enable the credit union to take the licence over and then sell it on. Naas Credit Union bought the building, best known as McCabes and latterly Edward House, in February last. Judge Zaidan granted the transfer. The Leader reported recently that Kildare County Council has asked Naas Credit Union to retain the historic facade of the former pub on Edward Street. The credit union bought the pub for 562,938 and applied for planning permission to convert it to a Newbridge office. A number of local groups want the credit union to maintain the shop front. They have said it is one of only two Victorian shop fronts left in Newbridge and it would be destroyed if the current plans go through. The application is to knock down the two storey building as well as a nearby derelict outhouse. The Credit Union said it hoped to have the new branch open by the end of 2016 but that process could now take longer because of the drawings and plans required. Locals have welcomed a credit union but, say some, not at the expense of the town heritage. A leading environmentalist walking part of Britain and Ireland to raise awareness about the loss of the curlew bird stopped in Clane recently. Mary Colwell, a BBC and independent sector nature and environment programme maker, met members of the Kildare branch of Birdwatch Ireland for a talk in the Westgrove Hotel on May 1. I am really worried about the curlew. It is quite shocking, she told the Leader about a bird of which there may now be just 160 pairs in Ireland. Birdwatch Ireland is aiming to raise 99,000 for a number of projects associated with the bird. Ms Colwell, who blogs at marycolwell.blogspot.co.uk, began her walking journey in late April and visited the Bog of Allen on May 1. She said we need to act now or the curlew will disappear. The haunting cry of the curlew is one of the most evocative and memorable sounds of the marshes and uplands in summer. But it is disappearing. Unfortunately, Birdwatch Ireland estimates that around 80% of the curlew breeding population has been lost since the 1970s alone, and perhaps only a few hundred pairs remain. Still a regular sight along our coasts in winter, it is the resident breeding population that is now in danger of extinction. Curlews can nest in a range of habitats in Ireland but changes to the landscape, such as the destruction of peat bogs, afforestation, intensive management of farmland and the abandonment of some lands have cut their numbers. Ms Colwell, who stayed with with a relation, Monica Foran in Edenderry, said while farmers receive grants for preserving certain vegetation the programme is not working well enough. Of Ireland, she said: There is a love of farming but not of the land that is farmed, and that is a crucial difference. There is almost a violent relationship with the earth here - thrashed hedges, stripped bogs, fast and furious cutting of grass for silage, intense stocking. On her Irish trip, she was shocked to find a group of 17 year old students of agriculture and environment had not heard of the curlew bird. Ms Colwell is the author of a book on her hero, John Muir - The Scotsman Who Saved Americas Wildlife. The landscape is going through enormous change, she said. How it will develop is up to the people. There is so much damage and lack of awareness that it will take a huge amount of effort to get people to act. People can help the Curlew Appeal by telephoning Birdwatch on 01-2819878 or by emailing them at info@birdwatchireland.ie. Sean MacDiarmada was last week remembered and commemorated in the same place where he died 100 years ago. MacDiarmada was executed on May 12th, 1916, the last, with the exception of James Connolly, to face the firing squad. Each of the 15 men executed in Ireland after the Rising - Roger Casement was hanged in England - were remembered in similar services that recognised they died for a common cause, but also remembered their individual qualities as men and qualities. The stonebreakers yard in Kilmainham Gaol was half bathed in light; half in shadow for the event which was held 100 years to the day after his execution. Even in the sunshine, its high walls make it cold. Kilmainham Gaol was according to Min Ryan, the woman who might have been his wife and the last to see MacDiarmada alive, a brutal place. The commemoration service began with the reading out of the charges against MacDiarmada. It consisted of two charges: a serious one of staging a rebellion with a view to assisting the enemy and a trifling one of causing disaffection among the civilian population of his Majesty for which he was found not guilty. The evidence against him was also enumerated. One officer recalled how MacDiarmada, who had been stricken with Polio in 1911, could not walk to custody after surrendering on April 29th. I asked him why he could not march. One of the others told me his leg was paralysed. Present and outgoing ministers were present at all of the commemorations. Some stuck to formulaic scripts but the new Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar, made a more considered contribution. Mr Varadkar enumerated MacDiarmadas many qualities as seen by his fellow volunteers. He was hailed by one volunteer as the mind of the revolution. Continued on page 2 Minister Varadkar continued, It was a fair description. He was a man of intellect, of great organisational ability who inspired all those around him with his courage. He referenced MacDiarmadas close friendship with Tom Clarke, another man with a strong Leitrim connection, and remembered the words of Clarkes wife Kathleen noting MacDiarmada had been Tom Clarkes most loyal comrade. MacDiarmada, Mr Varadkar pointed out, was described by those who knew him as a monarch among men. The words of the Capuchin priest Fr Eugene McCarthy, who ministered to MacDiarmada in his final hours, were also recalled. MacDiarmada told him: The principles for which I give my life are so sacred that I now walk to my death in the most calm and collected manner. A wreath was laid by Mr Varadkar and by Pat MacDermott from Belfast, a grand-nephew of Sean MacDiarmada. Two dozen MacDermotts made the trip to Kilmainham Gaol for the commemoration. Liberal Democrat peers have secured an impressive 20 slots out of 51 for Private Members Bills for the Parliamentary session ahead. Talk about punching above our weight! The Bills cover all the sorts of subjects that you would expect Liberal Democrats to be talking about. On Monday Olly Grender and Judith Jolly introduce theirs on Renters Rights and Register of Arms Brokers respectively. Later on, we have Antony Lesters on preserving the independence of the BBC, Lynne Featherstone on reducing carbon emissions, John Sharkey on student finance, Brian Paddick on online privacy, Meral Hussein-Ece on addressing the BAME pay gap, Paul Tyler on party funding, Emma Nicholson on humanitarian support for genocide victims and Claire Tyler attempts to secure an entitlement to Carers Leave. Roger Roberts wants students to be automatically registered to vote like we were in the olden days when I was a student. The other peers with bills are: Kishwer Falkner with the interestingly titled Armed Forces Deployment Royal Prerogative Bill, Susan Kremer on budget responsibility and national audit, Dominic Addington on teacher training for children with special educational needs (a bugbear of mine as so few seem to understand Autism), Dick Newby wants to amend the Opticians Act, Navnit Dholakia on the age of criminal responsibility, Jonathan Marks on cohabitation rights, Lorely Burt on economic strategy, Don Foster on energy efficiency and Sally Hamwee on guardianship for missing persons. Chances are that most of these wont become law, but they do provide a valuable opportunity for us to raise awareness about certain issues and build campaigns on them. You can read the whole list of bills here. * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings TWO whistleblowers who will be suspended by the University of Limerick for a full year next month are hopeful their employment status can be resolved following confirmation that UL has terminated its legal proceedings for defamation against the Limerick Leader newspaper and its editor. The legal action, which was entered in the High Court, arose from a story last September regarding the claims of two whistleblowers in the finance department. The two employees remain suspended from their positions with pay, despite calls for their reinstatement in the Dail by Fianna Fail deputies Willie O'Dea and Niall Collins. Speaking to the Limerick Leader, the whistleblowers, identified as Persons B and C in the Mazars report, which was commissioned by the Higher Education Authority said: We are still waiting to be reinstated in our jobs, following the report which vindicated our position, and we feel that this latest action by UL, in dropping their defamation claim, further vindicates our case. Seamus Dooley, the Irish secretary of the National Union of Journalists, who called for ULs issues with the article to be addressed through other avenues, such as the Press Council, welcomed the announcement that it has been dropped more than eight months later. Mr Dooley also called for UL to clarify how much this failed, foolish attempt to intimidate journalists and journalism has cost in legal fees. The decision to sue the editor of the Limerick Leader, in a personal capacity, was especially sinister. Fianna Fail deputies Niall Collins and Willie ODea, who raised the whistleblowers issues in the Dail, both said that they are glad to see that common sense has prevailed in dropping this lawsuit. I would not like to have seen taxpayers money spent supporting an unwarranted and unnecessary legal action of this nature. Its also a vindication of the whistleblowers. I think lessons have to be learned from this, and proper processes and procedures have to be in place to deal with staff who have legitimate complaints, said Deputy Collins. The allegations by these two women, and a third whistleblower, Leona O'Callaghan, who preceded them in the finance department, gave rise to the HEA commissioning a report into the policies and procedures employed by UL in a number of areas, in which they highlighted serious shortcomings. All three women highlighted concerns in relation to inappropriate expense claims they were asked to process by certain members of staff. The HEA also expressed concern that a culture of making inapprop-riate claims may still exist at UL. UL president Don Barry issued a statement this week confirming that the legal action had been dropped. Last September the university was faced with a front-page story in the Limerick Leader which claimed that two employees of the university were offered 60,000 severance arrangements in return for their silence over financial irregularities in the treatment of expense claims by the university. That allegation was untrue and had the potential to severely damage the universitys reputation for good governance. This reputation is vital to UL. So, we immediately called on the Leader to correct the record. As the newspaper did not do so, we issued the proceedings. Both the university and the Leader are important institutions in the Mid-West and, until recently, we have had a strong and supportive relationship throughout my time as president. So, I think that this course of action is in the best interest of both parties and indeed of the wider community in the Mid-West region. I want the university to move on and concentrate on what it does best working hard for our students, our many supporters and our region. Limerick Leader editor Alan English welcomed the termination of proceedings against the paper and him personally, saying: They should never have been issued in the first place. We have stood by our story at all times and it led directly to the the wide-ranging Mazars review into activities at UL, which vindicated the three whistleblowers whose story has been told by us. Two of those women remain suspended by UL and I hope their situation will now be addressed by the university. They raised what the HEA acknowledges were legitimate concerns and they should not have suffered for doing so. I agree, of course, with Prof Don Barrys statement that both UL and the Leader are important local institutions. I think the withdrawal of these proceedings is an important first step in restoring good relations between us. The Limerick Leader has published a copy of the severance agreement, offered to both parties, amounting to nearly 60,000 each, which included a confidentiality clause. It also stipulated that they drop any action under the Protected Disclosures Act, which had only been introduced a year previously. Both employees refused to sign it. Following the original story, the Limerick Leader also revealed that UL approved a number of other severance packages - without seeking approval from the Department of Education, or the Minister for Education, which it is required to do. Last month the department confirmed to this newspaper that UL did not seek prior written approval in relation to a 150,000 severance payment to a staff member made in 2014. This followed on from two earlier payments amounting to more than 450,000 which were recently questioned by the Comptroller & Auditor General, between 2011-2013. Editorial, page 18 A MAN who attempted to rob Paddy Power bookmakers on Limerick's William Street went back to the same pub he had left before committing the offence. Father of four John Hayes, 42, of Hartigan Villas, Moyross, admitted entering the shop on William Street at around 8.50pm on August 21, 2013 and threatening a female member of staff with a knife. The victim, who is in her 30s, declined to make a victim impact statement but told gardai she was very frightened. Detective Garda Ivan Muldoon said Hayes who was wearing an orange hoodie and a yellow high-viz vest left empty handed after the staff member refused to hand over any cash and pressed a panic button to raise the alarm. Limerick Circuit Court heard that he had borrowed the hoodie from an acquaintance in the pub, where he returned after leaving the bookmakers empty-handed. The owner of the clothing was also interviewed by gardai. He said CCTV footage was recovered from the premises as well as from a nearby pub, Stepper Flanagans, where the defendant can be seen putting on the hoodie and hi-viz jacket minutes before the incident. Det Garda Muldoon told John OSullivan BL, prosecuting, that the CCTV footage was very good quality and that there was a strong case against Hayes. The defendant has over 190 previous convictions, dating from 1985 to 2015, mainly for theft and road traffic offences, but also for possession of a knife, escaping from custody three times, misuse of drugs, and vagrancy. In 2014 he was sentenced to 11 months in prison for stealing four legs of lamb from Eurospar, Watch House Cross. He has received prison sentences and suspended sentences, with Judge Tom ODonnell noting that he has been granted several chances in the past. Fortunately there was no violence inflicted in this case, but it was very frightening to say the least. The victim works in a premises which is prone to this type of incident and leaves staff in a vulnerable position, said Judge ODonnell. Brian McInerney BL said his client is a chronic heroin addict who has no trappings of wealth. He entered a plea on April 29, 2015, and the facts of the case were heard on June 16, 2015, and again last week. Facing a maximum sentence of life in prison, Judge ODonnell will impose sentence on October 4 next, as Hayes has improved enormously in dealing with matters in a much more committed fashion. In fairness to the accused, he is in the best condition I've seen him in many years. The court also noted that a probation report was very positive. I'm prepared to give this young man another chance to see if he can deal with his chronic heroin addiction. NEWLY appointed Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Patrick ODonovan TD, arrived home in Newcastle West on Thursday night, greeted by mighty roars of approval from family members and supporters. Also there to congratulate him was fellow Fine Gael party member and Mayor of Limerick City and County, Cllr Liam Galvin, who described the appointment as a just reward and a massive achievement. It is great as Fine Gael Mayor to welcome back the first-ever Fine Gael Minister back to West Limerick, Mayor Galvin said. I am delighted for him, his family, supporters and staff and the people who campaigned for him. Crowd gathers in NCW to congratulate new minister for Tourism and Sport @podonovan @Live95fmNews @Limerick_Leader pic.twitter.com/CyLZ6TiGEi James Lawlor (@James_Lawlor1) May 19, 2016 I am delighted to come home, the newly minted Minister of State said. This is a huge occasion for me. To be a Minister in a government from the background I come from, the family I come from, it is really a huge honour. And he recalled his late father John, saying: I know he would be so proud of me today. I have been very blessed with the family I come from, with the family I have and the supporters I have stretching from Abbeyfeale to Doon. Minister ODonovan told the crowd of supporters who gathered at his constituency office that he was getting ready to come home when the call came from Taoiseach Enda Kenny. It is a huge portfolio, the new Minister of State said. Especially in the year that is in it with the Olympics and the European Cup. And he joked: It is a long way from Churchtown to Rio. I probably will have no problem getting into a Munster final now. Tourism, he said, is hugely important to the Mid-West, to the West of Ireland and indeed to every constituency. LABOUR councillor Joe Leddin says he is extremely disappointed Jan OSullivan refused to back Alan Kelly in his bid for leadership of the party. Brendan Howlin was confirmed as leader of the party this Friday after Mr Kelly failed to secure a seconder for his bid. The Tipperary TD had been hopeful of securing Ms OSullivans backing, but that was not forthcoming. While the former Education Minister was unavailable for comment, her parliamentary secretary responded absolutely when asked if he was disappointed by Ms OSullivans refusal. I am extremely disappointed. You can facilitate someone by seconding their nomination. It does not mean you have to back them. You are facilitating them so the members can decide on the merit of the candidate as to whether they will be deemed eligible to be leader. Refusing another member of the parliamentary party the opportunity to put their name forward I think is wrong, he said. Cllr Leddin has also called for a change in the rules to avoid in future a situation where a small group of people can decide who can or cannot put their name forward for leadership. At present, only the seven elected Labour TDs can make this decision. We need to change the rules to allow constituencies around the country the possibility of putting their name behind an individual candidate, or a percentage block of the members themselves. There needs to be other methods looked at which would enable a member of the parliamentary party to have their name put before the members to decide. It should not come down to a small cohort of people, he said. However, Labours council leader Frankie Daly is delighted there has not been a contest for leader. He said: The reality is we have been through a brutal five years. It has been very difficult for the party. Cllr Daly said the leadership contest two years ago which saw Joan Burton prevail caused a rift within the party, which led to a disastrous general election campaign for Labour, with the party losing all but seven of its Dail deputies. In the wake of Mr Howlin's appointment this morning, Dr Gerry Burke, a former Limerick branch chairman of Labour, resigned from the party. In a letter to members, he described the "conduct of elected members" over the leadership as being "utterly disgraceful". "Democracy and equality are supposed to be the fundamental values of the party, and these have been ignored. High handedness and vanity have replaced them," his letter states. Meanwhile, another party stalwart Joe Kemmy says members have been totally "disenfranchised". "It is little short of a disgrace. What we have here is I would call a plot which would outdo Machiavelli," Mr Kemmy told RTE's Today with Sean O'Rourke this Friday. "The TDs including my friend and colleague Jan O'Sullivan have said they would prefer a contest. But the situation has been engineered in such a fashion that they cannot allow a contest because the person who wants the job Brendan Howlin will withdraw, and Alan Kelly would be elected without a vote. I find that really hard to stomach." Mr Kemmy, a brother of the late TD Jim, added: "Brendan Howlin was the architect of the disastrous period in government over the last five years. How would that reinvigorate the party? Candidates coming to the constituencies would have given the party a lift. I believe a contest would have been good. God knows the last thing we need is more of the same." Despite some speculation Mr Kelly was considering his position in the Labour party following the episode, he took to Twitter this afternoon to write: "Despite disagreements, we all need to support the revival of our great party. Warm congrats to Brendan and all his team in Wexford." A CHARITY concert will take place this Friday in St Saviours Church, Glentworth Street to mark the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the Dominican order in the parish. The event also coincides with the 800th anniversary of the establishment of the order which has had a presence in Limerick since 1227. With the Dominicans due to withdraw from the city shortly as part of a wider reorganisation process, this concert is aimed at celebrating the orders long legacy in Limerick. As a way of marking their monumental contribution, members of the church choirs - spanning five decades - are gathering as one voice to celebrate, explained organiser Tracey Fitzgerald. The evening will be a musical celebration provided by a variety of choirs and instrumental accompaniment from past and present talents as well as Holy Trinity Abbey Choir, Adare. Past and present members of the church choirs will perform at the event, which will raise money for Their Lives Matter (TLM), a childrens charity in Tanzania. The organisation was set up by Dr Trish Scanlon whose family comes from Davis Street in the city. Since 2006, it has been providing life-saving treatments to children with cancer in the East African county. Mayor Liam Galvin has been invited to attend the event which gets underway at 7pm on Friday night. Tickets cost 5. Police in Cumberland County made more than 6,000 arrests in 2015 and more than 20,000 arrests since 2012, according to Pennsylvania State Police. More than 14 percent of those arrested were black, a disproportionately large number compared to the 3 percent of the countys population that is black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. So, how do the people who do the important job of being on the front lines of public safety insulate themselves from racial biases, whether subconsciously or overt? Its a touchy subject and its something that law enforcement is sensitive of and something we are all aware of, Hampden Township Police Chief Steven Junkin said. Every accredited police agency in Pennsylvania is required to do an annual bias-based policing review, Junkin said. The review looks at the number of stops, arrests and charges compared to the size of the minority populations within the jurisdiction based on U.S. Census Bureau data. He said this provides the department with a baseline of review, but the broad approach may not paint the clearest picture. Its very challenging, because, as you know, crime isnt just generated by the people in (an area) and it doesnt just stay in your area, Junkin said. He said when he is reviewing for any bias-based policing in his department he looks at whether incidents are self-initiated by a police officer, like a traffic stop, or incidents where police are called to the scene for things like robberies. Thats something that we have to look at, is what crimes are they being charged with, why is that occurring and then is it reflective of what our guys are doing, Junkin said. When looking at a disparity, you have to look at what the root cause is. Monitoring logs On top of the annual review, Junkin said he checks logs to see if any officers have pulled over a disproportionately high number of minority drivers compared to the number of violations issued, an indicator that an officer may be racially motivated in his or her actions. A 2013 study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that a higher percentage of black motorists compared to white motorists were stopped, ticketed and searched by police. However, a 2015 report by the New York Times that looked at data from several states found police were more likely to recover drugs or firearms when searching white motorists. Pennsylvania was not included in that report. Junkin said he advises his officers to work with common sense and act on the facts of the case at hand. Its not easy. Everybody has personal biases, he said. ... Its easier for us if we boil it down to what the facts are. To date, Junkin said he has not had any issues with racially-motivated policing in his department, but said departments need to remain vigilant. Its something to a degree Im embarrassed that as a country, and particularly in the profession, that we have to do this, but I would be completely professionally irresponsible if I didnt recognize that it exists and is a potential problem in any community anywhere, he said. If we want to continue to have the publics trust, we have to continue to take measures to safeguard the trust. You can quote him, disagree with him, glorify or vilify him. But the only thing you cant do is ignore him. Yeah, I paraphrased this from the Apple commercial, yet its true. Justin Bieber, the Stratford, Ontarian, embarks on his Purpose World Tour with two sold-out nights in Toronto. Working the atmosphere of the crowd, was New York hip-hop artist Post Malone and New Jersey pop-star Moxie Raia. Both put on fitting performances and later walked through the aisles to greet fans. Before we get the show, lets set the stage a bit. Purpose is Justins most critically acclaimed album to date, converting many former naysayers into Beliebers, myself included. Earlier in the day, a pop-up shop took place downtown where hundreds on fans lineup to check out the exclusive swag, $60 t-shirts here, $100 sweaters there, you get the drift. Many hoping the Biebs himself would show up. The apparel was pretty hip, MY MOMMA DONT LIKE YOU isnt something Id wear on a daily basis, but for those very special occasionsmaybe. And lets not forget how we got to check out his surprise stripped down acoustic performance at the Danforth late last year. Well, Justin Beiber turned the knob up to 11, and the Air Canada Centre got the full dose of him back to back. On the first night, rising and descending from the ceiling in a glass box, Bieber wore a Maple Leafs jersey (hopefully we dont come dead last again next year), and marked his words from within as tens of thousands of die-hard fans watched up in awe. After the dramatic introduction, the real top-notch production value kicked in. Bouncing off a trampoline with extensive pyro blasting off in the background, Bieber bust a move and sang around the catwalk with a fleet of dancers to his Jack U hit Where R U Now?. He looked incredibly focused on his routine and didnt miss a beat. Running up and down the platform he interacted with the ultra fans jumping in the pit. Proceeding to the very end of the runway, the stage elevated high above the crowd. Without any kind of harness or support railing, Bieber still pulled off some leg work in front of even more fireworks. What a guy. I quickly learned two things that night. First, ripped denim is still very much in style. And laser beams indeed throw off the focusing system on your camera. Regardless, it was fun as heck to be right in the midst of the soundboard area emerged in a sea of screaming fans. Make sure you go check out Justin Bieber on his ongoing world wide Purpose Tour. Its worth every penny if youre a fan, and it just might change your mind about him if you dont already. It's an uncomfortable conversation and one that is fraught with emotion. In a judicial system tasked with providing equal justice to all, what role does race play in decision making? More than 15 percent of all criminal cases had a black defendant in Cumberland County between 2010 and 2015, according to an analysis of court records. However, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that only about 3 percent of the county's population is black. During the five-year timeframe examined by The Sentinel, a black person was nearly six times more likely per capita than a white person to be charged with a criminal offense, and black defendants, on average, were required to pay higher bail amounts to stay out of jail. When we talk about racial disparity, we want to find out do these things (like race) matter when they shouldnt matter? said Shaun Gabbidon, a professor of criminal justice at Penn State University who has literally written the book on race and crime. Gabbidon has written several scholarly books, including "Race and Crime" in 2005. Cumberland County is not anomalous in Pennsylvania. The Sentinel identified similar racial disparities in places such as Delaware County, which has a relatively high minority population, and Bedford County, which has an extremely low minority population. Gabbidon said numerous studies have been conducted nationwide looking at the topic. By and large, those studies out there have shown that these things do matter, he said. Race is a factor. However, Gabbidon said, it is not clear by how much. Local numbers You cant assume somebodys motives, so, first off, look at the data, Pennsylvania Secretary of Corrections John Wetzel said. If the data suggest theres a disproportionality, lets drill down deeper. Maybe a certain group is committing more crimes. Maybe every decision that led to that disproportionality is the right decision. Obviously, thats unlikely, but you cant dismiss that from the beginning. The equivalent of roughly 36 percent of Cumberland Countys black population was charged with a criminal offense between 2010 and 2015, according to an analysis of court records done by The Sentinel. At the same time, the equivalent of less than 7 percent of the white population faced criminal action, creating a nearly six-fold racial disparity in the local criminal justice system. Racial disparities appear to stretch across almost all crime types, according to the analysis. Black defendants faced a three-to-one disparity for DUI cases, six-to-one for cases involving a drug crime, and a nearly seven-to-one disparity for cases involving property crimes between 2010 and 2015. However, white defendants were disproportionately represented in cases involving drug delivery resulting in death, homicide by vehicle and homicide by vehicle while DUI. Of the 29 cases that included at least one of those three charges, 25 had the defendants race listed as white. Only one, a homicide by vehicle case, listed the defendants race as black, according to court records. Bail types and amounts also differed by race, according to the analysis. Black defendants were more likely to have to pay money in the form of monetary bail, had higher bail amounts and were more likely to remain in jail prior to conviction because they were unable to pay bail than their white counterparts. Monetary bail is a set amount of money that a defendant pays as collateral to remain out of jail during court proceedings. The money is returned to the defendant at the end of court proceedings. However, the courts may keep the money if the defendant fails to show up when required during the process. In Pennsylvania, magisterial district judges have wide discretion on the use of monetary bail and the amount set, but are required to set bail to ensure defendants appear for all of their court proceedings and to protect public safety. Nearly 41 percent of black defendants were required to pay monetary bail, compared to 29 percent of white defendants, according to court records. At $10,000, the median monetary bail for black defendants was twice that of white defendants. About 21 percent of black defendants were held in jail because they were unable to pay bail, compared to only 14 percent of white defendants. The Sentinel analysis also revealed differences in sentencing between races. While a larger percentage cases in 2013 involving white defendants ended in a guilty plea, black defendants faced a higher percentage of incarceration and lower level use of probation or early disposition, according to court records. Between Aug. 1, 2015 and May 3, 2016, about 21 percent of the inmates at Cumberland County Prison were listed as black or African American, according to records provided by the county. Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed said this was the first time he had seen this kind of data and said there was a need for a closer look by the county. I do think this gives us pause to say, no matter the why, this is the what. We should be looking at this, he said. I think certainly it would be wise for us to look at this as a system. Freed said he will request that the countys steering committee within the criminal justice advisory board examine if anything inside the system is contributing the disproportionality. As I sit here today, I cant answer that, he said. Id love to say 100 percent absolutely no, but I dont think I can say that right now. I dont feel like thats going on, but I dont I think I know the answer to that. I think it bears inspection. More analysis is likely needed to determine the underlying cause of the racial disparity within the county, according to Gabbidon. Understanding why People say there is a bias in the system and there probably is, but to what extent? Gabbidon, said. ... You have to consider so many things when you are trying to get to the heart of this stuff, and thats the difficulty. Do we think this is a disparity because of the nature of the offense? Gabbidon added. Maybe we have one group committing more serious offenses than the other group, and that would lead to that they would have longer sentences. Of the cases that began in 2013, a slightly higher percentage, 28 percent, of those involving a black defendant included at least one graded felony, compared to 23 percent of cases involving a white defendant. Other factors like prior offenses can also increase the lengths and severity of sentences, Gabbidon said. Factors from outside the criminal justice system are likely to play a role as well. If 48 percent of your (prison) population is black and 12 percent of your citizenry is black, maybe a portion of that is because black people commit more crimes, but not 100 percent, Wetzel said. You have to infer that our (criminal justice) legislation is skewed. ... I dont think the number tells any other story. Attempting to break down outside forces, like poverty, unemployment and education, can further cloud the issue. There isnt a criminal justice system in this country that doesnt have a racial disparity, Wetzel said. ... But, you cant talk race and racial disparity without talking about the disparity in schools and school performance and economic opportunity. Wetzel said a recent study looked at the correlation between school districts and the state correctional system. He said the highest predictors for a district scoring poorly in the study (meaning it was likely to have students go on to be incarcerated) was the size of black male population and the number of single-parent homes. Its more than just racism, although racism is a part of it, Wetzel said. Its not as simple as that. If you would want to come up with a formula in your criminal justice system, what you would do is you would break up the family, youd eliminate economic opportunity, youd decimate the schools and whatever community you do that to, more people are going to come to the criminal justice system. It just so happens that describes our poorest communities, which happen to be many of our blackest communities. Wetzel cautioned that just as factors that create disparities in the criminal justice system vary from one jurisdiction to another, the solution is likely also not one size fits all. I dont think youre going to find a silver bullet or a single cause, because every situation is different, he said. But when we see a trend of different things it starts telling us how to reshape our processes. This series was produced as a project for the 2016 John Jay/Harry Frank Guggenheim Crime Reporting fellowship. When Les Morris was 19, the exciting part of flight operations was landing a plane on an aircraft carrier. It was more fun than it was dangerous, the Carlisle native said, recalling the missions he flew off the USS Hornet in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. Today, the 67-year-old Boiling Springs man has a better appreciation for the hazards of bringing a multi-ton aircraft to a sudden halt within a short stretch of flight deck. When you think about it, it is dangerous trying to hit a cable just a couple inches around, Morris said. Its a hell of a landing in the middle of the sea with the ship pitching and yawing. Its not a steady platform. But when Morris was 19, he felt invincible and lived for the moment while admiring the men at the controls of the aircraft. The pilots who landed those planes, they were very well taught, Morris said. They had some expertise. But even skill could not save the crew of one C-2 Greyhound a plane designed to carry supplies, equipment and critical personnel between carriers and shore bases in the warzone. Morris remembered one day on the Hornet when a generator broke free from its moorings in the cargo bay of a Greyhound shortly after take-off from the catapult. The loose generator flew back into the rear of the aircraft causing it to stall in midair just as it was trying to gain altitude. There was no time for the pilot to recover and the Greyhound crashed into the water. At that speed, the plane just disintegrated, Morris said. The four guys on board all died instantly. Crewman Morris was a crewman onboard an S-2 Tracker, a sub hunter and patrol aircraft. His job was to operate the radar along with the magnetic anomaly detector used to pinpoint the location of submarines. On an attack run, it was Morris who released the anti-submarine warfare ordnance. He would fly six-hour missions day or night scouting the ocean around the carrier task force looking out for any sign of hostile submarines. Most times Morris felt he was not in any kind of jeopardy. One mission became deadly serious when a Russian-made MIG achieved a fire control lock-on on their Tracker. That meant the fighter plane was getting ready to shoot an air-to-air missile at Morris and his crew. The only thing you can do is get down close to the water where there was too much sea return for their radar to work, he said. The ploy worked and Tracker escaped unharmed. The MIG was the only hostile Morris remembered. The majority of the missions were routine. U.S. submarines did not operate in the Gulf of Tonkin at the time of his deployment in mid-summer 1967 to late 1969. There was an exception. One time the crew participated in a training exercise where a Navy boat pretended to be the enemy with the goal of eluding the planes and ships of the task force. Morris and his crew were not only able to locate the boat, but also score a victory on it in a simulated attack run. We killed a submarine and the four of us received a bottle of liquor ... How good was that? Morris said. Missions On a typical mission, Morris sat behind the pilot and just focused on doing his job, which also involved operating electronic support measures that detect, record and identify enemy radar emissions. In late January 1970, Morris was transferred to Japan and assigned to VRC-50, a fleet transport squadron that flew C-2 Greyhounds. There he served in the aircraft maintenance department and was tasked with keeping updated records on plane parts. His job was important because air-time and wear and tear determined when a part was removed from an aircraft for repair, replacement or a rebuild. Since Morris had experience in how to launch and land aircraft, he also drew duty shifts helping pilots check the flaps and ailerons prior to take-off and taxi aircraft to a parking place on the apron. For a period of several months in 1970, Morris was assigned to a detachment of VRC-50 that became part of the 3rd Marine Air Wing at Da Nang. Though fairly routine, the duty had one perk a bar on the second story of one of the barracks. It was a place to go to relax and have a few beers, Morris said. It was a place to unwind. It was a social club. We had ration cards that allowed us to buy booze, he added. The men of his detachment pooled their resources behind one guy who was in charge of setting up the club barroom on the second floor of one of the barracks. The club manager used ration cards to pay some Navy Seabees to construct the barroom. Once the club was open, the detachment had access to cold beer at 15 cents per can in military scrip. Even with the temptation, the men exercised moderation. They had no choice. The club operated with the permission of their commanding officer. One misstep or case of drunken revelry would shut down this morale boost. I dont recall guys staggering out of the place, said Morris, who left the service in late February 1971. He was an E3 airman during his time in the Navy. Sell your Adam Smith ties, everybody, and smash your busts of Ronald Reagan. Its all over. Why? Because we have entered a new era of nationalism, or patriotism, or simply Trumpism, and the GOP will never be a traditionally and ideologically conservative party ever again. That seems to be the conclusion of a vast and growing number of prominent conservative commentators who are sure that Donald Trump has changed, or destroyed, conservatism forever. Type The Republican Party is Dead or GOP R.I.P. into a search engine and youll get a sense of how far and wide this notion has spread. Consider the inestimable Peggy Noonan, writing from the Olympian heights of the Wall Street Journal. She is increasingly adamant that Trump has ushered in a grand new era, a kind of Year Zero for the American right. The once-conservative masses no longer want to hear about liberty or freedom they want to be protected by government, Noonan wrote in February. As Trump solidified his power, Noonan set about to shoot the wounded. Those conservative writers and thinkers who have for nine months warned the base that Mr. Trump is not a conservative should consider the idea that a large portion of the Republican base no longer sees itself as conservative, she wrote last month. A week later, Noonan again castigated anti-Trump forces in Washington. She insinuated that the Beltway elitists opposed to Trump seek to rebuild a post-Trump GOP as a neoconservative, functionally open-borders, slash-the-entitlements party. That wont happen, she insists, because centers of gravity are shifting. The new Republican Party will not be rebuilt and re-formed in [the tony D.C. suburb] McLean, it will be rebuilt or re-formed in Massapequa [the Long Island suburb made famous by Joey Buttafuoco]. Looking past the uncharacteristically weak and unfair snipes, this is somewhat amusing, given where Noonan works. The Wall Street Journal arguably Americas best newspaper, by the way is editorially closer to open borders than any other mainstream outlet. Its position on entitlements is even more stridently and more correctly in favor of major reform, as was Noonan not long ago. The term slash is beneath her, given that this is the sort of irresponsible left-wing rhetoric she once decried. Which gets me closer to my real point. A few years ago, Noonan lionized another populist movement. Here is a great virtue of the tea party: They know what time it is. Its getting late, Noonan wrote. If we dont get the size and cost of government in line now, we wont be able to. Were teetering on the brink of some vast, dark new world states and cities on the brink of bankruptcy, the federal government too. The issue isnt big spending anymore. Its ruinous spending that they fear will end America as we know it, as they promised it to their children. The point here isnt to criticize Noonan, of whom I am a fan (though I have profound disagreements with her of late). Again, she is hardly alone in claiming that Trump represents a welcome break from conservative ideas as weve known them ideas I once associated Noonan with. We can debate whether the New Thinking is good or bad. But we can all agree that one of the lessons of the Trump moment is that the conventional wisdom can change in an instant. And yet to listen to Trumps biggest media cheerleaders, most of them in that populist heartland of New York City, the new conventional wisdom will go on and on forever. As George Orwell noted, such assumptions stem from power-worship; that the winner of the moment will be invincible for all time. For instance, in 2010, when Noonan was praising the free-market and constitutionalist tea party, our entitlement situation was worse, our immigration problems were no better, and Big Government was roughly the same (serious) threat it is today. Yet now she rallies to the protectionist and Constitution-agnostic Trump, despite Trumps admission he will do nothing to fix entitlements or shrink government. The math on entitlements hasnt changed, just the mood. Hence Trumps focus on a Muslim ban and a wall on the Mexican border. Whether or not those are good ideas (I think the former is insane, the latter sadly necessary), it seems rather silly to expect this agenda to permanently displace the ideas that have formed the backbone of the conservative movement for generations. The mood will change again. It will be interesting to see whose ideas change with them. Jonah Goldberg is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior editor of National Review. You can email him at goldbergcolumn@gmail.com. Union Government launches Centre for Environmental Health to assess environmental impact on health Published: May 20, 2016 The Union Government has launched the Centre for Environmental Health in New Delhi to assess the impact of environment-related problems on health. The centre was launched by Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda on in New Delhi. Its mandate is capacity-building, advocacy, outreach and remedial issues. Key facts The centre will assess the impact of environment-related problems like climate change, air pollution, pesticide use and sanitation on health. It is a joint initiative of the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) and Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). The centre will conduct research across wide range of environmental health issues, including water, chemical exposure and hygiene. It will also establish a policy engagement platform with regular meetings with the civil society, government, academia and private sector to develop strategies for better implementation of the eco-friendly policies. Month: Current Affairs - May, 2016 Topics: Climate change Environment National Public health UPSC Latest E-Books If you hate to exercise, you may benefit from a type of talk therapy that helps people accept negative feelings and uncomfortable sensations. Several recent studies suggest that this therapy, called acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), can boost people's physical activity levels and improve fitness in those who previously didn't exercise at all. ACT teaches mindfulness, which means that it aims to make people more aware of their thoughts and feelings in the current moment. People learn how to accept uncomfortable physical sensations and metaphorically "make room" for these feelings in their bodies, according to a 2015 study of ACT in Australia. They also learn to question whether a thought (such as "Exercise is intolerable") might be getting in the way of their goals, and learn to see these thoughts for what they really are just thoughts, as opposed to concrete facts. People also learn to identify their core values and are encouraged to engage in behaviors that support these values. Identifying the value, or meaning, behind a behavior may help people commit to that behavior, said Emily Cox-Martin, an assistant professor of medicine and clinical psychologist at the University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus who conducted a 10-week study of ACT on sedentary adults. For example, if someone says they want to be stronger so they can play with their grandchild, "this indicates that being an active grandparent is important to them, and that value can then be connected to the behavior [exercise] in a way that facilitates its maintenance," Cox-Martin told Live Science. Cox-Martin noted that ACT "isn't trying to change people's thoughts about exercise." Rather, "it helps someone understand what they value in life, and then how they can live a life consistent with those values," she said. [How to Start an Exercise Routine and Stick to It] In Cox-Martin's study, which was published in October 2015, the researchers tested the ACT-therapy strategy with 24 previously sedentary adults. All of the participants were taking part in a fitness program that involved starting up an interval training program exercising three times a week and receiving ACT. The researchers found that over 10 weeks, the participants completed almost all of the exercise sessions that they were asked to do (27 out of 30 sessions, on average). They also improved the time it took them to walk a mile by more than a minute, and increased their VO2 max, a measure of aerobic fitness level. One limitation of that study was that there was no control group. In other words, the researchers did not compare the results of the group who received ACT with another group that did not receive ACT. However, the researchers said the study showed that it was feasible to use ACT to help people reach higher levels of physical activity. The Australian study involved 59 adults who were doing only minimal amounts of physical activity. Researchers recruited them to participate in a 12-week program that aimed to get them to walk more. About half of the participants received a DVD that instructed them in ACT, while the other half didn't receive any training in ACT. At the end of the study, the participants in the ACT group were four times more likely to meet exercise guidelines in Australia (taking 3,000 steps in 30 minutes, five days a week) than people who didn't receive the ACT training. "The discomfort associated with physical activity initiation can be a strong contributor to premature termination" of exercise, the researchers, from Australian Catholic University and the University of Adelaide wrote in the February 2015 issue of the British Journal of Health Psychology. "[ACT] allows the individual to tolerate discomfort, accept uncomfortable experiences, and facilitate progress towards goals." However, more research is needed to determine whether the benefits of ACT seen in these early studies last over the long term, and whether the findings will hold in larger studies with more diverse populations. In addition, studies will look into whether programs that teach ACT can be adopted on a wider scale, so that people may be able to learn these skills at home or through a smartphone app, rather than participate in a formal program. "Acceptance and commitment therapy has already been used to help people change other health behaviors, like smoking cessation, using smartphone apps, and this would be a really interesting next step, especially given how widely used this technology is today," Cox-Martin said. Follow Rachael Rettner @RachaelRettner. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. Ayahuasca is an herbal drink made from plants that grow in the Amazon jungle. For centuries, this tea has been used in healing ceremonies. The drink causes hallucinations and is said to have spiritual and therapeutic benefits. In recent years, it has attracted the attention of Western medicine as a possible treatment for depression. The drug has also become popular with people seeking a "shaman experience." According to the journal Nature (opens in new tab), a booming industry has developed in South America, as thousands of people pay big money to attend retreats so they can sample ayahuasca's "intense psychedelic insights." However, the drink has also been linked to several deaths among "ayahuasca tourists." People must travel to take part in an ayahuasca ceremony because the drink is illegal in the United States. Some believe that while they are high on ayahuasca they gain a better sense of self or are better equipped to work through mental trauma, leading to better mental health after the session. How ayahuasca is made The recipe for ayahuasca also spelled iowaska or hoasca, and also called daime, yaje, yage, natema and vegetal differs by region, according to a 2003 paper in the Journal of Pharmacology. In Brazil, Peru and Ecuador pounded stems of a flowering vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) are used to make the teas, either alone or combined with the leaves of a shrub (Psychotria viridis). In Ecuador and Colombia, the stems of B. caapi are combined with a different shrub (Diplopterys cabrerana). Ayahuasca being prepared in Ecuador. (Image credit: Terpsichore) Spiritual & medicinal uses The tea is prepared by an ayahuasquero, who is typically trained in the traditional ways of preparing the tea. The ayahuasquero prepares and serves the tea during a ceremony that usually takes place in a shaman's hut. Those partaking in the tea lie on grass mats or mattresses while riding out the high, which can last for hours. The ayahuasca tea is used to bring on a "mental awakening." In a 2014 article for Live Science, contributor Benjamin Radford cited a passage from the book "Magic and Witchcraft: From Shamanism to the Technopagans" (Thames and Hudson, 2003). Author Nevill Drury, an anthropologist, wrote, " in the upper Amazon basin (Colombia, Peru and Ecuador) shamans make extensive use of ayahuasca. Taking this sacrament allows the shaman to enter the supernatural realm, to have initiatory visions, and to make contact with ancestors and helper-spirits." Writer William Burroughs wrote about drinking ayahuasca in his book, "The Yage Letters," in which he wrote to poet Allen Ginsberg of his experiences. Burroughs wrote that he at first thought he had been poisoned, and that he felt himself turning into a half-man-half-woman. He praised the tea for its ability to facilitate "space time travel," according to an article in Scientific American. Effects & side effects While Western medicine has known about ayahuasca for around 100 years, little is known about how it works, according to an article in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology. While there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that ayahuasca can help with depression and mental trauma, most studies on the subject have been pilot studies or used very few test subjects. Ayahuasca contains Dimethyltryptamine (DMT or N,N-DMT), which is a psychedelic compound that causes intense hallucinations. It is found in many plants, and it is also the only psychedelic known to occur naturally in the human body, according to the Scientific American article. Julius Axelrod, a researcher at the National Institutes of Health, discovered DMT in human brain tissue, which led to speculation that the compound played a role in psychosis. Further research was abandoned, however. In 1990, Richard Strassman, a psychiatrist at the University of Mexico, got permission from the U.S. government to inject DMT into human volunteers. His study, from 1990 to 1995, involved 60 subjects who received DMT injections over 400 sessions. Most subjects said they sensed the presence of a powerful, god-like being or that they dissolved into a radiant light, according to the Scientific American article. However, about 25 subjects saw images of alien robots, insects or reptiles, and after the "trip" could not be convinced that they were hallucinations. These adverse effects led Strassman to discontinue his research. He wrote about the experience in his book, "DMT: The Spirit Molecule (opens in new tab)" (Park Street Press, 2001). The physical effects of drinking ayahuasca include vomiting, diarrhea, elevated blood pressure, elevated heart rate, higher rectal temperature and dilation of the pupils. It can also elevate blood concentrations of naturally occurring pain relievers, such as beta-endorphin, corticotropin, cortisol and prolactin, and also increase growth hormone levels, according to a study by the University of New Mexico. In this study, researchers found that DMT can be administered safely to experienced hallucinogen users. However, though this was a double-blind, saline placebo-controlled and randomized design test, there were only 11 test subjects. In another small study, at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, researchers gave a mild dose of ayahuasca to six volunteers in an inpatient psychiatric unit and found that it did help the subjects with their depression. Another study, also by University of Sao Paulo researchers, was a bit more substantial, but not by much. The test included 17 psychiatric patients. Out of those 17, six found that their depression symptoms were helped by the use of ayahuasca. Also, 47 percent of the patients vomited during the test. Bottled ayahuasca ready for a ceremony in Peru. (Image credit: Sascha Grabow) Bad trips & death There is a dark side of drinking ayahuasca. Though not common, some "ayahuasca tourists" have died, and many Westerners have reported being molested and raped, according to an article in Men's Journal. The tourist boom has given rise to charlatans and fake shamans. A French woman died in 2011 after drinking ayahuasca, but it was reported that she had a pre-existing heart condition. Another Frenchman died a few months later, probably due to interactions with other medications. In 2012, Kyle Nolan, a California teenager, disappeared during a retreat to a Peruvian shamanic center. A shaman later confessed that Nolan died from exceeding the dosage of ayahuasca, and that he had buried Nolan's body in the jungle, according to the Daily Mail. In 2014, Henry Miller, a British backpacker traveling in Colombia, died after a "shaman experience." His death apparently was caused by an allergic reaction to the drink. He became sick during the event and was left to die by the side of a dirt road, according to the Guardian. Few experts blame the concoction itself, and the reports from the above-mentioned deaths bears out that assertion. Alan Shoemaker, who organizes shamanist conferences, told Men's Journal, "Ayahuasca is one of the sacred power plants and is completely nonaddictive, has been used for literally thousands of years for healing and divination purposes ... and dying from overdose is virtually impossible." The science is still out on how ayahuasca affects the mental and physical health of ayahuasca users. A review of literature in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis concluded that "accumulated data suggest that ayahuasca use is safe and may even be, under certain conditions, beneficial. However, methodological bias of the reviewed studies might have contributed to the preponderance of beneficial effects and to the few adverse effects reported. The data up to now do not appear to allow for definitive conclusions to be drawn on the effects of ayahuasca use on mental and physical health, but some studies point in the direction of beneficial effects. Additional studies are suggested to provide further clarification." For anyone seeking an ayahuasca experience, the website Ayahuasca Info recommends preparation by reading up on the drug, discussing the topic with experienced drinkers and only taking ayahuasca in the presence of an experienced drinker who can provide guidance during the session. Additional reporting by Reference Editor Tim Sharp. Additional resources Whimsical cloud vortices dot the sky in a new satellite image of an island volcano. The shot, captured by the Operational Land Imager on the Landsat 8 satellite, shows eddies in the air near Mawson Peak on Heard Island. The island is in the Indian Ocean and belongs to Australia. At 9,006 feet (2,745 meters), Mawson Peak is the island's highest point, according to NASA's Earth Observatory, which released the image May 8. [See Images of Some of the Weirdest Clouds] Heard Island is off the beaten path, to say the least. It's nearly 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from Australia and more than 600 miles (1,000 km) from Antarctica. But wildlife finds refuge on Heard Island and the islands that surround it. According to the Australian government, four penguin species make their home in the island group, living alongside 15 species of breeding birds, including albatross and petrol. Southern elephant seals, Antarctic fur seals and subantarctic fur seals also use the islands as breeding grounds. Heard Island is about 24 miles (40 km) long, and growing: Fresh lava has been flowing from Big Ben, the volcano whose highest peak is Mount Mawson, since at least the 1980s. What isn't dominated by fire is covered in ice: According to the Australian government, 70 percent of Heard Island is permanently glaciated. None of that is visible under the cloud cover in the new image, which was taken May 3. What is visible are the disrupted air patterns caused by Mawson Peak. The clear circles are called von Karman vortices after the physicist who first described them. Mawson Peak is the highest point on Heard Island in the Indian Ocean. (Image credit: Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response.) It's not the first time satellite imagery has revealed such patterns. In 2012, NASA released a shot of Saint Helena, a volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean, featuring similar vortices. They also appear in a shot of Guadalupe in the Pacific taken that same year. Heard Island is in the "Furious 50s," latitudes known for their strong westerly winds. In short, according to the Australian government, the island is cold, cloudy, wet and windy. Vortices aren't the only cloud formations seen downwind of Big Ben's peaks, either. Cap clouds, which are dome-shaped cloud formations, are sometimes seen hovering over the tops of mountains. UFO-shaped lenticular clouds and twirling roll or rotor clouds (so named because they seem to roll along a horizontal axis, like a barrel down a hill) also form in the turbulent atmosphere above the island. Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook& Google+. Original article on Live Science. President Barack Obama blows a bubble while talking with 9-year-old Jacob Leggette about his experiments at the White House Science Fair on April 13, 2016. Inspired by the recommendation of a 9-year-old inventor during the White House Science Fair in April, President Barack Obama has put out a call to kids across the United States to share their thoughts on science, technology and innovation. Both in and out of classrooms, kids know firsthand how to inspire students in the STEM fields science, technology, engineering and math. So the president is asking young scientists and inventors to tell the White House what it can do to build the future of science, discovery and exploration. "Whether you care about tackling climate change, finding a cure to cancer, using technology to help make people's lives better or getting a human to Mars, we can't wait to get your input!" John Holdren, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, wrote in a White House blog post yesterday (May 19) to announce the initiative. [Summer Reading: Best Science-y Books for Kids] The online form (which doesn't require kids to submit personal information) includes questions such as, "What is your favorite thing about science, technology, engineering or math?" and "If you could pitch the president one idea on how we could make our country work better using science and technology, what would you say?" Holdren also noted the president's long record of encouraging kids to engage with science and technology. "He recognizes that the future of our country depends on the innovations and advances of today's students," Holdren wrote. At the annual White House Science Fair in April, the president reiterated this idea. "One of the things I find so inspiring about these young thinkers is that they look at all these seemingly intractable problems as something that we can solve," Obama said at the time. "There is a confidence when you are pursuing science. They don't consider age a barrier. They don't think, 'Well, that's just the way things are.' They're not afraid to try things and ask tough questions." From the inventions they've tried to the questions they've asked, students interested in STEM are encouraged to submit their ideas through the White House's blog. Follow Kacey Deamer @KaceyDeamer. Follow Live Science @livescience, on Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. Makropol's "The Doghouse," directed by Johan Knattrup Jensen, was one of the VR film shorts shown at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. The 2016 Cannes Film Festival, which began May 11 and runs until May 22 in Cannes, France, featured a festival first: screenings of virtual reality (VR) short films and presentations in a pavilion dedicated exclusively to VR. But not everyone is convinced that virtual reality should be part of cinema's future. Famed director Steven Spielberg said he's skeptical about VR's effectiveness as a storytelling tool, and questioned whether it should be seriously considered as a means for developing and presenting visual narratives. [Beyond Gaming: 10 Other Fascinating Uses for Virtual-Reality Tech] Spielberg voiced his concerns during the festival, saying VR was potentially "dangerous" because it allows the viewer too much freedom to make their own choices about which parts of a story to engage with, rather than presenting them with a single, fixed narrative path crafted by a writer and director, Reuters reported. He cautioned that VR might "forget the story" in favor of offering an immersive environment with a number of potential narrative threads or isolated dramatic moments that viewers could explore. But perhaps it isn't surprising that an established director who is accustomed to steering an audience through a film using carefully considered staging, camera placement, lighting design and editing would be wary of a medium that allows viewers to make their own choices about where to look. A brand-new language A still image from the animated VR film "Allumette," produced by Penrose Studios, and written and directed by Eugene Chung. (Image credit: Courtesy of Penrose Studios) However, some moviemakers are more than ready to embrace the new technology. Spielberg's naysaying aside, other festivalgoers hailed VR and its immersive worlds as an exciting new direction for cinema, offering fresh opportunities for storytelling. "Madagascar" co-director Eric Darnell presented a 6-minute VR film at Cannes titled "Invasion!" and told Reuters that he saw VR not as an extension of cinema, but as "its own thing," describing it as "a brand-new language." Penrose Studios produced the animated VR short "Allumette," which was also shown at Cannes. The studio said in an online description of the film that "VR movies are a new art form, wholly different from cinema, the stage play or the opera that came before." And Oriane Hurard, a producer and production manager attending the Cannes festival, gleefully tweeted a photo of the VR headset included in her Cannes "swag bag," saying "La revolution est en marche! [The revolution is underway!]" See more Motion pictures have undergone many changes since the first procession of sequential images flickered to life before an audience in the early 20th century. Indeed, new technologies emerged over the decades that followed and pushed the medium, and filmmakers, forward. Movies have transitioned from silent to full of spectacular sound and from black-and-white to color, and along the way, voices arose that sounded warnings about how these dramatic changes would destroy the art of cinema forever. So far, that hasn't been the case. While VR headsets aren't likely to replace movie theaters just yet, skeptics may want to think twice before they dismiss VR. Virtual reality is only the latest technology to challenge media makers to try a different approach for sharing their stories and it probably won't be the last. (Looking for a VR headset? Our sister site Tom's Guide put together a great primer on the best ones on the market right now: The Best VR Headsets.) Follow Mindy Weisberger on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. There will be glitz and glam at the fifth annual Genius Gala, not to mention selfie-taking drones and R2-D2s wandering around amidst a crowd of scientists. The awards ceremony, hosted by the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey, will honor four outstanding scientists: legendary dinosaur hunter and "Jurassic Park" advisor Jack Horner, renowned architect Frank Gehry, "mother of mindfulness" psychologist Ellen Langer, and astrophysicist and black hole researcher Kip Thorne, who assisted moviemakers on the scientific aspects of the film "Interstellar." Special guest Whoopi Goldberg, the moderator of ABC's "The View," will present the awards at the Liberty Science Center tonight (May 20). Look for Live Science's Facebook Live coverage of the event this evening after 6 p.m. ET. [8 Strange Things Scientists Have Tasted] Goldberg and Horner, who both have dyslexia, will raise awareness about the condition. Horner told Live Science that dyslexia made growing up "just terrible, because everybody thinks that you're stupid and lazy." Dyslexia made reading and test taking near impossible, he said. Yet after flunking out of college seven times, he managed to become a world-renowned paleontologist, being the first to find evidence that some dinosaurs were social animals and cared for their young. These days, he's trying to reverse-engineer a chicken into a dinosaur with colleagues all over the world. "We really want people of singular brilliance who were ahead of their fields, and their fields caught up to them," said Liberty Science Center CEO Paul Hoffman. "Jack is a perfect example. He dug up the first dinosaur embryos, and then he came up with the idea that there was complicated social behavior in dinosaurs and that they cared for their young. He was a part of a group of pioneering paleontologists who thought that dinosaurs were closer to birds than to reptiles. All of this was heretical at the time, and now it's common wisdom." In past years, the Liberty Science Center has honored other extraordinary minds, including English businessman and investor Sir Richard Branson, anthropologist Jane Goodall, neurologist Oliver Sacks, Amazon.com and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, and animal scientist and autism advocate Temple Grandin. The new honorees will be featured in the science center's interactive Genius Gallery, a museum spokesperson said. Also in attendance at the gala will be 23-year-old Fabiano Caruana, the third-highest-ranked chess player in the world and the current U.S. national champion. Gala highlights will include musical performances by violin duo Peter Dugan and Charles Yang, as well as the environmentalist Benjamin Bronfman, a cameo video for Jack Horner featuring Neil DeGrasse Tyson, a performance by magician Marco Tempest and a chess match between Baltimore Ravens guard and mathematician John Urschel and Caruana. Proceeds from the gala will benefit the science center's mission to share science and technology with the public, and will help fund the center's exhibitions, programs and science education outreach to 91,000 at-risk children in the area, according to a statement from the center. Follow Laura Geggel on Twitter @LauraGeggel. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. An electronic cigarette exploded in the face of a man in Albany, New York, recently, leaving him with a hole his tongue and burns on his hand, CNN reported. The explosion also knocked out several of the man's teeth. But this is far from the first injury caused by an exploding e-cigarette, or e-cig. The battery-powered devices work by heating a liquid, which typically contains nicotine as well as other chemicals, into a vapor that a user then inhales. But the lithium-ion battery that heats the liquid within an e-cig poses a big safety risk: The batteries have the potential to explode, Dr. Michael Siegel, a tobacco researcher and professor of community health sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health, told Live Science recently. [E-Cigarettes: What Vaping Does to Your Body] Last month, a teen in New York City was hospitalized after an e-cig exploded while he was testing it out in a store, according to CBS News. The explosion damaged both of the teen's eyes. And in November 2015, an e-cig explosion left a Tennessee man potentially paralyzed, the Huffington Post reported. The explosion fractured the man's vertebrae and bones in his face, and knocked out a tooth. In July 2015, a young man in Alabama was airlifted to a hospital and placed on a ventilator after an e-cig blew up in his face. In addition to first-degree burns on his face and chest, the explosion left the young man with a hole in the roof of his mouth that made it difficult for him to eat, according to AOL News. And earlier last year, a man's exploding e-cig was powerful enough to shatter glass in the Southern California store he was in, NBC Los Angeles reported. After the blast, the man was rushed to the University of California San Diego Burn Center for treatment. Why e-cigs explode In a 2014 report, the U.S. Fire Administration examined e-cig explosions between 2009 and 2014. Lithium-ion batteries in other devices such as cellphones and laptops have also been known to cause fires, the report said. But the design of e-cigs with their cylindrical shape, and the weakest structural point at their ends makes these devices more likely than others to explode if the battery fails, according to the report. The fires start in the battery. While all batteries contain electrolyte solutions (this is an essential part of how they work), the solutions used in lithium-ion batteries are different from those in regular batteries because they are flammable, the report said. In a lithium-ion battery, the solution can become overheated, reach its boiling point and then rapidly expand and catch fire, causing the battery to explode, according to the report. Laptops and other devices have rigid plastic cases that prevent an exploding battery from doing much damage. But in an e-cig, the explosion can lead the cylindrical container of the device to explode, too, causing the device to "be propelled across the room like a bullet or small rocket," the report said. Follow Sara G. Miller on Twitter @saragmiller. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science. - : , 10 Whether you call it a "gut feeling," an "inner voice" or a "sixth sense," intuition can play a real part in people's decision making, a new study suggests. For the first time, researchers devised a technique to measure intuition. After using this method, they found evidence that people can use their intuition to make faster, more accurate and more confident decisions, according to the findings, published online in April in the journal Psychological Science. The study shows that intuition does, indeed, exist and that researchers can measure it, said Joel Pearson, an associate professor of psychology at the University of New South Wales in Australia and the lead author of the study. [Top 10 Mysteries of the Mind] Intuition is a popular topic in psychology these days, and generally refers to a brain process that gives people the ability to make decisions without the use of analytical reasoning, the researchers suggest. Despite widespread acceptance of this idea by psychologists and the public, scientists have lacked a reliable test to gather objective data on intuition and even prove its existence. Previous studies didn't actually measure intuition because researchers didn't really know how to quantify it, Pearson said. Instead, these studies relied on information from questionnaires that asked people how they were feeling while they made decisions, which is more of a reflection of people's opinion of their intuition than an actual measurement of it, Pearson said. In the new research, however, Pearson and his colleagues came up with a series of experiments to determine whether people were using their intuition to help guide their decision making or judgment. The researchers defined intuition as the influence of "nonconscious emotional information" from the body or the brain, such as an instinctual feeling or sensation. Measuring intuition In the experiments, the researchers showed small groups of about 20 college students black-and-white images of dots moving around on one half of a computer screen. The researchers asked the students to decide whether the dots were generally moving to the left or to the right. As the participants made this decision, on the other side of the computer screen, they saw a bright, flashing square of color. But sometimes, the researchers embedded an image into the colorful square that was designed to trigger an emotional response from the participants. For example, each image was aimed at eliciting either a positive emotion (a puppy or a baby) or a negative emotion (a gun or a snake). However, the participants were not aware that they were being shown these emotional images because they flashed at speeds too fast to be consciously perceived. These subliminal images were meant to simulate the type of information involved in intuition they were brief, emotionally charged and subconsciously perceived. The results showed that when the participants were shown the positive subliminal images, they did better on the task: They were more accurate in determining which way the dots were moving. But they also responded more quickly and reported feeling more confident in their choice. [10 Things That Make Humans Special] The experiments also suggested that the participants became better at using their intuition over time, Pearson said. "It's all about learning to use unconscious information in your brain," he said. Just as people can become more comfortable making decisions when they apply logic and reasoning, they may also become more adept at trusting their intuition when they use it more frequently over time, the study revealed. Intuition can help people make better decisions under the right circumstances, Pearson said. The study showed that information subconsciously perceived in the brain will help with decisions if that information holds some value or extra evidence beyond what people already have in their conscious mind, he said. In the future, the researchers might be able to develop a method to train people to take advantage of their intuition and then test them to see if their intuition truly improved with more frequent use and practice, Pearson said. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science. Container lines still in talks over expected merger, with approval also needed by German line's shareholders and regulators United Arab Shipping Co shareholders will decide next month on the potential business combination of the Kuwait-based carrier with Germany's Hapag-Lloyd. An extraordinary general meeting has been scheduled on June 2, at which UASC shareholders will "vote whether to approve the conclusion of a business combination agreement with Hapag-Lloyd", among other agenda items, according to a statement. The talks between Hapag-Lloyd and UASC are still ongoing and no binding agreement has yet been reached, the statement said. The potential transaction will have to be approved by Hapag-Lloyd shareholders and regulatory authorities. Hapag-Lloyd and UASC are discussing forms of co-operation, including a potential merger of their container shipping operations. The carriers made the announcement on April 21, a day after four top shipping lines CMA CGM, Cosco Container Lines, Evergreen and Orient Overseas Container Line announced details of a new mega alliance, the Ocean Alliance. On May 13, less than a month after Ocean Alliance's announcement, another group, made up of Hapag-Lloyd and five Asia-based carriers, unveiled their partnership that would cover all east-west trade lanes. The group, called THE Alliance, includes the three Japanese shipping lines Mitsui OSK Lines, NYK Line and K Line, South Korea's Hanjin Shipping and Taiwan's Yang Ming Marine Transport. While pointing out that UASC is still in discussions with Hapag-Lloyd, THE Alliance anticipates that UASC will be joining the group. South Korean carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine, which is undergoing a creditor-led restructuring, is also looking to become a member of the group eventually, once it stabilises its business. Hapag-Lloyd's main shareholder, CSAV, controls 31.4% of the company through its German affiliate, followed by the city of Hamburg's investment, with 20.6% holdings; Maritime, with 20.2%; and Tui, with a 12.3% stake. UASC, which was founded 40 years ago, is owned by the governments of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Qatar and Saudi Arabia hold the largest stakes in the company, at 51% and 35%, respectively. UASC's newbuilding programme comprises 17 ships, of which 11 are 15,000 teu vessels and six are 18,800 teu, to be delivered between November 2014 and 2016. These vessels will be the first ultra large containerships in the industry to be delivered LNG-ready to enable dual fuel use, a move that is expected to significantly reduce environmental impact and fuel costs, UASC said in its website. As of April 2016, UASC has received 13 of the 17 new vessels: seven 15,000 teu vessels and six 18,800 teu ships. It is due to take delivery of the remaining four 15,000 teu vessels in the coming months, UASC said in its website. First published on www.lloydslist.com The Iron County Economic Partnership is responding to concerns that have been raised in the past week, especially through social media, about the organizations mission, makeup and motivations. ICEP was originally a part of the Iron County Taum Sauk Fund incorporated Feb. 7, 2008 as a tax-exempt non-profit organization when settlement funds became available from Ameren for areas adversely impacted by the breach of the Taum Sauk Reservoir in 2005. Since that time, the board of directors from Iron County and Reynolds County decided to divide the funds and separate the original organization into two entities. The Taum Sauk Fund now works on projects specific to Reynolds County. The Iron County Taum Sauk Fund, now called Iron County Economic Partnership, or ICEP, received its half of the funding in December 2011. We appreciate the interest of the public in the activities of ICEP, said Nathan McKie, ICEP board president. The mission can be found on our current website, www.ictsf.org. ICEPs agenda and minutes can also be found there and anyone is welcome to call for more details on anything in the minutes. Noting that generalities are difficult to deal with, McKie emphasized that representatives of the organization would be happy to meet members of the community at the ICEP office in Ironton to answer specific questions. We begin our monthly board meetings with an opportunity for the public to speak, as well," he said. If you let us know ahead of time that you wish to speak or ask a question we can allot sufficient time to allow for that discussion. According to McKie, members of the board are unpaid volunteers and operate under the rules and rulings of the Internal Revenue Service for organizations that have received a 501(c)3 exemption. Board members are not allowed to receive or be a party to any funding awarded or vote when approving funding requests, he said. While they try to address most of their business in public, there are topics that for confidentiality reasons must be done in closed session. Sandy Francis, ICEPs director of Partnership Development, explained that board vacancies occur when a regular term ends and/or when a director is not able to serve their elected term. All organizations struggle to get volunteers for board positions, she said. Business owners are often the leaders who step up to fill these positions, not because they expect some type of benefit, but because they understand the importance of having a vibrant community. When a vacancy occurs, anyone living in the census tract or tracts available for that position may nominate themselves or be nominated by someone else. ICEP continues to seek entities wishing to expand a current business or begin a new business in Iron County. A legal review of the statute under which ICEP operates as a 501(c)3, advised that any funding disbursements not only generate revenue but also create new jobs. We also offer a Community Event Grant for non-profit organizations that demonstrate how their event will bring visitors to the area and thereby boost economic activity by supporting local businesses. Francis advised that a new ICEP website is under construction designed to guide the citizens of Iron County, visitors, potential residents and prospective new businesses in their search for programs and opportunities, including those that are ICEP-funded, as well as those with whom ICEP has partnered. Our goal is to make it easy to find all needed information on one website, Francis said. Francis stressed that ICEP welcomes ideas, questions, suggestions or concerns. Offering viable solutions for an area of concern or need is a great way to be proactive in helping to make Iron County a more vibrant area to live and work, she said. ICEP functions only to fulfill its mission to the best of its ability. We hope the community will continue to be interested in how we might do a better job. The Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council has questioned the methods used by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in collating statistics which resulted in Longford being listed as an air pollution black spot. Last week the WHO released details of a worldwide survey which focused on the level of particulate matter in the air at a number of locations in various countries. According to this data, the mean level of particulate matter present in air samples taken in Longford was higher than any other Irish location when tests were conducted in 2013. It also placed Longford ahead of large-scale industrial centres in the UK, such as Birmingham and Port Talbot. However, the findings are being contested by Longford's Cathaoirleach, Cllr Gerry Warnock, who said the WHO's data is at odds with statistics and guidelines from other agencies. Particulate matter results from the burning of fossil fuels, he explained. The WHO places the safe limit at 10 micograms per cubic metre but the European Union (EU) safe level is higher - 25 micrograms per cublic metre. And if you look at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website you'll see that air quality in Longford is listed as 'good' - and that is updated hourly. I can't get my head around it. Cllr Warnock also noted that the EPA's monitoring station in Longford town is situated on the Dublin Road. It's probably the busiest thoroughfare in the county traffic-wise, and there are a number of residential areas there, too. According to the latest data posted on EPA's website, the level of particulate matter present in samples taken from its monitoring station in Longford town is normally within the the 10 micrograms per cubic metre safety limit set by the WHO. Levels did exceed this limit on four occasions within the last month, although they remained within the limits set down by the EU. Other areas flagged in the WHO pollution report included Bray, Castlebar, Dublin, Ennis, Galway, and Mace Head. Fine Gael TD Peter Burke claimed this week that the wastewater system in Longford is at capacity and in need of major overhaul. The Mullingar based Dail deputy outlined the importance of Irish Water to Longford. He was speaking after holding recent talks with senior local authority chiefs. At the moment the wastewater system in Longford is at capacity. Irish Water has a huge investment programme over the next five years to upgrade the present infrastructure that is in place, he said. As he launched a staunch defence of Irish Water, Mr Burke also hit out at Fianna Fail, the party who last week agreed in principle to support a Fine Gael-led minority government. He claimed pre-election promises by Fianna Fail to abolish Irish Water would have had far-reaching consequences for counties like Longford. Longford is a county that depends on government subvention, he said. But if Fianna Fail had got their way and Irish Water was abolished what would have happened if a major multinational company was then given the green light to set up in Longford only to be told the wastewater treatment system couldn't accommodate them? Who would take responsibility for that? Mr Burke also insisted that water charges will remain in place. He said despite confirmation that charges would be suspended at the end of the current billing cycle, any outstanding money owed to the utility would also be followed up. Mr Burke stressed anyone who hasn't paid would be chased up. Those people will be pursued, he said of non-payers, and he encouraged householders to pay up to and including their present bill. Anyone who hasn't paid will be pursued up to July 1. Mr Burke also played down speculation his name could be one of several Taoiseach Enda Kenny is considering for junior ministerial promotion. I am only starting out in my Oireachtas career but whatever the Taoiseach may have in mind for me, I will be delighted to accept, he said. Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: May 20 2016 Newest CAP Cadets Accelerate Training to their First Promotion Bayport, NY - May 20, 2016 - On April 16th and 17th, new cadets from various Civil Air Patrol units in Nassau and Suffolk County assembled at the Bayport Aerodrome in On April 16th and 17th, new cadets from various Civil Air Patrol units in Nassau and Suffolk County assembled at the Bayport Aerodrome in Bayport , New York, for its anticipated Airman Academy under the supervision of Lt. Col. J. C. Follender, CAPs Long Island Group Cadet Programs Officer and fellow Bayport Aerodrome Society member. The goal of the event was to prepare new Civil Air Patrol cadet trainees for their first promotion. Lt. Col. Follender commented, Outstanding group of young folks. It was comforting to see that discipline, dedication, and personal responsibility, has not entirely vanished from our world: there IS hope for the future. I was proud to be part of the event. The cadet-in-charge, Cadet Captain Jared Del Orfano, and his staff delivered lectures, demonstrated preparation and wear of the uniform, promoted proficiency in military customs & courtesies, directed drill & ceremonies, and organized rides in single-engine aircraft. Other CAP senior members were on hand as instructors, food preparers and security detail. The Bayport Aerodrome Societys support of Civil Air Patrol and the vigor of CAPs Long Island members in assisting with the Societys presentations and breakfasts underscore the mutual relationship enjoyed by both organizations, said Captain Warren M. Weiss, Public Affairs Officer for Civil Air Patrols Long Island Group. Considering the Aerodromes central location to CAPs Long Island units, we are especially seeking more opportunities to work together. Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Forces Total Force, which consists of Regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, along with Air Force retired military and civilian employees. CAP, in its Total Force role, operates a fleet of 550 aircraft and performs about 85 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 70 lives annually. Others, Local News, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: May 20 2016 A 2000 Sachem High School graduate and Lake Ronkonkoma, NY native is serving Where the future of naval aviation begins at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, located in Patuxent River, Maryland. Lake Ronkonkoma, NY - May 19, 2016 - A 2000 Sachem High School graduate and Lake Ronkonkoma, New York native is serving Where the future of naval aviation begins at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, located in Patuxent River, Maryland. Petty Officer 1st Class Rafael Cabrera, Jr. is an air traffic controller at NAS Patuxent River, responsible for the overall safety of the aircrew and expeditious flow of air traffic. Located at the mouth of the Patuxent River, the 14,500-acre complex is host to Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) headquarters and Headquarters, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). These two entities provide the full spectrum of acquisition management, research and development capabilities, air and ground test and evaluation, aircraft logistics and maintenance management. I enjoy the responsibility aspect of my job," said Cabrera. "As an air traffic controller, I am responsible for more lives in one day than a surgeon is in his entire career." NAS Patuxent River is home to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and the Atlantic Test Range and 50 other tenant commands. The facilities at Patuxent River are utilized by foreign governments, academic institutions and private industry for similar projects and deliver effective and efficient installation management enabling tenants to achieve integrated warfare systems and life cycle sustainment. Cabrera said he and other sailors are proud to be serving at a command that readily defends America at at all times. What I enjoy most about this command is not only the camaraderie that I share amongst my fellow sailors but having the opportunity to mold and shape junior air traffic controllers at a very complex air traffic control facility, said Cabrera. With more than 800 employees assigned to the host naval air station staff, the civilian and military Pax Pros work hard to ensure the continued security, safety and first-class services are provided to all 20,000+ employees working aboard the installation, according to Navy officials. "The work our sailors and civilians do every day is extremely important to both the current health and future of Naval Aviation, and it directly impacts the Fleet," said Capt. Scott Starkey, Naval Air Station Patuxent River commanding officer. From our Naval Security Force that keep us secure, to our Fire and Emergency Services, child care professionals and morale welfare and recreation personnel, and our Air and Port Operations Team, and everything in-between, our PAX TEAM enables our tenants' missions and positively impacts research, development, testing and evaluation. We are extremely proud of our personnel and the important work they do every day." Serving in Navy, Cabrera is learning about being more of a leader through handling numerous responsibilities. "I've learned teamwork, integrity, and a strong work ethic since joining the Navy," said Cabrera. "The morals and values instilled in me by the Navy has made me both a better man and husband." Written by Navy Office of Community Outreach When the St. Paul Lutheran High School in Farmington holds its commencement ceremony on Saturday it will mark a milestone. The Class of 2016 may be the second class to graduate from the high school, but it will be the first class of students to attend all four years at the school. Entering the St. Paul Elementary School gymnasium on Saturday will be seniors Stephanie Whanger, Emily Brakefield and Mariea Barlow, followed by the schools faculty and members of the board of education. The ceremony should begin with the Rev. Rick Foss delivering the invocation followed by the Chapel Band singing My Lighthouse. The first speaker will be class Valedictorian Stephanie Whanger. Following Whangers speech, keynote speaker Sarah E. Folk will deliver the commencement address. At the conclusion of Folks speech those in attendance will watch a student video highlighting each of the graduates. Andy Sherrill and Cathy Chambliss, the schools board president, will present the graduates with their diplomas. The ceremony will conclude with a benediction from Pastor Mike Harrison of Parkland Chapel. Whanger is considering attending Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, where she plans to study either Political Science or Psychology. Brakefield plans on attending Mineral Area College in the fall and will be seeking a career in Education. Barlow will also be attending Mineral Area College where she plan to seek a degree in Nursing. The graduation ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in the St. Paul Elementary School gymnasium. Hempstead, NY - May 18, 2016 - Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano announced today that $1.2 million in Federal funds have been awarded from the Nassau County Office of Housing and Community Development to United Veterans Beacon House of Hempstead for rehabilitation of five two-bedroom townhouse units and a single family home in Hempstead all of which will be occupied by formerly homeless veterans and their families. My administration is committed to serving our veterans and ensuring housing opportunities in Nassau County, said County Executive Mangano. Together with 60 County-owned veteran residences at Mitchel Field, these new housing opportunities in Hempstead will help homeless veterans. Phase I of the project is now complete and included rehabilitation of the five two-bedroom townhouse units located at 115 Henry Street in Hempstead. All units are currently occupied by veterans and their families. Phase II of the project, currently underway, includes rehabilitation of a single family home located at 111 Henry Street in Hempstead. Once complete, the home will house five single veterans who were previously homeless. In addition to the $1.2 million in Federal funds utilized for the project, United Veterans Beacon House contributed $200,000 in funding toward electrical, plumbing and siding work. Home Depot donated flooring, kitchen appliances, cabinets, counter tops, a sink, faucet, bathroom fixtures and tile, lighting fixtures and baseboard. The United Way of Long Island also contributed to the project by donating architectural services, insulation, a gas boiler and windows. Frank Amalfitano, President and CEO of United Veterans Beacon House, stated, We are honored to serve U.S. Veterans in need; it is especially rewarding when we are able to offer permanent residency to veterans and their families. Working with County Executive Ed Mangano on this project enables us to do just that, we are able to give homeless veterans a place to call home. To apply for these and other veteran housing opportunities, veterans must qualify for the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program that provides Housing Choice Vouchers as well as rentals for homeless veterans. For further information, please call (631) 665-1571. Since taking office in 2010, County Executive Mangano has enhanced services for Nassaus 100,000 veterans, including free transportation to the Northport VA Hospital and the East Meadow Clinic. The Mangano administration also established 42 homes, located on Mitchel Field, to provide affordable housing for veterans and their families and an additional 18 homes for active-duty military personnel. Additionally, the County helped rehabilitate five two-bedroom townhouses in Hempstead for homeless veterans and their families. Last month, Nassau County enhanced opportunities for Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses to further participate in government contracts. To learn more about other veteran programs and services, please contact the Nassau County Veteran Service Agency at (516) 572-6560 or visit the office located at 2201 Hempstead Turnpike, Building Q, East Meadow, NY 11554 (behind Nassau University Medical Center). If transportation is needed, veterans may call (516) 572-6526. Local News, Business & Finance, Press Releases By Allison Gayne Published: May 20 2016 LI water commissioners review the topic of NYC Comptroller Audits during a Nassau Suffolk Water Commissioners' Association Special Information Session. (L to R): NSWCA Treasurer William Schuckmann of Hicksville Water District, NSWCA Secretary Michael Rich of Oyster Bay Water District, NSWCA 1st VP Andrew Bader of Plainview Water District, Joseph C. Ferriera, NSWCA President Raymond Averna of Massapequa Water District, and Thomas Ruggiero. Williston Park, NY - May 19, 2016 - Nassau Suffolk Water Commissioners Association (NSWCA), which is comprised of commissioners from 21 water districts across Long Island, recently held a special information session led by guest speakers Joseph C. Ferreira and Thomas J. Ruggiero, Partners at Hauppauge-based Albrecht, Viggiano, Zureck & Company, P.C. (AVZ) Certified Public Accountants, addressed the Commissioners on the topic of NYS Comptroller Audits. Hosted by Albertson Water District Commissioners Howard Abbondondelo, Richard Ockovic and Kenneth Vey, the sessions focus was on the constitutional and statutory objectives of auditing. The difference between independent audits and comptroller audits includes scope and materiality, stated Mr. Ferreira. Being thoroughly prepared includes operational and control considerations, especially internal operations, as well as compliance with New York State general municipal law and their own internal policies and procedures. Mr. Ruggiero added, There is a distinct need to have policies for traditional topics such as purchasing, investments, and fixed assets. In todays world, IT, disaster recovery and business continuity must also have policies in place. NSWCA President Raymond Averna of Massapequa Water District commented, The subsequent hands on Q&A session brought deeper discussion of several interrelated topics, including the Top 10 internal controls, and delved into important governance issues that concern all member water district commissioners. Mr. Ferreira and Mr. Ruggiero graciously enlightened us with their expertise and insights. A Hofstra graduate, Mr. Ferreira of Smithtown, NY is a member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), the NYS Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA) and past-chairperson of the Real Estate/Construction Committee for the Suffolk Chapter of NYSSCPA. Mr. Ruggiero of Port Jefferson Station, NY is a Dowling College graduate who is a member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), the NYS Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA), The NYS Government Finance Officers Association (NYSGFOA), the NYS Association of School Business Officials (NYSSASBO), the NYS Conference of Mayors (NYCOM), and the NYS American Council of Engineering Companies of New York (ACECNY). Organized and chartered in 1981, Nassau Suffolk Water Commissioners Association (NSWCA) is comprised of water commissioners from 21 Nassau and Suffolk County water districts. NSWCA is dedicated to promoting environmental excellence and best practices as well as maintaining the highest standards of water quality and supply. NSWCA sponsors regular educational meetings on topics that include the environment, security, economics, rules and regulations, among other related issues. One of Long Islands largest certified public accounting firms, Albrecht, Viggiano, Zureck & Company, P.C. provides a wide range of financial, accounting, auditing, tax and consulting services to clients and has done so for over 65 years. School & Education, Local News, Business & Finance, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases, Seasonal & Current Events By Long Island News & PR Published: May 20 2016 In celebration of National Electrical Safety Month, PSEG Long Island and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1049 worked together to demonstrate the hazards of electricity and electrical equipment to more than 80 third ... PSEG Long Island and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1049 hosted Electric Safety Day for Smithtown students at the IBEW Headquarters in Holtsville, NY. Holtsville, NY - May 19, 2016 - In celebration of National Electrical Safety Month, PSEG Long Island and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1049 worked together to demonstrate the hazards of electricity and electrical equipment to more than 80 third grade students from Smithtown Central School District. The joint event was held at IBEW Local 1049s headquarters in Holtsville. Electrical Safety Day with Smithtown students at IBEW Headquarters in Holtsville, NY. Photo by PSEG Long Island, via Flickr. Electricity is essential to modern life, yet it can sometimes be taken for granted. The Electrical Safety Day presentations and events provided an opportunity for children to learn how to be safe around electricity and the dangers of handling it improperly. The interactive demonstrations helped teach children what to do in dangerous situations and what precautions should be taken to avoid getting hurt. Smithtown students learning about electrical safety at the IBEW Headquarters in Holtsville, NY. Photo by PSEG Long Island, via Flickr. The Electrical Safety Day event is a great opportunity to teach our youngest customers how to stay safe around electricity and electrical equipment, said Dan Eichhorn, vice president, customer services, PSEG Long Island. Through PSEG Long Islands partnership with Local 1049, we are able to help promote electrical safety education through a variety of channels and highlight why safety is our top priority year-round. May is National Electrical Safety Month and, together with PSEG Long Island, it is our goal to educate young people on how to prevent accidental electrocutions, said Don Daley, Business Manager, IBEW Local 1049. Electrocutions rank high among all causes of accidental injury in the United States and we want to teach safe practices to our Long Island neighbors. Lets make safety a daily habit. There were several stations at the event, including electric safety demonstrations, a demonstration of a pole top rescue, videos on how power is generated, touch-a-truck and more. Through these stations children learned safety tips that they could take back to their family and friends including: Make sure all outlets have a safety covering to protect small children and pets Check all cords and wires for damage and do not place them under rugs or furniture Never leave electric heaters unattended when on Don't touch appliances with wet hands or when standing on wet surfaces Never work on electric equipment with the power on Never touch a downed power line or go near one The safety of PSEG Long Islands employees and customers is always the top priority. The utility is excited to continue these presentations to children. For information on having a presenter speak at your school, camp or event, please complete the Community Partnership Program request form on PSEG Long Islands website here or send a request via email. PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authoritys transmission and distribution system under a 12-year contract. PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company with annual revenues of approximately $10.4 billion. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union 1049 represents approximately 2000 proud members who perform utility work for PSEG Long Island and their contractors. IBEW Local 1049 is committed to being the best, most qualified, dedicated and competitive workforce. They are working men and women who serve their fellow Long Islanders with pride, dedication and distinction. Looking to stay up to date about all of the news stories and local headlines that are important to Long Islanders? We've rounded up the top coverage for all of the important topics from multiple sources around Long Island, so you can be sure you've got the most recent update on the top stories for Long Island. Have an idea for a news story? Email us at news@longisland.com Columnists Press Releases DEAR HARRIETTE: One night can change everything. I never thought that until now. After feeling sick for a couple of days, I went to the doctor to find out why. The doctor did a bunch of tests, and finally he came back in the room. He smiled as he told me, "Congratulations! You're pregnant." This would be a perfect dream if I weren't only 21. It would be lovely if I weren't a struggling college student with parents who think I'm an angel. It really would be enjoyable if I at least could say that I was married and I knew for sure who the father was. I'm so scared. My parents come down in a few weeks; what do I tell them? I don't want to get cut off financially. They didn't want me to go away for college. They feared that something like this -- or worse -- would happen. I don't know if my boyfriend or a guy from a party is the father. My boyfriend and I aren't on the best of terms right now. Tired of his cheating and lying, I went to a party deciding I'd have some fun of my own. Now I'm someone's mommy-to-be. I don't know what to do. I'm too young for all of this. -- Too Young, Jacksonville, Florida DEAR TOO YOUNG: Find out your options from your doctor. Think about what you want to do. Tell your parents immediately. Apologize for not living up to their expectations, and then ask for their support and guidance. They may be mad, but they will likely help you figure out your next steps. You must decide what you want to do with your baby. Consider all of your options carefully. DEAR HARRIETTE: I had previously planned on attending prom with my close guy friend; however, he and one of my best friends have recently started dating. They left me out of the loop until now, and she told me that she is OK with me still going to prom with her boyfriend. That makes me extremely uncomfortable. I'm not sure if she is saying this only because she feels bad for taking my date and also hiding their relationship from me, or if she really does feel it is OK for us to attend prom together. If the latter is true, I don't understand, and the bottom line is that I am uncomfortable. I'm also uneasy about them speaking about the issue and making a decision without involving me. I feel I should have a say in whether I feel comfortable going to the prom with him. What should I do? -- Feeling Betrayed, Rochester, New York DEAR FEELING BETRAYED: Ask both of them to join you for a meeting. Tell them that you feel betrayed because you had a plan, and neither of them told you anything. You probably feel horrible because your prom is ruined given your friends' desire to be together rather than to support you. Try to figure it out. If you still feel like you can be close to them, ask them if possibly all three of you can go to the prom together as friends and have a good time. This will work if they are willing not to be lovey-dovey. DEAR HARRIETTE: I am a college student at a state school. I go here because of the affordable tuition, but some attend because of the excellent academics. This isn't to say I don't appreciate the academics; I just didn't have the option to pick an out-of-state or private university. A girl who runs in the same circle as me is, for lack of a better word, a spoiled brat. She has her own car, her own apartment and all the funds she ever needs. Sometimes I wish I were in her shoes, but she loses friends because of the way she acts about her belongings. For example, she'll complain that her mother "only" gave her $300 in spending money for the week. That's more than I could even spend in a month! She'll complain that no one is fun because they can't go to the same expensive concert as her or shop till they drop at the mall. She has noticed that she is losing friends and has turned to me as her confidant because no one else will listen. She's really confused as to why she turns other people off. Should I just be blunt with her and tell her people don't like her because she's a brat? -- Truth Police, Syracuse, New York DEAR TRUTH POLICE: Since this girl has asked for your honest assessment, tell her what you think. Frame it as your observation of her ostentatious behavior. Tell her that the way she brags about her wealth makes you uncomfortable and probably makes others antsy, too. Tell her that not every student has the same level of privilege she has, and her constant flaunting of her financial abundance is a turn-off. Suggest that she try to make friends just by getting to know people rather than buying a good time. Harriette Cole is a life stylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106 The US Treasury Department announced terror designations for six jihadists yesterday. Five of them allegedly serve al Qaedas international organization, while the sixth is a key figure in the Islamic States operations in Libya and the Sinai. The details reported by Treasury underscore the degree to which both al Qaeda and the Islamic State maintain international networks stretching across multiple countries. Two of the newly designated jihadists are based in Kuwait, but funnel financial and other support to Al Nusrah Front, which is al Qaedas official branch in Syria. A third jihadist, commonly known as Abu Sulayman al Muhajir, was an extremist preacher in Australia before relocating to Syria, where he became a senior figure in Al Nusrah. The Long War Journal first profiled Abu Sulayman in Mar. 2014 and has written about his al Qaeda role in multiple articles since then. Two others added to the US governments designation list live in Yemen, where they are helping Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) pursue its long-term strategy of seizing parts of the country. Kuwait-based supporters of Al Nusrah Treasury describes both Abdullah Hadi Abd al-Rahman Fayhan Sharban al-Anizi and Abd al-Muhsin Zabin Mutib Naif al-Mutayri as Kuwait-based supporters of Al Nusrah Front. Al-Anizis work isnt limited to al Qaedas operations in Syria, as he has also allegedly worked on behalf of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He has even served as a communications conduit for al Qaeda senior leadership. In addition to sending money to Al Qaeda in South Asia and the groups arm in Syria, Al-Anizi has provided funds to move al Qaeda members from Pakistan and also made plans to solicit funds from donors to help move al Qaeda extremists from Pakistan to Syria. Al-Mutayri has likewise funneled funds to Al Nusrah, collecting money for the group from other Gulf-based facilitators and using charities to raise money for the terrorist organization. Al-Mutayris has assisted individuals seeking to travel from abroad to Syria, where they can join Al Nusrahs ranks. A senior AQAP official and an AQAP leader Nayif Salih Salim al-Qaysi and Ghalib Abdullah al-Zaidi have both furthered AQAPs goal of acquiring territory, according to Treasury. Al-Qaysi is described as a senior AQAP official, while al-Zaidi has served as an AQAP leader since 2015. Treasurys announcement hints at the political games AQAP is playing inside Yemen. Al-Qaysi has used his position as an al-Bayda Governorate, Yemen, political leader to facilitate the expansion and settlement of AQAP in the governorate. He has supported AQAP fighters in al-Bayda with money and weapons, while also helping to plan AQAPs militant operations and financing the al Qaeda branchs training camps. Al-Qaysis fundraising has been helped by unnamed benefactors and parties who are outside of Yemen, Treasury notes. Al Qaeda always keeps an eye on the long game in Yemen, seeking to procure tribal support for its efforts. In addition to AQAPs jihadists, Al-Qaysi has funded and armed allied Yemeni tribal forces in their common fight against Shiite Houthi rebels. As of 2014, Treasury adds, al-Qaysi routinely encouraged Yemeni tribesmen to avoid confrontation with AQAP. Al-Zaidi is based in Marib, a province in central Yemen known for its energy resources. Al-Zaidi has helped AQAP expand into parts of Marib, serving as AQAPs leader there since 2015. An indication of his importance within the al Qaeda branch can be seen in fact that other operatives have pledged loyalty to him. Al-Zaidi has provided weapons, funding, and recruits for the jihadists war, including its operations against the Houthis. Treasury describes his compound in Marib as a staging ground for AQAP operatives. From Australia to Syria Treasury provides few details on Mostafa Mahamed, who is a far more interesting character than the US government let on in its announcement. One of his known aliases is Abu Sulayman al Muhajir. In March 2014, he was introduced in an Al Nusrah Front video under that assumed name. The video focused on Abu Sulaymans criticisms of the Islamic State and its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. The jihadi transplant said he relocated to Syria to take part in al Qaedas attempt to mediate the dispute between the Islamic State and Al Nusrah Front. A key aspect of that dispute involved Abu Bakr al Baghdadis sworn fealty to al Qaedas leaders, or lack thereof. Baghdadis supporters claimed that he never really swore a binding bayah (oath of allegiance) to al Qaedas leaders, so he was free to do with his organization as he willed. Al Qaeda disputed this version of events. Indeed, there is evidence that Baghdadi operated under al Qaedas auspices until he and his men went rogue. (After Osama bin Laden was killed in May 2011, for instance, Baghdadi issued a eulogy in which he told al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri that he had faithful men inside Iraq.) During Abu Sulaymans mediation efforts, some alleged that Baghdadis oath to Ayman al Zawahiri was not a full bayah, but instead a bayah for love and support only. Abu Sulayman explained in his Al Nusrah Front debut that this didnt make sense and Baghdadi had supposedly confirmed his loyalty in a conversation between the two. Baghdadi supposedly told Abu Sulayman: I seek refuge in Allah, I have a true binding bayah to Sheikh Ayman [al Zawahiri], to hear and obey, in hardship and in ease! This, according to the Abu Sulayman, affirmed to us what we already know, that [Baghdadi] is a soldier in the command of al Qaeda and that he listens and obeys like the other [leaders] of other regions. However, Baghdadi never did acquiesce to al Qaedas demands, which included an end to his mens operations inside Syria. In another video released in 2014, Abu Sulayman demonstrated his clear knowledge of al Qaedas international structure. He explained that al Qaeda has established regional branches around the globe and that the emir, or head, of each regional branch swears bayah (allegiance) to al Qaedas overall leader. Treasury says that Abu Sulayman occupies a senior leadership position in Al Nusrah Front, has recruited Australians for the jihad in Syria and has also solicited funds to finance the groups terrorist activities. This description is consistent with how Al Nusrah has promoted him in its media. Al Nusrah has featured him in some of its highest-profile productions, including its 2015 video, The Heirs of Glory. Abu Sulayman has been active on social media at times, even threatening the US and soliciting donations in his tweets. His Twitter feed has been suspended on multiple occasions. An Islamic State facilitator in Libya and the Sinai The only one of the six designated jihadists who works for the Islamic State is Salmi Salama Salim Sulayman Ammar. Treasury describes Ammar as one of the so-called caliphates critical facilitators operating in North Africa. As of early 2015, Ammar was a representative for the Islamic States Sinai province in Libya. Ammar has transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars from Libya to the Islamic States self-declared province in the Sinai Peninsula. Ammar was in Syria in late 2014 when he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State on behalf of the Sinai province. The Islamic States Sinai branch grew out of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM), which was part of al Qaedas global network until it defected to Baghdadis cause in Nov. 2014. Treasury says that Ammar was representing ABM in Libya prior to the group switching camps and continued serving as its agent in Libya after ABMs pledge to Baghdadi. Ammar has helped move money, weapons, and ammunition to the Sinai Peninsula throughout 2014 and into 2015. Like the five al Qaeda members and supporters identified in Treasurys latest designation, the brief dossier provided for Ammar demonstrates the the jihadists operate facilitation networks spanning across multiple countries. The intelligence cited by Treasury frequently highlights the interconnected nature of todays global jihadist organizations. [See, for example, LWJ report: Treasury designations target al Qaedas international fundraising and facilitation network.] Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal. Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here. For the big players in technology, like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, its become all about the ecosystem. Yes, you might be great at building products like Apple, or at online services like Google, or atwell, whatever Microsoft is great at. But so much of technology has become about providing all the trappings. Think of it a bit like a hotelyou want to provide all the amenities that your rival hotel chains do: swimming pool, cable, valet parking. Otherwise, your customers may go somewhere else. Hence Googles announcements at this weeks annual I/O conference, including offerings like messaging app Allo and video chat app Duo. The key difference, though, lies in the fact that technology enables us to connect with each other, and all this ticking of boxes can sometimes mean that those ecosystems become more like silos, isolated from each other. Most often this leads to a proliferation of varying apps and standards. Worst case, though, your accommodations become the Hotel California, where you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave. The texts the thing Given how popular texting has become, its no surprise that all of the major tech companies want that whole texting pie for themselves. So, in addition to Apples iMessage, we have Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Line, and now Googles latest messaging playwhat is this, its third? Allo. Oh yeah, all of that on top of our good old standard SMS. Allos features look fun, but what would be even better is seamless SMS fallback. But in some ways, as the messaging market has become more important, it feels like weve moved backward. Text messages used to be a cross-platform technology, but as theyve grown more complexread receipts, photos, videos, etc.the paths have diverged. Every company wants people to use its messaging app, and while locking people in isnt strictly necessary, it can help you build a big user base. At least if youre using Messages and want to send a text to someone on an Android phone, it can fall back to SMS, but you still lose out on many of those nifty features. Early indications suggest that Allo wont necessarily have SMS fallback capability, due to the large variety of hardware partners. But Allo can use your phone number as your texting address, and Google has incorporated SMS messaging into its previous Hangouts app, so perhaps its still a possibility. See you, see me Googles newly announced video chat app, Duo, runs into a similar problem on the other end of the spectrum. As with text messages, video chats have largely been siloed off from one another. Yes, you can have a cross-platform chat with Skype or Google Hangouts, but none of those services work with each other, which can lead to the fun conversations where you try to convince someone to download a specific app and create an account just to have a simple face-to-face chat. FaceTime has the benefit of being baked into Apples operating systems, which gets around the app problem, but then youre right out of luck if you want to chat with someone on Android or another platform. When Apple first announced FaceTime it promised to make it open source, but the general understanding is that patent disputes have prevented that thus far. Perhaps Google will have better luck with Duo? Its unclear, but since we dont even know if Duo will work with Googles existing video-chat platform, I wont be holding my breath. All together now Its great that Google is at least offering Allo and Duo for iOS, making cross-platform chats a possibility, but theyre still not as convenient as something like a text message or even a good old bog standard phone call, where you dont have to worry about what kind of hardware or software the person on the other end is using. At the risk of quoting a former president, technology should be a uniter, not a divider. It may seem counterintuitive to ask these companies to make their tech interoperate, but in the end it helps move us forward. Right now, many of these siloed technologies make it feel a bit like were back in the 90s with the panoply of insular online servicesCompuServe, Prodigy, AOLwhich had their own internal messaging systems. If wed gotten stuck in the era where you could only email the people who used the same online service, I sincerely doubt we would have seen the staggering technological advancement that followed. So rather than trying to wrest mindshare from each other, perhaps its time these competitors teamed up to work together and make these great technologies work for everyone. Then what is growth with a purpose? Growth with a purpose is when economic growth and development are linked. Growth with a purpose is when governments stop treating growth as a goal to be achieved for its own sake and treat it as a tool that can be leveraged to reduce poverty and advance development. Growth with a purpose is when governments link progrowth policies with job creation - creating an enabling environment that incentivises the development of labourintensive and highwage industries. Growth with a purpose is leveraging the windfall in government revenues associated with GDP growth to expand public services, such as education and healthcare, which help reduce poverty. This is growth with a purpose. Policy implications: development through growth with a purpose This essay argues that policymakers need to reorient the way that they think about economic growth - instead of treating growth as a goal of development, they should think of it as a tool to achieve development. Accordingly, policymakers should mainstream growth with a purpose in order to further their poverty reduction and development goals. But how can country governments and international organisations specifically make this policy change? This is an enormous question, and this author does not presume to have all of the answers. Nonetheless, this essay offers three policy implications for consideration. 1. Governments Should Explicitly Tie Economic Growth to Poverty Alleviation At the country level, policymakers should discard a myopic focus on achieving GDP growth just for the sake of growth itself. Instead, they should increasingly focus on developing explicit poverty reduction goals that can be achieved by leveraging economic growth. For example, a publically funded industrial park should specifically target labourintensive industries that provide wellpaying jobs. Or the increased tax revenues that result from GDP growth should be earmarked in advance for antipoverty programmes like constructing new schools and primary healthcare facilities. Furthermore, these goals and objectives should be identified through democratic consensus to ensure that growth's purpose aligns with citizens' development needs. Sadly, there is no country where such growth with a purpose has been as perfectly executed as it was blundered in Equatorial Guinea. However, there are many smaller examples of good policy-making that could be emulated by developing country governments. Brazil's Bolsa Familia programme, which provides cash to poor families on the condition that their children attend school and receive required vaccinations, is one such example of growth with a purpose. Poor Brazilians benefitted little from their country's economic miracle from 1960-1979 (when growth averaged 7.35%), and they suffered disproportionately during the lost decades of the 1980s and 1990s. So in January 2003 , Brazilians elected President Lula da Silva and his Workers' Party - joining a Latin American trend of electing leftist governments in repudiation of power structures that had created stark wealth and income inequality. Seeking to address poor Brazilians' legitimate grievances, President da Silva combined a smattering of conditional cash transfer programmes into the Bolsa Familia Program (BFP) in late 2003. The government leveraged this growth wisely What is particularly relevant to this essay is that the Brazilian government was experiencing a windfall in tax revenues during the 2000s, thanks to strong economic growth stimulated by the global commodities boom. The government leveraged this growth wisely - using additional revenues to expand the BFP dramatically between 2003 and 2007. Today, the programme reaches nearly 50 million people (or about a quarter of Brazil's population). And even as Brazil is confronting dual economic and political crises, the government has maintained the BFP's funding. Moreover, the BFP has significantly advanced development - between 2003 and 2013, Brazil's incidence of extreme poverty fell from 10% to 4% and its Gini coefficient dropped from 58 to 52.9. Through BFP, the Brazilian government successfully leveraged growth with a purpose to reduce poverty and further the country's development. 2. International Lending Institutions Should Consider Growth a Tool, Not a Goal International lending institutions should increasingly treat economic growth as a tool used to achieve development, and not as the goal of development itself. This idea is particularly relevant when development banks promote structural adjustment or make conditional loans that require progrowth policies in exchange for financing. For example, when requiring structural adjustment in the terms of a bailout loan, the International Monetary Fund could also require a country to commit the future tax revenues associated with GDP growth toward expanded public services instead of defense spending or presidential palaces. The often-levied criticism of structural adjustment programmes in the 1980s and 1990s was that they required draconian policy changes in exchange for receiving bailout funds - generating much hardship for individuals. While this criticism is certainly justified, it only addresses half of the problem. Not only do lending institutions need to consider what happens during structural adjustment, but they also need to consider what happens after a country returns to growth and stabilises its finances. These institutions should be asking: how will the hard-earned rewards of growth be used to further development and improve poor people's lives? Particularly in the least developed countries, it is critical that international lending institutions recast economic growth as a tool to reduce poverty instead of as an end goal. Otherwise, the pain of structural adjustment simply is not worth it. 3. Policymakers Need to Measure Development Differently For decades, GDP growth and GDP per capita were treated as the ultimate indicators of a country's development, without qualifying those statistics in any substantive way. But more recently, the international community has framed development in terms of poverty alleviation instead of economic growth, turning to a broader range of indicators - such as child mortality, literacy, and nutrition - to measure development outcomes. However, international policy-makers have not yet sorted out where economic growth falls within this new paradigm for measuring development. The recently adopted UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have a broad focus on poverty alleviation. However, the SDGs still include economic growth as an indicator, buried in amongst a whopping 168 targets that the UN will use to measure development through 2030. This is the wrong approach. Policymakers need to liberate themselves from using GDP as an indicator to measure development and instead focus on more relevant (and perhaps fewer) poverty-related indicators. Economic growth should be recast as an intermediate objective that may be relevant to achieving those higher-level poverty-reduction targets. For example, it may be appropriate to measure GDP growth as an intermediate indicator that must be achieved in order for a country to raise additional government revenues and subsequently fund social welfare programmes that help reduce poverty. In this example, economic growth is tool used to achieve a goal, and it therefore needs to be measured as an intermediate indicator that must be achieved in order to reach a higher-level objective. In summary, policy-makers need to measure development differently - focusing mainly on poverty measures and recasting economic growth as a relevant but intermediate indicator. Concluding thoughts This essay has explored the idea that economic growth needs a purpose behind it. As policymakers shape the international development agenda, growth should be treated as a tool used to achieve development and not as the ultimate goal of development itself. Three key policy changes will help mainstream this idea of growth with a purpose: (1) governments should explicitly tie economic growth to poverty alleviation; (2) international lending institutions should consider growth a tool, not a goal; and (3) policymakers need to measure development differently - focusing on growth as an intermediate indicator, not a high-level objective. By giving growth a purpose, policymakers in the 21st century can avoid the fate of countries like Equatorial Guinea by leveraging economic growth to reduce poverty and meaningfully advance development. The database service operated by ClassNKs wholly owned subsidiary Ship Data Center (ShipDC) has been set to receive marine weather information from Japan Weather Association. ShipDC acts as a platform for big data related to shipping by securely collecting, storing and providing data to users through its data center. It aims to develop the infrastructure through which data can be centrally controlled and used at a low cost in a bid to maximize opportunities for big data utilization throughout the wider maritime industry. Japan Weather Association provides marine weather information to support efficient and safely managed harbor operations, voyage operations and so on. Through combining data from both parties, a high-accuracy comprehensive database for ships has been created. Through Japan Weather Associations free provision of real-time marine weather information such as offshore wind (direction, speed), waves (height, frequency, direction) and ocean currents (direction, speed), users of ShipDC will be able to utilize not only vessel data but also combine it with marine weather information. In addition, the paid use of optional information such as long-term marine weather information, wave spectral information and so on will also be available. The comprehensive analysis of voyage data from vessels at sea and marine weather information is anticipated to provide feedback for safer ship design. An interface developed by both parties through ClassNKs Joint R&D for Industry Program will be used for smooth information provision. Egypt said on Friday its navy had found human remains, wreckage and the personal belongings of passengers floating in the Mediterranean, confirmation that an EgyptAir jet had plunged into the sea with 66 people on board. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi offered condolences for those on board, amounting to Egypt's official acknowledgement of their deaths, although there was still no explanation of why the Airbus had crashed. "The Egyptian navy was able to retrieve more debris from the plane, some of the passengers' belongings, human remains, and plane seats," the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. The navy was searching an area about 290 km (180 miles) north of the port city of Alexandria, just south of where the signal from the plane was lost early on Thursday. There was no sign of the bulk of the wreckage, or of a location signal from the "black box" flight recorders. EgyptAir Chairman Safwat Moslem told state television that the current radius of the search zone was 40 miles (64 km), giving an area of 5,000 sq miles (13,000 sq km), but that it would be expanded as necessary. A European satellite spotted a 2 km-long oil slick in the Mediterranean, about 40 km southeast of the aircraft's last known position, the European Space Agency said. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said that it was too early to rule out any cause for the crash. The aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure. Although suspicion pointed to Islamist militants who blew up another airliner over Egypt seven months ago, no group had claimed responsibility more than 36 hours after the disappearance of flight MS804, an Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo. Jihadists have been fighting Egypt's government since Sisi toppled an elected Islamist leader in 2013. In October, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for blowing up a Russian airliner that exploded after taking off from an Egyptian tourist resort. Russian investigators blamed a bomb smuggled on board. Tourism Devastated That crash devastated Egypt's tourist industry, one of the main sources of foreign exchange for a country of 80 million people, and another similar attack would crush hopes of it recovering. Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived in Cairo early on Friday, airport sources said. Officials from a number of U.S. agencies told Reuters that a U.S. review of satellite imagery so far had not produced any signs of an explosion. They said the United States had not ruled out any possible causes for the crash, including mechanical failure, terrorism or a deliberate act by the pilot or crew. The plane vanished just as it was moving from Greek to Egyptian airspace control. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said it had swerved radically and plunged from 37,000 feet to 15,000 before vanishing from Greek radar screens. Ultra-hardline Islamists have targeted airports, airliners and tourist sites in Europe, Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries over the past few years. Khaled al-Gameel, head of crew at EgyptAir, said the pilot, Mahamed Saeed Ali Shouqair, had 15 years' experience and was in charge of training and mentoring younger pilots. "He comes from a pilot family; his uncle was a high-ranking pilot at EgyptAir and his cousin is also a pilot," Gameel said. "He was very popular and was known for taking it upon himself to settle disputes any two colleagues were having." A Facebook page that appeared to be Shouqair's showed no signs of Islamist sympathies. It included criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood, repostings of articles supporting President Sisi and pictures of Shouqair wearing aviator sunglasses. The aircraft was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew. They included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals, along with citizens of 10 other countries. The plane had made scheduled flights to Tunisia and Eritrea on Wednesday before arriving in Paris from Cairo. (Writing by Lincoln Feast, Peter Graff and Kevin Liffey; editing by David Stamp and Peter Millership) South Korea's largest shipping line Hanjin Shipping said bondholders agreed to extend the maturity of Won35.8bn ($30.1m) in debts by four months to September 23 this year, in a major step to help the company avoid bankruptcy. According to a report in the Korea Herald, during a meeting on Thursday, bondholders gave the nod to the firms proposal, marking a good start to meeting one of the conditions for its creditor-led restructuring. On May 5, creditors of the Cash-strapped Hanjin Shipping agreed to offer financial assistance to the company and initiate a corporate rehabilitation program with conditions attached. The debt maturity extension was part of conditions that include a cut in charter rates and an inclusion in a global shipping alliance. The country's shippers have been suffering from ballooning debts and mounting losses due mainly to a worldwide slump in the industry. Upon this approval, the company will put an utmost effort to move toward normalization, a Hanjin Shippings official said. Completing negotiations with foreign ship owners over a cut in charter rates is the last remaining hurdle for the shipper to meet creditors requirements. The company reached an agreement to set up a new alliance named The Alliance along with five shippers including Germanys Hapag-Lloyd, Japans NYK and Taiwans Yang Ming last week. Libya plans to load three additional crude cargoes this month from the recently reopened Marsa El Hariga terminal, after a tanker for trader Glencore departed on Friday. The country's National Oil Corp (NOC) in Tripoli chartered the Kriti Breeze to load 400,000 barrels of crude at the terminal in the next two days to take to the 120,000 barrels-per-day Zawia refinery, according to shipping brokers. After it loads, the Kriti will be the second tanker to depart from the port after Glencore's Seachance which waited for three weeks to load its 660,000 barrel cargo amid a standoff between eastern and western factions. The Seachance has already left Hariga, according to NOC, and Reuters tracking data shows the tanker making its way to Malta. Two additional tankers are due to load at the port this month according to the loading programme, trading and shipping sources said. The additional tankers are most likely going to be lifted by Glencore as the trader has exclusive rights for exports from the terminal. Glencore loaded around 4.2 million barrels of crude from the port in April, according to traders. Traders said Indian buyers could turn to Libyan crude to replace lost Nigerian barrels after militant activity cut Nigeria's oil exports to a more than 22-year low of under 1.4 million bpd. Indian refiner HPCL bought a cargo of Qua Iboe crude from Glencore via a tender, but the tanker failed to load because of the supply disruptions, traders said. The heads of Libya's two NOCs signed an initial agreement in Vienna on May 15 asking the eastern parliament, known as the House of Representatives, and the Presidency Council, which represents the unity government, to unify the energy sector, NOC said in a statement on Friday. The agreement also called for the resumption of exports from Marsa el Hariga. "Resuming crude oil supplies will help to limit the deficit in the Libyan budget, the draw on Central Bank reserves and the direct effects on the Libyan dinar rates," the statement said. NOC also sought to assure the market on the future stability of Messla and Sarir crude exports from Hariga, adding it will do its "best to restore the confidence in the Libyan grades". (Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Libby George, editing by David Evans) Oil majors are in talks with Mexicos state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) as the struggling state-run oil producer seeks partners to develop deepwater crude in the Gulf of Mexico, reports Bloomberg. Petroleos Mexicanos is in talks with Exxon Mobil Corp., Total SA and Chevron Corp. as Mexicos struggling state-run oil producer seeks partners to develop deepwater crude in the Gulf of Mexico. Pemex seeks Areas of Mutual Interest agreements to evaluate whether the companies have opportunities to work together in offshore areas. The talks would indicate the worlds oil majors are interested in partnering with Pemex to produce the countrys underdeveloped crude reserves or bid with Mexicos state-owned operator in the countrys first-ever deep water auctions in December. Exxon and Pemex are close to signing Areas of Mutual Interest agreements to evaluate if the companies see opportunities to develop, or bid to develop, oil areas in the Gulf of Mexico, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. Oslo-based Statoil, which unsuccessfully bid to explore two Mexican blocks in an auction last year, is also in conversations with Pemex to sign an AMI, one person said. Mexico hopes to raise $44 billion in investment in its first-ever sale of deepwater areas in the Gulf of Mexico, scheduled for Dec. 5. The country will auction 10 areas in the Perdido area near the maritime border with the U.S. and in the southern gulfs Cuenca Salina. India will on Monday sign a commercial contract with Iran to build and run a strategic port on Iran's southern coast, the Indian government said on Friday, to help it gain a foothold in Iran and win access to central Asia and Afghanistan. Talks to build the Chabahar port have been on for years but since the scaling back of Western sanctions against Iran, India has pushed hard for the project so it doesn't lose out to other such as China, who are keen to invest. The deal under which India will develop two terminals and cargo berths at Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman, will be signed during a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Iran beginning on Sunday. Gopal Baglay, a foreign ministry official in charge of Iranian ties, said India would make an initial investment of more than $200 million in the port, of which India's Exim Bank would provide a credit line of $150 million. "The focus of the trip is connectivity and infrastructure," he told reporters. India is blocked from land access to Afghanistan and through it to the central Asia countries because of opposition from Pakistan, which sees India's expansive diplomacy in the region as a threat. Baglay said India, Afghanistan and Iran would separately sign an agreement to set up a trade and transport corridor during Modi's trip that will have Chabahar as the hub. Road and rail links are to be built so that landlocked Afghanistan can get access to the Iranian port as an alternate to the Pakistani port of Karachi. "The trilateral agreement will be a game changer for regional connectivity especially for Afghanistan which can find an assured and reliable alternate access to India via sea," Baglay said. Chabahar is about 100 km (60 miles) from Pakistan's Gwadar seaport which China is developing as part of a $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The Chinese project, coming on top of investments in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Maldives raised disquiet in India about China's expanding reach in the region and prompted faster movement on the Iranian project. "A major flaw in India's current policy towards Iran has been the lack of implementation of signed agreements," said Meena Singh Roy, an expert on India's ties with Iran at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. By Sanjeev Miglani The restructuring issue of Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) will spread to the entire Samsung Group as its main creditor Korea Development Bank(KDB) and the financial authorities are putting pressure on the group, reports Business Korea. SHI has submitted its self-rescue plan to its main creditor, the state-run KDB, the Korea Herald reports citing a company official as saying on Tuesday. The plan, aimed at restoring the companys liquidity, reportedly includes up to 1,500 job cuts, selling of KRW 200 billion worth (USD 169 million) of real estate assets and disposing of stakes in Doosan Engine. SHIs move is in line with the three-track plan revealed by the countrys financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission, which targets restructuring of vulnerable industries which were hit by a global slowdown, such as shipping and shipbuilding. The last time a Samsung unit submitted a self-restructuring plan in return for a debt relief was during the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. The shipyard is in its worst crisis with orders stop coming in from October last year. In Samsung Heavy Industries, Samsung Electronics is the largest shareholder with a shareholding of 17.62% while Samsung Securities and Samsung Electro-Mechanics own 3.38% and 2.39%, respectively. In addition, rumors are circulating that the Samsung Group will dispose of Samsung Heavy Industries although the group is denying the rumor. Under the circumstances, the tension between the business group and the creditors is likely to be on the rise. Greece-based DryShips Inc. (DRYS) reported first-quarter of 2016 net income of $55.4 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier. The company said it had profit of $2.05 per share. Losses, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to 78 cents per share. Vessel impairment charges and loss on sales, of $40.8 million, or $1.53 per share. Net income pick-up from the Company's 40.4% ownership in Ocean Rig, of $116.5 million, or $4.36 per share. The operator of oil rigs and dry cargo carriers posted revenue of $11.9 million in the period. On April 11, 2016, the Company received notice of termination from Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) of the contract for the oil spill recovery vessel Vega Inruda effective as of April 6, 2016. On April 5, 2016, the Company sold all of its shares in Ocean Rig, to a subsidiary of Ocean Rig for total cash consideration of approximately $49.9 million. The Company no longer holds any equity interest in Ocean Rig. DRYS says it is in talks with its lenders for the restructuring of its debt facilities; three of the bank facilities have matured and DRYS says it has not made the final balloon installment, and the company is suspending principal and interest payments for the remaining facilities. The MSPA Board of Commissioners along with Gov. Phil Bryant and local officials marked the beginning of a new era today at the Port of Gulfport with the Blessing of the Cranes event. The arrival of the cranes was a momentous milestone in the Ports Restoration Project and the blessing celebrates the progress made on the West Pier and the individuals and organizations who have contributed to its overall success. The three gantry cranes, which arrived in Gulfport this past March, were welcomed with much excitement and fanfare. At a total cost of $30 million, these cranes are a significant investment in the Ports infrastructure and will enable the Ports existing and future tenants to more efficiently service their vessels. The addition of the gantry cranes represent an important milestone toward the completion of the restoration project at the Port of Gulfport, Gov. Phil Bryant said. The cranes will benefit the ports tenants for years to come and help attract new businesse and generate new investment. As the Port further diversifies its tenant base, the cranes will not only be able to accommodate the Ports container customers but also handle bulk and break-bulk cargo providing more opportunities for longshoremen hours. 1815 - Commodore Stephen Decatur sails with his flagship USS Guerriere and a squadron of nine ships for the Mediterranean to suppress piracy. Under strict negotiations, Decatur is able to secure a treaty with the Day of Algiers, His Highness Omar Bashaw, on July 3. 1844 - The frigate Constitution, commanded by John Percival, sails from New York to depart on her 32,279 mile round-the-world cruise. Heading eastward, she visits places such as Brazil, Zanzibar, Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Hawaii before returning back to Boston, Mass., in Sept. 1846. 1909 - USS Mississippi (BB 23) arrives at Natchez, Miss., and becomes the first U.S. Navy battleship to visit an inland city. 1943 - The Tenth Fleet is established in Washington D.C., under the command of Adm. Ernest J. King, to coordinate U.S. anti-submarine operations in the Atlantic. Disbanded after WWII, the Tenth Fleet is reactivated in Jan. 2010 as U.S. Fleet Cyber Command. 1944 - USS Angler (SS 240) sinks Japanese transport Otori Maru and survives depth charging by its escort, while both USS Silversides (SS 236) and USS Bluegill (SS 242) sink enemy vessels. 1995 - USS Russell (DDG 59) is commissioned during a ceremony at Pascagoula, Miss. The 9th Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer is named for Rear Adm. John Henry Russell and his son, Commandant of the Marine Corps John Henry Russell Jr. (Source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division) A comprehensive dry docking and life extension plan has been set out for the 62-year-old Finnish icebreaker Voima, continuing its run as the worlds oldest operational icebreaker. Commissioned in 1954, Voima is part of Arctias icebreaker fleet and has demonstrated its reliability in the Baltic Sea over the decades, serving as model for many four-propeller icebreakers built after it. In accordance with the life extension plan agreed upon by Arctia and Turku Repair Yard, Voima will move to the repair yard in Naantali, Finland in the beginning of June 2016 for works to be completed in September 2016. These include extensive renewal of the hulls steel structures and machinery equipment. In dry dock Voimas machinery, deck equipment and accommodation will be overhauled. This life extension will ensure Voimas operational capability for at least another 10 years, said Kari Patrakka, SVP for Technology at Arctia. The extension is part of our fleets upgrade and renewal program. Voima continues its important work assisting merchant vessels in Finlands coastal waters. Hunter Tootoo, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard announced that the Government of Canada is investing $289 million in small craft harbors across the country in 2016-2017. The announcement includes $32 million of the $149 million allocated to small craft harbors in Budget 2016. Small craft harbors are crucial infrastructure for Canadas commercial fishing industry, providing coastal communities with safe and reliable access points. This investment in Canadas harbors will support this industry, which employs approximately 76,000 Canadians and contributed $6 billion to the Canadian economy in 2015, by ensuring facilities are in good repair and available for commercial fish harvesters and all harbor users. Harbor investments across Canada will address infrastructure rust out and operational needs and benefit fish harvesters by ensuring safe berthage and navigational access, as well as adequate wave protection and offloading facilities. Infrastructure investment is a priority of the Government of Canada. It is good for Canadians and good for the Canadian economy, said Minister Tootoo. We are proud to announce this investment that will help to renew and preserve local harbor infrastructure, and foster local employment opportunities in coastal communities across Canada for years to come. Darrell Samson, MP for SackvillePrestonChezzetcook, said, These improvements will ensure the infrastructure of our harbor will continue to serve the needs of our fishing and marine community for years to come. A provincial breakdown of the $289 million investment in small craft harbors will soon follow. A new ASD tug designed by Robert Allan Ltd. was launched on April 26, 2016 in Jiangsu Province, China for its Peruvian owners. Based on Robert Allan Ltd.s RAmparts 2400W class, the Chincha was built by Jiangsu Wuxi Shipyard and fully customized to meet her owners requirements. Chincha is the first of two RAmparts 2400W tugs to be built for the growing Peruvian maritime and port operations company, Trabajos Maritimos S.A. (Tramarsa). Tramarsa has been in business since 1990 and operated harbor tugs built to Robert Allan Ltd. designs since 2000. Tramarsa representatives Enrique Tarazona Soria, Vice President, and William Revilla Valdivia, Technical Manager, attended the launching ceremony, along with representatives from Robert Allan Ltd. and other suppliers. The second tug of the pair, the Tupaq, will be launched shortly, and delivery of both is scheduled for August this year. The new tugs will enter Tramarsas harbor service. The names of these tugs are taken from the ancient Inca Empires language, Quechua. Chincha means North while Tupaq means Rich or Decorated in Quechua. Particulars: Chincha Length overall: 24.4 m Beam, Molded: 11.25 m Depth, Molded: 4.37 m Power: 2x2240 kW Bollard Pull (predicted): 75 t Shanghai's Zhonggu Shipping may buy 3,398-TEU Stadt Aachen, that was up for sale for US$7.1 million, say local media reports. Zhonggu Shipping earlier stated that it plans to acquire a handful of vessels this year, all of which will start operations between June and August. The Chinese company announced in the middle of March that it has acquired two containerships from Singapore and Germany. Additionally, last month the company signed a shipbuilding contract with CSSC-affiliated Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard for the construction of a 2,500-TEU ship. Xia Guoqing, General Manager, Zhang Jiangang, vice general manager of Zhonggu Shipping, and Dai Jiming, president of Changhong International Shipyard, attended the contact signing ceremony. This being built 2500 TEU container ship has a total length 179.9 meters, 32.18 meters width, depth of 16 meters, classified by China Classification Society, will start the construction in the coming months. The Group has more than 60 ships, over one million tons capacity, comprehensive coverage of domestic routes in coastal regions, the total container throughput in the ports in the country of over 300 million TEU. Philly Shipyard, Inc. (PSI) held a keel laying ceremony for the second product tanker in a four vessel order for Kinder Morgan, Inc. subsidiary American Petroleum Tankers (APT). Representatives from Philly Shipyard and Kinder Morgan were in attendance to place coins on one of the keel blocks before the 650 ton unit was lowered into place in the dry dock. When completed in 2017, the product tanker will be 600 feet long and capable of carrying 50,000 tons of crude oil or refined petroleum products. The Tier II 50,000 dead weight ton (dwt) product tankers are based on a Hyundai Mipo Dockyards (HMD) design which incorporates numerous fuel efficiency features, flexible cargo capability and the latest regulatory requirements, the builder said. The vessels will be constructed with consideration for the use of LNG for propulsion in the future. Philly Shipyard, a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Philly Shipyard ASA, is currently building four product tankers for APT, with deliveries planned through 2016 and 2017. Also under construction at the shipyard is one 50,000 dwt product tanker for Crowley Maritime Corporation with a planned delivery during Q3 2016 and two 3,600 TEU containerships for Matson Navigation Company, Inc. with planned deliveries in Q3 2018 and Q1 2019. Worst over for Aframax market as fuel oil cargoes lift rates. Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) could slide further before finding a floor and recovering on a rebound in chartering activity, ship brokers said on Friday. Daily earnings for a VLCC charter from the Middle East to Japan have dropped by around $13,500 since May 11 as charterers held back the release of June cargoes and VLCCs faced competition from smaller Suezmax tankers, brokers said. "Suezmax rates are so low now we see charterers splitting VLCC cargoes," a European supertanker broker said on Friday. "Charterers on their side are sitting patiently and watching psychology doing its work." Charter rates for a Suezmax tanker, which can carry around 1 million barrels of oil, are down to around $15,000 per day, brokers said, compared with around $44,000 per day for a VLCC that can transport 2 million barrels of oil. Brokers highlighted U.S. based Valero Energy which chartered two Suezmax vessels this week rather than hire a single VLCC to transport crude from the Middle East to the U.S. West Coast. "When that starts happening I feel we're close to the bottom of the market," said a Singapore-based supertanker broker. "There is still plenty of cargoes to come out. I don't think anybody needs to panic that the VLCC market is going to drop much further," the Singapore broker added. "VLCC rates have the chance for a decent bounce, it's just a question of when it happens," the broker said. Around 25 cargoes have so far been fixed for June loading from the Middle East, which suggested there are a further 100 cargoes for June loading based upon recent cargo counts, brokers said. "If we see a sudden increase in activity later in the month, owners will....try to push rates again," said a second European broker. "For now, the VLCC market will go lower before it floors," the second European broker said. Congestion delays at Basra and Chinese ports have eased so there are more tankers available for charter, which have further pressured freight rates, brokers said. But the global glut of oil has also led to an increase in the number of tankers used to store oil, with around 40 supertankers currently anchored around Singapore. VLCC rates from the Middle East to Japan fell to around 60.50 on the Worldscale measure on Thursday, down from around W71 last Thursday. Rates for VLCCs from West Africa to China dropped to about W59.75 on Thursday against W67.50 the same day last week on a slow chartering market, the second European broker said. Rates for an 80,000-dwt Aframax tanker from Southeast Asia to East Coast Australia snapped a month long fall this week, rising to almost W90 on Thursday from around W86.50 last week. "The Aframax market has been incredibly painful - there have been no fuel oil moves for two months, but now we are seeing a few more Aframax cargoes. The worst is over," the Singapore broker said. Reporting by Keith Wallis Euronav NV and Bretta Tanker Holdings Inc. have agreed to terminate their joint venture covering four Suezmax vessels: the Captain Michael (2012 - 157,648 dwt), the Maria (2011 - 157,523 dwt), the Eugenie (2010 - 157,672 dwt) and the Devon (2011 - 157,642 dwt). Euronav will assume full ownership of the two youngest vessels, the Captain Michael and the Maria, and Bretta will assume full ownership of the Eugenie and the Devon. Euronav will compensate its partner for the difference in value due to the younger age profile of the ships it will own as well as the voyages in progress and will pay Bretta the sum of $15.1 million upon closing the transaction which is foreseen to take place in the current quarter. In announcing the termination, Euronav said ending the joint venture will allow it to account directly for what was its share instead of having to use the equity method. Bank Bail-Ins Pose Risks To Retail Depositors Bank bail-ins pose risks to retail investors and especially savers throughout the western world. The new bail-in rules have been made operational since the beginning of this year in the EU and in many other countries yet the risks and ramifications of bail ins have been largely ignored in most of the media. The Financial Times covers bail-ins today with a focus on the risk to investors while continuing to ignore that posed to savers and depositors including small and medium size enterprises. A banking union in the EU is wonderful in concept but in practice is fraught with difficulties and risk. The use of bail-ins and the confiscation of deposits while protecting some tax payers in the short term, will likely destroy consumer and business confidence in the already fragile Eurozone economies and severely impact on the tax take in EU economies in the aftermath of the bail-ins and ensuing recessions or depressions. Small and medium size businesses are the back bone of European and global economies. The confiscation of their corporate deposits, the very capital they use to fund growth including servicing debt, paying rent and mortgages, employing staff and paying wages would be highly deflationary and would push economies over the edge and into sharp recessions and lead to contagion in the Eurozone. Bank bail-ins remain one of the greatest, but most poorly analysed and understood threats to depositors and savers today. The law of unintended consequences Read Protecting your Savings In The Coming Bail-In Era (11 pages) Read From Bail-Outs to Bail-Ins: Risks and Ramifications (51 pages) This update can be found on the GoldCore blog here. Mark O'Byrne IRL 63 FITZWILLIAM SQUARE DUBLIN 2 E info@goldcore.com UK NO. 1 CORNHILL LONDON 2 EC3V 3ND IRL +353 (0)1 632 5010 UK +44 (0)203 086 9200 US +1 (302)635 1160 W http://www.goldcore.com/uk/ WINNERS MoneyMate and Investor Magazine Financial Analysts 2006 Disclaimer: The information in this document has been obtained from sources, which we believe to be reliable. We cannot guarantee its accuracy or completeness. It does not constitute a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any investment. Any person acting on the information contained in this document does so at their own risk. Recommendations in this document may not be suitable for all investors. Individual circumstances should be considered before a decision to invest is taken. Investors should note the following: Past experience is not necessarily a guide to future performance. The value of investments may fall or rise against investors' interests. Income levels from investments may fluctuate. Changes in exchange rates may have an adverse effect on the value of, or income from, investments denominated in foreign currencies. GoldCore Limited, trading as GoldCore is a Multi-Agency Intermediary regulated by the Irish Financial Regulator. GoldCore is committed to complying with the requirements of the Data Protection Act. This means that in the provision of our services, appropriate personal information is processed and kept securely. It also means that we will never sell your details to a third party. The information you provide will remain confidential and may be used for the provision of related services. Such information may be disclosed in confidence to agents or service providers, regulatory bodies and group companies. You have the right to ask for a copy of certain information held by us in our records in return for payment of a small fee. You also have the right to require us to correct any inaccuracies in your information. The details you are being asked to supply may be used to provide you with information about other products and services either from GoldCore or other group companies or to provide services which any member of the group has arranged for you with a third party. If you do not wish to receive such contact, please write to the Marketing Manager GoldCore, 63 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2 marking the envelope 'data protection' 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. How Democrats Can Lose the Presidency to a Fool The anti-war movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s was being forged by the youth, energetic and willing to stand up to establishment values. They were the peace-loving environmentally-friendly hippies, the more radical but fun-loving Yippies, and those who held weekday establishment jobs and resented the structure and rules of an older generation that had survived the economic depression of the 1930s, the war years of the 1940s and early 1950s, and now wanted the Happy Days comfort of the 1950s. But it was during this decade that the Cold War emerged; the right-wing surfaced and declared anyone with non-establishment views were Communists. The witch hunts of the 17th century colonies had morphed into the fear, panic, and undermining of the Constitution by the demigods of business and government who decided that anyone with liberal views, especially those in the arts and sciences, were anti-American and needed to be condemned.A string tied the country to Southeast Asia where a civil war had begun, one that led Americans to believe in a false political philosophy known as the Domino Theoryif Vietnam fell to the Communists, then Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand would next fall to the Communistsand then, like dominos, one country after another would fall until the Red Menace would eventually invade and overcome the United States.John F. Kennedy sent military advisors into Vietnam to save the south from Communism. And then, Lyndon B. Johnson escalated the war. By 1968, the U.S. was digging deeper into the war, more than 400,000 Americans were in combat, and the majority of civilians were cheering what they believed would be a successful end of Communism.From Minnesota, U.S. Sen. Eugene McCarthy, a white-haired 51-year-old former teacher and college professor became the political leader of the anti-war movement, catching up to the political activism of the youth.The media, always behind the cutting edge of society, didnt report about McCarthyand largely ignored the increasing youth marches and rallies. After all, Johnson was president, soldiers were in Vietnam, and the youthand the millions of anti-war, pro-civil rights, pro-environment liberalswere just rabble to be ignored.The establishment media were certain that McCarthy had no chance to defeat the incumbent president. But in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, McCarthy got 42 percent of the vote to Johnsons 49 percent. That shook up the party and the media, and gave Robert F. Kennedy, an anti-war liberal, the motivation to enter the campaign. In the Wisconsin and Oregon primaries, McCarthy won even more delegates. Johnson, a Southerner who had pushed through Congress a liberal agenda, especially in Civil Rights, surprised the establishment by announcing that in the interest of the country, and because he didnt wish to further divide it, he would not run for re-election.At the Democratic convention in Chicago two months after Kennedy was murdered in Los Angeles, McCarthy faced Vice-President Hubert Humphrey, a long-time liberal with strong ties to labor and the civil rights movement, but tainted by having supported his presidents war record. The largely peaceful anti-war movement clashed with the political establishment and the largely-conservative police who wanted people to believe that the hundreds of injuries to the youth were caused by the youth deliberately banging their heads onto police billy clubs.Humphrey won the nomination, but lost the presidency to Richard Nixon, who would resign six years later, enmeshed within scandal. Had hundreds of thousands of McCarthys supporters not become disillusioned with establishment politics, and not been nursing their own injuries from the convention three months before the general election, Humphrey might have become president, the nation might have been freed from the war sooner than 1975, thousands of Americans would not have died or sustained permanent war injuries, and Nixons unconstitutional attacks upon the opposition would not have added a blemish to American history.Flash forward almost five decades.From Vermont comes Bernie Sanders, a 74-year-old white-haired liberal senator who is challenging Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Only the rabid right-wing, who believe lies are facts and propaganda is truth, doubt Clintons intelligence or her knowledge of domestic and foreign affairs. But, even within her own party, she is seen as the embodiment of establishment politics, with a moderate, even conservative, edge. Her wall of advisors protect her from the masses; she seems aloof, while Sanders seems to be the kindly, intelligent Jewish grandfather with a soul burning for social justice that liberals identify with.Sanders began drawing crowds of hundreds, and then thousands, mostly liberals and the youth who believe they are alienated from having a voice in the American system and who, like the youth of the 1960s, have an idealism that cries for social, economic, and political equality and justice, the same political agenda that defines Sanders.But the media of 2015, like the media of 1967, barely noticed Sanders. Although his rallies drew as many as 20,000, the media still ignored him, reporting about Clinton, the Democrats establishment candidate, while also acting as the megaphone for every ridiculous and absurd statement the Republicans eventual nominee, Donald Trump, uttered.Soon, like McCarthy, Sanders began winning primaries while also getting significant vote totals in those primaries that Clinton won. And the mainstream media still devoted significantly more air time and column inches to Trump than to most of the Republican contenders, or to Clinton, Sanders, or Gov. Martin OMalley, who eventually dropped from contention.Hillary Clinton, not completely dissimilar to Hubert Humphrey, will likely be the Democratic partys nominee, even though Sanders says he is in the campaign to the end. Its probable that millions of Americans who would prefer to see Sanders become president will be justifiably disappointed. Many may vote for a third party candidateperhaps, liberal Jill Stein, the Green Partys nominee. Perhaps, they will stay home, disgusted by the process and not vote. To prevent that, the Democratic National Committee needs to incorporate much of Sanders political philosophy into its planks, the Clinton campaign needs to give Sanders and his senior campaign staff significant roles in the campaign and possible presidential administration.If that does not happen, and if history repeats itself because Sanders supporters vote for the Green party or sit out the election, Hillary Clinton will not become president, and Donald Trump and his Ego of Ignorance will occupy the White House for at least four years. This nation cannot succumb to the rule of the fool who is masquerading as a Republican leader. [Dr. Brasch is author of Unacceptable: The Federal Governments Response to Hurricane Katrina , the first major book that looked at the causes, problems, and effects of the storm. He and Rosemary Brasch, two years before Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, had written a series of articles that predicted the United States was not prepared for a major disaster.] [Dr. Braschs current book is Fracking Pennsylvania, which looks at the impact of fracking upon public health, worker safety, the environment, and agriculture. The book--available at local bookstores and amazon. com--also looks at the financial collusion between politicians and Big Energy.] By Walter M Brasch PhD http://www.walterbrasch.com Copyright 2016 Walter M Brasch Walter Brasch is a university journalism professor, syndicated columnist, and author of 17 books. His current books are America's Unpatriotic Acts , The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina , and Sex and the Single Beer Can: Probing the Media and American Culture . All are available through amazon.com, bn.com, or other bookstores. You may contact Dr. Brasch at walterbrasch@gmail.com Walter Brasch Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. Terrorist Attack Likely Downed EgyptAir Flight 804 At 11:09 PM local time Wednesday, Flight MS804 with 66 passengers and crew en route from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport to Cairo went missing over the Mediterranean Sea. French President Francois Hollande said the plane went down and is lost. Its too early to know if what happened was technical failure or terrorism, the latter most likely. Radar contact was lost at 37,000 feet. According to Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, the aircraft made abrupt turns, suddenly lost altitude just before vanishing from radar. It plunged into the sea 20 minutes before its scheduled landing time. Search and rescue efforts are underway. The pilot reported no problems while in Greek airspace. Forty-five of the 56 passengers aboard were Egyptian or French nationals. Others were from 10 additional countries. According to Egypts aviation minister, the possibility ofa terror attack is higher thana technical problem. The Airbus plane crashed between Greece and Egypt. Greek officials reported debris spotted 230 miles south of Crete. State TV ERT said orange-colored objects believed to be lifejackets were seen floating. A merchant ship captain reported a flame in the sky about 130 nautical miles south of Karpathos island. Clear weather was reported when the plane disappeared. Russian Federal Security Service director Alexander Bortnikov said what happened most likely (was) a terrorist attack He called on all interested parties, including (in) Europe, to take measures to identify persons involved in this terrible attack. French submarines reportedly may be deployed to locate the planes black boxes. A bomb planted on Russias Kolavia Metrojet Flight 7K9268 en route from Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt to St. Petersburg last October killed all 224 passengers and crew members - the deadliest accident in modern Russian aviation history. Understand whats most important to know. America created the scourge of international terrorism, including ISIS and likeminded groups. They cant exist without nation-state support. Lay blame where it belongs when terrorist attacks occur - America and its rogue partners responsible for these deadly incidents. By Stephen Lendman http://sjlendman.blogspot.com His new book as editor and contributor is titled Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III. http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html He lives in Chicago and can be reached in Chicago at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to The Global Research News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Monday through Friday at 10AM US Central time for cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on world and national topics. All programs are archived for easy listening. 2016 Copyright Stephen Lendman - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors. 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. Minor flooding of creeks and streams is possible as up to two inches of rain and maybe more is expected to fall across Martinsville and Henry County tonight and Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. The forecast on Thursday showed that while there is a chance of rain after 2 p.m. today, most of the rain will fall between 8 oclock tonight and 2 p.m. Saturday. Rainfall of 1-2 inches is possible through the overnight hours, with another half-inch to three-fourths of an inch possible on Saturday. Tonights chance of rain is 100 percent. A forecast discussion on the weather services website indicated that up to 3 inches is not out of the question. However, Nick Fillo, a meteorologist at the weather service office in Blacksburg, said the latest computer models on Thursday afternoon indicated that about 1 inches of rain is most likely for Martinsville and Henry County. "A few creeks and streams may get up out of their banks" if enough rain falls, Fillo said. Rivers are expected to rise but if they get out of their banks, it should not be much, he said. Flooding potential is limited, Fillo said, because the rain is "not expected to come all at once." Furthermore, now that spring has arrived, tree roots can soak up more water than they could during the winter when the ground was frozen, he said. The ground is very moist, though. Measurements taken at Danville Regional Airport showed that as of Thursday, 17.08 inches of rain had fallen across Southern Virginia since the beginning of the year. That is almost an inch more than normal for this time of the year and about twice as much rain as what fell during the same period in 2015, statistics show. Since March 1, the start of what forecasters call "meteorological spring," 10.23 inches of rain has fallen across the region. That is a little more than a half-inch above normal and almost double the amount received during the same period last year, according to statistics. Rainfall measurements specifically for Martinsville-Henry County were not available. "For a while, it was pretty dry" earlier this year but it has been wetter during roughly the past month, Fillo said. The weather service reported that for May alone, so far 5.1 inches of rain has fallen across the region, which is almost three inches above normal. Showers could linger into Sunday, but skies are to become mostly sunny early next week. High temperatures are expected to climb from the 60s this weekend to the mid-80s by Wednesday, the forecast showed. On August 20th 1940 Trotskys life was brutally ended when a Stalinist agent brought an ice pick crashing down on his defenceless head. Among the works left unfinished was the second part of Stalin. Trotskys Stalin.This work is probably unique in Marxist literature in that it attempts to explain some of the most decisive events of the 20th century, not just in terms of epoch-making economic and social transformations, but in the individual psychology of those who appear as protagonists in a great historical drama. Photo: WellRed BooksThe relationship between individual psychology and historical processes provides a fascinating theme for students of history and forms the basis of the present work. How did it come about that Stalin, who began his political life as a revolutionary and a Bolshevik, ended up a tyrant and a monster? Was this something pre-ordained, whether by genetic factors or childhood upbringing? There are some circumstances in Stalins early life, painstakingly analysed by Trotsky, that suggest certain tendencies towards revengefulness, envy and a cruel, even sadistic streak. Taken in isolation, however, these tendencies cannot have a decisive significance. Not every child who is abused by a drunken father becomes a sadistic dictator, just as not every unsuccessful artist, resentful at his rejection by Viennese society, becomes Adolf Hitler. For such transformations to occur, great historic events and social convulsions are necessary. In the case of Hitler it was Germanys economic collapse following the Wall Street Crash that provided him with an opportunity to lead a mass movement of the ruined petty bourgeois and de-classed lumpen-proletariat. In the case of Stalin it was the ebb of the movement that followed the Russian Revolution, the exhaustion of the masses following the great exertions of the War, Revolution and Civil War and the isolation of the Revolution in conditions of frightful backwardness and poverty that led to the rise of a privileged bureaucracy. The millions of officials that elbowed the workers aside hardened into a privileged caste. These upstarts needed a leader who would defend their interests. But this leader had to be a man with revolutionary credentials a Bolshevik with a solid pedigree: Cometh the moment, cometh the man. The Soviet bureaucracy found its representative in Joseph Djughashvili, known to us as Stalin. At first sight, Stalin would not seem an obvious choice to step into Lenins shoes. Stalin had no ideology, other than to gain power and hold onto it. He had a tendency towards suspicion and violence. He was a typical apparatchik narrow-minded and ignorant, like the people whose interests he represented. The other Bolshevik leaders spent years in Western Europe and spoke foreign languages fluently, and participated personally in the international workers movement. Stalin spoke no foreign languages and even spoke Russian poorly with a thick Georgian accent. This paradox is explained by Trotsky. A revolutionary epoch demands heroic leaders, great writers and orators, bold thinkers who are able to put into words the unconscious or semi-conscious aspirations of the masses to change society, translating them into timely slogans. It is an age of giants. But a counter-revolutionary period is one of ebb, retreat and demoralization. Such a period does not require giants but people of a far smaller stature. It is the age of the opportunist, the conformist and the apostate. In such circumstances, bold visionaries and heroic individuals are no longer required. The mediocrity rules supreme, and Stalin was the supreme mediocrity. Of course, this definition does not exhaust his qualities, or he would never have succeeded in elevating himself above the heads of people who were in every respect his superiors. He also possessed an iron will and determination, a stubborn, indomitable thirst for power and personal advancement and an innate skillfulness in manipulating people, exploiting their weak side, manoeuvring and intriguing. Such qualities in the context of an advancing revolution are of only third-rate importance. But in the ebb-tide of the revolution, they can be utilised to great effect. The way in which this applied in Stalins case is explained by Trotsky with a mass of carefully assembled material drawn both from his personal archives and many other sources, including the memoirs of Bolsheviks, Stalinists, Mensheviks and particularly Georgian revolutionaries who knew the man intimately. The role of the individual The attempt to reduce great historic events to individual personalities is superficial and usually reflects an inability to approach history from a scientific point of view. Historical materialism finds the mainspring of history in the development of the productive forces. But this by no means denies the role of the individual in history. On the contrary, the historical process can only be expressed through the agency of men and women. To discover the complex interplay between the particular and the general, between personalities and social processes, is a difficult task. But it can be done. Marx dealt with this aspect brilliantly in The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, where he shows how, under certain historical circumstances, a mediocrity, like the man Victor Hugo called Napoleon le Petit (Napoleon the Little), can come to power. The precise way in which the individual interacts with objective processes has never been so painstakingly examined. Did the personality of Stalin determine the fate of the USSR? It is sufficient to pose the question to expose its complete hollowness. The defeat of the European Revolution meant that the regime of workers democracy established by the October Revolution could not survive. Once the Revolution was isolated in conditions of frightful economic and cultural backwardness, the rise of the bureaucracy was inevitable, with or without the presence of Stalin. But one can say that the particularly horrific nature of the regime, its sadistic methods and the monstrous scale of the Terror were determined to a very great extent by Stalins character, his paranoia and his unquenchable thirst for revenge. Stalin is a fascinating study of the way in which the peculiar character of an individual, his personal traits and psychology, interacted with great events. For that very reason, it has had its detractors. There have been many attempts to present Stalin as a work motivated by Trotskys desire to discredit his enemy in the Kremlin, or at the very least as an account in which factors of a personal or psychological nature rendered an objective study impossible. Such a superficial judgement does a serious injustice to the author. Trotsky already anticipated these criticisms when he wrote: The point which I now occupy is unique. I therefore feel that I have the right to say that I have never entertained a feeling of hatred towards Stalin. In certain circles there is a lot said and written about my so-called hatred for Stalin which apparently fills me with gloomy and troubled judgements. I can only shrug my shoulders in response to all this. Our ways have parted so long ago that whatever personal relationship there was between us has long ago been utterly extinguished. For my part, and to the extent that I am the tool of historical forces, which are alien and hostile to me, my personal feelings towards Stalin are indistinguishable from my feelings towards Hitler or the Japanese Mikado. (Stalin, present edition, Chapter 14: The Thermidorian Reaction; section: The revenge of history) It is characteristic of academic historians to hide behind a facade of what is supposed to be impartiality. But, in fact, every historian writes from a particular viewpoint. This is particularly evident in histories of the Russian Revolution or even the French Revolution, if it comes to that. As proof of this we can point to the flood of learned books on the Russian Revolution that is churned out every year, especially since the fall of the Soviet Union, that claim to furnish incontrovertible proof that Lenin and Trotsky were bloodthirsty monsters and the Soviet Union never accomplished anything except the KGB and the Gulag. One only has to scratch the surface for the mask of academic objectivity to slip, revealing the ugly contorted features of an anti-Communist fanatic. In contrast to the hypocritical pseudo-objectivity of academic historians, Trotsky approaches the question of the Stalinist counter-revolution as a Marxist and a revolutionist. Is there a contradiction between having a passionate interest in changing society and at the same time being capable of an objective appraisal of historical events and the role of individuals in the historical process? Let Trotsky answer for himself: In the eyes of a philistine a revolutionary point of view is virtually equivalent to an absence of scientific objectivity. We think just the opposite: only a revolutionist provided, of course, that he is equipped with the scientific method is capable of laying bare the objective dynamics of the revolution. Apprehending thought in general is not contemplative, but active. The element of will is indispensable for penetrating the secrets of nature and society. Just as a surgeon, on whose scalpel a human life depends, distinguishes with extreme care between the various tissues of an organism, so a revolutionist, if he has a serious attitude toward his task, is obliged with strict conscientiousness to analyse the structure of society, its functions and reflexes. (Trotsky, The Chinese Revolution, 1938) About the new edition Nobody can ever claim to have produced the definitive edition of Stalin. It was unfinished on the day of Trotskys assassination and will remain unfinished for all time. What we can say without fear of contradiction is that this is the most complete version of the book that has ever been published. There have been other editions of the book, they have never been satisfactory, and some were even misleading. In preparing for this project, we compared the translations of other versions, all of which were inadequate in different ways. We have brought together all the material that was available from the Trotsky archives in English and supplemented it with additional material in Russian. The new edition contains an additional 86,000 words. That is an increase of approximately thirty percent over the book as a whole. But in the second part, where almost all of the new material is to be found, the text has been augmented by approximately ninety percent. If Trotsky had lived, it is very clear that he would have produced an infinitely better work. He would have made a rigorous selection of the raw material. Like an accomplished sculptor he would have polished it and then polished it again, until it reached the dazzling heights of a work of art. We cannot hope to attain such heights. We do not know what material the great man would have selected or rejected. But we feel we are under a historic obligation at least to make available to the world all the material that is available to us. Despite all the difficulties, this work has been of great educational value. We have found in many pieces that were discarded as things of no interest fascinating insights into Trotskys thought. Like the last works of Marx, Engels and Lenin, the writings of Trotskys last few years are the products of a mature mind that was able to draw on a whole lifetime of rich experience. Of particular interest are his observations about dialectics and Marxist theory in the Appendix Stalin as a Theoretician, which, as far as I know, have never been published before. In making available for the first time a great deal of material that was arbitrarily excluded from Stalin and hidden in dusty boxes for three quarter of a century, we are discharging a debt to a great revolutionary and simultaneously providing a wealth of new and valuable material to the new generation that is striving to find the ideas and programme to change the world. This is the only monument he would have ever wanted. London 18 May 2016 SPRINGFIELD -- Columbia Gas of Massachusetts hosted an open house and tours of its new meter shop Friday, showing off a $4 million expansion and renovation project at its Springfield offices and workshops. The most visible project, a new 27,000 square-foot operations center built next door to its current headquarters at 2025 Roosevelt Ave., should be open August, said Stephen H. Bryant, president of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts. When the new building is ready, the current headquarters -- built in 1964 -- will be demolished. A move of Columbia Gas' customer-service call center to a former Postal Service facility at 100 Brookdale Drive is part of the large-scale rearrangement. "Our vision for that operations center is that it is a place for those crews that are going out into the field to work for our customers," he said. That means it will have a depot of pipe and other supplies, and a circular drive where trucks can pull in and out quickly. It also means the meter shop and its 12 employees had to move. Columbia Gas found space a few doors away at 311 Industry Ave. "This will be for the day-to-day, ongoing work of that meter shop, separate from our operations center," Bryant said. The facility is the company's only meter shop in Massachusetts -- a state where it serves 300,000 customers, said shop leader Phil Gallagher. Massachusetts law requires gas companies to pull each meter after seven years for refurbishment and to test its soundness and accuracy. All that switching out of meters, coupled with new construction requiring new meters, makes the shop a busy place. The meter shop handles 48,000 gas meters each year. Of those, 33,000 are used meters that get refurbished and 15,000 are new meters headed out into service, Gallagher said. The shop's dozen employees work in two daytime shifts, pressure washing meters when they come in. They also test meters for accuracy using pressurized air on a special computerized machine, and for leaks by filling them with pressurized air and dunking them in water to check for bubbles. Meters get painted and inspected by a state employee, who affixes a state seal, before they go back out. Utility gas for lighting, heating and cooking has a history in Springfield going back to 1847. In 1999 Bay State Gas merged with NiSource, Inc. NiSource, Inc. merged with Columbia Energy Group in 2000 and Bay State Gas changed its name to Columbia Gas of Massachusetts in 2010. attack on deerfield.jpg This 1900 print imagines the 1704 attack on Deerfield. (The New York Public Library Digital Collections. ) FLORENCE -- Fans of American colonial history won't want to miss Saturday's book launch with author Jillian Hensley, whose new historical novel In This Strange Soil, published by Levellers Press, chronicles the 1704 raid on Deerfield through the eyes of a Jesuit priest. On a winter day before dawn, French and Native American forces attacked the fortified English settlement, burning houses, killing 47 people, and taking 112 captives to Canada. The author weaves two related narratives: the February massacre, and the August abduction of four boys from the hamlet of Chauncy -- now Westborough -- by Mohawks from a Jesuit mission in Canada. The events took place during Queen Anne's War, when the French and Wabanaki Confederacy sought to thwart new British settlements in New England. "Jillian Hensley's account of the 1704 raid on Deerfield, which is central to her story, feels authentic and fully imagined. I have read other accounts of this famous event, but for me this is the most engaging and original," wrote reviewer Frances Kidder. Libby Maxey, editor of Thornapple press, said Hensley's Jesuit narrator "records his experiences, thoughts and observations in a voice so consistent and believable that one might forget he's fictional." The story of the raid was told in 1707 by the Reverend John Williams, whose book "The Redeemed Captive" was popular throughout the colonies. Williams and his family were abducted and forced to march to Canada. His daughter Eunice assimilated and married a Mohawk man. Hensley and her family moved to Westborough from South Africa in 1979. She has been a resident of Florence for almost four years. If you go: What: Book launch celebration for Jillian Hensley's "In This Strange Soil" Where: Florence Civic & Business Association, 90 Park St., Florence When: Saturday, May 21, 3 p.m. shakespeare on the common Crowds gathered for a 2014 performance of Shakespeare on the Common. (Andrew Brilliant/Brilliant Pictures) SPRINGFIELD -- For two decades, the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company has performed Shakespeare on the Boston Common, drawing crowds of up to 10,000 on an average night. Famous faces - from Jeffrey Donovan, of the series Burn Notice, to film and television actor Tony Shalhoub - have graced the stage for several weeks each summer. Now, the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company seeks to bring its free summer theater to Springfield. Local arts and public officials gathered at the MassLive building Friday with representatives of the company to discuss the prospect, at the request of Massachusetts State Sen. Eric Lesser. "There's something magical about bringing such a performance to a public space," said Steve Maler, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company founding artistic director. Following several weeks of performances on the Boston Common, the Shakespeare company hopes to head west next summer and perform for either one weekend or two in Springfield. The location has not yet been confirmed but organizers believe Forest Park would provide an comfortable setting. Shakespeare on the Common began 20 years ago after Maler questioned why other metropolitan areas put on free performances and not Boston. Held in July and August every summer, three weeks of performances draw around 100,000 attendees every year. The audience doesn't consist of only average theatergoer, Maler said, with the free shows drawing a younger and more diverse crowd. "Just as in Shakespeare's day when everybody would come to the theater," he said. In addition to organizing Shakespeare on the Common, the company offers workshops for young and old to learn of stage fighting - a big hit among children, Maler said - and an apprentice program for actors. More than a year in advance, the work that will be performed in 2017 has not yet been chosen though Maler said they intend to perform a "recognizable name." Lesser said he is excited for a public-private partnership to bring Shakespeare to Western Massachusetts. "The people of Springfield should benefit from this type of cultural enrichment as much as the people of Boston." 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Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Dear Montana Economic Development Professionals, I wanted to reach out and let you know that serving Montana firms under the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms program, which has been until now administered by the NWTAAC, has been reassigned to the Rocky Mountain TAAC (RMTAAC), our sister organization. In an attempt to better align our offices to EDA regions, RMTAAC will not be administering this program and providing the assistance to eligible firms in Montana. The program remains the same, just a shift in administering offices. Your main contact for this program will be Tania Bahr-Torline. She has over 10 years experience with the TAAF program and is looking forward to hitting the ground running getting to know Montana. If you have any companies in your region that have been hurt by import competition, please direct them to Tania for assistance. They will be in great hands! Tania Bahr-Torline TAA for Firms Rocky Mountain Trade Adjustment Assistance Center 2595 Canyon, Suite 330 Boulder, CO 80302 P: 303-499-8222 ext. 3 F: 303.499.8298 E: [email protected] W: http://www.rmtaac.org We at NWTAAC have really enjoyed working with you all and especially the businesses and organizations in Montana. Best regards, Patrick Meuleman Patrick Meuleman Associate Director Northwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center Phone: 208-343-6855 223 North 6th St, Suite 300 Boise, ID 83702 Fax: 208-343-6856 Serving: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington The one person who wasnt a member of the Northwest Energy Coalition was the one most of the 100 members wanted to hear from at the advocacy groups spring conference in Missoula. So NorthWestern Energy Corp. http://www.northwesternenergy.com/ Chief Executive Officer Bob Rowe spent an hour taking questions from the audience about how Montanas biggest energy utility plans to deal with the fate of Colstrip power plants, renewable energy sources and how traditional power companies will co-exist with changing public desires. ROB CHANEY [email protected] Full Story: http://missoulian.com/news/local/renewable-energy-advocates-discuss-future-of-traditional-utility-companies/article_21349b22-7cd3-5cec-84ab-dec5b8fd7ccc.html State lawmakers and the developer of the largest onshore wind farm in America are increasingly at odds these days. The subject of their strife: a proposal to raise Wyomings wind-generation tax. Benjamin Storrow 307-335-5344, [email protected] Full Story: http://trib.com/business/energy/the-growing-battle-between-wyoming-lawmakers-and-the-largest-wind/article_315d1abc-6489-53b1-8d8d-faa2fe7d15ef.html Les ministres ont pris note de la promulgation porchaine du Registration Duty (Home Ownership Scheme) Regulations 2022, que le First Schedule of the Public Procurement Regulations 2008, le Public Health (Restrictions on Tobacco Products) Regulations 2022, des dates des examens de la Primary School Achievement Certificate (PSAC) Assessments 2021 2022 entre autres. 1. Cabinet has taken note that the Registration Duty (Home Ownership Scheme) Regulations 2022 would be promulgated. Under the Scheme, an eligible person buying a house, an apartment or bare land to construct his residence in the financial year 2021/2022 benefits from a refund of five percent of the cost of the property up to a maximum of Rs500,000. The Regulations would make provision for the following transactions to qualify under the Home Ownership Scheme, namely the acquisition of a residential property: (a) jointly by an ascendant and a descendant or the descendants spouse; and (b) from a brother or sister, or from the spouse of the brother or sister. 2. Cabinet has taken note that the First Schedule of the Public Procurement Regulations 2008 would be amended to exempt the Ministry responsible for Rodrigues from the application of the Public Procurement Act for the procurement of service providers by the Rodrigues Subsidy Account for the transportation, storage and distribution of petroleum products only, namely MOGAS, Gas oil, Dual-Purpose Kerosene and Liquified Petroleum Gas of 5, 6 and 12 Kgs, for domestic use, from the Island of Mauritius to the Island of Rodrigues and back. 3. Cabinet has taken note that the Public Health (Restrictions on Tobacco Products) Regulations 2022 would be promulgated. Some salient features of the Regulations are as follows: (a) restriction on use, sale, importation, manufacture and distribution of tobacco products with regards to smoking restrictions in specific places and restrictions on sale within a radius of 200 metres of educational institutions or sports and leisure facilities for new tobacco vendors; (b) other forms of tobacco products have been included; (c) enforcing restrictions on advertising/promotion/sponsorship/scholarship related to tobacco products, including online advertising; (d) implementation of the concept of plain packaging of tobacco products in terms of labelling, package design and health warnings; (e) reporting requirements for importers and manufacturers in respect of emissions of tar, nicotine and carbon dioxide and imported tobacco on transit; and (f) registration of brands and variants of tobacco products in line with WHO Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. Regulations 11 and 12 of the Public Health (Restrictions on Tobacco Products) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 pertaining to plain packaging for tobacco products sold in Mauritius would be effective on or after 31 December 2022. The implementation of the Fifth Schedule thereof regarding Reduced Ignition Propensity Cigarettes would be effective one year after the gazetting of the Regulations. 4. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change and the Universite des Mascareignes in the context of the Facilite 2050. Mauritius would benefit from financial assistance from the French Government, through the Agence Francaise de Developpement, under the Facilite 2050 to support the formulation and implementation of long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies. Under the Facilite 2050, long-term strategies up to the year 2050, would be developed for Mauritius in two mitigation sectors, namely energy and transport, and two adaptation sectors, namely agriculture and tourism. The Memorandum of Agreement between the Ministry and the Universite des Mascareignes would provide for a framework to strengthen cooperation between academia and policy makers in the formulation of long term strategies for the above sectors and develop local expertise, especially in public sector institutions on climate change mitigation and adaptation. 5. Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Health and Wellness has elaborated a five-year National Action Plan for Oral Health 2022-2027, with the objective of reducing the incidence and prevalence of oral diseases and, thereby, improving the overall oral health status of the population. The National Action Plan has been formulated in accordance with the recommendations contained in the Resolution on oral health approved by the World Health Organization wherein the shift from curative approach to promotion of oral health has been advocated. The main areas on which the National Action Plan focuses include, among others: (a) oral health promotion for the general public; (b) integration of Oral Health into National Health Policy, taking into account patients affected by diseases, such as diabetes; (c) preventive oral health strategies; and (d) upgrading existing infrastructure, such as dental clinics. The Ministry would hold a series of activities during the month of June 2022 to launch an Oral Health Month. 6. Cabinet has taken note of the ranking of Mauritius on the latest Financial Secrecy Index 2022 issued recently by the Tax Justice Network. The main objective of this Index is to pinpoint countries which have a legal and fiscal framework that enables individuals to hide their finances from the Rule of law. Financial Secrecy encourages tax abuse, money laundering activities and undermines human rights. Countries are ranked in descending order of secrecy whereby the most secretive is ranked first. Mauritius is ranked 55th out of 141 countries in 2022. In the 2020 Index, Mauritius was ranked 51st. Mauritius has improved by four places over the past two years. 7. Cabinet has taken note that the Electronic Queue Management System, Mo Rendez Vous set up by the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation in February 2021, has been selected as champion under the category Enabling Environment at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) of the International Telecommunication Union Prizes 2022. An award ceremony would be held on 31 May 2022 during the last week of the World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2022 at the International Telecommunication Union headquarters in Geneva. 8. Cabinet has taken note of the re-election of the Republic of Mauritius as Member to the United Nations 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Board. Cabinet has agreed to a new National Programme on Sustainable Consumption and Production being developed and accordingly to the setting up of the National Coordination Committee to ensure responsible consumption and production in line with Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG-12). The main objective of the new programme would be to establish a comprehensive framework for an integrated approach in the mainstreaming of Sustainable Consumption and Production in key sectors for the Republic of Mauritius. It would thus support a transition to a low-carbon economy, thereby contributing in successfully attaining the Sustainable Development Goals. 9. Cabinet has taken note of the publication of a Report on Greening the SMEs: Improving Access to Green Finance in Mauritius, which has been prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI) under the umbrella organisation of the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE), in collaboration with the Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives. The Report would be launched on 25 May 2022. The study seeks to assess the level of integration of environmental sustainability in the financing of SMEs in Mauritius. The Report examines the current state of green finance frameworks, practices and structures relevant to the financial sector and the potential to scale up green financing for the SME sector allowing increased access to green finance opportunities. The study has made several recommendations geared towards facilitating access to green finance for SMEs in Mauritius. These recommendations include: (a) scaling up public investments channeled towards green projects for SMEs; (b) provision of green finance policies and incentives; (c) improving SME sector awareness on commitments from the Government and commercial lenders to green projects and green financing; (d) enhancement of risk analysis of SMEs green projects by financial institutions; and (e) expanding the range of green products/loans with favourable lending terms for SMEs. 10. Cabinet has taken note of the completion of the first phase of Les Assises de la Recherche et de LInnovation (ARI 2022) organised by the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council. Six thematic areas were identified for discussions for ARI 2022 in Mauritius as follows: (a) Blue and Green Innovation; (b) Health and Wellness Innovation; (c) Financial Innovation; (d) Social and Grassroots Innovation; (e) Travel, Tourism and Entertainment Innovation; and (f) IT, Emerging and Enabling Industries Innovation. The overall outcome of Phase 1 in terms of main strategic innovation orientations are, among others, : (a) establishment of a National Research and Innovation Steering Committee and a permanent multi-stakeholder committee for focus thematic development; (b) creation of a harmonised Research and Innovation legislation to pool resources across the public sector and govern research strategies; (c) development of a specialised scouting unit for identification, testing, acquisition, adaptation and showcasing of innovative and frontier technologies/innovations; and (d) establishment of a communication platform for dissemination of research and innovation happening in the country. 11. Cabinet has agreed to the irrigation dues to be charged respectively to small planters for the years 2019 to 2022 and to the corporate sector for the years 2019 to 2021 as recommended by the Irrigation Authority Board. The same rate as 2018 would be levied on small planters for the period 2019 to 2022. As regards corporate planters, the rate charged to them for irrigation dues is contingent upon the actual volume of water supplied, the actual rate of water and the irrigated area. Their irrigation dues for 2022 would be calculated at the end of the year. 12. Cabinet has agreed to the setting up of a Technical Committee to assess applications for development in and around the Buffer Zone of Le Morne Cultural Landscape. The Committee would be an Advisory Committee to the Permits and Business Monitoring Committee of the Black River District Council and would, inter alia, ensure that provisions made under the Le Morne Heritage Trust Fund Act, the Planning Policy Guidance and other legislation are complied with, when applications for development in the Buffer Zone are assessed. 13. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the 22nd Meeting of the Mauritius-Seychelles Joint Commission of the Extended Continental Shelf held recently in Seychelles. The main outcomes of the discussions held were, inter alia, as follows: (a) the Joint Commission decided to award the contract for Multi-Client 2D Seismic Survey in the Joint Management Area (JMA) to CGG, a company based in France; (b) the Joint Commission agreed that exploratory fishery of sea cucumber in the JMA would be carried out, in the first instance, in order to enable an assessment of the stock of sea cucumber; and (c) the Joint Commission approved the application by Monaco Expedition to conduct marine scientific research in the JMA. Scientists from both Mauritius and Seychelles would be selected to participate in the research surveys. 14. Cabinet has taken note of the dates for the holding of the Primary School Achievement Certificate (PSAC) Assessments 2021-2022 as follows: (a) Grade 5 Modular Assessment (Module 1) Date Subject Thursday 22 September 2022 Science / History & Geography (b) Grade 6 Modular Assessment (Module 2) Date Monday 29 August 2022 Science Tuesday 30 August 2022 History & Geography (c) End of Year Grade 6 Assessment (Core Subject) Date Tuesday 18 October 2022 French Wednesday 19 October 2022 English Thursday 20 October 2022 Asian Languages/Arabic/Kreol Morisien Friday 21 October 2022 Mathematics Private candidates would sit for the PSAC Assessment papers in Science and History & Geography as follows: Date Tuesday 18 October 2022 Science (Private Candidates) Thursday 20 October 2022 History & Geography (Private Candidates) PSAC Grade 6 Assessment results are expected to be announced around 09 December 2022. 15. Cabinet has taken note of the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic prevailing across the world. Some 525.1 million cases have been reported globally, of which 494.9 million persons have been successfully treated. With regard to Mauritius, as at 18 May 2022, there were 192 active cases of COVID-19, out of which nine were admitted at the New ENT Hospital. Over the period 12 to 18 May 2022, no death was attributed to COVID-19. Cabinet has also taken note of progress in the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme, including the administration of the booster dose in the Republic of Mauritius. The administration of vaccine to children aged between 5 to 11 years would start on Monday 23 May 2022. 16. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent mission of the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development to Washington D.C. to participate in the IMF/World Bank Group Spring Meetings. The Minister participated in various meetings and seminars organised by the IMF and the World Bank Group including the IMF African Consultative Group meeting of the African Caucus. The main theme of the African Caucus was Unlocking Financing for the recovery and mitigating debt and climate vulnerabilities. He also attended, together with 22 other Ministers of Finance, the World Bank Africa Group II Constituency Meeting where discussions focused on development challenges and financing instruments to support member countries. Meetings were also held with the IMF and World Bank executives to discuss the Mauritian economy and progress made in respect of implementation of policy recommendations highlighted in the last Article IV report. The Minister commended the IMF for the setting up of the Resilience and Sustainability Trust, which was announced at the EU-AU Summit Round Table on Financing for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in Africa and expressed interest to benefit from this Trust to build resilience to disasters and transition towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy. The Minister also had meetings with, inter alia,: (a) Mr Aivo Andrianarivelo, IMF Executive Director; (b) Mr Hafez Ghanem, World Bank Vice President; (c) Mrs Anne Van Praagh, Managing Director of Moodys Sovereign Risk Group and Mrs Marie Diron, Head of Sovereign Risk Group of Moodys for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa; and (d) Ms Florizelle Liser, President and CEO of Corporate Council of Africa. 17. Cabinet has taken note of the reconstitution of the Board of the Open University of Mauritius with Dr Oomandra Nath Varma, OSK, as Chairperson. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires As from Monday 10 May 2021, the Mauritius Fire and Rescue Services Customer Care Office at its Head Office at Atalian Tower, 57, Labourdonnais Street, Port Louis will be closed until further notice. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Le Leader de lOpposition a reuni la presse dans les locaux de son bureau afin de comment divers points de lactualite pendant la seconde partie de la journee du 9 avril 2021 a NG Tower a Port-Louis. Xavier Luc Duval a brosse un large tableau concernant la situation democratique de Maurice avec le recent rapport dune institution suedoise sur letat de la democratie qui est passe a lautocratie dans le pays. En premier lieu, le leader du PMSD a montre son indignation quil y a plus de 500,000 personnes ont eu leurs WAPS alors que 23 elus du peuple de lOpposition attendent toujours pour attendre aux attentes ou voir leurs mandants. Il est aussi revenu sur sa Private Notice Question sur le High Level Committee et la reponse quil a obtenu quaucun proces verbal na ete pris pour les 29 reunions. Xavier Luc Duval est revenu sur sa demande refusee dun debat national sur la situation sur la Covid-19 pour trouver un plan de sortie de la crise du moment et les actions a entreprendre. La situation sur la campagne de vaccination inquiete le Leader de lOpposition et il se demande pourquoi la conseillere du NCC napplique pas ce qui se fait chez nos voisins reunionnais. A une question de Maurice Info sur la hausse de lessence, le leader de lOpposition a repondu que pour le moment il na pas encore pense sur une Motion of Disallowance mais a retorque que le fait que le debat se fera vers 3 h 00 du matin, ce sera participer a une farce. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires "The quality of veterinary services of the country is a sine qua non for the preservation of animal welfare..." Le gouvernement va promulger le Public Procurement (Amendment of Schedule No. 2) Regulations 2022 afin dexempter la CWa pour loctroi de contrats pour les travaux dasphaltages dans Rose-Hill a la suite des travaux entrepris. Cabinet has taken note that the Public Procurement (Competitive Negotiations for Procurement of Unfinished and Remaining Works) Regulations 2022 would be revoked and replaced by the Public Procurement (Competitive Negotiations for Procurement of Road Reinstatement for Unfinished and Remaining Works) Regulations 2022 and would provide for the procedures to be followed by the Central Water Authority (CWA). The Public Procurement (Amendment of Schedule No. 2) Regulations 2022 would exempt the CWA from the Public Procurement Act for the procurement of road reinstatement with respect to the unfinished and remaining works for the on-going project for the fixing of appurtenances, construction of chambers, household connection works, laying and commissioning of pipelines and other ancillary works thereto in and around the area of Rose Hill. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a consultation into whether changes should be introduced to the chilling requirements of Qurbani meat and offal supplied from slaughterhouses in England and Wales during the period of Eid al-Adha. by Barbara Lippert , Featured Columnist, May 19, 2016 A guy I know joked that the political climate on Facebook has become so cruel and polarizing lately that he almost defriended himself. Ba da bum. But the irony isnt lost on anyone that now, while Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, has conservative party elders lining up neatly behind him, its the Bernie people who are threatening to go all Invincible Hulk on the Hillarians. Yes, in yet another impossible-to predict turn, it looks like the Dems might be the party headed toward a brokered convention, or a sickening, 1968-style melee. Meanwhile, otherwise long-time, devoted friends who find themselves in separate Dem camps are insulting and blocking each other. In an earlier column, I mentioned how candidate Trump mowed down all of his competitors while upending accepted wisdom about the need for Big Data, or Big Money, to win an election. Forget the mainstream media, which has so far failed to predict much of anything accurately. Is this the election for which trolling, paranoia, conspiracy theories, and unfiltered death threats set the tone? Are we all turning into "X-File"-style Mulders and Scullies? advertisement advertisement More importantly, while we are seeing how the demand for anti-establishment outsiders is subverting conventional party institutions, are we also observing the breakdown of the power of conventional media institutions? For instance, what has changed about TV advertising this time around? For one, it's the sui-generis-ness of the Trumpster. He's probably the only candidate ever who could reliably replace the effectiveness of a pricey TV campaign with a single, authentically thumbed, 2 a.m. hate tweet. Or retweet, for that matter. That's a pretty stark contrast to the $40 million that Jeb's PAC spent on creating anti-Trump messages. Can you remember any of them? Some of the Republican challengers spent tons on spots that attempted to be original or clever but given our unrelenting 24/7 news churn, were instantly outed for containing embarrassing errors. Marco Rubio tried to pull off a sophisticated frame-by-frame match up of Reagans iconic Morning Again in America ad from 1984. The pictures were the same, but cheaply reproduced with stock footage. And the voiceover, rather than offering hope, surveyed the complete disaster of what the Obama years have brought us. Not only was it a hugely depressive downer, but the spot got attention only for the mistake it opened with: a shot of sunlight on the Vancouver harbor, complete with a tugboat proudly flying the Canadian flag. Cruz team also came up with a satiric, high-concept ad, showing people seated in a circle at a support groupa meeting of Conservatives Anonymous. It becomes clear, while showing each other compassion, that they are trying to get over their anger about being abandoned by Rubio's flip-flop on immigration. It got points for really getting into the weeds of the issues, and using a contemporary set-up, but before it could even run, one of the actors in it, who played a glum, but reasonably attractive housewife type, who had one spoken line, was somehow identified as a porn star named Amy Lindsay. The Cruz camp pulled the spot immediately, and Lindsay, in turn, showed up all over the airwaves during an otherwise slow news weekend saying she was a conservative Christian mother just providing for her family with her acting career, and was pissed at Cruz for overreacting. So, whether due to stupid mistakes, the increasingly fractured media environment, or Trump the king of earned media, has the pro-forma political ad, as created by powerful consultants, officially gone the way of the Gallup Poll? Not completely. The only ad that seemed to break through this political season was Bernie Sanders America. Impossibly upbeat, but thrillingly sweet, it used the calming lilt of the famous Simon & Garfunkel tune (Starting with the lines Let us be lovers, well marry our fortunes together) as a backdrop to golden cuts of Bernie shown hugging lots of kids, women, and especially people of color. In between, we saw Bernie in shirtsleeves walking with locals near bales of hay, and also meeting with them in coffee shops, with sped-up images of the thousands and thousands of individual $27, teeny-money donors who made the campaign possible. It ended with Sanders triumphantly speaking at the stump, spreading massive amounts of hope. Feel the goosebumps. I can't say that any of Hillary Clinton's ads have been as memorable. The best, I think, is the little square that runs on the side of my Facebook feed that says, Im with her. No voice, no name needed just three simple words, suggesting all of what being pro-Hillary means. She gets it. Moving forward, my feeling is that in this agitated, hyper-angry climate, Hill should take her ad cues from Bernie, and take on the high mantel of pure positivity. Her ads should show un-staged images of her, captured on the campaign trail, embracing her passionate followers and connecting with them in a meaningful way that has yet to be conveyed. This would elevate the discourse at a time when going negative also seems to have little impact. As people get more polarized, and the numbers of moderates decline, the audience of persuadables is also shrinking. Oddly, PACS from both parties have created ads that put Trump's more vulgar, hostile, female-baiting statements in the mouths of plain citizens. They are awful to watch, but probably won't do much to change the minds of Trump voters. They tend to respond that he only says these things because he's not a real politician, or alternately, that he's not PC he's honest, but he doesn't mean them (the voters) when he says those negative things. Is this the triumph of Internet culture, and all the stomach-churning, flaming bits of insults that it brings? It's sometimes the political equivalent of Reddit and Tinder, where you vote up or down, swipe left or right. The rest is wrestling. Sadly, I already have PTSD about this election, and we still have six months to go. Anybody want to start a support group? by Richard Whitman , Columnist, May 19, 2016 In the seemingly unending parade of misbehavior in ad agencies, this week brings news of RAPP Global CEO Alexei Orlov, who has had a lawsuit filed against him by recently fired RAPP U.S. President Greg Andersen. The lawsuit claims behavior by Orlov that included "sexual and racial harassment, gender and age discrimination, and retaliation for trying to put an end to such injustices. According to the lawsuit, which AgencySpy summed up here, Orlov is alleged to have referred to women as "fat cows," said a Jewish employee was unhappy because he was "miserly with money," pressured an employee who worked on the Pfizer account to get him some Viagra because "he has a young wife," told Andersen not promote a female executive because she was "too pretty" to be taken seriously, defended an LA employee who said he thought a female employee wasn't wearing underwear and told 70 employees in Dallas that "if you mess with my brand or my direction, I will break off your finger and shove it up your ass." advertisement advertisement OK, then. In a statement to AgencySpy, the agency said, RAPP is aware that Greg Andersen has filed a complaint and denies that any unlawful conduct occurred. Mr. Andersons position with RAPP was eliminated and we are not able to comment further. RAPP has, and enforces, policies prohibiting discrimination and retaliation on the basis of gender, race, age, disability, sexual orientation or any other legally protected status. The suit also reads, "He [Orlov] also demonstrated through his comments and actions that he harbored discriminatory animus against women and various racial and ethnic groups." Are things getting worse or are more people coming forward to call out this sort of behavior? Politico, Friday, May 20, 2016 10:24 AM Earlier this week, Fox News sent out a letter to both Democratic candidates for president, hoping for them to hold a debate on the network before the June 7 primaries. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has already agreed to the debate, whereas Fox has yet to hear from Hillary Clintons campaign. Read the whole story at Politico by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, May 20, 2016 Faced with an unexpected buyout offer from Gannett, Tribune Publishing chairman Michael Ferro is embracing his inner Moe Green, the casino impresario from The Godfather (based loosely on Las Vegas founder Bugsy Siegel) who angrily tells Michael Corleone: The Corleone Family wants to buy me out? No, I buy you out, you don't buy me out. Ferro is apparently determined to turn the tables in fairly dramatic fashion, according to newspaper guru Ken Doctor. He writes in Politicothat Tribunes new chairman is working on a counterbid for Gannett, just weeks after receiving Gannetts bid for Tribune and a few days after receiving another, higher bid when the first was rejected. Doctor reports that Ferro told Los Angeles Times employees on Tuesday that his lawyers are working on a plan for Tribune to acquire Gannett, which is currently valued at almost $1.9 billion in market capitalization. Doctor further notes that the idea is rather a long shot, even for an accomplished wheeler dealer like Ferro. He may find it rather difficult to pull together financing on the scale, especially in light of the substantial premium Tribune will have to pay over and above the current stock price. The bizarre turn of events comes as Ferro finds himself under growing pressure from Tribune shareholders to seriously consider the Gannett buyout offer, which now stands at $15 per share, up from the original bid of $12.25 per share, for a total of $864 million (including assuming debts of $390 million). The latest bid represents a 7.4% premium over Tribunes current share price of $13.96, and more than double its share price of $7.33 before the first Gannett bid became public. This week, Tribune shareholder Oaktree Capital, which holds a 14.8% stake in the company, publicly urged Ferro and Tribunes board to accept the offer. It warned that through pursuing an independent course, Tribune will destroy enormous shareholder value. The Tribune board has already warned that it will implement a poison pill defense to fend off the Gannett bid, supposedly in protection of shareholder rights. In this scenario, Tribune would offer additional preferred shares to existing shareholders at a discount if any entity tried to acquire more than 20% of the company. Ferros reluctance to part with Tribune is understandable, considering that he just got there. Previously, the majority owner of Chicago Sun Times publisher Wrapports, which he acquired in 2011, Ferro bought a 16.6% stake in Tribune Publishing for $44.4 million in February, making him the largest individual shareholder in the company. He soon exercised his power as non-executive chairman to push out former CEO Jack Griffin, who was replaced by Justin Dearborn. by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, May 20, 2016 Leveraging natural language processing and artificial intelligence, Israeli-based startup Twiggle has interconnected bits of information from people, places and things so the technology can understand the relationship between words in the next generation of search. The three-year old startup in stealth mode built an ecommerce search engine for companies like Best Buy or Amazon, along with others selling electronics. The search technology understands relationships between words like "light" and "weight." So when searching for "light laptops," for example, the queries returns descriptive results such as the weight of the laptop, not the hue or shade of color. The same occurs when typing in words such as "quiet dishwasher." The engine computes the noise decimal level and returns a list of products. "It's not a trivial thing, because the natural language processing analyzes the context in real time and then ranks the products," said Amir Konigsberg, CEO of Twiggle. The former Googler co-founded the company with CTO Adi Avidor, who worked on the Google Now project. advertisement advertisement Konigsberg said to expect two large retailers to begin using the technology within the next two months. And while he declined to reveal the names of those companies, he said the technology could integrate into voice-activated devices like Google Home, Amazon Echo, or even text-based searches on Google Shopping to help consumers "find the most reasonably priced, popular vacuum cleaner that doesn't make too much noise." Rather than requiring people to type or voice queries so the search engine can understand the phrase, Konigsberg said the search engine can understand the query using whatever keywords that best suits the person entering the phrase. It integrates into a Web site or mobile application. The AI technology can cognitively make decisions on the type of results to return. Konigsberg gave this example: "I threw a hammer at the window and it broke, but what broke, the window or the hammer?" Common sense for a human would suggest the window broke, but a search engine based on AI would need to learn that cognitive reasoning. by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, May 20, 2016 Just 10 days before JWT Chief Communications Officer Erin Johnson began her sex harassment and retaliation lawsuit against former agency CEO Gustavo Martinez in March, Johnson wrote a text message to Martinez to tell him that she had decided to reject a job offer from another company, because I am loyal to you and what you are doing. She added: I felt like we had a good year together. So I hope I wasnt wrong to stay. Lol. That missive was cited by WPP and JWT in the firms motion, filed in U.S. District Court in New York today, to have the suit dismissed. The suit was filed by Johnson in March. Martinez, who resigned a week later, is now represented by separate attorneys and filed his own motion to dismiss the case today as well. advertisement advertisement The note, the companies argued, helps to demonstrate that Johnsons hostile work environment claims are baseless. They also noted that virtually nothing supporting such claims occurred during the nine-month period between when JWT Chief Talent Officer Laura Agostini said she was addressing Johnsons complaints about comments made by Martinez during an agency meeting in Miami and when Johnson filed her suit. The fact that Johnson did not follow up with Agostini during that nine-month period demonstrates, along with the note to Martinez, that she did not feel that she was subjected to a hostile work environment during that time, the companies asserted. The holding company and JWT described two federal retaliation claims as frivolous, because the sections of law Johnson cites as violated in her suit had to do with unequal pay based on sex and race discrimination, neither of which she claims took place. The firms also argued that Johnsons allegations about Martinez making alleged racist and anti-Semitic comments were irrelevant to the claims in her suit. They show that Johnson knew she did not have sufficient evidence to sustain her claims. As for the well-reported rape comments that Martinez made at the Miami meeting, WPP and JWT cited 16 statements filed with the court from agency executives attending the meeting, who declared they did not view the comments as racist, sexist or offensive as Johnson has characterized them to be. The companies also stated that Martinez was talking hypothetically in an attempt at humor about himself being the victim of rape and that he was not condoning such activity. As to Johnsons claims of unwanted touching by Martinez, the companies countered that she does not allege that Martinezs touching was based on her gender or that he touched her in a sexual or suggestive manner. The motion contends that Martinez was known for showing displays of affection around the office with hugs for both men and women, which Johnson promoted and publicized in the JWT newsletters that she called Hug Reports. Bottom line, the firms argued, Martinezs sporadic use of terms like rape and sex are not sufficient conduct to sustain a hostile work environment claim. In sum it is clear that every move on Plaintiffs part, starting with the filing of a Complaint with allegations that are in part irrelevant to her, distorted and fabricated, was designed to make a splash with the media. Defendants cited the widely reported rape joke video, a redacted version of which Johnson filed with the courts public file and the uploaded to Vimeo for further public access, demonstrating her desire to try this case in the press and attempt to intentionally harm JWT. Drones and healthcare may sound like an unusual partnership, but in an effort to improve the access to vital medications, vaccines, and blood supplies, a new project in Rwanda will take to the skies in a bid to use drones to deliver essential medical supplies to remote regions of the country. Share on Pinterest Drones are set to deliver essential medical supplies to remote regions of Rwanda. Image credit: Zipline Inc. In a joint partnership between Rwandas Ministry of Health, Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), and Zipline an autonomous robotics company based in San Francisco, CA a new national drone delivery network is due to launch this summer, delivering blood supplies to remote and hard-to-access regions across Rwanda. The project will also test the suitability of drones for the delivery of a wider range of medical products and vaccines. The project has been backed by global delivery and logistics giant UPS through its global citizenship arm, the UPS Foundation. It will initially involve Zipline establishing a small launching hub for a fleet of 15 autonomous drones. When a patient needs a blood transfusion, antibiotics, or vaccines, a doctor, nurse, or health center technician will send Zipline a text message and a drone will airdrop the needed supplies within 30 minutes. The drone will send a message to the health center when it is 2 minutes away, and the package, equipped with a parachute, will fall slowly to the ground. The aircraft would then return to the launch hub. Our mission is to deliver critical medical products to hospitals and health centers that are basically unreachable with standard modes of transportation. Patients frequently die because of lack of access to a basic medical product that exists in a central warehouse 75 kilometres away but cant make it out that final mile to the person who needs it. Keller Rinaudo, Zipline co-founder and CEO Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, said: It is a totally different way of delivering vaccines to remote communities and we are extremely interested to learn if UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] can provide a safe, effective way to make vaccines available for some of the hardest-to-reach children. A study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases presents a cost-effectiveness tool that can help guide decisions regarding resource allocation to fund interventions targeted at curtailing the ongoing Zika virus outbreak. Analyses using the tool suggest that proposed funds to combat Zika in the US and other countries would be cost-effective, based on quantification of the serious health conditions associated with Zika infection. The tool, freely available at http://zika.cidma.us/, can be used to interrogate a range of scenarios, and can be adjusted as we learn more about how the virus causes disease and the effectiveness of ways to prevent and treat infections. Cost-effectiveness analyses evaluate a public intervention according to the gain it can have for society and its cost in dollars. A common measure for the gain in health for society is a unit called the DALY, or disability-adjusted life year, which takes into account not only the lives that are saved by a given intervention but also the improved health that people enjoy if the intervention prevents them from getting sick. WHO considers an intervention "cost-effective" if the cost per DALY gained is less than three times the amount of per capita GDP (gross domestic product) of the country in question. To build their tool, Alison Galvani, from Yale University in New Haven, USA, and colleagues focused on the two known serious consequences of Zika infection: microcephaly, a condition in which children are born with a small brain causing mental impairment, and Guillain-Barre syndrome or GBS, a potentially fatal disease that can cause neural damage and paralysis. The research team calculated the risks for both conditions based on latest information from the current Zika outbreaks in Brazil and Colombia. The researchers estimated that between 50 and 210 out of every 10,000 mothers who are infected with Zika will deliver a child with microcephaly. For GBS, between 2 and 8 of every 10,000 people infected with Zika are estimated to experience this complication. The study predicts that if 40% of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean become infected with Zika, there could be more than 22,000 babies born with microcephaly and up to 204,000 cases of GBS. In previous Zika outbreaks in Micronesia and Polynesia, more than 66% of the population became infected with Zika. The researchers applied their tool to evaluate the health impact that funds committed or proposed to combat Zika would need to achieve in order to be cost-effective. They specifically considered funds pledged by Brazil, Costa Rica, and the US. For the US, they analyzed President Obama's request of $1.8 billion to combat Zika virus internationally. The President asked Congress for approval back in February, but no funds have yet been allocated and the request is still under consideration. Specific sections of the plan, such as the amount proposed to aid Puerto Rico in combatting Zika and the amount proposed for vaccine development were analyzed and found to be cost-effective if they achieved even modest reductions in the number of Zika infections in the context of the predicted size of the epidemic. One of the few examples that were deemed as not cost-effective under certain circumstances was the use of genetically modified male mosquitoes that mate with wild female mosquitoes and do not produce offspring. The technology is estimated to cost $1.9 million for the first year and $384,000 every year after for a city of 50,000 inhabitants. The researchers found that for some resource-limited countries like El Salvador or Nicaragua, the number of Zika infections that would have to be prevented in order for the intervention to be cost-effective is higher than the entire population of the city. In other countries that have relatively low birth rates, such as Cuba or Thailand, very few pregnant women are at risk and thus the expected number of microcephaly cases is so low that release of the genetically modified mosquitoes would not be cost-effective either. There are, however, other countries such as Panama, which have the right combination of GDP and birth rate to make this new technology a good investment in preventing Zika infections. "Our interactive application (http://zika.cidma.us/)", the researchers say, "provides a flexible tool for informing public health policy via a rigorous cost-benefit analysis of available options". The tool is already being used by the Costa Rican Ministry of Health. They conclude that "given the potentially high health burden of Zika, the cost of inaction - or even insufficient action - may warrant significant expenditure". This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH U01 GM087719 and U01 GM105627). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Article: A Cost-Effectiveness Tool for Informing Policies on Zika Virus Control, Alison P. Galvani, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004743, published 20 May 2016. A new step in cancer immunotherapy: researchers from the University of Oslo/Oslo University Hospital and the Netherlands Cancer Institute show that even if one's own immune cells cannot recognize and fight their tumors, someone else's immune cells might. Their proof-of-principle study is published in the journal Science on May 19th. The extremely rapidly developing field of cancer immunotherapy aims to create technologies that help the body's own immune system to fight cancer. There are a number of possible causes that can prevent the immune system from controlling cancer cells. First, the activity of immune cells is controlled by many 'brakes' that can interfere with their function, and therapies that inactivate these brakes are now being tested in many human cancers. As a second reason, in some patients the immune system may not recognize aberrancies in the cancer cells. As such, helping the immune system to better recognize cancer cells is one of the main focuses in cancer immunotherapy. Ton Schumacher of the Netherlands Cancer Institute and Johanna Olweus of the University of Oslo/Oslo University Hospital decided to test whether a 'borrowed immune system' could 'see' the cancer cells of patients as aberrant. The recognition of aberrant cells is carried out by immune cells called T cells. All T cells in our body scan the surface of other cells, including cancer cells, to check whether they display any protein fragments on their surface that should not be there. Upon recognition of such foreign protein fragments, T cells kill the aberrant cells. As cancer cells harbor faulty proteins, they can also display foreign protein fragments - also known as neo-antigens - on their surface, much in the way virus-infected cells express fragments of viral proteins. To address whether the T cells of a patient react to the foreign protein fragments on cancer cells, the research teams first mapped all possible neo-antigens on the surface of melanoma cells from three different patients. In all 3 patients, the cancer cells seemed to display a large number of different neo-antigens. But when the researchers tried to match these to the T cells derived from within the patient's tumors, most of these aberrant protein fragments on the tumor cells went unnoticed. Next, they tested whether the same neo-antigens could be seen by T-cells derived from healthy volunteers. Strikingly, these donor-derived T cells could detect a significant number of neo-antigens that had not been seen by the patients' T cells. "In a way, our findings show that the immune response in cancer patients can be strengthened; there is more on the cancer cells that makes them foreign that we can exploit. One way we consider doing this is finding the right donor T cells to match these neo-antigens.", says Ton Schumacher. "The receptor that is used by these donor T-cells can then be used to genetically modify the patient's own T cells, so these will be able to detect the cancer cells". "Our study shows that the principle of outsourcing cancer immunity to a donor is sound." Says Johanna Olweus "However, more work needs to be done before patients can benefit from this discovery. We are currently exploring high-throughput methods to identify the neo-antigens that T cells can 'see' on cancer cells and to isolate the responding cells. But the results showing that we can create cancer-specific immunity from the blood of healthy individuals are already very promising for the development of new precision immunotherapeutic strategies." The research was performed within the K.G.Jebsen Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, at the University of Oslo/ Oslo University Hospital and The Netherlands Cancer Institute. New evidence for the clinical efficacy of cannabis therapy is presented in the latest issue of the Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology (JBCPP), a De Gruyter publication. The authors have studied cannabis therapy for many years at international research centers, examining its effects, potential applications, and risks. In his article, Raphael Mechoulam, a highly respected pioneer in the field of cannabis research, provides an overview of research projects and clinical trials undertaken recently at Israeli universities and hospitals on the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). After presenting evidence that cannabinoids are useful for treating a broad range of conditions - including Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, and gastrointestinal illnesses such as Crohn's disease - Mechoulam calls for more extensive clinical trials. In her article, the Canadian researcher Mary E. Lynch, a leader in the field of alternative pain therapy, explains that 25 of 30 randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that cannabinoids have analgesic effects. These findings are of particular interest for the development of new pain therapies, because demographic change and increasing life expectancy will lead to greater numbers of patients with chronic pain. The other articles in the journal address various topics, including how the body's endogenous cannabinoid system can be influenced to treat anxiety disorders (Irit Akirav), kidney diseases (Joseph Tam), glaucoma (Melany Kelly) and traumatic brain injury (Mann and Shohami). The recent legalization of cannabis for medical purposes in some US states has reinvigorated the debate over cannabis in Germany. Support for medical cannabis has been rising in Germany. Legislators recently passed a law that will enable severely ill patients who lack treatment alternatives to get dried cannabis flowers and cannabis extracts from pharmacies with a prescription from their doctor. The law will go into effect in the spring of 2017. Convinced that treatment with cannabinoids can have more benefits than risks, a growing number of physicians and pharmacologists have been making calls for more clinical research as well as broader use of medical cannabis. Special Issue: Cannabinoids in Health and Disease, Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology (JBCPP), Volume 27, Issue 3 (May 2016). The discovery of penicillin has led to a sharp decline of syphilis around the world, except in Africa. In a new study, Prof. Chris Kenyon of the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) describes the different rates of decline of syphilis around the world. This week the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) also published its latest figures on syphilis in Europe. With the exception of the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, the 12 countries where 5% or more of pregnant women still have syphilis, are all Sub-Saharan African countries. Liberia (11.8%), Malawi (10.1%) and Somalia (8.7%) head this sad list. Prof. Chris Kenyon and his colleagues at the ITM investigated the reasons and reflect on what can be learned from the way syphilis evolved over the years. The study was published on 11 May in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. In the paper, Prof. Kenyon draws the history of syphilis and its dramatic decline worldwide after World War II, when penicillin became widely available. Unfortunately, the same does not hold true for Sub-Saharan Africa which still has more cases than anywhere else. 6% of pregnant women in Southern Africa have syphilis Prof. Kenyon used data on syphilis from routine testing of pregnant women since 1918. These data are more representative of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) within sexually active populations than overall detection rates, in which high-risk groups are often overrepresented. In most of the countries studied, the number of pregnant women with syphilis had already decreased to less than 1% before the advent of penicillin. In Southern and Eastern Africa, on the other hand, the prevalence remained about 6%, 50 years after the introduction of the antibiotic. Sexual networks promoted STDs until they were dissolved by the AIDS epidemic Prof. Kenyon's research suggests that during the period 1990-1999, the height of the AIDS epidemic, and in 2008, syphilis rates dropped very sharply in a number of countries where it was still prevalent. That is partly due to the systematic approach in managing STDs and changes in sexual behaviour. A further crucial factor, however, was that sexual networks were shattered when scores of people died of AIDS. Despite a fall in syphilis rates in Africa following the AIDS epidemic, the number of pregnant women with syphilis was still significantly higher in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1990s and in 2008. With the exception of the geographic location, no other associations were found The scientists also investigated whether there were any links between the prevalence of syphilis and factors such as access to effective detection and treatment, health care spending and gross domestic product per capita. No such links were found. The only clear correlation was with the geographic location: i.e. Sub-Saharan Africa. Syphilis, HSV-2 and HIV In previous papers the researchers demonstrated a strong correlation between syphilis, herpes simplex virus - 2, and HIV prevalence. In other words, syphilis and herpes rates from before the HIV epidemic predicted which countries would go on to experience severe HIV epidemics. "In order to reduce the threat of syphilis, herpes and HIV in Southern Africa, more work needs to be done to determine the common risk factors that enable the three sexually transmitted diseases to spread easily in some populations but not in others. Because herpes is an incurable condition it is implausible that differing treatment capabilities are responsible.. The available evidence suggests that the densely interconnected sexual networks in some regions are a more plausible explanation," said Prof. Chris Kenyon. Figures released this week by the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) show that syphilis is on the rise across Europe, including in Belgium, mostly among men who have sex with men (MSM). Belgium, which has a sentinel surveillance system, reported 1238 cases in 2014, compared to 1030 in 2013 and 778 in 2012. To put things into perspective: while Belgium reports 1238 cases on a total population of around 11,2 million, some countries in Southern Africa have more than five cases of syphilis for every 100 inhabitants. "Here in Belgium we see less fear for HIV and more high-risk sexual behaviour, especially among subpopulations of men who have sex with men. However, better screening might also have an impact on the syphilis figures. The key message remains that safe sex is of the essence," said Kenyon. Article: The Global Epidemiology of Syphilis in the Past Century - A Systematic Review Based on Antenatal Syphilis Prevalence, Chris Richard Kenyon, Kara Osbak, Achilleas Tsoumanis, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004711, published 11 May 2016. Advertisement The researchers identified five genes which play a role in controlling the shape of specific facial features. DCHS2, RUNX2, GLI3 and PAX1 affect the width and pointiness of the nose and another gene - EDAR - affects chin protrusion."Few studies have looked at how normal facial features develop and those that have only looked at European populations, which show less diversity than the group we studied. What we've found are specific genes which influence the shape and size of individual features, which hasn't been seen before."Finding out the role each gene plays helps us to piece together the evolutionary path from Neanderthal to modern humans. It brings us closer to understanding how genes influence the way we look, which is important for forensics applications," said the first author of the report, Dr Kaustubh Adhikari, UCL Cell & Developmental Biology."It has long been speculated that the shape of the nose reflects the environment in which humans evolved. For example, the comparatively narrower nose of Europeans has been proposed to represent an adaptation to a cold, dry climate. Identifying genes affecting nose shape provides us with new tools to examine this question, as well as the evolution of the face in other species. It may also help us understand what goes wrong in genetic disorders involving facial abnormalities," explained Professor Andre Ruiz-Linares UCL Biosciences, who led the study.The team collected and analyzed DNA samples from 6,630 volunteers from the CANDELA cohort recruited in Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru. After an initial screen, a sample size of 5,958 was used. This group included individuals of mixed European (50%), Native American (45%) and African (5%) ancestry, resulting in a large variation in facial features.Both men and women were assessed for 14 different facial features and whole genome analysis identified the genes driving differences in appearance. A subgroup of 3,000 individuals had their features assessed using a 3D reconstruction of the face in order to obtain exact measurements of facial features and the results identified the same genes.The study identified genes that are involved in bone and cartilage growth and the development of the face. GLI3, DCHS2 and PAX1 are all genes known to drive cartilage growth - GLI3 gave the strongest signal for controlling the breadth of nostrils, DCHS2 was found to control nose 'pointiness' and PAX1 also influences nostril breadth. RUNX2 which drives bone growth was seen to control nose bridge width.The genes GLI3, DCHS2 and RUNX2 are known to show strong signals of recent selection in modern humans compared to archaic humans such as Neanderthals and Denisovans; GLI3 in particular undergoing rapid evolution.Source: Eurekalert Advertisement 84 percent among all obstructive lung disease patients 210 percent among those with COPD only 55 percent among those who had both COPD and asthma "We know that COPD and asthma are risk factors for NTM PD. We also know that inhaled steroids can increase the risk of pneumonia in COPD patients," said lead investigator Sarah K. Brode, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, noting that only a small Danish study had previously looked at ICS and NTM PD.Among current ICS users, researchers in the current study found a statistically significant increase in NTM of:The researchers adjusted all results for potential confounders, including comorbidities, age, rurality of their residence and medications associated with NTM, such as anti-rheumatism drugs.They did not find a statistically significant link between current ICS use and asthma. Nor did they find an association between previous ICS use and NTM in obstructive lung disease patients.Study results included five inhaled steroids then in use in Ontario. Fluticasone was the most widely prescribed of the five, and researchers found a statistically significant association between the drug and NTM PD. Researchers did not find a statistically significant association between budesonide, the second most commonly prescribed drug.Dr. Brode speculates the difference between the two drugs may be explained by their potency. "Often people using fluticasone are using the highest dose, and the highest dose of fluticasone is a lot more potent than the highest dose of budesonide," she said. "Although one cannot be certain, I don't think it's something innate in the molecules themselves."In support of her hypothesis, Dr. Brode also noted the study's finding of a strong dose-response relationship between incident NTM and cumulative ICS dose over one year. Those receiving a high dose were two to nearly three times as likely to have NTM PD, while those receiving a low dose were only slightly more likely to develop NTM than those not taking an ICS.Dr. Brode said the take home message for physicians should be to minimize the dose of ICS they prescribe to their patients with COPD and asthma patients. "Patients with mild to moderate COPD with infrequent flare-ups may not need an ICS at all," she said. "On the other hand, the benefits of ICS outweigh the risks for asthma patients, except for those with the mildest symptoms." In all patients using ICS, Dr. Brode added, doctors should be alert to the symptoms of NTM PD.Source: Newswise Please complete this form and we'll send you a personalised information that is requested You may use this for your own reference or forward it to your friends. Please use the information prudently. If you are not a medical doctor please remember to consult your healthcare provider as this information is not a substitute for professional advice. Thank you for reading! To read this article and more, subscribe now for as little as $1.99. Advertisement This procedure isn't new-at least not in general surgery. Surgeons have used the method to promote healing for decades. It wasn't until 2008 that researchers in Germany used this method for GI wounds. Then, in 2013, surgeons at Baylor tried the procedure on a patient who had exhausted all other options for treating an esophageal leak.By using the tried-and-true method for treating surgical wounds inside the body, researchers were able to effectively patch the hole, stop the leakage and heal patients who were otherwise too sick for surgery."It actually works really well," Dr. Leeds said. "It's probably changed the face of how surgeons take care of wounds." He added, "We have been able to rescue patients from hospice, accept patients from other hospitals who have had major surgical complications and use this technique in ways it's never been described before. In all these situations, the patients have had good outcomes and restored their ability to eat when they hadn''t been able to in the past."Since 2013, Dr. Leeds and fellow gastroenterologists on the medical staff at Baylor University Medical Center have performed this procedure on 46 patients, published a paper in Surgical Endoscopy (with one more pending) and presented the E-Vac method at three conferences. Most recently, Dr. Leeds discussed successes with this procedure at the North Texas Chapter - American College of Surgeons 2016 Annual Meeting.In the paper printed inin August 2015, Dr. Leeds reported the effects of E-Vac therapy in patients with upper intestinal leaks. Ultimately, he and his team treated a total of six patients using this method, and all six patients were completely healed in an average of 36 days. For a surgical complication that can result in death, a success rate this high shows promise, Dr. Leeds said."The outcomes have been remarkable," he said. "It''s very exciting. This is truly a novel approach to healing GI perforations and leaks from surgery."Currently, gastroenterologists on the medical staff at Baylor Scott & White are creating a registry of patients who have been treated with E-Vac therapy and hope to use this data to know more about the effects and uses of this procedure. Doctors also hope to develop an algorithm to treat more complicated leaks and introduce the method to other areas of surgery, such as transplant, thoracic and trauma.Source: Newswise Advertisement The findings come out of research published in the latest issue of theby Semanchin Jones, with her colleague Barbara Rittner, UB associate professor of social work, and Melissa Affronti of Coordinated Care Services Inc., a human service agency in upstate New York.Services are available for children to help them maintain their placements and this study, she says, complements that approach by providing important insights that highlight strategies foster parents use to successfully transition children in new placements. The researchers conducted interviews and focus groups with 35 experienced foster parents to explore how they contributed to a 'functional adaptation' that helped their children transition successfully and sustain their placements."This study really speaks to helping to make sure that foster parents are well prepared," says Semanchin Jones. "Every jurisdiction has pre-service trainings, but our research shows the need for ongoing support once kids are in foster homes." There is a nearly 50% turnover rate of foster parents and nearly 90% of children in foster care experience at least one disruption, according to Semanchin Jones."When we think about kids who have already been removed from their homes of origin, placement disruption can be a re-traumatizing experience," she says. Research also shows that children who experience frequent disruptions tend to have poor psychosocial outcomes." Even kids who didn't come into foster homes with behavior problems end up having both internalizing behaviors like suicidal ideations and externalizing aggressive behaviors such as physical aggression," she says.This can set up a perpetuating cycle of instability for children as their continuing poor behaviors force each new set of foster parents to request the child be moved to a different placement. Foster parents also need to understand the multiple dimensions of foster care created by the existence of a foster family, a birth family and the child."Foster parents should be respectful in honoring the birth family," says Semanchin Jones. "That can be difficult because not every situation is going smoothly, but kids have multiple senses of loyalty and foster parents should not be talking down about the birth family." Showing foster parents research that identifies what's important also can help a child's transition, she says."Our research can really help child welfare agencies. Those agencies that are responsible for licensing foster homes and training foster parents can use this information in an ongoing way," says Semanchin Jones. "Foster parents need to know there are areas for continued improvement: skills building-pieces. Some of these things may come naturally to foster parents, but it doesn't mean you can't build capacity."Source: Eurekalert Advertisement Both C-Tb and the IGRA had a specificity of 97 percent. C-Tb was highly concordant to IGRA in 95 percent of study participants. The specificity of C-Tb, unlike the TST, was not impacted by the BCG vaccine, the partially effective vaccine that many residents in the developing world receive. TST specificity in this group was only 62 percent. The sensitivity of C-Tb was comparable to the IGRA in confirmed TB cases (77 percent vs. 81 percent), indicating similar abilities to detect infection. Among participants with HIV, the ability of all three tests to detect TB infection was diminished, though the C-Tb appeared more robust in HIV-infected participants with low CD4 T cell counts. Among children under 5, C-Tb was comparable with the other two tests in identifying those infected. The TST is the most commonly used test to detect TB infection, with about 50 million tests worldwide each year, according to the World Health Organization. The test is easy to administer but produces too many false positives to achieve the WHO's goal of reducing TB deaths by 95 percent and new cases by 90 percent by 2035, Dr. Ruhwald said.Introduced a decade ago, IGRAs have high specificity, producing few false positives, but require blood samples and complicated lab work, which has limited their widespread use. There is also a dramatic price difference between the two diagnostic tests. According to Dr. Ruhwald, a TST costs about $2; an IGRA is 20 to 40 times more expensive depending on setting.In the first clinical trial, Dr. Ruhwald and colleagues conducted a double-blinded study of C-Tb in 979 participants enrolled at 13 clinical trial sites in Spain. Participants, all adults, ranged in TB status from presumed uninfected through intermediate and high risk of latent TB to active disease.Researchers found:In the second double-blinded trial, researchers were primarily concerned with testing how accurate C-Tb was in HIV-positive patients and in young children-populations in which the accuracy of the TST and the IGRA is known to be compromised. The study, conducted in South Africa, enrolled 1,090 participants, including 299 patients with HIV and 402 children as young as 28 days.Researchers found:Dr. Ruhwald said another advantage of C-Tb is that the measurement of infection, a 5mm or larger induration, is universal across patients with different risk factors, including HIV infection. With TST, the size of the induration is often adjusted to increase its accuracy in measuring infection in different patient populations. Regulatory approval for C-Tb is currently being sought and Statens Serum Institute is actively seeking a commercial partner for marketing of C-Tb. The cost of a C-Tb test is to be determined; however, it is expected to be significantly less than an IGRA.Source: Newswise Introduction In recent years, Singapore has not been immune to the influence of global jihadism, especially with the self-radicalization of Muslim youths in favor of the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda. In March 2016, Singaporean Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam announcing a counter-terrorism strategy for Singapore, noted: "As many as 1,000 people from Southeast Asia - mainly Indonesians and Malaysians who 'are willing to die' - have travelled to Syria or Iraq to join ISIS and some of them have joined the ranks of Katibah Nusantara, an ISIS combat unit led by Southeast Asians and made up exclusively of Malay-speaking fighters."[1] The jihadi threat to Singapore - neighbor to Malaysia and Indonesia - originated mainly from Jema'ah Al-Islamiyyah, the Indonesian terror group responsible for many attacks, including the Bali bombing of 2002.[2] More recently, the jihadi threat in the Southeast Asian countries has been growing, more so after the emergence of ISIS. In a paper published by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) in September 2014, this writer noted an increasing trend of Muslim youths self-radicalizing in favor of ISIS in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, as well as in South Asia.[3] Calls were made from Indonesian prisons for youths to offer bay'ah (oath of allegiance) to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, and local youths from Southeast and South Asia went to Syria to join the Islamic State.[4] Singapore is a multicultural city state where the main spoken languages include English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil, while the key religions followed by its residents are Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism.[5] While Singaporean citizens have been arrested over connections with ISIS, the threat to the city-state emanates mainly from non-Singaporean youths who arrive to work. Singapore is acutely aware of jihad-related developments in its neighboring countries, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia. Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam also noted that in 2015 Malaysia foiled seven terror plots and arrested more than 100 people with suspected links to ISIS, but, significantly, the suspects included "government officials such as commandos, police officers and civil servants."[6] The jihadi threat to Singapore, as discussed below, remains current. This paper reviews some of the latest developments involving jihadi suspects, both locals and expatriates, in Singapore, insofar as these shed light on the present situation. Some noticeable trends are the following: 1) jihadis attempt to use Singapore as a transit route to reach Turkey, with Syria being their final destination; 2) jihadis radicalize youths on Singaporean territory to carry out attacks abroad; and 3) Singaporean youths are also susceptible to jihadi teachings and did join the Islamic State. 27 Bangladeshi terror suspects detained by Singapore (image: thedailystar.net) Bangladeshi Terror Suspects In January 2016, it emerged that a group of 27 male Bangladeshi workers were arrested by the authorities in Singapore for plotting jihadi activities in Bangladesh. According to a media report, "the group, which has been meeting since 2013, supported the armed jihad ideology of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)."[7] The report noted: "Of the 27, 26 were members of a closed religious study group that subscribed to extremist beliefs and teachings of radical figures like Anwar Al-Awlaki" and "The remaining man was not a member of the study group, but was discovered to have been undergoing radicalization. He supported extremist preachers and possessed jihadi-related material."[8] Twenty-six of them were deported to Bangladesh, where 14 were charged under terrorism laws.[9] In April 2016, eight young Bangladeshi men, aged 26 to 34, were detained by Singaporean officials because they were "planning to stage terror attacks back home [in Bangladesh]."[10] Their original intent was to go to Syria to join ISIS. As per the report, they "called their group the Islamic State in Bangladesh (ISB) and intended to join terror group ISIS as foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq. But as it was difficult to travel to the Middle East, they focused on returning to Bangladesh to topple their government through violent means..."[11] In May 2016, it emerged that Singapore had detained five more Bangladeshi nationals and deported them over suspected jihadi activities. After their arrival in Bangladesh, the five men were arrested under terrorism charges.[12] They were identified as Mizanur Rahman alias Ghalib Hasan, 38; Md. Rana Mia Pilot, 29; Md. Alamgir Hossain, 31; Md. Tanjimul Islam, 24; and Masud Rana alias Sontu Khan, 31. Of them, Mizanur Rahman, the ringleader, had established the Islamic State of Bangladesh (ISB).[13] A document titled "We Need for Jihad Fight," seized from Rahman, listed military targets in Bangladesh, including navy, air, border force and counter-terror officials.[14] Four Indonesians deported by Singapore: (Clockwise from top left) Untung Sugema Mardjuk. Mukhlis Koifur Rofiq, Risno and Muhammad Mufid Murtadho (Photo: Straitstimes.com) Indonesian Terror Suspects In November 2015, Singapore arrested two Indonesian youths, after it emerged that they were trying to go to Syria via Turkey to join the Islamic State.[15] The two youths were identified as Muhammad Rizka Fajri, 27, and Firman Fitrianeldi, 30. According to an Indonesian police officer, "the two men claimed that they had been offered jobs in Syria that paid a monthly wage of Rp 3 million (US$214 ) by a man they met on Facebook."[16] In February 2016, Singapore deported four Indonesian youths, including a 15-year-old, after it was suspected that they were "en route to the Middle East to join the Islamic State."[17] The four suspects, caught during transit, were identified as Muhammad Mufid Murtadho, Untung Sugema Mardjuk, Mukhlis Koifur Rofiq, and Risno. It appears that the Singaporean authorities look closely into the travel patterns of terror suspects before detaining them.[18] The four "admitted to having a personal association with known terrorist convict Aman Abdurrahman" who is imprisoned by Indonesia.[19] As per a report of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, "A total of 217 Indonesians have been detained or deported, mostly in or from Turkey, as they were linked to terrorist groups by their host countries."[20] As per the report, "200 Indonesians were found in Turkey, five in South Korea (with three people later released), three in Malaysia, two in Saudi Arabia, two in Japan (both were released) and one in Sudan, who was later released."[21] Indonesia fears that "up to 500 of its citizens have been lured to the Middle East" by ISIS.[22] Singaporean Jihadis Arrested In April-May 2015, officials in Singapore arrested two Singaporean teenagers for jihad-related activities. Of them, post-secondary student M. Arifil Azim Putra Norja'i, aged 19, is "the first known self-radicalized Singaporean to harbor the intention to carry out violent attacks in Singapore."[23] As per a report, he "had made plans to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and if he was unable to join the terrorist group there, planned to strike here [in Singapore]."[24] A second person, a 17-year-old who was not named, was detained separately over issues related with the extent of his radicalization.[25] In May 2015, Mustafa Sultan Ali, a 51-year-old Singaporean who was radicalized by the ISIS ideology, left for Syria to join the Islamic State. Ali was "was prepared to carry out ISIS-directed terrorist attacks against Western establishments in Singapore" but he was deported by Turkey and imprisoned for two years.[26] In 2015, two Singaporean nationals were detained for planning to join ISIS. Muhammad Shamin, aged 29, and Muhammed Harith Jailani, 18, were arrested in separate cases. Shamin was convicted of raising funds to travel to Syria and was jailed for three months "for inciting religious violence through pro-ISIS postings on social media."[27] Harith was radicalized through online propaganda and "harbored the intention to carry out armed jihad" for ISIS. Also, Singapore nationals who were arrested for fighting abroad included Mohammad Razif Yahya, aged 27, and Amiruddin Sawir, 53. The two were arrested "for voluntarily fighting in the sectarian conflict in Yemen."[28] A third Singaporean, Mohamed Mohideen Mohamed Jais, 25, was given a restriction order for performing armed duties in Yemen.[29] It was also revealed earlier in 2014 that a Singaporean wife and her teenage daughter and son moved with her Malaysian husband to Syria, with the son joining Jabhat Al-Nusra and the stepfather joining ISIS.[30] According to a report that emerged in March 2016, a 23-year-old naturalized Singaporean of Chinese origin, Wang Yuandongyi, had developed empathy for the sufferings of Kurds in Syria and, in order to fight ISIS, left Singapore sometime in early 2016.[31] However, due to prompt intervention by Singaporean authorities, he was turned back from his trip midway by a third country. This is a unique case of anti-ISIS radicalization, but interestingly matches some parameters with pro-ISIS radicalization - as per the Singaporean officials - as he had suffered setbacks in business, was in debt, had established communication with anti-ISIS Kurdish militia groups, and was looking for escape from personal failures.[32] Singaporean-Indian Haja Fakkurudeen (in the inset) - image courtesy: TimesofIndia.com) Indian/Singaporean Jihadis Earlier in mid-2014, it emerged that Haja Fakkurudeen, an Indian-born Singaporean national, had joined the ISIS in Syria. According to an Indian media report, Fakkurudeen, aged 37, telephoned his parents in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu "to say he was well and his dream had come true. He was now living in Syria with wife Ayesha Siddika and their three children."[33] Fakkurudeen had left India a decade ago to settle in Singapore. Fakkurudeen's case alerted Indian security officials in Tamil Nadu state, where local youths, wearing t-shirts with pro-ISIS slogans had posed for group photograph at a mosque and it was discovered that there were also attempts to recruit local Tamilian youths to join the ISIS.[34] It also emerged at that time that Singapore deported one Tamilian youth to India: Gul Mohammad Maraikar, aged 37, for "distributing 'jihadi' literature among a group of youths which included his friend Fakkurudeen."[35] Other than Fakkurudeen and his friend Gul Mohammad Maraikar, it does not appear that Singapore, which has a significant population of Tamil-speaking Indian immigrants, has detained or deported any other Indian. Singapore is surrounded by Malaysia and Indonesia, two Muslim nations affected by ISIS Conclusion Perhaps the biggest jihadi threat to the Southeast Asian region as a whole was detected in mid-2014. On July 1 of that year, a Singaporean newspaper reported: "Four new terrorist organizations aiming to establish an Islamic Caliphate in the region - called Daulah Islamiyah Nusantara and comprising Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, southern Thailand and southern Philippines - have emerged and are embarking on an aggressive recruitment drive."[36] This was a plot to establish a regional mini-caliphate in Southeast Asia but was foiled due to Malaysian intelligence. In September 2015, Professor Rohan Gunaratna, a terrorism expert based in Singapore, noted that "there are now 30 terrorist groups [that have] pledged to ISIS, including 22 in Indonesia and five in Malaysia. More than 600 people from Southeast Asia have also left to fight with ISIS militants, including over 500 Indonesians and nearly 100 known recruits from Malaysia."[37] A look at the arrests and deportations by Singapore makes it clear that the nationalities involved are Bangladeshi, Indonesian, Indian, and Singaporean. It is pertinent to mention here that while the neighboring Malaysia has been affected by ISIS and has made numerous arrests at home, it does not appear that Malaysians have been found active in Singapore, which takes the issue seriously.[38] However, the jihadi threat to Singapore remains current in 2016. But, it is equally noticeable that counter-terrorism officials in Singapore have prevented many terror attacks - which could have occurred abroad or in Singapore - by busting terror cells that sought to use Singapore as a transit route or its territory to plot attacks abroad, notably in Bangladesh. * Tufail Ahmad is Director of the MEMRI South Asia Studies Project. He is the author of Jihadist Threat To India - The Case For Islamic Reformation By An Indian Muslim. Endnotes For the past few weeks, the Saudis have been perturbed over the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) now before the U.S. Congress, which, if passed, will allow the families of victims of the September 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia over its alleged support for terrorism. On May 17, 2016, the bill was passed unanimously by the Senate; it must next be passed by the House of Representatives. The bill's passage by the Senate enraged the Saudis, as expressed in a scathing article in the Saudi government daily 'Okaz titled "Congress's Satanic Deed Opens the Gates of Hell for the World's Largest Country" and accompanied by an image of President Obama with a Star of David and the emblem of the Iranian regime on his forehead (see below). The same day, the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah published an article in a similar vein warning that JASTA would become a noose around the neck of the legislators who pass it. It should be noted that the White House opposes the bill, and that even if the House of Representatives passes it President Obama is likely to veto it. The Saudis, however, are nevertheless very concerned about it, as was evident as early as several weeks ago in a statement by Saudi Foreign Minister 'Adel Al-Jubeir, who, during a March visit to the U.S., threatened that his country would sell off $750 billion in U.S. Treasury securities and other assets so that they would not be frozen by U.S. courts.[1] Furthermore, for the past few weeks the Saudi press has been publishing articles against the bill, one of which even claimed that the U.S. itself carried out the September 11 attacks but is now blaming Saudi Arabia for them in order to pressure it.[2] The following are excerpts from the articles in 'Okaz and Al-Jazirah. Saudi Daily 'Okaz: The Bill Is A 'Satanic Deed'; The Senate Will Regret Passing It The 'Okaz article stated: "The U.S. Senate exhibited the most despicable kind of double standard, defied the [whole] world and showed contempt for international law when it passed a bill allowing families of the September 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia. This bill will change the international law regarding sovereign immunity, which has long been implemented.[3] The Senate failed to understand that, by adopting this bill, it will open many doors for harming the U.S. [itself], because this bill will enable countries that have been harmed by the U.S. to sue it for war crimes. The image that accompanies the 'Okaz article "The Senate's decision exposed the hypocrisy of the U.S. decision makers and proved that there is no justice or morality in American politics. The U.S. administration is bound to realize that the decisions of American political institutions carry a heavy economic price, which will cause the members of the Senate to regret [passing the bill]. "House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, who is the most influential Republican politician in the U.S., understands the economic damage that the U.S. will suffer if this bill is approved. He warned the Senate members not to make mistakes vis-a-vis Saudi Arabia, but Senate President Joe Biden stuck to his racist [positions] and pushed to pass this bill... House of Representatives Speaker [Ryan], who understands that the Senate is playing with fire and jeopardizing U.S.-Saudi relations, said that Congress and the U.S. administration must make sure that no mistakes are made vis-a-vis America's ally in the Middle East, but Senate President Joe Biden, whose position is hostile, incited the Senate to pass the bill. "Senate President and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden also initiated the proposal to divide Iraq into three mini-states on a sectarian and national basis... Biden's rhetoric has provoked a heated debate in the U.S. and outside it, because it contains [elements of] xenophobia and clear hostility towards Muslims. "The double standard in the U.S. policy has become clear, considering that it ignores Iran and Hizbullah, who, in documents of the U.S. Prosecutor, were convicted of perpetrating the September 11 [attacks] along with Al-Qaeda, and at the same time it levels accusations against a country that has suffered and is still suffering from terror [namely Saudi Arabia], and which spends large sums to defend the region from its dangers."[4] Saudi Columnist: The Bill may Become A Noose That Will Tighten Around America's Neck In an article published the same day in the Saudi daily Al-Jazira, columnist Fadhel Bin Sa'd Al-Bu'aynin likewise warned that "stripping countries of their [sovereign] immunity and allowing them to be sued will open the gates of hell for the Americans themselves." He added: "This bill... could be a hangman's noose that will tighten around the neck of its legislator [i.e., America], because the known issues of terror have an intelligence aspect in which Western intelligence apparatuses take part. This, in addition to the state terror that is currently described as intervention [aimed at] protecting peoples, rescuing them and imposing democracy, but is [actually] nothing but interference aimed at destroying countries and peoples, toppling their governments and stealing their resources. One day, this law will be used to sue all those who who caused the destruction of Iraq, Syria and Libya and spread terror organizations in them, and everyone who planned to destroy Egypt, Jordan and Morocco. The monster will rise up against its creator..."[5] Endnotes: On May 11, the Bangladeshi government executed Motiur Rahman Nizami, the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, for war crimes during the War of Liberation from Pakistan in 1971, which led to secession of Bangla-speaking East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. During the nine-month War of Liberation, Pakistani military and pro-Pakistan Islamist militias led by Jamaat-e-Islami engaged in the killing of up to 3,000,000 Bangla-speaking people, systematically killings their intellectuals, and raping up to 400,000 women. The Pakistani Foreign Office has condemned Nizami's execution, stating: "Pakistan is deeply saddened over the hanging of the emir of Jamaat-i-Islami Bangladesh, Mr Motiur Rahman Nizami, for the alleged crimes committed before December 1971. His only sin was upholding the constitution and laws of Pakistan."[1] Pakistan has also declared that it will raise the issue at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and other such forums.[2] The Islamist government of Turkey has also condemned the Jamaat-e-Islami chief's execution. According to a Turkish media report, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "I condemn the mentality that sentences to death a mujahid, who is over the age of 70 and who we believe has no earthly sin."[3] Turkey subsequently recalled its ambassador to Dhaka to protest the execution as well.[4] Following are excerpts from a Bangladeshi media report shedding light on the life and role of Motiur Rahman Nizami during the Liberation War:[5] At one point, the executed Jamaat-e-Islami leader served as a minister. "[Motiur Rahman Nizami], Aided By The Pakistan Army, Unleashed His Ruthless Force To Wipe Out The Brightest Minds Of The Soil [Bangla-Speaking Authors, Poets, Writers And Intellectuals] To Rob The Newborn Nation [Bangladesh] Of Its Brain" "He [Motiur Rahman Nizami] had opposed the very notion of Bangladesh. From writing anti-liberation pieces in newspapers to instigating his fearsome gang called [pro-Pakistan militia] Al-Badr Bahini to kill unarmed civilians to directly participating in massacre, Motiur Rahman Nizami made every possible effort during the 1971 Liberation War to make sure Bangladesh never comes into being. "As these acts of cold-blooded cruelty were proving inadequate to resist the birth of the nation, the man, aided by the Pakistan Army, unleashed his ruthless force to wipe out the brightest minds of the soil [Bangla-speaking authors, poets, writers and intellectuals] to rob the newborn nation of its brain and thwart its progress on the eve of Bangalees' final victory. "'Forty-five years after his crimes against humanity, justice finally caught up with him with his hanging [in the] early hours [of] today. 'The execution of Nizami was carried out at 12:10 AM [May 11, 2016],' Jahangir Kabir, senior jail superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail, told reporters at the jail gate. Guarded by law enforcers, an ambulance carrying his body came out of the prison around 1:30 AM and headed for his village home at Santhia upazila in Pabna. "Jamaat[-e-Islami Bangladesh] condemned the hanging and called a countrywide 24-hour hartal [strike]... for what it called protesting the 'state-sponsored killing' of its leader. Various pro-liberation forces, including Gonojagoron Mancha which champions the demand for capital punishment for war criminals, hailed his hanging. 'It was as if a heavy stone was sitting on our chests. It's gone now. We feel very relieved,' Shyamoli Nasrin Choudhury, wife of martyred intellectual Dr. Alim Chaudhury, told this newspaper." "Nizami Is The Fifth War Criminal And Fourth Jamaat[-e-Islami] Leader To Have Been Hanged For War Atrocities"; "He Was Given The Death Penalty On Three Charges - Killing Of Intellectuals; Killing Of 450 People... And [The] Rape Of 30 To 40 Women" "Nizami is the fifth war criminal and fourth Jamaat[-e-Islami] leader to have been hanged for war atrocities. He committed crimes, including killing of intellectuals and mass murders in his hometown Pabna during the war. He was given the death penalty on three charges - killing of intellectuals; killing of 450 people in three Pabna villages (Bausgari, Ruposhi and Demra) and [the] rape of 30 to 40 women there; and killing of 52 people in Dhulaura village, also in Pabna. "The court also sentenced him to life imprisonment on two other charges - killing of Sohrab Ali Brishalikha village in Pabna and killing of freedom fighters Rumi, Bodi, Jewel and Azad in Dhaka's MP hostel. The execution process began after he declined to seek presidential mercy, the last option to avoid the gallows. 'Nizami did not seek presidential clemency. The order to execute the death sentence has been sent to the prison authorities,' Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told The Daily Star around 9:00pm yesterday. "The countdown to the Jamaat chief execution began after the Supreme Court dismissed his review petition.... The process of execution gained pace after the apex court... released the full text of its verdict, and sent it to the International Crimes Tribunal [set up by the Bangladeshi government] that originally tried and convicted him. The tribunal on Monday [May 9] sent the copy of the verdict to the Dhaka Central Jail, and the jail authorities read out the verdict to Nizami. "Yesterday [May 10], as the jail authorities asked him whether he would seek mercy, he replied in the negative, said jail sources. As the day rolled on, swarms of journalists and onlookers gathered near Dhaka Central Jail. Security measures around the jail were beefed up and the roads leading to the jail were blocked with barricades. Around 6:00 PM, the prison authorities asked Nizami's family to meet the death-row convict at the jail. Around 8:00 PM, three cars carrying 24 family members arrived at the jail gate. Nizami's wife, two sons and a grandchild were among them. They went in straightaway and came out at 9:30 PM." "Born On March 31, 1943... Nizami Was The President Of Jamaat's Student Wing Islami Chhatra Sangha (ICS) From 1966 To September 1971 And Ex-Officio Chief Of Al-Badr [The Pro-Pakistan Militia Named After The First Islamic War Waged By Prophet Muhammad]" "Born on March 31, 1943, in Monmothpur village in Santhia of Pabna, Nizami was the president of Jamaat's student wing Islami Chhatra Sangha (ICS) from 1966 to September 1971 and ex-officio chief of Al-Badr [the militia named after the first Islamic war waged by Prophet Muhammad]. "A cursory glance at the records of his activities during the nine-month war brings out his active collaboration with Pakistani occupation forces. At times he was seen in rallies and meetings with the then Jamaat[-Islami] Chief Ghulam Azam while at other times he was seen visiting the Mohammadpur Physical Training Institute where Jamaat[-e-Islami] and its auxiliary forces tortured intellectuals and freedom fighters. He was seen anti-liberation rallies in Pabna, Chittagong and Jessore. "He used to write articles in Dainik Sangram, the mouthpiece of Jamaat, the party that took a stance against the war. As a top leader of the ICS, he masterminded the formation of the militia that killed unarmed civilians, raped women and destroyed properties during the nine-month bloody war that saw some 30 lakh [3 million] people killed and about 2.5 lakh [250,000] women raped. Towards the end of the war, the Al-Badr Bahini committed 'crimes of serious gravity intending to demean the human civilization,' said the ICT-1 [International Crimes Tribunal-I] in its 2014 verdict. "After the war, Nizami went into hiding. He, like many other anti-liberation people, was rehabilitated after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman [the founding leader of Bangladesh] and most of his family members in 1975. He became a minister during the [rightwing Bangladesh Nationalist Party] BNP-led government's tenure between 2001 and 2006. He was arrested in August 2010, five months after the war crimes tribunal was formed on March 26 the same year. His trial took four years to complete and faced many challenges. "Finally in October 2014, the International Crimes Tribunal-1 sentenced him to death for war crimes, and the Supreme Court on January 6 this year upheld the death penalty. Nizami filed a petition with the SC [Supreme Court], seeking review of his conviction and sentences against him, but that was dismissed. Before him, Jamaat[-e-Islami] leaders Abdul Quader Mollah, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, and BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury were executed for war crimes." Endnotes: Introduction As in Egypt and Pakistan, the economy in Iran is controlled by the military elite - in this case, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is the linchpin of Khamenei's regime. The IRGC maintains control of the apparatuses of the Islamic Revolutionary regime militarily, and controls Iran's economy. For a very partial list of the IRGC's financial assets, see The Wall Street Journal, May 19, 2016.[1] This control of the economy gives the IRGC political power, even though it is not an elected political body, and even though it was prohibited from engaging in political activity by order of the founder of the regime of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The IRGC is included in the U.S. Treasury Department's list of "Iranian Entities and Individuals" under sanction "for proliferation activities and support for terrorism."[2] Therefore, any Western economic engagement with Iran comes up against the obstacle of connections, whether direct or indirect, with the IRGC - thus stopping Western banks and other institutions from engaging economically with Iran. Khamenei himself, who recognized the gravity of this situation following the July 2015 JCPOA agreement, has demanded that the agreement not be viewed as a solution to Iran's economic woes, because he realizes that reintegrating Iran into the global economy would require structural changes inside Iran and primarily stripping the IRGC of its control of the economy . Therefore, Khamenei is pushing for economic development that does not rely on West-related economic cooperation and investment, but rather is based on what he calls "the resistance economy," Which means keeping the IRGC in control of the country's economy. Iran's ideological camp sees the economic approach of Rohani's government as betraying the Islamic Revolution. It also views supporters of the JCPOA as U.S. agents working to dismantle the foundations of the regime, including its main revolutionary apparatus, the IRGC. For more on the struggle between the two camps over the role and status of the IRGC, see MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 1097, in Appendix to this document. Pragmatic camp leader Hashemi Rafsanjani, who represents the free private sector in Iran's economy, has, along with President Rohani, been demanding for years that Iran's private sector be made central to the country's economy, and that economic reforms be based on it. Rafanjani and Rohani are asking that Iran be allowed to reap the benefits of the JCPOA in the form of foreign investments in Iran freely, and therefore seek to at least transform the IRGC into a transparent and taxable body that does not enjoy preferential status and does not have any monopoly on any sector of the economy. At a January 4, 2015 conference titled "Iran's Economy," Rohani said: "Our economy is more political than purely financial, and every time that this or that organization [meaning the IRGC] is demanded to pay taxes, they raise hell. But this government does not fear [them] and continues its work. The economy cannot advance [when the IRGC maintains a] monopoly. The economy must be rescued from the [IRGC] monopoly and made competitive. All apparatuses must transparently declare their economic activity, and the entire people must be aware of these facts and figures. How can we progress economically when there is corruption? We must fight the corruption."[3] The ongoing conflict between the two camps over the form of Iran's economy is in fact an existential political battle for control of the country. The implementation of the above demands would push the IRGC out of the political arena, and would hand the pragmatic camp another victory vis-a-vis the ideological camp. In a May 16, 2016 article on the Atlantic Council website, Barbara Slavin, acting director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center, clarified the Western demands that "Iran must clean up its banking sector, push the IRGC out of the economy, and stop funding groups that are on the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist organizations." In face of these demands which are meant to help the pragmatic camp and fundamentally transform Iran, Slavin proposed a number of ways in which the U.S. administration could circumvent these demands, there by supporting the ideological camp and maintaining the rule of the supreme leader khamenei and his camp. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry too attempted, in talks with European banks, to persuade them to circumvent the American demands and American law, but was unsuccessful.[4] *A. Savyon is Director of MEMRI's Iran Media Project; Y. Carmon is President of MEMRI. APPENDIX: MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 1097 : The Power Struggle Between Khamenei And His Camp And Rafsanjani And His Camp - Part X.1: In Clash Over The IRGC's Role, Rohani Says Armed Forces Must Not Interfere In Politics, IRGC Commander Ja'fari Says IRGC Stands Fast Against Those Who Aspire To Spark Fitna By: Y. Mansharof, E. Kharrazi, Y. Lahat and A. Savyon* Introduction On Iran's Army Day, April 18, 2014, Iranian President Hassan Rohani launched an attack on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), calling on it to stay out of politics. His speech triggered responses from senior IRGC commanders and officials who emphasized the importance of the IRGC and discussed its place in Iranian society and the Islamic regime. They also stated that the IRGC was needed to stand against all those who seek to spark fitna, i.e. popular unrest. This paper is the first in a series discussing the escalation of the power struggle between the two political camps in Iran.[5] The following are the main points of Rohani's speech and of the responses to it by the IRGC. Rohani In Army Day Speech: The Armed Forces Must Not Interfere In Politics In his speech for Iran's Army Day, April 18, 2014, Iranian President Hassan Rohani challenged both Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He called on the IRGC to adhere to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's "Political and Divine Testament" and to stay out of politics, and implicitly criticized Khamenei for allowing the IRGC to become involved in politics and for having made them into a political force with economic clout in addition to a military force. In addition to challenging the IRGC and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Rohani hinted that the IRGC should not be involved in the suppression of any civil uprising or revolution in Iran. Continuing the tradition of his political mentor Hashemi Rafsanjani, Rohani stressed that the regime's strength emanates first and foremost from the people's votes - that is, the democratic value of the people's sovereignty supersedes both the Rule of the Jurisprudent and military power. In response to the IRGC's claim that it is the defender of the regime and the anchor of stability in the region, Rohani stressed that it is the Iranian Army that plays these roles. He said: "The Iranian army [i.e. as opposed to the IRGC] has always shown that it implements the testament of the Imam [Khomeini], who ordered 'the armed forces not to interfere in politics.' The army forces [as opposed to the IRGC] are fully aware of political issues, and they should have such awareness. But they will never interfere in political advocacy and in political games. The army [as opposed to the IRGC] has never demanded a role in the nation and in the government elected by the people." Rohani clarified to the IRGC how it should be acting: "It is Iran's armed forces that [must] always stand alongside the people, as the popular armed forces are defending the security of the state in the path that the people want... In the 30-odd years since the revolution [Iran] has never had a military government... The transfer of power in the country has always taken place without rage or violence, and in a lawful manner... The army is strong and disciplined in all areas..." Rohani did not stop at criticizing the status of the IRGC, but went on to underline that the elements that are today waging the struggle against the superpowers in the international arena and defending the interests of Iran are "the diplomatic forces and the officers in the peace arena," who he said are "conducting the political struggle via negotiations with the superpowers" - not the IRGC. Rohani also raised the issue of corruption in the IRGC, comparing it unfavorably with the army, which he said is "disciplined in all areas"; "in financial matters," he said, "the army records the expenditure of every riyal."[6] IRGC Officials Respond To Rohani: Standing Fast Against Those Seeking To Spark Fitna (i.e. Popular Unrest) Is An IRGC Duty President Rohani's statements were perceived by IRGC officials as an attempt to undermine their status. IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Ja'fari and other prominent officers responded by emphasizing that the IRGC had been established to defend the regime and its religious principles from domestic threats. They clarified that this is why it had a duty to act against any government that deviates from the values of the regime and against any attempt by the enemies of the regime, within or without, to change it by means of a velvet revolution. They also stressed that the IRGC had always stood alongside and supported the people, in contrast to Rohani's attempt to depict it as acting against the people. IRGC Commander: "The [IRGC's] Mission And Duty Is To Preserve The Revolution And The Regime Of The Islamic Republic On All Fronts" A few days after Rohani's speech, at a press conference, IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Ja'fari gave a comprehensive defense speech addressing all aspects of IRGC activity and attacking the pragmatic Rafsanjani-Rohani camp. Ja'fari said that all over the world, revolutions collapse after a decade or two, but that in Iran the Islamic Revolution was entering its 36th year thanks to "the revolutionary institution of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, [established] to preserve and advance the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic regime. The [IRGC's] mission and duty is to preserve the revolution and the regime of the Islamic Republic on all fronts." He said that "several circles" had in the past sown doubt regarding the need for the IRGC, but that Leader Khamenei had fought them: "As we have seen, in 1999 [hinting at the suppression of extensive student unrest in Tehran] the Leader [Khamenei] came out strongly against this sowing of doubt, and emphasized the need for the continuing existence of the IRGC, for the continuation and advancement of the regime. Today too, the IRGC is standing against the attacks and the persistent opposition by the enemies of the revolution and of the regime, and it is by virtue of its activity that the achievements of the revolution are being preserved." Explaining the deep connection between the IRGC and the people, which he said President Rohani was trying to undermine, he noted: "The raison d'etre of the IRGC is supporting the people and being connected to the people... and if we list two or three special traits and characteristics of the IRGC, without a doubt one of them will be its connection to the people... The philosophy of the way in which the IRGC connects to the people is that the Islamic Revolution is meaningless without the people, and without the desires, the support, and the belief of the people. Accordingly, when the Islamic Revolution is so closely identified with the people and with its support and backing, how can the IRGC stand against the people? It is paradoxical to depict the IRGC as not connected to the people. All the IRGC's missions are linked to the people, and the IRGC cannot carry out its significant role without the people..." He continued, "The IRGC has always cooperated with the governments [of Iran] with the aim of helping achieve security and wellbeing. The aim of the Islamic Revolution was to preserve the beliefs and values of the people while serving the people." Ja'fari claimed that Rohani and his government see these values as opposed to their own, and felt threatened by them, and said: "Several governments [hinting at Rohani's] may see some of the values and beliefs [of the regime] as contrary to their own, while they themselves aspire to achieve only political goals [such as nuclear negotiations with the U.S.]. In such a situation, the IRGC is entitled to warn about this, and to play a significant role, as one tasked with the mission of preserving the values and culture [of the revolution]." Setting out the IRGC's economic role, he said: "Our complaint was that in light of Leader [Khamenei's] emphasis on [the need to focus] our gaze inward, on our own domestic capabilities, for the sake of our struggle in the economic war waged against us by our enemies, the tremendous potential and capability of the IRGC and the Basij can be utilized. This capability of the IRGC and the Basij dates back to when the people and the government were organized into these institutions, and the Basij, with over 20 million members, has great potential to assist the [Rohani] government in the framework of the economic resistance [as set out by Khamenei]. However, the IRGC and the Basij will launch activity and assist the government only if the government asks them to and supports them... [and the government] has not yet utilized the great capability of the IRGC and the Basij..." Ja'fari stressed that it was Rafsanjani's government that had welcomed the reconstruction operations carried out by the IRGC following the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), which were essential at that time, and stated that Iran's national economy still owed a debt to the IRGC. He added that it had been a mistake to say that these reconstruction operations were interference in the economic sector to the point of competing with the private sector, saying: "Most unfortunately, a question arose in the enemy media about why the IRGC was entering the economic arena, and, unconsciously, several circles within [the regime] accepted as fact that the IRGC had indeed entered the economic arena. This statement is wrong; the IRGC did not enter the economic arena but entered the arenas connected to [post-war] reconstruction. "About 20 years after the Iran-Iraq war, and in light of the fact that the infrastructure in the country was backwards even prior to the revolution, and because of the damage to it during the war - and in light of the IRGC's tremendous engineering capabilities - the IRGC entered the reconstruction arena based on its mission, in a move welcomed by the [Rafsanjani] government of the time. Today, the IRGC still has this tremendous capability for reconstruction. Had the IRGC not entered into the arena in this area [20 years ago], we would never have this [degree of] infrastructure relying on domestic capability. In the arena of reconstruction, the IRGC is actually the friend of the private sector, not its rival, and the rival of foreign companies." Ja'fari expanded on the subject of the IRGC's missions and activity outside Iran supporting oppressed peoples across the world: "The general axis and the main essence of the Islamic Revolution is resistance to the power[-seeking] order [i.e. of the U.S. and the West] and to the new world order established by that same power[-seeking] order. Accordingly, the mission of the IRGC outside Iran is to support the oppressed peoples in the world, particularly the Palestinian people. Today, in light of the Syria issue and the power[-seeking] order's investment in the struggle against the line of this advance front of the resistance, the IRGC must play a significant role. When the nation and the country want to stand fast against the power[-seeking] order, and against the U.S. as the leader of this order, and against the Zionist regime as the representative of the U.S. in the region, we support them via cyber means and ideologically..."[7] Khamenei's Representative In The IRGC: "Can A Middle Path Be Chosen And Moderation Be Implemented Between Monotheism And Idol Worship?" Khamenei's representative in the IRGC, Ali Saeedi, also responded to Rohani's speech, saying: "Can the IRGC remain indifferent in light of the [waves] tossing the revolution, when its mission is to defend the revolution and the regime?" He noted that Rohani first needed to recognize and confirm the principles of the revolution and then identify and act against deviation: "The strategy of the enemies is to topple the Islamic regime. The threats and the methods used in this effort by the front of the arrogance [i.e. the U.S. and the West] are extremely diverse... as we saw in 2009 in Iran [following the June presidential election]. Steadfastness against those who sought to spark fitna [i.e. popular unrest] in the name of the Imam [Khomeini] was one of the duties of the IRGC. "Therefore, the IRGC must always be perceived as a regime institution; it must be flexible so that it can change in accordance with changing circumstances. [The IRGC] must be popular and must be in direct connection with the people. It must also be able to be inflexible, as well as semi-inflexible, and [even] gentle. The IRGC must be capable of adapting swiftly to circumstances as soon as there is a change in [the nature] of the threats [against the regime]..." Saeedi also disputed the claims of the Rafsanjani camp, saying: "The meaning of moderation [i.e. the motto of the Rafsanjani camp] is very broad, and the [proper] question is, where is moderation good and where is it not useful? Can a middle path be chosen and moderation be implemented between monotheism and idol worship? Between apostasy and belief? Between truth and falsehood? Between God and Satan? That is, can we ever say 'moderate idol worship' or 'moderate apostasy?'"[8] Saeedi expanded further on this point in a May 2, 2014 Friday sermon in Isfahan: "The job of the IRGC on the level of the revolution and the struggle against deviant streams is undeniable. [Today,] 35 years since the Islamic Revolution, we are still hearing people make statements that are unexpected, because they are not compatible with the framework set out by the Prophet of Islam [Muhammad, vis-a-vis the nature of the desired regime]... The Imam Khomeini said, 'If the IRGC did not exist, the state would also not exist.' Throughout my 32 years in the IRGC, I have come to learn [the truth] of this sentence, every single moment. We must instill this religious discourse and identify the streams that deviate [from it]... "Since the beginning of the revolution, we have seen [the deviant] discourse of Bani Sadr, the [deviant] discourse of the reforms, the [deviant] discourse of Kargozaran [Rafsanjani's party] and others... We must identify this discourse [also] within the IRGC."[9] IRGC Ground Forces Commander: "When It Comes To Issues Connected With The Revolution And With The Destiny Of The People, The IRGC Has Always Had And Always Will Have An Opinion" IRGC Ground Forces commander Mahmoud Pakpour responded immediately to Rohani's speech, saying: "If 'being political' [Rohani's accusation against the IRGC] means a political commitment, political alertness, and being in the first line of the struggle against the enemies of the revolution and the Islamic regime - then the IRGC is 100% political[!] But being political in the sense of partisan is a red line for the IRGC. "The IRGC has never turned itself [as Rohani accused] into a political [camp] of a personality or of a political stream, and it is only natural that the IRGC would have reservations about those who distance themselves from the line of the Imam [Khomeini] and the Leader [Khamenei] and from the revolutionary identity [of Iran]. When it comes to issues connected with the revolution and with the destiny of the people, the IRGC has always had and always will have an opinion..."[10] Khamenei's Representative In Tehran IRGC Forces: "The IRGC Will Not Permit Harm To Come To The Islamic Revolution" The same day, Khamenei's representative in the IRGC unit of Tehran, Abd Al-Ali Govahi, noted: "[In contrast to Rohani's accusations], everything the IRGC has done was supported by the people... The IRGC will not permit harm to come to the Islamic revolution, and therefore [its enemies] want to destroy it, and to make it passive by means of their threats against it. However, they do not know that the entire Iranian people is defending the revolution and that the more the enemy threatens, the more the IRGC will step up its presence on all the fronts."[11] Assembly Of Experts Member: "The IRGC Was Established To Always Preserve The Revolution From Warped Visions And From Deviations" In a May 31, 2014 interview with the Basij website Razavi.basij.ir, Assembly of Experts member 'Alam Al-Hoda said: "The IRGC is the guarantor of the regime and of the revolution. The IRGC was established to always preserve the revolution from warped visions and from deviations. Every time the various forces carry out a deviation and seek to topple the regime, the IRGC can act as its guard. The IRGC, as an institution dedicated to its main mission of guarding the values of the revolution, must be the guard of the revolution in the face of the danger and threat on the part of reactionary [circles] - just as it preserved the regime from the [foreign] enemies. If anyone takes a stand against Khamenei, the IRGC must defend [Khamenei], but the [IRGC's] enforcement of the [people's] obedience to Khamenei must be accompanied by enthusiasm on the part of the people entering the arena [i.e. taking to the streets]. The IRGC stands in the first rank of the supporters of Khamenei..." * Y. Mansharof, E. Kharrazi, and Y. Lahat are Research Fellows at MEMRI. Endnotes: The following are some of this week's reports from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Project, which translates and analyzes content from sources monitored around the clock, among them the most important jihadi websites and blogs. (To view these reports in full, you must be a paying member of the JTTM; for membership information, send an email to [email protected] with "Membership" in the subject line.) Note to media and government: For a full copy of these reports, send an email with the title of the report in the subject line to [email protected]. Please include your name, title, and organization in your email. EXCLUSIVE: Videos By ISIS Supporters In Gaza Teach Viewers To Create Improvised Explosive Devices And Ricin Poison At Home On May 15, 2016, the Ibn Taymiyyah Media Center (ITMC), which is associated with the Salafi-jihadi movement and ISIS supporters in Gaza, published two videos titled "Instructions by the Heroes for the Lions of Battle - Jihadi Ideas for Lone Lions." EXCLUSIVE: On Facebook, Virginia ISIS Supporter Spreads Propaganda, Interacts With ISIS Fighters A Virginia resident is a very active member of a large pro-ISIS clique on Facebook. He interacts with ISIS supporters and conducts public conversations with ISIS fighters. He is also active in closed pro-ISIS Facebook groups. EXCLUSIVE: Popular ISIS Twitter Account Alleges American Veteran Has Arrived In Syria On May 19, 2016, a popular ISIS Twitter account claimed that a U.S. veteran who converted to Islam has arrived in ISIS-controlled territory. EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Video Shows Indonesian, Malaysian Fighters Threatening To Conquer Indonesian Archipelago Countries, Children Burning Passports On May 15, 2016, the information office for ISIS in Al-Barakah (Al-Hassakah) province, Syria, published a 16-minute video titled "The Generation Of Battles." The video, which was also posted on the jihadi forum Shomoukh Al-Islam, mainly focuses on children of foreign fighters from Nusantara (the Indonesian Archipelago) who immigrated to the Islamic State and are being raised and educated according to ISIS ideology. EXCLUSIVE: Russian-Language ISIS Magazine 'Istok' Criticizes Muslim Life In Europe, Calls For Muslims To Immigrate And Join Jihad The fourth issue of Istok, the Islamic State (ISIS) magazine in Russian published by ISIS's Al-Hayat Media Center, featured an essay that expounded on the group's negative view of Muslims living in Europe. Titled "Freedom of Islam in Europe: Delusion or Reality," the essay refutes arguments in favor of Muslims living in Europe and promotes the ISIS view of Muslim life in Europe as impossible and emigration to ISIS-controlled territories as compulsory. EXCLUSIVE: French Children Threaten In ISIS Video: 'Today In Syria, Tomorrow In Paris' On May 14, 2016, the Islamic State's (ISIS's) Aleppo information bureau released a 14 minute video titled "In the Fathers' Footsteps" (In Arabic), or "In the Footsteps of My Father (in French). The video, distributed via the ISIS channels on Telegram and the Shomoukh Al- Islam forum, focuses on two French boys -Abu Mus'ab and Qa'qa - the sons of French ISIS fighter Abu Dujanah Al-Faransi, who remained in Syria after their father died in battle. EXCLUSIVE: On Facebook, Jabhat Al-Nusra Fighter's Widow Raises Funds For Other Jabhat Al-Nusra Widows - Wherever They Are In The World An English-speaking widow from Africa created a Facebook page promoting her charitable cause, which claims to help the financially struggling widows of fighters in Syria, sending them funds via Western Union wherever they are in the world. She was widowed in 2015; her Jabhat Al-Nusra fighter husband died in battle. She frequently writes about her experiences as a widow in Syria. EXCLUSIVE: British ISIS Fighter And Recruiter Announces On Facebook That Borders To Syria And Iraq Have Reopened On May 19, 2016 a British ISIS fighter announced on his Facebook page that the borders to Syria and Iraq are once again open. EXCLUSIVE: U.S.-Born Media Activist Interviews British Jihadi In Syria On May 16, 2016, U.S.-born media activist in Syria Bilal Abdul Kareem shared, via his Facebook and Twitter accounts, an installment in the series of video news reports called "Face the Truth," which is an On The Ground News production. In this segment, Kareem interviews a fighter in a trench in northern Syria, Abu Abdullah Britani. EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Threat: The Entire World Is An Arena For Our Battle With Israel In its May 17, 2016 editorial, in the Islamic State (ISIS) official weekly newsletter, Al-Naba', ISIS threatened Israel. In it, the group said that Israel now feels threatened by ISIS, like the U.S., because of the "collapse" of its neighboring states and because of ISIS's continued advance. In light of this, it said, Israel began to wage war on ISIS, especially in the Sinai and in Syria, by bombing it, using drones to collect information on it, and planting spies to collect intelligence against it - measures that, it claimed, are a mere prelude to further Israeli "entanglement" in the war against ISIS. EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Launches Major Video Campaign Targeting India, Shows Indian Youths Speaking In Urdu And Swearing Oaths Of Fealty To ISIS Leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi The Islamic State in Homs province, Syria has released a high-definition video featuring several Indian jihadis speaking in Urdu and swearing oaths of fealty to Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. The video begins with commentary in Arabic featuring Urdu subtitles. A narrator says: "During the era the Caliphate of 'Omar ibn Al-Khattab [the second caliph of Islam], the armies of the Muslims launched battles in Hind [India] and Sindh [currently part of Pakistan] so that idolatry and shirk [polytheism] be eliminated. Therefore, they brought the people under the jurisdiction of the shari'a of their Lord. Pro-ISIS Tech Channel Warns Of Alleged ISIS Telegram Groups Offering Hacking Tutorials On May 17, 2016, the "Islamic State Technician" Telegram channel, which is pro-ISIS, posted a warning that Telegram users be wary of entities on the platform that are offering supposed hacking lessons while claiming official affiliation with the Islamic State. French ISIS Media Operatives Call On Media Supporters To Join The Media War Against The Infidels On May 18, 2016, the Islamic State's (ISIS) official French-language media group Al-Nur published a letter calling on ISIS supporters to participate in ISIS's ongoing media war as part of the organization's recent media mobilization campaign. The letter, titled "Oh You supporter of the Caliphate," was distributed through official ISIS channels on Telegram and Twitter. ISIS Releases Photos Of Destruction Of Maskhi Gate In Mosul On May 15, 2016, the Islamic State (ISIS) published a photo report showing its destruction of the ancient walls and gate of the city of Nineveh (the Mashki Gate), dating from the 7th century BCE. Issue 15 Of AQAP's 'Inspire' Magazine: Obama Is The 21st Century Hitler; We Will Continue To Threaten America; Terror Is Punishment At The Hands Of The Jihad Fighters The 15th issue of Inspire, the English-language magazine of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), released on May 14, 2016, features two short articles that justify Al-Qaeda's policy of threatening the US and encourage Muslims to carry out attacks against it. The first article, titled "Inside Obama's Rationality," by Muhsin Ali, attacks Obama, calling him "the 21st Century Hitler" and claiming that his mild demeanor conceals an evil agenda. Issue 15 Of AQAP's 'Inspire' Magazine Continues Call For Lone Wolf Attacks, Targeted Assassinations Of Economic Personalities, Stabbing Of Jews On May 14, 2016, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released issue 15 of its English-language magazine Inspire. The issue, titled "Professional Assassinations," includes repeated calls to undermine the U.S. economy by assassinating leading American economic figures and wealthy entrepreneurs. Similar calls were issued in the previous issue of Inspire magazine, released September 2015. The current issue also includes calls to Muslims living in the U.S. to emulate the recent Palestinian stabbing campaign against Israelis. In Interview In Issue 15 Of AQAP's 'Inspire' Magazine, Former Gitmo Detainee Ibrahim Al-Qusi Says: Bin Laden's Main Goal Was To Unite Mujahideen Against U.S. In an interview published in Issue 15 of Inspire, the English-language magazine published by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Ibrahim Al-Qusi aka Khubaib Al-Sudani, a former Guantanamo detainee, said that the main goal of Osama bin Laden, the late Al-Qaeda leader, after he returned to Afghanistan from Sudan was to unite the mujahideen to focus on fight against the U.S. Issue 15 Of AQAP's 'Inspire' Magazine Features Instructions For Building Various Types Of Bombs On May 14, 2016, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released the 15th issue of its English-language magazine Inspire. The issue, titled "Professional Assassinations," features a 25- page article called "Home Assassinations," presenting illustrated step-by-step instructions for building and detonating several types of bombs, including a parcel bomb, a magnetic car bomb, and door trap bomb. The article, aimed at individuals and cells operating in the West, advises them to employ safety measures and also to test the devices before using them in an operation. Issue 15 Of AQAP's 'Inspire' Magazine Offers Operational Advice For Assassinating Individuals In Their Homes On May 14, 2016, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released the 15th issue of its English-language magazine Inspire, titled "Professional Assassinations." The lead article, which bears the same title and is part of the issue's "Open-Source Jihad" section, presents advice for lone attackers in the West on targeting individuals in their homes. Written by the magazine's "External Operations Team," the article is a follow-up to an item in the magazine's previous issue that focused on targeting people in their workplaces. Article In Issue 15 Of AQAP's 'Inspire' Magazine Urges Muslims In U.S. To Emulate Stabbing Campaign Against Israelis By Targeting Americans, Especially Jews The 15th Issue of Inspire, the English-language magazine of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), features an article titled "O Knife Revolution, Head Towards America." The article calls upon Muslims in the U.S., as well as in Europe, to emulate the recent wave of Palestinians stabbings in Israel by attacking non-Muslims around them, particularly Jews. Jaysh Al-Fath-Affiliated Group Releases Q&A Video On Jihad On May 19, 2016, the Al-Muhajurin, a group of foreign fighters in Syria, released the first part of a video titled, "Questions and Answers with Sheikh Abu Shams." TTP's Charity Arm Calls For Donations During Ramadan, Provides Yandex.com Email Address To Contact Ansar ul-Yateem ("Helpers of the Orphans"), a charity established by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander Adnan Rasheed, has issued a statement through social media urging Muslims to offer donations during the coming month of Ramadan, beginning June 7, 2016. The TTP, the main group of the Pakistani Taliban, has recently been on the run, and its leaders are believed to be hiding somewhere in Afghanistan. Following is the text of the statement which was accompanied by a 3-part video on the work carried out by Ansar ul-Yateem. On May 19, 2016, the foreign ministers of NATO member states signed an accession protocol for Montenegro, granting it observer status at NATO meetings. The signing ceremony, which was attended by Montenegro's Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, took place at a North Atlantic Council (NAC) session in Brussels. The next step is that Montenegro will be granted membership to NATO once the accession protocol is ratified by all 28 NATO member states. On December 2, 2015, NATO had invited Montenegro to join the military alliance, and the Balkan country accepted the invitation the following day. The signing of the protocol triggered anger in Russia, which sees NATO's expansion eastward as a threat to its own borders. The permanent Russian mission to NATO's website published an article about Montenegro's membership to NATO, stating that the potential accession of Montenegro has caused a "particularly emotional reaction from the Russian side," explaining that "Russia and Montenegro are united by 300 years of close cooperation, with Russia contributing to the establishment and development of Montenegrin statehood in the 19th century and being among the first to recognize the country's independence from Serbia in 2006, with investment from Russian business serving as a strong driver for Montenegro's economic development since then." Director of the Russian Balkan Center for International Cooperation, Viktor Kolbanovsky, stated that the "brotherly" Montenegro started to "politically betray" Russia by joining the EU's sanctions against Moscow in 2014 during the Ukranian crisis, and now the Balkan country has taken one more step toward the final breakup of traditional relations with Moscow.[1] State Duma: Montenegro's Admission To NATO Is A Political Tool From The "Cold War Era" In February, 2016, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov referred to Montenegro's admission as an "artificial decision."[2] Commenting on the issue of NATO's expansion eastward in 2014, Lavrov said that Montenegro's accession to NATO would be "irresponsible and provocative." In November 2015, the Russian Duma issued an appeal to Montenegro's parliament, stating that "involving states, especially against the will of their people [i.e. the Montenegrin people], in military alliances, are political tools from the Cold War era." In the statement, the Duma added that "the desire of the regime of [Montenegro's Prime Minister] Milo Djukanovic, who has been running Montenegro for 25 years, to join NATO contradicts the will of the overwhelming majority of the people of this country."[3] Russia Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Montenegro should decide whether or not to be a member of NATO only after a national referendum.[4] Russia believes that the majority of Montenegro population would vote against NATO accession.[5] Zakharova also added that Montenegro's membership to NATO is a "humiliation," since the country was bombed by NATO during the Yugoslavian crisis in the 1990s. Russian permanent representative to NATO, Alexander Grushko, commented that NATO is making "another mistake," since it keeps on building "dividing lines" in Europe.[6] Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Duma Alexey Pushkov also commented on the issue, stating that since Secretary General of NATO Jens Soltenberg called on Russia to respect Montenegro's choice to become a member of NATO, then NATO has to recognize the choice made by Crimea to join Russia.[7] Chair Of Russia's Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee: Montenegro's Admission To NATO Will Worsen European Security Chairperson of Russia's Council of the Federation Committee on Foreign Affairs, Konstantin Kosachev, said that Montenegro's admission to NATO is "unnecessary" and untimely, and will "worsen the prospects of European security." Kosachev said: "This move will increase the risks for Montenegro - until now no one threatened the country, from now on the risks will be bigger... [There is] no way to justify this move but by stating that the expansion of NATO is a goal for itself... NATO in not the basis for European security but rather the main challenge, [and] that's why admitting additional countries is not a response to a challenge, but rather making the challenge worse." Kasachev added that Russia has to reconsider economic ties with Montenegro, since it cannot rule out that a ballistic missile defense system or "nuclear warheads" might be deployed in the Balkan country.[8] On December 2, 2015, when Montenegro was invited by NATO to join the military alliance, Kosachev commented that the Balkan country's accession would be "regrettable," stating that "Montenegro has now been included in this mechanism of permanent reproduction of the 'cold war.'"[9] However, military expert Viktor Murahovsky stated that NATO's choice to invite Montenegro is meaningless in military terms, since the Balkan country is just slightly above "zero" in terms of military power. Murahovsky said: "This [NATO] admission is a null in military terms, a null which will add a headache during decision-making processes. As for a possibility of having NATO bases in the Balkan country, NATO does not need that. It's just inconvenient - Montenegro is good for vacations, not for military installations."[10] Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic shaking hands with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. (Source: Nato.int, May 19, 2016) Kremlin's Press Secretary Peskov: NATO Expansion Will Result In Retaliatory Actions From Russia Speaking on December 2, just after the news broke of NATO's invitation to Montenegro, the Kremlin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov "warned" that Russia would respond if Montenegro were to join the military alliance. Peskov said: "On various levels, Moscow has always noted that the continued eastward expansion of NATO and NATO's military infrastructure cannot but result in retaliatory actions from the east, i.e. from the Russian side, in terms of ensuring security and supporting the parity of interests". Russia Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova also commented on the need to respond to NATO: "NATO's latest attempts at changing the military and political landscape in Europe, in particular, in the context of its outspoken policy of deterrence towards Russia, will inevitably affect Russia's interests and force it to respond proportionately. As for the just-signed protocol on Montenegro's accession ... it merely confirms the intention ... to accelerate the admission process to the maximum extent and make it irreversible." [11] State Duma Deputy Speaker Sergei Zheleznyak specified already back in December 2015 that Russia in retaliation will "limit our contacts in the economic and other spheres." [12] Russia is also trying to support opposition parties to stop NATO's expansion. The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that Russian ruling party United Russia has signed a declaration with the head of Montenegrin People's Democratic Party (PDP), Milan Knezevic, and the head of Montenegrin People's Socialist Party (PSP), Sran Milic. The declaration states the will to establish neutral states in South-East Europe (Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina), and having Kosovo incorporated back to Serbia. This decision also seems motivated by the fact that Serbia has no intention of joining the ranks of NATO, even though the country is part of NATO's Partnership for Peace program. [13] The declaration further states that the neutrality of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina should be guaranteed by both Russia and NATO. It is worth noting that the PDP is against having a dialogue with the Montenegrin authorities and in favor of changing the government. In October 2015, Milan Knezevic was at the forefront of a protest in which 5,000 people marched on parliament to demand the resignation of Montenegro's Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and immediate elections. [14] Endnotes: Zakaria Al-Agha, a member of the Fatah Central Committee and of the PLO Executive Committee, said recently that the Palestinian Right of Return, as formulated in U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194, was indisputable, but that "someone who returns also has the right to receive compensation." "It is about return, as well as compensation," said Al-Agha. He added that the refugees must return "to their cities, villages, and homes," and not the Palestinian state that will be established. The interview aired on Palestine TV on May 11, 2016. Following are excerpts Zakaria Al-Agha: With regard to UNGA Resolution 194 about the Right of Return - some talk about the right to return or to get compensation, but that is not true. The resolution states that any Palestinian refugee, who left his home or was driven out of it, has the right to return. This is a basic right, which is indisputable. Any Palestinian who wants to return has the right to do so. In addition, he has the right to receive compensation for the damages caused to his property, or for the occupier's use of his property. He also has the right to receive compensation for this property. So it is about return, as well as compensation. When people say return "or" compensation, it refers to compensating people who do not wish to return. Such a person should receive compensation for his property, and for its usage in the period prior to his relinquishing [his right to return]. But someone who returns also has the right to receive compensation, right? The resolution talks about return and compensation, and there is no alternative interpretation. With regard to the issue of where the refugees will return to - it is very clear that the refugees should return to the cities, villages and homes from which they were driven out. This is not about returning to the Palestinian state. Some people say that the Palestinian state should be the homeland of the refugees. No. There are refugees now within that state - in Gaza and in the West Bank. Yet we consider them to be refugees, living in the state of Palestine, and the Palestinian Authority, or the Palestinian state, is considered a state hosting these refugees. These refugees have the right to return to their cities, villages, and homes. Their presence here is no different from their presence in Lebanon, Syria, or elsewhere. A few years ago, when things got tougher in the refugee camps in Lebanon, and there were problems, along with the war that started in Syria, and the Palestinian refugees there were suffering, brother Abu Mazen proposed that Palestine would receive those refugees, or [at least] those who want to leave or encounter problems. Israel responded that it would agree to this, on condition that they would relinquish their Right of Return. The Palestinian leadership rejected this condition, because their presence in or their entrance into the territory of the Palestinian state does not mean that they returned to their homes. [...] Privacy Overview This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. TAPI investments to be discussed in Turkmenistan A roundtable meeting devoted to attraction of investments to the construction project of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline will take place within the framework of the VII International Gas Congress of Turkmenistan to be held May 20-21 in the Avaza national tourist zone, according to the government's message May 16.The TAPI gas pipeline will make it possible to deliver gas from Turkmenistan, which ranks fourth in the world on biggest gas reserves, to the large and promising markets of South and Southeast Asia. The pipeline is to run from Galkynysh - the largest gas field in Turkmenistan - through the Afghan cities of Herat and Kandahar, and finally reach the Fazilka settlement located near the India-Pakistan border. The main document for the TAPI, called the Ashgabat Interstate Agreement, was signed in 2010.The groundbreaking ceremony for TAPI's Turkmen section was held in mid-December of 2015.The estimated cost of the project will exceed $10 billion. The annual capacity of the gas pipeline will reach 33 billion cubic meters. It is planned that the total length of the TAPI pipeline will be 1,814 kilometers. Some 214 kilometers will pass through the territory of Turkmenistan, 774 kilometers - Afghanistan, 826 kilometers - Pakistan.Representatives of Turkmen state structures, international organizations, relevant ministries and institutions, as well as oil and gas companies from 37 countries are expected to participate in the VII International Gas Congress of Turkmenistan.Topics such as the expansion of mutually beneficial international cooperation in the energy sector, diversification of export routes of Turkmen energy resources, and the construction of interstate gas pipelines will be submitted to agenda of the congress.At the last meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov emphasized the fact that the VII International Gas Congress will contribute to expansion of mutually beneficial dialogue, identification of further ways of effective cooperation with foreign partners.The Turkmen president added that his country, which has enormous hydrocarbon potential, pays great attention to achieving balanced solutions for strengthening energy security as an important factor of regional and global sustainable development. Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Amanatidis met at the Foreign Ministry today, Friday, 20 May 2016, with the Holy Sees Under-Secretary for Relations with States, Mons. Antoine Camilleri. During the discussion, in which the excellent level of relations between the two states was reaffirmed, ways were sought to further expand bilateral cooperation, particularly in sectors of shared interest. The two sides agreed that the refugee and migration crisis should be dealt with through solidarity among the member states of the European Union, based on universal human values and with respect for the human rights of the refugees. In the same context, Mr. Amanatidis stressed the importance of the visit of Pope Francis to Lesvos and thanked his counterpart for the Holy Sees warm and continuous support for the efforts the Greek government is making to manage the refugee and migration crisis. There was also an exchange of views on current developments in Syria, and a reminder was made of the need to achieve a lasting and sustainable political solution that will strengthen regional stability and ensure the peaceful coexistence of Christians and Muslims in the Middle East. Mons. Camilleri invited Mr. Amanatidis to visit the Vatican in the coming time. The meeting was followed by political consultations, under the Foreign Ministrys Political Affairs Director, Ambassador Petros Mavroidis, regarding bilateral and regional issues. Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias met yesterday, 19 May, with the Foreign Minister of Italy, Paolo Gentiloni, within the framework of the proceedings of the Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs, in Brussels. During the meeting, which took place in a very warm atmosphere, the two Ministers focused on the prospects for further development of bilateral relations, with emphasis on the action plan currently being drawn up, which is aimed at institutionalizing bilateral cooperation across a wide range of issues. Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias participated today in the sessions of the first day of the spring Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The subject of the first session was NATOs contribution to the international efforts to strengthen global security and stability. The discussion pointed up the importance of further strengthening the Alliances partnerships, as well as its assistance in the defence capacity building (DCB) efforts of vulnerable countries. Mr. Kotzias underscored the need to strengthen the political dialogue and cooperation with the partners of the Mediterranean Dialogue and with Egypt in particular. Regarding the proposal for supporting Iraq through the provision of DCB, Mr. Kotzias supported a fact-finding mission to examine conditions on the ground and determine precise needs, also highlighting that care should be taken that the fight against terrorism not turn into a battle between Muslims and the west. The Minister also made reference to the Alliances activities in the Aegean, stressing the importance of these activities in drastically reducing refugee flows. However, the way the NATO mission is operating substantially reduces the effectiveness of the Alliances activities. Later in the day, Mr. Kotzias exchanged views with his NATO colleagues on the future of NATO-Russia relations. In this framework he stressed that Russia is an integral part of any security architecture system in Europe. Recognizing that Russias conduct creates challenges, he noted that Russia is part of the problem, but also, and at the same time, part of the solution. In light of this, he argued for the need to step up the Alliances efforts to develop a constructive dialogue with the Russian side, with the aim of Russias active involvement in the joint confrontation of serious international security challenges, such as terrorism. In light of this, he proposed more frequent political dialogue meetings of the NATO-Russia Council, based on the April 2014 decision of Alliance Foreign Ministers. Further, he noted that, in order for this dialogue to effective, each side will have to listen to and understand the concerns and legal and positive aspirations of the other side. Mr. Kotzias also underscored that measures for reducing risks and promoting transparency must be included in the NATO-Russia dialogue, bearing in mind the conditions of increasing military capabilities of the two sides. Finally, he expressed the hope that Russia participate actively in the efforts to update the Vienna Document within the OSCE framework. Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias will participate on Monday, 23 May, in a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), in Brussels. The FAC agenda includes the EUs regional strategy on Syria, Iraq and theDaesh threat. Topics of discussion will include migration and an assessment of the current situation, as well as the course of the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement of 18 March. The FAC will look at Sub-Saharan Africa issues, and specifically at developments in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. Finally, Mr. Kotzias will attend a working luncheon, at which there will be an assessment of the EU Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy. Obituaries published during the past several months have included commentary from both sides of the political spectrum, with families feeling it fitting to include their loved ones' final political wishes. Last week in Alabama, relatives of 34-year-old Katherine Michelle Hinds, published an obituary that included, "In lieu of flowers, do not vote for Donald Trump." Hinds' mother, Susan Pool, said her daughter did not like the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and feared for the future for her three young children if he's elected. Pool never talked to her daughter about the possibility of including an anti-Trump message in her obituary, she said, but knows she would have liked it. Just before dying earlier this month, Carl Crocetti, of Stoughton, Massachusetts, told his companion he wanted Donald Trump to be president. The Enterprise of Brockton, Massachusetts, reported his family tried to honor that wish by wrapping up his obituary with the request "that people elect NOT to vote for Hillary Clinton in the presidential election in November." The family of Mary Anne Alfriend Noland told WWBT-TV in Richmond, Virginia, that they used the campaign to pass along her sense of humor, by suggesting death may be preferable to choosing sides this fall. Her obituary, published Monday , reads, "Faced with the prospect of voting for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, Mary Anne Noland of Richmond chose, instead, to pass into the eternal love of God." The lessons would be taught at some point between grades 8-12, according to the bill by Republican Rep. Klint Kesto, and Gov. Rick Snyder would have to make appointments to a 15-member genocide education panel. The bill says instruction doesn't need to be limited to the Armenian massacre and the Holocaust, but those were the only two formally acknowledged in the legislation. Though the House approved it once, the bill will go back to that chamber for consideration before needing a signature from Snyder. Kesto said he hopes that happens next week. Eleven other states require instruction on the Armenian massacre, according to the Genocide Education Project. Historians estimate that as many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in an event widely viewed by scholars as genocide, a term the legislation also uses. But Turkey, a key U.S. partner and NATO ally, denies the deaths constituted genocide and has said the death toll has been inflated. President Barack Obama also recently broke campaign promises to have the U.S. acknowledge the massacre as a genocide. No senators made speeches about controversy in how the mass killings are characterized. An estimated 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust during World War II. Democratic state Sen. Steven Bieda offered an amendment Wednesday, which was narrowly defeated to also include instruction on the massacres in Darfur, Rwanda, Cambodia, Bosnia and others. "I thought it was a little Eurocentric," Bieda said of the bill. "Unfortunately genocide or ethnic cleansing issues in the last century have not been extremely rare." GOP state Sen. Phil Pavlov, who chairs the Senate committee that approved the legislation, urged other Republicans to vote no on the amendment, which failed 18-19. It's unclear why he asked colleagues to vote no. The Associated Press reached out to Pavlov, who has not responded. There is no state requirement to provide Holocaust or genocide education, Michigan Department of Education spokesman Bill DiSessa said, though noted there's no question that high schoolers in the state learn about the Holocaust. The proposed Michigan Infrastructure Fund was approved unanimously by the Senate Wednesday. Lawmakers plan to decide in coming weeks how much money should go into the account. Gov. Rick Snyder, who supports the fund, has proposed an initial $165 million deposit while a commission works on a statewide infrastructure assessment and recommendations. But his budget director said Tuesday that lower-than-expected tax revenues could mean less money for the fund because of "how big a pot it is." The bill establishing the fund was sent to the House for consideration. LANSING A pair of bills are on the way to the governors desk that would make it illegal to attempt convincing someone to purchase one of the main ingredients needed to create a deadly drug. Pseudoephedrine is used to treat nasal congestion and can be purchased behind the counter at drugstores. However, if combined with other ingredients, the pharmaceutical drug can be used to cook up methamphetamine. Senate Bill 409 would authorize a penalty of up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine for attempting to persuade a person to purchase ephedrine or pseudoephedrine while knowing that it will be used to manufacture methamphetamine, and Senate Bill 410 would establish sentencing guidelines for the penalties. The current penalty only applies if the attempt succeeds in persuading someone and carries up to four years in prison. The two bills received approval from the Michigan Senate this week and the crime would be treated as a misdemeanor. The legislation now awaits the signature of Gov. Rick Snyder. The reason (manufacturing) meth is a pretty serious offense is because of all the different chemicals that go into making it, Huron County Prosecutor Timothy J. Rutkowski told the Tribune. Manufacturers are punished so much harder because of the effect it (meth) has on its users. The penalties for meth-related offenses range from one year to up to life behind bars. Back in September 2015, a Harbor Beach man was sentenced to two to 20 years on two counts of operating/maintaining a meth lab. During the investigation, police didnt find evidence that meth was being manufactured at the home, but the man and his accomplice admitted to buying Sudafed a brand of pseudoephedrine and giving it to a friend to make the product. By virtue of buying it (Sudafed) and giving it to somebody else, you can be charged with actually manufacturing it, Rutkowski said. Youre also taking into account what role they played in manufacturing as far as the cooks go or those who are smurfing. Smurfing is a term used to describe a person or group of people that go from one store to another purchasing pseudoephedrine to make meth. The Drug Enforcement Administration classifies methamphetamine as a Schedule II drug with a high potential for abuse, with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence. According to a Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan report, roughly 30 percent of the states drug-related inmates 1,017 out of 3,3351 housed were sentenced for some form of meth activity. PORT AUSTIN If youve got trash, it may be treasure to the trained eye and the Port Austin Chamber of Commerce would like to know. The stars of the hit series American Pickers have announced they will be returning to Michigan, and the chamber has been in contact with show representatives about the possibility of the area being one of the shows destinations. While intriguing, it may be too early in the process to get overly excited. It appears what they are doing is reaching out to many chambers throughout Michigan to have the chambers try to drum up places that they could potentially go to, said chamber president Darcie Finan. They want us to reach out and publicize this. Finan said at this time, no locations for a visit have been determined, but they will be coming to Michigan this June. Starring Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, the History Channel documentary series follows the two lifelong pickers as they hunt for Americas most valuable antiques and rub elbows with the unique people that own them. If any of this sounds up your alley, the show is looking for leads and would love to explore your treasure. They are on the hunt for characters with interesting and unique items, which led them to contacting various chambers for help. We would love to entice them to come to our little area, if we can find enough places for them to go, Finan said. One unique angle the Port Austin chamber may use to lure the show is the villages farmers market, one of the premiere markets in the state. Finan said chamber officials are tossing around the idea of inviting them to take a stroll at the weekend event. As long as it wasnt a holiday weekend, we could potentially organize our market so that we would have any and all of our antiques and collectibles vendors come, she said. In the meantime, Finan encourages anyone that may have what the show is looking for, to contact the chamber at 989-738-7600. Some of the things Wolfe and Fritz seek out include motorcycles, classic cars and bicycles, toys, unusual radios, movie memorabilia, advertising, military items, folk art, early firefighting equipment, vintage musical equipment, automotive items, clothing and other one-of-a-kind vintage memorabilia. People can also contact the show directly. If you or someone you know has a large, private collection, send your name, phone number, location and description of the collection with photos to americanpickers@cineflix.com or call 855-OLD-RUST. For more information on American Pickers, visit www.history.com/shows/american-pickers. Rescue crews searching for wreckage of an EgyptAir jet that plunged into the Mediterranean Sea with 66 people on board found luggage, a seat and a body part Friday, Greece's defense minister announced. "A short while ago, we were briefed by the Egyptian authorities ... on the discovery of a body part, a seat and baggage just south of where the aircraft signal was lost," Defense Minister Panos Kammenos told reporters in Athens, according to Reuters. EgyptAir Flight 804 went down Thursday morning during a flight from Paris to Cairo after leaving Greek airspace. A top Egyptian official said the possibility of the crash being caused by a terror attack was "higher than the possibility of a technical failure." Kammenos said the location of where the items were found Friday -- 190 miles north of the Egyptian city of Alexandria -- was near the area of where some debris had been found on Thursday afternoon, but authorities had been unable to identify that as having come from the missing aircraft. The Egyptian presidency Friday expressed its "deep sadness and extreme regret" over the deaths of the 66 passengers and crew members aboard the flight -- the first official recognition of the tragic crash. Egypt's military also confirmed for the first time Friday that plane debris and passengers' personal belongings were found in the Mediterranean Sea. The Egyptian army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Samir, said in a statement posted on his Facebook page Friday that Egyptian jets and naval vessels participating in the search for the missing plane have found "personal belongings of the passengers and parts of the plane debris." Searchers had been looking at a wide area south of the Greek island of Crete for the Airbus A320, which was nearing the end of its scheduled flight when contact was lost. The Associated Press, citing Egyptian airport officials, reported Friday that three French and three British investigators and an Airbus technical expert have arrived in Cairo to join an investigation into the plane crash. Authorities have said it is too early to definitively determine what happened to flight 804. Kammenos said Thursday that the plane swerved wildly before plummeting into the sea. The Egyptian military said that no distress call was received from the pilot. The country's aviation minister Sherif Fathy said the likelihood the plane was brought down by a terror attack is "higher than the possibility of a technical failure." Flight 804 was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two babies, three security staff and seven crew members, officials said. Fathy said identities would not be released until relatives could be contacted, but described those on board as including 15 French passengers, 30 Egyptians, one Briton, two Iraqis, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi, one Sudanese, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Algerian and one Canadian. Families of the victims spent the night in a hotel in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, while they awaited the news of their loved ones. Egyptian officials said some arrived from Paris late Thursday, among them eight relatives of the 15 French passengers on board the missing jet. Later Friday, the relatives of those killed held prayers for the dead at Sultan Hussein mosque in Cairo. Some of them cried as they prayed. Among those killed were Salah Abu Laban, his wife Sahar Qouidar, their son Ghassan Abu Laban and daughter-in-law Reem al-Sebaei. The relative, Abdel-Rahman al-Nasry, told The Associated Press, "I ask God for forgiveness. This is very hard for the family." Magdi Badr, a family friend, said, "we pray for the victims." French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told France-2 television on Friday that there was "absolutely no indication" of what caused the crash, while the country's junior minister for transport, Alain Vidalies, added that ""no theory is favored" at this stage and urged "the greatest caution." Elsewhere in Paris, French authorities scoured Charles de Gaulle Airport, the country's main hub, for any sign of a security breach prior to the flight's departure. Reuters reported that investigators were interviewing officers who were on duty at the airport Wednesday night to determine whether they heard or saw anything suspicious. "We are in the early stages here," a police source told Reuters about the investigation. The Wall Street Journal reported that French investigators were poring over surveillance footage from the airport, as well as performing background checks of those on board the plane and anyone who may have had ground access to the aircraft. France remains under a state of emergency after attacks by ISIS terrorists killed 130 people in Paris this past November and authorities are sensitive to the possibility of airport workers using their clearances to commit harm. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that 85 French airport workers have had their security badges withdrawn or blocked because they are on government watch lists for radicalism. Another 600 have lost their clearances due to criminal records. On Friday, Vidalies defended security at Charles de Gaulle, saying staff badges are revoked if there is the slightest security doubt. In the U.S., Los Angeles International Airport announced Thursday that it was stepping up security in the wake of the EgyptAir disappearance. A statement from airport authorities said they were eliminating or restricting airport worker access to 150 doors in the terminals. The statement also said additional airport police officers had been assigned to monitor employee access points and conduct random screenings. -- The Associated Press contributed to this report. Despite Flipping in Surf 4 Times in a Year, Marines Say New ACV Is the Future of Amphibious Warfare Some Marine veterans familiar with the vehicle and its operations have worried about the reliability of the ACV. Two long-range U.S. Navy P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft searched the Mediterranean Friday for traces of EgyptAir Flight 804 which went missing Thursday enroute from Paris to Cairo. The back-to-back P-3 missions followed on a search Thursday by a single one of the maritime patrol aircraft. All of the Orion flights originated from Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy. "None of our aircraft sighted any debris," said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. Davis said the Orions from Patrol Squadron 4 had about a three-hour flight from Italy to the main search area about 180 miles north of the Egyptian port of Alexandria, where Greek and Egyptian officials reported Friday that debris including seats, suitcases and possibly a body part had been recovered. At a news conference, Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said debris had also been discovered at a second location "but we do not have as yet an official announcement if these findings do have to do with the particular (EgyptAir) aircraft." The Airbus A320 with 56 passengers and 10 crew aboard was believed to be at about 37,000 feet and about to begin its approach to Cairo when it disappeared from radar on the Paris-Cairo flight. Egyptian officials have said that terrorism may be involved in the Flight 804 disappearance but Davis said, "we have no information that would suggest a particular cause." At a White House briefing Thursday, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said, "Our government has not reached a formal determination about what took place" on the EgyptAir flight, but the U.S. would be doing its own analysis. Navy ships were not in the search area and there have been no requests as yet for the sea service's surface ships to participate, Davis said. Navy ships were participating off Souda Bay in Greece in naval exercise Phoenix Express, sponsored by U.S. Africa Command, with European and North African navies. Those U.S. ships could "absolutely" help in the search but the Navy has yet to be asked, Davis said. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Libyans will have to come together behind a government before U.S. troops are sent on a train and advise mission into the country's multi-sided civil war that includes ISIS, the Pentagon said Friday. The U.S. wanted to "see a central government coalesce" as a precondition to any commitment of American troops, said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. "The first thing that is needed is political unity," he said. The statements followed remarks by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford in which he suggested that the deployment of small teams of U.S. troops to Libya was imminent. "There's a lot of activity going on underneath the surface" on a train and advise mission in Libya that would also involve supplying friendly forces with arms and equipment, Dunford told reporters on his plane returning from Europe. "We're just not ready to deploy capabilities yet because there hasn't been an agreement" among the Libyans to support a central government, Dunford said, "and frankly, any day that could happen," The Washington Post reported. "There will be a long-term mission in Libya," Dunford said. By sending troops to Libya, the U.S. would be adding to the list of countries in which it has gone to war since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, or become involved in lengthy military missions, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Somalia and now Yemen. Davis said that the small team of U.S. advisers sent into Yemen earlier this month to assist Arab coalition forces against the Islamic State in the Arabian Peninsula terror group was still on the ground, though their mission was described as short term. In his remarks aboard the plane, Dunford also alluded to how increasingly complicated it has become to organize a strategy against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria as the group branches out in the region. Dunford said that there are now about 1,000 fighters backed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, in the Sinai. "We have seen a connection between the Islamic State in the Sinai and Raqqa" -- the self-proclaimed capital of the ISIS "caliphate" in northeastern Syria, Dunford said. The offshoot in the Sinai has also been communicating with ISIS fighters concentrated in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte, "so we are watching that pretty closely," Dunford said. If the U.S. were to send troops to Libya, it would be in support of the struggling new Government of National Accord led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, which is backed by the United Nations. Sarraj has been attempting to unite various factions now fighting with each other to rally behind the government in battling ISIS. In an interview with the Atlantic last month, President Barack Obama described the situation in Libya as a "mess," and blamed himself and European allies for failing to stay involved in Libya after backing rebels in the downfall of dictator Moammar Khadafy. "The degree of tribal division in Libya was greater than our analysts had expected," the president said, "and our ability to have any kind of structure there that we could interact with, and start training and start providing resources, broke down very quickly." -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser bridges-photos2.jpg John Gonzalez of MLive and the radio show "Behind the Mitten" talks to actor Elizabeth Stanley about "Bridges of Madison County." The Broadway musical will be at the Wharton Center in East Lansing, Michigan. Performances are May 19-22, 2016. Ticket information at whartoncenter.com. (Courtesy photo) Bridges of Madison County When: May 19-22, 2016 Where: Wharton Center, 750 E. Shaw Lane, East Lansing Tickets: Start at $40 Contact: whartoncenter.com or call (517) 353-1982. The role of Francesca in "Brides of Madison County" is full of emotion: Heartbreak, pain, joy, excitement, passion and more heartbreak. The film version, played by iconic actor Meryl Streep opposite of another legendary actor, Clint Eastwood, who plays the role of photographer Robert, beautifully captures all of those emotions. The two-time Tony Award-winning Broadway musical is everything you would expect, and even a little more. That's why actor Elizabeth Stanley, who plays Francesca, is not overwhelmed in taking on the role of our love-torn lead. "I would be really intimated if we were doing a film remake," said Stanley in an interview before this weekend's performance at the Wharton Center in East Lansing. "Because it's a different medium, and it's a musical, I don't feel quite as intimated.The roles are so different." (Listen to the full interview as a podcast below.) Comparing the stage version to the movie, Stanley said attendees will see the community take on a bigger role, and "the family is a part of the story." The movie focuses on the two central characters, and in the musical, you see "the characters in present time." "People say, 'I like that. I understand that,'" Stanley said. "Bridges of "Madison County" is based on the best-selling novel by Robert James Waller and tells the story of Iowa housewife Francesca Johnson (played by Elizabeth Stanley) and her life-changing, four-day whirlwind romance with traveling photographer Robert Kincaid (played by Andrew Samonsky). Fans of the book and movie may be surprised the Broadway touring version is a "musical." "A lot of people start to say, 'How did they make that into a musical," Stanley said. "They think of tap dancing" and it's not like that. "It's like a play that has music in it," she added. "It works, trust me." You can see it at the Wharton Center through Sunday, May 22. Performances: 8 p.m. tonight (May 20); 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday (May 21); and 1 p.m. Sunday (May 22). More info at whartoncenter.com. Listen to the full interview with Elizabeth Stanley here: John Gonzalez is a member of the Life + Culture team at MLive. He covers food, beer, travel, events and coordinates Michigan's Best with MLive's Amy Sherman. Email him at gonzo@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+. Complete Michigan travel, destination and event information available via Michigan.org 160519_regents_brighton.jpg The University of Michigan Board of Regents approved Regents approved the schematic design for the $175 million University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers Brighton Health Center South project during its May 19 meeting in Grand Rapids. (Photo provided/University of Michigan) GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- The University of Michigan Board of Regents approved the schematic design for the $175 million University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers Brighton Health Center South project during its May 19 meeting in Grand Rapids. The regents will authorize issuing bids and awarding construction contracts for early procurement packages for excavation and grading, construction of parking lots and roadways and on-site utility work. The cost of the proposed work is $6.8 million. At the November 2015 meeting, the Board of Regents approved the project and the appointment of HKS Architects as the architect for its design. The University of Michigan Health System proposed the construction of an approximately 297,000-gross-square-foot building on university-owned land near the existing Brighton Health Center on Challis Road. Regents also received a design rendering of a multistory brick building during the May 19 meeting. UMHS already operates three existing health centers in Livingston County. The new building will be close to UMHS' current Brighton Health Center at 8001 Challis Road. The Kellogg Eye Center of Brighton is at 5720 Whitmore Lake Road. The Howell Pediatric and Teen Clinic is located at 711 Byron Road. All of the existing facilities will remain open. "We are happy to move forward with this exciting opportunity to bring world-class medical care to the Brighton area community," said Dr. Connie Standiford, executive medical director of the U-M Medical Group, in a release. The new Brighton health center is expected to house more than 40 specialty services for children and adults. The facility will include adult and pediatric specialty care, infusion, a comprehensive musculoskeletal center, sleep lab, ambulatory diagnostic and treatment center, comprehensive oncology care, operating rooms, short-stay unit, medical procedure unit, pharmacy, radiology and lab services. Surface parking is planned on site. "Visits to our clinic have now reached more than 2.3 million visits per year. Our goal is to increase access and make it easier for our patients to get the care they need," U-M Medical Group Chief Operating Officer Jeanne Rizzo said. The project is expected to provide an average of 125 on-site construction jobs. Construction is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2018. UMHS also has announced plans for the construction of a 75,000-square-foot health center on the west side of Ann Arbor. The $46 million project is expected to open in 2017. Martin Slagter covers higher education for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at mslagter@mlive.com or on Twitter. Tar2.jpg A resident snapped this photo of an apparent tar spill and reported it to the city. (Courtesy photo) ANN ARBOR, MI -- The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has investigated a reported tar spill on Ann Arbor's north side, determining it does not appear to be an imminent threat to people or the environment. Sheryl Doxtader, an environmental quality analyst with the DEQ's Jackson District Office, visited the area on Thursday to take a look at the spill on a vacant property off Dhu Varren Road across from Olson Park. A resident snapped this photo of an apparent tar spill and reported it to the city. Doxtader said she observed that the tar-like substance has pretty much solidified on the surface of the gravel of a pathway through the property and in several grassy areas on the property. She said there are no surface water bodies close to the area and the tar does not appear to be soaking into the ground. "We are continuing our investigation of possible illegal dumping on the property and will be working with the property owner regarding the spill, and possibly better restricting access to the property," she said. "We are also communicating and collaborating with Ann Arbor Township officials regarding this matter." In addition, Doxtader said, the DEQ's Office of Waste Management and Radiological Protection staff is checking see if there are any records on the property as an old dump. A resident stumbled upon the tar spill on Monday afternoon while walking his dog and reported it to the city. The city reported the incident to the DEQ's Pollution Emergency Alerting System line on Wednesday afternoon. The spill is on private property in a pocket of land that's part of Ann Arbor Township -- along the south side of Dhu Varren Road, east of Pontiac Trail -- so it's not under the city's jurisdiction. The property includes trails that run through fields, unofficially linking Olson Park with nearby Leslie Park. The resident who reported the spill believes the property may be being used as a dumping grounds and burning grounds for old tires. Ann Arbor Township Supervisor Mike Moran couldn't immediately be reached for comment on Friday. Ryan Stanton covers the city beat for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at ryanstanton@mlive.com. 403 Forbidden 403 Forbidden Code: AccessDenied Message: Access Denied RequestId: 55BF3769D4ED1849 HostId: gyLqFs5r6bZQpwj+jQUibsbdYObe5MBeDX6h10wbGYg1Vrmjvj43nLbCPWwOvlbzpCcB8aXTVKI= An Error Occurred While Attempting to Retrieve a Custom Error Document Code: AccessDenied Message: Access Denied ANN ARBOR, MI -- The University of Michigan and Ann Arbor businesses are at the forefront of innovation, says U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, but lawmakers must make comprehensive reforms and invest more in research if they want them to succeed. That's what Dingell, D-Dearborn, said after an Innovation Agenda 2.0 roundtable discussion with other lawmakers and local business leaders at the Ann Arbor SPARK offices on Liberty Street in downtown Ann Arbor on Friday. Other lawmakers in attendance included U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier of California. Dingell spoke briefly to The Ann Arbor News during a press conference afterward. Members of the media were not invited to attend the roundtable discussion. Among the myriad issues facing universities and tech companies, Dingell said, providing research grants for younger college students -- including undergraduates -- is an important first step. "Fewer and fewer young people want to go into research fields because they're not getting grants to support the research they want to do," Dignell said. "So, they're deciding the fields they want to go into aren't worth it. We've got to give people a long enough time to make mistakes and learn from them at the end." She and Pocan both have pieces of legislation moving through Congress to ensure research dollars for young students. Dingell's co-sponsored bill is called the 21st Century Cures Act. Pocan co-wrote the Next Generation Researchers Act with fellow Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Both lawmakers said they hope their bills maintain momentum and are passed soon. Dingell also called for reinvestment in development once research gets funded. She said doctors at the discussion brought up the need for lifesaving drugs, the kind only well-funded researchers can muster. The same goes for driverless cars and connected automotive innovations, an area of research dominated by U-M advancement. Dingell said Michigan and the U.S. must continue to bolster research in these areas before they cede ground to other regions or countries. On education, Dingell said well rounded students are a priority for Michigan universities. She wants Congress to encourage teaching creativity along with advanced skills, like robotics. "STEM is important, but advanced robotics and the like are outside the traditional STEM (course loads)," she said. "Everyone here talked about the need for that, and a need to look at the whole person to continue driving innovation." One issue facing U-M is its influx of international students who learn vital programming skills, but are often forced to leave the country after school due to restrictive visa laws. U-M had a total of 5,754 international students enrolled in winter classes this year, according to a 2016 university enrollment report. Dingell said sweeping immigration reform must take place to keep these students here. "The visa issue was something that got brought up and it's something we need to continue work on," she said. "The issue got brought up again in my office this week. It's critical." Legislation is pending to address visas, but some of Dingell's colleagues in Congress may not be ready to tackle the issue until after the election. She said a culture of fear is the reason for delays. "Right now, people are afraid because of national security, but we're causing fear," Dingell said. "National security is a legitimate issue, but we can't take a paint brush and paint people in broad strokes. We've got to have comprehensive immigration reform." Ben Solis is an intern with MLive & The Ann Arbor News. Email him at bsolis@mlive.com. 11458291-mmmain.jpg The number of students who qualify for free or reduced school lunches increased by 25 percent from 2006 to 2015. (MLive file photo) WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI -- While the number of K-12 students living in Washtenaw County has dropped by 4.5 percent in the past 10 years, the number of low-income students has increased by 25 percent in the same time period. Traditional public schools and charter schools are required to report enrollment information to the Michigan Department of Education. The MDE defines "economically disadvantaged" students as those who qualify for free or reduced-priced school lunches. For the 2014-15 school year, a family of four with an annual income of $44,123 or less was eligible for free or reduced lunches, according to guidelines established by the federal government. In the 2006-07 school year, the income threshold was $37,000 a year for a family of four. In the fall of 2015, Washtenaw County schools enrolled 46,138 students, according to data from the MDE. That's a 4.5 percent decline compared to the 48,324 students in the county in the fall of 2006. Statewide, K-12 enrollment dropped 10 percent in that same decade. This past fall, 1,2873 Washtenaw County students (27.9 percent) were considered low-income. In 2006, local schools served 10,293 low-income students (21.3 percent of total enrollment), which equates to a 25 percent increase in the number of low-income students over that decade. Statewide, 46 percent of students qualified for federally-subsidized school lunches in 2015. Below is a look at enrollment trends compare to subsidized lunch rates at Washtenaw County schools, listed in alphabetical order. Washtenaw County total K-12 enrollment Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 4.5 percent decrease Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 0.7 percent decrease Change in number of low-income students: 25.1 percent increase from 2006 to 2015, 5.1 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 31 percent in 2012 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 21 percent in 2006 and 2007 Ann Arbor Learning Community Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 12.8 percent decrease Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 19.7 percent decrease Change in number of low-income students: 59.8 percent increase from 2006 to 2015, 55.9 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 24 percent in 2013 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 5 percent in 2008 Arbor Preparatory High School (opened 2011) Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 0.7 percent increase Change in number of low-income students: 0.7 percent increase from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 33 percent in 2012 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 28 percent in 2011 Ann Arbor Public Schools Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 2 percent increase Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 1.8 percent increase Change in number of low-income students: 33.9 percent increase from 2006 to 2015, 2.8 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 25 percent in 2012 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 16 percent in 2006 Central Academy Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 68.1 percent increase Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 3.4 percent increase Change in number of low-income students: 66 percent increase from 2006 to 2015, 2.7 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 85 percent in 2008 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 79 percent in 2015 Chelsea School District Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 13 percent decrease Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 0.1 percent increase Change in number of low-income students: 24.4 percent increase from 2006 to 2015, 16.6 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 13 percent in 2010 and 2011 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 7 percent in 2006 Dexter Community Schools Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 2 percent decrease Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 0.2 percent decrease Change in number of low-income students: 14.3 percent increase from 2006 to 2015, 22.4 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 10 percent in 2011 and 2012 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 6 percent in 2006 East Arbor Charter Academy (opened 2011) Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 0.4 percent increase Change in number of low-income students: 22.4 percent increase from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 39 percent in 2015 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 32 percent in 2014 Fortis Academy Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 13.4 percent increase Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 3.4 percent increase Change in number of low-income students: 196.5 percent increase from 2006 to 2015, 4.9 percent increase from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 68 percent in 2015 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 26 percent in 2006 Global Tech Academy (opened in 2014) Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 19.8 percent increase Change in number of low-income students: 41.5 percent increase from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 85 percent in 2015 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 72 percent in 2014 Honey Creek Community School Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 55.6 percent increase Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 0.8 percent increase Change in number of low-income students: 4 percent increase from 2006 to 2015, 16 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 17 percent in 2008 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 10 percent in 2013 and 2015 Lincoln Consolidated School District Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 20 percent decrease Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 3.8 percent decrease Change in number of low-income students: 20.1 percent increase from 2006 to 2015, 5.9 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 50 percent in 2012 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 20 percent in 2007 Manchester Community Schools Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 20.3 percent decrease Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 6.6 percent decrease Change in number of low-income students: 28.7 percent increase from 2006 to 2015, 27.3 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 27 percent in 2014 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 13 percent in 2006 and 2007 Milan Area Schools Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 11.3 percent decrease Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 2.9 percent decrease Change in number of low-income students: 75.5 percent increase from 2006 to 2015, 6.1 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 31 percent in 2011 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 15 percent in 2006 Multicultural Academy (opened in 2012) Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 3.8 percent decrease Change in number of low-income students: 5.3 percent increase from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 81 percent in 2015 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 74 percent in 2014 Saline Area Schools Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 4.3 percent decrease Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 0.6 percent increase Change in number of low-income students: 187 percent increase from 2006 to 2015, 9.5 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 11 percent in 2014 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 3 percent in 2006 South Arbor Charter Academy Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 14.3 percent increase Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 0.3 percent decrease Change in number of low-income students: 28.6 percent increase from 2006 to 2015, 19.7 percent increase from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 20 percent in 2011 and 2012 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 15 percent in 2008 and 2014 South Pointe Scholars Charter Academy (opened in 2012) Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 1.5 percent increase Change in number of low-income students: 2.6 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 29 percent in 2012 and 2014 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 46 percent in 2013 Washtenaw ISD Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 1.8 percent decrease Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 2.5 percent decrease Change in number of low-income students: 87 percent increase from 2006 to 2015, 25 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 70 percent in 2010 and 2011 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 21 percent in 2006 Washtenaw Technical Middle College Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 77.5 percent increase Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 10.5 percent increase Change in number of low-income students: 8 percent for 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 12 percent in 2012 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 0 in 2006 Whitmore Lake Public Schools Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 34.2 percent decrease Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 8.9 percent decrease Change in number of low-income students: 9.8 percent decrease from 2006 to 2015, 11.3 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 42 percent in 2013 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 27 percent in 2006 and 2007 WSC Academy (opened in 2012) Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 27.6 percent decrease Change in number of low-income students: 17.1 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 87 percent in 2015 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 62 percent in 2012 Ypsilanti Community Schools Enrollment change from 2006 to 2015: 6 percent decrease Enrollment change from 2014 to 2015: 7.5 percent decrease Change in number of low-income students: 24.2 percent increase from 2006 to 2015, 8.7 percent decrease from 2014 to 2015 Highest subsidized lunch rate: 75 percent in 2014 Lowest subsidized lunch rate: 56 percent in 2006 Lauren Slagter covers K-12 education for The Ann Arbor News. Contact her at 734-255-1419, lslagter@mlive.com or on Twitter @LaurenSlagter. Update: DEQ plans to test groundwater in West Park area for dioxane ANN ARBOR, MI -- For the second time in as many weeks, an environmental remediation professional is warning that people living near Ann Arbor's West Park could be exposed to the toxic chemical dioxane. Dan Bicknell, president of Global Environment Alliance LLC, recently investigated the potential for basements in the West Park area to flood with groundwater contaminated by the Gelman dioxane plume. Based on a review of hydrogeological cross-sections and monitoring-well data, Bicknell told Michigan Department of Environmental Quality officials at meeting last week that dioxane could be getting into people's basements already, though he hasn't done any testing of water samples to find out. On Friday, Bicknell, who is credited for discovering the Gelman plume in 1984, once again sounded the alarm, this time sounding more urgent. He released a new report, a copy of which he shared with the DEQ, stating there is an imminent and substantial danger to public health from the dioxane plume migrating through the city, based upon the proposed DEQ vapor-intrusion criteria for contaminated groundwater within 10 feet of ground surface. DEQ officials said last week that changes to the state's dioxane criteria include a new vapor-intrusion screening level for when there's dioxane-contaminated groundwater in contact with a building foundation (29 parts per billion), as well as groundwater not in contact with a foundation (18,000 parts per billion). "Now that we've got a proposed number, we can start looking at that a little bit more closely," said Mitch Adelman, district supervisor for the DEQ's Remediation and Redevelopment Division. The DEQ agrees dioxane getting into people's basements is a potential risk, but at this time there's no conclusive evidence to say it has or hasn't happened. There also is some concern that dioxane-contaminated groundwater could be surfacing at West Park, even seeping out of hillsides. Bicknell shared his latest concerns in an email on Friday to Bob Wagner, the DEQ's Remediation and Redevelopment Division chief. He copied local officials and citizen activists on the email. Wagner couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Bicknell said the historical up-gradient dioxane concentrations in the shallow portion of the aquifer show dioxane moving toward the West Park area at concentrations that present a significant likelihood that now or in the near future will exceed the proposed 29-ppb criteria. Vapor intrusion into buildings in the West Park area and potentially surrounding areas where near-surface groundwater has or may become above the proposed 29-ppb criteria, Bicknell said, is a real and imminent threat. Dioxane is classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as likely to be carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure. It also can cause kidney and liver damage, and respiratory problems. Bicknell recommends that the DEQ and Pall Corp., the company that acquired Gelman Sciences in 1997, immediately take additional actions. That includes installing additional monitoring wells in the shallow portion of the aquifer and determining all areas where dioxane-contaminated groundwater may be within 10 feet of the ground surface, and doing additional groundwater extraction to halt the dioxane plume migration, among other measures. Bicknell, a former EPA Superfund enforcement officer, discovered the plume in 1984 as a University of Michigan graduate student and continues to study it. The DEQ is encouraging property owners with concerns about potential dioxane contamination to contact Dan Hamel, the DEQ's project manager for the Gelman plume site, at 517-780-7832 or hameld@michigan.gov. Ryan Stanton covers the city beat for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at ryanstanton@mlive.com. Scott DeRue.jpg Scott DeRue, the current associate dean for executive education at U-M's Ross School of Business, will tackle a new challenge as the new dean of Ross. DeRue's term as dean will begin on July 1, replacing Dean Alison Davis-Blake, who is stepping down after five years of service and will return to the faculty. (Photo provided/University of Michigan) ANN ARBOR, MI - D. Scott DeRue describes himself as an "adventure junkie," having climbed many of the world's tallest mountains including Mounts Everest, Kilimanjaro, Denali and Aconcagua. The obsession started early in his professional career when he determined climbing could provide a good learning laboratory for building team leadership. "I thought it would be a good laboratory to test how a team works under stress and test ambiguity," he said. "Boy, was I right." DeRue's passion for climbing might only be rivaled by his desire to develop a new generation of business leaders - a challenge he has accepted as an instructor, mentor and administrator at the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business since his arrival in 2007. The current associate dean for executive education at Ross will tackle yet another tall order at U-M after his appointment as the dean of Ross was approved by the U-M Board of Regents during its meeting on May 19. DeRue's term as dean will begin on July 1, replacing Dean Alison Davis-Blake, who is stepping down after five years of service. Bringing a youthful energy and excitement to Ross, DeRue hopes to continue providing his business acumen in a variety of roles, which currently include associate dean for Executive Education, director of the Sanger Leadership Center, professor of management and faculty director of the Emerging Leaders Program. Each of those roles have provided him with unique experience he'll apply collectively in his new role as dean, DeRue said. "I've really had a deep exposure to the research done here, what it means to be a faculty member, teaching, creating student experiences," he said. "I've also had the opportunity from a leadership perspective to invest in the degree programs, learn about our faculty and drive innovation." DeRue earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree with high honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Ph.D. in business administration from Michigan State University. Prior to entering academia, DeRue had a successful career spanning private equity investments, management consulting and luxury yachts. In 2003, he enrolled as a doctoral student, lecturer and research assistant at Michigan State, before joining Ross as an assistant professor of management in 2007. He was promoted to professor with tenure in 2013. During this time, he held multiple appointments in the Ross School, including Bank One Corporation Assistant Professor of Business Administration, faculty director of the Emerging Leaders Program, the Stein Research Scholar, faculty director of the Sanger Leadership Center and the Gilbert and Ruth Whitaker Professor of Business Administration. In 2014, he was appointed associate dean for executive education, and later assumed responsibility for the part-time MBA and executive MBA programs. In this role, DeRue led the executive education organization to its best performance in more than a decade. DeRue points to his appointment to lead the Sanger Leadership Center - then the Ross Leadership Initiative - in 2011 as a pivotal moment in his career in academia, as he began to see the impact directing young minds could have outside of Ross. "We fundamentally believe business is the most positive force for change in the world," he said. "Given the economic challenges our generation faces, the government and public sector cannot address those challenges alone. "We need to develop the next generation of business leaders that are going to create positive change in the world," he added. "That mission of (Sanger) is aligned with the school in creating positive change in the world. I see that core mission being a central driving force for everything we do going forward." Although it's early, DeRue singled out a few different missions he will look to build on in keeping Ross among the best in the country in areas like leadership and management, entrepreneurship, accounting, operations and supply chain management. Among those goals are creating a space to attract world-class thought faculty, developing leaders to make a positive difference in the world and continuing to emphasize being a global business school. Attracting the best faculty, he said, will be a continuation of what Ross has been able to do for years. "We have one of the deepest and highest quality faculties in the world," he said. "We rank no. 1 in publications per faculty member. The depth and breadth of leadership is amazing. We want to create a space where our world class leaders can lead the conversation in business, not just follow." Building future leaders, DeRue said, will depend on instilling a specific set of values students can take with them into the business world after graduation. "We want to create a transformational student experience for everyone from undergrads to executives," he said. "That has to be built on character, confidence, capability and connections. I'm committed to continuing that legacy and tradition while continuing to innovate around the student experience." Continuing down the path of creating a global business school will be essential to Ross' success in the future, DeRue said, which has been a huge point of emphasis for the school in the past decade. "In 2010 we offered our undergrads 100 global student experiences," he said. "In 2015 we offered 416 global student experiences. We will continue to invest in the global experiences we offer students and faculty." Martin Slagter covers higher education for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at mslagter@mlive.com or on Twitter. BAY CITY, MI -- The state's biggest law enforcement threat doesn't come from the large Muslim community in Southeast Michigan, but from hackers holding local businesses ransom, says David Gelios, the director of the FBI office in Detroit. Gelios spoke Thursday to the 100 Club of Bay County and said the Muslim population in Southeast Michigan is much more willing to adhere to the old crime-stopping adage of "If you see something, say something" than he's encountered with some rural populations. Dearborn has the highest percentage of Arab Americans living in one place than any other U.S. city, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. Rather, Gelios said, Michigan citizens and business owners should focus on securing their data systems. He cited several examples in the state of hackers worming into these systems, freezing them and then demanding money for the remedy. The annual meeting of the 100 Club of Bay County was held Thursday night at the Saginaw Bay Yacht Club. Public Safety Director Michael Cecchini introduced Gelios. Along with Cecchini, many high-ranking law enforcement officials, judges, candidates for office, first responders, business leaders and some civilians were in attendance. In all, more than 30 people attended the event. The 100 Club of Bay County was founded in 2006 with the aim of providing immediate financial assistance to families of local first responders who have lost their lives. It is one of many chapters across the state. Within 24 hours of an emergency worker losing their life on duty, the group will provide family members with $3,000, according to the mission pledge. This financial assistance, the pledge reads, circumvents any wait period for insurance or inadequate funds a family might experience in the wake of their loved one's death. The group is open to new members and is not a charity but a way of repaying a debt, according to the pledge. FLINT, MI -- A look at a decade's worth on enrollment figures from Flint Community Schools details a drop of more than 60 percent in student population in the district's buildings. An MLive database of enrollment totals from 2006-2015 shows a 67.8 percent decrease in the time frame, from 16,635 students in 2006 to 5,360 last year, according to numbers from the Michigan Department of Education. The figures play a key role in determining the amount of money the district receives from the state. Each student in Flint schools garnered the district $7,690 during the 2015-16 school year, according to the Senate Fiscal Agency. The proposed 2016-17 foundation allowance would offer $7,796 for each student enrolled in Flint schools. Student counts taken in fall determine 90 percent of per-pupil funding, with a spring count accounting for the remaining 10 percent. Flint schools are not alone however in experiencing a decline in students, with a majority of Genesee County public school districts having noticed a loss that plays a part in potential state funding. The Mt. Morris school district went from 3,507 pupils to 2006 to 2071 in 2015, a loss of 1,436 students or nearly 41 percent, but there was a sign of hope of late amid the somber numbers. Figures have remained steady since 2013 for Mt. Morris schools, with a student body of 2,070 students, down to 2,033 in 2014, but the number rebounded to 2071 in 2015. One Genesee County district that's witnessed a rebound in its ranks is Westwood Heights, going from 1,142 in 2006 to 1,357 in 2015, an increase of nearly 19 percent. Lake Fenton schools saw the second-largest increase amid public schools districts, jumping up from 1,747 students in 2006 to 2,014 in 2015, a 15 percent climb over the years. Here's a breakdown of enrollment numbers for each county and school district across the state of Michigan. FLINT, MI - A statewide board aims to eliminate lead exposure to Michigan children after Gov. Rick Snyder signed an executive order on Friday, May 20 establishing the board. The move took place during the Flint Water Interagency Coordinating Committee meeting at the University of Michigan-Flint. The 12-member board will have experts in prevention and mitigation of lead poisoning and will be headed up by Lt. Gov. Brian Calley. "Lead poisoning we know is an environmental injustice," said Dr. Mona Hanna-Atisha. "It's kids in Flint, kids in Grand Rapids and kids in Detroit. We need to reduce those disparities." The board will replace the Michigan Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention and Control Commission, according to a statement from the governor. "We can do this," Calley says of lead poisoning elimination. "We have all of the pieces. What we're missing is a coordinated strategies plan with real muscles and resources behind it." The new board is asked to give a report to Snyder by November with recommendations that include: Improving the blood lead testing rate of children for kids under 6-years-old Increasing the percentage of families using follow-up services when a child tests positive for elevated blood lead levels to ensure the adequacy of services Improving the availability of environmental lead investigations to families when a child tests positive for elevated blood lead levels, especially for children younger than 6-years-old Improvements to current remediation and abatement efforts aims at reducing child lead poisoning dangers across the state Bettering the existing collection, maintenance, sharing and reporting efforts regarding child lead poisoning data Hanna-Atisha said the move can shape Michigan and impact kids long after Flint's water crisis is complete. "It's huge," she said. "Flint is not going to be defined by this crisis, it's going to be defined by what happens after this crisis. Now the ability to work on eliminating lead poisoning across the state is huge." In April 2014, Flint stopped using treated water from the Detroit water system and began pumping water from the Flint River as the city's drinking water source. However, a lack of corrosion control chemicals caused more-corrosive river water to damage the city's water infrastructure and caused lead to leach into the city's water system. The city committed to the Karegnondi Water Authority pipeline after it was supported by the mayor and city council that were in place in 2013, but the ultimate decision to join the authority came from former emergency manager Ed Kurtz and former state treasurer Andy Dillon. Using money from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the state, Flint changed its water source from the Flint River to the Detroit water system in October, an effort to speed the process of re-coating transmission pipes that were damaged by corrosive river water and which were leaching lead. Dominic Adams is a reporter for The Flint Journal. Contact him at dadams5@mlive.com or 810-241-8803. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+. FLINT, MI - Michigan National Guard soldiers are expected to be out of Flint by the end of next week, Gov. Rick Snyder said on Friday, May 20. Snyder told the Flint Water Interagency Coordinating Committee that the soldiers' work will be wrapping up in the next week. "We're going to continue to have Flint residents take over the role of the National Guard," Snyder said. "They're winding down toward the end of this month." About 400 Michigan Army and Air National Guard have served in Flint, Snyder said. Soldiers first came to the city in January to assist with the distribution of water and faucet filters at five Flint fire stations. The supplies were needed because the city's water supply remains unsafe to drink without a proper filter because of elevated lead levels, state and federal officials have said. "This represents the best of Michigan," the governor said of the service of the National Guard soldiers. Mayor Karen Weaver said when Flint was hit with the water crisis, there was not capacity within the city to staff the water distribution centers. "We did not have the resources to do that at that time," she said. "It was something that was needed. This has been a wonderful partnership." Major General Greg Vadnais and Snyder honored some members of the Guard with accommodation medals on Friday. Stephanie Comai, director of the Michigan Talent Investment Agency, said a two-year, $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor will help pay employees to staff the city's water distribution centers after soldiers leave for good. Flint residents, about 120 of whom have been hired to date, will get the work experience through these temporary jobs to transition to permanent employment, she said. Antwain Kirkland, 28, said he previously worked from his home as a musician. Now he works as a greeter at the Flint water distribution site at Dort Federal Credit Union Events Center, making $11 an hour for 40 hours a week. "I'm the first person that they see," Kirkland said of people coming to pick up bottled water, water filter or filter cartridges. "I make sure they feel good and we treat them with respect." In April 2014, Flint stopped using treated water from the Detroit water system and began treating water from the Flint River as the city's drinking water source. Gov. Rick Snyder puts a merit medal on a member of the National Guard after a press conference thanking and honoring the Michigan National Guard for their work during the Flint water crisis on Friday, May 20, 2016 at Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center in Flint. The press conference announced that the National Guard will wrap up Flint water operations by the end of May. Rachel Woolf | MLive.com The city failed to treat the water to make it less corrosive, damaging the city's water infrastructure and caused lead to leach into the water system. The city committed to join the Karegnondi Water Authority pipeline in 2013, but the ultimate decision to join the authority came from former emergency manager Ed Kurtz and former state treasurer Andy Dillon. Using money from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the state, Flint changed its water source back from the Flint River to the Detroit water system in October, an effort to speed the process of re-coating transmission pipes that were damaged by corrosive river water and which were leaching lead. Dominic Adams is a reporter for The Flint Journal. Contact him at dadams5@mlive.com or 810-241-8803. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+. This domain is registered at Dynadot.com. Website coming soon. Feb. 18, 1938 May 19, 2016 Melvyn Leroy Farstad passed away on May 19, 2016, at the age of 78. Mel was born in Devils Lake, North Dakota, on Feb. 18, 1938. His parents were Emil and Myrtle Farstad. He had a sister Phyllis Jean Baker of Rockaway Beach and a brother. He moved to Albany at age 10. Mels entry into the work force was a paper route with 150 customers; then cleaning burlap bags for penny apiece; cleaning railroad cars and starting up locomotives; saw mill, selling life insurance; pumping gas and airport maintenance. The love of his life was selling cars for 27 years; building a new car dealership, Farstad Mazda. A fishing trip to Pacific City lured him into moving there to commercial fish a dory, the Su Jan. He retired from the Port of Tillamook Bay Tillamook Airport in 2007. He was in the National Guard for six years. Hunting ducks was his favorite sport. Mel left behind his wife Janet of 54 years; son Shawn and wife Crystal; and his precious grandsons who he dearly loved, Thor and Wayde. Preceding him in death was his beloved daughter, Susann. No services are planned. This Account has been suspended. Investor appetite is high for shares in Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings Limited (MTSH), which will today become the second company to list on the Yangon Stock Exchange, securities firms say. The company will not raise any new capital but its existing shares will become free to trade electronically, following a pre-launch lockdown on trading. MTSH, established in 2013 by a nine-shareholder consortium, will list 3.9 million shares at a base price of K40,000, around half of their peak value on the over-the-counter market. Underwriter CB Securities has valued the company at K40,500 according to an announcement yesterday on the YSX website. Other recently licenced firms including AYAtrust Securities, KBZSC and KTZ Ruby Hill Securities will also accept customer orders for shares in the company. Rules governing the potential daily trading range of shares on the YSX K10,000 in either direction for shares trading above K41,000 leaves investors with market orders exposed to large price movements. In todays trading, for example, MTSH shares can end the day worth anywhere between K30,000 to K50,000. CB Securities managing director U Thaung Han said his firm had already received K3.5 billion in customer orders by yesterday afternoon. Ma Thin Nu Yee, an executive at AYAtrust, said the phones in her office had been very busy with customers placing orders throughout the week. Her company had accepted lots of market orders since May 16 and a number of limit orders yesterday. Limit orders specify a maximum or minimum price at which the shares are to be traded while market orders do not. A 50-year-old trader, who already owns FMI shares, told The Myanmar Times yesterday that MTSHs share price would definitely reach the upper limit today, and believes it will rebound to its former over-the-counter value of K80,000 within a week. I would buy the shares even if the price reaches its upper limit, but I dont think there will be many sellers, he said. U Thaung Han was less willing to predict how the shares would trade. Most of the companys existing shareholders are likely to watch to see how the market performs before selling large holdings, he said. YSX senior general manager U Thet Tun Oo said the base price is already four times higher than the price at which the shares were first sold, as physical certificates. Investors will decide whether they should buy MTSH shares at this price or not, he said. However, some investors are worried that, as happened with FMI, the share price could decline after reaching an early high, as prospective traders lose interest in their novelty. After strong gains in the early days of trading, shares in the first company to list, First Myanmar Investment, have fallen below their original launch price and trading volumes have slumped. Industry figures say it is too early to judge the success of the bourse. The investor base is made up almost entirely of individuals or retail investors who trade only in small amounts. Financial expert and banker U Soe Thein said most investors are not yet educated enough to make informed decisions. People should refrain from emotional investments, and should wait to see what happens, so that volatility doesnt happen again, he said, referring to sharp moves in FMIs share price in the first week of trading. U Win Aung chairs MTSH, which had 16,720 shareholders as of November 2015, according to a disclosure document published last week, detailing its earnings and the main risks facing the company. The directors and executive officers of the company held 46 percent of total shares as of December 31, 2015, according to that firms disclosure report. U Win Aung held or had an interest in 220,750 of the firms shares, more than any other director or executive officer. Several others own between 195,000 and 197,000 shares. Serge Pun, chair of FMI, is also a shareholder in MTSH, while CB Bank chair U Khin Maung Aye is a vice-chair. Yoma Strategic Holdings financial results for 2015-16 released yesterday showed a near six-fold increase in short-term borrowing, along with a modest bump in profits. New profit for that financial year was S$44 million (US$31.9 million), up from S$39.3 million the previous year, while total revenue rose only slightly from S$110.9 million to S$111.8 million. The group was hit by higher administrative and financial expenses, and showed lower gross profits than in 2014-15. Administrative expenses jumped from S$32.1 million to S$46.18 million, mainly due to Yoma Strategic buying and incorporating subsidiaries including those related to New Holland tractors and a franchise agreement for American fast-food restaurant chain KFC, the firm said. The first KFC branch in Myanmar opened in Yangon in 2015, and the subsidiary is on track to hit the target of 12 branches by March 2017, Yoma Strategic said. Although expenses were up, the firm paid less income tax, and benefited from a rise in net other gains. This rise totalled over S$55.5 million, with the groups 25pc stake in edotco Investments accounting for the majority. Yoma Strategic signed an agreement with edotco Group in December 2015, which grants the option for Yoma to sell, or edotco to buy, the stake for a minimum of US$40.2 million. As a result this stake was reclassified as a held-for-trading financial asset, and Yoma recorded a S$36.2 million fair value gain the difference between the fair value of the stake as of March 31, 2016, which was US$46.7 million, and the original value. Also included in other gains was a revaluation of Yomas property investments, including Star Citys residential units and the Dulwich international school. Together with the edotco stake this helped counter higher expenses, and provide a rise in profits. The firm also disclosed it has ramped up current borrowing, which it defines as debt due within one year or less. This rose from S$10 million to S$58.5 million during 2015-16. An S$15.5 million chunk of this was due to a loan taken out by wholly-owned subsidiary Xun Xiang Enterprise being reclassified from non-current to current. Xun Xiang Enterprise is based in the city of Dalian on the east coast of China, and the loan is secured by a retail mall in the same city. The rest of the increase in short-term-debt came from loans from financial institutions. Of the S$58.5 million in short-term borrowings, S$36.3 million is unsecured, although this includes a S$10 million loan with a personal guarantee from executive chair Serge Pun. Non-current borrowings, debt with a maturity longer than one year, almost doubled over the same period from S$15.7 million to S$31 million. This consists entirely of drawdowns from a $100 million facility with the Asian Development Bank. Of the drawdown so far equivalent to S$36.3 million or US$23 million $16 million is secured against shares in YSH finance, a subsidiary that also holds the edotco stake. Another US$7 million of the ADB drawdown is secured against an assignment of 100pc interest in Yoma Fleet. Although the groups revenue increased slightly, the share of revenue across different arms affected the overall profit margin. Revenue from selling residences and land rights fell S$34 million in 2015-16 compared to the previous year. This was more than balanced out by higher revenue from property rentals and the automotive business. Yoma announced earlier this year that a new subsidiary would import and sell Volkswagen cars in Myanmar, but this business is not expected to start in 2017-18. The margins from the automotive arm were lower than in the real estate business, and within the real estate business the margins from Star Citys residential units was also lower, Yoma Strategic said. As a result, the firms gross profit margin fell from 41.1pc in 2014-15 to 36.4pc 2015-16. Ambassador Scot Marciel held a wide-ranging discussion at the US embassy yesterday about the motivations and anticipated effects of his countrys updated sanctions regime on Myanmar. He framed the recent changes as significant adjustments which show support for the overall economy and new government, while also maintaining incentives for the reform effort. There has been significant progress in Myanmar, Mr Marciel said, It is critical to respond to this positively. The sanctions relief included removing three state-owned banks from the blacklist of Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) and adding two military-owned lenders to a general licence that allows financial transactions. Mr Marciel said these steps were taken to ease the burden on the national financial sector. Sanctions were having the unintended impact of limiting transactions through the financial sector which hurts the economy. That was not the intent, he said. Specifically on the inclusion of military-owned lenders, he added, Not doing so would mean the positive impact of our adjustment would be greatly limited. But he reiterated that US companies still cannot invest in these two entities Myawaddy Bank and Innwa Bank. The new sanctions regime was designed to make it easier for the banking sector to develop and do its job of fuelling economic growth, he said. He refused to comment on recent reports that Myanmar is forging closer defence ties with Russia thanks, in part, to ongoing US military sanctions. Confusion had swirled about why the US had taken additional steps in naming six Asia World-linked businesses on the blacklist, as US firms and individuals were already banned from doing business with all entities owned 50 percent or more by Asia World or its chair Steven Law. Mr Marciel said the addition was intended as a clarification. Some seeking to do business here wont necessarily know what companies are controlled by a sanctioned entity, he said. The US intends to raise the minimum amount of investment that triggers reporting requirements for its firms in Myanmar, although there are doubts that the move would trigger much of an increase in investment. Senior US administration officials said on May 17 that as part of actions to help trade, investment and the new government, the US would raise the reporting threshold for aggregate new investment from US$500,000 to $5 million. The announcement came as part of a series of amendments to the US sanctions regime against Myanmar following the countrys transition to a democratically elected government. The reporting system requires all US companies with investment over $500,000 in Myanmar to file annual reports, along with companies that have any investments with state-run Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). This system has attracted a range of opinion, from US firms that believe reporting requirements should be removed altogether to human rights organisations that say reporting should be made more rigorous and better defined, giving firms less discretion over what they disclose. Officials at US firms have also encountered issues with the definition of new investment, and had to seek clarity from the US administration over what exactly qualifies. US officials did not comment on any change to the structure of the reporting, but said that a higher threshold would help encourage investment. Weve discovered, in part through [an] extended public comments process, that while there are mixed views on [the] reporting requirements, a consistent [concern] has been the threshold that requires reporting, said one senior US official, asking not to be named. Small and medium enterprises in particular have found the threshold a costly obstacle to investment. The change should minimise the reporting burden, and encourage US companies that want to invest to do so, he said. The change in threshold was under administrative review and expected to be active within weeks, he added. But people at US firms were doubtful the threshold shift would lead to substantial new investment. Many of the US companies in Myanmar have invested over $5 million, and several others have chosen to report, despite not hitting the $500,000 threshold, said Eric Rose, lead director at Herzfeld Rubin Meyer and Rose law firm in Yangon. General Electric is among the companies that report voluntarily while remaining beneath the $500,000 threshold and not engaging in agreements with MOGE. Pressure from human rights and civil society groups, which often rate the quality of US firms disclosure documents for their Myanmar operations, acts as a strong incentive to meet the reporting requirement regardless. An official at one US company operating in Myanmar, who asked to remain anonymous, said the move would help remove an administrative burden, but I dont think people decide to invest or not based on [the] reporting threshold, he said. Claudia Flores, director of the University of Chicago Law Schools International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC), said the change in threshold was a step in the wrong direction. She and a team from the IHRC visited Myanmar earlier this year, and heard repeatedly that workers face barriers to securing basic workplace rights, Ms Flores said. Given Myanmars history of human rights abuse, ensuring investment is done responsibility and meets human rights standards is critical, the IHRC has said. For US firms a duty to report is, at best, tenuously connected to any financial burden, said Ms Flores. A $5 million threshold would only encompass rather large investments leaving all other investments unaccountable in their adverse impact on human rights. The IHRC in January submitted comments to the US State Department, noting that some firms, particularly international garment and footwear brands, operating in Myanmar maintain they are not required to report. Reports from other companies provide little in the way of useful information that would allow civil society groups to monitor whether human rights are being protected, the IHRC said. The IHRC wants better-defined reporting requirements, which include details of what kind of policies and procedures firms must design to address how their operations affect things like human rights, that require US firms to disclose the identify of their local partners and that are available in Myanmar language. If the threshold is increased, it should follow that the requirements are more rigorous than those currently drafted, Ms Flores said. Although some US firms want the requirements dropped altogether, the official at the US firm operating in Myanmar said he thought any level of disclosure was helpful, as long as it was not commercially sensitive. Being shy sends alarm bells, he said. Yangon-based Won Toll signed an agreement for a 300-megawatt solar power project with Kamrai Panit from Thailand on May 18, said officials. The US$1 billion agreement will fund the solar power plant in Ayeyarwady Region to generate electricity to transmit to industries, said U Kunn Zaw Tun, chair of Won Toll. The figure is unusually high for a project of the proposed size. We are going to start the project as soon as we sign a power purchasing agreement with the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, he told The Myanmar Times yesterday. The two companies plan to produce 50MW in the first six months and 300MW within one year from when the project starts, he said. We are going to present the project to the Ayeyarwady Region chief minister on May 20. He will then take the proposal to the Union [government] level. The Thai company will invest 80 percent of the capital while the remainder will be funded by Won Toll. The two companies also aim to build solar projects in other states and regions. Neither company has any major existing power projects in Myanmar. This is our first development. We would like to build in our regions as well. We have already imported solar plates, said U Kunn Zaw Tun. A senior official from the Ministry of Electricity and Energy said he had no knowledge of the project. For such a large project they will need approval from the Union-level government, the official said. Technically, it is almost impossible to produce solar power in Ayeyarwady Region and we havent approved any projects there. The former government signed just two major solar power deals with foreign investors, both in 2014. US-based ACO Investment Group will invest US$480 million to build two 150MW solar plants near Mandalay, both of which are due to come online this year. Thailands Green Earth Power will spend $350 million on a 220MW plant in Magwe Regions Minbu, which will take three years to build, according to the company. Investment and advisory firm Andaman Capital Partners told The Myanmar Times in March that it is working with the Sagaing Region government to find commercial opportunities for solar power, with a view to securing a 450-acre site and generating up to 80MW of electricity. Thai-headquartered firm CEA Project Logistics and Italys Fagioli signed a consortium agreement earlier this week to expand their businesses in Southeast Asia. The consortium will seek investment opportunities in the region including in Myanmars power sector, said the officials. The governments Energy Master Plan published earlier this year suggests Myanmars entire energy sector will require between $30 billion and $40 billion in investment over the next 15 to 20 years. To meet demand the government aims to develop a mix of energy sources, targeting 33pc biomass, 22pc oil, 20pc coal, 13pc gas, 11pc hydro and 1pc renewable energy by 2030. The new government will be both positive and negative for Myanmars trade relations, said Korean officials at the Korea Trade Mission 2016 yesterday, the first such trade show since the new leadership took office On the positive side, the National League for Democracys good standing in the West has already lead to the easing of sanctions, said Kim Doo Myeong, executive secretary of Gyeonggi exporter association. The US government has eased sanctions, which means a freer flow of goods into and out of Myanmar. As another example, it is now much easier for me to bring US dollars into the country than in the past. Thats a good signal, he said. Meanwhile, the new government is drafting rules for foreign companies looking to do business with Myanmar, he said. Our concern is that the new government does not have enough experience in developing the country in the right way or in a business-oriented way. I think they will study other countries like Korea and Japan. Most delegates at the trade mission believed the country was on the right track. U Aye Lwin, joint secretary general of the UMFCCI, said Myanmar is preparing to pass intellectual property and consumer protection laws, as well as other rules to tackle illegal trading. There may be some good news for investment, but some things may be more difficult than they were in the past, when most trade was done on terms of mutual understanding rather than relying on strict laws, he said. Korean investors said they were concerned about high land prices, particularly in Yangon, and the lack of developed infrastructure, said Ahn Jae-yong, managing director of the KOTRA Yangon Centre. The International Finance Corporation is considering a major investment in Myanmar telecoms infrastructure firm Irrawaddy Green Towers (IGT), according to documents obtained by The Myanmar Times. The investment, through IGTs Singapore-incorporated owner Irrawaddy Towers Asset Holding (ITAH), would consist of two injections of up to US$30 million for equity and debt, the IFC project description said. The organisation has also included a potential plan to activate up to $30 million in parallel senior debt financing, it added. IGT has built and operates more than 2000 towers in Myanmar and aims to put up nearly 3000 more by 2018. IFC wants to help with the companys infrastructure rollout, which in total could cost $490 million. The towers sector is under-tapped, the project memo said, and IGTs infrastructure rollout would open up new jobs and boost mobile coverage. Meanwhile, IFC seemed to see a lucrative future ahead for IGT and a role to play as financier. IFC will provide long-term financing to a company in a high growth, capital-intensive industry with limited access to finance at present in Myanmar, the project description said. Though IFC said this potential investment would be its first in towers, the company has pumped money into telecoms before. The Myanmar Times reported in October last year that IFC and Ooredoo were nearing completion of a debt financing deal of up to US$150 million, with funding to mostly go toward infrastructure development. Both the Qatari telecom and its Norwegian-owned rival in the market, Telenor, are customers of Irrawaddy Green Towers. The One1ness Kachin Charity Fashion Show, held in Yangon in February, featured the collections of seven talented Kachin designers. Among the two women who participated was Htu Aung, who was born in Kachin State but moved to Yangon after she finished her matriculation exam. I already had a plan to run my own business and have a career Im passionate about. In my heart Im already passionate about being a fashion designer. I think I got that from my mother, who is a tailor, said Htu Aung. Once in Yangon she began attending university but at the same time started taking basic tailoring classes. I thought I needed to learn basic tailoring as soon as possible if I wanted to go to fashion design school after graduation. So in my free time I took basic tailoring classes while I was studying for my law degree at university, she said. In 2007 Htu Aung moved to Bangkok to attend Raffles Design Institute, graduating three years later with an advanced diploma in fashion design. At Raffles we studied a lot of subjects, but I dont need to use everything I learned to succeed in the Myanmar fashion industry, she said. She returned to Yangon in 2010 and established the GHG fashion boutique. At first I featured my fashion designs in a few magazines but later I became more focused on my business with my clients and I cut the media coverage, she said. Early in her career Htu Aung made dresses for the Kachin model and friend Awn Seng. I made many dresses for her and I also did costume designs for her in one of her movies, she said. She has also participated in three group fashion shows, including the Six Mash-Up Charity Fashion Show in 2012, the Manaw Ahla Charity Show in 2013 and One1ness earlier this year. For her customers, she makes Myanmar dresses, evening gowns, wedding evening gowns and many other types of dresses. I also made mens fashions in the early years of my career but later stopped, Htu Aung said. I allow all my customers to supply their own fabric except when they want me to make wedding gowns. I supply my own fabric for wedding gowns because if a customer gives me low-quality fabric to make a wedding dress, that fabric can affect my design and make it look cheap and imperfect. I dont want that to happen so I made that rule. She said she is very careful with detail. If the cutting and finishing of the dress is perfect, the dress will look amazing even if the design and the fabric design are simple, she said. For the runway, I give prominence to the fabrics. At the One1ness show she received high praise from the audience for her collection, which was based on Kachin designs using colourful fabrics. At One1ness I wanted to do something different from other designers who were using Kachin textiles. So I bought more than 300 stoles, tore them apart and used them to make beautiful, colourful dresses, she said. Since then she has gained much attention from the public and the media, and has received many requests from magazines to feature her designs on their covers. All the dresses I showed at One1ness have been used by one magazine or another, Htu Aung said. Now Im starting to create my new collection. All my designs are based on white fabric, and on that I will add colourful dye. She also plans to launch a ready-to-wear brand, and dreams of establishing a proper fashion design school in Myanmar. I think both of these projects will take some time to complete because all I want is to be perfect. I dont need to rush, she said. As a Buddhist monk living in the Ayeyarwady delta in the mid-20th century, U Thuri Ya had a dream three dreams, in fact, of a strangely fanciful pagoda rising out of the jungle in Yangons northern outskirts. With these nocturnal visions, U Thuri Ya was carrying on a family tradition of sorts: When his mother had been pregnant with him, she had dreamt that she was bearing a white elephant in her womb, a harbinger of her sons dedication and contribution to Buddhism. U Thuri Ya, an ethnic Kayin, happily complied with this omen. At the age of six he began his monastic education, at 12 he became a novice and at 19 he entered the Sangha as a monk. After dreaming his own pagoda dreams, he moved to Yangon to make his visions reality. Later becoming known as Maha Saywingaba Sayadaw, he found land in Insein township, about 10 miles (16 kilometres) north of downtowns Sule Pagoda. Now dominated by the busy confluence of Pyay, Lanthit and Insein Butaryon roads, 70 years ago the area was heavily forested and home to leopards and other wildlife. He paid K25,000 for a 5-acre compound and got to work raising funds by accepting donations from well-wishers throughout the country. Construction on the Arlein Nga Sint Pagoda compound began in 1954, with the first bricks laid by Prime Minister U Nu and Mahn Win Maung, an ethnic Kayin politician who served in various ministerial positions during the decade leading up to his appointment as president of Burma in 1957. Among the structures that were completed during U Thuri Yas lifetime was Aung Dhamma Yone monastery, as well as the central Arlein Nga Sint Pagoda, a uniquely baroque seven-tiered structure symbolising the seven levels of paradise and coated with 100 viss (360 pounds or 160 kilograms) of gold. The pagoda is surrounded by a low-walled labyrinth; an onion-domed tower with a staircase winds around the outside, completed the phantasmagorical picture. It remains one of the more unusual pagodas in Myanmar. U Thuri Ya was aided in his project by a monk named U Agga Dhamma, who travelled to Lalti monastery in Monywa township, where he had stayed before moving to Yangon, to hire a well-known carpenter from the region to build the pagoda. After U Thuri Yas passing, U Agga Dhamma carried on with the work, and another round of visions provided further guidance: On three consecutive days, he dreamt during afternoon naps of a man dressed in white advising him to place a large green-coloured Buddha inside the pagoda. The apparition helpfully added that the monk could find a small statue nearby, which he was to use as the model for the bigger image. U Agga Dhamma was unsure whether to believe the dream, but in Myanmar Buddhism white-clad men are assumed to be good spirits, so he started searching for the model image. To his surprise he found a small green Buddha in a cupboard in the monastery. Even more astonishingly, when he returned to Monywa to consult about building the larger statue, the artisan he had hired was holding an identical small green Buddha in his possession. The resulting 5-metre-tall (16.5-foot) green Buddha statue with a Bamar-style body and Thai-style head was placed in the pagoda around 1970, along with 1 viss of gold and a collection of Buddhist scriptures. The compound as a whole is now home to 108 Buddha statues, 108 shrines and a pond whose water is believed to possess healing powers. Since its founding, Arlein Nga Sint Pagoda has played an important role in the Kayin community, and continues to do so by hosting Yangons biggest Kayin New Year festival every December and January. Construction of a new three-storey monastery, Bo Daw San Kyaung, is also under way in the compound, which will be designed to accommodate monks aged 75 years and older. In one quiet corner of the compound is a room where U Thuri Yas gold-covered body is on display in a glass coffin. U Agga Dhamma, now 81 years old and still presiding over the pagoda, is quick to debunk myths about any supernatural qualities attributed to the corpse. Please dont believe rumours that the hair and fingernails on the body have kept growing long after [U Thuri Yas] death. How can a dead body still be alive? U Agga Dhamma told The Myanmar Times. People respected him so much that they believe he is great and different from others, so they have invented these stories. U Agga Dhamma also said that Arlein Nga Sint, despite its unique appearance, does not really stand out among other pagodas. Theres no significant difference between one pagoda and another, just as there is no difference between a Buddha statue in your house and one at Shwedagon or any other pagoda. They all have the same power because there is only one Buddha in the world, he said. Only in Malaysia do you find slang phrases comprising four distinct languages. Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil theyve got it all, and the people of Malaysia are proud of the fact. Thats why Timeout Kuala Lumpurs recent headline Wei macha, you want to makan here or tapau? or, hey man want to dine in or takeaway? was shared widely on social media. It combines all four languages into one mutually intelligible question. It only took one day for a Malay person to explain the diversity to me. We were winding out of the shiny metropolis of Kuala Lumpur, headed to a waterfall somewhere near Selangor Dam north of town. Smooth paved roads unfolded like ribbon across the verdant green landscape as clouds gathered overhead. It rains at least 10 days a month, wet or dry season, and the temperature hovers between 28 and 32 degrees Celsius all year round. Life in the hot, sticky Yangon gridlock felt a million miles away, and an hour and a half after leaving the shadows of the Petronas Towers wed reached the Sungai Chiling Fish Sanctuary, which is run by the Selangor State Fisheries Department. The admission fee was 1 ringgit (US$0.25), and a collection of tents hinted at its popularity as a family attraction. Kids splashed in the river and their mothers watched and chatted from the shore. We left the pastoral behind, crossing a swaying suspension bridge into the rainforest. Our local friend said it was a 30-minute hike to the falls, but in reality half the time is devoted to fording rivers and clambering across fallen tree trunks. Its as much an aquatic exercise as an overland route. In total, we crossed the water five times. At one particularly rapid and deep crossing, we had to send our tallest group member with our bags held head-high while the shorter among us half-swam to safety. Word to the wise: Avoid wearing a yellow shirt or Neutrogena sunscreen. A horde of wasp-beasts took a liking to either my scent or my style not sure which and I would emerge from the jungle literally stung and mentally shattered by the long hunt I experienced as prey through the trees. All was forgotten, however, as our band of adventurers made the final turn. A 260-foot-tall cascade roared before us, falling into an interior pool before rushing into a larger, more placid oasis. Schools of fish nibbled at our feet as we waded into the clear water, and a fine mist drifted through the air. Higher levels are accessible, but difficult to reach. We were satisfied with the bottom-feeders. A rope pegged to the cliff face enables you to get closer to the falls, and from the rocks you can turn and see 180 degrees of Malaysian jungle. You can also dive headfirst into the deep, cool water. A smattering of groups enjoyed picnics and games in the clearing, but for the most part, the place was hardly populated. While sitting on the rock and scanning for monkeys in the trees, I thought about something the flight attendant had said to me on the way into Kuala Lumpur. Welcome to Malaysia, truly Asia, she said. From the Chillings Waterfall deep in the Selangor rainforest, its easy to see what theyre talking about. Rakhine State is bracing for the expected impact this weekend of Cyclone Roanu, the first storm of the monsoon season which is likely to make landfall over Bangladesh while dumping heavy rains over Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships. The depression brewing in the Bay of Bengal was upgraded early yesterday morning to a cyclonic system. Heavy rains and strong winds were lashing the east coast of India as the cyclone moved northeast. It is expected to intensify before making landfall over southern Bangladesh on May 22, the Hawaii-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported yesterday. Landfall may be in Chittagong, U Hla Tun of Myanmars Department of Meteorology and Hydrology said. The alert level remains at yellow for now. Under the colour-coded storm warning system, yellow means a storm is formed but it is not moving toward the Myanmar coast; orange means the storm is tracking toward Myanmar; and red is when it is expected to cross the coastline within 12 hours. Brown means the storm is currently making landfall. The minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement went to Sittwe yesterday to meet state government authorities preparing for Roanu. Although the cyclone is not expected to hit Myanmar directly, Rakhine and Chin states and Sagaing Region and upper Myanmar areas, which will be on the right-hand side of the cyclone, can expect heavy rain and strong winds, U Min Thein, a director at the the relief and re-settlement department, said. He said no order had been issued to the public to evacuate their homes as yet. But early warning and safety information was being circulated. Cyclone Komen ravaged Rakhine and Chin states in late July and August last year. Over half a million hectares of farmland were flooded, with some 340,000 hectares destroyed. The two states are still gripped by high levels of food insecurity, UN agencies reported two months ago. The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw has signed an updated international maritime treaty designed to protect its coastlines from pollution damage due to oil spills. Parliament agreed to sign the most recent 1992 Protocol of the 1969 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage on May 17. Adopting the protocol means that up-to-date international compensation standards should be available to persons affected by oil pollution damage resulting from maritime casualties involving oil-carrying ships. The convention places the liability for such damage on the owner of the ship from which the polluting oil escaped or was discharged. It requires ships maintain insurance or other financial security in sums equivalent to the owners total liability for one incident. Seven Hluttaw representatives participated in the debate. Dekkhinathiri constituency Pyithu Hluttaw representative U Thant Zin Tun said the discussion was highly relevant due to plans for several oil-related ventures around the country, such as the ports of Thilawa, Dawei and Kyaukphyu. International petroleum ships and cargo ships will land in the Myanmar marine area. The amount of loading and unloading of crude oil, palm oil and chemical products in Myanmar marine areas will be higher than before, U Thant Zin Tun said. U Ba Shein, Pyithu Hluttaw representative for Rakhine States KyaukPhyu constituency, said Myanmar people should get compensation if petroleum leaked into its territory from international vessels. U Ba Shein said this protection was very important. The protocol has been sent to the president to sign. Translation by San Layy Judges have a special responsibility to uphold the law in an honest and unbiased manner, Mandalay Regions chief minister told senior judiciary members in a conference on May 18. Chief Minister U Zaw Myint Maung told participants, including judges of state and regional high courts, that their task was to serve the people in accordance with the law. Citing the constitution, which directed that the judicial power of the Union was shared among the Supreme Court of the Union, the High Courts of the states and regions, the lower courts, and those in the self-administered areas, he said it was important not to misuse judicial power or to make it serve self-interest. Judges should act in accordance with a moral code and with dignity, to help the public according to the law through the exercise of the judicial power conferred by the state, to conduct themselves in a calm and honest manner, with integrity and avoiding misuse. The associations which support the judiciary also help and support the courts to render prompt and correct judgements, he said. The chief minister also urged the courts to complete pending cases in civil matters without further delay, in order to win back peoples confidence. Judges, law officers and law associations should cooperate to bring the cases to completion promptly and correctly, he said. Delay in the resolution of a legal case wastes the time of officers of the state and causes distress and concern among litigants, who worry about food, clothing and shelter. The police and investigators, officers of the court, medical practitioners and pharmacists should cooperate to bring these cases to a conclusion, he said. Mandalay Chief Justice U Soe Thein urged his colleagues to report any attempt at bribery and to cooperate to stamp out corruption in the courts. Action is being taken to reduce the current caseload in the regions courts. There are many civil law cases in Mandalay Region, generated by the active property market. The high court will take up and complete as many of these as possible within 100 days, he said. Congress is deciding how best to fund research into the outbreak of the Zika virus, which appears to have reached the point where it's going to be with us for the duration. The virus has been linked to severe birth defects, including microcephaly, since it surfaced in Brazil about a year ago. President Obama has called for $1.9 billion in funding to fight the virus. The House of Representatives has a proposal for $622 million and the Senate is looking at a $1.1 billion proposal. In the meantime, as National Public Radio reported this week, state and local health departments, along with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are feeling a financial pinch because the White House already has moved money from other programs into Zika research while it awaits a congressional appropriation. The situation is eerily analogous to what happens every year with federal firefighting dollars: As each year's fire season burns hotter than the one before, agencies must transfer money meant for forest maintenance work into firefighting efforts. It's not a good long-term solution. And you can count on this: Zika won't be the last infectious disease that will require an emergency response. So why not establish an emergency fund that can be called upon in a hurry when the next disease, whatever it may be, becomes a threat? Already, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has access to such a fund to speed aid to areas hit by natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes. Having such an emergency fund for disease outbreaks could remove the need to shortchange other important public health efforts. The idea makes so much sense that it seems unlikely that Congress will move on it any time soon. (After all, Congress has been fiddling around for years on a similar proposal to help pay for the nation's very biggest wildfires.) (mm) Adair Village celebrates Congraulations to Adair Village, which marks the 40th anniversary of its incorporation today with a Founders Day celebration scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event includes tours of the East Barracks, a surviving structure from the Camp Adair days that is being renovated for use as a historical interpretive center. Another building with a history, the old Palestine Church, will be open to the public as well. The event also includes uniformed World War II re-enactors who will be on hand with informational displays and a variety of other activities as well not to mention free barbecue from noon to 2 p.m. Adair residents have been doing a terrific job lately in reclaiming the area's vibrant history. Saturday's activities offer a great opportunity for the rest of us to catch up. (mm) Medical pot and veterans Give credit to U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon for his role in helping to pass a bit of legislation that could allow veterans access to medical marijuana. The Department of Veterans Affairs specifically prohibits its medical providers from completing forms allowing a qualified veteran to participate in a state's medical marijuana program. That forces veterans interested in medical marijuana out of the VA system. On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a Blumenauer amendment stating that no money made available to the VA can be used to implement that prohibition, a move that has the effect of striking it down. The amendment passed on a 233-189 vote, but it's worth noting that it had bipartisan support, including from Dana Rohrabacher, the California Republican who has emerged as a voice of sanity on marijuana issues. The Senate has passed a similar amendment, but the bills now must be reconciled in a conference committee. (mm) Dozens of protesters have been detained by police and will face charges for staging a march on the capital. The demonstrators had walked for weeks from Sagaing City to Nay Pyi Taw to demand better working conditions and a reinstatement at the wood factory where they were employed. The group of 120 workers dwindled to around 80 as the 40 degree Celsius heat took a toll. When they reached the outskirts of Nay Pyi Taw on May 17, the remaining group said they would keep going to speak with representatives of the government about their case. The following day, they came to a head with police in Tatkon township, with officers violently grabbing and lifting the demonstrators into prison vans. Yesterday morning police said that all but the 14 protest leaders could return home, an offer many of the marchers declined. Tatkon police station last night detained 71 people. Among them, 57 people, not including the 14 leaders, were beseeched by Pyithu Hluttaw MP U Kyaw Tint and town elders to return to their home town, said U Aye Thaung, district administrator for Ottarathiri township. Twenty people agreed to do as suggested and the deputy staff officer from Tatkon administration office department sent them back to Sagaing by an air-con bus at about 2am. The remainder agreed to stay and be sued for the march. Police remanded them yesterday at Tatkon Township Court and sent them to Yamethin jail. According to U Aye Thaung, the workers are being prosecuted under sections 143, 146 and 505b of the penal code for unlawful assembly, rioting and creating public fear. I saw them this morning in front of the police station. They looked calm and peaceful, said student leader Ko Aung Hmaing San from the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, some of whose members were involved in the protest. Some ABFSU members have been accused of inciting the protest and were among those charged, he added. Four workers who fell unconscious during the crackdown were said to be recovering and discharged from the hospital. The workers said even though they are in jail and facing charges they will not give up their campaign for better working rights. Moreover, MPs submitted their case to the Pyithu Hluttaw yesterday, said the Ottarathiri township administrator. They do not have to negotiate with that factory alone. The government will consider their request. The case is set to test the new government, which is comprised of many former political prisoners. The National League for Democracy has vowed not to create any more prisoners of conscience and has begun amending the notorious Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Act which was a favoured tool of the junta and then the previous administration to clamp down on activists and protesters. Rights groups have expressed concern that the proposed amendments to the law fall far short of bringing it into line with international standards and allowing freedom of assembly. Police have recently cracked down on other protesters and activists as well, including students who led an interfaith peace walk in Yangon last weekend. Translation by Thiri Min Htun A Popular monk who has spent months in jail and been called to court for 57 hearings in relation to his attempt to rebuild a pagoda compound is finally free. Yay Pu sayadaw, also known as U Eindaka, was facing charges under three separate laws, governing illegal mining, demeaning religion and forestry protection. The religious defamation case was dropped in April and the Pyin Oo Lwin District Court dropped the illegal mining charge yesterday, but on May 16 convicted U Eindaka of illegal logging. He was given the minimum sentence, a choice between paying a K20,000 fine or spending three more months in prison. His followers said they agreed to pay the court. U Eindaka told the media after the final trial that though he has spent 11 months and 11 days in prison, he is not guilty. The accused should get the protection of the law, he said, adding that he had attended all 57 hearings though he had not meant to harm anyone or any organisation. The judiciary system needs to be improved and to work properly. Otherwise, it will only harm and drag the people into poverty, he said. While he had initially refused to pay the fine, U Eindaka told the media that his students, who had refused to see him back in jail, are now facing financial difficulties because of the penalty. The dispute goes back to June 2015, when he was arrested following a lawsuit filed by the Gem Traders Association. Thousands of U Eindakas supporters threatened to take to the streets after he was charged with illegal mining. U Eindaka, who once led protests against the former military regime in 2007, had also been active in earlier protests against the construction of the headquarters of the Gem Traders Association on the shores of the towns iconic lake. The illegal mining charges arose from U Eindakas efforts to build a new pagoda. According to his followers, the allegation said that the work entailed in sieving the earth and rubble from the demolished buildings was illegal mining while wood found at the pagoda compound was the basis of the illegal logging charge. At the time of the monks arrest last year, U Soe Htay, of Mogoks 88 Generation and Open Society, told reporters, The monk has committed no offence. They have charged him unfairly. Thats why his disciples will demonstrate to insist on his immediate release. On May 5, when the charge of illegal mining was confirmed by judge U Paw Oo in Pyin Oo Lwin district, U Eindaka said, These charges resulted from the malice of the former minister and township administrator. Now we have a government that says it will rule by virtue of the peoples will. Are they going to allow these charges to stand? I agreed to stand trial only because my supporters asked me to. I dont trust the judiciary and the courts, said U Eindaka. Translation by San Layy A Law to protect religious harmony is being considered by the new government following failed attempts to pass such a bill in the previous parliament, which instead enacted controversial legislation seen as undermining religious freedoms. U Ko Ni, legal adviser to the National League for Democracy, said discussions were being held with interfaith groups to revive proposed legislation that had failed to get through parliament under U Thein Seins administration. There are two main purposes one is to promote the aspect of living harmoniously among religions, and the second is to take effective action against those who try to disturb the status of harmony, he said. Religious Affairs and Culture Minister Thura U Aung Ko met members of an interfaith group in Mandalay on May 5 to discuss legislation that would ensure equal rights for all religions. He also met an interfaith group in Yangon on May 15. His ministry has not revealed details of the proposed law. Discussions about the new law come as Buddhist nationalists have sought to stir up inter-religious tensions, protesting against Muslims identifying themselves as Rohingya, and using social media to spread hate speech. State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has come under considerable international criticism for what is seen as her reluctance to tackle the issue of religious and civil rights for Muslims in Rakhine State. Religious tensions are also rising in Kayin State where a prominent Buddhist monk has defied the authorities by building stupas in compounds of Christian and Muslim communities. Myanmars 2008 constitution establishes the right to freely profess and practise religion subject to public order, morality or health and to the other provisions of this Constitution. However four laws to protect race and religion enacted by the previous military-backed government under pressure from powerful Buddhist nationalists were widely condemned by Myanmar civil rights groups and the international community for discriminating against non-Buddhists. Clashes between Buddhist and Muslim communities in Meiktila in 2013 led to efforts by interfaith groups to draw up a draft law known as the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act. U Ko Ni said a draft was submitted to parliament in 2013 but it was never discussed. He said it was not on the current parliaments agenda either. Now we are trying to send it to parliament again through interfaith groups after discussing with members of the groups, he added. The government has the duty to act in the interest of all religions. They should not pay attention only to Buddhists but also to other religions, as the constitution says everyone has the right to religious freedom, U Ko Ni said. U Parmaukkha, a senior monk better known as Magwe Sayadaw, welcomed the concept of the proposed law but said it would not be easy to remove religious tensions through legislation. The monk is a prominent member of the Committee for the Protection of Nationality and Religion, better known as Ma Ba Tha, which was the main sponsor of the laws to protect race and religion. We wait and see what this law contains. There is no reason to be against it, but the government needs to make sure that other religions follow existing laws. Moreover if the government wants harmonious living, it is very important not to make any changes to the 1982 citizenship law, he added, referring to the law that has effectively stood as the barrier between many Rohingya and citizenship. U Kyaw Soe Aung, secretary of the Democracy and Human Rights Party which includes many Muslims, said adoption of the law would contribute to preventing incitement of religious violence through social media, newspapers, and radio and television. But to live in harmony it is not enough to educate people. Leaders of the country, like the president and state counsellor, should participate in promoting interfaith campaigns by visiting churches and mosques. Also state-owned broadcast media should often air some of the customs and activities of different religions. Now when we turn on the television every morning, we always see programs related to Buddhist teaching, U Kyaw Soe Aung said. However Ko Win Ko Ko Latt, chair of the Myanmar National Network which is organising protests across the country against the use of the term Rohingya, said the new law was not necessary. Other laws already existed to stop insults against other faiths, he said. If the government uses laws to take action against those who promote their religion, then they hinder freedom of speech and expression, Ko Win Ko Ko Latt said. Continuing the Yangon City Development Committee saga yesterday, ousted member U Khin Hlaing called another press conference to dispute his effectively forced resignation. The Yangon mayor announced on May 17 that the committee by-laws had been amended so that members terms coincided with the government. The following day, the Yangon Region chief minister sent notices of dismissal to the YCDC members, who had previously anticipated they would serve until the next elections are called. The chief minister and mayor have yet to announce a date for the elections, but the poll does not appear to be imminent as they have said the election laws need to be amended first and an election commission formed. U Khin Hlaing, who at first refused the termination order, yesterday urged the Yangon government to reconsider the mayors amendments. He said that since YCDC members are not allowed to be involved in political parties it doesnt make sense to link the terms with the governments five-year stint in office. YCDC committee members should be civilians. Thats why they will understand the residents concerns and take care of their problems, he said. He also accused Mayor U Maung Maung Soe of not fully understand ing how YCDC operates, and of ruining the system of checks and balances. Since there are no committee members at YCDC right now, the only one deciding any issues or dealing with the departments is the mayor, he said. Thats why they should hold ele.ction as soon as possible. If they dont hold the election for months and mothers, there will be trouble. The first YCDC election in 50 years was held in 2014, but criticised for a low participation rate, with just one vote allowed per household. During the election, 115 members were voted on to the municipal body, including four for YCDC, 12 for district committees and 99 for township committees. I belong to an ethnic group that, according to my government, does not exist. In the past few weeks, ultra-nationalist protestors have proudly proclaimed, There are no Rohingya in our country. And then the NLD government requested foreign embassies to refrain from using the term Rohingya, reportedly stating that the controversial term does not support the national reconciliation process and solving problems. Their statement was disappointing because it was a capitulation to the hardliners and because I, as a Rohingya, want nothing more than national reconciliation. I want to live in a Myanmar where all of Myanmars peoples can live together in equality and peace. I was born in Myanmar, my parents were born in Myanmar, and their parents were born in Myanmar. My family members have served in the Myanmar government and fought for Myanmar democracy. My father served as a teacher in government schools in Rakhine State for 30 years and was elected as a member of parliament in the 1990 elections. My mother, sister, father, brother and I were all imprisoned because of my fathers work alongside Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD in the democratic opposition. Even so, under the new NLD-led government, describing my ethnicity, language and culture has become a controversial political act. It has not always been like this. Growing up in Rakhine State, I knew myself to be Rohingya, and was thought of as such by my ethnically Rakhine neighbours. Depending on the context, we also referred to ourselves, and were referred to, as simply Muslims. Sadly, we were also frequently called Kalar, a derogatory name forced on us by our Rakhine and Bamar neighbours. To be Rohingya is, in our language, to be the people of Rohang, the geographical region in modern Rakhine State that we have inhabited dating back to at least the Mrauk-U Kingdom in the 15th century. If you go to Mrauk-U today you will find inscriptions in our language at ancient historic sites. Before the 1980s, the Myanmar government freely used the word Rohingya to describe us in many contexts. My familys household list maintained by the local government in northern Rakhine State, where a majority of Rohingya live, listed our familys ethnicity as Rohingya. My elder brothers birth certificates state Rohingya as their ethnicity. The debate over the word Rohingya is much more than an argument over terminology. The effort to scrub the Rohingya name from Myanmars official lexicon has been part of a broad campaign by the previous military government and hardline Buddhist ultra-nationalists to label us as foreigners and invaders and deny our right to inhabit Myanmar. These groups have labelled us as Bengali, to suggest that we are from Bangladesh, despite the fact that we have resided in Myanmar for generations. In part, we feel strongly about our identity as Rohingya because we have seen a direct correlation between the denial of our identity as a national race in Myanmar and the deterioration of our rights. Under the 1982 Citizenship Law, only certain national races identified by the government automatically qualify for citizenship. When the government created its list of national races, Rohingya and several other Muslim groups were omitted. In the 1990s, the government targeted our community with discriminatory policies, including restrictions on movement, marriage and childbirth. Under the previous military government, we were subject to many of the same abuses that other ethnic nationalities of Myanmar suffered, such as forced labour, arbitrary detention and sexual assault. Since 2011, when the first nominally civilian government took power, conditions for Rohingya have deteriorated even more rapidly. Mass violence in Rakhine State in 2012 resulted in hundreds of our community being killed and hundreds of thousands internally displaced, while thousands more have risked their lives to flee the country by sea. We were omitted from the first census held in 30 years. The vast majority of our community was denied the right to vote for the first time in the historic November 2015 elections that brought the NLD to power. Our candidates were singled out for disqualification. We have been segregated from our Buddhist neighbours and restricted in our movement. We have been denied access to hospitals, schools and jobs. As the situation for us has gotten worse, the call for us to deny our identity has gotten stronger. Meanwhile, we watch as our brothers and sisters who have also suffered under the military dictatorship democratic activists, ethnic nationalities and other marginalised groups approach the new democratic era with great hope. We too have had hope, but wonder why we have been left behind. If the NLD is really concerned with national reconciliation as they suggest, they should seek to include all Myanmars peoples in the process. The first step is to allow us to join our brothers and sisters as equals, as human beings with the right to decide the name we think best reflects our culture and our history. Wai Wai Nu is a human rights and peace activist from the Rohingya community and a former political prisoner. The container should never be permitted to be more important than its contents, said Einstein. Regardless of who these people who call themselves Rohingya descended from, they are part and parcel of the container known as Burma to the world when speaking and writing in English just as China is to Zhongguo (Middle Kingdom). All the peoples of Burma descended from early settlers to its valleys, mountains and shores. Let us treat them with dignity and respect like we wish ourselves to be treated. In the larger sense we are all part of the human family, visitors on this planet as the Dalai Lama said. U Kyaw Win Colorado, USA In the Chittagong dialect of the Bengali language, the Rakhine land (Arakan) is called Rohan and the Rakhine people (Arakanese) are called Rohangya (Rohan = Rakhine, gya = man). Some of the Muslim secessionists used the name to identify themselves as natives of Arakan and named themselves as Rohingya by hijacking the name of the real natives of Arakan (Rakhines) in the Bengali language. Thats why the whole populace of Burma cannot accept that term, as they are aware of historical data and view this as a political play by a group who had secessionist ambitions. The Rohingya problem is not a basic conflict between the Buddhist majority and the Muslim minority, as some authors have claimed, because these so-called Rohingya are the majority in northern Arakan. Also the Rohingya issue cannot be compared with the Karen, the Kachin, the Shan and the other ethnic problems in Burma, basically because the so-called Rohingya do not fall under the same categories of ethnic minorities of Burma. U Khin Maung Saw Berlin, Germany It is a wrong and baseless statement to say that the Rohingya have been living in Arakan State for generations. There were some Muslims who have been living in Arakan for generations but they never named themselves Rohingya. They are Kaman, Myedu and the descendants of Bengali slaves who were mentioned by Francis Buchanan. Buchanan stated clearly that the real natives of Arakan (ie the Arakanese or Rakhines) called Bengalis living in Arakan Kulaw Yakain or Stranger Arakan (ie aliens). These Kulaw Yakain (Yakaing Kala) were listed by the British authorities as Arakan Muslims. The term Rohingya is a political term and was invented for the sake of a political movement in the 1950s. U Zaw Htwe Maung Where do the Bengalis in Myanmar come from? Humans are born with will. They would try to get to where the grass is greener. It is not their fault. We respect their rights. We Myanmar people have sympathy for that. But the amount of people in the crowd is surprising. It is beyond our ability to help them. And helping the people who have already arrived into our country is not the solution, as there will be millions of them arriving. The voices of these people, abusing human rights in order to live in another country unlawfully with full human rights, are becoming louder and louder. Making noise is not a proper way of solving a problem. Finding out the real problem such as who they are, where they come from, why they come and helping them to be able to live peacefully with dignity in their native country would be the best way of solving the real problem. U Aung Khin South Africa Buddhists always preach about the marvellous mercy of Buddhism for all lives. However concerning Bengalis (Rohingya), they attach greater importance to the concept of nation-state. To begin with, Buddhism was founded when Shakyamuni Buddha doubted discrimination based on caste in about the 5th century BC and aimed to remove pain for all living things. Therefore, Buddhism should not be influenced by such concepts, which are formed after Buddhism. I think its contradictory and I want to know how Buddhists overcome this contradiction. Akitoshi Ise Student Yangon University of Foreign Languages Kamaryut township [May 19, 2016] Analysis of the National Broadband Plans of Latin America LONDON, May 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Analysis of the National Broadband Plans of Latin America : The Balance between Public and Private Sectors Investing in Network Infrastructure is the Key to Success This market insight presents an analysis of the current status of governments' national broadband plans in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, and provides strategic recommendations for stakeholders. The goals and achievements of the national broadband plans in all three countries are reviewed. A detailed analysis and insights from the national broadband plans in these countries are presented, as well as key takeaways. This study also provides lines in service (LIS) and revenue forecasts for these countries for 2014 to 2020. The revenue forecasts are segmented by technology, including wireless, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), cable modem, and ADSL. Key Findings The Mexican, Brazilian, and Colombian governments implemented national broadband plans between 2010 and 2014. In Colombia, the government was able to achieve most of its goals; however, in Brazil and Mexico, the governments were unable to achieve all of the outlined objectives. - Considering this, the Braziliangovernment proposed a revision of the National Broadband Plan, which was made public by candidate Dilma Rouseff during the presidential election in October 2014. However, political instability, the difficulty of legal and economic arrangements, and the fiscal deficit?which does not allow the government to subsidize users in non-profitable areas?have delayed the roll-out of this revision. Colombia , a succession strategy for its original plan has already begun. - In Mexico , on the other hand, while many plans have been announced by the government, there is a lack of objectivity for these goals and measurement of results. Therefore, most plans have not been % completed. - The fixed-broadband market has been stimulated by the need for connections that have greater quality of service than the mobile network and that allow unlimited data traffic. - Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) is still better in these two aspects and will be the long-term solution to deal with the increasing demand for high-speed Internet and advanced applications in the cloud. Although the cost of deployment has been decreasing, it is still too expensive to be used for a universal service policy. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3812617/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/analysis-of-the-national-broadband-plans-of-latin-america-300272092.html SOURCE ReportBuyer [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 20.05.2016 LISTEN Compiled by Alfred Adams Mail:[email protected] WhatsApp: 0272542986 An accomplished Choral Composer and Lecturer of Music at the University of Ghana, Mr. Kenn Kafui has stated emphatically that choral music would have 'died' had it not been the intervention of no other person than the woman, who is known to have invested her last pesewa promoting Gods singing ministry (chorale music). According to him, the contribution of Dr. Joyce Rosalind Aryee, better known in choral showbiz as 'Mama Joyce', in promoting choral music was beyond comprehension and timely. Speaking as one of the Resource Persons at the just-ended Joyce Rosalind Aryee International Conference for Choirs (JRAICC), Ken Kafui believes this woman. Kenn Kafui, an accomplished musician and composer who has a number of compositions to his credit, including the famous 'Dzidzom' piece, was so much in reverence to Joyce Rosalind Aryee for standing up to save choral music. For Michael Dingaan, the accomplished South African Conductor who was one of the Resource Persons for the three-day JRAICC, he likened Mama Joyce as the sole individual battling to save choral music, as against other corporate institutions which were investing and sponsoring other type of music, apart from sacred art music. What that meant was that Mama Joyce was the single individual battling all odds against choral music. The Dzidzom composer, who expressed worry over the scrapping of music from school curricular in the Junior and Senior High schools, believes the decision was born out of ignorance, though music used to be a compulsory subject during his time. Considering the scrapping of the music curriculum, which had affected the growth of art music, Fortunately, God was preparing Joyce Rosalind Aryee for this mission. As a result, I want us all here to appreciate this woman. Mama Joyce is a choral music enthusiast and advocate bequeathed to the Nation 70 years ago. She sang in the Achimota School Choir, as well as the Volta Hall Choir of the University of Ghana, Legon, as an undergraduate student many years ago. She has promoted choral music on every occasion and platform she finds herself, and has been a patron of a great number of choirs in the country. She has been the support and backbone of the Harmonious Chorale Ghana, since the choir's formation some eight years ago. Mama Joyces contribution to choral music, as a public figure, is unmatched and immeasurable. The Harmonious Chorale instituted the JRAICC in appreciation of her contribution to the promotion and sustenance of chorale music. Two Compaq Disks (CDs) launched by the Harmonious Chorale was in honour of Joyce Rosalind Aryee. Sorry, we can't find the content you're looking for at this URL. Cairo (AFP) - Egypt's military found wreckage Friday from the EgyptAir plane that crashed in the Mediterranean as investigators tried to unravel the mystery of why it swerved suddenly and plummeted into the sea. Search teams spotted personal belongings of passengers and parts of the Airbus A320 about 290 kilometres (180 miles) north of Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria, the military spokesman said. Egypt's aviation minister said on Thursday that a "terrorist attack" was a more likely cause than technical failure for the plane's disappearance from radar screens on a flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board. But French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said there was "absolutely no indication" of why the flight came down. "We're looking at all possibilities, but none is being favoured over the others because we have absolutely no indication on the causes," he told French television. The tragedy raised fears of a repeat of the bombing of a Russian passenger jet by the Islamic State jihadist group over Egypt last October that killed all 224 people on board. In Cairo, French and Airbus investigators prepared to meet their Egyptian counterparts on Friday to lay the groundwork for their investigation. The plane disappeared between Karpathos and the Egyptian coast in the early hours of Thursday morning, without its crew sending a distress signal. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the aircraft had swerved sharply twice in Egyptian airspace before plunging 22,000 feet (6,700 metres) and disappearing from radar screens. - 'Intensified search' - Both Egypt and Greece dispatched aircraft and naval vessels on a search mission. They were expected to be joined by French teams, while the US sent a surveillance plane to help with the operation. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had demanded an "intensified search" for the aircraft after earlier reports by the airline that wreckage from the plane had been found were retracted. French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that it was clear the plane had crashed, and authorities in both Paris and Cairo opened investigations. EgyptAir said 15 French citizens were among the 26 foreign passengers on the plane, who also included a Briton and at least one Canadian. Both France and Egypt have come under attack by IS jihadists in the past year, and Hollande promised a comprehensive probe into the cause of the crash. IS has been waging a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security forces and last October claimed the bombing of the Russian airliner flying home holidaymakers from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. In the United States, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it was "too early to definitively say what may have caused this disaster". The catastrophe also entered the US presidential election campaign, where national security is a prominent issue. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said it appeared to be "yet another terrorist attack," adding "When will we get tough, smart and vigilant?" His likely Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton agreed that it "does appear that it was an act of terrorism" and "once again shines a very bright light on the threats that we face from organised terror groups". - Pilot reported no problem - Greek civil aviation chief Constantinos Litzerakos said the pilot had mentioned no problem in his last communication before the plane disappeared, and the flight had not deviated from its course. "The flight controllers contacted the pilot at a height of 37,000 feet (near Athens)... he did not mention a problem," Litzerakos told Greece's Antenna TV. Neither the Greek coastguard nor the navy could confirm reports that a passing ship had seen "a ball of fire in the sky". The civil aviation chief said that if there had been an explosion, any debris would have been scattered across a wide area. The passengers also included two Iraqis and one citizen from each of Algeria, Belgium, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, as well as 30 Egyptians, the airline said. They included a boy and two babies. Seven crew members and three security personnel were also on board. EgyptAir said the plane had been manufactured in 2003. Airbus said it had clocked up 48,000 flight hours. EgyptAir hit the headlines in March when a flight from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to divert to Cyprus, where the hijacker, who was described as "unstable", demanded to see his ex-wife. Last October, foreign governments issued travel warnings for Egypt and demanded a review of security at its airports after IS downed the Russian airliner with what it said was a bomb concealed in a soda can that had been smuggled into the hold. Cairo (AFP) - A massive search was under way Thursday for the wreckage of an EgyptAir plane that plunged into the Mediterranean with 66 people on board, in what the Egyptian authorities said may have been an act of terrorism. Egypt's aviation minister said that while it was too soon to say why the Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo had vanished from radar screens, a "terrorist" attack would be a more likely scenario than a technical failure. The tragedy raised fears of a repeat of the bombing of a Russian passenger jet by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group over Egypt last October that killed all 224 people on board. The plane disappeared between the Greek islands and the Egyptian coast overnight, without its crew sending a distress signal. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the aircraft had swerved sharply twice in Egyptian airspace before plunging 22,000 feet (6,700 metres) and disappearing from radar screens. Both Egypt and Greece dispatched aircraft and naval vessels on a major search mission. They were expected to be joined by French teams, while the US send a surveillance plane to help with the operation. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi demanded an "intensified search" for the aircraft after reports that wreckage from the plane had been found were retracted. EgyptAir initially said on its Twitter account that the Egyptian authorities had recovered wreckage from the missing aircraft No. MS 804 near Greece's Karpathos Island. But the head of the Greek air safety authority, Athanasios Binis, told AFP that debris found close to the area where the jet went down did "not come from a plane", a finding he said was confirmed by his Egyptian counterpart. EgyptAir Holding Company vice president Ahmed Adel then corrected his company's statement, telling CNN that the debris that was spotted was "not part of our plane". French President Francois Hollande said the plane had "crashed", as authorities in both Paris and Cairo opened investigations. In the United States, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said "it's too early to definitively say what may have caused this disaster". Egypt's Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said he was unable to "deny the hypothesis of a terrorist attack or something technical". The airline said 15 French citizens were among the 26 foreign passengers on the plane, who also included a Briton and at least one Canadian. Both France and Egypt have come under attack by IS jihadists in the past year, and Hollande promised a comprehensive probe into the cause of the crash as suspicions swiftly focused on a bomb. "Whether it was an accident or another hypothesis that everyone has on their mind -- a terrorist hypothesis... at this stage we must focus on our solidarity with the families and the search for the causes of the catastrophe," he said. - No distress call - IS has been waging a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security forces and last October claimed the bombing of the Russian airliner flying home holidaymakers from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. A Greek aviation source said the flight had disappeared from Greek radar at around 0029 GMT. "It crashed around 130 nautical miles off the island of Karpathos," the source told AFP, referring to an island northeast of Crete. Greek civil aviation chief Constantinos Litzerakos said the pilot had mentioned no problem in the last communication before the plane disappeared, and it had not deviated from its course. "The flight controllers contacted the pilot (with the plane) at a height of 37,000 feet (near Athens)... he did not mention a problem," Litzerakos told Greece's Antenna TV. Neither the Greek coastguard nor the navy could confirm reports that a passing ship had seen "a ball of fire in the sky". The civil aviation chief said if there had been an explosion, any debris would have scattered across a wide area. EgyptAir's Adel also said there had been "no distress call" before the plane vanished. - Two babies - The passengers also included two Iraqis and one citizen from each of Algeria, Belgium, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, as well as 30 Egyptians, the airline said. They included a boy and two babies. Seven crew members and three security men were also on board. EgyptAir said the plane had been manufactured in 2003. Airbus said it had clocked up 48,000 flight hours. EgyptAir hit the headlines in March when a flight from the coastal city of Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to divert to Cyprus, where the hijacker, who was described as "unstable", demanded to see his ex-wife. He had claimed he was wearing an explosive vest, which turned out to be fake. Last October, foreign governments issued travel warnings for Egypt and demanded a review of security at its airports after IS downed the Russian airliner with what it said was a bomb concealed in a soda can that had been smuggled into the hold. Abuja (AFP) - A second Chibok schoolgirl has been rescued, Nigeria's army said Thursday, after President Muhammadu Buhari met the first student to be found and voiced fresh hope for the recovery of the more than 200 others still being held. Army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman said the student was found by troops and civilian vigilantes at about 11:00 am (1000 GMT) on Thursday in the Damboa area of Borno state, northeast Nigeria, during military operations. "Her name is Miss Serah Luka," he added in a statement, saying she was believed to be a Christian pastor's daughter and originally from Madagali, in neighbouring Adamawa state. A photograph released by the military showed a young woman in a long, dark blue hijab common in the region and seen on abducted girls in previous videos from the Boko Haram Islamist militant group. Boko Haram's shadowy leader, Abubakar Shekau, has previously claimed all the girls had converted to Islam. The first student to be found, Amina Ali, flew with her mother to meet the president at his official Aso Rock residence in the capital, Abuja. Buhari said he was "delighted" at her release and the government was doing "all it can to rescue the remaining Chibok girls", who were abducted from the remote town in northeast Nigeria on April 14, 2014. "Amina's rescue gives us new hope, and offers a unique opportunity for vital information," he said. A total of 276 girls were kidnapped from the Government Girls Secondary School. Fifty-seven escaped in the hours that followed. The abduction provoked global outrage and brought worldwide attention to the conflict but until Amina and the latest student were found, there were few indications about their possible release. - Reunion - Community leaders said Amina told her relatives at a brief reunion at the family home in Mbalala, near Chibok, that most of the girls were still in the Sambisa Forest area of Borno state but six had died. Nigeria's military has been conducting operations in the former game reserve for weeks in the hope of flushing out militants and destroying Islamist camps in the sprawling semi-desert scrubland. Borno state governor Kashim Shettima said on Thursday soldiers were "already moving into the forest aggressively". "I am an eternal optimist. I believe that in the coming days and weeks more recoveries will be made," he told reporters. The abducted girls have long been thought to have been taken to the forest. Satellite imagery provided by the United States and Britain reportedly identified the location of some of the students. But Nigeria's military failed to act on the intelligence, Britain's former ambassador to Nigeria has claimed. Former president Goodluck Jonathan's delayed response to the abduction and overall handling of the insurgency was seen as a major factor in his election defeat to Buhari last year. - Medical treatment - Amina was brought to the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, with her four-month-old baby girl named Safiya and a man she said was her husband. Her purported husband, identified by the army as "suspected Boko Haram terrorist" Mohammed Hayatu, was shown in one photograph cradling the infant on a hospital bed. The army said he was "undergoing further investigation at (the) Joint Intelligence Centre" and was being "well-treated". Boko Haram has used kidnapping as a weapon of war in the conflict, which has killed at least 20,000 people, forced 2.6 million from their homes and devastated the northeast since 2009. Young women and girls have been forced to marry rebel fighters, becoming sex slaves and even suicide bombers in the group's campaign for a hardline Islamic state. Men and boys have also been seized and forcibly conscripted. - Victim support - Boko Haram is thought to have kidnapped several thousand women and young girls and there have been calls for Nigeria to do more to support former hostages. Buhari said Amina would receive "the best care the Nigerian government can afford" and disclosed she had undergone medical tests for about five hours and met trauma experts. The resumption of her education would be "a priority", he added. "Every girl has the right to an education and a life choice," he said. Francisca Vigaud-Walsh, from Refugees International (RI) said such specialised care was not available to most former hostages. "On the contrary there is a seemingly arbitrary and haphazard approach to dealing with these women and girls," she said. RI and other agencies have highlighted in particular the lack of facilities for victims of sexual violence and psychological services. Northern Nigeria, which is largely Muslim, is deeply conservative and kidnap victims have reportedly been shunned on their return home. Folks, if you have been monitoring proceedings in the matter between Dr. Zanetor Rawlings and the incumbent NDC MP for Klottey Korle (Nii Armah Ashietey), you can tell that a lot is happening to make the hearing of the case more interesting and revealing than expected. Even though Nii Ashietey was roundly trumped at the NDC's primaries to choose a candidate for Election 2016, he has insisted on legally frustrating Zanetor. The matter has been going on for some time now until the Supreme Court's intervention, which is itself interesting for the new twists that it has put on it. It is reported that the Court has "ruled that the High Court erred in law when it assumed jurisdiction over Article 94 clause 1(a) of the 1992 Constitution". As such, it has "suspended the case to determine whether the said constitutional provision becomes operational when a person declares his or her intention to be an MP at the primaries level or whether it is when the Electoral Commission opens nominations and the person files the relevant documents". (See http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Supreme-Court-stops-High-Court-from-hearing-Zanetor-case-440091). MY COMMENTS Certainly, the Supreme Court has added a huge complexion to the matter. If it is now telling us that the matter is "constitutional", it means a lot. I hope the matter can be resolved in time to allow for campaigns. I am not a lawyer nor am I an expert on such "constitutional" issues; but common sense tells me that if Zanetor wasn't a registered voter at the time she filed to contest the primaries and consequently won, she cannot be deemed as legitimately elected (assuming that the basis of one's eligibility to contest is the requirement to be a registered voter). If the Court goes for the other aspect regarding the opening of registration and Zanetor's prompt action to legitimize her quest by registering (long after she had contested illegitimately in the primaries), it will be very interesting to know why. In truth, once she wasn't a registered voter, it should be clear that she didn't qualify to participate in the electoral contest, which should automatically nullify her election to contest Election 2016 on the NDC's ticket. Or.....? In the long, if the NDCs own constitution favours her, what will the interpretation to be done by the Supreme Court mean? Is there a disconnect between the NDCs constitution and the national 1992 one? If so, what were the framers of that constitution thinking at the time they were drafting the partys constitution? And should the Supreme Court find fault with the aspect of the NDCs constitution about Zanetors status that Nii Ashietey is contesting, will the NDC revise its constitution? What is the lesson for the other political parties? (And here, I have in mind the suit that Paul Afoko and Sammy Crabbe have filed to challenge their suspension. There is a constitutional issue here too). The long and short of it is that the Supreme Courts intervention will help us see issues in a broader scope so the various political parties can fine-tune their constitutions to fit into the national one. Only then can there be symmetry for things to be done properly to refine our democracy. After all, if there is trouble in the political parties, whatever happens at the national level involving elections and the EC will be roped in too. Ultimately, the internal affairs of the parties have a bearing on national and local politics, which is why I welcome the Supreme Courts intervention in the NDCs case. The implications of this suit by Nii Ashietey are clear and shouldn't be missed by the NDC leaders and followers. A divided house cannot stand on its own to prevail over others. Once Nii Ashietey has dug in to go the whole hog in pursuing his agenda, it is clear that he has planted a timebomb that is ticking off as Election 2016 approaches. He is bent on having his way, even though rejected by his own constituents. If he wins the legal battle, the NDC's Zanetor will lose out even though Nii Ashietey cannot automatically become the bona fide candidate for the NDC. There is a lot to do before being so. And that lot can't be to the NDC's good. Clearly, Nii Ashietey lost the primary because his own constituents lost hope, trust, and coinfidence in him. He couldn't "deliver". Thus, if he wins the legal battle and manages to represent the NDC, it is obvious that those who rejected him at the primary won't turn round to give him the much-needed support to retain the constituency for the NDC. Once rejected, always rejected for Election 2016. What is worse than being torpedoed by the party's own followers in his case? And if he chooses to go indepoendent, his supporting NDC members will endanger the party in his bid. If Zanetor is disqualified too and chooses to go independent, the NDC suffers, even though sher can collapsde herslef into the NDC fold if she wins the seat. The problem in this Klottey Korley Constituency affects the NPP too. We can tell how Philip Addison and Nii Nortey have split the party's ranks there. What at all is there in this Klottey Korle constituency to cause this sxchism in both the NDC and the NPP? I don't know. The truth, though, is that happenings there are opening up new chapters in our constitutional democratic experiment. I shall return A police officer has been shot dead by a group of armed robbers in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. The officer, Corporal Frank Essel, a driver with the SWAT Unit at the Ashanti Regional police headquarters was shot after the armed robbers stormed a hotel at Dichemmuoso in Kumasi. Sources close to Joy News have disclosed the police officer was shot in his vehicle parked in the premises of Open Space Hotel on May 19. The masked armed men are reported to have entered the hotel at about 9p.m. and ordered two receptionists on duty to take them round rooms of guests in the hotel. When the receptionists were delaying, the armed robbers shot one of them. Sensing danger, the other person escaped. It is, however, not clear how the officer who had his police uniform hanging in the front seat of the Benz car he was shot in. A search by the police uncovered the bullet ridden body of Corporal Essel seated behind the steering wheel parked within the premises. More Soon We are delighted to confirm that His Royal Highness, Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex KG GCVO, will be visiting Ghana between 23-26 May as part of his role with The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Scheme. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme is associated with the Head of State Awards Scheme in Ghana. The Earl will meet senior Ghanaian officials including His Excellency The President. The Earl and President Mahama will together present Head of State Awards to young Ghanaians who have successfully participated in the scheme over the past few years. His Royal Highness is the youngest child of Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. The Earl supports Her Majesty in her official duties and undertakes public engagements for a large number of his own charities. The Earl has been deeply committed to the work of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award since undertaking his own Award in 1986. This scheme is available to all 14-24 year olds and is the world's leading youth achievement award. It equips all young people for life regardless of their background, culture, physical ability, skills and interests. Doing the Award is a personal challenge and not a competition against others; it pushes young people to their personal limits and recognises their achievements consistently. Since its launch 60 years ago, the Award has inspired millions of young people to transform their lives. Through non formal education, the Award can play a critical role in a young person's personal development and is achievable by any 14-24 year old who wants to take up the challenge. The ambition of the award in Ghana is to grow its participation rate from 0.1% to 2% of Ghana's youth population by 2020. Some Christian groups have registered their worry about happenings in the political atmosphere in the country. According to them, leading members of some political parties have shown gross disrespect to Ghanaians by their use of hate speech which they believed if not checked will result in conflict. The Christian Council and the Catholic Bishops Conference have warned that for peace to be maintained in the country after the November 2016 election, the issue of political intimidation and impunity should be done away with by the political leaders. They argued the problems which faced the recent Electoral Commission (EC)s Limited Voter Registration exercise spoke of the preparedness of some political parties to plunge the country into anarchy because of power. They called on Ghanaians to jealousy guard against such influences from persons who are motivated by their need to get to power. The also admonished the EC to be confident, neutral and transparent in whatever it does in the pre and post-November election. On the issue of the Interception of Postal Packet and Communication bill which is before Parliament, the two leading Christian groups described it as needless. Re-echoing arguments of some legal practitioners in the country, the Catholic Bishops Conference, and the Christian Council said there existing laws to do what the new bill will do. They urged the government to withdraw the bill from Parliament. Touching on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), they agreed it is in a dire strait which needs to be rescued. According to them, ten years into the Scheme the nation is still struggling with how to handle issues relating to the operation of the social programme. They asked the government to come out with a workable plan to revive the scheme. The Honourable Stephane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that he will travel to North Africa and the Gulf from May 21 to 26, 2016. The Minister's meetings in the region will provide significant opportunities to address pressing concerns, including regional and international security, stability in an increasingly volatile region, and how pluralism and respect for human rights are an integral part of the solution to these challenges. Minister Dion will discuss the ongoing crises in Iraq, Syria and Libya, and the impact the conflicts are having on the surrounding region. Canada has increased its diplomatic engagement in North Africa and the Middle East in an effort to help find a solution to these crises, including by reinforcing ceasefire mechanisms in Syria, by providing sustained and improved access for urgent humanitarian assistance, by building counterterrorism capacity in North Africa and, more recently, by joining the International Syria Support Group (ISSG). In Tunisia on May 21, Minister Dion will meet Prime Minister Habib Essid and Minister of Foreign Affairs Khemaies Jhinaoui, and will reiterate Canada's support for Tunisia's pluralistic democracy, which provides an important model for the region. He will also meet Fathi Mijbari, Deputy Prime Minister of Libya's Government of National Accord, and Martin Kobler, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, to discuss the serious situation in Libya and efforts by the international community, including the UN, to assist the new government. The Minister will then participate in the Canada-Gulf Cooperation Council Strategic Dialogue Meeting of Foreign Ministers on May 23 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will allow for a wide discussion on a range of regional issues, including the ongoing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and joint efforts to combat the expansion of terrorist groups, such as the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and al Qaeda, while setting a path for continued political and humanitarian cooperation. The GCC Strategic Dialogue will be followed by bilateral discussions with the Minister's counterparts from the Gulf, including from Saudi Arabia, as well as other senior government representatives and members of civil society. Minister Dion will then go to Cairo, Egypt, from May 25 to 26, where he will meet with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and other senior officials. They will speak about economic security and political developments in Egypt and the region. There will also be discussions related to the investigations on the tragic events surrounding EgyptAir's flight MS804. Human rights will be top of mind throughout Minister Dion's visit to the region as he makes the case that the crucial regional stability and the global security that all countries seek must be in lockstep with advances in the protection and promotion of human rights. To that end, Minister Dion will also meet with youth, women's and human rights groups in addition to meeting with government representatives. Omar Alghabra, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs), will also join Minister Dion on his trip and meet with counterparts. Minister Dion's visit to the region follows his discussions at the ISSG in Vienna, Austria, and his participation in the Meetings of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Brussels, Belgium. Quotes Building on discussions at the International Syria Support Group meeting in Vienna earlier this week, I am engaging my counterparts on critical issues related to stability, security, human rights and the prospects for peace throughout the region. - Stephane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs Quick facts Established in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in May 1981, the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, known as the Gulf Cooperation Council, is a regional intergovernmental political and economic union comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Since its 2011 Jasmine Revolution, Tunisia is the only Arab Spring country that remains committed to a wholly democratic path. Canada strongly supports Tunisia's democratic and pluralist model, and is providing counter-terrorism capacity-building assistance to help Tunisia combat growing terrorist and regional security threats. Since the fall of the Qadhafi regime in 2011, the situation in Libya has remained unstable. The international community is now assisting the newly established Government of National Accord to end internal conflict, restore economic health, confront ISIL and curtail the highly dangerous departure of migrants across the Mediterranean. Through Global Affairs Canada's Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building Program, Canada is supporting Egypt in its work to strengthen asset declaration to prevent conflict of interest, as well as Egyptian efforts to enhance legislation and skills to limit the movement of foreign terrorist fighters. The Chief Executive Officer of the Bulk Oil Distribution Companies (BDCs), Senyo Hosi has hinted the debt owed them by the government is likely to result in the shutdown of some banks in the country. The government has over the years been owing the oil distribution companies in the country the total sum of 530 million dollars for the delivery of oil. The boss of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Moses Asaga, disclosed earlier on Joy News that government has shown commitment to repaying those debts. He said, In terms of dollar term, the government owes about 900 million dollars for which approximately 400 million dollars was paid to the BDCs between the period 2014 and 2015. According to plans are far afoot to repay the remaining amount which is 530 million dollars. He disclosed in order to ensure that the right amount is paid to the oil distributors, the government has employed the services of Ernst and Young to conduct some auditing and validating process. Ernst & Young is a firm operating in Ghana delivering services like assurance, tax, transactions and advisory services. He, however, failed to tell when the money would be paid to the companies. But speaking on the MultiTV programme, PM EXPRESS, Mr. Hosi said governments indebtedness is causing a worry for the banks. He played down claims that the failure of the government to pay its debt would result in hikes in petroleum prices. He asserted, The real problem lies in the risk it poses to the entire financial system. He explained If you put the banks together, one, two, or three banks will go down because they are connected it is likely to affect most banks in the country. Touching on the cause of the debt, Mr. Hosi said the debt has come about because the government has been subsidizing prices of petroleum products in the country. In a deregulated market, he said, the only thing you can regulate as a policy person is the taxes. So what government is doing is to front taxes to pay its debts. He said, It is a dodgy thing and what we all have to know is that petroleum prices will always come at a cost to the citizens. He said the government current liberalizing regime of government will help it to be free from the fiscal burden. Mr. Hosi lauded the Finance Minister, Seth Terkper for creating the stabilization account. The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has begun a series of meetings to dialogue with the political parties on its intended presidential and vice-presidential debates. As part of preparations towards the 2016 Presidential Debate Series, the IEA held separate meetings with representatives of political parties in Parliament. The NPP was represented by Mr Peter Mac Manu, the Campaign Chairman of the NPP flag bearer, and Mr John Boadu, acting General Secretary of the NPP, whilst the CPP was represented by Prof. Edmund Delle, Leader and National Chairman, and Hajia Hamdatu Haruna, First Vice-Chairperson of the CPP. Guidelines Speaking to the press after the meeting with the IEA, Mr John Boadu said the discussions centred on the date, time, guidelines and moderators, among other issues. He also said debates had become a key feature in elections since people needed to be informed to make good choices and also make parties accountable for their promises. The National Chairman and Leader of the Convention People's Party (CPP), Prof. Edmund Nminyem Delle, said it became clear during the meeting that the IEA neither intended to offend nor discriminate against the smaller parties. Debates He said the debates which had been taking place over the years had been beneficial to all political parties. However, some political parties and a section of the public had issues with the IEA's decision, arguing that the institution was trying to usurp a mandate. Some smaller parties with no representation in Parliament which were left out of the first debate also raised hell and said they were being discriminated against by the IEA. In order to bring all the parities on board, the IEA decided to hold consultations with the parties to address their concerns to enable it to go ahead with the debates. Minor issues The IEA urges all Ghanaians not to allow the minor issues surrounding the announcement of its intentions to hold debates to overshadow the ideals of the debates. According to the IEA, the ideals include promoting issues-based elections, educating the public on the respective policies of the aspirants, easing political tension, ensuring citizen participation in the governance process and promoting political accountability by empowering the electorate to hold leaders accountable for promises made on debate platforms. The Executive Director of the IEA, Mrs Jean Mensah, expressed the belief and conviction that 'those who seek to govern must avail themselves to answer questions from the electorate to ensure that they understand their concerns and have the capacity to address them. 'In this regard, the institute urges all presidential aspirants to take full advantage of the debate platform to dialogue with the citizenry.' Athens (AFP) - A body part, seats and one or more items of luggage were found Friday by crews searching for the wreckage of an EgyptAir passenger jet that crashed in the Mediterranean on Thursday, Greece's defence minister said. "A few hours earlier we were informed (by Egyptian authorities) that a body part, two seats and one or more items of luggage where found in the search area" off the coast of Alexandria, Panos Kammenos told a news conference. Charlotte Osei 20.05.2016 LISTEN The Electoral Commission(EC) issued a statement yesterday claiming that it will not remove names of voters who used the NHIS cards to register from the Voters Register as ordered by the Supreme Court in its ruling of May 5, 2016 in the case of Abu Ramadan and Evans Nimako versus The Electoral Commission and The Attorney- General (see, Names of NHIS card registrants won't be removed from register EC, Myjoyonline/Ghanaweb, May 19, 2016). I was shocked when I read the news, the ECs statement and its interpretation of the ruling. This article is a brief analysis of the Supreme Court ruling within the context of ECs interpretation. The actions and omissions of Ghanas Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Charlotte Osei, remind me of my secondary school days in Ghana, especially in Cape Coast where some students were so pampered at home that, often their language, actions and omissions clearly showed that they were not living in the real world. We called them, Dadaba. They came across as either naive, spoilt or simply arrogant and that is exactly how Mrs Charlotte Osie behaves. She is dismissive on and trivialises very serious national issues through her language, actions and omissions. For example, she once described letters sent to her by the main opposition party, NPP as love letters. When the EC officially launched its new, bizarre and plagiarised logo, she described it as mine is nicer, we saw it and we love it. If she is a dadaba or mamaba, she must grow up because she is being childish, arrogant and disrespectful to Ghanaians. I have had the opportunity to read the Supreme Courts written judgement of May 5, 2016 and was disappointed but not surprised to read that the EC and Attorney General had the audacity to argue before the Supreme Court that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case because the EC is an independent constitutional body. What an insult? It beggars belief that Mrs Osei, who is lawyer thinks that the constitutional independence of the EC means the EC is above the Supreme Court. If that was not absurdity and arrogance, what was it? Not even the Legislature is above the authority of the judiciary. For the avoidance of any doubt, I quote the reliefs granted by the Supreme Court on this matter. The result is that we proceed to grant the following reliefs: (1) That upon a true and proper interpretation of article 45(a) of the Constitution, the mandate of the Electoral Commission to compile the register of voters implies a duty to compile a reasonably accurate and credible register; (2) A declaration that the current register of voters which contains the names of persons who have not established qualification to be registered is not reasonably accurate or credible and; (3) A declaration that the current register of voters which contains the names of persons who are deceased is not reasonably accurate or credible. The Supreme Court did not stop there but in addition made the following orders. In the exercise of the power conferred on us under article 2(2) of the constitution, we make the following orders: (a)That the Electoral Commission takes steps immediately to delete or as is popularly known clean" the current register of voters to comply with the provisions of the 1992 Constitution, and applicable laws of Ghana; and (b) That any person whose name is deleted from the register of voters by the Electoral Commission pursuant to order (a) above be given the opportunity to register under the law. It must be pointed out that for the orders to be effected and operationalised fully by the EC, the reliefs granted and the orders made must be read and interpreted together. What are the applicable laws of Ghana when it comes to the Voters Register? The first is the 1992 Constitution, followed by valid Constitutional Instruments issued by the EC to regulate the organisation and management of elections and finally secondary legislation (case laws) regarding election disputes (that is, electoral disputes rulings by the High, Appeal and Supreme Courts). The Supreme Court also made reference to and relied on an earlier decision of the same court which ruled the use of NHIS cards as proof of Ghanaian Citizenship or established qualification to register, unconstitutional. In other words, these are registered voters who are described by the Supreme Court as the names of persons who have not established qualification to be registered as contained in relief (2) above. They are the same registered voters that directive (a) above applies to because they used the NHIS cards to establish qualification to be registered and indeed registered which earlier has been ruled unconstitutional. It is therefore illogical for the EC to claim that the Supreme Court did not order the removal of people who registered with the NHIS cards from the voters register. No rational human being after reading and interpreting the reliefs granted, the orders made and the earlier Supreme Court ruling on the use of NHIS cards will come to the conclusion by the EC. In fact, the ECs interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling amounts to contempt of court. Indeed, the words used in order (a) above are, the Electoral Commission takes steps immediately to delete.. This is very clear and unambiguous. In any case, who gave the EC the authority to interpret judgement of the Supreme Court? Only the judiciary has the constitutional mandate to interpret Supreme Court judgements. If the EC is in doubt as to the accurate interpretation of the reliefs granted and the orders made by the Supreme Court, it must go back to the same court or High Court for the accurate interpretation and not usurp judicial powers. This is the arrogance of Mrs Charlotte Osie who in her deluded mind believes that her actions and omissions are not subject to the judicial review by the courts, including the Supreme Court, simply because the EC is an independent constitutional body. The independence of the EC is as far as its acts and omissions are within the 1992 Constitution and not above and therefore subject to a review by the judiciary. For the EC to avoid contempt of court charges for failure to delete the name of those who used the NHIS cards to register as voters, the following steps must be taken by the EC immediately and without any further delay: EC must identify all names/voters that used the HNIS card to register, delete them from the Voters Register and make a separate register of the deleted names to be exhibited throughout the country (at national, regional, district, constituency and electoral area levels); EC must notify all such names/voters by letter, phone or public announcement on radio, television and EC website that their names have been deleted from the Voters Register because they used NHIS card to register and in accordance with the Supreme Court Orders. EC must inform all such voters the steps they should take to re-register within a specified period; EC must publish and announce the steps it will take to re-register the affected voters. EC must provide a list of all such names/voters to all registered political parties; EC must inform all registered political parties of the steps it will take to re-register names deleted from the Voters Register; The re-registration should take place across the country at national, regional, district, constituency and electoral area levels), etc. The EC does not require any new Constitutional Instrument to undertake the above because it is acting on the orders of the Supreme Court and therefore within the 1992 Constitution and the applicable laws of Ghana. Failure to take immediate steps to delete names of voters who used NHIS cards to register from the Voters Register as ordered by the Supreme Court will be unconstitutional and clear contempt of court that should require a custodial sentence of the EC Chair and all Commissioners. Mrs Charlotte Osei should be told in plain language and action that she is not above the law. Immediately following their trial and custodial sentence for contempt of court, the processes for their removal from office must be initiated. Enough is enough from this arrogant and disrespectful Electoral Commissioner. Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK Asiedu-Nketia 20.05.2016 LISTEN It has always been clear to every levelheaded Ghanaian that a perfect National Voters Register (NVR) is a practical impossibility to establish in the country. It therefore comes as absolutely no new revelation just dreamed up by the General-Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) who has, by the way, done his fair share of unduly and flagrantly taking advantage of the weaknesses and loopholes in the countrys electoral protocol to cynically facilitate the morally untenable entrenchment of his party in the seat of power (See Voters Register Can Never Be Cleaned Unless - Mosquito Ultimate 1069.com / Ghanaweb.com 5/9/16). Indeed, as even the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr. Jon Benjamin, had occasion to point out recently, there is absolutely no such thing as a perfect voters register, not even in Britain where modern democratic culture, in its various shades and forms, has existed for centuries. At best, such fraudulent practices, as have been known and exposed for blighting the credibility of the countrys electoral culture, can be drastically reduced to a tolerable minimum. In order to reasonably achieve the foregoing level of electoral credibility, it is very obvious that Parliament needs to order the immediate implementation of a National Identity Card, the securing of which ought to be primarily based on ones citizenship in the country either by birth or naturalization. Mr. Asiedu-Nketia is absolutely right to observe that there are quite a remarkable number of non-Ghanaians who possess drivers licenses, especially if such holders are legally resident in the country. Where the problem gets tricky is in regard to non-Ghanaian-born residents who are known to possess Ghanaian birth certificates. This problem has arisen primarily because until very recently, the perennial culture of military dictatorship had negatively impinged on our sense of civic responsibility. This disconcerting state of affairs will take some time to rectify. The problem is also partly economic and has to do with the generally meager salaries and wages of many a Ghanaian civil-service worker. Occupational fraud has come to be generally envisaged as a legitimate mode of supplementing ones official income. The widely acknowledged but unspoken philosophy here is that one chooses to hold onto a civil-service job because there is no other readily available legitimate means of making what approximates a decent living. In such a morally noncommittal sociopolitical cultural milieu, it is decidedly a no-win situation for those on the lookout for a democratic culture that fairly approximates the desired ideal. What makes General Mosquitos inexcusably cynical prognosis even more disturbing inheres in the fact that he has been recklessly and unconscionably complicit in the very fraudulent misdeeds which he rightly identifies to be gravely militating against any attempt to establish a credible electoral register and protocol in the country. His recent decision to illegally permit Dr. Zanetor Rawlings to contest the Klottey-Korle parliamentary primary is a striking case in point. In this instance, a non-registered member of the National Democratic Congress was flagrantly afforded the illegitimate nod to run for a parliamentary seat merely because the eldest daughter of Chairman Jerry John Rawlings possessed a familial name recognition, aside from the obvious animus virulently exhibited towards the Klottey-Korle parliamentary incumbent and former Greater-Accra Regional Minister, Mr. Nii Armah Ashitey. Dr. Rawlings was also permitted by General Mosquito as Mr. Asiedu-Nketia is widely known to contest the Klottey-Korle parliamentary election, as noted above, because the incumbent NDC-MP has fallen out of the favor of the Rawlings Posse, of which Mr. Asiedu-Nketia is a prime operative. The issuance of a National Identity Card stands the best chance of bringing Ghanaians closest to a credible democratic culture. Ones access to the NIC ought to be primarily based on ones presentation of a birth certificate or a legitimately sworn affidavit certifying the veracity of the same. *Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs 20.05.2016 LISTEN Whether believers or not, we are all agreed today that the earth is essentially a shared inheritance, whose fruits are meant to benefit everyone. Hence every ecological approach needs to incorporate a social perspective which takes into account the fundamental rights of the poor and the underprivileged. Pope Francis "VRA to use sea water for coal plant" was the title of an article that appeared in the business section of Ghana Web on March 21st 2016. The published article was on the collaboration between Shenzhen Energy Group Co., Ltd. (SEC) and the Volta River Authority (VRA) to develop a 2350MW supercritical coal-fired power generating facility (including the affiliated coal handling terminal) along the coastline of Ghana. The coal fired plant will be built at Abaono in the Ekumfi district, Central Region. We, Ghana citizens at home and abroad, support the position of the Ghana Youth Environmental Movement to vehemently oppose the building of a coal fired plant for electricity for a number of reasons: (1) Coal is a dangerous fossil fuel generation of power because it causes health hazards. In 2011, the American Lung Association (ALA) released a report stating that: Particle pollution from power plants is estimated to kill approximately 13,000 people a year. The ALA report pointed to coal-fired power plants as among the worst offenders. (2) Coal power poses environmental hazards like smog and its attendant dangers. The consultants scoping report on Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of the project, acknowledges these environmental hazards;- release of poisonous gas into the atmosphere; threat to aquatic life; management of the 5 million tons of ash to be generated by the plant. Yet, to date, no national debate has been organized to fully discuss the implications of the destruction to the environment. (3) The Paris Accords of 2015 calls for all nations to phase out coal power. Coal-burning plants world - wide are one of the worst industrial polluters. In some regions of the world coal burning plants produce approximately one-third of carbon dioxide (CO2, a major contributor to global warming), 40% of mercury (highly toxic if ingested or inhaled), one-quarter of nitrogen oxide (an ingredient found in smog) and two-thirds of our sulfur dioxide (a component of acid rain). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the US is on record to acknowledge that sulfur dioxide promotes heart disease and asthma, while nitrogen oxides destroy lung tissue. (4) Every nation - including China, US and Europe- is phasing out coal powered plants to reduce negative environmental effects. The biggest coal mining corporation in the world, Peabody, is also phasing and/or closing out coal mines worldwide. Why does Ghana want to embrace an obsolete technology that is dangerous to the environment? (5) There are several alternatives to coal power that are environmentally friendly and do not contribute to climate change. These alternatives include wind, solar, gas, thermal, nuclear and hydro power. (6) The claim that Ekumfi Aboano became the preferred location to accommodate the coal-fired power generating plant, especially for reasons of minimal environmental impact and implications is at best dubious. We are not convinced. The scoping report itself acknowledges that: there is limited knowledge and awareness of the operational features of coal-fired power plant and the advancement in technological efficiency and pollution controls. For one, there are alternate power generating technologies that in the long run will be safer and environmentally friendly than the preferred coal-fired plant to be built at Ekumfi Abaono. We support the call by the Ghana Youth Environment Movement to reject coal-fired plants in Ghana. It is an obsolete technology and represents a serious threat to the safety of our environment; particularly air quality and water bodies. Respectfully submitted on behalf of concerned Ghanaians for a clean environment. Prof. Steve Panford (Retired) Former Chair & Director. of Liberal Arts and Arts, New York City College of Technology, City University of New York Prof. Kwamina Panford - Former Vice Provost, North Eastern University, Boston Prof. K. Botchway Professor, New York City College of Technology, City University of New York Mr. Thomas Panford - Retired Civil Servant, New York City Mr. Kingsley Duker - Retired Civil Servant, Finance Department, New York City Mr. Kwabena Achampong - Senior Administrator, Home care Services, New York City Mr. Kwame Danso - Attorney At Law, New York City Dr. Ohene Frempong - Prof. Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania Medical School Mr. Kkwabena Akosah - Former Correspondent BBC Mr. Billy Essilfie - Former Marketing Manager TOPP Ghana Cc: Volta River Authority (VRA) Shenzhen Energy Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Ministry of Environment, Science & Technology (MEST) Nicosia (AFP) - Legal proceedings to extradite a man accused of hijacking an EgyptAir plane and diverting it to the Mediterranean island officially got under way on Friday. A Nicosia court received the official documentation requesting the extradition of Egyptian Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa, 58 to face trial in Cairo. Cypriot authorities had to wait six weeks to acquire all the necessary paperwork from Egypt so the justice minister could make the request before the Nicosia court. The court will now decide whether there is sufficient cause to send the accused back to Egypt. Proceedings were adjourned until May 26 to give the defence time to study Mostafa's initial statement to police and a list of demands submitted during the March 29 hijacking. Unlike his previous two appearances before the court, Mostafa was not wearing a political slogan on his shirt. His defence lawyer Robertos Vrahimi complained to the court that his client had his top forcibly removed at the prison under protest and was thus denied his freedom of expression. Last week he entered the court wearing a polo-neck with the message: "RELEASE THE 63 EGYPTIAN GIRLS YOU LIARS". He misspelt Egyptian 'Egyption'. During another appearance last month he wore a white T-shirt with the message "Cici killer" emblazoned on the front. It was unclear whether that was a reference to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Mostafa will fight his extradition on the grounds he will not receive a fair trial in Egypt, arguing he could be tortured or face the death penalty if sent back. Cypriot authorities have said they have written assurances from Cairo that Mostafa will not face the death penalty when he stands trial in Egypt. However, Mostafa's request for asylum has been refused as Cypriot authorities deem him a "perpetrator of serious crimes". Mostafa is accused of using a fake suicide belt to seize the Alexandria-to-Cairo flight on March 29 and force it to land in Cyprus. The Egyptian state prosecutor's office had asked for him to be handed over under a 1996 extradition treaty. Mostafa, described by authorities as psychologically unstable, has said he acted out of desperation to see his Cypriot ex-wife and children. According to police, Mostafa gave a voluntary statement admitting the hijacking. His ex-wife has been quoted by Cypriot media as describing their five years of marriage as a "hell". The hijacking ended peacefully with Mostafa's arrest. Most of the 55 passengers were quickly released after the plane landed, but some escaped only minutes before the six-hour standoff finished. Dr Mahamudu Bawumia 20.05.2016 LISTEN Will falsehoods and intellectual deceit ever exonerate Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia from his present state of hallucination? Or is it that Dr. Bawumia is simple suffering from phobia? I was astonished when I heard Dr. Bawumia asking the good Muslims of Ghana and the respectable people of the Northern Region to vote for him and Akuffo-Addo, the twice failed team. According to Dr. Bawumia, the John Mahama led National Democratic Congress (NDC) has done nothing for the Northern region to deserve their vote. Really? Allah have mercy on competent liar. The Northerners can see and feel the positive transformation that President Mahamas government is offering them. Space will not allow me if I had to mention the developmental projects that the Region is experiencing under President John Mahama which stretches from Infrastructural developments through social interventions, all the way to basic amenities for survival, deepening of FCUBE that is entrenched in our constitution down the road to human development in the northern Region. The people can see. What kind of Muslim at all is Dr. Bawumia? Is it to follow Akuffo-Addo to move from Mosque to shrine and to Church, even though he keep falling, makes Dr. Bawumia a good Muslim? Going to shrine and Church for prayers, divine mercies and whatever other reasons know to Dr. Bawumia, has compromise his faith and ridicule Islamic religion. In case Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia has forgotten, let me refresh his memories. Who in Ghana hates Muslims and Northerners than Akuffo-Addo, his late father- Edward Akuffo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party (NPP)? Action speaks louder than words. In 1969 when Edward Akuffo-Addo was ceremonial Head of government of Ghana under Dr. Busia, he (Akuffo-Addos father) drove away Muslims from Ghana by enacting obnoxious legislation, Alien compliance act. I might not have a vivid detail about the havoc that Alien Compliance Act has cause targeted Muslims in the entire Country, but Lagos Town, now called Accra Newtown where I have lived Many years, I cannot be mistaken. Muslims who lived in Accra Newtown, Malammata, Maamobi and Nima at the time had to run away and leave their houses behind for strangers to take ownership. It has also gone in to the history books that the only African government that have sacked its Citizens from their territory is Ghana and this bad precedence happened under the stewardship of Edward Akuffo-Addo. The strangle of a man started from birth, so, Akuffo-Addos hatred for Muslims and Northerners begin from his birth. When NDC under J.J Rawlings commissioned the National office of the Chief Imam, Akuffo-Addo and the NPP kicked against it. And also insulted J.J Rawlings and the NDC for recognizing Muslims when the NDC makes the two Muslims festive a National holiday. Akuffo-Addo as Attorney General jailed Malam Issah even though former President Kuffour told him not to. When NPP was in power, they collaborated with the police through diabolic means and had Issah Mobila-the Northern Regional GPRTU boss annihilated. I will not like to open the late Yana Adanis file under NPP regime. It was one clear case to reminds everyone about how NPP had failed the northern region in this regard. Akuffo-Addo, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia and the NPP has no Aorta of love for Muslims and Northerners. Where was Dr. Bawumia when Akuff-Addos actions and inactions cause the death of their party North Eastern Regional Chairman, Adams Mahama, Abubakar Siddique and others. Dr. Bawumia was quiet and out of coverage area. Chairman Paul Afoko a Northerner who Akuffo-Addo openly rejected worked against him and had him unconstitutionally removed from office. Where was Dr.Bawumia when his party high rank member publicly told the northerners that they drink with Animals. Dr. Bawumia should be telling the Muslims and the Northerners how their illustrious son, the late Aliu Mahama, Ex-Vice President of J.A. Kuffuor was ridiculed in the NPP by party members. If Dr. Bawumia have Muslims and the Northerners at heart, why was he quite when their party Chairman Mr. Paul Afoko a Northerner, was unconstitutionally removed from office? Why did Dr. Bawumia turned a deaf ear to the Northern wig NPP members petition asking him to take a stand on Mr. Paul Afokos removal case. Its only a stooge that will remain quiet in their comfort zone when party elected officials are wrongfully removed from office, when party members are stabbed to death, beaten and some receiving acid bath. In fact, Dr. Bawumia had not told the Northerners how the NPP will heal the wounds of the families of Yana Andani and the families of 40 other northern Muslim who lost their lives with Yana under the NPP. Whatever will come out of this days political bigotry, Machiavillainism and lies propagated by Dr. Bawumia and cohort, the purgatory and disappointment caused rest in the heavy shoulders of our Muslims and the Northern brothers and sisters. Long live our Muslim Brothers and sisters, long live our Northerners. Eye zu.. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has lifted the ban it imposed on the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB). The regulator on May 10 in a statement announced that it has frozen all activities that would pave the way for the Bank to list on the exchange after its public offer. The action by the Commission was influenced by a petition from ADB board on its offer. However in a statement copied to JOYBUSINESS, SEC says it has lifted the ban on activities of ADBs Initial Public Offering. According to the regulator, it took the action after the Board of the Bank wrote to the Commission on May 19 to withdraw an earlier petition. Analysts say this could now pave the way for the bank to go ahead and list on the Stock Exchange after it failed to meet the April 25 deadline to start trading. This development could have resulted in the Bank being asked by the Commission to return the about 450 million raised from the offer to investors. This is because the Bank also failed again to meet the May 5 extension granted by the regulator. 20.05.2016 LISTEN Most evaluation of the fuel subsidy situation in Nigeria will quickly reveal the trails of betrayal and mysticism of white magic. Hell yeah that is the story of Africa in a nutshell. A place that flows with milk and honey though many indigenous people are forced to run away from the lands due to so-called poverty. Those that benefit the most from our minerals have managed to convince the world with the narrative that Africa is poor and primitive whereas they work with their African allies to rob the continent dry. Sometimes like in the situation in Nigeria they call for all to sacrifice and eat of the skeletal bones when they partake of the fattened spoils. Despite calling for nationwide strikes in this second act petroleum magical subsidy dance, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) are at the same crossroads that we faced in 2012. The present government of President Buhari is calling upon them to make sacrifices on behalf of the fat cats. It must be recalled that in 2012, Buhari and his political sponsors such as Mr. Rotimi Amaechi former governors of Rivers State and Mr. Babatunde Fashola former governor of Lagos State, paid lip service to the demands of the Occupy Nigerian Movement. Today these progressive criminals are now minister of Transportation and minister of Power, Works and Housing respectively. Although 23years old Muyideen Mustapha was the first casualty of the protest in Ilorin the capital of Kwara State. Then so-called progressive governor of Lagos betrayed the marchers when he connived with President Jonathan to respond with troops to faceoff peaceful protesters. Those forces who they hesitated to deploy against Boko Haram wasted no time in gunning down young Ademola Aderinde in Lagos. The top echelon of the National Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress went on to betray not just the labour of our heroes past but the lives of the nearly twenty protesters who died during the occupy Nigeria protests. Indeed our Occupy Nigeria Movement began as a result of betrayal and the magical reasoning of shock and owe. President Jonathan used the 2011 Christmas Day church Bombings in Abuja as the pretext to initiate the fuel subsidy voodoo. But the list of treachery continued afterwards as Omoyele Sowore of SaharaReporters.com decided to cast his lot with the All Progressive Congress (APC) party of Nigeria. Mr. Sowore who had crashed the 2012 Washington DC Occupy Nigeria Movement march at the World Bank decided to advocate for a party and by extension individuals like Buhari, Ahmed Tinubu, and Rotimi Amaechi, classical members of the global 1% instead of the 99% of Naijas. At the Occupy Nigeria Movement platforms we also had a watercarrier for the senate leader (criminal) Bukola Saraki. Wey we dey waka for cold for near 0 degree temperature we fall mugu. Some allowed that na my pally (friend) mentality to distract us from the bigger picture of running a tight organization. In retrospect hope we realize that vested interests always have counteragents among change agencies. They even speak the language of change to sow deceit. Even the children of our great ancestor Fela fell for the ploys of Mr. Buhari and APC the current ruling party in Nigeria. Some of the same Nigerians that balked at the removal of fuel subsidy are now backing the policy. Hopefully, the union officials will not betray Nigerians again by looking out for their personal interests like some did in 2012. The duplicity and inaction with Boko Haram was partly responsible for the election of Dictator Muhammadu Buhari as the current president. Nigerians became so disillusioned that they decided to forgo (sacrifice) the differences between true revolutionaries and reformers like Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso and Jerry Rawlings of Ghana with our imaginary Buhari who has remained part of the problem in Nigeria at every level. In the haste to remove a corrupt party Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) we brought back PDP 2.0 in APC with their calls for us to sacrifice. Nigerians and the unions need not make the same mistakes of 2012. We can actually achieve economic emancipation from the political and military establishments. If 99% of Nigerians and the unions can strike and shutdown the government we can also reignite and build a labour party that can free us from the shackles of our internal economic slave masters. There is the capacity to bring this remix government to their knees and grant Mr. Buhari the extended vacation that he truly seeks. But will we allow ourselves to dream bigger than those temptations of our personal comforts and the chains of religion and ethnicity that the 1% uses in exploiting us most of the time. Time will tell. Nnamdi F. Akwada, LGSW is a Social Justice Activist www.facebook.com/AfricanDiasporatv Geneva (AFP) - The Zika virus strain linked to surging cases of neurological disorders and birth defects in Latin America has for the first time been found in Africa, the World Health Organization said Friday. The UN health agency announced that the Zika virus strain circulating in Cape Verde had been shown to be the same as the one behind an explosion of cases in the Americas. "This is the first time that the Zika strain responsible for the outbreaks linked to neurological disorders and microcepaly has been detected in Africa," Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's Africa regional chief, told reporters in Geneva. The Writer 20.05.2016 LISTEN The scale of terrorism continues to rise in leaps and bounds. The need to fight terrorism from a multilateral approach rather than a unilateral one cannot be over emphasised. A perfect and sound approach that bears no weakness. But interestingly this primary principle seems to sometimes fall on some deaf ears when we gather daily to proffer solutions to curb the rise of insurgency and terrorism as a whole. The fast growing dynamics of terrorism is strengthened by the pillars of collaboration, communication, consistency and funding. Terror organizations collaborate in the most brilliant of ways. They communicate effectively, share information and are consistent in their pursuit to make incursions at the least opportunity. Above all, their stream of funding is intriguingly smooth and arguably unstoppable. So whiles interrogating the gathering of Chad Basin member states in Nigeria to tackle the rise of BOKO HARAM at the all important SECURITY SUMMIT, my question is, how far is our collaborative effort going , how efficient are our communication lines, are we going to be consistent in our effort to fight terrorism and are we financially resourced? These questions tinker on my mind. COLLABORATION: The consideration for only Nigeria , Cameroon, Niger, Chad and Benin to be present at this all important UN Security summit; even though understood from the perspective of they being most affected by BOKO HARAM still raises questions about the holistic approach as a regional block we are taking . Togo , Ghana and Ivory Coast were missing. Why? But the argument is even much interesting when you get to know about the collaborative effort of these terrorist organizations. Boko Haram, previously known as a "machete-wielding" mob, have now exceeded their capabilities. The August 2011 UN Headquarters bombing in Abuja for instance was similar to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM'S) attack on a UN building in Algeria in 2007. It is believed the act relied on Nigerians who were trained from abroad with AQIM. It is also believed that they received support from and work in conjunction with both AQIM and Al-Shabab. Eg. In April 2012, Boko Haram in collaboration with AQIM, supported Ansar al-Din, to seize northern Mali from the Malian government. Boko Haram in June 2011, publicly boasted about the training of its members in Al-Shabab training camps in Somalia. So folks, they are collaborating far and wide to executive their activities irrespective of their area of operation . My question is, When you build a strategy for those countries in the Chad basin area just because it's Boko Haram, when BOKO HARAM attacks the countries on the periphery or aside the Chad basin such as Togo, Ghana Ivory Coast etc what would you make of your effort? The fact that Boko Haram hasn't operated in these countries, doesn't mean they won't. Indeed if we leave those in the Chad basin to fend for themselves or they believing it's a problem they don't need neighbours even though it's clear their capability is less, then I'm afraid we've delved into the cliche " each one for himself, God for us all". But can this be the way forward? COMMUNICATION The numerous regional blocks in Africa though great for integration also poses some communication challenges Bureaucracies and hierarchical approach to communication is an obstacle to swift or fluid dissemination of information. Terror organizations have now decentralised their activities, i.e cell based; therefore their lines of communication is also decentralised. Information doesn't have to come from the top anymore. This means they are swift in taking a decision, communicate easily among them, and execute their thoughts smoothly. So how soon do we hope to share the knowledge of the Summit, how far will we share the knowledge and how do we hope that knowledge is implemented by those who were not part of the security summit? Again we may need to expand the role of civic education agencies and accelerate the dissemination of terrorist activities to the ordinary citizens. CONSISTENCY One of the reasons why terror activities continue to bring about fear to the ordinary citizen is because apart from its lethality, it's consistent. They never stop. So we are always on the edge. Fear and Panic gripping us all. The element of consistency is usually key to the success of every venture. The fight against terrorism is no exception. If terror groups are consistent with their activities, we cannot afford to rest. That reminds me of the Katangese motto: REST NOT. As member states or regional blocks, the strategy should be consistent. It's not enough to hold security summits once in a blue moon. Daily intelligence gathering, weekly strategies must be employed, monthly reviews adopted and yearly reforms injected in our way of life. FUNDING One of the life lines for these terrorist to continue to perpetuate these heinous crime is funding. It is at the core of their operations. They will stop at nothing to secure and solicit for funds at all cost. The reality is, without funding they aren't going anywhere. But how do they acquire funding? Operating in a region where about 70% of its population live in poverty, figuring out how Boko Haram finances its activities raises a lot of questions. But this is how their ingenuity plays out. 1. Robberies - they've robbed banks and successful businesses. Eg. In 2011, they robbed a pharmacy of its cash and medical supplies, in Maiduguri (where they are operating. In December 2011, they robbed local branches of Guaranty Trust Bank and Intercontinental Bank. 2. Kidnapping for ransom. Eg. Was the kidnap of the wife of the Deputy Prime Minister of Cameroon in 2014. She was released with others after payment of $600,000 . 3. Prominent individuals like politicians also finance them. Eg. Ali Ndume, a senator from Borno State ( Nigeria) was accused of sponsoring them. 4. Also receive funding with the help of AQIM from organisations in UK and Saudi Arabia. The just ended security summit in Nigeria gave an overview of what the coalition or international partners notable UK, US and France sought to do. UK pledged 40M, US & France were to provide help in reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and strategizing. Great collaboration and good funding. But does this not tell you something. It's clear we just don't have the money as a regional block to combat terrorism on our own. With regards to the African Union (AU) Peace Fund, it's intended to finance AU-led peace support operations, which includes terrorism. The budget is made up of contribution from AU's regular budget and voluntary contributions from African and International donors. For example, the EU, through its African Peace Facility (APF) supports the AU. From the inception of the APF in 2004 till 2014, the EU has provided the AU with 740 million to support peace and security on the continent. Vey worryingly, the African countries have between 2008 to 2011 only provided 2% of the budget for the AU Peace Fund. Are we having a laugh or what? How far can the 40M provided at the just needed security summit go? How many years can it sustain this fight? What other source of funding are we embarking on? Is there a sustainable fund available? And when we say SUSTAINABLE, we mean a fund that has got the required amount of money in daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. This is where we have to be careful. Loss or inadequate funds will affect the implementation of all the beautiful strategies tabled and weaken the "fire power" of the coalition. If we want to avoid behaving like ostriches basking and burying our heads in the sand, then regional blocks must make an effort not to limit collaborations with only member states, must reinvent their communication strategies, be proactive & consistent and work tirelessly to have different streams of funding. Though ECOWAS has a special levy called ECOWAS Community levy which member states contribute in the fight against terrorism, if possible a standalone fund for fighting terrorism should be created. Owusu-Sekyere K JNR (Security Analyst) #RegionalSecurityWatchInstitute Email: [email protected] The Chief of Staff in the Bureau of the Chairperson, of the African Union Commission (AUC), Ms. Jennifer Chiriga has expressed condolences to the family of the former Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Addis Ababa, and immediate past Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), H.E. Mr. Gerard Mapango Kemishanga. He died on 12 May 2016, while undergoing medical treatment in South Africa. The Chief of Staff signed the condolence book opened at the DRC embassy, on behalf of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, recognizing the former Ambassador's contribution to supporting and advancing the mission of the Union. Ms. Chiriga also expressed condolences to the Government and People of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The late Ambassador Gerard Mapango Kemishanga served for 14 years, (2002 to March 2016), as DRC's Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the AU and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Fitch Ratings has affirmed Vietnam's long-term foreign and local currency issuer default rating at 'BB-' with a stable outlook. The issued ratings on Vietnam's senior unsecured foreign- and local-currency bonds are also affirmed at 'BB-'. The country ceiling is affirmed at 'BB-' and the short-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) at 'B'. The affirmation of Vietnam's IDRs with a stable outlook reflects the following key rating drivers: Vietnam's ratings match its favorable macroeconomic outlook in the medium term and macroeconomic stabilization against high public debt levels, sizeable budget deficits, low foreign exchange reserves and relatively weak structural indicators. Fitch forecasts a 2015 budget deficit of 6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), compared with an estimated 6.2 percent of GDP in 2014 based on the agency's adjustments. The countrys budget revenues are estimated at about 2 percent of GDP in 2015 as the government has collected more taxes since then. The 2016 budget deficit is forecast to increase to 6.5 percent of GDP. Fitch said Vietnamese regulators will have considerable difficulty in keeping the budget deficit under 4 percent of GDP from 2016-2020. Fitchs data shows that Vietnams public debt in 2015 continued to mount up to an estimated 51.1 percent of GDP, higher than 47.3 percent in 2014 and higher than the average rate of 43.6 percent of countries ranked BB. Fitch forecasts Vietnams public debt in 2016 to rise to 53.7 percent. According to Fitch, public debt will continue to rise in the medium term unless the government tightens fiscal policy. Fitch said Vietnam's real GDP growth in the first quarter of this year was 5.6 percent, lower than the 6.7 percent in the same period last year but still higher than the average GDP growth rate of 4 percent of BB-ranked countries. Fitch forecasts the Southeast Asian countrys GDP growth rate in 2016 at 6.2 percent. Vietnam's medium-term growth prospects will be significantly enhanced by the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The free-trade elements of the TPP will lower tariff barriers, giving Vietnam greater access to large consumer markets like the US, Japan, Canada and Australia, said Fitch. The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch's assessments that upside and downside risks to the rating are currently balanced. Follow VnExpress International on Facebook and Twitter Accra, GHANA On May 19, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) hosted a networking event for African entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors. The workshop gave forward-thinking Ghanaians an opportunity to network one-on-one and collaborate with investors, government officials, business representatives, and educators to fuel entrepreneurship for the benefit of Ghana. USAID Assistant Administrator for Africa Linda Etim opened the conference and U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Robert P. Jackson delivered closing remarks. Nurturing a supportive entrepreneurship ecosystem is critical for innovation, creativity, and imagination to thrive and persist. Therefore, it is important that we fully grasp what hinders and what enhances entrepreneurship in various environments and contexts, remarked Ambassador Jackson. This will help accelerate change and create the much-needed jobs thatamong other benefitswill address youth unemployment. The event is modelled after President Barack Obamas annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES). President Obama will host the seventh GES at Stanford University, in Californias Silicon Valley, June 22-24. The 2016 GES will bring together approximately 1,000 people who represent the full measure of entrepreneurial talent in the United States and internationally. The GES reflects the U.S. governments commitment to use entrepreneurship as a tool to build communities around the world to become more economically prosperous, secure and globally connected. About USAID USAID is the lead U.S. government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential. For more than 50 years, USAID has supported Ghana in increasing food security, improving basic health care, enhancing access to quality basic education, and strengthening local governance to benefit all Ghanaian people. Geneva (AFP) - The Zika virus strain linked to surging cases of neurological disorders and birth defects in Latin America has for the first time been found in Africa, the World Health Organization said Friday. The UN health agency announced that the Zika virus strain circulating in Cape Verde had been shown to be the same as the one behind an explosion of cases in the Americas. "This is the first time that strain of Zika which has been showed to cause neurological disorders and microcephaly ... has been detected in Africa," Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's Africa regional chief, told reporters in Geneva. The so-called Asian strain of the virus has infected some 1.5 million people in hardest-hit country Brazil alone, and was detected in Cape Verde through the sequencing of Zika cases in the island nation. "It is the same genetic material as the virus in Brazil," WHO spokeswoman Marsha Vanderford told AFP. "The findings are of concern because it is further proof that the outbreak is spreading beyond South America and is on the doorstep of Africa," Moeti said. "This information will help African countries to re-evaluate their level of risk and adapt and increase their levels of preparedness," she added. Experts agree that Zika is behind a surge in cases of the birth defect microcephaly -- babies born with abnormally small heads and brains -- after their mothers were infected with the virus. The virus, which also causes the rare but serious neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome, is mainly spread by two species of Aedes mosquito but has also been shown to transmit through sexual contact. WHO believes the Asian Zika strain was imported to Cape Verde by a traveller coming from Brazil, before it began spreading locally. The African strain of the Zika virus, which takes its name from Uganda's tropical Zika forest where it was first discovered in 1947, has been widespread on the continent for decades. But until recently, Zika sparked little concern, as it usually causes only mild, flu-like symptoms and Africans have generally built up immunity against the African strain. It remains unclear what impact the Asian strain of the virus could have in Africa, said Bruce Aylward, WHO chief on outbreaks and health emergencies. As of May 8, 7,557 suspected Zika cases had been registered in Cape Verde, as well as three microcephaly cases, WHO said. No cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome have been registered in the country so far. Dzifa Attivor 20.05.2016 LISTEN Mrs. Dzifa Attivor, the recently dismissed Minister of Transportation she had allegedly been pressured to tender her resignation by Mr. Julius Debrah, the Presidents Chief-of-Staff has been attempting to defend her ethnocentric remarks, regarding the purportedly virulent hostility of New Patriotic Party (NPP) governments towards cabinet appointees of Ewe ethnicity (See Dzifa Attivor Defends Tribal Comments Graphic.com.gh / Ghanaweb.com 4/28/16). Predictably, such farcical and factually mendacious defensiveness is not working. At best, it has only succeeded in putting the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) in a very bad light as an executive protector of criminally culpable Ewes in government. On the campaign trail in a village called Wodoaba, in the Ketu-South Constituency in the Volta Region, Mrs. Attivor was widely reported to have made the following quite damning statement to some NDC supporters and sympathizers: I want to remind you that it is your vote that will determine if Fifi Kwetey and I will be prosecuted and put behind bars or not. Now, this statement is loaded with quite a lot of deleterious implications which, had Mrs. Attivor pondered the same critically and carefully, she might not have made it. For starters, her remarks insult the intelligence of Anlo-Ewes, in particular, but Ewes in general, for Mrs. Attivor to perceive them as an unconscionable group of people who have absolutely no salutary mental capacity to fully appreciate patent acts of executive criminality, especially in regard to crimes committed by Anlo-Ewe cabinet appointees in the Mahama government. And paradoxically, this tribal fear monger may have a point. The massive supportive reaction with which the people of Ho, the Volta regional capital, greeted the Woyome Heist shockingly but quite understandably underscored the all-too-well-known fact that Anlo-Ewes may well be psychologically located on a different moral and civic wavelength from the rest of the Ghanaian citizenry. Then there is also the implicit Attivor accusation that Mr. Fiifi Kwetey, the former Deputy Finance Minister and presently Minister for Agriculture, may be forensically sustainably implicated in either the judicially culpable crime of causing financial loss to the state, or simply lining up his pocket with the peoples money. Mrs. Attivor also exhibits gross ignorance when she vacuously alleges that traditionally there has been no love lost between Volta natives and key operatives of the erstwhile UP (or the United Party), led by Drs. Danquah and Busia, and Mr. Dombo. Mrs. Attivor may do herself great good to revisit the transitional and immediate postcolonial history of Ghana in order to draw the most appropriate conclusions, as well as make herself far less of the laughing stock that she has become in recent weeks and months. Of course, we all know what her oblique reference to the UP Tradition is about, namely, the grossly misreferenced and misquoted Sallah Case in which some essentially pork-barrel Convention Peoples Partys political appointees were rightfully dismissed from the payroll of the State by Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia. Mrs. Attivor would also do herself great good by revisiting the Anlo-Ewe vote in the 1956 UN-sponsored Plebiscite in order to draw the most appropriate conclusions. The fact of the matter is that other than a handful of Anlo-Ewe associates of who trucked with then-Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah, for the most part, Anlo-Ewes like Dr. R. E. G. Armattoe were virulently opposed to the incorporation of Trans-Volta Togoland in the erstwhile Gold Coast. There is also an extensive corpus of literature on the so-called Sallah Case; and so I find it absolutely unnecessary to belabor the same here. Suffice it to observe, however, that the Sallah Affair was gravely tainted by a conflict of interest on the part of one of the sitting judges with familial connection to the lead plaintiff of the class-action suit who was not honorable enough to recuse himself from the case, thus giving the unmistakable appearance of an epic judicial travesty. Indeed, it was this often deliberately and conveniently ignored aspect of the case by his visceral Anlo-Ewe detractors, which prompted Prime Minister Busia to flatly reject a court order to reinstate the dismissed Convention Peoples Party pork-barrel employees. Mrs. Attivor also claims that her decision to whip up tribal sentiments was aimed at protecting the dignity and common identity of the Anlo-Ewe people. This is inexcusably absurd because even Chairman Jerry John Rawlings, the foremost champion of Anlo-Ewe tribal-nationalism, does not find Mrs. Attivors assertion to be either amusing or credible, or even one that redounds to the dignity of the Anlo-Ewe people. Indeed, even the man who once grotesquely accused President John Agyekum-Kufuor of imposing Asante suzerainty on Anlo-Ewes, in the matter of the 2008 Anloga chieftaincy hostilities, has roundly condemned Mrs. Attivor for flagrantly presuming to impugn the statesmanship credentials of Nana Akufo-Addo, the 2016 presidential candidate of Ghanas main opposition New Patriotic Party. Chairman Rawlings has even called on some prominent Anlo-Ewe citizens, such as Mr. Nutifafa Kuenyehia, to add their respectable voices to the round public condemnation of Mrs. Attivor. And so, finally, Ghanaians may be healthily approaching the enlightened status of a cohesive sense of a common national identity, irrespective of ethnicity or creed. *Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs UNICEF Ghana with support from the Canadian and the Netherlands governments today donated nine Toyota Hilux and two Toyota Landcruiser vehicles to government and non-governmental partners. The donation, which was at a cost of US$ 320,000, aims to support Government of Ghana's water, sanitation and hygiene programs in six regions including the five most deprived regions namely Volta, Central, Northern, Upper West and Upper East. The selected regions are those most impacted by the economic and health burden of poor access to improved sanitation and water. UNICEF Ghana Representative, Ms. Susan Namondo Ngongi, said we are very pleased to be able to support government with the help of our partners in ensuring that Ghanaian children have access to safe drinking water and better sanitation. We hope this will help facilitate effective monitoring of WASH programs across the 6 regions, she added. The vehicles donated today will go a long way in supporting government to reach 20 million Ghanaians who do not have access to improved sanitation and five million of who defecate in the open. The Government of Ghana and UNICEF with support from partners such as the Government of Canada and Netherlands have introduced the Community Led Total Sanitation approach, which helps empower communities to have their own toilets with hand washing facilities. Despite the progress made by the Government of Ghana in providing access to improved water sources, about 3,600 children die each year from diarrhea, and suffer from stunting which is linked to poor water and sanitation. Over the past few years, UNICEF in Ghana and partners have worked to reach the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children with water and sanitation through empowering communities to end open defecation themselves and also by improving sanitation technology, and ensuring that basic toilets are affordable, accessible and child friendly. 20.05.2016 LISTEN Former First Lady, Mrs. Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, has of late been ruffling a few feathers in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), with her criticism of government economic policies. The wife of the founder of the ruling party has parted ways with the political party founded by her husband and is now campaigning as Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Party, the political edifice she has built herself. On the campaign trail, Mrs. Rawlings has been very vocal in her criticism of President John Dramani Mahama and his administration. Interviewed on Radio Ghana last week, Mrs. Rawlings complained about rampant corruption eating away state resources at the expense of the people's welfare and incompetence on the part of the administration and its officials. It is painful, she complained, that the NDC was running the vehicle of state into a ditch. The former First lady charged the Government to stop sole sourcing in the award of contracts, in order to arrest the high spate of corruption and asked political leaders of society to stop bribing the media to keep quiet about issues that are happening in society. These are issues of concern to the ordinary man on the street, for which this society should applaud the former First Lady. However, officials of the NDC are up in arms with her for articulating the concerns of the people. The Eastern Regional Chairman of the NDC has even gone further to suggest that Mrs. Rawlings, who is campaigning to be elected president of this country, is doing the bidding of the Presidential Candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party. Nana Konadu's aim is to ensure that Akufo-Addo wins the elections. That is why she has been heaping praises on him wherever she goes. Her aim is to make the NDC, a party she once served as Vice-Chairman unpopular, so that we will lose the elections, Mr. Boateng charged. In what amounts to an admission of corrupt dealings by the party while in power during the Rawlings era, Mr. Boateng said: If She (Mrs. Rawlings) says this government is corrupt, I challenge her to tell how she was able to find money to run the 31st December Women's Movement. She shouldn't dare tag this government as corrupt, because she did worst things when her husband was President. The interesting revelation about this outburst is that it confirms the general perception that the NDC was corrupt when in power in the Rawlings era. It also gives several broad hints about the performance of this regime which has often been accused of corrupt dealings. The Akans would tell you that when the goat rubs its body against the wall, it might think that it is destroying the house. Invariably, it turns out that the animal is hurting itself. The Chronicle believes one does not need to be a sage to appreciate the Eastern Regional Chairman's outburst in its proper contest. The party in power is feeling the pinch. But if party apparatchiks believe they can wish people's perception of corruption away, by descending on Mrs. Rawlings, then that is their cup of tea. This society is not sitting pretty at all. The exposure of various deals has created an image problem for the government and the political party that props it up. There aren't many in this society who are comfortable with the conduct of this administration, especially in the way the public purse has been used. The Chronicle has never been a friend of Mrs. Rawlings, especially during those days when her husband sat at the Castle and she behaved as 'She who must be obeyed.' But that does not mean that if the former President of the 31st December Women's Movement, who is campaigning in her own right to become the President of this republic, cannot point out the ills of society. The Chronicle is ill at ease with the wanton dissipation of public funds, under the watch of the NDC administration. Sole sourcing, for instance, has been turned into one of the main vehicles for siphoning public funds. That is why, in our view, Mrs. Rawlings should be applauded for making it a campaign issue in the run-up to the November 7 vote. The wife of the founder of the party has never been the darling of this newspaper. Of late, however, the Presidential Candidate of the NDP is making all the right noises. We urge Mrs. Konadu Agyeman Rawlings to continue to expose the rot. Mugabe 20.05.2016 LISTEN The other day, I read a joke on a conversation between President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and another western leader. In that joke, the two leaders were to make a choice between wisdom and money. President Mugabe in making a rational thought on going for wealth instead of wisdom which his counterpart chose, said that each of them was right in his choice ; because for him, he had wisdom but what he lacked was wealth. Same wise, he believed his counterpart who presided over wealth lacked wisdom. I was glad that this post was a joke; because evidence on the ground does not support president Mugabe's argument. It could be contested that Zimbabwe as a country is poorer than the western country in question. The truth is that Zimbabwe is currently naturally endowed than any western country. Some time past, Zimbabwe used to be the bread basket of the whole southern Africa. Zimbabwe, even as at now, has the potential to produce to feed the whole of Africa.And so if the country Zimbabwe under President Mugabe, is in its pitiful state , it is not because the country is not endowed with wealth, but Zimbabwe's poor state should be attributed to the current president and the leaders who lack the wisdom and the common sense to make good use of all that Zimbabwe is endowed with Sadly, the pitiful difficulties that we find ourselves in this country is largely because we all ( including our leaders) lack the sense to make good use of all that our country is blessed with. Our problem in this country is our lack of sense. If you are in this country, you would by now know that one of Ghanaian staple foods is almost non- existent in the market. Ghanaians love their 'fufu' and 'akple' which cannot be prepared without the cassava. An Accra based Fm station newscaster called the deputy minister of Agriculture to seek his views on the shortage of cassava in the market with its discomfort to consumers. In summary, the minister in his response sounded more like the response a student who did not do his home assignment would give his tutor . I was scandalized to hear from the minister that the shortage of cassava was as a result of Guineas Ghana limited's interest in cassava to produce a new beer brand. I wanted to ask someone whether the deputy minister of Agriculture, his boss and all the directors in that ministry had gone comatose all these months? Because, even I, in my single room, had heard many months now, that Guineas Ghana limited had been preparing to launch a new beer brand made from cassava. I had even told my wife about the business opportunity inherent this move by the brewing company. And so, I find it difficult to appreciate that the minister of Agriculture, his deputies and all the directors in that Agriculture ministry did not see the huge market for cassava when this private brewing company made such a move many months ago. These people in the Agricultural ministry are paid enviable monthly salaries. They are also given all the pegs denied majority of us just to think for us. But these people in relation to our present circumstances with the shortage of cassava in our market had proven that they cannot even envisage what the people would need even within a year. This Agriculture minister is part of a government which cannot find opportunities to bring jobs to our teeming unemployed youths. And yet, they sat by for such a golden opportunity to motivate our youths to make decent living by going into cassava production to just go by. Recently, I heard our government is busied with itself to re-sign a trade- part agreement with the EU.This agreement is supposed to grant Ghanaian producers access to the European Market. Our government is not interested in the local market for cassava but it is more interested in a market in Europe. Our government does not want to excel in small things; it is more interested in big things. As I said earlier, I strongly disagree with president Mugabe in that joke on whatsapp. If there is anything the African lacks, it is not wealth ; it is wisdom. It is a pity that a land that is so blessed has inhabitants who are bereft of common sense. PAUL ZOWONU KANESHIE ACCRA From Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, Bernard Otabil explains Africa's security concerns Accra, May 20, GNA - Fact is that about three-quarters of today's global peace support operations are located in Africa. The question then is: If so, then how come that Africa's voice in the global security arena is so limited to a few individuals and organisations? It doesn't add up, does it? The above fact - possibly figures also - and the proffered questions informed the theme for the 5th Tana Forum, held in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, from April 16 to 17, 2016, which was set around an agenda of improving Africa's role within the global security formation. Certainly, this formation wasn't about how a squadron of soldiers must behave in order to combat an enemy or to police an invading threat but more about the role of Africa, and how it can force down an engagement with the global security 'council' to ensure that it had a more vibrant role to play in addressing the litany of wars and trouble spots that seem to get the peep-in by the global peace support operations, but hardly a look-in by African leaders themselves. In a remark presented on April 16 during the Forum, ostensibly to explain the 'Spirit of Tana', the following words stood out: 'In sum, in a short span of time, the Forum has emerged as a vibrant vehicle for public discussion and reflection on how Africa can be free from recurrent and recalcitrant strife, strife which plainly stands in the way of popular yearning for enduring progress in self-government and emancipation from poverty across Africa'. That short space of time is the half a decade since the Forum was convened at the behest of the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, and chaired by General (rtd) Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president of Nigeria.'When some six years ago, the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi invited and convinced me to take on the task of establishing and managing the Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa, little did I realise how African security issues would transform in substantive and radically different ways within half a decade', Former President Obasanjo said in his remarks at the event. Obansanjo's perspective on the state of security in Africa, perhaps, serves as the right fillip for the post Tana discussions which, l am sure, many would engage in. He said: 'It is clear for me that old - or 'traditional'- causes of conflict, insecurity and violence still persist and have gained greater currency today. They can be one or more of the following: inadequate attention to the issue of diversity, leading to marginalization, exclusions, lack of popular participation; inequity, inequality, uneven development and oppression; inadequate attention to education and unemployment particularly of youth; gender inequality; and of course religious bigotry'. 'The presence of any of these, or more than one, in sufficient magnitude for any length of time, when unattended and unaddressed, invariably lead to group dissatisfaction, breed grievances and incubate injustice', he adds. Indeed, Africa in the global security agenda is a very complex one as the interwoven web of issues triggering and fomenting the trouble spots are as diverse as the ideological underpinnings informing the perpetrators. For instance, inequity and inequality, or oppression in some of the conflict areas today - Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR), CAte d'Ivoire, Darfur, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, South Sudan, Somalia and Tunisia - are defined variously because the understanding is based on meaning structures and interpretations based on individual private logic mostly, and not on the collective logic of what must define peace and unity of purpose. 'The bottom line is that we have conflicts in some parts of the continent that seem to be merely promoted by people who just want their way at all cost. Even when the governance system provides an avenue for them to have a chance in government, if that is what they so desire, they would rather take the path of war when they don't get their way. It happens after elections, when losers would strive to cause mayhem to be part of a 'government of national unity', and that is the trouble, and what l have come to describe as 'senseless wars' in Africa', Tabi Ndajisi, a journalist from Nigeria explains in an interview. So, can it be that the problems of Africa, as far as wars and conflicts are concerned, are all African-made? Well, l would rather posit here a troubling reference made by President Obasanjo on the situation in Burundi, as that seems to perfectly support the notion among many that Africa fuels its own troubles, and by extension, fights senseless wars, as Ndajisi also suggests. 'If one country deserves our eternal vigilance and decisive action to pull from the brinks of an unnecessary and full-scale war, Burundi would no doubt qualify. No one should disbelieve how quickly an already tense situation in that country, one of the poorest in the world according to the UN Human Development Index, has deteriorated - especially following the decision by the incumbent President Pierre Nkuruziza to seek re-election despite the evident constitutional backlashes. To date, the government has not only remained headstrong but also seems determined to defy wise counsel from the international community; including those from the African Union', Obasanjo said. And he adds: 'Despite the endorsement by the UN Security Council via statement of December 19, 2015, of the decision of the AU to deploy 5,000-strong troops to maintain law and order, and to protect civilians, the government in Bujumbura vehemently opposes its deployment, and even went as far as threatening to treat it as an army of occupation. It is not surprising to me, however, shameful, that during the just-concluded AU Assembly in January 2016, the Union quietly stepped back from its earlier proposal by adopting a position virtually encouraging what is going on in Burundi. The on-going situation in Burundi only makes Africa a laughing stock'. Africa may certainly be a laughing stock in the international community but the clear manifestation also is that the joke is no longer funny. Not anymore! The impact of conflict on human lives, economic development and the environment is always devastating. While there will always be those who benefit from conflict, these gains are short-term and partial and as most studies have demonstrated that the gains are outweighed by the wider, long-term costs of war. And more worryingly, also, the outcome of such wars and strife is always poverty and suffering, with another big irony - that all who participate in it, even if they survive and are rich, are greatly harmed by it. Is it possible for all this to change, or is war and conflict an inevitable part of our lives? Tana believes there is a solution, no matter how inevitable wars and conflicts appear, given the way our society is set up. So, the organisers said, 'the 5th Tana Forum sought to harvest diverse perspectives as to 'why' Africa's role in agenda setting on global peace and security is still minuscule, stifled, and farfetched; 'what' the key features of Africa's engagements within the existing global security architecture should be; and finally, 'how' the continent should meaningfully input into the conception, design and implementation of the global security agenda'. One important conclusion at the forum though was the recognition by participants that Africa had enormous potential and continues to make progress, despite all the myriad of problems it faces. And that is strongly supported generally, with the current narrative of 'Africa rising' suggesting a new developmental direction of the continent. However, more still needs to be done, and many acknowledged at the forum, with the assertion that addressing the challenges entirely would depend on the 'extent to which African governments prioritise human security in terms of well-being, access to subsidised socio-economic and political opportunities, and the safety and security of citizens over and above regime security'. In the main, the feeling among participants was that generally, African governments give limited priority to tackling poverty and other forms of socioeconomic inequalities, limiting progress towards ensuring a more peaceful continent, even though, admittedly, progress has been made since 2014, with the number of troubled spots in the continent reduced significantly. * Bernard Otabil, the Chief Executive of Ghana News Agency, is also a Regional Fellow of the Tana Forum. GNA Abuja (AFP) - A campaign group on Friday said an abducted schoolgirl rescued from Boko Haram was a student in Chibok but was not among the 219 seized more than two years ago. Nigeria's military announced late Thursday that Serah Luka was among 97 women and children rescued earlier that day in the Damboa area of the northeastern state of Borno. But the head of the Chibok Abducted Girls Parents group, Yakubu Nkeki, said she was not on the list of 219 girls held by the militants since the mass abduction on April 14, 2014. A senior military source maintained it was "beyond reasonable doubt" that the schoolgirl was one of them. But BringBackOurGirls spokesman Sesugh Akume said background checks with a community leader in Chibok had established that although Serah was a student at the same school, she was in a different class. "She was an SSS1 learner at (Government Girls Secondary School) Chibok, who was abducted by the insurgents in her home in Madagali (in neighbouring Adamawa state)," he added. SSS1 is the first year of the final three years of secondary school in the Nigerian system. The 219 girls held were in the final year, SSS3. News of the rescue came just hours after the first student to be found, Amina Ali, met President Muhammadu Buhari in the capital, Abuja. Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands of women and young girls since the start of the conflict in 2009, which has left at least 20,000 dead and made more than 2.6 million others homeless. BringBackOurGirls, which has campaigned for the release of all hostages, said: "Every citizen returned is victory for us all." 20.05.2016 LISTEN By Lydia Asamoah, GNA The Public Utility Workers Union (PUWU) and the Public Services Workers Union (PSWU) has called on the Government to halt the privatisation of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). We reiterate our strong opposition to the planned privatisation programme under which ECG will be leased to a foreign entity for 25 years, as a pre-condition for accessing $498.2 million from the United States Millennium Challenge Corporation under the Compact 11. The two Unions particularly urged Government and the Millennium Development Authority (MIDA), implementers of the ECG concession, to rather explore other viable alternatives to transform ECG. During an interaction with civil society groups in a meeting in Accra, the two Unions alleged that various assessments of the processes toward the privatisation of ECG proved that: The justification by MIDA for Government to privatise the ECG through the leasing of assets of the Company to a foreign entity for 25 years is unacceptable. MiDA's justifications for privatisation of ECG are premised on untruths, faulty logic, misinformation and deception. In addition, the Authority has been unreliable in making available necessary information and key details concerning the intended privatisation. Mr Richard Amperbeng, General Secretary of PSWU and Mr Ato Bondzi-Quaye, General Secretary of PUWU, took turns to explain the ECG privatisation to representatives of the civil society groups (CSOs), which included Third World Network (TWN), Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), ISODEC, NETRIGHT, Abantu for Development, ECG and WACAM, among others. A communique issued at the end of the meeting stated that, the imposition of the private sector participation in the ECG is not only an affront to Ghanaians, but also the perpetration of a deception about the challenges in the power sector, many of which are a result of political interference in management. In the communique, PUWU and PSWU said the assertion that tariffs would come down when the foreign entity takes over ECG is misleading, adding that, examples from other countries like Rwanda where the power sector was privatised indicate that tariffs rather witnessed astronomical increase. The two unions have therefore urged government to first wait and assess the result of the Strategic Business Units Concept being piloted in the Ashanti Region as part of the on-going reforms in the ECG, which seeks to turn around the company. They also asked that ECG should be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange to raise capital to revamp the Company considering the fact that government is not in a position to provide funding for expansion. Government has also been urged to allow ECG to source for the needed capital from pension funds from SSNIT and Second Tier, as was done in the developed countries where pension funds provide financial support to critical industries, whose support for economic development is very vital. We believe that these are alternatives worthy of consideration for the revamping of ECG to empower it to deliver on its mandate of supporting Ghana's economic growth, instead of giving out such a vital national asset to a private investor whose main interest will be profit at the expense of the wider national interest. Mr. Amperbeng queried about the kind of technical evaluation done in the ECG deal and the value of money involved in the transaction, saying we have to make sure that we are not short-changed. He said as a Unionist, he is concerned about job security for the workers at ECG and the PSWU and PUWU would collaborate with civil society organisations to ensure that the workers keep their job at the end of the day. Mr. Bondzi-Quaye on the other hand said the Unions are not happy about the whole ECG privatisation programme, which seemed to be finished and, therefore, government should make the issues clearer to the people. The representatives of the CSOs all supported the idea that the privatisation of ECG be put on hold for further consultations. GNA 20.05.2016 LISTEN From Richard Owusu-Akyaw, Kumasi The Ashanti Regional Director of Social Welfare department, Mrs. Patricia Kyeremanteng has appealed to members of the public to come and foster children from the various Government Orphanages in the Region. Her reasons are that about three foster mothers to cater for the children within 24 hours and they come with their own style of teaching, which affects the upbringing of the child. She made this pronouncement at the launching of Ashanti Regional Child Protection Committee in Kumasi. Among members of the committee are DOVVSU, Legal Aid Scheme Commission for Human Right and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and GES among others. The social welfare boss was of the view that children basically want to be at home, where they are entitled to a single foster mother, unlike in the home, where they go through the hands of two or three different mothers a day. On the Child Protection committee, Mrs. Kyeremanteng appealed to Ghanaians to absorb some of the expenses of these children. She explained that they will monitor the children by constantly visiting them and the parents since foster parenting is conspicuously different from adoption, which is on embargo. Mrs. Kyeremanteng explained that her appeal did not mean the Homes are broke, but the reality is that children want to be at home. Mr. John Alexander Ackon, the Ashanti Regional Minister, who inaugurated the committee admonished that children, which are our legacy, be given special attention. Ho Chi Minh City has earmarked VND30 billion ($1.3 million) for a startup investment fund which is expected to provide local entrepreneurs with the funds they need to develop their products, services and technologies. The fund, which has been raised from individual and institutional investors, is projected to grow to VND100 billion by 2020. Vietnam is aware that in order to maintain economic momentum, it cannot afford to fall behind in the technology race. Under increasing pressure to modernize the economy, the Vietnamese government has adopted a series of reforms. In recent years it has encouraged the private sector, in collaboration with state-sponsored sources, to set up venture capital funds so that domestic businesses have more funding options to turn to when they need capital. IT companies, for example, those developing mobile and web-based applications or those applying advanced technology in agriculture, are welcome to apply for loans from the citys investment fund, said Truong Ly Hoang Phi, head of the city's startup support center. Phi added that the fund will be prioritized for those working in the citys key industries. This is the citys first startup investment fund aimed at promoting technological innovation among the citys business community, said Pham Hong Son, president of Ho Chi Minh Citys Youth Union. The fund was co-founded by the state-owned Ho Chi Minh City Finance and Investment Company and the Saigon Hanoi Commercial Bank with the aim of offering incentives to help entrepreneurs develop their ideas. Follow VnExpress International on Facebook and Twitter 20.05.2016 LISTEN By Inusa Musah The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has sourced for $127 million funding from the Canadian Government to construct a new devanning terminal at Kpone, in the Kpone-Katamanso District. On daily basis, the Golden Jubilee Terminal (GJT), located a few meters away from the western gate of the main harbour, is heavily congested with human traffic, therefore, the construction of the new terminal, when completed, would see the large human traffic moving to the facility. The coming onboard of the new Kpone devanning terminal, among other massive infrastructural developments the seaport is seeing under the directorship of Richard Anamoo, who is the Director-General of the GPHA Tema Port, has fast made the port become the heartbeat of Ghana's economy. Devanning, also called unstuffing of container, is a process in which a landed container is opened in the presence of Customs and all the contents taken out, and the devanning yard is the space where the devanning is done. Currently, the Port Authority has two major devanning yards at the Port of Tema namely the Depot 10 Terminal '1' and the GJT. The GJT, which was commissioned in 2008, sits on some 20-acre land space spanning an area of 97,412 square meters, and it comprises a container freight station, a state warehouse, car park and an open area for unstuffing and storage of containers, banking, customs and security services. Aside providing receipt storage and delivery services, the GJT is the only terminal responsible for receiving and delivering vehicles imported in containers and provides this service in tandem with full container loads (FCL), less than full container loads (LCL) or groupage container load and house-to-house receipt and deliveries. Mr. Richard Anamoo, who hosted Mr. Fifi Kwetey, Minister for Transport at the Tema Port on a familiarization visit to the port and other facilities, said due to the increasing nature of import, coupled with the impending port expansion, the Port Authority, is increasing its space for unstuffing of containers for a larger space. It is in this vain that the GPHA has signed a commercial contract for the development of the Kpone Devanning Terminal project with a consortium led by the Canadian Commercial Corporation. He said the Kpone Devanning Terminal will sit on a land space of about 40 acres, twice the size of GJT. It will have all the facilities currently at the GJT. Mr. Fifi Kwetey was later toured the new reefer terminal, and expressing his delight at the immense contribution the GPHA is playing to boost the economy of Ghana, the Minister promised his outfit's fullest support to the Port in its operations. 20.05.2016 LISTEN Folks, over the past 24 hours, a lot has appeared in the news media to suggest that much of what will determine the NPP's fate at Election 2016 hinges on the electoral decision to be made by voters in the Volta Region and other "minority" regions not traditionally friendly toward or supportive of the Danquah-Busia tradition. Flimsy or whimsical though such publications may be, they leave me in no doubt as to why some kind of attention is being focused on the Volta Region at this time that the NPP is seeking to make a headway there. It's not for its own sake. The Volta Region has been regarded as the "World Bank" of the NDC and feared by the NPP all these years in our 4th Republic. Having come across as the nemesis of the NPP, the general feeling among the NPP fold is that if its quantum of votes for the NDC is diminished, there should be little doubt for an NPP victory. Many other areas haven't been factored into such simplistic and pathetic assumptions, though. I have had the occasion to view images of what transpired when the NPP's Akufo-Addo visited Anloga yesterday as part of his tour of the Volta Region and the impulsive conclusions being drawn by adherents of the NPP to create the impression that the Volta Region has fallen for the NPP. Or that the Voltarians are ready to vote for a change. Why should Anloga be the blanket for drawing that conclusion? (See http://www.myjoyonline.com/politics/2016/May-20th/you-have-nothing-to-fear-in-me-akufo-addo-assures-voltarians.php ). And he was in his usual boastful element to ask the people that they had nothing to fear in him? After tacitly supporting the urge by Kennedy Agyapong for Ewes and Gas to be eliminated? Akufo-Addo's knee-jerk appeal to establish a "new relationship" with the Volta Region has been noted. What about the "old relationship" still remaining nettlesome is left to him to contend with. But it is clear that the NPP is aiming to exhaust itself in all circumstances in a struggle for the Volta Region. No more talk of Togolese infiltrating the region or of Ewes as non-Ghanaians eligible to choose a leader for Ghana? The truth, though, is that the quantum of votes from the Volta Region is nothing measurable to what comes from more populous regions as the Ashanti and Eastern Regions. Is the NPP so confident of grabbing votes from those areas, regarded as its traditional strongholds, as to seek support from the Volta Region to seal its fate at Election 2016? Well nigh up in the skies!! Maybe, some bragging rights are at stake here, which explains why so much rhetorical capital is being made of the reception given Akufo-Addo at Anloga. But history pricks. For the 2008 elections, the same people in that part of the Volta Region converged to hear the late Courage Quashigah speak at an NPP rally in the area. Seeing the multitude, Quashigah wept, convinced that the NPP had a sway in the area. The outcome of the elections, however, proved him wrong. I don't know if the same scenario will be re-enacted at Election 2016, following what happened to Akufo-Adsdo at Anloga. But I can stick my neck out to say that anybody wishfully celebrating the media hype of Akufo-Addo's interaction with the people may end up dumbstruck. Appearances are always deceptive!! Or....? There is ample evidence to confirm that although the Mahama-led administration has stretched itself to solve problems, it hasn't succeeded in its efforts at improving living standards. Will that be the jackpot cause for its being totally rejected at Election 2016 by the voters in the Volta Region or elsewhere in Ghana? I don't know about that aspect of the Ghanaian mentality; but what I know is that there is more to Election 2016 than what the superficial cosmetic approaches by opponents of President Mahama are using to undermine him. The cost of living may be high (in terms of utility services, etc.) but it doesn't spell the end of the road for the incumbent. The government has levelled with the people as to why it has adopted harsh measures to solve problems that its predecessors couldn't or what its opponents are merely criticizing but cannot set aside or provide cogent alternative solutions for. What these opponents are preaching isn't the solution, at least, given the fact that they are not offering anything concrete and substantial as a palliative. So, what choices do the people have to make for the future? Bot to go for the deep unknown!! Trodden paths are always easier to navigate (translated as the devil you know is better than the angel you don't know). If the NPP people think that winning votes from the Volta Region will boost its chances, it will be deceived. There are many other areas that it has to work on, especially in terms of what it has sowed to harm itself. I don't believe that Ghanaians vote on the basis of a herd mentality (contrary to the derisive mischief by the NPP elements packing the Ewes into one big block of electoral homogeneity would want us to believe). As such, I find it difficult to accept the kind of narrow politics being done with this "Ewe" bovine allegiance to the NDC. The people know what is good for them and will go for it at the polls. That is why it behooves the politicians to know what is good for the people and to provide to win their thumbs. Anything short of that leads to disaster. Only those who don't know what wins votes will play the ethnic card. Ethnicity isn't a sure banker at the polls!! In the particular case of Akufo-Addo's impulsive desire to forge a "new relationship" with the people of the Volta Region, where has he placed the damaging self-serving and ill-motivated campaign of lies against Ewes as spearheaded by his running mate (Dr. Bawumia) in the shoddy analysis of the electoral role of Togo and Ghana by which the NPP concluded that more than 76,000 people of the Volta Region on the Ghanaian voters' register were Togolese? Has Akufo-Addo reconciled the truth with the NPP's falsehood to warrant his wanting to rebuild his relationship with the Ewes? And what has happened to the rest of the people of other ethnic extractions that the NPP claimed were non-Ghanaians on the voters roll to be investigated and exposed as undesirables contributing to the NPP's electoral woes? Nothing done so far. The end of the road, according to the NPP's diabolical anti-Volta Region scheme? Only a calculated attempt to vilify the Ewes? Yet, Akufo-Addo is touring the Volta Region to beg for votes? Surely, Victor Owusu must be churning in his grave!! Ewes are not as inward-looking as he might want the world to believe. If they were, they would hold nothing in their electoral coffers for the political party touting the political ideology of the separatists that the NPP represents in our time; that the Danquah-Busia Asante-Akyem cabal is. Forget about the "Dombo" afterthought because it is non-existent. If you think otherwise, you are lost. On that score, what is exactly the missing link in the NPP's political mobilization drive shouldn't be difficult to fathom. It is not a matter of ethnicity or the morbid hatred for Akufo-Addo. It is a plain fact that the NPP isn't attractive because it is a chip of the old block that Ghanaians rejected in the pre-independence era and brushed aside for 30 years thereafter before tolerating it in power between January 2001 and 2009 when they tried Kufuor. He did his best but that best fell far short of what was expected; hence, the decision not to return the NPP to power on the wings of Akufo-Addo. What Akufo-Addo has been doing all this while is an unfounded exercise in futility. Such an exercise merely saps energy. Reaching out to the Volta Region with pretentious civility and stoic duplicity won't help him change his spots. Once established as a leopard, always will he be regarded as a leopard to be feared from afar and kept at bay!! Folks, you can interpret from the comments made by Akufo-Addo that he really has no respect for the people of the Volta Region. How does he think that vigilance on the part of the NPP will cut down the NDC's votes in the Volta Region and not do so for the NPP in its strongholds (Ashanti and Eastern Regions)?: (See http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Vigilance-will-win-us-Volta-NPP-440309 ). The more this wisp of a wimp opens his mouth, the more he alienates voters. I shall return Washington (AFP) - The International Monetary Fund approved a $2.9 billion loan to Tunisia on Friday to help the country implement economic and financial reforms. The 48-month loan program aims at supporting the government's five-year plan to further stabilize the economy, reform the civil service and other public institutions, and improve the climate for business, the IMF said in a statement. The money is expected to be released to the Tunisian government in nine stages, including about $320 million released immediately with the announcement. Tunisia's economy has not strongly rebounded in the wake of the 2011 revolt that ousted the corrupt government of strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Spring uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East. Its economic growth slowed to 0.8 percent last year from 2.3 percent in 2014, and unemployment nationwide stood at 15 percent at the end of last year. Meanwhile, the country is struggling to fend off the rise in attacks by Islamic extremists including fighters from the Islamic State group that have hurt the country's lucrative tourism industry. In Doha on Thursday, President Beji Caid Essebsi said the government has been forced to divert some $4 billion away from the economy to fight terrorism. "It could have been invested in economic matters but unfortunately in this situation it was necessary to give a priority to fighting terrorism and achieving security," he said. By Francis Ameyibor, GNA Accra, May 20, GNA - The Convention People's Party (CPP) has asked media practitioners to blacklist politicians who use hate and divisive speeches anchored on prejudices as a means of political mobilisation. 'Media practitioners need to resist becoming lackeys to such politicians in order to save Ghana from plunging into the abyss of politically motivated violence in this year's general election,' Mr Kadri Abdul Rauf, the CPP Communications Director, told the Ghana News Agency on Friday. 'Politicians will seek undue advantage for themselves in their relationship with and access to the media if you permit them. The temptation to seek undue advantage for themselves or otherwise compromise you in your reportage is even more compelling in an election year," Mr Rauf said. He said the CPP had outlined series of communication training for its communication officers and spokes persons to ensure that they avoided hate speeches. Mr Rauf commended the Media Foundation for West Africa for its pronouncement on political parties which had indulged in hate speech. He reminded media practitioners that they would be confronted with individual and collective danger in the event of a politically instigated violence because of their perceived complicity. Mr Rauf, thus, advised media practitioners against forging very close association with one particular politician or political party lest they lost credibility with the other parties. He said the CPP, in an attempt to reduce the incidence of hate speech and harmonise the flow of information from the party to the media, had formed a communication team whose membership include Prof Agyemang Badu Akosa, who speaks on Health, Mr Ekow Duncan, Agriculture; Justice Kofi Henaku, Education; Mr James Kwabena Bonfeh, Elections; Dr Vladimir Antwi Danso, International Affairs; and Mr Kadri Abdul Rauf, Environment and Development. GNA Accra, May 20, GNA - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Thursday hosted a networking event for African entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors. The workshop gave forward-thinking Ghanaians an opportunity to network one-on-one and collaborate with investors, government officials, business representatives, and educators to fuel entrepreneurship for the benefit of Ghana. A press statement signed by Sara Veldhuizen Stealy, Press AttachA at the US Embassy in Accra and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the USAID Assistant Administrator for Africa, Linda Etim opened the conference, whiles U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, Robert P. Jackson, delivered the closing remarks. 'Nurturing a supportive entrepreneurship ecosystem is critical for innovation, creativity, and imagination to thrive and persist. Therefore, it is important that we fully grasp what hinders and what enhances entrepreneurship in various environments and contexts. 'This will help accelerate change and create the much-needed jobs that, among other benefits, will address youth unemployment', remarked Ambassador Jackson. The event is modelled after President Barack Obama's annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES). President Obama will host the seventh GES at Stanford University, in California's Silicon Valley, from June 22 to June 24, 2016. The 2016 GES will bring together approximately 1,000 people who represent the full measure of entrepreneurial talent in the United States and internationally. The GES reflects the U.S. government's commitment to use entrepreneurship as a tool to build communities around the world to become more economically prosperous, secure and globally connected. USAID is the lead U.S. government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential. For more than 50 years, USAID has supported Ghana in increasing food security, improving basic health care, enhancing access to quality basic education, and strengthening local governance to benefit all Ghanaian people. GNA Dominic Adoboli, GNA Anloga (V/R), May 20, GNA - Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Flag Bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has asked the people of the Volta Region, to come along with the wind of change blowing across the country. He said they could do so by voting against the ruling National Democratic Congress. He said he, and his Party have the capacity to reshape the economy and create job opportunities for the teeming youth. Nana Akufo-Addo was speaking during an informal interaction with journalists, as part his of tour of the southern part of the Region, to sell his political vision to the people. He said the current challenges facing the country are as a result of poor policies and weak leadership. The four-day tour would take the NPP Flag Bearer to Ave-Dakpa, Akatsi, Sogakope and Adidome, capitals and major towns of the southern districts of the Region. He would also attend church service at Aflao on Sunday and late address a rally. 'With the right leadership La Cote d'Ivoire, which just emerged from deadly political conflict, has been quickly transformed, building new businesses and industries that employ thousands,' he stated. Nana Akufo-Addo said Ghanaians have the opportunity in 2016 to deliver the country from its predicament through peaceful means in November 'and let us all be part of the change'. He expressed delight at the warm reception accorded him in the area, considered a hostile territory. Nana Akufo-Addo said glimmers of that warmth, was visible as his team drove through Sogakope and other communities on his way to Anloga. He noted that this means as a country, 'we are shedding off ethnic biases, which will help the country progress democratically and economically'. The NPP Flag bearer also held a close-door meeting with the traditional rulers of Anlo, led by Togbe Sri III Awomefia of Anlo and also addressed a youth rally at Anloga. He told the teeming audience to ignore propaganda of opponents to discredit him and the Party and vote for him for a better future. Nana Akufo-Addo also addressed students of the Keta Nurses Training School and assured them that his government would restore all allowances to nursing students. GNA Fruit and vegetable growers in Malaysia are reeling from the hot weather caused by the El Nino phenomenon. The public are bracing for a steep increase in the price of vegetables, and the Malaysian government is highly likely to go ahead with local traders proposals to import more vegetables from neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam. El Ninos impact on Malaysia peaked between November 2015 and January 2016, said the World Meteorological Organization, reducing vegetable production by 15 20 percent and driving prices up by 50 percent. According to local media, the southern province of Johor, which contributes 60 percent of the nation's vegetable output, has experienced a 50 percent decrease in output. The Cameron Highlands, which are known for their cool temperature, have not seen rain for almost a month due to the effects of El Nino. The current hot weather is expected to persist until June. A father with his children walk over the cracked soil of a 1.5 hectare dried up fish farm south of Manila. The drought-inducing El Nino weather phenomenon is continuing to affect farmland resulting in more damaged crops. Photo by Reuters The Malaysian government needs to quickly allow local trader to import vegetable to help ease mounting pressure from the price spike, said R. Ramalingam Pillai, chairman of the association of Indian restaurant owners in Malaysia. He added if the government did not take immediate action in response to pricey vegetables, many restaurants would have to shut down because they cannot afford rapidly increasing operating costs. Until the harsh weather phenomenon dies down, imported vegetables can help make up for the serious shortage in the domestic market, said Tan So Tiok, president of the federation of Malaysian vegetable farmers. Malaysia imports agricultural products from Viet Nam, including rice, vegetables, fruit and meat. Malaysia is not alone in its struggle with climate change. Vietnam has also been hit by a prolonged drought and saltwater intrusion, which cost the country $287 million in the first four months of this year, according to Vietnam's General Statistics Office. The historic natural disaster has shown no signs of abating. you are here: A2 Milk Company Ltd (Australia) [ASX:A2M] saw a strong reversal in its share price in trading today. What happened to the A2M share price? A2 Milk Company Ltd (Australia) [ASX:A2M] saw a strong reversal in its share price in trading today. The stock has suffered a steep fall over the past five days, with todays reversal come as a boost to investors. The stock rose by 2% by 3:00pm AEST in afternoon trading. Why did A2M shares do this? The biggest problem that has emerged for companies such as Blackmore Limited [ASX:BKL], Bellamys Australia Ltd [ASX:BAL] and a2 is the proposed regulations from the Chinese government. The Chinese government essentially seeks to tax the lucrative import business in products such as milk and supplements. That should have a visible impact on the results of Australian exporters such as a2. Investors should accept the fact that there will be more requirements in licensing and listing. There is also a sharp focus on regulating e-commerce trade in the products I mentioned above. The proposed taxation is an 11.9% tariff on all foodstuffs imported into China. Why is China trying to do this? Its because trade has become so large and lucrative that the government feels it needs to sink its teeth in the matter. Many market analysts have mentioned regulatory risk as a concern for companies such as a2. They are absolutely right. Remember that this sort of regulatory risk is not isolated to China; they are present in all countries. The views of companies such as GoConnect [ASX:GCN] and Go Green Ltd (which get a favourable tax treatment by the Chinese government) have an entirely different view. Richard Li, the Executive Chairman of GoConnect, told me: Just as I told Andrew Robb recently, Australian companies exporting goods to China is making life difficult for themselves because they are competing with the Chinese in these products. Instead, Australia should focus on exporting marketing services which they are very good at. But this is not even listed in the literature that Austrade has been distributing to promote the Free Trade Agreement with China. What now for A2M? I believe the proposed regulations will go ahead. As the details will be adjusted and negotiated, I dont believe the regulations will kill the businesses completely. There will be a shock to stocks such as a2 at first, but fundamentals will kick in after that to support prices. I believe buying the dip will be a good idea for China-exposed stocks such as a2. If you are in a long position already, you may want to buy more at the dip. If you are a new investor, you want to get in at the dip. Usually, the market prices-in information before it occurs (unless its unexpected information). The market is likely pricing-in the information right now. You may want to closely observe a2 in the coming weeks before doing anything. Ken Wangdong+ Emerging Market Analyst, New Frontier Investor Over the last month-and-a-half, shares in Generation Healthcare [ASX:GHC] the ASXs only pure play healthcare REIT have gained close to 16%. What happened to the Generation Healthcare share price? Over the last month-and-a-half, shares in Generation Healthcare [ASX:GHC] the ASXs only pure play healthcare REIT have gained close to 16%. Thats not something you expect to see from a small-cap REIT. Why did Generation Healthcare shares do this? Shareholders in Generation have enjoyed a meteoric rise in the share price since listing at 70 cents in 2011. Along with a stream of ever-rising dividends, the share price has tripled over the same period. Buoyed by growing demand for healthcare services, the majority of Generations assets are leased out on long term agreements, with annual rental increases as part of the deal. Take the Epworth Freemasons Private Hospital as an example, where the current lease runs until 2034. With large fund managers chasing exposure to this sector, available healthcare assets are thin on the ground. Rival Australian Unity upped its stake in Generation to over 10% late last year, and new shareholder Canadian healthcare investor NorthWest Healthcare recently emerged with a 7% stake, sending Generations shares soaring. What now for Generation Healthcare? With four shareholders now controlling over 40% of all issued shares, there is plenty of speculation about potential corporate plays. With little joy in bonds, more yield-based funds are finding their way into the REIT market, and rumours of mergers abound. But while the share price has had a run, potential investors need to be cautious. The chase for scrip now sees Generations yield trading below 4%. There are plenty of other REITs paying out a lot more than this. Those looking to buy might need to be patient, and wait for a pullback from the current price. Matt Hibbard, Money Morning Vietnams retail market is expected to reach $179 billion in revenue by 2020, but it looks like it will be difficult for local companies to claim their slice of the pie amid cut-throat competition from foreign rivals. At a workshop held on May 18, Vietnams top officials as well as economic experts discussed the opportunities and challenges facing Vietnams retail market. Overview of the market Vietnam is seen as a lucrative destination in the eyes of foreign investors as the country has a population of more than 90 million, of which young people account for 60 percent. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said at the workshop that Vietnam is listed the in top five Asian retail markets in terms of development speed. The country also ranks 28 on the global table of attractive retail markets. By 2020, the number of middle-class citizens with a high demand for shopping will have tripled the current figure, Hai said. Since November 1, 2015, Vietnam has allowed foreign retailers to set up 100 percent foreign-owned enterprises under its commitments to the World Trade Organization. This gives them access to supply sources and ideal business locations to operate from. Following this step, the country joined the ASEAN Economic Community at the end of last year and signed the Trans Pacific Partnership in February this year. In 2016, more than 93 percent of imports from ASEAN will be exempt from tax duties, meaning Vietnams products will be unable to compete with Thailands. The possibility of domestic production falling is high, said Dr. Ngo Tuan Anh from the National Economics University. Foreign enterprises dominate retail market It is estimated that international corporations currently make up more than 50 percent of Vietnams retail market share. Many M&A transactions have been concluded by giant retail companies from Thailand, Japan and Korea since 2015. In Vietnam, Japanese investors own a chain of shopping malls named AEON as well as stakes supermarket chains Fivimart and Citimart. Korean firms run their own Lotte Marts and chains of convenience stores. Leading supermarkets like Metro, Big C and Nguyen Kim are now in the hands of Thai retail giants. Foreign investors not only dominate the retail market but also swap Vietnamese products off the shelves for their own items. Dr. Nguyen Thanh Binh from the Banking Academy said that Thai investors have dedicated areas at the main entrances of Metro supermarket to showcase Thai products. They also allocate the best locations in the supermarkets to a wide range of goods such as clothes, house ware, cosmetics and food that are all made in Thailand. Local firms show signs of weakness The dominance of foreign companies in the domestic retail markets has raised questions about the competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises. Dr. Binh from the Banking Academy said that the biggest problem confronting Vietnamese retail firms is that they lack connections with one other. Only big names like Vingroup and Saigon Co.op are able to compete with foreign rivals. Vu Vinh Phu, chairman of the Hanoi Supermarket Association, said that Vietnams retail companies cannot compete with external firms on price. He added that a bottle of vegetable oil sold in a locally-owned supermarket is always more expensive than the same product sold in a foreign-owned supermarket. "Vietnams retail enterprises have used hundreds of billions of dong from the government to prevent price hikes but the prices are still high. Personally I think there might be other interests involved. The chairman added that some local companies are sold to foreign investors after receiving incentives from the Vietnamese government, making it difficult for the government to control the network of local supermarkets. The chronicle of a life split between urban Manhattan and rural Montana. Technological innovations are shaping developments in the banking sector. Banks, in order to maintain growth and expand their customer bases, have no choice but to quickly adopt and implement technologies across their operations. Banks can reach annual net profit growth of between 15 percent and 17 percent with investments in technological advancements, said industry experts at the Banking Vietnam 2016 expo. Commercial banks in Vietnam have lagged behind their global counterparts due mainly to a lack of investment funds as most of them are small scale, said Pham Xuan Hoa, deputy head of the State Bank of Vietnams Banking Strategy Institute. Vietnamese banks are now under mounting pressure to pick up their pace in the technology race, according to Can Van Luc, senior advisor to the country's leading partly private bank BIDV. He said that many factors will have a great impact on the Southeast Asia nations banking sector over the next four years, including fiercer competition between local banks and foreign players. Following Vietnams integration into the global market, domestic banks need to upgrade their technological capabilities to comply with stricter international regulatory requirements. For new players entering the market, the competition between banks and financial technology companies and non-traditional credit firms is strong, and as a result, banks' profit margins are shrinking. More importantly, consumers are changing their banking behavior. According to a global survey by Ernst & Young, customers are twice as likely to switch banks as they were in the past. This is affecting the technology that banks use to meet their customers demands. Meanwhile, it is forecast that in the next five years, internet and mobile banking in the Vietnamese market will grow 20 30 percent per year. Although IT investments by Vietnamese banks jumped 48.3 percent between 2011 and 2015, they only account for 5 percent of commercial banks investment portfolio, compared to the annual average of 7-9 percent in the Asia Pacific region and 19-20 percent in Europe. Vietnamese banks are now under mounting pressure to pick up their pace in the technology race, said industry experts at the Banking Vietnam 2016 expo. Global retail banks spending on information technologies (IT) is forecast to hit $152.5 billion by 2018 as banks worldwide focus on adopting digital innovations to attract customers, according to banking analysts. Emerging Asia-Pacific markets are expected to grow at around 7 percent, reflecting the economic development in the region and the expected growing wealth of local consumers. Given the situation, it is important for banks to increase their investments in banking infrastructure and speed up their adoption of new technologies. Follow VnExpress International on Facebook and Twitter Collectors to cash in at Vietnam's first professional art auction The Hanoi-based Lac Viet Auction Company is scheduled to hold the country's first professional art auction in the capital on May 28, which is expected to attract up to 40 bidders, Vietnam News Agency reported earlier this week. The pair of ornamental jars created by artist Pham Anh Dao. Photo by the Voice of Vietnam The owners will be paid in full if their pieces are sold in their specified price ranges. Should a piece go for more than the range limit, the additional earnings will be shared between the owner and the company, the Voice of Vietnam reported on May 19, citing Lac Viet Chairman Tran Quoc Khanh. Paintings by leading contemporary Vietnamese artists will be on the auction block, including Hanh Phuc (Happiness) by Hoang Phuong Vy, Tien Nu Vung Cao (Mountain Fairy) by Quach Dong Phuong and Ben Dong Song Do (By the Red River) by Dao Hai Phong. The pieces are expected to fetch from VND50 million-VND120 million ($2,243 - $5,384). 'Happiness' by Hoang Phuong Vy. Photo by the Voice of Vietnam The auction will also feature a pair of ornamental jars created by artist Pham Anh Dao, which are expected to go for VND900 million-VND1 billion VND ($40,383 $44,870). Painter Le Thiet Cuong will auction an altar dating back to the 19th century, valued at between VND65 million-VND80 million ($2,916 $3,589). 'By the Red River' by Dao Hai Phong. Photo by the Voice of Vietnam The company is receiving applications for bids from May 15 to 28, according to the VNA. The works up for auction are expected to be sold for their true value. Previously, artists often sold their works in small galleries, mostly for charity, VOV said. It has more than two years and cost 5 million to reach the latest stage in the Competition and Markets Authoritys report on the retail banking sector and we are nowhere near the end. As investigations go, thats neither lengthy nor expensive ask John Chilcott but one has to wonder whether the outcome is worth the time and expense. The most radical notion to emerge is that banks will have to set a maximum charge for unauthorised overdrafts. Set by the banks themselves, of course. Alasdair Smith, leader of the CMAs investigative team, thinks competition between banks will push that maximum down. He thinks, rather naively in my view, that banks will not add sneaky charges on elsewhere to compensate. Rules to stop them doing so really would have been a welcome revolution. He also wants bank customers to be alerted when they are in danger of becoming overdrawn. Since you can already check your bank balance easily on the computer, mobile phone or at a cash machine I suspect the people who are about to overdraw will do so anyway. One further proposal is to make it easier to switch bank accounts. Currently only 3% of account holders do so each year and Smith regards pushing that up to 4% is a modest target. I think 4% is extremely ambitious. Given the lack of incentive for any bank to help a customer to move away, and the perception that all banks are pretty much as devious as each other, Im amazed that so many customers switch already. I hold shares in two banks and feel absolutely no urge to sell. I just dont see the CMA proposals inflicting any damage on the major banks or curbing their modus operandi. As a bank customer I hope I am wrong. As an investor, I fear I am right. Burberry Hides from the Press Seasoned travellers will know that wherever you go in the world, however poor the country you are visiting, there are always some people who have money. People who can afford to buy stuff from Burberry (BRBY). Alas, there dont seem to be so many of them about these days. Revenue for the year to March 31 was flat while profits were down and are likely to come in at the lower end of expectations in the current year. It doesnt inspire confidence to read press reports that chief executive Christopher Bailey was willing to talk to analysts but not financial reporters. Newspapers dont have a god-given right to demand that people speak to them but in these cases they are a vital source of information for small shareholders, who have more rights than analysts. Burberry shares have lost a third of their value over the past 12 months. One day the tide will turn as global recovery takes hold. However, I wouldnt bet on that happening any time soon. Thomas Over-Cooked the Truth I hate companies that cant be upfront with bad news and that old culprit Thomas Cook (TCG) is at it again. I would have had great sympathy for the travel company given that one of its most popular destinations, Turkey, has been badly hit by political events such as the refugee crisis and bomb attacks in Paris and Brussels have had an impact nearer home. However, I cannot stand the contortions in the half year statement trying to hide the fact that full year profits will be at the lower end of forecasts despite reduced losses in the winter months. That suggests the summer months will be quite a struggle and once holidaymakers realise, they will hold back bookings in the hope of picking up late bargains. Cook shares fell heavily on what looked, at first sight, quite a promising update. Crises seem to come around a little too often. Stay well clear. Rodney Hobson is a long-term investor commenting on his own portfolio; his comments are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Click here for our coverage of the latest Morningstar Investment Conference UK in our special report: What the Experts Say, on subjects ranging from Brexit and risk management to the cost of funds and the future of advice. Emma Wall: Hello, and welcome to Morningstar. I'm Emma Wall and I'm joined today by Guy Sears, Interim Chief Executive for The Investment Association. Hello, Guy. Guy Sears: Hi. Wall: So, what will it mean for U.K. investors in U.K.-domiciled funds in the event that we do Brexit? Sears: So, we have to be clear what we mean by Brexit. So, at the moment of the referendum when the decision comes in, there are none of my firms, the asset management firms, who are going to suddenly stop business or anything like that. So, people's funds are going to be absolutely fine in terms of the continued operation, the information they get, all these things. It's going to take quite a few years to work out the implications of a referendum result if the result is to leave the European Union. The way in which European law works is it suggests there's two years for the exit. It may take longer, who knows. And across that period of time I think firms will take a lot of time to communicate with their clients, explain any impacts that there could be after those two years and beyond everything, I'm sure people are going to work to ensure that no one is unable to access their investments, no one is unable to have clarity as to where they can save and not during that time. Wall: Having said that the British investor, in fact, investors everywhere, human nature is, people panic in these circumstances. Say, there's mass redemptions, whether or not it's founded, is that a risk? Sears: I don't think it is a risk actually. I think there will be a real possibility that there will be bounciness on the markets for a few days. Currency will move. We've had other shocks. And the importance of this time is, people who have their advisors, they contact them and they listen to what's going on. Most people are investing for the long term. And investing in the long term means not selling at those crisis moments and seeing it through and I think it is a matter obviously for people to take advice, but certainly none of us, myself included, I'm invested as well in funds that my firms produce, and none of us will want to take very short-term views over stuff that hopefully even someone as old as me is hoping it is on a 10-year basis. Wall: Could we see fund houses shutting out a shop in London moving to Europe or having to set up sort of duplicate businesses that represent their European clients and their U.K. clients because we won't be part of the EU? Sears: Yeah. So, I think it's entirely possible that some of that will happen, of course. At the moment, the U.K. has been very successful in terms of management of money, asset management. We run 37% of Europe's funds and assets from the U.K., from London and Edenborough. And therefore, if there are things that have to now be done in the EU and not in the U.K. that will require some changes. But very often these changes are structural or legal changes. There is a need maybe to create a fund in Luxemburg and to mirror one in the U.K. It won't necessarily be seen as being a significant change to investors and if there's change, again, as I say, two years at least in the transition and we do have very good regulator. The FCA is not going to allow any of my firms to be unconcerned for their clients. The obligation to treat customers fairly is not one that just is because we're in Europe. That is one that is British and that will continue to be something that I'm sure the FCA will remind itself. Wall: Guy, thank you very much. Sears: My pleasure. Wall: This is Emma Wall for Morningstar. Thank you for watching. U.S. President Barack Obama may pay a visit to the 100-year-old Ngoc Hoang (Jade Emperor) Pagoda at the center of Saigon. A source told VnExpress President Obama is expected to visit the Jade Emperor Pagoda (also known as Phuoc Hai Pagoda) on May 24 afternoon. The Jade Emperor Pagoda on Mai Thi Luu Street, District 1. Photo by VnExpress/Hai Duyen A pagoda representative confirmed they had received notice of the presidents visit from the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and Department of External Relations. U.S. and Vietnamese agencies have scouted the pagoda to guarantee the reception and security for the visit. The U.S. is responsible for all security protocols. According to the source, the pagoda will not receive buddhists and visitors during the presidents visit. The Jade Emperor Pagoda covers 2,000 square meters and sits opposite office buildings in a discreet well-covered neighborhood on Mai Thi Luu Street in District 1, just 100 meters away from Dien Bien Phu Street. Built in 1892, the pagoda has since been a famous attraction, boasting a lush green space that is home to turtles and hundreds of pigeons. Photo by VnExpress/Hai Duyen Follow VnExpress International on Facebook and Twitter The Canadian mortgage industry suffered a major loss with the recent death of renowned broker Nicole Drummond, who worked with Dominion Lending Centres The Mortgage Source in Ottawa.Drummond succumbed to breast cancer on May 2, 2016. She is survived by her husband Bob and her sons John and James.An eminent and respected player in the industry, Drummond retired in the fall of last year, leaving her team ranked 5th in terms of the number of Canadian mortgages funded in 2015. Having established a storied career that started in October 1996, she was among the top brokers at Mortgage Centre Canada and at Dominion Lending Centres.Aside from her professional achievements, Drummond has built strong working and personal relationships with industry associates.Nicole was more than just a colleague and industry leader with The Mortgage Source here in Ottawa- she was a beloved friend and mother, DLC The Mortgage Source broker/president Kim McKenney said.All of our lives were a bit brighter, warmer and richer for having met Nicole. Her passing is a loss, both here in Ottawa and for the entire industry across the country, McKenney added.Interested parties can get in touch with McKenney at [email protected] or at 613-232-0023 (ext. 232) for more information. MI Industry Gossip; HUD settlement; DOJ Goes After Guild Mortgage; Guild's response Regarding this weeks MBA Secondary Marketing conference Marcus Lam with Opes Advisors writes, Obviously this is not the most important thing, but the corporate swag this year stunk. Last year we came away with nice pens, notebooks, phone stands, portable chargers, and an endless supply of candy mints. This year the only thing I received was the AIG Connective purse hook for the man bag I dont have. Not only is AIG reportedly trying to sell its UG group, but Bloomberg reports that Essent Group Ltd. may have an opportunity to buy Radian Group Inc. per an analyst at BTIG LLC said. Given that Radian's stock is down 11% this year, is there value? "Radian has no clear successor," for S.A. Ibrahim, BTIG's Mark Palmer wrote. Per Mr. Palmer, "It would be logical to surmise that the company's board of directors may be more inclined to entertain approaches from interested suitors." "Essent, the mortgage insurer backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and billionaire George Soros before it went public in 2013, 'could fit the bill' as a buyer even though it's a smaller company, Palmer wrote. Essent trades at a higher multiple to book value than Philadelphia-based Radian, and it could use shares to help fund the purchase, he said." It's a small MI world: Essent CEO Mark Casale previously was an executive at Radian. Neither company is commenting. As a reminder, suing your bank is going to be a whole lot easier if the CFPB has anything to say about it. Specifically, at issue are the terms that companies routinely insert in contracts for credit cards, payday loans and other products that require consumers to settle disputes through arbitration. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposes a rule that would circumvent those clauses by allowing groups of people to join together to pursue class-action lawsuits when they feel they've been wronged. "Signing up for a credit card or opening a bank account can often mean signing away your right to take the company to court if things go wrong," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "Many banks and financial companies avoid accountability by putting arbitration clauses in their contracts that block groups of their customers from suing them. Our proposal seeks comment on whether to ban this contract gotcha that effectively denies groups of consumers the right to seek justice and relief for wrongdoing." If you're skeptical reading the above, you're not alone. In a Bloomberg article Alan Kaplinsky, head of the Consumer Finance Practice at Ballard Spahr, was quoted, "There's only one winner coming out of this rule: the plaintiff's class action bar...it's not good for the industry, for banks or for nonbanks. And consumers are going to be net losers, it's a lousy trade." The regulator's proposal would cover new agreements for products such as credit cards, auto loans, credit reports and even mobile phone services that provide third-party billing. There will be a public comment period for 90 days before the regulator could issue a final rule. The soonest it will likely take effect is mid-2017 and companies will have 210 days to comply with the requirements. Speaking of legal matters, Guild Mortgage grabbed the headlines yesterday as the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Guild under the catch-all False Claims Act. The action is captioned United States ex rel. Dougherty v. Guild Mortgage Company (D.D.C.). It continues to be interesting why smaller lenders seem to continue to originate this product wholeheartedly whereas the big banks, such as Chase, have moved away from the program given the potential liability. Do smaller companies think that they are too small to be noticed, or are immune from prosecution? Or because they were originating perfect FHA loans ten years ago? Yes, this suit covers originations starting in 2006. Settling with the DOJ is certainly an option - just ask Wells Fargo, Franklin American Mortgage, Walter Investment, First Tennessee Bank, Freedom Mortgage or M&T Bank how to do it. Guild acted as a "direct endorsement lender" in the FHA insurance program, which grants the lender the authority to originate, underwrite and endorse mortgages for FHA insurance without prior review or approval from the FHA. The news prompted one industry vet to write to me saying, "I wonder if the DOJ understands how these enforcement actions cause FHA versus conventional primary market price spreads to widen and is costing every low and middle income FHA borrower about 200 bps in price compared to where levels would be without lenders building in the cost of the uncertainty into their daily price sheets? And 'enforcement actions?' 'Extortion' now numbering into the billions of dollars in actual fines levied upon lenders with deep pockets and the additional safeguards to avoid such extortion that has caused huge inefficiencies in producing the product. In the end the government wins and the consumer loses. This is the exact opposite effect that these programs were designed to avoid." Taking the high road, Guild released a public statement. Mary Ann McGarry, president and CEO of Guild Mortgage Co., issued the following statement regarding an action initiated against Guild by the Department of Justice: "We are extremely disappointed that the Department of Justice has elected to pursue this action. Guild has a proud record of making FHA loans since 1961 and we welcome the opportunity to set the record straight and correct the numerous misstatements in the government's complaint. The government's action is unwarranted and without merit. The implication that any default on an FHA loan by a borrower represents wrongdoing by the lender is not justified. For more than five decades Guild has responsibly underwritten fixed rate and fully documented loans in accordance with FHA requirements. "This enforcement environment that lenders face today threatens to limit opportunities for home ownership and hurts the housing market. It is contrary to the mission of HUD and the FHA program to help the underserved - a Guild tradition since its founding in 1960. It is unfortunate that lenders such as Guild have been placed in this untenable position where any minor error could result in substantial financial penalties. To help families with low and moderate incomes, we need to expand home buying opportunities, not shrink them. Sadly, if this punitive environment continues, the cost of lending will continue to increase for FHA borrowers and only the wealthy will be able to buy homes. Although we disagree with the allegations and intend to defend ourselves vigorously, we will continue to serve the FHA and first-time homebuyers, which we have served for more than 50 years." In other news related to HUD, it reached a $630,000 agreement with a group of Illinois property owners and a management company resolving allegations they violated the Fair Housing Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by using rental screening policies that prevented applicants with mental disabilities from living in a supportive living complex the group owned. Read the agreement. In this environment it almost doesn't matter what rates are doing - and long term rates could easily be at these levels all year. Still, I would be remiss in not saying something about them and how volatility has picked up somewhat - but we're still in the range we've been in for most of 2016. Yesterday U.S. Treasuries moved somewhat higher as Initial Jobless Claims fell back down to 278K last week but the Philly Fed survey for May was worse than expected. New York Fed President William Dudley echoed the remarks from Fed Presidents Williams and Lockhart on Tuesday. Essentially, if the economy improves along with his forecast, then June is definitely on the table for a rate hike and two rate hikes this year would be perfectly reasonable. The Conference Board Leading Economic Index rose 0.6% in April after a 0.2% gain in March. There is no early morning news, but there continues to be chatter around "Brexit" - a British exit from the European Union. It is a consideration and should be monitored closely. Later we will see April's Existing Home Sales at 7AM PDT. We closed Thursday with the 10-year at 1.84% and this morning it is sitting around 1.86% with agency MBS prices slightly worse. Jobs and Announcements "The buzz at the NY Secondary conference was focused on growth, capital and access to more capacity- the challenge is, with the increased costs to compliance, increased volume is not necessarily equating to increased profits", says Dr. Rick Roque (413.297.6895). "With the dust of TRID still falling, on the horizon are HMDA changes in 2018, adjustments to the 1003 and more significant enhancements for Loan Origination Software vendors who can't keep up with the changes, let alone provide Lenders with the safeguards to lend with confidence." These activities in the market are leading even well capitalized companies (Net worth of $6M-$20M) to seek capital partnerships or full stock acquisitions, thus driving the mid-market M&A phenomenon. Speaking of which, a leading Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) firm is seeking mortgage banks in the Midwest or Mid-Atlantic markets to be purchased either by selling their stock or assets. Eligible mortgage companies would have closed between $300M-$1.2B in 2015, or on pace to doing so in 2016, either consumer direct or referral partner (Realtor) based originations. No Agency approvals are necessary since they are already in place. If you would like to have your firm acquired, possibly receive a 2-4x after tax multiple, maintain your leadership and control, but rapidly accelerate your growth with significant access to capital, a broad array of new / innovative and non QM products, please contact me; specify opportunity. In West Coast job news, congrats to Albert Gonzalez. He has joined Big Valley Mortgage as the Area Sales Manager for the Central Valley Division which includes Stockton, Fresno, and Bakersfield. Albert comes to BVM with a solid business acumen including sales management, operations, and wholesale. According to Senior Vice President, Michael Pankow, "We are excited and well-positioned to expand our footprint into the Central Valley with Albert leading the way. With our Fresno branch opening in August of this year, I strongly believe that our core values of respect, transparency and to being resourceful will resonate well with consumer, realtors, and loan officers within the Central Valley community." Big Valley Mortgage, founded in 1990, is continuing to hire and funded over $770 million last year; it is a DBA of American Pacific Mortgage who ranked #15 in the Nation according to the 2015 Mortgage Executive Magazine with 8.01 billion in loan volume. In other personnel news Virginia-based corporation First Guaranty Mortgage announced the addition of Van Evans to its team as regional sales manager, correspondent division. First Guaranty Mortgage has been in business for over 25 years, and offers correspondent, wholesale and retail origination channels. Van will manage the West Region: California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, and Alaska. In a service that has really taken off with QC staff, underwriters, and processors, Private Eyes has rolled out VOEs to its mortgage clients for both originating loans and quality control. This is in addition to its role providing services 4506-Transcripts, VODA's, Verification of Assets, and Background Checks for new hires and current employees in 1-3 business days. "We are here to keep you both in compliance and closing loans fast which is why we saw a 30% client growth last year!" For more information on this 16-year-old company visit PrivateEyes or contact Sandra James, President. Speaking of products, a while back Gold Star Mortgage announced that it has enhanced its risk management policies and procedures governing its retail mortgage lending business by requiring independent screening and risk monitoring for all settlement agents having access to a borrower's loan documents and mortgage proceeds. The process will be managed for Gold Star Mortgage by Secure Settlements Inc. Gold Star chose the ClosingGuard tool to evaluate the backgrounds, licensing, insurance, and trust accounts of agents as a method to identify potential threats before a closing takes place. Secure Insight Chief Operating Officer Wayne Doctor stated, "We are pleased and honored to have been chosen by Gold Star Mortgage for these critical risk management services. In our extensive dealings with their leadership team we saw first-hand their serious commitment to quality control, consumer protection and overall loan quality assurance. We are proud to be their partner in this important endeavor." Private mortgage insurance folks know that Radian announced this week that CEO SA Ibrahim will retire at the end of 2017. The Board has appointed a special committee to search for a successor, taking into account internal and external candidates. Those of you who know SA know that he is a great guy, and everyone wishes him good luck in actually being able to retire from this business...it seems people have difficulty doing that. ("Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in.") Local hula group inspires global connections When the pandemic ushered everyone indoors, Moorpark resident and longtime dancer Lisa Rauschenberger decided to get people back outsidesocially distanced, of course. She began to hold weekly hula lessons at... Teens face high stakes in the Oval Office A press room befitting Americas commander in chief was set up inside the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. Journalists and others gathered inside. Ladies and gentlemen, I need you all... Tigers soon to prowl in new enclosure The brand-new Bengal tiger exhibit at Americas Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College is nearly complete, and some other animals hangouts are getting a makeover, too. Mara Rodriguez, zoo development coordinator,... The second round of the Wish List - an online feature which allows you to pick the restaurant you would like to see come to Midland - begins Friday with a powerhouse matchup between The Cheesecake Factor and Ruths Chris Steak House. All four No. 1 seeds in the 32 restaurant bracket -- The Cheesecake Factory, Torchys Tacos, Taco Bueno and Joes Crab Shack - advanced to the second round as did two No. 7 seeds (Pappasitos and Chuys). ELKO Early voting in Nevadas primary begins Saturday, and voters will have plenty of chances to learn about local candidates this week. The Elko Area Chambers Government Affairs Committee is hosting a candidate forum Wednesday for the District 3 County Commission race, and Thursday for the Department B Justice of the Peace primary. Both will begin at 6 p.m. in the Turquoise Room at the Elko Convention Center. Prior to Wednesdays forum the Elko Daily Free Press will host a meet-and-greet for 2016 candidates, beginning at 4 p.m. in the Turquoise Room. All candidates for any races in the primary or general election are invited, along with voters who would like to meet them and discuss the issues one-on-one. Candidates for the District 3 commission seat being vacated by Glen Guttry are Jeff Dalling, Jonathan Karr and Ralph Sacrison. All are Republicans, and the top vote-getter advances to the General Election. Candidates for the new justice of the peace position are Elias Goicoechea, Will Lehmann, Anthony Leiker, David Loreman, Andrew Mierins and Dennis Parker. The top two vote-getters in this nonpartisan race will advance to the General Election, unless one of them takes more than 50 percent of the vote. GAC Chairman Matt McCarty said the panel welcomes questions from the public for either of these forums. Email your question to gac@elkonevada. The Free Press is also publishing campaign statements this week from candidates who choose to submit them. Statements are limited to 400 words and should be sent to editor@elkodaily.com. Nevadas primary election is June 14. ELKO Local Democratic Party members find the events of the Nevada state convention and the supposed actions of Bernie Sanders supporters to be troublesome. Elko County Central Committee member Marti DeLance did not witness the alleged actions of those associated with the Sanders campaign at the Democratic Party State Convention at the Paris Las Vegas. However, she said a text was sent out informing participants to be at the convention location at the Paris Las Vegas at 9 a.m. Saturday, as Sanders supporters were expected to issue arguments concerning decorum and the rules. It started off as kind of chaotic, said DeLance, explaining after the temporary rules had been accepted with yay or nay votes an immediate recount was called for by the Sanders group. She said she understood their enthusiasm and idealism, but was surprised and a bit shocked the event became so raucous. I was disappointed in both sides, said Daniel Corona of West Wendover, an active member in the Democratic Party and a Sanders delegate, who was unable to make it to the state convention. Corona called the death threats against Nevada State Democratic Chair Roberta Lange unacceptable. He felt fellow supporters should have gone about getting their message out differently. We need to work together from within, he said, explaining that is where Sanders supporters went wrong. Corona told the Free Press the party will not win in November if it does not start to address the issues of Sanders supporters, to ensure everyones voices are heard. The party needs to be more inclusive and listen to both sides, he concluded. The actions of Sanders supporters which included repeated calls for votes to be recounted, the issuance of what has been called an incendiary and unauthorized minority report, and allegations of violence at the Democratic Party State Convention had many repercussions. One was the state party sending a formal complaint to the Democratic National Committee. The explosive situation arose in large part because a portion of the community of Sanders delegates arrived at the Nevada Democratic State Convention believing itself to be a vanguard intent upon sparking a street-fight rather than attending an orderly political party process, said Bradley S. Schrager, general counsel for the Nevada State Democratic Party. Surprised and outraged at the idea of being out-organized and thus outnumbered in the convention hall by Clinton delegates, a portion of the Sanders delegation rushed the dais immediately upon the opening of the convention and halted the progress of any convention business for much of the day, he continued. Schrager said Sanders supporters not only disregarded the senators initial wish to work together respectfully and constructively but that of the party: to unify toward common goals, which include returning the Legislature to the Democrats and keeping Republican presumptive candidate Donald Trump out of the White House. It really went all crazy when the preliminary count showed that the Hillary people had more delegates than the Sanders people, said DeLance. Much like at the Nevada caucuses, Hillary Clinton maintained her lead in the state with more Clinton than Sanders supporters flocking to the Nevada State Democratic Caucus. Clinton filled 98 percent of her delegate slots and Sanders filled only 78 percent of his delegates at the State convention. Really it worked out they just didnt get out their vote, just like the Hillary people didnt get out the vote at the county caucuses, said DeLance, explaining eight out of about 14 Clinton supporters were in Las Vegas last weekend and only three of approximately 16 county delegates participated for Sanders. I would hope that somehow the parties can unite before the (national) convention, said DeLance. A focal point for her became the selection of delegates. Three delegates from the rurals will attend Julys Democratic National Convention in Cleveland, but none are from Elko County. Elko Democrats are moving forward. As DeLance told the Free Press, the political entity has elected a temporary body to start organization for the party at the county level, with an upcoming June meeting. She said about 25 people came to a recent organizational meeting and about 40 people said they wanted to be part of the Central Committee. I think we will be growing as a party. Im hoping that they will stay together after the convention and it doesnt just fall apart after that, because we have Catherine Cortez Masto we have to get elected, we have other candidates, said DeLance. Someone should sue the President for ... ELKO A tragedy nearly occurred Tuesday when a woman, who believed she was only six months pregnant, gave birth to a baby in the shower of her Spring Creek home. The woman had not received prenatal care and initially believed the infant to be deceased. Additionally, she was hemorrhaging heavily from the birth, said interim Undersheriff Kevin McKinney in a release. Following the birth, the mother called a friend, who also thought the baby was dead. The baby was wrapped in towels and placed into a bag. The friend transported the mother and the baby to the hospital, said McKinney. The baby was found to be alive at Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital. NNRH cared for both, until the baby was transferred to Primary Childrens Medical Center in Salt Lake City. Updates are showing the mother and child are doing well, he said. The names of those involved are being withheld by authorities at this time. The Elko County Sheriffs Office and the Nevada Division of Child and Family Services are investigating this incident and are assessing the safety situation of the family, said McKinney. The results of this investigation will be reviewed by the Elko County District Attorneys Office. The incident reveals the importance of quality medical care and the need for women to get prenatal care for the safety of themselves and their unborn children, concluded McKinney. Makayla Ruthrauff with mom and sister View Photos The 2016 Miss Calaveras was crowned Thursday night, during the Miss Calaveras Scholarship Pageant at the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee. Makayla Ruthrauff was also Friday mornings KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Ruthrauff is an eighteen year old senior at Calaveras High School. She lives in Mokelumne Hill. This is the third time in the 71 years of the Calaveras Pageant that a member of the Ruthrauff family was crowned the winner. Ruthrauffs mom, Kim, was Miss Calaveras in 1988. Ruthrauffs older sister, Chelsea, was Miss Calaveras in 2013. During the talent portion of the Scholarship Pageant, which was 30% of the judges total vote, Rauthroff performed Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen on a flute. Ruthrauff will be using her $1,000 Angels-Murphys Rotary Club Scholarship this fall, as she plans to attend San Francisco State University. Ruthrauff would like to study Music Management with the goal of becoming a Producer. First Runner-Up is Sierra Stackpole, a seventeen year old senior at Calaveras High School. Second Runner-Up is Brighton Hamari, an eighteen year old senior at Brett Harte High School. All three ladies will make numerous appearances at all of the major Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee events over the next three days and represent Calaveras County at larger events over the next year. The Newsmaker of the Day is heard each weekday morning on AM 1450 KVML at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45am. Sacramento, CA The California Senate has approved a package of gun control regulations that are being praised by many Democrats and criticized by Republicans. Notably, the bills would establish new rules related to the sale of ammunition and aim to crackdown on assault rifles. The package would require background checks for ammunition purchasers and licenses for ammunition sellers. In addition, it redefines assault weapons to encompass specified guns capable of accepting any type of detachable magazine, prohibits magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, requires the reporting of a stolen gun within five days, limits infrequent lending of guns to specified family members and establishes a firearm violence research center within the University of California system. The package is receiving mixed reviews. Senate Democratic Leader Kevin de Leon says, Public safety is a fundamental responsibility of government and this Legislature will not shirk its responsibility, no matter how difficult the issue. These proposals take common sense steps to keep weapons and ammunition out of the hands of criminals and empower law enforcement to better serve and protect our communities. Republican Senator Jean Fuller, counters that argument, saying, These firearm bills are an attack against law-abiding citizens and their Second Amendment right rather than addressing the criminal activity and behavior that is taking place on our streets. Republican Senator Ted Gaines adds, California already has hundreds of the toughest gun laws in the nation and I cant imagine that adding ten more would solve any perceived problem, offer increased public safety or do anything other than unnecessarily burden the law abiding citizens who are already trying to do the right thing and exercise their rights. The package now moves to the Assembly for debate. ELKO Ranchers who graze cattle on a Bureau of Land Management permit are invited to workshops slated in early June across northern Nevada. With the listing of the Sage Grouse as not warranted now more than ever it is imperative to establish with state and federal agencies that proper grazing has and can have a positive influence on the sage grouse habitat, stated a release from the Nevada Cattlemens Association. The association, in conjunction with the BLM and the Nevada Department of Agriculture, have scheduled the workshops to share information and discuss how the Greater Sage Grouse Land Use Plan Amendment will apply to permittees. The first workshop is at 5:30 p.m. June 6 in Ely. Elkos workshop is at 2 p.m. June 7 in Great Basin College Room GTA130. Others are planned in Battle Mountain, Winnemucca and Fallon. The Cattlemens Association can be reached at 738-9214, or visit www.nevadacattlemen.org. ELKO In late February, Billie Crapo took charge of the Elko Area Chamber of Commerce. Former CEO Jennifer Sprout took a position with another firm after several years of service with the chamber. I started here 10 years ago as the membership director, explained Crapo. About five years ago my job changed to events and sales only. Crapo is delighted with her new position. I like to get involved with all aspects of the chamber, she said. Over the years, honestly, it has been great getting to know all of the members and helping build business. We have a great staff and the board of directors is a huge, terrific network. Crapo went on elaborate about the board and the qualifications of its members. She explained that the board is composed of 15 people who run for two-year terms. The Elko chamber board is diverse, including people who run small businesses, work at the mines, and in human services. The tourist season is looming and the chamber is ready for the influx of visitors. People can pick up information on what to do, where to eat, and where to stay in Elko. Crapo said starting in June the chamber would stay open on Saturdays to accommodate travelers. For the near future there will not be a lot of change with chamber events and policies. Crapo did mention, though, that this summer people would start to see some improvements being done on the buildings and grounds. The Sherman Station Task Committee approved a new roof for the schoolhouse and other exterior improvements. The Sherman Station was built in1903 and was moved to town in 1997. The chamber relocated there in 1999. Crapo is proud of where she works and the facts show that the community benefits from chamber efforts. She disclosed that the Elko chamber currently has 725 members. When the staff has attended conferences they have learned that other, much larger towns like Carson City do not have as many members as the Elko office. Before finishing with the interview Crapo wanted to mention Business after Hours, a monthly gathering of minds. Crapo said members and the general public are always welcome to attend. Mays Business after Hours was held Thursday at A+ Total Care on Mountain City Highway. The date and location of future events can always be found on the chamber calendar. I am very honored to be given this opportunity, Crapo said about her promotion. I will work hard to do the best for our members. Dozens of people have been arrested in Cocoa as police try to clean up a neighborhood park they say is filled with illegal activity. Cocoa's Provost Park reportedly filled with illegal activity 4-month undercover sting resulted in 40 arrests Police chief says sting was just the 1st step in cleanup effort Drug sales, prostitution, gambling and drinking are just some of the problems police say have choked the life out of Cocoa's Provost Park. Now, they hope these dozens of arrests help make the area safer. "We hear police cars go off all the time," Patty Whiting said. She might be new to the neighborhood across the street from Provost Park, but she's quickly learning of the crimes police are dealing with. "I don't see kids over there; I see mostly adults," she said. Police are on the heels of a four-month undercover sting that netted 40 arrests. Numerous neighbors have complained of suspected dealers selling drugs out in the open, plus prostitutes, drinking and gambling. "I've had people calling me saying they were afraid to come to this park," Cocoa Police Chief Mike Canteloupe said. The chief said people from across the county were using the bus system, and the stop across the street, to come buy drugs at the park. He also said it's sad to see empty playground equipment. "It should be full of kids that's what we want to see," he said. The chief admits this is just the first step. They plan to have more patrols around the park, make more arrests if they have to, and are urging residents who see possible illegal activity to call them. For Whiting, she's glad for the proactive policing and will be more vigilant. "I will be more aware, keep my eyes open," she said. Gemini Springs in DeBary has been closed to swimmers for about 11 years because of high natural contaminants flowing through the springs. Gemini Springs has been closed to swimming for 11 years Natural contaminants flowing through the springs Volusia County leaders want to reopen the springs to swimming That could soon change, though. The Volusia County Council voted Thursday to begin the process of removing some contaminants that flow into the springs. Other groups are also testing the water flow in Gemini Springs. George Brinto takes his 1-year-old German Shepherd dog to the springs, but the pup can't cool off. "It's cool, it's refreshing," Brinto said. "It would be a great place to swim." High levels of enterococci, a natural contaminant, forced health and Volusia County officials to close the springs more than 10 years ago. With Thursday's agreement, the county will install baffle boxes near the spring. The boxes are designed to clean up manmade contaminants that are currently flowing into the springs. "Basically what were trying to do is remove nutrients that may be making it into Gemini Springs," said Judy Grim, who works for the county's road and bridge division. Students at the University of Florida are monitoring the flow of spring water to other bodies of water using dye. The study is through the St. Johns River Water Management District, which conducts similar studies across the state. Health officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers test the springs on a regular basis to see if enterococci levels are coming down. Brinto hopes that the springs will be clean enough for him to swim side-by-side with his dog. "My hope would be that they can return the park to its full use, which would include swimming," he said. Gemini Springs is a Volusia County-run park, and so it's ultimately up to the county to decide if the park will allow people to swim. (Saul Saenz, Staff) On Thursday Orlando police officers and Parramore residents came together over barbecue. It's all part of an effort to build a relationship in the community and, hopefully, bring down the crime rate in the neighborhood. Orlando police trying to build relationship with Parramore residents Several violent incidents recently, including a shooting Wednesday Neighbors see the event as a great starting point I think its real neat for our officers to interact with our kids, especially in this way, Chief John Mina said. The Parramore community has had its ups and downs. On Wednesday night, officers arrested a woman accused of shooting her sister. On the other hand, just last week, Vice President Joe Biden journeyed into a diner, surprising guests and posing for selfies. The Orlando Police Department said they want to keep that positive momentum going. Were not out here writing tickets," Mina said. "Were not out here pulling over cars or making arrests. Were not here because we were called here. Were here because we want to be here. Just a day after that shooting, OPD hosted this community barbecue with food, music, dancing and a bounce house. This is the side you need to see," Parramore resident Ernest Moore said. Come together and let the kids know that police is not the bad guy, know what Im saying. For police, its an opportunity to show people who they really are - not just street patrols keeping an eye on crime. While neighbors said change wont happen overnight, they said this kind of event is a great starting point. In order to bridge the gap, you just got to keep bringing both sides together," said Raysean Brown, coordinator for My Brother's Keeper. That's something officers say they will continue to work on. I think its important for us to kind of show our human side and show everyone that we like BBQ too, and we like ice cream and we like music," Mina said. Mina added that he wants children to grow up trusting the police, and this is one way to shape that impression at a young age. Seminole County may have finally ended months of negotiations over teacher pay with a tentative agreement reached late Wednesday. 2015-2016: 2.25% pay increase for Seminole county school employees, retroactive 2016-2017: 2.75% pay increase Tentative deal to be voted on next week On Thursday, Katie Murphy gave her final lesson to a group of fifth graders at Wicklow Elementary School. Murphy is retiring after 37 years of teaching. But until the tentative agreement, Murphy feared she would walk out of the classroom for good at the end of the school year without getting any raise in pay for her last year of teaching. Its nice to go out knowing youre valued a little bit more, said Murphy. The tentative agreement follows months of talks, contentious meetings and rallies for the unions representing Seminole County teachers, bus drivers and other school personnel. Teachers had pushed for a higher increase in pay than the 2.25 percent raise the district was offering. But in the end, despite a federal magistrate recommending a higher increase, the two sides agreed on the districts original offer for the 2015-2016 school year. Teachers and other school employees will get the raise retroactively in their paychecks. I wish we could have done more for the bus drivers and the assistants. Theyre still nowhere near a living wage. And we really need to work on that, said Murphy. Union representatives say the tentative agreement does lock in a higher raise for next school year a 2.75 percent increase for the 2016-2017 school year. Murphy says that means next year teachers can focus on their work in the classroom and not worry about spending hours at union rallies. There were several nights it was nine or 10 oclock before I got home, and I started here at school at a quarter of eight, Murphy said. But its worth it if you know youre moving things ahead. And those us retiring know were moving it ahead for future generations. Murphy and other teachers will vote on the tentative pay agreement next week, and the school board has to approve the measure later this month. But the tentative contract agreement is expected to become permanent. Read the details of the agreement Egyptian air and naval forces have spotted a body part, passengers' personal belongings and other debris from EgyptAir flight 804 that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea, killing 66 passengers and crew who were en route from Paris to Cairo, the Egyptian army and Greek defense minister said Friday. It is not yet known what caused the crash but some experts and officials have not ruled out terrorism as a possibility. Greece's defense minister Panos Kammenos said Greek authorities received notification that Egyptian authorities had spotted the body part, two seats and suitcases during their search in the Mediterranean for the wreckage of the Airbus 320. The plane disappeared off radar at 2.45 a.m. local time Thursday morning. The debris was found around 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of the coastal city of Alexandria, Egyptian army spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammed Samir said in a statement posted on his Facebook page. The Egyptian military continued to search for further debris from the downed passenger jet, he said. France, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and the UK had all joined the Egyptian search effort, Egypt's defense ministry said. Authorities had been scouring a wide area south of the Greek island of Crete. A team of Egyptian investigators led by Ayman el-Mokadam - along with French and British investigators and an expert from Airbus - will inspect what the army has found, Egyptian officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press. The office of Egypt's president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, issued a statement expressing its condolences to the relatives of the 66 killed. It said the presidency "expressed its deep regret and sadness for the victims" of EgyptAir flight 804. "God give great mercy and host them in his heaven," it added. The statement marked the first official recognition by Egypt's government that the missing plane had crashed. On Thursday, Kammenos said that the plane swerved wildly before plummeting into the sea. The Egyptian military said that no distress call was received from the pilot. The country's aviation minister Sherif Fathi said the likelihood the plane was brought down by a terror attack is "higher than the possibility of a technical failure." Yet France's foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault asserted Friday on France-2 television that there is "absolutely no indication" of what caused the crash. The junior minister for transport, Alain Vidalies, said on France-Info radio that "no theory is favored" at this stage and urged "the greatest caution." Amid fears the plane was downed by an extremist attack, Vidalies defended security at Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport, saying staff badges are revoked if there is the slightest security doubt. Families of the victims spent the night in a hotel in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, while they awaited the news of their loved ones. Egyptian officials said some arrived from Paris late Thursday, among them eight relatives of the 15 French passengers on board the missing jet. Later Friday, relatives of four of the victims held prayers for the dead at Sultan Hussein Mosque in Cairo. Some of them cried as they prayed. Among those killed were Salah Abu Laban, his wife Sahar Qouidar, their son Ghassan Abu Laban and daughter-in-law Reem al-Sebaei. "I ask God for forgiveness. This is very hard for the family," a relative, Abdel-Rahman al-Nasry, told The Associated Press. Magdi Badr, a family friend, said, "we pray for the victims." On Thursday, officials said the plane had veered during its last moments in flight - an erratic course that suggested a number of possible explanations for the crash, including a catastrophic mechanical or structural failure, a bombing, or a struggle over the controls with a hijacker in the cockpit. Egyptian security officials said they were running background checks on the passengers to see if any had links to extremists. Pilot Mohammed Shoukair was experienced by Egyptian standards, with 6,275 flying hours. His co-pilot Ahmed Assem had clocked in 2,101 flying hours. The man accused of beating his girlfriends teenage daughter to death then dumping her body in the woods went before a judge Friday. Sanel Saint Simon is accused of killing Alexandria Chery, 16 Chery's body was found in wooded area near Osceola-Polk border Saint Simon's trial is scheduled for July 25 A judge denied Sanel Saint Simons request to have statements he made to police after his arrest thrown out. In August 2014, Saint Simon was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse and murder in connection with the death of 16-year-old Alexandria Chery. Cherys body was found days after she was reported missing in the woods along the Osceola-Polk County border. According to autopsy results, Chery was severely beaten and stabbed several times. Statements Saint Simon made to police, including those in his native Creole language, will be admissible for the trial. The trial is scheduled to take place July 25. An Osceola County man convicted of domestic terrorism charges will spend more time on home confinement. Marcus Faella will serve three years of home confinement after a sentence appeal Friday Faella was convicted in 204 of providing paramilitary training to white supremacist group American Front Faella is appealing the original conviction Marcus Faella was the alleged leader of the white supremacist group American Front. Back in 2014, Faella was sentenced to six months in jail and two years of home confinement, which was a very lenient sentence considering he could have served 30 years. But an appeals process took place and on Friday the judge added one more year onto his home confinement. Faella was once again fingerprinted in court and will continue to hold his status as a felon. He has already served all of his time behind bars, but now he will be fitted with a GPS monitoring device to begin three years of home confinement, followed by nine years of probation. Judge Jon Morgan said he felt the original sentence was appropriate and admitted that it was very lenient given the nature of the crimes. Faella was found guilty of providing and teaching paramilitary training to members of his white supremacist group, even though his defense always argued that no attacks were ever planned. Judge Morgan has been very fair about everything so far, but I maintain my innocence from the very beginning," Faella said. During the re-sentencing hearing, Faellas wife, Patricia, was very outspoken in court, insisting that she speak to the judge about getting justice for her family. Patricia was also arrested for being a member of American Front, but her charges were later dropped. A special condition of Faellas community control is that he cannot be a member of any neo-Nazi or white supremacist organization. He also cannot associate with any of the members other than his wife and since he is a convicted felon, he cannot possess any weapons. Faella has 30 days to appeal this most recent sentence, but his attorney says they will not. Instead, they are still working to appeal the original conviction and hope to take it to the Supreme Court. University of Central Florida now has a leader to bring the downtown Orlando campus to life. Dr. Thaddeus Seymour Jr. hired to be vice provost for UCF downtown campus UCF Downtown will be part of the Creative Village Seymour says his vision for the school includes public-private partnerships UCF can be a model of what large research universities look like in this century," said University of Central Florida Downtown Vice Provost Dr. Thaddeus Seymour Jr. It starts with a vision built around partnership," Seymour added. However, Seymour is not supposed to be working anymore. I tried. I had enormous fun at Lake Nona," Seymour said. He retired in 2015 from the Tavistock group, which is responsible for Lake Nona. One of the most notable portions of Seymour's time in the business world was helping develop Lake Nonas medical city neighborhood from the ground up. Lake Nona really began with a big vision and in fact we grew it over time," Seymour shared. But now he's working again on a project that he is equally as passionate about. I bring this unique perspective because I started my career in academia and moved into business several decades, Seymour said. And now I have the chance to come back and be a part of an academic institution and help bring that combination of perspective and experience." UCFs downtown campus in Orlando is expected to anchor the long-awaited Creative Village project. The campus is expected to cost about $60 million, with much of it already collected from donors and the state. I look at this as a bit of a hybrid. So there is a blank canvas in many ways but that doesnt give credit to whats already here around and part of this, part of downtown," Seymour said. Seymour's father, Thaddeus Seymour Sr., was the president of Rollins College for more than 10 years beginning in the late 1970's. Seymour Jr. said by watching his father lead a small liberal arts college, he learned that a successful educational institution of any size is clear about who they want to be. I think the best plan will be one that really embraces the strengths of what is part of the community already, Seymour continued. And how can we uplift that and take advantage of that and be part of making the whole downtown better." Seymours vision means creating local, national and even international partnerships to become the regions hub for technology and digital media. Theres so much going in terms of the energy and the passion of young innovators who want to live and work in the city center, so I think we really get to take advantage of that," Seymour continued. Part of that city center, Seymour said, is the historic Parramore neighborhood. Seymour said its important to remember the new campus will be part of that community. Well work very hard in partnership with the residents and the leadership of Parramore, as well as the business owners in and around that part of downtown because again, the best thing we do will be the result of those kinds of collaborations," Seymour said. UCFs downtown campus is scheduled to open in 2018. UCF's new vice-provost on plans for the downtown campus GET OUR APP Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Download it here. This month marks my five-year anniversary for writing a weekly column for the Plainview Herald. For five years I have written about clipping coupons, price matching, and finding money-saving ways to stretch your weekly budget. The most impressive change that has occurred over the past five years is that technology has changed the way we save money. Smart phones have now placed a money-saving opportunities right at your fingertips. Recently I came across a new money-saving app that I'm excited to share with my readers. This app is called Flipp. Flipp is your essential app for your weekly shopping. Flipp allows you to search circulars and coupon deals by item, brand or category to quickly find the best deals on your weekly items to make saving money super easy! Flipp is the only app that matches local circular deals with coupons from the brand you love to bring you the most savings. Simply add your loyalty cards from your favorite stores to Flipp and then clip coupon deals to your card for instant savings or checkout. Whether youre browsing circulars, searching for items or creating your shopping list, with one easy tap you can clip the items you need to stay organized. To keep you on track of your weekly shopping, Flipp's ultimate shopping list will help you plan ahead by finding what's on sale, and helps save time and money while shopping in the store. Flipp brings you the latest weekly ads from your favorite stores including Walmart, Target, Family Dollar, CVS and United. They have more than 800 retailers that can help you save 20-50 percent on the items you need every week. Save money on your favorite brands with coupons on Tide, Gain, Dawn, Crest, Charmin, Bounty, Olay, Pampers and hundreds of more items. Flipp has been named a top shopping app to help save money in over 350 publications including Forbes, USA Today and the Washington Post. Their app users have given this app a 5-Star rating with the weekly savings ranging from $5 to $100! All at the touch of your fingers. Just browse through your favorite weekly local ads, match hundreds of coupons with the brands you love for the most savings. Plan ahead and discover deals for each item on your shopping list. Search through hundreds of items, retailers, and brands. Clip items to organize deals to make your shopping easy. Also, receive reminders about expiring deals, new offers, and updates from your favorite and nearby retailers to stay on top of your deals. Print coupons at home and save at CVS, Target. Walmart and more! Never pass up the opportunity to save a few bucks, whether its the old fashion way of clipping coupons from your Sunday newspaper inserts, or downloading money saving apps to your smartphone. Remember, it is always "hip to clip" coupons that add value to your life and your budget. Join me on Facebook, search Coupon Clippin' Cuties and add yourself to our group. Discover that technology and money saving apps downloaded to your smartphone puts money saving opportunities right at your fingertips! Sandra Dulakis is a nurse, mother and founder of Coupon Clippin Cuties. Eleven outstanding educators were recognized by the Plainview ISD Board of Trustees at its regular meeting May 19. The honored educators are recipients of the 2015-16 Educator of the Year awards for their respective campuses. The award is the highest award given to teachers by the district. Recipients, selected by vote of their campus peers, will also be honored during convocation ceremonies in August. Each of the recipients was awarded a personalized plaque recognizing their accomplishment. Their names have also been engraved on permanent plaques displayed at their campus. Profiles of Educators of the Year: Sheila Alexander, College Hill Elementary, has been with Plainview ISD for 26 years, teaching one year at Thunderbird before moving to College Hill 25 years ago. For the last three years she has held the position of math specialist. Previously she taught fourth grade, third grade, second grade and Resource. She is receiving this award for the second time. She was College Hill Educator of the Year in 2003-2003. Charlotte Adams, Edgemere Elementary, has served the district as a school nurse for 31 years. The first four years of her career with the district, she split her time between Thunderbird and Highland. For the past 27 years she has been the school nurse for Edgemere and Thunderbird. Prior to joining the district, she was a nurse at the hospital. She is a third time award recipient having previously received this award from Edgemere and from Thunderbird. Jennifer Stephenson, Highland Elementary, is completing her eighth year as an educator. She currently teaches third grade, but has also taught second and fourth grade. She is a first-time Educator of the Year award recipient. Cailey Stoerner, Highland Elementary, is completing her first year as a school counselor. She has been an educator for eight years. She worked as a special education teacher at La Mesa Elementary for five years and taught at Lockney Junior High prior to joining Plainview ISD. She is receiving this award for the second time; she was Educator of the Year at La Mesa in 2014. Paulina Gonzales, Hillcrest Elementary, is completing her 11th year with the district. She currently teaches in a first grade bilingual classroom, a position she has held for eight years. She also taught bilingual kindergarten for three years. Shelly Slack, La Mesa Elementary, is in her 20th year with the district. For the last three years she has held the position of fifth grade math teacher at La Mesa Elementary. Previously she taught math, reading, language arts and social studies at Lakeside for 17 years. She is a third time recipient of the Educator of the Year award. Luis Luna, Thunderbird Elementary, has been an educator for 23 years. This year he served at Thunderbird as a bilingual fifth grade math teacher. Prior to this year, he spent 15 years at Hillcrest teaching fourth grade math and bilingual second grade. He has also taught in Dimmitt ISD and Socorro ISD. He is a second time recipient of the Educator of the Year award. Linda Rodriguez, Coronado Middle School, is completing 33 years as an educator. She was a paraprofessional for eight years before becoming a certified teacher. She has worked as a reading teacher at Ash and Coronado for the last 25 years. Leslie Miller, Estacado Middle School, has been an educator for seven years. She has served her entire career as an eighth grade science teacher at Estacado Middle School. Prior to taking her first full-time teaching position with the district, she student taught at Ash and served as a long-term sub at Lakeside and Estacado. Kristy Jernigan, Plainview High School, is completing 21 years as an educator. She taught in Nebraska and Kansas before joining the Plainview ISD staff 14 years ago. She is a science teacher at PHS where she has served as the science department chair for eight years. Jimmy Fikes, Ash High School, joined the PISD staff last fall after retiring from a 17-year career at Wayland Baptist University. He teaches Business Education classes at Ash High School. He says transitioning from teaching at the college level to the secondary level has been an interesting experience, but he is learning something every day from the excellent teachers who are his coworkers. For J Pat Manning, it might have been the one thing that made the biggest impression when he visited Plainview for the first time on July 4, 2004. I remember driving down Ennis or Garland street and seeing all these flags flying in front of homes, and I wondered what was going on, Manning said. It made a huge statement to me about this city. It was very cool. Manning later found out the hundreds of flags being flown in front of residences and businesses were a result of the Plainview Kiwanis Clubs flag program. It was one of the first things we did when Regan and I moved here, Manning said of signing up for the program. He later joined the Kiwanis Club, served as president, and now is co-chairman of the flag program with Kent Bearden. The more Manning found out about the flag program, the more he liked everything about it. Not only does it allow Plainview citizens an opportunity to show their patriotism, it also benefits members of five local organizations - Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Plainview High Band Boosters, PHS Jr. Navy ROTC and Elks Lodge - who partner with the Kiwanis Club in placing the close to 700 flags across town. Those organizations use the money they collect from the program to fund their activities. Meanwhile, the flag program serves as the biggest fundraiser for the Kiwanis Club, which uses proceeds to fund five scholarships given annually to deserving college-bound students. I think its awesome that so many people are impacted by this one program, said Manning, who is fond of claiming that the Kiwanis Club is pound-for-pound the best fundraisers in town! For about the cost of taking your family to dinner, Plainviewans can be a part of the program. For an annual $30 subscription, a United States flag will be posted in front of your home or business in a special holder installed free by the Kiwanis Club. Flags are placed on the following holidays: Presidents Day, Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Patriots Day and Veterans Day. The goal is to have flags posted by 8 a.m. and retrieved by nightfall. In cases of inclement weather, flags may not be posted. If that case, an alternate holiday will be considered. To subscribe, simply mail a check for $30 to Plainview Kiwanis Club Flag Program, P.O. Box 684, Plainview, TX 79072. (Subscriptions are not pro-rated for those joining the program after flag days have passed.) Although routes are maintained for most of the city, some outlying areas may not be served. Anyone living in those areas will be contacted. Anyone with questions may call J Pat Manning at 293-1385 or Kent Bearden at 293-3912. A 20-year-old Plainview man was arrested after crashing his vehicle into a utility pole and fire hydrant Wednesday evening. The man was charged with driving while intoxicated and booked at the Hale County Jail after he was checked for minor injuries. The 20-year-old man was booked for his second DWI. The man crashed his northbound vehicle into a flower shop sign, a utility pole and a fire hydrant just before 6 p.m. Wednesday in 1300 block of Quincy. The car then went across the lane and ended up stopping on the curb on the opposite side of the road. At the scene, electrical workers tried to install a new utility pole while City of Plainview water and sewage employees worked to stop the hydrant water break which flooded several city blocks. The Water and Sewage worked until 2:30 p.m. installing a new fire hydrant. The man was charged with a Class A misdemeanor. BERLIN- The community can get a 5K run in before chowing down on some summertime meals this year at Kensington Congregational Churchs Festival on the Hill. The church is giving runners a chance to participate in the Lobster Loop, before its third annual festival, Saturday, June 11 on Percival Avenue in Kensington. Mayor Mark Kaczynski will kick off the race at the church, also the starting line, at 830 a.m. Its a great kickoff for summer, said Gwen McCann, Director of Christian Faith Formation at Kensington Congregational Church. What started out as a Lobster roll and strawberry shortcake festival has grown to include not only a bigger menu, but a bigger space. The church has been working for the past few weeks in clearing out additional property to expand the festival. The Lobster Loop is another new addition which Race Director Jen Calcagni says will showcase the surrounding Kensington neighborhoods. The loop is not traffic heavy, so none of the roads used will be blocked off. Its a typical Connecticut route, its not flat and there are some hills, only a few are steep, she said. An active runner herself, Calcagni hopes to get the cap of 500 racers to join in since there are not many nearby race opportunities during the summer months. She started toying with the idea last fall and decided it would be a great way to get people involved who might have not attended the festival before. I knew what I would like to see and I wanted to bring a race to Berlin, she said. Residents and non-residents can register up until the day before the race for a fee of $25. The first 300 runners that sign up will receive a free t-shirt. While the festival will be enjoyed by many, its the underlying message that McCann wants to get across. Our youth are the future of the church, she said. All the money raised will go toward supporting the youth programs at the church, specifically the upcoming youth mission trip. On June 25th, the group will travel to Virginia Beach to provide service to the less fortunate. In the past they have gone to Munson Massachusetts after extensive tornado damage. They learn so much, its a very fulfilling and rewarding experience for them to get out there, McCann said. The younger members are also part of the volunteer aspect of the festival. McCann says that the whole community, in addition to the church, help out. The food will be provided by the church. Attendees will get to savor various warm-weather dishes like pan seared shrimp, pulled pork and beef brisket, among other meals. The Berlin High School program Upbeat will be doing face painting and balloon animals, while The McGee Middle School Sound Express chorus will be entertaining the audience as well as the high school. Several local businesses are planning on having booths at the festival. Dance Step, Berlin-Peck Memorial Library, Berlin Free Library, and Kempokan Martial Arts in Newington are just a few. The New Britain Bees mascot will also be making an appearance. This event showcases a lot of the activity and support of the church, McCann said. The race itself will be co-sponsored by PowerHouse Gym of Berlin and Malibu Fitness of Farmington. An award ceremony for overall Male and Female, Overall Male and Female from Berlin, as well as first, second and third prizes will follow the race. For more information on the race please email: lobsterloop5k@gmail.com SAN FRANCISCO The death of a young black woman in a stolen car proved to be the last in a series of shootings and racially tinged scandals that finally led to the resignation of San Franciscos police Chief Greg Suhr. A new acting chief is now tasked with mending the departments strained relations with the black community. Deputy Chief Toney Chaplin, a 26-year department veteran who is black, was appointed acting chief by Mayor Ed Lee after Suhrs resignation Thursday. Chaplin had the confidence of at least one key supporter. Toney Chaplin has the charisma, chemistry and courage to lead this department, said Rev. Amos Brown, the president of the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP. Brown had also supported Suhr through the departments difficulties, and said the polices problems are bigger than one man. Pressure had been mounting for the resignation of Suhr since December, when five officers fatally shot a young black man carrying a knife. Since then, there have been protests, moves to reform the police department and a federal review of its protocol. Mayor Ed Lee supported the chief in December and again in April after it was disclosed that three officers had exchanged racist text messages. But hours after Thursdays shooting, Lee asked for Suhrs resignation and received it. The texting scandal was the second to rock the department after it was also disclosed that several officers had exchanged racist messages dating back to before Suhr was chief. But Suhr was criticized for moving too slowly to fire the offending officers, all of whom have retained their jobs because of the chiefs failure to start disciplinary action when he first found out about the inappropriate. Suhr could not be reached for comment Thursday. Protesters demanding Suhrs resignation drowned out the mayors second inaugural speech in January, and demonstrators forced the mayor to abandon a planned speech on Martin Luther King Jr. Day later that month. Nonetheless, the mayor stood behind the chief, and the two announced a series of reforms aimed at reducing police shootings. The two also called in the U.S. Department of Justice to review the departments policy and procedures. Suhr renewed his call for reform April 8 after an officer shot and killed a Latino homeless man who police said refused orders to drop a large knife. But Suhr lost Lees backing Thursday, after a patrol car prowling an industrial neighborhood for stolen vehicles came across a 27-year-old black woman sitting behind the wheel of a parked car. Police said the car had been reported stolen. Officers turned on the patrol cars lights and sounded its siren, and the woman to sped off in the stolen car. A few second later and about 100 feet away, the stolen car slammed into a parked utility truck. The officers jumped out of the patrol car and raced to the wreckage, where the woman was revving the car in an effort to disengage the auto from the truck. Suhr said a witness reported that the officers opened the drivers door and began grabbing the woman in attempt to arrest her. At that point, a sergeant fired one fatal round. This is exactly the kind of thing with all the reforms we are trying to prevent, Suhr said Thursday, less than two hours after the shooting and before he resigned. The progress weve made has been meaningful, but it hasnt been fast enough, Lee said in a brief statement at City Hall. Not for me, not for Greg. The identity of the dead woman has not been released. She was shot in the same neighborhood where the five officers shot and killed Mario Woods, the 26-year-old black man carrying a knife. Video of Woods shooting circulated widely online and led to protests and calls for Suhrs resignation. But at the time, the chief still enjoyed the backing of the mayor and other community leaders, who said they wanted to give Suhr time to implement the reforms he promised. Some of the reforms underway might have prevented or clarified todays incident, the mayor said Thursday. We need to turn these plans into actions. Lee appointed Suhr chief in 2011. He was a 34-year veteran of the department who rose through the ranks despite several professional missteps. He was demoted from deputy chief to captain in 2009 after failing to file a police report after a female friend told him she had been assaulted by her boyfriend. The city last year paid $725,000 to settle a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by a former department lawyer who recommended Suhr be fired for failing to report his friends assault. When Suhr became chief, he fired the lawyer. Suhr was also re-assigned from head of patrol in 2005 to guarding the citys water supply, which was widely viewed as a demotion. Two years earlier, he was one of several officers indicted in the citys so-called Fajitagate for allegedly trying to cover up an investigation of three off-duty officers who had beaten up a waiter and took his bag of Mexican food. The indictment was tossed out. Tires at the Zurita plant in Fuerteventura. Quique Curbelo In a written inquiry about the illegal tire dump in Sesena, Toledo, dated 15 days before a fire broke out there last week, the European Commission also asked Spain about another pile of rubber this time at the Zurita dump in Puerto de Rosario, on the island of Fuenteventura. According to the information at our disposal, the Zurita dump is a high fire risk due to exposure to high temperatures and strong winds, the Commission observed in its letter. At Zurita, which includes a waste treatment plant besides the dump proper, gulls gather to check out the spoils and three diggers rock perilously atop mountains of waste. There are 200,000 discarded tires here, but despite the European Commissions concern and request for information, local authorities insist the tires are not a hazard. Were told theres the odd fridge and a few chairs in there Margarita Perez, local resident Zurita has an enormous depression in the ground covering 67,000m2 called Cell 3 which has been filled with thousands of tires. For a decade, dumping untreated tires in this way has been illegal due to a number of components that make them environmentally problematic. In September 2014, the environmental wing of the Guardia Civil, the Seprona, warned Fuerteventura authorities that dumping tires at Zurita was illegal. And Brussels questions whether Zurita complies with European regulations aimed at preventing exactly the kind of fire that broke out in Sesena last week. Local authorities insist they are dealing with the problem, and that the reason the tires are there is because European regulations allow for their use as a foundation for other urban waste. Sign up for our newsletter EL PAIS English Edition has launched a weekly newsletter. Sign up today to receive a selection of our best stories in your inbox every Saturday morning. For full details about how to subscribe, click here. The tires, they say, are being arranged on top of a waterproof sheet to prevent contaminating the ground. These is turn will be covered with half a meter of soil, on top of which the islands other waste will be dumped. According to the head of the Fuerteventura government, Marcial Morales, these measures guarantee that there will be no contamination from the new waste. It will turn into an inert, innocuous mass with no environmental side effects. 200 tons of untreated tires The trouble is that there are still 200 tons of leftover tires that could not be used for this purpose, and which are scattered in piles across the plant. Authorities admit these tires are illegal, and have told the European Commission they will have them removed within the month. They also dismiss Brussels fears of another fire, pointing out that there are far fewer tires in Zurita than in Sesena. There is, they say, high security at Zurita 24-hour surveillance, security cameras and high fencing preventing the risk of intruders while the chances of a fire starting through natural causes are remote. Three kilometers from Zurita is La Mareta, a suburb of the islands capital. According to the mayor of Puerto del Rosario, Nicolas Gutierrez, the houses are far enough away if anything was to happen. His confidence is shared by others in the vicinity, such as Margarita Perez, 54, and her brother Marcial, 53. The possibility of the tires going up in flames and the smoke choking the neighborhood is not high on their list of concerns. They are much more worried about the streets getting paved and the new warehouses licensed. It is also true that they have no idea what is inside Zurita. Were told theres the odd fridge and a few chairs, Margarita says. English version by Heather Galloway. Connecticut lawmakers who advocate or oppose the legalization of marijuana plan to increase their efforts in anticipation of legislation next year. Legislation to legalize the recreational use of marijuana put forward this year failed to even garner a public hearing before the Judiciary Committee, but state Rep. Juan R. Candelaria, D-New Haven, organized his own hearing on the issue in April. Candelaria, who supports the legalization for recreational use, said he hopes a task force being put together by House Speaker J. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, will recommend ways to address concerns. You have to realize that its already being consumed you cant deny that, Candelaria said. Opponents, though, are also already preparing for next session, most notably the recent launch of the Governors Prevention Partnership Stop Pot CT campaign. While the campaign has had a social media presence since April, the partnership held a marijuana boot camp May 13 as its first public awareness event. Kevin Sabet, a drug policy researcher under the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations, was the keynote speaker at the event. He said the state shouldnt look at legalizing marijuana while battling with a spike in addiction to opioids. Its a bad idea because were wrestling with a regional drug crisis already, said Sabet, who formed the organization Smarter Approaches to Marijuana. For those on both sides of the issue, Colorados experience is a crucial part of the argument. Sabet pointed to Colorados top ranking for teenage consumption of marijuana, as well as reported upticks in driving under the influence infractions related to the drug and increased incidents of accidental consumption by minors. The effects of legalization permeate that city and that state dramatically, Sabet said of Colorado and its largest city, Denver. Lawmakers opposed to legalization said they share Sabets concerns. State Sen. Joe Markley, R-Southington, said he is specifically worried that legalizing marijuana would encourage more minors to consume the substance, even if age restrictions are set. The people who work with youths have really stressed how important it is not to give the message to youths that the substance is harmless, he said. Rep. Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford, said he was concerned that higher usage among teens will also further increase the states problem with heroin addiction. I just feel that we should be not a leader on this issue, but should be treading lightly, he said. Democrats also said they have reservations. State Rep. Mary M. Mushinsky, D-Wallingford, and state Rep. Hilda E. Santiago, D-Meriden, said they are both worried about people driving under the influence of marijuana, consumption by children, and regulating usage by people who operate heavy machinery. Mushinsky said she plans to gauge her constituents stance before next years legislative session, but also said Connecticut has the chance to learn from the experiences of Colorado and Washington. Fortunately, were not the first ones in line, she said, adding Connecticut does already have more regulations in place for medical marijuana than Colorado, which she compared to the wild west. Candelaria said he asked Sharkey to put together a task force to examine these very issues, agreeing that he wants legislation that actually works. He also said the task force should try to determine existing levels of teen usage and driving under the influence occurrences in Connecticut, as the perception of increases in Colorado could be the sign of poor tracking in the past. A federal study said Colorados top rank in 2014 for teen marijuana consumption was because its rate remained flat while those in the two states ahead of it dropped. Santiago, meanwhile, said lawmakers cant ignore the potential for additional tax revenue at a time when theyre looking at budget deficits in excess of $1 billion each year in fiscal years 2018 and 2019. My concern is how much money are we going to make and is it worth it, she said. Markley and Candelora both said the state shouldnt make the decision for fiscal reasons, warning that the social costs alone outweigh the benefits. For supporters, though, legalization is about more than just trying to provide an influx of money at a time when the states revenues are consistently falling short of projections. Candelaria said the legalization of marijuana could also undercut the black market and produce savings by eliminating arrests and prosecutions associated with marijuana. Rep. Matthew Lesser, D-Middletown, one of 10 lawmakers who co-introduced a marijuana legalization bill during this years legislative session, said it would free up resources for opioid addiction and other drugs that are putting our constituents in the morgue. Sabet agreed with the need for a reform on some of the stricter drug policies, but questioned whether legalizing what he called a dropout drug is the answer. We dont need to go from one extreme to the other, he said, and suggested the state instead focus more on substance abuse treatment and prevention. msavino@record-journal.com 203-317-2266 Twitter: @reporter_savino WALLINGFORD Montana, a Catahoula leopard dog, is available for adoption at Wallingford Animal Control. Three weeks ago, the dog was surrendered to the shelter by her previous owners who said she did not mix well with their other dog. At 3 years old, Montana knows her basic commands and plays well with other dogs and cats, according to staff at Wallingford Animal Control, 5 Pent Road. She previously lived at an in-home childcare facility, so Montana is excellent with children of all ages, staff said. Montana is gentle, playful and cautious of her surroundings. She enjoys playing fetch and basking in the warm sun. She is neutered and will soon be up to date on all her vaccinations. Shes a young, active dog and her new family will need to provide her with love and appropriate exercise, said Wallingford Animal Control Officer Katie Ehlers. For more information on Montana or any other adoptable animals, contact the Wallingford Animal Control facility at (203) 294-2180 or stop by during hours of operation. The facility is open between 1 and 5 p.m. on weekdays, and 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday. adavanzo@record-journal.com 203-317-2424 One of the first same-sex marriages held in Mexico City in March 2010. Eduardo Verdugo (ASSOCIATED PRESS) More information Pena Nieto propone legalizar el matrimonio gay en todo Mexico Mexico took another important step in the fight against discrimination this week after President Enrique Pena Nieto announced he will send a proposal to Congress to amend the Constitution to allow marriage between same-sex couples. The initiative would also require the Foreign Ministry to accept new birth certificates that reflect gender confirmation as valid forms of identification for the issuance of passports. The president made the announcement at an event held at Los Pinos, the presidential residence, to celebrate Mexicos National Day Against Homophobia, a holiday he created by decree on March 21, 2014. It seems simple for us to gather here in Los Pinos but we are turning the page on a new chapter, said Luis Perelman, an LGBTI activist who spoke at the event. Perelman, the president of the Mexican Federation of Sexual Education and Sexology, recalled how ingrained homophobia is in the country. Forty percent of Mexicans say they are not willing to share their home with a homosexual. It is one of the few [cases of] discrimination where family is the biggest enemy, he told the crowd. The government wants to reform Article Four of the Constitution, which guarantees the rights of the individual, to incorporate the Supreme Court June 2015 ruling that gay marriages are equivalent to marriage between heterosexuals. The Court thus legalized this kind of union and declared any law that forbids it unconstitutional. Several Mexican states, however, were reluctant to adapt to the ruling. We cannot have people in our country who have certain rights in some states but not in others, Pena Nieto said. It seems simple for us to gather here in Los Pinos but we are turning the page on a new chapter Luis Perelman, Mexican LGBTI activist Mexico will create an amendment to enshrine that right in its Constitution. I trust that once this change has been approved for the Federal Civil Code it will eventually be added to the civil codes of different federal states that do not yet have it, the president added. Gay marriage is legal in eight of Mexicos 32 states: Campeche, Coahuila, Quintana Roo, Jalisco, Nayarit, Chihuahua, Sonora and Mexico City. Campeche approved same-sex unions on May 11 with 34 votes in favor and just one against. The opposition was Adriana Avilez Avilez, a congresswoman from a leftist party who said: It goes against all of nature; we cant mix oil and water. Alexandra Haas, president of the National Council to Prevent Discrimination, said even though the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders 26 years ago, it remains a real disease that we have to eradicate. Pena Nieto has promised that the Ministries of Education and Interior will organize a nationwide campaign to raise awareness against this kind of prejudice. According to Alejandro Brito, executive director of the organization Letra S, there have been 1310 hate crimes committed in Mexico since 1995: 1021 against gays, 265 against transgender women and 24 against cisgender women. The president has also asked Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu to join 19 other UN countries in promoting the rights of homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people around the world. English version by Dyane Jean-Francois. Ever had a cocktail infused with smoke? Or a chocolate mousse with a Champagne foam? Sukeban, the new sushi restaurant and Champagne bar in Southtown, offers these and other interesting twists that make it stand out from other sushi spots. The sushi items are good, but the cocktails are worth a special visit. A Texas teen spent the majority of her high school years out of class and in cancer treatments, but her "infectious" personality was able to leave an enduring impact on her student body, who lined the streets of her funeral procession on May 19 to grant her final wish. Elissa Longoria, a 17-year-old junior at Carroll High School in Corpus Christi , died on May 10 following a 3-year battle against Ewings sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer. The teen's principal, Dr. Kelly Manlove, said the student was diagnosed as she started her freshman year. Though her illness limited time on campus, she maintained tight-knit friendships within the community especially in the school's Tiger Band in which she played the flute, Manlove said in a mySA.com interview on Friday. Most people dread connecting flights. But with a little planning, they can be turned into a vacation within a vacation. Thats how I treated a recent stopover in Dubai, home to one of the busiest airports in the world and some of the most fantastical human-made creations on the planet. Emirates airlines Dubai Connect program offers a hotel room and meals to passengers whose connections are between eight and 24 hours long, providing an easy (and free!) way to incorporate this sliver of the United Arab Emirates into your trip. (Be sure to check the programs stipulations; if a better connection is available, expenses might not be covered. Get the details at www.emirates.com.) Our 20 hours in Dubai wasnt nearly enough time to take it all in, but it was long enough to at least sample the city and stretch our legs en route to Thailand. 7 p.m.: Approaching Dubai from the sky shines a spotlight on the worlds tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, whose steel silkily spirals up toward the clouds. We landed in the early evening and headed straight for this iconic skyscraper that anchors an enormous mall and the 24-acre Burj Lake. There, the Dubai Fountain show choreographed by the same designers as the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas takes place nightly, every 30 minutes. Plenty of restaurants are dotted around the fountain; meander as long as jet lag allows. 8 a.m.: Begin the day where you left off at the 160-story Burj Khalifa, where tickets to the 124th floor observation deck start around $35. Its a good idea to buy a timed-entry ticket in advance at www.burjkhalifa.ae. If youre crunched for time but not for cash, spring for the roughly $82 fast-track ticket to skip the lines. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide a 360-degree view of the city, where buildings that look enormous from a cab seem middling from this lofty vantage point. Be sure to peer through the special telescopes that give you a glimpse of what the area looked like years ago. 10 a.m.: Depending on how long your visit to the Burj Khalifa takes, consider browsing the Souk Madinat Jumeirahs rows of lamps, handmade pottery and, yes, touristy-type trinkets. Its a convenient spot to pick up souvenirs and a beautiful box of baklava. Noon: The sail-shaped Burj Al Arab, a high-end hotel complex that includes nine bars and restaurants, is a Dubai landmark. If having a meal here is on your bucket list, dont count on just strolling in without a reservation. After we asked a confused cabbie to take us there, security unceremoniously turned us away. Oh well. It gave us extra time to explore. 1 p.m.: A short walk from the Burj Al Arab takes you to a public beach, where we found a hip, yellow cart selling iced coffee. On a blazing hot day, that beverage felt just as luxurious as a fancy meal. A sandy stroll showcased the spectrum of beachwear in Dubai, which ranged from burqas to the occasional swimsuit. From here, cabs are easy to hail for a ride back to your hotel, where a shuttle will whisk you to the airport. Emirates put us up in the Copthorne Hotel Dubai, which is also where delayed passengers can end up spending the night when the airline cancels an international flight and bungles the rebooking as this reporter learned the hard way on the return leg. Thats the downside of connecting flights. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate San Antonio Metropolitan Health District officials learned today that two more people in Bexar County are confirmed to have been infected with the Zika virus, bringing the total number of people diagnosed with the illness here to six. All six people acquired the virus while traveling abroad, Metro Health officials report. Nearly 40 cases have been reported statewide in a total of 12 counties, including Bexar, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. RELATED: Heavy storms pummeled South Central Texas Because of recent heavy rains, Metro Health officials are asking Bexar County residents to protect themselves by emptying and scrubbing any containers holding water, such as buckets, pet water bowls, birdbaths, swimming pool covers, trash cans, vases, flowerpot saucers and discarded tires. Thats because the Zika virus can be carried by the Aedes egypti mosquito, which is common in Southern states and accounts for some of San Antonios mosquito population. If water must be stored, Metro Health officials advise local residents to tightly cover those containers. Mosquito larvae have better chances of surviving if water is contaminated with organic materials such as grass, leaves or animal waste because those materials provide a food source. Residents can protect themselves outdoors by wearing long-sleeved shirts, long pants and socks during dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes tend to be most active. People outdoors should also apply insect repellent containing DEET or Picaridin to their exposed skin. Insect repellent should not be used on young infants, however. RELATED: Local officials ask for publics help in combating Zika At least 544 people in the continental United States have tested positive for the Zika virus so far, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Zika has been far more pervasive in countries south of the border, where it has been spread through bites from infected mosquitoes. This includes places like Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil. So far, no one in the continental U.S. has been infected through mosquito bites that occurred here, the CDC said. All 544 people were infected as a direct or indirect result of travel abroad. Ten of those people caught the virus through sexual contact with someone who had traveled outside the country, according to CDC reports. The Texas tally still lags far behind the number of Zika cases seen in several other states. In Florida, 122 cases have been confirmed. In New York state, at least 114 cases have been confirmed. RELATED: CDC changes method of counting pregnant women The virus is rarely fatal, but has raised alarm because of the risks it poses to pregnant womens unborn babies. In Brazil, the illness has been linked to a spike in the number of infants born with microcephaly, which causes underdeveloped brains. Four of five people infected by the virus wont show symptoms. Those who do usually exhibit only mild discomfort, such as rash, joint pain, aching muscles, headache, low-grade fever and red eyes. Those symptoms are usually gone in a week. pohare@express-news.net A man demonstrates his robotics arm at the DARPA open day. CARLOS BARRIA ((REUTERS)) More information El Pentagono imagina el futuro A 40-meter-long crewless ship, a seven-kilo satellite or a device the size of a cellphone that can detect a radioactive leak: theyre still at the planning stage but in a few years theyll be reality, as has happened already with weather satellites and the internet. The people behind these projects work for DARPA, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Created in 1958, DARPA has played a central role in driving research within the US armed forces. It came into being after the Soviet Union launched the first intercontinental ballistic missile and put the first satellite in space. DARPAs job was to make sure that the United States won the space race. And it did. Since then, the agency has prided itself on having made the United States a global leader in military technological innovation. With a $2.8 billion budget, its job is to recruit talent and finance research. Project leaders are hired for three to five years, which is shorter than other organizations. The tight time frame drives success, says DARPA. With a $2.8 billion budget, DARPA's job is to recruit talent and finance research Arati Prabhakar, DARPAs director, says her teams motivation is to make the impossible possible: They think about where the world is headed and how the security environment is changing. We arent guided by known requirements, but instead we think about what might be possible but surprising, out of the ordinary. DARPA has around 250 projects underway, some 60 of which it showcased at an open day for the Department of Defense community at the Pentagon on May 11. The most revolutionary and controversial projects are kept under wraps, but strolling round the central court of the Pentagon and looking at DARPAs work, its not hard to see where the future of military hardware is going. The collection also highlights the strength of the so-called military-industrial complex that former president Dwight Eisenhower warned about in 1961. The small town of Arlington, just across the Potomac from Washington and site of the countrys most famous military cemetery, is the capital of the military-industrial complex, and the place where many high-tech manufacturers are located besides DARPA. The agency is always on the lookout for companies to work on its projects, while at the same time convincing the military that it needs them. Sign up for our newsletter EL PAIS English Edition is launching a weekly newsletter. Sign up today to receive a selection of our best stories in your inbox every Saturday morning. For full details about how to subscribe, click here. DARPAs Scott Littlefield is manning a stand at the open day and explains how the crewless ship works. Its called the ACTUV and it was developed in 2012: two years later a deal was signed with the US Navy, and in June it begins two years of trials, controlled from a land base. Its main selling points are cost and safety. Each ship costs around $20 million, compared to the $1 billion for a conventional vessel of its size. Unlike drones, its not armed: its job is to carry out surveillance and detect mines and submarines. It allows us to take risks, to go to dangerous areas that we cant enter at the moment, says Littlefield. DARPA has saved lives. In 2013, it created 10 million vaccines against the H1N1 virus in a single month, when the normal time frame would have been nine months. But it has also been accused of involvement in a number of controversial projects. In The Pentagons Brain, journalist Annie Jacobsen details its activities in brainwashing, the use of the deadly defoliant Agent Orange, and in collecting private data. The agency is also a pioneer in research into artificial intelligence, and is also looking at how to build a brain as intelligent, conscious and creative as the human mind, writes Jacobsen. English version by Nick Lyne. BROWNSVILLE Authorities in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas have arrested two Rio Grande Valley men accused of kidnapping a third U.S. citizen and holding him for ransom in Mexico. The alleged kidnappers have been identified as 25-year-old Jordi Alejandro Gonzalez of Hidalgo and 18-year-old Jose Castillo Jr. of Brownsville. Mexican federal police stopped the two at a checkpoint in Matamoros, across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, on Wednesday, and in the vehicle was their alleged victim, a 28-year-old man from Texas. AUSTIN - Hillary Clinton was expected to raise more than $1.2 million in Texas Friday as the states beleaguered Democrats dreamed about a boost from her expected November faceoff against presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. You do the math. If 60 percent of the women in Texas arent supportive of Trump, and the polls say its higher than that, how does he win? asked former state Land Commissioner Garry Mauro, a state leader for Clintons campaign. Im an old, unreconstructed Texas Aggie. I learned to count. And if he cant do better than 40 percent of women he cant win. Its just simple math. So yeah, Id say Texas was in play, said Mauro. Its a heady thought for Democrats, who are outnumbered in the Legislature and last won election to statewide office in Texas in 1994 (one Republican statewide officeholder on the Court of Criminal Appeals switched parties to give Democrats one seat). While Clinton would have an uphill climb to pull off a Texas win, some Republicans were sounding the same message as they looked to capitalize on her visit. Gov. Greg Abbotts campaign director, John Jackson, for example, cited Clintons visit in a fundraising pitch. Her team knows that if we dont turn out the vote, Texas could be in play, and that would guarantee her a national victory. Dont let that happen. Its critical that we hold our ground in the Presidential election and all the way down the ballot, Jackson said by email, asking for contributions to our Conservative Victory Fund. The fate of Texas, and the nation rests in your hands, he wrote. Other Republicans expressed straightforward confidence. "Republican leadership continues to serve Texas well. We look forward to trouncing Texas Democrats up and down the ballot once again in November," said Republican Party of Texas spokesman Mike Joyce. The latest New York Times/CBS News national poll of registered voters found 60 percent of women have an unfavorable view of Trump. Almost as big a percentage of men viewed Clinton unfavorably. If the election were now, the poll found 47 percent support for Clinton and 41 percent for the billionaire Trump, whose comments about women and immigrants and unconventional political background have stirred controversy. Polling has been mixed on a match between Trump and Clintion, who still is working to formally nail down her nomination in the face of an unflagging challenge from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. A national Fox News poll of registered voters found Trump with lead of 45 percent to 42 percent over Clinton, which was within the surveys margin of error. An earlier CNN/ORC poll showed Clinton leading Trump 54 percent to 41 percent. Rice University political scientist Mark Jones said he didnt expect Clinton to pull off a Lone Star State victory. But he said that Trump is unlikely to have the typical 12- to 15-point cushion enjoyed by Republicans in Texas. "I suspect the gap is going to be relatively small," Jones said. That could have implications for races lower on the ballot if it reduces GOP turnout or cuts down on straight-ticket voting, leading to the possibility of Republicans failing to vote for every candidate down the ballot. The Clinton fundraisers also are a double-edged sword, however, since her campaign is expected to take the money raised here and spend it in more competitive states. Clintons campaign didnt provide a figure when asked how much she expected to raise at her events in Austin, Dallas and Houston. A source close to the campaign, however, said she was well over her target of about $400,000 per event. Its always the tough part for Texas Democrats, Jones said. You love having Hillary Clinton come, but you dont like that money flowing out of the state. pfikac@express-news.net Twitter: @pfikac This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STAMFORD A former city man deported after being convicted in 2012 for having sex with a 14-year-old girl was caught this week coming back across the Texas border. According to a federal complaint filed in the Southern District of Texas, Guatemalan native Mario Estrada, 36, was detained Tuesday by border patrol agents near La Grulla, Texas. Estrada told the agents he illegally re-entered the United States earlier that day near Rio Grande City, according to the complaint. RELATED: Affidavit: Man performed sex act on himself at Bibliotech library Border patrol agents realized Estrada was deported in 2014 through New Orleans after serving a prison sentence for the Stamford sexual assault. A 14-year-old Stamford girl reported to police in 2005 that Estrada had sex with her in a home. Estrada fled after hearing he was part of an investigation and was not found until December 2011, when he was arrested for drunken driving in Massachusetts. He pleaded guilty in 2012 to two counts of second-degree sexual assault and was sentenced to two and a half years in jail. This is what we are up against, said Stamford Lt. Diedrich Hohn, who supervises the unit that investigated the sexual assault case. Hohn said Estrada is not the first deportee to be caught back on U.S. soil. This was the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl, Hohn said. Our concern is that when these guys come back, they have the potential to re-terrorize their victims. jnickerson@scni.com; A blog post describing a possible abduction attempt at an area H-E-B store was so widely shared on social media that it drew an FBI investigation, which concluded it had not happened, an agency official said Thursday. We pro-actively went to find out if there was anything to this report because we had gotten so many calls, agency spokeswoman Michelle Lee said. But we thought it important to tell the public that there was no specific event that happened at that H-E-B and there was no reason to think there was a specific threat to children." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A man arrested in 2014 based on DNA evidence that linked him to a brutal slaying in 2008 has pleaded guilty to murder in the case. State District Judge Ray Olivarri sentenced Gilbert Rico on Wednesday to 50 years in prison for killing Roxanne Diaz, 24, on April 6, 2008, the Bexar County District Attorney's Office said Thursday. Diaz was found dead in a wooded field in the 3400 block of Magic Drive, sexually mutilated, her throat cut. Court records indicate that a test done after Diaz's death found DNA on her that did not belong to the woman. The case went cold, but in May 2014, Rico, 35, who was in prison in Beeville on an unrelated charge, was charged with capital murder in the death of Diaz, according to court records. In February 2014, the DNA found on Diaz's body was matched to that of Rico. A San Antonio homicide detective interviewed Rico, who denied ever knowing or having sex with Diaz, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. But another DNA test conducted in March 2014 found that Rico could not be excluded as the DNA source, court records show. To prove a capital murder, the state must show a murder while in the course of committing another felony, in this case, a sexual assault, the DA's office said in a prepared statement. Based on the evidence, the sex in this case is arguably consensual. Any time we make a decision regarding a plea agreement, we base it on the strength of the evidence and a just result. This case supports murder, but a capital murder is questionable. We feel 50 years was an appropriate sentence. ezavala@express-news.net Twitter: @elizabeth2863 A team of firefighters that would respond to an active-shooter situation will be outfitted with protective gear to prevent injuries while incidents are still unfolding. The City Council on Thursday approved an expenditure for $118,488 to purchase ballistic helmets and bullet-proof vests for the Fire Departments technical rescue team and Medical Special Operations Unit. The gear will make ready the squad assigned with rescuing victims during an active-shooter situation, Fire Chief Charles Hood said in an interview. The personnel have already been through training, including with the FBI, and the Fire Department and Police Department are coordinating so emergency medical personnel can access victims before the proverbial smoke has cleared. SAN ANTONIO Police arrested and charged a 59-year-old man with murder after his wife was shot and killed early Friday morning on the Northeast Side. George Chapple was arrested on a first-degree felony charge of murder hours after authorities found his 60-year-old wife, who has not been publicly named, suffering from a gunshot wound, according to a news release issued Friday morning. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A man police say tried to kill himself after allegedly fatally shooting his wife will face a murder charge if he recovers. Gabriel Martinez, 35, who is at University Hospital, was to be booked by proxy, according to preliminary information from a San Antonio Police Department report. His bail was to be set at $150,000, police noted. Martinez and his wife were taken to the hospital in critical condition after the shooting at about 9:30 p.m. in the 7000 block of Myrtle Valley Street, according to the report. Police said Martinez shot her three times with a rifle before shooting himself in the abdomen, the report said. At the time police filed their report, Martinez was still in critical condition and in surgery. The 35-year-old woman, whose name has not been released by the Bexar County Medical Examiner pending notification of relatives, was pronounced dead Wednesday night shortly after being taken to the hospital. Neighbor Henry Smith told reporters Wednesday night that Martinez was a father of three who was friendly to everyone in the neighborhood. They're really good people, Smith said. (His wife) was a nice girl and Gabe's a nice guy. Smith recalled that Martinezes had lived there since about 2005. He added that Martinez and his wife were high school sweethearts with three children. He was struggling and she dealt with it, Smith said, noting he recently landed a job with a construction company. He finally started putting his life together and she was leaving him. Other neighbors said they heard a shot, but that it wasnt out of the ordinary to hear gunfire. Smith thought he heard a gunshot from a program he was watching, but didnt realize the sound was coming from outside until another neighbor knocked at his door. jbeltran@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A North Texas teenager who was 13 when he fatally shot his 12-year-old girlfriend's parents and celebrated with sex will be paroled when he turns 19 in June, according to a news report. RELATED: Fitness trainer got 'creepy' LinkedIn message before she was killed at North Texas church The Dallas Morning News reported that a district judge ruled Wednesday that the teen who has not been identified publicly because he was a minor at the time of the crime will serve up to a year on supervised release before moving on to adult parole until August 2038. The boy and girl were sentenced to 28 years and 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of capital murder in the Aug. 17, 2010 killing of Alan and Darlene Nevil at their home in Garland. "Five years? For capital murder?" Alan Nevil's son, Alan Jr., shouted as he left the courtroom, according to the newspaper. "My kids are still suffering. My brother is still suffering and it's not right," Susan Nevil told Fox 4 while showing her father's ashes. "He gets to sit next to his mom. He gets to see his mom. And my dad is in a box. This is how my kids get to visit their grandfather. And it's just not right." RELATED: Judson High recalls yearbooks with ex-'teacher of the year' accused of hosting teen sex parties Though the boy pulled the trigger, the girl plotted the death of her mother and stepfather and bragged that she could manipulate the boy because she was smarter than him, Garland police detective Bruce Marshall testified. "Her parents had grounded her to where she couldn't see [the boy]," Marshall said, according to the newspaper. "And she told me, 'The final straw, Detective Marshall, is when they took away my coloring books. I knew they had to die.'" That manipulation included lying to the boy to coerce him into killing her parents. "She told [the boy] she was pregnant and that Alan Nevil tried to sexually abuse her," Marshall testified. The boy shot Darlene Nevil twice in the back and head, then waited for Alan Nevil, shooting him five times, according to the newspaper. Alan Nevil escaped through a window, the Dallas Morning News reported. Garland police found him on a neighbor's front yard and he managed to identify his attacker before he slipped into a coma for 16 days and died, The Associated Press reported. The Dallas Morning News reported that the boy and girl were found at an apartment where the boy lived having celebratory sex. RELATED: Police: Mom of Central Texas teen charged with sexually assaulting children knew of son's conduct The boy, though he had 64 incidents while in custody of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, has owned up to his responsibility in the killings and has matured while in custody, officials have testified. "He better make it right," Charlotte Nevil, Alan Nevil's sister-in-law, told The Dallas Morning News. "He's got this second chance. He needs to do right." jfechter@express-news.net Twitter: @JFreports More information Animal rights party denounces cruelty against calf in town fiestas A Mexican bullfighter who was badly injured on May 2 is asking doctors to let him die. At age 64, Rodolfo Rodriguez, better known as El Pana, holds the record for the most years inside Mexicos bullrings. But his 28-year career came to an end in Durango, where a bull named Pan de Azucar caught him between its horns and sent him flying in the air. He landed head first, severely damaging his spinal cord. I come from a time when you wanted to fight bulls so you could buy your mother a house; now kids want to sell their mothers house so they can be toreros El Pana As a result of the spill, Rodriguez is now a quadraplegic who requires artificial ventilation. Since the accident, he has been lying on a bed at the intensive care unit of the Guadalajara Civil Hospital. The damage is irreversible, there is no possible cure, said hospital director Francisco Martin Preciado Figueroa. Rodriguez, who can still move his lips and whisper, has expressed his final wish: Doctor, let me die. Sign up for our newsletter EL PAIS English Edition has launched a weekly newsletter. Sign up today to receive a selection of our best stories in your inbox every Saturday morning. For full details about how to subscribe, click here. His physicians know that the bullfighters hold on life is tenuous. We will use ethical criteria and not act beyond what is necessary, said Preciado about prolonging Rodriguezs life unnecessarily. It is very possible that situations will unfold that fulfil his wish. Right now, his life expectancy is measured by [doctors] shifts. El Panas career was marked by derision. His excessive posturing, his phony Andalusian accent and his oversized Cuban cigars made him a favorite target of bullfighting purists, and he was systematically kept out of the more prestigious rings. He wanted to be a star, but never stopped being human. The son of a murdered judicial police officer, he worked variously as a sweets salesman, an undertaker and a baker before taking up the bullfighters cape. I come from a time when you wanted to fight bulls so you could buy your mother a house; now kids want to sell their mothers house so they can be toreros, he once asserted. His bravado and alcohol addiction sent him to the brink of retirement on several occasions. His greatest moment of fame came on January 2, 2007, during one of his false retirements, when he addressed the crowd at Mexicos famous Monumental ring with a long, rhetorical tribute to the damsels, princesses and whores who quenched my thirst and relieved my hunger and gave me protection and warmth in their breasts and thighs, and provided company to my loneliness. English version by Susana Urra. A North Texas teenager has been charged with capital murder for allegedly shooting his 3-year-old stepson while trying to stop him from jumping on the bed. RELATED: Texas sees recent rash of prominent child abuse, child killing cases Clay County Sheriff's deputies arrested George Coty Wayman, 18, and charged him Wednesday with capital murder, a first-degree felony that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison upon conviction. Sheriff Kenny Lemons told The Associated Press that several people were at the travel trailer where the family lived near Vashti, about 100 miles northwest of downtown Dallas, when Wayman allegedly shot 3-year-old Dominic Tra'Juan Castro on Tuesday. RELATED: Police: Mom of Central Texas teen charged with sexually assaulting children knew of son's conduct Wayman apparently pointed the gun at the boy to make him stop jumping on the bed, Lemons told The Associated Press. Castro died Wednesday at a hospital in Wichita Falls, according to the Associated Press. RELATED: Texas teen who killed girlfriend's parents, celebrated with sex to be released after 5 years in jail Wayman is being held in Clay County Jail on bonds exceeding $500,000, online records show. jfechter@mySA.com Twitter: @JFreports This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A 26-year-old Odessa woman allegedly fired a handgun at her 64-year-old grandmother during an altercation on Thursday, according to police. Kimberly Ann Nieto was arrested Thursday on a second-degree felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The incident occurred around 8:20 a.m. in the 1400 block of South Alleghaney Avenue in Odessa. Police said Nieto arrived at the residence, exited her vehicle and pointed a handgun at her grandmother. She allegedly fired two rounds toward the woman, however, no bullets hit her or the 9-year-old girl who was also present. At some point during the incident, Nieto struck the grandmother with an open hand, according to the arrest affidavit and a news release issued by the Odessa Police Department. Nieto then fled the area with the child in a vehicle before officers arrived at the scene, the affidavit said. She was later found at another residence, where she was involved in a standoff with police for at least two hours, said OPD spokesman Steve LeSueur. Nieto surrendered without incident at 11:08 a.m. Thursday. If convicted, Nieto faces up to 20 years in prison. twhite@mysa.com Twitter: @tylerlwhite This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN ANTONIO A 24-year-old Schertz man was arrested Thursday night for allegedly trying to kidnap a 14-year-old girl in an H-E-B parking lot, police said. Zachary William Schultz is being held on a $100,000 bond at the Guadalupe County Jail on a first-degree felony charge of aggravated kidnapping, according to online court records. RELATED: FBI says reported abduction attempt at H-E-B didn't happen The incident occurred at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot of an H-E-B located at 17460 IH-35 North. Police said Schultz was unsuccessful in kidnapping the girl, who did not know the man and was not injured in the incident. The suspect quickly fled the scene in a vehicle, according to the Schertz Police Department. MORE: Bexar Sheriff: 10-year-old girl files fake kidnapping report, expected to face charges Officers were able to quickly locate Schultz, but further details regarding the incident were not immediately available. Lt. John C. Correu said in an interview with mySA.com that investigators were unable to determine the man's motive for the alleged kidnapping. RELATED: Feds: Fugitive Texas elementary teacher tied to hit men, drug running and kidnapping "We have no idea why he tried," Correu said. The incident occurred hours after an unrelated report of an attempted abduction at an area H-E-B written by a local mom in a now-viral blog post was discredited by FBI. The agency released a statement Thursday afternoon saying they "found no evidence that the (blogged about) attempted abduction took place." Katy Corrigan, a marketing manager at a local law firm, posted the account that recalled a young, dirty couple appearing from out of nowhere touching her daughters head and separating her from me and my other two kids. They were ushering her into the parking lot. The manager tried to go find them, but they were gone. A San Antonio Police Department spokesman earlier Thursday said he could find no report of an abduction attempt. The Alamo Heights Police Department released a statement saying the H-E-B in question was not in Alamo Heights. An H-E-B spokeswoman declined comment. twhite@mysa.com Twitter: @tylerlwhite This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate An Odessa man faces a felony drunken driving charge after crashing his pickup truck right outside of Odessa police headquarters on Monday. RELATED: North Texas teen accused of fatally shooting 3-year-old stepson to stop him from jumping on bed Odessa police arrested Jesus Alvarez Muro, 60, late Monday night and charged him with driving while intoxicated third or more, a third degree felony that carries a maximum possible 10-year prison sentence. Officers responded to the three-vehicle crash at the intersection of 2nd St. and Grant Ave. in Odessa just after 11:30 p.m. Monday, according to an Odessa Police Department news release. Investigators found that Muro, behind the wheel of a 2005 Chevrolet Avalanche, had caused the crash, the release said. Muro and three others were hospitalized in the crash. RELATED: Texas teen who killed girlfriend's parents, celebrated with sex to be released after 5 years in jail Muro was booked for driving while intoxicated, but police found that Muro had six prior convictions on driving while intoxicated charges. That bumped the charge up to a third-degree felony. RELATED: Report: Mexico man sentenced to 8 years for killing friend, feeding his penis to dog Muro has been released from the Ector County Detention Center on bonds totaling $15,500, The Odessa American reported. jfechter@mySA.com Twitter: @JFreports The handicrafted bookshelves are filled and the hand-lettered signs are up, and there is a slight lingering fresh paint smell. The public reception of Dead Tree Books, the South Sides only bookstore, has been good during its first six weeks. Its starting to establish a steady clientele of repeat customers. The store, which sells used books for a set price, opened for business on April 1 at 5645 S. Flores, at the intersection of S. Flores Street and E. Southcross Boulevard. Theres a comfy sofa to flop down on to review potential purchases and a corner area with low shelves crammed with childrens books filled for the youngest customer to shop. Independent booksellers are rare. More often we find them closing down rather than starting up, but that did not deter husband and wife, Kenny and Lisa Johnson, from taking their lifelong love of books to the next level. Armed with a 12-month lease for the site of a former dry cleaners, the couple launched the effort to get the space ready for business in January. There has been a lot of on-the-job learning for the novice business owners. There was a slight delay in the work early on when the fledgling entrepreneurs learned they needed an occupancy permit from the city before they could even begin the interior remodeling. Much of the initial inventory came from books they had collected over the years while harboring a dream to own their own bookstore. After the on-hand books went on display, they still had empty shelf space and purchased books by-the-length from vendors who sell books by volume rather than by content. Soon the Johnsons found themselves with a big inventory of romance novels. They immediately went into a clearance bin, but even at 10 cents a copy, there are few buyers. Classics have proven to be the most popular, and there are plans to devote more shelf space to them. During a recent visit, a 20-something wondered in for a copy of a book on haunted San Antonio locales that Kenny had tracked down for him. A while later, a mom walked in with her teenage daughter to show her the bookstore she had discovered. Before they left, the daughter asked whether the Johnsons could hold a $3 hardback on Marilyn Monroe for her until payday later in the week. I wish the Johnsons all the success in the world for the sake of all the bibliophiles on the South Side and those who dont yet know they are bibliophiles. Books can change life. A love of reading encourages lifelong learning. It is hard to imagine homes that dont have books, but there are many in our community that dont. It is even more troubling that residents on the citys South Side have had to travel miles to get to the nearest bookstore. South Side residents like having access to books. Two of the citys public libraries located on the South Side rank in the top 10 among the citys 28 libraries when it comes to patron visits. Unfortunately, when it comes to expanding into a new area retailers look at demographics, income and spending levels as part of their market research, and those statistics have worked against the South Side. The community worked hard in the 1990s to bring attention to their book desert. In 2004, Waldenbooks opened a store at South Park Mall. It remained in operation for only six years before the popular store became a casualty of the national economic downturn. Perhaps, a successful used bookseller, expansion of the new Texas A&M San Antonio, and the continued economic growth on the South Side eventually will draw the attention of another national book retailer. gpadilla@express-news.net Barack Obama plans to raise as much as $1 billion to build his presidential library in Chicago. I hope he puts in a deportation wing. It could be installed on the right side of the structure since, as president, Obama has approached the immigration issue like a right-winger. In the latest example, the Department of Homeland Security recently announced that the administration is planning, over the next 30 days, a series of raids and a surge of arrests that could lead to the deportation of thousands of people from Central America. These are the desperate souls who streamed across the U.S.-Mexico border and into Texas in the summer of 2014. About 80,000 arrived, mainly women and children. They mostly came from three countries: Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. At the time, many of these people were turned around and sent home often back into harms way. Others were locked up indefinitely in detention facilities, without access to legal counsel or a hearing to assess whether they had a legitimate claim to asylum. And a third group of arrivals was processed by immigration officials and released into the care of family members who lived in the United States, with a notice to appear before an immigration judge and an admonition to await further instructions. This catch-and-release system was totally chaotic. Immigration officials tried to contact people with their date to appear and the location of the court, but the notices often went to unreliable addresses. People moved around the country, passed from one relative to another. Others were reached by officials and told to appear in the next few days, before a court hundreds of miles away in another state. Thousands of people were found guilty in absentia of being in the country illegally. Those are the folks that the Obama administration now intends to round up and send home, with a deportation force that would make Donald Trump proud. They came unannounced, as refugees typically do. But they were invited. Their invitation is engraved on the base of the Statue of Liberty, and its addressed to your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free. The freedom that this particular group of refugees yearned for was to be free from civil unrest and marauding gangs of violent youth in Central America that raped young girls, terrorized families and murdered teenagers who resisted being recruited into their ranks. On second thought, calling Obama a right-winger on immigration is unfair to right-wingers. Plenty of conservatives want to give the undocumented legal status. Not because conservatives like illegal immigrants, but because business likes illegal immigrants and they want to please business. Obama lives in the protectionist faction of the Democratic Party. In 2008, during a debate in Los Angeles, against primary opponent Hillary Clinton, the then-senator from Illinois began his answer to a question about immigration by expressing concern that employers might hire immigrants instead of Americans. The presidents anti-immigrant credentials are well-established. He broke his promise to make immigration reform a top priority, deported nearly 3 million people, divided hundreds of thousands of families, dumped into foster care tens of thousands of U.S.-born children whose parents got deported, pushed back for three years against immigration reformers who asked that he use executive power to halt deportations, claimed that only criminals were being deported, and then tried to cover his tracks by blaming Republicans for the evil that his administration had done. Now Obama is getting ready to deport a bunch of refugees from Central America, just a year after he made the case to the nation that we should take in refugees from Syria. Come to think of it. One wing in the library wont be enough. To do justice to Obamas immigration legacy, theyll need an entire Hall of Shame. ruben@rubennavarrette.com This may surprise Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, but transgendered Texans have been using the bathrooms of their choice for a long time. So how many assaults of innocent girls has this resulted in? The Charlotte Observer, in the overheated state of North Carolina, recently conducted a thorough PolitiFact investigation into the question. The study noted that the entire state of Maryland and a long list of cities around the nation have had nondiscrimination laws in effect for years permitting transgendered men and women to use the bathrooms in which they are the most comfortable. Not mentioned was that fact that many transgendered persons do so in states, like Texas, that have no laws covering the question. The Observer found three cases in the past 17 years in the entire nation in which a biological male was convicted of a crime involving entering a womens bathroom or locker room dressed in womens clothing. None of the cases occurred in a state or city with a law allowing transgendered persons to use the restrooms of their choice. And none of the crimes involved sexual assault. One of the men punched a woman in the bathroom in the course of a barroom brawl. One exposed himself in a Walmart bathroom. And one committed trespass for entering a womans restroom in Oregon and attempting to talk to children. Its not clear if any of the men considered themselves transsexual. I think three inferences are appropriate. The first is that transgendered people are not by nature sexual predators. The second is that there is no indication that actual sexual predators are using nondiscrimination laws to invade womens restrooms. The third is that we already have appropriate laws if we choose to use them. The most notorious case of restroom assault in San Antonio history makes that point. In 1978, a 15-year-old up-and-coming Golden Gloves champion boxer named Tony Ayala didnt bother to put on a dress when he snuck into the ladies room at Mission Drive-in Theater and attempted to rape a girl. She fought and suffered terrible consequences: a beating so severe that it ruptured her bladder and bruised her kidneys. Ayala pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, with a possible sentence of 10 years. But Bill White, the now-deceased district attorney, agreed to repeated delays in sentencing while Ayalas lawyers tried to buy the girls agreement to probation. She at first testified she would rather see Ayala go to prison than take his familys money. The case dragged on for nearly two years before the girl wept on the stand before asking for leniency for Ayala while prosecutors stood silent. She was paid $40,000 for her pain and suffering. The judge agreed to 10 years probation, but within two years Ayala was caught breaking into an apartment, apparently looking for a female who wasnt home. Again the judge, with the DAs assent, allowed Ayalas lawyers time to induce the apartment dweller to agree to a plea deal. Unbelievably, the judge didnt revoke Ayalas probation and send him to prison. Instead he merely added a condition. Ayala had to stay out of Texas. As a result a schoolteacher in New Jersey was brutally raped and sodomized by Ayala in her home. Without the Texas good old boys watching his back, Ayala was sentenced to 35 years, serving 16. So we dont need more laws to protect women and children. The laws are there. But it is politically much more profitable to play to irrational fears of people who are not like us than to take on the things that are truly scary. Such as the fact that 171 children died in Texas last year of abuse or neglect clearly related to a Child Protective Services and foster care system overwhelmed by more than 108,000 cases of reported abuse. Working on that very real problem would require hard work and the political courage to find funding. Fostering fear is much easier and cheaper. This column first appeared as the Last Word on KLRNs Texas Week with Rick Casey. The program appears Friday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan Google Ad Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol Armenia and Azerbaijan to do so without delay An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan". UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022 Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully Google Ad The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh USA Embassy Message for U.S. Citizens ANCA Issues National Call to Action to Stop Taxpayer Funding of Aliyevs Aggression Among the abundant ironies of this election cycle, there is this: We are now in the eighth year of the most liberal administration since Lyndon Johnsons. The primary elections reveal a national mood of anxiety, apprehension and anger, in turn reflecting stagnation at home and failure abroad. Two-thirds of Americans think the country is on the wrong track. Yet after nearly two terms of Barack Obamas corrosively unsuccessful liberalism both parties have decisively moved left. Hillary Clinton cannot put away a heretofore marginal, self-declared socialist. He has forced her into leftward genuflections on everything from trade to national health care. At the same time, Bernie Sanders has created a remarkably resilient insurgency calling for after Obama, mind you a political revolution of the left. The Republicans ideological about-face is even more pronounced. Theyve chosen as their leader a nationalist populist who hardly bothers to pretend any allegiance to conservatism. Indeed, Donald Trump is, like Sanders, running to the left of Clinton on a host of major issues including trade, Wall Street, NATO and interventionism. It turns out that the ultimate general election question is not where Cruz or Rubio or Kasich supporters are going almost all seem to be making their tortuous way to Trump but where do Bernie Sanders supporters go? Most will, of course, go to Hillary. Some will stay home. But Trump is making a not-so-subtle pitch to those Democrats and independents who gave Sanders his victories in the industrial Midwest. The Trump and Sanders constituencies share one stark characteristic: They are both overwhelmingly white. In the Rust Belt, the appeal is to middle- and working-class voters who have suffered economic and social dislocation. The question is whether Trump can win a sufficient number of those voters, erstwhile Reagan Democrats, to flip just a few states that, like Michigan and Pennsylvania, have gone Democratic for the last six elections. Which is why Clinton is treating Sanders so (relatively) gently. She wants to be rid of him but cannot alienate his constituency especially after the ruckus made by his supporters at the Nevada state convention and after his string of recent victories. Normally, endorsements dont matter in American politics. But the Sanders constituency is substantial and very loyal. And rather angry now as they can see the Clinton machine winning the nomination through superdelegates. She needs his blessing and active support in the general election. At the very least, she needs him to warn his followers away from a Trump temptation. That, after all, is Trumps path to victory: Add a few industrial blue states to the traditional must-win swing states Ohio and Florida, most obviously and pull off an Electoral College win. The Clinton counterstrategy is based on the global demographics. Trumps unfavorable numbers are impressive: 79 percent among Hispanics, 73 percent among nonwhites, 72 percent among young people, 64 percent among women, 57 percent in the general population. Which is the more compelling scenario? Right now, Clinton has the distinct advantage. Flipping reliably Democratic states, as well as lowering Trumps high negatives, are both very difficult. But theres one wild card: events unforeseen, unforeseeable, yet near inevitable. We are highly unlikely to go the next six months without a significant crisis. In September 2008, the financial collapse cemented Obamas victory when he, the novice, reacted far more calmly and steadily than did John McCain, the veteran. This time around, Trump reacted to the terror attack in San Bernardino with a nakedly nativist, shamelessly demagogic, yet politically shrewd call for (temporarily, allegedly) banning all Muslims from entering the U.S. Roundly denounced by Democrats and leading Republicans alike, Trump watched his poll numbers go through the roof. Turns out that GOP voters supported the ban, 2 to 1. A candidate with the tactical acuity to successfully deploy such breathtaking, bigotry-tinged cynicism is not to be trifled with. Under normal circumstances, Clinton wins. But if the fire alarm goes off between now and Election Day, all bets are off. Clinton had better be ready. Trump has shown that he will be. letters@charleskrauthammer.com Its a fact. Some prescription drugs in the United States are overpriced compared to what they sell for in other countries. This means inability to secure these for those without means and higher prices. For sufferers of such maladies as cancer, HIV and diabetes, this is a particularly crucial issue. This argues for something that the three remaining presidential candidates two Democrats and a Republican say they favor. That would be allowing Medicare, whose share of U.S. drug expenditures is nearing 29 percent, to use that leverage to negotiate lower drug prices. We have our doubts about another tack, however. This one is advocated by Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-San Antonio. He wants the federal government, principally the National Institutes of Health, to exercise march-in rights to break patents developed with taxpayer assistance. The government would then license the product to other companies. Bill Lambrecht, of the Hearst Newspapers Washington D.C. bureau, reported on the push recently. Our doubts about this particular tactic centers on root causes among them, the U.S. health delivery system helps make things too expensive and on a better solution that will affect more drugs. Being responsible for such a large share of the drug expenditures, Medicare, Medicaid and the Department of Veterans Affairs could drive prices down more effectively. Congress barred Medicare from doing this when it approved the programs prescription drug benefit about a decade ago, Lambrecht explained. But what is barred can be unbarred. Congress should follow the lead of whoever occupies the White House in 2017 in this regard. We understand the frustration. The Kaiser Foundation says that about one-fourth of Americans who take prescription drugs say they have trouble paying for them, Lambrecht reported. The march-in rights were created in the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980. They allow the federal intrusion on drug and device patents when the public safety is threatened or when useful patents are not carried out. Whats novel here is that this push by Democrats has targeted a Democratic Administration, which has come under fire by the GOP for allegedly overusing its executive authority. Our view, however, is that this is a matter best settled in Congress by allowing federal health programs to drive down drug prices through negotiation and by attacking those root causes of high U.S. health costs generally. With remaining presidential candidates generally in favor, more patience is best. John Davenport /San Antonio Express-News City Council on Thursday voted to allow local hairstylist Andrew Guerra to operate his salon on a residentially zoned property in Mahncke Park. The councils decision goes against the wishes of the vocal and well-organized Mahncke Park Neighborhood Association, whose members are concerned about businesses encroaching into their residential neighborhood. Guerra bought the property, at 143 Perry Court, in June of last year and started cutting hair there despite not having the proper zoning. Chilean Chamber of Deputies urges sides to maintain ceasefire The Chamber of Deputies (parliament) of Chile issued a historic resolution passed unanimously that condemns the armed attack of Azerbaijan against the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. Below is the complete text of the resolution. Whereas: 1. That on the night of 1 to 2 of last April, ground forces and air of the Republic of Azerbaijan conducted a large-scale attack on the border with the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, with heavy artillery and last generation missiles. 2. That this aggression represents the most flagrant violation of the Ceasefire Agreement signed by both countries in May 1994 and a breach of UN rules on Pacific Settlement of Disputes. 3. Faced with this new escalation of violence that has already claimed numerous civilian and military casualties victims, Chile condemns the aggression, calls for the cessation of military operations and the continuation of the peace negotiations within the framework of the Minsk Group, whose co-presidents are the United States, Russia and France, sponsored by the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). 4. That the international community and the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh argue that the conflict, which has more than two decades, can only be solved by peaceful means and respecting the rules of international law and the right of self-determination of its people. The Chamber of Deputies of Chile Resolves: 1. Reaffirms its commitment to peace and urges the Republic of Azerbaijan for the immediate cessation of all acts of war against the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh and the strict observance of the truce signed by both countries in 1994 2. Requests the Government of Chile to urge the parties to circumscribe the conflict settlement within the framework of the negotiations held in the Minsk Group, and thus avoiding a regional explosion with unpredictable consequences. The Chilean Chamber of Deputies reaffirms its commitment to peace and urges the Republic of Azerbaijan for the immediate cessation of all acts of war against the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and the strict observance of the truce signed by both countries in 1994 and requests the Government of Chile to urge the parties to circumscribe the conflict settlement within the framework of the negotiations held in the Minsk Group, and thus avoiding a regional explosion with unpredictable consequences. WASHINGTON Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee adopted changes to its Fiscal Year 2017 Agriculture Appropriations Bill to ensure convenience stores and other small format retailers can continue participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The language was included in an uncontroversial managers amendment (which refers to an amendment containing a number of individual amendments to a piece of legislation) offered by Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran (R-KS). The committee adopted it by voice vote. Moran championed the language, which would prevent the Food & Nutrition Service (FNS) from using any funds to finalize specific parts of the agencys problematic proposed rule that would push tens of thousands of c-stores out of SNAP. The managers amendment passed without any objection, sending a clear signal to FNS that members from both sides of the aisle recognize problems with the proposed rule that need to be corrected. The language addresses several of the troublesome provisions in the FNS proposal. It would prevent FNS from using funds to: tie a retailers SNAP eligibility to their percentage of heated or cooked food sales; change the definition of staple food to exclude foods with multiple ingredients; expand the definition of accessory foods; and establish a minimum number of stocking requirements for each staple food requirement. The House Appropriations Committee passed similar language last month that would preclude FNS from finalizing or implementing its rule beyond the requirements in the 2014 Farm Bill, which NACS supported. Through extensive lobbying and grassroots efforts, NACS has raised the industrys concerns with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Members of Congress are weighing in with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) about the proposed rule and the negative impact it will have on their constituencies who depend on small format retailers. The Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to USDA, as did 161 members of the House of Representatives. In its coverage of the Appropriations Committee vote, CQ/Roll Call reported that convenience stores and similar non-grocery stores have proven to be effective lobbyists in getting lawmakers to push back against the USDAs effort to broaden the kind of foods available to low-income people receiving food aid through SNAP. The store groups argue that the requirement for larger inventory is costly and impractical for many of them. The retailers say stores will close or leave the SNAP program, forcing low-income people to travel further for food. On Monday, more than 160 House members of both parties sent Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack a letter urging modifications to the rule. Although the ill-advised SNAP regulations are in trouble, the battle is not quite over. The House and Senate Fiscal Year 2017 Agriculture Appropriations bills now await consideration by the full House and Senate. If the bills pass their respective chambers, they will go to conference before a final bill will be sent to the president. By Roger Bybee, a Milwaukee-based writer and activist who teaches Labor Studies at the University of Illinois. This is the second article in a three-part series, originally published in the May/June issue of Dollars & Sense. You can find part one here. Why Inversions? The crucial motive in transferring corporations nationality and official headquarters to low-tax nations is that inversions shield the foreign profits of U.S. corporations from federal taxation and ease access to these assets. This protects total U.S. corporate profits held outside the United Statesa stunning $2.1 trillionfrom any U.S. corporate taxes until they are repatriated back to the United States. Major corporations benefit hugely from the infinite deferral of taxes purportedly generated by their foreign subsidiaries. If you are a multinational corporation, the federal government turns your tax bill into an interest-free loan, wrote David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer-Prize winning writer and author of two books on corporate tax avoidance. Thanks to this deferral, he explained, Apple and General Electric owe at least $36 billion in taxes on profits being held tax-free offshore, Microsoft nearly $27 billion, and Pfizer $24 billion. Nonetheless, top CEOs and their political allies constantly reiterate the claim that the U.S. tax system traps U.S. corporate profits overseas and thereby block domestic investment of these funds. But these offshore corporate funds are anything but trapped outside the United States. The [typical multinational] firm chooses to keep the earnings offshore simply because it does not want to pay the U.S. income taxes it owes, explains Thomas Hungerford of the Economic Policy Institute. This is a very strange definition of trapped. In fact, these offshore profits can be, and are, routed back into the United States through the use of tax havens. (Tax havens, where corporations and super-rich individuals place an estimated $7.6 trillion, were thrust into the international spotlight with the recent release of the Panama Papers. See William K. Black, Business Press Spins Elite Tax Fraud as Good News, p. 5.) Overseas profits are neither overseas nor trapped, explained Kitty Rogers and John Craig. It is true that for accounting purposes, multinational corporations keep these dollars off of their U.S. books. But in the real world, the money is often deposited in U.S. banks, circulating in the U.S. However, the overseas profits come with some significant constraints on their use, pointed out David Cay Johnston. The funds can only be accessed for short-term loans back to the U.S., and are not useful for major investments like new factories or long term R&D, or for investment outside the U.S., said Johnston. But inversions eliminate these restrictions on how such funds can be used. By inverting and then using a variety of tax avoidance schemes, the firms can have access to these earnings virtually free of U.S. taxes, notes Hungerford. This is undoubtedly the primary motivation to invert. The inversion route is not the only means for U.S. corporations to radically slash their U.S. taxes and gain access to offshore earnings. Any particular companys tax-avoidance strategy is dependent on the specific conditions it faces. As tax expert Johnston notes, Every company has its own unique issues so it will decide what works for it. Some giant multinational corporations, like Apple, Microsoft, and Google, have chosen to bypass inverting. Instead, they utilize immensely complex shifts of their revenue to minimize their taxes and maintain access to their offshore earnings. These maneuvers have gained exotic names like Double Dutch Irish Sandwich, reflecting the multiple transfers of capital that they employ. The corporations involved are able to avoid the public backlash brought on by jettisoning their U.S. nationality. On the other hand, such ploys require careful planning and execution, compared to the simple, direct step of inverting. Corporate inversions also head off the possibility of higher rates being imposed in the United States, an idea with very broad public support as shown by polling. But in addition to the vast political resources that corporations bring to any fight in Congress on corporate taxes, inversions remind U.S. public officials that their policies can be undermined by CEOs unilateral decisions to relocate anywhere on the globe. Companies use this trump card to weaken the push for increases in corporate taxes and instead build momentum for further federal concessions. Johnson Controls: The Ugly Truth The most recent inversion deal, orchestrated by Johnson Controlscalled the latest and quite possibly the most brazen tax-dodger in a New York Times editorialexplodes the myths underlying the standard rationale for inversions. Johnson Controls, which has been based in the Milwaukee area for 131 years, is the 66th largest firm in the United States. Much media coverage has focused on the $149 million in annual tax savings that Johnson Controls will purportedly reap by jettisoning its U.S. identity and moving its official domicile to Ireland, where the tax rate is 12.5%. This is a tidy sum, but not because Johnson Controls was victimized by paying the statutory rate of 35%. On the contrary, Johnson Controls has already been benefitting handsomely from a U.S. tax system that is remarkably generous to major corporations. As Matthew Gardner of the Institute on Tax and Economic Policy pointed out, Between 2010 and 2014, Johnson Controls reported just over $6 billion in U.S. pretax income, and it paid a federal income tax rate averaging just 12.2 percent over this period. Significantly, This is actually lower than the 12.5 percent tax rate Ireland applies to most corporate profits. Far more central to Johnson Controls inversion is the virtually tax-free status that it will gain over its vast pile of profits accumulated offshore, Gardner argues. Digging beneath the surface, Gardner found, At the end of 2014, Johnson Controls disclosed holding $8.1 billion of its profits as permanently reinvested foreign income, profits it has declared it intends to keep offshore indefinitely. The tax stakes for Johnson Controls are therefore much higher than the annual savings so often cited. Reincorporating abroad would allow Johnson Controls to avoid ever paying a dime in U.S. income tax on profits currently stashed in tax havens, Gardner stated. Johnson Controls is using the common inversion strategy of arranging for a smaller corporation based in a low-tax nation to purchase a much larger firm operating in the United States. In this case, the Ireland-based Tyco International (itself an inverted firm which had long been based in the United States) is buying Johnson Controls. Tax expert Edward Kleinbard describes this as a minnow swallowing a whale scenario that characterizes many inversions. The Johnson Controls-Tyco deal qualifies as a so-called super inversion, as Fortune put it, because it evades a number of new ownership regulations set by the U.S. Treasury Department to discourage inversions. Tyco shareholders will own 44% of the deal after it is done, avoiding any penalties the Treasury Department has tried to impose on these deals, Fortune reported. The Treasury Department had set an ownership requirement in 2014 of 40% for foreign firms involved in inversion deals with U.S. corporations, in an effort to discourage inversions. The deal with Tyco will change virtually nothing for Johnson Controls International except for its slightly modified nameJohnson Controls plc.and its ability to manipulate the U.S. tax system. The companys new domicile will officially be Cork, Ireland, but it will retain its real operating headquarters in its present site near Milwaukee. It will continue to be listed on the S&P 500 stock index. Johnson Controls will still be protected by the vast legal architecture safeguarding U.S. firms, like those on securities, intellectual property, and patents. The corporations CEO Alex Molinaroli insists that the firm is simply acting to best serve its shareholders: It would be irresponsible for us as a company to not take advantage of the opportunities that come along. The inversion will also provide some advantages to the CEO himself, with Fortune observing, Molinaroli will receive at least $20.5 million and as much as $79.6 million for doing the deal over the next 18 months. Johnson Controls also stands to retain other advantages. It will remain eligible for U.S. government and state contracts under current law, as have Accenture and other firms which have staged inversions. Between 2010 and 2014, Johnson and its subsidiaries received more than $1 billion in federal contractsmore than $210 million a year, according to ITEPs Gardner. Furthermore, Johnson Controls ability to gain federal and state tax incentives for job creation will apparently continue. Innovation challenge for crowdsourced ideas for energy-efficiency in residential buildings (Nanowerk News) The Energy Department's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), along with industry partner CLEAResult, will launch a Call for Innovation as part of the DOE JUMP initiative during the Bay Area Maker Faire in San Mateo, Calif., on May 22. NREL's innovation challenge will focus on ideas and topics related to residential buildings. Concepts will be evaluated by a team of judges. There is also a public voting period on the JUMP website. The winning innovation will be awarded a $3,000 cash prize and in-kind support from CLEAResult. JUMP, launched by DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) last year, is an online crowdsourcing community that is co-hosted by NREL, ORNL and three other DOE national laboratories, as well as top companies and organizations in the buildings industry. JUMP, which stands for Join in the discussion, Unveil innovation, Motivate transformation and Promote technology-to-market, now has six open technology challenges. This platform provides an opportunity for innovators, particularly small entrepreneurs, to present ideas for new energy-efficient buildings technologies to private and public sector leaders in research and development. "The objective is to leverage citizen science to tackle energy-efficiency challenges in the buildings sector," said Lieko Earle, NREL senior engineer. "Our call for innovation is inviting members of the general public to submit their best ideas." Additionally, JUMP provides opportunities for all users to comment and vote on posted ideas. The community discussion helps DOE, the labs, and industry partners gauge the market's interest in the topic and potential solutions.. For this innovation challenge, NREL has partnered with CLEAResult. CLEAResult, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is the largest provider of energy efficiency programs and services in North America. CLEAResult designs and manages energy optimization services for utility companies, as well as residential, institutional, commercial and industrial organizations. iStock SHARE By June Fletcher of the Naples Daily News As more homes hit the market, closed sales continued to drop in Southwest Florida in April from a year earlier. But single-family existing home prices remain on the upswing, according to separate reports released Friday by Florida Realtors and regional real estate trade groups. Brad O'Connor, Florida Realtors chief economist, attributed the decline in sales and rise in prices in part to an ongoing shortage of distressed homes in the most affordable price ranges. He noted in a report that distressed sales accounted for less than 12 percent of all closed sales statewide, "the lowest such percentage we've recorded since the initial stages of the downturn." In Collier County, single-family home closed sales fell 17.1 percent in April, to 457 from 551 in April 2015. Sales fell in all neighborhoods, but the drop was most dramatic in the Ave Maria and Immokalee areas. Naples Area Board of Realtors President Rick Fioretti described the overall sales decline as "due to a leveling off of the market." In Lee, closed sales for single-family homes dropped 8.2 percent to 1,216 from 1,325 the year before. The newly named Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association said in its report that North Fort Myers was the only neighborhood that saw an increase in single-family sales over the year. Both Southwest Florida counties saw deeper drops than the state as a whole, which saw a slight decrease of 0.6 percent, to 24,144 from 24,292. But single-family prices rose in both counties over the year. In Collier County, they jumped 16.3 percent, to $465,000 from $400,000, with the biggest increases in North and East Naples. In Lee County, the increase was more modest, 4.7 percent, to $235,000 from $224,512. All neighborhoods saw price increases except Sanibel and Captiva and Fort Myers Beach. Statewide, single-family prices were up 9.2 percent, to $213,000 from $195,000. In town houses and condos, both counties also saw sales declines that were sharper than the statewide drop of 5.3 percent, to 10,738 from 11,340. In Collier County, multifamily closed sales fell 23.3 percent, to 594 from 774, while in Lee, they were down 9.7 percent, to 699 from 774. But town house and condo prices in Lee County handily beat the statewide growth of 4.4 percent, to $160,000 from $153,245. Lee's increase was 10 percent, to $192,500 from $175,000 a year earlier, with the biggest price jumps in foreclosures and bank-owned homes. In Collier, town house and condo prices fell 2.2 percent, to $273,750 from $280,000, with only the East Naples area seeing an increase in prices. Throughout Southwest Florida, inventory levels for all types of homes grew dramatically. While more supply usually indicates that prices are likely to soften in the future, the median days on the market continued to drop in both Collier and Lee, suggesting still-robust demand. NABOR past president Mike Hughes noted in a report that Collier's decline in pending sales was slight compared with 2015, which was "an outstanding year in my book." He expressed confidence that as buyers finally realize they have more choices in what has long been a very tight market, "we'll see the number of pending and closed sales improve." Courtesy West Bay Community Charitable Foundation The West Bay Community Charitable Foundation celebrated its second year in existence earlier this month by handing out nearly $80,000 to local Southwest Florida nonprofits. The 2016 grant recipients included from left to right: (back row) Charles Daurey, Holocaust Museum; Bill Bell, Society of St. Vincent de Paul; Jermaine Hendricks, Boys and Girls Clubs of Lee County; Jane Billings, Friends of Foster Children Forever; Bonnie Olson, Interfaith Charities of South Lee; Susan Acuna, Literacy Council Gulf Coast; Jennifer Benton, ACT Shelter; Roxanne Wendling, Guardian ad Litem; and Ellen Nichols, New Horizons of SWFL. Front row: Gordon Hammes, Naples Music Club; JoDee Hanssen, St. Matthews House; Seyla Cohen, Temple Shalom Preschool; Leonore Bennett, Bonita Springs Elementary School; Tracey Galloway, Community Cooperative; Jane Wyllie, Lee Memorial HS Military Support Programs; Susy Warren, Laces of Love; Amy Snyder, Holocaust Museum; and Anne Haley, President West Bay Community Charitable Foundation. SHARE By John Osborne, Banner Correspondent What a difference a year makes in the lives of the less fortunate. Comprised of residents from an Estero housing subdivision, the West Bay Community Charitable Foundation celebrated its second year in existence earlier this month by handing out nearly $80,000 to local Southwest Florida nonprofits. The eye-popping figure up from nearly $50,000 last year came from three major fundraisers and resident donations that board member Anne Haley said would be put to very good use by organizations more accustomed to helping others than being helped. "We give specifically what they're asking for when it comes to a particular program or project," Haley explained of the 16 benefiting nonprofits this year. "It's extremely gratifying to see the difference it makes, because the people who run these nonprofits are absolutely fantastic people who really care about their neighbors." Few would argue that the same could be said of the West Bay Community Charitable Foundation, which features a nine-member board of directors. Among its many other donations this year, the foundation gave nearly $5,000 to Bonita Springs Elementary School for a math and phonics program that Haley said would help boost academic success rates. "Ninety-five percent of the children in the program speak English as a second language, so our hope is that the program will help these young people further their learning skills," she said. Other disbursed funds this year included donations to Lee Memorial Health System's Military Support Group, St. Matthew's House in Naples and around $6,000 for a Lee County women's shelter that Haley said marked one of the foundation's favorite charities. "The best part is that we keep all of the money right here in Collier and Lee Counties," she said, noting that this year her group also donated to Laces of Love, Friends of Foster Children and the Naples Music Club. "We love that it all stays local because that way we can see all the good the money goes toward." The director of another foundation beneficiary Interfaith Charities of South Lee County in San Carlos Park said her nonprofit couldn't be more thrilled to receive $4,000 toward a new parking lot that during the rainy season oftentimes seems more suited to boats than card. "The parking lot is all grass and very uneven and it floods pretty bad it's just in very bad repair," said Nancy Martin, whose organization last year also received funding for an awning from the West Bay Community Charitable Foundation. "Sometimes the water out there is six or eight inches deep, and there have been times that I've taken off my shoes and socks and just waded to my car." Blissfully, however, Martin said that wouldn't be the case this year, thanks in large part to West Bay's generous donation. "We're just so grateful for everything West Bay does for us, and we're really, really excited to get the new parking lot in right before rainy season," she said with a laugh. Jermaine Hendricks, program director of the Boys & Girls Club on Milagro Lane in Bonita Springs, said a $3,500 donation from West Bay would go toward a much-needed revamp for the volleyball court. "The money will let us undertake a complete renovation of the volleyball area," he said. "Right now, it's an unsafe area because there are these huge limestone rocks there more like boulders, I'd call them so we'll remove those rocks and resurface the ground by adding a layer of sand and put in a secure border to maintain the sand, as well as adding mulch to the adjacent playground." Though he's no stranger to generous souls, Hendricks said West Bay's sheer selflessness stands out to him most. "To be honest, they really restore my faith in humanity," he said with amazement in his voice. "It's just people touching people, with no strings attached, which is really refreshing to come across. Because a lot of times if donors don't see a direct benefit to themselves, they don't want to help. So I'm especially grateful to the West Bay Community Charitable Foundation for their overwhelming generosity." With a growing foundation that two years ago also endowed a scholarship at Florida Gulf Coast University for first-generation college-goers, Haley said West Bay hoped to build on its philanthropic efforts with an even larger round of donations next year. "We really ran the gamut with the different charities this year, and next year we hope to help out even more," she said. "We just want to do as much as we can for as many people as we can." SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol Armenia and Azerbaijan to do so without delay An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan". UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022 Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully Google Ad The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh USA Embassy Message for U.S. Citizens ANCA Issues National Call to Action to Stop Taxpayer Funding of Aliyevs Aggression A crane and rising tower loom behind the pool area in the existing portion of Crystal Shores. After years on hold, the Marriott Vacation Club's Crystal Shore property on Collier Blvd. is being readied for completion next year. Lance Shearer/Eagle Correspondent SHARE An aerial view of new construction. After years on hold, the Marriott Vacation Club's Crystal Shore property on Collier Blvd. is being readied for completion next year. Submitted image An aerial view of new construction. After years on hold, the Marriott Vacation Club's Crystal Shore property on Collier Blvd. is being readied for completion next year. Submitted image New construction rises next to the existing complex. After years on hold, the Marriott Vacation Club's Crystal Shore property on Collier Blvd. is being readied for completion next year. Lance Shearer/Eagle Correspondent Vicky Nunn, a visitor from the United Kingdom near London, relaxes poolside in the open portion of Crystal Shores. After years on hold, the Marriott Vacation Club's Crystal Shore property on Collier Blvd. is being readied for completion next year. Lance Shearer/Eagle Correspondent By Lance Shearer It just took a little longer than planned. Crystal Shores, the interval ownership resort of Marriott's Vacation Club, is proceeding toward build out, with completion scheduled in two phases in 2017. It would have happened years sooner, but the recession got in the way. "We didn't pull the plug, we just put it on the back burner," said Ed Kinney, vice president of public relations for Marriott Vacation Club. "It was right before the downturn. We were still committed to completing it." In 2006, Marriott Vacation Club bought what had been the Radisson Suites Beach and Resort property, and began planning for expansion. They submitted plans to the city of Marco Island in 2009, which were approved, but then put on hold. The plans call for public beach access to be provided. Now, Kinney said, "true to form, the plan is coming together just as envisioned. It's exciting to see it come together." All communications regarding the property were required to go through the corporate public relations department in Orlando, and local on-site manager Andy Sorenson was not authorized to speak to the press. "It's premature for his involvement," said Kinney. Currently, the property includes 65 two-bedroom/two-bath and two 3/3 villas, with on-site amenities including multiple pools including a "grotto pool" and more traditional "cascade pool," whirlpool spa and water slide, fitness center, kids' recreation and a fire pit. Stilts Bar & Grill within the complex is open to the public. Of course, the premier amenity is the sandy Gulf beach just behind the resort. New construction will add two towers: Tower D with 36 units, 27 two-bedroom and nine three-bedroom, scheduled to open within a year, in the spring of 2017, and Tower C, with 112 units, 89 two-bedroom and 23 three-bedroom, with completion schedule for summer or fall of 2017. Villas are said to include kitchens with granite countertops and GE stainless steel appliances, multiple flat-panel televisions, and DVD-Blu-Ray players in living rooms and bedrooms, floor-to-ceiling sliding doors opening onto balconies, and oversized showers with multiple heads. A Marco Eagle reporter who came to the sales center was not permitted to view a sample villa. An entry feature in the new section will include several tiered pools with water cascading from one to another, with a view of the Gulf and beach behind. The old days of interval ownership resorts, or "time share" for those who remember the Dark Ages, are long gone, said Kinney, and nowadays a points system gives guests much greater flexibility. "Five years ago, we went to a points-based system," he said, giving each purchaser a "beneficial interest in a deeded trust. You use your points as currency." With those points, the holders can choose vacation time at any one of over 50 Marriott Vacation Club resorts worldwide, along with hotel stays, cruises, or use of individual homes from third party providers, as well as other options such as tours. "You could do a tour of Tuscany, or the wine country in Sonoma, or a photo safari," said Kinney. "This is your point of entry into a world of vacations." Each different region and property has a different draw, and the greatest advantage is the flexibility to choose different options each time as long as you have the points. The Crystal Shores property has been very popular, averaging 92 percent occupancy, both with domestic travelers and international visitors from the European Union. "England has been a big feeder," said Kinney. One visitor from England, Vicky Nunn "from just outside of London," was lounging by the pool reading her book, unbothered by the construction taking place on the other side of a fabric privacy barricade. "My family has owned this for a year, and we love it here," she said. Kinney declined to give an estimate for how much the expansion is costing Vacation Club. "We don't release figures such as cost," he said. SHARE Raimundo Hernandez-Argueta/CCSO By Daily News Staff A Naples construction company owner accused of avoiding about $700,000 in workers' compensation premium payments was arrested on charges of fraud last week. Raimundo Hernandez-Argueta, owner of Complete Framing Professionals, was arrested by the Collier County Sheriff's Office May 12 and was released on $30,000 bond the same day. The Florida Department of Financial Services insurance fraud and workers' compensation divisions started investigating Hernandez in August 2013. Visits to the Complete Framing Professionals job site led investigators to think Hernandez was concealing his company's payroll amount, according to a release. Investigators found that Hernandez bought an insurance policy through the Florida United Business Association for four employees, each earning an annual wage of $50,000. Hernandez paid $26,910 for the one-year policy, according to the release. Inspectors documented 108 employees and more than $5.5 million in total earnings during that time. Based on those numbers, Hernandez should have paid a premium of $728,057, according to the Department of Financial Services, the release stated. If convicted, Hernandez faces up to 15 years in prison. By Pamela McCabe, The News-Press Reports indicate that multiple male students from South Fort Myers High School had sex with a 15-year-old female in a campus bathroom after school ended Tuesday. Principal Melissa Layner reported the incident to the Lee County Sheriffs Offices school-based deputy, Jarrod Cantrell, the following morning. Using footage captured from a hallway camera, Cantrell observed 25 male students go inside the restroom over the time-frame of the female being inside the restroom, an LCSO report states. Layner spoke with the female student, who confirmed that she had sex with a number of willing males. Because of the females age, the special victims unit was called in, and the incident was reported to the Florida Abuse Hotline. With parent permission, detectives took a students cellphone for evidence, and sworn statements were taken from some of the male students. When asked how students were disciplined as a result of this situation, Lee schools spokeswoman Amity Chandler said, We are not going to discuss discipline in any capacity, including numbers. South Fort Myers' principal sent a message to parents shortly after 1 p.m. Friday explaining that she cannot speak about student discipline with the media or parents of other students. However, she said student discipline was "dealt quickly." "The incident this week should not be a reflection on our combined efforts, administration, students, and teachers, to keep our building and students secure and safe," Layner wrote. "Providing our students cooperate with the expectations articulated to them each day, our school is a safe place for student learning and after school activities." South Fort Myers is home to nearly 2,000 students, the principal wrote. How the incident could occur on campus without staff knowing has been a talking point for many in the community. But as Chandler explained, while safety concerns fall on the school's shoulders if there is an organized event on campus, students still have expectations for how to behave while on school grounds. "I think parents understand that we cannot control the behaviors of every student, and when students enter campus, they are entering into a relationship with school administrators where they are expected to adhere to some norms and some rules," Chandler said. "And these students did not do that." "High schools," she added, "have all sorts of after-school activities sports, clubs, tutoring." While she would not pinpoint why the different students were on campus after hours, she said South Fort Myers students involved in extracurricular activities athletics or otherwise participate in a study hall from 1:47 to 2:30 p.m. This is roughly the time-frame for when the bathroom activities took place, Chandler said. No staff members have been disciplined. By Melhor Leonor of the Naples Daily News A local political group representing Southwest Florida Haitians complained in a letter to Collier County school leaders about the handling of Haitian Flag Day at Immokalee High School on Wednesday, when several students wearing clothing displaying the Haitian flag were sent home and some suspended. "School administrators have the obligation to set rules and procedures to promote school culture," leaders of the Haitian-American Democratic Club of Lee County wrote, asking why school officials were not proactive in making sure students could exercise their First Amendment Right at school among their peers. DOCUMENT: Letter from Haitian American Democratic Club of Lee County to Collier County School District on the Flag Day Incident Immokalee High School district officials said Wednesday that Flag Day celebrations at the school have interfered with academic activities in years past, and that this year they acted to preempt similar events. Beatrice Jacquet, the group's co-president, said if school administrators knew in advance that students were interested in marking Flag Day, they should have devised an alternate program. "Since they knew there was a situation last year, why not schedule an alternative program to accommodate these students so they can celebrate their heritage?" Jacquet said. "It didn't need to cause disruption. What is causing disruption is that they were discriminated." District spokesman Greg Turchetta said school administrators stood behind the district's Student Code of Conduct, which says students are prohibited from wearing or displaying all but four flags on campus: the United States flag, the POW-MIA flag, the State of Florida flag and official school flags. The policy does allow "national flags on special occasions" at the discretion of the school's principal. Immokalee High School Principal Ken Fairbanks declined a request for comment. Club leaders criticized the district's policy on flags, saying it does not equally respect all students' cultural ties. "Administrators have to create an atmosphere to ensure students from different backgrounds and ethnicities are welcome in their facility. Implementing a rule that only allow students to wear garments bearing only the American flag is unreasonable and discriminating," the letter reads. At a Haitian Flag Day celebration in Immokalee on Friday, Immokalee High School senior Sebastien Sylvestre said the students weren't warned that they couldn't wear t-shirts with Haitian flags or Haiti colors. He said he was told to take off a scarf that wasn't a Haitian flag, but had its colors, red and blue. Sebastien said he was allowed to keep his blue t-shirt and his red pants on Wednesday. He took off his scarf and went to class. He still doesn't agree with how school administrators acted. The Haitian flags and colors, he said, are an expression of their culture. "We want to show where we come from," Sebastien said. "I don't see anything wrong with the t-shirts." Zoraya Pierre, 17, says she was asked to take off a red t-shirt that said Haiti on it, but didn't display the Haitian flag. She took the t-shirt off, put a jacket on, and went back to class, but she doesn't agree with what happened. Immokalee neighbor Jonas Mervilus said the week has been hard. He had been organizing Friday's celebration at South Immokalee Park for weeks. He wanted to unite the community inviting everyone to celebrate Haitian culture and have a good time. But he thinks school administrators showed they don't care about the Haitian culture. "I feel they owe all the Haitian community an apology," he said. Staff reporter Maria Perez contributed to this story. By Alexandra Glorioso of the Naples Daily News More than a half dozen Republicans said Friday they are considering seeking U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson's Southwest Florida seat, including one potential candidate who, like Clawson, resembles presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump in one key way a wealthy businessman who campaigns as a political newcomer. "It would be too far to say that I am considering running but I am done supporting people who are career politicians," said Francis Rooney, chief executive officer and president of Rooney Holdings construction management company, and a major political donor in national and state races. Rooney, who declined to rule out a run, was an early adviser and supporter of Jeb Bush in this year's presidential race, appointed ambassador to the Holy See by President George W. Bush, and enjoys a longtime friendship with former President George H.W. Bush. Rooney's possible entry into the race to replace Clawson could rattle the campaign and limit opponents, which already is on a short time table before the Aug. 30 primary. Former one-term state Rep. Tom Grady, a Republican state Board of Education member from Naples and Gov. Rick Scott ally, said he is seriously exploring is own candidacy but plans on supporting Rooney if he decides to run. "I think Francis would be an outstanding representative for lots of reasons," he said. RELATED: Potential candidates began Friday reaching out to possible donors and supporters who could quickly align around them to launch an immediate campaign to represent the district that stretches from Fort Myers to Marco Island. One Republican already has announced his campaign, but most others are making money calls and sizing up potential opponents before committing. "We've only got three months until the election, so it's going to be really quick," said Sanibel Councilman Chauncey Goss, who announced his candidacy only hours after Clawson's announcement Thursday. Goss is the son of Porter Goss, an eight-term U.S. House member who represented the area before becoming President George W. Bush's CIA chief. Clawson, a Bonita Springs Republican, said he's not seeking another term because he wants to spend more time in Southwest Florida with his ailing father. He won a special election two years ago following GOP Rep. Trey Radel's resignation. The open congressional seat will invariably depend on two, almost conflicting factors: most of the voters are in Lee County, but most of the money is in Collier. This leaves the door open for a kind of dark horse candidate who can self finance, like Trump thus far in the presidential race. Florida already has seen success with wealthy businessmen backing their own campaigns Gov. Rick Scott in his successful state races and Clawson in his congressional bids. It also means more traditional candidates will need to be able to move quickly to raise the money needed in this shortened campaign. Goss said he was "as confident as anyone" he would be able to raise enough. "I know people," he said. "I've done the campaign. And I think that will help me." Goss, a former deputy staff director for the House Budget Committee, ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2012, losing to Radel. "I ran four years ago because I was angry about federal debt. It's worse now. People are just angry and I'm angry too. I'm mad about the status quo," he said. Byron Donalds of Naples, who is running for a state House seat and received Clawson's endorsement in that race, said he also is considering a run. Donalds won Collier County when he ran for the same seat four years ago but he came in fifth over all. "Nobody knew who I was," Donalds said. "Four years later, I am far more established in Lee ... I'm not starting off from zero." Donalds said he is fielding a lot of phone calls right now, weighing whether it's worth it to give up a race he's doing "really well" in for a shot at Washington. Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, is a successful fundraiser who has raised about $228,500 in a year for re-election. She said she is still deciding whether she will run. "Like most, I, too, was completely surprised by congressman Clawson's decision not seek re-election, and will take the next few days to think about how I can best serve our community," she said. "I wish Curt and his father all the best and thank him for his service to Southwest Florida." State Rep. Matt Caldwell, R-North Fort Myers, said he's interested, but will wait and see whether Benacquisto runs for Congress. "If she decides against it, my wife and I will be having a serious conversation" about him running for Congress, Caldwell said. Caldwell also has talked about running for the state Senate if Benacquisto steps aside to run for the congressional race. Paige Kreegel, who ran for the seat before, said Friday he "probably" will run again. Kreegel, a medical doctor who has a practice based in Charlotte County, also works in Lee and has a home in Estero. Naples city councilman Sam Saad said he is "very seriously" considering running. "I believe the 19th congressional district is very important and deserves a good conservative listener," he said. Candidates must qualify for the seat by June 24 and, while the primary election day is August 30, voting by mail which along with early voting, accounts for more than a third of the votes in recent elections starts weeks earlier. What that means is a candidate who decides right now to run has about four months to raise money and campaign in a district that includes parts of Lee and Collier counties and has about 480,000 voters. Most, however, are Republicans, and no Democrat has won this seat in decades, making the GOP primary the likely deciding contest. Although the district's lines, and the counties it includes, have changed regularly and substantially through redistricting, a Lee County candidate has won the congressional post since 1993. Before that, the district crossed the state. Previous U.S. House members all Republicans have been: Connie Mack III, 1983-89; Porter Goss, 1989-2004; Connie Mack IV, 2005-12; Radel, 2013-14, and Clawson, 2014-present. Now the district includes part of Lee and Collier, but Lee still dominates the district's voter numbers, with 378,350 voters versus Collier's 101,851 voters. Republicans dominate in party registration, in both counties' portions of the district. The News-Press freelance writer Betty Parker contributed to this report. SHARE So far this year, Florida ranks second among states in sex-related human slavery reports with children accounting for 37 percent of U.S. victims, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center reports. The average age of a trafficking victim is 13. The U.S. Department of Justice says a pimp typically has four to six girls. Schools are among the best places for identifying those at risk for sex trafficking, experts say. The Children's Network of Southwest Florida, which administers the child welfare system in Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties, says it's working with more than 1,800 abused and neglected children in our region. The Collier County Hunger and Homeless Coalition survey last year identified 592 homeless children, along with 389 homeless adults. They aren't all just living in the woods or cars; in many cases they're staying under someone's roof temporarily. A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report said about 1 in 10 dating high school students reported they'd been physically or sexually abused by a partner. Teenagers abused in such relationships are more likely to become depressed, have suicidal thoughts or experience domestic violence as adults, the study concluded. More than 40,000 Collier residents are unsure where they will get their meals. Many are children, with 60 percent of students in our area on free- and reduced-price lunch during the school year, according to the Harry Chapin Food Bank. Any of these is cause for outrage. Yet, instead, many are now in a tizzy over which bathroom a few transgender minors may wish to use at school. Thanks, White House. Thanks, over-reaching U.S. Department of Education. Thanks over-reacting school board leaders in Florida. Colleagues The federal government got this uproar started a week ago with the U.S. Department of Education's directive offering "guidance" to "dear colleagues" on how districts should handle transgender access to restrooms and locker rooms. Schools should go by the sexual orientation with which the transgender child identifies, the government edict says, and the penalty for not complying is loss of federal dollars. Some Collier School Board members, never shy about jumping into controversy, noted the Marion County (Ocala) School Board had passed a resolution saying it would defy the government and go by the gender on the birth certificate. Tuesday night, fiscally conservative board member Erika Donalds was so far out in front, she'd already estimated a local-option sales tax percentage or a property tax increase that could be imposed to replace $57 million in federal funding so the district could "just say no" to the federal directive. Thankfully, district attorney Jon Fishbane brought sense to the discussion. One of his points cases already are in appeal courts; those need to be watched for rulings and he'd update the board. Another point he made is difficulty of enforcement. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates there are 13,500 to 14,000 school systems. The National Center for Education Statistics says there are 100,000 public schools. If the federal government has enough bathroom monitors to cover them, we have an even bigger problem. Public discussion School Board members then argued about whether the topic should be put on an agenda so the public could be heard. The board eventually agreed to do so in June and went to time out. What's notable about the June timing? The academic year ends in two weeks, so school will be out by the time of the discussion, and the summer allows us to hear from candidates for two School Board seats on the fall ballot. Regular watchers of board meetings probably can predict already who will show up and what they will say. Notably, board members made no attempt to be sure anyone with actual knowledge about transgenders will be among them. Prepare to hear outrage about the edict not about child human trafficking, abuse or neglect, homelessness, poverty or hunger. These are social issues affecting tens of thousands of area children. Can we please take a bathroom break? SHARE Kudos With the school year winding down and summer luring children outdoors to cool off in the water, the designation of May as Drowning Prevention Month takes on additional importance. Enter the NCH Safe & Healthy Children's Coalition of Collier County. The Naples City Council this week and Collier County Commission last week honored the work of the organization, which is supported by various nonprofits, health-care providers and government agencies in the area. Among its leading supporters is the Naples Children & Education Foundation, founders of the annual Naples Winter Wine Festival. A proclamation issued by elected leaders underscores why this deserves attention: More children drown in Florida than any other state. From 2000-15, drowning was the leading cause of death in Collier for children ages 1 to 4. The Coalition has addressed this by providing more than 28,000 water safety lessons. Swim Central, a series of 30-minute water safety lessons started here in 2012, has worked with more than 3,000 children so far in a county with abundant waters. Of particular note in Naples has been great response for swimming lessons in River Park, where the city built a community pool. In 2014, the Coalition began a life-jacket loaner program with stations at various locations in Collier. It's called "Kids Don't Float, Give Them Something That Does" and there are plans for expansion in Marco Island, sponsors said. "Everybody needs to take advantage of these programs over the summer," Commissioner Tim Nance said. "They (kids) will be fish before you know it." A new initiative is being unveiled with a fun, instructional app for children that can be downloaded through iTunes. Information is at the Coalition's website, www.safehealthychildren.org. At various events this summer, you'll also see Collier's new drowning awareness mascot, Stewie the Duck. Drowning prevention is just one of the Coalition's initiatives "to improve health outcomes and prevent injuries among children within Collier County," its website states. It also focuses on child obesity and reducing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Kudos Behind the scenes at Southwest Florida International Airport is a top administrator whose work may go unnoticed by the public, unless something goes wrong. But Robert M. Ball isn't going unnoticed by his peers. Ball, executive director of the Lee County Port Authority, was selected as 2016 Airport Professional of the Year by the Southeast Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives. He also earned the honor in 2011 from the nonprofit professional organization of airport executives that represents more than 450 members from 12 states, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia. Ball joined the Port Authority in August 1993 as deputy executive director and was promoted to executive director in 1996. He offers his expertise on Florida Gulf Coast University's College of Business Advisory Council and is a board member at the School of Aeronautics of Florida Institute of Technology, where he earned his bachelor's degree. Kicks Flags are to be symbols of honor. The way they are displayed can charge emotions. So it was disturbing to see a flag that carries such a hostile meaning as a Nazi symbol unfurled in a neighborhood dispute. We trust other folks will find less offensive ways to air their disagreements with neighbors than to stoop to such a display. By the same token, Collier is a county growing in its diversity that should be celebrated. The school district's website says students speak 80 different heritage languages and identify 114 different countries of origin. Celebrating a nation's flag by wearing it on clothing is appropriate, such as Haiti's on Haitian Flag Day. But it should come with all the honor a national flag deserves, without antics disrupting a campus. This past week at Immokalee High School, several students wearing the flag on shirts were sent home to head off a repeat of a prior year's disturbance. SHARE Flo Beckler, Naples Apples to apples David Bolduc's recent letter quoted the U.S. News & World Report's results for Massachusetts schools, naming Medfield High School in Medfield, Mass., as the top-ranked traditional public high school in Massachusetts. Then he contrasts it with our schools. I suggest we compare apples to apples. According to Wikipedia, Medfield is the only high school in the town of Medfield, with a total enrollment (2011-12) of 898 students who were 94.8 percent Caucasian, 0.8 percent Hispanic and 0.6 percent African-American. Compare that with Barron Collier High School, with a student population of 1,623 students with 24.15 percent Hispanic, 5.8 percent black, 2.16 percent Haitian Creole, 2.03 percent Asian, and 0.99 percent Indian and Pacific Islander. Add to that 29 percent are disadvantaged (needy) students. All of these are the challenges of a very diverse global community, challenges unknown to Medfield High School. Barron Collier enjoys a 92 percent graduation rate. SHARE Melanie Doyle, Naples Common Core failure Some scholars have been warning parents, educators, and policy-makers for years that Common Core would have dire consequences for students' college-readiness. The National Association of Educational Progress (NAEP, or the "nation's report card") states that the 2015 NAEP scores of the nation's high school seniors show a decline in math performance, stagnation in reading performance, and decline in college preparation in both areas. The average math score for seniors dropped from 153 in 2013 to 152 in 2015, according to NAEP a "statistically significant" decline. The reading scores stagnated, and came in significantly below reading scores from 1992 (down from 292 to 287). In 2013, 39 percent of students were estimated to be college-ready in math, and 38 percent ready in reading. After two more years of Common Core training, the readiness scores were down to 37 percent in each subject. These results are especially significant because, unlike students who took the NAEP tests two years earlier, the 2015 test-takers had the benefit of full Common Core implementation. Or maybe "benefit" is the wrong word. As quoted in the New York Times, NAEP governing board chairman Terry Mazany described all these results as "worrisome." The Los Angeles Times quotes the "bottom line" offered by a former NAEP official: "We're stalled. We're not making any progress." Indeed. These results confirm that our schools are headed in precisely the wrong direction. The Florida Legislature, Collier County school district, and the Diocese of Venice should jump off the Common Core train before it goes over the cliff. How much more evidence do they need? SHARE Donald G. Doherty, Fort Myers Refusal to support The political class in this country has betrayed its citizens, and the participation of the GOP in this is especially egregious because we have been told for years that Republicans protect conservative values by fighting against the destructive socialistic policies of the Democrats. To help thwart the relentless assaults on the Constitution, personal freedoms and conservative beliefs, Republicans have told us they needed a majority in the House and Senate, which would enable them to beat back the Democrats' attacks. We gave the Republicans those majorities. The result? Spineless, whimpering responses to outrageous Democrat initiatives. The American people are fed up to their eyeballs with the status quo, but the Republican establishment has been oblivious to that reality. Instead, they cling to the notion that the same tired platitudes they've been feeding us for years will be believed. No more. Donald Trump has given voice to the incredible frustration of the people with the lies, ineptitude, indifference and smugness of the political class. House Speaker Paul Ryan's pious pronouncement that he would not support Trump was typical of the lack of accomplishment, dishonesty and incompetence of Ryan and his colleagues. Trump, on the other hand, has a record of accomplishment that is to be envied by any thinking person. Trump talks in plain English. He promises to halt the shameful weakening of our military, enforce our borders, reduce government spending (something the Republicans have been complicit in) and create desperately needed jobs in this country. If Ryan can't support that, he needs to step down immediately. Garni residents again blocked Garni-Yerevan roadway (video) Hundreds of residents of Garni village in Kotayk province have again blocked the main road to Yerevan protesting against a controversial construction project in Azat Gorge. They demand that the heavy machinery be removed from the gorge. The construction equipment was brought to the gorge on May 16 for the construction of Kaghtsrashen gravity irrigation project. By a government decision, an irrigation system is being constructed in the gorge that will take water from the Azat River and send it to Kaghtsrashen and Narek communities in Ararat province. They claim that the Garni gorge is jeopardized and say the water will be piped to irrigate the lands and fish farms belonging to the Prime Minister. The villagers claim that over 200-300 hectares of land remained arid while the government wants to send the water to other communities. A large number of police forces have arrived in the village. Representatives of the Marzpetaran (local Governor's Office) and World Bank are also in the village. The project is being implemented with financial support from the World Bank. The villagers say they will not stop the protest unless their demands are fully met. SHARE Bonnie Epperly-Trudel, Naples Trump and women Thank you for the front page article in the May 14 Naples Daily News about Cindy Graves, state committeewoman on the Republican Executive Committee, who was attempting to sell Donald Trump to women. It appeared she hoped the women attending the meeting would believe they had defective ears when they listened to Trump; or that whatever they'd heard from Trump was due to his not being "marketed correctly." She told the women the poor guy "just says some stupid remarks that hurt him." Probably she was referring to his calling women pigs, ugly, bleeding from their whatever, or his history of infidelities, his real estate practices of discrimination, his upcoming trial for his defunct Trump University, and on-and-on. There's a lot more. Later in the article, Niger Innis warned them of the true enemies, "progressives that are embedded in the black and Latino communities" and George Ferrell bemoaned that only a pittance of people in black and Hispanic communities voted Republican. When I finished the article, I sat back and thought of Graves and her Republican women friends, of whom "all are Trump supporters," bravely trying to sell Trump to the approximately 70 percent of women who view him negatively. I envisioned Graves sending her friends to peddle Trump in communities they view as unenlightened. I wanted to assure Graves that women do understand "your Trump." If she would permit one she deems an "enemy" to explain how she understands Trump, my answer would be in the words of a black woman, the late renowned poet, Maya Angelou, who said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." SHARE Sally C. Pipes is President, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy at the Pacific Research Institute. By Sally C. Pipes, President, CEO Pacific Research Institute Health insurance is about to bear a higher price tag. Experts at the Kaiser Family Foundation just warned that premiums are likely to jump in 2017 after increasing an average of more than 12 percent this year. High-deductible health plans paired with tax-advantaged Health Savings Accounts (HSA) have emerged as a source of a lower-cost refuge for patients, who accept the high deductible in exchange for lower premiums. Naturally, the Obama administration is trying to restrict access to HSAs. That's a mistake. HSAs empower consumers to take control of their health care and reduce overall health spending in the process. Our leaders should be working to expand access to them, not narrow it. HSA holders can set aside money each year, pre-tax, to help cover routine health costs everything from co-pays to prescription drugs to elective surgery. Their employers can also contribute money to their accounts. The funds roll over from year to year tax-free and travel with patients from job to job. Because they control their own health-care dollars, patients tend to spend them more judiciously. They may call around to different pharmacies or clinics, for instance, in search of the best deal on a prescription or a test, such as an MRI. Such consumerism forces medical providers to compete on both price and quality just as sellers in any other market have to. Consequently, it should be no surprise that HSAs reduce costs. Researchers at the Rand Corp. found that families with HSAs spent 21 percent less on health care in the first year after switching from a traditional insurance plan. The nonpartisan National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) found that employers who offered HSAs saw their costs decline over three years, compared to those that did not. A Health Affairs study found that health spending could decline by as much as $57 billion if HSA-compatible health plans were able to capture 50 percent of the employer-sponsored insurance market. Patients with HSAs don't spend less because they forego needed care. The opposite tends to be true. The NBER study found no difference in the utilization of health-care services between patients with HSA-compatible plans and those with more conventional health insurance. Another study found that HSA patients were actually more likely to seek preventive care and participate in wellness programs. HSAs' combination of lower premiums and greater control for patients has made them popular. By the end of last year, nearly 20 million Americans had adopted them an increase of 13 percent over the 2014 figure. But the reasons for HSAs' success are exactly why they're now in regulators' crosshairs. Distrustful of health care controlled by consumers rather than bureaucrats, the Obama administration has been subtly erecting barriers to the growth of HSAs. The administration started small, by banning the use of HSA funds to pay for over-the-counter medications. Then it increased the tax penalty for improper withdrawals. Meanwhile, the maximum individual yearly contribution to an HSA has remained at $3,350 for an individual and $6,750 for a family for the last two years and will only jump by $50 next year. Worse, the administration seems content to keep HSA-compatible plans off the exchanges. Right now, four in five Obamacare plans are ineligible for HSAs even though many have high deductibles. Exchange shoppers' options may only decrease further. According to an analysis from Roy Ramthun, who helped lead the U.S. Treasury Department's initial rollout of HSAs in 2003, newly proposed federal mandates for 2017 exchange plans could severely restrict access to the accounts. Essentially, the rules require all plans to cover a number of health-care services below any deductible. But a separate set of federal rules forbids plans that cover anything beyond preventive services from being paired with HSAs. By 2018, Ramthun warns, "HSAs will cease to exist in the marketplace." Such a loss can only be stopped by repealing and replacing Obamacare with a market-based health-care alternative. For more than a decade, HSAs have helped make health care affordable for millions of Americans. They will be even more important next year when premiums spike, as Marilyn Tavenner the current head of America's Health Insurance Plans recently noted. Unfortunately, that fact hasn't moved the Obama administration, which appears to be committed to regulating them out of existence. ___ Sally C. Pipes is president, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy at the Pacific Research Institute. Her latest book is "The Way Out of Obamacare" (Encounter, 2016). She is based in San Francisco, California. The Pacific Research Institute is a think tank that says it champions freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility for individuals by advancing free-market policy solutions. Clifford Chip Olson, a long time Naples commercial real estate broker, has opened RE1 Advisor in Naples. The new consultancy is building a nationwide network to consult financial institutions, wealth managers and clients who own portfolios of commercial and residential properties, along with boats, aircraft and other assets that need management and forward-thinking ideas to transfer their real assets to the next generation. Real estate is often a significant portion of a family or individuals assets; the larger the wealth often the more types of real estate are owned. After 26 years in real estate I have seen these assets sold for far less than they were worth if they had been managed, held or sold at a later date. I knew there was a better way and I wanted to build a network to offer better options and outcomes, said Chip Olson, president and founder of RE1 Advisor. The RE1 Advisor network of real estate consultants offers a new pathway, Generational Transition, and eliminates the liability concerns of our clients. Our nationwide network means no matter where an owner lives or where the assets are located, we can handle what a client needs, said Olson. It really comes down to peace of mind, said Olson. We have knowledge and skilled advisors who listen. We had several clients before we even opened, I look forward to making a difference for our clients and the advisors in our network. Olson is a Naples resident who grew up in Wisconsin and after living across the US chose Naples as his home in 1985. He is active in the SW Florida community as a former Director of the 5th Avenue Business Improvement District, Board member of the Friends of the Library an appointed board member of the City of Naples Community Redevelopment Advisory Board, past president of the Mid-Day Optimist Club, among others. Professionally he has achieved accreditation as a CCIM and is a partner in the Florida Commercial Brokers Network. RE 1 Advisor is a Naples-based real estate consulting brokerage firm with a national network of experts specializing in generational transition of real estate assets. Founded by real estate expert Chip Olson, the networks client base includes financial intuitions, wealth managers, and individual clients who have inherited or are looking for guidance on real estate assets. The firm is headquartered at 1164 Goodlette Road, Naples. The website is www.RE1Advisor.com, office phone is 239-280- 0733. London Bay Homes Realtor Liaison/Concierge Terri Speach was recognized with the 2015 Affiliate Allied Committee Contribution Award during the Naples Area Board of REALTORS Annual Awards Night of Honors. Chartered in 1949, the 5,000+ professional member organization of REALTORS in Collier County recognized the accomplishments of many of its members who volunteered their time and talents to better the organization, industry and community in 2015. Speach has been an Allied Member and REALTOR member of NABOR since 2004, and has chaired and served on numerous committees, including the Professional Development Committee of which she spearheads the highly touted Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist course. She is also a past president and active member of the Womens Council of Realtors, Naples-on-the-Gulf Chapter. Speach joined London Bay Homes in January 2010. As the only homebuilder in Naples with a dedicated Realtor liaison/concierge, Speach is the go-to professional for real estate agents seeking timely information about London Bay Homes and the premier communities it manages throughout Naples and Sarasota. She provides relevant news about the company and its communities, and organizes special events, including on-site sales meetings and social events for Realtors. Terri is a recognized talent in the industry and always promotes London Bay Homes in a most professional manner, said Mark Wilson, president and CEO of London Bay Homes. She works tirelessly to connect with real estate agents from all across Southwest Florida and her efforts impact greatly our brand awareness. London Bay Homes, a leader in the Southwest Florida luxury home market for 25 years, was one of only two companies named Americas Best Builder by Builder magazine in 2008. The company builds luxury homes priced from $1 million to more than $10 million in many of the regions most exclusive neighborhoods and communities. The company also builds private residences on individual homesites in Old Naples, the Sarasota Keys and along the Gulf of Mexico. To learn more about London Bay Homes and its commitment to Private Label Living, call 239-592-1400 or log onto www.LondonBay.com. A meeting to unveil a new town centre strategy for Tipperary town was used by the business community to express their anger over commerical rates, parking and other issues they were concerned about. Up to one hundred and fifty retailers, business people and members of the public highlighted the major issues that they felt had negatively impacted the town. The plan, presented by Kathleen Prendergast, EconomicDevelopment Officer with the County Council, was met with some enthusiasm but issues such as commercial rates, parking, and the condition of Main Street were raised. Business woman Siobhan Costigan said she would like to get involved in the new strategy plan. She said the Council were putting the onus back on the retailers to revitalise the town whilst huge fundamental issues were being ignored by the council. You want us to help you but what are you doing to help us? she asked . Ms Costigan of Costigans Pharmacy said they were building a new 750,000 medical centre in the town. She said everything was ready to go and new jobs would be created. She told the meeting that she had received a 63,000 bill from Tipperary County Council for parking contributions and asked how was that helping a new development or new industry. Anthony Foley said there was not much point in a marketing plan for the town until such time as new industry was brought to the town. New industry would bring jobs and people with money to spend and that needed to happen before such plans were relevant. Mr Foley said he believed Tipperary town was taken off the IDA list three years ago which would make it more difficult to secure new industry for the town. Noel Corcoran said not one job had been created in the town since the launch of Connect Ireland in 2015 and he wanted to know what the County Council were going to do about that. Mr Corcoran said he was born and reared in the town and it was clear to him that businesses in the town were struggling to stay open. Eamon Ryan from the Porter House said it was all very well for the Council putting money into this marketing consultancy but asked if i twas rate payers money that was paying for it. Tony Walsh said commercial rates were too high in the town. He wanted to know how much the plan cost and when informed the plan for nine towns in the county cost 55,000, he described it as a pittance. Maureen Walsh brought up the issue of the Tipperary hostel and said what a huge asset it would be to the town if it was up and running. Siobhan Ryan asked the meeting if the new strategy plan was specifically directed towards Tipperary town or was it generic with the other eight major towns included in the report. Economic Development Officer Kathleen Prendergast told the meeting that the main purpose of the Town Centre Strategy was to help restore vibrancy and vitality to the retail areas in the centre of the major towns. She stated that that the commerical rates could not be changed. It is a point of law and legislation and there was nothing that can be done to change it, she said. She highlighted the development and establishment of strong town centre partnerships and explained how Retail Excellence Ireland in their publication Strategy for Rural Retailing advocated the importance of town centre groups to stimulate positive change for their towns. It suggested that these groups should comprise local stakeholders from across the public, private, voluntary and community sectors. These groups would then be responsible for the implementation of the action plans devised in the Town Centre Initiative with the ultimate objective of increasing footfall and commercial activity in the town centres The attendees were asked to sign up for groups projects that included Tourism, Culture & Heritage and Town Marketing & Festival/Events. The Council will hold another public meeting in 6-8 weeks with the results of these questionairres. The 9th annual Clancy Brothers Festival of Music and Art over the June Bank Holiday Weekend will have a full programme of arts and heritage events for all ages and tastes. Join local historian, Tom Walsh on Saturday June 4 for a guided tour of Carrick-on-Suir. Tom will share his great knowledge of the towns historic landmarks and hidden corners, colourful history and its people. The walk starts from the Heritage Centre at 10am and costs 5 each. The popular River Walk returns on Sunday, June 5. It will start from the Standing Stones in Sean Healy Park and followthe River Suir to Dove Hill. Breakfast will be on offer to all walkers when they arrive at Dove Hill Irish Design Centre. The walk begins at 9.30am and is 10 per person including breakfast. Transport back to Carrick-on-Suir is also provided. A free guided wildlife walk along the River Suir completes the trio of Festival walks on Bank Holiday Monday, June 6. "A Walk on the Wild Side" will be led by Brian White, a former environment officer. Along with Brians wildlife stories and history, walkers can see, hear, smell, touch and even taste some of what nature has to offer. This walk is suitable for all ages and begins at Ormond Castle at 9.30am and ends at Miloko. The Clancy Brothers Festival Art Trail continues to grow with new and established artists from all over the South East coming together to showcase their latest work from June 3 to June 6. Included in this year's trail is The Art of Songwriting project where artists have created an original work based on the lyrics of a song or a portrait of the songwriter. The results will be exhibited at The Tudor Artisan Hub and prints will be on view at artists venues on the Art Trail. Also stay tuned for performances by the songwriters along the Art Trail on Monday June 6. Carrick-on-Suir's Sean Healy Library will showing a film of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem Reunion Concert in the Ulster Hall Belfast 1984 at 3pm on Friday, June 2. The film will feature a mix of concert footage and interviews. Theres an opportunity to meet and chat with members of the Clancy family in the intimate upstairs gallery in The Tudor Artisan Hub on Saturday, June 4 from 3pm to 6pm. The Sonny Cash Photographic Exhibition will also be on show in Carrick Heritage Centre during the Festival weekend. This exhibition commemorates the Carrick-on-Suir photographer who died 100 years ago, and shows Carrick and its people as they were a century ago. Active Retirement Club Carrick-on-Suir The Carrick-on-Suir Active Retirement Club passed a vote of sympathy to the Family of the late Nellie O'Shea (Doyle) on the tragic death of Nellie. Our meeting last week was cancelled as a mark of respect. Thanks to all our members who turned up for the guard of honour on both days including the funeral. We'll meet this Thursday May 19th from 2.00 to 4.00pm at the Nano Nagle Centre. Please come along for the Tai Chi, cup of tea, dancing, music and chat. We'll talk of our trip to the Garda College in Templemore. Due to the tragic week, we made no arrangements for holidays. Brewery Lane Theatre Brewery Lane Theatre laments the passing of Tom Power whose family is synonymous with theatre in Carrick-on-Suir. Tom met his future wife Peg Clancy when they were cast members in a play together during their teenage years. It was indeed a happy coupling, which endured well over sixty years. Tom was also an actor and played many roles with the Musical Society from it's foundation up to the middle sixties. He is best remembered for his comedy roles in Pantomime with Christy Butler and John Hurley. Tom lived a long, full and happy life although it wasn't without its shadows. The members of Brewery Lane Theatre convey their heartfelt condolences to Peg, sons Kevin and Colm, brother Noel, sister Bridget, grandchildren, daughters in law, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. Solus na bhFlaitheas Da Anam Dilis. WD Wind Turbines Clinic in Faugheen There is less than a week left to submit comments to Tipperary County Council about the draft Wind Energy Strategy. The new proposals would close the south side of the hills from Carrigadoon to Slievenamon to commercial wind turbines, however there are now plans to open north side around Newtown School and Ahenny to wind. While the closing of the south side is welcomed, the opening up of the north side would have disastrous consequences for the protection of heritage sites and the local communities, environment and businesses. It is imperative to act now and for as many people as possible to do so in order to save the Foothills of Slievenamon from large scale, commercial wind turbines. Faugheen Against Pylons will run an advice clinic in the Clubhouse, Faugheen, to help with submissions to Tipperary County Council about the draft Wind Energy Strategy this Sunday May 22nd from 10am - 12 noon. Any completed submissions can also be dropped off here to ensure they are submitted on Monday morning to Tipperary County Council. Closing date for submissions to the council about the new Wind Energy Strategy is Monday May 23rd. Further information from www.faugheenagainstpylons.wordpress.com, email faugheenaction@gmail.com or tel. 086 854 8381. Bridge Results 92 Bridge Club - The Old Mill - Monday 9th May 2016 1st Leishe Galvin and Marietta O'Keeffe 2nd Breda Nolan and Eleanor Nolan 3rd Teasie Blanchfield and Pauline Fitzgerald Tuesday 10th May 2016 - The Carraig Hotel 1st Peggy Cooney and Margaret Comerford 2nd Anne Connolly and Biddy Skelly 3rd Aileen Brett and Rosaline Dowley Arts and Heritage at the Clancy Brothers Festival 2016 Spectacular Walks The 9th annual Clancy Brothers Festival of Music and Art has a full programme of arts and heritage events for all ages and tastes. Join local historian, Tom Walsh on Saturday June 4th for a guided tour of Carrick-on-Suir. Tom shares his unrivalled knowledge of the towns historic landmarks and hidden corners, colourful history and its people. The walk starts from the Heritage Centre at 10am and is 5 each. On Sunday June 5th the popular River Walk returns. Starting from the Standing Stones in Sean Healy Park, following the River Suir to Dove Hill, this walk is a great way to clear the cobwebs and on arrival at Dove Hill Irish Design Centre breakfast is on offer for all walkers. The walk begins at 9.30am and is 10 per person including breakfast. Transport back to Carrick-on-Suir is also provided. A free fun guided wildlife walk along the River Suir completes the trio of walks this year on Bank Holiday Monday June 6th, A Walk on the Wild Side is led by Brian White, a former environment officer. Along with Brians wildlife stories and history, walkers can see, hear, smell, touch and even taste some of what nature has to offer. Suitable for all ages this walk begins at Ormond Castle at 9.30am and ends at Miloko. The Clancy Brothers Festival Art Trail The Art Trail continues to grow with new and established artists from all over the South East coming together to showcase their latest work from Friday June 3rd to Monday June 6th. This years trail launches The Art of Songwriting where artists have created an original work based on the lyrics of a song or a portrait of the songwriter. The results will be exhibited at The Tudor Artisan Hub and prints will be on view at artists venues on the Art Trail. Also stay tuned for intimate performances by the songwriters along the Art Trail on Monday June 6th. On Friday June 3rd the Sean Healy Library will be showing an afternoon film at 3pm, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem Reunion Concert in the Ulster Hall Belfast 1984 with a mix of concert footage and interviews. And on Saturday June 4 from 3 - 6pm theres an opportunity to meet and chat with members of the Clancy family in the intimate upstairs gallery in The Tudor Artisan Hub. The Sonny Cash Exhibition is also on view during the festival weekend in the Heritage Centre. This exhibition commemorates the Carrick-on-Suir photographer who died 100 years ago, and shows Carrick and its people as they were more than a century ago. Safaryan case: Lawyer challenges presiding judge The Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevans Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative districts started hearing the case of civil activist Gevorg Safaryan, who has been in custody since December 31. At the beginning of the court sitting, Safaryans lawyer Tigran Hayrapetyan filed a seven-point petition challenging the judge, who, as Hayrapetyan said, has studied numerous cases which were politically motivated without announcing a fair verdict but simply ratifying the order of the authorities. Gevorg Safaryan joined the petition saying the judge [Mnatsakan Martirosyan] has sent numerous political prisoners behind bars and he does not want his case to be studied by a judge who roughly violates human rights. The judge has retired to the consultation room to make a decision. Safaryan was detained during clashes between police and demonstrators at Liberty Square on New Years Eve. He was immediately charged with using violence against a government representative and was placed under two-month custody. In March, the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevans Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun administrative districts upheld the motion of the investigative body to extend the detention of the civil activist for another 45 days. At the same time, the court rejected a defense motion to release Safaryan on bail. He has been in custody since December 31. Two recent court rulings affirmed that lenders can enforce electronically signed and transferred notes, laying important groundwork for wider adoption of electronic mortgage technology that could improve the customer experience for borrowers and save lenders and servicers a bundle. In separate foreclosure cases in New York and Florida, judges ruled that the electronic transfer histories of loans originated with e-signatures proved the plaintiffs had standing to foreclose. This should help put to rest many of the concerns held by investors about buying loans secured with e-notes, and suggests further clarity may have to come from case law. "The regulators in this area have been reticent," said Margo Tank, a financial services attorney and partner with BuckleySandler LLP who specializes in electronic signatures. "The courts are going to be leaders in the electronic records and signatures space. It should give a lot of comfort to the mortgage industry." At stake is lenders' willingness and ability to leverage paperless mortgages to slash manufacturing costs and loan production cycles at a time of rising origination costs and complex regulatory compliance challenges that can only be accomplished through automation not to mention growing borrower demand for a tech-infused mortgage experience that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is eager to bring to bear with electronic closings. While more than 1,000 e-signed mortgages have gone into foreclosure since the paperless transactions became legal in 2000, 30% of lenders still cite legal acceptance as one of the two biggest challenges to implementing e-signatures, according to a recent survey conducted by National Mortgage News. Customer acceptance was cited as a primary challenge by 26% of respondents, while security was identified as a top concern by 21% of lenders. In the New York case, a state court of appeals overturned a lower court decision regarding a loan currently held by New York Community Bank. The bank is seeking to foreclose on a loan to a Brooklyn, N.Y., woman that was originated by the now-failed AmTrust Bank and involved an e-signature. The decision laid out the transfer history of the loan from AmTrust to NYCB through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and established that an e-note is a "transferable record" under U.S. code. "The transfer history, together with the copy of the e-note itself, were sufficient 'to review the terms of the transferable record and to establish the identity of the person [or entity] having control of the transferable record,'" the court wrote in its April 13 decision. "This evidence was sufficient to establish the plaintiff's standing as the holder of the e-note and rendered the lack of proof of valid assignment irrelevant," the ruling continued. Another case decided in April, this time in a Florida state appeals court, similarly upheld an e-note for a mortgage serviced by Wells Fargo. In that case, the court found that Wells Fargo provided "competent, substantial evidence that Fannie Mae owned the e-note and authorized the bank to pursue the foreclosure." With these two decisions, many doubts circling e-notes can be laid to rest, making the mortgages they pertain to more palatable to secondary market investors, and hence to originators. "Customers in the mortgage industry and companies have been comfortable on the e-disclosure side but less comfortable with the e-note side," Tank said. "What we hear all the time is, 'We can make the e-note, but what if we want to sell?' The transfer history was sufficient along with the e-note to meet the statutory standard. This will help loan origination and concerns that investors may have." Prior to these decisions, e-signatures and e-notes existed "in a desert," according to Chris Christensen, an attorney at Dallas law firm PiersonPatterson. It was not specifically clear how existing laws pertaining to mortgages would apply to them. Importantly, the decisions applied existing law and legal precedent related to paper documents to the question of e-signatures, and found in the mortgage industry's favor. And while the decisions occurred at the state level, they still can act as a guide post for judges in other jurisdictions in how they should approach these matters. "There's always an inherent risk in litigation that a court will get it wrong and it will get replicated everywhere," Christensen said. "We have the beacon for other judges to steer to about how we want e-sign applied." The timing of the decision is also particularly fortuitous as the mortgage industry starts to digitize through innovations like Quicken Loans' Rocket Mortgage, according to Allison Schoenthal, a New York-based attorney with the law firm Hogan Lovells. "Standing is the hot topic in foreclosures," Schoenthal said. "It's refreshing to see an appellate decision on something that's relatively new to the industry." Serzh Sargsyan receives members of EEU Intergovernmental Council On May 20, Serzh Sargsyan received members of the Intergovernmental Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Chairman of the EEU Board Tigran Sarkissian, who arrived in Armenia to participate in the meeting of the Intergovernmental Council of the EEU. The President welcomed the guests to Armenia. Underscoring that the meeting of the Intergovernmental Council of the EEU is being held in Armenia for the first time, Serzh Sargsyan expressed confidence that it will be productive. We have all joined the EEU based on our economic interest, interests of our citizens. It is important that the decisions you will adopt are tangible for the business climate, for the consumers of the goods and clients who use services. I believe that towards this end, it is critical to get rid of obstacles, technical obstacles which obstruct free movement of goods and services and subsequently reduce the economic efficiency of the integration processes said the President of Armenia. Noting that he is aware that there are numerous issues on the agenda, Serzh Sargsyan asked the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan a country presiding at the EEU Karim Masimov to inform whether there is a consensus on the discussed issues and what to expect from the meeting. On behalf of his colleagues and his own behalf, the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan thanked for the warm welcome and comfortable conditions created for the preparation of the meeting and the works of the Intergovernmental Council of the EEU. We have a busy day ahead of us and we will discuss issues related to the future development of the Eurasian Economic Union. On the eve of the presidential meeting, we will try to discuss and remove from the agenda the majority of issues so that at the meeting on the highest level presented are only major issues of strategic importance related to the future development, said Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim Masimov. He informed that today a number of issues will be discussed at the meeting of the Prime Ministers which will be conducted in a restricted as well as extended formats, and that during the todays discussions the members of the Intergovernmental Council of the EEU will try to solve them. At the meeting, the Chairman of the EEU Board Tigran Sarkissian presented the EEU integration opportunities with other unions, as well as prospects of developing relations with individual states. With regard to the normal economic development of the countries-members of the EEU, the President of Armenia stressed the importance of the security component and presented the latest developments around the NK issue, the President's Press Office reports. Foreign Ministers agreed on Thursday (19 May 2016) that NATO should do more to project stability beyond the Alliances borders. While stressing that NATO must retain the ability to deploy combat forces when needed, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said we must also do more to train up local forces, to secure their own territory, and push back against extremist groups. He underlined that such efforts are important for preserving security here at home. Ministers reviewed the Alliances support for partners to the south and the east, and considered how to expand NATOs efforts. Ongoing initiatives include training for hundreds of Iraqi officers in Jordan; cyber defence projects with Jordan; and help developing special forces training and a national intelligence centre for Tunisia. To the east, NATO provides capacity-building help to Georgia and Moldova, and helps support Ukraine with its ongoing reforms. The Secretary General announced that he would send an assessment team to Iraq as soon as possible, following a request by Prime Minister Al-Abadi to expand NATO training into Iraq. Ministers also discussed how the Alliance could further support the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, including with AWACS surveillance planes. Ministers also decided to continue preparatory work with a view to assisting Libya strengthen its defence and security institutions, provided the Libyans so request. We also agreed that the Alliance can do more in the Mediterranean Sea, in cooperation with the European Union and other actors, said the Secretary General. He explained that NATOs Operation Active Endeavour in the Mediterranean will become a broader maritime security operation, including tasks such as upholding freedom of navigation, interdiction, and supporting maritime counter-terrorism. NATO has a long history of projecting stability, through operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo, military training missions such as in Iraq, and capacity-building for over 40 partners. But we can and should do more, concluded Mr. Stoltenberg. (As delivered) Good morning. Its really a pleasure to welcome High Representative Federica Mogherini here to the NATO Headquarters. She became High Representative and I became Secretary General almost at the same time back in the fall of 2014. We met very early after that and we decided that we should do what we could to enhance and to step up NATO-EU cooperation. So that has been high on our agenda ever since we assumed our offices. And we made that decision because we believe its a lot of added value if the European Union and NATO are able to work even closer together. Because NATO and the European Union, we are unique partners and we share the same values and we share the same challenges. And we are working closer together than ever before. We work side-by-side to help cut the lines of illegal trafficking and illegal migration in the Aegean. We have a closely coordinated stance following Russias illegal annexation of Crimea. The EU delivered economic sanctions. And NATO delivered the biggest reinforcement of our collective defence since the end of the Cold War. We also coordinate our support for partners to the east and to the south. And since February, NATO and the EU have reached two formal arrangements. One on cyber defence, and the other on our practical cooperation in the Aegean Sea. So we have concluded more arrangements in the past three months than in the previous thirteen years. And I think that indicates that we are making progress in the EU-NATO cooperation. This is an important fresh start. We can, and must do more. In late June, the European Council will address its new strategic security policy. Ten days later, the NATO Summit will begin in Warsaw. We must seize this opportunity. Today, we will address how we can do that. First, I foresee a joint statement on NATO-EU relations. It will identify key areas for expanding our cooperation. Including fighting hybrid and cyber threats, supporting our partners in defence capacity building, and increasing maritime security. Second, we are developing new Playbooks to enable our organisations to closely coordinate when facing hybrid threats. On key issues such as information sharing, civil preparedness, cyber, and strategic communications. And third, we need to step up our readiness by exercising more together. We need more EU involvement in NATO exercises, and more NATO involvement in EU exercises. Today we will also be joined by Sweden and Finland, members of the EU and two of NATOs closest partners. This illustrates both, the importance of NATO and EU cooperation and the vital role of Sweden and Finland on issues of common concern, such as hybrid threats and the security situation in the Baltic Sea. NATO and the EU share twenty-two members, and more than four hundred and fifty million citizens. We need to take our cooperation to a higher level and thats exactly what we are working on now. So, once again, welcome Federica, its good to have you back. HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FEDERICA MOGHERINI: Thank you very much, Jens. Its a pleasure to be back. Indeed, you highlighted in perfect way how in this one year and a half of our parallel mandate we have really energized and intensified cooperation between the European Union and NATO, as it was our intention to do. And indeed, the preparation for the Warsaw Summit in July and the European Council taking place in a few days before that, will create an excellent synergy for highlighting the fields where working together brings an added value. You mentioned many of them, and also the very concrete things on which we are working or which we have been working. Also, and let me thank you for that, thanks to your constant presence to our Defence Ministers meetings of the European Union and the constant invitation you extend to me to attend the Ministerial meetings here at NATO, both Foreign Ministers and Defence Ministers. You mentioned very concrete and clear things were doing on hybrid, on cyber. There are other three elements where our cooperation is excellent and brings a real added value. The first one is maritime security. Were working very well together in the Aegean. We are obviously also looking at ways in which we can work together and NATO can support the activities of the European Union, in particular Operation Sophia in the Central Mediterranean, to dismantle the traffickers business. But also maritime security at large in other parts of the world. There are theatres in which we are both present: Balkans, for sure, where our cooperation is key to the stability of countries that are extremely important for both NATO and the European Union. And others, that are a little bit more far away, like Afghanistan, where again, the Warsaw Summit would provide an excellent complement from a European points of view. So the Brussels Conference that well organise on Afghanistan and with Afghanistan on the civilian part, so the political and the pledging support to the country in early October. This is the perfect example of how our two organisations that are different but complementary somehow can work together, bringing an added value in terms of security and stability in the world. Let me add one last point. I am personally very glad that Montenegro signed accession protocol. This is something that I believe highlights very well the complementarity again of our work. And I stop here, because our statements were somehow complementary; I do not have to mention things you mentioned already. Q&A QUESTION (Wall Street Journal): Secretary General, I wonder if you could talk about whether the cooperation on hybrid threat and other matters of the EU can lead to sort of meaningful intelligence sharing, or if there are too many political hurdles. And the High Representative, I wonder if you could tell a little bit more specifically, what kind of support you would like NATO to give the EU in the Central Mediterranean to Operation Sophia and your other efforts. SECRETARY GENERAL: I think that what we see related to hybrid, is that we are faced with threats where we see a combination of civilian and military means. And we see overt and covert means of aggression. Therefore, it is an obvious need for enhanced coordination between the European Union and NATO. We speak about cyber. We speak about infrastructure. We speak about energy supplies. We speak about the importance of strategic communications. And in all these areas, there are capabilities and assets in the European Union and there are capabilities and assets in NATO. And since we are, to a large extent, representing the same countries, we have to coordinate our efforts in defending those countries against hybrid threats. One element of this is of course related to sharing information. I think that we should have an approach which enhances the sharing of information, taking into account sensitivities and integrity of the different organisations. And I think we have been able to do exactly that, when we now have an arrangement on cyber, a practical arrangement, where we have found a pragmatic way to enhance our cooperation on cyber. We have agreed how to share information in the Aegean Sea, a practical solution where actually NATO ships are collecting information, doing monitoring and surveillance, and then sharing that information real-time with the Greek Navy, the Greek coastguards, and with the EU border agency, Frontex. So also in constant information sharing, different kinds of information sharing, I think there are ways to solve that in a practical way, taking into account the integrity and differences of NATO and the European Union. HIGH REPRESENTATIVE MOGHERINI: When it comes to the Mediterranean, you know very well we have already a coordination mechanism in place, SHADE, that is working very well. And we have the experience in the Aegean, that is working indeed in a perfect way. It is true the situation in the Aegean and the Central Mediterranean is different. Its different geography. Its different situation we are facing there. Its also a different kind of European Union presence. Obviously, in the Central Mediterranean, we have an operation up and running since several months operational. And that has achieved already some important results, saving lives, but also apprehending almost 70 suspect smugglers and neutralizing more than 100 boats. Obviously, as we move to potential additional tasks of the operation, such as the training of the coast-guards of Libya or the potential work on the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution on the arms embargo, we would need also to strengthen our assets and our capacities and the support and the cooperation with NATO in this respect could be essential. There are many different valuable ways in which NATO could support our work in the Mediterranean. For sure, and we started to discuss that, for sure when it comes to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, but also when it comes to communication systems, logistics, there is a lot that NATO and the European Union can do together in the Central Mediterranean. The important thing in this, and we agreed, is that we put at the service of the security of the Mediterranean and the security of the lives of the people that are crossing the Mediterranean, and at the service of dismantling the networks of smugglers, all the assets that we can, in a coordinated way, so that we do not have overlappings, that we manage to support the efforts that are already ongoing. And I am sure that we will work on that direction in a very practical way, as we managed to do very effectively in the Aegean. QUESTION (DPA): Mr. Secretary General, a quick question on the NATO-Russia Council: Will NATO ask for a new meeting before the Summit in Warsaw? Did you agree on it yesterday evening, last night? SECRETARY GENERAL: We discussed our relationship to Russia during our dinner last night. And we agreed on the dual-track approach, meaning that we need strong defence, deterrence, and we have to enhance our defence and deterrence, combined with political dialogue. And that was something which was very clearly expressed by all the ministers who took part in the debate. Its a very strong and united NATO behind the message about defence and dialogue. There is no contradiction between strong defence and dialogue. Actually, we believe that strong defence and predictability, a firm approach is the best foundation for a political engagement with Russia. Our practical cooperation with Russia remains suspended, but we have decided to keep channels for political dialogue open. And the NATO-Russia Council is one such platform for political dialogue. And we all agree that in current situation, we need a platform as the NATO-Russia Council to pursue transparency, predictability, and to work for enhancing mechanisms for risk reduction, to avoid dangerous situations, incidents which can spiral out of control. We have seen the downing of Russian plane over Turkey. We have seen some unsafe behavior of Russian planes in the Baltic. This is the kind of situations which we have to try to avoid. So we agree on the message of dialogue and defence. We are delivering on enhancing our deterrence and defence posture. But based on that, there was broad agreement yesterday, that NATO should convene a new meeting of the NATO-Russia Council before our next Summit in July. So we will now start to look into the modalities and practical arrangements around such a new meeting of the NATO-Russia Council. QUESTION (Kiev Post): Thank you, to the High Representative, Russias war against Ukraine is now in its third year. Given all the trouble Russia is causing there and elsewhere, is it time to start talking about increasing sanctions and imposing a timeline for Russias continued refusal to meet its Minsk obligations? And to the Secretary General, when you hear critics call NATO obsolete, how do you react? And do you find any validity in the criticism? HIGH REPRESENTATIVE: You know very well that decisions on the sanctions, on the existing sanctions, have been taken even recently. Let me also underline that all those that were foreseeing divisions in the European Union were always proven wrong. Weve managed to build and keep our unity. Even if we have different points of view, this is an element of the richness of the European Union, not an element of weakness, in the moment when we manage to unite the differences on a single policy, and be united on its implementation. We will have a political discussion in the coming weeks with the member states on the roll-over of the existing sanctions. There is no discussion at the moment on increasing the level of sanctions. And I also mentioned in last days the need to have, at a certain moment this year, a political reflection I believe guided by Germany and France as the European members of the Normandy Format, together with the European Union obviously on the assessment of the Minsk implementation and the way forward. But we are working every single day and every single night, most of the times, on the Minsk implementation. This is needed on all sides and at full. And this stays the European Union united position. Thank you. SECRETARY GENERAL: NATO and NATO Allies face a more challenging and a more dangerous environment now than we have done for a long time. We see a more assertive Russia in the east, illegally annexing Crimea and destabilising eastern Ukraine. And we see all the turmoil over violence and instability to the south: Iraq, Syria, and North Africa. And NATO is responding to this with the biggest enhancement of our collective defence since the end of the Cold War, with a combination of forward presence of troops, but also with increased ability to reinforce if needed. And the combination of defence and dialogue, which I just addressed. We are also responding to threats and the challenges stemming from the south. We are supporting efforts in the region to build local capacity. We have started to training Iraqi officers. We are supporting Tunisia, Jordan, other countries in the region to enable them to fight terrorism, to stabilise their own countries. And we continue to support Afghanistan, which is high on our political agenda and which is also linked to our broader efforts to fight terrorism. We do this in cooperation with the European Union and others because NATO is part of a broader international effort. And we also work with the European Union in the Aegean. So I think what we have seen is that NATO is as relevant and as important as ever because we live in a more dangerous world and therefore we need strong collective defence. We need a strong Alliance, which both understands the importance of military strength, but also the importance of diplomacy and political dialogue. Yesterday, we signed the Accession Treaty for Montenegro, underlining that NATO is in the position where we are able to enlarge and NATOs door is still open. So, especially in Montenegro, I think they feel that NATO is more relevant than ever, because they want to join the Alliance. This marks the first time in history that any federal agency, including the DEA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has approved a clinical trial with the intent of developing smokable, whole-plant marijuana into a prescription drug. The randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled study will test the safety and efficacy of botanical marijuana in 76 U.S. military veterans with treatment-resistant PTSD. ... The trial will gather safety and efficacy data on four potencies of smoked marijuana with varying ratios of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). By exploring the effectiveness of a variety of marijuana strains, the study seeks to generate naturalistic data comparable to how many veterans in medical marijuana states currently use marijuana. Results will provide vital information on marijuana dosing, composition, side effects, and areas of benefit to clinicians and legislators considering marijuana as a treatment for PTSD. Overcoming the obstacles against marijuana research The study was expected to begin in 2014 at the University of Arizona, where Sisley worked as an assistant professor and researcher. The study soon stalled, however, when Sisley was fired from the University, allegedly retribution for her advocacy for medical marijuana research. Veterans find marijuana more effective than other drugs in treating PTSD Widely reported findings released this week by a venerated U.S. research institution, affirming the safety of genetically engineered (GE) foods, has not settled a nationwide food-labeling debate. Through an examination of such information as animal toxicity tests and epidemiological data on incidents of cancer and other health problems affecting humans, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Committee on Genetically Engineered Crops found no substantiated evidence that foods from GE crops were less safe than foods from non-GE crops." The committee later cautioned that any new foodGE or non-GEmay have some subtle favorable or adverse health effects that are not detected even with careful scrutiny and that health effects can develop over time." The 388-page report by NASs research arm, the National Research Council (NRC), was met with both praise and critique, and it was issued just two months before the nations first mandatory GE food-labeling lawVermonts Act 120takes effect. Commenting on NRCs findings concerning the impact of GE crops on human health, Gregory Jaffe, the biotechnology director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), said in a statement, That should give consumers confidence about the safety of eating foods that have those ingredients." Others referenced the report as a call to action. The Coalition for Safe Affordable Food, whose members include the Grocery Manufacturers Association, pressed the U.S. Senate to pass legislation to preempt Vermonts law. This report validates the arguments of the food and agricultural communities in that it says GMOs [genetically modified organisms] are safe for the environment and as ingredients in food, and that mandatory on-pack labeling will have far-reaching negative consequences on our food supply," coalition spokesperson Claire Parker said in a statement. The NAS committee investigated a range of issues related to genetic engineering of crops, including the advantages and disadvantages of mandatory labeling and voluntary labeling of GE foods. The benefits of mandatory labeling depend on the extent to which consumers use the information to choose products that they want (or avoid that they do not want) and on their WTP [willingness to pay] for such attributes," the report noted. Just Label It, a project in favor of GE labeling, viewed the findings far differently than critics seeking to squash Vermonts law. The report confirms the importance of transparency and the need for mandatory GMO labeling on the package," said Gary Hirshberg, chairman of both Just Label It and yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm, in a statement. Citing his three decades of experience as a food executive, Hirshberg also rejected claims that GE labeling will raise the cost of food. FDA does not require labeling of GE foods based on its view that GE crops are not materially different from crops grown conventionally. Its policy dates back to 1992. By contrast, the European Union has required labels on GE foods since 2001. There, most food manufacturers have reformulated their products" to avoid the EUs requirement, the NRC noted. Food & Water Watch, one of a number of organizations that petitioned FDA in 2011 to require labels on GE foods, contended the NRC has conflicts of interest due to its ties to biotech companies such as Monsanto. It also disputed the reports finding that there is agreement in the scientific community that GMOs are safe. In reality, there is no consensus, and there remains a very vigorous debate among scientistsand farmers and consumersabout the safety and merits of this technology," Food & Water Watch declared in an issue brief. Monsanto, the agricultural giant whose GE seeds have been widely adopted by American farmers to grow various crops including soybeans, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the NRCs report. Small turtles may look too adorable, but these animals have been the culprits in recent outbreaks of salmonella, the U.S. federal officials warns. According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), epidemiological and laboratory tests have confirmed that the outbreaks were linked to touching small turtles about four inches long or their environments, such as water from a turtle habitat. A total of 133 people in 26 states in the U.S. were infected between January 2015 and April 2016, although no deaths have been reported. About 41% of those infected were children between ages five and younger. The World Health Organization (WHO) said in their website: "Initial investigations have identified four turtle farms in Louisiana as potential sources of the turtles linked to these 2015 outbreaks. Pond water testing from the four farms resulted in identification of additional non-outbreak Salmonella isolates." The turtles are said to carry the bacteria on their skins and shells. Children would get infected by touching a turtle or its habitat and putting their hands in their mouths without washing. The symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. These symptoms manifest about 12 to 72 hours following exposure to the bacteria. However, most people feel better in four to seven days. Children who are under the age of five, adults over 65 and people with weak immune systems are most at risk of developing severe salmonella infection. "The outbreak is expected to continue at a low level for the next several months since people might be unaware of the risk of Salmonella infection from small turtles," CDC said in the report. Health officials also warn that all turtles, regardless of size or whether they appear healthy or clean, can carry the bacteria. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the sale and distribution of these animals in 1975 due to risks of salmonella. The WHO suggested that these salmonella-carrying turtles may have been exported from other countries, and recommend countries that import pet reptiles and amphibians to be keen on checking for infected animals. European Southern Observatory (ESO) recently captured a stunning image of a colorful gas cloud, 163,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy near the Milky Way. According to ESO, the glowing gas cloud is called LHA 120-N55 or N55, which is housed inside a supergiant shell, or superbubble called LMC 4. Superbubbles are "bubble-shaped" cavities that are formed by shockwaves from supernova explosions and ferocious winds from the formation of new stars. Supernova explosions occur at the end of the life cycle of a star. Having survived the explosion that shaped the LMC 4, N55 remains within the cavity and now exists as a standalone nebula with blue and while stars known as LH 72. Astronomers said that LH 72 stars were too young to contribute to the formation of the LMC 4 superbubble. The brilliant stars however, are responsible for the pinkish glow, which according to them is an indication of new stars forming. "The recent rise of a new population of stars also explains the evocative colours surrounding the stars in this image. The intense light from the powerful, blue-white stars is stripping nearby hydrogen atoms in N55 of their electrons, causing the gas to glow in a characteristic pinkish colour in visible light.," the ESO officials said in a statement. "Astronomers recognise this telltale signature of glowing hydrogen gas throughout galaxies as a hallmark of fresh star birth," the statement further wrote. The intergovernmental astronomy organization said that magnificent sight won't be here for a long time. The young LH 72 stars will soon die and go supernova, dispersing N55's contents, which will form another superbubble. According to Tech Times, the length of a star's life depends on it its mass. Heavy stars live the shortest. ESO aims to preserve rare cosmic spectacles by having an initiative to take inspiring images of the universe and share them with the public. The astonishing image was captured by their large telescope, VLT's FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS2), located in Chile. Below is a close-up look of the strikingly colorful emission nebula, N55. Medvedev: It is important to maintain ceasefire regime (video) Serzh Sargsyan received the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, who has arrived to Armenia to participate in the regular meeting of the Intergovernmental Council of the Eurasian Economic Union. The President of Armenia welcomed the visit of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, which is taking place in the framework of the Yerevan session of the EEU Intergovernmental Council and expressed hope that the visit will be productive. During your last official visit we discussed the most pressing and sensitive issues of our agenda. I believe today we will continue the conversation because that time was a truly difficult period for our region which resulted from the blatant violation by Azerbaijan of the ceasefire agreements of 1994-95. Literally a couple of days ago, I returned from Vienna where at the meeting initiated by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the countries-Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group we discussed the existing situation and possible way out that situation. The agreement was reached to conduct monitoring of the violations of ceasefire and to establish the investigation mechanisms. From our side we will undoubtedly do everything possible to avoid such violations, and I am hopeful that the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the countries-Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group will be consistent in the implementation of these decisions which we adopted together. Welcome, Mr. Medvedev, I am glad to see you here, said Serzh Sargsyan. The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation noted that he was glad for the opportunity to meet again with the President of Armenia and underscored that actually this is the second meeting during one month and according to Mr. Medvedev it is very good since testifies to the level of relations between Armenia and Russia, allied relations existing between the two countries and two nations. Last time we conducted bilateral negotiations, while today we will be having an extended session of the EEU Intergovernmental Council. We will consider different, first of all economic issues which is useful for all countries. Thank you for the invitation extended to the Heads of Government to conduct this meeting in Yerevan, since this is the first such meeting here. Besides, it is symbolic that the Head of the Eurasian commission also represents Armenia. We will exchange views, and colleagues from the government will report to you on the results. I have no doubt that we will reach necessary agreements, and it, I repeat, will enhance our economies. It is true that my last visit took place under very difficult conditions. I would like to say at once that we in Russia were following closely all developments and within the scope of our abilities were assisting in the resolution of the situation. It is also important to maintain the ceasefire regime. Within this context we certainly welcome your meeting with the President of Azerbaijan, which took place in Vienna, as well as the efforts undertaken in the framework of the Minsk Group which are being made to maintain the dialogue, to go on with contacts and to rule out in the future incidents such as the last one, considering agreements reached in 1994-95 and of course to establish a more solid peace in the region and to move towards the final resolution of the NK conflict. Rest assured that Russia has always assisted and will continue to assist in the resolution of this complicated conflict. Now, we will discuss with you all pertinent issues, said the Chairman of the RF Dmitry Medvedev. San Francisco is home to one of the most expensive housing markets in the country. With rent prices soaring, more and more people are looking to earn some extra cash by renting out their homes to tourists through websites like Airbnb and Craigslist. But as the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit uncovered, many of these listings are illegal, with thousands breaking the law each day and getting away with it. Short-term rentals can be a big payday for landlords, but that means less housing and higher prices for anyone looking for a place to live. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors first identified the crunch on affordable housing in the 1980s when the city moved to ban all short-terms rentals. The measure was intended to stop landlords from converting residential homes into makeshift hotels. Last year, the city loosened those restrictions, allowing permanent residents to rent out their homes if they register with the Office of Short Term Rentals and follow certain restrictions. SHORT TERM RENTAL REQUIREMENTS Hosts must live in the home theyre renting it has to be their primary residence 90 day/year limit on the number of days guests can stay in a home when the resident host is away Hosts can only register and rent out one property Mary Former says she was one of the first to sign up. I have certificate number one, Former proudly told NBC Bay Area. The 71-year-old retiree says hosting guests helps her pay the bills. Since February of last year, 1,281 other hosts have also registered with the city. However, that number is a far reach from the 7,046 hosts that Airbnb acknowledges are listing more than 9,000 properties in San Francisco. That means at least 82 percent of hosts are breaking the law. ENFORCEMENT OF SHORT TERM RENTALS Kevin Guy oversees San Franciscos permitting process as the Director of the Office of Short-Term Rentals. I think there is work to be done and it is important for us to get the word out about the need to register, Guy said. With a staff of just six people, Guy said his office is trying to make the application process easier for residents, while cracking down on those who try to game the system and operate illegal hotels. Over the last year, the city has assessed more than $700,000 in fines, and has so far collected those penalties from owners of at least 94 properties. Still, some members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, including David Campos, are upset at the lack of oversight. Enforcement is certainly not meeting even basic standards of what you would consider acceptable, Campos criticized at a January council committee meeting. If there are legislative changes that the Board sees is necessary to make the program work differently, then we will adapt to those changes in the legislation, Guy told the Investigative Unit. To help weed out illegal rentals, the city contacted the internets biggest home sharing companies, Airbnb, Craigslist, Flipkey, and Homeaway/VRBO. Among other things, the city asked the companies to require hosts in San Francisco to include their registration number in online ads. That was more than 4 months ago and Guy says those companies have yet to accommodate the citys requests. Airbnb told NBC Bay Area theyve had multiple conversations with the city and are working to remove some illegal rental ads from its site. The company still believes the citys registration process is too complicated and, therefore, does not require its users to get a city permit. As for the other websites, they never got back to us. ILLEGAL RENTALS ENDURE THROUGHOUT THE CITY Despite Airbnbs attempts to remove illegal ads, the Investigative Unit found that many still remain. In a sample of 10 properties listed on Airbnb, city records showed 8 are not registered. The Investigative Unit went undercover and checked into one of those unregistered rentals in San Franciscos Richmond District. The owner told our hidden camera while she owns the building, she doesnt live there. City records show the building owner was previously cited for illegally operating a short term rental at another apartment complex in Nob Hill. The Investigative Unit found dozens of other users renting out multiple properties at a time, including one profile that listed 30 different rentals across the state. Three of them are in San Francisco. In April, Supervisor Campos introduced a bill that would streamline the registration process and penalize homeshare websites like Airbnb when users post illegal properties. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is expected to take up that debate over the next few weeks. Former believes those who break the law drive up housing prices and compete with an unfair advantage. Obviously, things have gotten out of hand. . . people were buying up all houses and converting them into short-term rental hotels, Fromer said. The people that live and work here have no place to go. ______________________________________ Watch the entire series in this NBC Bay Area investigation: An area in Calaveras County that was ravaged by the Butte Fire last fall had been designated low risk on a map used by state officials to gauge fire danger. A county supervisor is now seeking to change that. "It tore apart our community," Supervisor Cliff Edson said about the blaze that killed two people, destroyed 900 structures and left 70,000 acres in ruins. "It also brought together our community at the same time because we all worked together to help the victims. The billion-dollar fire, which was blamed on a drought-stressed tree hitting a power pole, is the seventh worst in state history. With such devastation, Edson wants to know why the mountain community was not included among the high-risk areas. State Sen. Jerry Hill agrees it's a problem that needs resolving, and he is urging the state Public Utilities Commission to do more to make sure utilities clear trees near power lines. Hill said it took regulators nine years to finalize a flawed fire risk map. "Evidently, this was modeling," Hill said. "You put garbage in, you get garbage out. Something was wrong in terms of the equations that they used in putting this together." PUC officials said in a statement that the map is just the first step in laying out a strategy to ease fire risk posed by power lines. They said key variables include winds, dry weather and vegetation density. And though the Butte Fire area did not meet the criteria for high risk, Edson hopes regulators will reconsider. "We still have a lot of area in our county that can burn," Edson said. "Wed like to minimize that possibility, and I think these maps will help us do that. The five-member state PUC is expected to vote on the current version of the map next week. Karabakh MFA: Azerbaijan does not disdain resorting to fraud and outright manipulation On May 17, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry voiced another farfetched accusation of the alleged use of prohibited ammunition, including shells with white phosphorus, during the military operations on April 2-5, 2016. Continuing its usual campaign of disinformation of the international community, Azerbaijan does not disdain resorting to fraud and outright manipulation. To add weight to its propaganda, the Azerbaijani side tries to involve foreign diplomats and military attaches accredited in Azerbaijan. Falsification and distortion of the reality have long become regular, constituting an integral part of Azerbaijan's foreign policy. Back in 1992, the Azerbaijani side made similar accusations of the alleged use of chemical weapons, which were then denied by the UN special fact-finding mission. Based on the findings and conclusions of the UN experts set forth in the UN Security Council document S/24344 dated July 24, 1992, the UN Secretary-General noted that "no evidence of the use of chemical weapons had been presented to the team". In subsequent years, the Azerbaijani side has been making similar absurd and unconfirmed accusations of the use of nuclear weapons against Azerbaijan in 1993 and disposal of nuclear wastes in the NKR (PACE document N 9444 dated May 7, 2002), transformation of Armenia and the NKR to a depot of bacteriological weapons (PACE document N9336 dated January 31, 2002), cultivation and production of drugs, etc. In doing so, the Azerbaijani side referred to nonexistent scientific journals, reports, organizations, and laboratories. Resurrecting its old allegations, Azerbaijan does not only try to justify its policy of use of force and denial of full and strict compliance with the ceasefire agreements of 1994 and 1995, on which the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries insist, but also aims to distract the attention from the real war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani army against the military servicemen and civilian population of the NKR. In this regard, we call on the international community to treat the unfounded statements of the Azerbaijani side with utmost criticism. For its part, the NKR is ready to host a special monitoring mission for an on-site study of all the facts and investigation of the circumstances of the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan on April 2-5, 2016, as well as the violations of the norms of international humanitarian law committed during that period. It's unlikely that a major earthquake will send a tsunami to devastate the shores of the Bay Area, scientists told NBC Bay Area. A local earthquake, along the San Andreas fault for example, would not even cause a tsunami because the plates on that fault line move side to side and, thus, do not disrupt water. An earthquake along a subduction zone, a type of fault line where one plate essentially gets pushed under the other, could trigger a tsunami that reaches the shoes of the Bay Area, but citizens would have hours to evacuate and prepare. This type of seismic event is most likely to occur in far away locations, in places like Alaska, Chile or Japan, says Dr. Steve Ward, a research geophysicist at UC Santa Cruz. Bathymetry, or the shape of the earth's features underwater, plays a big role in helping waves from those locations reach the Bay Area, says Brian Garcia, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. It can actually steer the tsunami waves into different regions, he said. So, we can get impacts from those areas. Ward says another way to think about this is to imagine the beam from a flashlight. Much of the energy from an earthquake is directional. It goes forward in the triangular shape of a flashlight beam, he says. Tsunamis follow the path of that energy. So if youre on the flashlight beam, youre going to get wet, he said. If youre not on the flashlight beam, youll probably be safe. The Bay Area is on the flashlight beam for a seismic event in Alaska near the Aleutian Islands. If the fault line there ruptures, water displaced at the source would rush down the Canadian coast near Vancouver and saturate the Pacific Northwest coastline before settling in the Bay Area. The water might even pierce the San Francisco Bay by the Golden Gate Bridge, but it shouldnt do much damage from there. It will get into the Bay to a degree, but its not going to have any sort of impact especially in the North or South Bay, Garcia said. Directly across from the entrance, though, under the Golden Gate, they could have some impacts. After the 2011 earthquake in Japan, a small tsunami wave did make its way into the Bay. Pictures of the wave reaching Emeryville can be found online. That wave took several hours to reach the Bay Area, and by that time was less than a foot high. Whats the tsunami risk where you live? Visit Know Your Zone on the California Governors Office of Emergency Services website and type in your address to find out. George Washington School in San Francisco's Richmond District went on a lockdown Friday morning after receiving a bomb threat. Students were kept indoors and not allowed to enter ot leave, according to San Francisco police. Police Officer Grace Gatpandan said the suspect had been in contact with police, but he had not been arrested. She said he did not know the man's mental state. The lockdown was lifted about 1:30 p.m. with no bomb found and no one injured. Nearby schools, Lafayette Elementary School at 4545 Anza Street and and Presidio Middle School at 450 30th Ave were also placed on lockdown due to threat made to Washington. Washington High School, located at 599 30th Avenue, received a call at 10:45 a.m. from someone alleging to have a bomb near the school. According to a statement from a school spokesperson, the school went on a lockdown as a precaution. A man was left with life-threatening injuries after a large group of people attacked him early Friday in San Francisco's South of Market area, according to police. The attack occurred around 2:40 a.m. at Harrison and Harriet streets, according to police. Witnesses told police that a group of 15 to 30 male and female suspects were seen kicking and punching the victim, a man in his early to mid 20s, and using glass bottles as weapons. The victim was knocked unconscious and the suspects fled the scene on foot. The victim was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and police today described him as suffering from "deteriorating brain function." After hearing about San Joses plans to remove 200 olive trees, some neighbors are trying to save them. The neighborhood could help sweep and take turns, said Debra Guerra, who has lived in the Silver Leaf neighborhood for 17 years. She and more than 100 other people from the South San Jose neighborhood have signed a petition to save the 35-year-old trees, which line five blocks of Monterey Road. They say taking them out would expose the wall behind the trees to graffiti. I dont see any reason why they should take them out. Theyre not bothering anybody, Guerra said. But the trees do bother some neighbors. They preferred not going on camera, but told NBC Bay Area they have slipped and fallen on the olives. That is completely unsafe and thats not something we want to allow, let alone promote, said Russell Hansen, who has worked as San Joses arborist for 15 years. Each year he has worked for the City, he says a handful of walkers, commuters and cyclists have complained about the olives, which fall for roughly six months out of the year. Ultimately, [cyclists] prefer to ride in the lane of traffic versus staying in the bike lane because if they get far enough away from the olive pits, theyre not as worried about falling off their bicycles, Hansen said. Hansen says the landscaping department is so understaffed that they cant keep up with the falling fruit. And this year, the City finally set aside $70,000 to replace the olive trees with redbuds, gingkoes and maples trees that arent so fruitful. This plan, he says, is more cost effective in the long run. We dont want to go out and remove trees, Hansen said. If we had an opportunity to preserve these trees and maintain a safe environment in that area, we would absolutely be doing that. Still, some neighbors dont buy it. I dont trust that whatever we get in replacement of the olive trees will be any better than what we have. Frankly, I fully expect it to be worse likely far worse, said resident Dave Marnatti, who thinks the City is too understaffed to maintain the new trees. Hansen says the new trees will require cleanup about twice a year, rather than twice a month like the olive trees. The City is considering keeping about 60 trees, which are set farther back from the sidewalk and road. Its final decision about the olive trees will be made next Friday. Tree removal is tentatively scheduled for June 6. News of the EgyptAir plane crash hit home for many in the Bay Area's Egyptian community, particularly one Pleasanton woman who said she knew one of the victims well. Within minutes of the reports of Flight 804's disappearance on Wednesday, Hoda Rashad heard from people across the world. Egyptian officials said Thursday the plane traveling from Paris to Cairo and carrying 66 people likely was downed by an explosion. Rashad said she went into a panic when she started seeing texts from family and friends about the crash. "You start to wonder if you know anyone on the plane," she said Thursday. "The Paris-Cairo route is a very popular route this time of year." It turns out Rashad was friends with 36-year-old Ghassan Abulaban when they were students at the American University in Cairo. Abulaban was believed to be on the plane with his wife, mother and father. On Thursday, EgyptAir retracted an announcement that debris from the flight was found during search operations in the Mediterranean near the Greek island of Karpathos. A senior U.S. intelligence official familiar with U.S. capabilities in the region told NBC News the cause of the crash remains unclear, but infrared and multispectral imagers indicate strongly there was an explosion on the flight. In San Jose, passengers traveling internationally Thursday night had mixed reactions in the wake of the crash. "It's scary," said Ameila Torres as she arrived at Mineta San Jose International Airport from Mexico. "It was my thought that I was scared to even go." Another unidentified passenger arriving from Canada said they believe air travel is still safer than a car, and they weren't worried at all. Some airports such as Los Angeles International responded to the crash by increasing security. But Mineta San Jose did not, saying the Department of Homeland Security has not directed it to do so. Rashad wasn't about to speculate about the crash herself, but she was deeply saddened by the loss of her friend. "No matter how you look at it is going to be bad, and it's a tragedy, and it's scary," she said. Abulaban and his wife leave behind two daughters - a 4-year-old and an infant. "My heart goes out to them. I don't know what to say," Rashad said. "There's nothing that makes up for this." Rashad said Abulaban owned a textile business in Cairo and was very well-liked. His extended family already had begun making arrangements with friends and family to honor those they lost. While Rashad wasn't sure what would happen to Abulaban's daughters, she said Egyptian families usually come together to take care of their own. NBC News contributed to this report. Authorities in Georgia have released body camera footage showing the last moments of an apparently out-of-control Florida man who deputies repeatedly stunned with a Taser while struggling to subdue him. The confrontation ended with 32-year-old Chase Sherman dead by the side of a highway; logs indicate he was stunned 15 times. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is reviewing the incident. Sherman's parents, Kevin and Mary Ann Sherman, told NBC News they intend to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Coweta County District Attorney Peter Skandalakis said "the review of this case in not complete" and that the footage was released "in recognition of the great public interest in this matter." The deputies who had repeatedly ordered Sherman to stop fighting them during the Nov. 20 encounter also appeared stunned, according to video footage. You see the blinking lights in your rearview mirror: Youve just gotten pulled over by police. For many drivers, a stop like this ends with a citation, or maybe just a warning. But police in Illinois have the option to go further, and ask to search a car even if theres no obvious probable cause. Its called a consent search, and police do them tens of thousands of times every year throughout Chicago and the suburbs. But NBC5 Investigates has found a perplexing trend in Chicago and scores of surrounding towns: Year after year, many local police are more likely to search a car driven by a minority driver as opposed to a white driver (when weighted for population). Is this because minority drivers are historically more likely to have illegal contraband? Actually, the exact opposite is true: Year after year, police in these towns are consistently more likely to find illegal contraband such as guns or drugs in white drivers cars. Yet they continue to search them less. To Chicago activist David Lowery of Chicago, this is no surprise. Hes the founder of the Living & Driving While Black Foundation, a non-profit corporation that has been addressing the issue of racial profiling for more than ten years. All the young people think this is normal, Lowery says, that this is the way its supposed to be. This contradictory pattern hasnt changed for many police departments in more than a decade, despite state law and a state board formed specifically to address this problem. Police continue to conduct more searches on minorities, despite more contraband found on whites, even though advocates like Lowery and a former state senator named Barack Obama have launched efforts to tackle the issue of racial profiling by police across Illinois. In 2004, the Illinois General Assembly passed a law spearheaded by then State Senator Obama requiring every police department to report the number of traffic stops and vehicle searches conducted by officers each year, classified by the race of the driver. Those reports are posted online, as part of the Illinois Department of Transportations Illinois Traffic Stop Study (ITSS), and you can look up your towns report for every year on that website. The law also created the Racial Profiling Prevention and Data Oversight Board, with 15 members who are supposed to meet every year to analyze these stop-and-search reports and recommend ways to reduce racial profiling. The state also pays a consultant to prepare an annual report, which has cost taxpayers more than $1.6 million dollars to date. But NBC5 Investigates has found that the board has only met a few times; members admit that virtually no one is looking at the annual reports, and its not exactly clear if anyone is using this data to recommend changes in how police choose to stop and search drivers. So NBC5 did a complete analysis of the most recent set of data for police stops and searches in 2014 for Chicago and 374 surrounding communities. We also looked at past years data to see if certain police departments showed patterns of searching drivers more often than others. In all cases, the rates are weighted proportionally, based on the percentage of minority drivers in a community. We found several local police departments consistently stopped minority drivers more often 23% more often, statewide. But the more striking pattern shows up in the searches: NBC5 Investigates found that police in Chicago, and in 115 surrounding communities, were more likely to do consent searches of minority drivers cars. Yet in every one of those 115 towns, they were more likely to actually find illegal contraband resulting from their searches of white drivers cars. Take the Chicago Police Department: It has a solid history of consent searching minority cars at rates two, three, four, and even five times more often than white peoples cars, even though white drivers consistently are found to have more illegal contraband, every year. Here are the numbers, based on CPDs annual ITSS reports going back to 2004: 2014 CPD performed consent searches on minority drivers cars 4.20 times more often than white drivers (based on population). But CPD actually found contraband, as a result of those consent searches, 66% more often in white drivers cars. 2013 CPD performed consent searches on minority drivers cars 4.24 times more often than white drivers (based on population). But CPD actually found contraband, as a result of those consent searches, twice as often in white drivers cars. 2012 CPD performed consent searches on minority drivers cars 3.83 times more often than white drivers (based on population). But CPD actually found contraband, as a result of those consent searches, 28% more often in white drivers cars. 2011 CPD performed consent searches on minority drivers cars 3.65 times more often than white drivers (based on population). But CPD actually found contraband, as a result of those consent searches, 26% more often in white drivers cars. 2010 CPD performed consent searches on minority drivers cars 5.83 times more often than white drivers (based on population). But CPD actually found contraband, as a result of those consent searches, 21% more often in white drivers cars. 2009 CPD performed consent searches on minority drivers cars 4.78 times more often than white drivers (based on population). But CPD actually found contraband, as a result of those consent searches, 72% more often in white drivers cars. 2008 CPD performed consent searches on minority drivers cars 3.78 times more often than white drivers (based on population). But CPD actually found contraband, as a result of those consent searches, 9% more often in white drivers cars. 2007 CPD performed consent searches on minority drivers cars 4.66 times more often than white drivers (based on population). But CPD actually found contraband, as a result of those consent searches, 19% more often in white drivers cars. 2006 CPD performed consent searches on minority drivers cars 4.01 times more often than white drivers (based on population). (The ITSS did not keep track of contraband found figures that year.) 2005 CPD performed consent searches on minority drivers cars 3.34 times more often than white drivers (based on population). (The ITSS did not keep track of contraband found figures that year.) 2004 CPD performed consent searches on minority drivers cars 2.75 times more often than white drivers (based on population). (The ITSS did not keep track of contraband found figures that year.) CPD officials declined NBC5s request for an interview about their consent searches, but issued this statement: The Chicago Police Department believes the civil rights of all Chicagoans should be respected. Every officer at the department is trained in procedural justice, which emphasizes the fair treatment and respect of the residents we serve. Traffic stops only occur when officers observe suspected criminal activity, moving, or vehicle violations. During a traffic stop, if an officer believes there is a safety risk or criminal violation, they may ask for voluntary consent to search a vehicle. In the interest of transparency and accountability, CPD documents and reports all traffic stops and publicly releases this data. Additionally, the coordination of all traffic safety efforts, including DUI, speed enforcement and traffic patrols are based on historical crime and traffic data. But this disparity stretches into many suburbs as well. NBC5 Investigates has compiled a map of the stop and search rates for every Chicago-area police agency for 2014, and analyzed how likely each department was to stop and search a car belonging to a minority driver as compared to a white driver. We also computed how likely it was for each department to actually find illegal contraband as a result of those searches, weighted for the racial makeup of each towns driving population. This is the exact information that is supposed to be analyzed every year by the Racial Profiling Prevention and Data Oversight Board. Illinois law mandates that the Board is supposed to meet annually and make recommendations. But according to the boards website, the term of every single one of its fifteen members has officially expired. And according to a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Transportation, the board has only met a total of four times since 2008. It didnt even have a chairman for the first four years of its existence. There is an annual report created with ITSS data each year containing a series of charts and graphs, summarizing all the numbers submitted by Illinois 900+ police departments. But a board member tells NBC5 Investigates that hes not sure who if anybody actually looks at those annual reports. But theyre expensive: NBC5 Investigates has learned that IDOT pays a consultant to prepare the reports each year, at a cost of $1,661,147.90 since the ITSS studies began, with an additional $168,000.00 to be paid in 2017. The board member agrees that these reports should be looked at much more thoroughly. But he adds that the mere collection of this data has, itself, drastically decreased the numbers of traffic stops and vehicle searches over the past decade. At least one local police chief Norman Nissen of the Northlake Police Department -- agrees that the data has a lot of potential to be extremely helpful. But, he warns, it can also be skewed, because of outdated census figures that dont necessarily reflect the current makeup of a communitys motorists. And Nissen thinks the data would be more useful if police could analyze it in real time, and not just at the end of the year. When you can really understand why -- on a Thursday between five and nine oclock -- there are more searches on a specific street, he says, it could be defended pretty easily, if that street has a drug house or a gang problem. David Lowery, for one, just wants something done. Weve been looking at the problem for years, now, he says. There need to be changes. Levon Zurabyan wonders how Hovik Abrahamyan is going to fight against corruption (video) Head of the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun faction Armen Rustamyan does not believe the Prime Ministers statement that the government is starting fight against monopolies and corruption. The authorities have too many friends and relatives involved in these unlawful activities. Whom are they going to punish if they start the fight? If they do not intend to punish anyone, they had better not make such statements, Mr Rustamyan said today. The lawmaker offers to declare a general amnesty for illegal monopolistic activities carried out to this date and start from a new page. Mr Rustamyan has got tired of hearing endless promises about the fight against corruption and monopolies. Levon Zurabyan, Head of the Armenian National Congress (HAK) faction, has no grounds to believe Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan who promises to fight against monopolies. I will only believe him if he starts real fight against monopolies and we see a rapid decline in prices, he said. Mr Zurabyan cannot even imagine how the head of the government is going to fight against monopolies even if he has earnest desire for it. They can imitate that they are fighting and we may learn that another three companies are importing sugar to Armenia but later it will become known that they have hatched a conspiracy, he stressed. Mr Zurabyan has nothing against amnesty proposed by Armen Rustamyan. But if it does not work, HAK will have to come to power to finish the fight. The opposition lawmaker says the authorities cannot delude people with their imitated fight against monopolies. He says the government is discredited to such an extent that people o not believe any of their promises. An explosive situation is brewing in the country. People have not rebelled until now considering the countrys security. But you cannot play with fire because at some point people will not even pay attention to the national security. We should start transition to democracy in the same was as South Africa and Poland did 22-26 years ago. Of course, the authorities will lose their as a result, but it will be much better for them to lose it in that way, he said. Chicagoans hit the streets Thursday night to renew calls to reclaim neighborhoods from guns and gangs as summer approaches. A group of about 100 people marched through the streets of the South Shore neighborhood calling for an end to gun violence. It's time for us to get out of our own little worlds and it's time for us to take our city back, said community activist Jedidiah Brown. Among the group was Nortasha Stingley, whose 19-year-old daughter Marissa became a victim of gun violence in 2013. We must have faith and we must come together and we must do this, Stingley said. Our kids are dying at a rapid rate. Sandra Blands mother joined the calls for peace. Bland died in a Texas jail cell in summer 2015. Our kids are dying and it's not just police brutality, it is us. In our own communities too, Blands mother Geneva Reed-Veal said. The group included community activists, religious leaders, and Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson made a brief appearance as well. I say that the violence needs to stop in our communities because we want to live, one young girl shouted into the crowd. A large group gathered with one goal in mindhoping that their pleas for peace will be heard. We can win our communities back by changing the climate from hate to love, said Bishop Larry Trotter of Sweet Holy Spirit Church. WARNING: Details in this story are disturbing and may be difficult to read for some viewers. In the final moments before a Gage Park family of six were massacred in their bungalow on Chicagos Southwest Side, they fed and spent time with their alleged killers. In court Friday, prosecutors revealed the horrific moments that led to the gruesome killings in February, which rocked the Chicago area and remained a mystery for months. Authorities have charged a relative of the family, 22-year-old Diego Uribe Cruz, and his 19-year-old girlfriend, Jafeth Ramos, each with six counts of first-degree murder. They were both ordered held without bail Friday as the disturbing details behind what happened on that quiet city street were detailed minute by minute. The last time anyone in the Martinez family was seen alive or heard from was at 6:45 p.m. on Feb. 2, when Noe Martinez Sr., 62, returned home from purchasing tamales and hot chocolate. A cooler with those tamales and a tray of cups was found next to his body two days later inside the home in the 5700 block of South California, Cook County prosecutors said. Scattered around him were the bodies of his wife, 58-year-old Rossaura Martinez; his son, 38-year-old Noe Martinez Jr.; his daughter, 32-year-old Maria Martinez; and two grandchildren 10-year-old Alexis Cruz and 13-year-old Leonardo Cruz. All were either stabbed to death, beaten or shot. According to a statement Ramos allegedly gave to police following her arrest, she and Uribe Cruz, who is the nephew of Maria Martinezs ex-husband, had gone to the house with plans to rob the family. She claimed Uribe Cruz was prepared to kill the family in order to get money. Uribe Cruz allegedly told police he had a lot of anger with Maria Martinez over how she treated his uncle. He also admitted to the killings, officials said. Both suspects were appointed a public defender. They are scheduled to appear in court again May 26. 'I Just Want to Live' Once inside the home, the couple hung out with family members and had something to eat, prosecutors said. Shortly thereafter, prosecutors said Uribe Cruz asked Maria Martinez to go upstairs so the two could talk. It was then, prosecutors claim, that he threatened Maria Martinez with a gun and a physical altercation ensued, leading him to shoot her several times in the head. Noe Martinez Jr. climbed the stairs after hearing the gunshots and was beaten, punched and choked by Uribe Cruz, officials said. Rossaura Martinez then climbed the stairs and threatened to call police before she was allegedly knocked down the steps and lost consciousness. After that, prosecutors claim the couple spoke downstairs with the two young boys. Prosecutors said Uribe Cruz, armed with multiple kitchen knives, stabbed Rossaura Martinez several times before the boys agreed to show the couple where some money was located. The couple allegedly stole cash, change, jewelry, a piggy bank with money in it and an Xbox 1. Thats when Ramos claims Uribe Cruz took Alexis Cruz to the basement, where his brother heard him scream. Prosecutors say Ramos told police Uribe Cruz returned from the basement alone, then stabbed Leonardo Cruz to death as he pleaded for his life, crying "Please no, please don't. I just want to live." It was then that Noe Martinez Sr. arrived home from purchasing the tamales and hot chocolate. Prosecutors say Uribe Cruz met him at the door, grabbed him and stabbed him as Noe Martinez Sr. cried out, asking, Why are you killing me? I dont owe you anything. Uribe Cruz then stole Noe Martinez Sr.s wallet and the couple cleaned up the blood and wiped down door knobs before fleeing. Ramos said that she did this because she did not want the police to take Defendant Cruz away from her, a proffer from court read. The couple allegedly disposed of the gun, pawned the jewelry and spent some of the money on milk and diapers for their child. Uribe Cruz was identified as a suspect after his DNA was found at the scene and his cell phone indicated he was near the scene at the time of the murders, police said. "In my 28 years, I havent seen a case that has hit so close to home for myself and so many others in this department than what was discovered on that cold Thursday afternoon in February," Supt. Eddie Johnson said in announcing the couple's charges Thursday. A bill that would enable Illinois residents to automatically register to vote when they apply for, update, or renew a drivers license or state ID passed out of the Illinois Senate Thursday. The legislation, which is sponsored by Sen. Andy Manar, would allow the Secretary of States office and other similar state agencies to submit eligible voters information to the State Board of Elections when visiting facilities for services. The basic information that the secretary of states office and other state agencies get on a daily basis is everything an individual needs to register to vote, Manar said in a statement. So, this plan would simply allow for you to begin the voter registration process in the same time it takes to update your license or get a state ID card. The bill would streamline the registration process, eliminating certain steps and saving taxpayer dollars. This plan will help boost voter turnout, save the state money and ensure that every eligible voter in Illinois has the chance to exercise their right, Manar added. Aside from expanding access to the polls and streamlining the registration process, automatic registration would also improve the accuracy of the states voter rolls. Electronic filing of voter registration would also reduce inadvertent human error related to the process. This is another important step in expanding access to the polls and ensuring Illinois voter registration process continues to improve, Sen. Don Harmon, a co-sponsor of the bill, said in a statement. According to a release provided by Harmon, Gov. Bruce Rauner has also expressed support for simplifying the states voter registration process. Similar legislation is being passed and considered nationwide. Oregon, California, West Virginia and Vermont have passed similar measures and twenty other states are considering similar bills. The measure passed the Senate by a 42-16 vote Thursday and will now be sent to the House for further consideration. A suburban Chicago school district is under fire after school officials refused to let a high school student walk at graduation because she was wearing a military uniform instead of a cap and gown. According to students, McHenry High School West Campus did not let Megan Howerton, a U.S. Marine, walk during the schools graduation ceremony Thursday night, citing a dress code issue because she was wearing her dress blues. News of the decision was posted to social media, where it stirred controversy among many and sparked the hashtag #Letmeganwalk. https://twitter.com/payton_bragg/status/733660890717884417 McHenry Community High School District 156 addressed the criticism in a statement Friday, saying "the attention related to last nights graduation ceremony at McHenry High School West Campus is unfortunate and draws attention away from the collective achievements of the Class of 2016." "The district and administration in no way looked to prevent the participation of this graduate or any graduate who has chosen to serve our nation, the statement read. "Rather, the administration communicated in advance via letter, senior meeting, and practice, all the protocols expected of graduates, including attire. In some past cases, active-duty students elected to wear their gowns over top of their military uniforms, with their military hats, which was allowed. There was no communication to the administration that attire protocols would not be followed prior to the ceremony. The tradition of cap and gown regalia is aimed at the idea that our graduates are celebrated as a whole and in similar attire. Many have since noted that it is against protocol to cover up the uniform, however. According to the U.S. Marine Corps Uniform Board, wearing a cap and gown over a uniform is not allowed as it is considered similar to outerwear. Sgt. Trevon Peracca also confirmed Howerton is a Marine, saying she graduated early from the school and completed boot camp. "McHenry Community High School has a long standing history of avid support for our military branches of service," the school said in a statement. "This includes individual recognition of enlistees at the graduation ceremony itself, including enlistees in the presentation of the colors, and special recognition to all veterans in the audience. In addition, the cooperation with recruiters year-round, a day-long, Veterans Day program in our schools each year, and a variety of community service partnerships with local veterans groups are priorities of the district." Howerton could not immediately be reached for comment. A North Side beach may soon see a unique surfing experience. Chicago Surf is proposing an on-land surf park among several renovations to the Wilson Avenue beach house at Montrose Beach on the citys North Side, according to the companys founder K.C. Hoos. Improvements to the beach would include a concession area with open patio seating, restroom renovations, security cameras, a gift shop, and the main attraction, a surfing simulation park that creates artificial waves up to six feet high for surfers to ride the waves. 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman hosted a community meeting at Clarendon Park's Community Center on Thursday evening to discuss the potential project, which Hoos says depends on community support. Gun violence unleashed on a Chicago-area expressway again Thursday night when a truck driver was shot driving down the Dan Ryan Expressway. The 68-year-old Chicago man was traveling on the busy inbound lanes of the Day Ryan Expressway between 95th and 87th Streets around 11:45 p.m. when someone fired shots into the trucks cab, shattering the window and striking the man in the mouth. Illinois State Police said the driver was rushed to Oak Lawns Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition. Its unclear if the semi driver was the intended target or if the gunman was firing at someone else and hit the semi instead, police said. No one else was injured in the shooting, according to police. Thursday nights shooting was the 20th expressway shooting of the year, despite state police adding extra patrols in February to try to stop the high-speed violence. Derek Holland had a decent rebound his last time out against Oakland earlier this week. That outing six innings, two runs, three hits, one walk, one strikeout was pretty dang solid. But there was one big red flag. One strikeout. According to The Dallas Morning News' Gerry Fraley, Holland worked 11 batters in that game to a two-strike count, and he got one strikeout out of it. There's something wrong with that. Yet, Holland doesn't think so. "I know my strikeouts are low, but I'm not going to worry about it," Holland told the Morning News. "Getting people out is the main thing. While what he said, on the surface, is true, it's really not that simple. When you work 11 batters to two strikes and fail to get more than one strikeout, you're increasing the likelihood of those batters getting on base by putting the ball in play. It's pretty simple statistics. That game on Monday marked the second time this season Holland has worked six innings and had one or fewer strikeouts, and it's not typical Holland who entered the year with a career K rate of 7.4 per nine innings. This year, his mark is all the way down to 4.7, which really isn't a sustainable number for a starting pitcher. That could be more likely is a huge reason why Holland could be pitching for his spot in the rotation with Yu Darvish set to return next weekend and A.J. Griffin presumably following soon after. Editor's Note: The murder charge against Che Lajuan Calhoun was dropped Friday, May 20 after detectives found physical evidence he was in a suburb south of Houston at the time Josue Flores was killed. Bond was denied Thursday for a man charged with the fatal stabbing of an 11-year-old Houston boy as the child walked home from school. Harris County jail records show 31-year-old Che Lajuan Calhoun was being held Friday on murder, evading arrest and assault charges. Online records don't list an attorney to speak for Calhoun, who's charged in Tuesday's slaying of Josue Flores, who police said was stabbed in an unprovoked attack. Calhoun was arrested the next day on a murder warrant. Officials say the evading arrest and assault charges allege Calhoun was in a fight earlier this week and fled from police. A funeral mass for Josue will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Holy Name Catholic Church in Houston, with burial at Historic Hollywood Cemetery. Dallas County District Attorney Susan Hawk is undergoing additional treatment to battle her depression, her office says Friday. According to a statement from the District Attorney's Office, she continues to fight the disorder and "she is being proactive with her mental health plan and is determined to stay whole and healthy." Her office said late Friday that Hawk has voluntarily sought treatment at the Menninger Clinic in Houston. It's the same facility where Hawk was treated for two months in 2015. When she returned to office from her previous treatment, she sat down for an interview with NBC 5's Meredith Land, in which she detailed her struggle with depression and thoughts of suicide. "My depression and my anxiety had gotten out of control, and I didn't even realize what it was. All I knew is I didn't want to do this any more. I didn't want to be here any more. I thought about my job and my job was always such a big part of me, and I wanted to do the right thing for that. So I thought I'll resign and then I will just, I'll kill myself," Hawk said in that interview. Dallas County District Attorney Susan Hawk is undergoing additional treatment to battle her depression, her office said Friday. Soon after her return to office, Hawk fought a lawsuit to remove her from the job. The suit was thrown out in January. "This must be really serious for her to be taking another leave of absence," said former First Assistant District Attorney Heath Harris, who has made no secret he'd like to run for D.A. "But it's not about me wanting that job. It's about getting someone in that position that's capable of doing that job on a day to day basis." Hawk was elected to office in November 2014, defeating incumbent Craig Watkins. "I mean, if she had breast cancer and had to be hospitalized and go through breast cancer treatment, there's not one person in this city who would have the guts to tell her she should step down," said George Milner, a friend and political supporter. "Despite whatever illness she is dealing with, the (District Attorney's) office has improved 100-percent over the previous administration. It is night and day different down there." Hawk was scheduled to be interviewed live on NBC 5 Today Friday morning, but canceled just hours before. Statement from District Attorney's Office: Additional Statement from DA's Office: A Dallas mom is warning about the potential dangers from keyless ignition systems, now common in many new cars. "I cringe when I think what would have happened," said Lindsay Wilcox, who worked for many years at NBC 5. "When you have three kids under 7, life is always chaotic, and it's always distracted, and it's always loud and your mind is always in three different places," said Wilcox. With a fourth child on the way, Wilcox purchased a new minivan in April, one equipped with a keyless ignition system. Just days later, she left it running in the garage for a full hour, directly below her 2-year-old son's bedroom. "I would swear to you that I turned it off, but apparently I didn't hit if hard enough or whatever," said Wilcox. Exhaust fumes and carbon monoxide began to seep into the house until her 7-year-old daughter walked toward the garage. "She went to the laundry room to open the door, and when she opened it she said, 'Mom, the car's still running!'" said Wilcox. "I panicked. I went flying outside and opened up the garage door, and held my breath, and ran outside to turned it off really quick." No one got sick, but with often no place to plug in a key fob, she's not the only driver to leave the car engine running. According to the non-profit child safety organization KidsAndCars.org, at least 21 people have died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to keyless ignition vehicles. With a keyless ignition system, the engine doesn't automatically shutoff when the key fob is removed from the car, requiring drivers to press the start/stop button. "Twenty-five years of driving with keys, it's just a habit that you have and you take that away, and it's just easy to make that mistake," said Wilcox. "The key fob plays a role in starting the car, but it plays absolutely no role in shutting the car off," said safety advocate Sean Kane, with Safety Research & Strategies. "At the end of the day, what needs to happen is an automatic shut-off device," Kane added. Federal safety regulators continue to study the issue, and some carmakers have already added a fix. "Most cars, when you open the door, it will chime at you and it's going to tell you that you've left the car running," said Sue Chrysler, senior research scientist at Texas A&M Transportation Institute. "You need to pay attention to that." The auto industry faces several lawsuits over the issue, and a few cars do have automatic shut-offs. In a statement sent to NBC 5, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers spokesperson Wade Newton wrote: "Auto safety is our top priority, and automakers are introducing new protocols consistent with the Recommended Practices recently finalized by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). That includes recommendations that deal with operating logic, indication of vehicle ignition/control status and the physical control characteristics of keyless ignitions systems. The recommendations also address uniform labeling - all of this so consumers can have an even better understanding of keyless systems functions." Wilcox's car does have a chime, but she said she didn't hear it when she got out of the car, leaving it running as she went inside the house with the key fob in her purse. Now, she has several carbon monoxide detectors inside her Dallas home. "I'm so paranoid about it at this point because of what almost happened, it'll probably never happen, but heaven forbid it did," said Wilcox. "You can't be too safe." Some North Texans have been without television, internet, and phone service and now feel stuck with a company they never signed up with. One North Texas mayor is calling for Frontier Communications to take action. So far, the NBC 5 Responds hotline and database have received hundreds of requests for help from people in North Texas who say they've had issues after their Verizon service switched over to Frontier on April 1. One of them was Chip Gordon, who didn't have TV, internet or a landline for 10 days. His complaint is typical of what the NBC 5 Responds hotline receives. "I've never experienced anything like this," said Gordon. "I feel helpless. I've called every day and every night and it just goes into a black hole." Gordon got his issues fixed after NBC 5 Responds got involved. But many are still having problems. That prompted the mayor of Double Oak to address the Texas Public Utilities Commission on Thursday and send an accompanying letter. Mayor Mike Donnelly wants Frontier to waive early termination fees so people still without service can change companies. He also wants more information on promised refunds to customers. In response, Frontier sent the following statement to NBC 5 Responds: "Frontier's first priority continues to be our customers. We're working with them to determine their needs on a case-by-case basis as we continue to process any requests they have." Richardson police said a female body was found Thursday during the investigation into the disappearance of Jessie Bardwell, but positive identification has not been made on the body. Friday, the Collin County Medical Examiner Office confirmed the manner of death was homicide. Police and the FBI were led to rural northeast Collin County, near Lavon Lake and south of Farmersville, where the body was found in a wooded area just before 6 p.m. on Thursday. Police said it appeared the body may have been there for several days. The identity of the body could be released as early as Monday and will be confirmed by the medical examiner, who took custody of the body before 10 p.m. A federal evidence recovery team remained on the scene Thursday night. Two people at a mobile home on the property were arrested Thursday night. Robert Guinn and Teresa White were arrested for an outstanding warrant and a parole violation, respectively. Richardson police have been searching for 27-year-old Jessie Bardwell, who has not been seen April 29 when police said she appeared on surveillance video at the gym at her Richardson apartment complex. Bardwell's boyfriend, Jason Lowe, has been charged with her murder. Richardson police say Lowe knows Guinn and White. They have not been charged in connection with the alleged murder but police haven't ruled out the possibility. On Wednesday, Richardson police released photos of a 2010 black Audi Q5 SUV with the front bumper broken off that they believe was used to "dispose" of Bardwell's body. They hoped someone would recognize the damaged SUV that had been covered in mud and lead police to a crime scene. "There's the possibility the vehicle may have become stuck in the mud and somebody may have assisted him," Richardson Police Department's Sgt. Kevin Perlich said. Perlich said tire tracks were found near the crime scene in Collin County, but couldn't say the type of vehicle from which they came. Police said they discovered blood and the smell of decaying flesh inside the SUV when they searched the garage of the Richardson apartment the couple shared. Police have been tracking down leads in the case including a park in Anna on Thursday. Police say nothing was found at the park. Dozens of family and friends gathered for a candlelight vigil this week on the beach in Bardwell's hometown of Pascagoula, Mississippi. Family members said the woman moved to Richardson in December to be with Lowe. NBC 5's Kevin Young contributed to this report. Police Chief Greg Suhr has resigned from the San Francisco Police Department in the midst of the shooting of a black woman by SFPD officers and other racial tensions, Mayor Ed Lee announced at a news conference late Thursday afternoon. SFPD Lee said he had asked Suhr, who has served in the city's police department for more than 30 years, to resign. The mayor appointed Toney Chaplin, former SFPD deputy chief of the Professional Standards and Principled Policing Bureau, as the acting police chief.[[377165291, C]] "The past several months have shaken and divided our city, and tensions between law enforcement and communities of color that have simmered for too many years have come into full view," Lee said. "Though the facts are still emerging, we know that, this morning, a young woman of color was killed in an officer-involved shooting in the Bayview. The community is grieving, and I join them in that grief." [[377341091, C]] The resignation comes after police earlier in the day fatally shot a woman in the Bayview District. Earlier in the day, Suhr said the woman was driving a stolen car and refused officers' commands to stop the car. Officers approached her on foot and she drove away. She was then shot by police. [[378589966, C]] Getty Images The shooting comes at a politically difficult time for Suhr and Lee. The San Francisco Police Department is under intense scrutiny following the fatal shooting of Mario Woods in December and the fatal shooting of Luis Gongora in April, as well as two recent scandals involving racist text messages exchanged among officers. [[378653911, C]] Activists for months have been calling for Suhr to be fired. A group of five protesters dubbed "the Frisco 5" went on a hunger strike outside of Mission Police Station on April 21, vowing not to eat until Suhr had tendered his resignation. On May 3, about 400 supporters marched with the strikers, who were pushed in wheelchairs, to the steps of city hall where they interrupted a San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting and demanded his resignation. At the time, the boards president London Breed said she would not comment publicly on whether she wanted Suhr to resign.[[378589966, C]] On May 8, the hunger strikers were sent to the hospital and ended the strike for health reasons, leading to a violent protest involving their supporters and sheriffs deputies at City Hall. At the time, Lee had still expressed support for Suhr. City supervisors Jane Kim, David Campos, Eric Mar and John Avalos joined those calls for Suhr's removal last week following the release of a critical report on the department by a blue-ribbon panel commissioned by District Attorney George Gascon. Edwin Lindo, one of the hunger strikers, told NBC Bay Area that Suhrs resignation is a positive step for the city.[[378520585, C]] This shows the power of the people and the community, he said. When we come together with love justice, the power for justice is inevitable. This battle is a victory, but the fight for justice continues, making sure the next chief is one accountable to the community and that the necessary reforms are implemented." The Frisco 5 released a statement following Lee's announcement, demanding that the officers involved in these shootings be fired and charged with murder. "We demand a meeting between the community and the interim police chief to discuss real reform created by the community," they said, calling for Lee to resign. They said that Lee "allowed rampant police misconduct, terrorized the homeless and forced out the middle and lower income residents to serve the interest of big business over the people of San Francisco." Dozens of people gathered in front of City Hall Thursday evening. The gathering was initially planned as a protest, but it turned into a celebration of Suhr's resignation among activists. "It's very exciting because we've been working two years on this, so this is party time right now," said Oscar Salinas of Justice for Alex Nieto. "But the work has just begun." Phelicia Jones of the Justice for Mario Woods coalition said, "I am elated that he finally decided to resign. It's a small victory, but a victory all the same. But we still have a lot of work to do. We have to change a culture." San Francisco Mayor Lee announces the resignation of SFPD Chief Greg Suhr. (May 19, 2016) Mayor Lee's full statement on Suhr's resignation: "The past several months have shaken and divided our City, and tensions between law enforcement and communities of color that have simmered for too many years have come into full view. Though the facts are still emerging, we know that, this morning, a young woman of color was killed in an officer-involved shooting in the Bayview. The community is grieving, and I join them in that grief. These officer-involved shootings, justified or not, have forced our City to open its eyes to questions of when and how police use lethal force. For the last many months, every day, I have asked myself, is the path to reform best advanced by our current Department leadership? Because my goal has always been, and remains, real reform and the restoration of trust. I have previously expressed confidence in Chief Suhr because I know he agrees with and understands the need for reform. He has demonstrated his commitment to instilling these reforms into the whole department, from the command staff to the cadets. But following this mornings officer-involved shooting and my meeting with Chief Suhr this afternoon, today I have arrived at a different conclusion to the question of how best to move forward. For me, this has never been about personalities and politics, its been about performance. Because, in my three decades of public service, Ive learned how important it is to measure progress along the way. Greg Suhr, a dedicated public servant whos given more than three decades of his life to the Bayview and to this City. The progress weve made has been meaningful, but it hasnt been fast enough. Not for me, not for Greg. Thats why I have asked Chief Suhr for his resignation. And in the best interest of the City he loves so much, he tendered his resignation earlier today. Despite the political rhetoric of the past few weeks, I have nothing but profound admiration for Greg. Hes a true public servant, and he will always have my respect. Ive known him for years, and hes a man of great character. He takes his job seriously, hes loyal, hes smart, and he understands that a Police officer is more than a public safety enforcer. A police officer is peace of mind, a social worker. Hes a model San Franciscan and a great man. To take Gregs place, I am naming Toney Chaplin as Acting Chief of Police. Toney has served in the Police Department for 26 years. Hes established a record of commitment to the Citys diverse communities, serving at Mission and Taraval Stations, in the Gang Task Force, and running the Homicide division. Toney has most recently helped establish our new Professional Standards and Principled Policing bureau, the arm of the department that focuses on accountability and transparency. The men and women of the San Francisco Police Department put themselves in harms way daily, literally. We owe it to them to restore the communitys trust in their department. As we embark on a new chapter for the Police, we aim to restore this trust. Some of the reforms underway might have prevented or clarified todays incident. We need to turn these plans into actions. I will hold the Acting Chief and the Department to a high standard of urgency to implement the reforms weve already announced in the past several months. And we will keep pressing forward with new accountability measures, and stronger oversight over police use-of-force. My fellow San Franciscans, we must push forward, harder than ever before, to reform the Police Department and restore trust with every community and keep our City safe. In this solemn moment, we must put aside politics and begin to heal the City. NBC Bay Area's Gillian Edevane, Riya Bhattacharjee and Kristofer Noceda contributed to this report. Information from Bay City News and the Associated Press is included in this report. Butterflies aren't unknown around the Rose Bowl, thanks the monthly flea market that boasts all manner of insect-bedecked items to the New Year's Day floats that frequently employ the winged wonders in various motifs. But live butterflies, about 1,600 of 'em, will rule the Rose Bowl-close Kidspace Children's Museum on Saturday, May 21 and Sunday, May 22. Are they currently on their way to Pasadena at this typing, with an evening arrival at LAX? Nope, though a plane full of butterflies would certainly be a draw for some fliers. Rather, hundreds of young Southern Californians have been carrying for live caterpillars over the last few weeks, caterpillars that are now doing what they've done for eons: Shedding their chrysalis and unfolding their bright new wings. The 20th Annual Grand Butterfly Release will happen at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, with the larger happening rolling out from 10 a.m. to 3 in the afternoon. What does this happening include? Tots can fashion their own wings to wear, and learn to sip nectar in the manner of a butterfly, and listen to stories and songs. One of the centerpieces of the day will be the new Arroyo Adventure, which was just unveiled at the start of the month. Will the hundreds of Painted Lady Butterflies head to this recently debuted section of the museum first? Or will they head further afield, to the yards and trees of greater Pasadena and Highland Park? Perhaps one or two will even flitter over the Rose Bowl, taking it all in from high above. Butterflies and the famous landmark are a longtime duo, both parade-wise and via the flea market, so it is right that some real, non-floral, non-antique butterflies call upon the area every now and then. The president of the Los Angeles City Council obtained a temporary restraining order against a frequent City Hall critic who is accused of making racially charged threats. Wayne Spindler, 46, was ordered to remain at least 100 yards away from council president Herb Wesson's home and vehicle. The order includes a provision that allows Spindler to attend Los Angeles City Council meetings, but he must remain 10 feet away from Wesson. He also was ordered to turn over any weapons. Spindler was released on bail Wednesday following his arrest for allegedly submitting a public-comment card at a committee hearing that included images of a burning cross and what appears to be a Ku Klux Klan figure holding a noose and a sign with a racial epithet directed at Council President Herb Wesson. Los Angeles police confirmed that Spindler was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats. According to jail booking records, Spindler was arrested last Friday and his bail was set at $75,000. He was released about 10 p.m. that night. Spindler could not be reached for comment. He allegedly submitted a public-comment card at a May 11 meeting of the council's Rules, Elections, Intergovernmental Relations and Neighborhood Committee. The card was presented at a hearing on LA Department of Water and Power reform, Wesson said. "To be honest with you, I never anticipated that I could become a victim myself of racial hatred, bigotry, hate speech and terroist threats," Wesson said at a Thursday news conference. The card, which is still available for viewing in a public records portion of the City Clerk's Office website, indicates it was submitted by "Wayne from ENCINO." The card also includes a drawing of a burning cross and a drawing of a tree with a person hanging from a noose. In the middle of the card, there is a drawing of what appears to be a triangular-shaped person in a KKK hood carrying a noose and a sign that says "Herb = (N-word)." Wesson, who is black, told the L.A. Sentinel newspaper he has become increasingly alarmed by Spindler's actions and comments at council meetings. The comments have become "increasingly worse," Wesson said. "As a young man, I sat at the kitchen table of my grandmother's, and I heard them tell the stories of liquored up klansmen running through the South, terrorizing black people," Wesson said. "About crosses actually being burned on the lawns of their friends. About black men being beaten and black women being raped and being afraid to report this to the police. "It is not ok to do that to me. It is not ok to do that to us in the year 2016. And, when I'm talking about us, I'm talking about all of us -- white, yellow, black and brown." City Councilman Mitchell Englander said he hopes a lesson is learned. "This crosses that line. It actually scares not just quite frankly elected officials or others of their staff, but general members of the public. I've heard from them directly that they're concerned and in fear when he shows up," Englander said. Wesson is scheduled to hold a news conference at City Hall Thursday to discuss the issue of recent hate speech at City Council meetings. A judge ruled Thursday that an Iraq war veteran was legally insane when he shot and killed his 73-year-old neighbor and wounded the neighbor's wife at a Reseda apartment building in December 2013. Superior Court Judge Susan Speer made the finding after reviewing reports from three experts in the case of Ricardo Javier Tapia, 35, who pleaded no contest April 28 to the Dec. 20, 2013, murder of Giam Kim Hoang and the attempted murder of Hoang's wife, Ngoc Hoan Thi Nguyen, 61. Tapia will be sent to Patton State Hospital for treatment for at least six months, according to his attorney, William M. Paparian. Tapia's lawyer said he will then ask for his client to be sent to a Veterans Administration residential facility for treatment of a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. "My goal is to get him the treatment that I believe he desperately needs," Paparian said. Tapia's attorney said his client was deployed three times to Iraq and was knocked unconscious twice while serving in the military before he went on to serve at three embassies as part of the Marine Corps' security guard program. He was honorably discharged from the military in 2010. Tapia was taken to a VA hospital in December 2013 on an involuntary psychiatric hold after his fiancee called 911 about his erratic behavior, but he was released a day later and his handgun was not confiscated by police, according to his lawyer. Paparian described his client as having a psychotic breakdown and said Tapia heard something dropped on the floor above his apartment and told his fiancee that they were under attack and that he would protect them. As Tapia's fiancee called 911, he went upstairs, shot and killed Hoang and wounded Hoang's wife, and then told responding police officers, I've got this, according to his attorney. Deputy District Attorney Edward Nison called the case a tragedy all the way around, noting that Tapia was a decorated military veteran who had absolutely nothing negative in his military career, no criminal record and no motive for the attack. Based on the reports and evaluating the circumstances of the crime, it appears that the finding was correct based upon the standard of preponderance of the evidence, the prosecutor said. It's just a tragedy in the truest sense of the word. A convicted felon accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn baby in Los Angeles last month has been added to the FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list, and a $100,000 reward is offered for information leading to his arrest. The FBI said Philip Patrick Policarpio and his girlfriend, Lauren Olguin, were visiting a friend's home in the Rampart area April 12 when the crime was committed. Policarpio allegedly had gotten angry and beat her in the face with his fists, before he pulled out a handgun and shot her in the forehead, the FBI said. Olguin died instantly and Policarpio, who at the time was on parole for a 2001 conviction, fled and hasn't been seen since, the FBI said. Policarpio has ties to Las Vegas, Florida and the Philippines, where according to investigators the 39-year-old has family members including multiple wives and children. In the prior case, Policarpio fled to the Philippines after he was suspected of firing nine shots into another car over a dispute in Burbank in 2000. He was deported to the U.S. the following year, and was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was released on parole in May 2015. Investigators say Policarpio has access to weapons and foreign travel documents in different names. He could also be selling drugs or committing credit card fraud to raise money, the FBI claims. His aliases include Damon Hiromi Tanaka, Paul Policarpio, "Bugsy," "Sinister" and "Sins." Policarpio is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing about 160 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair, though he may shave his head. He could be wearing glasses and has tattoos on his chest, back, both arms and left thigh. The FBI announced on Thursday Policarpio's addition to their most wanted list, which has featured 508 people since it was established in 1950, leading to the arrests of 475 fugitives. Policarpio should be considered armed and dangerous, the FBI says. Anyone with information was asked to call investigators at 310-477-6565. Tips can also be reported at tips.fbi.gov. A man has been sentenced to more than 137 years in prison for sexually assaulting an Arizona State University student in 2003. Maricopa County prosecutors say 50-year-old Kevin Francois received the maximum sentence allowed of 137.75 years Friday. They say a 19-year-old woman returned to Tempe for her sophomore year at ASU in August 2003. She awoke one night in her off-campus apartment to find a man on top of her, holding a pillow over her face. Authorities say the man sexually assaulted her repeatedly throughout the night. Prosecutors say Francois was identified by DNA in 2010 after being arrested in California trying to break into an apartment occupied by young women. The case went to trial in 2015. Francois was convicted after less than an hour of deliberations. All the turbulence buffeting the current presidential political season seems like a breeze compared to 1964, even if some similar partisan ill winds swirl. Lyndon Baines Johnson, thrust into the presidency following the November 1963 assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, quickly found himself fighting domestic wars on two major fronts: battling a right-wing Republican (Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater) for election while twisting the arms of fellow southern Democrats and other lawmakers to pass landmark civil rights legislation. All the while, perhaps the toughest Washington force for Johnson to control was himself a bawdy, relentless and passionate personality obsessed by power, plagued by self-doubt and ultimately driven by a strong sense of right and wrong. Its the stuff, not only of key 20th Century U.S. history, but of Shakespearean drama. Playwright Robert Schenkkan, aided by a top-notch starring performance by Bryan Cranston, proved as much on Broadway two years ago with All the Way, which chronicled Johnsons 1964 odyssey. Now a movie version is set to land on HBO Saturday, at a time when we could use an example of some good breaking out of gridlock-inducing political rancor. The small screen version of the story, which gets its title from Johnsons campaign slogan (All the Way with LBJ), also comes amid a spate of high-quality TV dramas offering sharp perspectives on relatively recent history. FXs "American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson tackled mid-1990s racial divisions that pack a contemporary resonance. Ditto for HBOs Confirmation, which revisited the 1991 Clarence Thomas Senate hearings. HBO also excelled in giving another recent Broadway show the TV movie treatment, buoyed by Audra McDonalds bravura channeling of Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill. All the Way has attracted the public attention of President Obama, who turned 3 the summer Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with Martin Luther King Jr. among the onlookers. Obama, a big fan of the Broadway musical Hamilton, has shown himself more attuned to the power of the popular culture than any president since Ronald Reagan. In a recent conversation with Cranston, for a New York Times story, Obama made a telling comment that spoke to Johnsons unrelenting ambition. His White House predecessor, Obama said, was hungry for the office in a way that I wasnt. Cranston, proving his Breaking Bad run was no fluke, infused his stage rendering of Johnson with the intensity Obama referenced, bringing the portrait painted in Robert Caros ongoing Johnson biography series to life. If Cranston is half as good as in the movie as he was on Broadway, All the Way stands to be a winner in an election year in which the verdict on the big race of the day is still blowing in the wind. Jere Hester is Director of News Products and Projects at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is also the author of "Raising a Beatle Baby: How John, Paul, George and Ringo Helped us Come Together as a Family." Follow him on Twitter. When a fire starts inside your home, every second counts. Three simple words can help save your life: close the door. It's something firefighters have known for years but now the nation's top fire safety group is pushing new guidelines to spread the message. It's not the flames that are most likely to harm you in a fire, it's the smoke and toxic gases. Research shows sleeping with your bedroom door closed can help prevent you from becoming overcome with smoke. The simple act, along with having working smoke detectors inside and outside of the room, can give you valuable minutes to escape through a window or pick up the phone and call 911. A closed bedroom door may have saved a six-year-old girl's life when a fire started in the kitchen of her Miami apartment. Firefighters said it gave them time to bust open her bedroom window and rescue the girl who was passed out on her bed. "At that point when I picked her up, she started moaning which was a good thing," said Miami-Dade firefighter David Arrencibia. "I'm grateful, had we taken another three or four minutes the situation would have been different." An apartment door that was left open did just the opposite when a fire broke out at St. Andrews Towers in Coral Springs back in 2008. Fire inspectors said the door to an apartment where a fire started was left open, causing the toxic smoke to spread throughout the senior center. A total of 18 people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation and hundreds of others were evacuated. "It's something so frustrating, close the door. It can save your life," said Coral Springs Fire Inspector Charlie Bass. The NBC 6 Investigators experienced the life-saving act first hand. They went along with firefighters with Broward Sheriff's Fire Rescue team as they set a room on fire inside a Fort Lauderdale Training Center. Once the fire was set, crews shut the door to simulate how effective the barrier can be to keep smoke and toxic gases out of a room. Firefighters used a thermal imagining camera to show the NBC 6 Investigators how just seconds after the fire started, the flame-filled room grew to 700 degrees. In the room where they were standing, on the other side of the door, the temperature was only 87 degrees. The room was hot but safe. The door provided a good barrier between the firefighters and the flames and smoke. Then two minutes into the fire crews opened the door, allowing the smoke to pour into the space. Within seconds, the room increased to 900 degrees. "It can be the difference between life and death," said Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Captain Steve Bertuccio. "By the time you realize the fire they're disoriented by smoke and might not even realize how to get out of the room." Researchers with Underwriters Laboratories also showed just how quickly the toxic smoke can travel. They set fire inside a training facility. That demonstration showed within just a minute and a half, smoke traveled to a second floor bedroom that had an open door. The bedroom with the closed door prevented smoke from filling the room by several minutes. This month, the National Fire Protection Association added the "close door" messaging to its education materials. The national nonprofit stated: "A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat and fire. Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room and outside each separate sleeping area. For the best protection, make sure all smoke alarms are interconnected." The fire safety group changed its messaging just months after NBC 6's sister station in Dallas first reported the safety benefits of sleeping with your bedroom door shut and the lack of promotion the simple act was getting by national safety groups. To watch that investigation, click here. Firefighters said some parents are afraid to shut their child's door at night because they want to hear them if there's an emergency. They recommend using baby and child monitors to keep an eye on your child. And, if your child is afraid to have the door shut, leave it cracked open and fully close the door once they have fallen asleep. A central Florida man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for beating and strangling his girlfriend. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports a jury of four men and two women took two and one-half hours to find 23-year-old Khambrel Hadley guilty of first-degree murder for killing 19-year-old Alyssa Oakes. She died in July 2013. Prosecutors say that after Hadley killed her, he put her body in the pantry and turned down the air conditioner until he could steal a friend's car to dump her body. Circuit Judge Terence Perkins sentenced Hadley to the mandatory life sentence. He also got five years on the car theft. Two months ago, a suspect vanished after a shooting that killed two people and injured two others in Little Haiti, authorities say. As a fugitive, Barton Hill, 19, managed to remain free until early Thursday, when police acted on an anonymous tip and found him at a Miami-Dade home, said Barry Golden, senior inspector with the U.S. Marshals Service in Miami. As authorities converged on the residence at Northwest 22nd Avenue and Northwest 18th Terrace, Hill came flying out the door and jumped off a balcony, Golden said. He then ran and got about 20 to 30 yards away from the residence before he was caught by police, Golden said. More Local Stories Hill was wanted for two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder in the shooting that happened in the backyard of a home in the 100 block of Northeast 68th Terrace in mid-September, police said. Jean Zamor, whose stepsons Mackenson Pierre, 17, and Yves Sylvester, 15 were killed, told NBC 6 South Florida in September that he didnt recognize the suspect. I never seen him before, Zamor said at the time. NBC 6 Videos A tipster provided information about Hills location to the city of Miami polices homicide unit, which forwarded the tip to the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force, Golden said. The task force includes city of Miami police detectives. Hill was being held on no bond Thursday night, according to online Miami-Dade Corrections records. Miami-Dade Police responded to an officer-involved shooting in northwest Miami-Dade Thursday afternoon. It happened around 4 p.m. near Northwest 76th Street and Northwest 20th Avenue. Investigators said Gang Unit detectives were conducting a narcotics investigation in the area, a known high drug traffic area. As the detectives attempted to make contact with a group of males, police said a confrontation between Det. George Eugene and Kentrill Carraway, 22, ensued during which Carraway brandished a firearm. In fear for this own safety, police said Det. Eugene drew his weapon while giving verbal commands to Carraway. While ignoring the detective's commands, Carraway was subsequently shot by the detective. "The officers gave a loud verbal command identifying themselves as officers when one of the males confronted an officer and produced a firearm from his waistband," said Marjorie Eloi with MDPD. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded and transported Carraway to Jackson Ryder Trauma Center where he was later pronounced dead. Investigators said they recovered a firearm from the scene. Carraway's family is now demanding answers. "Yeah, he was young and he made some mistakes, that don't mean nothing. He deserves compassion. He didn't hurt anyone," said Danyell Simonet, Carraway's cousin. "It's devastating. It's my sister's oldest child. He was the heart of their family, so they're trying to figure out what would make someone shoot him in the back," said Clarence Glover, Carraway's uncle. Carraway's family is questioning whether he had a weapon. "At the end of the day, I just want justice for my brother. That's it," said Teshara Carraway, sister. Police said Det. Eugene was not in a typical uniform. It's unclear whether he was in plainclothes or a police polo shirt. He has been an employee with MDPD for nine years. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating. The National Rifle Association officially endorsed Donald Trump for president on Friday just before the presumptive Republican nominee spoke at the group's national convention in Louisville, Kentucky. Trump promised gun-rights enthusiasts at the NRA convention that he would never let them down. He called Hillary Clinton "the most anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment candidate to run for office." Trump and Clinton are courting voters on opposite sides of the gun debate in events that highlight the nation's deep divide on the topic. Clinton will appear Saturday in Florida with the mother of Trayvon Martin and other parents who have lost children to gun violence. She has become a forceful advocate for restrictions meant to reduce the nation's 33,000 annual gun deaths. The dual appearances underscore the opposing positions the candidates have staked out on gun rights and safety, the prominent role the issue might play in the general election and the national policy implications for the next president. "Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment," Trump said in his speech to the NRA. "We're not going to let that happen." Clinton has said she supports the Second Amendment but that commonsense safety measures are needed to keep firearms out of the wrong hands. She has called for expanding background checks to sales at gun shows and online purchases, and for reinstating a ban on assault weapons. She has often campaigned with families of gun violence victims and will rejoin many on Saturday as the keynote speaker at an event sponsored by the Trayvon Martin Foundation. The fatal shooting of the unarmed black teenager in 2012 continues to be a flashpoint in the debate. Former neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman recently moved to auction off the gun he used in the slaying. Trump, who often notes that he has a concealed-carry permit, has called for making it easier for law-abiding citizens to carry guns for self-protection in public places, saying they could help prevent terrorist attacks. He argues the existing background check system should be fixed, not expanded, and that assault-weapons bans do not work. The latter view marks a change from 2000, when Trump wrote in a book that he supported the ban on assault weapons as well as a slightly longer waiting period for gun purchases. Gun control supporters have been energized by Clinton's campaign and fear a Trump presidency would maintain a national policy that favors easy access to guns. "Hillary Clinton is in tune with what's happening on the streets and in my neighborhood," said Tanya Keith, 44, a mother of three in Des Moines, Iowa, who got involved in gun-safety advocacy after attending a Clinton event last summer. "I'm not trying to take away anyone's gun. I'm just trying to make it less likely for my daughter to get shot on her way home from school or my son to get accidentally shot on a play date." Gun sales have boomed during Barack Obama's presidency despite, and perhaps in part because of, several mass shootings and persistent gun violence in cities. His calls to expand background checks have been stymied by the GOP-controlled Congress. He has taken modest steps through executive orders, and Clinton vows to build on that work. States are moving in vastly different policy directions: Gun-friendly lawmakers keep making it easier to buy and carry guns. Gun-control supporters keep adding restrictions. California, already among the nation's toughest states on guns, will vote in November on a ballot initiative that would require buyers of ammunition to pass background checks and outlaw high-capacity magazines. Meanwhile, other states are moving to allow people to carry concealed weapons in more places, including on college campuses, and to do so without having to obtain a permit. The divide can be exasperating for those who seek a middle ground that would protect gun rights and improve public safety. "All the political rhetoric right now, and Twitter and Facebook ... is polarizing us, telling us we're in one camp or another," said Jonathan Metzl, a professor at Vanderbilt University who studies guns and mental health. "Maybe after the election we can come to terms with this." Nathan Gibson of Johnston, Iowa, has seen the polarization firsthand. For three years, Gibson and his daughters, 12 and 10, have lobbied to repeal an Iowa law that requires handgun users to be at least 14 years old. The law prevents his girls from competing in some shooting sports, requiring them to drive to neighboring states. The Republican-controlled Iowa House approved a change in February that would allow children to use handguns under parental supervision. Critics called it the "toddler militia" bill, and Clinton accused the NRA of trying to get more guns in the hands of children. Leaders of the Democratic-controlled Senate killed the bill. Gibson said he saw Clinton's position as hypocritical, noting that she has talked about hunting as a young girl. "I'm not a very big fan of Donald Trump, but I also think he won't mess with the Second Amendment," Gibson said. "When it comes down to it, I'll vote for Trump to make sure Hillary does not get into office." Founding Beastie Boys member John Berry has died at the age of 52. His stepmother, Louise Berry, tells The Associated Press that Berry died Thursday morning at a hospice in Danvers, Massachusetts. She says Berry suffered from frontal lobe dementia and had been in declining health for several years. His father, John Berry III, says Berry helped found the Beastie Boys in the early 1980s after meeting future bandmate Mike Diamond at the Walden School in New York. Berry III says the band used his Manhattan loft for their first practices and shows. Berry left the group after playing guitar on its first EP. His father says the band was becoming more professional and Berry "wasn't up for that rigor." The family plans a public celebration of life in the fall. Two 5-year-old Russian boys have undergone heart surgeries in a Long Island hospital, thanks to a local charity that financed medical procedures their families couldn't afford in their homeland. Kiril Polyansky and Artem Sarafnov recently underwent surgeries to close tiny holes in their hearts. Their families couldn't afford the procedure in Russia, so a group called the Gift of Life brought them more than 4,600 miles from home to St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn. A surgeon at the hospital corrected the congenital defects using a device called th St. Jude Medical Amplatzer Duct Occluder, and the boys were discharged Thursday. "He doesn't know he had heart surgery," said an interpreter for one of the boy's mothers. "She told him he was gonna take a kind of space flight." A group of Manhasset high school students raised more than $10,000 for the boys. The two boys responded with the only English they know: "Thank you." A New Jersey couple is being accused of dumping the remains of their newborn baby, though the body hasn't been found, authorities said. The New Brunswick couple is charged with hindering an investigation and desecration of human remains after authorities in Middlesex County learned they recently tried to dispose of the newborns body. Authorities said that the father, 30, was arrested on May 17 on a charge of hindering an investigation for allegedly lying to police investigating the disappearance of the newborn. The mother, 34, was arrested on May 19 at St. Peters University Hospital, where authorities said she was admitted after giving birth to a baby boy. Its not clear if the body of the infant has been recovered, or if the child was the victim of violence. Police excavated the sewer line under the couples home on Remsen Avenue on May 17 and were searching the Edgeboro Disposal Inc. landfill in East Brunswick on Friday. A neighbor who lives in the same multi-family house told NBC 4 New York that the couple has four children, and the last time he saw the mother, she appeared only a few months pregnant. He called them a "nice" couple. Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the newborn's body should call the New Brunswick Police Department at 732-745-5200. More than 200 TSA agents will be added to New York City area airports ahead of this summers travel rush, when already brutal lines are expected to grow even longer. Sen. Chuck Schumer announced Thursday that 216 agents will join the TSA at LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Liberty airports. The agents are part of more than 750 new TSA officers who are being added nationwide. The new agents will hopefully avert, or at least lessen the blow of the flypocalypse the crush of passengers that will crowd airports during the busy summer travel season. These new agents are desperately needed to speed-up brutally long security lines now plaguing our airports. We need them on duty ASAP especially at JFK and LaGuardia to ward off the flypocalypse, Schumer said. This summers travel season is expected to be one of the busiest ever. More than 220 million passengers are expected to fly nationwide this summer, which could greatly impact wait times at local airports, Schumer said, citing reports. The Port Authority, which operates LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Liberty, says about 126 million air travelers use area airports each year. The news of more agents comes less than a week after Schumer called on the TSA to increase its use of canine teams to "help speed up outrageously long security lines" at airports in the New York City area. The senator said canine teams working with new TSA agents could allow passengers to walk through X-ray screening devices without removing shoes, belts and coats, cutting screening times by about half. Anything's welcome to those waiting in the snaking lines, fearing they may miss their flights. Lines have become so bad in the U.S. that industry trade group Airlines for America encouraged passengers to post photos of their lines with the hashtag "IHateTheWait. The TSA said earlier this month that it was reallocating funds to handle the crush of travelers coming into major airports during the summer. The agency said it would increase staffing at major air hubs like LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Liberty. The agency said it is redoubling efforts to enroll travelers in its PreCheck pre-screening program and is asking airline workers to pitch in with non-screening jobs like returning bins to the front of security lines. The TSAs decision to reallocate funds came the same week that management of the New York City areas three major airports asked the agency to beef up its staff to reduce dramatically longer wait-times for passengers being screened for flights. Wait-times have increased in recent months to the point that passengers are missing connections and some flights are being delayed, wrote Thomas Bosco, director of the Port Authority's Aviation Department in a May 4 letter to Neffenger. From March 15 to April 15, there were 253 instances of wait-times exceeding 20 minutes at TSA screening points at JKF, Bosco noted. There were only 10 such instances during the same time period in 2015, he added. "The experience at EWR (Newark) and LGA (LaGuardia) has been similarly abysmal, and the patience of the flying public has reached a breaking point," he wrote. First responders rescued two workers from a tipped scaffolding near the top of a a public housing building in East Harlem Friday morning. The two construction workers were doing brick and mortar work at one of the Washington-Lexington Houses on Lexington Avenue and East 98th Street when it tipped before 9:45 a.m., according to police. A bystander saw the men dangling at a 45-degree angle and and flagged down an officer, who called the NYPD's emergency services unit. Officers lowered ropes to the men and went to the 13th floor and opened a window, and were able to get the men to safety through the window. Afterward, firefighters said the two men were treated at the scene for minor injuries. One of the workers told NBC 4 New York he has been doing the same work for about ten years and had never been stuck on a scaffolding before. They have been working on the site in East Harlem for about two months. He said he was "not sure" if he'd ever climb back up into the scaffolding again. Detective Keith Connolly, who helped pull the men to safety, said they were able to complete the rescue after some anxious moments. "You look at body language, and obviously they were a little scared," Connolly said. Investigators on scene said one of two motors on the scaffolding failed, causing the breakdown. The New York City Housing Authority, which manages the Washington-Lexington Houses, said safety was its top priority. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, delivered a thank-you gift Thursday to the man who arguably risked the most to endorse him: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Trump held a fundraiser that he claimed would pay off the entirety of Christie's debt from his presidential campaign. The fundraiser, held at the National Guard Armory in Lawrenceville, New jersey, had all the trappings of a typical Donald Trump rally: big flags, barricades to corral the press, a soundtrack filled with Elton John and the Rolling Stones. The only thing missing was Trump's usual overflow crowd. Christie, flanked by his wife and three of his four children, said he hoped the state's June 7 primary would provide the votes and delegates to put Trump "officially over the top as the Republican nominee for president of the United States." Christie noted the two had once been rivals, and but said he'd decided to endorse the business mogul because of their personal friendship. He said he told his wife: "We never ever make a mistake by standing with your friend. And Donald Trump is my friend." Christie ended his presidential bid after a disappointing showing in New Hampshire and became one of Trump's highest-profile backers with a surprise endorsement in February. Trump took the stage after Christie and announced that the event a $200-per-head fundraiser that attracted about 1,000 people had retired the bulk of Christie's roughly $250,000 presidential campaign debt. "You know, Chris paid off his entire campaign debt tonight, right? His entire debt," said Trump. "And Chris, you can't even give him a table and a seat? That's terrible," he joked. Trump turned his head back as if to acknowledge Christie, but the governor who was mercilessly mocked once for his expression while standing behind Trump had already left the stage. Trump delivered his usual stump speech, with some local flourishes thrown in. While Trump usually reads off negative statistics on the economy of the place he's visiting, his stats Thursday sounded like Christie talking points, touting the state's economic improvements. He also recounted a debate in which Christie had put Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in his place. "He looked like Perry Mason that evening," Trump recalled. At one point, though, Trump made a joke that appeared to be at Christie's expense when he noted that he is boycotting Nabisco for offshoring jobs. "I'm not eating Oreos anymore. Neither is Chris. You're not eating Oreos, are you? It's for either of us," he said, drawing loud laughs from the crowd. Trump also noted the crash of an EgyptAir jet in the Mediterranean Sea early Thursday: "What just happened about 12 hours ago? A plane got blown out of the sky. And if anybody thinks it wasn't blown out of the sky, you're 100 percent wrong." Egyptian and Russian officials have said the plane may have been brought down by terrorists, but an investigation is only just beginning, with no cause yet identified. The event also included a $25,000-per-person fundraiser for the state GOP to help it pay off about $500,000 incurred in legal fees responding to legislative subpoenas in the 2013 George Washington Bridge scandal. State party officials said they didn't immediately have a tally of how much either event had raised. Earlier Thursday, Trump's campaign announced the promotion of senior campaign aide Paul Manafort. Manafort, who was brought on by Trump at the end of March to serve as convention manager, will now hold the title of campaign chairman and chief strategist, spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed Thursday. Four pro-Bernie Sanders rallies, with estimated attendance of 38,000 activists, have been approved for public demonstrations during the Democratic National Convention in July, the city said Thursday. The four rallies, given permits Wednesday night, bring the total to five for approved rallies and marches during what is expected to be a bustling week of political activity in Center City and South Philadelphia. The convention officially runs July 25-28, but two of the five approved rallies and marches of more than 7,000 activists will be held July 24 -- the day more than 4,000 delegates arrive from across the country.[[380087131, C]] NBC10 first reported Wednesday that an anti-fracking, clean energy group called Food & Water Watch was the first to receive a city permit for public demonstration. A group organizer said more than 5,000 activists are expected July 24 at a march from City Hall to Independence Mall. For the largest of the four pro-Sanders rallies approved, more than 30,000 people are expected to attend weeklong demonstrations called March for Bernie at DNC, which will be held at FDR Park in South Philadelphia. Its within earshot of where conventioneers will gather at the Wells Fargo Center to nominate their partys presidential nominee. The rally has been approved for five straight days, starting July 24 and ending July 28. The permit from the city also allows activists to gather each day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The public assemblage, as the city technically describes demonstrations, could evolve from rally into protest depending on what happens during delegate voting inside the convention.[[338107532, C]] Unlike the Food & Water Watch rally, which has a "sponsoring organization" identified by the city, three of the four pro-Sanders demonstrations have no group named, including the FDR Park demonstration.. Their permits were submitted by individuals, and the city would not identify them, a spokeswoman for Mayor Jim Kenney said. She cited personal privacy concerns for the applicants. The fourth pro-Sanders demonstration approved Wednesday has a sponsoring organization identified. A group called Black Men for Bernie has been approved to hold a We the People Restoration Rally at Thomas Paine Plaza across from City Hall on July 27-28. They will be allowed to gather from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The purpose of the rally is to address economic inequality, human rights, poverty, criminal justice reform and lack of ownership, according to the citys permit approval document. A message left for the group was not returned. The group of activists will be marching for clean energy in July, this group is the first to get approval from the city to march during DNC week. Shandra Woworuntu came to the United States from Indonesia in 2001. She planned to work as a hotel waitress. But starting the day she arrived, she says a different reality took shape: forced sex work and forced labor, mostly cleaning peoples homes. To this day, she can still hear her traffickers commands. Clean! Do that. Do this. Clean it! Clean it, she recalled. Cases like Woworuntus are likely happening right before our eyes, right now: in some hotels where we stay, in some stores where we shop, even sometimes in our own front yards! Our region has a history of labor trafficking. Six years ago, Philadelphia was the epicenter of an international trafficking bust. The Botsvynyuk brothers trafficked young victims, who were recruited in their native Ukraine with promises of a chance to live near the Liberty Bell. Prosecutors say, when the victims arrived, they slept on old, dirty mattresses, were rarely paid, and ate out of a common pot, sitting on the floor. [[380202161, C]] You could hear a pin drop when they were describing what happened to them, said Daniel Velez, the Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case. Velez tells us, the victims worked as janitors in major chain stores, like Wal-Mart and Target seen by many of us, and yet, hidden by the routine nature of their work. Trafficking takes place in secret. It hides in plain sight but the facts happen in secret, said Velez. Those secrets make it difficult to track. Since 2012, among hundreds of hotline calls, advocates identified 78 cases of labor trafficking in Pennsylvania, 61 cases in New Jersey, and 4 cases in Delaware. Many of the victims worked in domestic service, hospitality, construction, restaurants, and agriculture. And yet, Philadelphia has seen no labor trafficking prosecutions since the Botsvyunyuks. We really have what I would call a black hole of enforcement around labor trafficking in our country, said Colleen Owens, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute. Owens has studied labor trafficking extensively and has interviewed dozens of victims, including some from our region. So, the NBC10 Investigators took those concerns directly to the top. We havent had as much success as I would like, said Zane D. Memeger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Memeger acknowledges, every one of us has likely encountered a victim somewhere in the Philadelphia region. But he says most stay quiet because of language barriers, mistrust of law enforcement, and lingering fear of their traffickers. I know that we have a dedicated group of prosecutors, a dedicated group of agents, working very hard to prosecute these cases, said Memeger. Why has it been so hard to bring them to trial, then? asked investigative reporter George Spencer. I think the reality is, one, you have to identify the victims, replied Memeger. Based on her interviews, Owens believes many victims are more willing to testify than prosecutors claim. But ultimately, she says, its up to the public to ask whos serving out food, working at our hotels, or cleaning our homes. The more you point to the perpetrator, the more youre sort of pointing back to yourself because youre a part of this, said Owens. Each of us should keep an eye out for people who have no contact with friends or family, homes with inhumane living conditions, and workers with excessive and unusual hours. The F.B.I. says all those flags could be indicators of trafficking. TD Bank is doing away with its popular Penny Arcade coin counting machines after years of accusations that customers were being short changed. The Cherry Hill, New Jersey based bank made the announcement Thursday afternoon. The company had shut down more than 1,000 machines in April following news reports about counting troubles. Three class action lawsuits were filed recently against TD Bank over the free coin-counting machines. In 2012, Consumer affairs officials in Ocean County, New Jersey shared concerns with NBC10 about the machines incorrectly counting customer change. At the time, the bank refused to let county officials inspect the machines. TD Bank said Thursday that branch staff tested the machines daily and would schedule maintenance as needed. They added that the bank would immediately credit customers who complained about low coin counts. The bank operated more than 1,000 machines in branches from Maine to Florida. Customers can still have pre-rolled coins counted for free. For the second time in less than a month, a Delaware high school mourned the death of one of its students. A gunman shot 15-year-old Howard High School of Technology student Brandon Wingo in the head just blocks from the Wilmington school Thursday afternoon.[[380236281, C]] "I am sorry to have to inform you that a 9th grade Howard student was shot at approximately 3:20 this afternoon in Wilmington at the 900 block of Clifford Brown Walkway," said principal Stanley Spoor. "He was transported to Christiana hospital and died of his injuries. Counselors and support staff will be available at the school (Friday)." [[380211941, C]] The shooting scene is about a 5-minute walk from the Wilmington School where 16-year-old Amy Joyner Francis died following a fight in a school restroom. Three girls face charges in Joyner-Francis' death. Wilmington Police didn't immediately give a motive or give a suspect description in Thursday's shooting. They asked anyone with information to contact the Homicide Hotline at 302-576-3939 or text an anonymous tip to 888777. A $10,000 reward is available for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has scheduled his first campaign appearance in New Mexico the state with the highest percentage of Hispanics in the nation and where its GOP Latina governor has previously denounced him. His campaign website announced Thursday that Trump will hold a rally Tuesday evening at the Albuquerque Convention Center as New Mexico prepares for its primary two weeks later on June 7. Trump's scheduled visit to the state comes after New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, the nation's first Latina governor and a rising star within the GOP, has harshly criticized his past statements about Mexican immigrants and Mexico. Trump has vowed to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and last year he compared Mexican immigrants to rapists and drug dealers. Martinez has urged comprehensive immigration reform and asked candidates to tone down their rhetoric amid strong anti-immigration sentiment from some fellow Republicans. Martinez has said she wasn't ready to support Trump but wanted to hear about his plans to protect the state's military bases. Martinez is a prominent Republican fundraiser in New Mexico and nationwide as chairwoman of the Republican Governors Association, a fundraising arm of the GOP. A spokesman for Martinez said he didn't know if the governor would attend Trump's Albuquerque rally. Richard Berry, Albuquerque's Republican mayor who was twice elected with sizable Hispanic support, has not been contacted about attending the Trump rally, according to spokeswoman Rhiannon Samuel. Latino and immigrant rights groups have hinted that Trump and his supporters might see demonstrations when he makes his way to New Mexico. "Let's put it this way...we're definitely not going to roll out the red carpet for him," said Ralph Arellanes, chair of the Hispano Round Table of New Mexico. "You can expect to see something." Trump has drawn scrutiny from immigration advocates for saying he would push for the mass deportation of an estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally. He also has said he would support requiring Muslims to register in a database. Trump already has generated enthusiasm from Latinos to vote against him in November should he officially win the GOP nomination, said Isaac De Luna Navarro, a communications organizer for the Albuquerque-based immigrant rights group EL CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos. "Donald Trump will realize during his visit to New Mexico that he doesn't represent the values shared by New Mexicans and that his use of anti-immigrant rhetoric isn't welcome by New Mexican families," Navarro said. Other activists said they planned on attending the rally inside the convention center but would not say if they would interrupt the gathering as seen at other Trump rallies. Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders is scheduled to visit New Mexico on Friday and Saturday. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has not scheduled a visit to the state before the primary. Victor Reyes, a spokesman for Hillary for New Mexico, said Trump's view counter the beliefs of many New Mexico residents. "Donald Trump can't fool New Mexicans into thinking that he will have our best interests in mind when he compares Mexicans to "rapists" and "criminals," has doubled down on his pledge to deport millions of immigrant families...and would continue to divide our country in the worst ways," Reyes said. The program manager for San Diegos 911 dispatch center has resigned, amid controversy over unanswered 911 calls and long hold times. City officials confirmed Program Manager Gerardo Gurrolas resignation Thursday. Last month, a Mira Mesa family whose baby was mauled by the family dog gave up on 911 to race to the hospital, after waiting more than three minutes for a dispatcher. Gurrolas replacement in running dispatch will be San Diego Police Department (SDPD) Captain Jerry Hara, according to city officials. Several dispatchers and community members we spoke with say they believe the new leadership is a step in a positive direction. Gurrola did not return a request for comment. The April 21 death of a Mira Mesa infant boy drew attention to emergency hold times. The family wasnt alone in waiting on 911. In April 2016, the longest wait time for a 911 caller was 7 minutes and 6 seconds. State mandates require police departments to try to answer 911 calls within 10 seconds at least 90 percent of the time. In April 2016, SDPD answered within the 10 second goal only 67 percent of the time. A San Diego businesswoman told NBC 7 she recently had to wait several minutes on 911 when a woman went into labor at her work. Those few seconds, when theyre on hold, someone can have a heart attack, said Cynthia Green. Someone can lose a child. A mother can lose a daughter, a son, a grandparent. Photos taken in recent months of the San Diego Police dispatch center system shows wait times of more than 10 minutes to get to a dispatcher. In the heat of campaign season, mayoral candidates vying to replace Mayor Kevin Faulconer have also taken aim at the issue. Well, you know, I want to change the management from the very top because I really feel like this comes from the top down, Mayoral candidate Lori Saldana said in reaction to the news of Gurrolas departure. Mayoral candidate and San Diego lifeguard Ed Harris has been particularly critical of Faulconer on the issue that he says impacts public safety. He didnt inherit this problem, Harris said. He owns this problem. Two and a half years. If you cant fix something, in two and a half years, if youre still talking about goals after two and a half years. If you worked in the private sector, you wouldnt have a job. Mayor Faulconer declined an interview. Since the April 21 death, Faulconer has authorized more police officers to work dispatch with eight officers fielding non-emergency calls and another 65 in training to assist dispatch as they can. He has pledged more money to address retention and recruitment in dispatch and the San Diego Police Department. This week, Faulconer announced he was adding $652,000 for dispatchers to increase recruitment and retention, and an additional four million dollars in funding to address retention issues at San Diego Police Department as a whole. No specific plan for how that money will be spent is outlined because doing so would violate state meet and confer laws, which mandate negotiations with unions be done at the bargaining table, a mayoral spokesman said. Several dispatchers told NBC 7 the department sometimes doesnt use resources for the highest priority. They pointed to a $153,306 purchase of office furniture in fiscal year 2014. Others in the community told NBC 7 that if anyones going to fix the problem, its San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman. She just stepped into this. Its not on her. Its because other people have been flakey and not taking care of the problem when they saw it started, said MJ Villegas, a San Diego resident. But because shes there, I know she will take care of it. Theres a lot of things she might have to maneuver to get it done, but she will do it. City pay data shows Gurrola received $101,334.36 in total pay and benefits for fiscal year 2014. It was in the 4100 block of Lake Boulevard, that a drunk driver with a blood alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit, struck Baby Izaiah's stroller and forever altered the future course of the toddler and his family. After six years, multiple surgeries, thousands of hours of therapy and testing Izaiah, now a first grader, is finding his laugh. His father, Jacob Wallis says progress is slow going but he sees Izaiah making small strides in this journey to a more normal life. He is getting the brain recovery back, it's great to see . He is doing everything the doctor said he wouldn't do, Wallis said. At 18 months old, Izaiah was hit by teenage drunk driver. The toddler was thrown from this stroller barely recognizable after the collision. At the time his grandfather was pushing him down Lake Boulevard. He was internally decapitated and he was blind for about the first month, Wallis said. The fact that Izaiah lived was nothing short of a miracle. Jacob says he and his wife Lucy Verde were told their son would likely never progress beyond a vegetative state. Just trying to do everything I can to keep him busy. Not being so focused on him being a sick kid in the room all the time, Wallis said. Izaiah has permanent brain damage, he's paralyzed from the chest down. His vision is impaired, and he needs a respirator to breathe much of the time. Despite the avalanche of hurdles, father and son are finishing the race. He's always been a fighter He never gives up and he loves going to therapy, Wallis said. In therapy, Izaiah is doing strength training. Exercising his muscles and his damaged brain. "He's able to hold himself up on his legs. He's definitely doing some crawling getting upper body strength," Wallis said. It is baby steps for a not-so-"Baby Izaiah" anymore. Still it shows promise and gives his parents hope. Every day, I look down the hallway and just wish that I can see him walking towards me and calling me dad. That would probably be the best moment of my life, Wallis said. Wallis says if it weren't for the organization "Passion for Kids" and the great generosity of the San Diego community, Izaiah would not have the special care and the family could never afford what has amounted to more than a million dollars in treatment. Its a busy weekend for politics in San Diego, as Bernie Sanders and Bill Clinton both plan to hold rallies in Americans Finest City ahead of Californias June 7 primary. Former President Bill Clinton will rally for Hillary Clintons presidential campaign with an hour-long organizing event at 11:30 a.m. at Bonita Vista High School, located at 751 Otay Lakes Rd. The doors open at 10:30 a.m. Supporters can RSVP to the rally here. By 7 a.m., about 40 people were lined up outside the high school, waiting to get into Clinton's rally. This included a supporter who said it was his birthday, and just knew he had to be there. "Nothing ever happens on my birthday, and I knew I needed to be here to support Hillary Clinton," he told NBC 7. Saturday's stop in San Diego is part of Clintons campaign tour throughout California, which also includes stops in Pomona, Bakersfield, Fresno, Delano, Stockton and Sacramento. NBC 7 has confirmed Bill Clinton will also speak at The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe (5951 Linea Del Cielo) Saturday at 1 p.m., after the morning rally. This is Bill Clinton's second visit to San Diego this month. On May 4, he rallied for his wife's presidential campaign at Balboa Park. Meanwhile, Hillary Clintons campaign rival, Sanders, will also rally with supporters in San Diego over the weekend both Saturday and Sunday. First up, Sanders will rally at 7:30 p.m. at Kimball Park located at 1243 National City Blvd. in National City. The doors open at 4:30 p.m., and supporters are advised to RSVP to the event ahead of time here. The National City Police Department (NCPD) said attendees of Sanders rally at Kimball Park will be subject to some restrictions, including screening by Secret Service personnel. There are no bottles, backpacks, large bags or weapons allowed at the rally, and attendees should not have any metal on their person. Think airport screening process, the NCPD said. The entrance to the event will located in the 1400 block of D Avenue. The police department says supporters should be dropped off on E. 12th Street, between C and D avenues, which can be accessed from the 300 block f E. Plaza Boulevard. Due to the rally, the NCPD says some road closures will be in effect around Kimball Park for approximately two hours prior to the event. Closures include: D Avenue., from E. 12th to E. 16th streets E. 12th Street, from National City Boulevard to B Avenue A Avenue, from E. 12th to E. 14th streets E. 15th Street at D Avenue The police department said additional streets may temporarily be blocked off during the event. Carpooling and public transportation is advised, as parking around Kimball Park is very limited. On Sunday, the U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential candidate will make his way north to Vista, rallying at 2 p.m. at Rancho Buena Vista High Schools stadium located at 1601 Longhorn Dr. The doors open at 11 a.m. Again, supporters can RSVP in advance here. Sanders visited San Diego back in March, on the heels of the terror attacks in Belgium. That rally, held at the San Diego Convention Center downtown, drew thousands of supporters. NBC 7 will cover the rallies across both campaigns with live video, photos and details from the field. Check back for updates. A child bitten by a snake in Escondido one week ago has been released from the hospital and is now recovering at home. The 8-year-old boy was airlifted to Rady Children's Hospital on May 19 after he was bitten by a snake, the Escondido Police Department confirmed. According to Cal Fire, the boy's parents called 911 around 7:35 p.m. to report he had been bitten on the left foot by a snake. The reported location was a church at the intersection of Lake Wohlford Road and Valley Center road in Escondido. Cal Fire says they believe the reported location is not where the boy was bitten but rather where the parents took the boy after the incident. A Cal Fire engine stationed by the church reported the incident to the Escondido Fire Department and the child was picked up by an ambulance. Escondido Fire Department airlifted the boy to the hospital. A Rady Children's Hospital spokesperson told NBC 7 the boy was in a critical but stable condition last week. He has now returned home and is expected to make a full recovery. When Jen Brown goes shopping for her family of six, she often buys store brand products. "It comes down to price a lot of times," said Brown. Jen was walking down the aisle of the new Aldi store in Vista. More than 90% of the products on the shelf are store brand items. "I think it comes down to what we consider value and do we think it's a good tasting item?" she said. A lot has changed since the bland generic products on the shelf. Today Costco's Kirkland brand and Trader Joe's house brand have gained wide acceptance. San Diego State marketing professor Miro Copic says of all product lines in the supermarket, at least 20 percent are store brands. "If you're a national manufacturer like General Mills or Kelloggs you should be really concerned," said Copic who adds that house brands are generally 10% to 15% cheaper than name brand. Today, almost all major grocery stores carry house brand products. Copic says sales are up because of improved quality and packaging and because shoppers are more willing to buy them. "Consumers are great because they're willing to try everything at least once," said Copic, "if the product delivers they'll come back and try it again." But there are some national brands that seem to have an edge on the store shelf, according to shoppers Reggie and Shavon Lowndes they are less willing to try generic brands on cookies, sodas and cereal. "I prefer the real stuff," said Shavon. A San Diego man was sentenced on Thursday to one year in jail for poisoning his neighbors dogs using Vicodin and rat poison coated in peanut butter. Jerrold Alan Schwartz pleaded guilty to animal cruelty. As part of Schwartzs sentencing, he can be released after 240 days if he seeks weekly counseling. Schwartz will then serve three years probation. Hes also not allowed to own a dog or go to spots where dogs frequent, such as a dog park. From September 2014 until May 2015, residents say they found Vicodin and rat poison coated in peanut butter in several yards in the University Heights Neighborhood. Dog owner Diane Ferreira said she never knew of anyone trying to their two poison dogs until Mickey, a rescued Terrier mix, died in September 2014, and a veterinarian told her the dog may have been poisoned. As a result, the vet pumped the stomach of her other dog named Hobbes, a mix that was rescued after Mickey died. Ferreira told NBC 7 after the poisonings that in addition to losing their precious pet, the ordeal cost her thousands of dollars in vet bills. A motive was never revealed, but Ferreira said it appeared the perpetrator was trying to poison any dog that barks. Noise caused by military jets flying overhead late at night is becoming a problem for some residents in the Torrey Pines area. A Carmel Valley woman recorded video of a jet flying over her home near MCAS Miramar and showed the video to NBC 7. She said the flights occur all day until very late into the night. Using an app, she even measured the noise which, by her count, is 80 decibels. I wake up at 6 in the morning and its peaceful and quiet and then all of a sudden, said Anne Clark. Once I hear the first one come, thats my day. Every 30 minutes, Boom. A spokesman from U.S. Rep. Scott Peter's office said they have received a number of calls over the past few weeks about excessively loud jets and helicopters. When NBC 7 called MCAS Miramar, we received the following statement: Usually increased night operations are necessary when units are preparing to deploy or need required night training. Our normal airfield hours fluctuate and are subject to change based on operational requirements. The Marines aboard MCAS Miramar work hard to minimize impacts on the nearby communities and to be good neighbors. This is not the first time residents have complained about the noise of military aircraft in the skies over San Diego. In September 2013, NBC 7 reported on complaints surrounding F/A-18's from MCAS Miramar, flying out of Brown Field. At that time, Col. Christopher Keane, USMC, the Third Marine Aircraft Wings Inspector General said, "We are protecting your right to complain." A San Diego man who planned to join fighting in Syria before he became an informant for the FBI has been testifying in the trial of three Minnesota men accused of plotting to join the Islamic State group. Abdirahman Bashir, 20, told the jury Thursday about his role as an FBI informant, including how he communicated with others who had already gone to Syria. The San Diego native has not been charged in the case. Bashir says he became part of a group of young men who talked about joining the Islamic State. Six have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to support a foreign terrorist organization. Three others - Mohamed Abdihamid Farah, 22, Abdirahman Yasin Daud, 22, and Guled Ali Omar, 21 - are on trial. Some experts believe the month-long case may give insight into how Americans are recruited to join ISIS or act on its behalf. The men allegedly planned to reach Syria by flying to nearby countries from Minneapolis, San Diego or New York City, and lied to federal investigators when they were stopped. Farah was arrested April 19, 2015 in San Diego where investigators say he and his brother were attempting to cross into Mexico and travel on to Syria. Bashir's family moved to the U.S. from Somalia in 1992. They lived in San Diego until they moved to Minnesota 20 years later. In court, Bashir described himself as a Sunni Muslim with moderate religious beliefs that began to shift in the ninth grade. In 2014, he said, he decided to join the Islamic State group in Syria, though his father, uncle and a cousin tried to talk him out of it. Bashir testified that four of his cousins went to Syria and joined the Islamic State group. He said he believes all are dead. One cousin close to his age, Hanad Mohallim, also lived in San Diego and was "like my brother," Bashir testified. He said they also spoke about jihad and watched videos of fighters praying, fasting and dying together. Mohallim went to Syria in March 2014, and Bashir gave him a ride to the airport. "I told him ... if you go over there and think it's true jihad, then I'm going to come later on," Bashir testified. He said he stayed in touch with Mohallim and others once they were in Syria. After Mohallim left, Bashir said "I became more popular" and the other members of the group, including defendants Omar and Farah, wanted to hang out with him more often and talk about his cousin. Defense attorneys say Bashir supports ISIS but decided to cooperate with the government to avoid prosecution and make money, according to published reports. They also said Bashir recorded months of conversation with the defendants and entrapped them in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars. Two young men who pleaded guilty to killing two teenagers at a community park in Oceanside will spend decades in prison, a judge ruled Friday. Martin Melendrez, 25, and Santo Diaz, 22, were sentenced in a Vista courtroom Friday for the 2013 shooting deaths of Edgar Sanchez Rios, 16, and Melanie Virgen, 13. Melendrez, who pleaded guilty to murder, was sentenced to 40 years to life behind bars without probation. Diaz, who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, received a sentence of 39 years. On the night of March 13, 2013, Rios, Virgen and two other teenagers were gunned down at Libby Lake Park in the 500 block of Calle Montecito in Oceanside. Rios and Virgen died, while the other two teens, including David Garcia, survived the shooting. According to prosecutors, Virgen and Sanchez were killed in retaliation to gang activity. Diaz and Melendrez were two of four young men charged in the slayings. Others included Michael Zurita and Kevin Brizuela. The men were all arrested a few weeks after the park shooting. Inmate records indicate Brizuelas next court appearance is scheduled for June 3. In December 2015, a judge found Diaz not guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. A mistrial was declared for Diaz on two counts of attempted murder. His sentencing Friday was for voluntary manslaughter charges. More than 50 people packed the gallery at Fridays sentencing, including family members of both the defendants and victims. Melendrez and Diaz both addressed the court, Melendrez through a statement read by his attorney. That statement read, in part: I'm remorseful for the event and for the loss of innocent lives. [There are] no words to make it right or take pain away. I hope and pray in time they can forgive me. Diaz turned to the families of the victims are said this: Id like to apologize for your losses; Im very sorry for what happened. I did not shoot. Some of the victims family members walked out of the courtroom as Diaz spoke. Im changing, he added. [I] want to be someone successful. Diazs attorney claimed his client was not the shooter in this case and was not involved in planning the shooting at the park. Diazs mother also spoke, asking for forgiveness from the victims families on behalf of her son and family. I just want to say sorry. My son, I love you and I'll be waiting for him, the mother said. Diazs sister, Sonja Diaz, spoke as well, saying the shooting has caused pain for many families. It has broken many hearts, said Sonja. Loved ones of the victims also addressed the court, including Sanchezs cousin, who said the teen loved cooking, had a heart of gold and adored his friends and family. He asked the judge to give Melendrez and Diaz to the maximum sentences for cutting Sanchezs life short. [Edgar] didnt get a chance to graduate, the cousin added. Sanchezs mother, Georgina Sanchez, also spoke in court. I came to say thank you for justice being done. I come here destroyed. I have not been able to recover, Georgina said. It seems like it was just yesterday. Sanchezs sister, Nataly Sanchez, told NBC 7 she did not feel Diazs apology was sincere. I dont believe he was sorry [that] hes sincerely sorry, Nataly said. Melendrez, I do believe is sorry. Its hard for me to forgive him. I accept [Melendrezs] apology and I believe it was sincere but I just, I cant say, Yes, its okay that you took my brother. Meanwhile, Virgens cousin told the court the teens were so young, so full of life and described Virgen as wise, strong and outgoing. Garcia, one of the survivors of the shooting, also addressed the court and offered forgiveness. Everybody makes mistakes; people are suffering. I'm not angry with you. I do forgive you, Garcia said. What you did, its not going to go unpunished. Whether you shot or not, you were there. I forgive you since the day I woke up, Garcia added. I forgive every single one of you. The deadly shooting at the park deeply rattled Oceanside residents, many still reeling from another round of deadly violence in their community, at that very same park two years prior. On May 3, 2011, the bodied of teenagers Fernando Felix Solano, 16, and Sandra Salgado, 14, were found shot to death near Libby Lake Park. A community impacted by gang activity, Oceanside continues to rebuild after the violent tragedies, promoting a better life for youth through mentoring programs such as the Vista Community Clinics Project REACH. The group has hosted Celebration of Life gatherings at the park on the anniversary of the Libby Lake shootings to bring residents together to remember the young lives taken too soon and encourage the bright futures of teens who still live in the area. Garcia spoke with NBC 7 in March 2015 about how the violence changed his life and community. Now a student at Mira Costa College, Garcia said the shooting made him realize that making Oceanside a safer and better place is possible. The incident gave him a second chance at life, he said, and hope for the future. Garcia now helps mentor youth through Project REACH. According to Project REACH, Libby Lake Park is starkly different than it was three years ago. Today, Oceanside youth have taken back their park, playing and enjoying the space instead of living in fear. About 900 local elementary school students came together on Friday morning at South Mission Beach to share a message, figuratively and literally. After spending time cleaning litter from the sand, the students joined together to create a striking image that read "Sea Change" with a crab design. The stunning formation was spotted by the NBC 7 news chopper just before 11 a.m. The event was part of the annual Kids' Ocean Day Event in San Diego, which is one of six cities nationwide that participate to encourage students to become lifelong stewards of marine life. The event is organized locally by I Love A Clean San Diego (ILACSD), whose organizers estimate there are 5 trillion pieces of plastic in the world's oceans. The demonstration aims to encourage everyone to keep oceans clean. Sarah Buchholz, spokeswoman for ILACSD, said the students love taking part in something this large-scale and creative. "One of our students said she had never done something like this before," she said. Christy Knisely was among the Good Samaritans who helped save a mans life after his truck flew off northbound Interstate 5 into the Agua Hedionda Lagoon in Carlsbad. She was on her way home from work when she saw a pick-up truck driving erratically behind her, then race past. CHP says the driver was going 100 miles per hour. Minutes later, she says instinct kicked in when she realized it had flown off the freeway into the lagoon. Its human life and there's nothing more important in my opinion," Knisely said. The rescue effort included several employees from California Water Sports. They jumped on jet skis and raced to the rescue of the 28-year-old Oceanside man pinned in the truck, drivers side down in the water. He was pinned in the car and I tried to pull him out of the water so he wouldnt drown, said Josh Cantor, Owner of California Water Sports. I saw the vehicle and just knew we had to get the person out of the vehicle. Thats all I could think about, said Knisely. Knisely put her Navy training to work, feeling for a pulse she says wasnt there. She also noticed a gaping wound that went around the drivers head. I just put my hands toward his sternum, said Knisely. I knew I had to go there and started with my left hand just to give compressions is all I could do, because my right hand was holding his head." She says after what seemed like forever, the man finally showed a sign of life after someone else helped to give compressions. Knisely just hoping the 28-year-old man hadnt taken his last breath. Whether or not that person completely survives tragedy or not, I felt like we gave his family a chance. Hopefully, it's not to say goodbye," she said. CHP believes alcohol may have played a role in the crash. Three air marshals were flying on EgyptAir Flight MS804, which crashed over the Mediterranean Sea early Thursday, according to authorities. EgyptAir confirmed the names of the security team to NBC News Thursday as Mohamed Ahmed Abd al Razak Abd al Kareem, Ahmed Mohamed Magdy Ahmad and Mohamed Abdel Monim Al Ghoneimy al Kyal. A former NTSB investigator told MSNBC that Egypt recently boosted security, which could explain for the number of officers on board. But Frances transport chief Alain Vidalies said having that many security forces on board such a flight was the usual practice. Sixty-six passengers were on board the plance, which was able to carry up to 189 passengers. The flight was not transporting any freight, Vidalies said. Egyptian security has been under scrutiny since a Russian Metrojet plane crashed after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh airport on Oct. 31, killing all 224 people on board. The search continued on Friday for missing EgyptAir flight 804, which disappeared from the radar while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. Authorities were scouring a wide area south of the Greek island of Crete to search for wreckage, over 24 hours after the Airbus 320 lost contact. France, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and the UK are all supporting Egypt's search effort, the defense ministry said. Egyptian airport officials said that three French and three British investigators and an AirBus technical expert have arrived in Cairo to join an investigation into the plane crash. Late Thursday, a senior Greek air safety official said the debris located so far in the Mediterranean sea reported to have been "floating material" did not belong to the missing jet. Athanassios Binis, head of Greece's Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board, told state ERT TV that "an assessment of the finds showed that they do not belong to an aircraft." It is not yet known what caused the crash. The Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said that the plane swerved wildly before plummeting into the sea. The Egyptian military said that no distress call was received from the pilot. The country's aviation minister Sherif Fathi said the likelihood the plane was brought down by a terror attack is "higher than the possibility of a technical failure." Yet France's foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault asserted Friday on France-2 television that there is "absolutely no indication" of what caused the crash. The junior minister for transport, Alain Vidalies, said on France-Info radio that "no theory is favored" at this stage and urged "the greatest caution." Amid fears the plane was downed by an extremist attack, Vidalies defended security at Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport, saying staff badges are revoked if there is the slightest security doubt. Families of the victims spent the night in a hotel in Cairo while they awaited the news of their loved ones. Egyptian officials said some arrived from Paris late Thursday, among them eight French relatives of the 15 French passengers on board the missing jet. The Egyptian officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press Online lodging service Airbnb has reached an agreement with Montgomery County, Maryland to start collecting a hotel tax on behalf of its hosts. Montgomery County's executive office attorney Scott Foncannon tells The Baltimore Sun that the agreement was signed last week. It is the first of its kind in Maryland. The company told hosts in an email recently that it plans to start collecting the hotel tax for reservations made on or after June 1. Airbnb will remit the payments to the county. The San Francisco firm has similar agreements in more than 160 jurisdictions around the world and is in talks with Baltimore leaders on the same topic. The company says about 14,200 guests used Airbnb to stay in Montgomery County last year. Gender identity discrimination laws in the D.C. area are receiving renewed attention after a security guard was charged Wednesday with assaulting a transgender woman who was using the women's bathroom at a Giant grocery store. Ebony Belcher, 32, said she was trying to use the bathroom at the Giant on H Street NE when a security guard grabbed her and threw her out of the restroom. "The restroom door came open. All I heard was, 'I know you are a man,'" Belcher said. The guard, identified in court documents as Francine Bernice Jones, was charged with simple assault. Jones plead not guilty on Thursday. According to the DC Office of Human Rights, the alleged assault violates the District's Human Rights Act. "Individuals have the right to use the bathroom based on their gender identity they feel comfortable using," Monica Palacio, director of the DC Office of Human Rights. Since October 2015, Palacio said the office has received 16 complaints from transgender persons who say they were denied use of a bathroom. "They can be victims of violence they can be harassed they can be kicked out of places," Palacio said. How the laws differ in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. In D.C., it's against the law to deny someone access to a bathroom based on their gender identity and the District requires that single-user bathrooms be gender neutral. "A business can only turn away someone if theyre not patronizing the business," Palacio said. The DC Office of Human Rights has had 300 complaints of public restrooms not complying with the gender neutral requirement since 2014, Palacio said. Seventeen states, including Maryland, have similar anti-discrimination laws that specifically protect transgender people. Virginia, however, does not have a gender identity discrimination law. Gov. Terry McAuliffe recently signed an executive order protecting state employees from gender identity discrimination. The role of federal law U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has said Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects people from discrimination in all 50 states. North Carolina is currently in a battle with the Justice Department over the interpretation of Title VII after passing a law that says transgender people must use public bathrooms, showers and changing rooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificate. The Civil Rights Act does not specifically mention transgender people. Palacio said it's important for states to have their own laws. "A local law provides much more immediate relief," Palacio said. "Fighting a claim with the federal government for Title 7 could take years for any type of resolution or relief." Palacio said local laws may also help to inform local businesses who may not be aware of the federal law. What to Know The suspect, Kia Divband, told detectives the baby began choking and vomiting as he fed her milk as she sat in her stroller. Prosecutors said the baby's injuries revealed her death was caused by repeated physical abuse. The baby, Millie Lilliston, died April 22, three days after she was taken to the hospital. A Maryland day care owner is due in court Friday for a preliminary hearing in the death of a 6-month-old baby. The baby, Miller "Millie" Lilliston, died after being in Kia Divband's care, authorities said. Divband is charged with second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree child abuse. He is being held on $2 million bond. Police were called to the hospital April 19 after Lilliston was brought in unresponsive. The baby had been at Little Dreamers Creative Learning Center, a licensed home day care provider on Grandin Avenue in Rockville, Montgomery County Police said. Doctors found Lilliston had multiple injuries that were the result of repeated incidents of abuse, police said. The baby died three days later, on April 22. Divband, 35, told detectives Lilliston began choking and vomiting as he fed her milk as she sat in her stroller. When the infant stopped vomiting, he took her into a bathroom to clean her face and saw she was unresponsive and her lips had turned blue. He said he performed CPR and yelled to his wife to call 911. At Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, doctors saw several injuries on the baby, including rib fractures and bruises on her face and body, according to police. Lilliston then was flown to Children's National Medical Center. Doctors found injuries in various stages of healing, which were the result of "non-accidental, inflicted trauma," police said. Police and prosecutors said Lilliston's injuries, along with evidence recovered from the day care, revealed her death was caused by repeated physical abuse. Her death was ruled a homicide caused by multiple blunt-force injuries. Divband's lawyer, Terrence McGann, has said his client is innocent. Little Dreamers was registered with the Maryland State Department of Education's Office of Child Care. The business was registered in July 2015 and was not due for another inspection until this July, state officials said. No complaints about the center had been filed with the state. Little Dreamers was inspected after Divband was charged, and the owner relinquished the license. The day care center was closed with a suspended license, state officials said. An exhibit at a Massachusetts museum is exploring Asia's influence on Dutch arts and culture in the 17th century. Brightly colored cottons, ornate lacquered treasures and intriguing spices - all the rage in Amsterdam in the 1600s - are now on display at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. "'Asia in Amsterdam' is an exhibition that explores the transformative power that Asia had on The Netherlands in the 17th century, the art in The Nethlerands and culture in The Netherlands," said Karina Corrigan, H.A. Crosby Forbes curator of Asian export art. Corrigan spent years working on this impressive exhibition in partnership with the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. "Together we've been able to create an exhibition that tells a very complex and fascinating story," Corrigan said. That story centers on the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC), the world's first corporation. The VOC's monopoly on trade in Asia had a huge impact on life in the Netherlands during this period. "Much of what we're exploring in the exhibition are the extraordinary works of art that were coming back from Asia in Dutch homes and life, really transforming people's houses and wardrobes," Corrigan told necn. The exhibition features 200 works of art including paintings depicting the Asian influence, silk robes in bright colors never before seen in Europe, even porcelain vases on loan from Queen Elizabeth. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see these pieces in a single room. "This is a wonderful opportunity to explore an incredibly rich and interesting period of history through glorious works of art," said Corrigan. You have just a few more weeks to see it all in person. "Asia in Amsterdam" is on exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum until Sunday, June 5. Rayna Banks and her two daughters were on their evening walk in their Secret Lake neighborhood in Avon, Connecticut, on Thursday when they came across a bear cub walking down the street and snapped a couple of photos. Banks says, "Bears roam Secret Lake all the time, but tonight is the first time I saw one. A cute little baby. No momma in sight." A neighbor told Banks that a full size bear, who she believed to be the mother, was later seen in the neighborhood. Geoffrey Krukar, a wildlife biologist with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division, says when encountering a bear cub, "Watch them from a distance. Do not approach them and if you see the mother, back away from the area." Krukar adds, "it's a misconception that Black Bear mothers become overly aggressive around their cubs and Black Bear attacks on humans are extremely rare." Krukar asks people who sight bears to share their findings on the DEEP website, to help the department track bears in the area. Police are warning the public to stay away from a black bear spotted in a Manchester, New Hampshire, neighborhood on Friday morning. Manchester Police said around 10 a.m. that the bear had been seen near Mast Road and Varney Street, a residential area. They urged people to stay away from the bear. Around 11:15 a.m., police said the bear was spotted at 41 Warner St. It is currently up a tree. The city's animal control officer and New Hampshire Fish and Game are on scene working to capture the bear. Authorities have determined the cause of a fire that left a 76-year-old man dead Thursday in Beverly, Massachusetts. The fire marshal's office, along with Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett and the police and fire departments in Beverly, announced that the blaze that claimed the life of Clark Young was caused by a lamp. Officials do not know whether the issue was related to an electrical failure or the lamp was knocked over. The fire broke out in the living room of Young's first-floor apartment. Responding officers carried an elderly woman out of the building to safety, but Young was unable to escape. Beverly officials are mourning the death of Young, who had been a postal officer and a parking agent for the city. The flag outside Beverly City Hall was lowered in his memory. What did you want to be when you grew up? This three-year-old girl chose what she calls a "Massachusetts Police K-9 Girl." Cosette dressed up in costume for her library group gathering. The girls had been instructed to dress up as what they wanted to be. Many of the girls came dressed as Disney princesses, and they singled out their classmate for not being as cool as them. Upon hearing this, Trooper Tronca and Trooper McLaughlin of the State Police Barracks in South Boston, paid a visit to the little girl and spent time telling her and the other children that girls can be police officers, too. Discussions about Ninja Turtles, Captain America and their crafts followed. A man suspected of taking a Massachusetts woman out of a Newton care facility faced a judge Friday morning after the two were found Thursday night. Fifty-five-year-old David Collignan was released on personal recognizance and ordered to stay away from 62-year-old Beth Birnbaum. He said he didn't regret taking her out of the assisted living facility. "I feared for her life and she needed to get out of there," he said as he was led handcuffed into Newton District Court. Collignan is accused of assault and battery of a disabled person after police say he took his friend from her assisted living facility on Tuesday. He claims his longtime friend and ex-girlfriend was suffering and unhappy with the care - he says she asked him to get her out. "I'm more concerned about her and everyone else stuck in a nursing home," he said. Collingon was still on Birnbaum's emergency contact list, but she had picked someone else to handle her affairs. "Her health care proxy is a virtual stranger to her," said Collingon's defense attorney, Michael Chinman. "She doesn't really know her." Court documents reveal Birnbaum suffered a stroke in January and has been receiving treatment at CareOne in Newton. Birnbaum's proxy didn't give Collignon permission to take his friend out of the facility. Staff says without medical treatment, Birnbaum would be in a "medical crisis." Collignon's brother, Ross, says David and Beth drove to Florida, where David lives. "I sent my brother a text, 'call the Newton Police Department detective immediately, they have you out as a mad kidnapper,'" he said. Collignon turned around and brought Birnbaum to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston late Thursday. "The state police officer I talked to handling her abuse case said the best thing David can do is get her to a good hospital right away," Ross Collignon said. He added that his brother David was just trying to do the right thing for his friend of 37 years. "Every time it comes up that Dave's here in court, she gets very agitated. She says, 'I'm so guilty, it's my fault, he did what I asked.'" Birnbaum's brother, who is listed in police reports as her power of attorney, says her $2.5 million estate may be Collingon's real motivation. Ross Collignon added that his brother was caring for Birnbaum during their trip, and that she doesn't want to go back to CareOne. Some of the other conditions of David Collignon's bail include not living at Birnbaum's private Newton house and staying away from where ever she lives. Police did not have any word on Birnbaum's condition. A career criminal wanted on weapons charges evaded police capture on Friday, fleeing in the area of a New Hampshire campground where he has reportedly been living. William "BJ" Maurier, 35, is wanted by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department on a felon in possession of dangerous weapon charge. A Raymond Police officer spotted a vehicle being driven by Maurier on Prescott Road around 10 a.m. Maurier refused to stop, ultimately abandoning the vehicle on Kristy Court and fleeing on foot. New Hampshire State Police, the Rockingham County Sheirff's Department, a Brentwood Police K-9 unit and other local agencies responded to assist Raymond Police with the search. After a search of the Prescott Road area and Pine Acres Campground, Maurier was not located. Police said they believe Maurier had been staying at a camp site in the campground. Maurier has an extensive criminal record. In 2011, Seacoastonline reported that he was arrested in connection with a spree of armed robberies in southern New Hampshire. He was also involved in armed standoffs with police on two separate occasions, in 2014 in Manchester and in 2015 in Londonderry. Anyone who sees Maurier or has information as to his whereabouts are asked to contact their local police department or call 911. Meet "Winnie." The adorable yellow Labrador Retriever is Massachusetts State Police's newest weapon to help fight cyber-crime. She is specially trained to sniff out items associated with computers and cell phones. "Winnie" is able to find various types of storage devices, including USB drives, hard drives and SD cards. Waiting for her reward for finding a hidden cell phone and a thumb drive during her demonstration. pic.twitter.com/2w0q7fskqd Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) May 19, 2016 Certain criminals, including child pornographers, try to conceal these items because they contain evidence of their crimes. Dogs like "Winnie" are trained to find the digital evidence by sniffing for certain chemical compounds used to make the electronic devices. "Winnie" is the first electronic storage detection K-9 to be a member of the Massachusetts State Police. She is one of only seven dogs in the country certified to do this. Police in New Hampshire, are investigating overnight vandalism that left a Portsmouth home covered in red spray paint and eggs. The vandalism happened at the home of a woman who has spoken out publicly against changing the colors of graduation robes. Police won't confirm the connection, but students say they're sure that's why she was targeted. "I think it is a little too far and ridiculous," said Portsmouth High School Senior Brianna Croteau. Several students necn talked to Thursday were upset to see the photo of their classmate's home covered in hate-filled words and eggs. "No one should take it to that extent, it's not worth it," said PHS students Kayla and Melina. "It was one of the boys in my grade, his mom was handing us out protest sheets against new gowns," Croteau explained. The homeowner on Aldrich Road, Beth Ricci, is opposed to the new PHS graduation gowns unveiled this week. The new unisex gowns break a decades-old tradition of girls wearing white and boys wearing maroon. The change has divided the community. "It's definitely more fair for people who don't want to be defined by their gender I guess," said PHS graduate Stephanie Kamakas. "It just breaks my heart to see tradition thrown away," Ricci said earlier in the week, according to the Portsmouth Press Herald. Police won't confirm the vandals targeted Ricci's home because of her stance on the gowns, but they are considering that possibility. "There's other ways to get your message out there if you disagree with someone else's topic," said Portsmouth Police Sgt. Chris Kiberd. Students, however, are convinced some of their fellow classmates are behind it. "It's sad to see people fighting as much as they over this little issue," Croteau said. "Just stick with gowns, it's a one day thing, let's just graduate and go out with a bang." The superintendent would not talk to necn about the vandalism and Ricci could not be reached for comment. Police say the suspects could face misdemeanor mischief charges. State, local and federal officials confirmed Thursday that nine people had been arrested in a fentanyl and other opioids drug crackdown in central Connecticut. This month, nine people were arrested on various federal charges related to fentanyl, other drugs and intent to distribute following a months-long investigation. John Casadei, 45, of Morris, Jared Mcbriarty, 31, of Bristol, Kyle Petersen, 30, of New Britain, Carlos Enriquez, 27, of Enfield, Jesus Correa, 41, of New Britain, Isaac Ortiz, 35, of Newington, Tomasz Ziobron, 30, of New Britain and Dominique Greco, 29, of Cromwell are all in custody, while Charles Orcutt, 27, of Windsor, was released on a $10,000 bond, the U.S. attorney Deidre M. Daly said. Daly believes this was the state's largest fentanyl bust to date. We believe that this groundbreaking investigation has identified a major supplier of fentanyl in our state, said Daly. Fentanyl is a highly dangerous synthetic opioid which can be up to 50 times more potent than heroin. In the wrong hands, its deadly. DEA's Hartford Task Force and New Britain Police were informed that Peterson was selling fentanyl powder, prescription pills and marijuana. Officials set up multiple controlled purchases of fentanyl from Peterson and wiretaps found that McBriarty was supplying Peterson with the drugs. Wiretaps also revealed McBriarty's supplier, Casadei, who used the darknet to purchase large quantities of fentanyl from China. Special agent in charge of the DEA of New England, Michael J. Ferguson, said often substances to create fentanyl is purchased from China and produced in Mexico but fentanyl can also be ordered from China over the internet. Police found that in addition to fentanyl, Casadei possessed Xanax and oxycodone pills. Peterson allegedly sold fentanyl and other drugs to Orcutt, Enriquez, Correra, Ortiz, Ziobron and Greco, who in turn, sold the substances throughout central Connecticut. In total, officials seized $500,000 in cash, firearms, 2.5 kilograms of fentanyl, 2 kilograms of MDMA or 'Molly', 50,000 counterfeit Xanax pills, 40 pounds of marijuana, steroids and butane hash oil, the Department of Justice said. Last month, officials created the statewide heroin and opioid law enforcement initiative to target heroin, fentanyl or opioids dealers. Connecticut, just like many other states in this nation, are suffering from this terrible epidemic. These tragic deaths have occurred in every corner of our state, from the smallest towns to the largest cities, U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly said during a news conference. No one has been spared. Casadei, McBriarty and Peterson are all accused of conspiracy to distribute, possession with intent to distribute, and possession of 400 grams or more of fentanyl. Peterson is also accused of possession with intent to distribute at least 400 grams of fentanyl. Orcutt, Enriquez, Correa, Ortiz, Ziobron and Greco are accused of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute, controlled substances. A man in Berwick, Maine is accused of a bizarre set of crimes. Police arrested 53-year-old Todd LeGrand of Dover, New Hampshire, after they say he broke into two apartment units on School Street. LeGrand allegedly drank beer, ate food, showered, changed into one resident's clothes and stole money. According to Detective Ron Lund, LeGrand got into the apartments by climbing into unlocked windows. When he left, they say he went next door to a barn full of horses. According to witnesses, LeGrand fed and watered the horses, let them out of the pens and corralled them into one area. When a witness tried to confront him in the barn, he chased the person out, claiming to be friends with the horses' owner. "We think there are mental health issues," said Detective Lund. He was arrested and taken to York County Jail, charged with several counts of breaking and entering and theft. This isn't the first time LeGrand was arrested this week. He was picked up on a warrant on Monday and released on jail Wednesday. The next morning, he allegedly took a cab ride from Sanford to North Berwick and left without paying the driver. He has been charged with theft of services in that incident. Police in Manchester, New Hampshire, say they had to use a Taser on a teen accused of running from police and fighting officers. Anthony Maldonado, 18, is facing charges of assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. Police say they responded to a report of a suspicious person looking in vehicles in the area of Chase and Hospital avenues around 5 Thursday evening. As an officer approached and asked to talk with Maldonado, he fled and punched the officer during the foot pursuit, police say. Police eventually caught up and Maldonado allegedly punch and kicked officers in an attempt to break free. A Taser was then used to get him under control. Maldonado was transported to Valley St. Jail. It is not known if Maldonado has an attorney. A 36-year-old man shot by Methuen, Massachusetts, police was arraigned at his hospital bed for allegedly robbing a convenience store. James Dobbins was arraigned Friday at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston on charges of armed robbery while masked, prosecutors said. He was shot by police detectives at least four times Thursday night after they went to question him in an apartment complex in Methuen about the robbery that happened earlier that day. The four officers involved have since been placed on administrative leave, which is common procedure with such shootings. Police say Dobbins called officers to the apartment complex. Then "without warning drew a black firearm, pointed it at the officers and began to move at them rapidly," they said in a statement. He was ordered to be held without bail. Dobbins was represented by Kelli Murray for bail only, and his next court date is May 27 for a dangerousness hearing. A school committee member in Saugus, Massachusetts, faces charges after assaulting an elderly person with a bag of frozen fish. The incident took place at the Saugus Senior Center on Wednesday, according to the Saugus Advertiser. Assistant Police Chief Ronald Giorgetti tells the newspaper that 73-year-old Marty Graney was volunteering at a monthly food bank to benefit veterans when Arthur Grabowski started making inflammatory remarks at him. Graney and Grabowski went outside, according to the Advertiser, at which point Grabowski hit him in the area of his left ear with a bag of frozen fish fillets. The paper reports this is not the first time the men have confronted each other. Grabowski has been charged with an aggravated offense of assault and battery with a deadly weapon. Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey is stepping up his call to suspend checked bag fees this summer. Markey is holding a press conference at 11 a.m. Friday following another week of long security lines at U.S. airports. Lines at airports across the country have taken hours for some people to get through and Chicago has seen some of the worst of it. The TSA is planning on sending more agents to various airports to help with the crush of passengers, but Markey believes this is not just about staffing. He says the airlines need to get rid of fees for checked bags, at least temporarily, to help ease lines at security checkpoints. Many passengers are bringing carry-ons, a free option, rather than paying to check their bags. But airlines say don't blame us. The Trade Group says, "The root problem with the excessive security lines is a failure to align TSA staff and equipment with the latest passenger volumes by location." Markey sent a letter to the 12 major airlines last week. Authorities confirm a suspect was hurt in a police-involved shooting Thursday evening at a luxury apartment complex in Methuen, Massachusetts. According to police, the responding officers were not injured in the shooting at 142 Pleasant Valley St. Methuen Police say the suspect, a 36-year-old man, recognized himself in a surveillance photo they shared - he was wanted in connection to the armed robbery of the Pleasant Valley Superette Thursday morning. "He wanted to talk to the officers. He agreed to meet with the officers in the parking lot because he didn't have a ride to the station," said Captain Randy Haggar in a press conference. Then, Haggar says, the man drew a gun and approached the four officers on the scene. The suspect was shot multiple times. According to Haggar, the officers immediately disarmed him and began administering first aid. The suspect's condition was not immediately clear, but Haggar said his injuries are believed to be non-life-threatening. Police say he was transported to a local hospital. The officers have been placed on administrative leave and their weapons have been secured. A town constable in Natick, Massachusetts, has been arrested after he allegedly assaulted two people while impersonating a police officer. Police confirm they arrested Ross Cigna, 55, shortly after midnight Friday morning after the alleged assaults in the Dairy Queen parking lot on North Main Street. The confrontation allegedly took place over an ex-girlfriend of Cigna's son and one of the alleged victims. Police say Cigna's son and the young woman met in the Dairy Queen parking lot around 8 p.m. last night, leaving his car behind. They say they noticed the alleged victims when they drove off and spotted them near Dairy Queen when they returned. Worried about a confrontation, they drove directly to the defendant's home. Cigna then allegedly returned with his son to get his car and confronted the two acquaintances, both of whom are in their early 20s. Cigna carries a badge as a constable for the town of Natick, and one of the alleged victims says he flashed that badge and said he was a Natick police officer. Cigna then allegedly pushed a police-style baton into the stomaches of both alleged victims, but not enough to hurt them. "I'm glad it's just in the hands of the law at this point. It's really sad to see that people could act like that, especially a constable," one of the alleged victims told necn. The defendant has been released on personal recognizance after being arraigned on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and impersonating an officer. It is not known if Cigna has an attorney. Constables primarily serve civil processes, and are not law enforcement officials. Boston Police have arrested a suspect after a Dorchester woman was grazed by a bullet while she was sitting in her vehicle outside of a church last week. The shooting happened on May 13 around 6:30 outside the Freedom in Christ Ministry. Police say the woman, 52, was not the intended target in the shooting. She was transported to Boston Medical Center and was later released. On Thursday, police found the suspect, James Martin, 22, in the area of Adams and Gibson streets. Martin took off running but police were able to catch up. Martin was charged with Armed Assault with Intent to Murder, Assault & Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon (Gun), Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Unlawful Possession of Ammunition, and Discharging a Firearm within 500 feet of a building. He was also charged as a Level III armed career due to a prior conviction of distribution of a Class B substance in 2014 and for assault and battery in 2013 and 2014. He was held on $150,000 bail at his arraignment on Friday morning. A judge also revoked his bail in a previous case and ordered he be held without bail on an open probation matter. It is not known if Martin has a suspect. He will appear back in court on June 21. A 62-year-old woman who police said was kidnapped Tuesday afternoon from an assisted living facility in Newton, Massachusetts, has been found, and a suspect has been arrested. Newton Police confirmed around 11:30 p.m. Thursday that Beth Birnbaum was found at Massachusetts General Hospital, as was the suspect. Birnbaum disappeared from CareOne around 2 p.m. Tuesday - her empty wheelchair was found outside the facility. Wednesday, police issued a warrant for the arrest of 55-year-old David Collignan, who had been seen leaving CareOne with Birnbaum's clothing. Police did not have any word on Birnbaum's condition. The suspect is expected to be arraigned Friday morning at Newton District Court. A pupil at a primary school in Bradwell has been selling her pictures in order to raise money for the Yarmouth and Magdalen Foodbank, which is expanding its capacity and is seeking more volunteers. A pupil at a primary school in Bradwell has been selling her pictures in order to raise money for the Yarmouth and Magdalen Foodbank, which is expanding its capacity and is seeking more volunteers. Patrick Regan helps Norwich to bounce forwards On Saturday St Stephens in Norwich hosted Bouncing Forwards as part of a national tour by the mental health charity Kintsugi Hope. Read more Painting and biblical feasting in Overstrand There will be opportunities to improve your painting skills and indulge in some biblical feasting next month at the Pleasaunce in Overstrand in North Norfolk. Read more Latest Norfolk Christian community events Events of interest to the Norwich and Norfolk Christian community happening over the next few weeks are listed. Read more National award for Dereham Christian bookshop The Green Pastures Christian bookshop in Dereham has won a national award for providing boxes of Christian books to 21 local schools. Read more Norma's care home jigsaw challenge complete A resident at Norwich-based care home Corton House has completed an incredible 70 jigsaw puzzles in celebration of the homes 70th anniversary this year. Read more Norwich charity's appeal to support Palestinian students A Norwich educational charity, set up in memory of a Norwich Anglican priest, to support students from a Palestinian refugee camp, is inviting people to support its Christmas appeal to be launched on November 29. Read more Norfolk drug and alcohol charity pays tribute to its founder Andy Sexton, CEO of the Matthew Project, introduces a series of tributes from the charity to its founder, Peter Farley. Read more Cliff look alike at Cromer Church breakfast Cliff Richard tribute performer Will Chandler will be the speaker at a special Mens Breakfast at Cromer Parish Hall next month, and all men are welcome to come along. Read more Heartsease Lane Methodist church to close As part of a reorganisation of the Norwich Methodist Circuit, Heartsease Lane Methodist Church will be closing towards the end of the year. Read more Free Julian of Norwich reflection and prayer day The Friends of Julian of Norwich present a free Quiet Half-Day with Robert Fruehwirth, author and former Priest Director of the Julian Centre, on Saturday November 12, 10.30am-2pm. Read more What it means for us to repent Nigel Fox believes that now is the time for a tide of repentance, and shares his thoughts about what that actually means for our society. Read more Christmas card shop opens in Norwich church Thousands of Christmas cards from around 30 local Norfolk charities have gone on sale today (October 19) at the Original Norwich Charity Christmas Card Shop inside St Peter Mancroft church in Norwich city centre. Read more Revelation Christian Resource Centre and Cafe Revelation in Norwich is a Christian resource centre, offering a bookshop, a meeting place and a welcoming refuge for refreshment open to visitors of any faith or none. Read more Farewell as Yarmouth church leader moves on Captain Marie Burr, the Salvation Army leader in Great Yarmouth, has paid tribute to everyone at the church and charity after she left her post at the end of last month to move to a new role. Read more Norwich Cathedral chorister in BBC final Norwich Cathedral chorister Alice Platten has her sights set on being crowned BBC Young Chorister of the Year after reaching the final stages of the prestigious nationwide competition. Read more Norwich to hear pastor, Policeman and tramp tale Essex Baptist Pastor Dave McDowell has been a Policeman, fed orphans in India and lived under a boat as a tramp. He will tell his remarkable story at the October dinner of Norwich FGB on Wednesday October 26. Read more Pioneer UK leader speaks at Sheringham church Ness Wilson, national leader of the Pioneer network of churches, was the main speaker at a day of teaching and worship held at Lighthouse Community Church in Sheringham on 12 October, to be followed up by Word and Worship sessions at October half term. Read more MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Google this week made a concerted effort to highlight its growing presence in enterprise at its annual Google I/O developer conference. The company announced new development APIs for its Sheets, Slides and Classroom apps. It also unveiled a major update to its backend-as-a-service platform Firebase, a custom chipset for machine learning, and an API partner ecosystem with Salesforce, SAP and others. + Follow all the stories from Google I/O 2016 + "What's happening with the cloud is all of a sudden we're enabling developers to build these powerful apps without having to know so much about everything else," said Diane Greene, senior vice president of Google Cloud, during an I/O media event. "This is a major revolution, this move to the cloud. It's the biggest revolution in my lifetime in IT." Google says it's 'here to stay' in enterprise Google's top business executives met with members of the media to share details about the company's long-term commitment to enterprise through new investment, innovation and a broadening partnership portfolio. "We're here to stay," Greene said. "We're serious about the enterprise." [Related: Google goes all-in on enterprise cloud] Greene and others also zeroed in on the massive opportunity the enterprise market represents. "The IT industry is over a trillion dollar industry and we're going to be able to support a huge portion of [it] with Google Cloud," Greene said. "It looks like a big opportunity for Google, and one that really maximizes our strengths in data centers, infrastructure, automation, security, managing data, and getting insights from data." Rajen Sheth, director of product management for Android, Chrome for Work and Education, said Google also sees significant growth potential in enterprise devices. Roughly 3.2 billion people compose the global workforce today, but businesses own or manage only 750 million PCs and 250 million smartphones, according to Sheth. Enterprises and academic organizations both want to provide or offer additional productivity devices to their employees, he says. Roughly 10 million students and teachers use Google for Education, the company's suite for academia, and more than half of all devices sold to U.S. schools in 2015 were Chromebooks, according to Google. Urz Holzle, senior vice president of technical infrastructure at Google, called the Chromebook platform "the most secure desktop environment you can have today." Long road ahead for Google in business Despite the company's momentum in education and enterprise of late, Google still has a lot of work to do to if it wants to really own the markets, according to Jeffrey Hammond, a vice president and principal analyst with Forrester Research. "Building up a sales and enablement channel, creating appeal for developers, and tapping into the successes of the consumer-facing Android (ecosystem) are all opportunities that haven't yet been fully realized," he says. Google's biggest weakness today is a lack of customer engagement and support, according to Hammond. "Other direct channel players from the consumer space have discovered that using partners and self-provisioning is not always sufficient to meet the need of these buyers," he says. "Google seems to still be learning that lesson." [Related: Google cloud chief on tackling the enterprise] Google's enterprise team seems acutely aware of the importance of developer input. It also aims to reduce friction in the development process, according to Holzle. "We're going through a transition where enterprise applications can become really sexy, if you want, really functional without doing the heavy lifting yourself," Holzle says. This story, " Google doubles down on the enterprise at I/O" was originally published by CIO . Researchers with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have quickly moved to alter the way the military, public and private enterprises protect their networks from high-and low-speed distributed denial-of-service attacks with a program called Extreme DDoS Defense (XD3). The agency has since September awarded seven XD3 multi-million contracts to Georgia Tech, George Mason University, Invincea Labs, Raytheon BBN, Vencore Labs (two contracts) and this week to the University of Pennsylvania to radically alter DDOS defenses. One more contract is expected under the program. The UPenn project is developing defenses against distributed denial of service attacks that target specific protocols and their logic. These attacks are often difficult to diagnose and stop because the total volume of malicious traffic may be very low. The UPenn project attempts to pinpoint the specific protocol component that is under attack and then massively replicate that component to blunt the effects of the attack, DARPA stated. +More on Network World: What network technology is going to shake up your WAN?+ The nature of DDoS attacks can span a wide range. Botnet-induced volumetric attacks, which can generate hundreds of gigabits per second of malicious traffic, are perhaps the best-known form of DDoS. However, low-volume DDoS attacks can be even more pernicious and problematic from a defensive standpoint. Such attacks target specific applications, protocols or state-machine behaviors while relying on traffic sparseness (or seemingly innocuous message transmission) to evade traditional intrusion-detection techniques, DARPA said. The current art in DDoS defense generally relies on combinations of network-based filtering, traffic diversion and scrubbing or replication of stored data (or the logical points of connectivity used to access the data) to dilute volumetric attacks and/or to provide diverse access for legitimate users. In general, these existing approaches fall well short of desired capabilities in terms of response times, the ability to identify and to thwart low-volume DDoS, the ability to stop DDoS within encrypted traffic and the need to defend real-time transactional services such as those associated with cloud computing and military command and control, according to DARPA. +More on network World: DARPA wants to toughen-up WAN edge networking, security+ Responses to DDoS attacks are too slow and manually driven, with diagnosis and formulation of filtering rules often taking hours to formulate and instantiate. A clear need exists for fundamentally new DDoS defenses that afford far greater resilience to these attacks, across a broader range of contexts, than existing approaches or evolutionary extensions, DARPA stated. DARPA says the XD3 program looks to develop technologies that: Thwart DDoS attacks by dispersing cyber assets (physically and/or logically) to complicate adversarial targeting Disguise the characteristics and behaviors of those assets to confuse or deceive the adversary Blunt the effects of attacks that succeed in penetrating other defensive measures by using adaptive mitigation techniques on endpoints such as missioncritical servers. Check out these other hot stories: The Martian author Andy Weir calls for massive new space station to prep humans for Mars trip 911 emergency services ripped by HBOs John Oliver DHS Inspector General lambasts TSAs IT security flaws Smartphone tracking apps raise security, privacy and legality questions Sabotage? Rash of fiber cuts dog Verizon NASA's planet hunter spots record 1,284 new planets, 9 in a habitable zone DHS moves to bolster intrusion/detection for federal networks FTC orders Apple, Google, Microsoft, Blackberry, Samsung to divulge mobile security practices Ethernet: Are there worlds left to conquer? Interop: NBase-T makes low-speed Ethernet splash